Chapter Summaries

The Imperial Court’s purge destroyed the White Feather Way, and Han Shiyong was executed after refusing to reveal whether the Immortal Elixir was real. As Liao Wenzhi mourned his master, Yi Shuyuan and Stoneborn watched the Underworld Office take Han Shiyong’s soul away.

• Liao Wenzhi escaped the Capital City as imperial troops raided White Feather Way temples, while martial heroes and Zhao Yuansong’s allies learned of the purge.
• The crown prince urged the old emperor to execute Han Shiyong, and the emperor visited the imprisoned ritual master before issuing the execution decree.
• Han Shiyong was paraded through Zhongling Prefecture as a crowd condemned him, and he silently urged his tearful disciple Liao Wenzhi to flee.
• The executioner beheaded Han Shiyong, and Liao Wenzhi kowtowed before leaving while Chi Qinghu and other martial wanderers watched.
• Yi Shuyuan told Stoneborn to observe what followed the White Feather Way’s collapse, and ghosts and gods from the Underworld Office took Han Shiyong into custody.

Yi Shuyuan learned that Han Shiyong had been sentenced to 130 years of punishment before being allowed to reincarnate, while reflecting on the forces behind Han’s fall and Great Yan’s uncertain future. As he drank from his gourd, he sensed that Instructor Lu’s life was nearing its end.

• The Underworld Messengers collected Han Shiyong’s soul, and Yi Shuyuan warned Stoneborn to write his assignment well.
• The City God’s court found Han Shiyong guilty and sentenced him to twelve forms of severe punishment and seven daily lashes for 130 years before reincarnation.
• Yi Shuyuan reflected that Han Shiyong’s greed, demonic nature, and ties to Great Yan’s destiny had made the immortal Dao unattainable for him.
• Yi Shuyuan said he would protect some of the Jian descendants if Great Yan fell, while warning that no dynasty could endure forever.
• Yi Shuyuan poured wine from his Heaven and Earth Gourd and reflected that Instructor Lu’s life was nearing its end.

Yi Shuyuan traveled to Yuanjiang County to visit Old Instructor Lu, bringing him Shoulder-Picking Wine from Deng Province. He reunited with the elderly instructor and met his final disciple, Xiao Yuzhi, leaving them ready to share a drink.

• Yi Shuyuan stopped in Dengzhou City and bought five jin of Shoulder-Picking Wine at Liu's Wine Shop.
• Yi Shuyuan arrived in Yuanjiang County and went to Old Instructor Lu's courtyard after buying food and wine.
• Yi Shuyuan surprised Old Instructor Lu, who recognized him after more than a decade apart and rose to greet him.
• Stoneborn introduced himself as Yi Shuyuan's disciple, Mo Shisheng, while Xiao Yuzhi introduced himself as Old Instructor Lu's final disciple.
• Yi Shuyuan reassured Xiao Yuzhi that a little wine would not significantly affect Old Instructor Lu's health, then offered the instructor Shoulder-Picking Wine.

Yi Shuyuan shared a spirited wine with Old Instructor Lu Xin, whose memories of his years as a constable resurfaced. When Netherworld Officials arrived to collect him, Yi Shuyuan persuaded them to give him ten more days, leaving Lu Xin asleep peacefully and then wondering if he had dreamed their visit.

• Yi Shuyuan shared Shoulder-Picking Wine with Old Instructor Lu Xin, stirring the old constable’s memories and ambitions.
• Lu Xin told Yi Shuyuan about his past regrets and showed him his Great Yong Constabulary Office badge, identifying him as Five-Provinces Constable-Lu Xin.
• After lunch, Lu Xin grew sleepy and spoke as if he knew his time had come, unsettling his disciple Xiao Yuzhi.
• Day Patrol Officer Sun Yuan arrived with Netherworld Officials to collect Lu Xin, but Yi Shuyuan said the wine had given him ten more days.
• The Netherworld Officials agreed to return in ten days, and Lu Xin later woke to learn Yi Shuyuan had left.

Old Instructor Lu prepared for his death and spent his final morning at the Yuanjiang County Office, watching the runners train alongside Yi Shuyuan. The Netherworld Officials escorted him away, and Xiao Yuzhi discovered that his master had died.

• Old Instructor Lu ordered funeral goods and burial clothes made to his own measurements while Xiao Yuzhi helped with the preparations.
• On the tenth day, Old Instructor Lu went with Xiao Yuzhi to the County Office, where the runners welcomed Yi Shuyuan and gathered to practice Public Office Boxing.
• Old Instructor Lu sat beside Yi Shuyuan and watched the runners train, growing increasingly drowsy as their voices filled the Training Ground.
• Sun Heng and the Netherworld Officials came for Old Instructor Lu, who looked back at Xiao Yuzhi, Yi Shuyuan, and the Training Ground before leaving with them.
• Xiao Yuzhi realized Old Instructor Lu had died, and Yi Shuyuan offered his condolences.

After Lu Xin died, Yi Shuyuan arranged for him to be offered a position in the Extreme North Demon-Subduing Palace. Lu Xin accepted Yi Shuyuan’s divine investiture and began his new service under the Manifest Holiness True Lord.

• Lu Xin died of old age, and Xiao Yuzhi and the county office staff prepared his funeral with help from Yi Shuyuan.
• The Yuanjiang County magistrate offered Xiao Yuzhi a county office position, but Xiao Yuzhi declined for the time being.
• At the Underworld Office, the City God reviewed Lu Xin’s life and explained that someone had come to ask him to serve elsewhere.
• Yi Shuyuan arrived in the hall as the Manifest Holiness True Lord and invited Lu Xin to join the Extreme North Demon-Subduing Palace.
• Lu Xin accepted, and Yi Shuyuan used divine investiture to transform his soul as the City God Xiang Changqing and the Judge congratulated him.

After the Old Instructor's death, Xiao Yuzhi mourned him, dreamed of him setting off to become a god, and found comfort in the dream. Once the funeral was complete, Xiao Yuzhi left Yuanjiang County to roam the Rivers and Lakes, parting from Yi Shuyuan and Stoneborn.

• Xiao Yuzhi kept vigil with Yi Shuyuan and Stoneborn and shared how the Old Instructor had become a father to him.
• Xiao Yuzhi dreamed that the Old Instructor dressed in divine robes and left to serve the Manifest Holiness True Lord as a god.
• Xiao Yuzhi woke smiling, and Yi Shuyuan agreed that becoming a god would suit the Old Instructor.
• Xiao Yuzhi completed the funeral arrangements and asked Chief Constable Wang to watch over the Old Instructor's house.
• Xiao Yuzhi said farewell to Yi Shuyuan and Stoneborn at Yuanjiang County's southern gate and set off along the main road.

Yi Shuyuan visited Broad South Mountain to share a meal and conversation with its Mountain God, Huang Hongchuan, and wrote a lyric for Li Congyun when the academy group arrived. Li Congyun recognized the calligraphy’s significance after reading part of it as Yi Shuyuan left for home.

• Yi Shuyuan brought food to the repaired Mountain God Temple and shared a meal and conversation with Huang Hongchuan.
• Yi Shuyuan wrote on mounted paper while chatting with Huang Hongchuan, then met Li Congyun and the Moon Province Academy students on their outing.
• Yi A Bao recognized Yi Shuyuan as his granduncle, and his exhausted friends hurried to greet him and claim kinship.
• Yi Shuyuan gave Li Congyun the calligraphy, said farewell to the group, and continued down the mountain toward home.
• Li Congyun unrolled the calligraphy, read part of it, and realized its importance while Huang Hongchuan left with the food carrier.

Li Congyun learned that Yi A Bao’s reclusive granduncle, Yi Shuyuan, had written the calligraphy and poem that impressed him, and arranged to visit the Yi household. Yi Shuyuan returned home and reunited with Yi Baokang, where he promised to stay for several years.

• Li Congyun assigned his students essays about Broad South Mountain and privately examined Yi Shuyuan’s calligraphy with Yi A Bao.
• Yi A Bao told Li Congyun that his granduncle was named Yi Shuyuan and agreed to invite him to help examine damaged books at the family home.
• Yi Shuyuan cleared the graves at South Mountain Ridge, then returned toward home with Stoneborn and Hui Mian carrying mushrooms and other mountain finds.
• Two household servants recognized Yi Shuyuan as the Grand Elder and announced his return to Yi Yong'an and the family.
• Yi Baokang left the lotus pond and hurried home to greet his elder brother.
• Yi Shuyuan promised Yi Baokang he would stay for three or five years, while Yi Baokang again raised the idea of finding him a companion.

Yi Shuyuan returned to the Yi Household, welcomed Yi A Bao and Li Congyun, and shared wine with the nervous Land God before recording a story. In Great Yong’s Capital City, Lin Xiu learned the emperor had come to warn him about an impeachment, then faced questions about the Yuanjiang County Gazetteer.

• Yi Shuyuan stopped Yi Baokang from sending for Yi A Bao, and the household prepared a feast for his return.
• Yi A Bao came home with Li Congyun, who greeted the family and joined Yi Shuyuan, Stoneborn, and Yi A Bao in the study as Yi Shuyuan began writing his story.
• Yi Shuyuan brought dishes and wine to the Land God, who accepted the fragrant immortal wine after overcoming his fear.
• Lin Xiu finished a case and learned that Wei Yihong had accused him of bribery, perverting the law, and abusing his authority.
• The emperor privately warned Lin Xiu about the impeachment, then noticed the Yuanjiang County Gazetteer on his shelves and asked why he had brought it from Yuanjiang.

Emperor of Great Yong visited Lin Xiu and discovered that the Yuanjiang County Gazetteer he treasured had been compiled by Yi Shuyuan, whose calligraphy amazed him. Learning that Yi had also been the clerk behind the ghost’s appeal for justice, the emperor connected him to the old events and sought his whereabouts, but Yi had left to travel the realm.

• Lin Xiu explained that he had taken the original Yuanjiang County Gazetteer to remember his early aspirations and because he treasured it.
• Emperor of Great Yong read the gazetteer, admired its calligraphy, and discussed Lin Xiu’s old stratagem, “Appealing for Justice Through a Ghost.”
• Lin Xiu identified the gazetteer’s compiler as Yi Shuyuan, a former clerk in Yuanjiang County who had no interest in officialdom.
• Emperor of Great Yong realized Yi Shuyuan had also spoken for the wronged spirit in court and asked Lin Xiu for Yi’s home and family details.
• Lin Xiu said Yi was from West River Village and that his younger brother’s family might still live there.
• Back in the Imperial Study, Emperor of Great Yong considered sending rewards to Yi but worried that Yi had already left home to travel the realm.

Yi Shuyuan, Yi Yong'an, Yi A Bao, and Stoneborn traveled by boat to Yuanjiang County, where A Bao and Stoneborn boarded a ship. As Yi Shuyuan and Yi Yong'an fished on the way home, the County Magistrate arrived at West River Village with a noble young man and asked for the Yi Household.

• Yi Yong'an failed to catch fish at the river mouth while Stoneborn secretly warned the fish away, and Stoneborn told Yi A Bao that they had followed the boat from the Kaiyang Waters.
• Yi A Bao and Stoneborn boarded a ship bound for Moon Province, while Yi Yong'an and Yi Shuyuan returned home by boat.
• Yi Shuyuan and Yi Yong'an stopped at the river mouth to fish, and both caught large fish.
• A carriage carrying the County Magistrate and a noble young man arrived at West River Village, and their attendant asked villagers where the Yi Household lived.

The county magistrate and a prince visited the Yi Household to reward Yi Shuyuan’s family with a plaque, then learned Yi Shuyuan would return that evening. As Yi Shuyuan and Yi Yong'an rowed home with their fish, Yi Shuyuan heard that the Heavenly Realm was investigating the spiritual light from Zhuo Qing’s immortal silk.

• The county magistrate presented Yi Baokang’s family with a plaque honoring Yi Shuyuan’s past service, and the prince persuaded them to host a meal.
• Yi Baokang told the prince that Yi Shuyuan had taken Yi Yong'an’s children to the county docks and would return before evening.
• Yi Shuyuan and Yi Yong'an ended their fishing trip with a basket full of fish, while Yi Shuyuan asked the Aquatic Folk how they had found him.
• The Aquatic Folk explained that General Crab had sent them to ask about the Heavenly Realm’s interest in the glow from Zhuo Qing’s immortal silk.
• Yi Shuyuan advised them to ask Zhuo Qing directly and said they should discuss the matter again after General Crab returned.
• Yi Yong'an rowed toward West River Village and cheerfully offered fish to the villagers as Yi Shuyuan smiled.

Yi Shuyuan returned to the Yi Household and met a Prince who had heard his stories as a child. He agreed to tell a story at the village Threshing Ground that evening, leaving the villagers eager for the gathering.

• Yi Yong'an brought home a large basket of fish while villagers hurried to see the County Magistrate and his guest.
• Hui Mian learned from the Land God that an imperial-blooded visitor had come to the Yi Household, then joined Yi Shuyuan on his shoulder.
• Yi Shuyuan entered the reception room and recognized the Prince, who recalled hearing him tell “River God's Fall” at the Tan Residence.
• Yi Shuyuan invited the Prince to hear a story outdoors, and the Prince agreed to go to the Threshing Ground despite the cold.
• Yi Shuyuan announced a storytelling session at Xu Hour, and Yi Baokang rushed outside to spread the news.

Yi Shuyuan hosted Prince Xiang Ziji and the Yi family for dinner, then captivated West River Village with a dramatic performance of his tale, “Singing Heaven’s Rain.” The villagers and prince praised his storytelling, while Huang Hongchuan and the Local Earth Deity marveled that he achieved such effects without magic.

• Prince Xiang Ziji relaxed over dinner with the Yi family and asked Yi Shuyuan to call him Ziji.
• Villagers gathered at the threshing ground, where Yi Shuyuan began telling “Singing Heaven’s Rain” to a crowd of several hundred.
• Yi Shuyuan used vivid voices and sound effects to immerse the audience in the tale of Southern Yan, white cranes, and the White Feather Way.
• Yi Shuyuan finished the story with Han Shiyong’s execution, leaving the audience stunned before they erupted into praise.
• Prince Xiang Ziji called Yi Shuyuan a divine being, and Huang Hongchuan and the Local Earth Deity praised his mastery without Immortal Arts or illusions.

Prince Ji recorded Yi Shuyuan’s story and sent his account to the emperor, who reflected on Yi Shuyuan’s knowledge and again urged him toward government service. After Prince Ji delivered the emperor’s reply, Yi Shuyuan went fishing with Yi Yong'an, whose catch dragged him into the river.

• Unable to sleep after hearing “Singing Heaven’s Rain,” Prince Ji wrote a long account of the story and sent it to Heaven-Bearing Prefecture before dawn.
• The emperor and Tan Yuanshang read Prince Ji’s letter, discussed Yi Shuyuan’s knowledge of Southern Yan and the abolition of the Constabulary Office, and wondered whether Yi Shuyuan was unusually long-lived.
• The emperor ordered Prince Ji to return and granted Lu Xin the posthumous title of Golden Letter Chief Constable, along with gifts for the Lu family.
• On the third day of the twelfth month, Prince Ji brought the emperor’s letter to Yi Shuyuan in West River Village and bid him farewell.
• While fishing with Yi Shuyuan, Yi Yong'an hooked a powerful creature and was pulled into the river, so Yi Shuyuan offered him his rod and looked toward the river depths.

Yi Shuyuan rowed onto the E River to retrieve Yi Yong'an’s fishing rod and encountered Aquatic Folk who had captured several Kaiyang Aquatic Folk. After Yi Shuyuan freed the captives and clashed with their commander, the commander demanded to know whether Yi Shuyuan was involved in what happened at the Water Palace.

• Yi Shuyuan built a fire for Yi Yong'an, then rowed onto the E River after a whirlpool swallowed Yi Yong'an’s fishing rod.
• An E River commander returned the rod and accused Yi Shuyuan of keeping aquatic monsters, while his Aquatic Folk restrained several Kaiyang captives in a net.
• Yi Shuyuan used his fishing line to hook the captives’ net, and the commander attacked with his fish spear as the trapped fish called for help.
• Yi Shuyuan’s rod clashed with the spear, releasing the fish and sending the commander tumbling away while the rod cracked.
• The commander regrouped with his soldiers and asked Yi Shuyuan whether he had been behind what happened at the Water Palace.

Yi Shuyuan encountered an E River Yaksha while fishing, and the Yaksha backed down after suspecting he might be Yi Daozi. The Yaksha later learned from the chief steward that Yi Shuyuan’s visit could spell trouble for the Water Palace.

• Yi Shuyuan identified himself to the suspicious Yaksha and said they could discuss the Water Palace’s trouble after the Water Goddess returned from the Heavenly Realm.
• The Yaksha withdrew with his aquatic soldiers, explaining that Yi Shuyuan might carry a Heavenly Immortal Edict and that they could not risk fighting him.
• Yi Shuyuan reassured the frightened fish, returned to shore, and gave Yi Yong'an his fishing rod.
• The chapter revealed that someone had torn off two of the three flower buds on the Water Palace’s Purple Jade Spirit Lotus Root, prompting searches along the E River.
• The Yaksha returned to the Water Palace and told the chief steward about meeting Yi Shuyuan; after confirming a mottled ferret had been with him, she declared they were finished.

Jiang Zhuer came to apologize to Yi Shuyuan on behalf of the E River Water Palace and explain that two rare Purple Jade Spirit Lotus Root buds had been stolen. The search remained unresolved as the buds were carried toward Wu Prefecture aboard a small boat.

• Hui Mian met Jiang Zhuer by the West River and learned she served as chief steward under Lady Yao E.
• Jiang Zhuer apologized for the yaksha commander’s earlier offense and told Hui Mian that two lotus buds had gone missing from the Water Palace.
• Hui Mian offered Jiang Zhuer hawthorns and explained that Yi Shuyuan was nearby in West River Village.
• Yi Shuyuan arrived, accepted Jiang Zhuer’s apology, and learned that the lotus buds could not be tracked by divination and had left no demonic aura.
• Two stolen lotus buds sat in a pottery basin aboard a small boat heading toward Wu Prefecture.

A boy traveled with his family to visit Third Aunt He Xin’s grave, carrying two winter lotus buds he hoped would bloom. In Yuanjiang County, Yi Shuyuan followed a sudden inner sense to the grave and reunited with Du Xiaolin, who was seeking the karmic ties of her past lives.

• The boy’s grandmother grieved for her dead daughter as the family traveled by boat to visit He Xin’s grave.
• The boy found two pale purple lotus buds in the river and insisted they might still bloom.
• Yi Shuyuan sensed something and flew with Jiang Zhuer and Hui Mian to a grave by the E River.
• Yi Shuyuan and Hui Mian reunited with Du Xiaolin at He Xin’s grave, where she explained that she was seeking memories of her past lives.
• Jiang Zhuer recalled how the Aquatic Folk had helped He Xin’s wronged soul seek justice, and Du Xiaolin thanked her.
• Jiang Zhuer named Lin Xiu and the righteous villager Du Fang as those who had helped He Xin, while Hui Mian pointed out that Yi Shuyuan was the greatest hero.