Chapter Summaries

Zhuge Guanqi visited Zuo Xingjian in White Spring City and revealed that Jiang Zhengyang’s surviving troops were likely to attack. With the enemy approaching and his own forces badly depleted, Zuo Xingjian opened the city gates to attempt the Empty Fort Strategy, but Zhuge Guanqi warned that it would not work against desperate men.

• Zuo Xingjian refused to help Jiang Zhengyang after the imperial grain and troops vanished in Cloud Marsh, fearing Jiang could implicate him.
• Zhuge Guanqi arrived from Eastern Liang Commandery with Gao Yuan to persuade Zuo Xingjian to serve Hu Xiaotian and make White Spring City an outpost.
• Zhuge Guanqi questioned Zuo Xingjian about the missing grain, and Zuo Xingjian claimed Jiang Zhengyang had taken it to Cloud Marsh before his troops attacked White Spring City.
• A deputy general reported that Zu Dacheng had returned with more than ten thousand soldiers and was approaching the North Gate.
• Zhuge Guanqi explained that the trapped troops had nowhere else to go, while Zuo Xingjian ordered the gates opened and the drawbridge lowered to use the Empty Fort Strategy.
• Zhuge Guanqi warned that desperate troops would not be fooled by the strategy, and Zuo Xingjian asked what else he could do.

Zhuge Guanqi used White Spring City's open gates and Hu banner to persuade Zu Dacheng to enter alone and discuss his starving army's future. Zu Dacheng learned Hu Xiaotian would enlist the soldiers without holding their past offenses against them, but he remained reluctant to betray Jiang Zhengyang as he saw his men still trusting him.

• Zuo Xingjian fled White Spring City with his troops, leaving Zhuge Guanqi, Zhan Peng, and Gao Yuan to face Zu Dacheng's approaching army.
• Zhuge Guanqi had Zhan Peng raise Hu Xiaotian's banner and invited Zu Dacheng to enter the apparently undefended city.
• Zu Dacheng dismissed his officers' warnings and crossed the drawbridge alone, ordering his men to attack if he did not return within an hour.
• Zhuge Guanqi offered Zu Dacheng's soldiers a chance to enlist under Hu Xiaotian without punishment for their past offenses.
• Zu Dacheng refused to blame Jiang Zhengyang for the disaster, but Zhuge Guanqi reminded him that his decision would determine whether his men survived, and Zu Dacheng wept at their trust in him.

Zuo Xingjian decided to surrender directly to Hu Xiaotian after learning that Zu Dacheng had taken White Spring City without a fight and pledged his forces to Hu. In the Kang Capital, Wen Chenghuan warned Long Xuan'en that Hu Xiaotian was growing powerful and had negotiated with Great Yong, leaving the emperor angry but wary of acting against him.

• Zuo Xingjian learned that Zu Dacheng had pledged his men to Hu Xiaotian and decided to travel to Eastern Liang Commandery to offer his own loyalty.
• Wen Chenghuan waited an hour before Long Xuan'en granted him an audience at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
• Wen Chenghuan told Long Xuan'en that Xue Lingjun had negotiated with Hu Xiaotian and secured the return of the Eastern Luo Granary to Great Yong.
• Wen Chenghuan warned that Hu Xiaotian was expanding his territory and recruiting troops while secretly reaching a nonaggression agreement with Great Yong.
• Long Xuan'en questioned Wen Chenghuan about the missing imperial grain and Hu Xiaotian's interception of Jiang Zhengyang's troops, but acknowledged that removing Hu would be difficult.
• Long Xuan'en concluded that Great Yong was trying to drive a wedge between him and Hu Xiaotian.

Long Xuan'en agreed to Great Yong lifting its grain embargo, knowing Great Kang would have to pay dearly, and assigned Su Yuchi to garrison Yunyang. Qiqi, Yang Lingqi, and Huo Shengnan recognized that Great Yong intended to profit from Great Kang’s famine and use the proceeds to prepare for war.

• Wen Chenghuan told Long Xuan'en that Great Yong had agreed to restore grain trade, and Long Xuan'en ordered him to negotiate for the lowest price possible.
• Long Xuan'en ordered Hu Xiaotian to deliver his remaining grain and approved Su Yuchi’s appointment to garrison Yunyang, with one hundred thousand shi allocated to him.
• News that Great Yong would lift the grain embargo spread across the land and reached Qiqi at King Yongyang’s Residence.
• Qiqi, Yang Lingqi, and Huo Shengnan discussed the agreement and concluded that Great Yong would exploit Great Kang’s need for grain while restricting its other sources of supply.

Qiqi and her advisers discussed Great Kang’s grain shortage and the court’s suspicions of Hu Xiaotian, while Long Xuan'en learned that Long Tingzhen was alive and planned to announce his return. Hu Xiaotian later heard why a thousand-strong Snow Eagle legion would be difficult to create.

• Qiqi questioned how Great Kang could afford grain from Great Yong, then asked Quan Dean about the treasury and the Imperial Mausoleum’s secrets.
• Hong Beimo told Long Xuan'en that Long Tingzhen had survived and had been rescued from Ji Feihua’s secret dungeon.
• Long Xuan'en decided to reveal Long Tingzhen’s survival on the first day of the new year and discussed his plans for the Reincarnation Tower and Hu Xiaotian.
• Long Xuan'en ordered Hu Xiaotian to escort a hundred thousand shi of grain to the Kang Capital, while Hong Beimo suggested arranging Qiqi’s wedding to bring Hu back.
• Zuo Xingjian arrived in Wuxing Commandery, where Hu Xiaotian learned from Xia Changming that Snow Eagles were too rare and difficult to tame for a large aerial legion.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Zuo Xingjian over the stolen imperial grain at Cloud Marsh and forced him to confess and pledge loyalty. He sent Zuo back to White Spring City with supplies and reinforcements, ordering him to prepare for a campaign against the River Pirates.

• Xia Changming explained how Snow Eagles were tamed and offered to take Hu Xiaotian flying, while Hu learned that carrier pigeons had improved communication with White Spring City.
• Zuo Xingjian arrived to declare his loyalty, but Hu Xiaotian challenged his account of the events at Cloud Marsh.
• Hu Xiaotian threatened to feed Zuo to the dogs, and Zuo confessed that he had lied and pledged to serve Hu.
• Hu Xiaotian praised Zuo's memorial, ordered him to tell the Imperial Court lies, and provided grain, winter clothing, and three thousand troops for White Spring City.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered Zuo to gather intelligence on Blackwater Stronghold and prepare to attack the River Pirates, while sparing Jiang Zhengyang's subordinates.

Hu Xiaotian rejected the Old Emperor’s demand that he personally deliver grain to the Capital City and weighed the advantages of Su Yuchi’s arrival in Yunyang. The chapter ended with Xia Changming asking Xiong Tianba whether he had killed the Black Charger’s former master.

• Zuo Xingjian pledged to follow Hu Xiaotian and promised to learn the circumstances of the seven cities around Cloud Marsh within three months.
• After Zu Dacheng surrendered, the Old Emperor ordered Hu Xiaotian to deliver a hundred thousand shi of grain to the Capital City and sent Su Yuchi to take over Yunyang.
• Hu Xiaotian refused to return to the Capital City, arranged for Li Yongfu to ship the grain to Haizhou, and considered how Su Yuchi’s presence could help defend against other threats.
• Yu Tianxing advised Hu Xiaotian that Su Yuchi’s forces could help contain the Rebel Army and protect against a possible invasion from Western Sichuan, and Hu Xiaotian agreed to provide the requested grain.
• Hu Xiaotian told his men he would pretend to fall gravely ill to avoid obeying the Old Emperor’s order, then took Xiong Tianba to see Xia Changming about the grieving Black Charger.
• Xia Changming calmed the Black Charger and put it to sleep, then asked Xiong Tianba whether he had killed its former master.

Xia Changming helped Xiong Tianba prepare to tame a horse whose memories had been erased, then flew Hu Xiaotian from Wuxing Commandery to Eastern Liang Commandery on snow eagles. Hu Xiaotian arrived safely and reunited with Li Chengming, who wondered how he had returned without warning.

• Xia Changming told Xiong Tianba that the horse would have forgotten its past, and Xiong Tianba happily went to stay with it and train it.
• Xia Changming and Hu Xiaotian set out for Eastern Liang Commandery on separate snow eagles, with Hu Xiaotian riding the saddle-equipped Big Fly.
• Hu Xiaotian was frightened by Big Fly’s steep climb and dive but calmed down as they flew over the Yong River and reached Eastern Liang Commandery.
• Hu Xiaotian recited a poem about birds flying wing to wing after landing, and Xia Changming joked that it sounded like a poem for lovers.
• Li Chengming hurried to greet Hu Xiaotian and wondered how he had returned without word reaching him at Xiasha Port.

Hu Xiaotian returned to Eastern Liang Commandery, checked on Chang Fanqi and his mother, and reunited with his household before preparing to celebrate the New Year. The chapter ended with him learning that Hu Zhongyang had visited several times with something important to discuss.

• Li Chengming reported that Eastern Liang Commandery was calm, grain shipments to Wuxing Commandery were nearly complete, and residents had begun returning after Hu Xiaotian's peace talks with Great Yong.
• Hu Xiaotian visited Chang Fanqi's mother, cheered her with promises of matchmaking and a New Year's Eve visit, and agreed to find Chang Fanqi a wife.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to his residence, where Visa, Liang Dazhuang, Hu Fo, and Liu Kuohai welcomed him, and Liu Kuohai delivered a letter from Huo Shengnan.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Visa a wooden box, then relaxed in a bath while Liang Dazhuang told him Hu Zhongyang had visited several times with important business.

Hu Xiaotian arranged an escort for Hu Zhongyang’s voyage to the Bohai Kingdom and brought guests together for a New Year’s Eve dinner, hoping to match Chang Fanqi with Yang Yingqiong. The dinner began with Chang Fanqi embarrassed by the arrangement, while Yang Yingqiong arrived willing to meet him.

• After bathing, Hu Xiaotian welcomed Hu Zhongyang, who asked for naval protection while escorting ceramics to the Bohai Kingdom, and Hu Xiaotian promised four medium warships and a thousand troops.
• Zhuge Guanqi returned safely to Eastern Liang Commandery on New Year’s Eve, and Hu Xiaotian let him reunite privately with Hong Lingxue.
• Hu Xiaotian arranged for Li Mingcheng and his wife to bring Yang Yingqiong to dinner at Chang Fanqi’s home, hoping the two would make a suitable match.
• Liang Dazhuang delivered New Year provisions and cooks to Chang Fanqi’s house, where Chang Fanqi recognized Hu Xiaotian’s matchmaking plan and blushed.
• Hu Xiaotian arrived with Visa, while Li Mingcheng and his wife brought Yang Yingqiong, who had agreed to meet Chang Fanqi.

On New Year's Eve, Hu Xiaotian nudged Chang Fanqi toward a match with Yang Yingqiong, while Madam Chang revealed she understood their captivity and urged her son to consider serving Hu Xiaotian. On New Year's Day, Hu Xiaotian visited Zhuge Guanqi and Hong Lingxue to exchange greetings.

• Hu Xiaotian teased Chang Fanqi about Yang Yingqiong, and Madam Chang eagerly approved of her as a possible wife for her son.
• Madam Chang admitted that she had never been ill and had pretended to be bedridden, then spoke privately with Chang Fanqi after the dinner.
• Madam Chang told Chang Fanqi she knew they were prisoners in Eastern Liang Commandery and encouraged him to consider Hu Xiaotian, who valued his abilities.
• Chang Fanqi said he would think seriously about his mother's advice but refused to abandon her or return to Great Yong.
• On New Year's Day, Hu Xiaotian handed out red envelopes to his subordinates and visited Zhuge Guanqi and Hong Lingxue with Visa to offer greetings.

Hu Xiaotian discussed recruiting talent, expanding toward Cloud Marsh, and developing a navy with Zhuge Guanqi before meeting Qin Yutong at the Children's Hall. He asked her to treat Madam Chang’s failing eyesight, and Qin Yutong said she could restore her sight.

• Hu Xiaotian and Zhuge Guanqi discussed Chang Fanqi, Zuo Xingjian, Great Yong’s Grain Ban Lift, and plans to take Cloud Marsh and control the waterways.
• Zhuge Guanqi explained that the Bohai Kingdom was wealthy but vulnerable, though Hu Xiaotian’s navy was not yet strong enough for an expedition.
• Hu Xiaotian, Zhuge Guanqi, Hong Lingxue, and Visa visited the Children's Hall and met Qin Yutong, who had come there as a physician.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Qin Yutong to examine Madam Chang’s eyes, and she accompanied him to Chang Fanqi’s home.
• Qin Yutong told Chang Fanqi she could restore his mother’s sight, then asked Hu Xiaotian how he would thank her.

Qin Yutong opened Tong Ren Tang in Eastern Liang Commandery and treated Madam Chang, while Hu Xiaotian welcomed Liu Yucheng and agreed to help arrange a marriage for Fang Fang. The chapter ended with Hu Pi reporting that pirates from Python Jiao Island had destroyed Hu Zhongyang’s fleet, leaving Hu Xiaotian to hear the details of the attack.

• Hu Xiaotian offered Qin Yutong a medical book and a clinic, and she accepted his offer to open Tong Ren Tang in Eastern Liang Commandery.
• Qin Yutong treated Madam Chang, whose vision began to recover, and Fang Zhitang asked Hu Xiaotian to arrange a match between Fang Fang and Zhan Peng.
• Liu Yucheng arrived from Great Yong to visit Qin Yutong and delivered a letter from his father.
• Hu Pi burst into Tong Ren Tang wounded and reported that pirates from Python Jiao Island had sunk two warships and captured the rest of Hu Zhongyang’s fleet.
• Qin Yutong identified a poisoned arrowhead as belonging to a Seven-Star Sea Snake, and Hu Xiaotian sent messengers to gather information and summon help.
• After Liu Yucheng helped treat Hu Pi, Hu Xiaotian returned to question him about the pirate ambush.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Python Jiao Island was a powerful force led by Yan Tianlu and prepared to negotiate for the captured soldiers and merchants. After envoy Luo Qianfu demanded a ransom and threatened the prisoners, Hu Xiaotian agreed to pay within twenty-five days, then discussed the crisis with Zhao Wusheng and Li Changming.

• Chang Fanqi explained Python Jiao Island’s history and strength, and Hu Xiaotian promised him command if they launched a campaign against it.
• Luo Qianfu arrived as Python Jiao Island’s envoy and demanded grain and gold for the 1,395 captured soldiers and merchants.
• Hu Xiaotian negotiated an extension, agreeing to deliver the ransom within twenty-five days and warning Luo Qianfu to keep every prisoner safe.
• Xia Changming reported that Luo Qianfu was a Beast Tamer whose Gray Eagle could reach Python Jiao Island within a day.
• Zhao Wusheng arrived with Li Changming, heard about the ransom demand, and asked whether Hu Xiaotian would pay it.

Hu Xiaotian prepared to attack Python Jiao Island after pirates captured his men, while Zhuge Guanqi questioned whether Hu Zhongyang’s cargo and past dealings were connected to the raid. Hu Xiaotian successfully tested his new Heaven-Shaking Thunder cannons and left the chapter readying a fleet and elite troops for an expedition against the pirates.

• Hu Xiaotian rejected the pirates’ extortion and decided to lead an attack on Python Jiao Island, while Zhao Wusheng stayed behind to maintain control of the navy.
• Zhuge Guanqi questioned the circumstances of the raid, and Hu Xiaotian considered whether Hu Zhongyang’s cargo had been valuable or Yan Tianlu had held a grudge against him.
• Hu Xiaotian revealed his Heaven-Shaking Thunder cannon prototype to Zhuge Guanqi and tested it at the Ironworks, where three shots successfully blasted a mountainside.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered Liang Yinghao to produce fifty cannons within ten days and keep their construction secret.
• Hu Xiaotian prepared the expedition by selecting eight thousand naval troops, assigning Yang Yuanqing to coordinate the fleet, and installing the cannons aboard the warships.

Hu Xiaotian sailed with an army toward Python Jiao Island while Long Xuan'en met his grandson Long Tingzhen and promised to make him Crown Prince. Hong Beimo then offered Long Tingzhen a painful medicinal method to strengthen his body, leaving him to decide whether he could endure it.

• Hu Xiaotian departed Xiasha Port with nine thousand soldiers aboard twenty warships to attack the pirates on Python Jiao Island.
• Long Xuan'en visited the restored Spirit Firmament Palace and met Long Tingzhen, who begged to be spared or allowed to die.
• Long Xuan'en forgave Long Tingzhen and promised to make him Crown Prince within three months.
• Long Tingzhen thanked Hong Beimo for arranging the meeting and offered to honor him as a teacher and share power if he became emperor.
• Hong Beimo warned Long Tingzhen that he needed to learn to protect himself and proposed medicinal body tempering that could make him powerful but would bring unbearable pain.

Long Tingzhen became Hong Beimo’s disciple to pursue the throne, while Qiqi grew disillusioned with Hu Xiaotian and learned he was supposedly recuperating in Eastern Liang Commandery. In fact, Hu Xiaotian was secretly aboard the fleet heading to attack the pirates at Python Jiao Island, where Xia Changming returned from scouting.

• Long Tingzhen knelt before Hong Beimo and accepted his secret body-tempering method, promising to keep their relationship hidden.
• Qiqi discussed Hu Xiaotian’s grain shipment with Yang Lingqi and asked him to write that she would handle Hu’s request.
• Qiqi confided to Quan Dean that she felt used by both Hu Xiaotian and the emperor, and worried Hu sought the throne.
• Quan Dean told Qiqi that Hu Xiaotian was recovering in Eastern Liang Commandery, though Hu was secretly sailing with the fleet.
• Hu Xiaotian and Chang Fanqi discussed their approach to Python Jiao Island and the fleet’s weapons.
• Xia Changming returned to the flagship after scouting Python Jiao Island.

Hu Xiaotian planned to infiltrate Python Jiao Island and free the captives so his fleet could attack from inside and out. He and Xia Changming reached the island by snow eagle at night, ready to begin the dangerous operation.

• Xia Changming reported that Python Jiao Island had formidable defenses, including hundreds of warships, watchtowers, and coastal catapults, and showed Hu Xiaotian a map locating the prison.
• Hu Xiaotian proposed sneaking into the prison himself, freeing the captives, and turning the prison into a stronghold while the fleet attacked; Xia Changming and Yang Yuanqing objected, but Hu Xiaotian refused to change his mind.
• Hu Xiaotian and his allies settled on a three-front assault, with Hu Xiaotian descending onto the prison roof by snow eagle and using a parachute as a precaution.
• Hu Xiaotian prepared to send messages to Xia Changming with a homing black-beaked sparrow, while Chang Fanqi and Yang Yuanqing saw him off and the fleet waited for his signal.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xia Changming flew through the night on snow eagles and arrived above Python Jiao Island after nearly four hours.

Hu Xiaotian’s attempt to reach the prison on Python Jiao Island went awry when a giant monster bird attacked the snow eagles. After seizing control of the bird and escaping its back, he landed on the island near the prison, unsure of his exact location.

• Xia Changming warned Hu Xiaotian that a huge, riderless monster bird was approaching, and the snow eagles fled in different directions.
• The monster bird pursued Hu Xiaotian’s snow eagle, and Hu Xiaotian leaped onto the creature’s back after his saddle strap began to break.
• Hu Xiaotian clawed feathers from the monster bird and threatened it until it flew back toward Python Jiao Island.
• The monster bird veered away from the prison and tilted Hu Xiaotian off its back near the northwestern corner of the island.
• Hu Xiaotian slowed his fall with his inner breath and landed in a dark corner, unable to identify his exact location.

Hu Xiaotian reached Python Jiao Island and sent Xia Changming word that he was safe just as a hurricane struck the island and the fleet. Xia Changming guided the battered ships toward a reef lagoon, where Yang Yuanqing and Chang Fanqi tried to bring them through a narrow, dangerous channel.

• Hu Xiaotian sent the Black-beaked Sparrow to tell Xia Changming he was safe and warn him not to act rashly.
• Xia Changming received Hu Xiaotian’s note and abandoned his plan to return with reinforcements.
• Hu Xiaotian took shelter from the hurricane as violent winds, rain, and waves battered Python Jiao Island.
• Yang Yuanqing ordered the fleet toward Python Jiao Island, but collisions and towering waves damaged or sank several warships.
• Chang Fanqi urged Yang Yuanqing to seek shelter, and Xia Changming arrived to guide the fleet to a lagoon northwest of their position.
• Xia Changming led the surviving ships toward the lagoon while Yang Yuanqing searched for a narrow passage through the reefs.