Chapter Summaries

At Princess Villa, Xia Fan secretly researched a new Zhen Technique using copper rods and a wooden frame while Li and Princess Ning Wanjun tried to guess what he was doing. He tested the device and blasted a fist-sized hole through the courtyard wall.

• Li sunbathed while watching Xia Fan conduct unusual Zhen Technique research at Princess Villa.
• Ning Wanjun and Qiuyue visited Li and speculated that Xia Fan’s copper rods and lumber were training equipment or a lightning target.
• Xia Fan built a wooden frame holding two parallel copper rods and asked Ning Wanjun whether he could damage the courtyard wall.
• Xia Fan activated the Zhen Technique while gripping a copper rod, unleashing a flash and a thunderous blast that punched a hole through the wall.

Xia Fan tested a Flowing Light Spell that accelerated a projectile through copper rails, punching through a courtyard wall, and explained its electromagnetic force to Ning Wanjun and Li. Ning Wanjun decided to study Zhen Technique, and she told Xia Fan that she had recruited the workers he needed for salt production.

• Xia Fan fired a copper projectile through a courtyard wall with his experimental Flowing Light Spell, startling Ning Wanjun and Qiuyue.
• Xia Fan explained that the Guide Rails turned electricity into thrust, while Ning Wanjun recognized the weapon’s potential on the battlefield.
• Ning Wanjun asked to learn the technique, and Li also showed that she wanted Xia Fan to teach her.
• Xia Fan agreed to teach them but described the prototype’s problems, including its heavy energy use, overheating rails, and grounding requirement.
• Ning Wanjun told Xia Fan that she had recruited all the people he needed for salt production.

Xia Fan began building a trial salt field near Jinxia City with a hundred former soldiers supplied by Ning Wanjun, aiming to develop a more efficient way to produce salt. Meanwhile, Mo Yun’s carriage broke down on the road to Jinxia, leaving her about two days from the city without transport.

• Ning Wanjun told Xia Fan she could gather three or four thousand former soldiers but assigned only one hundred to salt production.
• Xia Fan chose a coastal slope near Jinxia for a trial salt field and instructed the soldiers to build terraced pools for concentrating seawater.
• Xia Fan planned to combine solar evaporation with Sorcery Arts-powered heating to improve salt production.
• Mo Yun’s carriage axle broke on the road to Jinxia, and she learned she was still about two days from the city.

Mo Yun accepted a ride to Jinxia from the young diviner Fang Xiandao, who deduced her position and explained that he was traveling to investigate a divination that had yielded no result. Fang Xiandao continued toward Jinxia, hoping to understand an unforeseeable outcome that might determine the limits of his mastery.

• After waiting for a full shichen for a carriage, Mo Yun accepted a ride to Jinxia from Fang Xiandao.
• Fang Xiandao told Mo Yun that he had offered her a ride to relieve his boredom and gain a chance to befriend an official of the Ministry of Works.
• Fang Xiandao deduced Mo Yun's identity from her calluses, fine clothes, and attendant's access token, then revealed his interest in the Fang family's need for crafted objects and concealed weapons.
• Mo Yun recognized Fang Xiandao as a sorcerer from the Fang family of Ling Province and asked why he was going to Jinxia.
• Fang Xiandao explained that a divination connected to a letter from Xia Fan had produced no result, so he had set out to investigate rather than risk his mastery of the arts stagnating.

Xia Fan expanded the Command Department's staff while officials in the Bureau of Military Affairs plotted to curb his influence. Zhang Ya proposed using an emergency rule to install Wen Xingyuan as Prefectural Assistant, giving him authority over Xia Fan.

• Xia Fan welcomed Sun Haotian into the Command Department after Princess Guangping confirmed his promised opportunity.
• More Qi Sense Users joined Xia Fan, bringing his staff to twenty people.
• Wen Xingyuan, Quan Gu, Xue Zhigeng, and other officials discussed investigating Xia Fan's funding and undermining his recruitment.
• Zhang Ya argued that the Bureau's lack of a Prefectural Assistant was the root of the problem and cited an emergency rule for filling the post.
• Zhang Ya pointed out that Wen Xingyuan's seniority could make him the next Prefectural Assistant.

Xia Fan taught Ning Wanjun and his companions about an inexpensive catalyst he had developed for the Zhen Technique, but their attempts to use it failed. He realized the catalyst only worked for him because they had never seen an Electromagnetic Rotor generate electricity.

• Xia Fan revealed that a Copper Wire Pendant could replace Lightning-struck Wood as a cheap catalyst and said he had found at least five better alternatives.
• Ning Wanjun tried the pendant with the Zhen Technique but could not activate it, and Luo You'er and Wei Wushuang failed as well.
• Li cast a faint Thunderclap without using the pendant, demonstrating her own Sorcery Arts talent.
• Xia Fan realized the pendant did not work for the others because they had never seen an Electromagnetic Rotor generate electricity.

Xia Fan tested whether Lightning-struck Wood could activate the Zhen Technique and found it worked, though far more weakly than his usual catalyst. He then built a simple Leyden jar to show Ning Wanjun and the others that ordinary people could generate and store electricity, ending with the jar shocking the princess.

• Xia Fan used Lightning-struck Wood to cast the Zhen Technique and discovered that its power was greatly reduced.
• Xia Fan explained that he wanted to prove ordinary people could create and store lightning without Sorcery Arts.
• Xia Fan assembled a Leyden jar from a crystal cup, gold leaf, copper wire, salt water, and other ordinary materials.
• Xia Fan charged the jar by rubbing silk against a jade bracelet and guiding the charge into it.
• Ning Wanjun reached toward the jar, and an electric spark leapt from the copper wire to her fingertip.

Xia Fan demonstrated that ordinary objects could store electricity and serve as catalysts for the Zhen Technique, then resolved to teach his companions basic knowledge. After the alliance pact was authenticated, he and Ning Wanjun agreed to act quickly to secure the Great Miko’s cooperation.

• Xia Fan showed Ning Wanjun and the others how a charged crystal cup produced an electric shock and explained how it could be recharged.
• Ning Wanjun used the cup as a catalyst for the Zhen Technique, causing it to vanish even though her Flowing Light Spell failed.
• Li judged that Ning Wanjun had triggered the spell, while the others realized that handmade objects could become new Zhen Technique materials.
• Xia Fan decided to hold weekly classes and teach basic subjects such as arithmetic.
• Qiuyue invited Xia Fan to the Villa, where Ning Wanjun told him that appraisers had confirmed the alliance pact was genuine.
• Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun agreed to take concrete action so the Great Miko would have no doubts—or no choice.

Ning Wanjun secured an alliance pact with Wuyue Yao, winning Da Qi recognition for Yama and a steady tribute in exchange for protection and trade. After the pact was finalized, Xia Fan proposed striking the Donghai Gang to weaken the Wang family’s illicit salt network, and Ning Wanjun assigned the operation to his Command Department.

• Ning Wanjun persuaded Wuyue Yao to negotiate an alliance in Jinxia rather than travel to Shangyuan, promising action against illicit salt as soon as the pact was signed.
• Wuyue Yao agreed to the alliance and asked for formal recognition from the imperial court, which Ning Wanjun promised to provide.
• Ning Wanjun and Wuyue Yao finalized terms including annual tribute, reciprocal envoys, trading rights, and a treaty encouraging migration to Da Qi.
• Ning Wanjun asked how to make the Wang family stop, and He Guicai and Xu Sanchong disagreed over whether to test Wang Yi'an or use force.
• Xia Fan proposed targeting the Donghai Gang, which supported the Wang family’s illicit salt channels, and Ning Wanjun ordered his Command Department to lead the operation.

Xia Fan forced Xue Zhigeng to let him inspect two decades of Evil Spirit case files, then organized his recruits to map old incidents across Jinxia City. The search was meant to help locate the Donghai Gang’s hidden base, which its captives could not identify.

• Xia Fan confronted Xue Zhigeng and used his authority and threat of the Zhen Technique to secure access to Evil Spirit case files.
• Xue Zhigeng told Wen Xingyuan and Quan Gu that Xia Fan had taken only the case files, and Wen Xingyuan urged them to keep resisting him.
• Xia Fan had Wei Wushuang, Luo You'er, and the others record the dates, locations, and types of Evil Spirits from cases spanning ten to twenty-five years earlier.
• Xia Fan explained that the Donghai Gang’s captives knew little about its hideout because members were blindfolded when taken to its core grounds.
• Xia Fan and his group compiled the old Evil Spirit incidents onto a map of Jinxia City to narrow down the search for the Donghai Gang.

Xia Fan used the pattern of Evil Spirit cases to identify likely Donghai Gang hideouts in Jinxia City and launched Operation Clearing the Clouds. As his team split up to investigate the docks and the southern district, Li recalled the Cat Yao executed twelve years earlier and silently expressed gratitude to Xia Fan.

• Xia Fan mapped forty-six Evil Spirit cases and identified the docks and southern district as likely places to search for the Donghai Gang.
• Li Xing argued that the beach was better suited to disposing of bodies than hiding a gang, and Xia Fan agreed to investigate both remaining locations.
• Xia Fan assigned Li and Shanhui to search the docks and Zhao Dahai and Li Xing to investigate the southern district, ordering them to avoid confrontations.
• Xia Fan declared that the Bureau of Military Affairs would destroy the Donghai Gang and named the investigation Operation Clearing the Clouds.
• Li lingered over the record of a Cat Yao executed in the market twelve years earlier, then stopped Xia Fan from comforting her and looked at him with gratitude.

Li Xing and Zhao Dahai investigated the area where the Donghai Gang might be hiding, following its connection to several Evil Spirit cases. Li Xing discovered that the brothel and inn occupied more space inside than their street-facing dimensions allowed, leaving them to investigate the buildings’ hidden mystery.

• Li Xing and Zhao Dahai discussed how the Evil Spirit cases might help them locate the Donghai Gang, and Zhao Dahai estimated that many unjust deaths could be needed to produce a Mei.
• They examined the streets around the brothel and inn but found no obvious signs of a gang or mass killings.
• Li Xing noticed that Wangfu Street seemed longer than he remembered and used the nearby building to compare distances.
• Li Xing counted his steps inside the brothel and inn and found each interior was shorter than the corresponding stretch outside.
• Li Xing and Zhao Dahai realized the buildings concealed a space discrepancy of more than twenty steps.

Li Xing and Zhao Dahai discovered a concealed structure in Hongmu Building, prompting Xia Fan to coordinate a wider investigation. Li and Shanhui entered the building through its roof and found a lamp-lit staircase descending underground.

• Li Xing noticed that the stairwell in Hongmu Building narrowed inward, and Zhao Dahai stopped him from investigating further when people in the inn watched them.
• Xia Fan heard the South City Team's report and asked Xu Sanchong to secretly watch key intersections and prepare to seal the streets.
• Li and Shanhui arrived at Hongmu Building and used tools to cut through its roof, following Xia Fan's plan to avoid the guarded entrance.
• Li peered through the roof opening and saw a spiral staircase leading underground between the inn and the brothel.
• Li and Shanhui made the opening larger, agreed on hand signals, and slipped inside while Shanhui replaced the roof tiles.

Li and Shanhui infiltrated the Donghai Gang’s underground hideout and discovered a large force, including an An Family member who provoked Shanhui’s grief over his massacred hometown. Xia Fan decided to advance the extermination plan and convene a three-way meeting at the princess’s villa.

• Li and Shanhui descended into a hidden maze beneath Jinxia City and reached a large underground hall where dozens of Donghai Gang members had gathered.
• They saw a white-robed An Family member emerge before the gang, and Shanhui revealed that the An Family had massacred his hometown, killing a thousand households.
• Li took Shanhui away before he could attack, and she reported their findings to Xia Fan at the Bureau of Military Affairs.
• Li warned Xia Fan that the Donghai Gang’s strength could rival the city’s authorities, but Xia Fan said delay would bring more danger and that the gang had a fatal weakness.
• Xia Fan called for a three-way meeting and told Li to accompany him to the princess’s Fengyang Mountain Villa.

Xia Fan persuaded Ning Wanjun and Wuyue Yao to attack the Donghai Gang despite the An Clan’s dangerous sorcery, revealing a surprise plan to eliminate them. The operation began that night under the codename Zhaixing, with Ning Wanjun joining the team in disguise as Shangguan Cai.

• Ning Wanjun, Wuyue Yao, and He Guicai warned Xia Fan that the An Clan’s Evil Spirits and the Donghai Gang’s defenses made a direct assault dangerous.
• Xia Fan rejected sleeping incense and explained a simple Sorcery Arts-based surprise attack that would catch the gang off guard.
• Wuyue Yao agreed to provide subordinates, and Xia Fan scheduled the attack for the following night.
• Xia Fan secretly assembled the Bureau of Military Affairs team after midnight and prepared to lead its first operation beyond the Command Department.
• Ning Wanjun arrived disguised as Shangguan Cai and insisted on joining the operation.
• Xia Fan named the annihilation operation Zhaixing and ordered everyone to move out.

Li and Shanhui seized Skywell while Xia Fan’s group poured flour and sawdust into the well to prepare an attack on the Donghai Gang’s underground stronghold. Anshi Ming discovered the falling dust too late, and Xia Fan’s sorcery ignited it, engulfing him in flames.

• Li and Shanhui killed the two Donghai Gang guards and secured the residence containing Skywell.
• Luo You'er signaled that Skywell District had been taken, and Li Xing’s group brought sacks of flour and sawdust into the courtyard.
• Xia Fan had the group pour the harmless materials into Skywell while Ning Wanjun watched, unsure what effect he intended.
• Anshi Ming noticed dust falling through the underground hall and ordered Ueno Akachi to wake the guards.
• A night wind scattered the dust, and Xia Fan’s lightning ignited it into a blaze that burst through the door and swallowed Anshi Ming.

Xia Fan used Luo You’er’s wind Sorcery Art and his lightning Sorcery Art to ignite flour and wood shavings in the Skywell, causing two devastating explosions that crippled the Donghai Gang’s underground defenders. At dawn, Xia Fan led the others into the tunnels and found numerous dead samurai amid the scorched ruins.

• Xia Fan had Luo You’er blow flour and wood-shaving dust through the underground hall, then ignited it with his Thunderclap Sorcery Art.
• Two explosions erupted from the Skywell, shocking the princess’s forces and leaving Ning Wanjun delighted by the spectacle.
• Tsi Hong and Tsi Qing discussed how the technique could be adapted, while Shanhui remained confused.
• Xia Fan had Xu Sanchong seal Hongmu Building and nearby streets, then waited until dawn for the tunnels to cool.
• Xia Fan led everyone underground and found more than a dozen charred corpses near the Skywell and many dead white-robed samurai farther inside.

Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun’s forces annihilated the Donghai Gang’s stronghold and uncovered a sinister scheme involving prepared corpses and Soul Gathering Talismans. In Jinxia City, Wang Yi’an learned of the raid and received a summons from Princess Guangping, fearing the saltworks secret had been exposed.

• Xia Fan and Li found the dead An Clan member and recovered rare Soul Gathering Talismans that Ning Wanjun said could rouse Evil Spirits.
• Guards uncovered mummified corpses carved with talismanic seals inside the hall’s walls, and Ning Wanjun ordered every corpse found and burned.
• Wang Yi’an learned that the Donghai Gang’s hideouts had been raided and that Princess Guangping’s forces had joined the operation.
• Wang Yi’an feared the princess had discovered the secret of the saltworks, then received her invitation to a banquet at Fengyang Mountain Villa.

Ning Wanjun confronted Wang Yi'an over his illicit salt trade with the Dong Sheng Kingdom and forced him to accept conditions that ended the arrangement. Wang Yi'an chose to protect his family by obeying, while Wang Qingzhi remained convinced that abandoning the kingdom’s support was a mistake.

• Ning Wanjun served Wang Yi'an a saltless meal and revealed that she knew he had sent illicit salt to Seaport Pier.
• Wang Yi'an admitted his wrongdoing, and Ning Wanjun ordered him to end overseas salt sales, lower prices, and report any contact from the Dong Sheng Kingdom.
• Wang Yi'an accepted the conditions after Ning Wanjun warned that the Bureau of Military Affairs would investigate if he refused.
• Wang Yi'an told Wang Qingzhi that the Wang family would abandon its plans with the Dong Sheng Kingdom and follow the princess's demands.
• Wang Qingzhi argued that Princess Guangping had ambitions and privately wondered whether his father had grown too old to pursue the family's future.

Wuyue Yao left for Yamato with news of the alliance, entrusting Shanhui to Xia Fan. Mo Yun finally reached Jinxia after a troubled journey and learned that Qiuyue now seemed to agree with Ning Wanjun’s high opinion of the mysterious Fangist.

• Wuyue Yao thanked Ning Wanjun and Xia Fan before sailing east to report the alliance to Yamato.
• Wuyue Yao entrusted Shanhui to Xia Fan, who accepted him into the Bureau of Military Affairs.
• Mo Yun’s journey to Jinxia was delayed by robbers, an injured driver, and an investigation involving refugees.
• Mo Yun reached Fengyang Mountain Villa and learned that Ning Wanjun was studying in her room.
• Mo Yun questioned Qiuyue about the Fangist, but Qiuyue hesitated and admitted that he seemed genuinely extraordinary.