The Wanted Detective Episode 30 Recap
> The Wanted Detective Recap
A stone door slowly opened, revealing a long, deep underground tunnel. With a mix of apprehension and curiosity, the group carefully ventured deeper. Feng Qingzhuo speculated that the person who set up the secret chamber's mechanisms was very likely his Junior Master Uncle. He recounted how his master used to speak of his junior, Bei Hai, as a prodigy in the Poison Valley, whose talent for alchemy and poison-making surpassed both his master and Old Bug combined.
Bei Hai was the most valued disciple in the valley until he fell deeply in love with a woman he brought back from his travels. Unexpectedly, she turned out to be a spy from another sect. Despite her betrayal, Bei Hai could not bring himself to harm her. Ultimately, the Valley Chief himself administered a poison called Separation Powder to the woman.
No one anticipated the depth of Bei Hai's love; to save her, he knelt outside his master's door for a day and a night. Although his master knew the antidote from the Yin-Yang Book, he could not defy the Valley Chief. In a desperate act, Bei Hai tested the poison on himself, gambling with his life, and successfully neutralized it. After curing the poison, Bei Hai and the woman fled the valley, disappearing without a trace.
Feng Qingzhuo concluded that only Bei Hai could have accomplished such a feat, or created such a puzzle using that particular poison. He also suggested that Bei Hai's underground chamber might have been prepared for disciples of the Poison Valley. As they pressed on, they discovered a secret chamber containing the corpses of a woman and a man, presumed to be Bei Hai and his wife, having been dead for about twenty years.
A thick cloth on a stone wall concealed a significant secret. Upon removing it, they found carvings detailing a shocking history from the 36th year of Ningtai. The Emperor was gravely ill, causing turmoil in the court, while five border nations formed an alliance and attacked without declaration, leading to military defeat and civilian displacement. In this dire situation, a miraculous Swift Wind Pill was discovered, capable of turning the tide.
Bei Hai, confident in its power, demonstrated it by having a warrior take the pill, enabling him to single-handedly defeat many foes. Impressed, the Emperor regarded Bei Hai as a savior. Bei Hai then tirelessly worked day and night in the secret chamber, diligently recording his progress as he refined more Swift Wind Pills. The records continued, detailing how the Canfeng Army, commanded by Prince Wu Lie, numbering a thousand strong, took the Swift Wind Pill before battle.
They launched a surprise attack on the allied forces, who were caught off guard due to sandstorms. Despite losing eight hundred men, they successfully killed the enemy leaders and returned to Haiya victorious, hoping to reunite with their families. However, once back, the remaining two hundred soldiers of the Canfeng Army suddenly went berserk, attacking those around them. Bei Hai, witnessing this horrific sight, realized the Swift Wind Pill was the cause.
He ceased taking it himself, believing it would restore him, but the pill's potent "dan toxin" had deeply permeated his system. When he stopped, his meridians could not adapt, and the stimulated internal energy rampaged chaotically, causing hallucinations where he perceived everything as a threat, leading him to attack others. He documented his desperate efforts to find an antidote, exhausting all his knowledge.
With more and more people becoming infected and the Swift Wind Pill supply dwindling, officials in the capital debated the escalating crisis at Haiya. Aware of the Emperor's fragile health, they decided to contain the information and seal off Haiya to prevent public panic. They also considered contingencies if no antidote was found, as the infected soldiers, now powerful, mindless beasts, could unleash an unmanageable catastrophe. The Emperor, momentarily lucid, issued a single word: "Kill."
General Wu Lie was devastated by the order to slaughter his own men, who had fought valiantly for the Qi Kingdom. Despite his anguish, he recognized the grim necessity to protect the capital and could not defy the imperial command. He gave the order to attack. Two teams sent into Haiya to carry out the massacre were lost without a trace.
Realizing that further attempts would be futile as the remaining Canfeng Army soldiers had completely lost their minds and scattered throughout the city, Wu Lie ordered his forces to withdraw from the city, seal the gates, and allow no one to leave, acknowledging that the innocent civilians inside, thousands of elderly, children, and women, would face certain death against the frenzied beasts. The stone record grimly concluded that Haiya had become hell on earth.
Days later, General Wu Lie, heavy-hearted, ordered the gates of Haiya to be opened. He reiterated the command that all survivors within must be killed for the sake of the Qi Kingdom's stability and to prevent the devastating secret from leaking out. He acknowledged that the Haiya citizens were innocent, but stated he had no other choice to protect the greater populace.
Zhong Yunchi, however, stepped forward, appealing to his fellow soldiers, Zongyao and Tong, reminding them of their humanity and urging them to "leave some roots for Haiya" for their families' karma. He declared he would bear all responsibility if the General blamed them. Persuaded by his unwavering resolve, the four men jointly rescued a male infant. Zhong Yunchi, knowing the gravity of the situation, sought out Bei Hai, whom he found in the underground chamber.
Bei Hai, filled with remorse for the Haiya catastrophe, entrusted Zhong Yunchi with the remaining Swift Wind Pills, pleading with him to deliver them to his senior brother, Wu Shuang, the Poison Valley Chief. He expressed hope that Wu Shuang, despite their past estrangement, would use his righteous character to develop an antidote and avert further disaster if the poison had spread.
Bei Hai also revealed that the carved history on the wall detailed Wu Lie's actions, likely carried out under imperial orders to burn Haiya and destroy the path leading to it, making the city vanish. He then gave Zhong Yunchi a thumb ring, the key to the secret chamber, as a symbol of hope for Haiya and the Qi Kingdom.
He hoped that if his senior brother failed to find a cure, a righteous person in the future, guided by the thumb ring, would discover the truth within the chamber, use the Swift Wind Pill formula hidden there to create an antidote, and ultimately reveal the truth to the world to end both the poison's and humanity's calamities. Lastly, Bei Hai tearfully implored Zhong Yunchi to protect his wife and children.
Just as Bei Hai prepared to take his own life, his wife, Xiao, refused to be a burden on her children and poisoned herself. The couple was then laid to rest together in the secret chamber. Bei Hai had marked his two sons, Bei Kun and Bei Ming, with incense scars on their shoulders, praying for their safety. As the group stood before the corpses, it was revealed that they were, in fact, Xiao Beiming's birth parents.
Zhong Xuexuan explained to Xiao Beiming that Zhong Yunchi had adopted him and that his mother's surname was Xiao. Xiao Beiming's brother, Bei Kun, however, was missing, his whereabouts unknown, with only Wu Lie possibly knowing his fate. As Xiao Beiming lingered near his parents' bodies, he inadvertently triggered a hidden mechanism, causing another stone door to slowly open in the chamber.
Behind the newly opened door, they discovered another stone wall, bearing the complete formula for the Swift Wind Pill. Feng Qingzhuo remarked on Old Bug's skill, having almost perfectly replicated the pill. He lamented that his master had been killed by Old Bug before he could develop the antidote from the formula Bei Hai had sent him. Feng Qingzhuo then encouraged Xiao Beiming, calling this discovery his master's dying wish and a crucial responsibility.
He emphasized the importance of committing the formula to memory and preventing it from falling into the hands of Yesha, expressing confidence that Xiao Beiming would eventually develop the antidote. Feng Qingzhuo then noted that Bei Hai had left them a way back. As they prepared to depart, deciding to leave Bei Hai and his wife in the secret chamber with a blank tombstone, the ground began to shake violently.
