Recaps

Yu Zi investigated the slaves’ devotion to the ancestral commandments and found that the belief had spread through nearly every tribe, fueling unrest against the Ten Crows’ leaders. The growing movement had begun to unite oppressed people across the Ten Crows while the royal court remained too distracted to stop it.

• Yu Zi posed as a thirsty guest and approached the female slaves, then watched a whip-wielding woman beat a slave to death for resisting the tribe’s residents.
• Yu Zi gained a female slave’s trust with a fabricated family history and claims of descent from the Golden Crows.
• The female slave revealed her devotion to the ancestral commandments, and Yu Zi learned that slaves believed their leaders had betrayed their ancestors and caused the Ten Crows’ decline.
• Yu Zi and Lü Jue discussed how the commandments gave slaves hope, and Yu Zi reported that devotees had appeared in eleven of the twelve tribes they visited.
• Yu Zi and Lü Jue explained that the planned unrest had spread as slaves escaped, attacked supposed traitors, and drew oppressed people from small tribes into the movement.

The Ten Crows Great King struggled to contain court unrest as his sons died in suspicious accidents, while Su Shi Yilu secretly pursued revenge and Shen Tang fueled rebellion among Ten Crows' slaves. As autumn arrived in Longwu Commandery, Shen Tang received a long-delayed reply to her letter to Xun Zhen's eldest son.

• The Ten Crows Great King learned that the Fifth Prince had drowned in a latrine, then suspected foul play after recalling the bizarre deaths of the Third and Twelfth Princes.
• The Seventh Prince died after drawing a lot to serve as a dart target, and the Great King became consumed by the deaths and threats around him.
• Su Shi Yilu extinguished a lamp marked with the number seven and vowed that the princes' deaths were only the beginning of his revenge for the Twelfth Prince.
• Shen Tang divided the salt-smuggling profits, sent much of the money to repay a loan, and ordered Chu Jie and Gu Chi to foment unrest among Ten Crows' slaves.
• Shen Tang joined the cocoon harvest in Longwu Commandery, and as autumn arrived, a soldier delivered a delayed reply to her letter to Xun Zhen's eldest son.

A long-delayed messenger returned with Xun Ding’s letter, revealing that he had survived by joining another army and working as a hired fighter. Xun Zhen learned his son was alive, while the chapter ended with the revelation that Gongxi Chou had pushed Xun Ding into fighting so he could make a name for himself and find his brother.

• The messenger told Shen Tang how bandits, forced conscription, and battlefield promotions had delayed his delivery of the letter to Xun Ding.
• The messenger explained that Xun Ding had been hired to fight for another commandery, and that Xun Ding had sent back a brief note assuring his father he was well.
• Shen Tang gave Xun Zhen the letter, and he read Xun Ding’s message and learned his eldest son was alive.
• Shen Tang told Xun Zhen that Xun Ding had become a hired fighter, and Xun Zhen reacted with shock before accepting that his son had his own ideas.
• Shen Tang visited Qi Shan as Su Shang prepared to give birth and told him about Xun Ding’s letter and unusual career.
• Xun Ding revealed that Gongxi Chou had decided to emerge from the mountains and make a name for himself so his brother would find him, and had pressured Xun Ding into helping.

Gongxi Chou rejected ruling on his own and explained that he only wanted to find his older brother, fight worthy opponents, and eventually return to the Clan Land. He decided to earn money by helping unstable powers win battles, and Xun Ding realized he had been recruited as part of the deal.

• Gongxi Chou told Xun Ding he would not establish his own power because he disliked the burdens of ruling and only wanted to make a name for himself and find his older brother.
• Gongxi Chou explained that he hoped to retire with his brother and family, and Xun Ding stopped trying to persuade him to rule.
• Xun Ding suggested possible rulers for Gongxi Chou to serve, but Gongxi Chou rejected Gu Ren, Wu Xian, Zhang He, Huang Lie, and Shen Tang for different reasons.
• Gongxi Chou decided to help small, unstable powers secure and expand their territories, then leave once they achieved their goals.
• Gongxi Chou insisted he would charge for his services to fund the Clan Land and future descendants, and Xun Ding understood that he had been recruited as a defeated opponent included for free.

Zheng Qiao imprisoned a court official because his brother joined Huang Lie’s rebellion, while the official’s wife received a visit from an old man seeking the clothes once worn by Yan, a boy with a hidden past. The chapter left the reason for the old man’s request unexplained.

• Zheng Qiao accused the court officials of having ties to the rebels and sent another official to prison.
• The imprisoned official told his colleague that his full brother had raised troops, while the colleague reminded him that Zheng Qiao held their families as leverage.
• An old man arrived at Madam Qiu’s home with a boy named Yan and asked whether the clothes Yan had worn as a child were still there.
• The old man reminded Madam Qiu that Yan had once been passed off as the Qiu Family’s son before being abandoned, and she recognized him as the boy she had seen years earlier.
• The old man asked Madam Qiu to find Yan’s former clothes but did not explain why he needed them.

The old man recovered A Yan’s wooden pendant, which transformed into a divine staff and confirmed A Yan as the new High Priest, before rescuing the Qiu Family Patriarch and taking A Yan into seclusion. Meanwhile, Yang Ying discovered she could cultivate martial qi, and Gongxi Chou confirmed it.

• The Qiu Family mistress explained that her brother-in-law was conspiring with Huang Lie while her husband remained imprisoned, and the old man offered to help her family escape.
• The servants found A Yan’s old belongings, and the old man gave him a wooden pendant that calmed him.
• The pendant transformed into a staff, and the old man recognized its runes and had A Yan perform the High Priest’s ceremonial method.
• The old man rescued the Qiu Family Patriarch, then led A Yan and the young man into a secluded mountain forest and explained that the staff was a divine gift.
• Gongxi Lai brought Yang Ying to Gongxi Chou after Yang Ying began absorbing Heaven and Earth Qi, and Gongxi Chou confirmed she could cultivate martial qi.

Gongxi Chou took Yang Ying as his disciple and trained her brutally, while Gongxi Lai accepted that she could not cultivate. As Shen Tang developed Longwu Commandery and celebrated its new paper, she was interrupted by news that Nanyu County had come under attack.

• Gongxi Chou offered to teach Yang Ying, who accepted despite her conflicted feelings about learning from the man who had killed her father.
• Gongxi Chou told Gongxi Lai that she lacked the aptitude to cultivate and warned that inferior methods could drain her life, while promising the Gongxi Clan would protect her.
• Gongxi Chou trained Yang Ying with relentless beatings, and Gongxi Lai became skilled at treating her injuries over the following year.
• Gongxi Chou repeatedly switched employers for pay and raided a former employer after he was denied payment, earning a reputation as a mercenary.
• Shen Tang spent her first year in Longwu building infrastructure and developing a papermaking workshop, whose improved paper debuted before the second autumn harvest.
• Shen Tang described a dream in which someone touched her tiger's behind, and an urgent report arrived that Nanyu County had come under attack.

Shen Tang learned that five thousand troops from Qiu Cheng’s Sibao Prefecture had raided Nanyu County to seize its grain, and she prepared to retaliate despite Qiu Cheng’s ties to the Dragon Slaying Bureau. She left the chapter ordering her troops to strike back.

• Ning Yan reported that Nanyu County was under attack, and Shen Tang ruled out the Ten Crows as the attackers.
• Ning Yan explained that five thousand cavalry from Sibao Prefecture had burned and looted settlements before targeting the granaries, while Bai Su’s forces protected civilians and requested reinforcements.
• Shen Tang identified Qiu Cheng as the commander behind the raid and condemned the attack on Longwu Commandery’s people and grain.
• Chu Yao and the others warned Shen Tang that Qiu Cheng was an ally of the Dragon Slaying Bureau, but she refused to let that stop her.
• Shen Tang ordered her troops to prepare to strike back against Sibao Prefecture.

After Qiu Cheng raided Nanyu County’s granary, Shen Tang held back from immediate retaliation until the autumn harvest was secured. She uncovered clues about how the raid had been planned and ordered preparations to lure Qiu Wenyan into another attack.

• Chu Yao persuaded Shen Tang not to send troops immediately, warning that the harvest left Longwu Commandery vulnerable to attacks elsewhere.
• Liao Jia argued that burning Qiu Wenyan’s fields would cause little harm and pointed out that the precise raid suggested someone had leaked information.
• Ning Yan and Gu Chi traced the attackers’ likely route and realized Granary Number One was an old granary, narrowing the possible source of the leak.
• Shen Tang ordered her forces to prepare for war while making it appear that the autumn grain was stored in Granary Number One, hoping to draw Qiu Wenyan back for an ambush.
• Shen Tang identified Beishang County as a likely next target and vowed to punish whoever had betrayed them.

Qiu Cheng discussed his successful raid on Nanyu County’s grain stores and considered whether Shen Tang would retaliate. He decided to watch Beishang County and prepare another raid, while the chapter ended with a middle-aged woman bringing food into the tent.

• Qiu Cheng’s general reported that Shen Tang had made no move after his forces seized grain from Nanyu County.
• Qiu Cheng remained wary of Shen Tang, while the black-robed woman suggested she might be unable to respond.
• Qiu Cheng ordered more scouts to watch Beishang County and considered its larger grain stores as his next target.
• The general left, and a middle-aged woman entered with a food box and asked the black-robed woman why she had not urged Qiu Cheng to stop drinking.

Qiu Cheng and his first wife showed how they had sheltered Shu Niang, a female Literary Scholar who sought protection and plotted revenge against Shen Tang. The chapter left Shu Niang dependent on Qiu Cheng’s household, with her hatred intact and her unusual ability still a closely guarded secret.

• Qiu Cheng welcomed his first wife as she brought food and played along with her teasing over his drinking.
• The chapter revealed that Shu Niang had lost her family and home after Shen Tang took control of Longwu Commandery, leaving Shu Niang consumed by hatred.
• Shu Niang discovered that she could cultivate and secretly sought Qiu Cheng’s protection by asking to serve as his retainer.
• Qiu Cheng kept Shu Niang’s identity and ability secret after his first wife confirmed that she was a woman.
• Qiu Cheng’s first wife proposed that Shu Niang become part of the family, and Shu Niang accepted the arrangement because she needed Qiu Cheng’s protection to pursue revenge.

Shu Niang faced growing suspicion and scorn in Qiu Cheng’s camp after her grain estimate proved inaccurate, while Bai Su’s forces waited tensely in Beishang County for an enemy attack. The chapter left the harvest secured in Granary One and Bai Su still preparing for a fight.

• Shu Niang left Qiu Cheng and his wife’s meal after his wife called her “little sister,” while Qiu Cheng dismissed the tension and blamed her upset on criticism of her grain estimate.
• Qiu Cheng noted that the seized granaries in Nanyu County held only a fifth of the grain Shu Niang had predicted, and suspected her estimate had been wrong.
• Lu Ji told Zhao Wei that Bai Su remained furious over Nanyu County’s losses and had volunteered to lead an ambush in Beishang County.
• Bai Su’s soldiers and the Martial Gall Warriors rapidly completed Beishang County’s autumn harvest, sending cartloads of supplies to the increasingly guarded Granary One.
• Gongshu Wu urged Bai Su not to keep her nerves so taut, but she insisted that only the enemy’s blood could answer for her humiliation and worried about the risks of concentrating their defense on Beishang County.

Lu Ji and Zhao Wei patrolled the granary during a fierce storm as Shen Tang and Qi Shan prepared an ambush against Qiu Cheng’s forces. The enemy approached the First Granary, where the chapter left the defenders waiting for the attack.

• Zhao Wei warned Lu Ji to inspect the granary’s defenses against the rain, and Lu Ji set out on night patrol with her men.
• Lu Ji checked the granary and later challenged an approaching line of torchlight to give the password.
• Shen Tang waited in hiding with Qi Shan, who explained that Qiu Cheng’s Literary Scholar was using rainwater to spy on the camp.
• Qi Shan said his experience with similar methods had helped them conceal a thousand ambushers beneath the rain.
• Shen Tang spotted distant orange lights approaching from the direction of the First Granary.

Lu Ji’s night patrol discovered an enemy force disguised as their own, and she led the counterattack while Zhao Wei defended the grain-storage camp. The battle was still raging as Zhao Wei fought through the attackers and Lu Ji faced a stronger martial artist.

• A soldier challenged the approaching force for the password, but Lu Ji killed their responder and ordered an attack.
• Lu Ji fired a Signal Arrow before charging with her twin hammers, while the enemy tried to intercept the warning.
• Lu Ji clashed with the enemy’s saber-wielding martial artist, who taunted her and gained the upper hand with a powerful blade aura.
• Lu Ji killed a soldier who tried to sneak up behind her, then counterattacked with the chain connecting her hammers.
• Zhao Wei fought off attackers at the grain-storage camp, killing three soldiers with a single spear thrust.

Qiu Cheng’s troops infiltrated Granary No. 1 under cover of a storm, but Bai Su and the camp ambushed them. Bai Su fought the enemy commander, who revealed that his armor could withstand her sword strikes.

• Qiu Cheng’s soldiers used their Literary Scholar’s rain ability to scout the granary and entered it undetected.
• The troops found Granary No. 1 full of new grain and prepared to attack the camp and seize it.
• Bai Su confronted the leading commander as hidden soldiers burst from the granary and the camp joined the battle.
• Bai Su fought through the enemy ranks and engaged the commander, who hardened his armor and blocked her sword.
• The commander let Bai Su’s blade strike his armored neck, and it failed to leave a mark.

Ning Yan intervened as Zixu, protecting Bai Su and empowering her to fight the enemy general. As Gongshu Wu cleared the ambush force, Ning Yan's connection to Yan An's convictions was revealed.

• Ning Yan blocked the enemy general's killing blow against Bai Su and strengthened her with the [Five Virtues of the General].
• Ning Yan called herself Zixu and showed that attacks against her were reflected onto her attackers as she fought off nearby soldiers.
• Bai Su used the boost to damage the enemy general's right arm and press her advantage in their duel.
• Gongshu Wu and Ning Yan defeated two other Martial Gall Warriors, and Gongshu Wu tossed one fallen enemy's head into a muddy puddle.
• Ning Yan's Way of the Scholar was described as sharing similarities with Yan An's because she had inherited his conviction to uphold justice.

Gongshu Wu’s force held the camp while Lu Ji fought until Tu Rong arrived and killed the enemy she had hoped to claim. After the battle, the wounded Lu Ji lamented her lost military merit, while Xu Quan and Liao Jia waited for the enemy to walk into their trap.

• Gongshu Wu ordered his troops not to pursue the retreating enemy and focused on holding the line and limiting casualties.
• Tu Rong arrived to save the badly wounded Lu Ji and cut off her opponent’s head, leaving her upset that she had lost the kill.
• A physician found that Lu Ji had three broken ribs, two badly injured limbs, and twenty-one wounds, while Zhao Wei teased her in their tent.
• Xu Quan and Liao Jia waited for the enemy and worried that Gongshu Wu’s camp might have been overrun.
• Liao Jia spotted the enemy approaching.

After a disastrous retreat in Beishang County, Qiu Cheng’s surviving officers learned that Old Tian had been killed by Gongshu Wu and blamed Miao Shu’s faulty intelligence. As they withdrew along a route they thought was safer, they remained unaware that Shen Tang had prepared an ambush whichever way they went.

• The Ninth Rank Wudafu regrouped the surviving troops and learned from the Martial Gall Warrior who had fought Bai Su that Old Tian was dead.
• The Ninth Rank Wudafu blamed Miao Shu for providing inaccurate intelligence, and she explained that her Way of the Scholar could not detect troops sheltered from the rain.
• A Martial Gall Warrior intervened to stop their argument and urged them to retreat and inform Qiu Cheng that Shen Tang was prepared to attack again.
• The Ninth Rank Wudafu chose a different retreat route, dismissing Miao Shu’s warning that it might contain an ambush.

Miao Shu’s warning about an ambush was dismissed as the retreating troops continued toward Sibao Prefecture. An enemy attack proved her right, and Shen Tang and Xu Quan led the assault, leaving the Ninth-Rank Wudafu under fierce attack.

• Miao Shu urged the Ninth-Rank Wudafu to change routes, but he rejected her warning and ordered the troops to stay alert.
• Miao Shu reflected on her lack of training as a Literary Scholar and deepened her resentment toward Shen Tang.
• A blade of light struck at the Ninth-Rank Wudafu, killing his guard and throwing the vanguard into chaos.
• Shen Tang attacked the Ninth-Rank Wudafu in red robes and silver armor, while Xu Quan joined the battle and blocked a soldier coming to the Wudafu’s aid.
• Xu Quan teased Liao Jia about Shen Tang enjoying her fight as she pressed her attack.

Xu Quan taunted and fought an enemy Martial Warrior while Shen Tang overwhelmed a ninth-rank Wudafu but held back. After Qi Shan warned her of the danger, Shen Tang beheaded her opponent and called out to Xu Quan.

• Xu Quan used a rapid spear attack to crack his opponent's Martial Armor and taunted him about his age and rank.
• Xu Quan pinned his opponent's weapon to the ground and pressed his attack, leaving the injured man struggling to defend himself.
• Shen Tang used Sword Qi to batter a ninth-rank Wudafu and strike down enemy soldiers, while Qi Shan watched both battles through [Three Hearts, Two Minds].
• Qi Shan sent Shen Tang a warning that holding back could give her opponent a fatal opening.
• Shen Tang cut off the ninth-rank Wudafu's head and shouted at Xu Quan to take control if he could not finish his fight.

Xu Quan nearly killed the enemy Martial Gall Warrior, but an unseen enemy strategist helped the man escape, leaving Shen Tang’s forces victorious but without capturing their main targets. After the battle, Shen Tang reassured Xu Quan and faced Qi Shan’s displeasure over her conduct during the fight.

• Xu Quan overwhelmed the enemy Martial Gall Warrior with his varied weapons, but his killing blow struck a foot soldier after his target suddenly vanished.
• Shen Tang arrived with the enemy commander’s head and teased Xu Quan, who admitted that his opponent had escaped.
• Liao Jia suggested that the enemy strategist had used the Word Spirit “Steal the Peach,” concealed by literary energy in the rain.
• Shen Tang accepted the victory, ordered Liao Jia to count casualties, and gave the dispirited Xu Quan a flatbread.
• Qi Shan confronted Shen Tang about her behavior, and she said she had dragged out the battle to play; he replied that her opponents would benefit if she meant it.

Qiu Cheng learned that Miao Shu’s expedition had suffered a crushing defeat, with only a little over a hundred survivors returning and two veteran Martial Gall Warriors killed. As he confronted Miao Shu and the wounded, a messenger arrived with a paper attached to a feathered arrow.

• Xianyu Jian and Lü Jue returned from their fruitless overnight ambush and learned from Jiang Sheng that Qiu Cheng’s troops had taken another route.
• Qiu Cheng’s principal wife advised him to let Miao Shu lead the expedition and warned that openly favoring her would make others reject her.
• A messenger told Qiu Cheng that the expedition had been crushed, leaving only a little over a hundred survivors and two veteran Martial Gall Warriors dead.
• The wounded Gongcheng blamed Shen Thief’s ambushes for the defeat and defended Miao Shu from blame.
• A runner arrived carrying a feathered arrow with a piece of paper attached.

Qiu Cheng responded to Shen Tang’s threat by preparing for battle, then slapped Miao Shu and ordered her to reflect on herself. Shen Tang and her allies discussed confronting Qiu Cheng in Sibao Prefecture.

• A soldier delivered Shen Tang’s arrow-borne message threatening Qiu Wenyan, and Qiu Cheng ordered his camp to prepare for battle.
• Qiu Cheng reassured the wounded Gongcheng and worked to rally morale after the previous night’s defeat.
• Qiu Cheng slapped Miao Shu, blamed her to reflect on her actions, and left the tent.
• Miao Shu accused Qiu Cheng of bullying the weak and told her aunt to stop putting her in her place.
• Shen Tang said at the morning meeting that she would come to kill Qiu Cheng and discussed using Sibao Prefecture as a stepping stone.

Shen Tang prepared to retaliate against Qiu Cheng for raiding Nanyu County and called on Lord Yang, a former Sibao Prefecture garrison commander, to guide her campaign. Lord Yang agreed to help and corrected the army’s map, giving Shen Tang valuable intelligence for the coming invasion.

• Shen Tang asked Chu Yao where her forces should strike first in Sibao Prefecture, and Chu Yao recommended Lord Yang, the former garrison captain.
• Shen Tang summoned Lord Yang from his post overseeing the salt warehouse and explained that Qiu Cheng’s raid on Nanyu County demanded retaliation.
• Lord Yang agreed to serve Shen Tang despite their past disagreements.
• Lord Yang examined the Sibao Prefecture map, corrected its errors, and marked routes, rivers, mountains, and possible troop positions.
• Shen Tang recognized that Lord Yang’s intelligence gave her forces a major advantage as they prepared to march.

Qiu Cheng’s council debated how to fund and defend against Shen Tang’s impending invasion, deciding to raise taxes and fight despite their shortages. Miao Shu warned them not to underestimate Shen Tang and proposed borrowing allied troops and portraying Shen Tang as a supporter of Zheng Qiao.

• Qiu Cheng’s advisers found no timely source of grain or money and worried that war would deepen their shortages.
• A war-minded general urged raising taxes and invading Shen Tang’s territory to seize its resources, and Qiu Cheng agreed that they had to win.
• The council approved making the people suffer further through increased taxes, promising compensation after victory, then began planning defenses.
• Miao Shu warned that Shen Tang’s forces and Literary Scholars were dangerous, but several advisers mocked her and accused her of weakening morale.
• An eighth-rank Gongcheng defended Miao Shu, and Qiu Cheng asked her for a plan.
• Miao Shu proposed borrowing troops from Huang Lie and the alliance, and suggested framing Shen Tang as Zheng Qiao’s supporter to justify attacking her.