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ghost_valley2021-12-24 09:15 am
shadaras) wrote in ghost_valley2021-12-24 09:15 am
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[WoH Rewatch] Episode 28
Merry Christmas (Eve) to those who celebrate. :) This episode is totally seasonally appropriate, since it’s a holiday episode! Very much about holidays!
List of Scenes
Han Ying reports to Prince Jin about how his team died
Xie-wang listens to Zhao Jing and Duan Pengju discuss a potential alliance
Han Ying sneaks into Prince Jin’s study and finds a piece of glazed armor and a letter
Zhao Jing is drunk and talks to Xie-wang about their relationship and alliance plans
Prince Jin receives confirmation that Han Ying is betraying him
Han Ying talks to ZZS’s flower painting and swears himself to ZZS again
DPJ and Du Pusa flirt, then Xie-wang shows up and offers his aid in collecting the glazed armor
A variety of quick New Years preparation scenes
Chengling fails to kill a chicken
GX expects to be alone for the holiday but then CWN, his shishu, and his shixiong come join her
Zhao Jing is very rude to memorial tablets
Xie-wang sees Zhao Jing’s trophies next to their memorial tablets
ZZS, WKX, and Chengling begin eating dinner and have feelings about how nice it is to celebrate together
Fireworks!
WKX and ZZS drink and send Chengling to look at fireworks
Chengling finds Han Ying in the courtyard
Han Ying tells ZZS he’d die for him, and also about what he found in Prince Jin’s study
Timeline or Something
Time definitely passes, because Han Ying needs enough time to travel from Jin to Siji Manor. That amount of time (which feels like it should be at least a week, if not multiple weeks, though that isn’t borne out in dialogue) is the length of time this episode takes place over. It’s “almost the end of the year” when Han Ying reports to Prince Jin, and it’s the evening of Spring Festival/New Years celebration when Han Ying arrives at Siji Manor.
Recap
Prince Jin sits in his hall, examining a (presumably fake) piece of glazed armor by candlelight. Han Ying comes to report to him, and is carried in on a stretcher. Prince Jin tells Han Ying not to get up, then asks what happened and why he’s been out of contact. Han Ying says his team was ambushed by the Scorpions and everyone else was killed.
Han Ying pulls out a Scorpion knife to prove to Prince Jin that his story is true. On a rewatch, in the conversation where Prince Jin’s like “This is unbelievable” and Han Ying’s like “There might be spies in Tianchuang!” it feels so much more like Prince Jin knows what’s going on than I remember feeling on a first watch. To be fair, on my first watch I think I was also going “...right, okay, I remember who these people are” because it’s been a while since we’ve seen either of them.
Prince Jin says that Duan Pengju is on his way to Jiangnan, because Han Ying was gone for so long DPJ worried about him and went to investigate in person. We also learn that Han Ying brought back the glazed armor Prince Jin was examining, and then Prince Jin dismisses Han Ying and the scene ends.
Xie-wang listens outside the door to Zhao Jing’s hall. Duan Pengju is talking to Zhao Jing, thanking him for the information about the Armory’s key being hidden in Ghost Valley. Zhao Jing feeds him a story about Gao Chong’s collusion with Ghost Valley meaning that Ghost Valley has the missing pieces of glazed armor, and Duan Pengju says that people of the jianghu clearly know more about this matter than he does.
Zhao Jing also asls DPJ not to blame the whole Five Lakes Alliance for Gao Chong’s failings, and DPJ says that he expects his alliance with Zhao Jing to be fruitful in the future. They continue flattering each other, and DPJ hints that Zhao Jing may gain great titles if he helps Prince Jin enough.
Back in the Prince’s palace, Han Ying sneaks around. Other members of Tianchuang are watching him, but Han Ying doesn’t notice. He breaks into a secret compartment in Prince Jin’s study and pulls out a box with a piece of glazed armor inside, then notices a letter addressed to Prince Jin on the table. The scene cuts before he reads it.
Zhao Jing is drunk at the table after dinner with DPJ (who has left at this point). Xie-wang enters the room and, after Zhao Jing says they should drink jiu together, dismisses the servants to go make tea.
Zhao Jing asks Xie-wang to guess who has Long-tongued Ghost’s piece of glazed armor. He doesn’t let Xie-wang guess before saying it’s with Tianchuang, and then saying that Tianchuang and Prince Jin are going to collaborate with him. Zhao Jing says Prince Jin’s army will be of great use wiping out Ghost Valley.
Xie-wang takes a tea tray from a servant. Before he can offer it, Zhao Jing asks if Xie-wang is still angry with him. Still not giving Xie-wang time to speak, Zhao Jing says he’ll apologise, says “Sorry,” and then offers to pour tea for Xie’er. Xie-wang sets the tray down and pours tea for Zhao Jing instead. As he offers the cup, he tells Zhao Jing that since his yifu saved his life and educated him, Zhao Jing can do whatever he wants to him and Xie’er won’t complain.
But Xie-wang still wants to know if Zhao Jing meant what he’d said about Xie-wang disappointing him and Zhao Jing not considering their father-son relationship anymore. Zhao Jing dismisses that as “angry words” that didn’t mean anything, and takes the tea. Zhao Jing believes that people who’re close to each other just hurt each other like that sometimes.
Xie-wang keeps pressing about what Zhao Jing would do if Xie-wang really hurt him. Zhao Jing drags Xie-wang down to sit next to him, then calls him “little barbarian again” and says they’ve been depending on each other since Zhao Jing brought Xie’er home. So Zhao Jing will stand by Xie-wang and handle any problem that comes together with him. When Xie’er asks, Zhao Jing says he means this, and that Zhao Jing will be there for Xie’er.
Then Xie-wang says it’s a good thing Prince Jin will work with them. Zhao Jing calls this a gamble, and tells Xie-wang they need to reassure DPJ before further discussion of the collaboration. Zhao Jing wants to be careful about not backing the wrong horse, since Prince Jin is plotting treason and punishments about failed treason are nasty. Xie-want says he’s not afraid, and that if Zhao Jing takes a noble title then nobody can say bad things about them.
Zhao Jing says Xie’er reminds him of himself when he was younger, but he’s more risk-averse now. He reminds Xie-want not to act rashy, and says he wants stability and to wait to make sure Prince Jin will succeed before allying fully with him. Xie-wang says that by that point, Prince Jin will have too many other potential allies. Xie-wang offers a plan to spare Zhao Jing future trouble, one that relies on how Xie-wang doesn’t have anything to lose.
Xie-wang’s plan hinges on the fact that the public doesn’t know Zhao Jing and Xie-wang’s private relationship. Xie-wang suggests he pledge himself (and thus his Scorpions) to Prince Jin to help gather all the glazed armor. The rewards could be Zhao Jing’s, but the penalties would only be Xie-wang’s.
A subordinate reports to Prince Jin, telling him that Han Ying indeed plans to betray him—just as Prince Jin expected. This subordinate had someone tail Han Ying after he found the glazed armor, and says he went to ZZS’s place and hasn’t yet returned. Prince Jin says not to arrest Han Ying yet, but use him as bait to lure in some fishes. He dismisses his subordinate, and then praises ZZS’s capability and how there are still people working for him. Prince Jin wonders how many plans ZZS has prepared against him. (Not knowing that the answer is “None” because ZZS doesn’t care.)
Han Ying is in ZZS’s Tianchuang rooms, next to the nice flower painting with only one white bloom. He’s got one of those cool light pearls. He’s also talking to ZZS, saying he knows why Prince Jin wants the glazed armor: ZZS’s wounds can be cured if he finds all the pieces of glazed armor. Han Yin brushes his hand over the last remaining white flower as he says he’ll risk his life to collect the glazed armor for ZZS.
The scene cuts to DPJ and Du Pusa. She’s playfully scolding him for not seeing him before talking to Zhao Jing, and wondering how she should punish him. This scene is so sexually charged and uncomfortable because of it. DPJ says he didn’t know she was in Yueyang, and that he was thinking of visiting her and Xie-wang in Hu after finishing up here. Prince Jin’s apparently heard that Xie-wang’s improved his thaumaturgy (奇术, qi shu) and would like to know more about that.
Du Pusa says Prince Jin only cares about the Drug Men fighting for him. DPJ agrees and then tries to flirt with her. She pushes him back, since he hasn’t been punished, and he looks excited about the punishment. Du Pusa says she’s heard DPJ’s been hanging out with Zhao Jing, and the camera shows Xie-wang approaching.
DPJ attempts to look more professional when Xie-wang steps into view. It doesn’t really work. Xie-wang says he doesn’t want to interrupt two old lovers, but he has a brief question for DPJ. Xie-wang asks why Prince Jin didn’t ask Xie-wang for help finding the glazed armor, and the scene cuts from DPJ’s confused/uncertain expression.
At Siji Manor, everyone’s having fun preparing for New Years! Chengling is painting glue on nice red paper cuts and putting them on the wall at ZZS’s direction (WKX joins in, giving opposing directions, after placing one of his own on the opposite wall). Everyone has nice new outfits, WKX’s wearing his plot hairpin. It’s very festive.
WKX and ZZS flirt and tease each other, ZZS snacks on some melon seeds, Chengling says Siji Manor looks more like a home now. ZZS protests that he can’t help out with putting decorations up because he’s injured, and WKX tells Chengling not to be lazy putting up the rest. Chengling runs off with the paper cuts, and ZZS and WKX go back to flirting.
In Yueyang, firecrackers go off outside the sect manor. The camera does some swoopy things while focusing on Zhao Jing, reminiscent of how it liked dutch angles around Ghost Valley. Some men bring chests into the manor as he smiles.
At Siji Manor, WKX chops some vegetables for their meal while ZZS drinks. WKX tells Chengling to kill the live chicken, and Chengling says he doesn’t dare do this task. WKX is disbelieving about this, and calls both ZZS and Chengling slackers who want him to be their servant. ZZS says he can’t help, so his disciple will need to help in his stead, and WKX threatens not to let ZZS eat dinner.
Chengling attempts to get ZZS to help him, and ZZS just tells Chengling to believe in himself. Both adults watch as Chengling slowly approaches the chicken and ineffectually attempts to hit it with a cleaver. The chicken menaces him, and Chengling runs away. WKX says ZZS’s disciple is useless, and ZZS laughs and says Chengling’s easy life is his luck, which complements ZZS’s lack of luck.
Fireworks explode over a town near Qing Feng Mountain, and GX watches them. She muses on how strange humans are with all these festivals when all the days are the same. She attempts to convince herself she’s okay being alone, and wonders if anyone’s with WKX. Then CWN calls for her to open the door, and GX opens it to find that CWN has brought FHK and MWX to celebrate the Spring Festival with them.
They brought food and companionship, and GX doesn’t know what to do with all this. She cries a little, and FHK says that this is her home now and he’ll punish CWN if he bullies her.
And then we cut to Zhao Jing, drunk and in his nightclothes, entering the room with ancestral shrines. He says he’s here to visit and have a drink with his dead friends, and starts pouring jiu for the tablets.
Zhao Jing grabs Rong Xuan’s tablet and starts pouring jiu directly on it, telling him to keep drinking, before tossing the tablet to the floor. Zhao Jing moves on to his shifu (whose name is Zhao Wenyuan) next, saying his shifu looked down on him most, but Zhao Jing’s the one who lived while all the students his shifu appreciated more are dead. Then Zhao Jing calls Li Yao a bitch and spits on her tablet before talking about how his life is good now.
Zhao Jing stands up and says that by the time he visits next year, he won’t be chief of the Five Lakes Alliance but the supreme leader of the martial arts world (武林 wulin rather than 江湖 jianghu, in this case). He’ll reach the peak of the world, and they won’t see it because they’re dead.
At this point he stumbles straight into the offering table and trips over it, spinning the offerings across the floor. He yells at Rong Xuan’s tablet for tripping him, then stands up and tells all the other tablets to watch as he toasts Rong Xuan by pissing on his tablet.
The camera pans out to show Xie-wang watching this. Xie-wang says “Yifu” and Zhao Jing turns around, belatedly realising that he’s doing something horrendous because someone caught him at it, and shouts for Xie-wang to get out. Xie-wang does not leave, but instead approaches and says he’s brought soup for Zhao Jing, since he needs to sober up. He tells Zhao Jing not to be angry, which doesn’t work; Zhao Jing knocks the soup bowl out of his hands and continues yelling at Xie-wang to get out.
Zhao Jing shoves Xie-wang away. Xie-wang looks over at the memorial tablets, and sees—as LFM’s words about Zhao Jing’s trophies run through his head—exactly what LFM said would be there. Zhao Jing’s shifu’s thumb ring, the sword that poisoned Rong Xuan, and otherwise a trophy for every scheme. Zhao Jing’s still yelling for Xie-wang to get out. Xie-wang is tossed out of the room, and as the doors close in front of him he remembers how Zhao Jing gave him the glazed armor he wears as a necklace and looks like his heart breaks.
In Siji Manor, it’s dinnertime! Chengling runs off to get the final dish—chicken soup—while WKX offers ZZS some food. ZZS offers WKX a toast first, for his cooking efforts. All three of them sit down and begin to eat, ZZS and WKX both giving Chengling food. It makes him happy enough to cry, because he didn’t think he’d have a home like this in his life (once his family died, presumably).
WKX agrees that this is the nicest Spring Festival he’s ever had (not hard). He talks about his life, and asks what the meaning is of “fighting with others regardless of death” or “mastering the top martial arts and being the most powerful person in the world” (which: heypeachpai you called that in the comments of the last episode!), compared to having a home and people to spend time with. ZZS teases him, because he can’t handle having so many emotions, and they toast to their nice family and the festival.
More fireworks everywhere! It’s lovely!
ZZS and WKX are playing that drinking game with the numbers again. They send Chengling out to watch the fireworks because he’s distracted enough to accidentally break a bowl. WKX and ZZS watch the fireworks too, from inside, and ZZS comments that this next year should be a good one. They drink, and then Chengling starts calling them from outside.
ZZS and WKX rush to Chengling, and we see bloody footprints on a little bridge as Chengling says a man just jumped over the wall. ZZS kneels down to see this man, and we all learn it’s Han Ying.
The scene cuts to inside, where Han Ying is sitting on a bed while WKX does some acupuncture on his head. WKX tells Chengling to fetch more braziers, and ZZS helps WKX lay Han Ying down. Han Ying pulls out the glazed armor and tells ZZS he’s stolen it back for him.
ZZS doesn’t want it, and scolds Han Ying for taking this risk. Han Ying says the Yin Yang Book could cure anything, and ZZS tells him that he shouldn’t think about it anymore. Then ZZS asks how Han Ying knew to find him here, and what’s happened since they parted in Yueyang.
Han Ying says that someone in Tianchuang recognised ZZS at the Heroes Conference. Han Ying discovered this before it could be passed on, and killed everyone involved and framed the Scorpion. Han Ying says it’s a pity this could only be hidden briefly, and he wanted to find something useful for ZZS before he escaped, so he found this glazed armor for ZZS. He thinks it a shame he only found one piece before he was discovered.
Han Ying says Bi Xingming (one of the disciples ZZS will inherit) covered for him and helped him escape Jin. Han Ying tells ZZS that he might not formally be part of Siji Manor, but he’d still do anything for ZZS. ZZS doesn't want this from him; he just wants Han Ying to live well. Han Ying is very much in sacrifice mode anyway.
He does tell ZZS that he found a secret letter in Prince Jin’s study saying that ZZS’s father was secretly killed for treason by the former Prince Jin, which ZZS thinks is impossible; he’s certain his father died of illness. Also, his father was the former Prince Jin’s best friend and trusted subordinate.
WKX interrupts this, saying they can discuss this later, and Han Ying goes back to talking about how the Yin Yang Book could save ZZS.
ZZS tells Han Ying to rest, and that they can go looking for the glazed armor and the Yin Yang Book once Han Ying’s better. Han Ying says he didn’t expect his first time at Siji Manor would be like this, and tells ZZS he won’t regret dying for him. He also says he wishes he’d known about the glazed armor earlier.
WKX takes Han Ying’s wrist, and then reminds ZZS that Wu Xi and Jing Beiyuan are coming. ZZS tells Han Ying to hold on until they arrive (because Wu Xi can cure pretty much any normal problem), and says he’ll go down the mountain to find Ping’an and bring Wu Xi back as soon as possible.
This leaves WKX alone with Han Ying, and WKX promises that he won’t let Han Ying die. The episode ends on that promise.
General Commentary
I love seeing all the different Spring Festival celebrations; it’s always fun in any show where it comes up. Fireworks! Family! Waiting for Something Terrible to happen/someone to die!
This episode moves time/plot forward quite a lot, and brings Prince Jin back as a meaningful antagonist. It does a pretty solid job re-establishing who he is and why we should care, which is great because I don’t recall when he was last on-screen.
It’s super fun rewatching and seeing the way Prince Jin is like “...I don’t believe you” and “This seems overly convenient for you” about Han Ying being the sole survivor of a Scorpion attack. He’s right! It’s just rare for a character to be presented as genre-savvy in that way, y’know? But it’s great, because it’s subtle enough in the conversation scene that it’s only when Prince Jin receives the report about Han Ying sneaking around and is like “yeah I was expecting this” that the meaning of his expressions earlier becomes clear.
Also, like, that probably means that Prince Jin set everything up for Han Ying. Including that letter with information about how Zhou Zishu’s father died! He’s making it so easy for Han Ying to want to go to Zhou Zishu, because then he can find Zhou Zishu again!
I am sad, though, that Han Ying could be tailed like that. It’s a bit unclear when he got those injuries—hopefully he believed that he killed all his tails before entering Siji Manor, but that’s obviously not the case. But it moves the plot along, and they need that by now, so I get why it goes down like this.
Shame that it had to happen on a celebratory night, but also that’s how the plot tropes fall.
I love Gu Xiang getting to experience having a family like this. I love that Mo Weixu and Fan Huaikong choose to spend this celebratory evening with Cao Weining and Gu Xiang. I am just very happy about that whole scene.
I am also full of endless delight for the chicken scene. It’s hilarious, and the way that Wen Kexing offers no help or advice makes the outcome a bit inevitable. Poor kid. But it really does say a lot about Chengling and his upbringing that he doesn’t know what to do, and that he doesn’t want to kill a chicken for food like this. Such a sweet boy.
Also all the wenzhou flirting is a delight, as ever.
And then there’s Duan Pengju and Zhao Jing. I love the political bit of their conversation! That’s cool! I like the scheming about how Zhao Jing can keep getting ahead, and the later offer Xie-wang makes to be the face of that connection so that Zhao Jing won’t get punished if Prince Jin fails.
(I am extremely ??? about Duan Pengju and Du Pusa’s connection, also.)
But Zhao Jing in the memorial room is just…
There’s a lot of intentional parallels in the initial staging to how Zhao Jing gloated to the tablets about being the new leader of the Five Lakes Alliance in ep19. But then, he was in full control of himself. Now, he’s drunk and being horribly rude to all the tablets but especially Rong Xuan.
Xie-wang finally getting the proof he needs that Luo Fumeng was right is nice though. Shame that it had to happen like this. Y’know, right after he went and allied himself/his sect to Prince Jin for Zhao Jing’s sake, and all that.
Discussion Prompts/Questions
1. What is up with Duan Pengju’s relationship with Du Pusa? (And the Scorpions in general, I guess!) From how Zhou Zishu talks about the Scorpions (and how Xie-wang and Zhao Jing don’t seem particularly familiar with Tianchuang), it’s surprising to see that Duan Pengju has a pre-existing relationship with Du Pusa like this.
2. In this episode, personal devotion (as displayed by Xie-wang to Zhao Jing, and Han Ying to Zhou Zishu) seems to get people into trouble more than anything else. Or, at least, set up dangerous situations. Thoughts on this?
3. Holiday prep and feelings! Anything about all the nice bits of this episode? Other moments you like, or details that stand out to you?
Next Time: WKX does his best to save Han Ying. DPJ and Tianchuang arrive at Siji Manor. Qing Feng Sword Sect is attacked. ZZS is taken away. CWN learns that WKX is the Valley Master. WKX has the final bit of his flashback with Zhao Jing. Wu Xi and Jing Beiyuan arrive.
(I should also be posting the next episode’s recap next week, on New Year’s Eve.)
List of Scenes
Han Ying reports to Prince Jin about how his team died
Xie-wang listens to Zhao Jing and Duan Pengju discuss a potential alliance
Han Ying sneaks into Prince Jin’s study and finds a piece of glazed armor and a letter
Zhao Jing is drunk and talks to Xie-wang about their relationship and alliance plans
Prince Jin receives confirmation that Han Ying is betraying him
Han Ying talks to ZZS’s flower painting and swears himself to ZZS again
DPJ and Du Pusa flirt, then Xie-wang shows up and offers his aid in collecting the glazed armor
A variety of quick New Years preparation scenes
Chengling fails to kill a chicken
GX expects to be alone for the holiday but then CWN, his shishu, and his shixiong come join her
Zhao Jing is very rude to memorial tablets
Xie-wang sees Zhao Jing’s trophies next to their memorial tablets
ZZS, WKX, and Chengling begin eating dinner and have feelings about how nice it is to celebrate together
Fireworks!
WKX and ZZS drink and send Chengling to look at fireworks
Chengling finds Han Ying in the courtyard
Han Ying tells ZZS he’d die for him, and also about what he found in Prince Jin’s study
Timeline or Something
Time definitely passes, because Han Ying needs enough time to travel from Jin to Siji Manor. That amount of time (which feels like it should be at least a week, if not multiple weeks, though that isn’t borne out in dialogue) is the length of time this episode takes place over. It’s “almost the end of the year” when Han Ying reports to Prince Jin, and it’s the evening of Spring Festival/New Years celebration when Han Ying arrives at Siji Manor.
Recap
Prince Jin sits in his hall, examining a (presumably fake) piece of glazed armor by candlelight. Han Ying comes to report to him, and is carried in on a stretcher. Prince Jin tells Han Ying not to get up, then asks what happened and why he’s been out of contact. Han Ying says his team was ambushed by the Scorpions and everyone else was killed.
Han Ying pulls out a Scorpion knife to prove to Prince Jin that his story is true. On a rewatch, in the conversation where Prince Jin’s like “This is unbelievable” and Han Ying’s like “There might be spies in Tianchuang!” it feels so much more like Prince Jin knows what’s going on than I remember feeling on a first watch. To be fair, on my first watch I think I was also going “...right, okay, I remember who these people are” because it’s been a while since we’ve seen either of them.
Prince Jin says that Duan Pengju is on his way to Jiangnan, because Han Ying was gone for so long DPJ worried about him and went to investigate in person. We also learn that Han Ying brought back the glazed armor Prince Jin was examining, and then Prince Jin dismisses Han Ying and the scene ends.
Xie-wang listens outside the door to Zhao Jing’s hall. Duan Pengju is talking to Zhao Jing, thanking him for the information about the Armory’s key being hidden in Ghost Valley. Zhao Jing feeds him a story about Gao Chong’s collusion with Ghost Valley meaning that Ghost Valley has the missing pieces of glazed armor, and Duan Pengju says that people of the jianghu clearly know more about this matter than he does.
Zhao Jing also asls DPJ not to blame the whole Five Lakes Alliance for Gao Chong’s failings, and DPJ says that he expects his alliance with Zhao Jing to be fruitful in the future. They continue flattering each other, and DPJ hints that Zhao Jing may gain great titles if he helps Prince Jin enough.
Back in the Prince’s palace, Han Ying sneaks around. Other members of Tianchuang are watching him, but Han Ying doesn’t notice. He breaks into a secret compartment in Prince Jin’s study and pulls out a box with a piece of glazed armor inside, then notices a letter addressed to Prince Jin on the table. The scene cuts before he reads it.
Zhao Jing is drunk at the table after dinner with DPJ (who has left at this point). Xie-wang enters the room and, after Zhao Jing says they should drink jiu together, dismisses the servants to go make tea.
Zhao Jing asks Xie-wang to guess who has Long-tongued Ghost’s piece of glazed armor. He doesn’t let Xie-wang guess before saying it’s with Tianchuang, and then saying that Tianchuang and Prince Jin are going to collaborate with him. Zhao Jing says Prince Jin’s army will be of great use wiping out Ghost Valley.
Xie-wang takes a tea tray from a servant. Before he can offer it, Zhao Jing asks if Xie-wang is still angry with him. Still not giving Xie-wang time to speak, Zhao Jing says he’ll apologise, says “Sorry,” and then offers to pour tea for Xie’er. Xie-wang sets the tray down and pours tea for Zhao Jing instead. As he offers the cup, he tells Zhao Jing that since his yifu saved his life and educated him, Zhao Jing can do whatever he wants to him and Xie’er won’t complain.
But Xie-wang still wants to know if Zhao Jing meant what he’d said about Xie-wang disappointing him and Zhao Jing not considering their father-son relationship anymore. Zhao Jing dismisses that as “angry words” that didn’t mean anything, and takes the tea. Zhao Jing believes that people who’re close to each other just hurt each other like that sometimes.
Xie-wang keeps pressing about what Zhao Jing would do if Xie-wang really hurt him. Zhao Jing drags Xie-wang down to sit next to him, then calls him “little barbarian again” and says they’ve been depending on each other since Zhao Jing brought Xie’er home. So Zhao Jing will stand by Xie-wang and handle any problem that comes together with him. When Xie’er asks, Zhao Jing says he means this, and that Zhao Jing will be there for Xie’er.
Then Xie-wang says it’s a good thing Prince Jin will work with them. Zhao Jing calls this a gamble, and tells Xie-wang they need to reassure DPJ before further discussion of the collaboration. Zhao Jing wants to be careful about not backing the wrong horse, since Prince Jin is plotting treason and punishments about failed treason are nasty. Xie-want says he’s not afraid, and that if Zhao Jing takes a noble title then nobody can say bad things about them.
Zhao Jing says Xie’er reminds him of himself when he was younger, but he’s more risk-averse now. He reminds Xie-want not to act rashy, and says he wants stability and to wait to make sure Prince Jin will succeed before allying fully with him. Xie-wang says that by that point, Prince Jin will have too many other potential allies. Xie-wang offers a plan to spare Zhao Jing future trouble, one that relies on how Xie-wang doesn’t have anything to lose.
Xie-wang’s plan hinges on the fact that the public doesn’t know Zhao Jing and Xie-wang’s private relationship. Xie-wang suggests he pledge himself (and thus his Scorpions) to Prince Jin to help gather all the glazed armor. The rewards could be Zhao Jing’s, but the penalties would only be Xie-wang’s.
A subordinate reports to Prince Jin, telling him that Han Ying indeed plans to betray him—just as Prince Jin expected. This subordinate had someone tail Han Ying after he found the glazed armor, and says he went to ZZS’s place and hasn’t yet returned. Prince Jin says not to arrest Han Ying yet, but use him as bait to lure in some fishes. He dismisses his subordinate, and then praises ZZS’s capability and how there are still people working for him. Prince Jin wonders how many plans ZZS has prepared against him. (Not knowing that the answer is “None” because ZZS doesn’t care.)
Han Ying is in ZZS’s Tianchuang rooms, next to the nice flower painting with only one white bloom. He’s got one of those cool light pearls. He’s also talking to ZZS, saying he knows why Prince Jin wants the glazed armor: ZZS’s wounds can be cured if he finds all the pieces of glazed armor. Han Yin brushes his hand over the last remaining white flower as he says he’ll risk his life to collect the glazed armor for ZZS.
The scene cuts to DPJ and Du Pusa. She’s playfully scolding him for not seeing him before talking to Zhao Jing, and wondering how she should punish him. This scene is so sexually charged and uncomfortable because of it. DPJ says he didn’t know she was in Yueyang, and that he was thinking of visiting her and Xie-wang in Hu after finishing up here. Prince Jin’s apparently heard that Xie-wang’s improved his thaumaturgy (奇术, qi shu) and would like to know more about that.
Du Pusa says Prince Jin only cares about the Drug Men fighting for him. DPJ agrees and then tries to flirt with her. She pushes him back, since he hasn’t been punished, and he looks excited about the punishment. Du Pusa says she’s heard DPJ’s been hanging out with Zhao Jing, and the camera shows Xie-wang approaching.
DPJ attempts to look more professional when Xie-wang steps into view. It doesn’t really work. Xie-wang says he doesn’t want to interrupt two old lovers, but he has a brief question for DPJ. Xie-wang asks why Prince Jin didn’t ask Xie-wang for help finding the glazed armor, and the scene cuts from DPJ’s confused/uncertain expression.
At Siji Manor, everyone’s having fun preparing for New Years! Chengling is painting glue on nice red paper cuts and putting them on the wall at ZZS’s direction (WKX joins in, giving opposing directions, after placing one of his own on the opposite wall). Everyone has nice new outfits, WKX’s wearing his plot hairpin. It’s very festive.
WKX and ZZS flirt and tease each other, ZZS snacks on some melon seeds, Chengling says Siji Manor looks more like a home now. ZZS protests that he can’t help out with putting decorations up because he’s injured, and WKX tells Chengling not to be lazy putting up the rest. Chengling runs off with the paper cuts, and ZZS and WKX go back to flirting.
In Yueyang, firecrackers go off outside the sect manor. The camera does some swoopy things while focusing on Zhao Jing, reminiscent of how it liked dutch angles around Ghost Valley. Some men bring chests into the manor as he smiles.
At Siji Manor, WKX chops some vegetables for their meal while ZZS drinks. WKX tells Chengling to kill the live chicken, and Chengling says he doesn’t dare do this task. WKX is disbelieving about this, and calls both ZZS and Chengling slackers who want him to be their servant. ZZS says he can’t help, so his disciple will need to help in his stead, and WKX threatens not to let ZZS eat dinner.
Chengling attempts to get ZZS to help him, and ZZS just tells Chengling to believe in himself. Both adults watch as Chengling slowly approaches the chicken and ineffectually attempts to hit it with a cleaver. The chicken menaces him, and Chengling runs away. WKX says ZZS’s disciple is useless, and ZZS laughs and says Chengling’s easy life is his luck, which complements ZZS’s lack of luck.
Fireworks explode over a town near Qing Feng Mountain, and GX watches them. She muses on how strange humans are with all these festivals when all the days are the same. She attempts to convince herself she’s okay being alone, and wonders if anyone’s with WKX. Then CWN calls for her to open the door, and GX opens it to find that CWN has brought FHK and MWX to celebrate the Spring Festival with them.
They brought food and companionship, and GX doesn’t know what to do with all this. She cries a little, and FHK says that this is her home now and he’ll punish CWN if he bullies her.
And then we cut to Zhao Jing, drunk and in his nightclothes, entering the room with ancestral shrines. He says he’s here to visit and have a drink with his dead friends, and starts pouring jiu for the tablets.
Zhao Jing grabs Rong Xuan’s tablet and starts pouring jiu directly on it, telling him to keep drinking, before tossing the tablet to the floor. Zhao Jing moves on to his shifu (whose name is Zhao Wenyuan) next, saying his shifu looked down on him most, but Zhao Jing’s the one who lived while all the students his shifu appreciated more are dead. Then Zhao Jing calls Li Yao a bitch and spits on her tablet before talking about how his life is good now.
Zhao Jing stands up and says that by the time he visits next year, he won’t be chief of the Five Lakes Alliance but the supreme leader of the martial arts world (武林 wulin rather than 江湖 jianghu, in this case). He’ll reach the peak of the world, and they won’t see it because they’re dead.
At this point he stumbles straight into the offering table and trips over it, spinning the offerings across the floor. He yells at Rong Xuan’s tablet for tripping him, then stands up and tells all the other tablets to watch as he toasts Rong Xuan by pissing on his tablet.
The camera pans out to show Xie-wang watching this. Xie-wang says “Yifu” and Zhao Jing turns around, belatedly realising that he’s doing something horrendous because someone caught him at it, and shouts for Xie-wang to get out. Xie-wang does not leave, but instead approaches and says he’s brought soup for Zhao Jing, since he needs to sober up. He tells Zhao Jing not to be angry, which doesn’t work; Zhao Jing knocks the soup bowl out of his hands and continues yelling at Xie-wang to get out.
Zhao Jing shoves Xie-wang away. Xie-wang looks over at the memorial tablets, and sees—as LFM’s words about Zhao Jing’s trophies run through his head—exactly what LFM said would be there. Zhao Jing’s shifu’s thumb ring, the sword that poisoned Rong Xuan, and otherwise a trophy for every scheme. Zhao Jing’s still yelling for Xie-wang to get out. Xie-wang is tossed out of the room, and as the doors close in front of him he remembers how Zhao Jing gave him the glazed armor he wears as a necklace and looks like his heart breaks.
In Siji Manor, it’s dinnertime! Chengling runs off to get the final dish—chicken soup—while WKX offers ZZS some food. ZZS offers WKX a toast first, for his cooking efforts. All three of them sit down and begin to eat, ZZS and WKX both giving Chengling food. It makes him happy enough to cry, because he didn’t think he’d have a home like this in his life (once his family died, presumably).
WKX agrees that this is the nicest Spring Festival he’s ever had (not hard). He talks about his life, and asks what the meaning is of “fighting with others regardless of death” or “mastering the top martial arts and being the most powerful person in the world” (which: hey
peachpai you called that in the comments of the last episode!), compared to having a home and people to spend time with. ZZS teases him, because he can’t handle having so many emotions, and they toast to their nice family and the festival.More fireworks everywhere! It’s lovely!
ZZS and WKX are playing that drinking game with the numbers again. They send Chengling out to watch the fireworks because he’s distracted enough to accidentally break a bowl. WKX and ZZS watch the fireworks too, from inside, and ZZS comments that this next year should be a good one. They drink, and then Chengling starts calling them from outside.
ZZS and WKX rush to Chengling, and we see bloody footprints on a little bridge as Chengling says a man just jumped over the wall. ZZS kneels down to see this man, and we all learn it’s Han Ying.
The scene cuts to inside, where Han Ying is sitting on a bed while WKX does some acupuncture on his head. WKX tells Chengling to fetch more braziers, and ZZS helps WKX lay Han Ying down. Han Ying pulls out the glazed armor and tells ZZS he’s stolen it back for him.
ZZS doesn’t want it, and scolds Han Ying for taking this risk. Han Ying says the Yin Yang Book could cure anything, and ZZS tells him that he shouldn’t think about it anymore. Then ZZS asks how Han Ying knew to find him here, and what’s happened since they parted in Yueyang.
Han Ying says that someone in Tianchuang recognised ZZS at the Heroes Conference. Han Ying discovered this before it could be passed on, and killed everyone involved and framed the Scorpion. Han Ying says it’s a pity this could only be hidden briefly, and he wanted to find something useful for ZZS before he escaped, so he found this glazed armor for ZZS. He thinks it a shame he only found one piece before he was discovered.
Han Ying says Bi Xingming (one of the disciples ZZS will inherit) covered for him and helped him escape Jin. Han Ying tells ZZS that he might not formally be part of Siji Manor, but he’d still do anything for ZZS. ZZS doesn't want this from him; he just wants Han Ying to live well. Han Ying is very much in sacrifice mode anyway.
He does tell ZZS that he found a secret letter in Prince Jin’s study saying that ZZS’s father was secretly killed for treason by the former Prince Jin, which ZZS thinks is impossible; he’s certain his father died of illness. Also, his father was the former Prince Jin’s best friend and trusted subordinate.
WKX interrupts this, saying they can discuss this later, and Han Ying goes back to talking about how the Yin Yang Book could save ZZS.
ZZS tells Han Ying to rest, and that they can go looking for the glazed armor and the Yin Yang Book once Han Ying’s better. Han Ying says he didn’t expect his first time at Siji Manor would be like this, and tells ZZS he won’t regret dying for him. He also says he wishes he’d known about the glazed armor earlier.
WKX takes Han Ying’s wrist, and then reminds ZZS that Wu Xi and Jing Beiyuan are coming. ZZS tells Han Ying to hold on until they arrive (because Wu Xi can cure pretty much any normal problem), and says he’ll go down the mountain to find Ping’an and bring Wu Xi back as soon as possible.
This leaves WKX alone with Han Ying, and WKX promises that he won’t let Han Ying die. The episode ends on that promise.
General Commentary
I love seeing all the different Spring Festival celebrations; it’s always fun in any show where it comes up. Fireworks! Family! Waiting for Something Terrible to happen/someone to die!
This episode moves time/plot forward quite a lot, and brings Prince Jin back as a meaningful antagonist. It does a pretty solid job re-establishing who he is and why we should care, which is great because I don’t recall when he was last on-screen.
It’s super fun rewatching and seeing the way Prince Jin is like “...I don’t believe you” and “This seems overly convenient for you” about Han Ying being the sole survivor of a Scorpion attack. He’s right! It’s just rare for a character to be presented as genre-savvy in that way, y’know? But it’s great, because it’s subtle enough in the conversation scene that it’s only when Prince Jin receives the report about Han Ying sneaking around and is like “yeah I was expecting this” that the meaning of his expressions earlier becomes clear.
Also, like, that probably means that Prince Jin set everything up for Han Ying. Including that letter with information about how Zhou Zishu’s father died! He’s making it so easy for Han Ying to want to go to Zhou Zishu, because then he can find Zhou Zishu again!
I am sad, though, that Han Ying could be tailed like that. It’s a bit unclear when he got those injuries—hopefully he believed that he killed all his tails before entering Siji Manor, but that’s obviously not the case. But it moves the plot along, and they need that by now, so I get why it goes down like this.
Shame that it had to happen on a celebratory night, but also that’s how the plot tropes fall.
I love Gu Xiang getting to experience having a family like this. I love that Mo Weixu and Fan Huaikong choose to spend this celebratory evening with Cao Weining and Gu Xiang. I am just very happy about that whole scene.
I am also full of endless delight for the chicken scene. It’s hilarious, and the way that Wen Kexing offers no help or advice makes the outcome a bit inevitable. Poor kid. But it really does say a lot about Chengling and his upbringing that he doesn’t know what to do, and that he doesn’t want to kill a chicken for food like this. Such a sweet boy.
Also all the wenzhou flirting is a delight, as ever.
And then there’s Duan Pengju and Zhao Jing. I love the political bit of their conversation! That’s cool! I like the scheming about how Zhao Jing can keep getting ahead, and the later offer Xie-wang makes to be the face of that connection so that Zhao Jing won’t get punished if Prince Jin fails.
(I am extremely ??? about Duan Pengju and Du Pusa’s connection, also.)
But Zhao Jing in the memorial room is just…
There’s a lot of intentional parallels in the initial staging to how Zhao Jing gloated to the tablets about being the new leader of the Five Lakes Alliance in ep19. But then, he was in full control of himself. Now, he’s drunk and being horribly rude to all the tablets but especially Rong Xuan.
Xie-wang finally getting the proof he needs that Luo Fumeng was right is nice though. Shame that it had to happen like this. Y’know, right after he went and allied himself/his sect to Prince Jin for Zhao Jing’s sake, and all that.
Discussion Prompts/Questions
1. What is up with Duan Pengju’s relationship with Du Pusa? (And the Scorpions in general, I guess!) From how Zhou Zishu talks about the Scorpions (and how Xie-wang and Zhao Jing don’t seem particularly familiar with Tianchuang), it’s surprising to see that Duan Pengju has a pre-existing relationship with Du Pusa like this.
2. In this episode, personal devotion (as displayed by Xie-wang to Zhao Jing, and Han Ying to Zhou Zishu) seems to get people into trouble more than anything else. Or, at least, set up dangerous situations. Thoughts on this?
3. Holiday prep and feelings! Anything about all the nice bits of this episode? Other moments you like, or details that stand out to you?
Next Time: WKX does his best to save Han Ying. DPJ and Tianchuang arrive at Siji Manor. Qing Feng Sword Sect is attacked. ZZS is taken away. CWN learns that WKX is the Valley Master. WKX has the final bit of his flashback with Zhao Jing. Wu Xi and Jing Beiyuan arrive.
(I should also be posting the next episode’s recap next week, on New Year’s Eve.)