Chapter Summaries

Li Zhi learned that the Hidden Kill Order was on someone and sent a letter through Shen Qiming while remaining in the Heavenly Prison. Elsewhere, Ji Song allied with Li Que to pursue Fu Qiwen and avenge his daughter, then heard from Mister Youshan that Cang Yinyue and the Eighth Prince were tied to the murder.

• Li Zhi read Shen Qiming's report, reacted to the Hidden Kill Order, and sent a letter to be collected by a contact.
• Li Zhi told Shen Qiming to reassure the Eldest Princess that he would leave the Heavenly Prison soon.
• Ji Song and Li Que took control of the Heavenly Brocade Guard headquarters but found Fu Qiwen missing, then agreed to seek him and avenge Li Zhu.
• Ji Song pledged loyalty to Li Que if he helped avenge Li Zhu, and Li Que said his martial arts experts would help kill Fu Qiwen.
• Ji Song met Mister Youshan in his study, and Mister Youshan linked Imperial Concubine Ji's murder to Cang Yinyue and the Eighth Prince.

Youshan told Ji Song that the Eighth Prince was likely connected to the deaths of Ji Song’s daughters and Zhu'er, and agreed to try to kill him. Meanwhile, Li Musheng’s party traveled toward Lanzhou until a blocked road near Deer-Slaying Villa prompted Hu Ruian to reveal his unease.

• Youshan explained the suspicious events linking the Eighth Prince to Cang Yinyue, Marquis Cangyuan Mansion, Imperial Concubine Ji, and Floating Boat City.
• Ji Song realized he may have helped bring tragedy upon Zhu'er and begged Youshan to help avenge his family by killing the Eighth Prince.
• Youshan agreed to do his utmost, though he could not promise success, and Ji Song thanked him.
• Li Musheng and his companions traveled toward Lanzhou and observed Falling God Peak’s dominance across the region.
• Wu Shang halted the party when traffic blocked the road, and Hu Ruian said they were nearing Deer-Slaying Villa’s territory.
• Li Musheng noticed Hu Ruian’s unease and asked whether Deer-Slaying Villa was special.

Li Musheng’s party reached the Giant Deer River after learning its bridge had been destroyed, and Hu Ruian disguised himself to avoid attention from Deer-Slaying Villa. They discovered that armed men on the far bank were enforcing a ban on young and unmarried men crossing, leaving their passage uncertain.

• Hu Ruian told Li Musheng he had old entanglements with Shen Liancheng, master of Deer-Slaying Villa.
• Wu Shang reported that the bridge over Giant Deer River had been washed away, and Li Musheng ordered the party to continue to the riverbank.
• Hu Ruian put on a human-skin mask, and Wu Shang led the carriage through the crowd to the river.
• A man in green from Golden Eagle Manor attempted to cross the river using lightness skill.
• A black-clad man on the far bank declared that men under thirty and unmarried men could not cross, then had soldiers shoot arrows at the man in green.
• The wounded man in green escaped back to the near bank and collapsed with two arrows in his back.

A little girl gave the injured Jin Zhengjie something that helped him recover, while her hemp-clothed grandfather amazed the crowd by throwing a mule across the Giant Deer River with one hand. Hu Ruian then sent his carriage and Cao Gaoshan flying across the river, leaving the gathered martial artists stunned.

• A little girl in pink gave Jin Zhengjie something to swallow, and he sat up to treat his wounds.
• Hu Ruian suspected the destroyed bridge and the demand across the river concealed a greater scheme, and told Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong to follow him when they crossed.
• The hemp-clothed old man put the little girl on his mule, lifted the animal with one hand, and threw it over the river before catching it on the opposite bank.
• Li Musheng praised the old man's display, and Hu Ruian said he could do the same.
• Hu Ruian sent his carriage and Cao Gaoshan across the river with a strike of his palm.

Hu Ruian led Li Musheng and their companions across the Giant Deer River and accepted an invitation to Deer-Slaying Villa, despite his earlier claims of having a grudge with its master. Li Musheng suspected Hu Ruian had another reason for going and warned him that he would not wait around for the villa’s martial contest.

• Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong crossed the Giant Deer River after Hu Ruian sent their carriage flying over the water, while the garrison troops stood aside in fear.
• Hu Ruian ordered Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong to question the suspicious Sheng Province soldiers, but a steward from Deer-Slaying Villa arrived before they could begin.
• The steward invited the travelers to a banquet for the villa’s Third Miss’s husband-selection contest, and the hemp-robed old man agreed to attend after the little girl in pink asked to eat there.
• Hu Ruian accepted the invitation and had Cao Gaoshan follow the steward, then told Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong to finish questioning the soldiers before catching up.
• Hu Ruian told Li Musheng they needed a place to rest, but Li Musheng doubted his explanation and warned him not to expect him to stay for the martial contest.

Li Musheng and his companions arrived at Deer-Slaying Villa for the martial matchmaking contest, where Hu Ruian considered how the Sheng Province general’s second son might offer a political opening. They joined the gathering beside the lake as two young contestants dueled, and Murong Xiaoya befriended the little girl in pink.

• Hu Ruian suggested Li Musheng enter the martial matchmaking contest, but Li Musheng showed no interest in fighting for the Third Miss of Deer-Slaying Villa.
• Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong reported that the men who attacked them served the Sheng Province general and likely acted under his second son’s direction.
• Hu Ruian suspected Deer-Slaying Villa had knowingly allowed the road ambush and considered using the second young master as a way to approach Sheng Province.
• The villa steward brought Li Musheng and his party to Deer-Slaying Villa, where they saw two young men dueling on a platform over the lake.
• The old man in hempen robes gave the little girl in pink a chicken leg, and Murong Xiaoya wiped the grease from the girl’s mouth.

At Deer-Slaying Villa, Li Musheng teased the pink-clad little girl while Hu Ruian and the others met Villa Master Shen and received a jar of rare Spirit Deer Wine. The group began drinking, but the little girl knocked the cup from Murong Xiaoya’s hand after warning that girls should not drink.

• Li Musheng offered the pink-clad little girl roast squabs, and she asked to pack them away before eating them at the table.
• Shen Liancheng greeted Hu Ruian and the hemp-robed old man, who concealed their identities and gave false or vague backgrounds.
• Shen Liancheng asked Bei Shi and Xu Qingcang about the guests, and Xu Qingcang suspected that Hu Ruian’s group included people from the Great Li court.
• Hu Ruian opened the jar of Spirit Deer Wine, had it tested for poison, and served Li Musheng and the others.
• The pink-clad little girl knocked Murong Xiaoya’s wine cup from her hand and warned her that girls should not drink.

Li Musheng and his companions attended the feast at Deer-Slaying Villa, where Hu Ruian planned to investigate the villa’s ties to Falling God Peak. That night, a poison plot incapacitated the guards, and Jing Chenglu revealed the All-Under-Heaven Alliance’s plan to seize the people in the courtyard.

• A little girl in pink tried to knock over Murong Xiaoya’s wine, but the old man in hemp robes stopped the cup from falling, and Li Musheng drank it instead.
• After the feast, Hu Ruian told Li Musheng he would investigate Deer-Slaying Villa’s links to Falling God Peak and the Sheng Province garrison, then left to explore the villa.
• Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong grew drowsy while guarding the courtyard and fell asleep; Cao Gaoshan also succumbed despite trying to resist.
• The Deer-Slaying Villa steward told Jing Chenglu that the wine’s aroma had planted Drunken Immortal Death poison in the group and that the Bright Moon Purple Orchid’s fragrance would trigger it.
• Jing Chenglu declared that the All-Under-Heaven Alliance would capture anyone who harmed its members, even if they fled to the ends of the earth.

Li Musheng resisted Deer-Slaying Villa’s poison, subdued Jing Chenglu and the steward, and learned that Shen Liancheng had secretly allied with three powers. After reviving Cao Gaoshan and the others with an antidote, Li Musheng went to find Hu Ruian.

• The old man in hemp clothes and the little girl in pink saw Li Musheng standing unharmed beside Jing Chenglu’s group and left to pursue their more important business.
• Li Musheng immobilized Jing Chenglu, his five companions, and the villa steward, then used Life-Death Seals to force them to answer his questions before killing them.
• The villa steward revealed that Shen Liancheng had secretly joined the All-Under-Heaven Alliance, Falling God Peak, and the Great Li Court while concealing his plans from them.
• Li Musheng found the antidote and gave it to Cao Gaoshan, the other two poisoned companions, and Murong Xiaoya.
• Li Musheng wondered how Hu Ruian was faring and headed in the direction Hu Ruian had gone.

Ruan Zhenhui reunited with Hu Ruian in secret, but he collapsed after being poisoned with Drunken Immortal Death. She hid him and slipped away to search for an antidote, unaware that Shen Anran had returned to watch her.

• Hu Ruian entered Ruan Zhenhui’s room and told her he had come to see her and wanted to explain why he had broken their promise.
• Hu Ruian abruptly collapsed from Drunken Immortal Death before he could finish speaking, and Ruan Zhenhui recognized the poison but knew only Shen Liancheng had its antidote.
• Ruan Zhenhui hid Hu Ruian behind the bed curtains and pushed the unconscious elderly woman beneath the bed when Shen Anran called at the door.
• Ruan Zhenhui turned Shen Anran away, extinguished the candle, and left to search for the antidote.
• Shen Anran quietly emerged from behind a tree after Ruan Zhenhui departed.

Shen Anran followed Ruan Zhenhui and discovered her mother secretly retrieving an antidote from Shen Liancheng’s courtyard to save Hu Ruian. Li Musheng found Hu Ruian in Ruan Zhenhui’s room, while Shen Liancheng silently followed them.

• Shen Anran secretly followed Ruan Zhenhui toward Shen Liancheng’s courtyard as Li Musheng searched Deer-Slaying Villa for Hu Ruian.
• Ruan Zhenhui entered Shen Liancheng’s dark courtyard and left with a porcelain bottle, while Shen Anran watched from hiding.
• Li Musheng recognized the bottle as likely containing the antidote to Drunken Immortal Death and followed Ruan Zhenhui; Shen Liancheng also secretly followed her.
• Ruan Zhenhui gave the antidote to Hu Ruian, who woke but remained too weak to speak or circulate his martial true qi.
• Shen Anran spied on Ruan Zhenhui and Hu Ruian from the roof, and Li Musheng appeared beside her and identified the man as Lord Hu.

Hu Ruian tried to save Li Musheng and the others, but Shen Liancheng confronted him over his broken promise to stay away from Ruan Zhenhui and attacked him. Li Musheng appeared in time to stop Shen Liancheng’s strike, leaving everyone stunned by his power.

• Hu Ruian realized Li Musheng and the others might have been poisoned and tried to leave to save them.
• Shen Liancheng entered and accused Hu Ruian of breaking his promise never to return to Deer-Slaying Villa or see Ruan Zhenhui again.
• Hu Ruian said he had only come to see his cousin one last time, and Shen Liancheng attacked him with a crimson claw phantom.
• Shen Liancheng blasted Ruan Zhenhui aside, but Shen Anran caught her as Hu Ruian was left unable to resist.
• Li Musheng appeared beside Hu Ruian and silently dispelled Shen Liancheng’s attack, astonishing everyone in the room.

Li Musheng confronted Shen Liancheng over the plot to poison his group, but Shen Liancheng prepared to attack with the Deer-Slaying Saber. An elderly white-haired man intervened, stopped Shen Liancheng, and asked Li Musheng to let the matter go.

• Li Musheng demanded that Shen Liancheng atone for plotting with the All-Under-Heaven Alliance to poison his group.
• Shen Liancheng gathered martial true qi and summoned the crimson saber phantom, preparing to strike Li Musheng with the Deer-Slaying Saber.
• Ruan Zhenhui pleaded with Shen Liancheng to spare Li Musheng, while Shen Anran and Hu Ruian feared for him.
• The saber lights and phantom vanished, and an elderly white-haired man appeared between Shen Liancheng and Li Musheng.
• The old man told Shen Liancheng not to attack and asked Li Musheng to forgive Deer-Slaying Villa and end the matter.

Li Musheng confronted Shen Juesheng at Deer-Slaying Villa after Hu Ruian’s entanglement with Shen Liancheng’s wife, and agreed to spare Shen Liancheng if Shen Juesheng took one punch. When Li Musheng finally threw the seemingly ordinary punch, Shen Juesheng felt an unprecedented crisis and unleashed his blade intent.

• Shen Juesheng arrived, and Hu Ruian identified him as the famed Deer-Slaying Heavenly Blade who had reached the Heavenly Human Realm decades earlier.
• Shen Juesheng introduced his granddaughter Shen Anran to Li Musheng, but Li Musheng rejected the apparent matchmaking attempt and criticized Hu Ruian for pursuing a married woman.
• Li Musheng told Shen Juesheng that killing Shen Liancheng would be easy, then agreed to let him go if Shen Juesheng took one punch.
• Shen Juesheng offered to fulfill one of Li Musheng’s requests if Li Musheng could stir even a wisp of fist wind around him.
• Li Musheng threw an ordinary-looking punch, and Shen Juesheng sensed grave danger as his aura and terrifying blade intent erupted.

Li Musheng sent Shen Juesheng flying with a single punch, shocking the people at Deer-Slaying Villa. As the villa's guests tried to understand the clash, Old Man Wuxiang seized Xu Qingcang's identity for an undisclosed purpose.

• Shen Juesheng unleashed a terrifying blade attack, but Li Musheng struck him and sent him crashing through a wall and out of sight.
• Hu Ruian realized Li Musheng had defeated Shen Juesheng, while Shen Liancheng, Shen Anran, and Ruan Zhenhui went to search for the injured villa master.
• Bei Shi warned the Young Peak Master that winning Deer-Slaying Villa's marriage contest could strengthen his bid to become Falling God Peak's next candidate for Peak Master.
• An old man in hemp clothes abandoned his plan to act against Falling God Peak after sensing Shen Juesheng's power and left with the girl in pink.
• Old Man Wuxiang revealed himself in Xu Qingcang's courtyard, restrained the real Xu Qingcang with true qi threads, and said he intended to borrow Xu Qingcang's identity.

Old Man Wuxiang loosened Xu Qingcang’s bonds and asked how he would help, while Li Musheng’s punch left Shen Juesheng badly injured and changed the way Hu Ruian and the others viewed him. The party prepared to leave Deer-Slaying Villa, and an unidentified figure arrived outside as they were about to depart.

• Old Man Wuxiang questioned Xu Qingcang about helping him and loosened the true qi threads binding him.
• Shen Liancheng rescued Shen Juesheng from the river, but Shen Juesheng’s remaining force injured Shen Liancheng before Shen Juesheng fainted; Shen Liancheng urged Shen Anran to choose an exceptional man.
• Hu Ruian explained his past with Ruan Zhenhui and revealed that Soul-Chasing Hall had nearly collapsed more than ten years earlier.
• Li Musheng returned to the courtyard with Hu Ruian, and the recovered group learned they would continue their journey the next day.
• Hu Ruian left early to settle personal affairs, then returned as the group prepared to depart; Li Musheng noticed someone waiting outside.

Shen Liancheng thanked Li Musheng, warned him of the All-Under-Heaven Alliance’s larger plot, and canceled Deer-Slaying Villa’s marriage contest as Shen Anran left in pursuit of Li’s party. As they traveled toward Falling God Peak, its Young Peak Master plotted revenge, while Li Musheng’s group stopped beneath cliffs and encountered the old man and pink-clad girl again.

• Shen Liancheng apologized to Li Musheng, said he had secretly dealt with the All-Under-Heaven Alliance members at the villa, and warned that the alliance was plotting something involving Great Li’s four major sects.
• Shen Liancheng canceled the marriage contest, and Shen Juesheng regained some confidence after hearing that the restored Deer-Slaying Saber might help him face Li Musheng again.
• The Young Peak Master and Bei Shi left Deer-Slaying Villa, and the Young Peak Master vowed to seize the Deer-Slaying Saber and punish Shen Anran’s family after Shen Juesheng died.
• Shen Anran followed Li Musheng’s party on horseback as they traveled toward Falling God Peak, and Li Musheng said he would wait and see what she did.
• Li Musheng’s party stopped to rest beneath cliffs and found the linen-clad old man and pink-clad girl there; Hu Ruian resolved to rely less on Li Musheng.

Li Musheng's party encountered Shen Anran and a group from Falling God Peak, whose young leader tried to abduct her. The old man in hemp robes defeated and captured Bei Shi, but another armored party arrived as he and the little girl in pink prepared to leave.

• Li Musheng's party rested by the cliff, where the little girl in pink watched him and Wu Shang gave her a roast chicken.
• A Falling God Peak party caught up, and its young leader ordered his disciples to seize Shen Anran for refusing the martial contest for marriage.
• Shen Anran drew her blade against the disciples, while the old man in hemp robes attacked the carriage and Hu Ruian killed the men surrounding her.
• The old man in hemp robes defeated Bei Shi, captured him after his attempted escape, and handed him over to the little girl in pink.
• The old man in hemp robes and the little girl in pink prepared to take Bei Shi away, but armored cavalry escorting a carriage approached.

Hu Ruian's party entered Sheng Province with Murong Feng's cavalry, while the pink-clad girl and the old man pursued their revenge and Old Man Wuxiang followed Li Musheng. The group reached Sheng Province's provincial city and was surrounded at its gates by a large force of armored soldiers.

• Murong Feng arrived with a hundred armored cavalrymen to bring Murong Xiaoya home, but she declined his invitation and stayed with Hu Ruian's group.
• The old man in hemp robes and the little girl in pink identified Bei Shi as one of their enemies, tortured him with a black pill, and disappeared into the forest with Bei Shi.
• Old Man Wuxiang and Xu Qingcang continued tracking Li Musheng, and a young man agreed to become Old Man Wuxiang's disciple.
• Hu Ruian's party traveled into Sheng Province and reached its provincial city the following day.
• Hundreds of armored soldiers surrounded the group at the city gates, focusing on Murong Feng and his cavalry.

Murong Feng fought Baili Yu and the Crescent-Moon Three Talents Saber Masters at the city gate while Hu Ruian’s group entered the city with Murong Xiaoya. Baili Yu withdrew, but his people later blocked Hu Ruian’s party and demanded that they hand over Murong Xiaoya, leaving Li Musheng’s response unknown.

• Baili Yu accused Murong Feng of violating Great Li military law and ordered his soldiers to attack, while Murong Feng defended himself with needle-like lights.
• The Crescent-Moon Three Talents Saber Masters attacked Murong Feng, but a hidden expert in his carriage struck them with a golden palm imprint.
• Hu Ruian’s group passed through the city blockade, and Baili Yu withdrew his forces after receiving instructions from the white-haired old woman.
• Murong Feng entered the city and told the old man in his carriage that the Baili Family had turned against the Murong Family.
• Baili Yu and his allies intercepted Hu Ruian’s group from both ends of a street and demanded that they surrender Murong Xiaoya.
• The white-haired old woman warned the hidden expert not to interfere in the conflict between the Murong Family and the provincial city’s forces.