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ghost_valley2022-02-11 11:53 am
shadaras) wrote in ghost_valley2022-02-11 11:53 am
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[WoH Rewatch] Episode 34
Exposition! Wedding prep! Definitely not a bunch of angst yet!
List of Scenes
YBY proclaims WKX’s sentence
Family Meal Time!
- Discussion of WKX’s fake death
- Explanation of who he schemed with
Xie-wang monologues to Zhao Jing about his plans
Still at family meal time, ZZS asks WKX why he didn’t tell him
That night, drunk WKX is very lovey at ZZS
Wedding Prep Time!
Brief scene of YBY eating, thinking about immortality, and mourning the Rongs
GX is dressed for the wedding
LFM gifts her hairpins and says she won’t be at the wedding
WKX brings her Wu Xi’s gift of red-string bracelets
CWN is dressed for the wedding
MHY and his sect arrive at the gates
GX, CWN, and ZZS convince WKX to allow MHY and the sect to attend the wedding
The sect arrives, MHY begins insulting GX to CWN’s face
Timeline or Something
Presumably the first half of this is all on one day. The end of the Heroes Conference, a meal, and WKX drunkenly talking to ZZS all seem to be afternoon through night.
Xie-wang’s conversation with Zhao Jing could happen that same day or a few days later; it’s very hard to tell.
An unspecified amount of time later, the wedding occurs. It is very difficult to tell how long has passed! Presumably not too long, since Zhou Zishu isn’t yet actively dying from losing the Nails, and also there’s reference to this being rushed. But since “rushed” could mean anything from “like a week maybe” to “only a few months” depending on context… it’s very hard to say!
Recap
This picks up overlapping the end of ep33, as YBY approaches WKX and ZZS at the close of the Second Heroes Conference. YBY says that all those of Ghost Valley are doomed to die, then asks WKX why he broke the rules of Ghost Valley and unleashed the ghosts on the jianghu. WKX apologises for his wrongdoing, and YBY gives him the punishment of shutting down Ghost Valley and preventing ghosts from returning to the jianghu. WKX agrees, and YBY sends him off.
The other members of the Heroes Conference are like “Wait, that’s it?” and YBY’s like “Yeah? Why wouldn’t it be?” The Shaolin Temple loves this solution, and the E’mei Sect agrees as well, so the rest of the conference can’t argue.
WKX and ZZS depart with Chengling. YBY dismisses everyone else.
Gu Xiang tries to hurry her group away, but CWN and FHK make eye contact before they do.
Back in town (it’s impossible to tell exactly which one), everyone has a lovely family meal! It really is everyone, too: ZZS, WKX, Chengling, GX, CWN, Wu Xi, Beiyuan, Shen Shen, Gao Xiaolian, and Ping’an. About the only notable protagonist-aligned character not here is YBY.
GX complains to WKX that he’s too cruel and she’s been crying out of belief that he was dead. WKX agrees that he was cruel, but doesn’t seem fussed. GX asks WKX about the fake body ZZS burnt. WKX explains how he made and placed that fake. ZZS doesn’t seem to be listening/reacting to this conversation.
GX then asks about how Shen Shen, who’d been so fiercely opposed to Ghost Valley, ended up working with WKX. We’re given a brief flashback to WKX (dressed in red) talking to Shen Shen and Chengling. He admits his identity and says he came to explain himself to Chengling. GX then reacts like this explained everything, saying that they’ve been conspiring for a long time, and complains that WKX only hid this from “us” (GX, CWN, and ZZS).
WKX says that faking death is risky, and he needed Shen Shen and Chengling’s help to pull it off. GX asks if YBY was also helping. WKX says he was, because YBY was the only way for him to leave the Second Heroes Conference safely. Another brief flashback! This is the one where YBY’s like “I said I’d kill you if I saw you again; why are you here?” and WKX admits all his wrongdoings and asks YBY to help him fight Zhao Jing in a fair duel.
Shen Shen says he helped because he wanted to clear Gao Chong’s name and didn’t think the price of “Kexing and [himself] fighting to [their] last breath” would be too much. (It’s very fun how he’s referring to WKX as “Kexing” consistently now.) Shen Shen says YBY helped this feud end peacefully, and leads everyone in toasting YBY.
Chengling pokes ZZS, who hadn’t reacted to the toast, and ZZS then drinks too. WKX notices this, and looks concerned.
Beiyuan is delighted by WKX’s cleverness and planning skills, tells ZZS that his shidi surpasses his master, and then offers a toast to WKX. Wu Xi asks WKX why he didn’t take Zhao Jing’s life, if Zhao Jing was so evil. WKX explains that Zhao Jing’s life was part of the deal he struck with Xie-wang. Deng Kuan had been kept by Zhao Jing as a drug man. In return for Xie-wang returning Deng Kuan, WKX agreed to leave Zhao Jing alive. (We don’t get a flashback about this deal. I’m very sad about this.)
GX asks what the relationship between Xie-wang and Zhao Jing was, then turns to ZZS and asks if he’d known that the ghosts were being controlled by Xie-wang’s nugu poison and that WKX wanted his army back to deal with Tianchuang. WKX stops her from speaking at that point. ZZS still doesn’t say anything.
Beiyuan is surprised that Xie-wang helped WKX so much for seemingly so little, and asks if WKX promised anything else. WKX says there was nothing else.
ZZS thinks to himself that fate is tricky, since now WKX is free from his revenge but ZZS’s dying.
The scene cuts to Yueyang, where Xie-wang talks to Zhao Jing. Or, really, talks at Zhao Jing. Xie-wang seems rather drunk. Zhao Jing is mobility-impaired (doesn’t seem able to move his limbs at all) and still not allowed to speak, so he can only make grunting noises. The show’s framing this as a punishment for him, but it’s definitely also in a (very weird) relationship to disability.
Xie-wang dismisses all the servants that had been in the room, and tells Zhao Jing that he’d do anything Zhao Jing told him to do. Then he speaks of how many people Zhao Jing’s conspiracy has killed, and tells Zhao Jing that Xie-wang had once hoped to die in Zhao Jing’s service as well. He says he willingly fell for Zhao Jing’s lies, allowing them to seem like father and son living in harmony.
Xie-wang says he thinks Zhao Jing’s goal of being supreme leader of the martial arts world (武林盟主, wow, so much shorter in Chinese) is ridiculous, laughs, and says Xie-wang’s already outclassed Zhao Jing by allying with Tianchuang and Jin-wang. Despite this, Zhao Jing has looked down on him and even planned on killing, and Xie-wang’s mad about this. He stands and asks why Zhao Jing did this; was he taking Xie-wang for granted or think he was worthless?
Zhao Jing can’t respond, of course, but he also looks mad.
Xie-wang says he made a deal with WKX to stab Zhao Jing in the back just to prove that Xie-wang gets to decide whether or not to overthrow Zhao Jing. He grabs Zhao Jing by the throat, choking him. He releases Zhao Jing after a fraught moment, then sighs and seems to calm himself. He says that Zhao Jing is still his yifu, and goes to stand behind him, hands on Zhao Jing’s shoulders, as if things are okay.
Xie-wang touches Zhao Jing’s hair and says that, despite everything, Zhao Jing is still his only family in the world. Xie-wang says he could’ve taken over the world to make his yifu happy, but Zhao Jing made the wrong choice. Xie-wang leans over Zhao Jing, on the verge of tears, and tells Zhao Jing he gave him many chances, but Zhao Jing failed him.
The music swells. Xie-wang steps away to pick up a jar of jiu and drink it straight from the spout. He then pours a cup, kneels next to Zhao Jing, and holds it to Zhao Jing’s lips. He invites Zhao Jing to enjoy a life of peaceful happiness and let his son take care of him. Zhao Jing looks very checked-out and isn’t responding as Xie-wang does this. Xie-wang embraces Zhao Jing and says he’ll let him see how Xie-wang conques land and ascends to the throne.
As Xie-wang says he’ll kill Jin-wang and become the emperor, a tear slips out of Zhao Jing’s eyes. This, Xie-wang says, is his real goal. Zhao Jing, ever so slightly, returns the embrace by resting his chin on Xie-wang’s shoulder.
Back at Family Dinner, Chengling offers a toast to ZZS as a way of critiquing him for not telling Chengling about WKX’s identity earlier. WKX says he’s also responsible for this and will drink with ZZS, who isn’t responding even as WKX downs his jiu. WKX explains how Chengling reconfigured the “piercing rain needles” so that they wouldn’t kill WKX.
ZZS stands and asks if WKX’s plan was for “[ZZS’s] disciple to kill [WKX] in front of [ZZS] with the self-defense weapon [ZZS] gave [Chengling]”, and then asks why WKX didn’t tell him. Shen Shen offers to explain for WKX, but only explains why the fake death was necessary, not why WKX didn’t tell ZZS. Wu Xi also says he’s to blame for telling WKX that ZZS needed to rest and not get involved in a fight.
ZZS tells them to sit down, since he didn’t ask them, then turns to WKX and asks if WKX should be punished. WKX says yes, and asks “A-Xu, how would you punish me?” to which ZZS holds up a jar of jiu and tells him to drink three of them in a row. Everyone laughs, and WKX and ZZS smile at each other.
That night, WKX is (unsurprisingly) drunk. He stumbles into (presumably) ZZS’s room, almost trips over a chair, asking where ZZS is. He says he got everyone drunk, and that he’s happy, and then ZZS catches him before he sways far enough to fall over. WKX repeats that he’s happy. He contrasts this to the last time he was this drunk, when they had dinner with YBY and he was sad and worried about ZZS dying and/or not accepting him (as his shidi). But now all his worries are gone! So they should drink and be happy.
WKX hugs ZZS, and says he planned to ruin the world and himself, but it’s fortunate he met ZZS and learned how to be happy and joyous with him. He feels like this is what his parents and shifu wanted for him, and dreams of them smiling at him. ZZS strokes WKX’s hair and doesn’t say anything to ruin his dreams, even smiling, then raises WKX up and leads him over to the bed.
WKX smiles up at him and says he’d like to look for his parents’ grave after GX gets married, so that he can do his filial duty and bury them properly. He’s been afraid to do so previously, but now, with ZZS, he feels like he can. WKX grabs ZZS’s wrist and asks him to come along; ZZS clasps WKX’s wrist in return and agrees. Then WKX’s eyes close, and he seems to fall asleep. ZZS smiles at him, and a little tear falls from his eye.
Timeskip of some unknown amount! We’re in Ghost Valley now! It’s wedding prep day!
Women of the Department of the Unfaithful decorate the hall alongside some nameless masked ghosts. WKX and ZZS, in red and blue, walk through the hall. They greet them as “guzhu” (WKX’s normal title) and “Zhou-dabo” (大伯); WKX sends them on their way, and then ZZS turns to WKX and questions this form of address, which GX immediately also uses when running up to them, hand in hand with CWN.
ZZS says he figured GX had started that form of address, and GX says it was CWN’s idea and WKX’s fault for saying GX couldn’t call ZZS either “sick dude” or “A-Xu”. Zhou-dabo fits because ZZS is WKX’s senior (I am not even going to try and figure out what all the connotations of calling ZZS ‘Zhou-dabo’ are, but I’m pretty sure [after sticking it into pleco] that it’s at least a bit implying a wenzhou relationship with the cover of being a general ‘uncle’ term as well).
ZZS tells GX to call him “gege” instead, which WKX protests but GX is delighted by. WKX and GX bicker like siblings, which is very cute, and then Chengling runs over and is surprised to see GX and CWN together; he says that it’s not allowed for the couple to meet before the end of the wedding ceremony on their wedding day. When GX scolds him, Chengling asks CWN if he can discipline his wife, which CWN says (to everyone’s amusement) he can’t do. (Nobody is surprised.)
Chengling does offer that CWN can run to Siji Manor for his help if CWN needs it, though! Which is sweet.
ZZS says he wants to explore Ghost Valley and heads off. When WKX wants to follow him, GX grabs his arm and prevents him from doing so, asking if she really needs to go to Siji Manor instead of staying with him in Ghost Valley. WKX says she should go, framing it in marriage traditions. GX complains about this. WKX says that he’s shutting down the valley after her wedding, and GX grumbles about that too.
WKX says he won’t break his promise to YBY to keep the 3,000 ghosts in the valley until they fade/vanish/perish. It’s his way of repaying the heavens for giving him ZZS. (ZZS is close enough to hear this and smile.) GX is still sad about this, because she wants to have both WKX and CWN with her. WKX says he’ll sneak out to see them when he can, which pleases her, and thinks that in a few years everything should be peaceful.
WKX then turns to Chengling and asks what he wants done with Wuchang Gui and the other ghosts imprisoned in “the cold pool” (寒潭水牢) Chengling asks WKX what he was planning to do, and WKX says he locked them up because he doesn’t want to stain his hands with blood. Chengling asks if the cold pool is a painful place, then says to keep them there and let them reflect on their sins.
WKX is surprised that that’s all Chengling wants. Chengling says ZZS said to look to the future, and also that they shouldn’t cause bloodshed on GX’s wedding day. GX comments on Chengling being a little sage, and Chengling talks very earnestly about the original intention of Ghost Valley (which YBY explained to him) as a pathway to salvation (reincarnation?) for souls that need to repent before their next lives.
WKX asks where YBY is, and Chengling says that YBY is taking Rong Xuan’s body to Mount Changming to bury him beside his parents.
Cut to YBY drinking soup in a market. He asks for two more bowls of noodles and seems very content, though then he realises his hair’s turning silver and weakening, and comments on how even immortals decay. But he smiles, and says that immortals are a kind of living dead, and life’s more fun now that death’s on the horizon once more. He looks towards a wrapped urn (Rong Xuan) and then his sword (Rong Changqing), and says he’ll eat these two bowls of noodles on their behalf. He smiles, and begins to eat.
Back in Ghost Valley, we get some lovely shots of hairpins and other beauty items as GX is prepared for her wedding. The women of Ghost Valley tell her she’s gorgeous, and are delighted by having a wedding day and that GX’s wedding inspires them to want weddings too.
GX is brought to look at the prepared dowry, which is a lovely array of golden objects in red cases. WKX, LFM, and LQQ are all here looking them over as GX arrives. She’s awed by the amount, and WKX reminds her that he did promise that her dowry would be enough to line three streets. He says he hasn’t matched that yet, so he’ll make up the rest later.
LQQ says she hadn’t known all the etiquette of marriage, and preparing this has broadened her horizons. LFM says that a decent woman’s dowry should include everything needed from birth to death, and then specifically mentions that a well-prepared dowry should even include a shroud and coffin. (A bit morbid. A lot foreshadowing.) Then LFM asks why WKX prepared this wedding in such a rush.
WKX doesn’t have time to answer before GX says she’s happy that LFM and LQQ are at her wedding, and WKX grumbles that he’s not included in that list. Then he goes to get her one more gift.
While WKX’s doing that, LFM tells GX that she’s going to return to the mountains after preparing the dowry, and thus not attend the wedding itself. LQQ will be in charge of the wedding itself. GX looks startled and sad, but LFM has a gift for her: a set of lovely hairpins given to LFM by her shifu upon her marriage, which she’s now passing down to GX. LFM assures her they aren’t stained with LFM’s bad luck; she’s never worn them, and her master had a harmonious and happy family.
GX takes LFM’s hands and says she doesn’t care about the gift, just that she wants LFM to be her escort at her wedding. LFM says she can’t, it’d be bad luck, and tells GX to be good. Then she says she’s unsure when she’ll see GX again after this. GX asks LFM to put the hairpins in her hair for her, so she has at least that symbol of LFM’s presence, and FLM again refuses and tells her to be good. LQQ adds her voice to LFM’s, saying that GX shouldn’t worry, and that LQQ will stay with LFM for the rest of their lives.
LQQ then puts the pins in GX’s hair, and LGM tells her she’s beautiful. GX asks if LQQ is really staying in the Valley and living without YQF. LQQ gives her a blank look, then asks who YQF is. GX turns to LFM, but she doesn’t have time to explain before WKX returns.
WKX opens a box and says it’s a gift from Wu Xi; a pair of red string bracelets, divinely blessed, which can ensure lovers remain together through the rest of their lives. WKX ties it on GX’s wrist, after saying CWN’s already wearing his, and everyone admires GX and delights for her.
CWN, meanwhile, is also getting dressed up by the women of Ghost Valley. ZZS supervises (with Wu Xi and Beiyuan), and tells Chengling not to follow in CWN’s footsteps (of being so pliant and okay with women ordering him around? unclear.). ZZS then asks Chengling about the marriage Gao Chong had arranged between Chengling and Gao Xiaolian. Chengling says Xiaolian’s his jiejie, and wonders why ZZS’s trying to settle everyone/send them off.
CWN sits down and takes a drink, clearly nervous. Chengling asks him how he feels, and then what he’s thinking about. After a moment, CWN says he’s been thinking about how he’d expected to be married with his sect surrounding him, and being married in Ghost Valley like this is outside his wildest expectations.
Chengling says that Shen Shen met FHK and told him about CWN’s marriage, and Chengling apologises for only now passing along FHK’s words. Chengling (who has stood up and is acting out FHK’s role) says FHK told CWN to only do good things with his wife so that FHK’s teachings won’t be in vain, that FHK will try and convince MHY, and that CWN should bring his children to visit FHK.
CWN is overwhelmed by this and bows to FHK as represented by Chengling. Chengling is like “ahhh please don’t.” ZZS says that he now understands how CWN can be so good; it’s because FHK, not MHY, was the one who nurtured him. Then he says that there will be peace, now that the grudges have been settled.
Then a ghost shows up and says there’s a group of people outside saying that they’re CWN’s shixiongdi, here to celebrate CWN’s wedding.
The scene cuts to the gates of Ghost Valley, where MHY leads a procession of Qing Feng Sword Sect disciples carrying wedding gifts.
GX and CWN both run into the main hall of Ghost Valley; a woman of the unfaithful warns them that the groom and bridge shouldn’t meet. It’s too late for that, though, as GX asks CWN if he’s heard, and if he thinks his sect’s come around. CWN says FHK must’ve convinced MHY to come around, and they both seem earnestly excited.
GX asks WKX to let Qing Feng Sword Sect into Ghost Valley, telling him how good FHK was to her when she stayed with them. WKX sighs, and doesn’t seem inclined to agree, so GX runs to ZZS and asks him instead. ZZS does indeed lend his voice, and WKX agrees (though he seems to have reservations), so GX and CWN run off to tell the ghosts to open the gates.
It’s all very ceremonial as the ghosts bang on drums and the gates open. MHY leads his sect up the mountain road with an escort of ghosts.
In the hall, the ghosts and sect members mingle like brothers, which is fascinating.
CWN’s shixiongdi greet him and give him their congratulations, and CWN is pleased by that. Then MHY arrives, and CWN runs up to greet him. GX worries about how neither FHK nor MWX, who were so kind to her, are here, and then follows with a smile. MHY says nothing after CWN’s greeting, so CWN falls to his knees.
MHY calls GX a siren who stole CWN away, and then the episode ends.
General Commentary
There’s so much exposition here. It’s great? It’s also deeply frustrating because it’s all these glimpses of scenes I really badly want the longform of. How does Wen Kexing’s conversation with Shen Shen and Chengling go? How long does it take to convince them to help? How tense was the bargaining session between Wen Kexing and Xie-wang? How much input did Ye Baiyi have on what he was and wasn’t willing to do?
The way that Xie-wang has deliberately disabled Zhao Jing so that he can become Zhao Jing’s caretaker and source of support is honestly really disturbing? It’s not just the way Zhao Jing becoming disabled is framed as punishment for him (though that’s also shitty writing/framing), but Xie-wang’s motivations. It all sucks! It’s not good! I don’t have more thoughtful words about it, but it’s something that’s bothering me regardless.
I love the purple Gu Xiang wears during wedding prep. It’s her color, sure, as the Amethyst Fiend, but it’s also a beautiful balance of Ghost Valley red and the blues associated with our protags (Zhou Zishu, Cao Weining, and Chengling are all wearing blue here).
Chengling’s comments on how Gu Xiang and Cao Weining hanging out before their weddingis bad luck is such sad foreshadowing of their deaths to come.
The stretch where they’re talking about Wuchang Gui’s punishment is very much a “we must show that our protags are Good People!” thing to me, because while I agree that Chengling would go for not killing them, it’s strange to hear Wen Kexing say he doesn’t want to stain his hands with blood.
Zhou Zishu thinking about his oncoming death and then seemingly not telling Wen Kexing about that is so frustrating in the context of how everyone’s complaining about Wen Kexing not telling them about faking his death.
But, that said, Wen Kexing rushing to make the wedding happen makes me wonder if he does know (or at least suspect) that Zhou Zishu is dying sooner rather than later. If Wu Xi weren’t so surprised by Zhou Zishu having yeeted the Nails next episode, then I’d be more certain of whether or not Wen Kexing knew, because I can’t see Wu Xi learning without Wen Kexing learning after the fake death thing. That said, I could see Wen Kexing learning and agreeing not to tell Wu Xi until after the wedding.
The quiet moment where it’s revealed that Liu Qianqiao did indeed take the Meng Po Soup, as she’d said she would, and that Gu Xiang hadn’t known that? It’s very sad but also, hey, it was Liu Qianqiao’s choice. And I do like that Liu Qianqiao has chosen to promise herself to Luo Fumeng instead.
Wen Kexing being part of the women’s side of the wedding prep is great. It makes sense that he’d be with Gu Xiang, but also when every other man is on Cao Weining’s side, and it’s otherwise only women, it’s a fun nod back to how, in TYK, Zhou Zishu would sometimes call Wen Kexing ‘wife’.
The set-up for Mo Huaiyang arriving is so quick? Also really interesting, though, because of how it’s tied up in Chengling’s report of Fan Huaikong’s words. There’s so much deliberate contrast between the two seniors of Qing Feng Sword Sect here, and it’s cool seeing how that’s done even as it’s all in service of leading up to a lot of sadness. The Qing Feng Sword Sect disciples seem pretty chill, though, being all buddy-buddy with the ghosts right now…
Also wow this cliffhanger, I’d forgotten that this ended here and not just with Qing Feng Sword Sect outside the gates.
Discussion Prompts/Questions
Please don’t feel limited to these. They’re starting points for anyone who wants them, not the only things to talk about!
1. What’s your “favorite” ominous foreshadowing element of this episode?
2. Zhou Zishu’s reactions during dinner always seem so minimal to me. Is this because he’s lost his senses and isn’t attending as well? Is he thinking/processing too much? Something else?
3. Favorite shippy moments! There are a lot, both for wenzhou and for caoxiang. <3
Next Time: The wedding’s ruin, a lot of sadness, and fighting Xie-wang. Also some other stuff! But mostly that.
List of Scenes
YBY proclaims WKX’s sentence
Family Meal Time!
- Discussion of WKX’s fake death
- Explanation of who he schemed with
Xie-wang monologues to Zhao Jing about his plans
Still at family meal time, ZZS asks WKX why he didn’t tell him
That night, drunk WKX is very lovey at ZZS
Wedding Prep Time!
Brief scene of YBY eating, thinking about immortality, and mourning the Rongs
GX is dressed for the wedding
LFM gifts her hairpins and says she won’t be at the wedding
WKX brings her Wu Xi’s gift of red-string bracelets
CWN is dressed for the wedding
MHY and his sect arrive at the gates
GX, CWN, and ZZS convince WKX to allow MHY and the sect to attend the wedding
The sect arrives, MHY begins insulting GX to CWN’s face
Timeline or Something
Presumably the first half of this is all on one day. The end of the Heroes Conference, a meal, and WKX drunkenly talking to ZZS all seem to be afternoon through night.
Xie-wang’s conversation with Zhao Jing could happen that same day or a few days later; it’s very hard to tell.
An unspecified amount of time later, the wedding occurs. It is very difficult to tell how long has passed! Presumably not too long, since Zhou Zishu isn’t yet actively dying from losing the Nails, and also there’s reference to this being rushed. But since “rushed” could mean anything from “like a week maybe” to “only a few months” depending on context… it’s very hard to say!
Recap
This picks up overlapping the end of ep33, as YBY approaches WKX and ZZS at the close of the Second Heroes Conference. YBY says that all those of Ghost Valley are doomed to die, then asks WKX why he broke the rules of Ghost Valley and unleashed the ghosts on the jianghu. WKX apologises for his wrongdoing, and YBY gives him the punishment of shutting down Ghost Valley and preventing ghosts from returning to the jianghu. WKX agrees, and YBY sends him off.
The other members of the Heroes Conference are like “Wait, that’s it?” and YBY’s like “Yeah? Why wouldn’t it be?” The Shaolin Temple loves this solution, and the E’mei Sect agrees as well, so the rest of the conference can’t argue.
WKX and ZZS depart with Chengling. YBY dismisses everyone else.
Gu Xiang tries to hurry her group away, but CWN and FHK make eye contact before they do.
Back in town (it’s impossible to tell exactly which one), everyone has a lovely family meal! It really is everyone, too: ZZS, WKX, Chengling, GX, CWN, Wu Xi, Beiyuan, Shen Shen, Gao Xiaolian, and Ping’an. About the only notable protagonist-aligned character not here is YBY.
GX complains to WKX that he’s too cruel and she’s been crying out of belief that he was dead. WKX agrees that he was cruel, but doesn’t seem fussed. GX asks WKX about the fake body ZZS burnt. WKX explains how he made and placed that fake. ZZS doesn’t seem to be listening/reacting to this conversation.
GX then asks about how Shen Shen, who’d been so fiercely opposed to Ghost Valley, ended up working with WKX. We’re given a brief flashback to WKX (dressed in red) talking to Shen Shen and Chengling. He admits his identity and says he came to explain himself to Chengling. GX then reacts like this explained everything, saying that they’ve been conspiring for a long time, and complains that WKX only hid this from “us” (GX, CWN, and ZZS).
WKX says that faking death is risky, and he needed Shen Shen and Chengling’s help to pull it off. GX asks if YBY was also helping. WKX says he was, because YBY was the only way for him to leave the Second Heroes Conference safely. Another brief flashback! This is the one where YBY’s like “I said I’d kill you if I saw you again; why are you here?” and WKX admits all his wrongdoings and asks YBY to help him fight Zhao Jing in a fair duel.
Shen Shen says he helped because he wanted to clear Gao Chong’s name and didn’t think the price of “Kexing and [himself] fighting to [their] last breath” would be too much. (It’s very fun how he’s referring to WKX as “Kexing” consistently now.) Shen Shen says YBY helped this feud end peacefully, and leads everyone in toasting YBY.
Chengling pokes ZZS, who hadn’t reacted to the toast, and ZZS then drinks too. WKX notices this, and looks concerned.
Beiyuan is delighted by WKX’s cleverness and planning skills, tells ZZS that his shidi surpasses his master, and then offers a toast to WKX. Wu Xi asks WKX why he didn’t take Zhao Jing’s life, if Zhao Jing was so evil. WKX explains that Zhao Jing’s life was part of the deal he struck with Xie-wang. Deng Kuan had been kept by Zhao Jing as a drug man. In return for Xie-wang returning Deng Kuan, WKX agreed to leave Zhao Jing alive. (We don’t get a flashback about this deal. I’m very sad about this.)
GX asks what the relationship between Xie-wang and Zhao Jing was, then turns to ZZS and asks if he’d known that the ghosts were being controlled by Xie-wang’s nugu poison and that WKX wanted his army back to deal with Tianchuang. WKX stops her from speaking at that point. ZZS still doesn’t say anything.
Beiyuan is surprised that Xie-wang helped WKX so much for seemingly so little, and asks if WKX promised anything else. WKX says there was nothing else.
ZZS thinks to himself that fate is tricky, since now WKX is free from his revenge but ZZS’s dying.
The scene cuts to Yueyang, where Xie-wang talks to Zhao Jing. Or, really, talks at Zhao Jing. Xie-wang seems rather drunk. Zhao Jing is mobility-impaired (doesn’t seem able to move his limbs at all) and still not allowed to speak, so he can only make grunting noises. The show’s framing this as a punishment for him, but it’s definitely also in a (very weird) relationship to disability.
Xie-wang dismisses all the servants that had been in the room, and tells Zhao Jing that he’d do anything Zhao Jing told him to do. Then he speaks of how many people Zhao Jing’s conspiracy has killed, and tells Zhao Jing that Xie-wang had once hoped to die in Zhao Jing’s service as well. He says he willingly fell for Zhao Jing’s lies, allowing them to seem like father and son living in harmony.
Xie-wang says he thinks Zhao Jing’s goal of being supreme leader of the martial arts world (武林盟主, wow, so much shorter in Chinese) is ridiculous, laughs, and says Xie-wang’s already outclassed Zhao Jing by allying with Tianchuang and Jin-wang. Despite this, Zhao Jing has looked down on him and even planned on killing, and Xie-wang’s mad about this. He stands and asks why Zhao Jing did this; was he taking Xie-wang for granted or think he was worthless?
Zhao Jing can’t respond, of course, but he also looks mad.
Xie-wang says he made a deal with WKX to stab Zhao Jing in the back just to prove that Xie-wang gets to decide whether or not to overthrow Zhao Jing. He grabs Zhao Jing by the throat, choking him. He releases Zhao Jing after a fraught moment, then sighs and seems to calm himself. He says that Zhao Jing is still his yifu, and goes to stand behind him, hands on Zhao Jing’s shoulders, as if things are okay.
Xie-wang touches Zhao Jing’s hair and says that, despite everything, Zhao Jing is still his only family in the world. Xie-wang says he could’ve taken over the world to make his yifu happy, but Zhao Jing made the wrong choice. Xie-wang leans over Zhao Jing, on the verge of tears, and tells Zhao Jing he gave him many chances, but Zhao Jing failed him.
The music swells. Xie-wang steps away to pick up a jar of jiu and drink it straight from the spout. He then pours a cup, kneels next to Zhao Jing, and holds it to Zhao Jing’s lips. He invites Zhao Jing to enjoy a life of peaceful happiness and let his son take care of him. Zhao Jing looks very checked-out and isn’t responding as Xie-wang does this. Xie-wang embraces Zhao Jing and says he’ll let him see how Xie-wang conques land and ascends to the throne.
As Xie-wang says he’ll kill Jin-wang and become the emperor, a tear slips out of Zhao Jing’s eyes. This, Xie-wang says, is his real goal. Zhao Jing, ever so slightly, returns the embrace by resting his chin on Xie-wang’s shoulder.
Back at Family Dinner, Chengling offers a toast to ZZS as a way of critiquing him for not telling Chengling about WKX’s identity earlier. WKX says he’s also responsible for this and will drink with ZZS, who isn’t responding even as WKX downs his jiu. WKX explains how Chengling reconfigured the “piercing rain needles” so that they wouldn’t kill WKX.
ZZS stands and asks if WKX’s plan was for “[ZZS’s] disciple to kill [WKX] in front of [ZZS] with the self-defense weapon [ZZS] gave [Chengling]”, and then asks why WKX didn’t tell him. Shen Shen offers to explain for WKX, but only explains why the fake death was necessary, not why WKX didn’t tell ZZS. Wu Xi also says he’s to blame for telling WKX that ZZS needed to rest and not get involved in a fight.
ZZS tells them to sit down, since he didn’t ask them, then turns to WKX and asks if WKX should be punished. WKX says yes, and asks “A-Xu, how would you punish me?” to which ZZS holds up a jar of jiu and tells him to drink three of them in a row. Everyone laughs, and WKX and ZZS smile at each other.
That night, WKX is (unsurprisingly) drunk. He stumbles into (presumably) ZZS’s room, almost trips over a chair, asking where ZZS is. He says he got everyone drunk, and that he’s happy, and then ZZS catches him before he sways far enough to fall over. WKX repeats that he’s happy. He contrasts this to the last time he was this drunk, when they had dinner with YBY and he was sad and worried about ZZS dying and/or not accepting him (as his shidi). But now all his worries are gone! So they should drink and be happy.
WKX hugs ZZS, and says he planned to ruin the world and himself, but it’s fortunate he met ZZS and learned how to be happy and joyous with him. He feels like this is what his parents and shifu wanted for him, and dreams of them smiling at him. ZZS strokes WKX’s hair and doesn’t say anything to ruin his dreams, even smiling, then raises WKX up and leads him over to the bed.
WKX smiles up at him and says he’d like to look for his parents’ grave after GX gets married, so that he can do his filial duty and bury them properly. He’s been afraid to do so previously, but now, with ZZS, he feels like he can. WKX grabs ZZS’s wrist and asks him to come along; ZZS clasps WKX’s wrist in return and agrees. Then WKX’s eyes close, and he seems to fall asleep. ZZS smiles at him, and a little tear falls from his eye.
Timeskip of some unknown amount! We’re in Ghost Valley now! It’s wedding prep day!
Women of the Department of the Unfaithful decorate the hall alongside some nameless masked ghosts. WKX and ZZS, in red and blue, walk through the hall. They greet them as “guzhu” (WKX’s normal title) and “Zhou-dabo” (大伯); WKX sends them on their way, and then ZZS turns to WKX and questions this form of address, which GX immediately also uses when running up to them, hand in hand with CWN.
ZZS says he figured GX had started that form of address, and GX says it was CWN’s idea and WKX’s fault for saying GX couldn’t call ZZS either “sick dude” or “A-Xu”. Zhou-dabo fits because ZZS is WKX’s senior (I am not even going to try and figure out what all the connotations of calling ZZS ‘Zhou-dabo’ are, but I’m pretty sure [after sticking it into pleco] that it’s at least a bit implying a wenzhou relationship with the cover of being a general ‘uncle’ term as well).
ZZS tells GX to call him “gege” instead, which WKX protests but GX is delighted by. WKX and GX bicker like siblings, which is very cute, and then Chengling runs over and is surprised to see GX and CWN together; he says that it’s not allowed for the couple to meet before the end of the wedding ceremony on their wedding day. When GX scolds him, Chengling asks CWN if he can discipline his wife, which CWN says (to everyone’s amusement) he can’t do. (Nobody is surprised.)
Chengling does offer that CWN can run to Siji Manor for his help if CWN needs it, though! Which is sweet.
ZZS says he wants to explore Ghost Valley and heads off. When WKX wants to follow him, GX grabs his arm and prevents him from doing so, asking if she really needs to go to Siji Manor instead of staying with him in Ghost Valley. WKX says she should go, framing it in marriage traditions. GX complains about this. WKX says that he’s shutting down the valley after her wedding, and GX grumbles about that too.
WKX says he won’t break his promise to YBY to keep the 3,000 ghosts in the valley until they fade/vanish/perish. It’s his way of repaying the heavens for giving him ZZS. (ZZS is close enough to hear this and smile.) GX is still sad about this, because she wants to have both WKX and CWN with her. WKX says he’ll sneak out to see them when he can, which pleases her, and thinks that in a few years everything should be peaceful.
WKX then turns to Chengling and asks what he wants done with Wuchang Gui and the other ghosts imprisoned in “the cold pool” (寒潭水牢) Chengling asks WKX what he was planning to do, and WKX says he locked them up because he doesn’t want to stain his hands with blood. Chengling asks if the cold pool is a painful place, then says to keep them there and let them reflect on their sins.
WKX is surprised that that’s all Chengling wants. Chengling says ZZS said to look to the future, and also that they shouldn’t cause bloodshed on GX’s wedding day. GX comments on Chengling being a little sage, and Chengling talks very earnestly about the original intention of Ghost Valley (which YBY explained to him) as a pathway to salvation (reincarnation?) for souls that need to repent before their next lives.
WKX asks where YBY is, and Chengling says that YBY is taking Rong Xuan’s body to Mount Changming to bury him beside his parents.
Cut to YBY drinking soup in a market. He asks for two more bowls of noodles and seems very content, though then he realises his hair’s turning silver and weakening, and comments on how even immortals decay. But he smiles, and says that immortals are a kind of living dead, and life’s more fun now that death’s on the horizon once more. He looks towards a wrapped urn (Rong Xuan) and then his sword (Rong Changqing), and says he’ll eat these two bowls of noodles on their behalf. He smiles, and begins to eat.
Back in Ghost Valley, we get some lovely shots of hairpins and other beauty items as GX is prepared for her wedding. The women of Ghost Valley tell her she’s gorgeous, and are delighted by having a wedding day and that GX’s wedding inspires them to want weddings too.
GX is brought to look at the prepared dowry, which is a lovely array of golden objects in red cases. WKX, LFM, and LQQ are all here looking them over as GX arrives. She’s awed by the amount, and WKX reminds her that he did promise that her dowry would be enough to line three streets. He says he hasn’t matched that yet, so he’ll make up the rest later.
LQQ says she hadn’t known all the etiquette of marriage, and preparing this has broadened her horizons. LFM says that a decent woman’s dowry should include everything needed from birth to death, and then specifically mentions that a well-prepared dowry should even include a shroud and coffin. (A bit morbid. A lot foreshadowing.) Then LFM asks why WKX prepared this wedding in such a rush.
WKX doesn’t have time to answer before GX says she’s happy that LFM and LQQ are at her wedding, and WKX grumbles that he’s not included in that list. Then he goes to get her one more gift.
While WKX’s doing that, LFM tells GX that she’s going to return to the mountains after preparing the dowry, and thus not attend the wedding itself. LQQ will be in charge of the wedding itself. GX looks startled and sad, but LFM has a gift for her: a set of lovely hairpins given to LFM by her shifu upon her marriage, which she’s now passing down to GX. LFM assures her they aren’t stained with LFM’s bad luck; she’s never worn them, and her master had a harmonious and happy family.
GX takes LFM’s hands and says she doesn’t care about the gift, just that she wants LFM to be her escort at her wedding. LFM says she can’t, it’d be bad luck, and tells GX to be good. Then she says she’s unsure when she’ll see GX again after this. GX asks LFM to put the hairpins in her hair for her, so she has at least that symbol of LFM’s presence, and FLM again refuses and tells her to be good. LQQ adds her voice to LFM’s, saying that GX shouldn’t worry, and that LQQ will stay with LFM for the rest of their lives.
LQQ then puts the pins in GX’s hair, and LGM tells her she’s beautiful. GX asks if LQQ is really staying in the Valley and living without YQF. LQQ gives her a blank look, then asks who YQF is. GX turns to LFM, but she doesn’t have time to explain before WKX returns.
WKX opens a box and says it’s a gift from Wu Xi; a pair of red string bracelets, divinely blessed, which can ensure lovers remain together through the rest of their lives. WKX ties it on GX’s wrist, after saying CWN’s already wearing his, and everyone admires GX and delights for her.
CWN, meanwhile, is also getting dressed up by the women of Ghost Valley. ZZS supervises (with Wu Xi and Beiyuan), and tells Chengling not to follow in CWN’s footsteps (of being so pliant and okay with women ordering him around? unclear.). ZZS then asks Chengling about the marriage Gao Chong had arranged between Chengling and Gao Xiaolian. Chengling says Xiaolian’s his jiejie, and wonders why ZZS’s trying to settle everyone/send them off.
CWN sits down and takes a drink, clearly nervous. Chengling asks him how he feels, and then what he’s thinking about. After a moment, CWN says he’s been thinking about how he’d expected to be married with his sect surrounding him, and being married in Ghost Valley like this is outside his wildest expectations.
Chengling says that Shen Shen met FHK and told him about CWN’s marriage, and Chengling apologises for only now passing along FHK’s words. Chengling (who has stood up and is acting out FHK’s role) says FHK told CWN to only do good things with his wife so that FHK’s teachings won’t be in vain, that FHK will try and convince MHY, and that CWN should bring his children to visit FHK.
CWN is overwhelmed by this and bows to FHK as represented by Chengling. Chengling is like “ahhh please don’t.” ZZS says that he now understands how CWN can be so good; it’s because FHK, not MHY, was the one who nurtured him. Then he says that there will be peace, now that the grudges have been settled.
Then a ghost shows up and says there’s a group of people outside saying that they’re CWN’s shixiongdi, here to celebrate CWN’s wedding.
The scene cuts to the gates of Ghost Valley, where MHY leads a procession of Qing Feng Sword Sect disciples carrying wedding gifts.
GX and CWN both run into the main hall of Ghost Valley; a woman of the unfaithful warns them that the groom and bridge shouldn’t meet. It’s too late for that, though, as GX asks CWN if he’s heard, and if he thinks his sect’s come around. CWN says FHK must’ve convinced MHY to come around, and they both seem earnestly excited.
GX asks WKX to let Qing Feng Sword Sect into Ghost Valley, telling him how good FHK was to her when she stayed with them. WKX sighs, and doesn’t seem inclined to agree, so GX runs to ZZS and asks him instead. ZZS does indeed lend his voice, and WKX agrees (though he seems to have reservations), so GX and CWN run off to tell the ghosts to open the gates.
It’s all very ceremonial as the ghosts bang on drums and the gates open. MHY leads his sect up the mountain road with an escort of ghosts.
In the hall, the ghosts and sect members mingle like brothers, which is fascinating.
CWN’s shixiongdi greet him and give him their congratulations, and CWN is pleased by that. Then MHY arrives, and CWN runs up to greet him. GX worries about how neither FHK nor MWX, who were so kind to her, are here, and then follows with a smile. MHY says nothing after CWN’s greeting, so CWN falls to his knees.
MHY calls GX a siren who stole CWN away, and then the episode ends.
General Commentary
There’s so much exposition here. It’s great? It’s also deeply frustrating because it’s all these glimpses of scenes I really badly want the longform of. How does Wen Kexing’s conversation with Shen Shen and Chengling go? How long does it take to convince them to help? How tense was the bargaining session between Wen Kexing and Xie-wang? How much input did Ye Baiyi have on what he was and wasn’t willing to do?
The way that Xie-wang has deliberately disabled Zhao Jing so that he can become Zhao Jing’s caretaker and source of support is honestly really disturbing? It’s not just the way Zhao Jing becoming disabled is framed as punishment for him (though that’s also shitty writing/framing), but Xie-wang’s motivations. It all sucks! It’s not good! I don’t have more thoughtful words about it, but it’s something that’s bothering me regardless.
I love the purple Gu Xiang wears during wedding prep. It’s her color, sure, as the Amethyst Fiend, but it’s also a beautiful balance of Ghost Valley red and the blues associated with our protags (Zhou Zishu, Cao Weining, and Chengling are all wearing blue here).
Chengling’s comments on how Gu Xiang and Cao Weining hanging out before their weddingis bad luck is such sad foreshadowing of their deaths to come.
The stretch where they’re talking about Wuchang Gui’s punishment is very much a “we must show that our protags are Good People!” thing to me, because while I agree that Chengling would go for not killing them, it’s strange to hear Wen Kexing say he doesn’t want to stain his hands with blood.
Zhou Zishu thinking about his oncoming death and then seemingly not telling Wen Kexing about that is so frustrating in the context of how everyone’s complaining about Wen Kexing not telling them about faking his death.
But, that said, Wen Kexing rushing to make the wedding happen makes me wonder if he does know (or at least suspect) that Zhou Zishu is dying sooner rather than later. If Wu Xi weren’t so surprised by Zhou Zishu having yeeted the Nails next episode, then I’d be more certain of whether or not Wen Kexing knew, because I can’t see Wu Xi learning without Wen Kexing learning after the fake death thing. That said, I could see Wen Kexing learning and agreeing not to tell Wu Xi until after the wedding.
The quiet moment where it’s revealed that Liu Qianqiao did indeed take the Meng Po Soup, as she’d said she would, and that Gu Xiang hadn’t known that? It’s very sad but also, hey, it was Liu Qianqiao’s choice. And I do like that Liu Qianqiao has chosen to promise herself to Luo Fumeng instead.
Wen Kexing being part of the women’s side of the wedding prep is great. It makes sense that he’d be with Gu Xiang, but also when every other man is on Cao Weining’s side, and it’s otherwise only women, it’s a fun nod back to how, in TYK, Zhou Zishu would sometimes call Wen Kexing ‘wife’.
The set-up for Mo Huaiyang arriving is so quick? Also really interesting, though, because of how it’s tied up in Chengling’s report of Fan Huaikong’s words. There’s so much deliberate contrast between the two seniors of Qing Feng Sword Sect here, and it’s cool seeing how that’s done even as it’s all in service of leading up to a lot of sadness. The Qing Feng Sword Sect disciples seem pretty chill, though, being all buddy-buddy with the ghosts right now…
Also wow this cliffhanger, I’d forgotten that this ended here and not just with Qing Feng Sword Sect outside the gates.
Discussion Prompts/Questions
Please don’t feel limited to these. They’re starting points for anyone who wants them, not the only things to talk about!
1. What’s your “favorite” ominous foreshadowing element of this episode?
2. Zhou Zishu’s reactions during dinner always seem so minimal to me. Is this because he’s lost his senses and isn’t attending as well? Is he thinking/processing too much? Something else?
3. Favorite shippy moments! There are a lot, both for wenzhou and for caoxiang. <3
Next Time: The wedding’s ruin, a lot of sadness, and fighting Xie-wang. Also some other stuff! But mostly that.