Chapter Summaries

Du Yu investigated the disappearance of Fan Wujiao and found that Xie Bi'an felt an unexplained loneliness but could not remember his old companion. The Legend Management Bureau identified a change in the legend involving a third beggar, Xiao Nian, and prepared to investigate the pair’s childhood.

• Dong Qianqiu, Du Yu, Zhan Qisheng, Qu Xi, and Yingning discussed how the world had forgotten Black Impermanence and Fan Xiaoguo, leaving Xie Bi'an as the Underworld’s sole Impermanence.
• Du Yu visited Impermanence Hall, where Xie Sha could not remember Fan Tu and Xie Bi'an described feeling profoundly lonely.
• Du Yu questioned Xie Bi'an about Fan Wujiao, but Xie Bi'an could recall only fleeting images before insisting that he had always worked alone.
• Xie Bi'an agreed to help the Legend Management Bureau, though he did not recognize the name Xie Yujiao.
• Dong Qianqiu and the others found that the legend no longer showed Xie Bi'an dying after Fan Wujiao drowned, and Zhan Qisheng traced the change to their childhood at the Old City God Temple.
• Zhan Qisheng pointed out that the altered childhood legend included a third beggar, Xiao Nian.

Du Yu prepared to enter the mist-level Black and White Impermanence legend, fearing that the future assassins would strike, and agreed to bring the injured Shame and Guilt Brothers as protection. He told Qu Xi he could erase her painful past by changing it, but that doing so would make her and everyone else forget their time together, leaving her to decide whether to go.

• Du Yu asked about Black and White Impermanence's strange appearances, their change from beggars to constables, and Xiao Nian's place in their legend.
• Dong Qianqiu explained that the legend was mist-level, and Du Yu feared the assassins from the future would use it to kill him where no one could intervene.
• A Can and his brother volunteered to accompany Du Yu, and Dong Qianqiu pointed out that their presence could prevent their future selves from appearing; Du Yu agreed to bring them.
• Du Yu told Qu Xi he could travel to her past and stop Zhou Zhuangshi from violating her, but changing her past would make her forget the Bureau and the people there.
• Du Yu said Qu Xi could leave the Legend Management Bureau after the legend, and Qu Xi thanked him and asked whether he would feel lonely as the only one who remembered her.

Du Yu and A Can, A Kui, and A Yu arrived at a ruined City God Temple in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, where they met young Bi'an, Wu Jiu, and Xiao Nian. As they settled in, Du Yu learned that Bi'an and Wu Jiu had grown up as abandoned children and discovered the unexpected origins of their names.

• Du Yu helped the injured A Can and A Kui after the group arrived, then learned from Dong Qianqiu that the war-torn setting was a Legend from the transition between the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
• Bi'an and Wu Jiu let Du Yu and the two brothers shelter in the City God Temple, where Xiao Nian questioned whether the newcomers were really refugees because they looked so clean.
• Bi'an explained that he and Wu Jiu called themselves Seventh Brother and Eighth Brother because six statues stood guard in the temple, and he welcomed Du Yu's group as numbers nine through eleven.
• When Bi'an offered their last millet, Du Yu promised they would not starve and learned that Bi'an and Wu Jiu believed they had no skills or strength to earn food another way.
• Bi'an told Du Yu that he had been abandoned for being ugly and had named himself Bi'an to mean he would find a place to settle, while Wu Jiu's name came from a fortune-teller's mistaken reading of his parents' letter.

Du Yu shared a meager meal with Fan Wujiao, Xie Bi'an, Xiao Nian, and the Shame and Guilt Brothers before resting in the City God Temple. During the night, Zhongli Chun revealed she had taken control of Du Yu to stop Xiao Nian, whose faint killing intent left Du Yu suspecting she might be targeting him.

• Fan Wujiao shared millet porridge with everyone, and Xie Bi'an teased Du Yu about his belly before calling him Little Belly.
• Du Yu worried about the Shame and Guilt Brothers' wounds, then settled down to rest as dusk fell.
• Dong Qianqiu told Du Yu that mist had obscured the Legend, and Du Yu went to sleep expecting important events the next day.
• Du Yu woke in the dark with his hand around Xiao Nian's throat, released her, and returned to his sleeping place after Xie Bi'an saw him.
• Du Yu questioned Zhongli Chun in his inner world, and she admitted taking over his body after detecting killing intent from Xiao Nian.
• Du Yu told Zhongli Chun to wait for more evidence if Xiao Nian acted suspiciously again, then wondered whether she could be one of the Sage's Seven Outstanding Disciples.

Du Yu used Chada’s advice to devise a probability-based street game, hoping to earn money for medicine and food without resorting to a large-scale scam. After Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao repeatedly drew the one losing combination, the group suspected Du Yu had cheated.

• Du Yu asked Chada for a way to make money quickly, rejected a Ponzi scheme, and chose a street scam instead.
• Du Yu had Xie Bi'an gather pebbles, Fan Wujiao find a cloth bag, and Xiao Nian prepare ink and write the game’s rules.
• Du Yu used the group’s twenty copper coins as starting capital and explained the payouts for different pebble combinations.
• Xie Bi'an drew a winning combination once, then drew the losing five-four-three combination twice and owed Du Yu nineteen copper coins.
• Fan Wujiao tried the game and repeatedly drew five-four-three, leaving him and Xiao Nian wondering whether Du Yu had cheated.

Du Yu organized a stone-drawing game that used probability to earn money from townspeople, and he and his companions made thousands of copper coins. The chapter ended when an angry gambler grabbed Xiao Nian, while Du Yu held the Shame and Guilt Brothers back to see how she would respond.

• Du Yu explained that the game’s odds favored the stall, and he led the others to set up a stall at the Vegetable Market Entrance.
• Xie Bi'an drew townspeople into the game, and the group opened a second stall when the growing queue overwhelmed them.
• The stalls earned more than three thousand copper coins by afternoon, and Du Yu announced that they would close and eat at a restaurant.
• A burly man demanded his losses back, accused Xiao Nian of cheating, and grabbed her by the collar.
• Du Yu stopped the Shame and Guilt Brothers from intervening so he could see what Xiao Nian would do.

Du Yu watched Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao defend Xiao Nian and learned they had trained in basic martial arts, while their street game had made them popular with locals. At dinner, Du Yu asked Xiao Nian about her phone, and her startled reaction deepened his suspicion that she was out of place.

• A burly man grabbed Xiao Nian over the street game, and Fan Wujiao and Xie Bi'an fought him off as locals cheered and offered to testify for them.
• Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao agreed to return the next day after locals asked them to continue the game, then they bought medicine and bandaged A Can and A Kui.
• Du Yu learned that an old beggar had taught Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao Grand Ancestor Long Fist, while Xiao Nian had taught Xie Bi'an close-range fighting moves.
• At a restaurant, Du Yu gave the waiter tips and offered Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao the three thousand coins they had earned, but they worried he needed the money too.
• Du Yu asked Xiao Nian whether her phone still had battery, and she hesitated before pretending not to know what a phone was.

Du Yu realized Xiao Nian was a time traveler and confronted her about being one of the Sage’s Seven Outstanding Disciples. Xiao Nian revealed the Sage had sent her a year early to gain Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao’s trust, then staged an apparent attack to turn them against Du Yu.

• Du Yu noticed Xiao Nian’s unfamiliar expressions and suspected she had come from the future, while he and the others shared a lavish meal.
• Xie Bi'an said he and Fan Wujiao had rescued Xiao Nian from a bully about a year earlier, and teased Fan Wujiao about his feelings for her.
• After returning to the Old City God Temple, Du Yu followed Xiao Nian outside and asked whether she was one of the Sage’s Seven Outstanding Disciples and had come to kill him.
• Xiao Nian admitted she had come with a mission and explained that she had arrived early to earn Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao’s trust.
• Xiao Nian scratched her arm, knocked a roof tile loose, and fell crying; Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao rushed in and found Du Yu standing over her.

Du Yu stopped Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao from falling out over Xiao Nian by persuading them that she had tried to manipulate both brothers, then urged them to swear brotherhood. The three men became sworn brothers, and the next morning Du Yu changed their work teams before they arrived at a marketplace crowded with townspeople.

• Du Yu claimed he had beaten Xiao Nian after she insulted Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao and asked whether he would marry her for his money.
• Du Yu warned Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao that Xiao Nian could ruin their brotherhood, then persuaded them to swear brotherhood that night.
• Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao pulled Du Yu into their oath, making him their sworn brother despite his concern about the promise to die together.
• Xiao Nian watched the oath from inside the temple and remarked that Du Yu was difficult to deal with.
• The next morning, Du Yu assigned himself to work with Xiao Nian and A Kui, while A Can accompanied Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao.
• The two groups reached the marketplace and found many townspeople waiting there.

Du Yu’s market stalls drew a huge crowd with discount vouchers, but the celebration ended when Red Turban Ming Cult soldiers surrounded the market to seize money and grain. Du Yu surrendered his money to Chang Yuchun, then learned the soldier confronting him was Xiao Nian, who revealed she had come a year early to maintain multiple identities and kill him.

• Du Yu and Xie Bi'an attracted more customers by offering discount vouchers to people who brought friends and relatives.
• Du Yu noticed Xiao Nian was missing, packed up his stall, and hurried to regroup with Xie Bi'an and the others as chaos spread through the market.
• The group learned the Red Turban Ming Cult had surrounded the market, and Xie Bi'an, Fan Wujiao, and A Can went to search for Xiao Nian.
• Chang Yuchun demanded military funds from the townsfolk, and Du Yu refused to pledge loyalty to the Ming Cult before handing over his money to avoid a fight.
• A foot soldier recognized Du Yu and revealed that he was Xiao Nian, who had come early to create multiple identities and increase her chances of killing him.

Du Yu escaped the Red Turban Army and uncovered that the Fan Wujiao who had come to help him was an impostor. The disguised woman revealed her true face and called Du Yu her only audience.

• Du Yu and A Kui fled after Xie Bi'an announced that the group had found Xiao Nian, while Zhang Qi pursued Du Yu.
• Du Yu evaded Red Turban Army soldiers by pretending to be an officer, but his password ruse failed and his attempt to knock out their squad leader did not work.
• Fan Wujiao arrived to help Du Yu fight off the soldiers and suggested they return to the City God Temple.
• Du Yu realized Fan Wujiao was an impostor because he called him Du Yu, a name the real Fan Wujiao had never heard.
• The impostor praised her disguise, wiped away her false face, and told Du Yu he had always been her only audience.

Du Yu learned that the Sage wanted to kill him because of what his future self had already done, then found the City God Temple burning and the others fighting the Red Turban Army. Xiao Nian was dead, and after Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao blamed each other while ignoring A Can's wounds, Du Yu attacked them to stop their bickering.

• Du Yu questioned the disguised woman about the Sage, and she said everyone in the future was dead except him and the Sage's Seven Outstanding Disciples.
• The woman transformed herself into Zhang Qi, summoned help with a firework, and pursued Du Yu, who fled toward the City God Temple.
• Du Yu found the City God Temple burning, then followed Red Turban Army reinforcements to the marketplace.
• Du Yu found Xie Bi'an, Fan Wujiao, and A Can surrounded by soldiers, with Red Turban Army corpses around them, and learned that Xiao Nian had died.
• Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao blamed each other for Xiao Nian's death while A Can stood wounded, so Du Yu kicked Xie Bi'an down and punched Fan Wujiao to make them stop.

Du Yu stopped Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao from turning against each other, forced them to apologize to A Can, and helped end the Red Turban soldiers’ raid on Pu County. At Xiao Nian’s body, he saw through the staged death and warned the brothers that the dead girl was not Xiao Nian.

• Du Yu berated Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao for leaving the wounded A Can to fight and threatened to leave them to face the Red Turban soldiers alone.
• Du Yu made Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao apologize to A Can and shake hands, then warned Chang Yuchun to withdraw his troops.
• Chang Yuchun ordered the Red Turban soldiers to retreat from Pu County, and the townspeople praised Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao as heroes.
• Du Yu examined the dead girl dressed as Xiao Nian and realized her appearance and identity had been faked.
• Du Yu recognized that the Sage had set a trap for him and told Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao that the dead girl was not Xiao Nian.

Du Yu and the two underworld enforcers discovered that the dead girl was not Xiao Nian, then returned to the burned City God Temple and encountered Lady Houtu. Lady Houtu mistook the group for the final two people she needed and threatened to kill Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao before noticing A Can and A Kui.

• Du Yu revealed that the dead girl had been disguised as Xiao Nian, and he suggested that Xiao Nian might have faked her death, though Xie Bi'an rejected his theory.
• Du Yu bought medicine and rebandaged A Can and A Kui, then told Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao that the City God Temple had burned down.
• The group returned to the ruined temple, where they heard a voice and found Lady Houtu standing beside the statues.
• Du Yu explained that the woman was Lady Houtu, and Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao questioned her identity before complimenting her appearance.
• Lady Houtu said she needed two more people to complete her set and threatened to kill Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao, then noticed A Can and A Kui.

Du Yu guided Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao toward becoming street patrolmen after Lady Houtu agreed to wait until the two beggars died before recruiting them as Underworld Enforcers. The next day, the brothers dressed for their new work, and a tailor gave them tall hats in gratitude for their promise to protect the townspeople.

• Lady Houtu asked Du Yu to let her recruit A Can and A Kui, but Du Yu told her they were not the men she sought and persuaded her to wait until Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao died before recruiting them together.
• After Lady Houtu left, Du Yu took Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao to an inn and explained that the townspeople would treat them as heroes after they saved the county.
• Du Yu suggested that the brothers become urban management officers and patrol the streets to protect the people, and they agreed to try the work the next day.
• Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao bought new white and black outfits, insisting on paying the tailor despite his offer to refuse their money.
• The tailor gave the brothers two tall hats after they said they would protect the people and resist the Ming bandits.

Du Yu helped Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao become beloved protectors of Pu County, but the county still lacked officials to appoint them. A new Ming magistrate arrived on the thirteenth day, asking to meet the two men.

• Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao had the shopkeeper embroider “Wealth at First Sight” and “Peace Under Heaven” on their hats, then patrolled Pu County and won the people’s affection.
• Du Yu learned that the county magistrate had fled and considered how Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao could gain official status, but decided against impersonating the magistrate.
• Du Yu heard that Emperor Yuan Shun had fled Dadu and asked Dong Qianqiu to let him remain in the legend longer; he returned to the Legend Management Bureau on the seventh day and descended again.
• Over the following days, Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao kept order in Pu County, encouraging more people to open stalls and businesses.
• On the thirteenth day, Lang Boyi arrived as Pu County’s newly appointed Great Ming magistrate and asked the townspeople to identify the two “heroes who resisted the Ming.”

Lord Lang publicly invited Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao to become government officers, prompting a dispute over whether they should serve Great Ming. Du Yu warned that the offer might conceal danger, but Fan Wujiao ultimately agreed to join Xie Bi'an, leaving the group facing an uncertain future.

• Lord Lang invited Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao to take official posts and gave them a day to decide.
• Xie Bi'an asked Lord Lang to appoint Du Yu, A Can, and A Kui as officers too, but the Shiye argued against it.
• Fan Wujiao confronted Xie Bi'an for considering service to Great Ming, and the brothers argued over their principles and future.
• Du Yu privately worried that accepting the offer would lead to Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao's deaths, and warned that Lord Lang's public recruitment might hide danger.
• Xie Bi'an said he would protect himself if Lord Lang threatened him, and asked Du Yu to be told if he was sent on a long journey.
• Fan Wujiao reconsidered and agreed to take up an official post alongside Xie Bi'an.

Du Yu discovered that Lord Lang and Xiao Nian planned to kill Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao after lunch, while he was unable to return to the Legend because the descent equipment had overheated. As the assistant summoned the two brothers for their first assignment and thunder signaled approaching rain, Du Yu faced a race against time to save them.

• Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao agreed to support Lord Lang after seeing him investigate old petitions and hearing his account of their actions against the Ming forces.
• Du Yu concluded Xiao Nian could only threaten him through the Seventh Master and the Eighth Master, and worried that Xie Bi'an’s new attachments might prevent him from choosing suicide.
• Du Yu returned to his body with A Can and A Kui, but Dong Qianqiu said the descent equipment needed two or three hours to cool down.
• Lord Lang revealed to Xiao Nian that he planned to kill Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao after lunch, while Du Yu was away.
• Xiao Nian summoned Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao for lunch and assigned them to deliver a personal letter to the Prefect of Fuzhou Prefecture as thunder rumbled overhead.

Du Yu failed to reach Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao before Lord Lang sent them on a dangerous errand, and he watched helplessly as Fan Wujiao was ambushed in the rain. The chapter ended with Fan Wujiao weakened and wounded, surrounded by armed officers.

• Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao went to find Du Yu before departing for Fuzhou Prefecture, but Du Yu could neither contact them nor enter the legend.
• Lord Lang gave the two men a letter for the Prefect, ceremonial sabers, and Farewell Wine, which Du Yu suspected was poisoned.
• As Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao left Pu County in worsening rain, an officer sent by Lord Lang persuaded Xie Bi'an to return for umbrellas while Fan Wujiao waited alone.
• A group of Lord Lang's trusted officers surrounded Fan Wujiao and declared that they intended to kill him.
• Fan Wujiao's strength failed, his ceremonial saber snapped, and the officers wounded him as he fought back.

Fan Wujiao and Xie Bi'an were ambushed by Lord Lang’s forces, and Fan Wujiao discovered that the letter he had trusted was blank. After he fell mortally wounded, Xie Bi'an tried in vain to light a fire to warm him.

• Fan Wujiao seized an iron chain and used it to fight off the officers surrounding him, while Xie Bi'an fought Lord Lang’s men elsewhere.
• Lord Lang told Xie Bi'an that he had sent three times as many men after Fan Wujiao, then abruptly ordered his own men to leave.
• Wounded and weakened by poison, Fan Wujiao learned from a captured officer that the letter he had received was blank.
• The officers stabbed Fan Wujiao, but he grabbed them and killed them with the blades lodged in his body before Xie Bi'an reached him.
• Xie Bi'an mourned Fan Wujiao and tried to strike a fire to warm him, while Fan Wujiao smiled and slowly closed his eyes.