Recaps

Xianyu returned home with his subordinates and later attended the Starsea Community meeting, where he rejected the IPC’s plan to exterminate Mechanical Lifeforms and proposed laws against slavery. After defending a young woman from a condescending attendee, he was unanimously elected the first Supervisor and pledged to preserve peace and defend human rights for as long as he lived.

• Aha left with Akivili and all the alcohol, and Xianyu decided to collect the debt from Aha’s followers if necessary.
• Xianyu welcomed his cheering subordinates home, and Chenzhen won the chance to accompany him to the Starsea Community meeting.
• Chenzhen rested aboard the Stellar Destroyer while Xianyu read, then joined him at the meeting with an IPC shareholder.
• Xianyu rejected the IPC shareholder’s proposal to exterminate Mechanical Lifeforms and proposed a Star System Law protecting human rights and prohibiting slavery.
• Xianyu rebuked a man who belittled a young woman, then urged the assembled leaders to begin the meeting without pointless talk.
• The delegates approved Xianyu’s proposed law and unanimously elected him the first Starsea Council Supervisor, and he pledged to defend peace and human rights.

Chenzhen shared the Marshal’s speech with her colleagues, who realized he had accepted the Star-Sea Overseer position to give Xianzhou natives the freedom to travel the stars. After learning that Yubie had undergone molting, Xianyu confronted the Dragon Preceptors over their concealment and threatened them, but Yubie’s wine and the Preceptors’ professed loyalty led him to spare their lives while warning them they might one day choose to follow Yubie.

• Chenzhen abandoned her colleagues to accompany Xianyu and later recounted his inspiring speech to them.
• Daiyang’s subordinates realized Xianyu had become Star-Sea Overseer to let Xianzhou ships travel freely through member nations’ territories and protect their people.
• Xianyu decided to visit Yubie, but Daiyang and a Vidyadhara told him that Yubie had undergone molting.
• Xianyu confronted the Dragon Preceptors, accused them of concealing Yubie’s molting, and ordered Daiyang to bring several of them to the brink of death.
• A Vidyadhara delivered wine from Yubie, and Xianyu spared the Dragon Preceptors after they professed loyalty, warning that they might one day miss Yubie enough to undergo molting themselves.

Xianyu dealt with Yubie's death by forcing the Dragon Preceptors to honor him, then agreed to protect the dying Company Shareholder's daughter in exchange for a family heirloom. At the shareholder's funeral, Xianyu offered the Pink-Haired Girl help with her future, but his blunt advice left her in tears.

• Xianyu replaced a Dragon Preceptor with Yubie's attendant, then made the Dragon Preceptors erect a statue of Yubie and pour out the sealed wine.
• The Company Shareholder asked Xianyu to marry his daughter in exchange for his wealth, but Xianyu refused and agreed to protect her instead.
• Xianyu rejected the shareholder's offer of company shares and accepted his Family Crest necklace, which bound the shareholder's descendants to help him.
• After the Company Shareholder died on the Yaoqing, Xianyu attended his funeral with the Chief Strategist to support the shareholder's pink-haired daughter.
• Xianyu offered the Pink-Haired Girl help whether she wanted marriage or another path, then warned her against relying on romance and approval; she began to cry.

Xianyu attended a shareholder’s funeral, then returned to work and unknowingly approved a holiday that his subordinates had designed to celebrate his birthday. At the celebration, he accepted their gifts and Akivili’s blessing, which wished him a lasting journey through the stars and reunion with his ideals.

• Xianyu publicly showed support for the shareholder’s daughter at the funeral, then left without collecting the one Strale the shareholder owed him.
• Xianyu instructed the Chief Strategist to use diplomatic gifts to build schools and roads where needed and approved a proposal for a Festival of Gratitude.
• Daiyang and the other subordinates revealed that they had secretly planned the festival to celebrate Xianyu’s birthday, and Xianyu agreed to an annual fireworks display after they pushed for more.
• Xianyu watched a projection of people whose lives had improved through the Xianzhou’s protection, then received a wreath from Akivili and his subordinates.
• Akivili asked Xianyu to become a follower of the Trailblaze for the day, then blessed him and wished that they would travel the sea of stars together and that Xianyu would reunite with his ideals.

On Xianyu’s birthday, Akivili helped the Xianzhou generals coax their Marshal into taking photos and giving them hugs, while Daiyang remembered the old days and the cost of the immortality he granted. As fireworks celebrated Xianyu across the Alliance, Daiyang recalled the baffling order he had eventually issued: recall and permanently ban the Neutron Guns.

• Akivili gave Xianyu a Nameless token, and Xianyu’s subordinates asked for birthday wishes, including photos, visits, and hugs.
• Akivili encouraged the generals to ask for cheek kisses and other gestures, prompting Xianyu to allow hugs; Chaoyan asked whether he liked pets, and Daiyang asked to braid his hair.
• Daiyang remembered how she and her colleagues had once secretly braided Xianyu’s hair with Longevity Braids, hoping to protect him, and how he had granted immortality to the Xianzhou.
• Daiyang recalled colleagues suffering under the undying curse and Xianzhou natives becoming mara-struck, while she remained grateful that Xianyu was not short-lived.
• Xianyu took photos and hugged the generals before watching fireworks that celebrated his birthday across the Xianzhou Alliance.
• Daiyang remembered the day Xianyu ordered the Neutron Guns recalled and permanently banned, a decision that offered the Xianzhou no apparent benefit.

Daiyang learned that the Marshal had banned the Neutron Gun to spare its creator, Marty, the guilt of Chaoyan’s death, then retrieved Chaoyan’s remains’ last traces and attended her funeral. Later, at Gratitude Day on the Luofu, Xianyu reunited with Imbibitor Lunae and wondered whether their old promise to drink together still stood.

• Daiyang delivered the order to seal away the Neutron Guns and found Marty crying at the Marshal’s residence.
• The Marshal comforted Marty, explained that Chaoyan had died by her own hand with a Neutron Gun, and promised that Marty’s weapons would never hurt anyone again.
• Daiyang retrieved the gun and Chaoyan’s final footage from her Stellar Destroyer, then returned to attend Chaoyan’s funeral.
• The Marshal approved the new Yaoqing General’s funeral arrangements and later explained his changes to the generals’ education, leaving them convinced he had their best interests at heart.
• Daiyang arranged Gratitude Day on the Luofu and invited Imbibitor Lunae to meet Xianyu.
• Imbibitor Lunae presented Xianyu with an expensive antique, and Xianyu recalled their promise to drink together even if offered a thousand gold pieces.

Daiyang realized that the Marshal’s long-lived subordinates had hidden their decline and deaths because they feared making him grieve, and she prayed for his happiness before retiring. On the Yaoqing, Xianyu searched for the cat Chaoyan had given him and learned it had run away so he would not see it die.

• As fireworks ended, Imbibitor Lunae silently watched the Marshal, Daiyang, and the other attendants, while Xianyu left Imbibitor Lunae’s gift on the Luofu in Daiyang’s care.
• Much later, as ginkgo leaves emerged from her flesh, Daiyang understood that her colleagues had concealed their deaths to spare the Marshal grief, and she prayed to the Reignbow Arbiter for his peace.
• Daiyang chose a successor, visited Xianyu on the Yaoqing, and wept as he admitted he wished he could be a god and avoid watching his subordinates die.
• After Daiyang left, Xianyu searched for the missing cat Chaoyan had given him and found it with a group of children.
• The children told Xianyu that the cat had run away because it knew it was about to die and did not want to make him sad.

After burying Kitty, Xianyu began writing farewell letters and planning to erase himself from the Xianzhou’s history. An assassination left him gravely wounded, and his confrontation with Lan revealed that he could kill Aeons; Xianyu invited Lan to join him in killing them all.

• Xianyu buried Kitty beneath a tree, then decided the Xianzhou should eventually forget him and began writing farewell letters for his subordinates.
• The Chief Strategist told Xianyu that Daiyang was missing after her Stellar Destroyer encountered a starquake, and Xianyu entrusted him with Daiyang’s letter.
• Xianyu tried to persuade the Chief Strategist to undergo mechanical ascension, but an assassin stabbed Xianyu in the chest before he could continue.
• Xianyu killed the attackers with the Chief Strategist’s help, while his wound would not stop bleeding and the others were ordered to keep his condition secret.
• Xianyu questioned Lan about what he could do beyond breaking the curse of immortality, recognized Lan’s reaction as confirmation, and invited him to help kill the Aeons.

Xianyu recovered from his wounds, renewed his plans to kill the Aeons, and spent a long time searching for a successor while outliving generations of Xianzhou natives. The chapter ended with the dying Chief Strategist stopping Xianyu from killing him and telling him to get lost.

• Xianyu invited Lan to kill the Aeons with him, but Lan refused and knocked him unconscious after telling him he had succeeded.
• After waking, Xianyu re-equipped the Mara-Struck debuff, accepted a coat from Akivili, and joined Nous's group chat to clear up their supposed bad blood.
• Xianyu used Aha as an excuse when Nous asked why star systems had been destroyed, then told Akivili he could not travel with him until he found a successor.
• Xianyu searched for a successor for generations, rejected a shareholder's political-marriage suggestion, and repeatedly turned away girls pursuing him because of an ancestor's instructions.
• The Cauldron Master told Xianyu that the Chief Strategist was near death, and Xianyu approached the bed intending to end his suffering.
• The Chief Strategist stopped Xianyu by speaking, and Xianyu withdrew his hand and promised to kill him after he returned.

Xianyu discovered that Marty’s computer had survived as an intelligent voice in his Jade Abacus, with the power to activate the Aether-Phase Engine and command powerful weapons. He then reunited with Lan, who had tracked him through their contract and said Hua was nicer than he was.

• Xianyu read the Cangcheng Laboratory report and wondered whether Marty and the other researchers had died after his obituary was released.
• Xianyu imagined using his constitution to change the past and considered whether Marty had completed a powerful computer for Hua.
• Marty’s computer contacted Xianyu through the Jade Abacus, recognized him as Marshal, and offered to activate the Aether-Phase Engine, but Xianyu refused.
• The computer said it had found Xianyu through voiceprint comparison, then fell silent when he asked how it got along with Hua.
• Lan appeared in Xianyu’s courtyard and explained that the contract had led him to Xianyu; he said Hua was very nice, prompting Xianyu to ask him to stop insulting him.

Xianyu spoke with Lan about Hua, his feelings for Jingliu, and his refusal to reveal his past as the Former Marshal. On the Luofu front, Hua managed the campaign against Shuhu while worrying about Jingliu’s relationship with her guardian and seeking an artisan to repair an old sword.

• Xianyu imagined how he would work with Hua and told Lan to attend his wedding feast if the opportunity arose.
• Lan asked about Xianyu’s beloved, and Xianyu identified her as Jingliu, the Sword Champion and an outstanding Cloud Knight.
• Lan offered Xianyu an arrow of the Hunt, but Xianyu refused it and said he would not tell Jingliu that he had once been the Former Marshal.
• Xianyu gave Lan a Jade Abacus so they could order takeout.
• At the front line, Hua reviewed Jingliu’s assessment and learned that Shuhu was moving rapidly, apparently fleeing something.
• Hua recalled that she had come to find an artisan to repair an old sword and asked Teng Xiao about one on the Luofu.

Hua brought the Former Marshal’s bloodstained broken sword to Yingxing, asking him to restore it so she could learn whether the man had suffered before his death. After seeing the reassembled fragments, she learned the answer and left the sword in Yingxing’s care; later, Xianyu’s call abruptly turned her grief into anger.

• Hua explained that Yingxing was the right person to restore the Former Marshal’s sword because he knew nothing about the man’s past, and Teng Xiao arranged for Jing Yuan to guide her to him.
• Hua gave Yingxing the shattered, bloodstained sword and paid him a large deposit, asking him to restore it slowly after he returned to the Luofu.
• As Yingxing pieced the fragments together, Hua saw the bloodstains and learned whether the Former Marshal had suffered before he died; she then ordered Yingxing to keep the matter secret and send the repaired sword to Xuling.
• Hua promised Yingxing a total payment of one billion and left; Yingxing moved the sword to Dan Feng’s tent for safekeeping, and they discussed how soon the campaign might end.
• Hua recalled the Chief Strategist’s advice to keep following her own wishes, then received a call from Xianyu, who asked whether Aha had paid her back.
• Hua told Xianyu that Aha had sold his belongings at auction for ten billion Strales, that the Xianzhou had bought them, and that the Masked Fools had stolen them.

Hua realized that Aha had sold Xianyu’s Neutron Gun for ten billion Strales, repaid his IOU to the Xianzhou, and revealed clues about the Former Marshal’s final days. After teasing Xianyu about his gifts to Aha and his plans for Jingliu, Hua learned that he and Jingliu had started dating, and she resolved to end the battle sooner.

• Hua learned that her subordinate had won the auction lot connected to the Former Marshal for ten billion Strales, then examined the empty box and suspected the lot had been a Neutron Gun.
• Hua connected the Neutron Gun to Marty and the missing researchers, and suspected they had discovered the truth about the Former Marshal’s death.
• Hua learned that Aha had returned ten billion Strales to the Xianzhou to repay Xianyu’s IOU, and told Xianyu about the payment and the six billion Credits he had given Aha.
• Xianyu speculated that the auction lot might have been one of his severed limbs, prompting Hua to angrily remind him that his death and pain mattered to her.
• Xianyu discussed giving his assets to Jingliu after their relationship ended, and Hua learned that they were already together.
• Hua calculated that the battle could end in two or three months, then decided to finish the war in one month.

Hua considered how to protect her guardian and encouraged Jingliu after the Reignbow Arbiter chose her as an Emanator. Meanwhile, Dan Feng, Yingxing, and Jing Yuan discussed Jingliu’s romance and the Arbiter’s appearance, until they heard that the Sword Champion had earned the Arbiter’s recognition.

• Hua reasoned that she needed to keep her guardian from learning the truth behind the researchers’ deaths and hoped Jingliu would help keep him from acting recklessly.
• Hua learned that the Reignbow Arbiter had destroyed one corrupted planet and chosen Jingliu as an Emanator, then praised Jingliu and urged her to devote herself to protecting the Xianzhou.
• Jing Yuan regretted missing the Reignbow Arbiter’s appearance, while Dan Feng and Yingxing consoled him over tea and discussed Jingliu’s ruined swords and her romance.
• Dan Feng suggested giving Jingliu storybooks for romantic guidance, and Yingxing showed him the valuable wooden box he had been guarding.
• The Cloud Knights shouted that the Sword Champion had earned the Reignbow Arbiter’s recognition, and Dan Feng looked at the box in Yingxing’s arms.

Dan Feng suspected that Xianyu was the Former Marshal reborn and investigated whether he remembered his past life, while Jingliu wove a wreath to give him. After the campaign ended, Dan Feng sent Xianyu a photograph of a treasured antique and offered it as an apology worth ten thousand gold.

• Dan Feng recognized Yingxing’s wooden box as being made from priceless wood and inferred that the Current Marshal had privately commissioned Yingxing to make it for something connected to the Former Marshal.
• Dan Feng distracted Jing Yuan and Yingxing with a wager, then pondered whether Xianyu was the Former Marshal’s reincarnation and decided to investigate his memories.
• Dan Feng ordered searches of Yubie’s belongings and Xianyu’s records, while arranging for a hostile Dragon Preceptor to investigate as well; Xianyu’s file appeared ordinary apart from the Reignbow Arbiter’s visit on the day he was born.
• The Cloud Knights defeated the enemy army in a month, and Jingliu began weaving a wreath for Xianyu after locals explained their custom of gifting wreaths to Xianzhou natives.
• Dan Feng learned that a Dragon Preceptor had accidentally fallen and undergone molting, then received a photograph of Yubie’s undelivered farewell letter.
• Jingliu finished her wreath as Dan Feng sent Xianyu a photograph of an antique and offered it as an apology worth ten thousand gold.

Xianyu rejected Dan Feng’s lavish compensation, then told Jingliu about the unpaid medical bill and Dan Feng’s messages, prompting her to confront him. Dan Feng retaliated by sending Xianyu stories about his past as the Xianzhou Marshal, and Xianyu finally responded.

• Xianyu declined Dan Feng’s offer of gold and met the IPC executive, who showed him the jewelry and clothes purchased for Jingliu.
• Xianyu discovered Jingliu had paid his medical bills and forwarded screenshots of Dan Feng’s messages to her, asking her to pass along that he did not want Dan Feng to spend more.
• Jingliu reassured Xianyu, then angrily confronted Dan Feng over the way he had pressured him with money.
• After Jingliu left, Dan Feng decided to use Yubie’s method and sent Xianyu passages describing the former Marshal’s power and hidden loneliness.
• Xianyu finally replied to Dan Feng with an ellipsis.

Xianyu tried to hide his identity and act like an ordinary Diviner, but Hua revealed that his subordinates had exposed him to Dan Feng. After accepting Yubie’s gifts, Xianyu began treating Dan Feng as a peer and relationship adviser, while Jingliu confessed she missed him.

• Xianyu realized Jingliu was troubled by his casual remark about being poisoned, so he changed the subject by complaining about Chi Yu and teased Jingliu for missing the cat more than him.
• Jingliu admitted she missed Xianyu, then left their chat to return to her duties and consider helping interrogate a prisoner.
• Hua told Xianyu that a Dragon Preceptor had fallen and undergone molting, revealing that his subordinates had exposed his identity to Dan Feng.
• Dan Feng offered Yubie’s letter and wine, and Xianyu accepted the gifts after hearing Dan Feng welcomed him regardless of whether he was a Marshal or a Diviner.
• Xianyu sent Dan Feng his chat with Jingliu and asked how a normal person would describe being poisoned; Dan Feng realized Xianyu’s wording, not his own actions, had upset Jingliu.

Dan Feng read Yubie’s letter about the Former Marshal and advised Xianyu on how to approach Jingliu, while Xianyu received the letter and investigated why the Vidyadhara’s reproduction problem remained unresolved. After the Cloud Knights returned, Xianyu and Jingliu exchanged flowers and reunited at her mansion.

• Dan Feng read Yubie’s letter, learned of his friendship with the Former Marshal, and resolved to use Jingliu to make the Marshal heed medical advice.
• Xianyu asked Dan Feng how many peonies to give Jingliu and promised not to lie to her about the truth.
• Xianyu traded a thousand taels of gold for Yubie’s short letter inviting him and Imbibitor Lunae to visit the Luofu and listen to a tune.
• Xianyu suspected researchers had prevented the Vidyadhara’s reproduction problem from being resolved, and Hua explained that an incident had set back projects across the Xianzhou.
• After the Cloud Knights returned, Xianyu welcomed Jingliu with a peony, and she placed a flower crown she had woven on his head.

After Jingliu returned victorious, Xianyu welcomed her with gifts and asked her to stay with him, and she accepted. Their first evening as a couple ended with a kiss and Xianyu being sent home, while the next day Jingliu’s invitation to dinner brought Dan Feng into their reunion.

• Jingliu explained the planet’s wreath-giving custom to Xianyu as they walked hand in hand.
• Xianyu showed Jingliu the courtyard he had prepared, gave her a ring, and asked her to be with him; Jingliu agreed and signed the blank papers he presented.
• Xianyu gave Jingliu three hairpins that could eliminate Abominations, and Jingliu accepted them but decided to store them safely.
• Jingliu embraced Xianyu, told him he did not need to ask permission next time, and they discussed whether she wanted to become a general before sharing a kiss.
• Jingliu noticed Xianyu’s bitten lip was bleeding, told him to go home and feed Chi Yu, and sent him away.
• The next day, Xianyu arrived for a meal with Jingliu and found Dan Feng there, who asked why Jingliu had called him in the middle of the night to check Xianyu’s pulse.

After Jingliu asked Dan Feng to examine Xianyu, he discovered that Xianyu’s minor wounds healed unusually slowly and gave Jingliu a false diagnosis to explain it. Jingliu and Xianyu grew closer, but she was left wondering what he meant before she went to help interrogate a high-risk prisoner.

• Dan Feng returned to the Luofu, enjoyed a meal with his friends, and went to sleep before Jingliu summoned him to examine Xianyu.
• At the restaurant, Xianyu’s awkward explanation of his wound confused Jingliu and Dan Feng, so Dan Feng asked Jingliu to give them privacy.
• Xianyu cut his fingertip to test his healing, and Dan Feng confirmed that the wound healed more slowly than a Xianzhou native’s normally would.
• Dan Feng told Jingliu that Xianyu had a rare blood-clotting disorder, and Xianyu reassured her that he did not mind risking his health to protect others.
• After Dan Feng left, Jingliu told Xianyu he did not need to ask permission when they were alone, but he squeezed her hand and departed, leaving her puzzled.
• Jingliu decided to help her colleagues interrogate the Ten-Lords Commission’s high-risk prisoner.

Dan Feng shared a meal with Jing Yuan, then drank with Xianyu, who sought advice about buying Jingliu a home and discussed her future. After Xianyu failed to get Dan Feng to reveal his tail, Dan Feng arranged to send him Yubie's wine, while Xianyu learned a rumor about himself at the Library.

• Dan Feng met Jing Yuan for dinner, heard about Yingxing's exhausting work, and learned how Xianyu had met Jing Yuan as a child.
• Dan Feng paid for the meal and later met Xianyu at his courtyard, where Xianyu asked how large a house he should buy for Jingliu.
• Dan Feng suggested buying and rebuilding several properties, and Xianyu explained that his plans to choose Jingliu's clothes had led him to consider a new home.
• Xianyu said Jingliu should live out her natural lifespan, and Dan Feng recognized his reminder of the alliance between the Vidyadhara and the Xianzhou.
• Xianyu got Dan Feng drunk while trying to see his tail, so Dan Feng sent Yubie's wine to Jingliu's residence the next morning.
• At the Divination Commission's Library, Xianyu heard a rumor about his appearance and joked that the blunt version was that he was living off Jingliu.

Xianyu dismissed rumors about his relationship with Jingliu, bought three neighboring homes, and reunited with Chenzhen and Daiyang, who insisted that Jingliu was now the empress. Meanwhile, Hua identified the repaired sword as Tenseiga and resolved to keep it from its former owner as she investigated what had happened to Marty.

• Xianyu ignored gossip about being Jingliu’s freeloader, discussed property with a coworker, and searched for homes near the Divination Commission and the Cloud Knights’ camp.
• Xianyu bought three neighboring homes, hit his spending limits, and contacted Hua, who arranged for his former subordinates to meet him on the Luofu.
• Bai Zhu led Xianyu to a hot pot restaurant, where Chenzhen and Daiyang reunited with him; Daiyang stopped Chenzhen from hugging him and declared that Jingliu was their empress.
• On the Xuling, Hua received a photo from Yingxing and recognized the repaired sword as Tenseiga, which could revive the dead.
• Hua decided not to return Tenseiga to its former owner, ordered another investigation of the Cangcheng, and concluded that the Lord of Eternal Joy feared the Tyrant’s return.

Xianyu met with Chenzhen and Daiyang, who worried that he did not know how to love Jingliu and discussed rumors circulating about him on Luofu. After deciding to investigate the rumors himself, Xianyu encountered two suspicious men outside a dessert shop, one promising the other power to win over his wife’s family.

• Xianyu shared hot pot with Chenzhen and Daiyang, gave them Jingliu’s autographs, and declined their offers to help arrange his romance or forge Jingliu a sword.
• Chenzhen and Daiyang gave Xianyu a box of old gifts and wine from Hua, then asked permission to deal with rumors about him; he told them to ignore the rumors.
• After Xianyu left, Daiyang and Chenzhen worried that he treated Jingliu like one of his people and hoped Jingliu would not let him down.
• Baiheng warned Xianyu about the rumors and offered to investigate, but he asked her not to tell Jingliu and decided to handle the matter himself.
• Xianyu spent two days walking around Luofu’s busiest shopping street to bait the rumor-monger, but found no clues.
• On the third day, Xianyu stopped outside a dessert shop and overheard a man promising another power to impress his wife’s family; Xianyu suspected a scam or followers of the Aeon of Abundance.

Xianyu uncovered two Abundance followers attempting to recruit him and used Mirror Flower, Water Moon to turn them into supposed Xianzhou undercover agents. He then joined Jingliu and their friends for dinner, where his drinking wager and a pink flower led him to ask Jingliu if she wanted him to win.

• Xianyu delayed picking up desserts to confront two men who had spread rumors about him and Jingliu, and he messaged Jingliu to explain he would be late.
• Xianyu followed the men to a dead-end alley, realized they were followers of the Abundance, and used Mirror Flower, Water Moon to make them believe they served the Reignbow Arbiter undercover.
• Xianyu sent Teng Xiao a photo of the two men and asked him to arrange for someone to contact them, then collected the desserts and headed to meet Jingliu and their friends.
• Xianyu gave Jingliu a pink flower and proposed a drinking wager with Yingxing and Dan Feng, while the others discussed who could make a request of the losers.
• Jingliu asked why Xianyu had brought her a flower, and he explained that he simply thought she would like it before asking whether she wanted him to win.

Xianyu spent the evening provoking Dan Feng and Yingxing into a drinking contest, then returned to Jingliu’s Mansion with her. After Jingliu gave him permission to act as he pleased, Xianyu kissed her and left a hidden mark on her neck before carefully covering it again.

• Xianyu secretly linked hands with Jingliu during dinner while provoking Dan Feng and Yingxing to compete over who could hold their liquor better.
• Dan Feng used Cloudhymn to sober up and left after Baiheng asked him to turn into a dragon, while Xianyu conceded to Yingxing and avoided losing their contest.
• Baiheng and Jing Yuan accepted the remaining desserts, and Xianyu walked Jingliu back to her Mansion, where they discussed stories and parted from their friends.
• At Jingliu’s doorway, Xianyu asked whether they would only hold hands, and Jingliu told him to do as he pleased.
• Xianyu kissed Jingliu, left a mark on the side of her neck, and zipped her collar back up so no one would see it.