Chapter Summaries

Wang Gang learned that Deng Baichuan and the others were preparing to suppress Lake Tai’s bandits, while recognizing that their questions were meant to keep their rebellion plans consistent. After taking the Minor Return Pill, he healed and strengthened his meridians, and resolved to make faster progress.

• At the Spring Breeze Pavilion, Deng Baichuan told Wang Gang that the county magistrate had requisitioned estate archers to suppress Lake Tai’s bandits.
• Deng Baichuan and Gongye Qian questioned Wang Gang about when the bandits arrived, and Wang Gang realized they were coordinating their story around the rebellion.
• Wang Gang said he already knew they were plotting rebellion and explained that betraying them would endanger both himself and his sister.
• Wang Gang left the gathering, returned to the inn, and took the Minor Return Pill to heal his meridians.
• After the pill repaired and strengthened his meridians, Wang Gang considered returning to Swallow Dock to increase his internal force.

Wang Gang warned the Wang family’s shop managers to repay any stolen money, but Wang Gui and the others dismissed him and relied on County Vice Magistrate Liu for protection. After another manager was exposed and removed, Wang Gui went to the county office.

• Wang Zhong told Wang Gui and four other managers that Wang Cai had embezzled money, then warned them to make up any similar shortfalls; Wang Gui denied wrongdoing and lectured Wang Gang.
• Wang Gang told the managers they had been warned, then sent Wang Yi with a letter to Gongye Qian to begin their plan.
• Wang Gui and the other managers revealed they had arranged to pay County Vice Magistrate Liu thirty percent of their money for protection and mocked Wang Gang’s warning.
• Three days later, Wang Zhong reported another shop manager’s misconduct, and Wang Gang ordered the investigation to continue, resulting in another tenant farmer joining the Wang family estate.
• Wang Gang summoned the managers, who condemned the newly exposed man, and repeated his warning as they left.
• Wang Gui ignored the other managers’ panic and went straight to the county office.

Wang Gang confronted County Vice Magistrate Liu Cheng after Liu had targeted the Wang Family’s shops, then invited him to a meeting at the Drunken Immortal Tower. Wang Gang offered Liu a stake in the restaurant, leaving Liu stunned by the unexpected proposal.

• Liu Cheng had the Wang Family’s two shops sealed after his meeting with Wang Gang, expecting Wang Gang to seek a compromise.
• Wang Gang’s men entered Liu Cheng’s bedroom and cut off his concubine’s hair, leaving an invitation to meet at the Drunken Immortal Tower.
• Liu Cheng summoned the county commandant, who recommended Constable Lei Kun to accompany him to negotiate with Wang Gang.
• Lei Kun feared the consequences of offending the Murong Family, but accompanied Liu Cheng to the Drunken Immortal Tower, where Wang Gang greeted them with a performance and a meal.
• Wang Gang served Liu Cheng stir-fried dishes and offered him a ten-percent stake in the business without requiring an investment.

Wang Gang secured Liu Cheng’s support for the Drunken Immortal Tower and considered partnering with Qinghe on a new business to help her prepare for life beyond the Spring Breeze Pavilion. As Wang Gang tightened his control over the family’s shops, Wang Gui and his allies decided to hire the Fish-Dragon Gang to kill him.

• Wang Gang gave Liu Cheng a ten-percent stake in the Drunken Immortal Tower, and Wang Yi learned that Wang Gang had first frightened Liu Cheng to make him agree readily.
• Qinghe asked to invest in Wang Gang’s business so she could save for a future beyond the Spring Breeze Pavilion, and Wang Gang considered a separate venture that could use her beauty to promote cosmetics.
• Wang Gang investigated another shop and warned the shopkeepers there would be no third chance.
• Wang Gui failed to meet County Vice Magistrate Liu and concluded that the Wang family had turned Liu against him.
• Wang Gui persuaded his allies to abandon official channels and use his contacts in the Fish-Dragon Gang to kill Wang Gang.

Liu Cheng hosted Li Yun and other officials at the Drunken Immortal Tower, where Wang Gang was credited with introducing stir-fried dishes and strong liquor. After Li Yun invited Wang Gang to advise on the campaign against Lake Tai bandits, an assassin tried to kill him, but Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao intervened; as they left, another stranger approached Wang Gang and announced an intent to kill him.

• Liu Cheng treated Li Yun and the county officials to stir-fried dishes and strong liquor at the Drunken Immortal Tower.
• Wang Gang joined the banquet, explained that he had learned stir-frying from The Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People, and heard that Li Yun had passed all six assessments.
• Li Yun invited Wang Gang to join the campaign against the Lake Tai bandits as a military adviser, but Wang Gang declined.
• After the banquet, a disguised assassin stumbled toward Wang Gang with a dagger, and Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao stopped the attack.
• Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao thanked Wang Gang by declaring they were even, then left after teasing him about visiting the Spring Breeze Pavilion.
• As Wang Gang watched the women leave, a stranger approached and said he had come to kill him.

Wang Gang defeated an assassin hired by Wang Gui, who was sentenced to exile after confessing his crimes. As Wang Gang’s household reshuffled its shop staff, he returned to Swallow Dock and met a monk whom Murong Bo called the Wisdom King.

• An assassin attacked Wang Gang, but Wang Gang broke his sword and drove him off with help from the county commandant.
• Wang Gang learned Wang Gui had hired the assassin through the Fish-Dragon Gang and ordered Gongye Qian to seize him.
• Wang Gui confessed at the county office and was sentenced to have his property confiscated and be exiled to Cangzhou.
• Wang Gang visited Wang Gui in jail, where Wang Gui admitted defeat and pleaded for his child to be spared.
• Wang Zhong announced promotions and rewards for reporting wrongdoing in the shops, stirring up complaints among the staff.
• Wang Gang arrived at Swallow Dock and found Murong Bo entertaining a monk, whom Murong Bo introduced as the Wisdom King.

Jiumozhi exchanged his Flame Blade technique with Murong Bo for Shaolin martial arts booklets and agreed to seek the Dali Duan Clan’s Six Meridian Divine Sword. After returning to Canhe Manor, Wang Gang used Madam Wang’s concern to make Murong Bo hand over the Flame Blade manual so he could learn it.

• Jiumozhi praised Wang Gang’s Buddhist insight, then challenged Murong Bo and lost when Murong Bo turned the Flame Blade back against him with Star Shifting.
• Murong Bo traded Jiumozhi three booklets on Shaolin’s Seventy-Two Supreme Skills for the Flame Blade technique, and Jiumozhi agreed to obtain the Six Meridian Divine Sword from the Dali Duan Clan.
• On the way to Canhe Manor, Wang Gang asked for the Flame Blade manual, but Murong Bo mocked his skill and disarmed him when Wang Gang attacked.
• Wang Gang told Madam Wang that Wang Gui had tried to assassinate him and blamed his danger on being taught a weak sword technique, prompting Madam Wang to scold Murong Bo.
• Wang Gang hinted that he wanted to learn the Flame Blade, and Madam Wang pressured Murong Bo into giving him the gold-foil manual.

Wang Gang learned that his family was distantly related to Wang Anshi, and suspected the county magistrate Li Yun wanted to use that connection to advance his career. After Wang Gang hinted that he could seek help through Wang Anshi’s family, Murong Bo reluctantly agreed to arrange protection so Wang Gang could join the Lake Tai bandit suppression.

• Madam Wang explained that martial artists were ranked by skill, while Murong Bo revealed that he was a grandmaster and asked to copy Wang Gang’s gold-foil cultivation method.
• Wang Gang refused to hand over the gold foil, promising to make and send Murong Bo a copy later, then asked whether he should join the Lake Tai bandit suppression.
• Madam Wang inferred that Li Yun wanted Wang Gang to connect him with Zhang Dun, and revealed that their family had once been visited by their distant clan uncle Wang Anshi.
• Wang Gang suspected Divine Physician Xue might be Xue Muhua and wondered whether he had told Li Yun about the family connection.
• Wang Gang asked Murong Bo to arrange protection for the campaign, then hinted at Wang Anshi’s talented eldest son until Murong Bo agreed.

Li Qingluo decided to end the conflict with Wang Gang and went to seek him out, but a maid's taunt provoked her into throwing a sword at Xueyan. After warning the household, she continued on to find Wang Gang.

• Wang Gang returned to the Wang residence with gifts from Swallow Dock after gaining the Flame Blade and learning the county magistrate's intentions.
• Li Qingluo reflected on her marriage and her past with Duan Zhengchun, then decided to go speak with Wang Gang.
• Li Qingluo reached the rear quarters and learned Wang Gang had left for the estate about an hour earlier.
• Xueyan made a mocking remark to Li Qingluo, who threw her sword past the maid and into the ground between her legs.
• Li Qingluo warned the maids and left with Rui'er and Ping'er to find Wang Gang.

Wang Gang visited Crimson Cloud Estate and planned to turn spoiled wine into strong liquor while creating new income for the tenant farmers through pig raising and improved crop rotation. Li Qingluo watched him from a hill but left without meeting him.

• Wang Gang reunited with Wang Cai and proposed processing spoiled wine at the estate to make strong liquor.
• Wang Gang arranged for the estate to raise and castrate pigs, then sell them to the Drunken Immortal Tower for shared profits.
• Wang Gang told Wang An to coordinate the pig project and find farming books, and advised planting beans in idle fields to enrich the soil.
• Li Qingluo watched Wang Gang speaking warmly with a tenant farmer's wife and felt hurt by his coldness toward her.
• Li Qingluo declined Ping'er's suggestion to meet Wang Gang and returned.

Wang Gang resolved a household dispute with Xueyan, then used Reputation Points to advance his Qi Refining Art and learn and test the Flame Blade. After reflecting on how to earn more points, he was told that Uncle Zhong was in trouble.

• Wang Gang heard how Xueyan had offended Li Qingluo and dismissed the maids before telling Xueyan he would send her home if she kept causing trouble.
• Xueyan realized Wang Gang would not risk his reputation by confronting Li Qingluo for her and left dejectedly.
• Wang Gang studied the Flame Blade manual, advanced his Qi Refining Art to Third-Tier Qi Refiner, and learned and upgraded the Flame Blade using Reputation Points.
• Wang Gang tested the Flame Blade and split a table with a palm strike, then realized he had spent much of his Reputation Points and considered gaining more by helping an entire estate prosper.
• Qingniao rushed in and told Wang Gang that Uncle Zhong was in trouble.

Wang Gang investigated Wang Zhong’s injury, then recognized that the attacker was connected to Duan Zhengchun. Duan Zhengchun secretly visited Li Qingluo and urged her to leave with him, but an unknown person caught him at Waterside Cottage.

• Wang Zhong told Wang Gang that a scholar wielding an iron judge’s brush had injured him, and Wang Gang decided to ask County Commandant Yang to investigate.
• On his way to the county office, Wang Gang saw Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao fighting Fu Sigui and defeated him.
• Wang Gang realized Fu Sigui was Duan Zhengchun’s guard and identified Zhu Danchen as the likely attacker of Wang Zhong.
• Duan Zhengchun visited Li Qingluo at Waterside Cottage and urged her to leave with him, but she refused unless he killed another woman.
• A voice outside the window stopped Duan Zhengchun from leaving, and everyone in the room turned pale.

Wang Gang confronted Li Qingluo and Duan Zhengchun, then defeated Duan Zhengchun and injured Chu Wanli when they tried to fight back. He threatened to expose Duan Zhengchun to the Great Song authorities, and the chapter ended with Wang Gang rejecting Li Qingluo as filthy.

• Wang Gang arrived while Li Qingluo and Duan Zhengchun were together, and Duan Zhengchun offered to take responsibility before declaring he would take Li Qingluo away.
• Li Qingluo moved aside to let Duan Zhengchun teach Wang Gang a lesson, but Wang Gang returned his Solitary Yang Finger and wounded him with a Flame Blade.
• Wang Gang overwhelmed Duan Zhengchun with his sword, but Chu Wanli intervened and gave Duan Zhengchun a chance to flee.
• Wang Gang struck Duan Zhengchun in the back, broke Chu Wanli's cord, and wounded Chu Wanli when he tried to stop him.
• Wang Gang threatened to report Duan Zhengchun's attempted affair to the Great Song authorities, and Duan Zhengchun reached for his sword to take his own life.
• Li Qingluo begged Wang Gang to spare Duan Zhengchun, but Wang Gang avoided her touch and said he found her filthy.

Wang Gang fought Duan Zhengchun’s guards after Duan Zhengchun tried to kill himself, while Li Qingluo struggled with her feelings and Ping'er rushed in to help. Wang Gang’s planned Flame Blade struck Zhu Danchen and sent him crashing into Duan Zhengchun, leaving both men badly hurt.

• Duan Zhengchun raised his sword to kill himself, but a scholar-clad guard arrived and blocked the blade with an iron judge’s brush.
• Gu Ducheng and Zhu Danchen attacked Wang Gang, who wounded Gu Ducheng but was gradually forced into a tangled fight against both guards.
• Ping'er took Li Qingluo’s sword and charged into the fight, then Li Qingluo pulled her back and scolded her.
• Wang Gang hurled his sword at Duan Zhengchun, and Zhu Danchen knocked it aside before Wang Gang’s Flame Blade struck him.
• Wang Gang picked up his sword, wounded Gu Ducheng with a palm strike, mocked Zhu Danchen, and thanked Ping'er for helping him.

Wang Gang defeated Gu Ducheng and prepared to hand Duan Zhengchun and his guards over to the authorities, then demanded the Six Meridian Divine Sword in exchange for sparing them. Duan Zhengchun offered the Solitary Yang Finger, but Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao arrived and offered themselves as part of the bargain.

• Wang Gang overwhelmed Gu Ducheng and pierced his four limbs, leaving him unable to fight.
• Wang Gang accused Duan Zhengchun and his guards of having bullied him, then ordered Ping'er and Rui'er to fetch rope so he could turn the men over to the authorities.
• Li Qingluo tried to stop Wang Gang from exposing the incident and offered the Langhuan Jade Cave manuals, but he refused.
• Duan Zhengchun offered silver and then the Solitary Yang Finger, while Wang Gang demanded the Six Meridian Divine Sword manual.
• Wang Gang stopped Duan Zhengchun from taking his own life and rejected Zhu Danchen's offer to trade his life for Duan Zhengchun's.
• Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao arrived hand in hand and asked Wang Gang to include them in the exchange.

Wang Gang confronted Duan Zhengchun and his companions, then fought off Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao as Fu Sigui carried Duan Zhengchun out of the estate. After killing Zhu Danchen and Gu Ducheng, Wang Gang left through the window while Li Qingluo pleaded for Duan Zhengchun’s life.

• Wang Gang taunted Duan Zhengchun over the devotion of Li Qingluo, Qin Hongmian, and Gan Baobao, exposing the women’s hostility toward one another.
• Fu Sigui seized Duan Zhengchun and tried to escape through the window, while Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao blocked Wang Gang from pursuing them.
• Wang Gang wounded Qin Hongmian and kicked Gan Baobao aside, then killed Zhu Danchen after he clung to Wang Gang’s leg.
• Li Qingluo begged Wang Gang to spare Duan Zhengchun, and Ping'er took a Flame Blade meant for Li Qingluo.
• Wang Gang killed Gu Ducheng, kicked Chu Wanli aside, and leaped through the window after Duan Zhengchun.

Wang Gang let Duan Zhengchun escape after using him to expose the women’s attachment to him, then dispersed Gan Baobao’s and Qin Hongmian’s martial arts and began imposing his will on the survivors. He left Li Qingluo facing the collapse of her idea of love and ordered the others to bury the dead and tend to the consequences of the night’s violence.

• Wang Gang threatened to kill Duan Zhengchun’s three guards unless Duan returned, but Li Qingluo shouted that the guards were already dead, prompting Duan to flee in grief.
• Wang Gang choked Li Qingluo, then let Duan Zhengchun’s boat escape and dispersed Gan Baobao’s and Qin Hongmian’s internal power with medicinal plasters.
• Wang Gang told Li Qingluo that he wanted to prove her affair with Duan Zhengchun was worthless, then took Gan Baobao and Qin Hongmian back to the Waterside Cottage.
• Wang Gang offered Chu Wanli a choice between death and proving his worth, then dispersed Chu Wanli’s martial arts with another plaster.
• Wang Gang ordered Gan Baobao, Qin Hongmian, and Rui'er to bury the two corpses, and taunted Li Qingluo about using blood to nourish her camellias.

After killing Zhu Danchen and disposing of the bodies, Wang Gang struggled with his revulsion, then let Xueyan treat his wound. Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao plotted to recover their internal power while settling into Wang Gang’s household, but their uneasy stay ended with Qin Hongmian suspecting the barbecue had been drugged.

• Wang Gang retched after killing and disposing of the men, then allowed Xueyan to bandage his wound and reassured her he would not send her away.
• Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao agreed to pretend to cooperate until they could recover their internal power, while denying they had fallen for Wang Gang.
• Qingniao served the women an elaborate breakfast arranged by Wang Gang, and they spent the day exploring the estate.
• Wang Gang told Gan Baobao that he had built a distillery and planned to give half its profits to the estate’s households.
• At dinner, Wang Gang served a barbecue, but Qin Hongmian refused to eat and declared that the food had been drugged.

Wang Gang brought Gan Baobao and Qin Hongmian to Crimson Cloud Estate, where he oversaw the new distillery and arranged for its profits to benefit the tenant farmers. At Shaolin Temple, Xuanci went to welcome visitors, and Huijing realized they were from the Beggars' Sect.

• Wang Gang persuaded Gan Baobao and Qin Hongmian that the seasoning on the grilled fish was harmless, then discussed wealth, exploitation, and his plans to become stronger.
• Wang Gang took the two women to Crimson Cloud Estate, where they saw tenant farmers castrating piglets to improve their growth and value.
• Wang Cai announced that the distillery had begun producing liquor without an unpleasant smell, and Wang Gang arranged to send it to Drunken Immortal Tower and share half the proceeds with the estate.
• At Shaolin Temple, Huijing and Huilun swept the courtyard while Xuanci went to welcome the approaching guests.
• Huijing recognized the arriving guests as members of the Beggars' Sect.

Xuanci and Wang Jiantong agreed to have the gifted Qiao boy trained by the Beggars' Sect and to investigate reports of bandits on Lake Tai. Xuanci then dispelled Xuantong's heart demon, leaving him to recite the Heart Sutra while wondering what kind of youth had unsettled him so deeply.

• Xuanci asked Wang Jiantong to take the exceptionally gifted Qiao boy as a disciple, and Wang agreed to do so in two years despite worrying about the boy's Liao ancestry.
• Xuanci told Wang Jiantong that Murong Bo might have been deceived and asked the Beggars' Sect to investigate whether the Lake Tai bandits were real.
• Wang Jiantong assigned Wu Changfeng to investigate the bandits and ask the Wang Family lad whether he could dispel Xuantong's heart demon.
• Xuantong tried to enter the storeroom to make a seven-treasure kasaya, arguing that it would attract people who wanted him to explain Buddhist scriptures.
• Xuanci used the Lion's Roar Skill to bring Xuantong back to his senses and ordered him to recite the Heart Sutra three hundred times.