Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian and Hong Beimo discussed an alliance against Hu Buwei and exchanged secrets about Dragon Spirit Wonderland, the skulls, and the Xu Family. After Qiqi returned, she put Hu Xiaotian in charge of investigating the Heavenly Mystery Hall and headed back to the palace while the search for Quan Dean continued.

• Hu Xiaotian offered to cooperate with Hong Beimo, who agreed after learning that Hu Buwei controlled the Fragrant Kingdom, Western Sichuan, and Redwood River.
• Hu Xiaotian told Hong Beimo that Quan Dean was dead and Ren Tianqing had killed him, while Hong Beimo said he had captured Ren Tianqing but had not identified the impostor.
• Hong Beimo warned Hu Xiaotian that Old Madam Xu was terrifying and that her claims were lies, then stopped when Hu Xiaotian asked about Ling Jiazi.
• Qiqi returned, grieved for Quan Dean, and accepted Hu Xiaotian's concern as he stopped her from drinking on an empty stomach.
• Qiqi announced she would publicize that the skull was in the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower and ordered an investigation of the Heavenly Mystery Hall, which Hu Xiaotian volunteered to lead.
• Hu Xiaotian escorted Qiqi toward the palace, where Murong Zhan reported that Dragon-Sealing Locks blocked the passages into Dragon Spirit Wonderland and would take time to break.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Murong Zhan with secrets about his past, then settled into the Prince of Suppressing the Sea's Residence and learned that Qiqi had arranged a major grain shipment for his refugee-stricken fief. The chapter left him receiving Zhou Ruiyuan's news that the aid would amount to two hundred thousand shi, despite opposition at court.

• Hu Xiaotian questioned Murong Zhan about Feiyan, Su Yujin, and his ties to Hu Buwei, then revealed details of Murong Zhan's past that left him shocked and unsettled.
• Hu Xiaotian went to the Prince of Suppressing the Sea's Residence, where Qiqi had arranged for servants to welcome and care for him.
• Liang Dazhuang arrived and told Hu Xiaotian that Qiqi planned to visit his mother's grave at Fengyi Manor in three days.
• Hu Xiaotian considered asking Qiqi about the Heart Sutra he needed for Ji Feihua, but Zhou Ruiyuan's visit delayed his trip to the palace.
• Zhou Ruiyuan told Hu Xiaotian that Qiqi had approved two hundred thousand shi of grain for refugees in his fief, despite opposition at court.

Hu Xiaotian told Zhou Ruiyuan the truth about his wife Qin Se’s past and delivered the jade pendant from Qin Yutong, easing Zhou’s fears for his daughter. He then oversaw the investigation of the sealed Heavenly Mystery Hall, ordering officials to treat its disciples fairly while searching for evidence against Ren Tianqing.

• Zhou Ruiyuan visited Hu Xiaotian to learn why the Heavenly Mystery Hall had been shut down and asked about the safety of Qin Yutong.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Zhou Ruiyuan Qin Yutong’s jade peace pendant and assured him that she was safe in Eastern Liang Commandery.
• Hu Xiaotian revealed that Qin Se had been connected to the Five Immortals Cult and explained why Qin Yutong had entered the Heavenly Mystery Hall, leaving Zhou Ruiyuan overwhelmed with grief and remorse.
• Hu Xiaotian arrived at the Heavenly Mystery Hall and rebuked Zuo Tang for binding its physicians and disciples without evidence.
• Hu Xiaotian instructed Hong Baiqi to release people not suspected of wrongdoing and provide temporary lodging for those who needed to remain for the investigation.

Hu Xiaotian searched the Heavenly Mystery Hall with Baobao and discovered a sealed Ice Cellar. After Hu Xiaotian unexpectedly solved its Pattern Lock, the three stone doors opened, leaving the pair poised to explore what lay beyond.

• Hu Xiaotian ordered Zuo Tang and his men to search the deserted Heavenly Mystery Hall while he rested in the Back Courtyard.
• Baobao arrived with a map from Hong Beimo, and Hu Xiaotian identified the ice cellar marked on it.
• Hu Xiaotian and Baobao went to the cellar, where warriors broke the brass padlock and opened the heavy bronze door.
• Hu Xiaotian and Baobao descended into the Ice Cellar and found a Pattern Lock on a stone door that Baobao could not solve.
• Hu Xiaotian recognized the Pattern Lock as a stereogram and rearranged its patterns, opening it and two more stone doors.

Hu Xiaotian and Baobao discovered Ren Tianqing’s clothes in the Ice Cave, then escaped a swarm of poisonous red worms he had left as a trap. After securing the cellar and reviewing the Heavenly Mystery Hall’s inventory, Hu Xiaotian parted from Baobao, who refused to become his wife or concubine and rode away.

• Baobao spotted blue blood in the Ice Cave, and Hu Xiaotian recognized Ren Tianqing’s discarded clothes beside it.
• Tens of millions of red worms poured from the ice, so Baobao and Hu Xiaotian swung to the exit and sealed the creatures behind the stone doors.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered Liang Dazhuang and the others to fill and seal the cellar, then agreed to Zuo Tang’s plan to keep a separate ledger of treasures for him.
• A warrior brought Hu Xiaotian a copy of the Heart Sutra from Ren Tianqing’s study, and Hu Xiaotian rewarded him with a hundred taels of silver.
• Hu Xiaotian offered to ask Hong Beimo to let Baobao go with him, but Baobao rejected marriage and concubinage before riding away.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Yuanmu over the Heart Sutra and pressed him for the secrets surrounding the Heavenly Dragon Temple, Ling Jiazi, and the past. He left Yuanmu furious after guessing that Ling Jiazi had once deeply hurt him.

• Hu Xiaotian learned that Wanyan Liexin had left a card and planned to visit again the following evening.
• Hu Xiaotian brought a Heart Sutra to Yuanmu, who rejected it as a recent copy and insisted it was not the scripture he sought.
• Yuanmu connected Hu Xiaotian's possession of the Spirit-Link Buddha Bone to knowledge of the Heart Sutra's whereabouts, prompting Hu Xiaotian to wonder whether Qiqi knew more.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned Yuanmu about Ling Jiazi, the destruction of the Heavenly Dragon Temple, and the secrets Chu Fufeng and Hong Beimo had pursued there.
• Hu Xiaotian suggested that Yuanmu's hatred of Ling Jiazi stemmed from personal suffering, and Yuanmu roared at him to shut his mouth.

Hu Xiaotian left the Heavenly Dragon Temple after Yuanmu gave him three days to produce the Heart Sutra, then returned home and spent a playful afternoon in the pool with Qiqi. The chapter ended with Hu Xiaotian bringing Qiqi her clothes while admiring her figure.

• Yuanmu gave Hu Xiaotian three days to produce the sutra and threatened his friend's life if he failed.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned Mingjing about Minghui and the destroyed Buddhist Pagoda, but Mingjing revealed little.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to his residence to bathe, and Qiqi arrived while he was swimming.
• Qiqi kicked at Hu Xiaotian, who pulled her into the pool, and they chased each other through the water.
• Hu Xiaotian embraced Qiqi and leaned toward her lips, but she pushed him away and climbed out of the pool.
• Hu Xiaotian retrieved Qiqi's dress and watched her sit beside the pool in her Pearl Radiance Armor.

Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi spent time together at his residence before he told her about Yuanmu’s condition for revealing what he knew about her mother, Ling Jiazi. The chapter ended with Hu Xiaotian explaining that Yuanmu believed the Heart Sutra was wherever the Spirit-Link Buddha Bone was, and Qiqi considering the mystery of Emperor Taizong’s supposedly destroyed copy.

• Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi changed into bathrobes, shared orange juice and fruit, and teased each other while Liang Dazhuang nervously served them.
• As a storm approached, Hu Xiaotian reassured Qiqi and asked her to stay the night, but she threw grapes at him and insisted she would return home.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi he had visited the Great Xiangguo Temple and asked whether she remembered Yuanmu shattering the Buddhist Pagoda.
• Hu Xiaotian explained that Yuanmu, Minghui’s master, might know what happened to Qiqi’s mother, Ling Jiazi, and had promised to tell him if he brought Emperor Taizong’s handwritten Heart Sutra.
• Qiqi said that unique copy had been destroyed, and Hu Xiaotian added that Yuanmu believed the Heart Sutra must be wherever the Spirit-Link Buddha Bone was, which was in the palace.

Qiqi remembered Emperor Taizong’s Heart Sutra and wondered about her mother’s legacy, while Hu Xiaotian learned that Quan Dean’s remains had been found. Qiqi returned to the palace but chose not to see the body, leaning on Hu Xiaotian as he agreed to arrange the funeral.

• Qiqi told Hu Xiaotian she could reproduce Emperor Taizong’s Heart Sutra from memory and wondered whether the knowledge came from her mother.
• Yin Zheng reported to Hu Xiaotian that Quan Dean’s body had been found on Misty Mountain, and Hu Xiaotian told him to care for the remains.
• Hu Xiaotian told Qiqi the news, and she wept over Quan Dean’s death and asked whether he had requested Hu Xiaotian to care for her.
• Qiqi traveled with Hu Xiaotian toward the palace but changed her mind before seeing Quan Dean’s remains and asked Hu Xiaotian to handle the arrangements.
• Hu Xiaotian promised to arrange Quan Dean’s funeral, and Qiqi rested her head on his shoulder.

Hu Xiaotian confirmed Quan Dean’s remains and carried Qiqi’s funeral wishes back to her, while she mourned her loyal attendant and ordered the search of Dragon Spirit Wonderland to stop. As Hu Xiaotian took charge of receiving foreign envoys, Xue Lingjun arrived in the Kang Capital and recognized how quickly his relationship with Qiqi had changed.

• Hu Xiaotian examined Quan Dean’s remains with Murong Zhan, confirmed his identity, and said Qiqi would decide whether the search continued.
• Qiqi ordered Quan Dean cremated and his ashes sent to his hometown, and asked that her lock of hair be burned with him.
• Qiqi tasked Hu Xiaotian with receiving the envoys from Great Yong and Black Hu, including Xue Lingjun and Wanyan Liexin.
• Qiqi ordered Hu Xiaotian to tell Murong Zhan and Hong Beimo to halt the Dragon Spirit Wonderland search and restore the Jade Pool.
• Officials in Great Kang began expecting Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi to reconcile as Hu Xiaotian took on greater responsibilities.
• Xue Lingjun arrived as Great Yong’s envoy and found that Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi had rapidly grown close again.

Xue Lingjun met Hu Xiaotian in the Prince of Suppressing the Sea's Residence to discuss Great Yong's relations with Great Kang, but their conversation remained guarded and indirect. Hu Xiaotian reflected on the growing difficulty of controlling Xue Daoming as Xue Lingjun prepared to raise the diplomatic business.

• Xue Lingjun abandoned her plan to meet Qiqi first and visited Hu Xiaotian, whom Li Chenzhou had advised her to approach before Grand Tutor Wen Chenghuan.
• Hu Xiaotian welcomed Xue Lingjun in his rear garden, where Shi Kuan accompanied her and Liang Dazhuang served tea.
• Liang Dazhuang scalded his hand while distracted by Xue Lingjun, and Shi Kuan caught the teapot before it struck him.
• Xue Lingjun used a glance to send Shi Kuan away so she could speak privately with Hu Xiaotian.
• Xue Lingjun claimed she had come to Great Kang to help Xue Daoming, while Hu Xiaotian recognized her and Li Chenzhou's alliance and considered Xue Daoming's growing support and the dangers of moving against him.

Xue Lingjun tried to persuade Hu Xiaotian to support a Great Kang–Great Yong alliance, while shifting relations at court complicated Hong Beimo’s plans. The chapter ended with Black Hu’s Wanyan Liexin arriving to meet Hu Xiaotian.

• Xue Lingjun discussed Great Kang’s alliance choices with Hu Xiaotian and warned him that Black Hu ultimately aimed to invade the Central Plains.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Xue Lingjun about the Prince of Yan and the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram, but she knew nothing about the diagram.
• Hong Beimo learned that Qiqi had stopped the Jade Pool search and withdrawn the artisans, then asked Baobao about her feelings for Hu Xiaotian.
• Baobao admitted that she liked Hu Xiaotian but said she did not have to marry him.
• Wanyan Liexin arrived at the Prince of Suppressing the Sea’s Residence with six warriors and entered the Inner Court with one attendant.

Hu Xiaotian hosted Wanyan Liexin and tried to learn Black Hu’s intentions, but their conversation yielded little beyond Wanyan’s proposal to arrange a match with Princess Xima and his claim that Black Hu would handle its grievances with Great Yong alone. Wanyan left the residence still cautious, saying he needed more time to understand the situation in the Kang Capital.

• Hu Xiaotian recognized Wanyan Liexin’s disguised female warrior companion but pretended not to notice her identity.
• Wanyan Liexin asked Hu Xiaotian about children and consorts, then offered to arrange a match with Princess Xima, who he claimed admired him.
• Hu Xiaotian asked whether Black Hu would join Great Kang against Great Yong, and Wanyan said Black Hu wanted Great Kang to assist neither side.
• Wanyan Liexin said he had heard that Xue Shengjing fled to Black Hu, but the rumor was unconfirmed.
• Hu Xiaotian’s probing brought him little information, and Wanyan Liexin later told his companion they needed patience while they learned the situation in the Kang Capital.

Disguised as a warrior, Xima resented Black Hu’s failed marriage-alliance plans and went walking through the Kang Capital with Gang Baduo. When a thief stole her purse and her father’s Golden Knife, she pursued him into a walled courtyard despite Gang Baduo’s warning about an ambush.

• Xima told Wanyan Liexin that she was willing to sacrifice herself for Black Hu, then rode away while he and the other warriors stayed back.
• Gang Baduo found Xima and walked with her through Heavenly Street, where she became absorbed in the bustling sights and a street performance.
• After someone called Gang Baduo’s name to distract him, Xima discovered her purse was missing and spotted a thief carrying it.
• Xima and Gang Baduo chased the thief through several alleys until he escaped over a high wall into a courtyard.
• Xima revealed that the thief had also stolen the Golden Knife her father had given her, and Gang Baduo agreed to follow her over the wall.
• The thief saw Xima and Gang Baduo enter the courtyard and hurriedly fled again.

Gang Baduo and Xima were lured into the Heavenly Secrets Bureau’s forbidden grounds, where the bureau detained them after they entered the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower courtyard. Hu Xiaotian arrived to defuse the standoff, but Gang Baduo’s demand to search the tower angered him, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Gang Baduo and Xima followed a thief to the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower, where the Heavenly Secrets Bureau surrounded them and accused them of trespassing.
• Gang Baduo identified himself as Black Hu’s National Preceptor and demanded to see Hong Beimo, while Xima urged him not to escalate the situation.
• Xima revealed that she was the Black Hu Star-Inviting Princess and invoked Hu Xiaotian, prompting Baobao and Fu Yuhong to avoid provoking the Prince of Suppressing the Sea.
• Hu Xiaotian learned that Xima had been detained, sent Liang Dazhuang to inform Wanyan Liexin, and went to the bureau after Baobao explained the incident and the tower’s connection to Qiqi and the skull.
• Hu Xiaotian met Gang Baduo and Xima at the tower; when Gang Baduo urged him to search inside for the thief, Hu Xiaotian angrily warned him about the forbidden place.

Hu Xiaotian released Princess Xima and Gang Baduo after they were caught at the Seven-Treasure Exquisite Tower, then explained the incident to Princess Yongyang. He suspected someone had lured them into the Heavenly Secrets Bureau to steal the Skull or undermine the alliance, but the culprit remained unknown.

• Hu Xiaotian took Xima and Gang Baduo from the Heavenly Secrets Bureau, and Wanyan Liexin led the Black Hu delegation away with them.
• Hu Xiaotian met Shi Xuedong at the Purple Orchid Palace, where Shi mentioned that Yin Zheng had been visiting him and that the Jade Pool's water had returned.
• Hu Xiaotian joined Qiqi for breakfast, and she asked why he had released the Black Hu intruders.
• Hu Xiaotian said Xima and Gang Baduo's status made their detention problematic and argued that someone had deliberately lured them to the tower.
• Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi considered whether the plot involved Great Yong, the Heavenly Secrets Bureau, or someone else, but Hu Xiaotian said there was no evidence to identify a culprit.

Hu Xiaotian met with Qiqi, who planned to visit Heavenly Dragon Temple with him, then attended a banquet hosted by Wanyan Liexin and Xima. A song set to a poem Hu Xiaotian had once recited with Huo Xiaoru left him wondering if she was behind the screen.

• Qiqi told Hu Xiaotian she would investigate the trouble involving the Black Hu and Great Yong envoys and arranged to visit Fengyi Manor and Heavenly Dragon Temple with him.
• Hu Xiaotian met Wanyan Liexin at Aftertaste Tower, where he recognized the building as the former Misty Waters Pavilion.
• Xima thanked Hu Xiaotian for helping the Black Hu delegation and asked whether he had found the Golden Knife thief.
• Wanyan Liexin arranged a musical performance during the banquet, and Hu Xiaotian recognized a modified song version of Han Yu's poem that he had once recited with Huo Xiaoru.
• Hu Xiaotian stared at the silhouettes behind the screen and wondered whether Huo Xiaoru was among the performers.

Hu Xiaotian recognized Xiang Shancong at the Aftertaste Tower and tried to learn more about Huo Xiaoru, but their reunion led instead to a private discussion about Black Hu’s alliance mission and its conflict with Great Yong. Wanyan Liexin revealed that an assassin had targeted his delegation, leaving Hu Xiaotian to hear the envoys’ grievances against Great Yong.

• A pointe dance reminded Hu Xiaotian of Huo Xiaoru, and he wondered whether Wanyan Liexin had arranged the performance to provoke his interest.
• Hu Xiaotian asked to meet the Aftertaste Tower’s proprietor, and Xiang Shancong appeared; Hu recognized him as an old acquaintance from Yanxi Hall who knew about Huo Xiaoru.
• Xima left with Xiang Shancong to see the dancers, giving Hu Xiaotian and Wanyan Liexin a chance to speak privately.
• Wanyan Liexin told Hu Xiaotian that an assassin had entered the Black Hu delegation’s post station the previous night and said he suspected Great Yong, though he had no evidence.
• Wanyan Liexin disclosed that Black Hu had come to seek an alliance with Great Kang and described its bitter disputes with Great Yong, including the killing of Wanyan Chixiong.

Hu Xiaotian negotiated with Wanyan Liexin over Black Hu’s conflict with Great Yong, listening as Wanyan outlined Great Yong’s political weaknesses and offered an alliance. The chapter ended with Hu Xiaotian refusing both Black Hu’s proposed marriage alliance and any deal that required Great Kang to support it, though he considered standing aside.

• Hu Xiaotian humored Wanyan Liexin’s account of the border conflict and answered his analogy about whether a healer should try to save a terminally ill patient.
• Wanyan Liexin described Great Yong’s political turmoil, Li Chenzhou’s struggle with Xue Daoming, and Xue Shengjing’s ties to Black Hu.
• Wanyan Liexin revealed that Great Yong had intended to pressure Hu Xiaotian during his grain shortage and said Black Hu had once hoped to ally with him and supply grain.
• Wanyan Liexin offered Princess Xima’s hand in marriage and asked Great Kang to stay out of Black Hu’s war with Great Yong.
• Hu Xiaotian indirectly confirmed from Wanyan Liexin’s remarks that Xue Shengjing was in Black Hu, then refused the proposed marriage alliance.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Huo Xiaoru wanted him to rescue Rong Shi from the Heavenly Secrets Bureau’s Black Prison in exchange for meeting her. He set out with Qiqi for Fengyi Manor, planning to take custody of Rong Shi after their trip.

• Hu Xiaotian returned to the Aftertaste Tower and met Xiang Shancong, who told him Huo Xiaoru was in Great Kang and treasured the place where she had first met Hu Xiaotian.
• Xiang Shancong said Huo Xiaoru wanted Hu Xiaotian to rescue Rong Shi, who had impersonated Ren Tianqing and was imprisoned in the Heavenly Secrets Bureau’s Black Prison; Hu Xiaotian agreed after Xiang promised she would meet him.
• The following afternoon, Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi left the palace for Fengyi Manor with Murong Zhan as their escort and Liang Dazhuang among their companions.
• Hu Xiaotian raised Rong Shi’s imprisonment with Qiqi, and she agreed that he should take custody of Rong Shi after they returned and investigate what he knew.