Chapter Summaries

The Flood Demon King agreed to help the Heavenly Court eliminate his four sworn brothers in exchange for a path toward becoming the Tongtian River Water God. After learning that the Roc Demon King planned a secret midnight meeting, he accepted the invitation while preparing to turn their trap against them.

• Chen Wei and Ma Muzhi pressured the Flood Demon King to deal with his four brothers and their hundred thousand Demon Soldiers that night.
• The Flood Demon King asked to become the Tongtian River Water God, but Chen Wei offered him a Land God post first and promised to recommend him for a future vacancy.
• The Flood Demon King accepted the lower office, believing that killing his brothers would give him leverage to secure a promotion.
• The Roc Demon King contacted the Flood Demon King and invited him to a secret midnight meeting, calling it a fishing trip.
• The Flood Demon King agreed to meet, crushed the Voice Transmission Jade Talisman, and resolved to make his brothers the bait.

The Roc Demon King and the Macaque King tried to persuade the Flood Demon King to take the blame, but all three revealed their plans to ambush one another and fought. Above them, Yang Jian praised Chen Wei for making the demon leaders turn on each other before ordering the Heavenly forces to attack.

• The Roc Demon King and the Macaque King prepared to make the Flood Demon King confess to the Heavenly Court and take the blame for them.
• The Flood Demon King recognized their scheme and pretended to consider their offer while preparing an attack.
• A carp's splash triggered all three Demon Sages to draw their weapons, and the former sworn brothers began fighting.
• Yang Jian watched the battle through his Heavenly Eye and praised Chen Wei for turning the demon leaders against one another.
• Chen Wei credited Yang Jian with the plan, and Yang Jian ordered the Heavenly forces to attack and suppress the demon uprising.

Yang Jian led the Heavenly Court’s forces against the Five Demon Sages, whose tangled schemes united them against the army. When the demons attacked Chen Wei’s command platform, Ma Muzhi summoned Sun Wukong with a Golden Hair, and the Monkey King appeared to protect them.

• Yang Jian and a hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals surrounded the Five Demon Sages, revealing that the Heavenly Court had never meant to recruit them.
• The Flood Demon King, Roc Demon King, Macaque King, Lion-Camel King, and Macaque King joined forces after their layered ambush plans came to light.
• The Flood Demon King urged his brothers to kill Chen Wei, and the three Demon Sages charged the command platform.
• Yang Jian blocked the Roc Demon King and Macaque King, but the Flood Demon King slipped past him and lunged at Chen Wei, Ma Muzhi, and Pang Long.
• Ma Muzhi threw the Golden Hair, summoning Sun Wukong, who kicked the Flood Demon King into the Tongtian River and appeared before Yang Jian.

Sun Wukong and Yang Jian captured the Five Demon Sages and ended their rebellion at the Tongtian River. After Sun Wukong revealed that he had come to take the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Azure Lion, and White Elephant Spirit to Spirit Mountain, Yang Jian left the decision to Chen Wei.

• Yang Jian knocked the Roc Demon King and Macaque King into the Tongtian River while Sun Wukong captured the Flood Demon King, Roc Demon King, and Macaque King with a giant hand of water.
• Yang Jian seized the Lion-Camel King and Macaque King, and Sun Wukong handed his three captives over to Yang Jian.
• The Five Demon Sages pleaded with Sun Wukong, who turned them over to Yang Jian for arrest and transport to the Heavenly Prison.
• Chen Wei recognized Sun Wukong and apologized for failing to recognize him earlier, and Sun Wukong invited him to send any future descendants to Flower-Fruit Mountain for training.
• Sun Wukong told Yang Jian that Tathagata Buddha had ordered him to take the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Azure Lion, and White Elephant Spirit to Spirit Mountain, and Yang Jian told Chen Wei to decide the matter.

Chen Wei helped Yang Jian refuse Sun Wukong’s request to take the Three Demons, allowing Sun Wukong to return to Spirit Mountain empty-handed. Back in the Heavenly Court, Chen Wei discovered Yang Chan had arranged an enormous floating-island residence for him, leaving him uneasy about both her temper and his sudden good fortune.

• Chen Wei cited Heavenly Court procedure and the Three Demons’ grave crimes to deny Sun Wukong’s request, and Sun Wukong accepted the refusal and left for Spirit Mountain.
• Yang Jian praised Chen Wei, ordered the army to withdraw, and led the Heavenly forces back to the Heavenly Court.
• Chen Wei realized that returning meant facing Yang Chan, whose fiery temper worried him.
• After Chen Wei submitted his duty report, an Immortal Works Bureau official led him to the residence Yang Chan had arranged near Tongming Hall.
• Chen Wei saw that his new residence was a lavish floating island and asked Official Li to find him a smaller courtyard, but Official Li said the decree assigned him that one.

Chen Wei struggled to relax around Yang Chan despite her efforts to put him at ease, then learned that his reward for suppressing the Tongtian River rebellion had been approved. The chapter left him waiting to discover his new immortal rank.

• Chen Wei sat nervously as Yang Chan tended an immortal herb in his residence.
• Yang Chan asked Chen Wei to stop accommodating her because of her uncle and second brother, and urged him to call her Chan'er.
• Chen Wei asked why Yang Chan looked after him, and she said she found him interesting and felt they had two children together.
• Yang Chan showed Chen Wei a Jade Slip confirming his reward for suppressing the Tongtian River rebellion and said he was no longer a True Immortal.

Chen Wei learned that he had been promoted to golden immortal rank and given the nominal post of Inspector of Tongming Hall, while Yang Chan revealed the Great Heavenly Venerable had arranged the reward. At the Red Luan Star Manor, Yang Jian learned Yang Chan’s Red Thread was bound to the mortal Liu Yanchang, and the Matchmaker proposed finding a compatible immortal to undo the bond.

• Chen Wei read that he would retain his post as chief official of the Folk Customs and Morals Inspection Bureau and become Inspector of Tongming Hall, a title equivalent to golden immortal rank.
• Yang Chan hinted that she was tired, but Chen Wei gave her a Bamboo Mallet instead of massaging her shoulders.
• Yang Chan explained that the Great Heavenly Venerable had arranged Chen Wei’s nominal post and planned to give him further rewards after he earned solid merit.
• At the Red Luan Star Manor, Yang Jian watched the Matchmaker fail to sever Yang Chan’s Red Thread, which had joined with the mortal Liu Yanchang’s.
• Yang Jian threatened to destroy the Book of Marriages, and the Matchmaker stopped him by explaining that Yang Chan’s living knot could be undone by matching her Red Thread with a compatible immortal’s.

Yang Jian had the Matchmaker redirect Yang Chan’s troublesome mortal red thread onto Chen Wei, and Yang Chan’s thread bound Chen Wei’s jade plaque with overwhelming force. At Clear Pool, jealous Li Yin decided to report Chen Wei to Yang Jian.

• Yang Jian authorized the Matchmaker to find a Heavenly Court official whose red thread could take the place of Yang Chan’s mortal match.
• Yang Chan’s red thread lashed Li Yin’s jade plaque away, then seized Chen Wei’s plaque and bound it until the mortal thread’s slipknot loosened.
• Chen Wei felt a sudden chill while traveling with Yang Chan to Clear Pool, where he was due to meet Taibai Jinxing.
• Li Yin watched Yang Chan arrive with Chen Wei and grew jealous when she ignored him and walked in beside Chen Wei.
• Li Yin abandoned his duty post and flew to the Divine Hall of Justice to report Chen Wei to Yang Jian.

Yang Jian heard Li Yin accuse Chen Wei of endangering the Heavenly Laws through his closeness with Yang Chan, then sent Chen Wei a message instead of acting against him. At Taibai Jinxing’s Clear Pool, Chen Wei formally met his new superior while Yang Chan openly urged Taibai to give him important work.

• Li Yin reported Chen Wei’s closeness with Yang Chan to Yang Jian and claimed it risked violating the Heavenly Laws.
• Yang Jian dismissed Li Yin, recorded a message on a Jade Slip, and ordered Kang Anyu to deliver it personally to Chen Wei.
• Chen Wei served tea to Taibai Jinxing at the Clear Pool while Yang Chan praised his work and asked Taibai to give him important assignments.
• Taibai Jinxing accepted Chen Wei’s careful response to his warning and agreed to rely on him for Tongming Hall’s Discipline Inspection Bureau work.

Chen Wei accepted Taibai Jinxing’s test and was tasked with handling Spirit Mountain’s Three Demons, with the Great Sage suggested as a potential ally. A secret order from Yang Jian complicated the case by naming Li Yin, while Yang Chan ignored Chen Wei’s attempts to keep a formal distance.

• Taibai Jinxing explained that Spirit Mountain wanted the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Azure Lion, and White Elephant Spirit punished only for lax discipline, and Chen Wei volunteered to handle the dispute.
• Taibai Jinxing advised Chen Wei to seek the Great Sage if he met resistance from Spirit Mountain.
• Yang Chan returned to her Yang Niansan disguise, and she and Chen Wei exchanged teasing remarks at the inspection bureau.
• Kang Anyu delivered Yang Jian’s Jade Slip ordering Chen Wei to investigate rumors of the Three Demons’ crimes, and the slip noted that Li Yin knew of the matter.
• Yang Chan moved close to Chen Wei, who slid away, so she used a spell to pull him back and ordered him to sit still.

Yang Chan pinned Chen Wei in the Main Hall until her subordinates walked in and caught them, then fled in embarrassment. After meeting Weaver Girl at the Magpie Bridge, Yang Chan worried that if she and Chen Wei broke the heavenly laws, Yang Jian would enforce the rules and leave them seeing each other only once a year.

• Yang Chan pinned Chen Wei to his chair and demanded that he look at her, but Ma Muzhi, Pang Long, Xiao Yan, and Chu Feng walked in and caught them.
• Ma Muzhi and Pang Long pretended that Yang Chan and Chen Wei had left to inspect discipline, and Xiao Yan and Chu Feng followed them out and shut the doors.
• Yang Chan released Chen Wei and claimed she had been fixing a crease in his Immortal Robe; Chen Wei used magic to make the wrinkles real, and Yang Chan hurried away.
• Yang Chan flew aimlessly through the Heavenly Court and encountered Weaver Girl by the Magpie Bridge on the Double Seventh Festival.
• After Weaver Girl described her reunion with Cowherd, Yang Chan wondered whether Yang Jian would enforce the heavenly laws against her and Chen Wei and confine them to their rooms.

Chen Wei confronted Li Yin at the Left Commissioner's Office over rumors about Spirit Mountain's Three Demons and presented a Recording Stone implicating Zhao Dakang. He then called the evidence a false accusation and demanded that Zhao confess, leaving Li Yin and Zhao Dakang under pressure.

• Chen Wei arrived at the Left Commissioner's Office and politely greeted the immortal clerks and officials who recognized him.
• Li Yin greeted Chen Wei coolly and defended the workload and importance of his office while Chen praised him.
• Chen Wei raised the rumors about the Three Demons' crimes at the Tongtian River and said they appeared to come from a single source.
• Li Yin denied responsibility for spreading rumors and challenged Chen to investigate, while Zhao Dakang grew anxious because he had helped spread them on Li Yin's orders.
• Chen Wei revealed a Recording Stone and said a captured agent had named Zhao Dakang, then claimed the accusation was false and demanded that Zhao confess.

Chen Wei confronted Li Yin in Tongming Hall and used evidence and official authorization to arrest Zhao Dakang over his dealings with the Three Demons. Li Yin abandoned his subordinate after Chen Wei presented credentials from both the Holy Manifestation True Lord and Taibai Jinxing, leaving Chen Wei to take Zhao Dakang away for questioning.

• Chen Wei accused Zhao Dakang of coordinating rumors with the Three Demons, citing their confession and a Recording Stone.
• Li Yin secretly silenced Zhao Dakang and declined to protect him, but insisted Chen Wei needed proper authorization to remove him.
• Chen Wei produced a decree from the Holy Manifestation True Lord and a Command Token from Taibai Jinxing.
• Li Yin accepted that Chen Wei had authority and allowed him to take Zhao Dakang away.
• Chen Wei bound Zhao Dakang with immortal power and left to continue the Three Demons case.

Chen Wei weighed how to handle the Spirit Mountain Three Demons case without angering Spirit Mountain or violating Yang Jian’s and Taibai Jinxing’s orders. Yang Chan suggested consulting Sun Wukong, and Chen Wei set out for Spirit Mountain with her while leaving his aides to secure Zhao Dakang’s confession.

• Chen Wei detained Zhao Dakang and ordered Chu Feng to keep him locked up until he returned.
• Pang Long explained that the Bureau’s report on the rumors would influence whether the Three Demons could be rescued or sentenced, while Chen Wei suspected Li Yin had backed Zhao Dakang.
• Chen Wei struggled to satisfy Spirit Mountain, Yang Jian, and Taibai Jinxing, while Yang Chan paid little attention to the case and focused on her feelings for Chen Wei.
• Yang Chan suggested asking Sun Wukong for advice, and Chen Wei realized Taibai Jinxing had already recommended seeking the Great Sage’s help.
• Chen Wei told his aides to secure Zhao Dakang’s confession and leave Li Yin alone, then agreed to take Yang Chan with him to Spirit Mountain.

Chen Wei and Yang Chan traveled to Spirit Mountain to seek Sun Wukong’s help with the Three Demons case. At Pure Heart Temple, Sun Wukong mistook them for a couple with a child and demanded to know where the kid was.

• Chen Wei tried to summon the Auspicious Cloud, but Yang Chan revealed it was her treasure and took it with them to Spirit Mountain.
• After Chen Wei and Yang Chan departed, Pang Long and Ma Muzhi praised Ma Muzhi for attaching himself to Chen Wei early.
• Chen Wei and Yang Chan arrived at Pure Heart Temple, where Xuanzang continued to nag Bajie, Wujing, and Wukong.
• Sun Wukong teased Chen Wei and Yang Chan about arriving together, then asked where they had hidden their child.
• Yang Chan blushed furiously at Sun Wukong’s question, while Chen Wei stood speechless.

Chen Wei sought Sun Wukong and Xuanzang’s help with the three demons imprisoned after the Tongtian River incident. Sun Wukong agreed to suppress them beneath a mountain, and Xuanzang devised a cover story; Chen Wei was left to arrange their plausible escape from the Heavenly Prison.

• Sun Wukong teased Chen Wei about Yang Chan, and Chen Wei quickly clarified their relationship to avoid offending her.
• Chen Wei and Yang Chan met Xuanzang, Xuan Lin, and Sha Wujing at Pure Heart Temple.
• Chen Wei explained that the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Azure Lion, and White Elephant Spirit were being held in the Heavenly Court’s Heavenly Prison, and Sun Wukong urged him to make a proper case against them.
• Chen Wei asked Sun Wukong to pin the three demons beneath a mountain, and Sun Wukong enthusiastically agreed, recalling his own imprisonment beneath one.
• Xuanzang proposed claiming that the demons escaped on their own and that Sun Wukong happened upon them and suppressed them as a lesson.
• Chen Wei accepted responsibility for arranging a believable escape from the heavily guarded Heavenly Prison.

Chen Wei returned to Tongming Hall and reported that Li Yin had spread rumors about the Three Demons on Spirit Mountain’s orders and accepted incense merit. He proposed putting Li Yin in charge of interrogating the demons, setting up a way for Li Yin to become responsible for their escape and face Yang Jian’s judgment.

• Yang Chan received an urgent message and left Chen Wei to return to the Heavenly Court alone.
• Chen Wei learned that Taibai Jinxing and the Four Great Celestial Masters were inspecting Tongming Hall’s offices, then waited six hours for Taibai Jinxing.
• Chen Wei reported that Zhao Dakang had implicated Li Yin in spreading rumors about the Three Demons and accepting incense merit from Spirit Mountain.
• Taibai Jinxing asked Chen Wei how Li Yin should be dealt with after praising Li Yin’s years of service.
• Chen Wei suggested that Li Yin lead the Three Demons’ interrogation in the Heavenly Prison and earn a chance to redeem himself.
• Taibai Jinxing approved Chen Wei’s proposal, which could pressure Li Yin into secretly releasing the Three Demons and give Yang Jian grounds to punish him.

Chen Wei delivered Taibai Jinxing’s decree appointing Li Yin to preside over the Three Demons’ trial, leaving Li Yin convinced he had been spared. Back at his mansion, Chen Wei discovered Yang Chan bathing in his pool and, while trying to avoid seeing her, was pulled into the water.

• Chen Wei presented Taibai Jinxing’s decree, and Li Yin learned he was to preside over the Three Demons’ trial and redeem himself through meritorious service.
• Li Yin cheerfully accepted the appointment and promised Chen Wei he would handle the matter perfectly.
• Returning to his mansion, Chen Wei sensed Yang Chan bathing in his pool and tried to leave before she noticed him.
• Yang Chan called for clean clothes, and Chen Wei covered his eyes before approaching with her robe.
• Chen Wei stretched his arm to hand Yang Chan the robe, but she grabbed his arm and yanked him into the pool.

Chen Wei nearly acted on his attraction to Yang Chan but remembered the danger posed by Yang Jian and followed her to eat tangyuan instead. Meanwhile, Taibai Jinxing let Li Yin proceed with his lenient verdict for the Three Demons, setting him up for a difficult reassignment.

• Yang Chan teased Chen Wei by removing his blindfold, and he stopped himself from approaching her when he remembered Yang Jian’s halberd.
• Yang Chan invited Chen Wei inside and served him his favorite tangyuan, while he guessed the filling was red bean.
• Li Yin argued to Taibai Jinxing that the Three Demons should not be executed to preserve harmony between the Heavenly Court and Spirit Mountain.
• Taibai Jinxing warned Li Yin not to rush to judgment, but Li Yin insisted the investigation was complete and pledged his divine soul as a guarantee.
• Taibai Jinxing approved Li Yin proceeding according to the rules and thanked him for his years of hard work, while Li Yin mistook the warning for praise.

Li Yin secretly arranged for the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the other demons to escape the Heavenly Prison, believing the plan would win him Spirit Mountain’s favor. Meanwhile, Chen Wei prepared to catch Li Yin in the act and reluctantly agreed to bring Yang Chan along to the Left Commissioner’s Office.

• Li Yin told the Golden-Winged Great Peng that Spirit Mountain could not openly intervene because Chen Wei had spread rumors about the demons, then persuaded him to agree to a prison break.
• The Golden-Winged Great Peng thanked Li Yin and promised that Spirit Mountain would welcome him, while Li Yin planned to loosen the prison formation and stage a convenient rescue by a bodhisattva.
• Chen Wei ordered Chu Feng and Xiao Yan to wait near the Left Ridge Office with arresting equipment and told Ma Muzhi and Pang Long to prepare Recording Stones as evidence.
• Yang Chan insisted on accompanying Chen Wei, and Ma Muzhi argued that her presence would help protect him and witness the law’s enforcement.
• Chen Wei agreed to take Yang Chan with him after she promised to obey his orders, though she had a reputation for defying authority.