Chapter Summaries

Fan Qinghe confronted Ye Jingtang about their growing intimacy and agreed that she might marry him if he could protect the Western Sea Tribes, while the struggle over Snow Lake Flower continued around Tianlang Lake. The group returned to the Medicine Workshop to finish refining the Heavenly Lang Pearl as the Left Xian King seemed poised to act.

• Fan Qinghe woke in Ye Jingtang's arms, slipped away, and later told him she might honor the ancestors' pact and marry him if he could protect her people from Northern Liang.
• Ye Jingtang left Fan Qinghe to tend the furnace while he went out to buy food, and she shut the door behind him in relief.
• Small parties carrying Snow Lake Flower were repeatedly robbed around Tianlang Lake, where Xue Baijin and Luo Ning encountered the Northern Liang emperor's Twelve Attendants.
• Xue Baijin and Luo Ning continued searching the ice field for Ye Jingtang while the Twelve Attendants watched them from a distance.
• At dinner, Ye Jingtang, Dongfang Liren, and Fan Qinghe discussed the Left Xian King's possible departure and the risks of the ongoing raids.
• Fan Qinghe said the Heavenly Lang Pearl would be ready after they added the Snow Lake Flower that night, and the group returned to the Medicine Workshop.

Ye Jingtang and his companions prepared to raid the Prison for Snow Lake Flowers while the Left Xian King rode out toward Eastern Lake with most of the harvest. As Hua Junchen secretly negotiated to take plants from the Prison, thieves attacked its checkpoint, leaving the raid’s outcome uncertain.

• Fan Qinghe successfully refined a Heavenly Lang Pearl, and Ye Jingtang decided to use it before pursuing the Left Xian King.
• Ye Jingtang learned that the Left Xian King had left the city with two thousand cavalry and suspected he had left unfinished Snow Lake Flowers in the Prison as bait.
• Ye Jingtang and Dongfang Liren planned to seize the Prison’s flowers before chasing the Left Xian King, while Fan Qinghe joined them with the Heavenly Lang Pearl.
• Hua Junchen persuaded Chen Yanying to let him take Snow Lake Flower plants from the Prison in exchange for seeking to restore Chen’s military standing.
• Hua Junchen began packing ten plants when guards announced that thieves were charging the checkpoint, and Chen Yanying went to meet them.

Ye Jingtang stormed the Prison, defeated Chen Yanying, and learned that Chen had once spared the baby who became the Tianlang King. He and Dongfang Liren and Fan Qinghe took all the Snow Lake Flowers and escaped, while the soldiers mistakenly concluded he had gone after the Left Xian King.

• Ye Jingtang scattered the soldiers guarding the Prison with a single spear strike and offered them the chance to withdraw.
• Chen Yanying leaped from the wall to challenge Ye Jingtang, but Ye kicked him through the Prison gates and sent him crashing into a guardroom.
• Hua Junchen tried to rescue Chen Yanying, then fled with Hua Qingzhi and Green Pearl after recognizing Ye Jingtang; Hua Qingzhi recognized Ye despite his disguised voice.
• Chen Yanying told Ye Jingtang that he had once pursued the Tianlang King's baby but let a Wandering Knight carry the child away, and Dongfang Liren urged Ye to spare him.
• Ye Jingtang pinned Chen Yanying to a wall and then gathered every Snow Lake Flower with Dongfang Liren and Fan Qinghe before escaping over the Prison wall.
• The soldiers later found the Snow Lake Flowers gone and mistakenly believed Ye Jingtang had pursued the Left Xian King.

After helping Fan Qinghe and Dongfang Liren escape with the Snow Lake Flowers, Ye Jingtang pursued the Left Xian King across the icefield. Cao Gonggong held the king back until Ye Jingtang arrived, but the king scattered his cavalry and fled, leaving Ye Jingtang in pursuit.

• Fan Qinghe and the Medicine Workshop clanspeople loaded the Snow Lake Flowers onto carriages and headed for Dongming Mountain while Ye Jingtang left to pursue the Left Xian King.
• Ye Jingtang followed the cavalry's tracks across the icefield and used the Heavenly Lang Pearl after spotting the Left Xian King's Peregrine Falcon.
• The Left Xian King attacked Cao Gonggong, who endured his blows and locked the king in a crushing hold until they plunged into the lake.
• Ye Jingtang charged the Left Xian King's two thousand cavalrymen, scattering their ranks as he tried to reach the king.
• The Left Xian King broke free, ordered his cavalry to scatter, and fled with a dozen guards, so Ye Jingtang rode after him and challenged him to fight.

Ye Jingtang fought the Left Xian King across the Icefield, wounding him but being delayed by Yin Lian and the imperial retainers. He resumed the chase and found Lady White and Little Qing blocking the Left Xian King's path.

• The Left Xian King stopped to face Ye Jingtang, and the two exchanged devastating spear attacks on the Icefield.
• Ye Jingtang wounded the Left Xian King with the Chi Dragon Blade, then seized a guard's spiked hammer and smashed through the prince's armor and spear.
• Yin Lian, Hai Yong, and the other retainers intercepted Ye Jingtang; Hai Yong impaled himself on Ye Jingtang's spear while the retainers tried to drag him down.
• Ye Jingtang killed the eight retainers, recovered his Dragon-Mingling Spear, and rode after the fleeing Left Xian King.
• Ye Jingtang spotted Lady White and Little Qing standing in the Left Xian King's path and charged toward them.

Xue Baijin and Ye Jingtang fought the wounded Left Xian King across the Icefield, where he swallowed a fatal medicine to unleash his full strength. They finally overcame and killed him, but Ye Jingtang collapsed from his injuries and exhaustion.

• Xue Baijin battled the wounded Left Xian King and hurled her twin maces into the lake, while Ye Jingtang arrived to face him.
• The Left Xian King recalled his lifelong rivalry with Xiang Hanshi and his vow to avenge Bo Fenglou before deciding to die fighting for his cause.
• The Left Xian King swallowed the Reverse Scale and attacked Ye Jingtang and Xue Baijin with overwhelming strength.
• Ye Jingtang and Xue Baijin coordinated their attacks, enduring severe injuries as the Left Xian King’s body began to fail.
• Ye Jingtang landed the decisive strike, and the Left Xian King died standing on the blood-red ice.
• After confirming the Left Xian King was dead, Xue Baijin expressed relief and Ye Jingtang collapsed onto the ice.

After Ye Jingtang, Xue Baijin, and Luo Ning defeated the Left Xian King at Tianlang Lake, they set out to pursue the Snow Lake Flowers and agreed to discuss an exchange of martial diagrams. Meanwhile, the Empress prepared to inspect the Border Army, and Perfected Person Xuanji left to find Ye Jingtang and the others.

• Cao Gonggong recovered from his injuries, saw that the Left Xian King had died, and continued the pursuit of the Snow Lake Flowers with his Secret Guards.
• Xue Baijin and Luo Ning helped the badly injured Ye Jingtang recover enough to ride, while Xue Baijin planted a spear behind the dead Left Xian King to honor his dignity.
• Ye Jingtang urged them to pursue the cavalry carrying the Snow Lake Flowers, and Xue Baijin agreed to let him study the Changqing Diagram in exchange for studying the Flame-Rebirth Diagram.
• The Empress wore her Qilin Armor aboard the treasure ship as she and the Empress Dowager discussed the possibility of war and the approaching inspection at Jingjie City.
• Perfected Person Xuanji departed for Tianlang Lake to check on Ye Jingtang and the others, while the Empress Dowager and the Empress spoke of missing Li Ren.

Ye Jingtang reunited with Luo Ning, Xue Baijin, Fan Qinghe, and Dongfang Liren after killing the Left Xian King, then discussed the political danger facing the Western Sea Tribes while traveling toward Dongming Mountain. In Red River Town, Pei Xiangjun and Zhe Yunli heard rumors of the Left Xian King's death and wondered whether Ye Jingtang had killed him.

• Luo Ning cared for the wounded Ye Jingtang as they rode with Xue Baijin, and the Heavenly Lang Pearl's lingering effects led to an awkward intimate moment.
• Niao Niao guided the riders to Fan Qinghe and Dongfang Liren's caravan; Luo Ning stayed with Xue Baijin while Ye Jingtang joined the others.
• Ye Jingtang told Fan Qinghe and Dongfang Liren that the Left Xian King had died after running into the Sky-Pacifying Sect Master, and they discussed Northern Liang's likely response and the tribes' prospects.
• Fan Qinghe examined Ye Jingtang's wounds, and Dongfang Liren agreed to help care for him during the journey toward Dongming Mountain.
• In Red River Town, Pei Xiangjun and Zhe Yunli heard martial artists say the Left Xian King had died and decided to send someone to confirm whether Ye Jingtang was responsible.

Zhongsun Jin and Ziliang weighed Northern Liang’s options after Ye Jingtang killed the Left Xian King, while Ye Jingtang’s wounded party arrived at Dongming Mountain under Fan Qinghe’s protection. Fan Qinghe brought Ye Jingtang to meet her clan, leaving him welcomed by the Dongming elders as the Tianlang King’s heir.

• Zhongsun Jin told Ziliang that assassinating Ye Jingtang would be a one-way mission and advised preserving the Dragon-Mingling Diagram as bait.
• Ziliang reported that Ye Jingtang’s whereabouts were unknown after bandits attacked the Snow Lake Flowers convoy and left him possibly wounded.
• Dongfang Liren questioned Fan Qinghe about her kinship with Ye Jingtang, then sent Fan Qinghe to check on him after he complained of boredom.
• Fan Qinghe explained Dongming Mountain’s history to Ye Jingtang and told him that her parents had served the Royal Court and never returned.
• Granny Gui and the Clan Elders came out to welcome Ye Jingtang, and Fan Qinghe introduced him to the Dongming clanspeople.

Ye Jingtang arrived at the Dongming Tribe’s stronghold, where Granny Gui and the Clan Elders welcomed him and discussed restoring the Tianlang Royal Court. The elders pressed Ye Jingtang and Fan Qinghe about marriage, while Dongfang Liren agreed on his behalf; the chapter left Fan Qinghe embarrassed and their relationship unresolved as the group settled in for the night.

• Granny Gui and the Dongming Tribe’s Clan Elders welcomed Ye Jingtang and escorted him into the stronghold.
• Ye Jingtang assured the elders that his killing of the Left Xian King would not endanger the Dongming Tribe, and they discussed the risks of restoring the Royal Court.
• Dongfang Liren proposed that children she had with Ye Jingtang could inherit both Great Wei and the Western Frontier, while Ye Jingtang said they should focus on defeating Northern Liang first.
• Granny Gui and Fan Lu pressed Ye Jingtang and Fan Qinghe to consider marriage, and Dongfang Liren told the elders that Ye Jingtang would not refuse Fan Qinghe.
• Fan Qinghe led Ye Jingtang to his quarters and avoided deciding on marriage, while Dongfang Liren urged her to continue treating him.
• Dongfang Liren accidentally made a suggestive remark about Fan Qinghe’s moon, and Ye Jingtang laughed as they ate roast lamb with Niao Niao.

Fan Qinghe wrestled with whether to accept the engagement to Ye Jingtang for love rather than the Dongming Tribe’s sake, while she cared for him through the night. On the secluded stone terrace, she agreed to treat him as a physician and they became intimate, leaving their engagement unresolved.

• Dongfang Liren persuaded Fan Qinghe to keep watch over Ye Jingtang while she rested.
• Fan Qinghe reflected on her feelings for Ye Jingtang and her reluctance to accept an engagement motivated by the tribe’s needs.
• Fan Qinghe brought Ye Jingtang a Yechi Tribe robe, helped him leave the bath, and took him to the Dongming Tribe’s medicinal storehouse and her private terrace.
• Fan Qinghe treated Ye Jingtang’s discomfort, and he pressed her to discuss the proposed engagement while reassuring her he would not force her to agree.
• Fan Qinghe agreed to proceed as his physician until she decided about the engagement, and she and Ye Jingtang became intimate on the terrace.

Perfected Person Xuanji arrived at Dongming Mountain to check on Ye Jingtang and found that Fan Qinghe had spent the night treating him intimately. As everyone gathered for breakfast, Qinghe planned to leave with Ye Jingtang once the Snow Lake Flowers were ready, while Dongfang Liren hinted at the household rivalries she expected after marriage.

• Perfected Person Xuanji entered the stronghold, found Dongfang Liren asleep, and learned that Ye Jingtang and Fan Qinghe had gone to admire the moon.
• Perfected Person Xuanji discovered Fan Qinghe and Ye Jingtang together on the platform behind the medicine storehouse and teased them before asking how long they would stay.
• Fan Qinghe said she would leave with Ye Jingtang after the Snow Lake Flowers finished drying, and Ye Jingtang joked that she had agreed to marry him before she denied that it counted.
• Dongfang Liren discussed her place in Ye Jingtang's future household with Perfected Person Xuanji, who deflected her questions about moving in.
• Fan Qinghe, Ye Jingtang, Dongfang Liren, and Perfected Person Xuanji joined Niao Niao for breakfast, where Dongfang Liren and Perfected Person Xuanji teased Qinghe about the previous night.

Ye Jingtang played a risqué drinking-chip game with Fan Qinghe, Dongfang Liren, and Perfected Person Xuanji on Dongming Mountain while the political turmoil continued beyond the pass. In Pingyi City, Liang officials recruited the surviving White Owl Camp fighters, including Cao Aning, to go to Yanjing, leaving him poised to enter the Imperial Court’s service.

• Ye Jingtang joined Fan Qinghe, Dongfang Liren, and Perfected Person Xuanji for a drinking-chip game, and the lots led to teasing kisses, touching, and embarrassing dares.
• As the Southern Dynasty’s Empress arrived in Jingjie City, the border quieted, and the death of the Left Xian King left Pingyi City’s command and White Owl Camp unsettled.
• Cao Aning and Xu Tianying discussed returning to Great Wei while they waited in Pingyi City for Night Great Yama’s orders.
• Officials from Yanjing arrived with Eunuch Ziliang’s orders to take Xu Tianying, Jia Shengzi, Cao Aning, Tang Yudan, and Du Mao to Yanjing and dismiss the remaining White Owl Camp fighters.
• A Yanjing official singled out Cao Aning as a potential replacement among the Twelve Attendants, and Cao Aning accepted the chance to meet the palace stewards.

After a drunken mountain outing left Dongfang Liren and Ye Jingtang waking in an embarrassing tangle, Liren discovered that Perfected Person Xuanji had once been intimate with him and confessed her feelings. Xuanji revealed that Yu Hu knew and had approved, leaving Liren to reckon with her sister’s place in Ye Jingtang’s household as they returned to camp.

• Perfected Person Xuanji drew a handstand lot, accidentally exposed herself when her skirt fell, and ended the game before the group fell asleep together on the ridge.
• Hua Qingzhi and Hua Junchen traveled east with the Imperial Court’s convoy, and Qingzhi helped her father write a recommendation for Chen Yanying while implying Ye Jingtang might be interested in her.
• Dongfang Liren woke to find Ye Jingtang holding her and Fan Qinghe while Perfected Person Xuanji lay half-undressed on top of him, and Xuanji fled in embarrassment.
• Dongfang Liren caught up with Perfected Person Xuanji, who admitted that she and Ye Jingtang had been intimate in Wu Prefecture after he rescued her from an aphrodisiac.
• Perfected Person Xuanji told Dongfang Liren that Yu Hu knew about the affair and had even bestowed her on Ye Jingtang, then promised to support Liren as they returned to camp.

After Dongfang Liren confronted Ye Jingtang about his relationships, she reconciled with him and Fan Qinghe, then drew Perfected Person Xuanji into a drinking-lot game that turned into an intimate contest. As the night ended, the Snow Lake Flowers were ready for use and the journey to Tianlang Lake came to a close.

• Niao Niao spotted Dongfang Liren, Perfected Person Xuanji, Fan Qinghe, and Ye Jingtang returning from the mountains, with Dongfang Liren appearing stern and Perfected Person Xuanji looking guilty.
• Dongfang Liren questioned Ye Jingtang about his lovers, warned him to know his limits, and refused to let him pursue Yunli just to help secure the Sky-Pacifying Sect's pardon.
• Dongfang Liren and Ye Jingtang began kissing, but Fan Qinghe interrupted and discovered that Dongfang Liren intended to spend the night with him.
• Fan Qinghe and Dongfang Liren invited Perfected Person Xuanji to treat Ye Jingtang, then challenged her to a drinking-lot game with lots Dongfang Liren carved from Tears of the Chivalrous Woman.
• Perfected Person Xuanji, Fan Qinghe, and Dongfang Liren played the game together while Ye Jingtang watched, and Fan Qinghe discovered that Perfected Person Xuanji could not endure much.
• The Clan Elders sealed the dried Snow Lake Flowers in boxes, bringing the journey to Tianlang Lake to a close.

Ye Jingtang returned toward Jingjie City with Dongfang Liren, Perfected Person Xuanji, and Fan Qinghe, while news of the snow lake flowers and the Left Xian King's death spread through the frontier. In Jingjie City, Luo Ning and Xue Baijin reunited with Zhe Yunli, who had been disguising her worries for Ye Jingtang with poetry.

• Ye Jingtang received Hu Yanjing's letter about the White Owl Camp's disbandment and Cao Aning's departure for Yanjing, then burned it.
• Ye Jingtang and the three women boarded a fast boat to carry the snow lake flowers toward Jingjie City, and he caught a fish while they washed.
• Ye Jingtang entered the bathing room, and Fan Qinghe was pushed into his arms before he carried her into the adjoining cabin.
• In Jingjie City, Xue Baijin watched over the snow lake flowers she had seized, while Luo Ning inspected their carriage in the rain.
• Luo Ning and Xue Baijin heard Zhe Yunli reciting a wistful poem about Ye Jingtang, then Luo Ning confronted her and sent her to see Xue Baijin.

Ye Jingtang and his companions arrived in Jingjie City, where Pei Xiangjun welcomed them and Dongfang Liren returned to the Imperial Palace. After discussing the household’s future place in its hierarchy with her sister, the Empress, Dongfang Liren left to fetch Ye Jingtang for his report on the Dragon-Mingling Diagram.

• Ye Jingtang and Perfected Person Xuanji approached Jingjie City by boat and discussed the painting on her skin before docking.
• Pei Xiangjun greeted Ye Jingtang and the returning women, then told him Ning'er wanted him to meet the Sky-Pacifying Sect Master after his report.
• Dongfang Liren heard from Meng Jiao that Cao Gonggong had retired and planned to visit Fengguancheng, while the Left Xian King's death had left the Liang Emperor furious.
• Ye Jingtang delivered the Snow Lake Flower to the Imperial Palace and went to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager while Dongfang Liren met the Empress.
• Dongfang Liren asked the Empress about Master’s place in Ye Jingtang’s household and worried that Xue Baijin might outrank her if she joined the family.
• The Empress asked Dongfang Liren to bring Ye Jingtang to discuss the Dragon-Mingling Diagram, and Dongfang Liren left without confronting her sister further.

Ye Jingtang returned to the palace, reunited with the Empress Dowager, and learned that Yu Hu had fainted and was feeling unwell. He discussed recovering the Changqing Diagram and Snow Lake Flowers with Yu Hu, who entrusted him with authority to negotiate, before his painful massage left her sending him away.

• The Empress Dowager mistook her painting of rain for noodles, then welcomed Ye Jingtang back and admitted she wished she could have his child.
• The Empress Dowager told Ye Jingtang that Yu Hu had fainted in the Noble Consort Pool, so he went to check on her.
• Ye Jingtang found Yu Hu bathing and explained his plan to recover the Changqing Diagram, Bright Deity Diagram, and Snow Lake Flowers from Northern Liang.
• Yu Hu gave Ye Jingtang authority to negotiate for the Imperial Court and agreed to keep the Empress Dowager's relationship with him private until the political situation settled.
• Yu Hu asked Ye Jingtang to massage her, but his forceful treatment hurt her, and she sent him away.

Ye Jingtang met Xue Baijin to exchange diagrams and collect the Snow Lake Flowers, then encountered Zhe Yunli, who asked to join his future travels. He returned to the Red Flower House carriage house, where he reunited with Luo Ning and learned she would let him decide whether to take Yunli along.

• Xue Baijin told Ye Jingtang she planned to travel north to avenge Ning'er and offered to help if he displayed his Yan Soul Never Dies token.
• Ye Jingtang and Xue Baijin shared a meal, exchanged the Flame-Rebirth Diagram and Changqing Diagram, and he took the Snow Lake Flowers to the Imperial Palace.
• Ye Jingtang found Zhe Yunli buying him a jade belt clasp, and she persuaded him to consider taking her on his next journey if her master and mistress agreed.
• Ye Jingtang discovered Yu Hu, the Empress Dowager, and Silly were missing from the palace, then rode to the Red Flower House carriage house and found them gathered with Pei Xiangjun and Qinghe.
• Luo Ning told Ye Jingtang to judge for himself whether it was suitable to take Zhe Yunli traveling, and Third Madam called them inside for dinner.

During a drunken dinner game, Ye Jingtang learned that Xue Baijin had vanished after apparently breaking through a wall, and he and Yu Hu tracked her into the mountains. They found her in the throes of a dangerous attempt to correct her self-devised Flame-Rebirth Diagram, but she refused to inspect the real diagram, leaving them to restrain her and wait as she tried to regain control.

• Ning'er asked Ye Jingtang embarrassing questions during the drinking game, and Third Madam pushed him outside after he mentioned the Jade Radish she had carved for him.
• Zhe Yunli reported that Xue Baijin had disappeared after smashing through the wall of her room, so Ye Jingtang and Yu Hu searched the inn and followed her trail north.
• Ye Jingtang and the Empress tracked Xue Baijin through Heaven's Gate Gorge and found her sweating and meditating in a mountain hollow.
• Xue Baijin attacked when they approached, but Ye Jingtang and the Empress restrained her and realized that she had been practicing the Flame-Rebirth Diagram without checking it against the original.
• The Empress showed Xue Baijin the Dragon-Mingling Diagram, but Xue Baijin shut her eyes and refused to look, so Ye Jingtang urged her to take her time and seek help if her condition worsened.