An Oriental Odyssey Episode 44 Recap
> An Oriental Odyssey Recap
Prince Ying transformed back into his human form from the red dragon, gently placing Ye Yuanan on the ground. Witnessing this, Ye Yuanan recalled Zhao Lanzhi's words and realized that during the offering ceremony, the red dragon's blood had merged with Prince Ying, possibly leaving its essence within him. She urged Prince Ying to keep this secret and to control his emotions, calming his fury to prevent any further transformations. Shortly after, Prince Aheng, injured, stumbled out of the palace.
Ye Yuanan, seeing him, raised a dagger to kill him, but Prince Ying intervened, reminding her that Aheng was his elder brother. Prince Ying then instructed the guards to take both his father and brother back to the palace for treatment. Later, the royal physician informed Queen Tuoyue that the King was in a coma due to severe heart and lung injuries, and medicine could only stabilize his condition temporarily.
Prince Ying brought Prince Aheng before Queen Tuoyue, who angrily reprimanded Aheng for his actions against the King. Prince Aheng retorted, claiming that in their eyes, Prince Ying was always right while everything he did was wrong. He then suggested a solution: finding the Nine Divine Beads, a long-lost national treasure rumored to possess the power to bring the dead back to life. However, these beads were believed to be in the distant Tang Empire.
Prince Ying immediately volunteered to travel to the Tang Empire to retrieve the beads for his father. Queen Tuoyue agreed, acknowledging his filial piety, and sentenced Prince Aheng to confinement in the pagoda to repent for his grave crimes. From outside the chamber, Ye Yuanan overheard the conversation.
Realizing that Prince Ying was still destined for the Tang Empire, and that the Nine Divine Beads would inevitably be stolen again, she decided she must stop him, even if it meant taking his life. Prince Ying intended to depart for the Tang Empire quietly, but Ye Yuanan intercepted him, insisting on accompanying him. She reminded him of their past adventures together and argued that as someone from the Tang Empire, she was the most suitable companion.
Though reluctant due to the perilous journey ahead, Prince Ying eventually agreed to her company. As they traveled through a forest, Ye Yuanan attempted to ambush Prince Ying, but unexpectedly fell into a swamp. Prince Ying quickly rescued her from the mud, but in doing so, he accidentally became stuck himself.
Ye Yuanan tried to help him, shouting "Dao," which meant "sword" in her mind, but Tianshu, who was observing from afar, misinterpreted her shouts as a command to return, and promptly transported her back to the modern era. Upon Ye Yuanan's unexpected return, Minghui criticized her for failing to complete her mission, remarking that she had been sent back so many times yet couldn't kill Prince Ying (Mu Le).
Zhao Lanzhi, frustrated, questioned whether Ye Yuanan genuinely couldn't kill him or simply didn't have the heart to. He angrily declared an end to the plan relying on Ye Yuanan, proposing that he and Minghui would directly infiltrate the palace, kill Mu Le, and retrieve the Nine Divine Beads themselves. He lambasted Ye Yuanan for her childishness, always threatening to kill Mu Le but never following through, reminding her that their families' lives depended on her success.
Ye Yuanan then revealed that Mu Le's blood had merged with the Red Dragon's, explaining his extraordinary powers observed in the Tang Empire. Minghui expressed concern that even their combined strength might not be enough against him, especially with the palace's stringent security. At that moment, Lingxi stepped forward with a suggestion. He recounted the legend of the Red Dragon in Suoluo, which was said to cause disturbances every full moon.
He theorized that on the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, the palace would be heavily focused on containing Prince Ying's red dragon powers, thus neglecting other areas. This, he argued, would be the opportune moment to steal the Nine Divine Beads. Minghui, though acknowledging the plan's ingenuity, was suspicious of Lingxi's motives as a Suoluo native. Lingxi clarified that Ye Yuanan had saved his life multiple times, and according to Suoluo customs, he was bound to repay her kindness.
Zhao Lanzhi decided to proceed with Lingxi's plan, intending to go to the palace with Minghui that very night. Ye Yuanan protested, wanting to join them, but Zhao Lanzhi insisted she and Tianshu stay behind. He explained that the palace was too heavily guarded for a large group and instructed Ye Yuanan that, should he and Minghui fail, she must then retrieve the Nine Divine Beads to save their families.
Meanwhile, in the palace, Prince Ying was tormented by a sudden, intense headache, experiencing fleeting memories of people and events from both the Tang Empire and Suoluo, yet unable to grasp them fully. Queen Tuoyue, attributing his discomfort to exhaustion from searching for "the thief" (Ye Yuanan), ordered Zhenzhen to escort him back to his chambers to rest. Later, outside the palace, Zhao Lanzhi asked Minghui if she regretted coming to Suoluo with him.
Minghui playfully responded that any regrets she had would date back to the moment she married him. She then questioned Zhao Lanzhi about his decision to leave Ye Yuanan behind, asking if he feared she would jeopardize their plan or if he was simply worried about her safety. Minghui reminisced about Jiang Ren, a servant whom she considered more sincere than anyone else.
She confessed that seeing Ye Yuanan's repeated inability to harm Mu Le made her understand why Jiang Ren had so willingly sacrificed himself for her: it was true love that made one selfless. Minghui then emotionally declared her own profound love for Zhao Lanzhi, asserting her willingness to make any sacrifice for him, even defying the Empress, because he was more important than anyone else in her heart. Meanwhile, Tianshu caught Ye Yuanan attempting to sneak out.
She feigned an intention to buy wine and food, but Tianshu saw through her, knowing she planned to find Zhao Lanzhi. He reminded her that she was a wanted criminal, and her entry into the palace would only endanger Zhao Lanzhi further. Ye Yuanan expressed guilt over not having retrieved the Nine Divine Beads, but Tianshu absolved her, stating he was the one who had given them to Mu Le in the first place.
He firmly instructed her to stay put. That night, Zhao Lanzhi and Minghui successfully infiltrated the palace to search for the Nine Divine Beads. However, they were soon discovered, surrounded, and brought before Queen Tuoyue. In his chambers, Prince Ying perceived Ye Yuanan's silhouette and pursued it, only to be stopped by guards who reminded him of the Empress's strict orders against leaving his room.
On the ground, he found a wooden token belonging to Mu Le, a relic from his time as a slave. Zhao Lanzhi and Minghui pleaded their case before Queen Tuoyue, asserting that the Nine Divine Beads originally belonged to the Tang Empire, while Queen Tuoyue maintained they were Suoluo's national treasure. Unmoved by their arguments, Queen Tuoyue ordered their imprisonment. Just as they were being led away, Tianshu dramatically appeared, interceding on their behalf.
He reminded Queen Tuoyue of a "good karma" they shared nineteen years ago. A flashback revealed that Queen Tuoyue, once publicly ridiculed for being childless, had encountered Tianshu, then a beggar. He had given her a mysterious "seed" to swallow, promising her a child within ten lunar months. True to his word, she later gave birth to two princes, Aheng and Prince Ying.
Recognizing Tianshu as her benefactor, Queen Tuoyue's demeanor instantly shifted, and she treated Tianshu, Zhao Lanzhi, and Minghui with newfound respect. Suddenly, Zhenzhen burst in, reporting that Prince Ying had disappeared, causing Queen Tuoyue great distress. Tianshu calmly assured her he would find Prince Ying, stating that as the cause of these events, he should also be the one to end them. He then departed, taking Zhao Lanzhi and Minghui with him.
Prince Ying, having followed the illusory figure, arrived at a mountain cliff, where he encountered Ye Yuanan. Both were astonished to see each other, realizing they had been deliberately lured there. Ye Yuanan recalled a previous conversation with Tianshu, where she had requested his help in removing the Red Dragon's blood from Mu Le's body after Tianshu recovered his own physical form and retrieved the Nine Divine Beads.
Tianshu had explained that the red dragon monster had used its blood as a medium to inject its soul into Mu Le, making him a host, and that a different method would be needed to eradicate the dragon's soul entirely. Now, at the cliff, Prince Ying understood that someone had impersonated Ye Yuanan to lure him to this spot. Ye Yuanan, realizing it was the full moon, urged Tianshu to act quickly to save Prince Ying.
As Zhenzhen and her soldiers arrived, arrows were fired, causing Ye Yuanan to fall off the cliff. Prince Ying, in a desperate attempt to save her, transformed into the red dragon and caught her. The soldiers, terrified, scattered, screaming that Prince Ying was a monster. Ye Yuanan pleaded with Prince Ying not to harm his own soldiers, but he was unresponsive. Tianshu explained that the surrounding mandragora flowers, known for disturbing people's minds, were preventing Prince Ying from controlling himself.
He realized that they had all been led into a trap designed to make Prince Ying commit unforgivable crimes. Tianshu declared that the only way to save Prince Ying was to draw the red dragon's soul out of his body. Tianshu sacrificed himself, using his own body as a medium to seal the red dragon's soul within an underwater cave.
Ye Yuanan, remembering Prince Ying's tale of a Grand Master who sealed a red dragon in the Lucang River, was heartbroken by Tianshu's sacrifice. In the aftermath of the red dragon's rampage, Prince Ying, Zhao Lanzhi, Minghui, and Tianshu were all missing. Ye Yuanan desperately searched for them. Zhenzhen's search party later discovered an unconscious Prince Ying by the water, but no one else.
