Chapter Summaries

Yang Longjing pledged an alliance with Hu Xiaotian and reconciled with Long Xuanjiao as Hu Xiaotian prepared to leave Fragrant City. Hu Xiaotian planned to bring Long Xiyue with him to claim Redwood River and rescue his grandfather, while Hu Buwei and the old gardener prepared to exploit the coming conflict at Sword-Washing Manor.

• Yang Longjing proposed an alliance with Hu Xiaotian, then promised Long Xuanjiao he would govern the Fragrant Kingdom well.
• Long Xuanjiao refused to see Hu Buwei, while Long Xiyue prepared to leave Fragrant City with Hu Xiaotian.
• Hu Xiaotian told Long Xiyue he planned to travel separately to rescue his maternal grandfather, but she insisted on going with him.
• Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue discussed Murong Feiyan, and he considered taking Long Xiyue with him to Redwood River before heading to Sword-Washing Manor.
• Hu Buwei and the old gardener discussed Hu Xiaotian's likely trip to Sword-Washing Manor and agreed the old gardener would act while they clashed.

Murong Feiyan stayed in Fragrant City to care for her mother, while Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue departed for home. In Great Kang, Qiqi questioned Hong Beimo about the Imperial Mausoleum and revealed that she understood his work on the Reincarnation Tower, leaving him unsettled by her scrutiny.

• Long Xiyue urged Murong Feiyan to return with her and Hu Xiaotian, but Murong Feiyan declined and gave her a letter for him.
• Hu Xiaotian read Murong Feiyan's letter and left Fragrant City with Long Xiyue and their party, while Murong Feiyan watched from the West Gate tower because her mother needed her.
• Su Yujin told Murong Feiyan that Hu Buwei likely arranged her abduction after Hu Xiaotian visited him.
• Quan Dean reported to Qiqi that the Fragrant Kingdom had granted Hu Xiaotian Redwood River and made an alliance with him.
• Qiqi summoned Hong Beimo, challenged his requests for funds and his secrecy about the Imperial Mausoleum, and said she knew he was building a Reincarnation Tower.

Qiqi ordered Hong Beimo to investigate the missing skull tied to the Imperial Mausoleum while limiting its funding to fifty thousand taels. Meanwhile, Hu Xiaotian traveled toward Sword-Washing Manor, where Ji Feihua met him at Moon Bay and guided him toward the manor.

• Qiqi gave Hong Beimo her booklet, told him the Imperial Mausoleum required two skulls, and directed him to search for the one believed buried beneath the Seven-Treasure Glazed Pagoda site.
• Qiqi ordered Hong Beimo to investigate whether Long Xuanjiao and Hu Buwei had taken the skull and to pursue leads involving Hu Xiaotian and Dragon Spirit Wonderland.
• Qiqi allocated Hong Beimo fifty thousand taels for the mausoleum and said she would not let its construction burden Great Kang.
• Hu Xiaotian took twenty elite warriors west toward Redwood River while Zhao Wusheng returned by water, and Xiao Rou joined the journey as a guide.
• At the Guest's Abode near Sword-Washing Manor, Hu Xiaotian received Ji Feihua's message and told Long Xiyue he would scout alone that night.
• Hu Xiaotian met Ji Feihua at Moon Bay, learned to propel their skiff with internal power, and headed with him toward Sword-Washing Manor.

Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua investigated Sword-Washing Manor and discovered the Beggar Gang had allied with the Hundred Beasts Gate. They divided their plans for an attack while Hu Xiaotian prepared to part from Long Xiyue, who agreed to travel ahead to Redwood River.

• Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua watched Sword-Washing Manor and saw Liang Buzhou arrange to meet the Beggar Gang leader at Happy Woods two days later.
• The pair spotted Beast Tamers and learned Yan Huxiao, the Beast Demon, was guarding the manor, so Ji Feihua led Hu Xiaotian away.
• Ji Feihua concluded the Beggar Gang and Hundred Beasts Gate had allied and proposed that he distract the gang at Happy Woods while Hu Xiaotian attacked Sword-Washing Manor with Xia Changming and Liang Yinghao.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to Long Xiyue, and the group agreed that Zhan Peng and Liang Yinghao would escort her to Redwood River the next day.
• Long Xiyue reluctantly agreed to leave Hu Xiaotian behind, telling him she regretted becoming a distraction and burden.

Hu Xiaotian and Xia Changming attacked Sword-Washing Manor, using Xia Changming’s bird-taming skills to draw out its beasts while Hu Xiaotian sought Yan Huxiao. The assault erupted into a fierce battle between flocks of birds and the manor’s blue wolves, while Yan Huxiao fled on his black tiger.

• Hu Xiaotian gave Long Xiyue his Flexible Sword, and she vowed to study martial arts so she could accompany him on adventures.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xia Changming watched Liang Buzhou leave Sword-Washing Manor, then learned from a black-beaked sparrow that about a hundred beasts and fewer than ten guards remained inside.
• Xia Changming summoned swallows and sparrows, and their combined impact smashed through the manor’s main gate.
• Yan Huxiao rode his black tiger toward the gate as birds swarmed him, while Old Fang released fifty blue wolves to attack them.
• Hu Xiaotian killed four blue wolves and lunged at Yan Huxiao, who fled as wolves surrounded Hu Xiaotian and the birds attacked the pack.

Hu Xiaotian pursued Yan Huxiao into the mountain caves while Xia Changming took control of the wolf pack outside. Searching for his grandfather, Hu Xiaotian instead found and freed Qiao Fangzheng, who told him that Xu Lingkong was dead and withheld the identity of the killer.

• Hu Xiaotian fought past the blue wolves and followed Yan Huxiao into a hidden cave, while Xia Changming used his flock of birds to kill the pack leader and turn the wolves against the Beast Tamers.
• Hu Xiaotian pursued Yan Huxiao through the branching passages, then changed course after hearing an old man cry out.
• Hu Xiaotian found Qiao Fangzheng chained in a cavern and learned that he was a blind Elder of Transmission of the Beggar Gang.
• Qiao Fangzheng told Hu Xiaotian that Xu Lingkong was dead and offered to name his killer only if Hu Xiaotian freed him.
• Hu Xiaotian cut Qiao Fangzheng loose and carried him out of the pit, then discovered that the old man still possessed formidable internal power.

Hu Xiaotian and Qiao Fangzheng fought off two Ironback Apes in the cave until Xia Changming and a swarm of bats helped drive them away. The three left together, but Hu Xiaotian still had not found Xu Lingkong.

• Qiao Fangzheng warned Hu Xiaotian that two Ironback Apes were approaching, and the beasts attacked them in the cave.
• Hu Xiaotian evaded the apes and plucked their hair to exploit their weakness while Qiao Fangzheng used his keen hearing and footwork to protect himself.
• A swarm of bats attacked the Ironback Apes, forcing them to flee into the cave, and Xia Changming arrived to check on Hu Xiaotian.
• Xia Changming mistook Qiao Fangzheng for Xu Lingkong, then learned his mistake and gathered the Ironback Ape hair.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xia Changming left the cave with Qiao Fangzheng, and Hu Xiaotian learned Xia Changming had followed him in after defeating several Beast Tamers.

After escaping Sword-Washing Manor, Hu Xiaotian hurried to Happy Woods to find Ji Feihua, but discovered the Beggar Gang gathering had been massacred. He found clues suggesting someone was framing him and began to suspect Hu Buwei had orchestrated the events, while Ji Feihua remained missing.

• Qiao Fangzheng rejoiced at his escape and vowed to avenge himself, while Hu Xiaotian arranged for Xia Changming to guide him toward Redwood River and continued alone toward Happy Woods.
• Hu Xiaotian found his horses dead, took a merchant’s horse, and went to the banyan tree where he had arranged to meet Ji Feihua, but Ji Feihua did not appear.
• Disguised as a hunchback, Hu Xiaotian entered Happy Woods and found twelve Beggar Gang members dead, including Liang Buzhou and Xian Nongjing, but not Ji Feihua.
• Hu Xiaotian erased a character left beneath Xian Nongjing that could implicate him and took a Blackwood Token from the corpse.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to the banyan tree, found Ji Feihua still absent and his horse killed, and suspected Hu Buwei had set events in motion to turn him against the Beggar Gang.

Hu Xiaotian hurried west to catch up with Long Xiyue, whose party took shelter from a storm in a ruined temple at Cloudlink Mountain. Their guards admitted a group of Western Sichuan travelers, including Li Honghan, and prepared to keep watch as the two parties shared the temple.

• Hu Xiaotian left Happy Woods to catch Long Xiyue after discovering that someone had killed his horse without being detected.
• Zhan Peng and Liang Yinghao led Long Xiyue’s party into a ruined temple at Cloudlink Mountain and arranged guards for the night.
• Xiao Rou told the guards that Long Xiyue wanted to be informed immediately when Hu Xiaotian arrived.
• Long Xiyue and Xiao Rou heard horses outside, and a party of travelers demanded shelter from the rain.
• Zhan Peng agreed to let the travelers use the front courtyard while his men guarded the rear courtyard.
• Li Honghan and Zhang Ziqian entered the temple with their Western Sichuan party.

Zhang Ziqian and Li Honghan discussed Hu Xiaotian’s claim to Redwood River and Western Sichuan’s need to secure the southern passage. Zhang concluded Hu Xiaotian had likely gone ahead to Redwood River and proposed killing Princess Yingyue and Hu Xiaotian’s men, then blaming Great Yong.

• Zhang Ziqian learned that Hu Xiaotian’s party was at the temple, while Li Honghan complained that Hu Xiaotian had taken Redwood River as his dowry.
• Zhang Ziqian went to the rear courtyard to visit Hu Xiaotian, but Zhan Peng refused to wake his young master and turned him away.
• Zhang Ziqian inferred that Hu Xiaotian was absent and explained to Li Honghan that controlling Redwood River could cut off the support for Yan Kui and the Horse Bandits.
• Zhang Ziqian reasoned that Hu Xiaotian had likely traveled ahead to Redwood River and suggested eliminating Princess Yingyue and Hu Xiaotian’s men, then blaming Great Yong.

Long Xiyue and Liang Yinghao prepared to evade Li Honghan’s attack by hiding her inside a clay arhat while Zhan Peng led a decoy party away. Zhang Ziqian suspected a trap but failed to find anyone in the statues, and Zhan Peng instead prepared an ambush in the woods for Li Honghan’s pursuing forces.

• Long Xiyue warned Liang Yinghao and Zhan Peng that Zhang Ziqian might have realized Hu Xiaotian was absent and that Western Sichuan coveted Redwood River.
• Zhan Peng and Liang Yinghao split their forces, with Zhan Peng escorting Zeng Xiaorou away and Liang Yinghao hiding Long Xiyue inside a clay arhat.
• Li Honghan ordered his men to pursue Zhan Peng’s departing party while Zhang Ziqian stayed behind and searched the back courtyard.
• Zhang Ziqian suspected someone might be concealed in the clay statues, but Zhu Jingyao split open a statue and found it empty.
• Zhan Peng halted his party in the woods, concealed his warriors, and told Xiao Rou that he had never intended to flee.

Li Honghan’s cavalry was ambushed by Zhan Peng’s archers while Xu Mubai arrived at the Arhat Hall and disrupted Zhang Ziqian and Zhu Jingyao’s attempt to kill Long Xiyue. Xu Mubai offered the surviving conspirators a chance to leave, and Zhang Ziqian agreed to withdraw.

• Li Honghan rode into an ambush, where Zhan Peng and his warriors shot down many of his mounts and fought him in the woods.
• Zhang Ziqian and Zhu Jingyao searched the Arhat Hall while Liang Yinghao and Long Xiyue hid among the statues.
• Liang Yinghao attacked Zhu Jingyao with lime powder, but Xu Mubai’s throwing knife forced Zhu Jingyao to abandon his strike.
• Xu Mubai killed one of Zhang Ziqian’s warriors and offered Zhang Ziqian and Zhu Jingyao safe passage if they left.
• Zhang Ziqian accepted Xu Mubai’s offer and signaled Zhu Jingyao to withdraw.

Xu Mubai cornered Long Xiyue and Liang Yinghao at the ruined temple, but Long Xiyue unexpectedly wounded him with her sword while an unseen expert guided her. Xu Mubai fled into the woods, where the hidden voice confronted him.

• Xu Mubai threatened Liang Yinghao to reveal where Long Xiyue was hiding, and Liang Yinghao charged him to give her time to escape.
• Long Xiyue emerged from the Long-Browed Arhat statue and knocked Xu Mubai’s throwing knife away from Liang Yinghao with her flexible sword.
• Xu Mubai challenged Long Xiyue, but sudden pains in his elbow and shoulder disrupted his attacks, allowing her to wound his wrist and pierce his throat.
• Long Xiyue said an unseen person had guided her movements, and Liang Yinghao realized an expert had helped them from the shadows.
• Xu Mubai fled through the woods and bandaged his neck, then heard a voice overhead ask if he was looking for its speaker.

Ji Feihua intervened in Xu Mubai’s attack on Long Xiyue, while Zhan Peng’s forces drove Li Honghan’s men away and the group discovered Zeng Xiaorou had betrayed them. Long Xiyue was left heartbroken until Hu Xiaotian arrived at the ruined temple.

• Ji Feihua wounded Xu Mubai and confronted Xu Fengmei, who let Xu Mubai escape while she faced the masked stranger.
• Li Honghan received Zhu Jingyao’s retreat signal and withdrew, leaving Zhan Peng’s forces to return to the ruined temple.
• Liang Yinghao concluded that Zeng Xiaorou might have led Xu Mubai to them after discovering a deliberate mark near the temple.
• Zeng Xiaorou stabbed a guard and fled into the woods, and Long Xiyue returned to her room in tears after learning of the betrayal.
• Hu Xiaotian arrived at Long Xiyue’s door, and she opened it after recognizing his voice.

Hu Xiaotian reunited with Long Xiyue and honored the men who died protecting her before learning that his grandfather may have vanished in an avalanche while seeking the Beggar Gang’s Green Bamboo Staff. Qiao Fangzheng revealed that neither Xu Sansheng nor Daoist Kongkong’s body had been found, leaving Hu Xiaotian uncertain about his grandfather’s fate.

• Hu Xiaotian reunited with Long Xiyue, then thanked Zhan Peng and the others for protecting her.
• Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue buried the twelve fallen brothers, and Hu promised to support their families.
• Hu Xiaotian told Xia Changming that Zeng Xiaorou had been a spy, and Xia Changming vowed to treat her as an enemy.
• Long Xiyue gave Qiao Fangzheng Loquat Dew, and Qiao urged Hu Xiaotian to treat her well.
• Qiao Fangzheng told Hu Xiaotian that his grandfather Xu Sansheng and Daoist Kongkong disappeared in an avalanche after fighting over the Green Bamboo Staff.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned whether the lack of recovered bodies meant his grandfather had truly died.

Qiao Fangzheng told Hu Xiaotian how Shangguan Yunchong had betrayed and blinded him, then agreed to join forces with Hu Xiaotian against Shangguan Tianhuo and his son. While Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue strolled through Coconut Breeze City, they saw soldiers expelling beggars, and a young beggar’s Dog-Beating Staff landed at Long Xiyue’s feet.

• Qiao Fangzheng recounted how Shangguan Yunchong had poisoned him, gouged out his eyes, and imprisoned him for over a year.
• Hu Xiaotian proposed that he and Qiao Fangzheng unite against Shangguan Tianhuo and his son, and Qiao Fangzheng accepted.
• Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue strolled through Coconut Breeze City, where Long Xiyue teased him about rumors involving Ji Feihua.
• Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue watched soldiers escort five beggars out of the city, and Long Xiyue said she would ask her aunt to reconsider the crackdown.
• A passerby tripped a fleeing young beggar, and his shattered bowl and Dog-Beating Staff fell near Long Xiyue.

Long Xiyue and Hu Xiaotian rescued Xiao Ou from soldiers persecuting beggars and brought her along as Qiao Fangzheng’s companion. In the Redwood River forest, Qiao Fangzheng identified a distant peak as the Dragon-Locking Platform and insisted they go there, despite the detour from Fire Tree City.

• Long Xiyue protected Xiao Ou from soldiers enforcing the order to expel the Beggar Gang, and Hu Xiaotian used his Dragon Token to make the soldiers leave.
• After a restaurant refused to serve Xiao Ou, Long Xiyue bought her steamed buns and learned that she had lost her family and could no longer remember her home.
• Hu Xiaotian suggested bringing Xiao Ou along to help Qiao Fangzheng, who soon grew attached to the perceptive and industrious child.
• The party traveled through the rain-soaked Redwood River region, falling behind their schedule to reach Fire Tree City.
• Qiao Fangzheng asked Hu Xiaotian to look for the Dragon-Locking Platform, and Hu Xiaotian carried Xiao Ou above the forest canopy, where she spotted its peak.
• Qiao Fangzheng insisted they visit the peak, though Hu Xiaotian warned that it lay away from their route and could delay their arrival in Fire Tree City.

Hu Xiaotian and Qiao Fangzheng found the Beggar Gang’s secret chamber beneath the Dragon-Locking Platform and discovered its contents had been stolen. Qiao Fangzheng explained the history of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique and how Shangguan Yunchong had earned his trust, despite later betraying it.

• Qiao Fangzheng persuaded Hu Xiaotian to travel to the Dragon-Locking Platform at night to search for a secret chamber.
• Hu Xiaotian carried Long Xiyue to the summit, where they watched the moon emerge from the clouds and professed they would never part.
• Qiao Fangzheng recognized moonlight reflecting off the mountain and led Hu Xiaotian into a hidden cave beneath the stone wall.
• Hu Xiaotian found that the chamber’s relief carvings had been destroyed, while Qiao Fangzheng discovered the hidden contents were gone.
• Qiao Fangzheng explained how the four Elders of Transmission held the thirty-six routes of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique and how Shangguan Yunchong had gained his confidence by returning the technique untouched.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Shangguan Yunchong and Shangguan Yunfeng had switched identities, and that Shangguan Yunchong had stolen most of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique and Qiao Fangzheng’s hidden treasures. At dawn, Qiao Fangzheng found Long Xiyue practicing swordsmanship and offered to teach her three moves for self-defense.

• Qiao Fangzheng told Hu Xiaotian about Shangguan Tianhuo’s twin sons and how Shangguan Yunchong and Shangguan Yunfeng switched identities to deceive the Beggar Gang.
• Qiao Fangzheng explained that Shangguan Yunchong had betrayed him, stolen the hidden staff forms, and mastered thirty-three moves of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique.
• Hu Xiaotian and Qiao Fangzheng found the cave’s carvings and treasures gone, but Qiao Fangzheng retrieved a buried iron bowl before they left.
• After a sleepless night, Qiao Fangzheng heard Long Xiyue practicing swordsmanship and advised her to overcome her fear of weapons.
• Qiao Fangzheng gave Long Xiyue a bamboo stalk to practice with and offered to teach her three moves for self-defense.

Long Xiyue learned Qiao Fangzheng’s staff technique before Hu Xiaotian’s party entered Fire Tree City, where Baheer’s officials arranged their lodging and kept them under watch. The group learned that the Beggar Gang would assemble in five days, while Xia Changming failed to follow their discussion about the dangers of their accommodations.

• Qiao Fangzheng taught Long Xiyue three routes of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique, which she mastered with remarkable speed, and showed her the Beggar Gang’s Iron Rice Bowl.
• Jiang Shaoyang met Hu Xiaotian’s party at Fire Tree City’s gate and escorted them to the Butterfly Garden, explaining that Baheer could not meet them until the Red Yi Tribe’s fast ended in three days.
• Liang Yinghao inspected the Butterfly Garden, while Zhan Peng searched the city and Qiao Fangzheng went out with Xiao Ou.
• Qiao Fangzheng told Hu Xiaotian that the Beggar Gang would hold an assembly at the Red Sea in five days and that Shangguan Tianhuo would attend.
• Zhan Peng reported that Jiangnan Street remained open during the fast, and Liang Yinghao noted that towers surrounding the towerless Butterfly Garden could monitor its residents.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Xia Changming for his opinion, but Xia Changming admitted through his embarrassed reaction that he had not heard the discussion.