Chapter Summaries

After learning that boys and girls had vanished across the Capital City while officials suppressed the cases and failed to investigate, Huang Shaojie persuaded Azure Dragon that a larger mystery might be hidden behind the disappearances. Azure Dragon ordered Huang Shaojie’s Eighth Guard Post to investigate secretly.

• At the Eighth Guard Post, Squad Leader Zhang and the others discussed missing children, including Zhang’s cousin, and Huang Shaojie suspected the authorities were deliberately neglecting the cases.
• Huang Shaojie went to Azure Dragon and reported that both girls and handsome young boys had vanished, while local yamen offices, the Six Gates, and the Ministry of Justice had taken no meaningful action.
• Azure Dragon recognized that the officials’ failure to investigate was suspicious and ordered Huang Shaojie’s Eighth Guard Post to set aside its other work and secretly uncover the truth behind the disappearances.

Huang Shaojie ordered the Eighth Guard Post to investigate the missing children cases across the Capital and keep senior officials and Quarter Magistrates under surveillance. After Taiyuan Quarter yamen runners revealed their magistrate had forbidden them from investigating missing girls, Huang Shaojie chose to watch the magistrate without alerting him.

• Huang Shaojie ordered the Eighth Guard Post to suspend its other work and investigate the missing boys and girls cases.
• Huang Shaojie assigned officers to surveil the Chang'an Magistrate and Prefect of the Capital, monitor the Quarter Magistrates, and investigate cases across all twelve quarters.
• Squad Leader Zhang brought two Taiyuan Quarter yamen runners to Huang Shaojie for questioning.
• The yamen runners admitted that the Taiyuan Quarter Magistrate had ordered them not to investigate the missing girls, claiming it would cause panic and bring punishment.
• Huang Shaojie pardoned the yamen runners and ordered Squad Leader Zhang to keep the Taiyuan Quarter Magistrate under close watch.

Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue posed as a young master and maid to lure out the people abducting youths in the Capital City, but their days of conspicuous strolling drew no kidnappers. After hearing about officials visiting Peach Blossom Island, Huang Shaojie decided to investigate the island himself.

• Huang Shaojie told Xiao Qiuyue to pose as his maid, and the two went out dressed as bait for the abductors.
• Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue spent several days drawing attention as they walked the Capital City, but no kidnappers approached them.
• Xiao Qiuyue and Huang Shaojie dealt with a few lecherous men who tried to molest them, leaving the men incapacitated.
• Probationary Commander Gao reported that Prefect Liu Chong and other officials had visited Peach Blossom Island for a gathering, which Commander He said was harmless.
• Huang Shaojie accepted Commander He's assessment but resolved to investigate Peach Blossom Island himself one night.

Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue spotted two men who appeared to be involved in the disappearances and let them abduct them so they could find the gang's hideout. The chapter ended with the pair being forced into a carriage, pretending to be helpless.

• Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue learned that nearly a hundred young men and women had vanished from the Capital City's eight major quarters over the past half year.
• Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue noticed two suspicious men watching them and decided to wait for them to make a move.
• Huang Shaojie took Xiao Qiuyue's hand, and she blushed but did not pull away before he let go to avoid drawing suspicion.
• One of the men brought a carriage while the other approached Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue from behind.
• The burly man tried to seal their Fengfu Acupoints, then both men escorted the pair toward the carriage as they pretended to struggle.

Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue were kidnapped and taken to a small residence, where they subdued their captors and forced Branch Master Zhao to reveal their affiliation. He identified them as members of the Iron Fork Society.

• Two men abducted Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue, sealed their acupoints, and drove them to a small residence.
• Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue pretended to be helpless as their captors brought them inside and introduced them to Branch Master Zhao.
• When Branch Master Zhao showed interest in Xiao Qiuyue, Huang Shaojie sealed his Qi Sea Acupoint, and Xiao Qiuyue subdued the other two men.
• Huang Shaojie tortured Branch Master Zhao until he agreed to answer questions.
• Branch Master Zhao confessed that the kidnappers belonged to the Iron Fork Society.

Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue discovered that the Iron Fork Society was kidnapping young people and decided to let themselves be taken away to find its hideout. After reporting to Azure Dragon, Huang Shaojie returned to the residence, where they prepared to lure the Society’s carriage while the authorities tracked it.

• Huang Shaojie tortured Branch Master Zhao until he revealed that a lantern outside the gate signaled a carriage to collect captives, though he did not know their destination.
• Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue agreed to continue posing as prey, and Huang Shaojie left to report their findings to Azure Dragon.
• Huang Shaojie told Azure Dragon about the Iron Fork Society’s kidnappings, and Azure Dragon approved the plan and promised to have agents follow the carriage to its hideout.
• Huang Shaojie returned to the residence and found Xiao Qiuyue safely hidden behind a rockery.
• Huang Shaojie released Branch Master Zhao’s movement while keeping his Qi Sea Acupoint sealed, then ordered him to hang the lantern outside the gate.

Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue kept Branch Master Zhao and his men captive while waiting for an Iron Fork Society carriage. They shared a meal, spent the night together, and left the room the next morning.

• Huang Shaojie had Branch Master Zhao hang a lantern at the gate, then sealed his acupoints again.
• Xiao Qiuyue cooked dinner, and Huang Shaojie fetched Apricot Blossom Wine so they could eat and drink together.
• Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue decided to stay in the residence overnight to protect their plan and waited until the second watch before going to bed.
• Huang Shaojie kissed Xiao Qiuyue, and they spent the night together after professing their love.
• Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue woke in the morning, kissed, spent another hour together, and then dressed and left the room.

Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue waited for the Iron Fork Society carriage while keeping Branch Master Zhao and two disciples captive. After exposing Zhao’s lie about the arriving elder’s strength and intimidating him with a display of his martial arts, Huang Shaojie arranged for Lord Azure Dragon to handle the witnesses after they left.

• Xiao Qiuyue made breakfast, and she and Huang Shaojie ate together while Branch Master Zhao and the two disciples watched.
• Huang Shaojie tortured Branch Master Zhao until Xiao Qiuyue pointed out that his Mute Acupoint was sealed, then demanded details about the carriage and its escort.
• Branch Master Zhao claimed a Peak Innate Realm elder would escort them, while secretly planning to expose Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue to the elder.
• Huang Shaojie suspected Zhao’s deception, displayed a phantom dragon from his Dragon Subduing technique, and forced Zhao and the disciples to agree to cooperate.
• Xiao Qiuyue asked what would happen to the witnesses after they left, and Huang Shaojie said Lord Azure Dragon would handle them.
• Five knocks sounded at the door.

Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue were taken from the Iron Fork Society by Elder Chen and a brocade-clad official, while Commander Luo secretly followed their carriage. At the city gate, Six Gates constable Lu Changkong let the carriage pass under official orders, then defied warnings and pursued it to investigate the missing women.

• Elder Chen arrived at the Iron Fork Society residence, sealed Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue's acupoints, and drove them away in a carriage with the brocade-clad man.
• Commander Luo followed the carriage from a distance while two Banner Captains took Branch Master Zhao and the other disciples to the Eastern Pacification Office.
• Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue discussed Elder Chen's strength and suspected that officials were helping the Iron Fork Society abduct women.
• At the southern city gate, Lu Changkong stopped the carriage to inspect it, but the brocade-clad man presented a Ministry of Justice token and ordered him to let them pass.
• Lu Changkong rejected his trusted constables' warnings and rode after the carriage to uncover what had happened to the missing women.

Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue realized the Ministry of Justice was implicated in the missing girls case, while Lu Changkong and Commander Luo separately tracked the suspicious carriage. He Bi killed Luo Yong to keep him out of the dangerous investigation, but Lu Changkong spotted He Bi carrying the body and pursued him.

• Huang Shaojie warned Xiao Qiuyue that the Ministry of Justice Vice Minister might not be the highest figure behind the missing girls case.
• Lu Changkong followed the Ministry of Justice carriage south, suspecting officials were using it to abduct girls.
• Commander Luo followed the carriage into a mountain path, where He Bi confronted him and killed him.
• He Bi carried Luo Yong's body toward another road to mislead Azure Dragon about where the carriage had gone.
• Lu Changkong spotted He Bi carrying Luo Yong's body and ordered his constables to split up as he pursued He Bi.

Lu Changkong fought a masked expert, discovered that the Imperial Guard and his own constables had been attacked, and followed the carriage’s trail into the mountains. Elder Chen brought Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue to a lakeside hideout on Peach Blossom Island.

• Lu Changkong clashed with the masked He Bi, who escaped into the forest before Lu Changkong could identify him.
• Lu Changkong found Commander Luo’s corpse and recognized him as a Hundred-Household Commander of the Imperial Guard’s Eastern Pacification Office.
• Lu Changkong sent two Black-Clothed Constables to deliver Commander Luo’s body to Azure Dragon, then followed the carriage’s route into the mountains.
• Lu Changkong found three of his Black-Clothed Constables dead and killed four Peak Innate Realm attackers who ambushed him.
• Elder Chen brought Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue to a vast lake and warned them to behave before letting them out of the carriage.

Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue were taken to Peach Blossom Island, where they discovered that Peach Blossom Villa was behind the disappearances of handsome boys and beautiful girls in the Capital City. They planned to wait for Lord Azure Dragon to arrive with reinforcements, but the villa’s guests immediately set their sights on the pair.

• Elder Chen escorted Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue by boat to Peach Blossom Island while Lu Changkong followed the decoy carriage along the mountain road.
• Huang Shaojie told Xiao Qiuyue that Peach Blossom Villa served powerful men who abducted young women and handsome boys for their pleasure.
• Huang Shaojie proposed waiting for Lord Azure Dragon to bring men to surround Peach Blossom Villa before they attacked from within.
• Elder Chen brought Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue into Peach Blossom Villa, where officials and noblemen watched dancers perform.
• Governor Hu fixed his gaze on Huang Shaojie and decided he wanted the handsome young man that night.

Azure Dragon investigated Commander Luo’s murder at the Eastern Pacification Office while He Bi delivered compensation to Luo’s family. That night, He Bi went secretly to Prince Qi’s Residence and paid his respects to Xiang Hong.

• Azure Dragon learned that Commander Luo had been killed by a single palm strike and that Constable Lu had gone after a carriage connected to the missing girls case.
• Azure Dragon ordered the Eastern Pacification Office officials to stay at the office overnight and await Constable Lu’s return.
• He Bi assessed that the killer was at least as strong as a Seventh Rank Grandmaster and suggested the carriage might have headed toward Nanyang.
• He Bi took ten thousand taels from Azure Dragon and an additional thousand taels of his own to Luo Yong’s family, promising to support Luo Yong’s three sons.
• He Bi traveled under cover of darkness to Prince Qi’s Residence, where Xiang Hong dismissed his courtesans and received him.

Prince Qi ordered He Bi to end the Peach Blossom Island operation after learning the Imperial Guard had begun investigating the missing girls, while planning to use the captured officials’ lewd deeds to undermine Prince Han. At Peach Blossom Villa, Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue were presented to the officials, and Qin Shou won Xiao Qiuyue by writing the most obscene poem.

• He Bi told Prince Qi that Azure Dragon was investigating the missing girls and described how he killed Commander Luo before escaping Lu Changkong.
• Prince Qi rejected a plan to exploit Vermilion Bird and explained that he intended to blackmail Prince Han’s officials with the Record of Officials' Depravity.
• Prince Qi ordered the Iron Fork Society to stop abducting girls and boy lovers, kill everyone on Peach Blossom Island, and sink them into the lake.
• Elder Chen presented Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue to Lord Mengchang, who ordered the officials to compete for them by writing lewd poems.
• Qin Shou won Xiao Qiuyue with his obscene poem, while Hu Kan competed for Huang Shaojie after the other officials withdrew.

Prince Ning ordered Azure Dragon to investigate He Bi and surround Peach Blossom Island, where he believed the missing girls and evidence against Capital City officials were being kept. After realizing the carriage was a decoy, Lu Changkong independently reached Peach Blossom Island and was attacked by guards.

• Prince Ning learned that Commander Luo had been killed while tracking the carriage and concluded the missing girls were on Peach Blossom Island.
• Prince Ning accused Azure Dragon of failing to uncover the island’s secret, then ordered him to investigate He Bi without alerting him.
• Prince Ning sent Azure Dragon to surround Peach Blossom Island, rescue Qiuyue, and search for a roster of officials.
• Lu Changkong discovered that the carriage was a decoy and reasoned that the old man had taken its passengers elsewhere.
• Lu Changkong linked the missing girls and officials’ secret visits to Peach Blossom Island, then decided to investigate without reporting to Fang Qing.
• Lu Changkong crossed the lake using branches as footholds and landed on Peach Blossom Island, where two hidden figures attacked him.

Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue resisted Peach Blossom Villa’s blackmail scheme by incapacitating the officials assigned to them. Their escape was interrupted when Lu Changkong attacked the villa and discovered that its master, Ouyang Liangliang, wielded the Xuanming Divine Palm.

• Elder Chen ordered Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue to obey the officials and report their actions, then assigned them to Hu Kan and Qin Shou.
• Huang Shaojie sealed Hu Kan’s acupoints and beat him, while Xiao Qiuyue sealed Qin Shou’s acupoints and slapped him.
• Lu Changkong fought his way through Peach Blossom Villa’s guards, and Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue left their rooms to watch.
• Lord Mengchang attacked Lu Changkong with a palm strike, and Lu Changkong recognized the Xuanming Divine Palm and identified him as Ouyang Liangliang.

Lu Changkong fought Old Monster Xuanming, whose superior cultivation and deadly Xuanming Divine Palm gradually poisoned and overwhelmed him. As Lu Changkong fell gravely wounded, Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue watched from hiding, waiting for the moment to intervene.

• Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue learned that Peach Blossom Villa's master was Old Monster Xuanming, Ouyang Liangliang, and that an influential figure was directing the schemes behind Peach Blossom Island.
• Lu Changkong attacked Ouyang Liangliang with the Sky-Breaking Sword Art, but Ouyang countered with his Xuanming Divine Palm and worsened the cold poison inside Lu Changkong.
• Ouyang Liangliang pressed his advantage while Huang Shaojie held Xiao Qiuyue close and told her he could withstand the cold poison with his Indestructible Vajra Technique.
• Xiao Qiuyue urged Huang Shaojie to save Lu Changkong, but Huang Shaojie chose to wait until the critical moment so Lu would be more grateful.
• After dozens of exchanges, Ouyang Liangliang knocked away Lu Changkong's sword and struck his chest, sending him crashing to the ground before raising his palm to attack again.

Huang Shaojie saved Lu Changkong from Ouyang Liangliang and fought the older martial artist with the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms. After Ouyang Liangliang poisoned him with frigid venom, Huang Shaojie revealed the Wind God Leg and drove his opponent back, though their battle continued.

• Huang Shaojie interrupted Ouyang Liangliang's fatal strike against Lu Changkong with Resisting Dragon with Regret, and the two exchanged a powerful palm clash.
• Ouyang Liangliang recognized the Dragon Subduing Palm Technique and challenged Huang Shaojie, who engaged him with the first six forms of the art.
• Ouyang Liangliang claimed his Xuanming Divine Palm had poisoned Huang Shaojie with frigid venom and intensified his assault.
• Huang Shaojie countered with the Wind God Leg's Strong Grass in the Wind, then mocked Ouyang Liangliang by calling it the Dog-Kicking Leg Technique.
• Huang Shaojie unleashed the Wind God Leg's Violent Storm, striking Ouyang Liangliang repeatedly and forcing him to fall and stagger backward.

Huang Shaojie defeated Ouyang Liangliang with the Wind God Leg and killed Elder Chen after he took Xiao Qiuyue hostage. He then crippled Ouyang Liangliang, leaving the Iron Fork Society defeated.

• Huang Shaojie drove Ouyang Liangliang back with the fourth and fifth forms of the Wind God Leg, then struck him down with its sixth form, Divine Wind's Furious Howl.
• Elder Chen fled toward a boat and seized Xiao Qiuyue when she tried to stop him.
• Huang Shaojie used the Full Moon Scimitar and Divine Blade Slash to kill Elder Chen and rescue Xiao Qiuyue.
• Huang Shaojie checked on Xiao Qiuyue, then pulled the wounded Ouyang Liangliang from a pit and shattered his dantian.

Azure Dragon led the Eastern Pacification Office to surround Peach Blossom Island while Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue captured the officials and rescued the abducted children. Lu Changkong thanked Huang Shaojie, then revealed that the Xuanming Divine Palm’s chilling poison had left him with only a few years to live.

• Azure Dragon ordered his officers and two hundred guards to Qingyang Lake, keeping his suspicions of He Bi concealed.
• Azure Dragon’s forces surrounded the lake, and he crossed the water in a single leap to Peach Blossom Island.
• Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue defeated the Five Lakes Sect disciples, crippled some survivors, and gathered the officials and more than one hundred captive children.
• Hu Kan argued that he had committed no serious crime after Huang Shaojie identified himself as an Imperial Guard officer.
• Lu Changkong thanked Huang Shaojie for saving him and said the Xuanming Divine Palm’s poison had entered his body and left him only a few years to live.