Lost in The Kunlun Mountains Episode 26 Recap
> Lost in The Kunlun Mountains Recap
Luo Jiutian, deeply changed by a near-death experience, now operates with a pragmatic clarity, prioritizing his own survival above all else. He is content to simply follow orders and observe events unfold from the periphery.
While secretly monitoring Ding Yunqi's group with Xue Dingfeng, Xue Dingfeng expresses his desire for nothing more than to live peacefully, recounting how Commander Hu deceptively took his four disciples for photographs, only to execute them with a machine gun and brand them as tomb-raiding scapegoats. Commander Hu then provocatively questioned Luo Jiutian and Xue Dingfeng about any lingering resentment, to which they disavowed any, claiming the disciples were "useless."
Commander Hu then issued a chilling warning to Luo Jiutian to remain "tough" and not be "useless," or he too would face a similar fate. Xue Dingfeng, however, found Ding Yunqi foolish for saving Zhou Qiuhai instead of exploiting Zhou Qiuhai's disciples to coerce him into surrendering the Soul Pursuit Order. Luo Jiutian countered, expressing admiration for Ding Yunqi as someone who "cares about the world" and intends to unseal the Kunlun Mountains through honorable means, not by "dirty tricks."
Despite Ding Yunqi being an adversary, Luo Jiutian believes "Heroes respect heroes" and resolves to simply enjoy the ensuing "show" as Ding Yunqi confronts Zhou Qiuhai. The group later shares a meal prepared by San Jin, which Sun Sanxuan eagerly enjoys, having longed for warm food. Ding Yunqi then announces his intention to visit the Mound-digging headquarters alone the following day. Sun Sanxuan immediately objects, calling the plan "inappropriate."
Luo Yunsong echoes the sentiment, acknowledging Ding Yunqi's trust in Zhou Qiuhai but emphasizing Zhou Qiuhai's stubborn nature and his adversarial stance regarding the Kunlun Mountains. Luo Yunsong fears Zhou Qiuhai might even imprison Ding Yunqi to obtain the Heaven Official's Soul Pursuit Order. Ding Yunqi understands their concerns but explains that, being on Zhou Qiuhai's territory and needing his cooperation, an aggressive approach could backfire. He assures them he will be careful. Still worried, Sun Sanxuan expresses his unease.
Luo Yunsong, accepting Ding Yunqi's resolve, instructs their companions to discreetly scout the area around the Mound-digging headquarters to be prepared for any necessary intervention. Wu Shuang returns to the Mound-digging headquarters to see Zhou Qiuhai, reporting a smooth journey thanks to maps provided by Ding Yunqi and Luo Yunsong. She inquires about his injury, which he dismisses as "nothing serious," merely inflammation from a steel needle, assuring her that rest and medicine will suffice.
He laments his body's decline compared to the youth. Wu Shuang, with heartfelt loyalty, reassures him. Zhou Qiuhai then reveals his plan for Ding Yunqi: he will not harm him but will instead "make him shrink back from difficulties." When Wu Shuang presses for details, Zhou Qiuhai refuses to elaborate, fearing she might forewarn Ding Yunqi, leaving him "out of cards to play."
Wu Shuang earnestly reaffirms her unwavering devotion, stating that "Mound-digging and you are always the most important" to her. Zhou Qiuhai lightheartedly dismisses her, urging her to return to her lodging before others suspect them of conspiring, and she reminds him to finish his medicine. Later, Wu Shuang finds Ding Yunqi waiting for her outside her lodging. They take a walk together, and Wu Shuang opens up about her past.
She recounts arriving at Mound-digging as a small child, gravely ill with a high fever, and being nursed back to health by Zhou Qiuhai. However, she lost all her memories, retaining only a fragmented image of "a big fire" and no knowledge of her true identity or origins. Ding Yunqi gently suggests that forgetting painful memories can sometimes be a blessing.
Wu Shuang reveals that it took her a long time to accept her amnesia and embrace Mound-digging as her home. As they share a meal, Ding Yunqi praises her beauty, suggesting Zhou Qiuhai must be proud to see her "elegant and beautiful," but Wu Shuang playfully corrects him, calling herself the "great devil" of the town.
She then fondly recalls a local pancake shop and a peculiar "gain and loss" lock Zhou Qiuhai devised to deter his disciples from stealing pancakes. The lock would open easily, but anyone who took a pancake would find their hand trapped, unable to withdraw it unless they relinquished the treat.
Wu Shuang confesses to tricking her Senior and Sanmei into getting their hands stuck first, allowing her to then take the pancakes, an act for which her Senior still holds a grudge. She expresses a wistful yearning for those carefree days. Sensing her deeper anxieties, Ding Yunqi encourages her to speak her mind freely. Wu Shuang confesses her profound worry for him, explaining Zhou Qiuhai's lifelong dedication to Mound-digging and the Penta-sect, which makes anyone threatening them his sworn enemy.
She fears that either Zhou Qiuhai will harm Ding Yunqi, or Ding Yunqi will harm her master. She expresses a longing for them to be like birds, free from the quest for the Kunlun Mountains and the burdens of her forgotten past, simply building a nest together on a high cliff and living in peace.
Ding Yunqi reassures her, promising his safety and Zhou Qiuhai's long life, and assuring her that they will indeed become carefree birds together in the future, flying and building their nest. The next day, Ding Yunqi, accompanied by Luo Yunsong and Sun Sanxuan, arrives at the Mound-digging headquarters. A disciple greets them and directs Ding Yunqi to Zhou Qiuhai, but informs Luo Yunsong and Sun Sanxuan that only Ding Yunqi was invited.
The disciple offers to provide them with food and tea if they wish to wait outside. Sun Sanxuan, ever food-focused, asks about the offerings. Ding Yunqi tells his companions to wait for him, reassuring them he is merely going to "catch up with Uncle Zhou." Inside the headquarters, Ding Yunqi meets Zhou Qiuhai. Ding Yunqi respectfully addresses him as "Uncle Zhou," emphasizing the importance of traditional hierarchy even after the Penta-sect's dissolution.
Zhou Qiuhai concedes that the Penta-sect has indeed waned over the decades, leading him to offer Ding Yunqi the position of Heaven Official. He argues it is Ding Yunqi's "fate" and "responsibility," highlighting his unique ability to spontaneously gather the disciples of Gold-touching and Mountain-moving. With Mound-digging's allegiance, and only Mountain-demounting remaining, Zhou Qiuhai believes the Penta-sect could swiftly "regain glory."
Ding Yunqi firmly declines, citing his father's dying wish and the last Heaven Official's decree to disband the Penta-sect, which he refuses to disobey, subtly implying Zhou Qiuhai should uphold it as well. Unswayed, Zhou Qiuhai insists, stating he trusts only what he sees. He promises that if Ding Yunqi accepts the role, Mound-digging will follow his lead, and he will "willingly" present the Soul Pursuit Order. Ding Yunqi, still unwilling, requests an alternative condition.
Zhou Qiuhai then explains that many in Mound-digging owe Ding Yunqi their lives, but the sect is not ungrateful. He proposes a new challenge: beneath the headquarters lies a secret underground palace, riddled with intricate traps that even he has yet to fully decipher. He has placed the Soul Pursuit Order within. If Ding Yunqi successfully retrieves it, Mound-digging will not impede him.
However, if he fails, having seen the sect's secrets, he will be confined to the Mound-digging Region for the remainder of his life. Without a moment's hesitation, Ding Yunqi accepts, declaring that if he cannot conquer the Mound-digging underground palace, he has no right to aspire to open the Kunlun Mountains. Zhou Qiuhai commends his "courageous" spirit and directs him to find the entrance, which is located somewhere in the great hall.
As Zhou Qiuhai exits the room, Wu Shuang quickly closes the door, effectively sealing them both inside. She declares her intention to accompany Ding Yunqi, arguing that her intimate knowledge of Mound-digging makes her indispensable, and she refuses to let her "silly head" go alone. Ding Yunqi, observing the surroundings, suspects that Zhou Qiuhai's chair, usually untouched out of respect, might conceal a hidden mechanism.
To Wu Shuang's astonishment, after a lifetime in the hall without discovery, Ding Yunqi swiftly locates a switch on the chair's armrest. She exclaims in disbelief that she has "wasted more than ten years here." Meanwhile, in an adjacent room, Zhou Qiuhai monitors their progress through a listening device, expressing surprise at how "clever" they are for quickly bypassing the first checkpoint.
They proceed to the first actual challenge: a gate that Ding Yunqi identifies as a "Mandarin Duck Nine-grid Gate" lacking its defining "mandarin ducks," which implies a reversed nine-grid order. Wu Shuang quickly grasps the inverse pattern, correctly deducing the new shoulder, foot, and side alignments while the central five remains constant. With their combined understanding, they successfully open the gate, and Ding Yunqi remarks on its surprising lack of sophistication.
Their next chamber is unsettling, with couplets warning, "Silence speaks better than sounds. If there's a sound, a person will die. Peace blows better than winds. If there's wind, a head will be chopped off." Here, powerful gusts of wind carry treacherous "willow catkins," which are revealed to be tiny blades, and Wu Shuang sustains a minor cut.
Ding Yunqi guides her to a seemingly safe central spot and analyzes the room as an "air circulation system" with an "air intake on the ground," designed to create a continuous, deadly current. He connects this to trigrams, identifying "Xun as wind" and "Kan as water," concluding that the solution lies in "Xun on the outside and Kan on the inside."
He instructs Wu Shuang to use her Jingang Rope to transform the wind within the circle into the element of Kan. Their strategy works, halting the deadly winds, and they continue. Zhou Qiuhai, still monitoring, orders a fresh pot of tea, indicating a longer wait as their progress continues. Eventually, they reach a chamber adorned with statues depicting the "Penta-sect guardians." In the final chamber, Wu Shuang spots the elusive Soul Pursuit Order.
Ding Yunqi is initially surprised by the apparent ease of its discovery, but Wu Shuang recognizes the distinct lock securing it as the very same mechanism Zhou Qiuhai used to protect the pancakes in her childhood. She volunteers to "break" it, but a deeper, unsettling truth dawns on her: the true purpose is not to make them "shrink back from difficulties," but to force a profound, agonizing choice.
Without a moment's hesitation, Wu Shuang swiftly reaches into the lock and grasps the Soul Pursuit Order, deliberately allowing her hand to become trapped. She urges Ding Yunqi to take the Order and leave, explaining that this "trap can't be solved." Drawing a parallel to the childhood pancake lock, she states, "If you want pancakes, you have to pay. Now it's the same; if you want the Soul Pursuit Order, you have to sacrifice."
Ding Yunqi understands, voicing Zhou Qiuhai's cruel intent: "Your master wants me to choose between you and the Soul Pursuit Order, right?" Wu Shuang confirms his deduction, acknowledging the impossible difficulty of such a choice for him. With unwavering resolve, she tells him, "I've chosen for you. Take the Soul Pursuit Order and go."
