Chapter Summaries

At the Sword Banquet, Pei Ye stood with Zhang Jingbi despite Yunlang’s decree against engaging with Kongtong, then reflected on the clash between Yunlang’s uncompromising policy and his own ties to Kongtong. As the gathering dispersed, He Yaoyao stayed close to him, and Shi Zanxue invited him to share wine.

• Pei Ye told Zhang Jingbi that protecting himself and weighing risks was not chivalry, and Zhang Jingbi left the pool standing tall.
• He Yaoyao corrected Pei Ye’s criticism of Zhang Jingbi’s sword technique, and Pei Ye asked her to be his friend.
• Li Piaoqing promised the pavilion’s admirers that they could meet Pei Ye, while Qu Xin volunteered to invite him and He Yaoyao.
• Pei Ye reflected that his decision to demonstrate swords with Zhang Jingbi had openly challenged Yunlang’s decree, even though he understood its reasons and remembered Kongtong’s victims and survivors.
• As the Sword Banquet dispersed, Kongtong’s disciples saluted Pei Ye from afar, and He Yaoyao followed him as he prepared to return to the Sword Cultivation Academy.
• Shi Zanxue met Pei Ye, offered him half a flask of wine, and he accepted her invitation to share it.

Shi Zanxue told Pei Ye that Heavenly Mountain sought the Heart of the Western Court and warned him that powerful figures there might try to kill him for it. Pei Ye accepted her offer of support and declared he would become master of the Western Court, while Shi Zanxue proposed discussing his position in the Divine Capital and Platform Master Li’s influence.

• Shi Zanxue took Pei Ye aside and asked whether he wanted to become master of the Western Court.
• Shi Zanxue explained that Heavenly Mountain had pursued the Heart of the Western Court for generations and that some of its powerful members might kill Pei Ye to reclaim it.
• Shi Zanxue pledged to help Pei Ye pursue the Court Master’s seat, and Pei Ye said he would take it because Yang Yan and Lord Sui had entrusted the Heart to him.
• Shi Zanxue and Pei Ye discussed his allies in the Divine Capital, including Her Highness Jinyang and the Immortal Platform, and Pei Ye learned Jinyang had invited Heavenly Mountain to join her plans.
• Shi Zanxue advised that Platform Master Li’s position would matter to Pei Ye’s control of the Western Court and offered Heavenly Mountain’s help after she met him.

Pei Ye spoke with Shi Zanxue about the Western Court and agreed to travel with Heavenly Mountain, while admitting he was afraid to visit Piao Qing. After he left, Shi Zanxue defended his potential to Ji Jiuying; meanwhile, Qu Xin approached He Yaoyao and tried to use their new friendship to learn where Pei Ye had gone.

• Pei Ye and Shi Zanxue discussed the Heart of the Western Court, the Western Court Master, and their plans to travel together.
• Shi Zanxue asked Pei Ye why he had not visited Piao Qing, and he admitted that he was afraid.
• After Pei Ye left, Shi Zanxue told Ji Jiuying that he was willing to follow the Queen Mother's old traces and argued that he could become a worthy Western Court Master.
• He Yaoyao waited in the pavilion for Pei Ye until Qu Xin approached her and diagnosed her as having difficulty communicating with people.
• Qu Xin declared He Yaoyao her patient and friend, then asked where Pei Ye had gone; He Yaoyao challenged her claim that they were friends.

Qu Xin brought Pei Ye to meet young admirers at the Sword Banquet, presenting the encounters as a good deed while organizing private meetings and collecting donations. Pei Ye waited in the next room, unaware that the admirers were lining up to see him and buy his merchandise.

• Qu Xin told Pei Ye that many young sword enthusiasts wanted to meet him, and he agreed to speak with them.
• Qu Xin led Pei Ye to a side room and instructed him to meet each visitor individually while she took He Yaoyao away.
• Qu Xin explained her plan to Cui Zhaoye and received approval to arrange private meetings with Pei Ye.
• Qu Xin announced that visitors could pay ten taels for a private meeting and collect two complimentary questions for He Yaoyao.
• Qu Xin invited the admirers to donate up to twenty taels each and announced new Pei Ye merchandise.

Pei Ye met a succession of female admirers who had paid Qu Xin for private visits, though their requests puzzled him more than their interest in his swordsmanship. After Qu Xin led him away to meet the Sword Cultivation Academy, she checked whether he had been injured while investigating a case, and he questioned why she had waited five days to ask.

• Qu Xin arranged a quarter-hour meeting between Nan Yingzhi and Pei Ye, and Nan Yingzhi entered the room full of nervous admiration.
• Pei Ye asked Nan Yingzhi about her interest in swords and her wishes, and she asked to hold the hand he used to wield his sword.
• A succession of young women met Pei Ye, discussing how they had heard of him, their favorite sword moves, and wishes such as touching his hand or receiving his name in a manual.
• Qu Xin returned, said everyone was happy, and led Pei Ye toward the Sword Cultivation Academy.
• Qu Xin checked Pei Ye’s chest and waist for injuries, and Pei Ye pointed out that he had been back in the city for five days.

Pei Ye returned to give Qu Xin back the silver she had given him, only to discover her selling puppets and revealing portraits of him at the Sword Banquet. He caught her trying to flee with the proceeds and restrained her, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Qu Xin presented lifelike Pei Ye puppets and auctioned paintings depicting him wounded and partly undressed at the Sword Banquet.
• He Yaoyao told Pei Ye that Qu Xin was selling portraits of him, then showed him the gathering inside.
• Pei Ye saw the revealing painting, nearly fainted, and climbed through the window after Qu Xin gathered the silver and hurried away.
• Pei Ye seized Qu Xin, pinned her against a wall, and bound her hands with her hair ribbon.
• Pei Ye said he had returned to give back the silver, and Qu Xin remarked that she had not expected him to have such a conscience.

Pei Ye discovered that Qu Xin had profited from selling his portraits, puppets, and private meetings, and he learned that Cui Zhaoye and Changsun Jue had helped create a Pei Ye fan club. Li Piaoqing’s return softened his anger, but after Qu Xin reported her earnings, Pei Ye decided to report her to the authorities.

• Pei Ye confronted Qu Xin about the portraits and puppets she had sold, then learned she had charged people to meet him alone.
• Cui Zhaoye and Changsun Jue revealed their involvement in the Pei Ye Fan Club, and Pei Ye ordered Cui Zhaoye to disband it.
• Pei Ye learned Jiang Yiner had refused to join and asked who else was involved.
• Li Piaoqing arrived, and Pei Ye greeted her warmly as she made tea and said the Fellowship was harmless.
• At Li Piaoqing’s suggestion, Qu Xin reported earning 1,186 taels from paintings, 560 from puppets, 220 in meeting fees, and 200 in donations; Pei Ye ordered that she be reported to the authorities.

Pei Ye exposed Qu Xin’s paid meetings and illegal portrait business, then helped Li Piaoqing arrange refunds and punish her by treating injured disciples and fighters. After the gathering ended, Pei Ye asked Changsun Jue about her zither playing.

• Pei Ye confronted Qu Xin about her earnings, returned the silver bundle, and left the penalties and refunds to Li Piaoqing.
• Li Piaoqing brought Pei Ye downstairs to meet the Fellowship members, where he asked them to stop making portraits and Puppets of him and agreed they could keep what they had already bought.
• Li Piaoqing arranged a drawing for Qu Xin’s remaining paintings, then took Qu Xin into her custody and ordered her to treat the wounded for two months.
• Pei Ye questioned Qu Xin about her medicine purchases and worried she would use him to test experimental pills, while Li Piaoqing warned Qu Xin not to speak or her silver would melt.
• Pei Ye asked Changsun Jue whether she could play the zither, and she said she had learned since childhood and still practiced twice a month.

Pei Ye reunited with Li Piaoqing, discussed his plans to study the zither, and introduced her to He Yaoyao. Li Piaoqing arranged a quiet place for He Yaoyao to stay, and Pei Ye went to collect Jiang Yiner from a crowd.

• Pei Ye asked Changsun Jue to teach him the zither, but Changsun Jue said he lacked the skill and scores for the three pieces Pei Ye needed to learn.
• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing walked together, catching up after their time apart and discussing his fan club and sword technique.
• Pei Ye introduced Li Piaoqing to He Yaoyao, who had been waiting for him near the courtyard gate.
• Li Piaoqing invited He Yaoyao to stay at the Heavenly Mountain Guest Lodge and arranged a secluded pavilion for her.
• Pei Ye found Jiang Yiner surrounded by visitors, and she excused herself to leave with him.

Pei Ye reunited with Li Piaoqing and walked with her to the Cultivation Literature Academy to visit Her Highness Jinyang. He admitted that he was now closer to Jinyang than to Li Piaoqing, then gave her a carved Lost Jade Sword as a gift.

• Pei Ye introduced Li Piaoqing to Jiang Yiner and sent Jiang back to the Sword Cultivation Academy.
• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing walked through the Divine Capital, and she told him she planned to visit Her Highness Jinyang.
• Li Piaoqing asked whether Pei Ye was closer to Jinyang than to her, and he answered that he was.
• Pei Ye gave Li Piaoqing a carved Lost Jade Sword that could help her enter the Spirit Realm through waterways in the Eight Waters basin.
• Li Piaoqing accepted the gift and said she was calming her feelings.

Pei Ye brought Li Piaoqing to meet Li Xizhou at the Cultivation Literature Academy, where the three shared dinner and discussed Jadeite, Heavenly Mountain, and Pei Ye’s recent clash with Yunlang. Li Xizhou then asked Pei Ye to leave so she and Li Piaoqing could talk alone, leaving him uneasy about their conversation.

• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing arrived at the Cultivation Literature Academy and went up to meet Li Xizhou.
• Li Xizhou welcomed Li Piaoqing to dinner, and the two women exchanged courtesies and discussed Jadeite and Heavenly Mountain.
• Li Xizhou asked Pei Ye whether he liked her makeup, and he nearly admitted that he liked it before stopping himself.
• Li Piaoqing told Li Xizhou that Pei Ye had talked back to Yunlang, and Pei Ye explained that he respected Miss Ming apart from her position there.
• Li Piaoqing agreed to send Li Xizhou a kingfisher from Jadeite, presenting it as a gift to Pei Ye.
• Li Xizhou asked Pei Ye to go downstairs while she spoke with Li Piaoqing, but he hesitated to leave them alone.

Li Xizhou met privately with Li Piaoqing to discuss Jadeite Mountain’s ambitions and the threats facing Longdi. She offered Jadeite court and Immortal Platform backing, and proposed that the sect could eventually replace the Li family’s power in the region.

• Li Xizhou sent Pei Ye downstairs and spoke with Li Piaoqing on the terrace over tea.
• Li Xizhou asked Li Piaoqing about her goals and identified sect conflict, great-family domination, the Northern Wastes, and the Immortal Court as future threats.
• Li Xizhou approved Li Piaoqing’s plan to lead an alliance and promised a note authorizing her to seek support from the capital.
• Li Xizhou required Jadeite to defend Longdi and protect its people if it became the dominant power in Northern Long.
• Li Xizhou explained that the Li family held Longdi together against invasion, then suggested Jadeite might replace it if the family’s power collapsed.
• Li Piaoqing said the Li family had begun contacting Jadeite but made no promises, and agreed to see how events unfolded.

Li Xizhou and Li Piaoqing discussed Pei Ye and Ming Qitian, testing each other’s feelings and sharing memories of Pei Ye. Pei Ye returned to the terrace, where Li Xizhou saw him off after he agreed to take Li Piaoqing back to the Separate Residence.

• Li Xizhou asked Li Piaoqing what Pei Ye felt for Ming Qitian, and Li Piaoqing said she understood some of his admiration while feeling a little of everything toward Ming Qitian herself.
• Li Xizhou teased Li Piaoqing about her past with Pei Ye and learned she had joined Cui Zhaoye’s Pei Ye Fan Club as its vice president.
• Li Piaoqing surprised Li Xizhou by saying she thought Pei Ye had told her that Li Xizhou was prettier than Ming Qitian.
• Pei Ye sat beside the lake with the black cat, then decided to return upstairs and check whether Li Xizhou and Li Piaoqing had finished talking.
• Li Piaoqing told Pei Ye that she and Li Xizhou had discussed his gifts and suggested he prepare a heartfelt present for Li Xizhou after the Qilin Blood Test.
• Pei Ye said he would take Li Piaoqing to the Separate Residence, and Li Xizhou straightened his clothes before they left.

Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing left the Cultivation Literature Academy and spent the night strolling through the Divine Capital, sharing memories and catching up on their recent lives. They ended the evening by West Pool, where Pei Ye bought roast pigeon for them to eat together.

• Pei Ye apologized for Li Xizhou's remarks, and Li Piaoqing told him he did not need to apologize on her behalf.
• Li Piaoqing recalled recognizing Pei Ye at Wild Goose Dock and explained how speech, mannerisms, and expressions could expose a disguise.
• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing praised each other's growth, and she told him she planned to unite the Northern Five Provinces' sects before autumn.
• Pei Ye recounted his recent exploits in the Divine Capital, including helping Li Xizhou kill Yu Sicheng, while Li Piaoqing explained her plans for the Emerald Feather Sword Sect.
• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing strolled to West Pool, where he bought roast pigeon and shared it with her beside the water.

Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing spent a joyful evening together before discussing their past and parting on warm terms. As Pei Ye headed back toward the Sword Cultivation Academy, the Cold Spear Iron Cavalry appeared on Vermilion Bird Thoroughfare, leaving him rigid with tension.

• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing encountered a drunken young master who tried to accost her, and Li Piaoqing used her Heavenly Mountain token to make him and his companion punish themselves.
• Pei Ye and Li Piaoqing returned to the Heavenly Mountain residence and shared their feelings about their past, with Li Piaoqing telling him not to live out of pity or obligation.
• Li Piaoqing and Pei Ye exchanged their Lost Jade Swords, and she had him engrave a verse before she closed the gate and said goodbye.
• Pei Ye left for the Sword Cultivation Academy with Little Cat and wondered whether Xi Zhou might be annoyed about his evening with Li Piaoqing.
• The Cold Spear Iron Cavalry advanced down Vermilion Bird Thoroughfare, and Pei Ye stood still with his hand clamped around his sword hilt.

Yongbei entered the Divine Capital with his Northern Frontier army and ignored palace protocol to seek an audience with Li Yao. Their reunion turned to reports of the Wilderness People gathering strength for another invasion, and Li Yao promised to lead a campaign himself.

• Pei Ye watched Yongbei’s procession enter the Imperial City, then received a letter from Miss Ming saying she would arrive in the capital the next day and replied with an invitation to meet.
• Yongbei’s black-armored soldiers passed through the Imperial City, and he entered the palace alone despite the audience procedures prepared by Li Congfeng.
• Yongbei crossed the palace halls and court square without stopping, then knelt before Li Yao in a secluded garden and sought an audience.
• Yongbei told Li Yao that a new Wolf Lord had become the Wilderness God’s priest and that the Wilderness People were rebuilding their forces and cutting off northern scouts and trade.
• Li Yao said he would personally lead another campaign before the Wilderness People marched south, then recalled a feast with Yongbei, Qing Ju, and Wu Jin twenty-seven years earlier.

Pei Ye signed the arrest document naming Yong Ji as Mirage City's leader, but the Immortal Platform faced difficulties proving the charge against Prince Yan's Heir. In the Dream Realm, Pei Ye and Dali waited for Lu Wu to confront Prince Yan, leaving Pei Ye tense when Li Jian's voice appeared.

• Yongbei knelt before Li Yao and took his leave, while Li Yao drank alone and played his jade-green flute at dawn.
• Pei Ye signed the joint arrest document linking Yong Ji to Mirage City, but Zhang Siche explained that proving Yong Ji was its leader remained difficult.
• Zhang Siche told Pei Ye that Prince Yan had gone to Ci'en Temple, where the Platform Master was waiting, and sent him to the Star-Watching Tower.
• Pei Ye entered the Dream Realm and spoke with Dali about their plan, her lost Mirage Blood, and his search for a zither teacher.
• Lu Wu's seat carried a greeting to Prince Yan, who answered Li Jian, making Pei Ye stiffen with anger.

Yongbei and Li Jian agreed to let Yong Ji proceed with the Qilin Blood marriage and compete in the Divine Capital Martial Examination, which would determine whether he lived or died. Pei Ye and Dali learned that Yong Ji’s ambitions included Yu City and a future bid for the Western Court, while Lu Wu explained the city’s strategic importance.

• Yongbei confronted Li Jian at Cien Monastery and vowed to protect Yong Ji, while Li Jian demanded his life and General Chan offered to provide a qualified testimony after the Martial Examination.
• Yongbei revealed that the Martial Examination’s chief champion would receive three thousand elite troops and command of Yu City, and Li Jian agreed to let Yong Ji compete.
• Dali explained to Pei Ye that Yong Ji’s marriage and Martial Examination gave both sides a chance to secure his fate, and warned Pei Ye that Yongbei intended to kill him.
• Lu Wu joined Pei Ye and Dali through his new Nine Dreams, One Awakening art and explained that Yongbei planned for Yong Ji to claim Yu City and later contend for the Western Court.

Pei Ye learned that Prince Yan’s forces had targeted him, then spent the day anxiously preparing to meet Ming Qitian. She arrived at the quiet pond he had chosen, and they reunited after more than six months apart.

• Lu Wu and Pei Ye discussed Heavenly Mountain’s planned visit and agreed that Lu Wu would probe its intentions.
• Li Jian told Pei Ye that he had dealt with three Military Grandmasters ambushing Pei Ye’s route and warned him to be careful in the Divine Capital.
• Pei Ye returned to the Sword Cultivation Academy, cleaned up, and chose a quiet pond as a place to welcome Ming Qitian.
• Pei Ye waited at the pond, worrying about what to say and whether Ming Qitian had changed, until she appeared behind him.
• Pei Ye greeted Ming Qitian, and they reflected on their six-month separation before she asked why he had chosen the pond.

Pei Ye reunited with Ming Qitian in the Divine Capital, and the two caught up over Glaze, sword techniques, and their plans. They went to buy breakfast together, with Ming Qitian agreeing to help Pei Ye study Northern Frontier cultivation methods before his fight with Prince Yan's Heir.

• Ming Qitian reunited with Pei Ye and greeted Glaze, then they discussed their past dangers, her recovery, and the conflict between Bright Heart and Heavenly Heart.
• Pei Ye asked Ming Qitian to teach him the qin pieces needed for Thunder Zither, and she agreed to learn one of them from a score.
• Pei Ye invited Ming Qitian to a bun shop, bought her a gauze-draped bamboo hat to draw less attention, and walked with her through the Divine Capital.
• Ming Qitian said she planned to win the Feather-Scale Trial, resolve the Gushe Heart Sutra problem, and return to the mountain to break through.
• Pei Ye explained that he needed to defeat Prince Yan's Heir in the Divine Capital Martial Exam, and Ming Qitian offered to study Northern Frontier methods with him.
• Pei Ye and Ming Qitian entered Steamed Bun Small Tower, where he ordered breakfast and asked what filling she wanted.