Chapter Summaries

Commander Xu pursued Cai Shanjun while cultivating the president’s favor, and he learned that Liu Zhixiang would support him once Cai was eliminated. Encouraged by the promised military backing, Commander Xu resolved to patrol the ferry crossings every day until Cai died.

• Commander Xu misread a teacher’s recitation of Li Bai’s poem as an auspicious sign and rewarded him.
• Commander Xu and Adjutant Zhou discussed their alliance with the president and the benefits they expected from serving him.
• Meng Daizong warned Commander Xu that Cai Shanjun had not yet attempted to cross the river, despite being poisoned and weakened.
• Commander Xu exposed a black-clad ninja hiding behind a pillar, and Meng Daizong introduced him as one of the reinforcements.
• Commander Xu read Liu Zhixiang’s letter promising troops to support him after Cai Shanjun’s death and ordered daily inspections of the major ferry crossings.

Cai Shanjun and his companions attacked the guarded dock near Yuannan City, where Wu Bao’s men mistook their approaching car for the target’s and opened fire. The assault left the dock defenses under attack, and one of the attackers seized Wu Bao and accused him of betrayal.

• Chu Tianshu and Little Huo surveyed the dock’s defenses while Cai Shanjun decided the group would act that day.
• Cai Shanjun used his jade flute as Adjutant Zhou’s patrol approached, while Wu Bao waited eagerly for the major criminal to appear.
• Wu Bao’s men recognized the unfamiliar car and its occupants as their target, and Wu Bao ordered them to open fire.
• Three men burst from the speeding car as the soldiers shot the driver and the riders accompanying it.
• One attacker crushed the Madsen machine gun, grabbed Wu Bao by the throat, and accused him of betraying him.

Commander Xu and Adjutant Zhou fought the soldiers who had opened fire on their convoy, while Meng Daizong realized the men were trapped in Cai Shanjun’s illusion and sent ninjas after its source. The ninjas reached the woods where Chu Tianshu and Cai Shanjun waited, and killing intent descended.

• Commander Xu demanded that the soldiers surrender, but a grenade attack triggered a chaotic battle at the dock, killing Wu Laoliu.
• Meng Daizong learned from a ninja that Cai Shanjun’s illusion had fooled the ordinary soldiers, then ordered the ninjas to find and kill its source.
• The mouse in Meng Daizong’s cage chose a direction, and he sent a ninja to follow it toward the woods.
• Chu Tianshu watched the ninjas vanish from the road and prepared to meet them at the edge of the woods.
• Cai Shanjun played the Rainbow Cloud Flute as Chu Tianshu, Shopkeeper Ma, Little Huo, Old Yu, and Zhong Jinqiu held their positions.
• The ninjas entered the woods, where Chu Tianshu stood waiting as killing intent descended.

Chu Tianshu and his companions fought the concealed ninjas in the woods, using gunfire, spirit birds, talismans, and martial arts to expose and kill them. Chu Tianshu overwhelmed the attackers, but a ninja with an iron shield struck Little Huo and sent him flying.

• Little Huo fired six shots that exposed and wounded concealed ninjas, and Chu Tianshu killed several by striking through trees.
• Shopkeeper Ma used sparrow spirits to locate the ninjas, then unleashed talismans that blinded some of them with a burst of light.
• Old Yu and Zhong Jinqiu killed ninjas in the glare, but an exploding prosthetic limb wounded Old Yu with poisoned shrapnel.
• Chu Tianshu used his insight to find and kill the remaining ninjas, snapping one invisible katana and defeating the attackers with powerful blows.
• Shopkeeper Ma warned Little Huo of an attack, but an advancing iron shield deflected his bullets and slammed into him, sending him flying.

Chu Tianshu fought Meng Daizong while Cai Shanjun used his Mind Power to make a donkey knock Meng Daizong back. Chu Tianshu broke Meng Daizong’s saber with a ritual cord, and the chapter ended with Meng Daizong dead from a needle in his brain.

• Meng Daizong charged Cai Shanjun with a shield, but Cai Shanjun directed the donkey to kick him back.
• Chu Tianshu intercepted Meng Daizong and fought him as Meng Daizong attacked with his shield and saber.
• Chu Tianshu countered Meng Daizong’s assault with a powerful palm strike, but Meng Daizong spun and slashed at him.
• Chu Tianshu blocked the slash with a knotted ritual cord on his arm, shattering Meng Daizong’s saber.
• Adjutant Zhou called out to Chu Tianshu as Xu Youjiang rushed toward Meng Daizong, but Meng Daizong stopped rolling with a thick silver needle embedded in his brain.

Chu Tianshu and Xu Youjiang faced off in the woods while Zhong Jinqiu and Old Yu held Adjutant Zhou back. Xu Youjiang attacked by tearing down a tree and hurling it at Chu Tianshu.

• Zhong Jinqiu and Old Yu coordinated their attacks to force Adjutant Zhou to retreat, though his heavy armor kept their sabers from hurting him.
• Xu Youjiang recognized Chu Tianshu and taunted him and Cai Shanjun, while Chu pointed out how much Xu had exhausted himself fighting through the battlefield.
• Xu Youjiang reflected on his incomplete Skanda Body-Tempering Striking Art and questioned whether he could outlast Chu Tianshu.
• Chu warned that Adjutant Zhou would be vulnerable when he unleashed his strength, and Xu agreed to wait for the fight to develop.
• Xu Youjiang suddenly broke a tree with his fist, tore it free, and launched it at Chu Tianshu.

Chu Tianshu fought Commander Xu through a brutal close-quarters battle, using his medical knowledge to exploit a vulnerable sinew in Xu Youjiang’s foot. He killed Commander Xu by smashing his head against a boulder, then hurled the corpse toward the battlefield where Zhou was fighting.

• Chu Tianshu slid beneath the falling tree, used his shoulder to lever it against Commander Xu, and attacked him with silver needles and punches.
• Commander Xu endured Chu Tianshu’s blows with his hard-trained body, seized his arm, and gained the advantage in their grappling struggle.
• Chu Tianshu used Palm Thunder to meet Commander Xu’s hammering arms, then stomped the vulnerable sinew where Xu’s big toe joined his foot.
• As pain weakened Xu’s headbutt, Chu Tianshu kicked him into the air, grabbed his leg, and smashed his head against a boulder.
• Chu Tianshu swung Commander Xu’s corpse and hurled it toward the battlefield where Zhou was fighting.

Zhong Jinqiu and Old Yu killed Adjutant Zhou after Chu Tianshu distracted him with Commander Xu’s corpse, and the group escaped across the river. At a friendly regiment’s headquarters, Chu Tianshu discovered that his fate had overflowed, allowing him to bring material objects when he returned home.

• Adjutant Zhou was fatally wounded by Zhong Jinqiu after Old Yu forced him to block a powerful saber strike, and Chu Tianshu challenged his claim that victors made the rules.
• Chu Tianshu treated Little Huo’s displaced organs with internal force, and the group used a sailboat to cross the river.
• Cai Shanjun and the others discussed what they would choose to become as they traveled toward safety.
• The group reached Commander Xie’s regiment, where Cai Shanjun’s former students welcomed them and sent telegrams to Kunming.
• Chu Tianshu checked the token and found that his fate had overflowed, with the excess usable to bring material objects home.

Chu Tianshu gave Cai Shanjun prescriptions, including instructions for producing penicillin, then learned that he had to leave soon. Li Genyuan arrived and began drawing poison from Cai Shanjun before presenting Chu Tianshu with two secret manuals, including Record of Breaking into Shaolin.

• Chu Tianshu wrote down prescriptions and detailed instructions for producing penicillin, then brought his notes to Cai Shanjun.
• Cai Shanjun invited Chu Tianshu to teach at the Military Academy, but Chu Tianshu said his sect’s rules required him to leave within days.
• Cai Shanjun said his old friend Li Genyuan was coming with the promised secret manuals, and a swarm of white butterflies soon arrived with him.
• Li Genyuan used his Mind Power and butterflies to draw poison from Cai Shanjun, easing the need for some rare medicines.
• Li Genyuan gave Chu Tianshu copies of Secret Incantations of Vertical and Horizontal and Record of Breaking into Shaolin, which Chu Tianshu opened and read.

Chu Tianshu studied Yu Dayou’s boxing manual and watched Zhong Jinqiu demonstrate precise staff control before helping Cai Shanjun take a medicinal decoction. A telegram revealed that Liu Yanqi had moved against Liu Zhixiang in Bashu, and Cai Shanjun prepared to set out for Kunming as Chu Tianshu took his leave.

• Chu Tianshu read Yu Dayou’s boxing manual while Principal Li and the others went to prepare the medicinal decoction.
• Chu Tianshu learned that Shopkeeper Ma planned to teach at the Military Academy, while Zhong Jinqiu said he would join later and demonstrated how he controlled a staff with exceptional precision.
• Shopkeeper Ma brought the decoction, and Chu Tianshu examined it before Cai Shanjun drank it.
• Commander Xie delivered a telegram from Bashu, and Li Genyuan announced that Liu Yanqi had made his move against Liu Zhixiang.
• Cai Shanjun decided to travel to Kunming and send a nationwide telegram in support of Liu Yanqi, while Chu Tianshu promised to return with delicacies from his hometown.

Chu Tianshu returned home after two months in the Republic of China world, though only one month had passed at home, and reassured his family that his illness had improved. He noticed something wrong in his grandfather’s room and began investigating whether anyone had entered it.

• Chu Tianshu returned with ten gold bars, manuals, Iron Curse Copper Ropes, and soft gold-thread armor, and discovered a symbol that suggested he might eventually return to the Republic of China world.
• Second Grandpa Chu found Chu Tianshu at home and explained that he had been missing for a month, prompting Chu Tianshu to claim he had pursued and caught a Henggong Fish in the mountains.
• Second Grandpa Chu said he had filed a missing-person report and that Chief Lin had taken Chu Tianshu’s old phone; he called to close the case and retrieve it.
• Chu Tianshu noticed that something seemed wrong in his grandfather’s bedroom, but Second Grandpa Chu and Chief Lin both said they had not entered it.

Chu Tianshu discovered that the original Annotations on Ghost Gate Witch Medicine had been stolen and used a silver needle to trace the thief to Kong Wenju’s house. City bureau officers were already investigating Kong Wenju’s thefts, and Chu Tianshu called Brother Baisui after learning the suspect had fled.

• Chu Tianshu found Grandpa’s hidden compartment empty and realized the original Annotations on Ghost Gate Witch Medicine was missing.
• Chu Tianshu and Second Master Chu gathered traces left by the thief and used a silver needle to track the direction of the stolen book.
• Chief Lin drove Chu Tianshu and Second Master Chu toward the neighboring village as the silver needle pointed to a house there.
• Second Master Chu recognized the house as Kong Wenju’s, and Chu Tianshu learned that city bureau officers were investigating Kong Wenju for stealing antiques and ancient books.
• Chu Tianshu learned that Kong Wenju had sold his shop and fled, then borrowed Second Master Chu’s phone and called Brother Baisui.

Chu Tianshu learned that Kong Wenju had stolen his grandfather’s treasured manual and fled to Macau, so he arranged to pursue him there. While waiting for travel documents, Chu Tianshu practiced his fist art and studied the Secret Incantations of Vertical and Horizontal, his anger driving him to catch the thief himself.

• Lin Baisui questioned Chu Tianshu about disappearing for a month, and Chu Tianshu offered to share the manuals and artifacts he had found in a hidden cave.
• Chu Tianshu told Lin Baisui that Kong Wenju had stolen the original Annotations on Ghost Gate Witch Medicine, and Lin Baisui arranged to review the case with the authorities.
• Lin Baisui learned Kong Wenju had fled to Macau and agreed to arrange Chu Tianshu’s travel documents and temporary consultant status so he could help with the case.
• Chu Tianshu ate a large meal with Second Master Chu, who warned him not to gamble in Macau.
• Chu Tianshu practiced Palm Thunder for four hours, then began learning the Secret Incantations of Vertical and Horizontal while vowing to catch Kong Wenju and recover his grandfather’s keepsake.

Chu Tianshu arrived in Macau and joined Fang Jun to search for the phantom thief using a needle charged with sinister Qi. The needle struggled to find its target amid Macau’s competing feng shui fields, so Fang Jun drove them through the city, stopping to buy food.

• Chu Tianshu landed at Macau International Airport and met Fang Jun, an agent of the Macau Special Investigation Bureau, beside Fang Jun’s red sports car.
• Fang Jun drove Chu Tianshu through Macau as Chu used his needle to search for the phantom thief, but the city’s many tangled feng shui fields made tracking difficult.
• Fang Jun explained that the owners of Macau’s feng shui layouts often replaced one another, and Chu noted that the city’s disorder could encourage supernatural incidents.
• Fang Jun drove through cramped residential neighborhoods and praised the local food before parking beside a shop to buy something.

Chu Tianshu and Fang Jun followed the silver needle to a warehouse, where five armed men attacked them. After Chu Tianshu subdued the men, they learned the warehouse had been watched because an old man had ambushed Brother Yong there, and one thug offered to take them to Boss Hong.

• Chu Tianshu found that the silver needle pointed toward a warehouse across the sea, and Fang Jun drove him there.
• Chu Tianshu opened the warehouse door and kicked away a man who attacked him with a baseball bat.
• Chu Tianshu disarmed and injured the four other men with a sweeping strike, then held one at batpoint while Fang Jun identified himself as a special investigation team member.
• The thugs said they worked for Boss Hong and were guarding the warehouse after an old man ambushed Brother Yong there.
• One thug said he would take Chu Tianshu and Fang Jun to Boss Hong.

Chu Tianshu challenged Hong Ying to a dice game in exchange for information about the attack on Hong Yong. After Chu Tianshu won and demonstrated his skill, Hong Ying revealed that a mysterious intruder had taken away the old man who injured Hong Yong.

• Hong Ying pretended not to know how Hong Yong had been injured, then offered to share information if Fang Jun or Chu Tianshu faced him in a private gambling match.
• Chu Tianshu accepted Hong Ying’s challenge, and Hong Ying used his twenty-sided Beauty Die for a one-round contest.
• Hong Ying shook the die with Mind Power, but Chu Tianshu correctly guessed the character “heaven” by reading the die’s movements and sounds.
• Chu Tianshu demonstrated how he could spin the die silently inside the cup, impressing Hong Ying and winning the contest.
• Hong Ying said that another person had taken away the old man who injured Hong Yong, then identified the intruder as Western Poison, Ouyang...

Chu Tianshu and Fang Jun learned that the fugitive Zhu Heng believed himself to be the Western Poison and had abducted young men he imagined were his son. After tracking him to an unfinished development on Hengqin Island, Chu Tianshu used a megaphone to call him out.

• Chu Tianshu read that Zhu Heng had gone mad after his son and sister-in-law died, and believed himself to be the Western Poison seeking his crippled son.
• Hong Ying told Fang Jun and Chu Tianshu that Zhu Heng had escaped a psychiatric hospital and abducted several young men, while their wealthy families had hired people to find him on Hengqin Island.
• Chu Tianshu, Fang Jun, and Hong Ying searched an unfinished development, but the silver needle could not point them toward Zhu Heng.
• Chu Tianshu rejected the idea of disguising someone as Zhu Heng's son and instead shouted through a megaphone, challenging him to attend the Mount Hua Sword Tournament.

Chu Tianshu’s loudspeaker taunt led Zhu Heng to believe he was on Mount Hua and being challenged by the old beggar. Kong Wenju used poison to persuade Zhu Heng to enter the tournament, and Zhu Heng leaped away to face the challenge.

• Manager Wang and his crew realized Chu Tianshu’s Mount Hua Sword Tournament announcement might trick Zhu Heng by appealing to his delusions.
• Chu Tianshu broadcast a taunt as the old beggar, challenging Old Poison to meet him at the tournament.
• Zhu Heng struck a reinforced concrete wall and accepted Kong Wenju’s claim that the unfinished buildings around them were Mount Hua.
• Zhu Heng decided not to go at first, recalling a muddled history of business, fighting, and greed, and approached Kong Wenju.
• Kong Wenju breathed hallucinogenic poison at Zhu Heng and urged him to seek victory, so Zhu Heng leaped from the third floor and raced away.

Chu Tianshu confronted Zhu Heng on the roof of an unfinished building and sensed a powerful evil spirit’s presence in him. Their fierce fight sent both men down to the ground, where Chu Tianshu continued pursuing Zhu Heng.

• Fang Jun used the Special Investigation Bureau’s authority to stop dozens of hired fighters from entering the development.
• The old madman climbed the unfinished building’s bamboo scaffolding and reached the roof, where Zhu Heng confronted him.
• Chu Tianshu accused Zhu Heng of carrying a strong evil spirit’s presence and charged after Zhu Heng cut through the loudspeaker with his palm.
• Chu Tianshu’s Taiji spear technique knocked Zhu Heng off balance and sent him flying, but Zhu Heng caught a bamboo pole and slid safely down.
• Chu Tianshu broke free another bamboo pole and slid down after Zhu Heng to the ground.

Chu Tianshu defeated Zhu Heng in a brutal fight at the construction site, using his martial arts and the rebar to pierce Zhu Heng’s chest. After discovering that Zhu Heng had been fighting for his son, Chu Tianshu dispelled the weakened evil spirit and told him to confess his sins.

• Zhu Heng kicked up sand and dust, but Chu Tianshu cleared it with Mind Power and exposed him.
• Zhu Heng charged with his Cinnabar Demon-Subduing Great Hand Seal, and Chu Tianshu snapped the tendon in his wrist with a whip-like strike.
• Chu Tianshu threw Zhu Heng toward jutting rebar, but Zhu Heng used it as a pivot to attack with all four limbs.
• Chu Tianshu blocked Zhu Heng’s attacks and struck his chest repeatedly until the rebar pierced through him.
• Zhu Heng said he had wanted to win for his son, and Chu Tianshu guessed the son was on the third floor.
• Chu Tianshu recited the Nine-Syllable Mantra to shatter the weakened evil spirit and urged Zhu Heng to confess his sins.