Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian used the Night-Luminescent Pearl to distract the guests while Xi Yan slipped away, then arranged for a dance troupe to perform beneath it. Huo Xiaoru briefly appeared and saw Hu Xiaotian, and the chapter ended when lightning struck and the Treasure-Gathering Palace went dark.

• Hu Xiaotian displayed his Night-Luminescent Pearl and challenged Eldest Princess Xue Lingjun's claim that the White Jade Guanyin was more valuable.
• Hu Xiaotian kept the guests focused on the pearl while Xi Yan quietly left the great hall.
• Prince of Yan Xue Shengjing had Zhuo Zihan hang the pearl from the hall's main beam and arranged for ten girls from Huo Xiaoru's troupe to dance beneath it.
• Hu Xiaotian spotted Huo Xiaoru watching from beside the screen, but she mistook him for a sleazy fat man and left without recognizing him.
• Lightning flashed outside, plunging the Treasure-Gathering Palace into darkness as thunder roared.

After the Night-Luminescent Pearl vanished during a flash of lightning, Xue Shengjing ordered the guests confined and searched. Huo Xiaoru challenged his right to suspect the performers without proving his own innocence, and the chapter ended with her agreeing to search him herself.

• The Night-Luminescent Pearl disappeared during the lightning, and Hu Xiaotian loudly accused someone of stealing it.
• Xue Shengjing ordered the Treasure-Gathering Palace surrounded and said everyone would be investigated, while Xue Daohong pointed suspicion toward the dancing girls.
• Huo Xiaoru emerged and objected to the Music and Dance Troupe being searched without being allowed to prove its innocence privately.
• Huo Xiaoru challenged Xue Shengjing to prove his own innocence and pointed out that Hai Dasheng had not promised him the pearl before it disappeared.
• Xue Shengjing offered to let Huo Xiaoru search him, and she accepted.

Huo Xiaoru tried to assassinate Xue Shengjing at the banquet, but his armor and Tie Zheng stopped her, and she was captured. Hu Xiaotian left with Xi Yan after she retrieved the Dark Nether Ice Toad, but remained worried about how to save Huo Xiaoru.

• Huo Xiaoru stabbed Xue Shengjing in the neck with a hairpin and struck his back, but his Gold-Thread Inner Armor protected him from a fatal wound.
• Tie Zheng attacked Huo Xiaoru, and Hu Xiaotian intervened with a seemingly forceful punch that let her evade Tie Zheng's killing stroke.
• Xue Shengjing ordered his warriors to keep Huo Xiaoru and the ten dancing girls alive, then let the guests leave after they surrendered their treasures for inspection.
• Xi Yan revealed that she had obtained the Dark Nether Ice Toad, while Hu Xiaotian worried about Huo Xiaoru, whom he described as an old friend from Kang Capital.

Hu Xiaotian and Xi Yan waited for a chance to rescue Huo Xiaoru after her attempt on Xue Shengjing, who discovered a clue on her hairpin while recovering from the poisoned wound. The Dark Nether Ice Toad was missing from the robbed Buddha's Smile Tower, and Xue Lingjun suspected Xue Shengjing was hiding what he knew.

• Hu Xiaotian asked Xi Yan to help rescue Huo Xiaoru, but she refused and ordered him out of the carriage.
• Xi Yan turned the carriage around, returned to Hu Xiaotian, and suggested they wait at the Wind and Rain Pavilion for news from the Man in Blue.
• Xue Shengjing discovered that Huo Xiaoru's hairpin was poisoned and recognized the words engraved on it: Enduring as Sea and Stone.
• Tie Zheng reported that Buddha's Smile Tower had been robbed and the Dark Nether Ice Toad was missing, so Xue Shengjing took Hundred-Grass Rejuvenation Pills instead.
• Xue Shengjing dismissed Xue Lingjun and Xue Daohong and asked them not to tell the Emperor about the attack.
• Xue Lingjun told Xue Daohong that Xue Shengjing must have discovered something and did not want them to know.

Xue Shengjing recovered from Huo Xiaoru’s poisoned attack and confronted her in Cloud-Reliant Tower, where he discovered the birthmarks linking her to Yun Qi. Huo Xiaoru revealed that she had tried to kill him because he had violated her mother and killed her family.

• Xue Shengjing learned that five treasures were missing, while the Hetian jade sculpture remained untouched, and ordered Huo Xiaoru kept safe in Cloud-Reliant Tower.
• Imperial Physician Xu Baichuan treated Xue Shengjing’s poisoned neck wound, and Shi Kuan offered to investigate the assassination, but Xue Shengjing refused his help.
• Xue Shengjing went alone to question Huo Xiaoru and threatened to humiliate her unless she explained her attempt on his life.
• Xue Shengjing exposed Huo Xiaoru’s shoulder and saw five red birthmarks shaped like a plum blossom, then recognized her as Yun Qi’s daughter.
• Huo Xiaoru accused Xue Shengjing of violating her mother and killing her family, and lamented that she could not avenge her parents.

Xue Shengjing told Huo Xiaoru that she was his daughter, Qi Yi, and denied killing her mother, Yun Qi, or her brother. As Huo Xiaoru struggled between his account and her master's accusations, Xi Yan incapacitated Hu Xiaotian to stop him from seeking Huo Xiaoru, then agreed to meet the sect leader to keep him safe.

• Xue Shengjing revealed Huo Xiaoru's birth name and childhood details, claiming he was her father and that her mother had not died by his hand.
• Xue Shengjing described how his father ordered his family killed, said he had arranged for Yun Qi and the children to flee, and showed Huo Xiaoru a bloodstained tiger-head shoe and the hairpin he had given Yun Qi.
• Huo Xiaoru began to accept that Xue Shengjing might be her father, but remembered her master's claim that Xue Shengjing had murdered her family and remained conflicted.
• The Man in Blue warned Xi Yan and Hu Xiaotian that the Prince of Yan's Residence was heavily guarded and that Xue Shengjing was more formidable than he seemed.
• Xi Yan disabled Hu Xiaotian with a poisoned steel needle to stop him from going after Huo Xiaoru, then agreed to meet the sect leader the next day after the Man in Blue warned that refusal would put Hu Xiaotian in danger.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Huo Xiaoru had been accused of trying to assassinate the Prince of Yan and hurried to the residence to help her. He reached the injured Xue Shengjing, whose family ties to Huo Xiaoru complicated the crisis.

• Hu Xiaotian read Xi Yan's farewell letter, collected the supplies she had left, and rode toward Qichen Palace.
• Wan'er pleaded at Qichen Palace for Hu Xiaotian to save Huo Xiaoru, who had been arrested for allegedly attempting to assassinate the Prince of Yan.
• Dong Tianjiang warned Hu Xiaotian about the attack, while Hu Xiaotian asked Xiang Jimin to look after Wan'er and set out for the Prince of Yan's Residence.
• Hu Xiaotian was admitted to see the wounded Xue Shengjing and greeted him with apparent concern.

Hu Xiaotian visited the imprisoned Huo Xiaoru and tried to save her by persuading her to claim they had been lovers, while Xue Shengjing secretly watched them. Xue Shengjing heard Huo Xiaoru call Hu Xiaotian her husband and was horrified because he believed Hu Xiaotian was a eunuch.

• Hu Xiaotian visited his injured sworn brother Xue Shengjing, who agreed to let him see Huo Xiaoru if she revealed the mastermind behind the attack.
• Hu Xiaotian found Huo Xiaoru imprisoned in the Cloud-Reliant Tower and realized Tie Zheng and other watchers were monitoring them.
• Hu Xiaotian secretly instructed Huo Xiaoru to deny attempting an assassination and to claim she had been influenced by the Soul-Bewitching Art.
• Hu Xiaotian kissed Huo Xiaoru so the hidden observers would hear her call him her husband.
• Xue Shengjing watched through a concealed hole and was shocked that Huo Xiaoru called Hu Xiaotian her husband, believing his sworn brother was a eunuch.

Hu Xiaotian tried to persuade Xue Shengjing to spare Huo Xiaoru by claiming she had once been his lover and was carrying his child when they parted. Xue Shengjing refused to discuss her case further, but went to question Huo Xiaoru himself after Hu Xiaotian left.

• Hu Xiaotian left Huo Xiaoru and went to meet Xue Shengjing after Tie Zheng summoned him.
• Hu Xiaotian told Xue Shengjing that he and Huo Xiaoru had been lovers in Kang Capital and that she had been pregnant when he left for Western Sichuan.
• Hu Xiaotian said Huo Xiaoru had tried to assassinate Xue Shengjing while under the Bewitching Soul Technique and asked him to spare her.
• Xue Shengjing refused to discuss Huo Xiaoru's case and ordered Hu Xiaotian to leave.
• Xue Shengjing went to Cloud-Reliant Tower to question Huo Xiaoru about Hu Xiaotian's claims.

Huo Xiaoru supported Hu Xiaotian’s fabricated story about their secret marriage and child to persuade Xue Shengjing to accept their relationship. Meanwhile, Emperor Xue Shengkang investigated why the Prince of Yan had protected Huo Xiaoru, and the Empress Dowager arrived at the palace to speak with him privately.

• Xue Shengjing confronted Huo Xiaoru about calling Hu Xiaotian her husband, and Huo Xiaoru backed Hu Xiaotian’s story by claiming they had a child named Xiao Bao.
• Xue Shengjing told Huo Xiaoru that Hu Xiaotian had become a eunuch, but she insisted she loved him regardless of his status.
• Emperor Xue Shengkang learned from Shi Kuan that the Prince of Yan had refused to hand Huo Xiaoru over, despite his usual obedience, and ordered Shi Kuan to investigate her.
• Bai Desheng informed Xue Shengkang that Empress Dowager Jiang had arrived without warning, and Xue Shengkang greeted her after writing “Turn the clouds, overturn the rain!”
• Empress Dowager Jiang dismissed her attendants and spoke privately with Xue Shengkang in the garden, urging him to care for his health.

Empress Dowager Jiang reminded Xue Shengkang of the painful history between Xue Shengjing and their late father, then made him promise to protect his brothers. At Qichen Palace, Hu Xiaotian received condolences from Zan Buliu before Xue Shengjing arrived to show the court that he had survived the assassination attempt.

• Empress Dowager Jiang questioned Xue Shengkang about the attack on Xue Shengjing and recounted how their father’s secret decree led to the deaths of Shengjing’s lover and children.
• Empress Dowager Jiang told Xue Shengkang she had never revealed the truth to Xue Shengjing and asked him to keep his brothers safe after she was gone.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to Qichen Palace, and Xiang Jimin warned him not to complicate the affair before Princess Anping’s Seventh Day.
• Zan Buliu offered condolences to Hu Xiaotian and said they might meet again in Kang Capital after both traveled to Great Kang.
• Xue Shengjing and the Eldest Princess arrived at Qichen Palace, where Shengjing intended to dispel rumors about his condition after the assassination attempt.

Hu Xiaotian agreed to Xue Shengjing’s three conditions to secure Huo Xiaoru’s release, including recovering the Ice-Spirit Soul-Calming Pearl and obtaining the emperor’s pardon within three days. At Qichen Palace, Wanyan Chixiong confronted Dong Tianjiang over the deaths of his men, but Xue Daoming stepped in before Dong could answer.

• Eldest Princess Xue Lingjun arrived at the Prince of Yan’s Residence and comforted Xue Daoming while Hu Xiaotian mourned theatrically beside Princess Anping’s casket.
• Xue Shengjing privately demanded Invincible Vajra Sheaths, the Ice-Spirit Soul-Calming Pearl, and an imperial order pardoning Huo Xiaoru in exchange for sparing her.
• Hu Xiaotian accepted the three conditions and insisted Xue Shengjing neither harm nor torture Huo Xiaoru; Xue Shengjing gave him three days to fulfill the deal.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to Qichen Palace and told Dong Tianjiang that Xue Shengjing had refused to help him.
• Wanyan Chixiong confronted Dong Tianjiang over the deaths of twenty-one Black Hu fighters, and Xue Daoming approached before Dong answered.

Hu Xiaotian recruited Dong Tianjiang, Huo Shengnan, and Zong Tang to secretly search the Red Mountain Guildhall’s Wild Goose Tower for evidence that Black Hu was gathering intelligence. The group prepared to infiltrate the guildhall despite uncertainty about what they would find.

• Wanyan Chixiong left after warning Dong Tianjiang that he would not let the matter rest, and Hu Xiaotian proposed searching the Red Mountain Guildhall again for evidence.
• Hu Xiaotian showed Dong Tianjiang a detailed map of the guildhall and argued that proof of Black Hu espionage could clear Dong’s predicament.
• Hu Xiaotian proposed recruiting Huo Shengnan and Zong Tang, while Dong Tianjiang agreed to take responsibility if the plan exposed them.
• Dong Tianjiang and Huo Shengnan met Hu Xiaotian and Zong Tang at the Spring Radiance Tavern, where Hu named the Wild Goose Tower as their target.
• Zong Tang questioned the wisdom of infiltrating the guildhall when Hu Xiaotian admitted he could not guarantee they would find proof.

Hu Xiaotian, Huo Shengnan, Dong Tianjiang, and Zong Tang planned to infiltrate the Red Mountain Guildhall to investigate Princess Anping’s death and possible Black Hu plotting. As Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan attempted to enter through the northwest corner, an unexpected third guard complicated their plan, and Huo Shengnan loosed two arrows at the watchtower guards.

• Hu Xiaotian explained the risks and purpose of infiltrating the Red Mountain Guildhall, and Dong Tianjiang, Zong Tang, and Huo Shengnan agreed to join him.
• Hu Xiaotian split the group into two teams: Dong Tianjiang and Zong Tang would enter with a meat delivery, while he and Huo Shengnan would sneak in through the northwest corner.
• Huo Shengnan questioned Hu Xiaotian’s motives, and he said he wanted to help clear her name; she agreed to plan the operation with him.
• Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan hid in a tree near the guildhall and prepared to shoot the guards during the midnight shift change.
• When a third guard appeared in the watchtower, Huo Shengnan adjusted her aim and released two arrows toward the guards.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan infiltrated the Red Mountain Guildhall by disguising themselves as Black Hu women, then met up with Dong Tianjiang and Zong Tang outside Wild Goose Tower. The four reached the tower’s entrance after Dong Tianjiang and Zong Tang silently killed its two guards.

• Huo Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan killed three Black Hu Warriors on a watchtower, took their clothes, and disguised one body to conceal the deaths.
• Hu Xiaotian accidentally killed a Black Hu slave woman while he and Huo Shengnan subdued two women, so they put on the women’s clothes and entered through the Second Gate in disguise.
• Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan passed the guards and reached Wild Goose Tower, where Dong Tianjiang and Zong Tang nearly attacked them before recognizing their signal.
• Dong Tianjiang and Zong Tang killed the two drowsy guards at Wild Goose Tower’s entrance.

Hu Xiaotian, Huo Shengnan, and Zong Tang broke into Wild Goose Tower, where they found traps and searched for the Ice-Spirit Soul-Calming Pearl and evidence of Black Hu intelligence gathering. They uncovered the secret chamber, but its strange collection of animal specimens and dried human corpses left them wondering whether it was actually a hidden burial chamber.

• Hu Xiaotian, Huo Shengnan, and Zong Tang entered Wild Goose Tower after Zong Tang opened its main lock, then carefully bypassed a web of wires and bells.
• Zong Tang guided Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan across the flower hall's Fenggong Six Configurations toward the antique display shelves.
• Hu Xiaotian found the Ice-Spirit Soul-Calming Pearl inside the hollow left horn of a brass bull's head and secretly took it.
• Zong Tang swapped the bull's horns, causing the display shelves to slide aside and reveal the entrance to an underground chamber.
• Hu Xiaotian, Huo Shengnan, and Zong Tang descended to the secret chamber and found a passage lined with animal specimens and dried human corpses.

Hu Xiaotian, Huo Shengnan, and Zong Tang discovered that two unusual corpses in a stone hall were living fighters and battled them. Hu Xiaotian’s saber broke, but he seized the black-skinned man’s Spiral Spike and counterattacked as the man’s arm stretched toward his neck.

• Hu Xiaotian accidentally released saber energy and cleaved several desiccated corpses as the group continued through the passage.
• Hu Xiaotian warned Zong Tang away from two unusually preserved corpses, and Huo Shengnan’s arrow revealed that the black-skinned corpse was alive.
• The white-skinned woman extinguished Zong Tang’s torch and attacked him in the darkness while Hu Xiaotian shielded Huo Shengnan from the black-skinned man.
• Hu Xiaotian threw a Phosphorus Fire Bomb, and Huo Shengnan set the surrounding corpses alight with incendiary arrows to restore the chamber’s light.
• Hu Xiaotian used the Spirit Snake Nine Swords against the black-skinned man’s Spiral Spike, but the man snapped his saber in two and dodged Huo Shengnan’s arrows.
• Hu Xiaotian grabbed the Spiral Spike and thrust the broken saber at the black-skinned man, who evaded and stretched his arm toward Hu Xiaotian’s neck.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan struggled against Black Corpse, whose rubbery body and power-draining grip left them trapped together. Huo Shengnan’s headbutt disrupted Black Corpse’s energy absorption, giving Hu Xiaotian a chance to reclaim some of his internal power.

• Black Corpse used his impossibly flexible limbs to overpower Hu Xiaotian at close quarters while Zong Tang held off White Corpse with heavy punches.
• Huo Shengnan’s attacks repeatedly risked striking Hu Xiaotian, and Black Corpse tangled the two together, leaving Hu Xiaotian with a dagger wound in his thigh.
• Black Corpse drained Hu Xiaotian’s internal power through their joined hands and forced Huo Shengnan’s hand between Hu Xiaotian’s legs to keep her from attacking.
• Hu Xiaotian shouted for Poison Smoke Bombs, and Huo Shengnan crushed two in her palm, but the smoke had no effect on Black Corpse.
• Black Corpse tried to bite Huo Shengnan’s neck, but she smashed the back of her head into his face and briefly disrupted his energy absorption.
• Hu Xiaotian used the Formless Divine Skill to gather the remaining internal power in his body back into his dantian.

Hu Xiaotian and his companions discovered that the underground ambush had been set by Wanyan Chixiong, then fought their way into the Wild Goose Tower and found themselves surrounded. Wanyan Chixiong named Dong Tianjiang and Huo Shengnan outside the tower, leaving the group divided over whether he truly knew their identities as they faced the threat of being burned alive.

• Hu Xiaotian reversed Black Corpse's power-draining technique and absorbed most of his internal power while Huo Shengnan and Zong Tang held off White Corpse.
• Huo Shengnan learned that Black Corpse and White Corpse had been hired by Wanyan Chixiong and had been warned about infiltrators, revealing that the information from Xi Yan was false.
• Hu Xiaotian, Huo Shengnan, and Zong Tang left the chamber and joined Dong Tianjiang, who was fighting Black Hu Warriors at the Wild Goose Tower entrance.
• The four fought their way to the second floor, where Dong Tianjiang questioned Hu Xiaotian about whether he had exposed their mission.
• Wanyan Chixiong surrounded the tower with more than a hundred warriors and threatened to burn it, then called out Dong Tianjiang and Huo Shengnan by name.
• Dong Tianjiang and Zong Tang feared their identities had been exposed, but Huo Shengnan urged everyone to distrust Wanyan Chixiong's words and work together to escape.

A masked archer killed Wanyan Chixiong, leaving Hu Xiaotian and his companions blamed and fighting to escape the Red Mountain Guildhall. The Five Immortals Cult leader revealed she had orchestrated the assassination, while Hu Xiaotian reunited with Huo Shengnan as Great Yong forces approached.

• The Man in Blue shot Wanyan Chixiong with Yuchi Chong's Heaven-Shaking Bow while an assassin stabbed him, and the Black Hu Warriors turned the burning Wild Goose Tower into chaos.
• Dong Tianjiang attacked Hu Xiaotian, but Huo Shengnan and Zong Tang stopped the fight, and the companions battled their way out of the Red Mountain Guildhall.
• The Man in Blue met the Five Immortals Cult leader atop the Great Buddha, where he reported that Wanyan Chixiong was dead and evidence pointed toward Huo Shengnan and Dong Tianjiang.
• The Five Immortals Cult leader told the Man in Blue she had spared Hu Xiaotian for Xi Yan's sake and ordered him never to hurt Xi Yan or reveal her involvement.
• Hu Xiaotian became separated from his companions, evaded pursuing Black Hu archers, and met Huo Shengnan in a tree as Great Yong forces headed toward the guildhall.