Recaps

Fang Shu ambushed Cheng the Jar at the Paper Workshop and killed him after a brutal pursuit through the neighborhood. He escaped without being identified, while the residents stayed behind their closed doors and Cheng the Jar's paper house burned.

• Fang Shu disguised himself as a gray fox and waited outside Cheng the Jar's paper house until late in the night.
• Fang Shu filled the house with smoke and attacked Cheng the Jar as he stumbled outside, crippling both his legs.
• Cheng the Jar used a blood-and-qi attack and a tiger roar to alarm the Paper Workshop, then crawled from house to house seeking help.
• Gui Qi and the other neighbors refused to shelter Cheng the Jar, and Fang Shu kept stabbing him as he crawled toward the ditch.
• Fang Shu confirmed Cheng the Jar was dead, destroyed evidence of the killing, and set the paper house on fire before leaving.

After secretly killing Cheng the Jar, Fang Shu returned to the Solitary Gu Hall and discovered that the kill had advanced both his cultivation and the Dao Register. The Register now measured his progress and had accelerated its analysis of the Insect Method, leaving him hopeful as he resumed training among the disciples.

• Fang Shu entered the Training Hall before the other disciples and found that killing Cheng the Jar had greatly improved his Insect Method.
• Fang Shu reviewed the Dao Register’s messages, which reported that it was completing the cultivation system and that the Long-Tongue Sword had returned Cheng the Jar’s Treasure Blood to it.
• The Dao Register assessed Fang Shu as twenty-three percent of the way toward the First-Tribulation Essence-Refining Human Immortal realm.
• Fang Shu learned that the Register’s Mystic Script analysis would finish in five days, more than twice as quickly as before.
• Fang Shu resumed his training as Li Hou’er and the other disciples arrived, concealing his secret killing from them.

After learning that Cheng the Jar’s nephew had vowed revenge, Fang Shu decided to kill him before he could become a threat. Before Fang Shu acted, Cheng the Little Jar was found dead, leaving Fang Shu relieved but wary of the circumstances.

• Li Hou'er told Fang Shu that Cheng the Jar had been stabbed to death and that the Black Tiger Hall had taken his bones without pursuing the killer.
• Li Hou'er reported that Cheng the Jar’s nephew blamed the Paper Workshop neighbors and vowed to avenge his uncle, prompting Fang Shu to decide to eliminate him.
• Fang Shu retrieved Cheng the Jar’s possessions from the pawnshop, including talisman coins, a gold-wrapped spirit-stone chain, and a Black Ticket.
• Li Hou'er told Fang Shu that Cheng the Little Jar had drowned in a ditch, and Fang Shu’s killing intent faded as he grew suspicious of the sudden death.

Fang Shu completed the Hundred Insects Blood-Refining Body-Nourishing Secret Art and discovered that its mastery doubled his cultivation efficiency. He then opened Cheng the Jar’s hidden chest and found a fortune, a map to a mine, and a mysterious liquid that might be a spiritual material.

• Fang Shu completed the insect art, deciphering all nine secret characters and learning that it was only an entry-level portion of a larger technique.
• Fang Shu cultivated for seven hours and confirmed he could refine five Essence-Nourishing Pills, doubling his efficiency and potentially halving the time needed to break through.
• Fang Shu rested for four hours, recovered from his exertions, and went to collect Cheng the Jar’s hidden inheritance.
• Fang Shu opened the black storage chest and found thirty thousand Greenfly Blood Coins, a copper-skinned gourd, and a hand-drawn map to a mine where Purple Lead Mica Milk had once been found.
• Fang Shu connected the gourd to Cheng the Jar’s past mining expedition and suspected it contained a precious spiritual material.

Fang Shu learned that his Purple Lead Mica Milk was a valuable, mostly safe treasure, then asked Dou Sufu how he could bring his second uncle Yu Le back from the mines. He learned Yu Le was bound by a long contract and would need powerful backing to leave early, while Dou Sufu got drunk and Fang Shu left after giving her a mind-clearing pill.

• Fang Shu confirmed that Purple Lead Mica Milk was a rare, beneficial substance with few risks and swallowed a drop himself.
• Fang Shu visited Dou Sufu with complexion-preserving ointment and heard that the Paper Workshop's neighbors were relieved after Cheng the Jar and Cheng the Little Jar died.
• Dou Sufu told Fang Shu that Yu Le had signed a mine contract lasting at least a year and that rescuing him early would require talisman money and powerful support.
• Dou Sufu explained that Yu Le was relatively safer early in his contract but would face greater danger as it neared its end, giving Fang Shu more than half a year to prepare.
• After hearing Su Qingao's husband drag her back into their home, the drunken Dou Sufu teased Fang Shu, who resisted taking advantage of her and gave her a mind-clearing pill before leaving.

Fang Shu learned that money alone could not free his Second Uncle Yu Le and resolved to become a First Tribulation immortal within six months. As he cultivated urgently, Qin Min entered the Dao and Li Hou'er later became an immortal, leaving Fang Shu moved by his friend’s success.

• Fang Shu learned from Dou Sufu and talisman master Li Yuan that he needed magical power as well as money to rescue Yu Le, and he set himself a six-month deadline to become a First Tribulation immortal.
• Fang Shu trained relentlessly at Solitary Gu Hall while merchants offered patronage positions and sought promising marriage prospects among the disciples.
• A merchant took an interest in Shi Hou, the longtime disciple who had repeatedly left the hall to mine for tuition, and Fang Shu admired his perseverance.
• Qin Min corrected Fang Shu for calling her Qin Bao'er, and he later learned she had entered the Dao and refined essence in less than three months.
• A month later, Li Hou'er endured the tribulation of Ten Illnesses Nine Pains and became an essence-refining immortal, while Fang Shu attended his celebration and was deeply moved.

Fang Shu asked Hall Master Du how to improve his cultivation efficiency without harming his body, and she advised him to pair the Solitary Gu Hall’s Insect Method with a second cultivation method. After consulting Senior Sister Yu'er, he borrowed a method from Scorched-Tail Hall and discovered it was the Lead-Mercury Blood-Treasure Artifact-Seeding Secret Method.

• Fang Shu paid Hall Master Du for advice, and she explained that he could pair the Insect Method with a stable cultivation method that might alter his innate constitution.
• Hall Master Du gave Fang Shu a calling card for consulting other Daoist halls and a Sleepy Insect gu recipe; she privately considered whether to help him but reserved the hall’s Queen Bee Emperor Nectar for Qin Bao'er.
• Fang Shu consulted Senior Sister Yu'er, chose what kind of auxiliary method to seek, and went to Scorched-Tail Hall carrying ten thousand talisman coins.
• Xiao Lili received Fang Shu’s request, while Yin Xiaojian recognized him and contemptuously assumed he had come to seek apprenticeship.
• Steward Xiao Hu registered the original manual Fang Shu requested, and Xiao Lili handed it to him after warning her father against harming relations between the halls.
• Fang Shu inspected the manual carefully and found its title: Lead-Mercury Blood-Treasure Artifact-Seeding Secret Method.

Fang Shu combined the Lead-Mercury Blood-Treasure Artifact-Seeding Secret Method with the Insect Method and Purple Lead Mica Milk to prepare for the dangerous Bone-and-Tendon Transformation. After completing the rite in seclusion, he greatly strengthened his physique and reached ninety-nine percent of the Can Enter the Dao realm.

• Fang Shu spent more than a month mastering the Lead-Mercury Blood-Treasure Artifact-Seeding Secret Method and found that Purple Lead Mica Milk and the Insect Method helped him withstand its toxicity.
• After months of cultivation, Fang Shu bought insect blood and Ant Spirit Paste, rented a quiet room, and prepared to undergo the Bone-and-Tendon Transformation.
• Fang Shu heated the room with eight tallow candles, practiced the Lead Method stances, and coated himself in a prepared lead-mercury medicinal solution.
• Fang Shu endured the transformation until the medicinal shell cracked away, then practiced the Lead Method as purple-gray sweat poured from his body.
• Fang Shu completed the Bone-and-Tendon Transformation, greatly improved his physique, and saw that he was ninety-nine percent of the way to entering the Dao.

After a sinew-and-bone transformation, Fang Shu learned that his chances of entering the Dao through the Solitary Gu Hall’s Venom Pit were nearly certain. He studied gu arts to improve the quality of his precious blood and prepare for the tribulation, then waited for the pit to open.

• The Dao Register confirmed Fang Shu’s complete pre-Dao cultivation and gave him a ninety-nine-percent chance of entering the Dao.
• Fang Shu decided to wait for the Solitary Gu Hall’s Venom Pit rather than use ordinary ritual implements, hoping to refine higher-quality Gu-Poison Blood.
• Fang Shu studied the Sleepy Insect gu art and reasoned that he could actively refine venomous insects during his tribulation to stimulate his qi and blood.
• Fang Shu slowed his body tempering and devoted himself to gu arts, surprising the hall’s disciples as Shi Hou became the cultivation hall’s standout.
• After more than half a month of research, Fang Shu had not refined a First-Tribulation Sleepy Insect, but his insect arts improved and his confidence in the Venom Pit tribulation grew.
• At the end of the month, the Solitary Gu Hall’s paying disciples gathered again in the cultivation hall.

Fang Shu watched Shi Hou attempt the Venom Pit tribulation, but Shi Hou’s gamble on drinking poisonous blood ended in catastrophic failure. As Shi Hou was carried away, Fang Shu asked Hall Master Du to let him undergo a tribulation himself.

• Fang Shu watched five disciples enter the Venom Pit, while Xiang Xingwu announced a Pure-Moon Treasure Jade prize for the successful candidate with the strongest qi and blood.
• Four disciples failed their tribulations, and Shi Hou entered the pit, building his qi and blood until he seemed close to breaking through.
• Shi Hou tried to drink poisonous blood and eat venomous insects to strengthen his precious blood, despite Hall Master Du warning him not to act recklessly.
• Shi Hou vomited black blood, collapsed, and was carried toward the medicine hall as Hall Master Du ordered others to summon Leech Master and Ant Master.
• Fang Shu approached Hall Master Du and asked to undergo a tribulation in the Venom Pit.

Fang Shu asked Hall Master Du to let him undergo tribulation early, then entered the Venom Pit and endured its poisonous insects. He refined his blood and qi, crossed into Essence Refining, and emerged untouched by the swarm.

• Fang Shu asked Hall Master Du for permission to undergo tribulation after only half a year in the hall, and she allowed him to enter the Venom Pit.
• Fang Shu revealed nine Insect-Face Secret Scripts and endured the gu insects’ bites as his blood and qi gathered into a mist.
• Fang Shu cut open the nine insect faces and smeared poisonous blood over them, then submerged himself in the Venom Pit and let insects cover his body.
• Fang Shu’s blood-and-qi essence mist rose a zhang high, and the insects scattered from him.
• Fang Shu entered Essence Refining and sat calmly in the poisonous blood as the gu insects kept their distance.

Fang Shu completed the Solitary Gu Hall’s Venom Pit trial, displayed his unusual potential, and destroyed Xiang Xingwu’s Pure-Moon Treasure Jade before donating his spirit stone for Shi Hou’s medicine. Xiang Xingwu returned home hoping for sympathy, but her mother forbade retaliation and ordered her to remain confined while the Seven Fragrance Tower made amends.

• The Solitary Hall Master explained that Fang Shu’s perfect passage through the Venom Pit suggested the potential to learn the Witchcraft Suppression Discipline and become a Gu Master.
• Fang Shu completed his transformation, emerged from the Venom Pit, and received Xiang Xingwu’s offer of the treasure jade and an honored retainer position.
• Fang Shu declined to decide about joining the Seven Fragrance Tower, snapped the Pure-Moon Treasure Jade, and gave his one tael of spirit stone to Senior Sister Yu'er for Shi Hou’s medicine expenses.
• Xiang Xingwu returned home and presented herself as aggrieved, but the Seven Fragrance Tower Mistress warned her children not to provoke the Solitary Gu Hall and threatened Xiang Xingwu against plotting retaliation.
• The Seven Fragrance Tower Mistress decided to send generous gifts to the Solitary Gu Hall and ordered Xiang Xingwu to stay home for several days.

Fang Shu became an official disciple of Solitary Gu Hall and completed seven days of blood replacement, fully transforming his blood into Purple-Lead Venom Blood and attaining the First-Tribulation Essence-Refining Human Immortal realm. He emerged from seclusion and found Shi Hou awake but gravely weakened, leaving their paths divided.

• Fang Shu accepted the Solitary Gu Hall Master's offer and became her official disciple, learning that his refined treasure blood was called Purple-Lead Venom Blood.
• The Seven Fragrance Tower Master brought compensation to Solitary Gu Hall, and the Solitary Gu Hall Master refused to meet her, giving Fang Shu a Pure-Moon Jade Pendant as his reward.
• Du Yu'er explained that Fang Shu needed to fast and remain in seclusion for seven days to complete his blood replacement, then showed him the rear courtyard.
• Fang Shu used the Pure-Moon Jade Pendant to gather moonlight during his seclusion and completed his transformation into a First-Tribulation Essence-Refining Human Immortal.
• Fang Shu tested his new Purple-Lead Venom Blood, which corroded stone, and found that his wound quickly healed.
• Fang Shu left seclusion the next morning and saw Shi Hou awake in the medicinal hall, gaunt and weakened after losing the foundation for his immortal path.

Fang Shu visited the injured Shi Hou to learn about the mines and heard him confess his regret over risking his life for a chance at immortality. Fang Shu left determined to trust his Dao Register and keep his Dao heart steady rather than advance rashly.

• Fang Shu visited Shi Hou in the apothecary hall and asked for advice about the mines outside town.
• Shi Hou explained the different kinds of mines and warned Fang Shu to beware of a certain kind of person.
• Shi Hou thanked Fang Shu for helping salvage the hall's reputation and admitted he regretted risking his life, though he also resented the unequal paths to cultivation.
• Fang Shu told Shi Hou that without fighting, people like them would have no hope of reaching the immortal marketplace or pursuing immortality.
• Shi Hou asked Fang Shu to behold a broader vista of the immortal path in his stead and wished him longevity.
• Fang Shu left the hall, rejected the urge to gamble his life, and resolved to rely on the Dao Register and keep his Dao heart firm.

Fang Shu asked to leave the Solitary Gu Hall to redeem his second uncle from a mine, and the Hall Master approved his trip while giving him a protective robe, a calling card, and Flea Masters. He left the dojo, while Yu'er watched him go and Qin Min dismissed him as ordinary.

• Fang Shu told Yu'er he needed to leave town urgently, and she brought him to inform the Hall Master.
• Fang Shu explained that his second uncle had spent half a year under a yearlong mine contract, and the Hall Master agreed he should be rescued.
• The Hall Master gave Fang Shu an old Solitary Gu robe woven from Fire-Washing Silkworm silk and explained how its fabric resisted mundane weapons and could be cleaned or resized with fire.
• The Hall Master gave Fang Shu a calling card to help redeem his uncle and sent Flea Masters to hide in his hair for protection.
• Fang Shu collected his belongings from Snake Master and left the dojo after briefly greeting Yu'er.
• Yu'er watched Fang Shu depart, while Qin Min questioned her interest and then dismissed Fang Shu as a mortal with ordinary talent.

Fang Shu secured Yu Le’s release from the Lead Mountain mines and reunited with his Second Uncle. After seeing Fang Shu’s Solitary Gu Hall robes, Yu Le realized how far his nephew had advanced and wept with pride and sorrow.

• Yu Le endured another shift in the Lead Mountain mines, where the other miners learned he had been saving money for his nephew.
• The monster foremen identified Yu Le as Fang Shu’s uncle and humbly carried him out of the mine.
• Fang Shu waited on a hill and gave Yu Le a Clean-Clothes Talisman and clean Daoist robes.
• Fang Shu told Yu Le that he had become someone at Solitary Gu Hall and that they could live well from now on.
• Yu Le recognized Fang Shu as an official disciple and cried, thinking of the suffering his nephew must have endured.

Fang Shu reclaimed his second uncle, Yu Le, from Mine Master Cao and turned down Cao’s invitation to investigate a supposed gold-seeking bug. After celebrating Yu Le’s return with the Paper Workshop neighbors, Fang Shu stayed the night, where Su Qingao arrived in disarray and begged to become his servant.

• Mine Master Cao and Second Master Hyena plotted to lure Fang Shu into a mine tunnel, but Fang Shu rejected Cao’s offer and left with Yu Le.
• Yu Le warned Fang Shu that miners often fabricated treasure-mine discoveries to bait and trap people, while Fang Shu privately considered the nearby mine marked on Cheng the Jar’s map and chose not to investigate yet.
• Fang Shu bought Yu Le a demon tongue and supplies to help him practice spells and care for his health, despite Yu Le’s reluctance to spend Fang Shu’s money.
• The Paper Workshop neighbors gathered for a celebratory banquet honoring Yu Le’s return, and Fang Shu stayed overnight to keep him company.
• Su Qingao came secretly to Fang Shu’s door in disheveled clothes, fell to her knees, and asked whether his family needed a woman to serve them.

Fang Shu refused to get involved in Su Qingao’s troubles and learned why Second Uncle Yu Le had tested his judgment. At Solitary Gu Hall, he settled into the inner courtyard, arranged work for his uncle, and joined the disciples for Hall Master Du’s lecture on shortcuts into immortal sects.

• Su Qingao begged Fang Shu and Second Uncle Yu Le to take her in, but they refused, and the old man dragged her back to their home.
• Li Yuan warned Second Uncle Yu Le about Su Qingao, and Fang Shu told his uncle what he had heard about her schemes.
• Fang Shu went to Solitary Gu Hall, where Flea Master left him to return to Hall Master Du.
• Du Yu'er arranged an inner-courtyard room for Fang Shu and offered Second Uncle Yu Le a kitchen hand position, which Fang Shu accepted.
• Hall Master Du gathered the inner-courtyard disciples and began a lecture about shortcuts for entering immortal sects.

The Lone Pavilion Master taught her disciples about the Nine Branches of Immortal Learning and explained why they were not yet qualified to study them. Fang Shu learned that he and the others first needed to temper their strength, gather spells, and learn Mystic Scripts before entering an Immortal Sect.

• Li Hou'er recited the Nine Branches of Immortal Learning, and the Lone Pavilion Master explained that they formed the orthodox sources of spells and cultivation methods.
• The Lone Pavilion Master identified Solitary Gu Hall's teachings as part of the Witchcraft Suppression Discipline and contrasted orthodox practitioners with rogue cultivators.
• The Lone Pavilion Master described how nine Heavenly Immortal Dao Masters established the branches over time, completing Immortal Learning in the Outer World.
• Li Hou'er asked why the disciples could not study the Nine Branches yet, despite being told to choose a branch for their future cultivation.
• The Lone Pavilion Master explained that the disciples first needed to build their foundations and enter an Immortal Sect before they could properly study the Nine Branches.

The Lone Pavilion Master explained that comprehension governs access to the Nine Branches of Immortal Learning, then revealed three shortcuts for entering an Immortal Sect: becoming a magical implement, medicinal material, or artifact spirit. The disciples recoiled at the idea, and Fang Shu realized that his own experiences might already have placed him on one of those paths.

• Li Hou'er asked whether Qin Min, despite possessing a Spirit Root, also could not cultivate the Nine Branches of Immortal Learning, and the Lone Pavilion Master confirmed it was a matter of comprehension.
• The Lone Pavilion Master compared the importance of Spirit Roots and comprehension, explaining that Spirit Roots aid cultivation while comprehension helps with learning spells and Mystic Script.
• The Lone Pavilion Master described the Human Vessel Path, Human Material Path, and Human Spirit Path as ways to attract an Immortal Sect by making oneself a magical implement, treasure medicine, or artifact spirit.
• Qin Min objected that joining an Immortal Sect this way meant becoming provisions, while Li Hou'er denounced the sects and refused to take those paths.
• The Lone Pavilion Master told the disciples they had already set foot on the three paths, and Fang Shu connected her words to Cheng the Jar's Treasure Blood and the Three-Six Bait Method.

The Lone Pavilion Master taught Fang Shu the Marrow Refinement and Fat Refinement methods through Blood Fleas, while explaining the harsh bargains disciples faced in cultivation. She then privately gave him a rare book, saying he might study the Nine Branches of Immortal Learning without taking the shortcuts required of the other disciples.

• The Lone Pavilion Master explained that disciples served as resources for cultivation and that even immortals had endured this tradition, though their bodies were generally used to refine artifacts and nurture nonhuman life.
• The Lone Pavilion Master used Blood Fleas to inscribe the Marrow Refinement and Fat Refinement Secret Scripts on Fang Shu, and Fang Shu recorded both methods in his Dao Register.
• The Lone Pavilion Master explained the second and third tribulations, while Fang Shu studied the scripts and their circulation routes.
• After dismissing the other disciples, the Lone Pavilion Master kept Fang Shu behind and led him to a talisman-protected chamber containing preserved books.
• The Lone Pavilion Master gave Fang Shu a rare, titleless book and said he alone might study the Nine Branches of Immortal Learning in advance without taking shortcuts.

The Lone Pavilion Master explained how Fang Shu’s talent and Scorpion-Pit Rite made him suited to become a Gu Master, and taught him about planting spirit roots. She gave him half of her Gu inheritance, while revealing that Qin Min would receive all the Queen Bee Emperor Nectar for the next two years. The chapter ended as Fang Shu turned back to report something to his master.

• The Lone Pavilion Master praised Fang Shu’s insight, resilience, and immunity to venomous creatures, and said he could become a Gu Master by refining a Refining Qi spirit Gu during the Refining Essence stage.
• The Lone Pavilion Master explained that acquired spirit roots could help people enter Refining Qi, but only True Immortals could barely elevate them to innate roots.
• The Lone Pavilion Master gave Fang Shu a Gu inheritance containing methods for ten kinds of Gu insects and promised him its remaining half after he refined a three-tribulation Gu.
• The Lone Pavilion Master revealed that Qin Min would receive all the Queen Bee Emperor Nectar for two years, so Fang Shu had arrived too late to benefit from it.
• Fang Shu accepted the decision without resentment, and the Lone Pavilion Master advised him to focus on cultivation and Gu arts rather than studying too many spells.
• As Fang Shu prepared to leave, he turned back and told the Lone Pavilion Master that he had something to report.

Fang Shu told Hall Master Du about rumors of a Gold-Seeking Insect at the Lead Mountain mine but kept the location of another treasure herb to himself. After more than a month of cultivation and Gu-refining practice, he successfully refined his first First-Tribulation Gu insect, the Sleepy Insect, and used it to fall asleep.

• Fang Shu told Hall Master Du about the rumored Gold-Seeking Insect and treasure herb at the Lead Mountain mine, and she said she might investigate.
• Fang Shu withheld the exact location of a treasure herb he had learned about from Cheng the Jar, planning to ask Hall Master Du about the mine's conditions later.
• Fang Shu spent over a month cultivating and practicing Gu refinement with materials from the Solitary Gu Hall.
• Fang Shu refined three First-Tribulation Sleepy Insects from aphids in a Venom Pit using his Purple-Lead Venom Blood.
• Fang Shu commanded the three Sleepy Insects to enter his nose and ear, and they put him into a deep sleep.

Fang Shu used his newly refined Sleepy Insect to reduce his daily sleep and devoted himself to cultivation and studying gu formulas. After nearly half a year in seclusion, he emerged at Hall Master Du’s summons and found the disciples gathered in Solitary Gu Hall’s inner courtyard, focused on someone else.

• Fang Shu woke refreshed after three hours of sleep with his first-tribulation Sleepy Insect and realized it could free more time for cultivation.
• Fang Shu began studying the seven low-grade gu formulas, starting with the Rice Worm, which could restore old grain and serve as food.
• Fang Shu refined his Sleepy Insect routine to split his sleep into three one-hour rests, while Yu Le brought him meals and materials during his seclusion.
• Hall Master Du excused Fang Shu from lectures so he could continue comprehending gu arts, then summoned him to leave seclusion, listen to the Dao, and undergo inspection nearly half a year later.
• Fang Shu met Yu Le outside his quarters and went to the inner courtyard, where the gathered disciples were focused on someone else.

Hall Master Du hosted Senior Sister Fang, an Immortal Sect cultivator from Solitary Gu Hall, who explained the path to joining the sect and praised Qin Min’s cultivation. After the disciples argued over gifts for Qin Min, she summoned Fang Shu to the council hall, leaving the others surprised by his connection to her.

• Hall Master Du introduced Senior Sister Fang to the inner courtyard disciples, and Senior Sister Fang shared her cultivation experience and explained the age limits and stages for entering the Immortal Sect.
• Senior Sister Fang recognized Qin Min’s spirit root and rapid progress, while Fang Shu considered his own cultivation and the time he had left before turning eighteen.
• Hall Master Du ended the sermon, and the disciples gathered outside the council hall while she and Senior Sister Fang spoke privately.
• Qu Yan and Fu Shier proposed collecting money for a feast or gifts for Qin Min, but Fang Shu and Li Hou'er refused to contribute.
• Qin Min emerged from the council hall and, to everyone’s surprise, summoned Fang Shu inside at Hall Master Du and Senior Sister Fang’s request.