The end comes closer as Wen Kexing must take responsibility for all the events he set in motion. Is there any hope for our OTP or will everything go up in flames as our Ghost Valley King faces off against the pugilist hero convention?

Crap hits the fan

Today is not a good day for Zhou Zishu, who has not found the doctor and arrives home to find his house being attacked by the emperor’s troops. He sneaks past them into the house only to find Wen Kexing almost passed out from giving all his Chi to Zhou Zishu’s underling who is dead. He gave so much up that he is on the verge of madness if he doesn’t rest. Wen Kexing is so distraught that Zhou Zishu knocks him out and has Chengling take him away to the caves since the Emperor’s men have no knowledge that they are in the house. He then goes out to meet them and is arrested by orders of the emperor for deceiving him about his imminent death.

The Emperor brings back Zhou Zishu and discovers that his cousin really is still dying via the seven nails, but just much slower than usual since he only put one into his body every three months in order to prolong his life. The Emperor then tries to convince his cousin that he needs to come back by his side. That they are more or less “soulmates” (gag me) and he can’t continue his great work of taking care of everyone without Zhou Zishu’s help. Zhou Zishu pretty much calls him a tyrant and refuses. He also notes that the drinks that The Emperor tried to give him in his wine won’t work because he can no longer smell or taste anything. Zhou Zishu engages in a fight with his cousin, which resulted in a sword to the Emperor’s neck, while his troops look on. He doesn’t kill his cousin though and allows himself to be taken and tortured for further info about his associates that might be against the Emperor.

Kmuse: The Emperor is actually a pretty good villain on paper. I just wish he had more of the story arc going through the story. It has been so long since he popped up last, that I am not as invested in his villainy. I almost wish the creepy Uncle from the five lakes and The Emperor could have been combined to be one big bad.

Drama Geek: I messaged Kmuse to ask if this was a new boring baddy, then remembered him from the beginning. I know some who watched the show really liked this verbal duel between these two, and sometimes I wished this type of thing tickled my fancy, but it doesn’t.

Kdrama Jen: I liked the closure that we get from this interaction. It started with this bad dude and now we are back with him and he is going to regret messing with his nail-filled cousin.

To the rescue

We finally have someone coming to help Zhou Zishu with his going to die problem. Remember when Ye Baiyi sent off to his contacts in order to save Zhou Zishu? Well that plotline is finally coming to fruition as a Healer and one of Zhou Zishu’s allies from afar come to save him. Only to arrive and find a burnt corpse instead of Zhou Zishu. They would have turned back if a crazy Wen Kexing hadn’t been running past them with a frazzled Chengling following. They knock out Wen Kexing (again) and learn what has happened to Zhou Zishu. They reset Wen Kexing’s chi and go to save their friend from the Emperor.

Kmuse: I have to admit I was a bit miffed that we are still adding new people into the mix this far in to the story. However, I do like that there is finally a solution to Zhou Zishu’s predicament. Also, these two totally look like the type of characters that should be out on an epic quest. It made me laugh how much the one looks like a Chinese Prince Charming.

Drama Geek: SEE! These types of characters are way more interesting than the Five Lake Alliance bros. I enjoyed their addition, even if it was late. I also liked how they handled Kexing and everything surrounding his identity later.

Kdrama Jen: I actually liked that we have this group of trusted friends who can help out our couple. It was late in the story, but it’s not like they are strangers he meets in the forest. They have a connection. It’s just that WE didn’t get to see their earlier time together.

So much going on there is no time for romance

Gu Xiang and Cao Weining have had quite a time of it back in his sect. His whole group is attacked by Scorpion King’s dead men and the survivors are stuck in a sacred cave and are starving to death. Among those survivors are Gu Xiang and Cao Weining, the latter finally discovering Wen Kexing’s real identity, and by that, the secret identity of Gu Xiang. Thankfully, Gu Xiang is able to explain the situation and Cao Weining stands by her side. Eventually, they are saved from the cave by their Sect’s master making a deal with Evil Uncle, but the damage is done and Xiang’s identity is out. Through several escapes, they make their way back to our OTP.

Poor Scorpion King is not having a good week. He attacks Cao Weining’s sect in order to gather the three pieces of Glazed Armor they are hiding. The big problem being that he attacked them without express permission from his Evil Daddy Uncle. Which blows up in his face when the latter arrives with the Sect’s Master and is enraged. The Sect Master is also very unhappy to be at all connected with The Scorpion Assassins and considers them equal to Ghost Valley in status. He demands that Evil Daddy Uncle kill The Scorpion King as soon as they have defeated Ghost Valley. Evil Daddy Uncle puts up a bit of a fuss, but in the end, agrees to these terms.

Kmuse: I am so glad that these two worked things out and are still together. I was very concerned that he was going to dump her. Also, Scorpion needs to dump his daddy sooner than later or else he is going to find himself very dead.

Drama Geek: I had faith that Weining would accept Gu Xiang’s past, and he did not disappoint. I really liked the scene where Evil Daddy Uncle makes it clear that he doesn’t really want to be associated with Scorpion King. It’s a turning point for their relationship and needed to happen.

Kdrama Jen: I appreciate that even when we have betrayal and hurt feelings, Scorpion King still has flawless guyliner.

Who is a total badass when rescuing his soulmate?

Now that Wen Kexing is no longer crazy pants from his messed-up chi, it is time to go save his love. He, The Healer and Prince Charming, and twelve disciples who are still supportive of Zhou Zishu. The disciples break Zhou Zishu out from where he was being tortured and are accompanying him in a wagon when they are attacked by the Emperor’s troops. But before the Emperor’s troops can do anything Wen Kexing floats down and takes out a whole row of soldiers with his fan. His Ghost Valley army come rushing in at the same time and Zhou Zishu is saved.

Before you start asking how the heck Wen Kexing got all his chiefs back since last we looked at least half were supporting The Scorpion King… Turns out that Wen Kexing has made a deal with the Scorpion King to use his people to save Zhou Zishu. And while we don’t know the specific terms of this deal, I have a feeling that it will be The Scorpion King who comes out ahead.

Kmuse: I feel like we are missing huge gaps of dialogue. Makes me wonder if they had to take it out to make the drama fit a set time or if they didn’t have money for extra scenes. I needed to see these two hotties debate out the details while looking really hot. Is that too much to ask?

Drama Geek: There was A TON that was left out to hide the reveal of how Wen Kexing did it all, and I was very confused at how everyone got to where they should be. Since we are staying positive though, but main focus is on this red outfit and that eye makeup! Both Wen Kexing and Scorpion King have eyes to die for in these scenes and I loved it.

Kdrama Jen: I feel like this is where the writer jotted down, “And stuff happens and they have like a serious chat and make a deal and then…epic rescue!”

Consequences

What we do discover is the big plan that Wen Kexing had for revenge. He was creating all the hubbub about the Glazed Armor in order to make the Pugilist world come in a battle against The Ghost Valley. At which point he would allow everyone to fight and die in a giant blaze of glory, in one major battle, destroying everyone that was involved in the death of his family. In a chat with Tragicomic Ghost, he tells her that he has had a change of heart and she should take her underlings and escape. Instead of a huge battle, he has decided to go fight the Hero Convention army by himself.

Wen Kexing arrives to face off Evil Daddy Uncle, all his underlings, and the other Pugilist leaders (Including The Scorpion Assassins) and claims that he has the key that will open the cavern without the Glazed Armor. He dares everyone to come and take it, before he can be killed, Zhou Zishu arrives to stand by his side. They fight against the Hero convention, Wen Kexing vs Ye Baiyi and Zhou Zishu against The Scorpion King’s underlings. The end result is Wen Kexing being shot with a poisoned dart by Chengling and falling off a cliff. Zhou Zishu dives over the edge after him but is caught and pulled to safety by Ye Baiyi.

Kmuse: I knew that it was coming but that doesn’t help the angst from hurting. That said, I thought this whole sequence was beautifully done and I loved how the writer really delved into Wen Kexing’s change of heart.

Drama Geek: Agreed. I loved the way they filmed it, and even though the budget has caused a few scenes to come off cheesy, these scenes were done really well. I was still scratching my head at a few things, but was happy with the overall result for character arc and emotion.

Kdrama Jen: My heart! This was old-school romantic!

Mourning

Zhou Zishu wakes up in a hotel and originally thinks that everything had been a dream. It is only after hearing that Wen Kexing has been killed and everyone is searching for his body, that he rushes out. He hunts down Glamorous Ghost who is guarding Wen Kexing’s body. They are attacked by people from The Hero Convention and Zhou Zishu throws a torch into the barn to protect Wen Kexing’s body from being acquired and escapes.

Thinking that the love of his life is dead, Zhou Zishu decides that there is no longer a reason to stay alive. He goes off on his own and declares that he no longer has to slow his death since he just wants to go join Wen Kexing in the afterlife. He stands on a rock and says he is going to get rid of all the nails at once, then restore his fighting skills long enough to go get revenge, before dying.

Kmuse: With four episodes left I know that Wen Kexing isn’t dead but I was still very sad to see his supposed corpse just laying there.

Drama Geek: I’m sorry, I had a hard time not laughing at this scene. I mean, we get to see is abs without all the nails, but it’s still a silly sight to behold. I was very sad that poor Zishu was lead to believe his soulmate died.

Kdrama Jen: I was not laughing. I was imagining how clean one’s clothes could get on that washboard stomach.

The truth hurts

The Scorpion King sends Glamorous ghost in disguise to try and find out what his “daddy” really planned to do. In disguise she demanded that Evil Daddy Uncle kill Scorpion King since he doesn’t fit the noble narrative that the hero pugilists portray. You can see Scorpion King’s heart break and he stoically looks ahead, contemplating his betrayal.

Kmuse: I really hope that Scorpion King is able to get closure.

Drama Geek: Again, this needed to happen. His Daddy issues are HUGE and he needs to get over it and plot against that stupid guy. Rule the world, Scorpion King! Oh wait, I’m supposed to want him to fail.

Kdrama Jen: Poor Scorpion King, but it’s time to accept that Daddy doesn’t really love you the way you love him.

Final Thoughts:

Kmuse: Only one recap to go before we are all done. Wow. I am also a bit sad that once again, the lack of funds were evident. The scene where Zhou Zishu was saved from the Emperor’s troops was so much fun and could have been even better if there had been funding for a good action sequence. Opportunity missed.

Drama Geek: We did a patreon podcast for the drama so we had to push through and finish last week. I’m a bit relieved to be done with this one. I love this OTP, and can’t wait to share my final thoughts on the blog, but it was time to say goodbye to our wonderful soulmates.

Kdrama Jen: I love this OTP. I am not ready to say goodbye!

Til the next flirty moment,

The Fangirls

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi