Chapter Summaries

Chen Yi suspected Jia Xingzhi was plotting against Chen Xuanji, bought a fishing rod, and set the White Tiger Guard to investigate Jizhou Trading Company spies and spread information about the Qinghe Cui Family. That night, Liu Lang learned Zhao Wenjing had been murdered and rushed toward Chunyu Tower, fearing Chen Yi's young companion might be responsible.

• Chen Yi overheard Jia Xingzhi and Zhao Wenjing discussing a plan and suspected Chen Xuanji was their target, then bought an expensive fishing rod and helped Xiao Wuge choose a short sword.
• Chen Yi secretly delivered registers of Jizhou Trading Company spies to General Star and asked him to pass one with a letter to Provincial Governor Yang Ye.
• Chen Yi urged General Star to spread news about the Qinghe Cui Family's ties to the Barbarian Tribe and Poshir, and warned him to investigate unfamiliar traveling merchants.
• Xiao Wuge asked Chen Yi to persuade Xiao Jinghong to teach him swordsmanship, and Chen Yi agreed to help.
• Liu Lang waited outside Chunyu Tower while tailing Zhao Yi, then heard that Zhao Wenjing had been murdered and hurried to investigate, worried Chen Yi's young companion had killed him.

Zhao Yi killed Zhao Wenjing and left a clue that implicated Dragon Tiger, prompting officials to begin an investigation. Chen Yi and his companions arrived at the residence, where Chen Yi acknowledged that Zhao Wenjing had died because of him.

• Zhao Wenjing recorded his day's reflections, then Zhao Yi attacked him in his study and killed him.
• Liu Lang rushed toward Chunyu Tower after hearing of Zhao Wenjing's death, but turned back after sensing a powerful presence there.
• Fang Hongxiu and Han Ruixuan examined Zhao Wenjing's body and found a clue reading “Dragon Tiger,” while Tang Zixin prepared to report the killing.
• Fang Hongxiu and Han Ruixuan agreed to investigate the clues and consider contacting Dragon Tiger separately.
• Liu Lang arrived at the Zhao residence with Chen Yi, who said Zhao Wenjing had indeed died because of him.

Chen Yi and his companions discussed Gu Beichen’s history with Chu Xiudao and realized the Bright Moon Tower may have sent Liu Lang to Shuzhou to provoke a conflict with the Xiao Family. Chen Yi then tracked Zhao Yi to the South City Gate and confronted him over leaving the words “Dragon Tiger” at Zhao Wenjing’s death scene.

• Chen Yi revealed that he had sent Zhao Yi to assassinate Zhao Wenjing, and Liu Lang and Chu Xiudao learned that the Jizhou Trading Company was behind Zhao Wenjing.
• Chu Xiudao recounted how Gu Beichen rebuilt the Bright Moon Tower after orthodox sects destroyed most of it, and explained his old friendship with Gu Beichen.
• Chen Yi suggested that the Bright Moon Tower may have sent Liu Lang to Shuzhou hoping his death would turn Chu Xiudao against the Xiao Family, and Liu Lang and Chu Xiudao realized they might have been manipulated.
• Chen Yi left to listen in on Zhao Yi at Chunyu Tower and concluded that Zhao Yi was the remaining person he could use to warn those with sinister intentions outside Shuzhou.
• Chen Yi summoned Zhao Yi to the South City Gate, where he confronted him about leaving the words “Dragon Tiger” beside Zhao Wenjing; Zhao Yi was surprised and denied knowing about it.

Chen Yi convinced Zhao Yi that the Jizhou Trading Company was working with the White Tiger Guard and the Xiao Family to steer the emperor toward a campaign against the Barbarian Tribe. After recruiting Zhao Yi and assigning him to obstruct Cui Qingwu’s monument project by persuading the Xiao Family to erect one first, Chen Yi handed him a fake trading-company token.

• Chen Yi accepted Zhao Yi’s pledge after Zhao Wenjing’s death, then told him the company could help him recover and profit from his investment.
• Chen Yi revealed that the Jizhou Trading Company, White Tiger Guard, and Xiao Family aimed to influence the emperor to campaign against the Barbarian Tribe rather than Northern Mang.
• Zhao Yi offered to attack the Cui Family, but Chen Yi warned him not to target them yet and explained that Chen Xuanji might become their opponent.
• Chen Yi listed four tasks for Zhao Yi, who ruled out investigating Xiao Fengchun, selling goods in Poshushuo, and tracking Chen Xuanji.
• Chen Yi assigned Zhao Yi to thwart Cui Qingwu’s monument plan by persuading the Xiao Family to erect a monument first.
• Chen Yi gave Zhao Yi a plain wooden plaque and falsely presented it as the Jizhou Trading Company’s Worry-Free Plaque.

Chen Yi tested Yuan Liu'er in a series of medical trials, teaching her to make difficult choices when treating patients and to apply her skills with restraint. After she passed, Chen Yi received intelligence that Jia Xingzhi would meet Chen Zhitang in Antian Village that night.

• Chen Yi visited the Dragon Field Academy and drew Yuan Liu'er into an illusion to test her medical abilities as a military physician.
• Yuan Liu'er initially focused on treating one gravely wounded soldier and failed to save others, then asked Chen Yi for another test.
• Yuan Liu'er changed her approach, prioritizing life-threatening injuries, and treated all the wounded in the second trial without losing anyone.
• Chen Yi put Yuan Liu'er through further trials involving poison, epidemics, and difficult illnesses, then advised her to learn when to save, kill, and hold back.
• Chen Yi received intelligence that Jia Xingzhi would meet Chen Zhitang in Antian Village during the hour of the pig and tried to recall where he had heard the name.

After learning that Chen Zhitang had arrived in Shuzhou, Chen Yi sought help from the White Tiger Guard and used divination to assess Xiao Fengchun and Chen Xuanji. Meanwhile, officials gathered at the Xiao Family over Zhao Wenjing’s murder, and Elder Master Xiao challenged the Provincial Governor’s reliance on Zhao’s final words.

• Chen Yi recognized Chen Zhitang as an Earthly Immortal and secretly asked General Star to send for help from False Tiger.
• Chen Yi’s repeated divinations gave Xiao Fengchun the worst omen, while a later reading warned that Chen Xuanji’s fate depended on whether his heart was upright.
• Chen Yi painted a figure resembling Chen Xuanji and decided to visit him the next day to test his intentions.
• Chen Yunfan and Li Huaigu discussed Zhao Wenjing’s murder at the Xiao Family, and Chen Yunfan suggested that Zhao may have provoked Dragon Tiger.
• Elder Master Xiao told Chen Yunfan to reassure Li Fu, then questioned whether Zhao Wenjing’s blood-written words, “Dragon Tiger,” could prove anything.

Elder Master Xiao sent Lu Guan to buy supplies for Wumeng Mountain while refusing visitors, and Chen Yi discussed Zhao Wenjing’s murder and the suspicion surrounding Dragon Tiger with Chen Yunfan and Li Huaigu. The chapter ended with Chen Yi learning that Cui Qingwu planned to erect a monument to Shuzhou’s heroic forebears and wondering what role she had played.

• Elder Master Xiao told Li Huaigu to report that Shuzhou would remain stable, then ordered Lu Guan to take men to Wushan Mutual Market and deliver supplies to Wumeng Mountain.
• Lu Guan turned away Zhao Yi’s messenger, while Xiao Jing secretly followed him.
• Chen Yunfan and Li Huaigu visited Chen Yi, who showed off A Touch of Cold Plum as he fished; they told him Zhao Wenjing had been murdered and Dragon Tiger was suspected.
• Li Huaigu left after warning that the city was dangerous, and Chen Yunfan told Chen Yi that their father would arrive in Shuzhou in five or six days and that their mother had sent him a message.
• Chen Yi asked about Chen Yunfan and Cui Qingwu, then told him she intended to erect a monument to Shuzhou’s heroic forebears; Chen Yunfan was surprised and said he would ask her about it.

Chen Yi learned that Li Wudang had arrived in Shuzhou after saving Xiao Jinghong from a Great Grandmaster’s attack, and he considered how Li’s presence could affect his plans. Meanwhile, rumors linking the Qinghe Cui Family and the Jizhou Trading Company to the Barbarian Tribe spread through the city, leaving Cui Qingwu furious and Jia Xingzhi searching for the source.

• Chen Yunfan left Xiao Manor after telling Chen Yi to attend to his own affairs, and Chen Yi noticed Zhao Yi waiting outside for an audience with Elder Master Xiao.
• Chen Yi accompanied Xiao Wan'er to buy winter supplies, listened as she recalled Xiao Jinghong leaving Shuzhou with Li Wudang, and reassured her that he valued his life.
• At Yingchun Tower, Chen Yi heard that Li Wudang had saved Xiao Jinghong from a Great Grandmaster at Mengshui Pass and killed two Barbarian Tribe experts after confronting the Great Asa.
• Chen Yi returned to Chunhe Garden and considered using Li Wudang's presence to deal with Willow-Folding Sword Chen Zhitang, while city rumors about Zhao Wenjing's death and the Cui Family's alleged dealings with the Barbarian Tribe spread.
• Cui Qingwu ordered Huan'er to investigate the rumors, while Jia Xingzhi suspected Song Jin Jian had exposed the Cui Family's ties to the Jizhou Trading Company and prepared countermeasures.
• Jia Xingzhi saw Lord Chen approaching and stopped to greet him.

Chen Yunfan confronted Cui Qingwu about rumors targeting the Cui Family and urged her to return to Qinghe, while Jia Xingzhi secretly left Shuzhou. At Xiao Manor, Elder Master Xiao learned that a memorial stele bearing Xiao Fengchun’s name was being planned and blamed the Cui Family.

• Chen Yunfan asked Cui Qingwu about the rumors and learned that Jia Xingzhi had proposed erecting a monument to Shuzhou’s fallen forebears.
• Chen Yunfan warned Cui Qingwu that the rumors could make her a target and advised her to return to Qinghe after the monument matter was settled.
• Jia Xingzhi overheard them and ordered a carriage prepared, then left the city.
• Xiao Jing reported to Elder Master Xiao that Lu Guan’s group had left the Prefectural City and that eight spies had been caught.
• Elder Master Xiao visited Xiao Fengchun in a secret chamber and warned him that rumors and scrutiny from the capital could force him and Wanqing to reveal themselves.
• Elder Master Xiao told Xiao Fengchun that the Cui Family was considering a memorial stele bearing his name, prompting Xiao Fengchun to condemn them.

Elder Master Xiao and Xiao Fengchun agreed that the Xiao Family would erect a monument honoring Shuzhou’s forebears, and discussed the family’s future and its debts to Chen Yu. Later, Chen Yi used painted figures to spy on Jia Xingzhi’s meeting with "Willow-Folding Sword" Chen Zhitang, but one figure was discovered and trapped by sword intent.

• Elder Master Xiao told Xiao Fengchun that he would erect the monument without naming individuals, preventing the Cui Family from interfering with their plans.
• Elder Master Xiao and Xiao Fengchun discussed Xiao Jinghong and Chen Yi, Xiao Wan’er’s possible marriage, and the Xiao Family’s need to prepare for Wu Ge’s departure north.
• Chen Yi visited the Tailor Shop and told General Star to inform False Tiger that two Earthly Immortals had come to Shuzhou.
• Chen Yi used two black-clad figures created from paintings to search for Jia Xingzhi’s meeting near Antian Village.
• Chen Zhitang sensed one painted figure approaching his courtyard, struck its path with sword intent, and trapped it in a cage of sword intent.

Chen Yi used a Figure in the Painting to spy on Chen Zhitang and Jia Xingzhi as they discussed a plot against Chen Yu and Chen Xuanji. Chen Zhitang agreed to kill Chen Xuanji, but discovered Chen Yi’s figure was a clone, leaving Chen Yi to weigh whether Chen Xuanji could be protected.

• Chen Zhitang told Jia Xingzhi she would not kill Chen Yu because the White Immortal had chosen him as a successor for the Central Plains.
• Chen Zhitang agreed to kill Chen Xuanji as repayment for the Cui Family’s past help, and told Jia Xingzhi their ties would end afterward.
• After Jia Xingzhi left, Chen Zhitang tried to share wine with the Figure in the Painting and realized it was a clone controlled by someone elsewhere.
• Chen Zhitang warned Chen Yi not to interfere with her plan, and Chen Yi maintained that Chen Xuanji could be killed.
• Chen Yi considered that False Tiger, as deputy Pavilion Master of the White Tiger Guard, would likely protect Chen Xuanji.

Chen Zhitang confronted Chen Yi’s Painting Dao avatar, then reunited with her old companion Chen Xuanji, who revealed himself and discussed their past. Chen Xuanji told her to carry out the Cui Family’s order to kill him so that certain people would reveal themselves.

• Chen Zhitang chose not to kill Chen Yi’s avatar, and he left after discussing his desire for a peaceful, idle life.
• Chen Zhitang realized the vanished figure had been created through the Painting Dao and complained about heaven-blessed geniuses.
• Chen Xuanji appeared, revealed his identity, and reminded Chen Zhitang of their old bet; she reluctantly called him big brother and wished him good fortune.
• Chen Zhitang explained that the Cui Family had saved her and asked her to kill Chen Xuanji, and he told her to go through with it to draw certain people out.

Chen Xuanji met Chen Zhitang, who learned he had returned from the Western Buddhist Kingdom and that Black and White was in Capital Prefecture, while Chen Yi watched from afar and divined that Chen Xuanji would survive his coming troubles. Three days later, Shuzhou had fallen quiet, and Zhao Yi and Jia Xingzhi waited outside the Xiao Family estate, each seeking an audience with Elder Master Xiao.

• Chen Xuanji told Chen Zhitang he would return after the Cui Family matter and revealed that Black and White was in Capital Prefecture before leaving.
• Chen Yi suspected the departing earthly immortal was False Tiger, divined that Chen Xuanji's life was safe, and received the Willow-Folding Sword Technique as a reward for witnessing Jia Xingzhi and Chen Zhitang discuss Chen Xuanji's assassination.
• Chen Yi cultivated the Four Symbols Technique, using Vermilion Bird and Mysterious Turtle spirits to strengthen his mind and body, though his greater capacity for true essence delayed his breakthrough.
• Three days later, Shuzhou's streets had quieted, and rumors about the Qinghe Cui Family's collusion with the Barbarian Tribe and Poshushuo Kingdom had disappeared from public discussion.
• Zhao Yi continued waiting outside the Xiao Family estate after repeated failed attempts to meet Elder Master Xiao, while Jia Xingzhi arrived to seek an audience after covering up rumors and seeing no progress in Zhao Wenjing's death investigation.
• Jia Xingzhi pondered why nothing had gone smoothly in Shuzhou after Cui Qingwu ordered him to present a visit card to Elder Master Xiao over his plan to erect the Shuzhou Stele.

Zhao Yi disguised himself as a Xiao Manor servant and bribed Xiao Shen to arrange a meeting with Elder Master Xiao, hoping to undermine Cui Qingwu’s plan to erect a monument in Shuzhou. Elder Master Xiao refused to let either Zhao Yi or Cui Qingwu lead the project, and Chen Yi later secretly summoned Zhao Yi to the Chishui River that night.

• Jia Xingzhi left Xiao Manor after delivering his visiting card, while Zhao Yi followed a servant, bought his clothes, and entered the manor in disguise.
• Zhao Yi convinced Xiao Shen to arrange a meeting with Elder Master Xiao by offering him a thousand taels in silver notes.
• Zhao Yi told Elder Master Xiao he wanted to contribute to the monument for Shuzhou’s fallen, but Elder Master Xiao insisted that he would lead the project himself.
• Zhao Yi left disappointed that Elder Master Xiao had rejected his offer, though he was satisfied that Cui Qingwu would not succeed either.
• After Zhao Yi left the manor, Chen Yi secretly told him to meet at the west bank of the Chishui River at the hour of the Pig.

Chen Yi returned to Guiyun Academy, taught the Way of Calligraphy, and visited Jishi Pharmacy before overhearing a royal order for Li Huaigu to investigate the Dingyuan Army’s Three Towns. The chapter ended with Chen Yi wondering what His Majesty was planning.

• Zhao Yi received Chen Yi’s invitation to meet at the western bank of the Chishui River at the hour of Hai and agreed.
• Chen Yi returned to Guiyun Academy, where visitors crowded around him, and taught his students about the spirit and essence of calligraphy.
• Chen Yi visited Jishi Pharmacy, rewarded its staff, and learned that business had shifted toward selling Tea Drinks since Ma Liangcai and Yuan Liu'er left for Dragon Field Academy.
• Chen Yi overheard a messenger deliver His Majesty’s oral decree ordering Li Huaigu to familiarize himself with the Dingyuan Army’s Three Towns.
• Chen Yi wondered why His Majesty had ordered Li Huaigu to investigate the garrison towns.

Chen Yi ordered Zhao Yi to target Jia Xingzhi before Chen Xuanji arrived in Shuzhou, while he arranged surveillance on Li Huaigu and further moves with General Star. Jia Xingzhi received a warning about an impending assassination and began to suspect both the would-be killer and the messenger.

• Chen Yi deduced that His Majesty had secretly assigned Li Huaigu to investigate the Dingyuan Army, adding another hidden move to Shuzhou’s political struggle.
• Zhao Yi told Chen Yi that Old Marquis Xiao had rejected his proposal, and Chen Yi then tasked Zhao Yi with killing or capturing Jia Xingzhi, a trusted Cui Family man who controlled its finances.
• Chen Yi explained that Jia Xingzhi should be dealt with before Chen Xuanji arrived to purge Shuzhou’s aristocratic families, and Zhao Yi accepted the assignment.
• Chen Yi asked General Star to watch Li Huaigu and continue spreading a rumor, while also reporting that he had sent Yang Ye a register for the Judicial Department.
• Chen Yi delivered a warning to Yunqing Tower, prompting a young waiter to carry it to Tingyu Pavilion, where Jia Xingzhi learned someone planned to assassinate him and began questioning the messenger’s motives.

Chen Yi broke through to the Second Grade and strengthened his body, then spent the morning at Chunhe Garden while waiting to see how Jia Xingzhi and Zhao Yi responded to his plans. A letter from Chen Xuanji said she would arrive in Shuzhou in a few days, and Chen Yi learned Xiao Jinghong was expected to return as well.

• Chen Yi cultivated through the night, broke through to the Second Grade · Lower Stage, and expanded the world within his Chess Dao Illusion Realm.
• Chen Yi discovered that his body had grown much stronger and credited the Barbarian Tribe's Spirit Fusion Method.
• Chen Yi greeted Wang Lixing, Xiao Wuge, Xiao Die, and Pei Guanli, then heard that Grandpa Xiao planned to hold an ancestral ceremony next month.
• Chen Yi fished in the pond with A Touch of Cold Plum and playfully tangled with the golden-haired carp.
• Shen Huatang delivered a letter from Chen Xuanji, and Chen Yi learned she would arrive in Shuzhou in a few days, with Xiao Jinghong expected to return too.

Xiao Jinghong reported on the Barbarian Tribe’s conflict, then trained under Li Wudang as she worked toward a breakthrough and repaired flaws in her Sword Dao. Meanwhile, Xiao Fengchun prepared to meet Chen Xuanji and strengthen the Xiao Family’s position against the Qinghe Cui Family, while Liu Lang heard that the Judicial Department planned to arrest “Dragon Tiger.”

• Xiao Jinghong wrote a memorial describing the Barbarian Tribe’s internal conflict and predicted it would end within two years, then visited Li Wudang to discuss her cultivation and Sword Dao.
• Li Wudang guided Xiao Jinghong through basic sword practice, pointing out that worldly concerns had weakened her state of mind and left flaws in her Sword Dao.
• Li Wudang observed Xiao Fengchun and Dingyuan Army soldiers guarding a hidden cave, where Xiao Fengchun arranged to meet Chen Xuanji and ordered his men to monitor the Qinghe Cui Family.
• Li Wudang judged that Xiao Fengchun’s forces could not defeat the Qinghe Cui Family’s Earthly Immortals without Xiao Jinghong becoming stronger or gaining a powerful ally.
• As a storm drove people into shelters across Shuzhou, Liu Lang overheard someone say that the Judicial Department was coming to arrest “Dragon Tiger.”

Liu Lang escorted Wang Ji to Xiao Manor with the Xiao Family’s share of Hundred Herbs Hall’s proceeds, where Chen Yi warned Wang Ji not to worry about the Judicial Department or Jia Xingzhi. Chen Yi then returned his attention to Yunqing Tower, waiting to see whether Jia Xingzhi or Zhao Yi would act first.

• Liu Lang silenced people speculating about the Judicial Department arresting Dragon Tiger, then agreed to protect Wang Ji on the journey to Xiao Manor with more than two hundred thousand taels.
• At Xiao Manor, Liu Lang waited in Jiaxing Garden and traded barbs with Xie Tingyun before Chen Yi summoned Wang Ji to his study.
• Liu Lang felt an inexplicable threat from Chen Yi’s gaze, and Chen Yi secretly told him to return to Hundred Herbs Hall and wait for an assignment.
• In the Chess Dao Illusion Realm, Wang Ji told Chen Yi he feared Jia Xingzhi was stirring up trouble; Chen Yi confirmed someone was acting behind the scenes and told him to do nothing.
• After Wang Ji and Liu Lang left, Chen Yi sent his Figure in the Painting back to feign sleep and kept watch on Yunqing Tower, wondering whether Jia Xingzhi or Zhao Yi would make the first move.

Chen Yi arranged for Liu Lang to place four scrolls around Shuzhou while Jia Xingzhi prepared to capture the assassin targeting him. Zhao Yi went to attack Jia Xingzhi at Yunqing Tower, unaware that Chen Yi had already subdued the guard watching nearby.

• Chen Yi reasoned that Xiao Fengchun would be needed to stabilize Shuzhou and waited for Liu Lang at the hidden residence.
• Liu Lang returned, and Chen Yi gave him four scrolls to place at specific locations after learning that Chu Xiudao had entered seclusion.
• Jia Xingzhi gathered his experts at Yunqing Tower and ordered them to capture the assassin alive.
• Zhao Yi questioned two beggar children, learned that a powerful guard was among Jia Xingzhi's party, and searched nearby before approaching Yunqing Tower.
• Chen Yi and the old guard watched Zhao Yi enter Yunqing Tower, and Chen Yi ordered the old man to stay put if he wanted to live.