Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty II To the West Episode 21

The monk connection

This is a very interesting amalgam of politics. The two royals vying for power and the crown prince extending a bounty for Su and Lu. Not only is the Hanzhou conflict with Taiyin sect a volatile situation, the Chang’an politics are insinuating themselves in convenient positions to have assassins do their dirty work for them. I am glad the monks have not received the second half. That is handing it to the Taiyin sect directly. Did not expect that, but the monastery does seem a good place to hide. The rhino is a hard sell. There actually is a mountain rhino, but it is small and an herbivore. A raptor or fantastical dragon would have been far more believable. That aside, the political machinations are interesting. Lu embedding himself with the enemy and getting the pleasure of kicking the captain out of the window plus his sword was fun to watch. The captain knew Lu had to be a person of standing even if a stranger and he should have acted with much more diplomacy when he confronted them at the table. He deserved this payback. And now that we know his boss is corrupt and a Chang’an assist in killing off our guys….Su now understands what he needs to do to keep the others safe while Lu works from the other side. Lu was smart to get his associate thrown in the pit with him. The power grabbing of the Lieutenants and the vague encounters with the one really in charge leave loopholes in this rebel sect. The monks are quietly running the show and the older one thinks 100k bone arrows will do it. They will make a good dent but not compared to forged metal. Su got them away from the official’s house but where are they going now. Yingtao is top of her game, but more muscle is needed with Lu gone.

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