Chapter Summaries

Xie Huizhou told the chief eunuch he planned to ask Emperor Xie Wangqiu to make Zhang Lanhe his Imperial Consort at the Painting Appreciation Banquet. Xie Wangqiu plotted to use Xie Huizhou as leverage over Zhang Lanhe, setting their confrontation at the banquet.

• Xie Huizhou announced that he would request a decree to marry Zhang Lanhe and make him his Imperial Consort at the Painting Appreciation Banquet.
• Zhang Lanhe worried that the banquet was dangerous and urged Xie Huizhou not to attend, but Xie Huizhou insisted he would go and frighten Xie Wangqiu.
• After the Imperial Guard Commander explained why he had failed to capture Xie Huizhou, Xie Wangqiu shot him through the heart and ordered his body removed.
• The chief eunuch reported Xie Huizhou’s marriage plan, enraging Xie Wangqiu, who decided to capture or persuade Xie Huizhou so he could use him to control Zhang Lanhe.

Xie Huizhou reunited with Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing, reaffirmed his love for Zhang Lanhe, and urged his family and allies to avoid turning against one another. As they prepared for the coming rebellion and the Painting Appreciation Banquet, Xie Huizhou sent the steward to find out why Li Xu was waiting outside.

• Zhang Lanhe warned Xie Huizhou to beware of Xie Wangqiu, and promised to protect him.
• Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing visited Xie Huizhou with supplements and discussed the gunpowder from Nine Dragons Stronghold and their plans against the emperor.
• Fang Yuanke urged Xie Huizhou to avoid the Painting Appreciation Banquet, but Xie Huizhou insisted they coordinate their efforts from within and without.
• Xie Huizhou told Fang Yuanke that he loved Zhang Lanhe and asked him not to let their family and allies become enemies; Fang Yuanke accepted their relationship for now.
• Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing left, and Xie Huizhou sent the steward to see why Li Xu was waiting outside the gate.

Li Xu visited Xie Huizhou at the National Preceptor's Residence, fearing that Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe had fallen out, but found them together and learned that the supposed imperial consorts were decoys. Li Xu asked for new pictures, and Xie Huizhou gave him drawings that deliberately provoked the new emperor, Xie Wangqiu.

• Li Xu hesitated outside the National Preceptor's Residence, worried about Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe's quarrel, before going inside to check on Xie Huizhou.
• Li Xu found Xie Huizhou safe and learned that their mutual acquaintances had fled the Capital City while Li Xu remained protected by Zhang Lanhe.
• Li Xu offered to help the imperial consorts escape, and Xie Huizhou clarified that Zhang Lanhe was his only consort and the others had been agents in disguise.
• Li Xu asked Xie Huizhou for new pictures because readers were overwhelming his Bookshop, and Xie Huizhou handed him the drawings he had made on the road.
• Xie Huizhou admitted that the pictures were meant to provoke Xie Wangqiu, and Spring Studio Hermit's defiance of the crackdown drew public attention.

Xie Huizhou secretly enlisted Ye Changfeng and Zhang Lanhe to gather supplies for a rebellion while his paintings spread through the capital and cast Xie Wangqiu as a doomed tyrant. Xie Wangqiu saw the new paintings predict his death at the Painting Appreciation Banquet and raged against the unknown Spring Studio Hermit.

• Xie Huizhou used a medical visit to ask Ye Changfeng for supplies for his plan to overthrow Xie Wangqiu, and Ye Changfeng agreed after Zhang Lanhe promised him scales.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe arranged for the supplies to be delivered secretly to the National Preceptor's Residence.
• Xie Wangqiu's spies brought him the Spring Studio Hermit's new paintings, which depicted a romance and revealed Xie Wangqiu's crimes and schemes.
• Xie Wangqiu read the prediction that Heaven's punishment would fall at the Painting Appreciation Banquet and that the sovereign would die.
• Xie Wangqiu called the Spring Studio Hermit a monstrous painter and demanded to know who he was.

Xie Wangqiu grew furious over the Spring Studio Hermit's revealing paintings and plotted to lure the elusive artist to a banquet. As the Painting Appreciation Banquet began, he prepared to capture Xie Huizhou and use him against the Imperial Preceptor.

• Xie Wangqiu ordered the Spring Studio Hermit invited to the Painting Appreciation Banquet, then commanded that all painters and prominent people in Capital City be summoned so the artist would attend.
• Xie Wangqiu questioned a spy about Xie Huizhou's health and suspected the prince might be feigning illness or being poisoned.
• Xie Wangqiu gathered his Imperial Guards and ordered them to kill Xie Huizhou.
• Xie Wangqiu hosted the Painting Appreciation Banquet, intending to capture Xie Huizhou and threaten the Imperial Preceptor while searching the guests for the Spring Studio Hermit.
• Xie Wangqiu sent someone to hurry Xie Huizhou to the banquet.

Xie Huizhou arrived at Xie Wangqiu’s Painting Appreciation Banquet while concealing Zhang Lanhe and preparing for danger. Xie Wangqiu tried to learn the Spring Studio Hermit’s identity, then invited Xie Huizhou to view the paintings as the trap moved toward its next stage.

• Xie Wangqiu admired the Spring Studio Hermit’s paintings and decided to question Xie Huizhou about the painter’s identity.
• Xie Huizhou armed himself for the dangerous banquet and told Zhang Lanhe to remain hidden as a little snake, though Zhang insisted on staying close to protect him.
• Xie Huizhou noticed armed, unfamiliar people in the capital and arrived at the palace, where he and Xie Wangqiu exchanged courteous words while privately plotting against each other.
• Xie Wangqiu questioned Xie Huizhou about the absent Zhang Lanhe and objected to the idea of granting them a marriage decree.
• Xie Wangqiu asked about the Spring Studio Hermit, but Xie Huizhou refused to reveal the painter’s identity and claimed the artist loved him.
• Xie Wangqiu invited Xie Huizhou to appreciate the paintings with him as the time to act approached.

At the Painting Appreciation Banquet, Xie Wangqiu tried to kill Xie Huizhou but failed, then offered to spare him if he helped preserve the Xie Clan’s rule. Xie Huizhou pretended to consider the offer as Xie Wangqiu proposed exploiting Zhang Lanhe’s love for him.

• Xie Huizhou walked through the palace’s paintings while he and Zhang Lanhe watched for Xie Wangqiu’s assassins.
• Xie Wangqiu shot an arrow through a painting toward Xie Huizhou, who caught it and confronted him.
• Xie Wangqiu revealed that he knew Xie Huizhou had been hiding his abilities and tried to recruit him, promising wealth and a title.
• Xie Huizhou feigned interest and asked what he could do as Xie Wangqiu suggested using Zhang Lanhe’s love to make him serve the Xie Clan.

Xie Wangqiu tried to recruit Xie Huizhou into a scheme to use Zhang Lanhe, but Xie Huizhou refused and fought back when his brother tried to capture and cripple him. Little White Snake intervened, and Xie Wangqiu realized the snake was Zhang Lanhe.

• Xie Wangqiu offered Xie Huizhou wealth and power in exchange for helping him exploit Zhang Lanhe, but Xie Huizhou refused.
• Xie Wangqiu drew his sword and attacked Xie Huizhou, intending to capture and confine him as leverage against Zhang Lanhe.
• Xie Huizhou defended himself as they fought, while Zhang Lanhe prepared to intervene after Xie Wangqiu threatened his painting hands.
• Little White Snake bit Xie Wangqiu's wrist as he attacked, and Xie Wangqiu recognized the snake as Zhang Lanhe.

Xie Huizhou used hidden explosives to blast open the palace floor and reach Zhang Lanhe, while making the explosion look like Heavenly Punishment. Xie Wangqiu realized he had been outmaneuvered and asked whether Xie Huizhou was the Spring Studio Hermit.

• Xie Wangqiu confronted Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou, then ordered the Imperial Guards to seize them alive as their forces clashed at the banquet.
• Xie Huizhou sensed Zhang Lanhe’s imprisoned white-snake form beneath the palace through their connection and found its location.
• Xie Wangqiu tried to stop Xie Huizhou from reaching the underground prison, but Xie Huizhou revealed he had secretly prepared explosives.
• Xie Huizhou set the palace ablaze, triggering an explosion that looked like Heavenly Punishment and spread panic across the capital.
• Xie Wangqiu realized he had fallen into Xie Huizhou’s trap and asked whether he was the Spring Studio Hermit.

Xie Wangqiu learned that Xie Huizhou was Spring Studio Hermit as explosions set the palace ablaze and rebel forces stormed the Imperial City. Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe escaped into an underground palace, and Xie Wangqiu followed them despite the danger.

• Fang Yuanke led a hundred thousand troops to the Imperial City and began the attack when explosions over the palace signaled the revolt.
• Xie Wangqiu realized Xie Huizhou was Spring Studio Hermit, and soldiers spread the revelation as the battle raged.
• Xie Huizhou attacked Xie Wangqiu to silence him, while the two exchanged threats amid the spreading flames.
• The sounds of fighting outside alerted Xie Wangqiu that rebel troops had entered the city, and an explosion revealed the entrance to an underground palace.
• Xie Huizhou descended into the tunnel, Zhang Lanhe followed after cutting down an Imperial Guard, and Xie Wangqiu pursued them.

Xie Huizhou found Zhang Lanhe’s chained true body in the Underground Palace and began cutting the chains to free him. Xie Wangqiu attacked to stop him and seized Xie Huizhou by the throat, leaving his rescue attempt in peril.

• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe descended through the Underground Palace until they found Zhang Lanhe’s enormous, wounded white-snake body bound by chains.
• The maddened serpent attacked Xie Huizhou, but Zhang Lanhe pulled him clear and then merged with his true body, falling into a sleep to regain control.
• Xie Huizhou cut through several chains with his sword, and the serpent’s wounds began to heal.
• Xie Wangqiu arrived and attacked Xie Huizhou, who declared that he had come to free the Imperial Preceptor and fought back.
• Xie Wangqiu overpowered Xie Huizhou, slammed him against a wall, and threatened to strangle him.

Xie Huizhou tricked Xie Wangqiu with white pigment, freed Zhang Lanhe from the Dragon-Trapping Formation, and watched the Xie Clan lose the Son of Heaven’s Qi. As Xie Wangqiu fled, Zhang Lanhe’s jealousy overwhelmed him and he carried Xie Huizhou away in his tail.

• Xie Wangqiu tried to kill Xie Huizhou, who threw white pigment in his face and escaped while he was distracted.
• Xie Huizhou cut through the remaining chains and shattered the Dragon-Trapping Formation, freeing Zhang Lanhe.
• Xie Wangqiu sensed the Son of Heaven’s Qi leave the Xie Clan and fled the underground palace as the Dynasty faced collapse.
• Xie Huizhou started after Xie Wangqiu, but Zhang Lanhe, driven by jealousy, coiled his tail around him and carried him to a nest below.

Zhang Lanhe, still deranged after his release, dragged Xie Huizhou away from the fight and kept him in his lair until he regained his reason. They returned to face Xie Wangqiu, just as Fang Yuanke arrived and called for the emperor’s death.

• Zhang Lanhe hid Xie Huizhou in his lair because he feared others would hurt him, then pressed him to indulge his desires.
• Xie Huizhou persuaded Zhang Lanhe to return to human form, and Zhang Lanhe embraced him until his madness began to fade.
• Zhang Lanhe apologized and carried Xie Huizhou back to the surface, where they confronted Xie Wangqiu and his Imperial Guards.
• Xie Wangqiu committed his remaining troops to a final counterattack, while Xie Huizhou said he had another plan and expected Fang Yuanke to arrive.
• Fang Yuanke entered the palace and demanded that Xie Wangqiu die for all the people under heaven.

Fang Yuanke’s forces cornered Xie Wangqiu in the palace, where Fang revealed his reasons for rebelling and Xie Huizhou rejected the emperor’s claim of brotherhood. Xie Wangqiu’s last troops fell, and he died in a fire that destroyed the palace as everyone fled.

• Fang Yuanke entered the palace, protected Xie Huizhou, and declared that he would kill Xie Wangqiu for both personal grievances and the people’s sake.
• Xie Wangqiu learned that Fang Yuanke and Xie Huizhou considered each other brothers, and Xie Huizhou told him that nobody cared about him.
• Xie Wangqiu ordered the Imperial Guards to attack, but Fang Yuanke’s encircling troops defeated them.
• Zhang Lanhe told Xie Wangqiu that his defeat had always been inevitable, and Xie Wangqiu refused to die at Fang Yuanke’s hands.
• Xie Wangqiu plunged into the flames and triggered more explosions, destroying the Imperial Palace as the others escaped.

After Xie Huizhou’s illustrated story reached its happy ending, Zhang Lanhe accepted his proposal to elope and live in seclusion. The pair packed their belongings, but Li Xu and their other friends arrived just as they were ready to leave.

• Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing stabilized the new Dynasty while rumors spread about the vanished Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe.
• Xie Huizhou’s erotic comic ended with the Snake Demon Azure Lord and the young swordsman choosing to live together, prompting readers to wonder whether the Spring Studio Hermit would stop painting or elope.
• Xie Huizhou dug up a chest of property deeds and offered his savings as betrothal gifts while asking Zhang Lanhe to elope with him.
• Zhang Lanhe accepted, and the two packed their valuables and prepared to say goodbye to their friends and family.
• Li Xu entered with the others, saw their luggage, and asked whether they were planning to elope.

Xie Huizhou’s friends rushed to the National Preceptor’s Residence after hearing a rumor that he and Zhang Lanhe planned to elope. They begged him to stay in Capital City, but he reminded them that he was a remnant of the former dynasty.

• Li Xu and the others arrived at Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe’s residence, upset that the pair had packed their belongings without saying goodbye.
• Li Xu explained that a rumor about Spring Studio Hermit eloping with a martial wanderer had spread through Capital City and alarmed the readers.
• Fang Yuanke and the others joined Li Xu, saw the packed luggage, and concluded that Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe really intended to leave.
• Fang Yuanke offered to keep Xie Huizhou safe in Capital City, and Zhou Yanqing and the others urged him to stay.
• Xie Huizhou said it was inappropriate for a remnant of the former dynasty to remain in Capital City.

Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe decided to fake their deaths and leave Capital City to escape political threats and live under new identities. Fang Yuanke reluctantly accepted their choice and planned a farewell banquet and a visit to their parents’ graves.

• Xie Huizhou explained that former officials and political opponents could use his status as the last prince of the former dynasty to cause unrest and target him and Zhang Lanhe.
• Xie Huizhou proposed that they fake their deaths and leave Capital City, but Fang Yuanke initially refused because he feared losing his last relative.
• Xie Huizhou reassured Fang Yuanke that they would remain alive and visit him, while Li Xu panicked about the secrets he had heard and pleaded to go with them.
• Zhang Lanhe defended Xie Huizhou’s decision to leave, and Fang Yuanke finally agreed to let them go.
• Fang Yuanke offered to hold a farewell banquet and asked Xie Huizhou to say goodbye at their parents’ graves, which Xie Huizhou agreed to do.

Xie Huizhou grieved at his parents’ graves, where Fang Yuanke and Zhang Lanhe comforted him and Zhang promised to care for him. He then joined friends at a farewell banquet at the Colorful Splendor Tower, while Fang Yuanke asked Zhang Lanhe to speak privately.

• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe paid respects at the graves of the former Marquis of Anping and his wife, and Xie asked whether his parents would have loved him.
• Fang Yuanke reassured Xie Huizhou that his parents had wanted him and that their deaths were not his fault, while Zhang Lanhe promised to love and care for him.
• Xie Huizhou felt a comforting breeze as if his parents were embracing him, then told them he had people who loved him and would take care of himself.
• Fang Yuanke collected earth from the graves in a porcelain bottle for Xie Huizhou, and the three left for the farewell banquet at the Colorful Splendor Tower.
• Li Xu welcomed Xie Huizhou and hosted a lively farewell with their friends, where Xie toasted to his survival, health, freedom, and loved ones.
• Fang Yuanke invited Zhang Lanhe to speak with him in private.

Fang Yuanke accepts Zhang Lanhe as Xie Huizhou’s partner after learning they have bound their lives together, and the group shares a night of fireworks and drinking. Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe fake their deaths and leave the Capital City together to travel and live in seclusion.

• Fang Yuanke asks Zhang Lanhe whether he is human, and Zhang Lanhe vows to stay with Xie Huizhou for their shared lifetime.
• Fang Yuanke recognizes Zhang Lanhe as family and warns him not to mistreat Xie Huizhou.
• Xie Huizhou joins them, and they watch fireworks with their friends before Zhou Yanqing takes care of the drunken group.
• Fang Yuanke announces that Xie Huizhou and the Imperial Preceptor have died, allowing the two to fake their deaths and escape notice.
• Fang Yuanke secretly gives Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe extra valuables as their friends see them off at the city gates.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe ride away together to explore the mountains and rivers and begin their life in seclusion.

Peach Blossom Village’s residents learned that Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou were lovers and planned to marry, and they eagerly brought wedding gifts to their home. As Xie Huizhou welcomed the villagers, Zhang Lanhe hurried to write invitations, leaving their wedding preparations underway.

• Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou settled into Peach Blossom Village, where they earned the villagers’ admiration through their kindness and contributions.
• After seeing the two men kiss, the villagers realized they were lovers and circulated a romantic story about how they had escaped Capital City together.
• The villagers discovered Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou planned to marry and began discussing what gifts to give them.
• A villager brought wine and freshly caught crucian carp to the residence, and Xie Huizhou accepted the gifts and invited the villager’s family to the banquet.
• Xie Huizhou returned inside and found Zhang Lanhe writing wedding invitations; he touched Zhang Lanhe’s silver hair and asked whether he could finish and send them.