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TL;DR Version
Orchid becomes the Moon Queen and Jie Li and Shang Que get engaged but the happiness doesn’t last long. Chi Di Nu Zi’s spirit is in Orchid’s bracelet, draining her spirit and threatening to kill her and DFQC. Xun Feng has the Chengying Sword ready so Orchid can be killed while DFQC lives on. And Rong Hao lies to get a war started between the Fairies and Moon Tribe.
Recap
Orchid is inside the Fuju Cave, screaming in pain. DFQC collapses in his room. Earlier he spat out the Dream of Nine Mysteries so he would also experience her pain.
Xun Feng wants them to let Orchid out, but only she can stop it. She holds onto her memories of DFQC, gains strength, and proves she’s still enduring by knocking on the statue for them to hear. DFQC also revives and goes out onto his balcony.
Orchid emerges, Xun Feng bows, and DFQC shows up. Orchid and DFQC look lovingly into each other’s eyes. They go back to the palace, where everyone calls Orchid the Moon Queen.
Chang Heng is ready to go to the Fairy guillotine when Dan Yin comes running. She spills about Orchid being the Xishan Goddess and what she saw in the Tianji Mirror. Yun Zhong says this changes everything and frees his brother. He also gets notice that Rong Hao claims the Moon Tribe killed those fairy soldiers. The fairy court decides to go to war with the Cangyan Sea.
A furious Chang Heng confronts Rong Hao. Rong Hao says it’s politics. Yun Zhong knows the truth but wants an excuse for war. DFQC and Chang Heng will have no choice but to fight. Chang Heng is disgusted and wants to know if there’s anything more. Rong Hao says he lies to everyone but Chang Heng.
Shang Que is chasing after Jie Li. He gives her the key to his cellar and says he wants to marry her and give her everything. He’s even getting a raise soon. She agrees right now even though he’s poor.
Li Yuan and Rong Hao’s henchwoman meet up. It turns out Li Yuan and Xing Luo had twins. Li Yuan kept one, Dan Yin, and the other went to Haishi City with Xing Luo. Now Li Yuan learns that Xing Luo died and the henchwoman has proof that he had a kid with a Moon Tribe member. He’s ordered to free Rong Hao.
Orchid is not loving everyone bowing and calling her Moon Queen, including Shang Que. They talk about how Jie Li has been acting less concerned about money lately. Orchid thinks it’s because she has Shang Que and a home. A guilty Jie Li eavesdrops.
The henchwoman shows up and offers to explain to Xun Feng what’s really going on with DFQC’s Hellfire.
Orchid is getting ready for a banquet, but in the mirror Chi Di Nu Zi’s face appears instead of hers. When she meets up with DFQC she’s acting strange and he can tell she’s not herself. She nearly attacks Xun Feng, who really deserves it, but DFQC knocks her out.
The fragmented spirit of Chi Di Nu Zi is now in the Bone Orchid, feeding on Orchid’s spirit. Because Orchid’s in love with DFQC they can’t remove the bracelet, both Orchid and DFQC would die. Xun Feng says the last fragment of the Chengying Sword has been found. He feels that since Orchid is now a member of their tribe, she should use it to kill herself to save everyone else.
DFQC is ready to kill Xun Feng. Xun Feng mentions that there are reports that Shuiyuntian is about to start war. Without their soldiers, without DFQC at full strength, they will be in serious danger. He thinks DFQC would have been better off without getting his emotions, which he knows is why his Hellfire is weak. DFQC refuses to sacrifice Orchid, but he doesn’t know how to save her and his people.
The henchwoman is EVERYWHERE in this episode, so now she’s going after Jie Li to lure Orchid out. She poisoned Shang Que too and threatens to kill both Jie Li and Shang Que if Jie Li doesn’t obey.
Shang Que shows up and Jie Li checks him over, scared. He’s brought a sweet he bought, but it’s crushed. He feels it’s a bad omen and is worried about Orchid and DFQC and the war. Jie Li figures there’s more going on but Shang Que can’t tell her. She worries about him.
In the throne room, DFQC sits silently while the upcoming war is discussed. Xun Feng is clearly trying to force DFQC to kill Orchid to save everyone else.
Recap
We really didn’t get enough happy time before falling back into the angst again. Before Orchid had to decide between her people or DFQC, and now it’s on him. Only Orchid could only decide for herself since there wasn’t much she could do to stop DFQC if he wanted to kill the fairies. DFQC has a lot more lives at stake weighing against Orchid’s.
I find it interesting that DFQC lied to Orchid so he could experience her pain. I feel like that’s just a part of who he is, and it’s too much to hope he’ll ever stop doing things like that entirely. Orchid can handle him though.
It’s not a great look for the Silent Moon Palace that Rong Hao’s henchwoman is just coming and going all the time.
Destiny and fate continue to be a major theme of this show. Dan Yin brings up the Tianji Mirror’s infallibility regarding destiny. Rong Hao tells Chang Heng that none of them have any choice, which makes Chang Heng angry. Right now it feels like all the characters are being forced into places where they don’t have any choices. It’s awful-great.
Something I haven’t mentioned before is how much I love the various fantasy items and their rules. They’re definitely tools for the writers/characters, but it’s fun how they pop up, from someone’s robe or suddenly brought up in conversation with a whole provenance and directions for use. This show is good at repeatedly bringing them up as various characters manipulate them and use them against one another, making the world feel fleshed out and real.