Recaps

Jia Huan investigated a leak in the Capital's academy examination and discovered that Jia Baoyu was among the candidates who had obtained the questions in advance. He refused to conceal Baoyu's involvement and set out for Rongguo Mansion, while waiting for Eunuch Mei to come plead for his nephew.

• Jia Baoyu celebrated passing the examination, bragged to his relatives, and taunted Lin Daiyu about rejecting him.
• A student who had placed first in the examination asked Jia Huan to investigate rumors that candidates had obtained the questions in advance.
• Jia Huan ordered Scholar to investigate, and Scholar found that examiner Yu Hengxin had sold the questions to three candidates, who spread them to several dozen others.
• Scholar reported that Mei Qin, Eunuch Mei's nephew, was among the candidates in custody, and Jia Huan decided to wait for Eunuch Mei to approach him.
• Twin Whips told Jia Huan that Jia Baoyu had also known the questions in advance, but Jia Huan refused to strike his name from the records and ordered ten elite men to accompany him to Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Huan arrested Jia Baoyu for cheating in the County Examination, forced him to confess, and confronted Mei Yuan about the punishment of Mei Qin. The chapter ended with Mei Yuan revealing possible embezzlement by Xue Fu, giving Jia Huan a lead in his plan against Wang Ziteng.

• Jia Huan arrived at the Rongguo Mansion banquet with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and accused Jia Baoyu of cheating in the County Examination.
• Jia Baoyu confessed that he had bought the examination questions from the Duke of the Shan State's legitimate grandson for a hundred taels of silver.
• Jia Huan had Jia Baoyu and the other candidates punished, and Jia Baoyu signed a confession before being released from the Imperial Prison.
• Mei Yuan asked Jia Huan to spare his nephew Mei Qin from execution, but Jia Huan said he would need evidence against Xue Fu to transfer the case to the Three Judicial Offices.
• Mei Yuan revealed that Xue Fu had allegedly taken military funds for an operation against twenty thousand bandits when only two thousand rabble were present, and Jia Huan saw a way to pursue Wang Ziteng.

Jia Huan prepared to leave the Capital to investigate the Shuzhong garrison eunuch and the Beiliang Governor-General, while the Rongguo Mansion dealt with Jia Baoyu’s examination scandal. Before departing, Jia Huan agreed to take Concubine Zhao, Lin Daiyu, and the other women south to Jiangnan.

• Jia Huan ordered eighteen hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards to depart in groups for Sichuan and arrest Xue Fu.
• Jia Baoyu returned to the Rongguo Mansion after being beaten for cheating, and Jia Mu and Madam Wang comforted him while Jia Zheng condemned him.
• Wang Ziteng presented the Retired Emperor’s decree revoking Baoyu’s scholar’s qualification but allowing him to continue taking the Imperial Examination.
• Wang Ziteng insulted Jia Huan and privately resolved to find a way to destroy him, while Jia Huan dismissed him and returned to his residence.
• Lin Daiyu asked to travel to Jiangnan, and Jia Huan agreed to take her, Concubine Zhao, and the other women with him.
• Jia Huan visited the Misty Rain Tower, then left the Capital with his men to pursue the official investigations.

Jia Huan investigated reports that Guarding Eunuch Xue Fu had killed twenty thousand bandits and discovered that most of the dead were refugees falsely branded as outlaws. After confronting officer Chen Wenfan, Jia Huan took him into custody and learned that Xue Fu’s associate Leisurely Daoist might know more about the eunuch’s crimes.

• Jia Huan sent Scholar, Twin Whips, and Needle in Cotton to investigate the bandit suppression campaign through the Guard Station, Chengdu Prefecture, and Misty Rain Tower.
• All three sources reported that Xue Fu’s forces had supposedly killed twenty thousand bandits, leaving Jia Huan unable to find grounds to accuse him.
• Jia Huan studied the battle reports, identified Chen Wenfan as an officer who had participated in seven engagements, and went to question him at night.
• Chen Wenfan revealed that there had been fewer than fourteen hundred bandits and that the rest of the bodies belonged to refugees branded as bandits by Xue Fu’s trusted men.
• Chen Wenfan denied taking part in the refugee massacre but told Jia Huan that Xue Fu was close to a sorcerer named Leisurely Daoist.
• Jia Huan ordered Chen Wenfan to accompany him to prevent the information from leaking.

Jia Huan secured the Misty Rain Tower’s help in capturing Leisurely Daoist and interrogated him about Eunuch Xue’s crimes. The Daoist revealed horrific abuses and identified victims and evidence, while Jia Huan kept him imprisoned.

• Jia Huan learned that Leisurely Daoist served Overseer Xue and asked the Misty Rain Tower to help capture him.
• The Misty Rain Tower arranged for Abbess Jiuli and Jian Qiye to capture Leisurely Daoist and imprisoned him with his thirty-six disciples.
• Jia Huan had Twin Whips and Scholar kill several disciples to make Leisurely Daoist answer questions about Xue’s trip to Northern Liang.
• Leisurely Daoist confessed that he had told Xue to eat the brains of more than a thousand children to restore his manhood and had abducted girls for him.
• Leisurely Daoist’s disciples named victims and their locations, and he revealed that the children’s remains were hidden in a pond at Xue’s residence.
• Leisurely Daoist disclosed Xue’s connection to Meiniang’s family and offered to capture Xue if Jia Huan released him.

Jia Huan forced Chen Wenfan to move six thousand soldiers out of the way, then led eighteen hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards in a midnight assault on Xue Fu’s barracks. After breaking through the camp’s resistance, Jia Huan reached Xue Fu’s residence and began cutting down the eunuch’s personal guards.

• Jia Huan ordered Chen Wenfan to transfer six thousand soldiers and draw a map of the barracks, while warning him not to bring troops to assist.
• Jia Huan gathered his trusted men and ordered them to storm the barracks at midnight with eighteen hundred guards.
• After learning that Embroidered Uniform Guards were advancing, Xue Fu ordered his forces to treat them as bandits and hold them off.
• Jia Huan broke the first line of soldiers with his saber, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards forced their way into the barracks as the generals offered only token resistance.
• Jia Huan reached Xue Fu’s residence and ordered his men to kill anyone who stood in their way, then charged into the eunuch’s personal guards.

Jia Huan captured the Shuzhong Garrison Eunuch and uncovered evidence of his atrocities, then secretly questioned him before his execution. Xue Fu revealed that the Beiliang Governor-General had raped and murdered the Prince of Liang’s consort, leaving Jia Huan with explosive new intelligence.

• Jia Huan arrested Xue Fu, ordered the garrison residence searched, and discovered more than a thousand children’s skeletons in its pond.
• Jia Huan returned to the Capital with signed confessions and evidence, while Wang Ziteng failed to find grounds to accuse him of misconduct.
• Before Xue Fu’s execution, Jia Huan questioned him about his secret meeting with the Beiliang Governor-General six months earlier.
• Xue Fu revealed that an attendant from the Prince of Liang’s Mansion had accused the Beiliang Governor-General of raping and murdering the prince’s consort, and that Xue Fu had accepted two hundred thousand taels to keep quiet.
• Jia Huan left the prison with the new intelligence and told Scholar and Twin Whips that he had uncovered a major lead.

Jia Huan executed corrupt officials, gained a breakthrough in cultivation, and received a promotion to four python stripes. He then prepared to lead his men south to Jinling for the martial arts tournament and related intelligence operations.

• Jia Huan executed Xue Fu and the other prisoners in the Imperial Prison, then ordered Twin Whips to investigate Xue Fu’s former followers.
• Twin Whips brought in two eunuchs with signed confessions, and Jia Huan executed them, reaching the fifth level of the Profound Insight Realm.
• The Hunchbacked Old Man from Misty Rain Tower asked Jia Huan to set out, and Jia Huan assured him he would act after hearing about the promised reward.
• Lord Xie and Commissioner Ouyang delivered the emperor’s decree promoting Jia Huan, who accepted the four-python-stripe uniform.
• Jia Huan ordered his men to head south, told Scholar to withdraw the Northern Liang Spies and watch the Demon Sect, then led his unit from the Capital toward Jinling.

Jia Huan returned to the Lin Residence in Jinling, where he reunited with Concubine Zhao and learned that the Jiangnan Martial Arts Tournament on Peach Blossom Island was approaching. After handling Guard Station business and spending an intimate afternoon with Wang Xifeng and Ping'er, he took Lin Daiyu out for a night on the Qinhuai River, leaving her flustered by his increasingly outrageous advances.

• Jia Huan reunited with Concubine Zhao, accepted the thanks of her Misty Rain Tower escorts, and met Wang Xifeng, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Xue Baoqin, Shi Xiangyun, and Li Wan at the Lin Residence.
• Jia Huan reviewed and sealed the Jiangnan Guard Station documents for the Peach Blossom Island Martial Arts Tournament, while Thousand-Household Commander Zhuge assured him that the factions were keeping the peace.
• Wang Xifeng took Jia Huan to investigate trouble affecting their Jiangnan businesses, and she and Ping'er returned to the Lin Residence with him at dusk.
• Jia Huan took Lin Daiyu out as promised, and she asked to attend the Peach Blossom Island gathering with him.
• Jia Huan and Lin Daiyu wandered through Jinling, boarded a pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River, and shared an intimate night before he made another indecent suggestion that left her embarrassed and conflicted.

At Peach Blossom Island, the Central Plains’ top young martial artists faced foreign challengers, but Tuoba Li overwhelmed them and declared Northern Mang martial arts superior. As he surveyed the defeated crowd, an unseen speaker ordered him to shut up.

• The sect leaders discussed the Central Plains’ defeats and called on Zhang Wuya, Wufa, and An Xuan'er to defend its honor while Jia had not yet arrived.
• Concubine Zhao, Wang Xifeng, Lin Daiyu, and the other women watched from the eastern pavilion as Tuoba Li, Sute Wu, and Hosokawa challenged the Central Plains.
• An Xuan'er defeated Hosokawa, Zhang Wuya was carried away by Wudang’s leader, and Wufa left Sute Wu gravely wounded, giving the Central Plains two victories out of three.
• Tuoba Li revealed that he had reached the upper stage of the second level of the Profound Insight Realm, then defeated Wufa and An Xuan'er.
• Tuoba Li taunted the martial artists and proclaimed that Great Qian would one day honor Northern Mang martial arts, until a chilling voice told him to shut up.

Zhelan Wudi defeated the court eunuch Zhongbao with one punch, leaving the Great Qian martial artists stunned. When Jia Huan arrived at the tournament, Zhelan tried to provoke him into a fight, but the Hunchbacked Old Man stepped in to speak with him.

• Zhongbao forced Tuoba Li to concede, then accepted Zhelan Wudi’s challenge and was sent flying by a single punch.
• Zhelan Wudi declared that Zhongbao would have died if he were not from the Inner Court, and the assembled martial artists fell silent before his strength.
• Lin Daiyu and the other women worried when they spotted Jia Huan approaching the Martial Platform.
• Zhelan Wudi taunted Jia Huan, warning that a defeat would ruin his prestige while urging him to withdraw.
• The Hunchbacked Old Man stopped Jia Huan and respectfully asked to speak with him.

Jia Huan arrived at the Peach Blossom Island martial tournament and effortlessly killed Zhelan Wudi with a single slap, then slaughtered Grasslands fighters who tried to power up three more prodigies. After asserting the Qi'an Office's authority, he ordered his subordinates to collect the Misty Rain Tower's promised payment and hunt Demon Sect members before heading north.

• Jia Huan ignored the Hunchbacked Old Man's request to discuss tournament matters and accepted Zhelan Wudi's challenge.
• Jia Huan killed Zhelan Wudi with one slap, using no inner qi, and ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to remove and burn the corpse.
• Grasslands experts challenged Jia Huan again and began a secret power-transmission ritual for three young prodigies.
• Jia Huan drew his Embroidered Spring Saber and killed eleven Grasslands experts, including the elders transmitting power, in less than ten breaths.
• Jia Huan declared that the Qi'an Office's Guard Station would supervise the tournament and threatened to destroy any sect that defied the court's laws.
• Jia Huan ordered Twin Whips to collect the Misty Rain Tower's promised payment and Scholar to capture Demon Sect evildoers, then said they would head north after two days.

After Jia Huan agreed to take An Xuan'er into his household, Misty Rain Tower offered him intelligence about a corrupt case in Huguang as his reward. He executed captured Demon Sect criminals, gained a new martial art, and set out with his subordinates to investigate the Huguang Governor.

• Jia Huan agreed to let An Xuan'er settle in his household and study martial arts under him.
• The Hunchbacked Old Man told Jia Huan that the Blood Bone Sect had murdered Registrar Yan and his family, and that the sect leader served the Huguang Governor’s son-in-law, the Jindong Tusi Pacification Commissioner.
• After reviewing the captured Demon Sect criminals’ confessions, Jia Huan killed them and gained the quasi-supreme martial art Eighteen-Petal Peach Blossom.
• Jia Huan told Scholar, Twin Whips, and the others that they would go to Huguang to investigate a case involving the governor, then ordered them to set out immediately.

Jia Huan used a fragment of a secret claw manual to lure the Blood Bone Old Man into a trap, capture him, and interrogate him about Registrar Yan’s murder. The old man revealed that Tan Sheng, the governor’s son-in-law, ordered the killings to conceal a secret arms depot in the mountain forests.

• Jia Huan asked the Misty Rain Tower steward to help lure out the Blood Bone Old Man and wrote half of the Nine Yin White Bone Claw manual as bait.
• After three days, the Blood Bone Old Man arrived at the Misty Rain Tower to bargain for the manual, and Jia Huan pursued and defeated him with a saber strike.
• Jia Huan’s allies subdued the Blood Bone Sect disciples while Jia Huan dragged the injured Blood Bone Old Man into a secret chamber.
• Under interrogation, the Blood Bone Old Man confessed that his sect killed Registrar Yan and his family of seven with Blood Bone Needles and staged their deaths as hangings.
• The Blood Bone Old Man named Tan Sheng, Tusi Pacification Commissioner of Jindong, as the man who ordered the killings because Yan was extorting him.
• The Blood Bone Old Man revealed that Tan secretly manufactured weapons and armor in a mountain arms depot and was the Huguang Governor’s son-in-law.

Jia Huan captured Tan Sheng after surrounding the Jindong Pacification Commissioner's Office, uncovering his plan to rebel and Governor Chen's role in covering for him. After the Embroidered Uniform Guard seized Tan Sheng's weapons and Gu Insects, Jia Huan set out for Wuchang to arrest Huguang's provincial governor.

• Blood Bone Old Man confessed that Tan Sheng had ordered the Registrar Yan family's murder after the registrar blackmailed him over his secret arms production.
• Tan Sheng tried to flee into Mist Mountain when the Embroidered Uniform Guard surrounded his compound, but Jia Huan stopped him and captured him.
• Tan Sheng revealed his ambition to seize the Southwest and challenge the dynasty, while Blood Bone Old Man implicated Governor Chen in protecting Tan Sheng's operations.
• Scholar and Twin Whips returned with seized armor, crossbows, weapons, treasure, mining documents, and a chest of labeled Gu Insects.
• Jia Huan ordered his men to store the Gu Insects in the Qi'an Office treasury and left for Wuchang to arrest Huguang's provincial governor.

Jia Huan arrested Governor Chen for shielding his treasonous son-in-law, then received an imperial order to execute the principal offenders and was promoted to Fifth Python Stripe. He prepared to head north to confront the Beiliang Governor-General and uncover evidence against Wang Ziteng.

• Jia Huan arrested Governor Chen after securing his confession and ordered his men to avoid relay stations on their journey toward Liangzhou.
• Jia Huan presented the evidence against Governor Chen to Associate Commissioner Xie and Commissioner Ouyang upon reaching the Capital.
• The court ordered the execution of the principal offenders, and Jia Huan killed more than twenty of them at the Imperial Prison.
• Jia Huan received a promotion to Thousand-Household Commander and a new Red Flying Fish Uniform bearing the Fifth Python Stripe.
• Jia Huan resolved to travel north and bring down the Beiliang Governor-General to obtain evidence of Wang Ziteng's crimes.

After discovering that the Princess Consort of Liang was supposedly dead, Jia Huan infiltrated the Prince of Liang’s Mansion and uncovered two impostors wearing skin masks. Their testimony linked the governor-general to the couple’s deaths and pointed Jia Huan toward surviving witnesses in the Western Regions.

• Water Skimmer reported seeing the Princess Consort of Liang alive, though Jia Huan knew she had died half a year earlier.
• Jia Huan checked the Imperial Clan Court’s records and learned the real princess consort had a mole on her left arm and a protruding tailbone.
• Jia Huan entered the Prince of Liang’s Mansion at night, found that the woman lacked both identifying marks, and forced her and the Prince to reveal their skin masks.
• Under interrogation, the impostors said the Beiliang Governor-General had ordered them to impersonate the dead couple and that a confidant used the mansion to send messages.
• Jia Huan learned that a surviving Skin-Painting Master and an attendant had fled to the Western Regions, and decided to search for the master beyond Jade Gate Pass.

Wang Ziteng learned that Jia Huan was investigating in Liangzhou and urgently warned Wei Yuan, while Jia Huan found a surviving Skin-Painting Master in the Western Regions. The witness implicated Wei Yuan in the Prince of Liang and his wife’s murder and revealed that a palace eunuch had escaped, prompting Jia Huan to enlist the Misty Rain Tower to find him.

• Wang Ziteng persuaded Dugu Ao to check Jia Huan’s whereabouts, then learned he had gone to Liangzhou and sent an urgent warning to Wei Yuan.
• Jia Huan asked the Misty Rain Tower’s Western Regions branch to find the surviving Skin-Painting Master and located him after two days.
• The Skin-Painting Master testified that he had disguised the corpses of the Prince of Liang and his wife and described Wei Yuan’s men searching for a fleeing eunuch.
• The Skin-Painting Master signed his statement, refused Jia Huan’s payment, and offered to serve him in exchange for vengeance for his junior brothers.
• Jia Huan gave the Misty Rain Tower seven martial arts manuals and urged it to search the Western Regions for the eunuch, whom the steward vowed to find.

Wei Yuan learned that Jia Huan had arrived in Liangzhou to investigate military payroll embezzlement and, fearing exposure, ordered his forces to abandon the frontier to pressure the court into recalling Jia. He left the story preparing urgent petitions and a campaign to blame Jia, while the pass stood on the brink of being left undefended.

• Wei Yuan received a warning from Wang Ziteng that Jia Huan had come to Liangzhou, and summoned his confidants to discuss the threat.
• Wei Yuan’s men reported that the two impostors had disappeared, convincing him that they had been exposed.
• Wei Yuan rejected his advisers’ objections and ordered the garrison to abandon the frontier that night.
• Wei Yuan planned to blame Jia Huan’s investigation for the soldiers’ unrest and force the court to recall him with a command token.
• Wei Yuan ordered his officers to explain the withdrawal to the troops and wrote urgent letters while concealing his motives from Wang Ziteng.

After the Tatars broke through the three passes, the court blamed Jia Huan for the border crisis and ordered him back to the Capital while sending reinforcements north. Wang Ziteng saw Jia Huan’s forced recall as a chance to ruin him, while the Southern Office feared Wei Yuan would escape blame.

• The Tatars swept through the three abandoned passes, leaving Qi Shanguo and Wei Long to defend the frontier with forty thousand troops as urgent reports reached the Capital.
• Emperor Jingde and the ministers blamed Jia Huan’s investigation of stolen military pay for the mutiny, then issued five royal Command Tokens to send the Three Garrisons north, recall Jia Huan, and order Wei Yuan to hold the passes.
• Commissioner Ouyang argued that Jia Huan had been framed, but Emperor Jingde still ordered the Southern Office to dispatch a recall notice.
• Commissioner Ouyang and Associate Commissioner Xie feared Jia Huan would be punished and that Wei Yuan’s actions would leave Liangzhou exposed.
• Wang Ziteng celebrated Jia Huan’s impending disgrace and planned to use the border disaster against him, while his adviser worried the war could worsen.

Jia Huan received an imperial order to return to the Capital before finishing his investigation, so he faked his death to keep pursuing Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan believed Jia Huan and two of his subordinates had been killed and rejoiced, unaware that Jia Huan remained alive.

• Jia Huan learned that the emperor had ordered him back to the Capital and decided to fake his death rather than abandon his investigation into Wei Yuan.
• Jia Huan arranged for three criminals disguised as him and his subordinates to be killed, then had their bodies sent toward the Capital.
• Wei Yuan heard that Jia Huan, Yan, and Zhang had died and ordered a subordinate to examine their bodies for signs of disguise.
• The subordinate reported that the bodies had no neck scars and that Zhang's chin mole matched, convincing Wei Yuan that the men were dead.
• Wei Yuan celebrated Jia Huan's supposed death and turned his attention to fighting the Tatar cavalry and seeking leniency from the Retired Emperor.

After news arrived that Jia Huan had died in the Western Regions, Wang Ziteng, Madam Wang, and Jia Baoyu celebrated and discussed who could inherit the dead commander’s title. Jia Zheng appeared stricken with grief, while Wang Ziteng urged the family to wait until after the funeral before acting against Jia Huan’s allies.

• Officials in the capital received reports that Jia Huan had died in the Western Regions, and the Southern Commandant Office struggled to believe the news.
• Wang Ziteng told Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu that Jia Huan was dead, and both celebrated the news with delight.
• Madam Wang asked Wang Ziteng to punish Zhao and Xifeng after the funeral, but he warned her to wait until the Embroidered Uniform Guard Office’s anger had passed.
• Wang Ziteng explained that Jia Huan’s offspring could inherit a noble title, and suggested Jia Baoyu might receive one because Jia Huan had no son.
• Jia Baoyu tried to rehearse mourning for Jia Huan but repeatedly burst into laughter, while Wang Ziteng left and encountered a grief-stricken Jia Zheng.

Jia Huan received evidence that Wei Yuan murdered the Prince of Liang and Princess Consort and secretly aided the enemy, but the Tatar invasion made arresting him too dangerous. To keep Wei Yuan from emerging as a celebrated hero after the war, Jia Huan decided to seize the Northern Mang prince despite the ten thousand heavy cavalry guarding him.

• Jia Huan learned that the Tatars had overrun the pass, devastated Northern Liang, and faced a counterattack led by Wei Yuan.
• Scholar brought the old eunuch, who identified Wei Yuan as the murderer of the Prince of Liang and Princess Consort and revealed evidence of his treasonous trade with the Grasslands.
• Jia Huan and his followers realized arresting Wei Yuan during the invasion could destroy the border army’s morale and turn Jia Huan into a scapegoat.
• After learning that a Northern Mang prince was stationed behind the Tatar forces with ten thousand heavy cavalry, Jia Huan decided to abduct him and force the Tatars to withdraw.
• Jia Huan ordered his men to remain behind and obtain a military map while Scholar and Twin Whips feared he would not survive the mission.

Jia Huan fought his way into the Northern Mang camp and captured Prince Ashina, escaping the pursuing Tatar army despite being gravely wounded. He reunited with his nine followers near Jade Gate Pass and ordered them to summon Deputy Commander Qi Shanguo.

• Jia Huan rode north from Jade Gate Pass, killing Tatar cavalry along the way and changing horses to preserve his strength.
• Jia Huan infiltrated the Northern Mang camp, then fought through its elite soldiers and endured a storm of crossbow bolts.
• Jia Huan spotted Prince Ashina, broke through the guards, and captured him before fleeing the camp with the prince.
• Jia Huan's nine followers, who had waited a day and night, met him on the steppe and helped him dismount.
• Jia Huan took a medicinal pill and ordered his followers to bring Deputy Commander Qi Shanguo and his men immediately.

Jia Huan survived his solo raid on the Tatar camp and captured Northern Mang's third prince, Ashina Silu, giving Qi Shanguo leverage to negotiate the Tatars' withdrawal. Wei Yuan took credit for their retreat while Jia's secret letter revealed his survival and a world-shaking achievement to Commissioner Ouyang in the Divine Capital.

• Jia Huan revealed himself to Qi Shanguo, who learned that Jia had captured Ashina Silu by attacking a camp of more than ten thousand soldiers alone.
• Qi Shanguo agreed to negotiate with the Tatars over Ashina Silu and keep Jia's capture secret for now.
• The Tatars ordered their eighty thousand cavalry in Liangzhou to withdraw, and Wei Yuan claimed credit for driving them away.
• Wei Yuan told his advisers to petition the court for permission to march beyond the pass and fight the Tatars.
• Commissioner Ouyang received Jia Huan's secret letter, recognized the mark from his waist token, and rejoiced at his survival and achievement.