Adventure Behind the Bronze Door Episode 7 Recap
> Adventure Behind the Bronze Door Recap
Based on the information they had, the Anjing Company representative, Feng, stated that their understanding of the Night King as an invisible creature conflicted with the Zhang family's belief that it sheds visible, ball-like organs. He acknowledged that conflicting views were normal because no one fully understood the creature, and answers would only come with more data gathered at the location.
Feng then offered Wu Xie three million yuan, acknowledging him as the person chosen by Zhang Qiling to deal with the creature. For the Zhang family members present, he offered two million yuan to rent the Heavenly Staff plus another two million as a service fee. Zhang Haike openly questioned why the Zhang family was receiving less money than Wu Xie.
Feng responded that the price was negotiable if they had other bargaining chips and urged them to discuss it quickly, as time was limited. Fatty remarked that the meeting could go on forever and suggested they had gathered enough information. Wu Xie agreed, noting that the meeting itself indicated neither side could completely suppress the other, creating a temporary balance that offered them safety for a while.
He also observed that the core conflict – Feng wanting to research the Night King and Zhang Haike wanting to kill it – was unlikely to be easily resolved and could lead to fighting if they continued talking. Wu Xie proposed they find an excuse to establish a basic consensus and then leave.
As they prepared to make their exit, individuals presumed to be Anjing Company guards blocked the doorway, stating no one could leave until an agreement was reached and warning them not to draw weapons. Amidst the tension, Wu Xie intervened, acknowledging the differing goals: Feng wanted to capture the Night King alive for research, while Zhang Haike insisted it must die.
Wu Xie proposed a simple plan: they would first cooperate on the necessary steps – getting the key and finding the Heavenly Staff, and then capturing the Night King. The conflict over who gets the Night King would be settled later. Wu Xie suggested that once they reached the snowy mountain, they would draw a line, and all three teams would race from that line; the first one to reach and capture the Night King would claim it.
He framed it as a game, and with no explicit objections raised, the meeting concluded. After the others left, Wu Xie and Fatty were alone. Fatty found the foreigners' ideas about the Night King interesting, but Wu Xie dismissed it, reiterating that he was only there to uncover Zhang Qiling's past and had no interest in their conflicts. Zhang Haike told him it was too late, he was already caught in the conflicts, and then he left.
Zhang Haixing questioned Haike, asking if he was serious about collaborating with the foreigners and why they couldn't just take the key since it was Zhang family property. Haike explained that Wu Xie was unique, and they needed to be cautious, first gaining his trust and ensuring his safety before attempting to seize Feng's key. Haixing asked if he had a complete plan and if his strategy was worth it, wondering if they couldn't just find freedom like others.
Haike stated he didn't want to escape, and Haixing declared she would accompany him. Haike told her she didn't need to get involved, calling her his only sibling. Fatty expressed skepticism about the Night King stories but mused that if the Zhang family and Feng couldn't handle it, Qiling wouldn't have left it to them. He warned Wu Xie that Zhang Haike could deceive him again.
Wu Xie replied that he had been deceived so many times that he relied on instinct, which felt more reliable. They then discussed their escape plan. Fatty suggested Wu Xie go first pretending to be two people, while Fatty hid and ran later, leading their pursuers away. Wu Xie hesitated, lamenting the thought of leaving Yu Da's scrolls behind, fearing Zhang Haike might burn the place. Fatty reassured him that Haike wouldn't dare if Qiling were to find out.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Wu Xie and Fatty prepared to leave. However, as they packed, Wu Xie observed that the entire spiritual retreat was surrounded by both the foreigners and Zhang family members. He realized running directly out to the snowy mountain would make them easy targets. Their best chance was to find a way down the mountain first before attempting to escape. Wu Xie proposed they adopt the confident demeanor they displayed at Xinyue Hotel, acting like important figures.
He suggested Wu Xie leverage his role as Qiling's appointed specialist to demand unified management, asserting himself as the de facto leader. He then proposed they conduct a team-building activity down the mountain to break down barriers and showcase skills, specifically using a long-distance air gun shooting demonstration as a cover. This demonstration would allow them to gain distance from the groups, and once they were far enough, they would make a run for it.
They carried out the shooting demonstration and, at a pre-determined distance, took off running through the winding streets while being chased. Just as they were being pursued intensely, a hand reached out from a hidden passage in a wall, pulling them inside. Their rescuer was Yu Da. Yu Da explained he had come down the mountain to buy things and saw them running.
He told them fate had brought them there and revealed he had discovered the secret passage when he was younger while secretly sneaking down the mountain. Yu Da guided them through the passage, stating it would lead them to a bus station where they could find freedom. As they were about to part ways, Yu Da revealed that he had found Zhang Qiling's memory and placed the content written on a scroll in Zhang Qiling's room.
He told Wu Xie he could choose whether or not to read it but added that if Wu Xie did not, he would give the scroll to "that pretty young girl" (Zhang Haixing), who was also asking about it. Wu Xie was stunned by the revelation. After leaving Yu Da, Fatty immediately suspected Yu Da was a pawn of Zhang Haike, trying to lure them back with the scroll.
At the bus station, Fatty had secured tickets, but Wu Xie was torn. Fatty argued that going back was a clear trap after they had just escaped. Wu Xie insisted he wanted to return, feeling that the scroll might contain vital information about Qiling that he couldn't miss after years of searching, especially fearing it might be destroyed.
Fatty called him naive and foolish, pointing out the suspicious timing of the scroll's appearance right after their escape, believing it was just a trap. Wu Xie countered that if it were a trap, Yu Da wouldn't have helped them escape. He argued that this was the first real information about Qiling in years, and he couldn't let it fall into Zhang Haike's hands.
Despite Fatty's strong reservations, he ultimately agreed to accompany Wu Xie, accepting Wu Xie's desire to gamble. They headed back up the mountain and encountered the people who had been chasing them waiting for them. Fatty jokingly commented on how long they had waited. Wu Xie asserted that their successful escape demonstrated their capability and that they could not be stopped.
When warned about facing consequences if they ran again, Wu Xie accepted the role of "leader" they had put upon him and agreed to share his plan for dealing with the Night King after they had eaten. In the newly obtained scroll, Wu Xie began to read, finding information about Qiling's past experiences in the Zhang Family Castle. He described seeing numerous corpses and wondering what had happened.
He identified some bodies as Zhang family members due to their distinctive long fingers, noting their deaths were caused by broken necks, a specific fighting style of the clan, indicating they were killed by their own people.
He saw evidence of a thick layer of plaster sealing an entrance from the inside, while bricks were being removed from the outside, suggesting two factions within the Zhang family had fought violently inside, and one group had sealed the entrance against another trying to get in. He speculated this might have happened during the landslide that buried Zhang Family Castle, recalling that their ancestors were already engaged in internal conflict during the landslide.
He wondered about the cause of the conflict, especially why it occurred during the landslide, suggesting a hidden secret or valuable treasure. He noticed Zhang Haike was no longer with them, having gone ahead. They moved into another area, identified by Wu Xie as likely the Zhang Family Castle dungeon, used for punishing clan members, noting numerous jars with bloodstains, implying large-scale blood usage.
They found a brazier and lit it, revealing more bodies, also Zhang family members killed by neck breaking. These bodies wore gear for underwater activity and were tied together, suggesting they intended to enter an underwater pool. Other bodies displayed different wounds – cuts on the wrists, consistent with the method used by some Zhang family members with a special blood that repels bugs.
These individuals, imprisoned in the dungeon, had their blood harvested to allow passage through the bug-infested pool. Wu Xie considered the possibility that the raiders during the landslide were not outsiders but insiders from Zhang Family Castle. Given the castle's accumulated treasure and the breaches caused by the landslide, internal traitors might have seen an opportunity to attack.
The castle guards likely discovered them, leading one group of traitors to block the entrance against reinforcements while another group harvested blood to access something vital under the water. Suddenly, Zhang Haike appeared, stating he was present when these events occurred and had been to this place before. He identified it not just as the site of internal Zhang family conflict unknown to the wider family, but as Sifang City, a forbidden part of their history.
He warned that the clan would not be happy that Wu Xie had been brought there, suggesting their presence was a serious transgression. Feng tried to seize Haixing, implying taking her back could serve as atonement for this transgression. Wu Xie stopped them from fighting, insisting they had come willingly and they couldn't defeat Feng anyway. He urged them to focus on understanding what happened instead of fighting. Wu Xie asked Zhang Haike for the truth.
Haike confirmed the place's true name was Sifang City and recounted how many years ago, a group of Zhang family traitors plotted to assassinate the previous patriarch there in a brutal battle that resulted in many clan members' deaths. He stated that the room they were in was a temporary setup used by the traitors to hunt the patriarch. The pool below was indeed filled with highly toxic bugs, impassable without assistance.
They captured children with the special blood, including Haike himself, to harvest blood to drive the bugs away. However, during the attack, a landslide completely buried Sifang City, ending the assassination attempt. The patriarch died in the deepest part, along with the Heavenly Staff, the symbol of his authority. Haike explained the Heavenly Staff possessed a strange power allowing the patriarch to communicate with spirits and know everything, making it crucially important to the clan.
However, the clan began to decline after its loss, yet many didn't search for it because the ancestors had different views, believing it also caused severe physical harm to the family, details known only to the patriarch. Haike pointed out Zhang family weapons in the area and instructed them to take some and return the way they came, which would count as passing the survival training.
He warned them not to mention Sifang City upon their return, assuring them they wouldn't be troubled if they kept quiet. Wu Xie asked what Haike would do, and Haike replied he needed to go much deeper for what he sought, stating they couldn't help him as some places only he could reach, hinting he might be after the Heavenly Staff. He warned them again not to go deeper or they would die. Fatty questioned if they could trust Haike.
Feng voiced suspicion, feeling that trusting Haike would lead to their loss and that he couldn't accept the situation. He argued that if Haike found the Heavenly Staff and succeeded, it could cause a massive shift for the entire Zhang family, and they were already involved. Feng suggested the wider Zhang family might not even want the staff back and suspected Haike wanted it for himself and to claim all the credit.
Feng declared he wanted a share in any such achievement that could grant access to the Zhang family core. Wu Xie admitted he was interested in Haike and decided to follow him deeper, partly because he was kin and gaining more information would help them adapt. Fatty agreed to go as well. Zhang Haixing also decided to join, finding the unfolding mystery more interesting than the survival training.
