Chapter Summaries

Qiqi nearly executed the Beggar Gang members who had taken Hu Xiaotian, but he returned and persuaded her to release them. She let them go after Hu Xiaotian agreed to fulfill three unspecified requests, leaving him bound by a promise he already hoped to evade.

• Qiqi threatened to behead Zhu Dali until Hu Xiaotian arrived safely and stopped her.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi the beggars had abducted him and threatened his parents, then urged her to release them to avoid provoking the Beggar Gang.
• Qiqi agreed to free the beggars if Hu Xiaotian promised to do three things, and demanded that Zhu Dali kowtow three times.
• Hu Xiaotian frightened Zhu Dali with threats of castration and public humiliation, so Zhu Dali kowtowed to Qiqi.
• Qiqi pardoned the beggars, Hu Xiaotian had them untied, and they fled after Zhu Dali thanked him.
• Qiqi reminded Hu Xiaotian of his promise, and he corrected himself after joking that he would forget.

Hu Xiaotian returned home for New Year’s Day and reunited with Xu Fengyi and Hu Buwei, sharing their hopes of restoring the family’s freedom. He learned that Hu Buwei had been ordered to return to the Ministry of Revenue that night under Xu Zhengying’s authority.

• Qiqi returned to the palace while Hu Xiaotian went to Shuijing'er Alley to visit his parents.
• Xu Fengyi welcomed Hu Xiaotian, and he learned that Hu Buwei had been summoned to the Ministry of Revenue and had not yet returned.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xu Fengyi shared a reunion conversation and spoke of seeing the family freed and visiting Xu Fengyi’s mother in Jinling.
• Liang Dazhuang announced Hu Buwei’s return, and Hu Xiaotian reunited with his father.
• Hu Buwei explained that Xu Zhengying had let him come home briefly and that he had to return to the Ministry of Revenue that night.

Hu Xiaotian reunited with his family for New Year and learned that Hu Buwei intended to stay in the capital, while hinting that he still controlled Great Kang’s hidden wealth. Later, Long Yelin asked Zhou Ruiyuan to speak to him as his former pupil, but Zhou Ruiyuan maintained the distance between ruler and subject.

• Hu Xiaotian and Hu Buwei discussed Hu Xiaotian’s possible mission escorting Princess Anping to Great Yong, and Hu Buwei urged him to go without worrying about his parents.
• Hu Xiaotian and Hu Buwei secretly exchanged names and clues about palace factions, the Retired Emperor, and the hidden political struggle, but Hu Buwei would not choose a side for him.
• Hu Xiaotian celebrated New Year with his family, then returned to the palace still wondering why Long Yelin had spared the Retired Emperor and how his father planned to survive.
• Long Yelin received Zhou Ruiyuan in the Imperial Study and recalled their teacher-pupil relationship from ten years earlier.
• Long Yelin asked Zhou Ruiyuan to speak plainly as his teacher, but Zhou Ruiyuan said their different stations as sovereign and subject prevented him from doing so.

Emperor Long Yelin vented his frustration over Great Kang’s crises, then admitted Ji Feihua had deceived him and sought Zhou Ruiyuan’s advice. Zhou Ruiyuan urged him to stabilize the realm and put the people first, before hinting that his review of an old corruption case had uncovered something significant.

• Long Yelin threw an inkstone and argued with Zhou Ruiyuan about the empire’s disasters and his own burdens.
• Long Yelin confessed that Ji Feihua had deceived him and that he regretted ignoring Zhou Ruiyuan’s earlier counsel.
• Zhou Ruiyuan warned Long Yelin against removing the eunuch traitor before Great Kang was stable and urged him to prioritize the people.
• Zhou Ruiyuan suggested Great Kang’s treasury should be richer than its accounts indicated, but said Hu Buwei’s records showed no irregularities during his tenure.
• Zhou Ruiyuan recalled the wealth confiscated from corrupt former Minister of Revenue Chu Yuanhai and said he had made a discovery while reviewing the case.

Long Yelin and Zhou Ruiyuan uncovered how everyone involved in Chu Yuanhai’s corruption case had died, while Zhou urged the emperor to focus on Great Kang’s worsening crisis. At the Purple Orchid Palace, Long Xiyue spent time with Qin Yutong before Hu Xiaotian returned, collected Qiqi’s repayment, and was sent to order an extravagant meal.

• Zhou Ruiyuan told Long Yelin that every official, constable, and soldier involved in Chu Yuanhai’s case had died within ten years, often unnaturally.
• Long Yelin suspected his father had concealed the truth, while Zhou Ruiyuan warned him that Great Kang’s financial troubles could soon erupt into greater dangers.
• Zhou Ruiyuan advised Long Yelin to leave the Imperial City and see conditions beyond its walls.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to the Purple Orchid Palace and learned that Long Xiyue had asked him to visit her, where Qin Yutong was staying overnight.
• Long Xiyue told Qin Yutong that her departure to marry in Great Yong had been brought forward, and Qin noticed that Long Xiyue had become more eager to take the lead.
• Qiqi repaid Hu Xiaotian with a pouch of Gold Leaves, then agreed to stay for dinner and ordered eight elaborate dishes.

Hu Xiaotian joined Long Xiyue, Qiqi, and Qin Yutong for a New Year’s gathering, where a debate over the Heavenly Mystery Hall’s Way of Heaven Arts exposed differing beliefs about fate and human action. Long Xiyue was left contemplating her arranged marriage, while Hu Xiaotian challenged Qin Yutong’s claim that much of life was ordained by Heaven.

• Hu Xiaotian secured special attention from the Imperial Kitchen and gave Yin Zheng Gold Leaves in exchange for news that the emperor had angrily smashed his Duan inkstone after meeting Chancellor Zhou.
• Yin Zheng agreed to arrange a chance for Hu Xiaotian to offer the emperor New Year’s greetings, and Hu Xiaotian had the dishes delivered to the Purple Orchid Palace.
• Qiqi complained about the late food but invited Hu Xiaotian to drink with her, Long Xiyue, and Qin Yutong.
• Qiqi asked Qin Yutong about her facial scars and the Heavenly Mystery Hall’s Way of Heaven Arts, prompting Hu Xiaotian to question what it meant to follow Heaven’s will.
• Qin Yutong said that most things were ordained by Heaven, and Long Xiyue grew despondent as she thought of her marriage alliance.
• Hu Xiaotian argued that people had improved their lives and defended their country by struggling against nature, and asked why the Heavenly Mystery Hall would treat illness if everything should simply be left to fate.

Hu Xiaotian debated the Way of Heaven with Qin Yutong, then agreed to help Qiqi explore the Wine Cellar’s underground passage. Later, he told Li Yuncong about his suspicions that his appointment as Marriage Escort Envoy could be used to frame Ji Feihua for conspiring with the Retired Emperor, leaving Li Yuncong to weigh the danger.

• Hu Xiaotian argued that human resolve could conquer Heaven, then left Long Xiyue and Qin Yutong’s chamber.
• Qiqi reminded Hu Xiaotian of his promise and ordered him to arrange a nighttime exploration of the Wine Cellar within three days.
• Hu Xiaotian learned that Ji Feihua had gone to see the emperor and returned to the Palace Gardens Bureau.
• Li Yuncong visited Hu Xiaotian in the Wine Cellar, and Hu Xiaotian recounted his trip to Misty Mountain and questioned Li about Ling Jiazi and Murong Zhan.
• Hu Xiaotian warned Li Yuncong that Quan Dean could use his connection to Princess Anping and Ji Feihua to accuse them of helping the Retired Emperor reclaim the throne.

Hu Xiaotian warned Li Yuncong that Quan Dean, Wen Chenghuan, and Wen Boyuan might use Princess Anping’s journey to Great Yong to target Ji Feihua, and bargained for protection before setting out. Meanwhile, Wen Chenghuan revealed to Wen Boyuan that their family came from Great Yong and that their real surname was Li, leaving Wen Boyuan stunned by his father’s hidden past.

• Hu Xiaotian told Li Yuncong that Wen Boyuan would escort Princess Anping and might join Quan Dean in a plot against Ji Feihua.
• Li Yuncong gave Hu Xiaotian a suit of Black Silkworm Armor to protect him on the journey, rather than teaching him martial arts.
• Wen Chenghuan brought Wen Boyuan into a hidden chamber beneath his study and showed him his grandfather’s true portrait.
• Wen Chenghuan revealed that his father was Li Xuangan, a first-rank Chancellor of Great Yong, and that he had entered Great Kang under an assumed name to help Great Yong unite the world.
• Wen Boyuan was shocked to learn that his surname and family history were false.

Wen Chenghuan revealed to Wen Boyuan that they were members of Great Yong’s Li Family and assigned him a mission to stop Princess Anping’s marriage to Xue Daoming. At Liu Yuzhang’s grave, Hu Xiaotian encountered the old beggar who had abducted him, and the beggar ate the offerings while trading barbed remarks with him.

• Wen Chenghuan told Wen Boyuan that their original surname was Li and that their family came from the Duke of Jing’s Residence in Great Yong.
• Wen Chenghuan revealed that Wen Boyuan’s elder brother was Li Chenzhou and gave him half of a Twin Fish Jade Pendant to use when they met.
• Wen Chenghuan ordered Wen Boyuan to prevent Princess Anping’s marriage to Xue Daoming and conceal his involvement.
• Hu Xiaotian visited Liu Yuzhang’s grave, offered wine and food, and remembered how Quan Dean had caused Liu Yuzhang’s death through Ji Feihua.
• The old beggar appeared in a tree, ate Liu Yuzhang’s offerings, and argued with Hu Xiaotian about whether doing so disrespected the dead.

Hu Xiaotian tried to leave the cemetery, but a persistent old beggar kept him company and demanded a kiss as payment for letting him go. The old beggar caught Hu Xiaotian after he fled up a tree, leaving him trapped and pleading for mercy.

• The old beggar blocked Hu Xiaotian’s path, accepted his silver, then complained that Hu Xiaotian had hurt his feelings by giving him money.
• The old beggar told Hu Xiaotian that he was lonely and insisted that family mattered most, while Hu Xiaotian tried to persuade him to let him return to the Imperial Palace.
• The old beggar offered to treat Hu Xiaotian to a meal using cemetery offerings, then refused to let him leave because he did not want to owe him a favor.
• The old beggar demanded to kiss Hu Xiaotian, who ran away and scrambled up a dead tree to escape him.
• The old beggar appeared beside Hu Xiaotian in the tree, causing him to fall, then cornered him and insisted he experience being kissed by a man.

Hu Xiaotian learned the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps and the Playing Dead Dog technique from an old beggar in the Eunuch Cemetery. The old beggar refused to take him as a disciple, but left him with two skills and strict instructions to keep the footwork secret.

• The old beggar recognized Hu Xiaotian's Golden Spider Eight Steps and offered to teach him a footwork technique for escaping.
• The old beggar taught Hu Xiaotian the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps, then chased him through the cemetery and kissed him whenever he caught him.
• Hu Xiaotian improved enough with the new footwork to vault over the old beggar, who stopped the chase and told him not to teach or reveal the technique.
• Hu Xiaotian asked the old beggar to take him as a disciple and teach him more martial arts, but the old beggar refused at first.
• After Hu Xiaotian hinted he might reveal who taught him, the old beggar agreed to teach him the Playing Dead Dog technique.
• Hu Xiaotian spent the rest of the day practicing both techniques in the Eunuch Cemetery, though he had only begun to master playing dead.

Hu Xiaotian secured an audience with Long Yelin, offered New Year’s greetings, and raised his appointment as Princess Anping’s Marriage Escort Envoy. He asked the emperor to reconsider the assignment and objected to General Wen Boyuan’s role in protecting the escort party, leaving Long Yelin demanding an explanation.

• Xiao Zhuozi told Hu Xiaotian that Long Yelin had summoned him to Xuanwei Palace, and Hu Xiaotian went there after sending word to Princess Anping.
• Hu Xiaotian greeted Long Yelin with an elaborate string of New Year’s wishes and received a generous reward.
• Hu Xiaotian mentioned visiting Liu Yuzhang’s grave, prompting Long Yelin to remember his guilt over Liu Yuzhang’s death.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Long Yelin to appoint someone else as Princess Anping’s Marriage Escort Envoy, but Long Yelin rejected his request and affirmed his trust in him.
• Hu Xiaotian reported rumors that he had colluded with the Western Sichuan Li Clan, and Long Yelin dismissed them while warning that Hu Xiaotian’s parents could be endangered.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned whether Wen Boyuan was suitable to protect the escort party, and Long Yelin demanded to know what he meant.

Hu Xiaotian failed to persuade Long Yelin not to send Wen Boyuan as Marriage Escort Envoy, while Long Yelin visited his imprisoned father, Long Xuan'en, at Spirit Firmament Palace. After Long Xuan'en urged him to sit on the dragon throne and warned him of its suffering, Long Yelin finally took the seat.

• Hu Xiaotian warned Long Yelin that Wen Boyuan’s feelings for Princess Anping made him an unsuitable escort, but Long Yelin assigned Wen Boyuan to security and Hu Xiaotian to the princess’s daily needs.
• Long Yelin told Ji Feihua that Hu Xiaotian had objected to the appointment, and Ji Feihua defended Hu Xiaotian’s abilities.
• Long Yelin went to Spirit Firmament Palace to see Long Xuan'en, while Ji Feihua stayed outside and received a salute from the Black-Clad Man.
• Long Xuan'en knelt before Long Yelin, mocked the emperor’s authority, and invited him to take the dragon throne.
• Long Yelin examined the worn throne and sat on it.

Long Yelin confronted Long Xuan'en about Great Kang’s decline and demanded the location of a hidden treasury, threatening to kill him if he refused. Meanwhile, Qiqi returned to the underwater passage and insisted Hu Xiaotian accompany her after she discovered a secret.

• Long Yelin and Long Xuan'en argued over responsibility for Great Kang’s troubles and the circumstances behind Long Yelin’s exile and rise to the throne.
• Long Yelin seized Long Xuan'en by the throat but released him, then asked whether he had another secret treasury besides the state treasury.
• Long Yelin gave Long Xuan'en ten days to reveal the treasury’s secret or face execution on the second day of the third month.
• Hu Xiaotian escorted Qiqi back to the wine cellar, where she chose the far-left secret passage again.
• Qiqi told Hu Xiaotian she had discovered a secret underwater and ordered him to go down with her.

Hu Xiaotian followed Qiqi through an underwater passage into the Jade Pool and helped her slip past patrol boats toward Misty Mountain. When he used the Long-Term Breath-Holding Method to stay underwater, Qiqi realized he had concealed how capable he was; they continued swimming toward their destination.

• Qiqi gave Hu Xiaotian a diving suit, and they swam through the underwater passage into the Jade Pool.
• Qiqi timed the patrol boats, and Hu Xiaotian cut through the metal net so they could swim toward Misty Mountain.
• Hu Xiaotian surfaced briefly for air, then submerged again when a patrol boat approached.
• When a boat stopped overhead, Hu Xiaotian remembered the Long-Term Breath-Holding Method and used it to endure underwater without surfacing.
• After the boat moved on, Qiqi discovered Hu Xiaotian could keep swimming underwater and judged that he had been pretending to be less capable.

Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi opened a hidden entrance beneath Misty Mountain and entered a secret cave belonging to the Long Family. They discovered a light-guided mechanism, but Hu Xiaotian’s teasing of Qiqi left them poised for a possible quarrel.

• Hu Xiaotian followed Qiqi beneath Misty Mountain and found a third dragon sculpture concealed underwater.
• Qiqi led Hu Xiaotian into the dragon’s ear, where they turned an iron-rod mechanism seven times and opened a sealed stone door.
• A rush of water carried Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi into a cave marked Dragon Spirit Wonderland, which Qiqi recognized as a secret Long Family cave.
• Hu Xiaotian spotted a dragon relief on the ceiling, and Qiqi placed her luminous pearl in its empty eye socket.
• Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi traced the pearl’s light through a system of bronze mirrors, wiping dust from the floor mirrors to reveal the route.
• Qiqi ordered Hu Xiaotian to do the wiping, and he warned her that no one else was there if something happened.

Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi opened a hidden passage and fought a giant crocodile guarding the way to Qiqi’s bronze cauldron. After they defeated it, Qiqi unlocked the cauldron and revealed a box beneath it.

• Qiqi used the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles to make Hu Xiaotian help her reveal a hidden entrance beneath the rock wall.
• Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi descended into the passage and found a bronze cauldron across a pool, where a giant crocodile attacked Qiqi.
• Qiqi escaped the crocodile’s jaws, and Hu Xiaotian attacked its eye with a dagger before using the iron chain around its hind leg to help defeat it.
• Hu Xiaotian killed the crocodile by driving the dagger into its skull, then teased Qiqi about threatening him.
• Qiqi read the inscription on the bronze cauldron, rearranged its patterns, and revealed a box in the stone recess beneath it.

Qiqi recovered jade slips important to the Long Family and made Hu Xiaotian promise to keep them secret. Ji Feihua summoned Hu Xiaotian and explained how floods, plague, and warfare had weakened Great Kang and led to Great Yong’s rise and the two nations’ peace treaty.

• Qiqi showed Hu Xiaotian the jade slips and promised him wealth and honor if he continued helping her, while ordering him to tell no one about them.
• Hu Xiaotian checked that the webs he had set in the secret passage remained intact, then returned to his room and received Ji Feihua’s summons.
• Ji Feihua questioned Hu Xiaotian about Princess Yongyang’s visits and showed him maps illustrating Great Kang’s lost territory.
• Ji Feihua recounted how Xue Jiurang’s rebellion, a devastating flood, and a plague helped Great Yong seize territory from Great Kang.
• Ji Feihua explained that Great Kang and Great Yong ended their wars twenty years earlier by setting the Yong River as their border and agreeing to peace.

Ji Feihua explained Great Kang’s decline and revealed that the emperor had ordered Hu Xiaotian to escort Princess Anping to Great Yong as part of a plot against him. He persuaded Hu Xiaotian to go and tasked him with killing Wen Boyuan, promising rewards and arranging for Wu Jingshan to bear the main responsibility if anything went wrong.

• Ji Feihua compared Great Kang’s decline with Great Yong’s growing strength under Xue Shengkang, Yuchi Chong, and Li Xuangan.
• Ji Feihua told Hu Xiaotian that the emperor had personally assigned him to the Purple Orchid Palace and wanted to eliminate Ji Feihua.
• Ji Feihua revealed that he had staged the incident involving Wen Ya to turn an ambush against his enemies and test their reactions.
• Ji Feihua told Hu Xiaotian that Wen Boyuan would accompany the journey to Great Yong and asked him to ensure Wen Boyan never returned.
• Ji Feihua suggested exploiting Wen Boyuan’s inability to swim during the crossing of the Heaven-Reaching River and promised rewards if Hu Xiaotian succeeded.
• Ji Feihua disclosed that Wu Jingshan would be the Marriage Escort Envoy and would bear most responsibility for any trouble.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Ji Feihua expected him to kill Wen Boyuan during the princess’s escort to Great Yong, while he also planned to save Princess Anping. Zhou Mo agreed to join the journey, and the chapter ended with both brothers facing the scale of Hu Xiaotian’s dangerous plans.

• Ji Feihua gave Hu Xiaotian a sharkskin diving suit and warned him not to betray the plan to kill Wen Boyuan.
• Hu Xiaotian met Zhan Peng at Treasure Abundance Hall and learned that Zhan Peng had been ordered to escort Wen Boyuan and Princess Anping to Yong Capital.
• Hu Xiaotian told Zhan Peng to act as if they had never met, then learned from him and Zhou Mo that Wen Boyuan was a formidable fighter.
• After Zhan Peng left, Hu Xiaotian told Zhou Mo about Ji Feihua’s assignment, and Zhou Mo agreed to join the escort party in disguise as a porter.
• Hu Xiaotian told Zhou Mo he would not abandon his parents and revealed that he had promised Princess Anping he would save her from being delivered to Great Yong.