Episode Summary
Captured by Gu Yuan, Li Song'er stages a clever escape from her cell but accidentally wanders into a forbidden area and is poisoned. Hallucinating, she mistakes Gu Yuan for a steamed bun and kisses him. He rescues her and takes her to a cave to recover. After a tense moment tending to his old wounds, he honors his promise and lets her go. However, a mysterious old man then appears and gives her a new mission: to return to her own world, she must kill Gu Yuan, sending her on a new journey to find him in Fengyu Valley.
Spoiler Alert
To Get Master Episode 2 Recap & Spoilers: An Escape and a Fateful Encounter
The episode picks up with our heroines, Li Song'er and Nan Chuimeng, captured by the formidable Gu Yuan and imprisoned in his stronghold, the Sun Moon Palace. What follows is a desperate escape attempt that leads to an accidental poisoning, a shocking kiss, and a new, deadly mission for Song'er.
Episode 2 Highlights:
- Gu Yuan's Tragic Past: A flashback reveals the brutal childhood that transformed Gu Yuan from a timid boy who feared swords into the cold-hearted master he is today.
- Outsmarting the Guard: Li Song'er cleverly manipulates her guard, Han Yan, using their shared interest in a romance novel to stage a successful escape from her cell.
- A Poisoned Kiss: After breaking free, Song'er stumbles into a forbidden area where she's poisoned by a mysterious mist, causing her to hallucinate and plant an unexpected kiss on her captor, Gu Yuan.
- Tension in the Cave: While hiding out, Gu Yuan's chronic "cold poison" flares up. Song'er tends to his wounds, and the tense, intimate moment marks a subtle shift in their dynamic.
- A New Quest: A mysterious old man gives Li Song'er a shocking new task: to return to her own world, she must eliminate the "fierce fiend" she just met—Gu Yuan.
Full Recap: The Devil in the Details
The episode peels back the layers of Gu Yuan, a man feared across the land as a ruthless killer. We learn through a poignant flashback that he wasn't born a monster. As a child, he was too scared to even hold a sword. His father, a patient teacher, was murdered by a so-called friend. His mother took him on the run, but their peace was short-lived as martial artists relentlessly hunted them for the coveted "Xiaoyao Jue" manual. The chase ended with Gu Yuan witnessing his mother's murder, the scent of her blood becoming the last memory of his family. This brutal upbringing forged the cold, ruthless man he is today, one who only finds security in the grip of a sword.
Back in the present, Li Song'er and Nan Chuimeng are Gu Yuan's prisoners. After he threatens to bury them alive, a terrified Song'er blurts out her true identity—that she's from another world—but he dismisses it as nonsense. He throws her into a dungeon under the watch of a guard named Han Yan.
Never one to be idle, Song'er quickly sizes up her guard and notices Han Yan is engrossed in a romance novel. Seizing the opportunity, Song'er claims to be a personal friend of the author and promises to get her the inside scoop on the unpublished sequel. The bait works perfectly. Han Yan is completely captivated, allowing Song'er to drug her with a knockout incense, steal the keys, and slip away. Donning the guard's uniform, she makes a run for it but takes a wrong turn, stumbling into a forbidden, mist-filled area where she collapses.
When she awakens, the toxic mist has induced powerful hallucinations, causing her to see her mother. Just then, Gu Yuan, alerted to the escape, arrives to find her. As he approaches, Song'er's hallucinating mind mistakes him for a fluffy steamed bun, and she lunges forward, grabbing him for an intense and deeply confusing kiss. Stunned, Gu Yuan uses a pressure point strike to knock her unconscious before carrying her to a nearby cave to recover.
The awkwardness is palpable when Song'er comes to, the memory of the "steamed bun" kiss flooding back. As she tries to sneak away, Gu Yuan's chronic "cold poison" suddenly flares up, and he collapses, grabbing her foot to stop her. He strikes a deal: if she helps him treat his ailment, he will let her go free. Song'er agrees, performing a bloodletting procedure on his back and applying a medicinal poultice. The ordeal causes him to pass out.
Later, he's jolted awake from a nightmare to find Song'er attempting to grill a fish for him. One look is all it takes for him to know it's inedible, and he pushes it away. Annoyed, Song'er takes a bite herself, only to immediately spit it out, admitting her cooking skills are nonexistent. True to his word, Gu Yuan allows her to leave, but not before telling her that if she ever finds herself in trouble, she can find him in a place called Fengyu Valley.
Finally free, Song'er tries to return to her own world, but the portal won't open. While bathing, the mysterious old man who first gave her the romance novel reappears. He drops a bombshell: she was originally born a man. As if to prove his point, her voice suddenly deepens into a masculine tone. He offers her a way out. To restore her original form and return home, she must kill the "fierce fiend" she has just encountered.
Her mind immediately goes to Gu Yuan. Recalling his parting words, she realizes her path is clear. Her journey, and her mission to kill him, now leads straight to Fengyu Valley, setting the stage for their next dramatic confrontation.
