Ever Night Season 2 Episode 16 Recap
> Ever Night Season 2 Recap
Li Zhongyi, the King of Tang State, embarked on a military expedition, with all civil and military officials respectfully bidding him farewell outside the city gate. Queen Xia Tian accompanied him, bringing their son, the Sixth Prince Li Hupo, so he could experience life. Xia Tian vowed to ensure their safety through the journey and back.
As the Tang army journeyed grandly towards Wei City, the First Elder of the Badlands, observing the King's move, discerned that the Tang State's true target was not the Badlanders. He instructed his tribes to be wary of the West Shrine, recognizing them as their real enemy, and to avoid provoking the Tang army, advising them to evade the Tang forces while their morale was high.
Upon their arrival in Wei City, Ma Shixiang, the general of Wei City, and his officers were already waiting to welcome the King. Li Zhongyi noted Ma Shixiang's aged and weary appearance, offering words of concern and noting the strong wind was to blame for his many wrinkles.
After Ma Shixiang reported the battlefront situation, mentioning that the empire's forces in the Badlands had reached one hundred thousand, and General Xian Zhilang's Northeast Border Army had arrived and joined forces with people in West Shrine, Li Zhongyi expressed concern about how many soldiers might not return home. Li Zhongyi then dismissed everyone else, wanting to speak with Ma Shixiang privately. The King inquired if Ma Shixiang had seen Ning Que.
Ma Shixiang immediately denied it, claiming he hadn't even seen Ning Que's shadow, though he knew Ning Que would pass through Wei City. Li Zhongyi exposed his lie, recounting details of how Ma Shixiang had spent the night of the third day of the tenth lunar month conversing cheerfully with someone over wine, even getting the West Shrine guests drunk and playing tricks on them before a large black carriage quietly left Wei City the next morning.
Ma Shixiang knelt down, admitting he had met Ning Que privately and that his earlier statement was false. Li Zhongyi, calling him "naughty," assured him he wasn't angry, understanding that Ma Shixiang's feelings for Ning Que were the same as his own. Ma Shixiang described Ning Que as looking haggard but still able to joke, recount his journey, and drink wine.
Both men expressed a strong desire to help Ning Que, whom Li Zhongyi considered his thirteenth younger brother and Ma Shixiang viewed as his own son, but felt powerless to do so. Li Zhongyi stated that only the Sage could truly resolve Ning Que's troubles, as the Sage was higher than heaven itself in the human world.
Ma Shixiang wished for the Sage to intervene, but Li Zhongyi concluded that mortals should not presume to understand the Sage's pace or thoughts. Meanwhile, in the capital, with the King away, Prince Li Hunyuan began acting as if he were already the new King of Tang State, demanding his servants make him happy. His Imperial Sister, Li Yu, reprimanded him for his foolish behavior.
She told him to be content with his lot and keep aloof from state affairs, as many eyes in the palace were watching his every move. Li Yu warned him that any mistake could be used against him when their father returned, and even she couldn't help him then. She promised that as long as he listened to her, the Tang State would be his sooner or later.
Li Hunyuan then recklessly suggested he would become the new King if their father died in battle. Li Yu was furious, calling him a "beast" and reminding him not to kneel to anyone but their father, as he was a prince and future crown prince. Li Hunyuan then admitted that Imperial Uncle Li Peiyan had visited him, offering to stand by their side if any accident occurred.
Li Yu dismissed Li Peiyan's "loyalty," reminding Li Hunyuan that he was a man who had once tried to usurp the throne. She immediately confronted Li Peiyan, forbidding him from seeing Li Hunyuan again to avoid gossip. Li Yu reiterated her desire for Li Hunyuan to honorably earn everything that was rightfully his. Elsewhere, Li Qingshan, Master of the South Branch of Sect Haotian, felt uneasy because King Li Zhongyi had disregarded his chessboard deductions, which the King usually trusted.
His disciple, He Mingchi, listened as Li Qingshan expressed concern that the King's decision to bring Queen Xia Tian and Sixth Prince Li Hupo on the expedition, while leaving Princess Li Yu to govern, might signify an intention to pass the throne to Li Hupo, a prospect Li Qingshan did not favor.
Li Qingshan revealed that Queen Xia Tian was a Saint Virgin of the Demonic Cult, a secret known to the King and the Academy but concealed from the public. He emphasized that the succession of the throne was a serious matter, and the South Branch of Sect Haotian, as devout followers of Haotian for generations, could not accept the son of a Demonic Cult Saint Virgin inheriting the throne, believing it would ruin the destiny of Tang State.
He Mingchi was shocked by this revelation. Li Qingshan praised He Mingchi for being a disciple who saved him much worry. He Mingchi wasted no time in relaying the Queen's true identity to Prince Li Hunyuan. Li Hunyuan wanted to immediately expose Xia Tian to disqualify Li Hupo from succession, but He Mingchi cautioned him to wait for the right moment, explaining that even the most powerful weapon only fulfills its purpose at the opportune time.
Li Hunyuan agreed to be patient. In the Badlands, the Badlanders suffered immense losses. In the twentieth year of Tianqi, they were crusaded against by the West Shrine and other states for sheltering Sang Sang, the Daughter of Lord of the Deceased. Sang Sang's health continued to worsen. Witnessing the devastation and displacement of the Badlanders, she felt deeply remorseful, believing her presence was the cause.
She expressed her weariness of constantly escaping—from Rotten-wood Temple to Xuankong Temple, from the Badlands to Chaoyang City, and back to the Badlands, finally to their current hiding place—and her desire to end her suffering, even wishing to go to the South despite knowing it might lead to her death. Ning Que tried to comfort her, suggesting their hard life was destined.
Sang Sang scoffed at "destiny" and "luck," musing that her master had called her his destiny, and she wondered aloud what hers was. Ning Que readily declared that he was her destiny. He agreed to take her South, reasoning that if death was inevitable, they might as well seek it on their own terms, believing that heading towards a dead end might paradoxically offer a chance at life.
Meanwhile, two disgruntled Badlanders, seeing their comrades fighting for Ning Que and Sang Sang while the two Tang people enjoyed themselves, plotted to assassinate them. They deemed Ning Que arrogant due to his powerful backing and considered the Daughter of Lord of the Deceased untouchable for now, but still hated them. However, Ning Que and Sang Sang departed silently during the night. The two Badlanders arrived to carry out their assassination only to find their targets gone.
The First Elder, who had already anticipated their nefarious intentions, reprimanded them, explaining that Ning Que and Sang Sang's escape and quiet decision to seek death was a desperate act, chosen as the only path that transcended the conflict of light and darkness. Ning Que and Sang Sang traveled south by carriage, passing through landscapes littered with corpses and rivers of blood, a testament to intense battles.
Ning Que remarked on the strong fluctuation of "original Qi from the nature," indicating a battle between powerful cultivators. Sang Sang recalled witnessing a similar phenomenon during the battle between Ning Que's Master Yanse and her Master Wei Guangming on North Mountain in the capital, noting that their power had contained the fluctuations. She pointed out that Ning Que had also "seen the clash of two Titans."
The Tang army, leading the Badlanders, fiercely engaged the West Shrine cavalry and other national forces in a devastating battle. As the war raged, Ning Que and Sang Sang's carriage approached the battlefield, accompanied by thousands of circling crows that cast a dark shadow over the landscape. A voice was heard, "Ning Que, you are here after all."
