Chapter Summaries

Zhou An gained Zhao Tie’s permission to learn blacksmithing and spent the afternoon practicing, quickly raising his skill proficiency. He returned home to find an unexpected letter on the table.

• Zhou An promised Zhao Tie protection within his authority and secured a place to learn blacksmithing without paying.
• Zhao Tie taught Zhou An the basics of forging and quenching, then guided him through his first attempt.
• Zhou An continued practicing through noon and raised Blacksmithing to level one with 2580/10000 proficiency.
• Zhou An returned home with Yu Hang and noticed an extra letter on the table.

After learning that the emperor had ordered an investigation into the Surveillance Division official’s death, Zhou An focused on building his strength. He raised Object Juggling to level four and headed home with Yu Hang as the Great Chu Celebration approached.

• Zhou An read Division Magistrate Zhang’s report that Xingwu Emperor had ordered the An Ding County Spirit Suppression Division to solve the case within a month or face dismissal.
• Zhou An planned to level up Blacksmithing, Object Juggling, and Soaring Dragon Steps, then practiced Soaring Dragon Steps in the Earth Mound Formation.
• After five days of training, Zhou An reached Blacksmithing level two and discovered that the iron bar he forged had Hardness +1.
• Zhou An practiced Object Juggling with an iron wok until the skill reached level four, gaining more strength and destructive power.
• Zhou An left the county yamen with Yu Hang, who said the coming Great Chu Celebration would keep them busy.

Zhou An prepared for the Great Chu Celebration and found that carving dough could raise his Butchering Ox Technique proficiency. As he settled on focusing his training, a veiled woman arrived at the Demon Suppression Division, where Division Magistrate Zhang welcomed her.

• Zhou An learned that the Great Chu Celebration was two days away and practiced the Soaring Dragon Steps before going to sleep.
• Zhou An noticed the festive preparations and overheard that the opera troupe had come to perform on its own, not at the County Magistrate’s invitation.
• Zhou An tried carving tofu with his long blade, but gave up when it proved difficult and did not improve his proficiency.
• Zhou An carved a piece of dough into a rough vegetable shape and saw his Butchering Ox Technique proficiency increase.
• Zhou An chose to prioritize the Butchering Ox Technique, while continuing to train the Soaring Dragon Steps and blacksmithing.
• Division Magistrate Zhang welcomed a veiled woman in a pale yellow skirt to the Demon Suppression Division.

Ye Shuang arrived at the Demon Suppression Division as the National Teacher’s ninth disciple and agreed to use a Soul Guiding Technique that night to help Division Magistrate Zhang question the dead. After leaving, she revealed that she had memorized her official lines and disguised herself so she could go eat.

• Division Magistrate Zhang welcomed Ye Shuang and identified her to Head Constable Xie as the National Teacher’s ninth disciple.
• Ye Shuang told Division Magistrate Zhang that she had come to help with his urgent case and could make the dead speak using a Soul Guiding Technique after nightfall.
• Ye Shuang declined a guest room and left to stroll around An Ding County, while Division Magistrate Zhang told the others to wait until night.
• In an alley, Ye Shuang removed her veil and reread a paper containing the exact words she had delivered at the Division.
• Ye Shuang burned the paper, used a transformation spell to change her appearance and clothes, and happily headed out to eat.

Ye Shuang explored An Ding County in disguise, then tried its spicy tofu pudding and rice after Zhou An encouraged her. She loved the dish and devoured it while Zhou An watched in astonishment.

• Ye Shuang wandered through An Ding County, buying snacks and trinkets while enjoying the freedom of her changed appearance.
• Hungry, Ye Shuang ordered tofu pudding and rice, then was surprised to find that locals ate it with spicy seasonings.
• The diners criticized Ye Shuang's suggestions of sugar or salt and insisted that tofu pudding should be spicy.
• Zhou An arrived for a meal, encouraged Ye Shuang to try the chili, and began eating beside her.
• Ye Shuang tasted the spicy tofu pudding and rice, declared it delicious, and rapidly finished the dish as Zhou An stared in surprise.

Ye Shuang enjoyed An Ding County’s local food before returning to the Demon Suppression Division to investigate the deaths of its members. There, Division Magistrate Zhang showed her the remains of a woman and asked her to try summoning the woman’s soul.

• Ye Shuang finished her meal with Zhou An, who directed her to a street selling local specialties.
• Zhou An returned home, carved dough while practicing the Butchering Ox Technique, and trained his Soaring Dragon Steps.
• Ye Shuang explored the specialty street, then changed back into her cold, veiled persona and went to the Demon Suppression Division.
• Division Magistrate Zhang told Ye Shuang about the drowned children and the woman at Clear Stream River, and asked her to investigate the woman’s remains.
• Division Magistrate Zhang opened the wooden box, and Ye Shuang’s eyes trembled at what she saw inside.

Ye Shuang used the Soul Guiding Technique on the remains of a victim and uncovered a plot involving a black-robed woman, Clear Stream Village, and the Five Elements Burial Sect. She stayed in An Ding County to help investigate, then went out disguised the next morning and heard a familiar voice while choosing breakfast.

• Ye Shuang guided the victim’s fading soul and saw a woman and a black-robed woman arrange to use children in Clear Stream Village for the Water Burial Method.
• Division Magistrate Zhang explained the Five Elements Burial Sect’s history and burial methods, and he and Head Constable Xie planned to investigate professions connected to sound.
• Ye Shuang gave Division Magistrate Zhang a paper crane and said she would remain in An Ding County for a month to assist if needed.
• The next morning, Ye Shuang disguised herself and wandered through the streets, torn between the breakfast foods on offer.
• Ye Shuang heard someone familiar order a serving of pancakes.

Zhou An met Ye Shuang at a pancake stall before reporting to the yamen, where he learned the Imperial Examination had been postponed and that Head Constable Xie wanted to see him. That evening, Xie hurried Zhou An into Division Magistrate Zhang’s room, where Zhang stood waiting with a grave expression.

• Ye Shuang asked Zhou An about pancakes, bought one after his explanation, and declared it delicious.
• Zhou An went to the yamen and learned that the constables were being assigned streets for the Great Chu Celebration.
• Yu Hang told Zhou An that the Imperial Examination had been postponed and passed along Head Constable Xie’s request for him to visit the Demon Suppression Division that night.
• Zhou An spent the day carving dough and hammering iron at the blacksmith’s shop before heading to the Demon Suppression Division.
• Head Constable Xie pulled Zhou An into Division Magistrate Zhang’s room, where Zhang rose with a grave expression.

Zhou An learned that the Black Robed Woman was likely Zhang Xiu Xiu, a former White Sound Sect disciple suspected of using the Water Burial Method. The Demon Suppression Division planned to watch for more murders, while Zhou An left to train before confronting her.

• Division Magistrate Zhang told Zhou An that Master Ye had helped the authorities identify a suspicious person skilled at controlling others through sound.
• Zhou An read Zhang Xiu Xiu's history: after a disastrous love affair, she left the White Sound Sect, and the senior disciple who rejected her and an honest disciple who pursued her were later found dead in a lake.
• Zhou An recognized the two deaths as sacrifices made with the Water Burial Method and suspected Zhang Xiu Xiu was the Black Robed Woman who wanted his body.
• Division Magistrate Zhang gave Zhou An Zhang Xiu Xiu's portrait and asked him to leave her alive, while the authorities prepared to watch places with water for further murders.
• Zhou An left to train his Soaring Dragon Steps before his coming clash with the Black Robed Woman.

Zhou An raised Soaring Dragon Steps to level four after practicing all night, and his Qi completed its transformation into a circle, bringing him close to the Second-Rate Expert realm. While patrolling during the Great Chu Celebration with Yu Hang, they saw a disturbance draw the crowd toward an opera stage.

• Zhou An practiced Soaring Dragon Steps through the night in the Earth Mound Formation, enduring exhaustion and an injury until it reached level four.
• Zhou An discovered that Soaring Dragon Steps no longer gained proficiency from the Earth Mound Formation and that his Qi had formed a complete circle, leaving him close to becoming a Second-Rate Expert.
• Zhou An decided to practice Butcher the Ox Knife and smithing, then went to the yamen for duty during the Great Chu Celebration.
• Sun Bo Tou assigned Zhou An and Yu Hang to patrol a lively decorated street, where Yu Hang vowed to pass his examination after correcting his mindset.
• Zhou An and Yu Hang noticed a disturbance as the crowd surged toward a nearby opera stage.

Zhou An recognized Zhang Xiu Xiu, the black-robed woman, when she appeared as the opera troupe’s lead performer and put the crowd to sleep with her singing. Zhang Xiu Xiu revealed that she had copied his abilities and challenged him to a fight, leaving Zhou An facing her onstage.

• Zhou An and Yu Hang went to the opera performance while keeping watch over the crowd.
• After the second-billed performer finished, a graceful lead performer appeared and began to sing.
• Zhou An recognized the lead performer’s voice from his encounter with Corpse Retriever Feng Ye’s Soul Pursuit.
• Zhang Xiu Xiu’s singing put the crowd and Yu Hang to sleep, but Zhou An resisted its effects with his qi.
• Zhang Xiu Xiu revealed her black clothes and said she had imitated Zhou An’s abilities, then challenged him to accept a water burial.

Zhou An fought Zhang Xiu Xiu, who had used the Water Burial Method to imitate his abilities and believed she could kill him. His recent breakthroughs let him turn her attacks against her, and he disarmed her before preparing to leave her alive but maimed.

• Zhang Xiu Xiu revealed that an unnamed ally had arranged the chance to kill Zhou An, but refused to identify him.
• Zhang Xiu Xiu attacked with knife light, Soaring Dragon Steps, and a Frying Pan, using abilities copied from Zhou An.
• Zhou An pulled back his blade, cut off Zhang Xiu Xiu's left arm, and used his level-four Butcher the Ox Knife to send her knife light back at her.
• Zhou An cut off Zhang Xiu Xiu's right hand after dodging her attempt to escape.
• Zhang Xiu Xiu begged for her life, and Zhou An said he would spare half of it because Division Magistrate Zhang had ordered him to spare her.

Zhou An crippled Zhang Xiu Xiu and tried to drag her to Yu Hang, but she escaped using the Water Burial Method. Ye Shuang stopped her with a freezing talisman, and Zhou An carried the still-living Zhang Xiu Xiu into an alley as Demon Suppression Division officers arrived.

• Zhou An severed Zhang Xiu Xiu’s legs and said he would turn her over to the Demon Suppression Division for the children she had killed.
• Zhang Xiu Xiu formed replacement limbs from blood and fled, but Zhou An pursued her with the Soaring Dragon Steps.
• Ye Shuang wandered into the street and saw Zhang Xiu Xiu charging toward her while Zhou An called for her to move.
• Ye Shuang used a Daoist talisman to summon snow and freeze Zhang Xiu Xiu in a block of ice.
• As Demon Suppression Division officers approached, Zhou An carried the frozen, living Zhang Xiu Xiu into an alley with Ye Shuang.

After Zhou An disappeared while pursuing the Gray-Clad Girl, Division Magistrate Zhang searched for him as Yu Hang vowed to become strong enough to protect his brother. Meanwhile, Zhou An kept chasing Ye Shuang through the alleys, and the chapter ended with her stopping to confront him.

• Division Magistrate Zhang found Yu Hang unconscious among the injured civilians, woke him, and learned he did not know where Zhou An was.
• Division Magistrate Zhang evacuated the civilians and led a search for Zhou An while Yu Hang resolved to pass the exams and gain an official post so he could protect his brother.
• Zhou An chased the Gray-Clad Girl, who was actually Ye Shuang, through an alley as she used incense to increase her speed.
• Ye Shuang tried to escape down a fork in the road, but Zhou An followed her and explained that he wanted to question her about her identity.
• Ye Shuang realized Zhou An was pursuing her because he knew she had identified him, promised not to tell anyone, and then stopped running.

Zhou An confronted Ye Shuang and deduced that she was Master Ye, the National Teacher’s disciple. After Ye Shuang revealed her true appearance, Zhou An left her to take the surviving woman to the Demon Suppression Division, warning that she would also want his identity kept secret.

• Zhou An stopped Ye Shuang from completing an illusion spell by holding his blade to her throat.
• Ye Shuang threatened to detonate a bundle of powerful talismans, but Zhou An reasoned that she had never intended to kill him.
• Zhou An identified Ye Shuang as Master Ye, and she eventually changed back to her true appearance.
• Ye Shuang confirmed that the woman inside the ice was still alive, and Zhou An told her to take the woman to the Demon Suppression Division.
• Zhou An left the alley and reminded Ye Shuang that she would not want others to learn his identity either.

After Zhou An and Division Magistrate Zhang covered up Zhou An’s identity, the Great Chu Celebration continued while the Demon Suppression Division interrogated Zhang Xiu Xiu. Zhang Xiu Xiu revealed what little she knew before a disguised attacker struck at her, leaving the investigation in immediate danger.

• Ye Shuang took the frozen enemy away, and Zhou An arranged a cover story with Division Magistrate Zhang to keep his identity secret.
• Zhou An resumed patrolling the Great Chu Celebration with Yu Hang, who vowed to pass his examination and take Zhou An away from An Ding County.
• County Magistrate Chen assigned Zhou An to communicate with the Demon Suppression Division, and Zhou An returned home to practice his skills.
• Division Magistrate Zhang interrogated Zhang Xiu Xiu, who revealed that a Fire Prayer Master had connected her to the person behind the Water Burial crimes and said Zhou An knew more.
• Ye Shuang confirmed Zhang Xiu Xiu was telling the truth, but as Division Magistrate Zhang ordered her words recorded, a subordinate arrived and launched black mist at her.

Zhang Xiu Xiu was killed by a black mist released by a Demon Suppression Division member, who poisoned himself before he could be interrogated. Division Magistrate Zhang planned to use Zhang Xiu Xiu’s body as bait, while Zhou An continued his routine and grew closer to Ye Shuang as she repeatedly joined him for meals.

• Black mist consumed Zhang Xiu Xiu and reduced her to dry bones, after which Division Magistrate Zhang and Head Constable Xie confronted the responsible Demon Suppression Division member.
• The Demon Suppression Division member confessed that he had betrayed Division Magistrate Zhang, then bit a hidden poison sac and died before they could question him.
• Division Magistrate Zhang, Head Constable Xie, and Ye Shuang agreed to turn the enemy’s scheme against them by making it appear that Zhang Xiu Xiu was alive and under interrogation.
• Ye Shuang disguised herself as the Gray-Clad Girl, shared a pancake with Zhou An, and admitted that she had little experience outside the National Teacher’s lessons and assignments.
• Ye Shuang began joining Zhou An for breakfast regularly and told him Division Magistrate Zhang was preparing to use Zhang Xiu Xiu’s body as bait for the people behind the attack.
• Zhou An resumed his routine at Zhao Blacksmith’s shop and began forging iron with the goal of reaching Level Three in blacksmithing.

Zhou An advanced his blacksmithing to level three, chose the Fusion Forging Method, and arranged to buy materials for equipment. That night, Master Xu died mysteriously after visiting Spring Dawn Pavilion, and Zhou An joined the investigation there as the constables began questioning the women who had served him.

• Zhou An reached level three in blacksmithing, learned the Fusion Forging Method, and planned to forge defensive equipment with materials from Zhao Blacksmith.
• Zhou An spent the rest of the day practicing his Butcher the Ox Knife before Yu Hang urgently told him that Master Xu had died.
• At the yamen, the coroner reported that Master Xu had died from yang depletion, and Sun BuTou admitted he had invited him to Spring Dawn Pavilion.
• County Magistrate Chen sent Zhou An and several constables to investigate Spring Dawn Pavilion, where the madam brought them into a room and gathered four girls for questioning.

Zhou An uncovered the mysterious man's plan after defeating an Insect Master who poisoned the brothel and tried to keep him away from the Demon Suppression Division. The masked man was caught outside the Division when Ye Shuang confronted him, and Zhou An, Division Magistrate Zhang, and the others arrived as she trapped him.

• An Insect Master poisoned the people in Spring Dawn Pavilion and attacked Zhou An, but he defeated her and learned she had been sent to delay him.
• Zhou An realized the attack was meant to draw him away while the mysterious man targeted the Demon Suppression Division, and he killed the Insect Master before rushing back.
• Division Magistrate Zhang and Head Constable Xie returned after pursuing a fake attacker made from dead insects, realizing they had been lured away from the Division.
• The masked man entered the nearly empty Demon Suppression Division, knocked its guards unconscious, and discovered the dungeon was empty.
• Ye Shuang encountered the masked man as he left the Division and used talismans to trap him in a cage.
• Zhou An, Division Magistrate Zhang, and the others arrived as Ye Shuang confronted the captured masked man.

Zhou An and the others captured Feng Ye, who revealed that an unidentified man had manipulated them to eliminate his wives and concubines and conceal his past. Zhou An executed Feng Ye, and although the mysterious man learned Zhang Xiu Xiu had died, Zhou An believed the man’s desire for an audience would expose further clues.

• Ye Shuang opened the cage, and the masked captive revealed himself as Feng Ye.
• Feng Ye explained that an unknown man had used the Fire Prayer Master and the others as pawns to kill his wives and concubines and bury his dangerous past.
• Feng Ye admitted he had practiced the Water Burial Method, and Zhou An beheaded him despite his plea to atone.
• Ye Shuang said the Insect Master’s flying insects could observe through their eyes, so the mysterious man had likely learned Zhang Xiu Xiu was dead.
• Zhou An told Division Magistrate Zhang, Head Constable Xie, and Ye Shuang that the mysterious man’s desire for people to watch his game could reveal his flaws.