Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian, Huo Ge, and Xue Lingjun shared a meal at the Hundred Flavors Restaurant, where Xue Lingjun’s teasing and flirtation left Huo Ge captivated and uneasy about her closeness with Hu Xiaotian. The chapter ended with Huo Ge warning himself not to be bewitched by Xue Lingjun.

• Xue Lingjun teased Huo Ge about calling her his older sister, then agreed to meet him and Hu Xiaotian at the Hundred Flavors Restaurant.
• Huo Ge admitted he was attracted to Xue Lingjun and said he would risk death for a night with her, but sobered when Hu Xiaotian mentioned his father-in-law, Li Tianheng.
• Hu Xiaotian, Huo Ge, and Xue Lingjun ate spicy fish and drank together, while Xue Lingjun mocked Huo Ge for being unable to handle the food.
• Xue Lingjun pressed Hu Xiaotian about a promise he had made and flirted with him, leaving Huo Ge feeling ignored.
• Xue Lingjun teased Huo Ge about trying to get her drunk, and Huo Ge resolved to resist her bewitching charm.

Hu Xiaotian saw through Xue Lingjun’s staged harassment scene after Huo Ge was defeated by one of her men. He confronted her about the act, and she ended the exchange by throwing wine in his face.

• Xue Lingjun pretended that a burly man had touched her, prompting Huo Ge to attack him while Hu Xiaotian recognized the scene as a setup.
• The burly man subdued Huo Ge with chopsticks and revealed that he knew Huo Ge’s identity.
• Hu Xiaotian cut a chopstick holder in half with invisible sword qi, causing the men to leave and Huo Ge to depart in humiliation.
• Xue Lingjun praised Hu Xiaotian and flirted with him, while he suggested that the men were northerners from Great Yong and that she had staged the incident.
• Xue Lingjun admitted that Hu Xiaotian had seen through her plan, then flung her remaining wine at him after he teased her about enjoying men touching her.

Hu Xiaotian and Xue Lingjun traded provocations over wine and discussed Great Yong’s attempt to ally with Western Sichuan. After Xue Lingjun invited him into her carriage, she watched him closely, still believing he was a eunuch.

• Hu Xiaotian let Xue Lingjun splash wine in his face, then turned their exchange into a contest by making her drink from his cup.
• Hu Xiaotian brought up Jian Ping, and he and Xue Lingjun traded flirtatious remarks while she concluded his lack of interest proved he was a eunuch.
• Xue Lingjun revealed that her second imperial brother was negotiating an alliance with Western Sichuan, and Hu Xiaotian questioned whether Li Tianheng would trust Great Yong.
• Hu Xiaotian’s remark about imperial sons-in-law upset Xue Lingjun, who called for the bill and then ordered him into her carriage.
• Xue Lingjun moved closer to Hu Xiaotian in the carriage and studied him for signs of desire, while he recognized her maneuver.

Hu Xiaotian visited the Great Yong Mission with Xue Lingjun, who warned him that Li Tianheng might turn against him. Hu Xiaotian argued that Li Tianheng would not attack Great Kang, since its collapse would leave Western Sichuan vulnerable to Great Yong.

• Hu Xiaotian rode with Xue Lingjun to the Great Yong Mission, where she flirted with him and insisted she had come to Western Sichuan to see him.
• Xue Lingjun introduced Hu Xiaotian to Guo Zhenhai, who apologized for his earlier behavior, and told him that Xue Shengjing was dining at the Marshal's Residence.
• Xue Lingjun warned Hu Xiaotian that Li Tianheng's officers were urging him to break with Great Kang and that he might act against Hu Xiaotian.
• Hu Xiaotian suspected Great Yong wanted to draw Western Sichuan away from Great Kang and challenged Xue Lingjun's warning as politically motivated.
• Hu Xiaotian argued that Li Tianheng would not attack Great Kang because Great Yong would threaten Western Sichuan next if Great Kang fell.

Hu Xiaotian reunited with Zhou Wenju, the physician who had saved his life, and learned that Zhou was treating the imprisoned Prince of Zhou. Afterward, Huo Ge invited Hu Xiaotian to the Many Fragrances House on behalf of an unnamed host.

• Xue Lingjun warned Hu Xiaotian that Li Tianheng might detain him, and Hu Xiaotian left her residence for the post station.
• Zhou Wenju visited Hu Xiaotian, who knelt to honor the physician for saving his life and welcomed him warmly.
• Hu Xiaotian told Zhou Wenju that he had come to offer Li Tianheng birthday congratulations and confer a princely title upon him.
• Zhou Wenju said he was visiting the Prince of Zhou for a scheduled consultation, and he invited Hu Xiaotian to dinner the next day.
• Huo Ge arrived with ten Shajia warriors and invited Hu Xiaotian to the Many Fragrances House, saying someone else would pay.

Hu Xiaotian joined Huo Ge at a gathering hosted by Xue Shengjing at the Many Fragrances House, where foreign princes and imperial sons-in-law chose veiled women to keep them company. Hu Xiaotian picked a woman whose figure reminded him of Xiangqin, leaving her identity unknown.

• Hu Xiaotian and Huo Ge entered the Many Fragrances House through a side door and found Xue Shengjing hosting a gathering in the rear garden.
• Xue Shengjing and Huo Ge discovered that they were both Hu Xiaotian's sworn brothers.
• Xue Shengjing introduced Wanyan Tianyue, Black Hu's eighth prince, and Hong Yingtai, Southern Yue Kingdom's sixth prince, to Hu Xiaotian and Huo Ge.
• Huo Ge, Wanyan Tianyue, and Hong Yingtai each chose a veiled woman to sit beside them.
• Hu Xiaotian recognized a resemblance between a newly arrived, heavyset woman and Xiangqin, then chose her to join him.

Hu Xiaotian chose Xiangqin, disguised as a fat girl, at Xue Shengjing’s gathering and turned the evening into a loud finger-guessing contest. Their game was interrupted when an angry burly man arrived to confront them.

• Hu Xiaotian chose the veiled fat girl, while Xue Shengjing and the others revealed the faces of the four beauties.
• The fat girl removed her veil, revealing Xiangqin, and Hu Xiaotian suspected she was connected to Xi Yan and the Five Immortals Cult.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xiangqin began a boisterous finger-guessing drinking game, drawing everyone’s attention and trading wins.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xiangqin agreed that the loser of their deciding match would drink a whole jar of wine.
• A burly man in luxurious clothes arrived with four subordinates to complain about the noise, and Xiangqin insulted him for interrupting her game.

Xiangqin defeated Yang Yuanjie and his four retainers, then faced Wanyan Tianyue in an arm-wrestling contest. As the chapter ended, Xiangqin was forcing Wanyan’s hand toward the table while Hu Xiaotian and the others watched their wagers hang in the balance.

• Yang Yuanjie attacked Xiangqin, but she punched him into the flower beds.
• Yang Yuanjie’s four retainers rushed Xiangqin, and she knocked each of them away with one punch.
• Hu Xiaotian urged Xiangqin and Wanyan Tianyue to compete in arm wrestling, and they wagered wine on the result.
• Huo Ge and Hong Yingtai bet on Wanyan, while Xue Shengjing and Hu Xiaotian backed Xiangqin.
• Xiangqin resisted Wanyan’s strength and began pressing his hand down, leaving Huo Ge to regret his bet.

Hu Xiaotian and Xiangqin turned a wager into a victory over Hu Xiaotian’s rivals, but Feng Xianlin arrived seeking justice for Yang Yuanjie and Xiangqin drew Hu into a confrontation. Hu challenged Feng to a sword fight and launched the first strike, leaving their duel underway.

• Xiangqin deliberately let Wanyan Tianyue win their arm-wrestling match, and Hu Xiaotian and Xue Shengjing accepted their drinking wagers.
• Hu Xiaotian, Xue Shengjing, and Huo Ge drank together before Feng Xianlin entered the garden and demanded to know who had injured Yang Yuanjie.
• Xiangqin hid behind Hu Xiaotian and pleaded for protection, so Hu stood between her and Feng while Xue Shengjing advised everyone else not to intervene.
• After Xue Shengjing identified Feng as the Heart-Piercing Sword of the Sword Palace, Hu insulted him and challenged him to fight.
• Hu and Feng drew their swords, and Hu attacked with Spirit Snake Pierces the Heart before Feng had finished drawing his blade.

Hu Xiaotian fought Feng Xianlin at the Many Fragrances House, where Xiangqin revealed her strength and defeated Feng when he attacked her. After Feng fled, Xiangqin secretly arranged to meet Hu Xiaotian at midnight, but Yang Yuanjie returned with over a hundred soldiers to arrest them.

• Hu Xiaotian sparred with Feng Xianlin, who used the Wind-Chasing Sword Technique to force him onto the Pavilion and into a chase among the flowering shrubs.
• Feng Xianlin feinted and thrust at Xiangqin, but she caught his sword, struck him down, and snapped the blade in two.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered Feng Xianlin to leave, and Feng limped away as the spectators cheered.
• Xiangqin ignored Xue Shengjing and Hu Xiaotian, then told Hu to meet her at Maple Grove Bridge by Flower-Washing Creek at midnight.
• Yang Yuanjie returned with more than a hundred soldiers and surrounded the Many Fragrances House to arrest Hu Xiaotian and the others.

After Xue Shengjing failed to persuade Hu Xiaotian to join Great Yong, Hu Xiaotian returned to Flower-Washing Creek to meet Xi Yan and seek answers about the schemes surrounding him. He waited beneath Maple Grove Bridge as lotus lanterns drifted downstream.

• The warriors left the Many Fragrances House, and Huo Ge, Wanyan Tianyue, and Hong Yingtai departed after the disturbance.
• In Xue Shengjing’s carriage, Xue Shengjing praised Hu Xiaotian’s sword skills and claimed Li Tianheng had agreed to ally with Great Yong.
• Xue Shengjing urged Hu Xiaotian to abandon Great Kang, but Hu Xiaotian rejected his offer.
• Xue Shengjing took Hu Xiaotian to the Xuanning Post Station, and Hu Xiaotian later went out to meet Xi Yan at Maple Grove Bridge.
• Hu Xiaotian reflected on the deception surrounding the Soul-Calming Pearl and waited as lotus lanterns floated down Flower-Washing Creek.

Hu Xiaotian met Xi Yan beside Flower-Washing Creek, where she confronted him over their marriage and attacked him. As he escaped her poisoned bees and underwater snakes, a mysterious armored man ambushed him and knocked him beneath the water.

• Hu Xiaotian found Xi Yan releasing lotus lanterns and traded barbed remarks with her about their past and his engagement to another woman.
• Xi Yan accused Hu Xiaotian of betraying their marriage, threatened to kill him and harm the women in his life, then attacked him beside the creek.
• Hu Xiaotian dodged Xi Yan's strikes and fled across the lotus lanterns as she sent poisonous bees after him.
• Hu Xiaotian dived underwater to escape the bees, but encountered water snakes and fought his way toward the bank.
• A blinding flash preceded an armored man leaping from a weeping willow and punching Hu Xiaotian back underwater, while Xi Yan cried out a warning.

Hu Xiaotian and Xi Yan fought off a Black-Armored Warrior who attacked them at Flower-Washing Creek, but he escaped after losing his armor and weapon. Xi Yan identified the Seven-Layer Phosphor Armor as a possible link to the Heavenly Secrets Bureau, and Hu Xiaotian began considering who had sent the assassin.

• The Black-Armored Warrior punched Hu Xiaotian into the river, where Hu fought off water snakes and counterattacked with the Water Drill.
• Hu Xiaotian used the Water-Splitting Trident and Formless Sword Qi to sever the Iron-Bone Steel Whip and wound the Black-Armored Warrior's shoulder.
• Xi Yan extinguished the phosphor flames on Hu Xiaotian and pulled the abandoned armor from the bank, but the Black-Armored Warrior escaped.
• Xi Yan said the Seven-Layer Phosphor Armor was made by the Heavenly Secrets Bureau, and Hu Xiaotian wondered whether Hong Beimo had ordered the attack.
• Hu Xiaotian accused Xi Yan of arranging the ambush to turn him against Hong Beimo, but she denied it and pointed out that the armor's craftsmanship could identify its maker.

Hu Xiaotian questioned Xi Yan about the plot against him and learned why his death would benefit those seeking to force Western Sichuan back into Great Kang. Xi Yan warned him to leave Western Prefecture, while Li Tianheng learned of a rebellion planned for his birthday and moved to secure Yang Haoran’s loyalty.

• Hu Xiaotian challenged Xi Yan over the assassin and suspected her of serving Western Sichuan’s interests, while she explained that his death would make Li Tianheng answer to Great Kang.
• Hu Xiaotian accused Xi Yan of plotting against Huo Shengnan and stirring conflict between kingdoms, and the two exchanged insults before Xi Yan warned him to leave Western Prefecture.
• Yang Haoran told Li Tianheng that Lin Zefeng and Zhao Yanjiang planned to rebel on his birthday, capture him, and return Western Sichuan to Great Kang.
• Li Tianheng ordered Yang Haoran to conceal that the plot had been discovered and adopted him as his son, promising him Lin Zefeng’s position.
• Li Tianheng summoned Zhang Ziqian, who recognized the rebellion as the internal upheaval he had feared.

Li Tianheng took Zhang Ziqian’s advice and decided to arrest the generals plotting against him, while Hu Xiaotian learned that the roundup had begun. Xue Lingjun warned Hu that the rebellion might involve him, leaving him to wonder what connection she had uncovered.

• Zhang Ziqian urged Li Tianheng to act swiftly against Lin Zefeng and Zhao Yanjiang and use the Prince of Zhou to justify a campaign against the current ruler.
• Li Tianheng decided to arrest the rebel generals that night rather than wait to identify all their accomplices.
• Hu Xiaotian woke at the Post Station and learned from Xiong Tianba and Tang Tiexin that soldiers had filled Western Prefecture and arrested more than ten generals.
• Xiong Tianba admired the armor Hu Xiaotian had found, and Hu let him keep it despite its missing breastplate.
• Xue Lingjun visited Hu Xiaotian, flirted with him, and told him that Lin Zefeng and Zhao Yanjiang’s failed rebellion might have something to do with him.

Xue Lingjun warned Hu Xiaotian that Li Tianheng was arresting officers who wanted to return to Great Kang, and they witnessed prisoners publicly denounce him. Meanwhile, Li Tianheng pressured Long Yefang to become a puppet emperor and demanded an answer before noon on his birthday, leaving Great Kang’s political crisis poised to worsen.

• Xue Lingjun told Hu Xiaotian that Li Tianheng was moving against officers who planned to return to Great Kang, and Hu thanked her for the warning.
• Hu Xiaotian accompanied Xue Lingjun toward Western Mountain, and they saw Li Honghan escort five arrested officers through the city in prison carts.
• One prisoner denounced Li Tianheng as a traitor before an armored warrior beat him and Li Honghan ordered the prisoners gagged.
• Li Tianheng gave Long Yefang Zhang Ziqian’s punitive proclamation and urged him to claim the Great Kang throne.
• Long Yefang refused to rebel against his father, but Li Tianheng threatened him and demanded a definite answer before noon the next day.

Hu Xiaotian and Xue Lingjun visited Great Buddha Rock, where two monks poisoned their tea and revealed a grudge tied to Orchid Temple. Hu Xiaotian killed the sweeping monk and crippled Wu Ning, who claimed only the young master had the antidote to the Mandarin Duck Ecstasy Powder.

• Xue Lingjun prayed at Guanyin Pavilion, then continued with Hu Xiaotian to Great Buddha Rock and donated fifty thousand taels for repairs to the reclining Buddha.
• Wu Ning welcomed Xue Lingjun and Hu Xiaotian for tea while the sweeping monk avoided Hu Xiaotian, making him suspect something was wrong.
• After Xue Lingjun collapsed from poisoned tea, Hu Xiaotian pretended to lose consciousness and heard the sweeping monk accuse him of killing his master and fellow disciples at Orchid Temple.
• Hu Xiaotian broke the sweeping monk's wrist and killed him with his own dagger, then deflected Wu Ning's poisonous ash and crushed his leg.
• Wu Ning admitted that the tea contained Mandarin Duck Ecstasy Powder and said only the young master had its antidote, prompting Hu Xiaotian to break Wu Ning's other leg.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Yan Boguang was staying at Azure Cloud Manor and set out with the drugged Eldest Princess Xue Lingjun to find an antidote. As the aphrodisiac grew stronger, Hu Xiaotian knocked Xue Lingjun unconscious to stop her from losing control, and they continued toward the manor.

• Hu Xiaotian learned from Wu Ning that Yan Boguang was staying at Azure Cloud Manor, then broke Wu Ning’s left leg and right arm before leaving him behind.
• Hu Xiaotian carried Xue Lingjun to a stream and used cold water and a Blood-Cleansing Pill to help her regain some clarity.
• Hu Xiaotian carried Xue Lingjun to their horses and rode toward Azure Cloud Manor, while the aphrodisiac repeatedly overcame her.
• Xue Lingjun bit Hu Xiaotian’s neck and pleaded with him as the drug intensified, but he refused to take advantage of her.
• When Xue Lingjun threatened to use his own rod to knock him on the head, Hu Xiaotian punched her unconscious and laid her facedown across the horse.

Hu Xiaotian infiltrated Azure Cloud Manor with the unconscious Xue Lingjun and discovered that women were being held in a cellar. He enlisted his conflicted cousin Hu Jinniu to find Yan Boguang, who had the antidote for his poisoned friend, and waited for Hu Jinniu to return.

• Hu Xiaotian entered Azure Cloud Manor by scaling a rear wall while carrying Xue Lingjun, then hid when he spotted Hu Jinniu and servants approaching a courtyard.
• Hu Xiaotian saw that women were imprisoned in a cellar and overheard Hu Jinniu express pity for them before Qu Guangbai ordered him to keep the young lady from learning about them.
• After Qu Guangbai left, Hu Xiaotian confronted Hu Jinniu and reminded him that they were cousins descended from the Duke of Jing of Great Kang.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Hu Jinniu to lead him to Yan Boguang for an antidote, and offered to help Hu Jinniu and his family leave Heavenly Wolf Mountain for Kang Capital.
• Hu Jinniu warned Hu Xiaotian that four great experts protected the young stronghold chief, then agreed to investigate Yan Boguang while Hu Xiaotian waited in the courtyard.

Hu Xiaotian entered Azure Cloud Manor with the drugged Xue Lingjun and confronted Yan Nujiao, who agreed to investigate her brother’s possible crimes. She hid Hu Xiaotian when Yan Boguang returned, but her questions about the locked Northern Courtyard made him suspect she had discovered his secret.

• Hu Jinniu told Hu Xiaotian that Yan Nujiao had arrived at Azure Cloud Manor and revealed where she was staying.
• Hu Xiaotian entered Yan Nujiao’s courtyard carrying Xue Lingjun and explained that she had been drugged and that Yan Boguang had the antidote.
• Yan Nujiao suspected her second brother was responsible, and Hu Xiaotian told her to inspect the Northern Courtyard’s cellar, where women were being held.
• When Yan Boguang returned, Yan Nujiao hid Hu Xiaotian in a wardrobe before greeting her brother.
• Yan Nujiao asked Yan Boguang about the locked northern courtyard, and he feared she had discovered that he had abducted women.