Chapter Summaries

Wu Youren attended an advancement banquet under the name Liu Jingming, hoping to gather information, but Little Ha drew attention and guests connected him to the dispute over Ailin. He tried to leave after Great Liang Martial Academy arrived, only to be hailed by people in off-road vehicles.

• Wu Youren gave two silver dollars and sat apart from the other guests, listening to rumors about the newly awakened Ability User while guests crowded around Little Ha.
• A Knight invited Wu Youren into the building after recognizing him, and Wu Youren tried to refuse before being escorted inside.
• Two female martial artists confronted Wu Youren about Ailin and Red Pine, and he apologized while insisting he had only come to look around.
• When Great Liang Martial Academy arrived, Wu Youren slipped outside and tried to leave through the courtyard gate, claiming his wristwatch was missing.
• Two off-road vehicles approached Wu Youren before he had left the street, and someone called for the young man with the bird to stay.

After evading a pursuit in Tianjing, Wu Youren left the city with Little Ha and later returned to the quarantine post as winter shortages caused tensions to rise. When other knight apprentices tried to seize his supplies, Red Pine instructors and Daiqisi intervened, and Daiqisi pulled him aside to talk.

• Wu Youren escaped the two people searching for him in Tianjing, left the city with Little Ha, and met Chen Quanxu at the grove before returning to the Rust Zone with Scops Owl.
• Wu Youren spent several days dealing with scattered Weird Qi in the wasteland, then returned to the quarantine post when the year's first snowfall brought crowds and shortages.
• Two knight apprentices provoked Wu Youren over the meat he fed Little Ha, and he wounded them when they tried to strike him.
• Manna, Luo Xi, and Kenpa arrived to defend Wu Youren, while the military representative proposed settling the dispute with medicine and compensation.
• Daiqisi arrived and demanded that the troublemakers compensate Wu Youren, but their knights left without agreeing to pay.
• Daiqisi thanked Wu Youren for returning, then pulled him aside to talk.

Wu Youren returned with two Weird items and explained his trip to Tianjing to Red Pine’s instructors, who warned him that the city’s New Army had reason to suspect him after the Weird Qi blockade broke. At the quarantine site, Red Pine cut supplies after outsiders refused to compensate Wu Youren, forcing the group that bullied him to turn back under pressure from pursuing vehicles.

• Wu Youren presented two Weird items to the instructors, and Hong Da drove away other Knights’ attempts to probe the goods before letting everyone choose their share.
• Manna and the instructors questioned Wu Youren about Tianjing, and he admitted he had gone to look for mechanism materials and learn Weird-item prices.
• Daiqisi and Ranxue explained that the Weird Qi had broken through the blockade while Wu Youren was in Tianjing, making his presence suspicious to the New Army.
• Red Pine’s food and wound-medicine supplies dwindled at the quarantine site, and its employees said the Academy was short on supplies and outsiders could leave if they disliked it.
• After Red Pine’s people pressured the group that had bullied Wu Youren to leave, the group drove away but turned back when a long line of hostile vehicles followed them.

Wu Youren stayed at Red Pine, tending his greenhouse and quietly selling winter vegetables while worrying that Little Ha’s orange seeds might attract a World-Left Weapon. After learning that His Highness was ill and might be recalled, Wu Youren received an unusually huge surge of experience points and left for the quarantine station, unsure what awaited him.

• Wu Youren declined to join Kenpa and Luo Xi on a mountain expedition and focused on his greenhouse as the snow melted.
• Wu Youren contacted Daiqisi, who arranged to sell his fresh vegetables at the quarantine station at a high price.
• A month later, Liu Jingming told Wu Youren that His Highness was ill and that their group might be recalled.
• Wu Youren dismissed the recall rumor at first, but an enormous stream of experience points arrived that night and continued for hours.
• At dawn, Wu Youren told Liu Jingming he was taking vegetables to the quarantine station and might stay away for a day or two.

Wu Youren evaded trackers by hiding in the Rust Zone while experience points continued to arrive, as the New Army debated how to handle the southern pilot programs. After Jin Garden recalled its hostages and Commander Jeff traced Wu Youren’s communicator, Jeff found him in the snow and questioned why he had come there.

• Wu Youren left the quarantine site, skied toward the Rust Zone, buried his communicator watch, and spent hours obscuring his trail before making a cellar to hide in.
• At the New Army camp, the army commander announced that the Earl Who Pacifies the South had died and asked officers to support the southern pilot programs, but Commander Jeff and the others declined.
• Wu Youren stayed hidden for several days, then read Liu Jingming’s messages that Jin Garden was recalling hostages from the Martial Academies and that Liu Jingming would remain to contact Hostage Wu.
• When Liu Jingming asked why Wu Youren had impersonated him, Wu Youren switched off his watch, realizing it might have exposed his location; Commander Jeff set out to find him.
• Commander Jeff and several Knights reached Wu Youren’s hiding place on skis, and Wu Youren explained that he had mistaken Jeff’s show of force for an enemy attack.
• Jeff asked why Wu Youren had come to the Rust Zone, but Wu Youren instead asked whether Jeff had repaid Hong Da, then made clear that his whereabouts were none of Jeff’s business.

Commander Jeff sought Wu Youren’s advice on creating bottom-up resistance for the New Army’s pilot program, while Hong Da barred Jeff from pressuring the boy until he repaid his debt. Wu Youren proposed spreading money through networks of Knights and Knight Apprentices, leaving Jeff to consider the initial funding needed.

• Wu Youren reminded Jeff that his unpaid debt to Hong Yan harmed his credibility, and Jeff tried to enlist the boy’s help with the pilot program.
• Hong Da intervened from afar and forbade Jeff from making trouble for Wu Youren until he repaid what he owed her.
• Jeff offered Wu Youren a future death-exemption token in exchange for solving two problems, and Wu Youren agreed to answer Jeff’s first question.
• Jeff asked how to create resistance from the bottom up, and Wu Youren proposed secretly distributing money widely to Knights and Knight Apprentices so they could organize.
• Jeff considered the cost and concluded that the plan would require an initial sum of money.

Wu Youren stayed in the Rust Zone after Jeff tried to recruit him with a huge supply of provisions, while Jeff and others continued to court him. Chen Quanxu arrived in an owl’s body, and Wu Youren prepared to go kill Weirds with him as they checked on the orange seed.

• Wu Youren refused Jeff’s demand to go south and asked for a death-exemption token if Jeff came for him again.
• Jeff delivered roughly four thousand jin of supplies, including ammunition and Weird-Exterminating Grenades, while Wu Youren refused the off-road vehicle.
• Wu Youren spent ten days moving and hiding the supplies, and Jeff later told him that he had helped secure another Marching Stone for Hong Da.
• Manna and Daiqisi brought Wu Youren fresh vegetables and told him to contact them if he wanted to kill Weirds.
• Wu Youren woke to find Chen Quanxu in a larger scops owl’s body, and they agreed to go kill Weirds while checking whether the orange seed had produced anything.

Wu Youren learned from Chen Quanxu that World-Left Weapons came from a poorly understood previous human era, then demonstrated his self-taught spellcasting methods. His buried tangerine seed had transformed into a valuable Flawless Crystal, though its origins remained unclear.

• Chen Quanxu explained that World-Left Weapons had once supported both combat and everyday life, and that the Rust Zone declined as they became less effective.
• Chen Quanxu described how little reliable history survived, while Wu Youren asked how many human eras were known.
• Wu Youren formed seals and used spoken sounds to help cast a spell, surprising Chen Quanxu with methods he had devised himself.
• Wu Youren unearthed a metal box containing the tangerine seed, which had turned misty white and crystalline.
• Chen Quanxu identified the transformed seed as a Flawless Crystal and said it was extremely valuable.

Wu Youren and Chen Quanxu discussed the Flawless Crystal and waited to see what would happen to the next orange seed. The next day, barbarians attacked Wu Youren’s camp, and after he escaped on skis, their Great Knight pursued him.

• Wu Youren gave Chen Quanxu the Flawless Crystal, and Chen Quanxu planned to use it sparingly to absorb resentment qi.
• Wu Youren and Chen Quanxu decided to observe the next orange seed together and stayed at the camp.
• A band of fewer than twenty barbarians discovered Wu Youren’s camp, and their Great Knight sent six men to seize his supplies and snow harrier.
• Wu Youren fled after explosives beneath his tent killed two Knights, then used skis to outrun the pursuing barbarians.
• The Great Knight caught up to Wu Youren and continued the pursuit as Wu Youren accelerated toward a thicket.

Wu Youren defeated the Great Knight and his guards, then captured the wounded leader after killing most of the fleeing barbarians. Scops Owl proposed testing whether a flawless crystal could absorb the Blood Curse, and asked Wu Youren if the Great Knight was his first kill.

• Wu Youren killed two Knights who charged to defend the Great Knight, and a third Knight warned that Wu Youren's strength rivaled a Great Knight's.
• The wounded Great Knight shoved a subordinate toward Wu Youren and tried to crawl away, but Wu Youren killed the subordinate and severed the Great Knight's hand tendons.
• Wu Youren trapped and killed another Knight, then chased down seven of the eleven fleeing Knight Apprentices before abandoning pursuit of the last four.
• Wu Youren secured the Great Knight in a net and gathered weapons from the battlefield.
• Scops Owl returned with a flawless crystal and explained Chen Quanxu's hypothesis that it might absorb the Blood Curse; Wu Youren cautioned that the crystal could be contaminated.
• Scops Owl asked whether the Great Knight was the first one Wu Youren had killed.

Wu Youren escaped after killing a barbarian Great Knight, recovered his supplies, and settled into a new hiding place while Scops Owl departed to investigate the Blood Curse. At the battlefield, the New Army, military, and Red Pine investigators confirmed that a Great Knight had likely died, and Ranxue arranged to check Wu Youren’s location.

• Wu Youren hurried away after killing the barbarian Great Knight, gathered the remaining explosives, burned the bodies, and killed another barbarian Knight Apprentice along the way.
• Wu Youren built a new shelter, ignored a message offering assistance, and decided to keep the battered Great Knight-grade curved saber he had recovered.
• Scops Owl told Wu Youren that the flawless crystal was contaminated and that testing was still needed to see whether it could offset the Blood Curse’s resentment; he then departed for at least half a month.
• The New Army, military, and Red Pine investigators examined the battlefield, where the New Army said a barbarian Great Knight had likely died and the military withdrew.
• Ranxue requested Wu Youren’s latest location, and a New Army Knight agreed to accompany him while keeping his distance.

Wu Youren dealt with questions about his victory over the barbarians, then continued developing his winter camp while officials investigated the battle and Jin Garden belatedly asked where he was. After Scops Owl returned, Wu Youren learned that both the Flawless Crystal and Blood Curse had worked, though Scops Owl had not controlled them well.

• Ranxue and Luo Xi questioned Wu Youren about defeating the Knights, and he refused to explain what poison he had used.
• Ranxue warned Luo Xi to treat Wu Youren carefully, while Wu Youren concluded that his probing had helped secure room to survive.
• Talis visited on behalf of the Office of Protocol, warned Wu Youren to avoid the barbarians, and asked why he had not returned to see the seventeenth prince.
• A Knight Apprentice reported that he could not sense the Great Knight's Blood Curse seed, and Talis suspected another power had interfered.
• Liu Jingming told Wu Youren that Jin Garden was asking where he was, and Wu Youren wondered at Jin's delayed response.
• After the third snowfall, Scops Owl returned and told Wu Youren that the Flawless Crystal and Blood Curse had worked, though he had not controlled them properly.

Wu Youren received anomalous-object samples from Chen Quanxu and discovered that a jade-white bean could be absorbed as gentle energy. After the bean’s energy visibly affected Little Ha, Wu Youren decided he needed to share his cultivation aura more deliberately.

• Chen Quanxu showed Wu Youren the diminished Resentment Qi Crystal after experimenting with resentment qi and the Blood Curse, and they discussed obtaining Marching Stones and investigating the Storage Eagle.
• A ferret courier delivered Chen Quanxu’s pouch of anomalous-object samples, which Wu Youren opened the next morning.
• Wu Youren recognized a tiny jade-white bean as an anomalous object he had encountered in the Azure Qiu’s underground den and asked Chen Quanxu whether he had more.
• Wu Youren absorbed the bean and sensed that its energy was gentle and readily absorbed, while Chen Quanxu observed that it made Little Ha drowsy before the snow harrier quickly recovered.
• After confirming the bean’s energy had strongly affected Little Ha, Wu Youren resolved to share his cultivation aura with him more deliberately.

Wu Youren confronted Kelvin, a puppeteer from the Far West, after Kelvin arrived to negotiate a deal. Their standoff ended with Kelvin offering information and help in exchange for a price, but Wu Youren had not agreed to trade.

• After another half month alone in the wilderness, Wu Youren recognized Kelvin when he arrived and refused to hear his offer.
• Kelvin threatened Wu Youren, but withdrew when Wu Youren said he was recording and would report him to the New Army.
• Wu Youren confronted Kelvin when he reappeared and used the threat of reporting him to force the conversation toward a trade.
• Kelvin offered information about who had leaked details of Wu Youren, then raised his offer to five Resentment Qi Crystals and help killing the informant.
• Wu Youren refused to bargain and asked who had leaked the information, while Kelvin insisted on knowing whether Wu Youren accepted first.

Wu Youren used Kelvin to settle the score with Sister Hua, who was killed after Kelvin brought her to him, though Kelvin left an unpaid debt behind. Later, Wu Youren and Scops Owl discussed Kelvin’s possible interest in Little Ha, and Wu Youren proposed killing him themselves.

• Wu Youren agreed to let Kelvin act in exchange for five crystals and a target’s head, while insisting Kelvin leave his existing debt alone.
• Kelvin returned with three crystals, two heads, and Sister Hua alive, but Wu Youren demanded four more crystals and refused to intervene in Kelvin’s decision about her fate.
• Kelvin took Sister Hua outside and killed her after Wu Youren told him not to kill her in the camp.
• Two days later, Scops Owl returned, and Wu Youren said he was happier that Sister Hua was dead than he would have been with his debt repaid.
• Wu Youren guessed Kelvin might have wanted to trade for Little Ha and, after discussing the danger with Scops Owl, suggested that they kill Kelvin together.

Wu Youren absorbed an emerald night pearl and discovered that it could gently nourish his body and help repair hidden injuries while waves of experience points arrived. Little Ha seemed close to a change, and Scops Owl offered another treasure before asking whether they should fight another wave of Corpse Weirds.

• Chen Quanxu promised to investigate his enemy and find more treasures from the Southern Park Weird Domain, then sent Wu Youren an emerald pearl that proved to be a major supplement.
• Wu Youren absorbed the pearl after dark and found that he could regulate its energy to nourish his body, though successive waves of experience points required days of absorption.
• Wu Youren used the pearl to repair his hidden injuries, and he found Little Ha asleep afterward, possibly nearing a change.
• Chen Quanxu presented a buried stalagmite, but Wu Youren could not sense its energy and wondered whether Kelvin might have something suitable.
• Chen Quanxu said he had already made arrangements for Kelvin, then asked Wu Youren whether they should fight another wave of Corpse Weirds.

Wu Youren confronted Liu Jingming and two Jin Garden guards who had come to find him, then learned from Chief Guard Hao Wei that a hostage and a personal attendant had been infected by Parasitic Weirds. Hao Wei wanted him to contact Chen Quanxu for help, but Wu Youren said he could not contact him.

• Wu Youren buried the leather bag, then heard from Scops Owl about political changes in Taowan and a hostage's clash with the New Army.
• Liu Jingming arrived with two Jin Garden guards to locate Wu Youren, and Wu Youren cut one guard's armor after the man startled and cursed at him.
• Wu Youren questioned the guards' status and learned Liu Jingming had come at Jin Garden's request to report his location.
• Chief Guard Hao Wei visited Wu Youren that night and asked whether he could contact Chen Quanxu.
• Hao Wei explained that a Martial Academy hostage and one of the seventeenth prince's personal attendants had been infected by Parasitic Weirds, prompting Jin Garden to investigate Liang.
• Hao Wei asked whether Wu Youren could deal with the Weirds, and Wu Youren said he had only heard of them.

Wu Youren learned that the Parasitic Weird inside a hostage could threaten the northern border and heard Chief Guard Hao Wei warn him about Saina, a Taowan prince aligned with Liang’s crown prince. He declined to rely on Hao Wei’s intelligence network, then discussed Saina’s possible intentions with Chen Quanxu and decided to stay vigilant.

• Hao Wei explained that Lei Lixing’s death could destabilize Jin’s northern border because his father, the Earl Who Pacifies the North, guarded the frontier.
• Hao Wei warned Wu Youren that Saina, a Taowan hostage who had clashed with the New Army, might target him, and pressed him to use the wristwatch he had provided.
• Wu Youren agreed to consider returning to Red Pine for the watch but said he wanted to avoid dragging Jin Garden into further turmoil.
• Hao Wei left, and Scops Owl later told Wu Youren that Saina might not come after him directly but could hire someone to act.
• Wu Youren and Chen Quanxu discussed Saina, concluding that he valued his life and might act opportunistically through others.

Wu Youren learned that a Parasitic Weird had appeared and arranged for Liu Jingming to bring supplies to Red Pine while warning him in person. The delivery party arrived with supplies, and Kenpa reacted with alarm when Wu Youren revealed the danger.

• Wu Youren and Chen Quanxu discussed how to handle Saina and the plan to deal with Kelvin, while Wu Youren suggested framing someone after the killing.
• In Tianjing, Princess Ailin directed her allies to stir tensions between Liang and Jin by steering events toward Red Pine.
• Wu Youren confirmed the Parasitic Weird's appearance with Ranxue and learned from Chen Quanxu how infestations could spread and devastate entire towns.
• Wu Youren asked Liu Jingming to bring supplies to Red Pine, and Liu Jingming borrowed money and a vehicle with help from Manna and Daiqisi.
• Liu Jingming, Manna, Daiqisi, Kenpa, and the male archer arrived with more than two thousand jin of supplies, and Wu Youren warned them about the Parasitic Weird.
• Kenpa asked where the Parasitic Weird was after Wu Youren disclosed its appearance.

Wu Youren and his companions learned that Parasitic Weird had spread from Suotu to Haicheng Martial Academy and Jin Garden, raising fears of a deliberate attack. As Wu Youren prepared to investigate and protect himself, Manna and the Bellflower Mountain group arrived with an official request to help the City Guard Bureau, and he asked whether they were searching for Parasitic Weird.

• Manna and the others discussed how dangerous Parasitic Weird could be, while the male archer revealed that someone at Haicheng Martial Academy and a personal attendant in Jin Garden had been infected.
• Wu Youren warned Liu Jingming to prepare supplies, then wondered whether Liang's Hall of Extraordinary Masters had released the Parasitic Weird; he and Chen Quanxu considered borrowing some for their own purposes.
• Wu Youren decided to organize his supplies and head into the mountains after two days, postponing a discussion about Kelvin until he returned.
• Manna and seven members of the Bellflower Mountain group arrived with a City Guard Bureau request for help with a potential Weird threat in Tianjing.
• Wu Youren asked whether the group had come to search for Parasitic Weird.