Chapter Summaries

Qingmu carried Yu Meiren into Wu Suotun’s heavily guarded residence to cut down the poppies, while an enormous crow helped him fight off the defenders. Yu Meiren kept plucking flowers as Qingmu advanced through the compound.

• Qingmu brought Yu Meiren to Wu Suotun’s residence and told her to close her eyes while he went to cut poppies.
• Qingmu disarmed a guard at the gate, and Yu Meiren broke a poppy as the guard fell dead.
• A giant crow swept in on a dust storm, helping Qingmu reach the gate and defeat the machine gunners and rooftop sniper.
• The crow drove soldiers from the building, while Yu Meiren continued pulling poppies from her vision of a flower-filled field.
• A soldier’s rocket attack failed, and the crow emerged from the flames as the soldier accidentally blew himself up.
• Yu Meiren plucked another poppy and flung it away.

Qingmu carried Yu Meiren through Wu Suotun’s camp and reached his study, where Wu Suotun had activated a self-destruct device and tried to escape. Qingmu killed Wu Suotun’s guard while Yu Meiren counted another poppy; Wu Suotun’s fate remained unresolved.

• Wu Suotun activated the building’s self-destruct device, then opened a safe and planned to use its gold and dollars to delay Qingmu.
• Qingmu advanced through the camp with Yu Meiren, killing the remaining guards as a crow circled overhead.
• Qingmu told Yu Meiren that a few of the biggest poppies still needed cutting before they could go home.
• Wu Suotun opened the secret passage, but a crow flew out and startled him before Qingmu entered the study.
• Wu Suotun’s subordinate tried to shoot Qingmu, but the crow flew through him and terrified him.
• Qingmu told Yu Meiren to close her eyes and shot Wu Suotun’s subordinate; Yu Meiren counted her seventy-ninth poppy.

Qingmu and Yu Meiren escaped Wu Suotun’s residence after Beauty activated the explosives, leaving Wu Suotun trapped inside. As the house exploded behind them, Beauty murmured, “Eighty.”

• The crow declared Wu Suotun guilty of seven sins, including harming Yu Meiren, and Qingmu prepared to execute him.
• Wu Suotun threatened to blow up the house, but Qingmu shot his hand when he lunged for the inactive detonator.
• Qingmu woke Yu Meiren and had her press the red button, starting a ten-minute countdown.
• Qingmu left Wu Suotun wounded and took some dollars from the safe as he carried Yu Meiren toward the secret passage.
• Wu Suotun failed to crawl out before the countdown ended, and the house exploded as Qingmu and Yu Meiren reached the mountain near Mu Ka’s laboratory.

Qingmu confronted Mu Ka, who defended his opium empire as a means of liberating his homeland, and stopped him from firing by severing his consciousness from his motor control. After an ethereal voice asked Qingmu to spare Mu Ka for Duwa’s sake, Qingmu shot him, and Yu Meiren counted to eighty-one.

• Qingmu met Mu Ka with Yu Meiren and let Beauty watch as he prepared to cut the last poppy.
• Mu Ka explained his ambition to build his homeland through opium and heroin, defending the sacrifices he had made of girls and drug users.
• Qingmu accused Mu Ka of heinous crimes and revealed that Mu Ka’s long speech had given him time to block Mu Ka’s motor control.
• Qingmu took Mu Ka’s gun and aimed it at him, while Mu Ka was unable to move.
• An ethereal voice asked Qingmu to spare Mu Ka for Duwa’s sake, but Qingmu fired and Yu Meiren counted to eighty-one.

Qingmu met Duwa at her mountain temple and questioned her choices as a teacher, including her attempts to save Mu Ka. Duwa explained the cave’s lingering dream and revealed that Kitano Masatake had once been a renowned awakener and mentor of the great dream.

• Qingmu followed a dreamlike bubble to Duwa’s temple, where it scanned his consciousness and identified him as a dreamless person.
• Duwa told Qingmu that she had taught Medicine Granny lucid awakening and had tried to save Mu Ka because she hoped to make him her disciple.
• Qingmu challenged Duwa’s belief that people could leave their wrongdoing behind by turning toward spiritual practice.
• Qingmu told Duwa that Du Juan would not return and described what had happened in the Japanese army’s pig-cage cave.
• Duwa explained that the cave held a broken old dream that Qingmu’s mental strength had reactivated, then said her mother had told her Kitano Masatake was once the world’s greatest awakener and a respected mentor of the great dream.

Duwa told Qingmu about the Awakeners' Alliance, an organization that once restrained people with extraordinary mental powers, and revealed that it had vanished after splitting during the war. She explained her search for the truth behind the Alliance and her mother's death, while Qingmu learned that Situ had investigated the possibility that World War II was a shared dream and may have found evidence.

• Duwa showed Qingmu the Alliance's symbol and explained that people like him, Situ, and Kitano Masatake could wield dangerous power without restraint.
• Duwa said Qingmu was not technically an Awakener because he did not dream, and told him the Alliance had split during the war and disappeared afterward along with the Dream Corridor.
• Duwa told Qingmu that Situ had proposed World War II was a dream shared by everyone and had been searching for evidence, which she had heard he found.
• Duwa revealed that she had been seeking Alliance members to learn why her mother was injured and how the Alliance disappeared.
• Duwa asked Qingmu to share any future discoveries about the Alliance, and mentioned that Situ had posted a contact marker claiming he had discovered aliens.

Qingmu brought Yu Meiren and the other three girls back toward the Chinese border after the destruction of Wu Suotun’s residence. At the river, Shi Dazhuang and Peng Jiahu learned they had permission to cross for a rescue, but then spotted Qingmu returning with the girls.

• Qingmu took Yu Meiren to the restaurant, where she reunited with the other girls and recognized the madman as Beggar Yeye.
• After the girls ate, Qingmu set off on the motorcycle with them, while the madman stayed behind and waved goodbye to Beauty.
• Qingmu returned the motorcycle to its owner and gave the couple stacks of US dollars to buy a replacement for their son’s wedding.
• At the Nangou River, Director Yan told Shi Dazhuang and Peng Jiahu they could cross into Masuba that night to rescue the hostages and arrest Wu Suotun and Mu Ka.
• Shi Dazhuang and Peng Jiahu spotted Qingmu approaching on a bamboo raft with the four girls, and Shi Dazhuang relaxed after seeing Beauty safe.

After the operation against Wu Suotun and Mu Ka, Yu Gang was honored as a martyr and Qingmu received a bravery medal for his role in fighting the drug traffickers. Back in Spring City, Qingmu ignored a flight attendant’s invitation to call her and prepared to return to Wuzhong.

• The police arrested drug traffickers, seized drugs, and rescued women and children after capturing Mu Ka, while Yu Gang and other fallen officers were named martyrs.
• Shi Dazhuang moved Yu Gang’s ashes to the Ruihekou Martyrs’ Cemetery, where Old Enkun and the villagers paid their respects.
• Qingmu and Yu Meiren attended Yu Gang’s burial ceremony, and Yu Meiren wept during the memorial tribute.
• Director Yan thanked Qingmu for his contributions, and the Ruihekou Civil Affairs Bureau awarded him a medal for bravery.
• Qingmu traveled toward Wuzhong with Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren, then met a flight attendant in Spring City who offered him her phone number.
• Qingmu found the flight attendant’s number on a business card and threw it away.

Qingmu left the money from Nangou River with Shi Dazhuang and went looking for local food while Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren visited the wildlife park. Yao Jingjing took Qingmu to lunch, where they exchanged WeChat details, and he recognized Ma Fuqing at a nearby table.

• Qingmu gave the US dollars he had brought back to Shi Dazhuang, who divided them among Old Enkun, fallen officers’ families, and their travel expenses.
• Shi Dazhuang took Yu Meiren to the wildlife park, while Qingmu went to the hotel front desk to ask about local specialties.
• Qingmu discovered that Yao Jingjing was asking about his room, 1717, and she offered to take him to a restaurant for crispy rice and rice cakes.
• Over lunch, Yao Jingjing thanked Qingmu for helping her on the plane, asked about his unusual business card, and added him on WeChat.
• Qingmu noticed a familiar man dining with a provocatively dressed woman and recognized him as Ma Fuqing.

Qingmu ran into Ma Fuqing in Spring City and grew suspicious of his abrupt departure from Wuzhong. After connecting Ma Fuquan’s iron cage to the cave with the pig cages, Qingmu gave Shi Dazhuang a lead that pointed to Ma Fuqing’s possible role in the drug network.

• Qingmu encountered Ma Fuqing at a restaurant, where Ma said he had come to Spring City after the prosecution dropped his brother’s case and his mother died.
• Ma Fuqing paid for Qingmu and Yao Jingjing’s meal, and Qingmu later realized Yao Jingjing had mistaken his mention of Beauty for a woman.
• Qingmu asked Shi Dazhuang to investigate Ma Fuqing, who had left Wuzhong the same day the case was dropped after booking his flight in advance.
• Shi Dazhuang revealed that Ma Fuqing owned three properties in Spring City and had traveled between the city and Wuzhong for years.
• Qingmu connected Ma Fuquan’s iron cage to the pig cages in the cave and suggested Ma Fuqing had put his brother there, possibly linking him to the drug network.
• Shi Dazhuang left to arrange surveillance and left Beauty with Qingmu.

Yu Meiren asked Qingmu to help her bathe because she did not know how to use the hotel bathroom, so he called Yao Jingjing to assist her. While Yu Meiren bathed, Qingmu heard from Bi Shenghua about a visitor and checked on his friends, then spoke with Yao Jingjing on the balcony.

• Yu Meiren told Qingmu she was embarrassed by the hotel bathroom and asked him to help her bathe.
• Qingmu brought Yao Jingjing inside and asked her to help Yu Meiren use the bathroom.
• Yao Jingjing learned that the girl was Yu Meiren, praised her name and father, and took her into the bathroom.
• Qingmu spoke with Bi Shenghua, who said Huang Ziqiang had left a business card and that Boss Coal was tiring Xiao Qi and the others.
• Yao Jingjing told Qingmu that Yu Meiren had quickly learned to use the bathroom, and Qingmu joked that he never bathed.

Qingmu, Yu Meiren, and Yao Jingjing spent the evening together, sharing dinner and a walk by Green Lake before shopping for Yu Meiren. Yao Jingjing learned that Yu Meiren had told Qingmu she liked him, and teased that he was a block of wood because he had only chuckled.

• Yao Jingjing made Cloud Mist tea for Qingmu and helped Yu Meiren dry and style her hair.
• Yao Jingjing took Qingmu and Yu Meiren to dinner, but Yu Meiren cried because she missed her mother and felt the restaurant was too expensive.
• The three visited the lakeside night market, ate at a cheaper restaurant, and walked along Green Lake after dinner.
• Yu Meiren whispered to Qingmu that Yao Jingjing liked him, and the two laughed when Yao Jingjing asked what they were discussing.
• Yao Jingjing bought Yu Meiren clothes and learned that Qingmu had only chuckled when Yu Meiren told him she liked him.

Qingmu let Yu Meiren sleep in his room and spent the evening talking with Yao Jingjing, who had a midnight train to catch. After Shi Dazhuang took Beauty away, Qingmu offered to escort Yao Jingjing to the station, but accepted her refusal, leaving her disappointed as she departed.

• Qingmu let Yu Meiren sleep in his room, and Yao Jingjing offered him her unused hotel room while explaining she had changed her train to midnight.
• Hu Xing called Qingmu to check on him and Shi Dazhuang, shared news about Xia Wenyuan's recovery, and asked for help with her lucid dreams.
• Qingmu gave Hu Xing a quantum-mechanics explanation of lucid dreaming, while Yao Jingjing listened and teased him about his beautiful disciple.
• Shi Dazhuang returned, recognized Yao Jingjing, and took the awakened Yu Meiren back to their room after she whispered something to him.
• Yao Jingjing prepared to leave, and Qingmu offered to take her to the station; when she declined, he accepted her answer, and she left feeling disappointed.

Qingmu and Shi Dazhuang discussed the investigation into Ma Fuqing while Qingmu tried to see Yao Jingjing off. After Yao’s rideshare driver took her onto a secluded road and attacked her, a passing motorist heard her cries for help but drove on.

• Shi Dazhuang told Qingmu that Ma Fuqing was under close surveillance but could not be arrested without evidence.
• After Yao Jingjing messaged that her driver was behaving strangely and heading toward Phoenix Mountain, Qingmu borrowed Shi Dazhuang’s SUV and set out to find her.
• The driver refused to turn back, and Yao Jingjing escaped from the car after he stopped on a secluded road.
• When Yao Jingjing returned to retrieve her suitcase, the driver grabbed her, dragged her into the woods, and threatened her with a knife.
• A passing driver heard Yao Jingjing shouting for help, but his companion dismissed the cries and he drove away.

Qingmu rescued Yao Jingjing from a driver who had threatened to kill and assault her. After forcing the driver to mutilate himself and jump from a bridge, Qingmu took Yao Jingjing to the station.

• Yao Jingjing resisted the driver's assault and held on to hope that Qingmu would find her.
• Qingmu arrived in an off-road vehicle, broke the driver's wrist, and threw him away from Yao Jingjing.
• Qingmu told the driver that his evil was drawing him into a black hole and directed him to cut away the instrument of his crime.
• The driver mutilated himself, followed fireflies to a bridge, and jumped into the ravine below.
• Qingmu comforted Yao Jingjing, then took her to the station.

Yao Jingjing told Qingmu about her ill mother, the blind date waiting at home, and her hope that the man she was destined to love would ask her to stay. Qingmu told her to board the train, and she left after thanking him, while he watched her go with her tears still on his shoulder.

• Yao Jingjing explained that her mother's illness and wish for her to marry had made her agree to a blind date at home.
• Yao Jingjing described her belief in destined love and confessed she would stay if Qingmu asked her not to go.
• Qingmu told Yao Jingjing that the train was leaving soon instead of asking her to stay.
• Yao Jingjing took her suitcase and entered the station, then turned back to thank Qingmu.
• Qingmu waved goodbye and realized Yao Jingjing's tears had soaked his shoulder.

Qingmu met Ma Fuqing on the roof of an unfinished building after Ma asked to talk. Ma offered him money and a villa in exchange for staying out of his affairs, and Qingmu asked if he was threatening him.

• Unable to sleep, Qingmu received a message from Ma Fuqing asking to meet at an unfinished building on Nongken Road.
• Qingmu drove Shi Dazhuang's car to the building and found Ma Fuqing waiting on the roof.
• Ma Fuqing said the police suspected him because of Qingmu and offered him a case containing a million yuan.
• Ma Fuqing asked Qingmu to stop interfering, claiming he wanted to repent and live quietly.
• Ma Fuqing offered Qingmu a villa in Sanya and suggested his flight attendant girlfriend could enjoy it with him.
• Qingmu grew wary and asked Ma Fuqing, "Are you threatening me?!"

Ma Fuqing used surveillance footage and threats against Qingmu’s girlfriend to force Qingmu to spare him. Qingmu paced the unfinished building’s roof, weighing his options as Ma Fuqing believed he had secured his future.

• Ma Fuqing claimed he wanted to repent, then threatened Qingmu by suggesting his people could target Qingmu’s girlfriend back home.
• Qingmu revealed that he had killed Mu Ka after Mu Ka abducted his friend’s child and told Ma Fuqing he intended to kill him.
• Ma Fuqing showed Qingmu a video of the driver’s death and revealed that he had arranged the driver’s attack to gather compromising footage.
• Ma Fuqing said he had sent the footage of the driver’s death and their conversation to a friend, and threatened that his men might harm Qingmu’s girlfriend if he did not contact them by dawn.
• Ma Fuqing relaxed and asked Qingmu to spare him, while Qingmu paced the unfinished building’s roof and considered the predicament.

Qingmu trapped Ma Fuqing in an iron cage and made him face the suffering he had inflicted on his younger brother. As the water rose, Ma Fuqing explained his resentment toward his family and admitted he wanted them all dead.

• Qingmu rejected Ma Fuqing's offers and threatened to make him suffer before he died.
• Ma Fuqing discovered he was trapped in an iron cage as water rose around him.
• Qingmu told Ma Fuqing that his younger brother had locked him in and demanded he experience the same suffering.
• Ma Fuqing described how his parents favored his younger brother and forced him to abandon his studies to support him.
• Ma Fuqing admitted he had brought his younger brother home after abusing him so their mother would suffer, then screamed that he wanted her and the others dead.

Qingmu exposed how Ma Fuqing orchestrated his wife’s murder, framed Yang Baoguo, and manipulated his family and Qingmu to cover his crimes. Ma Fuqing resisted Qingmu’s hallucinations through self-hypnosis, but Qingmu prepared to overcome him.

• Qingmu deduced that Ma Fuqing had used his brother and mother to murder his wife, planted evidence to frame Yang Baoguo, and planned to leave his mother as the scapegoat.
• Ma Fuqing admitted that he had lured Qingmu to his home, hoping his mother would attack him, and revealed that he had secretly killed Yang Baoguo in detention.
• Ma Fuqing recognized Qingmu’s mind-controlling methods and sat still, convincing himself that the rising water was an illusion.
• Qingmu acknowledged Ma Fuqing’s unusual understanding of hypnosis but said he could overcome his resistance.