Chapter Summaries

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.

Wen Hong concluded that Qing Lan was secretly using Yin Yinyin’s identity and went to meet the supposed White-Haired Assassin. The meeting ended with Le Yu appearing in disguise, while Wen Hong mistook him for Yin Yinyin.

• Wen Hong rebuffed the fruit-stall auntie’s matchmaking suggestions and headed to her meeting with Yin Yinyin.
• Wen Hong combined Yin Minghong’s suspicions with Mu Qingmei’s experience and decided Qing Lan was Yin Yinyin, imagining a tragic romance between Qing Lan and the dead assassin.
• Wen Hong arrived at a women’s clothing store near Radiant Bell Tower, where a veiled young woman pulled her into a changing room.
• Le Yu revealed his white hair and explained that he was wearing the disguise for the meeting.
• Wen Hong declared that Le Yu was Yin Yinyin, leaving him stunned by her assumption.

Le Yu disguised himself as Yin Yinyin to meet Wen Hong, keeping White Night from connecting him to Jing Zhengwei. Wen Hong told him White Night had run into trouble and needed his advice or help.

• Le Yu reasoned that White Night suspected Yin Yinyin was hiding in the Jing family and decided to keep them from linking him to Jing Zhengwei.
• Le Yu disguised himself as a woman and met Wen Hong, who believed he was Yin Yinyin.
• Le Yu joked that he had expected Yin Minghong to come, and Wen Hong teased him about his plan to frighten Yin Minghong in a changing room.
• Le Yu switched to a woman's voice at Wen Hong's request, and Wen Hong became more warmly familiar with him.
• Wen Hong told Le Yu that White Night had run into trouble and needed his advice or help.

Le Yu learned that White Night’s glass factory was threatened by a coordinated wage-cutting campaign led by the Jing family, whose worker promotion system had won over its employees. He encouraged Wen Hong to target machinery at factories owned by all four Jing brothers, including Jing Zhengwei’s, without realizing she mistook him for Jing Zhengwei’s abused companion, Qing Lan.

• Wen Hong explained that the Jing family and other merchant associations had cut wages and introduced worker ranks, putting White Night’s new glass factory under pressure from rival factories.
• Wen Hong said Jing Zhengwu, Jing Zhengtang, and Jing Zhengfeng were leading the wage cuts, while the Jing family’s workers accepted them because the rank system offered promotions and benefits.
• Wen Hong asked whether Le Yu could influence Jing Zhengwei to accuse his brothers and stop the campaign; she mistook Le Yu’s scars for signs of abuse and believed he was Qing Lan.
• Le Yu argued that White Night should destroy the Jing family’s factory machinery rather than merely burn its goods, and Wen Hong agreed to discuss the plan.
• Le Yu insisted that White Night should also attack Jing Zhengwei’s factory, and Wen Hong promised that White Night would do so, believing she was helping Qing Lan take revenge.

Le Yu planned to use White Night to strike at his brothers’ factories, drawing on Jing Zhengwei’s collected intelligence, while his influence changed the atmosphere at the newspaper office. The chapter ended with Le Yu discovering Qing Lan’s spirited defense of the newspaper’s risqué cover.

• Le Yu agreed to provide Wen Hong with factory-defense intelligence and decided to target his brothers’ factories using information Jing Zhengwei had gathered.
• Le Yu teased Mu Qingmei at the newspaper office, and his public comments led the staff to assume she liked him.
• Mu Qingmei used the fear of Jing Zhengwei’s influence to confront Zhang Dayi and improve her standing at work.
• Qing Lan explained that she was replying to readers who criticized the newspaper’s cover image.
• Le Yu read Qing Lan’s draft defending the female figure on the cover and sprayed out his drink.

Le Yu told Qing Lan to turn criticism of Youth Newspaper into a deliberate flame war by portraying complaints as the resentment of poor people against the Upper Class. He revealed that he wanted to deepen class awareness and hasten an uprising, then called himself the snowflake at the front of the coming avalanche.

• Qing Lan explained that she had answered criticism of the newspaper’s cover by accusing its critics of discriminating against women, and Le Yu praised her tactic.
• After reading a letter that criticized his own writing, Le Yu told Qing Lan to dismiss the newspaper’s critics as poor, inexperienced, lazy losers.
• Le Yu explained that provoking angry readers would draw attention and increase sales, while framing the newspaper’s insults as the Upper Class looking down on the poor.
• Le Yu revealed that he intended to direct public anger toward class conflict and awaken the poor to the divide between rich and poor.
• Qing Lan asked whether Le Yu himself belonged to the Upper Class, and he called himself the snowflake at the front of an approaching avalanche.

Jing Zhengwei took command during a violent assault on Half-City’s factories, organizing rescue and firefighting while promising rewards to helpers. By dawn, his name was known throughout Profound Candle Prefecture, but Le Yu blamed Jing Zhengwu and the others for dragging the Jing family and other merchant associations into disaster.

• Old Man Lu heard gunfire and explosions as attackers stormed the Jing family's steelworks and set the factory district ablaze.
• Jing Zhengwei arrived with armed guards and ordered the factories to abandon pursuit, treat the wounded, and put out the fires.
• Jing Zhengwei directed workers to tackle nearby fires first and promised rewards to anyone who helped rescue people or fight the flames.
• By dawn, Jing Zhengwei had become known throughout Profound Candle Prefecture.
• Le Yu entered the Jing family council chamber and accused Jing Zhengwu and the others of endangering the Jing family and the other merchant associations.

Le Yu confronted his brothers over the factory arson and warned that their wage-cutting reform was endangering the Jing family’s standing with the Silver Blood Society. Jing Qingfu revealed that the other major chambers supported continuing the reform and ordered Le Yu to lead a Half-City Patrol Team, leaving him wary of the role.

• Le Yu accused Jing Zhengwu, Jing Zhengfeng, and Jing Zhengtang of causing the factory attacks by pushing wage cuts, then slapped Jing Zhengfeng after he insulted Le Yu’s woman.
• Jing Zhengwu challenged Le Yu’s account of the night of the arson, while Le Yu argued that the wage cuts had turned the Jing family’s business allies against them.
• Le Yu urged the family to abandon the reform, but Jing Zhengfeng proposed guarding the factories instead, and Jing Qingfu said the other four major chambers wanted the campaign to continue.
• Jing Qingfu announced that the Silver Blood Society would fund a Half-City Patrol Team and assigned Le Yu to take charge of one.

Le Yu attended the Silver Blood Society’s younger-generation meeting, discovering that forming the Half-City Patrol Team was also a contest for influence and future leadership. Qin Leyin confronted him about his apparent wish to kill everyone there, while Le Yu remained guarded.

• Le Yu arrived at Heavenly Mansion Restaurant to represent the Jing Family at the Half-City Patrol Team meeting, where the Silver Blood Society had closed the restaurant for the gathering.
• Le Yu met the young heirs of major merchant associations and realized that the patrol team would help them build alliances and compete for the future presidency of the Silver Blood Society.
• Shi Huaisong arrived late, and Le Yu learned that he was the Third Young Master of the Shi Family.
• Qin Leyin offered to reveal who had ordered the Heavenly Sword Gang’s ambush if Le Yu answered a question.
• Qin Leyin asked whether Le Yu had truly meant that he wanted to kill everyone in the room, and Le Yu instinctively touched the Saint's Relic on his wrist.

At a Silver Blood Society meeting, Jing Zhengwei was chosen to command a new merchant-controlled Patrol Team, with Qin Leyin as his deputy. After the meeting, Qin Leyin admitted that he had planned the Heavenly Sword Gang’s attack on Jing Zhengwei at his younger sister’s request.

• Jing Zhengwei reflected on Qin Leyin’s dangerous Forbidden Combat Arts and explained why he feared him.
• Ting Chaozao proposed a 150-person Patrol Team so the merchant associations could build a force under their own control.
• The young merchants divided the Patrol Team’s leadership positions, and Qin Leyin nominated Jing Zhengwei as a battalion commander.
• Luo Zhen accepted Jing Zhengwei’s appointment and became his deputy, while Qin Leyin also took a deputy commander position.
• Qin Leyin told Jing Zhengwei that he had arranged the Heavenly Sword Gang’s attack at his younger sister’s request, then invited him to play battle cards.

After returning to Profound Candle Prefecture, Yin Minghong read the popular Youth Newspaper and found ideas and slogans that could inspire White Night. At Wen Hong’s clinic, he learned that Wen Hong was teaching Mu Qingmei to seduce Qing Lan, the woman beside Jing Zhengwei.

• At a tea stall, Yin Minghong overheard laborers arguing over the Youth Newspaper’s exchange between poor readers and wealthy contributors.
• Yin Minghong read the newspaper’s jokes, historical discussions, and story about the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang Uprising, and he considered its slogan useful to White Night.
• Yin Minghong read Mr. Treeman’s serialized novel and saw its National College Entrance Examination and Neighborhood Committee as potential sources of ideas for reform.
• Yin Minghong bought the covers from earlier issues and went to Wen Hong’s clinic, where a fruit-stall auntie told him Wen Hong had recently gone on a blind date.
• Yin Minghong found Wen Hong teaching Mu Qingmei how to seduce Qing Lan, the woman beside Jing Zhengwei.

Yin Minghong and Wen Hong debated whether Qing Lan was Yin Yinyin and decided Mu Qingmei should try to win Qing Lan’s trust for White Night. Wen Hong then asked Yin Minghong to seek a place in the Half-City Patrol Team, but Jing Zhengwei refused his self-recommendation.

• Yin Minghong rejected Wen Hong’s theory that Qing Lan was Yin Yinyin and suggested instead that Yin Yinyin was another White-Haired Assassin who had been betrayed and abducted.
• Mu Qingmei interrupted their argument by suggesting Qing Lan might be a man, and Wen Hong argued that Mu Qingmei should approach Qing Lan to recruit her for White Night.
• Yin Minghong injured his hand catching Mu Qingmei’s punch, and Wen Hong healed him while warning that Mu Qingmei was now protecting him.
• Wen Hong told Yin Minghong that White Night wanted him to join the Half-City Patrol Team through Jing Zhengwei, one of its captains, so they could gain influence over the force.
• Yin Minghong agreed to the mission, but Jing Zhengwei refused his self-recommendation.

Le Yu rejected Yin Minghong’s request to join the Patrol Team but appointed him General Manager over Jing Zhengwei’s industries, while Yin Minghong misread a warning as proof that Le Yu controlled his relationship with Wen Hong. After Qing Lan and Le Yu played cards, Le Yu left to take the Patrol Team’s shift and investigate Qin Leyin’s plans.

• Le Yu refused to let Yin Minghong join the Patrol Team and instead ordered him to remain in Profound Candle Prefecture and oversee Jing Zhengwei’s businesses as General Manager.
• Yin Minghong accepted the new authority and mistakenly concluded that Le Yu knew about his meeting with Wen Hong and was using Wen Hong as leverage.
• Yin Minghong saw Qing Lan enter Le Yu’s study, misinterpreted their conversation as distress, and renewed his resolve to overthrow the Silver Blood Society and kill Jing Zhengwei.
• Le Yu and Qing Lan played cards, with Le Yu slapping Qing Lan’s palm when she lost rounds.
• Le Yu left for Half-City to take the Patrol Team’s shift and investigate what Qin Leyin was plotting.

Le Yu visited the Silver Blood Society’s new patrol base, where he and Ting Chaozao forced the unruly young captains to take their duties seriously. He then fought Qin Leyin, who revealed that he also wanted to wipe out the Silver Blood Society.

• Le Yu saw the Silver Blood Society’s well-equipped patrol camp and recognized that it was being built into a powerful armed force.
• Le Yu smashed a table to stop a couple’s indecent behavior in the captains’ lounge, giving Ting Chaozao a chance to reprimand the young captains.
• Ting Chaozao thanked Le Yu and offered his support after the other captains left the lounge.
• Qin Leyin confronted Le Yu in the corridor, and the two exchanged blows before Le Yu recognized Qin Leyin’s strength.
• Qin Leyin pointed out that he also wanted to wipe out the Silver Blood Society.

Le Yu took command of the night patrol and planned how White Night could strike the factory district again, while Qin Leyin warned him that Ting Chaozao had the younger generation’s support. After revealing that he was a Proxy Light Walker, Qin Leyin identified himself as one of the Huiyao Four Guards and disclosed that he knew Le Yu was using the Youth Newspaper against the Silver Blood Society.

• Le Yu changed into his captain’s uniform, disciplined the patrolmen, and led them on their night shift with Qin Leyin.
• Le Yu chose the night shift so he could gather intelligence and find a way for White Night to attack the factory district again.
• Qin Leyin explained that Ting Chaozao’s reputation made him a favored leader of the younger generation and asked whether Le Yu could reverse that advantage.
• After the patrol reached the duty pavilion, Le Yu and Qin Leyin sent their guards away and discussed the Youth Newspaper.
• Qin Leyin revealed that he knew Le Yu wanted to hasten the Silver Blood Society’s demise, then identified himself as Red Music, a Proxy Light Walker under the Guard of Propriety.

Qin Leyin revealed that he belonged to the Radiance Four Guards, an organization loyal to Radiance and opposed to the Silver Blood Society’s plans to drain the country and flee with its wealth. He proposed joining forces with Le Yu, whose Youth Newspaper was accelerating popular unrest, but Le Yu questioned why he should cooperate.

• Le Yu reflected that factions across Radiance were preparing to rebel or seize territory, then asked whether anyone still defended the realm.
• Qin Leyin introduced the Radiance Four Guards and explained that they pledged loyalty to Radiance itself rather than to any emperor.
• Qin Leyin said the Four Guards opposed the Silver Blood Society because its merchants exploited other regions and might abandon Radiance with their wealth.
• Qin Leyin explained that Le Yu’s Youth Newspaper was stirring unrest and could help bring about the Silver Blood Society’s collapse.
• Qin Leyin offered Le Yu an alliance, and Le Yu asked why he should cooperate.