Chapter Summaries

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."

Le Yu explained his plan to use the Jing Family’s exploitation to help White Night organize workers and bring down the Silver Blood Society, then asked Jing Zhengtang to choose whether to support him. Jing Zhengtang and Feiwei agreed to work under his supervision while secretly preparing to leave East Sun for Morning Wind Star Engraving Prefecture.

• Jing Zhengtang said Feiwei was his bottom line and asked whether Le Yu would drive them out of the Jing Family or bar them from its management.
• Le Yu reflected on his plans to intensify exploitation in the Jing Family’s industries, help White Night form a workers’ association, and sacrifice the Silver Blood Society to summon a Red Phantom.
• Feiwei joined Jing Zhengtang in the study, and the couple asked Le Yu whether they could use Jing Family resources to plan a secret escape from East Sun.
• Jing Zhengtang said he and Feiwei would accept Le Yu’s supervision and work for him while planning a new life elsewhere.
• Jing Zhengtang named Morning Wind Star Engraving Prefecture as their destination, and Le Yu said he knew two friends from there.

Le Yu enlisted Jing Zhengtang and Feiwei in a plan to purge Jing Zhengwu’s faction, and Jing Zhengtang proposed using Jing Zhengfeng as bait to expose resisters. After the scheme was settled, Le Yu’s challenge to waste 10,000 hours of another person’s time was completed, giving him a chance to activate his Ice-Blood Physique.

• Le Yu explained how Jing Zhengtang would regain power and use Yin Minghong to eliminate members of Jing Zhengwu’s faction.
• Jing Zhengtang and Feiwei suggested using Jing Zhengfeng as a banner to draw out clansmen who planned to resist.
• Le Yu agreed to the plan and asked Jing Zhengtang to contact Jing Zhengfeng with Yin Minghong.
• Le Yu saw that his challenge had been completed and celebrated the chance to activate his Ice-Blood Physique.

Leyu used his reward to learn the Formless Combat Arts, then upgraded his Ice-Blood Physique and asked whether Qinglan had returned. At the Youth Newspaper, Mu Qingmei speculated about Qinglan’s love life before an employee warned that the Chenfeng people had broken in.

• Leyu selected the Formless Combat Arts from the virtual panel and gained techniques that complemented his Biting, Qi Harmony, and Ethereal Combat Arts.
• Leyu upgraded his Ice-Blood Physique, then ordered the maids to clean up after he smashed heirloom furniture and asked whether Qinglan had returned.
• Mu Qingmei struggled to write a new persona for the Youth Newspaper and wondered whether Qinglan was Yin Yinyin.
• Qinglan said she wanted to go home early, prompting Mu Qingmei to imagine she was meeting a lover and choose her cheating-warrior persona for the next draft.
• A newspaper employee ran upstairs and announced that the Chenfeng people had broken in.

Le Yu attended an emergency Silver Blood Society council as Chairman Ting Gu revealed the Coastal Army’s victory and demanded compensation from Dongyang. Ting Gu rejected paying and proposed killing their opponents, as a white-haired young man emerged from the shadows.

• Le Yu brought Jing Shou to the emergency council, where Chairman Ting Gu used his influence over the Silver Blood Mental Sea to command the room.
• Ting Gu announced that the Coastal Army had crushed the Heyang Army but demanded payment for the supplies it had consumed, and he assigned most of the cost to the Silver Blood Society.
• Le Yu feared the financial burden would worsen exploitation, provoke an uprising, and leave workers vulnerable to suppression by the Heyang Army.
• Ting Gu stabbed the back of his hand, declared that he would not give them a penny, and rallied the council to reject the payment.
• Ting Gu proposed killing their opponents, and Le Yu saw a white-haired young man step out of the shadows.

The Silver Blood Society planned to use a White-Haired Assassin and a Divine Weapon to assassinate Lan Yan, whose death might force the Coastal Army to retreat from East Sun. President Ting Gu agreed to escort the assassin to meet Lan Yan, then announced he would step down and make someone else handle the crisis.

• Chen explained that Lan Yan had led five thousand Swift Blade Soldiers to capture Nanyang Pass and that his death could fracture the Coastal Army's command.
• Chen revealed the Divine Weapon Veil of Discord, which could create absolute darkness and help Hidden Sword Assassins kill Lan Yan.
• Ting Gu offered a gift shipment as a pretext to bring Chen and the Silver Blood Society's president close to Lan Yan.
• Ting Gu asked the Silver Blood members to support the assassination plan, and they unanimously agreed.
• Ting Gu announced that he would abdicate and select a new president to handle the journey and crisis.