Recaps

After waking in prison in the Great Feng Dynasty, Xu Qi'an learned that his uncle's lost-tax-silver case had condemned the Xu family and left him facing exile. He asked his cousin Xu Xinnian to obtain the case files, hoping to find a way to recover the silver and save himself.

• Xu Qi'an woke in a prison cell and absorbed the memories of his new life as a constable in Great Feng.
• Xu Qi'an learned that his uncle Xu Pingzhi had lost fifteen thousand taels of tax silver and that he would be exiled in two days.
• Xu Qi'an considered solving the case to earn merit, but realized he needed access to the case files.
• Xu Xinnian visited Xu Qi'an and said he had paid soldiers three hundred taels to protect him on the journey to the borderlands.
• Xu Qi'an stopped Xu Xinnian from leaving and asked him to get the files for the lost-tax-silver case.

Xu Qi'an obtained the case file for the missing tax silver and began analyzing it in hopes of saving himself and Xu Pingzhi. At the Capital Prefecture, investigators debated whether a yao had taken the silver, but new reports found no trace of Yao Qi along the river.

• Xu Qi'an asked Xu Xinnian to write down the case details, and Xu Xinnian brought him the copied file before leaving.
• Xu Qi'an read that a strange wind and explosion had sent Xu Pingzhi's escort wagons into the river, where most of the 150,000 taels of tax silver disappeared.
• Xu Qi'an saw a red-cinnabar note in the file claiming that a yao was at work and was alarmed.
• At the Capital Prefecture, Li Yuchun questioned whether a yao had caused the disappearance, while Prefect Chen insisted the strange events pointed to one.
• The girl in yellow reported that her people had found no Yao Qi or traces along twenty li of riverbank, and Prefect Chen angrily demanded to know where the silver had gone.

Imprisoned Xu Qi'an reexamined the tax silver robbery and realized the Capital Prefecture might have wrongly assumed a demon was responsible. He announced that he had found an important lead and was brought before Prefect Chen and the investigators.

• Prefect Chen, Li Yuchun, and Caiwei debated why the tax silver had been stolen and whether a demon had an accomplice, but reached no conclusion.
• Xu Qi'an feared the case would doom him and the Xu Household, then calmed himself and analyzed the case file's clues, including the demonic wind and the explosion in the river.
• Xu Qi'an reconsidered the assumption that a demon was responsible and replayed the escort's journey, searching for overlooked traces and inconsistencies.
• Xu Qi'an realized the solution, demanded to see the prefect, and warned the jailer that he had an important lead in the robbery.
• Prefect Chen heard Xu Qi'an's claim and ordered the yamen runners to bring him in; Xu Qi'an arrived in prison clothes before Chen, Li Yuchun, and Caiwei.

Xu Qi'an presented his theory that people, not a demon, had stolen the tax silver and exposed a timing flaw in the case. He argued that the silver seen falling into the river was not real, then requested supplies to demonstrate his explanation.

• Xu Qi'an told Prefect Chen that he had solved the case after studying the file.
• Xu Qi'an argued that the strange wind and river explosion were tricks, then asked how much the stolen tax silver weighed.
• Xu Qi'an used the route’s distance and travel time to lead Li Yuchun to realize the escort could not have reached Guangnan Street when witnesses claimed.
• Xu Qi'an declared that the escort had not been carrying silver and offered to prove it.
• Xu Qi'an wrote a list of requested items, leaving Prefect Chen, the girl in yellow, and Li Yuchun bewildered.

Xu Qi'an demonstrated that the missing tax silver had been replaced with metallic sodium, explaining both the silver’s disappearance and the explosion in the river. Prefect Chen and Li Yuchun realized the real silver had likely been swapped recently and rushed to investigate, while Xu Qi'an reminded Prefect Chen of his promise to clear the Xu Household.

• Xu Qi'an used the Bureau of Astronomy disciple Caiwei’s Law Artifact to extract metallic sodium from salt and showed that it looked like silver but was much lighter.
• Xu Qi'an dropped the metallic sodium into water, causing a violent reaction that explained the explosion blamed on a monster.
• Li Yuchun and Prefect Chen recognized that the explosion and supposed demonic wind had misdirected their investigation, while Xu Qi'an suggested the recovered silver had been placed on top to fool people.
• Caiwei warned that the missing tax silver implicated many officials, but Li Yuchun reasoned that it had probably been swapped recently because it had passed through many hands without being detected.
• Prefect Chen hurried out with Li Yuchun to investigate, and Xu Qi'an reminded Prefect Chen to keep his promise to seek the Xu Household’s pardon.

Xu Qi'an was released after helping recover the tax silver, while Xu Pingzhi and his family were pardoned and restored to freedom. The family mistakenly credited Xu Xinnian until a clerk revealed that Xu Qi'an had solved the case.

• Chu Caiwei questioned Xu Qi'an about turning salt into silver, but he failed to convince her to take him into the Bureau of Astronomy.
• After two anxious days in prison, Xu Qi'an was released and urgently asked whether the tax silver had been recovered.
• Xu Pingzhi, Li Ru, and their daughters were told they could leave prison, though they did not understand why their sentences had been lifted.
• Xu Pingzhi and Li Ru assumed Xu Xinnian had secured their pardon, then learned from a clerk that Xu Qi'an had helped solve the tax silver case.
• Xu Pingzhi received his official robe and learned that Xu Qi'an’s meritorious service had atoned for his crime.

Xu Qi'an reunited with his family after his meritorious service secured their release, then hurried home when he realized Xu Xinnian planned to kill himself. He arrived just as Xu Xinnian put his head in a noose and discovered the family watching him.

• The clerk told Xu Pingzhi and his family that Xu Qi'an had solved the case and redeemed them through meritorious service.
• Xu Qi'an reunited with Xu Pingzhi, Li Ru, Xu Lingyue, and Xu Lingyin outside the prefectural yamen.
• Xu Xinnian returned to the sealed Xu residence, drank wine, wrote a farewell poem, and prepared to hang himself.
• Xu Qi'an realized Xu Xinnian intended to take his life and rushed home with the family.
• Xu Xinnian put his head in the noose beneath the ginkgo tree and saw his family staring at him.

Xu Qi'an recovered from the family’s upheaval, reflected on his new life and the cultivation systems, then joined his family for dinner, where Auntie pressed Second Uncle about the switched tax silver. The chapter ended with Xu Qi'an noticing Xu Lingyue sneaking glances at him.

• Xu Xinnian fainted after his edgelord novel was exposed, while Xu Qi'an laughed at his cousin’s humiliation.
• Xu Qi'an soaked in a bath, thought about his old life and missing memories, and reviewed what he knew about the world’s cultivation systems.
• Lü'e told Xu Qi'an that Auntie and Second Uncle had argued over how the tax silver had been switched.
• Xu Lingyin wailed because Auntie had promised to take her to the Cassia Moon Tower, and Xu Qi'an sent Lü'e to take her away.
• At dinner, Xu Qi'an saw Xu Lingyue repeatedly sneaking glances at him and asked her why.

At dinner, Xu Qi'an explained how he solved the tax-silver case, and Xu Pingzhi admitted that his carelessness had nearly doomed the family. The family’s conversation about their hardships ended with Auntie lunging under the table after learning that Xu Lingyin had fed her a cockroach.

• Xu Lingyue asked Xu Qi'an how he had solved the case, and he explained the clues he had found in the case files.
• Xu Pingzhi revealed that the officials had worn gloves while counting the silver, but he had forgotten to mention it because he had been drinking.
• Xu Xinnian concluded that Lu had probably framed Xu Pingzhi, who then told the family he had chosen different paths for his nephews after Xu Qi'an’s father died at the Battle of Shanhai.
• Xu Lingyin told the family she had caught a cockroach in prison and fed it to her hungry mother.
• Auntie lunged under the table to vomit, and Xu Lingyin began crying.

Chu Caiwei told the Bureau of Astronomy’s Alchemists that Xu Qi'an had taught her the mnemonic behind making counterfeit silver, while Xu Qi'an returned to work after his release from prison. At the Changle County yamen, he learned that Head Constable Wang was under pressure over a merchant’s murder on Kangping Street, a case complicated by the capital evaluation.

• Chu Caiwei failed to help the Bureau of Astronomy’s Alchemists reproduce the counterfeit silver and directed them to Xu Qi'an, who had given her a mnemonic.
• Chu Caiwei asked her master about the counterfeit silver, and he said he knew who had made it.
• Xu Qi'an returned to the Changle County yamen with Xu Pingzhi after the Xu Household was pardoned for solving the tax silver case.
• Xu Qi'an’s fellow constables welcomed him back and asked him to treat them to drinks, and he found and pocketed a piece of silver.
• Chief Clerk Li summoned Head Constable Wang to the inner hall because a wealthy merchant had been murdered on Kangping Street.
• A yamen runner told Xu Qi'an that the magistrate’s anger over the murder was tied to the victim’s connection to a court official and the capital evaluation.

Xu Qi'an examined the unsolved murder of Zhang and found suspicious details that suggested the killer had carefully planned the crime. When Head Constable Wang proposed framing a habitual offender to satisfy County Magistrate Zhu, Xu Qi'an objected and demanded the case file so he could investigate.

• Xu Qi'an reasoned that Zhang's killer likely knew the neighborhood and the Imperial Saber Guard's patrol routes, then questioned why the thief had taken no silver.
• Xu Qi'an's colleagues joked about Zhang's young widow, while he reflected on the Martial Dao's requirement to preserve one's Yang Qi before breaking through the Qi Refining Realm.
• County Magistrate Zhu scolded Head Constable Wang for failing to solve the murder, and Chief Clerk Li led Wang out after the magistrate dismissed them.
• After Wang complained about his bad luck, a junior constable suggested fishing for a scapegoat, and Wang ordered Little Li to select habitual offenders.
• Xu Qi'an objected to framing someone and said the case had leads; when Wang challenged him to explain how to investigate, Xu Qi'an demanded the case file.

Xu Qi'an reviewed Zhang Yourui’s murder case and argued that the apparent burglary was staged to conceal a killing connected to an affair. Head Constable Wang accepted the theory and prepared to revisit the Zhang residence with the constables to verify it.

• Xu Qi'an examined the case file and questioned why the supposed intruder left a footprint while escaping but none in the flowerbed while entering.
• Xu Qi'an pointed out that Zhang Yourui was killed with a blunt object despite the presumed burglar supposedly carrying a weapon.
• Xu Qi'an noted that Madam Yang Zhang was pregnant and proposed that her lover killed Zhang Yourui after being caught with her, then staged a burglary.
• Xu Qi'an identified Zhang Yourui's son, Zhang Xian, as a possible lover because he claimed to be awake that night yet said he heard nothing, and because the entry footprint might have been planted.
• Head Constable Wang ordered the constables to prepare to revisit the Zhang residence and compare the footprint with Zhang Xian's boots.

Xu Qi'an's deductions gave the county officials a new lead in the Zhang murder case, and County Magistrate Zhu summoned Zhang Xian and Yang Zhenzhen for questioning. As their interrogation failed to establish the truth, Xu Qi'an thought of a way to investigate further.

• Head Constable Wang presented Xu Qi'an's deductions to County Magistrate Zhu and Registrar Xu, who recognized Xu Qi'an's skill from his role in solving the tax silver case.
• Head Constable Wang went to the Zhang residence with other constables while Xu Qi'an slept at the yamen.
• County Magistrate Zhu questioned Zhang Xian and Yang Zhenzhen about Zhang Yourui's murder, but neither their answers nor the available evidence proved their guilt.
• Xu Qi'an watched Yang Zhenzhen's interrogation and came up with an idea for pursuing the case.

Xu Qi'an interrupted the stalled murder inquiry and used psychological pressure to question Yang Zhenzhen. He outlined a theory that she and Zhang Xian had killed Zhang Yourui, then left her shaken as he began exposing flaws in their cover story.

• County Magistrate Zhu ordered Zhang Xian beaten, but Xu Qi'an persuaded the magistrate to adjourn court so he could try another approach.
• Xu Qi'an met with County Magistrate Zhu and promised he could investigate without using torture.
• Xu Qi'an gently questioned Yang Zhenzhen about Zhang Yourui, then accused her of having an affair with Zhang Xian and killing her husband when he caught them together.
• Yang Zhenzhen denied the accusation, but Xu Qi'an claimed Zhang Xian had confessed and described how their supposed burglary story failed to fit the evidence.
• Xu Qi'an pointed out that the wall had footprints only on the way out and that Zhang Yourui had been killed with a blunt object, leaving Yang Zhenzhen visibly shaken.

Xu Qi'an exposed the flaws in Yang Zhenzhen and Zhang Xian's cover story, securing confessions that revealed Zhang Xian had accidentally killed his father. After earning County Magistrate Zhu's praise, Xu Qi'an joined his fellow constables for drinks and heard about the costly courtesan Lady Fuxiang.

• Xu Qi'an questioned Yang Zhenzhen, pointing out the inconsistencies in the staged robbery and falsely promising she could avoid the death penalty if she confessed.
• Yang Zhenzhen broke down and admitted that she and Zhang Xian had been lovers, and that Zhang Xian had accidentally killed Zhang Yourui before they staged the scene as a robbery.
• After learning Yang Zhenzhen had confessed, Zhang Xian also confessed, and Xu Qi'an delivered both statements to County Magistrate Zhu.
• County Magistrate Zhu praised Xu Qi'an for solving the case, and Head Constable Wang treated Xu Qi'an and eight constables to drinks.
• The constables discussed brothels and Lady Fuxiang, whose reported price of thirty taels led Xu Qi'an to doubt Head Constable Wang's story.

Xu Qi'an's diary chronicled his attempts to get rich after arriving in Great Feng, from failed business ideas to enjoying free music in the pleasure quarter. By November 14, he had accomplished little and was still working as a constable.

• Xu Qi'an decided to aim for a comfortable middle-class life and began looking for ways to make money.
• Xu Qi'an repeatedly visited the pleasure quarter with Head Constable Wang, where he listened to music and sometimes found silver.
• Xu Qi'an abandoned plans to sell glass, improved paper, and cement after discovering obstacles or failing to make the products.
• Xu Qi'an borrowed five taels of silver from Xu Xinnian and joked that his cousin would make a good heroine if they were sworn brothers.
• Xu Qi'an considered writing popular novels for profit but gave up because he could not remember their plots or write them out by hand.
• Xu Qi'an told his younger sisters the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, then heard from Second Uncle about the North-Guarding Prince's beautiful consort.

Xu Qi'an visited Second Uncle's home for breakfast, where Xu Xinnian worried about composing a farewell poem for a respected academy elder. Xu Qi'an decided to use a masterpiece from his previous life to help his brother make a good impression, leaving him to choose how exceptional the poem should be.

• Xu Qi'an tested his uncanny luck and wondered whether a hidden system explained it, but received no answer.
• Xu Qi'an joined Second Uncle's family for breakfast and tricked Xu Lingyin into sharing her buns.
• Xu Qi'an asked Xu Xinnian about Confucian cultivation, and Xu Xinnian described his efforts to understand the Self-Cultivation Realm.
• Xu Xinnian explained that he needed a farewell poem for an academy elder heading to Qingzhou, hoping to win the elder's favor.
• Xu Qi'an settled on a poem from his previous life and announced he would show Auntie the Xu Household's talent.

Xu Qi'an impressed his family with a famous poem, which Xu Xinnian borrowed to present as his own. After sparring with his uncle and discussing how to advance in martial arts, Xu Qi'an agreed to take Xu Lingyue and Xu Lingyin shopping.

• Xu Qi'an recited a powerful poem that astonished Xu Xinnian, Xu Lingyue, and Xu Pingzhi.
• Xu Xinnian borrowed the poem from Xu Qi'an and hurried away to show it off under his own name, with credit to Xu Qi'an.
• Xu Qi'an sparred with Xu Pingzhi, who explained that advancing to the Qi Refining Realm required a Spirit Refining expert to open his heavenly gate.
• Xu Pingzhi said he hoped to see Xu Qi'an marry and have children before he grew old.
• At Aunt's suggestion, Xu Qi'an agreed to take Xu Lingyue and Xu Lingyin out for a stroll.

Xu Xinnian attended Layman Ziyang’s farewell gathering as the scholar prepared to return to official service in Qingzhou, where he hoped to strengthen White Deer Academy’s influence. After several students recited poems for a jade pendant, Xu Xinnian stepped forward with a poem of his own.

• Layman Ziyang prepared to leave Cloud Deer Academy for his post as provincial administration commissioner in Qingzhou, and Li Mubai and Zhang Shen discussed the academy’s decline and its rivalry with the Imperial Academy.
• Xu Xinnian’s classmates urged him to compose a farewell poem, while he privately recalled that Xu Qi'an had supplied only half of one.
• Layman Ziyang offered a purple jade pendant to the student who composed the best poem, and Zhu Tuizhi recited a poem that pleased him.
• The students’ later poems disappointed the three elders, and Li Mubai blamed the Imperial Academy’s restrictive teachings for stifling scholarly expression.
• Xu Xinnian stepped forward and announced that he had a poem for Layman Ziyang.

Xu Xinnian recited a half-finished farewell poem written by his elder brother, Xu Qi'an, and won the purple jade and Layman Ziyang's admiration. After Xu Xinnian revealed the poem's true author, Li Mubai and Zhang Shen competed to meet and recruit Xu Qi'an.

• Xu Xinnian recited four lines of a farewell poem that moved the scholars and earned praise from Li Mubai and Layman Ziyang.
• Layman Ziyang titled the poem "Seeing Yang Gong Off to Qingzhou at Sheep Pavilion" and bid farewell, while Xu Xinnian received the purple jade.
• Xu Xinnian admitted that his elder brother had written the poem, then described him as a reclusive scholar who studied at home.
• Li Mubai and Zhang Shen each tried to take Xu Qi'an as a disciple, arguing over which of them should meet him.

Xu Qi'an took his sisters through the Capital, found another unexplained qian of silver, and treated them to snacks while wondering about his strange luck. Their outing ended when a young nobleman’s attendants cornered Xu Lingyue and the nobleman raised his horse against Xu Lingyin.

• Xu Qi'an found a qian of silver on the street and bought candied hawthorns for himself and his sisters.
• Xu Qi'an puzzled over his daily discovery of silver and decided to focus on reaching Qi Refinement before investigating further.
• Xu Qi'an led Xu Lingyue and Xu Lingyin past the Cassia Moon Tower and bought them fish balls.
• Xu Qi'an returned to find attendants surrounding and teasing Xu Lingyue while a young nobleman watched from horseback.
• Xu Lingyin ran toward the nobleman, who made his horse rear and bring its hooves down toward her.

Xu Qi'an saved Xu Lingyin from a young master and his horse, then fought the young master's attendants and beat him. Head Constable Wang took both sides to the Changle County yamen, where Xu Qi'an asked whether his second uncle had been notified.

• Xu Qi'an killed the young master's horse while rescuing Xu Lingyin, then sent Xu Lingyue to summon help.
• The young master ordered his attendants to cripple Xu Qi'an after learning he was Xu Pingzhi's nephew.
• Xu Qi'an hid his strength, broke through the attendants' formation, and beat the young master into submission.
• Head Constable Wang arrived with constables, ignored the young master's demands, and escorted everyone to the county yamen.
• Xu Qi'an asked Head Constable Wang whether he had notified his second uncle.

Xu Qi'an was arrested after defending Xu Lingyin from Vice Minister Zhou's son, whose powerful family brought the Ministry of Justice to the county yamen. As Xu Qi'an was taken away, Head Constable Wang had gone to seek help from Caiwei, and Xu Pingzhi was left unable to stop the arrest.

• Xu Qi'an arrived at the county yamen and learned that Young Master Zhou had accused him of attacking him.
• County Magistrate Zhu tried to appease Young Master Zhou, while Xu Qi'an sent Head Constable Wang to fetch a blue-covered book and ask Caiwei for help.
• Xu Pingzhi arrived, heard how Xu Qi'an had protected Xu Lingyin, and tried to settle matters with Young Master Zhou.
• An old servant of the Zhou household arrived and revealed his Spirit Refining Realm strength as the Ministry of Justice entered the yamen.
• A Ministry of Justice official ordered his soldiers to shackle Xu Qi'an, and they took him away despite Xu Pingzhi's protest.

After Xu Qi'an was taken away as a criminal, Xu Pingzhi sought a way to appeal, while Head Constable Wang carried a blue book and a warning to the Bureau of Astronomy. Song Qing received the book and learned that Xu Qi'an was in trouble, but the chapter left his response uncertain.

• The Ministry of Justice took Xu Qi'an away, and Xu Pingzhi vowed to complain to the emperor until County Magistrate Zhu urged him to seek help from Xu Xinnian.
• Head Constable Wang overcame his fear and went to the Star-Gazing Tower to find Chu Caiwei, carrying a blue book and a message that Xu Qi'an needed saving.
• A white-robed disciple accepted the book after learning Chu Caiwei was out, then sent it to Song Qing on the seventh floor.
• Song Qing, who was experimenting with refining counterfeit silver, read the book's preface: “Equivalent exchange, the immutable principle of Alchemy - Edward Elric.”

Song Qing recognized Equivalent Exchange in the Alchemy book but found its instructions for refining tax silver cut off at the crucial step, and he concluded the book could herald a new age for the Bureau of Astronomy. On the road, Xu Xinnian learned that Xu Changning had been arrested after Vice Minister Zhou’s son threatened Lingyin, so he asked Zhang Shen and Li Mubai to help.

• Song Qing read the Alchemy book and realized that Equivalent Exchange was its guiding principle, though he could not understand its explanations of matter and chemistry.
• Song Qing found instructions for refining tax silver that ended before the essential third step, then learned the book had been exchanged and declared that Alchemy could enter an age of glory.
• Xu Xinnian regretted speaking too bluntly to Zhang Shen and Li Mubai before Xu Pingzhi rode up with news of the trouble at home.
• Xu Pingzhi told Xu Xinnian that Vice Minister Zhou’s son had harassed Lingyin and that Xu Changning had been taken to the Ministry of Justice.
• Xu Xinnian asked Zhang Shen and Li Mubai to save Xu Changning, and both scholars claimed they would handle the matter.