Recaps

The Imperial City Bureau arrested the White-Faced Scholar over a story it believed contained veiled allusions to the Empress. After recognizing the people in his book, Liu Yun decided he had acted unintentionally and permitted the book to circulate.

• The Imperial City Bureau seized the White-Faced Scholar, interrogated him about his story, and locked him in a cell.
• Liu Yun followed her demanding daily routine of court, meals, reading, and reviewing reports.
• Liu Yun read the secret report about the White-Faced Scholar and examined his book, Strange Tales of Travel.
• Liu Yun recognized the people in the story and reflected that the White-Faced Scholar seemed to be living the carefree life he wanted.
• Liu Yun wrote that the mistake was unintentional, ordered no further investigation, and permitted the book to circulate.

Li Ping'an and Old Ox traded with a caravan of merchants from Great Sui, then traveled east to a town where residents were holding a ceremony for a god. After joining the feast and staying with an elderly townsman, Li Ping'an asked where he could get new clothes made.

• Li Ping'an and Old Ox met a caravan at a mountain spring and traded for sugar, silk, cloth, tea, and a porcelain vessel, receiving some goods as gifts.
• The merchants told Li Ping'an that a small town lay a hundred li to the east, and he and Old Ox set off there after the caravan departed.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox reached the town and watched its people dance during a ceremony honoring a god.
• An elderly townsman invited Li Ping'an to join the feast, and Li Ping'an helped move things before eating with Old Ox.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox stayed at the elderly townsman's home, where Li Ping'an asked about having a new outfit made.

Li Ping'an wrote blessing couplets for an old man before leaving town with Old Ox, and the old man later posted another pair on the town entrance pillars. That night, a gigantic centipede charged toward the town, leaving the old man and his grandson in its path.

• Li Ping'an wrote a set of blessing couplets for the old man, who praised his calligraphy and asked him for another pair for the town entrance pillars.
• Li Ping'an went to the market with Old Ox, bought a gown and other goods, then left town after the old man gave him food.
• The old man posted Li Ping'an's couplet on the entrance pillars, and his grandson admired the writing.
• The City God sensed an evil creature approaching and fled with his subordinates to seek help.
• A gigantic centipede tore through the earth toward the town, and the old man shielded his grandson as it bore down on them.

Li Ping'an and Old Ox spent months enjoying the South Sea coast and building a boat to cross it. They finally set out across the sea, leaving their destination unknown.

• A giant centipede begged for mercy as golden light from a pillar and its couplets struck it down, and an old man kowtowed before the pillar.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox stayed by the South Sea, eating seafood, soaking in hot springs, and hearing local stories from fishermen.
• Li Ping'an decided to cross the South Sea, and he and Old Ox spent nearly two months gathering materials and building a small boat.
• A father and son watched in astonishment as Li Ping'an carried the finished boat to shore on his shoulder.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox loaded their supplies, boarded the boat, and set off across the South Sea.

Li Ping'an survived a terrible storm at sea and traded with a ship whose captain mistook him for a sea monster. As Li Ping'an and Old Ox continued their voyage, a huge commotion erupted nearby.

• A storm threatened the ship for three days until Li Ping'an's magic dispersed the tempest.
• Li Ping'an boarded the ship and introduced himself as a traveler, but the captain suspected he was a sea monster.
• Li Ping'an traded homemade sauce for supplies, and the captain tossed him boxes of fish paste as an apology.
• The captain realized Li Ping'an's boat was propelled by Old Ox swimming beneath it and concluded he really was a sea monster.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox cooked rice aboard their boat after months of eating fish, but a sudden boom shook Old Ox overboard.

Li Ping'an welcomed the Octopus Swordsman aboard his boat, fed him, and taught him the Fishing Breathing Technique while learning about the South Sea. When a merchant flying boat passed overhead, Li Ping'an considered selling his medicines, but the Octopus Swordsman faced a new enemy who shouted at him from the sky.

• Li Ping'an invited the hungry Octopus Swordsman onto his boat, fed him, and learned that he had been recovering from a fight before preparing to seek revenge.
• The Octopus Swordsman warned Li Ping'an that the South Sea was dangerous and told him that flying boats crossed the sea, though he had never visited the other side.
• Li Ping'an taught the Octopus Swordsman the Fishing Breathing Technique, and the octopus practiced it until he could sit fishing all day and catch many fish.
• Old Ox brought seafood aboard, and Li Ping'an tossed a small octopus back into the sea rather than serve it to the Octopus Swordsman.
• A merchant flying boat passed overhead, and Li Ping'an considered boarding it to sell his medicines; when someone called the Octopus Swordsman a stinking octopus, he drew his sword to face the speaker.

Li Ping'an watched the Octopus Swordsman battle two cultivators before Wen Yulou intervened and invited him aboard the Shijun Sect’s flying ship. As Li Ping'an explored its market, he reflected on the difference between accumulating worldly resources and pursuing true cultivation.

• The Octopus Swordsman fought a saber-wielding cultivator and gained the upper hand, but a female cultivator joined the fight and Wen Yulou forced all three combatants into the water.
• Li Ping'an greeted Wen Yulou of the Shijun Sect and recalled his past journey with Wen Tao, but the Octopus Swordsman interrupted them to complain about the unfair fight.
• Wen Yulou invited Li Ping'an to visit the flying ship, and Li Ping'an flew there with Old Ox on Fine Rain while the Octopus Swordsman stayed behind.
• Wen Yulou showed Li Ping'an around the flying ship, which housed residences, restaurants, gardens, and a market for cultivators.
• Li Ping'an examined the market and considered how true cultivation depended on spiritual insight and character rather than wealth, status, or power.

Li Ping'an and Wen Yulou toured the flying boat’s pavilion, but Li Ping'an ignored its treasures until he found Spirit Rice he wanted to buy. After trading three Spirit Herbs for two sacks, Li Ping'an asked Wen Yulou where he could find an Alchemy Furnace.

• Wen Yulou showed Li Ping'an the pavilion’s floors and an inner hall filled with spirit medicine, treasures, and Sword Manuals, but Li Ping'an showed no interest in them.
• Li Ping'an stopped at a stall and asked the seller the price of her Spirit Rice.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox decided to buy two sacks of Spirit Rice for four hundred Spirit Stones, and Li Ping'an traded three Spirit Herbs for them.
• Old Ox happily carried the two sacks of Spirit Rice as Li Ping'an asked Wen Yulou whether anyone sold Alchemy Furnaces.
• Wen Yulou asked if Li Ping'an knew how to refine pills, and Li Ping'an replied that he knew more or less.

Li Ping'an attempted the shop’s challenge to earn an Alchemy Furnace by refining two fourth-rank pills within two hours. He produced one fourth-rank pill and one third-rank pill, leaving Wen Yulou wondering whether the outcome had been deliberate.

• Li Ping'an admitted to Wen Yulou that he could not afford the Alchemy Furnaces, and Wen Yulou reminded him of the shop’s free-furnace challenge.
• The young seller agreed to provide the materials and let Li Ping'an keep a furnace if he refined two fourth-rank pills within two hours.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox worked together, and Li Ping'an quickly refined one fourth-rank pill while skipping the Spirit Qi injection step.
• Li Ping'an refined a second pill, but it turned out to be third rank, so he failed to win the furnace.
• Wen Yulou noticed Li Ping'an had seemed calm throughout and wondered whether he had failed on purpose or by accident.

Li Ping'an left the Flying Boat after secretly refining an extra pill for the furnace shopkeeper, who later discovered it and regretted his reluctance to part with the cauldron. After traveling through the ungoverned Wild Sea for months, Li Ping'an and his companions spotted an island and prepared to go ashore.

• Li Ping'an declined Wen Yulou's invitation to stay aboard the Flying Boat and returned to his boat with Old Ox.
• The young shopkeeper found a fifth-grade spirit pill hidden in the cauldron's Isolation Chamber and realized Li Ping'an had left it for him.
• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and the Octopus Swordsman entered the Wild Sea, where they encountered water demons and watched a giant whale feed.
• After more than three months at sea, Li Ping'an spotted an island and asked Old Ox to hurry toward shore.

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and the Octopus Swordsman traveled through the Desolate Sea, where Li Ping'an traded with a monkey for coconuts and taught the Octopus Swordsman not to bully the weak. After hearing about the Great Desolation and its famous Heaven Mending Stone, Li Ping'an set course for the island, which came into view three months later.

• Li Ping'an and Old Ox landed on a peaceful island, ate coconuts and crabs, and rested there.
• When a monkey guarded the coconuts, Li Ping'an apologized and offered its troop a trade for some to take with them.
• The Octopus Swordsman questioned why Li Ping'an had traded instead of using force, and Li Ping'an told it not to bully the weak or prove its greatness by knocking others down.
• The Octopus Swordsman told Li Ping'an about the Great Desolation, its split mountain, and the famous Heaven Mending Stone.
• Li Ping'an decided to visit the Great Desolation, and three months later the island appeared ahead of their boat.

Li Ping'an arrived at Great Wilderness Island with Old Ox and the Octopus Swordsman and explored its lively streets. After a one-armed beggar rescued a woman from three kidnappers, Li Ping'an recognized the beggar as an old acquaintance, who was startled to see him.

• Li Ping'an went ashore with Old Ox and the Octopus Swordsman and visited a bustling island town, where he learned the Octopus Swordsman came there once every ten years to fight someone.
• Li Ping'an tried local Sophora Leaf Cold Noodles and Hunyang Mohu, then paid a steep price for the elaborate goose dish.
• A beggar intervened when a man and two accomplices tried to abduct a woman in a yellow dress, knocking all three down before disappearing.
• Li Ping'an found the beggar afterward and greeted him, and the beggar recognized him as Mr. Li.

Li Ping'an reunited with Yan Shisan, found him living as a destitute beggar, and brought him back to an inn to clean up. He took Yan Shisan around Great Wilderness Island without asking about his troubles, and the chapter ended with Li Ping'an waking him early the next morning.

• Li Ping'an met Yan Shisan at a small eatery and remembered their past acquaintance and Yan Shisan's former ambitions.
• Li Ping'an brought Yan Shisan to the inn, where Yan Shisan bathed, shaved, and changed into clean clothes.
• Li Ping'an invited Yan Shisan to show him and Old Ox around Great Wilderness Island, and they spent the day visiting its streets and sights.
• Li Ping'an gave a little girl copper coins and sugar cakes when she begged beside Yan Shisan at a wonton stall.
• The next morning, Li Ping'an woke Yan Shisan early again.

Li Ping'an spent over a month showing Yan Shisan the Great Desolation, then urged him to face what he had left unfinished when Shicha Sea pursuers attacked. Li Ping'an stayed behind to hold off a powerful enemy while Yan Shisan fled and met Octopus Swordsman at the inn.

• Yan Shisan followed Li Ping'an around the Great Desolation for over a month, sharing meals and quiet evenings with him and Old Ox.
• Over lamb offal noodles, Li Ping'an told Yan Shisan to decide whether to remain a beggar or return to finish what he had left undone.
• Cloaked Shicha Sea attackers ambushed them in an alley, and Li Ping'an defeated the assailants who attacked him.
• Li Ping'an warned Yan Shisan to leave the island and said he would hold off the enemy's leader, so Yan Shisan ran back to the inn.
• Yan Shisan found Octopus Swordsman preparing to flee, and Octopus Swordsman agreed they should leave together after saying goodbye to Li Ping'an and Old Ox.

Li Ping'an confronted True Person Yunshan and Heavenly Baleful Star to prevent them from taking his half-student. After Li Ping'an overpowered Heavenly Baleful Star with one strike, True Person Yunshan accepted a five-year truce, and the Octopus Swordsman left to continue traveling with Yan Shisan.

• True Person Yunshan sent Heavenly Baleful Star to seize someone on Great Desolation Island, but Li Ping'an arrived and said the person was his half-student.
• The Octopus Swordsman joined Li Ping'an, recognizing Heavenly Baleful Star as the enemy it fought every ten years.
• Li Ping'an proposed that True Person Yunshan leave his student alone for five years if his incarnation failed to withstand one move.
• Heavenly Baleful Star attacked, and Li Ping'an overwhelmed him with a single strike before telling him not to interrupt the adults.
• True Person Yunshan accepted Li Ping'an's terms, and Li Ping'an asked the Octopus Swordsman to look after Yan Shisan as they traveled together.

Li Ping'an defeated True Person Yunshan’s external incarnation, agreed to another wager, and left Heavenly Baleful Star alive with a warning to honor his promise to the sect’s disciples. Later, Yan Shisan told the Octopus Swordsman how Yunshan had killed Lan Yue and maimed him, and the two set out together with revenge in mind.

• True Person Yunshan admitted defeat, asked Li Ping'an to spare Heavenly Baleful Star, and proposed another wager, which Li Ping'an accepted.
• Li Ping'an left with Old Ox and warned Heavenly Baleful Star to remind Yunshan to keep his promise, especially concerning his disciples.
• Li Ping'an shared the packed noodles with Old Ox and decided Yan Shisan would have to determine his own path.
• Yan Shisan recounted how he had married Lan Yue after settling in the Capital City, then lost an arm and Lan Yue when True Person Yunshan attacked them.
• The Octopus Swordsman vowed to join Yan Shisan in seeking revenge, and Li Ping'an silently noted their agreement.

Li Ping'an and Old Ox discovered their boat had been stolen after finishing their exploration of Great Wilderness Island. They traced the theft to the local bully Master Zhang Da, whom Li Ping'an confronted, and Zhang Da began asking his men about the boat.

• Li Ping'an and Old Ox packed their supplies and found that their boat and the pole it had been tied to were missing.
• The fisherman who had watched the boat told Li Ping'an that Master Zhang Da had taken it by force.
• A noodle stall owner warned Li Ping'an that Zhang Da was a notorious bully with influence over local officials.
• Li Ping'an entered Zhang Da's home and demanded his boat, while Old Ox stood beside him.
• Zhang Da sent a servant to question his men about whether they had stolen a boat, and Li Ping'an turned his gaze toward Zhang Da's master's statue.

Li Ping'an summoned the City God to judge Master Zhang’s deeds, then made him believe he had swallowed a Good and Evil Fruit that would punish future evil. After Master Zhang rushed to apologize and repay the people he had mistreated, Li Ping'an and Old Ox recovered their boat and prepared to leave.

• Li Ping'an recognized Master Gu’s statue in Master Zhang’s hall and learned that Master Zhang was his disciple.
• Master Zhang told Li Ping'an that he had rescued Master Gu and learned divination from him, and insisted he had never taken a life.
• Li Ping'an summoned Ying Shishan, the City God, who provided records showing that Master Zhang’s petty misdeeds and good deeds did not warrant death.
• Li Ping'an made Master Zhang believe he had swallowed a Good and Evil Fruit, and told him to make amends and do good.
• Master Zhang ordered his men to take money and food to the people he had mistreated and apologize to them.
• Li Ping'an revealed to Old Ox that the fruit was a bluff, then they recovered their boat and prepared to leave.

As Li Ping'an sailed onward, Master Zhang Da changed his ways after meeting him and spent years helping the poor, though the promised Good and Evil Fruit proved to be a lie. After Master Zhang Da died, Black and White Impermanence took him to the Underworld, where he saw the punishments awaiting the wicked and finally met Judge Wen.

• Li Ping'an sailed through rough waters with Old Ox and played the erhu beneath the stars.
• Master Zhang Da repented, returned what he had taken, apologized to those he had wronged, and devoted himself to helping common people.
• Master Gu realized Li Ping'an had changed Master Zhang Da and decided not to interfere.
• Master Zhang Da died before reaching forty, and Black and White Impermanence told him the Good and Evil Fruit was fictitious.
• Black and White Impermanence escorted Master Zhang Da into the Underworld, where he witnessed punishments for condemned souls before meeting Judge Wen.

Master Zhang received a chance to spend his remaining years in the Underworld before being reborn, while Li Ping'an met a Shushan disciple and received letters from old friends and his master. After reading them, Li Ping'an reflected that people shared a journey for a time before going their separate ways.

• Judge Wen praised Master Zhang for making amends and offered him a choice of living in Ghost City or taking a job during his remaining years in the Underworld.
• Master Zhang returned to Ghost City, passed the tormented Qian Botong, and thanked Judge Wen for guiding him toward doing good without seeking reward.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox met Mu Bai, a Shushan disciple who delivered copied letters from Li Ping'an's friends and master.
• Li Ping'an read Jing Yu's letters about swearing off brothels, Changqing's repeated questions about his urination, and letters from Aliya, Run Tu, and Zhao Ling'er.
• Li Ping'an read Qingfeng's affectionate letter, in which she said she was glad she had taken him as her disciple and hoped he would visit Shushan again.

After four years and eight months of wandering, Li Ping'an and Old Ox arrived in Qi Province and met a curious brocade-clad gentleman in Yang Kui City. They traveled with him toward the Capital City, while his seven companions remained wary of Li Ping'an.

• Li Ping'an and Old Ox reached the mainland and entered Yang Kui City in Riverside Prefecture.
• Li Ping'an learned from a vegetable seller that the region belonged to the Xia Dynasty, whose era name was Jingde.
• A brocade-clad gentleman invited Li Ping'an to tea, asked about Central Province, and listened to his travel stories.
• The gentleman arranged an inn room for Li Ping'an, who treated the cost as a loan he intended to repay.
• The next morning, Li Ping'an and Old Ox joined the gentleman and his seven companions on the journey to the Capital City.
• The gentleman's companions watched Li Ping'an cautiously and whispered about his unknown origins.

Li Ping'an traveled toward the Capital City with the young gentleman in brocade, whose identity a fortune-telling Daoist recognized but whose danger Li Ping'an’s presence made the Daoist fear even more. After arriving, Li Ping'an parted from the young gentleman and toured the city with Liu E, sampling its street food.

• The young gentleman in brocade invited Li Ping'an to admire peach blossoms, where a fortune-telling Daoist recognized the young gentleman and then fled after sensing peril when he tried to divine Li Ping'an.
• Li Ping'an and the young gentleman continued toward the Capital City, talking about their respective regions as they traveled.
• Near the Capital City, the young gentleman asked Liu E to help Li Ping'an find a comfortable house and promised to visit after handling matters at home.
• After entering the city, Li Ping'an parted from the young gentleman and followed Liu E, asking her about local foods and accepting samples for himself and Old Ox.

Li Ping'an settled into a modest house in the Capital City while Liu E accompanied him, then gave her a chance to visit her family. After returning, Liu E found Li Ping'an waiting for her, and he quietly noticed something interesting.

• Li Ping'an chose a simple house in an old district, and Liu E rented it for a year before helping him buy necessities.
• Li Ping'an invited Liu E for a stroll and stopped near her family home to wait while she went to buy pastries.
• Liu E visited her parents and little sister at the Liu Residence, then tested her sister's martial arts teacher in a staff fight that ended with both staffs snapping.
• Liu E hurried back with pastries and found Li Ping'an waiting; he accepted her excuse while noticing something by her scent.

Liu E was attacked by a human-form demon on her way back to the palace, but Li Ping'an saved her with the Drizzle Sword. The next morning, Li Ping'an asked to stay at the Liu Residence, claiming the empty lodging’s ghostly child had kept him awake.

• Liu E left Li Ping'an’s lodgings at night and was ambushed by a human-form demon.
• The demon overwhelmed Liu E, but Li Ping'an sent the Drizzle Sword to drive it away without killing it.
• Liu E thanked her unseen rescuer, while the demon returned to the Liu Residence in human form.
• The next morning, Liu E found Li Ping'an and Old Ox bringing breakfast, and they ate together.
• Li Ping'an asked Liu E to let him stay at her home after claiming he had heard a child crying at his lodgings, and she agreed to ask her parents.

Li Ping'an dined with Liu E’s family and returned to his guest room, while a Biao attacked Liu E before a second Tiger Demon intervened. Li Ping'an identified the victorious demon as the tigress’s abandoned third cub, leaving Liu E to fear what the revelation meant for her.

• Liu E’s father hosted Li Ping'an at dinner, and Li Ping'an saved food to take back to Old Ox.
• Liu E’s father warned her that Li Ping'an was no ordinary man and urged her to treat him carefully.
• A martial arts instructor entered Liu E’s room, revealed himself as the demon who had ambushed her, and attacked.
• A second Tiger Demon appeared and fought the attacker, smashing through the courtyard while a Barrier Realm kept the battle from disturbing the household.
• Li Ping'an explained that the victorious Tiger Demon was a Biao, the tigress’s cruel and abandoned third cub, and Liu E asked what that meant for her.