Recaps

Li Ping'an and Liu Yun survived the attack, and a middle-aged Confucian sword killed the masked assassin and his men. As the new year began, Li Ping'an parted ways with Liu Yun and continued his journey with Old Ox.

• Li Ping'an used a fragment of the Azure Heaven Saber to distract Wu Shishun, and Old Ox crushed him while Liu Yun bandaged Li Ping'an's missing arm.
• A middle-aged man in blue robes appeared at the Wind-Rain Pavilion and killed the masked assassin and the death sworn surrounding him.
• Li Ping'an told Liu Yun that the swordsman had come to fetch him, but refused her invitation to return with her.
• As fireworks marked the new year, Liu Yun kissed Li Ping'an and received the wooden hairpin he had made for her.
• Li Ping'an played The Moon's Reflection on the Second Spring, leveled up the melody, gained new abilities, and set off again with Old Ox.

Blind Man captured Qimu De after killing his armed men in a desert inn, then brought him alive to a brothel in the Anbei Four Garrisons. There, Li Ping'an delivered Qimu De to a woman in pink gauze.

• Blind Man entered a desert inn with Old Ox and ordered food and wine for them both.
• Blind Man asked the young man about Qimu De and revealed that he had been hired to kill him.
• Qimu De admitted his identity and ordered his men to attack Blind Man.
• Blind Man swiftly killed or incapacitated Qimu De's men, captured Qimu De alive, and paid the inn bill.
• Li Ping'an led Old Ox through the Anbei Four Garrisons and delivered the sack containing Qimu De to a woman in pink gauze.

Li Ping'an earned a commission from Ma Sanniang, received ingredients for Life-Pulse Powder, and continued his routines with Old Ox and his neighbors. After half a month, he spotted Ma Sanniang's signal for another job and left his courtyard to answer it.

• Ma Sanniang's subordinates delivered Qimu De to the families of the women he had murdered, while Li Ping'an collected his commission and the medicinal ingredients.
• Li Ping'an returned home, where Old Ox read the official gazette and Aliya brought him soup from Duha.
• Li Ping'an continued cultivating and busking, though The Moon's Reflection on the Second Spring had gained only 50 points at level 3.
• After half a month, Li Ping'an found a pebble marking a new commission from Ma Sanniang and left his courtyard.

Ma Sanniang told Li Ping'an about a commission to obtain Monk Jiyan’s miraculous Sharira, but refused it so he could seek a cure for his injured hand. Later, Li Ping'an helped Duha and Aliya get home safely and paid the Fire Bear Gang’s monthly dues.

• Ma Sanniang explained that an imperial eunuch wanted the Sharira from Monk Jiyan’s resting place and warned Li Ping'an that assassins from the Wind Listening Pavilion might pursue it.
• South City Master Meng’s guard stopped young louts from harassing Duha at her market stall.
• Li Ping'an walked Aliya home with Old Ox, and Aliya said her father was bad for staying away and making Duha cry.
• Li Ping'an returned home and paid Liu Er and the Fire Bear Gang their monthly dues, adding money for tea.

After paying the increased protection fee, Li Ping'an attended Aliya's birthday dinner before going out into the night as South City erupted in gang warfare. The gangs attacked Hammud, revealed as the elusive South City Master Meng, while Li Ping'an quietly dealt with thugs in a tavern and left with a pot of wine.

• Li Ping'an paid the Fire Bear Gang's increased monthly protection fee and attended Aliya's birthday dinner with Aliya and Duha.
• After leaving Duha and Aliya, Li Ping'an went out beneath the moonlight as armed men entered South City Master Meng's residence.
• The black-faced leader identified South City Master Meng as Hammud, the groom who had obtained Monk Jiyan's treasure, and Hammud said he was tired of running.
• Several major gangs attacked South City, throwing its streets, shops, and taverns into chaos.
• When thugs threatened the tavern patrons, Li Ping'an extinguished the lamps and silently knocked them down before leaving with a pot of wine.

Li Ping'an learned that Hammud’s treasure had cursed him, then recovered the Sharira from the City God Statue in the Eastern Market. He brought the golden pill to Ma Sanniang, but neither of them knew how to use it.

• Hammud confessed that greed for a treasure in the Great Desert had turned him into a monster and revealed that he had hidden the Sharira inside the City God Statue.
• Hammud asked Li Ping'an to care for his daughters, then faced the arriving men in blue robes as Li Ping'an walked away.
• The next morning, Li Ping'an shattered the City God Statue and found gold, jewels, and a golden pill he believed was the Sharira.
• At the Spring Beauty Courtyard, Ma Sanniang explained the Sharira was said to restore what had been lost, but she and Li Ping'an had no instructions for using it.

Li Ping'an refused the treasures from his commission and comforted Duha as she waited for her father, then settled into a quieter life while gang violence continued around him. By year’s end, the Venomous Snake Gang had swallowed the Fire Bear Gang and taken control of his street.

• Li Ping'an left the treasures with Ma Sanniang as compensation and reminded her to keep them hidden.
• Li Ping'an listened as Duha described her hopes for her family and told her he believed they would come true.
• In November, Li Ping'an’s skills improved slowly, while clashes between the Fire Bear Gang and the Venomous Snake Gang increased the demands for money on residents.
• Ma Sanniang arranged for money to reach Duha and Aliya, allowing Aliya to attend private school and Duha to expand her stall.
• Near the end of the year, the Venomous Snake Gang absorbed the Fire Bear Gang and its leader went door to door with gifts to win residents’ goodwill.

Li Zhongchang, leader of the Venomous Snake Gang, courted the neighborhood while setting his sights on Duha, who was pressured into accepting his invitation to dinner. After learning from Aliya that Duha had gone to meet him, Li Ping'an questioned Liu Er and discovered she had been invited to the Bright Moon House.

• Liu Er introduced Li Zhongchang to the residents, and Li Zhongchang offered Li Ping'an fruit and promised to pay for a doctor.
• Li Zhongchang noticed Duha and asked whether she was married, then Liu Er delivered gifts and warned her not to refuse the boss’s invitation to dinner.
• Duha reluctantly agreed to dine with Li Zhongchang after Liu Er reminded her to consider Aliya’s safety.
• Li Ping'an met Aliya on her way home from school, heard that Duha had gone to dinner, and took Aliya back to their home.
• Li Ping'an found Liu Er at a gambling den and learned that Li Zhongchang had invited Duha to the Bright Moon House.
• Liu Er hurried away to pick Duha up after telling Li Ping'an she might not leave the dinner unscathed.

Duha met Li Zhongchang at Bright Moon House while Li Ping'an waited outside to take her home. A messenger revealed Duha was Ma Sanniang's younger sister, ending Li Zhongchang's pursuit of her for the time being.

• Duha arrived at Bright Moon House, where Li Zhongchang welcomed her to dinner.
• Liu Er spotted Li Ping'an outside and warned him not to provoke Li Zhongchang, but Li Ping'an said he had come to pick Duha up.
• A messenger told Li Zhongchang that Ma Sanniang thanked him for treating her younger sister to dinner.
• Duha came out of Bright Moon House happily and left with Li Ping'an, who said he had guessed she would be ready to go home.
• Li Zhongchang slapped Liu Er for failing to tell him about Duha's connection to Ma Sanniang, then stopped pursuing Duha and collecting interest from her.

Li Ping'an transported Pei Zhuxuan, a wanted woman accused of killing her husband and burning down his family’s home, across the desert. After he defeated men who tried to free her at an inn, Pei Zhuxuan asked whether he knew why she had killed her husband.

• Li Ping'an rode Old Ox through the desert with his bound target, Pei Zhuxuan, who tried to persuade him to release her.
• At an inn, Pei Zhuxuan pretended Li Ping'an had abducted and mistreated her, prompting Wu Sheng and his three companions to confront him.
• Li Ping'an tapped Wu Sheng’s hand with his staff and shattered Wu Sheng’s saber with a finger, forcing the men to retreat.
• Pei Zhuxuan spoke with Li Ping'an in their room and asked why he thought she had killed her husband.

Pei Zhuxuan told Li Ping'an how she had avenged her parents before the pair left an inn whose staff had tried to drug him. A young martial arts enthusiast named Su Yun followed Li Ping'an into the desert, where an unexpected whistle cut through the air as he shared wine with him.

• Pei Zhuxuan recounted how her family was ruined and how she killed the son of the people who had framed her father, then admitted she felt lost after taking revenge.
• Li Ping'an heard the innkeeper and his workers plot to rob the guests, then knocked out a worker by flicking a droplet through the door and sent the others fleeing.
• The innkeeper waived Li Ping'an's bill and gave him fine wine, but demanded payment from Su Yun and refused to give him any wine.
• Su Yun paid his bill, followed Li Ping'an on his Ink Dragon Steed, and eventually found him resting beside a sand dune while his ox drank wine.
• Su Yun asked for wine, drank half a wineskin, and heard a sharp whistle cut through the air.

Su Yun, Li Ping'an, and Pei Zhuxuan encountered Liu Yong’s mounted bandits, and Li Ping'an paid them to pass safely. Two days later, Liu Yong’s men attacked Turkic soldiers raiding a village and rescued Su Yun from a fight; the clash was still underway.

• Su Yun braced for a fight when Liu Yong’s mounted bandits surrounded the group, but Li Ping'an paid them and walked away, leaving Su Yun behind to face them.
• Li Ping'an later explained to Pei Zhuxuan that he preferred solving the encounter with money rather than violence.
• Liu Yong refused to take more from Li Ping'an because he followed a code, taking money from the wealthy but sparing the poor and women.
• Two days later, Liu Yong and his men saw Turkic soldiers burning and looting a village, so Liu Yong led his men in a charge.
• Su Yun chose to confront the raiders rather than flee, but four Turkic soldiers cornered him until Liu Yong arrived and helped him break free.

Li Ping'an joined a village victory feast after Liu Yong and his companions drove off Turkic soldiers, then heard Chen Chusheng's plea to learn martial arts and avenge his family. At dawn, more than three hundred Turkic cavalrymen surrounded the village, leaving Liu Yong and the villagers trapped.

• Liu Yong and his companions killed the Turkic soldiers attacking the village, and Su Yun fought alongside them before they returned to the path.
• Li Ping'an paid toward the feast and shared his wine as the village honored the rescuers, while Su Yun recognized him and walked away disdainfully.
• Chen Chusheng offered Li Ping'an his savings and begged him to teach martial arts so he could avenge his grandfather and father, who had been killed by Turkic soldiers.
• Liu Yong woke to the sound of approaching cavalry, and Chen Chusheng grabbed an iron pitchfork as the village alarm sounded.
• Liu Yong saw more than three hundred Turkic cavalrymen surrounding the village and realized the villagers had no clear way to escape or defend themselves.

Liu Yong challenged the Turkic leader to spare the villagers through fair duels and defeated two opponents despite his injuries. The leader had promised to spare half the village after the first victory, and Liu Yong demanded a second wager for the rest.

• Su Yun and the villagers saw the Turkic cavalry arrive, and Liu Yong asked their leader for a fair duel instead of an attack on the village.
• The leader promised to spare half the villagers if Liu Yong defeated a heavily armored Turk wielding two hammers.
• Liu Yong endured the Turk's blows, used a wrestling technique to bring him down, and killed him, then demanded another duel for the other half of the village.
• The leader offered Liu Yong a place among the Turks, but Liu Yong refused and called for the next opponent.
• Liu Yong fought a sinister saber-wielder who attacked with an explosive trick, then severed his fingers and killed him with a saber thrust.

Li Ping'an intervened when the Turkic leader ordered Liu Yong and the villagers killed, forcing the cavalry to withdraw. Afterward, Liu Yong thanked him and asked his name, while Li Ping'an praised his courage.

• The Turkic leader ordered his cavalry to kill Liu Yong and his men after declaring that the strong preyed on the weak.
• As the Turkic cavalry charged, Li Ping'an appeared and stopped their horses with his bamboo pole.
• Li Ping'an confronted the Turkic leader and held a bamboo pole to his throat, compelling him to honor his promise and withdraw his troops.
• Li Ping'an set off with Old Ox and his prisoner, Pei Zhuxuan, but Liu Yong called after him to express his gratitude.
• Liu Yong admitted that he had been framed in the army and had turned to banditry and robbery.

After Li Ping'an advised Liu Yong to seek help at the Princess's Residence, Liu Yong and his men reached Capital City and eventually secured an audience with Princess Liu Yun. Liu Yong learned that the blind man's connection had brought him before the Princess herself.

• Li Ping'an told Liu Yong to mention a blind man at the Princess's Residence, while Su Yun watched him disappear into the desert and Chen Chusheng admired him.
• After recovering from his injuries, Liu Yong led his men along back roads to Capital City, where they struggled to gain entry to the Princess's Residence.
• Liu Yong spent weeks asking servants about the blind man until a martial-attired woman questioned him and brought him and his companion inside.
• Liu Yong and his companion were led into a grand hall, where they discovered that the woman awaiting them was Princess Liu Yun.
• Liu Yong quickly knelt before Liu Yun and paid his respects, then sat trembling when she ordered him to rise.

Liu Yun offered Liu Yong a place in the imperial forces, but he chose to serve at the frontier under General Xiahou Shang. Meanwhile, Li Ping'an and Pei Zhuxuan fled a mercenary band and escaped the Corpse Ghoul Army before sharing their hopes for the future.

• Liu Yun recognized that Liu Yong had met Li Ping'an and offered him a position in the Golden Guard, the Five Army Commandery, the Feathered Forest Army, or the Divine Martial Army.
• Liu Yong asked to serve at the frontier, and Liu Yun assigned him to General Xiahou Shang.
• Li Ping'an and Pei Zhuxuan encountered fleeing mercenaries, who tried to overtake and shoot them as they escaped the Corpse Ghoul Army.
• Li Ping'an and Pei Zhuxuan rode through the Corpse Ghoul Army and later escaped safely.
• Pei Zhuxuan asked Li Ping'an about his ambitions, and he said he wanted to make a home after wandering for more than twenty years.

Li Ping'an let Pei Zhuxuan go instead of delivering her to the Anbei Four Garrisons, leaving her money and a farewell note. He returned to his peaceful life in the city, while Pei Zhuxuan was left to pursue her dream of opening an inn.

• Pei Zhuxuan told Li Ping'an about her dream of running an inn and asked him to give her poison if she faced torture.
• After entering Shu City, Pei Zhuxuan spent her last expected night with Li Ping'an, then woke to find him gone.
• Pei Zhuxuan found Li Ping'an's farewell note and money pouch, and cried as she realized he had chosen to let her go.
• Li Ping'an told Ma Sanniang he had not brought Pei Zhuxuan back, and Ma Sanniang docked his pay but gave him medicine.
• Li Ping'an returned to the city, ate noodles at Old Liu's stall, and settled back into his familiar, peaceful routine.

Li Ping'an welcomed Chen Chusheng, the boy who had traveled from his village to find him, and let him stay while setting a test for future martial arts instruction. During New Year celebrations, Chen Chusheng explained why his mother lived in the Capital City and vowed to avenge his grandfather and father, who had been killed by people from the Turkic Lands.

• Li Ping'an recognized Chen Chusheng when the boy arrived and brought him home to eat.
• Chen Chusheng knelt and asked Li Ping'an to take him as a disciple, and Li Ping'an told him to stay until he could touch him.
• Chen Chusheng repeatedly tried to touch Li Ping'an through ambushes, but each attempt failed.
• Li Ping'an, Duha, Chen Chusheng, and Aliya celebrated New Year's Eve together, and Chen Chusheng wrote a letter to his mother.
• Chen Chusheng said his mother had gone to the Capital City after his father died and declared that he would avenge his grandfather and father, killed by people from the Turkic Lands.

After two years of training with Li Ping'an, Chen Chusheng enlisted and went to war at the frontier, where battle changed his desire for revenge into a dream of peace between Great Sui and the Turkic Lands. On the eve of a decisive battle, he heard a cultivator would join the army's surprise attack and watched the sun rise.

• Chen Chusheng said farewell to Li Ping'an, Duha, Aliya, and Old Ox before leaving to enlist, promising to return after taking revenge.
• Chen Chusheng wrote Li Ping'an from the frontier as fighting intensified, then joined the vanguard, where he saved his centurion and killed three Turkic soldiers.
• Chen Chusheng befriended Fatty and told him he hoped to end the wars between Great Sui and the Turkic Lands.
• Chen Chusheng found Fatty dead on the battlefield and buried him in silence.
• Chen Chusheng learned a cultivator would join the army's surprise attack in the final battle, then watched the sunrise before the fighting.

Li Ping'an went to the front to search for Chen Chusheng and encountered a mother seeking her soldier son. He found Chen Chusheng dead and buried him with his companions, reflecting on the boy’s strength as he sat by the grave.

• After months without a letter from Chen Chusheng, Li Ping'an set out for the army camp, where he met a mother and her younger son searching for her eldest son.
• Li Ping'an bribed a sentry and a records official so he and the mother could search the registers that day.
• The mother found her son's name marked with a red cross, and Li Ping'an confirmed that the mark meant he was dead.
• Five days later, Li Ping'an found Chen Chusheng's body on a hillside and learned that a traitorous cultivator had led his squad into a Turkic ambush.
• Li Ping'an buried Chen Chusheng with his fallen companions and admitted that the boy had been stronger than him.

Blind healer Li Ping'an saved Zhao Shang and his wife, then continued toward Yumen Pass to demand an explanation from Yang Kai. He confronted Yang Kai and his fellow disciples outside the pass.

• Yang Kai refused to lend Zhao Shang his horse and knocked him unconscious with his pressure as he traveled toward Yumen Pass.
• Li Ping'an treated Zhao Shang and his wife, gave them prescriptions, and said he had come to demand an explanation on a young man's behalf.
• Yang Kai met four fellow sect disciples outside Yumen Pass and warmly greeted them, concealing his contempt for mortals and his secret dealings with the Turkic Lands.
• Li Ping'an arrived with a black ox and confronted Yang Kai, declaring that he had come to demand an explanation from Young Master Yang.

Li Ping'an confronted Yang Kai over his collaboration with the Turks, which had caused the deaths of 128 Great Sui soldiers. After Yang Kai dismissed the victims as people no better than ants, Li Ping'an killed him in a fierce duel and walked away badly injured.

• Li Ping'an demanded an explanation from Yang Kai for helping the Turks kill 128 Great Sui soldiers, and Yang Kai indirectly admitted his guilt.
• Lu Bin tried to take the dispute back to their sect for judgment, but Li Ping'an asked what the sect would do if Yang Kai were guilty.
• Yang Kai declared the soldiers were no better than ants and launched his flying sword at Li Ping'an.
• Li Ping'an fought through the flying sword's attacks with his blades, then beheaded Yang Kai with a decisive slash.
• Li Ping'an acknowledged that his right arm was likely ruined and left before Yang Kai's fellow disciples could retaliate.

Li Ping'an used Monk Jiyan’s Sharira to restore his missing arm, though his sight remained impaired and foreign true qi began troubling him. Three months later, unable to take commissions, he heard that a Western Regions Swordsman was challenging martial artists at the Autumn Wind Court.

• Li Ping'an killed Yang Kai with a single slash, leaving Lu Bin and the others too frightened to speak until he had gone.
• Li Ping'an swallowed Monk Jiyan’s Sharira in a ruined City God Temple, endured severe pain, and regrew his left arm, but his vision stayed gray and unfamiliar true qi remained in his body.
• Three days later, Li Ping'an returned to the Anbei Four Garrisons, where Aliya asked about Chu Sheng and learned he had gone to the Capital City to find his mother.
• At the Spring Beauty Courtyard three months later, Ma Sanniang noticed Li Ping'an was unwell and told him to take time off because he could not control the extra true qi.
• While eating by the roadside, Li Ping'an overheard people say a Western Regions Swordsman was defeating challengers at the Autumn Wind Court every ten days.

Li Ping'an accompanied Aliya and her classmates to Autumn Wind Court to watch the swordsman from the Western Regions face challengers. The swordsman swiftly defeated everyone who approached him, and the chapter ended as Changqing of Dharma Joy Temple stepped forward and a clash of metal rang out.

• Aliya persuaded Li Ping'an to join her and her classmates at Autumn Wind Court to watch the martial challenge.
• Li Ping'an sensed formidable power inside the swordsman's sedan chair, though the man seemed to have extremely feeble qi.
• Golden Saber Yan Family's challenger attacked, but a flash of the swordsman's blade ended the fight immediately.
• Wang Yi excitedly guessed the sword technique was Wild Geese Landing on Flat Sands and invited the others to watch his household's martial retainers later.
• Several more challengers lost without reaching the sedan chair, until Changqing of Dharma Joy Temple stepped forward and metal rang out.