Chapter Summaries

Li Jun and the team entered the village that had replaced their planned route to the Ghost Messenger and decided to search for the Ghost Coffin instead of retreating. As they advanced through the eerily quiet village, they found several apparently dormant ghosts inside houses and continued toward the coffin.

• Su Fan proposed entering the village, arguing that the Ghost Messenger might already be suppressed and that the village could be the safest route out.
• Li Jun agreed to lead the five Ghost Tamers into the village to find and imprison the Ghost Coffin.
• At the first house, Li Jun recognized the Ghost Rope hanging a corpse, but it remained calm beside another possible ghost.
• At the third house, the team saw a rotting corpse sitting backward in a chair and realized several houses contained ghosts that appeared suppressed.
• Li Jun told the team to keep moving toward the Ghost Coffin, which the files placed in a house farther along the village road.

Yang Jian waited for the operation to detain the Ghost Messenger and learned from a paper-man version of Liu San that the Ghost Messenger’s Ghost Domain had become Huanggang Village, where dangerous ghosts lurked in the houses. Liu San’s team could not locate the Ghost Messenger, leaving Yang Jian to consider how he might help them find it.

• Yang Jian monitored the operation from a rooftop, then met Liu San, who asked him about the Ghost Coffin and the Ghost Messenger.
• Liu San told Yang Jian that he, Li Jun, Su Fan, and A Hong had entered Huanggang Village, where houses contained vicious ghosts and the Ghost Messenger was believed to be hiding.
• Yang Jian said he did not know where the Ghost Messenger was after the team had already searched the house that once held the Ghost Coffin.
• Yang Jian warned Liu San not to focus only on the Ghost Messenger, and Liu San left; Yang Jian realized the man was a paper figure rather than the real Liu San.
• Inside Huanggang Village, Li Jun and Liu San discussed the danger of searching its many houses while Li Jun studied a map showing the uneasy boundary between the Ghost Messenger’s domain and the Ghost Painting’s roads.
• Yang Jian pondered how to help the team pinpoint the Ghost Messenger, since searching every house would be too dangerous and time-consuming.

The Circle of Friends monitored Yang Jian while Li Jun’s team searched ghost-filled houses inside the Ghost Painting world for the Ghost Messenger. In the seventh house, Liu San found battered paper effigies that looked like him and realized he had been there before, perhaps more than once.

• Fang Shiming postponed the Circle of Friends’ plan to kill Yang Jian until Yang Jian was caught in a supernatural incident.
• Li Jun led his team into a dark three-story house despite his worsening condition and the danger of ghost revival.
• Su Fan’s phone game indicated that the ghost was on the second floor, so Liu San went ahead to investigate.
• Liu San found ash-covered footprints leading to a room and discovered a pile of damaged paper effigies that all looked like him.
• Liu San recognized that he had made the effigies and realized he had visited the house before.

Li Jun and the others found five of Liu San’s dead paper effigies in a house, suggesting he had been killed there in forgotten encounters. As they searched a second room for the footsteps they heard, an old man’s portrait fell to the floor, revealing a sinister smile and illegible writing.

• Liu San counted five paper effigies bearing his appearance and wondered whether the team had repeatedly entered the house and been reset.
• Su Fan urged the group to withdraw, but Li Jun chose to continue searching for the Ghost Messenger because the Ghost Domain had been suppressed and the city remained at risk.
• Footsteps came from the second room, and its wooden door creaked halfway open before the sounds stopped.
• Li Jun stopped Liu San from approaching alone, lit the ghost candle, and led the team into the room after noticing the candle burned slowly.
• The team found no ghost among the old furniture and farm tools, but an old man’s portrait fell from the wall, showing a shadowed face with a frightening smile.

Liu San and the others found themselves depicted in a strange memorial portrait, then encountered the old man from it outside the house as the ghost candle began burning rapidly. Outside the Ghost Domain, Yang Jian concluded that Headquarters’ operation was likely failing and left to prepare for what might come.

• Liu San picked up the memorial portrait and wiped away dust, revealing the five members of the team depicted behind the old man.
• Li Jun, Liu San, Su Fan, and the others recognized themselves in the portrait and decided to leave the house with it.
• The team found a motionless old man outside, matching the portrait, while Li Jun’s ghost candle began burning rapidly.
• Yang Jian saw that the Ghost Painting’s Ghost Domain remained in place three hours after Headquarters began its operation and suspected the team had suffered heavy losses.
• Yang Jian decided to leave and make preparations, hoping Wang Xiaoming had a backup plan.

Headquarters’ Ghost Painting operation appeared to succeed when the Ghost Domains vanished and five participants emerged, but Yang Jian discovered signs that they had become ghosts. He blew out a ghost-attracting candle after all five turned toward him, leaving their threat unresolved.

• At Headquarters, staff reported that Li Jun, Liu San, A Hong, Su Fan, and Xu Yiping had lost contact, while Wang Xiaoming said the retreat plan and containment perimeter remained key.
• Zhao Jianguo advised waiting, and Wang Xiaoming urged Shen Liang to monitor the area around the Ghost Domain for anything that might escape.
• Yang Jian left the scene but noticed both Ghost Domains had disappeared and saw five figures, including Li Jun and Liu San, emerging.
• Yang Jian recognized identical holes in the five figures’ palms and suspected they matched wounds from Ghost Painting’s pale hands.
• Yang Jian lit a white ghost candle to test his suspicion, and all five figures stopped and turned toward him; he quickly blew the candle out after realizing they were ghosts.

Yang Jian discovered five figures resembling Li Jun, Liu San, Su Fan, A Hong, and Xu Yiping emerging from the Ghost Domain and heading toward the city. Headquarters concluded that the Ghost Painting and Ghost Messenger Ghost Domains had vanished, suspected the five were connected to Ghost Painting, and ordered a plan to divert them to the haunted house on the outskirts.

• Yang Jian saw five expressionless figures react to his white ghost candle and decided to follow them rather than confront them blindly.
• The five figures walked in synchronized steps toward the city as Yang Jian vanished into a red light to trail them.
• Drones detected and recorded the five figures, sending urgent intelligence to Headquarters.
• Cao Yanhua panicked at the sight of the five figures, while Wang Xiaoming said the disappearance of both Ghost Domains meant the plan to use ghosts to restrain ghosts had succeeded.
• Wang Xiaoming pointed out that the five lacked satellite phones and shared identical hollow wounds, and suggested they might be manifestations of Ghost Painting.
• Cao Yanhua ordered Shen Liang to notify Chen Yi and the others and prepare to lure the five toward the haunted house on the outskirts.

Chen Yi, Zhong Shan, and Guo Fan prepared to divert five unknown ghosts from an S-class supernatural incident away from the city and toward a ghost house. As the ghosts approached, Guo Fan used his spirit tablet ability to draw their attention, transforming until he appeared to be a real ghost.

• Chen Yi, Zhong Shan, and Guo Fan learned that five ghosts were approaching and discussed the risks of leading them to the ghost house.
• Chen Yi argued with Guo Fan over his reluctance, and Zhong Shan intervened before they sensed the ghosts drawing near.
• The three men prepared to stop the ghosts from entering the city, and Zhong Shan observed that they had not formed a Ghost Domain.
• Chen Yi assigned Guo Fan to lure the ghosts because his ability could protect him from being attacked under certain circumstances.
• Guo Fan pulled a blackened spirit tablet from his body, and his appearance changed until he seemed to have become a real ghost.

Guo Fan approached five figures emerging from the Ghost Portrait while using his ability to exchange places with the ghost in his memorial tablet, which was gradually eroding him. When the figures were revealed as fallen Headquarters Ghost Tamers, Guo Fan failed to light the ghost candle, leaving Zhong Shan and Chen Yi alarmed as Yang Jian watched from hiding.

• Guo Fan used his ghost-swapping ability to walk toward the five figures, while the ghost’s injuries faded and wounds appeared on Guo Fan inside the memorial portrait.
• Guo Fan recalled that Yang Jian’s earlier attack at the airport had left him with injuries that neither he nor the ghost could heal.
• Guo Fan, Zhong Shan, and Chen Yi recognized the approaching figures as Li Jun, Liu San, Su Fan, A Hong, and Xu Yiping, and Zhong Shan concluded that they had been wiped out.
• Chen Yi noticed that Guo Fan had not lit the white ghost candle as planned, and Zhong Shan realized Guo Fan might no longer control his ghost.
• Yang Jian watched the group from beneath an unlit streetlamp and wondered why they had approached the dangerous ghosts.

When Guo Fan’s ghost began to resurge, Chen Yi and Zhong Shan improvised a plan to use Ghost Candles to lead it and five other ghosts away. The operation got underway, while Yang Jian watched from a distance and decided not to intervene unless the ghosts threatened the city.

• Guo Fan lost control of his ghost, and Zhong Shan realized he might already be experiencing a resurgence.
• Chen Yi refused to risk trying to save Guo Fan and instead rushed ahead to plant and light a Ghost Candle on him.
• The five ghosts were drawn toward Guo Fan, and Chen Yi explained that a second Ghost Candle could guide Guo Fan’s ghost and the five ghosts behind him.
• Zhong Shan lit the second Ghost Candle and began walking as the guide, with Guo Fan and the five ghosts following in sequence.
• Yang Jian watched the group leave and decided the plan was sufficient as long as the ghosts stayed out of the city.

Zhong Shan successfully lured the ghost away from the city while Headquarters prepared to retrieve the team using the Ghost Door. Wang Xiaoming raised suspicions about Guo Fan’s spirit tablet and warned Cao Yanhua that Zhao Jianguo might have been mentally invaded by a ghost, just as the first opening of the Ghost Door approached.

• Zhong Shan walked down the road with the ghost following behind him, while Headquarters confirmed that Chen Yi’s plan was working and the danger was leaving the city.
• Wang Xiaoming connected Guo Fan’s spirit tablet to the one seen near the ghost coffin in Huanggang Village and said he had wanted to observe an unusual reaction.
• Cao Yanhua, Wang Xiaoming, and Old Qin went to the underground room, where Old Qin began removing the chains from the Ghost Door ahead of its scheduled opening.
• Wang Xiaoming told Cao Yanhua that he suspected Zhao Jianguo had been invaded by a ghost in his mind, possibly connected to the ghost coffin’s loss of control.
• Cao Yanhua turned back to his watch as the time to open the Ghost Door for the first time drew near.

Cao Yanhua and Old Qin opened the Ghost Door in an attempt to bring Li Jun, Su Fan, Liu San, and the others back, but terrifying apparitions emerged instead. The first attempt ended without finding them, while Li Jun’s group remained trapped in an eerie village surrounded by dangerous portraits.

• Cao Yanhua ordered Old Qin to open the Ghost Door for the first time and set a one-minute limit.
• The room darkened as corpse-like fingers, a rotten head resembling Old Qin, and pale feet emerged from the darkness.
• Old Qin tapped his cane and shut the door, forcing the apparitions back without finding Li Jun, Su Fan, Liu San, or the others.
• Cao Yanhua and Wang Xiaoming discussed the danger and the remaining two attempts to open the Ghost Door.
• Inside an eerie village, Li Jun and his group found their retreat blocked by two portraits on a residence’s doors, with dangerous paintings and frames scattered throughout the area.

Li Jun’s team remained trapped in Huanggang Village’s Ghost Domain as Ghost Painting’s influence grew, leaving them two chances to escape through the right door. Outside, Chen Yi approached Guo Fan to replace the nearly burned-out Ghost Candle, entering the ghosts’ dangerous range.

• Li Jun told the team that they had two remaining chances to open the right door and escape, while the next chance would come in ten minutes.
• The team recognized that Ghost Painting was invading the Ghost Messenger’s territory and that the weakening balance would soon put them in greater danger.
• After portraits fell and a shadow-like ghost appeared, Li Jun led the team deeper into the village toward the Ghost Messenger.
• Outside the Ghost Domain, Zhong Shan’s Ghost Candle neared its end, so Chen Yi moved to replace it before the five ghosts following Guo Fan changed.
• Chen Yi entered the Ghost Candle’s range and faced the risk of being attacked by the surrounding ghosts.

Yang Jian learned that the circle of friends planned to kill him during his next supernatural incident, and he asked Li Yao to gather information on its Ghost Tamers. He dismissed her concerns about provoking powerful factions and ended the chapter standing beside the window, hidden in darkness by a headless figure.

• Yang Jian returned to Ping An Hotel after concluding that the Ghost Messenger incident had likely been resolved.
• Li Yao told Yang Jian that the circle of friends intended to eliminate him during his next supernatural incident, though their plans had been delayed by Headquarters' operation.
• Yang Jian asked Li Yao for detailed information about the circle of friends' Ghost Tamers, and she warned him that striking first would provoke powerful forces.
• Yang Jian said he could destroy a city within seconds and argued that he would not let others control his life.
• Li Yao agreed to gather the information and left, glancing back at Yang Jian as a headless figure shrouded him in darkness.

Chen Yi tried to replace the ghost candle on Guo Fan, whose body had been taken over by a ghost. After Chen Yi extinguished the old candle, his new candle would not light, and Guo Fan turned to face him.

• Zhong Shan worried that his candle would soon burn out and that Guo Fan’s candle might fail before Chen Yi completed the handover.
• Chen Yi concluded that Guo Fan had been fully replaced by a ghost and approached to change the candle.
• Chen Yi pinched out the candle on Guo Fan’s shoulder, revealing five ghosts nearby.
• Chen Yi tried to light his replacement candle, but the lighter’s flame went out.
• Guo Fan turned around and stared at Chen Yi with hollow eyes.

Chen Yi's Ghost Candle switch failed, leaving him under attack and forcing Zhong Shan to extinguish his candle as the ghost-luring plan collapsed. In another Ghost Domain, Li Jun and the others reached the village's final unentered haunted house and faced a choice between risking its ghost or being trapped by the Ghost Painting.

• Chen Yi failed to relight the Ghost Candle, and Guo Fan's ghost attacked him while five identical ghosts advanced toward Zhong Shan.
• Chen Yi used Ghost Skin to resist Guo Fan's ghost, but the ghost kept gripping him as his condition worsened.
• Zhong Shan blew out his Ghost Candle when Guo Fan's ghost turned toward him, ending the group's ghost-luring plan.
• Li Jun, Su Fan, Liu San, and Xu Yiping reached the village entrance after fleeing through the Ghost Painting's encroaching domain.
• Xu Yiping warned that the group had to enter the final haunted house or risk dying in the Ghost Painting, though the Ghost Messenger inside could also kill them.

As Headquarters waited for the second opening of the door, Li Jun’s team searched for a way out of Huanggang Village’s last untouched house. Liu San and A Hong carried out Wang Xiaoming’s hidden mission involving the hanging corpse, leaving the team facing a newly stirred supernatural threat.

• Cao Yanhua learned that Wang Xiaoming had arranged A Hong as a backup, with another contingency in reserve if she failed.
• Li Jun led Su Fan, Liu San, A Hong, and the others into the last house in Huanggang Village, where a corpse hung from a hemp rope.
• Li Jun found a gray wooden door and urged the team to survive until the agreed opening time.
• Liu San climbed to the hanging corpse, explaining that Wang Xiaoming had tasked him with finding it, while A Hong prepared a red ghost candle.
• The rope and corpse fell to the floor, the corpse began to move, and A Hong lit the candle, revealing an unfamiliar male face on half of her own.

Li Jun and the team escaped the Ghost Painting’s domain through the second door opening, but Li Jun was seized by the corpse as he left. The others reached Headquarters safely, where they heard two sets of footsteps approaching from beyond the still-open door.

• Liu San disturbed the balance between the corpse and the Ghost Rope, while the Ghost Painting’s influence began spreading through the old house.
• Li Jun opened the door at the agreed time, and Su Fan, Liu San, A Hong, and Xu Yiping passed through after A Hong extinguished the Ghost Candle.
• As Li Jun stepped through last, the corpse grabbed his shoulder from behind.
• Su Fan and the others emerged in a sealed room at Headquarters, where Old Qin prepared to close the door because Li Jun had not appeared.
• Li Jun’s footsteps sounded from beyond the door, but the others heard a second set of footsteps with him.

Wang Xiaoming let a corpse emerge from the old door to test information from the human skin paper, and confirmed that Wei Jing had returned in a strange state after Ghost Messenger’s restart. The group contained the discovery and turned back to their remaining tasks, while Wang Xiaoming wondered whether the human skin paper was leading him into a trap.

• As the old door opened for a second time, a corpse-like figure stepped through before Li Jun, prompting Cao Yanhua to demand that the door be closed.
• Wang Xiaoming ordered everyone to wait, and Wei Jing’s corpse entered the room as the lights dimmed.
• Li Jun emerged behind Wei Jing, collapsed from the strain of using Ghost Domain, and confirmed that the operation had succeeded.
• Wang Xiaoming revealed that the corpse was Wei Jing, who had regained consciousness after Ghost Messenger’s Infinite Restart, though Wei Jing said he might now be part of the Ghost Coffin.
• Wang Xiaoming considered whether the human skin paper had manipulated him, while Cao Yanhua classified Wei Jing’s return and Old Qin shut the door.

Chen Yi survived Guo Fan’s ghost attack and rejoined his Human Skin Coat, while two ghosts vanished during Headquarters’ plan to draw out the Ghost Painting. By morning, Yang Jian learned the crisis had mostly passed and received a message from Li Yao, prompting him to prepare to act.

• Chen Yi explained that two of the five ghosts from the Ghost Painting had disappeared after the Ghost Painting’s and Ghost Messenger’s Ghost Domains vanished, leaving a dangerous gap in the plan.
• Jiang Shangbai told Chen Yi that Guo Fan had returned to normal and was not close to a ghost revival, then pointed out Chen Yi’s Human Skin Coat.
• Chen Yi endured the painful process of rejoining his Human Skin Coat and left with signs that he had become more ghostlike.
• Jiang Shangbai took over guarding the second ghost candle as the night ended and the city returned to its usual routine.
• Yang Jian concluded that Headquarters had mostly resolved the incident, then received a message from Li Yao and decided to act proactively.