Episode Summary
Zhi Nu, now called Zang Hai, arrives in the capital seeking revenge. Guided by Master Xing Dou to Zhen Lou, a prominent brothel, he inadvertently learns about critical court politics through a shadow puppet show. The show satirizes the conflict between factions led by Linzi Wang and Pingjin Hou over the late Empress Dowager's burial and the Emperor's indecisiveness. When Zang Hai tries to warn an entertainer (Liren) about guards (Chang Wei) targeting the puppeteer (Ba Gongzi), the Liren misidentifies Zang Hai as Ba Gongzi, forcing him to flee. His friend Gao Ming rescues him. Meanwhile, Pingjin Hou Zhuang Luyin is desperately rounding up Feng Shui masters for the burial. Zang Hai gets himself and a coffin maker, Fan Laoban, arrested to save Fan's son. Thrown into a booby-trapped secret chamber in Pingjin Hou's residence with many others, Zang Hai uses his knowledge of mechanisms and the "Nine Star Positions" to find an escape route, leading the prisoners through the dangerous passage.
Spoiler Alert
So, Zhi Nu, now going by the much cooler moniker Zang Hai, has finally finished his mysterious training and is heading to the capital, presumably to kickstart that revenge tour we’ve all been waiting for. Turns out, his buddy Gao Ming has already beaten him there and is lying in wait. Before Zang Hai sets off, his mentor, Master Xing Dou, gives him a cryptic send-off. Zang Hai, bless his curious heart, wants to know why Master Xing Dou and that other masked master saved him and taught him all those nifty civil engineering skills. Xing Dou basically says, "It's all for you, kid. Ask Gao Ming for the deets when you get to the city." He also tells Zang Hai to hit up a place called Zhen Lou (Pillow Tower) and someone will be there to meet him. And in a totally not ominous move, as soon as Zang Hai is out of sight, Master Xing Dou has the entire place where Zang Hai spent the last decade training burned to the ground. Nothing says "no turning back" like a good old-fashioned bonfire of your past, right?
After a rough journey, Zang Hai arrives in the capital and makes a beeline for Zhen Lou. Surprise! It’s the most poppin' brothel in town, all glitter and music. Zang Hai, clearly not up on local customs, plops himself down in the primo spot – the "Zhu Que Tou" (Vermilion Bird Head) – and casually asks for a lamp. A Liren (an entertainer, likely an actor or courtesan) brings him this dazzling golden lamp but then drops the bomb: that seat is for VIPs only. Lighting that lamp means Zang Hai has to foot the bill for the entire Wang Yue Ge (Moon-Watching Pavilion), tip every single Liren, and cover everyone else's drinks and tea. The last dude to pull that move was Prince Yong Rong. Zang Hai, who’s got about seven taels of silver to his name, wisely decides to bail, but the Liren stops him and kindly directs him to the common folk seats downstairs.
Downstairs, a shadow puppet show by someone called Ba Gongzi (Eighth Master) is in full swing. The Liren clues Zang Hai into the story, and our sharp protagonist immediately figures out the dragon and phoenix puppets are shade being thrown at the recently deceased Empress Dowager and the current Emperor. The Liren adds that the toad in the play? That’s the chattering civil officials. The rooster and white tiger? Those are Linzi Wang (Prince of Linzi) and Pingjin Hou (Marquis of Pingjin), respectively.
Here’s the political tea: the court is split. Linzi Wang and his faction of civil officials want the Emperor's birth mother, Noble Consort Li, booted from the imperial mausoleum so the late Empress Dowager can be buried with the late Emperor. The Emperor, caught in the middle, has apparently just decided to hide from the problem. Classic. The other side, led by Pingjin Hou, wants things to stay as they are. The Emperor has dumped the whole burial mess onto the Ministry of Works, and guess who’s the Vice Minister there? Zhuang Zhifu, who just so happens to be Pingjin Hou Zhuang Luyin's son. This has Pingjin Hou desperately scouting for Feng Shui masters.
Back at Zhen Lou, Zang Hai spots some shady characters and gets a bad feeling they’re after Ba Gongzi. He warns the Liren to skedaddle to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. The Liren, however, recognizes them as the Chang Wei (Factory Guards) who work for Cao Gonggong (Eunuch Cao) – basically the head honcho of all eunuchs, with spies everywhere. The Liren is pretty confident they wouldn’t dare cause trouble in Zhen Lou because it has a plaque gifted by the Emperor himself. Zang Hai isn't so sure, thinking Ba Gongzi’s politically charged puppet show is practically an invitation for assassination.
The Liren then begs Zang Hai to help save Ba Gongzi. Zang Hai, wanting zero part in this drama, tries to leave. That’s when the Liren makes a galaxy-brain move and loudly announces that Zang Hai is Ba Gongzi! Chaos erupts. The Chang Wei immediately charge, and Zang Hai, understandably terrified, makes a run for it. The Liren, perhaps feeling a tad guilty, pops up to give him directions during the chase. Zang Hai ducks into an alley, and just in the nick of time, Gao Ming appears and saves his skin, bluffing to the Chang Wei that Zang Hai is just some drunk "Wang Gongzi" (Young Master Wang). The guards reluctantly leave.
Gao Ming gets Zang Hai to an inn, where Zang Hai spills everything the Liren told him. Gao Ming, ever the pragmatist, points out that the Emperor is the lynchpin in this whole Empress Dowager burial situation, meaning Pingjin Hou Zhuang Luyin is basically screwed no matter what he does. Just then, they hear a ruckus outside: Zhuang Luyin’s men are rounding up every Feng Shui master in the city – they’re so desperate they’re even grabbing coffin shop owners and butchers!
As Qu Jiao and his goons try to arrest Fan Laoban (Boss Fan), a coffin shop owner, and his son, Zang Hai steps up. He declares he's a Feng Shui master and asks them to let Fan Laoban's son go. Qu Jiao, probably thinking "two for the price of one," arrests both Zang Hai and Fan Laoban. Fan Laoban is, of course, super grateful.
Zang Hai and the other arrestees are hauled off to Pingjin Hou's residence and thrown into a subterranean secret chamber. One poor soul tries to make a break for it, triggers a trap, and dies on the spot. Zang Hai quickly warns everyone else to stay put and touch nothing. Our boy realizes the chamber is designed according to the "Jiu Xing Wei" (Nine Star Positions) and, using his expertise, figures out the escape route. He then starts coordinating the others, telling them where to stand to navigate the mechanisms.
It's revealed that Pingjin Hou Zhuang Luyin is a nasty piece of work, killing people who displease him without a second thought. To put on a show for the Emperor and the officials, he’s had his lackeys, Chu Huaiming and Qu Jiao, snatch up over eighty "Feng Shui masters" and chuck them into this deathtrap.
Zang Hai, with Fan Laoban and the others in tow, begins to lead them through the booby-trapped passage. The place is a maze of complex mechanisms, some even repurposed from ancient tombs. But Zang Hai, cool as a cucumber, deciphers each trap, and with everyone else cooperating, they manage to dodge one lethal mechanism after another.
