Chapter Summaries

Pei Ye completed the [Heart Slip] and began a trial to transcend heaven and earth as the first snow fell. At the Winter Sword Gathering, the crowd learned that he would face His Fourth Highness in the coming sword wager, while Jiang Yiner stepped forward to challenge the prince.

• Pei Ye and Xu Chuo ate beef broth in the library, and Xu Chuo spoke about her fondness for the cold and the coming snow.
• Pei Ye completed the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial annotations and inscribed the [Heart Slip], entering a trial in which he had to walk out after heaven and earth submerged him.
• The first snow fell as Pei Ye sat beneath the eaves, and two days later the Winter Sword Gathering began amid anticipation of the sword wager.
• Spectators learned that Pei Ye, rather than Yan Feiqing or Yang Zhenbing, would face His Fourth Highness, whose reputation and accomplishments were recounted.
• Jiang Yiner defeated several prominent young swordsmen and then requested a glimpse of His Fourth Highness's 'Heaven-Qilin-Book of Changes.'

Jiang Yiner challenged Haotian and experienced the overwhelming force of heaven and earth, while Pei Ye awakened to his Sword State. Xu Chuo gave Pei Ye Zhu Wen’s Heaven and Earth Furnace to help him approach the sword’s essence, and he began practicing it.

• Jiang Yiner used the first form of Phoenix Soars against Haotian, but the vast snowfall overwhelmed her and made her drop her sword.
• Pei Ye grasped his Sword State in the Mindscape Realm and woke, demanding a real sword from Xu Chuo.
• Xu Chuo explained her long search for a swordsman who could reach the essence of the sword and said the Tower Master had believed Pei Ye could do it.
• Xu Chuo gave Pei Ye Zhu Wen’s Heaven and Earth Furnace and explained how its method could bring him closer to heaven and earth.
• Pei Ye studied the secret art with Xu Chuo and began sensing his connection with heaven and earth by dissolving a piece of his fingernail.

Pei Ye experienced a vision in which a blacksmith told him that a sword’s essence was killing, and he regained his awareness as his body became whole. On the day of the wager trial, the crowd gathered to watch him face Li Zhi, while Cui Zhaoye, Jiang Yiner, and Changsun Jue discussed his chances and Xu Chuo’s work on the sword state.

• Pei Ye reached out toward heaven and earth and asked for a real sword, then saw a blacksmith hand swords to shadowy figures in a distant vision.
• When Pei Ye asked the blacksmith what a sword’s essence was, the man answered that it was killing, and Pei Ye clenched his restored hand.
• Pei Ye woke beside Xu Chuo and promised to help her write “Swinging Rope” after beating Li Zhi, then left to drink.
• On the twentieth day of the twelfth month, a huge crowd gathered beneath Vermilion Bird Gate to watch Pei Ye’s wager trial against the Fourth Prince.
• Cui Zhaoye explained to Changsun Jue that the trial barred true profound and allowed only authority over swords, while Jiang Yiner said she had found no way to defeat the Fourth Prince.
• Cui Zhaoye told Changsun Jue that Xu Chuo had taken over her work on the sword state, then questioned whose side Changsun Jue supported.

As the Tang emperor and the court watched the sword trial, Li Zhi awakened the Heaven-Qilin-Book of Changes and silenced the vast crowd with his overwhelming presence. Pei Ye began climbing the Winter Sword Platform to face him, leaving the wagered test about to begin.

• Cui Zhaoye complained that Xu Chuo had benefited from a month of sword study with Pei Ye, while Changsun Jue told her to confront Xu Chuo directly.
• Yuan Zhao and Li Du exchanged veiled barbs over the people’s hardship and the political struggle surrounding the Ministry of Revenue.
• The Tang emperor arrived with the imperial family, and Li Huang noticed Jinyang’s carriage; Yu Sicheng later reported that Jinyang was not inside it.
• Li Zhi opened his eyes and unfurled the Heaven-Qilin-Book of Changes, terrifying the crowd and demonstrating Haotian’s power.
• A carefree voice urged Pei Ye to go on, and Pei Ye climbed the snowy steps toward the Winter Sword Platform.

Pei Ye defeated Li Zhi with a single sword strike, settling the wager over sword authority and stirring a jubilant response in the Divine Capital. Three days later, as the Sage reshaped the court, Pei Ye recovered at Five Clouds Tower and discussed his drunken victory with Xie Chuantang.

• Pei Ye struck Li Zhi with his sword, drawing blood, though a teacup lid broke Pei Ye’s blade before he could follow up.
• The crowd recognized Pei Ye as the winner, and scholars and spectators erupted in cheers; Cui Zhaoye proposed starting a Pei Ye Fan Club.
• The Tang emperor summoned Yuan Zhao, while a woman in scholar’s robes drank beside Pei Ye on the sword platform as sunset fell.
• After the wager, the Sage appointed Yuan Youjing Left Deputy of the Department of State Affairs and made other major changes to the court.
• At Five Clouds Tower, Pei Ye told Xie Chuantang that he had drunk himself sick after entering the sleeve tiger mindscape, and she said she had helped carry him into a carriage.

Pei Ye recovered and discussed the unfinished investigations and political efforts against Li Du with Xie Chuantang, then reflected on the cost of using Endowed Fortune and Black Cat’s cultivation. At court, three officials submitted a joint impeachment memorial targeting Li Du’s influence, leaving him facing a serious threat while he had no intention of stepping down.

• Pei Ye met Xie Chuantang, who reported progress on the Carp Hall and Taiping Canal cases and described the evidence submitted against Li Du; Pei Ye encouraged her and said the effort would succeed.
• Xie Chuantang told Pei Ye about Cheng Xiaozhu seeking her benefactor and Zhang Piaoxu’s continued visits to the Prefectural Office; she had taken Zhang in and was supervising him.
• Pei Ye examined the shortened Meridian Tree after using Endowed Fortune, and Black Cat explained that it was recovering while admitting it had heard a legend about the Tang Emperor’s blood becoming Qilin Flame.
• Li Du learned that Di Jiu, Guan Zhiyi, and Yu Ziqian had jointly submitted memorials accusing officials under his influence of trafficking, wrongful cases, and abuses in the Ministry of Rites.
• Li Du regained his composure after a monk admonished him, but recognized the memorials as a genuine threat and remained determined not to resign.

Li Du and Yuan Zhao awaited the court’s decision as their political struggle intensified, while Lu Chunshui warned the Tang Emperor that the two heavens theory could weaken the Five Surnames’ loyalty to the throne. The chapter ended with Lu Chunshui declaring that Great Tang needed the Qilin more than it needed true heavenly principles.

• Li Du advised Li Hanfei to defend the Ministry of Justice and use the reopening of Xu Ji’s case to resist the Yuan Faction’s pressure.
• Lu Chunshui told Li Du that the Heavenly Principles Academy would pressure the young successor, then agreed to carry Li Du’s memorial to the emperor.
• Yuan Zhao told Di Jiu that Li Du’s fate depended on the attitudes of Elder Li and Younger Li, and Di Jiu said he wanted to bring Li Du to justice.
• Li Du received a letter from the west after three days of suspense and quietly prepared for a bath and a change of clothes.
• Lu Chunshui told the Tang Emperor that the two heavens theory might loosen the Five Surnames’ faith in the throne and concluded that Great Tang needed the Qilin more than true heavenly principles.

Lu Chunshui heard the Tang emperor reject his warning about the Two Heavens Theory, while Chancellor Li retired from court and left the Divine Capital for Xilong. At the Sword Cultivation Academy, Qu Xin arrived with a letter for Pei Ye, but Yang Zhenbing said Pei Ye was away and had instructed him to pretend otherwise.

• Lu Chunshui reported that Fourth Highness Zhi'er was recovering, then presented Chancellor Li's memorial; the Tang emperor replied that the vacant chancellorship was unnecessary.
• Chancellor Li repeatedly petitioned to retire, and the Tang emperor finally permitted him to return home to recuperate; Li Du burned a letter from his younger brother Shenyi and decided to leave for Xilong.
• Li Du attended court for the last time, and a vast convoy carried him and his belongings away from the Divine Capital as officials and onlookers watched.
• Cui Zhaoye, Jiang Yiner, and Changsun Jue met Qu Xin outside the Sword Cultivation Academy; Qu Xin said she had brought Pei Ye a letter from Bowang Prefecture.
• The girls found Yan Feiqing reading and Yang Zhenbing practicing with a sword; Yang Zhenbing said Pei Ye was absent but had told him to claim he was there.

Pei Ye ambushed Li Du as the former chancellor left Chang'an, killing his guards and beheading him before escaping with a rider. They vanished into the streets on a Qilin Blood steed, leaving the story with their destination unknown.

• Pei Ye waited on the street while Li Du's convoy prepared to leave the capital.
• Li Du rode out at dawn, reflecting on his departure and his fear of karmic retribution.
• Pei Ye approached Li Du's procession, and Hong Xingping recognized him and shouted for the chancellor's protection.
• Pei Ye killed Hong Xingping and the green-clad guards while leading Li Du's horse to the roadside.
• Pei Ye dragged Li Du down, cut off his head, and placed it in a sack.
• A caped rider swept past on a fast horse, helped Pei Ye mount, and carried him away through the streets.

Pei Ye killed former Chancellor Li Du and discussed the danger of the Immortal Platform tracing him with Xu Chuo. Xu Chuo told him he did not need to flee the capital and took him east to deliver an introductory gift for the job she had promised him.

• Pei Ye and Xie Chuantang disposed of their bloodied clothes and evidence in the Jingzhao Prefectural Office courtyard before dawn.
• Di Jiu learned that Li Du had been murdered and beheaded on Old Locust Street, and Xing Zhi and the Immortal Platform began examining the scene.
• Xing Zhi found no residual Spirit Profound, while Qi Gong’s attempt to reconstruct the killer produced a crude drawing that Zhang Kuai mocked.
• Pei Ye explained to Xu Chuo that he had killed Li Du without using Spirit Profound and could leave the capital if needed; Black Cat said it had disguised his appearance and erased traces.
• Xu Chuo told Pei Ye to stay in the capital and took him by carriage toward the old Qujiang area to deliver an introductory gift.

Xu Chuo brought Pei Ye to the secluded place where she and Sister Sisi had spent their childhood, and they burned Li Du’s head there while remembering their shared hopes and Sisi’s death. As they talked about their past and the wishes that remained, Xu Chuo revealed that she was an orphan before coming to the chancellor’s residence.

• Xu Chuo led Pei Ye through the woods at Leyouyuan to the hidden place she and Sister Sisi had named their secret home.
• Pei Ye burned Li Du’s head and Xu Chuo poured wine beneath the cypress marking Sister Sisi’s grave.
• Xu Chuo told Pei Ye about her childhood with Sister Sisi and the political ideals they shared with Chancellor Xu.
• Xu Chuo recalled that the first of November was Sister Sisi’s birthday and said she had been happy when Pei Ye killed Qiu Tianyu.
• Xu Chuo said she still had a personal wish but refused to reveal it, then explained that writing “Swinging Rope” had been her first goal.
• Xu Chuo told Pei Ye that she had been an orphan before coming to the chancellor’s residence.

Xu Chuo told Pei Ye about the childhood companion she had lost and explained that she planned to involve him in a larger struggle tied to the King of Yan’s Residence and the Divine Capital’s distant past. She revealed that Her Highness Jinyang, Li Xizhou, backed their side and planned to send Pei Ye into the palace after the New Year.

• Xu Chuo told Pei Ye that her lost childhood companion had inspired the story she wanted to write, “Swinging Rope.”
• Xu Chuo and Pei Ye argued with three children over who had first claimed a snowy woodland hideaway, then let the children keep using it.
• Xu Chuo explained that the King of Yan’s Residence was a dangerous force and that she planned to involve Pei Ye in a matter reaching back through the Divine Capital’s and the Sage’s histories.
• Xu Chuo revealed that Her Highness Jinyang, Li Xizhou, was their backer and planned for Pei Ye to enter the palace to assist her.
• Pei Ye asked whether entering the palace meant becoming a eunuch and whether he could ask the emperor to repay him for his broken sword.
• Xu Chuo and Pei Ye returned to their carriage, agreeing to celebrate the New Year before she assigned him to his new duties.

Pei Ye and Xu Chuo prepared for the New Year while the Tang court ordered a joint investigation into former Chancellor Li’s murder. Pei Ye returned to the decorated old residence and reunited with his friends, where Qu Xin revealed that Li Piaoqing had sent him a private letter.

• The Tang Emperor ordered Jingzhao Prefecture, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Ministry of Justice to investigate former Chancellor Li’s murder, with the Immortal Platform assisting and Ji Zheng overseeing the inquiry.
• Pei Ye bought Spring Couplets and assorted New Year goods while wandering the capital with Xu Chuo.
• Cui Zhaoye, Jiang Yiner, Changsun Jue, and Qu Xin decorated the old residence and waited for Pei Ye to return.
• Qu Xin told Cui Zhaoye and the others that Li Piaoqing had sent Pei Ye a letter and disclosed that she and Pei Ye had once kissed.
• Pei Ye and Xu Chuo arrived at the residence, where Pei Ye greeted his friends and Qu Xin remarked that he seemed to have grown up.

On New Year's Eve, Pei Ye and Jiang Yiner talked about snow, swordsmanship, and the opera masks she liked. Pei Ye gave her a mask he had painted as a New Year's gift, and she gratefully accepted it.

• Pei Ye and Jiang Yiner watched the snowfall and discussed her first New Year away from her sect and her sword training.
• Jiang Yiner praised Pei Ye's unusual path in the Sword Dao, and he recalled how he had discovered his talent after leaving Bowang.
• Pei Ye invited Jiang Yiner to see new operas in the Divine Capital and asked about the play mask she had made herself.
• Pei Ye gave Jiang Yiner a pale blue-green mask inspired by the opera White Snake Romance, and she thanked him.

On New Year’s Eve, Pei Ye read letters from home and from Li Piaoqing, then learned she had paid Qu Xin’s medical fees and advanced her more money. The next morning, Pei Ye confronted Qu Xin at the Chancellor’s Residence, accusing her of collecting fees he had already settled.

• Pei Ye celebrated New Year’s Eve with Jiang Yiner and their guests before retreating to the Old Book Tower to read his letters.
• Jiang Yiner joined Pei Ye and learned that he had received many letters from friends and family, while she had received only three.
• Pei Ye read Li Piaoqing’s letter about Jadeite Mountain’s revival, her hopes of meeting him in spring, and her payment of his supposed medical debt to Qu Xin.
• Pei Ye went outside after discovering Li Piaoqing had advanced Qu Xin another seventy taels, joking that it was Qu Xin’s death date.
• On New Year’s Day, Pei Ye accused Qu Xin of collecting medical fees he had already paid with Qilin Blood Wine, while Cui Zhaoye and Jiang Yiner tried to mediate.

Pei Ye recovered money from Qu Xin and repaid Qi Zhaohua, then arranged for Shang Lang to collect compensation for his damaged sword from the emperor. After Zhang Piaoxu helped settle Pei Ye’s debt to Shang Lang, Pei Ye asked about Zhang Piaoxu’s reluctance to attend school.

• Pei Ye confronted Qu Xin about the money she had taken, and she returned thirty-one taels to him.
• Pei Ye used his money to repay Qi Zhaohua’s fifty-tael loan, then offered Shang Lang compensation for his twenty-tael loan by transferring the debt for his damaged sword to him.
• Shang Lang declined to pursue the sword compensation, explaining that he had fallen out with his father and was short of money.
• Zhang Piaoxu gave Pei Ye twenty-three taels from selling his house and pawning belongings, allowing Pei Ye to repay Shang Lang.
• Pei Ye asked Zhang Piaoxu about school, and Zhang Piaoxu admitted he disliked talking with the people there.

Pei Ye took Jiang Yiner to hear opera in the Divine Capital, where a stranger connected the song they heard to Yue Muzhou and other figures from the past. The man left Pei Ye with questions about those connections, while Jiang Yiner returned home delighted by the performance.

• Pei Ye took Zhang Piaoxu to visit Xiye, and Zhang Piaoxu worried that the mermaid might shorten her life to become human for him.
• Pei Ye and Jiang Yiner found an old opera house and settled in to watch its traditional performances.
• A cloaked man named Li arrived for the Qilin-Child Opera, and the opening melody stirred Pei Ye's memories of Yue Muzhou singing at home.
• Li told Pei Ye and Jiang Yiner that Yue Muzhou, Ying Suyu, and others had heard the opera at different times, and asked whether Yue Muzhou had taught it to Pei Ye.
• Li parted from Pei Ye and Jiang Yiner after remarking that their return to the Divine Capital, following Yue Muzhou and Ying Suyu's departure, seemed like fate.
• Jiang Yiner thanked Pei Ye for the outing, and they returned to Xu Chuo's residence for dinner.

During the New Year festivities, Pei Ye played in the snow with Jiang Yiner and the others, then spoke with Xu Chuo about the dangers awaiting him in the Imperial City and exchanged gifts with her. As the night ended, a letter from Miss Ming arrived, leaving Pei Ye eager to read it.

• Pei Ye surprised Jiang Yiner with snow down her collar, and their snowball fight drew the others into the courtyard.
• Pei Ye threw snow at Xu Chuo and charged her with a snowman’s head, then later apologized and explained that he had hoped she would join the fun.
• Xu Chuo warned Pei Ye that Great Tang’s Imperial City was dangerous and said she would send him into the palace the next morning.
• Pei Ye gave Xu Chuo two handmade pig clay figurines, and she told him she had a gift for him that he would receive in a few months.
• Pei Ye reflected on his cultivation and the Heart of the Western Court before a Small Jade Sword carrying a letter from Miss Ming landed in his hand.

Pei Ye replied to Miss Ming, then entered the palace to investigate the old assassination attempt against Empress Scale-Locking. He met Sixth Princess Li Youlong on the way and reached Huiying Pavilion, where he came face-to-face with Jinyang.

• Pei Ye wrote Miss Ming a reply about events in the Divine Capital and sent it with a clump of Chang'an snow.
• Xu Chuo appointed Pei Ye to investigate the assassination attempt against Empress Scale-Locking and warned him that the Phantom Tower investigation had uncovered little.
• Pei Ye entered the Imperial City and discovered that his true qi abilities no longer worked inside the Palace City, where Qilin's power held sway.
• An attendant led Pei Ye through the rear palace, where he heard a woman reciting poetry and playing a flute among the plum trees.
• Pei Ye met Sixth Princess Li Youlong and her injured maid in a pavilion, then continued toward Taiye Pool.
• Pei Ye arrived at Huiying Pavilion and paid his respects to Jinyang, whose face was hidden behind a pale-gold mask.

Li Xizhou explained the ancient legends surrounding Haojing and the history of Empress Wei Qingju’s death, then gave Pei Ye the original case file from the night she was attacked. Pei Ye entered the abandoned Bright Moon Palace to investigate the place where Yue Muzhou had guarded her.

• Li Xizhou connected the records of King Mu of Zhou, Jiang Yan, and Lord Liu to the Spirit Realm and suggested that people once saw two Haojings.
• Li Xizhou told Pei Ye that Wei Qingju had been accused of usurping Qilin Blood after an assassin’s weapon blazed with Qilin Flame, and that she later died in Bright Moon Palace.
• Li Xizhou asked Pei Ye to investigate the unresolved assassination attempt and handed him the original case file written by Yue Muzhou.
• Li Xizhou revealed that Yue Muzhou had guarded Wei Qingju outside Bright Moon Palace on the night of the attack.
• Pei Ye went to the sealed, abandoned Bright Moon Palace and entered its courtyard, where he stood before the steps beneath the eaves.