Sword and Beloved Episode 9 Recap
> Sword and Beloved Recap
The Black Fox Elder Demon learned that the Soldier had developed genuine feelings for a lesser demon. Delighted by this, the Elder Demon dispatched a clone, Tai Sui, to meet Quan Jingting, who was confined in the Sword Tomb. Quan Jingting, whose martial power was already gone, asked for the Dragon's Spine Sword, declaring his willingness to do anything for it.
Tai Sui agreed to help him obtain the sword but first commanded him to be ready to let the Dragon Sigh penetrate his meridians, and then to fulfill his promise to push the Soldier into eternal darkness when the time was right. Quan Jingting readily agreed. Meanwhile, Fugui and Qing Tong arrived at Peach Village in Dingling Mountain, a tranquil haven meticulously built by Zhang Qi.
Qing Tong marvelled at the vibrant atmosphere, noting how humans and demons coexisted harmoniously, from a demon tending flowers to a turtle demon drumming up business, and even a human woman greeting a demon. The air was filled with a lovely fragrance, and everyone seemed to be smiling.
As Zhang Qi returned from his errands, he was greeted by the villagers, while the energetic little raccoon dog demon, Jiu, eagerly ran ahead to alert Zhang Qi's wife, Qingli, a beautiful and kind-hearted butterfly demon who helped him manage their idyllic village. Fugui and Qing Tong approached Jiu to ask for Zhang Qi's whereabouts. Jiu, initially wary, tried to give them drugged tea, but they saw through her trick. Reluctantly, she agreed to guide them to Zhang Qi's home.
However, Jiu played another trick, leading them into a noxious fog-filled forest before fleeing. She had recognized Fugui's sword as belonging to the Yiqi Alliance, believing them to be "terrible beings" who would kill any demon they encountered and were there to cause trouble for Zhang Qi. Fugui quickly cast a barrier, realizing they would have to wait until morning for the fog to clear. Unluckily, Qing Tong inhaled some of the noxious fog and began to hallucinate.
She imagined seeing a "little fox" and then spoke to one of Jiu's ducklings, whom she affectionately called "Little Fugui." In her delirium, Qing Tong revealed her deepest fears, expressing her reluctance to leave Fugui, worrying that he would be lonely and unable to care for himself without her. Fugui listened silently, deeply moved by her heartfelt confessions.
The next morning, when Qing Tong awoke, she asked Fugui if she had spoken any nonsense during the night, to which he calmly replied that she had been sound asleep, clutching his sword. Later, Jiu returned to the noxious fog forest, intending to club Fugui and Qing Tong unconscious and deliver them to Zhang Qi. However, she found them unharmed.
Realizing that the legendary Soldier, who supposedly killed all demons, had not harmed her, she reluctantly led them to Zhang Qi's residence. Fugui explained his purpose, and Zhang Qi, an old friend of Wangquan Hongye, did not react with hostility. Instead, he proposed a duel of sword intent, stating that if he lost, he would accompany Fugui to meet Wangquan Hongye. In a masterful display of internal skill, they engaged in a bloodless contest, using only their mental prowess.
Fugui emerged victorious, and Zhang Qi honored his word, accepting defeat. Fugui then revealed that a nefarious drug, called Chakuwa, originated from Peach Village. Zhang Qi, shocked, denied any involvement, explaining that he had never dabbled in elixirs, dedicating his life to sword practice and wood carving. He requested time to investigate the matter thoroughly.
While Zhang Qi began his investigation, Fugui and Qing Tong also started their own inquiry within the village, going through the intelligence scrolls collected by Jiu. Qing Tong, familiar with Jiu's crude but effective system (circles for humans, crosses for minor demons, two crosses for major demons), identified a human and three demons whose accounts contradicted the compiled information. Fugui agreed that these individuals were suspicious. The first suspect was a green demon named Xu Feng.
Fugui recognized him as Zeng Ming, who had challenged him three years prior. Zeng Ming explained his past grievances with the Yiqi Alliance and his challenge to the Soldier, but Fugui concluded that Zeng Ming was "clean," acting out of a past sense of injustice and fear rather than malicious intent. The second suspect, Fuying, believed to be a snake demon, was actually half-dragon, and his music master was a Ximen family elder who had renounced his cultivation.
Fugui found nothing suspicious about them either, leaving only the deer demon as the prime suspect. Meanwhile, Tai Sui informed Quan Jingting that he must accept the Dragon Sigh to restore his cultivation, which would transform him into a half-human, half-demon being. Tai Sui reiterated Quan Jingting's promise to push the Soldier into eternal darkness, and Quan Jingting agreed to all conditions.
After Xiao Lu, Quan Jingting's only attendant, was inhumanely killed, his blood flowed into the Sword Tomb, causing the formidable, crimson Dragon's Spine Sword to slowly emerge. Later, Zhang Qi introduced his wife, Qingli, to Fugui and Qing Tong. Qing Tong was astonished by their human-demon union and, curious, asked them to recount their love story. Zhang Qi spoke of his lifelong dream to create a paradise free of conflict.
He had spent seven years in Dingling Mountain, tirelessly clearing the noxious fog, and in his fifth year, as the fog receded, humans and demons began to settle. It was then that he met Qingli, whom he saved from bullies. Qingli, out of gratitude, frequently visited him. Zhang Qi recalled a moment of despair when a wolf demon he had taken in stole money and fled, making him doubt if human-demon coexistence was merely a pipe dream.
Qingli, however, encouraged him, urging them to work together to create a miracle, much like believing a dead tree could bloom. Qing Tong, deeply moved and envious, asked how Qingli managed to convince everyone to come to the village. Zhang Qi suggested that they would witness the answer for themselves during the Night Peach Ceremony later that evening.
Zhang Qi informed Fugui that he had ordered all residents to remain within Peach Village while the investigation into the evil medicine proceeded. Fugui added that his four sword attendants had already sealed all entrances to the village. Zhang Qi then showed them a Phoenix Flower, whose seeds were recently distributed by the deer demon, Lu Shu, and had just bloomed.
Fugui then revealed that Lu Shu was lying about his origins; two years prior, all deer demons had departed Xishu due to the desolation of its forests. Zhang Qi promised to immediately trace the deer demon's whereabouts.
