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Huo is told by the otherworld patriarch that she is destined to tragedy where no matter what she tries she will fail as much as her aunts did. Rather than discouraging her, she decides it’s time to change fate and abolished the guild as it was previously known. She is going to find a way to change her destiny and the clan align with her. Wu finds a narcotic plant that will help train the creature. What we do t know is if the smaller one captured is the mate or child of the one still in pond. Hatoyama’s eyes glazed over in happiness at the very thoughts of controlling it and did not care in the least how many would be lost to achieve that end. Wu at least knows exactly what they really want. He is completely disgusted by their unconcern for human life as well as their plans for these creatures that would most likely have left people alone had their space not been invaded. Huo makes a visit to the Wu stronghold.she has a chuckle at his latest woodcarving and invites the dog to visit when food runs out. She and the dog encourage each other with the hope of Wu returning. Wu has made tasty meatballs for the creature with the new herb. Then the ijit tries out the drugged meat to see what it does. 🙄👀🙄 it was fun to watch him slap the guard with the whistle to say it was inadequate and needed redone. That rated a smile. The testing of the drug on himself a smack.😡🫣🧐Did Cui bring an antidote too? Or just a native plant to clue him in on location. He’s the last one to know he’s in Xiangxi. Zhang makes it to 82nd stockade and is the only one to meet with the chieftain. It is confirmed the Japanese are there but not how the gained access. He wants to give an offering to the mountain god and have Zhang deliver it. Nobody has successfully entered the area since and non returned alive. After Zhang leaves that pile of earth moves. Is QianSui going to emerge? Cause he’s creepy enough to do that. Wu finally gets a whistle made that contacts the creature. His dream is where he and Huo have completely opposite ideas of the end of the play. She sees things as tragically ceasing to exist so embrace the last fleeting seconds with everything you have. Wu’s view is if the play strikes a strong enough chord in his heart it will never end. So he concludes that anything he holds dear could never come to a tragic end. Right when they are supposed to kiss she tells him to run and Hatoyama shows up to mock him for helping the Japanese claim their stars. Wu makes a map and sends Cui to find Huo. I wish he would have considered Zhang more proactive about trying to save him. The top Japanese official gets 12 hrs in Changsha and pays Huo a visit congratulating her leadership. He offers cure for the black plague if they partner. Bet they were instrumental in Huo clan getting it.😝 He is holding out hand for a deal when scene shifts to Zhang. They are doing exactly as chieftain wanted but Zhang knows his group is to be the sacrifice. The villagers accompanying them have taken poison to die within a week and this is their last mission. Zhang wants to kill the deity to thwart the Japanese and Qi tries to hint enemy of my enemy is my friend approach. Zhang wants scorched earth. Food is exchanged between the groups and the villagers are not opposed to them killing the deity. If successful their people will no longer be afraid, if not dying for a deity not such a bad way to go. Zhang did not expect them to be so pragmatic. Wu has proven he can control the creature. I would really like him to say eat all the Japanese when that door opens. 😝What they want to do is use this one as bait to catch the bigger one. Will be very interesting if both groups converge at same time by the big creature. I also really hope Huo figures out a way to not bargain with the Japanese that believe they have her over a barrel with their ledgers as evidence.
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Wu is staying alive and letting the creature understand he controls the food and quantity. Both are sullen. 😝 The bird Cui shows up and that encourages Wu some. Qi is singing the two lines he knows of a XiangXi song. 🙉 He finds out that Huo saved him by sending her maid to tell Zhang where he was. Qi is surprised and thankful. At the Huo clan the servant that told Zhang Qi’s whereabouts is being punished. They want Huo to confess and accept blame. The second in charge is willing to work with anybody that will let them keep their clan intact. She has lost sight of true allies vice extortionists that will end up owning them rather than assisting them. 🙄 3rdMaster is making headway in the underground waterway. The have evidence it runs from the tower to XiangXi. It diverges to two separate paths and the distance too great to determine where exactly in XiangXi the Japanese ended up at. The surmise something bigger than the tower is there but no clue what. A scheme has been set up for them to visit the 82nd Stockade under pretense of getting more troops and munitions to defend Changsha. We are taken to Wu’s prison and the Japanese are stepping up their game using compliant Unit 401 guys as bait. Wu bargains to find out creature;s favorite food , whistle and paper and pen. Really hating the smirk on Hatoyama’s face when he looks down on Wu as uneducated and not worth their time, but as a necessary evil in getting what they want from the creature. Zhang has at least figured out that their scientist has a specific requirement that only Wu can help him with. They have no clue about the creature itself but know that taming animals is Wu’s strong suit along with solving mechanisms without much else to recommend him. Going to Huo she sees the beginning of her clan in an embroidery shop. The women managed to get a royal sign that granted them freedom from forced marriages. However, the sovereign that rescued them also gave them an undo able task to enslave them within to avoid being enslaved without. Neither way served the women well. She wakes in the salt mines and finds Xiao Mei barely alive. Trying to rescue her she unleashes black plague victims on the salt mines. Kinda poetic for the men in charge but not so much for the women imprisoned there. Huo becomes a one woman army and wreaks havoc for all males in the mines. She escapes with her maid to find Wu’s golden whistle and most faithful dog waiting to help her. The irony of offering incense to the matron of the clan while trying to kill off her reincarnation.😝Huo did an excellent job of foiling her aunties great scheme, and Wu would be all smiles knowing his dogs assisted. She now knows they conspired with QianSui to kill her mother. They expected her to be the obedient daughter they’d been kind to. She spared them from the dogs so she could have the honors of finishing them. It was too quick after all they did, but Huo definitely made it clear that working with the Japanese was not going to be part of saving their house. And she spared her aunts of seeing her new vision for the clan.😝👏🏻
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Here we finally get to see what happened from Su Lin’s perspective. She wakes up and tries to call for help from below the man over. She is not strong enough to move it on her own. She slips and is suffering from a concussion so she it not able to focus on her surroundings but at least ends up floating in water rather than face down. There is some understanding now with the family about why the son is spoiled. He isn’t’t registered and they are hiding him. It does not compute for me this display of concern for a daughter treated like a slave in her own home. 😝 At least the retired police officer is now aware something is wrong and so does Jiang Ting at school. Ma Na is now aware her father lied to her about Su Lin’s condition and I am glad there is enough conscience left in her to be haunted by her actions. Waiting to see if she becomes more or less a person because of this. Her dad is both blackmailing and bribing Su Lin’s dad with his job and son’s registry. His declaration of wanting his daughter back. Is this because he is finally sober? Or missing her doing all the family chores? 😝 The mom stole her money and denied her new shoes, why is she bothering to weep for her? Tbh , Su Lin would do better on her own. I am hoping she uses this accident to escape her family. She is discovered by a man residing in the sewers. It’s not clear if he helped her find the resting spot or if discovered her and wanting to know why she’s there. The coroner has confirmed same DNA on all three girls so that links the cases. There are many girls missing in that age bracket but none have been declared missing. Makes you wonder how many families treat their daughters like non persons. 😝🙄😡🤬Gu is still making tales for her with their English lessons. Ironic that he’s asking how to say French locations in English. Su family gets complaint about laundry service and it’s clear something’s amiss but mom says nothing about Su Lin being missing. Ma Na’s dad isn’t looking for Su Lin, he has had her officially dropped from the school and her family has no clue.😝 This gives Jiang Ting a chance for the missing slot in the English competition. It is annoying that this was accomplished with no talking between school and actual parents. 😝🤬This bowing to the rich donor when a child is gone is kinda unnerving. He is complicit in what he believes to be an accidental death and trying to cover it from every angle possible. He is even more vile than his daughter with this and deserves whatever comes his way as a result. 😡🤬The Su son has already learned from his father to treat women like crap. 😡 And this is the child they choose for their legacy.🙄I am glad they are figuring out just how much Su Lin did for them without complaint on a daily basis. This is the second time to see dad actually sober. The parents knew who really got things done and were more than happy to fill their time with whatever they chose while she picked up the slack for everything. They are as disgusting as the rich dad because they saw no worth to her til she was gone. The dad confronts rich dad and gets cash and son’s registry and fine paid in full instead…..as long as he keeps his mouth shut. Jiang Ting bravely asks Ma Na what happened to Su Lin, but foolishly went with the bullies and said nothing to teachers. 🙄 The police are working in full force now that they have linked the three cases with evidence. Unfortunately this does not extend to searching the actual waterway where Su Lin is. 🙄so now we know a bit of the backstory of the one who found Su Lin. At least we can be sure he is not the killer tho a poor lost soul abandoned by society when he became an adult. The end song is both pretty and eerie.
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This episode begins with the witness to the three girls harassing Su Lin, her mother sees something amiss and comes to check on her daughter, but the bullies monitor from a distance. Jiang Ting makes up a story to convince her mom she’s ok and gets her inside. A worker comes by and puts the cover back on the water duct. The intro does an excellent job of combining ordinary with mystery. Jiang Ting’s mom knows something is off and even with a storm in progress checks out the duct area and finds SuLin’s school supplies. I find myself smirking when rich girl is tormented by her evil deeds and the storm creeps her out. She deserves whatever comes her way. WeiHing canal becomes a police site trying to ID a Jane Doe found behind the grate. I don’t know how that rookie is paid enough to dive in the trash filled water to get the body. 🫣😷 He should get hazard pay. He didn’t have on any protective gear or diving equipment. They are linking this body with two last cases and wanting Du to confirm similar markings on the body just recovered. Tai Wei is the rookie gopher that does not make near enough for the jobs they make him do. 😝 No sympathies for the haunting of MaNa’s conscious. 😝 She’s earned every bit of it. Daddy will have to try to cover this up for her. Good luck with that. 😝They hired a worker to check the drainage ducts but nothing was found. Ma Na has convinced herself Su Lin is hiding to scare her. 😝Jiang Ting’s parents are separated and/or divorced so her dad came to visit when she was exploring the drainage area like her mom had. She saw the worker climb out and came home to her parents fighting. I am wondering if an older sibling was one of the dead girls from the canal. That would explain the mom freaking out and the broken family. Also the need for mother and daughter to explore the site. What is most reprehensible is Su Lin’s parents not having any of their daughter’s school info. It is registering on the mom a bit how little they know about their own child. I find myself surprised Su Lin even had school supplies. The drunken father scene was very like his doc character. 😝The police are trying to determine the killer’s dumping spot, but the ducts are intricate so it’s taking awhile ti figure out currents etc to backtrack from final destination. What’s muddying the waters with Su Lin’s disappearance is that the victims was 18-20 range. Ma Na’s dad has put himself I. Charge of making contacts to find Su Lin. He actually has, but he has muddied the waters by having the dad work overtime. Su Lin has been gone for two days. The mom cares only because her work horse is gone. She has no other reason to care. Rich dad and poor parents struggling over phone to get police involved when little brother shows up on the scene. Su Lin missing and the third victim’s body showing up makes for rich dad thinking the body is Su Lin’s. He doesn’t want his daughter’s life ruined while he lets her off to ruin somebody else’s. All of these parents are failures. The one thing I find myself curious about is why Jiang Ting hid Su Lin’s schoolboy and has t mentioned it to anyone. It is hard to know if this helped or hurt Su Lin considering who is looking for her. This episode has several sources exploring the same area for completely different but intertwined reasons. This juxtaposition of Su Lin and dead victim keeps everybody looking for answers. What lengths will the rich family go to to hide Ma Na’s part? And what efforts will Su Lin’s family make on her behalf? Those remaining silent are as guilty as the ones that did it because the mom trashed crime scene and hid evidence, and the daughter hasn’t said anything to school teachers so no one is looking in the right place for Su Lin. 😝🙄
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We are introduced to Su Lin in this episode. She is a smart, hardworking girl that wants to learn English and go to college. Unfortunately, her family sees her as the work horse and unnecessary mouth to feed while showering what little they have on the spoiled son. She is looked after by a retired police officer that helps her learn English and provides her some real food in exchange for the recorder they use for English lessons. Serendipity had the school doing a play in English and Su Lin saw this as a way to earn college credit and auditioned. She rightfully earned the role of the Mermaid because of her ability, but the rich girl in class felt otherwise and she with her two minions taunted Su Lin and forced her to fall into a water duct. There is a mystery with bodies in the water ducts as we are shown hands coming out of the duct where it flows to the river. I am surprised to see Chicken Fei my favorite doc from Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty being the abusive and neglectful father in this story. 🫣👀 The acting is well done and the characters believable in their roles. It is spinning a unique tale by combining the typical stories of rich bullies and daughters seen as worthless with side mysteries of corpses in the underground waterway and the twist to Su Lin’s fate once she falls down this ‘rabbit hole’, Did she survive the fall? and if so, where is she?
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Wu gets a quick look at their camp where many a digging and unit 401 guys still in limbo status. There is a squadron with Hatoyama to keep everybody in line. The creature is very like the one in Love on the Turquoise Land. Those evolved from an amalgam of meteorite material reforming animal and human DNA into another species. This one downed a heifer in less than three seconds. He is tossed into an adjacent cage and offered freedom if successful. Otherwise he won’t be coming out. The scene moves to Zhang and Third master near the waterway entrance. While walking, the third master drops a big surprise. He had briefly been a disciple of the Otherworld patriarch. He helped build walls around the tower and learned about the underground waterway. He left soon after joining because if their leader did not foresee the need for retainer walls, he had not anticipated whatever had happened in the tower. He was more desperate for possible cures after being made lame, but not stupid. They find a small entrance but the water has a swift current and there is a stone dam that will be a catch all for anything going through. Zhang is given a magnetic device to see if the Japanese left behind anything metal. He is given a block of instruction for best way to ‘fish’🧐He finds a medal proving the Japanese used this route so third master promises to have his crew find out where it goes. The scene shifts to Baihua benevolence center. Here Huo meets with eunuch. She’s asks about his dealings with the Japanese and still gives him the item. 😝🙄She has the debts cleared from her clan but is ensnared more by the Japanese connection. The black sand material in the small vial must be what aids Hatoyama in making creatures or other types of humans. The eunuch sees this as his ace against Zhang QiShan. Qi is getting too close to the truth so a hit is ordered on him. Ding QianSui or Samuel Ding (his American name) plans to take out the mystic nine ine by one. If Huo tries to warn or intervene, her Japanese ties will be revealed. The only way to ensure her clan’s survival is to join his plan with Hatoyama. This old geezer is creepy and repugnant. He is shrewd, sly and has no bottom line if he is safe. He speaks like a ventriloquist with a creepy smile on his face. He reinvented himself from palace eunuch to American citizen. This has given him a unique status and he has taken every advantage that came his way. He is trusted by none, yet has a foot in each consulate, laundering money for the Americans and supplying Hatoyama’s projects via Hua clan. He is hiding in Baihua benevolence center and keeping a very low profile. Rooting him out will be very difficult because all other sides will run interference for him. The only good thing is Zhang is better aware of what he is up against. He wants master nine to assist in weeding out Eunich. What his exploration co led with Wu taught him is that even tho uneducated, Wu was loyal resilient and had a pure heart. A diamond in the rough worthy of mystic nine status. Zhang wants to save him and needs to avoid diplomatic backlash while doing it. Xie’s plan involves infecting the eunuch with real smallpox and having him transferred to the Puji hospital. This is crucial as this hospital is run by their authorities and can keep him under mystic nine’s control. After capture the eunuch was ready to talk rather than have a crushed skull. Hatoyama’s superior made first contact because his spies had been eliminated and he needed a topside link in China. QianSui used their funds to buy Taihe house and used it to smuggle provisions to Hatoyama’s men trapped in the tower. He confirms the tower was not the main objective but an undisclosed location in Xiangxi. He tells them Unit 401 fed pills that make them compliant. This actor gets gold star for being the creepiest.⭐️🫣😱 Unlike the others he believes it is magic and uses the small vial to exit. A hand comes out of his chest and there is a pinky ring on the hand and that vial Huo found in its palm. The scene then moves to Qi trying to get included in a traveling caravan. He wants to visit a Daoist temple in Xishan which happens to be included on the merchant’s route. They hope to find treasure in vats supposedly moved from the past by otherworld patriarch. Taihe house sent a killer squad that quickly killed off the merchant and his men. Wi was toyed with and forced to throw coins to determine how he would die. They mocked his response if not dying and asked what really said. The master is compassionate. Zhang QiShan shows up in aviator glasses and starts kicking ass. His second said to let him work off steam and handle himself. 😁 The three head snap and knife play at end got him extra cool points. He jokes with Qi as they exit but it’s not clear if Qi found anything or not. Nice to see the good guys score some points and looking forward to next episode.
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When they reach the bottom they find Hatoyama and entourage dead by seppuku. The construction site was never completed by the rules of Fengdu. While they ID the bodies Wu has gone off to find Huo. While that is understandable, he’s already splitting up the group and Zhang is ok with it. He finds Huo and they chat about loss of important things during exploration. For her, it was her faith. They agree to part ways with her promising to report he findings to him. He returns to the group and Qi is the first to note he returned alone. They start piecing information together and learn that Hatoyama became interested in a mural that showed Changsheng’s methods and a spell that could turn back time. Via the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and XinXue restaraunt he was given permission to inspect the mural. He initiated Operation Changsha to learn more about the time reversal spell. In top secret reports he launched operation copper meteorite while planning Operation Changsha. They have not yet figured out its tie to operation catch all. Cox Hendry was in charge of operation copper Meteorite while Hatoyama started operation Changsha. Here Zhang QiShan and mystic nine eliminated the Japanese spy operation topside leaving Hatoyama in the tower. Two years ago Hatoyama confirmed they had found what they were looking for and had reached the location but that it seemed no escape from the tower was possible. That was his last transmission. Zhang and Wu realize they are led to the pond area and here is an eerie display of the long dead bodies being restored. Zhang said two more spells needed performed and Wu confesses he already did them. And now the weirdness starts. Time is reversed for them and Hatoyama mocks the two leaders about how he had orchestrated things. Both leaders tried to kill him but he used others as decoys. Operation Catch all completes and that was getting the dog. Wu and all the Japanese soldiers disappeared. We are given a glimpse of unit 401 but they are in the same limbo status. They too disappeared. Huo comes out to see them disappear. She and Xhang are the only two left in the pond area. This scene was a good creep out session with the eeriness and unexplained disappearances. Not to mention watching mummified suicides becoming live persons again. Hatoyama discloses he has had three years to learn the ancient Chinese wisdom. For reasons unknown, the entire expedition was a ruse to kidnap Wu to complete there operation Catch all. It does not reveal how the exited,but that after turning the city upside down Wu has still not been found. They know he is the key to their ongoing plans, but no one knows what those entail. Huo returns home to find she’s leader in name but not power. In the tower she found a vial with a warning that the Eunuch is colluding with the Japanese and the formula will endanger her life. She did collect the item but we don’t know if she gave it to them. Qi is collecting his thoughts and drawn to the statue with hair. The scene the. Goes to a wanted poster of Hatoyama and a missing poster of fifth master Wu. Zhang’s men have mobilized check;lints to search or Wu and reward monies to gain assist from the general public. News is needed of Otherworld Patriarch and Hatoyama. Zhang knows it will be difficult to find clues they need and wants to mobilize mystic nine to search for them. General Huo is still holding 9th master Xie and the scene moves to Xie’s residence where he is still under house arrest. Huo is trying to force him to sign a confession letter and Xie calmly continues his chess game as Huo laces back and forth saying what a kind benefactor he is keeping him alive.😝His aura is more of a schoolyard bully without henchmen around than a commanding general of the Ministry of War. He is the lackey for somebody, but he is far from being the mastermind of any of the current happenings. He flips the game board and goes in full tantrum mode, but even gun in hand he does not instill fear. His threats are interrupted by the mystic nine members showing up. He tries to invoke Huo clan privileges in having a prisoner and they remind him the women rule. Qi asking if he’d changed his person.🤣😂 And he folds like the bully he is when his guards do not respond to his call. 😝Zhang QiShan makes his appearance and his guards tote out the chatty general now unconscious. The mystic nine’s meeting begins as the episode ends. The creepy vibe of the tower is now going to topside strategist mode and we will get to see the mystic nine (minus 5th master) at work.
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We are shown Huo’s chat with the image. He knows her desire for Huo clan’s survival and her hate for how it’s currently being run. She is seen with Wu’s group inspecting the cracks in wall Zhang and Wu found earlier. What they discover is that Tu has been dead all along and the finch with map was a fake. Now men question if they are also fakes. Wu does the peek into future ritual and sees the nine mystics being executed by Zhang Qi Shan for being spies. They group around him as he collapses and goes into seizure. The wretched eunuch is pleased that it (?) worked on Wu. 😝😡Huo basically wills him to live. He rechecks the murals and finds a path through the wall. Rather than using it he returns to find out if his vision of Zhang QiShan was true or not. He finally finds the mark Zhang left for him.😝🙄 The two groups finally get back together and we get to hear the remainder of the phone call. Mystic Nine is considered a threat that Zhang himself must eradicate. Wu sees the truth and after Huo intervenes the two leaders have a chat behind closed doors. The two leaders hammer it out and Wu finally agrees to help the Japanese. He resents the elite attitude of seeing the bigger picture over the lives of the poor. He will always view Zhang on the wrong side after the mining incident, but agrees that even if only one in ten chance of removing Zhang from mystic nine, he will assist in finding the Japanese tho not their original bargain. Outside, the two clans are back to their brotherly disputes with Qi’s futile attempts to make peace. I can’t believe I forgot how noisy they were together when wishing them to ally. 😝🙉 The leaders emerge from their counsel room to put their clans at ease and finally working the scene together. While the men occupied, Huo looks at the diaries and sees her morning glory on a page. She has been instructed to stay ahead of the leaders and tears the page out. It isn’t clear what side she works for but her independent thoughts are more objective. I don’t mind her being a step ahead of the pissing contest between the males. I do regret the eunuch being the messenger. He really is a loathsome character blackmailing women. 🤬Huo got a much cooler exit down the shaft. The guys…..🙄not so much. Qi notes the writings depict Yin Changsheng’s life and love for his pet shaft named Luotian. They discover the body of a Japanese infantryman that was reassigned to Changsha to be in an operation with Hatoyama called Catch All. Now to see how the Japanese fit into the Chinese underworld to spy on Changsha. The descent to the tower heart continues as the episode ends. Keeping the intrigue going. Huo has shown her hand now but she will make better progress without the bickering men. 😝
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Wu and Zhang still disagree about whether or no Chsngsheng’s methods work. Wu is poisoned and has to stay behind while Zhang continues investigating. We get a quick view of Qi finding Xiao Yu and continuing search for others. Wu accidentally moves a vat lid and then thinks Runty is in another. He hears the dog’s cries and heads for it. His men and Huo are trying to locate him with their whistles. Zhang finds Qi and the Zhang clan. They go to the opera room that Qi believes was made in Qin Dynasty. He is shocked to learn Yin Changsheng made the room. They go back to the vat room but Woo isn’t there. Woo has found Huo and his clan but he is irrational and wants to get them all out. Back in the vat room Qi mentions an immortal that liked playing pranks. What was not clear is if this one was truly immortal or a mystic. Qi confirms that the vats are covered with suppression talismans and that evil things are inside. He also is pretty sure it’s a burial site and not a magical research area as Zhang and Wu initially thought. Qi gets out the tools of his trade and sees that the stage is connected to the way out. The Zhang clan follow Qi’s instructions on which character to give propers to and Xiao Yu blocks doors open as discovered. Two paths show and Zhang chooses opposite Qi’s choice🤣😂 They leave a mark for Wu. Wu’s group arrives and he isn’t happy Zhang already left. Whatever is inside him from the vat steers him away from one door so they take the other route. What isn’t clear is if this is the same passage Zhang chose because they did not acknowledge seeing the mark left behind for him. Huo asks about the button and whether or not his hand reached out to her. He cannot confirm or deny. Runty’s barking leads them to another sealed wall. Here Wu finds a yin yang lock that must be released together to open the wall. We see his two men and dog behind the wall with a dark creature in slime on the wall. Wu talks Huo into staying at the yang mechanism. They whistle instructions back and forth and at the last one his whistle command is changed. He tells them info is wrong and runs back. He sees everyone killed by a trap but is it real or illusion? He figures out that he must perform the three rites. So he lines his people up and lights the candles and burns the hair. The eyes on the mural open to look at him. He has kept the tnt with him to make sure the deal is kept. When he beats the mural in frustration he turns to find his people gone. He knows they are safe and hears whistle in background as episode ends. This was a suspenseful episode. The groups are divided but finding same end result with the murals. Eerie vibe continues and now to see if both groups find each other after this round.
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The first wrong solution punishment releases a golden snitch sized tribble that acts like a Crite from Critters horror movies. This is one of the creatures shown on the underworld creature relief carving. It gravitates to pretty things which is why Wu gets chased the most.😂when Zhang captures it, it dissolves in his hand. The second solution attempt results in the son becoming a beggar and death of the mother. This time an eel like creature is released that shows itself like Alien popping out of people’s stomach area. This creature is insatiable and they pass it back and forth since only one can be possessed at a time. Sound effects and acting imply possession rather than showing it. Even now Wu makes wisecracks about Zhang’s turn. 😝😂Apparently once something eaten the creature doesn’t leave host. This satire of horror creatures segues to scene with Huo’s group. The finger tap signal is a code between Wu and Huo. She knows it isn’t them in spite of appearances and gets enough common sense in the bickering clans to be given the explosive which she gets to ceiling. They find another sealed off wall and Qi recommends staying put til more news. Back at the opera scene Wu figures out the punishments are the three Peng parasites and they are on the second one. They finally note eye contact transmits it. 🙄 The third parasite is through heart fire. Zhang understands how opera can move the heart and redistributes props from a viewers perspective. Zhang restrains Wu and covers his eyes while the mechanism is activated. The son is now top scholar with a happy mom and the mechanism reveals a new door. They both know that if all three parasites are conquered the next creature will be the great ghost. Here the scene shifts back to the two confined clans. Qi knows something is up with Huo and Wu. The sparrow with the map is found and they want to try one more time. Huo sees the ghost in the top corner, but agrees with the clans for Qi to do rite one more time. They all disappear except Qi who immediately faints.🤣 The scene goes back to Zhang and Wu who find themselves in a room with many vats. Further investigation reveals it to be an ancient prison where creatures and humans were experimented on in the vats surrounding them. The otherworld patriarch used the creatures to convince his disciples he was magical, but it backfired and the monsters escaped. Zhang believes they are bound to following a pattern and can be defeated. Wu is not as optimistic. While studying the relief they see differences from the mural and see that the mural is a map of the tower. The top person is Yin Changsheng who practiced magical arts. The other world patriarch tried to master them but was unsuccessful. Wu speculates that Changsheng took one of his pills and became neither human or ghost and could manipulate time. Wu believes Otherworld patriarch fled when ritual failed and left his disciples to deal with the monsters and built a huge wall to cover it all up. Zhang thinks more is going on than meets the eye. We see an ancient ritual starting when episode ends. There are interesting aside puzzles in this episode but I could have done with less of the ping pong Peng parasites. 😝
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This episode picks up where last left off with Wu knowing his crew still alive and looking for them. Zhang’s group still exploring and they find a reclamation medal and an entire Japanese stronghold. It is unclear how or why they are there, but that it’s definitely more current history than any other part of the tower has been. The scene heads back to Changsha where General Huo confronts 9th master, Jie Jiu, and believes he has the winning hand. He is using Jie Jiu’s student status to look like he’s conspiring with the Japanese. Huo leaves a document for Jie to sign extorting trade funds for his life. Huo arrogantly leaves believing himself the winner after leaving a parting shot at another spy recently killed and how interested the Japanese are with Changsha. Now that my eyes have stopped rolling with the Huo there, we are back in the tower with Zhang’s group. They are looking through the Japanese hideout and find plenty of food but a squad of Japanese that had committed suicide. They backtrack to an explorer who was given permission to have men accompany him. A small branch sectioned off with info about a copper meteorite. After documenting location, it seems lots of secrets revolve around an even more mysterious element they were interested in. What Qi points out is the explorer was meticulous with his information and would not have left it to be found. Zhang gives the report to a colleague trained to read Japanese. They find a photograph of the entire party and determine most of them not in the tower. Qi still argues about the why of group suicide. Zhang suggests they thought once in tower no escape was possible. Scene goes to Wu finding his partner with lock and his crew still alive. He proposes to Huo but she suggests handling business first. Something in the tower is calling her ancestry to mind and she sees a man with fan that Wu doesn’t. We also don’t know if Wu’s experience was illusion or real. There is a repeat scenario with yin yang lock and he tells Huo the correct configuration. He also places extra men in safe location. Huo is mediator between whistle calls. This time wrong answer is in a different place and Wu’s verbal answer changed as well, but Huo has it figured out and this time door opens with no casualties. The shadow creature does escape but Wu is far from caring. The two missing are back to normal and Runty is fine. Huo is aware something serious happened with Wu while they were separated. Scene shifts back to spy hideout and Zhang clan goring through a Japanese diary. The explorer started off with 54 men. After half month went by Zhan Qi Shan cut off their spy network outside and those inside losing hope in the tower maze. Eight men became like 401 unit with 800 m distance and Hatoyama gets photos to explain why they can’t catch up to the men. He finds a way to get his men provisions in a different spot and takes a crew deep inside via a well. The diary revealed that a telegraph message from outside is why this squad of soldiers committed suicide. What Zhang has to decide is if they will follow the explorer down the well. They get an SOS asking for help via telegram. Wu’s group wants to pursue the dark creature but he wants them out alive. Prior events did occur as Huo has memory from first lock failure. She is at a crossroads to decide if she want to pursue tower secrets or stay with Wu’s group. For me the frustrating part is that these two clans have been told working together and going forward best offense and defense, yet both leaders deliberately choose to work independently and make no attempt to coordinate efforts with the other group.😝 Wondering what Huo will decide.
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We are immediately tossed in with Wu as he explores a long discarded passageway. He finds one dead end has a long way down. This has Winchester house vibe of hallways to no where. He finds himself running from a huge snake which is very reminiscent of Harry Potter basilisk chase. Right when he seems done for Zhang and dagger appear. He is rescued but way out has literal viper den in the way. Again flickering lights change scene and the vipers are gone and exploration continues. What is interesting Zhang concludes it was all illusion with the vipers. Even the wound in his hand has disappeared. Those left behind with Huo are in two camps demanding Qi send them to find their masters. Huo agrees to have them sent so they can all shut up. 😂😝 They are shamed into looking around and finding their own way out. She is a smart one and has the drafts cut off to determine if ceiling has escape possibilities….turns out it does. Zhang and Wu continue their exploration with Wu convinced they are in the underworld and showing evidence of the relief statues around them. Zhang points out they are sloppily made and no one would try to be immortal if this was their ending. One wall revealed a crack with wind. But whether to inside chamber or outside there is no way to tell. Wu has a trick up his sleeve and attaches a map to the sparrow he has with him. It will fly to his men and deliver the map. Depending on who shows up, if anybody, will be an indicator if bird escaped within or without the tower. Zhang and Wu find themselves in an opera house with stage and audience tables all set. The other world patriarch is positioned behind the stage rather than as part of the audience. Wu strikes the gong to open the show and finds that he did. The lights come on and the stage is set. What they find are the bodies to the skulls mortared in water passageway. Wu is more freaked out than Zhang. He is still convinced it is underworld setup. Zhang continues to oppose the notion for same reason Wu is all for it. There is then a hint between them of some place in the past where they had worked together. Neither confirm where or what this place was. As both men explore, Zhang finds a door and Wu finds a puzzle he called Golden Toad’s gift. He does at least finally agree Zhang was right and not under worldly. Solving the puzzle should open the door. Zhang wants to start with the door, but listens to Wu’s counter that if the room tied together, forcing the door could harm those in other locations. He suggests the stage and they start looking for clues. Wu finds a program book with the title Madame Wang’s Lecture. He confirms the last word with Zhang because literacy is not a strong trait of the Wu clan. They are to act out the story. They must raise the son well to escape. The scene goes back to Huo and she gets to the ceiling. She is bolder than me sticking her hand in the hole up top, what is interesting is she has Zhang’s button in her hand and Wu’s hand is shown trying to pull her in. It is unclear if Wu tells her to back off or if she shrinks back of her own volition. She is trying to figure things out while both clans argue in background. They are an annoying schoolyard tauntfest.😝🙉 We are returned to opera room where Wu puts rods in everybody’s hand. He points out that Zhang is not needed as director and the world will continue without him. They find out that the boy was not raised well and they must continue trying until the right balance of teaching leads to a good ending for the son. They have figured out the other world patriarch is watching them and they will be punished or rewarded depending on outcome of play. First round of all rods a failure. I like how Wu uses the royal we in making the wrong call.😝🙄 Second round they pay more attention to the purpose of the items in their hands. They distribute the props and Wu notices when he adds a hairpin that there are 15 rather than 14 flower poms in the headdress. They bicker about this a few times but Wu sees it flicker and disappear while Zhang notices something else entirely. He agrees with Wu but we do not get to see what he’s looking at. The puzzle is progressing with both groups. Too bad for Huo no duct tape for the bickering clansmen. She got the worst end of this deal. 😝
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The lech in pleasure house is a very ancient eunuch. He is a string puller, but not clear if he is the brains behind the strings. He has appealed to the Huo clan member in Ministry of War to oust Zhang as leader of Mystic Nine. Huo seems cold and calculating as he goes through all the members listing off strengths and weaknesses. He also cannot rule out popularity of the masses which is why he cannot start with Zhang as much as he really wants to. He also prefers to save Ms Huo who is embedded with the tower explorers, but he is not above letting her go if she goes outside the line drawn for the females in their clan. While he speculates on his move, the explorers know it’s safe to end of waterway. Huo sees the palanquin with her morning glory symbol on the lantern. Wu did not see it. She also saw a mirror with the image of the other world patriarch. The only thing they all agree on while traversing the waterway is wanting Qi to shut up.🤣Zhang ordered his man to retrieve a skull to study later. He is dismissed and the skull set aside when they see what’s before them. Qi figures out is it a ritual to open a gate via the patriarch figure before them. The Three Primes Sun-Moon Great Peace Fasting Rite is the name. Qi again sounds long winded so they want the cliff notes version. They found the dog’s collar so they know their people have been there, but the room is completely sealed off with dead bodies having extra body parts coming out of them. Qi does the rite and the others are somewhat underwhelmed. They are focusing on the last lady with no extra body part where they guesstimate the gate opens…however Zhang has disappeared from the group so the gate did open and he left through it. Wu wants Qi to do the rite again so he can assist Zhang. After the rite he too disappears but what everyone missed was the change in the skull they had brought from the waterway. The eyes have opened. This episode has the Ministry of War involved on the outside. Whether it’s to help or hurt the Mystic Nine is unclear. The Eunuch is the messenger boy but it is not clear what power, if any, he has to the political machinations wanting to change leadership or overthrow how the mystic nine operates. They are moving the story along inside and outside while still keeping the majority of the characters locked in place. The one constant has been forcing them to work together and move forward.
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Zhang figured out the troops would only let him go forward and not back. He sees a creature in an upper corner and the chase is on. The only way to describe its movements would be like vampires in horror movies. It moves super fast and can mist and relocate evading Zhang and his dagger quite well. Zhang finds himself in another chamber that has statues or long dead people in a concentric pattern. It is never made clear who or what he was chasing but there seems to be a mummified figure on second floor of the building. The group staying with unit 401 gets creeped out that they are neither really dead or alive nor seem possessed by anything. They are just sedated unresponsive bodies that are standing. Huo notices that her morning glories are found on their pockets and that her symbols have shown on a wall Wu swears up and down they have never been to. Flickering lights seem to indicate change. Qi has determined that the tower itself seems alive and manipulating them as it chooses. Wu ends up agreeing with him. As they are deciding their next move Tianpeng disappears right in front of them. Like the lights he first flickers and then disappears. Huo took a nut out of the pocket of one of the soldiers and it is giving her a clue of some sort but she has not figured it out yet. Wu’s group has divided to find their missing comrade. A new hall has presented itself and they choose to enter. Wu gives Huo the peke which she hands to the guy behind her and enters Liunian Hall with the men. ZhenYuan and Tianpeng have now become like unit 401. They keep distance from Wu now and enter the hall where the doors slam shut. When Wu breaks in he finds himself face to face battling Zhang instead. They find an underground waterway and TianPeng shows up begging for help. It is decided that Zhang’s second will investigate on the mini raft the made with a guide wire to be pulled back quickly if need to.He finds himself traveling under corpses and is doing a damn good job holding himself together and just keep traveling down the waterway. Huo sees a sedan chair moving with no carriers that disappears. Production crew doing a decent job of keeping the vibe eerie and not silly. The cast does well keeping the groups separate in stance and dialogue. The lines are clearly drawn between all of them but the tower is muddying their biases and making them cooperate to get their people back. It is a very unwilling alliance, but one is being made. Wu wants them to stay even by locating each other’s people so no debts will be owed. The episode ends just as he strikes the new deal.
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Everybody is meeting up and Wu is doing his best to divert Zhang’s attention from Huo. He notes her presence but chooses to let it slide. My first dog was a black masked peke so I have a bias for the dog Wu carries. I like the change to leather uniforms. I was wondering if they were going to continue with the pristine dress ones. 😝 The old wretch in the pleasure house sent off two letters. One saying now was prime opportunity to replace Zhang in mystic nine and the other to an unknown gentleman that he was about to see what he’s been wanting to see. They do another slow glide down the ropes 😝 and head for the site. It is discovered that there are two lever blocks that serve as counter weights. He has the peke take bullets one by one to each block til the weights are balanced and they lower to reveal a very intricate folding of bricks to make an entrance. An offering location is found where the peke found some snacks. Qi’s services are now required to discover next clue. They head for what looks to be a shrine entrance and the only one that has discovered anything is Huo. She notes the mortar from Tongzhi era and not a simple thing to create. The upper wings don’t match so she speculates much bigger inside than appears from from outside. Zhang and Wu’s men are antagonizing each other but Zhang kinda started that aiming his gun at Wu’s face.😝Fortunately Zhang’s guy manages to unlock the door which shuts them all up. Rejuvenation, No way to live, No way to die are words on sealed doors. The wall carvings imply raising from the dead and time intervals. Huo shares a clue location and Wu cleans up the sign that says Otherworld Tower. Qi starts telling the tale of the otherworld patriarch who legend says could role back time and change fates. The emperor coveted this skill and sent 100k troops to Changsha to get the patriarch, but his spell was cast before they ever arrived and every face was blurred in Changsha so the men could not find him, to include the emperor. Zhang hushed him up to say walk and talk while Wu mocked that Zhang got annoyed with Qi too. 😝It is now speculated that unit 401 was looking for the Xumi realm that was supposedly filled with riches to entice people away from the patriarch. The peke has found the men and signals back. Zhang and Wu groups are racing each other to arrive first while Qi finds himself left alone in a dark creepy place lamenting being left behind.🤣 They reach what should have been the destination, but the peke and the men are still 800 meters ahead just like before. They take a water break before continuing. It’s like they run circuits to arrive at same place with same conclusion. Ai catches up and warns them that things will go awry if they separate, but both leaders too determined to have their own way. Huo would actually be the best leader. She is the calm mind of reason while the hotheads have at it. 😝🙄 she is leaving a trace of morning glories for Qiansui to follow later. The three finally find the dog but the men are still not in sight and they are all tired from the spurts of 800 meter dashes. They discovered that the troops always kept 800 meters ahead so a test was done to see if they moved with the dog following. The dog returned with a bloodied 401 patch. It was decided to backtrack and make the troops follow them back. It was a test to see if the 401 had to keep that distance between them. It was seen that depending on the direction the murals welcomed or were demons chasing. In spite of the warning Zhang chose to keep backtracking and set markers with candles. The candles did fall and it was learned that they paced 800 meters from furthest front person. Zhang continues to backtrack planning to drop down with them at the point where they are directly above and below each other. He tossed a grenade and jumped down behind them. Even issuing direct commands they moved as a unit with bowed heads keeping the distance but no other response. Zhang manages to get them to turn around as a unit by turning himself. The group above try to determine the faces but their lights collectively go out. Zhang uses a candle and gets to see the faces close up. It is very quiet and eerie. It is interesting how they are forced to work together and pay attention to their surroundings. I am now wondering if anything is happening with the guys and dogs left behind.
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