Episode Summary
After escaping a confrontation with the sect leaders, a severely injured Sima Jiao is taken to safety by Liao Tingyan. Guided by a mystical being, Liao Tingyan learns she is Sima Jiao's fated person and is the only one who can save him. She enters his shattered spiritual realm, using her presence and tears to begin healing his deep-seated trauma, which culminates in him waking up and kissing her.
Spoiler Alert
Episode 13 of When Destiny Brings the Demon begins with Sima Jiao confronting Shi Qianlv in front of the other seven sect leaders. He calls him out on the destruction of Baifeng Mountain, which is a secret the other leaders don't know about. Panicking that the truth will be exposed, Shi Qianlv accuses Sima Jiao of lying and attacks him to shut him up.
Sima Jiao, filled with hatred for the hypocritical Shi Qianlv, was initially ready to sacrifice himself to take all the sect leaders down with him. But then he sees Liao Tingyan (in her otter form) and has a change of heart. He realizes she's innocent and shouldn't have to die for his fight. So, he decides to escape with her instead.
Seeing Sima Jiao flee, Shi Qianlv doesn't give chase. He's more concerned about his base of operations, so he rushes to Baifeng Mountain. He finds it completely in ruins. Utterly devastated, Shi Qianlv swears he will get his revenge one day.
Meanwhile, Shi Qianlv's son, who was deeply in love with a woman named An Xue, is being manipulated by his father. To make his son a loyal tool for his revenge, Shi Qianlv cruelly lies, telling him that Sima Jiao was the one who murdered An Xue. This lie works, and his son is now consumed by hatred, vowing to kill Sima Jiao.
On the run, a badly injured Sima Jiao and Liao Tingyan fall into Lingjing Lake. He's so weak that he passes out. As Liao Tingyan worries over her unconscious grandmaster, a mysterious man dressed in white appears, fishing on the lake. He claims they share a fateful bond and offers them a place to rest.
Liao Tingyan watches over Sima Jiao day and night. An Immortal Envoy appears and tells her about the red bead on Sima Jiao's ankle. It's a Jingxin Pill, designed to suppress his violent nature by giving him headaches whenever he had murderous thoughts. Now, however, it can be used as a powerful medicine to save his life.
The Envoy explains that only Sima Jiao's "fated person" can remove the bead. Liao Tingyan tries, and it comes off without any trouble, proving their destiny is intertwined. She feeds the pill to Sima Jiao. His condition stabilizes a bit, but he remains unconscious. A spirit pearl hidden on Sima Jiao's chest urgently tells Liao Tingyan that she is the only one who can save him now. She must enter his spiritual realm, or Lingfu, to prevent it from shattering completely.
Without hesitation, Liao Tingyan follows the pearl's instructions, pressing her forehead against his. She enters his spiritual realmand finds a place scarred by a lifetime of pain and suffering. Every memory is broken. She understands then that he has lost his will to live. Frightened, she instinctively hugs his shattering spirit, and as her tears fall onto it, a miracle happens: the spiritual realm stops breaking apart.
When she comes to, the spirit pearl excitedly tells her she pulled Sima Jiao back from the brink of death. To heal him completely, she'll need to enter his spiritual realmtwo more times. Remembering the times he saved her, Liao Tingyan is ready to do anything.
The second time she connects with him, his spiritual realmis calm and peaceful. Their spiritual energies begin to flow together. Sima Jiao, though still in a coma, seems to be resting peacefully, dreaming of a field of blooming flowers.
Liao Tingyan wakes and finds herself looking at Sima Jiao's sleeping face—his long eyelashes, dark brows, and handsome features. As she silently prays for his recovery, he suddenly opens his eyes. The usual coldness and violence are gone. He looks at her, then leans in and kisses her.
