Recaps

Huang Liu reported his suspicions about Qing He Miao to Huang Wulang, who decided to watch him while maintaining neighborly courtesy. Qing He Miao later stood before a large map of China at home, preparing to consider his geographic location.

• Huang Liu told Huang Wulang that Qing He Miao seemed like an unusually privileged young master, though his motives and resources remained unclear.
• Huang Wulang ordered someone to keep an eye on Qing He Miao, planned to ask his father to make inquiries, and arranged to send a housewarming gift.
• Huang Wulang struck the target's bull's-eye with an arrow as Huang Liu praised his shot.
• In the depths of winter, Qing He Miao stood on the heated kang and examined a large map of China hanging on his wall.

Qing He Miao used an old map and his research to locate himself near Laishui in the Taihang Mountains, concluding that the main plot of “The Bad Guys” had probably not begun yet. As New Year approached, his mother sent him to visit their elderly relative in West Gully, and he set out carrying food in the bitter cold.

• Qing He Miao traced the map to Laishui County and the Taihang Mountains, where he believed his current location lay.
• Qing He Miao reasoned that Li Xingyun was probably still at Mount Qingcheng and the main plot had not started, but decided the distance and dangers made acting early impractical.
• Mother Qing asked Qing He Miao to take frozen meat and boxed milk to his fourth granduncle in West Gully and keep him company.
• Qing He Miao agreed, listened to his mother's advice about what to say, and left for West Gully through the biting cold.

Qing He Miao visited his elderly Fourth Great-Uncle in a freezing, poorly heated home and tried to comfort him with promises of better living conditions and future travel. He left after encouraging Fourth Great-Uncle to live long enough to see those changes.

• Qing He Miao brought meat and milk to Fourth Great-Uncle and shared hot water with him in his cold house.
• Qing He Miao asked whether Fourth Great-Uncle's children would return for the New Year, and the old man said they were away earning money.
• Qing He Miao reassured Fourth Great-Uncle that assistance programs would become stricter and provide him with steady income in the future.
• Fourth Great-Uncle asked whether life would really improve, and Qing He Miao described future prosperity, sightseeing trips, and snowy attractions.
• Qing He Miao checked the clock and rose to leave.

Qing He Miao helped organize the refugees sheltering at the ruined temple and planned to explore the surrounding mountains for monsters. Back home, mourners arrived to tell his mother that her fourth maternal granduncle had died peacefully during the night.

• Qing He Miao brought frozen meat to the temple camp, where refugees cooked it into porridge and settled into makeshift shelters under his management.
• He watched the camp’s meal and considered making rules to maintain order while helping everyone survive the winter.
• After several peaceful days, Qing He Miao admired his long plume of winter breath and thought about searching the nearby mountains for wild monsters.
• A group of men wearing mourning cloth knelt outside Qing He Miao’s open gate, and he hurried to fetch his mother.
• A woman told Mother Qing that her fourth maternal granduncle had been found dead in bed, apparently having passed peacefully during the night.

Qing He Miao confirmed that an old man had died peacefully and stayed through the funeral, easing the relatives’ grief with a Yuzhou Bangzi opera performance. After the old man was buried, light snow fell, and village life moved on.

• Mother Qing sent Qing He Miao to help the old man’s family with the funeral preparations.
• Qing He Miao examined the old man and confirmed that his life force had fully dispersed with no unusual signs.
• Qing He Miao comforted the old man’s son and accepted the customary payment as the family began to grieve.
• Qing He Miao sang an excerpt from The Emperor's Procession, calming the relatives as they prepared the old man’s body.
• The family buried the old man without trouble, and light snow fell several days later.

At dinner, Qing He Miao tried to explain to his family how education, money, and everyday comforts differed between their village and the wider world. After joking that his future might make him famous even in death, he left to train when Grandpa Qing asked whether the afterlife procession he described was real.

• Mother Qing urged Qing He Miao to study hard, attend a good university, and bring honor and comfort to the family.
• Qing He Miao explained that education and wealth were separate paths, using factory-made mini steamed buns to illustrate the gap in awareness and spending between village life and city life.
• Mother Qing dismissed his explanation and criticized his plan to move back to the village after university.
• Qing He Miao joked that his talents would make him a notable figure and imagined a grand procession after his death.
• Grandpa Qing asked whether the afterlife and funeral procession Qing He Miao described were real, and Father Qing rebuked him for asking.
• Qing He Miao said he had only been joking, finished his meal, and left to train on the mountain.

Qing He Miao continued rebuilding the ruined temple while allowing the disaster victims to work at their own pace. When he caught a bandit spying on him, he captured the man and summoned Steward Huang Liu for help.

• Qing He Miao entered the instance world and found the disaster victims working and eating better as the ruined temple slowly took shape.
• Qing He Miao knowingly let some workers slow their pace because they feared losing their food and work if the current task ended too soon.
• Qing He Miao discovered a thin man hiding on the roof and had [Red Hot Chili Pepper] yank him into the room.
• Qing He Miao identified the intruder as a LV6 Bandit, pinned him down, and heard his repeated claim that hunger had driven him to steal food.
• Qing He Miao sent a young man to fetch Steward Huang Liu and kept the bandit restrained while his substitutes searched for anyone else suspicious.

Qing He Miao exposed a bandit scout who had been spying on the refugees, then killed him and asked Huang Liu to arrange a meeting with the Huang Family Fort’s leader. After Huang Liu left, Qing He Miao questioned local disaster victims about the bandits and the fort before returning to his own world.

• Huang Liu examined the captured man and found a hidden map, identifying him as a scout for the Mount Luba bandits.
• Huang Liu said the Huang Family Fort had fought the bandits and warned that they were notorious for murder, robbery, and abductions.
• Qing He Miao killed the scout with Red Hot Chili Pepper and Metallica, earning experience points.
• Qing He Miao asked Huang Liu to tell the fort’s leader that he wanted to meet, and Huang Liu returned to the fort to report.
• Qing He Miao had nearby disaster victims dispose of the body, rewarded them with food, and asked others about local rumors concerning the bandits and the Huang Family Fort.

Qing He Miao visited Huang Family Fort and met its leader, Huang Wulang, while assessing the settlement and its people. Their polite conversation turned to the turbulent times and the Tang dynasty, leaving Huang Wulang to dismiss his men so they could speak privately.

• Qing He Miao confirmed that the information he had gathered about Huang Family Fort matched Huang Liu’s account, then took time alone on the mountain to settle himself after killing for the first time.
• Huang Liu accepted Qing He Miao’s invitation and led him through Huang Family Fort’s layered defenses.
• Huang Wulang welcomed Qing He Miao and personally escorted him to the main hall for tea and a conversation.
• Qing He Miao praised the fort’s practical defenses and described the era as turbulent, citing upheavals since Emperor Xuanzong’s Tianbao era.
• Huang Wulang cautioned Qing He Miao about discussing the previous dynasty and sent his men away so they could talk alone.

Qing He Miao proposed that Huang Wulang’s men help him seize Mount Luba’s bandit stronghold after he secretly killed its leaders. Huang Wulang was tempted by the promised spoils, but the chapter ended before he gave his answer.

• Qing He Miao asked Huang Wulang about the Mount Luba bandits and learned they numbered nearly a hundred, had military weapons, and threatened the Huang Family Fort.
• Qing He Miao suggested eliminating the bandit leaders and asked Huang Wulang to send men to capture fleeing bandits and secure the spoils.
• Huang Wulang warned that the bandits were formidable and asked what Qing He Miao and the fort would gain from taking them on.
• Qing He Miao claimed he was ninety-eight percent certain of success, offered the fort the bandits’ armor and equipment, and said he acted because he disliked others coveting what was his.
• Huang Wulang weighed the low risk and possible gains, then began explaining how hard life in the mountains was.

Qing He Miao and Huang Wulang agreed to wait until after New Year's Day to attack the bandits, while Huang Wulang arranged for him to stay at the fort. Qing He Miao spent the New Year with his family in the main world, where he entertained a cousin by making a coin vanish with his system.

• Huang Wulang agreed to help Qing He Miao target the bandits but proposed waiting until after New Year's Day because winter made travel and raids dangerous.
• Qing He Miao accepted the delay, and Huang Wulang arranged a room and hosted a banquet for him at the Huang Family Fort.
• Qing He Miao continued to distrust the Huang Family Fort and returned each night to the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Temple and his home in the main world.
• Qing He Miao celebrated New Year's Day with his extended family, joining their greetings and festive meal.
• Qing He Miao used his system to make a one-yuan coin disappear and reappear, delighting his younger female cousin.

On New Year’s Day, Qing He Miao left his family home and returned to the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Temple, where he offered the disaster victims a game with food and liquor as prizes. The crowd eagerly stepped up to try their aim at a bird’s nest.

• Qing He Miao’s uncle and aunt left with his younger cousin, and he went outside to clear snow from the family dogs.
• He used [Red Hot Chili Pepper] to snap several dangerous icicles from the eaves, then took snacks and baijiu toward the mountain.
• Qing He Miao appeared at the temple, where disaster victims were waiting for their New Year porridge with pickles, greens, and meat.
• He invited the disaster victims to hit a bird’s nest with stones or frozen clods in exchange for handfuls of snacks, with liquor as an added prize for those who threw from farther away.
• Several men stepped forward and began hurling stones and clods at the nest.

Qing He Miao entertained villagers with a stone-throwing game before joining Huang Wulang and more than sixty armed clansmen on a nighttime raid against Mount Luba’s stronghold. After studying the hide map, he proposed deciding whether to set fires based on how the raid unfolded.

• Qing He Miao drew a crowd by offering peanuts, sunflower seeds, candy, and baijiu as prizes for hitting a bird’s nest with stones.
• Qing He Miao shared the remaining treats among the villagers and poured the leftover liquor into the fire.
• Huang Wulang gathered more than sixty armed young men and led Qing He Miao to a concealed position near Mount Luba’s stronghold.
• Huang Wulang showed Qing He Miao a hide map marking the stronghold’s leaders, supplies, horses, and jail, and outlined a plan to set fires before the clansmen attacked.
• Qing He Miao studied the map and suggested they decide whether to set the fires according to circumstances.

Qing He Miao infiltrated the mountain stronghold invisibly and silently killed several bandit leaders before encountering Mount Luba. After Mount Luba detected an attack from an unseen foe, Qing He Miao struck him with a punch, leaving him dazed as the fight began.

• Qing He Miao declined to set the stronghold on fire and slipped away from Huang Wulang’s group to begin his raid.
• Qing He Miao used Metallica’s invisibility to enter the stronghold and reach the leaders’ quarters.
• Qing He Miao killed several sleeping bandit leaders with Red Hot Chili Pepper.
• Mount Luba dodged an attack in his room, drew his saber, and demanded that the intruder reveal himself.
• Qing He Miao punched Mount Luba, and the system identified him as a level 13 bandit and reported that he had suffered a concussion.

Qing He Miao helped Huang Wulang’s force seize the bandit stronghold by killing its chiefs, sowing panic, and signaling the attack. After the Huang Family soldiers took control, he emerged exhausted and asked for a clean chair.

• Qing He Miao killed Mount Luba with a rapid Stand-assisted attack and took the bandit’s machete.
• Qing He Miao threw the chiefs’ corpses into the open, destroyed nearby walls and doors, and sent the stronghold into chaos.
• Qing He Miao fired a New Year firework as a signal, then used his Stand and machete to kill bandits in the crowd until he reached level 11.
• Huang Wulang led more than sixty Huang Family soldiers into the stronghold, where they secured key locations, defeated the remaining bandits, and took prisoners.
• Qing He Miao emerged from hiding, told Huang Wulang he was mentally exhausted, and asked for a clean chair.

After the Huang Family Fort seized the bandit stronghold, Qing He Miao inspected the loot and questioned the captives about their crimes. A frightened young bandit broke the silence by accusing Zhao Si, leaving the captives’ judgment underway.

• Qing He Miao reviewed his battle records, noticed his [Killing Intent] status remained, and reflected on his need for a weapon and the mental strain of using his stand.
• Huang Wulang reported the fort’s stores and weapons, while Qing He Miao examined incomplete scraps of military saber techniques and dismissed them.
• Qing He Miao aimed a crossbow at the captives and ordered them to identify those guilty of crimes punishable by execution, requiring corroborating witnesses.
• After Qing He Miao fired a bolt into the ground to frighten them, a young bandit accused Zhao Si of assaulting a man’s wife and killing an old man during a raid.

Qing He Miao executed bandits accused of serious crimes, accepted gold and silver from Huang Wulang, and returned to Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Temple. As spring approached, he helped disaster victims prepare farmland and formed a paid group of Courtyard Guards.

• Qing He Miao killed Zhao Si and several other bandits after prisoners accused them of serious crimes.
• Huang Wulang thanked Qing He Miao for sorting the prisoners and gave him the seized gold and silver.
• Huang Wulang arranged for his clansmen to guard the stronghold and returned to Huang Family Fort with Qing He Miao.
• Qing He Miao returned to his real-world home, endured a scolding, and spent several days acting like a normal student before school began.
• Qing He Miao bought seeds for the disaster victims and planned for them to clear land, dig irrigation channels, and farm.
• Qing He Miao formed fifteen paid Courtyard Guard positions and offered farming households the right to keep seventy percent of their first harvest.

Qing He Miao formed a temple guard troop, discovered he could gain experience through its members, and took in another group of refugees. While hunting with Huang Wulang, he learned that local salt was plentiful but that cheaper smuggled salt and Western Region spices could still find buyers; the chapter ended as Huang Wulang reacted with excitement to the proposed goods.

• Qing He Miao recruited fifteen temple guards and received system information about their loyalty and negative traits.
• Qing He Miao tested whether a guard’s kill granted him experience and confirmed that it did, though the amount was greatly reduced.
• A new group of refugees arrived, so Qing He Miao arranged more porridge, well-digging, and housing.
• While hunting with Huang Wulang, Qing He Miao asked about local salt and learned Hebei produced plenty, though government salt was coarse and expensive.
• Huang Wulang offered the Huang Family’s trade contacts for smuggled salt, and Qing He Miao proposed supplying refined salt and Western Region spices.

Qing He Miao turned his salt supply into a partnership with Huang Wulang and secured an official Great Liang appointment that let him move goods through the Taihang region. After reaching LV 13, he drew the Stand Black Sabbath and began testing its shadow-travel and soul-attacking abilities.

• Huang Wulang saw the quality of Qing He Miao's refined salt and recruited powerful partners to expand their business.
• Huang Wulang helped Qing He Miao obtain a Great Liang appointment and iron token, giving him a legitimate pretext to travel through northern camps, markets, and passes.
• Qing He Miao found that disaster victims kept appearing while bandit groups became rarer as his reputation spread, limiting his chances to gain experience.
• Qing He Miao reached LV 13 and drew Black Sabbath, a long-range automatic Stand that traveled through shadows and could restrain souls.
• Qing He Miao tested Black Sabbath as it merged into the shadows of walls, trees, and people.

Qing He Miao’s school knowledge abilities returned to Proficient, ending his Forgetfulness status as he continued developing his reputation among the Horse-Riding Immortal lineage Beyond the Pass. One night, he spotted a figure near his school and was ambushed by Deng Youcai, but countered the attempted throw with a kick.

• Qing He Miao cautiously recorded information about his activities and continued training with Grandma Guan while building a small reputation in the Horse-Riding Immortal lineage Beyond the Pass.
• After reaching Proficient in General History, General Literature, and Science Fundamentals, Qing He Miao lost his Forgetfulness status and regained his former peak condition.
• During his second year of high school, Qing He Miao noticed a shadowy figure between school buildings and secretly followed it.
• Deng Youcai ambushed Qing He Miao with a grappling attack and tried to throw him over his shoulder.
• Qing He Miao used the throw’s momentum to flip sideways and kicked Deng Youcai’s supporting calf.

Deng Youcai and Deng Youfu found Qing He Miao at school, where Deng Youcai tested his fighting skills before the brothers invited him to dinner. At a barbecue restaurant, they discussed contacting him by phone, and Deng Youfu called Qing He Miao’s parents to let them know he would be home late.

• Deng Youcai ambushed Qing He Miao at school, but Qing He Miao countered him and avoided being thrown.
• Deng Youfu stopped Deng Youcai from continuing the sparring and invited Qing He Miao to dinner.
• The three went to a barbecue restaurant, where Qing He Miao asked the brothers not to use an Immortal Family to find him at school.
• Deng Youcai and Deng Youfu urged Qing He Miao to get a phone, but he declined and asked them to tell his parents he would be late.
• Deng Youfu called Qing He Miao’s mother and explained that Qing He Miao was with them.

Qing He Miao encouraged Deng Youfu to study abroad, arguing that Outcasts needed to understand and adapt to the growing influence of modern technology. Deng Youfu felt reassured, while Deng Youcai remained opposed, and Qing He Miao warned Deng Youfu to be careful in the foreign Outcast world.

• Qing He Miao and the Deng brothers ate and drank together, and Deng Youfu said he was considering going abroad after graduation.
• Deng Youcai objected to Deng Youfu leaving home, saying he saw little value in studying abroad.
• Qing He Miao supported Deng Youfu’s plan and explained that modern technology was replacing many supernatural methods, making it important for Outcasts to adapt.
• Qing He Miao suggested Deng Youfu learn from foreign Outcast traditions and warned him not to take unnecessary risks.
• Deng Youfu took Qing He Miao’s advice to heart and looked visibly reassured.

Qing He Miao advised Deng Youfu to travel abroad while Deng Youcai focused on expanding their funeral business, then explained his practical views on marriage and named three potential partners. The brothers were surprised by his specific choices, especially the unfamiliar Tao Tao.

• Qing He Miao encouraged Deng Youfu to go abroad but told Deng Youcai to stay and develop the funeral industry beyond the pass.
• Deng Youfu vowed to broaden his horizons and help revitalize their Horse-Riding Immortal lineage.
• Deng Youcai and Deng Youfu teased Qing He Miao about romance, and he said he planned to find a wife rather than pursue a high-school relationship.
• Qing He Miao listed his preferences for a future wife, including someone from the cultivation circle who could continue the family line and manage household affairs.
• Qing He Miao named Feng Shayan, Lu Linglong, and Tao Tao as tentative candidates, prompting the Deng brothers to question how he knew them and what they had in common.

Qing He Miao discussed his possible marriage prospects with the Deng brothers, who later performed a rite to prepare for the spirit of his Henan opera master. Years passed, and during Qing He Miao’s busy final year of high school, a group of monks arrived at his expanded Daoist temple.

• Qing He Miao explained how Feng Shayan, Lu Linglong, and Tao Tao each might become a suitable match, while the Deng brothers reacted with disbelief.
• The Deng brothers arranged a Spirit Domain formation near the village auditorium to help Qing He Miao’s spirit master pass on peacefully.
• Deng Youfu went abroad to study, while Deng Youcai returned to his hometown after graduating and prospered there.
• Qing He Miao continued expanding the Daoist temple to shelter displaced people and provide them with work.
• A group of weary monks arrived at the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Temple, and their leader greeted Qing He Miao.

Qing He Miao agreed to shelter a group of displaced monks from Jingye Temple on the condition that they work and support themselves. Their leader, Huiming, offered him the Lankavatara Vajra Treatise, and the chapter ended as Qing He Miao’s system identified the manual and asked whether he wanted to learn it.

• Weihong and the other monks told Qing He Miao that war had destroyed Jingye Temple and left them injured and homeless.
• Qing He Miao welcomed the monks, heard Huiming explain how armies had driven them from their temple, and offered them shelter if they obeyed his rules.
• Huiming agreed that the monks would work alongside the displaced people and support themselves, then presented the Lankavatara Vajra Treatise as their offering.
• After the monks left to settle into temporary lodgings, Qing He Miao opened the manual and received a system notification describing its origins and asking whether he wanted to learn it.