Chapter Summaries

Duan Rong spent days devouring first-rank tree spirits in Wild Boar Mountain, but his Mental Strength remained at Level 1 and he eventually could not devour another. He suspected his divine consciousness space was full and returned home to wait for the spirits to digest.

• Duan Rong devoured dozens of first-rank tree spirits over three days and evaded a hungry Leopard Cat without fighting it.
• After six more days, Duan Rong reached eighty-one devoured tree spirits, but the next attempt failed because the relevant area of his divine consciousness space was full.
• Duan Rong checked an Old Pine Wood and confirmed that his Mental Strength was still Level 1, below the requirement to devour its second-rank spirit.
• Duan Rong stayed on Wild Boar Mountain for two more days, then reasoned that his divine consciousness space might need time to digest the spirits he had consumed.
• Duan Rong left Wild Boar Mountain after eight or nine days, expecting the eighty-one spirits to take more than half a month to digest.

After leaving Wild Boar Mountain, Duan Rong returned to Xiangu County and discovered that Xiao Baijiao had died while he was away. He arrived at her funeral and broke down beside her coffin, while Zhu Xiaoqi reproached him for missing Xiao Baijiao’s final words.

• Duan Rong returned to the old man's home, where the family welcomed him, and stayed the night before leaving Wild Boar Mountain at dawn.
• Duan Rong entered Xiangu County, returned his horse, and headed to the Yuan Shun Escort Agency, where he heard funeral music.
• Duan Rong found Xiao Baijiao's courtyard draped in mourning cloth and learned from the funeral scene that Xiao Baijiao had died before her sister Xiao Yu returned.
• Duan Rong rushed to Xiao Baijiao's coffin and wept inconsolably as Zhu Xiaoqi accused him of being absent when Xiao Baijiao repeatedly wanted to speak with him.

Duan Rong mourned Xiao Baijiao at her funeral, learned that Xiao Zongting understood her feelings for him, and noticed that she wore a silver bracelet like Zhu Xiaoqi’s. He returned to the escort agency and found Luan Jingfu and Luan Bao facing off against constables led by Jie Daohan.

• Zhu Xiaoqi and Duan Rong wept at Xiao Baijiao’s coffin, and Xiao Yu had Xiao Ping and Xiao Yun carry Duan Rong into the Inner Room.
• Xiao Zongting comforted Duan Rong and said he had understood Xiao Baijiao’s feelings for him, then urged him to pay his respects and leave.
• Duan Rong offered incense to Xiao Baijiao and noticed that she wore a silver bracelet matching Zhu Xiaoqi’s.
• Duan Rong returned to the dormitory, handled Xiao Baijiao’s sachet, and then left to walk outside.
• Duan Rong found Luan Jingfu and Luan Bao facing a crowd of county constables at the escort agency gates, led by Jie Daohan.

Jie Daohan tried to search the Yuan Shun Escort Agency for an escaped criminal, but Luan Jingfu blocked him without an official writ. Fan Yuanhai arrived with a Taiyi Token, forced the search to proceed, and the constables entered the agency as Duan Rong hurried to warn Xiao Zongting.

• Jie Daohan demanded to search the Yuan Shun Escort Agency, but Luan Jingfu refused to let the constables enter without an official writ.
• Jie Daohan drew his blade, while Luan Jingfu took a defensive stance and challenged his authority to force entry.
• Fan Yuanhai appeared, struck Luan Jingfu's Steel Mace away, and revealed a Taiyi Token.
• Luan Jingfu recognized Fan Yuanhai as an Imperial Envoy and accepted the token as authority for the search.
• Jie Daohan ordered the constables to search the agency, and Luan Jingfu sent Luan Bao to watch over its belongings.
• Duan Rong feared the searchers might cause trouble at the Ancestral Hall and hurried to Xiao Zongting's courtyard.

Duan Rong helped Xiao Yu prevent constables from searching her family’s mourning hall without first paying respects to her dead sister. Meanwhile, Fan Yuanhai revealed the Taiyi Sect’s bitter dispute over Xu Ruhu, who had escaped custody and was now supposed to be identified and executed on the spot.

• Duan Rong told Xiao Yu that constables were searching the Yuan Shun Escort Agency, and Xiao Yu and Zhu Xiaoqi prepared to defend the Ancestral Hall.
• Xiao Yu required the constables to kneel, bow, and offer incense before searching, and the three constables complied before inspecting the household.
• Xiao Yu thanked Duan Rong for warning her, then returned to receive mourners as Duan Rong left the courtyard.
• Duan Rong found that constables had ransacked his dormitory, picked up the sachet Xiao Baijiao had given him, and tidied his room.
• Fan Yuanhai criticized Jie Daohan for lacking authority to issue a Wanted Circular, while Jie blamed the absent Shen Yanliu.
• Fan Yuanhai reflected that Xu Ruhu had escaped the dungeon and that Taiyi Sect leaders had ordered him identified and executed to contain their dispute over his murder of a core disciple and the missing Divine Soul Technique.

Duan Rong met his injured childhood friend Yang Zhen amid the citywide search for Xu Ruhu, who had been broken out of the Great Prison. After absorbing a shuttle dart’s martial art, Duan Rong recalled the culprit’s silhouette and realized Jie Lei had freed Xu Ruhu.

• Duan Rong found Yang Zhen in a teahouse and learned he had been injured by a shuttle dart while trying to stop Xu Ruhu’s black-clad rescuer.
• Jie Lei led yamen runners in searching the teahouse, showed concern for Yang Zhen, and met Duan Rong, who was introduced as an apprentice escort.
• Duan Rong and Yang Zhen bought food and wine and drank together at Yang Zhen’s home.
• Yang Zhen told Duan Rong that a black-clad man carrying Xu Ruhu had kicked him aside and shot a shuttle dart into his calf before passing out.
• Duan Rong used Read Artifact Spirit on the dart, devoured it to gain Thousand Hands Arhat Beginner, and then passed out from the strain.
• Duan Rong woke later that night, recognized the rescuer’s silhouette, and concluded that Jie Lei had broken Xu Ruhu out of the Great Prison.

Duan Rong questioned Yang Zhen about Xu Ruhu’s jailbreak and learned that Jie Lei had left the prison before a black-clad man carried Xu Ruhu out at dawn. Yang Zhen described the escape and the impossible cutting of Xu Ruhu’s shackles, leaving Duan Rong with more reason to suspect the circumstances surrounding the break-out.

• Duan Rong examined Xu Ruhu’s wanted poster and doubted the promised reward and the authority behind it.
• The next morning, Duan Rong bought breakfast, then asked Yang Zhen to explain the jailbreak.
• Yang Zhen said Jie Lei had assigned him and Lei Ge to guard Xu Ruhu while awaiting a Sect Envoy’s arrival.
• Yang Zhen recounted that Jie Lei left the underground prison, and a black-clad man later carried Xu Ruhu out at dawn, injuring Yang Zhen as he escaped.
• Yang Zhen said the guards found Xu Ruhu’s Heavy Shackles had been sawed through with a steel wire saw, despite his severe restraints and lack of strength.

Duan Rong reasoned that Jie Lei had hidden Xu Ruhu in his own home, then discovered that his Plum Blossom Needle Technique could enhance his hidden weapon skills. After learning that Kong Bin had been missing for over ten days, Duan Rong redirected the dormitory warden toward Zhang Zheng and reflected on Wu Hui’s choice of burial site.

• Duan Rong concluded that Jie Lei had rescued Xu Ruhu from the Great Prison and was hiding him in his own home, where the search would not look.
• Duan Rong killed a sparrow with a pebble and realized his throw had combined Thousand Hands Arhat with the hidden weapon essence within the Plum Blossom Needle Technique.
• Zhao Gang asked Duan Rong whether he had seen Kong Bin, explaining that Kong Bin’s room had been shut for over ten days and smelled foul.
• Duan Rong denied knowing anything about Kong Bin and suggested Zhao Gang question Zhang Zheng, who had been Kong Bin’s childhood friend.
• Duan Rong washed bird droppings from his hair and thought that Wu Hui had chosen a convenient burial site.

Duan Rong practiced a needle-throwing technique, coated needles with Zhou Shoushan’s deadly poison, and named himself Red Serpent Child. He then reconsidered the mystery of Jie Lei’s return to the dungeon and realized that Jie Lei’s motive for rescuing a wanted criminal mattered more than how he had done it.

• Duan Rong bought thirty needles and cotton thread, then practiced throwing needles around his dormitory until they formed a plum blossom on the bedframe.
• Duan Rong coated the needles with poison from the Black Porcelain Bottle and used one to kill a spider that melted into ink.
• Duan Rong called his weapons Poison Needles and named himself Red Serpent Child, then stored the dried needles in a cork for protection.
• Duan Rong reconsidered Xu Ruhu and Jie Lei’s dungeon mystery and focused on why Jie Lei had risked taking the blame to rescue an infamous wanted criminal.

Duan Rong deduced that Jie Lei had freed Xu Ruhu in exchange for a Divine Soul Technique and weighed the risks of intervening. He decided to pursue the opportunity, made a flexible plan, and destroyed his notes before leaving the dormitory.

• Duan Rong concluded that Jie Lei and Xu Ruhu had made a last-minute deal and suspected the price was a Divine Soul Technique.
• Duan Rong considered whether the technique could provide an alternative if devouring tree spirits failed, while weighing the dangers posed by Jie Lei, Xu Ruhu, and the others connected to the case.
• Duan Rong decided to act before Jie Lei moved Xu Ruhu somewhere else.
• Duan Rong spent nearly two hours developing a branching plan, then ground the notes into powder and left the dormitory.

Duan Rong disguised himself and watched the county government office after the search for Xu Ruhu ended, then followed Jie Lei to his secluded courtyard. Hidden in a phoenix tree, he watched Jie Lei emerge and stare toward his hiding place.

• Duan Rong bought dark clothing, a headscarf, boots, a matching scabbard, and a mask, then disguised himself and watched the county government office and jail from a restaurant.
• Shen Yanliu returned to Xiangu County, berated Jie Daohan over the failed search, and summoned officials, including Yang Zhen and Jie Lei, to an overnight meeting.
• After the meeting ended, Duan Rong watched Jie Lei leave the county government office and followed him to a secluded courtyard.
• Duan Rong climbed a phoenix tree outside Jie Lei's courtyard and watched through the foliage as Jie Lei came outside and stared toward the tree.

Duan Rong watched Jie Lei investigate a dry well, then entered the courtyard after Jie Lei left and found Fluorescent Powder protecting the room. Unable to search Jie Lei’s room safely, Duan Rong climbed into the well, suspecting Xu Ruhu might be hiding there.

• Duan Rong nearly attacked Jie Lei when he mistook Jie Lei’s attention toward the Water Well for a sign that he had spotted him.
• Jie Lei climbed into the Water Well, stayed there for the time it took an incense stick to burn, and returned to his room visibly angry.
• At the hour of the hare, Jie Lei left for the yamen after repeatedly glancing at the Water Well.
• After waiting for Jie Lei to leave, Duan Rong entered the courtyard and found Fluorescent Powder covering the floor inside Jie Lei’s room.
• Duan Rong abandoned his search of the room and climbed down into the Water Well, which he discovered was dry.

Duan Rong infiltrated the hidden chamber beneath a dry well and discovered that the wounded Xu Ruhu possessed the Taiyi Sect’s Garbha Sutra. When Xu Ruhu realized Duan Rong was not Jie Lei, Duan Rong blinded him with Poison Needles, leaving Xu Ruhu shouting accusations in the dark.

• Duan Rong descended into the dry well and crawled through a concealed passage toward a faint light and the smell of blood.
• Duan Rong found Xu Ruhu wounded and hidden in an earthen chamber, where Xu Ruhu demanded treatment and escape in exchange for the latter four levels of the Garbha Sutra.
• Duan Rong recognized the Garbha Sutra as the Taiyi Sect’s Divine Soul Technique and stayed silent to make Xu Ruhu mistake him for Jie Lei.
• Xu Ruhu noticed Duan Rong was not Jie Lei and demanded to know who he was.
• Duan Rong shot two Poison Needles into Xu Ruhu’s eyes, blinding him; Xu Ruhu blamed Jie Lei as he writhed on the ground.

Duan Rong killed Xu Ruhu, setting the operation plan in motion, while Jie Lei remained unaware and returned to his courtyard to keep trying to obtain the final four levels of the Garbha Sutra. The chapter left Jie Lei watching the dry well, still determined to make Xu Ruhu talk.

• Xu Ruhu accused Jie Lei of arranging the attack and refused to surrender the final four levels of the Garbha Sutra.
• Duan Rong poisoned Xu Ruhu’s eyes and stabbed him through the heart, ignoring his dying offer to reveal the manual’s location.
• Duan Rong reflected that Xu Ruhu’s death was the starting point of his plan and that Jie Lei was the greater danger.
• After the city gates reopened, Jie Lei left his surveillance post near Yuan Shun Escort Agency and returned to his courtyard.
• Jie Lei checked his traps, found no sign of intrusion, and watched the dry well while planning to keep pressuring Xu Ruhu.

Duan Rong ambushed Jie Lei in the Earth Cave to rescue Xu Ruhu, but Jie Lei turned the poisoned-needle attack into a trap and countered. The chapter ended with Jie Lei’s dart flying toward Duan Rong’s throat.

• Jie Lei entered the Earth Cave to tell Xu Ruhu that the city gates had opened, then discovered Duan Rong was impersonating the motionless prisoner.
• Duan Rong sprang up and fired four Poison Needles at Jie Lei, while his Oxtail Saber blocked Jie Lei’s escape; one needle struck Jie Lei’s neck.
• Jie Lei recognized Duan Rong as Yang Zhen’s childhood friend, and the two fought with their sabers in the Earth Cave.
• Duan Rong used the defensive Yellow Springs Saber Technique and Cloud Serpent Step to hold off Jie Lei while the poison spread through Jie Lei’s body.
• Jie Lei appeared to falter, but his sleeve concealed a trick that trapped Duan Rong’s saber and let him counterattack; Duan Rong narrowly evaded the blade.
• Jie Lei flicked a dart from his sleeve toward Duan Rong’s throat.

Duan Rong survived Jie Lei’s lethal attack, killed him with poison needles, and recovered the Garbha Sutra. He then examined Jie Lei’s weapons and discovered that his Obstacle Blade and Longevity Lock could grant him new techniques.

• Duan Rong used a Plum Blossom Needle to deflect Jie Lei’s shuttle dart and realized the true potential of the technique.
• Jie Lei collapsed from the poison in his neck, and Duan Rong blinded him with two more needles before Jie Lei’s body transformed and bounced around the Earth Cave.
• After Jie Lei lay motionless, Duan Rong tested him with his Oxtail Saber, then searched his body and found the Garbha Sutra and Silver Notes.
• Duan Rong retrieved and put on the clothes and disguise he had hidden, then took the Obstacle Blade and Longevity Lock from Jie Lei.
• Duan Rong read the Artifact Spirits of the Obstacle Blade and Longevity Lock, learning that they granted Mastery in the Raging Bull Saber Technique and Bone Shrinking Skill.

Duan Rong understood how Jie Lei had used the Bone Shrinking Skill to evade his trap and abduct Xu Ruhu, then devoured the skill and Jie Lei’s Obstacle Blade. He hid the Garbha Sutra, disposed of evidence, and returned to the Yuan Shun Escort Agency, where Ruan Fengshan had arrived to pay respects to Xiao Baijiao.

• Duan Rong realized Jie Lei had used the Bone Shrinking Skill to survive his attacks and escape the dungeon with Xu Ruhu.
• Duan Rong devoured Jie Lei’s Bone Shrinking Skill and the Obstacle Blade, then collected his Poison Needles and fled the Earth Cave.
• Duan Rong hid the Garbha Sutra in an abandoned bird’s nest at his former residence and burned the clothes and disguise he had worn.
• Duan Rong slept at his former residence, cleaned up in the morning, and returned to the Yuan Shun Escort Agency.
• Duan Rong found Ruan Fengshan and his family paying respects to Xiao Baijiao, while Xiao Zongting received Ruan Fengshan and spoke with him about the agency and his grief.

As Xiao Baijiao’s funeral preparations proceeded, Duan Rong practiced the Raging Bull Saber Technique and began training in the painful Bone Shrinking Skill. He joined the funeral rites as a coffin bearer, and the procession set out from Xiao Zongting’s courtyard.

• Ruan Fengshan promised Xiao Zongting he would seek permission for the funeral procession to leave the city on time.
• Luan Jingfu and Luan Bao paid their respects to Xiao Baijiao, and Xiao Yu subtly reminded Luan Jingfu of his earlier obstruction.
• Duan Rong assessed the Raging Bull Saber Technique’s strengths and weaknesses, then tried the Mastery Level Bone Shrinking Skill and dislocated both shoulders before resetting them.
• Duan Rong practiced the Bone Shrinking Skill until near the end of Wei Time, enduring severe pain and exhaustion.
• Duan Rong helped nail Xiao Baijiao’s coffin shut, then joined Zhao Mu and the other bearers as they lifted it and began the funeral procession.

Xiao Baijiao's funeral procession left Yuan Shun Escort Agency under a county-approved list, while Jie Daohan searched for his missing nephew Jie Lei. Jie Daohan discovered a hidden passage beneath Jie Lei's dry well and entered it, following a foul, blood-tinged smell.

• Xiao Yu, Zhu Xiaoqi, and the mourners led Xiao Baijiao's funeral procession toward West City Gate, with Ruan Fengshan and Luan Jingfu following behind.
• Ruan Fengshan noticed extra constables at West City Gate and learned that Jie Daohan had arrived.
• Jie Daohan examined the county-approved list and explained that Jie Lei had missed roll call and could not be found.
• After dreaming of a black tree with blood-red leaves and blossoms, Jie Daohan searched Jie Lei's home and noticed the open doors and unusually dry ground around the well.
• Jie Daohan found a cave entrance at the bottom of the dry well and crawled into the passage, where he smelled a strong stench mixed with blood.

Jie Daohan discovered that his nephew Jie Lei had been killed with Corpse Rot Poison and learned that Xu Ruhu’s disappearance was connected to the murder. As he prepared to report his findings to Shen Yanliu, a funeral procession with official permission tried to leave the city, putting Jie Daohan between his suspicions and his superior’s signed order.

• Jie Daohan found Jie Lei’s badly corroded corpse in an underground chamber and recognized Xu Ruhu’s discarded clothes, scalp, and buried body nearby.
• Jie Daohan sealed the city gates and summoned Liu Kui to examine Jie Lei’s corpse.
• Liu Kui identified the poison as Corpse Rot Poison, linked it to Evil Doctor Shen Ping, and concluded that poisoned flying needles likely caused the corroded wounds.
• Jie Daohan left to report the case to Shen Yanliu, but a constable told him a funeral procession with more than a hundred names on an officially approved list was preparing to leave through the West City Gate.
• Jie Daohan rode to the West City Gate, suspecting the killer might be hiding in the procession, but hesitated to challenge Shen Yanliu’s signed and sealed order.