Reviews

Five years later...

I like how they showed us the transition to five years later. That section was done beautifully. 😌 But now after a few no-drama years, we are thrown right back in, starting with Empress Xuan falling ill and only a month or two remaining for her to live. As for a plot driver, of course she wants to see ShaoShang married before her death... well, there's no rush, then, right? 🥺As it turns out, the only person outside Changqiu Palace ShaoShang had met occasionally has been Yuan Shen, and after learning of the Empress's wish he actually offers marriage to her, saying he is willing to wait for the day when she finally forgets BuYi and sees him instead. And to my surprise, she actually agreed to that offer... Was it really only because the Empress wished for it? ShaoShang previously had said that she could live without a husband easily, so what other reason could there be for her to change her mind suddenly? Also, they never talked about what would happen if she never forgets BuYi. Would they just live together with that axe hanging over their marital knot? 🫣🤔And later, when the engaged couple met eye to eye with BuYi, the feelings were all there — the bitter love, unspoken words and lingering levels of yearning between ShaoShang and BuYi, and the glimpses of jealousy from Yuan Shen. Him telling BuYi never to try to interact with ShaoShang anymore just proved that. 😥And Luo JiTong? She's just following around BuYi, almost throwing herself at him and then expecting that he would have developed some feelings and want to marry her? Ahem... lady? Please? 😒🙄

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The adventure begins

Everybody is meeting up and Wu is doing his best to divert Zhang’s attention from Huo. He notes her presence but chooses to let it slide. My first dog was a black masked peke so I have a bias for the dog Wu carries. I like the change to leather uniforms. I was wondering if they were going to continue with the pristine dress ones. 😝 The old wretch in the pleasure house sent off two letters. One saying now was prime opportunity to replace Zhang in mystic nine and the other to an unknown gentleman that he was about to see what he’s been wanting to see. They do another slow glide down the ropes 😝 and head for the site. It is discovered that there are two lever blocks that serve as counter weights. He has the peke take bullets one by one to each block til the weights are balanced and they lower to reveal a very intricate folding of bricks to make an entrance. An offering location is found where the peke found some snacks. Qi’s services are now required to discover next clue. They head for what looks to be a shrine entrance and the only one that has discovered anything is Huo. She notes the mortar from Tongzhi era and not a simple thing to create. The upper wings don’t match so she speculates much bigger inside than appears from from outside. Zhang and Wu’s men are antagonizing each other but Zhang kinda started that aiming his gun at Wu’s face.😝Fortunately Zhang’s guy manages to unlock the door which shuts them all up. Rejuvenation, No way to live, No way to die are words on sealed doors. The wall carvings imply raising from the dead and time intervals. Huo shares a clue location and Wu cleans up the sign that says Otherworld Tower. Qi starts telling the tale of the otherworld patriarch who legend says could role back time and change fates. The emperor coveted this skill and sent 100k troops to Changsha to get the patriarch, but his spell was cast before they ever arrived and every face was blurred in Changsha so the men could not find him, to include the emperor. Zhang hushed him up to say walk and talk while Wu mocked that Zhang got annoyed with Qi too. 😝It is now speculated that unit 401 was looking for the Xumi realm that was supposedly filled with riches to entice people away from the patriarch. The peke has found the men and signals back. Zhang and Wu groups are racing each other to arrive first while Qi finds himself left alone in a dark creepy place lamenting being left behind.🤣 They reach what should have been the destination, but the peke and the men are still 800 meters ahead just like before. They take a water break before continuing. It’s like they run circuits to arrive at same place with same conclusion. Ai catches up and warns them that things will go awry if they separate, but both leaders too determined to have their own way. Huo would actually be the best leader. She is the calm mind of reason while the hotheads have at it. 😝🙄 she is leaving a trace of morning glories for Qiansui to follow later. The three finally find the dog but the men are still not in sight and they are all tired from the spurts of 800 meter dashes. They discovered that the troops always kept 800 meters ahead so a test was done to see if they moved with the dog following. The dog returned with a bloodied 401 patch. It was decided to backtrack and make the troops follow them back. It was a test to see if the 401 had to keep that distance between them. It was seen that depending on the direction the murals welcomed or were demons chasing. In spite of the warning Zhang chose to keep backtracking and set markers with candles. The candles did fall and it was learned that they paced 800 meters from furthest front person. Zhang continues to backtrack planning to drop down with them at the point where they are directly above and below each other. He tossed a grenade and jumped down behind them. Even issuing direct commands they moved as a unit with bowed heads keeping the distance but no other response. Zhang manages to get them to turn around as a unit by turning himself. The group above try to determine the faces but their lights collectively go out. Zhang uses a candle and gets to see the faces close up. It is very quiet and eerie. It is interesting how they are forced to work together and pay attention to their surroundings. I am now wondering if anything is happening with the guys and dogs left behind.

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Change of roles

Oh no, he's turned into an ak-gwi? Was it because of how much Yang energy he has lost? I know he was already low on it, but I wouldn't think it was this low already. 😨🫣Saeng-Gang entering the spirit world to save him made me like the girl even more. 🥹 She's not a passive bystander who can hear things and occasionally lend a hand. She's actually becoming the only one who can save Gu-Cheon. How will she be able to do it? 🤔The palace intrigues are just getting thicker, showing us new layers of how rotten the royal family is. There are deaths upon deaths, yet they look like they are living with a much clearer conscience than they should! 😒And our little guy Ggeomeoksali showed some skills! He's becoming part of the team. Love it! Just please don't drain any more of Gu-Cheon's Yang energy... 🙏🥺

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The unbreakable oath

There is an exchange of intel between Zhang and Wu. They are each given an offer they can’t refuse and both agree to a third option. Zhang will leave the mystic nine in exchange for his wife and men. Wu doesn’t believe him and doesn’t want a paper trail, so they agree to have Qi witness the oath to make sure all parties comply and the penalties for not. Qi finds dealing with both of them a royal pain in the ass.🤣😂 Wu makes it clear he is still owed a life but will rescue the missing. Zhang exits in that pristine uniform that isn’t allowed a speck of dust. Qi gets to find his own way back for not favoring Zhang. 😂The plan is to set out next morning to rescue the men. Ms Zhang, Yin XinYue, greets her kidnappers with a nice set of traps when they come to release her. Wu claims not to hit women while she soundly slaps him.🤣😂 She easily finds out what the deal was between them and applauds. 🤣😂 I like her! She mocks him about an invitation to XinYue Restaurant as a corpse to be sold to highest bidder. That he has so many enemies he would fetch a good price. After leaving a last hit to the three men, she lets loose her last trap and leaves unescorted. Zhang returns to his office at headquarters to find his wife calmly sitting at his desk. He is reprimanded for thinking she couldn’t escape on her own and he counters with a tray of sweets specially purchased for her making note of which successful and which not. 🤣 These two are an interesting pair. He returns her bracelets. She wants him to stay safe and plans to take off to Beiping to help her family business. He promises to comply and go immediately to Beiping when he’s done. It seems Zhang has not won over her father and warned to keep that in mind and do better. He assures her he will make a better impression this time. Zhang gets a message from the Ministry of War that wants him to make a decision about the Mystic Nine. He doesn’t look happy. The next scene is at Taihe Pleasure house where we are introduced to Huo Xian Gu representing the Huo clan of the mystic nine. She is blackmailed by Ding Qiansui who is a wretched old lech with a lien on the Huo household. He offers to pay the money her aunts need and cancel their old debt if she will spy for him while accompanying Wu and Zhang behind the wall. He threatens her with Wu following up about her debts if made aware of them. 😝The women of the clan want her to resign to her fate and if she wants to be officially the leader of the clan, she will have to deal with the old lech and maybe give up on Wu. He gives her a dance and view of fireworks including their departure time of 8Am. We are taken to the site where the guards are fixing a flickering light. The stopped clock and sacks of something are stocked there with a message from a 401 soldier how to fix the light. Is the flickering light a key or indicator of what takes over the men? Story continues to be interesting with peripheral plots converging on this scene.

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Missing —- Unit 401

The Chief Commander, Zhang Qi Shan, arrives on the scene at Changsha Military Hospital to find a freaked out nurse, a child’s ball and all clocks stopped at 12:08AM. We are walked through the nurse’s rounds which go from a routine check on women and children to a spellbound unit of men, eerily silent and filling the entranceway. She is sent out to gather herself and returns to find everyone gone except her. The commander’s unit 401 were right on schedule until they weren’t. The nurse is too unstable to account for anything except the location where everybody disappeared. Evidence points to her truthfulness with medical supplies littering the floor. Further investigation leads to a cavern under the hospital with evidence Unit 401 had been there and now behind a wall. The scene shifts to a temple where 8th master, Qi Tie Zui, has already figured out Zhang is looking for him and tries to escape city posing as a plague corpse in coffin. 🤣He believes he escaped to find himself relocated via coffin to the wall site. 😂 He is told he will be buried properly if he can explain why Zhang was led to the wall. 🤣😂 Here a special seal is noted with a living house on the other side. Unit 401 and medical staff were invited to enter. Here Qi points to 5th master, Wu Lao Guo, having the means to open the mechanism—his dog. There is a flashback where rescued people ate the dogs that rescued them resulting in Zhang killing Wu’s brother right in front of him. Ironically the people that can help Zhang the most with this mystery are those he offended most. Qi is sent via coffin and deposited in front of Wu’s home. 🤣Negotiations met a stalemate. Further clues lead them to Liuyang Kiln where the gold wire basalt bricks were made, a group of self sacrificing brick makers found and two wall messages. Karma will uncover itself. And My Sovereign awaits you. The scene shifts to Wu watching a play where a monkey is opposing the wrong rules inflicted on him by making a mess. Wu never watches the end because the monkey is always caught. He doesn’t like that nobody ever questioned why the monkey made a mess. He is curious why Zhang would request his help with the enmity between them — so he agrees to a meeting as episode closes. This introduction acquainted us to the main players who have very good reason to not get along. Interesting clues and a mystery introduced. The only thing that truly mars this are the very pristine uniforms of the investigating officers as they explore all these ancient, dusty sites. That does take you out of the story a bit as they are doing rather than narrating. Other than that misstep, an interesting introduction.

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Still wasting time on these stupid misunderstandings

This strange drama world where over half the characters are hiding either who they are (such as ShiYue hiding that she is Shi Yan's niece) or hiding their relationship with some other character (most of all the other characters) is just so tired and exhausting and it shows up as pure stupid in the moment when Shu Yi walks into the conference and all three of Shi Yan, Yu You and Yi Yang surround her and want her to sit with them. It's supposed to be funny, I guess? Someone somewhere on the planet thinks it's hilarious? Mostly it just feels exhausting and boring as the same plot conflicts get rehashed again and again.

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