Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yingcheng exposed the County Magistrate of Quchun’s support for rebel organizations by pretending he had confessed, and Lu Yao accepted her claims as the basis for an investigation. After naming several hideouts, she looked for Brother Yuan, thinking about a real Former Dynasty treasure hidden nearby.

• Jiang Yingcheng prodded the County Magistrate of Quchun and pretended to hear him confess, making him believe the emperor’s party had come to arrest him for supporting rebel groups.
• The Heavenly Origin Sect Leader protested that Jiang Yingcheng had fabricated his earlier remarks, while she guiltily insisted she had not lied.
• Lu Yao arrived and picked Jiang Yingcheng up as she reported that the magistrate had revealed several rebel hideouts in Quchun County.
• Jiang Yingcheng listed locations across several alleys, causing the magistrate to pale and the officials to grow grim as Heavenly Origin Sect followers tried to flee.
• Lu Yao and the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard accepted Jiang Yingcheng’s claims, and she began searching the courtyard for Brother Yuan while thinking about the real Former Dynasty treasure.

Jiang Yingcheng uncovered how County Magistrate Xue Jun had used fake treasure maps and anti-court rumors to spur people toward rebellion and extort them. Lu Yao offered Xue Jun and the Heavenly Origin Sect Leader a chance to expose each other, and their simultaneous accusations left Jiang Yingcheng startled.

• The officials realized Xue Jun had used a fake treasure map to trick the Heavenly Origin Sect Leader and had likely swindled other people into forming rebel groups.
• Jiang Yingcheng learned that Xue Jun had recruited dissatisfied drifters, planted fake maps, and spread rumors blaming the court and Jiang Yingcheng's imperial father for hardships.
• Lu Yao told Xue Jun and the Heavenly Origin Sect Leader that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had evidence and offered one of them a chance to expose the other's crimes.
• Xue Jun accused the Heavenly Origin Sect Leader of being an enemy kingdom's spy, while the sect leader accused Xue Jun of hiding a cellar of treasure.
• Jiang Yingcheng raised her head in shock and wondered how Xue Jun knew.

Lu Yao tried to expose the County Magistrate of Quchun and the Heavenly Origin Sect Leader, but the two traded accusations and derailed the interrogation. Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed the magistrate’s hidden fortune, and she began searching for evidence to uncover it.

• The County Magistrate of Quchun accused the Heavenly Origin Sect Leader of leading rebels, while the sect leader demanded to know whether his birth parents were important people.
• Lu Yao tried to explain the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s investigation, but the Heavenly Origin Sect Leader repeatedly interrupted him with questions about his origins.
• Jiang Yingcheng clung to Lu Yao when she feared the men would fight, and Bi Honglang and Pu Yuanzhou declared the Heavenly Origin Sect Leader guilty of striking first.
• Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed that the magistrate had hoarded a fortune, prompting the officials to stop hiding and watch the dispute.
• The Heavenly Origin Sect Leader accused Xue Jun of corruption and relied on the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate, while Jiang Yingcheng searched for the location of the magistrate’s hidden wealth.

Jiang Yingcheng and the officials discovered a cellar filled with illicit money collected by the Quchun County Magistrate from the Rebels he had organized. Chu Jiaxu tried to plead for Ministry of Rites funding, and Jiang Yingcheng reluctantly offered to share some of the money.

• Jiang Yingcheng learned that the cellar held enough money to support dozens of her.
• Chu Jiaxu prompted Pu Yuanzhou to ask why he was sighing, then lamented how the Quchun people had been robbed of their wealth.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that the County Magistrate had collected protection money from Rebels, who earned it by selling goods while studying for their organization.
• Chu Jiaxu said the cellar held more than five times the funds left to his Ministry of Rites after the New Year's Banquet.
• Jiang Yingcheng realized Chu Jiaxu wanted money and, remembering his month of serving Jiao Hongmiao tea to secure funding, offered to share a little with him.

Jiang Yingcheng’s gossip exposed how Chu Jiaxu endured a week of humiliating antics to secure extra funding from Jiao Hongmiao, prompting Jiang Yanchuan to promise him money from the cellar. Xu Jiu then revealed that the cellar held over a hundred chests of gold and silver.

• Jiang Yingcheng read that Chu Jiaxu had camped at the Ministry of Revenue and brought Jiao Hongmiao lunches until he won extra funding for the Ministry of Rites.
• Jiang Yingcheng’s account left Chu Jiaxu so mortified that he nearly walked into the cellar entrance, while the officials struggled not to laugh.
• Jiang Yingcheng urged Jiang Yanchuan to give Chu Jiaxu money, and Jiang Yanchuan agreed to allocate him some when they returned.
• Xu Jiu emerged from the cellar with a treasure chest and reported that the underground space held more than a hundred chests of gold and silver.

Chu Dong confessed responsibility for the Quchun County Magistrate’s misconduct to secure funding for the Ministry of Personnel, while Jiang Yingcheng worried that he would be punished. After Jiang Yanchuan allowed Chu Dong to proceed with his costly reforms, Jiang Yingcheng began wondering why the Minister of Personnel was so poor.

• Chu Dong knelt before Jiang Yanchuan and claimed the Ministry of Personnel had failed to assess the County Magistrate of Quchun, prompting officials to argue that Chu deserved mercy and needed more resources.
• Jiang Yingcheng pleaded with her Imperial Father not to blame Chu Dong because she sincerely believed he was a good official.
• Jiang Yingcheng thought that Chu Dong would later refuse the Fourth Prince’s efforts to place allies in court and would consequently die with his corpse abandoned in the wilderness.
• Jiang Yingcheng reasoned that the plot could change because she had helped the Crown Prince and had the Fourth Prince and Noble Consort Rou locked up, while Jiang Yanchuan asked whether she wanted to give Chu Dong money.
• Jiang Yanchuan told Chu Dong to continue, and Chu Dong listed expensive reforms as Jiang Yingcheng worried about the Ministry’s finances.
• Jiang Yingcheng wondered why Chu Dong lived in poverty despite being Minister of Personnel, and Chu Dong’s speech faltered as he tried to stop her from investigating.

Jiang Yingcheng uncovered the bizarre gifts officials had sent Chu Dong and the lengths he went to refuse them, while the ministers laughed at his misery. Chu Dong secured several redwood treasure chests for the Ministry of Personnel and prepared to take revenge on the colleagues who had mocked him.

• Jiang Yingcheng used System Bro to learn that officials had sent Chu Dong gold, property, and beautiful women, who ambushed him outside his residence when he refused them.
• Chu Jiaxu and Lei Zhixin recalled Chu Dong's frequent drinking outings and concluded that he had been kicked out of his house.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that officials later sent handsome young men, who also threw themselves at Chu Dong when he refused their gifts.
• Jiang Yingcheng wished Chu Dong had accepted the officials' money and handed it to Emperor Mingze to fill the treasury.
• Jiang Yanchuan and the ministers concluded their discussion, and Chu Dong left with several redwood treasure chests for the Ministry of Personnel.
• Chu Dong resolved to tell his colleagues he was no coward and smiled ominously at the officials who had laughed at him.

Jiang Yanchuan’s party distributed the seized treasure and continued toward Xian Town, where they were met by Minister of Revenue Jiao Hongmiao and other officials rushing to claim their share. The chapter left Jiao Hongmiao arriving to demand the gold and silver for the Ministry of Revenue.

• Jiang Yanchuan distributed chests of seized treasure among the officials, while Jiang Yingcheng exposed embarrassing secrets and the County Magistrate of Quchun grieved over his lost fortune.
• Jiang Yanchuan had the County Magistrate of Quchun beheaded, sent the religious leaders to the Court of Judicial Review, and assigned their followers to labor in Qu Chun.
• Jiang Yanchuan’s party traveled peacefully toward Xian Town until Liaochen heard urgent hoofbeats and warned everyone to prepare for danger.
• Jiang Yingcheng hid beneath Jiang Yanchuan’s robe after thinking that Jiao Hongmiao and other officials were charging over to demand the treasure sent to the Capital.
• Jiao Hongmiao arrived at the head of the pursuing officials and cried out that he had come to reclaim the gold and silver for the Ministry of Revenue.

Jiao Hongmiao confronted Emperor Mingze over the treasure money he had failed to share with the Ministry of Revenue, and demanded half of what remained. Jiang Yingcheng began to cry at the thought of giving up more of her money, but her System Bro distracted her by revealing another chance to earn money in Xian Town.

• Jiao Hongmiao arrived at Emperor Mingze's carriage and accused him of keeping the treasure money from the Ministry of Revenue.
• Jiang Yanchuan asked Jiao Hongmiao what he wanted, and Jiao Hongmiao demanded fifty percent of the remaining money while Wen Zhi and Kan Hongxi requested ten percent.
• Jiang Yingcheng cried when she realized the ministers wanted more of her money, prompting the other ministers to rush for pastries and her favorite toy.
• Jiang Yingcheng's System Bro caught her attention by revealing that she could make money in Xian Town.

Jiao Hongmiao and the officials entered the misty forest beyond Xian Town, where Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts guided them through a formation. They learned that the town held both righteous and heretical masters, including two missing figures, and finally saw a light ahead as they neared the forest’s end.

• Jiao Hongmiao arrived at Xian Town with a fifty-percent share of the gold and silver, then found its mist-covered forest ominous.
• Jiang Yingcheng eagerly urged her father and the officials into the forest, believing it concealed treasures.
• Yu Xingmian explained that a subordinate had once become trapped in the forest and identified it as a Five Elements Eight Trigrams Formation.
• Liaochen followed Jiang Yingcheng’s unspoken directions and led the group through the formation without detours.
• Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed that righteous and heretical masters lived together in Xian Town, including the missing Ye Zhengqing and Ju Yingsi, and Lu Yao repeated the information as intelligence from his organization.
• After a long trek, the officials saw a warm yellow light ahead and realized they were nearing the forest’s end.

Jiang Yanchuan’s party entered Xian Town and checked into an inn filled with suspicious martial-world figures. A beautiful newcomer named Bai Erfu approached Jiang Yingcheng and warned her that the town ate people.

• Jiang Yanchuan carried Jiang Yingcheng into Xian Town, where the residents openly scrutinized their party.
• The ministers followed Jiang Yanchuan to an inn, wary of the rough-looking people inside.
• Jiang Yingcheng asked whether the men in the inn were dead, then booked rooms for one day.
• Bai Erfu arrived and called the party suckers, prompting Jiang Yingcheng to compare her with Yuan Liangping.
• Bai Erfu offered to take Jiang Yingcheng away and whispered that Xian Town ate people.

Jiang Yingcheng learned the tragic history of Bai Erfu, a Demon Cult woman who avenged a betrayal by poisoning a righteous sect, and became fascinated with her until System Bro revealed that Bai Erfu had recently touched a dead person’s face. After Jiang Yanchuan and his people found hidden weapons throughout the inn, he and Jiang Yingcheng shared a bedtime story, and the chapter ended with Jiang Yanchuan opening his eyes after the two appeared to fall asleep.

• Bai Erfu entered the inn after warning the group that it ate people, leaving the Great Rui officials terrified and confused.
• Jiang Yingcheng asked System Bro about Bai Erfu and learned how her lover’s sect betrayed her, prompting her to poison them and strip them of their martial power.
• System Bro told Jiang Yingcheng that Bai Erfu’s hand had recently touched a dead person’s face, freezing Jiang Yingcheng in horror.
• Jiang Yanchuan’s people discovered hidden weapons in every room they occupied and prepared their own dinner.
• Jiang Yanchuan tried to put Jiang Yingcheng to bed, but she asked him for a story and then offered to tell him one instead.
• Jiang Yingcheng and Jiang Yanchuan fell asleep leaning against each other, but Jiang Yanchuan slowly opened his eyes.

Jiang Yanchuan learned that the Lin Residence had been secretly delivering gifts to officials, including people near the Pan Residence, and suspected a minister had betrayed them. Before he could investigate, Bai Erfu warned him of danger and an assassination attempt began at the door.

• Jiang Yanchuan left Yu Xingmian in Liaochen’s care and met with the Upright Officials in Jiao Hongmiao’s room.
• Jiao Hongmiao reported that the Lin Residence had been secretly delivering red-lacquered chests to officials and had been seen near the Pan Residence.
• Jiang Yanchuan began asking which officials had been bribed, but a noise beneath the bed interrupted him.
• Bai Erfu emerged from beneath the bed, returned Jiang Yanchuan’s jade Thumb Ring, and warned him to keep one eye open while sleeping.
• Bai Erfu escaped through a secret passage, and attackers pumped smoke into the room before Lu Yao opened the door and agreed to fight them.

Jiang Yanchuan fought through the bandits in Xian Town, who summoned more sinister practitioners to surround his group. He defeated them with a hidden-weapon ambush, but a child’s cries from the inn left the officials alarmed.

• Lu Yao and Lei Zhixin guarded the civil officials while Emperor Mingze fought the bandits himself.
• Jiang Yanchuan pressed toward Six-Fingers after learning he had planned to turn the little one into a puppet.
• Beard signaled for reinforcements, and dozens of sinister practitioners gathered to attack the group.
• Jiang Yanchuan signaled his people to use hidden weapons, poisoning the bandits as they tried to flee.
• Jiang Yanchuan confronted the fallen Six-Fingers, but a child cried for his father from inside the inn.

Bai Erfu was caught up in a fight at the inn after sneaking into the little one's room, and a stolen thumb ring exposed her connection to the little one's father. The little one mistook Scarface's taunt for the truth and began wailing for her Imperial Father.

• Bai Erfu entered the little one's room and was startled into revealing herself when Liaochen ordered someone to come out.
• Scarface and his men attacked Liaochen and the others, forcing Bai Erfu to fight alongside them despite her attempts to explain she was uninvolved.
• Liaochen and the other men drew the attackers away from the little one while Bai Erfu fought Scarface's men.
• Bai Erfu's stolen Hetian jade thumb ring rolled into the cleared space, and the little one recognized it as her father's.
• Scarface falsely claimed that the little one's father had been killed, and the little one wailed for her Imperial Father.

After Jiang Yingcheng broke down over Jiang Yanchuan’s safety, the adults learned she had single-handedly defeated the bandits who threatened her. Still shaken, she asked System Bro about nearby treasure and ended the night excited to search for it with Jiang Yanchuan the next day.

• Jiang Yanchuan comforted Jiang Yingcheng until she fell asleep, while Bai Erfu was blamed for the lost thumb ring that had frightened her.
• Lu Yao questioned the shaken witnesses, who struggled to explain what had happened during the attack.
• Bai Erfu revealed that Jiang Yingcheng had pulled hidden-weapon boxes from her sleeves and shot down the bandits after declaring she would avenge Jiang Yanchuan.
• Liaochen and Bai Erfu begged Lu Yao to help them after realizing the adults had failed to protect Jiang Yingcheng.
• Jiang Yingcheng woke repeatedly from nightmares, then asked System Bro where the treasure was and agreed to find it with Jiang Yanchuan the next day.

Jiang Yingcheng discovered that rumors about her defeating Scarface’s squad had spread through Xian Town, and the townspeople praised her as a martial arts prodigy. The praise was interrupted by Yue Henqing, who approached Jiang Yanchuan and begged the emperor to hear his grievance.

• Jiang Yingcheng heard that the rumors in Xian Town had turned her into a palace noble, a prodigy, and a crusader against evil, while Lu Yao eagerly left after she joked that people might call her an immortal.
• Jiang Yanchuan gently tended to Jiang Yingcheng’s eyes, and she forgot to ask whether Lu Yao had arranged for the rumors to spread.
• As Jiang Yanchuan’s party walked through Xian Town, residents emerged and praised Jiang Yingcheng, who became excited by their claims that she had defeated Scarface’s squad.
• A hostile-looking man approached Jiang Yanchuan, prompting Lu Yao, Xu Jiu, and the others to prepare for battle.
• The man introduced himself as Yue Henqing, knelt, and begged Jiang Yanchuan to uphold justice for him, and Jiang Yanchuan ordered Lu Yao to stand aside.

Yue Henqing presented evidence that the Yue Family had been massacred and asked Jiang Yanchuan to judge the case. Jiang Yingcheng revealed that the Zhao clan had hired assassins to kill them, and the officials looked to Yu Xingmian to raise the matter.

• Yue Henqing told Jiang Yanchuan that the Zhao clan had destroyed his family and submitted letters and eyewitness testimony as evidence.
• Jiang Yanchuan examined the documents and suspected the case had been concealed from the court.
• Jiang Yingcheng recognized Yue Henqing as the key to a mountain of gold and revealed that the Zhao clan had hired an assassination organization to slaughter the Yue Family out of jealousy.
• The officials decided Lu Yao was not the right person to raise the case and signaled Yu Xingmian to act.

Jiang Yanchuan asked Yu Xingmian about the Yue Family massacre, and Yu named the Ningshui Town Zhao Family as the culprits, promising to deliver evidence from the Ink Rain Association. Jiang Yanchuan invited Yue Henqing to travel with them until justice could be served, while Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed a hidden treasure on Yuntong Mountain before cries outside interrupted the gathering.

• Jiang Yanchuan asked Yu Xingmian whether the Ink Rain Association had leads on the Yuanling Yue Family, and Yu identified the Ningshui Town Zhao Family as responsible.
• Yu Xingmian confirmed that the Ink Rain Association held evidence and said he would send it to the palace by carrier pigeon.
• Jiang Yanchuan promised Yue Henqing that he would see justice done and invited him to travel with the group until they returned to the Capital.
• Jiang Yingcheng thought that the treasure of Yan Chao lay on Yuntong Mountain, exciting Jiao Hongmiao and Chu Jiaxu with the prospect of finding it.
• Voices cried out from outside, startling Jiang Yingcheng and making her fear that assassins had arrived.

The wronged martial artists hiding in the Valley of Villains appealed to Jiang Yanchuan for justice, and Yu Xingmian used Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts to reveal the truth behind their cases. The last petitioner, Ao Qi, prompted Jiang Yingcheng to notice that his birthmark seemed out of place.

• More than a dozen martial artists knelt before Jiang Yanchuan and asked him to redress their grievances.
• Jiang Yanchuan had the petitioners enter one by one, while Yu Xingmian listened for Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts about their cases.
• Yu Xingmian told Gu Qun that his senior brother Lin Huan had framed him to steal his family’s Fist Manual.
• Yu Xingmian revealed that Song Ren’s cousin had framed him and offered him a new identity after learning the cousin had died.
• Ao Qi said he had lost his family heirloom while being hunted, and Jiang Yingcheng wondered why he had a birthmark on his face.