Recaps

Tian Dadao tried to recall his troops but learned that Wang Yang had secretly gone to the army camp with the Junior Ritualist. In Jingzhou, Kong Changyu read an edict granting the Prince of Badong sweeping military and political authority, then used threats against officials and their families to force their submission; Le Zhan was the next official he ordered to set an example.

• Tian Dadao gathered his clan’s personal guards and sought the Bronze Tiger Tally so he could recall the Barbarian Army.
• A subordinate reported that Wang Yang had left the stockade with the Junior Ritualist and gone to the army camp, and Tian Dadao dropped the tally in shock.
• Kong Changyu read an edict appointing the Prince of Badong Great General Who Conquers the West and Commandant of the Southern Barbarians, with control over Jingzhou’s forces and treasuries.
• Wu Xiuzhi demanded to inspect the edict, and Kong Changyu had an armored soldier stab him to death.
• Yin Tancan also challenged Kong Changyu, but he backed down when Kong Changyu brought in his terrified son, Yin Xiao Wu.
• Kong Changyu demanded that Le Zhan, as the foremost provincial official, obey the edict and set an example.

Wang Yang used a staged blessing to appoint Wen Daoqi as his seventy-third Holy Guard, while Baoyue grudgingly maintained the steam that created his divine aura. Meanwhile, Kong Changyu confronted Le Zhan over the edict, and Le Xiaopang’s unexpected arrival led to a clash that left him ordered gagged and beaten.

• Wang Yang urged the frightened Wen Daoqi to declare his ambitions aloud until the boy vowed to master the saber, restore the Yidu Tribe, and fight for the Divine Envoy.
• Wang Yang blessed Wen Daoqi and named him the seventy-third Holy Guard, prompting the guards and gathered barbarians to chant their loyalty while Baoyue cursed over the bamboo steam apparatus.
• Kong Changyu pressed Le Zhan for an answer about obeying the edict, but Le Zhan continued reciting poetry and claimed his son was not in Jingzhou.
• Le Xiaopang arrived under military escort, and Le Zhan pretended to collapse from his heart condition after seeing him.
• Kong Changyu ordered the soldiers to seize Le Xiaopang for angering his father, and then had him gagged and beaten after Le Xiaopang accused him of abusing his office.

Tao Rui failed to persuade Yu Yi to support the Prince of Badong, while Yu Yi hinted that Jingzhou's situation was not settled. Wang Yi then revealed his authority as Chief Clerk and rallied commandery troops, prompting the Prince of Badong to ride out with sixty guards to confront him.

• Yu Yi refused Tao Rui's appeal and offered his sons and himself rather than yield to threats.
• Yu Yi told Tao Rui that Jingzhou was not settled, and Tao Rui received an urgent report about Wang Yi's actions.
• Kong Changyu learned that Wang Yi had established a Chief Clerk's Residence, declared the prince's military orders invalid without his countersignature, and mobilized troops toward Jiangling.
• The Prince of Badong rejected Kong Changyu's advice to stay behind Jingzhou's defenses and prepared to confront Wang Yi with sixty mounted guards.
• The Prince of Badong left Kong Changyu in charge of the city and led his cavalry out to meet Wang Yi.

Wang Yang waited in the barbarian stockade for Tian Dadao to choose whether to cooperate, then argued with Baoyue over who would sleep in the bed. He left Baoyue furious after beating her in two riddles and winning her valuables.

• Wang Yang explained to Baoyue why Tian Dadao was more likely to cooperate than join the other chieftains against him.
• Wang Yang took the bed, and Baoyue agreed to a riddle contest to decide who would sleep there.
• Wang Yang tricked Baoyue with a riddle about a man who passed out at a river, so she lost the first contest and had to sleep on the floor.
• Baoyue wagered her anklet and hairpin against Wang Yang's jade pendant and ten gold beads, demanding another contest.
• Wang Yang asked two riddles, Baoyue answered both incorrectly, and he claimed her gold hairpin and anklet.
• Baoyue realized Wang Yang had fooled her again and threatened to fight him to the death.

Wang Yang reflected on his battlefield mistakes and considered whether to kill Baoyue, while Baoyue struggled with fear and homesickness. Their teasing contest over a hairpin ended with Wang Yang solving her poetic riddle and Baoyue crying again.

• Wang Yang reviewed his capture and resolved to command more cautiously in future battles, then weighed the risks of killing or keeping Baoyue alive.
• Wang Yang tried to quiet Baoyue's crying by offering her a chance to ask him a question, and Baoyue challenged him with a poetic riddle.
• Wang Yang conceded without guessing, so Baoyue demanded the return of her hairpin and argued that their contest had included a wager.
• Wang Yang stopped Baoyue from grabbing the hairpin and then revealed that he had solved her riddle, explaining its clues and noting that it reflected her longing for her mother.
• Baoyue learned that Wang Yang had pretended not to know the answer to spare her from losing again, and she burst into tears.

Wang Yang comforted Baoyue by making her laugh, while Chen Qing Shan continued searching the forest for him and was ambushed by Xin Yi. Their fight ended in a wary standoff after they overheard two men discussing the Divine Envoy and a gathering that offered free food.

• Wang Yang imitated Baoyue’s sobbing and told her a ridiculous story until she laughed through her tears.
• Chen Qing Shan pressed deeper into the forest despite exhaustion and the scouts’ warnings that the search was hopeless.
• Xin Yi attacked Chen Qing Shan with a silver weapon, and Chen Qing Shan fought back with her spear.
• Chen Qing Shan forced Xin Yi to evade a sweeping spear strike, but both women hid when two men approached.
• The two men left after discussing the Divine Envoy’s supposed lightning powers and free food, and Chen Qing Shan and Xin Yi emerged to watch each other warily.

Chen Qing Shan and Xin Yi stopped fighting and realized they were both trying to rescue their captured young masters, Wang Yang and the young lord. After Wang Yang and Baoyue talked about missing their mothers, Xin Yi recruited Chen Qing Shan to help with her simple plan to sneak in and rescue them.

• Xin Yi and Chen Qing Shan argued over whether they trusted each other, then agreed to talk before resuming their fight.
• Wang Yang and Baoyue joked about sleep and music before recognizing that they both missed their mothers.
• Chen Qing Shan explained that she had come to rescue Wang Yang, and Xin Yi revealed that her young lord had also been captured.
• Chen Qing Shan persuaded Xin Yi that they could join forces, and Xin Yi announced a plan to sneak in, rescue the captives, and bring them out.

Chen Qing Shan persuaded Xin Yi to follow a rescue plan by claiming it was Wang Yang’s fallback plan. Meanwhile, Wang Yang and Baoyue shared memories of their mothers before Baoyue asked whether he wanted to kill her.

• Chen Qing Shan challenged Xin Yi’s plan to sneak into the Yidu Tribe and reasoned that they needed a better way to rescue their captive leaders.
• When Xin Yi started to leave, Chen Qing Shan claimed that Wang Yang had prepared a powerful fallback plan, convincing Xin Yi to join her.
• Wang Yang and Baoyue shared stories about their mothers, and Baoyue spoke sadly about her mother’s early death and the few memories she had of her.
• Baoyue asked Wang Yang why he was impersonating a Langya noble, admitted she had once considered silencing him, and then asked whether he wanted to kill her.

Wang Yang carefully answered Xiao Baoyue’s question about whether he had wanted to kill her, balancing candor with strategy. Baoyue accepted his explanation and left the exchange showing greater warmth toward him.

• Xiao Baoyue asked Wang Yang whether he had wanted to kill her, including during the battle.
• Wang Yang admitted that he had ordered a bounty for killing the enemy camp’s Han men and women, then explained that he had told Chen Qing Shan to capture Baoyue alive.
• Wang Yang explained that the bounty had been intended to keep his army fighting while Chen Qing Shan intercepted Baoyue because he wanted her alive for practical reasons.
• Baoyue challenged Wang Yang about the possibility that she might have died, and he declared that once he fought, he sought victory and would bear the consequences.
• Baoyue accepted Wang Yang’s reasoning, called him ruthless, and responded with softened affection.

Wang Yang persuaded Xiao Baoyue to help arrange his Langya Wang household registration by promising to fulfill a future favor and composing a poem for her. Baoyue explained that the master record alone would not secure his identity, leaving him aware of several other registration and genealogy records he still lacked.

• Wang Yang flattered Xiao Baoyue into reaffirming her offer to arrange his household registration and agreed to grant her a future favor.
• Baoyue demanded a poem, and Wang Yang improvised verses that softened her anger and delighted her.
• Wang Yang asked about the household registration, and Baoyue explained the four types of registers and how they supported a person's identity.
• Baoyue warned Wang Yang that he lacked an official letter, home and official register entries, and a place in the Langya Wang genealogy, so his claimed identity could still be exposed.

Xiao Baoyue explained why Wang Yang could not easily restore his Langya Wang identity, then guessed that he had been hunted and promised to help him exact revenge. Meanwhile, at Wang Yang’s house, Zhang Er probed Little A-Wu about the household’s hidden watcher and hinted that the servants should find a way out.

• Xiao Baoyue explained that cross-checking household registers and the Langya Wang genealogy made it nearly impossible for Wang Yang to fabricate or restore his gentry identity.
• Xiao Baoyue guessed that Wang Yang was a Langya Wang who had been erased from the records and hunted, and she promised to help him make his enemies pay.
• Zhang Er was caught inspecting the lock to the inner courtyard, but told Little A-Wu he was checking for a possible intruder.
• Little A-Wu revealed that her father had warned her the Young Master had planted a trusted watcher in the house, and Zhang Er denied being that person.
• Zhang Er brought up Lord Liu’s arrest and suggested that the servants should seek a way out, leaving Little A-Wu confused.

A-Wu tricked Zhang Er into handing over his money before Black Han captured him for attempting to steal the young master's gilt incense burner. Wang Yang negotiated with Baoyue for help with his household registration, and she pointed him toward Wang Tai, leaving him to wonder whether Wang Tai would assist him.

• Zhang Er persuaded A-Wu to help steal a valuable incense burner, but she demanded his money as security and took his pouch.
• Black Han gagged and bound Zhang Er, and A-Wu said the pouch would pay for the thief's food.
• Wang Yang pounded Baoyue's back under their negotiated agreement while trying to get her help with his household registration.
• Baoyue explained that Wang Tai could potentially secure Wang Yang's registration through his family ties and his father's connections.
• Baoyue asked Wang Yang whether Wang Tai would help him.

Wang Yang and Baoyue argued over whether he had used Xie Xinghan’s influence, then teased each other until Tian Dadao requested an audience with the Divine Envoy. Tian reported that two assassins had entered the stockade to kill Wang Yang, but had been caught and killed near his residence.

• Wang Yang kept his dealings with Wang Tai secret from Baoyue and claimed that Wang Tai would help him.
• Baoyue accused Wang Yang of seducing Xie Xinghan to borrow the Xie Family’s influence, then offered her own connections and teased him with Xin Yi.
• Wang Yang turned the teasing back on Baoyue, but a Holy Guard interrupted them with word that Tian Dadao wanted an audience.
• Baoyue delayed Tian Dadao’s entrance while she and Wang Yang pretended the Divine Envoy was asleep.
• Wang Yang welcomed Tian Dadao warmly and let him believe he might receive authority in the stockade after Wang Yang returned to the Han Lands.
• Tian Dadao told Wang Yang that two assassins had tried to kill him but had been caught and killed near his residence.

Wang Yang turned Chief Tian’s suspicions about the other chiefs into a plan to hold a three-day preaching assembly and secure supplies from all three clans. After the first day drew a huge crowd, Wang Yang ordered the other chiefs to appear with food or face removal and confiscation of their property, leaving Tian Dadao terrified.

• Tian Dadao claimed Chiefs Xiang and Cheng may have sent the two dead assassins, while Wang Yang suspected Tian was trying to sow distrust.
• Wang Yang asked Tian to provide food for a three-day preaching assembly, and promised the Tian Clan lucrative trade opportunities in return.
• Tian agreed to supply food for the first day, while Wang Yang said Chiefs Xiang and Cheng would provide it for the next two days.
• The first day’s assembly drew a huge crowd, who listened to Wang Yang and ate their fill.
• Wang Yang ordered Tian to summon Chiefs Xiang and Cheng with grain and demand that they bow before him, threatening to strip them of office and property if they refused.

Wang Yang celebrated his growing influence among the Yidu Barbarians with Baoyue, then took her warning about the High Shaman seriously and called for the Junior Ritualist. Meanwhile, the High Shaman prepared a secret move, and Chen Qing Shan arrived to ask whether Le Luoluo still intended to pledge allegiance and open trade with Wenyang.

• Wang Yang fooled Baoyue into worrying about his back, then teased her until they resumed roughhousing and finally rested together.
• Baoyue warned Wang Yang not to underestimate the High Shaman, and Wang Yang admitted he had become overconfident before asking her to fetch the Junior Ritualist.
• The High Shaman emerged from the Ritual Cave and assured Huan Yan and the other ritualists that his dreams had foretold everything, restoring their confidence.
• As Le Luoluo prepared to march into Yongning Barbarian territory, Chen Qing Shan arrived and asked whether Wenyang's offer of allegiance and trade still stood.

Chen Qing Shan claimed Wang Yang was alive and pressured Le Luoluo to rescue him from the Yidu Tribe. Le Luoluo chose to lead an immediate march toward the Yidu Tribe, trusting Chen Qing Shan’s desperation as evidence that Wang Yang might still be alive.

• Chen Qing Shan told Le Luoluo that Wang Yang was being held as an honored guest by the Yidu Tribe and had ordered Wenyang to pressure them into releasing him.
• Chen Qing Shan insisted that Le Luoluo must obey Wang Yang’s order, and Le Luoluo punished a guard who disrespected her.
• Xin Yi set a fire in the woods to signal Chen Qing Shan’s allies and strengthen her position in the standoff.
• Le Luoluo offered to prepare for three days, but Chen Qing Shan demanded an immediate rescue, so he ordered his army to march toward the Yidu Tribe with her as their guide.
• Le Luoluo admitted he knew Chen Qing Shan had not seen Wang Yang, but said her urgency gave him enough reason to believe Wang Yang might be alive.

Wang Yang’s preaching captivated the assembly, and he silenced attempts by the Cheng and Xiang Stockade Junior Ritualists to challenge him. The High Shaman then entered and raised doubts about how to identify a true Divine Envoy, leaving the crowd wavering as Wang Yang remained calm.

• Wang Yang stirred the tribespeople into a fervor with his preaching and quieted the crowd with a gesture.
• The Junior Ritualist of Cheng Stockade tried to question Wang Yang, but Wang told him to sit down.
• The Junior Ritualist of Xiang Stockade attempted to speak, but Baoyue and the crowd intimidated him into retreating.
• A planted voice asked how the tribespeople could distinguish a true Divine Envoy from an impostor, and the High Shaman emerged to press the question.
• The High Shaman argued that clarifying the Divine Envoy’s identity would protect the tribe, causing the crowd to waver.
• Baoyue prepared to suppress the High Shaman, but Wang Yang calmly waved her back.

The High Shaman challenged Wang Yang’s claim to be the Divine Envoy by presenting Wu Qi’s supposedly unsolvable problems, framing the test as a way to protect King Pan’s teachings. Wang Yang solved the first problem with a pressure trick, winning the crowd’s fervor as the High Shaman prepared to present the second.

• The High Shaman invoked a dream and claimed that Wu Qi had left three problems to expose false Divine Envoys, then urged Wang Yang to solve them publicly.
• Wang Yang accepted the challenge, and the High Shaman arranged witnesses and brought out the first problem, “Fill without pouring.”
• Wang Yang placed a stone and burning grease in the dish, then covered the flame with the bronze cup to draw the water into it through a change in air pressure.
• Tian Dadao and Baoyue proclaimed Wang Yang’s demonstration a miracle, and the tribespeople erupted in support of the Divine Envoy.
• The High Shaman concealed his frustration and called for the second problem.

Wang Yang passed the second challenge by burning a salt-soaked rope without breaking it, then faced the High Shaman’s final test: holding his written name over fire. As the crowd counted to eight and the cloth remained intact, the High Shaman watched his certainty collapse.

• Wang Yang soaked the hemp rope in concentrated saltwater, dried it, and burned it without breaking it, winning the crowd’s cheers.
• The clan leaders and tribal chiefs, including Tian Dadao, grew more convinced that Wang Yang might truly be a Divine Envoy, while the Junior Ritualists from Cheng and Xiang stockades reconsidered their support for the High Shaman.
• The High Shaman announced the final challenge: Wang Yang’s name had to remain undamaged on a white cloth held over flames during a slow count from one to nine.
• Wang Yang took the cloth and wrapped it around the dry bronze cup, then held his name over the fire as the elder began counting.
• Baoyue and the crowd joined the count, and the cloth and Wang Yang’s name remained intact through eight as the High Shaman grew pale with fear.

Wang Yang proved his legitimacy as the Divine Envoy before the Yidu Tribe, won the High Shaman’s submission, and took command as an unknown army approached. At the enemy’s front, Le Luoluo and her companions discovered that the army was led by a young nobleman who knew her.

• Wang Yang’s burning-cloth demonstration convinced the Yidu Tribe, and the High Shaman declared him King Pan’s true Divine Envoy.
• The High Shaman prostrated himself, accepted the loss of his dream-portent ability, and agreed to share his office with the Tian Stockade’s Junior Ritualist.
• After an urgent report warned that an unidentified army was approaching, Wang Yang rallied the Yidu Tribe to meet the enemy.
• Le Luoluo refused to retreat and formed up with Chen Qing Shan, Xin Yi, and their troops to face the advancing army.
• A young nobleman rode out from the enemy ranks and greeted Le Luoluo, leaving her, Chen Qing Shan, and Xin Yi stunned.

Wang Yang reunited with the exhausted Chen Qing Shan after winning the Yidu Tribe’s devotion and authority as its Divine Envoy. He carried her away for treatment, while Le Luoluo agreed to bring the captured Ang Ta into the stockade.

• Le Luoluo met Wang Yang and was stunned to see the Yidu soldiers worshipping him as the Divine Envoy.
• Wang Yang thanked Le Luoluo for coming to help, then noticed Chen Qing Shan’s injuries and asked who had hurt her.
• Chen Qing Shan realized Wang Yang was safe, broke down in relief, and leaned against him as he helped her onto his horse.
• Wang Yang ordered the cheering soldiers to be silent, took Chen Qing Shan’s Sunset Breaker spear, and set off to have her wounds treated.
• Wang Yang asked whether Ang Ta had come, and Le Luoluo confirmed that he was captured and agreed to bring him into the stockade.

At a banquet among the tribes, Wang Yang promised Ang Ta compensation for Xiao Baoyue’s role in the conflict, and Baoyue’s retainers arrived from Jingzhou. Lian San then reported that the Prince of Badong had rebelled, seized Yongning, and sealed the border roads, leaving Wang Yang and Baoyue in immediate danger.

• Xin Yi mistakenly called Baoyue “Lord Moon Slave” at the banquet, embarrassing her in front of the tribal chiefs.
• Ang Ta drunkenly blamed Xiao Baoyue for using the Yongning Tribe in her conflict with Wang Yang, and Wang Yang promised to return the prisoners and arrange a silk shop for him.
• Wang Yang received an envoy’s letter demanding the release of Great Qi’s imperial relatives in exchange for a thousand taels of gold, and Baoyue asked him to admit her arriving people.
• Lian San and more than thirty armed retainers arrived, bowed to Baoyue, and were taken to meet Wang Yang.
• Lian San reported that the Prince of Badong had seized the Changhu camp, defeated Wang Yi and Zhang Jue, taken Yongning, and sealed the border roads.
• Lian San urged Wang Yang to flee before the Prince of Badong’s forces reached them.

Wang Yang regretted knowing little about Southern Qi history and wondered whether Xiao Yan would rise during the Prince of Badong’s rebellion, but Baoyue’s suspicion made him recognize that his actions had already changed history. He set aside his search for a predetermined outcome and turned to the unfolding crisis in Jingzhou, while the Prince of Badong’s rebellion had grown far more powerful than in the original timeline.

• Wang Yang asked Baoyue about Xiao Yan’s current position and considered whether the Prince of Badong’s unrest could lead to Xiao Yan’s rise.
• Baoyue wondered whether Xiao Yan and the Prince of Jingling were involved in the Jingzhou unrest, prompting Wang Yang to reconsider relying on historical foreknowledge.
• Wang Yang resolved to adapt to events and make history through his own judgment, then questioned Lian San about the unrest in Jingzhou.
• The chapter revealed that Wang Yang’s past interventions had altered the Prince of Badong’s course, helping him gain resources, defeat Wang Yi, and expand his rebellion across Jingzhou.

Lian San reported that the Prince of Badong had seized Wang Yang’s friends and household while accusing Wang Yang and Wang Yi of treason. The prince threatened that Wang Yang’s old friends might not survive unless he surrendered, leaving Wang Yang to consider whether to go to Jingzhou.

• Lian San reported that Zhang Jue had been killed, Wang Yi had fled to Wenyang, and Jiangling was under the Prince of Badong’s control.
• Baoyue learned that Xie Xinghan, Le Pang, Yu Yuling, and others had been taken hostage, while Wang Yang’s house was sealed and Liu Zhao was imprisoned.
• Lian San said the Prince of Badong had accused Wang Yang and Wang Yi of plotting to seize Jingzhou and had imprisoned Liu Zhao after he demanded the hostages’ release.
• Lian San revealed that the Prince of Badong had threatened Wang Yang by saying his old friends might not all survive if he refused to surrender.
• Baoyue urged Wang Yang not to fall for the threat, and Wang Yang said he never made stupid choices.

Wang Yang weighed Xin Yi’s plan to unite the tribes with Wenyang Commandery against Baoyue’s assessment that they could not defeat the Prince of Badong. Baoyue urged him to leave Jing for Jiankang and offered a risky way to save Xie Xinghan, but said she could not save Mister Liu and the others.

• Xin Yi proposed joining forces with Wenyang Commandery to fight the Prince of Badong, and Wang Yang asked Chen Qing Shan for her view.
• Chen Qing Shan suggested using the tribes’ strength in wooded terrain for raids and ambushes, but Baoyue argued that the tribes lacked the unity and strength to withstand the Prince of Badong’s army.
• Wang Yang asked Baoyue for her strategies, and she named leaving Jing immediately as the best option.
• Baoyue offered to take Wang Yang to Jiankang and use a risky method to try to save Xie Xinghan, but admitted she could not save Mister Liu and the others.
• Wang Yang accepted Baoyue’s explanation, and Lian San watched him with increased respect.