Chapter Summaries

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao camped during their scouting mission, where Wang Qi’s careful habits and spell experiments repeatedly surprised Ran Jiao. They planned to head toward Fei County before dawn, while Wang Qi ended the chapter still trying to learn how to conceal a campfire’s light.

• Wang Qi stopped Ran Jiao from drinking water used to wash their hands, then purified and boiled fresh water for her.
• Wang Qi gave Ran Jiao most of the roasted rabbit, explaining that he needed less food, and she accepted his sincerity.
• Ran Jiao said they should leave before dawn for Fei County and avoid lighting fires while searching for bandit traces.
• Wang Qi tried to conceal the campfire’s light with the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell, but the flames disrupted his spell.
• Wang Qi expanded his spell’s range and briefly concealed the firelight, impressing Ran Jiao with his spell talent as he said he had not chosen between the Spellcaster and martial warrior paths.

Wang Qi refined his idea for improving the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell before he and Ran Jiao investigated signs of the outlaws in Mount Tai Commandery. They found a deserted village with someone hiding inside, but the person would not open the door.

• While his body slept, Wang Qi reasoned that he could sustain the spell's effect by continuously supplying mental power and internal qi, turning it into an invisibility barrier.
• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao crossed into Mount Tai Commandery and found traces of a large group that had left at least five days earlier.
• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao followed the mountain foothills toward Fei County, searching for signs of the bandits and a village where they could ask for information.
• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao entered a nearly deserted village, where Ran Jiao spotted someone hiding inside a wooden house.
• Wang Qi knocked and asked to speak with the person inside, but the hidden resident kept the door shut despite their audible breathing.

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao questioned two elderly villagers and discovered that the able-bodied villagers and their grain had gone to the bandits. Wang Qi spared the elders while using their likely attempt to report the strangers as a chance to find the bandits, and he and Ran Jiao followed one elder toward the mountains.

• Ran Jiao kicked in the hut door, and Wang Qi questioned the elderly couple about their missing grain and the villagers.
• When the old man struck Wang Qi with a cane, Wang Qi pulled Ran Jiao outside and persuaded her not to harm the couple.
• Wang Qi told Ran Jiao that the villagers had joined the bandits and suggested they wait for the elders to lead them to the bandits.
• After two hours, the old man left the village and headed toward the western mountains, so Wang Qi and Ran Jiao followed him.
• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao agreed to confirm the bandits' location before contacting their fellow soldiers.

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao followed an old man to a fortified estate in Fei County and discovered it was tied to the bandits who had seized displaced villagers. After Ran Jiao warned him that a formidable martial artist guarded the owners’ courtyard, they stayed hidden and waited for Sima Xu and the others.

• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao reached a fortified estate after following the old man from the village and suspected the bandits had connections to a wealthy household.
• Wang Qi entered the estate under the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell and confirmed that it had been turned into a barracks for the bandits and their men.
• Wang Qi observed the old man entering the compound, memorized its layout, and discovered a way to extend the spell’s duration.
• Ran Jiao threw a stone to stop Wang Qi from entering the owners’ courtyard and warned him that a formidable martial artist was stationed inside.
• Ran Jiao said she would send a message to Sima Xu and the others using her special method, and she and Wang Qi stayed hidden to watch for their arrival.

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao watched Chen Family Fort after sending a report, then sneaked into its inner courtyard when the fort’s soldiers marched out. They learned the Chen Family Head planned to shield his son by blaming a household servant, leaving the mission’s outcome more complicated than they had expected.

• Ran Jiao used the Wind Whisper Spell to report their coordinates to Sima Xu, and Wang Qi waited with her instead of scouting with his disembodied consciousness.
• A powerful martial artist led the fort’s private soldiers out to search for them, and Wang Qi and Ran Jiao slipped farther into the inner courtyard after the soldiers departed.
• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao listened through a lifted roof tile and learned that the fort belonged to the Mount Tai Chen Family.
• Madam Chen feared her son Tian'er would be treated as a rebel, while the Chen Family Head said they could blame a household-born servant if Tian'er disbanded the commoners he had rallied.

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao listened to Chen Jingtian's parents discuss the heavy taxes and the unrest at Chen Family Fort, leaving Wang Qi conflicted about Chen Jingtian's actions and the perspectives surrounding them. After receiving Sima Xu's orders, Ran Jiao went to take control of Chen Jingtian's parents while Wang Qi stayed hidden to watch for trouble.

• Wang Qi learned that the land tax had risen to four-tenths to fund the Northern Expedition, while Ran Jiao said the increase was temporary and army households were exempt.
• After hearing Madam Chen and the Chen Family Head complain about the levies, Wang Qi reconsidered Chen Jingtian's revolt and weighed how it looked to commoners, local gentry, and the emperor.
• Ran Jiao received a message from Sima Xu through the Wind Whisper Spell, and Wang Qi noticed clues that the spell worked like an encrypted communications channel.
• Ran Jiao relayed Sima Xu's order to take control of Chen Jingtian's parents and stabilize Chen Family Fort while awaiting further instructions.
• Ran Jiao went down alone to act, while Wang Qi stayed hidden and watched their surroundings.

Ran Jiao infiltrated the Chen Family's great house and took the Chen Family Head and Madam Chen hostage, while Wang Qi watched and prepared to support her. As the courtyard filled with soldiers and suspicious swordsmen tried to enter the house, Wang Qi readied his war bow for the worsening situation.

• Ran Jiao slipped into the Chen Family's great house and held the Chen Family Head and Madam Chen at swordpoint.
• Madam Chen shouted for the guards, so Ran Jiao knocked her unconscious as Chen Family soldiers crowded into the hall.
• Wang Qi concealed himself in an osmanthus tree and saw about five hundred people surround the great house while a servant rushed to notify Chen Jingtian.
• Wang Qi took out his war bow and spotted a group of wandering swordsmen trying to sneak into the house, then prepared to intervene.

Ran Jiao and Wang Qi turned Zhong Qi’s attempt to seize control of the Chen Family into a fight, but Zhong Qi broke through the household troops and charged at Wang Qi. The chapter ended with Wang Qi realizing that Zhong Qi had made him his next target.

• Zhong Qi arrived with his men and refused Old Master Chen’s order to withdraw, while Chen Shi hesitated to intervene.
• Ran Jiao put away her sword and pretended that she had only come to discuss an urgent matter, prompting Old Master Chen to call the confrontation a misunderstanding.
• When a swordsman attacked Chen Shi, Wang Qi shot him with a Force-Piercing Arrow, and Ran Jiao imitated Chen Shi’s voice to accuse Zhong Qi of trying to murder Old Master Chen.
• Zhong Qi abandoned Chen Shi and attacked Old Master Chen, forcing Ran Jiao to block his saber while Wang Qi fired a second arrow that Zhong Qi cut in two.
• Zhong Qi spotted Wang Qi in the osmanthus tree and charged through the Chen Family’s private troops toward him.

Wang Qi used arrows and the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell to support the Chen Family’s defenders while evading Zhong Qi. After helping Ran Jiao create an opening, he fought Zhong Qi at close range and ended the chapter charging in with his iron sword.

• Wang Qi shot five arrows that killed one Wandering Swordsman but failed to help Chen Shi take command of the household troops.
• Wang Qi spotted Ran Jiao struggling against four Wandering Swordsmen and fired another volley to support her.
• Ran Jiao met Wang Qi’s gaze, and he sensed her resolve before she made her move.
• Zhong Qi caught up with Wang Qi as he jumped down from the wall and attacked him in midair.
• Wang Qi deflected Zhong Qi’s great saber with his sword pommel, sending Zhong Qi crashing into the courtyard wall.
• Wang Qi rushed at Zhong Qi with his iron sword and began using the Grass-Cutting Saber Technique.

Wang Qi defeated Zhong Qi with his sword and bow, then killed him after thwarting a feigned-death counterattack. Carrying Zhong Qi’s head into the great house, he found that Chen Shi and the household soldiers had also defeated the remaining outlaws.

• Wang Qi wounded Zhong Qi’s legs with swift sword strikes, then avoided the powerful projected saber attack.
• Wang Qi shot Zhong Qi repeatedly with arrows until the wounded outlaw collapsed by the Chen Family compound gate.
• Wang Qi approached to finish Zhong Qi, but Zhong Qi feigned death and launched a palm strike.
• Wang Qi blocked Zhong Qi’s palm with his own and took his head with a sword stroke.
• Wang Qi carried Zhong Qi’s head into the great house and saw Chen Shi and the household soldiers kill the last outlaw, while Ran Jiao stood beside the Chen Family Head.