Recaps

Wei Xun shielded Baozhu from poisoned weapons at Pang Liangji’s wedding, and Baozhu uncovered how the assassins had hidden in a well. The attack ended with Pang Liangji claiming his bride was an impostor, while Wei Xun summoned the sect to Lingbao Inn.

• Wei Xun and Huo Qilang collapsed the Blue Tent to protect the newlyweds, and Wei Xun took poisoned darts in his back while shielding Baozhu.
• Huo Qilang smothered the poisonous fog, and Baozhu found two corpses in a well that revealed how the assassins had infiltrated the Pang residence.
• Pang Liangji insisted that the bride was not A Ran, though the Xiao Family attendants and other witnesses recognized her as Miss Xiao.
• Wei Xun told Huo Qilang to keep the strange bride alive as a possible hostage and arranged to leave with Baozhu for Lingbao Inn.
• Wei Xun gave Thirteenth Son a Sect Gathering Order and summoned the sect to meet him at Lingbao Inn.

Wei Xun expelled the poison from his wounds while Baozhu worried over him, and they returned to the inn, where Qiu Ren treated his back. Baozhu insisted Wei Xun rest for two or three days, while he resented the order and Qiu Ren left them alone.

• Wei Xun forced seven poisoned darts from his back and expelled most of the poison as Baozhu watched anxiously.
• Wei Xun apologized to Baozhu for dragging her into danger, and she recalled how she had been unable to reach her weapons during the attack.
• Wei Xun told Baozhu that Qiu Ren and other members of the Master's School would visit, then bought breakfast after Baozhu went out without money.
• At the inn, Qiu Ren and Fifth greeted Wei Xun as their Eldest Senior Brother, and Qiu Ren stitched Wei Xun's wounds while Baozhu waited outside.
• Baozhu questioned Qiu Ren about Wei Xun's treatment, learned he must avoid using true qi for two or three days, and ordered him to rest.

Wei Xun’s fellow disciples gathered at the Peach Blossom Spring Inn, where they discussed his changed behavior and wagered over whether he had lost his cultivated foundation. Baozhu saw the gathering of dangerous martial artists, while Yang Xingjian realized they were surrounded and urged her to summon the authorities.

• Xu Baozhen, Tuoba Sanniang, Qiu Ren, Luo Toutuo, and Huo Qilang gathered at the inn and traded stories about Wei Xun and his feud with Tuoba Sanniang.
• Huo Qilang proposed a wager on whether Wei Xun’s cultivated foundation remained intact, and the disciples placed bets while Xu Baozhen wagered that Wei Xun was declining.
• The disciples sealed the inn, subdued its staff and guests, and left Baozhu’s and Yang Xingjian’s rooms untouched before summoning Wei Xun.
• Baozhu saw Wei Xun and the assembled disciples in the hall and realized that the real martial world was far removed from her heroic fantasies.
• Yang Xingjian pulled Baozhu into his room and urged her to alert the authorities, but Baozhu told him it was too late because they were already on the martial artists’ side.

Wei Xun questioned his fellow disciples about why they had come to Pang Liangji’s wedding, and they revealed that rumors about Chen Shigu’s dying words had made life in Chang’an difficult. The disciples recalled how they had dismissed Chen Shigu’s claim about a relic that could overthrow the Great Tang, but they still did not know what it was or where it had gone.

• Wei Xun and the others surrendered their weapons before he questioned them about their presence at Pang Liangji’s wedding.
• Xu Baozhen explained that he had abandoned his establishment on Mount Hua and warned that an omen suggested the emperor might soon die.
• Tuoba Sanniang and Qiu Ren said rumors about Chen Shigu’s dying words had driven them to seek new fortunes beyond Chang’an.
• Huo Qilang named the rumored relic that could overthrow the Great Tang, and Luo Toutuo joked that the disciples had too few relatives for the court to punish.
• The disciples remembered refusing to take Chen Shigu’s mysterious relic, then learned that Xu Baozhen had stabbed their master’s corpse through the heart before burying him.

The Seven Sunset Techniques disciples argued over who had sabotaged Pang Liangji’s wedding before Wei Xun concluded that outsiders had targeted Pang Liangji to learn the location of Chen Shigu’s belongings. After the others left to act, Pang Liangji came to the inn drunk and told Baozhu how Wei Xun had defeated him when he first joined Chen Shigu’s school.

• Xu Baozhen, Tuoba Sanniang, Luo Toutuo, Qiu Ren, and Huo Qilang traded accusations over the wedding sabotage and the clues each had noticed.
• Wei Xun argued that the hidden enemy had targeted Pang Liangji as the school’s weakest link and urged the disciples to retaliate and recover the bride.
• Tuoba Sanniang revealed that her people were guarding the bride, while Huo Qilang hurried back to the Pang Residence and Luo Toutuo left to wait for the enemy to be found.
• Baozhu woke and found Pang Liangji drinking alone at the inn after fleeing his family’s attempt to force him into the bridal chamber with the impostor.
• Pang Liangji told Baozhu that Wei Xun had beaten him for four hours in an entrance test, even with his arms bound.

Pang Liangji told Baozhu how he had secretly taught Wei Xun to read medical books, leading Chen Shigu to cripple and expel him. Baozhu promised to find Pang Liangji’s missing bride and prepared to investigate, while insisting that the poisoned Wei Xun stay behind.

• Pang Liangji explained that he had helped Wei Xun read medical texts while Wei Xun searched for a cure, and that Chen Shigu later crippled him when Wei Xun was away.
• Pang Liangji admitted that being expelled had freed him from his obsession with martial arts, and Baozhu offered to help find A Ran.
• Baozhu ordered Pang Liangji to obtain men’s clothes, both families’ genealogy records, and a bow case before dawn.
• The Setting Sun Courtyard members shared their findings about the wedding ambush, the poisoned weapons, and the masked false bride, while Qiu Ren reported that Wei Xun needed days to recover.
• Baozhu appeared in altered wedding-attendant clothes with her strung bow, and Wei Xun welcomed her help until she told him to remain at the inn and recover.

Baozhu confronted Wei Xun about his illness and persuaded him to rest while she investigated the bride’s abduction. Before leaving, she gave him the dagger she named Rhinoceros Illumination and started teaching him calligraphy, leaving him flustered and wondering whether to obey her homework order.

• Baozhu refused to believe Wei Xun’s claims that he was well and warned she would find another escort if he kept deceiving her.
• Baozhu explained how her mother’s death left her and her younger brother without protection, and Wei Xun admitted his illness was chronic but promised he had enough time to take her to Youzhou.
• Baozhu told Wei Xun to rest for two days while she investigated the case, and he lent her his dagger, which she named Rhinoceros Illumination.
• Baozhu taught Wei Xun how to hold a brush, and he broke one before she guided his hand through the correct grip.
• Baozhu ordered Wei Xun to copy a line of poetry a hundred times and threatened him with a Discipline Ruler, while Wei Xun stayed at his desk, flustered and amused by the choice between obeying and disobeying.

Baozhu led the Setting Sun Courtyard toward Jade City to investigate the bride-switching case while Wei Xun stayed behind, and she revealed her skill by shooting a mysterious giant bird near a burial mound. After Pang Liangji arrived with attendants, Baozhu sent the group onward and assigned Luo Toutuo to protect him as he searched the wasteland.

• Baozhu announced that Wei Xun was practicing calligraphy and claimed she was seventy or eighty percent certain who had switched the bride, then set out for Jade City with Huo Qilang and the others.
• Baozhu questioned Huo Qilang about the wedding journey and learned that the bride might already have been an impostor when she left the Xiao Family.
• A strange wind rose near a burial mound, and Baozhu shot a large, unidentified bird that fled wounded into a peach grove.
• Pang Liangji arrived with more than twenty attendants and offered to search the wasteland while Baozhu and the others continued toward Jade City.
• Baozhu warned the Setting Sun Courtyard to leave someone with Pang Liangji, and Luo Toutuo volunteered to protect him.

Baozhu investigated Xiao Ran’s disappearance at the Xiao Residence, where she exposed Xiao Shilian’s greed and questioned Xiao Ren about her sister’s remarriage. The party found Xiao Ran’s locked, windowless room and began investigating the drugged wine prepared for the wedding.

• Tuoba Sanniang rode off to inspect the Pang Residence, so Baozhu led the others to the Xiao Residence.
• Baozhu confronted Xiao Shilian over selling his daughter and mocked his family’s declining status until he collapsed.
• Xiao Ren introduced herself as Xiao Ran’s elder sister and said she had managed the wedding and household affairs.
• Xiao Ren said Xiao Ran had returned home after completing her mourning period and had no contact with the Lu Family.
• Xiao Ren showed the party Xiao Ran’s locked, windowless room and admitted the family had discussed drugging the wedding wine.
• Qiu Ren went with a servant to inspect where the wine was kept, while Huo Qilang checked Xiao Ran’s room for danger before letting Baozhu enter.

Baozhu searched Xiao Ran’s locked bedchamber and found a poem suggesting Xiao Ran might not have wanted to marry Pang Liangji. A booklet discovered on the roof alarmed Baozhu, who hurried to confront the Xiao Family’s leaders.

• Baozhu and Huo Qilang searched Xiao Ran’s bedchamber and learned that Xiao Shilian had confined her there after she returned to her natal home.
• Baozhu found a verse in Xiao Ran’s dressing case that suggested she resented her family for arranging her marriage to Pang Liangji, and she promised not to force her back if she had fled willingly.
• Baozhu asked Xu Baozhen about his imperial robes, but he refused to answer her questions about his connection to the emperor.
• Huo Qilang found two iron rods and an oiled-paper booklet on the roof; after reading it, Baozhu said it could destroy an entire household and rushed to speak privately with Xiao Ren and Xiao Shilian.
• Xu Baozhen mocked Huo Qilang for serving Baozhu, but Huo Qilang said she enjoyed spending time with pretty women.

Baozhu discovered a forbidden prophecy book hidden at the Xiao Residence and questioned Xiao Ren about Xiao Ran’s unwanted marriage and disappearance. She and the Setting Sun Courtyard disciples followed clues toward the Pang Residence, where a suspicious gathering of martial artists awaited them.

• Baozhu showed the Apocryphal Prophecy Book to Xiao Shilian and demanded that Xiao Ren reveal everything she knew about the household.
• Xiao Ren explained that Xiao Ran seemed unwilling to marry Pang Liangji and recalled that the Pang Family’s female wedding attendant had disappeared before the bride left her room.
• Baozhu left Qiu Ren at the Xiao Residence to investigate its servants, then followed the bridal carriage’s route with Huo Qilang and the others.
• Baozhu found a huge gray-black feather near the Turbid River, and Huo Qilang described the legend of the tomb-dwelling Rakshasa Bird.
• Baozhu and her companions encountered hundreds of martial artists heading to the Pang Residence after Pang Liangji supposedly summoned them to announce something momentous.
• Xu Baozhen suspected someone else had called the gathering and rode ahead to investigate, leaving Baozhu displeased.

Baozhu investigated the bride’s disappearance and uncovered evidence implicating the Lu Family in a plot against the Xiao and Pang Families. Her search of Xiao Ran’s bedchamber ended with a blood-written verse and a Gilt Hairpin hidden beneath the bed.

• Baozhu questioned Huo Qilang about the Disguise Art, and Tuoba Sanniang revealed that the false bride said Xiao Ran was already missing when he entered the bridal chamber.
• Tuoba Sanniang found blue-dyed feathers beneath a crow’s wings, and Baozhu concluded that two separate groups were targeting the wedding for different reasons.
• Steward Pang reported that the search for Apocryphal Prophecy Books had succeeded, and Baozhu returned to the Xiao Family with him to investigate.
• Xiao Ren presented Xiao Ran’s former maid, who confessed that the Lu Family had sent a secret letter to Xiao Ran and that Xiao Ran had insisted on dressing alone on her wedding day.
• Qiu Ren discovered that datura had been added to the Pang Family’s drugged wine, while Baozhu continued searching for clues and invited Huo Qilang to join her; Huo Qilang refused.
• Huo Qilang dragged Xiao Ran’s bed away from the wall, revealing signs that someone had hidden beneath it, a blood-written verse, and a Gilt Hairpin.

Baozhu deduced that Xiao Ran had escaped her wedding to avoid a plot by the Lu Family, then led Huo Qilang and Xu Baozhen to confront Lu Tingfang and demand Xiao Ran’s release. The Lu Family’s matriarch revealed that Xiao Ran was being kept as revenge for her son’s death, leaving Baozhu fearing Xiao Ran was in immediate danger.

• Baozhu found a death poem and tear marks beneath Xiao Ran’s bed and concluded that Xiao Ran had hidden there before escaping her wedding herself.
• Steward Pang confirmed that Xiao Ran had kept a childhood copper hairpin from Pang Liangji, and Baozhu realized the two had loved each other.
• Baozhu recruited Huo Qilang and Xu Baozhen, then led them to the Lu Residence to confront Lu Tingfang about Xiao Ran and the family’s plot.
• Baozhu and her companions fought through the Lu guards, and Baozhu threatened Lu Tingfang with exposure unless he handed over Xiao Ran.
• Lu Tingfang’s wife accused Xiao Ran and Pang Liangji of bringing about her son’s death and declared that Xiao Ran would never be allowed to leave the Lu Family alive.

Baozhu and the Seven Sunset Techniques rescued Xiao Ran from Lu Dan’s tomb, where Pang Liangji found her buried alive. They rode to the Pang Residence to confront the martial artists gathered there, and Baozhu arrived carrying Chen Shigu’s Fish-Intestine Sword while Wei Xun remained absent.

• Baozhu realized Lu Tingfang had buried Xiao Ran with her former husband, Lu Dan, and Xu Baozhen dragged a servant along to guide them to the grave.
• Luo Toutuo blasted open Lu Dan’s tomb and Pang Liangji carried out the unconscious Xiao Ran, whom he had found after noticing fresh soil by the entrance.
• Luo Toutuo found Baozhu’s marked arrow inside the coffin beside Lu Dan’s corpse, and Baozhu asked him to have Master deal with the uncanny arrow.
• Qiu Ren stabilized Xiao Ran and told the others that more than a thousand martial artists were surrounding the Pang Residence and demanding action.
• Baozhu refused to return to the inn and rode with the Seven Sunset Techniques toward Jade City to confront those gathered at the Pang Residence.
• Baozhu arrived at the Pang Residence with the Seven Sunset Techniques, carrying Chen Shigu’s Fish-Intestine Sword, while Wei Xun was nowhere to be seen.

At Pang Liangji’s wedding, the Rakshasa Bird sect tried to turn the martial community against the Setting Sun Courtyard, but Baozhu fought them off with her archery. She returned victorious after bringing down their leader, and the onlookers recognized her prowess.

• Pang Liangji stayed with the Setting Sun Courtyard disciples as the Rakshasa Bird sect accused them of treason and demanded Chen Shigu’s relic.
• Xu Baozhen exposed one infiltrator, and Tuoba Sanniang killed him before the Rakshasa Birds released smoke and took to the sky on mechanical gliders.
• Baozhu rode through the crowd and shot down the airborne Rakshasa Birds, while the Setting Sun Courtyard disciples pursued those who fell.
• The Rakshasa Bird leader sent two subordinates to attack Baozhu with poisoned darts, but she evaded them with Hiding by the Stirrup and continued firing.
• Baozhu took three Gilt Armor-Piercing Arrows from above the Pang Residence gate and shot down the fleeing leader.
• The crowd cheered Baozhu’s victory, and Tuoba Sanniang and the other disciples acknowledged her strength.

Baozhu joined the Setting Sun Courtyard at Pang Liangji and Xiao Ran’s wedding, where she explained why she planned to become a Daoist Priestess and revealed her innocent misunderstanding about how children were conceived. Tuoba Sanniang hinted that Wei Xun had slipped away, and Baozhu spotted a blue-green figure vaulting over the wall.

• The Setting Sun Courtyard disciples discussed giving Pang Liangji and Xiao Ran a wedding gift by destroying the sect that had buried Xiao Ran alive.
• Pang Liangji and Xiao Ran repeated their wedding rites and drank the Hejin Wine before the gathered heroes.
• Thirteenth Son suggested that Master had expelled Sixth Senior Brother because he had a family, and Huo Qilang offered to attend Baozhu’s future wedding.
• Baozhu said she would become a Daoist Priestess to avoid the dangers of childbirth, then revealed she did not know how children were conceived.
• Tuoba Sanniang hinted that Wei Xun was like a wild lynx, prompting Baozhu to rise as a blue-green figure vaulted over the wall.

Baozhu returned to the inn to check on Wei Xun, who had secretly fled the Setting Sun Courtyard and pretended to be asleep. She discovered his deception but chose not to expose him, leaving him alone with his disappointed hopes.

• Baozhu borrowed a horse and rode to the inn while Thirteenth Son followed, and Tuoba Sanniang eventually paid her wager instead of drugging Wei Xun.
• Wei Xun escaped the Setting Sun Courtyard, abandoned his stolen horse, and raced to the inn ahead of Baozhu.
• Wei Xun hid beneath the quilt and hoped Baozhu would comfort him, while she quietly checked on him and stopped herself from touching his cheek.
• Baozhu noticed Wei Xun's unfinished calligraphy and wrote “No arrow misses. No grudge survives the night” before leaving Rhinoceros Illumination on the page.
• Baozhu realized Wei Xun had tricked her by pretending to be asleep, but she decided to let him keep up the act.
• Wei Xun heard Baozhu leave and curled up in disappointment.

Baozhu learned that Yang Xingjian had arranged Lu Songzhi’s assassination after Lu manipulated the physicians assigned to treat her, while Wei Xun explained how the harsh medicine and frightened palace staff had left her unattended. The reason for Baozhu’s hurried burial remained unresolved, and she ended by asking Wei Xun how he had saved her.

• Wei Xun kept Baozhu’s handwritten note, while he spent the night driving away young wandering heroes who had gathered to see her.
• Baozhu confirmed that Chen Shigu’s disciples knew nothing about the mysterious object and decided she needed to keep Wei Xun close; she also proposed sending Huo Qi to serve her brother in Youzhou.
• Baozhu asked about Lu Songzhi, and Yang Xingjian confessed that he had hired an assassin to kill him on Prince Shao’s orders.
• Yang Xingjian showed Baozhu evidence that Zhou Mingzhi had prescribed a powerful emetic before her apparent death, and Wei Xun explained that she had likely died from dehydration after receiving no care.
• Baozhu realized that fear and the arrest of her attendants could have left her unattended, but she still could not explain her hurried burial or the talismans placed on her body.
• Yang Xingjian revealed that the assassin was Tuoba Sanniang, and Baozhu later asked Wei Xun how he had saved her; he joked that he had given her plenty of hot water.

Baozhu arranged for Huo Qilang to ride ahead to Youzhou with a coded letter telling her elder brother that she was alive, and recruited her to serve as his bodyguard. After Huo Qilang departed, she teased Wei Xun about spending more time with Baozhu, leaving him flustered and angry.

• Wei Xun learned from Yang Xingjian that Baozhu had raised her younger brother in Phoenix-Resting Hall after their mother died, and felt reassured that she could look after herself.
• Baozhu offered Huo Qilang gold to carry a letter and travel to Youzhou, then persuaded her to serve as her elder brother's bodyguard there.
• Huo Qilang accepted the job, and Baozhu wrote a coded letter to her elder brother using the alias Wang Ying and sealed it as a Carp Letter.
• Huo Qilang advised Wei Xun to focus on making Baozhu happy and comfort her when she feared the dark, but he angrily rejected her advice.

Baozhu prepared to leave Lingbao County as the Lu family’s strange disappearance and the legends surrounding the Setting Sun Courtyard spread through the Rivers and Lakes. The chapter ended with Baozhu grieving over her lasting nickname, the Donkey-Riding Lady, while a nursery rhyme about Pang Liangji’s wedding became popular.

• Baozhu refused Pang Liangji’s jewelry and maidservants but accepted clothing, while Xiao Ran promised to make Pang Liangji study after their marriage.
• Huo Qilang bought a horse, weapon, and travel supplies, then left east after discovering Wei Xun had spent the night playing backgammon with Baozhu.
• Wei Xun refused to help Baozhu arrange her hair and decided to burn her scented garment rather than let Thirteenth Son wear it or sell it.
• Tuoba Sanniang, Xu Baozhen, Qiu Ren, and Luo Toutuo filled a pit at the Lu family burial ground and wondered whether Baozhu had encountered a Rakshasa Bird in the sealed tomb.
• The Lu family vanished from Jade City, and Baozhu learned that people called her the Donkey-Riding Lady; she wept as Wei Xun, Thirteenth Son, and Yang Xingjian tried to comfort her.
• A tale about Young Master Pang’s true and false brides spread, and children sang a nursery rhyme about the wedding.

Baozhu and her companions survived an attack at a rural inn disguised as a murderous establishment, while she endured hunger, filth, and the nickname “Donkey-Riding Lady.” After Yang Xingjian proposed staying at Chan'guang Temple for its hot springs, Baozhu agreed to consider the journey there.

• Baozhu ate coarse, undercooked millet at the inn while Yang Xingjian served fermented black bean paste, and bandits fell into the room as Wei Xun and Thirteenth Son fought their way through the attackers.
• Wei Xun reheated the millet and explained that the inn’s sign had revealed its purpose, while Thirteenth Son teased Baozhu about attracting trouble and her nickname, “Donkey-Riding Lady.”
• The donkey stole millet from Baozhu’s bowl, and the group discussed Chen Shigu’s feared reputation and the strange sobriquet “Rouge-Mixed Tripe.”
• Yang Xingjian suggested they stay at Chan'guang Temple near Luoyang, where his former superior Wang Sui had become Abbot Tanlin.
• Baozhu questioned Yang Xingjian about Tanlin, then agreed to the temple plan after hearing that Chan'guang Temple was famous for its hot springs.

Baozhu and her companions traveled through famine-stricken territory toward Luoyang, where grain shortages and desperate refugees exposed the severity of the crisis. At the Great Chan'guang Temple, Baozhu witnessed monks exchanging rice for corpses and demanded an explanation from the temple officials.

• Wei Xun warned Baozhu to cover her silk robe and hide her wealth as they encountered starving refugees along the road.
• The party watched an armed grain convoy pass hungry people, and Wei Xun told Baozhu she could not save everyone.
• The party reached the Great Chan'guang Temple, where Guanchao gave two dou of rice to people who surrendered their relatives' corpses.
• Baozhu saw Guanchao wrap a naked young woman's corpse in his robe and carry it inside the temple.
• Yang Xingjian introduced Baozhu to the senior monks Guanshan and Guanyun, and Baozhu asked why the temple bought corpses with rice.

Yang Xingjian, Baozhu, and their companions toured Great Chan'guang Temple, where an uncanny mural and unusual practices raised their suspicions. As they approached Abbot Tanlin’s secluded hall, Wei Xun and his disciples smelled what seemed to be rotting corpses.

• Guanyun explained that the temple exchanged rice for the bodies of people who had starved, and Wei Xun questioned whether the dead might have been murdered for grain.
• Guanshan and Guanyun led the party through the temple’s murals and showed them the ancient osmanthus tree, which was budding unusually early.
• Baozhu was frightened by a lifelike painting of hungry ghosts, and the monks identified its painter as their former junior brother Wu Guancheng.
• A young monk announced that Tanlin was ready to receive visitors, and the party headed to his secluded Hall of Returning to Impermanence.
• Wei Xun and Thirteenth Son detected the smell of rotting corpses near the hall and became alert as they guarded Baozhu.

Yang Xingjian, Baozhu, Wei Xun, and Thirteenth Son visited Chan'guang Temple’s Hall of Returning to Impermanence, where Tanlin explained the temple’s corpse contemplations and its search for bodies to paint a new Nine Contemplations Painting. Guanchao revealed that the temple rationed rice against the flesh of the dead to discourage people from killing relatives, then escorted the guests to the Guest Hall as preparations for the Ullambana Assembly continued.

• Guanshan showed the party murals of a beautiful corpse and bare bones, and Baozhu noticed unsettling details in the painting.
• Yang Xingjian greeted Tanlin, while Wei Xun inspected the corpse in the Lime Pool and challenged Tanlin about the temple’s use of famine victims’ bodies.
• Tanlin explained the nine stages of corpse decay and said the body in the Lime Pool belonged to a monk who had donated it for contemplation.
• Tanlin agreed to divine Yang Xingjian’s and Baozhu’s fortunes, then remarked that Wei Xun was an orphan like Guancheng.
• Guanchao reported that one person had died during the temple’s rice alms, and explained that an important person in Luoyang had commissioned Tanlin to paint a new Nine Contemplations Painting.
• Guanchao asked to distribute more rice, but Tanlin explained that the temple matched rice rations to the edible flesh of corpses to prevent people from killing relatives, then discussed the Ullambana Assembly and sent Guanchao to escort the guests to the Guest Hall.

Baozhu and Wei Xun stayed at Chan'guang Temple, where they learned about the disgraced monk Guancheng and the temple's corpse desecrations. Wei Xun inspected Baozhu's room for hidden dangers before leaving her to bathe and rest.

• Baozhu asked Wei Xun to paint over the nude mural in the Hall of Returning to Impermanence, and he agreed to do it that night.
• The four guests enjoyed an elaborate vegetarian meal, and Miaozheng told them that Guancheng had left the temple to marry Wu Guier, who ran the sugar shop that made their osmanthus rock sugar.
• Wei Xun deduced that Guancheng had studied corpses for his paintings, and Miaozheng admitted that Guancheng had repeatedly desecrated corpses before returning to secular life.
• Miaozheng identified Guanchuan as the temple's Karmadana, who enforced discipline and usually guarded Abbot Tanlin.
• Wei Xun exchanged Baozhu's assigned room with Yang Xingjian's and searched it for tunnels, secret chambers, and hidden mechanisms before advising her to secure the doors and windows.