Chapter Summaries

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.

Li Ping'an visited the Wang residence, where he played the erhu for Master Gu after watching a martial arts exhibition. Master Gu was deeply moved by the piece and asked who had composed it.

• Monk Changqing challenged the Western Regions Swordsman, was struck down by a chilling force, and left after receiving advice on saving his meridians.
• Wang Yi invited Li Ping'an and his companions to the Wang residence, where two martial artists sparred for their entertainment.
• Li Ping'an tried to circulate his true qi but felt increasingly stifled, then drank wine with an old man who asked him to play the erhu.
• Li Ping'an played “The Moon's Reflection on the Second Spring,” and Master Gu became absorbed in the music.
• Wang Shan arrived and found Master Gu shaken; Master Gu praised the piece and asked who had composed it.

Li Ping'an visited the Wang Family with Wang Yi and impressed Master Gu with his singing. When Master Gu used his Qimen Divination Board to read Li Ping'an's fate, the board's lifespan indicator shot beyond its limit, and Master Gu collapsed after spitting blood.

• Wang Shan welcomed Li Ping'an into his home after Wang Yi introduced him, and the group shared a feast.
• Master Gu asked Li Ping'an to teach him the tune he had played, but Li Ping'an refused payment and agreed to teach him.
• Master Gu offered to read Li Ping'an's fortune with his Qimen Divination Board, and Wang Shan revealed that Master Gu was a renowned diviner.
• Master Gu examined Li Ping'an and found that the board's lifespan indicator kept rising beyond two hundred and three hundred years.
• Master Gu spat out blood as the board split in two, and the others cried out to him.

Mr. Gu recovered at the Wang residence, advised Wang Shan and Wang Yi on their political plans, and foretold that Wang Yi would benefit from a great man. Later, Li Ping'an found the injured monk Changqing and took him home to recover.

• After waking, Mr. Gu apologized to Li Ping'an and received the score for The Moon's Reflection on the Second Spring.
• After three days of recovery, Mr. Gu left the Wang residence and told Wang Shan that the Wang family's future depended on Li Ping'an's young associate.
• Mr. Gu told Wang Yi that his hexagram showed he would meet a great man who was his benefactor.
• On the ninth day of the seventh month, Li Ping'an bought willow branches and saw Changqing collapse outside a clinic.
• Li Ping'an carried Changqing home, treated him with his own medicinal decoction, and invited him to recuperate there.

Li Ping'an suffered a dangerous relapse, but Changqing saved him and taught him the Nirvana Sutra to help control his unruly true qi. After making rapid progress in the practice, Li Ping'an returned to eating heartily, only to discover he did not have enough money to pay his restaurant bill.

• Li Ping'an's true qi went berserk while he was hoeing, and Changqing used his remaining strength to keep him alive.
• Changqing explained that the unstable true qi could kill Li Ping'an and offered to teach him the Nirvana Sutra.
• Changqing taught Li Ping'an the sutra, and Li Ping'an spent two days and nights studying it, restoring his pulse and making progress in his cultivation.
• Li Ping'an practiced the Nirvana Sutra at home until his true qi became more stable and his cultivation grew stronger.
• Li Ping'an went to a restaurant, ate a table of dishes, and realized he lacked enough money to pay the bill.

Li Ping'an struggled to pay for an expensive meal until Liu Er covered the bill, and Wang Shan quietly reimbursed him after deciding he was the Wang family's destined benefactor. Later, while Li Ping'an played music on the street, The Moon's Reflection on the Second Spring reached level 3 and granted him a cultivation-boosting fate trait.

• Li Ping'an discovered he could not afford his meal, so Liu Er paid for it after meeting him at the restaurant.
• Wang Shan learned what had happened and secretly sent Liu Er money to reimburse Li Ping'an.
• Li Ping'an resumed cultivating at home, then went to his familiar street corner to play music and earn money.
• The Moon's Reflection on the Second Spring reached level 3 and granted Li Ping'an the fate trait Diligence Can Make Up for Clumsiness.
• Li Ping'an kept playing his tune and planned to return home to test the new trait.

Li Ping'an recovered through practicing the Nirvana Sutra and began teaching Wang Yi the erhu, though his student preferred martial arts. After Ma Sanniang summoned him to Spring Beauty Courtyard, she asked about his recovery and mentioned an interesting wager involving the Western Regions Swordsman.

• Li Ping'an triggered his Diligence Can Make Up for Clumsiness fate trait while studying the Nirvana Sutra and spent several days recovering.
• Li Ping'an brought dates to Wang Shan to thank him for paying off his debt, and Wang Shan persuaded him to teach Wang Yi the erhu.
• Wang Yi arrived for his first lesson with Rose Dew Wine, and Li Ping'an accepted the gift and agreed to teach him wholeheartedly.
• Wang Yi complained about music lessons, demonstrated his boxing routine, and offered to protect Li Ping'an from anyone who bullied him.
• Ma Sanniang summoned Li Ping'an to Spring Beauty Courtyard, asked about his recovery, and brought up a wager involving the Western Regions Swordsman.

Li Ping'an agreed to join Ma Sanniang's wager against the Western Regions Swordsman, then advised Liu Er to leave his betting choice to fate. As the swordsman’s final match drew a huge crowd despite the rain, Liu Er learned that his bet on the swordsman losing might have cost him half his possessions.

• Ma Sanniang offered Li Ping'an a share of the winnings to fight the Western Regions Swordsman, and he accepted.
• Li Ping'an brought Liu Er dates and advised him to let fate choose his bet; Liu Er followed the advice and bet on the swordsman losing.
• Wang Yi braved the storm to attend his erhu lesson at Li Ping'an's home instead of watching the swordsman's final match.
• Crowds and local gang members gathered at Autumn Wind Court to watch the match and follow the enormous betting pool.
• The Venomous Snake Gang leader told Liu Er that Ma Sanniang was supposedly using her bet to fool people into betting on the swordsman's defeat, and Liu Er feared losing half his possessions.

Wang Yi, Aliya, Pang Jun, and Zhao Ling'er sneaked away to watch the duel at Autumn Wind Court, where Li Ping'an defeated the Western Regions Swordsman with a single saber strike. Li Ping'an returned to his courtyard and dried himself with his true qi.

• Pang Jun persuaded Wang Yi and Aliya to slip away from Li Ping'an's courtyard to watch the duel, and Zhao Ling'er joined them.
• The four reached a restaurant opposite Autumn Wind Court and watched a masked swordsman approach the sedan chair through the rain.
• The Western Regions Swordsman attacked Li Ping'an with a storm of sword strikes, but Li Ping'an waited until the final step to draw his saber.
• Li Ping'an shattered the sedan chair and cut off the Western Regions Swordsman's top button, and the swordsman admitted defeat.
• Li Ping'an returned through the alley to his courtyard, removed his rain gear, and used his true qi to dry his clothes.

Wang Yi and Aliya returned from sneaking out to watch the fight at Autumn Wind Court, where they and their friends warmed up with ginger soup and discussed the mysterious fighter. Zhao Ling'er admired Li Ping'an's calligraphy and accepted a sheet as a gift. Over the following days, Li Ping'an improved at go, but Changqing repeatedly swept away the board to avoid losing.

• Wang Yi and Aliya returned soaked from sneaking out, and Li Ping'an gave them and their friends blankets and ginger soup after revealing he knew they had gone outside.
• Wang Yi, Aliya, and Pang Jun discussed the masked fighter from Autumn Wind Court, and Wang Yi resolved to search for him and ask to become his disciple.
• Zhao Ling'er admired Li Ping'an's calligraphy, praised his writing, and accepted one of his sheets as a gift.
• Li Ping'an played go with Changqing over the next few days and gained enough skill to turn a game in his favor.
• Changqing scattered the stones and invoked the danger of idle amusements to leave the game, then returned for another match and did it again.

Changqing parted ways with Li Ping'an, who then advanced his Turtle Breath Technique and celebrated with Liu Er. Wang Yi was forced to study calligraphy with Li Ping'an, and his ride through the fields ended when a bloodied man and a hovering short sword appeared nearby.

• Changqing said goodbye to Li Ping'an after his injuries had healed, and Li Ping'an joked that he should stop cheating at chess.
• Li Ping'an advanced his Turtle Breath Technique from 92% to 93% and felt he had reached a new realm.
• Liu Er thanked Li Ping'an for advising him to follow heaven's will before winning a wager, then invited him to a meal.
• Wang Shan told Wang Yi to study calligraphy with Li Ping'an after he mastered the erhu, and Li Ping'an agreed to teach him.
• Wang Yi rode into the fields and found a bloodied man lying in a thicket beside a humming short sword hovering in the air.