Chapter Summaries

Captain Wang tested whether the Martial Arts School would submit, confident that Stone Camp could force its compliance. In an alley, Fang Yuan revealed himself and swiftly killed Captain Wang and his guard, leaving Foolish Egg and Third Brother terrified at the entrance.

• Captain Wang told his guard that the Martial Arts School’s response to his demand to kneel would prove whether its members could be controlled.
• Captain Wang and his guard encountered a masked figure in an alley who asked whether Captain Wang was looking for him.
• The guard advanced on the masked figure and was killed by a single quick strike.
• The figure struck Captain Wang across the throat, then revealed himself as Fang Yuan.
• Fang Yuan cleaned the Ghost Head Saber and looked toward the trembling Foolish Egg and Third Brother.

Fang Yuan killed Captain Wang and his personal guard, then escaped the alley while the two surviving soldiers raised the alarm. As he considered the consequences and the county magistrate’s power, he felt a growing urge to kill Liu Wenhe.

• Foolish Egg and Third Brother kowtowed to Fang Yuan and begged for mercy, and Fang Yuan left them alive beside the two corpses.
• Foolish Egg whispered a plan to Third Brother, and they ran from the alley shouting that Captain Wang had been assassinated.
• Fang Yuan changed into clean clothes and reflected that his Great Mastery Door-Breaking Effect could kill an ordinary Third-Rank Martial Artist with one slash.
• Fang Yuan decided to conceal the Door-Breaking Effect in public and worried that Captain Wang’s death might force him to leave Qinghe County.
• Fang Yuan recalled overhearing Captain Wang humiliate Wang Fugui and wondered what support Liu Wenhe had to control the county.
• Fang Yuan looked toward the County yamen and became consumed by the thought of climbing over its wall and killing Liu Wenhe.

Fang Yuan asked Wang Fugui to spread the claim that the County yamen had robbed Shopkeeper Li, hoping to provoke its response and learn what Liu Wenhe was relying on. As Fang Yuan waited for news, he encountered a public procession carrying the battered Ji Kun through the streets.

• Fang Yuan decided not to kill Liu Wenhe yet and went to the Wang Family to muddy the waters and preserve a way out.
• Fang Yuan told Wang Fugui to spread the word that the County yamen had robbed Shopkeeper Li, and Wang Fugui agreed.
• Fang Yuan left the Wang Family and reflected that he had spared two soldiers so they could report Captain Wang’s death to Liu Wenhe.
• Yamen runners led a prisoner cart through the street, and Fang Yuan recognized the injured prisoner as Ji Kun.
• Fang Yuan asked a bystander what crime Ji Kun had committed, and the man turned to answer.

Fang Yuan watched Ji Kun being paraded as the scapegoat for County Lieutenant Wu’s death, and Ji Kun accused him of knowing the truth. At the county yamen, Foolish Egg insisted to Liu Wenhe that a three-chi-tall man had killed Captain Wang, leaving his claim under tense scrutiny.

• Fang Yuan heard townspeople condemn Ji Kun as a traitor and recognized that the County yamen had framed him for County Lieutenant Wu’s death.
• Ji Kun spotted Fang Yuan in the crowd and begged him to tell everyone he had been wronged.
• Fang Yuan retreated into the crowd and left after Ji Kun was beaten and the prison cart moved on.
• Foolish Egg and Third Brother told Liu Wenhe that a three-chi-tall man had killed Captain Wang.
• Liu Wenhe asked Foolish Egg if he was sure, and Foolish Egg affirmed that his account was true.

Foolish Egg’s report of a three-chi black shadow made Liu Wenhe suspect another Black Calamity in Qinghe County. As Imperial City Security Department riders approached under Eunuch Cao, Liu Wenhe waited for their arrival, hoping they could resolve the danger.

• Liu Wenhe dismissed Foolish Egg and Third Brother and ordered them not to spread word of the incident.
• Liu Wenhe connected the three-chi black shadow to a possible Black Calamity and recalled that County Lieutenant Wu’s death had already been concealed.
• Liu Wenhe worried that another Black Calamity could spread through Qinghe County and cost him his life under Great Yin law.
• Six Imperial City Security Department riders rode toward Qinghe County, led by Eunuch Cao in a dark teal python robe.
• Eunuch Cao stopped the group, questioned a subordinate about repeated delays, and let the frightened man explain the road conditions.

Eunuch Cao’s party continued toward Qinghe County after delaying their journey, while Fang Yuan waited for the county magistrate to reveal a trump card after Captain Wang’s death. At Zhengyang Martial Arts School, Fang Yuan noticed Liu Wanwan had developed extraordinary strength without drawing in qi and decided to observe her changes in secret.

• Eunuch Cao complained about Qinghe County’s troubles and continued toward the town with his riders.
• Fang Yuan watched the county yamen and concluded its inaction meant the county magistrate had a hidden trump card.
• Liu Wanwan brought Fang Yuan tea, and he comforted her before following her into the inner room.
• Fang Yuan realized Liu Wanwan’s Health Preservation Fist had become disciplined and powerful, with strength exceeding five hundred jin despite her never drawing in qi.
• Fang Yuan chose not to tell Liu Wanwan about her unusual progress and decided to keep observing her.

Eunuch Cao arrived in Qinghe County with five guards and surveyed the County yamen while Fang Yuan anticipated Liu Wenhe’s response to the rumors about Shopkeeper Li. Liu Wenhe remained calm over breakfast until his Strategist rushed in to report that something bad had happened.

• Eunuch Cao and five guards rode into the city and reached the County yamen, where he chose to look around before waking its officials.
• Fang Yuan checked that his Lesser Nourishing Origin Method proficiency had increased and considered how the rumors about Shopkeeper Li might disrupt Liu Wenhe’s plan.
• Liu Wenhe ate breakfast in a relaxed mood, confident that his careful composure gave him the advantage over martial opponents.
• The Strategist hurried into the rear hall and told Liu Wenhe that something bad had happened.

Liu Wenhe confronted rumors that the County yamen had robbed Shopkeeper Li and learned that a eunuch from the Imperial City Security Department had visited Qinghe County. While Liu Wenhe suspected the Wang Family and the Zhengyang Martial Arts School, Fang Yuan continued training his saber technique.

• The Strategist told Liu Wenhe that rumors blamed the County yamen for Shopkeeper Li's robbery, and Liu Wenhe suspected the Wang Family and the Martial Arts School.
• Liu Wenhe said the people causing the trouble had to be dealt with, while the Strategist reported that a group led by a eunuch had visited the County yamen.
• Liu Wenhe realized the visitor might be from the Imperial City Security Department and became alarmed that the Emperor's attention had turned to Qinghe County.
• The Strategist said the group had headed toward the outskirts, and Liu Wenhe sprang up after connecting their destination to the porridge sheds and the White Lotus Sect.
• Fang Yuan practiced the Entangling Silk Saber Technique at Zhengyang Martial Arts School and considered developing its special effect before Qinghe Arena.

Fang Yuan learned that merchants were preparing to challenge the County yamen and that an imposing group had left the yamen for the White Lotus Sect's porridge shed. The chapter ended with Eunuch Cao arriving at the crowded refugee line outside the city.

• Wang Fugui told Fang Yuan that merchants planned to complain to the prefectural city if the County yamen had robbed Shopkeeper Li.
• Fang Yuan warned Wang Fugui to keep the Wang Family indoors because Liu Wenhe might retaliate, and Wang Fugui agreed to alert his father.
• Wang Fugui reported that an imposing group had stopped at the County yamen before leaving the city, and Fang Yuan suspected they were heading to investigate the White Lotus Sect.
• Eunuch Cao rode to the porridge shed and saw a long line of refugees waiting for food.

Eunuch Cao saw the refugees’ desperate conditions and confronted Qinghe County magistrate Liu Wenhe, who defended his relief efforts and blamed local unrest for his difficulties. Liu Wenhe began describing the deaths of County Lieutenant Wu and Captain Wang, drawing Eunuch Cao’s attention to the county’s turmoil.

• Eunuch Cao rode through the refugees and learned that porridge was not distributed every day, then angrily headed for the city.
• Liu Wenhe waited outside the county yamen in his Official Robe for Eunuch Cao’s arrival.
• Eunuch Cao ordered his men to bind Liu Wenhe, then demanded an explanation for the refugees outside the city.
• Liu Wenhe claimed he had set up porridge sheds and taken in refugees, while blaming the influx on fighting in the north.
• Liu Wenhe told Eunuch Cao that merchants and Martial Arts Schools had disrupted Qinghe County and that County Lieutenant Wu and Captain Wang had both been killed.
• Eunuch Cao asked Liu Wenhe how Captain Wang had died.

Liu Wenhe deceived Eunuch Cao into accepting his account of Captain Wang’s death, then steered him toward blaming Qinghe County’s trading houses and Martial Arts Schools. Eunuch Cao ordered the two witnesses kept under guard and became eager to investigate a possible Black Calamity, leaving Liu Wenhe’s plan to use him against his rivals underway.

• Liu Wenhe told Eunuch Cao that powerful people had killed Captain Wang and that he could not investigate, while privately thinking he had fooled the eunuch.
• Liu Wenhe brought Eunuch Cao into the county yamen Main Hall and offered to summon the two witnesses, Foolish Egg and Third Brother.
• Foolish Egg and Third Brother repeated their account of seeing a three-chi-tall figure, and Eunuch Cao ordered them kept under close guard.
• Eunuch Cao wondered whether the incident involved the Black Calamity and asked Liu Wenhe whether it had been done by human hands.
• Liu Wenhe mentioned the uncooperative trading houses and Martial Arts Schools but claimed there was no evidence linking them to Captain Wang’s death.
• Eunuch Cao ordered Liu Wenhe to arrest and interrogate them, hoping the investigation would earn him merit at court.

Liu Wenhe bribed five Imperial City Security Department officers and listed Fang Yuan and several merchants as suspects in Captain Wang’s death. The officers went to arrest them and found Fang Yuan practicing at the Zhengyang Martial Arts School, where they confronted him.

• Eunuch Cao ordered five officers to arrest people named on a list Liu Wenhe would prepare.
• Liu Wenhe secretly gave the officers banknotes and asked them to take extra care when making arrests; they accepted the bribe.
• Liu Wenhe put Fang Yuan and several merchants on the list, and Eunuch Cao sent the officers out to arrest them.
• Fang Yuan practiced the Entangling Silk Saber Technique at the Zhengyang Martial Arts School and gained Basic Saber Technique proficiency.
• The five officers watched Fang Yuan from the courtyard wall, then leapt down and confronted him as he held his saber ready.

Fang Yuan faced Han Bao and the Imperial City Security Department, who accused him of killing Captain Wang and ordered him to come with them. He agreed to go after realizing he could not safely flee, then returned to the back courtyard to reassure Liu Wanwan before leaving.

• Han Bao identified himself as an Imperial City Security Department captain and accused Fang Yuan of a crime.
• Fang Yuan learned the accusation concerned Captain Wang's death, denied wrongdoing, and weighed whether he could escape the five officials.
• Han Bao warned Fang Yuan that Liu Wanwan and the other women would not be able to escape, so Fang Yuan agreed to accompany them.
• Fang Yuan asked to change clothes and explain things to his family, and Han Bao let him go to the back courtyard unaccompanied.
• Fang Yuan told Liu Wanwan that officials had summoned him for an investigation and assured her he would return soon.

Fang Yuan prepared Liu Wanwan for the possibility that he would not return, then accompanied Han Bao and the others to the county yamen after learning Eunuch Cao had arrived from the palace. He suspected the investigation was really targeting something beyond the deaths of County Lieutenant Wu and Captain Wang, and entered the yamen wary of the strengthened defenses.

• Fang Yuan told Liu Wanwan to notify the Wang Family and, if he did not return within three days, have Senior Brother Wang find a monk at the porridge shed.
• Han Bao told Fang Yuan that Eunuch Cao from the palace had come, and Fang Yuan suspected the Imperial City Security Department had come to Qinghe County for another target.
• Fang Yuan asked how County Magistrate Liu had described the matter, but Han Bao warned him not to ask about things he should not.
• Fang Yuan rode with Han Bao and the four others through town to the county yamen, reflecting that everything might be different when he returned.
• Fang Yuan saw the county yamen's reinforced guard and heard Han Bao warn him that Eunuch Cao hated liars.

Fang Yuan waited in the county yamen and saw Shopkeeper Li badly beaten despite having no connection to Captain Wang’s death. Han Bao then led Fang Yuan into the Main Hall, where he faced a choice between confessing and risking death or staying silent and suffering Eunuch Cao’s wrath.

• Han Bao brought Fang Yuan into the county yamen courtyard and told him to wait while others were interrogated.
• Yamen runners dragged out Shopkeeper Li, bloodied and unable to stand, and one captain told Fang Yuan he had been beaten for deceiving Eunuch Cao, not for involvement in Captain Wang’s death.
• The captain explained that Eunuch Cao was establishing his authority rather than investigating a case, then praised Fang Yuan’s Entangling Silk Saber Technique as difficult to master.
• Han Bao returned and told Fang Yuan to remember his warning not to lie.
• Fang Yuan considered the danger of confessing to his past crimes and the danger of remaining silent, then followed Han Bao into the Main Hall.

Fang Yuan faced Eunuch Cao and County Magistrate Liu Wenhe in the Main Hall, refusing to kneel while defending a martial artist’s dignity. Liu Wenhe challenged him with a legal and moral trap, and Fang Yuan began to answer with a question of his own.

• Han Bao brought Fang Yuan before Eunuch Cao and Liu Wenhe, where Fang Yuan noticed Shopkeeper Li’s blood on the floor.
• Liu Wenhe demanded that Fang Yuan kneel, but Fang Yuan bowed only to Eunuch Cao and explained that martial artists kneeling was reserved for Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher.
• Eunuch Cao questioned Fang Yuan about refusing to kneel and showed interest in his answer.
• Liu Wenhe argued that a Parent Official counted as ruler, parent, and teacher, making Fang Yuan’s refusal either disrespectful or rebellious.
• Fang Yuan agreed that a Parent Official belonged among ruler, parent, and teacher, then said he had a question for Liu Wenhe.

Fang Yuan challenged County Magistrate Liu Wenhe over his failure to serve Qinghe County, earning Eunuch Cao’s approval before Liu accused him of killing Captain Wang. Fang Yuan claimed he had been at the Martial Arts School, but Liu dismissed his family as invalid witnesses and left him trapped without independent testimony.

• Fang Yuan questioned Liu Wenhe about his treatment of refugees, a grain-store robbery, and County Lieutenant Lord Wu’s death, leaving the magistrate unable to answer.
• Eunuch Cao praised Fang Yuan for silencing Liu Wenhe, while Fang Yuan resolved to use the momentary advantage to influence the interrogation.
• Liu Wenhe accused Fang Yuan of having the strongest motive to kill Captain Wang, citing the missing Fundamental Diagram and Captain Wang’s visit to the Wang Family.
• Fang Yuan said he had practiced at the Martial Arts School that day and that his family could testify for him.
• Liu Wenhe argued that relatives and household members could not serve as witnesses under the Great Yin Statutes.

Fang Yuan challenged the county magistrate’s reliance on his lack of witnesses, and Eunuch Cao rebuked Liu Wenhe for demanding an execution without properly examining the case. Eunuch Cao then asked Han Bao how the case should be judged, leaving him caught between the magistrate’s suspicion and Fang Yuan’s argument.

• Fang Yuan explained that his solitary habits left him without witnesses and questioned whether that alone made him deserving of death.
• Eunuch Cao recognized that Fang Yuan’s lack of witnesses was not proof of guilt.
• Liu Wenhe demanded that Fang Yuan be beheaded and displayed to the public despite offering no evidence.
• Eunuch Cao challenged Liu Wenhe for seeking a verdict without following the required examinations and interrogations.
• Eunuch Cao asked Han Bao how the case should be judged, and Han Bao hesitated as he considered the competing pressures.

Fang Yuan argued that his Second-Rank strength made it unlikely he had killed the Third-Rank Captain Wang, but County Magistrate Liu suggested he could have used an ambush. Eunuch Cao ordered Fang Yuan held in temporary custody while the investigation continued.

• Fang Yuan named Heaven as another witness, then argued that he lacked the strength to kill Captain Wang, who had been a Third-Rank Martial Artist.
• Liu Wenhe countered that Fang Yuan could have hired someone or ambushed Captain Wang.
• Eunuch Cao asked Han Bao how to proceed, and Han Bao recommended temporary custody while Liu Wenhe investigated Captain Wang's movements.
• Liu Wenhe agreed, Fang Yuan accepted the decision, and Eunuch Cao ordered him taken into custody.
• Several constables entered the hall carrying a wooden cangue for Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan was taken to Qinghe County’s prison after court, where Han Bao placed him in a cell and left him alone. As Fang Yuan assessed his situation, he heard a rustling from the neighboring cell.

• A constable locked a wooden cangue around Fang Yuan’s neck and escorted him toward the prison.
• Han Bao dismissed the constables and questioned Fang Yuan about whether he had been telling the truth, then said Eunuch Cao did not seem to care.
• Han Bao led Fang Yuan through the prison and found him a cleaner cell.
• Han Bao told Fang Yuan to stay put and left him in the cell.
• Fang Yuan inspected the damp cell and turned his attention to a rustling sound from the neighboring cell.