Chapter Summaries

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.

Li Mubai and Zhang Shen raced to the Ministry of Justice to demand Xu Qi'an's release, while Song Qing and Bureau of Astronomy disciples arrived with the same demand. Minister Sun discovered Xu Qi'an had no official arrest record and learned Director Huang had ordered his arrest.

• Li Mubai and Zhang Shen transformed their horses and carriages with Confucian magic, racing through the sky as Xu Xinnian recognized their fifth-rank Virtue abilities.
• Xu Qi'an reflected on his imprisonment and his need for authority and strength before guards took him away for what they called his last meal.
• Li Mubai and Zhang Shen arrived at the Ministry of Justice and asked Minister Sun to release their disciple, Xu Qi'an.
• Song Qing led Bureau of Astronomy disciples into the Ministry of Justice and also demanded Xu Qi'an's release.
• Minister Sun found no arrest record for Xu Qi'an, and an official identified Director Huang as the person who had ordered the arrest.

Minister Sun ordered Xu Qi'an released after Li Mubai exposed Director Huang’s attempt to help Young Master Zhou. Zhou then tried to force Xu Qi'an to sign a false confession, but a blue-robed official arrived and ordered the jailers to take him away.

• Li Mubai invoked the sage’s words, causing Director Huang to confess that he had arrested Xu Qi'an to help Young Master Zhou.
• Minister Sun ordered Xu Qi'an’s release, and the jailers brought him into the interrogation room where Zhou Li waited.
• Zhou Li threatened Xu Qi'an with torture and tried to force him to sign a confession accusing him of attacking Zhou Li and conspiring with Xu Pingzhi.
• A blue-robed official entered, dismissed Zhou Li’s authority over the prisoner, and ordered the jailers to take Xu Qi'an away.

Xu Qi'an was released from the Ministry of Justice after the Bureau of Astronomy and two great scholars intervened, then struck Zhou Li with a cangue before leaving. Outside, Xu Xinnian and Second Uncle Xu met him, while Li Mubai and Zhang Shen invited him to join Cloud Deer Academy as a Confucian disciple.

• Xu Qi'an emerged from prison and revealed to Young Master Zhou that he was the supervisor's newest disciple as the Bureau of Astronomy's members gathered to demand his release.
• Minister Sun confirmed that the Bureau of Astronomy and the great scholars Li Mubai and Zhang Shen had come for Xu Qi'an, leaving Young Master Zhou and the thin old man stunned.
• Song Qing and the others secured Xu Qi'an's release, but Xu Qi'an stopped and smashed Zhou Li over the head with a cangue.
• Xu Qi'an challenged the thin old man to crush him like an ant, and the old man stayed frozen in front of the gathered officials and scholars.
• Xu Xinnian and Second Uncle Xu arrived, and Xu Xinnian thanked his teacher and Master Mubai for helping Xu Qi'an.
• Li Mubai and Zhang Shen invited Xu Qi'an to study the Confucian Dao at Cloud Deer Academy and offered to take him as a disciple.

Xu Qi'an accepted Li Mubai and Zhang Shen’s invitation to visit Cloud Deer Academy, then learned that Zhou Xianping backed the men behind the tax silver theft. He realized Zhou Xianping’s son had likely targeted him to take revenge for solving the case.

• Xu Qi'an agreed to visit Cloud Deer Academy after realizing Li Mubai and Zhang Shen wanted his poems, while Zhang Shen ordered Xu Xinnian to copy the sages’ sayings three hundred times.
• Xu Qi'an learned from Xu Xinnian that Virtue Realm Confucians could manipulate laws with their words, then asked Xu Xinnian to promise to use a grand phrase about his future Diaochan.
• Xu Qi'an went to the Star-Gazing Tower with Song Qing and met Chu Caiwei, who told him that Lu Changzhi and Zheng Xin had swapped the tax silver.
• Chu Caiwei revealed that Zhou Xianping was the men’s backer, and Xu Qi'an concluded that Zhou Xianping’s son had staged the confrontation to kill him in revenge for solving the tax silver case.

Xu Qi'an learned that Chu Caiwei could see his pale-red fate mixed with black Qi, then visited the Bureau of Astronomy and watched Song Qing successfully make fake silver. The alchemists credited the breakthrough to Xu Qi'an’s presence and asked him to explain it.

• Chu Caiwei explained how sorcerers used Qi-Watching and Healers’ ability to perceive fate, then saw that Xu Qi'an’s fate was pale red with black Qi.
• Xu Qi'an learned that a Ministry of Revenue official had impeached Vice Minister Zhou, but the emperor had set the memorial aside and two witnesses had killed themselves.
• Xu Qi'an invited Chu Caiwei to his home to try his cooking after she struggled to calculate the meal’s cost.
• Song Qing followed the experimental steps Xu Qi'an had supplied, and the Bureau of Astronomy’s alchemists successfully refined silver-like lumps from salt.
• Song Qing asked Xu Qi'an what had made the experiment succeed, and Xu Qi'an urged him to identify the key himself.

Xu Qi'an helped Song Qing and the Bureau of Astronomy's Alchemists understand voltage, then promised to share his secret alchemy manual in exchange for payment. At the Changle County yamen, Xu Lingyue learned how much the constables respected her brother and begged Xu Pingzhi to save him.

• Song Qing concluded that the failed alchemy technique had depended on the intensity of the lightning strike, and Xu Qi'an named the relevant measure voltage.
• Xu Qi'an explained voltage with a comparison to flowing water, and Song Qing and the other Alchemists eagerly accepted his explanation.
• Xu Qi'an promised to share his secret alchemy manual with the Bureau of Astronomy, insisting that its knowledge and his guidance required equivalent exchange.
• At the Changle County yamen, Head Constable Wang told Xu Lingyue that Xu Qi'an had refused to keep money taken from others and had earned the constables' respect.
• Xu Pingzhi and his son returned to the yamen and found Xu Lingyue and her younger sister safe, and Xu Lingyue begged her father to save Xu Qi'an.

After Xu Ningyan helped resolve the Zhou family affair with the support of Li Mubai and the Bureau of Astronomy, County Magistrate Zhu and Xu Lingyue realized his influence had grown. At the Star-Gazing Tower, Xu Ningyan proposed a new direction for Song Qing’s alchemy and received a powerful military crossbow, whose nature he wondered about.

• Xu Xinnian told County Magistrate Zhu that Xu Ningyan had brought in Li Mubai and the white-robed members of the Bureau of Astronomy to help settle the matter, astonishing the magistrate and Xu Lingyue.
• Xu Lingyue connected Li Mubai’s help to Xu Ningyan’s farewell poem for Xu Xinnian but remained puzzled about his ties to the Bureau of Astronomy.
• Xu Ningyan followed Song Qing into a secret chamber at the Star-Gazing Tower and saw a cat fused with a tree, which Song Qing had transformed through alchemy.
• Xu Ningyan suggested crossbreeding creatures and starting with plants, prompting Song Qing to eagerly ask for more details.
• Song Qing offered Xu Ningyan three gifts and described a military crossbow that could pierce some Qi Refining Realm defenses and threaten Spirit Refining Realm experts for three shots; Xu Ningyan asked if it was a Law Artifact.

Xu Qi'an learned about Law Artifacts and traded an alchemy technique to Song Qing for three of them, then encountered Duke Wei and his two companions at the Star-Gazing Tower. At the Xu residence, Lü'e urged Auntie to make winter clothes for Xu Qi'an, but Auntie refused before the steward announced that the master had returned.

• Song Qing explained how Formation Masters inscribed formations on Alchemists' creations to make Law Artifacts, and Xu Qi'an received a weapon, a heart-protecting mirror, and Bone-Eroding Heart-Scorching.
• Xu Qi'an taught Song Qing about plant grafting, exciting the alchemist, and left the Star-Gazing Tower carrying the three Law Artifacts.
• Xu Qi'an encountered Duke Wei and two young men on the stairs, felt hostility from the feminine young man, and continued on his way.
• Song Qing told Duke Wei that Xu Qi'an was a genius of alchemy who had taken the wrong path in cultivation.
• Lü'e asked Auntie to make winter clothes for Xu Qi'an, but Auntie refused, and the steward announced the master's return.

After Xu Qi'an rescued Xu Lingyue and Xu Lingyin, his family learned what had happened and Auntie showed her gratitude by including him in the winter clothes. Xu Qi'an returned home and told Xu Pingzhi and Xu Xinnian that Vice Minister Zhou was behind the tax silver case.

• Auntie learned that Xu Qi'an had saved Xu Lingyue and Xu Lingyin and been taken to the Ministry of Justice, then worried over him and ordered a winter garment made for him.
• Xu Qi'an returned to the residence, reflected on ways to gain power, and decided to rely on the Bureau of Astronomy and Cloud Deer Academy while investigating the tax silver case.
• Xu Qi'an teased Xu Lingyin as she practiced martial arts, then joined the family for dinner, where Xu Lingyue offered to make his winter clothes.
• Xu Qi'an called Xu Pingzhi and Xu Xinnian to the study and revealed that Vice Minister Zhou was the mastermind behind the tax silver case.

Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian discussed how to respond after learning Vice Minister Zhou was behind the tax silver case and had retaliated against the Xu family. They agreed that Zhou Li could be the pressure point, but Xu Qi'an said he had a further line of thought to offer.

• Xu Qi'an told Xu Pingzhi and Xu Xinnian that Chu Caiwei had identified Vice Minister Zhou as the mastermind behind the tax silver case.
• Xu Xinnian concluded that the emperor’s inaction likely reflected political factionalism and that Vice Minister Zhou’s rivals might pursue him during the Capital Evaluation.
• Xu Qi'an reasoned that Zhou Xianping had needed the stolen silver to address a shortfall connected to the Capital Evaluation.
• Xu Xinnian proposed targeting Zhou Li so the vice minister’s political enemies could use his son’s misconduct against him.
• Xu Qi'an said he could not give them a ready-made solution but could offer a line of thought, and Xu Pingzhi urged him to explain.

Xu Qi'an set Xu Xinnian and Xu Pingzhi to gather information on Zhou Li while he searched for a way to protect the Xu household. The next morning, he shared awkward and affectionate moments with his siblings before leaving home.

• Xu Qi'an explained that they should investigate Zhou Li before making plans, then assigned Xu Xinnian to gather information and Xu Pingzhi to watch the Zhou Residence.
• Xu Qi'an told Xu Xinnian that the family could flee the capital if necessary, and the brothers bickered over their shared bedding.
• Xu Lingyue opened her window and unexpectedly saw Xu Qi'an in the courtyard, then discussed how much kinder he had become with her maid, Lan'er.
• Xu Qi'an visited Xu Lingyin and taught her that boys grew up naughty while girls became crybabies.
• Xu Lingyin gleefully called herself a troublemaker, and Xu Qi'an quietly shut the door and left without breakfast.

Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian rode to Cloud Deer Academy, hoping to ask it to shelter the women of the Xu family from retaliation over the tax silver case. At the academy, its great scholars discussed how to revive students’ interest in the spring examination, but none could think of an effective approach.

• Xu Qi'an paid the breakfast stallholder extra after realizing the man was afraid to charge a yamen underling.
• Xu Qi'an got leave from County Magistrate Zhu, and Xu Xinnian prepared a scholar's robe for their visit to Cloud Deer Academy.
• The cousins rode toward Clear Cloud Mountain, and Xu Qi'an asked Xu Xinnian about the Sage and the Sage's lifespan.
• Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian planned to seek the academy's protection for the women of the Xu family against possible retaliation by the vice minister of revenue.
• Li Mubai, Zhang Shen, and Chen Tai discussed the academy students' waning interest in examinations and considered using poetry to encourage them.

Xu Qi'an sought the three great scholars' help protecting the women of the Xu Household from Vice Minister Zhou, and agreed to compose a poem to earn their support. His poem impressed the scholars, leaving them silently studying the verses.

• Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian visited Zhang Shen, Li Mubai, and Chen Tai to ask for the Xu women to stay safely at the academy.
• Chen Tai offered to protect the women if Xu Qi'an composed a poem on the subject of exhorting people to study that satisfied all three scholars.
• Xu Qi'an considered a famous poem but decided it might offend the Cloud Deer Academy, then asked Xu Xinnian to write down his own verses.
• Xu Xinnian wrote Xu Qi'an's poem about studying diligently while young and regretting delay in old age.
• The three great scholars hurried to the table and stared silently at the finished poem.

Xu Qi'an visited Cloud Deer Academy, where the great scholars praised his poem and explained ways to open a martial artist's Heavenly Gate. His poem was posted on the academy's bulletin board and inspired students to study harder, while the scholars lamented that Xu Pingzhi had sent Xu Qi'an into martial arts instead of Confucian study.

• The great scholars praised Xu Qi'an's poem, and Chen Tai offered Xu Xinnian a chance to study under him and remain in the capital after the spring examinations.
• Xu Qi'an asked the scholars to help open his Heavenly Gate, but they explained that Confucian scholars could not do so and described breathing methods and demon cores as alternative paths.
• Two study attendants posted Xu Qi'an's poem on the academy's bulletin board, where students read it and felt inspired to study diligently.
• The three great scholars concluded that Xu Qi'an had written the poem despite claiming to have abandoned his studies, and regretted that he had learned martial arts instead of cultivating the Confucian Dao.
• Li Mubai condemned Xu Pingzhi for choosing martial arts for Xu Qi'an when he was a child, and the other scholars agreed.

Li Mubai claimed credit for the unsigned poem urging study, provoking Zhang Shen and Chen Tai, while Zhao Shou discussed the empire’s troubles and refused the eldest princess’s call to enter officialdom. The chapter ended with a teacher reporting that Li Mubai, Zhang Shen, and Chen Tai had started fighting.

• Li Mubai added a note claiming that he had inspired the poem urging study, prompting Zhang Shen and Chen Tai to call him a shameless thief.
• The eldest princess asked Zhao Shou about the poem praising friendship, and he told her it had been written by a petty clerk from Changle County.
• The eldest princess urged Zhao Shou to enter officialdom and help repair Great Feng amid political failures, disasters, and threats from neighboring powers.
• Zhao Shou refused, saying the time had not yet come, and asked the eldest princess to leave.
• A teacher rushed in and reported that Li Mubai, Zhang Shen, and Chen Tai had started fighting.