The Little Handmaiden Recap, Plot, Synopsis

The Little Handmaiden Synopsis

Forensic science female student Jiang Li accidentally enters a forensic trial game world. She can only return to the real world by helping the game NPC forensic investigator Shen Xiuning solve cases together.

Relying on modern scientific methods, Jiang Li repeatedly solves mysterious cases and realizes that she has deeply fallen in love with Shen Xiuning.

However, the two of them must face the inevitable separation.

The Little Handmaiden Recap

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Shen Xiuning is a coroner. He and the constable Li Canglang discover someone stealing corpses and getting married in the woods. He is inspecting the body to determine if the death was natural when the corpse suddenly comes to life. Su Momo is a forensic medical student who, in a daze, transmigrates onto a corpse. In this unfamiliar world, she is feeling strange when a chubby girl suddenly appears.

The chubby girl claims to be an NPC in the game. Through conversation with her, Su Momo learns that she has entered the game world of a junior coroner. Her current identity is Miss Jiang Li of the Jiang family in Luoshui County. She can only return after completing trial tasks and clearing the game. The chubby girl gives her a game manual. During their conversation, Shen Xiuning, Li Canglang, and others are frozen. After talking to Jiang Li, the chubby girl disappears.

The person stealing corpses and conducting the marriage ceremony is a servant of the Jiang family. He explains Jiang Li's situation to Su Momo. Jiang Li is the illegitimate daughter raised by the master outside, often bullied by the young miss and madam, leading to her untimely death. When the servant mentions this, the chubby girl reappears and warns Su Momo that a murder is about to happen in the Jiang family. This is the main quest she needs to complete. To fulfill the task, Su Momo takes on the role of Jiang Li and, upon returning to the Jiang family, sees the recently deceased Miss Jiang Li come back to life. People suspect her of shamming death, so they tie her up and summon a Taoist priest to perform exorcism.

When going to the Jiang residence, Jiang Li brought Shen Xiuning along. However, when she was being harassed by the Taoist priest, Shen Xiuning's whereabouts were unknown. Later, she was killed by the Taoist with a sword, and the game restarted. After reloading the game, Jiang Li found herself back at the Jiang residence, her face covered with talismans applied by the Taoist. She was tied up in a woodshed, and it was only then that Shen Xiuning appeared and untied her.

Jiang Li felt that this broken game was too tricky, so she tried to find a way to escape. However, before she could leave the Jiang residence, she was blocked and, to make matters worse, the chubby girl punished her by tying her and Shen Xiuning together with a red string. Helplessly, Jiang Li had to continue with the tasks. However, Mr. Jiang believed that Mrs. Jiang died of natural causes. He even forbade Shen Xiuning from examining the body. Taking a cue from TV dramas, Jiang Li pretended to be the second miss and escaped. While everyone went to the woodshed, she and Shen Xiuning checked Mrs. Jiang's body and discovered that she died from poisoning. Moreover, in Mrs. Jiang's sleeve, they found a letter from Fang Lian to Mrs. Jiang.

After leaving the mortuary, Jiang Li noticed that the troublesome Taoist was still there, scaring people. She ran over, exposed him, and informed everyone of Mrs. Jiang's cause of death. However, Mr. Jiang didn't believe her. Just as Jiang Li was explaining, Fang Yuanwai suddenly walked in. Shen Xiuning noticed that Fang Yuanwai's servant had also followed, suspecting that Mrs. Jiang's death was related to Fang Yuanwai.

After being tied with a red string by the chubby girl, both Shen Xiuning and Jiang Li felt very inconvenient. The red string was about 1.5 meters long, tied to one wrist of each of them. In order to break the red string, Shen Xiuning called Li Canglang and asked him to use a knife to cut it. However, the rope was very sturdy, and even after Li Canglang tried cutting for a long time, it didn't break. Jiang Li came up with the idea of using fire. Unexpectedly, after burning, their wrists were bound together. The chubby girl appeared and warned Jiang Li not to destroy the red string, or else they would be tied like that forever.

At night, when sleeping, Jiang Li slept on the bed, and Shen Xiuning slept on the floor beside her bed. In the middle of the night, Jiang Li was suddenly pulled awake by Shen Xiuning. When she opened her eyes, she realized that Shen Xiuning was having a dream. Shen Xiuning recounted the dream to Jiang Li, describing a strong man pressing down on his body, and he felt unable to move. Jiang Li told him it was called a nightmare and explained a bit using her knowledge.

Shen Xiuning noticed that Jiang Li knew so much, he began to see her as a fairy who descended to earth and sought her advice on how to deal with nightmares. Jiang Li playfully teased him, asking him to pass three tests first. When Shen Xiuning fell for it, she, gazing at his handsome face, suddenly became infatuated and kissed Shen Xiuning.

Shen Xiuning saw Jiang Li leaning in for a kiss, quickly dodged, and suspected that Jiang Li's three tests were just a playful trick. Knowing that the game could be restarted, Jiang Li decided to feign cutting her neck and trick him again. However, the chubby girl appeared and told her that she only had one life left.

Li Canglang came to find Shen Xiuning, saw Jiang Li about to cut her neck, and thought Shen Xiuning was mistreating her. Shen Xiuning didn't bother explaining. Knowing that Li Canglang had a close relationship with the local intelligence station, Shen Xiuning decided to go there to gather information about Fang Lian. The three of them arrived at the intelligence station, and the Miss Wanwan at the station told them that Fang Lian and Mr. Jiang were childhood sweethearts, but Mrs. Jiang forcefully separated them, breaking up their relationship.

When Jiang Li began her task, she had encountered Mrs. Jiang before her death. She found that Mrs. Jiang showed fear in her eyes before dying and said, "You're not dead yet." She told Shen Xiuning about this, and he suspected that the "you" Mrs. Jiang mentioned might be Fang Lian. So they found Fang Lian's grave and discovered it was empty when they opened the coffin.

After this discovery, a masked person attacked them. Fortunately, the two cooperated well and managed to defeat the masked person. After the masked person escaped, they returned to the city and coincidentally encountered Master Fang, Fang Runsheng. Seeing Fang Runsheng's injured hand and mud from the graveyard on his shoes, Shen Xiuning suspected that the masked person was him.

The Fang family was hosting a tea-tasting banquet, and Shen Xiuning and Jiang Li attended together. During the tea-tasting event, Jiang Li showcased her skills by creating various milk teas, leaving everyone astonished. The young miss of the Jiang family, watching Jiang Li steal the limelight, felt extremely annoyed. Seizing the opportunity while everyone was in high spirits, Shen Xiuning subtly winked at Li Canglang. Li Canglang pretended to go to the restroom and left the gathering.

Li Canglang arrived at the backyard of the Fang residence and saw the maid Qiuniang burning paper offerings. Upon hearing that she was burning them for Fang Lian, Li Canglang revealed his identity and asked what was going on. Qiuniang then told Li Canglang that Fang Lian was killed by Mr. Jiang. Twenty years ago, when Fang Lian was kidnapped by bandits during an outing, she was abused by them. When Mr. Jiang found out and deemed her impure, he called off their engagement. Later, Fang Lian became pregnant, expecting twins. However, one of the twins turned out to be a monster.

When Jiang Li served tea to Fang Runsheng, she noticed that his wound had not healed. She used alcohol to clean the wound and skillfully bandaged it. Touched by Jiang Li's beauty and kindness, Fang Runsheng, as he saw Jiang Li off, heard a man's voice in his head asking if he liked Jiang Li and offering assistance. However, Fang Runsheng expressed concern that the voice might frighten Jiang Li and asked the voice not to get involved in this matter.

After returning from the Fang residence, Li Canglang bought some wine and food. The three of them exchanged information while drinking. Li Canglang first mentioned what Qiuniang had said. From this, he deduced that Fang Runsheng was not Mr. Fang's son; he should be one of Fang Lian's twin children. Jiang Li felt that Fang Runsheng's wound didn't seem like it was caused by a weapon but rather resembled an injury from an animal's claws. Shen Xiuning noticed that Fang Runsheng was lying. To prove this, he intentionally engaged in a fight with Jiang Li to verify. During a fight, people instinctively use their arms to block, but Fang Runsheng's injury was on the back of his hand, suggesting it was caused by a struggle for a weapon.

Thinking that she wouldn't get drunk in the game, Jiang Li started drinking freely and ended up heavily intoxicated. Seeing her inebriated, Shen Xiuning began to take a bath. While he was bathing, Jiang Li suddenly turned around. In a panic, Shen Xiuning pulled her into the bathtub, and they ended up kissing. Shen Xiuning anticipated Jiang Li's next move, but instead, she fell asleep on his shoulder.

The next day, they went to find Fang Runsheng. Since he wasn't at home, Jiang Li took Shen Xiuning to see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. They also treated his nightmares. After the doctor prescribed medicine for Shen Xiuning, Jiang Li whispered something to the doctor, who then prescribed medicine for her as well. Li Canglang helped them prepare the medicine, but Shen Xiuning accidentally took Jiang Li's medication, "Yueyue Shu."

Fang Runsheng took the initiative to visit Jiang Li and bought her a bracelet. Shen Xiuning, feeling jealous, remarked that wearing a bracelet was not suitable for Jiang Li during a post-mortem examination and declined it on her behalf. Seeing that Fang Runsheng's wound had healed, Jiang Li didn't inquire further, understanding he wouldn't reveal the reason. Before leaving, Fang Runsheng and Jiang Li made plans to fly kites together the next day.

Shen Xiuning and Jiang Li investigated at the Jiang family's residence and discovered that the poisoner might be the family's chef. Suspecting that the local specialty brought by the chef was poisonous, Jiang Li brewed a bowl to test its toxicity. After drinking the poison, she pretended that a pillar in the room was Shen Xiuning, teasing him about last night when he wasn't wearing clothes. Once the effects wore off, she laughed about the situation.

During a date with Fang Runsheng, Jiang Li intentionally probed with words. Fang Runsheng visibly showed nervousness and hastily left, citing strong winds as an excuse. After he left, a voice reminded him that Jiang Li was suspicious of him and urged him to eliminate her, but Fang Runsheng disagreed.

On their way back, Jiang Li and Shen Xiuning were attacked again by masked assailants. Luckily, Li Canglang arrived, and the attackers were defeated. In the midst of the fight, Shen Xiuning unexpectedly noticed that the red string on his wrist had come undone. After some time together, he had developed feelings for Jiang Li. To ensure she wouldn't leave him, he quietly re-tied the red string.

Li Canglang came to find Shen Xiuning with the purpose of informing him that Mr. Wu, who can untie the red string, has returned. Shen Xiuning, upon hearing this news, seemed visibly indifferent to it. Li Canglang sensed that he didn't want to untie the red string, and although Shen Xiuning denied it, his actions contradicted his words.

Concerned that the red string on Jiang Li's wrist might come loose while she slept, Shen Xiuning took the opportunity while she was asleep to re-tie the string, even tying a tight knot. Thinking he had executed it flawlessly, he was surprised when Xiao Pang Ya suddenly appeared and informed Jiang Li of the news, congratulating her on completing the side quest with their concerted efforts. Sharing the same sentiment as Shen Xiuning, she decided to keep the matter a secret, not wanting to be separated from him.

Fang Runsheng visited Jiang Li and shared unexpected news – he planned to propose to her at the Jiang family tomorrow. Upon hearing this, Shen Xiuning, infuriated, pulled Jiang Li away, inadvertently breaking the red string due to his force. To facilitate the marriage, Fang Lao Ye invited Jiang Li to a feast at his home. Wanting to investigate, she agreed, and Shen Xiuning, worried about Jiang Li, accompanied her along with Li Canglang.

During the meal, Fang Runsheng signaled Jiang Li not to drink the mushroom soup, but she pretended not to notice. Fang Lao Ye was very hospitable, and as night fell, he insisted they stay overnight, a plan that played into Jiang Li and others' hands. Just as Jiang Li was about to rest, Fang Runsheng rushed over, nervously informing her that the place was very dangerous, and he was going to leave. He grabbed her and hurried away.

Jiang Li ran to the gate while questioning Fang Runsheng. She asked who the person he mentioned was, but Fang Runsheng didn't answer. At the same time, Shen Xiuning and Li Canglang, hidden by the night, found Fang Lian's memorial tablet and skeletal remains. When Lord Fang appeared at the door, the two pretended to faint.

Jiang Li and Fang Runsheng ran to the main gate. A voice suddenly sounded in Fang Runsheng's ear, saying that if he took Jiang Li away, all their previous efforts would be in vain. Seeing that Fang Runsheng didn't listen, the voice took control of Fang Runsheng's body. Seeing Fang Runsheng's eyes turn fierce, Jiang Li was scared and fell to the ground. Fang Runsheng extended the iron claw of his right hand, about to grab Jiang Li's chest, but Shen Xiuning suddenly intercepted him.

After Lord Fang was captured, he asked Shen Xiuning and the others in confusion. They had clearly drunk mushroom soup, so why were they unharmed? Jiang Li smiled and told him that they had discovered the problem with the mushroom soup early on and had taken an antidote in advance.

Lord Fang voluntarily admitted that he had disguised himself as a female ghost to commit murder. Shen Xiuning knew he was lying and pointed out that he was not the murderer. Jiang Li realized that Fang Runsheng had a dual personality. In desperation, Lord Fang kidnapped Jiang Li and warned everyone that he could do anything for Fang Runsheng. A voice in the room ordered him to immediately kill Jiang Li. Unable to bear harming Jiang Li, Fang Runsheng suddenly drew his sword and committed suicide.

After Fang Runsheng's suicide, Shen Xiuning explained to everyone that the murderer of Mrs. Jiang was Fang Runsheng. Because mushroom soup can paralyze people, Fang Runsheng disguised himself as a chef, infiltrated the Jiang family, gave Mrs. Jiang mushroom soup, and then performed a ritual by digging out her heart. To confuse the truth, they also created the illusion of a female ghost committing murder.

After completing Jiang Li's main quest, Little Fatty appeared again. Jiang Li originally thought she had come to take her back to reality, but unexpectedly, there was a bug in the game. Little Fatty suddenly got stuck in place. After Little Fatty disappeared, Jiang Li was sent into another illusion. In that illusion, she and Shen Xiuning got married.

After coming out of the illusion, Jiang Li felt reluctant to part from Shen Xiuning, and Shen Xiuning's feelings mirrored hers. He still had the red string tied to his hand, reminiscing about the time when he and Jiang Li were bound together. He brought Jiang Li to the market, intending to buy a floral headband for her, but was suddenly interrupted by Li Canglang.

Little Fatty appeared again and told Jiang Li that the game bug had been fixed. Jiang Li originally thought that Little Fatty was going to send her back, but she breathed a sigh of relief only when Little Fatty mentioned entering the second chapter of the game, "Avenging Souls." The main quest of "Avenging Souls" was triggered by the sudden death of Lord Jiang. Shen Xiuning and Jiang Li went to the crime scene and found Lord Jiang dressed in red, hanging from a large tree. Jiang Li inspected the body and discovered that he had been killed before being hung up.

Li Canglang went to inquire about the situation with Wanwan. Wanwan told him that Master Jiang had once brought a woman to their tavern for a meal. While talking to Li Canglang, Wanwan, who liked him, moved closer to him. In order to avoid her, Li Canglang quickly took a hairpin he had freeloaded from Li Canglang and stuffed it into her hand, then turned and ran away.

Li Canglang informed Li Canglang and Jiang Li about Wanwan's words. Additionally, he also told them about the words spoken by Cui Lan, the maid from Master Jiang's house. Regarding Master Jiang's death, Cui Lan believed that it must be the ghost of Chunyan coming to take his life. Upon learning that Chunyan had died in the old mansion of Li Canglang's family, Jiang Li and Shen Xiuning went there to investigate.

In the Li family's old mansion, Jiang Li saw a letter. As soon as she picked up the letter, it suddenly caught fire. Li Canglang, upon seeing this, screamed in terror, claiming that the vengeful ghost had come. Li Canglang told Jiang Li that after Master Jiang drove Chunyan out, his parents took her in. However, a few days later, Chunyan committed suicide. Shortly after Chunyan's suicide, Li Canglang's parents also died, in a manner identical to Master Jiang.

The case of Master Jiang was still unresolved when Dr. Wang was suddenly murdered. His death was also similar to that of Master Jiang, hanging in red clothes and shoes without any external injuries. Jiang Li was at a loss about the case when Xiao Pang Ya suddenly appeared and provided her with a clue: Chunyan had once sought treatment from Dr. Wang.

Jiang Li recalled the letter she had seen at the old Li residence, the part that hadn't been burned. It was signed with the character "兰" (lan), and she suspected that the letter was written by Cui Lan to Chunyan. In order to clarify their relationship, Jiang Li dressed in red and pretended to be the ghost of Chunyan to scare Cui Lan.

Jiang Li's speculation was correct. Regarding Chunyan's death, Cui Lan had been carrying guilt. Under Jiang Li's intimidation, she finally spoke the truth. Chunyan had been raped by Master Jiang. When Master Jiang assaulted Chunyan, Cui Lan happened to see it from outside the door. However, to protect herself wisely, she didn't step forward to save Chunyan.

While playing the ghost, Jiang Li twisted her foot. She then had Shen Xiuning carry her. When they were about to reach the county office, they unexpectedly encountered Wan Shitong, Wanyan. She stood there, seemingly waiting for someone. While they were chatting with Wanyan, they learned that a house had caught fire because a child was playing with fire stones. From this, Jiang Li figured out that the reason the letter had spontaneously combusted was that someone had placed fire stones on it.

Furthermore, when the young lady of the Jiang family burned paper, the paper caught fire, and the words "冤鬼索命" (injustice-seeking a life) suddenly appeared. Jiang Li suspected that someone had written it with vinegar because Cui Lan had bought those papers. They once again turned their suspicious eyes to Cui Lan. Before they could interrogate her, Li Canglang rushed over and informed them that Cui Lan had been killed. They arrived at the scene and saw Cui Lan dressed in red, the same as Master Jiang

When Jiang Li examined the body of Cui Lan, she found many ants under her head. So, she asked Shen Xiuning to check, and the result was that a long iron nail was nailed into the top of Chunlan's head, just like the bodies of the other victims.

From this, Jiang Li immediately guessed the killer's method. The killer first used a sedative to render the victims unconscious, then hammered a red-hot iron nail into their heads. Because driving an iron nail into a person's head requires a great deal of strength, Shen Xiuning and the county magistrate guessed that the killer was most likely a blacksmith.

Shen Xiuning and Jiang Li, holding the iron nails removed from the victims' heads, went to the blacksmith's shop in the county town. After inquiring, one of the blacksmiths told them that those iron nails should have been made by Blacksmith Zhou. He went on to sigh because Blacksmith Zhou had a gambling problem and ended up owing a lot of gambling debts, eventually selling his daughter to Lord Jiang.

Zhou's daughter is Chunyan. Shen Xiuning and Jiang Li were analyzing the relationship between the killer and Chunyan when Li Canglang suddenly asked Shen Xiuning, "What physical characteristics does a person have after working as a blacksmith for a long time?" Shen Xiuning thought for a moment and told him, "Apart from being strong, they have calluses on their hands and injuries on their knuckles."

After hearing Shen Xiuning's words, Li Canglang suddenly thought of Wanwan, but he couldn't believe that Wanwan would commit murder. In order to help Wanwan prove her innocence, he pretended to get drunk. After Wanwan left, he searched her room and found two porcelain bottles, which he handed over to Jiang Li.

Wanwan returned home and found Li Canglang waiting for her. Li Canglang had prepared a few dishes, and when Wanwan entered, he raised a toast to her. Wanwan thought that Li Canglang had already agreed to run away with her, so she happily drank the wine. After drinking the wine, she realized her face was turning red, only then did she realize that Li Canglang had tampered with the drink.

Seeing Wanwan's vulnerability, Li Canglang couldn't help but feel guilty. At that moment, Shen Xiuning and Jiang Li also entered. It turned out that in the two porcelain bottles that Li Canglang had retrieved, Jiang Li discovered that the medicine inside was identical to the one Dr. Wang had prescribed for Chunyan. This led them to suspect that Wanwan was Chunyan and that Li Canglang had come to test her intentionally.

Wanwan tried to make excuses, but Jiang Li presented further evidence. According to the blacksmith Zhu Datou's statement, Wanwan had an injury on her knuckles from following her father in blacksmithing. Unable to hide the truth any longer, Wanwan had to admit that she was indeed Chunyan. However, when Jiang Li asked about the vengeful ghost killings, she angrily revealed that it was Lord Jiang who had orchestrated those killings.

Lord Jiang and the former county official conspired to embezzle disaster relief grain funds, which was overheard by the maid Chunyan. In response, Lord Jiang raped her and attempted to kill her to keep her silent. After Chunyan escaped to Old Li's home, Lord Jiang pursued her, killing the elderly couple and framing it as the work of a vengeful ghost. To avenge the deaths of the elderly couple, Chunyan devised a plan to kill him.

Wanwan recounted the story of how she killed Lord Jiang, and it matched Jiang Li's speculation. She first drugged Lord Jiang and then hammered a red-hot iron nail into his head. At this point, she added with bitterness that since he liked vengeful ghost killings so much, she fulfilled his desire by killing him. After his death, she dressed him in red clothes and red shoes and then hanged him.

Wanwan believed that Lord Jiang's embezzlement of relief funds from the court made him deserving of his fate. However, Li Canglang believed that, regardless of her reasons, taking a life was unjustifiable. Wanwan initially thought that meeting Li Canglang would be a turning point in her life, but when she saw his serious expression, she realized she had been too optimistic. She then picked up a vial and drank the poison inside.

Jiang Li was puzzled by why Wanwan had killed Dr. Wang and Cui Lan. Wanwan openly admitted that she had gone to Dr. Wang for treatment, but he had discovered her allergy to disguises. Although he prescribed medicine, he resorted to extortion and became more aggressive.

As for Cui Lan's death, it was also an act of revenge. On the day she was violated by Lord Jiang, Cui Lan didn't come to her aid. While it wasn't entirely Cui Lan's fault, she had also disclosed Wanwan's hiding place in Old Li's house to Lord Jiang, which resulted in the murder of the elderly couple. Therefore, Cui Lan's death was a consequence of her own actions.

Seeing Wanwan bleeding from her mouth, Li Canglang quickly embraced her. Before she died, Wanwan asked Li Canglang if he had a place for her in his heart, and when he nodded, she fell into his arms.

Jiang Li's gaming mission was completed, and Xiao Pangya (Little Chubby) gave her three additional lives in the game. However, even with this, she couldn't be happy. She found this darn game too melancholic and wanted to end it, but she hesitated because of Shen Xiuning. Li Canglang felt immense guilt over Wanwan's death, and after burying her, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol. Shen Xiuning didn't know how to console him. When she tried to drink with him, he pushed her away.

Jiang Li went to find Shen Xiuning, seeing him pouring himself a drink. She decided to join him, and both of them ended up drinking too much. Fueled by passion, they shared their feelings and desires, eventually leading to a passionate kiss, and Jiang Li stayed the night in Shen Xiuning's room.

The next morning, Jiang Li, still feeling unsatisfied, discovered that Shen Xiuning was nowhere to be found. She suspected Xiao Pangya had something to do with it and called her out. Xiao Pangya presented her with another main quest and made it clear that after completing this quest, she could return to the real world.

According to the quest requirements, Jiang Li headed alone to Shen Xiuning's hometown, Shen Family Village. As she entered the village, she heard someone shouting for help near the village pond. Curious, she approached, but as soon as she reached the pond's edge, she was dragged into the water by the creature that had been calling for help. After sacrificing one game life, Jiang Li received a system notification congratulating her on initiating the main quest: "Weeping Bloodwater Monster."

With the experience of the first attempt, when she heard the water monster crying for help, Jiang Li arrived at the river with a long stick in hand. However, she was once again dragged into the pond by the water monster. Jiang Li had used up all three of her game lives and still couldn't enter Shen Family Village. She sat at the village entrance, feeling frustrated. She thought about the days when Shen Xiuning's help was with her. Suddenly, Shen Xiuning, holding an umbrella, walked over and extended his hand towards her. Jiang Li excitedly went to greet him, but when she rubbed her eyes and looked again, she realized it was just an illusion. Just as she felt disappointed, a large net descended from the sky and abruptly enclosed her.

Jiang Li was bound by the people who captured her, and these individuals were villagers from Shen Family Village. The reason they had captured her was because the village had recently experienced a series of deaths, and there were rumors that Shen Xiuning, known as a jinx, had offended the water monster. To appease the water monster's anger, they decided to offer an unmarried woman as a sacrifice.

After being captured, Jiang Li prayed for Shen Xiuning to come to her rescue. However, Shen Xiuning's emotions had disappeared in her world due to a bug. When the bug was fixed, Shen Xiuning returned and discovered that Jiang Li had gone to Shen Family Village. He and Li Canglang came looking for her. They learned about the villagers' plan to sacrifice Jiang Li from Shen Xiuning's first love, Rui Xue. At that moment, Jiang Li was tied to a wooden pole, slowly being lowered into the river. The water monster in the river was eagerly awaiting her arrival.

After listening to Rui Xue's account of the situation, Shen Xiuning went to examine the body of the last deceased person, Cui Fu, who had died from drowning. The henchman of the Chief Commander of the Imperial Guards, Little Yongzi, noticed Shen Xiuning conducting the examination and was worried that he might discover something. However, the Chief Commander coldly remarked that he could examine the body as long as it didn't interfere with their sacrificial ritual.

At that moment, the sacrificial ritual was underway. Grand Magus Wu held a sacred sword, burnt yellow talisman paper, and chanted incantations. Jiang Li realized that the villagers were playing for real, and she hadn't expected that this game could be a matter of life and death. She urgently sought help from Xiao Pangya, but her cries went unanswered. Fortunately, at the critical moment, Shen Xiuning and Li Canglang arrived and rescued her.

After being saved, Jiang Li cried and threw herself into Shen Xiuning's arms. However, Shen Xiuning was distant and had surprisingly forgotten their passionate encounter that night. Later, Rui Xue brought food for Shen Xiuning, and upon hearing from Li Canglang that she and Shen Xiuning were childhood friends, Jiang Li finally understood the reason behind Shen Xiuning's unusual behavior.

Because Shen Xiuning had disrupted the sacrificial ritual, the Chief Commander was furious. He went to the river with Little Yongzi to meet Grand Magus Wu to discuss how to rectify the situation. However, before Grand Magus Wu arrived, both the Chief Commander and Little Yongzi were killed. Li Canglang and Jiang Li received this news and went to the crime scene to examine the bodies. Shen Xiuning arrived shortly after, and without even looking at the bodies, he directly informed Jiang Li that the Chief Commander had died from drowning.

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