Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao learns from Guagua that Qi Heyue is the seventh princess of the Night Central Kingdom and daughter of Qi Yanzhen. She wonders whether Li Jidong abandoned Bai Xiuzhu for a princess, but Guagua explains otherwise.
• Li and Bai had been traveling together, married, and deeply in love. After discovering Bai was pregnant in Illusion City, they decided to settle there until their child was born.
• While buying groceries, Li saved Qi Heyue when an out-of-control carriage—deliberately sabotaged by her enemies—nearly killed her. He refused the reward offered by her attendants and left.
• Suspecting a trap, Qi had Li watched for two months. Her guards found that he was simply a devoted husband living quietly with his pregnant wife. Curious about reports of his exceptional looks, Qi went to see him herself.
• Qi became infatuated with Li and repeatedly arranged “chance” encounters. When he confronted her, she openly declared her love and tried to draw him close. Li pulled away and reminded her that he was married.
• Qi’s interest only intensified. The excerpt ends with her suggesting that although Li’s low status made him unsuitable as her prince consort, she would still keep him outside the palace.

Character developments

• Li Jidong is shown as caring and responsible, tending to Bai throughout her pregnancy. He acts courageously to save Qi, but remains uninterested in reward or status. He firmly protects his marriage despite Qi’s rank and advances.
• Bai Xiuzhu is portrayed as content and loving, preparing clothes for their expected child while Li looks after her.
• Qi Heyue shifts from suspicion of Li to fascination and then possessive pursuit. Her confidence and royal privilege lead her to treat his refusal as an attraction rather than a boundary.
• Song Yaoyao initially misreads the situation, but Guagua’s account corrects her assumptions.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and marital devotion: Li’s commitment to Bai stands in contrast to Qi’s attempts to draw him away.
• Power and entitlement: Qi’s royal status shapes her belief that she can pursue Li despite his marriage and objections.
• Misjudgment and suspicion: Qi first interprets Li’s rescue as possible enemy manipulation, while Song initially assumes he may have abandoned Bai.
• Fate and unintended consequences: Li’s spontaneous act of heroism brings him into the orbit of the princess and her political dangers.

Character interactions

• Song questions Guagua about Li, Bai, and Qi; Guagua reveals the history.
• Li and Bai share a supportive domestic life centered on their coming child.
• Qi’s guards report on Li, prompting her curiosity about him.
• Qi pursues Li with flirtation and physical closeness; Li repeatedly rejects her advances, citing his marriage and her status.

Key plot points and events

• Qi Heyue openly teases Li Jidong and declares her interest in making him her male concubine. His rejection only makes her more determined to pursue him.
• Li Jidong hides Qi Heyue’s repeated advances from his pregnant wife, Bai Xiuzhu, to spare her distress. When Qi Heyue’s jealousy grows, he decides to leave Illusion City with Bai.
• Qi Heyue discovers their escape, sends pursuers, and has them captured. Li Jidong refuses to use his tribe’s witchcraft, fearing Bai may be hurt and may fear him if she learns his identity.
• At Qi Heyue’s estate, the princess threatens Bai’s life unless Li agrees to become her concubine. He accepts on the condition that Bai and their child will be sent away after the birth. He privately intends to use the delay to protect them and escape later.

Character developments

• Li Jidong remains devoted to Bai, enduring humiliation and accepting a coerced arrangement to keep her safe. His caution also reflects his fear that she will judge him for belonging to the Witch Tribe.
• Bai Xiuzhu trusts Li and agrees to leave without demanding an explanation. Once captured, she realizes the extent of his sacrifice and is moved to tears.
• Qi Heyue shifts from playful pursuit to jealous, coercive obsession. Li’s love for Bai intensifies her desire to possess him and punish what he cares about.

Significant themes

• Devotion and sacrifice in marriage.
• Jealousy and possessive desire turning into abuse of power.
• The dangers of prejudice and secrecy: Li fears the Witch Tribe’s reputation will make Bai fear him.
• Resistance through patience and strategy: Li outwardly submits while planning to secure his family’s safety.

Character interactions

• Qi Heyue humiliates and provokes Li, while he consistently rejects her advances.
• Li shields Bai from the pursuit and conceals both Qi Heyue’s harassment and his tribal identity.
• Qi Heyue threatens Bai to force Li’s consent, separating the couple and restricting their contact.
• Bai recognizes that Li’s apparent surrender is a sacrifice made for her and their unborn child.

Key plot points

• Qi Heyue imprisons Li Jidong and Bai Xiuzhu, then has Bai Xiuzhu die during childbirth. She spares their son, hiding him so she can use him to control Li Jidong.
• Grief-stricken and unable to reach his child, Li Jidong appears to accept Qi Heyue’s control. He asks only to hold a funeral for Bai Xiuzhu, and Qi agrees.
• Li Jidong recalls the Soul-Storing Altar, a rare magical vessel that can preserve a soul. He plans to summon Bai Xiuzhu’s soul on the seventh day after her death and hide it in the altar.
• He intends to use the Witch Tribe’s forbidden Soul Exchange technique to place Bai Xiuzhu’s soul in Qi Heyue’s body. Their birth charts are compatible, and he reasons that Qi Heyue should repay the life she took. The ritual is extremely difficult and carries severe risks.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Jidong shifts from despair to calculated resolve. He pretends to soften toward Qi Heyue, but is secretly planning to restore Bai Xiuzhu and protect their son. His willingness to risk forbidden magic shows the depth of his devotion.
• Qi Heyue remains possessive and ruthless: she has killed Bai Xiuzhu and uses the couple’s child as leverage to keep Li Jidong obedient.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss the events, with Song condemning Qi’s cruelty and questioning whether Soul Exchange can truly work. Guagua confirms that the technique exists but is rarely successful.

Significant themes

• Love and grief: Li Jidong’s loss drives him to attempt an extraordinary, dangerous rescue.
• Coercion and control: Qi Heyue exploits the child to dominate Li Jidong.
• Revenge and moral consequence: Li Jidong frames the proposed exchange as repayment for Qi Heyue’s crime, while invoking the idea that cause and effect may return to punish wrongdoing.

Plot points and events

• Guagua explains that soul-swapping is extremely rare and dangerous: it has succeeded only three times in the Witch Tribe’s history. One person survived through karmic circumstances; the other two were killed by heavenly lightning.
• Li Jidong has already concealed Bai Xiuzhu’s soul in a jar and is waiting for the ideal moment—five nights later—to swap her soul with Qi Heyue’s.
• Song Yaoyao refuses to interfere, viewing the swap as karmic retribution for Qi Heyue’s role in Bai Xiuzhu’s death. She hopes Li Jidong succeeds.
• Qi Heyue suspects Li Jidong’s sudden compliance is a trap. To test him, she orders him to attend her in bed. He agrees but uses witchcraft to create an illusion and psychological suggestion, leaving her convinced they were intimate despite nothing happening.
• Guagua confirms that if the swap succeeds, Bai Xiuzhu will retain her own memories and inherit Qi Heyue’s as well. Song Yaoyao is eager to see how events unfold, though she warns that Li Jidong must not use his magic against her kingdom.

Character development and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is curious and entertained by the situation, but also sets a clear boundary: she will leave Li Jidong and Bai Xiuzhu alone unless they become political enemies. She sympathizes with Li Jidong and sees his actions as justified.
• Li Jidong emerges as a devoted, controlled, and resourceful husband. Though he despises Qi Heyue, he conceals his intentions, maintains firm personal boundaries, and uses illusion rather than actually submitting to her.
• Qi Heyue is suspicious and controlling, trying to test Li Jidong, but his deception succeeds and she remains unaware of his true identity and plan.
• Guagua agrees with Song Yaoyao’s judgment but is anxious about Li Jidong’s powerful witchcraft. Song Yaoyao teases and threatens to stop trading with him; dependent on the trade for energy and progress toward pursuing Lingling, he backs down.

Significant themes

• Karma and retribution: Song Yaoyao views the soul swap as a consequence Qi Heyue deserves for Bai Xiuzhu’s death.
• Loyalty and devotion: Li Jidong’s plan is driven by love for Bai Xiuzhu and regret over having saved Qi Heyue.
• Deception and power: Li Jidong’s illusion demonstrates how witchcraft can manipulate appearances and evade suspicion.
• Restraint and political neutrality: Song Yaoyao will not intervene unless the couple’s actions threaten her kingdom.

Key plot points and events

• Qi Yanzhen lets public rumors about Feiye spread and says Feiye will be arrested and tried openly when he reaches the Capital, presenting himself as unconcerned and transparent.
• Song Yaoyao spots Li Jidong and Qi Heyue shopping together and realizes their souls have been swapped.
• Guagua explains that Bai Xiuzhu, now in Qi Heyue’s body, learned the truth from Li Jidong: he used witchcraft to bring her back after her death in childbirth and exchange their souls.
• Bai Xiuzhu responds with relief and affection rather than fear, blaming herself for the danger Li Jidong endured. The couple reunites with their baby, whom Qi Heyue had kept cared for as a means of controlling Li Jidong.
• Qi Heyue’s soul is trapped in a pig and placed in a pigpen. When she discovers her new form, she panics and is beaten by the butcher, who threatens to slaughter her.
• Li Jidong notices Song Yaoyao watching, exchanges a brief greeting with her, then turns away, still wary after his ordeal.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xiuzhu and Li Jidong are reunited as a family. Bai accepts Li’s witchcraft and remains devoted to him; their shared hardship has brought them back together.
• Qi Heyue loses her status and power, becoming helpless and frightened in a pig’s body—a grim reversal of her former ability to threaten others.
• Song Yaoyao watches the couple’s reunion with approval and regards Qi Heyue’s punishment as deserved. She also remains curious about the coming confrontation between Feiye and Qi Yanzhen.
• Li Jidong and Song Yaoyao exchange a cautious, polite nod. Li’s suspicion reflects how deeply the events with Qi Heyue have unsettled him.

Significant themes

• Revenge and consequences: Qi Heyue’s cruelty and coercion are answered by a humiliating loss of power.
• Love and loyalty: Li Jidong risks everything to restore Bai Xiuzhu, and she responds with trust and devotion.
• Family and resilience: The couple’s reunion with their child offers hope after a life derailed by tragedy.
• Appearance versus truth: Qi Yanzhen’s public posture appears open, but Song Yaoyao suspects it may be calculated.

Key events

• Bai Xiuzhu, disguised as Princess Qi Heyue, and Li Jidong are stuck in Illusion City. Their future is uncertain, especially since Qi Yanzhen may arrange the princess’s marriage.
• Song Yaoyao enjoys unfamiliar pastries and fulfills her promise to Guagua by shopping through his system. She trades a golden silk nanmu bed for vehicles, weapons, motorcycles, food, and crop seeds, leaving her space well stocked.
• Guagua announces that Feiye has arrived in Illusion City. Disguised as a beggar and accompanied by his injured guard, he hopes to avoid recognition.
• Feiye learns that Qi Yanzhen has blamed him for recent events and suspects his residence is under the ruler’s control. He plans to recover valuables hidden there, which he believes could help him rebuild his power.
• Song Yaoyao spots Feiye and tells her brothers, Liu Zheheng and Song Qinghui, that they should expose his return to the city.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains practical, cheerful, and fond of food and shopping. She spends generously partly to help Guagua conserve energy and pursue Lingling.
• Guagua acts like an enthusiastic salesperson, then reports Feiye’s arrival and explains his plans.
• Feiye is resourceful and cautious, but furious at Qi Yanzhen; despite his disguise, he has returned with a clear goal.
• Liu Zheheng and Song Qinghui pity Feiye’s wretched condition, while recognizing that Song Yaoyao has played a major role in his downfall.

Significant themes

• Disguise and unstable identity: Bai Xiuzhu must live as Qi Heyue, while Feiye hides behind a beggar’s appearance.
• Reversal of fortune: A once-dashing national preceptor returns injured, filthy, and hunted.
• Power, wealth, and survival: Feiye seeks hidden riches to rise again, while Song Yaoyao’s resources give her an advantage.
• Schemes and exposure: Feiye hopes to move unnoticed, but Song Yaoyao intends to reveal him before he can act.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao devises a plan to expose Feiye, who is hiding in Illusion City disguised as a beggar. Liu Zheheng publicly announces that the short beggar is Feiye, drawing a crowd.
• Feiye and his loyal guard deny their identities and resist when the crowd demands they wash their faces. The crowd forces them to do so, revealing Feiye.
• Government troops arrive and surround the pair. Feiye tries to use a Yellow Talisman, but someone splashes water on it, stopping his spell. Injured and outnumbered, he is captured.
• Three days later, Qi Yanzhen holds a public interrogation. Feiye appears badly tortured, but says nothing. Song Yaoyao learns that Qi had silenced him with Mute Powder to prevent him from speaking in court.
• Qi accuses Feiye of refining living people into corpses, then sentences him to public beheading in three days. The crowd approves, while officials from General Lu’s and the Grand Tutor’s residences quietly doubt the verdict.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao takes the initiative to expose Feiye and recognizes that Qi Yanzhen is manipulating the trial to protect himself.
• Liu Zheheng and Song Qinghui support Yaoyao’s plan; Liu carries out the public announcement.
• Feiye remains defiant despite capture and torture, refusing to confess to crimes he did not accept responsibility for. His silence is imposed by Qi, not chosen in court.
• Feiye’s guard remains fiercely loyal, shielding him from the crowd. Guagua explains that Feiye once saved the guard, earning his gratitude.
• Qi Yanzhen presents himself as betrayed and righteous, but has Feiye tortured and silenced to control the proceedings.
• Guagua gives Yaoyao background on the guard’s loyalty and Qi’s actions. Yaoyao and Guagua jointly interpret the trial as a sham.

Significant themes

• Manipulation of public opinion: The crowd readily accepts the accusation and celebrates the verdict.
• Abuse of power and denial of justice: Qi stages a public trial while preventing Feiye from defending himself.
• Loyalty and gratitude: The guard’s steadfast protection of Feiye reflects the bond formed when Feiye saved his life.
• Integrity under pressure: Feiye’s refusal to confess contrasts with Qi’s willingness to use any means to avoid blame.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao expects that defeating Emperor Qi Yanzhen will take time, but believes removing his powerful ally Feiye would be an important first step.
• On the day Feiye is supposedly executed, Guagua reveals the condemned prisoner is actually He Qiuyue, a death-row inmate disguised as Feiye. Qi has secretly imprisoned the real Feiye so he can continue using his talents.
• Song Yaoyao, Song Qinghui, and Liu Zheheng leave the crowd and plan to expose the substitution. Liu uses his internal energy to announce the deception publicly.
• As officials try to contain the crowd, Song Qinghui unseals He Qiuyue’s mute acupoint. She identifies herself and denies being Feiye or having used living people for Corpse Refining, explaining that she was sentenced for accidentally killing her murderous mother-in-law.
• The execution official has her gagged again, intensifying public suspicion. Qi’s eunuch offers a weak explanation that the prison may have made a mistake, but the crowd refuses to believe him.
• Word spreads through Illusion City that Qi and Feiye are partners in crimes involving Corpse Refining. Qi loses the people’s trust and must decide whether to surrender Feiye or risk further unrest.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao shifts from waiting patiently for an opportunity to actively exposing Qi’s scheme. She coordinates with Qinghui and Liu, intent on preventing the substitution from succeeding.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng support Yaoyao’s plan: Liu makes the public announcement, while Qinghui enables He Qiuyue to speak.
• He Qiuyue becomes the crucial witness, asserting her identity and innocence of Feiye’s crimes before being silenced.
• Qi Yanzhen is exposed as willing to deceive the public to protect a valuable subordinate. Though enraged by the backlash, he remains conflicted because he values Feiye’s abilities.
• The crowd changes from spectators at an execution to an angry, distrustful public that openly challenges the authorities.

Significant themes

• Deception and exposure: Qi’s substitution scheme collapses when the truth is made public.
• Power and accountability: The crowd refuses to accept official explanations and demands the ruler answer for his actions.
• Public trust: Qi’s attempt to protect Feiye costs him popular support, making his authority more precarious.
• The value of talent versus justice: Qi’s attachment to Feiye conflicts with the need to appease the people and uphold justice.

Plot points and events

• Witch Tribe representatives arrive in the capital and demand that Emperor Qi Yanzhen hand over Yuan Ling—known in Night Central as Feiye—and explain his deception.
• Qi tries to delay them by sending them to the post station, but they refuse to leave the palace gate. He orders his chief eunuch and the Minister of Rites to placate them.
• Yan Bai, the Witch Tribe delegation’s leader and brother-in-law of its chief, agrees to wait for now, though he knows Qi is stalling. He especially wants Yuan Ling punished because his sister, Zhiyi, has been left bedridden.
• Song Yaoyao learns from Guagua that Feiye is being held in a guarded private residence outside the palace. Suspecting Qi may hide, dispose of, or otherwise protect him, she decides to give Yan Bai the residence’s location and a map.
• At night, Song turns her Pistol into a Drone and prepares it to deliver the information. The chapter ends as the Drone loudly calls for Yan Bai to collect his letter, puzzling Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng.

Character developments and interactions

• Qi Yanzhen is increasingly panicked and cornered by threats both inside and outside his kingdom. His attempts to control events through delay reveal his desperation and mistrust.
• Yan Bai is furious and personally invested in capturing Yuan Ling, but remains strategically patient while in a foreign capital.
• Song Yaoyao acts decisively and mischievously: rather than confront Qi directly, she engineers a confrontation between his guards and the Witch Tribe by supplying Yan Bai with a map.
• Guagua supports Song’s plan while teasing her about its deviousness. Their banter shows their familiar, playful rapport.
• The chief eunuch outwardly obeys Qi but privately despises him for shifting the burden of his own wrongdoing onto others.

Significant themes

• Deception and accountability: Qi’s lies about Yuan Ling have brought the Witch Tribe to his palace, while he struggles to avoid facing the consequences.
• Power under pressure: Qi’s imperial authority is challenged by the Witch Tribe’s demands and by Song’s covert interference.
• Manipulation and indirect conflict: Song uses information and a conspicuous Drone to provoke events without acting openly.
• Revenge and personal grievance: Yan Bai’s anger is fueled both by the Witch Tribe’s betrayal and by his concern for his sister.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao uses a drone to deliver Yan Bai a letter containing information about Feiye’s hiding place. The drone’s voice draws attention, and imperial guards report its return to Qi Yanzhen, who orders an investigation into whoever is operating it.
• Yan Bai verifies the letter’s claims and sends a subordinate to investigate. After evading Qi Yanzhen’s surveillance, the subordinate passes the location to Witch Tribe members and orders them to kill Feiye—and any guards who interfere.
• The Witch Tribe attacks Feiye’s residence with more than thirty people, overwhelms Qi Yanzhen’s guards, and kills Feiye. Yan Bai has Feiye’s body left outside the Imperial Palace as a deliberate challenge to the emperor.
• Qi Yanzhen is furious but cannot retaliate against the Witch Tribe. He hangs Feiye’s corpse at the city gate to shape public opinion, though the townspeople doubt Feiye is truly dead.
• Meanwhile, news arrives that General Han has captured two more cities. Song Yaoyao links his success to Feiye’s death and the collapse of the puppet army.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao demonstrates her ingenuity by using the drone to ensure Yan Bai receives the letter, then watches events unfold from a distance. She is pleased by Feiye’s defeat and openly admires Yan Bai’s decisive retaliation.
• Yan Bai acts on the information without hesitation. He coordinates a careful attack, warns his people about surveillance, and uses Feiye’s corpse to make a political statement against Qi Yanzhen.
• Qi Yanzhen grows increasingly enraged by the drone’s interference and the Witch Tribe’s provocation, but his inability to strike back reveals the limits of his power.
• The Witch Tribe follows Yan Bai’s orders efficiently, using its agents and numbers to defeat Feiye and the imperial guards.
• The townspeople respond skeptically to the official display of Feiye’s body, questioning whether he could really be dead.

Significant themes

• Information and technology as power: Song Yaoyao’s drone and letter enable the Witch Tribe to act while frustrating the emperor’s attempts at control.
• Revenge and political defiance: Feiye’s killing and the display of his corpse serve both as vengeance and as a direct message to Qi Yanzhen.
• Shifting power and consequences: With Feiye and the puppet army out of the way, the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom’s military fortunes improve.
• Public trust and reputation: Qi Yanzhen tries to control the meaning of Feiye’s death, but the people remain unconvinced.

Key plot points and events

• Rumors spread among the commoners that Qi Yanzhen’s apparent misfortunes were staged, and they no longer trusted his explanations.
• After receiving an urgent frontier report, Qi Yanzhen collapsed. The next day, he told the court that two more border cities had fallen, but his ministers were reluctant to offer advice.
• The court debated sending a princess to secure peace through marriage. When another city fell ten days later, Qi Yanzhen agreed to the proposal, fearing the enemy would soon reach Illusion City.
• Of his four marriageable daughters, Qi Heyue was the only one not already promised. Though he loved her, Qi Yanzhen was willing to sacrifice her to protect his throne.
• Bai Xiuzhu and Li Jidong feared Bai would be selected. They could not safely flee: Qi Yanzhen might pursue them, while using witchcraft could expose Li to Yan Bai and the Witch Tribe.
• Li considered secretly using witchcraft to help Qi defeat the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom, since victory might make the marriage alliance unnecessary.
• Song Yaoyao concluded that the marriage plan would push Li to act. She decided to meet him and negotiate.

Character developments and interactions

• Qi Yanzhen is increasingly panicked and isolated. His ministers distrust him and stay silent, while his response to the military crisis is driven by fear for his throne.
• Bai Xiuzhu and Li Jidong are distressed by the threat to their family. Li weighs the danger of revealing his powers against the possibility of helping Qi win the war.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua recognize the risk that Li may intervene and agree that negotiation is the best next step.
• The court officials debate the alliance but avoid challenging Qi directly, wary of his temper and resentment.

Significant themes

• Political expediency versus family bonds: Qi is prepared to trade his daughter’s future for his own security, while Bai and Li struggle to keep their family together.
• Eroding trust and loyalty: Commoners and officials alike have lost confidence in Qi, leaving him increasingly isolated.
• Difficult choices and hidden identities: Li must choose between protecting his family through secrecy and using the powers that could expose him to the Witch Tribe.

Key plot points

• Song Yaoyao proposes inviting Li Jidong to negotiate, and Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng agree. Seventh arranges a discreet meeting at a temporarily rented house in West City.
• Li Jidong, under pressure from a proposed marriage alliance and surveillance by Qi Yanzhen’s people, comes after receiving an anonymous note promising help.
• Song Yaoyao proves how much she knows: Li Jidong is a Witch Tribe member whose birth name is Mifeng; Qi Heyue’s body is occupied by Bai Xiuzhu’s soul; and the man at the courier station is the powerful shaman Yan Bai.
• Alarmed that their secrets could be exposed, Li questions the visitors’ motives. Song assures him they mean no harm and identifies herself as Princess Jiahe of the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom, introducing Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng only as her attendants.
• Song proposes cooperation against their shared adversaries, the Night Central Kingdom and Qi Yanzhen. Li is interested but notes that Qi Yanzhen’s men are watching him. They agree to discuss cooperation first and address the surveillance afterward.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao demonstrates confidence, strategic insight, and control of the negotiation. She uses her knowledge to establish leverage, then reassures Li and offers a practical alliance.
• Li Jidong moves from cautious curiosity to fear and suspicion when Song reveals his secrets, but becomes more receptive once she explains her identity and the shared interests between them.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng support Song’s plan and accompany her, while she deliberately keeps their identities undisclosed.
• Song and Li’s exchange shifts from wary testing and veiled threats to formal courtesy and tentative cooperation.

Significant themes

• Secrets as leverage: Song’s detailed knowledge gives her power, but also risks provoking Li.
• Pragmatic alliances: Political cooperation is framed around shared enemies rather than trust or affection.
• Personal wishes versus political pressure: Li wants a peaceful family life, but the marriage alliance and surveillance threaten that goal.
• Identity and concealment: Song travels in disguise, Li lives under an alias, and Bai Xiuzhu’s soul inhabits Qi Heyue’s body.

Plot and key events

• Song Yaoyao offers to help Li Jidong, his wife Bai Xiuzhu, and their baby escape Illusion City in exchange for Li refusing to aid Qi Yanzhen against the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom. Li agrees, judging Qi an unworthy ruler.
• Two nights later, Li and his family wait at Princess Jiahe’s residence. Song Yaoyao’s group secretly incapacitates the household with knockout powder and spirits the family and their belongings away.
• They travel to Sister Cui’s prepared carriage and leave when the city gates open. Song Yaoyao expects Qi to discover their disappearance and send pursuers.
• Cavalry soon stop the carriage to search for the fugitives. Song Yaoyao hides Li’s family in her private space, making the carriage appear to contain only her. The group passes repeated searches and camps in the wilderness rather than risk inns.

Character developments

• Li Jidong chooses escape over loyalty to Qi Yanzhen and takes a gamble on Song Yaoyao’s protection. He and Bai Xiuzhu prepare carefully and discreetly.
• Bai Xiuzhu is relieved to have a chance to flee but remains afraid their escape may fail.
• Song Yaoyao demonstrates confidence and careful planning, drawing on her earlier experience helping another family escape. She keeps her secret ability concealed.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng are anxious during the searches but trust Song Yaoyao’s assurances.

Character interactions

• Song Yaoyao sets clear terms with Li, and he agrees. He then reassures Bai Xiuzhu and urges her to pack quietly.
• During the roadside inspection, Song Qinghui initially resists the soldiers’ demand to search the carriage. Song Yaoyao tells him to allow it, and the soldiers leave without finding the hidden family.
• Although Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng notice Li’s family afterward, they do not press Song Yaoyao for an explanation.

Significant themes

• Trust and risk: Li’s family stakes their safety on Song Yaoyao’s promise.
• Loyalty and political judgment: Li rejects serving a ruler he considers unworthy.
• Secrecy and ingenuity: The escape succeeds through preparation, misdirection, and Song Yaoyao’s hidden power.
• Protection of family: The group accepts considerable danger to safeguard Li, Bai Xiuzhu, and their child.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao and her companions safely escort Li Jidong and his wife away from the Capital. Li recognizes that they have been secretly helping him evade searches but respects their reasons for keeping quiet.
• As they part, Li gives Song a jade pendant promising to help her three times. Song also gives him a letter for General Han, who can arrange protection and travel in the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom.
• Song and her companions return toward Illusion City, buying a replacement carriage to avoid drawing attention. When questioned by the same soldiers who searched them earlier, Liu Zheheng convincingly explains that they turned back because of the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom’s advancing army.
• Back in Illusion City, they learn that Qi Yanzhen has been ordering frequent searches for a supposed fugitive. Qi Heyue has fled, so Qi Yanzhen has named an adopted girl Princess Anle and plans to use her for a marriage alliance. Song and Liu dismiss the scheme, confident their emperor will not be swayed from the war.
• Three days later, Guagua reports that Prince Cheng—Qi Yanzhen’s younger brother—has entered the city. Song learns he survived the succession struggle largely because of his military record and influence with the army.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Jidong grows more appreciative of Song’s competence and trusts her despite not knowing the full story. Their farewell is marked by mutual respect and practical aid.
• Song shows compassion and strategic judgment, arranging Li’s safe onward passage. She also feels awkward sharing a horse with her older brother and asks for a separate horse or carriage.
• Liu Zheheng handles the soldiers’ questioning smoothly, earning Song’s praise. Song Qinghui suggests replacing their carriage to preserve their cover.
• Song is skeptical of Qi Yanzhen’s marriage-alliance plan and confident in her own emperor’s resolve. Her curiosity sharply increases when Guagua reveals Prince Cheng’s return.

Significant themes

• Trust and reciprocity: Li accepts help without demanding explanations and repays it with a lasting offer of assistance.
• Cunning and concealment: The group survives searches through disguise, quick thinking, and carefully maintained cover stories.
• Political manipulation and ambition: Qi Yanzhen uses relentless searches and a hastily created princess to pursue his aims, while Prince Cheng’s military reputation hints at a new challenge to his rule.
• War and its consequences: The advancing armies disrupt travel and force people—including Li’s family—to flee, while the prospect of conflict shapes political decisions.

Key plot points

• Prince Cheng once had strong court and military support, but frontier unrest drew him away from the capital. The old emperor died while he was gone, and Qi Yanzhen took the throne.
• Convinced Qi had murdered their father and forged the succession edict, Prince Cheng returned to find his allies purged. Qi forced him to surrender the Tiger Tally by threatening their mother; Prince Cheng was allowed to take her away and then was sent back to his fief.
• Qi later sent assassins after Prince Cheng, but they failed. Prince Cheng quietly rebuilt his power and waited while Feiye, Qi’s formidable loyalist, was alive.
• With Feiye dead and Qi’s reputation damaged, Prince Cheng proclaimed that Qi had killed their father and marched on the capital, drawing widespread support.
• Guagua reveals the full history: Prince Yan, backed by the Ye family’s wealth, arranged the frontier conflict by colluding with an enemy kingdom, hoping Prince Cheng would be killed and then targeting Qi. Qi knew of the scheme but let it proceed.
• Prince Yan’s palace coup failed because the old emperor and Qi had prepared an ambush. After defeating Prince Yan, Qi stabbed the old emperor himself and concealed the murder by blaming the shock of Prince Yan’s rebellion.
• Song Yaoyao declines to expose the truth. She wants Qi and Prince Cheng to remain locked in a costly struggle so she can profit from the aftermath.

Character developments and interactions

• Prince Cheng is shown as a dispossessed but resilient claimant: he loses his court support and military command, survives repeated assassination attempts, and eventually returns to challenge Qi. His suspicion of Qi’s role in their father’s death proves correct.
• Qi Yanzhen emerges as calculating and ruthless. He exploits Prince Yan’s conspiracy, then murders the old emperor and fabricates an explanation to secure the throne.
• Prince Yan is ambitious and wealthy, using his resources to raise troops and manipulate the frontier crisis, but his coup ends in failure and death.
• Song Yaoyao and Guagua discuss the rebellion and its hidden history. Guagua offers to spread the truth, but Song Yaoyao rejects helping Prince Cheng directly, preferring to let both factions weaken each other.

Significant themes

• Power and betrayal: Rival princes manipulate, betray, and eliminate one another in pursuit of the throne.
• Truth versus political narrative: Qi’s official account hides the murder, while Prince Cheng’s accusations contain the truth.
• Patience and survival: Prince Cheng endures defeat and assassination before rebuilding his strength.
• Self-interest amid conflict: Song Yaoyao treats the rebellion less as a moral cause than an opportunity to gain from the rivals’ mutual destruction.

Plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao, Song Qinghui, and Liu Zheheng head to the Heavenly Dance Pavilion before curfew to meet Sister Cui.
• Yaoyao dresses conspicuously in her male disguise, believing that looking like a flashy, rakish young man will make others underestimate her. She and Guagua bicker about her outfit during the journey.
• At the Pavilion, the attendant takes them upstairs. Sister Cui arrives after finishing his duties greeting guests, drops his cheerful public manner, and speaks with them privately.
• Sister Cui asks whether Yaoyao’s group is behind the mysterious flying object that has been distributing leaflets about Feiye. Yaoyao confirms it and explains that they used it to spread the story without being traced.
• Excited by the drone, Sister Cui asks to have one. Yaoyao agrees to give him one and teach him to use it the next evening.
• Song Qinghui protests that Yaoyao has not given one to him, ending the chapter on a teasing note.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is confident and playful, deliberately using her flashy appearance as a disguise and readily sharing her technology when it serves an ally.
• Guagua continues its daily sparring with Yaoyao, mocking her clothes and offering an even more outrageous suggestion. Their quarrel is familiar and affectionate in tone.
• Sister Cui reveals the strain behind his entertaining public persona: his constant smiling and swaying leave him exhausted. Privately, he is direct, practical, and eager to learn about the drone.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng follow Yaoyao’s lead, though they are baffled by her banter and Qinghui becomes comically jealous when Sister Cui gets a drone first.

Significant themes

• Performance and identity: Sister Cui’s public charm and private exhaustion, alongside Yaoyao’s deliberate male disguise, show how people adopt roles to navigate society.
• Ingenuity and influence: The drone lets Yaoyao’s group spread information widely while concealing its source.
• Loyalty, trust, and comic companionship: Yaoyao’s willingness to share with Sister Cui signals trust, while the teasing exchanges among the group keep their relationships lively.

Key plot points and events

• Song Yaoyao realizes her second brother, Song Qinghui, and Liu Zheheng both want drones. She promises to get drones for everyone, while Guagua advertises a bulk-buy deal.
• The group meets with Sister Cui to discuss Prince Cheng’s arrival in Illusion City. They expect conflict to break out soon.
• Song Yaoyao proposes exploiting the coming battle: let the opposing sides weaken each other, then destroy the victor and take control of Illusion City.
• Sister Cui confirms that compromising evidence has brought many implicated ministers over to their side—about half the Night Central Kingdom’s court.
• Sister Cui has more than 300 people in the city. Song Yaoyao says she can provide roughly 350 fire lances and 30 cannons, enough to arm them for the plan.
• After studying a city map and settling on a strategy, they agree Sister Cui will come to Song Yaoyao’s home the next night to collect weapons and drones and learn to use them. She will then train her subordinates.
• Song Yaoyao asks Sister Cui to inform the emperor and request someone to govern Illusion City after its capture. Though initially cautious, Sister Cui agrees.
• As the meeting ends, Sister Cui mentions that Miss Manzhi has been asking when Song Yaoyao will visit again.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao is bold, strategic, and confident, proposing the seizure of an entire city rather than a modest intervention. She takes responsibility for the plan and reassures Sister Cui that failure would carry little cost.
• Song Qinghui’s bluntness creates an awkwardly comic moment when he asks Sister Cui about the apparent “steamed buns” on her chest. Sister Cui calmly explains they are sandbags worn on a cord.
• Liu Zheheng and Song Qinghui are initially astonished by Song Yaoyao’s audacious plan, but they soon join the practical discussion.
• Sister Cui shifts from surprise and caution to enthusiasm and cooperation, offering her people and local knowledge and agreeing to contact the emperor.
• Guagua’s sales pitch for discounted drones adds humor and underscores the group’s growing reliance on Song Yaoyao’s unusual resources.

Significant themes

• Strategic opportunism: Song Yaoyao intends to let rivals exhaust each other before striking.
• Power through preparation and technology: Weapons, training, intelligence, and local manpower are central to the plan.
• Confidence and risk-taking: Song Yaoyao’s certainty contrasts with Sister Cui’s reasonable hesitation.
• Loyalty and responsibility: Song Yaoyao insists that the plan is her own, protecting her allies from blame.

Chapter summary

• Song Yaoyao and Sister Cui’s network: During a late-night meeting at the Heavenly Dance Pavilion, Sister Cui explains which Night Central Kingdom officials support the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom and which are willing to assist only in limited ways. Song Yaoyao recalls that she once entertained Sister Cui’s associate Manzhi by inventing fortunes, and is embarrassed to learn that Manzhi still remembers the encounter fondly.
• Weapons and drones: After the curfew ends, Song Yaoyao retrieves the solar-powered drones and weapons the emperor had supplied for emergencies. Sister Cui arrives that night with more than a dozen men. Song Yaoyao gives them fire lances and cannons, quickly teaches them how to use the weapons, and then instructs Sister Cui, Song Qinghui, and Liu Zheheng in operating the drones.
• News from the front: Three days later, the Heavenly Phoenix Kingdom’s capital celebrates a string of victories reported by General Han. At court, the emperor tells the anxious Assistant Minister Song that he has received no recent news about Princess Jiahe. A messenger then announces a secret report from Illusion City—apparently from Sister Cui—setting up the next development.

Character developments and interactions

Song Yaoyao continues to support the mission with her practical knowledge and supplies, organizing the weapons training before the drone lessons. Her playful, private banter with Guagua reveals her curiosity about Sister Cui’s striking appearance; Guagua teases her, while Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng are left confused by their conversation. Sister Cui is focused and eager to acquire the equipment, treating his drone with almost comical tenderness. At court, the emperor shows understanding toward Assistant Minister Song’s worry for his daughter, while the new report may provide reassurance or important news.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes loyalty and intelligence-gathering, as Sister Cui’s network keeps the kingdoms connected; technology and preparation, through the weapons and drones; and family concern, shown by Assistant Minister Song’s repeated visits. Humor and cultural misunderstandings lighten the tension of the ongoing conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Eunuch Wang delivers a secret report from Illusion City. The emperor and Assistant Minister Song learn that Song Yaoyao and her allies have weakened the Night Central Kingdom’s ruler, Qi Yanzhen, and eliminated its state preceptor. Their plan appears likely to succeed.
• The emperor agrees that Illusion City needs officials sent in advance to take over government affairs. After a day of court discussions, he selects the Second Prince, a capable and politically well-positioned son of the empress.
• The emperor shares the report with the Second Prince, who is surprised to learn that Yaoyao—publicly said to be ill at home—has secretly gone to the Night Central Kingdom. He vows to keep her mission confidential and leaves the next morning with a small, trusted party.
• Meanwhile, Yaoyao continues her relaxed routine in Illusion City, while Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng spend their evenings flying drones.
• Guagua suddenly recites dramatic lines from a popular animated film. He explains that he has been quoting it after watching the movie, so Yaoyao asks him to play it. The group watches together, and Yaoyao identifies with Nezha’s rebellious attitude.

Character developments and interactions

• The emperor recognizes Yaoyao’s political success, praises her, and prepares for the transition of power in Illusion City.
• Assistant Minister Song is proud of his daughter and supports the emperor’s plan.
• The Second Prince accepts a major diplomatic and governing responsibility, showing discretion and loyalty.
• Yaoyao remains carefree despite the high-stakes political situation and reveals her affinity for Nezha’s defiant personality.
• Guagua is playful and theatrical, turning the group’s evening into an impromptu movie screening. Yaoyao teases him affectionately.
• Song Qinghui and Liu Zheheng remain enthusiastically absorbed in their drones and join the viewing.

Significant themes

• Political change and succession: The court anticipates the Night Central Kingdom’s collapse and plans who will manage its affairs.
• Secrecy and public perception: Yaoyao’s real actions are concealed behind the false story that she is ill at home.
• Agency and defiance: Yaoyao admires Nezha’s refusal to accept his fate, echoing the chapter’s emphasis on challenging authority and destiny.
• Humor and ordinary pleasures: Court intrigue contrasts with Yaoyao’s leisurely days, drone flying, and lighthearted movie night.

Key plot points

• Guagua reports that Ziyuan has been driven toward madness by Bai Chuen and Granny Xiang’s ongoing abuse: she is confined with a corpse, frightened by people dressed as ghosts, and punished while being forced to learn etiquette. Song Yaoyao considers the torment deserved.
• At their usual teahouse, Song Yaoyao and her companions order their regular tea and sample pastries from a new chef.
• Guagua alerts Song Yaoyao that a woman upstairs is watching Liu Zheheng. The woman, Tian Shuyan, has developed a secret crush on him and has been visiting the teahouse daily to see him.
• Tian Shuyan has also had Liu Zheheng investigated, though her people have uncovered nothing. Song Yaoyao is relieved that their recent arrival in Illusion City has kept their background hidden.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Yaoyao remains protective and quick to suspect danger. Once she learns Tian Shuyan is interested in Liu Zheheng, she worries that the woman might threaten her sister’s future relationship and watches her closely.
• Liu Zheheng is startled by the news that someone admires him, but keeps his reaction hidden.
• Tian Shuyan is introduced as the only daughter of a wealthy merchant family. She is intelligent and wary of men who might marry her for her family’s fortune, but Liu Zheheng’s appearance has attracted her.
• Guagua supplies the gossip and reassures Song Yaoyao that the disguise is still effective.
• Song Yaoyao ignores Tian Shuyan’s polite greeting and glares at her, while Guagua teases her for being fiercely loyal to her sister.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and protectiveness: Song Yaoyao sees Liu Zheheng as belonging with her sister and guards that future on her behalf.
• Appearance and attraction: Tian Shuyan is drawn to Liu Zheheng even in disguise, prompting Song Yaoyao to question whether his looks—or the disguise—are responsible.
• Suspicion and hidden identities: Tian Shuyan’s investigation raises the risk that the group’s concealed past could be discovered.
• Justice and cruelty: Ziyuan’s harsh treatment is presented as punishment for her earlier actions, which Song Yaoyao views as deserved.