And the Winner Is Love Episode 43 Recap
> And the Winner Is Love Recap
Zhong Xuezhi prepared to embark on a journey to Dongdu to seek revenge. As she bid farewell to Hongxiu, she noticed Yu Chuzhi was also leaving, heading north towards Dongdu. Finding it a convenient coincidence, Hongxiu suggested they travel together, which Zhong Xuezhi readily accepted, glad for the companionship on the road. Meanwhile, Lord Lu pressed Taishi Cheng to hasten Yuwen Muyuan's development of Black Fire.
Lord Lu believed that once he possessed the Black Fire, no martial arts sect, not even those who mastered the Nine Moves of Lotus God, would dare oppose him. Taishi Cheng concurred, remarking that some martial artists were obstinate, citing Shangguan Tou as an example of someone who, despite a bright future as the State Preceptor's son and Moon Valley's leader, chose to defy Lord Lu and met a tragic end.
Lord Lu, consumed by vengeance, declared that Shangguan Tou, whom he believed responsible for the deaths of his wife, Zheng, and their child, deserved to die countless times. He vowed to bring the entire martial arts world under his dominion, threatening those who resisted with Shangguan Tou's fate. He was confident that with Xia Qingmei's mastery of the Nine Moves of Lotus God and the impending Black Fire, all sects would soon submit.
Along the way, Shangguan Tou (disguised as Yu Chuzhi) asked Zhong Xuezhi if revenge was truly that important. Zhong Xuezhi affirmed its importance, stating she didn't want the martial arts world to fall into the hands of those she despised, even if she cared little for its internal affairs. Shangguan Tou mused about how hatred consumed people, leading many heroes to die in vain and ruining many loves and families.
Suddenly, Feng Mo, acting on Lord Lu's orders, led an ambush. Zhong Xuezhi confronted the attackers, but was gravely injured when Black Fire exploded, impairing her vision. Shangguan Tou swiftly carried her to a dark cave for refuge. Inside the cave, Shangguan Tou treated Zhong Xuezhi's eyes. The familiar scenario, mirroring their first meeting when he had also healed her, stirred her suspicions. Listening to his voice and breathing, she found it difficult to reconcile his identity as Yu Chuzhi.
She held her sword to his neck, demanding he open his fan. The distinctive sound of the fan opening, coupled with the realization that only Shangguan Tou possessed the light skills to rescue her from the Warriors in Black, confirmed his true identity to her. Despite her confrontation, Shangguan Tou continued to deny it. Unable to see clearly, Zhong Xuezhi then touched his chest, recognizing his heartbeat from their past encounter in the Moon Valley's flower sea.
Still, Shangguan Tou feigned ignorance, urging her to stop being unreasonable and respect boundaries between men and women. Later, after her sight partially returned, she saw the red thread Shangguan Tou had personally given her in the past, which she had once intended to burn after his supposed death, now tied around Yu Chuzhi’s waist as he slept. This final detail cemented her conviction.
The next morning, Zhong Xuezhi tested him again by standing at the edge of a cliff, reciting a poem of tragic love and pretending to follow her beloved into death. Shangguan Tou rushed to stop her, but she stepped off the cliff. He quickly rescued her, instinctively calling her "Zhi'er." With his identity exposed, Shangguan Tou could no longer conceal the truth.
A furious Zhong Xuezhi slapped him, demanding to know why he had kept her in the dark, even if it was part of a plan with the Crown Prince. Shangguan Tou explained that Lord Lu's paranoia necessitated his fake death; if Lord Lu knew he was alive, he would target everyone Shangguan Tou cared about, especially Zhong Xuezhi, making it impossible to maintain the deception and putting her in grave danger.
He detailed Lord Lu's cunning methods, from orchestrating events through proxies like Man Feiyue for the cold/fever illness, Feng Cheng for besieging Heavy Fire Palace, and using the pretext of military supply failure to seal the palace, making it impossible to find any flaws in his schemes.
He revealed that only by convincing Lord Lu of his death could Lord Lu lower his guard and expose his true intentions to the Crown Prince, who, despite being brothers with Lord Lu, required concrete evidence. Now that she knew the plan, Shangguan Tou stated he would have to include her in it. Zhong Xuezhi, understanding his difficult position, embraced their shared fate, vowing to face all challenges together.
Shangguan Tou sealed their reconciliation with a kiss, promising never to part again. Meanwhile, Taishi Cheng reported to Lord Lu that Feng Mo and the several Warriors in Black sent to ambush Zhong Xuezhi were dead. Lord Lu, shocked by the news and Zhong Xuezhi’s apparent martial prowess, suggested sending Xia Qingmei to deal with her, confident that Xia Qingmei, having mastered the ninth move of the Nine Moves of Lotus God, would be victorious.
Elsewhere, Lin Fengzi overheard alarming rumors on the street about the Sand Gang's extermination, with victims bearing the nine-petal lotus mark. The whispers suggested Zhong Xuezhi was the culprit, filling Lin Fengzi with unease as she suspected Xia Qingmei. When Xia Qingmei returned home, appearing somewhat lucid, Lin Fengzi pleaded with him to stop working for Lord Lu.
However, Xia Qingmei's eyes glowed red as his sanity slipped, declaring that assisting Lord Lu would make him the Sects Alliance Leader, the most powerful in the world. He raved about no longer being looked down upon, fantasizing about Shangguan Tou, whom he believed to be dead, bowing to him.
When Lin Fengzi reminded him that Shangguan Tou was indeed dead, Xia Qingmei reacted with a fit of rage and confusion, claiming he needed to be the one to kill Shangguan Tou. Lord Lu then summoned Yuwen Muyuan, assigning him a task.
A cautious retainer questioned Yuwen Muyuan's trustworthiness, but Lord Lu dismissed the concerns, believing Muyuan, having "killed" Shangguan Tou in front of Zhong Xuezhi, had no alternative but to align with him to fulfill his ambition of rebuilding Heavy Fire Palace. Yuwen Muyuan reiterated his commitment to helping Lord Lu achieve his grand vision in exchange for restoring Heavy Fire Palace.
Lord Lu confirmed that the ingredients for Black Fire were prepared according to Muyuan's formula and expected its completion within seven days. Despite Yuwen Muyuan's assurances, Lord Lu confessed to his retainer that he had Xia Qingmei on standby, wary of any deception from Yuwen Muyuan.
Shangguan Tou and Zhong Xuezhi returned to Winehouse of Fairyland, where Hongxiu informed them of the recent tragedies: the Sand Gang, Kunlun Sect, and Hanjiang Sect had been wiped out, their leaders missing, and all victims bearing a distinctive nine-petal lotus mark, the signature of the Nine Moves of Lotus God. Hongxiu added that rumors were circulating, accusing Zhong Xuezhi of being the perpetrator, similar to how her father, Chong Ye, was implicated in past massacres.
Zhong Xuezhi was appalled, explaining she had only mastered the sixth move. She wondered if someone was fabricating evidence to frame her. Shangguan Tou countered that unlike the single Huashan Sect disciple murder which was easily fabricated in the past, the current scale of attacks, involving multiple sects, made such widespread fabrication unlikely. He reminded her that Green Shark Gang leader Tie Xiao had indeed died from the fourth move of the Nine Moves of Lotus God.
He theorized that the killer must have genuinely mastered the Nine Moves of Lotus God, but without the complementary Lotus Sutra, would inevitably go crazy and indiscriminately kill, just as Zhong Xuezhi's father had. Shangguan Tou analyzed the pattern of the attacks, noting that the seemingly unrelated sects—Kunlun, Hanjiang, and Sand Gang—had all publicly opposed Lord Lu's proposed Sects Alliance at the Sword Manor meeting. He concluded that Lord Lu was undoubtedly involved.
Although Lord Lu, due to his palpitation, couldn't practice martial arts, he was certainly the mastermind. Remembering that Purple Hawk Sect, led by Liang Henshui, had also opposed Lord Lu, they rushed to intervene. However, they arrived too late; Purple Hawk Sect had also been annihilated, with its disciples slain and Liang Henshui, like the other leaders, inexplicably missing. Shangguan Tou suspected that Lord Lu's actions were far more sinister than merely making an example of dissenting sects, hinting at a much larger, darker conspiracy.
