- **“A zhang and two chi” (一丈二):** Traditional Chinese units of length. One zhang is roughly 3.33 meters, and one chi is about 0.33 meters. A “丈二” weapon is roughly 4 meters long—standard for a cavalry lance (马槊) or ceremonial halberd, but absurd for infantry, as Gao Zhijian notes. The historical detail grounds the world in real battlefield logic. - **Later Shu (后蜀):** A minor kingdom from China’s Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (934–965 AD). The reference to a *Former Shu* general owning the halberd adds a layer of dangerous provenance; recognizable official weapons could incite legal trouble from “Qingqiu,” a local governing body. - **Cao Cao as Matchmaker (曹操当月老):** Gouwa jokingly compares himself to the famous Three Kingdoms warlord Cao Cao playing the role of the Old Man Under the Moon (月老), the Chinese god of matchmaking. It’s a deliberately absurd mash-up—Cao Cao was known for ruthlessness, not romance. - **“Drink the northwest wind” (喝西北风):** A common Chinese idiom meaning to have nothing to eat. It’s vivid, self-deprecating, and fits the tone of a party surviving on scavenged rations.
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Definition
- **“A zhang and two chi” (一丈二):** Traditional Chinese units of length. One zhang is roughly 3.33 meters, and one chi is about 0.33 meters. A “丈二” weapon is roughly 4 meters long—standard for a cavalry lance (马槊) or ceremonial halberd, but absurd for infantry, as Gao Zhijian notes. The historical detail grounds the world in real battlefield logic. - **Later Shu (后蜀):** A minor kingdom from China’s Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (934–965 AD). The reference to a *Former Shu* general owning the halberd adds a layer of dangerous provenance; recognizable official weapons could incite legal trouble from “Qingqiu,” a local governing body. - **Cao Cao as Matchmaker (曹操当月老):** Gouwa jokingly compares himself to the famous Three Kingdoms warlord Cao Cao playing the role of the Old Man Under the Moon (月老), the Chinese god of matchmaking. It’s a deliberately absurd mash-up—Cao Cao was known for ruthlessness, not romance. - **“Drink the northwest wind” (喝西北风):** A common Chinese idiom meaning to have nothing to eat. It’s vivid, self-deprecating, and fits the tone of a party surviving on scavenged rations.
Story context
This chapter pulls the camera away from Li Huowang’s grinding madness and trauma-forged intellect, and points it instead at the quieter, scrappier corners of his group—the human cost center. We follow Gao Zhijian, the hulking, simple-minded “Gorilla-Man,” as he tends to a captured halberd and a stray dog with the same clumsy reverence. Meanwhile, Gouwa, the opportunistic chatterbox with vitiligo, tries desperately to play matchmaker for everyone except himself, exposing the group’s hidden anxieties about worth, belonging, and what kind of future people like them can even dream of. It’s a slice-of-horror-life chapter that asks a deceptively sharp question: when a half-mad demigod leads you through hell, do you dare wish for a normal life?
Why it matters
This chapter is the “breather epilogue” of an action arc. After the explosive body horror and the high-stakes deal with the Zuowandao, the author hands the mic to the supporting cast—and it’s a masterstroke of pacing. Gao Zhijian’s simple, tactile relationship with the dog Mantou is one of the most human moments in the entire book so far. He doesn’t want a wife, he doesn’t want power; he wants to pet a dog and maybe keep a book he sort-of understands. It’s a quiet, aching reminder that the people around Li Huowang are just *people*, not soldiers or meat shields. Pay attention to Gouwa, too—his cynical refusal to even discuss learning supernatural powers speaks volumes about how the rank-and-file perceive Li Huowang’s “ascension.” The chapter’s final lines, where Zhao Wu is left alone with his ambition, set up an intriguing thread: someone is going to ask for the forbidden knowledge eventually.
Quick facts
Source novel
Dao Gui Yi Xian
First appearance
The Halberd and the Dog
Chapter references
1
Type hints
gao zhijian, gouwa, zhao wu
Guide tags
Character Development, Slice of Horror, Group Dynamics
Appears in chapters
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