An Oriental Odyssey Episode 45 Recap
> An Oriental Odyssey Recap
Zhenzhen discovered the unconscious Prince Ying by the water, but no one else. She quickly had him carried back to the palace. Ye Yuanan overheard Zhenzhen's subordinates mention Prince Ying had been taken away, realizing she was now completely alone and feeling profound sadness. Unable to find the bodies of Zhao Lanzhi and others, she made cenotaphs for them. As she wandered aimlessly, weighed down by her injuries, Ling Xi suddenly appeared.
He sent a blue bat to bite Ye Yuanan's arm, telling her, "The blue bat of mine has special power. Let it help you." Before Ye Yuanan lost consciousness, Ling Xi reassured her that his bat's blood had miraculous effects. When Ye Yuanan awoke, she found all her injuries had indeed healed. General Bokai received a report that Prince Ying had been found and was recovering in the palace.
Seeing this as an opportune moment to seize the Divine Beads, General Bokai stormed into the King's chamber where monks were using the beads to heal the King. He brushed aside the guards and confronted the King, first feigning a report about military matters concerning the King of Champa, who was, as he claimed, emboldened by the Tang Empire to harass their borders.
General Bokai then expressed doubt about the Divine Beads, pointing out that the King's prolonged illness, despite their use, suggested they might be fake and the supposed healing signs were merely tricks. He grabbed one of the Divine Beads, and a vision of him dominating the entire Suoluo kingdom flashed through his mind. Prince Ying and Empress Tuoyue quickly arrived at the scene, witnessing General Bokai holding a Divine Bead.
Empress Tuoyue, firmly stating that the Divine Beads were exclusively for the King's medical treatment, immediately severed the arm General Bokai had used to touch the bead. She declared that this was the consequence of unauthorized handling of the Divine Beads, and while his life was spared in consideration of his past loyalty to the King, she warned that there would be no leniency if he repeated such an act.
Prince Ying then announced to all that no one was permitted to use the Nine Divine Beads for any purpose other than his royal father's cure, cautioning that anyone harboring inappropriate thoughts about them would suffer the same fate as General Bokai. Prince Ying subsequently ordered that posters bearing Ye Yuanan's image be put up across the city, initiating a widespread search for her. Ye Yuanan, upon seeing these posters, was furious.
She believed Prince Ying, her Mu Le, was a "bastard" for looking for her and resolved to take the Divine Beads back from him once she was prepared. Later, while eating at a food stall, Ye Yuanan found the coconut and pilaf to have a foul, fishy taste, but the owner insisted they were fresh and delicious. When the owner demanded payment, Ye Yuanan, having no money, pushed him away, accidentally injuring him.
As she saw his blood, an uncontrollable, ravenous urge seized her, and she instinctively sucked the blood from his wound. The horrified onlookers branded her a "vampire." Fleeing, Ye Yuanan noticed her eyes had turned red, just like Ling Xi's blue bats. She realized Ling Xi had indeed harmed her, transforming her into a blood-sucking monster. Ye Yuanan sought refuge in a dilapidated temple. Two robbers stumbled upon her, and seeing her weak, attempted to assault her.
As they pulled at her, a burst of latent power erupted from Ye Yuanan, knocking them to the ground. Ling Xi then appeared, smugly telling Ye Yuanan that he was responsible for everything. He further told her she should be grateful he used his rare blue bat's blood to change hers, granting her powers she'd never experienced before. He urged her to drink the robbers' blood while it was still warm, assuring her it would alleviate her coldness and hunger.
Ye Yuanan, resisting the monstrous urge, angrily confronted Ling Xi, reminding him she had saved his life three times and asking why he would harm her. Ling Xi coldly dismissed her, stating that her life was not his to be indebted to and calling her naive. He also revealed that it was he who had lured Mu Le with the name tag to the cliff.
Ling Xi then further taunted her, explaining that he wasn't solely targeting her, but that all of them – Ye Yuanan, the masked monk Tianshu, and the couple from Tang (Zhao Lanzhi and Minghui) – were merely minor pieces in a much larger plan. When Ye Yuanan threatened to kill him, Ling Xi dared her to survive first, emphasizing that she would starve if she did not drink the blood.
He then sent his blue bats to drain the two robbers' blood, killing them. That night, as a storm raged, Ye Yuanan's body underwent a shocking transformation: she grew blue wings and was found sleeping upside down in the temple like a bat. Prince Ying continued his search for "Nana" (Ye Yuanan) and, by chance, heard villagers discussing a "vampire."
The stall owner, who still bore a wound from Ye Yuanan, recognized her from Prince Ying's portrait and confirmed that "Nana" was the vampire he had personally witnessed sucking blood. Convinced that Nana was the monster, Prince Ying decided to join the villagers and a Daoist priest to capture her. They converged on the dilapidated temple.
Ye Yuanan, now resembling a blue bat-like creature, was resting in the temple when she heard them approaching and used her new abilities to flee. Prince Ying, confronting her in her transformed state, asked, "Are you a person or a monster?" His question deeply wounded Ye Yuanan. She escaped to a river, where she saw her monstrous reflection, complete with blue bat wings and blue hands, filling her with terror.
A young girl, who had previously encountered Ye Yuanan, tried to defend her, believing Ye Yuanan did not wish to harm her, but the villagers dismissed her. Prince Ying, realizing the "big furry monster" was Ye Yuanan, poisoned by the blue bat, publicly vowed to capture her alive. Prince Ying devised a trap, disguising himself as an injured villager.
Drawn by the scent of blood, Ye Yuanan approached, rationalizing that if the villager were already dead, drinking his blood wouldn't be murder. However, the "dead" villager, Prince Ying, suddenly moved, and Ye Yuanan was ensnared in a net by the villagers. Prince Ying intended to take her away, but the family of the two robbers, whose bodies had been found in the temple, angrily demanded her execution for their deaths.
Amidst the villagers' cries for "a life for a life," Ye Yuanan quickly opened a brocade pouch Tianshu had given her. Inside, she found Tianshu's instructions: "Believe in love, Yuan'an. When you two are at war, kiss him mouth to mouth." Initially enraged by the bizarre advice, Ye Yuanan, seeing Prince Ying momentarily distracted, swiftly kissed him. The kiss triggered a flood of memories for Prince Ying. He remembered everything, recognizing her and exclaiming, "I remember! I remember everything! Yuan'an. You're Yuan'an! I am Mu Le. Your Mu Le!"
