Recaps

Le Yu brought Qing Lan to Jing Garden, where his overly affectionate reunion with Jing Zhengwu drove his younger brother away and his casual tour left Qing Lan wanting more. Meanwhile, Jing Zhengwu concluded that Jing Zhengwei had gained a powerful source of intelligence and suspected the Assassin Organization was involved.

• Le Yu embraced Jing Zhengwu and messed up his hair, unsettling Jing Zhengwu and Qin Yueshi before the couple hurried away.
• Le Yu explained to Qing Lan that he had acted like a foolish, affectionate big brother to avoid a probing conversation with Jing Zhengwu.
• Le Yu showed Qing Lan around Jing Garden, dismissed its courtyards, and arranged for her to have the Honey Five-Flower Tea and coconut milk.
• Qin Yueshi told Jing Zhengwu that Shen Hong and Bai Yulan were dead, and Jing Zhengwu worried that his elder brother had become more ruthless and capable.
• Jing Zhengwu reasoned that Jing Zhengwei had gained outside intelligence support and suspected the Assassin Organization rather than Bai Ye.

At the Jing family’s monthly banquet, the four brothers’ rivalries came into the open when Jing Zhengfeng defied the family and Le Yu confronted him. The chapter ended with Le Yu firing a Short-barreled Shotgun at Jing Zhengfeng’s raised legs.

• Jing Zhengwu and Jing Zhengtang drew support from clan members who valued their business success and leadership styles.
• Jing Zhengfeng arrived at Huifu Hall and insulted the family while keeping his feet on the main table.
• Jing Zhengwu ordered Steward Kang Zhi to slap himself until Jing Zhengfeng put his feet down, but Jing Zhengfeng refused.
• Le Yu entered with Qing Lan and took the seat beside Jing Zhengfeng despite Jing Zhengwu’s suggestion that they sit together.
• Jing Zhengfeng raised both feet in open mockery, and Le Yu drew a Short-barreled Shotgun and fired at his legs.

Le Yu used a blank shotgun blast and a punch to rein in Jing Zhengfeng during the Jing Family banquet, then invoked his elder-brother status to make him apologize to their father. Jing Qingfu arrived and began to suspect that Jing Zhengwei had changed.

• Le Yu fired a blank from his Short-barreled Shotgun at Jing Zhengfeng, then punched him down when he counterattacked.
• Le Yu dismissed the shot as a joke, and Jing Zhengwu noted that the shotgun had been loaded with a blank.
• Le Yu told Qing Lan that Jing Garden was full of people pursuing benefits and urged her to stay calm.
• The banquet guests waited for the absent family head until Jing Qingfu was wheeled into Huifu Hall.
• Jing Zhengfeng insulted Jing Qingfu, so Le Yu punched him again and demanded that he show respect to their father.
• Jing Qingfu stopped Le Yu and wondered whether his eldest son had changed.

At a tense Jing family banquet, Jing Qingfu revealed that the Silver Blood Society was pressuring the family to control its workers amid economic strain and unrest. He asked his sons how they would handle the problem, and Jing Zhengwu began proposing his solution.

• Jing Qingfu smoked his hookah at the banquet while the Jing family watched anxiously, uncertain about his health and the family's future.
• Jing Zhengfeng challenged Jing Qingfu over being summoned and insulted the Jing family, prompting Jing Qingfu to warn him about the dangers of ties and weaknesses.
• Jing Qingfu explained that the Silver Blood Society wanted the Jing family to contain worker unrest fueled by layoffs, wage cuts, refugees, and the Anti-Light Organization.
• Jing Qingfu asked his four sons how they would deal with the workers, and Jing Zhengwu declared that handling them was simple.

Jing Qingfu tested his four sons by asking how they would suppress workers’ unrest, and Jing Zhengwu, Jing Zhengfeng, and Jing Zhengtang each proposed a different method. Jing Zhengwei jokingly suggested using a newspaper to sell workers false hopes, but Jing Qingfu ordered him to put the plan into action.

• Jing Zhengwu proposed bribing and dividing worker leaders and cadres, spreading suspicion among workers, delaying negotiations, and calling in the Heyang Army if necessary.
• Jing Zhengfeng suggested provoking discrimination and factional hatred among workers so they would turn against one another instead of uniting.
• Jing Zhengtang and Feiwei proposed ranks that offered workers the hope of better conditions, with promotions tied to years worked or informing on organizers.
• Jing Qingfu explained that workers’ short working lifespans meant the ranks could be made difficult to reach and promotions could be canceled under invented violations.
• Jing Zhengwei proposed publishing articles that blamed workers for their hardship and promised they could rise to become mine owners or managers.
• Jing Qingfu enthusiastically ordered Jing Zhengwei to publish the newspaper immediately.

Jing Qingfu praised Jing Zhengwei’s plan to use public opinion against the Silver Blood Society and assigned him to publish a newspaper, while giving Jing Zhengfeng two factories and leaving the succession uncertain. Back in his room, Le Yu recognized the newspaper as an opportunity and began considering whom he could recruit to help.

• Jing Qingfu declared that the Jing family’s real problem was the Silver Blood Society, praised Jing Zhengwei’s approach as the “king’s way,” and ordered him to buy a printing press and publish a newspaper.
• Jing Qingfu gave Jing Zhengfeng two factories and said he expected all four brothers to prove themselves, leaving the family members to discuss which side to support.
• Jing Zhengwu and Qin Yueshi discussed how the other brothers’ reform efforts could encounter setbacks, while Jing Zhengtang reassured Feiwei that they could weather the succession struggle.
• Jing Zhengfeng tested his combat skills against Daqiang and realized Jing Zhengwei had broken his techniques through skill and instinct rather than luck.
• Le Yu recorded the family gathering, considered how to produce a newspaper, and spotted a promising opportunity involving Yin Yinyin while Qing Lan shared hot-and-sour noodles with him.

Qian Yuya attended Teacher Wei’s Ancient Studies Class and was summoned afterward to discuss Yin Yinyin’s proposal to work with White Night against the East Sun Silver Blood Society. She rejected trusting the traitor, and Wei revealed that he was White Night Walker Reverse Flow, formerly the Hidden Sword Assassin Wei.

• Qian Yuya woke Li Ying, and the four girls walked to Yan Jing Royal Academy together.
• The girls attended Teacher Wei’s popular Ancient Studies Class, where Li Ying eagerly volunteered to discuss the assignment with him.
• Teacher Wei chose Qian Yuya and led her to a secluded pavilion by Falling Star Lake.
• Teacher Wei showed Qian Yuya documents about Yin Yinyin’s offer to cooperate with White Night in Profound Candle Prefecture, East Sun District.
• Qian Yuya said White Night should not trust Yin Yinyin, while Teacher Wei argued that even a traitor could feel sympathy for suffering people.
• Teacher Wei introduced himself as White Night Walker Reverse Flow, former Hidden Sword Assassin Wei, and Wei Weiwei.

Wei Weiwei explained his past as a Sword Hider and tested Qian Yuya’s views on White Night’s possible dealings with Yin Yinyin. After leaving her, he revealed that he had only three years left to live, while Le Yu used the Saint’s Relic to cure Qing Lan’s cramps and went out to buy her food.

• Wei Weiwei told Qian Yuya that he had abandoned Hidden Sword Combat Arts to live as an ordinary teacher at the Royal Academy.
• Wei Weiwei admitted that he was testing Qian Yuya for White Night and gave her an inspection report on East Sun District.
• Qian Yuya said Yin Yinyin was unlikely to overthrow the Silver Blood Society but could wreak havoc in Profound Candle Prefecture, and she wanted the chance to take revenge on him.
• Wei Weiwei explained that he wanted both to capture Yin Yinyin for the life-extending Divine Weapon and to cooperate with him, then said he had three years left before turning thirty.
• Le Yu used the Saint’s Relic to relieve Qing Lan’s menstrual cramps, then left for Damen Stone Street after she gave him a long shopping list.

Yin Minghong and Mu Qingmei remembered their slain sworn brother Shuixing Zhou as Yin Minghong prepared for an important decision. Yin Minghong met the concealed Yin Yinyin and, after saying White Night had entrusted him with the decision about cooperation, asked whether Yin Yinyin was really who he claimed to be.

• Rongyao arrived to find Yin Minghong burning offerings for Shuixing Zhou on the anniversary of his death.
• Mu Qingmei told Rongyao that Shuixing Zhou had sacrificed himself by taking responsibility for the Little Nine Mountains revolt, while Yin Minghong had endured the consequences.
• Yin Minghong asked Shuixing Zhou for guidance and then set off with Rongyao to meet Yin Yinyin.
• Yin Minghong followed Yin Yinyin's instructions to buy coconut milk on Damen Stone Street, then rode in a fast rickshaw to their meeting alley.
• Yin Yinyin asked whether White Night had decided on his proposal, and Yin Minghong explained that the Profound Candle branch had given him authority to choose.
• Yin Minghong asked the person behind the wall whether he was really Yin Yinyin.

Le Yu convinced Yin Minghong to cooperate with him as Yin Yinyin and warned White Night about the Silver Blood Society’s plans and the Jing family’s upcoming newspaper. The chapter ended with Qing Lan realizing that she might be assigned to manage the newspaper and hoping Young Master would spare her the work.

• Le Yu persuaded Yin Minghong that his identity as Yin Yinyin was credible, and Yin Minghong accepted White Night’s cooperation with him.
• Le Yu warned Yin Minghong that the Silver Blood Society planned to address worsening labor conditions, and Yin Minghong said White Night would use the information to limit its people’s losses.
• Yin Minghong reported that White Night had taken two of Jing Zhengwu’s treasures and was buying the Shi family’s glass factory.
• Le Yu told Yin Minghong that Jing Zhengwei planned to establish a newspaper and suggested placing White Night agents on its staff to expose rival merchant guilds.
• Qing Lan noticed that Young Master had spent little time working on the newspaper and worried that he might put her in charge.

After speaking with Yin Minghong, Le Yu reflected on why he used Yin Yinyin’s identity to work with White Night without committing himself to their cause. He began preparing a newspaper and arranged to send money and a letter anonymously to Qian Yuya in Flame Capital.

• Le Yu decided to keep approaching White Night as Yin Yinyin, whose reputation would make them take his intelligence seriously, while avoiding the lasting commitment of joining as Jing Zhengwei.
• Le Yu mourned An Qian and reflected on the ties that had kept him in Star Engraving Prefecture, then resolved not to let oaths and responsibilities consume his future.
• Le Yu bought and read Profound Candle News, noticing its coverage of Lan Yan’s wedding and a story that reinforced the prefecture’s social hierarchy.
• Le Yu went to the Adverse Wind Post Office and asked to send money and a letter anonymously to Qian Yuya at the Royal Academy in Flame Capital.

Mu Qingmei joined Profound Candle White Night’s effort to infiltrate Jing Zhengwei’s newspaper agency and went to apply as an editor. The chapter left her facing an exam that asked applicants to imitate an article titled “Surge Forward, Young Waves.”

• Profound Candle White Night accepted Yin Yinyin’s help and decided to place an ally at Jing Zhengwei’s newspaper agency as an editor.
• Because the group lacked qualified people with free time, Yin Minghong and the others assigned Mu Qingmei to the task despite his reservations.
• Mu Qingmei entered the newspaper agency and mistook its professional reception area for a show of force prepared for a brawl.
• Mu Qingmei passed the reading check, registered, and marked her form with the agreed five-pointed star.
• Mu Qingmei saw that applicants shared their exam questions and discovered she had to imitate an article called “Surge Forward, Young Waves.”

Mu Qingmei recognized the article in Jing Zhengwei’s newspaper test as a seductive appeal that obscured the unequal realities facing young people, and decided to answer it with a piece of her own. Later, Le Yu found her submission among the applicants’ papers and reacted with surprise at its title.

• Mu Qingmei read the article about the younger generation and initially admired its stirring message, while suspecting Jing Zhengwei was testing applicants for flattering writers.
• Mu Qingmei offered rice cakes to a hungry applicant from the garbage slums, then reconsidered the article’s promises in light of his circumstances.
• Mu Qingmei concluded that the article offered false hope by treating young people of different classes as if they shared the same choices and future.
• Mu Qingmei drew inspiration from the poor applicant and wrote a response to the test’s prompt after the other applicants had submitted their papers.
• Le Yu and Qing Lan graded the applications, and Le Yu found Mu Qingmei’s paper titled “After Working Hard for Decades, How Could We Possibly Compare to the Accumulation of Several Generations of Your Families?”

The Youth Newspaper Agency officially opened, and Le Yu outlined its entertainment-focused plans, including a Knowledge Discussion Zone designed to attract readers. He ended by telling the staff that they would write all the selected answers themselves.

• The Youth Newspaper Agency opened with Mu Qingmei as a junior editor in the Culture Department, and Le Yu and Qing Lan addressed the assembled staff.
• Le Yu told the staff that the newspaper would be an entertainment publication rather than a political paper, then instructed art editor Lu Zhuqing to draw erotic pictures for its first page.
• Le Yu presented a sample Knowledge Discussion Zone article, and Mu Qingmei and the other editors praised its format of collecting different answers to one question.
• Mu Qingmei asked how the section would gather topics and responses, and Le Yu said he would choose the topics and the staff would write all the selected answers themselves.

Le Yu instructed the newspaper staff to invent persona-driven answers, bizarre news, and inspirational stories for upcoming columns. He also announced a future-set serialized novel, then regretted volunteering to write it himself.

• Le Yu taught the editors to invent detailed personas and answer reader questions from their perspectives.
• Le Yu assigned three discussion topics and told the staff to fabricate harmless battle-arts tips and sensational stories for the “Bizarre Anecdotes” column.
• Le Yu outlined an “Inspirational Stories” column and gave the editors several premises to turn into fictional news interviews.
• Le Yu announced that the final page would serialize a future novel about Liuyu, Yinyin, and Weizheng traveling a hundred years ahead to a prosperous era.
• Le Yu insisted the novel needed only one page, then realized he would have to write it himself.

Le Yu organized the newspaper’s columns and planned a serialized reincarnation novel, then set out for the Battle Card Hall. Qin Leyin arranged a Heavenly Sword Gang ambush to kill Jing Zhengwei, but Le Yu’s attempt to confront his pursuer ended with Mu Qingmei appearing behind him.

• Le Yu assigned the newspaper staff their columns, including role-playing, inspirational stories, and bizarre anecdotes.
• Le Yu decided to write a serialized story about Qian Yuliu, Yin Yinyin, and Jing Zhengwei reincarnating in his former world.
• Qin Leyin paid the Heavenly Sword Gang’s second-in-command to arrange Jing Zhengwei’s assassination, with two Entry Level experts among the ambushers.
• Le Yu sensed he was being followed on the way to the Battle Card Hall and challenged the pursuer.
• Mu Qingmei appeared behind Le Yu, brimming with killing intent.

Mu Qingmei followed Jing Zhengwei, convinced that an unseen expert—and possibly Yin Yinyin—was behind his newspaper plans, but her attempt to kill him after he discovered her turned into a chase. When armed gangsters surrounded them, Mu Qingmei mistook the ambush for Jing Zhengwei’s trap.

• After discovering that White Night had received none of Jing Zhengwei’s article, Mu Qingmei became convinced he had an expert ghostwriter and suspected Yin Yinyin was involved.
• Mu Qingmei followed Jing Zhengwei from the newspaper office, believing he was going to meet the hidden expert.
• When Jing Zhengwei caught her tailing him, Mu Qingmei decided to kill him to protect the Chief Editor and preserve her infiltration.
• Jing Zhengwei fled through the alleys, fired a blank from a Short-barreled Shotgun to make Mu Qingmei dodge, and gained some distance.
• Armed gangsters poured out of the side alleys and surrounded Jing Zhengwei and Mu Qingmei, leading her to believe she had fallen into his trap.

Le Yu and Mu Qingmei fought through a deadly ambush by dozens of vicious men, with Le Yu recognizing that the attackers meant to kill him rather than stage another minor assassination. They joined forces to break through the encirclement, though the attackers’ identity remained unknown.

• Le Yu recalled that Old Madam had arranged repeated assassination attempts against Jing Zhengwei, but realized this large-scale attack could not be hidden from the Silver Blood Society.
• Le Yu and Mu Qingmei used Illusionary Cloaks and Daydream to evade a volley of gunfire, then attacked the surrounding men with their combat arts.
• Le Yu was wounded and began to falter as the attackers overwhelmed him with coordinated strikes.
• After a vicious man was hurled into the crowd, Le Yu seized the opening and fought forward until he reached Mu Qingmei.
• Le Yu and Mu Qingmei stood back-to-back, defeated attackers approaching from opposite sides, and agreed to fight their way out together.
• Mu Qingmei charged into the attackers to open a path, then wondered why she had reacted to Jing Zhengwei’s threat against her family despite being an orphan.

Qin Leyin watched Jing Zhengwei and Mu Qingmei survive the gang’s ambush, then killed the Second Gang Leader when he tried to attack him. After escaping to the main street, Le Yu questioned Mu Qingmei about following him and suspected she wanted to become his kept woman.

• Qin Leyin realized that Mu Qingmei was Jing Zhengwei’s enemy, not his ally, and identified her as a Formless Martial Artist after seeing her fight.
• Jing Zhengwei and Mu Qingmei fought their way out of the alley, while Qin Leyin concluded that Heaven’s Will had spared Jing Zhengwei.
• Qin Leyin told the Second Gang Leader to take responsibility for the failed assassination and write a will; the gang leader attacked him, and Qin Leyin killed him.
• Jing Zhengwei and Mu Qingmei reached the main street, where they asked each other why they had been following or shooting at one another.
• Le Yu watched Mu Qingmei prepare to flee, then asked whether she no longer wanted to work hard.

After surviving the ambush, Le Yu apologized to Mi Die and Lisan, ordered the Jing family to demand an explanation, and arranged for a new shotgun. Meanwhile, Mu Qingmei reconsidered his motives but kept her White Night identity concealed, and Le Yu planned new newspaper features and illustrations with Qing Lan.

• Mu Qingmei concluded that Jing Zhengwei had deliberately calmed her and tried to recruit her, while remaining unaware that she was White Night.
• Mu Qingmei used Formless Combat Arts Fire to disguise herself before going home, then decided to report the incident to Wen Hong.
• Qing Lan returned to find Le Yu recovering, and he apologized to Mi Die and Lisan for the ambush that had endangered them.
• Le Yu sent Lisan to inform the Jing family head and press the Silver Blood Society, while Mi Die went to order him a new shotgun and paired bullets.
• Le Yu discussed the newspaper’s rejected articles with Qing Lan and asked her to draw illustrations of modern technology.
• Qing Lan asked to learn battle cards, and Le Yu began explaining the game’s factions and basic card types.

Luan Jiba bought the latest volume of Legend of the Fire God, hoping to revive his faltering storytelling career, but a new newspaper and its alluring cover caught his attention. He left eager to buy a copy of Youth Newspaper.

• Luan Jiba collected Volume Six of Legend of the Fire God from the Qiuzhi Bookstore owner and spent his last Gold Coin on it.
• Luan Jiba planned to use the popular new book to win listeners back from a younger Jade Sound Sect storyteller.
• A delivery worker brought a new newspaper to the bookstore, and Luan Jiba followed the owner outside.
• Luan Jiba saw the cover of Youth Newspaper, featuring a beautiful Yan Capital Policewoman, and asked to buy a copy.

Luan Jiba feared losing his audience when Xia Che announced a faster performance of the newest Legend of the Fire God volume, but he found another story in the Youth Newspaper and used it to draw a crowd. He began performing it at Forklift Driver, ending on Nietzsche’s unsettling question about sleep, death, and identity.

• Luan Jiba studied the first five chapters of the sixth volume of Legend of the Fire God and prepared to perform them at Forklift Driver.
• Luan Jiba learned that Xia Che would perform ten chapters of the new volume at Cold Noodle Girl and despaired over being outpaced.
• A gust of wind flipped Luan Jiba’s Youth Newspaper to a page that caught his attention, giving him material for a new performance.
• Lei Bu headed to Cold Noodle Girl to hear Xia Che, but Luan Jiba’s opening question stopped him outside Forklift Driver.
• Luan Jiba performed the story of General Manager, a sick Yan Capital Patrol Guard who hoped to punish powerful nobles if the world ended, drawing a full crowd.
• Luan Jiba introduced Nietzsche’s answer about whether people were asleep or dead and whether they remained themselves after waking.

Jing Qingfu visited the Golden Jade Grand Restaurant, where a conversation about growing up and cherishing family stirred his thoughts. He then heard diners discuss a Youth Newspaper account of a Tread White Army war god whose daughter lived in a doghouse, and one hundred thousand soldiers who supposedly rallied to avenge him; a veteran could only say the story might have happened.

• Jing Qingfu and his old steward sat at a shared table in the Golden Jade Grand Restaurant, where young men discussed answers from the Youth Newspaper.
• The young men recounted stories about growing up and quoted lines about family, suffering, and making the most of life, prompting Jing Qingfu to reflect over his tea.
• Old Liu asked a burly Tread White Army veteran whether he knew the army's war god and the one hundred thousand soldiers who had supposedly taken revenge for him.
• Old Liu read aloud a newspaper account claiming that the retired war god found his family murdered and his five-year-old daughter living in a doghouse, so one hundred thousand soldiers mobilized to avenge him.
• The diners praised the Tread White Army and pressed the veteran to confirm the story, and he hesitantly said it might have happened.

Jing Qingfu saw Jing Zhengwei’s newspaper-driven appeal as the King's Aura the Jing Family needed to survive, but he warned that Zhengwei would have to turn public support into power. He left the succession undecided, acknowledging that his eldest son might be the best heir while admitting he feared and hated him.

• Readers at Golden Jade discussed the rumors in Bizarre Anecdotes and speculated that the Youth Newspaper novel Echoes of the Future would depict a future without emperors or social hierarchy.
• Jing Qingfu left Golden Jade after eating only parts of the snacks and declined to inspect his other sons’ factories in person.
• Jing Qingfu told Fude that his feigned illness was a test to choose the next family head and urged the old steward to retire after his death.
• Jing Qingfu explained that the Jing Family lacked public support and warned that the Silver Blood Society could exploit the four sons dividing the family.
• Jing Qingfu said Jing Zhengwei’s King's Aura could make him the heir if he won his brothers’ willing support, but otherwise it could strengthen whoever succeeded him.
• Jing Qingfu admitted he hated Jing Zhengwei and feared his darker, more ruthless nature, yet judged him possibly the best heir to the Jing Family.

Le Yu watched the Youth Newspaper thrive despite Profound Candle News attacking its fabricated stories and lewd cover, bringing his challenge progress closer to completion. He prepared to meet White Night as Yin Yinyin, while Qing Lan asked him to come back early.

• The Youth Newspaper’s second issue sold briskly, and Profound Candle News condemned it for its lewd cover and fabricated content.
• Le Yu saw that discussions of the newspaper had advanced his challenge to waste 10,000 hours of other people’s time to 3912/10000.
• Le Yu noted that Mu Qingmei had used the agreed symbol to arrange a meeting between White Night and Yin Yinyin, then prepared to leave for it.
• Le Yu asked Qing Lan to cover for him and keep his whereabouts secret, and she told him to come back early so they could play cards.
• Le Yu left through the office window, retrieved a hidden bundle from the alley, and prepared to let White Night meet Yin Yinyin.