Chapter Summaries

Yun Shuyue reported that Shōni Sukemoto had fled Dazaifu with Goryeo’s Heaven-designated iron chest, and Gu Moran learned that Takaichi Nanako might reveal his route. After Nanako’s poisons made her critically ill, Gu Moran ordered the mountain passes sealed while Shen Ling'er and Meng Jiuning treated her.

• Yun Shuyue delivered a message revealing that Shōni Sukemoto had left Dazaifu with three million taels of silver and Goryeo’s Heaven-designated iron chest.
• Kim Seon-a urged Gu Moran to pursue Shōni Sukemoto, and Gu Moran decided to use Takaichi Nanako to discover his route.
• Shen Ling'er warned that Meridian-Severing Powder and other poisons were endangering Nanako, and Meng Jiuning said she needed thirty-six gold needles and a twelve-hour medicinal bath.
• Gu Moran stopped Kim Seon-a from pressuring Shen Ling'er and ordered Pu Yunshan to lead three thousand cavalry to seal the three mountain passes.
• Shen Ling'er and Meng Jiuning began treating Nanako in a medicinal bath at the prefect's residence.

Shen Ling'er and Meng Jiuning purged most of Takaichi Nanako's poisoned blood, with Gu Moran using his true qi to help complete the treatment. Shen Ling'er then revealed that Nanako had been given a potent aphrodisiac and had only three years left to live.

• Shen Ling'er accidentally misplaced a golden needle, causing the spasming Takaichi Nanako to overturn the medicinal tub and injure Meng Jiuning.
• Kim Seon-a tried to enter the bathhouse, but Murong Xue blocked her and the two nearly fought until Gu Moran arrived.
• Gu Moran sent his Pure Yang True Qi through the door, restoring Shen Ling'er's strength so she could correct the needle and calm Nanako.
• Shen Ling'er and Meng Jiuning drained black poisoned blood from Nanako as Gu Moran sustained the treatment until it succeeded.
• Shen Ling'er stumbled out of the bathhouse and told Gu Moran that Nanako had been taking pills since childhood, had at most three years to live, and had been soaked in a potent aphrodisiac by Shōni Sukemoto.

Takaichi Nanako’s suppressed aphrodisiac resurged after the datura poison was cleared, and she clung to Gu Moran while demanding that he sleep with her. An imperial party arrived from Chang’an with a yellow edict, and Gu Moran prepared to receive it after ordering Nanako taken away for treatment.

• Meng Jiuning warned that Takaichi Nanako’s aphrodisiac had surged back with dangerous force.
• Takaichi Nanako grabbed Gu Moran, begged him to sleep with her, and bit his armor when he tried to pull away.
• Gu Moli angrily berated Takaichi Nanako and threw a bowl of cold tea at her, which Gu Moran caught.
• Tuoba Mang reported that imperial envoys from Chang’an had arrived bearing a yellow edict.
• Gu Moran struck an acupoint to make Takaichi Nanako release him, wrapped her in his cloak, and ordered Lin Qingdai to take her for treatment.
• Gu Moran told Shen Ling'er and Gu Moli to withdraw, then headed to the front hall with Tuoba Mang and Murong Xue to receive the edict.

Gu Moran accepted an imperial edict ordering him to return to Chang’an and provisionally govern the court, but the system revealed that Eunuch Shuangxi was acting to strip him of military authority and conceal a mysterious imperial prince. Gu Moran also uncovered Shuangxi’s disturbing secrets while the eunuch prepared to accompany him.

• Eunuch Shuangxi delivered an edict ordering Gu Moran to quell the Japanese pirates, return to court, and oversee the Six Ministries while the emperor was ill.
• Gu Moran hesitated to accept the edict, suspecting the court had sent him a dangerous burden, but Shuangxi pressured him by invoking the Empress Dowager and the emperor.
• Gu Moran used the system’s Eye of Detection and learned that Shuangxi was under orders to strip him of military authority and lure him to the capital.
• Gu Moran discovered that Shuangxi secretly met a mysterious imperial prince hidden at a temple outside the capital.
• Gu Moran gave Shuangxi gold and uncovered his disturbing fetish and a list of people he had victimized, leaving him revolted as Shuangxi accepted the money.

Gu Moran stopped Eunuch Shuangxi from touching Takaichi Nanako, then faced his demand to take control of Tsukushi City's defenses and prisoners. He appeared to accept the court's order while asking for three days and the paper tally document, leaving Shuangxi's authority in question.

• Eunuch Shuangxi recognized Takaichi Nanako and reached for her feet, but Gu Moran struck his hand with a whip and blocked his way.
• Shuangxi claimed Nanako was a royal woman from Wa who had to be taken to the Capital, while Gu Moran said she had the blackwater plague.
• Shuangxi presented an Imperial Commissioner's Seal and claimed the Empress Dowager had ordered him to control the city's four gates and prisoners, then take Gu Moran back to Chang'an.
• Tuoba Mang tried to attack Shuangxi over the demand to surrender command, but Gu Moran kicked him down and ordered him to be quiet.
• Kim Seon-a worried that Gu Moran's return to Chang'an would endanger Goryeo's iron chest and royal family.
• Gu Moran said he would comply after three days to organize military affairs, then asked Shuangxi to produce the paper tally document.

Gu Moran hosted Eunuch Shuangxi while Lin Qingdai investigated the imperial envoy’s background and Xue Huan carried Takaichi Nanako to the army camp. Gu Moran used Tuoba Mang’s foul-smelling feet to break down Eunuch Shuangxi’s defenses, then asked about a young master who had sent him prayer beads.

• Gu Moran showed Eunuch Shuangxi the empress dowager’s tally token and invited him to a welcoming banquet.
• Lin Qingdai left to investigate the imperial envoy, while Xue Huan carried Takaichi Nanako to the army camp and ordered the soldiers to line up.
• Eunuch Shuangxi evaded Gu Moran’s questions about the emperor and court officials during the banquet.
• Gu Moran summoned Tuoba Mang to bring in a brazier, and Tuoba Mang removed his filthy boots and roasted his feet beside Eunuch Shuangxi.
• The stench caused Eunuch Shuangxi’s mental defenses to plunge, and Gu Moran asked whether a young master at a temple had given him prayer beads to deliver.

Eunuch Shuangxi’s attempt to poison Gu Moran failed, and he exposed a supposed betrayal by Lin Qingdai’s father before attacking Kim Seon-a. The chapter ended as Xie Linyuan opened his eyes while Kim Seon-a faced Eunuch Shuangxi’s claw.

• Eunuch Shuangxi burned his thigh to restore his mental defense and revealed that the jade pendant had been coated with Qianji Poison.
• Gu Moran revealed that the pendant was wrapped in oilpaper, then challenged Eunuch Shuangxi over his forged travel credential and his mission.
• Eunuch Shuangxi activated the Sunflower Great Art and ordered four imperial guards to attack Gu Moran and Tuoba Mang.
• Eunuch Shuangxi threw down General Lin’s half-token and claimed Lin Qingdai’s father had traded Gu Moran’s command for three million taels.
• Eunuch Shuangxi broke through the screen and lunged at Kim Seon-a, whose old injury slowed her defense.
• Xie Linyuan opened his eyes as Eunuch Shuangxi’s claw neared Kim Seon-a’s throat.

Xie Linyuan defeated Eunuch Shuangxi, while Gu Moran uncovered that Shuangxi and the Minister of War planned to use a supposed imperial heir to seize power. Gu Moran then told Shuangxi that Gu Debai had betrayed him, leaving Shuangxi shocked and denying the claim.

• Xie Linyuan shattered Eunuch Shuangxi’s wrist and sent him crashing into the side hall after protecting Kim Seon-a.
• Lin Qingdai, Tuoba Mang, and Murong Xue defeated the four palace guards, and Gu Moran revealed that the copper tally had been stolen years earlier and invalidated.
• Gu Moran’s Eye of Detection revealed that the child Shuangxi raised at Cold Mountain Temple was the emperor’s son, and that Shuangxi had joined the Minister of War and Gu Debai in a plan to seize the throne.
• Gu Moran tortured Shuangxi’s broken wrist and claimed that Gu Debai had told him Lan’er willingly seduced the emperor and that Gu Debai intended to kill Shuangxi and the child.
• Eunuch Shuangxi rejected Gu Moran’s story, insisting that Gu Debai had promised to make the child crown prince and Lan’er empress dowager.

Gu Moran exposed Eunuch Shuangxi’s role in a conspiracy between officials in the capital and Wa to seize silver and support a claimant to the throne. After Yun Shuyue brought evidence hidden in a box and inside Takaichi Nanako’s throat, Gu Moran stopped Shuangxi from killing himself and captured him alive.

• Gu Moran tricked Eunuch Shuangxi into revealing that the boy at Cold Mountain Temple was connected to a plot to seize the throne.
• Yun Shuyue brought Gu Moran a locked box from the imperial envoy’s guesthouse and a gold pellet Takaichi Nanako had coughed up after her poison was purged.
• Gu Moran opened the box and pellet, finding an agreement between Great Yan’s minister of war and Shōni Sukemoto, along with a map and passwords for three secret silver vaults.
• Gu Moran accused Eunuch Shuangxi and other capital officials of colluding with Wa to take silver from the Iwami Silver Mine and fund a rebellion.
• Eunuch Shuangxi tried to bite a poison pellet, but Gu Moran dislocated his jaw and forced Tuoba Mang’s dirty sweat cloth into his mouth.

Gu Moran forced Eunuch Shuangxi to send a false deployment order that would draw the vice minister of war’s fleet into Tsukushi Port, then learned that Takaichi Nanako had regained her clarity while pretending to remain foolish. He went to confront her after she demanded to see him.

• Gu Moran threatened Eunuch Shuangxi until he stamped an order claiming Gu Moran was poisoned and instructing the vice minister of war to enter Tsukushi Port at dawn.
• Takaichi Nanako woke after expelling the gold pill, regained her mental clarity, and vowed revenge on Shōni Sukemoto and Gu Moran.
• Tuoba Mang took Eunuch Shuangxi and the injured palace guards to the water dungeon, while Xue Huan went to signal the fleet with the order.
• Gu Moran reassured Kim Seon-a that the vice minister and Eunuch Shuangxi would die in a field of Subduing Fire Thunders, and she warned him about the political consequences.
• Lin Qingdai reported that Takaichi Nanako had woken, smashed bowls, and demanded to see Gu Moran, who decided to visit her.

Gu Moran confronted Takaichi Nanako, who dropped her act and offered to betray Shōni Sukemoto in exchange for help claiming Wa’s throne. His Eye of Detection revealed that her supposed intelligence was a lie and exposed the real routes, signals, and her plan to kill him; she began trying to seduce him as the chapter ended.

• Gu Moran told Lin Qingdai and Kim Seon-a to guard the door and not enter, then went inside to face Takaichi Nanako.
• Gu Moran accused Takaichi Nanako of pretending to be foolish, and she revealed that she had recovered from the qi-sealing pill and datura poison.
• Takaichi Nanako claimed the Iwami Silver Mine map was a trap and warned that the offshore fleet would flee if the lantern signals were wrong, then offered Gu Moran half the mine’s silver for help taking the throne.
• Gu Moran used his Eye of Detection and learned the true fleet signal and mine passage, as well as Takaichi Nanako’s intent to attack him with a hidden poisonous spike.
• Takaichi Nanako believed Gu Moran was tempted by her offer and began to cling to him and seduce him.

Gu Moran exposed Takaichi Nanako’s knowledge of the silver mine defenses and had her imprisoned in a rotten-fish cage. He went to the Sea-Watching Tower, where Zhen Meili fell into his arms while working on the harbor’s fire thunders.

• Gu Moran struck Takaichi Nanako and revealed that he knew the fleet signal and the Iwami Silver Mine’s hidden entrance.
• Gu Moran ordered soldiers to remove Nanako’s poisoned fishbone, bind her, and lock her in a rotten-fish cage.
• Gu Moran told Lin Qingdai to watch the docks and went to check Zhen Meili’s fire thunder preparations.
• Zhen Meili and Yun Shuyue worked through the cold to calibrate three hundred Underwater Subduing Fire Thunders for the coming fleet.
• Zhen Meili slipped on the wet tower steps, and Gu Moran caught her against his chest.

Gu Moran warmed Zhen Meili and Yun Shuyue after finding them working in the cold, then ordered Yun Shuyue to send a lantern signal to lure an enemy fleet to the docks. Back at the prefect's residence, he found Gu Moli reading letters from Yi Prefecture and heard her claim that Su Yao was threatening to cut off his supplies.

• Gu Moran held Zhen Meili close and praised her contributions to the war effort.
• Yun Shuyue complained that Gu Moran had only warmed Zhen Meili, so he shared his cloak with her and promised her fresh osmanthus cakes.
• Gu Moran told Zhen Meili and Yun Shuyue that the enemy fleet coordinated lantern signals with their Sea-Watching Tower, and ordered Yun Shuyue to flash three long signals and two short ones.
• Gu Moran left the cloak with the two women and returned to the prefect's residence.
• Gu Moli hid three opened letters from Yi Prefecture and told Gu Moran that Su Yao planned to cut off his supplies and punish him when he returned.

Gu Moran recovered the three letters Gu Moli had hidden in her clothes and discovered that his sisters-in-law had written him caring messages, not threats. As he prepared to punish Gu Moli for lying, three bells rang from the docks.

• Gu Moli warned Gu Moran to stay away from Takaichi Nanako and falsely claimed his sisters-in-law had threatened him in their letters.
• Gu Moran cornered Gu Moli and pulled the three letters from inside her clothes.
• Gu Moran read Su Yao's, Xie Wanqing's, and Liu Ruyan's letters and found that they expressed concern and offered support.
• Gu Moran confronted Gu Moli about twisting the letters and moved to grab her as she tried to hide under a table.
• Three deep bronze bell peals sounded from the docks.

Gu Moran and Zhen Meili lured Zhou Yanru’s fleet into Tsukushi Port and trapped it with ironclad forts and Subduing Fire Thunder. With the ships wrecked and Eunuch Shuangxi captured, Gu Moran exposed Zhou Yanru’s agreement to collude with Shōni Sukemoto, leaving the soldiers to question their commander.

• Zhou Yanru believed the lantern signal and ordered his fleet into Tsukushi Port, expecting Gu Moran to be poisoned and incapacitated.
• Zhen Meili sent three ironclad floating forts across the harbor exit and sealed it with chains, trapping the fleet inside.
• Zhen Meili detonated the underwater Subduing Fire Thunder, destroying the keels of eight warships and throwing the fleet into chaos.
• Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai aimed three-eyed guns at the wrecked ships while Gu Moran revealed the captured, bound Eunuch Shuangxi.
• Zhou Yanru accused Gu Moran of rebellion, but Gu Moran displayed an agreement bearing Zhou Yanru’s seal that showed his deal with Shōni Sukemoto.
• The Ministry of War soldiers heard Gu Moran’s accusation and turned to stare at the pale Zhou Yanru.

Gu Moran used a threat, a demonstration of his new guns, and promises of food and silver to make Zhou Yanru’s fleet surrender, then prepared to march on the Iwami Silver Mine. He left the mine’s defenders facing a siege and two cages of captured hostages, including Takaichi Nanako, Zhou Yanru, and Eunuch Shuangxi.

• Gu Moran offered the Ministry of War soldiers hot soup, buns, and silver if they surrendered, and threatened to destroy them if they resisted.
• Tuoba Mang shot Zhou Yanru’s deputy commander with a three-eyed gun, prompting thousands of soldiers to surrender and Zhou Yanru’s guards to bind him.
• Gu Moran ordered Murong Xue to take control of the ships, feed the surrendered troops, and cage Zhou Yanru with Eunuch Shuangxi.
• Kim Seon-a reported that Pu Yunshan’s cavalry had sealed the passes to the Iwami Silver Mine, where Shōni Sukemoto’s troops were sheltering behind boulders and a mercury-filled drainage channel.
• Gu Moran ordered the army to march to the mine and bring the cages of Takaichi Nanako, Zhou Yanru, and the other captives to its entrance.

Gu Moran trapped Shōni Sukemoto’s forces inside the Iwami Silver Mine and ordered Takaichi Nanako’s jaw reset so she could call out to the watchtower. Shōni chose to release lethal poison smoke into the ravine, and it began sweeping toward Great Yan’s army.

• Gu Moran ordered Pu Yunshan to cut off the mine’s water supply and nearby food sources.
• Gu Moran had Tuoba Mang reset Takaichi Nanako’s dislocated jaw and told her to shout to Shōni Sukemoto.
• Shōni Sukemoto realized his captives could reveal his secrets and ordered the mine’s poison vents opened.
• White poison smoke poured from twelve vents and drifted downhill toward Great Yan’s vanguard, killing the wagon horses and forcing soldiers to retreat.

Gu Moran identified the mine’s ventilation system and ordered Zhen Meili to use blowers, quicklime, and sulfur to force the poisonous fumes back into the tunnels. As the army retreated to higher ground, Zhen Meili and the combat engineers moved to seal and attack the mine’s air vents.

• Takaichi Nanako revealed that Shōni Sukemoto had released mercury and poisonous-herb fumes through the Eight-Branched Mercury Great Formation, while Zhou Yanru and Eunuch Shuangxi struggled inside the cage to escape the smoke.
• Kim Seon-a offered Gu Moran wet silk and volunteered to block the fumes, but Gu Moran refused to retreat and explained that strong alkali and heat could counter the poison.
• Zhen Meili arrived with ten shipboard blowers, quicklime, and powdered sulfur, which Gu Moran ordered her to take to the concealed intake well beneath the western cliff.
• Gu Moran told Zhen Meili to combine the blowers’ ducts into a sealed funnel and had men fell pine trees to block half the mine’s smoke outlets.
• Gu Moran ordered Tuoba Mang to pull the prisoners’ cages farther from the fumes, then led the army to higher ground to watch Zhen Meili’s plan.

Zhen Meili reversed the mine’s airflow and drove burning sulfur, quicklime, and poisonous smoke into the Iwami Silver Mine, devastating its defenders and forcing Shōni Sukemoto to retreat toward the vault. Gu Moran sent Xie Linyuan, Murong Xue, and an elite force through a drainage channel to intercept him while Tuoba Mang blasted open the main entrance, then entered the mine with Kim Seon-a.

• Zhen Meili and Lin Qingdai blocked the mine’s exhaust vents while the sappers forced burning sulfur and quicklime into the concealed intake shaft.
• The backdraft filled the entrance hall with scalding alkaline mist and mercury poison, killing and crippling the Japanese guards.
• Shōni Sukemoto ordered a retreat toward the deepest silver vault and had his men drop the Dragon-Severing Stone to seal the entrance.
• Gu Moran identified a drainage channel leading to the vault’s side entrance and ordered Xie Linyuan and Murong Xue to lead five hundred elite warriors through it.
• Tuoba Mang’s Heavy Subduing Fire Thunders shattered the boulder blocking the main entrance, and Gu Moran entered the mine with Kim Seon-a.

Gu Moran and Kim Seon-a reached the underground silver vault as Xie Linyuan held up its collapsing stone gate. Kim Seon-a killed Yagyū Samanosuke and stopped Shōni Sukemoto from igniting the explosives, leaving the vault and its chained iron chest intact.

• Xie Linyuan braced the falling stone gate while Murong Xue, Gu Moran, Kim Seon-a, Tuoba Mang, and the death warriors entered the vault.
• Tuoba Mang wedged silver pillars beneath the gate, and Kim Seon-a spotted a chained iron chest as Shōni Sukemoto rushed toward the powder and oil barrels.
• Yagyū Samanosuke attacked Kim Seon-a, but her celestial silkworm silk armor stopped his blade, allowing her to stab him through the heart.
• Kim Seon-a hurled her sword into Shōni Sukemoto's shoulder, pinning his arm to a pillar and knocking away his fire striker.