Recaps

Zeng Mu defeated the steward’s seven men, then accompanied Suoliya to Kuo City’s Performance Hall to prepare for their assassination plan. There, Suoliya introduced him to the hall’s chief executive, Nona Sha, who demanded an honest explanation of who he was and why he had come.

• Zeng Mu swiftly knocked all seven men to the ground, and the steward fled on horseback before the others followed.
• Suoliya teased the departing men and argued with Zeng Mu before they mounted their horses and rode toward the eastern district of Kuo City.
• Suoliya brought Zeng Mu to the grand Performance Hall so he could learn the venue ahead of their planned assassination.
• Suoliya led Zeng Mu to the third floor and introduced him to Nona Sha, the hall’s chief executive.
• Nona Sha asked Suoliya to explain where Nameless’s name came from and why he had brought him to the hall.

Suoliya persuaded Nona Sha to give Zeng Mu a temporary pass to join Kuo City's anniversary performance, though Zeng Mu was only promised a minor role. As they left the Performance Hall, a veiled woman who had been searching for Zeng Mu appeared.

• Suoliya reunited with Nona Sha, who teased him about rumors involving Yuan Qian and the Shen Family.
• Nona Sha questioned Zeng Mu about his skills, and he demonstrated quick reflexes by winning a game of Black Fingers.
• Suoliya asked Nona Sha to let Zeng Mu take part in the anniversary performance, and she agreed to arrange a role if Suoliya paid his wages.
• Nona Sha gave Suoliya a temporary entry pass for Zeng Mu, which allowed him to attend the Performance Hall and rehearsals for a limited time.
• As Zeng Mu and Suoliya left the hall, a veiled woman appeared and said she had been searching for Zeng Mu.

Yuan Qian visited Suoliya and confessed that she wanted to marry him, despite her engagement to Shen Yun. Zeng Mu offered to help her escape the marriage, while he and Suoliya continued preparing their operation; that night, someone approached them unseen.

• Yuan Qian found Suoliya at the Performance Hall, checked that he was unharmed, and learned that Zeng Mu was his friend Nameless.
• Yuan Qian revealed that her father’s debt had forced her engagement to Shen Yun and declared that she wanted to marry Suoliya instead.
• Zeng Mu promised to find a way to help Yuan Qian, and Suoliya arranged to meet her at dinner before hurrying away with Zeng Mu.
• Suoliya explained that their operation required gathering intelligence and rehearsing before the City Celebration, and Zeng Mu offered to handle Yuan Qian’s problem.
• Suoliya and Zeng Mu drank Rose Wine together at dinner, unaware that a figure was silently approaching through the moonlit night.

Zeng Mu confronted Haihui Gelin, a projection from the Soul-Returning Cult who had come to inspect the Blackstone Necklace and promised they would meet again. After Haihui Gelin vanished, Suoliya warned Zeng Mu about the cult’s deadly methods, just as someone approached through the pear trees.

• Zeng Mu stopped Suoliya from opening the door and sensed that a quiet male visitor was outside.
• Zeng Mu recognized the black-robed visitor as a member of the Soul-Returning Cult, and Haihui Gelin revealed that he had sought the Blackstone Necklace for three years.
• Haihui Gelin identified himself, said he knew where the black stone came from, and vanished after promising to meet Zeng Mu again.
• Suoliya explained that the Soul-Returning Cult operated at night and recounted how one of its members killed his coachman with a venomous snake.
• Suoliya warned Zeng Mu about the cult’s methods, then candlelight appeared as a figure approached through the pear trees.

Zeng Mu and Suoliya entertained Yuan Qian, and Zeng Mu promised to provide the money needed to rescue her father from debt. While he worked through the night refining gold, Yuan Qian woke and Zeng Mu stepped outside, where he saw something horrifying.

• Suoliya drew his concealed blade when he thought someone had returned, but Zeng Mu recognized Yuan Qian and calmed him.
• Yuan Qian drank some wine, spoke with Zeng Mu and Suoliya, and asked Suoliya closely about his romantic encounters.
• Zeng Mu promised to deliver banknotes to the Yuan Family so Yuan Luo could escape his debts, and Yuan Qian thanked him.
• The three stayed the night at Suoliya’s cottage, and Zeng Mu began refining gold in the kitchen to raise the promised sum.
• After nearly an hour of work, Zeng Mu went outside for air and saw a sight that horrified him.

Zeng Mu helped Yuan Qian secure the money needed to settle her father’s debt, after witnessing her sleepwalk into bed beside Suoliya. At the Yuan residence, Yuan Luo saw the money and asked whether Yuan Qian had sold herself to obtain it.

• Zeng Mu saw Yuan Qian sleepwalk into bed beside Suoliya, then gathered the clothes she had dropped along the way.
• Suoliya woke beside Yuan Qian and screamed when he recognized her; the two stayed awkwardly silent until they parted.
• Zeng Mu exchanged his refined gold for 500 gold coins and 2,000 gold coins’ worth of banknotes, while Yuan Qian traveled with him to her family residence.
• Yuan Qian embraced Zeng Mu and asked to call him her big brother, then introduced him to her father, Yuan Luo.
• Yuan Qian explained where she had spent the night, and Yuan Luo told her that the Shen Family wanted to move the wedding forward.
• Zeng Mu gave Yuan Luo the money to settle the debt, and Yuan Luo asked Yuan Qian whether she had sold herself to get it.

Zeng Mu attended rehearsals for Kuo City's anniversary celebration while the Shen Family traveled to hasten Yuan Qian's marriage to Shen Yun. Meanwhile, Zhao Huai arranged to assassinate his two princely rivals at the celebration, unaware that he was Zeng Mu's target too.

• Yuan Luo questioned Zeng Mu about his feelings for Yuan Qian, then let him leave after Zeng Mu cited his friendship with Zhao Mingyin as his reason for helping her.
• Zeng Mu went to the Performance Hall and joined Nona Sha, Suoliya, and the other performers at the anniversary celebration's outdoor stage for rehearsal.
• Shen Mo and Shen Yun traveled from Radiant Moon City to Kuo City to bring Yuan Qian into the Shen Family as a bride ahead of schedule.
• In River-Ring City, Zhao Huai learned that Zhao Wei, Zhao Huai, and the Seventh Princess would attend the celebration and ordered an associate to arrange identical assassinations of his rivals.
• Zhao Huai admired the view in the sunlight, unaware that he would also be assassinated the following day, as dawn broke over Kuo City.

Kuo City’s three-hundredth anniversary celebration drew the royal princes and Princess Zhao Jingya, while Zeng Mu and Suoliya prepared to assassinate Zhao Huai. The chapter ended with Zhao Jingya greeting her brothers as Zeng Mu readied his backup plan.

• Kuo City residents and honored guests gathered for the anniversary celebration, including Third Prince Zhao Wei and Fifth Prince Zhao Huai.
• Zeng Mu and Suoliya saw the princes arrive and decided they could advance their plans sooner than expected.
• Seventh Princess Zhao Jingya arrived in an extravagant flower palanquin, drawing the crowd’s attention with her beauty.
• Suoliya told Zeng Mu that Zhao Jingya was betrothed to an unnamed general’s son in Wei State.
• Zeng Mu identified Zhao Huai as their target and chose a backup plan to pin the blame for the assassination on someone else.
• Zhao Wei and Zhao Huai welcomed Zhao Jingya, who said she had come to enjoy Kuo City’s anniversary festivities with her father’s permission.

At Kuo City’s three-hundredth anniversary celebration, Nona Sha opened the performances with a captivating song, and the spectacular acts distracted the guests and guards. A masked man delivered poisoned Rose Wine to the honored guests, and Zhao Wei and Zhao Huai drank their cups and began to suffer in silence.

• Zhao Jingya arrived and greeted Zhao Huai, explaining that Zhao Eighth Sister had stayed home because she was unwell.
• Nona Sha performed a song and declared the celebration performances open.
• A series of extraordinary acts enthralled the guests, leaving Zhao Huai, Zhao Wei, and their guards distracted.
• A masked performer brought seven cups of Rose Wine to the honored guests and exchanged a brief glance with Zhao Huai; Zeng Mu noticed the exchange.
• Zhao Wei and Zhao Huai drank their Rose Wine and became rigid and helpless as the poison took effect.

Zeng Mu assassinated Zhao Huai during the Celebration City performance and escaped detection as guards locked down Kuo City. As Shen Yun and Shen Mo prepared for the wedding, Yuan Qian confessed to Suoliya that she loved him and did not want to marry Shen Yun.

• Zeng Mu used a flash of light to kill Zhao Huai, slipped a button into the victim’s hand, and returned to the stage in disguise.
• The guards discovered Zhao Huai’s death, sealed the performance grounds, and questioned and searched thousands of people before expanding their search throughout Kuo City.
• Shen Mo and Shen Yun arrived with betrothal gifts and agreed with Yuan Luo to hold the wedding in Kuo City the next day.
• Zeng Mu and Suoliya celebrated the assassination with stolen wine while Nona Sha helped the performers prove their innocence.
• Yuan Qian visited Suoliya and told him she loved him rather than Shen Yun and could not bear the wedding planned for the next day.

Zeng Mu agreed to attend Yuan Qian and Shen Yun’s wedding with Suoliya, who came despite Yuan Luo’s warning and claimed he only wished to offer his blessings. As the wedding began under the gloom of Kuo City’s lockdown, Yuan Qian sat dressed as a bride, her sorrow and resistance visible in the mirror.

• Zeng Mu reasoned that Yuan Luo would proceed with Yuan Qian’s marriage to Shen Yun despite the money that had saved him from execution.
• Suoliya insisted that Zeng Mu attend the wedding with him, and Zeng Mu agreed while refusing to get involved in Yuan Qian’s affairs.
• Suoliya drank until he could not get out of bed, and Zeng Mu woke him with a Five-Eyed Longhorn Beetle before they went to the wedding.
• At the sparsely attended wedding, Yuan Luo warned Suoliya to behave, while Suoliya claimed he regarded Yuan Qian as a younger sister.
• Shen Yun greeted Zeng Mu and privately hoped Suoliya had come only for a free meal.
• Yuan Qian sat in her bridal clothes before a bronze mirror, looking sorrowful and resistant.

On the morning of Yuan Qian and Shen Yun's wedding, Yuan Qian told her mother she would not marry Shen Yun, then tried to hang herself. Suoliya and Zeng Mu rescued her, but Shen Mo blamed Suoliya and ordered the Shen Family guards to seize him as the wedding descended into chaos.

• Yuan Yan finished Yuan Qian's bridal makeup and urged her to obey her father and marry Shen Yun, but Yuan Qian said she would not marry him.
• Yuan Yan left Yuan Qian alone, and Yuan Qian attempted to hang herself from a ceiling beam.
• When Yuan Qian failed to appear, Suoliya suspected something was wrong and rushed with Zeng Mu to search for her.
• Suoliya found Yuan Qian hanging in a room, and Zeng Mu cut her down and used elemental power to revive her.
• Shen Mo accused Suoliya and ordered the Shen Family guards to seize him while Yuan Qian remained unconscious and the wedding guests watched in confusion.

At the Shen-Yuan wedding, Yuan Qian nearly died by suicide, and Shen Yun learned that she had planned to flee with Suoliya because she did not love him. Yuan Qian survived, but when Shen Yun asked whether she loved him, she silently looked toward Suoliya, leaving their marriage unresolved.

• Zeng Mu knocked down Shen Mo’s servants when they attacked Suoliya.
• Yuan Luo and Yuan Yan arrived and found Yuan Qian hanging; Yuan Luo treated her until she regained consciousness.
• Suoliya told Shen Yun that Yuan Qian had asked him to elope and had planned to disrupt the wedding.
• Yuan Qian woke and asked where Mingyin was, while Yuan Luo sent the wedding guests away.
• Shen Yun asked Yuan Qian whether she was ready to be his wife and loved him, but she answered only with a silent look at Suoliya.

After Shen Yun canceled his wedding to Yuan Qian, Zeng Mu stayed in Kuo City as the fallout settled and learned how Shen Yun and Suoliya had become friends. Once the city reopened, Zeng Mu left and read Malena’s second secret letter, which named an elusive spy called Milger as his next assassination target.

• Shen Yun canceled his wedding to Yuan Qian and asked Yuan Luo to announce that Yuan Qian had refused the marriage.
• The wedding guests left, and Zeng Mu later found Shen Yun and Suoliya drinking together as they revisited their friendship and explained their three-year estrangement.
• After the rain cleared and Kuo City’s lockdown ended, Suoliya saw Zeng Mu off at the North City Gate.
• On the road, Zeng Mu opened Malena’s second secret letter and learned that his target, Milger, was a master of disguise believed to be in Feather City.

Zeng Mu traveled from Kuo City to Feather City in the Qi Kingdom to search for Milger, whose shifting identities made him difficult to find. After a flower-shop owner could not help, Zeng Mu went to a tavern to continue asking around.

• Zeng Mu crossed into the Qi Kingdom and covered the journey to Feather City in a day and a night.
• Zeng Mu entered Feather City and decided to seek information about Milger, whose aliases and identities changed periodically.
• Zeng Mu asked a flower-shop woman about a small, wise person skilled with words, but she could not identify Milger.
• The flower-shop woman suggested that Zeng Mu try a nearby tavern, and he left with eighteen roses and malt sugar.
• Zeng Mu entered a tavern holding the roses, intending to find someone who could lead him to Milger.

Zeng Mu searched Feather City for Milger for three days, questioning thousands of people without success. After spotting a short beggar who reacted to his departure, Zeng Mu offered him malt candy and asked a phrase that might identify Milger.

• Zeng Mu mistook several tavern patrons for Milger, endured their angry, flirtatious, and drunken reactions, and left after questioning everyone without success.
• Zeng Mu spent three days searching Feather City and made more than two thousand inquiries without finding Milger.
• Hungry and discouraged, Zeng Mu bought juice and food, then gave copper coins to several beggars in an alley.
• Zeng Mu placed two silver coins before a short beggar resting on a bench, but the beggar appeared not to react.
• Zeng Mu sensed the beggar watching him, returned with malt candy, and quietly asked, "In the still of the night, could you spare some time to spend with me?"

Zeng Mu met Milger, a spy working for the Temple Master in the Qi Kingdom, and learned that their assassination target was Yan Xia, head of the Yan Clan. Milger revealed that Yan Xia and the other great clan leaders would attend an Aristocratic Marriage Gathering in Feather City in five days, giving them a chance to approach the target.

• Zeng Mu revealed his identity to the beggar, who introduced himself as Milger and confirmed he served the Temple Master.
• Milger led Zeng Mu to his hidden hut beneath an abandoned bridge and described his experience surviving as a spy in the Qi Kingdom.
• Milger explained the power of the Yan, Zeng, and Yue Clans and identified Yan Xia as their assassination target.
• Milger showed Zeng Mu a portrait of Yan Xia and notes about the gathering scheduled in Feather City five days later.
• Milger explained that beggars could attend the gathering as spectators and teased Zeng Mu about possibly being recruited as a husband.

Zeng Mu spent the day and night with Milger in a shack, where they discussed noble clans, shared a meal, and talked about Zeng Mu’s Elemental Artifact and abilities. With five days until the Noble Clan Ball in Feather City, Milger proposed that they spend the waiting period posing as beggars.

• Milger described the advantages of joining a noble clan, while Zeng Mu dismissed the idea that he would attract a noble lady.
• Zeng Mu and Milger talked over herbal tea as Milger asked about Zeng Mu’s recent experiences and the assassination of the Zhao State’s Prince.
• Milger complained about mosquitoes, then went out and caught field mice, frogs, and mud crabs for dinner.
• Zeng Mu revealed Xuanzi, his unusual Three-colored Kitten, and told Milger that he was an Elementalist and an Elemental Artifact Master trained by Qidunston.
• Zeng Mu and Milger discussed waiting for Yan Xia and planning their operation before the Noble Clan Ball in five days.
• Milger suggested that Zeng Mu try being a beggar during the days before the ball.

Zeng Mu and Milger spent a day posing as beggars in Feather City, where Milger taught Zeng Mu how beggars survived and gathered information. They returned to their camp beneath the Broken River Ruined Bridge, and Zeng Mu brought back a wild boar for dinner.

• Milger told Zeng Mu about his impoverished childhood, his escape from the Qi Kingdom, and how Malena rescued and trained him as a Holy Temple spy.
• Milger guided Zeng Mu around Feather City and taught him the rules and dangers of begging.
• Zeng Mu searched rubbish bins with Milger but found only fruit peels and cores.
• Zeng Mu and Milger listened to hungry beggars discuss the upcoming noble families' ball, which they hoped would bring food and tips.
• The pair returned to their camp beneath the Broken River Ruined Bridge, where Zeng Mu hunted a small wild boar while Milger prepared water and the fire.

Zeng Mu and Milger prepared to assassinate Yan Xia at the gentry ball, where Zeng Mu also reconsidered framing Zeng Qiu after judging the Zeng Clan leader’s character. The nine clan leaders gathered, and Zeng Qiu directed the opening remarks to Yan Xia.

• Zeng Mu and Milger arrived separately at Jade Citizen Plaza, where Zeng Mu surveyed the guards and planned an escape route.
• Zeng Mu slept through lunch, then watched the gentry arrive and waited for the important figures.
• Zeng Mu saw Zeng Qiu and abandoned his idea of framing him, judging his character and cultivation exceptional.
• Lady Yue Lin arrived and sat beside Zeng Qiu, followed by Yan Xia, the target of Zeng Mu’s assassination mission.
• The leaders of all nine gentry clans assembled, and after Yue Lin was asked to speak, Zeng Qiu directed the others to hear Yan Xia’s remarks first.

Yan Xia opened the gentry ball as a gathering for marriage matches, while Zeng Mu weighed how to carry out his assassination without revealing his identity as an Elementalist. Milger explained to the beggars that the sudden generosity at the ball stemmed from the war, then began discussing how ordinary people might respond as poverty worsened.

• Yan Xia welcomed the attendees, described the ball as an opportunity to find marriage partners, and invited everyone to begin eating.
• Zeng Mu observed the clan heads and considered how he could assassinate his target without using elemental energy or framing someone else.
• Milger chatted with beggars who had received food and money from people hoping to impress potential marriage partners.
• The beggars asked Milger why so many people were giving away food and money, and he attributed it to the war.
• Milger explained that war impoverished ordinary people while leaving those at the top unaffected, then asked what ordinary people would do as survival became harder.

At the noble clans' gathering, Zeng Mu learned that Yue Rushuang would toss an embroidered ball while he and Milger considered their failed assassination opportunity. Yue Rushuang chose Zeng Mu from the crowd, and he caught the ball, leaving him unexpectedly tied to her marriage contest.

• Zeng Mu learned from the beggars that noblewomen sometimes tossed embroidered balls to choose husbands, while he and Milger discussed how the canceled operation left their assassination plans uncertain.
• Yue Rushuang stepped onto the Marriage Fate Platform and studied the crowd, finding no one who moved her until she noticed Zeng Mu among the beggars.
• Yue Rushuang threw the embroidered ball toward Zeng Mu, and he caught it as Milger pointed out what had happened.

Zeng Mu caught Yue Rushuang’s embroidered ball and used their meeting to gain a possible connection to the Yue Clan while continuing to plan Yan Xia’s assassination. Milger revealed that Yan Xia’s sixtieth birthday banquet would take place in seven days, giving them a chance to act at the Yan Residence.

• Zeng Mu caught Yue Rushuang’s embroidered ball, and she introduced herself and asked him about his intentions and whether he loved anyone.
• Zeng Mu called himself Nameless and agreed to speak with Rushuang, while privately considering how the Yue Clan might help him reach Yan Xia.
• After the gathering, Zeng Mu returned to his shack beneath the ruined bridge, where Milger told him Yan Xia’s birthday banquet was seven days away.
• Zeng Mu and Milger agreed that the banquet at the Yan Residence could give them an opportunity to assassinate Yan Xia.

Zeng Mu joined Yue Rushuang’s convoy to travel from Feather City to Yu City, where her family would consider their relationship. After the convoy became stuck on a forest road, the horses cried out as something approached.

• Zeng Mu met Yue Rushuang, Yue Lin, and Yue Feng at the North City Gate, and Yue Lin accepted him as her future son-in-law.
• Zeng Mu and Yue Feng rode together, discussing Yue Rushuang’s character and the hardships she had endured.
• The seven-carriage convoy entered a badly deteriorated forest road and stopped after the lead carriage’s wheel fell into a hidden gap.
• The coachmen freed the wheel and filled the gap, but the horses suddenly cried out, and Zeng Mu sensed something approaching.

A giant man-eating black bear attacked the Yue Clan convoy and defeated all twelve guards, forcing Zeng Mu to reveal his speed and strength when he stepped in to protect them. The chapter ended as the wounded bear swung its claws at Zeng Mu after he cut a chunk of flesh from its leg.

• Yue Lin spotted a giant black bear blocking the convoy, and the Yue Clan guards formed up to protect the carriages.
• The bear charged and fought the guards, then erupted with greater strength and knocked all twelve of them down.
• Yue Feng tried to rush out with his blade, but Zeng Mu stopped him and went to face the bear himself.
• Zeng Mu dodged the bear's attack and gouged a chunk of flesh from its leg with the black short blade.
• The enraged bear slashed at Zeng Mu's head with its claws.