Chapter Summaries

Police investigated Zhou Hu’s murder and uncovered a suspect’s unusual route between Brocade Garden and Fortune Comes Smoothly, along with Huang Zeyu’s unexplained disappearance. Their findings led Yang Cheng to summon Shen Jingchuan, who calmly agreed to go with the detectives.

• A waitress and the shift supervisor discovered Zhou Hu dead and Zhang Lei unconscious in room 308, and the police launched an investigation.
• Yang Cheng’s team identified the masked man who entered and left the room, but surveillance showed no one leaving the alley and no footage of Huang Zeyu departing the restaurant.
• Forensics found a fresh hole in the alley pavement and concluded the suspect had used a long pointed pole to vault between the second-floor windows of the two restaurants.
• Police traced the suspect to room 203 at Fortune Comes Smoothly, which had been opened shortly before the murder and paid for at 7:42.
• At dawn, Yang Cheng and four detectives arrived at Shen Jingchuan’s villa and summoned him to assist with the investigation; Shen calmly agreed.

Shen Jingchuan and Meng Ke were released because investigators could not prove their involvement in Zhou Hu’s murder or Huang Zeyu’s disappearance. As Yang Cheng reviewed the case’s impossible evidence, he feared it might become the first unsolved murder in the Capital in more than a decade.

• Shen Jingchuan and Meng Ke denied involvement during questioning, and the task force released them while listing Huang Zeyu as missing.
• After leaving the station, Shen Jingchuan hinted to Meng Ke that he had no alibi because she had stayed at her own home.
• The task force found that Zhou Hu had been killed with a long blade, but investigators could locate neither the weapon nor the pole used to reach the second floor.
• Surveillance showed Huang Zeyu entering private room 308 but never leaving, while neither he nor his body could be found.
• Yang Cheng reviewed the contradictions through the night and feared the case would break the Capital’s long record of solving murders.

After being released from the police station, Shen Jingchuan stocked up on supplies and brought wild ginseng to Elder Yang and his comrades. During their meeting, Elder Yang asked about Shen Jingchuan’s family and questioned him about the police investigation into Huang Zeyu’s disappearance.

• Shen Jingchuan bought food and household supplies so he could avoid making frequent trips out while the police kept him under suspicion.
• Elder Wen told Elder Yang, Elder Li, and Elder Wang that Shen Jingchuan had found two exceptional roots of wild ginseng and was bringing them over.
• Elder Yang and his comrades welcomed Shen Jingchuan at the gate, thanked him for the ginseng, and invited him inside for tea.
• Shen Jingchuan told Elder Yang that his parents had died when he was young and that he had heard about the past involving Xiao Meng.
• Shen Jingchuan explained that Huang Zeyu had been suspected of arranging Meng Ke’s kidnapping and had later disappeared after a murder at the Brocade Garden Private Kitchen; Elder Yang listened in silence.

Shen Jingchuan secured Elder Yang’s guarantee that Meng Ke would be protected, then told her he had to leave for a few days. He returned to Yuxi Prefecture in the other world, where seeing Bai Ruoli and the others together left him feeling guilty about leaving Meng Ke alone.

• Shen Jingchuan reassured Elder Yang that he had nothing to do with Huang Zeyu’s disappearance but worried that Huang’s family might target Meng Ke; Elder Yang, Elder Li, and Elder Wang promised to protect her.
• Shen Jingchuan presented two wild mountain ginseng roots, and Professor Wen judged them to be over two hundred years old and exceptionally valuable.
• Elder Yang saw Shen Jingchuan off and offered to help if anything came up; outside, Shen Jingchuan spotted people positioned near Meng Ke’s jewelry store to watch over the area.
• Shen Jingchuan told Meng Ke he would be away for several days and that Elder Yang had arranged for her safety; they shared a kiss before he left.
• Shen Jingchuan arranged for Factory Director Zhou to deliver the finished carriages to his warehouse, then prepared to travel to the other world.
• Shen Jingchuan arrived at his courtyard in Yuxi Prefecture and found Bai Ruoli, Su Qingshu, Su Qinghua, Qinghe, and Yue'er gathered there, prompting him to feel guilty about leaving Meng Ke alone.

After spending the evening with his household, Shen Jingchuan advanced in his cultivation by breaking through a barrier in his Dantian and entering the first layer of Qi Refinement. His overnight practice left his body covered in foul-smelling impurities, and he asked Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua to prepare a bath.

• Shen Jingchuan asked Liu Zhong to look into buying the neighboring properties and gave him two thousand taels for the purchase.
• Shen Jingchuan returned to the bedroom with Bai Ruoli, then went to the study after she fell asleep to practice the Everlasting Spring Breathing Instruction.
• Shen Jingchuan gathered his Qi and broke through the barrier in his Dantian, entering the first layer of Qi Refinement.
• Shen Jingchuan practiced through the night, felt his senses and strength improve, and found blackish-brown grease covering his skin by morning.
• Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua noticed Shen Jingchuan's foul smell, and he asked them to prepare hot water for a bath.

After Shen Jingchuan bathed, Bai Ruoli, Qinghe, Su Qingshu, and Su Qinghua noticed how cultivation had refined his appearance. He accepted their congratulations, then rode Big Black to the Zhenyuan Escort Agency after breakfast.

• Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua helped Shen Jingchuan scrub his back while he bathed, hiding their growing affection for him.
• Shen Jingchuan finished washing and dressed after sending the shy sisters out of the side room.
• Bai Ruoli, Qinghe, and the Su sisters were startled by Shen Jingchuan's fairer, more refined appearance.
• Shen Jingchuan explained that his cultivation had refined his body, and the four congratulated him.
• After breakfast, Shen Jingchuan rode Big Black to the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.

Shen Jingchuan showed the Lin family how much his cultivation had improved, then learned the wedding customs from Matchmaker Wang after Lin Weiyuan approved his proposal. The chapter ended with Shen Jingchuan, Lin Yue, and Lin Shan preparing to visit Chief Hu and the others at Wild Goose Tomb.

• Shen Jingchuan arrived at the escort agency and watched Lin Shan and Lin Yue spar before explaining that his improved bearing came from practicing a family-inherited Qi-nourishing art.
• Shen Jingchuan sparred against Lin Yue, then Lin Shan and Lin Weiyuan joined in, but the three could only barely hold their ground against him.
• Shen Jingchuan asked Lin Yue how to proceed with his marriage proposal, and Lin Yue told him Lin Weiyuan had agreed and Matchmaker Wang was coming to explain the customs.
• Matchmaker Wang explained the betrothal gifts and wedding procedures, and Shen Jingchuan memorized the details while Lin Qingyao stayed in her room.
• Shen Jingchuan decided to visit Chief Hu at Wild Goose Tomb, and Lin Yue and Lin Shan offered to accompany him.

Shen Jingchuan visited the Wild Goose Tomb and the inn construction site, where Hu Tieniu explained how he was organizing the work and attracting travelers and scholars. Shen Jingchuan praised Hu Tieniu’s business sense, then asked why so few people were working, leaving Hu Tieniu unable to answer.

• Shen Jingchuan armored himself and his horse Big Black before riding out with Lin Shan and Lin Yue.
• Shen Jingchuan met Hu Tieniu at the mountainside worksite, where Hu Tieniu described the inn construction, brick kiln, and efforts to reassure passing travelers.
• Shen Jingchuan saw the rebuilt Wild Goose Tomb and learned that scholars had paid fifty taels to have his lyric carved on a stele.
• Hu Tieniu proposed charging scholars to add inscriptions to the blank space on the stele, and Shen Jingchuan praised his business sense.
• Shen Jingchuan noticed that only about a hundred and twenty people were working and asked Hu Tieniu why so few of his men had joined them; Hu Tieniu fell silent.

Shen Jingchuan left the construction site after Hu Tieniu explained why some former bandits had departed, but three masked fighters ambushed him and his companions on the road. Shen Jingchuan held off the gray-clad expert while Lin Shan’s armor saved him from a sword strike, leaving Lin Yue rushing to his brother’s aid.

• Hu Tieniu told Shen Jingchuan that grieving relatives had left with their families, while the remaining workers were loyal and working earnestly.
• Shen Jingchuan refused Lin Yue’s suggestion to hunt down the departed men and left the construction site after the workers thanked him.
• Three masked riders charged Shen Jingchuan, Lin Shan, and Lin Yue, and the two black-clad fighters attacked with sabers.
• Shen Jingchuan fought off the two black-clad attackers and exchanged blows with the stronger gray-clad man.
• The gray-clad fighter struck Lin Shan’s shoulder, but his titanium alloy armor stopped the sword, and Lin Yue swept his spear toward the attacker.

Shen Jingchuan and the Lin brothers were ambushed by three skilled masked fighters, and their armor and teamwork kept them alive as they fought at a disadvantage. Hu Tieniu and the construction workers rushed to help, and their approaching crowd reached the hollow as the battle continued.

• Hu Tieniu spotted three masked riders attacking Shen Jingchuan and rallied the workers at the construction site to go help.
• Lin Shan found that his titanium-alloy armor had stopped a sword strike, while Shen Jingchuan warned that the gray-clad attacker was unusually strong.
• Shen Jingchuan charged the masked men with Lin Shan and Lin Yue, but two black-clad fighters leapt at them on foot.
• Big Black kicked one black-clad fighter hard enough to break his thigh, while the gray-clad man pressed Shen Jingchuan with a rapid sword attack.
• Lin Shan and Lin Yue struggled to hold off the remaining black-clad fighter, and a crowd of at least a hundred people approached with shouts and pounding footsteps.

Shen Jingchuan fought the gray-clad cultivator until Hu Tieniu and the displaced people charged in to help. Big Black kicked the disarmed man flying out of sight, leaving Shen Jingchuan’s spear thrust to miss.

• Shen Jingchuan held his own against the gray-clad man, though he lacked the opponent’s combat experience.
• Hu Tieniu led about a hundred displaced people to rescue Shen Jingchuan, ready to fight for their benefactor.
• The gray-clad man cut down several people to open a gap and tried to escape, but Shen Jingchuan forced him to defend against a spear thrust.
• The gray-clad man leapt behind Big Black and attacked Shen Jingchuan, but Big Black kicked him and sent his sword flying.
• Shen Jingchuan’s spear missed the gray-clad man as Big Black’s kick sent him out of sight.

Shen Jingchuan and the Lin brothers defeated an ambush by the Pan Household, but the attackers killed several refugees before one escaped. Shen gave Hu Tieniu silver to bury the dead and aid the wounded, then rode toward Yuxi Prefecture as Pan Wenbai waited anxiously for news of Pan Zimo.

• Lin Shan and Lin Yue drove off the black-clad attacker after Shen Jingchuan’s horse killed the gray-clad man, but the attacker escaped into the woods and killed two refugees.
• Lin Shan identified the dead man as Pan Zimo, and Lin Yue recognized the black-clad man as Instructor Zhang from the Pan residence.
• Shen Jingchuan took two pouches from the bodies and ordered Hu Tieniu to dispose of the corpses and weapons discreetly.
• Shen Jingchuan gave Hu Tieniu two thousand taels to bury the dead, compensate their families, treat the wounded, and buy grain for the refugees.
• Shen Jingchuan and his companions rode toward Yuxi Prefecture while Pan Wenbai worried that Pan Zimo had not returned.
• The steward announced that Instructor Zhao had returned, and Pan Wenbai ordered him brought in.

After Zhao Kui reported that Pan Zimo and Instructor Zhang had died while trying to ambush Shen Jingchuan, Pan Hongxuan and Pan Wenbai mourned the loss and explained why the Pan Household had pursued him. Zhao Kui then described the fight, insisting Shen Jingchuan had seemed like an ordinary martial artist even as he overcame the cultivator.

• Zhao Kui returned wounded and told Pan Wenbai and Pan Hongxuan that Pan Zimo and Instructor Zhang had been killed by Shen Jingchuan's black horse during an ambush.
• Pan Wenbai revealed that the Pan Household had targeted Shen Jingchuan after the heir to Prince Jing's residence ordered his death and threatened the family when an earlier attack failed.
• Pan Hongxuan grieved that Pan Zimo, the clan's only child with a Spirit Root and its hope for advancement, had died after years of cultivation and family investment.
• Pan Wenbai questioned how Shen Jingchuan could have defeated Pan Zimo, and Zhao Kui swore he had not held back and explained the limits of Qi Refinement cultivation.
• Zhao Kui said Pan Zimo had initially held the advantage over Shen Jingchuan, whose techniques seemed ordinary despite his immense strength and unusually heavy spear.

Pan Hongxuan and Pan Wenbai learned that Pan Zimo had died and that his Cultivation Method and resources were missing, while Zhao Kui secretly considered keeping them for himself. After returning home, Shen Jingchuan examined the belongings he had taken and discovered cultivation pills and other valuables.

• A survivor told Pan Hongxuan that a powerful black horse had killed Pan Zimo and Instructor Zhang, and Pan Wenbai realized Zimo had carried the clan’s Cultivation Method and resources with him.
• Pan Wenbai searched Zimo’s courtyard but found nothing, while Zhao Kui secretly planned to retrieve the missing items for his own family.
• Pan Hongxuan told Pan Wenbai to recover Zimo’s body and search the scene the next morning, and privately said Zhao Kui knew too much.
• Shen Jingchuan returned to his residence with Lin Shan and Lin Yue, then examined the bags he had taken from his enemies after dinner.
• Shen Jingchuan found a saber manual, silver notes, and jade bottles containing unfamiliar pills, then opened a velvet pouch and was shocked by what was inside.

Shen Jingchuan used Spirit Stones to awaken Xian'er, who discovered he had reached the First Layer of Qi Refinement despite possessing a Five Spirit Root. Xian'er explained the ring space’s abilities, but when Shen Jingchuan sent in his remaining Spirit Stones, it unexpectedly consumed ten of them.

• Shen Jingchuan sent ten Spirit Stones into the ring space, and their Spiritual Qi was absorbed without the ring emitting light.
• Xian'er awakened, and Shen Jingchuan greeted her and began calling her Sister Xian'er.
• Xian'er realized Shen Jingchuan had reached the First Layer of Qi Refinement and identified his Spirit Root as a sturdy but poor Five Spirit Root.
• Xian'er explained how the ring space could nurture ordinary objects and upgrade cultivation treasures by consuming Spirit Stones.
• Shen Jingchuan sent his remaining eleven Spirit Stones into the space, where ten were drained and only one remained, leaving him shocked.

Xian'er absorbed ten Spirit Stones to restore her soul and taught Shen Jingchuan the Five Phases Spirit Guiding Instruction, a cultivation method tailored to Five Spirit Root cultivators. After identifying his pills, she advised him to use the ring space to upgrade them, leaving Shen Jingchuan to begin cultivating.

• Xian'er explained that the Spirit Stones would help restore her soul and promised Shen Jingchuan a proper cultivation method in return for more stones.
• Xian'er imprinted the Five Phases Spirit Guiding Instruction into Shen Jingchuan's sea of consciousness and explained how to call her when she was sleeping.
• Shen Jingchuan sent two bottles of pills into the ring space, and Xian'er identified five Qi Nourishing Pills and three Qi Gathering Pills.
• Xian'er advised Shen Jingchuan to use the last Low-Grade Spirit Stone to raise the pills' grades, then returned to sleep.
• Shen Jingchuan commanded the ring space to absorb the last Spirit Stone and upgrade both kinds of pills.

Shen Jingchuan returned to the modern world and bought weapons, winter supplies, tools, and protective gear for the displaced people. He arranged for the bulk orders to be delivered that afternoon, leaving the preparations for their equipment underway.

• Shen Jingchuan tried the Five Phases Spirit Guiding Instruction in the modern world but found too little Spiritual Qi to cultivate, then slept.
• Shen Jingchuan ordered five hundred six-meter 65 manganese steel pipes cut into a thousand three-meter spear shafts, along with cord and electrical tape for grips.
• Shen Jingchuan ordered winter clothing, bedding, tools, towels, and sulfur soap for a thousand displaced people, arranging delivery and inspection before final payment.
• Shen Jingchuan ordered eight hundred basic stab-proof vests and two hundred versions with steel plates, all sized to fit over padded coats.
• Shen Jingchuan decided the construction hard hats would be sufficient and did not order additional helmets.

Shen Jingchuan prepared supplies for the refugees, including materials for making crossbows, then returned to the other world and expanded his residence by buying the vacant courtyard next door. The next morning, he rode Big Black alone to Wild Goose Tomb.

• Shen Jingchuan sketched a crossbow design and ordered spring steel strips, nylon cord, and other supplies for making weapons.
• Shen Jingchuan arranged for merchants to deliver the supplies to his warehouse, collected them into his space, and returned to the other world.
• Liu Zhong reported that Shen Jingchuan had bought the abandoned courtyard to the west, while the owner of the eastern ancestral home refused to sell.
• Shen Jingchuan inspected the western courtyard and ordered Liu Zhong to open a moon gate between it and his residence, keeping its main gate locked.
• Shen Jingchuan left the city alone on Big Black and reached Wild Goose Tomb in less than half a shichen.

Shen Jingchuan brought supplies to the refugee camp and organized the refugees’ hygiene, clothing, and construction work. After three days of transporting materials and teaching them to build two-story houses, he left them with a hearty feast.

• Shen Jingchuan left a pile of supplies in a hollow, burned the corpse and clothes of Huang, and rode to the refugee camp.
• Hu Tieniu led more than three hundred refugees to carry the supplies back to the inn construction site.
• Shen Jingchuan stopped work for the day and gave everyone soap, towels, warm clothes, and gloves, then showed them how to bathe and dress.
• Over the next three days, Shen Jingchuan brought construction materials from the modern world and taught the refugees to build foundations, brick walls, and precast concrete floors.
• Shen Jingchuan brought rice, salt, and two pigs to the camp, and the refugees shared a feast of rice and stewed pork.

Shen Jingchuan equipped 56 refugee men with handmade spears, stab-resistant vests, and helmets, then began training them to defend their homes. The chapter left them practicing formations and spear techniques under his command.

• After seeing the refugees enjoy his seasoned meat, Shen Jingchuan asked Hu Tieniu to select the strongest men to help build houses and form a group of fighters.
• Shen Jingchuan showed the 56 men how to make spears from steel pipes, tape, and beef-sinew cord, then sent them to sharpen the points.
• Shen Jingchuan demonstrated that the steel-plated vests and fiberglass helmets could withstand spear thrusts, while warning the men that unprotected areas remained vulnerable.
• Shen Jingchuan told the men to learn to fight so they could protect their homes and supplies, then taught them to stand in formation and march in step.
• After two days of formation practice, Shen Jingchuan had the men continue drilling and began teaching them basic spear thrusts and strikes.