Love of Thousand Years Episode 22 Recap
> Love of Thousand Years Recap
Tan Chuan remorsefully told Fu Jiuyun she had lost the spiritual lamp, which she now understood was a treasure from his master. Fu Jiuyun reassured her, stating that their journey was not without merit, as he still retained Li Yuan's spiritual power in a container. He planned for them to rest for the night before traveling to a place inhabited by the people of Li. Meanwhile, Lady Qiuhua was being forcefully evicted from Gaodu.
She protested loudly, citing her daughter's status as the Prince's consort, but was informed it was Grand Commandant Zhang's order to clear out spies amidst the chaos. Upon seeing Xuanzhu preparing to depart without her, Lady Qiuhua quickly boarded the carriage. Xuanzhu expressed her own exhaustion with Tianyuan, asserting that after being used as a pawn for Zichen and then Li Yuan, she wanted to leave regardless of her mother.
Fu Jiuyun brought Tan Chuan to a settlement of Li refugees, intending for her to relax. To their surprise, they encountered Xuanzhu and her mother, as well as Zuo Zichen's father, Premier Zuo, who was alive and well. The Premier explained that a demon doppelgänger had replaced him while he was imprisoned. Overjoyed to see the Princess alive, he knelt before Tan Chuan and vowed to dedicate his life to rebuilding the nation of Li, rallying the hopeful refugees.
Later, the Premier approached a pensive Tan Chuan, encouraging her to view all of Li's people as her family and asking about the day their nation was destroyed. Tan Chuan, still hiding her identity, insisted she was merely an ordinary citizen who did not comprehend national hatred or revenge. Zuo Zichen, who had followed her, later confronted her about concealing her identity.
Tan Chuan confessed her guilt, admitting the man she sought revenge on was not his real father and that she had wronged all the people of Li. Zichen returned a hairpin she had given him, urging her to let go of the past. As Tan Chuan walked away in sorrow, a child named Xiaohua tried to cheer her up by giving her a small paper figurine.
Back in her room, Tan Chuan used her spiritual power to manifest her cat, but it dissolved into smoke. She was distraught, realizing it had sacrificed itself to save her during the battle at the palace. Seeing her grief, Fu Jiuyun had Bai bring her a pastry. Tan Chuan cried as she ate, prompting Bai to tease her for being so sentimental, which earned him a playful hit.
Later, Meishan found a distracted Fu Jiuyun and accused him of visiting Tan Chuan again. Fu Jiuyun admitted he had only peeked through her door. Meishan lamented how his mood now mirrored Tan Chuan's, missing his old, emotionless self. Fu Jiuyun countered that the endless emptiness of immortality was worse than the finite suffering of mortals. Worried, Meishan suggested finding the spiritual lamp and lighting it to grant him rest.
Fu Jiuyun explained this was too dangerous, as the Nanman demon king now possessed all seven forces and the Suoling Nail would not contain him for long. If the demon king wanted to destroy the lamp, he would inevitably come for Fu Jiuyun. Fu Jiuyun then sought out Zuo Zichen, who assured him he had moved on from Tan Chuan and only wished for her to recover from her despair.
Fu Jiuyun pointed out that Zichen and the others wanted Tan Chuan to be a goddess who could restore their nation, but this prevented her from being herself. He declared that he now understood true love was not just about protection, but about helping her achieve her own dreams, and he would help her restore Li. At Xiangqu Mountain, the Suzerain returned to find his rare treasures being used by the refugees to pickle vegetables, enraging him.
He demanded Fu Jiuyun restore his power, but Fu Jiuyun feigned a grave injury from fighting the demon king. When the Suzerain asked for the spiritual lamp instead, Fu Jiuyun lied that it was lost. The disbelieving Suzerain accused him of withholding it because of Tan Chuan and vowed to expel the Li people from his mountain once he regained his power. Zuo Zichen found Xuanzhu and presented her with Xiyan flowers, which she used to love.
Xuanzhu sadly dismissed the gesture, stating that with the Premier's return, she was no longer needed and assumed Zichen could now be with Princess Yanyan. Zichen corrected her, insisting that he and Yanyan were in the past and that he wanted Xuanzhu to stay and face their shared destiny tied to Li's fate. Just then, the Premier arrived and formally bowed to Xuanzhu, addressing her as the "Princess," the last of Li's royal bloodline.
In private, the Premier warned Zichen of the Tianyuan State Preceptor's immense power and spoke of his own declining health. Believing Princess Yanyan had died, he advised Zichen not to grieve excessively. Zichen affirmed his sole desire was to help restore Li, which pleased his father, who entrusted him with the heavy responsibility of uniting their people.
Meanwhile, Xuanzhu encountered the Suzerain, who revealed the spiritual lamp's immense power: forged from an ancient dragon, it could absorb all demon souls when lit. When Xuanzhu asked why it hadn't been used, he reluctantly confessed the secret to lighting it involved a blood bond.
