Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian followed Huo Ge to a private meeting with Xue Shengjing, where Huo Ge offered Visa as a gift and discussed the political situation. Hu Xiaotian recognized Visa and learned that Huo Ge had brought her back into danger, while Xue Shengjing questioned Huo Ge’s motives regarding Western Sichuan and Great Yong.

• Xue Lingjun offered to help Hu Xiaotian leave Western Prefecture, but he teased her, escaped through her window, and overheard her muttering afterward.
• Hu Xiaotian saw Guo Zhenhai escort Huo Ge and two companions to meet Xue Shengjing, then secretly followed them.
• Huo Ge presented Visa to Xue Shengjing, who accepted her and ordered Guo Zhenhai to take her to his bedchamber.
• Hu Xiaotian recognized Visa as the woman Long Yefang had once given him and was shocked that she had fallen into Huo Ge’s hands.
• Huo Ge called Xue Shengjing his brother, apologized on behalf of his in-laws, and said he had not seen Li Tianheng since the birthday banquet.
• Xue Shengjing asked about rumors of an alliance between Great Yong and Western Sichuan, while privately suspecting Huo Ge had come with ulterior motives.

Huo Ge and Xue Shengjing secretly agreed that Shajia and Great Yong would divide their future conquests, with Shajia claiming Southern Yue and Yulan. After overhearing them, Hu Xiaotian hurried to rescue Visa from Xue Shengjing’s quarters.

• Huo Ge hinted that Shajia could attack Yulan if Black Hu moved against Great Yong, and Xue Shengjing recognized the opportunity for an alliance.
• Huo Ge proposed that Great Yong take the Central Plains while Shajia took Southern Yue and Yulan, and he and Xue Shengjing sealed their agreement.
• Huo Ge and Xue Shengjing agreed to keep their plan secret.
• Hu Xiaotian overheard the alliance talk, then slipped away to rescue Visa from Xue Shengjing’s bedchamber.
• Hu Xiaotian reached the building where Xue Shengjing slept and heard two Golden Scale Guards discussing the foreign girl inside.

Hu Xiaotian tried to rescue Visa from the Golden Scale Guards, but her scream exposed him and a Shajia warrior’s Soul-Seizing Art left him vulnerable. He escaped with Visa by taking Xue Lingjun hostage, while Xue Shengjing halted the pursuit and Huo Ge promised to search for the Eldest Princess.

• Hu Xiaotian reached Visa’s room and tried to carry her away, but Visa screamed and alerted the Golden Scale Guards.
• A Shajia warrior used the Soul-Seizing Art to disrupt Hu Xiaotian, and Guo Zhenhai struck him hard enough to break two ribs.
• Hu Xiaotian fled into Xue Lingjun’s courtyard, where Xue Lingjun offered to become his hostage and help him escape.
• Hu Xiaotian knocked Visa unconscious, held Xue Lingjun at knifepoint, and forced Xue Shengjing’s men to provide a carriage and clear a path.
• Xue Shengjing stopped Guo Zhenhai from pursuing the carriage, and Huo Ge offered to mobilize resources to find and rescue Xue Lingjun.

Hu Xiaotian reunited with his companions after rescuing Visa and told Yang Lingqi about the plots involving Shajia, Great Yong, and Li Tianheng. Visa awoke under the influence of the Soul-Seizing Art, and Yan Nujiao offered to try to free her.

• Hu Xiaotian returned to the Heavenly Wolf Mountain Horse Bandits' hideout with Visa and found Yan Boguang and his companions staying in a nearby courtyard.
• Hu Xiaotian told Yang Lingqi that Shajia was seeking an alliance with Great Yong and explained the schemes surrounding Li Tianheng and the false Prince of Zhou.
• Hu Xiaotian decided that the group should return to Great Kang, then let Yan Nujiao treat his broken ribs with a medicinal plaster.
• Visa woke in terror and threw a vase at Xiong Tianba before Hu Xiaotian tried to calm her.
• Yan Nujiao struck Visa's acupoints and explained that the Soul-Seizing Art had taken control of her mind, then offered to try to break its hold.

Hu Xiaotian prepared to leave Western Prefecture with his allies, then confronted Zhang Ziqian about Li Tianheng’s rebellion and the Imperial Court’s kill order. Zhang defended Li Tianheng’s break with Great Kang, and Hu Xiaotian ended by asking where the Prince of Zhou was.

• Yan Nujiao told Hu Xiaotian that the woman he had helped save was still asleep but should recover when she woke.
• Hu Xiaotian reunited with Hu Jinniu and cautioned Xiong Tianba against provoking Yan Boguang and his horse bandits.
• Liang Yinghao and Tang Tiexin reported that Western Sichuan’s authorities had imposed no major manhunt, so Hu Xiaotian ordered preparations to leave and assigned his men to watch the horse bandits.
• Hu Xiaotian entered Zhang Ziqian’s study and challenged him about Li Tianheng’s rebellion and his role in Western Sichuan.
• Zhang Ziqian revealed that the Imperial Court had ordered Hu Xiaotian’s party killed and argued that Li Tianheng had broken with Great Kang to protect Western Sichuan’s people.
• Hu Xiaotian rejected Zhang Ziqian’s defense of Li Tianheng and asked where the Prince of Zhou was.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Xiangqin at Zhang Ziqian’s residence, then met Xi Yan at the Many Fragrances House after she used Zhou Wenju to pressure him. Xi Yan revealed that Zhou Wenju had been summoned to treat an injured person whose life depended on him, leaving Hu Xiaotian suspecting that person was Li Tianheng.

• Xiangqin interrupted Hu Xiaotian and Zhang Ziqian, threatened Hu Xiaotian with Zhou Wenju’s safety, and explained the ties between the Five Immortals Cult, the Huan Cai Pavilion, the Many Fragrances House, and Li Tianheng.
• Xiangqin attacked Hu Xiaotian in Zhang Ziqian’s study, but he evaded her and provoked her into wrecking the room.
• Hu Xiaotian agreed to meet Xi Yan at the Many Fragrances House in two hours, then escaped through the study window.
• Hu Xiaotian met Xi Yan in the Many Fragrances House’s rear garden, where she said he could leave but might regret it.
• Xi Yan told Hu Xiaotian that Zhou Wenju had been called to save an injured person and would die if he failed, leading Hu Xiaotian to suspect the patient was Li Tianheng.

Hu Xiaotian examined the poisoned and gravely wounded Long Yefang, then met Li Tianheng, who revealed that he and Hu Xiaotian’s father had planned to break Western Sichuan away from Great Kang. The revelation left Hu Xiaotian questioning how much his father had hidden from him.

• Xi Yan asked Hu Xiaotian to save Long Yefang in exchange for helping Zhou Wenju and Hu Xiaotian’s men leave Western Prefecture safely.
• Hu Xiaotian examined Long Yefang’s two poisoned stab wounds and admitted that he did not know how to counteract the powerful poison.
• Xi Yan summoned Hu Xiaotian to meet Li Tianheng, who acknowledged his reasons for keeping Long Yefang under house arrest and explained his opposition to returning Western Sichuan to Great Kang.
• Li Tianheng revealed that Hu Xiaotian’s father and he had planned to make Western Sichuan independent before Long Yelin’s usurpation disrupted their plans.
• Hu Xiaotian realized the Hu-Li marriage alliance had served their political plan and wondered why his father had kept the truth from him.

Hu Xiaotian brought Yan Nujiao to treat the poisoned Prince of Zhou, whose wounds and Silk-Stripping poison left his survival uncertain. After Yan Nujiao stabilized him with a blood exchange, Hu Xiaotian prepared to have Zhou Wenju operate on his stab wounds.

• Hu Xiaotian warned Hu Xiaotian that Great Kang might not be as weak as it appeared, and Hu Xiaotian began to suspect its decline had been deliberately orchestrated.
• Hu Xiaotian summoned Yan Nujiao, who identified the Prince of Zhou's poison as Silk-Stripping, a secret poison made by the Five Immortals Cult.
• Xi Yan denied having the poison's formula or antidote, while Hu Xiaotian rejected her apology and said they might never meet again after he returned to the Kang Capital.
• Yan Nujiao used compatible donors and leeches to exchange the Prince of Zhou's blood, and his condition stabilized enough for Hu Xiaotian to treat his wounds.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Zhou Wenju to perform the surgery and promised to guide him through it.

Hu Xiaotian learned that his maternal grandmother had asked Li Tianheng to keep him in Western Sichuan, but he chose to return to the Kang Capital to protect his mother. After escorting Yan Nujiao back to their lodgings, he stopped a fight between her brother and his own men.

• Hu Xiaotian escorted Yan Nujiao from the palace after the Prince of Zhou's condition stabilized, then told Li Tianheng about Huo Ge and Xue Shengjing's conversation and warned him that Shajia might threaten Western Sichuan.
• Li Tianheng revealed that Old Madam Xu had asked him to keep Hu Xiaotian in Western Sichuan and offered him Li Wuyou's hand in marriage, but Hu Xiaotian refused because his mother remained in the Kang Capital.
• Li Tianheng warned that Hu Xiaotian might not be able to change his mother's fate, leaving Hu Xiaotian to suspect his father and maternal grandmother were concealing a secret.
• Hu Xiaotian escorted Yan Nujiao safely back to Sunny Street, where Yan Boguang and Xiong Tianba's groups were on the verge of fighting.
• Yan Boguang insulted Xiong Tianba, who moved to attack him, but Hu Xiaotian and Yan Nujiao stopped the confrontation.

Hu Xiaotian prepared to leave Western Prefecture and reunited with Visa, who told him how she had been abducted and mistreated before he rescued her. The next morning, he set out with his group, while Yan Boguang and the other bandits had slipped away overnight.

• Yan Boguang threatened to report Hu Xiaotian's group, but Yan Nujiao pulled him away, and Hu Xiaotian announced they would leave the next day.
• Visa woke and reunited with Hu Xiaotian, recounting how Mosheli's men abducted her and how she was passed between Huo Ge and Xue Shengjing before Hu Xiaotian rescued her.
• Hu Xiaotian comforted Visa and learned that Shajia had only one Soul Controller, though it had many people like him.
• Tang Tiexin returned with the carriage, horses, and baggage, while Xiong Tianba seized Hu Jinniu until Hu Xiaotian vouched for him.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Hu Jinniu gold, urged him to leave Western Prefecture, and asked him to report any major news about Yan Nujiao.
• Yan Boguang and the other bandits vanished through a secret passage overnight, and Hu Xiaotian ordered his group to depart immediately.

Hu Xiaotian led his party out of Western Prefecture City with Visa hidden beneath their carriage, but Huo Ge and Duoji identified him as Visa’s rescuer and marked him with tracking wine. After discovering the trail, Hu Xiaotian decided to confront their pursuers at Hexagon City and trap them all.

• Huo Ge caught up with Hu Xiaotian’s departing party and offered him wine while Duoji recognized him as the man who had abducted Visa.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered the party to hurry away, then explained to Yang Lingqi that Huo Ge might kill him to conceal the secret plotting he had overheard.
• The party stopped to release Visa from the compartment beneath the carriage, and she identified the wine Hu Xiaotian had drunk as Thousand-Mile Fragrance, which let the Shajia track him.
• Hu Xiaotian studied the map and chose to wait for the Shajia pursuers at Hexagon City so his party could catch them all in one net.

Hu Xiaotian and his companions prepared to ambush the Shajia pursuers in the ruins of Hexagon City, taking precautions against the Soul Controller Duoji. When more than a hundred riders arrived, they waited for reinforcements before launching a volley of flaming arrows at the city.

• Liang Yinghao dug concealed shelters while Yang Lingqi assigned roles for defending Hexagon City and warned the group to avoid looking Duoji in the eyes.
• Hu Xiaotian sent Yang Lingqi and Visa into hiding after Tang Tiexin reported that roughly a hundred pursuers were approaching.
• The black-clad riders formed up a li from the city as Tang Tiexin rode south to draw their attention and circle behind them.
• Hu Xiaotian realized the riders were waiting for reinforcements when flaming arrows signaled from the north and their ranks.
• The riders charged in an arrowhead formation and fired more than a hundred flaming arrows toward Hexagon City.

Hu Xiaotian and his allies ambushed the black-clad cavalry attacking Hexagon City, but Duoji took control of Xiong Tianba and turned him against Hu Xiaotian. Feng Xingyun then attacked Hu Xiaotian with the Delicate-Brow Saber, leaving him trapped between the two powerful fighters.

• Xiong Tianba hurled stones at the charging cavalry while Hu Xiaotian leaped into their formation and cut down riders with his sword energy.
• Tang Tiexin attacked from the rear, Liang Yinghao struck at the horses from underground, and Xiong Tianba joined the melee with his iron hammers as their ambush killed more than thirty riders.
• Duoji appeared with a Night-Luminescent Pearl, mesmerized Xiong Tianba, and ordered him to kill Hu Xiaotian.
• Xiong Tianba attacked Hu Xiaotian, who retreated toward Hexagon City while the cavalry scattered into the city.
• Feng Xingyun leaped from the beacon tower and attacked Hu Xiaotian with the Delicate-Brow Saber, trapping him between his blade and Xiong Tianba’s hammers.

Liang Yinghao rescued Hu Xiaotian from Feng Xingyun’s pincer attack, and Xiong Tianba turned on Feng Xingyun before abruptly saving him from Hu Xiaotian. Duoji’s chanting nearly overwhelmed Hu Xiaotian, but a flute melody restored his strength, and Hu Xiaotian killed Duoji with a sword strike.

• Liang Yinghao opened a hole beneath Hu Xiaotian, allowing him to escape Feng Xingyun’s attack.
• Xiong Tianba damaged Feng Xingyun’s saber, then attacked him with his twin hammers and broke three of his ribs despite the protection of the Seven-Layer Phosphor Armor.
• Hu Xiaotian emerged from the hole and attacked Feng Xingyun from behind, but Xiong Tianba blocked Hu Xiaotian’s attempt to finish him off.
• Duoji’s chanting and golden alms bowl disrupted Feng Xingyun and left Hu Xiaotian struggling to control his inner qi.
• A flute melody from Hexagon City calmed Hu Xiaotian, who evaded Xiong Tianba’s hammer and struck Duoji down with Hidden Edge.

After Duoji’s death, Hu Xiaotian’s group defeated the Shajia-led force at Hexagon City, with Visa using the Soul-Seizing Art to help turn the battle. At dawn, Visa explained her hidden training and offered Hu Xiaotian the Mind-Calming Art, while he suspected the Blade Demon had joined forces with Xue Shengjing to silence him.

• Hu Xiaotian recognized that enemy riders were heading for Visa, and Xiong Tianba joined the fight after recovering from Duoji’s control.
• Visa played the Jade Flute to weaken the chanting, then used her gaze to make two enemy riders attack each other as Hu Xiaotian and Liang Yinghao fought nearby.
• Hu Xiaotian stopped Xiong Tianba from pursuing the fleeing survivors, and Tang Tiexin returned after surviving an encounter with Feng Xingyun.
• Visa told Hu Xiaotian that her father had been a Soul Controller, explained how she learned the Soul-Seizing Art, and offered to teach him its Mind-Calming Art.
• Xiong Tianba’s group counted seventy-nine dead, and Hu Xiaotian suspected Feng Xingyun was working with Xue Shengjing as part of a plot to kill him.

After Xue Shengjing revealed that he was no longer worried about the Great Kang party exposing their dealings, Hu Xiaotian and his companions reached Xiezhou safely. Hu Xiaotian entered the abandoned Huan Cai Pavilion to investigate and encountered an unseen speaker whose voice moved around the room.

• Huo Ge worried that Li Tianheng might know of his conspiracy with Xue Shengjing, then met Xue Shengjing at Clearwater Pavilion.
• Xue Shengjing said he planned to return home and explained that he no longer feared their affairs being exposed, inviting Huo Ge to a gathering in the Yong Capital.
• Hu Xiaotian and his companions reached Xiezhou using Li Tianheng's command token and stayed at Star Abode.
• Hu Xiaotian learned that Huan Cai Pavilion had been closed for a year and suspected it had served the Five Immortals Cult as an intelligence-gathering post.
• Hu Xiaotian entered the pavilion and heard an unseen person pluck the guqin and speak from shifting directions.

Hu Xiaotian reunited with Old Beggar at Huan Cai Pavilion and asked for help with the immense internal power threatening his life. Old Beggar judged that Hu Xiaotian could survive for three years if he stopped absorbing power, then suggested keeping his body depleted, which Hu Xiaotian twisted into a crude joke.

• Old Beggar surprised Hu Xiaotian at Huan Cai Pavilion, and Hu Xiaotian recognized his former teacher by the clean chicken bone and the attack on his back.
• Hu Xiaotian hinted that Old Beggar might be his family elder, but Old Beggar rebuked him when he called him his father.
• Hu Xiaotian told Old Beggar about his mission to Li Tianheng and the internal power he had absorbed from several masters.
• Old Beggar examined Hu Xiaotian and warned that his body could not withstand more internal power, but estimated that he would be safe for three years if he stopped absorbing it.
• Old Beggar suggested that Hu Xiaotian keep his body in a depleted state, and Hu Xiaotian turned the advice into a lewd joke.

Hu Xiaotian persuaded Old Beggar to teach him the power-draining God-Demon World-Ending Fist, while teasing him with suspicions that he was his maternal grandfather, Xu Lingkong. After training, Hu Xiaotian questioned Old Beggar about Chu Fufeng and the Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter, and learned that a section of Chu Fufeng’s book Heaven and Earth Unveiled had gone missing.

• Hu Xiaotian reasoned that the Sun-Shooting Scripture could regulate his internal power and asked Old Beggar about learning a technique that would drain it.
• Old Beggar described the God-Demon World-Ending Fist, and Hu Xiaotian teased him by suggesting he was Xu Lingkong, his missing maternal grandfather.
• Old Beggar took Hu Xiaotian to the rear courtyard and taught him the fist forms and the manual’s instructions for using internal power.
• Hu Xiaotian memorized and performed the fist technique correctly by the first watch of the night.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Old Beggar about Xu Lingkong, Chu Fufeng, Hong Beimo, and their connection to the reigning emperor.
• Old Beggar said Chu Fufeng’s Heaven and Earth Unveiled had lost one section, and discussed rumors that the missing Cinnabar Cauldron Chapter described a path to eternal youth.

Hu Xiaotian questioned the Old Beggar about his family’s secrets, and the man’s reactions strengthened Hu Xiaotian’s belief that he was his grandfather. After delaying their departure from Xiezhou, Hu Xiaotian took Visa to the market, where he encountered his former follower Liu Kuohai fleeing a restaurant bill.

• The Old Beggar warned Hu Xiaotian to leave the Imperial Court, then abruptly departed after Hu Xiaotian questioned him about his absent grandfather and parents.
• Hu Xiaotian reflected on the unanswered mysteries surrounding his family and suspected that his father knew more than he had revealed.
• Hu Xiaotian overslept, learned that Xiong Tianba and the others were out with Mister Yang, and decided the group would remain in Xiezhou for another day.
• Hu Xiaotian and Visa visited the market, where he reassured her about the attention her appearance attracted and offered to buy her jewelry.
• Liu Kuohai ran toward Hu Xiaotian while fleeing restaurant workers, recognized him, and prepared to fight after admitting he had eaten without paying.
• Hu Xiaotian paid Liu Kuohai’s restaurant bill with a gold ingot and persuaded the workers to leave.

Liu Kuohai told Hu Xiaotian that Wan Tingchang had murdered his father and burned down Spring Return Hall, so Hu agreed to help him seek revenge. Hu, Xiong Tianba, and Liu infiltrated the Wan Family estate, where Hu found Wan Tingchang’s wife Li Xiangzhi meeting secretly with his brother Wan Tingsheng.

• Liu Kuohai recounted how Wan Tingchang had framed him, burned Spring Return Hall, and killed Liu Danggui, Su Guangju, and Su Guangju’s wife.
• Hu Xiaotian promised to help Liu Kuohai avenge his father, while Yang Lingqi warned that taking action in Xiezhou could bring trouble.
• Tang Tiexin and Liang Yinghao located the Wan Family at an estate belonging to Yang Daoquan, and Hu sent them to escort Yang Lingqi and Visa ahead.
• Hu Xiaotian, Xiong Tianba, and Liu Kuohai entered the estate at midnight, where Xiong and Liu killed two night guards before the group searched the courtyards.
• Hu Xiaotian recognized Li Xiangzhi in the east wing and saw Wan Tingsheng sneak in to embrace and kiss her.