Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xiaohua spent four years cultivating on the deserted island, advancing his arts while longing for home. After spotting a dead man washed ashore, he found an old locked iron box on the body and opened it to discover a scrap of cloth inside.

• Zhang Xiaohua cultivated Earth Evasion, Fire Evasion, formations, restrictions, and other arts, eventually combining the two evasion techniques into Fire Earth Evasion.
• Over four years, Zhang Xiaohua reached the threshold of the sixth layer of the Carefree Heart Sutra, advanced the Big Dipper Divine Fist to the eighth layer, and learned to set simple restrictions and cast some spells from Fire Dragon True Person's jade slip.
• Zhang Xiaohua often looked toward the horizon and thought of his family, friends, and Meng, then continued cultivating in hopes of finding a flying evasion art.
• Zhang Xiaohua noticed a red-cloaked man drifting toward the island on a piece of wood and waited for the current to carry him to shore.
• Zhang Xiaohua found the man dead, with a blackened palm print on his back, and discovered a money pouch and a locked iron box in his clothes.
• Zhang Xiaohua cut off the lock with his little sword and opened the box, finding only a tattered scrap of cloth inside.

Zhang Xiaohua buried the unknown man beside Fire Dragon True Person and waited in vain for anyone to come looking. A large ship finally approached the deserted island, and Zhang Xiaohua prepared to meet its crew in hopes of getting a ride home.

• Zhang Xiaohua examined the sheepskin scroll but found no clues, then returned it to the unknown man's iron box and buried him beside Fire Dragon True Person.
• Zhang Xiaohua waited several days for someone to arrive but saw no sign of the man's pursuers.
• Zhang Xiaohua sensed a massive ship approaching the deserted island and hid signs of his cave before returning to the mountaintop.
• Zhang Xiaohua suspected the ship's Martial Arts Masters were searching for the man and decided to answer their questions by claiming he knew nothing.
• Two Martial Arts Masters and two sailors came ashore in a small boat, examined Zhang Xiaohua, and approached him.

Ren Xiaoyao met Chai Feng and Bai Yonggui, two members of the Xinrong Gang, and convinced them that he was a stranded youth from Jingyue City. After learning that he had found and buried a man in a red cloak, the two promised to take him back to land, and Ren Xiaoyao began digging up the corpse.

• Ren Xiaoyao told Chai Feng and Bai Yonggui that he had survived a shipwreck and lived alone on the deserted island for about four years.
• Chai Feng and Bai Yonggui questioned Ren Xiaoyao about his martial arts and his claim that he had learned Mighty Ox Strength from a Misty Sect man.
• Chai Feng and Bai Yonggui asked whether Ren Xiaoyao had seen anyone drift onto the island, and he said he had found a corpse wearing a red cloak.
• Ren Xiaoyao told the two men that he had buried the corpse, and Chai Feng and Bai Yonggui promised to take him back to land.
• Ren Xiaoyao led Chai Feng and Bai Yonggui to the grave and began digging up the man in red.

Bai Yonggui and Chai Feng recovered a sheepskin scroll from the big man's corpse and considered killing Zhang Xiaohua to keep him quiet. Zhang Xiaohua evaded their ambush, reached the ship with the corpse and his long sword, and settled into a cabin to bathe.

• Bai Yonggui and Chai Feng found an iron box and a sheepskin scroll on the big man's corpse, then worried that Zhang Xiaohua might know about the item.
• Zhang Xiaohua returned from the cave, carried the corpse toward the shore, and narrowly avoided Bai Yonggui and Chai Feng's sword attack by using the corpse as a shield.
• Bai Yonggui and Chai Feng followed Zhang Xiaohua to the boat, and the sailors struggled to row him and his heavy long sword back to the sea ship.
• Zhang Xiaohua leaped onto the ship carrying the corpse, and Bai Yonggui arranged for it to be taken into the cabin.
• Chai Feng sent Zhang Xiaohua to a cabin with hot water and food, where Zhang Xiaohua put down his long sword and climbed into the bathing tub.

Zhang Xiaohua joined the Xinrong Sect disciples for dinner and realized they planned to kill him to keep their secret. He intimidated them with his cultivation and returned to his cabin, where he set up protective restrictions and resumed cultivating.

• Bai Yonggui persuaded most of the Xinrong Sect disciples to agree to kill Zhang Xiaohua, while Chai Feng reluctantly stopped opposing the plan.
• Zhang Xiaohua went to dinner, where Bai Yonggui and the others treated him as though he were already doomed, and Chai Feng apologized for their poor hospitality.
• Bai Yonggui began to raise the matter he wanted to discuss, but Zhang Xiaohua suddenly floated across the hall and offered him a toast, stunning the disciples.
• Bai Yonggui abandoned his plan, and Zhang Xiaohua said he would dine alone in his cabin before leaving the hall.
• Zhang Xiaohua set up simple protective restrictions in his cabin with yuan stones and resumed cultivating.

After Zhang Xiaohua left, the Xinrong Sect disciples argued over who would confront him, wary of his formidable movement technique. Bai Yonggui and Chai Feng debated how to prevent him from revealing the sect’s secret, but they postponed action and planned to look for a safer opportunity during the voyage.

• The Xinrong Sect disciples doubted Zhang Xiaohua’s strength, but Bai Yonggui recalled clues that made him fear the youth was far more formidable than he appeared.
• Bai Yonggui tried to assign Junior Brother Yu the task of dealing with Zhang Xiaohua, but Yu and the others refused to take the risk.
• Chai Feng urged the group to rest and discuss their next move the following day.
• Bai Yonggui and Chai Feng agreed Zhang Xiaohua might reveal the secret of the sheepskin scroll, but disagreed over whether to kill him or keep him at the sect temporarily.
• Bai Yonggui suggested attacking Zhang Xiaohua in his sleep, but Chai Feng warned that he was too cautious, so Bai Yonggui abandoned the night raid and waited for another chance.

Zhang Xiaohua kept to his cabin while the Xinrong Sect disciples struggled to decide how to deal with him. As the ship neared Songluo City, Bai Yonggui chose to contact the sect for help, but Zhang Xiaohua secretly sent a black streak after their messenger bird.

• Zhang Xiaohua avoided Bai Yonggui, ate and drank sparingly, and used restrictions to guard himself while studying basic spells from a jade slip.
• Bai Yonggui and the Xinrong Sect disciples debated how to capture or kill Zhang Xiaohua, unable to agree on an attack.
• Bai Yonggui proposed either trapping Zhang Xiaohua in his cabin or asking the sect to send specialists, and the disciples supported contacting the sect.
• Bai Yonggui ordered Junior Brother Li to send a message and told the sailors to slow the ship as it approached Songluo City.
• Junior Brother Li released a messenger bird, and a streak of black light shot from Zhang Xiaohua's cabin after it.

Zhang Xiaohua nearly intercepted a messenger bird, then eavesdropped as Bai Yonggui revealed the Xinrong Sect planned to ambush him at Pingning Port. Bai Yonggui and Chai Feng argued over the plan, and Zhang Xiaohua learned the sect had been investigating the Tan Family for years before the chapter ended with the start of that story.

• Zhang Xiaohua sent his flying sword after Junior Brother Li's messenger bird, but recalled it before striking because he was unsure what the note contained.
• The messenger bird returned safely three days later, and Zhang Xiaohua overheard Bai Yonggui tell the Xinrong Sect disciples to seize him at an abandoned pier in Pingning Port with help from two masters.
• Bai Yonggui ordered Junior Brother Yu to stop the ship's detours and head straight for Pingning Port.
• Chai Feng questioned whether they should capture or kill Ren Xiaoyao, and Bai Yonggui insisted their oath only required delivering him safely to land.
• Bai Yonggui told Chai Feng that the Xinrong Sect had begun investigating the Tan Family five or six years earlier and had planted a jade merchant among them.

Zhang Xiaohua spent the ship’s final night at sea reflecting on the Xinrong Sect’s plans and gained an insight into his state of mind as the shore came into view. When the ship neared the harbor, Bai Yonggui’s group prepared to confront him, unaware that he had not emerged from his cabin all day.

• Bai Yonggui told Chai Feng how the gang leader had used a beautiful confidante to extract information from Third Young Master Tan, and Chai Feng said he would remain true to his nature.
• Zhang Xiaohua reconsidered his plan to kill Bai Yonggui, then sent his small sword flying out the window and set restrictions around himself before cultivating.
• At dawn, Zhang Xiaohua saw the coastline and reflected on his confidence as the Xinrong Sect disciples prepared for a battle after docking.
• When Zhang Xiaohua did not answer his cabin door all day, Junior Brother Li reported it to Bai Yonggui, who reasoned that Zhang Xiaohua must still be hiding inside.
• Bai Yonggui ordered a sailor to watch Zhang Xiaohua’s door and the group to take their positions as the ship approached the harbor, where several people waited on shore.

Zhang Xiaohua faced an attempt by Xinrong Sect to force him to their headquarters, but he answered their threats by demonstrating his immense strength. After toppling a huge weeping willow, he asked to leave, while Li Min could barely respond.

• Bai Yonggui met Li Min and two monks at the dock, then admitted Zhang Xiaohua was still aboard the ship and had refused to come out.
• Zhang Xiaohua came onto the ship's prow and rejected Li Min's invitation to visit Xinrong Sect.
• Li Min and a monk insisted Zhang Xiaohua come with them and threatened to seal his acupoints.
• Zhang Xiaohua flew to a weeping willow, uprooted it several inches, and pushed the enormous tree over to silence the crows.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked whether he could leave, while the stunned Li Min struggled to answer.

Zhang Xiaohua fought off the Xinrong Sect and Great Forest Temple monks who tried to capture him, then escaped into the wilderness. He left Yuan Shan badly injured, cut off Bai Yonggui’s thumb, and warned the others not to pursue him.

• Yuanshan of Great Forest Temple challenged Zhang Xiaohua, who struck him down with the heavy long sword and buried his calves in the earth.
• The thin monk attacked Zhang Xiaohua, but Zhang evaded him and switched to the Toy Small Sword.
• Zhang Xiaohua cut off Bai Yonggui’s thumb and left a shallow wound on the thin monk’s nape before warning the group not to follow him.
• Zhang Xiaohua retrieved his long sword and disappeared into the dusk, while the thin monk told Hall Master Li that no one should pursue him.
• The thin monk had Yuan Shan treated and carried him back to Great Forest Temple, while the Xinrong Sect members assessed the aftermath.

After escaping the docks, Zhang Xiaohua hid to cultivate and then tried to find his way toward home. His poor sense of direction led him astray, so he switched to the Floating Technique and reached a market town, where he overheard people judging his old-fashioned clothes.

• Hall Master Li accepted Bai Yonggui's iron box and led the Xinrong Sect disciples back to claim their rewards.
• Zhang Xiaohua used his divine sense and Earth Evasion to escape the docks, then hid in a strawstack to cultivate.
• Zhang Xiaohua learned that Songning Town was nearby, but repeatedly traveled the wrong way underground because he could not keep his bearings.
• After asking for directions, Zhang Xiaohua used the Floating Technique and quickly reached a busy market town.
• At a tea stall, Zhang Xiaohua overheard patrons call his robe antique and describe his appearance as ordinary.

Zhang Xiaohua argued with a tea-stall waiter over the price of tea and met a poor servant named Ji Xiaohua. After getting directions to Pingyang City from a fellow traveler, Zhang Xiaohua left the man with the bill, while Ji Xiaohua slipped out of the stall.

• Zhang Xiaohua struggled to pay for his Longjing tea because he had no copper coins, and the waiter mocked him for asking for change.
• Ji Xiaohua offered to exchange Zhang Xiaohua's silver, and Zhang Xiaohua splashed tea in the waiter's face after he insulted the boy.
• Zhang Xiaohua gave Ji Xiaohua the silver to exchange and accepted an invitation to talk with a man calling himself Brother Xu.
• Ji Xiaohua returned with one mace of silver and one hundred copper coins, and Zhang Xiaohua trusted him without counting them.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked Brother Xu for directions to Pingyang City, then left him to pay the tea bill.
• Brother Xu disputed the charge and paid ten copper coins, while Ji Xiaohua slipped out of the tea stall unnoticed.

Zhang Xiaohua learned that Master Xu had lied about the route to Pingyang City when Ji Xiaohua risked his job to warn him. Moved by Ji Xiaohua’s poverty and kindness, Zhang Xiaohua hired him for ten copper coins a day and set off with him toward town.

• Ji Xiaohua found Zhang Xiaohua and warned him that Master Xu routinely gave travelers false directions to Pingyang City.
• Ji Xiaohua explained that he had warned Zhang Xiaohua because he disliked Gui Er’s bullying, despite fearing he might lose his tea-stall job.
• Zhang Xiaohua offered Ji Xiaohua ten copper coins a day to help him, and Ji Xiaohua returned with his belongings after Gui Er drove him away.
• Ji Xiaohua shared his meager, coarse food with Zhang Xiaohua, who ate some of it and felt moved by the boy’s hardship.
• Zhang Xiaohua invited Ji Xiaohua to accompany him into town, but kept his sword rather than letting the boy carry it.

Zhang Xiaohua took Ji Xiaohua to eat and bought buns for Ji Xiaohua to bring home to his mother. After seeing the sick woman in Ji Xiaohua’s poor home, Zhang Xiaohua was reminded of his grandmother.

• Zhang Xiaohua joked that Ji Xiaohua could not lift his sword, then reassured him and raised his daily pay to eleven copper coins.
• In Songning Town, Zhang Xiaohua realized Ji Xiaohua was hungry and took him to a bun shop.
• Zhang Xiaohua bought buns for Ji Xiaohua, made sure he ate, and ordered extra buns for Ji Xiaohua’s mother.
• Ji Xiaohua led Zhang Xiaohua to his home in South City and refused to let him enter the house.
• Zhang Xiaohua used his divine sense to see Ji Xiaohua’s sick mother coughing blood and thought of his grandmother.

Zhang Xiaohua hired Ji Xiaohua to help him in Songning Town and took him to find a horse capable of carrying his heavy load. The shopkeeper showed Zhang Xiaohua the stable’s finest horse, a tall jujube-red steed.

• Ji Xiaohua returned home with buns and told Madam Zhang that Zhang Xiaohua had hired him, and Madam Zhang agreed to let him help after hearing the reason.
• Zhang Xiaohua explained that he needed a local guide to help him buy a horse and ask around, then led Ji Xiaohua out of the courtyard.
• Zhang Xiaohua bought ordinary clothes to wear over his black robe so he and Ji Xiaohua would draw less attention.
• At a reputable horse shop, Zhang Xiaohua rejected eight horses and told the clerk he needed one that could carry three or four thousand catties.
• Ji Xiaohua persuaded the shopkeeper to show them the best horse, and the shopkeeper led Zhang Xiaohua to a tall jujube-red horse.

Zhang Xiaohua searched Songning Town for a horse strong enough to carry his sword, then waited while Ji Xiaohua gathered directions to Pingyang City or Lu Town. While drinking tea, Zhang Xiaohua’s consciousness soared above the town and beyond before Ji Xiaohua’s shout brought him back.

• Zhang Xiaohua nearly made a jujube-red horse collapse with a touch, startling Ji Xiaohua and revealing his unusual strength.
• The horse seller demanded one thousand taels, then repeatedly lowered the price as Zhang Xiaohua left without buying it.
• Ji Xiaohua led Zhang Xiaohua through two more horse markets, but Zhang Xiaohua found no suitable horse.
• Ji Xiaohua took Zhang Xiaohua to a teahouse and went to ask how to reach Pingyang City or Lu Town.
• As Zhang Xiaohua sipped tea, his consciousness rose above Songning Town and out toward the sea until Ji Xiaohua shouted and brought him back.

Zhang Xiaohua received Ji Xiaohua’s hand-drawn route map and took him to a bank to exchange his five-tael banknote. After learning the bank charged only one fee for exchanging it into cash, Zhang Xiaohua asked the teller to convert all the silver into copper coins.

• Zhang Xiaohua realized his Heart Sutra cultivation had advanced and thanked Ji Xiaohua for helping him.
• Ji Xiaohua gave Zhang Xiaohua a route map from Songning Town toward Lu Town and Pingyang City, then wrapped up the leftover pastries.
• Zhang Xiaohua took Ji Xiaohua to a nearby bank and exchanged his five-tael banknote for silver, paying a fee of one mace.
• Zhang Xiaohua asked the old gentleman to exchange the silver into one-mace pieces, then requested that all of it be exchanged into copper coins.

Zhang Xiaohua exchanged his silver notes for a huge sack of copper coins and small silver pieces, then escaped before the money house could collect its commission. He went with Ji Xiaohua toward Ji Xiaohua’s home and met Old Father Hao and his strange beast, Huanhuan, which showed an unusual fondness for him.

• Zhang Xiaohua insisted that the money house exchange his silver notes for ten thousand cash and several dozen small silver pieces, then packed the coins into a burlap sack.
• Zhang Xiaohua hurried away with Ji Xiaohua, celebrating the value of his gains, while the old gentleman realized he had forgotten to deduct the commission and failed to catch them.
• Zhang Xiaohua told Ji Xiaohua to lead him to Ji Xiaohua’s home.
• Ji Xiaohua greeted Old Father Hao, who offered to plead for him to return to work at the tea stall.
• Huanhuan approached Zhang Xiaohua, licked his hand, and gazed at him with an unexpectedly expressive look.
• Ji Xiaohua explained that Huanhuan was gentle and introduced Zhang Xiaohua to Old Father Hao.

Zhang Xiaohua learned how Huanhuan had been rescued and cared for by Ji Xiaohua and Old Father Hao, and considered whether the powerful beast could help him travel. After Zhang Xiaohua left Old Father Hao’s courtyard, Huanhuan reluctantly went into its filthy corner, and Ji Xiaohua saw it shed a tear.

• Ji Xiaohua explained that he had rescued the injured Huanhuan and entrusted it to Old Father Hao, who used its strength to carry firewood and plow fields.
• Zhang Xiaohua considered using Huanhuan to carry his heavy sword, then asked Ji Xiaohua whether he would sell it.
• Ji Xiaohua said he would sell Huanhuan only if Old Father Hao received enough silver, but Zhang Xiaohua claimed he had been joking and wanted a fast horse instead.
• At Old Father Hao’s home, Huanhuan refused to enter its filthy corner and kept its gaze fixed on Zhang Xiaohua.
• Zhang Xiaohua picked up his sack and left, after which Huanhuan entered the corner and Ji Xiaohua saw a tear roll from its eye.