Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao explained to Chu Yihan that her injuries and a difficult, secret journey had delayed her return, and she reassured him that her eyes had healed. Chu Yihan worried over her and hurried to clean himself up, while Su Qiao suggested they go to Xianle Club to dance.

• Su Qiao told Chu Yihan that she had been seriously injured in the explosion and had hidden overseas to recover before sneaking back.
• Chu Yihan's anger gave way to concern as he questioned Su Qiao about her dangerous journey and complained that she kept him worrying.
• Su Qiao confirmed that her eyes had healed and teased Chu Yihan about his handsome face.
• Chu Yihan realized he looked disheveled and proposed taking Su Qiao to eat so he could clean up and change.
• Su Qiao pointed out Xianle Club and asked about dancing, but Chu Yihan insisted they would dance at home and noted her face was disguised.

Su Qiao and Chu Yihan encountered Sister Jin, who was shocked to learn Su Qiao had regained her sight. As Chu Yihan hurried her away, Su Qiao arranged to take Nanny Wu with her.

• Chu Yihan refused to go out because he feared people would recognize him, and he considered moving away from Sea City.
• Sister Jin spotted Chu Yihan and Su Qiao and invited them inside, then recoiled when she recognized Su Qiao.
• Su Qiao told Sister Jin that surgery abroad had restored her vision, leaving Sister Jin shaken and afraid Su Qiao might seek revenge.
• Su Qiao said she and Chu Yihan were going to eat, and Chu Yihan covered her with his overcoat and carried her away.
• Su Qiao asked to take Nanny Wu with her, and Sister Jin readily agreed.

Su Qiao returned openly to Haicheng and left with Chu Yihan, while Sister Jin and her maid discussed how dangerous she was to cross. On the way to Baoshan, Su Qiao learned Sister Jin now managed clothing and props at Xianle Club, then the Host hinted at another surprise.

• Su Qiao thanked Sister Jin, and Chu Yihan carried her to a rickshaw and set off with her toward Baoshan.
• After they left, Sister Jin told her maid that Su Qiao had once caused chaos throughout Haicheng and that nobody would dare provoke her.
• Sister Jin reasoned that Su Qiao must have planned for her return and could handle anyone who caused her trouble.
• The Host told Su Qiao that Sister Jin now managed clothing and props at Xianle Club.
• Su Qiao dismissed the news, and the Host said there was something else that would definitely surprise her.

Su Qiao planned to open an art gallery despite Chu Yihan’s fears that her new identity would be exposed. Two months later, she held a major exhibition under her own name, and Haicheng’s powerful figures and visiting foreigners treated her with caution and respect.

• Su Qiao learned that Su Yunxia worked as a dancer at Xianle Mansion and that her mother washed the dancers’ clothes, but she chose not to interfere because they had severed ties.
• Su Qiao told Chu Yihan she wanted to open a record company and an art gallery, and she dismissed his concerns about drawing attention to herself.
• Chu Yihan agreed to let Su Qiao open the gallery because he wanted her to be happy despite worrying about her safety.
• Su Qiao opened an art gallery and held a large exhibition two months later under the name Su Qiao.
• Underworld figures, Police Department officials, chamber-of-commerce members, and foreigners attended the exhibition and greeted Su Qiao politely, fearing her reputation and her powerful bombs.

Su Qiao encountered Su Yunxia outside the art gallery and rejected her plea for help, reminding her that she had chosen to sever their relationship. Su Yunxia called after her, accusing her of abandoning their mother.

• Su Qiao spotted Su Yunxia outside the art gallery, dressed in a cheongsam and watching the entrance.
• Su Yunxia stopped Su Qiao and begged her to help her and their mother, saying they were still sisters.
• Su Qiao rejected Su Yunxia, recalling that she had cut ties with her and told Chu Qingyun about Su Qiao’s identity.
• Su Qiao warned Su Yunxia not to approach her again and went back into the gallery.
• Su Yunxia shouted that Su Qiao was heartless for refusing to care about their mother, while onlookers praised her.

Su Qiao rejected Su Yunxia’s accusations and left her behind, then used the money from her sold-out art exhibition to open a free school for poor children. She and Chu Yihan later built a life together through music and travel, while her former students remembered her as their Master.

• Su Yunxia accused Su Qiao of being heartless and unfilial, but Su Qiao reminded her that the family had cut ties with her and exploited her money before walking away.
• Su Qiao sold all the paintings in her Art Gallery and used the proceeds to open a free school for poor children and street beggars, where she taught Martial Arts.
• When war broke out years later, the school’s students fought on the front lines, earned military achievements, and continued to honor Su Qiao as their Master.
• Chu Yihan opened a Record Company devoted exclusively to Su Qiao and her songs, which spread across the country during peaceful years.
• When war later made it difficult for Su Qiao to take part in the fighting, she traveled the world with Chu Yihan, and both found satisfaction in their life together.

Su Qiao woke up chained in a remote mountain village after human traffickers sold her, and Wang Guizhi tried to persuade her to marry A-Long and bear him a son. Su Qiao attacked Wang Guizhi and demanded her release, while Wang Guizhi left to call someone to deal with her.

• Su Qiao woke in a dilapidated woodshed with an iron collar and chain around her neck.
• 444 explained that traffickers had drugged Su Qiao and sold her to the remote village.
• Wang Guizhi refused to unlock Su Qiao until she had been chained for ten days, and said she had to consummate her marriage with A-Long first.
• Su Qiao kicked Wang Guizhi to the ground and warned that she would kill the villagers unless they let her go.
• Wang Guizhi stormed out of the woodshed to get someone to deal with Su Qiao.

Su Qiao woke chained in a dusty room after being kidnapped and sold, then freed herself while hiding her escape from the people outside. When Hu Cai Er and his family confronted her about bearing children, she defied them and demanded they let her go.

• Su Qiao assessed the earthen-brick room and learned from 444 that the drugs and Muscle-weakening Powder in her body made a confrontation risky.
• Su Qiao used the Golden Long Sword to cut through her chain and collar, slightly cutting her neck in the process.
• Hearing someone approach, Su Qiao pretended to put the chain and collar back on and waited in the shadows.
• Hu Cai Er entered with the old woman and a short, bald man, angrily insisting that Su Qiao had been bought to bear children.
• Su Qiao refused to have children and threatened the family, while Wang Guizhi urged Hu Cai Er to take things slowly.

Su Qiao was held captive by the Hu family after being trafficked and sold as a bride, but she freed herself from her restraints and began absorbing the original owner's memories. She learned how the original owner had been abducted, abused, and left to die, while the Hu family prepared to leave her locked up.

• Old Hu Er threatened to withhold food and water until Su Qiao agreed to bear children, then left her locked in the room with Hu Chenglong and Wang Guizhi.
• After the family left and locked the door, Su Qiao removed her iron restraints and returned to the dry grass.
• Su Qiao agreed to sort through the original owner's memories while her system watched outside.
• Su Qiao learned that the original owner had been abducted after drinking a female trafficker's Eight Treasure Porridge and sold to Hu Dalong for eight thousand yuan.
• Su Qiao learned that the original owner died after resisting Hu Dalong and his family, who refused to spend money on proper treatment for her head injury.

Su Qiao recalled her three wishes: revenge on the traffickers and the village, helping other kidnapped women, and buying a house near her family to prove she could live without them. As the Hu family planned to break her resistance, they heard that Xiao Lian had given birth to a girl and was suffering severe bleeding.

• Su Qiao remembered that the original owner had been kindhearted and wanted to help others who had been kidnapped and sold.
• Wang Guizhi and Old Hu Er discussed whether Su Qiao was mentally sound and decided to make her obedient through beatings and starvation.
• Hu Chenglong wanted to approach Su Qiao, but Old Hu Er and Wang Guizhi told him to wait until she had been broken in.
• Wang Guizhi reported that Xiao Lian had given birth to a girl and was bleeding severely, and the Hu family called it bad luck.

Su Qiao explored Small Mountain Village and found Xiao Lian dying after giving birth. Xiao Lian gave Su Qiao her family’s contact information and chose to leave her baby behind, then died before Su Qiao could save her.

• 444 told Su Qiao that Wang Guizhi was coming to inspect her, but Su Qiao refused to escape and climbed out through a window to explore the village.
• Su Qiao saw Xiao Lian’s family blame her for giving birth to a girl while Xiao Lian bled to death inside.
• Su Qiao entered Xiao Lian’s room, found that she was beyond saving, and took the cloth pouch containing her family’s contact information.
• Xiao Lian asked Su Qiao to notify her family and take her remains home, but chose to leave her baby in the village.
• Xiao Lian died as Su Qiao spoke to her, her eyes fixed on the baby in the cradle.

Su Qiao discovered that Xiao Lian had died after giving birth and overheard the Wu Family refuse to take her to the town clinic. The family prepared to bury her that night, while Su Qiao stayed nearby, intent on making trouble in the village.

• Su Qiao left Xiao Lian’s room with a cloth pouch and hid behind an earthen wall to listen to the Wu Family.
• Zhang Damei and her husband refused to take Xiao Lian to the town clinic because it was dark and the road was dangerous.
• The midwife examined Xiao Lian and confirmed that she was dead, and the Wu Family members sighed with relief.
• Wu Yougen ordered his son to dig a pit in the back hills and bury Xiao Lian before night ended.
• Su Qiao judged the family vicious and decided to stay in the village and make trouble before leaving.

Su Qiao learned how the He family controlled the isolated village and decided to bring down its village chief and punish the human traffickers herself. After eating a stolen watermelon, she rested in the woodshed until Dalong arrived.

• 444 explained that the He family had ruled the remote village for generations and restricted the villagers from leaving.
• Su Qiao decided to take down the He family’s village chief and make the human traffickers pay rather than report them.
• Su Qiao picked a watermelon, returned to the woodshed, and ate while planning what to do next.
• Su Qiao lay down on the dry grass to rest, and 444 warned her that Dalong had arrived.

Su Qiao escaped her restraints and beat Dalong when he sneaked into the woodshed at night. She held him at club-point while Old Hu Er and Wang Guizhi arrived, leaving the family facing off as they tried to negotiate.

• Su Qiao woke to Dalong unlocking the woodshed door and pouncing on her.
• Su Qiao dodged Dalong, kicked him, and beat him while mocking his attempt to call himself her big brother.
• The Hu Family couple rushed to the woodshed after hearing Dalong's screams and found Su Qiao free with a wooden club.
• Su Qiao threatened Old Hu Er and warned him not to make a sudden move while Dalong was in her grasp.
• Old Hu Er threw aside his hoe, and Wang Guizhi begged Su Qiao to lower her club so they could talk.

Su Qiao left the woodshed hungry and forced Wang Guizhi to prepare cured meat while she watched for tricks. She frightened Wang Guizhi by claiming she used the Bone Scraper to scrape meat off people.

• Su Qiao took her wooden stick and left the woodshed, then demanded meat after seeing the chickens in the coop.
• Wang Guizhi told Su Qiao that cured meat hung from the kitchen beam, and Su Qiao insisted on watching her cook.
• After the system warned that the food might be drugged, Su Qiao pressed her sharpened stick to Wang Guizhi’s neck and made her lead the way to the kitchen.
• Su Qiao picked up the Bone Scraper and told Wang Guizhi she knew how to use it.
• Su Qiao claimed she usually used the Bone Scraper to scrape meat off other people, frightening Wang Guizhi.

Su Qiao frightened Wang Guizhi into serving her and preparing a clean room, then ate the cured meat while the Hu family discussed Hu Dalong’s failed attempt to approach her. Old Hu Er warned that Dalong’s lack of restraint could bring trouble, leaving the family worried about keeping Su Qiao under control.

• Su Qiao threatened Wang Guizhi with a Bone Scraper, and Wang Guizhi backed down and prepared the meat.
• Su Qiao ordered Wang Guizhi to clean a room and provide a freshly washed quilt and pillow.
• Su Qiao ate a bowl of cured meat while 444 promised to warn her if anyone came near.
• Old Hu Er scolded Hu Dalong for losing control, while Wang Guizhi defended her injured son.
• Old Hu Er said the family needed to wear down Su Qiao’s temper before expecting her to obey.

Old Hu Er and Wang Guizhi worried over how to control Su Qiao after she arrived at their home, while Hu Dalong was too frightened to share a room with her. Su Qiao took over the east room and settled in for the night, unconcerned that Old Hu Er had gone to seek help.

• Wang Guizhi and Old Hu Er discussed Su Qiao’s resistance and worried about whether Hu Dalong could control her.
• Hu Dalong begged Wang Guizhi to let him sleep in their room, so she prepared the east room for Su Qiao instead.
• Old Hu Er left the house to find a way to deal with Su Qiao.
• After eating, Su Qiao drove Wang Guihua out of the room, latched the door, and went to sleep.
• 444 warned Su Qiao that Old Hu Er had gone out to find a way to handle her, but Su Qiao said she was not afraid.

Su Qiao set out to retrieve Xiao Lian’s body and burn it, but she fell into a pit filled with human bones. She realized it was a corpse pit containing the remains of many women and one boy.

• Su Qiao told 444 to remind her to dig up Xiao Lian’s body and burn it after daybreak.
• Su Qiao said she would leave quickly if the person she was looking for was not in the village, but take her time if he was.
• At dawn, Su Qiao carried a knife and clay jar toward the mountain to retrieve Xiao Lian’s body.
• Su Qiao fell into a large pit near the foot of the mountain while searching for the grave.
• Su Qiao found eighteen or nineteen skulls, all belonging to females except for one boy, and identified the pit as a corpse pit.

Su Qiao discovered a pit filled with the remains of people trafficked to Hejia Village, including children, and buried their bones and Xiao Lian’s ashes. After spending hours on the mountain, she went to the river to wash and spotted a boy drawing on the beach.

• Su Qiao found a pit containing the remains of trafficked people and realized children had been trafficked too.
• Su Qiao uncovered Xiao Lian’s body, carried it up the mountain, and cremated it.
• Su Qiao buried the bones from the pit and placed Xiao Lian’s ashes beneath a chestnut tree.
• Su Qiao went to the river to clean the mud from herself and her shoes.
• Su Qiao noticed a boy drawing on the beach with a branch.

Su Qiao found a boy the villagers called Second Fool drawing a castle in the sand and suspected he might be a kidnapped mixed-race outsider. After she improved his drawing, he spoke for the first time, asking about the lake she added.

• Su Qiao saw a boy drawing on the beach while village children mocked and threw stones at him.
• Su Qiao noticed the boy’s unusual features and wondered if he was mixed-race and had been kidnapped.
• Su Qiao chased the children away with a knife and squatted beside the boy.
• The boy lunged to bite Su Qiao when she took his branch, but she held him back and added details to his castle drawing.
• The boy stared at the finished drawing and softly asked, “Lake?”