Chapter Summaries

The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the old vein keeper left the underground passage after clearing all three Vein Eyes and met Yin Wujou outside. The old man agreed to help A Yao write a maintenance manual, while the group adjusted the diversion channels to stabilize the earth vein water.

• The old man told A Yao and the Snow Empress that a man wearing red sleeve strips had entered the passages last year and escaped north.
• The three crossed the natural stone bridge and climbed out of the blind zone, where Yin Wujou reported that the water had risen more than four feet.
• A Yao identified the old man as the vein keeper, and the Snow Empress ordered Yin Wujou to keep only two diversion channels open because all three Vein Eyes were clear.
• The old man explained that the acidic soil would need years of rain to recover and told A Yao to plant Meng Qi's bamboo staff at the third Vein Eye once its glow faded.
• The old man agreed to help A Yao write the maintenance manual, and Deacon Sun began refilling the unused channels while preserving the western channel for irrigation.

The Snow Empress and A Yao stabilized the earth vein water and learned that Old Dao's people were searching for a main control node beneath an abandoned radar station. After returning to town with the vein keeper, they found old Spirit Vein Bureau plans of the station.

• Yin Wujou confirmed that the earth vein water had stopped flowing into the blind zone, and A Yao estimated it would take two or three days for it to stabilize fully.
• The vein keeper revealed that a man with a red strip of cloth had said the main control node was beneath the northern radar station and that it had to be found before the Spirit Vein Bureau.
• The Snow Empress suspected the vein keeper knew more about Old Dao's people than he admitted and planned to have Deacon Sun watch him.
• Deacon Sun arrived with supplies and shoes, and the group brought the vein keeper back to town.
• The vein keeper said the red-striped man had gone around the north side of town toward the old wharf.
• Deacon Sun searched the bureau archives and found Meng Qi's detailed hand-drawn plans of the radar station.

A Yao, the Snow Empress, and the vein keeper learned that three Spirit Vein Keys could open the main control node beneath the radar station and set out to retrieve them before Old Dao’s people. They followed their trail through an acid-water zone and reached the radar station’s rear approach.

• A Yao found Meng Qi’s note saying three keys were stored atop pillars at three cleared vein eyes, and the vein keeper recalled an iron piece wedged into the third pillar.
• The Snow Empress chose an old inspection path to reach the radar station from behind, and the group prepared night clothes, ropes, weapons, and probing equipment.
• The three set out after dark, and the vein keeper warned them that hidden pits lay beneath the acid water along the route.
• In the acid-water zone, the group found fresh footprints and identified them as belonging to at least two of Old Dao’s people.
• The three crossed the flooded stretch and followed the muddy trail toward the radar station, where the vein keeper pointed out a drainage opening in the rear wall.

The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper infiltrated the radar station and captured three of Old Dao’s men at the main control node. They learned the node’s self-destruct program would activate in two hours and that the three spirit vein keys were buried in the old warehouse north of the station.

• The Snow Empress led A Yao and the vein keeper through a drainage channel and down the shaft beneath the radar tower.
• The three found Old Dao’s men trying to access the inactive main control node, which required three spirit vein keys.
• A Yao tried to scare the intruders into surrendering, but the Snow Empress and A Yao quickly defeated them, and the vein keeper blocked their escape.
• The Snow Empress found a two-hour self-destruct countdown on the console.
• A Yao discovered a notebook stating that Old Dao had buried all three keys in the cellar of the old warehouse north of the radar station.
• The vein keeper identified the warehouse as a half-collapsed brick building half a li north of the station’s rear wall.

The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein guardian searched the equipment storehouse for the Spirit Vein Keys needed at the radar station. After finding the keys, they spotted a possible pursuer and prepared to return by a hidden route.

• The Snow Empress questioned three prisoners and learned that Old Dao had buried the keys beneath a concrete slab in the northern equipment storehouse.
• The vein guardian led the Snow Empress and A Yao to the half-collapsed building and found the patched cellar entrance.
• The Snow Empress and the vein guardian pried up the slab, and the Snow Empress and A Yao descended into the cellar.
• The Snow Empress uncovered an iron box containing three Spirit Vein Keys and hid it inside her clothes.
• The vein guardian spotted a flash of light on the southern slope, and the Snow Empress suspected someone was following them.
• The vein guardian suggested they return to the radar station by an old drainage ditch to the east.

The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper activated node 01 with the three Spirit Vein Keys, stopping its self-destruct countdown but learning they had less than an hour to connect an adjacent node. They headed for node 02 in the western blind zone, where a locked gate and possible tampering awaited them.

• The trio entered the radar station through a drainage ditch and vent, then descended to the console where the three prisoners were waiting.
• A Yao arranged the Spirit Vein Keys by their node patterns and activated node 01, which passed its self-test and came online.
• The vein keeper warned that node 02 had to be connected within 120 minutes, and said he had seen a smaller tower base near chaste-tree thickets in the western blind zone.
• The Snow Empress took the keys and led A Yao and the vein keeper toward node 02, leaving the prisoners behind.
• The trio crossed the poplar grove and reached an earthen ridge overlooking the chaste-tree thickets where node 02 was located.

The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper activated Node 02 and learned that Node 03 lay beneath the old hydrological station. They reached its entrance and discovered Old Dao had rigged a tripwire alarm, leaving them to disarm it before opening the cover.

• The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper entered Node 02 and found that someone had damaged its primary interface.
• A Yao used the three Spirit Vein Keys in the backup interface to bring Node 02 online, connecting it to Node 01 and raising coverage to 34.1%.
• A Yao found Node 03's location in Old Dao's notebook, and the vein keeper identified the route to the old hydrological station.
• The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper crossed the blind zone and found the pump house entrance beneath the station's east wall.
• A Yao spotted a tripwire beneath the concrete cover, and the vein keeper found its buzzer and explained how to disable it.

A Yao, the Snow Empress, and the vein keeper activated main control node 03 despite Old Dao’s armed men trying to stop them. After the spirit vein circuit fully activated and its protection mechanism expelled the intruders, they emerged to find the clearing deserted.

• The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper entered node 03, where A Yao inserted the three Spirit Vein Keys and started its activation.
• Four armed men arrived and demanded the keys, so the Snow Empress stalled them by suggesting Old Dao had sent them to do dangerous work before abandoning them.
• Node 03 activated, bringing all three main control nodes online, and the armed men fled after panicking that the shaft would collapse.
• A Yao read the console’s warning that the spirit vein circuit would take thirty minutes to fully activate and then expel unauthorized personnel.
• Once the circuit covered the Blind Zone, its protection mechanism drove Old Dao’s men from the shaft, and the three emerged to find the clearing empty.

After restoring the Blind Zone’s spirit vein nodes, the Snow Empress, A Yao, and the Vein Guardian reported their work and prepared to investigate Old Dao’s equipment sources. The Snow Empress and her companions reached the secondhand market to inspect a new batch of gear linked to the Blind Zone.

• The Snow Empress told Old Zhou that the three nodes were active but warned that Old Dao could still bypass their protections, and Old Zhou arranged inspections and a temporary allowance.
• The Vein Guardian told Old Liu that the Blind Zone’s spirit veins were alive again, while A Yao explained that her bamboo staff might recover by absorbing Spiritual Qi near a stable node.
• The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the Vein Guardian completed a report for the Spirit Vein Bureau, and the Vein Guardian said he would modify a buzzer to detect anyone opening a node cover.
• Old Zhou told the Snow Empress that a six-person inspection team would arrive and that the police had only recorded Old Dao’s case, so she decided they would keep watch themselves.
• The Vein Guardian brought Zhao the Lame to the Snow Empress, and the three went to the secondhand market to investigate newly arrived equipment matching Old Dao’s gear.