Recaps

Shen Tang returned to the village with Zhai Le and discovered that Lin Feng had begun to sense Heaven and Earth Qi. Lin Feng revealed that the change might have started after she shared a room with Shen Tang, leaving Zhai Le to mistake the scene for a pregnancy announcement.

• Shen Tang brought Zhai Le to the village and showed him her piglets, boasting that castration made their meat taste better.
• Shen Tang tried to recruit Zhai Le to help castrate the pigs, but he escaped to practice martial arts with Gongshu Wu.
• Lin Feng quietly showed Shen Tang a faint strand of pink Heaven and Earth Qi hovering above her palm.
• Lin Feng told Shen Tang that she had felt changes in her body since they shared a room and had found Heaven and Earth Qi near her Dantian.
• Zhai Le walked in on Shen Tang and Lin Feng, then congratulated Shen Tang as though she were about to become a father.

Shen Tang cleared up Zhai Le’s misunderstanding about Lin Feng, then went to help prepare food after he relayed Mr. Chu’s request. Lin Feng later approached Shen Tang alone, and Shen Tang reassured her that she would support her.

• Zhai Le accused Shen Tang of behaving shamelessly, but she reminded him that Lin Feng was only eight years old.
• Lin Feng explained that she was unaccustomed to the mountain’s food and had not been able to relieve herself, then hurried away in embarrassment.
• Shen Tang persuaded Zhai Le that Lin Feng’s mention of a strange thing entering her was about literary energy, and he stopped questioning her.
• Zhai Le told Shen Tang that Mr. Chu wanted her to help in the east kitchen, where Gongshu Wu’s men had brought back pheasants and rabbits.
• Lin Feng found Shen Tang alone and worried over what had happened, and Shen Tang gently assured her she had nothing to fear.

Shen Tang reassured Lin Feng about her future and offered to have Chu Yao or Qi Shan teach her. When Lin Feng demonstrated that she could draw in the Qi of Heaven and Earth, the two men were stunned and wondered what had caused it.

• Lin Feng told Shen Tang she feared being burned to death because she had read stories about women with Literary Hearts and Martial Spirits meeting tragic ends.
• Shen Tang warned Lin Feng that the storybooks misrepresented scholars and asked whether she wanted to study under Chu Yao or Qi Shan.
• Lin Feng asked whether she should tell both men everything, and Shen Tang agreed that she should.
• After dinner, Shen Tang awkwardly announced that Lin Feng had acquired breath, then clarified that she meant the Qi of Heaven and Earth.
• Qi Shan and Chu Yao secured the room and watched as Lin Feng drew out a faint wisp of Qi of Heaven and Earth.

Shen Tang and Qi Shan learned that Lin Feng could cultivate despite being a woman, and Lin Feng explained that a beam of golden light from Shen Tang’s Literary Heart Sigil had changed her body. Chu Yao agreed to teach Lin Feng the literary path, and she became his student.

• Chu Yao and Qi Shan struggled to accept that Lin Feng could store Heaven and Earth Qi, while Shen Tang decided not to correct their misunderstanding of her gender.
• Lin Feng recalled seeing a slender golden beam from Shen Tang’s Literary Heart Sigil on the night they met, after which her body began to change.
• Chu Yao and Qi Shan suspected the golden beam was connected to imperial authority and privately considered its possible significance.
• Chu Yao advised Lin Feng to pursue literature rather than martial arts, and she chose to condense a Literary Heart.
• Chu Yao set daily lessons for Lin Feng at Yinzheng, and she performed the disciple’s rite and greeted him as her teacher.

Chu Yao warned Lin Feng to hide her Literary Qi and present herself as a boy, while Qi Shan considered whether other girls might share her unusual ability. That night, Shen Tang found Lili training and challenged him to a sparring match that escalated into a fierce fight.

• Chu Yao told Lin Feng to keep her Literary Qi secret and dress as a boy, and he asked Qi Shan to seek out other talented girls to test whether Lin Feng was an exception.
• Shen Tang left with Lin Feng after Qi Shan ushered her out, and Lin Feng asked what she had wanted to tell the teachers.
• Unable to sleep, Shen Tang heard Lili practicing with a staff in the training ground and challenged him to spar.
• Lili attacked Shen Tang, and they traded rapid, powerful blows until their wooden staffs broke.
• Shen Tang charged at Lili with her splintered staff as he went to get another one.

After Shen Tang defeated Lili, she followed him to a stream and learned that his despair came from believing his poor birth had kept him from realizing his martial talent and from becoming worthy of Madam. Lili admitted he could not defeat Shen Tang, leaving her to reflect that he had chosen an extraordinary scholar as his measure.

• Qi Shan shut his window against the nighttime fight, while Zhai Le and Gongshu Wu went to sleep.
• Shen Tang defeated Lili in their fight by knocking his weapon away and holding her staff to his throat.
• Lili went to the stream to vent his anger, and Shen Tang followed to check on him.
• Lili explained that Madam’s elder brother had told him he could never give Madam the life she deserved because of their different births.
• Lili recalled how Madam had taught and supported him, but said his efforts had never let him awaken a Martial Gall or sense Qi.
• Lili admitted he could not beat Shen Tang, and Shen Tang pointed out that he had chosen an unusually formidable scholar for comparison.

Shen Tang tested whether Lili wanted a Martial Spirit, then pondered the possibility that she possessed a National Seal and decided not to flee. As she headed back to sleep, she encountered Qi Shan, who addressed her as You Li.

• Shen Tang offered to help Lili obtain a Martial Spirit in exchange for his heartfelt loyalty, but Lili rejected the offer and walked into the woods.
• Shen Tang considered whether her ungraded Literary Heart Sigil indicated that she possessed a National Seal, and suspected Qi Shan and Chu Yao needed something from her.
• Shen Tang tested her theory by seeing whether Lili could use Martial Fortune to contact Heaven and Earth Qi, but the results remained uncertain.
• Shen Tang considered fleeing, then decided to stay because she felt responsible for the people around her and believed she had to shoulder the situation.
• Shen Tang turned toward camp and found Qi Shan waiting nearby; he greeted her as You Li.

Shen Tang confronted Qi Shan about her highest-rank Literary Heart and the National Seal, then asked why he had chosen her to pursue power. Qi Shan urged her to follow her conscience, and Shen Tang prepared to tell him something in return.

• Qi Shan pressed Shen Tang to explain what was troubling her, and she asked when he had discovered her Literary Heart.
• Qi Shan said he had recognized her Sage-rank Literary Heart at their first meeting and confirmed that it meant she possessed the National Seal, though he had no intention of taking it.
• Shen Tang asked why Qi Shan had chosen her over other potential allies, but he only said she had appeared at a convenient time.
• Shen Tang questioned whether she was fit to carve out territory and pursue power, and Qi Shan said she should do her best without betraying her conscience.
• Shen Tang told Qi Shan she wanted to be honest with him too and put a hand on her belt, leaving him alarmed.

Shen Tang tried to convince Qi Shan and Chu Yao that she was a woman, but both dismissed her claims as nonsense or a nightmare. The two men later wondered what they would do if she was telling the truth, while agreeing that neither could change what Heaven had ordained.

• Shen Tang stopped herself from undressing and told Qi Shan she wanted to clarify her gender, but he refused to believe her.
• Unable to sleep, Shen Tang went to Chu Yao and asked whether he believed she was a woman; he mistook her claim for a nightmare and offered to have women's clothes made for her.
• Shen Tang warned Chu Yao and Qi Shan not to expect after-sales support if they later discovered she was truly a woman.
• After Shen Tang left, Chu Yao and Qi Shan asked each other whether they believed her, then considered what to do if she was telling the truth.

Chu Yao began teaching Lin Feng about Word Spirits, while Shen Tang recruited Gongshu Wu and Zhai Le to help castrate piglets. The chapter ended as Chu Yao and the others rushed toward the pigpen after hearing a bloodcurdling squeal.

• Chu Yao patiently taught Lin Feng the basics of Word Spirits, and she made surprisingly quick progress during their lesson.
• Lin Feng asked when she might form a Literary Heart, and Chu Yao explained that it depended on talent, effort, and luck.
• Chu Yao and Lin Feng encountered an exhausted Qi Shan, who had been kept awake by Lin Feng's noisy resonance with Heaven and Earth Qi.
• Shen Tang told Gongshu Wu and Zhai Le that the pigs were ready to be castrated, and both men followed her to the pigpen.
• Shen Tang grabbed a piglet, had Gongshu Wu and Zhai Le hold it down, and asked Gongshu Wu for a small knife.
• Chu Yao and the others hurried toward the pigpen after hearing a piercing squeal.

Shen Tang castrated several piglets while Zhai Le, Gongshu Wu, Qi Shan, and Chu Yao watched or helped. She left the remaining pigs to Gongshu Wu and Zhai Le and planned to write a pig-castration manual with Lin Feng, while the adult boars still awaited a decision.

• Zhai Le and Gongshu Wu held down a squealing piglet as Shen Tang castrated it, and she marveled that it quickly got back on its feet.
• Shen Tang castrated more piglets, including a sow, while Gongshu Wu threatened his men with the same treatment if they neglected their training.
• Shen Tang asked whether the removed testicles could be used as food for Half-Step's men, and Chu Yao agreed after refusing to eat them himself.
• Lin Feng asked why Shen Tang had not gone out to tend the pigs, and Shen Tang explained that the newly castrated piglets needed time to recover.
• Shen Tang invited Lin Feng to help compile a Pig Castration Manual and promised to include her name.

Shen Tang passed the time sparring with Zhai Le while waiting for events in the Northwest to unfold. Lili agreed to learn from Half-Step, and Shen Tang prepared to build her power slowly despite having little to rely on.

• Shen Tang encouraged Lin Feng to credit Xiao Fang and Half-Step in the pig-castration manual, while Chu Yao worried about how their names would look in history.
• Shen Tang and Zhai Le spent their days hunting and sparring, then discussed the Sandbox Battlefield and their wish to fight a battle involving armies.
• Zhai Le told Shen Tang that he would return home the next day.
• Lili told Shen Tang he had changed his mind, and she instructed him to follow Half-Step and learn from him.
• Shen Tang reflected on her lack of resources and decided to build her strength patiently while farming and gathering support.

Zhai Le returned from spending time with Shen Tang and told Zhai Huan about learning to castrate pigs. Zhai Huan revealed that the prefect had asked them to escort a decoy shipment, likely Tax Silver, leaving Zhai Le wary and wondering why his cousin seemed to welcome trouble.

• Zhai Le told Zhai Huan that he had castrated sixteen pigs with Shen Tang and considered raising pigs for meat.
• Zhai Huan told Zhai Le that the prefect of Sibao Prefecture had asked them to help because the prefecture faced manpower shortages and ongoing threats.
• Zhai Huan inferred that the important shipment they were asked to escort was probably Tax Silver.
• Zhai Le warned that escorting Tax Silver could make them a target, but Zhai Huan explained the convoy would be a decoy and hinted that trouble might serve his purposes.

Zhai Huan explained to Zhai Le that turmoil in the northwest could expose hidden threats, while warning him to stay cautious. In Xiaocheng, Shen Tang ran into Gu Chi, who learned that Qi Shan was tending her recently castrated piglets, and hinted that trouble was approaching.

• Zhai Huan told Zhai Le that chaos in the northwest might reveal who was plotting, and warned him to be wary of strangers.
• Zhai Le agreed to stay cautious, then played Go with Zhai Huan and asked to share drinks afterward.
• While waiting for Chu Yao in Xiaocheng, Shen Tang set up a stall selling wine and live portraits.
• Gu Chi encountered Shen Tang and asked whether Qi Yuanliang had come with her.
• Shen Tang said Qi Shan had stayed behind to care for her piglets, prompting Gu Chi to say that things were about to get rough.

Shen Tang learned that Gu Chi likely already knew about the upheaval in Lingzhou and suspected the Northern Desert and the Ten Crows were cooperating. Meanwhile, the prefect sought Gu Chi’s help securing the Tax Silver and reminded him that the Ten Crows and the Northern Desert were allies.

• Gu Chi left Shen Tang to meet the prefect of Sibao Prefecture after a servant found him drinking at her stall.
• Gu Chi asked Shen Tang whether she had heard about the chaos in Lingzhou, then departed after implying that news should already have reached Xiaocheng.
• Shen Tang connected Gu Chi’s knowledge to his ties with the prefect and the Northern Desert, and suspected that the Northern Desert and the Ten Crows were working together.
• The prefect explained that he lacked troops to escort the Tax Silver because he had sent men with decoy caravans and others to search for Gong Wen.
• The prefect told Gu Chi that he planned to ask the Zhai brothers to help protect the silver and stressed that the Ten Crows and the Northern Desert were allies.

Chu Yao returned to the butcher shop and reassured the butcher that Tu Rong could continue studying with him. While catching up with the butcher, Chu Yao discreetly gathered information about several households to learn when the tax silver escort would depart.

• Tu Rong greeted Chu Yao at the butcher shop, while the butcher scolded his son for ruining his new clothes and showing Chu Yao too much deference.
• Chu Yao told the butcher he had moved to a new place with his employer, and the butcher noticed he looked healthier and more at ease.
• Chu Yao agreed to keep teaching Tu Rong alongside his new female student and urged Tu Rong to work hard.
• Chu Yao steered the butcher’s gossip toward a local family to find out whether the younger son, who worked at Xiaocheng’s silver vault, was preparing to travel with the tax silver escort.
• Chu Yao planned to ask about more households because he was not yet sure the younger son would be on the escort team.

Chu Yao gathered gossip about a family suddenly spending freely, then took ARong with him to meet Shen Tang. After Shen Tang reported Gu Chi’s warning, Chu Yao suspected the Northern Desert had allied with the Ten Crows and explained its history of conflict with Chu State.

• Chu Yao learned from the butcher and nearby customers that a local family had recently come into money through the younger son’s new job and had been buying meat every day.
• Chu Yao bought meat and asked the butcher to let ARong accompany him for a few days, then used a roundabout approach to investigate the silver storehouse’s overlooked side entrances.
• Chu Yao waited with ARong for Shen Tang, and the three left the city with their supplies.
• Shen Tang told Chu Yao about her conversation with Gu Chi, and Chu Yao agreed that the Northern Desert might have joined forces with the Ten Crows.
• Chu Yao explained that the Three Heroes of Chu State had earned their renown fighting the Northern Desert, which had repeatedly invaded before being defeated and sending hostages to sue for peace.

Chu Yao explained to Shen Tang why the Northern Desert and Ten Crows had been kept in check by the Vassal Lords despite their cavalry and large populations. Shen Tang realized Zheng Qiao had endangered Xin Country by cooperating with the Ten Crows, while Chu Yao warned Tu Rong not to underestimate them.

• Shen Tang asked Chu Yao why the Northern Desert was considered weak despite its horse ranches and nomadic cavalry.
• Chu Yao explained that the Calamity Star's fragments had gone to central Vassal Lords and that Literary Hearts and Martial Spirits had made horses and cavalry less scarce.
• Chu Yao described how rival Vassal Lords would unite against foreign invasions, then resume fighting once the threat was gone.
• Shen Tang connected Chu Yao's explanation to Zheng Qiao's alliance with the Ten Crows during his conquest of Xin Country.
• Chu Yao said Zheng Qiao had misjudged the Ten Crows and the weakening National Border Barrier, while Tu Rong asked whether the Ten Crows and Northern Desert were weak.
• Chu Yao pinched Tu Rong's cheek and warned him not to underestimate the foreign peoples.

Shen Tang and Chu Yao discussed how the Northern Desert’s foreign peoples had rebuilt their strength, leaving Chu Yao worried about the northwestern states. They returned to the stronghold with the Tax Silver convoy operation tentatively scheduled for five days later.

• Chu Yao explained that the foreign peoples had learned Word Spirits through hostages, marriage alliances, and secret purchases of books, and had nearly caught up with the states.
• Chu Yao worried that the Ten Crows might attack while the northwestern states were weakened by their own wars, though Shen Tang tried to dispel his ominous prediction.
• Shen Tang spotted the stronghold ahead and reminded Chu Yao to watch the rough mountain road as they rode home.
• Qi Shan met Shen Tang and Chu Yao at the gate, learned the operation was set for five days later, and asked Shen Tang how much she could drink.

Shen Tang and her companions tested her drinking tolerance and discovered she passed out after barely tasting wine. As the operation to seize the tax silver approached, they sent the children away and prepared the stockade for trouble, leaving Lili behind to guard the men they had trained.

• Shen Tang passed out after sucking wine from chopstick tips, then ranted drunkenly about people trying to steal her treasure from Banbu before waking a short while later.
• Chu Yao warned Shen Tang not to drink, while Qi Shan suggested her drunken behavior might help with the operation to seize the tax silver.
• Chu Yao sent Lin Feng and the chubby boy to Xiaocheng in case the operation failed, and Shen Tang reassured Lin Feng that she would return for her.
• Gongshu Wu left the trained men in Lili's care and told him to kill any who rebelled, while Shen Tang suggested using nux vomica seeds if they all turned against him.
• Lili questioned why Shen Tang trusted him, and Shen Tang said he had pledged loyalty and warned him not to throw his life away.
• Gongshu Wu and Shen Tang refused to take the men along, judging them too weak to face the elite garrison troops of Sibao Prefecture.

Shen Tang discovered that Chu Yao had restored his Literary Heart and regained his youth by pledging his life to her as a Sovereign with the National Seal. With Chu Yao joining Shen Tang, Gongshu Wu, and Qi Shan, the group set out to intercept the Tax Silver as a surprisingly powerful four-person crew.

• A gray-haired young man emerged from the woods and revealed himself to be Chu Yao, surprising Shen Tang and Gongshu Wu.
• Chu Yao explained that he had restored his Dantian and condensed a Literary Heart by pledging his life to Shen Tang, though it would take years to fully recover.
• Qi Shan explained that Chu Yao's life was now bound to Shen Tang's and that his rapid recovery showed how valuable he was.
• Shen Tang asked why Chu Yao had not sought her permission before making the sacrifice, leaving Gongshu Wu impressed by her reaction.
• Shen Tang and Gongshu Wu noted that their group of four, including three Literary Scholars, was extravagantly strong for intercepting the Tax Silver.

As Shen Tang and Chu Yao traveled with Gongshu Wu and Qi Shan, Chu Yao revealed that he had regained his Second Rank Upper-Middle Literary Heart, while Gongshu Wu recalled his rise and fall from youthful fame. The two strategists reflected on how they had gambled on Shen Tang and felt guilty for drawing her into turmoil, as the group continued toward its next task.

• Shen Tang told Chu Yao she hoped he had regained his Second Rank Upper-Middle Literary Heart so he would have one less regret, and Chu Yao confirmed that he had.
• Gongshu Wu recalled seeing Chu Yao celebrated as one of the Three Luminaries during the Northern Desert campaign, then reflected on how far Chu Yao had fallen before they reunited in Xiaocheng.
• Gongshu Wu tried to recruit Qi Shan, who explained that he and Chu Yao had initially stayed with Shen Tang to take a gamble.
• Qi Shan and Chu Yao privately felt guilty for pushing the sincere Shen Tang toward turmoil, while Shen Tang remained unaware of their concerns.

Two days after the governor assigned the Zhai brothers to escort the Tax Silver, their convoy reached a road blocked by a landslide. The governor’s elaborate plan had sent thousands of soldiers away from Xiaocheng, and the chapter left the Captain facing a delay or a dangerous detour.

• At a banquet, the governor introduced the Zhai brothers to a Captain and hinted that Zhai Le should command the escort, but Zhai Le refused and the Captain resented the brothers.
• The governor arranged five Tax Silver convoys, four false and one real, and sent a thousand soldiers with each convoy on staggered routes.
• As Zhai Le and Zhai Huan rode with their convoy, Zhai Le worried that Xiaocheng’s defenses would be weakened and Zhai Huan agreed that a bandit attack was possible.
• The convoy passed safely through a gorge and reached the main road, where a scout reported that a landslide would take at least half a day to clear.
• The Captain learned that forcing a path through might trigger another landslide, leaving the governor and Captain to consider taking a detour.

Zhai Huan suspected that the convoy’s supposedly fake tax silver was real after Captain Yang chose a risky detour to avoid delay. The soldiers struggled along the muddy mountain trail, while Zhai Le joked that the scene resembled a plot from Water Margin.

• A landslide blocked the convoy’s route, and a scout estimated that clearing it would take at least half a day.
• Zhai Huan warned Zhai Le to stay alert after guessing that Captain Yang’s urgency meant the tax silver might be real.
• Captain Yang chose a remote detour, and the exhausted soldiers struggled to push the heavy carts along the muddy trail.
• Captain Yang drove the soldiers onward, and Zhai Le laughed that the scene resembled the Liangshan Heroes’ plan to seize the birthday tribute.

Captain Yang’s convoy struggled through a muddy mountain detour, where Zhai Huan discovered the cargo was genuine tax silver. As the rain worsened, the group encountered an old man and a Shepherd Boy on the road, leaving their identities uncertain.

• Captain Yang whipped the exhausted soldiers until Zhai Huan persuaded him to let them rest for a quarter of an hour.
• Zhai Le searched for a date peddler and wine seller while the soldiers recovered, but the rain soon forced the convoy back onto the muddy road.
• A soldier fell while pushing a cart, spilling silver ingots from two chests and confirming Zhai Huan’s suspicion that the convoy carried real Tax Silver.
• Zhai Le heard a flute, and the soldiers encountered an old man and a Shepherd Boy riding an ox through the rain.
• The old man explained that he had come to bring his grandson a rain cape and Bamboo Hat, but a subordinate ordered them to leave the road.