Chapter Summaries

Li Ping'an declined the emperor’s invitation to the palace and sent him advice about the endurance that comes from selflessness. The emperor heard the message but remained unconvinced, while Zhong Guotao received unexpected news in prison.

• Little Girl sold the fish Li Ping'an had caught while he welcomed the Director and the Attendant.
• The Director and the Attendant thanked Li Ping'an for helping stabilize Yan Prefecture and invited him to meet the emperor, but he declined.
• Li Ping'an asked after Zhong Guotao and learned that the emperor had imprisoned him after the failed search for a Longevity Agelessness Pill.
• Li Ping'an asked the visitors to tell the emperor that heaven and earth endure because they do not live for themselves.
• The Director and the Attendant relayed Li Ping'an’s words, and the emperor wondered how a cultivator could understand his sorrow before asking whether Li Ping'an knew Zhong Guotao.
• In Northern Army Prison, Zhong Guotao was reading when the jail official hurried over with good news.

Li Ping'an and Little Girl welcomed the New Year with Old Ox and their neighbors in Yanzhou, while distant battles hinted that peace was fragile. The chapter ended when the Demon Race launched a surprise attack outside Demon-Suppressing Pass.

• Little Girl fell asleep while fishing with Li Ping'an, then woke at night asking where her fish were.
• Neighbors and cats visited Li Ping'an's home for New Year's greetings, bringing gifts and red envelopes for Little Girl.
• Li Ping'an, Little Girl, and Old Ox ate their preferred dumplings and played cards while waiting for the New Year.
• Li Ping'an spotted evil energy and cultivators fighting in the distance, while Underworld officials hunted Yaomo over the holiday.
• A Demon Race attack struck a patrol near Demon-Suppressing Pass, and the young soldier and his companions shouted warnings.

Zhao Ling'er and her scouting squad discovered that the Demon Race had launched a massive assault on Demon-Suppressing Pass after surviving an ambush in strange fog. The chapter ended with the scouts under attack as the pass faced an overwhelming enemy tide, then shifted to Little Girl and Li Ping'an discussing their dwindling food and money.

• Zhao Ling'er rushed to Team C's distress signal and rescued its surviving scouts by killing the attacking Demon Race cultivators.
• Zhao Ling'er led the battered squad back toward Demon-Suppressing Pass, where they encountered thick fog that blocked Divine Sense and concealed danger.
• After Zhao Ling'er cut down a Demon Race creature in the fog, the scouts emerged and saw Demon Race soldiers swarming toward the pass in a large-scale assault.
• A Demon Race cultivator spotted the scouts and brought down an enchanted saber as they faced the battlefield.
• Little Girl chopped pickled cabbage while Li Ping'an and Old Ox complained about eating leftovers, and Little Girl worried about their lack of income and expenses.

Li Ping'an accepted the City God’s hospitality, offered him practical advice on cultivation, and left him a calligraphy piece. Back home, Little Girl finished packing for their departure from Yan Prefecture, then realized Li Ping'an had petted another cat.

• Li Ping'an met the newly appointed City God, who invited him to the temple for tea and refreshments.
• The City God asked Li Ping'an for guidance on his cultivation, but Li Ping'an said he had no methods to teach.
• Li Ping'an advised the City God to fulfill his duties sincerely and diligently, then wrote those words for him as calligraphy.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox returned home with pastries, and Little Girl said she had finished packing and arranged to recover half the rent.
• Little Girl sniffed Li Ping'an and accused him of petting another cat.

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten left Yan Prefecture and traveled toward the Anbei Four Garrisons, where they encountered a Great Sui patrol and an attack by Zhuang State cavalry. After the Great Sui soldiers defeated the raiders, an eerie wind suddenly rose, leaving the border situation unresolved.

• Kitten showed off his spinning trick, then went to say goodbye to his friends after Li Ping'an told him they would leave for the Anbei Four Garrisons.
• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten departed Yan Prefecture early, giving away their belongings and avoiding the farewell gathering.
• While traveling across the grasslands, Kitten explored the insects and helped catch a rabbit for a meal.
• A Great Sui cavalry patrol checked Li Ping'an's papers and warned that the eastern border was tense and foreign cavalry might be roaming nearby.
• Zhuang State cavalry attacked the patrol, but the Great Sui soldiers routed them and shot the last fleeing rider.
• As the Great Sui soldiers gathered the spoils and prepared to return, an eerie wind suddenly rose.

Li Ping'an and Great Sui soldiers drove off an evil cultivator, and Huang Li told him that Great Sui was threatened by a united alliance while Empress Liu Yun and General Liu Yong were rumored to be gravely ill. Li Ping'an suspected Liu Yun was luring the enemy deep into Great Sui before striking back.

• A sinister mist attacked Huang Li's patrol, but Li Ping'an dispersed it and healed the wounded squad leader.
• Li Ping'an shared roasted rabbit with the soldiers and asked Huang Li why Zhuang State had provoked Great Sui.
• Huang Li said rival states had united against Great Sui amid rebellions and rumors that Liu Yun was gravely ill.
• Huang Li reported that the northern allied forces and rebels had captured towns, while General Liu Yong was also said to be gravely ill.
• Li Ping'an suspected Liu Yun was drawing the enemy into Great Sui to destroy them in one decisive strike.

Li Ping'an and his companions traveled north amid reports of Great Sui’s victory at Pingnan and returned to the Anbei Four Garrisons, now transformed by years of change. He visited Zhao Ling'er’s living shrine and found his old courtyard still standing, preserved by Wang Yi’s family.

• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten heard reports that Liu Yong had routed the allied forces and that the Female Emperor’s opponents had been executed.
• Li Ping'an and his companions traveled through war-stricken regions, where refugees, Demon Ghosts, and remnants of the allied forces had spread.
• The allied forces were trapped in Pingnan City, where the starving survivors suffered catastrophic losses during the Battle of Pingnan.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox reached the Anbei Four Garrisons and learned it was no longer a frontier region and that Zhao Ling'er had a living shrine there.
• Li Ping'an visited Zhao Ling'er's shrine and reflected on his past before finding his old courtyard still preserved by Wang Yi's family.

Li Ping'an returned to his old courtyard in Anbei with Old Ox and Kitten, reclaiming the home the Wang Family had tended for generations. Wang Anshan learned that the returned owner might be the deity said to have guided his ancestor, while Li Ping'an settled in with memories of the past and gratitude for the companions still beside him.

• Li Ping'an dug up a key, unlocked his old courtyard, and settled in while Kitten began cleaning the house.
• Zhang Er arrived with friends to drink at the courtyard and found Kitten and Li Ping'an there; Li Ping'an explained that he had returned to claim his home.
• Zhang Er reported the encounter to the Wang Family steward, who brought the news to Wang Anshan.
• Wang Anshan recalled his family's account that a powerful deity had once guided their Immortal ancestor and decided to wait before visiting Li Ping'an.
• Li Ping'an shared Anbei delicacies with Old Ox as Kitten cleaned, remembering those who were gone and appreciating the mountains, water, and companions that remained.

Li Ping'an returned to the Anbei Four Garrisons, visited the Wang Family, and learned that Liu Yong was retiring to his hometown. The news brought back memories as Li Ping'an talked with Old Ox about the past, while Little Girl listened without understanding.

• Li Ping'an heard Zhang Er tell his companions that Liu Yong planned to retire to his hometown after his victory.
• Li Ping'an visited the Wang residence with gifts to thank the family for caring for his courtyard, and Wang Anshan welcomed him as an Immortal Master.
• Li Ping'an asked Wang Anshan whether Wang Yi had returned home, and Wang Anshan said he had returned once when he was still an infant.
• Li Ping'an left the Wang residence and recalled his earlier days there, then told Old Ox that Liu Yong was coming back to Anbei.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox talked about the past while Little Girl listened quietly.

Li Ping'an tricked Kitten into believing Qingfeng had become diligent and would challenge her, while Lord Wu'an Liu Yong returned to his hometown and eventually visited Li Ping'an. Kitten exposed Li Ping'an’s excuse for sleeping in, leaving him to hurry out and meet Liu Yong.

• Li Ping'an told Kitten that Qingfeng had quit drinking, become diligent, and planned to challenge her, so Kitten rushed off to prove she was cleverer.
• Li Ping'an learned that Liu Yong had returned to his hometown and stayed home as visitors crowded around the general’s residence.
• After more than a month, the crowds around Liu Yong’s home dwindled, while Kitten wrote memoirs and Old Ox made wooden furniture and armor.
• As winter approached, Li Ping'an accepted Wang Anshan’s modest gifts and sent back pickled vegetables and Old Ox’s beef sauce.
• When Liu Yong arrived to visit, Li Ping'an asked Kitten to claim he was getting up late because he had not rested, but Kitten told Liu Yong that Li Ping'an had been sleeping and eating like a little pig.

Liu Yong visited Li Ping'an after returning to Anbei, reflecting on the wars that had haunted him and asking what to do with the rest of his life. He told Li Ping'an that the Demon Race had launched a full-scale attack on the Demon-Suppressing Pass, leaving another looming conflict on the horizon.

• Zhang Er met Liu Yong at Li Ping'an's home and nervously introduced himself before Li Ping'an came out to greet his old friend.
• Li Ping'an and Liu Yong caught up, and Liu Yong explained that he had returned to Anbei to spend his remaining years in peace.
• Liu Yong described how the wars had continued despite his victories and said that the screams of those he had killed haunted his sleep.
• Li Ping'an reassured Liu Yong, offered to prescribe medicine to calm his spirit, and asked what he planned to do next.
• Liu Yong told Li Ping'an that the Demon Race had launched a full-scale attack on the Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Liu Yong left at dusk, and Little Girl carried off the untouched dried mice to eat.

Li Ping'an entered seclusion on Back Mountain to contemplate the Rune Fragments, leaving Little Girl and Old Ox to run a noodle stall and wait for him. Half a year passed without word from him, until Little Girl spotted a silvery-white belt of tiny people drifting toward them.

• Li Ping'an sent a Paper Pigeon to Jing Yu asking about the war at Demon-Suppressing Pass, then decided to enter seclusion after his Visualization deepened while he studied the Rune Fragments.
• Li Ping'an told Little Girl he would sleep for months and went into a cave on Back Mountain, while Little Girl and Old Ox began selling noodles to support themselves.
• Two street thugs tried to trick Little Girl into paying compensation, but Old Ox frightened them off.
• Little Girl brought fresh food to Li Ping'an's cave every day, though she never heard or saw him emerge.
• After half a year had passed, Little Girl watched the stars from the roof and noticed a silvery-white jade belt made of tiny people drifting closer.

While Li Ping'an slept, Little Girl and Old Ox ran their noodle stall in Small Town, and Little Girl insisted that Big Ping'an had invented hopscotch. When Li Ping'an returned in winter, Little Girl joyfully reunited with him and told him about the stall and her new spells.

• Little Girl hired Zhang Er to help at the noodle stall, and his presence kept local troublemakers away.
• As winter arrived, Little Girl argued with children that Big Ping'an had invented hopscotch, then played with them beneath the Old Locust Tree.
• After the other children went home, Little Girl crouched alone by the hopscotch squares, missing her absent family.
• Li Ping'an returned to Small Town, and Little Girl transformed into a cat and checked that he was unharmed.
• Little Girl told Li Ping'an that she and Niu Niu had opened a noodle stall and that she had learned new spells as they headed home together.

Li Ping'an returned home, sensed the world’s Spirit Qi for the first time, and learned from Jing Yu’s letter that Jing Yu had died months earlier. As heavy snow fell, Li Ping'an decided to visit the Demon-Suppressing Pass after the New Year.

• Li Ping'an returned to the little house, where Kitten welcomed him and prepared a lavish meal.
• Li Ping'an felt a connection to the world’s Spirit Qi and sensed the Anbei Four Garrisons through his Myriad Things Sense.
• Li Ping'an found Jing Yu’s old letter, which said the Demon-Suppressing Pass was holding and described Jing Yu’s trouble with his wife over taking a concubine.
• Li Ping'an read the letter’s date and realized he had missed Jing Yu’s funeral feast.
• Kitten served dinner to Li Ping'an and Old Ox, then warmed the bed as heavy snow covered the Anbei Four Garrisons.
• Li Ping'an told Old Ox they would visit the Demon-Suppressing Pass after the New Year, then kicked him awake when he snored through the plan.

Li Ping'an visited Kitten and Old Ox's busy noodle stall as an injured Clear Mystic Sect disciple arrived in Small Town, reporting that attackers had assaulted his sect. At the Clear Mystic Sect, an unseen expert struck down the older attacker, while the Swordmaster fled.

• Li Ping'an visited the noodle stall and saw Kitten, Old Ox, Little Girl, and Zhang Er serving a crowd of customers.
• The City God rescued an injured Clear Mystic Sect disciple, who reported that someone had attacked the sect, and sent a military officer to investigate.
• The City God took the disciple to report the attack to the Prefecture City God.
• At the Clear Mystic Sect, the Swordmaster and an older cultivator restrained the gravely wounded sect leader and demanded the sect's treasure.
• An unseen expert challenged the attackers for invading Great Sui and unleashed a torrent that shattered the older cultivator's bones.
• The Swordmaster fled on his sword.

Li Ping'an told Liu Yong he planned to leave for Demon-Suppressing Pass after the New Year, concerned about the changes in the Nine Provinces. After the holiday, Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten traveled north along the route of their old journey, reaching the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

• Liu Yong told Li Ping'an he had dealt with two Cultivators who tried to take advantage of the chaos, then discussed the rising number of Demon Ghost revivals and the coming changes in the world.
• Li Ping'an told Liu Yong he planned to visit Demon-Suppressing Pass after the New Year, and the two drank together before he left.
• After the New Year, Li Ping'an entrusted his house to the Wang Family and Kitten's noodle stall to Zhang Er, then set off north with Old Ox and Kitten.
• Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Kitten traveled with merchant caravans through snow and desert, then continued across mountains and rivers toward Cloud Province.
• Li Ping'an and his companions reached the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, where Kitten asked how many mountains there were.

Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Little Girl entered the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and saw how Yiha had united the strongholds and brought greater stability to the region. After reaching a stronghold, Li Ping'an recognized Yiha as the little boy he had once met, leaving him reflecting on how quickly time had passed.

• Li Ping'an and Old Ox traveled into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and found the strongholds more connected and peaceful than before.
• When local children challenged Li Ping'an for fishing in their river, he shared Little Girl's almond paste with them and asked them to guide the travelers to their stronghold.
• The children learned that Li Ping'an came from Great Sui and led him, Old Ox, and Little Girl to their stronghold.
• Li Ping'an saw the orderly stronghold and heard from a tea seller that Yiha had unified the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
• After Old Ox reminded him, Li Ping'an realized Yiha was the little boy he had once known and sighed at the passage of time.

Li Ping'an and Little Girl traveled through the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and crossed paths with Emperor Yiha during his grand procession. Yiha briefly glimpsed Li Ping'an but could not place him, while the Crown Prince's reckless riding injured civilians; the chapter ended with an unrelated author’s account of a workplace argument at karaoke.

• Li Ping'an, Little Girl, and Old Ox left a stronghold and continued toward Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• In the Second-Largest Stronghold, Imperial Guards forced the crowd to line the road for Emperor Yiha's outing.
• The Crown Prince rode past recklessly, and Li Ping'an held Little Girl back from kneeling as the emperor's procession approached.
• Yiha noticed Li Ping'an and Little Girl standing rather than kneeling, but they disappeared before he could identify Li Ping'an.
• A subordinate reported that the Crown Prince's horse had charged into the crowd and injured civilians, and Yiha ordered officials to keep the prince under watch.
• The author described Xiao Zheng and a female coworker arguing at karaoke, then cursing the author after the author tried to intervene.

The Crown Prince rode out at dawn and stopped to eat porridge made by Little Girl, where he met Li Ping'an and tried to obtain the erhu on his back. He left the jade pendant with Little Girl despite Li Ping'an refusing it, and continued trying to tempt Li Ping'an with extravagant offers.

• The Crown Prince galloped past a hunting party and rode toward a little girl cooking breakfast.
• The Crown Prince offered Little Girl his jade pendant for a bowl of porridge, then ate and invited his guards to share it.
• Li Ping'an returned with Old Ox, recognized the Crown Prince, and insisted he take back the pendant.
• The Crown Prince asked Li Ping'an about his erhu and offered him wives and hand-warming girls in exchange for it.
• The Crown Prince boasted about his hand-warming girls, including a former princess of the Aga Tribe.

Li Ping'an left his erhu with the Crown Prince in exchange for a promise to mend his bad habits, and the agreement magically compelled the youth to keep it. After the Crown Prince suffered several days of pain trying to resist, Li Ping'an and his companions reached the Vast Sea.

• Li Ping'an agreed to leave his erhu with the Crown Prince until he returned, provided the youth mended the bad habits he had just described.
• The Crown Prince broke his promise, tossed the erhu aside, and rode away without taking the agreement seriously.
• The Crown Prince woke in the Eastern Palace with a painful mark on his palm, and the Grand Priest told Yiha that he had entered an agreement with a powerful figure.
• Yiha recognized Li Ping'an from an earlier encounter and ordered his son to honor the agreement by mending his bad habits.
• The Crown Prince found that resisting his agreement caused pain and that the erhu always returned to his bedside, while Li Ping'an arrived at the Vast Sea.