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ghost_valley2021-07-09 03:42 pm
shadaras) wrote in ghost_valley2021-07-09 03:42 pm
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[WoH Rewatch] Episode 5
This is later than usual because my computer kept wanting to die on me, ugh. But I have persevered! So much happens in this episode!
A comment about something I didn’t notice last week: When we first meet Zhao Jing, the same background music plays as when the cast first reaches Siji Manor (and when we first see Siji Manor in ZZS’s hallucination, this episode). It’s a theme that I associate with family/safety/good things happening. They go so hard on making Zhao Jing seem like a good guy when we first meet him!
List of Scenes
Tao Hong and Lv Liu run away from Shen Shen
Shen Shen tries to get Ao Laizi to give up the Dayang kids
Zhao Jing arrives and smooths things over
Ao Laizi departs and Shen Shen meets our protags
A feast! Part 1: ZZS doesn’t want to eat
Mu Yunge gets captured, and Ao Laizi tries to save him
A feast! Part 2: Shen Shen is drunk.
A feast! Part 3: Meeting Yu Qiufeng and Yu Tianjie
ZZS sees people sneaking around outside Sanbai Manor
Ao Laizi’s dead body is found at Sanbai Manor’s gates
Everyone realises Chengling’s in danger; WKX points out that these attackers don’t live up to the name of Ghost Valley
Liu Qianqiao scares/threatens Mu Yunge
ZZS tries really hard not to be Chengling’s shifu (again)
ZZS spies on Zhao Jing and Shen Shen
ZZS and WKX run off to the woods
Talking about dead bodies, cicadas, and owls
Entering the coffin home
ZZS’s hallucination of his childhood
Fighting the drug men
WKX calling ZZS by his actual name
Timeline or Something
The Five Lakes Alliance has been around for a hundred years
It’s been about twenty years since Zhao Jing took control of Lake Tai Sect.
We’re still in a very tight timeline as far as the actual events of this episode, as the whole thing takes place over less than a day.
Recap
We begin with Shen Shen fighting Tao Hong and Lv Liu as Ao Laizi backs away with his disciples. The grandparents quickly run away, with Tao Hong warning both of them that others will come for the Glazed Armor soon enough.
Shen Shen turns to Ao Laizi, who still has his sword out, and asks the Dayang Sect kids to come to him. Ao Laizi shuts him down, saying that they’re now part of Mount Tai Sect, when Shen Shen isn’t happy about, since those are Lu Taichong’s kids and he didn’t get to hear Lu Taichong personally entrust them to Ao Laizi.
Ao Laizi says “It’s [the] Five Lakes Alliance that abuses your power and oppress[es] others,” and Shen Shen stays remarkably calm considering how emotional we can see him being; he’s clearly upset by all this but holds himself to just saying he respects Ao Laizi as a sect leader but that Ao Laizi shouldn’t keep pushing his luck (by continuing to insult Shen Shen and his sworn brothers).
He does snap at the kiddo who asks him to respect Lu Taichong’s wishes, though, and says that Lu Taichong must’ve been delirious. Shen Shen’s very angry at the idea of Dayang Sect dying out because the kids go to Mount Tai, and says that they’ll be considered sinners for this.
Ao Laizi steps forward and asks if Shen Shen is here for the kids or “the item”, and Shen Shen’s response is “So what if I want them all? Can you stop me?”, which really plays into the framing of him as a bad person. It’s truly impressive. He’s not that bad when he’s got control of his emotions! But then, from his perspective I bet Ao Laizi is just as bad as the camera’s framing Shen Shen as being for us.
Shen Shen and Ao Lazi stare at each other with a lot of tension! Before it turns into a fight, Zhao Jing arrives with Qing Hua, a bunch of his own disciples, and our protags. Zhao Jing’s first words are for his brother, of course, asking what he’s doing here.
After a moment of Ao Laizi checking on his disciple, and Zhao Jing realising there’s a scratch on Shen Shen’s hand, Shen Shen explains his version of events. In it, he’s a savior who kept Tao Hong and Lv Liu from being rude to Ao Laizi, and he’s just very concerned about the Dayang Sect heirs and the length of the journey Ao Lazi has undertaken for them. No mention of how they were three seconds away from fighting over the kids!
Zhao Jing continues to play politic, and Ao Laizi rejects his offer of hospitality with a meaningful glance at Shen Shen. Zhao Jing, being very good at politics and knowing he’ll get what he wants regardless, is completely fine with letting Ao Laizi go his own way if he wishes. Shen Shen complains, and Zhao Jing points out that “we can’t make a scene in front of so many people,” which quells Shen Shen enough to give a polite farewell to Ao Laizi
He still asks about the kids, but doesn’t push when they continue to say they’re following Ao Laizi. This, where he smiles at their determination, is much closer to the Shen Shen we see later in the show. In this moment, though, it reads as scorn and not amusement at their earnestness.
Shen Shen’s parting words to Ao Laizi “Just Tao Hong and Lv Liu were able to put you in such a spot; are you sure you want to go your own way?” are likely genuinely meant, but with the framing he’s been given they come off as halfway to being a threat. Ao Laizi definitely reads the potential threat, too, as he bids them all farewell.
Zhou Zishu, watching, thinks to himself that “Both have their own intentions” (which: I kinda wonder, going and looking up the hanzi [各怀鬼胎], if this could also be “Everyone has their own agendas/schemes”?), but honestly Ao Laizi and Shen Shen are two of the least agenda-y people in this whole set. They just want to make sure the kids and glazed armor are safe, and have opposing ideas of how best to do that!
Ao Lazi leaves, and then Zhao Jing introduces Chengling to Shen Shen. And, also, to ZZS and WKX, who Zhao Jing now realises he hasn’t asked to introduce themselves. ZZS demurs and says they’re nobodies who were simply asked to bring Chengling to Zhao Jing, but—when he starts trying to excuse himself (and WKX)—WKX steps forward and gives both of their names and talks about how hard their journey was. (ZZS sighs and rolls his eyes.)
We cut back to Sanbai Manor, with its lovely ponds, and a feast. It’s very ornate and luxurious, with peacocks and dancers, and ZZS and WKX are seated at the head table with Zhao Jing, Shen Shen, Chengling, and that disciple whose name we eventually learn is Song Huairen.
ZZS continues drinking, and doesn’t seem to have any food on his plate. WKX quotes poetry, and offers a toast to Zhao Jing for his feast. Shen Shen returns the favor by offering a toast to WKX and ZZS for escorting Chengling to them. ZZS seems to be doing his best to ignore all of this, but WKX is playing it up.
Zhao Jing goes to speechify at the attendees, and WKX comments on Zhao Jing’s banquet-throwing skills. He also then puts a prawn on ZZS’s empty plate and tells him to eat it.
ZZS rolls his eyes and starts thinking about what Tian Chuang’s archives said about Zhao Jing. Which is that he “married the only daughter of West Zhejiang’s previous Observer and is very wealthy”, but that ZZS wasn’t prepared for him to be this grand/wealthy/ostentatious. (He also drinks more wine and we aren’t shown him touching the food at all.)
We cut to Ao Laizi and his disciples running through some town at night. Ao Laizi seems injured, and his disciples are concerned for him. They stop to rest, and Qing Bai talks about how the Five Lakes Alliance is a respectable sect and Shen Shen might pressure them but wouldn’t kill them in public. Ao Laizi responds with a shake of his head and a reminder that people can kill them in secret too, and it’s not just Shen Shen who might go after them.
Knowing about the Glazed Armor will send the jianghu into turmoil, and Ao Laizi points out that everyone will suffer from this. He also adds that “Life and death are not as important as promises. This is the duty of my generation. My life is not important; you kids must live on well” to make sure their sects’ legacy lives on well and brings peace to him and Lu Taichong in their death.
The disciples beg him not to speak like he’s on his deathbed, but then everyone’s distracted by a gust of wind and a bunch of smoke. Also, there’s someone crying for help! It’s that one highly forgettable dude who we saw hanging out with Deng Kuan in ep2: Mu Yunge of Broken Sword Manor. He stumbles out of the smoke and falls to the ground in a panic before pushing himself up and running to clutch at Ao Laizi.
Ao Laizi recognises him. Mu Yunge says that he’s being chased by a female ghost, Ao Laizi asks which one, and laughter echoes out of the night before Mu Yunge can answer.
Those nice yellow paper thingies rain from the sky along with a dramatic voiceover about how Mu Yunge’s on the List of the Unfaithful now and is gonna die. He gets dragged offscreen by a red ribbon wrapped around his throat, and Ao Laizi demands that the person responsible show themself.
Luo Fumeng | Xisang Gui [presumably? Ao Laizi thinks that’s who it is, at least.] laughs at him (“an old Daoist with no love debts”) and tells him (and the rest) to run if they want to live. Ao Laizi names her (first as Xisang Gui, and then as Luo Fumeng), and then tells Qing Bai to take the juniors and run, while he draws his sword and runs towards where Mu Yunge disappeared.
Back at the feast, WKX is eating nuts while ZZS continues to have only that uneaten prawn on his plate. Shen Shen is drunk, and being overbearing at Chengling while Zhao Jing reminds him that Chengling is still a kid and doesn’t need to stay and drink at a party if he doesn’t want to. Chengling tells Shen Shen he isn’t able to drink, and Shen Shen complains about how Zhang Yusen could drink really well. Zhao Jing tells Song Huairen to take Shen Shen away (Shen Shen protests he’s not drunk), and things smooth out a little.
Zhao Jing says Shen Shen’s like this when he’s drunk, and then says he’ll take Chengling back to his room. Chengling goes, with a backwards look at ZZS and WKX, and Zhao Jing hands him off to a servant. WKX then goes and asks Zhao Jing who that dashing young master was, and we learn that Song Huairen is Gao Chong’s favorite disciple. (Which is an interesting distinction to make, since Deng Kuan is his head disciple! What leads to Gao Chong favoring them in such different ways, you think?)
From there, we cut to Song Huairen putting Shen Shen to bed. As soon as he’s left, Shen Shen’s eyes open and he sits up, not acting drunk at all.
Zhao Jing introduces WKX to Yu Qiufeng, leader of the Mount Hua Sect (or, more memorably, Liu Qianqiao’s ex), and Yu Qiufeng’s son, Yu Tianjie. Wen Kexing continues using his one line about it being so nice to meet them, and every time it’s repeated it’s clearer how false it rings.
Outside, ZZS is drinking wine and pretending to be sick so that servants don’t bother him. Unfortunately for him, he can’t ignore it when he sees people sneaking around; he catches sight of Yu Tianjie wandering around stealthily, and immediately goes to follow. We see Yu Tianjie go through a window, and ZZS comments to himself that the Five Lakes Alliance is “full of schemes and mists” as he wonders what Yu Tianjie is up to.
Yu Tianjie and another man (who we later learn is Song Huairen) tumble out a different window! The masked man (Song Huairen) slashes at Yu Tianjie, and then they both keep running out of the manor grounds. ZZS watches them go, but doesn’t give chase.
Inside, Zhao Jing and Yu Qiufeng are chatting. Most of the party seems to have broken up, with a few people slumped over the table asleep as servants are cleaning up.
Unfortunately, the nice sleepy atmosphere is broken by a ghost’s voice shouting about how the Five Lakes Alliance has done too many evil things!
A servant comes running up, and we learn that “something has happened at the main gate”. Everyone goes running to look, and we cut to WKX, looking at once unconcerned and thoughtful. He goes off in a different direction.
At the gate, we find Ao Laizi hanging, dead, along with some of his disciples. ZZS runs out to look, also, as everyone is upset. Zhao Jing tries, and fails, to cut the rope holding the dead bodies; Yu Qiufeng takes the sword from him and slices through it cleanly in one stroke. Yu Qiufeng also is calling Ao Laizi “shixiong” here, by the way, which is fascinating for implied relationships. He’s way more upset than Zhao Jing, who’s calling him “Ao Laizi-daoxiong”, which is a more generic relationship term.
Yu Qiufeng also recognises Happy Ghost’s mark (which, honesty? I always think of Batman’s Joker when I see that kind of extended smile sliced into a face). Zhao Jing’s face, here, is way more controlled than you’d expect for someone performing upset, but he is performing.
ZZS contemplates how Ghost Valley is after the Five Lakes Alliance, then realises something and runs off. A moment later, Zhao Jing realises the same thing: that this is a decoy for someone to attack Chengling, and (unlike ZZS) actually shares this with everyone else.
By the time Zhao Jing catches up, WKX and ZZS are both standing in front of Chengling’s room, with Chengling himself sitting on the steps. We are not shown ZZS getting here, or WKX arriving first of all. Zhao Jing goes to ask if Chengling is okay, while Yu Qiufeng asks if “that person” is from Ghost Valley; Chengling says he doesn’t know. (There is no visual antecedent for who “that person” is supposed to be from Yu Qiufeng’s POV, but from a viewer’s perspective this is a very lovely line as far as WKX goes, so I really appreciate the writing.)
Yu Qiufeng continues questioning Chengling, and Chengling says he’s afraid and calls out for Shifu; ZZS looks at him, because of course he does, but doesn’t say anything. Zhao Jing tells Yu Qiufeng to calm down and that of course Chengling doesn’t know anything about Ghost Valley.
WKX speaks up, then, and says “It was just a few men wearing ghost masks.” ZZS’s attention, along with Zhao Jing’s and Yu Qiufeng’s, is immediately on him, and WKX continues talking about how they wanted to kidnap Chengling. “Their martial arts were average,” he says, with a smirk. “They ran as soon as I started fighting.” Then, because Yu Qiufeng continues insisting it’s Ghost Valley, WKX laughs and says they were useless and didn’t live up to Ghost Valley’s reputation. (He also says something about “Upon meeting you, their admirable reputation became so different”, where the “they” in the sentence feels like it should be about Ghost Valley based on English sentence structure but contextually I feel like it should be more about the Five Lakes Alliance?)
ZZS has started looking away and studying other things at this point. Zhao Jing thanks WKX again, and WKX accepts this with a silent smile.
The scene changes to show Mu Yunge in bed with a woman, and Liu Qianqiao begins showing off her skills. Mu Yunge’s wrists are tied behind his back, and he struggles against these bonds as he calls her a ghost. She continues taking on the role of his dead girlfriend, Yan Wan, who had been pregnant with his child and was “strangled to death with a hemp rope at the foot of Broken Sword Manor,” which she says while drawing a red cloth taut around his neck.
Mu Yunge tries to say he’ll do the proper offerings, and Liu Qianqiao keeps threatening him with lovely drama. The lights go out, her face is completely blank/featureless for a moment, and Mu Yunge faints.
Liu Qianqiao takes off the skin mask to reveal her true face, and goes to another room with some servants from the Bureau of the Unfaithful. They’re all in awe of her skills of scaring Mu Yunge, and want her to teach them her ways (of both threatening, and of disguise). She says she’ll teach any of them the disguise stuff, if they want to learn, though it’s “easy to learn and difficult to master.”
Back at Sanbai Manor, ZZS watches over Chengling, because he’s really bad at pretending not to care. He goes to leave, thinking Chengling is asleep, but then Chengling sits up and looks at him. ZZS asks if he can’t sleep, and Chengling just calls him “Shifu” in return.
ZZS goes back over to try and tell Chengling to stop calling him that (much more gently than last time), and that he should learn martial arts from his uncles instead. Chengling’s on the verge of crying, and ZZS tells him not to cry, and Chengling repeats a very macho mantra about “men only shed blood, not tears”, which makes me sigh but such is the culture.
ZZS leaves, anyway, and Chengling does start to cry.
ZZS walks over a pretty wooden bridge to gentle music, and thinks about Jiuxiao. And about telling Jiuxiao not to cry when he was a teen and Jiuxiao was a young kid, based on the relative size of ZZS’s hand/arm to Jiuxiao’s.
And then ZZS distracts himself from thinking about his shidi by deciding he’s going to spy on Zhao Jing, because he just can’t get rid of his Tian Chuang instincts either. (I mean, I think he actively stopped thinking about it before doing this, but this choice definitely helped him stay distracted.)
Zhao Jing and Shen Shen have just realised that the Glazed Armor was stolen, and that they fell for a double decoy. Shen Shen is angry-upset, and Zhao Jing is playing up being sad-resigned.
The Glazed Armor was stolen from a secret room, and Shen Shen asks who would be able to do this. Zhao Jing says no outsiders should be able to open the lock on his secret room, so there’s someone on the outside.
I love how chill ZZS looks as he lounges on the roof and dismantles a few tiles for better audio and also a bit of a view of the two sect leaders he’s spying on.
Zhao Jing says that the person Yu Tianjie was chasing stole the Glazed Armor, and ZZS wonders who that masked man was. Meanwhile, Shen Shen is scolding Zhao Jing for being so careless. ZZS now learns that the five pieces of the Glazed Armor were kept by the five leaders of the Alliance!
Shen Shen continues scolding Zhao Jing and giving us a lot of information in a short speech: “What have you done in twenty years? Have riches rotted your bones? [...] Da-ge was right; do you think these people really look up to you as Sanbai-daxia? They are all just greedy for riches. What was the great Lake Tai Sect come to in your hands? One hundred years of the Five Lakes Alliance’s prestige [...] and thanks to you, it has become a joke!”
A lot of that has to hurt, considering how we later learn Zhao Jing’s cultivation was fucked up by WKX’s mom. (Which: Good on her, I’m so happy she did that, even if it probably made Zhao Jing even more bitter.) It’s also a really cool look at how—from Shen Shen’s perspective, at least—the Alliance’s status is in decline right now. He’s blaming Zhao Jing, because Zhao Jing’s easy to blame, but I doubt it’s just Zhao Jing.
It’s also super interesting on a rewatch, where I’m more inclined to agree with Shen Shen! On a first watch, it’s easy to just go “Ugh, Shen Shen is angry and rude all the time,” but once you know that he’s not actually a bad person there’s a lot of sense in what he’s saying.
Zhao Jing, very sadly, agrees with Shen Shen. He’s playing up the role of a useless but well-meaning man here, and doing it very well. “Everyone says that the Alliance is impressive, and that I live honorably. Actually, I just have a bit of money. I’ve disgraced the Five Lakes Alliance.” Which, hilariously, is true but he’s saying it to play on Shen Shen’s sympathy and it doesn’t ping as true until you already know the whole truth.
He stops telling the truth when he says that he doesn’t want anything except for the Zhang family to be well and that “As long as we five brothers are well, and if Rong-dage [Rong Xuan] is well, that’s enough.” Which is an interesting expression of regret. “If only we had known— Why did we build the armory, or covet the Glazed Armor?” is also interesting, because from my perspective there’s no reason to covet the Glazed Amor without building the armory, though having the Glazed Armor also allowed them to build the armory. So it’s kind of an endless loop of blame, if he’s setting it there.
Zhao Jing, still acting like the most useless man, goes to clutch at Shen Shen’s hand and beg him to destroy his piece of the Glazed Armor. “If we destroy it, nobody will be able to open the armory, and it will be peaceful.”
Shen Shen, unfortunately, just asks if he’s gone silly with rage. “We sacrificed so many people for the secret of the armory,” he says, and doesn’t want that to have been in vain.
On a rewatch, it’s very clear that Zhao Jing had to have known that Shen Shen would react like that, or else he was very confident in his ability to get Shen Shen’s piece of armor if Shen Shen actually went for it. Maybe that was his original goal, and now he needs to deal with the consequences of Shen Shen rejecting his great plan.
Regardless, we don’t see more, because ZZS puts the tiles back on the roof and the manor guards start shouting about someone hidden (who we see fluttering away, and it’s easy to tell it’s WKX’s pale green robes and his fan extended in his hand). ZZS wonders who could conceal themself even from his, and goes to give chase. Some smoke bombs also land in front of Shen Shen and Zhao Jing (who had also run out at the guards’ shouts), preventing them from joining in the chase, which is sweet of ZZS to do.
There’s a lovely chase over the treetops as ZZS follows WKX and their theme song starts playing. WKX lands, and calls for ZZS to come down and join him. WKX thanks ZZS for keeping the guards from following, and ZZS asks WKX what he’s up to (since he’s acting like a thief instead of a guest). WKX turns his words back on him, and then says that “although we don’t usually say it, our hearts are as clear as mirrors” and starts explaining himself.
Because the Five Lakes Alliance is full of secrets and “our Chengling is so naive”, he needs to seek out the origins of the Glazed Armor and its implications (so that Chengling doesn’t get swallowed up by chaos). A lovely use of truth here, because WKX’s not really lying about anything; he might already know a lot about the Glazed Armor but there are still many secrets he wants to uncover. Also, protecting Chengling is nice, but he’s got deeper goals.
They share information, and then ZZS starts walking off to investigate why the signs of fighting (between Yu Tianjie and the masked man) disappeared. WKX watches him go, nonchalant for a moment before darting forward and grabbing him with a shout of “Stop!” because he’s seen the soul-winding threads strung between the trees.
ZZS identifies it, now that he’s had it pointed out, and says “This time, it’s the real Hanging Ghost.” WKX challenges him about this, drawing out ZZS’s knowledge, and ZZS says that “Xue Feng has been famous for almost 30 years” and that Gu Xiang killing him wouldn’t make sense. WKX teases him about not being superstitious (since he’s talking about ghosts at night), even going as far as saying “You’re a male virgin, so you’re not afraid of ghosts”, which ZZS ignores in favor of noticing blood dripping from the trees above.
A bit gets onto his sleeve, and ZZS looks at it with disgust. WKX laughs at him for being “a murderous combat master” (netflix’s subs, this time, because that’s where I’m taking screenshots and it’s a much more interesting translation choice for “你这样一个杀气冲的高手” than “combative master”), yet being scared of blood. ZZS ignores him, looking up at the body in the trees, and WKX takes this opportunity to say he’ll clean ZZS’s sleeve for him. He doesn’t exactly clean it, but he does cut off the bloodied part of the sleeve, which I guess means it’s not ZZS’s problem anymore. (It does make WKX’s intentions even clearer, of course.) “This will make it easier,” WKX says, and ZZS still doesn’t use his words in response.
Now they’re both looking up, and the camera lets us see too! Yu Tianjie is strung up in the tree, dead. WKX wants ZZS to guess who’s up there, and ZZS doesn’t want to guess; he’d rather look.
We’re given a bit of a flashback to how Yu Tianjie died, here, though it’s not very marked as a flashback. I think it’s ZZS playing out how this death must have happened? I’m not sure.
WKX, who had guessed who the body was, cheerfully points out that he was correct and won the first round. ZZS still isn’t playing this game, and instead walks off. WKX follows him, of course, and they come across another body. It’s the masked man! Round two, where WKX continues to try and get ZZS to guess who it is, this time accompanying his words with a bump of his shoulder. ZZS responds to that, telling WKX to stop coming so close to him, but still isn't here for the guessing games.
WKX’s taken aback for a moment before he changes his game from “guess who the body is” (too difficult, apparently) to “guess who killed him”. ZZS unveils the body, revealing Song Huairen, who appears to be the traitor. (I know we learn more about how this all went down from Zhao Jing and Xie’er’s POV in a later episode; I cannot remember what episode that is, despite having a couple very clear images in my head from that sequence.)
When WKX grumbles about ZZS not guessing who killed Song Huairen, ZZS stands and says that it was Yu Tianjie, because he saw them fight, and then he names “Taiyue’s Greek Peak Swordsmanship”, which is presumably the style of the wounds on Song Huairen’s body. WKX smiles, because ZZS’s playing along, and then says it wasn’t the fatal injury. He points at a stab wound with his fan, saying it was the death blow, and then turns up to ZZS to ask what caused it.
ZZS thinks to himself that it “looks like it was caused by Iron Hook”, but that “even [he doesn’t] have any impression of this martial art”. (I do not recognise this name/reference! Does anyone else?) He doesn’t say this to WKX, though, and they both get distracted by the sound of an owl laughing. WKX tells us about this, and how it’s a bad sign, because people die after owls laugh.
ZZS points out that people have already died, and WKX says that not enough people have. Then he tells his story about a child who heard an owl laugh, and his whole village had dozens of deaths. Is this another of those stories that WKX tells that’s really about him, somehow? I’d need to go back to the flashbacks around his parents’ deaths to know if they put an owl’s laugh in there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened.
Still, ZZS doesn’t really want to engage with that, preferring to think about cicadas, mantises, and orioles (and asking who the latter are). WKX laughs and talks about how “every cunning zealot always thinks they have the upper hand” and that even those who think they’re in control will turn out to be nothing but the victims of someone else’s plans in the end. ZZS smiles a little, and says that “If you want to say you’re the oriole, just say it”, which WKX laughs a little about in a kind of nervous way; he’s been caught out here, which he seemed not to expect even though he has been playing up his “I’m actually in control/I know things” vibe.
WKX also chases after ZZS, going back to his more playful persona, when ZZS continues walking into the night in search of more clues.
They reach the Zhao coffin home! After some silent contemplation, they enter, and this time ZZS saves WKX from a trap as a net made of soul-winding thread comes at them.
This isn’t quite the first time ZZS touched WKX of his own volition for non-combative reasons—that’s when he took the wine at the end of ep3, iirc—but it hasn’t been a common thing at all. This is more actively protective, too, than anything ZZS’s done before tonight.
When WKX goes to touch ZZS in turn, ZZS shifts away. WKX smiles, and says of ZZS: “You look good, you’re strong, you’ve seen a lot” and (since ZZS is so outstanding) wonders why he’s never heard of the name Zhou Xu before.
ZZS sighs, as WKX asks “Who are you exactly?”, and then turns the question back around on WKX. There’s a beat, and then WKX laughs and ZZS smiles.
“A good person,” WKX says as ZZS turns away; “Although I don’t look it” and then he says that where he comes from, everyone calls him “Philanthropist Wen”. Now having realised that Gu Xiang is the first one to call him that, this continues being a half-truth.
ZZS accepts this answer, to some degree, because he calls WKX “Philanthropist Wen” as he tells WKX to come with him deeper into the coffin home. They walk forward, into the nice courtyard filled with a bunch of coffins and that one creepy donkey made of probably paper-mache.
ZZS and WKX walk through it, and we’re given a bunch of lovely creepy shots to remind us that this is a horror setting, before WKX and ZZS reach the Zhao Ancestral Hall on the courtyard’s other side.
They enter, and there’s some incense lit, and they look around quietly for a while.
They turn, and split off to investigate in opposite directions.
WKX ends up back out with the coffins, and the “bad things are happening” musical cue starts playing as he calls out to someone he sees kneeling in front of a tablet, asking if they’re afraid of being approached by spirits.
WKX comes up behind this person and says, “You have to know who you’re deceiving. Brother [generic form of address], you’ve met your match today.” He taps the person on the shoulder with his fan, and the man turns to face him. WKX’s face softens into shock as he recognises his dad.
ZZS, meanwhile, is exploring inside, and still staring at that incense. After a visual/musical cue of “something has happened!”, he turns and races outside, where we see the scene has completely changed: It’s not the coffin home on a late spring night, but Siji Manor during a winter day.
There’s snow on the ground, the sun is shining, and ZZS sees Qin Huaizhang and Qin Jiuxiao (still a young child) laughing and building a snowman together.
He stares at this, shocked and unmoving, until Jiuxiao calls out and asks him to join in. Then, as Qin Huaizhang teases Jiuxiao, ZZS smiles. Qin Huaizhang smiles and approaches him, saying that they should all work together to build a big snowman, but the sound of his voice starts distorting as he gets closer. ZZS realises something’s wrong, his face fading into shock, and he draws Baiyi to slice open his palm and end the hallucination via pain.
ZZS extends Baiyi, and it braces on “Qin Huaizhang’s” chest for a second before the scene shifts and fades back into the coffin home. ZZS is pointing his sword at a really well-done zombie, not his shifu, and we get a lovely fight sequence.
WKX enters, and tells the zombies not to bully ZZS, but he’s speaking/acting like a child and still clearly under the effects of Drunk Like a Dream (which hasn’t been named yet).
ZZS shouts “Lao-Wen, wake up!”, which I’m pretty sure is the first time he’s actually said “Lao-Wen”. It’s been “Wen-gongzi” this and “Wen-xiong” that, a slow fading towards intimacy, but the Lao-Wen address finally matches up with WKX’s ‘A-Xu’.
WKX doesn’t wake up, of course, and ZZS keeps fighting to protect them both. WKX hides his face behind his fan as ZZS kills a not-zombie; it’s very cute.
ZZS gets some blood on his robes and cuts off the hem of his robe himself, this time, before thinking to himself that these not-zombies are “drug men” and that the hallucinations are from Drunk Like a Dream.
WKX’s laughing, teasing him for being afraid of blood again, still acting like a child. ZZS opens up a vial of medicine and puts it in front of WKX’s face, telling him to drink it.
When WKX asks if it’s sweet, ZZS nods; when WKX drinks it, he makes a terribly disappointed face because it doesn’t taste good at all. ZZS also needs to put his hand over WKX’s mouth to keep him from spitting out the medicine.
anyway this one’s really just here just because I enjoy WKX’s expression…
When WKX shoves his hand away, he says, “Zhou Zishu, you lied! I’m going to tell my mother!”
WKX storms away while ZZS goes ??? over being called “Zhou Zishu” by WKX, and we end with ZZS wondering “When did he know/learn my name?”
General Commentary
There’s so much information packed into this episode! I do not know what to say about it beyond that I keep forgetting how much is packed into this one episode! So this is going to be scattered and not chronological.
We’re also told a lot of information! First, about the Five Lakes Alliance and how they’re seen (both by others and themselves). Then, more about what ZZS knows about Ghost Valley and the Five Lakes Alliance. And, of course, some information about both ZZS and WKX’s pasts.
I’m fascinated by Ao Laizi’s lines about how “Life and death are not as important as promises. This is the duty of my generation. My life is not important; you kids must live on well.” I’m fairly certain this is just a lot of wuxia tropes/themes? But it’s cool to have it called out so explicitly.
In my ongoing attempt to actively remember what all that happens is part of Zhao Jing’s plotting, I’m pretty sure that most/all of what happened at Sanbai Manor is directly Zhao Jing’s fault? We know that the theft of the Glazed Armor is, eventually. It’s probable that the ghost-masked men who attacked Chengling are his men. Ao Laizi’s death is also an element of his plan, I think, though I doubt Mu Yunge’s involvement was expected.
It’s really interesting to me that Zhou Zishu doesn’t recognise the Drunk Like a Dream at first encounter. My recollection is that it’s got some sort of scent? But he’s too distracted by everything else, I guess.
ZZS is starting to actually care about WKX by now, which is lovely to see even if it’s very subtle. And WKX’s use of his name (and wanting to tell his mother on ZZS) makes a lot more sense on a rewatch when we know their childhood connection, but it’s still really interesting how differently it affects them. Does ZZS have resistance due to having developed/used it, or is it just easier to throw it off when you know effects like this are possible?
I’m so curious what would’ve happened if Shen Shen had actually agreed with Zhao Jing’s suggestion of destroying his piece of the Glazed Armor. Would Zhao Jing have been able to keep him from doing it? Does Shen Shen have his piece with him? Would it even be possible?
Discussion Prompts/Questions
probably most of my prompts/questions are really hidden in the above sections today...
I don’t recall if we’re ever shown more of WKX’s Drunk Like a Dream hallucination. What do you think he saw? Why do you think it’s his dad mourning/sitting vigil? (For whom?)
Did any of you even remember that Yu Qiufeng had a son? Because I sure didn’t until I rewatched this episode. Poor Yu Tianjie; he exists to attempt to catch a thief and die messily.
Zhao Jing and his acting skills! How much emotion do you think he really has about the deaths and thievery and so forth? How much do you think he really wanted Ao Laizi to come to his manor (where killing him/stealing that piece of Glazed Armor would be a different challenge)? Any other thoughts about his plotting thus far?
Next Time: ZZS is unmasked! Xie’er’s introduction! Chengling misses ZZS and WKX! A lot of emotional conversations between ZZS and WKX! WKX starts working on the fake Glazed Armor!
A comment about something I didn’t notice last week: When we first meet Zhao Jing, the same background music plays as when the cast first reaches Siji Manor (and when we first see Siji Manor in ZZS’s hallucination, this episode). It’s a theme that I associate with family/safety/good things happening. They go so hard on making Zhao Jing seem like a good guy when we first meet him!
List of Scenes
Tao Hong and Lv Liu run away from Shen Shen
Shen Shen tries to get Ao Laizi to give up the Dayang kids
Zhao Jing arrives and smooths things over
Ao Laizi departs and Shen Shen meets our protags
A feast! Part 1: ZZS doesn’t want to eat
Mu Yunge gets captured, and Ao Laizi tries to save him
A feast! Part 2: Shen Shen is drunk.
A feast! Part 3: Meeting Yu Qiufeng and Yu Tianjie
ZZS sees people sneaking around outside Sanbai Manor
Ao Laizi’s dead body is found at Sanbai Manor’s gates
Everyone realises Chengling’s in danger; WKX points out that these attackers don’t live up to the name of Ghost Valley
Liu Qianqiao scares/threatens Mu Yunge
ZZS tries really hard not to be Chengling’s shifu (again)
ZZS spies on Zhao Jing and Shen Shen
ZZS and WKX run off to the woods
Talking about dead bodies, cicadas, and owls
Entering the coffin home
ZZS’s hallucination of his childhood
Fighting the drug men
WKX calling ZZS by his actual name
Timeline or Something
The Five Lakes Alliance has been around for a hundred years
It’s been about twenty years since Zhao Jing took control of Lake Tai Sect.
We’re still in a very tight timeline as far as the actual events of this episode, as the whole thing takes place over less than a day.
Recap
We begin with Shen Shen fighting Tao Hong and Lv Liu as Ao Laizi backs away with his disciples. The grandparents quickly run away, with Tao Hong warning both of them that others will come for the Glazed Armor soon enough.
Shen Shen turns to Ao Laizi, who still has his sword out, and asks the Dayang Sect kids to come to him. Ao Laizi shuts him down, saying that they’re now part of Mount Tai Sect, when Shen Shen isn’t happy about, since those are Lu Taichong’s kids and he didn’t get to hear Lu Taichong personally entrust them to Ao Laizi.
Ao Laizi says “It’s [the] Five Lakes Alliance that abuses your power and oppress[es] others,” and Shen Shen stays remarkably calm considering how emotional we can see him being; he’s clearly upset by all this but holds himself to just saying he respects Ao Laizi as a sect leader but that Ao Laizi shouldn’t keep pushing his luck (by continuing to insult Shen Shen and his sworn brothers).
He does snap at the kiddo who asks him to respect Lu Taichong’s wishes, though, and says that Lu Taichong must’ve been delirious. Shen Shen’s very angry at the idea of Dayang Sect dying out because the kids go to Mount Tai, and says that they’ll be considered sinners for this.
Ao Laizi steps forward and asks if Shen Shen is here for the kids or “the item”, and Shen Shen’s response is “So what if I want them all? Can you stop me?”, which really plays into the framing of him as a bad person. It’s truly impressive. He’s not that bad when he’s got control of his emotions! But then, from his perspective I bet Ao Laizi is just as bad as the camera’s framing Shen Shen as being for us.
Shen Shen and Ao Lazi stare at each other with a lot of tension! Before it turns into a fight, Zhao Jing arrives with Qing Hua, a bunch of his own disciples, and our protags. Zhao Jing’s first words are for his brother, of course, asking what he’s doing here.
After a moment of Ao Laizi checking on his disciple, and Zhao Jing realising there’s a scratch on Shen Shen’s hand, Shen Shen explains his version of events. In it, he’s a savior who kept Tao Hong and Lv Liu from being rude to Ao Laizi, and he’s just very concerned about the Dayang Sect heirs and the length of the journey Ao Lazi has undertaken for them. No mention of how they were three seconds away from fighting over the kids!
Zhao Jing continues to play politic, and Ao Laizi rejects his offer of hospitality with a meaningful glance at Shen Shen. Zhao Jing, being very good at politics and knowing he’ll get what he wants regardless, is completely fine with letting Ao Laizi go his own way if he wishes. Shen Shen complains, and Zhao Jing points out that “we can’t make a scene in front of so many people,” which quells Shen Shen enough to give a polite farewell to Ao Laizi
He still asks about the kids, but doesn’t push when they continue to say they’re following Ao Laizi. This, where he smiles at their determination, is much closer to the Shen Shen we see later in the show. In this moment, though, it reads as scorn and not amusement at their earnestness.
Shen Shen’s parting words to Ao Laizi “Just Tao Hong and Lv Liu were able to put you in such a spot; are you sure you want to go your own way?” are likely genuinely meant, but with the framing he’s been given they come off as halfway to being a threat. Ao Laizi definitely reads the potential threat, too, as he bids them all farewell.
Zhou Zishu, watching, thinks to himself that “Both have their own intentions” (which: I kinda wonder, going and looking up the hanzi [各怀鬼胎], if this could also be “Everyone has their own agendas/schemes”?), but honestly Ao Laizi and Shen Shen are two of the least agenda-y people in this whole set. They just want to make sure the kids and glazed armor are safe, and have opposing ideas of how best to do that!
Ao Lazi leaves, and then Zhao Jing introduces Chengling to Shen Shen. And, also, to ZZS and WKX, who Zhao Jing now realises he hasn’t asked to introduce themselves. ZZS demurs and says they’re nobodies who were simply asked to bring Chengling to Zhao Jing, but—when he starts trying to excuse himself (and WKX)—WKX steps forward and gives both of their names and talks about how hard their journey was. (ZZS sighs and rolls his eyes.)
We cut back to Sanbai Manor, with its lovely ponds, and a feast. It’s very ornate and luxurious, with peacocks and dancers, and ZZS and WKX are seated at the head table with Zhao Jing, Shen Shen, Chengling, and that disciple whose name we eventually learn is Song Huairen.
ZZS continues drinking, and doesn’t seem to have any food on his plate. WKX quotes poetry, and offers a toast to Zhao Jing for his feast. Shen Shen returns the favor by offering a toast to WKX and ZZS for escorting Chengling to them. ZZS seems to be doing his best to ignore all of this, but WKX is playing it up.
Zhao Jing goes to speechify at the attendees, and WKX comments on Zhao Jing’s banquet-throwing skills. He also then puts a prawn on ZZS’s empty plate and tells him to eat it.
ZZS rolls his eyes and starts thinking about what Tian Chuang’s archives said about Zhao Jing. Which is that he “married the only daughter of West Zhejiang’s previous Observer and is very wealthy”, but that ZZS wasn’t prepared for him to be this grand/wealthy/ostentatious. (He also drinks more wine and we aren’t shown him touching the food at all.)
We cut to Ao Laizi and his disciples running through some town at night. Ao Laizi seems injured, and his disciples are concerned for him. They stop to rest, and Qing Bai talks about how the Five Lakes Alliance is a respectable sect and Shen Shen might pressure them but wouldn’t kill them in public. Ao Laizi responds with a shake of his head and a reminder that people can kill them in secret too, and it’s not just Shen Shen who might go after them.
Knowing about the Glazed Armor will send the jianghu into turmoil, and Ao Laizi points out that everyone will suffer from this. He also adds that “Life and death are not as important as promises. This is the duty of my generation. My life is not important; you kids must live on well” to make sure their sects’ legacy lives on well and brings peace to him and Lu Taichong in their death.
The disciples beg him not to speak like he’s on his deathbed, but then everyone’s distracted by a gust of wind and a bunch of smoke. Also, there’s someone crying for help! It’s that one highly forgettable dude who we saw hanging out with Deng Kuan in ep2: Mu Yunge of Broken Sword Manor. He stumbles out of the smoke and falls to the ground in a panic before pushing himself up and running to clutch at Ao Laizi.
Ao Laizi recognises him. Mu Yunge says that he’s being chased by a female ghost, Ao Laizi asks which one, and laughter echoes out of the night before Mu Yunge can answer.
Those nice yellow paper thingies rain from the sky along with a dramatic voiceover about how Mu Yunge’s on the List of the Unfaithful now and is gonna die. He gets dragged offscreen by a red ribbon wrapped around his throat, and Ao Laizi demands that the person responsible show themself.
Luo Fumeng | Xisang Gui [presumably? Ao Laizi thinks that’s who it is, at least.] laughs at him (“an old Daoist with no love debts”) and tells him (and the rest) to run if they want to live. Ao Laizi names her (first as Xisang Gui, and then as Luo Fumeng), and then tells Qing Bai to take the juniors and run, while he draws his sword and runs towards where Mu Yunge disappeared.
Back at the feast, WKX is eating nuts while ZZS continues to have only that uneaten prawn on his plate. Shen Shen is drunk, and being overbearing at Chengling while Zhao Jing reminds him that Chengling is still a kid and doesn’t need to stay and drink at a party if he doesn’t want to. Chengling tells Shen Shen he isn’t able to drink, and Shen Shen complains about how Zhang Yusen could drink really well. Zhao Jing tells Song Huairen to take Shen Shen away (Shen Shen protests he’s not drunk), and things smooth out a little.
Zhao Jing says Shen Shen’s like this when he’s drunk, and then says he’ll take Chengling back to his room. Chengling goes, with a backwards look at ZZS and WKX, and Zhao Jing hands him off to a servant. WKX then goes and asks Zhao Jing who that dashing young master was, and we learn that Song Huairen is Gao Chong’s favorite disciple. (Which is an interesting distinction to make, since Deng Kuan is his head disciple! What leads to Gao Chong favoring them in such different ways, you think?)
From there, we cut to Song Huairen putting Shen Shen to bed. As soon as he’s left, Shen Shen’s eyes open and he sits up, not acting drunk at all.
Zhao Jing introduces WKX to Yu Qiufeng, leader of the Mount Hua Sect (or, more memorably, Liu Qianqiao’s ex), and Yu Qiufeng’s son, Yu Tianjie. Wen Kexing continues using his one line about it being so nice to meet them, and every time it’s repeated it’s clearer how false it rings.
Outside, ZZS is drinking wine and pretending to be sick so that servants don’t bother him. Unfortunately for him, he can’t ignore it when he sees people sneaking around; he catches sight of Yu Tianjie wandering around stealthily, and immediately goes to follow. We see Yu Tianjie go through a window, and ZZS comments to himself that the Five Lakes Alliance is “full of schemes and mists” as he wonders what Yu Tianjie is up to.
Yu Tianjie and another man (who we later learn is Song Huairen) tumble out a different window! The masked man (Song Huairen) slashes at Yu Tianjie, and then they both keep running out of the manor grounds. ZZS watches them go, but doesn’t give chase.
Inside, Zhao Jing and Yu Qiufeng are chatting. Most of the party seems to have broken up, with a few people slumped over the table asleep as servants are cleaning up.
Unfortunately, the nice sleepy atmosphere is broken by a ghost’s voice shouting about how the Five Lakes Alliance has done too many evil things!
A servant comes running up, and we learn that “something has happened at the main gate”. Everyone goes running to look, and we cut to WKX, looking at once unconcerned and thoughtful. He goes off in a different direction.
At the gate, we find Ao Laizi hanging, dead, along with some of his disciples. ZZS runs out to look, also, as everyone is upset. Zhao Jing tries, and fails, to cut the rope holding the dead bodies; Yu Qiufeng takes the sword from him and slices through it cleanly in one stroke. Yu Qiufeng also is calling Ao Laizi “shixiong” here, by the way, which is fascinating for implied relationships. He’s way more upset than Zhao Jing, who’s calling him “Ao Laizi-daoxiong”, which is a more generic relationship term.
Yu Qiufeng also recognises Happy Ghost’s mark (which, honesty? I always think of Batman’s Joker when I see that kind of extended smile sliced into a face). Zhao Jing’s face, here, is way more controlled than you’d expect for someone performing upset, but he is performing.
ZZS contemplates how Ghost Valley is after the Five Lakes Alliance, then realises something and runs off. A moment later, Zhao Jing realises the same thing: that this is a decoy for someone to attack Chengling, and (unlike ZZS) actually shares this with everyone else.
By the time Zhao Jing catches up, WKX and ZZS are both standing in front of Chengling’s room, with Chengling himself sitting on the steps. We are not shown ZZS getting here, or WKX arriving first of all. Zhao Jing goes to ask if Chengling is okay, while Yu Qiufeng asks if “that person” is from Ghost Valley; Chengling says he doesn’t know. (There is no visual antecedent for who “that person” is supposed to be from Yu Qiufeng’s POV, but from a viewer’s perspective this is a very lovely line as far as WKX goes, so I really appreciate the writing.)
Yu Qiufeng continues questioning Chengling, and Chengling says he’s afraid and calls out for Shifu; ZZS looks at him, because of course he does, but doesn’t say anything. Zhao Jing tells Yu Qiufeng to calm down and that of course Chengling doesn’t know anything about Ghost Valley.
WKX speaks up, then, and says “It was just a few men wearing ghost masks.” ZZS’s attention, along with Zhao Jing’s and Yu Qiufeng’s, is immediately on him, and WKX continues talking about how they wanted to kidnap Chengling. “Their martial arts were average,” he says, with a smirk. “They ran as soon as I started fighting.” Then, because Yu Qiufeng continues insisting it’s Ghost Valley, WKX laughs and says they were useless and didn’t live up to Ghost Valley’s reputation. (He also says something about “Upon meeting you, their admirable reputation became so different”, where the “they” in the sentence feels like it should be about Ghost Valley based on English sentence structure but contextually I feel like it should be more about the Five Lakes Alliance?)
ZZS has started looking away and studying other things at this point. Zhao Jing thanks WKX again, and WKX accepts this with a silent smile.
The scene changes to show Mu Yunge in bed with a woman, and Liu Qianqiao begins showing off her skills. Mu Yunge’s wrists are tied behind his back, and he struggles against these bonds as he calls her a ghost. She continues taking on the role of his dead girlfriend, Yan Wan, who had been pregnant with his child and was “strangled to death with a hemp rope at the foot of Broken Sword Manor,” which she says while drawing a red cloth taut around his neck.
Mu Yunge tries to say he’ll do the proper offerings, and Liu Qianqiao keeps threatening him with lovely drama. The lights go out, her face is completely blank/featureless for a moment, and Mu Yunge faints.
Liu Qianqiao takes off the skin mask to reveal her true face, and goes to another room with some servants from the Bureau of the Unfaithful. They’re all in awe of her skills of scaring Mu Yunge, and want her to teach them her ways (of both threatening, and of disguise). She says she’ll teach any of them the disguise stuff, if they want to learn, though it’s “easy to learn and difficult to master.”
Back at Sanbai Manor, ZZS watches over Chengling, because he’s really bad at pretending not to care. He goes to leave, thinking Chengling is asleep, but then Chengling sits up and looks at him. ZZS asks if he can’t sleep, and Chengling just calls him “Shifu” in return.
ZZS goes back over to try and tell Chengling to stop calling him that (much more gently than last time), and that he should learn martial arts from his uncles instead. Chengling’s on the verge of crying, and ZZS tells him not to cry, and Chengling repeats a very macho mantra about “men only shed blood, not tears”, which makes me sigh but such is the culture.
ZZS leaves, anyway, and Chengling does start to cry.
ZZS walks over a pretty wooden bridge to gentle music, and thinks about Jiuxiao. And about telling Jiuxiao not to cry when he was a teen and Jiuxiao was a young kid, based on the relative size of ZZS’s hand/arm to Jiuxiao’s.
And then ZZS distracts himself from thinking about his shidi by deciding he’s going to spy on Zhao Jing, because he just can’t get rid of his Tian Chuang instincts either. (I mean, I think he actively stopped thinking about it before doing this, but this choice definitely helped him stay distracted.)
Zhao Jing and Shen Shen have just realised that the Glazed Armor was stolen, and that they fell for a double decoy. Shen Shen is angry-upset, and Zhao Jing is playing up being sad-resigned.
The Glazed Armor was stolen from a secret room, and Shen Shen asks who would be able to do this. Zhao Jing says no outsiders should be able to open the lock on his secret room, so there’s someone on the outside.
I love how chill ZZS looks as he lounges on the roof and dismantles a few tiles for better audio and also a bit of a view of the two sect leaders he’s spying on.
Zhao Jing says that the person Yu Tianjie was chasing stole the Glazed Armor, and ZZS wonders who that masked man was. Meanwhile, Shen Shen is scolding Zhao Jing for being so careless. ZZS now learns that the five pieces of the Glazed Armor were kept by the five leaders of the Alliance!
Shen Shen continues scolding Zhao Jing and giving us a lot of information in a short speech: “What have you done in twenty years? Have riches rotted your bones? [...] Da-ge was right; do you think these people really look up to you as Sanbai-daxia? They are all just greedy for riches. What was the great Lake Tai Sect come to in your hands? One hundred years of the Five Lakes Alliance’s prestige [...] and thanks to you, it has become a joke!”
A lot of that has to hurt, considering how we later learn Zhao Jing’s cultivation was fucked up by WKX’s mom. (Which: Good on her, I’m so happy she did that, even if it probably made Zhao Jing even more bitter.) It’s also a really cool look at how—from Shen Shen’s perspective, at least—the Alliance’s status is in decline right now. He’s blaming Zhao Jing, because Zhao Jing’s easy to blame, but I doubt it’s just Zhao Jing.
It’s also super interesting on a rewatch, where I’m more inclined to agree with Shen Shen! On a first watch, it’s easy to just go “Ugh, Shen Shen is angry and rude all the time,” but once you know that he’s not actually a bad person there’s a lot of sense in what he’s saying.
Zhao Jing, very sadly, agrees with Shen Shen. He’s playing up the role of a useless but well-meaning man here, and doing it very well. “Everyone says that the Alliance is impressive, and that I live honorably. Actually, I just have a bit of money. I’ve disgraced the Five Lakes Alliance.” Which, hilariously, is true but he’s saying it to play on Shen Shen’s sympathy and it doesn’t ping as true until you already know the whole truth.
He stops telling the truth when he says that he doesn’t want anything except for the Zhang family to be well and that “As long as we five brothers are well, and if Rong-dage [Rong Xuan] is well, that’s enough.” Which is an interesting expression of regret. “If only we had known— Why did we build the armory, or covet the Glazed Armor?” is also interesting, because from my perspective there’s no reason to covet the Glazed Amor without building the armory, though having the Glazed Armor also allowed them to build the armory. So it’s kind of an endless loop of blame, if he’s setting it there.
Zhao Jing, still acting like the most useless man, goes to clutch at Shen Shen’s hand and beg him to destroy his piece of the Glazed Armor. “If we destroy it, nobody will be able to open the armory, and it will be peaceful.”
Shen Shen, unfortunately, just asks if he’s gone silly with rage. “We sacrificed so many people for the secret of the armory,” he says, and doesn’t want that to have been in vain.
On a rewatch, it’s very clear that Zhao Jing had to have known that Shen Shen would react like that, or else he was very confident in his ability to get Shen Shen’s piece of armor if Shen Shen actually went for it. Maybe that was his original goal, and now he needs to deal with the consequences of Shen Shen rejecting his great plan.
Regardless, we don’t see more, because ZZS puts the tiles back on the roof and the manor guards start shouting about someone hidden (who we see fluttering away, and it’s easy to tell it’s WKX’s pale green robes and his fan extended in his hand). ZZS wonders who could conceal themself even from his, and goes to give chase. Some smoke bombs also land in front of Shen Shen and Zhao Jing (who had also run out at the guards’ shouts), preventing them from joining in the chase, which is sweet of ZZS to do.
There’s a lovely chase over the treetops as ZZS follows WKX and their theme song starts playing. WKX lands, and calls for ZZS to come down and join him. WKX thanks ZZS for keeping the guards from following, and ZZS asks WKX what he’s up to (since he’s acting like a thief instead of a guest). WKX turns his words back on him, and then says that “although we don’t usually say it, our hearts are as clear as mirrors” and starts explaining himself.
Because the Five Lakes Alliance is full of secrets and “our Chengling is so naive”, he needs to seek out the origins of the Glazed Armor and its implications (so that Chengling doesn’t get swallowed up by chaos). A lovely use of truth here, because WKX’s not really lying about anything; he might already know a lot about the Glazed Armor but there are still many secrets he wants to uncover. Also, protecting Chengling is nice, but he’s got deeper goals.
They share information, and then ZZS starts walking off to investigate why the signs of fighting (between Yu Tianjie and the masked man) disappeared. WKX watches him go, nonchalant for a moment before darting forward and grabbing him with a shout of “Stop!” because he’s seen the soul-winding threads strung between the trees.
ZZS identifies it, now that he’s had it pointed out, and says “This time, it’s the real Hanging Ghost.” WKX challenges him about this, drawing out ZZS’s knowledge, and ZZS says that “Xue Feng has been famous for almost 30 years” and that Gu Xiang killing him wouldn’t make sense. WKX teases him about not being superstitious (since he’s talking about ghosts at night), even going as far as saying “You’re a male virgin, so you’re not afraid of ghosts”, which ZZS ignores in favor of noticing blood dripping from the trees above.
A bit gets onto his sleeve, and ZZS looks at it with disgust. WKX laughs at him for being “a murderous combat master” (netflix’s subs, this time, because that’s where I’m taking screenshots and it’s a much more interesting translation choice for “你这样一个杀气冲的高手” than “combative master”), yet being scared of blood. ZZS ignores him, looking up at the body in the trees, and WKX takes this opportunity to say he’ll clean ZZS’s sleeve for him. He doesn’t exactly clean it, but he does cut off the bloodied part of the sleeve, which I guess means it’s not ZZS’s problem anymore. (It does make WKX’s intentions even clearer, of course.) “This will make it easier,” WKX says, and ZZS still doesn’t use his words in response.
Now they’re both looking up, and the camera lets us see too! Yu Tianjie is strung up in the tree, dead. WKX wants ZZS to guess who’s up there, and ZZS doesn’t want to guess; he’d rather look.
We’re given a bit of a flashback to how Yu Tianjie died, here, though it’s not very marked as a flashback. I think it’s ZZS playing out how this death must have happened? I’m not sure.
WKX, who had guessed who the body was, cheerfully points out that he was correct and won the first round. ZZS still isn’t playing this game, and instead walks off. WKX follows him, of course, and they come across another body. It’s the masked man! Round two, where WKX continues to try and get ZZS to guess who it is, this time accompanying his words with a bump of his shoulder. ZZS responds to that, telling WKX to stop coming so close to him, but still isn't here for the guessing games.
WKX’s taken aback for a moment before he changes his game from “guess who the body is” (too difficult, apparently) to “guess who killed him”. ZZS unveils the body, revealing Song Huairen, who appears to be the traitor. (I know we learn more about how this all went down from Zhao Jing and Xie’er’s POV in a later episode; I cannot remember what episode that is, despite having a couple very clear images in my head from that sequence.)
When WKX grumbles about ZZS not guessing who killed Song Huairen, ZZS stands and says that it was Yu Tianjie, because he saw them fight, and then he names “Taiyue’s Greek Peak Swordsmanship”, which is presumably the style of the wounds on Song Huairen’s body. WKX smiles, because ZZS’s playing along, and then says it wasn’t the fatal injury. He points at a stab wound with his fan, saying it was the death blow, and then turns up to ZZS to ask what caused it.
ZZS thinks to himself that it “looks like it was caused by Iron Hook”, but that “even [he doesn’t] have any impression of this martial art”. (I do not recognise this name/reference! Does anyone else?) He doesn’t say this to WKX, though, and they both get distracted by the sound of an owl laughing. WKX tells us about this, and how it’s a bad sign, because people die after owls laugh.
ZZS points out that people have already died, and WKX says that not enough people have. Then he tells his story about a child who heard an owl laugh, and his whole village had dozens of deaths. Is this another of those stories that WKX tells that’s really about him, somehow? I’d need to go back to the flashbacks around his parents’ deaths to know if they put an owl’s laugh in there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened.
Still, ZZS doesn’t really want to engage with that, preferring to think about cicadas, mantises, and orioles (and asking who the latter are). WKX laughs and talks about how “every cunning zealot always thinks they have the upper hand” and that even those who think they’re in control will turn out to be nothing but the victims of someone else’s plans in the end. ZZS smiles a little, and says that “If you want to say you’re the oriole, just say it”, which WKX laughs a little about in a kind of nervous way; he’s been caught out here, which he seemed not to expect even though he has been playing up his “I’m actually in control/I know things” vibe.
WKX also chases after ZZS, going back to his more playful persona, when ZZS continues walking into the night in search of more clues.
They reach the Zhao coffin home! After some silent contemplation, they enter, and this time ZZS saves WKX from a trap as a net made of soul-winding thread comes at them.
This isn’t quite the first time ZZS touched WKX of his own volition for non-combative reasons—that’s when he took the wine at the end of ep3, iirc—but it hasn’t been a common thing at all. This is more actively protective, too, than anything ZZS’s done before tonight.
When WKX goes to touch ZZS in turn, ZZS shifts away. WKX smiles, and says of ZZS: “You look good, you’re strong, you’ve seen a lot” and (since ZZS is so outstanding) wonders why he’s never heard of the name Zhou Xu before.
ZZS sighs, as WKX asks “Who are you exactly?”, and then turns the question back around on WKX. There’s a beat, and then WKX laughs and ZZS smiles.
“A good person,” WKX says as ZZS turns away; “Although I don’t look it” and then he says that where he comes from, everyone calls him “Philanthropist Wen”. Now having realised that Gu Xiang is the first one to call him that, this continues being a half-truth.
ZZS accepts this answer, to some degree, because he calls WKX “Philanthropist Wen” as he tells WKX to come with him deeper into the coffin home. They walk forward, into the nice courtyard filled with a bunch of coffins and that one creepy donkey made of probably paper-mache.
ZZS and WKX walk through it, and we’re given a bunch of lovely creepy shots to remind us that this is a horror setting, before WKX and ZZS reach the Zhao Ancestral Hall on the courtyard’s other side.
They enter, and there’s some incense lit, and they look around quietly for a while.
They turn, and split off to investigate in opposite directions.
WKX ends up back out with the coffins, and the “bad things are happening” musical cue starts playing as he calls out to someone he sees kneeling in front of a tablet, asking if they’re afraid of being approached by spirits.
WKX comes up behind this person and says, “You have to know who you’re deceiving. Brother [generic form of address], you’ve met your match today.” He taps the person on the shoulder with his fan, and the man turns to face him. WKX’s face softens into shock as he recognises his dad.
ZZS, meanwhile, is exploring inside, and still staring at that incense. After a visual/musical cue of “something has happened!”, he turns and races outside, where we see the scene has completely changed: It’s not the coffin home on a late spring night, but Siji Manor during a winter day.
There’s snow on the ground, the sun is shining, and ZZS sees Qin Huaizhang and Qin Jiuxiao (still a young child) laughing and building a snowman together.
He stares at this, shocked and unmoving, until Jiuxiao calls out and asks him to join in. Then, as Qin Huaizhang teases Jiuxiao, ZZS smiles. Qin Huaizhang smiles and approaches him, saying that they should all work together to build a big snowman, but the sound of his voice starts distorting as he gets closer. ZZS realises something’s wrong, his face fading into shock, and he draws Baiyi to slice open his palm and end the hallucination via pain.
ZZS extends Baiyi, and it braces on “Qin Huaizhang’s” chest for a second before the scene shifts and fades back into the coffin home. ZZS is pointing his sword at a really well-done zombie, not his shifu, and we get a lovely fight sequence.
WKX enters, and tells the zombies not to bully ZZS, but he’s speaking/acting like a child and still clearly under the effects of Drunk Like a Dream (which hasn’t been named yet).
ZZS shouts “Lao-Wen, wake up!”, which I’m pretty sure is the first time he’s actually said “Lao-Wen”. It’s been “Wen-gongzi” this and “Wen-xiong” that, a slow fading towards intimacy, but the Lao-Wen address finally matches up with WKX’s ‘A-Xu’.
WKX doesn’t wake up, of course, and ZZS keeps fighting to protect them both. WKX hides his face behind his fan as ZZS kills a not-zombie; it’s very cute.
ZZS gets some blood on his robes and cuts off the hem of his robe himself, this time, before thinking to himself that these not-zombies are “drug men” and that the hallucinations are from Drunk Like a Dream.
WKX’s laughing, teasing him for being afraid of blood again, still acting like a child. ZZS opens up a vial of medicine and puts it in front of WKX’s face, telling him to drink it.
When WKX asks if it’s sweet, ZZS nods; when WKX drinks it, he makes a terribly disappointed face because it doesn’t taste good at all. ZZS also needs to put his hand over WKX’s mouth to keep him from spitting out the medicine.
anyway this one’s really just here just because I enjoy WKX’s expression…
When WKX shoves his hand away, he says, “Zhou Zishu, you lied! I’m going to tell my mother!”
WKX storms away while ZZS goes ??? over being called “Zhou Zishu” by WKX, and we end with ZZS wondering “When did he know/learn my name?”
General Commentary
There’s so much information packed into this episode! I do not know what to say about it beyond that I keep forgetting how much is packed into this one episode! So this is going to be scattered and not chronological.
We’re also told a lot of information! First, about the Five Lakes Alliance and how they’re seen (both by others and themselves). Then, more about what ZZS knows about Ghost Valley and the Five Lakes Alliance. And, of course, some information about both ZZS and WKX’s pasts.
I’m fascinated by Ao Laizi’s lines about how “Life and death are not as important as promises. This is the duty of my generation. My life is not important; you kids must live on well.” I’m fairly certain this is just a lot of wuxia tropes/themes? But it’s cool to have it called out so explicitly.
In my ongoing attempt to actively remember what all that happens is part of Zhao Jing’s plotting, I’m pretty sure that most/all of what happened at Sanbai Manor is directly Zhao Jing’s fault? We know that the theft of the Glazed Armor is, eventually. It’s probable that the ghost-masked men who attacked Chengling are his men. Ao Laizi’s death is also an element of his plan, I think, though I doubt Mu Yunge’s involvement was expected.
It’s really interesting to me that Zhou Zishu doesn’t recognise the Drunk Like a Dream at first encounter. My recollection is that it’s got some sort of scent? But he’s too distracted by everything else, I guess.
ZZS is starting to actually care about WKX by now, which is lovely to see even if it’s very subtle. And WKX’s use of his name (and wanting to tell his mother on ZZS) makes a lot more sense on a rewatch when we know their childhood connection, but it’s still really interesting how differently it affects them. Does ZZS have resistance due to having developed/used it, or is it just easier to throw it off when you know effects like this are possible?
I’m so curious what would’ve happened if Shen Shen had actually agreed with Zhao Jing’s suggestion of destroying his piece of the Glazed Armor. Would Zhao Jing have been able to keep him from doing it? Does Shen Shen have his piece with him? Would it even be possible?
Discussion Prompts/Questions
probably most of my prompts/questions are really hidden in the above sections today...
I don’t recall if we’re ever shown more of WKX’s Drunk Like a Dream hallucination. What do you think he saw? Why do you think it’s his dad mourning/sitting vigil? (For whom?)
Did any of you even remember that Yu Qiufeng had a son? Because I sure didn’t until I rewatched this episode. Poor Yu Tianjie; he exists to attempt to catch a thief and die messily.
Zhao Jing and his acting skills! How much emotion do you think he really has about the deaths and thievery and so forth? How much do you think he really wanted Ao Laizi to come to his manor (where killing him/stealing that piece of Glazed Armor would be a different challenge)? Any other thoughts about his plotting thus far?
Next Time: ZZS is unmasked! Xie’er’s introduction! Chengling misses ZZS and WKX! A lot of emotional conversations between ZZS and WKX! WKX starts working on the fake Glazed Armor!
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A friend, who doesn't watch SHL but I was so amused I sent it to her with "this is such a mood", suggested 'murderous excellency'.