Chapter Summaries

Tang Qi and Wendy fought over the key to the Red Scarf Gang’s hoard, with their companions joining the battle in the maze. As the fight left both sides badly injured, a distant sound of waves made Wendy question what Tang Qi had done.

• Tang Qi explained how he had endured the maze’s monsters and traps while Wendy had only needed to bring the key, then demanded that she surrender it.
• Wendy refused to abandon her promise to share the treasure with her companions, and the two sides agreed to settle the dispute in battle.
• Gravel, Dawn, Xingchen, Rumi, Wendy, Kuru, and Hope fought amid fog, wind, spells, and insults; Wendy knocked Kuru unconscious, while Tang Qi wounded Rumi with Silver Tongue.
• Xingchen’s Fireball was countered and then detonated by Dawn’s Supreme Holy Slash, leaving Dawn severely injured and Tang Qi singed.
• Tang Qi insisted the fight continue, then told Wendy to listen as the sound of waves rose from deeper in the maze.

Tang Qi used the maze’s connection to the Underground Sea to flood the corridors and gain the advantage over Wendy’s group. After Stella Starlight vanished, the groups called a truce and Tang Qi prepared to open the treasure vault with Hope.

• Tang Qi explained that Yiwu had chewed through the crystal wall, connecting the maze to the Underground Sea and raising the water level.
• Wendy and Dawn fought Tang Qi while Xingchen and Hope used spells to hinder him and the others.
• Tang Qi recognized Xingchen as Stella Starlight, who used Suggestion Spell to tell him to keep what he needed, let Yiwu eat the rest of the treasure, and cover for her at the Mage Academy.
• Stella disappeared in white mist, and Gravel broke free of Hope’s darkness spell as the rising water submerged the maze.
• Wendy returned the stone tablet and led her group toward the fifth floor, taking the unconscious Kuru with them.
• Tang Qi helped the badly injured Hope stand and asked if she was ready to open the treasure vault.

Tang Qi, Hope, and Dawn escaped the flooded maze through an underwater passage, and Tang Qi saved Hope when her breathing potion wore off. In a cavern beyond the Underground Sea, they began dividing the treasure, and Hope found the scabbard they had sought.

• Tang Qi led Hope and Dawn away from the Red Scarf Gang by swimming through a breach toward the Underground Sea.
• Hope's Underwater Breathing Potion wore off, and Tang Qi shared the Manta Ray Cloak's oxygen with her until they reached the surface.
• Tang Qi and Hope climbed onto a cavern shore with Dawn's help, then dried off and prepared to split the loot.
• Tang Qi identified several magic items among the treasure, including illusionary armor, a Magic Missile Wand, a Shivering Lyre, and fire-resistant plate armor.
• Tang Qi found a birthday letter addressed to Wendy and set it aside to return to her.
• Hope found the scabbard in one of the chests.

Tang Qi and Hope shared the Dragon Hoard’s treasures, and Yiwu’s magical meal revealed new effects and a possible growth boost. After Yiwu’s Charm Potion mist affected Tang Qi, Hope questioned why he had saved her, leaving their uneasy partnership shaped by her belief that every kindness was a transaction.

• Hope explained Valenne’s reputation as the only god still performing miracles, while she and Tang Qi agreed that she would keep the Saint’s Sword Sheath and he would take the other treasure.
• Tang Qi fed unwanted magical items to Yiwu, whose Shivering Lyre shriek frightened Hope and whose growth seemed to accelerate after eating the items.
• Dawn recognized the sheath as familiar and hesitated over it, while Tang Qi wondered whether it was connected to the Sword of Dawn.
• Tang Qi realized Xingchen’s Suggestion Spell had prompted him to feed Yiwu and resolved to ask her about the dragon and its growth.
• Over a farewell meal, Hope asked why Tang Qi had saved her and told him a fairy tale that explained her belief that kindness always came with a price.
• Tang Qi revealed that Yiwu had swallowed a Charm Potion and sprayed its mist into his face, making him avoid looking at Hope.

Tang Qi escaped the dungeon through the Underground Sea, returned to the Golden Oak, and reunited with Little Beard and Little Rascal. Hope left with the Saint's Sword Sheath, and Tang Qi discovered that she had lied about her name and their contract never took effect.

• Hope initiated an intimate encounter with Tang Qi, then vanished in a burst of fire after drawing a magic circle; Dawn warned that Hope had a fiendish patron.
• Tang Qi outfitted himself and Dawn with new gear, then swam through the Underground Sea and found a route out to the Inner Sea.
• Tang Qi returned to the Golden Oak after twenty days and began writing about his escape in his Guide and Journal.
• Little Beard and Little Rascal visited Tang Qi, and Little Rascal returned a blade bearing the name Hope Valentina.
• Tang Qi tore up the Fair Contract after realizing Hope had used a false name, while Hope dispelled the illusion on the Saint's Sword Sheath and wondered whether she would see Tang Qi again.

Tang Qi learned that Dragon Gold City had sealed Deepwell and its sewers after corpses began reanimating, and discovered Kuru and Gravel were still trapped inside. Meanwhile, Catherine wrestled with her feelings for Tang Qi, and Geya attended a Poet Academy meeting where Ulasang demanded to know who had copied and spread the Stone of Oblivion’s contents.

• Little Beard told Tang Qi that the Lionheart Lord had sealed Deepwell and Dragon Gold City’s sewers after investigators traced reanimated corpses to the dungeon.
• Tang Qi realized Kuru and Gravel had not returned from Deepwell, then warned Catherine that Anbi’s beastkin symptoms were worsening before Catherine pressed him about his affair.
• Geya recalled that Ulasang had mistakenly believed Tang Qi Weinberg was dead and that she had delivered the news to Moonlight Castle.
• Bruto joined Geya at the Poet Academy’s meeting, where Ulasang warned students not to discuss the Stone of Oblivion’s contents.
• Ulasang asked the poets who had copied the Stone’s contents and spread them through the academy, leaving Geya to suspect Bruto had undertaken it.

Geya watched Bruto and his fellow poets defy the Poet Academy’s repression, while Headmaster Ulasang used magical tools to investigate who had copied the Stone of Oblivion. After Bruto and Houston were seized, Geya found a new diary entry on the stone suggesting Tang Qi might still be alive.

• Bruto told Geya he had organized poets to rebel against the academy’s censorship, and she refused to join while warning him that Ulasang was giving the culprit a chance to confess.
• Ulasang deployed Construct Guards and questioned the poets with a Stone of Honesty and a Telepathy Helmet, while Geya realized the academy had evidence against whoever copied the diary.
• Bruto confessed, and Houston challenged him before Bruto voiced his dreams of writing truthful poetry for ordinary people; the guards dragged both bards away.
• Ulasang ordered the remaining poets to keep silent, but Geya recognized that Bruto’s defiance had stirred a spark of freedom among them.
• Geya visited the Stone of Oblivion and discovered a new diary entry dated August 27, Year 1000 of the Lost Era, in which Tang Qi wrote that he had left Deepwell and discovered the dungeon’s truth.

Geya read Tang Qi’s diary about The Guide and his dungeon expedition, becoming frustrated when he withheld the truth about Dragon Gold City but relieved to learn he was alive. Tang Qi then discovered that his rising fame had earned him new abilities and a rare magic item, and wondered what other rewards awaited him.

• Geya read that The Guide had sold well, stirred up anti-Guide marches among Dragon Gold City’s dwarves, and brought Tang Qi some fame.
• Geya followed Tang Qi’s account of meeting Hope, escaping the Red Scarf Gang, exploring the dungeon, and surviving an encounter with hags, though he left the truth about Dragon Gold City unexplained.
• Tang Qi found that his Journal listed him as somewhat known, with 227 followers, and enhanced his Verbal Abuse cantrip with greater psychic damage and an optional taunt effect.
• Tang Qi gained Mastery: Scimitar and received the rare Hag’s Eye, which could let him pose as a hag and form a Hag Gathering without suffering its penalties.
• Tang Qi wondered where he could find two hags to join his gathering, then turned his attention to the next reward, the Blade of the Mind.

Tang Qi reviewed the rewards from his dungeon expedition, including new combat abilities, a deceptive contract, and an extra use of Poet’s Inspiration. After sharing brunch and teasing Catherine at the tavern, he recognized something suspicious about two new customers and attacked the green-skinned woman as Catherine slipped out the back door.

• Tang Qi gained Blade of the Mind, Unfair Contract, Frenzied Sword Dance, Mighty Step, Guide, Inspiration Expert, and a dwarf-resistant Laughing Spell from his Journal.
• Tang Qi slept late, then learned Catherine had spent the morning shopping while Anbi went out to play with Hogg and George.
• Tang Qi told Catherine he planned to visit the Mage Academy, and she asked him to buy mushroom seasoning while he was in the city.
• Tang Qi offered Catherine a Pressure Potion and agreed to bring back seasoning for everyone after telling her about his dungeon expedition.
• Two cloaked customers entered the tavern and ordered Star Plum Wine; Tang Qi recognized the woman’s pale green skin and drew his curved saber to strike her as Catherine hurried out the back door.

Shivana Liehhou brought Houke and disguised Goblins to Dragon Gold City to collect promised food and supplies for her tribe. After entering Golden Oak, she mistook Tang Qi for the black-haired man she wanted to fight and attacked him, while Houke joined the battle.

• Shivana Liehhou left the Goblins outside Dragon Tail Pass and entered the city with Houke, intending to wait until nightfall before continuing.
• Chuck Greenbottle guided Shivana and Houke through Dragon Tail Pass, sold her Tang Qi Weinberg’s Twilight Forest Guide, and led them to Golden Oak.
• Shivana learned about Werewolves from Chuck, rejected his mint leaf, and arrived at Golden Oak seeking rest and Star Plum Wine.
• Shivana sensed people quietly leaving the room behind the tavern curtain and reached for her Great Axe as Tang Qi suddenly attacked her with his curved blade.
• Shivana knocked Tang Qi’s blade aside and swung her axe, while Houke tore free of his bedsheet and charged at Tang Qi with his hand axes.
• Tang Qi cast Laughing Spell at Houke, but Houke resisted it, and Tang Qi realized the spell had failed because Houke had suffered severe brain trauma.

Tang Qi confronted Shivana and used his curved blade to fight her while testing its ability to infuse emotions. He subdued her rage with the Blade of the Sage, leaving Shivana confused by her sudden calm.

• Shivana recognized Tang Qi's curved blade and learned that Black Snake was dead.
• Tang Qi refused to let Shivana and Houke leave, hoping their presence would reveal what Dragon Gold City's lords were planning.
• Shivana charged Tang Qi with her Great Axe, but he used Mighty Step to evade her attacks and cut her several times.
• Tang Qi's Blade of the Mind prompted Shivana to question the meaning of her rage and violence, interrupting her attack.
• Tang Qi explained that he had infused the blade with the emotions of Sage Mode and named it the Blade of the Sage.

Tang Qi stopped Shivana and Houke from escaping after they attacked the tavern, but the guard captain covered for them and warned Tang Qi to leave Dragon Gold City. Tang Qi then went to Northern Copper Furnace to sell his Flail Snail shells, surprising the Dwarf shopkeeper.

• Tang Qi used Blade of the Mind and Verbal Abuse to disrupt Shivana, but the guard captain arrived and stopped her from revealing who had sent her.
• The captain claimed Shivana and Houke were his relatives, paid for the tavern damage, and warned Tang Qi that important people had noticed him and that he should leave Dragon Gold City.
• Catherine checked that Tang Qi was safe, while Tang Qi declined to close the damaged tavern and hurried off.
• Tang Qi asked Chuck to buy supplies from a list and gave him gold coins, then headed to Deep Well District to sell the shells.
• Tang Qi entered Northern Copper Furnace and showed the Dwarf shopkeeper his intact Flail Snail shells, leaving the shopkeeper astonished.

Tang Qi sold monster spoils to a dwarf blacksmith and learned that Beastkin attacks had made the Deep Well District dangerous. At Dawn’s orphanage, he found Jasmine suffering from the Beastkin curse and used his [Blade of the Mind] to try to suppress it, leaving her frightened but alive.

• Tang Qi sold his monster materials to a dwarf blacksmith for a hundred gold and promised to publish a guide that included ways to collect intact Giant Snail shells.
• Guards stopped Tang Qi in the Deep Well District and warned him that a recent Beastkin rampage had left victims in hiding; they told him the first killing had happened at the orphanage.
• Dawn explained that an orphan named Bode had turned into a werewolf and badly wounded Jasmine, while other children risked infection because they had hidden him.
• Tang Qi arrived at the orphanage and told Dawn he needed a bodyguard, but then asked to examine Jasmine rather than make her leave the girl.
• Tang Qi infused his curved sword with calm and cut Jasmine’s skin to deliver its effect, then applied a Healing Potion to her wounds after she woke frightened.

Tang Qi helped Jasmine recover from the beastification curse and brought Bode to the guards, while Dawn faced Jasmine’s refusal to forgive him. Tang Qi then warned Dawn that the orphanage children might be Beastkin and that whoever corrupted Dean Marian could pose a danger to them and the city.

• Tang Qi explained that Jasmine’s beastification symptoms could be managed through isolation and a priest’s guidance, while Jasmine described how Dean Marian had bitten Bode after someone showed her something.
• Jasmine refused Dawn’s help and told him she could not forgive him for his indirect role in her brother’s death, even though he had saved her.
• Tang Qi and Dawn carried the beastified Bode to the guards, claiming they had found him unconscious in an alley.
• Tang Qi confronted Dawn about secretly hoping that his atonement would earn Jasmine’s forgiveness, and Dawn admitted his motives had been self-serving.
• Tang Qi told Dawn that many children in the orphanage were probably Beastkin and warned that whoever had driven Marian mad could corrupt them too.

Tang Qi experienced Stella Starlight’s memories through her dreams and learned how she was connected to the Dreamwalker bloodline. Stella revealed that Yiwu was the reincarnation of Eve Edel, the Golden Country’s last Princess, and warned Tang Qi that Leon Lionheart had already been targeting him for half a month.

• Tang Qi accompanied Stella into her dreams, witnessed her daily routine, and watched her confront Leon Lionheart about the Dragon Egg and the death of her former sovereign.
• Tang Qi saw memories of the Golden Country’s fall, Eve Edel’s murder by Leon, and the founding of Dragon Gold City, then awakened beside Stella.
• Stella explained that she had merged with the spiritual entity Starlight, whose memories were passed on through her bloodline, and that Yiwu was Eve Edel reborn inside the Dragon Egg.
• Stella said she had tested Tang Qi and wanted him to protect the Princess, but he needed the Sword of Dawn, whose wielder Stella believed had died in the Northern Lands.
• Tang Qi learned that Leon wanted to prevent Eve’s return and that Stella opposed him, then discovered Leon had been targeting him for half a month already.

Anbi spoke with Marian in prison, who helped her question whether she was a burden and told her how choosing to become Beastkin had given her father acceptance. Meanwhile, Stella offered Tang Qi a way to flee with Eve, but after waking from the dream at the academy, Tang Qi encountered a lion who wanted to talk.

• Anbi met Marian in prison and learned that Marian had raised twenty-three children, including Jasmine.
• Anbi told Marian she feared her family would be better off without her, and Marian urged her to ask what her sister truly thought.
• Marian recounted how she chose to become Beastkin so her aging father would not face his final days alone.
• Stella told Tang Qi that Leon had arrested Dragon Gold City's Beastkin and offered to help him leave with Eve, while warning that Anbi faced execution.
• Tang Qi woke beside Dawn on the lawn outside the academy and was approached by a lion who asked to speak with him.

Tang Qi negotiated with Leon over the little dragon while learning why Dragon Gold City had sealed the dungeon and how Leon ruled the city. Leon gave Tang Qi seven days to surrender the dragon, and Marian reassured Anbi that mutual dependence made her a bond rather than a burden.

• Leon explained that he had used the dungeon and the Red Scarf Gang to maintain Dragon Gold City's prosperity, and said the dungeon was now sealed because spores had animated corpses and threatened the city.
• Tang Qi worried that his companions, including the Silver Shield Family's young lady, would die in the dungeon, but Leon refused to reopen it because he would not risk the city's safety.
• Leon offered Tang Qi wealth, status, and help in exchange for the little dragon, then warned that he would take her if Tang Qi did not decide before the Double Moon Feast in seven days.
• Dawn prepared to help Tang Qi escape, but Tang Qi left the Dragon Political Hall after Leon reiterated his ultimatum.
• Marian told Anbi that she and her sister needed each other, and that being needed made Anbi a source of strength rather than a burden.

Tang Qi and Catherine shared drinks and prepared for his departure from the Golden Oak, though Tang Qi revealed he had not decided to leave. The chapter ended with Tang Qi drawing Catherine close and imagining a cocktail named after her, whose most important ingredient was love.

• Tang Qi used his enchanted Lute to clear the Golden Oak and give Catherine the night off.
• Catherine made Tang Qi a cocktail called [Tang Qi Weinberg], and he praised its lingering flavor.
• Catherine gave Tang Qi travel supplies and a chest of gold coins, believing he was about to leave.
• Tang Qi told Catherine he had not said he was leaving, and she admitted she had prepared for his eventual departure.
• Catherine teased Tang Qi about other women, and he asked to create a drink called [Catherine Nova].
• Tang Qi pulled Catherine close and imagined a cocktail inspired by her, concluding that it needed a little love.

Tang Qi chose to return to the sealed dungeon rather than leave Dragon Gold City, hoping to rescue Anbi, Wendy, and his trapped companions. After failing to persuade Orion to open Deepwell, he swam toward the dungeon as the deadline for Anbi’s execution drew close.

• Tang Qi learned that Anbi had been taken away as leverage against him, imagined a peaceful future elsewhere, and decided to act after remembering Stella’s letter.
• Tang Qi asked Merlin to prepare a hot-air-balloon painting and print The Dragon Gold City Guide, then borrowed money from Melard to fund the plan.
• Tang Qi disguised Dawn in Wendy’s armor and tried to convince Orion Silver Shield to open the sealed dungeon, but Orion refused because of the spores threatening the city.
• Tang Qi gave Orion his birthday letter for Wendy and promised to bring her back before leaving with Dawn and Yiwu to reach the dungeon by sea.
• Tang Qi used the Ring of Glory to push through the darkness and spores, realizing that only four days remained before Anbi’s deadline.

Gravel and the Silver Medal struggled through the spreading darkness of Deepwell, starving and convinced no rescue was coming, until a Vine Monster attacked them. Gravel used his last strength to save his companions, but after their escape he stopped breathing.

• Gravel recalled the Silver Medal’s days of hunger and exhaustion in the darkness and learned Deepwell had been sealed off, leaving them without rescue.
• Rumi discovered that the tree beside their shelter was a Vine Monster, and the group fled by following the trail of corpses Kuru had left behind.
• Gravel stayed behind to protect Wendy and used [Shield Charge] to break the Vine Monster’s grasp, then Wendy, Rumi, and Kuru dragged him to safety.
• Wendy gave Gravel their last Healing Potion, but Rumi warned that Gravel needed food and recovery after exhausting his body with the combat technique.
• Gravel drifted into a peaceful, fading state as Rumi tried to keep him awake, and Rumi finally said that Gravel had stopped breathing.