Chapter Summaries

Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya investigated reports of wine being stolen from a tavern in Cloud Ink Town and found fur belonging to a Burche in the cellar. Kanni proposed using his Lure Trap to ambush the creature that night.

• Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya arrived in Cloud Ink Town and asked tavern owner Ke Manmaige about recent strange events.
• Ke Manmaige told them his brother He Manmaige had seen pale blue eyes after wine jars were opened and partly emptied in the storehouse.
• The trio questioned He Manmaige, who recounted the incident and gave them the key to the wine cellar.
• Zeng Mu found a pale blue and gray strand of fur in the cellar, and Kanni identified it as belonging to a Burche.
• Kanni announced that he would use his Lure Trap ability to ambush the Burche that night.

Kanni returned from a dangerous river dive with rare fish-ink algae, and he, Zeng Mu, and Ma Linya used it to lure a Burche into a trap. Zeng Mu struck the beast with three daggers, but it went berserk and began growing beyond the expected strength of a Common Grade first-tier Elemental Beast.

• Kanni returned soaked and freezing with the fish-ink algae needed for the Burche lure, and Ma Linya explained its rarity and value.
• Zeng Mu used elemental energy to massage Kanni and warm him while they prepared the herbal mixture.
• Kanni led Zeng Mu and Ma Linya to set a concealed feeding trap near the liquor storehouse and wait through the cold night.
• A pale blue Burche approached the trap and began eating the herbal mixture and liquor.
• Zeng Mu sent three daggers into the Burche's back, but it roared, went berserk, and released an increasingly dense elemental aura as its body grew.

Zeng Mu fought the rampaging second-tier Burche while Ma Linya and Kanni watched, and he wounded it badly enough to force it to flee. Kanni led Zeng Mu and Ma Linya after its blood trail, while He Manmaige decided to follow them.

• The Burche revealed its second-tier strength and charged at Zeng Mu, Ma Linya, and Kanni.
• Zeng Mu fought the Burche alone as Ma Linya and Kanni searched for an opening and waited for its rampage to fade.
• Zeng Mu severed the Burche's claws and pressed his attack as its blue-gray tail light spread over its belly.
• The Burche spat green light, escaped during the blast, and left a blood trail behind.
• Kanni led Zeng Mu and Ma Linya in pursuit, and He Manmaige followed to investigate their connection to an earlier encounter.

Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya found the wounded Burche, only for a mysterious man calling himself Beast Claw Collector to claim it. He vanished with the creature after asking them to capture a Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly, and Zeng Mu ended the night suspecting he was not human.

• Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya followed Burche’s blood trail and found it dying beneath a willow, where Beast Claw Collector appeared and claimed he had poisoned it first.
• Beast Claw Collector and the hunters argued over who had the right to Burche, while Kanni offered money and Zeng Mu asked for proof.
• He Manmaige arrived and attacked Beast Claw Collector over the liquor he had ruined at the tavern, but Zeng Mu restrained him and heard the story.
• Beast Claw Collector introduced himself, then offered to give the hunters Burche’s parts except its claws if they brought him a Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly.
• Beast Claw Collector vanished with Burche, leaving Zeng Mu with a note naming Linxia Ferry as the fly’s location.
• Ma Linya described the Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly, and Zeng Mu told his companions he felt Beast Claw Collector was not quite human.

Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya searched Cloud Ink Town’s Sunset Glow Ferry for the Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly but found no leads during its sunrise feeding time. As Zeng Mu questioned two young fish sellers, Aibo and Vise, they revealed nothing about the fly, leaving the group with three chances to find it before Zeng Mu might have to confront the Beast Claw Collector.

• Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya spent the night at Ke Manmaige’s tavern after returning from the fields.
• The next morning, the three went to Sunset Glow Ferry to search for the Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly, which fed only at sunrise and sunset.
• Zeng Mu kept watch while Kanni and Ma Linya questioned locals, but the sunrise feeding time ended without anyone seeing the fly.
• Aibo analyzed Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya as they passed, and Vise agreed that Zeng Mu seemed unusual.
• Zeng Mu approached Aibo and Vise to ask whether they had seen a Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly, while Kanni dismissed them as children and Vise objected.

Aibo and Vise told Zeng Mu, Ma Linya, and Kanni where they had seen the Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly and described a strange young man who had questioned them. Over lunch, Kanni realized the supposed river monster reported by the fathers was likely him, after recalling his own night dive in the Ates two years earlier.

• Zeng Mu offered Aibo and Vise money and sweets, and Vise described seeing the Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly near the ferry landing.
• Aibo and Vise said a strange young man had questioned them but left without buying fish, and Aibo asked the visitors to help sell their catch.
• Ma Linya, Zeng Mu, and Kanni helped sell the fish, then joined Aibo and Vise's families for lunch.
• Aibo's father recounted seeing a young man dive and swim in the river for over an hour the previous night, while Vise's father repeated a similar monster story from two years earlier.
• Kanni recalled diving for fish-ink algae in the Ates near Gea Town two years ago and recognized that the old story might have been about him.

Zeng Mu and Kanni learned that a mysterious Soul-Returning Cult had warned two fishermen of an approaching calamity through three cryptic sayings. As sunset neared, Vise and Aibo asked them to buy costly ingredients for their Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly plan, and Kanni urged Zeng Mu to use the Metal Element to get the money.

• Zeng Mu and Kanni helped Aibo and Vise’s parents with fishing work, then heard the fishermen discuss their refugee origins and fears that the long war would worsen.
• Zeng Mu questioned why the war had lasted so long, and Vise’s father connected it to a mysterious Soul-Returning Cult whose messenger had warned of a threat to everyone’s lives.
• Aibo’s father recounted the cultist’s three cryptic sayings about crops, sea creatures, and yin and yang, but Zeng Mu could not interpret them.
• Ma Linya called Kanni and Zeng Mu outside to help Vise and Aibo obtain costly butterfly wings and python grass roots for catching a Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly.
• Kanni reminded Zeng Mu to use the Metal Element to solve their shortage of money.

Zeng Mu and the others went fishing for a Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly but caught none, and he recovered a bracelet engraved with Wheaton Moulton from the river. The ring stirred a strong sense of recognition in Zeng Mu, who realized its owner had been connected to the original owner of his body.

• Zeng Mu used elemental power to make a lump of gold, then refused Kanni's request to make him some.
• The group bought ingredients for catching a Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly and rowed to the Ates River to fish.
• The five fished until dusk, but they caught only a few tiny catfish and saw no Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly.
• Near the ferry landing, Zeng Mu sensed something familiar underwater and used golden light to retrieve a silver bracelet engraved with Wheaton Moulton's name.
• That night, Zeng Mu pondered the bracelet and concluded that Wheaton Moulton had been connected to the original owner of his body.

Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya caught the Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly they needed to trade for Burche, but the Beast Claw Collector revealed that he knew Zeng Mu had come from another world. He vanished before Zeng Mu could get answers, leaving Zeng Mu shaken and certain they would meet again.

• Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya failed to catch a Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly in the morning and discussed taking Burche by force as a last resort.
• The three fished again at sunset with Aibo and Vise, and Ma Linya caught a Spirit-Possessed Purple Fly just as they were about to give up.
• Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya met the Beast Claw Collector at night and exchanged the fly for Burche, frozen inside a block of ice.
• The Beast Claw Collector recognized the black stone on Zeng Mu's necklace and hinted that he knew more about it.
• Zeng Mu pursued the Beast Claw Collector, who vanished and told him he was influenced by the Wheel of Divine Miracles and had come from another world.

Zeng Mu, Ma Linya, and Kanni reached Ponta Delgada, where the villagers recognized Zeng Mu as Arthur Morton and led him to his family home. The chapter ended as Arthur opened the door and his ailing grandfather recognized him.

• Ma Linya led Zeng Mu and Kanni along a wind-assisted route past Wheat-Awn Mountain toward Morgaya City.
• The travelers discovered a village at the mountain’s foot, which Zeng Mu recognized from a dream connected to his lost memories.
• Villagers identified Zeng Mu as Arthur Morton and said he was Gesser’s grandson, though he remembered none of them.
• Uncle Mode and the other villagers led Arthur and his comrades through Ponta Delgada to his home.
• Arthur entered the house and saw his sick grandfather, who recognized him and called his name.

Zeng Mu returned to Ponta Delgada Village as Arthur Moulton, where he learned of his family’s losses and met his uncle’s household. As the village gathered to celebrate, someone from Arthur’s past rushed toward the feast.

• Puston welcomed Zeng Mu as his grandson, and Homanlis explained that Arthur had lost his memory after wartime brain trauma.
• Puston told Zeng Mu that Arthur’s mother, Adelaide Sela, had died in a well accident and his father, Wheaton Moulton, had disappeared during a blizzard.
• Zeng Mu showed Puston Wheaton’s bracelet, which he had found in the Ates River, and Puston feared his son had thrown himself into the river.
• The villagers prepared a celebratory lunch, where Zeng Mu met his uncle Gitton Moulton, aunt Galsworthy Seavister, and cousin Hewlett Moulton.
• Kanni told Zeng Mu that the woman running toward the feast was the love he had forgotten.

Zeng Mu faced Mitchelson’s return and learned that she had waited years for Arthur Morton, whose old letter had promised to marry her. He visited Arthur’s parents’ graves, then went with Kanni to meet Mitchelson at night, where she asked to speak alone beneath the Evergreen Cypress.

• Mitchelson slapped Zeng Mu, then listened as Puston explained the situation and asked what would happen to their engagement.
• Puston recounted Arthur and Mitchelson’s childhood bond and read Arthur’s letter declaring his wish to marry her; Mitchelson embraced Zeng Mu and wept.
• Zeng Mu promised to explain everything to Mitchelson before the next day, and she left without answering.
• Puston led Zeng Mu to the graves of Adelaide Sela and Wheaton Moulton, where Zeng Mu performed the family ritual and mourned.
• Zeng Mu, Kanni, and Ma Linya decided Kanni would take the life-saving Burche to Morgaya City the next morning to help Yenaier.
• Mitchelson drank a bowl of herbal liquid and invited Zeng Mu to speak with her alone beneath the Evergreen Cypress.

Zeng Mu rejected Mitchelson’s advances and explained that he was not Arthur, leaving her heartbroken. After she walked away, he told Kanni to call him Nameless because he felt unworthy of Arthur Morton’s name and Mitchelson Molly.

• Mitchelson reminded Zeng Mu of their childhood promise, but he said Arthur could marry her and he could not because he was not Arthur.
• Mitchelson tested Zeng Mu by checking his scars and provoking a familiar reaction, then accused him of loving Miss Ma Linya.
• Mitchelson offered herself to Zeng Mu, but he stopped her before they went further.
• Mitchelson told Zeng Mu the story of the rainbow-finned fish and its grief-driven leap after losing its mate, then returned to her room alone.
• Kanni asked Zeng Mu about his expression, and he told her to call him Nameless because he did not deserve Arthur Morton’s name or Mitchelson Molly.

Kanni left Ponta Delgada Village with Mitchelson, who chose to set out alone after letting go of her past. Back at the house, Ma Linya discovered that herbs in the basket Gitton brought could combine into a slow-acting, incurable toxin, leaving Puston's sudden illness under suspicion.

• Kanni met Mitchelson by the graves outside the village, and she asked him to take her part of the way on his horse.
• Mitchelson told Kanni she had let go of the past and was leaving to wander, and they rode beyond Wheat-Awn Mountain while talking.
• Puston's coughing worsened, and Ma Linya said she had noticed a problem she still needed to confirm.
• Gitton brought fresh herbs for Puston, but Ma Linya used her own herbs to prepare his medicine and later examined Gitton's basket.
• Ma Linya identified Jiejie Grass and tree shade orchid in the basket and told Zeng Mu that brewing them together created an incurable, slow-acting toxin.

After learning that Gitton had been poisoning his grandfather, Zeng Mu suspected a wider plot involving his family and secretly hid in Gitton's house to listen. He overheard Gitton and Galsworthy discussing their plans, then unexpectedly found himself trapped in a wardrobe while they went to bed together.

• Ma Linya confirmed that Zeng Mu's grandfather had been poisoned over many months, and Zeng Mu suspected Gitton and others were involved.
• Zeng Mu questioned Pabojin about his grandfather's illness and gathered details about the family.
• Zeng Mu climbed into Gitton's house and hid inside a wardrobe to watch and listen.
• Gitton and Galsworthy returned with medicinal herbs, and Gitton said they needed to hurry because Ma Linya was an Elemental Healer.
• Galsworthy entered the room and went to sleep while Zeng Mu remained concealed in the wardrobe.
• Gitton joined Galsworthy in bed, and Zeng Mu listened as their conversation turned intimate.

Zeng Mu overheard Galsworthy and Gitton planning to exploit the village’s mineral-rich mountain and learned they were responsible for Puston’s illness, while suspecting them in Wheaton’s and Adelaide’s deaths. After finding Hewlett’s letter, he met him at Rocky Slope before dawn to learn what he knew about Mitchelson.

• Hidden in a cabinet, Zeng Mu overheard Galsworthy reassure Gitton that her father would help them exploit the village and learned they had discovered a mine they expected to work for years.
• After Galsworthy and Gitton fell asleep, Zeng Mu escaped and concluded that they had caused Puston’s illness and likely Wheaton’s and Adelaide’s deaths.
• Zeng Mu found an unsigned letter asking Arthur to meet Hewlett alone at Rocky Slope before dawn to discuss Mitchelson, and decided to go.
• On his way to Rocky Slope, Zeng Mu considered how mining the mountain would transform and ruin Ponta Delgada Village.
• Hewlett waited atop a boulder, and Zeng Mu climbed the rocks with ease and asked what he wanted to tell him.

Zeng Mu killed Hewlett after Hewlett attacked him and threatened to silence Ma Linya, then used his elemental power to expose his strength. He searched Ponta Delgada Village’s communal wells and found the abandoned well where Adelaide had fallen, believing it held the evidence he needed.

• Hewlett blamed Zeng Mu for Mitchelson leaving the village and demanded that he regret loving her.
• Hewlett pulled a knife on Zeng Mu, threatened to kill him, and stabbed him in the chest.
• Zeng Mu revealed his elemental power, turned the knife into an iron ball, and killed Hewlett with it.
• Zeng Mu hid Hewlett’s corpse beneath the rocks and headed toward the village entrance.
• Zeng Mu searched the eastern and southern communal wells, then found the abandoned well at the western entrance.
• Zeng Mu moved the millstone covering the well and swept dust away from its mouth.

Zeng Mu found a woman’s earring in the well, evidence tied to Adelaide’s death, while Puston’s health deteriorated despite Ma Linya’s care. Puston died that afternoon, and the villagers gathered that evening to prepare his funeral.

• Zeng Mu searched an abandoned well and recovered an earring, then stopped Gitton and Galsworthy from giving Puston their medicine.
• Ma Linya told Zeng Mu that Puston was gravely ill, and Zeng Mu showed her the earring he had found in the well.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya stayed beside Puston as he weakened and became unable to swallow more medicine.
• Ma Linya grieved as Puston’s condition worsened, and Zeng Mu comforted her.
• Puston died quietly in the afternoon, and more than a hundred villagers gathered that evening to prepare his funeral.

After Puston’s funeral, Zeng Mu concealed his anger at Gitton and took Ma Linya up Wheat-Awn Mountain to gather herbs. He hinted that the mountain might be a mountain of gold, setting up an explanation of Gitton’s motives.

• Gitton and Galsworthy wept at Puston’s wake, while Arthur Morton went to sleep and the villagers excused his behavior.
• Zeng Mu lay in Puston’s bed, calmly thinking of vengeance and criticizing Gitton and Galsworthy for not asking about Hewlett.
• The villagers kept vigil through the night, then carried Puston’s coffin to the ginkgo grove and buried him.
• After the funeral, Zeng Mu read triumph and relief in Gitton’s face and privately warned that the next sunrise might be the most precious of Gitton’s life.
• Zeng Mu persuaded Ma Linya to accompany him up Wheat-Awn Mountain to gather herbs, then asked whether she believed the mountain might be made of gold.

Zeng Mu confirmed that a vast gold vein lay beneath Wheat-Awn Mountain and the surrounding land, then spent a quiet day with Ma Linya before announcing that Gitton’s overdue execution would happen that night. Galsworthy was summoned from her bedroom by an unseen voice and found a figure waiting in the dark sitting room.

• Zeng Mu used his elemental power to sense gold deposits stretching for dozens of li beneath Wheat-Awn Mountain and the surrounding land.
• Zeng Mu and Ma Linya gathered and prepared herbs, then returned to the village and spent a peaceful afternoon together.
• After dark, Zeng Mu left and declared that the overdue execution would take place that night.
• Gitton celebrated becoming the new village chief by drinking heavily while Galsworthy stayed with him.
• An unseen voice repeatedly called Galsworthy Seavister and lured her from the bedroom, where she saw a figure reclining on a chair in the dark sitting room.