Adventure Behind the Bronze Door Episode 17 Recap
> Adventure Behind the Bronze Door Recap
Returning to the Zhang family village, Wu Xie was greeted by Zhang Xiaoguo, a young boy who greatly admired Zhang Qiling. Zhang Xiaoguo referred to Wu Xie as his master and eagerly hoped to become his apprentice, wishing to learn how to fight the Night King. Seeing the boy's earnestness and innocence, Wu Xie accepted him as a disciple and told him to remember to smile often. Thrilled to have a master, Zhang Xiaoguo bounded away happily.
Later, under a large locust tree, Wu Xie spoke with Zhang Haike. Zhang Haike called over his sister, Haixing, instructing her to give Wu Xie a key she had obtained from Feng. Haixing complied, commenting that she always does as she is told. With this, Wu Xie possessed all three special keys. Zhang Haike explained that he had given Wu Xie everything he could and expressed hope that they could trust each other moving forward to accomplish their task.
He added that these items were from the patriarch and their use was entirely up to Wu Xie, promising his full support if Wu Xie decided to fulfill the patriarch's responsibilities. Zhang Haike then recounted events that transpired after Zhang Qiling entered the Zhang Family Ancient Tower and succeeded as patriarch. Following Zhang Qiling's act of sacrifice, the Zhang family members gained their long-awaited freedom and dispersed across the globe.
Their powerful abilities, usually used with restraint, began to manifest unrestrained among some as they entered the ordinary world. The family divided: one group, like those in the village, chose seclusion and a simple life, while others, driven by desire, abused their powers, causing chaos in the world. Until Zhang Qiling addressed the Night King matter and came to Dejia, where rebellious Zhangs, though initially subdued by his presence, attempted to band together and ambush him but mysteriously vanished.
The patriarch stopped Zhang Nian and then went to the old underground city of Dejia, where he hid the Heavenly Staff and the keys before leaving. It was said he later entered the Bronze Door at Yunding Heavenly Palace to guard the world's ultimate secret. Zhang Haike mentioned that he learned the patriarch had entrusted the crucial Night King matter to Wu Xie, whom he initially found surprisingly ordinary despite testing him multiple times.
However, he now understood the patriarch's choice, realizing that Zhang Qiling, having experienced much betrayal and abandonment from Zhangs, finally trusted Wu Xie, who had demonstrated unwavering loyalty by his willingness to fight alongside him to the death. That evening, the villagers, celebrating Wu Xie obtaining the keys and the potential for success, shared drinks. Wu Xie and Zhang Haike also had a few. As Zhang Haike excused himself to rest, Wang Fatty approached Wu Xie, appearing slightly unsteady.
Wang Fatty offered Wu Xie chicken wings and urged him to check the keys Zhang Haike had given him, suggesting they might be fake. Wu Xie assembled the three keys; they fit together seamlessly into a single key, clearly genuine.
Wang Fatty took the combined key, examined it, and held onto it, his demeanor changing as he spoke aggressively, accusing Wu Xie of not trusting him or caring about his feelings, even mentioning being left alone to sleep without fear of getting cold. Wu Xie tried to retrieve the key, but Wang Fatty refused. Wu Xie thanked him. Suddenly, Wu Xie felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as a dagger was plunged into him.
The person removed their mask, revealing it wasn't Wang Fatty, but Zhang Nian. Zhang Nian confessed he had known Wu Xie's plans from the start and had been watching him, calling Wu Xie careless. He revealed he had used a special, colorless, odorless drug in the wine, powerful enough to incapacitate most Zhangs before he finished his work. After Zhang Nian secured the key, he gave a signal, and several killers descended, starting a massacre.
Zhang Nian declared that all Zhangs, including Zhang Haike, Haixing, and Wang Fatty, were going to die, but offered to spare Wu Xie if he would lead him to where Zhang Qiling had gone. As chaos erupted, Zhang Haike, despite feeling severe pain from the poisoned wine, desperately tried to rouse the villagers, who were feeling ill. Someone urged Wu Xie to go inside, saying he was the most important and needed protection.
Wu Xie protested, insisting he wasn't the most important and they needed to save the others upstairs. Amidst the massacre, Zhang Haike, struggling against the poison, managed to secretly hide the severely wounded Wu Xie. Reports later confirmed Zhang Haike had been captured, Zhang Haixing was missing, and Wu Xie had disappeared. Zhang Nian demanded that Wu Xie be found alive. Speaking with Feng, Zhang Nian was questioned about the massacre.
Feng was angry that Zhang Nian had killed so many people, believing it would complicate things and served no purpose towards their goal of obtaining the Night King. He also criticized Zhang Nian for not consulting him before impersonating Wang Fatty. Zhang Nian dismissed Feng's concerns, thanking him for the information that had made his flawless impersonation successful and allowed him to fool everyone.
He argued that leaking the plan risked failure and that the deaths of insignificant people didn't matter as long as they obtained the key, asserting that everything he did was for their cooperation. Since Wu Xie's body wasn't found, Zhang Nian was confident he was still alive. Zhang Nian then stated he knew where the Heavenly Staff was. Examining the combined key, Zhang Nian realized it was cleverly engraved with a map of the underground drainage system of Dejia City.
Later, as Zhang Nian and Feng reviewed records, Zhang Nian explained they were fragmented pieces of memory Zhang Qiling had recounted to Wang Jinyuan while hiding the staff, as Zhang Qiling was losing his memory at the time. These fragments were messy and unclear. When asked if there was content related to the Night King, Zhang Nian dismissed them as broken memories. To prevent Wu Xie from finding them, Zhang Nian ordered these records burned.
Some time later, Wu Xie regained consciousness, clutching his bleeding abdomen wound. He stumbled out, finding the village silent and covered in blood and bodies. The scene of horror overwhelmed him, and he was consumed by guilt and regret, blaming his carelessness for bringing disaster upon the villagers. He struck his head, muttering, wishing for guidance or a chance to rectify his failure, thinking he had screwed up everything. He felt he was not capable.
He wished he had reacted earlier. In his anguish, he seemed to see a silent vision of Zhang Qiling, whose stillness seemed filled with both anger and sorrow. An internal thought or voice echoed the idea that the patriarch hadn't chosen the wrong person and challenged Wu Xie to think about when he started losing, suggesting that even with another chance, he would make the same choices, even knowing the risk. Memories flooded him – Zhang Xiaoguo's smile, the toast.
He despaired, questioning why things had turned out this way and why those people had died, insisting it shouldn't be this way. He begged for another chance, asking what to do. An internal voice accused him of causing their deaths by running away alone and told him he must remember this day forever.
Realizing that Zhang Nian was a Zhang and that only Zhangs could truly oppose him, Wu Xie recalled Zhang Haike mentioning that among Dejia's Zhang family members, those with the purest blood and who had lived the longest lived in seclusion on the mountain. He remembered that only orthodox Zhangs who could bring out a token were qualified to enter this back mountain area.
He decided his only option was to find these "old monsters" on the mountain in Dejia and ask for their help. After bandaging his wound, he headed towards Dejia. Wu Xie arrived at a strange place marked with numerous Zhang family danger symbols. He recognized it as likely being the place in Dejia where Zhangs used to practice "Wilding".
He saw more symbols, suggesting that many who attempted to enter this place had not returned, hinting at fire, people being punished and burned to death, and potentially a deity mastering fire.
