Chapter 28 — Arc: Mengpo. Counteraction

May 27, 2026

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Footnotes

[1]The phrase 阴曹地府 [yīncáo dìfǔ], which in Chinese mythology refers to the subterranean realm of the dead, the underworld, or hell where souls are sent after death to face judgment.
[2]The author uses the expression 日啖三餐，夜卧八尺 [rì dàn sān cān, yè wò bā chǐ] , which literally means "eating three meals a day, sleeping on an eight-chi bed." This is a traditional Chinese proverb emphasizing that a human being requires very little for basic survival, and before these baseline needs, all mortals are equal.
[3]The idiom 给路不退，给脸不要 [gěi lù bù tuì, gěi liǎn bù yào], which literally translates to "given a path out, he doesn't retreat; given face, he doesn't accept it." It means rejecting a merciful offer and behaving ungratefully.
[4]This is an allusion to traditional Chinese Daoist belief, which dictates that a human being possesses 三魂七魄 [sān hún qī pò] — three ethereal souls (hun) and seven corporeal spirits (po).
[5]A 分 [fen] is a traditional Chinese unit of length, equivalent to approximately 3.3 millimeters.
[6]The syllable 弥 [mí] sounds identical to the Chinese onomatopoeia for a cat's meow or a tiny squeak—咪 [mī] .