Chapter Summaries

Song Qingshu fought Yang Miaozhen’s Pear Blossom Spear, taking a wound to escape its relentless assault and counterattack with his sword. As their duel continued, the spectators thought Yang Miaozhen had gained the advantage, while Song Qingshu’s allies worried about the Red Tunic Army alliance.

• Song Qingshu judged that unleashing Myriad Swords Returning to Origin could kill Yang Miaozhen, so he took her first spear strike and retreated with the wound.
• Yang Miaozhen pursued Song Qingshu, who used Treading Sand Without Trace to counterattack with his wooden sword.
• Ren Yingying rescued Zhao Min from the fighting, and Zhao Min teased her about her feelings for Song Qingshu before misunderstanding why Ren Yingying hated him.
• After a hundred exchanges, Song Qingshu’s movements turned illusory and he pressed Yang Miaozhen into a shrinking space, though the spectators saw her silver spear light overwhelm his sword shadows.
• Ren Yingying worried that Yang Miaozhen might threaten the alliance negotiations, while Zhao Min doubted the Red Tunic Army could be made to serve the Mongol Empire.

Zhao Min traveled south under the cover of a Song embassy to recruit rebel forces in the Jin and Qing territories, as Temujin maneuvered to weaken Prince Ruyang Chahan. She watched Yang Miaozhen lose a duel to Song Qingshu, though he said her mercy made the outcome a draw.

• Temujin planned to move Chahan from the Western Regions to face the Qing and Jin, while sending Ariq Böke west to fight the Ming Cult and Hui Tribe.
• After rumors of the proposed exchange of fiefs reached Prince Ruyang's Mansion, Wang Baobao accused Temujin of favoring Ariq Böke, but Chahan prepared to take over Ariq Böke's campaign.
• Chahan sent Zhao Min to contact the Red Tunic Army and help reunite the fragmented Shandong Golden Snake Camp under cover of an embassy to the Southern Song.
• Zhao Min considered using the Golden Wheel Monk and Xuanming Elders to pressure Yang Miaozhen, but abandoned the idea after seeing Song Qingshu's composure.
• Yang Miaozhen conceded defeat after her duel with Song Qingshu, and he said her spear had spared him serious injury, making the result a draw at most.

Song Qingshu and Yang Miaozhen ended their duel on friendly terms, but Jin cavalry arrived before Ren Yingying could force him to honor their wager. Injured and traveling under an alias, Song Qingshu accepted Madam Tang’s help as Zhao Min watched with growing jealousy, then Zhao Min left the carriage when Madam Tang offered to help him undress.

• Song Qingshu credited Yang Miaozhen with showing mercy, and she praised his swordsmanship while suggesting he had been distracted by concern for Zhao Min.
• Ren Yingying reminded Song Qingshu that their agreement made a draw his loss, but Zhao Min pretended not to understand his plea for help.
• Yang Miaozhen’s subordinates warned that Jin cavalry was approaching, so Yang and Ren led their forces away before the cavalry arrived.
• Zhao Min discovered that Yang Miaozhen’s spear had wounded Song Qingshu, while Madam Tang protected them from the Jin general and brought Song into her carriage.
• Madam Tang warned Song Qingshu to conceal his identity while injured, then flirted with him and offered to help him undress.
• Zhao Min grew angry at Madam Tang’s advances and Song Qingshu’s apparent willingness, then said she would go outside for air.

Zhao Min stayed with the wounded Song Qingshu in a carriage while Madam Tang teased them and prepared to treat his injury. When the bandages were discarded, Madam Tang revealed a dagger hidden against her thigh, leaving Zhao Min alarmed.

• Madam Tang mistook Zhao Min's jealousy for a lover's concern and invited her to serve Song Qingshu with her, embarrassing Zhao Min.
• Madam Tang asked Zhao Min to help undress Song Qingshu and prepare to treat his wound, and Zhao Min reluctantly removed his bloodstained clothes.
• Madam Tang threw away the foul-smelling bandages, then applied medicine to Song Qingshu while he rested on her lap.
• Zhao Min urged Madam Tang to bind Song Qingshu's bleeding wound, and Madam Tang began loosening her robes to offer another solution.
• Madam Tang drew a gleaming dagger from against her thigh, shocking Zhao Min.

Madam Tang bound Song Qingshu’s wound with cloth cut from her clothing and explained the purpose of her Chastity Guard dagger before giving it to him. The group reached her residence and stayed the night, where Zhao Min teased Song Qingshu about Madam Tang’s intentions and he turned the teasing back on her.

• Madam Tang reassured Zhao Min that she meant no harm and used a strip of her brocade to bandage Song Qingshu’s wound.
• Song Qingshu examined Madam Tang’s dagger as she explained how women on the grasslands used such blades to defend their chastity.
• Madam Tang offered Song Qingshu the Chastity Guard, and he accepted it after Zhao Min encouraged him.
• Madam Tang brought Song Qingshu and Zhao Min to her residence for the night and arranged separate rooms for them.
• Zhao Min teased Song Qingshu about Madam Tang’s suggestive offer, and he asked to see Zhao Min’s own Chastity Guard, making her blush and refuse.

Song Qingshu and Zhao Min discussed Madam Tang’s mysterious identity and compared the abilities of Yang Miaozhen, the Xuanming Elders, the Golden Wheel Monk, and Song Qingshu himself. Zhao Min began explaining why Song Qingshu’s swordsmanship felt different from Tai Chi Sword when Madam Tang interrupted them.

• Song Qingshu and Zhao Min speculated that Madam Tang’s name might be a deliberate alias, and Zhao Min urged him to discover her Jurchen name.
• Song Qingshu assessed Yang Miaozhen’s spear skills as formidable and said she could defeat either of the Xuanming Elders alone.
• Song Qingshu reconsidered his judgment of the Golden Wheel Monk and said a fight between him and Yang Miaozhen could go either way.
• Zhao Min praised Song Qingshu’s swordsmanship and recalled how she and Prince Ruyang’s masters had studied Tai Chi Sword after Zhang Wuji used it on Wudang Mountain.
• Zhao Min started to explain how Song Qingshu’s swordsmanship felt different from Tai Chi Sword, but Madam Tang called to him from outside the door.

Song Qingshu questioned Madam Tang during a late-night visit while Zhao Min hid behind the bed curtains. Madam Tang revealed that Empress Peiman held the Jin court’s real power, then changed the subject to tending Song Qingshu’s wound.

• Zhao Min hid behind the bed curtains so she could listen while Song Qingshu received Madam Tang.
• Madam Tang entered Song Qingshu’s room with clean bandages and asked him to close the door to avoid rumors.
• Song Qingshu tried to learn why the Kaifeng commander respected Madam Tang, but she dismissed her husband’s influence.
• Madam Tang explained that the founding princes Wanyan Zonghan, Wanyan Zonggan, and Wanyan Zongbi had dominated the young Emperor Xizong before their deaths.
• Madam Tang said Empress Peiman had taken control of the Jin court and admitted she was connected to her, then invited Song Qingshu to sit on the bed while she changed his dressing.

While changing Song Qingshu’s dressing, Tang Kuo Dingge revealed that a powerful, admired man had raped her and continued to exploit her after threatening her family, with the Jin Empress also involved with him. The chapter left Song Qingshu demanding to know whether Tang Kuo Dingge’s husband knew and let the abuse continue.

• Zhao Min hid beneath Song Qingshu’s covers while Tang Kuo Dingge changed his dressing, and their covert pinches nearly exposed her.
• Song Qingshu learned Tang Kuo Dingge’s Jurchen name and coaxed her into sharing the sorrow behind her apparent status.
• Tang Kuo Dingge said she and the Jin Empress had shared the bed of the same man, though he was not the Jin Emperor.
• Tang Kuo Dingge recounted how the unnamed powerful man had her drugged and raped her, then used threats against her family to keep her under his control.
• Tang Kuo Dingge said the Empress was also the man’s lover, and Song Qingshu angrily asked whether her husband knew and allowed her humiliation.

Madam Tang told Song Qingshu about her painful past and the political danger of avenging her, then sought comfort in his arms. Zhao Min emerged from hiding and interrupted them, and Song Qingshu restrained both women before demanding that she produce one of the famous beauties she had named in exchange for her freedom.

• Madam Tang explained that her husband had abandoned her and that killing the powerful man who kept her as a secret lover could endanger her family.
• Song Qingshu offered to avenge Madam Tang, but she explained why she had accepted her situation and admitted that loneliness had driven her to seek comfort from him.
• Madam Tang began seducing Song Qingshu, while Zhao Min fumed beneath the blanket and then leapt out in anger.
• Song Qingshu struck Zhao Min's Numbing Acupoint and Madam Tang's Sleep Acupoint, leaving Zhao Min helpless and Madam Tang unconscious.
• Zhao Min offered Song Qingshu famous beauties, including Princess Xiangxiang, and he demanded that she bring one to him immediately in exchange for letting her go.

Song Qingshu teased Zhao Min by threatening her, then released her and sealed her acupoints again before leaving. He hypnotized Madam Tang into protecting him, but Madam Tang mistook Zhao Min for Song Qingshu and began to approach her.

• Zhao Min tried to bargain with Song Qingshu by offering favors and asking him to explain what had happened between her and Zhang Wuji, but she refused to answer his question about them.
• Song Qingshu admitted he had only been testing Zhao Min's reaction, then deduced that she might send word to the Golden Wheel Monk and the Xuanming Elders if left free.
• Song Qingshu sealed Zhao Min's acupoints again and, worried about leaving her helpless, awakened Madam Tang and used his soul-bewitching technique to command her to protect him.
• After Song Qingshu left, Madam Tang mistook Zhao Min for him and began touching her face, insisting she was Young Master Song.

Song Qingshu returned to Xia Qingqing after rescuing the wounded Zhao Min and told her about the dangers that had delayed him. They affirmed their love, and Xia Qingqing accepted being his lover while keeping their relationship private to protect Yuan Chengzhi’s legacy and Song Qingshu’s plans for the Golden Snake Camp.

• Song Qingshu raced back to the inn in Shandong, where he found Xia Qingqing waiting anxiously through the night.
• Song Qingshu reunited with Xia Qingqing, admitted that he had abducted a woman, and explained that Zhao Min was gravely wounded and needed Ping Yizhi’s help.
• Song Qingshu told Xia Qingqing about his duel with Yang Miaozhen, and she discovered his bandaged injuries and expressed concern for him.
• Xia Qingqing called herself Song Qingshu’s lover because she still considered herself Yuan Chengzhi’s wife and wanted to protect his reputation.
• Song Qingshu pointed out that keeping their relationship hidden would help him win the Golden Snake Camp’s support, and Xia Qingqing said she was willing to remain with him regardless of status.

Song Qingshu and Xia Qingqing reunited and affirmed their devotion to each other. Worried about his injuries, Xia Qingqing persuaded him to stay and help treat them, and the chapter ended with them becoming intimate.

• Xia Qingqing told Song Qingshu that Daoist Li had parted ways with him, and teased him about risking himself to save her because she was beautiful.
• Song Qingshu and Xia Qingqing discussed his motives for pursuing Kangxi Emperor, and Xia Qingqing promised to spend her life repaying him.
• Xia Qingqing asked Song Qingshu to call her Youyou and admitted she feared he would leave to meet other women.
• Xia Qingqing noticed a lipstick mark on Song Qingshu's bandage, and he explained that Madam Tang had tried to seduce him.
• Concerned that Song Qingshu's injuries made travel dangerous, Xia Qingqing offered to help treat him using his Internal Energy technique.
• Song Qingshu and Xia Qingqing kissed and became intimate after he reassured her that her past marriage did not matter to him.

Song Qingshu returned to the Tang residence and discovered that Madam Tang had molested Zhao Min while under his influence, mistakenly believing her to be him. After stopping Zhao Min from killing Madam Tang, he reassured her and kept her dagger; Zhao Min ended by asking whether his bewitching martial art was the Soul Transfer Technique.

• Song Qingshu rushed back to Kaifeng and entered the Tang residence before dawn.
• Song Qingshu found Zhao Min distressed and believed she had been violated by a man, then apologized and promised to avenge her.
• Zhao Min revealed that Madam Tang had molested her after mistaking her for Song Qingshu.
• Zhao Min tried to kill Madam Tang, but Song Qingshu stopped her and explained that Madam Tang did not remember what had happened.
• Song Qingshu refused to return Zhao Min's dagger, and Zhao Min asked whether his martial art was the Soul Transfer Technique.

Song Qingshu and Zhao Min left Madam Tang’s residence and headed outside Kaifeng to seek treatment for Zhao Min from the Killer Physician, Ping Yizhi. Along the way, they teased each other about Madam Tang and discussed the price Ping Yizhi demanded for healing patients.

• Song Qingshu and Zhao Min bantered about Zhou Zhiruo, Zhang Wuji, and the night they had spent at Madam Tang’s residence.
• Song Qingshu had Zhao Min write a thank-you note to Madam Tang, then carried her over the residence wall to leave unnoticed.
• As they set out to find Ping Yizhi, Zhao Min asked whether Song Qingshu would kill someone close to him to secure treatment, and he replied that she could arrange a death through Prince Ruyang’s Mansion.
• Song Qingshu explained Ping Yizhi’s rumored rule of healing one person only after killing another to keep the balance between the living and the dead.
• The pair followed martial artists’ directions out of Kaifeng, while Zhao Min accused Madam Tang of luring them to her residence and teased Song Qingshu for resisting her advances.

Song Qingshu and Zhao Min encountered Ren Yingying’s ambush, but he seized her and used her as a hostage. To obtain treatment for Zhao Min, Song Qingshu agreed to Ping Yizhi’s demand that he kill someone, though Ping had yet to reveal the target.

• Song Qingshu and Zhao Min reached the ambush at the tiled houses, where Ren Yingying and Sun Moon Holy Cult members confronted them with poisonous-water weapons.
• Song Qingshu sowed doubt among Ren Yingying’s followers by revealing that he had fallen from a cliff with Dongfang Bubai and survived, then swiftly captured Ren Yingying.
• Ren Yingying ordered her followers to fire despite her capture, but they lowered their weapons rather than risk harming her.
• Ping Yizhi offered to treat Zhao Min only if Song Qingshu killed someone, warning that Zhao Min’s injuries would become fatal within an hour.
• Song Qingshu agreed to the condition and asserted that he was not afraid to kill, while Ping Yizhi withheld the identity of his target.

Ping Yizhi demanded that Song Qingshu kill Murong Fu in exchange for treating Zhao Min, and Song agreed while keeping Ren Yingying as a hostage. Song left for the ruined temple, while Ping Yizhi began questioning Zhao Min about Song’s method for healing her.

• Ping Yizhi told Song Qingshu that Murong Fu was nearby and offered to treat Zhao Min if Song killed him.
• Zhao Min offered to kill Murong Fu herself, but Song chose to go because he remembered Murong Fu’s past favor.
• Zhao Min asked Song to use his unusual healing method if necessary, then rejected it after he explained what it involved.
• Ping Yizhi agreed to treat Zhao Min but threatened her if Song failed to return with Murong Fu’s head.
• Song refused to surrender Ren Yingying, threatened the Sun Moon Holy Cult, and left with Ren Yingying for the ruined temple.
• After Song departed, Ping Yizhi questioned Zhao Min about how Song could heal her injuries.

Song Qingshu went to the ruined temple to seize Murong Fu, hoping to learn why Ping Yizhi had ordered his death and to test Star Shifting. After disarming Murong Fu and prompting him to use the technique, Song Qingshu was interrupted by a woman's whip attack from behind.

• Zhao Min used her claim that she would accept Song Qingshu's treatment as a ruse to keep Ping Yizhi from acting recklessly, while Song Qingshu hurried toward Murong Fu.
• Song Qingshu masked his face and entered the ruined temple, where Murong Fu detected his presence and questioned him.
• Song Qingshu challenged Murong Fu, evaded his attacks, and tested how Star Shifting redirected his grappling force.
• Song Qingshu defeated Murong Fu's Willow Catkin Swordplay, clamped his sword between two fingers, and embedded it in a pillar.
• Murong Fu prepared to demonstrate Star Shifting, but a woman's cry and a whip striking the ground behind Song Qingshu interrupted them.

Song Qingshu encountered Bing Xue'er while trying to subdue Murong Fu, then revealed himself and explained that his reported death was a deception. After learning why Bing Xue'er had come to Kaifeng, Song Qingshu remembered that Murong Fu was still immobilized in the ruined temple and hurried back with her.

• Song Qingshu fought Murong Fu and Bing Xue'er while masked, then struck Murong Fu's acupoint after unsettling him with Taizu Long Fist.
• Bing Xue'er recognized Song Qingshu, and he removed his mask and told her he was alive despite Kangxi's announcement.
• Song Qingshu and Bing Xue'er reunited and discussed her search for Murong Jingyue and her journey to Kaifeng with Murong Fu.
• Song Qingshu explained Ping Yizhi's demand that he kill Murong Fu, and Bing Xue'er questioned why Ping Yizhi wanted him dead.
• Bing Xue'er remembered Murong Fu was still sealed in the ruined temple, so she and Song Qingshu hurried back.

Song Qingshu gave Murong Fu the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and enlisted his help to investigate why Ping Yizhi wanted him dead. Meanwhile, Ping Yizhi poisoned Zhao Min with his own Three Corpses Godly Brain Pill and prepared to confront Song Qingshu when he returned.

• Song Qingshu apologized to Murong Fu and gave him the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms to repay his past kindness.
• Song Qingshu learned that Murong Fu had never met Ping Yizhi, so he explained a plan for them to cooperate and uncover the physician’s motive.
• Song Qingshu introduced Ren Yingying to Bing Xue'er and Murong Fu as his hostage.
• Ping Yizhi restored Zhao Min’s complexion, then revealed that he had poisoned her with his own Three Corpses Godly Brain Pill and was the only one who could cure it.
• Hearing Sun Moon Holy Cult members calling for Ren Yingying, Ping Yizhi restrained Zhao Min and took her outside to see whether Song Qingshu had returned with Murong Fu’s head.

Song Qingshu rescued Zhao Min from Ping Yizhi, only to learn that she had been poisoned with the Three Corpses Godly Brain Pill. As Murong Fu fought Ping Yizhi and fell behind against his own techniques, Song Qingshu stepped in to challenge him.

• Song Qingshu pulled Zhao Min from Ping Yizhi’s grasp and struck him back, then checked her pulse and found her condition had improved.
• Zhao Min revealed that Ping Yizhi had poisoned her with the Three Corpses Godly Brain Pill, and Ping Yizhi demanded that Song Qingshu kill Murong Fu in exchange for the antidote.
• Song Qingshu tossed Murong Fu toward Ping Yizhi, but Murong Fu broke free and attacked; Ping Yizhi then fought him over the reason he sought the Murong Family’s life.
• Ping Yizhi exposed Murong Fu’s limited Star Shifting and countered his techniques with identical, stronger moves, leaving Murong Fu wounded.
• Song Qingshu pulled Murong Fu out of danger and challenged Ping Yizhi to return his techniques against him.