Previously…
By the end of Part 4: Generation to Generation: Drama Recap Episodes 19 to 23, it seemed Mu Qingyan and Cai Zhao’s journey to find the Shi Brothers and Purple Jade Sunflower was in vain. They met the brothers but not the relic. Where is the Sunflower?
Recap Episodes 24 to 28
Episode 24
During their stay with the Shi Brothers, they met Guo Zigui, Cai Pingshu’s friend. His story was so heartbreaking, and he died afterwards. The next day after Guo Zigui’s cremation, the Shi Brothers handed Zigui’s ashes and sword to Cai Zhao. They asked her to give the ashes to her mother, to scatter them on Guo parents’ graves. As for the sword, they wanted her to return it to the Qingque Sect, a symbol that he didn’t want to have anything to do with the sect anymore.
On the way back, Qingyan and Cai Shu analyzed the past story told by the brothers. She thought the man in black and the skin-painted demon was the same person. There was one suspicious name: Wang Yuanjing. This guy also went into the prison with Guo Zigui, but while the latter was captured and tortured, Wang Yuanjing escaped unscathed. Moreover, during the memorial event of the Beichen Sects where the mysterious woman appeared, she had with her a blind man, Wu Yuanying. The two were Cai Pingshu’s friends. Wang Yuanjing pretended that he was happy to see Wu Yuanying, but the blind man bit him with hatred.
When they finally returned to the Qingque Sect, their mission was to uncover Wang Yuanjing’s crimes, despite their friend Fan Xingjia telling them about the rumors that they had eloped. Wang Yuanjing had secluded himself at Taichu Temple. She asked to present a fake immortality elixir to Wang Yuanjing. While he was distracted, they sprinkled a chemical causing hallucination and pretended to be Wang Yuanjing’s old friends. The guy confessed that he did that to secure a leadership position at Taichu Temple. Later, the man in black, who knew his cowardice, blackmailed him. He led the Demonic Camp to slay the Chang Sect and framed the mysterious woman we saw at the memorial event. When Qingyan demanded the name of the man in black, suddenly Wang Yuanjing was struck by poisonous needles and died. People from the temple rushed in and accused the two of killing Wang Yuanjing. To protect Cai Zhao, Qingyan claimed that he killed the man while taking Cai Zhao as a hostage, and escaped.
Cai Zhao’s parents arrived during the chaos and tried to shield their daughter. She handed the ashes to her mom, who cried bitterly over Guo Zigui’s death. Cai Zhao bravely told everyone Wang Yuanjing’s crimes, especially that he had massacred the Chang Sect. Despite that, Wang Yuanjing’s disciples insisted Cai Zhao be punished because she colluded with the killer. Luckily, Master Qi arrived to calm down the angry disciples. However, Cai Zhao was still put in prison. She was branded as a demoness of Luoying Valley because of her association with Qingyan.
Cai Zhao’s parents come to visit their daughter in confinement for a personal interrogation. They specifically wanted to know her association with Mu Qingyan. After she answered their question about how she and Qingyan went to find the killer of Uncle Chang, she answered their question about how Qingyan treated her. Very well, as she reminisced about his kindness. The next question was:
Episode 25
With a determined expression, Cai Zhao confessed that she liked Qingyan. When her engagement with Zhou Yuqi was broken, she didn’t feel sad. But when she thought she would never see Qingyan again, her heart felt empty and hurt. Her parents tried to persuade her that Qingyan might be like the skin-painted demon that betrayed her aunt. When Cai Pingshu and some old friends wanted to defeat Nie Hengcheng, they secretly practiced their formation. However, it was leaked by the skin-painted demon and led to an ambush which injured Cai Pingshu’s friends. Only she was left to fight Nie Hengcheng alone. Although she won, she was severely injured, which led to her death. Her parents begged Cai Zhao not to follow her aunt’s footsteps, making friends with a demon.
Later that night, she got a letter from Qingyan, stating that he had found a clue to the man in black. Remembering her parents’ plea, Cai Zhao rejected his offer, stating that she would find the clue herself.
Her fellow disciples urged her to marry Song Yuzhi instead. Song Shijun already gave gifts to Cai Zhao’s parents, even asked Master Qi to persuade Cai Zhao, although the master was skeptical. Later, Song Yuzhi proposed to Cai Zhao at the lakeside. She politely rejected Song Yuzhi and thanked him for saving her face after her marriage to Yuqi was annulled, but she needed to face the world by herself. When Yuzhi said that it was not about rescuing her, she quickly brother-zoned him, lmao!
Apparently, Qingyan had secretly entered the Qingque Sect to demand Cai Zhao’s explanation for her letter. He was anxious when he learned Song Yuzhi had proposed to her, and she made the unrequited love congee for him. When he asked why she changed her mind, she finally acknowledged that the skin-painted demon killed her aunt, and she didn’t want to give up her parents, family, and her home for him. Qingyan declared that he was not that demon and pleaded what he could do to make her believe him. He would abandon everything and go with her to wherever she wanted to go.
Suddenly, Master Qi barged in and was ready to capture Qingyan. When fighting him, Master Qi saw Qingyan’s wrist band and asked where he got it. It was his father’s relic. Master Qi explained that Cai Pingshu once gave a similar wrist band to the skin-painted demon, and deduced that Mu Zhengming, Qingyan father, was the skin-painted demon who killed Cai Pingshu. Qingyan escaped while shouting to Cai Zhao that he would find the truth.
Back at the Li Sect, Qingyan asked Elder Yan Xu and the old steward if his father had a brother. Elder Yan Xu finally admitted that his father had a twin brother named Mu Zhengyang. It was kept secret, since Mu Zhengyang was supposed to be killed by Nie Hengcheng, but Mu Zhengming rescued him. Qingyan believed that Mu Zhengyang was the skin-painted demon! Unfortunately, his uncle was dead.
Two Li Yunrui!!!
He was anxious to tell Cai Zhao about his uncle, so he returned to Qingque Sect despite the risk. Master Qi hatched a plan to kill the skin-painted demon’s descendant. When Qingyan stepped into the courtyard where Cai Zhao stayed, he was faced by the Qingque Sect’s leader. Meanwhile, Cai Zhao was suspicious because her mother lured her away to Uncle Lei’s residence. Once she knew Qingyan had come, she knew he wouldn’t leave and would be outnumbered by the elders and the Qingque Sect. She decided to intervene.
Episode 26
Cai Zhao wanted Qingyan to leave, but he didn’t. He showed her the evidence that his father was not the skin-painted demon. She believed it, but she was knocked out by the elders. What is the evidence anyway? It was a marriage agreement between Cai Pingshu and Mu Zhengyang, Qingyan’s uncle, with Cai Pingshu’s hairpin! After conferring with the elders, Master Qi decided not to kill Qingyan but to destroy his martial arts skill completely and imprison him for life in the dungeon. Although Qingyan and his father were innocent in this matter, Qingyan was still the leader of the demonic Li Sect, thus possessed risk.
Cai Zhao was placed under house arrest. Her father suggested that after Qingyan was stripped of his power, they could bring him to live in Luoying Valley. Cai Zhao still wanted to see Qingyan, so she asked Fan Xingjia for help. She wanted to deliver the illuminous Night Pearl to him. This pearl was given by Guo Zigui to her mom as a dowry gift, but her mom gave it to her. This pearl glowed at night. Cai Zhao remembered Qingyan had been imprisoned for five years in the dark during his childhood. Even though Xingjia and Lingbo helped her to look for Qingyan in prison, he had been moved by Master Qi. Cai Zhao could only beg her master to see Qingyan for the last time, to hand him the pearl. She told him that she knew he feared darkness since he was Chang Ning. Qingyan pulled her into a passionate kiss. Cai Zhao then spoke harsh words to renounce him, since they were being listened to by Master Qi, and left. After the prison visit, Cai Zhao told her father that, after watching the execution, she would like to return home and never step out of the world again.
Episode 27
Mu Qingyan’s execution day! He was brought to the execution ground in front of the Six Sects of Beichen. When Master Qi listed his crimes, especially killing Wang Yuanjing, Qingyan still had energy to call them out as hypocrites, as that guy was a killer of the entire Chang clan. A guard kicked him so he would kneel or crawl in front of Master Qi. Seeing this humiliation, Cai Zhao stepped in to block the execution. She put her blade to her neck to threaten her master. When Master Qi wanted to pull her back, Cai Zhao pushed him. She then threw needles with numbing powder to weaken the elders. Cai Zhao jumped onto the execution podium, slashed the chains to free Qingyan. Qingyan’s facial expression was priceless.
Cai Zhao took Qingyan, who was weak from torture, away to the platform waiting for the giant eagle to come. She was blocked by Uncle Zhou, her ex-future father-in-law. He urged her to surrender, but Cai Zhao stated there was no turning back. Cai Zhao didn’t have any choice but to fight him, even demonstrating her aunt’s signature movement, which he knew very well (he was her former fiancé before she liked Mu Zhengyang). Cai Zhao and Qingyan managed to escape with the Peng bird. Seeing her mother collapsed on the ground and the chaos she caused, Cai Zhao could only whisper an apology. Unfortunately, some elders shot arrows and wounded them.
They finally landed safely in the wilderness. After dressing each other’s wounds, Qingyan passed out and Cai Zhao noticed that he was poisoned by the arrow. Wang Yuanjing’s disciples had shot poisonous arrows at them to avenge their dead master. Cai Zhao knew that snow lotus could detox the poison, but she had to buy it. Since Cai Zhao didn’t have money, she pawned her precious necklace. That was a mistake, since someone found that necklace and gave it to Master Qi. The master realized their wounds must be so dire that Cai Zhao had to pawn her necklace to buy the snow lotus. Qingyan was eventually awake after she administered the medicine. While he was semi-conscious, he heard all her pleas for him to wake up and her stories from home, and promised that they would rely on each other and find a quiet place far from the dangerous jianghu.
Episode 28
Xing’er found the lovebirds sleeping shoulder to shoulder and took them to the village. One villager, Uncle Xue, had known Cai Zhao since she rescued the villagers from the corpse slaves. Uncle Xue was shocked seeing Qingyan, who resembled Mu Zhengyang, his old friend. He also heard about Cai Pingshu from Mu Zhengyang. After finding out they had both died, Uncle Xue lamented that if Mu Zhengyang hadn’t executed his plan to kill Nie Hengcheng, he and Cai Pingshu would’ve been happily married. Realizing that life was so short and didn’t want to live in regret, Qingyan proposed to Cai Zhou.
Well, Qingyan hadn’t even had a chance to hear Cai Zhao’s willingness. She accidentally met Qingyan’s subordinate, who innocently told her the situation which was different than what Qingyan told her. After realizing that nobody from the Qingque Sect chased them, she quickly figured out Qingyan’s chain scheme. She confronted Qingyan since nobody chased them; he must’ve ordered his subordinates to kidnap the family members of the Six Beichen Sects before their escapade. Sure enough, we saw one by one, the heirs were kidnapped, including poor Yuqi, who hadn’t even had a chance to tell his mother that his bride had changed! Cai Zhao guessed that to outsmart the suspicious Nie Zhe, he used himself as bait. He intentionally went to the Qingque Sect to be caught. He gambled that Cai Zhao would defy her family and sect to rescue him, and even gambled his own body to be crippled if she didn’t save him. Cai Zhao felt she was just a chess piece. Cai Zhao was so disappointed with Qingyan and wanted to leave. However, Qingyan forbade her to leave, or he would kill the kidnapping victims!
Cai Zhao couldn’t refuse when Qingyan took her for the showdown with Nie Zhe. It was not a huge battle, but a tricky scheme. He made Nie Zhe, his strategist Yu Huiyin, and elder Hu Fengge came together. After Qingyan killed all Nie Zhe’s guards, he brought out Nie Zhe’s wife and son. You Guanyue, who pretended to surrender to Nie Zhe when Qingyan was imprisoned in the Qingque Sect, concocted a lie that Nie Zhe’s wife and Mr. Yu had an affair. The proof was a green birthmark on the back of Mr. Yu and Nie Zhe’s son. Nie Zhe took the bait and ordered Mr. Yu to take off his top clothes and strip off his son’s clothes. Sure enough, both had green birthmarks on their backs. When Nie Zhe wanted to kill the child, his mother stepped forward and killed herself instead. Mr. Yu was angry because there was no affair, so he killed Nie Zhe and then fled with the elder.
Cai Zhao, who witnessed Qingyan’s scheme, was very angry with his cruelty, borrowing someone’s knife to kill. Now the child was left an orphan. Qingyan argued that he didn’t calculate that the wife would kill herself. After that, she gave him a cold shoulder, although he promised to release the hostages and close the Youming Pass (the entrance/exit) to build Li Sect a paradise like Cai Zhao’s home and live secluded from the outside world.
TL;DR
- Mu Qingyan and Cai Zhao found the Qingque Sect insider who had massacred the Chang Sect, but he was mysteriously killed.
- Qingyan ventured bravely to the Qingque Sect to prove to Cai Zhao that his father was innocent, but he was captured.
- On Qingyan’s execution day, Cai Zhao rescued him, and they escaped.
- Qingyan proposed to Cai Zhao, but before she said yes, she found another scheme of his!
- Nie Zhe died.
Would Qingyan be able to redeem himself to Cai Zhao in the next part?
Keywords: Generation to Generation, 江湖夜雨十年灯, Zhou Yi Ran, Bao Shang En
