Chapter Summaries

Tang Feng attended Li Yan’s Sow Banquet to watch who approached the thatched cottage, while Guo Caier and Xing Tao prepared to expose hidden enemies. The banquet was suddenly surrounded by soldiers searching for a Southern Border Traitor, and Xing Tao was ordered to force guests—especially women—to reveal their Mystical Abilities.

• Guo Caier concluded that two enemy players were already hidden in her faction and decided to use Xing Tao’s Death Warrior Order to attack them before entering the Princess Tomb.
• Ren Ye arranged for Er Leng to protect Tang Feng in secret, and Tang Feng disguised himself as an ordinary soldier and went to Li Yan’s Sow Banquet.
• Tang Feng learned that no one had yet visited Li Yan privately, then used his Charm Skill on a maid to have her watch the thatched cottage.
• Soldiers in White Armor stormed the residence and announced they would search everyone for a Southern Border Traitor.
• Guo Caier ordered Xing Tao to prevent guests from leaving and focus on women whose identities were musicians or Songstresses, and Xing Tao eagerly agreed.

Guo Caier and Xing Tao used Qingzhou Guard soldiers to search the Sow Banquet for Liu Ling'er's successor and a Prince Huai mole, while Li Yan opposed their public sweep and accused Xing Tao of exposing their faction's strength. The chapter left Tang Feng seconds from losing his disguise as he prepared to call for help.

• Guo Caier hid outside the Chief Secretary's Residence while Xing Tao ordered the Qingzhou Guard to take over the Sow Banquet and inspect its guests.
• Soldiers surrounded the residence, seized female guests, and killed two men who tried to intervene, while Tang Feng realized they were searching for Liu Ling'er's successor.
• Tang Feng learned his disguise would expire in less than fifteen minutes, and the mean-looking woman also feared being exposed or killed.
• Li Yan revealed in the Disc Order that he belonged to the Court Faction and accused the Qingzhou Left Guard's player commander of being the traitor.
• Xing Tao admitted he was the battalion commander and said he meant to catch Liu Ling'er's successor and the Prince Huai mole, but Li Yan argued that the sweep exposed their faction's plans.
• Tang Feng heard that his disguise had less than thirty seconds left, sensed the Spring Breeze Wish-Fulfilling Painting, and prepared to shout, "Father, save me!"

Tang Feng’s disguise expired as Li Yan’s Water-Ink World plunged the Chief Secretary’s Residence into chaos, giving players a chance to flee while the Qingzhou Guard pursued them. Tang Feng escaped toward the rear of the buildings, and Er Leng watched from outside, unsure whether to intervene.

• Li Yan used Water-Ink World to darken and transform the residence, then told Court Faction players to flee and identify themselves later at the Princess Tomb.
• Tang Feng’s disguise expired, and she shouted for the guests to run before escaping as the Qingzhou Guard pursued her.
• Xing Tao entered the ink-covered residence after hearing the signal arrow, while soldiers and players clashed throughout the grounds.
• Zhang Meixuan killed a pregnant concubine, hid in a cabinet, and planned to observe events from the shadows.
• Tang Feng detected at least five or six Star Source Fluctuations as she fled, while Er Leng watched from a tree outside and hesitated to act.

Zhang Meixuan and Tang Feng were cornered by Qingzhou Guard soldiers as Li Yan intervened with his Water-Ink World Mystical Ability, allowing Zhang Meixuan to escape but leaving Tang Feng trapped in a chaotic encounter. Meanwhile, Er Leng used a newly learned blade form to cut down the soldiers guarding Guo Caier’s sedan chair and split it apart.

• Zhang Meixuan overheard the soldiers preparing to storm the steward's room, fought them when they found her, and was later transported outside the back gate by Li Yan's Water-Ink World.
• Tang Feng lured pursuing soldiers into a room and used Obsessive Illusion, but the soldiers' obsession made them act lecherously toward him.
• Xing Tao surrounded Tang Feng's hiding place, and an unknown force sealed its doors and windows before Li Yan appeared and became affected by Tang Feng's Enchantment.
• Li Yan used his Mystical Ability again to rescue Zhang Meixuan and make the groom with the long whip vanish, but he then succumbed to Enchantment and called Tang Feng his master.
• Er Leng confronted the soldiers guarding Guo Caier's sedan chair and used Hidden Maiden's first blade form to kill them and split the sedan chair down the middle.

Tang Feng escaped Xing Tao's raid with Li Yan’s help, while Er Leng failed to capture her and Guo Caier fled injured. Xing Tao withdrew after his attempt to seize Tang Feng failed, and the chapter ended with Guo Caier collapsing after warning him that the Court Faction players would isolate them.

• Tang Feng told Li Yan to use his Water-Ink World ability, and they vanished from the room before Xing Tao broke through the ink-painted surroundings.
• Li Yan dragged Tang Feng into a garden grove while the unstable illusion faded, and she later escaped and called for Er Leng.
• Er Leng found the sedan chair empty, then returned to the alley and found no trace of the missing woman; Guo Caier fled after vomiting blood.
• Xing Tao withdrew his forces when he learned the prefect was approaching, and the prefect later found Li Yan unconscious in the residence garden.
• Li Yan told the prefect he had fought a female bandit and escaped her, then hurried back to the Thatched Hall; Tang Feng reunited with Er Leng and blamed Li Yan for his behavior.
• At the Left Thousand-Household Office, Guo Caier warned Xing Tao that the Court Faction players would isolate them, then collapsed after vomiting blood.

Guo Caier investigated the suspected Hidden Pawn in the Court Faction while Li Yan secretly reached out to a teammate after saving the players at the Chief Secretary’s Residence. The chapter left Li Yan using Annals of the Thatched Cottage as a recognition token and warning his ally about Guo Caier and Xing Tao.

• Guo Caier told Xing Tao that Er Leng had wounded her, then reasoned that Li Yan had saved the players to win influence in the Court Faction.
• Guo Caier recalled that Mr. He had obtained Little War Wolf’s information linking Annals of the Thatched Cottage to Prince Huai’s Hidden Pawn, but Xing Tao had found no player using a book that night.
• Guo Caier received Li Yan’s curse over the Disc Order and suspected that he was ambitious.
• Zhang Meixuan blamed Xing Tao for the attack and decided against visiting the teammate whose identity she had confirmed.
• A servant from the women’s quarters told Li Yan that a Court Faction ally would follow his lead in the tomb.
• Li Yan gave the servant Annals of the Thatched Cottage as a recognition token and told him to warn the ally about Xing Tao and his female accomplice.

Li Yan used the banquet’s aftermath to strengthen his ties with the Court Faction and sent a secret message to the old steward, while Ren Ye tried to recruit Xu Qingzhao before the Princess Tomb expedition. Ren Ye then received a letter identifying Li Yan as the hidden pawn and realized the ally who had secretly helped him was the trendy old man he had met outside.

• An unknown Court Faction player sent Li Yan a note promising to help him in the Princess Tomb, and Li Yan burned it before writing a secret letter of his own.
• The old steward begged Li Yan to avenge his pregnant concubine, and Li Yan gave him a personal task along with the letter.
• Zhang Meixuan received the Thatched Hall Chronicle from Li Yan’s messenger as a token for recognizing allies in the tomb.
• Ren Ye deduced that Xu Qingzhao belonged to the Fence-Sitter Faction and proposed an alliance, but she warned him that her goal in the tomb could endanger his companions.
• Ren Ye and Xu Qingzhao agreed on a recognition password, and Ren Ye returned to his palace to find a secret letter waiting.
• The letter named Li Yan as the hidden pawn, listed suspected Court Faction players, and identified a password; Ren Ye connected its clue to the trendy old man who had secretly helped him.

Ren Ye pieced together how Li Yan had secretly manipulated events to gain the Court Faction’s trust, then discussed the coming Princess Tomb battle with Tang Feng. Li Yan and Liu Ji Shan agreed to share information, but Liu Ji Shan insisted that his real goal was to kill Prince Huai.

• Ren Ye reconstructed Li Yan’s past actions and realized that Li Yan had used the conflict with Prince Huai and Liu Ji Shan’s escape to build trust among the Court Faction players.
• Tang Feng told Ren Ye that he had enchanted Li Yan at the Sow Banquet and fled afterward, then asked Ren Ye to handle future communication with Li Yan.
• Tang Feng assessed the players’ numbers and likely strategy in the Princess Tomb, and Ren Ye urged him to prepare for their departure within two hours.
• At the Chief Secretary’s Residence, Li Yan proposed that he and Liu Ji Shan gather and exchange information about their factions, with Liu Ji Shan joining Li Yan if he gained control of the Court Faction.
• Liu Ji Shan accepted the proposal but said he no longer cared about winning and wanted to kill Prince Huai.

Ren Ye prepared to enter the Former Dynasty Princess's Tomb and recruited Tang Feng into his faction, while the Star Gate revealed that the tomb's trials would strip entrants of their Mystical Abilities, spells, and items. The path appeared on Qingliang Mountain, but Tang Feng vanished as Ren Ye entered alone, disguised as an ordinary scholar and facing the tomb's challenge without his powers.

• Ren Ye reviewed the letter and traced tomb diagram, then learned that the tomb had nine levels hidden within Qingliang Mountain.
• After the Star Gate announced a faction cooperation mission, Ren Ye used the Royal Edict to make Tang Feng swear loyalty and leave the Court Faction.
• Xing Tao, Guo Caier, Zhang Meixuan, Li Yan, and Liu Ji Shan reacted to Ren Ye's new faction and the all-faction announcement.
• Ren Ye and Tang Feng entered Qingliang Mountain, where Tang Feng urged him to pursue a better future for himself and his family.
• A woman's voice sounded from the summit, and a path to the tomb appeared; Tang Feng vanished, and Ren Ye used the Disguise Daoist Talisman to take on a scholar's appearance.
• The Star Gate announced that entrants could not use Mystical Abilities, spells, or items inside the tomb, prompting Ren Ye to curse it.

Ren Ye entered Youjian Inn on Qingliang Mountain after learning that the mountain path was impassable and hearing a traveler describe a procession of headless people. Meanwhile, Yan Duoduo and Huang Wei invited Ren Daguo and Qingning to visit the Capital for safety, and the inn filled to its limit of eleven guests.

• Ren Ye reached Youjian Inn, accepted the old woman's warning, and joined six other guests in the hall.
• A scar-faced man returned from the mountain road and described seeing thousands of headless people carrying tools and baskets toward the tomb path.
• Ren Daguo told Yan Duoduo and Huang Wei that he had already planned to visit the Capital, then went to ask Qingning if she would come.
• Three more guests arrived at Youjian Inn, and the old woman announced that all eleven rooms were occupied.

At the inn before entering Eldest Princess Anping's Tomb, Xu Niang told the guests a story about the princess and set a silent voting challenge: each guest had to order a dish for the person they liked best. Ren Ye tried to signal his teammates as the guests exchanged clues, then made an unexpected move as the incense burned down.

• Ren Ye counted eleven guests at the inn and concluded that all the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate players had arrived and had to stay together.
• Xu Niang told the guests how Princess Anping fell in love with the sword-bearing scholar Li Mu, then asked each guest to vote for the person they liked best.
• Xu Niang explained that the guest receiving the most votes would win a gift, while forbidding everyone from speaking or leaving their seats; a clever scholar established that guests could vote for themselves.
• The guests received numbered plaques and began using gestures and objects, including books and chopsticks, to send signals before the incense burned out.
• Ren Ye struggled to identify his teammates and attract their votes, then removed his boot and sock and reached toward the sole of his foot, drawing everyone's attention.

Ren Ye won the first vote by using a foot-massage signal to reach his allies, but the old woman immediately announced a second vote to punish the most disliked guest. As the players began voting, Ren Ye realized they were likely to target him and started planning another maneuver.

• Ren Ye used a foot massage and a remembered gesture to signal Li Yan, the Princess Consort, and Tang Feng to vote for him.
• The old woman declared Ren Ye the most popular guest and promised him a reward, then announced a second vote for the most disliked person.
• Ren Ye recognized Tang Feng by the Heavenly Yin Women's Sword Formation manual and learned that Tang Feng was seated at number eight.
• The old woman began the second vote, and Liu Ji Shan, Zhang Meixuan, the Coachman, and the scholar independently chose Ren Ye's number five.
• The Princess Consort, Martial Artist Xing Tao, Guo Caier, Tang Feng, and Li Yan hesitated or considered how to vote while Ren Ye feared being targeted.
• The scholar tapped his table to signal the number five, and the outlaw noticed; Ren Ye decided to risk another plan.

Ren Ye tried to divert votes by openly targeting Zhang Meixuan, but he survived the vote by one ballot and she was chosen as the most disliked player. Zhang Meixuan was killed as the dish’s main ingredient, and the Old Woman announced that the players had passed the first trial for entering the Tomb.

• Ren Ye openly pointed his vote at Zhang Meixuan to convince the other players that he had control of the vote.
• The Old Woman announced that Ren Ye was one vote short of being the most disliked player and that Zhang Meixuan had received the most votes.
• Zhang Meixuan protested the result, but Little Dwarf seized her and threw her into a wok of boiling oil.
• The Old Woman declared that the players had passed the first trial, while Guo Caier realized the information about Zhang Meixuan being Prince Huai's Hidden Pawn was false.
• Guo Caier heard that a Court Faction player had died, and Li Yan privately reflected on Zhang Meixuan's arrogance.

After the first challenge, Ren Ye received a blood-scented leather robe as his gift and tried to leave his room to meet Tang Feng. He discovered Little Dwarf and the little girl making clothing from human remains, and Little Dwarf hurled an axe at him.

• Tang Feng and Scholar overcame their revulsion and ate pieces of the braised rabbit head, while the other players refused.
• Old Woman told the players to retire to rooms matching their numbers before entering the tomb’s second level the next day.
• Ren Ye reflected on Zhang Meixuan’s death and Li Yan’s influence, while Guo Caier reconsidered the Court Faction’s losses and suspected Li Yan might be the traitor.
• Li Yan went to sleep immediately, while Guo Caier resolved to win over Fence-Sitter and prepare for the next challenge.
• Old Woman brought Ren Ye a blood-scented hide robe and remarked that he seemed fond of dressing as a woman.
• Ren Ye opened his door and saw Little Dwarf chopping leg bones as the little girl sewed bloody skin into boots; Little Dwarf noticed him and threw an axe at his face.

Ren Ye read Mr. He’s letter about Princess Anping’s tomb and its deadly trials, but decided not to trust it until he could verify the information. The group awoke in the wilderness after the Inn vanished, and their attempt to set out together ended with number eleven spitting in Ren Ye’s face.

• Ren Ye narrowly avoided an axe thrown at his door, then ate and drank while studying the leather robe he had taken as loot.
• Ren Ye read a letter describing Old Prince Huai’s search for Princess Anping’s tomb, the eleven explorers who entered it, and the deadly trial connected to Li Mu.
• Ren Ye tucked the letter away, deciding to verify it before acting on its clues, and noticed another axe lodged in room eleven’s door.
• The next morning, Ren Ye and the other players woke in a circle in the wilderness, where the Inn and its attendants had disappeared.
• Ren Ye suggested that the group travel together and use their table numbers, but number eleven spat phlegm onto his face, turning the group’s attention to their confrontation.

Ren Ye and the other players entered the tomb, where No. 11 attacked him and demanded his leather robe. Ren Ye suddenly fought back with a sharpened branch, stabbing No. 11 as Scholar moved in too.

• Ren Ye avoided a confrontation with No. 11 as the players made their way to Qingliang Mountain, while Tang Feng quietly warned him that No. 11 might target him.
• Scholar urged No. 11 to provoke Ren Ye and expose which players would support him.
• Ren Ye led the group into the tomb passage, and the doors shut behind them, plunging everyone into darkness.
• No. 11 demanded Ren Ye's leather robe, then struck and kicked him while the other players watched without intervening.
• Ren Ye seized his chance and stabbed No. 11 repeatedly with a sharpened branch, as Scholar moved toward them.

Ren Ye fought No. 11 and Scholar, then attacked Scholar again after the others broke up the first fight. Left alone in the tomb passage, he heard a mysterious girl's plea before a newcomer approached and exchanged strange coded phrases with him; meanwhile, No. 11 and Scholar plotted revenge until someone offered to join them.

• Ren Ye injured No. 11, strangled him with a belt, and endured Scholar's blows until Guo Caier and the others pulled them apart.
• Ren Ye attacked Scholar with a broken torch, then challenged No. 11 and Scholar as the group held them back.
• The players split up to explore the tomb passages, and Ren Ye stayed behind to recover as the Star Gate announced the Second Layer's rules and a sunset deadline.
• Ren Ye heard a girl's faint plea to be released and the phrase “Heavenly Pardon Enters the Fate,” but the voice vanished when he tried to locate it.
• A newcomer approached Ren Ye and exchanged coded phrases with him, while No. 11 and Scholar discussed killing Ren Ye before an unseen voice offered to join them.

Ren Ye confirmed that Li Yan was Old Prince Huai’s Hidden Pawn and learned that the Princess’s Tomb had been waiting for him as the Heavenly Pardon-Blessed One. Li Yan warned him that his faction faced a difficult two-against-one fight, then recognized Ren Ye’s letter as the information he had sold to Mr. He.

• Ren Ye and Li Yan verified each other’s identities, and Ren Ye chose to keep Li Yan undercover rather than acknowledge him.
• In a secluded tomb chamber, Li Yan confirmed Ren Ye was the Heavenly Pardon-Blessed One and said the tomb had been waiting for him.
• Li Yan explained that Ren Ye could unlock the hidden stage, but his death would doom the Prince Huai Faction and its followers.
• Li Yan warned Ren Ye that the Prince Huai Faction was outnumbered and urged him to recruit the Princess Consort while keeping his identity hidden.
• Ren Ye showed Li Yan a letter recovered from Mr. He, and Li Yan revealed that he had sold that very information to Mr. He before being double-crossed and killed.

Ren Ye and Li Yan discussed how the Bell Society may have altered a letter, then explored the Princess Tomb and shared clues about Princess Anping and Li Mu. Their account ended as Li Mu’s fame reached the Capital, while Old Dad and Qingning traveled toward the Capital with Yan Duoduo and Huang Wei.

• Li Yan explained that the letter’s contents had changed and that his false information had helped turn the Bell Society players against Number Four, saving Ren Ye during the vote.
• Ren Ye told Li Yan that the Songstress, Tang Feng, was a man, embarrassing Li Yan and prompting him to leave.
• Ren Ye searched the tomb’s second level, found murals about Princess Anping and Li Mu, and memorized parts of their story.
• The players gathered to compare their findings and pieced together Princess Anping and Li Mu’s tragic love story.
• The murals recounted how the Human Emperor Xin fought the heavens and how Emperor Jingling later sought the Human Emperor Sword and Seal.
• The story reached the year Li Mu became famous in the Capital, while Old Dad and Qingning traveled there with Yan Duoduo and Huang Wei.

On the train, Yan Duoduo learned that Mr. He had escaped into a Star Gate, while Mr. He met with Mr. Lu to discuss the Bell Society’s plans to recruit Ren Ye and obtain Qingliang Prefecture’s inheritance. Mr. He’s account of the rude, elusive writer left Mr. Lu without a reliable ally, as ten players continued recounting Princess Anping’s life inside the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate.

• Yan Duoduo learned that Mr. He had fled Shanghai and ordered colleagues in Xiang River to investigate.
• Mr. He entered Mr. Lu’s exclusive Star Gate and reported that Ren Ye seemed inclined to join the New Year’s Watchers.
• Mr. Lu proposed using Ren Ye’s family to win him over or secure the inheritance, while warning against harming them.
• Mr. Lu asked Mr. He about the mysterious writer, and Mr. He described how the writer had cursed him and blocked him.
• Ten players in the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate continued recounting Princess Anping’s life and the contest between Huang Zi and Li Mu.