Sword and Beloved Episode 4 Recap
> Sword and Beloved Recap
Quan Rumu sought out the raccoon dog demons Lu Qiba and Lu Shangxia, who were squabbling over a pilfered roasted chicken in a dilapidated temple. Rumu, having consumed their chicken, offered them a task: to track a specific individual and report his whereabouts. When the two demons brazenly demanded five hundred taels for the job, Rumu scoffed, revealing his knowledge of their clan's customs.
He explained that a raccoon dog demon’s braid, which takes a very long time to grow, is crucial for courtship, and losing it is akin to becoming a eunuch in human society. With a swift movement, he severed their braids, promising to reattach them perfectly once the mission was accomplished, effectively coercing them into his service. Meanwhile, Wangquan Fugui and Qing Tong arrived at a picturesque lake.
Qing Tong, thrilled by the beautiful scenery, promised to weave a brocade of the lake to show Wangquan Fugui once his eyesight recovered. She expressed her joy, and Wangquan Fugui noted that the outside world must indeed be beautiful because of her happiness. As they approached the Li family residence, Wangquan Fugui handed Qing Tong an Aura Concealment Talisman, instructing her to keep it on her to hide her demonic aura.
He had arranged for her to pose as a maid sent by Butler Fei, advising her to stay in the guest room and avoid contact with others. Qing Tong, aware that Alliance Chief Wangquan Hongye would be present, expressed concern about his reaction to Wangquan Fugui’s blindness, but Wangquan Fugui assured her that as long as he remained undefeated, his injury wouldn't matter to the Chief. The Blue Sky Convention began, hosted by the Li family.
Li Muhai announced the three-day competition, divided into Physical Combat, Skill, and Mind, with the winners gaining access to the Third Young Master of Aolai’s secret Spiritual Stone. Wangquan Hongye, discussing his nephew Wangquan Fugui’s eye injury with Li Quzhuo, casually dismissed it as a minor wound that would heal in a month. Quan Jingting, having struggled to arrange a meeting with his son, finally caught up with him.
Quan Rumu, however, was clearly disinclined to spend time with his father, sarcastically remarking that the dullest place on earth was by his father's side. He pressed Quan Jingting to reveal his true motive for seeking him out. Quan Jingting admitted his friends were concerned about the blind Soldier's perceived invincibility and wanted to witness Quan Rumu's true strength. During the Physical Combat Contest, Wangquan Fugui challenged all of the day's victors.
Quan Rumu, despite his poor health, put up a fight but ultimately lost his strength after one strike. Wangquan Fugui easily defeated all other challengers. Afterward, Quan Jingting urged Quan Rumu to return with him, reminding him that everything he worked for would eventually be Rumu's. However, Quan Rumu bitterly recounted his past, revealing the depth of his father’s cruelty.
He reminded Quan Jingting that he was exiled to the Western Regions for practicing forbidden arts, taking young Rumu along despite his severe asthma and the harsh desert conditions. Wangquan Hongye had offered to let Rumu stay, but Quan Jingting insisted, declaring that Rumu, as his son, was "mine in life and his ghost in death." Quan Rumu continued, detailing how his asthma worsened in the Western Regions while Quan Jingting neglected him, relentlessly killing demons and making enemies.
One day, Rumu was captured by an enemy seeking revenge, but Quan Jingting callously stated that Rumu was "of no use" and that his life "meant nothing." After escaping, Quan Rumu wandered the desert for over a decade, with his father never once searching for him. It was only after Rumu made a name for himself with his swordsmanship in the Western Regions that Quan Jingting reappeared, not with love, but with further manipulation.
He had taken Rumu’s friends hostage to force Rumu to work for him, a love more poisonous than arsenic. Quan Jingting then produced a pill, claiming it would boost Rumu’s spiritual power to ensure he defeated the Soldier. When Rumu refused, Quan Jingting revealed a trap where Rumu's friends were covered in crude oil, threatening to burn them to ashes with a single spark.
Facing his friends' imminent demise and his father's True Dragon Power, Quan Rumu reluctantly ingested the pill. Quan Jingting then ordered him to attend the evening banquet to make up for his earlier absence. At the Li family, Wangquan Fugui was settled into a chamber with a side room for his maid. Later, at the evening banquet, Quan Rumu made a dramatic entrance, asking for a spot in tomorrow’s competition despite missing the day's contests.
Wangquan Shouyi explained that only those approved by the Soldier could participate, suggesting Rumu prove his strength. Quan Rumu then challenged Wangquan Fugui, and after a brief exchange, Wangquan Fugui approved his participation. Back in her room, Qing Tong was practicing her sword when Quan Rumu appeared. He observed her swordsmanship, noting its similarity to Wangquan Fugui’s, and deduced she wasn't human.
When he claimed responsibility for blinding Wangquan Fugui, Qing Tong became enraged, nearly attacking him until Wangquan Fugui intervened, identifying Rumu as a friend and stating there was more to the story of his eyes. Quan Rumu playfully called Qing Tong "sister-in-law," which flustered her. She insisted she was merely Wangquan Fugui’s maid, to which Rumu retorted that she should learn to speak like a normal person. Wangquan Fugui then inquired about the mission with the raccoon dog demons.
The three rode to the lake where Wangquan Fugui and Rumu had played as children. Qing Tong, observing Wangquan Fugui skipping stones, asked about their history. Quan Rumu recounted how, sixteen years ago, he easily breached the highly guarded "Soldier's barrier" at the Wangquan Manor. He found a young Wangquan Fugui, who lived in isolation in the Cold Pool, listening to a cricket.
Rumu, after accidentally killing the cricket, was fiercely reprimanded by Wangquan Fugui, who declared it his "only friend." To make amends, Rumu offered to be Wangquan Fugui’s friend and took him outside the manor to the lake, teaching him how to skip stones. Wangquan Fugui, yearning to see the world, cherished these moments. When Quan Rumu had to leave with his father for the Western Regions, Wangquan Fugui gave him a specially crafted skipping stone as a farewell gift.
Qing Tong, hearing their story, wondered why Rumu would blind his friend. Wangquan Fugui clarified that the eye injury was a deliberate, pre-arranged act to appease Quan Jingting. Rumu had sought out Wangquan Fugui shortly after Qing Tong transformed into human form, and they conspired to use the blindness as a means to gain time and save Rumu's friends from Quan Jingting’s clutches. Rumu explained that his father would have used other dirty tactics against Wangquan Fugui anyway.
He then noted that Wangquan Fugui, having received little affection, cherished his friendships greatly. The raccoon dog demons, Lu Qiba and Lu Shangxia, finally arrived, complaining about Rumu’s coercion. They reported tracking Quan Jingting to Xiyun Hall, where he disappeared into a cave. Wangquan Fugui and Rumu concluded that this was likely where Rumu's friends were imprisoned. Quan Rumu then confided in Wangquan Fugui about the mysterious pill his father forced him to take that morning, expressing a bad premonition.
He asked Wangquan Fugui not to hold back if he acted strangely during tomorrow's competition, and requested that if he were to die, Wangquan Fugui would deliver a message to a dragon demon carrying a snowflake gourd: that Rumu never blamed her. Wangquan Fugui and Quan Rumu finalized their plan for the next day: Rumu would participate in the Skill Contest at the Blue Sky Convention to buy time, while Wangquan Fugui would infiltrate Xiyun Hall to rescue Rumu’s friends. Wangquan Fugui assured Rumu that he would not let him die, promising to return to him after saving their friends.
