Chapter Summaries

Qin Geng learned that Ten Thousand Treasures Brokerage and the Dragon King Society planned to take dozens of children to Ghost's Dread on Bell Mountain for the foreigners’ experiments. His Eighth Senior Brother, Li Tingyun, arrived with a palace token ordering them to kill, and the group prepared to attack on the fifteenth.

• Qin Geng visited Master Xin's grave, then heard a storyteller exaggerate his deeds at a teahouse.
• Li Gou told Qin Geng that Ten Thousand Treasures Brokerage and the Dragon King Society planned to bring twenty or thirty children to Ghost's Dread for the foreigners.
• Qin Geng gathered Lu Xingmin, Third Master Cao, Daoist Miaoxuan, and Zheng Tonghe, who resolved to save the children even if no order arrived.
• Li Tingyun arrived from the capital and revealed that he had seized a palace token bearing the order to kill.
• Li Tingyun assigned the group to seal Bell Mountain's escape routes, prepare medicine, and surround the Dragon King Society and Ten Thousand Treasures Brokerage before leading Qin Geng and Third Master Cao as the vanguard.

Qin Geng trained in the Xun River until his Fisherman profession reached level 20 and unlocked Waterborne Spirit, then caught a rare Black-Armored Bullhead Carp. At the Fishery Enclosure, he refused a low offer, and Ghost Scale Zhao recognized him as Fifth Master Qin and offered ten silver dollars for the fish, which Qin Geng kept.

• Li Tingyun and the others chose February fifteenth to set a trap at Heaven-Reaching Gate and told Qin Geng to report any new word from Abacus Song.
• Qin Geng trained underwater at Great Willow Shoal until his Fisherman profession reached level 20 and unlocked Waterborne Spirit.
• Qin Geng tested his new ability, saw clearly in the deep water, and found a Black-Armored Bullhead Carp beneath a whirlpool.
• Qin Geng fought the fish underwater, subdued it with a punch, and carried it back to his skiff.
• At the Fishery Enclosure, an attendant offered Qin Geng one hundred copper coins and threatened to confiscate the fish, but Ghost Scale Zhao recognized Qin Geng and offered ten silver dollars.
• Qin Geng kept the fish and left, while Ghost Scale Zhao fired the attendant and remarked that Qin Geng might swim even better than White Stripe Ma San.

Qin Geng recruited Chuanzi, prepared to build a force controlling the waterways, and endured an intense half-month of martial training that brought him close to Hidden Force. On the fifteenth day of the second month, he set out to settle accounts with the Foreigners and Ten Thousand Treasures Brokerage.

• Chuanzi begged Qin Geng for justice after Ten Thousand Treasures Brokerage abducted his little sister, and Qin Geng agreed to bring him to South City and arrange work for him.
• Qin Geng decided Chuanzi's water skills could help him control Tianjin's waterways and prepare to fight the Foreigners beneath the river.
• Qin Geng paid Zheng Tonghe for three days of Tiger Bone Marrow-Penetrating Soup and Dragonhide Tonic Soup, then trained under Ye Lanzen while his martial experience rapidly increased.
• Qin Geng's underwater searches yielded another large black carp, while his [Way Cultivator] experience slowed because [Waterborne Spirit] made the river less dangerous.
• Qin Geng split an Old Elm Post into six smooth sections, reached Level 15 as a Martial Artist, and left for Osmanthus Fragrance Studio to settle accounts with the Foreigners and Ten Thousand Treasures Brokerage.

Li Tingyun led Qin Geng and the others into Ghost's Dread, where they discovered Li Zhizhen's group using children and Snake Corpses while plotting to sever Tianjin's Dragon Vein. Qi Hongsheng exposed the ambush, and the group launched an attack that plunged the valley into chaos.

• Lu Xingmin sealed Heaven-Reaching Gate with the Thousand Yin Soul-Locking Formation while Li Tingyun led the others into Bell Mountain.
• Li Tingyun guided the group past the Ghost Wall's illusions and treacherous paths until they reached Ghost's Dread.
• Qin Geng and the others spotted Li Zhizhen, Jiang Hailong, Qi Hongsheng, and Master Jiang with drugged children and Snake Corpses in the valley.
• Li Zhizhen revealed that he planned to turn Qin Geng into a Snake Corpse and use Iron-Eyed Zhu's corpse to locate treasures that could sever Tianjin's Dragon Vein.
• Qi Hongsheng destroyed Li Zhizhen's offered antidote and alerted the hidden group, prompting Li Tingyun and the others to attack.
• Li Tingyun struck at Li Zhizhen, Qin Geng charged the Snake Corpses, Daoist Miaoxuan sent talismans toward the children, and the Snake Corpses rushed at the newcomers.

Li Tingyun, Qin Geng, and their allies defeated the foreign conspirators and their Snake Corpses in a bloody battle, rescuing the controlled children. After Qin Geng shattered the Purple Clay Teapot and freed Li Tingyun from its Water Prison, the survivors prepared to return and discuss Qi Hongsheng’s unexpected arrival.

• Li Tingyun wounded and beheaded the burly foreigner, while the short, fat foreigner trapped him in a Water Prison with the Purple Clay Teapot.
• Qin Geng slaughtered the Snake Corpses, and Miaoxuan burned the Human-Speaking Snakes while protecting the controlled children.
• Zheng Tonghe’s medicinal fragrance weakened the water mist, but Li Zhizhen countered it with Myriad Poisons Miasma and ordered Jiang Hailong to attack.
• Third Master Cao and Cao Xiaoliu shot Jiang Hailong, and Third Master Cao finished him with a shovel.
• Qin Geng killed Li Zhizhen with a Tail Scissor, then Qi Hongsheng explained that breaking the Purple Clay Teapot would free Li Tingyun.
• Miaoxuan’s tracking talisman located the teapot, Qin Geng smashed it, and Li Tingyun emerged after killing the short, fat foreigner; Li Tingyun recognized Qi Hongsheng, and the group planned to talk after returning.

After defeating the Foreigners and the Dragon King Society’s Snake Corpses, Li Tingyun’s group freed the kidnapped children and set out from Bell Mountain. They returned toward Ping'an County Town with plans for Qin Geng and Cao Xiaoliu to reunite the children with their families and earn the people’s trust.

• Li Tingyun recognized Qi Hongsheng as a spy planted in the Dragon King Society, and the group collected the Foreigners’ remains and other evidence from the battlefield.
• Daoist Miaoxuan woke the children, and Third Master Cao calmed them with candy and organized them to travel together.
• Abacus Song came down from his hiding place in a tree, and Third Master Cao agreed to bring him along to help deal with the Dragon King Society’s accounts.
• On the way back, Qi Hongsheng explained that he had married a paper person to gain Jiang Hailong’s trust and investigate the Dragon King Society.
• At Heaven-Reaching Gate, Lu Xingmin told the group that he had contained and soothed the Water Cultivator’s lingering Grievance Energy.
• Li Tingyun assigned Qin Geng and Cao Xiaoliu to return the children to their families, and the group rode toward Ping'an County Town.

Qin Geng brought the children rescued from Bell Mountain to the yamen, then returned them to their families while ensuring one girl would be protected from her neglectful father. He reunited Nier with Chuanzi, who pledged his life in service to Qin Geng.

• Qin Geng and Cao Xiaoliu used Coroner Zhang's help to search the household registers and identify the children's families.
• Qin Geng returned Huzi to his father at Lu Village Restaurant, where the diners celebrated his rescue work.
• Qin Geng used a fabricated prophecy and Li Gou's intimidation to persuade Nier's father to keep her instead of selling her again.
• Qin Geng brought Nier to the Clothes-Washing Lane courtyard and summoned Chuanzi to meet her.
• Chuanzi reunited with Nier, then repeatedly kowtowed and pledged his life to Qin Geng, who stopped him and gave him money to feed his sister.

After Qin Geng returned from taking the rescued children home, his senior brothers discussed how they had protected the children and dismantled the criminal groups behind their sale. Chu Xing arrived with the prisoners in custody, and Third Master Cao explained how Qin Geng could turn an expected official post into real authority by taking control of Ping'an County Town's carriage firms and waterways.

• Cao Xiaoliu complained that some parents had sold the rescued children, and Third Master Cao praised Qin Geng for persuading Sour Scholar to protect his son.
• Li Tingyun explained that Ten Thousand Treasures Brokerage supplied children to the brutal martial beggars, and the senior brothers said Chu Xing had begun rounding up the brokerage and the Dragon King Society.
• The group discussed the official posts Qin Geng and Cao Xiaoliu might receive for their role in exposing Li Zhizhen's plan against Great Xin's Dragon Vein.
• Chu Xing arrived and said he had jailed the brokerage's leaders, Dragon King Society members, and Jiang Hailong's family; he agreed to question Abacus Song and spare him if he was uninvolved.
• Third Master Cao explained that officials needed local connections and control of resources to hold their positions, then told Cao Xiaoliu to build on his connections in the antiques and tomb-raiding trades.
• Third Master Cao told Qin Geng to take control of the carriage firms and waterways before the imperial appointment arrived, and Qin Geng thanked him and his senior brothers for their support.

After Jiang Hailong’s death, Qin Geng moved to take control of the Dragon King Society’s waterways and won the allegiance of two former elders and their followers. White Stripe in the Waves, Ma San, challenged Qin Geng to an underwater contest to decide whether Qin could rule the waterway, and Qin accepted.

• Abacus Song reported that the Dragon King Society had collapsed and pledged his loyalty to Qin Geng, while warning him about the four released elders.
• Qin Geng rejected Third Master Cao’s suggestion to use official power against the elders and chose to face them openly.
• At a banquet aboard the Xun River Pleasure Barge, Tie Dashan, Sun Ergou, and the minor leaders submitted to Qin Geng.
• Ma San revealed that Jiang Hailong had stolen the Dragon King Society from him and his deceased friend, then argued that Qin lacked the water skills to rule it.
• Ma San challenged Qin Geng to an underwater, two-li breath-holding race, and Qin accepted.

Qin Geng defeated Ma San in an underwater contest and won the submission of the Dragon King Society’s elders. After Feng Liu tried to poison and kill him, Qin Geng exposed the plot and killed Feng Liu, leaving the others cowed and pledged to obey him.

• Ma San sent Ghost Scale Zhao to place two Red Sandstone pieces beneath a pier, then challenged Qin Geng to retrieve one underwater.
• Qin Geng returned with a stone before the incense had burned a fifth of the way, while Ma San surfaced later, exhausted, and yielded control of Tianjin’s waters to him.
• Feng Liu invited Qin Geng upstairs for tea and offered to discuss the society’s accounts and rules.
• Qin Geng noticed poison in the tea and exposed Feng Liu’s plot, prompting Feng Liu to attack with his Black Baleful Poison Palm.
• Qin Geng dodged Feng Liu’s attack with uncanny speed and killed him with a single palm strike.
• After seeing the poison corrode the floor, Ma San and the others knelt and pledged to follow Qin Geng’s commands.

Qin Geng arranged a grand river sacrifice to cement his authority, then advanced toward Hidden Force under Ye Lanzen’s guidance and learned how Fate Patterns were earned. Lu Xingmin told him that Foreigners and other suspects would be publicly executed at Tianjin’s Great Market Entrance, and Qin Geng went to witness it.

• Abacus Song proposed a grand sacrifice on the Xun River to establish Qin Geng as Dragon Head, and Qin Geng ordered Ma San and Abacus Song to arrange it.
• Qin Geng approved official registration for the sacrifice and renamed the cart company Ping'an Cart Company, keeping its Benevolence Fund system.
• Qin Geng trained at home, reflected on his rise, and wondered what his life was for now that he was secure.
• Qin Geng endured stronger Dragonhide Tonic Soup, then split an elm post into eight sections during training with Ye Lanzen and advanced to Martial Artist Lv17.
• Ye Lanzen explained that Fate Patterns came from great deeds rather than birth, and said he would test Qin Geng’s Fate Pattern on the first day of the third month.
• Lu Xingmin told Qin Geng that key members of the Dragon King Society and Ten Thousand Treasures Brokerage, along with several Foreigners, would be publicly beheaded, and Qin Geng left to watch.

Qin Geng learned that he was likely to receive an influential post in Tianjin’s new Dragon-Guard Office, then watched foreigners be publicly executed at the Execution Grounds. He prepared to attend the Su Family patriarch’s birthday banquet with Lu Xingmin and Third Master Wang to protect Qin Xiu and investigate the artifact linked to the Dragon Vein.

• Lu Xingmin told Qin Geng that the Dragon-Guard Office would recruit him as a powerful local ally, with access to rare cultivation resources through official merit.
• Lu Xingmin explained that Qin Xiu’s original artifact, possibly one of the Nine Magical Artifacts tied to the Dragon Vein, had likely been taken by the Su Family senior madam, and he and Qin Geng planned to protect Qin Xiu at the birthday banquet.
• Lu Xingmin told Qin Geng that Third Master Wang wanted to thank him for rescuing Huzi and would support him at the Su Family banquet.
• At the Execution Grounds, Qin Geng saw executioners behead several foreigners as a cheering crowd celebrated the unprecedented public executions.
• Qin Geng watched poor townspeople dip steamed buns in the foreigners’ blood, and Lu Xingmin explained that they believed the blood could cure illness.
• Lu Xingmin said the Su Family celebration would take place on the seventh day of the third month, and Qin Geng resolved to attend with support from Lu Xingmin and Third Master Wang.

Qin Geng took control of Ping'an Cart Company, won the carriage drivers’ loyalty with fair dues and promises to support their children, and organized the company under trusted men. As he trained toward Hidden Force, his senior brothers arrived with the tools to assess his Fate Pattern, and Ye Lanzen prepared to reveal what it was.

• Qin Geng returned to Ping'an County Town and announced that all carriage workers would answer to Ping'an Cart Company, promoting Xu Chun to Chief Boss in South City.
• Qin Geng fixed dues at thirty percent, dedicated ten percent to the Benevolence Fund, promised protection and opportunities for the workers’ children, and warned them to follow company rules.
• Abacus Song removed corrupt former bosses and organized the company under Xu Chun, Ma Laifu, Jin He, and Li Gou while Ma San and Tie Dashan prepared the Dragon Raises Its Head ceremony.
• Qin Geng trained at the Ye Residence and split an Ironwood Post into ten sections, bringing him closer to Hidden Force.
• Lu Xingmin arrived with the ceremony’s approval and Fate Pattern assessment tools, accompanied by Li Tingyun, Chu Xing, and Zheng Tonghe.
• Qin Geng and his senior brothers went to meet Ye Lanzen, who waited to assess Qin Geng’s Fate Pattern.

Ye Lanzen divined Qin Geng’s fate, and his disciples celebrated what first appeared to be an omen of high office and service to the nation. After they left, Ye Lanzen saw the visions transform into signs of dragon-slaying and upheaval, concealed the dangerous reading from Qin Geng, and told him to punch through the sky if it ever pressed down on him.

• Ye Lanzen warned Qin Geng not to let a fate reading dictate his life, then began the divination with the Turtle Shell.
• Green smoke formed the figures of Wei Zheng and a Sky-Supporting Jade Pillar, which Lu Xingmin and the others interpreted as Qin Geng’s destiny to become a pillar of the court.
• After the disciples left, Ye Lanzen noticed blood-red Baleful Intent and saw the visions change into Wei Zheng slaying a dragon, a pillar severing heaven from earth, and a Spirit Pearl stirring the sea.
• Ye Lanzen realized the reading foretold Qin Geng tearing down the existing order, destroyed the Turtle Shell, and hid the full meaning from his bewildered disciple.
• Ye Lanzen told Qin Geng privately to punch a hole through the sky if it ever pressed down on him, then watched him join the others at the feast.

Qin Geng and his fellow disciples celebrated their new appointments to the Dragon-Guard Office, then received their official ranks and duties from Divine Stride Guard commander Jiang Youzhi. With his posts and territory secured, Qin Geng turned his attention to the Su Family’s birthday celebration and the coming Grand Sacrifice.

• Qin Geng welcomed Jiang Youzhi, who delivered the Dragon-Guard Office appointments and named Qin River-Blocking Guard and Truth-Hearing Guard One-Eye.
• Jiang Youzhi appointed Zheng Tonghe, Lu Xingmin, and Chu Xing to posts in the Antiquities, Geomancy, and Customs Bureaus.
• Jiang Youzhi appointed Li Tingyun Principal Eighth Rank Patrol Chief Banner, placing him above Qin Geng in the Wave-Quelling Bureau.
• Jiang Youzhi warned the Tianjin officials that Capital appointees would seek to reclaim their authority, then departed to report back to the Capital.
• Qin Geng celebrated his settled official status and territory as Li Tingyun called everyone to keep drinking.

Ye Lanzen explained the court appointments and the struggle between the old and new emperors, while Qin Geng learned how his River-Blocking Guard post could help him build authority in Ping'an County Town. In Tianjin, Qin Geng encountered a powerful Horse Immortal Medium from the Northeast, whose group had come seeking the Su Residence and the Dragon Vein Magic Artifact.

• Ye Lanzen explained the disciples’ official posts, warned that the Wave-Quelling Bureau was caught between two sovereigns, and urged them to rely on their own strength.
• Ye Lanzen told Qin Geng to use the Ping'an Cart Company and the Dragon King Society as his forces and earn merit to secure official posts for his followers.
• Qin Geng saw the streets of Tianjin fill with martial artists and watched a thin youth named Tiger Cub expose a performer’s collapsible saber as a trick.
• An old woman from the Northeast apologized for Tiger Cub, then sensed Qin Geng’s Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bone as they met eyes and asked him for directions to the Su Residence.
• After the group left, the old woman warned Tiger Cub that Qin Geng was a dangerous fighter with a powerful Fate Pattern and told him to avoid making trouble in Tianjin.

Qin Geng reviewed his trades and decided to study medicine and a Netherworld Office craft. He used his new Dragon-Guard Office badges to change the Ping'an Cart Company and Dragon King Society's revenue rules, then left to pursue his next trades.

• Qin Geng assessed his Martial Artist, Way Cultivator, and Fisherman levels and resolved to learn medicine from Zheng Tonghe and a Netherworld Office craft from Lu Xingmin.
• Abacus Song reported the cart company's earnings and the Dragon King Society's waterway revenues, including the cuts paid to officials and soldiers.
• Qin Geng showed Abacus Song his Dragon-Guard Office badges and said they ended the need to pay off the county magistrate and naval garrison commander.
• Qin Geng ordered the Dragon King Society to pay fishermen seventy percent of market price, set aside ten percent for the Benevolence Fund, and direct other proceeds to company expenses.
• Abacus Song estimated Qin Geng would receive fifteen hundred silver dollars a month under the new arrangements, and Qin Geng sent him off with instructions to enforce the rules and report talented fishermen.
• Qin Geng took the badges and headed to Osmanthus Fragrance Studio to add two new professions to the Book of a Hundred Trades.

Qin Geng tried to learn paper effigy making from Lu Xingmin, but his martial foundations prevented him from taking up the craft, and he could not understand the feng shui books either. After learning that rumors about the Su Family’s Magic Artifact had put his aunt and Old Master Su’s birthday celebration in danger, he headed to the Su Residence to prepare for the threat.

• Qin Geng asked Lu Xingmin to teach him paper effigy making and feng shui so he could better protect himself amid the Dragon-Guard Office’s troubles.
• Qin Geng spent the night attempting to make a paper effigy, but his bamboo frame and pasted figure were crude, and the Book of a Hundred Trades did not recognize a new profession.
• Lu Xingmin explained that Qin Geng’s powerful martial fortune repelled yin arts, then gave him the Burial Book, the Green Satchel Classic, and the Dragon-Shaking Classic to study.
• Lu Xingmin warned Qin Geng that foreigners had spread rumors claiming the Su Family held a Magic Artifact, drawing dangerous practitioners to Old Master Su’s birthday celebration.
• Qin Geng struggled to understand the feng shui texts, slept at his table, and woke the next morning to dress formally before visiting the Su Residence.

Qin Geng went to the Su Residence to see Qin Xiu, but she refused to meet him, and he learned that Zhou Yonghe’s caravan had been caught in a demonic plague at Wild Fox Ridge. After Lu Xingmin summoned him, Qin Geng hurried to the Mortuary, where he found it surrounded by soldiers and learned that the infected were turning into zombie-like creatures.

• Qin Geng visited the Su Residence, where Wang He told him about the preparations for the Old Master's seventieth birthday celebration.
• Qin Xiu refused to see Qin Geng and warned him not to meddle in the inner residence, so he decided to seek information from Zhou Yonghe instead.
• Xia Jingyi arrived wounded and reported that Zhou Yonghe's caravan had encountered demons and a plague at Wild Fox Ridge, while foreigners had ambushed the rescuers.
• Lu Xingmin sent Qin Geng a paper bird ordering him to go to Wild Fox Ridge with his waist token, and Qin Geng hurried there.
• Lin Er the Barber identified Qin Geng to the soldiers guarding the Mortuary and told him the infected grew black hair, attacked people, and might be zombies.

Qin Geng met the spirit-medium Liu Sanniang, the corpse-driver Wu Tian, and other eccentric martial-world figures gathering at Wild Fox Ridge after a monstrous calamity. As the Dragon-Guard Office drew potential recruits together, Wu Tian’s reputation commanded the newcomers’ respect.

• Liu Sanniang arrived with Tiger Cub and offered to help, while Lin Er explained that she hoped to earn influence in the Dragon-Guard Office.
• Wu Tian, known as Partridge Sky, arrived with his Baleful-Walking disciples and exchanged pointed remarks with Liu Sanniang about rules and authority.
• Lin Er told Qin Geng that Wu Tian had spent years returning battlefield dead to their homes, and Qin Geng respectfully greeted him.
• Qin Geng met Old Hai, a Treasure Seizer, and Old Tan, the Golden Dung Peddler, as Lin Er described their unusual trades and skills.
• Old Hai and Old Tan traded insults until Wu Tian’s cough silenced them, and both men bowed to him out of respect for his work and reputation.