Chapter Summaries

Xianyu commissioned Yingxing to forge a hairpin with peach blossom or moon motifs, and Yingxing eagerly accepted after receiving large deposits. Yingxing sent Xianyu three preliminary designs, while Xianyu reflected on how diligently the Master Forger worked.

• Yingxing was stunned when Xianyu transferred an eight-figure deposit, then agreed to the commission after Xianyu sent another payment and offered to supply the materials.
• Xianyu requested jewelry with planet-destroying power, and Yingxing explained that using Colossus technology required approval, so they settled for a weapon capable of destroying several abominations.
• Yingxing agreed to register the weapon with the Artisanship Commission and act as Xianyu's guarantor, and Xianyu transferred another large sum.
• Xianyu chose a hairpin with peach blossom or moon elements and sent Yingxing reference images.
• Yingxing worked late into the night, completed three preliminary hairpin designs, and sent them to Xianyu.
• Xianyu saw the sketches at the Library the next day and admired Yingxing's work ethic.

Xianyu finalized three hairpin designs with Yingxing and let an IPC executive handle buying the materials, though the executive’s extravagant purchases amused and exasperated Yingxing. After Yingxing agreed to keep the hairpins’ purpose secret, Jingliu invited Xianyu to a meal so Jing Yuan could meet his cat.

• Xianyu revised and finalized three hairpin designs with Yingxing, who was surprised by how quickly the client approved them.
• Yingxing sent Xianyu a cost-effective materials list, and Xianyu asked a bearded IPC executive to gather and deliver the materials to the Artisanship Commission.
• The executive bought many additional expensive items, and Xianyu left Yingxing to contact him directly about the surplus materials.
• Yingxing teased Xianyu for buying extravagant gemstones and a gemstone bamboo dragonfly, then traded blunt remarks with him about gossip.
• Xianyu confirmed that the hairpins were for someone and asked Yingxing to keep their purpose secret; Yingxing agreed to finish them quickly.
• Jingliu invited Xianyu to a meal, explaining that Jing Yuan kept asking to meet his cat.

Xianyu struggled to manage his mischievous cat, then brought it to meet Jing Yuan, Dan Feng, and Yingxing in Vidyadhara territory. As Yingxing asked what to do with the expensive leftover materials, Xianyu had no idea what he meant.

• Xianyu brought home a blue-eyed longhaired cat that howled at night until he let it into his bedroom.
• The cat kept disturbing Xianyu, so he bathed it in the middle of the night, after which it only raced around the house.
• Xianyu lured the cat into its carrier with treats and took it to meet Jing Yuan, who was delighted by its sweet, affectionate act.
• Jing Yuan explained that the Former Marshal had funded and helped build the well-preserved statue of the first Imbibitor Lunae to honor his friend.
• Dan Feng arrived and went to play with the cat, while Yingxing privately asked Xianyu what to do with the leftover materials.
• Xianyu suggested throwing away the scraps, and Yingxing protested that even tiny shavings were valuable.

Xianyu gave Yingxing materials and money for custom work, then spent time with Jingliu and the cat, Chi Yu. His teasing left Jingliu blushing while their friends watched and Jing Yuan silently resented being demoted a generation.

• Xianyu told Yingxing to keep the valuable materials and gave him money for the requested purchases, earning the craftsman's gratitude and offer to make more custom items.
• Xianyu took the cat from Jing Yuan and invited Jingliu to hold her, prompting their friends to step away and leave them together.
• Jingliu held the cat as she kneaded her arm, and Xianyu explained that she liked Jingliu and thought she was her mother.
• Jingliu named the cat Chi Yu, and Xianyu teased her by calling her the cat's Older Sister Jingliu, making her blush.
• Dan Feng, Yingxing, and Baiheng thought Xianyu and Jingliu might soon get together, while Jing Yuan silently complained about being demoted a generation.

Dan Feng’s friends waited for a delayed meal and played cards, where Xianyu lost five games in a row before Jingliu took his place. Jingliu also lost several games, while Jing Yuan and Yingxing played on and the meal’s progress remained uncertain.

• Dan Feng explained that the Private Chef team had arrived late because his attendants had not heard them knock.
• Baiheng taught Xianyu, Dan Feng, and Yingxing to play Dou Dizhu, and Dan Feng won the first game.
• Xianyu lost five games in a row, prompting Yingxing and Dan Feng to blame their losses on teaming up with him.
• Jingliu replaced Xianyu and played five rounds with Jing Yuan and Yingxing, losing three games.
• Jing Yuan endured carrying Yingxing and discreetly going easy on Jingliu, then smiled when Yingxing praised him.

Xianyu joined Dan Feng and the others for an extravagant private-chef meal, while noticing that Dan Feng briefly seemed deeply unwell. A conversation about Jingliu’s hometown and the unresolved disaster on the Cangcheng left Xianyu startled by how long the crisis had been neglected.

• Dan Feng returned with fifteen attendants, who served fifteen small courses to each of the six diners.
• Xianyu recalled a previous private-chef banquet that had left him and his subordinates hungry until they cooked instant noodles.
• Yingxing and Baiheng traded stories about work as the group chatted over the meal, and Jingliu scolded Baiheng for her reckless starskiff crashes.
• Xianyu noticed Dan Feng’s eyes briefly looked dull and familiar, but Dan Feng quickly returned to normal and discussed the Alchemy Commission’s delayed psychological tests.
• Yingxing and Baiheng talked about wanting to visit Jingliu’s hometown, and Dan Feng said the Abundance Emanator disaster on the Cangcheng remained unresolved despite the Former Marshal’s plans.

Xianyu pieced together rumors about the Cangcheng crisis and tried to understand why the ship remained sealed and why information about his former self was classified. He alerted Hua to Dan Feng’s worrying mental state and asked her about the Cangcheng, but she told him not to ask.

• Jing Yuan explained that the Former Marshal had delegated duties and reportedly appeared during the Cangcheng crisis without revealing himself.
• Xianyu guessed that the Cangcheng had been evacuated and sealed while the Alliance dealt with an Abundance Emanator disaster, but wondered why the project had stalled for so long.
• Jing Yuan and the others said the Cangcheng’s prolonged closure and the secrecy surrounding the Former Marshal involved complicated, classified matters.
• Yingxing lamented that he might never visit the Cangcheng, and Xianyu noticed Dan Feng’s mental state worsen before Jing Yuan’s toast appeared to steady him.
• Xianyu messaged Hua to watch Dan Feng’s mental state, then asked what had happened to the Cangcheng; Hua replied, “Don’t ask.”

After learning that over a hundred Cangcheng Laboratory researchers died on the day the Former Marshal’s obituary was issued, Xianyu drank the ancient wine Dan Feng arranged for him and collapsed. Jingliu took him home, while Dan Feng’s friends learned he had planned the scheme to help bring Xianyu and Jingliu closer.

• Teng Xiao sent Xianyu the Former Marshal’s obituary and a Cangcheng Laboratory report showing that over a hundred researchers had died on the obituary’s issue date.
• Jingliu asked Xianyu if he wanted to leave, but Xianyu stayed to try Dan Feng’s wine.
• Yingxing encouraged Xianyu to drink while Dan Feng distracted Jingliu by discussing Xianyu’s self-destructive tendencies.
• Xianyu collapsed after drinking wine that Yubie and the Former Marshal had buried, and Dan Feng told Jingliu to take him home.
• Jingliu led Xianyu away, and Yingxing revealed that Dan Feng had asked him to get Xianyu drunk as a matchmaking tactic.

After Dan Feng’s wine left Xianyu drunk and troubled by memories of his past, Jingliu cared for him and brought him to the rooftop to watch the moon. She stayed with him until he fell asleep, then whispered that he could test her and that she was there for him.

• Dan Feng’s friends misunderstood his reason for getting Xianyu drunk, and Jing Yuan silently criticized their assumptions.
• Xianyu went home with Jingliu, struggled to calm his emotions, and reflected on his former subordinate, the curse of immortality, and his past choices.
• Jingliu returned with Fleece Lamb Milk, offered Xianyu a warm towel, and led him to the roof to watch the moon.
• Jingliu spoke with Xianyu about preferring the crescent moon, her hometown, and her parents, then teased him to call her Older Sister.
• Jingliu brought Xianyu to bed and waited until he fell asleep before telling him to test her and assuring him she was there.

Xianyu called Hua to ask her to stop him if he ever tried to override Jingliu’s wishes, then learned that he had taken Shuhu with him when he left the Xianzhou. He was left baffled by his past decision and Hua’s request for help dealing with the Emanator of Abundance.

• Xianyu woke enough to check his Jade Abacus and found messages from Teng Xiao and Hua.
• Xianyu called Hua and asked her to promise to stop him if he ever tried to keep Jingliu alive against her wishes.
• Hua explained that Teng Xiao feared Xianyu’s final letter and the Cangcheng tragedy, and said that Xianyu had been the last straw rather than its sole cause.
• Xianyu asked whether Aha had caused trouble, and Hua urged him to trust Aha without explaining why.
• Hua told Xianyu that Shuhu had caused the Cangcheng disaster and that Xianyu had taken Shuhu away with him when he left with Akivili.
• Xianyu was shocked that he had taken Shuhu and wondered why he had not killed or detained the Emanator.

Xianyu agreed to help Hua lure Shuhu to an uninhabited planet and asked her for Jingliu’s Eight Characters to check their compatibility. Hua reflected on Xianyu’s past and her worries about him, then sent their birth details to a diviner; after waking, Xianyu paid Yingxing to finish a hairpin and posted a paid compatibility-reading request on the Forum.

• Xianyu accepted Hua’s request to help deal with Shuhu, provided it did not interfere with his work, and used Hua’s promised favor to obtain Jingliu’s Eight Characters.
• Hua, relieved that Xianyu had not become mara-struck, sent his and Jingliu’s Eight Characters to the Diviner of the Jade Abacus Xianzhou.
• Hua remembered Akivili suggesting she use Fenghuang Down to prevent Xianyu from dying, and recalled how Xianyu had prepared her to succeed him before leaving the Marshal’s post.
• Hua sent Xianyu Jingliu’s Eight Characters and worried that he was hesitating over the possibility of an unfavorable compatibility reading.
• After waking, Xianyu transferred Yingxing a seven-figure sum of Credits for the hairpin and posted a paid Eight Characters compatibility reading request on the Forum.

Xianyu sought online birth-chart readings to check his compatibility with Jingliu, paying several fortune-tellers whose readings mostly praised their match. After spending ten million Credits in one morning, he discovered his bank account had a minor-protection limit enabled.

• Xianyu raised his offer for a compatibility reading and paid a fortune-teller whose comments about his flaws seemed partly accurate, though he rejected the claims about Jingliu.
• Xianyu paid a second fortune-teller, who mistook him for another man and refused to refund the deposit after giving an inaccurate reading.
• Xianyu found an experienced online diviner whose flattering assessment convinced him to transfer one million five hundred thousand Credits.
• Xianyu hired five more fortune-tellers, all of whom said he and Jingliu were highly compatible, then deleted his post after spending ten million Credits.
• Xianyu tried to order takeout and learned from customer service that minor protection had recently been enabled on one of his bank accounts.

Xianyu called Hua to ask her to remove his spending limit, but reached the Chief Strategist first and learned that Hua had been worried about his spending and romantic relationship. After Xianyu shared the birth-chart readings he had bought, Hua and the Chief Strategist decided to investigate the supposed masters and silence them.

• Xianyu called Hua about his spending limit, and the Chief Strategist answered on her behalf.
• The Chief Strategist relayed Xianyu's request, and Hua asked whether he had spent ten million Credits on birth-chart readings.
• Xianyu explained that he had hired ten masters to check compatibility and had also bought jewelry with a transfer worth over a hundred billion Credits.
• Hua advised Xianyu to be honest with his partner and relax instead of obsessing over making the right decision.
• Xianyu sent Hua the masters' messages, and the Chief Strategist suspected they were taking advantage of him.
• Hua ordered an investigation into the masters, saying they should be arrested and paid to keep quiet.

Xianyu searched for Chi Yu, learned she was staying with Jing Yuan, and arranged with Jingliu to bring over cat supplies. At the restaurant, he found Jingliu with Baiheng and Aha in a child avatar, whom he pretended not to recognize.

• Xianyu searched his home for Chi Yu and realized he had last seen her at Scalegorge Waterscape.
• Xianyu found Jingliu's photo of Chi Yu and learned Jing Yuan wanted the cat to stay with him a few more days.
• Xianyu declined Yingxing's returned Credits and gave an Interastral Peace Corporation executive his measurements for a clothing fitting and custom shoes.
• Xianyu arranged with Jingliu to bring cat supplies to Jing Yuan and packed Cat Food, Cat Litter, and canned food.
• Xianyu arrived at the restaurant and asked Jingliu who the child Aha was, prompting Aha to complain that Xianyu was lying through his teeth.

Xianyu shared a meal with Jingliu and Baiheng while keeping a wary eye on Aha, who had taken the form of a child. Jingliu gave Xianyu a pair of black gloves, leaving him to react to her thoughtful gift.

• Jingliu corrected Xianyu that Aha was a boy, and Xianyu treated the child gently as Baiheng helped bring him to a restaurant.
• Baiheng told them about a client who spent millions on birth-chart readings, and Xianyu said the client was seeking peace of mind.
• Aha went to the restroom, and Xianyu followed him and confronted him privately before escorting him back to the table.
• Jingliu gave Xianyu a gift box containing a pair of black gloves similar to her own.

Xianyu shared a meal and went to the snack street with Jingliu and Aha, teasing Aha while growing closer to Jingliu. Their outing was interrupted when a Xianzhou native began sprouting golden leaves, and Jingliu covered Xianyu’s eyes as the crowd panicked.

• Jingliu gave Xianyu black gloves, and he thanked her while Baiheng watched their growing closeness.
• Xianyu paid the restaurant bill and took Aha to a nearby snack street with Jingliu, using the outing to look for Earth-Balance Commission staff.
• Xianyu tricked Aha into eating an insect-based Xianzhou snack, then bought more food for Jingliu and offered Aha Strale to buy out the stall for their followers.
• After Jingliu left to find Commission staff, Xianyu teased Aha about their friendship and funeral.
• Xianyu noticed a Xianzhou native behind Aha sprouting golden leaves, and Jingliu covered his eyes and told him to close them.

After Jingliu killed a Mara-Struck native, she comforted Xianyu and spoke with the Ten-Lords Commission while he wondered what had upset her. As he walked her home, Xianyu reflected that Jingliu could live well without his protection, though he still wanted to prepare for any future separation.

• Jingliu covered Xianyu's eyes while she killed the Mara-Struck, then told him to wait for the Ten-Lords Commission.
• Xianyu gave Jingliu a dessert, and she comforted him before speaking privately with a Commission member.
• Aha teased Xianyu, who gave them Strales and sent them to buy out the snack stall before they departed.
• Xianyu asked Jingliu whether the lost child had found their family, then walked her home with the snacks.
• Jingliu teased Xianyu about how attentive he would be to someone he loved, and he said he would teach her everything he knew so she could live freely.

Xianyu considered giving Jingliu assets while continuing to hide his past and feelings from her, and Hua warned him to leave the Luofu if things went badly. The next morning, Jingliu asked whether he wanted to learn swordsmanship and offered to visit him every day.

• Xianyu reassured Jingliu, gave her the packed Cat Supplies, and watched her go home.
• Xianyu called Hua to ask about his assets and said he planned to give some to Jingliu without telling her the truth about himself.
• Hua suggested Xianyu go to Teng Xiao if he no longer wanted to stay on the Luofu, then explained that transferring his assets would take about three months.
• Xianyu ended the call and went to bed, then woke up and found Jingliu's messages asking if he wanted to learn swordsmanship.

Jingliu decided to teach Xianyu swordsmanship so he could protect himself, hoping to give him something meaningful while pursuing a relationship with him. Xianyu agreed to train, while Jingliu concluded that Jing Yuan needed extra practice and Xianyu worried over what he had said.

• Jingliu reflected on her feelings for Xianyu and the danger of becoming mara-struck, then decided she wanted to help him live freely.
• Jingliu recalled how she had followed her friends’ courtship guide, including sending Xianyu severed Abomination limbs, Strales, flowers, and a peach blossom branch.
• After hearing Xianyu promise to teach someone everything he knew so she could live freely, Jingliu realized he always prepared for the worst and decided she should offer him more.
• Jingliu planned a gradual swordsmanship regimen for Xianyu and messaged him to ask if he would train with her.
• Xianyu agreed, and Jingliu sighed at Jing Yuan, deciding that her disciple still needed extra training.
• At the Divination Commission, Xianyu reconsidered what he had said and cursed himself inwardly.

Xianyu prepared for an early meeting with Jingliu and planned the steps of courting her, including gifts for his confession. He revealed to Yingxing that the unfinished hairpins were those gifts, leaving Yingxing furious that Xianyu had not told him sooner.

• Xianyu agreed to meet Jingliu at five, worried he would oversleep, and sent her his front-door passcode so she could let herself in.
• Xianyu reviewed clothing and jewelry options from the Interastral Peace Corporation executive and wondered why Yingxing had not finished the three hairpins.
• Xianyu researched dating etiquette and concluded that he should respect Jingliu's wishes and follow each step carefully.
• Xianyu sent Yingxing a hundred million Credits, but Yingxing returned the money and compared Xianyu to Dan Feng.
• Xianyu offered the Credits as overtime pay and told Yingxing that the hairpins were gifts for his confession to Jingliu, enraging Yingxing because Xianyu had not mentioned the urgency earlier.