Chapter Summaries

After returning to Capital City, Ye Jingtang heard that Cheng Song had beaten Liuzi and set out with Pei Luo to confront him. Pei Luo offered to handle the dispute, but Ye Jingtang headed for Three Origins Tower to find Cheng Song himself.

• Ye Jingtang told Madam Yellow Candle he would deal with Li Hunyuan after taking care of business in Capital City, then rode with Pei Xiangjun and Xiuhe toward the Pei Residence.
• Pei Xiangjun discussed teaching Ye Jingtang Thunder God Eight Extremes and asked how he would explain his connection to Red Flower House to Prince Jing.
• Ye Jingtang met Pei Luo, who was heading out to handle a dispute involving Cheng Song and Liuzi.
• Ye Jingtang visited the injured Liuzi, gave Yang Chao money to find a good physician, and told Liuzi to recover.
• Pei Luo said Cheng Song was at Three Origins Tower and offered to manage the confrontation, while Ye Jingtang agreed to go there.

Ye Jingtang returned to the Capital City and attacked Cheng Song at the Three Origins Tower, leaving Pei Luo stunned by his violence. He then set off to discuss business with Second Master Cheng, despite Pei Luo warning him of the consequences.

• Dongfang Liren learned that Black Bureau constables had been beaten by Six Fan Gate officers and heard that Ye Jingtang had gone to the West Market.
• Cheng Song and the young masters at the Three Origins Tower discussed Zhou Huaili's death and the Red Flower House's conflict with the Embrace Origin Gate.
• Ye Jingtang arrived at the Three Origins Tower with Pei Luo and kicked Cheng Song out of the building when he came down to confront them.
• Ye Jingtang pinned Cheng Song to the steps, broke his chest bones, and left after asking whether Cheng Song knew why he had been hit.
• Pei Luo followed Ye Jingtang and urged him to turn himself in, but Ye Jingtang said he was going to discuss business with Second Master Cheng.

Ye Jingtang confronted the local bosses who had opposed the Pei Family’s redevelopment of Dyeing Street and beat Second Master Cheng into the floor before forcing him to yield. After leaving with Pei Luo, Ye Jingtang encountered Prince Jing, who ordered him into her carriage.

• At Emerald Pavilion, Yang Guan warned the gathered bosses that Ye Jingtang and the Black Bureau were not safe to provoke, while Pei Luo tried to stop Ye Jingtang from entering.
• Ye Jingtang ordered everyone except Second Master Cheng to leave, then knocked one boss unconscious with a single knee strike.
• Ye Jingtang battered Second Master Cheng through the wall and into the floor until Cheng yielded, and Ye Jingtang noticed strange cracks on his forehead before leaving.
• Ye Jingtang walked out through the hired fighters with Pei Luo and told him to return to the Academy and study for an official degree.
• Prince Jing, Dongfang Liren, ordered Pei Luo escorted home and summoned Ye Jingtang into her carriage.

Ye Jingtang rode with Dongfang Liren after defeating Cheng Bao, and she treated his scraped hand while discussing his legal troubles and martial-world enemies. On the way to investigate a murder on Zhuji Street, Dongfang Liren learned the true meaning of a phrase and discovered the illustrated contents of Tears of the Chivalrous Woman, leaving her flustered and angry as they arrived.

• Dongfang Liren treated Ye Jingtang's scraped hand, and he explained why Cheng Bao would settle their conflict through martial-world rules rather than report him.
• Ye Jingtang told Dongfang Liren that the Red Flower House had offered to teach her the Overlord Spear, and she described the Zhou Family's challenge and arranged to teach him protective techniques.
• Dongfang Liren asked Ye Jingtang what “barring the back door with a rod” meant, but he refused to explain it directly.
• Dongfang Liren showed Ye Jingtang her copy of Tears of the Chivalrous Woman, and he realized it was an illustrated official edition unlike the incomplete copy he had read before.
• Ye Jingtang explained the book's veiled meaning to Dongfang Liren, who blushed and tried to draw his saber before the carriage arrived at Zhuji Street.

Dongfang Liren inspected the murder of Zhao De and tried to supervise the investigation, while Ye Jingtang challenged the officers’ belief that the killer had used a sword. The chapter ended as Ye Jingtang began examining the crime scene to support his claim that the weapon was a saber.

• Dongfang Liren arrived at Zhao De’s residence, where officials explained that the Ministry of Works minor official had been murdered two days earlier.
• Dongfang Liren advised Ye Jingtang to act authoritative while supervising investigations and leave the detailed work to subordinates.
• Yuwen Chengde asked Dongfang Liren to identify the marks on the courtyard wall, and she said they came from the sword move “White Crane Sweeps Its Tail.”
• Ye Jingtang contradicted Dongfang Liren and the officers, arguing that the marks were saber cuts made by an expert wielding a sword-like saber.
• Dongfang Liren asked Ye Jingtang to provide solid evidence, and he handed her his umbrella before examining the marks around the courtyard.

Ye Jingtang reconstructed the fight at Zhao De’s murder scene and challenged the conclusion that the killing was tied to the Sky-Pacifying Sect, though he could not yet explain his suspicions. He left the investigation unresolved and returned to the carriage with Dongfang Liren, who offered him a reward if he solved the case.

• Ye Jingtang reenacted the fight at the scene and deduced that the killer used a saber, was about his height, and had initially sought information from Zhao De.
• Ye Jingtang examined Zhao De’s body and argued that the Roaming Body Palm might have been used to frame the Sky-Pacifying Sect, but admitted he could not identify what was wrong with the technique.
• The White-Haired Old Woman confirmed that the palm strike appeared to come from the Roaming Body Palm’s lineage, while cautioning against dismissing Ye Jingtang’s suspicion.
• Dongfang Liren ordered the officers to continue investigating and offered Ye Jingtang the Dragon-Mingling Spear if he solved the case.
• On the return journey, Ye Jingtang avoided promising a solution and nearly angered Dongfang Liren by asking for a book as his reward before claiming he was joking and leaving the carriage.

Ye Jingtang returned home to find Luo Ning and Zhe Yunli tidying the courtyard, then concealed how minor his hand injury was while asking Luo Ning about the martial art used in a recent fight. He and Luo Ning agreed to investigate an official’s murder at the morgue that night, as the Sky-Pacifying Sect denied responsibility for the killing.

• Ye Jingtang returned to the courtyard and gave Zhe Yunli a jewelry box, while Luo Ning and Zhe Yunli worried over his bandaged hand.
• Ye Jingtang hugged Luo Ning under their wager as she treated his hand, then admitted he had fought Second Old Cheng with his fists and asked about the cracked-skin martial art.
• Luo Ning said Second Old Cheng’s technique did not sound like the Golden Scale Diagram, and Ye Jingtang planned to study it if Furious-Eyed Vajra came after him.
• Ye Jingtang told Luo Ning that an official had been killed using Wandering Body Palm, but she insisted the Sky-Pacifying Sect had not sent anyone into the Capital City.
• Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning agreed to inspect the body in the Government office’s morgue that night, and Luo Ning limited their daily hugs to a quarter of an hour until Qiu Tianhe was free.

Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning sneaked into the Bandit-Catching Bureau morgue to investigate Zhao De’s death and found that the palm print came from the Sky-Pacifying Sect’s Eight Trigrams Wandering Body Palm. Their investigation was interrupted by a signal outside, and they hid beneath a plank bed to listen.

• Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning slipped into the Bandit-Catching Bureau after Niao Niao scouted the guards.
• Ye Jingtang searched the morgue’s bodies and found Zhao De among them.
• Luo Ning identified the mark on Zhao De’s chest as the Eight Trigrams Wandering Body Palm, matching Protector Zhang’s technique despite not belonging to any known disciple.
• Ye Jingtang suggested asking Zhang Henggu about the shared origin of the technique, and Luo Ning agreed to keep examining the print.
• When an owl called outside, Luo Ning extinguished the light and Ye Jingtang pulled her beneath a plank bed to hide.

Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning caught an intruder trying to destroy evidence in the government morgue, but the suspect escaped after a fierce fight. Ye Jingtang suspected an insider had tipped off the culprit and rode with Luo Ning to seek Imperial Physician Wang's examination.

• Niao Niao warned Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning of an approaching intruder, who entered the morgue and poured corrosive liquid onto Zhao De's palm-print evidence.
• Ye Jingtang startled the intruder with a shout, and he and Luo Ning fought the black-clad suspect as the officers outside raised the alarm.
• The intruder escaped through the morgue wall using red cords and concealed the getaway with bursts of white powder, while Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning avoided the dust.
• Ye Jingtang revealed his official identity to the assembled officers and told Yuwen Chengde to investigate everyone who had visited Zhuji Street, suspecting a government-office insider.
• Luo Ning examined Ye Jingtang's exposed hand and sealed his acupoints; he suspected the powder was quicklime and rode with her to see Imperial Physician Wang.

After Ye Jingtang captured a culprit connected to the Zhuji Street murder, Dongfang Liren learned he had been injured and went to check on him. At Imperial Physician Wang’s residence, Ye recovered from Snow Moth Scale, while Wang remarked on his exceptional physical foundation and hinted at the lineage behind his martial arts.

• Dongfang Liren studied old case files while the Empress Dowager asked when Ye Jingtang would come to paint her.
• The White-Haired Old Woman reported that Ye Jingtang had caught the culprit who came to destroy the Zhuji Street murder evidence, and Dongfang Liren hurried to see him after hearing he was injured.
• Imperial Physician Wang diagnosed Ye Jingtang’s injury as Snow Moth Scale and treated it with a needle.
• Imperial Physician Wang asked about Ye Jingtang’s birth father, praised his physical foundation, and advised him to cultivate his inner essence as well as his body.
• Imperial Physician Wang recognized traces of Mad Fangzi, Qiu Tianhe, and the Old Spear Chief in Ye Jingtang’s qi channels and recalled that Zheng Feng’s channels had been severed.
• Ye Jingtang realized Heroine Luo had disappeared while he sat waiting for his finger to stop bleeding.

Dongfang Liren visited the Wang family clinic to check on Ye Jingtang and saw Luo Ning waiting anxiously for him. Madam Wang advised Luo Ning that intimacy could help balance Ye Jingtang’s vitality and gave her a tonic, but Luo Ning hesitated; the chapter ended as a beautiful woman and a fluffy creature appeared at the clinic entrance.

• Dongfang Liren arrived at the Wang family clinic and learned that Ye Jingtang’s fiancée was waiting while Imperial Physician Wang examined him.
• Dongfang Liren watched Luo Ning from a side room, then asked Madam Wang to keep Luo Ning from seeing her while she inquired about the case.
• Luo Ning worried that Ye Jingtang might be seriously ill until Madam Wang reassured her that his long examination was a good sign.
• Madam Wang told Luo Ning that Ye Jingtang’s vigorous constitution needed to be balanced through intimacy and handed her a tonic to give him.
• Luo Ning questioned whether the tonic was an aphrodisiac and considered asking for ordinary medicine instead, but a beautiful face and a fluffy creature appeared at the clinic entrance.

After hearing that the Sky-Pacifying Sect wanted to draw Ye Jingtang away from the Pei Family, Pei Xiangjun went to visit him after learning he had fought a killer. At the clinic, she met Luo Ning and mistakenly took the medicine Luo Ning had brought for Ye Jingtang, leaving without knowing what it was for.

• Madam Zhang scolded Pei Xiangjun for failing to secure Ye Jingtang's affection before the Sky-Pacifying Sect's Luo Ning reached him.
• Niao Niao found Pei Xiangjun and led her to the Bandit-Catching Bureau, where she learned Ye Jingtang had fought a killer and gone to Imperial Physician Wang's clinic.
• Pei Xiangjun arrived at the clinic and found Luo Ning speaking privately with Madam Wang, then learned Ye Jingtang was receiving acupuncture in the back.
• Luo Ning tried to leave before encountering the Female Prince, but Pei Xiangjun took the medicine box she had brought for Ye Jingtang.
• Pei Xiangjun asked Madam Wang how to use the medicine, and Madam Wang said to take one pill, which would take effect in half an hour.

Ye Jingtang discussed the killer and the Government investigation with Dongfang Liren, then left the clinic with Pei Xiangjun. As they headed home, Pei Xiangjun gave him one of the pills prescribed by Madam Wang.

• Dongfang Liren visited Ye Jingtang, examined his injury, and questioned him about investigating without informing her.
• Ye Jingtang described the killer's weapons and martial arts, and Dongfang Liren suspected the Green Bandits were involved.
• Niao Niao returned, and Dongfang Liren took the bird with her to pursue the killer.
• Pei Xiangjun warned Ye Jingtang that Second Master Cheng had sent someone to Iron Buddha Ridge and the Furious-Eyed Vajra might come after him.
• Ye Jingtang led Pei Xiangjun home on horseback, and she tossed him a medicinal pill to swallow.

Ye Jingtang realized that medicine from Luo Youying was making him feverish and lustful while Pei Xiangjun mistook it for a plot against him. When Luo Youying arrived, Pei Xiangjun dragged Ye Jingtang inside to keep him away from her.

• Pei Xiangjun told Ye Jingtang that the Pei Family wanted her to find him a match so he would stay, and Ye Jingtang urged her to consider what she wanted for herself.
• Ye Jingtang's strange behavior made him suspect Pei Xiangjun had drugged him, but Pei Xiangjun recognized the medicine as something Luo Youying had prescribed for Madam Wang.
• Pei Xiangjun accused Luo Youying of plotting to make Ye Jingtang force himself on her, while Ye Jingtang defended Luo Youying and tried to return to ask her about the medicine.
• Pei Xiangjun stopped Ye Jingtang from leaving and suggested he visit Prince Jing until the medicine wore off.
• When Luo Youying appeared at the alley entrance, Pei Xiangjun covered Ye Jingtang's mouth and dragged him toward the house, while Ye Jingtang braced himself against the gate.

Luo Ning found Ye Jingtang with Pei Xiangjun and confronted them, believing Pei Xiangjun was trying to claim her fiancé. Their quarrel nearly became a fight, but Ye Jingtang carried both women into the house and played up his drugged state; Luo Ning fled, and Pei Xiangjun shut him out after pushing him after her.

• Luo Ning tracked Ye Jingtang to the Pei Family residence after realizing her medicine might let Pei Xiangjun take advantage of him.
• Luo Ning and Pei Xiangjun argued over Ye Jingtang, each claiming a closer relationship with him.
• When the women were about to fight, Ye Jingtang declared he had been drugged and carried both of them into the house.
• Ye Jingtang kissed Luo Ning and moved to kiss Pei Xiangjun, alarming them both with his supposed loss of control.
• Luo Ning escaped from Ye Jingtang, and Pei Xiangjun pushed him outside before bolting the gates.

After Third Madam Pei gave Ye Jingtang a Tiger-Wolf Drug, Luo Ning dragged him away from Skywater Bridge and argued with him about whether he could resist it. They headed toward Dyeing Street so Luo Ning could test her resolve, but Niao Niao’s urgent cries drew Ye Jingtang away before they arrived.

• Luo Ning fled Skywater Bridge, but Ye Jingtang caught up with her in an alley and pulled her into his embrace.
• Ye Jingtang questioned Luo Ning about the medicine, and she explained that Madam Wang had prescribed it after mistaking her for his fiancée and Third Madam Pei had taken the pills.
• Luo Ning stopped Ye Jingtang from going to Prince Jing or Dragon Roar Tower, then decided to take a pill at home to prove she could resist it.
• As Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning walked toward Dyeing Street, Niao Niao cried urgently from the night sky, and Ye Jingtang turned to investigate.
• Luo Ning caught Ye Jingtang’s wrist and offered to help suppress the drug, but Niao Niao cried again from closer by.

Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning ambushed the fugitives crossing East Main Street, and Ye Jingtang battered the formidable Xu Bailin with a barrage of spear and saber strikes. The chapter left Xu Bailin wounded but still standing on a nearby rooftop as Ye Jingtang challenged him to keep fighting.

• Ye Jingtang refused Luo Ning's pleas to retreat and joined her in intercepting the fugitives heading toward the eastern city wall.
• Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning set an ambush at the cloth shop on East Main Street as the fugitives approached across the rooftops.
• Ye Jingtang smashed Xu Bailin out of the air with a pole, while Luo Ning cut open Xu Bailin's right leg with her sword.
• Ye Jingtang followed with a rapid series of saber strikes that sent Xu Bailin crashing through a restaurant wall and roof.
• Luo Ning identified the wounded fighter as Xu Bailin, the Green Steel Mace, and Ye Jingtang taunted him to come down and fight.

Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning fought Xu Bailin and his accomplices while Ye Jingtang struggled with the effects of a drug. Xu Bailin escaped with Cao Aning, but Ye Jingtang captured their burly accomplice, and Luo Ning took the drugged Ye Jingtang away before Prince Jing arrived.

• Cao Aning warned Xu Bailin that Ye Jingtang was a dangerous, calculating opponent, and Xu Bailin tried to flee before turning back to attack.
• Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning fought Xu Bailin together, injuring him and forcing him to retreat while Cao Aning helped him escape toward the eastern city wall.
• Ye Jingtang defeated the burly accomplice and captured him alive, then waited with Luo Ning for Black Bureau officers to arrive.
• She Long and Shang Jianli arrived with the officers, and Ye Jingtang told them Xu Bailin had fled east and identified the captive as an accomplice.
• Luo Ning carried the drugged Ye Jingtang away toward Dyeing Street before Prince Jing could reach them.

Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning returned to Twin Osmanthus Alley after taking a medicine that tested their self-control, and Luo Ning tried to treat his injury while keeping her resolve. As they talked in Ye Jingtang’s room, Luo Ning began to recognize the depth of their shared feelings, though the medicine’s effects remained uncertain.

• Ye Jingtang stopped Luo Ning from taking the pill, but she swallowed it anyway and insisted she could withstand its effects.
• Luo Ning brought Ye Jingtang home, told Zhe Yunli he had strained his arm, and knocked Yunli unconscious when she tried to help.
• Luo Ning treated Ye Jingtang’s bruised arm while he claimed his mind was clear and promised to help her defeat Shenchen Monk someday.
• Luo Ning read Ye Jingtang’s light novels, questioned him about his belongings, and listened as he told her their stories.
• Luo Ning recalled their past closeness and realized that her feelings for Ye Jingtang had become difficult to suppress.

Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning argued over whether he could endure the drug’s effects, then gave in to their feelings and spent the night together. Their relationship grew more intimate, while Yunli slept unaware next door.

• Luo Ning worried about Ye Jingtang’s health and urged him to let her treat him, but he insisted he could endure the drug.
• Luo Ning admitted she had followed and cared for Ye Jingtang, though she denied having feelings for him.
• Ye Jingtang pushed Luo Ning onto the bed, but she turned the tables, pinned him down, and kissed him.
• Luo Ning and Ye Jingtang shared an intimate night, and she asked him to call her big sister.
• Ye Jingtang told Luo Ning she was the first woman he had been with, and she teased him for being shameless as Yunli slept next door.