Chapter Summaries

The Wen clan fled their village before dawn, taking the wounded, elders, and children toward the Old Ancestral Land. Black-clad members of the Kai ambushed them, and the elders sacrificed themselves so Long'er and the others could escape.

• The old patriarch led the Wen clan from the village in ox carts, then ordered everyone to hurry through a pine forest toward the Old Ancestral Land.
• Black-clad attackers ambushed the convoy, and the old patriarch and the old men fought them while the carts broke through.
• The old patriarch urged Long'er to lead the Lineage and avenge their fallen clansmen as the carts carried the boy away.
• Long'er's mother and the elderly woman threw baggage from the carts and had everyone able to walk get off to help them move faster.
• The elderly woman gave Long'er's mother the Lineage Matriarch's Scepter and sent her to protect Long'er and lead the survivors onward.
• Long'er and his mother left with the fleeing clansmen while the elderly women stayed behind with sabers to face the pursuers.

Long'er's mother led the women and children fleeing through the mountains while old women stayed behind to fight their pursuers. She pushed the exhausted survivors onward, knowing the Lineage’s survival depended on escaping.

• Long'er's mother and the convoy fled while the old women stayed behind and vowed to fight the pursuing men.
• Long'er's mother sent Shitou's mother away with the ox carts, the wounded men, and the pregnant women, and Shitou watched his mother leave.
• Long'er's mother led the remaining women and children into the mountain forest, where they stopped to rest and ration their food.
• Long'er took the children to gather wild fruit, and they found fruit beside strange tracks before returning to the group.
• Long'er's mother urged the exhausted survivors to keep moving before their pursuers could catch them.

Long'er’s mother led the fleeing group onward and refused to abandon nine badly wounded men, insisting they survive together. After Long'er organized a night watch, the group resumed its journey toward the Ancestral Grounds, following a map through deserted mountain routes.

• Shitou's mother returned after drawing the enemy away with the ox cart and clearing the group's tracks.
• Nine badly wounded men asked to be left behind, but Long'er's mother refused and ordered everyone to rest before moving on.
• Long'er arranged for the children to take turns keeping watch, and the group made it through the night safely.
• Long'er's mother counted everyone at dawn and sent Shitou's mother and others to erase their tracks.
• Long'er's mother led the group along deserted routes toward the mountain marked on her hide map.

Long’er’s mother led the exhausted group to the Ancestral Grounds, where Long’er and the children carved a path through the thorn bushes so everyone could enter. The group found shelter in a cave, but by morning two women had died from exhaustion.

• Long’er’s mother kept the group moving toward the Ancestral Grounds while they rested and traveled through the night.
• At the valley mouth, Long’er’s mother confirmed the map’s location but found the entrance blocked by dense thorn bushes.
• Long’er took the Dagger and led the children in clearing a path, with the women joining them as they grew tired.
• The group crawled into the Ancestral Grounds, blocked the path behind them, and took shelter in a cave.
• In the morning, Long’er’s mother discovered that two women had died overnight, and the group wept for them.

After burying two women, Long'er’s mother organized the fifty-eight surviving Wen clanspeople to search for food and medicine in the unfamiliar Ancestral Grounds. Long'er began making a bow and arrows from bamboo and vines so the clan could hunt as winter approached.

• Long'er’s mother counted the surviving Wen clanspeople and sent them out in groups to find food, while Linzi’s mother searched for medicinal herbs with two companions.
• Long'er and the other children caught fish and shrimp near a stream, but Long'er gathered bamboo and vines instead of wading into the water.
• Long'er split the bamboo and extracted fibers from the vines to make a bow and arrows for hunting rabbits and pheasants.
• Long'er told his mother to gather more bamboo and look for edible shoots, and she sent people to search the grove.

Wenlong helped the clan secure food and supplies while caring for his gravely ill father, who finally woke after a night of fever. The clan celebrated their successful hunt, and Wenlong continued searching the ruins for things they could use.

• Long'er finished making a bow and arrows, set pheasant snares with Shitou, and shot a wild rabbit on the way home.
• Wenlong cooled his delirious father's fever through the night, and his father woke at dawn.
• Wenlong took Shitou and Linzi to check the snares, where they found eight pheasants caught in more than twenty traps.
• Wenlong and the other youngsters cleared brush at the old site of the Ancestral Grounds and found damaged cooking utensils.

Long'er and his companions made usable earthenware pots, then set traps to catch wild boars and gathered game to feed their group. After finding a young boar in one trap, Long'er killed it and the group reinforced both traps in hopes of catching larger prey.

• Long'er and his companions fired clay pots and recovered enough intact bowls and pots to cook and eat from.
• Long'er led Shitou, Linzi, Xiaoniu, and Daniu up the mountain to build two traps for wild boars and baited them with wild fruit.
• The group returned with more than a dozen rabbits and pheasants from their snares, while Long'er's father and uncles continued recovering.
• The next morning, Long'er found a young wild boar trapped in the second pit and killed it with his dagger.
• Long'er and his companions reinforced both traps, reset the bait, and carried the young boar and their snared game home.

Long'er and the others worked to stockpile food and gather medicinal herbs before winter, but a black bear drove them away from one herb-gathering trip. They caught several young wild boars in their traps and returned safely with food, while deciding to avoid the bear’s hill.

• The group preserved leftover meat and searched the mountains for food and medicinal herbs as winter approached.
• Wenlong spotted a rare herb, but a young black bear appeared and frightened his companions.
• Wenlong struck a tree with bamboo to startle the bear, then led the group to retreat safely.
• Wenlong and his companions checked their fenced traps and found five young wild boars caught between two enclosures.
• Long'er reinforced the fences and used a dagger-tipped pole to kill the boars before the group tied them up and carried them back to the cave.
• The group celebrated the food haul and resolved to avoid the black bear’s hill, putting everyone’s safety first.

After rats spoiled part of the tribe’s winter food stores, Wenlong led a hunting party into the mountains once the snow cleared. They brought back two roe deer, giving the tribe meat and hides, while Long’er continued baiting the wild-boar traps.

• The tribespeople discovered that rats had damaged much of their food, and Long'er’s mother called a meeting to discuss their dwindling supplies.
• Wenlong told the tribe to protect the remaining food and sent Shitou and the young companions to practice archery.
• After the snow stopped, Wenlong took four young companions hunting, but Shitou missed a hare with his arrow.
• Wenlong led the group toward the wild fruit grove, where they spotted two roe deer and split into groups to surround them.
• Wenlong and Shitou’s group brought down both roe deer, and women came to help carry them back to the tribe.
• Long'er found the wild-boar traps empty and placed wild fruit inside them as bait.

Wenlong and the others trapped a huge wild boar, but Wenlong was dragged over a cliff while trying to stop it. The clanspeople mourned him and carried the boar away, believing he had died.

• Wenlong led Shitou and the others to the trap enclosure, where they found a large wild boar and several piglets.
• Wenlong and the others attacked the boars, but the wounded big boar broke through the fence and charged toward Long'er.
• Wenlong struck the boar with his Dagger and clung to the pole as it dragged him toward a cliff.
• The boar stumbled at the cliff's edge, and Wenlong fell, failing to hold onto the vines below.
• Long'er's mother tried to reach the cliff before fainting, while the clanspeople wept and carried her and the dead boar away.

Wenlong survived his fall and discovered that a pool of spirit water had healed his broken body and awakened his mental power. He found the Wen founding ancestor’s remains and opened the ancestor’s stone chamber, but could not locate the notebook that explained its contents.

• Wenlong woke injured beside a cliff, crawled into a cave, and drank from a pool of white water.
• Wenlong submerged himself in the spirit water, which healed his injuries before he fell unconscious.
• Wenlong woke restored and found that the spirit water had disappeared.
• Wenlong discovered a skeleton and learned from a golden record that it belonged to the Wen founding ancestor.
• Wenlong used his awakened mental power to open a stone chamber and searched it for the ancestor’s notebook, but failed to find it.

Wenlong discovered Long Ying’s journal and learned about the Long clan’s destruction and his ancestor’s failed quest for revenge. He studied hidden-weapon techniques, took manuals and a saber for his clansmen, and emerged into the original Ancestral Hall, planning to gather the clan there.

• Wenlong found Long Ying’s journal and learned that Long Ying founded the Shadow Assassin Organization after the Long clan was wiped out.
• Wenlong learned that Long Ying escaped to the Wasteland Continent with his son, Long Jian, who took the name Wen Jian, and sealed the ancestral refuge for a gifted descendant.
• Wenlong chose Shadow Step, Shadowless Returning Needle, and Shadow Hand, then practiced using small stones as hidden weapons.
• Wenlong selected cultivation methods for his clansmen and took a large saber before heading back toward them.
• Wenlong opened a stone gate with his mental power and discovered that he had reached the original Ancestral Hall.

Wenlong returned safely to his kin, gave them martial arts manuals, and set out with Shitou to capture wolf cubs. After bringing six cubs back to the cave, he helped his family prepare to defend themselves and train.

• Wenlong reunited with his kin, comforted Long'er's mother, and kept the hidden chamber's secret while recounting what had happened.
• Wenlong agreed to reinforce the hiding place and find weapons, then gave his kin basic martial arts manuals to study.
• Wenlong demonstrated his strength by breaking a sapling with a pebble, then took Shitou into the Deep Mountains to search for wolf cubs.
• Wenlong killed the attacking wolves with thrown stones, and he and Shitou buried them before taking six cubs from their den.
• Wenlong returned to the cave with Shitou and the cubs, gave the manuals to his father, and taught his kin basic concealed-weapon techniques.

Wenlong left the mountain village to recover Grandma and the other clanspeople’s bodies, while his family gathered ox carts and followed. After finding and killing the Kai clansman guarding the burial site, Wenlong brought Grandma home but was left overcome with grief and vengeance.

• Wenlong suggested building stone walls around the caves, then planned to retrieve the bodies of the dead while the Kai clan might be off guard.
• Wenlong used Shadow Step to reach the burial site and waited for Father and the uncles to arrive with three ox carts.
• Wenlong knocked down the Kai clansman guarding the site and held him at dagger-point while Father and the clanspeople questioned him.
• The clanspeople dug up their loved ones and placed the bodies in the carts, and Wenlong collapsed in grief when he saw Grandma.
• Wenlong repeatedly stabbed the Kai clansman, then ordered the clanspeople to take Grandma and the others home before vanishing with Shadow Step.

Wenlong found the buried bodies of Grandfather and the Wen clansmen, learned that the Kai family had killed them in pursuit of a secret manual, and swore revenge. The weakened Wen family carried the dead toward their Ancestral Grounds, while falling snow concealed their tracks.

• Wenlong subdued the man guarding the burial site and forced him to reveal that the Wen clansmen were in a ravine.
• Wenlong and the clansmen recovered Grandfather's body and the others, and Wenlong vowed to avenge them.
• Wenlong learned from the captive that the Kai family head had ordered the killings to obtain the Wen family's secret manual.
• Wenlong killed the captive, and the clansmen loaded the bodies onto an ox cart and headed for the Wen family's Ancestral Grounds.
• Long'er's father ordered the clansmen to erase their tracks, and falling snow began to cover their route.

Wenlong persuaded the clan to build a Grandmother Shrine honoring the women who died defending their people, and the clan later granted women some decision-making authority. As spring arrived, Wenlong faced worsening food shortages and resolved to visit Wan Family Town, though he first entered the secret passage to study martial arts.

• Wenlong proposed a separate shrine for the grandmothers and aunts, and his father supported the plan as clan chief.
• The clanspeople built the Grandmother Shrine and placed the women's spirit tablets inside, where future generations honored their deeds.
• After debate over women's role in clan affairs, the clan granted women a measure of decision-making authority.
• Wenlong surveyed the village and worried that scarce food and dwindling game would leave the clan vulnerable to starvation and the Kai.
• Wenlong decided he would need to visit Wan Family Town, then entered the secret passage to study the martial arts manual before attempting a raid.

Wenlong’s cultivation remained stagnant, but he improved his hidden-weapon skills and discovered an empty storage space, along with an unusually sharp black saber. He returned to his family and explained that their clan’s dwindling food supply forced him to go to the Kai clan, though his mother refused to let him leave.

• Wenlong practiced throwing stones at acupoints and found that his mental power had improved.
• Wenlong discovered a small, empty storage space and tested it by storing and retrieving a black saber.
• Wenlong examined the saber and its mysterious sheath, then decided to use the blade and sneak into the Kai clan for supplies.
• Wenlong advised his father to make the perimeter wall wide enough for guards to patrol and watch for enemies.
• Wenlong told his parents he needed to go to the Kai clan because nearby game was scarce and the clan faced starvation.
• Long'er's mother grabbed Wenlong's arm and begged him not to leave, but he slipped free as he explained the danger to their clansmen.

Wenlong left his family to steal supplies from the Kai family compound, where he also killed the young boy he had watched during the day. He escaped into the night with grain and valuables in his storage space.

• Wenlong reassured his parents that he would scout Wan Family Town, then secretly set out to bring supplies back to his clan.
• Wenlong slipped into the Kai family compound, stole fabric, and hid among the grain when the theft was discovered.
• Wenlong watched a boy around his age mistreat servants and decided to kill him in revenge for his family’s losses.
• Wenlong stole grain from the storehouse, entered the East Wing Room, and killed the sleeping boy with a Shadowless Needle.
• Wenlong took valuables from the boy’s room, escaped over the compound wall, and vanished into the night.

Wenlong returned safely to the Wen Ancestral Grounds with grain, fabric, and other supplies, then helped his family strengthen the Lineage and prepare for survival. The chapter ended with his parents asking him and Shitou to deliver letters to his relatives and the aunts’ birth families.

• Wenlong returned to the Ancestral Grounds exhausted, and his mother embraced him in relief while his family welcomed him home.
• Wenlong gave his father grain and silver for farming tools, gave fabric and sewing supplies to his mother, and urged his father to strengthen the defenses.
• Wenlong designed hooded cloaks, taught the boys hidden-weapon techniques, and helped the Lineage train and build a granary.
• The Lineage members returned safely from town with farming tools, and they sowed grain in their reclaimed fields.
• Wenlong’s mother asked him to reassure his maternal grandmother’s family, and his father asked him to deliver letters with Shitou; Wenlong agreed.

Wenlong visited his grandmother and uncles, then stole grain and supplies from a shop in Wan Family Town to help his impoverished relatives. After delivering grain to the aunties' families, he persuaded his grandmother and uncles to leave with him, and they prepared to set out in two carts.

• Wenlong rode with Shitou to deliver the aunties' letters, then visited his grandmother and reunited with his two uncles.
• Wenlong left for Wan Family Town, evaded searching guards, and broke into a grain shop to take its grain and other useful supplies.
• Wenlong returned to his grandmother's home and gave more than twenty sacks of grain to his uncles and Shitou to distribute to the aunties' relatives.
• Wenlong asked his grandmother and uncles to come live with him, and his grandmother agreed.
• Wenlong gave his uncles twenty taels of silver to buy two carts, then urged the family to leave at once.