Chapter Summaries

Xiao Jinghong investigated the burning of Tiebi Town’s summer grain and found evidence implicating Xiao Dongchen and a Liu Family of Jingzhou Young Master, while Chen Yi concealed his role and took most of Lou Yuxue’s money. The chapter ended with Lou Yuxue waking to discover she had been cheated and vowing to hunt down Liu Wu.

• Xiao Jinghong questioned Li Changqing about the grain fire, then read a letter implicating Xiao Dongchen and examined a jade pendant identifying the dead Liu Family Young Master.
• Xiao Jinghong ordered the evidence kept secret, told Li Changqing to protect the remaining grain, and took Liu Wen’s corpse to consult the Old Marquis.
• Chen Yi told Lou Yuxue that the Liu Family Young Master and the attackers had died, then admitted he feared she might expose him and blamed her for being his accomplice.
• Chen Yi received a reward for thwarting the grain-burning plot, knocked Lou Yuxue unconscious, and took most of the money she had brought, leaving her fifty thousand taels.
• Chen Yi and Liu Lang spotted Xiao Jinghong flying toward Shuzhou, then Chen Yi hid aboard a painted boat and reflected on what she might do about Xiao Dongchen.
• Lou Yuxue woke at Bright Moon Tower, found only a small share of the money, and vowed to track down Liu Wu and avenge the humiliation.

Xiao Jinghong and the old patriarch uncovered Xiao Dongchen’s betrayal and the Liu Family’s plot against the Summer Grain, while learning that an unknown ally had secretly arranged much of the outcome. After the Xiao Family moved to punish the conspirators, Xiao Jinghong confronted Chen Yi about Pei Guanli.

• Xiao Jinghong showed the old patriarch evidence implicating Xiao Dongchen and the Liu Family, and he raged over Xiao Dongchen’s attempt to endanger the Xiao Family for power.
• Xiao Jinghong proposed removing Xiao Dongchen from the family register, transferring the Disciplinary Hall, and forcing the Second Branch to leave; the old patriarch agreed and planned to make the Liu Family pay for the grain losses.
• Xiao Jing arrived with a warning that Bright Moon Tower planned to burn the Summer Grain of Three Towns, then reported that a mysterious Medical Saint Hand had rescued him and predicted the plot’s outcome.
• The old patriarch and Xiao Jinghong realized the unknown ally had delivered evidence and prevented disaster, and they resolved to identify and thank him; the old patriarch assigned Xuan Suo to oversee the Disciplinary Hall.
• Chen Yi returned to the Xiao Family and met Xiao Jinghong at Chunhe Garden, where she asked whether Pei Guanli had acted unusually before leaving.

Chen Yi learned that Xiao Dongchen had died and that a deliberate rumor campaign was targeting the Xiao Family after the Summer Grain plot failed. As Xiao Jinghong moved against another tower, Chen Yi concluded that a coordinated Anti-Xiao Alliance was working behind the scenes.

• Xiao Jinghong asked Chen Yi to rewrite her poems and prepare gifts before she left to handle urgent matters.
• Xiao Wuge told Chen Yi that Xiao Jinghong had exposed Xiao Dongchen’s betrayal, seized the Second Branch’s influence, and ordered the branch to leave Shuzhou.
• Wang Lixing reported that Xiao Dongchen had died, and a confession blamed the Liu Family’s Second Young Master and Ge Laosan for the Summer Grain plot.
• Xiao Die reported rumors accusing Xiao Jinghong of embezzling grain, but later said the rumors had vanished and been replaced by praise for her, while officials and grain merchants reacted to the crisis.
• Chen Yi inferred that a hidden Gold Master had coordinated the rumor campaign and price increases with other forces, forming an Anti-Xiao Alliance.
• Xiao Die reported that Xiao Jinghong had left with Armored Soldiers to find a tower, and Chen Yi suspected the target was Chunyu Tower.

Lou Yuxue pieced together Liu Wu’s role in the plot against the Xiao Family and negotiated with Cui Qingwu for help finding a place to stay. Chen Yi learned that Xiao Yuan had confronted Liu Hong, then set out with Xiao Wan'er to buy holiday gifts, where an unfamiliar voice recalled coming to Shuzhou for Xiao Jinghong’s wedding.

• Lou Yuxue concluded that Liu Wu had helped Xiao Jinghong and was probably connected to the Xiao Family, then asked Cui Qingwu to help her find a place to stay in exchange for doing three things.
• Ning Yu reported Cui Qingwu’s meeting with Lou Yuxue to Chen Yunfan, who discussed Xiao Dongchen’s death and Xiao Jinghong’s departure from Shuzhou.
• Liu Hong received Xiao Yuan’s visit card and told Liu Yu to return to Jingzhou while he prepared to answer for Liu Wen’s suspected role in the attack on the Three Towns’ Summer Grain.
• Liu Zhaoxue asked Yan Fusha to keep investigating Chen Yi and allowed her to test him again.
• Chen Yi learned that Xiao Yuan had confronted Liu Hong and forced him to apologize, then prepared holiday gifts with Xiao Wan'er.
• As Chen Yi and Xiao Wan'er traveled through Shuzhou, a hoarse voice remarked that the city was unchanged and recalled attending Xiao Jinghong’s wedding.

Chen Yi recognized a Poshushuo Kingdom man connected to the Xiao Family’s troubles, then helped Xiao Wan'er discuss the Medical Dao Academy and brought her to Guiyun Academy. There, a visiting youth disparaged Chen Yi’s calligraphy, and Mr. Yue Ming challenged him to judge another copybook.

• Chen Yi saw a Poshushuo Kingdom man pass in a carriage and suspected he was involved in controlling the previous owner and sabotaging the Xiao Family’s search for a son-in-law.
• Chen Yi praised Xiao Wan'er, told her that Hundred Herbs Hall would cooperate with the Xiao Family, and helped her review her plans for the Medical Dao Academy.
• Chen Yi and Xiao Wan'er arrived at Guiyun Academy with calligraphy copybooks for its new exhibition hall, where the students admired Xiao Wan'er and whispered about her illness.
• Mr. Yue Ming and the other academy gentlemen opened Chen Yi’s Wei Qing Style copybooks and praised their writing and inspirational sayings.
• Pei Zhaoye dismissed Chen Yi’s calligraphy as unimpressive, so Mr. Yue Ming challenged him to assess the copybook in his hand.

Chen Yi revealed his Perfection Realm Running Script to the scholars at Guiyun Academy, astonishing Pei Zhaoye, who had dismissed him. After returning home, Chen Yi learned the Liu Family’s settlement terms, while Lou Yuxue prepared to run a shop near the academy under an assumed identity.

• Chen Yi displayed his New Style Running Script, and Han Zhangping and the others praised its originality and Greater Achievement Realm.
• Xiao Wan'er proposed creating a Medical Dao exhibition hall, and Chen Yi agreed to help choose a site after Mid-Autumn Festival.
• Mr. Yue Ming and Mr. Zhuo Ying unveiled Chen Yi’s Perfection Realm calligraphy, stunning Pei Zhaoye, who then asked Chen Yi to teach him.
• Chen Yi refused Pei Zhaoye and left with Xiao Wan'er; Han Zhangping rebuked the boy for his arrogance.
• Xiao Wuge told Chen Yi that the Liu Family would replace grain and pay five hundred thousand taels, while the proposed marriage alliance would pair Liu Zhaoxue with Xiao Ziqi.
• Lou Yuxue discovered Cui Qingwu had arranged for her to hide in a shop near Guiyun Academy, so she decided to open a wonton business.

Chen Yi advanced his Blade Dao and encouraged Xiao Wan'er to establish a Medical Dao Academy, while the Xiao Family agreed to fund it and investigated whether Chen Yu was the healer who had saved them. In Shuzhou, public attention shifted from the grain-burning affair to Chen Yi's perfected Running Script, as Lou Yuxue sent a detailed report from Shuzhou to the Pavilion Master in Capital Prefecture.

• Chen Yi raised his Blade Dao to Great Accomplishment and planned to test it against Liu Lang, then encouraged Xiao Wan'er to pursue the Medical Dao Academy and consider serving as its dean if no Medical Saint Hand could be found.
• Xie Tingyun announced she would return to the Tianshan Sect before the Mid-Autumn Festival and bring disciples down the mountain for experience, giving Chen Yi time to practice martial arts away from her notice.
• Xiao Wan'er received the old master's approval and funding for the Medical Dao Academy, while he and Xiao Jing ordered an investigation into whether Chen Yu was the person who had saved him and discussed the Liu Family's next moves.
• Shuzhou residents heard that Chen Yi's Running Script had reached Perfection Realm and praised the poem Feelings After Rain, shifting attention away from the burned Summer Grain and the Barbarian Tribe.
• Lou Yuxue sent a coded report about the grain-burning affair, the Xiao and Liu Families, Shuzhou, and the Fledgling's calligraphy; two days later, a White Tiger Guard delivered it to the Pavilion Master in Capital Prefecture.

The White Robe Pavilion Master studied Chen Yi’s poem and ordered Ji Qing to investigate him while advancing a plan against the Xiao Family. In Shuzhou, Chen Yi learned of the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering and was pressed to attend, while Xiao Jinghong returned to the Wushan Mutual Market and decided to confront Granny Shan before going home.

• The White Robe Pavilion Master recreated Chen Yi’s poem, suspected his knowledge of the attack on the Three Towns, and ordered Ji Qing to investigate where Chen Yi had been that night.
• The White Robe Pavilion Master approved the General Star’s plan, dismissed concerns about the Liu Family, and ordered Ji Qing to portray the Xiao Family as complicit in Liu Wen’s death when reporting to His Majesty.
• Chen Yi heard from Xiao Die that his calligraphy had drawn crowds to Guiyun Academy and that scholars planned to challenge him at the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering.
• Chen Yunfan and Li Huaigu visited Chen Yi, discussed Li Huaigu’s delayed journey to Tiebi Town, and invited Chen Yi to the academy’s Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering; Chen Yi agreed to ask Mr. Yue Ming before deciding.
• Xiao Jinghong returned to the Wushan Mutual Market, learned that Pei Guanli had gone back to the Mountain Tribe, and decided to go there herself while asking Su Zhenyue to write to Chen Yi.

Xiao Wan'er developed a plan for a Medical Dao Academy while Chen Yi cultivated and followed an intelligence clue to Cloudside Wonton Shop. There, he recognized the disguised Hidden Guard Lou Yuxue, who offered him and Ma Guan free wontons.

• Xiao Wan'er worked late on her Medical Dao Academy proposal, then discussed the project with Chen Yi the next morning and learned the Second Branch was leaving the estate.
• Chen Yi cultivated his martial arts, received intelligence about a Hidden Guard collecting a Secret Letter at a wonton shop on Kanning Street, and decided to investigate.
• Chen Yi found Cloudside Wonton Shop near Guiyun Academy and met his student Ma Guan, who complained that its wontons were expensive and poor-tasting.
• Chen Yi recognized the shopkeeper as disguised White Tiger Guard Silver Banner Officer Lou Yuxue, who offered him and Ma Guan free wontons.
• Ma Guan hurriedly finished his bowl and told Lou Yuxue that the wontons were delicious, leaving Chen Yi baffled.

Chen Yi helped Lou Yuxue’s Cloudside Wonton Shop attract customers with Ma Guan’s calligraphy, then agreed to attend a Poetry Gathering and preside over Guiyun Academy’s exhibition hall. After delivering festival gifts with Xiao Wan’er, he said he planned to take Xiao Die to the Poetry Gathering, and Xiao Wan’er asked if she could come too.

• Chen Yi asked Ma Guan to write a calligraphic recommendation for Lou Yuxue’s wontons, drawing students and other customers into the shop.
• Lou Yuxue read Hidden Guard orders to investigate Chen Yi’s whereabouts on the night the Three Towns’ summer grain burned, contact King Landu, and watch Luanfeng.
• Chen Yi taught at Guiyun Academy, met a crowd of visitors with Mr. Yue Ming and Mr. Zhuo Ying, and agreed to attend the next evening’s Poetry Gathering and the exhibition hall opening.
• An unidentified man in a carriage saw Chen Yi and was shocked that he had survived after the man believed he had drowned in Quchi.
• Chen Yi and Xiao Wan’er delivered festival gifts around Shuzhou after learning Xiao Jinghong would not return before Mid-Autumn Festival.
• Chen Yi told Xiao Wan’er he planned to take Xiao Die to the Poetry Gathering, and Xiao Wan’er asked whether she could join them.

Chen Yi agreed to take Xiao Wan'er to Guiyun Academy's Mid-Autumn poetry gathering, then learned that Liu Zhaoxue's Xinglin Zhai faced a shortage of herbs and that Yan Fusha planned to abduct and question Chen Yi. After receiving a fortune hint about the gathering, Chen Yi went to train and crushed a surprise attacker, who turned out to be Xiao Wuge.

• Chen Yi reassured Xiao Wan'er about attending the poetry gathering and agreed to accompany her to the Fief after the festival to choose a site for the Medical Dao Academy.
• Chen Yi and Xiao Wan'er saw Liu Zhaoxue preparing to open Xinglin Zhai, and Xiao Wan'er explained that the Liu Family intended to expand the business across Shuzhou.
• Uncle Fu told Liu Zhaoxue that Hundred Herbs Hall had secured herb contracts worth two hundred thousand taels, so she ordered him to buy its tea drinks for the physicians to study.
• Yan Fusha told Liu Zhaoxue that Chen Yi had visited a painted boat without calling for girls and planned to capture him to investigate his background.
• Xiao Wuge eagerly questioned Chen Yi about the poetry gathering, and Chen Yi told him to stay with Xiao Wan'er and help ease her nerves.
• After midnight, Chen Yi received a fortune hint about the poetry gathering, went to the Purple Bamboo Grove to train, and knocked down a concealed attacker who begged him to stop as Brother-in-law.

Chen Yi learned that the Emperor had punished the Xiao and Liu families while granting Xiao Jinghong a treasured sword, then persuaded Xiao Wan'er to fund the Medical Dao Academy despite the Xiao household’s losses. As the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering approached, he asked Xiao Wan'er to play the qin and hinted that he had several fine tunes.

• Pei Guanli returned to Shuzhou, told Chen Yi how she had avoided Xiao Jinghong, and settled in the Wooden Tower before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
• Xiao Die and Pei Guanli shared mooncakes, while Chen Yi wrote four works for Xiao Jinghong and spent the morning at Chunhe Garden.
• Xiao Die told Chen Yi that the Emperor had docked Old Master’s salary, ordered a tenth of the Three Towns’ Summer Grain sent to the Capital Prefecture, and bestowed armor on him and a sword on Xiao Jinghong.
• Chen Yi examined Xiao Jinghong’s sword and persuaded Xiao Wan'er that the Xiao Family should use its tea-drink proceeds to build the Medical Dao Academy.
• Xiao Wan'er told Chen Yi that Provincial Governor Liu had also been punished, and Chen Yi asked her to play the qin before the Poetry Gathering.

Chen Yi learned Carefree Wanderer by playing it badly for Xiao Wan'er and the others, then spent Mid-Autumn lunch trading riddles as Xiao Wan'er remembered her family. In Wumeng Mountain, Xiao Jinghong learned that the Five Poisons Sect had returned and that White Immortal had left seclusion, while Granny Shan hinted at an old history with him.

• Xiao Wan'er played Carefree Wanderer, and Chen Yi copied her techniques before reluctantly performing the piece himself and learning it at Initial Glimpse.
• Chen Yi joked with Pei Guanli and Xiao Wuge over riddles during lunch, while Xiao Wan'er remembered her father and wished for Xiao Jinghong's safety.
• Xiao Jinghong visited Granny Shan and asked about Pei Guanli's letter; Granny Shan explained that Liu Lang had delivered it and shared news from the martial world.
• Xiao Jinghong read that the Five Poisons Sect had returned to the martial world and that White Immortal had left the Wind and Rain Tower, and she vowed to resist threats to Shuzhou.
• Granny Shan warned Xiao Jinghong that her revealed Sword Saint lineage could draw the martial world's old grudges, then discussed White Immortal's likely return and their past dealings.

Xiao Jinghong discussed the Wushan Mutual Market and the dangers posed by White Immortal with Granny Shan, then stayed in Wushan for Mid-Autumn Festival instead of returning to Chen Yi. In Shuzhou City, Chen Yi and his companions arrived at Guiyun Academy, where Xiao Wan'er refused Liu Zhaoxue's attempt to preserve their personal relationship, and Yan Fusha asked to test Xiao Wuge.

• Granny Shan warned Xiao Jinghong to avoid White Immortal and discussed the Mutual Market, while offering support if the Xiao Family faced trouble there.
• Xiao Jinghong agreed to stay with Granny Shan for Mid-Autumn Festival and silently apologized to Chen Yi for breaking her promise to return home.
• Chen Yunfan and Cui Qingwu arrived at Guiyun Academy amid gossip about Chen Yunfan's reputation and the Liu Family's recent disgrace.
• Chen Yi arrived at Guiyun Academy with Xiao Wan'er, Xiao Wuge, and their companions, and Ma Guan led them toward the headmaster.
• Liu Zhaoxue apologized to Xiao Wan'er for her Second Brother's actions and asked to preserve their relationship, but Xiao Wan'er refused and Chen Yi led their group away.
• Yan Fusha revealed his killing intent and asked Liu Zhaoxue to let him test Xiao Wuge.

Liu Hong confronted Liu Zhaoxue over her role in Liu Wen’s death and warned her to leave Shuzhou, but she resolved to continue her plans. At the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering, Chen Yi received a letter from Master Juyi and went to look for Pei Guanli after she left the study hall.

• Yan Fusha ordered two disguised men to follow Liu Zhaoxue, then planned to use Granny Shan’s granddaughter to pursue the Five Poisons Sect’s feud with the Mountain Tribe.
• Liu Hong showed Liu Zhaoxue Chen Yi’s calligraphy and revealed that he knew she had maneuvered Liu Wen toward danger at Fengchun Tower; he told her to return to Jingzhou.
• Chen Yi collected a letter addressed to him from Master Juyi and joined the Poetry Gathering with Xiao Wan'er and the others.
• Chen Yunfan and Pei Zhaoye argued with other scholars as the gathering began and Mr. Yue Ming set the bright moon and Mid-Autumn Festival as the poetry topic.
• After learning Pei Guanli had left for the latrine, Chen Yi went to look for her.

Chen Yi followed a Five Poisons Sect agent away from Guiyun Academy after the man threatened Pei Guanli, leaving Chen Yunfan to protect Xiao Wan'er and Xiao Wuge. On a pleasure boat, the agent offered Chen Yi two bottles of poison and promised an antidote within three days if he survived; Chen Yi drank one bottle.

• Liu Si pressed Mr. Yue Ming to have Chen Yi display his calligraphy, while Fang Sifeng challenged Guiyun Academy’s claim that Chen Yi could teach the Way of Calligraphy.
• When Pei Guanli disappeared, Chen Yi suspected the Five Poisons Sect had taken her and followed a black-robed scholar who threatened her life.
• Chen Yi told a student to ask Chen Yunfan to protect Xiao Wan'er and Xiao Wuge, then left the poetry gathering with the scholar.
• The scholar led Chen Yi to a pleasure boat and explained that he wanted Chen Yi to take part in a staged plan, beginning at the poetry gathering.
• The scholar presented Chen Yi with two bottles of medicine, one fatal and one that would keep him alive for three days, and promised an antidote if he survived; Chen Yi drank from a bottle.

Chen Yi endured Yan Fusha’s tests aboard the painted boat, using the Qi Gazing Technique to correctly predict that the centipede would survive the poison urn. Yan Fusha revealed Pei Guanli as his captive and made Chen Yi’s chance to see her depend on writing a poem that could suppress Shuzhou’s Poetry Gatherings; Chen Yi began composing one as the chapter ended.

• Yan Fusha told Chen Yi that he had passed the first test and would receive the antidote within three days, then presented him with a choice between two venomous creatures.
• Chen Yi used his Qi Gazing Technique to inspect the black snake and centipede, chose the centipede, and watched it survive their fight.
• Yan Fusha pinned the surviving centipede with a Silver Needle, then revealed Pei Guanli bound and captive on a distant painted boat.
• Yan Fusha offered Chen Yi a chance to meet Pei Guanli if his poem could suppress the Poetry Gatherings across the city, and had her awakened to witness the challenge.
• Chen Yi prepared his brush and began writing, “When did the bright moon first appear? I raise my cup and ask the blue heavens...”

Chen Yi’s lyric, “Shuidiao Getou: When Did the Bright Moon First Appear,” conjured an immortal realm above Quchi and won Guiyun Academy’s poetry gathering. Meanwhile, Yan Fusha abducted Chen Yi and Pei Guanli, but Chen Yi secretly purged the poison, incapacitated Yan Fusha’s men, and confronted the Five Poisons Sect elder as Pei Guanli joined him.

• Chen Yi wrote a lyric that manifested a moonlit immortal realm over Quchi, astounding the crowds and unsettling Yan Fusha, who took the calligraphy copybook and ordered his men to sail north.
• Lou Yuxue sent word to Guiyun Academy about Chen Yi’s departure, while the gathering continued and its judges debated the poetry champion.
• After scholars reported Chen Yi’s lyric, the judges named him the poetry champion; Liu Zhaoxue worried that Yan Fusha’s encounter with him would expose the Five Poisons Sect.
• Cui Qingwu learned that Fledgling had apparently been abducted, and Chen Yunfan left the gathering to find him and defend someone from the Chen Family.
• On the Chishui River, Chen Yi secretly used an earring pin to purge the poison from his body while Yan Fusha revealed his intent to kill Chen Yi and Pei Guanli.
• Yan Fusha discovered Pei Guanli on a nearby boat and attacked, but Chen Yi incapacitated the other black-clad men with poison; Pei Guanli rushed to help, and Yan Fusha demanded to know whether Chen Yi had known his sect’s identity all along.

Chen Yi fought Yan Fusha, an elder of the Five Poisons Sect, and revealed his exceptional skill in several disciplines while trying to survive the stronger opponent. Chen Yi gained the advantage with his spear, but Yan Fusha swallowed a mysterious drug that more than doubled his strength.

• Chen Yi fought off Yan Fusha’s attacks with his Great Accomplishment Fist Dao and movement techniques, while Yan Fusha realized Chen Yi’s talent and vowed to kill him.
• Yan Fusha’s assault destroyed the painted boat and drove Chen Yi onto the shore, where Chen Yi cleared venomous Baleful Intent from his poisoned shoulder.
• Yan Fusha’s hidden black snake struck Chen Yi, but the Five-Fold Spear blocked the attack, prompting Chen Yi to reveal his Spear Dao.
• Chen Yi’s Dragon Falling Spear Art pierced the black snake and tore through Yan Fusha’s protective True Qi, wounding him and turning the fight in Chen Yi’s favor.
• Yan Fusha swallowed a medicine bottle, causing his aura to surge to more than twice its former strength.

Chen Yi killed Yan Fusha during a desperate fight and unexpectedly reached perfection in the Spear Dao. Pei Guanli helped him recover, while Chen Yunfan witnessed the fight and began piecing together Chen Yi’s hidden abilities and past schemes.

• Chen Yi fought Yan Fusha while wounded and poisoned, dodging his attacks as Pei Guanli watched anxiously from the pleasure boat.
• Chen Yi unleashed Falling Dragon, killed Yan Fusha, and received confirmation that his Spear Dao had reached perfection.
• Chen Yi collapsed from his injuries, and Pei Guanli fed him antidote before he reassured her that he would recover.
• Chen Yi told Pei Guanli to conceal the night’s events from Wan’er and treated his injuries with Using Qi to Control Needles.
• Chen Yunfan watched from a nearby tree, realized Chen Yi was a Medical Saint Hand as well as a martial and calligraphy prodigy, and suspected Chen Yi had been behind earlier incidents involving him.