Chapter Summaries

After Lai Tou and the men of Yi He Shantytown beat Qin Geng and stole his new rickshaw, he discovered the Book of a Hundred Trades, which recorded his carriage-driver and beggar professions and their potential talents. Realizing that better carriage-driving skills would not help him fight back, Qin Geng resolved to learn martial arts.

• Qin Geng woke from his injuries as Xu Chun asked whether Lai Tou’s men had attacked him and taken his new rickshaw.
• Qin Geng recalled trespassing on Yi He Shantytown’s territory at the Jin River Ferry, where Lai Tou’s men beat him and seized the carriage.
• Xu Chun comforted Qin Geng, then left to discuss confronting Yi He Shantytown with the other drivers.
• Qin Geng discovered the Book of a Hundred Trades, which listed his carriage-driver and beggar levels, experience, and possible talents.
• Qin Geng decided he needed fighting ability to reclaim his rickshaw and resolved to practice martial arts.

After losing his passenger carriage in a dispute with Lai Tou’s crew, Qin Geng accepted a rented handcart and began earning experience by pulling it. While waiting for fares outside Nine Harmony Restaurant, he heard Li Gou recount how Su Cloth Shop’s House Guard Zhou Yonghe survived gunfire and killed an attacker with his bare hands.

• Xu Chun returned with the battered handcart Boss Lin had arranged for Qin Geng after Lai Tou’s men took Qin Geng’s carriage.
• Qin Geng agreed to treat the cart’s rental as a loan, then pulled it through Tianjin and watched his Carriage Driver experience increase.
• Qin Geng reached Nine Harmony Restaurant and waited at the carriage stand, following its rules for taking fares.
• Li Gou told Qin Geng that Zhou Yonghe had survived several gunshots and torn one of two foreign attackers apart with his bare hands.
• The lead carriage rang its bell and departed, and Qin Geng and Li Gou prepared to wait for passengers.

Qin Geng worked to raise his Carriage Driver experience and reached level five, choosing the Divine Stride talent. A returning passenger hired him for a five-silver-dollar trip to Heaven-Reaching Gate, warning him to keep quiet about anything he saw or heard.

• Qin Geng waited outside Nine Harmony Restaurant, won a fare to Osmanthus Fragrance Studio, and earned experience by pulling the passenger steadily through town.
• Qin Geng worked long days, saved his earnings, and brought his Carriage Driver experience to 39/40.
• The black-robed passenger returned and singled out Qin Geng for another ride, during which Qin Geng reached level five and chose Divine Stride.
• Qin Geng’s new speed amazed the passenger, who remarked that Qin Geng had brought out fire wheels on his own.
• The passenger offered Qin Geng five silver dollars to meet him at Heaven-Reaching Gate on the third day of the next month and told him to keep the journey secret.

Qin Geng saved money and sought advice on learning martial arts while preparing for a lucrative job. After he found the badly injured Lai Tou and kicked him before leaving him behind, Lai Tou died, and Boss Lin publicly returned Qin Geng’s stolen rickshaw, making him appear responsible and exposing him to Yi He Shantytown’s revenge.

• Qin Geng spent seven coins to ask Master Zhu Xin where he could learn genuine martial arts and decided he would repay his aunt before seeking an introduction.
• Qin Geng found the bloodied Lai Tou in an alley, took the silver dollar Lai Tou offered, kicked him, and left without taking him to Spring Renewal Hall.
• The next morning, Li Gou told Qin Geng that Lai Tou had died and that people blamed Qin Geng, but Qin Geng denied killing him.
• Boss Lin returned Qin Geng’s stolen rickshaw in front of the Carriage Drivers, prompting them to suspect Qin Geng had killed Lai Tou and putting him at risk of revenge from Yi He Shantytown.

Qin Geng got his rickshaw back, learned why Boss Lin had blamed him for Lai Tou’s death, and chose the Endless Breath talent to prepare for a demanding trip to Bell Mountain. After hearing Master Zhu Xin’s account of Tianjin’s Dragon Vein and the dangers beyond the city, Qin Geng decided he needed to learn martial arts.

• Boss Lin returned Qin Geng’s new rickshaw, and Ma Laifu explained that Boss Lin had blamed Qin Geng to avoid confronting the Grain Transport Gang.
• Qin Geng confessed to Uncle Xu that he had encountered Lai Tou and taken a silver dollar, but Uncle Xu told him to keep the money and repay his debts later.
• Qin Geng built up his carriage-driving experience and chose Endless Breath over an upgrade to Divine Stride when he reached level ten.
• Qin Geng tested Endless Breath by sprinting across much of the city and found he could keep running without becoming exhausted.
• Master Zhu Xin told Qin Geng that Tianjin lay on a Dragon Vein, which supposedly kept demons and ghosts away, while Qin Geng recalled a corpse herder and resolved to learn martial arts after his Bell Mountain trip.

Qin Geng carried Shopkeeper Lu from Bell Mountain to Ping'an County Town after fleeing pursuing zombies, then learned that his exceptional rickshaw-running ability was a form of cultivation. He left with five silver dollars and a new understanding of how his trade could grow stronger.

• Qin Geng left the shanty before dawn, ate a large breakfast, and pulled his rickshaw toward Bell Mountain.
• Qin Geng waited at Heaven-Reaching Gate, where Shopkeeper Lu emerged from the woods and told him to run from pursuing zombies.
• Qin Geng used extraordinary speed and endurance to carry Shopkeeper Lu back to Osmanthus Fragrance Studio, escaping the zombies.
• Shopkeeper Lu paid Qin Geng five silver dollars, introduced himself as Lu Xingmin, and explained that mastery of any trade could become cultivation.
• Qin Geng realized that the [Book of a Hundred Trades] tracked his cultivation as experience and agreed to carry Shopkeeper Lu again on the third of next month.
• Qin Geng headed straight back to Xu Jin's Shanty, eager to build on Shopkeeper Lu's guidance.

Qin Geng repaid Qin Xiu for the money she had lent him, gave her a watch, and asked her to help him learn martial arts. Qin Xiu agreed to introduce him to Master Zhou, and Qin Geng arrived at the stables to meet the armed house guard.

• Qin Geng took his six silver dollars into Jinmen City and bought Qin Xiu a wristwatch as a gift.
• Qin Geng entered the Su Residence after waiting at the side gate and saw the estate’s Discipline and Punishment Office on the way to Qin Xiu’s courtyard.
• Qin Geng repaid Qin Xiu the five silver dollars she had lent him and gave her the watch.
• Qin Geng asked Qin Xiu to introduce him to Master Zhou so he could learn martial arts, and Qin Xiu agreed while returning his money.
• Xiao Hong led Qin Geng to the stables, where a man in black training clothes sat sharpening a short blade and asked who was there.

Qin Geng obtained Zhou Yonghe’s Xingyi Dragon and Tiger manual and began training in the Three-Body Stance, despite the steep cost of the required food and medicine. His effort unlocked the Martial Artist profession and revealed a path toward the Dragon Spine Through the Back talent.

• Xiao Hong introduced Qin Geng to Zhou Yonghe, who gave him the Xingyi Dragon and Tiger manual in repayment of a favor to Qin Geng’s aunt and warned him not to lose it or pass it on.
• Qin Geng returned to his shanty, copied the manual, and learned that training required expensive food, tonics, and medicinal baths.
• After eating a large meal, Qin Geng waited until night and secretly practiced the Three-Body Stance with the Six Harmonies Breathing Method.
• Qin Geng stood in the stance for half an hour, unlocking the Level 1 Martial Artist profession and learning that he could choose the Dragon Spine Through the Back talent at Level 5.
• Qin Geng imagined combining the talent with Divine Stride and tested his strength with a punch that whistled through the air.

Qin Geng struggled to afford the food and medicine his Martial Artist training would require, while rumors of supernatural dangers spreading through Tianjin unsettled him. After upgrading Divine Stride and reaching Martial Artist Level 2, he revealed extraordinary strength by moving a boulder blocking Xu Jin's Shanty's alley.

• Qin Geng calculated that his rickshaw earnings could not cover his growing appetite or the costly medicines he would need for martial arts.
• Two Grain Transport Gang men told Qin Geng about a grain boat dragged under by a clawed creature and other strange happenings around Tianjin.
• Qin Geng upgraded Divine Stride to Level 2, then trained in the Three-Body Stance until his Martial Artist profession reached Level 2.
• Qin Geng found that Divine Stride improved his stance and helped him gain martial arts experience faster.
• When a boulder blocked Xu Jin's Shanty's alley, Qin Geng lifted and carried it away by himself, astonishing the carriage drivers.
• Xu Chun warned Qin Geng to keep his strength quiet, and Qin Geng agreed before the drivers returned to work.

Qin Geng worried that his growing appetite was outpacing his earnings, then heard Master Zhu Xin warn that strange events might threaten the Dragon Vein. On his trip to Bell Mountain to meet Shopkeeper Lu, Qin Geng fled from two voices that sounded like Lu, only to discover the injured man in his rickshaw had become a paper effigy, which he punched in terror.

• Qin Geng calculated that food and other expenses had eaten through his earnings and savings, so he considered taking work as a Porter while keeping his Carriage Driver profession.
• Master Zhu Xin told Qin Geng that strange happenings might signal danger to the Dragon Vein and warned that foreign powers sought to undermine the Great Xin Dynasty.
• Qin Geng practiced his martial arts at the abandoned threshing ground and gained experience before traveling to Bell Mountain to meet Shopkeeper Lu.
• At Heaven-Reaching Gate, Qin Geng heard Shopkeeper Lu's voice from two directions in the woods, then found Lu injured on the ground as two zombies imitated his speech.
• Qin Geng carried Lu toward Hundred Herb Hall, but when he stopped in town, he found a paper effigy dressed in burial clothes in the rickshaw instead of Lu.
• Qin Geng gathered his strength and punched the paper effigy.

Qin Geng helped Zheng Tonghe remove the life-preserving Paper Effigy Skin from Lu Xingmin, who survived his injuries and paid Qin ten silver dollars. Lu Xingmin explained the levels of cultivation among Great Xin’s trades and offered Qin thirty silver dollars to guide an expedition into Bell Mountain once Qin reached the third level of Fire Wheel; Qin then returned home and set out for Jinmen City.

• Zheng Tonghe stopped Qin Geng from punching Lu Xingmin’s Paper Effigy Skin and brought the pair into Hundred Herb Hall to save him.
• Zheng Tonghe used incense ash, talismans, and rooster blood before cutting away the paper skin, then reset Lu Xingmin’s broken leg and treated his wounds.
• Lu Xingmin woke, thanked Qin Geng, and gave him ten silver dollars; he described the two pursuing rice-dumpling corpses and offered Qin thirty silver dollars to guide him into Bell Mountain after reaching the third level of Fire Wheel.
• Lu Xingmin explained how trades gained cultivation levels and described the third-level Carriage Driver abilities Step-Sensing Danger and Old Horse Knows the Way.
• Qin Geng returned to his room, secured his money and the Xingyi Dragon and Tiger booklet, then left for Jinmen City.

Qin Geng returned to the Su Residence to give Zhou Yonghe back the Xingyi Dragon and Tiger manual, and his newly strengthened body and stance impressed the household guards. Zhou Yonghe found Qin Geng’s natural gifts ordinary but became intrigued by his remarkable progress after only a month of solo practice, leaving Xia Jingyi facing an unexpected assignment.

• Qin Geng visited the Su Residence, learned his aunt was away, and went to the training ground to find Zhou Yonghe.
• The Second House Guard recognized Qin Geng’s martial training, and Qin Geng practiced the Three-Body Stance for four hours, advancing to Martial Artist Level 4.
• Zhou Yonghe returned with Xia Jingyi, accepted the manual from Qin Geng, and examined his bones before Qin Geng left.
• Xia Jingyi asked whether Zhou Yonghe would take Qin Geng as a disciple, and Zhou Yonghe explained that Qin Geng had practiced alone for only a month despite his striking progress.
• Zhou Yonghe decided that Xia Jingyi should learn steadiness by pulling a rickshaw in a county outside Tianjin.

Qin Geng joined Xu Jin's Shanty and Ma Village Shack at Xun River Wharf, where the drivers claimed a lucrative territory and he began earning far more from fares. After bringing two students fleeing the fighting in the south to the Tianjin Hotel, he ended the afternoon with more than 160 wen and a new way to fund his training.

• Qin Geng learned that Xu Jin's Shanty and Ma Village Shack had driven Yi He Shantytown from Xun River Wharf and agreed to share its territory.
• Uncle Xu told Qin Geng and Li Gou to stay out of future fights while the older drivers handled the dangerous work.
• Qin Geng and the other drivers took their rickshaws to Xun River Wharf and began soliciting passengers.
• Qin Geng accepted a fifty-wen fare from two students who had fled the fighting in Shanghai and carried them to the Tianjin Hotel.
• Qin Geng completed five trips that afternoon, earned more than 160 wen, and realized wharf work could help pay for his food and martial arts training.

Qin Geng advanced to Martial Artist Level 5 and unlocked Dragon Spine Through the Back, gaining extraordinary strength but developing a desperate need for medicinal nourishment. After Master Zhu Xin recommended Zheng Tonghe of Hundred Herb Hall as an honest physician, Qin Geng took his savings and set out to buy Bone-Strengthening Powder.

• Qin Geng reached Carriage Driver Level 20 and worried that the cost of food and future medicine would outstrip his savings.
• Qin Geng completed his training and advanced to Martial Artist Level 5, unlocking Dragon Spine Through the Back.
• Qin Geng tested his new strength by lifting a four-hundred-jin boulder, then realized his body urgently needed more nourishment than meat could provide.
• Qin Geng paid for Master Zhu Xin's breakfast and asked where he could safely buy medicinal decoctions.
• Master Zhu Xin recommended Zheng Tonghe of Hundred Herb Hall, praising his medical skill, integrity, and martial arts lineage.
• Qin Geng took his fourteen silver dollars and headed to Jinmen City to buy Bone-Strengthening Powder.

Qin Geng bought Bone-Strengthening Powder from Zheng Tonghe and trained at Hundred Herb Hall, gaining experience and learning about the Sickly Tiger Bones talent he could unlock. Master Zhu Xin then warned him that armed fighters from Yi He Shantytown had attacked Xun River Wharf, and Qin Geng rushed to help.

• Qin Geng paid Zheng Tonghe for fourteen doses of Bone-Strengthening Powder, and Zheng Tonghe offered him a stove and courtyard for brewing and training.
• Qin Geng practiced beside the steaming medicine, drank the decoction, and gained six experience points as his physical depletion disappeared.
• Qin Geng read that reaching Martial Artist Level 10 would unlock the Sickly Tiger Bones talent and resolved to keep training.
• A Hundred Herb Hall attendant told Qin Geng that Master Zhu Xin was waiting for him with urgent news.
• Master Zhu Xin warned Qin Geng that fighters and a mob from Yi He Shantytown had attacked Xun River Wharf, so Qin Geng immediately sprinted there.

At Xun River Wharf, Qin Geng intervened when Chen Sanpi threatened Old Jin and killed the trained fighter with one punch. Zhou Yonghe watched in shock, wondering how Qin Geng’s physical abilities had changed so dramatically.

• Boss Lin and the other carriage-house bosses stopped the standoff until Guan Ershun arrived, then hurried to take him away from the wharf.
• Xia Jingyi questioned the confrontation, and Zhou Yonghe told her that learning to pull a cart required treating the trade as a livelihood.
• Chen Sanpi offered to spare Xu Jin's Shanty if Old Jin survived three punches, and Old Jin accepted to protect his men.
• Qin Geng arrived and told Old Jin to step back, then dodged Chen Sanpi's punch and struck him once, killing him.
• Yi He Shantytown's drivers fled, while Zhou Yonghe stared at Qin Geng and wondered how he had become a Born Killer.

After killing Chen Sanpi with a single punch, Qin Geng claimed Xun River Wharf for his people and prepared to secure their loyalty with a feast. Zhou Yonghe recognized Qin Geng as a Born Killer, while Master Zhu Xin warned him to watch for revenge; Qin Geng left for Nine Harmony Restaurant with his new standing in South City.

• Zhou Yonghe told Xia Jingyi that Qin Geng had Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bone, making him a Born Killer, but chose not to rush into taking him as a disciple.
• Qin Geng realized his punch had killed Chen Sanpi, accepted the money taken from the corpse, and ordered Xu Chun and the others to sink the body in the river.
• Qin Geng claimed Xun River Wharf for the South City Carriage Drivers, and the gathered drivers agreed to follow him as Brother Wu.
• At Xu Jin's Shanty, Qin Geng told his neighbors that a House Guard of the Su Family had taught him martial arts, and Master Zhu Xin warned him about Chen Sanpi's dangerous connections.
• Master Zhu Xin advised Qin Geng to host a feast and build loyalty, so Qin Geng invited the drivers to dinner at Nine Harmony Restaurant.
• Qin Geng arrived at the restaurant, paid the doorman with Chen Sanpi's silver dollars, and ordered a private room and a lavish meal for his brothers.

Qin Geng celebrated taking Xun River Wharf with the drivers, agreed to temporarily pay tribute to Boss Lin, and discovered that killing Chen Sanpi had earned him Martial Artist experience. After training through the night, he advanced his experience toward level ten and dreamed of ruling Tianjin.

• Qin Geng hosted a feast and declared that Xun River Wharf and its earnings belonged to all the men from Xu Jin's Shanty and Ma Village Shack.
• Li Gou envied Qin Geng's strength and status but worried that he lacked the money, energy, and talent to learn martial arts.
• Uncle Xu and Uncle Jin warned that Boss Lin could drive them from the wharf, and Qin Geng agreed to pay him tribute for now while planning to grow stronger.
• Qin Geng practiced in the threshing ground and found that his Martial Artist experience had risen from seven to ten after he killed Chen Sanpi.
• Qin Geng concluded that combat could earn experience quickly, then trained for four more hours and gained another three experience points.

Qin Geng continued his martial training while struggling to afford his medicine, then rejected a broker’s offer of a thousand silver dollars to enter a ghost marriage with Jiang Hailong’s dead daughter. He drove Boss Lin and Master Jiang away, but his refusal risked bringing the Dragon King Society’s anger down on him.

• Qin Geng reached Martial Artist Level 7 and neared Carriage Driver Level 30, though his medicine costs left him with only one silver dollar.
• Boss Lin brought Master Jiang of Ten Thousand Treasures Brokerage to Qin Geng’s shanty with an offer of a thousand silver dollars for a ghost marriage to Miss Jiang.
• Master Jiang explained that the marriage would make Qin Geng Jiang Hailong’s adopted son and heir to a place in the Dragon King Society, while requiring him to live as his dead bride’s husband.
• Qin Geng rejected the offer and shattered the stone table with one palm, frightening Master Jiang and Boss Lin into fleeing.
• Qin Geng dismissed his companions’ worries and said he would face any consequences rather than surrender his dignity, then planned to reach level thirty and pursue work in the mountains.

Qin Geng reassured his fellow pullers that they could resist Boss Lin by standing together, then took the lead cart at Xun River Wharf. After accepting a foreign doctor named Henry, who also called himself Li Zhizhen, as a passenger, Qin Geng was asked whether he was a Fate Cultivator.

• Qin Geng told Uncle Jin and Xu Chun that Boss Lin relied on the Dragon King Society's reputation for leverage and encouraged the pullers to save money for their own carts and business.
• At Xun River Wharf, Ma Laifu revealed that a matchmaker had tried to pair Li Gou with Miss Jiang, and Li Gou explained why he had refused.
• Qin Geng led the pullers as the passenger ship docked and called out for fares.
• Henry, a foreign doctor who introduced himself by the Great Xin name Li Zhizhen, hired Qin Geng for a ride to the concession and paid him with a small silver ingot.
• During the ride, Henry praised Qin Geng's running technique and asked whether he was a Fate Cultivator; Qin Geng asked what that meant.