Chapter Summaries

Yan Nujiao confronted her brother Yan Boguang over abducting women, while Hu Xiaotian hid nearby with Xue Lingjun. A mysterious swordsman and his men exposed the siblings’ identities and slaughtered Azure Cloud Manor’s defenders, leaving Yan Nujiao at his mercy.

• Yan Nujiao accused Yan Boguang of abducting women and demanded the antidote to the Mandarin Duck Ecstasy Powder, but he denied using it.
• Government officials arrived at Azure Cloud Manor, and Yan Boguang found Hu Xiaotian hiding in a wardrobe and was knocked unconscious.
• The lead official revealed that Yan Nujiao, Yan Boguang, and their companions were from Heavenly Wolf Mountain, prompting Yan Nujiao to prepare to defend the manor.
• Four black-cloaked swordsmen killed the archers, while the lead swordsman killed eight Azure Cloud Manor experts with one stroke.
• Qu Guangbai fled, but the lead swordsman cut him in half from afar, then stopped Yan Nujiao’s dagger attack with his saber at her throat.

Hu Xiaotian faced Feng Xingyun, the Blade Demon, who had come to avenge Wen Boyuan, while Yan Nujiao, Yan Boguang, and Xue Lingjun remained trapped at Azure Cloud Manor. Hu Xiaotian tried to create an escape route for them, but his attack on Feng Xingyun continued in midair.

• Feng Xingyun threatened Yan Nujiao to force Hu Xiaotian out, and Hu Xiaotian emerged while carrying the unconscious Xue Lingjun.
• Hu Xiaotian recognized Feng Xingyun as the Blade Demon after Feng Xingyun said he had come to seek justice for Wen Boyuan.
• Hu Xiaotian and Feng Xingyun exchanged blows, but Feng Xingyun easily countered Hu Xiaotian’s seven sword thrusts.
• Hu Xiaotian urged Yan Nujiao to take the others to safety, then darted toward Feng Xingyun’s saber wielder in the southwest corner.
• Hu Xiaotian used Myriad Snakes Dance to drive back Feng Xingyun’s four subordinates, but Feng Xingyun swept away the sword shadows with a precise slash.
• Hu Xiaotian used the force of Feng Xingyun’s slash to rise again and thrust Venomous Snake Spits Its Tongue toward Feng Xingyun’s right eye.

Hu Xiaotian was driven to the brink by Feng Xingyun’s overwhelming blade energy, but sudden understanding let him use the Void Art to gather rain into a weapon and block Feng Xingyun’s strongest strike. He then launched a water sphere at Feng Xingyun, who charged in to meet it with his saber.

• Yan Nujiao and Yan Boguang carried Xue Mingjun into the rooms while Hu Xiaotian fought Feng Xingyun and held the five attackers’ attention.
• Feng Xingyun exposed Hu Xiaotian’s use of the Void Art, then ordered his men to slaughter the fleeing warriors of Azure Cloud Manor.
• Feng Xingyun’s blade energy cut through three rooms, leaving Hu Xiaotian fearing that Yan Nujiao, Yan Boguang, and Xue Lingjun had been buried inside.
• Feng Xingyun severed Hu Xiaotian’s Flexible Sword and closed in with a powerful downward strike.
• Hu Xiaotian formed a huge transparent sword from rainwater and used it to block Feng Xingyun’s attack.
• Hu Xiaotian shaped the rain into a spinning water sphere and sent it toward Feng Xingyun, who plunged at it with his saber.

Hu Xiaotian defeated Feng Xingyun’s final attacks long enough to escape into the tunnels beneath Azure Cloud Manor with Yan Nujiao and the unconscious Xue Lingjun. As they searched for a way out, they found Yan Boguang’s abducted women missing, and Yan Boguang offered to explain how to save Xue Lingjun.

• Hu Xiaotian used rain as a weapon against Feng Xingyun, caught the thrown Delicate-Brow Saber, and escaped into the ruins with Yan Nujiao.
• Feng Xingyun found the escapees gone and ordered his disciples to search the ruins.
• Below Azure Cloud Manor, Hu Xiaotian confronted Yan Boguang, learned Xue Lingjun had not been poisoned with Mandarin Duck Ecstasy Powder, and demanded that Yan Boguang lead them out.
• Hu Xiaotian forced Yan Boguang to take them to the cellar where he had kept abducted women, but they found it empty.
• Yan Nujiao urged them to work together to leave Azure Cloud Manor, and Yan Boguang offered to tell Hu Xiaotian how to save Xue Lingjun.

Hu Xiaotian and the others escaped Azure Cloud Manor through its secret passage, but their attempt to hide was interrupted by a poisoned river and a swarm of spiders. Hu Xiaotian carried Xue Lingjun and Yan Nujiao across the river while he hurled Yan Boguang ahead of them.

• Hu Xiaotian punched Yan Boguang after he suggested taking advantage of Xue Lingjun, then the three led her through the secret passage and surfaced by the Li River as Azure Cloud Manor burned.
• Hu Xiaotian had Yan Nujiao unseal Xue Lingjun's acupoints, and Yan Nujiao killed a centipede clinging to Xue Lingjun's arm.
• Hu Xiaotian forced Yan Boguang to relieve himself in the woods and learned that Yan Boguang blamed Qu Guangbai for abducting women and claimed he could no longer perform in bed.
• Xue Lingjun touched the blood-red river and became poisoned, while dead fish and a swarm of spiders approached the group.
• Yan Nujiao warned that the river was poisoned, so Hu Xiaotian flung Yan Boguang across it and leaped over with Xue Lingjun and Yan Nujiao.

Hu Xiaotian and Yan Nujiao treated Xue Lingjun’s River Red poisoning, then discovered that Du Tianhuo had trapped them beside the river with blue flames. Yan Nujiao explained why the Mottled Sect was pursuing her, and Hu Xiaotian led the group downstream to confront their attacker.

• Yan Nujiao used leeches and medicine to draw River Red poison from Xue Lingjun and stabilize her.
• Yan Nujiao recognized the Mottled Sect’s poison and warned that its people might be nearby.
• Du Tianhuo’s blue flames spread through the woods, cutting off the group’s escape routes.
• Yan Nujiao revealed that Du Tianhuo sought revenge because she had killed his son after he tried to assault her.
• Yan Nujiao asked Hu Xiaotian to save Yan Boguang if she died, and Yan Boguang vowed not to abandon her.
• Hu Xiaotian chose to lead the group downstream, and Yan Nujiao and Yan Boguang followed him.

Hu Xiaotian and his companions fled through the burning forest, but Du Tianhuo’s fighters ambushed them at the river. Hu Xiaotian rescued Yan Nujiao from the attack and faced four masked whip-wielders, whom Yan Nujiao identified as disciples of Du Tianhuo.

• Hu Xiaotian killed a burning attacker, took his Flame-Repelling Cloak and boots, and returned to the cave with Yan Nujiao.
• Hu Xiaotian led Xue Lingjun, Yan Nujiao, and Yan Boguang downstream and helped them cross the river, where flaming whips attacked.
• Hu Xiaotian pulled Yan Boguang out of a whip’s path and flung Yan Nujiao safely to the opposite bank.
• Yan Nujiao threw Phosphorus Fire Bombs into the river, forcing four silver-armored whip fighters to emerge.
• Yan Nujiao told Hu Xiaotian the fighters were among Du Tianhuo’s five great disciples, and Hu Xiaotian declared he would kill them.

Hu Xiaotian killed four ambushers while escorting Xue Lingjun and Yan Nujiao, but a pursuing mass of fire drove them into Solitary Mountain Temple. They were trapped by the flames as Feng Xingyun arrived, and Hu Xiaotian faced him while Water and Fire Without Mercy Du Tianhuo remained unaccounted for.

• Hu Xiaotian and Yan Nujiao killed the four men who ambushed them, and Yan Boguang followed them as they continued toward Liang Family Village.
• Xue Lingjun fired a Five-Colored Cloud-Piercing Arrow to summon reinforcements, while Hu Xiaotian suspected Du Tianhuo was nearby watching them.
• A swarm of glowing flames gathered into a giant fireball and pursued the group toward Solitary Mountain Temple.
• Hu Xiaotian shattered the fireball with a boulder, but its fragments swept toward them, so he helped the others into the temple before the flames engulfed its courtyard walls.
• Feng Xingyun appeared atop the Hall of Great Strength, and Hu Xiaotian confronted him while holding Feng Xingyun's Delicate-Brow Saber.

Hu Xiaotian fought Feng Xingyun at Solitary Mountain Temple, where Feng Xingyun advanced his saber skill but fled after Hu Xiaotian turned fireflies against him. Hu Xiaotian then faced Du Tianhuo, who hurled a flaming bronze bell at him, and strode forward to fight.

• Hu Xiaotian sent Yan Nujiao to protect the princess while he confronted Feng Xingyun.
• Feng Xingyun used a falling bronze bell to restrict Hu Xiaotian’s movements and unleashed powerful invisible blade energy.
• Hu Xiaotian gathered firefly light into a saber and sent it against Feng Xingyun, whose weapon caught fire and forced him to flee toward the back courtyard.
• Du Tianhuo emerged from the burning temple ruins, identified Hu Xiaotian as the killer of his junior brother and sister, and attacked him with a flaming bronze bell.
• Hu Xiaotian dodged the bell and advanced toward Du Tianhuo with the Delicate-Brow Saber.

Xue Lingjun escaped Solitary Mountain Temple on a snow eagle, leaving Yan Boguang and Yan Nujiao behind as Miao Yinghong ambushed them. Miao trapped the siblings in a dry well and poisoned them with Sevenfold Peach Blossom Rain, leaving them facing death or the poison’s effects.

• Yan Boguang urged everyone to flee through the back gate, but a snow eagle arrived and carried Xue Lingjun away alone.
• Yan Boguang tried to leave, but Miao Yinghong struck him and attacked him and Yan Nujiao, seeking revenge for her son.
• The siblings fought back and drove Miao Yinghong toward a courtyard wall, but she lured them into a hidden dry well.
• Miao Yinghong released Sevenfold Peach Blossom Rain into the well and said the siblings would die unless its effects were dispelled within six hours.
• Yan Nujiao tried to kill herself, but Miao Yinghong’s whip knocked away her scimitar, while Yan Boguang refused to give up hope.

Hu Xiaotian defeated Du Tianhuo and Miao Yinghong, then found Yan Nujiao and Yan Boguang trapped in a well and poisoned with Sevenfold Peach Blossom Rain. Yan Nujiao asked him to save her from the poison, leaving him facing a desperate choice.

• Hu Xiaotian used the Void Art to turn Du Tianhuo's drifting flames against him and killed him with a powerful saber strike.
• Miao Yinghong rushed at Hu Xiaotian after Du Tianhuo died, and Hu Xiaotian killed her while avoiding most of her poisonous blood.
• Hu Xiaotian heard a scream and found Yan Nujiao and Yan Boguang in a dry well, where Yan Boguang was trying to attack her.
• Hu Xiaotian knocked Yan Boguang unconscious and learned that both siblings had been poisoned with Sevenfold Peach Blossom Rain.
• Yan Nujiao explained that she could not prepare an antidote in time and pleaded with Hu Xiaotian to save her.

Hu Xiaotian and Yan Nujiao escaped death in the dry well, and Yan Nujiao treated Yan Boguang’s poisoning. Afterward, she insisted they keep their encounter secret, while Hu Xiaotian waited beneath the eaves as rain fell and reflected on Xue Lingjun’s failure to return.

• Hu Xiaotian agreed to save Yan Nujiao, and she used a gold needle to keep Yan Boguang unconscious while they were in the dry well.
• Yan Boguang woke in the meditation room with his clothes intact and gold needles in his body; Yan Nujiao said Hu Xiaotian had saved their lives.
• Yan Nujiao gave Yan Boguang herbal medicine, then struck his acupoints to make him unconscious again; she told Hu Xiaotian the poison was no longer life-threatening.
• Hu Xiaotian apologized to Yan Nujiao for being rough, and she asked him never to mention their encounter or take responsibility for it.
• Hu Xiaotian and Yan Nujiao waited beneath the eaves in the rain; she said Xue Lingjun had been rescued by someone riding a Snow Eagle, and Hu Xiaotian said he did not rely on others.

Hu Xiaotian returned to the Western Prefecture with Yan Nujiao and Yan Boguang after surviving an assassination attempt and escaping the burning Azure Cloud Manor. He and his advisors concluded that Long Xuan'en had sent him as a political pretext to eliminate Li Tianheng, and Hu Xiaotian privately resolved to abandon his loyalty to Great Kang’s court.

• Xiong Tianba, Liang Yinghao, and Tang Tiexin found Hu Xiaotian at the Solitary Mountain Temple after Little Gray led them there, and Hu Xiaotian agreed to take Yan Nujiao and the injured Yan Boguang back to the city.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to the Post Station, where Yang Lingqi reported continuing arrests and Liang Yinghao warned that suspicious people were watching them.
• Hu Xiaotian, Yang Lingqi, and Liang Yinghao reasoned that Long Xuan'en intended to use Hu Xiaotian’s death as grounds to turn Western Sichuan against Li Tianheng and pave the way for its return to Great Kang.
• Liang Yinghao urged Hu Xiaotian to rebel against the Imperial Court, but Hu Xiaotian restrained him aloud while privately rejecting Long Xuan'en and Great Kang’s court.

Hu Xiaotian met Li Tianheng privately on the day of the Marshal’s birthday banquet, using a letter from his father to appeal to their family ties. He warned Li Tianheng that assassins had targeted him and Xue Lingjun, and that someone might use the celebration to cause chaos.

• Hong Beimo received a message by falcon and reacted with sudden alarm.
• Hu Xiaotian went to Li Tianheng’s birthday banquet with Liang Yinghao, but Li Tianheng summoned him alone.
• Hu Xiaotian presented Li Tianheng with a letter from Hu Buwei, and Li Tianheng invited him to sit and spoke warmly of his father.
• Hu Xiaotian told Li Tianheng that he had survived several assassination attempts in Western Prefecture.
• Hu Xiaotian revealed that Xue Lingjun was also in Western Prefecture and warned that someone might attack important guests during the birthday celebration.

Li Tianheng received Hu Xiaotian’s account of the schemes in Western Prefecture and examined the emperor’s edict naming him a Non-Imperial Surname King, but withheld his answer. He then sent Hu Xiaotian to meet Li Wuyou, his former fiancée, at the Marshal’s Residence.

• Li Tianheng questioned Hu Xiaotian about his enemies and heard him explain why he had ended his engagement to Li Wuyou.
• Hu Xiaotian presented the emperor’s edict, and Li Tianheng read it without kneeling and kept it without deciding whether to accept the title.
• Li Tianheng told Hu Xiaotian to keep the edict secret and said Li Wuyou wanted to see him.
• Qiu Yuanchang escorted Hu Xiaotian to the rear garden and told him about Li Wuyou’s paralysis and virtues.
• Hu Xiaotian approached the garden to meet Li Wuyou, feeling awkward and guilty about their broken engagement.

Hu Xiaotian met his former fiancée, Li Wuyou, and learned that she had never wanted to marry him either. He returned to Li Tianheng’s birthday banquet, where Great Yong’s guests and other political figures gathered, leaving his mission to secure Western Sichuan’s return to Great Kang unresolved.

• Qiu Yuanchang brought Hu Xiaotian to meet Li Wuyou, who told him she had wanted to see him and had never wanted to marry.
• Hu Xiaotian explained that he had broken their betrothal to protect the Hu Family, and Li Wuyou said she was not angry.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to the banquet and told Liang Yinghao they would talk later about his meeting with Li Wuyou.
• Xue Shengjing and Xue Lingjun arrived, and Hu Xiaotian exchanged greetings with Hong Yingtai.
• Li Tianheng entered the banquet alongside Long Yefang, while Hu Xiaotian wondered whether Li Tianheng would agree to return Western Sichuan to Great Kang.

At Li Tianheng’s fiftieth-birthday banquet, the Prince of Zhou accused Great Kang’s court of corruption and declared that the emperor was under the control of treacherous ministers. Li Tianheng used the upheaval to break with Great Kang and detain Hu Xiaotian and Liang Yinghao, leaving their fate uncertain.

• Li Tianheng welcomed the guests and invited the Prince of Zhou to speak at his birthday banquet.
• The Prince of Zhou denounced the usurpation and corruption at court, then claimed the imperial decree naming Li Tianheng a king was forged and revealed a secret edict about the emperor’s captivity.
• Li Tianheng declared that he and the Prince of Zhou would restore Great Kang, while accusing Hong Beimo and his allies of controlling the court.
• Hu Xiaotian realized Li Tianheng had turned against him and tried to leave, but Li Honghan and his warriors blocked his way.
• Li Honghan’s men bound Hu Xiaotian and Liang Yinghao and took them away, while Hu Xiaotian told Liang Yinghao to wait and see how events unfolded.

Hu Xiaotian escaped with Liang Yinghao, then returned in disguise to uncover that the Prince of Zhou was Xi Yan in disguise. He confronted her about her work for Li Tianheng, but she concealed what had happened to the real prince and continued to tease him.

• Hu Xiaotian slipped free of his ropes and helped Liang Yinghao escape through a chimney, then sent him to warn their people while he stayed behind to investigate Li Tianheng.
• Hu Xiaotian disguised himself as a servant and followed the Prince of Zhou from the birthday banquet to a building in the Marshal's Residence.
• Hu Xiaotian watched the Prince of Zhou remove his disguise and discovered that the person beneath it was Xi Yan.
• Xi Yan attacked Hu Xiaotian with a throwing knife, then revealed a poisoned needle when she pretended to embrace him.
• Hu Xiaotian disarmed Xi Yan and demanded to know where the Prince of Zhou was, but she said she did not know and teased him about sparing her life.

Hu Xiaotian escaped the chaotic Marshal's Residence after an assassin fled, then met Liang Yinghao and learned his companions had relocated safely. As troops tightened their grip on Western Prefecture, he went to seek information while Xue Shengjing and Xue Lingjun speculated about the attack and Hu Xiaotian's danger.

• An assassin escaped the Marshal's Residence on a Snow Eagle after Xi Yan's needles failed to stop him, and Li Honghan rushed for a physician as Zhang Ziqian ordered the exits sealed.
• Hu Xiaotian slipped out with the departing guests and avoided returning to the Xuanning Post Station, fearing Li Tianheng would target his companions.
• Hu Xiaotian met Liang Yinghao at the Many Fragrances House and learned that Miss Yan had moved their men to a residence on Sunny Street.
• Hu Xiaotian told Liang Yinghao that an assassination had occurred, then decided to visit the Great Yong Mission's post station for information.
• Xue Shengjing and Xue Lingjun discussed whether Li Tianheng had staged the attack, and Xue Lingjun worried Hu Xiaotian would be blamed.
• Xue Shengjing taunted Xue Lingjun about Hu Xiaotian's weaknesses, and she withdrew while he watched her with a venomous look.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Xue Lingjun in her bath and questioned her about the attack at Li Tianheng’s birthday banquet. Xue Lingjun described the assassin’s escape, and Hu Xiaotian suspected Li Tianheng had staged the attack.

• Xue Lingjun recognized the disguised Hu Xiaotian and denied arranging the events that had brought them together.
• Hu Xiaotian pressed Xue Lingjun about the birthday banquet, while provoking her by revealing he knew the secret behind rumors that she brought death to her husbands.
• Xue Lingjun explained that Long Xuan'en had made Hu Xiaotian imperial son-in-law to get him killed in Western Sichuan, while Li Tianheng also wanted him dead to blame him for the rebellion.
• Xue Lingjun said an assassin had attacked Li Tianheng, escaped the hall, and flown away on a snow eagle.
• Hu Xiaotian wondered whether Li Tianheng had staged the attack as a smokescreen.