Chapter Summaries

Xie Huizhou moved into the National Preceptor's Residence and accepted an imperial decree to establish his own residence, which Zhang Lanhe arranged to build right next door. As the new residence neared completion, Xie Huizhou noticed an unusual influx of refugees into Capital City.

• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe openly declared themselves lovers to the Fourth Prince, who resented their closeness and could not defend his own reputation amid rumors about Prince Wuzi.
• While recovering from illness, Xie Huizhou moved his belongings and attendants from the Detached Palace to the National Preceptor's Residence, sending suspected imperial poisoners to the Ministry of Punishments for interrogation.
• The Fourth Prince decided to separate Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe by requesting an imperial decree for Xie Huizhou to establish his own residence.
• Xie Huizhou accepted the decree, and Zhang Lanhe arranged for the Ninth Prince's Residence to be built beside the National Preceptor's Residence, with a doorway connecting the two.
• As the new residence neared completion, Xie Huizhou moved in paintings hidden in the Detached Palace and noticed more refugees arriving in Capital City than usual.

Xie Huizhou feared that fate would still lead him and Zhang Lanhe to their deaths, but Zhang Lanhe reminded him that their lives had already diverged from the original story. As the emperor’s health failed and the princes’ schemes gathered force, Zhang Lanhe urged Xie Huizhou to have Ye Changfeng examine him.

• Xie Huizhou sent the Shadow Guards to investigate the displaced people and bandits near Guanjun Mountain, then worried that events were moving too quickly to change their destined deaths.
• Zhang Lanhe found Xie Huizhou distraught and comforted him as Xie Huizhou admitted he feared being unable to save the people he cared about.
• Xie Huizhou told Zhang Lanhe that their original fates had ended with Xie Huizhou dying by Zhang Lanhe’s hand and Zhang Lanhe dying as well, but Zhang Lanhe argued that their being together already showed fate had changed.
• Xie Huizhou learned that the emperor was gravely ill, several consorts were pregnant, and the princes were preparing to act as troops moved around the capital.
• Fang Yuanke and his companions returned to the capital with urgent dispatches but could not see the emperor, while the Shadow Guard suggested seizing the throne.
• Zhang Lanhe said the emperor would not survive the next few days and asked Ye Changfeng to examine Xie Huizhou, but Ye Changfeng was knocked unconscious and carried away.

After Ye Changfeng discovered that Heaven and Earth's Rejection was worsening Xie Huizhou's condition, Xie Huizhou left Capital City for Guanjun Mountain to seek answers and save Zhang Lanhe. Zhang Lanhe watched him go while hiding how close he was to death himself.

• Ye Changfeng examined Xie Huizhou and found his poison mostly suppressed, but diagnosed Heaven and Earth's Rejection as the cause of his blood cough.
• Ye Changfeng told Xie Huizhou to go to Guanjun Mountain, and Xie Huizhou decided to leave Capital City to find answers and save Zhang Lanhe.
• Fang Yuanke warned Xie Huizhou about the dangers beyond the capital, while Zhang Lanhe supported his departure and arranged protections for him.
• Xie Huizhou slipped out of Capital City at night with guards and promised Zhang Lanhe he would return to save him.
• After Xie Huizhou left, Zhang Lanhe coughed up blood, and Ye Changfeng revealed that his body was nearing its limit.

Zhang Lanhe vowed to survive or haunt Xie Huizhou, while Fang Yuanke discussed the Imperial Preceptor and the growing turmoil in the capital. Xie Wangqiu murdered the emperor and learned Xie Huizhou had escaped toward the Borderlands, then resolved to kill the Fifth Prince first.

• Zhang Lanhe told Fang Yuanke he would stay with Xie Huizhou whether he lived or became a ghost.
• Fang Yuanke warned that the Imperial Preceptor might be a danger to Xie Huizhou and admitted he wanted chaos in the capital.
• Zhang Lanhe sensed blood in the Imperial Palace and realized the emperor was in trouble.
• Xie Wangqiu demanded the secret behind the emperors' secure rule, then strangled the emperor when he refused to answer.
• Xie Wangqiu learned Xie Huizhou had left Capital City for the Borderlands and decided to kill the Fifth Prince first.
• Xie Huizhou approached the Borderlands with his men.

Xie Huizhou reached an inn near Guanjun Mountain and learned that Zhang Lanhe had once been worshipped there as a young hero. As Xie Huizhou investigated the bandits blocking his route, Zhang Lanhe manifested through Little White Snake and embraced him.

• Xie Huizhou traveled through war-torn lands toward the Borderlands and arrived at an inn near Guanjun Mountain.
• Xie Huizhou learned that the inn’s shrine commemorated a young hero who had been deceived and identified the hero as Zhang Lanhe.
• Xie Huizhou told the innkeeper he was going to save his beloved, and Little White Snake relayed his praise to Zhang Lanhe.
• Xie Huizhou heard that well-armed bandits had overwhelmed the local troops, so he contacted the magistrate and studied a map for clues.
• Zhang Lanhe manifested through Little White Snake, embraced Xie Huizhou from behind, and asked if he had missed him.

Xie Huizhou reunited with Zhang Lanhe through his clone, learned that Zhang Lanhe was imprisoned beneath the Golden Dragon Hall, and invited him to see his homeland. Zhang Lanhe’s time ran out before they could go, leaving Xie Huizhou fearing they might never meet again; then magistrate Mu Jiu arrived to greet the Ninth Prince.

• Zhang Lanhe appeared through his clone and embraced Xie Huizhou, who comforted him with a kiss.
• Zhang Lanhe told Xie Huizhou that he was trapped beneath the Golden Dragon Hall, bound by a powerful suppression formation and chains.
• Zhang Lanhe reported that the emperor was likely dead, the Fourth and Fifth Princes were fighting for the throne, and Spring Studio Hermit’s drawings had drawn a ten-thousand-tael bounty.
• Xie Huizhou invited Zhang Lanhe to explore his homeland with him, but Zhang Lanhe’s clone vanished when its time limit ran out.
• Xie Huizhou feared Zhang Lanhe might never escape, and after two days without another appearance, magistrate Mu Jiu arrived to greet the Ninth Prince.

Xie Huizhou met County Magistrate Mu Jiu, who revealed how he had kept his town standing between Nine Dragons Stronghold and Northern Border raiders. The chapter ended when Mu Jiu recognized Xie Huizhou’s jade pendant as a token of Nine Dragons Stronghold.

• Xie Huizhou met Mu Jiu and recalled that they had crossed paths during the Imperial Examination.
• Mu Jiu explained that he lacked the men and resources to suppress the more than ten thousand bandits at Nine Dragons Stronghold.
• Mu Jiu revealed that he had escaped the stronghold by pretending to agree to marry its chief and fleeing after getting him drunk.
• Mu Jiu explained that he had used a beauty trap on both enemy leaders to keep the Northern Border raiders and the bandits fighting each other.
• Mu Jiu recognized Xie Huizhou’s jade pendant and asked how he had obtained a token of Nine Dragons Stronghold.

Xie Huizhou investigated Qingfeng Temple and Zhang Lanhe’s origins, while using a jade pendant to test the Nine Dragons Stronghold’s intentions. The stronghold’s chief claimed ties to Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing, but Mu Jiu received a letter that angered him.

• Xie Huizhou sent Shadow Guard Seven to the Nine Dragons Stronghold with a pendant identical to the chief’s.
• Mu Jiu told Xie Huizhou that Priest Wu Xianzhi was revered locally for helping people, despite having sealed Zhang Lanhe in Capital City.
• Xie Huizhou learned of legends about a white snake on Guanjun Mountain and wondered what Zhang Lanhe was.
• The chief welcomed Shadow Guard Seven, claimed to be Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing’s old acquaintance, and sent Xie Huizhou a command token and letters.
• Mu Jiu received a negotiation letter from the stronghold and angrily accused the chief of threatening him again.

Xie Huizhou and Mu Jiu traveled to the Nine Dragons Stronghold to negotiate with its chief about the Northern Border’s advance and bandit raids. They met Xiao Chen, who recognized Xie Huizhou as a prince and invited him inside to talk, while Xie Huizhou longed to return to Zhang Lanhe.

• Xie Huizhou decided to visit the Nine Dragons Stronghold with Mu Jiu and told the Shadow Guards to be ready to flee if danger arose.
• Xie Huizhou and Mu Jiu traveled through the stronghold, where the bandits let them pass after seeing their token and jade pendant.
• Bandits at a checkpoint tried to detain Xie Huizhou and Mu Jiu, but Xiao Chen arrived and apologized for his men’s behavior.
• Xie Huizhou saw that Xiao Chen was a handsome young man in a wheelchair and inferred that Xiao Chen and Mu Jiu had a complicated relationship.
• Xie Huizhou missed Zhang Lanhe and resolved to find a solution quickly so he could return to the Capital City.
• Xiao Chen recognized Xie Huizhou’s identity and invited him inside to discuss their business.

Xie Huizhou met Xiao Chen and Mu Jiu at the Nine Dragons Stronghold, learned of their plans to rebel, and gave them instructions for making explosives. He continued toward Qingfeng Temple despite warnings about Northern Border forces, then encountered Wuzi leading an invading force.

• Xie Huizhou doubted Mu Jiu and Xiao Chen until Xiao Chen showed him evidence of his history with Fang Yuanke and the Anping Marquis Tragedy.
• Xiao Chen warned Xie Huizhou that Northern Border forces, including the Third Prince, had infiltrated the area near Qingfeng Temple.
• Xie Huizhou explained how to make explosives, and Xiao Chen and Mu Jiu sent word to Fang Yuanke to begin researching them.
• Xie Huizhou refused to delay his trip to Qingfeng Temple, so Xiao Chen sent skilled bandits to escort him.
• Xie Huizhou's party encountered a Northern Border force, and he unmasked its leader as Wuzi, who asked him to return to the Northern Border as his imperial consort.

Xie Huizhou fought Prince Wuzi while Zhang Lanhe entered the palace after learning the Fifth Prince had been defeated. There, Zhang Lanhe watched Xie Wangqiu kill his twin and revealed that he had cursed the royal family to slaughter one another and never know peace.

• Xie Huizhou rejected Prince Wuzi's advances and fought him as Wuzi tried to take him to the Northern Border.
• Zhang Lanhe learned that the Fifth Prince's forces had been defeated and went to the Imperial Palace, cutting down guards who tried to stop him.
• Xie Wangqiu held the dying Fifth Prince, who accused his twin of killing him before dying in his arms.
• Xie Wangqiu mourned his brother, then raised his sword against Zhang Lanhe and asked why the princes had to slaughter one another.
• Zhang Lanhe told Xie Wangqiu that he had cursed the royal family to kill each other and never know a day of peace.

Zhang Lanhe confronted Xie Wangqiu in the Golden Chime Hall, then learned through Little White Snake that Wuzi was trying to abduct Xie Huizhou. When Xie Huizhou’s poison flared during their fight, Zhang Lanhe arrived to stop Wuzi.

• Zhang Lanhe told Xie Wangqiu that he wanted to watch him lose the empire and warned him not to harm Xie Huizhou.
• Xie Wangqiu threatened to use Xie Huizhou as leverage, and Zhang Lanhe left the Golden Chime Hall.
• Zhang Lanhe saw through Little White Snake that Wuzi had vowed to take Xie Huizhou to the Northern Border as his Wangfei.
• Xie Huizhou fought Wuzi in the woods, but his poison flared and left him vulnerable.
• Wuzi moved to seize Xie Huizhou, but Zhang Lanhe appeared and attacked him.

Zhang Lanhe arrived at the border and helped Xie Huizhou capture Wuzi, then transferred some of Xie Huizhou’s poison into himself while treating him. After Zhang Lanhe vanished at dawn, Xie Huizhou met Lu Huairen, who said his master had long foreseen the honored guest’s arrival.

• Zhang Lanhe appeared at the border and joined Xie Huizhou in defeating and capturing Wuzi.
• Xie Huizhou’s poison worsened, so Zhang Lanhe carried him into the woods and treated him despite Xie Huizhou’s protests.
• Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou discussed the capital and planned to see Zhang Lanhe’s homeland together after resting.
• Zhang Lanhe stayed beside the sleeping Xie Huizhou through the night, then vanished when a Daoist priest approached at dawn.
• Xie Huizhou met Lu Huairen, a priest from Qingfeng Temple, who said his master had foreseen Xie Huizhou’s arrival.

Xie Huizhou reached Qingfeng Temple with his Shadow Guards and Little White Snake to learn how to save Zhang Lanhe. The temple master told him how Wu Xianzhi had helped the Xie Clan’s ancestor suppress Zhang Lanhe, then discovered the ancestor’s betrayal and died with the truth still hidden.

• Xie Huizhou asked a Daoist to lead him and his Shadow Guards to Qingfeng Temple, while Zhang Lanhe secretly listened through Little White Snake.
• The temple master asked Xie Huizhou to bring Little White Snake and hear a story before asking about Zhang Lanhe.
• The temple master explained that Wu Xianzhi had been deceived by the Xie Clan’s ancestor into using Zhang Lanhe to alter fate and secure the throne.
• Wu Xianzhi discovered that the ancestor had become a tyrant and that Zhang Lanhe had been unjustly trapped in the scheme.
• The Xie Clan’s ancestor sent Wu Xianzhi a mocking letter and a sword, threatening him into maintaining the formation that continued to sacrifice Zhang Lanhe.

Daoist Wu Xianzhi’s regret over helping the Xie Clan’s ancestor was revealed as the origin of Zhang Lanhe’s centuries-long imprisonment. At Qingfeng Temple, the old Daoist revealed that Zhang Lanhe was a dragon vein, explaining why people had schemed to use him to claim the throne.

• Daoist Wu Xianzhi regretted trusting the Xie Clan’s ancestor and helping suppress Zhang Lanhe, then died at Qingfeng Temple after leaving a sword for his destined wielder.
• Xie Huizhou believed he was destined to draw the sword and free Zhang Lanhe, while Zhang Lanhe accepted Wu Xianzhi’s apology with melancholy.
• The old Daoist brought Xie Huizhou to the highest point of Qingfeng Temple and asked him what he saw in the mountains and rivers.
• The old Daoist explained that a dragon vein was a being of qi that took the form it believed itself to be, revealing that Zhang Lanhe was a dragon vein.
• Xie Huizhou realized that Zhang Lanhe had been targeted because he could help someone claim the throne, and he tried to dismiss the revelation to protect him.

An old Taoist priest revealed that Xie Huizhou came from another world and was fated to die, but refused to explain how he could be saved unless the Imperial Preceptor met him alone. Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe reaffirmed their trust and affection, and Zhang Lanhe went to seek the gods’ help while Xie Huizhou left with Taoist Priest Lu to retrieve the sword.

• Xie Huizhou denied that Zhang Lanhe was a Dragon Vein, but the old Taoist priest saw through them and revealed that Xie Huizhou came from another world.
• The old priest said Xie Huizhou was fated to die and that the poison had been kept at bay by Zhang Lanhe drawing it out and a physician treating him, but he refused to explain how to save him unless the Imperial Preceptor came alone.
• Beneath a banyan tree, Zhang Lanhe accepted Xie Huizhou’s secret and assured him he was glad they had met.
• Xie Huizhou asked why Zhang Lanhe’s Dragon Vein form was a white snake, and Zhang Lanhe explained that Dragon Veins had no fixed shape before playfully drawing him close.
• Taoist Priest Lu came to take Xie Huizhou to retrieve the sword while Zhang Lanhe entered the temple to pray for a way to save his lover.

Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou chose to bind their lives together, making Xie Huizhou ageless and linking their fates. When Zhang Lanhe left to confront the Fourth Prince’s reckless rule, Xie Huizhou resolved to return to the capital and help him.

• Zhang Lanhe learned from the old Taoist priest that sharing his life with Xie Huizhou could keep Xie Huizhou alive, though either man would die if the other did.
• Xie Huizhou agreed to the bond, and Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou performed the ritual that linked their hearts, senses, and fates.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe discussed escaping together and living between the residences Xie Huizhou had bought.
• Zhang Lanhe coughed up blood and left to deal with the Fourth Prince, while Xie Huizhou sensed the karmic retribution harming him.
• Xie Huizhou decided to return to the capital with the sword and face the turmoil alongside Zhang Lanhe.
• Mu Jiu arrived with an imperial edict ordering Xie Huizhou to return to the capital immediately.

Xie Huizhou returned to the Capital City despite Xie Wangqiu’s deadly summons, using a body double and a secret water route to evade the city’s guards. He reached the National Preceptor’s Residence and was welcomed by Zhang Lanhe, who had been waiting for him.

• Xie Huizhou refused Mu Jiu’s advice to stay in the Borderlands because he could not abandon his loved ones or Zhang Lanhe in the Capital City.
• Xie Huizhou arranged for his Shadow Guard body double to pose as him, while he traveled separately with other Shadow Guards.
• Xie Huizhou and his companions reached the Capital City after several days, finding its people fearful and its gates and walls heavily guarded for him.
• Xie Huizhou used his swimming ability to evade the guards and followed a waterway toward the National Preceptor’s Residence.
• Zhang Lanhe caught Xie Huizhou in his arms and welcomed him back.

Xie Huizhou returned to Capital City and reunited with Zhang Lanhe, who caught him after he emerged from the water. Zhang Lanhe then asked Xie Huizhou for an official place by his side.

• Zhang Lanhe carried the drenched Xie Huizhou to his bedroom, where he warmed him with a bath and ginger tea.
• Zhang Lanhe confronted Xie Huizhou about rumors that he had married a Wangfei and taken concubines, then discovered the man at the city gate was a disguised double.
• Zhang Lanhe waited by the water and caught Xie Huizhou when he leaped out, while rumors spread that the Imperial Preceptor had imprisoned the prince for love.
• Zhang Lanhe pinned Xie Huizhou to the couch and asked him for an official place by his side.

Xie Huizhou learned that Xie Wangqiu had seized the throne and learned Zhang Lanhe’s secret, while Zhang Lanhe told him where the seal was hidden. An imperial invitation to view the Spring Studio Hermit’s paintings revealed a chance to reach the seal, though Xie Huizhou suspected the gathering was a trap.

• Zhang Lanhe pressed Xie Huizhou to give their relationship a proper status, but Xie Huizhou asked about his illness and what had happened in the Capital City.
• Zhang Lanhe explained that Xie Wangqiu had taken the throne and caused him to suffer karmic retribution, then gave Xie Huizhou the location of his seal in a palace banquet hall.
• The chief eunuch delivered Xie Wangqiu’s invitation for Xie Huizhou to attend a painting-viewing gathering in the middle of next month.
• Xie Huizhou realized the gathering would take place at Zhang Lanhe’s seal and suspected Xie Wangqiu planned to kill him there.
• Xie Huizhou accepted the invitation, intending to use the gathering to release Zhang Lanhe and possibly coordinate with Fang Yuanke and the others.