Ever Night Episode 9 Recap
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The Emperor of Tang, unable to attend the Academy entrance examination due to the sudden illness of the Sixth Prince, sent a eunuch to relay his decree for Princess Li Yu to supervise in his stead. Li Yu, privately frustrated by the change, arrived at the Academy alongside her brother, Li Hunyuan. Meanwhile, Ning Que, accompanied by Sang Sang, found the Academy gates bustling with hopeful examinees. Despite Sang Sang's worries about his chances, Ning Que remained confident.
Zhong Dajun, Li Yu's cousin, rudely pushed his way through the crowd, nearly knocking Sang Sang over and insulting her. Ning Que, angered by this, was about to confront him when Chuyou Xian intervened, warning Ning Que against provoking the princess's cousin. Upon Li Yu's grand arrival with Hunyuan, Chongming, who was also present, noted the Emperor's absence and quickly departed with his retinue. The Academy's chief instructor, Crane Huang, and Li Yu's uncle, Li Peiyan, greeted the royal siblings.
Zhong Dajun was at the forefront, enthusiastically flattering Li Yu and Hunyuan. Disgusted by his display, Ning Que and Sang Sang quietly slipped into the Academy. Li Yu informed everyone that the Emperor was occupied with palace matters and that she and Li Peiyan would supervise the exams. Before the first exam, Sang Sang anxiously reminded Ning Que to fill the paper even if he didn't know the answers and to write neatly.
The first test was Arithmetics, with a half-hour time limit. Ning Que, finding the question about the Sage and the wine "ridiculous," quickly wrote down his answer and handed in his paper early. Li Yu, Li Peiyan, and Hunyuan were surprised by his swift completion. When Crane Huang confirmed the question was personally set by the Sage, Li Yu grew concerned that Ning Que might have left early due to the difficulty.
In the following Rituals exam, Ning Que, unable to answer any questions, filled the entire paper with exquisite calligraphy, quoting from the "Treaties on the Response of the Tao" in the hopes that his handwriting would earn him sympathy points. After a lunch break, the Music exam began. Ning Que observed other examinees, including the talented Xie Chengyun from Southern Jin, playing instruments with skill and regretted not learning one himself.
When his turn came, Ning Que frankly admitted he knew nothing about music and quit the exam. Li Yu, seeing him leave again, became visibly distressed, a reaction noticed by Hunyuan and Li Peiyan, who seemed to understand her affection for Ning Que. Unbeknownst to them, Chongming's assassins had already infiltrated the Academy.
When his subordinate reported the Emperor's absence, Chongming ordered the plan to proceed, changing the target from the Emperor to Princess Li Yu, who he wanted killed at any cost to destabilize the Tang Empire. Later, the Sage instructed Yu Lian, the Third Lady of the Academy, and Chen Pippi, the Twelfth Master, to grade the exam papers. Chen Pippi was highly impressed by Ning Que's Arithmetics answer, giving him an A+.
However, Yu Lian found Ning Que's calligraphy in the Rituals exam suspicious for a male examinee, deeming it a trick and assigning him a D-. The sixth exam was Archery. After a fixed-target assessment, examinees were moved to a forest for a "running target" round, where they were instructed to shoot each other with special non-lethal arrows. Scores were determined by how many times an examinee was hit, with the best score going to those who remained untouched.
Ning Que, confident in his abilities, intended to win by hiding. As the exam commenced, Chongming's assassins, mingled among the examinees, killed a candidate who tried to shoot one of them. Ning Que, observing from a tree, heard cries for help and descended to find Chuyou Xian under attack. Ning Que intervened, knocking down one assassin and discovering half a waist token on his body.
Meanwhile, Chongming arrived at the examination grounds seeking an audience with Li Yu, unable to call off his assassins. Mu You, the Seventh Lady of the Academy, activated a cloud and mist formation, enveloping the forest in a thick fog. Ning Que relentlessly pursued the assassins. One assassin seized an opportunity, aiming a real arrow at Li Yu. Chongming shouted a warning.
Unable to reach the assassin in time, Ning Que shot Li Yu with his blunt-tipped exam arrow, knocking her down and saving her from the fatal shot. He then found himself surrounded by the remaining assassins. Just as he was fighting desperately, Jun Mo, the Academy's Second Master, appeared and swiftly dispatched all the attackers. Stunned, Ning Que knelt, begging Jun Mo to take him as a disciple and teach him cultivation, offering his "gold" and claiming he was gifted.
Jun Mo coldly refused, stating that Ning Que's aperture and snow-covered mountain were completely blocked, rendering him unable to cultivate. Defiant, Ning Que declared that if his fate was set by Haotian, he would "rebel against Heaven." Jun Mo told him that if he wished to follow him, he must first ascend to the Second Floor. After the incident, Li Peiyan, seeing Li Yu was unharmed, ordered a thorough investigation.
As Chongming departed, Huashan Yue expressed his suspicion to the princess, pointing out Chongming's timely appearance and suggesting the real target had been the Emperor, heavily implicating Chongming in the plot. Separately, Chen Pippi sought out Jun Mo, only to be reprimanded for leaving the mountain without permission and punished by being forced to copy scriptures a hundred times. Ning Que reported to Xu Chongshan, confirming the assassins carried Revolt Party tokens.
Xu Chongshan, already aware of the organization, ordered Ning Que to get into the Academy and uncover any remaining members. Ning Que, however, was more preoccupied with his poor performance in the exams. Later, the Sage announced his intention to travel to the Wasteland with his First Disciple, mentioning that the peony fish of Hot River were reaching their peak season.
Chen Pippi, eager to join, presented the Sage with newly invented desserts and fresh watermelon juice, but the Sage gently declined, instructing him to remain at the Academy and continue his inventions. In the city, Xu Chongshan implemented a lockdown to search for the Revolt Party. Despite the failed assassination, Chongming rallied his followers, acknowledging their failure but emphasizing they had demoralized the Tang people.
He reminded them of his fifteen years as a hostage and his father's vision for them to be a powerful "dark chess piece"—a "wolf that hides in the darkness," waiting for the day Yan is rejuvenated to "fiercely sink its teeth into the neck of the Tang beast."
