Chapter Summaries

Xu Qi'an watched Governor Zhang confront Yunzhou’s officials over Yang Chuannan’s crimes and guarded the arrested commissioner while the governor went to audit the accounts. The chapter ended when a city guard reported that the Guard Commission’s troops had gathered outside the Southern City and threatened to enter unless Governor Zhang met them.

• Xu Qi'an asked the three white-robed arcanists to observe the officials’ fortunes, and they reported that none of the officials were telling the truth.
• Governor Zhang told the officials that Yang Chuannan had been arrested and that a ledger documented his crimes, then confirmed Xu Qi'an had uncovered the evidence.
• Li Miaozhen and Susu discussed Xu Qi'an, and Susu revealed that he had offered to help her regain a body if she became his concubine.
• Xu Qi'an stayed at the post station to guard Yang Chuannan while Governor Zhang and the officials went to verify the ledger at the Regional Military Commission.
• A city guard reported that the Guard Commission’s troops had assembled outside the Southern City and threatened to enter unless Governor Zhang met them.

Xu Qi'an and Li Miaozhen rode to the southern gate to negotiate with Xu Huchen and the Guard Commission troops, who had threatened to enter the city unless Yang Chuannan was released. Xu Qi'an demonstrated his strength to win Xu Huchen’s respect, opening the way for talks.

• A soldier reported that three thousand Guard Commission troops had surrounded the southern gate and demanded Yang Chuannan’s release within an hour.
• Xu Qi'an stopped the Nightwatchers from taking Yang Chuannan to the gate and persuaded Li Miaozhen to help stall the troops until Governor Zhang arrived.
• Xu Qi'an and Li Miaozhen reached the southern wall, where Xu Qi'an assessed the Guard Commission’s army and learned that Li Miaozhen commanded a formidable Flying Swallow Army.
• Xu Huchen dismissed Xu Qi'an and demanded to see the governor, so Xu Qi'an drew his saber and split the ground with a slash that impressed the troops.
• Xu Huchen acknowledged Xu Qi'an’s strength and agreed to hear him speak on behalf of the provincial governor.

Xu Qi'an defused Xu Huchen’s armed protest, but Governor Zhang secretly ordered Jiang Lyuzhong to kill the guard officers and prepared to pressure Yunzhou’s officials. As the investigation into Yang Chuannan continued, the Fushun Escort Agency arrived seeking an audience with Governor Zhang.

• Xu Qi'an persuaded Xu Huchen to withdraw his troops by urging him to wait for the investigation and securing Governor Zhang’s promise to clear Yang Chuannan if he was innocent.
• Governor Zhang met Xu Huchen outside White Emperor City, promised to investigate Yang Chuannan fairly, and let the troops return to camp.
• Afterward, Governor Zhang ordered Jiang Lyuzhong to kill Xu Huchen and the other guard officers, then planned to summon troops from Yunzhou’s garrisons.
• Yunzhou officials pressed Governor Zhang to decide Yang Chuannan’s case, and he agreed to question Yang again before a joint trial the next day.
• Xu Qi'an suggested using someone disguised as Liang Youping to lure out the mastermind, but the Fushun Escort Agency arrived asking to see Governor Zhang.

Fushun Escort Agency delivered the wanted fugitive Liang Youping to Governor Zhang, who confirmed his identity and began questioning him. Xu Qi'an suspected Yang Qianhuan had arranged the delivery, but the mysterious client’s identity remained unverified.

• Zhao Rui, the new head of Fushun Escort Agency, arrived at the post station and told Governor Zhang that he had come to deliver a wanted criminal.
• Zhao Rui’s escorts brought in a sack-covered man, whom Governor Zhang identified as Liang Youping after a Copper Gong verified his face.
• Xu Qi'an questioned Zhao Rui about the mysterious client and wondered whether Yang Qianhuan had sent Liang Youping, but Zhao Rui offered no identifying details.
• Governor Zhang had the escorts’ statements checked by the arcanists, confirmed they were telling the truth, and ordered Liang Youping brought to his room.
• Governor Zhang accused Liang Youping of murdering the dog-meat shop owner and framing Yang Chuannan with the ledger, while Jiang Lyuzhong warned him that the Nightwatchers would torture him.

Liang Youping revealed that Administration Commissioner Song Changfu had led Yunzhou’s conspiracy, but Song was found dead after Governor Zhang ordered his arrest. Xu Qi'an realized Song’s apparent suicide might be part of a trap and warned that they had been deceived.

• Liang Youping confessed that Song Changfu had rescued him, recruited him into the Qi Faction, and used him to alter accounts and divert military supplies to bandits.
• Liang Youping explained that Zhou Min had exposed the conspiracy, while Yang Chuannan had been set up as a disposable scapegoat.
• Governor Zhang ordered the Tiger Guard to arrest Song Changfu, but the guards found him dead with a dagger in his chest.
• A coroner ruled that Song Changfu had died by suicide, and Governor Zhang sent a Copper Gong to report the findings to Xu Qi'an.
• Xu Qi'an reasoned that Song Changfu had known Liang Youping was captured and had time to prepare, then declared that they had fallen into a trap.

Xu Qi'an suspected Administration Commissioner Song had trapped Governor Zhang in White Emperor City and hurried to warn Li Miaozhen and seek help. After finding the gates sealed, he contacted her through the Earth Book and prepared to reveal an urgent plan.

• Xu Qi'an warned the Nightwatchers that Administration Commissioner Song might have staged a fake death to buy time and put Governor Zhang in danger, so most of them rode to Song Changfu's residence.
• Xu Qi'an sent Song Tingfeng to find Li Miaozhen, but Song returned after discovering that the city gates had been closed.
• Xu Qi'an reasoned that the Shaman God Cult and the Qi Faction were ready to overturn the situation, while the four Nightwatchers at the courier station could not safely fight their way out.
• Xu Qi'an ordered Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao to guard Yang Chuannan and Liang Youping, then rode toward the governor and used his jade mirror to contact Li Miaozhen.
• Xu Qi'an asked Daoist Jinlian to block the other Earth Book members and told Li Miaozhen to act immediately after hearing his urgent message.

Li Miaozhen learned that Number Three was Xu Qi'an and mobilized the Flying Swallow Army to reinforce White Emperor City. At the Provincial Administration Commission, the prefect revealed himself as a Dream Shaman, poisoned Governor Zhang and Jiang Lyuzhong, and prepared to seize control of Yunzhou.

• Number Three told Li Miaozhen that Administration Commissioner Song was behind the Yunzhou Case and that Governor Zhang's party faced danger in White Emperor City.
• Li Miaozhen ordered Susu to muster the Flying Swallow Army, then learned that Number Three was Xu Qi'an and reeled from the revelation.
• Xu Qi'an sought help from Monk Shenshu, who answered, “Seek life in death,” before falling silent again.
• Nightwatchers discovered that the corpse identified as Song Changfu wore a human-skin mask, and they brought the coroner to Governor Zhang.
• The prefect admitted he had arranged the deception, poisoned Governor Zhang and Jiang Lyuzhong, and used the coroner as a Blood Spirit Puppet that killed a Copper Gong.
• The prefect revealed that Song Changfu would take over Yunzhou after the coup, while mountain bandits prepared to attack across the province.

Xu Qi'an arrived at the Provincial Administration Commission as the Dream Shaman attacked, then fought to the death defending Governor Zhang and the Nightwatchers until Li Miaozhen and the Flying Swallow Army arrived. The chapter ended with Xu Qi'an dead, Jiang Lyuzhong charging back into the battle, and Xu Qi'an meeting Monk Shenshu again in the little temple.

• The Dream Shaman killed two Silver Gongs and crippled the Nightwatchers before Xu Qi'an arrived and Yang Qianhuan teleported the Dream Shaman away to fight outside the city.
• Li Miaozhen and the Flying Swallow Army broke into the city, while Xu Qi'an stayed behind to defend the hall and urged Governor Zhang and Jiang Lyuzhong to survive.
• Xu Qi'an repeatedly pushed past his limits and killed two hundred rebels, but he died from exhaustion as the Flying Swallow Army reached the courtyard.
• Li Miaozhen and the Flying Swallow Army honored Xu Qi'an, and Governor Zhang collapsed when he learned Xu Qi'an had died.
• Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao found Xu Qi'an's body at the post station, and Xu Qi'an later awoke in the little temple before Monk Shenshu.

Xu Qi'an learned from Monk Shenshu that he could revive, while White Emperor City’s defenders mourned his apparent death and fought off the rebellion’s aftermath. As his companions prepared to carry his body back to the capital, Xu Qi'an awoke on the Spring Sacrifice.

• Monk Shenshu explained that he had preserved Xu Qi'an’s last wisp of vitality and would give him blood essence so he could return from the dead, though the process would take a long time.
• Jiang Lyuzhong defeated the Dream Shaman with Yang Qianhuan’s help, but the Dream Shaman’s Primordial Spirit detonated before it could be captured.
• Governor Zhang’s forces arrested and executed hundreds of rebels in White Emperor City, then prepared for attacks that never came; Yang Yan arrived with news that he had secretly led troops against the mountain bandits.
• Yang Yan learned that Xu Qi'an had died protecting the others and attacked Jiang Lyuzhong in grief, while Song Tingfeng, Zhu Guangxiao, and Li Yuchun kept vigil beside Xu Qi'an’s body.
• Li Miaozhen told the Heaven and Earth Society that Xu Qi'an had died; Daoist Jinlian doubted it and said he would verify the news himself.
• Governor Zhang arranged for the fallen Nightwatchers’ bodies to be returned to the capital, and Xu Qi'an awoke aboard the government ship on the Spring Sacrifice.

Xu Qi'an revived aboard the ship returning to the capital, remembered a battlefield vision of the Battle of Shanhai Pass, and read letters from home and his admirers. Yang Qianhuan then revealed that he had not helped catch Liang Youping, while Wei Yuan arrived at court to face the officials’ unreadable scrutiny over an urgent dispatch.

• Xu Qi'an woke in his coffin aboard the official ship and told Yang Qianhuan he had returned from the dead after his wounds healed.
• Xu Qi'an read Xu Lingyue’s letter about the family, Lingyin’s schooling, and her missing jade bracelet, then read replies from Fuxiang and Lin'an.
• Xu Qi'an discovered Huaiqing had written Caiwei’s reply and learned that Caiwei had told her about his red-lotus compliment, leaving Huaiqing convinced he had sent the same romantic gesture to both women.
• Xu Qi'an baited Yang Qianhuan into admitting he had read the letters, then learned Yang had not helped catch Liang Youping.
• Wei Yuan and Nangong Qianrou traveled to the palace, where Wei Yuan prepared to give Xu Qi'an rhinoceros armor and heard that an eight-hundred-li dispatch had arrived.
• Wei Yuan entered the imperial study and noticed the ministers watching him with obscure expressions as Emperor Yuanjing concealed his reaction.

Emperor Yuanjing heard Zhang Xingying’s report that Yunzhou’s rebellion had been crushed and granted the supposedly dead Xu Qi'an a posthumous viscount title, while Wei Yuan mourned him and prepared for war against the Shaman God Cult. Still alive, Xu Qi'an reconsidered the case, learned that a third-rank Heavenly Secrets Master had intervened, and decided to stay hidden as Yang Qianhuan carried him toward the capital.

• Zhang Xingying’s memorial named Song Changfu as the rebel mastermind, reported the execution of thirty-four officials, and praised Xu Qi'an’s role before requesting a posthumous noble title for him.
• Wei Yuan struck the Vice Minister of Rites and the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review after they opposed Xu Qi'an’s title, then accepted Emperor Yuanjing’s ruling granting Xu Qi'an the title of Viscount of Changle County.
• Wei Yuan told Nangong Qianrou that Xu Qi'an had died, then ordered the Gold Gongs to gather intelligence on the Shaman God Cult’s defenses and declared that he would wage war after the autumn harvest.
• Xu Qi'an learned from Yang Qianhuan that concealing Liang Youping from a fourth-rank Dream Shaman’s divination would have required a third-rank Heavenly Secrets Master, and resolved to investigate the Directorate of Astronomy’s secrets.
• Xu Qi'an chose to remain hidden in his coffin until he could ask Wei Yuan how to explain his return, while Yang Qianhuan was shocked to hear Xu Qi'an claim to be Wei Yuan’s illegitimate son.
• Nangong Qianrou arrived at the Xu Residence with two Copper Gongs to deliver Xu Qi'an’s death gratuity of three hundred taels of silver to Xu Pingzhi.

Nangong Qianrou delivered news of Xu Qi'an’s apparent death to the Xu family, then word spread through the palace and left Lin'an and Chu Caiwei grieving. Meanwhile, Xu Qi'an remained hidden in a coffin with Yang Qianhuan, and the Superintendent secretly prepared a Rebirth Pill as a great bird carried it away.

• Nangong Qianrou told Xu Pingzhi that Xu Qi'an had died in Yunzhou and left the bereavement silver, while Xu Lingyin chased him outside, insisting he was lying.
• Xu Pingzhi sent word to Xu Xinnian, who returned home and learned that his eldest brother was supposedly dead.
• Lin'an heard the news at Qingji Pavilion, shattered her wine cup, and left in tears; Huaiqing then told Chu Caiwei that Xu Qi'an had died.
• Chu Caiwei went to the Superintendent in grief, and he claimed Xu Qi'an’s death was a good thing before secretly giving a Rebirth Pill to a great bird.
• Xu Qi'an and Yang Qianhuan discussed whether Xu Qi'an should reveal his secrets to Wei Yuan and whether he could return to the capital.
• Yang Qianhuan recognized the cry of a bird outside the boat as the Superintendent’s presence.

Xu Qi'an returned to the capital disguised as a corpse through the Rebirth Pill, while a scandal involving the crown prince and Consort Fu unsettled the imperial court. As his family and friends mourned him, Daoist Jinlian awakened him at his funeral, and Xu Qi'an sat up in his coffin.

• Yang Qianhuan gave Xu Qi'an the Superintendent's Rebirth Pill, and Xu Qi'an used it to explain his apparent death and destroy his letters before sleeping through the journey to the capital.
• The crown prince was confined after Consort Fu died following an apparent assault, and Emperor Yuanjing ordered the Three Judicial Offices to investigate within three days.
• Lin'an waited outside the imperial study for news of her brother, and Huaiqing eventually forced her to leave the freezing courtyard.
• Xu Qi'an's coffin arrived at his residence, where his family and Fuxiang mourned him; Huaiqing and Chu Caiwei also attended the funeral.
• Daoist Jinlian appeared as an orange cat and called Xu Qi'an awake, restoring his control of his body.
• Xu Qi'an sat up in his coffin, shocking everyone gathered in the mourning hall.

Xu Qi'an revived during his funeral after taking the Rebirth Pill, and his family and visitors accepted that he had returned from the dead. After learning that Daoist Jinlian had helped his Primordial Spirit return and hearing that Wei Yuan could provide cultivation resources, Xu Qi'an rode to the Nightwatchers' office.

• Xu Qi'an sat up in his coffin, frightening the Xu clansmen, while Chu Caiwei and several martial artists realized he was alive.
• Xu Qi'an proved his identity to Xu Pingzhi and Xu Erlang, and his family embraced him as he explained that the Rebirth Pill had saved him.
• Huaiqing explained the Rebirth Pill's effects, and Xu Lingyue peeled away Xu Qi'an's dead flesh to reveal his transformed, handsome face.
• Xu Pingzhi told the Xu clansmen that Xu Dalang had survived, and the funeral turned into a celebration.
• Daoist Jinlian told Xu Qi'an that he had helped his Primordial Spirit return and discussed the unknown arcanist involved in the Yunzhou Case.
• Daoist Jinlian advised Xu Qi'an to seek Wei Yuan for cultivation resources, and Xu Qi'an rode to the Nightwatchers' office.

Xu Qi'an returned to the Nightwatchers and told Wei Yuan what had happened in Yunzhou, but Emperor Yuanjing revoked his ennoblement and ordered him to investigate Consort Fu’s death. When the emperor gave him three days to solve the case, Xu Qi'an bowed and begged for death.

• Nangong Qianrou and Zhang Kaitai told Wei Yuan that Xu Qi'an was alive, and Wei Yuan kept the Shaman God Cult campaign planned for after the autumn harvest.
• Xu Qi'an reached Righteous Qi Tower, dodged Nangong Qianrou’s slap, and told Wei Yuan about Yunzhou and the Directorate of Astronomy’s disciples.
• Wei Yuan explained that Xu Qi'an’s posthumous viscount title might be withdrawn and advised him about the politically sensitive case of Consort Fu’s death.
• Emperor Yuanjing revoked Xu Qi'an’s ennoblement after learning he had returned alive, then summoned him to investigate Consort Fu’s death.
• After delaying his audience with Xu Qi'an, Emperor Yuanjing gave him three days to uncover the truth, and Xu Qi'an begged the emperor to grant him death.

After negotiating with Emperor Yuanjing, Xu Qi'an was tasked with investigating Consort Fu's case and visited Princess Lin'an, who was overjoyed to find him alive and hoped he could clear the crown prince's name. Meanwhile, Monk Hengyuan arrived at the Xu Residence to see Xu Erlang, whom he recognized as Number Three, and asked Daoist Jinlian to keep their meeting private.

• Xu Qi'an resisted Emperor Yuanjing's pressure until the emperor promised him a viscount title and gave him a gold token allowing him to investigate inside the palace.
• Xu Qi'an chose to begin his investigation with Princess Lin'an, who was distraught over the crown prince's troubles and stunned to learn that Xu Qi'an was alive.
• Xu Qi'an entertained Lin'an with an embellished account of his survival and asked about Consort Fu, the crown prince, and the wine he drank.
• Hengyuan visited the Xu Residence, where Xu Erlang refused to see him and sent him away with silver.
• Hengyuan privately messaged Daoist Jinlian to block others while he spoke to Number Three, whom he believed was Xu Erlang.

Xu Qi'an questioned Lin'an about the princes and examined Consort Fu’s body, finding evidence that challenged the claim that she had jumped to her death. After Xu Qi'an left the palace, Emperor Yuanjing asked for a report on the investigation.

• Xu Qi'an questioned Lin'an about why the empress and the fourth prince might have framed the crown prince, and Lin'an admitted she could not match Huaiqing’s cunning.
• Hengyuan contacted Number Three through the Earth Book, and Xu Qi'an revealed that he had come back to life while asking Hengyuan to keep his identity secret.
• Xu Qi'an examined Consort Fu’s body in the ice cellar and found that she had landed faceup, casting doubt on the conclusion that she had jumped to her death.
• Xu Qi'an left the palace after his investigation, and Emperor Yuanjing summoned the young eunuch to report what Xu Qi'an had done.

Xu Qi'an reported his clue in Consort Fu’s death to Emperor Yuanjing, reunited with Fuxiang, and then began investigating the crown prince. After hearing the crown prince’s account and challenging him with competing theories, Xu Qi'an was asked whether he had become too close to Lin'an.

• A young eunuch told Emperor Yuanjing that Xu Qi'an suspected Consort Fu had been pushed, and the emperor ordered the Grand Secretariat to reopen consideration of Xu Qi'an’s noble title.
• Xu Qi'an visited Fuxiang, told her how he had survived, and asked her to spread the lyric he had composed during the rebellion.
• Xu Qi'an found Xu Xinnian at the Imperial Music Bureau, returned his lost pouch, and told him he had been assigned to investigate Consort Fu’s death.
• Xu Qi'an pressured the chief minister of the Court of Judicial Review to receive him, then questioned the crown prince about the day Consort Fu died.
• The crown prince said he had been summoned to Clear Breeze Hall, drunk tea, and fallen asleep before Consort Fu’s death; Xu Qi'an noted that her inviting maid had disappeared and examined the prince for injuries.
• Xu Qi'an suggested the crown prince might have killed Consort Fu while trying to assault her, and the furious prince then asked whether Xu Qi'an had become too close to Lin'an.

Xu Qi'an brought Princess Lin'an and Princess Huaiqing to investigate Consort Fu’s death at Qingfeng Hall, where he reconstructed a possible struggle and fall from the scene. He left the investigation with several details still to confirm.

• The crown prince offered Xu Qi'an a higher title if he cleared his name, but Xu Qi'an rejected the promise and left.
• At the Xu Residence, Xu Erlang tricked Auntie into demanding Xu Baoshan’s savings by claiming Xu Qi'an had given their father fifty taels of silver.
• Xu Qi'an went to Shaoyin Court to take Lin'an to Qingfeng Hall, where Huaiqing joined them.
• At Qingfeng Hall, Xu Qi'an examined the broken railing and the room’s scattered objects, then mentally reconstructed a possible assault and Consort Fu’s fall.
• Xu Qi'an told Huaiqing and Lin'an that the case was not difficult but that he needed to confirm several things first.

Xu Qi'an uncovered evidence that Consort Fu likely died in a tampered-railing accident rather than being assaulted by the crown prince, while suspecting her personal maid was involved. Huaiqing explained the political reasons the Three Judicial Offices might avoid resolving the case, then shared rumors about why the crown prince had been chosen, leaving Xu Qi'an eager to hear more.

• Xu Qi'an questioned Qingfeng Hall’s servants and established that they stayed away whenever Consort Fu drank, then revealed they could hear cries for help from inside the pavilion.
• Xu Qi'an confronted Consort Fu’s personal maid, who disclosed a forbidden jade object hidden in a chest and confirmed that the missing maid had served Consort Fu personally.
• Xu Qi'an examined the broken railing and Consort Fu’s body, concluding that she likely fell after someone tampered with the sturdy railing and that the crown prince probably had not assaulted her.
• Xu Qi'an identified Consort Fu’s personal maid as the likely person who arranged the death, while Huaiqing questioned how the room had been disturbed and who might have ordered the scheme.
• Huaiqing told Xu Qi'an that the Three Judicial Offices might avoid the case because either outcome could trigger dangerous political consequences, and named her full brother and the empress as prime suspects if the crown prince had been framed.
• Huaiqing shared rumors that Emperor Yuanjing had once prepared the crown prince to rule, and Xu Qi'an asked why he ultimately selected his eldest son by a concubine.