Chapter Summaries

At the county yamen, the Pill King interrogated Li Zixian over three bodies killed by the Essence-Seizing Demonic Art, while Xie Jinhuan puzzled over evidence that seemed to implicate the Li Household. That night, Taishu Dan revealed that the corpses had been secretly switched, and his allies prepared to use the Mad Corpse Flower during the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival.

• The Pill King questioned Li Zixian about the three bodies, and Ji Shiqing and Huangfu Qi confirmed they had died from the Essence-Seizing Demonic Art.
• Li Zixian denied ties to the Demon Bandits, so Tie Fengzhang tortured him while Xie Jinhuan wondered whether the Li Household had been framed.
• The Pill King praised Xie Jinhuan's work and promised to recommend him for a post to Emperor Qian.
• At the Riverside Villa, a puppet told Taishu Dan that Li Zixian's case would delay the investigation and ordered him to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival attack.
• Taishu Dan told He Can that the corpses had been brought from elsewhere and secretly switched, leaving the Li Household unaware of the deception.

Zhou He and Lord Li Ming suspected Xie Jinhuan of secretly framing the Li Household and planned to implicate him in collusion with demons to investigate his background. At the Welcome Inn, Xie Jinhuan shared a meal with Linghu Qingmo and the constables, reminiscing about an earlier gathering as the others traded jokes.

• Zhou He told Lord Li Ming that Xie Jinhuan might be seeking revenge for Xie Wen’s death and warned that an unknown expert was helping him.
• Zhou He proposed hypothetically linking Xie Jinhuan to a great demon so the Yamen would investigate his history and reveal his backer.
• Lord Li Ming agreed to help Zhou He pursue the plan, and Zhou He asked him to find a few things.
• Xie Jinhuan and the others ate at the Welcome Inn, where he recalled first meeting Yang Dabiao at a meal years earlier.
• Yang Dabiao denied ever visiting a pleasure house, and Liu Qingzhi teased him about helping Widow Wang find her chicks.
• Linghu Qingmo watched the group’s banter and put a piece of chicken leg meat in Xie Jinhuan’s bowl.

Lin Wanyi delivered Xie Jinhuan's pills after being teased by Lin Zisu and delayed by Madam Yang's gossip. When she met Xie Jinhuan outside the Yang residence, he discussed the Mid-Autumn lantern festival, but Ye Hongshang sensed Blood Baleful Qi inside the house.

• Lin Zisu teased Lin Wanyi about missing Xie Jinhuan, and Lin Wanyi set out with seven days of pills for him.
• Madam Yang stopped Lin Wanyi in the Back Alley and spent half an hour gossiping with her.
• Xie Jinhuan continued investigating the Ghost Wife through The Tale of Golden Orchids while the Yamen interrogated Li Zixian overnight.
• Xie Jinhuan met Lin Wanyi outside the Yang residence, accepted his pills, and asked whether she would attend the Mid-Autumn lantern festival.
• Ye Hongshang warned Xie Jinhuan that Blood Baleful Qi was coming from inside the house.

Xie Jinhuan found forbidden Blood Essence and letters planted beneath his bed, realizing someone had framed him for ties to the Demon Bandits. As the Yamen approached, Ye Hongshang advised him to fake the Blood Baleful Qi and identify the culprit, while Li Jing and Zhou He detected the Qi near the Commandery Princess's Manor.

• Xie Jinhuan and Lin Wanyi discovered Blood Essence, a Medicine Man Scripture, and letters implicating Xie Jinhuan hidden beneath his bed.
• Xie Jinhuan concluded that someone had framed him and feared an investigation would expose his secrets and Lin Wanyi's Witch Cult identity.
• Ye Hongshang advised Xie Jinhuan to use the Upside-Down Candle to fake Blood Baleful Qi and identify the person guiding the Yamen to the scene.
• Xie Jinhuan persuaded Lin Wanyi to play along as his intimate companion, promising to seek the Martial Dao Divine Canon as a reward.
• Li Jing refused Zhou He's request to intervene for the Li Household unless it proved reasonable and innocent.
• Zhou He detected Blood Baleful Qi on the Demon-Searching Compass near the Commandery Princess's Manor and sent an attendant to notify the Yamen.

The Scarlet Qilin Guard and several experts surrounded Xie Jinhuan’s residence after sensing Blood Baleful Qi, but found him demonstrating a bizarre reverse-cultivation method to Lin Wanyi. Their investigation showed that the method caused the qi but appeared to be harmless, and Xie Jinhuan began demonstrating another ability.

• Linghu Qingmo, Li Jing, Ji Shiqing, and Tie Fengzhang tracked Blood Baleful Qi to the residence Xie Jinhuan rented and surrounded it with soldiers.
• The experts found Xie Jinhuan balancing upside down while Lin Wanyi watched and Coal Ball attempted backflips, then asked whether they had noticed anything unusual.
• Xie Jinhuan said he had been demonstrating reverse cultivation for a bet, and Linghu Qingmo named the method the Upside-Down Candle.
• Tie Fengzhang and Ji Shiqing examined Xie Jinhuan and confirmed that he had no signs of Demon Path cultivation, though their artifacts still detected Blood Baleful Qi.
• Xie Jinhuan demonstrated the method again, and the experts sensed his qi and vital essence dispersing through his body before he produced small sparks of electricity with Daoist Thunder Magic.

Xie Jinhuan explained that his weak Palm Thunder came from a cultivation method designed to imitate many schools of magic, winning the experts' admiration despite its obvious flaws. After Commandery Princess Changning intervened, the Yamen searched his residence anyway, where someone found something in a bedroom.

• Xie Jinhuan demonstrated his feeble Palm Thunder and explained that his Upside-Down Candle could imitate many teachings by sacrificing most of his true qi.
• Li Jing praised Xie Jinhuan's extraordinary talent and ambition, while Xie Jinhuan apologized for the misunderstanding.
• Zhou He prompted a Scarlet Qilin Guard to remind the officials that they could search Xie Jinhuan's residence, and Tie Fengzhang ordered the search to proceed.
• Commandery Princess Changning appeared and challenged the Scarlet Qilin Guard's involvement, but Xie Jinhuan agreed to the search to show he had nothing to hide.
• The Prince's Manor Guards and Scarlet Qilin Guard searched the rooms, and a voice called out that they had found something.

Xie Jinhuan let a search of his room uncover planted belongings, then used an erotic book and poems praising Linghu Qingmo and Lin Wanyi to distract everyone from the real evidence. The search party left baffled by his excuses, while Lin Wanyi silently reacted to the absurdly uneven praise.

• Xie Jinhuan admitted that the belongings beneath his bed were private, making Zhou He suspect that the search had gone wrong.
• Tie Fengzhang identified the medicine as Dragon Blood Pills and recognized the disguised erotic book, while Li Jing quietly concealed it.
• Commandery Princess Changning read Xie Jinhuan's poem praising Linghu Qingmo, leaving Linghu Qingmo embarrassed and Lin Wanyi resentful.
• Li Jing tried to explain the poem as praise for mountains and rivers, but the group suspected that Xie Jinhuan had written it for Linghu Qingmo.
• Commandery Princess Changning read Xie Jinhuan's crude wordplay about Lin Wanyi, stunning the room as Xie Jinhuan insisted he had written it casually.

After the investigation collapsed, Xie Jinhuan realized Zhou He had framed him and privately explained the planted evidence to Commandery Princess Changning. She pressed him about his supposed sect, and he claimed to possess a supernatural Mind's Eye, only for the Nightly Great Succubus to reveal an embarrassing detail about Changning's clothing.

• Lin Wanyi stormed out after Xie Jinhuan's private writing was exposed, and Linghu Qingmo hurried after her.
• Tie Fengzhang and Li Jing apologized to Xie Jinhuan and left, while Zhou He withdrew with the other Scarlet Qilin Guards.
• Xie Jinhuan concluded Zhou He was behind the frame-up and decided the threat needed to be dealt with.
• Commandery Princess Changning questioned Xie Jinhuan about why he had concealed the Scarlet Qilin Guard's trap, and he admitted someone had planted a Demon Path manual and Blood Essence in his room.
• Changning asked Xie Jinhuan to prove his connection to Wind Spirit Valley, and he claimed his master had taught him the Mind's Eye.
• The Nightly Great Succubus whispered that Changning wore ice-soul silk undergarments, leaving Xie Jinhuan stunned.

Xie Jinhuan convinced Commandery Princess Changning that his Mind's Eye was a rare perception art, and she recruited him to help beat Wang He at the Mid-Autumn banquet in exchange for a chance to borrow the Dragon-Steed Subduing Response Art. After Changning left, Ye Hongshang explained the limits of her abilities and offered to help Xie Jinhuan create an alibi by influencing the princess while she was drunk.

• Xie Jinhuan used the Mind's Eye to identify items hidden beneath Commandery Princess Changning's clothes, then proved he could perceive her raised fingers even while his eyes and ears were covered.
• Commandery Princess Changning tested Xie Jinhuan by slipping her robe from her shoulder and, reassured by his reaction, asked him to teach her the ability.
• Commandery Princess Changning asked Xie Jinhuan to help her defeat Wang He at the next day's Mid-Autumn banquet, offering him a chance to borrow the Dragon-Steed Subduing Response Art if he pleased her.
• After Changning left, Xie Jinhuan asked Ye Hongshang about her abilities and whether she could bewitch people.
• Ye Hongshang said she could not control Changning directly, but could influence her while she was drunk, giving Xie Jinhuan a possible way to secure an alibi after the Scarlet Qilin Guard attack.

Lin Wanyi and Linghu Qingmo separately fretted over Xie Jinhuan’s private writing, while Xie tested a special dice-reading technique for Commandery Princess Changning. After getting her drunk, Xie used Ghost Wife’s illusion to distract her and slipped away from the manor.

• Lin Wanyi brushed off Linghu Qingmo’s concerns about Xie Jinhuan’s writing and hurried back to her clinic, while Linghu Qingmo returned to confront Xie.
• At Martial Might Pavilion, Xie Jinhuan asked Duoduo to sing “Song of Righteous Qi” before Commandery Princess Changning arrived.
• Xie demonstrated that he could identify the numbers in the Wubei Institute’s specially made dice, and Commandery Princess Changning was delighted by the result.
• Xie Jinhuan drank with Commandery Princess Changning until Ye Hongshang’s power made the wine rush to her head, then entertained her with songs.
• Xie confirmed that Ghost Wife’s illusion kept Commandery Princess Changning singing to an imaginary version of him, then quietly climbed down to his courtyard and escaped.

Xie Jinhuan confronted Zhou He and two Scarlet Qilin Guards over their attempt to frame and silence him, revealing that he had uncovered a Demon-Suppressing Mausoleum on Purple Emblem Mountain. After Zhou He explained the old case involving Xie Jinhuan’s father, Xie killed the three guards and left the tavern undetected.

• Zhou He and two Scarlet Qilin Guards discussed their suspicions about Xie Jinhuan and considered reporting or killing him.
• Xie Jinhuan entered the tavern, dismissed the waiter, and told Zhou He that he had released a powerful demon from a Demon-Suppressing Mausoleum on Purple Emblem Mountain.
• Xie Jinhuan demanded to know why the Scarlet Qilin Guard held a grudge against him, and Zhou He described the Imperial Palace haunting case that led to Xie Wen’s demotion and exile.
• Zhou He said Xie Jinhuan could ask Thousand-Household Commander Duan about the demon that attacked him and his father on their way to Lingnan.
• When a warning signal announced approaching soldiers, Xie Jinhuan killed the two guards with spinning teacups and fatally wounded Zhou He in a sword fight.
• Xie Jinhuan left silver for the tavern and escaped, while Zhou He lay dying as passersby praised Xie Jinhuan.

Xie Jinhuan returned from killing Zhou He and his two attendants, only to find that Ye Hongshang had impersonated him to entertain Commandery Princess Changning. He kept the deception going with music and dancing until Yang Dabiao announced the murders, and Changning let him leave without realizing he had been responsible.

• Xie Jinhuan slipped back into the residence after killing three people, while Ye Hongshang finished stalling Commandery Princess Changning with an illusion of him.
• Ye Hongshang coached Xie Jinhuan to act shamelessly, and he entertained Changning by playing the pipa and teaching her to dance.
• Ye Hongshang joined Xie Jinhuan and Changning in dancing until Yang Dabiao arrived with news that Zhou He and two attendants had been murdered.
• Yang Dabiao asked Xie Jinhuan to inspect the crime scene, but Changning sent him to ask Lord Tie instead.
• Changning dismissed Xie Jinhuan and later wondered whether he had been the one to make the wine feel so strong.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xie Jinhuan avoided the Yamen’s investigation into the Scarlet Qilin Guards’ deaths while speaking with Linghu Qingmo and Lin Wanyi. After Zisu’s Ever-Smiling Powder caught Xie Jinhuan and Lin Wanyi in its effects, he set out for the evening banquet at Peony Pond.

• Xie Jinhuan reasoned that Han Jingchuan would eventually need to be killed, but focused first on escaping Danyang City as the Yamen investigated the three dead Scarlet Qilin Guards.
• Linghu Qingmo told Xie Jinhuan he was investigating the deaths and advised him to rest before accompanying Commandery Princess Changning to the banquet.
• Xie Jinhuan explained that he had secured Commandery Princess Changning’s agreement to lend Lin Wanyi the Martial Dao Divine Canon, easing her anger over his earlier teasing.
• Zisu secretly exposed Xie Jinhuan and Lin Wanyi to Ever-Smiling Powder, and Lin Wanyi gave Xie Jinhuan an antidote.
• Xie Jinhuan invited Lin Wanyi and Zisu to the Peony Pond banquet, and Lin Wanyi warned him to take a mind-clearing pill if anything seemed wrong.

Xie Jinhuan joined Commandery Princess Changning and Linghu Qingmo for Danyang City's Mid-Autumn festival while Lin Wanyi and Lin Zisu explored Peony Pond. On a nearby gambling ship, Taishu Dan and He Can realized Xie Jinhuan might be at the festival and discussed the danger of their Blood Demon Pill scheme being discovered.

• Xie Jinhuan met Liu Qingzhi and Steward Hou, then traveled with Commandery Princess Changning and Linghu Qingmo, admiring Linghu Qingmo's dressed-up appearance.
• Lin Wanyi and Lin Zisu arrived at Peony Pond and learned from Jia Zheng that a huge treasure ship on the river was a gambling ship.
• He Can told Taishu Dan that he suspected Xie Jinhuan was at Peony Pond after spotting Lin Wanyi among the crowds.
• Taishu Dan reasoned that Lin Wanyi might be connected to Missing Moon Manor and knew about the Mad Corpse Flower and the Corpse-Hiding Cave.
• Taishu Dan said their Blood Demon Pill plan would proceed that night and hinted that Xie Jinhuan's father's death involved a Demon Path faction.

Xie Jinhuan joined Commandery Princess Changning and Linghu Qingmo at a drinking party, where Wang He outclassed them at dice. He proposed a guessing game to turn the contest around, but Wang He raised the difficulty after he guessed her first prompt instantly.

• Commandery Princess Changning challenged Wang He to a dice contest, and Xie Jinhuan secretly tried to help her read the rolls.
• Wang He revealed her mastery of dice and beat Commandery Princess Changning, while Xie Jinhuan drank the five cups for her.
• Xie Jinhuan proposed a team guessing game, and Commandery Princess Changning blindfolded him for the first round.
• Commandery Princess Changning hinted at Wang He's prompt, and Xie Jinhuan immediately guessed “Bellyband.”
• Wang He drank for losing, then restricted the hints to one person at a time and prepared a more difficult prompt for Linghu Qingmo.

Xie Jinhuan impressed Commandery Princess Changning and her guests with his knowledge during a guessing game, then investigated a suspicious treasure ship after Ghost Wife sensed unusual qi aboard. Meanwhile, the Dan King Pavilion detected immense Blood Baleful Qi downstream on the Huai River, prompting the Pill King to send powerful allies to hunt the threat.

• Xie Jinhuan answered Wang He's difficult questions with impressive knowledge and cleverly explained his guess of the white tiger, though Commandery Princess Changning pinched him for its suggestive meaning.
• Ghost Wife warned Xie Jinhuan that the departing treasure ship had unusual qi gathering in its tower, and he left the pleasure boat to investigate.
• The Pill King learned that Ling'er had spent two hours alone drinking with Xie Jinhuan and worried about their relationship.
• A Daoist reported that Blood Baleful Qi had appeared downstream on the Huai River at a scale matching the disturbance at Purple Emblem Mountain.
• The Pill King ordered the Prince's Manor's guest retainers and masters from Purple Emblem Mountain and Danyang Academy to go downstream and subdue the demon.

Xie Jinhuan discovered that Demon Bandits aboard a gambling boat were using a lavish show and Mad Corpse Flower to drive their victims into a frenzy and harvest them for a Blood Demon Pill. After Taishu Dan and He Can arrived, Xie Jinhuan hid among the crowd and waited for Ye Hongshang to help him create a chance to escape.

• Xie Jinhuan and Ye Hongshang identified the gambling boat's revelers as intended sacrifices for a Blood Demon Pill.
• Xie Jinhuan considered that exposing the Demon Bandits might shift blame for the demonic aura at Purple Emblem Mountain onto them.
• The Ghost Wife warned Xie Jinhuan of an approaching attack, and he dodged a soul-shaking whistle by diving into the crowd.
• Taishu Dan and He Can searched the hall for Xie Jinhuan, while Taishu Dan ordered the plan to continue and kept watch.
• Ye Hongshang explained that Taishu Dan was a mid-third-grade cultivator and proposed creating chaos so Xie Jinhuan could fight his way out.
• Xie Jinhuan concealed himself among the revelers and waited for an opening.

Xie Jinhuan disrupted Taishu Dan and the Nether God Sect’s mind-bewitching attack aboard their treasure ship, then fought his way through the guards. He escaped across the river after confronting Du Qingyi and He Can, while the cultists prepared to restore their scheme and seek reinforcements.

• Xie Jinhuan used Lin Wanyi’s pill to resist the Mad Corpse Flower’s influence as Taishu Dan’s illusions drove the gamblers into a frenzy.
• Xie Jinhuan shattered the illusion with a Heavenly Gang Mace strike, but Taishu Dan rang a Bronze Bell and sent Puppets to stop him.
• Xie Jinhuan fought through the outlaws and used the Zhenglun Sword to disperse He Can’s ghostly attack before confronting Du Qingyi on the deck.
• Xie Jinhuan asked whether the Nether God Sect had caused the Demon-related disturbance that his father encountered three years earlier, and Du Qingyi and He Can challenged him.
• Xie Jinhuan evaded Taishu Dan’s black mist dragon and escaped across the river toward Peony Pond as Du Qingyi covered the ship with red poisonous mist.

Lin Wanyi sensed a Blood Demon Pill being refined upstream, and Xie Jinhuan raced to stop the Demon Bandits alone while she sought reinforcements. The Dan King Pavilion discovered its detection formation had been sabotaged and sent help, but Xie Jinhuan was still holding out when the chapter ended.

• Lin Wanyi detected unusual Blood Baleful Qi near River Bend and found Xie Jinhuan rushing back toward Peony Pond after discovering Demon Bandits were refining a Blood Demon Pill on a boat.
• Lin Wanyi warned that hundreds of people were in danger and that the city might not have noticed; Xie Jinhuan decided to take a Dao Progress Surge Pill and charge in alone to buy time.
• Xie Jinhuan kissed Lin Wanyi, told her to get help, and sped toward the Demon Bandits while she hurried to Peony Pond.
• Lin Wanyi warned the Commandery Princess and the others; Linghu Qingmo and the Commandery Princess set out to gather help after hearing Xie Jinhuan was fighting alone.
• At the Dan King Pavilion, Zhu Wenyuan and the Pill King discovered the Eight Directions Illumination Formation had failed and realized the Demon Bandits had lured the experts away.
• The Pill King ordered reinforcements upstream after hearing that Xie Jinhuan was struggling to hold out at Huai River Bay.

Xie Jinhuan took a pill that greatly increased his power but clouded his mind, then charged the Tower Ship and cut down Du Qingyi and wounded He Can. After interrupting Taishu Dan’s ritual, he faced the old man as Taishu Dan began absorbing the blood sacrifice.

• Xie Jinhuan swallowed the pill and gained immense strength as unfamiliar memories and bloodlust overwhelmed him.
• Xie Jinhuan split the bloody mist and stormed the Tower Ship, where he fought Du Qingyi and He Can.
• Xie Jinhuan resisted Du Qingyi’s poisonous mist with protective Gang Qi and killed him with a sword strike.
• Xie Jinhuan struck He Can and blasted through the superstructure’s roof, disrupting Taishu Dan’s ritual.
• Taishu Dan began absorbing the blood energy of the sacrifice, while Ye Hongshang warned Xie Jinhuan to finish the fight quickly.