Chapter Summaries

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.

After Xianyu drunkenly raised the prospect of marriage, Jingliu confronted his habit of assuming what she wanted and asked about his lonely past. They grew closer that night, and the next day Xianyu wondered if he and Jingliu had their romantic roles backward.

• Xianyu reassured Jingliu that he would respect her boundaries, then mistook her silence about marriage for reluctance.
• Jingliu dragged Xianyu to her room and pressed him to speak honestly about marriage and what he wanted.
• Xianyu admitted he liked Jingliu but was unsure whether he could call it love, and he resolved to respect her wishes.
• Jingliu asked Xianyu what life had been like before they met, and he described his hardships lightly before she agreed they could learn together.
• Jingliu teased Xianyu and left marks on his neck, which he covered with medicated patches at work the next day.
• Xianyu read a bestselling romance and wondered whether he and Jingliu had their scripts backward.

Xianyu accepted Jingliu’s boldness in their relationship and discussed the Vidyadhara fertility research and Hua’s birthday gifts. The chapter ended with Jingliu learning that people were spreading rumors that Xianyu was her kept man, and realizing he had heard them without telling her.

• Xianyu recalled how Jingliu had taken the lead in their courtship and decided they would wait until marriage before becoming more intimate.
• Xianyu asked Hua about the Vidyadhara fertility research, and Hua said resolving the problem would take at least several decades.
• Xianyu asked Hua about her birthday and chose wealth-attracting gifts despite her protests about his past overprotectiveness.
• Hua ordered the Xianzhou Generals to increase anti-scam publicity, prompting the Earth-Balance Commission and other departments to circulate warnings.
• Jingliu’s colleague told her people were calling Xianyu her kept man, and Jingliu realized Xianyu had likely heard the rumor already.

Jingliu regretted not sharing Xianyu’s desserts and sought Dan Feng’s advice about confronting him over rumors that he was living off a woman. After a tender reunion, she got Xianyu tipsy and asked why he had hidden the gossip from her, leaving him speechless when she pressed him to consider his own feelings.

• Jingliu recalled how Xianyu had gone without dessert for her and decided to discuss the rumors with him; she asked Dan Feng for advice.
• Dan Feng told Jingliu to use wine to loosen Xianyu’s tongue, mistakenly assuming his injuries came from sparring with her.
• Jingliu bought desserts and met Xianyu at her residence, where they exchanged flowers, affection, and a kiss.
• Jingliu shared the freshly made desserts with Xianyu and poured him wine from the jar Dan Feng had sent.
• Jingliu confronted Xianyu about keeping the rumors from her, and he explained that he had wanted to spare her distress.
• Jingliu asked Xianyu to consider his own feelings, leaving him frozen.

Xianyu reassured Jingliu that he did not care about the rumors, and Jingliu asked him not to shoulder problems alone again before kissing him and seeing him home. The next day, Xianyu arranged for Jingliu to meet Chenzhen and Daiyang, and as she arrived he wondered whether falling for her was good fortune or misfortune.

• Xianyu told Jingliu he did not care about the insults and promised to tell her if anything troubling happened again.
• Jingliu accepted that Xianyu could keep living off her, kissed him, and insisted on accompanying him home while he was drunk.
• At Xianyu's mansion, he recalled Jingliu protecting him on Snack Street, and Jingliu promised she would always be by his side.
• The next day, Chenzhen asked to meet Jingliu about Xianyu's assets and ring, but Xianyu invited Chenzhen and Daiyang to dinner instead.
• Xianyu met Chenzhen and Daiyang near the Divination Commission, asked Daiyang about finding someone to settle down with, and saw Jingliu arrive.

Jingliu met Xianyu’s former subordinates Daiyang and Chenzhen to learn more about his past, while Teng Xiao reassured her that Xianyu was not being sent undercover against the Plagues Author. As Jingliu and the two women bonded over hot pot, Daiyang reminded Xianyu of a letter he had written long ago, leaving its connection to his past hanging.

• At the Ten-Lords Commission, Teng Xiao told Jingliu that undercover agents had been chosen to infiltrate the Plagues Author’s ranks, and Jingliu mistakenly worried he planned to send Xianyu.
• Teng Xiao clarified that Xianyu was not among the agents and assured Jingliu that the rumors about him would soon stop.
• Jingliu met Xianyu at a hot pot restaurant and learned that his friends Daiyang and Chenzhen were his household managers and former Xianzhou Generals.
• Daiyang and Chenzhen teased Xianyu about falling in love and told Jingliu that he used to neglect eating and sleep, while Jingliu listened closely.
• Daiyang handed Xianyu an envelope of transferred assets, then encouraged him to write Jingliu a message; his words reminded her of a letter he had once left them aboard the Cruise Ship.