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KJ2025 This episode had an excellent battle where we finally get some answers. Qi figured out that 6 species could handle the black sand and mutate. All these combined materials Changsheng made into pills that mutated humans. The Otherworld patriarch was willing to sacrifice cities of people to accomplish his methods. This was foiled by the woman with the lustrous hair. She saw the fallacy of his methods and that it wasn’t magic but the mutations and distorted memories that made it seem supernatural. She wrote out how to destroy it all for good after consuming all the remaining pills. XiaoYu was given the job to get Qi to safety. Wu and Huo were tk find the fruit if the morning glory and Zhang was to take on Hatoyama so that he would not be the first to get to the sand. Huo and Wu saw what had happened with the failed method attempt and found the lady’s message. After burning her hair the area collapsed and they found themselves in the river where they discovered Qi and XiaoYu. One other reveal while underground was Zhang;s orders from the ministry of war to destroy the mystic nine. Underground Zhang was taking in the soldiers that can’t die and was happily surprised when unit 401 came to assist. Here there was much sacrifice as Zhang shared how to kill them for good by getting the tendons and back of neck stabs. They used grenades and other explosives to take them out yelling their names for Zhang to remember. When his ring activated, the tattoo kicked out the sand in his system and let him kill off the enemy troops. He knew Wu and Huo had successfully purged the fruit of the flower when the sand started disappearing and Hatoyama’s men dropped like flies. Perfect time to take Hatoyama out for good. He realized no sand in his little gold vial as he clicked away with no results. Zhang showed him another use for it.😝👏🏻 He then did a beautiful finishing move that annihilated the Japanese plan to use the sun-moon sand. On riverbank Wu and XiaoYu wanted to go rescue Zhang but Qi said Zhang gave a military order that none should return to look for him. After an explosion they lost hope but saw an exhausted Zhang being assisted by the remnant of unit 401 that still lived. This episode gave us a lot of answers and a satisfying ending to Hatoyama and his elite soldiers. The threat of the sand has been eliminated at its source with no pills left to mutate humans or ability to feed the tower to continue the cycle. The tower and Japanese have been defeated and it just remains to be seen if Zhang will follow his military order concerning the mystic nine. I am hoping there is a way to fake their deaths and have them disappear to wherever they choose to go.
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They sandwiched such sadness between beautiful proposal and Bai Hui’s thank you for ZeQiu finding her in pieces and putting her back together. 😭🌹🥰 I wish they would have shown a Cat Cafe with her name and Shen petting a cat and toasting her. Bai Hui got the coolest lines in the episode with her book thank you. Yu Bai had the best walk down memory lane proposal. I liked that they showed him with exam certificate after all his time away from school and that they were the perfect pair onstage for their Alma mater. Glad the bickering was toned down for Duan and TingTing. The school speech at the end was ok but something more familial with just that group would have made the ending perfect. The school memories fell a bit flat for me since they invested so much time in that arc. Them looking to future and maybe at a cat cafe would have been a chef’s kiss of creative choice and maybe a bit of hope for poor Shen who was always the odd man out with the couples.
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Bai Hui finally gets a real conversation with her parents. Ze Qiu shines as the right choice for her. I hope the parents travel and give them some peace and find some happiness for themselves. The second leads have become official. This felt forced but where the story wanted to go. The same with his wanted employee having enough popularity now to appease the board members. ZhiXia was told to hand her project over to Tan. Even he fought to keep her there. The Director was a bit mysterious about a follow-up meeting the next day. Yu Bai is her comfort so she can get sleep. 🥰 He finally got to delete Peng off his contact list. YuBai has his life back unbound by the family debt his dad stuck him with exclusively. ZhiXia is now asked to participate in a top secret government project where she has to live on location and can’t tell anybody what she’s doing. YuBai steps up to be her gravity as she had been his through the debt years. These two are so damn awkward in some ways, but at their core they are far beyond their years in accepting the curveballs life throws at you and working through them. These two have been the most willing to sacrifice their proximity to each other knowing their gravitational pull will keep them in same orbit no matter the distance. That is a huge leap of faith. Dr Shen is sending his patient abroad with high hopes she will return. I like that she put the picture on the heart side of the badge rather than the front. She is more realistic as she chooses to say goodbye without looking back or making more promises. She keeps them in Dr /patient status while holding him close in her heart privately and asking him to do the same for her. YuBai and Prof Liu are a very interesting mesh of mentor and student/ family relationship. YuBai earned his place by outlasting the old man’s complaints and the older man recognized the true talent behind the craftsman and kept urging him to aim higher. YuBai has accepted that challenge and wants a grad student status to learn particle physics. He gets to turn the table on the mentor by saying thanks but no thanks to being his student. I would love serendipity to have YuBai show up on same project as ZhiXia. 😁wedding plans are in the works for our favorite Bai Hui ZeQui couple so hopefully that happens before ZhiXia has to disappear from the world as she knows it. So glad these episodes are doing their best to make up for the very long school arc.
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Love YuBai’s binary star gift😍❤️ This let her see and recognize their true feelings. This was another unique proposal which shows how lucky both girls are to have guys that truly understand them. 🥰❤️ I enjoyed the moment between prof Liu and YuBai. That was some family like banter that YuBai has had in very short supply from his real family. Duan’s proposal will be whether or not he chooses to stay with the company that doesn’t back his ideas. They did not even try to compromise which is why he feels so betrayed. Ting Ting can knock sense into him with two finger taps to the head.🤣😂 ZhiXia did not listen to all of Yu Bai’s instructions and then complained about getting scolded.🤣😂 He will always put her on a pedestal, but now acknowledges he needs to hear her objectively and speak up when there is a difference of opinion. The Lin family is so different from the Jin family. Here they unite to disagree with ZhiXia’s opting for work. Here I wish there was a compromise for her too since school seems a more selfish choice when not contributing to the family. But her family recognizes she is a unique talent that should have top priority contributing to the world in general before family. Love these characters. 🌹
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Bai Hui is the luckiest girl ever even with her horrid parents. This is where Lin Ze Qiu proves he is indeed Zhi Xia’s brother. 🥰 He has so meticulously researched every detail in finding a home. He is just waiting for her to decide. From beginning to senior years he has considered it all and to be with her every step of it. 🥰❤️personally I think second lead would be happier with the diner gal and she with her actor, but they don’t want the story to go that way. And I really want to see the doc find a girl instead of looking off in the distance resigned. It was nice to see the two rivals accept each other and get past their love of same gal. The main leads, they are finally admitting their feelings, but hands down her brother and Bai Hui won best couple scene. I was teary eyed over them and could only say ‘bout damn time with main leads. She should not have bailed out that tyrant professor, but she is who she is and set the right example as a colleague and mentor. Hopefully he learns more from her than barely sharing resources. 😝🙄
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Wu finally finds out most of the details surrounding the 401’s whereabouts and confrontations with Japanese. They were used to coerce Wu into finding better quality Sun-moon sand. He ultimately persuaded them to let him search with unit 401 men but only gets supplies for 3 day stints. He figured out how to use the herb to put them in stasis for over a month while he escaped to outside via the casket. When the zainiangniang helped him out it is not clear if the creature wanted to help him or tossed him down the waterway in frustration he couldn’t get to him. Huo finds the notes she left for herself and her hallucination reveals how she can save herself. She is the only one that knows the morning glory fruit keeps the cycle going. If she destroys it, the Japanese can’t get it and she can escape the tower. Wu and Zhang finally make peace as Zhang helps him remember he did not betray his country or unit 401. The one he shot wanted him to to save him from the pain of turning into a creature. XiaoYu finds the trap they set and wends his way through to cut the cord so Qi can enter. They use the sand pills to re constitute the soldiers there and the remnant of them can finally leave. Wu found out that any who died were killed by Japanese and that he had retaliated by killing them. He set them up in a space to survive and were discovered. He finally understood why Zhang shot his brother and peace was restored between the two of them. Huo was made to eradicate Wu from her heart because total isolation was her only path to saving herself and escaping. This is the sad reason she and Wu were never the couple they should have been after the tower. Whether this was her fate because it had to be or because she thought that was the only option, we don’t really know. The sand definitely made her believe that to be her only truth and path.
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This was both a fun and thoughtful episode. We see more of the past where Kang Ha Gi is the warm extrovert that makes a bullied quiet Lee Chan feel welcomed. The picture with a girl between them might hint at what caused such a dramatic change in HaGi as an adult. Ha Gi’s misunderstanding as she buys wine is so funny. 🤣😂 Luna being his trusted confidante is even funnier. 🤣 Chan gets a date with her at his place and he is the only one that has a bigger shrine to himself than she does.🤣😂 It was a very cool moment when he shared the new song with her. Da Reum’s dream date had actually happened until his stalker ex showed up. She completely ruined the vibe and trashed the evening for both of them. Ha Gi is living his worst nightmare letting his niece and nephew stickerfy his house. He is horrified at the mess they left. 🤣😂 He is out trying to find sticker removal anything when he sees Da Reum almost catatonic in the middle of the road. After rescuing her he ends up injuring his wrist and Da Reum feels even guiltier. Him and that pink glove.🤣😂 She becomes his hero when she rushes over to help him update his pitch for the company. Not only that she gives him his favorite wine which he thinks she purchased with love intentions, and the most important thing of all…..she helped him remove all the stickers. She knows it is the only way he can be at peace in his own home. 🤣😂 Both men have come to very different places after surviving great tragedy but their friendship survived it. Da Reum is becoming a ballast between them. She understands both of them for very different reasons and they are drawn to her like moths to a flame. This episode was quite enjoyable and wanting to know what happens next.
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Huo emerges and runs into otherworld patriarch again. He left her the note warning the gold flask led to death and that the seed was important. The black sand and pod of morning glory seeds grew the tower. So did Qi’s blood grow towers from their end? Or was it at same time and really all from the seed Huo planted? She is exploring where morning glory plant leads and the men are finding Japanese clues. Wu’s memories are still wonky so it’s a leap of faith for Zhang to put his life on the line that Wu will figure it out in time to save him. The Zainiangniang leads them through the miasma where the trail leads to the lab Hatoyama used to experiment on people. They find the names of unit 401 but haven’t discovered there whereabouts yet. There is one huge creature in the middle of things. Hatoyama has still not been discovered yet tho it seems like the one buried within the wall was wearing a Japanese uniform. This episode was a maze of tower rooms that were very similar to where they first explored. This time the background is Japanese influenced with Hatoyama being the main focus. Will Huo and Zhang’s group meet? Or are they on two completely different paths…one Chinese and one Japanese. Do Changsheng’s methods work and where does all this lead? If there is a way to ensure survival …Qi will find it. 😝🤣
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Tbh this drama had a very rocky start for me. It wasn’t until this episode that I decided to stay and see how it goes. They have gotten passed the drunken, besotted fan girl and have given Nam Da Reum some brains and purpose. She is still gunning for top employee to go to NY with Chan and has almost proved herself innocent of corporate espionage. She is quite truthful and candid in her responses about work history and has proven herself dedicated and hardworking for the company. Kang Ha Gi is fun when he convinces himself it’s the coffee.🤣😂 We get just a bit of Chan’s history with the band and the hard feelings resulting in the disbanding of the group. His candid talk with Da Reum gives mutual understanding of surviving high school at its worst and becoming more. He hasn’t told her he was the one that gave her the necklace all those years ago. The look on his face when she said she’d adored him for 12 years and he had to be a good person just for trying to be one. He was so comforted by the thought that he had done some good for his fans. He is shameless at accepting praise, but he also appreciates it. I have no idea what Da Reum is going to do with that huge banner, but that definitely makes up for that poster that was ripped in half earlier. Kang Ha Gi is not used to caring about anybody. He is thrown off by these new found feelings and has no clue what to do with them. The AI character on his desk has better intuition than he does. 🤣😂 This show has some unexpected thoughtful moments and shows family, friend and work interactions and dynamics. This cast interacts well and embraces the roles they play. I hope they continue to improve the story each episode, which seems to be the case so far. This episode made me want to see what’s next instead of cringing at creative choices like first episode.
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It’s been a mixed bag helping Wu regain memories. The shooting incident brings the most emotional memories from past and present. He subjects Zhang to a trial by the people and finds that he is ruthless with martial law but does not abuse his power to harm innocents. This pacifies him. Zhang makes a group to go find Xumi realm. He, Xiao Yu, Qi and Wu will find the entrance. They enter via the shaft in Teihai house and redo the opera stage where Wu gets to fight last Peng parasite. They find the Japanese campsite but it has been burned to ash leaving no clues. Wu’s cell revealed his notes and Wu’s fear of the place but nothing else. They find a wall identical to the tower wall but not. The Xumi Realm tablet is much newer than it should be. The area has all the spells on the wall Hatoyama bragged about mastering. One is left they had not heard of, revitalizing the tower. This is done by nourishing the seed with the right combo of water and fire. Topside Gen Huo has replaced the missing Zhang with his man. He is claiming cult infiltration and has enforced a curfew and martial law. Zhang’s second has sent two on a secret mission. Huo explores from the other side. She knows the water route of the caskets so enters from that way. She follows Wu’s marks and is the first to run into the much larger Zainiangniang. She figures out the entrance she wants is under water so fearlessly dives in. The episode ends with the four reading the spells and trying to get the right combination to nourish the seed. For once, other than the creature, there is much more activity topside than underground. They have still not revealed what Japan’s repercussions will be for the lost auction.
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This episode takes us right back to the battle for first casket. 6th master did an excellent job getting the second box there. Chen was stuck inside the casket and 6th master had to do the end fighting and heavy lifting. The bottom line, they survived and completed the mission. Cox Hendry helped get the casket shipped out but wanted to make a deal for trade. Zhang refused knowing the Americans, real objective was Changsha. Officer Luo confirmed with Xie that armed groups would soon be outlawed and eradicated. At most mystic nine had 30 days left before disbanded. While Zhang has a pretty good idea of what’s coming, I was surprised that Xie didn’t tell him the timetable. Wu as a mummy 😱 Qi knew how to rescue him, but the result was no memory. Wu had put a map in his arm and had a pill in his hand. With Qi’s knowledge of the turtle breathing they restored Wu to his usual self physically, but his memories were swiped. Even Huo couldn’t make him recall her. When leaving the auction house with Xin Yue’s dad, he offered her an experimental drug to try. Maybe this will get her through black plague symptoms. Tottori is a one man band screaming for justice for the Japanese. Unfortunately he has clout in all the wrong places but hopefully Huo has been successful in undermining his activities and his confidence. He still plans scorched earth and that is probably the judgment coming in a month about armed groups. Wu is funny that he wants the noble’s house rather than his dog business home. 🤣😂 It is also funny that even with no memory XiaoYu is still puppy Zhang to him.🤣😁 He has figured out he and Zhang are far from best friends but his memories are still scrambled. The fake shooting of his second brought all the memories back. He is very angry in that scene unfolding a second time. Now he can start filling in in what happened in Japanese camp. Hopefully he has intel on their future plans. The story is still being told well. There a foreshadowing that it will be a somber ending for mystic nine. Hoping that mystic nine shooting scene was fake like Wu’s second. 🤞
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Jin and Ju make an exciting exit from vehicle right before vehicle hits the water and bomb goes off. Park is guarding Jin and completely misses Jin’s escape to his family home. He and cameraman looking for the chairman and a fake bomb is found instead. They head to the bunker where a real bomb goes off. The photos turned out to be fakes and Jin figured out what they wanted. The two bombers carefully planned for no casualties trying to comply with their dying father’s last wish to get the Jin house back. Since that wasn’t an option they blew a hole via the bunker to recover their family treasure chest. Turns out their ancestor colluded with Japan and served as a corrupt officer that seeded their business from the money and properties stolen from his victims. The two sons created an industry with this money and the father of the two bombers was one who was never successful at any enterprise he tried. The great treasure chest was hiding the evidence that proved them guilty of collusion. Jin I Su got to play a hero in the documentary revealing the brothers’ story. Jin I Su…the detective for the people. He is all happy the interim boss is heading back to counter terrorism dept. There is a replay of fanfare for the new boss and Jin gets to re greet Ju Hye Ra 🤣😂 She has decided to come back to Violent Crime Team one. Jin I Su aka nut job is most enthused with her return.🤣😂 Second episode picked up story and moved along nicely. We get a glimpse of why Ju HyeRa is obsessed with that area and plant. This is most likely why she wanted to return. Park and Choi are happy with her decision. Choi catches Park and Yun going out on a date. 😁 Next episode will show how the team takes form with new boss officially chosen. I am enjoying the cast interactions and think it’s off to a decent start.
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Tottori is determined to involve Japan with the last two artifacts. Here 6th master does an excellent job posing as an opium dealer and gets the price bumped up to 600k by the real opium dealer in a private seat. Both Zhang and Tottori plan to bid on last one and steal the purchased one. Officer Luo is also keeping a close eye on things. Xie looks like he passed out as first transaction completed. Tottori starts bid with 300k and thinks he has it wrapped up with his don’t outbid hydrangea placed on curtain. Zhang steps up and places a blanket bid. This pushes price to 1 million but Tottori had more personal funds than they anticipated. He rallied the Chinese by refusing to give Japan such an artifact. This had every local contributing to his account, making them match at 2.45 million. Huo bravely offers last 200k bump and shocks Tottori by giving it to Zhang for them to win. Every Chinese person in there felt pride depriving Japan of Chinese treasure. This unfortunately makes Tottori go scorched earth on any contact Huo has. He figures she will die soon without the cure and will annihilate anyone she knows that caused him to lose bid. The Americans are backing XinYue and have the required travel permit to move artifact. They successfully circumvent the Japanese outside. Inside the powers that be move slowly even when urgent. 😝 He gets his warrant after everybody is gone. Huo boldly goes to claim her cure but finds herself surrounded instead. Leader of XinYue escorts her out and his military force cannot touch her since she is an employee of XinYue. Huo might be out of luck against black plague but she finally gets to see that little man thwarted at every turn. The downside is he plans to return the favor. It was fun watching them improvise to counter Japan and merge Chinese resources. To have that yoke off for even a moment was pretty satisfying all around. The focus now shifted to first chest and both sides will give no quarter in obtaining it. Masters 2and 6 fight brilliantly when the Japanese show up. Now even chest owner claims chest for China and to keep Japan from getting it. Everybody has sustained injuries. The fight scenes nicely choreographed but glad opium seller had a gun. That made it more real than only a sword at a gunfight. Now it was a mini war of China vs Japan. Loved his comment when his servant said they should run. They should leave and don’t belong here. Beat the Japanese. 😝😁👏🏻 He tells the masters the chest is theirs and to keep it in China. Chen is finding himself face to face with a mummy and 6th master is outmanned and outgunned when episode ends. They kept this a nail biter with battle lines made even clearer between Chinese Japanese and Americans. Hoping Zhang gets resources to them soon. They hopefully anticipated how hard Japan would go for artifact. Now have to wait til tomorrow.😝
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Everything is set to drive up prices for lower level auctions. Zhang and Xie are suspect and Tottori calls to try to verify. His man locally discovered Zhang but he was handled by mystic nine and can’t divulge they’re not who they say they are. XinYue’s father suspects Zhang is present and staying in a back room for plausible deniability. He wants to spare his son in law but a mysterious backer wants to be sure he still follows the rule of the house which would ne yo behead Zhang upon discovery. Tottori coerces Huo to eat some shrimp and she recognizes her cure depends on appearing compliant. Xie is thrown off course bumping into Officer Luo. So is the ministry of war the secret backer of XinYue restaurant? I am just hoping it’s not a resurrected creepy eunuch. The first item for upper level is being bid on and program showing both boxes end episode. This episode is all about the cat and mouse game between the private rooms. I enjoyed the brief interlude of the Zhang couple. Xinyue is audacious and quick on her feet improvising. She threads the needle for her husband and father quite well.Now to see how the bidding goes for the main attraction.
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Zhang has figured out a way to circumvent General Huo and get 9th master transferred to Beiping. 3rd and 4th master exchange barbs at the river, but this time 3rd master has something Chen wants enough to work with them at the auction, the location of his master’s wife’s grave. This confirms his compliance with Zhang;s plan. Qi was much less successful with 6th master, but did find out that only women move him to action. Ms Bai had the means to persuade him. 2nd and 3rd masters collecting their net worth to add to auction fund. As they get on the train for Beiping, they split up into three groups, to for the invitations and one for the money. 9th master and Zhang wonder about the evolution or sacrifice of the mystic nine. It is interesting that Xie worries most about those moving forward to change with the times carrying the sacrifices of those that chose to die. He worries how lonesome their path will be while Zhang’s sees himself the unbreaksble defense line because if the strength of those that cleared the way with the ultimate sacrifice. Ticket one is procured and second group preparing for ticket two. Huo and Tottori are traveling to auction and the black plague marks are more prominent now on Huo. The scene shifts to General Huo and 3rd master. He is steered away from Beiping with the threat of his gun stolen and returned. The general is now even more determined to find an ally that can slice through the Mystic Nine. Zhang cannot get caught entering XinXue restaurant or his life is forfeit. His misstep with lemon grass has it so that his life could be spared as long as never showed face in restaurant. Even his wife and family cannot save him. Judge Shen was murdered on their entry to Beiping and the Japanese have a huge network via their consulate. That is why the ministry of warfare had to host the auction to keep things local without Japanese interfering. It is a very fine tightrope they are walking to get to private seat. Xie and Zhang return successful. The tongue in cheek humor at Qi as they get in the vehicle. 🤣😂 The ministry if War has created an exact replica of the Xinyue auction place and they are pleasantly surprised to see their other two mystic nine members checking in. Xie points out the individuals in ground floor that are not the typical bidders while Zhang heads them to second floor. Huo and Tottori show up for their grand entrance. He wants to charm Huo and she’s having nothing of it. She sees them as stealers of Chinese heritage and he sees them as saving cultures otherwise lost to ignorance or destroyed in wars. Huo is far from agreeing with him and further reminds him that she serves as a consultant nit female companion.😝 He wants to arrange a meeting between the publisher and Huo so an invitation is sent to Zhang. Now they have to hope Tottori has not met him or a diplomatic situation will happen. Waiting to watch Zhang and Huo meet and pretend they don’t already know each other. A closeup of the chests are shown as the episode ends. The auction’s means of security is very interesting with the hearers and blow dart guards.
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