Chapter Summaries

Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo set out to investigate a Black Calamity, with Fang Yuan determined not to delay. On the way, Fang Yuan exchanged a brief, courteous acknowledgment with Gu Changqing as their groups passed in the street.

• Fang Yuan considered Old Hei’s control over Contribution Points and the limited authority Shen Qianshan seemed to hold.
• Qian Duoduo insisted they eat before facing the Black Calamity, and Fang Yuan sent Wang De to tell Cao Mansion he would miss lunch.
• Fang Yuan hurried out of the Imperial City Security Department, while Qian Duoduo followed and questioned his willingness to risk his life so soon.
• Two Captains at the gate discussed Qian Duoduo’s origins and speculated about his background.
• In the Outer City, Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo encountered Gu Changqing, Murong Qing, and their companions; Gu Changqing bowed slightly to Fang Yuan, and the two groups passed without speaking.

Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo left Gu Changqing and the other young prodigies behind, while Murong Qing explained Fang Yuan’s achievements to them. As Qian Duoduo revealed that he had been avoiding Shen Qingwan and brought up the coming Three Commanderies Martial Tournament, Fang Yuan remained focused on his own path.

• Gu Changqing’s companions criticized Fang Yuan for barely acknowledging Gu, but Murong Qing explained Fang Yuan’s feats and appointment, leaving them embarrassed.
• Gu Changqing watched Fang Yuan depart and reflected on the widening gap between them before continuing into the Inner City with Murong Qing and the group.
• Qian Duoduo checked that nobody had followed them, and Fang Yuan realized he had been avoiding Shen Qingwan.
• Qian Duoduo told Fang Yuan that the Three Commanderies Martial Tournament was why the prodigies had gathered, and Fang Yuan considered Gu Changqing’s prospects and his own different path.
• Qian Duoduo asked whether Fang Yuan was curious about the tournament after Fang Yuan showed little reaction.

Fang Yuan learned that the expanded Jiangyang Dao Martial Tournament would be held in Wushui Commandery, where a mysterious anomaly and a coveted Superior Resource had drawn attention from powerful figures. Qian Duoduo probed Fang Yuan about his breakthrough, but Fang Yuan concealed what he knew as he realized that many sides were watching him and the resource he possessed.

• Qian Duoduo told Fang Yuan that the Three Commanderies Martial Tournament had expanded into the Jiangyang Dao Martial Tournament and would be held in Wushui Commandery.
• Fang Yuan sensed that Qian Duoduo was hiding sorrow and wondered why Wushui Commandery had been chosen to host the tournament.
• Qian Duoduo linked a recent anomaly in Wushui Commandery to the timing of Fang Yuan's breakthrough and questioned him about it.
• Fang Yuan pretended to know nothing about the anomaly, which had involved nine bolts of lightning and swirling clouds over Cao Mansion.
• Qian Duoduo revealed that a top-ten Superior Resource from the Capital City had been sent to Wushui Commandery and that powerful families were searching for both it and its recipient.
• Fang Yuan realized that the Yin-Yang Force he possessed had drawn attention from across Jiangyang Dao and the Capital City.

Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo entered the Chen Family courtyard in Yongfu Lane to investigate the Black Calamity. A compass led Fang Yuan to a side chamber, but when he asked who would enter first, Qian Duoduo had vanished.

• Qian Duoduo suspected Fang Yuan might have obtained a Superior Resource and chose to test his strength at the Black Calamity in Yongfu Lane.
• Qian Duoduo used his compass outside the Chen Family courtyard, then delayed entering because he was hungry before following Fang Yuan inside.
• Fang Yuan felt countless unseen eyes watching him throughout the courtyard and noticed the Shadow Wall blocked his view of the side chambers.
• Qian Duoduo's compass pointed toward the first side chamber on the left, whose door stood slightly ajar.
• Fang Yuan asked Qian Duoduo who would enter first, but Qian Duoduo had disappeared.

Fang Yuan investigated the strange bedroom where Qian Duoduo had vanished and discovered a massive Bronze Mirror that seemed connected to Chen Wang’s fear of forgetting his own face. As the mirror’s gaze focused on him, Fang Yuan prepared to strike whatever might emerge from it.

• Fang Yuan realized Qian Duoduo had vanished without leaving a trace and concluded that something was wrong with the bedroom.
• Fang Yuan entered the dusty but neatly arranged bedroom and noticed a huge Bronze Mirror hanging above the bed.
• Fang Yuan recalled Chen Li’s account that Chen Wang had stared into mirrors each morning because he feared forgetting what he looked like.
• Fang Yuan took down the Bronze Mirror and examined his reflection, unaware that the reflected figure had begun to smile.
• Fang Yuan sensed the mirror watching him and readied his saber with the first form of Six Harmonies Defense, Imperial Guard.

Fang Yuan searched the eerily silent courtyard after hearing Qian Duoduo cry out, while a sinister presence emerged from the bronze mirror. He reunited with Qian Duoduo, whose account of seeing figures in the courtyard left Fang Yuan uncertain, and they set out to investigate the side rooms together.

• Qian Duoduo cried out, and Fang Yuan hurried into the courtyard to look for him.
• After Fang Yuan left the first side room, its door closed by itself, and black liquid seeped from the bronze mirror as a smiling face appeared within it.
• Fang Yuan searched a second side room and heard multiple sets of footsteps approach its door, where he found a trembling Qian Duoduo.
• Qian Duoduo told Fang Yuan that he had seen figures moving through the courtyard and had become separated from him among the side rooms.
• Fang Yuan questioned Qian Duoduo, remained wary of possible deception, and proposed that they investigate the rooms together.

Fang Yuan found Chen Li’s diary in a dark study, learning that Chen Wang had changed into someone his wife feared and was taking her away. As Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo faced a shadowless, faceless figure in the courtyard, Qian Duoduo silently signaled that something was wrong.

• Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo searched the empty side chambers and noticed that the first chamber on the left had been shut.
• Fang Yuan entered the study on the right and found Chen Li’s diary, which showed Chen Wang obsessing over his reflection and fearing he would forget himself and his wife.
• Fang Yuan read that Chen Wang had lain in a coffin, ordered one for his supposedly living wife, and eventually taken Chen Li away against her will.
• Qian Duoduo stood silently at the doorway as a shadowless figure appeared in the courtyard and turned its blurred, eyeless face toward Fang Yuan.
• Qian Duoduo tried to signal Fang Yuan that something was wrong, but Fang Yuan acted as though he did not notice.

Fang Yuan investigated the silent Black Calamity and realized Chen Li’s disappearance and Chen Wang’s transformation remained unexplained. After taking the Bronze Mirror, he and Qian Duoduo heard several sets of footsteps approaching through the courtyard.

• The black shadow vanished without attacking, leaving Qian Duoduo shaken and Fang Yuan wondering what it had been watching for.
• Qian Duoduo suggested they report the case, but Fang Yuan recalled Chen Li’s final diary entry and questioned why Chen Wang’s perspective was missing.
• Fang Yuan suspected Qian Duoduo had not searched the room thoroughly and returned to the side chamber with the Bronze Mirror.
• Fang Yuan examined the mirror and asked whether any of the mist-shrouded figures Qian Duoduo saw had been Chen Li; Qian Duoduo could not tell.
• Fang Yuan took the Bronze Mirror, and several swift, light footsteps sounded from deeper in the courtyard.

Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo found Chen Li alive in the supposedly empty residence, but Fang Yuan suspected something was wrong with her. A black shadow appeared behind them and warned them to run, leaving Fang Yuan caught between it and Chen Li.

• Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo heard strange footsteps coming from the room where they had found Chen Li's journal.
• Fang Yuan entered the room and found a terrified, filthy woman who identified herself as Chen Li.
• Qian Duoduo gave Chen Li dried meat, and she devoured it while Fang Yuan questioned how she could have survived for so long.
• Fang Yuan told Chen Li to stop pretending, and she responded with a brief moment of clarity.
• A black shadow formed behind Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo, warned Fang Yuan to run, and frightened Chen Li as Qian Duoduo prepared for danger.

Fang Yuan exposed Chen Li as the true threat, and his saber—empowered by the black shadow in his mind—drove her away while Qian Duoduo’s Copper Coin blocked her attack. They escaped the courtyard with Chen Wang alive, but Qian Duoduo warned that Chen Wang was also dangerous and wondered whether Fang Yuan’s Health Cultivation Method had reached a rare level.

• Qian Duoduo explained that the Black Calamity had revealed itself because its medium had been exposed, and Fang Yuan accused Chen Li of being the one with a problem.
• Chen Li’s face distorted and she attacked Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo with black-nailed hands.
• Fang Yuan’s black shadow swung its saber alongside him, adding an unfamiliar power to his strike and making Chen Li scream.
• Qian Duoduo’s Copper Coin repelled Chen Li’s other hand, and Chen Wang collapsed, shriveled but still alive.
• Fang Yuan carried Chen Wang out of the courtyard, and Qian Duoduo followed him into Yongfu Lane.
• Qian Duoduo warned Fang Yuan that Chen Wang was dangerous and recalled a rumor about the Health Cultivation Method.

Fang Yuan rescued Chen Wang from the Black Calamity medium and left Yongfu Lane with Qian Duoduo, who could not understand how he had solved the case. As Fang Yuan reconsidered the evidence, he suspected that the Bronze Mirror was only a distraction and that the journal might be the true medium.

• Fang Yuan carried the unconscious Chen Wang out of the alley while Qian Duoduo wondered how he had defeated Black Calamity.
• Qian Duoduo asked how Fang Yuan had identified Chen Li as suspicious, and Fang Yuan dismissed the question by saying it had been instinct.
• Fang Yuan reviewed the case and noted that the figures in the courtyard had matched Chen Li’s account too perfectly.
• Fang Yuan recalled that Chen Wang had failed to attack when Fang Yuan was vulnerable and concluded that the Bronze Mirror might only be a prop.
• Fang Yuan considered whether the journal, rather than the mirror, was the true Black Calamity medium.

Fang Yuan identified Chen Li as the source of the Black Calamity and brought the unconscious Chen Wang back to the Imperial City Security Department. After Fang Yuan explained his deductions to Old Hei, Old Hei revived Chen Wang with a jade-green pill.

• Fang Yuan realized Qian Duoduo had not seen Chen Li's journal and suspected the journal could be a medium of transmission.
• Fang Yuan confirmed the Bronze Mirror had been tampered with, then identified Chen Li as the culprit when footsteps sounded from the right-hand chambers.
• Fang Yuan reconstructed how Chen Wang had suspected his wife's corruption and tried to resist, though he acknowledged his account remained conjecture until Chen Wang woke.
• Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo carried Chen Wang and the Bronze Mirror to Old Hei in the Mission Courtyard.
• Fang Yuan detailed his investigation, and Old Hei gave Chen Wang a jade-green pill that quickly restored his breathing and woke him.

Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo questioned the awakened Chen Wang about the events at Chen Manor. Chen Wang revealed how his wife had changed and how the Black Calamity had made people forget their own identities, leaving Fang Yuan to piece together the danger Chen Li posed.

• Chen Wang awoke in the Imperial City Security Department and confirmed his identity to Fang Yuan.
• Qian Duoduo asked Chen Wang what had happened at Chen Manor, and Chen Wang explained that his wife had seemed different since the previous winter.
• Chen Wang said he secretly checked his reflection because he feared his wife was making him forget what he looked like.
• Chen Wang revealed that Chen Li reported him to the authorities first, and the constables who came to investigate began to lose their clear faces.
• After the constables disappeared, Chen Wang dug a pit and prepared a coffin, but Chen Li reported him again and mocked him before the constables.

Fang Yuan uncovered how the Black Calamity had replaced Chen Li and spread through everyone involved in the case, but the Bronze Mirror’s unexplained appearance remained a mystery. Chen Wang was taken into observation, and Fang Yuan reported the mirror’s significance to Old Hei.

• Fang Yuan realized the Black Calamity had replaced Chen Li and affected Chen Wang’s neighbors and others connected to the case, while Chen Li’s diary had drawn in new victims.
• Fang Yuan asked Chen Wang when his wife began changing and whether a mirror had appeared in their home; Chen Wang said the change began gradually last winter and denied ever owning the Bronze Mirror.
• Fang Yuan concluded the Bronze Mirror had appeared in the Chen Manor after the incident and questioned why someone had placed it there.
• Old Hei ordered two clerks to take Chen Wang to a private room for observation and ensure he received meals without disturbance.
• Fang Yuan placed the Bronze Mirror face-down on Old Hei’s desk and explained that Chen Wang said it had not originally belonged to the Chen Family.

Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo reported that they had exceeded the requirements for Grade A Case No. 17, and Old Hei awarded them Contribution Points while keeping the suspicious bronze mirror. After Qian Duoduo explained the extra rewards for fully investigating a Black Calamity, he invited Fang Yuan to eat.

• Old Hei examined the bronze mirror, agreed it might be abnormal, and took it into his custody.
• Old Hei awarded Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo one thousand Contribution Points each for completing Grade A Case No. 17.
• Qian Duoduo explained that they had exceeded the mission requirements by tracing the Black Calamity's origins and finding its medium, which qualified them for additional rewards from Jiangyang Dao.
• Qian Duoduo thanked Fang Yuan for his role in the investigation and offered to treat him to a meal.

After leaving the Imperial City Security Department, Fang Yuan joined Qian Duoduo for dinner, where Qian began explaining Black Calamities and the dangers of keeping experience secret. Meanwhile, Old Hei used the Bronze Mirror to draw mist from an unfinished painting, and the chapter ended with Fang Yuan asking Qian whether he was willing to share what he knew.

• Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo left the Imperial City Security Department together, and the Captains watched Fang Yuan depart, sensing that he had changed.
• Qian Duoduo took Fang Yuan to Zui Xian Lou and ordered them a meal and Huadiao Wine.
• Qian Duoduo asked Fang Yuan whether he knew about the types of Black Calamities, and Fang Yuan explained that the Department's files did not classify them.
• Old Hei studied the Bronze Mirror, drew mist from an unfinished landscape painting into it, and listened as faint whispers came from within.
• Qian Duoduo criticized Investigative Captains for hoarding their survival methods and experience, and Fang Yuan asked whether he was willing to share his knowledge.

Qian Duoduo explained his family’s research into Black Calamities and proposed that some people possessed innate talents for confronting them. Fang Yuan examined Qian Duoduo’s protective artifacts and asked whether consecrated treasures were truly useful.

• Qian Duoduo classified Black Calamities as Story-Type, Artifact-Type, and a Third Category, and said their true forms were far more varied than researchers understood.
• Qian Duoduo praised Fang Yuan’s insight in uncovering the truth behind Grade A Case No. 17, while Fang Yuan reflected on the black shadow within his mind.
• Qian Duoduo suggested Old Hei had a powerful talent that allowed him to suppress several areas of the Imperial City Security Department.
• Qian Duoduo said his own talent was being rich and showed Fang Yuan a consecrated compass and a Copper Coin that could sense Black Calamities and block attacks.
• Fang Yuan asked Qian Duoduo whether treasures consecrated by masters were really useful.

Fang Yuan learned from Qian Duoduo that talents could awaken through focus, vary with a person’s nature, and grow, while Old Hei’s painting talent appeared to suppress the Bronze Mirror’s Black Calamity. Qian Duoduo then connected talents to the Superior Forces of the Great Wu Dynasty, leaving Fang Yuan with a startling possibility about how such powers awakened.

• Fang Yuan asked Qian Duoduo how people discovered their talents, and Qian Duoduo described how talents emerged, reflected a person’s traits, and could grow.
• Qian Duoduo suggested that Old Hei’s painting was his talent and that he used it to suppress something dangerous.
• Old Hei painted clouds and lightning that entered the Bronze Mirror, battling its murky mist and causing cracks to spread across the mirror.
• Qian Duoduo said the Imperial City Security Department had avoided major trouble for centuries, then explained that the Great Wu Dynasty’s Superior Forces could awaken corresponding talents.

Qian Duoduo told Fang Yuan that innate talents had vanished when the Great Wu Dynasty gave way to the Great Yin Dynasty, possibly because of a Martial Saint. Fang Yuan suspected the black shadow in his Sea of Consciousness was his own awakened innate talent, but a drunken Zhao Tianci interrupted him, while Su Wan'er found herself cornered at Zui Xian Lou.

• Qian Duoduo explained that people with Superior Force could awaken innate talents during the Great Wu Dynasty, but those abilities disappeared overnight for reasons tied to the war, the Black Calamity, or a Martial Saint.
• Fang Yuan recalled Old Hei's possible ties to the Great Wu Dynasty and suspected his breakthrough to the fourth rank had awakened the black shadow innate talent in his Sea of Consciousness.
• Fang Yuan considered how the black shadow had blocked Chen Li's attack and warned him of danger, though its signals remained difficult to understand.
• A drunken young man forced his way upstairs, and Fang Yuan and Qian Duoduo grew angry at the disturbance.
• Zhao Tianci smashed the door of the neighboring room, while Su Wan'er watched from inside after coming to Zui Xian Lou to escape his pursuit.

Zhao Tianci used his two Fourth-Rank guards to intimidate Murong Qing, Gu Changqing, and Su Wan'er, but Fang Yuan arrived just as Zhao tried to seize her. The chapter ended with Zhao and his guards recognizing Fang Yuan as the room fell silent.

• Zhao Tianci barged into the private room and demanded that Su Wan'er drink with him.
• Murong Qing and Gu Changqing challenged Zhao, but his Fourth-Rank guards overwhelmed Gu Changqing with their aura.
• The other Noble Family scions stayed silent as Zhao pressed closer to Su Wan'er and reached for her arm.
• Fang Yuan appeared in the doorway, and his gaze stopped Zhao's guards from advancing.
• Zhao Tianci recognized Fang Yuan, leaving the private room silent.