Episode Summary

In Episode 21 of "The Seven Relics of Ill Omen," Luo Ren meets his old comrade Qing Mu, who reveals their nemesis, Leopard, may still be alive, prompting them to form an alliance. Meanwhile, Mu Dai and Yi Wan San are separately lured into deep pits while investigating in Caojia Village. Guided by a celestial sign that the fifth relic has appeared in the village, Luo Ren arrives to find the villagers uncooperative. His investigation leads him to a frightened local woman, Ya Feng, who cryptically points him toward a cave on the mountainside.

Spoiler Alert

The Seven Relics of Ill Omen Episode 21 Recap: An Old Enemy and a Village of Traps

A ghost from the past resurfaces, forcing an uneasy alliance, while a search for a friend in the remote Caojia Village turns into a desperate fight for survival as Mu Dai and Yi Wan San fall into mysterious traps. Luo Ren, guided by a celestial warning, rushes to the village only to be met with a wall of silence and strange behavior, pulling him deeper into a local conspiracy.

Key Spoilers & Highlights from This Episode:

  • An Enemy Lives: Luo Ren's old comrade, Qing Mu, reveals that their nemesis, Leopard, likely survived their last encounter. The two form an alliance to hunt him down before he can exact his revenge.
  • Double Trapped: While searching for the missing Cao Yanhua, Mu Dai is lured into a trap and falls into a deep pit containing skeletons and old silver coins. Soon after, Yi Wan San is also ambushed and kicked into a similar pit.
  • The Fifth Relic Appears: The Mystic deciphers a signal from his observatory, confirming that the fifth relic has manifested in Caojia Village, adding a new layer of urgency to the events unfolding there.
  • A Strange Plea: Before his disappearance, Yi Wan San is startled by a frantic visit from a local woman named Ya Feng, who begs for his help before vanishing as quickly as she appeared.
  • A Village of Lies: Luo Ren's investigation in the rain-soaked village is stonewalled by the residents. He attempts to test his suspicions about Ya Feng using a blood-stained hairpin, but her lack of reaction only deepens the mystery.

Full Recap & Plot Breakdown

An Old Grudge at the Border

The episode opens with Luo Ren driving to a desolate border town. At a quiet barbecue stall, he reunites with Qing Mu, a former brother-in-arms. It's a tense meeting; Qing Mu confesses he hasn't been home in two years, unable to face the families of their fallen comrades. He accuses Luo Ren of trying to bury their violent past, a charge Luo Ren vehemently denies, the memory of his deceased daughter, Tasha, still a fresh wound.

Their conversation turns to their shared enemy, Leopard. Qing Mu recounts returning to Leopard's last known hideout. He found signs of a brutal fight and bloodstains, but Leopard's body was missing. After exhausting all leads, Qing Mu has come to a chilling conclusion: Leopard is still alive. Luo Ren agrees with the assessment. They both know that if Leopard is out there, he will inevitably come for Luo Ren and everyone he cares about. With their lives on the line, they agree to join forces to end the threat once and for all.

A Cascade of Traps in Caojia Village

Meanwhile, in Caojia Village, Mu Dai decides to leave to make contact with Luo Ren. On her way out, she hears a strange noise and follows it to find Cao Yanhua bound and gagged in a shallow pit. But as she moves to help, a shadowy figure darts past, the ground beneath her gives way, and she plummets into a deep hole. At the bottom, amidst scattered human bones and piles of old silver coins, she nurses an injured finger and tries to figure a way out.

Elsewhere, Yi Wan San waits in his room when a distressed villager, Ya Feng, bursts in, pleads for him to save her, and then flees. Confused and concerned, Yi Wan San goes looking for Mu Dai, only to be ambushed by an unseen assailant and kicked into another dark pit.

Celestial Clues and a Wall of Silence

As his friends fall into peril, Luo Ren receives a critical call from the Mystic. The observatory has detected five stars aligning—a celestial sign that five relics have now surfaced. The coordinates for the fifth relic point directly to Caojia Village.

Wasting no time, Luo Ren races towards the location. A blocked road forces him to continue on foot, braving a downpour while leaving trail markers and sending location photos to Yan Hongsha. Upon arriving, he questions the village chief, Cao Qingshan, about Mu Dai and Yi Wan San's whereabouts. The chief evasively claims they "left a while ago." When Luo Ren presses about the missing Cao Yanhua, the chief's anxiety is palpable, though Luo Ren tries to disarm him by pretending their group was planning a "surprise" for her.

A Desperate Hint in the Rain

The next day, Luo Ren continues his search for answers. He questions another villager, Cao Jinhua, who only admits to discussing "insurance matters" with the group. He then finds Ya Feng, the woman who approached Yi Wan San. She is inconsolable, only weeping. Remembering that those who have touched the relics exhibit a strange reaction to blood, Luo Ren picks up a hairpin from the ground, pricks his own finger, and offers the bloodied object to her. Ya Feng shows no reaction. Just as he's about to give up, she tremblingly points towards the mountainside and utters, "The person you're looking for... is in the cave." In the rain-swept village of Caojia, a dangerous truth is waiting to be unearthed.