Ashes of Love Episode 30 Recap, Plot

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Qin Tong presented various precious trinkets to Xu Feng, but the King of Bian City found none to his liking until his gaze fell upon a miniature turtle. Xu Feng decided to keep the turtle, remarking that its timid, "cowardly" nature reminded him of Jin Mi. Meanwhile, Jin Mi was admiring a loong scale gifted to her by Run Yu. Xu Feng suddenly appeared and, upon seeing the scale, asked what it was.

Jin Mi explained it was a gift from a male immortal she knew, causing Xu Feng to become immediately jealous. He dismissed the idea of loongs existing and accused her of being tricked. He then possessively forbade her from seeing this immortal again, citing a national decree against sorcerers. Jin Mi offered to summon the immortal to prove him real, but Xu Feng swiftly refused.

He then scoffed at the authenticity of the loong scale, explaining that a true forbidden lamella is unique, dangerous to touch, and fatal to remove. When Jin Mi offered to return the scale since he didn't believe her, Xu Feng, after a brief moment, kept it, asserting it suited him and asking her to gift it to him. Jin Mi, however, refused to part with her friend's gift.

Xu Feng then gave her the miniature turtle, claiming he was not as "stingy" as her. Jin Mi thanked him and agreed the turtle resembled her. Xu Feng then seized the opportunity, stating that since he had given her a gift, she should reciprocate, adding that there was "only one thing" he truly desired from her.

Run Yu confided in Kuang Lu about his childhood, recounting how he was hidden by his mother at the deepest, darkest part of Taihu Lake from birth, living without light. He endured constant bullying from other water tribe children, who called him a "monster with horns" and a "little mixed-breed." He described an incident where his defiance led his mother, Su Li, to brutally pull out his loong scales and horns.

Run Yu's clothes were repeatedly stained with his own blood, and he recalled the "biting chill" that pierced him after each blood loss, an agony he described as being worse than death. He confessed that this profound cold was his greatest fear. Despite being the Heavenly Emperor's son, he felt immense envy for Kuang Lu, who grew up cherished by her parents, unlike himself, an "illegitimate son" forced to live in secrecy.

Kuang Lu listened with great empathy, her heart aching for his tragic past. Su Li, in Yunmeng Pond, expressed her displeasure to Yan You for bringing Run Yu to see her. Yan You defended his actions, stating he was concerned about her and wished to share her burdens. He questioned why she wouldn't acknowledge her son, Run Yu, despite missing him daily.

Su Li began to recount her painful past, revealing that she was once a princess of the Arowana Family, betrothed to Lord Qiantang's son. During a Heavenly Empress birthday banquet, she accompanied her father to the Heaven Realm. While there, she became entranced by the celestial sights, lost her way, and stumbled into the Xingjing Court, where she met an immortal. He introduced himself as the Night Immortal, Lord Beichen, and claimed to be on duty there.

They quickly developed a strong bond, meeting daily after dusk, and he gifted her a spirit fire pearl as a token of their affection. However, one day, Lord Beichen vanished without a trace. After making inquiries, she discovered there was no Night Immortal and no "Lord Beichen" in the Heaven Realm.

Later, Su Li realized this "Lord Beichen" was none other than the Heavenly Emperor himself, who had pursued her only because her appearance bore a resemblance to Zi Fen, the Floral Immortal. She understood that he was merely seeking a shadow of his lifelong love interest in her. Shortly after returning to Lize Pond, Su Li discovered she was pregnant with his child. She secretly gave birth to Run Yu, whom she affectionately called Li'er.

However, her father soon discovered the truth upon seeing the infant's true loong form, immediately recognizing the Heavenly Emperor as the father. In a fit of rage, he stripped Su Li of her princess title and annulled her engagement with Lord Qiantang's son. Lord Qiantang, in turn, filed a complaint with the Heaven Realm, accusing Su Li's father of breaching the marriage contract.

The Heavenly Emperor, with a wave of his hand, punished the Arowana Family by confiscating 36,000 qing of Taihu Lake's surface waters and ceding it to the Bird Family, forcing the Arowana Family to reside solely beneath Lize Pond. Yan You suggested that the Heavenly Emperor's actions were likely meant to appease the "jealous woman," the Heavenly Empress.

Su Li, however, clarified that it was a cunning "killing three birds with one stone" scheme by the Heavenly Emperor to sow discord between Taihu and Qiantang, divide the powerful southeast water system, control the prosperous Taihu Lake through the Bird Family, and simultaneously weaken the authority of the Water Immortal. As Run Yu grew, the terrible truth of his mixed heritage became increasingly difficult to conceal.

During one incident, when other children relentlessly bullied and insulted him, his desperate cries of defiance unleashed his innate tidal bore skill, creating a significant disturbance on the lake's surface. The Water Immortal was dispatched to investigate. Upon discovering that Run Yu was the Heavenly Emperor's son, the Water Immortal chose to conceal the truth from the Heavenly Empress, recognizing the danger the child was in.

He urged Su Li to protect Run Yu, knowing the Heavenly Empress would not tolerate his existence. To ensure Run Yu appeared as an ordinary fish and avoid detection, Su Li was compelled to repeatedly remove his loong scales and horns. However, Run Yu's powerful self-healing ability meant these features would regrow, subjecting him to a continuous cycle of excruciating pain.

Su Li confessed to Yan You that witnessing Run Yu's suffering, repeatedly bathed in his own blood, tore at her heart, yet she had no other recourse. Run Yu recounted to Kuang Lu the constant agony of his childhood, describing how he often wished for death. Once he was old enough to assume human form, he rarely revealed his true dragon body, as the scars beneath his scales were a source of "ugly and humiliating" shame.

One night, after overhearing an old fish say that fish cannot survive out of water, Run Yu, in desperation, decided to leap out of the lake. He described the breathtaking beauty of the starry sky, filled with what he perceived as "luminous pearls," and felt that dying in such a magnificent setting would be "worth it."

It was on that very night that the Heavenly Empress appeared to him (whom he initially perceived as a kind fairy), offering to take him to the Heaven Realm. She implied that by leaving the lake, he would not only escape his own suffering but also alleviate his mother's sorrow. This interaction made Run Yu realize with a crushing certainty that he had not been abandoned by his mother; rather, he had been the one to leave her.

Su Li continued her story to Yan You, explaining that the events that followed were widely known. The Heavenly Emperor’s persistent pursuit of the Floral Immortal and his rumored intention to replace the Heavenly Empress with her created great upheaval in the Heaven Realm. To secure her position, the Heavenly Empress personally descended to Taihu Lake, incinerating Lize Pond, forcibly taking Run Yu, and mercilessly annihilating the entire Arowana Family.

Su Li's father and brothers perished in the brutal attack, her father's dying wish urging her to live on and seek revenge. When Su Li next awoke, she found herself in Yunmeng Pond, having been rescued by the Water Immortal. Overwhelmed by despair and the loss of her family, Su Li initially wished to die, but the Water Immortal intervened, imploring her to live for Run Yu's sake.

He offered her a healing cream for her disfigured face, though she vehemently refused it, believing her beauty was the root cause of her family's tragedy. The Water Immortal explained the Heavenly Emperor’s manipulative tactics, which Su Li, in her grief, had not fully comprehended at the time. He advised her to keep her survival a secret, as news of her death had already spread, and assured her that Yunmeng Pond, under his jurisdiction, was beyond the Heavenly Empress's reach.

Inspired by her father's vow of vengeance, Su Li devoted thousands of years to rigorous cultivation, including forbidden arts, and painstakingly rebuilt Yunmeng Pond to mirror Lize Pond. She gathered old followers and recruited new ones, all with the singular goal of avenging her family and destroying the Bird Family. Su Li also confessed to Yan You that she discovered Jin Mi's striking resemblance to Zi Fen in his "beauty atlas."

This led her to mistakenly believe Jin Mi was the Heavenly Emperor's daughter. Acting on this belief, she exposed Jin Mi's identity during the Heavenly Empress's birthday banquet, hoping to create discord between the Heavenly Empress and Heavenly Emperor and thereby create an opportunity for the Arowana Family to "stage a comeback." She later learned from Rat Fairy that Jin Mi was, in fact, the Water Immortal's daughter, realizing she had almost wronged a benefactor.

Yan You assured her that Jin Mi, being kind and understanding, would comprehend Su Li's motivations if he explained the situation. Su Li reiterated that she had no choice but to pursue her revenge, which she believed could only be fully achieved by placing Run Yu on the Heavenly Emperor's throne. However, she recognized the perilous nature of this path and vowed to keep Run Yu uninvolved until success was assured. Yan You, touched by her profound parental love, light-heartedly noted that he was indeed just her adopted son.

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