Chapter Summaries

After losing to Ronava, Mavuika watched her leave with Lin En, who then followed Ronava into Natlan’s Night Kingdom to reach the Celestial Nail. There, they encountered Capitano and learned that Asmoday had altered the Nail with an energy-enhancement device, and Ronava began attacking its barrier while Lin En and Capitano guarded the portal.

• Mavuika admitted defeat to Ronava and asked Xilonen when the vehicle could be repaired.
• Before dawn, Ronava told Lin En that Natlan’s Celestial Nail was in the Night Kingdom and led him to a black stone stele entrance.
• Ronava opened the stele’s portal, and she and Lin En entered the Night Kingdom, where Lin En spotted the Celestial Nail overhead.
• Capitano appeared and told Ronava and Lin En that Asmoday had installed an energy-enhancement device on the Nail a few days earlier.
• Capitano agreed to help Ronava, and she asked him and Lin En to guard the portal while she tried to break the Nail’s barrier.
• Ronava’s spear made the barrier flash and shook the Night Kingdom, drawing monsters toward them.

Lin En and Capitano fought off monsters in the Night Kingdom before Asmoday arrived to stop Ronava from interfering with her device. After Asmoday hinted that Phanes was in trouble and left, Ronava decided to return and find out what had happened.

• Lin En and Capitano fought together against waves of ghosts and hounds until the monsters withdrew.
• Asmoday appeared above the Celestial Nail and attacked Ronava, warning her not to interfere with the device.
• Asmoday said Phanes could barely look after herself, then told Ronava to take Lin En away before the device activated and departed through a portal.
• Lin En healed Ronava’s cut, and Capitano asked what Asmoday intended to do with the device.
• Ronava thanked Capitano and said she would return to investigate what had happened to Phanes.

After leaving the Night Kingdom, Ronava and Lin En told Mavuika that Asmoday had tampered with Natlan’s Celestial Nail. Ronava revealed that Asmoday planned to destroy Natlan’s Ley Lines and unleash the Abyss to force Phanes into a confrontation, and she and Lin En chose to wait rather than intervene.

• Ronava told Mavuika that Asmoday, not her, had tampered with Natlan’s Celestial Nail, and Lin En confirmed her account.
• Mavuika let Ronava and Lin En leave after warning that she would hold them responsible if Natlan suffered.
• Ronava told Lin En that Asmoday had installed a device to destroy Natlan’s Ley Lines and release the Abyss, forcing Phanes to intervene.
• Ronava explained that Asmoday intended to exploit a coming clash between the God of Cryo and Phanes, benefiting whichever side fell.
• Ronava chose to watch and wait, and Lin En said he would follow her.

Ronava and Lin En returned to Liyue Harbor to wait for the conflict among the Tsaritsa, Phanes, and the Abyss to unfold, but their lack of money became an immediate problem. After arriving nearly broke, Lin En was saddled with a two-million-Mora debt when a mysterious man used his system to take out a loan.

• Ronava told Lin En they would return to Liyue and wait for the Tsaritsa, Phanes, Asmoday, and events in Natlan to make their moves.
• After five days of travel, Ronava and Lin En reached Liyue Harbor with almost no Mora and bought flatbread before renting the cheapest room they could find.
• Ronava planned to visit the Geo Archon the next day and suggested they take commissions if he could not help them.
• Lin En saw the system offer a Mora loan, then a middle-aged man appeared and used the system to borrow one million Mora in Lin En's name, leaving him owing two million.

Lin En and Ronava sought work in Liyue after learning Zhongli was away, but Katheryne barred Ronava from registering with the Adventurers' Guild because of her background. Lin En signed up and chose a Hilichurl-clearing commission, planning to handle it alone while Ronava waited.

• Lin En woke hungry, shared his borrowed Mora with Ronava, and went with her to find Zhongli, who was away at Wangshu Inn.
• Hu Tao told them Zhongli would not return until evening, so Lin En and Ronava headed to the Adventurers' Guild to earn money.
• Katheryne said Lin En could register as an adventurer, but Ronava would have to travel to Snezhnaya for a month-long security assessment.
• Lin En registered and selected an eight-thousand-Mora commission to clear a Hilichurl camp in an abandoned mine.
• Lin En told Ronava he would take the commission alone, and she agreed to wait at the inn and urged him to be careful.

Lin En returned to Liyue Harbor and took an Adventurers' Guild assessment commission, with Zibai assigned as his assessor. After Lin En passed the mine trial despite unexpected enemies, Zibai suggested a way for Ronava to join future commissions and bribed Lin En not to tell her about the assessment.

• Lin En met Zibai at the Adventurers' Guild and learned she would assess him on a commission to clear a Hilichurl camp in an abandoned mine.
• Lin En entered the mine and defeated four Hilichurls, then discovered more than ten enemies led by a Samachurl deeper inside.
• Zibai initially refused to help, but rushed into the mine when Lin En pointed out she would lose her assessor's pay if she failed to assist during an unexpected situation.
• Lin En and Zibai defeated the remaining Hilichurls, and Zibai gave Lin En a passing assessment despite joking that he had exceeded the time limit.
• Zibai advised Lin En to team up with someone if Ronava could not register for a commission, then offered him half her Mora to keep the assessment from Ronava.

After a tiring day of commissions, Lin En went with Ronava to find Zhongli, who revealed that the Tsaritsa planned to attack the Life Ruler in half a month and wanted Ronava’s help. Ronava chose to remain without her authority and seek a peaceful life, while Lin En pledged to stand by her against the Heavenly Principles.

• Lin En returned to the inn exhausted after completing commissions, then agreed to accompany Ronava to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
• Hu Tao told Lin En and Ronava that Zhongli had gone to Bubu Pharmacy, where they found him speaking with Baizhu and Qiqi.
• Zhongli revealed that the Tsaritsa had asked him to tell Ronava she would move against the Life Ruler in half a month and needed Ronava’s cooperation.
• Ronava rejected the Tsaritsa’s request and said she wanted to live peacefully without her authority, despite Zhongli warning that the Heavenly Principles might hold her responsible.
• Lin En took Ronava’s hand and vowed to face the Heavenly Principles with her, prompting Zhongli to say the Heavenly Principles was currently occupied and could be dealt with later.

After Zhongli's unpaid pharmacy bill sent Lin En and Ronava fleeing, Lin En comforted her when she cried over his promise to protect her. They shared dinner and agreed to take commissions together, then went to bed with Ronava worrying about what she would do if Lin En died.

• Baizhu told Zhongli that his medicine cost five thousand Mora and that the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor already owed eighty thousand, so Zhongli asked Lin En and Ronava if they had money.
• Lin En shouted that they had none and pulled Ronava away, then comforted her when she asked whether his defiance of the Heavenly Principles had been sincere.
• Lin En bought Ronava a late-night meal, and they agreed she would accompany him on commissions the next day.
• On the walk back, Ronava said she might fight the Heavenly Principles to the death if they killed Lin En, and Lin En tightened his grip on her hand.
• At the inn, Ronava took the outside of the bed and admitted she kept wondering what she would do if Lin En were gone; he promised to be more careful.

Lin En teamed up with Chongyun and Ronava to search The Chasm for a missing exploration team and its Geo sample case. They found two survivors in an underground cavern, who revealed that other teammates were still trapped on the lowest level.

• Lin En accepted a five-hundred-thousand-Mora commission and recruited Chongyun to meet its two-person requirement.
• Lin En, Ronava, and Chongyun traveled to The Chasm, where Chongyun warned them about the mines' hazards and gave them Qingxin talismans.
• The party followed fresh footprints into an underground cavern and found scattered supplies and highly concentrated Geo crystals, but no explorers.
• The three followed a second passage and heard voices before finding two injured members of the exploration team.
• The survivors told Lin En, Ronava, and Chongyun that more teammates remained trapped on the lowest level and asked them for help.

Lin En, Chongyun, and Ronava descended into the Chasm’s lowest mine to rescue the exploration team and investigate a breach that released Abyss monsters. After defeating a Rockshell Beast, they found the five missing miners fleeing a larger horde and an Abyss Herald, and stayed behind to face them.

• Old Chen told Lin En, Chongyun, and Ronava that mining had opened a crack in the wall, releasing black-and-red mist that trapped five members of his team on the lowest level.
• The three used a teleportation array to reach the lowest level and followed footprints from the mining site south through the dark passage.
• Lin En, Chongyun, and Ronava fought and defeated an Abyss Rockshell Beast that was clawing at the mine wall.
• The five missing exploration team members ran toward the trio and warned them that more monsters were pursuing them.
• Lin En sent the five miners north while he, Chongyun, and Ronava prepared to hold off seven or eight larger Rockshell Beasts and an Abyss Herald.

Lin En, Chongyun, and Ronava suspected the exploration team had lured them into the mine, but continued downward to retrieve the ore. They discovered a cache of explosives that detonated in a chain reaction, leaving Chongyun unconscious and Lin En injured.

• Lin En questioned how all seven exploration team members had survived the Abyss monsters, and Ronava pointed out signs that some of them had staged their injuries.
• Lin En, Chongyun, and Ronava returned to the mine’s lowest level to complete their commission and investigate the suspected trap.
• The three found a cavern containing the exploration team’s supplies and crates that Lin En recognized as explosives.
• A fuse ignited as Lin En examined a cylinder, so he pulled Chongyun toward the passage while Ronava raised a barrier.
• The explosives detonated in a chain reaction, throwing Lin En and Chongyun against the passage wall and knocking Chongyun unconscious.
• Lin En checked Chongyun’s breathing and used Hydro to treat the wound on his temple.

Lin En and Ronava fought Pierro and the Fatui soldiers in the cavern, but fled when the Tsaritsa arrived. They continued deeper into the passage, unsure where it led and expecting danger ahead.

• Pierro arrived with Fatui soldiers, and Ronava attacked him while Lin En fought off the soldiers.
• Pierro used a Delusion to strengthen himself, but Lin En and Ronava worked together to wound and pin him to the cavern wall.
• The Tsaritsa arrived, and Lin En and Ronava fled into a passage, leaving the unconscious Chongyun behind.
• After running for a quarter of an hour, Lin En and Ronava stopped in a narrow crevice and agreed to continue deeper into the passage.
• Lin En told Ronava he would stop the Tsaritsa if they encountered her, and the two pressed on as frost spread across the walls.

Lin En and Ronava found a rune-covered well in a crystal mine, then fled when red gas poured from the crystals. After the gas receded, they discovered there was no way forward and decided to return despite the possibility that the Tsaritsa's pursuers were waiting outside.

• Lin En and Ronava found a well surrounded by runes, and Ronava warned that an active seal held something inside it.
• The crystals turned red and released red gas, so Lin En and Ronava ran until the gas stopped at a boundary and receded.
• Ronava found the passage beyond them sealed by solid granite, leaving the pair no choice but to go back.
• Lin En and Ronava returned toward the crystal mine and found trained pursuers' footprints leading back out.
• Lin En and Ronava decided to keep going, even though people might still be guarding the route outside.

Lin En and Ronava encountered the Tsaritsa and the Jester in the passage and fought their way toward escape. They struck the Tsaritsa with a combined attack, forcing both enemies to retreat, while Lin En collapsed from his injuries.

• Lin En and Ronava found the explosion site deserted, then the Tsaritsa and the Jester ambushed them and offered cooperation as an alternative to being eliminated.
• Ronava attacked the Tsaritsa while Lin En engaged the injured Jester, and they tried to flee deeper into the passage.
• The Tsaritsa blocked their path with ice, so Ronava used her Delusion while Lin En held off the Jester and deliberately endured his strikes to build power.
• Lin En and Ronava combined their attacks, breaking through the Tsaritsa's ice defenses and striking her with Ronava's spear.
• The Tsaritsa and the Jester escaped through the passage, and Ronava examined Lin En's injuries and admitted she had held back to keep him alive.

After escaping The Chasm, Lin En and Ronava returned to Liyue Harbor with Chongyun and rested through the night after their battle. The chapter ended with Ronava asleep against Lin En’s shoulder as he gently covered her with his coat.

• Lin En and Ronava emerged from The Chasm, and Ronava said the Tsaritsa would likely need several days to recover before acting again.
• Lin En worried about Chongyun, and they found him riding in an ox cart after two people helped him out of The Chasm.
• The old driver gave Lin En, Ronava, and Chongyun a ride to Liyue Harbor, where Lin En and Ronava found no open inns and sat on a bench for the night.
• Lin En and Ronava discussed the fake commission and his hardships, and Lin En told her that being with her was always sweet.
• Ronava fell asleep against Lin En’s shoulder, and he covered her with his coat and gently tucked her hair behind her ear.

After Lin En and Ronava escaped a fight with the Tsaritsa and The Jester in The Chasm, Zhongli brought them to a spare room at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to recover. Ronava woke when Lin En kissed her forehead, then shared the bed with him; when Lin En woke later, she was already dressed and sitting by the window.

• Zhongli found Lin En and Ronava on a bench and offered them a spare room at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
• Zhongli led Lin En, who carried the sleeping Ronava, to the parlor, where Hu Tao prepared a bed for them.
• Lin En kissed Ronava's forehead, and she woke and teased him about the kiss.
• Ronava invited Lin En to sleep beside her and asked him to kiss her when she was awake next time.
• Ronava touched Lin En's bruised back and embraced him as they fell asleep.
• Lin En woke in daylight and saw Ronava sitting dressed and groomed by the window.

Lin En and Ronava accepted Hu Tao’s offer to manage a new Wangsheng Funeral Parlor branch in Chenyu Vale, giving Lin En a chance to earn Mora and repay his debt. They planned to leave for Yilong Wharf the day after tomorrow, though Zhongli warned them to investigate the area carefully and suggested their first job might involve recovering a body.

• Lin En joined Hu Tao, Zhongli, Zibai, and Ronava for breakfast at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
• Hu Tao offered Lin En and Ronava paid work managing a new branch in Chenyu Vale, and they accepted.
• Hu Tao gave Ronava the branch documents and startup funds, and Ronava set their departure for the day after tomorrow.
• Zhongli warned Lin En and Ronava about dangerous mountain roads, monsters, and recent trouble in Chenyu Vale.
• Zhongli told Lin En that a port near Chenyu Vale offered a half-day steamship trip to Fontaine and predicted the branch might soon receive a job involving a corpse.

Lin En and Ronava bought supplies in Liyue Harbor and traveled north toward Chenyu Vale. They reached Qiaoying Village and decided to rest there before continuing to Yilong Wharf.

• Lin En and Ronava bought provisions and camping supplies, then won a bottle of water and two Dodoco-shaped charms in a shop’s ring-toss game.
• They packed for the journey, and Hu Tao told them to find a shop in Yilong Wharf and look for its key above the doorframe.
• Lin En nearly followed Hu Tao’s inaccurate map toward a mountain, but Ronava spotted a sign pointing to Chenyu Vale and redirected him.
• After walking for two days, Lin En and Ronava followed a bamboo-lined path into Chenyu Vale.
• They reached Qiaoying Village, drank tea at a stall, and agreed to rest before traveling to Yilong Wharf the next day.

Lin En and Ronava traveled from Qiaoying Village to Yilong Wharf to open a Wangsheng Funeral Parlor branch, only to find the shop vandalized by superstitious locals. They entered through the back door, and Ronava planned to confront whoever was responsible for the trouble.

• Lin En told Ronava about the Serenitea Pot as they rested in Qiaoying Village, then the two admired the view of Yilong Wharf from the mountain.
• Lin En and Ronava reached Yilong Wharf and followed Hu Tao's map to the shop beneath a large banyan tree.
• Lin En learned from a vegetable seller that locals had vandalized the shop because they believed the funeral parlor brought bad luck.
• Lin En and Ronava found the key Hu Tao had hidden and entered the dusty shop through its back door.
• Ronava said she would go out that night to speak with whoever was in charge on the street.

Lin En and Ronava opened the Yilong Wharf branch of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, but hostile townspeople blamed the shop for a rise in deaths. After taking a job to find Zhou Xiaohe, they suspected her disappearance and other missing townspeople were connected to something sinister and planned to investigate the mountain.

• Lin En and Ronava finished preparing the branch, but townspeople gathered outside and accused the funeral parlor of bringing bad luck.
• Ronava threatened the crowd with her spear, and Lin En intervened to stop the confrontation from becoming a fight.
• Zhou Dashi rushed into the shop and offered a hundred thousand Mora for help finding his missing daughter, Zhou Xiaohe.
• Zhou Dashi explained that Zhou Xiaohe had vanished five days earlier on a familiar mountain path, while other young men and women in town had also disappeared.
• Ronava noticed a strange herbal smell on Zhou Dashi and suspected the disappearances were connected to someone rather than wild monsters.
• Lin En and Ronava accepted the job and planned to search the mountain the next morning.