Love in the Clouds Episode 23 Recap
> Love in the Clouds Recap
Ming Yi and Ji Bozai shared an intimate night. The next morning, as Ming Yi watched Ji Bozai sleep, she remembered his oath to Bo Yulan never to let the Golden Millet Dream appear. Knowing she needed the medicine to live but couldn't ask Ji Bozai to break his promise, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
Twenty-Seven found her hesitant, and she explained that she couldn't force Ji Bozai to choose between his master's dying wish and her life. She was willing to bear the consequences and have him hate her, saying that the "golden millet dream" was coming to an end. Twenty-Seven insisted on accompanying her into the Spirit Well to steal the medicine. Ming Yi agreed, lamenting that "everything is over now."
Inside the Spirit Well, Ji Bozai appeared as Ming Yi obtained the Golden Millet Dream. He had transformed the Golden Millet Dream into the likeness of "My Heart's Delight," the wine she had once given him. Seeing her with the medicine, he was devastated. When Twenty-Seven tried to protect Ming Yi, Ji Bozai injured him, and Ming Yi used her powers to shield him.
Ming Yi offered herself to Ji Bozai, telling him to kill her if he must, but pleaded for Twenty-Seven's safety. Ji Bozai confronted her, asking if she was just like everyone else, only interested in the Golden Millet Dream. Ming Yi, feigning indifference, repeatedly confirmed that she had lied to him from the beginning and that her actions were solely for the Golden Millet Dream. Ji Bozai, heartbroken, called her "heartless."
He then destroyed the Golden Millet Dream and severed their heart imprint, ordering Ming Yi and Twenty-Seven to leave and never appear before him again. Ming Yi thanked him before leaving. Alone, Ji Bozai was tormented by flashbacks of their intimate moments and her declarations of sincerity, which he now believed were all calculated manipulations. The Grief Blossom on Ming Yi's wrist withered completely, signaling the end of her life.
Twenty-Seven, witnessing this, sacrificially channeled his entire cultivation into Ming Yi's spiritual veins to reform her last petal. He performed a spiritpact spell, declaring his intent to grant her peace with his divine consciousness. Ming Yi desperately tried to stop him, pleading with him not to trade his life for hers, as it would only prolong her life by a few days. Twenty-Seven, however, assured her that the spell was irreversible and he must save her.
He reminisced about her past victories and expressed his hope to see her live well, asking her to bring him dried fish if she missed him. After apologizing to Ming Yi, Twenty-Seven's spirit dissipated. Ming Yi was overcome with grief, repeatedly crying out for Twenty-Seven, apologizing, and begging him to come back and return to Yaoguang Mountain with her, but she then fell unconscious. Situ Ling arrived, collected Twenty-Seven's dissipated divine consciousness into a bell, and carried Ming Yi away.
Ji Bozai arrived moments later, only to see Situ Ling's retreating figure, which solidified his belief that Ming Yi's approach had always been purposeful and solely for the Golden Millet Dream, just like everyone else. Ji Bozai returned to Wugui Sea alone, sitting silently in his room. Memories of his time with Ming Yi, her seemingly sincere words and tender glances, flooded his mind, now tainted by the belief that they were all calculated manipulations.
He became lifeless, refusing to speak or eat throughout the night. Later, Buxiu reported that the scroll with Mu Xinliu's testimony had indeed been altered by a Yaoguang spell, although Buxiu could not restore it. Ji Bozai restored the scroll himself, revealing that Yaoguang Mountain, Zhushui Spiritual State, and Flowing Wave Gorge, encompassing the entire Upper Third Realm, were involved in a secret transaction related to Heavenly Grief, and Lord Hanfeng held a list of names to control them.
Buxiu remarked that Ming Yi, being from Yaoguang Mountain, would always side with them, and recalled Bo Yulan's dying wish regarding the Golden Millet Dream, which she made to prevent the greed it would incite. Ji Bozai concluded that neither Mu Qibai nor the Yaoguang Mountain participants were the true masterminds; the Emperor of Zhushui was the first to attack the Bo clan and had secretly manipulated Mu Qibai.
Ji Bozai resolved to swiftly deal with the Emperor of Zhushui to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy that befell his master and other innocents. Buxiu pledged his loyalty but urged Ji Bozai to take care of his health and eat. In Zhang Tai's courtyard, Zhang Tai anxiously watched over the unconscious Ming Yi. With no other options, Situ Ling sent a message to She Tianlin for help.
He explained his past with Ming Yi to earn his trust and revealed that Zhushui's secret art could temporarily suppress the Heavenly Grief. He used his own spiritual veins to slow the spread of the poison in Ming Yi. When She Tianlin arrived, he questioned Situ Ling's identity, recognizing his unusual actions. Situ Ling explained that Ming Yi had once suspected Zhushui's secret art could help.
He discovered that it was not the Soul-seizing Technique itself, but the direct channeling of spiritual power into the spiritual veins by Zhushui practitioners that provided temporary relief, a method only they could use. She Tianlin, enraged, threatened to storm Zhushui Palace to force their help. Upon Ming Yi regaining consciousness, She Tianlin pressed Situ Ling for his true identity. Ming Yi, still weak, defended Situ Ling, but She Tianlin revealed that Situ Ling was from Zhushui Spiritual State.
Situ Ling then confessed to Ming Yi that he hadn't been entirely truthful. He admitted he came to Jixing Abyss for the Golden Millet Dream because he lacked spiritual veins and was treated like a servant in Zhushui. However, after meeting Ming Yi, he no longer wished to keep the Golden Millet Dream for himself. He declared he would go to Ji Bozai to retrieve the Golden Millet Dream for her.
Ming Yi, alarmed, stopped him, revealing that Ji Bozai never possessed the Golden Millet Dream; he had merely spread false information to attract those who coveted it and never had the antidote. Situ Ling then despaired, wondering how they could possibly save Ming Yi now. Yan Xiao arrived to report on palace affairs. Tianji, however, confronted him.
She expressed her frustration that he constantly lied to protect her father, allied with Ji Bozai to shield her from her uncle, and always did what he thought was best for her without ever asking her what she truly wanted. Yan Xiao responded that he merely wanted to protect her.
Tianji then revealed her discovery: Yan Xiao had been secretly nourishing the Blessing Flower, a memento from her late mother, with his own blood for years, causing it to bloom year-round against its natural cycle. She recounted a memory from their youth where she cried over the withered flowers, and a young Yan Xiao promised to heal them.
Tianji pressed him, asking if he truly believed this sacrifice was what she wanted, given it was the only thing her mother had left her. Yan Xiao apologized, acknowledging that he had never asked her what she wanted and had only acted based on his own beliefs. Tianji, tearfully, embraced him. Checking on his wounds, she gently told him that from now on, he should hide nothing from her.
She asserted that she had grown up, and they would face everything together. Yan Xiao readily agreed. Their long-standing misunderstandings dissolved, and they reconciled. Immersed in the pain of losing Twenty-Seven, Ming Yi gazed at his residual divine consciousness collected within the bell, clinging to a faint hope. She Tianlin, understanding her plight, explained that a companion beast and its master, bound by a spirit pact, share the same fate in life and death, their destinies intertwined. He assured her that if Ming Yi's own spiritual veins could be reshaped, Twenty-Seven would naturally revive.
