Chapter Summaries

Yi Shuyuan recited the Peach Blossom Spring Record while boating on the Du River, then fell into icy water and struggled to survive in a snowy wilderness. A group of men rescued him only after using him as bait for a beast, and they laughed when he thanked them.

• Yi Shuyuan told the old boatman he made a living online and continued reciting the Peach Blossom Spring Record.
• As Yi Shuyuan described light in a mountain opening, the boat struck something that looked like a great sheet of ice, and he fell into the river.
• Yi Shuyuan sank into darkness, felt a force dragging him down, and then broke through floating ice to reach the riverbank.
• A group hiding nearby stopped one man from helping Yi Shuyuan, saying a beast preferred its prey alive.
• After Yi Shuyuan weakened, one of the men pulled him from the water, and the group laughed when he thanked them.

Yi Shuyuan awoke in an abandoned mountain relay station among armed men who planned to use him as bait for a Snow Python. After eating and piecing together that he was in real danger, he sensed a strange, rotten stench that the men around him did not notice.

• Yi Shuyuan huddled in the hut and overheard the men discussing their failed search for the Snow Python and their plan to capture it for its valuable gallbladder.
• The short-bearded boss ordered Agou to feed Yi Shuyuan because he was the group's only bait left.
• Yi Shuyuan ate hot soup and a steamed bun, then instinctively said his home was West River Village, Yuanjiang County, before realizing the place stirred a vague memory.
• The men mocked Yi Shuyuan and joked about using Agou as bait, while the boss told Agou to ignore them and do his work.
• Yi Shuyuan noticed bloodstains and weapons, accepted that the men were dangerous, and then detected a growing rotten stench that none of them seemed to smell.

A giant Snow Python attacked the men sheltering in the abandoned relay station, forcing them to flee into the mountain woods. Yi Shuyuan kept Agou alive by staying still, but the two discovered their leader had also remained behind.

• A giant white Snow Python slipped into the relay station and snatched one of the men while Yi Shuyuan pulled Agou out of its path.
• The leader and his men prepared to defend themselves as the Snow Python prowled outside and a freezing wind threatened their campfire.
• Yi Shuyuan realized the men planned to kill him and decided Agou was the only one among them worth saving.
• The campfire went out, and the leader ordered everyone to scatter; Yi Shuyuan pinned Agou down and whispered that the snake was pursuing the fleeing men.
• After the sounds of pursuit faded, Yi Shuyuan and Agou noticed that the leader had stayed behind and was watching them.

Yi Shuyuan and A Gou escaped through the mountains until dawn, but the leader caught up with them at a mountain pass. Yi Shuyuan concealed his exhaustion and made the leader suspect that he had planned to take the Snow Python Gallbladder all along.

• Yi Shuyuan roused A Gou and led him out of the waystation, fleeing from the strange snake’s scent while the leader followed them.
• A Gou carried Yi Shuyuan through the mountains all night as Yi Shuyuan used his sense of smell to guide them away from danger.
• At dawn, A Gou collapsed at a mountain pass, and Yi Shuyuan believed the people they had left behind were unlikely to survive.
• The leader emerged from behind a rock and accused Yi Shuyuan of pretending to be an idiot, while Yi Shuyuan noticed the man was wary of him.
• Yi Shuyuan spoke in a cold, threatening voice, and the leader concluded that he had feigned weakness to get the group to the Snow Python and steal its gallbladder.

Yi Shuyuan escaped the giant snake by crossing a mountain stream with A Gou, then reassured the frightened boy and set out toward Yuanjiang County. The chapter ended with Yi Shuyuan agreeing to keep moving because A Gou feared the snake might catch up.

• Yi Shuyuan tricked the leader into leaving by implying he was too weak to fight, then fled south on A Gou's back as the giant snake approached.
• The leader encountered the snake, fought it with his saber, and was struck against a cliff as it lunged at him.
• Yi Shuyuan and A Gou crossed a mountain stream, after which the snake's scent faded and Yi Shuyuan concluded they were safe.
• Yi Shuyuan reassured A Gou that he would not hurt him and explained that A Gou's kindness had helped save his life.
• A Gou shared a steamed bun with Yi Shuyuan, then asked where they were going and urged caution about the snake.
• Yi Shuyuan said they would go to Yuanjiang County, then agreed to keep moving when A Gou remained afraid.

As A Fei carried Yi Shuyuan through the mountains, he confided how he had fallen in with the Eight Demons of Black Mountain, and Yi Shuyuan urged him to return home. During a rest, A Fei revealed his real name and demonstrated his martial arts, leaving Yi Shuyuan astonished by their power.

• Yi Shuyuan praised A Gou for saving him and asked why he had been traveling with the people who threatened them.
• A Gou explained that he had wanted to become a righteous hero but had become trapped among the Eight Demons of Black Mountain and regretted failing to stop their crimes.
• Yi Shuyuan told A Gou that he should return home after their ordeal, and A Gou later agreed to rest when he was exhausted.
• A Gou told Yi Shuyuan that his real name was Mai Lingfei and invited him to call him A Fei.
• A Fei demonstrated his martial arts, striking a tree and scattering snow with a powerful kick, while Yi Shuyuan watched in awe.

Yi Shuyuan taught A Fei a calming meditation method after seeing his discouragement over his martial arts, and A Fei’s internal qi settled as he followed the guidance. A Fei begged to become Yi Shuyuan’s disciple, and Yi Shuyuan named the method the Clear Heart Art.

• A Fei demonstrated the Mai Family Fist, and Yi Shuyuan advised him to settle his mind and steady his breathing.
• At their mountain camp, Yi Shuyuan offered to teach A Fei a method for calming the mind.
• Yi Shuyuan guided A Fei through meditation, helping him calm his breathing and settle his turbulent internal qi.
• A Fei emerged from meditation, kowtowed to Yi Shuyuan, and begged him to accept him as a disciple.
• Yi Shuyuan named the meditation method the Clear Heart Art, and A Fei eagerly repeated its name.

Yi Shuyuan and A Fei traveled out of the snowbound mountains, and Yi Shuyuan discovered his parents’ graves near the route home. He broke down in grief, apologizing for arriving too late, while A Fei knelt beside him.

• Yi Shuyuan dreamed of the light streaks that had brought him to this world and woke in a panic.
• A Fei practiced the Clear Heart Art each night while he and Yi Shuyuan continued through the mountains.
• A Fei carried Yi Shuyuan toward Yuanjiang County, and they crossed into the Moon Province boundary.
• Yi Shuyuan felt drawn to a bamboo grove and found the graves of Yi Sheng and Chen Yulan, erected by Yi Baokang.
• Yi Shuyuan wept, repeatedly kowtowed before his parents’ graves, and cried that he had come home too late; A Fei knelt beside him.

Yi Shuyuan returned to West River Village with A Fei and reunited with his younger brother after more than twenty years away. He learned that his family had believed him missing, while his unchanged appearance astonished everyone.

• Yi Shuyuan and A Fei cleared the weeds from his parents' graves, and Yi Shuyuan struggled with grief and uncertainty about his memories.
• Yi Shuyuan led A Fei down the mountain to West River Village and asked a group of children to take them to Yi Baokang's home.
• Yi Baokang recognized Yi Shuyuan as his long-lost elder brother, and the brothers reunited in tears.
• Yi Baokang told the family and gathered villagers how Yi Shuyuan had disappeared more than twenty years earlier and recounted their family's hardships.
• Yi Shuyuan wept as he heard about his mother's final moments, while A Fei was moved by the reunion and learned it was the Shangyuan Festival.

Yi Shuyuan settled into life at the Yi family home while villagers gossiped about his return and youthful appearance. A-Fei left to return home after paying Yi Shuyuan a solemn tribute, then displayed his martial arts for West River Village as he departed.

• Villagers gathered to discuss Yi Shuyuan’s return, his apparent youth, and the martial wanderer A-Fei.
• Yi Shuyuan ate in the Yi family courtyard while villagers peered in and called for A-Fei to demonstrate his skills.
• A-Fei told Yi Shuyuan he planned to leave that day and make peace with his father.
• A-Fei knelt and bowed three times, thanking Yi Shuyuan for saving him and teaching him inner cultivation.
• A-Fei performed martial arts across rooftops and haystacks before leaving West River Village, while Yi Shuyuan watched with pride and mixed feelings.

Yi Shuyuan confronted his uncertainty about being stranded in a strange world and decided to use his education to support himself. After finding his late father's writing materials, he practiced calligraphy and gained confidence that his skills could help him find work.

• Zhao complained that Yi Baokang was supporting an outsider, but Yi Baokang insisted Yi Shuyuan was his elder brother and recognized him by his childhood scar.
• Yi Shuyuan reflected on his loneliness and accepted that he had to make a place for himself in his new reality.
• Yi Shuyuan asked Yi Baokang about their father's belongings and found a box containing old writing tools and paper.
• Yi Shuyuan practiced writing before the gathered family, overcoming an awkward first stroke and quickly producing neater characters.
• Yi Shuyuan decided that his reading and writing skills could help him find a decent job and support himself.

After changing into a scholar’s clothes and shaving his beard, Yi Shuyuan went with Yi Yong'an to Yuanjiang County to look for work. He entered the bustling county seat with growing curiosity, though his hopes of finding an easy opportunity had faded.

• Yi Shuyuan dressed in the only scholar’s outfit he could wear and shaved his beard, astonishing the Yi family with his transformed appearance.
• Yi Shuyuan asked Yi Baokang to arrange a trip into town, and Yi Yong'an volunteered to accompany him.
• As they walked toward Yuanjiang County, Yi Shuyuan asked Yi Yong'an to stop repeatedly calling him eldest uncle, but Yi Yong'an refused to use a lower-ranking form of address.
• Yi Shuyuan admired the spring countryside while he and Yi Yong'an traveled toward the county seat on winding roads.
• Yi Shuyuan entered Yuanjiang County with Yi Yong'an and explored its crowded streets, declining invitations to shops because he had little money to spend.

Yi Shuyuan found a notice seeking writing clerks for the Yuanjiang County Gazetteer and applied for the position. Asked to demonstrate his handwriting, he produced an exceptional piece that astonished the chief clerk and a nearby officer.

• Yi Shuyuan inspected calligraphy at a street stall and recognized that a work attributed to Yan Qin imitated the master too deliberately.
• Yi Shuyuan and Yi Yong'an reached the Yuanjiang County School, where Yi Shuyuan remembered his childhood teacher while Yi Yong'an went to buy buns.
• Yi Shuyuan read the county notice seeking two writing clerks and decided to apply despite his concerns about his identity.
• Yi Shuyuan gave his name to the officers at the county offices, who escorted him to meet the chief clerk.
• The chief clerk asked Yi Shuyuan to demonstrate his handwriting, and Yi Shuyuan wrote “Hoeing the Grain” in a style inspired by Yan Qin that left the chief clerk and officer staring in astonishment.

Yi Shuyuan secured a county-office clerical job and returned to the Yi household, where his new income stirred hopes and awkward feelings. Though his immediate worries eased, he lay awake homesick and uncertain about the strange world and its possible supernatural dangers.

• Yi Shuyuan impressed Chief Clerk Wu Minggao with his calligraphy, signed an agreement to work at the county office, and arranged to begin in two days.
• Yi Yong'an found Yi Shuyuan outside the office and gave him buns as they headed home together.
• Yi Shuyuan told Yi Baokang's family that his clerical work would earn him rice-equivalent wages, and Zhao recalled how their late mother had missed him.
• Yi Shuyuan accepted Zhao's offered egg and gave it to the child before leaving the table.
• Yi Shuyuan woke during the night feeling homesick and wondered whether monsters, ghosts, gods, immortals, and buddhas existed; he also learned he was past the proper age to start martial arts.

Yi Shuyuan watched the sunrise on South Hill Ridge, imitated a hwamei, and found renewed joy and purpose in his new life. After an encounter with a woodcutter, he returned to his parents’ graves to clear away spring weeds.

• Yi Shuyuan climbed the northern mountain before dawn and felt the sunrise’s warmth in an unusual, vivid way.
• Yi Shuyuan imitated a hwamei’s calls, and the puzzled bird eventually flew away.
• Yi Shuyuan reflected on his new life, let go of some of his anxieties, and resolved to pursue his interests and explore the world.
• Yi Shuyuan called back to birds as he wandered through the woods until a woodcutter teased him for making the mountain noisy.
• Yi Shuyuan stopped imitating birds and returned to South Hill Ridge to weed his parents’ graves.

Yi Shuyuan met a perceptive woodcutter on the way to his parents’ graves and wondered who the man really was. Afterward, he explored a mountain stream, caught crabs, and found a stone he wanted to make into a new inkstone.

• Yi Shuyuan shared his water with a woodcutter, then walked with him toward South Hill Ridge.
• The woodcutter praised Yi Shuyuan’s temperament, offered to tend his parents’ graves, and warned that official life might not suit him before leaving with a mountain song.
• Yi Shuyuan wondered whether the woodcutter was an unusual figure, then went to a stream to refill his flask.
• Thinking of his cracked family inkstone, Yi Shuyuan searched the stream for a suitable stone and caught crabs in his flask.
• Yi Shuyuan found a pale yellow stone with a hollow, startled a small fish beneath it, and carried the stone home as his new inkstone.

Yi Shuyuan used his new yellow stone as an inkstone and wrote “Heaven and Earth Transformation” in an inspired state before his table collapsed. Yi Yong'an saved the ink-stained page, while Yi Shuyuan rested and savored the feeling of writing.

• Zhao warmly welcomed Yi Shuyuan home, and he gave her stone crabs to cook with porridge.
• Yi Shuyuan ground ink on the yellow stone and wrote “Heaven and Earth Transformation” with renewed inspiration.
• The old table collapsed when its insect-hollowed leg gave way, leaving Yi Shuyuan unharmed and his final verse unfinished.
• Li found Yi Shuyuan's ink-stained paper and hung it up to dry instead of sweeping it away.
• Yi Yong'an admired the dried writing and kept the paper when Yi Shuyuan said he no longer wanted it.
• Yi Baokang reinforced the broken table leg, while Yi Shuyuan lay down and savored his writing state.

Yi Shuyuan left West River Village for the Yuanjiang County seat and began work compiling the county gazetteer. Registrar Wu Minggao gave him a personal tour and revealed that he had canceled the search for a second worker so Yi Shuyuan could write the gazetteer alone.

• Yi Baokang gave Yi Shuyuan money for his journey, and Yi Yong'an asked him to visit often.
• Yi Shuyuan reached the county seat before noon and went straight to the county office.
• Wu Minggao welcomed Yi Shuyuan, ordered preparations for his lodging, and personally showed him around the office.
• Wu Minggao explained the county office’s divisions and led Yi Shuyuan to the archive where he would work.
• Yi Shuyuan learned that Wu Minggao had withdrawn the hiring notice and expected him to compile the gazetteer alone, so he agreed to start that day.

Yi Shuyuan explored his new workplace, read Yuanjiang County’s gazetteers, and discovered a record about the Mountain God. After sharing a relaxed meal with Wu Minggao, he left Wu wanting to be his true friend.

• Wu Minggao explained Yi Shuyuan’s gazetteer duties and invited him to lunch at Tongxin Pavilion, hoping to get his poem signed.
• Yi Shuyuan read old county gazetteers and found an account of his childhood as a prodigy, followed by a record of the Mountain God rescuing villagers.
• An attendant fetched Yi Shuyuan, and he and Wu Minggao went to Tongxin Pavilion for lunch.
• Yi Shuyuan urged Wu Minggao to stop fussing over etiquette and eat; the two enjoyed a hearty meal and spoke more freely.
• Wu Minggao returned to his desk feeling at ease and realized he genuinely wanted to be Yi Shuyuan’s friend.

Yi Shuyuan witnessed a ghost trying to enter the county office as Du Fang accused Jia Yuntong of abducting and murdering women. The magistrate rejected Du Fang’s claim that He Xin’s ghost had told him about the crime and ordered him beaten.

• Yi Shuyuan heard the county drum at night and went to the entrance, where Du Fang arrived to accuse Jia Yuntong.
• A ghostly woman in white was thrown back whenever she tried to enter the county office, but Yi Shuyuan alone seemed able to see her.
• Magistrate Lin opened court and questioned Du Fang about his accusation against Jia Yuntong, whose ship was moored at the county town’s wharf.
• Du Fang said He Xin’s ghost had appeared in his dreams and pleaded with him to report her murder.
• When Du Fang tried to summon He Xin to testify, Magistrate Lin accused him of making a fool of the court and ordered twenty strokes of the paddle.