Chapter Summaries

Xu Fang murdered Bai Mudan and Chun’er, but Second Master Zhao killed him and buried the bodies in his courtyard. More than ten days later, lightning revived Fang Yu, who took Second Master Zhao’s clothes and headed home as Xu Fang.

• Xu Fang broke into Bai Mudan’s courtyard, killed Chun’er and Bai Mudan, and dragged Bai Mudan’s body into the house.
• Second Master Zhao returned, killed Xu Fang during an ambush, and found Bai Mudan dead.
• Second Master Zhao buried Bai Mudan separately and placed Chun’er and Xu Fang together in another pit, then left without reporting the deaths.
• Lightning struck the courtyard repeatedly, and Fang Yu emerged from the ground with his body restored.
• Fang Yu put on Second Master Zhao’s clothes, took an umbrella, and headed home, intending to return as Xu Fang.

Fang Yu discovered that the world’s Heavenly Dao left most of his cultivation techniques and the Yuanchen Pearl’s powers unusable, so he turned to martial training. By spending the Pearl’s remaining Primordial Qi, he broke through to the ninth-rank Village Brave and resolved to let the Pearl slowly recharge.

• Fang Yu returned to his home, spoke with Xiao Jiumei, and learned that Cui'er and Brother Qing had been looking for him.
• Fang Yu tested his abilities and found that he could not use immortal cultivation, divination, or most of the Yuanchen Pearl’s powers in this world.
• Fang Yu recalled Xu Fang’s past, including his gambling father Xu Bao, his martial-talented sister Xu Ying, and his death at Second Master Zhao’s hands.
• Fang Yu practiced Leopard Fist but found that Xu Fang’s weak aptitude made controlling Qi and Blood difficult.
• Fang Yu used the Yuanchen Pearl’s remaining Primordial Qi to strengthen his Qi and Blood, reaching the ninth-rank Village Brave.
• Fang Yu found that the Pearl’s stored Primordial Qi was exhausted and decided to let it slowly gather sun and moon essence.

Fang Yu advanced to Ninth Grade and learned that Demon Beast meat was essential for strengthening his body and charging the Yuanchen Pearl. After training and tracking his progress, he left home to seek more meat, considering his father, Xu Ning, and his sister Xu Ying as possible sources.

• Fang Yu practiced the Leopard Fist and told Xiao Jiumei that he had broken through to Ninth Grade.
• Xiao Jiumei gave Fang Yu a piece of silver snake meat, which replenished his Qi and Blood and let the Yuanchen Pearl store Primordial Qi.
• Fang Yu trained for two hours, studied the Leopard Fist manual, and began tracking his martial arts and Pearl progress with percentages.
• Fang Yu finished the silver snake meat and decided to seek more, weighing Xu Bao, Xu Ning, and Xu Ying as potential suppliers.

Fang Yu visited Xu Ying to ask for Demon Beast meat after breaking through, then obtained a piece of mountain deer meat and set out to collect the Zhao Household’s promised reward. He recruited Zhou Daqing and several ruffians to accompany him to confront Second Master Zhao and demand that he hand over Fang Yu’s sweetheart.

• Fang Yu found Xu Ying at Four Seas Hall and told her he had broken through, but she struck him into a wall before acknowledging his progress.
• Fang Yu asked Xu Ying for Demon Beast meat to temper his muscles and bones, and she gave him a piece of mountain deer meat while offering to arrange more at an internal price.
• Fang Yu ate a little of the meat, which helped heal his injuries, then headed to Second Master Zhao’s residence to collect the one hundred taels promised by the Second Madam.
• Fang Yu decided to prepare before confronting Second Master Zhao and found Zhou Daqing and four other ruffians shaking down a teahouse proprietor.
• Fang Yu asked Zhou Daqing and the others to back him up as he went to demand that Second Master Zhao hand over his sweetheart, and they agreed to go with him.

Fang Yu barged into the Zhao residence and extorted Second Master Zhao for silver and Cui'er's deed of sale by threatening to expose the buried bodies. After securing both, he freed Cui'er and told her to leave with him.

• Fang Yu gathered a group of ruffians outside the Zhao residence and pushed his way inside to confront Second Master Zhao.
• Second Master Zhao attacked Fang Yu, but Fang Yu blocked the punch and revealed he had advanced to the ninth grade.
• Fang Yu threatened to expose the bodies buried in the courtyard unless Second Master Zhao and Second Madam paid him eleven hundred taels and gave him Cui'er's deed of sale.
• Second Master Zhao returned with eleven hundred taels in silver notes and Cui'er's deed of sale, and Fang Yu verified both.
• Fang Yu gave Cui'er her deed and told her to pack her things and leave with him as a free woman.

Fang Yu took Cui'er to eat with the ruffians and revealed that he had become a Village Brave when he defended her from Sun Laizi. After Fang Yu and Zhou Daqing's side won the ensuing brawl, the ruffians welcomed him as their leader.

• Fang Yu brought Cui'er and the ruffians to an eatery and paid for their meal.
• After drinking, Fang Yu told Sun Laizi that he could take Cui'er home, and Cui'er angrily rejected the offer.
• Sun Laizi tried to grab Cui'er, but she smashed a wine jar over his head.
• When Sun Laizi charged at Cui'er, Fang Yu kicked him into a table and revealed he had become a Village Brave.
• Sun Laizi called on his allies to attack Fang Yu, and Zhou Daqing and the other ruffians joined the fight; afterward, they praised Fang Yu and pledged to follow him.

Fang Yu settled plans to marry Jiang Yue and bought a small residence near North Peace Avenue, where he prepared to begin his new household. After moving in, he brewed tea made from leaves stored in the Mirror-Breaking Pearl and discovered it had acquired a distinctive flavor.

• Fang Yu told Jiang Yue to keep quiet about Bai Mudan's death and promised to marry her and buy a residence.
• Jiang Yue introduced herself to Xiao Jiumei by her real name, and Xiao Jiumei welcomed her and gave her a jade bangle.
• Fang Yu chose a modest wedding and planned to buy a single-courtyard home near North Peace Avenue.
• Fang Yu and Jiang Yue bought a courtyard residence in Huliu Alley for six hundred and thirty taels, then furnished it.
• Fang Yu brewed tea from leaves stored in the Mirror-Breaking Pearl and found that it had developed a distinctive flavor.

Fang Yu celebrated his wedding when Xu Ning arrived with a generous gift and offered him a post with the Embroidered Robe Bureau. Fang Yu accepted the token but feared the deadly risks of the work.

• Fang Yu held a modest wedding feast attended by ruffians and hooligans, while his family stayed away.
• Xu Ning arrived with Sun Laizi and presented Fang Yu with ten taels of silver, easing his displeasure over Fang Yu’s failure to visit him.
• Fang Yu and Sun Laizi made peace after Sun Laizi apologized and drank three bowls of wine.
• Xu Ning offered Fang Yu a deputy post gathering information about the streets for the Embroidered Robe Bureau and handed him a Scarlet Robe token.
• Fang Yu recognized the bureau’s deadly reputation and resented being recruited, but did not dare confront the stronger Xu Ning.

Fang Yu began his duties as a Scarlet Robe agent and received an assignment to help find three people from the Hui Kingdom. He recruited Scholar Zhang to copy their portraits and left the story with Zhang demanding payment up front.

• Fang Yu reported to the yamen and was introduced as Xu Ning’s assistant to the gathered hired hands.
• Xu Ning gave Fang Yu portraits of three wanted Hui Kingdom people and told him to watch the streets for them.
• Fang Yu invited the hired hands to the Golden Branch Pavilion, but Xu Ning declined because he had to investigate a death in the east city.
• Fang Yu sent Sun Laizi to find Scholar Zhang, then asked the scholar to make twenty copies of each portrait for six hundred cash.
• Scholar Zhang examined the portraits and held out his hand, demanding payment first.

Fang Yu prepared his men to identify three dangerous Hui Barbarians by commissioning copies of their portraits, then went with them to the Golden Branch Pavilion to watch for them. The group was seated in a side corner, where they waited to see the Exquisite Jade.

• Fang Yu paid Scholar Zhang to copy a picture of the three Hui Barbarians and told Zhou Daqing to distribute the portraits to the hired hands.
• Fang Yu bought five jin of mountain deer meat from Shopkeeper Hu and stored it in the Mirror-Breaking Pearl.
• Fang Yu warned the hired hands that the Hui Barbarians were dangerous, but they dismissed his warning and struggled to remember their faces.
• Scholar Zhang finished sixty copies, and Fang Yu led the group to the Golden Branch Pavilion, where Madam Liu seated them at two tables in a side corner.

Fang Yu watched a storyteller recount how Grand Ancestor Xiao Riyue founded Great Long, then considered the rare resources and martial arts needed to advance beyond his current skills. Exquisite Jade appeared onstage, leaving Fang Yu captivated but unable to afford a night with her.

• Fang Yu observed the Golden Branch Pavilion's guests behave cautiously under the brothel's powerful backing.
• An elderly storyteller recounted how Xiao Riyue defeated the eight great Demon Kings and founded Great Long.
• Fang Yu reflected that advancing beyond Leopard Fist would require a higher-grade martial art and scarce Demon King meat.
• Exquisite Jade appeared onstage and captivated Fang Yu with her beauty and singing.
• Fang Yu realized he could not afford Exquisite Jade's thousand-tael fee and resolved to make money.

After a month of training and searching for people, Fang Yu learned that Sun Laizi had been murdered and was assigned to investigate the case. He found a hidden wound on the corpse and questioned the night watchman about when and how he had found it.

• Fang Yu continued practicing Leopard Fist and looking for people while considering ways to earn money.
• Zhou Daqing told Fang Yu that Sun Laizi had been beaten to death and described how a night watchman found the body.
• Xu Ning left Fang Yu in charge of Sun Laizi's case before going to the yamen.
• Fang Yu examined Sun Laizi's corpse and spotted a wound behind the heart that suggested he had been stabbed through.
• Fang Yu questioned the night watchman about the time he found the body and whether Sun Laizi had been naked.

Fang Yu investigated Sun Laizi’s death only far enough to satisfy Xu Ning, then blamed the murder on wanted criminal Chu Qiantu with fabricated witnesses. Xu Ning accepted the account and pressed Fang Yu to keep searching for three Hui Barbarians, leaving that investigation unresolved.

• Fang Yu questioned the night watchman and ordered Zhou Daqing to take Sun Laizi’s body to his home and summon his associates.
• Sun Laizi’s associates said they had last seen him the previous day and speculated that he might have gone to the Golden Branch Pavilion, but Fang Yu dismissed the idea.
• Fang Yu gave Zhou Daqing silver for Sun Laizi’s coffin and told him to fetch wanted notices so they could choose a criminal to blame.
• Fang Yu selected Chu Qiantu’s notice and later told Xu Ning that Chu Qiantu had killed Sun Laizi, claiming their own men had witnessed it.
• Xu Ning approved the account and said he would close the case, then asked Fang Yu about the search for the three Hui Barbarians.

Fang Yu investigated the suspicious man he noticed at Sun Laizi’s funeral and discovered that Liu Dachui had killed Sun Laizi to protect Qiao Jie. After finding the murder weapon and returning Sun Laizi’s clothes, Fang Yu left Liu Dachui’s family with silver, while the Embroidered Robe Bureau’s demand for scapegoats remained unresolved.

• At Sun Laizi’s funeral, Fang Yu noticed Liu Dachui acting strangely and sent Zhou Daqing to learn who he was.
• Fang Yu followed traces of Sun Laizi’s blood from Liu Dachui’s courtyard to where the body had been dumped, confirming Liu Dachui’s involvement.
• Fang Yu overheard Liu Dachui comforting Qiao Jie and realized Sun Laizi had likely targeted her.
• Fang Yu found the flying dagger used to kill Sun Laizi and discovered Sun Laizi’s clothes hidden in a chest.
• Fang Yu put the clothes away, left a tael of silver for Liu Dachui’s family, and departed.

Fang Yu broke through to the second layer of Leopard Fist and became an Eighth-Grade Martial Soldier, but his increased need for Demon Beast meat left him searching for a steady income. After spotting a Hui Kingdom fugitive riding with Sun Hu, he decided to sell the information to the Embroidered Robe Office without revealing himself.

• Fang Yu burned the clothes linked to Liu Dachui's murder and concluded that the owner of the throwing knife was the real killer, but chose not to investigate further.
• After three months of practice, Fang Yu used the Mirror-Breaking Pearl to break through to the second layer of Leopard Fist and became an Eighth-Grade Martial Soldier.
• Fang Yu realized that his increased appetite meant he needed three hundred taels of silver a month and considered ways to earn it.
• Fang Yu spotted a Hui Kingdom fugitive sought by the Embroidered Robe Office traveling in a carriage with Sun Hu.
• Fang Yu decided to sell the valuable information for a large payment and began planning how to collect the money without exposing himself.

Gu Shan abandoned his meeting with the Sun Household after sensing that the Embroidered Robe Bureau had discovered him. Sun Ren concluded that Gu Shan had truly been followed, then received a threatening letter demanding gold and ordered Sun Hu to prepare ten thousand taels as a test of the bureau.

• Gu Shan sensed danger on Anping Avenue, left Sun Hu’s carriage, and canceled his visit to the Sun residence.
• Sun Hu told Sun Ren that Gu Shan might have used the bureau as leverage, but Sun Ren reasoned that a hidden purple robe had actually discovered him.
• A letter addressed to Sun Hu warned that his dealings with Hui Kingdom had come to light and demanded one thousand taels of gold within three days.
• Sun Hu proposed that the demand was meant to disrupt the deal, gather evidence, or extort the Sun Household.
• Sun Ren ordered Sun Hu to prepare ten thousand taels and bury it at the specified spot, intending to test whether the Embroidered Robe Bureau would take the money.

Fang Yu discovered that a Purple Robe Master could sense his Divine Thought and decided to keep it subdued around martial artists. He later found ten thousand taels of gold stored in the new general goods shop, but the guards and onlookers left him unsure how to take it.

• Fang Yu learned that the Liu Household had bought the land and was cutting down the willow tree to build a general goods shop.
• Fang Yu sensed Xiao Sheng, a Purple Robe Master, and scanned his Qi and Blood before lowering his Divine Thought to avoid detection.
• Fang Yu concluded that Masters could sense Divine Thought and that scanning them could reveal their martial arts techniques.
• Fang Yu returned to the site and saw a shop named "Sun's North-South General Goods" built where the tree had stood.
• Fang Yu detected ten thousand taels of gold inside a chest delivered to the shop, but noticed powerful guards and chatted with Zhou Daqing while considering how to take it.

Xiao Sheng and Xiao Ming suspected a Grandmaster was involved in the Sun Household’s deal with the Hui Kingdom, so they planned to extort money while continuing their investigation. Fang Yu was ordered to publicize the search for three Hui Barbarians after Xu Ning was executed, and he saw a chance to use the assignment to claim the gold stored at the general store.

• Xiao Sheng told Xiao Ming that a Grandmaster had watched him, and they decided to demand a hundred thousand taels from the Sun Household while secretly continuing their investigation.
• Fang Yu stopped lingering near the general store and headed toward a teahouse frequented by Zhou Daqing and the others.
• Xiao Qi brought Fang Yu to a courtyard and showed him Xu Ning’s corpse, explaining that Xu Ning had been executed for mishandling his duties.
• Xiao Qi ordered Fang Yu to make a public show of searching for three Hui Barbarians and gave him a ten-tael gold ingot for expenses.
• Fang Yu carried Xu Ning’s corpse away and realized he could use the public search to get the gold from the general store into his own hands.

Fang Yu used the Embroidered Robe Bureau assignment and its funds to recruit Xu Ning’s former hired hands and other local toughs to search for three Hui Kingdom men. After sending the searchers through Bei'an Prefecture City, he found the general store holding ten thousand taels of gold had been left unguarded.

• Sun Hu told Sun Ren that Xiao Ming demanded another hundred thousand taels in banknotes, and Sun Ren agreed to pay while withdrawing the men guarding the general store.
• Fang Yu delivered Xu Ning’s corpse to his family, then recruited Zhou Daqing and Xu Ning’s former hired hands by revealing his Embroidered Robe Bureau badge and promising them protection and money.
• Fang Yu distributed coins to the hired hands and other local toughs, then gave them portraits of three Hui Kingdom suspects and offered a hundred taels for reliable information.
• The searchers spread through the streets and alleys, asking residents if they had seen the men, while Fang Yu headed toward the general store.
• Fang Yu noticed that everyone had vanished from around the general store, leaving its ten thousand taels of gold unguarded.

Fang Yu stole ten thousand taels of gold from the general store and methodically checked reports about the missing Hui men, exposing false eyewitnesses with misleading portraits. While Sun Ren arranged to recruit Fang Yu, Fang Yu discovered Sun Household agents watching a genuine witness and continued toward the witness’s home without revealing his suspicions.

• Fang Yu used the Mirror-Breaking Pearl to take the gold from the unwatched general store, exhausting his stored Primordial Qi.
• Fang Yu tested an old man's claim with a portrait of the wrong Hui man, confirmed the report was false, and crossed it out.
• Sun Hu told Sun Ren that the gold and banknotes were gone and that Xiao Ming planned to investigate the Sun Household's dealings with the Hui Kingdom.
• Sun Ren ordered Sun Hu to bring Xu Fang onto their side before the Embroidered Robe Bureau could find Gu Shan and the others.
• After days of checking reports, Fang Yu sensed Sun Household agents near a genuine eyewitness's home, then used another misleading portrait to dismiss the witness's report and moved on.