Chapter Summaries

After helping Yang Jian contain the Hunger Ghost, Jiang Li refused Zhao Jianguo’s offer to join Ghost Tamer Headquarters and considered other organizations that could support his plans. He clashed with Guo Fan, whose shots failed to harm him, and Zhao Jianguo treated their dispute as a private matter as long as no one died.

• Jiang Li and Yang Jian watched the pinned Hunger Ghost until Zhao Jianguo arrived with officers, who sealed it inside a gold coffin.
• Guo Fan mocked Yang Jian and Jiang Li, so Jiang Li used the Person-Hiding Ghost to plant him headfirst in the concrete.
• Zhao Jianguo offered Jiang Li a position at Ghost Tamer Headquarters, but Jiang Li decided he did not want to join and weighed the Friend Circle as a better source of resources.
• After climbing out, Guo Fan fired several bullets into Jiang Li’s back, but Jiang Li remained unharmed.
• Jiang Li complained to Zhao Jianguo about Guo Fan’s attack, and Zhao Jianguo said they could settle the matter as a private dispute if nobody died.

Jiang Li defeated Guo Fan after Guo Fan attacked him, then returned to Guanjiang Residential Complex with Yang Jian and found Zhang Wei and the others in a disastrous state after their time in the safe house. Later, Jiang Li visited Wang Shan and found him drinking and smoking heavily while waiting for him.

• Guo Fan revealed the spirit tablet inside his body and attacked, but Jiang Li used his supernatural finger to suppress Guo Fan's ghost and knock him unconscious.
• Zhao Jianguo tried to smooth things over with Jiang Li, who warned him away from a dangerous shadow; the investigators then loaded the Hunger Ghost into a golden coffin.
• Jiang Li and Yang Jian returned to Guanjiang Residential Complex, where Wang Xiaoming was taken away in an ambulance and Zhang Wei emerged covered in filth after an incident with his father and Jiang Yan.
• Jiang Li visited Wang Shan at a villa and found the house strewn with bottles as Wang Shan defended his drinking and claimed he remained professionally capable.

Jiang Li weighed the Friend Circle’s wealth, freedom, and dangers before deciding to meet its members, while his Person-Hiding Ghost’s influence continued to grow. Three ghost tamers entered Guanjiang Residential Complex, where Jiang Li disappeared Huang Fei and Luo Suyi sensed an unseen presence behind him.

• Wang Shan explained the Friend Circle’s generous pay and loose rules, but warned Jiang Li that Fang Shiming could kill members who betrayed him.
• Jiang Li decided to visit the Friend Circle, checked that Yao Xiaoting and the old woman were safe, and returned to his villa feeling the Person-Hiding Ghost’s influence deepen.
• Luo Suyi, Huang Fei, and Lin Luomei entered Guanjiang Residential Complex and used Lin Luomei’s Ghost Voice to call for Yang Jian and Jiang Li.
• Jiang Li was compelled to leave his villa by Lin Luomei’s Ghost Voice, but a hand emerged from the ground and dragged the voice away.
• Yang Jian woke, realized Jiang Li was dealing with the intruders, and decided to let him handle them for the night.
• Huang Fei vanished, and Lin Luomei warned Luo Suyi that something was behind him; when Luo Suyi turned around, he saw nothing, but Lin Luomei remained terrified.

Jiang Li subdued Luo Suyi, Lin Luomei, and Huang Fei after they broke into the compound, then demanded compensation before releasing the two unconscious intruders. Luo Suyi paid three hundred million to Yang Jian’s account and left with his teammates.

• Luo Suyi discovered a ghostly face on his shirt and found himself alone after Lin Luomei disappeared.
• Luo Suyi attacked Jiang Li with his Ghost Threads, but the ghost on Jiang Li’s shoulder dispersed them and a cold hand trapped Luo Suyi.
• Jiang Li appeared holding the unconscious Lin Luomei and Huang Fei, questioned Luo Suyi, and threatened to kill them without a suitable explanation.
• Luo Suyi identified the three as members of Dahai City's Supernatural Forum and explained that they had come to meet Jiang Li and Yang Jian.
• Jiang Li demanded one hundred million per person to release Lin Luomei and Huang Fei, and Luo Suyi arranged a three-hundred-million payment to Yang Jian’s account.
• Jiang Li vanished after receiving the payment, and Luo Suyi took his barely breathing teammates away.

Zhao Kaiming returned to the warehouse expecting to reunite with his resurrected family, but the Newspaper Ghost and his dead relatives confronted him. Zhao Xiaoya called the ghost her daddy and shot Zhao Kaiming in the forehead, leaving him fallen and bleeding.

• Jiang Li examined the feather-shaped mark on his chest and feared the Newspaper Ghost’s influence over the Person-Hiding Ghost could cause future danger.
• Jiang Li reflected on the deaths of He Lin and Sun Yi and resolved to try to change future regrets.
• Zhao Kaiming went to the warehouse believing he had fulfilled the ghost’s demands and would see his family again.
• The Newspaper Ghost appeared as Sun Yi, while Zhao Kaiming’s relatives emerged from the freezers and gathered behind him.
• Zhao Xiaoya called the Newspaper Ghost her daddy, aimed Zhao Kaiming’s gold handgun at him, and shot him between the brows.

Zhao Kaiming summoned the Wishing Ghost against the ghost impersonating Sun Yi, while Jiang Li accepted a headquarters invitation and prepared for an evaluation by the Friend Circle. The chapter ended with Yang Jian showing Jiang Li photographs of a warehouse massacre in Dachang City.

• Zhao Kaiming, rejected by his family, offered everything he had to the Wishing Ghost in exchange for revenge on the ghost impersonating Sun Yi.
• The ghost entered Zhao Kaiming, and gunfire erupted in the warehouse as Sun Yi retreated behind the others.
• Zhao Jianguo invited Jiang Li to the Hunger Ghost meeting, gave him a satellite phone, and offered him candidate status as a city person in charge; Jiang Li accepted.
• Wang Shan told Jiang Li that He Tianxiong would evaluate him on behalf of the Friend Circle, and Jiang Li considered how to win He Tianxiong's trust.
• Yang Jian visited Jiang Li and showed him photographs of bodies found in a Dachang City warehouse.

Jiang Li learned that Zhao Kaiming’s resurrected relatives had been killed and that Zhao Lei had awakened with some of the Newspaper Ghost’s power. After Wang Jian warned him that Wang Xiaoming wanted his wooden box, Jiang Li prepared for the confrontation and arrived at the Hunger Ghost meeting, where headquarters began gathering its attendees.

• Yang Jian told Jiang Li that Zhao Kaiming’s relatives had been killed by a ghostly curse, that the blood at the scene belonged to Zhao Kaiming, and that Zhao Kaiming was missing.
• Yang Jian reported that Zhao Lei had awakened with some of the Newspaper Ghost’s power and warned Jiang Li that Wang Xiaoming had taken an interest in his wooden box.
• Jiang Li asked Wang Shan to identify which headquarters officials attending the meeting had ties to the Friend Circle.
• Jiang Li cut off the twisted ghost finger and placed it in the wooden box, which produced the Drowned Ghost’s Finger Bone and a description of its ability.
• Jiang Li and Yang Jian arrived at the stadium for the meeting, encountered Cao Yang and Xiong Wenwen, and entered as headquarters officials gathered.
• Cao Yanhua opened the meeting as more than twenty officials took their seats.

At a tense headquarters meeting, Wang Xiaoming revealed that Jiang Li's wooden box could turn ghosts into supernatural items and offered a deal for it, provoking a dispute over Jiang Li's property and a Captain Plan position. Tong Qian lost control of her Ghost Smiling Face, and Jiang Li stopped the curse before accusing Wang Xiaoming of coveting the box; Wang Xiaoming admitted he might take it by force.

• Cao Yanhua invited Yang Jian and Jiang Li to speak about the Hunger Ghost incident, and Jiang Li credited others' sacrifices and contributions for the successful containment.
• Wang Xiaoming announced that Jiang Li's wooden box could convert ghosts into supernatural items, explaining that Yang Jian had used it to make two items that helped defeat the Hunger Ghost and Zhao Kaiming.
• Wang Xiaoming offered Jiang Li resources and a guaranteed Captain Plan position in exchange for the box, while Tong Qian argued that Jiang Li should donate it to headquarters.
• Jiang Li insulted Tong Qian, causing her Ghost Smiling Face to emerge and its deadly laughter to spread through the conference room.
• Jiang Li restrained Tong Qian with a shadow and a dead man's hand, silencing the ghost before she fainted.
• Jiang Li challenged Wang Xiaoming over the box and suggested headquarters might seize it, and Wang Xiaoming replied that he might be that kind of person.

Jiang Li defeated Li Jun in Wang Xiaoming’s test and kept the wooden box, while Yang Jian made clear he would stand by Jiang Li if the officials tried to seize it. Wang Xiaoming honored his agreement and let Jiang Li leave, though he suggested they could discuss the box again later.

• Wang Xiaoming challenged Jiang Li to withstand Li Jun for two minutes, promising to stop pursuing the wooden box if Jiang Li won.
• Inside Li Jun’s Ghost Domain, Jiang Li endured the ghost fire and summoned a drowned ghost that extinguished the flames and overwhelmed Li Jun.
• Li Jun returned to the conference room defeated and told Wang Xiaoming that Jiang Li had brought a terrifying vicious ghost into the Ghost Domain.
• Zhong Shan and Lin Long objected to the contest and suggested taking the box by force, but Jiang Li warned that his vicious ghost had already marked everyone present with killing rules.
• Yang Jian said he would not turn against Jiang Li for the officials’ selfish demands, and Wang Xiaoming honored the agreement by allowing Jiang Li to leave with him.

Jiang Li killed Wang Xiaoming and several people in charge after they tried to take his wooden box, but Elder Qin restarted time and let the meeting end peacefully. Jiang Li refused to join headquarters, then flew to Dayi City at President He’s invitation, where he encountered a striking woman in a qipao.

• Jiang Li revealed that everyone in the conference room bore a deadly curse and confronted Wang Xiaoming over sending Li Jun after him.
• Wang Xiaoming chose his own life over the lives of the other people in charge, so Jiang Li killed him and then killed several others.
• Elder Qin stopped Jiang Li’s shadow and restarted the meeting, leaving the attendees alive and making the wooden box’s future potential part of the compensation.
• Wang Xiaoming ended the meeting by agreeing to stop pursuing the wooden box and keep it confidential, while Jiang Li told Yang Jian he would not join headquarters.
• Jiang Li accepted President He’s invitation to visit Dayi City and flew there the next afternoon.
• A woman in a qipao sat diagonally ahead of Jiang Li on the plane.

Jiang Li watched Liu Qingqing and Guo You leave the airport, then met He Tianxiong at the Cloud Summit Club. He Tianxiong tried to provoke him, but Jiang Li’s Person-Hiding Ghost attacked and left him choking in agony.

• Jiang Li observed Liu Qingqing and Guo You on the plane and noted the supernatural danger of Liu Qingqing’s puppet body and red high heels.
• Liu Qingqing and Guo You left the airport quickly, while Jiang Li headed to the Cloud Summit Club to meet He Tianxiong.
• The club staff treated Jiang Li as He Tianxiong’s specially invited guest and escorted him to the Listening to the Rain Pavilion.
• He Tianxiong bragged about his strength and tried to provoke Jiang Li while massaging his shoulders, avoiding any mention of the Person-Treading Ghost’s rule.
• Jiang Li revealed the Person-Hiding Ghost, which exhaled foul, icy gas into He Tianxiong’s nose and mouth and made him collapse, gasping for air.

Jiang Li met He Tianxiong at the Cloud Summit Club, where He tested him and tried to recruit him before revealing a plan to retrieve a dormant vicious ghost from a cave. There, Jiang Li encountered Liu Qingqing and other Post Office messengers among He’s recruited caving party, and the chapter ended as Chen Mo prepared to quit the expedition.

• He Tianxiong recovered after vomiting a mass of writhing flesh and blood, then explained his unusual condition and tried to recruit Jiang Li to work for him.
• Jiang Li spotted Liu Qingqing arriving at the Cloud Summit Club with two companions and suspected a supernatural incident was about to begin.
• He Tianxiong revealed that he planned to explore a cave containing a dormant vicious ghost and hoped to use it to escape Fang Shiming’s control.
• Jiang Li went with He Tianxiong to meet the expedition participants, including Liu Qingqing and the messengers, Daoist Priest Simu, and the monk Huijue.
• He Tianxiong offered a reward for finding the ghost, but Chen Mo objected to the strange setup and moved to leave with Shen Sheng.

He Tianxiong explained why the group had to enter the cave at night, then provoked Liu Qingqing and used his malicious ghost against her. Liu Qingqing’s qipao resisted the attack, leaving her alive, while Jiang Li noticed that Master Huijue’s wooden fish carried a supernatural aura.

• He Tianxiong said the cave could only be investigated at night because devices lost their signals inside and the people who died had entered after dark.
• Sun Xin challenged He Tianxiong over his claim that the thing in the cave was dead, and He Tianxiong insisted his information was reliable.
• Liu Qingqing insulted He Tianxiong, who climbed onto the dining table and released the ghost standing on his shoulders.
• Jiang Li warned the others not to look up as He Tianxiong’s ghost attacked Liu Qingqing, while Guo You and Sun Xin hesitated to fight He Tianxiong and his helper, Jiang Li.
• Liu Qingqing’s qipao resisted the ghost and began to restore her, while Jiang Li noticed that Master Huijue’s wooden fish gave off a supernatural aura.

Jiang Li questioned gatekeeper Zhang Mao about Nut Cave and learned that it was haunted by multiple ghosts, then left to investigate the cave. Liu Qingqing, Guo You, and Sun Xin arrived at the gatehouse and realized Jiang Li had already gone ahead.

• Jiang Li ignored He Tianxiong’s warning about the crows and went to the gatehouse to ask Zhang Mao about Nut Cave.
• Zhang Mao took Jiang Li’s money and recounted finding corpses, hearing heavy barefoot footsteps, and escaping a strange figure inside the cave.
• Jiang Li concluded that several ghosts might be inside Nut Cave and that their behavior could depend on the time of day.
• Zhang Mao described hiding from the figure by pretending to be a corpse before escaping the cave and passing out outside.
• Jiang Li left the gatehouse, and Liu Qingqing, Guo You, and Sun Xin arrived to find Zhang Mao unconscious and learned Jiang Li had gone ahead.

Jiang Li investigated Nut Cave and discovered that the crows there could not be made into supernatural items, while the wooden box's condition changed. Guo You used his ability to scout the cave, died in the vision before finding anything, and the group decided they still had to deliver the letter.

• Jiang Li caught a crow near Nut Cave and put it in the wooden box, but it changed back into a bird and flew into his mouth as the other crows vanished.
• Jiang Li found that the box's inscription now demanded three more fierce ghosts before it would open completely.
• Daoist Priest Simu detected corpse qi and signs of a zombie inside Nut Cave, while Master Huijue noted that the surrounding trees had withered.
• Sun Xin arrived with Guo You and Liu Qingqing to exchange information, and Guo You sent a shadow into the cave to investigate.
• Guo You reported that something grabbed and killed him in the cave before he could see it, but Sun Xin said they could not abandon the delivery mission.

Jiang Li and the others investigated the cave ghost, and Daoist Priest Simu entered the cave to test their theory that it attacked moving people. After Simu escaped with information about the ghost and a corpse inside, the group planned to return the next night; Jiang Li then encountered a woman in a qipao on his way to the Cloud Summit Club.

• Jiang Li theorized that the cave ghost attacked people who moved, based on Guo You’s experience and the gatekeeper’s escape.
• Daoist Priest Simu entered the cave wearing a bloodstained garment, and Master Huijue, Jiang Li, and Liu Qingqing pulled him out when the ghost pursued him.
• Simu confirmed that the ghost ignored him while he stood still, then described finding the corpse and being chased after he stumbled over other bodies.
• Jiang Li proposed locating the ghost and finding a way around it to reach the dormant corpse, while warning that He Tianxiong might be dangerous.
• Sun Xin arranged for the group to meet at the cave at nine the following night, and Jiang Li headed toward the Cloud Summit Club instead of staying where He Tianxiong had arranged.
• A woman in a qipao appeared from the trees ahead of Jiang Li, causing him to stop and look around warily.

Jiang Li prepared to enter Nut Cave with Zhang Mao, who revealed that corpses appeared to be dragged through the cave at night. After a day of rest and preparations at the Cloud Summit Club, Jiang Li and Zhang Mao reached the cave entrance at eight thirty.

• Liu Qingqing told Jiang Li her name and arranged to learn more about the woman connected to her after the following night.
• Jiang Li told Zhang Mao he planned to explore the cave, and Zhang Mao admitted he had entered it during the day to scavenge belongings from missing groups.
• Zhang Mao said he had found drag marks and suspected a figure moved corpses through the cave at night.
• Jiang Li warned Zhang Mao about the danger, then agreed to let him come if he followed instructions.
• He Tianxiong hosted a banquet for Chen Mo, Shen Sheng, the Taoist priest, and the master, while Jiang Li rested in the guardroom.
• Jiang Li and Zhang Mao arrived at Nut Cave at eight thirty.

Jiang Li and the others entered the cave while Daoist Priest Simu and Master Huijue went ahead to lure away the ghost. The operation began with both warning signals sounding, while He Tianxiong’s group brought up the rear.

• He Tianxiong explained that Daoist Priest Simu and Master Huijue would enter first to draw the ghost away, and Jiang Li brought Zhang Mao along.
• Daoist Priest Simu and Master Huijue arrived and explained how the Three Purities Bell and wooden fish would signal the operation’s progress or danger.
• Daoist Priest Simu and Master Huijue crawled into the cave, and the bell and wooden fish soon sounded from within.
• Chen Mo and Shen Sheng entered, followed by Jiang Li and Zhang Mao.
• Sun Xin reminded He Tianxiong of their agreement not to enter last, and He Tianxiong led his group into the cave behind them.

Jiang Li led the group deeper into Nut Cave as the Three Purities Bell’s strange pauses and restarts suggested the ghost hunters might be in danger. He suspected a ghost was ringing the bell and kept watching He Tianxiong, but the ghost’s failure to attack him left its behavior uncertain.

• Jiang Li ordered Zhang Mao to lead the group onward after the bell stopped, despite the darkness and ominous dripping ahead.
• Jiang Li found a bloodied Taoist robe above a flattened corpse, recognized the corpse as a dormant fierce ghost, and secretly put it into his wooden box.
• Jiang Li spotted a bare foot behind He Tianxiong and realized the cave ghost was close to the group, then chose to keep moving after Liu Qingqing asked him to decide.
• The Three Purities Bell rang again as the group headed deeper, and Jiang Li and Zhang Mao hurried forward while the others relaxed.
• Zhang Mao asked whether the bell meant the Taoist and monk were safe, but Jiang Li suspected a ghost was ringing it from behind He Tianxiong and could not explain why it had not attacked him.

Jiang Li and Liu Qingqing found a dormant fierce ghost, but another ghost snatched it away and its Ghost Domain separated the group. Sun Xin and Guo You struggled through the darkness, and Sun Xin’s attempt to mortgage his arm failed to satisfy the ghost.

• Jiang Li confirmed that the Daoist priest and the master were dead and that the ghost’s killing pattern changed with certain conditions.
• Zhang Mao found a corpse wedged in a rock fissure, and Liu Qingqing’s envelope caused it to rise partway out.
• A blackish hand pulled the corpse into a Ghost Domain, after which the cave’s darkness separated Jiang Li, Liu Qingqing, and the others.
• Sun Xin carried Guo You through the darkness after Guo You used his supernatural ability to scout a route.
• Sun Xin triggered a ghost’s attack and offered his left arm as collateral for a minute of safety, but the ghost rejected the slip.