When last we left our problematic secondary characters, the heroes discovered they were up against the catastrophe of heaven.
But Sheng is more interested in Wen Xin’s secrets
Wen Xin says if Sheng can’t save the world, what he is or isn’t hiding hardly matters. Sheng wonders why he should save a world that treated him so poorly.
Then he declares that he’ll save it for his love, family, and friends. He’d die for any of them. Not for the world or Wen Xin.
Wen Xin and I both find bratty Sheng adorable.
We get a lot of Wen Xin Flashbacks
He leaves a book for Mu Yao to discover showing the Xingshan Hall formation her father drew. Fu Yi recognizes his master did this on purpose, and visits him alone.
Wen Xin explains that Mu Yao’s father knew the Resentful Woman would appear, and was trying to prevent the catastrophe of heaven. Fu Yi doesn’t understand how that led to so many people dying.
Before Mu Yao, her father thought he was the next Heavenly Demon catcher, the chosen one, and the hero. It made him proud and arrogant. But in the end, he couldn’t even protect his own family.
Wen Xin suggests Fu Yi tell Mu Yao her dad was a hero, but he’ll only tell her the truth.
Wen Xin was best friends with Mu Yao’s father. He gifted baby Mu Yao a weapon she still uses. Despite being so close, he wasn’t there during these tragic times because he was too young to prioritize things in life. It’s sad, and maybe not the full story.
Sheng still struggles to control Crescent
Bamboo Grandpa dourly predicts that they’re all going to die. He advises Sheng not to have any regrets between him and his lover, then sobs over his own failed romance. Sheng runs off because that’s enough of that.
Wen Xin isn’t done handing out wisdom. He tells Miao Miao the key to mastering Crescent lies in Sheng remembering his childhood and unifying himself. Miao Miao wants to run and tell Sheng, but Wen Xin wants her to wait.
Just a moment, because here’s Sheng. He asks if she’ll go to Qilin Mountain together to recover his memory. He’s ready to face his fear.
Miao Miao hugs him and the Dust Demons show 99%, but Miao Miao doesn’t remember what it means.
Mu Yao and Fu Yi also get a quest
They need to restore that map that Miao Miao burned up at the beginning of the show. Wen Xin can fix it because he gave the map to Mu Yao’s father.
First, they need a Mysterious Silk Worm, found only in Cainan. So they’re off, abandoning Cui Cui but reassuring him they’re a team. Then we get the shocking revelation that Cui Cui is 150 years old.
Cianan is Fu Yi’s hometown, and he finally tells Mu Yao about his Sad Past and Inner Demon. His parents were bandits who were beheaded, leaving him an unwanted orphan. No one helped him because of his parents, except the people of Cainan who took him in and cared for him.
One day he found a little phantom demon, and felt a kinship with her, thinking she was another abandoned orphan. He took care of her. Then she killed his entire village and he killed her. His Demon catching is to atone for his sins.
This episode is all tragic backstories.
Mu Yao thinks he’s punishing himself too much for something that happened to him as a child. But he feels that in capturing demons, he is protecting others. They hug by a familiar cdrama cliff.
Miao Miao and Sheng find all the mountains
But they don’t want to find a mountain. They want a destroyed mountain.
It doesn’t help that at first they act more like tourists than people saving the world. They get a gag painting by a brush monster. Miao Miao does a peace sign but doesn’t remember what it means.
No one they meet remembers where the mountain is since it’s been gone for twenty years. I feel like a mountain being destroyed is memorable. They visit villages and cross mountains off their map. Then, they learn about Wu Fang town, a place of storytelling and entertainment. Miao Miao, forgetting about saving the world again, wants to go.
As they step from the carriage she drops a book, in her handwriting, it says Wu Fang Town, The End. She doesn’t remember it. Sheng says she’s been talking about forgetting something important.
And then we forget about that and see a play in Wu Fang
Miao Miao is not impressed by the story until Sheng’s courtesy name, Zi Qi, comes up. That’s reason enough to investigate the author, Ji Yue, who is so wildly popular there’s a 2-month wait to see him. I think the world will be gone by then, so thankfully someone hears Miao Miao call Sheng Zi Qi and rushes them to the head of the line. Ji Yue wants to meet them.
Miao Miao is excited. She remembers her favorite author, Fu Zhuo, but can’t remember the title of her favorite book.
Sheng is sweetly annoyed when Ji Yue ignores Miao Miao and hugs him.
Ji Yue has a wild story
Some time ago, the local Music House was burned down by Liu Niang, the owner. In the wreckage, Ji Yu found a box full of mysterious pearls.
Miao Miao and Sheng touch them and see various women’s tragic stories. They’re the tears of the musicians, turned into pearls by a demon that removed their memories. Ji Yue decided to exploit the tragedy and sell their stories. When he became popular, Liu Niang came to him, and he realized she was the demon.
She gave him half a red pearl, which shows Sheng’s mom’s memories. She met the Marquis’ father at the Lantern Festival when she dropped her bracelet. They lived a happy life in the beautiful valley and she became pregnant. But he was forced to leave.
They only get half the story because they only have half the Pearl.
Liu Niang uses Ji Yue to find Sheng with his stories. He gives them a map. As they’re about to leave, Ji Yue mentions Miao Miao’s missing memories and says between her and him, only one can wake up.
Sheng is upset his mom had his memories erased to get rid of him. He’s remembering more now and asks Miao Miao if she thinks his mother is alive and regrets it, or ever loved him. Miao Miao suggests that Liu Niang did this because his mom wants to find him.
Maybe one of these stories isn’t tragic, maybe
Mu Yao and Fu Yi find some villagers and Fu Yi recognizes one of them from his childhood. Everyone in the village is there and looks great.
A Divine Physician saved everyone after they were attacked. They visit her where she lives with her husband at the end of the village. Her husband and daughter both have asthma, which she cures using Mysterious Cold Silkworm. This gives them a demonic aura. I think.
Divine Physician walks her sick husband out, but things don’t seem quite right.
Nor are they quite right with Sheng and Miao Miao. When Liu Niang walks towards them, Crescent lurches out and goes for her. Sheng grabs it and puts it back.
Pretending that never happened, she calls him Zi Qi and takes him to the home he lived in as a child. Liu Niang first built this haven for demons for his mother. Sheng nervously asks where his mother is.
And that’s where we’re ending!
The biggest problem is none of this is real
I mean, I know the dramas I watch aren’t real. But in this case, the only character who exists in the drama’s “real world” is Miao Miao. Sheng, Mu Yao, Fu Yi, the entire world is extra not real. Catastrophe of heaven or not, she has to leave behind these fake people who she has real connections with.
That’s the existential no-win situation of these kinds of shows. The character either has to leave the imaginary world and imaginary people they love, or never return to the real world and real people they love. Since the imaginary people feel real, both choices suck.
I knew what I was getting into with this drama, but I’m disappointed how the game aspect of the story vanished about midway through. Now Miao Miao has even forgotten about it, so I’m anxious about what’s going to happen but she’s not.
Ji Yue’s random statement is our only clue. So, she and he are both asleep? The other would have to be Fu Zhuo, the only other named real-world character. He has to be Sheng.
Did he forget the real world too? Why would only one of them wake up? How does Ji Yue know anything about this? What is Wen Xin hiding that matters? Does anything that happens in this fantasy world matter for what happens in the real world?
We’re already into the last quarter and I wish I knew more.
As far as the fantasy world. Sheng’s mom is going to be the Resentful Woman, right? She’ll get her memories back and repent? Maybe. Let’s see what happens in the next 6 episodes.
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