**Four-Watch (四更天)**: This is the traditional Chinese timekeeping system, dividing the night into five two-hour "watches." The fourth watch (四更) falls roughly between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM. It's traditionally considered the deepest, coldest part of the night, a liminal time when spirits are strongest and the world is at its quietest. Li Huowang waking at this hour reinforces the harsh, real-feeling rhythm of life in the Dao-Twisted World, far removed from the sterile, artificially-lit hospital.
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Definition
**Four-Watch (四更天)**: This is the traditional Chinese timekeeping system, dividing the night into five two-hour "watches." The fourth watch (四更) falls roughly between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM. It's traditionally considered the deepest, coldest part of the night, a liminal time when spirits are strongest and the world is at its quietest. Li Huowang waking at this hour reinforces the harsh, real-feeling rhythm of life in the Dao-Twisted World, far removed from the sterile, artificially-lit hospital.
Story context
Get ready to put on your emotional armor, fellow Daoists, because Chapter 188 strips away the battles and ritual horror to focus on something far more fragile: Li Huowang's heart. After a tender and painfully realistic phone call with Yang Na—where she calls him out on his bullshit and begs him to fight for their relationship—Li Huowang is forced to confront his own avoidance. But a hallucination, no matter how loving, can't offer real redemption. The chapter pivots back to the Dao-Twisted World with aching precision, where Li Huowang, fresh from a hallucinatory emotional gut-punch, finally sees Bai Lingmiao clearly. And for once, he chooses to reach out instead of push away. It's a quiet, character-driven breather chapter that proves this novel's horror is most effective when it makes you care enough to dread what comes next.
Why it matters
This chapter is a delicate balancing act between two "realities," and it masterfully uses one to inform the other. Yang Na's speech about needing maintenance in a relationship is a direct critique of Li Huowang's passive survival strategy. He's been treating the Dao-Twisted World as a game of reaction; Yang Na forces him to consider that even reality (or what feels like it) demands proactivity. But the real genius is how this lesson carries over. When Bai Lingmiao confesses her envy of the bride, she is echoing Yang Na's need for evidence of commitment. Li Huowang's kiss isn't just a romantic gesture—it's the first time he applies the lesson he just learned. He *acts*. Pay close attention to this pattern: the novel uses Yang Na's voice to "correct" or "prod" Li Huowang in a way that his Dao-Twisted World companions can't. It's a powerful narrative device that keeps Li Huowang's humanity from fully eroding, even as he wades deeper into madness.
Quick facts
Source novel
Dao Gui Yi Xian
First appearance
Facing It
Chapter references
1
Type hints
li huowang, yang na, bai lingmiao
Guide tags
emotional, character-driven, romance
Appears in chapters
Jump back into the novel from the exact chapter references used to build this glossary page.