Episode Summary
Lu Lingfeng's team is replaced by four suspicious military officers for his mission to find the Bai Ze. The Princess adds her own two agents, Li Nai'er and Huo Jing, to the group to keep an eye on things. The journey up Zhongnan Mountain is immediately hostile, leading to a fight between the officers and the Princess's women. One of the officers, Huo You, murders Huo Jing by pushing her off a cliff. The group finds another dead body and eventually takes shelter in a mysterious mountain temple, where a strange man promises they will see the Bai Ze if they wait.
Spoiler Alert
A Not-So-Simple Mission
Lu Lingfeng is all set to leave for Zhongnan Mountain. But of course, it's not that simple. An official named Lu Tong shows up with new orders. Suddenly, Lu Lingfeng’s entire crew is benched. Pei Xijun, Chu Yingtao, Master Fei, and Xue Huan are forced to stay behind. The excuse is that they're needed to "help with affairs" in the city.
In their place, Lu Lingfeng gets a new team he didn't ask for. He's now stuck with four military officers. There's General Ding Heng, Chen He, Wei Qi, and Huo You. The official story is they're here to help the Yongzhou government find the mythical Bai Ze beast. I'm sure that's all it is.
The Princess Lays a Trap
The new group gets to the city gate. The Princess is already there waiting for them. She cuts right to the chase. She asks Lu Lingfeng if he knows why the Emperor specifically sent himon this mission.
Lu Lingfeng stays quiet. Su Wuming tries to smooth things over with some empty praise for the Emperor. Nobody is buying it.
The Princess then spells out the situation for everyone. If they find the Bai Ze, the Yongzhou government gets all the credit. If they fail, Lu Lingfeng takes all the blame. He's basically walking into a trap. So, the Princess decides to send her own people along. She says it's because the beast is important for the country's fate. She's worried someone might lie to the Emperor.
She assigns two women to the team. One is her associate, Li Nai'er. The other is a hunter named Huo Jing. They are supposedly there to help. But really, they're there to keep an eye on the four new military guys.
Trouble on the Mountain
The First Fight
The huge group finally makes it to Zhongnan Mountain. A local hunter, Lingji, wants to take them on the main road. But Huo Jing, the hunter sent by the Princess, points out a shortcut. It's a dangerous path along Duanyuan Cliff. Lu Lingfeng decides to take it, and Huo Jing leads the way.
The path is no joke. It's incredibly steep and narrow. There's a sheer drop into a canyon below. One of the new guys, Huo You, gets furious. He thinks the local hunter should have warned them. So he whips Lingji.
Huo Jing immediately steps in to defend the hunter. She calls Huo You out for bullying a local. This makes Huo You feel embarrassed and angry. He draws his saber and attacks Huo Jing. Li Nai'er is quick, though. She jumps in and blocks his blade. The two of them start fighting right there on the trail. Su Wuming has to step in and stop them. Lu Lingfeng gives Huo You a serious lecture, and things calm down for a minute. Later, Su Wuming quietly tells Lu Lingfeng he needs to protect Li Nai'er and Huo Jing.
A Deadly Fall
The group continues their climb up a sheer cliff face with ropes. Su Wuming slips on some moss and almost falls. Lu Lingfeng manages to grab him just in time.
At the top, they hear a deep growl. The four military guys get excited. They think it's the Bai Ze. Huo Jing tells them to relax. It's just a tiger.
The weather turns bad. Dark clouds roll in. The team follows Lu Lingfeng and Ding Heng along a slippery, narrow ridge. It's so narrow they have to walk single file. One of the other officers, Wei Qi, gives Huo You a subtle look. Huo You then pretends he needs to relieve himself and drops to the back of the line.
A moment later, Huo Jing screams "Shameless!" and falls from the cliff. Li Nai'er tries to save her but can't. Filled with grief and rage, Li Nai'er draws her sword to kill Huo You. He draws his own weapon, and they start fighting again.
During the fight, Li Nai'er loses her footing. She almost falls off the cliff herself. Lu Lingfeng pulls her back to safety. He then uses his own sword to separate them, yelling at them to stop. With Su Wuming's help, he finally gets them to stand down. They find a small cave to build a fire and get out of the rain.
A Gruesome Find and a Tense Truce
While gathering firewood, Wei Qi finds something awful. It's the body of a woman. She's tied tightly to a huge rock, and her face is frozen in a pained expression. He screams that he saw a ghost.
Everyone rushes over. Chen He, another one of the new guys, decides this is the perfect time to be a creep. He makes a comment that the dead woman must have been good-looking when she was alive. This comment, combined with Huo Jing's death, pushes Li Nai'er over the edge. She draws her sword on Huo You again.
Ding Heng sees that Huo You is injured from the earlier fight. He offers to fight Li Nai'er in his place. Lu Lingfeng has to step in and play referee for the third time. He yells at everyone and finally puts an end to the standoff.
Shelter at the Bai Ze Temple
The rain gets heavier, so the group runs for better shelter. They find an old temple on the mountain peak. Inside, they meet a man who calls himself the Bai Ze Mountain Man and his wife, A'zi.
In the center of the temple hall is a giant stone statue of a beast. Su Wuming immediately recognizes it as a statue of the Bai Ze. The Bai Ze Mountain Man agrees to let them stay. He says if they just wait patiently in the temple, the real Bai Ze will eventually show itself. The four military officers completely believe him.
