Blood River Episode 26 Recap
> Blood River Recap
Xin Baicao was confronted by Night Crow, who remarked on his years of martial arts practice. Xin Baicao asserted that a physician's duty to save lives necessitated self-protection. Night Crow dismissed his views as naive and had his subordinates knock Xin Baicao unconscious, expressing satisfaction that his senior brother had fallen into his hands. Night Crow ordered Xin Baicao to be taken to the Tang Clan.
Meanwhile, Su Zhe found his daughter, Bai Hehuai, in a sorrowful state, knowing she missed Su Muyu. He comforted her, pointing out Su Muyu's good qualities compared to Su Changhe, and advised her to be more open-minded, assuring her that things were not as bad as they seemed. He explained that Blood River members, though they might consider others friends, must maintain distance to protect them from the inherent dangers of their existence.
Later, Bai Hehuai discovered Xin Baicao's Death-Chasing Serpent, a creature kept by Medicine King Valley disciples to summon help when in dire danger. This immediately made her worry that Xin Baicao, despite his cautious nature, had encountered peril. Mu Xuewei and Mu Qingyang arrived in Jin City. Mu Qingyang considered visiting Mount Wangcheng, but Mu Xuewei noted the presence of Tang Clan members, implying their trip would be cut short. Masked assassins then attacked them.
Mu Xuewei quickly deployed poison, impressing Night Crow, who was observing from a distance. He recognized her refined poisoning technique and ordered his subordinates to capture her. Mu Xuewei soon realized her poisons had no effect on the attackers, discovering they were "drugged puppets" — mindless, fearless, and immune to all poisons, as described in the Patriarch's letter. Despite their resistance, both Mu Xuewei and Mu Qingyang were overpowered and captured.
Night Crow found Mu Xuewei to be a "perfect poisonous person" and wanted her for himself. Su Changhe and Su Muyu also arrived in Jin City, observing locals playing Mahjong and chatting. Su Changhe dismissed it as idle bragging, but Su Muyu saw it as an exchange of information, where people utilized each other's value.
They encountered Manager Mu, who was visibly terrified upon learning Su Changhe was the Blood River Patriarch and hearing Su Muyu use the term "gua wazi," which the manager had misleadingly taught Su Muyu was a warm greeting. Su Muyu realized he had been tricked and that the term was an insult, recalling an earlier duel where he had used it.
Su Muyu then informed Su Changhe that Mu Xuewei and Mu Qingyang had entered Jin City and that Mu Qingyang was now the Mu family head, deducing from the manager's ignorance that they were missing. Su Muyu felt the situation was dire. Mu Yumo infiltrated Tang Fort, quickly encountering Tang Lian. She bound him, introduced herself as his future "master's wife," and used a fingertip blade identical to his master's as proof of her claim.
Tang Lian, though initially skeptical of his master having a romantic interest, was convinced by the token. He revealed that his master, Tang Lianyue, had been in seclusion in Lianyue Pavilion for a long time, guarded by his martial uncles Tang Fulu and Tang Tianlu, which he found suspicious given their seniority. Mu Yumo went to investigate, while Tang Lian created a diversion to distract the guards, allowing her to proceed unseen. She discovered Tang Lianyue frozen solid.
Tang Lian was furious at his master's condition and urged Mu Yumo to escape and find help, while he was captured by Tang Fulu and Tang Tianlu. The uncles decided to imprison Tang Lian to extract information about the hidden weapons vault, as ordered by their superior. Mu Yumo escaped and reported her findings to Su Changhe and Su Muyu. She described Tang Lianyue's frozen state, and Su Muyu recognized it as the effect of a rare "Frostmoon Cocoon."
He explained it could temporarily freeze even powerful martial artists and surmised that his captors were replenishing it to maintain control, suggesting they sought something from him. Mu Yumo also suspected that Mu Qingyang and Mu Xuewei might be trapped within the Tang Clan. Recognizing the grave danger, Su Changhe agreed they needed a comprehensive plan before re-entering the Tang Clan to rescue them.
The Baixiao Hall leader, learning that his envoys to Jin City had gone missing and hearing reports of major events brewing, decided to intervene despite his organization's usual non-involvement in martial affairs. His concern stemmed from Tang Lianyue, his close friend, who had not reported back to Tianqi City. He suspected that changes in the Tang Clan signified larger shifts in the martial world.
With Su Changhe and Su Muyu already in Jin City, he planned to send another capable individual to the Tang Clan. Meanwhile, Mu Qingyang, injured and pursued by Tang Clan members, released a Soul-Calling Paper Butterfly, a unique signal only Mu family heads could summon to mark their near-death state and guide allies. Just as he was about to be captured, Lei Yunhe appeared on a crane and rescued him.
Lei Yunhe explained his family, the Lei Clan, had a long-standing feud with the Tang Clan, which was his sole reason for intervention. Mu Qingyang promised to cause significant trouble for the Tang Clan in return, a prospect Lei Yunhe seemed to relish before flying off to attend to other matters. Following the Soul-Calling Paper Butterfly, Su Muyu tracked its path to locate Mu Qingyang. However, before he could find him, Tang Tianlu, an elder of the Tang Clan, appeared and immediately engaged him in a hostile confrontation.
