Chapter Summaries

Qu Hongxiao began reading Clear Breeze and struggled against the Vast Righteous Qi within it, while Ye Fu spent the day teaching Hu Lan and tending to ordinary household matters. The chapter ended with Qin Sanyue carefully storing Hu Zhifu’s meal payment, which she treasured as a sign of Ye Fu’s trust and of her new life.

• Qu Hongxiao was struck by the Vast Righteous Qi in Clear Breeze and realized that Sir was a sage before the pear branch warned her not to let her mind wander.
• Ye Fu sensed that Qu Hongxiao was holding up in the little world, then shared breakfast with Hu Lan, who had skipped her meal to eat at his home.
• Ye Fu took Hu Lan to her lesson while Qin Sanyue planted flower seeds according to his instructions, though she had wanted to grow vegetables instead.
• Hu Zhifu visited the book house, paid double for Hu Lan’s meals, and told Qin Sanyue not to spoil his daughter and to give her chores.
• Qin Sanyue hid the meal money in her locked box, and Ye Fu understood that she treasured it as proof of his trust and of her present life.

Qu Hongxiao turned the final page of “Clear Breeze” and read a question that triggered a devastating collapse of her body and cultivation. As she disappeared into darkness, Ye Fu stood beneath the pear tree, unable to tell what had happened to her.

• Qu Hongxiao sensed the final page’s immense pressure, feared she might die, and decided to face it without asking Ye Fu to intervene.
• Qu Hongxiao turned the page and read, “The mortal world holds ten thousand upon ten thousand affairs. Where among them are you?”
• A robin reappeared, entered Qu Hongxiao’s body, and vanished as blood poured from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
• Qu Hongxiao lost awareness and moved through darkness until she could no longer perceive her own existence.
• Ye Fu stood silently beneath the pear tree as it comforted him, and he sighed over Qu Hongxiao’s fate.

Qu Hongxiao reflected on what she had learned during five days of reading "Clear Breeze" in the wooden cabin and on how she had awakened after her consciousness collapsed. Wearing Qin Sanyue’s clothes, she remained in the courtyard, contemplating her new understanding.

• Qu Hongxiao stood in the courtyard and watched the moon sink, staying long past the time she should have left.
• Qu Hongxiao wore one of Qin Sanyue’s two sets of clothes and learned that Ye Fu had made them to aid cultivation and clear the mind.
• Qu Hongxiao realized that reading "Clear Breeze" had revealed why her heart had shattered, why she had not reached Spirit Severing, and what her master on Camel Bell Mountain had said she lacked.
• Qu Hongxiao recalled how light, sound, speech, movement, and understanding had led her to form answers to the teacher’s question in the dark void.

Qu Hongxiao returned from five days of reading with her cultivation restored, sage aptitude, and a new golden bird in her Dantian, then reunited with Ye Fu. As celestial signs gathered over Black Stone City, dormant presences throughout the city began to awaken.

• Qu Hongxiao returned beneath the pear tree with her seal undone, her cultivation restored, and a lotus blooming on her Golden Core.
• Ye Fu welcomed Qu Hongxiao back, and she thanked him before asking why he kept his hair short; he said it was easy to wash.
• A white-haired youth atop Black Stone City's gate discussed the celestial signs and the disappearance of two fate stars with a woman.
• As night fell, dormant presences stirred across Black Stone City, and unusual changes appeared in trees, a deity statue, animals, objects, and Zhou Ruosheng's jade pendant.

After the grand curtain opened and restricted spiritual power, Qu Hongxiao walked through Black Stone City toward the Three Flavors Study and encountered many tree cutters seeking opportunities. She met Qin Sanyue in the rain and shared her umbrella with her.

• Qu Hongxiao discovered she could no longer circulate Spiritual Qi, but sensed a faint stream of Vast Righteous Qi moving through her meridians.
• Qu Hongxiao walked openly through the city as tree cutters gathered to seek fortuitous opportunities, and people recognized her and made way.
• Qu Hongxiao observed the stars forming the grand curtain’s formation and considered how competition would intensify as the restraints weakened.
• Qu Hongxiao met Qin Sanyue, who had gone out to buy soy sauce without an umbrella, and sheltered her from the rain.

Hu Lan’s teacher, Ye Fu, removed an ancient consciousness from the mark on her forehead before it could possess her, prompting its followers to send for help. At the Cloth Robe Workshop, Zhong Suihua faced an alluring young woman who insisted on buying a piece of cloth used to cover merchandise.

• Hu Lan discovered a black mark between her eyebrows and covered it with a silk scarf before going to Ye Fu’s school for breakfast.
• Ye Fu recognized that an ancient consciousness inside the mark planned to seize Hu Lan’s body.
• Ye Fu wiped away the mark and destroyed the consciousness, and Hu Lan excitedly confirmed it was gone.
• A robed man sensed the old ancestor’s presence disappear and sent a metal bird to summon help.
• Zhong Suihua tried to dissuade a young woman from buying a rough piece of cloth, but the woman insisted.

In Black Stone City, a youth and a tall woman sought a bolt of gray cloth, but the youth became fixated on Zhong Suihua’s handkerchief, which he recognized as an object of extraordinary craftsmanship. Zhong Suihua refused to sell it, and the youth left the shop wondering about its significance.

• A loose-haired woman and the youth both asked Zhong Suihua for the gray cloth, but the youth persuaded the woman to give way by telling her where to find a hairpin she wanted.
• The youth noticed Zhong Suihua’s red handkerchief and urgently offered to buy it, but she refused because it was precious to her.
• The tall woman stopped the youth from offering pills and other rewards, warning him that the Forest Guardians could kill him.
• Zhong Suihua closed her shop early, while the youth told the tall woman that the handkerchief’s heavenly craftsmanship had made the gray cloth seem worthless.

After being rescued by Qin Sanyue, the white-haired young man woke in the Three Flavors Study and recognized Qu Hongxiao, prompting him to try to flee despite his injuries. Ye Fu told Qin Sanyue to let him decide whether he wanted help, leaving the young man kneeling on the floor as Qin Sanyue questioned him.

• Qin Sanyue explained that she had found the unconscious young man in the rain and brought him to the Three Flavors Study.
• The young man woke, thanked Qin Sanyue, and saw Ye Fu working in the doorway.
• The young man recognized Qu Hongxiao beneath the pear tree and feared facing her while injured.
• The young man tried to leave but collapsed from dizziness, and Qin Sanyue caught him.
• Ye Fu told Qin Sanyue to ask whether the young man wanted her help.

Qu Hongxiao drove away the white-haired young man, while Ye Fu reassured Qin Sanyue and sent her to buy a carving knife. Zhong Suihua left her shop early, convinced that unusual cultivators had come to Black Stone City and that Ye Fu’s handkerchief held magical power.

• Qu Hongxiao warned the white-haired young man to stay away from the Three Flavors Study, and he left feeling humiliated.
• Qu Hongxiao returned to the pear tree while Qin Sanyue apologized to Ye Fu for her earlier kindness to the young man.
• Ye Fu told Qin Sanyue to make sure people needed help before assisting them, then asked her to buy a carving knife.
• Zhong Suihua closed the Cloth Robe Workshop early after suspecting the strangers in Black Stone City were Immortal cultivators.
• Zhong Suihua clutched Ye Fu’s handkerchief, which she believed had magical qualities, and hurried home.

Qin Sanyue found Zhong Suihua dead in an alley and realized the tall woman beside her had murdered her. The killer turned toward Qin Sanyue as she cried out for help.

• Zhong Suihua avoided strangers as she walked home through the rain, but the tall woman from the shop appeared in the alley and strangled her.
• The tall woman took Zhong Suihua’s red handkerchief, then dropped her body and wondered whether the Forest Guardians would retaliate.
• Qin Sanyue found an expensive umbrella blown into her path and went around the wall to return it.
• Qin Sanyue saw Zhong Suihua’s corpse beside the tall woman and screamed, “Murder!”