Chapter Summaries

On the first days of the lunar new year, Yang Ge mourned his family by making a grave in his vegetable patch, then learned that martial artists had come to town to claim the bounty on Zhang Mazi. He ordered Fang Ke to keep the town safe and prepare for trouble.

• Yang Ge dreamed of his grandfather, then bought funeral offerings and built a grave for his family in the backyard.
• Yang Ge burned paper money at the grave and told his parents he could not return home, asking them to look after his family.
• Fang Ke visited Yang Ge and reported that more than thirty martial artists from Huainan had entered town to hunt Zhang Mazi for the Li Family's five-thousand-tael bounty.
• Yang Ge told Fang Ke to warn the hunters not to cause trouble in Road Pavilion and to stop following them.
• Yang Ge ordered Fang Ke to pressure the prisoners for payment and have his men patrol in groups of three with signal arrows.

Yang Ge confronted Long Wind Gang men searching for Zhang Mazi and, after they attacked him, lost control and killed several of them. As Road Pavilion’s residents gathered and Fang Ke’s Embroidered Uniform Guard enforcers arrived, Yang Ge escaped toward Gong and Drum Lane.

• Yang Ge left home after Long Wind Gang thieves disturbed his sleep and waited near the burned-out Abundant Prosperity Rice Shop ruins.
• Yang Ge knocked a black-clad Long Wind Gang man from a roof, learned the gang had come for him, and severed the man’s hand when he tried to flee and raise the alarm.
• A blue-clad swordsman accused Yang Ge of provoking the Long Wind Gang and rejected his offer to pay silver; the gang then attacked him with crossbows and swords.
• Yang Ge killed the blue-clad swordsman and several black-clad men in a furious rampage, then shouted that Zhang Mazi was there and dared anyone to kill him.
• Road Pavilion residents poured into the streets, while Fang Ke announced that the authorities were apprehending Zhang Mazi; Yang Ge escaped toward Gong and Drum Lane.

After killing three Long Wind Gang men, Yang Ge struggled with the weight of his actions while Fang Ke tried to steady him and promised to deal with the surviving gang members. A letter from the Northern Pacification Office then warned Yang Ge that an Eunuch Imperial Commissioner would soon arrive to investigate the Three Great Grain Merchants.

• Fang Ke found Yang Ge absent from home and learned from Wang Dashi that he had not returned after the killings.
• Fang Ke warned Wang Dashi not to drag Yang Ge into his family's dangerous affairs, and Wang Dashi ordered him to leave.
• Fang Ke found Yang Ge at the outpost, where Yang Ge vomited after learning the scene had been cleaned up and asked about the surviving Long Wind Gang members.
• Fang Ke urged Yang Ge not to let the killings weigh on him, and Yang Ge ordered him to make an example of the gang and investigate its background.
• Yang Ge received an urgent letter warning that an Eunuch Imperial Commissioner would soon investigate the Three Great Grain Merchants' grain hoarding and price manipulation.

Yang Ge woke up weak and feverish, and Liu Mang came to take him to a New Year reunion meal and then to see a doctor. Before leaving, Yang Ge warned Liu Mang to avoid openly hosting passing jianghu visitors, and Liu Mang carried him out with Little Yellow.

• Liu Mang brought cured pig's trotters and insisted on taking sick Yang Ge to his family's reunion meal.
• Yang Ge and Liu Mang teased each other and sparred, despite Yang Ge's illness.
• Yang Ge warned Liu Mang that hosting jianghu travelers could expose him to dangerous feuds, citing Zhang Mazi's killing of Long Wind Gang members.
• Liu Mang agreed to stop openly entertaining passing jianghu visitors and to send them travel money quietly instead.
• Liu Mang wrapped Yang Ge in a thick garment, carried him out, and brought Little Yellow along as they set off for the reunion meal and a doctor.

After Luting’s grain shops reopened shortly before the imperial envoy’s arrival, Yang Ge confronted his officers over their dealings with the Southern Pacification Office and the Kaifeng troops blocking the road. He resolved to meet the envoy himself, leaving Fang Ke worried about how Yang Ge would respond to the investigation.

• Luting’s grain shops reopened and sold grain at last year’s prices, but Yang Ge learned that an imperial envoy would soon arrive.
• Yang Ge reprimanded Gu Tong for allowing the Kaifeng prefectural troops to block starving people from reaching Luting, and Gu Tong hurried out to disperse them.
• Yang Ge rejected the possibility of leaving Luting to oversee Kaifeng, while Fang Ke refused to take such an assignment in his place.
• Fang Ke proposed letting the imperial envoy go through the motions, but Yang Ge ordered him to prepare to meet the envoy the next morning.
• Fang Ke warned Yang Ge about the deadly consequences of an envoy’s death, and Yang Ge insisted he had no plans to harm the visitor.

Yang Ge confronted Pei Yu at the post station as Road Pavilion prepared to welcome the Imperial Envoy. Eunuch Wang arrived, rebuked Yang Ge over Zhang Mazi, and warmly favored Pei Yu, leaving Yang Ge to suspect the visit had a purpose; Fang Ke then worried that Yang Ge’s muttered insult would bring trouble.

• Yang Ge endured the Road Pavilion officials’ flattery and accused Pei Yu of the Southern Pacification Office of interfering in his territory, warning that he could report Pei Yu to Lord Shen.
• Yang Ge used Pei Yu’s retreat to tell Gu Tong to continue his work without fearing further interference.
• The Imperial Envoy, Eunuch Wang, arrived and criticized Yang Ge for failing to capture Zhang Mazi, while Yang Ge respectfully accepted the rebuke.
• Eunuch Wang greeted Pei Yu warmly, mentioned Pei Yu’s father, and led him into the post station as the officials and gentry praised him.
• After the crowd ignored him, Yang Ge muttered an insult about Eunuch Wang, and Fang Ke panicked at the trouble it might cause.

Yang Ge replaced himself with a subordinate while the imperial envoy lingered in Luting County, then secluded himself to refine his Frost-Defying Blade and Snowfall Formula. More than two months later, Fang Ke told him the envoy was still in town.

• Yang Ge had a Strongman impersonate him on duty, while Fang Ke concealed the stand-in’s mistakes because he feared Yang Ge might kill the imperial envoy.
• Yang Ge avoided Gong and Drum Lane after growing uncomfortable with Fang Ke’s strange stares, and turned to practicing martial arts at home.
• Yang Ge realized that killing intent had awakened the Frost-Defying Blade’s true sharpness and helped him understand its six killing moves.
• Yang Ge continued cultivating the Snowfall Formula instead of forcing a premature breakthrough into the Return to the True Realm.
• Yang Ge shut himself away for more than two months, until Fang Ke came to his courtyard and told him the imperial envoy was still in Luting County.

Yang Ge learned that martial-world figures were gathering in Road Pavilion to seek justice over grain price manipulation, putting Eunuch Wang and the city at risk. He set rules to control the newcomers and headed to Shopkeeper Liu’s place, intending to profit from their arrival.

• Fang Ke told Yang Ge that hundreds of martial-world figures were approaching Road Pavilion and that Yang Ge had become known as Zhang Mazi, “Timely Rain.”
• Yang Ge and Fang Ke discussed Eunuch Wang’s long stay, the falling grain prices, and the devastation the grain merchants’ price hikes had already caused.
• Yang Ge reasoned that the Three Great Grain Merchants had more to lose if Eunuch Wang died, since their families would face severe punishment.
• Yang Ge ordered Fang Ke to post strict rules forbidding martial practitioners from drawing weapons, harming residents, or causing disorder in Road Pavilion.
• Yang Ge finished practicing his saber, took Little Yellow out, and went to visit Shopkeeper Liu to prepare the inn’s copper hot pots for the arriving martial-world figures.

Fang Ke defended Road Pavilion’s rules while welcoming martial artists from Huainan who had come to seek justice, and the townspeople backed him. At the Welcome Inn’s opening, Yang Ge saw Shopkeeper Liu reunited with grateful neighbors and received baby rabbits from Wang Dezhu as the community began to recover.

• Fang Ke had Yang Ge’s words carved on a stone tablet and read its inscription aloud at the eastern city gate, drawing cheers from Road Pavilion residents.
• When martial artists mocked the Embroidered Uniform Guard and threatened to draw their swords, Fang Ke stood his ground as guards aimed bows and crossbows at them.
• Fang Ke told the martial artists they could enter the city to petition the Imperial Envoy but had to obey Road Pavilion’s rules, and the locals voiced their support.
• Yang Ge lit firecrackers to open the Welcome Inn, where neighbors crowded around Shopkeeper Liu to congratulate and comfort him and help clean the inn.
• Wang Dezhu brought Yang Ge a nest of baby rabbits and firewood for the inn, and Yang Ge accepted the gift as he watched the community celebrate.

Yang Ge watched the Welcome Inn prosper as martial heroes flooded Luting County, but their clumsy efforts to expose the Three Great Grain Houses only muddied the political situation. As their frustration with the Imperial Envoy grew, Yang Ge prepared for the coming upheaval and returned to the martial world as Zhang Mazi.

• Yang Ge expanded the Welcome Inn to handle its crowds, and the inn earned more in a day than it had once made in months while fights became a daily attraction.
• Martial heroes brought evidence against the Three Great Grain Houses to the Imperial Envoy, but he accepted weak petitions and rejected account books and insider witnesses.
• Heroes raided the Three Great Grain Houses' granaries and forced their people to confess, while the houses cooperated in ways that made the protests ineffective.
• Yang Ge secretly preserved crucial evidence, believing it should eventually reveal the crimes committed against ordinary people.
• As the heroes' anger at the court grew, Ma Yinghu called a Heroes' Assembly at the Ruined Temple on the night of March nineteenth, and Yang Ge put on the Nine of Diamonds Mask and returned as Zhang Mazi.

Yang Ge infiltrated the Road Pavilion Post Station to burn evidence against the Three Great Grain Houses, but he clashed with Yang Tiansheng, who had come to kill the Imperial Envoy. They discovered a bearded eunuch was the man they sought, and the chapter left Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng preparing to fight him.

• Yang Ge fought a masked swordsman in the passage, and their battle revealed they were both targeting the Imperial Envoy for different reasons.
• The bearded eunuch appeared, identified Yang Tiansheng as a member of the Bright Cult, and recognized Yang Ge as 'Timely Rain' Zhang Mazi.
• Yang Ge warned that killing the Imperial Envoy could bring disaster upon Luting County, and Yang Tiansheng challenged his reasoning.
• Yang Ge explained that he had come to burn the case files on the Three Great Grain Houses and the people behind them.
• The bearded eunuch praised Yang Ge's political acumen but said he had a duty to stop him, so Yang Tiansheng joined Yang Ge in facing him.

Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng fought Wei Heng, the powerful chief of the Imperial Secret Guards, and barely escaped after Yang Ge set fire to the Archives Repository. The two friends parted ways, with Yang Ge concealing his identity and promising they might meet again.

• Yang Ge tried to flee after attacking Wei Heng, but Wei Heng quickly caught him and knocked him back while Yang Tiansheng rejoined him.
• Wei Heng revealed his Golden Bell Shield and formidable strength, then overwhelmed Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng despite their combined attacks.
• After their weapons shattered and all three were blasted apart, Yang Ge landed inside the Archives Repository and set its scrolls alight with lamp oil.
• Yang Ge found Yang Tiansheng in the Lotus Pond, helped him escape, and the two staggered out of the Road Pavilion Post Station as Wei Heng let the fire burn before calling for it to be put out.
• Outside a house, Yang Ge removed his Nine of Diamonds Mask but kept another mask on, refused to reveal his name, and parted from Yang Tiansheng with a promise to meet again if fate allowed.

After the Three Great Grain Houses were punished, Yang Ge celebrated with the people of Luting while Shen Fa warned that the scandal had made him a target. Shen Fa proposed that Yang Ge take his former post as an Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-Household Commander, and they reached a bargain that left Yang Ge responsible for handling affairs while remaining largely idle.

• Fang Ke led the Three Great Grain Houses’ managers through Luting as the crowd jeered and pelted them, and Yang Ge joined the celebration with firecrackers.
• Shen Fa told Yang Ge that the grain scandal had toppled more than three hundred officials and that the man at the top knew Yang Ge’s identity as Zhang Mazi.
• Shen Fa warned that Yang Ge’s actions had made powerful people uneasy and urged him to go to the Capital City, but Yang Ge resisted leaving Luting.
• Shen Fa proposed that Yang Ge take his former position as an Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand-Household Commander to protect himself and his associates.
• Yang Ge bargained with Shen Fa and agreed to take the position on the terms that he would handle affairs as before and be more proactive, then celebrated the deal over hot pot and wine.

Yang Ge received an imperial appointment as Thousand-Household Commander of the Upper Right Office, along with a Python Robe that he found more burdensome than useful. He promoted Fang Ke to Probationary Hundred-Household Commander to oversee the office’s new premises and agreed to make the Long Wind Gang the office’s first target.

• Shen Fa’s appointment certificate and the imperially bestowed Python Robe arrived at Road Pavilion, and Yang Ge gave Fang Ke responsibility for keeping the robe safe.
• Yang Ge asked Fang Ke how to run the Upper Right Office, and Fang Ke explained that Yang Ge could either coast in the post or take on major cases as Shen Fa did.
• Yang Ge recommended Fang Ke as a Probationary Hundred-Household Commander and assigned him to find and build premises without bullying people, disturbing residents, or exceeding the budget.
• Yang Ge put Gu Tong and the other men under Fang Ke and told Fang Ke to train them while improving his own martial arts.
• Yang Ge asked about the Long Wind Gang, and Fang Ke proposed making the gang the Upper Right Office’s first target; Yang Ge approved the plan and went back to the inn to serve customers.

Jiang Kui and his exhausted troops fought to break through the Tartar lines until reinforcements from Lu Mountain arrived, helping the Wei army turn the battle into a decisive victory. By late August, the Royal Army had captured the grasslands' Khan, grain prices had fallen, and Emperor Xiping was praised as the sovereign who restored the dynasty.

• In Luting County, Shopkeeper Liu treated the inn's patrons to wine after news arrived that General Lan Ying had routed the Uriyangqad Tribe.
• Jiang Kui led his depleted battalion toward the Tartars' left flank, opening a path through the enemy while his horse and saber gave out.
• As Jiang Kui neared death, his brothers arrived with the Lu Mountain troops and fought alongside him, driven by grief for their fallen brothers.
• The reinforced Wei army advanced under artillery cover, routed the Tartars, and attacked their vast camp in Tartary.
• At the end of August, news reached Luting County that the Royal Army had captured the Khan of the Grasslands alive, and grain prices fell as acclaim for Emperor Xiping grew.

After completing the Snowfall Formula and settling the Upper Right Office’s affairs, Yang Ge finally prepared to travel south against the Long Wind Gang. He summoned his officers to choose who would accompany him to Jiangzuo, then made them compete for the assignment by writing proposals.

• Yang Ge asked Shopkeeper Liu for leave, and Shopkeeper Liu encouraged him to travel and offered to give him money.
• Yang Ge returned to the Upper Right Office headquarters, where Fang Ke reported which commanders had returned and confirmed that boats were arranged for the trip south.
• Yang Ge summoned the officers and announced that he needed four hundred Strongmen and five Hundred-Household Commanders to accompany him to Jiangzuo against the Long Wind Gang.
• All eight attending officers volunteered to go, so Yang Ge told them to write proposals and gave them fifteen minutes to persuade him who should travel and who should remain at headquarters.

Yang Ge’s flotilla stopped in Suzhou, where his men caught river thieves who worked for the Sea River Gang, a pawn of the powerful Chain Wharf. After ordering his men to pursue the gang and raise the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s banners, Yang Ge settled in to see whether the Chain Wharf would challenge them.

• Yang Ge and Fang Ke discussed their journey as the flotilla approached Suzhou, and Fang Ke warned him to be careful about repeating Chen Sheng’s words in front of others.
• Yang Ge stayed aboard while Fang Ke brought back Suzhou food and wine, and the two drank until a gong sounded to report trouble aboard First Company’s ships.
• Gu Tong caught two thieves who had used knockout smoke, learned they were Sea River Gang lackeys, and took his men to deal with the gang.
• Fang Ke discovered that the Chain Wharf controlled the waterway and collected tribute through the Sea River Gang, and Yang Ge ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s banners raised.
• Yang Ge sent Fang Ke and fifty Strongmen to support Gu Tong, then remained aboard, reflecting on his wish to act against injustice.

Yang Ge dealt with the Sea River Gang, arranged for its seized wealth to fund a porridge stall, and left Suzhou after the local officials staged a charitable display. Shen Fa feared Yang Ge’s actions would provoke Chain Wharf, while Yang Ge’s fleet was stopped by a white-clad young gentleman playing a flute.

• Gu Tong reported that Yang Ge’s men had crushed the Sea River Gang, and Yang Ge ordered the confiscated wealth used to establish a charitable porridge stall while giving Gu Tong credit for overseeing it.
• Fang Ke explained to Gu Tong that Yang Ge’s plan gave Suzhou’s corrupt officials a chance to return what they had taken, and warned him to follow orders without improvising.
• A Suzhou official publicly claimed the authorities and Embroidered Uniform Guard had jointly seized the Sea River Gang’s wealth for charity, then dropped his benevolent act after Yang Ge’s fleet sailed south.
• Shen Fa read a report about Yang Ge’s confrontation with Chain Wharf, worried about the consequences, and began writing an urgent message.
• A white-clad young gentleman playing a flute in a small sampan blocked Yang Ge’s fleet, and Yang Ge called him a flashy bastard.

Yang Ge confronted Li Jincheng and Chain Wharf over the Sea River Gang, refusing their silver and their demand that he restore their standing. After Old Six Ma described Chain Wharf’s role in making the Bian River safer, Yang Ge accepted a contest and vowed to present them with a silk banner of commendation whether they won or lost.

• Li Jincheng offered Yang Ge five thousand taels of silver and challenged him to take it, but Yang Ge demanded to know why Chain Wharf had come after him.
• Yang Ge threatened Li Jincheng with the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s crossbows, then withdrew them after Chain Wharf’s black-clad spokesman admitted they had come over the Sea River Gang.
• The spokesman argued that Yang Ge had disgraced Chain Wharf by removing the Sea River Gang’s signboard, and Yang Ge refused to trade the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s dignity for Chain Wharf’s face.
• Yang Ge challenged Chain Wharf to fight, while the black-clad spokesman warned that the wharf would resist if forced to defend itself.
• Old Six Ma explained how Chain Wharf had curbed corruption, banditry, and danger on the Bian River, then bowed to thank Yang Ge for clearing out the Sea River Gang.
• Yang Ge removed his cloak, drew his saber, accepted Chain Wharf’s proposed terms, and promised to present it with a silk banner of commendation.

Yang Ge defeated Old Six Ma in a ten-exchange saber match and let Chain Wharf’s fleet pass, warning its men to uphold their code. At Shanhai Pass, Lei Heng led his men home beyond the pass, while Jiang Kui remained with the army and watched them leave.

• Yang Ge accepted Old Six Ma’s challenge, wagering five thousand taels against a plaque crediting Chain Wharf with funding Suzhou’s charitable hall.
• Yang Ge overwhelmed Old Six Ma’s saber techniques and knocked him into the river, winning their contest.
• Wang Er accepted the result, and Yang Ge warned Chain Wharf that he would punish anyone who terrorized the people, regardless of their ties to the wharf.
• Wang Er consoled Old Six Ma and said Yang Ge’s skill came from his thought, breadth of heart, and resolve; Old Six Ma admitted he had felt his strongest strike would lose.
• At Shanhai Pass, Jiang Kui urged Lei Heng to remain in the army, but Lei Heng said Great Wei oppressed their people and chose to return beyond the pass with his men.
• Lei Heng and his men rode home, leaving Jiang Kui alone to watch their banner disappear into the night.