A beautiful scene in this episode. It puts a smile on my every single time. We rarely express anything but sadness in the presence of death and grave site. Here, a man-child chats with his deceased parents about the affairs in his life, including love. If you were his parents, what else can you do but grin? And grin some more.

News has been spreading around, announcing the return of Sword Saint. He is in fact, walking in a dark alley, eyes on alert. He has company.

It’s vile In and his little minions. With a couple of swift moves, Sword Saint takes down all the guys. In vows to chop off Kim Gwang Taek’s thumb and the latter smirks while saying, “You have wasted a trip!” With that, Sword Saint claims In’s arm as he screams in agony. First your thumb, then your arm, what’s next?

Climbing the wall of Mo Hwa Ru, a residence where the Qing Emissary stays, is Jin Ju. She marvels at the riches and sees Ji entering the place. Ji is here with Hong Dae Ju as they plan to fake an attack at Mo Hwa Ru. The Qing Emissary wonders about Chun’s whereabouts and Ji tells him that Chun is currently practicing his martial arts in seclusion. Hong Dae Ju scoffs and refers to Chun as a dog that will find its master (referring to himself) once he’s finished. Ooooo Ji looks at him sharply. Hong Dae Ju then introduces another minion to the Qing Missionary, the one in charge of robbing tonight.

Drinking at a stall is our man-boys – Dong Soo, Cho Rip, and Yeo Woon. Yeo Woon takes note of Ji walking nearby.

Wearing her bandit attire and a mask, Jin Ju sneaks into the Qing Emissary’s room while he’s asleep and steals some riches, one of which we see is a scroll. In reality, the Qing Emissary is awake, smiling, because he thinks this thief is the one sent by Hong Dae Joo.

Jin Ju makes her way outside and sees another masked man! She looks at the other party curiously while her father, Hwang Jin Gi, shows up behind her. He yanks Jin Ju by the ear and leads her outside.

Upon seeing another Thief, the Qing Emissary quickly realizes that he’s been robbed for real and sends out his soldiers. Hwang Jin Gi passes the bag of goodies to Jin Ju while he takes on the soldiers, and when one of them aims an arrow at them, Ji steps in to help.

Father Jin Gi tells Jin Ju to go home first. As she runs down the path, Jin Ju bumps into Dong Soo and his gang. Dong Soo immediately recognizes her and follows. Yeo Woon and Cho Rip stay behind and when Yeo Woon spots Chun, sitting on top of a wall, he sends Cho Rip after Dong Soo.

Yeo Woo apologizes for not informing Chun of his graduation (from the mountain) and Chun notes that his killer aura has been subdued over the years. He asks Yeo Woon what he’s learned in this time period and throws him a tricky question: “What’s the difference between an assassin and a martial artist?” Yeo Woon says it’s the awareness of holding a sword and the intention. Chun is quite pleased but makes an adjustment, “Whether the intention is to kill or not, your hands have been stained with blood.” He quickly disappears, leaving behind a puzzled Yeo Woo as he stares down at his own hand.

Dong Soo catches up to Jin Ju and confirms her bandit identity. When he sees the guards coming, he waves his hand to capture their attention. However, Jin Ju has nimbly escapes behind his back, leaving him as the sole suspect. Ha!

At a Gisaeng house, Hong Dae Ju is informed of the failed plan. Not the least bit concerned, he smiles amusingly. Someone has fallen into his trap. A gisaeng sitting beside him, listens on curiously. I think she’s a spy. She looks like one, no?

Locked up in a cell, Dong Soo screams about his innocence. After a round of shouting, he leans back against the wall and looks up at the bright moon, thinking about Ji Sun. Oh…you. Elsewhere, Ji Sun strolls along and pauses to glimpse at a plant. She also looks up at the moon but we don’t know who she’s thinking about. I think Yeo Woon captures her (and our) immediate attention with his soulful eyes that mirror her very own. She finds a connection in spirits with him. While Dong Soo is still a puppy, demanding her attention left and right. She finds him lovable but not someone to share her burdens with (at least not now). But she might come to be affected by this puppy down the road.

In the court, Hong Dae Ju fusses about the thief to the Crown Prince’s dismay. Im Soo Woong is monitoring the new batch of trainees when Crown Prince Sado visits him, asking about their potentials to pass the civil service examination. Crown Prince notes that their time has arrived and asks Soo Woong to visit Sa Mo and the kids.

There, Soo Woong learns about Dong Soo’s imprisonment. He relays the message to Prince Sado and the prince wholeheartedly believes that Dong Soo won’t commit such crimes. Dong Soo is then taken out of the cell, and brings forth to Hong Dae Joo for interrogation. The Qing Emissary is also there to take a look at Dong Soo, whose face is masked so he can examine the eyes. Absolutely sure, he confirms that Dong Soo is not the culprit. Hilariously, he explains the culprit’s eyes to shape like an eagle’s while Dong Soo’s eyes are like those of a cocky dog. OMG! hahaha!

Hong Dae Ju smiles amusingly at the scene because Prince Sado has agreed to build the Qing Emissary new living quarters (Sa Sing Wan) in exchange for Dong Soo’s life. Ah. This stinks. I feel bad for the Prince.

Sa Mo Ajusshi and the gang wait outside for Dong Soo. Upon seeing him, Sa Mo yanks him by the ear and exclaims they need a heart-to-heart talk.

Turns out that the head is doing the talking as the boys all pucker up their butts, with their forehead on the ground, supporting the weight.

When Sa Mo exits the room, the boys all crumble to the ground. Yeo Woon whispers, “Grab him” to Cho Rip as they carry out their own punishment to Dong Soo! Geezz, I’m grinning like a fool!

At Hoksa Chorong, In is trying to re-attach his arm (?), whatever he’s doing, it looks disgusting! Ji enters the room and he reveals to her about Sword Saint’s return. Ji is surprised.

In the forest, Yeo Woon practices diligently while Dong Soo dreams of his ideal girl religiously. His smiley face quickly disappears and he rushes to the temple. Yeo Woon follows and offers to help him.

Facing Ji Sun, Dong Soo resembles a nervous fit ball as he stumbles to find the right words. She nicely tells him about the wrong plant he picked last time for her wound, and Dong Soo smiles awkwardly at his mistake. Dong Soo follows her inside the temple and prays that he can marry a ravishing beauty with delicate skin. PSHHHHH…this shallow guy!

To stop Dong Soo from following her, Ji Sun cleverly tells him if he’s asking for help from gods, he needs to bow 3000 times to show his sincerity. As exhaustion sets in, Dong Soo falls asleep right on the mat. Yeo Woon steps in to help dust the ground and we see Ji Sun looking appreciative of his silence.

At the hideout, Jin Ju sneaks out with the goodies bag right under her father’s nose. Dae Pyo’s sister is caught by Dae Pyo’s daughter sewing a sweater for Sa Mo Ajusshi.

In his room, the King reprimands Prince Sado for defying his order. He does not want any negotiation with the Qing Emissary but Prince Sado has agreed to build a consulate for them. In addition, Sado risked the imperial court for a nameless beggar! However, Prince Sado is firm with his decision, his job is to protect all Joseon citizens, regardless of their status. The King scoffs at his son weak heart, you have to sacrifice small things to achieve bigger goals, this is his philosophy. He gives the Prince until tomorrow to resolve this matter. Or he will hold the Prince responsible.

Jin Ju finds Dong Soo and tells him she recognizes the other “thief” that night. They stand outside the court and wait for the right one. Somehow, Dong Soo senses it’s the second guy and Jin Ju confirms since she saw his face before.

Dong Soo, the ever arrogant fellow, trades a few fists with the guy before he is chased onto a tree and Jin Ju saves him with one painful kick to the guard’s private area! Ow! Ow! These two are definitely born to be partners in crime. Even their mentality of “pain” is the same! Jin Ju compliments Dong Soo’s fighting skill and he gives her a cute “heeee” laugh, praising her great kick.

They tie up the guard and Jin Ju wonders how Dong Soo knows this guard is the right one, and he demonstrates to her that most thieves, if not all, tip toe when they walk. Impressed, Jin Ju asks for his name (finally!) and Dong Soo giggles like an idiot “hee.hee.hee”, announcing his future title as Joseon’s best swordsman, Baek.Dong.Soo.

Jin Ju is stunned as she remembers the kiss-to-cheek marriage talk. She repeats his name and he asks, “What? Is that name…too cool?” Oh gosh. This kid.

The next morning, Prince Sado makes a risky decision, he wants to cut all ties with the Qing Dynasty. Luckily, Im Soo Woong intervenes and shows him the culprit who is bound and lays unconscious on the ground. (Geez, I thought I was watching City Hunter for a second…) Prince Sado is pleased because the guard is under Hong Dae Joo’s watch and promises to investigate this matter closely.

Acting like the ancient version of Chun Jae Man (4th Target in City Hunter), Hong Dae Joo “gets rid of the guard” because only dead people can’t talk! *shudders*

This part is cute and meaningful, and one of my favorite scenes, because we see Dong Soo sprawling on his back, between the grave of his parents. He brags to them about finding his significant other and chuckles gleefully. Before he leaves, he wraps the banner from his father around his mother’s grave. Aw! One thing I love about this story is that our hero has no birth secret! This allows us to skip the same ridiculous birth plot and instead have heart-warming scenes like this one.

On his way down, Dong Soo meets Sword Saint. Dong Soo swallows a gulp of air and says he won’t pick a fight this time because this is a sacred place. hee.hee. As expected, Sword Saint visits his dear friend’s grave and apologizes for failing his promise as he lost the baby. When he notices the blue banner, which was carried by Baby Dong Soo when he was missing, Sword Saint scans the area and screams tearfully “Dong Soo! Dong Soo Ah!” Unfortunately, Dong Soo is too busy picking flowers to really hear anything. I like this scene too, it’s as if Dong Soo’s parents are helping him from above.

And finally, Sword Saint finds Sa Mo ajusshi, chopping meat in the markets. Sa Mo cries in his hyung’s chest like a baby. Sword Saint stumbles to find the right words regarding the missing baby but Sa Mo sobs that the rascal has grown up. Kim Gwang Taek is stunned to tears and pats Sa Mo, thankful and relieved. Dang it! The bromance in here is really going to kill me by the end of this drama.

Later that night, Prince Sado drops by Chong Am temple. He’s being stalked by Hong Dae Joo’s assassin, and Dong Soo, who is picking flowers for Ji Sun.

Dong Soo turns a green eye when Prince Sado enters Ji Sun’s room. Inside, Ji Sun is solemn as she asks the Prince, “Will you save me or the Book of War?”

At their house, Sword Saint wonders about Dong Soo and Sa Mo Ajusshi blurts out, “That brat is insensible and has no mannerism, unlike his father!” Sword Saint begs to differ and shows him the blue banner Dong Soo left behind at his parents grave. Sa Mo softens and smiles. You knew all along Ajusshi!

Coming uninvited to Sa Mo’s house is Chun. He bellows, “Gwang Taekie!!!” Sa Mo gets his weapon ready but is stopped by Sword Saint as he faces Chun, with an epic instrumental playing in the background. I was totally screaming FIGHT! SLICE! CHOP OFF THAT HEAD! Revenge for DAE PYO AJUSSHI!!

Alice: As a whole, this episode still feels like an introductory one, bringing back all the characters that strayed from the main plot. With Sword Saint’s return, we are set to go with Dong Soo’s transformation along with Yeo Woon’s inner conflict with the dark side.

By helping Dong Soo gain Ji Sun’s favor, Yeo Woon deliberately sets a distance between himself and any potential love. Poor this kid, he’s taught to believe he doesn’t deserve love and warmth. Isn’t this a pretty capture?

As for me, I’m still up for Dong Soo with Jin Ju. They’re entertaining to watch together as they share the same optimism and outlook in life. While Ji Sun has yet to grasp by attention. I wonder why she asks the Prince that question, if he saved her, he would have both the book and her. In the end, would the Prince let her go if she wished to leave?