Chapter Summaries

Wu Jinliang spent the day visiting the Dong family, where he brought food, tried to help, and shared lunch with the siblings. After lunch, Shi Chun offered Dong Liangyu some of the meat Wu Jinliang had brought, and she shyly accepted it.

• Wu Jinliang returned to the library with Shi Chun and tried to help Dong Liangying serve pastries, but she sent him to the back courtyard because he smelled too strong.
• Wu Jinliang visited Dong Liangyi in the kitchen, gave her the food he had bought, and then went upstairs to read.
• Wu Jinliang read in the book tower while Dong Liangyu watched the sunlight from the window, and Dong Liangze called everyone down for lunch.
• Wu Jinliang praised Dong Liangyi's cooking while eating with the Dong siblings, though he privately found the food poor.
• After lunch, Shi Chun shared Wu Jinliang's meat with the thin Dong Liangyu, who blushed as she tried a slice.

Wu Jinliang and Shi Chun set up the Treasure-Seeking Studio in Dazhi City to use Death-Defying Incense to draw out suspicious people, but their search had yet to produce results. Wu Jinliang then encountered Huang Yingying, an old acquaintance he had once forced to sign a hefty IOU.

• Wu Jinliang met Chu Jingtang, Lao Changhai, and Xiao Sheng outside Dazhi City and relayed Shi Chun's plan for finding people connected to Death-Defying Incense.
• The three men opened the Treasure-Seeking Studio, stocked it with curios borrowed from Young Master Nan's shops, and later began charging visitors to view the Death-Defying Incense.
• Shi Chun overheard scholars discussing the incense at the library while Third Miss Dong Liangying watched him from behind the counter.
• After interest in the incense faded and rumors called it fake, Wu Jinliang asked Shi Chun whether they should close the shop, and Shi Chun told him to keep waiting for someone to investigate it.
• Hearing Dong Liangying's father ask where Wang Ping was, Wu Jinliang fled the library courtyard and headed to the shop to speak with Chu Jingtang and the others.
• Huang Yingying called out to Wu Jinliang from a snack stall, bringing back memories of their brothel encounter and the thousand-piece sandalwood-gold IOU Wu Jinliang had forced him to write.

Wu Jinliang and Huang Yingying pooled their money to view the Death-Defying Incense at the Treasure-Seeking Studio, where Huang Yingying's silence afterward made him look suspicious. Wu Jinliang defended him to Chu Jingtang and Lao Changhai, then passed along the Chief's order to keep the shop open and monitor other suspects.

• Huang Yingying invited Wu Jinliang to split the cost of seeing the Death-Defying Incense, hoping the experience would give him a conversation topic with the three sisters at the library.
• Wu Jinliang agreed, and the two paid to view the incense at the Treasure-Seeking Studio.
• Huang Yingying examined the incense closely but asked no questions, while Wu Jinliang briefly inspected it before they left empty-handed.
• Chu Jingtang and Lao Changhai told Wu Jinliang that Huang Yingying's silence made him their most suspicious visitor because he might recognize the genuine incense.
• Wu Jinliang dismissed their suspicions, explaining that Huang Yingying would sell any real incense at once to escape his wife.
• Wu Jinliang relayed the Chief's instructions to keep the shop open, spread the rumors that the incense was fake, and watch the other suspicious individuals.

Shi Chun and Dong Liangyu grew closer at the bookshop, but Dong Liangyu was then paired with her cousin Fan Wuzhe for a marriage arranged by their families. Huang Yingying recognized Fan Wuzhe as a man he had once seen tortured and headed for the city gate with a plan to make him repay a debt.

• Shi Chun and Dong Liangyu accidentally touched hands while shelving books, leaving Dong Liangyu flustered as she asked about his plans for a family.
• Dong Wenshu returned with Fan Wuzhe, Dong Liangyu’s cousin, and ordered Shi Chun to eat separately from the household women.
• Dong Wenshu sent Dong Liangyu to show Fan Wuzhe around Dazhi City, while Dong Liangze told Shi Chun that the cousins were expected to marry.
• Huang Yingying heard the gossip about Dong Liangyu and Fan Wuzhe, then went to find them in the city.
• Huang Yingying recognized Fan Wuzhe as the man he had seen shackled and tortured on the mountain and left for the city gate, plotting to collect a debt.

Dong Liangyu accepted her father’s marriage plans and distanced herself from Shi Chun, while Fan Wuzhe’s secret connection to Deputy Superintendent Mei You came under threat. Huang Yingying told Wu Jinliang about the proposed seizure of the library’s grounds and began revealing what he had witnessed at the Tax Office.

• Dong Liangyu returned to the library with Fan Wuzhe and resolved to keep her distance from Shi Chun after agreeing to her father’s marriage plans.
• Fan Wuzhe warned Mei You that Huang Yingying might have recognized him, and Mei ordered his men to find and secretly capture Huang.
• Huang Yingying met Wu Jinliang on the grasslands, collected his IOU and fifty gold, and told him Dong Liangyu was expected to marry her cousin.
• Huang Yingying explained that Mei You had tried to obtain the library’s grounds for an important person but could not find a tax violation to use against Dong Wenshu.
• Huang Yingying told Wu Jinliang that he had once overheard Mei You’s men complaining about their failure, then began describing a later visit when he saw someone being tortured at the Tax Office.

Wu Jinliang learned from Huang Yingying that a cousin planned to marry Dong Wenshu’s second daughter and use the marriage to infiltrate the library, while Lao Changhai secretly reported their meeting to Shi Chun. Huang Yingying returned to the Bai Family Rice Shop, where Bai Qiru ordered him to deliver a large shipment of spirit rice outside the city.

• Huang Yingying told Wu Jinliang that the second young lady’s cousin intended to marry into Dong Wenshu’s family and manipulate the library’s taxes.
• Wu Jinliang realized Huang Yingying sold information, teased him about his wife and brothel visits, and decided to visit Shi Chun after work.
• Lao Changhai reported Huang Yingying’s meeting with Wu Jinliang to Shi Chun, who acknowledged the message and let the surveillance continue.
• Huang Yingying returned to the Bai Family Rice Shop and found Bai Qiru waiting for him while he knelt to face her displeasure.
• Bai Qiru ordered Huang Yingying to deliver a thousand sacks of spirit rice to Barrier Slope, and he left with the loaded carts and employees.

Huang Yingying was ambushed and captured while delivering Spirit Rice, and Lao Changhai secretly tracked the masked attackers. Shi Chun connected the attack to the secret Huang Yingying had shared with Wu Jinliang and sent him to intervene, while Bai Qiru grew suspicious when the delivery party failed to return.

• Ten masked men ambushed Huang Yingying and his assistants at Barrier Slope, captured Huang Yingying, and killed the assistants.
• Lao Changhai followed the attackers and sent Shi Chun an urgent message about the ambush.
• Shi Chun learned from Wu Jinliang what Huang Yingying had told him and suspected the Tax Inspectorate had ordered the attack to silence Huang Yingying.
• Shi Chun sent Wu Jinliang to Barrier Slope to track down the attackers and protect the secret, while Lao Changhai continued leaving trail markers.
• Bai Qiru noticed that Huang Yingying and the carts had not returned, questioned an assistant about the unfamiliar customer who ordered the rice, and sent two people to investigate Barrier Slope.

Wu Jinliang rescued Huang Yingying from ten masked attackers and brought them to a cave, where he discovered they were Dazhi City officials tied to Mei You. As Wu Jinliang interrogated the prisoners, one revealed that Huang Yingying had known the attackers for years, leaving Huang Yingying exposed as a liar.

• Wu Jinliang intercepted the ten masked men carrying Huang Yingying and immobilized them, then flew with Lao Changhai and the prisoners to a mountain cave.
• A rice shop assistant reported that Fang Zi and the others had been killed and Huang Yingying was missing, so Bai Qiru flew toward Barrier Slope despite the city guards' attempts to stop her.
• Wu Jinliang questioned Huang Yingying, who denied knowing the attackers, while Lao Changhai found Dazhi City official waist plaques among their belongings.
• Wu Jinliang killed one prisoner, forced another to identify Qiu Laosan, and learned that Mei You, deputy inspector of the Tax Inspectorate, had sent them.
• Wu Jinliang used the Mother-Child Talisman to tell Mei You that the mission had succeeded, then killed another prisoner during his interrogation.
• A prisoner accused Huang Yingying of lying and said he had known the attackers for years, and Wu Jinliang asked Huang Yingying to explain himself.

Wu Jinliang forced Huang Yingying to prove his loyalty by killing two assassins, then demanded information about the Death-Defying Incense and began beating him when he revealed that he knew something. Meanwhile, Bai Qiru reached Dazhi City’s palace and asked City Lord Li Xianghong to help track the killer of her shop’s delivery workers.

• Wu Jinliang learned that the assassins had abducted Huang Yingying because he discovered Deputy Inspector Mei had sent Fan Wuzhe to Morning Moon Hall, but they had not yet questioned him.
• Wu Jinliang made Huang Yingying kill two assassins to prove his loyalty, then restrained him again and asked everyone about the Death-Defying Incense.
• After nobody seemed to know where the incense was, Wu Jinliang ordered Lao Changhai to kill the captives, but Huang Yingying cried out that he knew about it.
• Wu Jinliang rushed back into the cave and beat Huang Yingying after he claimed to know about the incense.
• Bai Qiru entered the palace and asked City Lord Li Xianghong to arrange a search for the culprit who had killed her shop’s delivery workers on Barrier Slope.

Shi Chun learned that Lord A-Xun was investigating the assassins’ trail and set out to deal with the danger himself. He reached Barrier Slope, killed two guards, and followed a third toward Lord A-Xun.

• Lou Xiu learned that the City Lord had asked Lord A-Xun to investigate, so he ordered Mei You to make the assassins flee.
• Wu Jinliang and Lao Changhai discovered the warning on the Mother-Child Talisman, questioned the surviving assassins, and contacted Shi Chun about Lord A-Xun’s scent-tracking ability.
• Shi Chun told Wu Jinliang not to act rashly, changed into his Treasure Garment and Cloud-Treading Boots, and slipped out of the bookshop.
• Dong Liangyi visited Fan Wuzhe with fruit, then found Shi Chun missing and left a platter beside his bedding.
• Shi Chun rode to Barrier Slope, killed two guards, and followed the third toward Lord A-Xun.

Lou Xiu lured Bai Qiru away, then killed Lord A-Xun and the others to conceal his actions before setting the grassland ablaze. Shi Chun escaped and told Wu Jinliang that A-Xun was dead, while Huang Yingying revealed that A-Xun had possessed Death-Defying Incense; Li Xianghong and Bai Qiru arrived to find the scene burning.

• Lou Xiu sent Bai Qiru away with a false message, then murdered two Dazhi City men who had witnessed him.
• Lou Xiu stabbed Lord A-Xun and slaughtered the attendants before setting fires across the grove to erase evidence.
• Shi Chun killed his guide, escaped the flames, and told Wu Jinliang through the Mother-Child Talisman that A-Xun was dead.
• Wu Jinliang questioned Huang Yingying about Death-Defying Incense, and Huang Yingying claimed A-Xun had possessed it.
• Li Xianghong and Bai Qiru realized they had been lured away and found the grove ablaze; Li Xianghong extinguished the spreading flames.

Wu Jinliang learned that Huang Yingying knew how to make Death-Defying Incense and that Lord A-Xun was behind the corpse transformation incident. Huang Yingying also revealed that Divine Mountain was once Divine Bird Mountain and Golden Tower Mountain, and that he descended from Jin Zhan; Wu Jinliang realized the answers he had sought had been beside him all along and urged Huang Yingying to continue explaining Lord A-Xun's activities.

• Huang Yingying claimed Lord A-Xun caused the corpse transformation incident after he followed him to a secret hideout outside Dazhi City.
• Huang Yingying revealed that he knew how to make Death-Defying Incense and identified the soul-returning tree on Divine Mountain as its difficult-to-find main ingredient.
• Huang Yingying explained that Divine Mountain had previously been called Divine Bird Mountain and Golden Tower Mountain, and Wu Jinliang recognized Jin Zhan as the expert who had enslaved the Phoenix Clan.
• Wu Jinliang confronted Huang Yingying about concealing what he knew, and Huang Yingying said he had stayed quiet because he feared Divine Mountain was testing him.
• Huang Yingying revealed that he was descended from Jin Zhan, and Wu Jinliang laughed at realizing he had found the information and connections he needed through their earlier encounters.
• Wu Jinliang asked Huang Yingying to continue explaining Lord A-Xun's search for the soul-returning tree.

After learning that A-Xun had been refining Death-Defying Incense, Shi Chun used a Mother-Child Talisman to draw Lou Xiu into a plan to obtain A-Xun's belongings. Dazhi City sealed its gates and began a citywide investigation, which reached Morning Moon Hall as the chapter ended.

• Wu Jinliang learned from Huang Yingying that A-Xun had refined Death-Defying Incense, then confirmed with Lao Changhai that the long-haired man seen entering the mountain was likely A-Xun.
• Shi Chun asked Wu Jinliang to keep Huang Yingying alive and arrange for Mei You's Mother-Child Talisman to be handed over, while Dazhi City's forces sealed the city.
• Mei You retrieved two Mother-Child Talismans from Thirty-Seven Alley, and Lou Xiu realized the stranger contacting him knew details of A-Xun's murder.
• Shi Chun told Lou Xiu how the killer had slain A-Xun and demanded every one of A-Xun's personal belongings; Lou Xiu left to act on the demand.
• City Guards questioned Dong Wenshu's household about who had left during Xu Hour and announced a hundred-million sandalwood gold reward for information about A-Xun's murder.

Shi Chun arranged for a warning about Lou Xiu to reach Bai Qiru and City Lord Li Xianghong while the search for the kidnappers continued. Li Xianghong tasked Lou Xiu with arranging another examination of A-Xun's remains, unaware that he had been trying to obtain A-Xun's belongings.

• Dong Liangyi hesitated during the City Guards' questioning but ultimately denied that anyone had gone out, and Dong Wenshu sent the investigators away.
• Shi Chun messaged Lou Xiu, who admitted that Li Xianghong's suspicions and the guards around A-Xun's remains had made it difficult to retrieve the belongings.
• Shi Chun asked Lao Changhai to deliver a letter to the Bai Family Rice Shop, and Xiao Sheng followed the shop's assistant up the mountain to report its delivery.
• Bai Qiru read Shi Chun's letter accusing Lou Xiu of scheming over A-Xun's corpse and showed it to Li Xianghong.
• Lou Xiu proposed another examination of A-Xun's remains, and Li Xianghong assigned him to arrange it.

Lou Xiu secretly replaced A-Xun’s belongings and negotiated with Shi Chun to exchange them outside Dazhi City, while Li Xianghong and Bai Qiru grew suspicious of his actions. Shi Chun then confirmed Dong Liangyi had covered for him and gave her a hairpin to discourage her from exposing him.

• Li Xianghong ordered her maid to let Lou Xiu take charge of A-Xun’s remains and belongings while quietly watching what he did.
• Lou Xiu inspected A-Xun’s possessions, made scorched counterfeits, and secretly swapped them for the originals.
• The maid reported the full replacement to Li Xianghong and Bai Qiru, who wondered whether A-Xun’s belongings were part of a deal with the kidnappers.
• Shi Chun told Lou Xiu that the ten Tax Inspectorate people were dead, then demanded that Lou Xiu arrange to open Dazhi City’s seal so they could exchange the goods outside.
• Shi Chun thanked Dong Liangyi for covering for him and offered her a hairpin, hoping to keep her from revealing where he had been.

Shi Chun swapped Fan Wuzhe’s Mother-Child Talisman and coordinated a new delivery while Lou Xiu persuaded Li Xianghong to lift Dazhi City’s lockdown the next day. As Lou Xiu assembled forces to trap the person behind the scheme, Li Xianghong received half of a Mother-Child Talisman in a delivered box.

• Shi Chun drugged Fan Wuzhe, searched him, and swapped his Mother-Child Talisman for another one.
• Lou Xiu sent Mei You to ask merchants about the lockdown, then recommended lifting it after another day of inspections.
• Li Xianghong agreed to lift the lockdown the next day and revealed that she had summoned reinforcements from Divine Mountain.
• Lou Xiu messaged Shi Chun about arranging an exchange, and Shi Chun replied that they would discuss it the next day.
• Lou Xiu ordered Mei You to summon reliable forces and contacted his own unofficial troops to prepare a trap.
• Lao Changhai arranged for a passerby to deliver a box to the Bai Family Rice Shop; the assistant carried it to Bai Qiru, who showed Li Xianghong its half of a Mother-Child Talisman.

Shi Chun manipulated both sides of the search for Huang Yingying, arranging an exchange that could help him obtain A-Xun’s belongings while keeping his identity hidden. He then used Fan Wuzhe’s talisman to direct him to ride out through the east gate at nine.

• Li Xianghong repeatedly messaged Shi Chun through the Mother-Child Talisman, then threw it down the mountain when he ignored her.
• Lou Xiu told Mei You that the exchange would involve a Fine-Scaled Steed at the east gate, carrying the items with black cloth tied to its tail.
• Shi Chun told Wu Jinliang they would leave through the east gate and that Wu Jinliang should retrieve A-Xun’s belongings from heart-wrapping grass along the road.
• Shi Chun used Fan Wuzhe’s talisman to contact Mei You, copied the correct mountain-shaped code, and convinced Fan Wuzhe that he was speaking with his contact.
• Shi Chun instructed Fan Wuzhe to reach the east gate at nine, mount the marked Fine-Scaled Steed, and ride out of the city without stopping.

Fan Wuzhe rode a Fine-Scaled Steed out of Dazhi City, believing he was carrying out instructions from Dong Wenshu, while Lou Xiu and Mei You tried to understand the unexpected departure. Shi Chun secretly answered Mei You’s messages on Fan Wuzhe’s behalf and revealed that the horse was headed for Barrier Slope, leaving Lou Xiu unsure how to respond.

• Dong Wenshu criticized Dong Liangyi’s oversalted breakfast, then warned the family to stay cautious despite Dazhi City’s lockdown being lifted.
• Lou Xiu and Li Xianghong received reports about a Fine-Scaled Steed at the east gate and suspected Lou Xiu might be arranging an exchange for Huang Yingying.
• Fan Wuzhe rode the marked Fine-Scaled Steed out of the city as Xiao Sheng and Chu Jingtang watched him for Shi Chun.
• Mei You saw Fan Wuzhe leave and questioned him by Mother-Child Talisman, while Shi Chun secretly replied that Dong Wenshu had sent him on an errand.
• Shi Chun told Mei You that Fan Wuzhe was headed to Barrier Slope, and Lou Xiu began considering how to respond.

Shi Chun arranged for Wu Jinliang to take the goods from Fan Wuzhe and escape underground with Huang Yingying, while Lou Xiu’s plans began to unravel. Shi Chun then warned Bai Qiru that Huang Yingying was in danger and prepared to leave the Dong family’s bookshop.

• Lou Xiu sent more fighters toward Barrier Slope, while Li Xianghong ordered Lord Po Yuan to dispatch men there as well.
• Lao Changhai and Wu Jinliang coordinated an exchange point, and Shi Chun instructed Fan Wuzhe to drop the goods at black cloth by the road.
• Wu Jinliang retrieved the Heaven-and-Earth Bag, removed its tracking talismans, and escaped underground with Huang Yingying using the Earth-Diving Technique.
• Lou Xiu saw that the tracked goods had stopped moving and received a warning that the City Lord had discovered his plans and was sending men after Fan Wuzhe and Mei You.
• Shi Chun warned Bai Qiru that Mei You intended to kill Huang Yingying, arranged for Xiao Sheng to dispose of Fan Wuzhe’s Mother-Child Talisman, and prepared to leave the bookshop.

Bai Qiru and Li Xianghong moved against Lou Xiu and Mei You after receiving a plea for help and tracking the Mother-Child Divination Disk. Meanwhile, Wu Jinliang and Huang Yingying were discovered during their escape, leaving Wu to attack the Divine Mountain searcher while Huang Yingying remained chained to him.

• Bai Qiru demanded Mei You's location after reading the Mother-Child Talisman, and Li Xianghong led a group to the gate tower.
• Lou Xiu poisoned Mei You's tea, sent Li Xianghong a plea for help, and was confronted by the City Lord's people.
• Bai Qiru seized Mei You and demanded to know where Huang Yingying was, while the attendant arrested him and questioned Lou Xiu.
• Li Xianghong ordered Lou Xiu kept under watch and directed that the Mother-Child Divination Disk be handed to the Divine Mountain for investigation.
• Shi Chun learned that Mei You had been arrested and told Chu Jingtang to withdraw from the city gate.
• A Divine Mountain searcher found Wu Jinliang and Huang Yingying aboveground, and Wu charged at him while keeping Huang Yingying chained.