Chapter Summaries

After the Osprey Sect destroyed the Blackwater Gang, Ning Chuan assessed the shifting dangers and reassured his family that he would protect them. He left the courtyard to gather news, aware that rival powers were increasingly watching the Ning Family.

• Rumors spread through Elm Forest Alley that the Osprey Sect had raided the Blackwater Gang, killed Xiao Shan, and taken control of its territory.
• Ning Chuan realized Xiao Shan’s death removed the gang’s last major threat, but the City Guard’s watchers had become more focused on his family.
• Ning Xiaohe, Liu Lan, and Ning Dazhuang worried about the Osprey Sect’s rise, and Ning Chuan promised to keep his family safe.
• Ning Chuan planned to expand his medicinal field and herb business, strengthen ties with the Seven Treasures Pavilion, and continue improving his own strength.
• Ning Chuan walked through the alley, acted like an ordinary resident when neighbors questioned him, and confirmed that the City Guard had increased patrols.

Ning Chuan met Sun Dehai in secret, and learned that the Seven Treasures Pavilion had orchestrated Xiao Shan’s assassination and considered Ning Chuan partly responsible for creating the opportunity. Sun Dehai offered the pavilion’s friendship and a warning about coming unrest, leaving Ning Chuan weighing the value and danger of their alliance as he returned home.

• Ning Chuan accepted Sun Dehai’s invitation to talk privately in his carriage and calmly discussed the Blackwater Gang’s destruction.
• Sun Dehai revealed that Xiao Shan had been killed in his secret chamber with a Soul-Severing Needle, not by the Osprey Sect.
• Sun Dehai told Ning Chuan that the Seven Treasures Pavilion had exploited the gang’s weakened state and that Ning Chuan’s actions had helped create the opportunity.
• Sun Dehai asked Ning Chuan to keep the matter between them, offered him blood-pattern ginseng seeds, and warned him that the Osprey Sect would soon purge rivals and expand its territory.
• Ning Chuan gave Sun Dehai a measured promise of future cooperation, then returned to his family with the gift and considered the pavilion’s offer both useful and dangerous.

After learning that Sun Dehai of the Seven Treasures Pavilion had secretly met Ning Chuan, Zhao Qian Ting ordered the City Guard to stop investigating the Ning Family and close the Blackwater Gang case. Ning Chuan noticed the spies had withdrawn, but resolved to rely on his own strength rather than borrowed protection.

• Night Owl reported to Zhang Meng that Sun Dehai had met privately with Ning Chuan and mentioned discussing medicinal ingredients another day.
• Zhang Meng informed Zhao Qian Ting, who suspected the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was connected to Ning Chuan and warned that the West Camp could not afford to provoke it.
• Zhao Qian Ting ordered all covert lookouts withdrawn, sealed the Ning Family files as Grade B Secret, and declared the Blackwater Gang case closed.
• Ning Chuan sensed the City Guard's spies leaving Elm Forest Alley and recognized that Sun Dehai's visit had prompted their withdrawal.
• Ning Chuan considered the protection temporary and resumed cultivating the Azure Emperor Longevity Art to strengthen himself.

After two peaceful months, Ning Chuan led his family in harvesting their honeysuckle crop, using the Azure Emperor Longevity Art to keep the vines thriving. He decided to give his parents the two Azurewood Heaven-Returning Pills and planned to prepare nourishing pills for Ning Xiaohe.

• Ning Chuan and his parents agreed that the honeysuckle was ready to harvest, and the whole family gathered to pick it.
• Ning Chuan taught his family how to harvest the most potent buds and used his soul power to nourish the vines as he worked.
• The family gathered three baskets of high-quality honeysuckle and spread the flowers out to dry.
• Ning Chuan examined his two remaining Azurewood Heaven-Returning Pills and resolved to persuade Ning Dazhuang and Liu Lan to take them.
• Ning Chuan planned to use the Station's resources to make mild nourishing pills for Ning Xiaohe before he resumed cultivating.