Chapter Summaries

Ye Jingtang and Xue Baijin fought Xiang Hanshi in the mountains, but his overwhelming strength left them near defeat. Ye Jingtang used his understanding of the Dragon-Mingling Diagrams to summon the Chi Dragon Blade and bluff Xiang Hanshi into retreating, then collapsed from his injuries as Xue Baijin carried him away.

• Ye Jingtang and Xue Baijin turned to attack Xiang Hanshi, but he wounded them both and knocked their weapons aside.
• Xiang Hanshi accused Ye Jingtang of aiding the Southern Dynasty and disrupting the Western Frontier, while Xue Baijin urged Ye Jingtang to escape.
• Ye Jingtang invoked a forbidden Dragon-Mingling Diagram method, summoned the Chi Dragon Blade to his hand, and convinced Xiang Hanshi that his next strike could be deadly.
• Beacon fires appeared in the south, and Xiang Hanshi withdrew rather than risk fighting Ye Jingtang.
• After Xiang Hanshi vanished, Ye Jingtang coughed blood and collapsed, and Xue Baijin carried him deeper into the forest.

Ye Jingtang and Xue Baijin escaped Xiang Hanshi through the storm, but Ye Jingtang’s body remained badly strained after he forced himself to deduce the Dragon-Mingling Diagram. They hid aboard a drifting ferry to recover, while the Empress arrived at the battlefield and pursued them; the chapter ended as a distant clang reached the ferry.

• Xue Baijin carried the gravely weakened Ye Jingtang through the mountains until they reached a river dock and stole a ferry to escape.
• Aboard the ferry, Ye Jingtang and Xue Baijin rested, lit a fire, and shared dried meat while discussing Niao Niao and the missing Dragon-Mingling Diagrams.
• The Empress reached the abandoned battlefield, found signs that Ye Jingtang and Xue Baijin had fled south, and continued after them with Niao Niao scouting ahead.
• Ye Jingtang woke beside Xue Baijin and accidentally touched her exposed chest; she mistook his coughing for a sign of worsening injury and helped him recover.
• Xue Baijin tried to adjust her fallen chest binding while Ye Jingtang rested, but a distant clang sounded through the rain.

The Empress found Ye Jingtang and Xue Baijin on a ferry after Niao Niao tracked them south, and learned Ye Jingtang had worked out the last three Dragon-Mingling diagrams while fighting Xiang Hanshi. Though he insisted he was only exhausted, the Empress and Xue Baijin feared the diagrams could kill him; they planned their next moves while the Empress revealed Great Wei’s secret Grain Pills and took the Bright Deity Diagram to study.

• Niao Niao spotted Ye Jingtang’s signal over a river, and the Empress reached the ferry and found him alive but gravely weakened.
• Xue Baijin told the Empress that Ye Jingtang had worked out the last three Dragon-Mingling diagrams while fighting Xiang Hanshi, alarming both women about the danger to his body.
• Ye Jingtang told the women to rest until dawn, then planned for Xue Baijin to escort Ning'er and the others across the border while the Empress took him to Heaven's Gate Gorge.
• The Empress gave Xue Baijin and Ye Jingtang secret Grain Pills, which proved filling but tasted awful, and explained their value as portable military rations.
• The Empress took the Bright Deity Diagram from Ye Jingtang’s robe and went outside to study it after kissing him, while Xue Baijin ordered them not to disturb his rest.

The Empress carried an injured Ye Jingtang toward Heaven's Gate Gorge while Xue Baijin returned to collect Luo Ning, Fan Qinghe, Zhe Yunli, and Hua Qingzhi. With war breaking out between Great Wei and the Southern Dynasty, Xue Baijin prepared to lead them back across the border.

• The Empress dressed Ye Jingtang in new clothes, carried him on her back, and set off toward Heaven's Gate Gorge while Xue Baijin and Niao Niao headed north to find the others.
• On the road, Ye Jingtang rested against the Empress as she worried about his injuries and teased him about Xue Baijin.
• In Huangqi Town, Hua Qingzhi and the others waited anxiously through the night, fearing Ye Jingtang and Xue Baijin had encountered Xiang Hanshi.
• Xue Baijin returned and told Luo Ning, Fan Qinghe, and Zhe Yunli that Ye Jingtang was injured but safe with the Empress, and that they needed to leave quickly.
• To keep them from worrying about Ye Jingtang's condition, Xue Baijin claimed he had looked at her exposed skin during the fight, prompting the others to pack while Zhe Yunli questioned her about him.
• Xue Baijin decided they would bring Hua Qingzhi along and ordered the group to prepare to reach Chengtian Prefecture and cross the border.

The Empress returned to Jingjie City with Ye Jingtang, who had collapsed from exhaustion after fighting Xiang Hanshi, and left Dongfang Liren to handle state affairs while he recovered. After waking and finding no immediate ill effects from his Dragon-Mingling Diagram, Ye Jingtang reunited with the Empress over the noodles she had cooked for him.

• Dongfang Liren worried over being left in charge until Hongyu announced the Empress and Ye Jingtang had returned.
• The Empress said Ye Jingtang had been injured fighting Xiang Hanshi, and Wang Divine Physician found him exhausted but without apparent serious harm.
• The Empress sent Dongfang Liren, the Empress Dowager, Shui'er, and Pei Xiangjun away so Ye Jingtang could rest, then stayed beside him with her Twin-Fish Pendant.
• Ye Jingtang woke in the imperial bedchamber, tested the Mountain-Moving Diagram, and stopped when his weakness made him unsteady.
• The Empress brought Ye Jingtang chicken broth noodles and told him that Meng Jiao and the others were fetching his family.
• Ye Jingtang praised the Empress's cooking and spoke about how much he valued coming home to a meal, while she leaned against him as he ate.

After Ye Jingtang returned exhausted from Jade Water Forest, Yu Hu cared for him and drew him into an intimate encounter in the bath. The chapter left them together in the Bedchamber as their night continued.

• Ye Jingtang ate several bowls of soup to recover from his overexertion, then asked Yu Hu for a bath.
• Yu Hu prepared the medicinal bath and told Ye Jingtang to stay in the city while she searched for the final three diagrams.
• Yu Hu joined Ye Jingtang in the pool and offered to make him Great Wei’s Tianlang King, but he showed little interest in the title.
• Yu Hu pressed Ye Jingtang to accept her affection, and they recalled how their feelings began at Jade Resonance Tower.
• Ye Jingtang and Yu Hu kissed and touched each other in the bath, then continued their intimacy behind the screen.

After the Empress and Ye Jingtang spent the night together, Dongfang Liren discovered their affair and negotiated her sister’s place in the household. The chapter left Dongfang Liren alone with Ye Jingtang on the Dragon Bed, kissing him while he rested.

• The Empress tended to the exhausted Ye Jingtang, then bathed while Dongfang Liren went to check on him.
• Madam Wang tried to keep Dongfang Liren from entering the Bedchamber, but Dongfang Liren knocked her unconscious and went inside.
• Dongfang Liren discovered that the Empress had slept with Ye Jingtang, and the Empress apologized and offered to let Dongfang Liren rule at home.
• Dongfang Liren accepted the Empress into the household, gave her a welcoming gift, and went to speak with Ye Jingtang.
• Ye Jingtang told Dongfang Liren about stealing the famed saber Red Tiger and recounted the dangers of his Northern Liang journey.
• The Empress left Dongfang Liren and Ye Jingtang alone, and Dongfang Liren kissed him as he lay resting.

After returning to the palace, Ye Jingtang rested in the Bedchamber while Perfected Person Xuanji and the Empress Dowager visited him in turn. The Empress Dowager brought him roast chicken, shared stories with him, and stayed beside him as he fell asleep.

• Dongfang Liren and Yu Hu returned to the Imperial Study, and Perfected Person Xuanji went to check on Ye Jingtang.
• Perfected Person Xuanji found Ye Jingtang exhausted, told him about her embroidered undergarment, and became intimate with him.
• The Empress Dowager waited to visit Ye Jingtang, then slipped out with roast chicken after Hongyu helped her.
• The Empress Dowager fed Ye Jingtang and listened as he recounted his adventures in Northern Liang.
• The Empress Dowager offered to help Ye Jingtang recover, but he comforted her instead and held her until she grew sleepy.
• The Empress Dowager moved away so she could leave before Yu Hu arrived, and Ye Jingtang fell asleep.

After waking in the palace, Ye Jingtang reassured Yu Hu that he had recovered and planned to help Qinghe rally the Western Sea Tribes. He returned to Red Flower House, where Pei Xiangjun discussed donating its silver to the Imperial Court before welcoming him back; the chapter left them together in the accounts room.

• Yu Hu told Ye Jingtang that Prince Liang had led troops to Pingyi City and urged him to rest, but Ye Jingtang said he would go with Qinghe to speak with the Western Sea Tribes.
• Pei Xiangjun planned to donate thirty percent of Red Flower House's ready silver to support the Imperial Court's war and strengthen the house's claim to become imperial merchants.
• Ye Jingtang arrived at the Carriage House under escort, and Xiuhe left to buy fabric so he could reunite privately with Pei Xiangjun.
• Ye Jingtang offered to teach Pei Xiangjun the Bright Deity Diagram and help her obtain an Imitation Heavenly Lang Pearl, but she said others should receive the medicine first.
• Pei Xiangjun asked Ye Jingtang why she seemed to be the only woman in the household who had suffered an unequal share of their intimate encounters, and he promised there would be time to make things fair.

Hua Qingzhi refused Xue Baijin’s offer to flee to the Southern Dynasty, choosing to return to her family and hope to meet Ye Jingtang again in peacetime. Back in Jingjie City, Ye Jingtang reunited with Pei Xiangjun and went to the palace, where the Empress’s promised reward led him into a bath with the Empress, Dongfang Liren, and Perfected Person Xuanji.

• Hua Qingzhi refused to leave with Xue Baijin and asked her to tell Ye Jingtang to focus on the people and hope for peace between the two countries.
• Xue Baijin, Zhe Yunli, and Luo Ning decided to check Hua Qingzhi’s reaction after dark and let Ye Jingtang know if she had feelings for him.
• She Long found Ye Jingtang resting by Big Black Horse, and Ye Jingtang assured him that he was well before returning to the palace with Pei Xiangjun.
• The Empress gave Pei Xiangjun the Bright Deity Diagram and led Ye Jingtang toward the bathing hall, where the Empress Dowager, Dongfang Liren, and Perfected Person Xuanji were waiting.
• The Empress Dowager dressed and left when Ye Jingtang arrived, while the Empress invited him to bathe with her, Dongfang Liren, and Perfected Person Xuanji.
• Ye Jingtang entered the pool with Pei Xiangjun and joined the others, while the Empress Dowager sneaked back to peek through the door before hurrying away in embarrassment.

Xue Baijin returned to the Carriage House with Luo Ning and the others, bringing the bound Hua Qingzhi and her maid Green Pearl along after mistaking Hua Qingzhi’s longing for Ye Jingtang as proof of a romance. Ye Jingtang tried to explain the misunderstanding, but Dongfang Liren arrived, saw him supporting Hua Qingzhi, and appeared to mistake her for his eloped lover.

• Xue Baijin told Luo Ning she planned to travel alone to find the remaining diagrams, while Luo Ning argued she should stay by Xue Baijin’s side and Zhe Yunli offered to be a burden too.
• Xue Baijin found Ye Jingtang recovering at the Carriage House, where Third Madam was caring for him, and reassured herself that his injuries were no longer serious.
• Xue Baijin presented Hua Qingzhi and Green Pearl, explaining that she had abducted them after seeing Hua Qingzhi pining over Ye Jingtang’s portrait; Ye Jingtang denied that Hua Qingzhi was his lady confidante.
• Ye Jingtang untied Hua Qingzhi and promised to take her back to Northern Liang after he recovered, while Hua Qingzhi complained about Xue Baijin’s treatment of her.
• Dongfang Liren arrived with soup, saw Ye Jingtang supporting Hua Qingzhi, and suspected that Hua Qingzhi had eloped with him; Hua Qingzhi then fell, and Ye Jingtang caught her before Green Pearl helped her away.

Ye Jingtang cleared up Dongfang Liren’s suspicions about Hua Qingzhi and gave her the treasured saber Red Fox, while Zhe Yunli told him she wanted to travel with Xue Baijin to gain martial experience. In the Rear Residence, Pei Xiangjun warned Luo Ning and Fan Qinghe that the Empress’s interest in Ye Jingtang could leave them behind, before Ye interrupted their bath to discuss medicinal prescriptions and drew them into further intimacy.

• Ye Jingtang reassured Dongfang Liren that Xue Baijin had brought Hua Qingzhi to the Southern Dynasty after misunderstanding her relationship with him, and Dongfang accepted the explanation.
• Ye Jingtang gave Dongfang Liren the saber Red Fox, and she left pleased with the gift after telling him to treat Hua Qingzhi properly.
• Zhe Yunli told Ye Jingtang she wanted to accompany Xue Baijin on a martial-world journey, and he said he would discuss it with her guardians.
• Pei Xiangjun warned Luo Ning and Fan Qinghe that the Empress’s interest in Ye Jingtang could make them lose their place in his affections, then advised them to be more proactive.
• Ye Jingtang entered while Luo Ning and Fan Qinghe were bathing, discussed medicinal prescriptions with Fan Qinghe, and joined Pei Xiangjun in drawing the women into intimacy.

Hua Qingzhi tried to move out of Ye Jingtang’s residence, but Ye persuaded her to stay temporarily and promised to send her back to Northern Liang. After hearing that the Empress had gone looking for Xue Baijin, Ye hurried out to prevent the two women from clashing.

• Hua Qingzhi gave Green Pearl silver notes and told her to buy a nearby residence so she could avoid rumors about staying under Ye Jingtang’s roof.
• The Empress visited Hua Qingzhi, praised her poem, and said she would ask Xue Baijin about the abduction, but admitted Hua would have to remain in the Southern Dynasty for now.
• Imperial Physician Wang and Zhang Jinglin studied Northern Liang’s incomplete medicinal formulas while Ye Jingtang’s household discussed reproducing the pills and giving the first one to Xue Baijin.
• Green Pearl told Ye Jingtang that Hua Qingzhi wanted to move out, and he returned with her to explain that Hua should stay temporarily in Third Madam’s residence.
• Ye Jingtang learned that the Empress had gone to find Xue Baijin, feared they would quarrel, and hurried out after carrying Hua Qingzhi into her room.

Xue Baijin searched for clues to the last three Dragon-Mingling Diagrams while the Empress rewarded her with two diagrams and challenged her to a fight. After Ye Jingtang stopped them, he gave Xue Baijin the diagrams, watched over her deductions, and helped her when she went astray; the chapter ended with her continuing to study as he shared Yunli’s salty chicken wings.

• Xue Baijin wandered Jingjie City seeking rumors about the lost Dragon-Mingling Diagrams until the Empress arrived and offered her two diagrams as a reward for her help in Northern Liang.
• Xue Baijin and the Empress fought briefly, but Ye Jingtang rushed in and separated them before either was hurt.
• The Empress gave Ye Jingtang the Dragon-Elephant and Jade Bones diagrams for Xue Baijin, then he took her back to the palace.
• Ye Jingtang returned to the Carriage House and gave Xue Baijin the diagrams; she said she planned to leave soon and take Zhe Yunli with her.
• As Xue Baijin tried to deduce the diagrams, Ye Jingtang sensed her qi taking a wrong path and guided it, but she caught him holding her and scolded him for using his own diagram recklessly.
• Zhe Yunli interrupted Xue Baijin’s rough massage of Ye Jingtang and brought them chicken wings; Xue Baijin resumed her study while Ye Jingtang ate and shared the salty food.

Ye Jingtang, Yu Hu, and the Empress Dowager reached Black Banner Gang territory in Liangzhou, where an incognito inspection exposed the gang’s exploitative water stall. Hu Yanjing then reported that Northern Liang was distributing elixirs and sending experts west, leaving Ye Jingtang wary of a possible scheme involving Shenchen Monk.

• Ye Jingtang and his companions arrived at a town in the Desolate Bone Shoals and learned that Black Banner Gang charged travelers three mace to hear a story while offering well water as a supposed free gift.
• Ye Jingtang and the Empress discussed rumors that the Fire-Worshipping Sect was recruiting followers in Shazhou.
• Hu Yanjing arrived and told Ye Jingtang that Northern Liang was giving elixirs to Eunuch Ziliang, Yin Shicheng, and Hua Junchen, while Xu Tianying had received none.
• Hu Yanjing reported that Eunuch Ziliang, Hua Junchen, and Cao Aning had gone to the Western Sea Protectorate, and Ye Jingtang wondered who the additional elixir was meant for.
• The Empress argued that Shenchen Monk was unlikely to accept an elixir from Northern Liang, while Hu Yanjing warned the report might be meant to provoke a clash between him and Ye Jingtang.
• Ye Jingtang told Hu Yanjing to have the gang sell well water as drinking water, and Hu Yanjing hurried out to correct the arrangement.

Hua Junchen worried about his eloped daughter while discussing Northern Liang’s worsening position at Pingyi City. Meanwhile, Ye Jingtang traveled with the Empress and Empress Dowager toward Yinma Pool, where the Empress discovered unfamiliar riders with ties beyond the passes and the night ended with the three sharing a tent.

• Hua Junchen asked Eunuch Yin about the siege of Pingyi City and learned Northern Liang planned to stir up desert tribes to delay the Southern Dynasty.
• Ye Jingtang, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager reached the crowded camp at Yinma Pool and settled by the lake for the night.
• The Empress Dowager and Ye Jingtang shared a swing and kissed before the Empress returned and caught them together.
• The Empress told the Empress Dowager that their relationship had to remain secret until peace returned, then the three went to sleep in the same tent.
• The Empress Dowager secretly touched Ye Jingtang through the curtain, and he later touched both her and the Empress while they pretended to sleep.
• The Empress reported that a group of armed outsiders planned to meet the Gouchen Tribe, and she had Niao Niao watch their movements.

Ye Jingtang prepared to leave Red River Town for the Western Sea, where he would negotiate with the tribes and investigate a party moving beyond the pass. Before departing, he arranged for Hua Qingzhi to return home and reassured Dongfang Liren that he would come back soon.

• Pei Xiangjun and Song Chi described how Liangzhou thieves had robbed the Red Flower House's escort shipment and the Black Bureau's horses, and Ye Jingtang told Song Chi to confront Zhou Ergou.
• Luo Ning told Ye Jingtang that the Western Sea Tribes were divided, and their leaders would need assurances before joining his plans.
• Ye Jingtang told Hua Qingzhi that her father was at the Western Sea Protectorate and that he would take her there so she could return to Eastern Lake Circuit.
• Dongfang Liren returned after failing to catch the horse thieves, and Ye Jingtang comforted her as she prepared to bathe.
• Dongfang Liren questioned Ye Jingtang about sending Hua Qingzhi home, then warned him to be careful and return promptly from beyond the pass.

Ye Jingtang’s party traveled north toward the Western Sea Protectorate while tracking an unidentified mounted group, and Hua Qingzhi passed the journey drinking with Perfected Person Xuanji. Near Heicu City, Ye Jingtang and Fan Qinghe discussed the Gouchen Tribe’s power and the Western Sea Tribes’ divided loyalties; the chapter ended with Ye Jingtang searching for a boat to cross the Black River.

• Perfected Person Xuanji invited Hua Qingzhi and Green Pearl to drink in the carriage, claimed to be sixty-three, and spoke of her Daoist teachings while getting both women drunk.
• Fan Qinghe joined Ye Jingtang outside and warned him about Perfected Person Xuanji’s antics before the party continued following the mounted group, with Niao Niao scouting from above.
• After two days of travel, Ye Jingtang’s party reached the Black River near Heicu City, where Fan Qinghe explained the Gouchen Tribe’s strength and its uneasy ties to Northern Liang.
• Ye Jingtang found Perfected Person Xuanji and Hua Qingzhi drunk in the carriage and told Shui'er to look after Hua Qingzhi.
• Ye Jingtang left the carriage to find a boat so the party could cross the Black River.

Jingkong negotiated Northern Liang’s support for Huang Liansheng, whose ambitions and claimed strength drew Ye Jingtang’s attention. Back at their lodging, Perfected Person Xuanji reached the threshold of Return to Simplicity and persuaded Fan Qinghe to follow her heart’s desires.

• Jingkong met Li Xian and Eunuch Xu in Heicu City to seek Northern Liang’s aid for the Shatuo Tribe.
• Ye Jingtang and Fan Qinghe eavesdropped on the negotiations and learned that Huang Liansheng claimed he could withstand Ye Jingtang and intended to defeat Shenchen Monk.
• Ye Jingtang and Fan Qinghe discussed the threat Huang Liansheng might pose before returning to the medicine shop.
• Perfected Person Xuanji meditated and announced that she had touched the threshold of Return to Simplicity.
• Perfected Person Xuanji challenged Fan Qinghe to follow her heart’s desires, and Fan Qinghe joined Ye Jingtang on his lap.

Hua Qingzhi woke in Heicu City after a drunken night and learned that Ye Jingtang had carried her to bed, while Perfected Person Xuanji tried to dress her in fashionable Yun'an undergarments. At the Left Xian King's Manor, Li Zhen and his ministers planned to enlist Huang Liansheng and the Shatuo Tribe against the Southern Dynasty, but Eunuch Xu sensed a disturbance outside.

• Hua Qingzhi woke naked in Heicu City, and Perfected Person Xuanji told her Qinghe had undressed her while Ye Jingtang had waited outside.
• Perfected Person Xuanji persuaded Hua Qingzhi to wear a revealing Cloud-Embroidered Bodice, but Hua Qingzhi refused the matching underwear and later left to travel toward the Western Sea Protectorate.
• Li Zhen worried that the Southern Dynasty Empress's advance threatened the Western Sea Protectorate, while Li Si argued that the Right Xian King should avoid shifting the war to the dynasty's heartland.
• Eunuch Xu reported that Huang Liansheng and the Shatuo Tribe might seek independence, and Li Si offered to negotiate with Huang Liansheng at Huangming Mountain.
• Eunuch Xu sensed a disturbance outside the Left Xian King's Manor and went to investigate as the guards secured Li Zhen.