Recaps

Qi Shan and a young scholar witnessed Ning Yan intervene in a violent dispute involving a widow and her daughter, one of Ning Yan’s students. The old woman involved then beat the government office’s drum to accuse the widow and Ning Yan, and Shen Tang went to hear the case.

• The young scholar demanded that Qi Shan repay his past losses, but Qi Shan said he had no money and refused to offer his life because his lord would not agree.
• Qi Shan and the others saw an old woman beating and humiliating a widow whose daughter had been chosen to learn a trade.
• The widow’s daughter stepped in to defend her mother, and the old woman insulted her as a child of mixed Ten Crows ancestry before threatening to beat her too.
• Ning Yan arrived, identified the girl as her student, and ordered the old woman, her daughter-in-law, and the other people involved taken to the government office.
• The young scholar praised Ning Yan’s courage and said he wanted to befriend her, while Qi Shan warned him not to pursue her.
• The old woman beat the government office’s drum and accused the widow of trying to seduce her son and harm her grandson; Shen Tang heard the complaint and went to investigate.

Shen Tang heard a grievance accusing Widow Zhuo of harming a newborn, but the dispute turned out to rest on the superstition that receiving a knife during pregnancy caused the baby’s cleft lip. Shen Tang remained confused as Widow Zhuo and the family gave their accounts, leaving the case unresolved.

• Curious commoners gathered to see Shen Tang preside over court, while Qi Shan warned a young scholar not to speak carelessly about his lord.
• An old woman accused Widow Zhuo of trying to seduce her son and harming her newborn grandson, and she accused Dean Ning of framing her family.
• Ning Yan explained that the old woman had long harassed Widow Zhuo and had made a baseless accusation after the baby was born with jaundice and a cleft lip.
• Shen Tang examined the baby and, confused by the accusation, advised the family to give the child water, sunlight, and medical care if needed.
• Ning Yan clarified that the family blamed a knife Widow Zhuo had delivered to the pregnant daughter-in-law for causing the cleft lip.
• Widow Zhuo and the young woman explained that the knife had been delivered as a favor, while the young woman said she had felt a stomach pain afterward; Shen Tang asked what sort of harm they meant.

Shen Tang investigated Widow Zhuo’s alleged role in injuring a newborn and uncovered the household’s abuse of the infant’s mother. She exposed the old woman’s hypocrisy in court, leaving the family facing scrutiny over whether their own actions caused the harm.

• The crowd condemned Widow Zhuo, but Shen Tang silenced them and warned them against disrupting her court.
• Ning Yan asked Widow Zhuo which blacksmith’s shop supplied the knife, while Shen Tang summoned the shopkeeper and neighbors as witnesses.
• The blacksmith confirmed Widow Zhuo had ordered one knife, and Old Woman’s Son had ordered another.
• Neighbors testified that the young wife did the household’s cooking, laundry, firewood chopping, and mending, even while pregnant, and described her mother-in-law and husband’s abuse.
• Shen Tang challenged the old woman to explain how the baby could have been harmed by Widow Zhuo’s knife when the young wife handled knives and needles throughout her pregnancy.

Shen Tang exposed a family’s false accusation against Widow Zhuo and sentenced them for their roles in it. After she warned the crowd about the harm words could cause, auspicious clouds gathered above the young scholar and Qi Shan.

• Shen Tang challenged the old woman and her daughter-in-law to prove that Widow Zhuo had harmed the child, while Gu Chi explained the penalties for false accusations.
• The young woman admitted she had blamed Widow Zhuo out of fear, and Shen Tang argued that the child’s condition could have had other causes.
• Shen Tang sentenced the old woman to ten strokes, three years of mill work, and seven days paraded through the streets; she gave the young woman the same sentence, waiving thirty strokes because she had recently given birth.
• Shen Tang sentenced the husband to fifty strokes, three years of hard labor, and seven days paraded through the streets for failing to stop the false accusation.
• After Gu Chi approved the sentences, Shen Tang warned the crowd that words could kill, and auspicious clouds and rosy light gathered above the young scholar and Qi Shan.

After Shen Tang’s judgment triggered an auspicious sign, she fainted and entered a dreamlike Literary Palace. She explored its Sacred Land and found countless spheres of glowing texts, while her companions waited for her to wake.

• An auspicious sign appeared after Shen Tang’s ruling, and the crowd took it as Heaven’s approval of her judgment.
• A young Literary Scholar told Shen Tang that her enlightened teaching had stirred Heaven and earth, but she fainted before she could understand what he meant.
• Gu Chi found Shen Tang’s meridians and Dantian full of Literary Qi and Martial Qi, and Qi Shan summoned the rest of their staff.
• Shen Tang’s companions waited for six hours while she slept, and Elder Physician Dong found nothing wrong with her.
• In her dream, Shen Tang followed a silent guide through a misty landscape, learned that it was her Literary Palace, and entered a Sacred Land palace filled with glowing spheres of texts.

After fainting, Shen Tang woke from a vision of a strange Literary Palace and learned her strength had increased. The young Literary Scholar explained that she had likely traveled in spirit to Mountain Sea Sacred Land, where she encountered the work Tian Gong Kai Wu.

• Ning Yan told Shen Tang she had slept for six shichen and that the commoners had accepted her ruling.
• Chu Yao and the others noticed Shen Tang’s Heaven and Earth Qi had increased, and she described the glowing orb and rivers of writing she had seen.
• Shen Tang recalled grabbing characters that read Tian Gong Kai Wu, prompting the young Literary Scholar to ask whether she was certain.
• The young Literary Scholar explained that Shen Tang’s vision resembled a known spiritual journey to Mountain Sea Sacred Land, not her own Literary Palace.

After recovering, Shen Tang welcomed Liao Jia Shao Mei into her service and proposed using trade and internal divisions to weaken the Ten Crows instead of launching another invasion. Liao Jia and the Zhao Family Young Lady ended up lodging at Qi Shan’s residence, where Liao Jia insisted on sharing his bed.

• After confirming Shen Tang was well, Chu Yao and the others ate with her and Liao Jia, who introduced himself as a Literary Scholar from Fengxi County and offered his services.
• Shen Tang enthusiastically accepted Liao Jia, while he decided to stay partly because Qi Shan looked displeased.
• Shen Tang called for a morning meeting and proposed dividing the Ten Crows from within and impoverishing them through trade, drawing on the surviving pages of Tian Gong Kai Wu.
• Jiang Sheng and Gu Chi supported Shen Tang’s plan, and the group agreed to prepare for the Ten Crows’ future recovery.
• Liao Jia and the Zhao Family Young Lady went to stay at Qi Shan’s residence, where Liao Jia proposed that he and Qi Shan share a bed.

Zhao Family Young Lady stayed in Longwu Commandery after Liao Jia joined Lord Shen’s service, but her attempt to keep her identity hidden ended when Xu Quan recognized her. Xu Quan revealed her name and gender in front of Liao Jia and Qi Shan, leaving her furious and at risk of being discovered.

• Liao Jia said he would stay in Longwu Commandery after joining Lord Shen’s service, and Zhao Family Young Lady decided to remain there rather than return home.
• Liao Jia urged Zhao Family Young Lady to send her family word that she was safe, but she hesitated.
• Zhao Family Young Lady accompanied Liao Jia and Qi Shan to the commandery offices, where Xu Quan recognized her and called her Da Wei.
• Zhao Family Young Lady threatened Xu Quan for revealing she was a woman, while Xu Quan insisted her disguise had already been seen through.
• Liao Jia introduced himself to Xu Quan, who explained that he knew Zhao Wei through their families and asked if she had fled after repeated marriage rejections.

Shen Tang’s group discussed Zhao Wei’s defiance and the implications of women gaining recognition under Shen Tang’s rule. Shen Tang then proposed using techniques from Tian Gong Kai Wu and Qi Min Yao Shu to produce salt, cloth, and grain for Ten Crows rather than buying and reselling goods.

• Xu Quan teased Zhao Wei, who challenged him to fight after duty, and Liao Jia calmed her before he and Qi Shan entered the government office.
• Liao Jia told Qi Shan that he had learned Shen Tang was a woman and wondered whether her rule allowed talented women to condense a Literary Heart or Martial Gall.
• Qi Shan confirmed that recognition could make such cultivation possible, and Liao Jia reacted bitterly as he recalled the female teacher who had once helped him and later died in despair.
• Shen Tang said the National Border Barrier would make cloth, salt, and grain prices rise in Ten Crows, then proposed using Tian Gong Kai Wu’s sericulture, weaving, and salt-extraction techniques.
• Shen Tang said Lin Feng’s grain reserves and Qi Min Yao Shu could help supply Ten Crows, with Lin Feng receiving a share of the profits.

Shen Tang planned ways to make salt and develop sericulture in Longwu Commandery, including refining coarse salt for profit and testing whether Word Spirits could summon seawater. She then proposed that students unsuited for government service earn a living through farming, leaving Ning Yan startled by the idea.

• Xun Zhen explained that Longwu Commandery could produce Well Salt and Mineral Salt, while Liao Jia asked about Pool Salt, which Wu Xian and Xu Xie controlled.
• Shen Tang proposed refining local salt for the Ten Crows and testing whether she and Lingde could summon seawater with Word Spirits to make salt.
• Chu Yao and Gu Chi suggested other profitable plans, including buying coarse salt from Xu Xie, refining it, and selling it at a higher price.
• Shen Tang discussed buying silkworm eggs from Wenzhu but noted that Longwu Commandery lacked mature mulberry trees and would need a Word Spirit to solve the problem.
• Shen Tang asked Ning Yan whether the students could make a living through farming, and Ning Yan questioned the proposal.

Shen Tang explained her plan to use Word Spirits to improve farming and reduce hunger, while also advancing sericulture and salt production in Longwu Commandery. Liao Jia was assigned to establish salt fields, and the chapter ended with Bai Su recognizing Zhao Wei as a young woman who practiced martial arts.

• Shen Tang told Ning Yan that Word Spirits could make farming far more productive and said she wanted to prevent people from starving.
• Xun Zhen proposed collecting agricultural books to help develop the ability, and Shen Tang agreed as the group planned several projects.
• Shen Tang assigned Liao Jia people to find land for salt fields, then went to inspect abandoned salt wells.
• Chu Yao asked Xu Quan to help arrange purchases of silkworm eggs, mulberry trees, and coarse salt from Xu Xie.
• Qi Shan brought Liao Jia and Zhao Wei to the military camp, where Bai Su accepted the order to assign soldiers for the salt-field project.
• Bai Su recognized Zhao Wei as a young woman who practiced martial arts and asked Zhizong whether he knew her.

Liao Jia accompanied Lu Ji and a hundred female Martial Gall Warriors to begin reclaiming salt fields, where their speed and coordination surprised him. During the journey, Zhao Wei asked about Bai Su’s marriage prospects and hinted that she wanted to match him with her sisters.

• Bai Su ordered Lu Ji to gather twenty Low-Tier Gongshi and eighty soldiers to help Liao Jia reclaim salt fields.
• Bai Su explained that Lu Ji had chosen her name after her father and brothers died in battle, and Lu Ji soon assembled a hundred women for the task.
• Liao Jia questioned whether the women should do such arduous work, but Bai Su defended her troops and Liao Jia praised their strength.
• Liao Jia, Qi Shan, Zhao Wei, and Lu Ji traveled to the abandoned land east of the administrative center, where Zhao Wei asked whether Bai Su was betrothed and revealed her interest in making a match with her sisters.
• Liao Jia marked out the salt fields, and the Martial Gall Warriors cleared and divided the land with martial aura in less than half a quarter of an hour.
• Qi Shan reminded Liao Jia that the workers would need his help replenishing their martial aura.

Liao Jia accidentally stole Shen Tang’s money pouch while trying to use his Word Spirit, then reflected on the role of Martial Gall Warriors as he helped oversee the salt fields. Qi Shan and Bai Su considered how to keep Zhao Wei near Shen Tang’s forces, while Qi Shan went to bed still unable to remember what he had forgotten.

• Qi Shan provoked Liao Jia into using his Word Spirits, and Liao Jia’s attempt to target Qi Shan instead took Shen Tang’s nearly empty money pouch.
• Liao Jia watched Martial Gall Warriors rapidly build the salt-field framework and discussed with Qi Shan how peace would require giving them a place in society.
• Zhao Wei praised Shen Tang’s foresight, and Qi Shan told her she would get the chance to meet Shen Tang.
• Qi Shan privately asked Bai Su to keep Zhao Wei with their group, and Bai Su agreed to have Lu Ji spar with her more often.
• Liao Jia and Qi Shan shared a bed in Ru Yao City, where Qi Shan realized he had forgotten something but could not remember what.

Shen Tang's money pouch repeatedly vanished because of Liao Jia's unusual ability, while her workers rapidly dug salt wells and began producing salt. The chapter left Shen Tang hopeful that the new salt fields would bring in enough money to repay Xun Hanzhang's loan and build savings.

• Liao Jia returned Shen Tang's missing money pouch after Gu Chi explained why its disappearance had upset her.
• Liao Jia's ability made Shen Tang's pouch vanish again, and he returned it after coming back from the salt fields.
• Shen Tang resigned herself to losing the pouch whenever Liao Jia's ability targeted her.
• Shen Tang's Martial Gall Warriors dug eighteen salt wells in less than half a month, succeeding with all but two.
• Shen Tang watched the brine being processed into salt and calculated that the salt fields could help repay Xun Hanzhang's loan.

Shen Tang created seawater for Longwu’s new salt fields and offered Xu Xie a share in producing and selling refined salt from its wells. Xu Xie accepted the opportunity despite his loyalty to Wu Xian, and Shen Tang’s plan reached further toward the Ten Crows.

• Shen Tang summoned seawater to fill the salt fields, then let the workers begin raking the brine while Literary Scholars replenished her energy.
• Shen Tang asked whether Xu Wenzhu had replied, and Ning Yan predicted that Xu Xie would accept her profitable salt offer.
• Xu Xie received Shen Tang’s letter offering him forty percent of the profits from low-cost refined salt production in Longwu.
• After considering the risk to his relationship with Wu Xian, Xu Xie decided that taking the deal was business, not a change of allegiance.
• Someone excitedly asked Shen Tang whether she wanted them to smuggle the salt—or sell it—to the Ten Crows.

Shen Tang arranged for a salt trader to sell refined salt in the Ten Crows, offering him a share in exchange for his experience and guidance. After Xu Xie agreed to supply silkworm stock and feed, Shen Tang turned to preparing silkworm farms and improving textile machinery.

• Shen Tang offered a salt trader ten percent of the profits to sell refined salt in the Ten Crows, with the authorities providing the caravan and supplies.
• The salt trader tasted Shen Tang's refined salt, recognized its quality, and eagerly accepted her offer.
• Gu Chi questioned the size of the trader's share, and Shen Tang explained that she was paying for his expertise and intended to train her own people.
• Gu Chi delivered Xu Xie's letter, and Shen Tang learned that Xu Xie would supply twice the requested silkworm stock and mulberry feed at a very low price.
• Shen Tang confirmed that silkworm farmers had been found and that skilled craftsmen were waiting to improve the textile machinery.

Shen Tang inspected the silkworm sheds and worried about how ordinary people could stay warm through winter, inspiring her to seek cotton for quilts. The chapter ended with her discovering that Shen Zhi had asked Ning Yan about beeswax and flower seeds, leaving her baffled about their relevance to childbirth.

• Shen Tang visited the silkworm sheds and discussed giving silk quilts as year-end bonuses with Gu Chi.
• Lin Feng used her literary qi to grow mulberry leaves and accepted Shen Tang's order to ensure the silkworms had enough food.
• Shen Tang worried that poor families lacked warm bedding and decided to write Xu Xie asking him to find cotton.
• Shen Tang visited the artisans' workshop and offered ideas for improving weaving based on Tian Gong Kai Wu.
• Shen Tang found Ning Yan and Shen Zhi talking and learned that Shen Zhi had asked about beeswax and flower seeds, not childbirth.

Shen Zhi sought beeswax and flower seeds to make rouge and flower dew for Bai Su’s birthday, and Ning Yan explained that Shen Zhi’s talent resonated with flower-related Word Spirits. Shen Tang encouraged her to pursue that talent and imagined building a cosmetics and dye business around it.

• Shen Zhi asked Shen Tang for beeswax and flower seeds so she could make rouge and flower dew for Bai Su’s birthday.
• Shen Tang recalled how Shen Zhi had once mistaken Bai Su for a man and continued to fuss over her after learning the truth, though Shen Zhi’s affection was maternal rather than romantic.
• Ning Yan explained that Shen Zhi had little aptitude for strategy but resonated with Word Spirits related to flowers and romance.
• Shen Tang said Shen Zhi could use her literary energy to grow flowers and later turn her interests into a business.
• Shen Tang envisioned selling cosmetics to customers of different means and encouraged Shen Zhi’s future in business.

After sparring with Lu Ji, Zhao Wei noticed clues that challenged her assumptions about the soldiers around Captain Bai and learned from Xu Quan that Lu Ji and Captain Bai were women. She rushed to confront Lu Ji, who confirmed it by letting Zhao Wei feel her chest, while Liao Jia received an urgent summons from the official office.

• Zhao Wei sparred with Lu Ji, then noticed Lu Ji’s embroidered chest wrap and began to suspect that something about the soldiers under Captain Bai was unusual.
• Xu Quan delivered Zhao Wei’s belongings, and Zhao Wei asked whether Lu Ji was a woman; Xu Quan told her that Lu Ji and Captain Bai were both women.
• Zhao Wei ran to Lu Ji’s home to ask whether she was really a woman, and Liao Jia followed after spotting her abandoned shoe.
• Lu Ji teased Zhao Wei into touching her chest, confirming the truth, while Liao Jia received an urgent summons from the official office.

Liao Jia, Xun Zhen, and Jiang Sheng discussed the refugee bandits who had once attacked Luxia Prefecture, and Xun Zhen began explaining their leader Huang Lie’s past. The chapter left Huang Lie’s story at the crisis and opportunity brought by Zheng Qiao’s conquest of Xin Country.

• Liao Jia hurried to the office and asked Xun Zhen and Jiang Sheng why Shen Tang had urgently summoned them.
• Xun Zhen identified the refugee bandits who had besieged Luxia Prefecture as the likely cause of the emergency and warned that they were more dangerous than rumors suggested.
• Jiang Sheng and Xun Zhen noticed a brightly colored bellyband in Liao Jia’s bundle, embarrassing him as he insisted it was not his.
• Xun Zhen explained that the bandits’ leader, Huang Lie, was a former bell doctor from a poor family who had become a wandering knight after awakening a Martial Spirit.
• Xun Zhen recounted Huang Lie’s return to find most of his family dead and his struggle to support his younger brother and two cousins through medicine.
• Xun Zhen said Zheng Qiao’s destruction of Xin Country brought Huang Lie both the greatest crisis and the greatest opportunity of his life.

Xun Zhen recounted how Zheng Qiao’s massacre destroyed Huang Lie’s family and helped turn him toward building influence, while the group learned Huang Lie’s Heavy Shield Warriors were trained through sinister methods. Shen Tang shared Zhang He’s warning that Huang Lie had ten thousand such warriors linked to the epidemic, and that he was organizing a coalition to overthrow Zheng Qiao.

• Xun Zhen explained that Huang Lie’s wife, son, and daughter were killed during Zheng Qiao’s massacre, leaving Huang Lie with a lasting grudge.
• Xun Zhen said Huang Lie used a secret art to train Heavy Shield Warriors, and Kang Shi recalled that they seemed immune to Chu Yao’s [Sink into Fire].
• Xun Zhen estimated Huang Lie once had twenty-five hundred Heavy Shield Warriors and might have expanded the force to five thousand.
• Shen Tang told the gathered officials that Zhang He had reported Huang Lie now commanded ten thousand Heavy Shield Warriors linked to the epidemic.
• Shen Tang relayed that Huang Lie had invited Tianhai, Shang Nan, Yiru, and other forces to form a Dragon Slaying Bureau against Zheng Qiao’s royal court.

Shen Tang rejected Zhang Yongqing’s invitation to join the Dragon-Slaying Bureau, citing Longwu Commandery’s weakness while privately hoping its rivals would exhaust each other. She sent supplies and a warning about Huang Lie, then resolved to build strength and sweep across the northwest in two years.

• Shen Tang’s advisers, including Xun Zhen, Liao Jia, and Gongshu Wu, urged her not to join the war against Zheng Qiao because Longwu Commandery lacked the strength and resources.
• Shen Tang publicly lamented her inability to fight and asked Chu Yao to draft a polite refusal to Zhang Yongqing.
• After Xun Zhen warned that Huang Lie might betray the alliance, Shen Tang agreed to warn Zhang Yongqing and his allies while secretly hoping they would keep Huang Lie occupied.
• Shen Tang sent the envoy supplies and her reply, then ordered scouts to monitor the Dragon-Slaying Bureau’s progress.
• Shen Tang told Gu Chi she would begin sweeping across the northwest in two years, once Longwu Commandery had grown strong enough.

Zhang He’s advisers judged the Dragon Slaying Bureau’s chances against Zheng Qiao at forty percent, while Wu Xian’s preparations were strained by a feud over military supplies. When Longwu Commandery declined to join the plot, Zhao Feng felt relieved for his daughter’s safety, while Xu Xie was glad his private salt trade with Shen Tang could continue.

• Zhang He learned that Gu Ren and Wu Xian had agreed to join the campaign against Zheng Qiao, though the advisers estimated their chances at only forty percent.
• Xu Xie complained to Zhao Feng that Wu Xian’s trusted aide was sabotaging their work on provisions and supplies.
• Zhao Feng kept his distance from the campaign after Qin Li had warned him that joining the fighting could cost him more than he gained.
• Zhao Feng and Xu Xie received word that Longwu Commandery would not join the plot; Zhao Feng was relieved because his runaway daughter was on Shen Tang’s territory.
• Xu Xie welcomed the news because his private salt business with Shen Tang could continue while Wu Xian focused on the war.

Xu Xie sent a trusted attendant to Longwu to trade for Shen Tang’s refined smuggled salt, while Shen Tang expanded public access to goods through her General Merchandise Store. The attendant collected a large shipment and learned that salt was also being sold to the Ten Crows, as a trader had already entered their territory to deal with the Tatamuer Tribe.

• Xu Xie entrusted his attendant with a salt-trading contract and sent him to Longwu Commandery with a small merchant caravan.
• Shen Tang described Longwu’s growing salt production and her plans to open General Merchandise Store branches for commoners.
• Shen Tang signed Xu Xie’s contract, waived the shortfall in the deposit, and authorized a much larger shipment than the attendant had expected.
• Lord Yang loaded the attendant’s salt and explained that Longwu sold some of its supply to the Ten Crows to keep them from being driven into a corner.
• The attendant promised to seek a larger order from Xu Xie, while a salt merchant reached Ten Crows territory and headed to the Tatamuer Tribe to sell his goods.

Wei Heng traded refined salt and other goods with the Tatamuer Tribe, where Yu Zi discovered a slave spreading ancestral teachings among the women. Lü Jue realized similar changes might be occurring elsewhere in Ten Crows and warned that the tribes were on the brink of upheaval.

• The Tatamuer Tribe leader agreed to buy Wei Heng’s scarce goods at a high price after the Yonggu Pass blockade cut off most supplies.
• Wei Heng noticed a female slave praying and learned she had been reciting ancestral teachings to other slaves.
• Yu Zi and Lü Jue discussed the slaves’ treatment, and Lü Jue explained that the weak were exploited regardless of sex.
• Lü Jue heard that the slave had influenced other slaves and decided to watch for similar behavior at the next stop.
• Lü Jue concluded that Ten Crows was about to undergo a great upheaval.