Chapter Summaries

During Tonglin County’s Lantern Festival, Lu Zheng helped the Liu Family Sisters enjoy the fair before joining Liu Butou to search for a group of missing children. Lu Zheng traced the children’s trail to Tonglai Inn and entered its rear courtyard, where he found only a foul-smelling latrine before the chapter ended.

• Lu Zheng accompanied Liu Qingyan and Liu Qingquan through the Lantern Festival, helping them win storybooks and offering to write them calligraphy.
• Liu Butou told Lu Zheng that six households had reported missing children, and Lu Zheng agreed to help investigate.
• Lu Zheng used a Qi Observation Art to trace an aura from a child’s rattle drum westward, then gathered talismans and weapons before setting out with Liu Butou.
• Lu Zheng and Liu Butou entered Tonglai Inn without alerting the people inside, and Lu Zheng asked to inspect the rear courtyard.
• Lu Zheng searched the rear courtyard for the missing children but found a latrine and recoiled from its stench.

Lu Zheng captured a cultivator who had transformed eleven children into dogs with The Beast-Making Art, then released the children and secured the man in prison. The children were left in the county government’s care, while Lu Zheng awaited the Demon Suppression Division and received five wisps of Light of Luck.

• Lu Zheng disguised his suspicions, struck the middle-aged dog collector with a Frost Gathering Talisman, and helped Liu Butou arrest him and seize his eleven caged dogs.
• Lu Zheng found The Beast-Making Art in the man’s room and presented the book to Liu Butou as evidence.
• Lu Zheng opened the cages and used the spell art to remove the dog skins, revealing eleven children, while the constables arranged for their return to their parents.
• Lu Zheng sealed the prisoner’s Dantian and sea of qi at the county prison until the Demon Suppression Division arrived, then received five wisps of Light of Luck.

After meeting with Duan Changzai about the elusive Southern Border Witches, Lu Zheng became wary of strangers and noticed several suspicious-looking patients at Renxin Hall. He treated the clinic’s patients but had not yet determined whether any of the newcomers were connected to the witches.

• Lu Zheng visited Shen Ying on Lantern Festival night after she complained he had neglected her for half a month.
• Duan Changzai told Lu Zheng the Demon Suppression Division had not caught the Southern Border Witch and gave him portraits of four suspects to watch for.
• Lu Zheng noticed a man carrying an old man, a woman with an ordinary face, and an elderly woman with an intellectually disabled youth at Renxin Hall.
• Lu Zheng joined Liu Qingyan in treating patients and warned a wealthy man that his excessive use of supplements and frequent sex were harming him.
• After treating the patients in his line, Lu Zheng noticed that Liu Qingyan had also seen the youth led by the elderly woman.

After suspecting that the Southern Border Witch had targeted Liu Qingyan, Lu Zheng enlisted Yuan Jing to help guard her home. They discovered that two groups had arrived at the Liu residence, including an old woman Lu Zheng had seen at Renxin Hall, and faced off as the intruders prepared to fight.

• Liu Qingyan treated a woman with lingering menstrual bleeding, while Lu Zheng noticed that her gratitude seemed insincere.
• Lu Zheng recalled the Southern Border Witch's target and suspected that Liu Qingyan's good deeds made her a likely victim, so he went to White Cloud Temple for help.
• Yuan Jing agreed to help Lu Zheng keep watch over the Liu residence that night.
• Eight intruders entered the Liu residence and tried to drug its occupants, while their leader ordered the others to seize two young women.
• An old woman revealed herself in the rear courtyard and demanded the two young women for her grandson; Lu Zheng recognized her as the visitor from Renxin Hall.
• The intruders' leader identified the old woman as an Extraordinary, and he revealed his own strength by releasing blood qi.

Lu Zheng intervened when an old crone and a gang of kidnappers threatened the Liu Family Sisters, but a Southern Border Witch ambushed him after Yuan Jing arrived. As Lu Zheng resisted the witch’s curses at close range, he invoked a binding spell, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• The old crone used shadow magic to restrain the kidnappers, but seven men suddenly died under an unseen force.
• Lu Zheng revealed himself, and the old crone and the surviving gang leader attacked him; he killed them with his powers.
• A Southern Border Witch attacked Lu Zheng, and Yuan Jing joined the fight while the Liu family rushed outside.
• The witch’s curses began to overcome Lu Zheng as he closed in and cast a binding spell.

Lu Zheng and the Liu family defeated a Southern Border Witch who had attacked their courtyard, and Liu Qingyan revealed her Red Pill to heal Lu Zheng. After the danger passed, she explained her family's hidden origins and why they had moved to Tonglin County, leaving more of their past still to uncover.

• Lu Zheng immobilized the Southern Border Witch with a Curse Spell and killed him with a blade strike, gaining strands of Light of Luck.
• Liu Qingyan revealed her Red Pill and used it to heal Lu Zheng and dispel the remaining Curse Spell marks.
• Lu Zheng and the Liu family cleaned the courtyard, dissolved the attackers' corpses, and collected the witch's artifacts and talismans.
• Lu Zheng transformed the witch's corpse into a dead dog with the Livestock-Making Technique while Yuan Jing and the Liu family's servants left him alone with Liu Qingyan.
• Liu Qingyan told Lu Zheng that her family concealed their demon origins with merit qi and had moved to Tonglin County after a demon tried to take her as his wife.

Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan grew closer after she revealed that she was a White Fox, while Yuan Jing advised Lu Zheng about the Southern Border Witch and possible new cultivation techniques. The next morning, Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan toured Wanfu County, where her ideas about his mysterious hometown left him bewildered.

• Liu Qingyan admitted that she knew about Lu Zheng's other lovers because her White Fox nose could detect their scents, then hinted that she could be intimate with him too.
• Yuan Jing explained that the Liu family concealed their fox-spirit origins through accumulated merit and advised Lu Zheng to take the Southern Border Witch's corpse to Yizhou Prefecture.
• Lu Zheng gave Yuan Jing the witch's other spoils and discussed asking their master to teach them the Cloud Walking Art.
• Yuan Jing marveled at Lu Zheng's rapid progress, and the two went to rest for the night.
• The next morning, Liu Qingyan accompanied Lu Zheng around Wanfu County and asked about his hometown.
• Lu Zheng said he might take Liu Qingyan to his hometown once he could command extraordinary powers, and she calculated how much Dao Comprehension those feats would require.

Lu Zheng took Liu Qingyan out for noodles and imagined winning her over with his many chicken dishes before returning to the modern world for a Disneyland date with Lin Wan. At the park, they agreed to appear in Flying’s livestream, and Lu Zheng became the magician’s twenty-third guest.

• Lu Zheng asked Liu Qingyan about the powerful Dragon King of the seas and the Star Officials, then decided to keep a low profile.
• Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan ate chicken soup noodles, and he promised to introduce her to even more chicken dishes.
• Lu Zheng preserved a dead dog with a Frost Gathering Talisman before meeting Lin Wan for a Disneyland trip.
• Lu Zheng and Lin Wan rode attractions, ate barbecue, explored the park, and bought costumes and other merchandise to be delivered to Lin Wan’s home.
• Flying approached Lu Zheng and Lin Wan for his magic livestream, and Lu Zheng agreed to be the guest while Lin Wan stayed off camera.
• Flying began a magic challenge for Lu Zheng, offering a two-person Disney package if Lu Zheng could not see through the trick.

He Feixiang performed a rope trick for Lu Zheng, but Lu Zheng spotted the hidden rope and exposed the magician’s sleight of hand. After joking that he cultivated immortality, Lu Zheng joined He Feixiang on camera and began setting up a demonstration with the brass ring.

• He Feixiang used a rope and brass ring to perform a trick that amazed the crowd and livestream viewers.
• Lu Zheng pointed out the section of rope hidden in He Feixiang’s hand, leaving He Feixiang dumbfounded.
• He Feixiang offered Lu Zheng the couples’ ticket package and invited him to greet the livestream audience.
• Lu Zheng claimed to be a cultivator with true qi, and he and He Feixiang exchanged playful introductions as practitioners from different worlds.
• Lu Zheng accepted the viewers’ challenge to demonstrate something and said the brass ring would serve as his prop.

At an amusement park, Lu Zheng amazed He Feixiang and the onlookers with a copper-ring trick, then entertained Lin Wan with another seemingly impossible trick. He Feixiang urged Lu Zheng to join the Hua Country Magicians Association and pursue professional magic, but Lu Zheng declined, leaving him curious about what other opportunities might come along.

• Lu Zheng made He Feixiang's ordinary copper ring leap from one hand to the other without He Feixiang moving, astonishing the crowd and livestream viewers.
• Lu Zheng left with Lin Wan, joked with her about his supposed cultivation, and made a Minnie headband appear before paying for it at a shop.
• Lu Zheng and Lin Wan spent the afternoon visiting attractions and watching the float parade, then planned to return another weekend.
• He Feixiang introduced Lu Zheng to his assistant and girlfriend, Zhang Fei, and cameraman, Da Chui, and praised Lu Zheng's magic skills.
• He Feixiang offered to introduce Lu Zheng to the Hua Country Magicians Association, but Lu Zheng declined and exchanged a knowing glance with Lin Wan.

Lu Zheng traveled to Yizhou City carrying the Southern Border Witch’s corpse and a glazed-glass ornament, intending to deliver the corpse to the Demon Suppression Division. He reached its unassuming headquarters and entered through a side door, where several people turned to look at him.

• Lu Zheng left Liu Qingyan and rode toward Yizhou City with his horse loaded with the corpse and his belongings.
• At the city gate, Lu Zheng watched the Xiongfeng Escort Agency convoy depart and exchanged nods with its leader.
• Lu Zheng asked a soldier for directions to the Demon Suppression Division and followed them through the bustling city.
• Lu Zheng found the Demon Suppression Division’s main gate, tied up his horse, and entered through a small side door.
• Seven or eight people inside the headquarters looked at Lu Zheng as he entered.

Lu Zheng visited the Demon Suppression Division, where its officers identified the slain shaman as a member of the Yuan Sheng Sect. After receiving thanks and the promise of a possible reward, Lu Zheng let Duan Changzai show him around Yizhou City.

• Lu Zheng resisted Du Huanzhen’s soul-probing technique and met the officers of the Demon Suppression Division while asking for Duan Changzai.
• Duan Changzai and the other officers examined the corpse Lu Zheng brought and identified the shaman as belonging to the Yuan Sheng Sect.
• The officers suspected the shaman had been pursuing the Yuan Sheng Sect’s Saintly Goddess Descent Art and warned that more shamans might be in the Great Jing Dynasty.
• Chu Jin sent word to the authorities and thanked Lu Zheng for his role, promising to report his merits for a possible reward.
• Duan Changzai took Lu Zheng to an inn and then to a wine shop, teasing him about his supposed acquaintance with a Scorpion Demon.

Lu Zheng toured Yizhou with Duan Changzai, buying gifts and encountering an old monk and a street performer. He entered a zither shop and asked to try a Phoenix Tail Zither.

• Duan Changzai took Lu Zheng to Li's Cloth Shop, where Lu Zheng bought five bolts of cloth to send to the inn.
• Lu Zheng gave a copper coin to an old monk begging for alms, and Duan Changzai warned him not to investigate the monk's background without cause.
• Lu Zheng rewarded a middle-aged street performer who produced bowls of rice from a bottomless bucket.
• Lu Zheng bought storybooks, snacks, preserved fruit, and toys while touring Yizhou with Duan Changzai.
• Lu Zheng entered a zither shop, asked about its instruments, and requested permission to play the Phoenix Tail Zither.

Lu Zheng accompanied Duan Changzai to Embroidered Cloud Tower, where he watched two celebrated performers, Qingxin and Zixiao, play music and dance. He discovered they were spirits with faint Demon Qi, but Duan Changzai assured him they were harmless, and the evening continued without incident.

• Lu Zheng tested several zithers at a shop, chose the Phoenix Tail Zither, and arranged to have it delivered to his inn.
• Duan Changzai took Lu Zheng to Embroidered Cloud Tower, where they were welcomed and seated in a private room with attendants.
• Lu Zheng and Duan Changzai drank and watched performances until Qingxin and Zixiao took the stage.
• Lu Zheng used his cultivation to detect Demon Qi around Qingxin and Zixiao, and Duan Changzai indicated the spirits posed no danger.
• Qingxin played the Yao Zither while Zixiao performed a sleeve dance, captivating the audience.

After selling an ornament in Yizhou City, Lu Zheng rode to a ferry inn on the Lu River and discovered that the River God’s residence was inviting travelers to a wedding banquet. The assistant prefect announced that the River God was choosing a son-in-law, and Lu Zheng watched with interest as the guests prepared to enter the Water Mansion.

• Lu Zheng visited Zhenji Pawnshop, completed a deal worth over a thousand strings of cash, and left Yizhou City near noon.
• After riding most of the day, Lu Zheng arrived at a ferry inn on the Lu River, where he recognized the Xiongfeng Escort Agency among the guests.
• Lu Zheng took a superior room but, after hearing gongs and drums outside, grabbed his weapon case and went to look.
• Luo Wensheng, assistant prefect of the Lu River River God’s Residence, entered the inn and announced that the River God was choosing a son-in-law and had invited the ferry inn’s guests to a banquet.
• The guests reacted with relief and envy as Lu Zheng watched Luo Wensheng with interest.

Lu Zheng joined Luo Wensheng’s guests on a journey through the Lu River to the River God Residence for a wedding banquet. He presented an elaborate five-colored glazed carp ornament, impressing Luo Wensheng and the other guests.

• Luo Wensheng invited the inn’s guests to the River God Residence, and Lu Zheng revealed that he was a Lay Practitioner of White Cloud Temple.
• Luo Wensheng parted the Lu River with a pearl and led the group through the riverbed toward the Water Mansion.
• Lu Zheng entered the River God Residence and saw that many of the wedding guests had demonic features.
• Lu Zheng presented a five-colored glazed carp leaping the Dragon Gate ornament as his gift, astonishing the attendant and Luo Wensheng.

Lu Zheng attended the River God’s wedding banquet, where Zhu Yushan married the River God’s beautiful daughter. After learning of Zhu Yushan’s reputation for terrible luck, Lu Zheng congratulated him warmly and wondered whether he was a person of great fortune.

• Lu Zheng met Wang Changxiong, Huang Qing, Duan Xian, and other guests while performers entertained the banquet.
• The River God and his wife arrived and acknowledged Lu Zheng’s table.
• Zhu Yushan entered as the groom, surprising the scholars who knew his reputation for bad luck.
• Lu Zheng offered Zhu Yushan elaborate wedding congratulations, and Zhu Yushan and his bride thanked him.
• The couple completed the wedding rites and were escorted to the bridal chamber.

At the Lu River River God’s wedding feast, Lu Zheng met Zhu Yushan and presented him with a Freezing Cold Curse, earning thirty-one strands of Light of Luck. The next morning, Lu Zheng and the other guests returned to shore with gifts from the Water Mansion.

• The Lu River River God and his wife thanked the guests, and the River God’s Wife praised Lu Zheng’s fish-leaping-over-the-dragon-gate ornament.
• Luo Wensheng brought Lu Zheng to meet the River God and Zhu Yushan, who thanked him for the ornament.
• The River God asked Lu Zheng to look after Zhu Yushan when they met abroad, and Lu Zheng gave Zhu Yushan a copy of the Freezing Cold Curse.
• The Jade Seal credited Lu Zheng with thirty-one strands of Light of Luck after he gave Zhu Yushan the curse.
• The next morning, the guests returned to shore, and Lu Zheng found a Water-Repelling Pearl and a Water Aversion Art in his return gift.

Lu Zheng traveled with the Xiongfeng Escort Agency after receiving a ride across the river, and Wang Changxiong told him about the dangers of escort work. The convoy entered a sparse forest, where a piercing whistle left the drivers and runners in pain.

• Wang Changxiong revealed that his return gift from the River God Residence was a Water-Repelling Pearl.
• Lu Zheng agreed to travel with Wang Changxiong’s Xiongfeng Escort Agency, and scholars at the inn recounted Zhu Yushan’s twelve years of disastrous exam attempts.
• Lu Zheng and Wang Changxiong crossed the river with the escort convoy and discussed Zhu Yushan’s sudden good fortune.
• Wang Changxiong explained that escort teams faced dangers from bandits, Netherworld Ghosts, unlawful demons, and Heretical Sects.
• Lu Zheng and the convoy entered a sparse forest, where a shrill whistle made the escort agency’s drivers and runners grimace in pain.

Lu Zheng killed a daoist attacker who tried to silence him, then realized the man had yielded an unusually large amount of Light of Luck. The surviving attackers fled, and Lu Zheng turned to pursue them.

• Wang Changxiong confronted three attackers demanding the concealed escort shipment and Water-Repelling Pearl, then fought their burly leader to a draw.
• Huang Qing discovered the lean attacker was a gu master and warned Wang Changxiong to defend against poisonous insects.
• The daoist attacker launched a mental assault on Lu Zheng, but Lu Zheng broke it and immobilized him with a spell.
• Lu Zheng killed the immobilized daoist with a palm strike and received forty-nine wisps of Light of Luck.
• The lean and burly attackers fled after witnessing the daoist's death, and Lu Zheng declared they could not escape.