Recaps

Shen Yangge and Chu Xuanzhen played a question game in which the loser had to remove clothing, and Shen Yangge learned why Chu Xuanzhen had spared him and grown attached to him. The game continued for fifteen rounds, and after Shen Yangge lost three in a row, he feared he would soon be left with little to wear.

• Shen Yangge asked how he had known Ruthis was in the Northern States, won the round, and secured Chu Xuanzhen's promise to grant him one request.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked why he had spared Shen Yangge at their first meeting, and Shen Yangge guessed incorrectly that Chu Xuanzhen had avoided a political uproar.
• Chu Xuanzhen said he had wanted to see whether someone else would kill Shen Yangge, but later felt fortunate that Shen Yangge had survived and confessed that Shen Yangge had entered his heart.
• Shen Yangge guessed correctly why Chu Xuanzhen had fallen for him, then learned that their game would last fifteen rounds.
• Shen Yangge lost three rounds in a row and had two more pieces of clothing removed.

Shen Yangge tried to guess Chu Xuanzhen’s preferences while hiding his transmigrator identity, but Chu Xuanzhen revealed how thoroughly he had investigated him. Their guessing game continued, leaving Shen Yangge startled when Chu Xuanzhen correctly identified his fondness for the golden coffin.

• Shen Yangge changed tactics and guessed Chu Xuanzhen’s favorite dishes, but Chu Xuanzhen listed foods Shen Yangge recognized from his modern-world memories.
• Chu Xuanzhen questioned where the unfamiliar dishes came from, and Shen Yangge claimed they were from his hometown before admitting he had only heard of them.
• Chu Xuanzhen exposed the lie by recounting Shen Yangge’s family history and travels, then agreed to call the round a draw.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked whether Shen Yangge was curious how he knew his favorite foods, but Shen Yangge avoided answering and asked how many rounds remained.
• Shen Yangge asked what he had liked best since entering the palace, and Chu Xuanzhen correctly guessed the golden coffin given to the Empress.

Shen Yangge played a guessing game with Chu Xuanzhen, losing clothes whenever he guessed wrong and winning conditions to protect himself. After discovering Chu Xuanzhen had kept and polished one of his dragon scales, Shen Yangge won several rounds using conditions to avoid further losses, but the chapter ended as the next rounds began.

• Chu Xuanzhen asked Shen Yangge to guess what he had taken from Shen Yangge’s body, and Shen Yangge failed to guess the dragon scale Chu Xuanzhen produced.
• Shen Yangge noticed the scale’s smooth edges and realized Chu Xuanzhen had polished it by handling it repeatedly.
• Shen Yangge lost another round by failing to guess which scented sachet Chu Xuanzhen liked, and Chu Xuanzhen removed another garment.
• Shen Yangge protested until Chu Xuanzhen let him sit up against a pillow.
• Shen Yangge won the next two rounds and used both conditions to avoid losing more clothes.
• Shen Yangge won another round by using what he knew of the plot, but Chu Xuanzhen’s questions grew more demanding as seven rounds remained.

Shen Yangge lost nearly all his clothes in Chu Xuanzhen’s guessing game, which continued despite his protests. After Chu Xuanzhen insisted he had never wanted the throne, Shen Yangge admitted defeat and asked what condition Chu Xuanzhen would set next.

• An old eunuch overheard Shen Yangge and Chu Xuanzhen’s intimate guessing game, then hurried away and slapped his young eunuch twice when he asked what had happened.
• Shen Yangge realized Chu Xuanzhen had lured him into a game he was never meant to win and argued that the round should not count because he could not know whether Chu Xuanzhen was telling the truth.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge that he had never intended to take the throne, even after becoming Crown Prince.
• Shen Yangge lost another round and admitted defeat, then asked Chu Xuanzhen what condition he would set next.
• System 615 watched the game continue and grew curious about Chu Xuanzhen’s next condition.

Chu Xuanzhen made Shen Yangge accept a condition after Shen admitted defeat in their game. Shen was stunned when Chu Xuanzhen dressed him in a loose pair of unfamiliar underpants, and the chapter ended as he tried to confront him about it.

• System 615's vision was blocked, and Little Orange Cat took over its consciousness while it underwent repairs.
• Chu Xuanzhen brought lamps into the bedchamber and told Shen Yangge that, since he had admitted defeat, he could not refuse a condition.
• Shen Yangge agreed to Chu Xuanzhen's condition after confirming that he did not intend to play another fifteen rounds.
• Chu Xuanzhen put a pair of icy, loose underpants on Shen Yangge, leaving him shocked and struggling to ask how he could make him wear them.

Shen Yangge lost the final round of Chu Xuanzhen’s game and reluctantly obeyed his humiliating condition after trying to refuse. The next morning, Shen Yangge woke to something cool against his lips and discovered Chu Xuanzhen beside him.

• Chu Xuanzhen dressed Shen Yangge in his own trousers and announced his final condition: Shen Yangge had to pleasure himself in front of him.
• Shen Yangge refused, but Chu Xuanzhen reminded him that he had said a real man should take responsibility for his actions.
• Shen Yangge agreed on the condition that Chu Xuanzhen turn around, and Chu Xuanzhen complied.
• Afterward, Shen Yangge demanded fresh trousers and another bath, but Chu Xuanzhen refused and made him sleep in the trousers all night.
• The next morning, Shen Yangge felt something cool against his lips, pushed it away, and opened his eyes when his hand touched Chu Xuanzhen’s face.

Shen Yangge spent the morning with Chu Xuanzhen, who refused to let him leave the courtyard freely despite his protests. After tripping on the stairs, Shen Yangge discovered he had accidentally worn Chu Xuanzhen’s underpants outside, leaving the old eunuch stunned.

• Shen Yangge resisted Chu Xuanzhen’s kisses until a knock announced that the minister of works wanted an audience.
• Chu Xuanzhen sent the old eunuch away, then helped Shen Yangge wash and prepared to take him to breakfast.
• Shen Yangge enjoyed leaving the courtyard and talked with Chu Xuanzhen about both state affairs and their relationship over breakfast.
• Shen Yangge asked to move freely around the residence, but Chu Xuanzhen refused, citing his poor health.
• Shen Yangge tripped on the stairs, lifted his trousers, and realized he had been wearing Chu Xuanzhen’s underpants outside.

After the Virus System punished Shen Yangge for delaying his mission, he hid the evidence of his bleeding and considered how Ruthis and Chu Xuanzhen might be connected to the system’s rules. The chapter ended with Shen Yangge suddenly losing his ability to understand System 615.

• Chu Xuanzhen left Shen Yangge’s room after lingering in the doorway, and Shen Yangge changed clothes and slept.
• Shen Yangge contacted System 615, but the Virus System caused his head to bleed and warned that repeated punishments could exile his soul fragments or erase his soul.
• System 615 appeared and worried over Shen Yangge, who recovered enough to hide his bloodstained bedding and clothes from Chu Xuanzhen.
• Shen Yangge and System 615 considered finding Ruthis and concluded that Ruthis might be siphoning away Chu Xuanzhen’s fortune while Chu Xuanzhen delayed ascending the throne.
• Shen Yangge suddenly could no longer understand System 615’s meows or connect with it mentally.

Shen Yangge suffered a five-day punishment that made him an elderly man, leaving him frail, hungry, and unable to eat rich food. When Chu Xuanzhen returned and saw his changed appearance, Shen Yangge reassured him that he would recover in five days.

• System 615 cried as the punishment aged Shen Yangge, and Shen Yangge saw his frail elderly appearance in a mirror.
• Shen Yangge rested on a chaise longue and told System 615 that the punishment would last five days.
• Hungry after waking at night, Shen Yangge received a meal but found greasy food nauseating and ate only lightly.
• Chu Xuanzhen returned, saw Shen Yangge's aged appearance, and reached for his face in alarm.
• Shen Yangge explained that he would recover in five days and asked Chu Xuanzhen to handle his old body gently.

Shen Yangge spent the evening with Chu Xuanzhen, then fell asleep in a chair while trying not to disturb him. After moving Shen Yangge to bed, Chu Xuanzhen found blood on the pillow and discovered bloodstained clothes and bedding hidden in a cupboard drawer.

• Chu Xuanzhen held Shen Yangge's hand and ate from Shen Yangge's bowl and chopsticks.
• After bathing, Shen Yangge stumbled while dressing, teased Chu Xuanzhen, and chose to sleep in a Consort's Chair.
• Chu Xuanzhen finished reading his memorials, carried the sleeping Shen Yangge to bed, and noticed a dark spot on the pillow.
• Chu Xuanzhen smelled fresh blood on the pillow and found that Shen Yangge's nose was slightly red.
• Chu Xuanzhen searched the room and uncovered clothes and bedding with large bloodstains in a cupboard drawer.

Chu Xuanzhen struggled to accept Shen Yangge’s aging and took the frightened System 615 away, while Shen Yangge later found the cat trembling and unable to communicate. The chapter ended with Shen Yangge realizing that Consort Xue and the Eighth Prince had come to the Eastern Palace, but wondering who could recognize him in his aged state.

• Chu Xuanzhen admitted to himself that he could no longer calmly watch Shen Yangge suffer and grow old, then carried the sleeping Little Orange Cat out of the room.
• Shen Yangge woke up in bed, wondered if Chu Xuanzhen had carried him there, and discovered that System 615 was missing.
• Shen Yangge found System 615 trembling in a corner and tried to comfort it, but the cat stayed frightened and would not communicate.
• Shen Yangge spent the day inside under the punishment and wondered when Chu Xuanzhen would return.
• A servant told Shen Yangge that Consort Xue wanted to see him, and he heard the Eighth Prince and Consort Xue outside the door.
• Shen Yangge stopped before opening the door, wondering who could recognize him in his aged appearance.

Shen Yangge, trapped in his aged form, tried to avoid meeting Consort Xue and the Eighth Prince while they waited outside his room. Consort Xue asked him to help her niece, but Shen Yangge remained hidden as the Eighth Prince mocked her impatience.

• Shen Yangge overheard Consort Xue and the Eighth Prince arrive and stalled rather than reveal his transformed appearance.
• Consort Xue said she had come to ask Shen Yangge for help with her niece, who had suffered ill fortune.
• Shen Yangge agreed to help but refused to come out and meet Consort Xue.
• The Eighth Prince told Consort Xue there was no need to rush after Shen Yangge had already agreed.

The Eighth Prince told Shen Yangge that rumors questioning his identity as the Divine Dragon and the Crown Prince’s destiny were spreading through the Capital City, and asked him to perform a Prayer Sacrifice. Shen Yangge could not perform the ritual while trapped in his aged body, and the Eighth Prince warned him to watch out for Consort Xue and other possible threats.

• Consort Xue insisted on waiting outside until she could see Shen Yangge, while the Eighth Prince left after speaking to him through the door.
• The Eighth Prince climbed in through Shen Yangge’s window, fell, and injured himself; Shen Yangge helped him to the table.
• The Eighth Prince told Shen Yangge that rumors claimed he was not the real Divine Dragon and that the Crown Prince was not the true Child of Destiny.
• The Eighth Prince explained that people connected to the Second Prince and Fourth Prince had spread the rumors without realizing they had done so, and said Consort Xue’s niece was among them.
• The Eighth Prince asked Shen Yangge to perform a Prayer Sacrifice, but Shen Yangge said he could not do it in his current condition.
• The Eighth Prince warned Shen Yangge that Consort Xue seemed suspicious, then struggled to leave through the window after Shen Yangge refused to let him use the front door.

Shen Yangge heard Consort Xue’s offer to help him escape in exchange for killing Chu Xuanzhen and supporting a prince’s claim to the throne. Chu Xuanzhen returned before Shen Yangge could answer, pulled him away from the door, and left Consort Xue’s scheme unresolved.

• The Eighth Prince climbed out Shen Yangge’s window and warned him to avoid going out while the palace was unsettled.
• Consort Xue came to see Shen Yangge, but he initially refused and claimed he was ill.
• Consort Xue dismissed the people outside and told Shen Yangge that she knew he was a shapeshifting monster, not the Divine Dragon, and warned that an enlightened monk would soon arrive to expose him.
• Consort Xue offered to help Shen Yangge escape if he killed Chu Xuanzhen and helped the Eleventh Prince—or, failing that, the Fourth Prince—take the throne.
• Shen Yangge approached the door, but Chu Xuanzhen returned, grabbed his hand, and lifted him into his arms.

Consort Xue tried to persuade Shen Yangge to help her by claiming Chu Xuanzhen was doomed by gu poison, while Chu Xuanzhen quietly listened and stayed close to Shen. The chapter ended with Chu reassuring Shen that he was all right and would never abandon him.

• Chu Xuanzhen kissed Shen Yangge, tucked him beneath a quilt, and held him close while Shen wondered whether his madness had returned.
• Consort Xue urged Shen to consider helping her, claiming Chu Xuanzhen had incurable gu poison and little time to live.
• Consort Xue revealed that the emperor and empress had been involved in Chu Xuanzhen's past suffering, and Shen suspected Chu was using her to draw out the Second Prince and Fourth Prince.
• Shen noticed a faint whitish cast on Chu Xuanzhen's fingernails and asked whether he was truly all right.
• Chu Xuanzhen clasped Shen's hand, reassured him, and promised he would never abandon him.

Shen Yangge agreed to Consort Xue’s plan to kill Chu Xuanzhen after Chu Xuanzhen urged him to accept, then struggled to understand their hidden motives and the strange ritual preparations. The chapter ended with masked dancers surrounding Shen Yangge in a ritual and a wolf-masked figure pointing a banner staff at him.

• Chu Xuanzhen urged Shen Yangge to agree to Consort Xue’s proposal, and Shen Yangge agreed to kill him.
• Consort Xue left after Shen Yangge accepted, while Chu Xuanzhen gave no explanation for his actions.
• The next morning, Shen Yangge found clothes, talismans, and other ritual items that Chu Xuanzhen had prepared for him.
• Shen Yangge reasoned that Consort Xue and Chu Xuanzhen might each believe they had trapped the other before the sacrificial ceremony in five days.
• Masked dancers poured cold water over Shen Yangge and circled him as he protected the caged Little Orange Cat.
• A wolf-masked figure approached Shen Yangge and pointed a banner staff at him.

Shen Yangge woke from a vision of masked people performing a ritual and learned from System 615 that the experience had really happened. After an assassin accidentally knocked himself unconscious outside Shen Yangge’s window, the Eighth Prince laughed about the incident while Shen Yangge remained troubled by his changing appearance and the voices he heard.

• Shen Yangge dreamed of masked people who said they awaited his return, then woke in his usual room wearing the clothes from the vision.
• Shen Yangge found System 615 locked in an iron cage and confirmed that they had both been taken somewhere strange.
• System 615 indicated that it knew what had happened, but Shen Yangge told it to explain in five days.
• Shen Yangge stopped an assassin’s poison from entering through the window, and the assassin knocked himself unconscious outside.
• Shen Yangge wondered whether the courtyard’s plants were laughing and worried that he looked like an elderly man again by day.
• The Eighth Prince laughed over the foolish assassin while eating.

Shen Yangge noticed strange changes in his senses and heard voices while the Eighth Prince warned him that others knew about his condition. The chapter left Shen Yangge wondering if he had developed a split personality after flowers suddenly bloomed in the courtyard.

• The Eighth Prince warned Shen Yangge that others likely knew about his condition and pointed out that someone had opened the window despite the Imperial Guards.
• Shen Yangge sensed an urge to open the window and noticed that he could distinguish individual floral scents.
• The Eighth Prince left Shen Yangge and went to the Torture Chamber, where he prevented an assassin from biting off his tongue.
• Shen Yangge heard voices discussing his mood and calling him the youngest among them, then feared his Virus System had caused a split personality.
• Shen Yangge opened the window and saw flowers bloom suddenly throughout the courtyard.

Shen Yangge prepared for the Prayer Sacrifice, recovered his normal appearance, and dressed as the Divine Dragon while Chu Xuanzhen remained busy with preparations. As the procession entered the Capital City, Shen Yangge resolved to face the people plotting against him and Chu Xuanzhen.

• Shen Yangge heard the courtyard flowers and plants talking, then rested and dreamed of creatures watching him with goodwill.
• Shen Yangge practiced the Prayer Sacrifice and learned from the Eighth Prince that the ceremony required dancing, so he made the prince learn the dance with him.
• Shen Yangge returned to his normal appearance, but System 615 remained unconscious and an unknown force still prevented him from opening the cage.
• Palace servants dressed Shen Yangge in ceremonial robes, and the Eighth Prince was briefly captivated by his appearance.
• Shen Yangge thought the Fourth Prince and Second Prince would attend the Prayer Sacrifice and resolved to face those who wanted him to kill Chu Xuanzhen.
• Shen Yangge joined the Divine Dragon Procession through the Capital City as onlookers watched reverently and some knelt.

Shen Yangge took part in a sacrificial ceremony at the Sacrificial Terrace as Chu Xuanzhen helped and sheltered him. When Shen Yangge raised a sword into the torrential rain, the storm weakened and the sky cleared, leaving him astonished by the Daoists’ apparent power.

• Chu Xuanzhen helped Shen Yangge down from the carriage and led him to the center of the Sacrificial Terrace.
• Daoists arranged themselves around the terrace and cast talismans as the ceremony began.
• Dark clouds gathered over Capital City, and a torrential downpour drove most onlookers to seek shelter.
• A Daoist handed Shen Yangge a sword, and Shen Yangge raised it above his head, letting the rain run over the blade and his hands.
• The rain gradually eased, the clouds dispersed, and the people returned to the foot of the terrace.

Shen Yangge was forced by a Daoist’s magic to stab Chu Xuanzhen during the ceremony, and the crowd turned against him. Chu Tianyin and Chu Xuanzhi took control, crippled Chu Xuanzhen, and prepared to take Shen Yangge’s eyes for Chu Xuanzhi.

• A Daoist in robes used his banner staff to seize control of Shen Yangge’s sword hand and make him stab Chu Xuanzhen in the chest.
• The crowd panicked and began accusing Shen Yangge of being a monster as defenders of the Divine Dragon were drowned out.
• Chu Tianyin held Shen Yangge at swordpoint, stabbed the unconscious Chu Xuanzhen in both shoulders and legs, and ordered that he be kept alive.
• Shen Yangge realized Chu Tianyin and Chu Xuanzhi had joined forces and saw the Eighth Prince watching Chu Xuanzhen with contempt.
• Chu Tianyin ordered Chu Xuanzhen carried away and stopped Chu Xuanzhi from damaging Shen Yangge’s eyes before they could be transplanted.

Chu Xuanzhi tried to force Shen Yangge to serve him as Chu Tianyin's men suppressed the gathered commoners and members of the Crown Prince Faction. The chapter ended with Shen Yangge defiantly asking Chu Xuanzhi whether he was worthy of his service.

• A commoner defended Shen Yangge and the Divine Dragon, but Chu Tianyin's forces shot him and kept the crowd surrounded.
• Chu Xuanzhi threatened the commoners into silence, while a middle-aged man defected to Chu Tianyin and some others weighed their loyalties.
• Chu Xuanzhi offered to keep Shen Yangge with him and act as his eyes, but Shen Yangge insulted him for fleeing years earlier.
• An elderly minister rebuked Chu Xuanzhi for plotting against the rightful ruler and trying to make Shen Yangge submit.
• Chu Xuanzhi grabbed Shen Yangge again and demanded that he serve him, and Shen Yangge asked whether Chu Xuanzhi was worthy.

Shen Yangge revealed that Chu Tianyin had no royal blood and had been manipulated by the late emperor, while Chu Xuanzhi claimed control over Shen Yangge. As the sacrificial ritual resumed and the talismans changed, Shen Yangge seized Chu Xuanzhi and threw him.

• Chu Tianyin had Daoist-robed men remove the old man and challenged the crowd’s belief in Shen Yangge as the Divine Dragon.
• The Eighth Prince said he would never serve the man who killed his mother, and Chu Xuanzhi questioned whether he and Shen Yangge had been intimate.
• Shen Yangge asked why the late emperor had not entrusted Chu Tianyin with power, then revealed Chu Tianyin was not the late emperor’s son and had no royal blood.
• Chu Tianyin recalled that the late emperor had urged him to support the Eleventh Prince or Seventh Prince, and Shen Yangge accused Chu Xuanzhi of seeking to destroy Great Chu.
• As the sacrificial ritual began again, Chu Xuanzhi’s crippled hand rose, and Shen Yangge seized his wrist and threw him.

At the Prayer Sacrifice, Shen Yangge warned Chu Xuanzhi and the others that the real gods would be displeased, then eerie winds and bells accompanied animals and insects attacking the gathered people. Chu Xuanzhi knocked Shen Yangge unconscious, after which the creatures calmed but remained nearby.

• Chu Xuanzhi ordered the Imperial Guards to seize Shen Yangge, but Chu Tianyin and the Eighth Prince stopped Shen Yangge from escaping.
• Shen Yangge warned that the real gods would be angered by the disruption and said everyone was about to be in trouble.
• Eerie winds made the altar bells ring as animals and insects appeared and attacked the Imperial Guards and others at the Sacrificial Terrace.
• Chu Xuanzhi struck Shen Yangge on the neck and knocked him unconscious.
• The animals and insects gradually stopped attacking but lingered nearby and dodged when people tried to strike them.

Shen Yangge recovered fragmented memories in his consciousness, where a Little Dragon Baby showed him surveillance footage of Chu Xuanzhen imprisoned. He woke to find Chu Xuanzhi forcing imperial physicians to remove his eyes intact.

• Shen Yangge followed a little flame to a control room filled with screens displaying Small Worlds, where the Little Dragon Baby revealed footage of him unconscious beside Chu Xuanzhen.
• The Little Dragon Baby pressed against Shen Yangge and transmitted memories, helping him recall that he was a programmer sent to patch a loophole after losing most of his memories.
• Shen Yangge watched Chu Xuanzhen shackled and promised to free him soon; Chu Xuanzhen opened his eyes and briefly smiled toward the screen.
• Shen Yangge woke in a room surrounded by imperial physicians, while Chu Xuanzhi threatened them with prison and death unless they removed Shen Yangge's eyes intact.