Sword and Beloved Episode 19 Recap
> Sword and Beloved Recap
Exiled to the Western Regions and stripped of his cultivation, Fugui settled in Sandstorm Town, making a living by crafting paper lanterns. Though he introduced himself as Wang, the locals referred to him as Lantern Wang. A man of simple needs, he found survival easy, yet his mind often drifted back to his peaceful, joyful days with Qing Tong in Huadeng Village.
Despite his longing to find Qing Tong, Fugui understood that with his powers gone and the Western Regions in turmoil, locating the Water-Control Orb was paramount. To prepare for this, he secretly practiced daily, striving to regain his lost inner power. He recognized that potential threats still loomed large in the Western Regions, and with a binding spell restricting his movements, he could only keep his deep longing for Qing Tong to himself.
One day, a young girl came to his home, captivated by his fish lanterns. Her father was ill, and she wished for a lantern to bring him comfort, but she had no money. Fugui, touched by her sincerity, offered a lantern in exchange for the chrysanthemums she held. Back inside, he carefully placed the flowers in a vase and tended to them. Soon after, a small, adorable corsac fox appeared, drawn to the chrysanthemums.
Fugui noted its strong demonic power, realizing it should have been able to transform into a human long ago, and suspected its attraction to the chrysanthemums was the reason it stayed. The fox, however, was a picky eater and only consumed meat. When Fugui refused to provide it, the fox stubbornly remained. Forced to indulge its appetite, Fugui took it to the market to buy meat.
There, he overheard villagers discussing the Corsac Fox State's search for its long-missing Second Prince. Fugui wondered if the little fox by his side could be the prince. Indeed, the old king of the Corsac Fox State was consumed with worry over his missing Second Prince, Yunfei. His Imperial Preceptor urged him to eat, just as a guard reported a lead on Yunfei's whereabouts. The king immediately ordered his troops to bring his son back, no matter what.
Meanwhile, Fugui was resting when bandits burst into his home, holding a knife to his throat and forcing him to accompany them with his valuables. He was led to a courtyard filled with other captives, where a fierce female bandit passionately addressed the group, striking anyone who dared to resist. Disapproving of her harshness, Fugui spoke out, catching the bandit leader's attention. Impressed by his appearance, she took him to a private room.
Yunfei, captured by the Corsac Fox State's guards, was brought before his father. The king, his eyes filled with sorrow, pleaded with him to stay, for he was old and the state needed an heir. Yunfei, the son of the Queen, harbored sympathy for his older brother, Yunhai, who, despite being older, was of lower birth and thus denied the throne by both the Queen and the King.
To allow Yunhai to inherit, Yunfei had always refused to transform into human form. He revealed that he had indeed returned to the palace the day his brother passed away. Yunhai had been harmed by evildoers and chose to die with them. His passing left Yunfei with deep resentment and a reluctance to return to the palace. Yunhai had loved chrysanthemums, explaining Yunfei's own fondness for them.
The old king, with tears streaming down his face, admitted his own incompetence in failing to protect his eldest son, emotionally begging Yunfei to take on his human form. Seeing his father's distress, Yunfei agreed. Overjoyed, the king immediately declared Yunfei the sole prince of the Corsac Fox State, promising him the throne on his wedding day, and announced a full-scale search for the Water-Control Orb, the sacred relic of their clan.
However, Yunfei mumbled that he only said five words in total, indicating his true reluctance to transform. The king later advised Yunfei that instead of directly breaking into the bandit's hideout to retrieve the Water-Control Orb, he should use his charms, as slyness and deceit were the nature of the Corsac Fox, rather than acting recklessly. Subsequently, Yunfei was delivered to the female bandit's camp, presented as a "beauty" from a nearby village to appease the bandit leader.
There, he encountered Fugui. The female bandit, finding Yunfei more attractive and seemingly easier to handle than Fugui, decided to keep Yunfei for herself. As Yunfei was being led away, he whispered to Fugui, "It's okay. It's me, that mutt. I'll use my demon power and wisdom to save you and protect you." Overhearing them, the female bandit scorned Fugui for his defiance and threw him into a cell with other captives to perform hard labor.
Inside, Fugui encountered a powerful leopard demon whose meridians had been sealed. Using his strategic mind, Fugui precisely guided the demon and other prisoners, calling out commands that enabled them to overpower the guards in a coordinated attack. Meanwhile, Qingcheng intercepted a small demon sent from the Thousand Silk Cave.
Qingcheng, learning that the Soldier had his sword meridian cut off, his power lost, and was exiled to the Western Regions, threatened the demon not to reveal this information to Qing Tong. Upon returning to Qing Tong, who was now dressed lavishly, Qing Tong questioned his changed appearance and the true nature of Qianji City.
Qingcheng admitted to decorating the room for her, but then, with some reservation, he explained that the former Qianji City Lord was a cruel and bloodthirsty monster who hunted demons to absorb their power. Qingcheng recounted being captured himself when the entire Deer Village's demons were drained of their energy. He claimed to have escaped by killing the old City Lord and taking over. Qing Tong expressed her sorrow for failing to protect him.
Qingcheng, however, cunningly expressed his desire for a share of her love, acknowledging the Soldier's importance to her. He assured her that he had sent people to search for the Soldier and that Qianji City would always support her, then encouraged her to rest. Unbeknownst to Qing Tong, Guifeng, a clone of the Black Fox, had possessed Qingcheng.
Guifeng taunted Qingcheng for lying to Qing Tong, reminding him that he only managed to kill the old City Lord because of Guifeng's power. Guifeng revealed that Qingcheng was dying and his body would soon be taken over. Qingcheng vehemently denied this, fearing that Qing Tong would worry if he disappeared.
Guifeng mockingly pointed out that Qingcheng and Qing Tong were not related by blood, and Qing Tong only cared about the Soldier, viewing Qingcheng as a discarded, weak, and lowly failure. Enraged by Guifeng's words and a sense of betrayal, Qingcheng declared that he could not die and vowed to kill everyone. Guifeng fueled Qingcheng's hatred, saying that desire, pain, and hatred must be extreme and crazy enough for true power.
Qingcheng, consumed by his desire for Qing Tong, cried out that his sister belonged to him, confirming his total surrender to Guifeng. Guifeng then stated that he would complete Qingcheng's "nirvana" for him. Guifeng further advised Qingcheng that his simple tricks wouldn't keep Qing Tong by his side forever, to which Qingcheng declared he would do whatever it took to sever all her ties to anyone else and keep her with him.
