Chapter Summaries

Song Qingshu discovered that Ouyang Feng’s supposed antidote had triggered the poison in Guo Jing, leaving him with only a day or two before it erupted again. He proposed risking poisoning himself under Tang Kuobian’s identity to obtain the real antidote from Ouyang Feng.

• Song Qingshu identified cuttlefish ink, sea urchin, and other reaction-triggering ingredients in the antidote, and Huang Rong apologized for suspecting him.
• Song Qingshu warned Huang Rong that Guo Jing’s poison had worsened and that he had only a day or two to find the real antidote.
• Huang Rong begged Song Qingshu to save Guo Jing, and Song Qingshu admitted he would have to take a risk.
• Song Qingshu proposed deliberately drinking Man's Milk so Ouyang Feng might give him the antidote, but Huang Rong feared the plan would fail.
• Song Qingshu revealed that he would approach Ouyang Feng under Tang Kuobian’s identity.

Song Qingshu and Huang Rong planned to force Wanyan Liang to provide the antidote by having Song impersonate Tang Kuobian and appear poisoned in Huang Rong’s custody. Wanyan Liang agreed to hand over the antidote publicly, then ordered his allies to prevent Huang Rong from escaping with it.

• Song Qingshu explained that Tang Kuobian had been killed by Wanyan Liang’s assassins and proposed impersonating him to pressure Wanyan Liang for the antidote.
• Song Qingshu persuaded Huang Rong to announce that she held Tang Kuobian and would exchange his life for the antidote to save Guo Jing.
• Wanyan Liang learned that notices about Huang Rong’s demand had appeared throughout Kaifeng and feared Tang Kuobian might expose his assassination attempt.
• Ouyang Feng suggested giving Huang Rong the fake antidote to kill Guo Jing and silence Tang Kuobian, but Qiu Qianren warned that Huang Rong would test it on Tang Kuobian.
• Wanyan Liang decided to provide the antidote and ordered Ouyang Feng, Murong, and Qiu Qianren to stop Huang Rong from escaping.

Wanyan Liang and his advisers prepared an elaborate trap for Huang Rong, but she repeatedly redirected him across Kaifeng with messages carried by arrows. At Shunfeng Pavilion, Wanyan Liang finally found Huang Rong alone, playing the zither, and demanded to know where Tang Kuobian was.

• Wanyan Liang accepted the Patriarch's Seal as proof that Huang Rong held Tang Kuobian, while Ouyang Feng warned that the exchange notice might be a trap.
• Wanyan Liang arranged ambushes throughout Kaifeng and went to the designated meeting place, where an arrow announced a change of location.
• Huang Rong led Wanyan Liang and his dwindling escort through several locations by sending new instructions on arrows.
• Wanyan Liang recognized Shunfeng Pavilion as a likely exchange site and arrived with Ouyang Feng, Qiu Qianren, and his guards.
• Huang Rong played the zither at the pavilion, snapped its strings, and left Wanyan Liang to ask where Tang Kuobian was.

Huang Rong traded Tang Kuobian’s location for an antidote, then escaped when Wanyan Liang’s men pursued her. As Qiu Qianren nearly caught her, a hidden attacker ambushed him from behind.

• Huang Rong refused to bring Tang Kuobian to the exchange and agreed to provide his location in return for an antidote.
• Huang Rong used Guo Jing’s poisoned blood to test Wanyan Liang’s antidote on a guard, and the antidote neutralized the poison.
• Wanyan Liang secretly switched the vial before tossing it to Huang Rong, while Ouyang Feng noticed the deception.
• Huang Rong left the address in the pavilion, made Wanyan Liang’s men retreat, and fled toward the mountain.
• Wanyan Liang ordered his men to seize Huang Rong, and Qiu Qianren raced after her while Ouyang Feng followed.
• A black-clad attacker sprang from a tree and struck at Qiu Qianren from behind, forcing him to turn and defend himself.

Song Qingshu, disguised as Lu Xiaofeng, rescued Huang Rong and fought off Qiu Qianren and Ouyang Feng. Wanyan Liang’s guards surrounded him, but Song Qingshu warned that he could kill Wanyan Liang whenever he chose.

• Song Qingshu struck Qiu Qianren with a palm, gravely injuring him and leaving him unable to fight for months.
• Ouyang Feng attacked Song Qingshu with Toad Skill, but Song Qingshu countered his moves and retreated beyond his reach.
• Wanyan Liang’s guards arrived and surrounded Song Qingshu with drawn bows as Murong Bo joined them.
• Ouyang Feng suspected the masked man was Song Qingshu, while Song Qingshu introduced himself as Lu Xiaofeng.
• Wanyan Liang demanded that Song Qingshu surrender and swear loyalty, threatening to have his guards shoot him.
• Song Qingshu told Wanyan Liang he could take his life if Wanyan Liang were not still useful to him.

Song Qingshu used a mysterious spatial technique to carry Huang Rong through a volley of arrows unharmed, then fled as Ouyang Feng and Murong Bo attacked. He left the others chasing him up the mountain while he tried to preserve his dwindling strength and understand what he had glimpsed.

• Wanyan Liang ordered his archers to fire a coordinated barrage at Song Qingshu and Huang Rong.
• Song Qingshu stepped through the arrows with Huang Rong, making the arrows seem to slow and pass through their bodies without harming them.
• Wanyan Liang ordered Ouyang Feng and Murong Bo to kill Song Qingshu, and both men charged at him.
• Song Qingshu realized his inner strength was nearly exhausted and fled up the mountain with Huang Rong, leaving Ouyang Feng and Murong Bo to pursue them.
• Wanyan Liang sent his guards after them, confident that the mountain had no escape.

Song Qingshu and Huang Rong fled to a cliff with Ouyang Feng, Murong Bo, and Wanyan Liang closing in. Song Qingshu launched them off the cliff on a glider, and Huang Rong’s terrified reaction reminded him of Shan Rou.

• Song Qingshu admitted his inner energy was nearly exhausted as he carried Huang Rong away from their pursuers, but assured her he would not abandon her.
• At the edge of a cliff, Song Qingshu asked Huang Rong to trust him and told her to follow his instructions without hesitation.
• Ouyang Feng and Murong Bo caught up and tried to trap them, while Ouyang Feng offered to let Song Qingshu go if he surrendered Huang Rong.
• Wanyan Liang arrived, mocked Song Qingshu’s glider, and ordered his guards to attack.
• Song Qingshu took Huang Rong onto the glider and charged off the cliff; as she screamed, he compared her reaction to Shan Rou’s.

Song Qingshu rescued Huang Rong from the cliff with a glider, and the two flirted as they descended. Their flight ended in a crash after an unknown attacker struck the glider, leaving them face to face with two unexpected people.

• Song Qingshu carried Huang Rong away from Wanyan Liang and Ouyang Feng on a glider, while Ouyang Feng silently hoped Guo Jing would die from the fake antidote.
• Song Qingshu kissed Huang Rong and teased her about their relationship as they admired the view from the air.
• Song Qingshu explained why he had used a glider instead of flying on a sword and tried to convince Huang Rong that their flight was romantic.
• Song Qingshu and Huang Rong kissed and grew intimate as they descended toward the ground.
• An unseen attacker pierced the glider with a hidden weapon, forcing Song Qingshu to steer into the forest, where he and Huang Rong landed uninjured and recognized two people nearby.

Song Qingshu fought Huang Yaoshi while weakened, and Old Urchin Zhou Botong considered helping him in exchange for learning how the glider flew. Huang Rong secretly helped Song Qingshu escape, and Zhou Botong chased after him to claim his lesson.

• Huang Yaoshi attacked Song Qingshu after accusing him of bullying Huang Rong, while Old Urchin Zhou Botong examined the damaged glider.
• Song Qingshu promised to explain how the glider flew if Zhou Botong held Huang Yaoshi off for three incense sticks, but Huang Yaoshi threatened Zhou Botong and frightened him with a snake.
• Huang Rong rushed at Song Qingshu, then whispered that he should take her hostage to escape.
• Song Qingshu seized Huang Rong and used her to make Huang Yaoshi withdraw his attack, then fled after pushing her toward her father.
• Zhou Botong chased after Song Qingshu, demanding that he teach him how the glider flew.

Huang Yaoshi questioned Huang Rong about the man she had protected and learned that she was entangled with someone who was already married. Zhou Botong returned after failing to catch the masked young man, whose extraordinary qinggong astonished both men.

• Huang Yaoshi accused Huang Rong of deliberately helping the masked man escape and confronted her about their intimacy.
• Huang Rong admitted that the man had promised not to interfere with her marriage, but she refused to reveal his identity.
• Huang Yaoshi offered to support Huang Rong if she preferred the other man, and she insisted that she liked Jing Gege more.
• Huang Rong revealed that the man already had a wife, prompting Huang Yaoshi to vow to discover who he was.
• Zhou Botong returned and said the masked young man had outpaced him with qinggong like Shrinking Ground into Inches.
• Huang Yaoshi was shocked that Zhou Botong could not catch the young man, despite having judged his internal power inferior.

Huang Rong told Huang Yaoshi and Zhou Botong about Song Qingshu's depleted strength and explained that Guo Jing had already been cured with the real antidote. Song Qingshu reached the ruined temple disguised as Tang Kuobian, survived Wanyan Liang's renewed attempt to kill him, and was taken to the Military Governor's residence for treatment.

• Huang Rong claimed the mysterious man had less than ten percent of his strength remaining, but Huang Yaoshi and Zhou Botong doubted her.
• Huang Rong told Huang Yaoshi and Zhou Botong that Ouyang Feng had poisoned Guo Jing, then explained that the real antidote had already cured him.
• Huang Rong revealed that Song Qingshu had recovered the real antidote from Wanyan Liang after Ouyang Feng switched it, and had sent Guo Jing out of the city.
• Song Qingshu rushed to the ruined temple, put on Tang Kuobian's human-skin mask, and stabbed himself with a poisoned needle to appear near death.
• Wanyan Liang considered killing the barely conscious Tang Kuobian, but Song Qingshu used Soul Transfer to plant the thought that rescuing him had been too costly to waste.
• Wanyan Liang ordered his guards to take Tang Kuobian to the Military Governor's residence for treatment.

Huang Yaoshi revealed Song Qingshu’s identity to Zhou Botong and sent him away to protect Huang Rong’s secret. Huang Rong remained anxious about her father’s suspicions as he warned her against choosing a womanizer like Song Qingshu.

• Huang Yaoshi provoked Zhou Botong into demanding the mysterious man’s identity, then told him it was Song Qingshu.
• Zhou Botong hurried east to seek a match with Song Qingshu, leaving Guo Jing in Huang Yaoshi and Huang Rong’s care.
• Huang Rong feared Huang Yaoshi had discovered her connection to Song Qingshu, but he explained that he had sent Zhou Botong away so he would not reveal anything to Guo Jing.
• Huang Yaoshi said he would support Huang Rong’s choice in love but asked her not to choose a fickle womanizer like Song Qingshu.
• Huang Rong reassured Huang Yaoshi while privately cursing Song Qingshu for his rumored affairs.

Song Qingshu, disguised as Tang Kuobian, returned to the Military Governor's residence with Wanyan Liang, who believed the grateful Tang Kuobian could be useful to him. After Wanyan Liang departed for Daxing Prefecture, he invited Song Qingshu to accompany him, giving Song a chance to investigate Song Yuanqiao and the others' whereabouts.

• Wanyan Liang urged the recovering Tang Kuobian to recuperate, while Song Qingshu pretended to be grateful for being saved.
• Wanyan Liang questioned Song Qingshu about the attack, and Song claimed he did not know the identities of the men in black.
• Wanyan Liang revealed that he had replaced Guo Jing's real antidote with poison, and Song Qingshu was relieved that he had already intervened.
• Murong Bo suggested killing Tang Kuobian, but Wanyan Liang decided to keep him alive while remaining wary that he might be pretending ignorance.
• Madam Tang welcomed Song Qingshu back at the Military Governor's residence, and Wanyan Liang left for Daxing Prefecture a day later with Song Qingshu accompanying him.

Song Qingshu, impersonating Tang Kuobian, traveled with Wanyan Liang to Daxing Prefecture and chose to report to the Shangshu Province before returning home. A maid then arrived to tell him that Madam Tang was waiting for him.

• Madam Tang urged Song Qingshu to avoid traveling while injured, and he reassured her that he needed to report to the emperor.
• Madam Tang confirmed that Song Qingshu had left and asked Tang Kuobian not to judge him harshly; Song Qingshu wondered about their relationship and privately questioned what kind of man Wu Dai had been.
• After several days, Song Qingshu and Wanyan Liang reached Daxing Prefecture, where Song Qingshu maintained his disguise when Wanyan Liang probed him.
• Wanyan Liang tried to build a closer relationship with Song Qingshu and hoped to escort him home to see Ge Bi, but Song Qingshu chose to go directly to the Shangshu Province.
• A young maid ran up to Song Qingshu and told him that Madam Tang was waiting for him.

Song Qingshu, disguised as Tang Kuobian, met Wanyan Ge Bi while traveling with Wanyan Liang and had to maintain his false identity despite her concern for his injuries. Ge Bi took him home to rest and planned to summon an imperial physician, leaving Song Qingshu worried that the doctor would expose his disguise.

• A maid directed Wanyan Liang and Song Qingshu toward Wanyan Ge Bi's carriage, and Song Qingshu pretended his injuries were still serious.
• Wanyan Ge Bi emerged from the carriage, asked about Wugu La's injuries, and greeted Wanyan Liang with formal courtesy.
• Wanyan Liang openly admired Ge Bi, while Song Qingshu concealed his surprise and continued acting as Tang Kuobian.
• Ge Bi said she had secured the emperor's permission for her husband to rest, then took Song Qingshu's arm and dismissed Wanyan Liang.
• Song Qingshu grew anxious when Ge Bi said she would summon an imperial physician, since he was not truly injured.

Song Qingshu continued impersonating Tang Kuobian while returning to the manor with Wanyan Ge Bi, hiding his identity and exhaustion from her. After convincing her and the imperial physicians that he needed bed rest, he brought up the Huan Yi Yuan, leaving Ge Bi to hear what he had learned about it.

• Wanyan Ge Bi told Song Qingshu that Wanyan Liang had looked at her strangely, and Song Qingshu reassured her while concealing his suspicions.
• Wanyan Ge Bi massaged Song Qingshu as he rested in the carriage, and he fell asleep to her humming.
• At the manor, Song Qingshu pretended to be dizzy and let the servants carry him inside to avoid revealing that he did not know the house.
• Wanyan Ge Bi summoned imperial physicians, and Song Qingshu used his Internal Energy and prepared explanations to pass their examination.
• After the physicians said Tang Kuobian was not in danger but needed bed rest, Song Qingshu comforted Ge Bi and mentioned that people from the Song Dynasty seemed to know something about the Huan Yi Yuan.

Song Qingshu concealed his knowledge of Huan Yi Yuan from Wanyan Ge Bi while pretending to be her husband, Tang Kuobian. Wanyan Ping visited the couple and left Song Qingshu with a rare ginseng, while his flirtatious remarks risked raising suspicion.

• Song Qingshu learned from Wanyan Ge Bi that only a few people knew about Huan Yi Yuan, including her brother and Ping'er, and stopped her from notifying them about the Song people's knowledge.
• Song Qingshu avoided letting Wanyan Ge Bi examine his injuries by taking her hand and flirting with her.
• Wanyan Ping arrived to visit Wanyan Ge Bi and teased Song Qingshu for staring at her.
• Song Qingshu told Wanyan Ping that Wanyan Ge Bi was prettier, and Wanyan Ping laughed and warned her sister to keep an eye on him.
• Wanyan Ping gave Song Qingshu a Thousand-Year Ginseng she had taken from the Imperial Medical Academy, then hurried back to the palace.

Song Qingshu left Wanyan Ge Bi asleep and infiltrated the Jin Imperial Palace to find the Huan Yi Yuan, where Song Yuanqiao and the others were held. After getting lost in the unfamiliar palace, he captured a senior eunuch and asked him for directions.

• Wanyan Ge Bi insisted on staying beside Song Qingshu, but she eventually fell asleep at his bedside.
• Song Qingshu carried Wanyan Ge Bi onto the bed, resisted the temptation to take advantage of her, and left in disguise to enter the Imperial Palace.
• Song Qingshu wandered through the unfamiliar palace without finding the Huan Yi Yuan and realized his plan had been too hasty.
• Song Qingshu hid from a eunuch, used Soul Transfer to question him, and learned that he was Xiao Xingguo, chief steward of the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau.
• Song Qingshu asked Xiao Xingguo whether he knew where the Huan Yi Yuan was.

Song Qingshu followed Xiao Xingguo to Huan Yi Yuan, a secretive prison within the Cold Palace, and discovered that Wanyan Ping was its feared head warden. He slipped inside behind her guards, leaving him poised to investigate the prison without being detected.

• Song Qingshu learned that Xiao Xingguo knew where Huan Yi Yuan was and forced him to lead the way.
• Song Qingshu reached the hidden palace, incapacitated Xiao Xingguo, and explored its heavily guarded grounds.
• Song Qingshu found a sealed room with prison cells beneath it but could not enter without alerting the guards.
• Wanyan Ping arrived with armed guards and whipped one for calling her Princess instead of Head Warden.
• Song Qingshu slipped through the main entrance behind Wanyan Ping's guards without being noticed.

Song Qingshu secretly followed Wanyan Ping to the cells where Song Yuanqiao, Zhang Songxi, and Yin Liting were imprisoned. Wanyan Ping threatened to frame the Wudang heroes for violating the descendants of Song royalty held in Huan Yi Yuan, while Song Qingshu prepared to intervene if she tortured or killed them.

• Song Qingshu infiltrated Huan Yi Yuan and followed Wanyan Ping to a row of iron-barred cells.
• Song Qingshu recognized Song Yuanqiao, Zhang Songxi, and Yin Liting among the prisoners.
• Wanyan Ping demanded Wudang martial arts so Jin soldiers could use them against the Mongols, but the three heroes refused.
• Wanyan Ping threatened to accuse the Wudang heroes of violating the descendants of Song royalty confined in Huan Yi Yuan.