Adventure Behind the Bronze Door Episode 30 Recap
> Adventure Behind the Bronze Door Recap
After enduring his first bout of Tianshou, Zhang Qiling unexpectedly surfaced a memory connected to his origins. In a dream, he saw a young woman, Bai Ma, holding a crying infant, and he noticed a small mole on her neck. Following this dream, Zhang Qiling sought out the patriarch of a spiritual retreat, requesting to see Bai Ma.
The patriarch was astonished, confirming they knew Bai Ma and describing her features precisely as Zhang Qiling had seen them in his dream: deep-set eyes, fair skin, and a mole on her neck. He asked how Zhang Qiling knew her appearance and why he suddenly wished to see her. Zhang Qiling explained it was a dream, possibly from the Tianshou or a past obsession.
The patriarch revealed that Bai Ma had arrived at their retreat ten years prior, waiting for her son, and he now realized Zhang Qiling was that son. The patriarch recounted Bai Ma's story. She had come to them after the Zhang Family had taken her child, pleading for their help to get him back, though she knew stopping the Zhang family was impossible.
Bai Ma knew that being raised within the Zhang Family environment would not allow her child to be happy. Stricken with a terminal illness and knowing her time was short, she despaired of ever seeing her son again. Having heard they knew the secret of the Zanghai Flower, she pleaded with the masters to use it to seal her away temporarily.
She explained that the flower could preserve her, hoping that if her son, unhappy in the Zhang Family, ever sought his origins, he would find her preserved and not merely a corpse. This way, she hoped he could feel a sense of love still existed in the world and they could have a chance to meet again.
The masters initially hesitated, stating the flower only sealed temporarily, couldn't cure, they couldn't guarantee waking her years later, and its use was strictly forbidden. But Bai Ma insisted her child was different and earnestly begged for this chance, kneeling and pleading at the retreat for three days and nights until she finally moved the patriarch.
They used the Zanghai Flower on Bai Ma, and she fell into a deep sleep, sealed away in an ice coffin and buried deep underground, offering her son a final solace by awaiting his arrival. Upon learning his mother's story, Zhang Qiling was eager to see her. The patriarch told him Bai Ma was neither dead nor truly alive, like a piece of rock, and suggested that Zhang Qiling himself was similar at that moment, lacking desire.
He instructed Zhang Qiling to carve a massive boulder in the courtyard, putting whatever was in his heart into the sculpture, promising he could see Bai Ma once the carving was finished. The patriarch reflected on Zhang Qiling's apparent lack of desire, comparing him to a rock born without needs or even the desire to think. He contrasted this with true enlightenment gained by losing desire after having it.
He felt Zhang Qiling shouldn't be like a rock, unable to make his mother feel his presence, and needed to learn to think and long for things. He believed life was his mother's first gift and this chance to connect was her last, intended for him to develop the heart that others had kept concealed. A follower later reported that a room was being prepared for Bai Ma's arrival.
Bai Ma had been sealed under the ice for many years, kept alive by the Zanghai Flower. They had promised her that they would bring her out when her son came. She was awakened upon his arrival, though most of her senses were gone; she couldn't see, hear, or speak. However, she knew her son was by her side.
The effect of the Zanghai Flower was temporary, and after it faded, she would only have three days left before truly dying. It was explained that Zhang Qiling needed to find his own "thought" or desire, guiding his carving. Only when the boulder took meaningful shape from his internal motivation, showing he had developed a heart, would he truly become human, finally easing his mother's worries.
The patriarch darkly noted that while humans born without feelings couldn't be hurt, once they developed feelings, anything could wound them, suggesting they made him develop a heart so he could be hurt better. Zhang Qiling worked tirelessly on the carving, chiseling the rock according to the image of Bai Ma he had seen in his dream, from winter until summer. His persistence finally moved the patriarch to bring out the sleeping Bai Ma.
Zhang Qiling finally met her; she was peaceful and serene, just as he had seen her. Though she remained unresponsive, she smiled slightly, and they shared a profound connection. He held her hand. He dreamt of them walking together across a vast snowy plain or standing silently side-by-side, feeling a deep sense of peace. However, Bai Ma passed away shortly after, living only three days after the flower's effect faded.
Zhang Qiling buried his mother and attempted to continue carving, but overcome with tears and grief, his strength left him. He dropped his chisel, curled up, consumed by thoughts of his mother. He completed the statue of his mother before quietly departing the spiritual retreat, his destination unknown. The scroll containing these memories became a precious possession. The story transitions to Wu Xie, carefully putting away the scroll.
Sitting by a bonfire with the Yinshaluo people, he began recounting his own history with Zhang Qiling. He explained how Zhang Qiling, while enduring frequent bouts of Tianshou and memory loss, traveled constantly, getting involved in conflicts and exploring dangerous places to investigate matters whose origins he didn't even fully understand. Every so often, he would return to the Bronze Door to fulfill his duty, guarding it for ten years at a time.
Wu Xie described how a mysterious organization composed of nine influential families discovered Zhang Qiling. These families, with vast resources and ancient histories of exploring underground secrets for profit, coveted Zhang Qiling's extraordinary abilities. After researching him, they proposed a deal: if Zhang Qiling completed a task for them, they would train individuals from their families to take turns guarding the Bronze Door in his place. Zhang Qiling accepted their proposal.
Zhang Qiling began working for this organization, and Wu Xie became unexpectedly involved through chance and overlapping adventures. Many of his own explorations ended up coinciding with the issues Zhang Qiling was working to resolve. Wu Xie recalled their first encounter and many subsequent ones, noting how they became close despite their different natures. He admitted that although they were like brothers, he felt he owed Zhang Qiling a great debt.
When asked about the debt, Wu Xie explained that as an ordinary, uninformed person, he stubbornly insisted on following Zhang Qiling into dangerous situations to find answers, perhaps surprising Zhang Qiling with his persistence. He recounted a time when Zhang Qiling questioned why he followed him, telling him he shouldn't get involved, that the situation was too complex and dangerous, and his uncle had already done much for him.
Wu Xie replied that his desire was simple: he just wanted to understand what was happening, but since no one would tell him, he felt compelled to get involved. Zhang Qiling then asked if he considered why they might be hiding the truth, suggesting sometimes lies are for protection and some truths are unbearable. Wu Xie countered that the person should judge their own capacity to bear the truth, and perhaps didn't want protection or just wanted a swift end.
Wu Xie asked if Zhang Qiling understood the pain of not knowing, to which Zhang Qiling replied he understood it better, having far more unanswered questions and no one to ask. Zhang Qiling described himself as a man without a past or future, doing everything to find his connection to the world, wondering if he would vanish without a trace, never having truly existed, sometimes doubting his own reality when looking in a mirror.
Wu Xie dismissed this, saying he would notice if Zhang Qiling disappeared. Zhang Qiling offered to share answers about his "own" mystery if he found them but told Wu Xie he wouldn't find answers about his "own" situation by clinging to Zhang Qiling, as it was a mystery to him too. Zhang Qiling felt Wu Xie had enough riddles already. Wu Xie pressed him on one point: why he entered the Bronze Door.
Zhang Qiling stated he was simply continuing Wang Zanghai's work, and behind the great door, he had seen "the ultimate of all things." Zhang Qiling then declared that he was on Wu Xie's side. Wu Xie continued his story, explaining that after their adventures concluded, Zhang Qiling completed the task for the nine families and came to bid him farewell in the South. Wu Xie was unprepared for the goodbye, unsure of what lay ahead.
Zhang Qiling reflected that after considering his relationship with the world, the only connection he felt seemed to be with Wu Xie. Zhang Qiling announced he was heading to Sansheng Snowy Peak. Wu Xie commented on how cold that place must be, contrasting it with the pleasant South, but Zhang Qiling simply said he had no choice and said goodbye. Wu Xie then related how he pursued Zhang Qiling to the Sansheng Snowy Peak near Yunding Heavenly Palace.
When he reached Zhang Qiling near the entrance to a fissure, Zhang Qiling told him he shouldn't be there and couldn't continue on this path. Wu Xie questioned why Zhang Qiling was there. Zhang Qiling explained there were serious issues within the door that required periodic attention, necessitating someone to enter and stay for ten years each time. Wu Xie asked about the pact with the nine families, confused why Zhang Qiling still had to guard it.
Zhang Qiling revealed that this was the reason he felt indebted to Wu Xie. He explained that years ago, he had made the agreement with the nine families to share the burden of guarding the gate, with members of the families meant to take turns. However, none of them fulfilled their promise. There was something far more dangerous within the gate that needed dealing with than what was outside.
According to the original agreement with the nine families, "Wu Xie" was the one chosen to guard the door. But the families never trained him, and entering untrained would mean certain death. Therefore, Zhang Qiling, as the last patriarch of the Zhang Family, chose to take on the duty himself to protect the future.
Zhang Qiling told Wu Xie that since he had come all this way, he would tell him that if he remembered him after ten years, he could return to this place and might see him again. Back by the bonfire, Wu Xie concluded his explanation, stating that "he" was supposed to be the one spending ten years in that deep abyss-like place.
Zhang Qiling had an opportunity to avoid this suffering but sacrificed it for Wu Xie, choosing to bear the pain and heavy responsibility himself. That was the debt Wu Xie felt he owed. Someone among the listeners commented on the rarity of such friendship and understood why Wu Xie fought so hard for him, declaring it a moment worth celebrating and toasting Zhang Qiling. An Yinshaluo person spoke, thanking Wu Xie and his companions for helping their tribe, wishing them well, and offering a final toast to them.
