Chapter Summaries

After confronting the sheriff, Zhang Heng found that Lincoln County’s residents remained hostile and considered bounty hunting as a way to earn money. While he studied the wanted posters outside the police station, the drunken sheriff warned him to behave and then headed to the town square to read a verdict.

• Zhang Heng bought food for Carrot and a meal for himself, then calculated that his remaining 46 dollars would last about a month and a half.
• Zhang Heng went to the police station to explore bounty hunting, but found that low-paying targets offered poor returns and higher-paying fugitives would be difficult to track and pursue.
• The drunken sheriff warned Zhang Heng to behave in Lincoln County and bragged about his past gunfighting.
• Jameson summoned the sheriff to the square to read a final verdict, and the sheriff went back inside to retrieve his unfinished bottle before leaving.
• Zhang Heng noticed a crowd and a tall wooden platform in the square.

Drunk Sheriff oversaw the hanging of three convicted men, including a one-armed former Cook Gang member who threatened the town with retaliation. Zhang Heng watched the execution and left uneasy after sensing someone was still watching him.

• Drunk Sheriff questioned three condemned men, and the first admitted he had accidentally killed a man while the second denied murdering his brother.
• The one-armed man acknowledged his past crimes but denied involvement in the town raids and warned that Jeremy Cook and the Cook Gang would avenge his hanging.
• Drunk Sheriff refused to be intimidated, and the executioner hanged all three men before the crowd.
• Zhang Heng judged that the Cook Gang would have difficulty attacking populous Lincoln County, but suspected someone had been following him since his clash with two cowboys.

After arriving in town, Zhang Heng accepted Wendy’s offer to investigate her missing father for sixty dollars, but refused to take her along as a bodyguard. Wendy tried to raise her offer, and Zhang Heng left her to find someone else.

• After the three condemned men were hanged, Zhang Heng surveyed the wanted posters and went to the general store with Radish.
• Zhang Heng discovered that his follower was Wendy, a freckled girl whose rancher father had gone missing after leaving town on a business trip.
• Wendy explained that Sheriff Terrell had been told her father left his destination six days earlier, but she believed something had happened because he had not contacted his family.
• Wendy offered Zhang Heng sixty dollars to find her father, and he accepted on the condition that she pay a deposit and sign a contract.
• Wendy insisted on accompanying Zhang Heng, but he refused to take her and walked away despite her offer to pay as much as seventy-five dollars.

At five in the morning, Wendy persuaded Zhang Heng to lead the search for her missing father, revealing that her father had offended the powerful Major Murphy. Zhang Heng accepted her offer of eighty dollars and a horse, and they prepared to leave together for Glen Town.

• Wendy knocked on Zhang Heng's door before dawn and asked him to take charge of investigating her father's disappearance.
• Zhang Heng questioned why Wendy had chosen him, and she revealed that her father had offended Major Murphy, who controlled much of the town.
• Wendy offered Zhang Heng a horse from her ranch in addition to the eighty dollars, making the job worthwhile to him.
• Zhang Heng agreed to set out after they ate, and Wendy said she would ride with him.

Zhang Heng and Wendy left Lincoln County to search for her missing father, and Zhang Heng used the journey to learn about horses from her. Wendy explained that she had left her mother a note before setting out, though Zhang Heng called it sneaking out.

• Zhang Heng and Wendy departed before dawn, with Wendy riding Lightning and Zhang Heng riding Carrot.
• After they covered only half their planned distance, Zhang Heng asked Wendy to teach him about horses in exchange for reducing her payment by ten dollars.
• Wendy identified Lightning as a seven-year-old Indian Pony and Carrot as an elderly Hungarian Half-blood Horse, then began teaching Zhang Heng about horses and riding.
• Wendy told Zhang Heng that she had left her mother a note before leaving to find her father, and Zhang Heng pointed out that she had sneaked out because her mother would have refused.

Wendy went to a Glen Town tavern to ask about her missing father, Matthew Robbins, while Zhang Heng booked rooms at the inn. A man named Bax mistook Wendy for someone being offered for sex, and she stabbed him when he grabbed her, leaving her in danger as the chapter ended.

• Zhang Heng and Wendy reached Glen Town and agreed that Wendy would question the tavern while he arranged their lodging.
• Zhang Heng booked two rooms, arranged care for the horses, and waited for Wendy before going to look for her.
• Wendy asked Royce whether she remembered Matthew Robbins, but Royce suggested she question the bartender instead.
• Bax mistook Wendy for a young woman named Maggie and grabbed her, prompting Wendy to stab his hand with a small knife.
• Bax angrily confronted Royce as she urged him to get medical treatment, while Wendy remained at risk from his rage.

Zhang Heng intervened when Bax threatened to cut Wendy’s hand, and the sheriff arrived to settle the dispute. The sheriff ordered Bax to accept twenty dollars and drop his demand for an apology, while Wendy remained defiant.

• Zhang Heng shot the knife from Bax’s hand as Bax threatened Wendy, then said she was his employer and offered compensation.
• Bax demanded fifty dollars and an apology, while Wendy insisted that Bax’s men had attacked her first.
• Bax threatened Zhang Heng and claimed he and his companions had served in the Fourth Ranger Regiment.
• The sheriff arrived, ordered Bax’s companions to release Wendy, and set compensation at twenty dollars.
• Wendy refused to apologize, and Zhang Heng told the sheriff he could not order his employer to do so.
• The sheriff told Bax to accept the settlement and stop arguing with Wendy.

Wendy learned that Sheriff Old Cowboy had been friends with her missing father, Matthew, but she refused to go home or wait a week for him to investigate. After Wendy nearly got hurt while confronting Bax, Zhang Heng made her promise to be less reckless as they prepared to leave Glen Town the next morning.

• After Bax and his men left, Sheriff Old Cowboy revealed that he knew Wendy and had been friends with her father, Matthew.
• Wendy told the sheriff that Matthew had been missing for fifteen days and refused to return home or wait a week for help.
• The sheriff warned Wendy about trusting Zhang Heng and offered to see them off the next morning because Bax and his former ranger friends had influence in town.
• On the way back to the inn, Zhang Heng rebuked Wendy for pulling a knife on Bax and nearly getting hurt.
• Wendy reluctantly promised to choose other ways to handle trouble, and Zhang Heng reminded her that he had covered the twenty-dollar compensation.

Zhang Heng, Wendy, and Old Cowboy left Glen Town, with Zhang Heng secretly giving Wendy an item before they rode into the river valley. Old Cowboy revealed that he would not let Wendy continue her search and had brought Deputy Sheriff Joseph and his brother Jonathan to stop her.

• Old Cowboy joined Zhang Heng and Wendy for breakfast and offered to escort them out of the dangerous river valley.
• As they prepared to leave, Zhang Heng slipped an item to Wendy, who hid it in her clothes.
• Zhang Heng rode with Old Cowboy and Wendy, learned about local customs, and tried Old Cowboy’s chewing tobacco.
• At the river valley, Old Cowboy admitted he had lied and demanded that Wendy return home instead of searching for her father.
• Wendy challenged Old Cowboy, and he introduced Deputy Sheriff Joseph and Jonathan, who emerged with rifles.

Old Cowboy separated Wendy and Zhang Heng, intending to keep Zhang Heng in Glen Town while he dealt with his own business. Zhang Heng took the sheriff hostage, and Wendy returned after tying up Joseph, leaving the standoff unresolved but still potentially salvageable.

• Wendy confronted Old Cowboy for arranging her life, then left with Joseph while Zhang Heng stayed behind under the sheriff’s guard.
• Old Cowboy threatened Zhang Heng and warned him to stay quiet about the secrets he suspected the sheriff and Matthew were hiding.
• Zhang Heng used an unloaded pistol as a ruse, took Old Cowboy hostage, and ordered Jonathan to surrender.
• Wendy and Lightning returned to the valley, surprising Zhang Heng and Old Cowboy.
• Wendy explained that she had tied up Joseph after mistaking Zhang Heng’s wink for a signal to act.

Zhang Heng and Wendy escaped Old Cowboy after Zhang shot the sheriff’s and Jonathan’s horses to prevent pursuit. Old Cowboy revealed that a dangerous group was connected to Matthew’s disappearance, and Zhang Heng and Wendy continued their search together.

• Jonathan spotted Wendy but Old Cowboy ordered him not to shoot because she was only twelve.
• Zhang Heng shot Old Cowboy’s and Jonathan’s horses, disarmed them, and refused to give Wendy a gun.
• Old Cowboy warned Zhang Heng and Wendy that a group connected to Matthew’s disappearance could be dangerous, but he would not explain further.
• Wendy insisted on continuing the search for Matthew, and Zhang Heng agreed to keep investigating whether or not she paid him.
• Zhang Heng returned his unloaded revolver to Old Cowboy, discarded the bullets, and rode off with Wendy to question her about Matthew.

Zhang Heng and Wendy reached Bliss, where the neglected crops, polluted water, and hostile townspeople suggested something was wrong. They went to replenish their ammunition before seeking the sheriff and searching for Wendy’s father.

• Zhang Heng and Wendy reached the town and found the surrounding fields wilted and untended.
• Zhang Heng investigated an empty farmhouse, then discovered the nearby well water was murky, salty, and likely polluting the plants.
• Zhang Heng and Wendy entered Bliss, rented rooms at the inn, and noticed the townspeople treating them with hostility.
• Wendy wondered whether an epidemic had caused the townspeople’s behavior, and Zhang Heng warned her that something unusual was happening.
• Zhang Heng and Wendy visited the general store, where Zhang Heng bought ammunition and asked Wendy if she wanted licorice candy.

Zhang Heng and Wendy investigated the strange residents of Bliss and learned that the townspeople claimed an epidemic had led to the sick being quarantined at the church. After meeting the replacement sheriff, Love, Zhang Heng suspected the town was hiding something and expected its conspirators to come for them that night.

• Zhang Heng earned 3 Game Points for buying licorice candy and asked the shopkeeper where the farmhouse residents had gone.
• The shopkeeper said an epidemic had broken out and the sick were at the church, but Zhang Heng noticed the shopkeeper watching them and suspected he was lying.
• Zhang Heng and Wendy met Sheriff Love, who said Sheriff Harper had retired and promised to look for Wendy's father.
• Love dismissed the town's strange behavior as wariness of strangers and blamed it on a recent tragedy.
• Back at the inn, Zhang Heng told Wendy that Love was lying and explained that he had shared their purpose to identify the sheriff's accomplices.
• Zhang Heng predicted the conspirators would come that night and told Wendy to prepare herself and Lightning to escape if things went wrong.

Zhang Heng prepared to face the fake sheriff Love and his men at the inn, using his Filter Lens and the darkness to turn the night ambush against them. He killed the attackers inside and outside the inn, while Wendy remained barricaded in her room.

• Wendy worried that Zhang Heng could not survive an attack by Love’s larger group, but Zhang Heng said he would not try to flee.
• Zhang Heng loaded his guns and used the Filter Lens to prepare for a nighttime fight, while Wendy barricaded her window.
• Love arrived at the inn with five men, and he and a companion went upstairs to attack Zhang Heng’s apparently empty room.
• Zhang Heng shot Love’s companion from above, then jumped down and knocked Love unconscious with his gun butt.
• Zhang Heng shot out the inn’s kerosene lamp and killed the two men guarding the entrance.
• Zhang Heng used the darkness to shoot the two men downstairs, ending the attack.

Zhang Heng rescued the farmers held captive in the church and began arming them to leave. Wendy learned that her father was not in town but was likely safe, while the innkeeper hinted that the town faced ruin.

• Zhang Heng told Wendy he had captured the false sheriff and learned where the missing farmers were, then asked her to guard the innkeeper.
• After Zhang Heng left, the innkeeper muttered that everyone was going to hell.
• Zhang Heng took rifles, revolvers, and ammunition from the general store before riding to the church.
• Zhang Heng killed the church guards and freed the farmers, then gave them weapons and ordered them to prepare to leave.
• When someone asked whether he was a nearby marshal, Zhang Heng said he was only a passerby.

Nickel rejected Davidson’s attempt to settle the farmers’ conflict and cover up Sheriff Harper’s murder, while Zhang Heng explained the town’s history to Wendy. Zhang Heng suspected Cook had used the conflict to pressure Wendy’s father into helping him with something.

• Nickel confronted Davidson’s group over their role in the Cook Gang’s attack and Sheriff Harper’s death, rejecting their offer of five thousand dollars and their proposed cover-up.
• Davidson urged the farmers to unite with the miners against the Cook Gang’s remaining men, but Nickel refused to trust the people who had betrayed them.
• Zhang Heng returned to the inn and told Wendy that a dispute between miners and farmers had led the miners to hire the Cook Gang.
• Zhang Heng explained that the gang had forced the miners to kill Sheriff Harper while planning to wipe out the farmers and their families.
• Zhang Heng told Wendy that her father had known Cook and suggested Cook had used the farmers’ lives to coerce him into helping with an unknown matter.

Wendy and Zhang Heng learned that Cook was using Matthew to draw him into the Cook Gang and planned to attack Lincoln County. Old Cowboy revealed that he, Cook, and Matthew had once formed Lucky Horseshoe for revenge, beginning after Ruben abducted and killed Matthew’s pregnant wife, Mary.

• Zhang Heng explained that Cook had targeted Matthew for years and planned to make him complicit in the gang’s attack on Lincoln County.
• Wendy offered Zhang Heng half the ranch land and cattle if he helped save her father, and they set out to find help.
• Zhang Heng confronted Old Cowboy in Glen Town and warned him that Cook was taking Matthew to Lincoln County for a raid.
• Old Cowboy revealed that he, Cook, and Matthew had founded Lucky Horseshoe for revenge, after Ruben abducted and killed Mary and her unborn child.

Old Cowboy recounted how Lucky Horseshoe’s revenge against Ruben spiraled into the slaughter of an entire town, after which he and Matthew went into hiding while Cook took the blame. Zhang Heng prepared to intercept Cook’s Gang before they reached Lincoln County, gathering the men available in Glen Town.

• Old Cowboy explained that the Pacific Union Railway Company and Sheriff Thompson had blocked justice for Mary, prompting Cook to form Lucky Horseshoe with five others.
• Old Cowboy said the group attacked Ruben’s men, but the violence escalated until they killed everyone in town, with only Old Cowboy, Matthew, and Cook surviving.
• Cook divided his ranch savings among the survivors, then formed the Cook Gang and claimed responsibility to protect Old Cowboy and Matthew.
• Zhang Heng told Old Cowboy that Cook was heading after Matthew and said they needed to intercept him before he reached Lincoln County.
• Old Cowboy offered four trusted men, and Zhang Heng counted them with his fifteen arriving fighters to make a force of twenty.

Matthew and Cook reached the burned ruins of Yining while pursuing the mysterious gunslinger who had taken gold and an object they wanted. Cook urged Matthew to join his gang and embrace power, but Matthew refused, choosing his wife and daughter over banditry.

• Matthew and Cook found Yining burned to the ground, and Morton said a mysterious Eastern gunslinger had killed seven men and taken forty kilograms of gold and the object they sought.
• Matthew accused Cook of manipulating him into joining the Cook Gang and going to Lincoln County.
• Cook recalled losing Mary and described killing a Pacific Union Railway Company director, saying he had become the director’s fate.
• Cook asked Matthew to join his gang, but Matthew refused because he had a wife and daughter and condemned Cook for repeating the violence that had harmed them.

Old Cowboy recounted Cook’s past to Zhang Heng, explaining how a respected leader became the feared head of the Cook Gang. He warned that Cook’s violence had gone far beyond revenge and insisted they had to stop him.

• Old Cowboy worried that their small, divided group lacked the numbers and experience to face the Cook Gang.
• Zhang Heng asked Old Cowboy whether he had known Cook, and Old Cowboy described Cook as a gifted marksman and caring leader who had once refused to become sheriff.
• Old Cowboy recounted Cook’s losses, including his wife’s death in childbirth, and how Cook took in Matthew, who later married Mary.
• Old Cowboy explained that after Mary was murdered, Cook likely planned to kill the townspeople and later founded the Cook Gang.
• Old Cowboy told Zhang Heng that Cook’s crimes had become a threat to countless innocents and that they had to stop him.