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The episode opens with an eerie view of Eastern City. The city is riddled with dead bodies and demons. Cheng’s team has come to battle but they do not last long and a message is sent to WangQuan manor. HangYe responds by sending his son to the site. Fu gui finds the remnant of citizens trapped in a spell to donate their essences to demon king Huodou. The demon thought all was won with hellfire til Fu gui comes out unscathed and returns some flame of his own. The Demon is defeated and the few humans still alive are offered aid. It is noted that one is a survivor due to spider silk sewing up injuries. FuGui notes a small spider demon and spares her for her good deed. This is noted by the mistress of the spider cave as she sees this as a vulnerability for the soldier later. Lady Feng is a disciple with the YiQi alliance that has her eyes on FuGui. She definitely has her own style and will not be deterred from presenting herself as she chooses. However, this does not necessarily present her at her best and she finds herself rebuffed by her love interest. Spider 12580 saves 12581 by promising to get intel about the soldier. She starts by befriending Lady Feng and delivering a letter to FuGui. It is his bday and the young lady wanted to make it special for him. This did not work out as she planned, but this did help 12580 meet FuGui in person. He remembered her act of kindness and lets her stick around. She reminds him that things can be beautiful. HongYe has changed a lot in the last 20 yrs. After the black fox battles he has focused exclusively on the YiQi alliance and his son’s soldier training. He has left no room for anything else. He has tried to drive the point home that a soldier’s only purpose is to kill demons. He has completely dismissed that soldiers fight best for home and hearth and that demons and humans could coexist. He thinks his emotions is what caused the loss when it was most likely due to his best idealism suppressed by his father when he matured. He has Beloved Wife on HuaiZhu’s memorial but not mother. He has never let Fu gui honor his mother or shared her memorial with his son as a somber part of his son’s bday. It was heartbreaking to see him denounce his younger self when FuGui tried on the mask. He only sees failure that FuGui has yet to do Heaven Earth strike. He will accept nothing less from his son. HuaiZhu’s last wish for their son was to be one who could wield both sword strike and fire from both families. She saw him as the means to keep the peace. I think she would be very sad that her son was given no memories of her and that HongYe has succumbed to the evilest portion of YiQi alliance which was to kill demons indiscriminately just for existing. This is a very far cry from the hope they had for the future. HongYe is a shadow of himself and acknowledges his bad parenting. What he refuses to do is recognize that by letting HuaiZhu’s wish rumble around in his head he is forgetting the spirit of what they wanted to do. It is a very bleak world FuGui has been raised in and truly a wonder that he can see the kindness of a small spider demon and find it valuable. This is the third installment of the series that follows the life of HongYe’s and HuaiZhu’s son. 20 years have passed and unfortunately the YiQi alliance is the strongest power. This is not a good thing and a sad regression from the hope the masked sect wanted to bring to the world. The story does a good job of flashbacks from past to present filling in some of the why’s of HongYe’s parenting. Production did a good job with making the Eastern City eerie and while the spiders had mixed reviews, I like them. They are Tim Burtonesque with 12580 a brighter happier hue than the rest. I find myself melancholy along with FuGui who has never celebrated a bday or the life of his mother. He is reduced to demon slayer in the eyes of his whole world. It is a sad and lonely existence for him.
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Muyu finds his file and takes it. He brings out Changhe’s file so he can find out who he was prior to Blood River but Changhe chooses to destroy the file and continue forward. Changhe and shadow sect leader are battling outside while Muyu is searching inside tower. He is accompanied by arrow guy who was given instructions from his gpa to shoot Muyu in the back. That’s gratitude for being spared.😝 keys are required to open each box but Changhe and Muyu had their keys before mission. They new shadow sect would never let them get to the info so came prepared. Arrow boy knew he would not win against Muyu and set the tower ablaze. This destroyed much more than Blood River info and the royals would not be happy. Prince Langya seems the most honorable of the two princes met so far. Even abdicating the throne doesn’t appease his brother who is hoping to lump Langya with Blood River and deepen the chasm between father and Prince. The shadow leader has a flashback to his childhood and questions his life as he watches the tower burn. Muyu is ready to avenge his clan and Changhe gets tired of shadow sect leader and finishes him off. They know more people know of their link but more likely to hide the information rather than make it known. Changhe gets the Yellow Springs pawn shop token from the shadow sect leader and they head to Muyu’s homeland. He is tracking the Blood River members who helped the city be attacked. It looks like the have found the home of one of them. Tianqi’s mission is done and they are experiencing their first bit of freedom. I am wishing Muyu would have been nosy about Changhe to see where he came from, but he was too honorable and did not read the file. This next arc looks to be Muyu’s vengeance mission.
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Uncle Zhe and Prince Langya have a showy battle in the temple. Muyu makes quite the entrance in the prison and breaks the formation. He heads to Wanjuan Tower. The top Mu’s battle. Here we see the power of the old regime. These two grew up together but had very different ideals about how to proceed. The musician wanted to live for the family. Ciling wanted to live for himself. He felt the family would be strongest if everybody lived to become as strong as possible. The Mu leader had planned with the shadow sect to maintain things as they had been. He discovered that he was wrong in his thinking and chose to forfeit his life. Ciling mourned him as he collapsed. I am not sure if they killed each other or not yet but they fought with everything they had. Ciling was sad that he could not make his brother understand his thinking. An archer of seven arrows takes on Muyu. It was quite the battle. All of these areas had epic battles going on. Whoever was not battling was watching in awe as the masters showed their skills. At Wanjuan Tower the three elders from Blood River families fought with Muyu. Changhe shows up and brings Muyu’s umbrella. They learn that both are nameless and not descendants of the three families. They also find out that Muyu was a lost sword clansman and also wanted to know his his and how his clan annihilated. This in addition to all the Blood River secrets. He battles with the 18 swords and strikes a hard blow at the three. It is determined that they can leave the battle unharmed and go their ways if they give up the tower and accept new guidelines. They agree with the terms and Muyu makes his way into the tower and shuts the doors. Changhe is disappointed they didn’t tie up loose ends by killing them all but acquiesced to Muyu’s suggestion. The shadow sect leader realizes he has lost the bet but it is not revealed what happened to him yet. This episode was packed with well choreographed battles and huge strikes from big talent. It was exciting to watch and now waiting to see what all is actually inside the tower.
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Uncle Zhe has taken on the prince in the temple while everybody else is keeping the guards at bay. HongYing disguised herself as shadow sect leader but they did not know he had left a command that not even he could enter the prison. The guards are minimal but an array has been set up that will keep them in check. There is a flashback to see the plan of taking Wanjuan Tower to destroy all the intel shadow sect has on them. Rabbit has forfeited he best Muyu spider to give him a drop of antidote. He is not enthused eating a spider.😂 Muyu knows they need an assist and he starts creating a sword that will fall from the heavens. He is asking his father for strength to make his righteous sword. There is a lot of action and Mu Ciling has not come into play yet. He has learned that Muyu broke the bonds of a life-death contract and Mu Ciling wants to know how. They need to get Muyu out to find out how he did it. HongYing is disguising herself as the heaven rep of the three so two down and only water left. Water rep is actively engaged in helping them now because he wants to live with no strings attached. This common wish has allied many unexpected people. Things are heating up and battle is going to be intense.
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Changhe takes on the prince and runs into guardian azure dragon. Uncle Zhe comes to the rescue and thanks to a past favor they were left go tho lady dragon was not happy about returning the favor. Muyu is still in prison and the poison has allowed him to have a dream with his father and remember a New Year’s Eve with Changhe. It is unclear what the poison can do long term, but for now it lets him dream. The healer notices that Changhe and Mu leader are both faking the extent of their injuries. They continue the act for the shadow sect liaison and bargain to have shadow sect assist for a second attempt at the prince. The shadow sect leader thinks he controls by having Muyu in prison with the advantage of Changhe being willing to comply but wounded. It remains to be seen how helpful the shadow sect will actually be.
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After the failed negotiation Muyu sends a message to Changhe. Changhe invites healer to go to Tianqi City with him to find Muyu. Uncle Zhe is still watching, passing intel and testing Muyu. I find myself annoyed that he tests Muyu at a brothel and has his weapon. This proved inconvenient when the three from Soul Raptors hall shows up to imprison him for shadow sect leader. They are convinced Changhe is the easier mark because of his avarice and ambition. Uncle Zhe is fending off honeypot while Muyu takes on the three in the street. Here we see he has inherited the finger sword from his father which came in handy. Miracle physician wanted to give him grief about location but had to shut up when her father was the culprit.😝she does give him medicine for his injured finger before he is taken away by water rep to shadow prison. Here, he seems to be testing the waters with Muyu to decide if he’s going to help or not. Changhe is greeted by Crow who still thinks he has the upper hand. Episode ends with Changhe questioning him about the status of his head if he moves. Here I do not know if this is an improvised plan to appear weak at first or a misstep by Uncle. If misstep, he picked a fine time to stop watching and to start meddling.😝🙄Changhe is the most interesting as he is the wildcard they can’t predict. The eunuch and prince think they will use shadow sect as Blood River whetstone. Where the shadow sect doesn’t really care about Blood River if they get rid of the prince, the prince and eunuch have definite plans to keep them as a formidable blade. The only good thing of the confrontation is earth rep was killed so one less to deal with. The story still moves at a nice pace. I enjoy the machinations so more dialogue and less battle still worked for me. They are building up to a much bigger fight because the one thing Changhe will want is the Yellow Rivers’ pawn shop token the shadow sect has and Muyu wants Wanjuan Tower’s intel destroyed to gain freedom for Blood River.
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The Yellow Springs pawnshop was an interesting place. For all the wealth and weaponry revealed, I think the only thing Muyu would ever really want from there is his father’s sword. That room showed him the lifeblood of the people he grew up with and that sword had a major impact on him. Changhe is adding up the riches and i\brings out his hell palm with the three from Soul Reapers hall. It is interesting that the water rep is most sympathetic with their cause. He recognizes that the labels placed on them wasn’t by choice and he wants to go with the group that simply wants to live their lives as they see fit without being an enslaved blade. The one holding the token left out the detail that it was a fake and would not help in the least in retrieving any items. The key is essential to neutralize all traps but the token is required to take out anything. They did have the surprise of finding out that they had already paid the fee for anything they would want. Changhe and Muyu have separated and Muyu is accepting the invitation in the city. Changhe shows up with the current head of Mu clan and has declared the ferryman his. This is where he finds out that the shadow sect holds the token they need. For unknown reasons he has made HongYing a Mu and promises whatever purchases her to be paid when they get the token. She agrees and has no problem with this exchange. The pawnshop owner is less enthused but seems willing to go along with the exchange. Muyu is tested by the shadow sect. They want to control Blood River as their own enforcement personnel. They have all intel to include pics of every assassin and the leader uses this to blackmail Muyu to kill the Prince. Muyu surprises him and the eunuch by being very aware of what they are asking and who truly benefits. His deal is to have all intel destroyed and that they will be separate entities with no ties if he agrees to have the Prince killed and anger the entire world. The leader isn’t biting and calls the negotiation finished. Muyu downs two more shots and says that they don’t have to strike a bargain but that Blood River would stop at Tianqi City first and wipe the shadow sect off the face of the world. He was quite serious and gave them something to think about. Muyu tried to visit the Imperial Astronomical Bureau his father took him to as a child, but he was rebuffed. I wonder if the elder would have felt the same if he knew Muyu’s origins. It also seems that the favors for the shadow sect included dealing with the elder Tang and drawing out Lianyue. It is said he was also killed but I hope this to not be true. We will now get to see how the ghost and undertaker take on the political machinations behind the scenes of Blood River.
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The miracle physician and Muyu have established their clinic and daily all the available women come in hopes of catching Muyu’s eye. Apparently his cooking skills are quite lacking.😂 This led to a thoughtful scene with healer and Muyu over some healing chicken soup that reminded her of her passed mentor. This makes the meal bittersweet for her as she is reminded how she learned to make it, tho she is also proud her skill exceeds Muyu.😂 They are visited by a traveler who came to see Muyu. He is invited to dinner but because he can cook.😂 He shares a bit of what he learned and the two take time to appreciate his skills. There is another visitor that is less friendly. There was some reference to a repeated scene but unfortunately I am not familiar with the other stories so missed the tongue in cheek humor of it. The miracle physician is a fangirl of Muyu’s colleagues. 😂 She knows their skill techniques and has the audacity to want to see the frost sword in action. She is very capable in using family and social ties to her advantage to give her access to conversations she is not really part of. This ended with all four sharing a meal and some special wine. The healer pretends to be drunk so she can listen to their conversation and so they think they have privacy. The two visitors are not happy that Muyu is not the patriarch and have some strong opinions about Changhe. Just as the one was heating up in her speech, Changhe himself shows up to comment. There is a brief test between the frost woman and him and a temporary truce as long as Blood River has nothing to do with the towns and are moving to other side and becoming new as promised. Muyu’s healing time is over and he is called back to assume his responsibilities to Su clan. While he and Changhe talk, Changhe reveals the secret of the second sword. He shows Muyu the key and surprisingly he is well aware of what the key belongs to…the Yellow Springs pawn shop. The episode ends with Muyu and Changhe traveling with the soul reapers and an eerie body shifter that can change both face and gender at will. By the time they reach the pawnshop, she has become a he loudly knocking on the door. As Changhe and Muyu enter, there is a man crazily working an abacus and unhappy with the results. He slams it down on the floor and demands them all to be killed. What is unclear is who he is referring to. This story continues at a nice pace that draws in known characters while still introducing them to those like me unfamiliar with the side stories. It does a fine job of combining humor and tension so that the story progresses nicely without the humor feeling overdone. It lightens the mood and helps story transition to more serious topics by showing the camaraderie and rivalry between the assassins.
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This episode wraps up Shin’s Project and how Judge Kim created a Conflict resolution task force. His goal is to make laws used to cater the rich and powerful leveraged by sharp negotiation skills and settling out of court. The objective is to have justice be fair to all rather than the richer party of lawsuit. Jang does get married and whether grandchild was fact or fiction, that gave the groom’s parents negotiating room for 50-50 compliance. Hacker Kim and Philip do work together well with the Give and Take business but get legitimacy with the court and badges to prove it. This lets hacker Kim’s efforts be legal. Shin took some leave out of country but came back ready to deal with fraudulent lawsuits. Philip’s negotiations with claw machine boy is especially cute. Those two little ones will rule when grown up. 😂 Philip chose well with his first boyfriend gift and Si On is in girlfriend mode while choosing to go to police academy. The medical director gets payback from his student and won’t need an appeal anymore.😝 The future looks bright as Choi and partner get promotions and his boss is now superintendent. They are welcoming a new Philip to the group who wants to do some real work as a judge that helps the people more. The drama wrapped up nicely and left no loose ends. It is free to end here or to continue as an actual task force vice project in a season two. They are no longer just an experiment but an active unit ready to assist the common people most taken advantage of by manipulative law practices. The chicken place is back in business and ready to take on bullied clients. This is a good watch with suspense and humor and with a cohesive cast that work together well. It is not flawless but enjoyable nonetheless. Shin draws us in to his world and we see the machinations sometimes needed to field the shades of gray that shelter the rich and powerful. He helps give voice to the ones needing help to be heard and recognized.
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This was a very emotional episode. The director thought he had hidden his tracks well with both Catherine’s father and Jun’s killer. He is the most disgusting of the lot because he hid under cover of decency and concern for patients care. Shin abducted his would be murderer and things got interesting when killer’s phone went off. Shin’s team did an excellent job of delegating responsibilities and closing in on the actual culprit. Choi’s detective team and Philip helped Shin have the appearance of staying on the right side of the law. Philip is learning negotiating skills from the master and even tho he was brought to task for his shortcomings, Shin thanked him for his sincerity in keeping him alive and negotiating for him. Shin’s grief for his son is palpable even 15 years later. His team comes with food and drinks to try to get him back on track and again judge Kim is there to get him up and share a meal. The team’s toast at the chicken shop was a nice touch. They finally all meet and share their support for getting Shin through the negotiations. Choi proved that the medical director was trying to kill the killer and everything else they got on Shin’s phone as he recorded the interaction of director and killer. The medical director was very arrogant in thinking he had control of the situation and when he said Jun’s death was just an accident, Shin lost it. That director deserved every blow he received and then some.😝There was an epilogue with this episode so not sure if they combined the last two episodes or still one left. With the ending it could go either way. Choi did some big healing when Shin shook his hand and thanked him. He has spent so long carrying the guilt of that incident and never expected forgiveness. Shin is healing too as he remember his son and can now smile. It has been a long road for him and his friends, but the healing has finally really begun. There will now be a conflict resolution squad working with the court and just as when started, there is a small business that needs resolution quickly. This time Philip wants to try handling it. Jang is getting married so unclear if coming back or staying where he is. They showed the director fighting for an appeal so maybe last episode is still coming. This show was interesting in how all these cases intermingled to form a team and bring justice for Jun’s death. Everything was brought full circle and nicely handled. They have paved a way for a season two if they choose, and if so, I will be sure to watch. The cast and production did an excellent job of showing us the trials of a negotiator and how gray some things turn out to be. This is definitely worth the watch and I am hoping for a season two with a new department added to the court.
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Loved the battle with Mu Ciling. I think he was the one that best understood their abilities even tho kept in a coffin so long. For now it is a stalemate with a promise to meet again at a future date. Changhe looked out for Muyu even when he did not expect his friend to continue their plan. He was the most surprised that Muyu accepted it but reversed their roles. Rabbit is still lying about hoping for another encounter with Lianyue. The Zodiacs were not enthused with sword bearer but followed Muyu’s cue to accept the new leadership. The old patriarch was killed before he could see what the duo would do to make a new Blood River. I think he expected this. As usual higher management is playing games and staying aloof from those actually fighting.😝🙄 The healer has found a way to prosper from Muyu’s changed status and location. 🤣 She is shameless in taking advantage of the lovelorn while still intermittently finding those really needing healing. Muyu seems to be taking it all in stride and silently grinds herbs for cures after treating the healer to osmanthus cakes. His history of 18 sword retrieval is funny and good for him that Changhe’s ego got him a quality umbrella😂 These two will certainly change things as they have always planned. It just remains to be seen how those changes take shape in the face of reality. Changhe returns the favor of assisting Muyu this time as Muyu helped him from the abyss years ago. I am glad their friendship remains intact in spite of the odds. I am also glad Muyu is sticking around to help Changhe not find his baser self but keep some bottom line he won’t go lower than. I do wonder how long that will last but hope for the best. It is a shame the Xie champion was killed to make way for the other side. Changhe’s members arrive just as Zodiac’s pledging to Changhe as Patriararch. Changhe has discovered the key to the secret room old Patriarch mentioned. Now to find out how much power the patriarch really has. The story continues at a good pace and remains interesting.
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Muyu and healer learn there are two swords for patriarch. They are exact except for the one still with patriarch that has the secret of Blood River. This is revealed to new patriarch via a secret room the sword opens. There are a couple cute scenes with Rabbit and Lianyue. She steals a blade from him and treats it as love token. When he notices it gone, he chooses to leave it with her, so she may be right. She gets him to feed her medicine and then later a meal. But as charming as she is, he refuses to put off his vendetta any longer and heads to patriarch. The Su clan has changed leadership with no bloodshed. That I find interesting in this clime where death determines who’s in charge. Mercy is a very rare commodity here. Changhe has started his own group identified with rings saying ‘the other side’. This group wants to dissolve Blood River and live their own lives in the light. He offers this opportunity to Muyu who sees it as causing more death and destruction than progress. He seeks the impossible—change with minimum bloodshed. The patriarch has accepted the personal battle with Lianyue and ends up being poisoned again. This time, his end is near. He shares some thoughts with Lianyue about why he was drawn to battle and then addresses Muyu and Changhe. He leaves the sword with his chosen two for them to determine how things will proceed. He shares with them a bit of his history and how he and host were friends like Muyu and Changhe. In the end, despite their differences, his friend sacrificed himself to save him and Muyu was not bound by a life-death contract, but a choice of loyalty and service. These two acts moved him to realize he was not as alone as he had thought. He shared that when young, he too wanted a different Blood River, but that as time went by, he found himself becoming one of them. He told them the Soul Reaper trio were mere puppets for yet another power pulling the strings — that the patriarch was the blade for that power. He bid them farewell saying he would burn the nest to the ground and hoped he would never see them again since he figured he would drop to hell once he died. He hoped Muyu would take up the blade but he knows it will end up with Changhe. As Muyu and Changhe discuss their plans and the fact that however they proceed, they have never lost when working together. This is where Mu Ciling shows up with the water reaper to earn his cure. All he has to do is kill Muyu and Changhe. His challenge is met with Muyu immediately going to 18 sword move and the episode ends. This drama smoothly tells a lot of story in little time. The cast and production team have done an excellent job in making this world real and drawing us in to the story. Whatever source is the power behind the puppet Soul Reaper Hall has a rather insidious means of staying in power by having the best of them cull themselves for the sword ensuring that the patriarch would have no powerful base but themselves to confront them. This ensures the patriarch stays their blade rather than become a rival power source and keeps the Blood River members in perpetual servitude to their wishes. I would really like to see Muyu’s and Changhe’s loyal groups challenge that entity.
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Changhe bets Muyu will defeat in one move. I did smirk as a puddle defeated him and washed him back in the building in front of his superiors. Nice move to humble a swordsman that steals souls as well as lives. Muyu gave the master the option to wield the Dormant Dragon sword by allowing Blood River members to decide for themselves whether to remain or leave. Their negotiation is interrupted by the coffin carrying Mu Ciling. He is promised a cure if he brings the sword back to Mu clan. Master Su had an impressive array of moves, but forfeited much sooner than I expected. He admitted defeat and was taking his clan home. Muyu arrives late to find healer with the sword and one of his men dead. The blow he received pierced his heart and was not repairable. The crazy Mu offered the life of a second man if he yielded the sword. Since Muyu values life, he gave up the sword but returned a message of how he would kill with his own hands the Mu leader no matter where he went or how he disguised himself. Muyu definitely made it a promise not just a threat and while the leader laughed the rest of his clan were more nervous. When Mu Ciling left to find the one with his cure, the Xie clan reminded the Mu clan that having the sword was only part of it. They had to return for it to be official. Uncle Zhe is watching from the sidelines expecting a good fight. The patriarch is met by the water rep of the Soul Reaper three. The reaper expects an easy victory and finds out the patriarch is healed. He slinks off for the time being but I am glade the current patriarch wants them gone and has built a peaceful place for members to retire to. I do not know if Muyu knew he had delivered a fake sword or not but the healer was definitely surprised. The battles are getting more intense and it really is a free for all with the clans. I am waiting to see if Mu Ciling has more to do as he is an interesting character. He was impressed with Muyu’s strength and message and did not try to battle him immediately. I find this interesting too. Changhe sets himself apart making it clear he doesn’t want to leave Blood River when Muyu was bargaining with Dormant Dragon sword. This does reverse the positions these two had earlier as Muyu considered it home and Changhe definitely did not. I wonder how long it will take the Mu’s and Xie’s to figure out the sword is not the only one.
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The host and patriarch have history like Muyu and Changhe. Some disagreement was there, but was set aside so he could draw poison from patriarch. There is a debt remaining he said to deal with in next life. Muyu sees him off after being sure host wanted no further contact with patriarch. He gives Muyu the nest and Muyu gives to Wen clan. Seems healer will get the building she wanted. Muyu was moved by his team and assured him he would get them home with honor. He did not commit to becoming patriarch. Coin tosser Mu has framed Uncle for the murder and most believe it. This and Changhe claiming Xie kill has united both clans against Su clan. The Patriarch was thrown when he learned what host did. He takes a bit of time to mourn him. His grief is interrupted by finding out who healer is. This causes him wrath against the Uncle. Muyu interrupts. The Patriarch is once again shaken as he realizes Muyu followed and protected by loyalty, not death contract. This is also where we learn his sword training negated the contract and his father taught him loyalty was most important. Muyu asks for Changhe’s life as payment for his service. Patriarch then asks who should inherit Dormant Dragon sword. The name wasn’t revealed. The Mu’s have gone next level crazy with the casket request from Soul Reaper hall. It has not been completely opened yet, but it is clear a new level of hell will be cut loose when it is. It is not clear if Mu elder buys the lie of Uncle Zhe being his son’s murderer or not. Rabbit and Lianyue have a moment of cuteness where she demands to have her medicine fed to her. Changhe is surprised to hear Uncle Zhe has killed Mu champion rather than healer. He makes it clear it wasn’t under his orders, so Su clan still has no clue Zhe is healer’s father. Muyu has gone to Su clan to see the master and is challenged by the guard. They are making bets inside about how many strikes Muyu will give him before ending it. The story continues at a good pace as almost all want a new patriarch and few are willing to wait for him to die or pass it on himself.
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The opening of this episode is well done. Sword aimed at Changhe immediately stopped by younger Xie clan member stabbing elder. That was unexpected by me but the smirks between Changhe and younger Xie said a forgone conclusion. The Mu’s are an eerie lot that make children and others be puppets for them. I like them least of the three clans after the three wastes in Soul Reaper hall that gloat about causing chaos and ordering Patriarch to do their will. These three seem to be the most worthless of them all and the driving force of everything wrong and most challenged by Blood River members. They are obeyed by force but have no loyal subjects so waiting to see how they will be dealt with as story progresses. The next fight of Changhe was against a top Mu family member. While he was battling Muyu was also in battle and the drama nicely flashed between battles to give you the highlights of both and demonstrating how well balanced Changhe and Muyu are as friends. I also liked how Changhe gave Muyu the credit for his puppet skills which means these two friends give unexpected skills to each other to help in combat. Changhe again provides humor when he tells the Su members to say how he almost was killed and had done his best. The humor is a nice touch to lighten the scene a bit but it does not distract from story or overdone. Muyu is holding his own to protect the healer. Her family story wasn’t believed by him til surprisingly confirmed by Uncle Zhe who went from wanting to kill her to questioning her closely about her mother. This starts more rebellion as they were not supposed to marry outside the three families, tho ironically the three families are formed by the combat tests and not by blood. At this point Uncle Zhe changes sides to protect his daughter and help her complete her mission. Muyu offers to leave it to them but both request he stays. It is an awkward meeting of father and daughter and neither want to be alone with the other. They continue to patriarch where she reveals that if she cures him she dies. Here the host asks if one can die in her stead and before we get the answer it shifts to the Mu’s. There is discussion how to sway their leader’s mind and the coin tosser turns to him and says his death will. The spider sect surprise Muyu with a show of allegiance to him and to take the Dormant Dragon sword as patriarch when the elder patriarch dies. I do not think he expected such a single mindedness from the group. Muyu’s character has been pointed out for having least expression and wooden face. This is true. However, he is singularly different from all of them. Coming from the no sword place, he was taught to have an aloofness from their craft with weapons. He is not driven by the weapon and this sets him uniquely apart from the rest of them. While he is still labeled an assassin, he uses his skills to defend more than kill and has to have a reason he thinks valid to be a blade for another. As the new snake member pointed out, he is the light of Blood River. When fusing scenes together the production team does an excellent job of broadening depth to the story and understanding while not diminishing the flow of the various battles to storyline. This is unique for me as a viewer.
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