Chapter Summaries

After returning from an infinite stage-clearing world, Jiang Nuo joined the horror variety show “Weird and Strange Adventure” to search for the final missing piece of his soul. As the show announced its cast and drew backlash online, Jiang Nuo stayed cheerfully unfazed and prepared to film.

• Jiang Nuo accepted the variety show offer after remembering his return and the system Lingduan’s claim that the show could help him find his missing soul fragment.
• Cui Ming brought Jiang Nuo his contract and warned that the show had cast him as a sacrificial lamb who might be cut after two episodes.
• Jiang Nuo reassured Cui Ming that he would keep them from losing their jobs, while privately considering how to deal with the real ghosts on the show.
• The official Weibo account announced the first episode’s guests and next day’s livestream, prompting netizens to criticize Jiang Nuo and his past blunt remarks.
• Jiang Nuo laughed at the online insults instead of feeling upset, and Cui Ming resigned himself to packing for the shoot.

Jiang Nuo joined the guests at an ancient mansion for a candlelit adventure challenge, where he sensed ghosts and quietly absorbed spiritual energy from Si Yan. As the group began searching the mansion, Jiang Nuo noticed Si Yan reacted oddly to the frightening setting and asked whether he was scared.

• Jiang Nuo arrived at the mansion early, met the six other guests, and entered with them carrying a lit candle.
• Jiang Nuo sensed ghostly energy in the courtyard and warned Shi Lezhi near a resentment-filled dry well, startling him.
• The guests entered a dark room filled with damaged paintings and began looking for clues to open a door.
• Jiang Nuo noticed a yin-yang door and Si Yan moved close to him, seeming to confirm that the coldness around him had eased.
• Jiang Nuo observed Si Yan's reactions to the fake NPCs and asked him whether he was scared.

Jiang Nuo protected Si Yan as the guests entered a colder room where Tian Dong heard a woman crying and a ghostly figure appeared behind the curtains. When Tian Dong put down the red bridal veil, the crying and figure vanished, leaving embroidered shoes beside the bed.

• Jiang Nuo reassured Si Yan and absorbed a small amount of spiritual energy while the two grew closer.
• Yang Xiaoxiao found a key in an old painting, and Shi Lezhi used it to open the yin gate as Tian Dong took the red bridal veil with him.
• The guests entered a chilling room where the candle flames flickered, and Tian Dong asked Si Yan about the veil while Jiang Nuo shielded Si Yan from him.
• Tian Dong heard a woman sobbing, and a figure appeared behind the suddenly clean bed curtains as candles flared to life.
• Jiang Nuo warned Tian Dong to hold on to the veil, but Tian Dong set it down, causing the sobbing and figure to disappear and embroidered shoes to appear beside the bed.

The production team lost track of the seven guests and their camera operators inside the old mansion as online rumors sparked an uproar. In a room with a puppet bride, Tian Dong was forced through a wedding ritual before Jiang Nuo dismantled the puppet, revealing a dried human heart; then a hidden door opened.

• The production team searched the mansion and its camera feeds for the missing guests while a Weibo tip about their disappearance spread online.
• Jiang Nuo found a puppet bride beneath the curtain, put the embroidered shoes on it, and told Tian Dong to put its red veil back on its head.
• Tian Dong rejected Jiang Nuo’s warning and threw the veil aside, causing the puppet bride to attack and force him through three kneelings and nine kowtows.
• After the wedding bows, Jiang Nuo rescued Tian Dong and dismantled the puppet, revealing a dried human heart inside its hollow body.
• A hidden door behind an old painting swung open.

Jiang Nuo and the others entered a freezing passage that ended at a brick wall, where Jiang Nuo sensed an old corpse behind the bricks. As Shi Lezhi and two others pushed the wall, an unseen force seized Shi Lezhi and dragged him through it, leaving the group in shock and demanding that Jiang Nuo save him.

• Si Yan rejected Jiang Nuo's hand because he thought it was dirty, then took it after Jiang Nuo wiped it clean.
• The group found the passage blocked by a red-brick wall, and Jiang Nuo said it was hollow with a corpse inside.
• Shi Lezhi dismissed Jiang Nuo's warning and pushed the wall with Tian Dong and Yun Kang.
• A strange force grabbed Shi Lezhi by the throat and dragged him through the wall, breaking the bricks and scattering the corpse inside.
• Tian Dong demanded that Jiang Nuo rescue Shi Lezhi as Yang Xiaoxiao and the others watched in fear.

Jiang Nuo entered the passage to rescue Shi Lezhi and discovered that Shi’s murdered pregnant girlfriend had become a vengeful ghost. A wedding-dress ghost appeared, absorbed the girlfriend’s resentment, and turned her attention toward Jiang Nuo.

• Jiang Nuo left Si Yan and hurried through the red wall to find Shi Lezhi.
• Shi Lezhi’s girlfriend accused him of stabbing her to death when she became pregnant and of dragging her body to the basement.
• Jiang Nuo asked the others whether Shi deserved saving, but the girlfriend ghost lunged at Shi and he begged Jiang Nuo for help.
• Jiang Nuo pointed out a wedding-dress ghost standing nearby, and the girlfriend ghost challenged her.
• The wedding-dress ghost easily seized the girlfriend ghost, absorbed her resentment, and made her disappear before fixing her gaze on Jiang Nuo.

Jiang Nuo defeated the bridal ghost, then drank Si Yan’s blood to stabilize his soul and ease Si Yan’s injuries. Si Yan confirmed that Jiang Nuo was the person from his dreams, while Jiang Nuo warned him to keep their secret as they left together.

• Jiang Nuo fought the bridal ghost, drove her out of the camera’s view, and returned with a severed puppet limb as proof that she was a moving puppet.
• Yang Xiaoxiao asked how they would leave with Shi Lezhi injured, and Jiang Nuo told the group to drag him along because he was still alive.
• Jiang Nuo noticed Si Yan’s bleeding arm, cleaned the wound, and drank his blood to stabilize his soul.
• Si Yan confirmed that Jiang Nuo was the person his dreams had guided him toward and that Jiang Nuo could relieve his suffering and change his fate.
• Jiang Nuo healed Si Yan’s wound, gave him candy, and warned him to keep what happened secret as they walked out together.

Jiang Nuo led the guests through the mansion’s shifting passages and explained that they had entered its yin grounds after Tian Dong took the red bridal veil, though he immediately claimed he was joking. He left the group for the eastern courtyard with Si Yan, while the others followed and encountered another astonishing sight.

• Jiang Nuo and Si Yan led the guests through a red-brick wall that opened into the mansion’s back-courtyard pavilion.
• Jiang Nuo revealed a painting showing the guests, camera operators, and bridal ghost inside the cavern, and said their mission was not finished.
• Tian Dong panicked and demanded that filming stop, while Yun Kang asked Jiang Nuo what was happening.
• Jiang Nuo blamed Tian Dong’s theft of the bridal veil for enlarging the yin door, then said he had been joking.
• Jiang Nuo took Si Yan toward the eastern courtyard, and Yang Xiaoxiao and Xu Jing hurried after them.

Jiang Nuo led the others through a haunted wedding ritual, then stayed behind to destroy the paper effigies and confront the bride ghost. As the mansion began to collapse, the bride ghost attacked him, blaming him for breaking her yin dwelling.

• Jiang Nuo realized two people had to play the newlyweds, but refused to pair with Si Yan, so Xu Jing and Yun Kang took the roles.
• Jiang Nuo stopped Xu Jing from bowing during the ceremony, and the guests witnessed a vision of the bride ghost's wedding from centuries earlier.
• Jiang Nuo sent the others outside, then was trapped inside when the doors slammed shut; Si Yan left the group through a corner.
• Jiang Nuo destroyed the paper effigies, absorbing their ghost qi as the bride ghost appeared in the portrait and warned that he would die.
• The mansion shook and began to break apart, prompting the bride ghost to accuse Jiang Nuo of breaking her yin dwelling and attack him.
• Jiang Nuo dodged the bride ghost's strike and blasted her vital point with ghost qi.

Jiang Nuo destroyed the ghost bride and escaped the collapsing yin residence with the others, rescuing Si Yan along the way. Back outside, he carried the unconscious Si Yan toward his assistants as the crew rushed to reunite with them.

• Jiang Nuo defeated the ghost bride as the yin residence collapsed, and she crumbled into dust when the room vanished.
• Jiang Nuo realized Si Yan was missing and led the group toward the exit, where he found Si Yan trapped by three ghosts.
• Jiang Nuo used silver threads to dispel the ghosts, steadied Si Yan, and carried him after Si Yan passed out.
• Jiang Nuo directed the camera operators and guests to push open the yang gate, and they tumbled back into the original room.
• Jiang Nuo carried Si Yan outside into the sunlight, and Si Yan's breathing changed as if he were waking while his assistants approached.

After the haunted-house filming, Jiang Nuo learned that Si Yan was the target of his new system quest: protecting the tragic villain and changing his ending. He returned home with a regular spot on the variety show and began considering how to protect Si Yan, whose strange constitution and secrets intrigued him.

• Si Yan took Jiang Nuo's hand in front of the reporters, then left with his assistants after claiming he felt dizzy; Jiang Nuo learned Si Yan was known for constant minor problems despite seeming to have powerful spiritual protection.
• Jiang Nuo told the reporters to promote science and avoided confirming whether the ghosts had been real.
• Cui Ming told Jiang Nuo that the director had made him a regular on the show and the company had provided a new car; Jiang Nuo admitted the supernatural events were real, but Cui Ming assumed the production team had staged them.
• System No. 0732 introduced itself and assigned Jiang Nuo the main quest of protecting Si Yan and changing his tragic ending, while withholding the protagonist's identity.
• Cui Ming told Jiang Nuo to play up his spiritual-charlatan persona on the show, and Jiang Nuo agreed before ordering fried chicken and thinking about how to protect Si Yan.

Jiang Nuo agreed to promote a CP with Si Yan on a variety show, gaining three endorsement deals and a chance to stay close to him. After their lunch, Jiang Nuo suspected Si Yan’s suppressed spiritual energy was causing his coldness and misfortune, and wondered whether absorbing it could help them both.

• Cui Ming woke Jiang Nuo and told him Si Yan had requested a CP promotion, with lunch arranged at Feather Color.
• Jiang Nuo met Si Yan and Yang Hong at the restaurant, where Si Yan held his hand to draw warmth from him.
• Yang Hong offered Jiang Nuo three endorsement deals if he would partner with Si Yan and protect him on the show, and Jiang Nuo signed the contract.
• Jiang Nuo and Si Yan agreed to work together, while their managers worried over the pair’s unexpected closeness.
• Jiang Nuo reposted the production team’s livestream announcement and privately reasoned that Si Yan’s spiritual energy might be harming him.

During the variety show's livestream, Jiang Nuo joked about his supernatural abilities while Si Yan defended him from hostile comments, and their interaction sent a shipping tag trending. A call-in from director Liu Ze then revealed that his daughter seemed possessed, leaving Jiang Nuo to hear the desperate request for help.

• Jiang Nuo joined the livestream with Si Yan, Yang Xiaoxiao, and Tian Dong, and Si Yan quietly muted accounts attacking him.
• When Yang Xiaoxiao asked how he had learned his skills, Jiang Nuo claimed an expert had taught him in a dream and warned that people who spread rumors about him would have bad luck.
• Si Yan showed concern for Jiang Nuo, blushed when Jiang Nuo teased him, and helped make the tag #Jiang Nuo always makes Si Yan shy trend.
• During the call-in segment, a man asked Jiang Nuo to save his possessed daughter, while Tian Dong dismissed Jiang Nuo as a fake Taoist priest.
• Jiang Nuo realized the caller was speaking for someone else, and verified account Liu Ze entered the livestream and asked whether Jiang Nuo could save his daughter.
• Jiang Nuo invited Liu Ze to explain what had happened, and Liu Ze began recounting his daughter's situation.

Liu Ze asked Jiang Nuo to help his daughter Liu Lili, who had become withdrawn and repeatedly said, “You must have seen wrong,” after vomiting black blood. Jiang Nuo agreed to visit and livestreamed his arrival at Liu Ze’s home with Si Yan, who joined him despite warning that it was dangerous.

• Liu Ze told Jiang Nuo that Liu Lili had grown withdrawn, repeated the same phrase, entered her parents’ bedroom at night, and vomited black blood.
• Jiang Nuo saw a thick black aura around Liu Ze and accepted the side quest to investigate Liu Lili’s condition.
• Tian Dong challenged Jiang Nuo to livestream the visit, and Liu Ze agreed to let the audience watch.
• Jiang Nuo arranged to visit Liu Ze’s home two days later, and Si Yan messaged that he wanted to accompany him.
• Jiang Nuo began livestreaming from the car, met Si Yan outside Liu Ze’s home, and held his hand before they entered with the butler.

Jiang Nuo visited Liu Ze’s villa to investigate Liu Lili’s strange behavior and discovered drawings that appeared to show her descending a staircase in a study room. When Liu Lili revealed herself as a vengeful spirit, Jiang Nuo subdued her, leaving Si Yan relieved to be on his side.

• Jiang Nuo entered Liu Ze’s villa and noticed a heavy aura of resentment around Liu Lili.
• Jiang Nuo asked about Liu Lili’s routine and arranged to speak with her alone while Liu Ze checked on his wife.
• Liu Lili let Jiang Nuo see her drawings, which showed her moving down a staircase past what Si Yan guessed were bookshelves in a study room.
• Liu Lili warned Si Yan that he had seen it wrong, then erupted in anger when Jiang Nuo and the others failed to take her seriously.
• Jiang Nuo flung the drawing board into Liu Lili’s face, suppressing her aura and calming her down.
• Si Yan moved close to Jiang Nuo, relieved that they were on the same side.

Jiang Nuo, Si Yan, Liu Lili, and the cameraman entered a hidden study room, where a ghostly presence and a concealed passage drew them through a bookshelf. The livestream cut out, and Jiang Nuo checked Si Yan after the passage left him pale and unwell.

• Liu Lili led Jiang Nuo, Si Yan, and the cameraman through alleys to a dilapidated building she called a study room.
• Liu Lili read a blank storybook, and Jiang Nuo warned the cameraman not to answer her question.
• Liu Lili spoke to an empty seat, then led the group toward the bookshelves as dark mist filled the room.
• Liu Lili entered a bookshelf, and a powerful pull dragged Si Yan and the others into a white space as the livestream lost its signal.
• Jiang Nuo steadied the pale Si Yan and checked his pulse after Si Yan said he felt awful.

Jiang Nuo drove the vengeful ghost out of Liu Lili and destroyed the earthbound spirit after it tried to attack Si Yan. He left Si Yan safe, reassured him, and quietly drew more spiritual energy from him.

• Jiang Nuo explained that an earthbound spirit had absorbed resentment and trapped them in an illusion while following Liu Lili.
• Jiang Nuo placed a talisman on Liu Lili, forced the vengeful ghost to emerge, and fought off its many resentful forms while Si Yan protected her and the cameraman.
• Jiang Nuo revealed the earthbound spirit as a student and forced him to dispel the illusion, returning them to the storeroom.
• The earthbound spirit lunged at Si Yan, but Jiang Nuo seized him and burned him out of existence.
• Jiang Nuo checked on Si Yan, reassured him, and absorbed more of his spiritual energy as the cameraman stayed silent.

Jiang Nuo restored Liu Lili’s soul and helped the police investigate a body at the warehouse, while his interactions with Si Yan fueled online shipping wars. The next installment of Weird and Strange Adventure was announced at South Wind Manor, with Lin Yu joining Jiang Nuo and Si Yan.

• Jiang Nuo burned Liu Lili’s drawing from the storybook, restoring her complexion and completing a side mission while advancing the main mission, “The Villain’s Secret.”
• Liu Ze arrived with the police, thanked Jiang Nuo and Si Yan for saving Liu Lili, and Jiang Nuo told the officers where to find a body beneath a bookshelf.
• Liu Ze praised Jiang Nuo on Weibo, and Jiang Nuo tagged Si Yan; their comments fueled shipping hashtags and arguments between fans of Jiang Nuo and Lin Yu.
• Lin Yu saw the trending topics and learned that Si Yan and Jiang Nuo had been getting along well, then made a call after his assistant left.
• Weird and Strange Adventure announced its second episode at South Wind Manor, revealing that Lin Yu would join Si Yan, Jiang Nuo, and the other guests.

Jiang Nuo sold Si Yan protective charms before they reunited at the infamous South Wind Mountain Villa for the next episode of Weird and Strange Adventure. At the villa, Si Yan rejected Lin Yu and stayed close to Jiang Nuo as the guests gathered for the broadcast.

• Jiang Nuo visited the weakened Si Yan and offered to sell him protective charms for a hundred thousand, which Si Yan agreed to pay.
• Jiang Nuo left extra talismans with Si Yan and told him to rest before they met again on the show.
• The livestream opened at South Wind Mountain Villa, where the six guests arrived together and Si Yan followed Jiang Nuo closely.
• Lin Yu greeted Si Yan, but Si Yan said he did not know him and stepped behind Jiang Nuo.
• Jiang Nuo shook Lin Yu's hand and felt instinctively averse to him, then took Si Yan's hand and cheered him up.
• Yang Xiaoxiao greeted the group and went to meet Chu Xiu before the production team made an announcement.

At Nanfeng Mountain Manor, Jiang Nuo and the other guests solved the first room’s family-photo puzzle, then Jiang Nuo sensed a hidden source of yin energy and resentment in the wall. He uncovered something concealed behind the plaster, leaving the group’s investigation unfinished.

• The six guests entered the Shared Courtyard and found a family photograph, a control stand, and ceramic dolls bearing cryptic statements.
• Jiang Nuo suggested that each doll matched a person in the photograph, and the guests arranged all six dolls on the stand to open a box containing a note and the exit code.
• After Tian Dong read a note about a missing child and blamed someone still in the house, Jiang Nuo sensed yin energy and searched a wall corner.
• When Tian Dong impatiently criticized him, Jiang Nuo threw a ceramic doll past Tian Dong and told him he was noisy.
• Si Yan soothed Jiang Nuo, who continued searching until a patch of plaster fell away and revealed something hidden inside the wall.