Episode Summary
Sima Jiao and Liao Tingyan get married as a ploy to trap Youyan and the Marquis of Nanyan. The plan works, but not without a cost. During a massive fight, Liao Tingyan uses all her life force to help Sima Jiao seal Youyan away, and she dies in his arms. She then wakes up in the modern world, believing it was all a dream, only to run into a man who looks exactly like Sima Jiao but doesn't seem to recognize her.
Spoiler Alert
The Wedding is a Trap
Sima Jiao's Master Plan
Sima Jiao finally lays out his whole plan for Liao Tingyan. He explains that the Hu Kingdom is home to an entrance to the Nine Hells. This is where Youyan plans to unleash her sealed-up cronies from the Demon Domain. Sima Jiao’s goal is to shut that down for good. He also admits he tampered with his own crown. It was a trick to make sure he’d get all his memories back when he came of age.
Both of them agree Youyan has to go. She’s caused droughts and murdered innocent people. The Marquis of Nanyan is on their list, too. He's just as guilty. Liao Tingyan then throws out an idea. They should get married, and soon. A big wedding would be the perfect cover to lure their enemies into a trap. Sima Jiao is all for it.
Liao Tingyan's Secret Goodbye
Liao Tingyan has her own agenda, though. She's been using her internal Spirit Fire to fight the Demon Core's control. It’s a battle that's making her incredibly weak and sick. She has no idea how much longer she can hold on. Her main goal is just to give Sima Jiao some happy memories before she's gone.
She's also been having dreams about her life in the modern world. They're mostly about a car accident and waking up in a hospital. She worries that her time in this world is running out. She has a feeling that the day Youyan is sealed will be the day her own power disappears completely.
The wedding day arrives. Liao Tingyan has a bunch of gifts ready for Sima Jiao. They're for him to remember her by if she doesn't make it. She puts on her red wedding robes, looking like a queen. Sima Jiao is right there with her. After everything they've been through in multiple lifetimes, they’re finally getting married.It’s an emotional moment. She even has a wedding ring she prepared, and she asks him to put it on her finger. He smiles, because this is the wedding he's always wanted to give her.
The Final Showdown
The Coup Goes Sideways
After the wedding comes the required mountain worship ceremony. This is the day the Marquis of Nanyan decides to make his move. He’s got assassins everywhere, ready to kill the emperor. Sima Jiao plays along at first. He pretends to hand over the throne. But the second the Marquis gets his hands on the Imperial Seal, Youyan swoops in and snatches it. She laughs, gloating that her plan is one step closer to success.
That’s Liao Tingyan’s cue. She flies up and attacks Youyan, and they start fighting in mid-air. Down below, Sima Jiao confronts the Marquis. He asks him why he still hasn't woken up to reality. Sima Jiao gave him so many chances to see the truth. His daughter was murdered, and he's been nothing but a pawn for her killer. Sima Jiao then drops the bomb. The so-called "goddess" Youyan is the one who actually killed his daughter.
A Tragic Victory
Sima Jiao sees Liao Tingyan is in trouble and moves to help. But the Marquis, in a final, pathetic act, stabs him in the back. That pushes Liao Tingyan over the edge. She unleashes her full power and takes the Marquis down for good.
Now, only Youyan is left. Sima Jiao lures her into a magic formation and begins the sealing ritual. Liao Tingyan pours all her remaining strength into helping him. She can feel her life force draining away with every second. They succeed. Youyan is sealed, and the world is safe. But Liao Tingyan collapses. Sima Jiao catches her, his face filled with shock and horror.
She's dying. With her last breaths, she tells him how happy she was to love him across three lifetimes.She explains that there's another world, her original home, and she'll always be there praying for him. Sima Jiao never imagined she would be the one to leave first. He screams her name as her body dissolves into particles of light.
Back to Reality?
Waking Up
Suddenly, we're in the modern world. Liao Tingyan wakes up in a hospital bed with tubes all over her. The accident she was dreaming about was real. She starts to process that everything she just went through might have been a very vivid dream. She forces herself to recover and get back to her life.
She finally returns to her company. Her boss, Lily, tells her she has one last chance to make the Qinggu Mountain project a success.
A Familiar Stranger
Liao Tingyan takes the project seriously, but she gets stuck in a massive traffic jam on her way to the meeting. She jumps out of the taxi and grabs an electric scooter, but it's no use. She arrives late. The conference room is empty.
She sits on the steps outside, completely defeated. She thinks to herself how much she'd love a cup of hot tea from her "grandmaster." Just then, she hears a familiar set of footsteps behind her. She looks up. It’s Sima Jiao. Or at least, it looks exactly like him. He's here, in the modern world.
Tears well up in her eyes. She stands up as he walks toward her and says she finally found him. He just gives her a bright smile and asks a devastating question.
"Do we know each other?"
