While searching to escape the Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian is shocked to see scars of the discipline whip across Lan Wangji's back. Suddenly, the Demonic Left Arm causes an emergency during a soul-summoning ceremony.
After another brush with Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji track the Demonic Left Arm to Qinghe. Meanwhile, Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao also head to Qinghe, concerned that the Demonic Left Arm may be more than Nie Huaisang can handle.
Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji rescue Jin Ling. While Lan Wangji investigates a person watching them, Wei Wuxian transfers his nephew's curse mark to his own body and hallucinates an event from his past: the fateful night-hunt on Mount Baifeng.
Wei Wuxian is captured by Jiang Cheng, who knows his true identity. However, the skeptical Jin Ling frees Wei Wuxian for saving his life earlier. Wei Wuxian finds Wen Ning and recalls his fall from societal grace.
Wei Wuxian restores Wen Ning's consciousness, only to collapse from the effects of the Curse Mark. He recalls how in the past, Lan Wangji visited the Burial Mounds where he protected the Wens, including a small child, Wen Yuan.
In the past, the Lanling Jin Clan summoned a pledge conference to oppose Wei Wuxian in Nightless City which resulted in a massacre. In the present, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji discuss the sound of a second flute that chaotic night.
Nie Huaisang reveals himself as the person outside the Stone Castles. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian discover a pair of demonic legs belonging to the Demonic Left Arm's body, and follow its lead to Yi City.