Recaps

Jiang Zhizhou uncovered the Late Emperor’s testament and helped Duan Ziqian survive Duan Hongzhuo’s coup. After Duan Hongzhuo escaped and Jiang refused court office, Jiang and Yang Qing fled toward Fan City, where they hoped to learn who had protected them.

• Jiang Zhizhou escaped Jiang Zhihuai’s death warriors and learned from Bu Er that the Marquis of Anguo remained imprisoned but unharmed.
• Jiang Zhizhou investigated the Imperial Testament, obtained an Archive Access Order from Sun Yonghai, and entered the Imperial Mausoleum to retrieve a hollow Small Stone Buddha concealing the testament.
• Jiang Zhizhou and Yang Qing discovered that Prince Ding might have raised the Ghost Army and agreed to thwart Duan Hongzhuo’s plan to install the Left Chancellor’s daughter as empress.
• At the Late Emperor’s posthumous birthday ceremony, Duan Hongzhuo presented an imperial edict and tried to seize the throne, but Xiao He turned against him and Jiang Zhizhou’s allies fought his forces.
• The Ghost Army arrived under Duan Hongxing, defeated the Shadow Guards, and helped secure Duan Ziqian’s position, though Duan Hongzhuo escaped.
• Jiang Zhizhou refused Duan Ziqian’s offer of a ministerial post and followed his father’s order to leave the Imperial City with Yang Qing and Bu Er.
• After escaping Xiao He and taking Yang Qing downstream on the Li River, Jiang Zhizhou and Yang Qing set out for Fan City while a hidden follower watched over them.

Yang Qing stayed in Fan City to uncover the plot surrounding Duan Hongzhuo, thwarted a war campaign by flooding the iron mine, and became entangled in Duan Ziqian’s schemes. After the temporary palace was destroyed, he removed his disguise and pursued clues linking County Magistrate Chai’s death to the people of Yijiang.

• Yang Qing refused Chu Jinghui’s order to return to Western Chu or assassinate Duan Ziqian, choosing to remain in Fan City with Jiang Zhizhou while Duan Hongzhuo’s whereabouts were unknown.
• Yang Qing uncovered a trap involving Bei Chen and Jiang Zhizhou, then found a key Jiang had hidden and resolved not to leave without him.
• Yang Qing diverted the Fan River into Northern Liang’s imperial iron mine, flooding it and delaying Duan Ziqian’s preparations for war.
• Duan Hongxing brought Yang Qing to the Imperial City, where Duan Ziqian ordered him to join the campaign against Western Chu and gave Jiang Zhizhou the Military Tally.
• After an ambush over the Military Tally, Yang Qing and Bu Er discovered Yijiang agents conspiring with the county magistrate, then escaped when the temporary palace exploded.
• Yang Qing learned that Suotu’s men at Yan Pass had died, negotiated with Duan Hongxing for freedom to resolve the crisis, and had Divine Doctor Xue remove his disguise.
• Yang Qing investigated County Magistrate Chai’s belongings and learned from Chai’s mistress that he often visited White Cloud Taoist Temple.
• Yang Qing confronted Daoist Qingyun about the Yijiang search for clues, then arranged for one of Chai’s copper coins to be left outside the County Office to pressure the people involved.

Yang Qing and Jiang Zhizhou used rumors of the Former Dynasty’s Treasure to draw Duan Ziqian into a Dragon Vein investigation while Western Chu pursued Yang Qing. Their search led them into an underground site connected to the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom, where Yang Qing realized they had entered the Cloudflower Illusion Formation.

• Jiang Zhizhou removed Nightwake insect eggs from Daoist Qingyun’s clothes and learned that County Magistrate Chai’s copper coin contained a treasure map.
• Yang Qing planned to divert Duan Ziqian with the treasure rumors, and Duan Ziqian secretly assigned Jiang Zhizhou to investigate the Dragon Vein at North Qi Mountain.
• Yang Qing accompanied Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er to Blooming City, where the Peerless Gentleman rescued Yang Qing and Bu Er from Zhao Shanming.
• Jiang Zhizhou deterred another ambush and identified the attackers as the Feather Guard sent by Western Chu’s emperor to kill Yang Qing.
• Yang Qing proposed faking his death and investigated Spirit Mountain with Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er, but the Tree Formation drove them into underground tunnels.
• Yang Qing recognized the underground river as part of the Cloudflower Illusion Formation, and Jiang Zhizhou led their escape underwater after attackers caught up with them.
• Jiang Zhizhou and Bu Er lost access to their internal energy during a dangerous cliff descent, and Jiang Zhizhou tended to his injured companions in a cave.
• Yang Qing opened a concealed doorway in a site linked to the Eastern Radiance Ancient Kingdom and realized that the three remained inside the Cloudflower Illusion Formation.

Yang Qing reunited with Dai Sheng, learned the truth about the emperor’s decision to spare him, and returned to Yan Prefecture to retrieve a hidden silk roll. He then followed clues to the Nether Lake, where a monster dragged him and his companions underwater, leaving them facing a water dragon and a transparent passage that Yang Qing believed was Spirit Jade.

• Yang Qing and his companions found Dai Sheng on North Mountain, where Dai Sheng recounted how Chu Jinghui had branded Yang Qing a threat to the throne.
• After Dai Sheng died from Flower Loves Beauty, Yang Qing accepted his Jade Cicada, then recovered and asked Pei Buji to guide them through a hidden passage to Yan Prefecture.
• Yang Qing retrieved a silk roll from a hidden compartment in the Yang Family’s old house and left Yan Prefecture with his companions to search for the Dragon Vein beneath Nether Lake.
• Fen Liyou gave Yang Qing a Remnant Book describing Nether Lake and Red Rain, and the group followed its clues through the desert to a Hexagram Diagram and the Ghost River.
• When fiery clouds brought red rain, Yang Qing and his companions reached Nether Lake, where a strange monster surfaced and attacked them.
• The monster’s song suppressed their internal energy, and an invisible force pulled Yang Qing, Bu Er, Jiang Zhizhou, and Pei Buji underwater.
• Yang Qing woke beneath the lake, identified a transparent passage as likely Spirit Jade, and the companions saw a water dragon rushing toward them.