Festival of Lights · Diwali
Xu Qi'an solved the tax silver robbery and the Zhang murder, earning the Xu Household's pardon and making his name known through Xu Xinnian's farewell poem. After Xu Qi'an defended his sisters from Young Master Zhou, he was arrested, while Song Qing discovered his alchemy book and Xu Xinnian sought help from Zhang Shen and Li Mubai.
Xu Qi'an escaped imprisonment, exposed the Zhou family's role in the tax silver case, and won the support of Cloud Deer Academy while protecting his family. His inscription shook the academy, and he ended the stretch preparing to approach Fuxiang as the Zhou Li plan took shape.
Xu Qi'an enlisted the Directorate of Astronomy's help to frame Zhou Li, secured the Xu family's safety, and joined the Nightwatchers. His first investigation uncovered a saltpeter mine, while messages through his jade mirror drew him into an Earth Sect conflict that Wei Yuan moved to intercept.
Xu Qi'an joined the Heaven and Earth Society, helped Number Six evade capture, and gained favor with the Directorate of Astronomy while continuing to serve the Nightwatchers. During the imperial ancestral rites, cries from Mulberry Lake triggered the Nation-Guarding Divine Sword, leaving Xu Qi'an and the Society suspecting a hidden secret beneath the lake.
After Xu Qi'an was sentenced for wounding Zhu Chengzhu, the destruction at Mulberry Lake gave him a chance to earn his release by investigating the culprits. He uncovered a plot involving the Demon Race and an ancient seal, and learned that Azure Dragon Temple’s concealment artifact had been stolen by Henghui, who fled with Commandery Princess Pingyang.
Xu Qi'an traced the Mulberry Lake disaster to Henghui and the demon forces behind the sealed hand while uncovering the truth about Commandery Princess Pingyang’s death. The case reached the emperor as the Heaven and Earth Society learned of a looming confrontation with Zhou Chixiong.
Xu Qi'an exposed the Shaman God Cult’s links to court officials while buying a haunted house and helping Wei Yuan weather a political attack. He settled his family into their new home, aided Hengyuan’s charity, and turned his homemade chicken seasoning into a success at court.
Xu Qi'an accompanied Governor Zhang and Jiang Lyuzhong to investigate Yang Chuannan’s suspected collusion with Yunzhou’s bandits. After exposing an iron ore smuggling operation along the way, he recovered a cryptic clue left by the murdered Nightwatcher Zhou Min and met Yunzhou’s officials.
Xu Qi'an decoded Zhou Min’s evidence and helped Governor Zhang arrest Yang Chuannan, but the investigation revealed a deeper scheme involving Liang Youping and Song Changfu. After Song Changfu was found dead, Xu Qi'an realized the group had been led into a trap.
Xu Qi'an exposed the Yunzhou conspiracy, died defending Governor Zhang’s party, and returned to life before reaching the capital. There he investigated Consort Fu’s death, uncovered evidence of a plot against the crown prince, and survived an assassination attempt as Emperor Yuanjing moved to intervene.
Xu Qi'an exposed the plots against the empress, earned a noble title and promotion, and returned to the capital’s conflicts as new arrivals and rivalries gathered around him. After dealing with the examination, the Heaven and Human disciples, and a public challenge, he discovered that Miss Rongrong had stolen his Earth Book Fragment.
Xu Qi'an recovered his Earth Book Fragment, helped Xu Xinnian celebrate his examination triumph, and uncovered the Buddhist Order’s history and plans. He defeated the monks’ trials with the support of Great Feng’s people and the Sage’s Carving Knife, then received a Vermilion-Written Iron Certificate as questions about his Fate remained unresolved.
Xu Qi'an accompanied Daoist Jinlian’s group into an ancient tomb to find Lina and survived its formation and awakened guardian. Back in the capital, he helped Xu Xinnian withstand an examination-fraud accusation, then used the Buddha statue to injure Chu Xianglong as Li Miaozhen approached the city.
Xu Qi'an stopped the Heaven and Human Contest, uncovered clues about the stolen Fate, and accepted the court’s dangerous mission to investigate the three-thousand-li massacre. He led the delegation north by land after suspecting the princess consort was in danger, while an attack destroyed the ship and its pursuers believed she was still aboard.
Xu Qi'an rescued the princess consort and secretly investigated the Three-Thousand-Li Blood Massacre, uncovering the Prince Who Guards the North's slaughter of Chu Prefecture City to refine a Blood Pill. As barbarian and demon forces attacked the city, Xu Qi'an entered the battle and claimed the Nation-Guarding Sword.
Xu Qi'an exposed the Prince Who Guards the North’s massacre, then defied Emperor Yuanjing to avenge Chu Prefecture and clear Zheng Xinghuai’s name. After the emperor was forced to issue an edict of self-reproach, Xu Qi'an pursued the mystery of Su Hang’s forgotten case and prepared for the Nine-Colored Lotus’s ripening.
Xu Qi'an helped defend the Earth Sect’s Nine-Colored Lotus, killed Qiu Qian, advanced to Fifth Rank, and returned the seeds to the people who aided him. Back in the capital, he learned more about Wei Yuan’s knowledge of the stolen Fate and began investigating Emperor Yuanjing’s records with Xu Erlang.
Xu Qi'an rescued the Wang Faction and pursued clues linking Emperor Yuanjing to concealed records, human trafficking, and Hengyuan's disappearance. As Wei Yuan prepared a campaign against the Shaman God Cult, Xu Qi'an defeated the northern delegation's scholarly challenge and learned that Xu Xinnian would accompany the army.
Xu Qi'an investigated the Dragon Vein and uncovered the late emperor’s connection to the Earth Sect’s corruption while Wei Yuan led Great Feng’s campaign against the Shaman God Cult. After Wei Yuan died sealing the Shaman God, Xu Qi'an reached Yuyang Pass and faced Nurhejia’s advancing army.
Xu Qi'an avenged Wei Yuan by killing Emperor Zhende, only to be ambushed by the First Chief Astrologer and taken for his Fate. He learned that Xu Pingfeng was his father and that his family ties had protected him, then survived the extraction and returned to the capital as the political and personal fallout continued.