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TL;DR Version
DFQC saves Orchid and ruins his chance of getting his soldiers back. Orchid goes with DFQC and ruins her chance to go home. Chang Heng saves Orchid and ruins his relationship with Yun Zhong. Chi Di Nu Zi actually completed her mortal hardship, but no one knows but Rong Hao. Chang Heng and DFQC need to work together to rescue some spirits, but it’s not going well.
Recap
DFQC kills Wan Qing/Chi Di to protect Orchid, destroying his chance to save his soldiers. He pulls the Hellfire sword from Wan Qing/Chi Di and the Evil Spirit is released. Orchid protects them both with glowing green magic. Dan Yin and DFQC realize this means she’s the Xishan Goddess.
Once the Evil Spirit is gone, Orchid collapses into DFQC’s arms. Dan Yin is ready to kill them but Shang Que stops her long enough for them to escape before escaping himself. Rong Hao tells Dan Yin that Chang Heng may not be dust, his fate was to save the people he cared about.
DFQC and Orchid make it to a boat on Memory Loss River. Orchid is mobile again but DFQC is hurt. The clouds appear with the fairies in them, ready to kill them both. DFQC uses Hellfire to create a barrier but he can’t control it as he once did and the barrier vanishes.
Chang Heng shows up to rescue Orchid from the situation. Yun Zhong offers to let Orchid come back once DFQC is dead. She holds DFQC’s hand while she talks about what it would be like to go back to Shuiyuntian. Chang Heng says he’ll protect her. She apologizes and pushes the boat away, choosing to stay with DFQC.
Chang Heng protects the boat, angering Yun Zhong. Chang Heng says his time in the mortal realm made him realize how Yun Zhong does not value feelings. With that takedown, he vanishes. Yun Zhong orders anyone who sees Chang Heng to kill him.
Rong Hao is keeping Chi Di’s body in a house somewhere. He knows as Wan Qing she loved DFQC, so she completed the hardship. He tells her body that he’s put her spirit someplace safe.
On the Cangyan Sea side of Memory Loss River, Orchid cries over DFQC’s unconscious body. She feeds him her blood. He revives and tells her that he’s okay and she should stop crying. She says she’s happy, and there’s one of my favorite subtitles of the whole show:
“I guess you don’t know, my blood can bring the dead back to life.”
He doesn’t want her using her blood this way and asks why she saved him. She evades the question, and he pulls her into his arms and kisses her. The music swells, our hearts swell, and they hold hands the whole time.
Shang Que and Jie Li ruin the moment, sending Orchid scrambling behind DFQC in embarrassment.
Chang Heng is on a boat in the middle of Memory Loss River. The spirits used by Rong Hao to be Evil Spirits float around him as light and smoke, distressed and unhappy. Chang Heng guesses the Lord of Haishi City might be the one behind the deaths of the fairies earlier.
Xun Feng and Shang Que are upset that DFQC no longer controls his Hellfire. He blames his injuries. Orchid shows up with medicine and they’re cute together.
Outside, Xun Feng is learning the truth about what happened in the mortal realm. He’s ready to kill Orchid but DFQC stops him. He explains the Xilan Heart Curse and the risk to his own safety. Xun Feng is upset about Orchid and DFQC defends her. Nearby, Orchid hears DFQC talking about his pain over the soldiers that are still trapped. Jie Li reveals Orchid’s eavesdropping to DFQC.
DFQC finds Orchid alone. She feels guilty he saved her. He says it’s his decision and he’d do it again because she’s precious to him. He’s about to ask if she wants to know who she is when Chang Heng shows up.
Chang Heng is there to get Orchid and the guys want to murder each other but Orchid stops them. Chang Heng also wants to do something about the spirits trapped over Memory Loss River. He has the Spirit of Knowledge Book. It contains a song composed by the first Goddess of Xishan with great healing powers that no one can master. But if DFQC and Chang Heng can, they’ll save the spirits.
Orchid gets DFQC to agree but the two men clash over their music styles. The only thing they agree on is that being friends in the Mortal Realm means nothing here. Orchid tries to cajole DFQC but Chang Heng ruins it and DFQC walks off.
DFQC comes across the women of the Moon Tribe praying around a tree. The old woman from earlier explains to DFQC that it’s a blessing for their missing soldiers. DFQC restates his promise to get their men back.
Thoughts
The intensity of the last episode carries through the first half of this one. DFQC reveals his true feelings for Orchid when he kills Wan Qing without hesitation to protect her. Then Orchid reveals her real identity. I thought DFQC already knew, but looking back it seems like he knew she was of the Xilan tribe and maybe suspected her real identity, but it didn’t matter to him otherwise. At first, because it made no difference to his plans, and later because he loves her no matter what.
So now Rong Hao, DFQC, and Dan Yi know. Orchid herself, Chang Heng, the rest of the fairies, none of them know.
Chang Heng is one of the rare second male leads in a cdrama that gets a character arc. He’s gone from blindly obeying Yun Zhong to defying him. His takedown of Yun Zhong, where he talks about the importance of feelings, goes back to one of the central thesis of this show. Feelings may be more important than power and dominance, or really anything.
And we got the first real, non-body swap kiss of the series! And so much hand-holding.
The second half of the episode was lighter and it was fun back to be in the fantasy realm. At this point, I might be able to create a travel brochure for the various locations and show their rough relationship with one another. The heavenly Shuiyuntian in the clouds above Memory Loss River, which we saw when the heavens opened up so the fairies could kill DFQC. At the edge of the river is the rocky beach that leads to the Cangyan Sea where Orchid and DFQC kissed. There’s that cliff at the edge of the Moon Tribe forest where the mothers, widows, and children of the missing soldiers live. The world-building makes the impossible and fantastical locations feel solid and real.
Speaking of character arcs, it’s nice to see DFQC go from pushing Orchid around and threatening to kill her to doing what she says. Or kind of trying to anyway.