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TL;DR Version
DFQC and Chang Heng rescue the trapped spirits and Orchid tells Chang Heng she’s staying with DFQC. DFQC and Orchid go on a date and get love locks. Xun Feng finds out he can use the Chengying Sword to kill Orchid and save his brother. Chang Heng confronts Rong Hao about his crimes, brings him back for punishment, and gets himself sentenced to death.  

Recap
Orchid joins DFQC in watching the Moon Tribe pray. Then DFQC and Chang Heng play the music to purify and release the trapped spirits over Memory Loss River. Finished, Chang Heng and DFQC warn each other to stay out of each other’s territories and acknowledge they will face each other in battle one day. Neither seems eager.

Orchid and Chang Heng step aside to talk alone. Orchid misses Lucheng City where things were peaceful. Chang Heng admits he’s been a coward bound by duty in the past, but everything he said as Xiao Run about his feelings for her were true. Orchid says she understands now what she felt for him was appreciation and gratitude, not a real love. She gives him back the Firefly Stone to give his fated one. He leaves.

DFQC has been watching anxiously without interfering. Orchid comes back to him and when she complains of her hurting feet he gives her a piggyback.

Xun Feng learns from Shang Que that he can kill Orchid and free DFQC with the Chengying Sword. He just doesn’t have the last fragment yet.

DFQC and Orchid are on a date in the market. Love locks are being sold everywhere but DFQC doesn’t recognize them. Shang Que has some and explains that if both lovers names are carved into the locks and they are hung on the love bridge during the upcoming Mountain and Moon Festival, the lovers will be together forever. He glances at Jie Li.

DFQC dismisses it as a marketing ploy. Jie Lie asks DFQC to give Shang Que time off from work during the festival. Jie Li wants him to set up a booth with her to capitalize on incoming tourism for the celebrations. Shang Que is disappointed.

Meanwhile, both Orchid and DFQC buy locks. She wants a beautiful one, he wants a strong one, they get the same ones. They catch each other in the act, and he smiles.

Xun Feng finds DFQC sitting in his chambers, carving on the lock. Xun Feng is worried about Orchid and DFQC’s Hellfire. He brings up the Chengying Sword. DFQC won’t kill his beloved and promises to find another way to save the soldiers. Xun Feng declares he won’t accept his brother with a fairy.

Chang Heng is already back in Lucheng City. DFQC told him about Rong Hao’s crimes, and Orchid gave him more proof. He hears the sound of the flute and finds Rong Hao waiting for him.

Rong Hao reminds Chang Heng of their conversation earlier, about doing anything you can for the person you love. He tells his own story, of being a blind mortal child who could only play the flute for money. He collapsed in the snow and thought he’d die, but when he woke he could see. And he saw Chi Di Nu Zi.

He tells Chang Heng the Rong Hao he knew was a lie, but their friendship was real. Chang Heng was the only other person to ever visit his master’s grave. He thinks they are the same, but Chang Heng says Rong Hao committed a crime. Rong Hao offers to go back with him.

In Shuiyuntian, Yun Zhong sends Rong Hao to Karma Jail for killing the soldiers. Rejected by Orchid, Chang Heng has a death wish and goads Yun Zhong into sentencing him to execution.

Dan Yin knows Orchid’s real identity and worries about Chang Heng. She learns he’s been sentenced to death. 

DFQC isn’t fully recovered but is using his Hellfire. Orchid scolds him and gives him medicine. He admits he worries about protecting the Cangyan Sea.

Li Yuan, Dan Yin’s father, holds something and remembers holding a pregnant woman’s hand. She was Xing Luo, a moon tribe woman pregnant with his child. They only escaped pursuing fairy soldiers thanks to Rong Hao. He’s concerned Rong Hao will reveal Dan Yin’s identity since he’s in jail.

Dan Yin runs in, talking about Chang Heng. She sees her father holding a Moon Tribe artifact and worries about him instead. He reassures her, but she knows something is wrong. After she leaves he crushes the item and apologizes to Xing Luo.

Jie Li is carving Shang Que’s name in a lock when Rong Hao’s henchwoman shows up for her. Shang Que is alerted to an intruder. Jie Li goes with the henchwoman into the forest and is given blood to drop on Orchid’s Bone Orchid. Jie Li wants to know if it will hurt Orchid.

Thoughts
The fantasy realms have turned into a soap opera! Secret affairs with Moon Tribe women! Friendships betrayed! Brothers sending brothers to execution! Brothers refusing to accept love between a fairy and a devil! This is no criticism, I love a good soap opera!

On the flip side, I loved the down-to-earth moments in the marketplace of the Moon Tribe, with DFQC’s cynicism over marketing ploys and Jie Li’s desire to make some money. It keeps the show accessible for those of us who live more pedestrian lives. It also reminds me of earlier show moments, with Orchid wanting a strength pill on credit from Jie Li so she could pass a test.

The first time I watched this I didn’t pay as much attention to Rong Hao’s sad backstory. I was used to evil characters being evil just because. Rong Hao’s backstory revealed here is the saddest thing ever. His devotion to his master is as moving as any other character’s commitment to their loved ones. But I’m with Chang Heng, killing innocent people isn’t justified.

So nice to see DFQC be jealous but not interfere with Orchid and Chang Heng’s conversation about their relationship. And so nice to see Chang Heng accept Orchid’s reply and move on. Not great that it makes him seek out death by big-brother though. Healthy relationship dynamics can only go so far.