Chapter Summaries

Li Wei claimed his rewards for resolving the Third Haven crisis and helped the Empire prepare for the Sanctuary’s return. As the Sanctuary appeared in the world, the Queen praised Li Wei’s musical talents, leaving him certain she intended to recruit him for something.

• Li Wei completed the Choice quest, gained lifespan and mental resistance, and received the Musician class, but put his bonus class point into Demon Hunter.
• Li Wei decided to relocate the Third Haven’s fewer than a thousand survivors to Night City and seal off the other cities.
• Li Wei guided the Queen and Princess Louise aboard the Eye of the Sky as they waited for the Third Haven to return to the world.
• The Queen praised Li Wei’s music and compositions, making him suspect she wanted to involve him in a new undertaking.
• Purple lightning fractured the sky, and the Sanctuary’s forest vanished as a plain and city appeared in its place.
• The Queen asked how many other Sanctuaries existed, and Li Wei said he did not know before concluding that she intended to rope him into something.

After the Queen ordered Li Wei to represent the Empire in a cultural contest against the City of a Thousand Joys and the City of Flowers, he planned a theater production built around mechanical special effects. When local theaters refused to host it, he searched Imperial patents and spotted a possible motion-picture invention.

• Li Wei read newspapers explaining that the City of a Thousand Joys and the City of Flowers were competing for cultural prestige while dismissing Imperial art.
• The Queen ordered Li Wei to defeat the rival cities in popular music, symphonies, and theater at the City of a Thousand Joys' music festival.
• Li Wei chose to stage a special-effects version of Pirates of the Caribbean, adapting its conflict to the Empire's history with the Invincible Fleet of Steff.
• The Old Butler warned Li Wei that theaters in the City of a Thousand Joys were fully booked and would not cooperate.
• Li Wei searched the Patent Office's records for patents involving sound, light, and images, then noticed a possible motion-picture patent.

Li Wei discovered that Louis Prince’s steam-powered motion picture camera could support the Empire’s new technological art project, and he secured the Queen’s and Parliament’s backing to make a film. He began rewriting Pirates of the Caribbean into a single movie and prepared to recruit an orchestra and cast.

• Li Wei visited Louis Prince and watched his motion picture camera project a clear, colorful moving image.
• Li Wei recruited Prince and ordered him to produce at least thirty cameras, five hundred hours of film, and train his staff to operate the equipment.
• Li Wei won the Queen’s approval and Parliament’s unanimous support for his technological art project, which prompted public debate.
• Li Wei rewrote Pirates of the Caribbean as one film, combining elements of the first three movies while cutting several plotlines.
• Li Wei considered recruiting an orchestra and actors now that the project had official authorization.

Li Wei held auditions for Pirates of the Caribbean and showed the Eye of the Goddess Troupe how film acting differed from stage performance by transforming himself into Jack Sparrow. Most roles were cast, but no suitable actor was found for Jack, leaving Li Wei likely to play him himself.

• Li Wei invited the Eye of the Goddess Troupe to produce the film and began auditions at its Second Stage, giving actors only the opening portion of the script.
• Qiong Staley auditioned for Elizabeth, but Li Wei stopped her and explained that film actors needed to embody their characters rather than use exaggerated stage techniques.
• Li Wei returned disguised as Jack Sparrow and demonstrated the character, convincing the actors of his approach.
• The remaining auditions went smoothly, and the troupe filled most roles after a few practice attempts.
• The troupe still had no suitable actor for Jack Sparrow, so Li Wei prepared to take the role himself.

Li Wei completed the Empire’s first film and held a private screening for the Queen and other dignitaries, introducing them to a new way of telling stories. The audience became absorbed in Jack, Will, and Elizabeth’s adventure as the screening continued.

• Li Wei organized a film production, recruited a crew, and spent seven months filming at the Vise Islands.
• Li Wei invited the Queen, Princess Louise, and other members of the Royal Family and House of Lords to a private screening at the Eye of the Goddess Theater.
• Li Wei presented the film on a screen, astonishing the audience with moving images, recorded dialogue, and music.
• The audience watched the opening scenes as Elizabeth encountered a boy at sea and Jack made a comically dramatic entrance at the harbor.
• Jack rescued Elizabeth, fought Will in the blacksmith’s shop, and later escaped with Will after the Black Pearl attacked.
• Will and Jack pursued Elizabeth, and the audience debated the pirates’ strange resilience and Jack’s clever ship-switching plan.

Li Wei screened his first motion picture, following Jack Sparrow through a final battle with William Jones and the sea monster before Jack returned with the Black Pearl. Impressed by the film’s power, the Queen ordered Li Wei to arrange an Empire-wide release at the City of a Thousand Joys festival to challenge Francis’s cultural influence.

• Jack faced the sea monster alone after Elizabeth left him handcuffed to the Black Pearl, then charged into its jaws with his sword.
• Will led the others in attacking the Flying Dutchman, and they killed William Jones and destroyed the sea monster’s heart.
• The Black Pearl rose from the sea, and Jack led the survivors toward a new adventure.
• The audience applauded Li Wei’s film, and the Queen praised cinema as a powerful weapon for the Empire.
• The Queen ordered Li Wei to prepare a nationwide release for the opening day of the City of a Thousand Joys festival.

Li Wei arranged nationwide screenings of "Pirates of the Caribbean" as the Queen used film distribution to strengthen the Royal Family’s control over the Empire. He arrived in the City of a Thousand Joys for the festival, wary that the Queen’s efforts to curb the regional lords could lead to civil war, and learned that his performance had been scheduled last without his knowledge.

• Li Wei negotiated for theaters across the Empire to screen "Pirates of the Caribbean," with the producers receiving 75% of ticket revenue and theaters handling renovation and publicity costs.
• The Empire promoted the November 8 screenings, prompting speculation about how audiences across the country would watch the new Technological Art.
• Li Wei reflected that the Queen’s reforms and the nobles’ resistance could bring the Empire to civil war and encourage separatists to break away.
• Li Wei traveled by airship to the City of a Thousand Joys, where reporters questioned him about his festival performance.
• Anthony drove Li Wei away from the terminal, and Li Wei asked when his performance had been scheduled as the opening ceremony’s final event.

Li Wei prepared Muse's Eye for the celebration, expecting the Sacred Hymn Troupe and Glorious Troupe to challenge the Empire with their performances. After rehearsing with his company, he attended the governor's musical salon, where the governor hinted at a surprise for him.

• Anthony told Li Wei that Theater News had reported the Sacred Hymn Troupe and Glorious Troupe would perform before Muse's Eye at the celebration.
• Li Wei concluded the Francisians meant to oppose the Empire and decided to skip the governor's dinner to focus on rehearsals.
• Anthony confirmed that Li Wei's recording studio, stage, and theater renovations were ready, and Li Wei began preparing with the orchestra and Little Mermaid.
• Li Wei rehearsed at a hotel in the City of a Thousand Joys before agreeing to attend the governor's musical salon with Katie, Little Mermaid, and the other girls.
• The governor welcomed Li Wei at the embassy and hinted that he had prepared a surprise for him.

Li Wei let Susan and her companions enter the Governor's banquet and perform their guitar music, despite her father's objections. Their amplified guitars caught his interest, and he offered to try one after their performance faltered.

• Li Wei brought Katie to the banquet, where the Governor hosted a Music Salon featuring ensembles of young women.
• Li Wei found Susan, Ayla, and Mole arguing with the guards because they had arrived late, and let them into the embassy after learning Susan wanted to perform.
• Susan's father, Mr. Rogers, objected to her performance, but Li Wei persuaded him to let the girls take the stage.
• Susan and her companions connected modified guitars to speakers and performed an original song, though the music faltered and drew Mr. Rogers's anger.
• Li Wei stepped forward and asked Susan if he could try her guitar.

Li Wei discovered Susan’s experimental electric guitar and demonstrated its potential by performing an energetic song that captivated the audience. He invited Susan, Ayla, and Mole to join him at the City of a Thousand Joys festival, where he planned to use electronic instruments to introduce a new musical style.

• Susan explained that she and technicians at her father’s factory had modified guitars to send their sound through amplifiers using magnets and metal strings.
• Li Wei played the guitar and performed an upbeat song, prompting the audience to sway and applaud.
• Li Wei praised the guitar but told Susan that her band’s song lacked completion.
• Li Wei learned that Susan and Ayla played guitars and Mole played drums.
• Li Wei invited the three musicians to perform at the City of a Thousand Joys festival, with him composing and singing while they played the instruments.

Li Wei arranged mass production of Susan’s electric guitar and recognized David’s failed low-register prototype as a bass. He trained Susan, Ayla, and Mole for the City of a Thousand Joys festival before reluctantly attending its opening ceremony as the Empire’s representative.

• Li Wei visited Rogers Musical Instruments, approved mass production of Susan’s electric guitar, and Rogers appointed David to lead a new Electronic Instruments Department.
• Li Wei tried the failed four-string prototype, played it as a bass, and explained its musical role to Susan, David, and Rogers.
• Li Wei formed a band with Susan on electric guitar, Ayla on bass, and Mole on drums, then arranged intensive training for the festival.
• Li Wei planned for the group to perform at the festival’s fourth-day music showcase while the Philharmonic Orchestra handled classical performances.
• A week after visiting the workshop, Li Wei interrupted the group’s training and attended the festival’s opening ceremony as the Empire’s representative.

Li Wei asserted the Empire’s authority at the City of a Thousand Joys celebration by stripping Jacques Tell and Leon Dona Frans of their seats of honor, forcing the city’s officials to comply. As the performances began, the audience awaited the artistic contest that would follow.

• Li Wei arrived at the Court of Arts while Jacques Tell and Leon Dona Frans arrived in carriages and declared that Francisian art would resist the Empire.
• Jacques and Leon discussed Li Wei’s secret performance and dismissed the Empire’s technological art as a threat to their mastery.
• Li Wei blocked Jacques and Leon from taking the seats of honor, challenged the legitimacy of their Francisian titles, and had them moved to second-tier seats.
• Li Wei warned Mr. Doros against further mistakes, and the Court of Arts removed Jacques and Leon’s nameplates and chairs from the dais.
• Li Wei told the governor that the troupes’ unapproved performances would lead to their arrest after the celebration.
• The audience gathered as the celebration began, with Li Wei and the governor seated above Jacques and Leon, and waited to see whether the troupes’ performances could answer the Empire’s show of authority.

Li Wei used a screening of Pirates of the Caribbean to eclipse two provocative plays and demonstrate that movies could surpass theater. The audience embraced the new art form, while the governor arrested Troupe Leaders Jacques and Leon and their performers for staging unapproved plays.

• The Sacred Hymn Troupe performed a play praising the Holy Lord, and the Glorious Troupe staged a story about the overthrow of Fran III, both provoking the Empire.
• Li Wei told the governor to wait until after the evening’s performance before arresting the troupes, promising that the audience would soon forget them.
• The audience watched Pirates of the Caribbean on a large screen and applauded enthusiastically, while Li Wei slept through much of the film.
• Troupe Leaders Jacques and Leon and their actors realized movies threatened theater’s future and began leaving the Court of Arts.
• The governor and police stopped the troupe members at the exit and arrested them for performing without permission.

Pirates of the Caribbean became a sensation, and Li Wei used its success to weaken Francis’s cultural influence while preparing the Beauty God to take over filmmaking. As the City of a Thousand Joys worried that Li Wei would challenge its musical traditions, the Empire’s orchestra performed a symphony that eased its fears, leaving Li Wei poised to act during the upcoming international music performances.

• Newspapers across the Empire and beyond praised Pirates of the Caribbean, while political pressure kept conservative critics from attacking it and Francisian papers remained shut down.
• Li Wei sold costly full-color film posters and albums, turning the movie into another blow against Francisian cultural influence.
• The Beauty God volunteered to make films, and Li Wei planned to leave filmmaking to her while supplying scripts.
• A report that Li Wei had played an unfamiliar electric instrument and sung a distinctive song at the governor’s banquet alarmed the City of a Thousand Joys.
• The Empire’s Philharmonic Orchestra performed Pirates of the Caribbean’s theme and Li Wei’s symphony "Fate," reassuring the city that its musical culture would not be crushed.
• With international musical performances about to begin, Li Wei waited for the opportunity he had been planning for.

Li Wei and the newly assembled band Backstreet performed pop songs in several styles at the City of a Thousand Joys celebration, introducing the audience to music centered on personal emotion rather than complete stories. Their first three songs won growing enthusiasm, and Li Wei left the crowd swaying to a rock performance.

• Li Wei reassured Susan, Ayla, and Mole before taking the stage with Muse, drawing a huge crowd because he had announced the performance in an interview.
• Muse sang “The Day You Went Away,” and the audience applauded and cheered after the song ended.
• Li Wei introduced Susan, Ayla, and Mole as Backstreet’s musicians, then sang “My Love” with the band as listeners recognized how the songs expressed emotions instead of telling stories.
• Li Wei switched his guitar to a distorted sound and launched into “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” with Muse singing lead and Mole driving the beat.
• Li Wei watched the crowd sway and grow excited as the rock song filled the square.

Li Wei gave an interview to the Voice of a Thousand Joys, discussing technology and art, Moving Pictures, popular music, and women’s rights and work in the Empire. After his controversial remarks, he returned home, where Inspector Lestrade came to see him a few days later.

• Li Wei considered the reaction to his concert and prepared for an interview with the Voice of a Thousand Joys.
• Li Wei told the radio host that technology supported art and explained how he had discovered Mr. Prince’s Moving Pictures.
• Li Wei argued that women in Francis lacked legal rights, while women in the Empire could earn and control their lawful income.
• Li Wei confirmed that the Backstreet Band’s performers shared in the income from their records and said he had chosen an all-female band because young, pretty girls motivated people.
• Li Wei returned to the Empire after the interview, and Inspector Lestrade visited his home a few days later.

Li Wei learned that a fraud involving forged royal claims and a fake gold-mine company had cost victims nearly eighty million pounds, while an investigative team sent to Clot Territory vanished aboard a train that arrived empty. Suspecting a supernatural incident and possible involvement by Clot’s lord, Li Wei headed there with Katie and ordered the Eye of the Sky to remain on alert overhead.

• Inspector Lestrade told Li Wei that a coordinated fraud had targeted merchants, landowners, clerks, and minor nobles, causing losses estimated at nearly eighty million pounds.
• Lestrade reported that the money trail led to Clot Territory, where the police investigative team and everyone else aboard their train had disappeared.
• Li Wei reviewed the evidence, identified Clot Territory as the likely center of the mystery, and suspected the Queen wanted him to investigate its lord.
• Li Wei decided to travel to Clot Territory with Katie rather than take a train.
• As they neared Clot Airport, Li Wei ordered Lieutenant Horn to keep the Eye of the Sky on alert above the territory and await his signal.

Li Wei investigated the Iron Eagle train that had returned to Clot City without its passengers or crew, questioning railway officials and inspecting the train. He found no obvious supernatural history, but learned it had consumed twice its usual coal essence and water, leaving the train’s journey unexplained.

• Li Wei considered why the lord of Clot might be involved in concealing a huge sum of money, then focused on investigating the missing passengers aboard the Iron Eagle.
• The railway chairman told Li Wei and Katie that the train had returned empty, with no luggage, and that searches along the route had found nothing.
• Prolo and his mentor said they found the Iron Eagle at platform three without any entry in the station log, but could not confirm whether it had been there when they arrived.
• Li Wei learned that the five-year-old train had no accident history or known deaths aboard it, and that the railway company had sealed it in a warehouse.
• Li Wei inspected the locomotive and learned that it had used twice its usual amount of coal essence and water on its last trip, then turned to examine the carriages.

Li Wei investigated the Iron Eagle’s disappearance in Clot City and concluded it was likely engineered to conceal the movement of money from the Imperial Bank. He baited the people behind it by pretending he had found evidence and boarded the Iron Eagle for Fog City, leaving their response—and his fate—uncertain.

• The lord of Clot warned his subordinate not to interfere with Li Wei while the detective investigated the Iron Eagle.
• Li Wei found no useful evidence in the train or its logs, but reasoned that its isolated disappearance and unusual consumption of coal essence pointed to deliberate interference.
• Li Wei suspected the incident had been staged to buy time while someone moved eighty million pounds, and went to the Clot Imperial Bank to investigate.
• After visiting the bank, Li Wei carried out an empty briefcase and announced he would leave for Fog City that night, alarming the conspirators.
• The lord of Clot agreed to a plan to kill Li Wei, and the Iron Eagle departed with Li Wei and Katie aboard.
• Li Wei told Katie that the conspirators could not risk ignoring the apparent evidence in his briefcase, then waited for them to act.

Li Wei baited the culprit behind the fraud into acting, and the man used a mysterious key to make the train vanish into a tunnel. The Doll Bird stole the key and returned it to Li Wei, who recognized it as a Sanctuary key.

• Li Wei reasoned that the fraudster would panic after learning he was under investigation and arranged to inspect a suspected freighter carrying the stolen gold.
• As Li Wei rode the train through the night with Katie, he suspected the culprit might tamper with the route and had the Doll Bird scout ahead.
• A man waiting near a tunnel decided to kill Li Wei, believing the detective had uncovered evidence against their plan.
• The man invoked his blood, flesh, and spirit to activate a key, opening a passage that swallowed the train as it entered the tunnel.
• The Doll Bird swooped down and stole the key from the weakened man before flying into the tunnel.
• The Doll Bird brought the key to Li Wei, who identified it as a Sanctuary key.