Chapter Summaries

Qi Cang overcame his blood craving with the doll and clothes Si Yan placed on him, while the little girl appeared and demanded the group drive the wizards’ descendants and the demon out of town. After Qi Cang described his battle with the demon, Jiang Nuo led the others toward the church bell tower, but they found Su Yi’s corpse in Mikazuki Shunsuke’s room.

• Si Yan draped the doll and clothes over Qi Cang, and the items merged into him as his craving and demonic power settled.
• The little girl told the group to drive the wizards’ descendants and the demon out of town, then vanished after Jiang Nuo and Si Yan tried to question her.
• Qi Cang explained that Su Yi had been possessed by a powerful demon, which he fought and wounded before it escaped.
• Jiang Nuo decided to go to the church bell tower, and Si Yan said he and Jiang Nuo had sealed and barred the connected space there.
• The group found Su Yi’s decayed corpse in Mikazuki Shunsuke’s room, and Qi Lin mourned his friend.

Jiang Nuo and the others destroyed the remaining statues in the church, weakening the force imprisoning the Dragon Vein. After a mysterious symbol appeared and they burned the church, they headed to the library to find Tang Mu and take the book.

• Jiang Nuo, Si Yan, Qi Lin, and Qi Cang found the sealing barrier in the church's bell tower close to breaking and destroyed the statues inside.
• Jiang Nuo used his red cord and Spiritual Power to shatter the last eight statues at once, then Si Yan replenished his strength through a kiss.
• Qi Cang kissed Qi Lin after seeing Jiang Nuo and Si Yan embrace.
• Si Yan sensed the Dragon Vein growing stronger, and the group discovered an unfamiliar symbol on the wall.
• Jiang Nuo set the church on fire, and the group left for the library to look for Tang Mu and take the book.

Si Yan and Jiang Nuo uncovered the Divine Tree and awakened the suffering Dragon Vein, while Jiang Nuo realized a system monster BOSS might be behind the town’s rules. At the library, the group forced Tang Mu to reveal that his giant book recorded events, and Jiang Nuo found a familiar face among its earlier pages.

• Si Yan followed the Dragon Tail Dagger to the Divine Tree and went into the pit with Jiang Nuo to investigate it.
• The Dragon Tail Dagger cut down the tree’s top heart, then embedded itself in the trunk and shattered the Divine Tree, revealing the Dragon Vein.
• The Dragon Vein’s roar made everyone feel its pain, and Si Yan said it was asking the people of Hua Country for help.
• Jiang Nuo asked 0732 whether monster BOSSES could enter this world and learned that they could, then led the group to the library.
• Jiang Nuo and the others seized Tang Mu and examined his giant red book, learning that it recorded events rather than prophesying them.
• Jiang Nuo found a somewhat familiar face on one of the book’s first pages.

Jiang Nuo realized the demon had turned the town into a game, trapping its inhabitants as NPCs, and the demon’s book triggered a solo mission that separated him from Si Yan. Inside the shifting library, Jiang Nuo confronted the demon, which believed it could keep returning after death.

• Jiang Nuo pieced together that the demon had made the town into a game and that its inhabitants repeatedly returned as NPCs when the town reset.
• The red book displayed “It is your turn,” and a barrier separated Jiang Nuo from Si Yan as Jiang Nuo entered a solo mission.
• Jiang Nuo reassured Si Yan and explored the library while strange symbols appeared and the bookshelves shifted to trap him.
• Jiang Nuo found a portrait of the demon’s true form and asked 0732 why it had allowed the monster to appear in this world; 0732 refused to explain and awarded him 3,000 points.
• Jiang Nuo burned the bookshelves around the portrait, forcing the demon to emerge, and learned it expected him to complete its mission under the game’s rules.
• The demon claimed it was the eternal demon king and could come back to life, while Jiang Nuo realized it believed the town would reset after the players left.

Jiang Nuo confronted the demon in the library, learned it had made the town’s people immortal, and failed to kill it before it expelled him. After Si Yan decoded the symbols as an incomplete name, Jiang Nuo ordered the group to go to the inn and blow it up.

• Jiang Nuo questioned the demon about the town and learned it had made the people immortal and established the rules.
• Jiang Nuo attacked the demon with a pig-butchering knife, but the demon expelled him from the library.
• Si Yan caught Jiang Nuo, and the group discussed finding the rules and method needed to kill the demon.
• Jiang Nuo explained that the town and the people beneath the church were not real, but part of the mission.
• Jiang Nuo wrote down the symbols, and Si Yan identified them as an incomplete name in a lost ancient Greek wizard language.
• Jiang Nuo told the group to go to the inn and blow it up.

Jiang Nuo and the others blew up the inn to uncover the coffins buried beneath it, then found a black coffin belonging to the wizard. The little girl tried to stop them and sent a message toward the church, but Jiang Nuo prepared to pry the coffin open.

• The gardener, Tang Mu, and the little girl discussed completing a sacrifice, but the little girl said she had changed her mind.
• The Half-Corpse Soul distracted the ghosts inside the inn while Jiang Nuo and his companions planted bombs around it and blew it apart.
• Jiang Nuo ordered the group to dig up the coffins, and they restrained the little girl, the gardener, and Tang Mu.
• Jiang Nuo found a black coffin buried deep beneath the inn, and the little girl identified it as the wizard's coffin and begged him not to expose it.
• The little girl shouted toward the church, and Jiang Nuo picked up a wooden stick to pry open the coffin.

Jiang Nuo and Si Yan opened the coffin and awakened the wizard, who destroyed the doll girl and the Reapers. The demon emerged from the library, and the four began fighting it, with Jiang Nuo disappearing from its sight.

• Jiang Nuo and Si Yan opened the coffin despite the little girl's protests and found the intact wizard inside.
• The little girl tried to complete a sacrifice with dolls resembling Jiang Nuo and the others, but Qi Cang destroyed the plank and exposed her plan.
• Jiang Nuo awakened the wizard, who raised his wand and made the little girl and the Reapers vanish, leaving puppet dolls behind.
• The wizard began to dissipate, and the demon emerged from the collapsing library and threatened to make the next reset harder.
• Jiang Nuo, Si Yan, Qi Cang, and Qi Lin attacked the demon together, while Jiang Nuo vanished from its sight.

Jiang Nuo, Si Yan, Qi Lin, and Qi Cang defeated the demon and restored the Dragon Vein, allowing the town’s trapped souls to return. Si Yan separated Jiang Nuo’s Love Soul from himself and returned it to Jiang Nuo, and the group left the revived town after learning that An Yin and the remaining demonic monsters had been eliminated.

• Jiang Nuo, Si Yan, and Qi Cang killed the demon, freeing the Dragon Vein and bringing the town back to life.
• Si Yan followed the golden dragon’s phantom to the underground cage and opened the spiritual source, releasing the townspeople’s protected souls.
• Si Yan entered the spiritual source to separate Jiang Nuo’s Love Soul, and Jiang Nuo was summoned inside as the separation succeeded.
• Si Yan and Jiang Nuo woke and returned outside the spiritual source, where Si Yan reassured Jiang Nuo that he still loved him without his Love Soul.
• Jiang Nuo, Si Yan, Qi Lin, and Qi Cang returned to the restored town as its townspeople awakened.
• Jiang Nuo learned from 0732 that the world’s breaches had been repaired and An Yin and the remaining demonic monsters had been eliminated.

After the Love Soul returned, Jiang Nuo began crying uncontrollably despite not knowing why he felt sad. Si Yan comforted him at home, and as Jiang Nuo finally fell asleep in his arms, Si Yan worried about the effect on his health and planned to ask Grandpa for help.

• Cui Ming scolded Jiang Nuo for risking his life, then panicked when Jiang Nuo started crying and made him crispy pork bites.
• Jiang Nuo asked 0732 whether his sudden tears were caused by the Love Soul's return, and 0732 confirmed it.
• On the seventh day after returning from the town, Jiang Nuo cried while watching Si Yan's tragic film and told Si Yan he had come home late.
• Si Yan comforted Jiang Nuo, ordered fried chicken, and held him while they watched a happier film.
• Jiang Nuo's emotions settled as he rested in Si Yan's arms, and Si Yan decided to ask Grandpa whether anything could be done about the symptoms.

Si Yan considered turning down a Hollywood role and retiring from acting so he could stay with the emotionally clingy Jiang Nuo. After Yang Hong left in anger, Si Yan reassured Jiang Nuo and joked that he would rely on his wife for support.

• Yang Hong told Si Yan that his Hollywood film role was confirmed and that he needed to leave the country that day.
• Jiang Nuo woke up crying and pleaded with Si Yan not to leave or go abroad without him.
• Si Yan decided to stay with Jiang Nuo and told Yang Hong he had been considering retiring from acting.
• Jiang Nuo asked 0732 how to control his emotional swings, and 0732 suggested staying with someone close to him.
• Yang Hong left after speaking privately with Si Yan, who told Jiang Nuo that her anger had nothing to do with him and joked about relying on him for support.

Jiang Nuo worried that Si Yan might leave him to take over the Dao Xuan Association, but Si Yan promised to stay by his side for now. Over lunch, Jiang Nuo accepted an acting role and learned that Xu Jin had chosen him as a spokesperson, then asked Si Yan to order spicy food for their date night.

• Jiang Nuo asked Si Yan not to retire from acting, and Si Yan explained that he would eventually need to take over the Dao Xuan Association.
• After Yang Hong warned that fans might blame Jiang Nuo if Si Yan retired, Jiang Nuo threatened to lock Si Yan away if he left, and Si Yan promised to stay.
• Cui Ming told Jiang Nuo that a director had offered him a short drama role as a ghost-catching celestial master, and Jiang Nuo accepted the pay per episode.
• Cui Ming revealed that Xu Jin had chosen Jiang Nuo as the first spokesperson for a major clothing brand after her successful comeback.
• After Cui Ming left, Jiang Nuo asked Si Yan for extra-spicy food from the restaurant they had visited on their date, and Si Yan agreed.

Jiang Nuo found that a batch of antiques from Old Stockade Gate carried deadly resentment from a vengeful ghost’s tomb, then exposed the source of a market seller’s nightmares. When Wang Laoliu’s death confirmed the danger, streamer Zhang Gou confronted Jiang Nuo, who ended up in Si Yan’s arms as the crowd looked on.

• Jiang Nuo examined a chipped jade clasp at an older woman’s stall and learned that Wang Laoliu had brought it and other antiques from Old Stockade Gate.
• Jiang Nuo told the woman that her son had driven a girl to suicide and that her ghost was seeking an apology, then gave her talismans and advised her son to apologize in person.
• Jiang Nuo and Si Yan found heavily resentful antiques at several stalls, and Jiang Nuo warned the shopkeepers that the goods came from a vengeful ghost’s tomb and could kill people.
• A shopkeeper learned that Wang Laoliu had died suddenly the previous night, alarming the market sellers and customers.
• Zhang Gou pushed through the crowd, accused Jiang Nuo of spreading superstition, and gained viewers by featuring him on his livestream.
• Jiang Nuo threw a ceramic jar at Zhang Gou, then hid in Si Yan’s arms to avoid crying as Zhang Gou continued arguing and the onlookers stared at him like a fool.

The police and Wang Laoliu’s wife asked Jiang Nuo to examine Wang Laoliu’s bizarre corpse, which appeared to have been drained of blood and moisture. Jiang Nuo agreed to go, while Zhang Gou followed in the police car to keep livestreaming.

• Zhang Gou rejected the shopkeepers’ belief in ghosts, insulted Jiang Nuo, and was thrown out before charging back inside to challenge him on camera.
• A woman in red arrived with police officers, and Jiang Nuo struck Zhang Gou with an antique fragment after he tried to film them.
• The officers explained that Wang Laoliu had died of fright and that his black, stiff corpse had an unusually soft, swollen abdomen.
• Wang Laoliu’s wife pleaded with Jiang Nuo to help, and Jiang Nuo agreed to examine the corpse after leaving his collected treasures with the tattooed shopkeeper.
• Zhang Gou insisted on coming along and rode in the police car as the market vendors searched for his livestream and worried about goods they had bought from Wang Laoliu.

Jiang Nuo and Si Yan investigated Wang Laoliu’s grotesquely altered corpse and discovered black qi inside it. Following a sinister presence to the study, they saved the villa’s housekeeper and found that the collection room was filled with resentful energy.

• Jiang Nuo examined Wang Laoliu’s corpse and found black qi and a pattern beneath the skin, then cut it open and collected the black qi in a porcelain bottle.
• A sinister gust slammed a door shut, and Si Yan followed the aura while Jiang Nuo went after him; the police decided to follow them and transfer the case to the association.
• Si Yan found the housekeeper in the study with resentful energy clinging to her, and Jiang Nuo used a talisman and a police officer’s blood to drive black qi from her body.
• The housekeeper identified the room as Mr. Wang’s collection room and said she had felt unwell after cleaning there.
• Jiang Nuo sensed cold, resentful energy inside the collection room and told the police to enter first, claiming they had strong yang energy.

Jiang Nuo and Si Yan discovered that Wang Laoliu had raised a little ghost with human blood, but a vengeful ghost’s resentment had actually killed him. As the police began investigating both ghosts, Jiang Nuo sensed that the housekeeper was about to die, and everyone rushed downstairs.

• Jiang Nuo revealed that resentment had made the porcelain doll appear black and found half of a talisman stuck to its head.
• Madam Wang retrieved the other half of the talisman, and Jiang Nuo discovered it was used to nourish the little ghost with human blood.
• Jiang Nuo explained that the little ghost had not killed Wang Laoliu; resentment from goods brought out of Old Stockade Gate had caused his death, with the little ghost acting as a catalyst.
• Si Yan received orders from his grandfather to investigate the porcelain doll little ghost and the vengeful ghost’s grave.
• Jiang Nuo sensed that the housekeeper was about to die, so the officers hurried downstairs while Jiang Nuo and Si Yan shared a kiss.

Jiang Nuo and Si Yan contained the resentful spirit that had possessed the nanny, while a ghostly hand attacked a forensic examiner in the room. After Madam Wang fled with the little ghost, the nanny revealed that the Wangs had used infant fetuses to change their luck.

• Jiang Nuo instructed the police captain to smear blood on the nanny’s forehead, then used Spiritual Power to restrain her as a resentful spirit emerged and Jiang Nuo trapped it in a jade porcelain bottle.
• A ghostly hand dragged a forensic examiner behind a curtain, but Jiang Nuo drove it off with Spiritual Power.
• Jiang Nuo realized Madam Wang had left with the little ghost, and the officers went after her.
• The nanny regained consciousness and told Jiang Nuo that Mr. Wang and Madam Wang had used infant fetuses to change their luck.

Jiang Nuo forced Madam Wang to confess how she and Wang Laoliu used a ghost fetus and murdered Sister Liu and her baby to alter their luck. The police took control of Madam Wang while Jiang Nuo and Si Yan planned to ask Grandpa about Jiang Nuo’s uncontrollable tears.

• Jiang Nuo brought Madam Wang into the nanny’s room and confronted her with Sister Liu’s ghost.
• Madam Wang confessed that Wang Laoliu learned a Luck-Altering Technique and they fed infants to a ghost fetus to steal their families’ luck.
• Madam Wang admitted that Wang Laoliu ate Sister Liu’s baby after learning the family had won the lottery, and that they drowned Sister Liu to keep her quiet.
• Sister Liu’s ghost attacked Madam Wang, but Jiang Nuo restrained the ghost and left Madam Wang for the police to sentence.
• Jiang Nuo told Si Yan that his returned love soul made him cry uncontrollably, and they decided to visit Grandpa the next day for help.

Jiang Nuo and Si Yan questioned Madam Wang and learned that Simazi supplied Wang Laoliu with haunted goods, so they arranged to meet him at Old Stockade Gate. After the female ghost attacked Madam Wang and Si Yan dispersed her, Jiang Nuo and Si Yan left to prepare for the next week’s meeting, with Si Yan jealous of Jiang Nuo’s attention to Song Zheng.

• Madam Wang told Si Yan that Wang Laoliu learned the Luck-Altering Technique from a sorcerer whose son, Simazi, ran a coffin shop and supplied their goods from Old Stockade Gate.
• Jiang Nuo had Madam Wang text Simazi, who agreed to let new workers collect goods next Wednesday but refused to let an expert inspect them.
• Jiang Nuo recruited Song Zheng to accompany them, while Si Yan asked the female ghost whether she was satisfied with Madam Wang’s punishment.
• The female ghost attacked Madam Wang, but Si Yan stopped her, handed Madam Wang to the police, and dispersed the ghost after her resentment faded.
• Jiang Nuo made Zhang Gou fall down the stairs, then left with Si Yan, who complained that Jiang Nuo had called Song Zheng handsome before kissing him in the car.

Jiang Nuo finished a fashion shoot and set off with Si Yan and Song Zheng for Old Stockade Gate, where a five-year-old investigation into three deaths had become a cold case. They arrived in the quiet old town, whose residents strictly avoided talk of ghosts and gods.

• Jiang Nuo met Xu Jin at the studio and completed a successful shoot in her distinctive designs.
• Cui Ming told Xu Jin that a new livestream variety show was copying Great Adventure’s haunted-house format and trying to promote another idol as the next Jiang Nuo.
• Si Yan arrived with Song Zheng, and Jiang Nuo reunited with him before they left for Old Stockade Gate.
• Si Yan explained that three people had died during an archaeological project at Old Stockade Gate five years earlier, but investigators found no ghosts and never identified a murderer.
• Jiang Nuo, Si Yan, and Song Zheng reached Old Stockade Gate, where Si Yan said the residents’ customs had no known connection to ghosts and that talk of them was taboo.

Song Zheng, Jiang Nuo, and Si Yan reached Simazi’s coffin shop and posed as workers sent by Wang Laoliu to collect goods. After Simazi confined them to a room and warned them not to touch the coffins or go out at night, Jiang Nuo decided they would investigate the courtyard after midnight.

• Song Zheng learned that townspeople avoided Simazi’s family because deaths had repeatedly followed each new generation’s takeover of the coffin shop.
• Song Zheng, Jiang Nuo, and Si Yan arrived at the remote coffin shop, where A Wu greeted them and Jiang Nuo noticed the birthmark covering half his face.
• Song Zheng told Simazi that Wang Laoliu had been in a car accident and that they had come to collect the new goods; Simazi said the goods were still on the mountain and ordered them to stay overnight without touching the coffins.
• A Wu led the three through a courtyard full of coffins and paper figures to the damp room where Wang Laoliu and Madam Wang had stayed.
• Jiang Nuo stopped Simazi from locking them inside by asking for water, then told Si Yan and Song Zheng that they would investigate the courtyard after midnight.