Chapter Summaries

Shen Tang decided to buy the towering man who had pushed her over, despite Zhai Le’s objections and the vendor’s warning that the man had killed someone. The onlookers began explaining the circumstances of the death, leaving Shen Tang to learn the man’s history.

• Zhai Le failed to befriend the man, while Shen Tang blamed the Black-faced Gentleman for knocking her down and threatened to deal with it later.
• Shen Tang asked the vendor how much he wanted for the man, and the man sprang up and insisted he would not be sold.
• Zhai Le warned Shen Tang that the man was an extraordinary talent who should be recruited rather than bought.
• The vendor said the man had killed someone who had been in bed with him, making Shen Tang suspect he was a wife-beater.
• The vendor denied that explanation, and the gathered onlookers began telling Shen Tang what had happened.

Shen Tang learned Lili’s extraordinary history and tried to buy him from a merchant. Qi Shan recognized Lili and stopped him with a line that made him turn back.

• The merchant recounted how Lili’s immense strength and appetite led his family to sell him, and how he became notorious after an affair with the previous governor’s sister.
• Shen Tang and Zhai Le realized Lili’s name had inspired suggestive rumors, while Lili remained unmoved by the gossip.
• Qi Shan returned, briefly recognized Lili, and agreed to help Shen Tang buy him because Lili had shoved her and hit her pig.
• Shen Tang offered two taels and promised to buy other people from the merchant, while Lili tried to leave.
• Qi Shan quoted a line about returning from ten thousand miles looking younger, and Lili stopped and turned back with a threatening gaze.

Qi Shan revealed his connection to Lili through Madam Mei, the Poisonous Spider, and persuaded Lili to join Shen Tang’s group. They returned to the settlement with more than seventy recruits and the dead child Shen Tang had taken from his mother.

• Lili reacted with hostility when Qi Shan recited lines from a painting, but Qi Shan explained that he had once helped Madam Mei restore it.
• Qi Shan told Lili that Madam Mei was doing well, and Lili asked about the painting before agreeing to go with them.
• Qi Shan selected more than seventy people to join their group, including young men and women experienced in needlework and farming.
• Shen Tang took the dead child from his mother and promised the woman that caring for herself could give her a chance to reunite with her son.
• On the way back, Lili watched Shen Tang’s group, and a black-clothed youth asked why Lili had never trained in martial arts despite his natural strength.

Shen Tang learned how the National Seal granted officials Literary and Martial Fortune and wondered whether those benefits could help Lili form a Martial Spirit or restore Chu Wu Hui’s ruined Literary Heart. The discussion ended with Qi Shan hinting that restoring a Literary Heart required a dangerous exchange of life, while Shen Tang noted a book that might explain the path.

• Qi Shan explained that people generally had to sense Heaven and Earth Qi before age ten to form a Literary Heart or Martial Spirit, but officials and generals could gain Literary and Martial Fortune through the National Seal.
• Shen Tang suggested Lili could become a general to gain a Martial Spirit, and Zhai Le warned that rising high enough to earn the necessary Martial Fortune would be extremely difficult.
• Shen Tang asked whether serving in government could restore a ruined Literary Heart, and Qi Shan said it usually could not because the Dantian Destruction Punishment also sealed the victim’s meridians.
• Qi Shan acknowledged that exceptions existed but said the path required trading one’s life, and he noted that Chu Wu Hui already knew what it involved.
• Zhai Le recommended Biographies of Famous Ministers and Scholars, and Shen Tang made a note to read it.

Shen Tang and Zhai Le discussed marriage and why women could not possess a Literary Heart or Martial Gall, stirring painful memories for Lili. Shen Tang proposed that the restriction might come from who held the National Seal, and Qi Shan cited a similar theory that could only be tested under female rule.

• Shen Tang teased Zhai Le about staying away from home and joked that he was still young, while Zhai Le insisted he was a grown man.
• Zhai Le asked what kind of wife Shen Tang wanted and explained that he hoped to marry someone who enjoyed fighting, hunting, and archery.
• Zhai Le wondered why women could not have a Literary Heart or Martial Gall, and Lili recalled Poisonous Spider being forbidden by her brother from keeping him as a lover.
• Shen Tang suggested that women's inability to form a Literary Heart or Martial Gall might depend on who held the National Seal and distributed Literary and Martial Fortune.
• Zhai Le pointed out that women could sense the Qi of Heaven and Earth but could not retain it or open their Dantian, and Qi Shan said a similar theory required a female ruler and female officials to test.

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.