Explore With the Note Episode 12 Recap
> Explore With the Note Recap
The team found themselves inside the main hall of the Ling Palace, a vast ice dome. The air was frigid, and their flashlights barely pierced the gloom. Wang Pangzi, eager to illuminate their surroundings, attempted to light the lamps, but Wu Xie quickly stopped him. Wu Xie explained that the structure's integrity relied on the low temperature; any significant heat would melt the ice crystals of the roof, causing the entire palace to collapse.
Meanwhile, Huo Xiuxiu, who had been secretly tracking Zhang Hao, confronted him about stolen relics. She managed to subdue Zhang Hao and was attempting to get information from him when his reinforcements soon arrived, putting her in danger. Just as she was in trouble, Xie Yuchen and his men, including Jia Sha, intervened, rescuing her. Xie Yuchen admonished Xiuxiu for her recklessness, reminding her that dealing with such dangerous situations was not for a single woman.
He emphasized that everyone makes sacrifices for those they love: Wu Xie ventures into the Empyrean Palace for his Uncle Sanxing despite immense risks, and Xiuxiu must face the truth for Madam Huo. Xie Yuchen also implied he had his own sacrifices to make. He then instructed Jia Sha to keep a close watch on Zhang Hao, believing him to be a lead to a larger network and aiming to "catch a big fish."
Back in the Ling Palace, the group pressed on, the silence and increasing cold making them uneasy. Wang Pangzi tried to break the quiet with conversation, but Zhang Qiling warned that noise could prevent them from hearing mechanisms or traps. Hua Heshang, however, suggested traps were unlikely given the area's use for rituals and the ice's preserving nature, which would render any mechanisms unusable.
As the cold intensified, numbing their limbs, Wang Pangzi lamented his "layers of fat" were no longer protective after his time in the hospital. Chen Pi noted that no one could endure such cold for long, especially given they had just entered. As they built a small fire for warmth, they heard faint, intermittent cracking sounds. Zhang Qiling, investigating, discovered the pillar bases were made of ice and immediately ordered the fire extinguished, despite Wang Pangzi's complaints about the cold.
Wu Xie clarified that these weren't simple ice pillars but contained special additives, giving them a color similar to the stone. He also explained the hall's unique climate: white gas released from the bases during the day due to warmer temperatures would condense into frost at night, a cycle that created the hall's distinctive atmosphere. Considering the dangers of both freezing and causing a collapse, Wu Xie suggested they withdraw and return better prepared.
Chen Pi, however, dismissed the idea, asserting that if the younger members couldn't endure the journey, they might as well give up. The group ultimately decided to press on. They soon reached the center of the main hall, where a massive column stood. From a distance, it resembled a dragon ascending through clouds, but closer inspection revealed a bizarre creature, neither human nor Buddha, but rather a colossal leech or house centipede clinging to the pillar.
Hua Heshang identified it as a mutated form of Tengri, the chief god in Eastern Xia religion, but found it unusual that the palace lacked common ritualistic items like a giant cauldron, funerary candles, or ceremonial resting places. Wang Pangzi, unimpressed, joked about the "false idol."
Wu Xie, however, suggested it might be an evil spirit from Haitian fetishism, similar to one he had seen in an exhibition, and speculated that it could be an image of the Lord of Slavery, considering his origins from underground creatures. Wang Pangzi, ever on the lookout for valuables, discovered several bronze monkey statues, which Hua Heshang deduced must be the centipede god's guardians.
He found it strange that bronze was used, as iron tools were prevalent during the Ming Dynasty, questioning the anomaly with Zhang Qiling. Further on, they came across a large jade door. Wang Pangzi excitedly recalled seeing a similar door auctioned for 400 million Hong Kong Dollars, but Wu Xie quickly debunked the figure as auction hype, stating its actual value was significantly less, perhaps only forty thousand. Despite their efforts, they found no obvious way to open the door.
Wang Pangzi then shrewdly suggested that the opening mechanism might not be on the door itself, prompting everyone to search the surrounding area. At the base of the giant centipede statue, Wu Xie discovered a nine-palace grid puzzle with four missing pieces embedded in nearby stone pedestals. Initially, they struggled to remove them, but Wu Xie, remembering a detail or sequence from the patterns on the pieces, figured out how to extract one.
He explained it was a sequential mechanism, and others soon managed to retrieve the remaining pieces. Fearing a wrong move could activate other traps, Hua Heshang suggested they make rubbings of the puzzle patterns before attempting to solve it, and Wu Xie assisted him. Meanwhile, Wang Pangzi and Lang Feng used their phones to photograph the intricate carvings on the hall's pillars, hoping to find more clues.
Shun Zi, observing the pillar carvings, offered an explanation: they depicted the legend of the Goddess of Snow Mountain, who long ago awaited her warrior husband's return. When he never came, she chose to slumber in Changbai Mountain, transforming into its guardian goddess so he could find her someday. Wang Pangzi immediately connected this to the Lord of Slavery, inferring that the goddess was his wife, and Wu Xie pondered if the entire palace was her tomb.
As Chen Pi studied the puzzle's patterns, he felt a strong sense of familiarity, as if he had seen them in a tomb before, but despite prompting from Wu Xie, his aging memory failed him. The patterns on the puzzle pieces were found to be Sanskrit, suggesting they might need a scripture for reference.
