Chapter Summaries

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.

Zeng Mu drove the Man-Eating Black Bear into the woods, where he discovered a rare Seven-Pattern Cloud Mouse feeding on its corpse. He subdued the mouse with an Elemental Sub-Mark and forced it to stay by his side.

• Zeng Mu wounded the Man-Eating Black Bear with repeated strikes until it fled into the woods, then chased it to keep it from harming more people.
• Zeng Mu found the bear near death beneath a tree and hid when he heard an unfamiliar sound approaching.
• Zeng Mu recognized the approaching creature as a rare Seven-Pattern Cloud Mouse and watched it eat the dying bear until the bear died.
• Zeng Mu confronted the mouse with several elemental powers and promised to spare it if it did something for him.
• Zeng Mu placed an Elemental Sub-Mark between the mouse’s brows and ordered it to remain within five meters of him.

After surviving the bear attack, Zeng Mu secured a discreet way to assassinate Yan Xia and returned with the Yue family to Yu City, where Yue Rushuang’s family agreed to their marriage in seven days. That night, Zeng Mu secretly met Milger outside the Moon Estate and found him in a new disguise.

• Zeng Mu stopped Xuanzi from eating the Seven-Pattern Cloud Mouse, then stored both in the Wood Elemental Artifact and headed back to the road.
• Yue Rushuang embraced Zeng Mu when he returned, and Yue Lin agreed that he and Yue Rushuang could marry in seven days, the day after Yan Xia’s Birthday Banquet.
• Zeng Mu and Yue Rushuang traveled to Yu City together, where he carried her into the Moon Estate after she fell asleep in the carriage.
• After resting briefly, Zeng Mu slipped out of the estate and used their agreed bird call to contact Milger.
• Milger revealed his new disguise, and he and Zeng Mu exchanged remarks about each other’s changed appearances.

Zeng Mu met with Milger to plan the assassination of Yan Xia at his birthday banquet and memorized the spy’s detailed instructions. The next morning, Yue Rushuang brought him a nourishing soup whose main ingredient shocked him, leaving him to endure an awkward meal while she believed he enjoyed it.

• Milger told Zeng Mu that Yan Xia’s sixtieth birthday in six days would be their best chance to assassinate him and explained the operation’s rules and escape plans.
• Zeng Mu memorized Milger’s instructions and burned the papers, then returned unseen to the Yue residence.
• Yue Rushuang visited Zeng Mu early the next morning with a soup she had simmered for hours, hoping to care for him after his apparent injury.
• Zeng Mu praised the soup and ate it before Yue Rushuang revealed that its most important ingredient was tiger penis.
• Yue Rushuang watched happily as Zeng Mu finished the pot, while he struggled through the meal and later avoided eating or drinking in the mornings.

During the six days before Yan Xia’s sixtieth Birthday Banquet, Yue Rushuang showed Zeng Mu around Yu City while he prepared for his planned move against the Yan Clan. They arrived at the luxurious Yan Residence, where Yan Xia’s banquet began with a toast, leaving Zeng Mu among hundreds of guests as the operation’s opportunity approached.

• Yue Rushuang took Zeng Mu to Yu City’s performances, markets, and eateries, while he led her on nighttime outings and excursions beyond the city.
• Zeng Mu used their time together to learn Yu City’s layout and gather information about the Yan Residence and its residents.
• Before dawn on the banquet day, Yue Lin, Yue Feng, their companions, Yue Rushuang, and Zeng Mu prepared to attend Yan Xia’s Birthday Banquet.
• The Yue group reached the Yan Residence, presented their congratulations to Yan Xia, and explored its lavish grounds before the noon meal.
• Yan Xia welcomed roughly three hundred guests, raised his cup, and led them in a toast wishing long life and prosperity for the Yan Clan chief.

Zeng Mu infiltrated the Yan Residence during the storm and used the Seven-Pattern Cloud Mouse to attack Yan Xia in his sleep. The chapter ended with Yan Xia bleeding from the mouse’s bite.

• After the banquet, Zeng Mu met Milger and received powders to evade the dogs and nocturnal birds in the Yan Residence.
• Milger offered Zeng Mu a dagger, but Zeng Mu said he had a different method of killing his target.
• As the drunken servants failed to patrol, Zeng Mu used the powders to enter the residence and reach Yan Xia’s room.
• Zeng Mu released the Seven-Pattern Cloud Mouse and instructed it to bite through Yan Xia’s vocal cords and sever his artery and throat.
• The mouse leaped onto Yan Xia’s neck and bit him, spraying blood onto the wooden shoes beneath the bed.