Ever Night Season 2 Episode 43 (Ending) Recap
> Ever Night Season 2 Recap
Ning Que carefully prepared a steaming bowl of spicy and sour noodle soup, presenting it to the Heavenly Maid. He hoped the delicious aroma would be irresistible, listing the precise ingredients like "thirty scallions, four peppercorns, not one less," and calling it their family's specialty. The Heavenly Maid, however, remained unimpressed, defiantly refusing to even taste it, and ordered him away. As she did, she couldn't help but remember the sweet scene of once sharing noodles with Ning Que.
Ning Que, not discouraged, began washing the pots and bowls, only then realizing Sangsang's past difficulties and hardships. The Heavenly Maid then appeared in the kitchen, asking if he was worried about her, feeling she was too bored and tired alone. When Ning Que replied he was fine now, she deliberately dirtied more dishes, stating the previous ones weren't enough. She desired to return to heaven and found his methods of appeasement too slow.
Ning Que, determined, offered to serve her everyday if she would stay in the human world, but she refused. When he asked if he could wash today's dishes tomorrow, she again refused, insisting he clean them now. Ning Que resignedly continued his chores.
That night, Ning Que brought the Heavenly Maid water to wash her feet, then voluntarily climbed into bed, offering to warm it for her, just as he used to do for Sangsang, who suffered from a cold disease. He reminisced about how he always warmed her bed, though she never returned the favor, but assured her his "hot body" made it alright. The Heavenly Maid warned him that if he spoke another word, she would make him "sleep in fire."
Ning Que responded that despite the recent hardships, he was happy because he knew she was Sangsang. He confessed that while she made him suffer greatly, it was all worthwhile as long as they could be together. He then invited her to join him in the now-warmed bed. Enraged, the Heavenly Maid violently threw him off. The next morning, Ning Que joyfully discovered it was snowing heavily, recalling how he and Sangsang once built a large snowman by Yanming Lake.
The Heavenly Maid, however, ordered him to sweep the snow. He agreed cheerfully, and even wrote "Sang" in the snow with his broom, a gesture the Heavenly Maid dismissed as childish before defiantly wiping it away. Sangsang (as an observing consciousness) remarked on the Heavenly Maid's harshness, noting that sweeping was tiring.
The Heavenly Maid retorted that Ning Que's current efforts didn't amount to a fraction of the times "she" had cooked for him, washed his bowls and feet, and mopped floors. Sangsang then listed Ning Que's sacrifices for her: feeding her, carrying her on his back, washing her diapers, and fighting beasts and people to protect her when she was being hunted by the entire world. The Heavenly Maid dismissed these as meaningless trivialities.
Sangsang observed that the Heavenly Maid's story in the human world was planned, but Ning Que was an "unexpected person" who came uninvited and never left. This "red dust intent" was why the Heavenly Maid, despite her indifference to others, felt angry and tormented by him. Ning Que, continuing to sweep, reiterated his unwavering love for Sangsang, no matter how she treated him, and questioned what the Heavenly Maid could do to repay all he had given her.
The Heavenly Maid then told Ning Que he could live in the human world, but he rejected the offer, stating he didn't want to live without Sangsang. She threatened him with eternal damnation if he refused. Ning Que then demanded she return his "wife" to him, explicitly stating he wanted "her" (the Heavenly Maid, implying she is Sangsang).
The Heavenly Maid commanded him to sever his natal relationship with Sangsang, but Ning Que flatly refused, saying it was impossible unless she came home with him. She snatched his broom, but Ning Que, undeterred, began clearing the snow with his bare hands. The Heavenly Maid challenged him to beg for his broom back, but Ning Que ignored her, painstakingly building a snowman that perfectly resembled Sangsang. Sangsang (as an observing consciousness), noted that Ning Que truly loved her.
Gazing at the snowman, the Heavenly Maid commented that the moonlight was beautiful, "like one hundred thousand taels of silver." Ning Que immediately recognized this materialistic comparison as uniquely Sangsang's, triumphantly proclaiming that she was indeed Sangsang, despite her denials. The Heavenly Maid simply told him to get back to work, which he happily did, calling her "my wife."
Later that night, Ning Que confronted the Heavenly Maid, demanding she return what belonged to him, referring to it as his "life root," something vital that made life "very inconvenient" without. In his mind, he saw the Heavenly Maid as Sangsang and moved to kiss her, but was violently thrown to the ground. Struggling to his feet, Ning Que declared he would no longer be enslaved, but also refused to give up Sangsang.
He asked if she ever, even for a moment, missed their shared past. She coldly replied, "No," adding that she didn't care who he was, calling him "nothing more than an ant." Heartbroken, Ning Que declared he had no other option but to leave. The Heavenly Maid called out to him. She then revealed that all the cherished memories he held were fake, part of a grand design she orchestrated.
She explained that she and the Sage had been locked in a thousand-year conflict, unable to defeat each other. Using "sky calculation," she wove a "game of nature" and descended to the human world, eventually forcing the Sage to ascend to heaven at Sishui River. All of Ning Que's treasured memories were simply parts of her plan, making him a "fool" if he believed them.
Ning Que was devastated, questioning if their entire life together was a lie designed to kill his teacher. He asked why she didn't keep fooling him and why she let them part. The Heavenly Maid clarified that she had "never left him," but explained that while the memories and their natal bond were precious to him, to her, they were merely elements of her plan, and the Sage's "human power" infused within her was a "poison" that made her weak.
Ning Que realized that their unforgettable time together was all part of her calculation, and that "time" itself was the greatest poison. Overwhelmed, Ning Que decided he no longer wished to live alone. He leaped off a cliff, declaring he would rather die with Sangsang than live without her. As he fell, Sangsang (her inner consciousness) declared her undying love for Ning Que, vowing they would be together no matter what, and bravely jumped after him.
As they embraced in mid-air, the Heavenly Maid forcefully separated them, calling them "foolish ants." Ning Que later awoke to find himself cradled in the Heavenly Maid's arms, realizing she had saved him. He acknowledged his desperate tactics, admitting he was too powerless compared to her and had simply used the "cry, make a fuss, hang oneself" methods that Sangsang often employed to control him. The Heavenly Maid, still holding him, said she wasn't ready for him to die yet.
She told him to get up and asked where he wished to go. Ning Que deferred to her, saying she usually decided these things. The Heavenly Maid then declared that this time, she would follow his lead and expressed a desire to "see his human world." Just then, the big black carriage arrived. Ning Que and the Heavenly Maid, who had now fully embraced her identity as Sangsang, set off.
Ning Que and Sangsang traveled to a graveyard to visit the tombs of Yanse and Wei Guangming. Sangsang recounted a dream where a woman, who called herself Sangsang, took her to the immortal realm. Ning Que told her it wasn't Sangsang but her teacher Wei Guangming, who must have missed them and known they were coming.
Ning Que then paid his respects to his master, Yanse, asking how he was doing and if there was spicy and sour noodle soup in heaven. He told his master, Yanse, he had fulfilled his promise and hadn't disgraced him, hoping to have more time to practice calligraphy and ponder his past teachings, but lamenting that his master wouldn't be at the South Branch Temple anymore. Sangsang then laid a mung bean cake, Wei Guangming's favorite, at his grave. With their farewells said, Ning Que and Sangsang departed in the big black carriage, ready to continue their life's journey together.
