Love a Lifetime Episode 42 Recap
> Love a Lifetime Recap
After Xuan Ye and Liuli decided to leave Dragon Howl City for a life free from conflict. Xuan Ye, unaware of Rong Su's true intentions, felt deep shame and guilt for abandoning Dragon Howl City and Rong Su, believing himself to be a deserter who no longer deserved to wield a sword for her. Despite his heartfelt apology, Rong Su harshly dismissed him, calling him stupid and telling him to leave her sight.
Liuli, however, defended Xuan Ye, pointing out that his sincerity was evident as he chose to return for the insults rather than abandoning her entirely. Rong Hua tried to intervene, but Rong Su insisted Xuan Ye leave. As Xuan Ye and Liuli departed, he thanked Rong Hua and reiterated his perceived failure, to which Rong Hua remarked that Xuan Ye should know Rong Su's temper better than she did.
Once Xuan Ye and Liuli were truly gone, Rong Hua confronted Rong Su, telling her to drop her pretense. Rong Su admitted her relief that they had left. She confessed that her harshness was to ensure Xuan Ye, whom she considered her most loyal and trusted man, would not be dragged back into the endless struggles of Dragon Howl City, which was now a shadow of its former self.
Rong Su expressed that in such uncertain times, true sincerity was rare, and if she could fulfill Xuan Ye and Liuli's genuine love, she would, adding that Liuli, though mischievous, was truly sincere towards Xuan Ye. Rong Hua observed how much Rong Su had changed. Rong Hua then announced her intention to go to Tingfeng Town to find Lin Jing, but Rong Su cautioned her against the danger.
Meanwhile, Guan Buzhuo reported Mei Ying's escape to Mo Huan, confirming that Lin Jing had helped him leave Dragon Howl City. He also assured Mo Huan that her men were in pursuit. When asked about other movements in the city, Guan Buzhuo deliberately withheld information about Liuli's escape, claiming everything was normal. Mo Huan then inquired about Jinque's progress in finding the Rong sisters.
Guan Buzhuo replied that Jinque was working diligently and results would come soon, but Mo Huan expressed her suspicion that Jinque would be unable to harm her beloved disciple, Liuli. Mo Huan then declared she would give Jinque only half a day before taking matters into her own hands. Guan Buzhuo relayed Mo Huan's ultimatum to Jinque, who remained calm, believing Liuli's escape was her own fortune.
Jinque prepared to confess to Mo Huan to protect Guan Buzhuo, but he stopped her, emphasizing their shared fate as husband and wife. He reminded her of Mo Huan's ruthlessness—that she would rather kill an innocent person than let a potentially involved one off, citing Mei Ying as a prime example. Guan Buzhuo reassured Jinque that he had bought them time by pretending Jinque would torture Liuli, thus removing the guards.
He promised to protect her, but Jinque worried about escaping Mo Huan's grasp. Later, Mo Huan appeared in the dungeon where Jinque was tearfully cradling a female corpse, which Guan Buzhuo had disguised to look like Liuli. Jinque pleaded with Mo Huan to allow Liuli intact remains. Mo Huan seemingly agreed but then revealed she knew their deception, expressing disappointment that they couldn't execute their plan flawlessly.
Guan Buzhuo immediately took sole responsibility, explaining he tried to shield Jinque from Mo Huan's rage, knowing Jinque had been distraught since Liuli's escape and would have confessed earlier. Mo Huan pressed Jinque, who admitted she had attempted to help Liuli escape but the stubborn girl refused her help, and Jinque claimed ignorance regarding Liuli's actual escape.
Mo Huan then exposed her complete knowledge, revealing she had been monitoring Jinque all along and had placed tracking powder on Liuli, knowing she would try to flee. Mo Huan stated that Liuli herself was inconsequential; her true objective was the whereabouts of Rong Su and Rong Hua. With Lin Jing's power increased, Mei Ying's betrayal, and her own lingering injuries, Mo Huan felt a desperate need for trustworthy subordinates.
She sentenced Guan Buzhuo and Jinque to twenty lashes each and ordered them to remain in the city and spread the Rong sisters' location. Meanwhile, Rong Hua, under Lin Jing's guidance, had been practicing martial arts, making significant breakthroughs. Lin Jing received word from Cang Qi that Mei Xueman and Mei Ying were heading south towards the Mei mansion.
Soon after, Bai Weizhi brought urgent news that the Ling Sect had somehow discovered their escape route and that its disciples were converging to intercept them. Rong Hua immediately suspected foul play, knowing Cang Qi alone could not fend off the Ling Sect. She implored Lin Jing to go to Mei Xueman's aid.
Lin Jing hesitated to leave Rong Hua, but both Rong Hua and Bai Weizhi urged him to go, assuring him of their safety with Rong Su also present. Lin Jing, reassured, departed swiftly. At the Mei mansion, Mei Ying revealed to a shocked Mei Xueman that he had deliberately left markers along their path to prove his loyalty to Mo Huan. However, the Ling Sect disciples informed Mei Ying that Mo Huan's patience with him had run out.
Her current goal was to lure Lin Jing, and in doing so, Mei Ying and Mei Xueman were deemed expendable. The Ling Sect then attacked the Mei mansion. Lin Jing arrived during the fierce assault, fighting to protect the siblings, but Mei Xueman was severely wounded. As she lay dying, Mei Xueman expressed her surprise and joy that Lin Jing had come for her.
Realizing her end was near, she asked Lin Jing to promise to ensure Mei Ying could live out his days safely within the Mei mansion, despite his past misdeeds. She then made a final, poignant wish: in her next life, she hoped to be the woman Lin Jing would fall in love with at first sight, to share a life of unwavering devotion until death. Mei Ying, overcome with grief and regret, wept beside his dying sister.
At Rong Jingfeng's funeral, Rong Hua and Rong Su mourned their father. Rong Hua lamented the recent losses—first their aunt, then their father—and the rise of Mo Huan. Rong Su grimly noted that the other martial sects now sought revenge against the Rong family. As they prepared to depart, the funeral was violently interrupted by an attack from various martial artists.
Mo Huan then appeared, effortlessly dispersing the attackers, whom she called "ugly clowns" unworthy of taking the Rong sisters' lives. She admitted revealing their hiding place, adding that Rong Jingfeng would be "grateful" for her "masterly" intervention, after which his body was defiled and burned. Mo Huan then pointed to Rong Su's chest wound, explaining that if the bleeding wasn't stopped within the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Rong Su would die.
She then revealed that only she could save Rong Su. Rong Hua, realizing Mo Huan's meticulously planned scheme, bravely demanded to know her conditions if she intended to save them, or to simply kill them swiftly. Mo Huan, observing Rong Hua's defiance, found it amusing that Rong Hua's "begging" seemed more like a demand. Mo Huan then stated her condition: Rong Hua must pledge allegiance to the Ling Sect and serve her.
She gloated that Rong Jingfeng's death would not free the Rong family from her control, as long as any of their bloodline remained. To save her sister, Rong Hua submitted to Mo Huan. Rong Su awakened in Dragon Howl City, recovering under the care of Alliance leader Jinque. Jinque advised her to rest. Rong Su, defiant even in injury, declared she would rather die than serve the Ling Sect.
Jinque, however, reminded Rong Su of Rong Hua's sacrifice to save her life and urged her not to make Rong Hua's efforts in vain. Rong Su, concerned, demanded to know Rong Hua's whereabouts and what Mo Huan intended to do to her. Jinque revealed that Rong Su's martial arts had been crippled by Mo Huan and that if she truly didn't want to burden Rong Hua, she should focus on recovery.
Rong Su, knowing Mo Huan never spared a disabled person, immediately realized that Rong Hua must have made a grave concession for her life. She feared Rong Hua was suffering even more than she was. Mo Huan, in Dragon Howl City, confronted Rong Hua, asking if she was afraid. Rong Hua declared she feared nothing, not even death. Mo Huan countered that being her captive would be more painful than death, just as it had been for Rong Hua's mother.
Rong Hua accused Mo Huan of using Lin Jing to further her ambition, forcing him to cultivate the Command to the Dark Soldiers Skill to control the martial world, especially after Mo Huan's own attempt with the Chihua Pill had failed. Mo Huan dismissed Lin Jing as having a "soft heart" and incapable of great achievements. She then revealed her "new weapon" to control Lin Jing: Rong Hua herself. Mo Huan intended to make an example of Lin Jing's betrayal.
She then implanted an offspring worm, cultivated from the red flame lotus and derived from her own queen worm, into Rong Hua's body. This new parasitic technique was designed specifically to counteract Lin Jing's enhanced Command to the Dark Soldiers Skill. Mo Huan explained that Rong Hua's life was now intrinsically linked to hers; if Mo Huan suffered, so would Rong Hua.
She then twisted the situation, suggesting Lin Jing would never be able to harm her, knowing it would also kill Rong Hua. Rong Hua, horrified, understood this was Mo Huan's ultimate plan to manipulate Lin Jing through her. Mo Huan reveled in the thought of Lin Jing suffering the same pain as Rong Hua, anticipating his reaction. When Rong Hua attempted suicide to escape her control, Mo Huan threatened to kill Rong Su as well, ensuring Rong Hua could not abandon her sister in death.
