Previously…
In Fate Chooses You: Drama Recap Episodes 5 to 10, Xin Mei and Lu Qianqiao met again in Chongling Valley, although she no longer recognized him. She wanted to get the Immortal Pill for her master. He would undergo the third process of becoming a human: deboning.
Recap Episodes 11 to 16
Episode 11
A Sheng finally sat down listening to Jin Lun about his tribulation. Jin Lun explained that he had met A Sheng ten years ago when he was sitting at the bottom of the mountain cultivating. His master had enlightened him, so he had a calm mind. But when he met A Sheng again, his heart was no longer at peace. To solve this mystery, Jin Lun wanted to follow her. A Sheng refused to be followed, but she couldn’t harm him.
Lu Qianqiao and Chu Ying left Chongling Valley to deal with the caster of Xin Mei’s spell, He Zhenbu, the leader of the Bishui Branch of Qinghong Sect. When Lu Qianqiao killed the man, his spell upon Xin Mei was automatically broke.
In Chongling Valley, Xin Mei and the others dealt with Li Si. He pretended to be a guardian of the sickly Lv Yunsu. In fact, he wanted to steal the Gongshun Jade Tablet. Bai Zongying executed him on the spot.
Episode 12
Xin Mei knew there was someone else besides Li Si who wanted the Gongshun Jade Tablet. When she finally tracked down the person, he was already murdered. Lin Muhan also arrived. He didn’t know about Li Si’s execution and wondered about the whereabouts of the missing Tablets.
After leaving the Qinghong Sect, Lu Qianqiao became weak from the side effects of the preparatory medicine. He and Chu Ying stayed overnight in a kindhearted family. Unfortunately, the innocent family was later slaughtered by the immortal sects looking for the Gongshun Jade Tablet. Lu Qianqiao was enraged by this brutality.
Bai Zongying got close to Xin Mei to find out about Lu Qianqiao. Luckily, before Bai Zongying could probe further, Physician Su Taiyi marched in and berated Bai Zongying for executing Li Si without his permission.
After Bai Zongying left, Su Taiyi interrogated Xin Mei about her purpose of coming to Chongling Valley. Xin Mei admitted that she secretly came to the Valley to get the Immortality Pill for her dying master, Xin Xiong. Xin Mei hoped to use the Pill to extend his life. Su Taiyi was skeptical whether Xin Xiong really wanted to live longer or not, because he had refused it before.
On her way to find her sect sister, A Sheng encountered a scammer couple who poisoned their child to gain Ghost Needle Lotus from travelers. Jin Lun stopped A Sheng from punishing the couple. He explained that it was all due to the Immortality Tax. The locals could not grow the high-grade herb to meet the requirements for the immortality pills. Failure to do so resulted in collective punishment and hard labor. The locals then poisoned their own children to get the herbs from the travelers. A Sheng was angry with Jin Lun and the immortal sects for their hypocrisy. They only watched but didn’t help people.
After Su Taiyi left, Bai Zongying approached Xin Mei again. This time, he asked her about her identity. He mentioned her resemblance to a certain cultivator named Xin, who wreaked havoc in the Capital. Xin Mei denied being in the Capital, since her memory was erased until she went to Wei County for her aunt’s funeral. Because Xin Mei fangirled Bai Zongying, she gave him her precious ebony pendant. This pendant was the one Lu Huai asked as a couple token when Xin Mei met him for the first time in prison. At that time, Xin Mei didn’t want to give it to him, so Lu Huai guessed that she wanted to give it to the one she wanted to marry after the curse was lifted.
Lu Qianqiao and Chu Ying finally returned to Chongling Valley. Lu Qianqiao went straight to Su Taiyi and beat him up. He couldn’t believe that his disciple let innocent people die for the sake of immortality. This was contrary to his original intention of teaching Su Taiyi medical skills.
Episode 13
Lu Qianqiao was very angry when Su Taiyi feigned ignorance and stated that he was not in control of Chongling Valley. We found out that this Pill was not perfect. It made the consumer live longer but did not yet reach immortality. It was Su Taiyi’s dream of eternal life, which he had perfected year by year. The physician didn’t defend himself but urged his grandmaster to focus on his own upcoming bone replacement process, which would take effect in a few days.
Xin Mei saw that Lu Qianqiao had returned and was very angry, so she went to comfort him. Lu Qianqiao told her how he met Su Taiyi. Years ago, he had been a palace painter who taught the princes calligraphy. Su Taiyi was an entertainer but he had a sharp tongue and often criticized people. When Lu Qianqiao was betrayed by Emperor Zong Ding, whom he had helped put on the throne, Lu Qianqiao left the palace with Su Taiyi. Since Su Taiyi had a talent in medicine, Lu Qianqiao taught him, and Chongling Valley was born. Since Xin Mei’s Tablet was stolen, Lu Qianqiao gave Xin Mei the Tablets he confiscated from the sect people who massacred the town.
Lu Qianqiao was half jealous and half suspicious that Bai Zongying was the grand thief who stole other people’s Tablets. He saw the ebony pendant on Bai Zongying, who, as Lu Huai, had asked Xin Mei for a marriage token before, but she refused to give it. Lu Qianqiao set up a trap, and sure enough, Bai Zongying stole the Tablets, including Xin Mei’s. She was devastated that her idol turned out to be a thief and a killer. She refused when Lu Qianqiao offered the Tablets to her, because they had become tokens bathed in blood of innocent people.
Episode 14
Lu Qianqiao’s time for bone renewal finally came. The process took six hours, and he would feel an excruciating pain as the bones shattered inch by inch. Because Xin Mei had formed a blood pact with Lu Huai, she also felt severe chest pain, although it didn’t last long. She was prevented from seeing Lu Qiaoqiao. Su Taiyi’s disciple only said he was busy treating a patient.
Lv Yunsu decided to leave Chongling Valley because Physician Zhu Yu had treated her heart disease. She apologized to Xin Mei with a sign language but lied that it meant “Thank you”. Not that after Xin Mei found out from Su Taiyi what it actually meant, Xin Mei felt Lv Yunsu had faked her disability. Lv Yunsu wanted to kill Su Taiyi to avenge Li Si, but Su Taiyi had prepared for this.
Xin Mei came in time when Lv Yunsu confronted Su Taiyi. She admitted that she was not a general daughter, but her real name was A Xing. She and Li Si were the fourth-ranked Star and Thunder Swordsmen in the world. They didn’t come for the Immortal Pill but for Su Taiyi. Lv Yunsu lamented that the commoners were bullied and forced to pay the Immortal Tax to fulfill the ambition of the immortal clans and the royal family. Lu Yunsu handed her Gongshan Jade Tablet to Xin Mei, because she knew Xin Mei had a pure heart.
Xin Mei realized that all this Immortal Pill business was morally corrupt and spiritually impure. She returned all her Gongshan Jade Tablets to Su Taiyi because she no longer wanted them. Xin Mei realized her master might not want the Immortal Pill, as suggested by Su Taiyi. She was heartbroken but resolute, and even left the Chongling Valley without waiting for Lu Qianqiao. However, when she arrived at the dock, she was even sadder when she saw the guide she knew had died, killed by people because of fake Tablets.
Su Taiyi refused the return, as he was also regretful. To atone for his sin, he decided to sacrifice for his master. Before, Lu Qianqiao wanted to use animal bones to replace his bones, since he didn’t want to sacrifice human bones. But the quality of animal bones was lower than that of human bones.
On the day of the opening of the Immortal Pill furnace, Zhu Yu collected the Gongshan Jade Tablets from everyone. Then Xin Mei walked in with many Gongshan Jade Tablets she got from Lu Qianqiao and Lv Yunsu. She offered to give the Tablets to whoever could answer her questions. Xin Mei wanted the immortal sects to realize the disasters that the Immortal Tax had brought to the commoners.
Episode 15
When the guests couldn’t answer Xin Mei’s questions, she smashed the Tablets one by one. Only a wise representative from the royal family answered two questions correctly, but he, too, was convicted of Xin Mei’s questions, as he also smashed the Tablets he received. The guests finally left since there were no more Tablets.
A Sheng finally reunited with Xin Mei in Chongling Valley. When they were about to leave, suddenly the bell of Jiujue Cave rang. It was a sign that the Immortal Pill was about to be released. Everyone entered the Cave. Su Taiyi was sitting in a wheelchair, looking very weak. At the same time, Lu Qianqiao woke up after the bone exchange and realized that what he had changed were not animal bones, but human bones.
The music played in the Cave, it was not a joyous music to welcome the Pill, but a sad one. Su Taiyi had exchanged his bones with Lu Qianqiao’s, and he would die soon. He gave everyone a farewell speech and died. Lu Qianqiao came too late to the Cave. With the death of the Physician, the alchemy furnace exploded. The immortal elixir that everyone was looking forward to turned into ashes.
Zhuyu relayed to Lu Qianqiao Su Taiyi’s final wish. He gave Lu Qianqiao Su Taiyi’s medical supplies, healing potions, property deeds that he had accumulated, and a list of restaurants with delicacies Lu Qianqiao had to try when he became fully human and could taste food.
While they were talking, they heard commotion in the mourning hall where Su Taiyi’s body was laid in the casket. The guests were arguing with the Chongling Valley’s disciples. Zang Fengzi, the leader of the strongest sect Tianyun, wanted to take the Physician’s body, arrested all disciples for interrogation, and confiscated Chongling Valley’s property with everything inside it.
Lu Qianqiao went to deal with the greedy lot, followed by Zhuyu, Xin Mei, and A Sheng. Lu Qianqiao introduced himself as Su Taiyi’s grandmaster and protected Chongling Valley from being taken over by anyone. Nobody could match Lu Qianqiao, not even Zang Fenzi, who was the most powerful in the group. Lu Qianqiao kicked everyone off the premises.
After Su Taiyi’s funeral, Xin Mei bid goodbye to Lu Qianqiao. She and Asheng would return to their sect, Xinxie Village. Chu Ying, who was sent to the Fangwai Mountain came back and reported he couldn’t find the artifact needed for Lu Qianqiao’s next task: replacing blood. Lu Qianqiao said he already found a way to do it.
Episode 16
Zhu Yu informed Lu Qianqiao about a magical weapon called Sun Crossbow, created by a master from Beixiang. It was fed on blood in the Blood Pool. Zhu Yu saw Mr. Gui use it when he fought Xin Mei last time. Since Mr. Gui was dead, Lu Qianqiao deduced that since Mr. Gui was from Qinghong Sect and went together with Zuo Yingying, who was also from the same sect, she must have Sun Crossbow or know where it was. At this time, Lu Qianqiao would go by himself and ordered Chu Ying to stay in Chongling Valley.
When Xin Mei and A Sheng left Chongling Valley, they were stopped by Bai Zongying. He reminded Xin Mei about her revenge in the Capital. He also mentioned a spell that could erase someone’s memory. Although Xin Mei was cold to Bai Zongying, she remembered Meishan Jun had said that they had met before. Bai Zongying suggested Xin Mei go to Wei County to find out for herself.
With Su Taiyi’s death and Xin Mei’s speech to the guests in Chongling Valley, there was no more pursuit of Immortal Pill and the authorities abolished the Immortal Tax, and the commoners were relieved. Jin Lun, who was enlightened by A Sheng’s speech last time, helped the people to fix their irrigation and farms.
Meishan Jun no longer worked as the government bounty guard but as a guard for the escort service. Xiao An, the rabbit demon that he and Xin Mei rescued last time, tagged along with him. Xiao An happened to check a coffin delivered by the escort, thinking that there were goodies inside. She ran back and reported to Meishan Jun that there was a living person inside. After checking, it turned out the person was Lu Qianqiao! His nickname was also Fenghong Knife.
Xin Mei and A Sheng went to Wei County and met Song Qingbao, whom she had hanged last time. From him, she got Lu Huai’s name and a drawing that Lu Huai was indeed Lu Qianqiao. Next, they went to see the innkeeper Li Niang, who “saved” her last time. Li Niang didn’t want to tell Xin Mei the details, only that Mr. Lu was a good person and harbored no ill intentions towards Xin Mei.
Xin Mei and A Sheng decided to go to Beixiang to find Lu Qianqiao. Others also went there. Jiang Ji and Bai Zongying were sent by their respective sect leaders. Lin Muhan insisted on going there, too, despite his leader’s objection.
TL;DR
- Lu Qianqiao killed the person who cast the spell upon Xin Mei.
- The pursuit of the Gongshun Jade Tablets to get the Immortal Pill created by Physician Su Taiyi had caused the suffering and deaths of commoners.
- Su Taiyi died to sacrifice his bones for Lu Qianqiao. No more Immortal Pill to pursue.
- Bai Zongying told Xin Mei about what she did in the Capital and suggested that she investigate herself. In Wei County, she found out about Lu Huai.
- Lu Qianqiao went to Beixiang for his next mission to replace his blood, but it seemed everybody else also went there for various reasons.
Another arc, another adventure, with the same ol’ villains. Would Lu Qianqiao be able to replenish his blood with these interruptions? Let’s find out next!
