Chapter Summaries

Nick was drawn into an investigation after a seditious flyer appeared in his bedroom, and Cao Xi later identified the man who had attacked him as a suspect connected to the Heaven and Earth Society. Nick returned to the guarded courtyard, warned that the attacker’s supposed older brother might seek revenge.

• The provincial graduate copied the flyer’s anti-Manchu call to arms onto a table, while Georgiana and Bonaparte discussed the provincial commander’s failure to act.
• Nick worried that he could not explain how the flyer had appeared in his locked bedroom and feared Cao Xi was looking for someone to blame.
• Nick continued studying Mandarin while waiting for Cao Xi to summon him.
• Cao Xi showed Nick a drowned man, and Nick identified him as the person who had punched him in the street.
• The provincial commander declared the flyer a deliberate deception by the Heaven and Earth Society, and Nick said he could not draw portraits of the other attackers.
• Cao Xi warned Nick that the dead man’s supposed older brother might seek revenge, and Nick chose to return to the guarded courtyard.

Granny Liu wandered into Jia Baoyu’s Happy Red Court and fell asleep before Xiren returned her to the others. The chapter then turned to scented charcoal and the Heaven and Earth Society’s threats around Guangzhou, leaving Nick and Georgiana grieving over the endangered young man whose portrait Nick had drawn.

• Granny Liu mistook a painted figure for a real girl, explored Jia Baoyu’s room, and fell asleep on his bed.
• Xiren found Granny Liu in Happy Red Court, covered the smell with lily incense, and led her back to the others.
• The account explained how scented charcoal was made and used, including the fragrant charcoal called Plum Blossom Fragrance.
• The Scholar described the Heaven and Earth Society’s origins and activities, while Nick learned that the provincial commander might soon leave his post.
• Nick considered whether to include the young man’s portrait in his sketchbook as he recalled their encounter in Guangzhou.
• Georgiana stopped reading, and Bonaparte comforted her as she mourned the young man who had become bait.

Nick returned to Lam Qua’s studio, received a seal carved with his Chinese name, and then met Captain Yao, who complained about pirates and asked about ways to make money. Nick left the hospital with his belongings, map, and clock, intending not to bring trouble upon the priest.

• Nick visited Lam Qua’s studio in a xiucai’s gown, where Lam Qua had a stone engraver carve Nick’s Chinese name, Pingxi, into a seal.
• Nick wandered through the city and encountered Captain Yao, whom he invited to a restaurant.
• Captain Yao complained that pirates were preventing him from earning a living and asked Nick about turning metal into silver and counterfeiting foreign currency.
• Captain Yao told Nick how repeated customs taxes had once forced ships to avoid the harbor, until Fan Yu petitioned for merchant vessels to berth without being taxed for trade elsewhere.
• Nick returned to the hospital and took his luggage, the map, and the clock with him so he would not bring trouble upon the priest.

Nick brought gifts to the admiral, who asked him about Cao Xi’s proposal to clear pirates from a hidden Hong Kong harbor. In the framing scene, Bonaparte and Georgiana discussed a tragic story of a broken engagement, and Georgiana was left questioning what was real.

• Nick traded the antiques dealer’s clock for two inkstones chosen by the Juren, then visited a spice shop with him.
• The Juren prepared hair oil from an old formula, and Nick presented the bottles to the admiral.
• The admiral told Nick that Cao Xi had urged him to send the Guangzhou Naval Forces against pirates in Hong Kong, while Nick considered how authorities might rescue people forced into piracy.
• Bonaparte asked Georgiana about Liu Xianglian and You Sanjie, then told her to make a clean break if she truly wanted one when Vendémiaire came.
• Georgiana held Bonaparte’s hand and wondered whether her experiences were real or part of the Mirror of Erised.

Nick joined the anti-smuggling fleet at Kap Shui Mun as government and Portuguese ships moved to isolate Zheng Yi’s pirate alliance, while Cao Xi sought a show of strength rather than a prolonged battle. Nick’s printed document condemning the Qing court threatened to become a deadly political weapon, and the provincial naval commander feared the danger of possessing it.

• Nick arrived at Lantau Island and joined the thirty-ship anti-smuggling fleet gathered at Kap Shui Mun, where Cao Xi inspected the pirates’ concealed harbor.
• An Indian ship blundered into the harbor and fled after the fleet briefly pursued it, while the assembled ships and tents suggested the pirates had withdrawn into their enclave.
• Six Portuguese warships from Macau joined the Guangzhou Naval Forces, and the combined fleet searched the surrounding waters and cut off the pirates’ supplies.
• Cao Xi avoided a prolonged siege because he feared pirate raids elsewhere and hoped the fleet’s display would let officials report a bloodless victory.
• Nick’s printed paper condemning the Qing court threatened to give rebels across the southeast a rallying cry, and the provincial naval commander treated it as a death warrant.
• The provincial naval commander received Nick’s Duan inkstone carved with a Tianlu, while the provincial graduate wondered why everyone he supported seemed destined for disaster.

Nick wandered through Macau and reflected on Portugal’s maritime history, imperial power, and the hardships of exploration. Unsure what to do, he eventually found the medical team preparing golden wound medicine and joined them as a naval confrontation seemed likely to remain a show of force.

• Nick considered Macau’s restricted parliament and compared Portuguese stone pillars with the imperial authority and wrongful cases of the Qing dynasty.
• Nick and Bonaparte discussed penguins in the tropics as Nick recounted da Gama’s voyage, the Portuguese encounters with the Zamorin, and the fleet’s struggles with storms and monsoons.
• Nick reflected on sailing ships, navigation, maps, fishing, and the dangers facing fishermen and sailors around the Pearl River.
• Nick wandered aimlessly for seven or eight hours before finding the medical team preparing golden wound medicine, and he joined them.
• Nick judged that his Spanish folding knife would be of little use in a naval battle and suspected the coming confrontation would only demonstrate force.

Nick witnessed a staged naval victory over pirates near Lantau Island and returned to Guangzhou, where Cao Xi offered him a jade ruyi as a sign of friendship. Later, Nick tried to share the profits from a hair-oil recipe with the provincial graduate, who refused and returned to preparing for the imperial examination.

• Nick watched Qing forces and Portuguese warships fight pirates near the enclave, but the pirate ships escaped after the government troops declared victory.
• After two days at the Lantau Island command post, Nick and Cao Xi returned to Guangzhou, where Cao Xi hosted a victory banquet and gave Nick a jade ruyi.
• Nick received a letter asking him to make more hair oil for the commander, but found the spice shop already selling the product and received a chest of it for free.
• Nick took two silver ingots to the provincial graduate and asked why he had not sold the recipe sooner, but the provincial graduate refused the money and resumed studying for the next imperial examination.

The Admiral received a decree appointing him Governor-General of the Southern Riverways and prepared to leave for his new post, while Nick said farewell to his friends and traveled with the official party. During the voyage, Nick saw what appeared to be pirates attacking the ship, but the steaming tea and vanished monk suggested the encounter might have been a hallucination.

• The Emperor appointed the Admiral to inspect southeastern ports before transferring him to Qingjiangpu as Governor-General of the Southern Riverways.
• Nick planned to leave his jade ruyi with Dharma Nature Temple and asked the abbot to preserve word of his experiences for his European friends.
• Lam Qua gave Nick a stone seal, and Nick gave Lam Qua a bronze seal before they shared a farewell meal with Howqua.
• Captain Yao's party departed, and Nick became seasick before Wan Ning brought him hangover tea and the juren made him Jade Blossom Sobering Incense.
• Nick saw a monk in his cabin and then appeared to witness red-clad pirates fighting Cao Xi and the Qing soldiers aboard the ship.
• Nick shouted a warning, but the Admiral told him to return to his cabin, where he found the tea still steaming and the monk gone.

After the fleet left Shanwei, Nick reflected on the dangers facing Fujian’s trade routes, the pirates, and the hardships along the coast. Georgiana and Bonaparte ended the chapter discussing whether unusual creatures existed, with Bonaparte hinting at a prank.

• At Shanwei, the admiral arranged for Wan Ning and her aunt to travel overland to Jingdezhen, and the provincial graduate proposed leaving with them.
• Nick considered the rivalries and risks in Fujian’s maritime trade while the fleet continued sailing, and the crew suspected a traitor had disclosed their route to pirates.
• Nick remembered the red-cloaked pirate drinking rooster’s blood as medicine and thought about the pirate threat and the strange customs he had encountered.
• Nick reflected on abandoned villages, gangs, and the harsh conditions he had seen along the coast during the fleet’s stops.
• Bonaparte asked Georgiana whether she believed in unusually large parrots, and she answered that she had heard of Diricawl.
• Bonaparte asked Georgiana about birds-of-paradise and smiled as if planning a prank.

Nick reflected on Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s ambitions, cultural policies, and legacy while traveling with the anti-smuggling fleet. After missing the admiral’s farewell, Nick wondered why a monk rather than God had guided him in his dream.

• Nick considered Hoko-ji’s troubled history, its great Buddha, and the bell that became a pretext for the Osaka Campaign.
• Nick reflected on wabi tea, the merchants who shaped it, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s use of commerce and transport networks to build power.
• Nick recounted Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s ambitions to conquer China and reshape East Asia, along with his dealings with Christian missionaries and the later persecution of Christians.
• Nick recalled the destruction and rebuilding of Hoko-ji’s great Buddha, the temple’s role in the struggle between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyori, and the merchants’ support during the Osaka conflict.
• Nick missed the admiral’s farewell ceremony after getting drunk, received a Ten Thousand People's Umbrella from the people of Guangzhou, and hoped the fleet would cross the waters safely.
• Nick looked up at the blue sky and wondered why a monk, rather than God, had guided him in his dream.

Nick traveled along the coast, visited a fortified tulou, and witnessed pirates attack the fleet before an artillery fort drove them away. The narrative then shifted to Georgiana and Bonaparte discussing Adams’s envoy, Mr. Murray, as Georgiana wondered about the name Keniaowei.

• Nick visited a tulou in Zhenhai County and gathered material while its residents stared at his blond hair and blue eyes.
• Cao Xi arranged for an old man to recount his abduction by pirates, and Nick later glimpsed a dark shape at sea during the night.
• Dozens of sailing vessels attacked the fleet near a reef-lined coast, but an artillery fort fired cannons and forced the pirates to withdraw.
• At Jinghai County, the wounded were taken to a nearby military camp, and Nick learned that Keniaowei was known for its sea-eroded stone pillars.
• Bonaparte asked Georgiana to guess Mr. Murray’s mission, and Georgiana asked why the place was called Keniaowei.

Nick reflected on Japanese rice taxation, trade, and pawn arrangements used to conceal family assets, then considered warning Cao Xi about the admiral. The chapter left Nick unsure whether to caution him.

• Nick considered how the fleet’s pirate attack and the White Lotus Sect rebellion would complicate the admiral’s memorial to the emperor.
• Nick reviewed Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s land survey and tax system, and how Choshu Domain’s tax increases burdened peasants.
• Nick considered how Japan’s rice trade connected it to Siam and China, while Tokugawa Ieyasu prepared to challenge Toyotomi Hideyori.
• Nick reasoned that Wang Xifeng used pawn rights to transfer the assets of several families, which the emperor later seized.
• Nick thought of the rosewood chair and Jiaqing Emperor’s financial troubles, then wondered whether he should warn Cao Xi about the admiral.

Nick visited Haimen Bay and Lotus Peak, where he learned about local history, poetry, and traditions while sketching the town. After a diviner grabbed him and tried to tell his fortune, Nick broke free and continued his travels, leaving the encounter behind.

• Nick wandered through Haimen Town and along the beach, sketching while the Admiral and others handled official business.
• Nick visited Lotus Peak with Cao Xi, the Admiral, and fort guards, and heard stories about Wen Tianxiang and the inscriptions there.
• Nick later asked the provincial graduate about the couplet at Chongwen Pavilion and listened to his proposed matching line.
• Nick encountered a diviner who insisted on telling his fortune and startled the other visitors.
• Nick struggled free from the diviner and moved on, accepting that their brief encounter would be forgotten.

Nick traveled from Xiamen to Fuzhou, where a local official showed him the sights and arranged permission for him to visit the Wuyi Mountains. He and his party set out by boat for Chong'an County, the home of the famous tea-producing mountain.

• The Admiral allowed Nick to stay in Fuzhou for several days on the condition that a local official accompany him.
• Nick traveled from Xiamen aboard Captain Yao's civilian ship and endured its smoky cabin and gambling sailors.
• After entering Fuzhou Prefecture through the Min River, Nick toured the city and its surroundings with a local official.
• Nick asked to visit the Wuyi Mountains, and the official eventually approved his request.
• Nick boarded a food-laden, eight-oared boat bound for Chong'an County with the famous mountain ahead.

Georgiana read Nick’s account of the Wuyi Mountains, where he traveled through tea country, learned about tea cultivation and production, and was mistaken for a strange creature by curious villagers. She became interested in the mountains and reflected on the rumors about tea as she turned to a drawing of an old man with a compass.

• Nick and his companions struggled through rain and confusing river branches before reaching the Wuyi tea region near Xingcun Town.
• Nick and his companions hired bamboo sedan chairs, and the bearers demanded more money until Captain Yao helped protect Nick’s purse.
• Villagers crowded around Nick, mistook him for a hairy creature, and demanded to see his claws before an official drove them away.
• Nick observed tea picking and learned how workers processed black and green teas, while his account challenged European rumors about tea.
• Bonaparte teased Georgiana about the belief that green things were poisonous, and she questioned the rumor that monkeys picked tea.
• Georgiana imagined the misty Wuyi Mountains and turned to a drawing of an old man holding a compass and looking at the sky.

On the road back to Fuzhou, Nick met two old men searching for Mountain Demons and heard their account of the Jiyin People, their mazes, and shadow backlash. After taking a book from them, Nick returned to his group and learned that no rain had fallen, leaving his encounter uncertain.

• Nick followed five people wandering off the road and learned that two old men were searching for Mountain Demons.
• One old man explained the Jiyin People's beliefs and described how they hunted Mountain Demons with mazes and other methods.
• The old man told Nick about a gardener who saved a Shiite girl and about a painter whose senses failed after a terrible illness.
• Nick asked what shadow backlash was, and the old man gave him a book to read.
• Nick chose to leave with the book after the rain stopped, but Captain Yao told him that it had not rained at all.

Georgiana and Bonaparte read Nick’s account of China’s ports, temples, silk trade, and inland journey, discussing British textiles and the Qing maritime restrictions. The account leaves Nick wondering whether restoring Wan Ning’s sight would help her or expose her to the deceptions of light.

• Nick and the admiral left Zhoushan after visiting Putuo Mountain and traveled to Ningbo, where they were welcomed and Nick learned about local trade.
• The admiral granted Nick’s wish to visit Hangzhou, and Nick observed the region’s silk production and farming practices.
• Georgiana and Bonaparte discussed Chinese textiles, British machinery, and whether the Qing maritime ban aimed to create a monopoly.
• Georgiana read that Nick and his companions traveled from Hangzhou to Shanghai and then met the provincial graduate and Wan Ning in Zhenjiang.
• Nick remembered the old man’s words about darkness and wondered whether curing Wan Ning’s blindness would truly be good for her.

Nick researched the Mountain Demons and the Shadowfiends, tracing their conflict through ancient texts while considering his uncertain journey with the Mongols. Georgiana independently puzzled over Shadow backlash and a Muslim scholar’s work on shadows, then decided to finish her book before joining everyone.

• Nick divided the copied book into portions and sent them to Beijing through official messengers.
• Nick studied accounts of the Gan Giants and Xiaoyang Kingdom in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and considered how the neighboring peoples might have fought the Shadowfiends.
• Nick concluded that he still lacked evidence about the mysterious Beiqu Kingdom and wondered what Shadow backlash meant.
• Georgiana reasoned that Shadow backlash might mean darkness controlling the person in the light, and recalled a Muslim scholar who had written about vision and shadows.
• Carolan Lestrange found Georgiana searching for the scholar’s name and told her that everyone was waiting.
• Georgiana told Carolan Lestrange she would join them after she finished her book.

Nick explored Huai'an while Captain Yao watched over him, researching Mountain Demons and seeking someone who could read a Turkish book. At the local mosque, he discovered that the seemingly youthful worshipper who examined his book was its imam.

• Nick accepted Captain Yao's supervision as he traveled around Huai'an by boat and recorded ideas about the Xiaoyang and Qizhong kingdoms and Mountain Demons.
• Nick wondered whether anyone in Beijing could read Turkish writing, then spotted a man in a white cap and followed him to Huai'an's mosque.
• Nick asked the mosque's assistant whether he understood Turkish writing and showed him the book written by the Macedonian.
• A young worshipper took the book and began reading it, and the assistant revealed that the youth was the imam.
• Nick stared in disbelief at the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old imam, who smiled at him with a mischievous look.

Georgiana attended the Calais conference, where disputes over trade and the pursuit of Scourers and Garudas stalled cooperation between Britain and France. After inspecting a coastal trap that could ensnare flying creatures, she ordered anti-Apparition wards and reflected on the conflict between wizards and Muggles before returning to her book.

• Georgiana attended the Calais conference despite wanting to finish her book, while French representatives questioned whether the Naga had been found and Malfoy challenged the trade restrictions.
• The proposed British-French cooperation to capture Scourers and Garudas nearly collapsed amid arguments.
• Georgiana inspected the Calais coastline and watched a tree-like device shed leaves that formed a net around an experimental Augurey.
• Georgiana ordered anti-Apparition wards after realizing the coastal devices would prevent free broomstick travel.
• Georgiana recognized the American Scourer’s knowledge of the dream world and considered the dangers of wizard rule and the need for the International Statute of Secrecy.
• Georgiana returned to the page she had been reading and continued her book.