Water

Story context

Get ready, fellow travelers, because Chapter 322 throws us straight into one of the most unsettling folk-horror scenarios yet: the “Water Son.” Li Huowang witnesses a bizarre, almost festive ceremony where a village sends a toothless old woman adrift on a boat into a dark cave, all while congratulating her on her good fortune. Our boy knows a “eat the heirless inheritance” scheme when he sees one, but instead of just walking away, he makes a snap decision to hitch a ride—invisible, of course—to see exactly what this so-called “Water Son” monster really is. What follows is a tense, claustrophobic journey into darkness, culminating in a face-off with a truly grotesque creature that forces Li Huowang to confront a new, terrifying question: just what *are* the voices in his head?

Why it matters

This chapter is a masterclass in atmosphere. Really pay attention to the sensory shift: the loud, “joyful” gongs and drums on the shore versus the dead, dripping silence inside the cave. That contrast is the whole novel in a microcosm. Also, keep your eyes on the prize: the final scene. Li Huowang’s sudden question to Hongzhong isn’t just him being paranoid. It’s the single most important question in the entire story. If his hallucinations know things he doesn’t, then the neat category of “hallucination” breaks down. This chapter is a huge clue that the voices in his head—Hongzhong, the skinless man—are not just psychological noise. They are something else, something that sees and knows the Dao-Twisted World in ways Li Huowang himself cannot.

Quick facts

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Source novel

Dao Gui Yi Xian