Chapter Summaries

A Yan stopped Shao Chong’s frenzy by putting the Gu Worm inside him to sleep, then returned to his teacher and Lin Si Shu. Days later, Chao Lian met Gongxi Chou and noticed that his clan marking matched the pattern worn by the missing boy.

• Shao Chong tried to take A Yan’s flower and attacked him, but A Yan forced him back and used his staff to make the Gu Worm in Shao Chong’s body sleep.
• Chao Lian offered A Yan candy in exchange for asking his teacher about curing the Gu Worm, and A Yan agreed before disappearing.
• Gu Ren sealed the city and searched for A Yan, while A Yan met Lin Si Shu at a teahouse and returned to his teacher.
• A Yan’s teacher said they would travel south so A Yan, whom he called Shaobai, could pursue cultivation at Mountain Sea Sacred Land.
• A Yan’s teacher said he knew how to kill the Gu Worm but could not do it, and teased A Yan for eating candy after noticing a lost tooth.
• After the search for A Yan failed, Chao Lian met Gongxi Chou and showed him a drawing of the marking that matched the boy’s clothing.

Gongxi Chou learned that a young man resembling him had sealed Shao Chong’s Gu Worm, then set out to find Zhang He and investigate the Sacred Object. Meanwhile, Qiu Cheng’s funeral damaged the Qiu Clan’s reputation, and Shen Tang assigned her overworked team to prepare Sibao Prefecture for war and conduct mass examinations.

• Gongxi Chou learned from Chao Lian about a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy who had subdued Thirteen and rushed to Gu Ren’s hall to inspect Shao Chong.
• Gongxi Chou found a High Priest’s seal on Shao Chong’s back and explained that it would keep the Gu Worm suppressed for now, though Shao Chong needed to strengthen the seal or his cultivation before it failed.
• After learning that no one knew where the boy had gone, Gongxi Chou left for Yiru to question Zhang He about whether the Sacred Object resembled Mama.
• Qiu Cheng’s corpse returned to the Qiu Clan, where his brother and sister-in-law arranged the funeral as guests blamed them for his death and began avoiding the clan.
• Shen Tang ordered mass physical examinations across Sibao Prefecture to prevent more incidents like Miao Shu’s and assigned Luan Xin to help Elder Physician Dong despite his other duties.

Elder Physician Dong examined Luan Xin’s badly injured leg, encouraged him to seek revenge, and praised Shen Tang’s leadership. Luan Xin then accompanied Shen Zhi and Lin Feng as Shen Zhi used her Way of the Scholar to cultivate cotton, revealing her ability to improve its traits over generations.

• Elder Physician Dong examined Luan Xin’s scarred, burned leg and prescribed medicine to ease its pain.
• Elder Physician Dong urged Luan Xin to take revenge on his still-living enemy and told him he trusted him because Shen Tang did.
• Elder Physician Dong discussed promising young recruits with Luan Xin, who recalled a former female student he had failed to teach well.
• Luan Xin met Shen Zhi at the office, and Liao Jia sent them to join Lin Feng in the cotton fields.
• Shen Zhi used her Literary Heart Sigil to spur the cotton shoots’ growth, and Luan Xin felt the vitality carried by the wind.
• Lin Feng explained that Shen Zhi could guide cotton’s descendants toward larger bolls and greater disease resistance, making her essential to producing better seeds.

Shen Tang discovered that Shen Zhi’s Way of the Scholar could improve flowering plants and sent her to work with Lin Feng and Luan Xin on crops, especially cotton. As the year ended, Shen Tang celebrated their progress, the arrival of ransom money, and the government office’s holiday and New Year festivities.

• Shen Tang explained that Shen Zhi could cultivate plants with desired traits, and Shen Zhi learned that her incomplete skill worked only on flowering plants and would require many generations to stabilize improvements.
• Shen Tang directed Shen Zhi to practice on peach and pear trees, while Lin Feng helped her cultivate the plants and Chu Yao arranged to find experienced beekeepers.
• Shen Tang sent Shen Zhi to Sibao Prefecture, where she worked with Lin Feng and Luan Xin to cultivate cotton; Lin Feng later reported their success to Shen Tang.
• Shen Tang offered Shen Zhi a government position, and Shen Zhi accepted.
• Luan Xin learned that ransom money had arrived and heard Shen Tang explain that she was also happy about the prospect of warmer cotton clothes for the common people.
• The government office held its closing-pen ceremony, gave out rewards, and announced a holiday, a team-building banquet, and New Year festivities.

Shen Tang’s people welcomed the New Year with red envelopes, a whole-pig banquet, and a lantern fair and fireworks display in Xiaocheng. During the celebrations, Shen Tang teased Xun Ding about Gongxi Lai, while Luan Xin joined his family in the streets and watched an iron-flower performance.

• Shen Tang and Lin Feng prepared New Year’s money and received a chef and ten pigs sent from Ruyao by Chu Yao and the others.
• At the New Year’s banquet, Shen Tang gave red envelopes to her colleagues and their children, joked about the camp’s unmarried men, and shared a whole-pig feast with everyone.
• On New Year’s Eve, Shen Tang watched the lantern fair and fireworks, then startled Xun Ding and Gongxi Lai while hanging from the eaves and teased Xun Ding about his intentions.
• Luan Xin took his wife and three children to the crowded festival, recalling the painful memories behind his injured leg but deciding to enjoy the celebration with them.
• Luan Xin’s family reached the fireworks venue and watched a performer scatter glowing iron into a dazzling iron-flower display.

Shen Tang was dragged out to enjoy New Year shopping with Lin Feng and the others, where she considered how performances could improve ordinary people's entertainment. Their outing turned into a public spectacle when she discovered her soldiers brawling outside a brothel, and Bai Su began rounding them up.

• Lin Feng carried Shen Tang out of the Prefectural Government and took her shopping with Shen Zhi, Bai Su, and women's battalion officials.
• Shen Tang discussed staging stories for entertainment and told Lin Feng to collect booklets, though Sibao Prefecture needed to focus on feeding people first.
• The group spotted a fight outside a brothel, and Shen Tang realized the brawlers were likely her soldiers.
• Shen Tang ordered Bai Su to bring the soldiers upstairs and threatened them with deadly punishment if they further damaged her reputation.
• Bai Su subdued the brawlers, found more soldiers hiding nearby, and dragged one of them toward the restaurant.

Shen Tang punished soldiers who had violated military discipline by brawling outside a brothel, ordering the offenders expelled from the army after they received the Military Cudgel. Gu Chi accepted responsibility for carrying out the expulsions, and he and Luan Xin agreed that the soldiers might pose a threat if allowed to remain.

• Bai Su brought the soldiers responsible for the brawl before Shen Tang, who angrily reprimanded them for ignoring army regulations and ordered them punished.
• Shen Tang ordered the Military Cudgel for those who deserved it and told Bai Su to use the incident to warn the rest of the army.
• Qi Shan, Luan Xin, Gu Chi, and other officials arrived to plead guilty, and Shen Tang assigned Gu Chi to expel the offenders from the army.
• Gu Chi and Jiang Sheng discussed the incident as they went to watch the punishment, and Jiang Sheng warned Gu Chi to wash with mugwort leaves afterward.
• While walking with Gu Chi, Luan Xin said he would not spare the offenders if he were still a military adviser, and Gu Chi said he agreed.

Gu Chi admitted to Luan Xin that he had helped drive Duke Wen Yan to suicide, while Shen Tang dismissed Luan Xin’s lingering doubts and assured Gu Chi she would protect him. As work resumed, Shen Tang’s government prepared for spring plowing and war after Huang Lie sent word about the armies’ rendezvous.

• Luan Xin confronted Gu Chi over Duke Wen Yan’s death, and Gu Chi confessed that he had pushed Duke Wen Yan toward suicide after the ransom arrived.
• Shen Tang told Gu Chi that Luan Xin had already wavered and promised to protect him, then shared hot pot with him until he suffered from eating too much chili.
• After government offices reopened, Shen Tang and her officials rushed to finish farmland planning, wasteland clearing, medical examinations, and cottonseed experiments before spring plowing.
• Shen Tang learned from Huang Lie’s letter when the armies would rendezvous, prompting preparations for an expedition and for defending the home front.

Shen Tang’s morning assembly debated the coming campaign against Zheng Qiao, including the source of his warriors’ loyalty and the limits on the troops they could commit. She selected several subordinates to join the expedition, then eyed Qiu Cheng’s former subordinates as she considered how to address the shortage of personnel.

• Shen Tang asked why Zheng Qiao had survived so long, and Luan Xin explained that his National Seal and Way of the Feudal Lord gave his warriors immense martial fortune and loyalty.
• Qi Shan explained that rulers could gain national fortune through extreme uses of their Ways of the Feudal Lord, but Shen Tang could not take that shortcut because her own way was special.
• Luan Xin revealed that Zheng Qiao had two Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao, though the second had not yet entered the field, and said using such power carried a heavy burden that could cost lifespan.
• Shen Tang proposed taking more troops from Yonggu Pass, but Qi Shan cited Wuhui’s warning that its garrison must remain unless victory was assured and losses could be controlled.
• Shen Tang and the assembly planned troop numbers and supply arrangements, then Shen Tang selected Luan Xin, Jiang Sheng, and Ning Yan for the campaign.
• Shen Tang struggled to decide how to deploy the remaining subordinates and looked over Qiu Cheng’s former subordinates as she considered her options.

Shen Tang finalized plans for the home front and assigned her trusted subordinates for the coming Dragon Slaying Bureau campaign. After Yang Ying joined the army and the morning meeting settled the roster and a dispute over the women's battalion, Shen Tang led thirty thousand soldiers toward Xingyang Road.

• Shen Tang explained why Qiu Cheng's former subordinates could govern the rear without commanding troops, and Luan Xin reassured them that their appointments were not a test.
• Lord Yang asked Shen Tang to let Yang Ying enlist, and she assigned Yang Ying to a combat unit after warning him about the dangers of battle.
• Shen Tang left Qi Shan and Liao Jia to oversee the home front and assigned them work on reconstruction, farming, business, displaced people, and recruitment.
• Shen Tang kept the women's battalion out of the Dragon Slaying Bureau for now, ordered a thirty-percent increase in its military pay, and rebuked a subordinate who objected to women serving in battle.
• After spring plowing ended, Shen Tang assembled her troops and led thirty thousand soldiers to Xingyang Road.

Shen Tang met Zhao Feng while marching to join the Dragon Slaying Bureau and learned how Zhao Wei acquired the courtesy name Da Wei. At a banquet with Wu Xian, she proposed a way to force the allied forces to fight in earnest, leaving Wu Xian eager to consider her plan.

• Shen Tang explained to Xun Ding that the war against Zheng Qiao had stalled after the allies squandered their chance to hold Yanzhou.
• Shen Tang encountered Zhao Feng, learned Zhao Wei was escorting the provisions, and told him how Zhao Wei had unknowingly engraved Da Wei as her courtesy name on her Martial Gall Tiger Tally.
• Zhao Feng invited Shen Tang to Wu Xian's banquet, where Wu Xian welcomed her and offered her a male dancer and his daughter as potential companions; Shen Tang refused both offers.
• Shen Tang warned Wu Xian that the Dragon Slaying Bureau's allies might not stay united and proposed that he withdraw after a defeat to pressure the others into fighting.
• Wu Xian praised Shen Tang's proposal and grew more enthusiastic toward her, while Gu Chi recognized the dancer Gongxi Chou.

Gongxi Chou learned that the Dragon Slaying Bureau's Alliance Army was fighting Zheng Qiao near Xingyang Road, while Shen Tang heard how Xu Xie's grain dispute with Wu Xian's subordinate worsened amid factional infighting. Lin Feng showed Liao Jia a scandalous storybook she had collected, and Shen Tang's forces received a visit from Gu Ren's aunt as they arrived at the battlefield.

• Gongxi Chou asked two diners about the fighting at Xingyang Road and heard a rumor that Zheng Qiao's strongest fighter might crush the Dragon Slaying Alliance Army.
• Gu Chi told Shen Tang that Xu Xie's grain procurement in Heyin had been obstructed by Wu Xian's trusted subordinate, and that the dispute had become entangled with infighting over Wu Xian's sons.
• Shen Tang concluded that Xu Xie and Wu Xian were nearly estranged, while Gu Chi said one final spark would soon deepen their conflict.
• Lin Feng showed Liao Jia a daring storybook about a male courtesan who became a powerful lord's aide, and Liao Jia and Qi Shan discussed adapting the stories for public performances.
• Shen Tang's forces finished establishing camp at Xingyang Road, where Shen Tang recognized Gu Ren's aunt among the visitors being surrounded by soldiers.

Shen Tang met Gu Ren’s sworn brothers, assured them she was committed to the campaign against Zheng Qiao, and presented a plan that helped rally the Alliance Army. At Huang Lie’s strategy meeting, Tao Yan and Qian Yong clashed with Shen Tang, whose forces were assigned to the left flank, while Gu Chi hinted that Tao Yan was his enemy.

• Shao Chong and Chao Lian visited Shen Tang, and Chao Lian explained that Shao Chong’s mind had improved after years of treatment.
• Shao Chong ate a feast of pork and challenged Shen Tang to a fight, but she postponed it until after the campaign.
• Gu Ren’s sixth sworn brother asked about Shen Tang’s commitment, and she described her plans for working with Wu Xian against Zheng Qiao.
• Three days later, Shen Tang attended Huang Lie’s Alliance Army meeting, where she met Huang Lie and argued with Tao Yan over the proposed vanguard assignment.
• Shen Tang’s troops were assigned to the left flank, and Gu Chi told her that Tao Yan was probably after him.

Gu Chi learned that Tao Yan had helped cause his family's deaths, while Tao Yan discovered Gu Chi's identity and discussed whether to eliminate him. After Gu Chi wrote another strange tale, he went to meet a woman from his past, whose identity he did not recognize.

• Gu Chi told Shen Tang that Tao Yan had been behind the plot that killed his grandfather and father, and Shen Tang promised to deal with him.
• Tao Yan learned that Shen Tang's aide was Gu Chi, the surviving son of his former teacher, and his subordinate urged him to kill Gu Chi.
• Tao Yan told his wife that Gu Chi had returned and was serving Shen Youli, and she asked where he was.
• Shen Tang had Gu Chi watched in case he broke down, but Gu Chi instead wrote a story under the pen name Five Elements Lack Virtue.
• Gu Chi accepted an invitation to meet an unknown woman outside the camp, with Bai Su secretly guarding him.
• Gu Chi saw the woman in the moonlight and asked who she was.

Gu Chi met the younger sister of his former fiancée, who returned the jade pendant and told him how his former fiancée died during the defense of a city against Zheng Qiao’s army. The encounter eased Gu Chi’s mood but brought his family’s slaughter and his unresolved blood feud back to the surface; he ended by asking Bai Su what she thought of the woman.

• A woman named Feng met Gu Chi and revealed that she was the younger sister of the woman once betrothed to him.
• Gu Chi lost control of his literary aura when Feng called him Gu Guanchao, and he corrected her to Gu Wangchao.
• Feng returned Gu Chi’s family jade pendant and told him that her sister had died after being eaten during the desperate defense of a city against Zheng Qiao’s forces.
• Feng explained that her sister had once admired Gu Chi, regretted the Feng family’s role in the Gu clan’s destruction, and had treasured the pendant until her death.
• After Feng left, Bai Su teased Gu Chi, who explained why he had changed the characters on his Literary Heart Sigil and said his family and loved ones lay beneath the river tide.
• Gu Chi told Bai Su that his blood feud could not be washed away, then asked what she thought of Feng.

Gu Chi suspected Tao Shenyu’s wife had ulterior motives after she told him about her late elder sister, once betrothed to him. After returning to camp, he asked Shen Tang to investigate where Tao Shenyu had been stationed, while the woman told Tao Yan that Gu Chi had been moved by her story.

• Gu Chi explained to Bai Su that Tao Shenyu’s wife wanted his compassion for her late elder sister, whose family was tied to the deaths of six members of his Gu family.
• Gu Chi recovered the Jade Pendant and discussed story ideas with Bai Su, then suggested a tale about a wandering knight who traveled a thousand miles to catch a thief.
• Bai Su chased Gu Chi with her swords after realizing he had called her a thief, and Shen Tang intervened before she could beat him.
• Shen Tang told Gu Chi that the woman was Tao Shenyu’s wife, the Fiery Lady, and described her ruthless treatment of prisoners of war.
• Gu Chi recounted the woman’s story and asked Shen Tang to investigate Tao Shenyu’s past postings because the woman’s thoughts had seemed unnaturally perfect.
• The woman returned to Tao Yan and said Gu Chi had been moved by her story, while Tao Yan praised her for lowering Gu Chi’s guard.

Tao Yan’s plot to assassinate Gu Chi failed when Old Military Advisor Li died in a dream, apparently killed by a Martial Gall Warrior using the Jade Pendant as a medium. Shen Tang’s camp found a headless body in Bai Su’s tent and began investigating which rival faction had sent the dead spy.

• Tao Yan and his companion planned to kill Gu Chi secretly, but agreed to wait several days after Old Military Advisor Li tested Gu Chi with his [Yellow Millet Dream].
• Tao Yan’s aide reported that Old Military Advisor Li had died, and Tao Yan and the woman learned that a Martial Gall Warrior’s energy marked the fatal wound.
• Tao Yan ordered an investigation into Shen Tang’s camp, while Shen Tang discovered a fresh headless corpse in Bai Su’s tent and Bai Su feared she had killed someone in a dream.
• Gu Chi identified the corpse’s fine brocade as evidence that the dead man was an outsider, and Xun Ding confirmed that no one was missing from their camp.
• Shen Tang considered Tao Yan among the suspects, then agreed to Chu Yao’s suggestion to display the body and watch for whoever came to claim it.

Jiang Sheng suspected Bai Su had a hereditary soul-leaving disorder after she described killing a man in a dream, and Shen Tang’s camp displayed the resulting headless corpse. At the alliance meeting, Tao Yan’s delusional thoughts sparked rumors linking Shen Tang and Gu Chi, before news of a commotion at Zheng Qiao’s camp interrupted the uneasy calm.

• Jiang Sheng found no physical cause for Bai Su’s condition and recommended medicine and guards to watch over her while she slept.
• Bai Su told Gu Chi that she had dreamed of killing him after he insulted her, then woke to find a headless corpse in her bed.
• Shen Tang hung the corpse at her camp gate, and the alliance leaders agreed to display it near their battle lines as proof of Zheng Qiao’s treachery.
• Gu Chi heard Tao Yan’s thoughts accusing Shen Tang of killing Old Military Advisor Li and imagining that Shen Tang and Gu Chi were lovers.
• Gu Chi told Luan Xin about Tao Yan’s fantasies, and rumors soon spread that Shen Tang favored men and had a special favorite under her command.
• Chu Yao grew furious over the rumors, but the gossip ended when a commotion at Zheng Qiao’s camp drew everyone’s attention.

Shen Tang and Jiang Sheng warned Huang Lie that the forces at Chaoli Pass might exploit the fog for a night raid, and Shen Tang strengthened her patrols. The raid began under cover of darkness, but Shen Tang’s password system exposed one enemy patrol, leaving Yang Ying’s squad fighting for survival as they called for help.

• At Chaoli Pass, the general dismissed the headless corpse hanging outside, while Shen Tang and Xun Ding examined the strange man-made mountains near the pass and Xun Zhen explained their history.
• Shen Tang realized the Alliance Army was avoiding responsibility for the corpse, leaving Tao Yan to suffer while Gu Chi enjoyed his predicament.
• After receiving Jiang Sheng’s warning about the wind and fog, Shen Tang took him to Huang Lie, who agreed to alert the other factions about a possible night raid.
• Shen Tang expanded her night patrols and changed their passwords every two days as the Alliance Army’s military works neared completion.
• The general at Chaoli Pass sent raiders in three groups through the fog, and one group approached Shen Tang’s camp after killing sentries along the way.
• Yang Ying recognized that the approaching patrol gave an outdated password, attacked the disguised enemies, and ordered an arrow fired for help.

Yang Ying sent a warning signal during the night raid, while Yu Zi helped her escape and Shen Tang's prepared defenses turned the attack into a fiery trap. The chapter left the fighting ongoing as Shao Chong repelled an enemy general and Shen Tang's allies watched the blaze and considered sending aid.

• Yang Ying fought the enemy general, lost nineteen soldiers, and fired a signal arrow after Yu Zi's traps and barriers helped her survive.
• Yu Zi explained that she had spotted the raid with her scout and warned Yang Ying to be cautious around Strategist Kang; Yang Ying returned to battle, driven by guilt and anger.
• Shen Tang and Chu Yao watched the enemy attack the well-prepared camp as they waited for possible reinforcements and the general guarding Chaoli Pass.
• Shao Chong overwhelmed an enemy general who had broken into Gu Ren's camp, but Gu Ren ordered him not to pursue the retreating foe.
• Gu Ren learned that Wu Zhaode's camp had diverted most of the enemy force with Qin Li's fog, while Wu Xian sent Da Yi to check on Shen Tang.
• Shen Tang's forces used traps, caltrops, fuel, and Word Spirit to set the enemy approach ablaze, making the camp's fire visible to neighboring armies.