Chapter Summaries

Murong Feiyan rescued Hu Xiaotian from the horse bandits and then turned back to confront them alone. She defeated their leader and recognized him as Tang Tiehan, but let him and his men go.

• Hu Xiaotian’s horse was tripped by a rope, and Murong Feiyan pulled him onto her horse and carried him out of the woods.
• Murong Feiyan ordered Hu Xiaotian to dismount so she could return to fight the bandits, and Hu Xiaotian punched Liang Dazhuang for abandoning him.
• Murong Feiyan charged through the bandits, defeated their leader, and knocked him from his horse.
• Murong Feiyan removed the leader’s face covering and recognized him as Tang Tiehan, the eldest son of Tang Wenzheng.
• Murong Feiyan told Tang Tiehan and his remaining men to leave and never appear before her again.

Murong Feiyan and Hu Xiaotian continued toward Western Sichuan after Murong drove off the mounted bandits, and Hu Xiaotian suspected the Tang Family had arranged the ambush. They reached Wangjing Post Station, while Murong kept her knowledge of the plot and her decision to spare Tang Tiehan to herself.

• Murong Feiyan returned from the woods after the mounted bandits fled, and Hu Xiaotian found the road deserted except for abandoned weapons and shoes.
• Hu Xiaotian criticized his servants for running away, then rode alongside Murong while the four servants led the way through the woods.
• Murong and Hu Xiaotian discussed why the mounted bandits had attacked, and Hu Xiaotian reasoned that they might have targeted him.
• Murong recalled that Tang Qingxuan had learned of their journey and that she had recognized and spared Tang Tiehan, whom she believed had led the ambush for the Tang Family.
• Hu Xiaotian guessed that the Tang Family might be responsible, but Murong denied colluding with the attackers and rode ahead to Wangjing Post Station.

Hu Xiaotian struggled with the poor accommodations at Wangjing Post Station, then sat outside with Murong Feiyan and traded jokes after neither of them could sleep. The two ended the conversation laughing insincerely, with Murong Feiyan questioning whether Hu Xiaotian deserved her respect.

• The Post Station Steward refused Hu Xiaotian’s request for another room, so Murong Feiyan took the private room and Hu Xiaotian shared the communal platform with the servants.
• Hu Xiaotian could not sleep amid the servants’ snoring and restless movements, and he went outside to sit beneath the moon.
• Murong Feiyan came outside after hearing the snoring and sat beside Hu Xiaotian on the steps.
• Hu Xiaotian teased Murong Feiyan about listening to him, and she threatened to cut out his tongue when his joke turned vulgar.
• Hu Xiaotian reminded Murong Feiyan that he was her superior, and she asked whether anything about him deserved her respect.

Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan avoided arrest after guards searched their post station, then learned that a thief had stolen an urgent dispatch and hurried onward. After a difficult half-month journey, they entered Western Sichuan and struggled through relentless rain toward Penyin Mountain.

• Guards searched the post station for a burglar, but Murong Feiyan privately persuaded the stationmaster to call off the search.
• The next morning, Murong Feiyan told Hu Xiaotian that a thief had stolen an urgent dispatch from Jade Gate Pass, and the party left the station.
• Hu Xiaotian and his companions traveled southwest for half a month, with Hu Fo tending the horses and Murong Feiyan teaching Hu Xiaotian martial skills.
• As the party entered Western Sichuan, persistent rain turned the roads to mud, and a broken axle forced them to abandon their carriage at Pingdong.
• Hu Xiaotian, Murong Feiyan, and their companions pressed through a fierce storm toward Penyin Mountain.

Caught in a violent storm, Hu Xiaotian and his companions took shelter at a dilapidated Orchid Temple, where friendly monks gave them food and warmth. When Hu Xiaotian briefly stepped outside, he returned to find all five of his companions unconscious.

• A thunderclap spooked Liang Dazhuang’s horse, throwing him off and dragging Hu Fo through the mud before the horse escaped.
• Murong Feiyan led the group to Orchid Temple, where Hu Xiaotian worried that its name recalled the place from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
• The lame monk Wuxing welcomed the travelers and gave them a side hall in which to shelter.
• Monks brought a brazier, rice porridge, and steamed buns, and Murong Feiyan tested the food with a silver needle.
• Hu Xiaotian stepped outside to look at the rain, then turned back and found Murong Feiyan and his other four companions unconscious on the floor.

Hu Xiaotian discovered that the Orchid Temple monks had drugged his companions and planned to kill them, so he pretended to be unconscious while they carried him away. He killed one monk and fought desperately with another in the rear courtyard, leaving the second monk bleeding to death as the other companions remained unconscious.

• Hu Xiaotian pretended to be unconscious beside Murong Feiyan as Wuxing ordered the monks to take her to his room and throw the others off a cliff.
• Two monks carried Hu Xiaotian toward the rear gate, and he stabbed one in the heart when the other went to open it.
• The surviving monk grappled with Hu Xiaotian, overpowered him, and struck him twice with his head.
• Hu Xiaotian spat in the monk’s face, then headbutted him and used the opening to cut his neck with a hidden blade.
• The monk collapsed after Hu Xiaotian severed his carotid artery, while Hu Xiaotian was drenched in blood.

Hu Xiaotian disguised himself as a monk and attacked Wuxing to rescue Murong Feiyan, whom the wicked monks had taken away. After injuring Wuxing and escaping his thrown dagger, Hu Xiaotian bluffed that the weapon was poisoned, leaving Wuxing wary as their fight continued.

• Hu Xiaotian returned toward the rear courtyard to find Murong Feiyan and overheard Wuxing sending Fourth to fetch the horses and luggage.
• Hu Xiaotian killed Fourth when he came to lead away the Snowflake Horse, then changed into the dead monk’s clothes.
• Hu Xiaotian followed Wuxing, pretended to have fallen, and stabbed the lame monk in his usable leg when Wuxing approached.
• Hu Xiaotian dodged Wuxing’s crutch strike, pulled the dagger from his thigh, and fled while taunting him.
• Wuxing hurled the dagger at Hu Xiaotian, who dodged it and falsely claimed it was poisoned.

Hu Xiaotian defeated Wuxing with chili powder and bamboo, then captured him to obtain the antidote for his poisoned companions. He found Murong Feiyan unconscious and began testing the bottle he took from Wuxing, but left her with a fresh mark on her neck.

• Hu Xiaotian used psychological tricks to stall Wuxing as blood loss weakened him, but Wuxing launched himself toward Hu Xiaotian with his crutch.
• Hu Xiaotian threw chili powder into Wuxing’s face, then struck him with bamboo and overpowered him when Wuxing tried to feign unconsciousness.
• Hu Xiaotian tied Wuxing up and found Murong Feiyan bound and unconscious in a room; cold water failed to wake her.
• When Wuxing regained consciousness in the rain, Hu Xiaotian threatened and beat him until he found a small green porcelain bottle on him.
• Hu Xiaotian held the bottle beneath Murong Feiyan’s nose, then kissed her neck and left a blood-red mark.

Hu Xiaotian rescued Murong Feiyan and the four servants from the bandits posing as monks at the Orchid Temple. After Murong Feiyan killed Wuxing and Hu Xiaotian disposed of the other bodies, they left the dangerous encounter with their relationship slightly changed.

• Hu Xiaotian freed Murong Feiyan, helped her outside, and knocked Wuxing unconscious when the bandit woke.
• Hu Xiaotian revived the four servants with the antidote while Murong Feiyan recovered enough strength to walk.
• Hu Xiaotian told Murong Feiyan he had killed three bandits, then threw their bodies over a cliff.
• Wuxing confessed that he and his accomplices had killed the Orchid Temple monks and occupied the temple, so Murong Feiyan kicked him off the cliff.
• Murong Feiyan teased Hu Xiaotian for fearing she might push him over too, and he hurried away from the edge.

After Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan survived the monks’ poison attack, they prepared to rest at Orchid Temple, where Hu Xiaotian explained his suspicions about the place. The chapter ended with them finding a mysterious girl outside the gate in the storm, while Hu Xiaotian warned Murong Feiyan not to open it.

• Shao Yijiao and Li Jinhao built a fire after Murong Feiyan and the servants recovered from the monks’ poisoned charcoal fumes.
• Hu Xiaotian told Murong Feiyan he had been wary of Orchid Temple because a temple with that name in his hometown was said to be haunted.
• Hu Xiaotian had the servants search the temple, then he and Murong Feiyan went to find rooms for the night.
• Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan heard a girl calling for help outside and approached the temple gate.
• Hu Xiaotian stopped Murong Feiyan from opening the gate after they saw a barefoot girl in white standing in the storm.

Hu Xiaotian examined a badly injured old man and decided that his crushed right leg had to be amputated immediately if he was to have any chance of surviving. The girl who brought him agreed to the operation and wrote a statement accepting the risk, while Hu Xiaotian prepared to begin.

• Murong Feiyan and Hu Xiaotian found the girl's grandfather unconscious and bleeding at the foot of the steps, then carried him into the temple.
• Hu Xiaotian examined the old man's injuries and discovered that his right leg was crushed beyond saving, while the girl refused to leave his side.
• Hu Xiaotian told the girl that the old man's condition was critical and that he could not guarantee the operation would save him.
• The girl insisted that Hu Xiaotian operate and promised not to blame him if the old man died.
• Murong Feiyan found paper and a brush, and the girl wrote a statement accepting responsibility as Hu Xiaotian prepared for surgery.

Hu Xiaotian suspected the injured old man was a eunuch and that the accompanying girl might be an imperial princess, then risked a difficult amputation to save the man. After the operation, the girl returned with a bundle, and Hu Xiaotian left Murong Feiyan to rest while she watched over the patient.

• Hu Xiaotian warned Murong Feiyan that the old man was probably a eunuch and the little girl might be royalty, and told her to preserve their written agreement and ask about their missing luggage.
• Hu Xiaotian chose Hu Fo and Shao Yijiao as assistants and began amputating the old man's shattered right leg despite lacking anesthesia, sterile conditions, and adequate equipment.
• Hu Xiaotian completed the amputation and treated the old man's other wounds, finding his pulse weak but steady.
• The little girl returned with a blue-patterned bundle and asked Hu Xiaotian about the operation, then went inside to see the old man.
• Murong Feiyan offered to look after things while Hu Xiaotian rested, and he teased her about showing him care and affection.

Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan waited out the rain at Orchid Temple while caring for an injured old man and a mysterious little girl. The old man regained consciousness that evening, and Hu Xiaotian began explaining that he had amputated the man’s badly injured right leg.

• Hu Xiaotian woke at noon and learned that Constable Murong wanted everyone to remain at Orchid Temple because the rain had grown heavier.
• Hu Xiaotian checked the old man’s amputation and reassured the sorrowful little girl, while Li Jinhao kept watch in the Side Hall.
• Murong Feiyan cooked pheasant and mushroom stew, and Hu Xiaotian ate heartily before she gave him a bowl of porridge.
• Murong Feiyan proposed taking the old man and girl across Penyin Mountain once the rain stopped, despite Hu Xiaotian’s reluctance to get involved.
• The old man woke that evening, drank some water from the little girl, and thanked Hu Xiaotian for saving him.
• Hu Xiaotian told the old man that his right leg had been too badly injured to save.

Hu Xiaotian changed An Dequan’s dressing and learned that the old man was a suspicious, formidable eunuch traveling with his granddaughter. An Dequan asked Hu Xiaotian to escort the girl to Xiezhou, but Hu Xiaotian hesitated because the journey could bring dangerous enemies after them.

• Hu Xiaotian redressed An Dequan’s stump while Murong Feiyan took the girl outside, and An Dequan introduced himself.
• An Dequan grabbed Hu Xiaotian and questioned his motives, while Hu Xiaotian warned him not to endanger his granddaughter.
• An Dequan threatened Hu Xiaotian, then released him and offered a Coiled Dragon Jade Pendant in exchange for escorting his granddaughter to the Zhou household in Yujin Lane, Xiezhou.
• Hu Xiaotian refused the pendant and questioned what enemies had left An Dequan so badly wounded, saying he did not want to take on the danger.

A little girl forced Hu Xiaotian to escort her and her wounded grandfather, An Dequan, to Xiezhou by threatening to implicate him and poisoning him with a concealed weapon. Hu Xiaotian agreed to cooperate, but the girl kept control of the situation by holding the antidote.

• The little girl warned Hu Xiaotian that formidable enemies were tracking her and An Dequan, then threatened to tell them she had given him the object she had thrown off a cliff.
• The girl revealed Hu Xiaotian's family and political connections and demanded that he escort her and An Dequan to Xiezhou.
• Hu Xiaotian tried to frighten the girl into abandoning her scheme, but she aimed a Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles box at him and threatened to kill him if he left.
• Hu Xiaotian agreed to cooperate, but the girl fired a Seven-Day Soul-Severing Needle into his arm and promised the antidote only if he escorted them safely.
• The girl put away the weapon and told Hu Xiaotian they could now talk properly, with his life in her hands.

Hu Xiaotian was forced by the little girl’s poisoned needle to agree to escort her to Xiezhou, while An Dequan stayed behind because his injuries made the journey too dangerous. Hu Xiaotian set out with the girl and Liang Dazhuang, carrying An Dequan’s warning not to delay.

• The little girl explained that the Seven-Day Soul-Severing Needle would poison Hu Xiaotian unless he received an antidote, and he agreed to take her to Xiezhou.
• An Dequan decided to remain behind because crossing Penyin Mountain with his injuries could kill him, and the little girl ordered Hu Xiaotian to leave him provisions and a caretaker.
• The little girl revealed that Liang Dazhuang had told her Hu Xiaotian’s personal history, prompting Hu Xiaotian to beat him and prepare to leave Orchid Temple.
• An Dequan warned Hu Xiaotian not to leave Liang Dazhuang behind, and Hu Xiaotian took him along instead.
• An Dequan offered Hu Xiaotian his jade pendant and urged him to set out without delay.

Hu Xiaotian received a Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles weapon from An Dequan before the group resumed its dangerous mountain journey. When Murong Feiyan froze at the sight of a cliff, Hu Xiaotian steadied her and flirted with her until someone ahead accused him of using honeyed words to deceive her.

• An Dequan gave Hu Xiaotian a Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles weapon for protection, and Hu Xiaotian joined the group as they left the Orchid Temple.
• The group climbed a narrow mountain trail beside a deep abyss, while Hu Xiaotian worried about the Seven-Day Soul-Severing Needle’s growing mark on his arm.
• Murong Feiyan became too frightened to move when she saw the abyss, and Hu Xiaotian supported her as she continued along the trail.
• Hu Xiaotian teased Murong Feiyan about romance, and she became entranced by his words.
• Someone up ahead called Hu Xiaotian’s words honeyed and accused him of trying to deceive Sister Murong.

Hu Xiaotian discovered that the little girl had poisoned him with a needle and that he had only seven days to get her to Xiezhou, so he and Murong Feiyan agreed to continue escorting her. The party reached a swaying suspension bridge over a deep abyss, where their horses refused to cross.

• The little girl dismissed romance and condemned men, while Liang Dazhuang defended Hu Xiaotian as a perfect man.
• Hu Xiaotian examined the spreading numbness around the poisoned needle wound and suspected the little girl was protecting herself from a formidable enemy.
• Hu Xiaotian told Murong Feiyan that the poison gave him seven days to deliver the girl to Xiezhou, and they agreed to keep the poisoning secret and continue the journey.
• The party reached the suspension bridge at Penyin Mountain, where Murong Feiyan and the servants feared crossing and the horses balked.
• Hu Fo told Hu Xiaotian that the horses could not get across the bridge.

Hu Xiaotian and his companions crossed a swaying suspension bridge in a storm, but a gray-robed swordsman and a black hawk attacked them before they could reach safety. The chapter left Murong Feiyan defending herself on the bridge while the little girl faced the hawk.

• Hu Xiaotian sent Hu Fo and Li Jinhao back with the horses and kept Liang Dazhuang and Shao Yijiao to carry the luggage.
• Shao Yijiao and Liang Dazhuang crossed the suspension bridge, and Hu Xiaotian coaxed a frightened Murong Feiyan onto it as the storm broke.
• Hu Xiaotian led Murong Feiyan across the bridge in the pouring rain while the little girl advanced ahead of them.
• A gray-robed swordsman charged onto the bridge and struck at Murong Feiyan, who blocked his saber with her sword and nearly fell when a plank snapped.
• A black hawk lunged at the little girl near the far end of the bridge.

Hu Xiaotian rescued the little girl from a falcon and an archer while Murong Feiyan fought the gray-clad man on the tilting suspension bridge. Murong Feiyan killed him, and Hu Xiaotian urged the girl to run toward the smoke-filled exit.

• The little girl shot down one falcon with her Black Box, but another wounded her before Hu Xiaotian killed it.
• The gray-clad man severed one of the bridge's cables, and Murong Feiyan leapt to attack him before he could cut another.
• Hu Xiaotian caught the little girl as she fell through a gap in the bridge, while arrows from the woods threatened them.
• Shao Yijiao told Liang Dazhuang to stay and help as he went to deal with the archer.
• Murong Feiyan defeated the gray-clad man with the concealed blade in her sword and kicked his body over the cliff.
• Lightning started a fire near the bridge exit, and Hu Xiaotian pulled the little girl back onto the bridge and told her to run.