Recap: Love and Redemption (Ep. 31)

Ting Nu helps Si Feng heal and hides his secret from the Shaoyang members, but Hao Chen is still suspicious and determined to figure out the truth. Si Feng is forced to think about how or when he’ll tell Xuan Ji the truth, if he ever does. Min Yan discovers that the flower demon has more of Ling Long than just her looks.

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Recap

Yi Huan tells Si Feng how lucky he is that he arrived in time to distract Hao Chen. He also doesn’t like how Hao Chen used this opportunity to poke around at Si Feng’s spirit energy. Si Feng suffered hiding that demon poison in himself, but it’s a good thing he did because it managed to ward off Hao Chen.

Ting Nu compliments Yi Huan and the rest of Lize Palace on how well he hid his identity. Ting Nu thought that all the garuda disappeared after the war a thousand years ago and never would have guessed that they had actually disguised themselves in the mortal realm as one of the five sects.

Yi Huan nods and says that they’re lucky their ancestors learned how to use the Longjing to hide their identities. Ting Nu guesses that the Lize Palace disciples’ masks serve a similar purpose.

Ting Nu asks Si Feng if he plans on hiding his identity from Xuan Ji forever. Si Feng doesn’t know how to tell her. Yi Huan points out that Si Feng can’t say anything without outing the whole sect. It’s not his job to say anything. Besides, he can tell from one look at Chu Lei that he would never approve.

Yi Huan and Ting Nu go outside and tell Xuan Ji and Xiao Yin Hua that Si Feng is okay. When Chu Lei arrives, Yi Huan loudly fabricates a lie about the evil demon poison in Si Feng that they were lucky to have drawn out. Xuan Ji goes in to see Si Feng. Xiao Yin Hua tries to follow, but Yi Huan shoos her away.

Yi Huan suggests that Chu Lei owes Ting Nu some gratitude. Chu Lei tells Ting Nu that he’ll make sure none of his sect pursue him without reason, but warns him that if he aids other demons in committing evil, then he can’t keep that promise. Yi Huan is triggered by how high and mighty Chu Lei acts, but Ting Nu quiets him down.

Xuan Ji holds Si Feng’s hands while he sleeps and admits that she’s never been more scared than she was today. Out of the five of them who went to Buzhou Mountain, they’re now the only two left. Xuan Ji admits that she used to envy Ling Long and the others for being able to cry and feel heartbreak, but now she knows how terrible these feelings are. She wishes she got stabbed instead of him, but she’s glad he’s still here. She promises to be strong so that she can protect him and everyone else she loves. She won’t let him get hurt again.

Ruo Yu and Min Yan get relegated to doing cooking and cleaning work at Tianxu Hall. Min Yan never imagined that things would end like this. He asks Ruo Yu about how he stabbed Si Feng, but Ruo Yu reassures him that Lize Palace disciples don’t die so easily. Si Feng is fine.

Min Yan asks why Ruo Yu also joined Tianxu Hall — was it really just to save his own life? Ruo Yu responds that he knows Chu Lei ordered Min Yan to infiltrate Tianxu Hall in order to retrieve the spirit keys. He couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. That night, he overheard Chu Lei give Min Yan the order and tell him that even though he’ll be sacrificing his reputation, it’s for the greater good. Chu Lei even gave Min Yan permission to sacrifice a fellow disciple if necessary.

Ruo Yu says that he didn’t intentionally eavesdrop, but once he knew, he couldn’t let Min Yan do everything on his own. Once this is all over, he’ll have a chance to explain himself. Once they get the spirit keys, they can rescue Min Jue and return to the sects.

Yuan Lang is disappointed that Xuan Ji’s power is nowhere close to what he needs in order to resurrect Mosha Star. He’s also disappointed that he let Wu Tong lock him out of Buzhou Mountain, but has plans for how to take care of him. His days in Buzhou Mountain are numbered. He tells Di Lang to infiltrate the upcoming Flower Crown tournament and acquire the final spirit key. He wants this year’s tournament to be as messy as possible so he can awaken the God of War.

Si Feng wakes up to find Xuan Ji dozing at his bedside. When he touches her hand, she wakes up and immediately leaps up to go find Ting Nu, but he pulls her back and she lands on his chest. He teases her for crying. She asks him to not scared her like that anymore. He promises to never leave her and to always be by her side.

Xuan Ji picks up the piece of dragon crystal she found on his bed near him and asks what it is. She saw something similar on his body once before. Si Feng starts to respond, but then Xuan Ji guesses that it’s something Ting Nu used to heal him, and Si Feng rolls with the lie.

He starts to try to tell her something again, but then Yi Huan throws open the doors and Xuan Ji leaps to her feet. Chu Lei clears his throat awkwardly and everyone else looks away.

Ting Nu checks on Si Feng. Chu Lei glances at Xuan Ji, who has eyes only for Si Feng. They smile at each other and don’t drop eye contact. Xuan Ji tells her father that he and her aunt should return Ling Long’s soul to her body as soon as possible. Chu Lei thinks that they should take Si Feng back to Shaoyang to help him recover, since he got hurt because of Xuan Ji, but Ting Nu warns that Si Feng is in no shape to travel. Xuan Ji offers to stay and take care of him. Chu Lei tells Xuan Ji that he wants to see her back at Shaoyang as soon as possible for the upcoming tournament. He also reminds her to be careful with her relationships with her friends.

The moment Chu Lei leaves, Xuan Ji sits back down on Si Feng’s bed and Yi Huan anxiously asks about Yu Er. Xuan Ji allows Yu Er back into the world. Father and daughter reconcile and Yu Er promises to listen to him from now on. Ting Nu suggests that she can go to the merfolk’s safe place in the Southern Seas while she trains. He whisks himself, Yu Er, and Yi Huan away.

Yu Er and Yi Huan’s reconciliation makes Xuan Ji glad that their trip to Buzhou Mountain wasn’t all for nothing. But she’s still concerned about Min Yan. It seemed out of character for him to join Tianxu Hall. Si Feng reassures her that they can go back to Buzhou Mountain to look for him once he’s better. He also thinks that Ruo Yu was hiding something when he stabbed him. They’ll bring them back.

Xuan Ji thinks that her father was right in saying that she should think before she acts. She needs to become stronger first, then she’ll face Wu Tong and kill all the demons. Si Feng asks if she really thinks that all demons are unforgivable sinners. Xuan Ji thinks about it and says that there are demons like Zi Hu who are much better than people like Wu Tong. But she’s determined to kill all demons who have committed crimes.

Min Yan and Ruo Yu have searched everywhere, but are unable to find Min Jue or the spirit keys. They run into Demon Ling Long playing with a jianzi. Min Yan stares, suddenly reminded of how Ling Long used to play the same way back at Shaoyang when they were younger. As he stares, the flower demon does the same exact move Ling Long did before and kicks the jianzi into Min Yue’s chest.

The flower demon demands for her jianzi back, but Min Yan keeps staring and doesn’t move. She summons her whip and strikes him with it. He drops his family dagger as he reels, and the flower demon pulls it to her with a frown. She recognizes it as a family heirloom. Min Yan is surprised she recognizes it, but she thinks that he’s trying to play a trick on her and lashes him with the whip again.

Demon Ling Long throws the dagger back at Min Yan, echoing words she said before about giving it to his future wife, then tells the Xuanyuan disciples to beat him up.

Ying Hong returns Ling Long’s soul to her body, but she doesn’t wake up. Ying Hong isn’t quite sure why, but suggests to Chu Lei that they keep watch over her for the next few days. This is her first time dealing with this kind of soul-stealing magic.

Xuan Ji makes congee for Si Feng, who is recovering nicely and should be able to start walking soon. He teases her about the soot on her face and compliments her cooking so profusely that she thinks he must be lying. But he tells her to taste the congee for herself and she decides that it does taste pretty good. She smiles at him, saying that she knows he would never lie to her. He looks down.

Ruo Yu asks Min Yan if he’s sure that the flower demon and Ling Long are linked somehow. Min Yan stares at his dagger and says that he’s certain. The technique that she used when kicking the jianzi is something he taught her. An outsider wouldn’t know how to do that. She also recognized the dagger. They can’t all be coincidences.

Ruo Yu has heard of an ancient magic that allows someone to withdraw a soul from one body and put it into another. If Wu Tong used that kind of magic, then the soul that Xuan Ji took home wasn’t the real Ling Long. The real Ling Long must be in the flower demon’s body.

Min Yan thinks that what Ruo Yu says is plausible. Wu Tong is the kind of person who would do such a thing. He suddenly stands up, determined to face Wu Tong, but Ruo Yu reminds him of their covers. They have to wait until the timing is right. In the meantime, Min Yan decides he needs to learn more about whether the flower demon is Ling Long. He pulls out the piece of mirror he had kept hidden and thinks that it might come in handy. Ruo Yu smiles thoughtfully.

Heng Yang helps Hao Chen heal and also tells him that as the two stars, Luohou and Jidu, get closer together, the magical barrier on the secret place will naturally get weaker. It’s unavoidable. He gives Hao Chen a magical abacus that he asked for that will allow him to reveal the true form of any demon who takes on a human form if he passes through a bit of that demon’s hair or skin. Hao Chen had earlier taken some of Si Feng’s hair, and now sends it into the magical abacus. He’ll know soon enough whether the Lingyuan flower was unable to heal Si Feng because of the demon poison, or because he’s actually a demon.

Yi Huan returns from the merfolk’s domain. Yu Er shooed him away, saying that he was distracting her.

Xuan Ji supports Si Feng as he walks. He messes with her, pretending to be dizzy so that she’ll hug him close, then kisses her on the forehead. He reassures her that he’s doing fine. Ting Nu said that he’ll be back to normal in a few days, then they can go hunting for demons to try to get more information on Tianxu Hall.

Xuan Ji repeats her desire to be stronger before she faces Wu Tong. Could she get a spirit beast? She admires how Si Feng and Xiao Yin Hua are stronger when they fight together. Si Feng tells her that whether she can find a spirit beast who suits her or not depends on fate.

Xuan Ji takes Si Feng to a tree laden with wind chimes. The auntie next door told her that she could make a wish here with a wind chime, and she wishes for Si Feng to be safe in the future. The auntie also told her that she could write down the words she can’t tell anyone else on one of the wind chimes, and the wind chime would speak for her. Xuan Ji thought about it, but doesn’t have any secrets to write down. Si Feng admits that he does have secrets, but he can’t write them down because they’re secrets he has to protect with his life.

Si Feng summons a locked box and says that his secret is hidden inside. Once she opens the lock, she’ll know what it is. Xuan Ji frowns as she studies the puzzle lock, not sure how to open it. Si Feng watches her, knowing that she’ll open it and find out his secret one day. But not today.

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Xiao Yin Hua catches Yi Huan watching them and frowns. Is he really not going to stop Si Feng from giving Xuan Ji his secret? Yi Huan says that it’s possible Xuan Ji is Si Feng’s only chance of survival. In the end, there are only two possibilities: either Xuan Ji accepts Si Feng for who he is and his curse is lifted, or she doesn’t and he dies. Which one does Xiao Yin Hua want?

Min Yan tricks the flower demon into grabbing the piece of mirror. When she looks at her reflection, she suddenly sees flashes of memory of her life as Ling Long at Shaoyang. Min Yan grabs her shoulders, elated that it really is her, but she smacks him away and says that she’ll go tell Wu Tong that he’s harassing her.

The flower demon runs into Di Lang outside Wu Tong’s room. He threatens her, demanding to know how to get in, but she refuses to tell him. He’s ready to torture her, but Min Yan attacks him. Min Yan gets easily knocked away. The flower demon rushes to him, calling him “Xiao Liu Zi,” his nickname. Di Lang attacks again, but gets thrown back by Wu Tong.

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Di Lang is surprised that Wu Tong has gotten so strong. Wu Tong is displeased that Di Lang is trying to mess around in his territory, reminding him that he could destroy the spirit key if he wanted. Di Lang reminds him that the Tianxu leader was the one who saved him initially, then teleports himself away.

The flower demon rushes to embrace Wu Tong and calls Min Yan stupid for trying to fight when he clearly lacks skills, but Min Yan’s quick action to save the flower demon nets him a promotion from Wu Tong.

Min Yan shares what he discovered about the flower demon with Ruo Yu. Ruo Yu guesses that only half of Ling Long’s soul is in the flower demon. The other half must have escaped with Xuan Ji and Si Feng. Ruo Yu suggests that Min Yan should try to get the flower demon on their side. She’s the only one who would be able to help them get the spirit key, which must be in Wu Tong’s room.

The flower demon comes looking for Min Yan. She claims she’s only here to pay down the debt she owes him for saving his life and gives him some medicine, then offers to take him to see Min Jue.

Min Jue is feverish with an infection from his poorly-amputated arm. Min Yan takes out the medicine the flower demon gave him and feeds it to Min Jue.

Min Jue flinches away from Min Yan when he wakes up, but Min Yan kneels before him and promises to bring him home to Shaoyang. Once they get back, he’ll ask Heng Yang to help him give his arm to Min Jue.

Min Jue laughs weakly and calls Min Yan foolish for thinking that there’s a way out of here. But Min Yan is resolute and says that there is. Min Jue says that he’ll believe him. The flower demon clears her throat awkwardly and says that they should be going now. Min Yan demands some food for Min Jue. The flower demon tosses him her favorite sticky rice cake, which he feeds to Min Jue with a curt thanks. Min Yan corrects her, saying that her favorite is actually osmanthus cake.

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Commentary

Ruo Yu acts like he’s helping Min Yan right now, but I’m still suspicious of our puppy boy, if only because Yuan Lang has such a strong hold over him. Maybe he does care about Min Yan, but what seems more likely is that Yuan Lang also had him purposely infiltrate Wu Tong’s division in order to undermine him and get the spirit key. After all, Yuan Lang seemed pretty confident that Wu Tong’s days in Buzhou Mountain were numbered, and Ruo Yu is just leading Min Yan to all the answers. That would also mean Ruo Yu has known Yuan Lang’s identity all along? Or he just follows orders without question because he has to.

Aha, so Si Feng is a garuda in this lifetime. The golden-winged bird who freed the God of War in one of Xuan Ji’s memories from the mirror looked a lot like Si Feng. Was he a garuda then, too? Perhaps the garuda were banished from the heavenly realm because he freed her? Does that mean he was one in all his lifetimes? There must also be another facet to his identity (who he truly is?) in addition to being a garuda that the Palace leader wants to protect, but perhaps all he knows about himself is that he’s a garuda and nothing more.

I suppose the God of War also always had an affinity for the garuda.

Chu Lei is a pretty good actor, pretending to be so affronted by the thought of Min Yan cutting off Min Jue’s arm when Xuan Ji questioned him last episode. The reality of what he told Min Yan is much darker than what actually occurred. How will Xuan Ji feel when she learns of that hypocrisy and betrayal? Or maybe she won’t be surprised at all, because she’s already called out the righteous sects for their lack of righteousness.