Recaps

While on patrol, Le Yu introduced Monopoly to the merchant heirs and drew Quan Xin, Luo Zhen, Ting Chaozao, and Lan Jianbo into a game. He was secretly delighted to have five others share the blame for whatever the game would bring.

• Le Yu asked the patrol squad how they passed the time, and Northwind offered to take him to a hookah lounge while Luo Zhen revealed his fondness for male courtesans.
• Quan Xin demonstrated his pen-spinning pastime, while Le Yu admitted Qin Leyin had beaten him in nearly a thousand War Cards matches.
• Le Yu unveiled Monopoly and explained its rules, immediately sparking the Young Masters’ interest in playing or buying the game.
• Ting Chaozao and Lan Jianbo returned from their shifts, and Quan Xin and Luo Zhen agreed to join them and Le Yu for a six-player game.
• Le Yu hid his excitement, pleased to have five scapegoats playing alongside him.

Le Yu watched the night patrol with Quan Xin, Luo Zhen, Ting Chaozao, Lan Jianbo, and Qin Leyin, arranging for them to share responsibility while they played Monopoly. As an explosion lit the Half-City District, Le Yu prepared to see the rebellion he had set in motion begin.

• Le Yu explained that he came on duty to support White Night if anything went wrong and to make sure his patrol colleagues shared responsibility for the planned attack.
• Quan Xin, Luo Zhen, Ting Chaozao, Lan Jianbo, Qin Leyin, and Le Yu gathered in a patrol pavilion and joked together before starting a game of Monopoly.
• As they played, Le Yu recognized that the Silver Blood heirs were ordinary young people as well as products of a ruthless society.
• An explosion sent a pillar of fire into the sky above the Half-City District, and Le Yu watched the rebellion begin.

Yin Minghong and the White Night Walkers launched the Shattered Silver Operation, planting Blazing Radiant Gunpowder and destroying factories across Half-City District. As the explosions spread, Yin Minghong suspected another squad had been sent by their ally and wondered whether it was connected to Jing Zhengwei; the operation moved into its third stage.

• Yin Minghong and the White Night Walkers infiltrated Half-City District, knocked out sentries and factory staff, and planted Blazing Radiant Gunpowder.
• Unexpected explosions destroyed factories in the central district before Yin Minghong’s squad began its planned detonations, leading him to suspect a second squad was supporting the attack.
• Yin Minghong noticed the other squad had spared Jing Zhengwei’s factory and wondered whether it was connected to Jing Zhengwei and Yin Yinyin.
• The White Night Walkers followed their timetable, moving through the district and detonating factories to draw Patrol Guards away and create the impression of a larger attack.
• Yin Minghong reflected that White Night needed to make people resent the Silver Blood Society’s rule, while successive explosions engulfed five factories and completed the operation’s second stage.

Qin Leyin suspected that the attack on Half-City District was carried out under the Anti-Light Faction’s name with help from someone inside the Silver Blood Society. He and the other heirs agreed to keep a shared story and shift blame onto their enemies, while Le Yu concealed his involvement and enjoyed watching them mourn their losses.

• Le Yu, Quan Xin, Luo Zhen, Qin Leyin, Ting Chaozao, and Lan Jianbo stayed behind while the Patrol Team pursued the arsonists and discussed the destruction of their factories.
• Qin Leyin argued that the attackers’ speed and knowledge of the Patrol Team suggested they might be connected to someone within the Silver Blood Society.
• Qin Leyin raised the possibility that their enemies had worked with the attackers, and Quan Xin and Luo Zhen realized they could use the theory to shift blame for the disaster.
• Ting Chaozao agreed to testify for the group, and Lan Jianbo followed his lead.
• The group lamented their destroyed factories and Ting Chaozao’s burned firearms as Le Yu secretly delighted in watching them suffer.

Hao Haijing’s “Severing Gold” operation was thrown into chaos when another group set Half-City District ablaze, and the destruction stirred his resentment toward the Silver Blood Society. After a fire destroyed one of Jing Zhengwei’s factories, Hao Haijing chose to join Number Three in blowing up more factories.

• Hao Haijing watched five fire dragons rise over Half-City District and ordered his masked companions to continue their planned attack while withdrawing quickly.
• An elderly watchman urged Hao Haijing and Number Three to burn his factory, then took their Blazing Radiant Gunpowder and blew it up himself.
• Number Three described the burning factories as a beautiful sight, and Hao Haijing recognized his secret delight at seeing the Silver Blood Society’s wealth destroyed.
• Hao Haijing and Number Three realized that the other attackers had blown up one of Jing Zhengwei’s factories, undermining the purpose of their own operation.
• Number Three proposed using their remaining gunpowder on two more factories, and Hao Haijing agreed to go with him.

After the factory fires, Le Yu explained to Qing Lan how the Silver Blood Society planned to exploit workers and why it would rebuild in Profound Candle Prefecture. He then entered a meeting of the Eighty-Eight Merchant Guilds, where he joined Qin Leyin, Quan Xin, Luo Zhen, Lan Jianbo, and Ting Chaozao as the supposed scapegoat squad.

• Workers gathered outside merchant shops to demand wages after the factories in Half-City District burned down.
• Le Yu argued that the Silver Blood Society was using the unrest to push workers toward poverty and suppress their ability to resist.
• Le Yu reassured Qing Lan that the factories would be rebuilt, then urged her to speak honestly instead of pleasing him.
• Le Yu left Qing Lan with Mi Die and went with Lisan to a meeting at Jia No. 88.
• Le Yu entered the Silver Blood Society's hall and gathered with Qin Leyin, Quan Xin, Luo Zhen, Lan Jianbo, and Ting Chaozao, joking that they were the scapegoat squad.

Le Yu attended a meeting of the Silver Blood Council, where the hidden headquarters and the council’s influence over Profound Candle Prefecture were described. The meeting ended with Jing Shou announcing that Le Yu would represent the Jing family at all future council meetings, and Le Yu sensed something strange as he took his seat.

• The chapter explained that the Silver Blood Society’s headquarters was an ordinary residence and that its Eighty-Eight Merchant Guilds wielded immense influence over Profound Candle Prefecture.
• Le Yu entered the council chamber with Ting Chaozao, Qin Leyin, Quan Xin, and others, and felt increasingly nervous as the doors shut.
• Qin Leyin and Lan Jianbo were invited to take seats at the council table.
• Jing Shou announced that Jing Qingfu had ordered Le Yu to attend all future Silver Blood Council meetings as the Jing family’s representative.
• The council head used the Ting family’s Soul-Suppressing Stone Bell to silence the chamber, and Le Yu sat in Jing Shou’s place.
• As Le Yu took his seat, he felt himself melt.

Le Yu recognized that the Silver Blood Society meeting hall contained a Mental Sea that encouraged unity and shaped the members’ judgments. As the meeting turned to punishments for the Patrol Team’s failure during the Half-City District attack, a member defended its leaders and singled out Le Yu’s new position in the Jing family.

• Le Yu recognized the meeting hall’s Mental Sea and realized it was drawing the Silver Blood members together while influencing their perceptions.
• Ting Jiu introduced himself as the chairman’s stand-in and opened the meeting on the Patrol Team’s response to the Half-City District attack.
• Ting Jiu announced Ting Chaozao’s punishment, which required him to remain at the Patrol Team’s camp and surrender his private property, and Ting Chaozao accepted.
• A Silver Blood member argued that the Patrol Team’s leaders had acted reasonably and should not face harsh punishment.
• The member listed the heirs among the Patrol Team’s leaders and identified Jing Zhengwei as the person in charge of the Jing Family Merchant Association.

At the Silver Blood Council, Le Yu discovered that its Mental Sea pushed members toward rational decisions that served their own interests and the Silver Blood Society. After the council rejected Ting Jiu’s most extreme plan against White Night, Le Yu learned that he now held a permanent seat as head of the Jing Family Merchant Association.

• Ting Jiu’s proposals to punish the patrol leaders, establish a patrol force, redevelop the Half-City District, and resettle workers passed or were revised and approved through rapid voting.
• Le Yu realized the council’s Mental Sea influenced members to vote for their personal and collective interests, and that Ting Jiu could test support by adjusting proposals.
• Ting Jiu proposed mass arrests, executions, and a staged campaign to turn workers against White Night, but the council rejected the plan over fears of government interference and unrest.
• The council approved only a campaign in which Silver Blood merchants complained to workers, along with measures to increase rewards for reporting White Night Walkers and smear the Anti-Light Faction.
• After the meeting, Le Yu asked Jing Shou what it meant to be in charge of the Jing Family Merchant Association, and Qin Leyin addressed him as the Jing Family Head and invited him to lunch.

Jing Qingfu faced pressure from the Old Madam to name Jing Zhengwu as his successor instead of Jing Zhengwei, but repeatedly insisted that he was going to die. The Old Madam warned that Jing Zhengwei would endanger the Jing family, while Jing Qingfu left his decision unchanged.

• The old steward summoned Old Captain Liu and two men to stand by outside Yunji Residence in case of trouble.
• The Old Madam confronted Jing Qingfu over his plan to give Jing Zhengwei the Jing family’s assets and leadership, arguing that Jing Zhengwu was the rightful heir.
• The Old Madam criticized Jing Zhengwei as a dangerous gambler who would recklessly drive the Jing family toward ruin, despite acknowledging the Youth Newspaper’s success.
• Jing Qingfu ignored her arguments, smoked his water pipe, and repeatedly replied, “I’m going to die.”

Jing Zhengwu prepared to flee Profound Candle Prefecture for Scardy after Jing Zhengwei gained their father’s support, while Qin Yueshi tried to persuade him to stay and continue the fight. The chapter ended with Qin declaring that she would stand by him and urging him to seek revenge rather than leave.

• Jing Zhengwu disguised himself as a sailor and told Qin Yueshi he planned to establish himself in Scardy.
• Jing Zhengwu reflected on how Bai Yulan’s exposure and Shen Hong’s death had upended his plans, and vowed to face Jing Zhengwei again someday.
• Jing Zhengwu told Qin Yueshi she could find another husband, but they joked together before admitting that she wanted to go with him and he refused to take her.
• Jing Zhengwu explained that their father had transferred the Jing family’s permanent Silver Blood Council seat to Jing Zhengwei, confirming his defeat in the succession struggle.
• Qin Yueshi argued that Jing Zhengwu could stay, wait for their father to die, and reclaim his position, then urged him to take revenge with her support.

Jing Zhengwu agreed to stay and pursue a Silver Blood Society seat after Qin Yueshi chose to join him, but a trapped pendant poisoned them both. Jing family guards took Jing Zhengwu away under orders from Jing Qingfu, leaving Qin Yueshi to realize how little she understood the Black Thorns.

• Jing Zhengwu told Qin Yueshi he planned to flee to Scardy, but she insisted on going with him, and he agreed to consider staying if they could raise enough capital.
• Jing Zhengwu explained that he needed Silver Blood Society protection to build connections and eventually reclaim the Jing family.
• Qin Yueshi gave Jing Zhengwu a pendant containing a treasure map to hidden Qin family assets, but opening it released poisonous mist that incapacitated them both.
• An old swordsman and Jing family guards entered the warehouse, and the swordsman said Jing Zhengwu's men had been loyal before ordering the guards to take him away.
• The old swordsman told Qin Yueshi that Jing Qingfu had ordered Jing Zhengwu's arrest for embezzling family goods and merchant ships, and she remembered Jing Zhengwu's warning about the Black Thorns.

Qin Yueshi confronted Qin Leyin over his role in Jing Zhengwu’s capture, but Qin Leyin defended his alliance with Jing Zhengwei and revealed that Black Thorns had acted against Zhengwu. At Jing Garden, Le Yu learned that Jing Zhengwu had died after supposedly swallowing an unidentified pill.

• Qin Yueshi fought Qin Yueyang in Harmonious Garden until Qin Leyin stopped them and subdued them with eight precise strikes.
• Qin Yueshi accused Qin Leyin of using poison hidden in her pendant to paralyze Jing Zhengwu, and Qin Leyin knocked her unconscious and ordered her confined.
• Qin Leyin told Qin Yueyang that he had backed Jing Zhengwei because the alliance could help him leave Profound Candle Prefecture, and he identified Black Thorns as the force behind the attack on Jing Zhengwu.
• At Jing Garden, Le Yu found Jing Zhengwu lying dead, and Jing Zhengtang said Zhengwu had supposedly swallowed an unidentified pill after being caught transferring family assets.

Le Yu mourned Jing Zhengwu, who had been found dead after Jing Qingfu was stabbed, and asserted his authority as the new Jing family head. Jing Qingfu revealed that he knew Le Yu was in contact with White Night.

• Le Yu ordered the clansmen to move Jing Zhengwu's corpse despite their objections, then learned Jing Qingfu had regained consciousness.
• The old steward told Le Yu and Jing Zhengtang that Jing Qingfu's mother had visited him and left him stabbed in bed.
• Jing Zhengtang begged Jing Qingfu to spare Feiwei, and Jing Qingfu gave him one day to finish what he needed to do.
• Jing Qingfu questioned Le Yu about Jing Zhengwu's death, his threats against Jing Zhengtang, and the transfer of the family head position.
• Jing Qingfu deduced that only one attacking group in Half-City District belonged to White Night and confirmed that he knew Le Yu was in contact with them.

Jing Qingfu revealed that he had discovered Le Yu’s ties to White Night and had chosen him to lead the Jing family because he shared Le Yu’s goal of destroying the Silver Blood Society. He explained why he had killed Jing Zhengwu and left Le Yu to pursue their dangerous plan.

• Jing Qingfu identified Yin Minghong, the Youth Newspaper, and Le Yu’s actions during the first Half-City attack as clues to Le Yu’s connection with White Night.
• Jing Qingfu revealed that Jing Zhengwu and two others had organized the second Half-City attack to frame Le Yu, and admitted that Zhengwu had to die because he threatened the Jing family and had uncovered Le Yu’s secret.
• Le Yu challenged Jing Qingfu over killing his own son, and Jing Qingfu said his duty to the Jing family had outweighed his love for Zhengwu.
• Jing Qingfu revealed that he had selected Le Yu as family head because he wanted to ally with White Night, stir hatred and division, and destroy the Silver Blood Society.

Jing Qingfu explained why he wanted Le Yu to destroy the Silver Blood Society and seize power for the Jing Family, and Le Yu agreed while secretly preparing to betray him. The chapter ended with Le Yu stabbing Jing Qingfu and declaring that he would ruin the Jing Family.

• Jing Qingfu recounted his rise as head of the Jing Family and his long friendship and broken plans with Qin Xiao.
• Jing Qingfu explained that the Silver Blood Society constrained its members and had become unable to reform East Sun, while the governor and Heyang Army exploited it.
• Jing Qingfu urged Le Yu to support White Night, destroy the Silver Blood Society, topple the governor, and seize political power for the Jing Family.
• Le Yu repeated Jing Qingfu's plans and promised to make the Jing Family greater.
• Le Yu pulled Jing Qingfu close, stabbed his wrist with the needle hidden in his bracer, and declared that he would ruin the Jing Family.

Le Yu drained Jing Qingfu’s vitality with the Saint’s Relic and told him the truth before he died, then reflected on why he would still oppose the Jing Family and the Silver Blood Society. At Harmonious Garden, Qin Leyin learned of Jing Qingfu’s death and vowed to fulfill an old promise in the next generation.

• Le Yu used the Saint’s Relic to drain Jing Qingfu’s vitality and told him that he was not Jing Zhengwei before Jing Qingfu died in despair.
• Le Yu considered Jing Qingfu’s kindness and his own reasons for opposing the Jing Family, then promised to make the other guilty people suffer for their actions.
• Le Yu left Jing Qingfu’s room and called for a medical officer, announcing that the Family Head had stopped breathing.
• Qin Yueyang told Qin Leyin that Jing Qingfu seemed to have died, and Qin Leyin poured out wine for his teacher and vowed to fulfill their promise himself.

After Jing Qingfu's death, Le Yu took control of the Jing Family and rejected the opportunity to use the Old Madam's attempted murder to avenge his father. He began managing the family’s political and business affairs while arranging to involve Yin Minghong.

• Jing Zhengwei handed Jing Qingfu's funeral arrangements to Fude and learned that the old steward was distancing himself from him.
• After realizing Jing Qingfu had left the Old Madam as a chance to establish his authority, Le Yu ordered the Patrol Guards to investigate her and filed a murder complaint against her with the Prefectural Governor's Mansion.
• Le Yu asked clansmen who had made secret agreements with his brothers to submit the details, promised to accommodate their wishes, and urged them to call him by his title rather than his name.
• Le Yu asked Jing Shou to report on the Jing Family's businesses and sent for Yin Minghong to assign him a task.

Le Yu toured Jing Garden with Jing Shou, who planned to leave Profound Candle after helping transfer control of the Jing family. Le Yu asked Jing Shou to keep managing the family for now, then gave Jing Residence to Qing Lan and declared that she was free.

• Le Yu tried to greet a maid, but she fainted in fear, so he acted disdainful as the servants watched.
• Jing Shou told Le Yu he intended to leave Profound Candle once Le Yu had someone ready to take over his duties.
• Le Yu recognized Jing Shou as a cold-blooded person without a purpose of his own and asked him to continue managing the Jing family.
• Jing Shou showed Le Yu the family heads' study at Fù Jīng Courtyard, and Le Yu decided to move back to Jing Garden and change how its servants were treated.
• Le Yu gave Jing Residence to Qing Lan and told her she was free and that the residence would be her home.

Le Yu took over the Jing Family and recruited Yin Minghong to help replace its managers with capable outsiders. Yin Minghong saw a chance for White Night to infiltrate the family’s businesses, while a mysterious woman in green entered Jing Garden.

• Le Yu explained the Jing Family’s brutal labor system, its political and military connections, and the power that had allowed it to evade consequences.
• Le Yu asked Yin Minghong to work for him and appointed him inspector to find capable outsiders who could replace Jing Family managers.
• Le Yu said he would persuade his relatives to surrender their positions and assigned Yin Minghong to handle the dirty work.
• After discussing the plan, Yin Minghong realized White Night could place its own cadres in Jing Family businesses and hurried off to consult Wen Hong.
• As Yin Minghong left Jing Garden, a woman in green entered; he thought her expression seemed familiar but dismissed his suspicion.

Qing Lan reflected on her fearful past with Jing Zhengwei and the ordinary life she had begun to build as chief editor. After Jing Zhengwei became family head, Mi Die told her he was giving her Jing Residence, abolishing her indenture, and setting her free, leaving her stunned.

• Qing Lan recalled how Jing Zhengwei had redeemed her from Fragrant Snow Sea and how his changing behavior had left her afraid and uncertain.
• Qing Lan wrote down that Half-City District had suffered a second attack, Jing Qingfu had died, Jing Zhengwu had killed himself, and Jing Zhengwei had become family head.
• Qing Lan told Mi Die that the Youth Newspaper would help build momentum for Jing Zhengwei's plans after learning he had sent the former family head's mother to the Patrol Guards on an attempted-assassination accusation.
• Mi Die told Qing Lan that Jing Zhengwei would move to Jing Garden but had ordered Qing Lan to remain at Jing Residence.
• Mi Die revealed that Jing Zhengwei had given Qing Lan ownership of Jing Residence, abolished her indenture contract, and declared her free.

Le Yu reflected on how to destabilize the Heyang Army and keep the Youth Newspaper fueling opposition to the Silver Blood Society, then told Qing Lan she was free to choose her own life. Qing Lan struggled to confess that she wanted to stay with him, and Mi Die shoved her back into the study.

• Le Yu concluded that chaos in the Heyang Army could let the conflicts within Profound Candle Prefecture overwhelm the Silver Blood Society.
• Qing Lan thanked Le Yu for freeing her and asked what her freedom meant; he assured her she could leave or continue as Chief Editor of the Youth Newspaper.
• Le Yu told Qing Lan he hoped to travel through the Well of Gods and Devils after achieving his goal, but insisted she should choose her own interests rather than follow him to please him.
• Qing Lan almost told Le Yu why she wanted to accompany him, but her fear of her low status stopped her, and she left the study.
• Unable to bring herself to knock or leave, Qing Lan stood in the rain outside the door until Mi Die pushed her back inside.

Mi Die urged Qing Lan to be honest about her feelings for Le Yu, while Le Yu wrestled with his attraction and uncertainty as he held her through the night. At dawn, Lan Yan led Swift Blade Soldiers in an attack on Nanyang Pass, opening a route from Morning Wind into Dongyang.

• Mi Die challenged Qing Lan to pursue what she wanted and warned her not to settle for a life of regret.
• Qing Lan admitted she feared being seen as cheap or becoming a burden to Le Yu, and Mi Die encouraged her to look ahead.
• Le Yu returned, heard Qing Lan’s feelings, and held her as they went to sleep while questioning whether his attraction was genuine.
• Lan Yan led an army of Swift Blade Soldiers through the rain toward Nanyang Pass.
• Lan Yan broke through the city wall defenses, killed the soldiers guarding the gate mechanism, and announced that the wind was coming.

Jing Zhengwei summoned Jing Suke under the pretense of discussing the Jing family, then revealed his plan to replace the old guard with lower-class talent. The chapter ended with Yin Minghong breaking Jing Suke’s neck, as Jing Suke realized Jing Zhengwei served his own ambitions rather than the Jing family.

• Jing Suke reflected on his role in building the Crown Jing cigarette business and decided to support Jing Zhengtang after Jing Qingfu became ill.
• After Jing Zhengwei took over as family head, Jing Suke requested a Death-Exemption Gold Medallion and believed he had earned the new leader’s trust.
• Jing Zhengwei picked Jing Suke up outside the First Cigarette Factory and discussed the difficulty of getting clansmen to serve the family as a whole.
• Jing Zhengwei told Jing Suke he planned to replace people, and explained that Jing Suke’s death would make the purge seem justified to the other clansmen.
• Jing Suke denounced Jing Zhengwei’s plan to promote lower-class people, while Yin Minghong argued that they could become loyal pillars of the family if given opportunity and education.
• At an abandoned warehouse, Jing Zhengwei said Jing Suke’s first mistake was believing he would be allowed to make a second one, and Yin Minghong broke Jing Suke’s neck.

Jing Zhengtang confronted Jing Zhengwei about secretly killing Su Ke and warned that Feiwei had predicted more deaths and an urgent plan. Jing Zhengwei evaded his questions by quoting an answer from the Youth Newspaper, leaving his true intentions unclear.

• Jing Zhengtang reassured the clansmen that he would speak to Jing Zhengwei about Su Ke's death, then went to meet his eldest brother.
• Jing Zhengwei claimed he had secretly killed Su Ke because Su Ke accused him of murdering the old family head and threatened to expose him.
• Jing Zhengtang relayed Feiwei's prediction that Jing Zhengwei would target another vulnerable person and was pursuing a plan that had to be completed this year.
• Jing Zhengtang asked what Jing Zhengwei intended to do, and Jing Zhengwei answered by quoting, "My heart and my actions are as clear as a mirror. Everything I do is for justice."