You and me both, sister.

That’s it. I’m officially drained by the draggy plot and repetitive actions of these characters. No humor left to entertain ya’ll. Everyone runs in circles… and the Vampire Period of Bai Zi Hua begins. Fans have been grumbling about the removal of those “munching” scenes but I really don’t have any complaints. I have no interest in seeing how he chomps all over her body.

Episode 29 Summary:

Continuing from last episode, as Shifu pushes Qian Gu away from the flames, her eyes spark red and she lets out a scream so powerful she’s able to pull Shifu and herself out of the divine cauldron, much to Chun Qiu’s chagrin. He can’t believe someone exists in this world who can leave the cauldron. Once outside the blaze, Zi Hua eyes the divine cauldron and nods his head to Qian Gu. She tries to steal it back to no avail and they leave when Zi Hua spits out purple blood. Wallace spits out blood so prettily…. Remember my post last year? hehe.

Zi Hua flounders in the snow and tells Qian Gu to go ahead without him, leaning his weight against her tiny frame. She cries for him to stay awake, promising to make him delicious foods, behave herself, stay away from trouble, as long as they can make it back to Chang Liu.

She keeps talking and begging him to open his eyes. They’re chasing after you, girl! Get out that big sword and fly away! With her 80-pound body, she tries to lift him up and they end up tumbling into the snow. Moments later, Chun Qiu’s arrogant voice makes its way to them and she gathers Zi Hua closer, rendering Shifu out to be small and fragile.

When Chun Qiu tries to attack, Browless Assistant and Dong Hua intervene and effectively shoo them away. D’awwww, Dong Fang. You want to hurt Zi Hua but can’t bear to see Qian Gu embroiled in the attack. You’re doomed, dude.

Knowing that she’s safe now, Qian Gu displays her signature move throughout the series, she faints in Shifu’s arms. I’m sorry, who is the poisoned one? LOL.

In his room, Sha Jie Jie is performing a skin-routine mediation to remove the wrinkles he spotted last episode. He wonders what has happened in the time he’s away from the mortal world. A LOT, missy. Get your sassy self back in the picture please.

We don’t know how long it’s been, but Qian Gu wakes up on her bed at Chang Liu and tries to make sense of the environment. Memories of the what happened come crashing back and she hurries to the door, only to sway back into a chair. One of her classmates, the talkative female, Qing Luo, dashes to her side and confirms that she’s back safely at Chang Liu and that Bai Zi Hua, who isn’t injured at all, has gone into retreat for the time being.

Thinking to herself, Qian Gu muses over Shifu’s decision to hide the fact that he’s poisoned. Must you ask?

She obediently drinks the medicine and her thoughts wander to Tang Bao’s whereabouts. She hasn’t been seen around Chang Liu at all since she left with Shi Yi weeks ago.

Feeling more steady on her feet, Qian Gu sprints to Shifu’s room and loudly knocks on his room, asking after his health, and he replies that he’s healing slowly, therefore she should go back and cultivate. Behind the door, the truth is shown on the beads of sweat decorating Shifu’s pale face. She wants to see his face but he thinks it’s a frivolous request and sends her back to her room because he needs to heal and she needs to prepare for the Immortal Sword Assembly coming up. Moreover, no one should know of his poisoned state.

News of Qian Gu’s return has Tang Bao bursting into full speed to reunite with her mother, but Shi Yi blocks her path for a private moment. When she shows no signs of love-sickness for him, he turns her around to face him, “It’s been so long…you…you don’t miss me at all?” She pushes his arms off and says, “Bones is like that, how could I have time to miss you?” Yo, little bug! You’re not allowed to hurt the kindest man in this series!!

Turns out it’s Tang Bao who informed the people at the Pavilion of Strange Decay to help Qian Gu and Shifu. Ha. Even if she didn’t ask, Dong Fang would find one way or another to save his beloved lady.

Without saying who could be poisoned by the Divine Cauldron, Qian Gu asks Tang Bao whether there’s a cure for the toxic substance. There isn’t one in her knowledge but she will read into the books stored at Chang Liu’s library.

Alone and wounded, Zi Hua finally realizes wistfully that no one can make it past their fated calamity. He tries to bring a cup of tea over to his seat and discovers his weakened power. The cup cracks on the floor, drawing the attention of Mo Yan and Xiao Mo, who are passing by Zi Hua’s room. He assures them he’s fine but Mo Yan wants to discuss battle tactics against Seven Murder Faction with him. Zi Hua dodges the bullet this time by reminding him of their Shifu’s teaching, that if he breaks the highest level of martial arts for their sect (Tenth Level of Heaven), the people wouldn’t suffer so much.

Neck deep in books at Chang Liu’s library, Qian Gu tries to enter the forbidden section, only to be found by Mo Yan and Xiao Mo, and they (more like Mo Yan) interrogate her about what really happened on Snow Mountain and she repeats exactly what Shifu said a few minutes ago. Mo Yan asks her what her Shifu has realized profoundly during his trip and Qian Gu meekly looks down and calls herself stupid for not picking up on Shifu’s wise perception. Trying to help her out, Xiao Mo cracks a smile and tells Mo Yan to forget it, how could a disciple comprehend Zi Hua’s deep philosophy?

Following one of the recipes she found at the library to revitalize one’s strength, Qian Gu spends the next few days gathering the ingredients and making various food plates. Making sure that she has enough blood volume, she also takes special herbs to increase blood production. She carries the food tray to Shifu’s room and asks to be let in. Again, he tells her there’s no need until a cough erupts from Shifu’s throat and Qian Gu almost pries the door open. He yells at her to stop and she hesitantly walks away.

Qing Luo, her male friend, Man Tian, and another female disciple walk along the bridge to gossip the story of Zi Xun’s loss of immortality. Man Tian hits the bull’s-eye with her deduction, concluding that Tan Fan’s death, coupled with Qian Gu and Shifu’s secret love affair, are all factors leading to Zi Xun’s current demonic state. Qing Luo speaks up for Qian Gu and warns Man Tian to mind her words if there’s no evidence. Proof? She’ll find it sooner or later. She even says a foreshadowing line, “Hua Qian Gu always causes troubles for others, sooner or later, more people will die because of her!”

Standing from a distance, Shuo Feng charges forward and pulls Man Tian away, telling her to practice sword. She gets all close and personal in his face, claiming that he wants her to practice sword so she doesn’t have time to slander Hua Qian Gu. When she’s a few centimeters from his face, he kisses her and my jaw drops to the floor. The people in this drama have a serious problem in picking their love.

After a pregnant pause, she pulls back, stares at him some more, and then slaps him. Well, he deserved the slap.

Qian Gu returns the next day with another tray of food, distressed to see her old tray remaining untouched. She kneels at the door to accompany him and when she notices that she can kinda see his shadow through the window, she calls out Shifu, Shifu, Shifu… He approaches the door but then walks away with heavy steps.

Cue music video for “Cannot Say” by the OTP. Day gives way to night and we see Shifu playing chess and a swaying shadow hovering at his door. Then the sun arrives and Qian Gu’s persistence has touched Shifu and he finally opens the door and she crawls to his side, hugging his pelvis, crying. “Shifu! I thought you didn’t want me anymore!”

Zi Hua: “Silly girl. Why wouldn’t I want you?” He then explains why he needs to hide from other people. Seriously? What kind of character growth is the writer doing for our heroine that she can’t come to this simple conclusion herself?

Qian Gu blames herself for causing this mess and naively suggests that maybe Mo Yan and Xiao Mo have solutions. No, they don’t.

To stop her from spreading his condition to a third party, he lies that an immortal plant named Heart-broken Flower can detoxify the poison. (Lordy. THE NAME OF THAT FLOWER = HUA QIAN GU’S FUTURE!) Her face lights up and she hurries off to search for the plant. Shifu closes the door and Xiao Mo’s appearance scares the crap out me him!

“Has your body deteriorated to this point? That you don’t even know when I came in!?”

Silence.

“That flower could only be chanced by an immortal encounter. Based on Qian Gu’s qualifications, it’s not possible for her to find it. Why go through all this if you only wanted to send her away?”

Sighing, Zi Hua begins talking about how long it’s been since they have stayed at Chang Liu, and both men agree that they no longer pay attention to time. Xiao Mo tries to get a confirmation about Zi Hua’s condition and after much discussion about the four disciples of Chang Liu (Dong Hua being the oldest), Zi Hua discloses the truth about the poison spreading to all of his six major points and it’s too late for a cure.

Believing his demise is near, Zi Hua seeks Xiao Mo to look after Qian Gu once he’s dead, “Because she’s innocent.” Junior brother nods and urges Zi Hua to make preparations and they can deal with Mo Yan together.

Shameless Zi Xun visits Zi Hua’s quarters and confesses near tears that she didn’t intend to harm him in the Divine Cauldron. She wants to see him once, and when he denies entrance, she tries to force her way in. Thanks goodness Xiao Mo stands guard and respectfully warns her to stay away, “You’ve lost your immortality, evil and good cannot be together.”

Hopping from mountain to mountain, Qian Gu smiles when she spots the Heart-broken flower, though it’s planted right on snorlax. She beseeches the beast to relinquish the flower and when he keeps howling at her, she forgets about politeness and steals it, getting a good beating from the beast.

Stepping out of his retreat to ease Mo Yan’s restless anxiety, Zi Hua wants to hand him the Sect Leader position temporarily while he mediates in seclusion, but Mo Yan knows his temper and personality is unmatched for the seat and promptly denies the opportunity. Xiao Mo also refuses the title because he’s accustomed to freedom and cannot bear the restrictive responsibilities. Poor Zi Hua, his brothers are pretty useless when he needs their help, eh?

Episode 30 Summary:

After obtaining the heart-broken flower, Qian Gu sprints back to the Hall of Emotionless to present it to her Shifu, without showering or cleaning her dirty and bloody face. *breathe* Is she four? Another reason why I don’t ship these two together; she acts like a kid to his old age. There are more ways to manufacture romance but the writer always chooses to dump down our heroine in every way.

Zi Hua doesn’t care much for the flower and only tosses a cursory glance at it before reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a handkerchief to gently wipe the blood at the corner of her lips. That is a long time for one tiny smear. He then puts it back in his pocket. What? You’re saving her drop of blood for snacks, aren’t you? Lol.

He sends her off and places the flower inside a pot. Another exotic flower added to his collection.

The disciples practice diligently and Ni Man Tian’s small kick sends Qing Luo flying into Tang Bao, whose mind and body are wandering off somewhere. Gossip time and one of the girls guesses that Qian Gu will also be the winner at this year’s Immortal Sword Assembly. At that, Man Tian fumes on the sideline. Qian Gu arrives at the scene and asks Tang Bao to come with her and the smug look on Man Tian loudly implies that she stole the handkerchief with Zi hua’s nekkid back on it.

And she did. She confronts Qian Gu later, dangling the handkerchief before quickly hiding it in her sleeves. She yells at Qian Gu for committing a terrible crime of harboring feelings for their Sect Leader and threatens to expose her feelings, unless Qian Gu begs her. She does and her innocent even-though-I’m-guilty face irritates Man Tian further. Grabbing Qian Gu’s wrist, she blames her for stealing all her glory, making her out to be the spiteful one with nothing to show for. If she wants the handkerchief back, Man Tian wants Qian Gu to lose at the upcoming Sword Assembly, and the latter complies willingly.

That night, Qian Gu replays the words Man Tian spoke to her again and again, tossing and shifting in bed. She gets out of bed and prepares food for Zi Hua but when she hears something plopping on the floor, she rushes in and finds Shifu spitting blood. She hugs him close and realizes that he lied to her about the flower. A light bulb goes off in her head and she insists on procuring the Divine Cauldron to make the antidote, though Shifu clutches her shoulders to hold her back, pointing out that the poison has entered his bone and there’s no curing him now. She scrambles her brain for another method and comes up with using her poisonous blood to fight back against the Cauldron’s poison, and readily bares out her wrist for Shifu.

He tells her no because he can’t extend his life in such a cowardly way and she shoves him aside, and cuts her wrist. “As long as I can save Shifu, I’m willing to do anything!” At the sight of her delicious crimson blood, Shifu is gripped by a compelling thirst and he chomps down hungrily. Ladies, meet China’s Gwi!

Rays of sunshine hit Zi Hua’s face the next morning and he rises, haltingly recalling the events last night. He tells her softly that he’s better and another retreat will push out the poison completely. She’s unsure but promises to practice her swordsmanship, as long as she can see him once every day. “I’ll call if I need you.”

Later, Qian Gu asks Tang Bao if there’s any method to remove a person’s memories. There is a hypnosis technique, specialized by followers in Seven Murder Faction. Does she want to remove Shifu’s shameful memories or Man Tian’s knowledge?

It’s the latter and that night Sha Jie Jie drops in for a surprised (and much needed) visit! He tells her about a method called Absorbing one’s soul to control/erase their memories. But she has to keep in mind that the her power has to be greater than the other person or else the method will reflect back. He offers to teach her and she ardently waves it off and he notes her pale face with a caress. He advises her to take good care, “The most important thing to a woman is her beauty.” Uh, Jie Jie, replace “woman” with your name please. LOL.

She comes up with the excuse of practicing for the Sword Assembly and Sha Jie Jie grumbles at Chang Liu’s fancy competitions to pit their disciples against each other. “What’s the meaning of these competitions??!!” The tenderness in his eyes when he looks at her colorless face…. awww.

He then magically whips out some make-up items and new cream he created for her. D’awww. Can you send me a pot too, Jie Jie? The skin-care products here are not free! He has to leave though because he doesn’t want to make things hard for her if they are seen together. His last words remind her to use the Pinky Whistle if she ever needs his assistance. You can see the gratefulness swells in Qian Gu’s eyes. And I want to cry. T___T

Second offering of blood is rejected by Shifu and he shoos her out. She lingers at the door until Xiao Mo calls her name and asks about the injury. He knows she’s lying about cutting it during breakfast and while he pushes some ki into Zi Hua, he advises him to end things with Hua Qian Gu. “Because based on her personality, she would rather bleed to death to save you.”

Low on time, Zi Hua asks his junior brother again to accept the position of Sect Leader.

At the Pavilion of Strange Decay, browless Assistant reports that she has prepared everything and asks Dong Fang a question. Why did they have to save Bai Zi Hua from the Divine Cauldron? Dong Fang replies that he has his own plans but she points out that their Pavilion has never done anything without gaining profit and saving Bai Zi Hua has broken the rules. “For Hua Qian Gu, you’ve changed things repeatedly.” D’aww. Revenge/bad boy cares most for the person he shouldn’t! Classic trope. My favorite one too.

Trying her luck again with a different presentation, Qian Gu carries a tray of fluffy white buns and a vial of her blood to Shifu’s room. PSHH! Too funny! Shifu opens the door once she’s gone and the second his eyes land on the vial, the rising thirst and anger blow up and he looks horrified. He throws the vial into the garden and the spilled blood destroys all the nearby plants. Shifu! Stop wasting food! She’s helping you look graceful when you dine…vial and all.

Zi Xun forcefully retrieves the Divine Cauldron from Chun Qiu. She then meanders in and out of Chang Liu, stumbling upon Man Tian, who gasps at Zi Xun’s new look. She proposes a deal with Man Tian, in exchange for a report on Hua Qian Gu’s daily actions, she will teach all her magical techniques to her.

Not heeding Shifu’s advice, Qian Gu stares at the withered garden outside of Shifu’s room and the empty vial. All efforts are wasted. She’s even drinking medication to strengthen her blood! He tells her not to waste her energy but she doesn’t care about her health as long as she can prolong Shifu’s life.

Qian Gu returns to her room and finds Man Tian with the vial of blood in her hands. She thinks Qian Gu is practicing blood magic and they get involved in a fight right there and Qian Gu’s voice explodes, “Ni Man Tian! I’m warning you to stop right now!”

Man Tian: “You owe me! I want to take it all back.”

Crazy girl. Her logic is full of holes. How could Qian Gu owe her if those things were never in her possession in the first place? Arggg.

Cut to another scene where Man Tian orders Qian Gu to kneel down to beg. Heavens have mercy on me. She balls her fist and swallows her pride to kneel down…

Episode 31 Summary:

The Sect Leaders gather at Chang Liu for the upcoming Immortal Sword Assembly and swear to fight side-by-side with Chang Liu against Seven Murder Faction. When the three brothers are the only ones left, Mo Yan ushers Zi Hua to be careful when picking the next Sect Leader and that he should continue leading them. Xiao Mo ignores Mo Yan and leads Zi Hua outside before his poison acts up. In private, Zi Hua expresses his wishes. After he dies, he wants everyone to think that he dies because he was obsessed after practicing Chang Liu’s martial arts. “Also, please take care of Little Bones for me.”

Day after day, Qian Gu makes Peach Blossom soup mixed with her blood for Shifu. He doesn’t even touch it and she wonders how he’s doing all cooped up in his room. She gets a violent response from him this time as he whacks the bowl out of her hands.

“You treat my words like wind blowing by your ears right?!” I do!

Day of the Immortal Sword Assembly. At the constant urging of Xiao Mo and Qian Gu, Shifu drinks one vial of blood, hoping it would last him through the competition. At least that’s what I think because we aren’t shown the actual consumption.

The first battle is between Ni Man Tian and Hua Qian Gu. Cutting out all the crap huh? Good. But Man Tian seems all too smug at Qian Gu’s continuous display of submission and provokes her through a mental intrusion, “You are an obedient dog. What should I tell you to do next?” Qian Gu gets all riled up and she fights Man Tian with all her strength. Everyone watches with bated breath as the fight becomes intense.

When the two girls have their swords pointed at each other, inches away from breaking skin, Zi Hua flings a small stone and knocks Qian Gu’s sword out of the way, allowing Man Tian to palm strike Qian Gu and winning the first round.

Shifu leaves the battle scene and Qian Gu runs after him, worried about his condition. Instead, she gets slapped right across the face and falls to the ground in shock. OMG. DID HE REALLY SLAP HER? Oh Bai Zi Hua, you’ve slapped away all my pity for you.

“To live, you were motivated to kill!” WHAT? The girls are clearly at each other’s throat!!

He walks briskly back to the Hall of Emotionless and bellows that he’s disappointed in her and tells her to reflect on her crime. She kneels outside and bangs her head on the rock for hours and hours in the rain. “I know I did wrong! Shifu, forgive me!”

Inside his room, Shifu listens to her cries and refuses to budge. I hate this drama about right now.

Next morning, Qian Gu finally passes out from exhaustion and loss of blood. Xiao Mo brings her to his ice bed and her head injury immediately heals. He then talks with Zi Hua, believing that Qian Gu was provoked into a split-moment rage. Both men knew it in their hearts that she wouldn’t bring harm to another person and Xiao Mo calls out Zi Hua’s behavior as rash.

When one woman is gone, another one appears. Zi Xun begs at the entrance of Zi Hua’s room. She has made an antidote and wants him to try it out. Xiao Mo chuckles sarcastically, “Senior brother, I think you’ve fallen into a love curse.”

Zi Hua agrees to meet Zi Xun and they have a conversation about obsession and the path to righteousness. You two need to stop acting like you know what you’re talking about. Go see a therapist. Know what? Take the whole set with you!

The only thing worth mentioning is her warning. “Don’t let Hua Qian Gu become the way I am now.” Oh… I’m betting on it!

Qian Gu wakes up to see Shifu at her bedside and begs for forgiveness once more. He demands to know what went on during the competition but she remains silent. When he coughs up blood, she runs to her drawer and takes out a vial of blood. He smashes it to the ground. I’m getting tired of you two.

Another taunting scene with Man Tian as she questions why Qian Gu attempted to kill her during the assembly. Qian Gu says nothing which triggers Man Tian to get violent and she kicks Qian Gu behind the knees to get her crouching on the ground.

“Since you wanted to kill me for this (the handkerchief), I will use it to torture you.” Qian Gu tries to snatch it back but Man Tian strikes her down. Fortunately, Dong Fang and Tang Bao arrive on time so I don’t have to watch the same situation replayed to the Nth times! Dong Fang murmurs a strong “Get lost!”

Confessing to Dong Fang about the handkerchief, Qian Gu hides the fact that the handkerchief has nekkid Shifu on it. She explains that she tries to kill Man Tian during the competition and got caught by Shifu. Did I hear that part correctly?

He says it’s okay, he can fix this problem for her. *smiles* Then he spins up an excuse explaining his presence at Chang Liu. Because Chang Liu’s next potential sect Leader also has some effect on Shu State. SUREEEEEEEEEE.

When the night is quiet, Dong Fang, without wearing a mask, sneaks into Man Tian’s room and shoves a pellet into her mouth. She then follows his instruction to open her mouth and he daps a drop of his blood on her tongue. SO CREEPY and FUNNY. Everyone is becoming a vampire in here. With that, against her will, she reveals the location of the handkerchief and promises not to tell Qian Gu’s secrets in ANY method. Moreover, the events of tonight will never be spoken of to anyone.

He tells her not to cause injuries to Qian Gu and as students of the same sect, they should love each other. Oh, you’re being funny, huh?

Afterwards, Dong Fang bumps into Zi Hua, who asks curiously, “Is there a place in Chang Liu you cannot enter?” LOL!

Zi Hua: “Lord of the Strange Decay. I already know your identity.” OH CRAPPPPP.

Smiling, Dong Fang listens to Zi Hua’s preach about letting bygones be bygones. Plus, more than half of his immortal friends are dead/missing now.

He steps closer to Zi Hua. “I just did what I should do. None of them were innocent.” Zi Hua asks why he could have the heart to lie to Qian Gu time and again. The topic is touchy and Dong Fang walks by Zi Hua as he requests, “After I die, take her away.” Dong Fang pauses at the absurd request and exclaims that he wouldn’t let him go just because of what he just said.

Zi Hua dilvuges his plan to kick Qian Gu out of Chang Liu.

Episode 32 Summary:

Returning to Qian Gu’s room, Dong Fang hands her the handkerchief and she’s awash in thankfulness. He waves it off as nothing and says with meaning, “Others can’t see your pain, you think I can’t either?”

She moves over to the flickering candle and tries to burn the handkerchief. At the last second, she can’t do it and Dong Fang watches with a heavy heart. “Your affection for him is much greater than you think, right?”

She confirms his question, wistfully adding that it’s the biggest wrong of her life. Since she doesn’t know what to do with the handkerchief, Dong Fang offers to take care of it for her. She thanks him and he calls her out on her profused use of that phrase towards him. “Maybe one day you’ll understand that you really don’t owe me anything.”

As promised, in front of Mo Yan, Zi Hua cuts off his mentorship with Qian Gu despite her begging and kneeling. She’s now only a regular disciple at Chang Liu.

Stubborn, she grovels right outside the entrance. Man Tian tries to mock her pitiful situation but as more disciples show up, they all kneel with her – including Tang Bao, Shi Yi, and Shuo Feng. Man Tian screams out her frustration.

With much deliberation, Qian Gu gives up and moves out. She swears on heavens and earth to bring him the antidote. When she moves back to the regular dorms, Man Tian’s all too happy to put salt on the wound and begins to pick another fight. Qing Luo and her male buddy (Huo Xi) prepare their sword but Qian Gu steps in and grabs Man Tian by the throat. “Don’t force me.”

Zi Hua’s days are numbered and desperate to find a cure, Qian Gu reveals the truth to Dong Fang, and he tells her to seek help from the Pavilion Master, which is… himself. Pshh! The item up for the deal is her life and she gives it up without a tinge of hesitation. Finding it too easy a compromise, Pavilion Master takes it back and requests for a table of her food. Oh Dong Fang, you don’t have to use this trick to eat her dishes, ya know!

Pavilion Master teases Qian Gu about her cooking skills before getting down to business. One of the deity devices, the Flaming Crystal, has endless power and the ability to cure the poison. However, its location has never been discovered, thus not a place to start. But if she can obtain the other nine devices, the union will draw out the Flaming Crystal, and the combined power can extend a person’s life. He also lends her an ancient book to help her open the seal. The peril to the whole scene is running the risk of releasing the demon god.

Dong Fang, you’re freakin kidding me right? You’re sending her to death like this! I’m mad at chu too!

Removing his mask (after she leaves), Dong Fang sits down and enjoys a bite of her food, joined by Browless Assistent and Dong Hua. Dong Fang sighs that he’s sometimes envious of Bai Zi Hua, spending days and nights with Qian Gu, while he cannot even share a simple meal with her without wearing a mask.

Dong Hua speaks the right words. “You can still turn around. You must know that torturing Zi Hua is torturing Qian Gu, and torturing Qian Gu is the same as torturing yourself.”

He can’t. There’s no way to turn back now. Come my way, Dong Fang!!

“If the Demon lord is awakened, wouldn’t it be more entertaining to see Bai Zi Hua alive?” Dong Fang responds.

That night, Qian Gu sneaks into Dong Fang’s room and asks him to decipher the writing in the ancient book. Of course he recognizes it and dire consequences await the world if the demon lord reigns free. He warns her that this is the path of no return but she has no choice. Let Zi Hua die, dear. How could you let the demon lord out and bring harm to the whole world just to save Bai Zi Hua? Didn’t he teach you about placing the world’s needs above your own? Dong Fang states the same points as I did and more: “With Bai Zi Hua’s personality, he will kill you afterwards!”

Crazy Girl VER. 2: “I know. But right now, Shifu’s life can only be saved this way.” Dong Fang reiterates that she has to heed his warning and stop this crazy plan.

She won’t change her mind, prompting Dong Fang to pour out his feelings, hoping that she would consider a tiny bit of his affection and be cautious about her decision. “I know you have always looked at me as a brother, but in my heart, I have never looked at you as my sister. And yet you’ve never regarded Bai Zi Hua as your teacher…”

“Yes. I only want to be Shifu’s disciple forever. I just want to be a child in his eyes. If that’s the only way to keep me by Shifu’side, I’m willing not to grow up forever.”

WHAT IS SHE EVEN? Does she know what she just said? In modern times, your Shifu would be put in jail, dear.

He doesn’t mind and asserts that if one day she can forget her Shifu, she must remember that he’ll always be by her side. “I will never give up. Never will I.”

After she leaves with the deciphered notes, Dong Fang’s voice chokes up in his head. “I know that every time I help you, I’m closer to success…but my heart hurts so much. Bones…”

Qian Gu washes clothes at a river and Man Tian announces her appearance with a nice slap to the water, soaking Qian Gu on purpose. This drama is running out of scenes to film isn’t it? I’m tired of the same freakin scene taking up my time. Man Tian wants a reaction from Qian Gu and she continues to throw the wet clothes at her until Shuo Feng calls out for her to stop. He steps in front of Qian Gu and earns a palm strike from Man Tian. Blood drips out of his mouth. What now, you want to donate blood to Bai Zi Hua’s charity too?

Even though he’s injured, it’s Qian Gu who passes out on his broad chest. LOL. Her signature move indeed. He takes her to the Ice bed and when he asks about the deep cut on her wrist, she says she can’t tell him right now. When everything is solved, she will.

That night, the Abstain sword shakes violently and Qian Gu senses that something must be wrong with Shifu and rushes over. Yep. He’s possessed by the poison and upon seeing delicious young meat dangling around him, he throws her to ground and sucks blood from her lips. Closing her eyes, Qian Gu lets him do whatever he wants.

That is until a disciple walks in on them and threatens to tell Mo Yan about their scandalous behavior.

—————————- END ——————————

Kappy: I don’t understand this drama and its character anymore. In summary, replay these two scenes: 1) Qian Gu bringing variations of her blood mixed with different types of foods and then getting kicked out, 2) Man Tian bullying Mary Sue in different setting. At some point, I literally screamed out, “Didn’t I just watch this scene?!!”

Let’s talk about some topics here.

The Slap: It’s so unfair that Qian Gu is always the one to get punished before she even inflicts any harm. In the first Sword Assembly, she was stabbed but the male disciple never got punished for harming a fellow classmate. Both Man Tian and Qian Gu had their swords at each other’s critical points, but Qian Gu got reprimanded for her “intention” to kill. What about Zi Hua’s “intention” to kill Qian Gu in the beginning? Does that not count in his own words? I was so confused when she actually confessed that she wanted to kill Man Tian during the Assembly and was “caught” by Shifu. Killing in front of the whole Jiang Hu and the Sect leaders? Is she on crack? (I’m convinced she’s been putting somethingsomething extra in those herbal drinks.)

Secondly, I agreed with Xiao Mo that it’s a moment’s rage reaction. She’s still wrong but not deserving of the slap or the following bloody ceremony with the rock. As her Shifu, he knows her personality and should’ve felt that something was off during the fight (something Xiao Mo picked up and indicated). Does he not know the rivalry between the two ladies from the very beginning? How could he NOT know if he somehow figured out Dong Fang’s identity too? It was a split-second angry outburst for Qian Gu. And guess what? Just like Qian Gu who reacted to her rising emotions, Zi Hua also acted on an angry impulse to slap her. In short, it demonstrates the saying, “The pot calling the kettle black.” He went overboard and he knew it.

Character Growth: Almost non-existent. Our heroine doesn’t have to be smart but I expect her to at least put one and one together, instead of waiting for another character to spoodfeed her an explanation. Her wide-eyed Mary Sue act has drained all my patience for her. I couldn’t believe the simplicity of her plan to gather the deity devices. Nope, nothing bad could go wrong.

For once, I want the writer to show her growth as she sees the world for what it is and be shaped by her own experiences. She sees all this killing, is involved with many people – both good and bad. And yet she doesn’t gain any insight or growth. A well-developed character draws more relatable and complex emotions from the viewers. It is what makes them memorable in the long run. But the writer is dead set on dumbing down Hua Qian Gu to the point of rendering her infantile. My least favorite character from Zhao Li Ying.

Then we have Dong Fang, who is devoted to playing his dual roles to perfection (Zhang Dan Feng is killing it.) It saddens me when he realizes that with or without his mask, be it Pavilion Master or Dong Fang, he’s always wearing a mask in front of Qian Gu. He has spent all of his life planning and scheming, allowing pieces of his personality to be drawn apart, to be manipulated as chess pieces to achieve revenge. And deep down, he knows he’s playing a losing game. Such a sad life.

Acting-wise, we have a strong performance from Wallace Huo too. While I dislike Shifu from head-to-toe, I can appreciate good acting in Wallace. The first scene is when he first saw the vial of blood and imagined Qian Gu cutting herself; the horrified expression was well-portrayed. The second scene is when he cut off their mentorship, he was engrossed with grave tears as he spoke each word.