An Oriental Odyssey Episode 40 Recap
> An Oriental Odyssey Recap
A Ying, utilizing a flying device, scoured the mountains. The captive girls, upon seeing the peculiar "big bird," excitedly called out to him. A Ying quickly landed and retrieved a tracking device from Ye Yuanan, revealing it was something he had placed on her. Ye Yuanan felt relieved, realizing he had not abandoned her.
The girls then complained about their captor, Xiao Nan, who believed he was handsome and forced them to marry him, a fate they all abhorred due to his monstrous nature. As Xiao Nan approached, Ye Yuanan sprained her ankle while trying to escape. A Ying was forced to carry her.
Secretly, Ye Yuanan considered assassinating A Ying at this moment to prevent him from ever going to Tang and stealing the Nine-Star Heavenly Pearl, believing this act would safeguard her family. However, before she could execute her plan, Xiao Nan reappeared and recaptured everyone. Ye Yuanan, thinking quickly, urged A Ying to escape and gather help. Xiao Nan, feeling betrayed by the girls' attempts to flee despite his "kindness," expressed his anger.
Ye Yuanan, perceiving he wasn't truly evil and hadn't harmed anyone, encouraged him to reveal his troubles. Xiao Nan confessed his love for a woman named Lian, whose parents rejected him due to his monstrous identity. Ye Yuanan shrewdly advised Xiao Nan to release the girls, suggesting they would spread word of his good nature, thus convincing Lian's parents to approve their marriage. Easily swayed, Xiao Nan immediately set the girls free.
As Ye Yuanan tried to leave, Xiao Nan stopped her, now convinced she was the only one who truly understood him, and proposed marriage to her. A Ying then returned, fighting Xiao Nan. Ye Yuanan intervened, stopping A Ying from killing Xiao Nan, asserting that he was not malicious but merely driven to despair because he was so upset. A Ying agreed and brought Xiao Nan back to the palace.
Upon their return, A Ying met his elder brother, A Heng, who questioned his recent excursions. A Ying mentioned encountering "someone weird and crafty" and learning from them, to which A Heng warned him to be cautious with friends outside the palace. Soon after, the King summoned both princes. With his birthday approaching, the King inquired about their recent accomplishments.
A Heng spoke of studying musical tunes, while A Ying admitted to practicing horseback riding and archery but having no gift ready. The King, pleased with A Ying's healthy physique, then presented them each with an exotic Wuli flower seed from overseas, challenging them to cultivate the most beautiful bloom for his celebration. Passing the Imperial Library, A Ying voiced his curiosity about its perpetually locked and heavily guarded top floor, suspecting it housed magic books.
A Heng sternly reminded him that magic was forbidden in Suoluo and that the top floor contained the most powerful black magic, warning him against any curiosity to avoid the King's punishment. Unbeknownst to A Heng, Lingxi secretly cast a spell on A Heng's Wuli flower seed to ensure it would sprout. Meanwhile, Ye Yuanan, still intent on sabotaging A Ying, poured boiling water on his Wuli flower seed.
Later, Xiao Nan fully revealed his past to A Ying and Ye Yuanan: he was once a human herb collector. While on the mountain, he witnessed A Heng and Lingxi practicing magic. He was discovered by Lingxi and cursed with a transfiguration spell. He didn't transform immediately but did so later when Lian's parents violently rejected him. Since then, he would turn into a deer whenever he felt danger or strong emotions.
A Ying promised to help Xiao Nan find the transfiguration spell and break the curse, pondering how such magic was still practiced in Suoluo when all black magic books were sealed, and if the original spellcaster remained a threat. Later, Lingxi, having used magic to make A Heng's flower sprout, presented it to him. A Heng, convinced Lingxi hadn't used magic to make it bloom, happily took the flower to the King.
That night, A Ying planned to infiltrate the Imperial Library to find the transfiguration spell. Ye Yuanan insisted on accompanying him, despite A Ying’s warning that entering the forbidden top floor was a capital offense for anyone other than a prince. As they met, both dressed in black, A Ying complimented Ye Yuanan's appearance, feeling an unexpected attraction to her.
Inside the Library, while A Ying searched for the spell, Ye Yuanan repeatedly attempted to ambush him, still driven by her mission to kill him. However, A Ying's spell-locating incantations inadvertently foiled her attempts. Realizing it wasn't the opportune moment, Ye Yuanan abandoned her plan. Suddenly, Lingxi entered the Library.
A Ying and Ye Yuanan quickly hid in a bookshelf, inadvertently kissing, a moment that evoked strong emotions in Ye Yuanan, bringing tears to her eyes as she grappled with her developing feelings for A Ying. During their concealment, they fortuitously discovered the transfiguration spell book. Grateful, Xiao Nan used his magic to make A Ying's Wuli flower seed sprout and bloom.
Ye Yuanan jokingly took credit for its blooming, unaware that A Ying knew she had poured boiling water on it, though he remained silent. Eager to break his curse, Xiao Nan used the transfiguration spell they had found. The spell backfired, causing Xiao Nan to transform back into a deer, which then dashed into the King's chambers. The King immediately ordered the "deer monster" killed. A Ying intervened, stopping the guards from harming the King or Xiao Nan.
He quickly grabbed a knife and severed one of the deer's horns, which instantly reverted Xiao Nan to human form. A Ying explained Xiao Nan's situation to the King. The King was enraged, not only by the "monster" in the palace but also by A Ying's illicit entry into the forbidden top floor of the Imperial Library to obtain black magic, a clear violation of Suoluo law. A Ying defended his actions, appealing to his father's teaching of kindness, stating he could not ignore a citizen harmed by unknown magic.
