Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yi tried to draw out Yao Chen’s story by provoking him with questions about the betrayal that had left him as a remnant soul, but Yao Chen refused to confide in the boys. Xiao Yi then returned from his courtyard pushing out an alarming object, leaving Xiao Yan bewildered about what he planned to do next.

• Xiao Yan worried that Xiao Yi was mistreating Yao Chen despite needing his help.
• Yao Chen mistook Xiao Yan for the disciple who had betrayed him and angrily accused him of treachery.
• Xiao Yi pointed out that Yao Chen was blaming the wrong person and asked who had reduced him to a remnant soul.
• Yao Chen fell silent as painful memories surfaced, then refused to tell the boys about his past.
• Xiao Yi warned Yao Chen against letting one betrayal make him distrust everyone, provoking another furious outburst.
• Xiao Yi left the jar beside Xiao Yan, went into his courtyard, and returned pushing out a strange object.

Xiao Yi and Xiao Yan spent a snowy night in the Xiao Clan’s abandoned courtyard, where Xiao Yi used a campfire and hot food to encourage Yao Chen to reflect. Yao Chen confronted his selfish plans to drain Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi and tamper with his soul, ending the chapter overwhelmed by shame and self-loathing.

• Xiao Yi parked his bicycle in the abandoned courtyard and lit a campfire, explaining to Xiao Yan that its warmth could ease suspicion and barriers.
• Xiao Yan fetched bedding while Xiao Yi toasted steamed buns beside the fire and placed Yao Chen’s wine jar near the flames.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi ate hot buns as Yao Chen quietly felt the campfire’s warmth stir memories from his youth.
• Yao Chen reconsidered his plan to make Xiao Yan dependent on him by draining his Dou Qi and admitted that his motives involved control and exploitation.
• Yao Chen recalled considering the removal of part of Xiao Yan’s soul origin and ended in fierce self-loathing over having violated Xiao Yan’s trust.

Xiao Yi and Xiao Yan discussed their lives in another world with Yao Chen, who asked about their origins and the schools they had attended. Yao Chen described Jia Nan Academy as the Dou Qi Continent’s only renowned academy and revealed it held the fallen heart flame.

• Yao Chen asked Xiao Yi and Xiao Yan what they meant by transmigrators and what another world was like, and Xiao Yi described its science-and-technology-based society.
• Xiao Yan asked when Xiao Yi had been born, and Xiao Yi said he was a 1910s kid who had spent much of World War II in churches rather than on a battlefield.
• Xiao Yan recalled realizing after graduation that a quiet classmate who brought him breakfast might have liked him.
• Yao Chen asked whether schools in Xiao Yan’s world resembled cultivation academies, and Xiao Yan brought up Jia Nan Academy.
• Yao Chen explained that Jia Nan Academy was a renowned institution across the continent and concealed the fallen heart flame, while no other academy had comparable standing.
• Xiao Yan was astonished to learn that Jia Nan Academy was the Dou Qi Continent’s only academy of recognized importance.

Xiao Yi and Xiao Yan rode a bicycle out of Wutan City while Xiao Yan mapped places where disabled children were begging. After finding several abused children huddled in an alley, Xiao Yan marked their location and resolved to catch those responsible together.

• Yao Chen rebuked Xiao Yi for judging the Dou Qi Continent after seeing so little of it, and Xiao Yan denied sharing Xiao Yi’s remarks.
• The next morning, Xiao Yi loaded Yao Chen’s wine jar into the bicycle’s basket and rode with Xiao Yan toward the city gate.
• As Xiao Yi pedaled through Wutan City, Xiao Yan compared his map with the locations where he had seen disabled children begging.
• Xiao Yan spotted several badly injured children in an alley, marked the location on his map, and decided to wait for a chance to catch everyone behind their abuse.

Xiao Yi and Xiao Yan discovered that the injured child beggars were being watched by suspicious men in an alley. After Yao Lao silently erased two of the men with white flames, Xiao Yan captured the last survivor and forced him to lead them to his boss.

• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan that the children's injuries could leave lasting effects in the cold weather.
• Xiao Yi offered the beggars sweet cakes and noticed one child glance fearfully toward suspicious figures deeper in the alley.
• Xiao Yi distracted the beggars' watchers while Xiao Yan crept toward them with Yao Lao's guidance.
• Yao Lao's white flames silently devoured two watchers, startling Xiao Yan and terrifying the last man.
• Xiao Yan seized the survivor and threatened him into taking Xiao Yan to his boss.

Xiao Yan followed a captured lackey to the gang’s hideout and killed the men there, while Xiao Yi gathered the rescued children. Xiao Yan decided to take them to his old courtyard at the Xiao Clan and sent Xiao Yi to buy medicine for their recovery.

• The lackey revealed the gang’s hideout and the locations where the children were held, and Xiao Yan sent Xiao Yi to find them.
• Xiao Yan followed the lackey to a courtyard and killed the men inside with his white flames.
• Xiao Yan questioned whether the killings had been too easy, and Yao Lao told him the men were merely scum who preyed on the weak.
• Xiao Yi brought the rescued children to the courtyard, and Yao Lao listed medicinal ingredients to treat their injuries and distress.
• Xiao Yan decided to take the children to his old courtyard at the Xiao Clan and gave Xiao Yi a list of ingredients to buy.
• Xiao Yi took the money he had gathered and rode off on his bicycle to purchase the medicine.

Xiao Yan and Yao Lao prepared to treat the children with medicine while their eerie white flames and the children’s laughter convinced passing Xiao Clan members that Xiao Yan’s courtyard was haunted. Xiao Yi returned with the ingredients, and Yao Lao began refining the medicine as the children watched.

• Several Xiao Clan branch members saw white firelight and heard children laughing in Xiao Yan’s courtyard, then fled in terror.
• The courtyard gained a more elaborate haunted-house reputation, while Xiao Yan entertained the children and Yao Lao tended the medicinal cauldron.
• Xiao Yi arrived with the medicinal ingredients and told Xiao Yan about his encounter with Jia Lie Ao at the Mittel Family’s medicine shop.
• Yao Lao enveloped the children in warming soul power and began refining medicine in the cauldron as they watched.

As Yao Lao refined medicine for the rescued children, Xiao Yan questioned whether saving them had been an impulsive and dangerous choice for the Xiao Clan. Xiao Yi warned him that pursuing “realism” at the cost of his morals could lead him toward ruthless actions, leaving Xiao Yan shaken but wary of that path.

• Yao Lao refined medicine for the injured children while Xiao Yi handed them malt candy and entertained them.
• Xiao Yan worried that the children’s care and protection could burden the Xiao Clan and bring it trouble.
• Xiao Yan asked Xiao Yi whether saving the children was wrong and whether their old-world compassion was naive.
• Xiao Yi warned Xiao Yan that abandoning idealism for power and practicality could erode his moral limits.
• Xiao Yan was disturbed by Xiao Yi’s warning and found the path toward ruthlessness repellent.

Xiao Yi challenged Xiao Yan’s selfish interpretation of a familiar saying, and Yao Lao urged Xiao Yan to reflect on his choices. Xiao Yan reaffirmed his commitment to the children, and he and Xiao Yi began treating them with Yao Lao’s pills and medicine.

• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan that Xiao Yi’s advice deserved reflection and that some choices could not be undone.
• Xiao Yi explained that the saying “if a man does not act for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him” meant cultivating and improving oneself, not acting selfishly.
• Xiao Yan remembered learning the same interpretation in school and admitted that years of gaming had made him forget it.
• Xiao Yan promised to take responsibility for the children he had rescued and find them a safe place to live.
• Yao Lao finished refining Spring-Returning Pills and Flesh-Regenerating Powder, and Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi began treating the children’s injuries.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi treated the injured children, but Xiao Yan worried about their future until Yao Lao offered a way to earn money. Yao Lao then revealed that Xiao Yan’s powerful soul and weak body had caused hidden damage, and advised him to remain at around the third stage of dou qi while he recovered.

• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi treated the children's severe wounds, and Xiao Yi urged Xiao Yan to focus on helping them in the present.
• Xiao Yan finished tending the children and continued worrying about their recovery and future livelihoods.
• Yao Lao promised to demonstrate how he could earn money through alchemy, though he would need Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi to supply dou qi.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan that his powerful Transmigrator soul had outpaced his weak body and that his cultivation had caused hidden damage.
• Yao Lao reassured the panicked Xiao Yan that the damage was reversible and advised him to stay around the third stage of dou qi while his body recovered.

Yao Lao explained that Xiao Yan needed to limit his Dou Qi growth until his body matured, but Xiao Yi distrusted Yao Lao and used a Red Cord to bind him inside the ring. Xiao Yan stopped Xiao Yi from dropping the ring into a latrine, and the two ended the chapter brawling in the courtyard.

• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan to keep cultivating while he absorbed the Dou Qi, and said Xiao Yan would likely need to wait until about fifteen before his restrictions could be lifted.
• Xiao Yi tied a Red Cord around Yao Lao's ring, trapping Yao Lao's soul inside, and threatened to drop the ring into a latrine if Yao Lao lied or harmed Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan kicked Xiao Yi, causing him to drop the ring, and caught it before it hit the ground.
• Yao Lao praised Xiao Yan's kick and urged him to attack Xiao Yi, while Xiao Yi grabbed a broom and charged at Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi fought around the courtyard as the children watched from a window.

Xiao Yi searched Wutan City for clues about the injured children’s origins while Xiao Yan disguised himself as an old man and went to the Mittel Auction House to sell pills. Xiao Yan reached the private appraisal area, hoping to earn money for the children’s treatment.

• Xiao Yi set up his fortune-telling stall and listened to passersby for information about missing children.
• Xiao Yi decided to trust Yao Lao to help heal the children while he looked for clues about their families.
• Xiao Yan disguised himself with an old man’s clothes, a false beard, and a stoop, then headed to the Mittel Auction House.
• A young attendant welcomed Xiao Yan and led him inside to meet the auction house’s appraisers and stewards.
• Xiao Yan surveyed the auction house’s luxurious corridors as he considered how to negotiate for a good price for his pills.

Xiao Yan disguised himself as an old man and brought a pill to the Mittel Auction House for appraisal. Master Gu Ni began examining the Healing Pill, while Ya Fei assisted Xiao Yan despite Steward Liu’s objections.

• Ya Fei led Xiao Yan to Master Gu Ni’s appraisal room after he requested an appraisal.
• Steward Liu scolded Ya Fei for bringing Xiao Yan to the renowned Second-Rank Alchemist, but Master Gu Ni told him to let the guest proceed.
• Xiao Yan presented a porcelain bottle, and Master Gu Ni opened it and examined the excellent-quality Healing Pill inside.

Xiao Yan successfully registered his high-quality Healing Pills at the Mittel Auction House while disguised as an old man. After leaving, he discussed Yao Lao’s promised benefits and explained the phrase “painting a grand feast” as he made his way back to the Xiao Clan.

• Master Gu Ni examined Xiao Yan’s Healing Pills, judged them excellent, and accepted them for auction.
• Master Gu Ni assigned Ya Fei to register the pills and manage their pricing and publicity.
• Ya Fei told Xiao Yan the auction might take a few extra days, and he left the auction house relieved.
• Yao Lao teased Xiao Yan for not intervening when Ya Fei was being questioned, then urged him to cultivate so Yao Lao could recover his strength.
• Xiao Yan removed his false beard in an alley and explained to Yao Lao that “painting a grand feast” meant making unrealistic promises.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi agreed to a temporary truce for the sake of the children they were caring for and returned to the old courtyard with their shopping. There, Xiao Yan comforted Er Ya as Yao Lao’s medicine began restoring sensation to the children’s frostbitten injuries.

• Xiao Yan ran into Xiao Yi while they were both returning from shopping, and Xiao Yi proposed a truce for the hungry children at home.
• Xiao Yan accepted and loaded his rice and oil onto Xiao Yi’s bicycle.
• Xiao Yi wheeled the bicycle to the old courtyard while Xiao Yan walked beside him, and they passed two boys carrying chamber pots out to the latrine.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi brought the groceries inside, where the children were enduring pain and itching as their injuries began to heal.
• Xiao Yan gently reassured Er Ya that the pain meant her wounds were getting better, while Yao Lao reflected on the children’s recovery.

Xiao Yi earned money and searched for the disabled children’s families while Xiao Yan and Yao Lao helped the children heal, even regrowing lost limbs with powerful medicines. The children’s recovery brought hope but left them enduring severe pain, and their nighttime cries spread fear among the Xiao Clan’s servants and youths.

• Xiao Yi traveled through Wutan City selling consultations, then used his earnings to buy provisions and investigate the children’s origins.
• Xiao Yan cultivated Dou Qi for Yao Lao, who refined medicines that healed the children’s wounds and enabled lost limbs to regrow.
• The children celebrated as their limbs returned, while Xiao Yan grew more determined to cultivate and Yao Lao continued to hold a grudge against Xiao Yi over the cesspit.
• The children suffered intense pain as their nerves regenerated, and Yao Lao warned that painkillers could impair their healing.
• Xiao Yan comforted the children and warned them not to numb their wounds with ice or snow, but their nighttime cries frightened Xiao Clan servants and youths.

Xiao Yi and Xiao Yan made dumplings with the children, sharing a joyful meal in the courtyard. Xiao Yi then prepared an offering, and Yao Lao used incense as chopsticks to taste a dumpling before Xiao Yan realized what he was doing.

• Xiao Yi brought flour and meat home and invited the children and Xiao Yan to make dumplings.
• Xiao Yan, Xiao Yi, Huzi, and Goudan worked together to prepare and cook the dumplings.
• The children ate the dumplings, while Yao Lao watched their happiness and regretted that he could not taste the food.
• Xiao Yi set dumplings and other foods on a small altar, lit candles and incense, and bowed to the offerings.
• Yao Lao picked up the incense sticks and tasted a ghostly dumpling, and Xiao Yan recognized the incense as a way for a ghost to eat.

Xiao Yi persuaded Yao Lao to use Gu Ling Cold Flame to turn his battered bicycle and scrap metal into a sturdy tricycle for returning the recovering children to their homes. After the children gathered around the strange vehicle, Xiao Yi brought out a black box and played music for them.

• Xiao Yi decided that the children were well enough to return home but needed a safer way to travel than his battered bicycle.
• Xiao Yi convinced Yao Lao to use Heavenly Flames to modify the bicycle by promising him incense and offerings.
• Yao Lao melted scrap metal into parts, and Xiao Yi assembled them with a wooden cargo bed to make a sturdy tricycle.
• Yao Lao returned to Xiao Yan's ring to rest while Xiao Yi proudly inspected the finished tricycle.
• Huzi, Goudan, and the other children cautiously gathered to examine the tricycle, and Xiao Yi brought out a black wooden box.
• Xiao Yi turned a knob on the box, and lively music filled the courtyard.

Xiao Yi played an MJ song and danced in the courtyard, stirring Xiao Yan’s memories of his youth in Another World. Xiao Yan joined the dance, and the children copied them while Yao Lao watched without intervening.

• Xiao Yi played music from his black box, surprising Xiao Yan and captivating the children.
• Xiao Yi explained that the music was MJ’s and performed the Moonwalk and other dance steps.
• Xiao Yan remembered his school days, old classmates, and the music player he had lost, then cried as the song brought back memories of home.
• Xiao Yan wiped his tears and joined Xiao Yi’s dance, and Xiao Yi kept dancing alongside him.
• Yao Lao watched the pair but chose not to stop them, while the children clapped and tried copying their movements.

Xiao Yi and Xiao Yan returned the children to their families before their teasing escalated into a fight. Xiao Yan attacked Xiao Yi with mud, Xiao Yi kicked him into the mud, and Xiao Yan retaliated with a snake.

• Xiao Yi delivered the children to their families, and one girl asked whether she would hear the songs again, so he gave her a colorful stone and encouraged her to notice the colors around her.
• After the last child went home, Xiao Yi ordered Xiao Yan to pedal the Tricycle for the return trip, but Xiao Yan angrily ran off instead.
• Xiao Yi pursued Xiao Yan on the Tricycle and mocked him, so Xiao Yan stopped and threw a handful of mud into Xiao Yi's face.
• Xiao Yi leaped from the Tricycle and kicked Xiao Yan in the face, sending him into the mud.
• Xiao Yan grabbed a snake and charged at Xiao Yi as Yao Lao sighed at their renewed fight.