Episode Summary
In this episode, Tang Lici confirms his suspicions about Xifang Tao and learns his poison is cured. Liu Yan, tormented by guilt, tries to create an antidote but is saved by Tang Lici from both himself and his enemies, giving him a new reason to live. In a final, brutal twist, Chi Yun is poisoned while protecting Bai Suche, forcing Tang Lici to use his own blood as a temporary fix.
Spoiler Alert
A Late-Night Warning
The episode kicks off late at night. Xifang Tao decides to pay Tang Lici a visit. She doesn't waste any time. She hints that Chi Yun is in serious danger if he isn't found soon. This is all happening while she's been cozying up to other leaders in the Central Plains Sword Association. She’s making a play for the top job, and Tang Lici is definitely suspicious.
He asks her point-blank if Ghost Peony put her up to this. She gets evasive. She claims she has her own grudge against Ghost Peony. Then, she tries to attack him. It’s a quick fight. Xifang Tao realizes something important. Tang Lici’s poison is completely gone. She knows she is no match for him now.
A Desperate Search Begins
Red Maiden's News
Cheng Yunpao is out hunting for what's left of the Peony Pavilion. He runs into Red Maiden. She's been hiding out just to get a chance to see Tang Lici. You can tell things are serious. She isn't wearing her usual bright red clothes. She looks plain and distressed.
She delivers some bad news. Liu Yan is gone. After Zhong Chunjie let him go, he and Red Maiden were living in a rundown cottage. He spent all day, every day, buried in medical books. He was a completely different person. He kept muttering that he was wrong and that Ghost Peony deserved to die. He was clearly trying to develop an antidote for the Evil Pills. Then yesterday, a farmer mentioned how the Evil Pills were spreading and killing people. Liu Yan must have overheard. A little while later, he had vanished. Red Maiden is terrified for him, so she tracked Tang Lici down.
Liu Yan's Personal Hell
It turns out Liu Yan just ran off to find more medicinal herbs. He's desperate to create a cure. The problem is, the Evil Pills have been poisoning him for a long time. His own body is starting to betray him. He can't always control his actions.
While he's out gathering herbs, he runs into some members of the Central Plains Sword Association. They recognize him immediately and try to capture him. This is terrible timing. The poison flares up inside him. He almost kills them all. At the very last second, his mind wins out over the poison. He grabs the blade of his own weapon with his bare hand. He tells the disciples to run.
A Rescue and a Reckoning
Cornered and Out of Control
The Sword Association guys see that Liu Yan is weakened by the poison's after-effects. They decide to finish him off. Just as they're about to strike, Tang Lici and Red Maiden show up. They manage to get Liu Yan away from there.
Tang Lici uses his own energy to try and stabilize Liu Yan. He sees the state he's in. The veins on Liu Yan's face have turned into a purple spiderweb. The poison has sunk deep. Tang Lici can only note the awful irony. Liu Yan is being destroyed by the very poison he created.
A Brother's Forgiveness
While he's unconscious, Liu Yan sees a vision of Fang Zhou. His long-dead friend looks just like he did four years ago. He smiles and asks Liu Yan if he's out gathering herbs. Liu Yan looks at the basket in his hands. He knows Fang Zhou is really gone, and he just breaks down crying. Fang Zhou tells him not to feel guilty. The past is the past. He needs to look forward because there's still time to fix things.
Liu Yan wakes up and sees Tang Lici. He realizes Tang Lici saved him. Tang Lici asks him if he has a death wish, eating so many Evil Pills. Liu Yan immediately grabs Tang Lici's wrist to check his pulse. He feels the damage. The Thousand Bone Needles he created have hurt Tang Lici's heart. The guilt is overwhelming. The Evil Pills and the needles both came from his hands. He thought he was so smart and loyal. Instead, he was just a puppet who hurt the most important people in his life.
A Reason to Live
Tang Lici leaves a large bottle of medicine for him. He tells Liu Yan to take it every day and to stay alive. He also promises that someone will deliver the herbs he needs for his antidote research. He can't go outside anymore. It's too dangerous with people hunting him.
As he's leaving, Tang Lici tells Red Maiden to take good care of his "Senior Brother." He actually called Liu Yan his senior brother. For Liu Yan, this changes everything. Dying would be easy. Now he knows he has to live. He has to create the antidote and atone for what he's done.
Another Man Down
Bai Suche has officially switched sides. He's now working for the good guys. He secretly finds Ghost Peony's most hidden location for making Evil Pills. It's a place called West Wind Garden. He manages to send a message to Tang Lici. But then he gets discovered.
He's completely surrounded. Fu Cui is leading the charge and shows no mercy. A whole mob of people, all controlled by Evil Pills, closes in on him. Just when it looks like it's over, Chi Yun appears. He stands in front of Bai Suche, shielding him. We learn that Chi Yun has been secretly protecting Bai Suche this whole time.
But there's a huge problem. During the fight, Chi Yun is exposed to toxic gas from West Wind Garden. He was exposed for three days and three nights. His body is now full of poison. When Tang Lici finds him, it's a grim scene. He cuts his own wrist. He lets his blood flow into Chi Yun to temporarily suppress the poison. It's a desperate move. Without a real antidote, the poison will eventually come back.
