Recaps

Bai Yousi questioned the Street-Cleaning Tigers about Feng Yong’s murder and exposed Wang Li and Shen Hui as the main suspects. Inspector Chai then turned suspicion toward Zhang Xing, but Zhang Xing’s claim about Xiao Yu’s unborn child let Bai Yousi close the case and offer to return him to her patrol team.

• Qin Bao took attendance at the tavern while the Street-Cleaning Tigers surrendered their sabers and waited for questioning.
• Bai Yousi confronted Han Min about his resentment toward Feng Yong and accused Wang Li of helping Shen Hui arrange the murders of Zhao Shanhai and Zhang Xing.
• Bai Yousi brought Shen Hui before the gathering, and Wang Li fell silent as Han Min argued that he and Zhang Xing were only being treated as decoys.
• Inspector Chai questioned Zhang Xing about when he learned of Feng Yong’s plot and whether he knew Xiao Yu was pregnant, prompting suspicion that Xiao Yu had helped him seek revenge.
• Zhang Xing declared that Xiao Yu’s child was Feng Yong’s, and Bai Yousi confirmed Xiao Yu had said the same before arranging to return Zhang Xing to her patrol team.

After Bai Yousi protected Zhang Xing and arranged his transfer to the Brocade-Clad Patrol Cavalry, Zhang Xing learned more about the factional dangers surrounding his new post. Ward Chief Liu encouraged him to act boldly, and Zhang Xing resolved to move forward without losing his character.

• Bai Yousi defended Zhang Xing, told him his unexplained identity remained suspicious, and arranged his transfer to her patrol unit.
• The patrol cavalry members introduced themselves to Zhang Xing, while the Street-Cleaning Tigers treated him like an informant for the Central Pacification Office.
• Zhang Xing learned that Wang and Shen had been sent to the imperial prison and that Xiaoyu should be safe, then returned to Xiūyè Ward.
• Ward Chief Liu visited Zhang Xing with wine and food to congratulate him and explained the power and political dangers of the Jing'an Directorate's three Pacification Offices.
• Zhang Xing asked why Liu stayed in the eastern capital, and Liu said he had nowhere else to go and urged Zhang Xing to use his abilities boldly.
• Zhang Xing took Liu's encouragement to heart, vowed to preserve his character and bold spirit, and drank to the road ahead.

Zhang Xing reported to the Jing'an Directorate to join the embroidered-uniform patrol riders and faced a series of tests that nearly ended in a fight. Cao Lin accepted him into the directorate and ordered him to collect his pay and buy a horse before Zhiye Ward closed.

• Zhang Xing and Qin Bao discussed Zhang Wenda's takeover of Yang Shen's treason case while the Ministry of Justice transferred documents from the Jing'an Directorate.
• Qin Bao guided Zhang Xing across the island headquarters and revealed that the black tower stood above the imperial prison.
• Zhang Xing challenged the masked clerks who questioned his identity, then explained that he had survived the destruction of the Central Rampart Army at Fallen Dragon Shoal.
• A Black Sash tested Zhang Xing's strength, then sent him upstairs, where Xue Liang demanded that he punch him.
• Zhang Xing attacked Xue Liang, but Cao Lin intervened with Bai Yousi and scolded Xue Liang for provoking him.
• Cao Lin accepted Zhang Xing into the directorate, made him an embroidered-uniform patrol rider, and told him to collect his money and buy a horse.

Zhang Xing and Qin Bao searched the Eastern Capital’s horse markets, where Zhang encouraged the aspiring scholar Yan Qing before they found an extraordinary colt at a private market. Zhang bought the colt with nearly all his silver and gave it to Qin Bao, keeping Qin Bao’s ordinary horse in return as they left as friends.

• Zhang Xing and Qin Bao searched the Northern Market for a sturdy Northern Horse, but a dealer directed them to a private market in Shiyi Ward.
• Yan Qing led them to the market, and Zhang praised his love of learning and encouraged him to pursue his ambitions.
• Zhang Xing and Qin Bao discovered an ugly spotted colt that reacted to Qin Bao’s Fixed Thunder True Qi, and the seller claimed it might be a Dragon-Blooded Steed.
• Zhang sent Qin Bao to fetch silver, then paid forty-nine taels for the colt after the seller refused to bargain further.
• Zhang gave the dragon colt to Qin Bao in exchange for Qin Bao’s yellow-brown horse, telling him he considered him a good friend.

As the Eastern Capital’s political and economic situation worsened, Zhang Xing moved out of Xiūyè Ward and rented a house in Chengfu Ward. When he visited the island to see Qin Bao and retrieve his horse, he found the Ministry of Justice had returned with prisoners, angering the Jing'an Directorate’s mounted patrolmen.

• Minister of Justice Zhang Wenda arrested more than fifty of Bai Yousi’s relatives as alleged co-conspirators of Yang Shen, while powerful families’ agents crowded Xiūyè Ward to gather news.
• Zhang Xing told Brother Liu he needed to move because his new mounted patrol duties would keep him in Lide Ward, and Brother Liu advised him to find his own place near his friend.
• After a noisy night of agents and martial practitioners crowding the ward, Zhang Xing completed his patrol and then accepted Brother Liu’s offer to help find a house.
• Brother Liu found Zhang Xing a cheap courtyard house in Chengfu Ward, and Zhang Xing moved his few belongings there himself.
• Zhang Xing went to the island to speak with Qin Bao and retrieve his horse, but discovered Ministry of Justice officials had brought prisoners to the Jing'an Directorate.

Zhang Xing helped Bai Yousi’s squad supervise the transfer of prisoners from the imperial prison and learned that a terrifying fifth-level prisoner had once been nearly as powerful as she was. After the work ended, Bai Yousi invited the squad to celebrate Zhang Xing joining them in Gentlemanly Ward, leaving him surprised that she planned to go too.

• Bai Yousi arrived with her patrol squad, ordered Zhang Xing to help control the prisoners, and warned everyone not to make trouble for the Intendant.
• Zhang Xing watched the prisoners from the third underground level being loaded into wagons, including a huge blindfolded man who smiled toward Bai Yousi.
• Bai Yousi explained that the man had probably been a fifth-level prisoner with cultivation comparable to hers, but years beneath the Black Tower had weakened him severely.
• Qian Tang asked Bai Yousi about Zhang Xing arresting members of the Bai Clan, and she said her seventeenth elder brother had voluntarily gone to the Ministry of Justice to explain his connection to Yang Shen.
• Bai Yousi declared that Zhang Xing’s arrival counted as joining the squad and invited everyone to celebrate at Gentlemanly Ward.
• Zhang Xing asked whether Bai Yousi could visit Gentlemanly Ward, and she teasingly said that she could.

Zhang Xing joined Bai Yousi and her mounted squad for a celebratory visit to Du Zhi Xiao Lin, where his improvised lyric stunned the gathering and drew the attention of Sima Zheng. The night ended with Bai Yousi asking Zhang Xing for advice about Hu Yan and Li Shu.

• Bai Yousi led Zhang Xing and the patrol riders to Du Zhi Xiao Lin's establishment in Gentlemanly Ward, where Du Zhi Xiao Lin welcomed them and appointed Zhang Xing as punishment officer for their drinking games.
• Li Qingchen challenged Zhang Xing to show his literary talent, and Zhang Xing recited a powerful lyric that left the gathering stunned.
• Sima Zheng praised Zhang Xing's lyric from elsewhere in the building, prompting Bai Yousi to accuse him of trying to poach her subordinate.
• Zhang Xing learned from Bai Yousi that Sima Zheng was the strongest fighter under thirty and was about his age.
• Bai Yousi questioned Zhang Xing's ability to chill wine and tea despite having opened only five Orthodox Meridians, then asked him to secretly advise her about Hu Yan and Li Shu.

Bai Yousi asked Zhang Xing whether she should protect Hu Yan despite the risks to her family, and Zhang advised her that the Bai family's fate depended on the sovereign and other powerful officials, not on her handling of Hu Yan's case. Meanwhile, Cao Lin investigated Zhang Xing's identity, found three possible matches, and ordered his staff to keep him under observation.

• Bai Yousi explained that the Ministry of Justice's investigation into Yang Shen's rebellion put Hu Yan at risk because the records of the patrol team's encounter with Li Shu bore his signature.
• Zhang Xing advised Bai Yousi to protect Hu Yan, arguing that the Bai family's survival depended on the sovereign's power and the views of officials in the Southern Office.
• Bai Yousi asked Zhang Xing whether the sovereign could strip three more Supreme Pillars of the State of their standing, and Zhang said the consequences depended on how others judged the situation.
• Cao Lin reviewed three possible identities for Zhang Xing: Zhang Xingyi, Zhang Xing, and Zhang Xingyan.
• Cao Lin wondered whether Zhang Xing had lost his memories through injury or a secret method, then ordered the records filed and Zhang kept under observation.

After discussing the costs and exploitation surrounding Gentlemanly Ward, Zhang Xing urged Qin Bao to enforce the law fairly and challenged his assumptions about noble families. A scuffle with the Crouching Dragon Guards gave way to a rain-soaked day of idling, until a Ministry of Justice rider arrived with news that hundreds of prisoners had escaped.

• Zhang Xing explained how the banquet's fees were divided and told Qin Bao that reducing the number of people forced to sell their children mattered more than avoiding Gentlemanly Ward.
• Qin Bao asked whether Zhang Xing had a distinguished background, and Zhang Xing argued that wealthy families produced more experts because their children could afford time and resources to cultivate.
• Wang Zhen of the Crouching Dragon Guard tried to provoke Zhang Xing over his remarks about noble stock, so Zhang Xing shouted that Wang had insulted the inspector and Sima Erlang.
• Wang Zhen fled, and the awakened Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry and Crouching Dragon Guards fought until the Crouching Dragon Guards withdrew; Zhang Xing and Qin Bao then agreed to rent a courtyard together.
• Zhang Xing went to the island with his colleagues, where the day's assignment was canceled and the patrolmen spent the day gossiping and loafing in the rain.
• A Ministry of Justice rider fell from his horse and announced that hundreds of prisoners had escaped from the Ministry of Justice prison, asking the Intendant to send troops.

After prisoners escaped from the Ministry of Justice, Zhang Xing and Bai Yousi’s patrol team was ordered to search two poor Southern City wards, where poverty and tangled alleys made the hunt dangerous and impractical. Zhang Xing proposed turning the orders to their advantage by using the search to purge the local gangs, and Bai Yousi agreed to lead the operation.

• Trained raiders broke prisoners out of the Ministry of Justice, prompting the emperor to order a sweeping search across the Eastern Capital and beyond.
• Zhang Xing, Qin Bao, and Hu Yan found damaged walls, altered alleys, and local gang members shadowing them in Jiaqing Ward.
• Zhang Xing and Qin Bao discovered that ward residents had little food or money, and Qin Bao warned that sealing the wards would leave people starving within days.
• Hu Yan proposed sealing the wards and searching them despite the risk to residents, while Bai Yousi revealed that escaped prisoners and their families were condemned to death.
• Zhang Xing outlined a plan to seize command, seal the wards, buy grain for informants, and use the searches to claim credit by killing local gang leaders.
• Bai Yousi accepted Zhang Xing’s proposal to purge the gangs and declared that her team would make the wards clean.

Zhang Xing and the government troops confronted Zhou Wu’s Green Sun Gang in a brickyard after the Jing'an Directorate destroyed the Black-Clamp Gang. A mysterious woman killed Zhou Wu and his expert ally, and the rout turned into a bloody pursuit.

• After the Black-Clamp Gang’s leaders were killed, Zhou Wu gathered his core members and prepared to resist the government troops.
• Zhou Wu charged the government formation while his Eight Extraordinary Meridians-level ally attacked with River-Cutting True Qi.
• A white figure swept two bands of golden light across the brickyard, killing Zhou Wu and cutting his expert ally apart.
• A fleeing Jinwu Guard returned to retrieve his shield, but struggled to pull it free from beneath Zhou Wu’s head.
• Zhang Xing took a steel crossbow and shot a Green Sun Gang member, prompting the gang to scatter as the government troops charged and cut them down.

Zhang Xing helped crush the gangs in Jiaqing and Jiajing Wards, but the mass of true qi he absorbed left him so overfilled that he had to stop fighting and record the dead. When Vermilion Sash Xue Liang arrived to inspect the operation, Zhang Xing reported its staggering toll, and Xue Liang rode back to the Jing'an Directorate with the records.

• Zhang Dacheng smashed through courtyard walls to escape Zhang Xing and the crossbowmen, but exhaustion left him cornered; after he refused to surrender, they shot him and Zhang Xing finished him with his saber.
• Overwhelmed by the killings and the true qi he had absorbed, Zhang Xing vomited, so Hu Yan reassigned him to count bodies and prepare a report.
• Zhang Xing realized that absorbing too much true qi made his dantian feel sloshy, and he suspected the energy he gained from killing cultivators was tied to their cultivation rank rather than their ordinary reserves.
• Xue Liang arrived from the Jing'an Directorate and questioned Zhang Xing about the corpses and the gang crackdown.
• Zhang Xing reported that the operation had killed 127 people, wounded roughly 300, and would likely continue for another day; Xue Liang took the records and rode back north.

After the purge of Jiaqing and Jiajing Wards, Zhang Xing settled the rewards and accounts while Bai Yousi declined to send her team to assist other wards. The next day, a major uprising erupted in Zhengping Ward, and Bai Yousi led Zhang Xing and part of the Second Patrol Team there as reinforcements.

• Zhang Xing negotiated Commander Xu’s reward for the City Defense Army and urged him to distribute the money directly to his men.
• Zhang Xing presented Bai Yousi with three ledgers documenting the purge’s open and hidden accounts.
• Bai Yousi told Zhang Xing she had refused the Intendant’s requests to send the team elsewhere or transfer him to the Black Tower for a chance at a White Ribbon.
• An uprising broke out in Zhengping Ward, where government troops were ambushed by wanted criminals and suffered heavy casualties.
• The Second Patrol Team split, leaving Deputy Patrol Inspector Hu Yan behind while Bai Yousi led Zhang Xing and the others to reinforce Zhengping Ward.

Zhang Xing and the Jing'an Directorate forces joined the assault on Zhengping Ward, where Heluo Huaibao emerged after shattering his core and burning his sea of qi. Lord Zhang Shizhao ordered reinforcements summoned as Heluo Huaibao threatened to kill as many soldiers as he could.

• Zhang Shizhao took command outside the ward, and Bai Yousi led the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry over the wall to join the Jinwu Guard assault.
• Bai Yousi warned the patrol team that Heluo Huaibao, Heluo Fu’s adopted son, might fight desperately after shattering his core and burning his sea of qi.
• The government forces advanced through the ward, but Zhang Xing realized that Heaven Street’s unusually loud rushing water came from a large underground canal.
• A thunderous crash revealed a ten-zhang hole in Heaven Street, where Bai Yousi and Sima Zheng fought Heluo Huaibao above the canal.
• Lord Zhang Shizhao arrived with Crouching Dragon Guards and told his forces to hold steady, but Heluo Huaibao attacked the Jinwu Guard and pinned a Brocade-clad rider to the ward wall.
• Heluo Huaibao challenged Zhang Shizhao to bring Cao Lin and Niu He or use the Crouching Dragon Seal, and Zhang Shizhao ordered both men summoned.

Heluo Huaibao rampaged through Heaven Street, killing government soldiers while Zhang Xing urged the troops to fire crossbows and wounded him. Niu He arrived and killed Heluo Huaibao, then revealed that Gao Changye had led thirty-five outlaws into Xiūyè Ward and killed Zhang Wenda, leaving Zhang Xing to realize the attacks had been coordinated.

• Heluo Huaibao battered Bai Yousi and Sima Zheng while using the ward wall and his weapons to kill and injure government soldiers.
• Zhang Xing argued that the troops should use crossbows to exhaust Heluo Huaibao’s true qi, then fired the first bolt and urged others to join him.
• Zhang Shizhao ordered the whole army to fire after Zhang Xing’s lead, and the soldiers’ crossbow bolts struck Heluo Huaibao.
• Niu He arrived, subdued Heluo Huaibao with Longevity True Qi, and killed him by making him bleed out.
• Niu He told Zhang Shizhao that Gao Changye and thirty-five outlaws had killed Zhang Wenda in Xiūyè Ward while Cao Lin rushed there.
• Zhang Shizhao called the attacks a coordinated action, and Bai Yousi blocked Zhang Xing’s view as he looked at Zhang Shizhao.

After the battle in Zhengping Ward, Zhang Xing was praised for his courage but warned not to dwell on who was responsible for the disaster. He went to Xiūyè Ward to check on Ward Chief Liu and discovered that Gao Changye, not Liu, was among the captured prisoners.

• Heluo Huaibao died after the Grandmaster struck him, and Zhang Xing and the other survivors surveyed the devastation in Zhengping Ward.
• Bai Yousi dismissed the reinforcements to rest and cautioned Zhang Xing against pursuing questions about the Minister of Justice's death.
• Sima Zheng praised Zhang Xing's courage, and Zhang Xing later left Qin Bao to visit Xiūyè Ward and check on Ward Chief Liu.
• A patrolman told Zhang Xing that Minister Zhang had been captured at Xiūyè Ward's north gate and that Ward Chief Liu might have been implicated or forced to cooperate.
• At the crossroads, Zhang Xing heard that Gao Changye had engineered the jailbreak and ambush, then found Gao among the prisoners, where Gao greeted him with a smile.

Zhang Xing questioned Gao Changye about the revenge plot before the surviving bandits howled their defiance, while Cao Lin persuaded Cao Che to punish the conspirators selectively and rebuild the army. Back at his lodging, Zhang Xing found Fenniang feared he would send her away, and he chose to let her stay.

• Zhang Xing questioned Gao Changye about the revenge plot, the innocents harmed, and Zhang Shizhao's role; Gao Changye defended the revenge and confessed that he had arranged Zhang Shizhao's involvement.
• Gao Changye asked whether his years of pursuing revenge had been worthwhile, then struck his head against the stones; the other bandits joined his howl, and Zhang Xing later howled on the bridge over the Luo River.
• Cao Lin urged Cao Che to punish the chief offenders while sparing the foundations of other powerful clans and rebuilding the army; Cao Che agreed but ordered that no prisoners at or above the Condensing the Core Stage remain beneath the Black Tower.
• Zhang Xing returned to his lodging and sensed an opportunity to open his sixth Orthodox Meridian, though he did not complete it.
• Fenniang returned Zhang Xing's Compass and tearfully asked whether he would drive her away; Zhang Xing chose to let her stay and sat down to eat with her and Qin Bao.

Zhang Xing hid Fenniang under the name Yue Niang and returned to the Jing'an Directorate as its orders brought the city’s turmoil under control. After asking Bai Yousi how to advance his career, he learned he needed to open his Sixth Orthodox Meridian and complete an External Patrol before he could earn a White Ribbon.

• Zhang Xing warned Fenniang that she and her companions could be killed if her identity was exposed, then set rules for her to live in hiding as Yue Niang.
• Zhang Xing and Qin Bao settled their household arrangements and rode to the Jing'an Directorate, where they reunited with their colleagues but could not find Bai Yousi.
• After the Intendant returned, the Directorate ordered patrols out of the Southern City, recovery work in Zhengping Ward, and suspects in Zhang Wenda's assassination held in the Black Tower prison.
• Bai Yousi told Zhang Xing that Inspector Chai had vouched for him, and Zhang Xing asked to borrow money to thank Chai.
• Zhang Xing told Bai Yousi he wanted to advance in the Directorate, and she explained the requirements for earning a White Ribbon.
• When Bai Yousi asked whether he had opened his Sixth Orthodox Meridian, Zhang Xing admitted he had not and asked when they would go on External Patrol.

As the Eastern Capital regained its prosperity, Zhang Xing settled into a quiet routine and learned that his squad would be sent west to capture the fugitive Han Shixiong. Bai Yousi let her subordinates choose whether to join the dangerous mission, and Zhang Xing urged her to pay those who volunteered thirty taels in advance for their families.

• Zhang Xing bargained unsuccessfully for a painting, bought books and a red ribbon for Yueniang, and paid an elderly firewood seller to make regular deliveries.
• Qin Bao told Zhang Xing that Xiao Wu had returned to duty and that the squad planned to visit Du Zhi Han in Gentlemanly Ward.
• Bai Yousi asked Zhang Xing whether he had opened his sixth Orthodox Meridian, and he confirmed that he had done so two days earlier.
• Bai Yousi announced the Intendant's order to travel west that night and capture Han Shixiong, a former governor-general of Liangzhou who had fled.
• Zhang Xing explained the risks of the mission and asked Bai Yousi to give volunteers thirty taels in advance to provide for their families.

Zhang Xing and the Second Patrol Team traveled west to investigate Han Shixiong’s escape, learning that several powerful members of the Han Clan might have helped him. Bai Yousi ordered the team to proceed cautiously, and they reached Taolin Post Station near Tong Pass.

• Bai Sanniang promised each recruit fifty taels, and twenty-seven members of the Second Patrol Team left the Eastern Capital for the west.
• Hu Yan explained how Han Shixiong had escaped while being escorted back to the Eastern Capital after his arrest.
• Zhang Xing outlined the family ties linking Han Shixiong to Han Changmei, Han Yingong, and Li Ding, along with the Han Clan’s history of resentment toward the court.
• Qin Bao asked whether the Han Clan had arranged the escape, and Zhang Xing said several possibilities remained open.
• Bai Yousi warned the patrol cavalry not to provoke Han Yingong or leave the group without permission, and they reached Taolin Post Station the next day.

Bai Yousi’s patrol investigated Han Shixiong’s escape at Taolin Post Station, while Zhang Xing offered to use his dangerous Compass to locate him. Bai Yousi refused to risk a subordinate’s life and sent Zhang Xing to question Li Ding.

• The three escort leaders described how Han Shixiong escaped after a drinking session, and Qian Tang suspected an accomplice among them.
• Bai Yousi ordered the three leaders stripped and flogged, and the assistant director and Jinwu Guard commandant accused Eunuch Han of taking gold from General Han Yingong.
• Qian Tang questioned the three leaders while Hu Yan and Qin Bao investigated the wine, station, and escape route.
• Zhang Xing showed Bai Yousi the Compass and offered to use it to find Han Shixiong, warning that its use carried a deadly price.
• Bai Yousi refused to trade Zhang Xing’s life for the case and ordered him to question Li Ding.

Zhang Xing questioned Li Ding about Han Shixiong’s escape and warned him that powerful officials might demand a scapegoat. Li Ding refused to accuse his uncles and resolved to flee with Shiniang if necessary, while Bai Yousi pursued him after he slipped away from the post station.

• Zhang Xing visited Li Ding and found him with Shiniang, a highly cultivated woman disguised in purple robes.
• Li Ding said he had volunteered to oversee road repairs to see his cousin before the execution, but learned that Han Shixiong had escaped.
• Zhang Xing suggested that Li Ding could blame one of his uncles if investigators failed to find Han Shixiong, and Li Ding recognized that the pressure came from His Majesty and Imperial Uncle Cao.
• Li Ding asked Shiniang whether she would follow him if he had to flee, and she promised to stay with him.
• Zhang Xing returned to the post station and described Shiniang’s beauty and cultivation to Bai Yousi and the others.
• Bai Yousi learned that Li Ding had left and vanished from the hall to pursue him.

Bai Yousi captured Li Ding and Zhang Shiniang after a difficult pursuit, and Zhang Xing questioned Li Ding about Han Shixiong. Zhang Xing explained that the case served the ruler’s effort to weaken the great clans, but his loyalty to Bai Yousi left him reluctant to frame the Han family; the chapter ended with him asking Li Ding to explain why Zhang Shiniang had trusted him.

• Bai Yousi returned to the hall muddy, with Li Ding and the bound Zhang Shiniang as prisoners, and said Zhang Shiniang had used ambushes and terrain against her.
• Zhang Shiniang condemned the Brocade-Clad officers for framing loyal men, while Li Ding accused them of abusing their authority and threatening an imperial official.
• Bai Yousi assigned Zhang Xing to interrogate Li Ding and said she would question Zhang Shiniang.
• Zhang Xing told Li Qingchen and Qin Bao that the case could be resolved by naming Han Changmei as the instigator, which would serve the ruler’s effort to weaken the great clans.
• Li Ding admitted he suspected his third uncle at Tong Pass but said he had not helped Han Shixiong escape, then pleaded for Zhang Shiniang, his confidante and a former concubine of Yang Shen.
• Zhang Xing asked Li Ding to explain what abilities and qualities had led Zhang Shiniang to trust him.

Zhang Xing questioned Li Ding about his past service under Yang Shen and the rebellion, then secretly released him from Taolin Post Station. The Compass pointed toward Mount Funiu, and Bai Yousi returned after letting Zhang Shiniang go, prompting Zhang Xing to suggest searching the mountain.

• Li Ding explained that he had submitted a seven-box military reform plan to Yang Shen, who offered him a future seat in power before Li Ding fled upon realizing Yang intended to rebel.
• Zhang Xing and Li Ding debated why Yang Shen’s rebellion seemed doomed and why Great Wei felt unstable despite its apparent strength.
• Zhang Xing decided to release Li Ding, led him out of Taolin Post Station, and Li Ding ran south into the mountains instead of heading east or west.
• Zhang Xing used the Compass, which pointed toward Mount Funiu rather than Tong Pass or the great river.
• Bai Yousi returned after escorting Zhang Shiniang away and asked Zhang Xing to release her brother-in-law and lend her the Compass; Zhang Xing told her it pointed into Mount Funiu.

Zhang Xing used the Compass to guide Bai Yousi’s search for Han Shixiong to a bandit stronghold near Mount Funiu, where they uncovered signs that local villagers had joined or supported the bandits. As Qian Tang arrived with the main force, Zhang Xing and Qin Bao considered how labor levies might have driven villagers from their homes.

• Bai Yousi agreed to accompany Zhang Xing into the mountains after the Compass pointed south toward Mount Funiu.
• Bai Yousi divided the search party, leading a small group while Hu Yan stayed at Taolin Post Station and Qian Tang followed with the main force.
• After three days of searching, Bai Yousi found a bandit stronghold whose location matched the Compass and decided to investigate it alone.
• Zhang Xing joined Qin Bao at an abandoned village, where Qin Bao pointed out clean houses and well-tended crops nearby.
• Zhang Xing and Qin Bao reasoned that the villagers might have joined the bandits and discussed how corvée labor could have forced them from their homes.
• Qian Tang arrived with the main force as Zhang Xing and Qin Bao waited near the village.