Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao exposed Su Weixue’s foul smell and left with Little Xiucai, while Li Bingyi ordered Chu San publicly punished after Ding Qiulan refused to marry him. Su Qiao, Little Xiucai, and Uncle Ya went into the woods to gather supplies, where Su Qiao hunted and collected herbs before they returned with their work done.

• Su Qiao called attention to Su Weixue’s awful smell, and the group backed away from her.
• Su Qiao left with Little Xiucai, while Li Bingyi heard Ding Qiulan’s refusal and ordered Chu San publicly punished the next day.
• Su Qiao, Little Xiucai, and Uncle Ya went into the woods to fetch water and chop firewood, while Zhao Jingting cut bamboo.
• Su Qiao searched for herbs and hunted as they worked, astonishing Uncle Ya with her strength.
• The three roasted snake and rabbit meat for lunch, ate their fill, and returned after completing their tasks.

Su Qiao found Ding Qiulan at the river and urged her not to accept the unjust settlement after Chu San raped her. She encouraged Ding Qiulan to stay alive and seek revenge, leaving her with a way to resist the fate her family demanded.

• After working with the others to gather wood, Su Qiao went to the river to wash and found Ding Qiulan there.
• Su Qiao told Ding Qiulan that Chu San would receive only a token punishment because the law and her parents' agreement protected him from serious consequences.
• Su Qiao urged Ding Qiulan to kill Chu San and set an example so other men would not follow his actions.
• Ding Qiulan said her parents wanted her to accept her fate and marry Chu San.
• Su Qiao told Ding Qiulan she had done nothing wrong and should live however she could instead of accepting the old custom of being drowned.

Su Qiao encouraged Ding Qiulan to seek revenge before becoming a nun, then helped her find a safe place near Su Qiao for the night. Later, Su Qiao tracked down Su Weixue in the woods and confronted her over the roujiamo she was eating.

• Su Qiao told Ding Qiulan she would help her get revenge and suggested she become a nun afterward.
• Ding Qiulan agreed to seek revenge and said she would spend the rest of her life atoning before the Bodhisattva.
• Ding Qiulan kept watch while Su Qiao cleaned herself, then decided to sleep outside Su Qiao's room.
• Su Qiao spent the afternoon hauling water and chopping firewood with Little Xiucai.
• 444 warned Su Qiao that Su Weixue had sneaked into the woods, and Su Qiao quickly tracked her down.
• Su Qiao appeared beside Su Weixue and asked where she had gotten the roujiamo, insisting that cousins should share their blessings and hardships.

Su Qiao confronted Su Weixue and used her knowledge of Su Weixue’s secret supplies to demand food. Su Weixue gave her roujiamo and pig trotters, while Su Qiao warned her to stop smearing her reputation and said she would not interfere with her pursuits.

• Su Qiao chopped a tree beside Su Weixue and asked her to share food with her younger cousin.
• Su Weixue asked whether Su Qiao had really married the foolish Daoist, and Su Qiao confirmed it and asked for a wedding gift.
• Su Weixue offered supplies in exchange for Su Qiao keeping quiet, but Su Qiao told her to stop smearing her reputation and mentioned her powerful connections.
• Su Weixue gave Su Qiao six roujiamo, and Su Qiao asked for pig trotters for her husband.
• Su Weixue angrily handed Su Qiao two pig trotters.

Su Qiao outmaneuvered Su Weixue over food, then shared a secret meal with Little Xiucai and Uncle Ya. In the middle of the night, Little Four warned her of an intruder entering her room.

• Su Qiao took the pig trotter from Su Weixue and dismissed her anger, while Su Weixue vowed to deal with her.
• Su Qiao tossed Ding Qiulan a roujiamo on her way back, then secretly ate with Little Xiucai and Uncle Ya.
• Little Xiucai stayed in Su Qiao's room and clung to her while they slept.
• Little Four warned Su Qiao in the night, and she spotted a thick leg stepping through the room's curtain.

Su Qiao dealt with Chu San after he tried to attack them, then pushed Zhao Jingting to face the consequences of showing mercy to dangerous people. Zhao Jingting regained his memories and became embarrassed when Su Qiao reminded him that everyone knew they were married.

• Su Qiao revealed that Chu San had attacked them and explained to Zhao Jingting that sparing a vicious person could have put them and Ding Qiulan in danger.
• Zhao Jingting admitted he had been wrong to show compassion to Chu San.
• Su Qiao ordered Zhao Jingting to put Chu San’s body in a sack and carry it outside, but he clutched her sleeve and said he did not dare.
• Zhao Jingting regained consciousness and, ashamed of his behavior, tried to return to his room.
• Su Qiao reminded Zhao Jingting that everyone already knew they were married and pointed to the silver bracelet as their betrothal gift.

Su Qiao questioned Zhao Jingting about the bracelet and discovered why he depended on alcohol-laced medicine. She refused to return the pills, leaving him to face his craving without them.

• Su Qiao told Zhao Jingting that his bracelet had fallen off him and learned the Temple Master had left it for him to give to a girl he liked.
• Su Qiao revealed she had Zhao Jingting’s medicine bottle and questioned why the pills contained so much alcohol.
• Zhao Jingting admitted he was addicted to drinking and felt unwell when he stopped.
• Su Qiao refused to give Zhao Jingting the pills, warning that alcohol made him lose his wits.
• Zhao Jingting reflected that he had grown used to drinking and that the people around him had grown used to it too.

Su Qiao confronted Zhao Jingting about his worsening condition and warned him that losing control could expose his identity and put his life in danger. She insisted she could cure him and that they would leave together, while Zhao Jingting remained resigned to dying.

• Zhao Jingting admitted that his changes happened even when he did not drink, though drinking made them more frequent.
• Su Qiao warned Zhao Jingting that if his identity were exposed, his enemies—including Li Bingyi—would kill or torture him.
• Zhao Jingting asked how Su Qiao knew who he was, but she told him to stay conscious and resist the other identities taking control.
• Zhao Jingting asked whether Su Qiao feared him, and she answered that he could not beat her and promised to find a cure.
• Zhao Jingting said he believed his illness was incurable and that he did not care whether he lived or died.
• Su Qiao told Zhao Jingting to stop talking about dying and reminded him that outsiders believed she was his wife, so he must not expose his identity and endanger her.

Su Qiao and Zhao Jingting escaped the camp with Ding Qiulan and the unconscious man who had attacked her. Su Qiao left the man’s fate in Ding Qiulan’s hands.

• Zhao Jingting denied acting clingy and foolish, then checked the man on the ground and confirmed he was alive.
• Su Qiao told Zhao Jingting to carry the man, and he lifted him over his shoulder.
• Su Qiao and Zhao Jingting woke Ding Qiulan and led her through the forest, avoiding the sleeping patrol.
• Su Qiao told Ding Qiulan she could do anything she wanted to the man, including maim or kill him.

Su Qiao helped Ding Qiulan escape after she killed Chu San, then returned to camp with Zhao Jingting and hoped no one would connect them to Chu San’s disappearance. Once the camp dismissed his absence as a flight, Su Qiao went to fetch water and was stopped by a lecherous man offering her a sweet potato.

• Su Qiao sealed Chu San’s mute acupoint and pulled Zhao Jingting away while Ding Qiulan dealt with Chu San.
• Ding Qiulan told Su Qiao she would not die and planned to become a nun, so Su Qiao gave her food and advice on how to leave the mountains safely.
• Su Qiao had Zhao Jingting dig a pit, and they sneaked back into camp before dawn.
• Li Bingyi searched for Chu San after his disappearance, but the camp assumed he had run away, while no one suspected Ding Qiulan.
• Su Qiao set out to fetch water and was stopped by a man who offered her a sweet potato he claimed to have saved for her.

Su Qiao rejected a man who tried to trade a sweet potato for a relationship, and Zhao Jingting chased him off with a woodcutter’s knife. After Su Qiao stopped Zhao Jingting, he accused her of seducing other men.

• A man offered Su Qiao a sweet potato and claimed she and Zhao Jingting were not truly married, then proposed that she become his wife.
• Su Qiao rejected the man and threatened him with her shoulder pole after he dismissed his existing wife and child as no obstacle.
• Zhao Jingting suddenly attacked the man with a woodcutter’s knife and chased him away.
• Su Qiao pulled Zhao Jingting back, and he accused her of seducing other men while she failed to understand what he meant.

Zhao Jingting continued acting as though Su Qiao had betrayed him, and Su Qiao waited for him to return. At midnight, he brought a man into her room and accused her of liking him, but Su Qiao denied it.

• Zhao Jingting accused Su Qiao of betraying him and called her the Demonic Sect's Left Protector, Poisonous Lady, before running off.
• Su Qiao continued with her day and checked on Zhao Jingting, who repeatedly avoided her.
• Zhao Jingting jumped through Su Qiao's window at midnight carrying the lecherous man who had given her sweet potatoes.
• Zhao Jingting accused the man of sneaking into Su Qiao's room to assault her and insisted that she liked him.
• Su Qiao recognized the man and denied liking him, but Zhao Jingting accused her of refusing to admit the truth.

Su Qiao killed the unconscious man to prove she had no feelings for him, while Zhao Jingting accepted the deed as something he had always handled for her. As he buried the body, Su Qiao realized her interactions with other men could trigger his role changes, and he showed signs of remembering what he did in other roles.

• Su Qiao sprinkled poison on the unconscious man, killing him, and told Zhao Jingting she was proving she did not like him.
• Zhao Jingting said he could neither fear nor hate Su Qiao, then went to get a sack to dispose of the body.
• Su Qiao questioned how she had gained the reputation of a vicious, unfaithful woman, and the system explained that the Great Demon King had become jealous when he saw her chatting with another man.
• Zhao Jingting put the body in a sack and carried it to the woods, following the route they had taken to dispose of Chu San.
• Zhao Jingting began digging a pit and told Su Qiao to stand back so she would not dirty her clothes, saying he had always handled such things for her.

Su Qiao planned to treat Zhao Jingting’s damaged nerves while keeping Su Weixue from catching her doing anything suspicious. Su Weixue brought Li Bingyi and others to the forest, accused Su Qiao and Zhao Jingting of burying people there, and ordered the earth dug up.

• Su Qiao considered sealing away Zhao Jingting’s jumbled memories and finding herbs to repair his damaged nerves.
• Su Qiao learned Su Weixue had been watching them, while Zhao Jingting begged her not to flirt with other men and accused Uncle Ya of leering at her.
• Su Qiao and Zhao Jingting returned home near dawn after digging in the forest.
• Su Weixue led Li Bingyi and others to two freshly turned patches of earth and claimed Su Qiao and Zhao Jingting had buried people there, including Chu San.
• Li Bingyi ordered the group to dig while Su Qiao waited calmly by a tree.

Su Qiao and Zhao Jingting stayed calm as the group dug up the pits Su Weixue claimed held bodies. Both pits were empty, leaving Su Weixue’s accusation in doubt and the others confused.

• Zhao Jingting gave Su Qiao a damp cloth, then returned with wild jujubes he had gathered.
• Su Qiao ate the jujubes while the group dug up one pit, but found no corpse inside.
• Su Weixue insisted she had seen people buried there, while others questioned whether she had dreamed it.
• Li Bingyi considered whether Su Qiao and Zhao Jingting might have moved the bodies after Su Weixue left.
• The group opened the other pit and found only an old pair of women’s trousers.

Su Qiao explained away the empty pit as her husband digging for fun, turning the group against Su Weixue’s accusations. Su Weixue insisted she had seen a corpse buried there, but the others began to suspect grief had made her unstable.

• The men grumbled that the failed search had delayed their chance to find food and warm clothing.
• Su Weixue was baffled that the pit contained only a pair of women's pants, though she remembered seeing Chu San’s corpse buried there.
• Su Qiao claimed her husband had dug the pits for fun after waking up at night, and the group accepted her explanation.
• Su Qiao reminded Su Weixue that she had lost loved ones and urged her to live well, while others criticized her for accusing her cousin.
• The group speculated that Su Weixue had suffered a mental breakdown, and she angrily insisted she was sane and had seen a corpse buried in the pit.

Su Qiao helped convince everyone that Su Weixue had imagined the evidence, leaving Li Bingyi suspicious but unable to act. Back in their room, Zhao Jingting accused Su Qiao of staring at Li Bingyi and abandoning him for handsome men.

• Su Qiao admitted she had destroyed the evidence and taunted Su Weixue, who stormed off threatening to get even.
• Su Qiao's system, 444, revealed that she had made Bone-Dissolving Water from poisonous herbs, and the gathered people comforted Su Qiao while accepting Su Weixue's apparent breakdown.
• Li Bingyi remained doubtful but decided he had no proof against Su Qiao and Zhao Jingting, and quietly became wary of them.
• Su Qiao and Zhao Jingting returned to their room, where Zhao Jingting accused her of staring at Li Bingyi and abandoning him for a handsome man.

Su Qiao followed Zhao Jingting and Uncle Ya into the woods, where the two men returned to camp with a wild boar. After Zhao Jingting regained consciousness, Su Qiao found him with a dying old woman and asked what had happened.

• Zhao Jingting teased Su Qiao about being fierce with him, then ran into the woods to hunt while Uncle Ya followed.
• Su Qiao gathered medicinal herbs, wild vegetables, and firewood but did not meet Zhao Jingting or Uncle Ya in the woods.
• Zhao Jingting and Uncle Ya returned to camp with a small wild boar, lifting the spirits of the hungry people there.
• Su Qiao found Zhao Jingting in a thatched hut with a gravely ill old woman and asked what was wrong.
• Zhao Jingting told Su Qiao that the old woman was going to die.

An old woman begged Su Qiao to adopt her seven-year-old grandson, Qingyang, because she was dying and had no one else to care for him. Su Qiao hesitated but agreed to think about it, leaving the decision unresolved.

• Zhao Jingting explained that the old woman wanted them to adopt her grandson.
• The old woman told Su Qiao that Qingyang's parents and younger sister had died during the famine, leaving only the two of them.
• Su Qiao questioned whether entrusting Qingyang to someone else would be safer, given their own difficult situation.
• The old woman said others had rejected her and pleaded with Su Qiao to take Qingyang in.
• Su Qiao said she would think about it, and the old woman insisted that Qingyang was sensible, capable, and easy to care for.

Qingyang begged his dying grandmother not to leave him and tried to reassure her that he could find food and take care of her. She urged him to obey his siblings and live bravely after she was gone, leaving him clinging to her in fear.

• Qingyang rushed in with wild greens and pleaded with his grandmother not to die, promising to behave and find food.
• His grandmother told Qingyang to listen to his brothers and sisters, work more, eat less, and not make them angry.
• Qingyang recalled how drought, hunger, and displacement had taken his younger sister, grandfather, father, and mother, leaving his grandmother as his only close relative.
• Qingyang's grandmother comforted him and urged him to live on bravely, imagining him growing up and starting a family.
• Qingyang clung to his grandmother as she blinked faintly and a tear slipped from her eye.