Adventure Behind the Bronze Door Episode 21 Recap
> Adventure Behind the Bronze Door Recap
Zhang Qiling arrived at Yinshaluo and searched the rooms one by one. In a room lit by many candles, he found a woman in red lying on a couch, her upper body bare except for a large red robe covering part of her. The woman heard his movements and asked who he was, noting that his scent was not from the area.
She mentioned that only one outsider had come here many years ago and that Zhang Qiling's scent was very similar to his, although he was not that person. She asked if he had come from down the mountain, and Zhang Qiling confirmed. She offered to tell him all her secrets if he would take her away, but warned him to be careful as the people here did not like outsiders. The woman's eyes were white.
As Zhang Qiling considered her offer, he heard rustling footsteps behind him. The woman urged him to leave quickly, warning that they did not like outsiders. Zhang Qiling quickly hid, but gunshots rang out. Zhang Qiling, moving with agility, was unaffected by the handguns. After a struggle, several practitioners bowed to him in worship. A leader emerged from the crowd, bowed to Zhang Qiling, and apologized, explaining the confrontation was a test arranged by Mr. Dong Can.
He stated that Zhang Qiling had passed the test and they had finally been waiting for him. The leader explained that Yinshaluo Lake translates to "Blue Snow Mountain," and their village is located in a river valley by the lake. The leader recounted that for years, due to the Night King's disturbances, the people suffered greatly. They spoke of a legend where the Night King favored a woman called the Night Lady, whose limbs grew in reverse.
By what they perceived as fate, some children in their tribe were born with the same physical form as the Night Lady. Their ancestors were terrified, considering these children to be the Night Lady's human incarnation. To seek the Night King's forgiveness, they selected these children and carefully nurtured them, referring to them as 'Night Ladies.' The leader confirmed that the woman Zhang Qiling had just seen was the one chosen as the Night Lady's incarnation.
He explained that Mr. Dong Can came to the tribe, saw the girl, and believed the children's condition was merely a congenital physical disability, mistaken for an incarnation. Mr. Dong Can found a special bone that produced a smoke when burned, which could alleviate the woman's pain and treat her bone disorder. During the treatment process, Mr. Dong Can fell in love with the woman and decided to stay in Yinshaluo, becoming their chieftain.
The chieftain wanted to help them resolve the Night King's crisis, but the Night King was too powerful. Before entering the snowy mountains to kill the Night King, the chieftain worried he might fail. He told them that if he didn't return, a member of his former tribe would come to take his place and help them. For years, porters brought many people, but none passed the test until Zhang Qiling arrived.
The leader declared Zhang Qiling was the one foretold to help them kill the Night King and resolve their disaster. Zhang Qiling asked what exactly the Night King was, and the leader replied that the Night King is simply the Night King, and no one who had seen it survived, including the chieftain. Zhang Qiling then asked to be taken to see the Night King.
Meanwhile, Wu Xie read a scroll and learned that Zhang Qiling had entered the snowy mountains and met the legendary Night King, but the scroll's record stopped there, leaving his fate unknown. Wu Xie found the account frustratingly incomplete, comparing the limited information to squeezing toothpaste little by little, and believed the Night King must be a formidable entity.
He discussed how the scroll's information about the Night King being in the mountains and Zhang Qiling meeting him generally matched what Zhang Haike had told them, and connected it to Dong Can being a Zhang family member who discovered Yinshaluo while investigating the "Night King devouring the sky" matter.
Wu Xie wondered what the Night King truly was, questioning if it was the cauliflower-like creature depicted in a drawing, as Zhang Nian had said it could kill Zhang Qiling, which seemed unlikely for such a large, static form. Fatty suggested that if they wanted to get closer to the truth, they should cooperate with Feng, as his foreign group had advanced weaponry. Feng arrived, having recorded a statement with the police and undergone checks.
To gain Wu Xie's trust and ensure cooperation, Feng put on a nickel wristband bomb with a detonator remote control given to Wu Xie, telling him he could trigger it at any moment. He explained it was made of a special alloy that couldn't be removed without a key and offered it as their contract or Wu Xie's trump card.
Wu Xie, despite reservations, particularly upon hearing Feng mention Zhang Nian's prior actions and commanding his team, agreed to the cooperation, viewing the bracelet as a necessary measure for trust. Feng's technician noted privately to Feng that removing the bracelet would be easy for them. Feng replied that Wu Xie did not trust them, and if the bracelet could improve cooperation, they would wear it, emphasizing it was an order.
After preparations, the group, including Wu Xie, Fatty, Zhang Haike, Zhang Haixing, and Feng's team, set out the next day. They carried ample equipment and moved cautiously through the heavy snow towards Yinshaluo. After a long journey, they reached a vast ice lake. By the lake, they found the carcass of an animal, which appeared to be an antelope, mostly eaten but with a well-preserved skeleton.
Feng, using his knowledge of zoology (he mentioned being a former associate professor), examined the remains but found no bite marks, leading him to conclude the predator was highly intelligent. They noticed a bullet hole in the animal's skull, suggesting it might have been shot from the mountain and fed here. Suddenly, a large shadow moved beneath the ice. Feng's men saw it and used equipment to scan the ice layer.
The scan indicated a large biological entity beneath the ice, potentially a creature that had been fed by the locals for centuries. Wu Xie felt danger from the ice layer and suggested they detour around the lake by climbing the steep cliffs. He recalled seeing in Zhang Qiling's scroll that a creature attacked him near here, dragging people into the snow, and speculated the shadow could be a "strange fish" fed by Yinshaluo people for defense.
Feng dismissed Wu Xie's detour plan, stating their equipment couldn't navigate such narrow paths. He argued the ice, measured at 20cm thick, was safe, especially in the center, and they needed to cross quickly due to the cold. They decided to split up: Wu Xie, Fatty, and Zhang Haike would take the land route over the mountain, while Feng and his subordinates, including Zhang Haixing, would cross the ice to meet them at the temple on the other side.
Zhang Haike decided to go with Wu Xie and Fatty, saying he needed to protect Wu Xie as a friend of their clan leader, and Zhang Haixing could take care of herself. Zhang Haike, climbing with Wu Xie and Fatty, watched as Feng's group made their way across the ice. Zhang Haixing and Feng's men were looking forward to crossing quickly to light a fire and warm up. As Feng's team neared the other side, they saw trouble ahead.
Feng and his people began running back erratically, as if being chased by something invisible. They began tearing off clothes and rolling on the ground frantically, as if being burned by fire. The soldiers trailing them quickly retreated. Zhang Haike saw his sister, Zhang Haixing, acting as if possessed. He ran down to the ice to help her but was also affected and soon collapsed on the ice.
Wu Xie observed their bizarre behavior from the cliff, recognizing it as a hallucination, similar to an experience he'd had before. Realizing they were in danger, he told Fatty to get a rope. Despite Fatty's concerns about Wu Xie's safety, Wu Xie ventured onto the ice alone with the rope. He tied the affected Zhang Haike and Zhang Haixing and began dragging them back towards the land, telling Fatty to meet them at the other side.
He explained that he knew how to deal with such hallucinations, noting that the fiery visions seemed to originate from hexagonal bell powder from a jar that had mixed with the ice. The wind blew the floating ice particles, carrying the powder into the air. As they worked to pull them to safety, the affected people continued to writhe and scratch as if on fire.
