Chapter Summaries

Mai Lingfei won the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram at the Martial Arts Gathering, then told his family he had promised to give it to the innate master. As the painting mysteriously flew away from the Mai residence, Yi Shuyuan caught it outside Moon City.

• Zhang Liangxi presented the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram to Mai Lingfei and Duan Silie after the gathering ended.
• Yi Shuyuan and Huimian celebrated in Moon City while waiting for Mai Lingfei to pass the painting along.
• Mai Lingfei showed the painting to his family and Azure Province heroes, then said he intended to give it to the innate master.
• The painting rose from the table and flew away as Mai Lingfei’s family and other martial artists watched and gave chase.
• Yi Shuyuan caught the drifting painting outside Moon City and recognized it as the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram.

Yi Shuyuan took Hui Mian away from Moon City and returned to West River Village, where he helped his family finish planting their rice fields. He then went to Broad South Mountain and discovered that the ink on the Ink-Stained Yellow Stone had begun to resemble a little loach.

• Hui Mian hid the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram in his fur, and Yi Shuyuan flew away with him as Moon City descended into rumors and a frantic search for the vanished painting.
• Yi Shuyuan returned to West River Village and helped his family finish planting their fields over the next four days while Hui Mian evaded A Bao and the other children.
• Yi Shuyuan told his family he was heading to Broad South Mountain, and Hui Mian chose to go with him rather than stay behind to play.
• Yi Shuyuan and Hui Mian passed the blooming rhododendrons at South Hill Ridge and continued to the stream, where Yi Shuyuan found spiritual mist around the Ink-Stained Yellow Stone.
• Yi Shuyuan saw that the ink inside the stone's hollow had changed shape and vaguely resembled a little loach.

Yi Shuyuan met Huang Hongchuan and the old pine beside the stream, where they discussed Wawa’s possible rebirth and the strange rock preserving its chance of survival. Their conversation turned to the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram, whose ancient history the old pine had witnessed firsthand.

• Yi Shuyuan concealed the ink spirit’s traces on the rock, and Huang Hongchuan said Wawa’s transformation might be complete within a year.
• Huang Hongchuan and the old pine joined Yi Shuyuan for tea, where Hui Mian revealed that it could speak and demanded a cup.
• Yi Shuyuan asked about the Martial Arts Gathering and the Mountain and River Immortal Furnace Diagram.
• The old pine recalled that Marshal Beiheng had brought the painting to Broad South Mountain more than three hundred years earlier while searching for its depicted scene.
• The old pine said the painting had returned to the Great Yong imperial family after Marshal Beiheng’s household was confiscated, and its survival suggested it retained the painter’s spiritual intent.

Yi Shuyuan visited Broad South Mountain to check on Wawa and learn about cultivation from Huang Hongchuan and the ancient pine Song Chao. He returned to the village with a deeper understanding of spirits and the Dao, while Song Chao was left wondering whether Yi Shuyuan could show him a way beyond his rooted form.

• Yi Shuyuan discussed Wawa’s possible rebirth and heavenly tribulation with Huang Hongchuan and Song Chao, warning that the thunder of Awakening of Insects might only be the first of several trials.
• Yi Shuyuan explained that fear and an unsettled mind could leave a cultivator already within a tribulation, startling Song Chao.
• Huang Hongchuan explained how plant spirits differed from demons and why an ancient tree like Song Chao needed to cultivate an external body to leave its roots.
• Song Chao hinted at his hope that Yi Shuyuan might guide him, but Huang Hongchuan warned him that the path Yi could point out might be difficult to walk.
• Yi Shuyuan returned to the village after confirming Wawa’s condition was favorable, then reflected on cultivation and the different paths toward the Dao before falling asleep while practicing.

Yi Shuyuan brought his county gazetteer manuscript to Magistrate Lin Xiu, whose admiration for Yi Shuyuan’s calligraphy overshadowed his review of the text. Lin praised Yi Shuyuan’s work and asked about his future, while Yi Shuyuan made clear he had no interest in officialdom and asked how Lin felt after the case.

• Yi Shuyuan returned to the County Office and joined Wu Minggao in taking the completed manuscript to Magistrate Lin Xiu.
• Lin Xiu examined the manuscript and became absorbed in Yi Shuyuan’s extraordinary calligraphy before properly reading the account.
• Lin Xiu praised the work, and Wu Minggao explained that he had withdrawn the recruitment notice so no second compiler would disrupt Yi Shuyuan’s work.
• Lin Xiu worried that Yi Shuyuan’s minor clerk position wasted his talent and offered to leave his name out of the gazetteer if it might harm his future.
• Yi Shuyuan said he had no interest in officialdom and asked Lin Xiu how he felt after the case; Lin replied that he felt splendid.

Yi Shuyuan carved a spiritual storyteller’s clapper from the mysterious black wood, drawing on its ancient origins and his own magical power. He named it Jade Startle before collapsing from exhaustion as its aura rippled through the rain, while Hui Mian rushed to his side.

• Wu Minggao praised Yi Shuyuan’s calligraphy and asked him to carve a seal, and Yi Shuyuan explained how his experiences shaped his work.
• Yi Shuyuan envisioned a folding fan for storytelling and decided to make a clapper from the black wood.
• Yi Shuyuan sensed the black wood’s ancient history as a towering tree struck by heavenly lightning, then carved it into a clapper.
• Yi Shuyuan used his magical power and true qi to inscribe two lines of writing, and the finished clapper flashed with yellow light as thunder sounded.
• Yi Shuyuan named the clapper Jade Startle and fainted, while Hui Mian cried out and leaped to his side.

After awakening with Jade Startle, the storyteller’s block he had made, Yi Shuyuan decided to craft a matching folding fan and sought to learn papermaking at the Yuan River Paper Mill. He arrived at the mill and was welcomed by its owner, Chen, who showed him the workshop.

• Spiritual energy gathered at the County Office while Yi Shuyuan lay unconscious, and the storyteller’s block absorbed it beside him.
• Yi Shuyuan woke feeling well, recognized the block as his magical treasure, and named it Jade Startle.
• Yi Shuyuan planned to make a folding fan from the remaining ebony and considered making the paper for it himself.
• Yi Shuyuan went to the Yuan River Paper Mill and offered its owner five taels of silver to let him learn and make a sheet of paper.
• Old Chen recognized Yi Shuyuan from the execution and invited him inside, where he introduced the mill’s tools, materials, and workers.

Yi Shuyuan visited the Yuan River Paper Mill and arranged to make paper from the first step onward, beginning with gathering bamboo on the next County Office rest day. After eating wontons and buying a folding fan for study, he realized he had still paid too much.

• Old Chen showed Yi Shuyuan the papermaking process and Azure Origin Paper at the mill.
• Yi Shuyuan insisted on taking part in every stage of papermaking, and Old Chen agreed to help him gather bamboo on the next rest day.
• Yi Shuyuan ate wontons at a street stall, sharing some with Hui Mian while the stall owner wondered who had spoken.
• Yi Shuyuan bought a folding fan from a vendor for forty-five copper coins and suspected he had overpaid.

Yi Shuyuan watched a sudden, strange downpour and heard what seemed to be a cow lowing amid the thunder, then ordered new clothes while sheltering at a fabric shop. After the heavy rain eased, he left the shop, suspecting the rain and strange sound were connected.

• Yi Shuyuan noticed rainbow light and darkening clouds before a sudden heavy rain drove people to seek shelter.
• Yi Shuyuan helped the fabric shopkeeper bring the outdoor cloth inside just before the downpour began.
• Yi Shuyuan heard a faint cow-like lowing among the thunder and briefly used his fan to keep rain from reaching him.
• Hui Mian emerged from Yi Shuyuan's collar and said the thunder frightened her.
• Yi Shuyuan ordered two outfits and matching cloaks as he considered using the Storage Concealment Art with his sleeve.
• After the downpour eased, Yi Shuyuan left the shop while drizzle continued.

Yi Shuyuan studied underworld records and found a method for crafting artifact ribs, then began shaping the ebony for his folding fan. The next morning, he joined the Chen family at Paper-Sunning Ridge to begin gathering bamboo for papermaking, the first step toward making his magical treasure.

• Yi Shuyuan imitated a strange sky-borne cry, frightening Hui Mian, who identified it as a dragon call.
• Yi Shuyuan read the Underworld Office’s bamboo slips and found notes on crafting divine artifacts, inspiring him to forge his fan’s ribs from ebony.
• Yi Shuyuan began carving the remaining ebony while Hui Mian nervously watched.
• Yi Shuyuan set out with Old Man Chen, Chen Yeping, and the paper mill workers to gather bamboo in Broad South Mountain.
• Old Man Chen showed Yi Shuyuan Paper-Sunning Ridge, where the mill dried its papermaking materials, and Chen Yeping promised to help with Yi Shuyuan’s undertaking.

Yi Shuyuan helped the Yuan River Paper Mill prepare bamboo paper materials, watched them and a mountain stone near completion, and finished the Yuanjiang County Gazetteer. He decided it was time to submit his work, as his departure from Yuanjiang County drew near.

• Yi Shuyuan followed the paper mill workers into the bamboo forest, found two suitable stalks, and helped cut and process bamboo through the workers’ preparation stages.
• Yi Shuyuan visited Paper-Sunning Ridge over the following months as the processed materials weathered, while he cultivated and compiled the county gazetteer.
• Yi Shuyuan retrieved the mountain stone from the stream and saw its ink markings form an Ink-Colored Little Loach as its spiritual nature stabilized.
• Bailiffs discussed an enormous rice plant in Moon City, and Yi Shuyuan realized it was the plant he had forgotten about.
• Yi Shuyuan finished writing “Hoeing the Grain,” sealed it as Yi Daozi, completed the Yuanjiang County Gazetteer, and decided to hand in his work.

Yi Shuyuan completed the Yuanjiang County Gazetteer and left the County Office, accepting farewells and a gift of wine from the Old Instructor. He set out with Hui Mian to collect paper materials, while advising it to correct its cultivation.

• Yi Shuyuan presented his calligraphy to Wu Minggao and reported that the Yuanjiang County Gazetteer was complete; Wu Minggao agreed to speak to the magistrate about his departure.
• Yi Shuyuan shared farewell meals with officials and bailiffs, accepting their toasts and surprising them with how much he could drink.
• The Old Instructor gave Yi Shuyuan a gourd of wine, and Yi Shuyuan returned his martial arts manual with revised stances and formulas attributed to his friend Long Feiyang.
• The Old Instructor studied the revisions, realized the original manual's methods had harmed him, and left with the corrected book.
• Yi Shuyuan collected his pay, left his resignation at the Library, and departed the County Office without anyone realizing he was leaving.
• Yi Shuyuan told Hui Mian to focus on building a sound cultivation foundation as they headed to collect materials for making paper.

After mastering more of the Five-Element Control Art, Yi Shuyuan collected his paper stock and crafted a magical folding fan, Dust Chant. Its first gust swept Hui Mian away, but Yi Shuyuan caught the little spirit by the tail.

• Yi Shuyuan collected his prepared stock from Paper-Sunning Ridge and advised Chen Pingye to adjust the mill's seasonal schedule.
• Yi Shuyuan carried the stock to the Yuan River Paper Mill and processed it alone, impressing the workers by drawing every fleck of pulp from the vat.
• Yi Shuyuan quickly dried the sheets and used wind and solar fire to finish the paper.
• Yi Shuyuan assembled the paper and fan ribs, inscribed the fan with verses, and poured his power into it.
• Yi Shuyuan named the magical fan Dust Chant, whose first gust blew Hui Mian away until Yi Shuyuan caught the spirit by the tail.

Yi Shuyuan brought the spiritually awakened mountain stone to Yuanjiang County's Underworld Office, where He Xin prepared to carry it across the River of Forgetfulness into reincarnation. He Xin boarded the perilous Nether Crossing alone, while Yi Shuyuan and the assembled ghosts and gods could no longer see her.

• Yi Shuyuan returned to West River Village and helped his family harvest their unusually abundant rice crop.
• On the night of the autumn equinox, Yi Shuyuan took Huang Hongchuan and Elder Pine to the Underworld Office, where the underworld deities declared the mountain stone ready.
• Yi Shuyuan gave the mountain stone to He Xin, and Xiang Changqing confirmed that she had to carry it with her into reincarnation.
• Xiang Changqing transported the group to Yellow Springs Road and the River of Forgetfulness, where the underworld deities warned He Xin not to answer or help the ghosts in the water.
• He Xin refused Yi Shuyuan's offer to reconsider, accepted the glowing boat token, and went to board the ferry with the heavy mountain stone.
• After He Xin took a few steps toward the landing, she looked back and found herself alone, unable to see Yi Shuyuan or the others.

He Xin crossed the River of Forgetfulness while protecting the mountain stone, which kept her from falling for the river’s deceptive voices and the ghosts’ attacks. She reached the far shore and passed toward reincarnation as Yi Shuyuan and the Yuanjiang County group watched from the opposite bank.

• The ferryman’s boat arrived, and ghosts rushed aboard, with several dragged into the river during the struggle.
• He Xin boarded with the mountain stone, then used it to repel ghosts trying to seize her and take her place.
• The river showed He Xin visions of her family, but the stone’s weight jolted her back whenever she neared the edge or considered dropping it.
• A ghost mistakenly believed the boat had docked and jumped into the river; the ferryman said they had not arrived yet.
• Only five ghosts remained aboard when the ferry reached shore, and He Xin crossed the gangplank before the stone became lighter.
• He Xin moved toward the distant gate of reincarnation, while Yi Shuyuan and the others on the opposite bank celebrated her safe crossing.

Yi Shuyuan shared medicinal wine with the Yi family, revealed that he had resigned from his county post, and quietly left West River Village after entrusting money and advice to A Bao. As he traveled on with Hui Mian, his memories of his family and childhood became clear, while the family later woke and realized they had heard his farewell in a dreamlike state.

• Yi Shuyuan brought out the gourd of medicinal wine and told the Yi family he had resigned after finishing the Yuanjiang County Gazetteer.
• The family shared the wine, and Yi Shuyuan gave A Bao fifty taels of silver along with advice about the family and his father's hidden calligraphy.
• Yi Shuyuan changed into a scholar's robe and cloak, departed the courtyard with Hui Mian, and walked away with a white paper fan as memories of his past returned.
• The Yi family remained asleep for more than two hours while A Bao stayed home and played, then Yi Baokang woke and asked where Yi Shuyuan had gone.
• Zhao found the silver, and the family questioned A Bao about Yi Shuyuan's farewell, not realizing they had all heard it while dreaming.

Yi Shuyuan and Hui Mian traveled toward Xiuzhou while following a thread of destiny to find Wawa. After discovering an earth-god shrine with its head cut off, Yi Shuyuan sensed a vicious monster nearby and approached a stockaded village to learn what had happened.

• Yi Shuyuan left Yuanjiang County with Hui Mian to search for Wawa, while Chu Hang learned that Yi had resigned and left a letter saying he would visit when the opportunity arose.
• Yi Shuyuan and Hui Mian reached a misty, desolate area near Xiuzhou and found a small earth-god shrine whose clay image had been beheaded.
• Yi Shuyuan touched the severed image and sensed a monstrous creature that had dared attack the earth god.
• Yi Shuyuan went to the nearby stockaded village and knocked on its closed gate.
• The villagers questioned Yi Shuyuan about his journey, miasma, and bandits, then opened the gate while carrying weapons.
• Yi Shuyuan pretended to be frightened and claimed he was only passing through with no money or goods.

Yi Shuyuan entered a wary village in Xiuzhou by posing as a traveling storyteller, then used a tale to draw the villagers’ attention while searching for demonic traces. As he narrated, he sensed a faint but intensely malevolent presence nearby and glimpsed a blurry, tailed shadow.

• Yi Shuyuan showed the villagers a travel pass and convinced them he was a storyteller from Moon Province whose luggage had been left behind.
• The village headman welcomed Yi Shuyuan with congee, and Yi Shuyuan learned that miasma in the mountains had thwarted efforts to drive out nearby mounted bandits.
• Yi Shuyuan gathered the villagers in the square and began telling them a story about a strange case in Yuanjiang County.
• As the villagers became absorbed in the tale, Yi Shuyuan sensed a faint demonic aura and saw it take the shape of a blurry shadow with a tail.

Yi Shuyuan finished captivating the villagers with a story while Hui Mian searched the village and found signs that a demon had frightened away the small animals. After the performance, Yi Shuyuan discovered a woman with yellow, slit-pupil eyes and a foul demonic aura, leaving the danger exposed but unresolved.

• Yi Shuyuan told the villagers how a clerk stopped an unjust punishment and helped capture the wicked merchant Jia Yuntong, while Hui Mian slipped away to investigate the village.
• Hui Mian searched the village and found that its rat holes and bird nests were empty, concluding that a demon had driven the small animals away.
• Hui Mian returned to Yi Shuyuan, who soothed its trembling with a hand beneath his cloak as he finished the story and received the villagers' praise.
• The village head invited Yi Shuyuan to stay at his home, and Yi Shuyuan asked about the village's missing birds, the damaged Land God shrine, and recently vanished people.
• Several dogs barked at Yi Shuyuan before a woman approached him; he recognized her yellow, vertical pupils and foul demonic aura as Hui Mian cried out in his heart.

Yi Shuyuan uncovered that Shuhui was a demon preying on villagers, but she killed another man before he could intervene. He prepared to confront the threat by refining sunlight and the villagers’ lamplight inside his gourd, leaving the stored energy ready to buy him time.

• Yi Shuyuan learned from the village head that mounted bandits had killed many villagers and that Shuhui was a widow whose husband had vanished.
• Yi Shuyuan used sympathetic perception to glimpse a wounded cat among bones within Shuhui, then watched her lure a villager into her home and kill him.
• Yi Shuyuan sensed the midday murder but chose not to confront Shuhui immediately, deciding to prepare instead.
• Yi Shuyuan opened his gourd and cultivated beneath it, drawing in the sun’s energy by day and the villagers’ lamplight after dusk.
• Yi Shuyuan sealed the gourd after its remaining wine absorbed the gathered energy, gaining enough power to hold things steady for a while.