Chapter Summaries

Su Qiao challenged Fortress Lord Ye over his objections to her status as Ye Shaoxuan’s concubine, pointing out his role in allowing Madam Ye to select concubines. She ended by asking whether Ye Shaoxuan or Madam Ye mattered more to him.

• Madam Ye urged Su Lian Yue to give Ye Shaoxuan children so she could secure her place in Flying Eagle Fortress, while privately believing she could never become principal wife.
• Fortress Lord Ye said he would allow Su Qiao to stay as Ye Shaoxuan’s concubine but forbade her from aspiring to be principal wife.
• Su Qiao asked whether Fortress Lord Ye had known Madam Ye was selecting concubines for Ye Shaoxuan from wealthy Jiangnan families.
• Su Qiao pointed out that if Fortress Lord Ye had known and failed to stop it, his objections to her status were inconsistent.
• Su Qiao asked Fortress Lord Ye whether his son Ye Shaoxuan or Madam Ye was more important to him.

Su Qiao accused Madam Ye of arranging Ye Shaoxuan’s marriage to a low-status woman to undermine him and secure the Fortress Lord’s position for her unborn son. Fortress Lord Ye appeared to understand the scheme but still comforted Madam Ye, leaving their conflict unresolved.

• Su Qiao said Ye Shaoxuan and his deceased mother had been treated unfairly by the household.
• Su Qiao accused Madam Ye of choosing a low-status concubine for Ye Shaoxuan to make him a laughingstock and clear the way for her own son to lead Flying Eagle Fortress.
• Madam Ye denied the accusations and claimed she had believed Su Qiao was a daughter of the Su family.
• Su Qiao challenged Madam Ye’s claim, pointing out that many of the women sent over had been bought and raised by wealthy merchants.
• Fortress Lord Ye stayed silent as Madam Ye defended herself, then steadied her and urged her to take care of her health.

Su Qiao angered Fortress Lord Ye and Madam Ye by predicting Madam Ye’s unborn child would be a daughter and that she would never conceive again. Ye Zhongli later intercepted Su Qiao in the garden and demanded to know who she really was.

• Su Qiao told Madam Ye that her unborn child would be a daughter and that this would be her last pregnancy.
• Su Qiao left after mocking Fortress Lord Ye and Madam Ye, while Nanny Wu and Xiao Huan followed her in shock.
• Madam Ye urged Fortress Lord Ye to punish Su Qiao, and he promised to deal with her before sending Madam Ye to rest.
• Ye Zhongli flew out the window and intercepted Su Qiao in the garden, asking who she was.

Su Qiao told Ye Zhongli she suspected Alliance Leader Huangfu Xian of working for the imperial court, though she had no evidence yet, and refused to leave Flying Eagle Fortress before she was ready. Ye Shaoxuan overheard her conversation with his father, took her back to their room, and angrily confronted her.

• Su Qiao told Ye Zhongli she had no evidence against Huangfu Xian but expected the imperial court to reveal its connection to him once his position as Alliance Leader was threatened.
• Ye Zhongli questioned Su Qiao's purpose at Flying Eagle Fortress and demanded that she leave Ye Shaoxuan alone, while Su Qiao said she would leave when the time came.
• Ye Shaoxuan arrived, heard the end of their conversation, gripped Su Qiao's hand, and took her back to their room.
• Ye Shaoxuan threw Su Qiao onto the bed and scolded her for being heartless, while Su Qiao calmly asked what was wrong with her appearance.

Su Qiao soothed Ye Shaoxuan after he grew angry at her teasing about leaving him, and promised she would marry him and travel the martial world with him. Their reconciliation was interrupted when Xiao Wu called Ye Shaoxuan, saying it was time.

• Ye Shaoxuan became furious when Su Qiao joked that men would flock to her even if she gave them the cold shoulder.
• Su Qiao pulled Ye Shaoxuan beside her and reassured him that she had only been lying and would take him with her if she left.
• Ye Shaoxuan admitted he feared losing Su Qiao, and she comforted him before proposing they marry and roam the martial world together.
• Su Qiao teased Ye Shaoxuan about being fussy, quick-tempered, jealous, and spoiled, and he protested that she had made him angry.
• Xiao Wu called from the doorway that it was time, interrupting Su Qiao and Ye Shaoxuan.

Ye Shaoxuan returned to find Su Qiao after hearing she had been summoned to the Main Hall, then tried to leave on a secret mission. Su Qiao stopped him to protect her plans for the Martial Arts Convention, and Ye Shaoxuan stayed with her.

• Ye Shaoxuan told Su Qiao he had to handle a private matter and urged her to rest at home.
• Su Qiao explained that she had alerted the Demonic Cult's branch so its members could help her deal with Xu Changsong and the others.
• Su Qiao learned that Ye Shaoxuan planned to kill Huangfu Xian, Huangfu Zhenlou, and the men who had insulted her.
• Su Qiao blocked the doorway and claimed she was afraid of the cold, darkness, and loneliness, insisting someone sleep beside her.
• Ye Shaoxuan gave in and took Su Qiao back inside, teasing her about her many supposed flaws.

Su Qiao and Ye Shaoxuan made up after an argument, and he eagerly stayed in her bed to keep her company. In the middle of the night, she woke to find him holding her with his icy body pressed against her.

• Ye Shaoxuan took Su Qiao's complaint seriously and asked who else she wanted, then apologized after she explained why she had lashed out.
• Su Qiao forgave Ye Shaoxuan and let him stay with her for the night.
• Ye Shaoxuan climbed into bed and repeatedly edged closer until their clothes touched, while Su Qiao secretly found his behavior endearing.
• Su Qiao woke in the night with Ye Shaoxuan holding her and complained that his body felt like a block of ice.

Su Qiao discovered Ye Shaoxuan’s nightly disappearances were caused by a sinister cultivation technique that made his body dangerously cold. After he explained his condition and admitted he had hidden it for fear she would despise him, Su Qiao set out to take him to the hot spring.

• Su Qiao woke Ye Shaoxuan by pinching his nose after finding his body covered in frost.
• Ye Shaoxuan explained that his grandfather had given him a cultivation technique to strengthen his frail body, but it caused severe cold spells at night.
• Ye Shaoxuan revealed that his condition had worsened until it flared up almost every night, requiring Yang Medicinal Pills and a natural hot spring to relieve it.
• Ye Shaoxuan admitted he had kept his condition secret because he feared Su Qiao would despise him.
• Su Qiao wrapped Ye Shaoxuan in a quilt, picked him up, and demanded that he show her where the hot spring was.

Su Qiao carried Ye Shaoxuan to a secluded hot spring so he could recover from the cold, then retrieved his martial arts manual from a hidden chamber. After examining it, she discovered that the second half of his cultivation method was wrong.

• Su Qiao carried Ye Shaoxuan across the rooftops to a secluded residence in the northwest of the back mountain.
• Ye Shaoxuan entered the hot spring and cultivated until his complexion returned to normal.
• Ye Shaoxuan opened a hidden chamber behind the pool and told Su Qiao where to find his martial arts manual.
• Su Qiao examined the manual and told Ye Shaoxuan that the second half of his cultivation method was completely wrong.

Su Qiao discovered that Ye Shaoxuan’s cultivation method was mismatched to his frail constitution and revised it to complement her own technique. After practicing through the night, Ye Shaoxuan felt stronger and no longer suffered from Cold Qi, leaving him grateful to have met her.

• Su Qiao explained that she had corrected her own cultivation method and that her yang technique paired with Ye Shaoxuan’s yin technique.
• Ye Shaoxuan wondered whether the two manuals had belonged to a husband and wife, and Su Qiao said she had found hers propping up a cabinet in Old Poison Ghost’s apothecary.
• Su Qiao revised crucial points in Ye Shaoxuan’s manual and guided him through the corrected cultivation method.
• At dawn, Ye Shaoxuan woke feeling stronger and free of the bone-chilling Cold Qi.
• Su Qiao woke in her bedroom and asked how Ye Shaoxuan felt, and he praised his good fortune in meeting her.

Lin Hanyan woke to find her hair falling out in clumps and became convinced that her enemies had arranged it. She strangled Yuechan in a frenzy until Madam Lin arrived and saw her daughter’s bald patches.

• Ye Shaoxuan held Su Qiao close, and she eventually fell asleep again despite reminding him they had important things to do.
• Lin Hanyan discovered clumps of hair on her pillow and bald patches on her scalp.
• Lin Hanyan accused Yuechan of tampering with her things and suspected Su Lian Yue, Ye Ningshuang, and Huangfu Zhenlou of targeting her.
• Lin Hanyan ranted about her enemies and strangled Yuechan, accusing her of betrayal.
• Madam Lin entered after hearing the screams and froze when she saw Lin Hanyan strangling Yuechan and losing her hair.

Lin Hanyan discovered that she had lost most of her hair and begged Madam Lin for help, while blaming Su Qiao for the change. Madam Lin urged her to stay calm and warned that they needed evidence before confronting anyone.

• Lin Hanyan threw Yuechan against a wall and pleaded with Madam Lin to fix her sudden hair loss.
• Madam Lin questioned Yuechan, who explained that Lin Hanyan had been losing hair for several days and that no strangers had approached her room.
• Madam Lin dismissed Yuechan and tried to comfort Lin Hanyan, suggesting that illness or poison might have caused the hair loss.
• Lin Hanyan accused Su Qiao and demanded that they go kill her.
• Madam Lin told Lin Hanyan to calm down and said they could not act without evidence.

Lin Hanyan and Madam Lin tried to conceal Lin Hanyan’s sudden hair loss while seeking a cure, and Lin Hanyan took a sacred medicine. At the final day of the Martial Arts Convention, Su Qiao recognized that Lin Hanyan was hiding her nearly bald head beneath a veil hat.

• Madam Lin urged Lin Hanyan not to cause trouble during the crucial final day of the Martial Arts Convention, and Lin Hanyan resented her mother’s favoritism toward her sister.
• Madam Lin promised to punish the girl who had harmed Lin Hanyan and told her to focus on finding the cause of her condition.
• Lin Hanyan said she could not detect any poison, so Madam Lin gave her a sacred medicine to take.
• Madam Lin proposed using Yuechan’s hair to make a hairpiece so Lin Hanyan could hide her hair loss, and Lin Hanyan agreed.
• The Martial Arts Convention began its final day as Su Qiao and Ye Shaoxuan relaxed in the front row.
• After 444 scanned Lin Hanyan beneath her veil hat, Su Qiao identified her as nearly bald.

Su Qiao watched as the Demon Sect arrived at the Martial Arts Convention, where Xu Changsong claimed he should compete for the Alliance Leader position. Hong Luan killed two martial artists who challenged them, leaving the gathering on edge.

• Su Qiao learned that Madam Lin's holy medicine had neutralized the poison in Lin Hanyan's body, though bald patches had already damaged her appearance.
• A sedan carried Xu Changsong and Hong Luan into the convention, and Su Qiao recognized the people she had been waiting for.
• Xu Changsong announced that he wanted to join the contest for Martial Arts Alliance Leader.
• Hong Luan killed two martial artists with her Butterfly-shaped Flying Daggers after they insulted the Demon Sect.

Xu Changsong and Hong Luan confronted the martial artists at Flying Eagle Fortress, claiming a Demon Cult traitor was hiding there. Lin Hanyan identified Su Lian Yue as the fugitive, shocking the gathered crowd.

• Hong Luan provoked Fortress Lord Ye, while Xu Changsong asked Huangfu Xian to hand over a Demon Cult traitor.
• Xu Changsong accused Fortress Lord Ye of hiding the fugitive, and Hong Luan glanced at Ye Shaoxuan and Su Qiao.
• Su Qiao realized Lin Hanyan had arranged for the Demon Cult to target her, while Ye Shaoxuan waited for her signal to attack.
• Lin Hanyan stood and told the gathering she knew where the traitor was, then called on Su Lian Yue to reveal herself.
• The crowd was stunned when Lin Hanyan named Su Lian Yue, the newly taken concubine of Young Master Ye, as the Demon Cult traitor.

After Xu Changsong exposed Su Qiao as a member of the Demonic Sect, Ye Shaoxuan defied his family and the martial world to protect her. Ye Zhongli attacked his son, but Su Qiao repelled him with her Internal Energy.

• Xu Changsong recognized Su Qiao as a fugitive from the Demonic Sect, and Lin Hanyan urged the others to let him take her away.
• Ye Shaoxuan declared that Su Qiao was his woman and drew his sword to protect her.
• Lin Hanyan, Lin Zhongxuan, Madam Lin, and others urged Ye Zhongli to stop Ye Shaoxuan from defending Su Qiao.
• Ye Zhongli demanded that Ye Shaoxuan choose between his family and Su Qiao, but Ye Shaoxuan chose Su Qiao and taunted his father about his wife carrying another daughter.
• Ye Zhongli flew down from the platform to attack Ye Shaoxuan, and Su Qiao repelled his Internal Energy with her own.

Su Qiao stopped Ye Zhongli from striking Ye Shaoxuan and faced the martial artists who threatened her. After revealing her face, she left everyone stunned by her resemblance to Lin Hanyan, raising the possibility that she was Lin Zhongxuan and his wife's lost child.

• Su Qiao deflected Ye Zhongli's attack and warned him to wait before acting against her.
• Ye Shaoxuan refused his maternal grandfather's plea to abandon Su Qiao and vowed to protect her.
• The martial artists drew their swords and accused Ye Shaoxuan of siding with the Demon Cult, but he denounced them as cowards.
• Su Qiao removed her veiled hat, leapt onto the platform, and revealed her face.
• The crowd noticed Su Qiao's resemblance to Lin Hanyan, shocking Lin Zhongxuan, his wife, Xu Changsong, and Hong Luan.

Su Qiao confronted Lin Hanyan about her betrayal, then the Demonic Cult’s Left Protector Sheng Chi arrived and addressed her as Cult Leader. The martial artists learned that Su Qiao led the cult and linked her to rumors that consuming her flesh and blood could increase their power.

• Su Qiao accused Lin Hanyan of using Xu Changsong to kill her and ordered her to remain under Ye Shaoxuan’s watch.
• Sheng Chi arrived with armed followers, knelt before Su Qiao, and apologized for reaching her late.
• Sheng Chi asked to handle Xu Changsong and Hong Luan himself, while Ye Shaoxuan felt threatened by him.
• The martial artists reacted with shock when Sheng Chi called Su Qiao the Cult Leader.
• The crowd connected Su Qiao to rumors that her flesh and blood could enhance a person’s power, and debated whether the rumors were true.

Su Qiao confronted Xu Changsong and Hong Luan after recovering her cultivation, then punished them for drugging her incense and plotting against her. She crippled both of them while Sheng Chi and his people held back the Demonic Cult disciples.

• Xu Changsong accused Su Qiao of killing the Old Cult Master through a sneak attack, and Su Qiao said he would die by her hand for his own bad luck.
• Su Qiao slashed Hong Luan's face and said she was punishing her for drugging the incense out of jealousy.
• Su Qiao severed Hong Luan's hand and foot tendons and crippled her cultivation, causing her to faint.
• Xu Changsong tried to flee as Sheng Chi and his people blocked the Demonic Cult disciples.
• Su Qiao knocked Xu Changsong from the rooftop, severed his tendons, shattered his Dantian, crippled his cultivation, and crushed his kneecaps.

Su Qiao exposed Lin Hanyan’s bald, diseased scalp and confronted her over the crimes she had committed against Su Qiao and her adoptive family. The chapter ended with Su Qiao accusing Lin Hanyan of arranging her abduction and the slaughter of an entire village.

• Su Qiao rebuked Xu Changsong for joining outsiders to ambush her and dismissed his claim to the sect master position.
• Su Qiao returned to the arena and challenged Lin Hanyan to settle their feud.
• Su Qiao knocked Lin Hanyan’s veil and wig away, revealing her scalp and causing Lin Hanyan to panic.
• Ye Shaoxuan blocked Lin Hanyan and Madam Lin when they tried to leave, while Su Qiao rejected Madam Lin’s plea for mercy.
• Su Qiao accused Lin Hanyan of arranging Su Qiao’s abduction and having Gong Jun slaughter her adoptive parents’ family and their village.