Mirror: A Tale of Twin Cities Episode 1 Recap
> Mirror: A Tale of Twin Cities Recap
In the ancient myths, there was a sacred land called Yunhuang, inhabited by three major tribes: Kongsang, Quanxian, and Cangliu. Lang Gan and Bai Wei of Kongsang expanded their territory with the power of the six harmonies. In the depths of Yunhuang's Biluo Sea, the Quanxian Merpeople were nurtured, experts in music whose tears turned into pearls. The Cangliu tribe resided far away in the Lingqiu Mountains.
Seven thousand years ago, Lang Gan waged war, trapped the dragon deity, and sealed the Biluo Sea, preventing the merpeople from returning home for millennia. Seven thousand years later, a Quanxian merperson, to save his people, stirred up unrest in Yunhuang before disappearing. Now, he has returned. Su Mo, a Quanxian merperson, traveled toward Yunhuang with a group of people. Along the way, they encountered starving refugees.
Na Sheng, a refugee from the Central Plains, offered her limited food to a hungry child, despite protests from other merpeople who feared they wouldn't have enough for themselves. They warned that not everyone could reach the sacred land of Yunhuang. Later, Na Sheng offered to read Su Mo’s fortune, boasting of her accuracy since childhood. Su Mo warned her that Yunhuang was not a good place.
During the ritual, Su Mo saw words appear on the ground: "Every beginning starts with an end. The only way to fight the void is through creation and protection." Before he could read the final line, a gust of wind scattered the words. Na Sheng explained she could only perform one divination per person per year.
Su Mo, calling her tricks "small," was then surprised when Na Sheng revealed he had been calling out "Bai Ying" in his sleep, attributing it to a loved one or a deceased person. A hundred years prior, Bai Ying, the Eldest Princess of the Kongsang Bai Clan, completed her three years of training on Kongji Mountain and was summoned back to Jing City.
Her master reminded her of the Holy Sword Sect's tenets: to hold the Sword of Light, embrace mercy, uphold righteousness, and protect the people. Upon her arrival in Jing City, Bai Ying witnessed merpeople being cruelly treated by guards who claimed they were runaways from the Qing royal residence. The merpeople, however, whispered they were being taken to Xinghan Paradise. Bai Ying secretly followed the guards.
Su Mo then showered the guards with flower honey from above, attracting bees to distract them, and stealthily slipped into the merpeople's carriage. Bai Ying, puzzled by his apparent self-entrapment, also followed them to Xinghan Paradise. She gained entry by revealing her identity as the Bai Royal Residence's eldest princess. Inside Xinghan Paradise, Su Mo confronted Madam Ru Yi, another Quanxian merperson, in her room, accusing her of being there for the Sea Soul Pearl.
Madam Ru Yi was shocked by his knowledge, which Su Mo implied came from someone who died helping her. She urged him to leave and wait for her at a house nearby, as she had important matters to discuss after the upcoming Pearl Showing. Soon after, a subordinate informed Madam Ru Yi that Boss Jin, the proprietor of Xinghan Paradise, was waiting for her to prepare for the event.
Meanwhile, Boss Jin welcomed Bai Ying, explaining that the Pearl Showing involved merpeople being forced into a Transformation Pool, where they would either change gender or become pearls. He lavishly offered Bai Ying any merperson she desired. Su Mo, observing from a hidden spot, thought that this princess was not a good person either. While searching Boss Jin's study for the Sea Soul Pearl, Su Mo was discovered by Bai Ying.
They quickly understood each other's intentions to save the merpeople. As guards approached, alerted by Bai Ying's earlier actions against the merperson captors, Bai Ying handed the Sea Soul Pearl to Su Mo, wishing for the merpeople's tears to flow back to the sea. They then escaped the room together. Elsewhere, Madam Ru Yi was secretly briefing her subordinates, Xiao and Ting, on their plan to rescue the merpeople during the Pearl Showing.
She emphasized that after thousands of years of suffering, it was time for the Quanxian to reclaim their destiny, as the Sea Soul Pearl could open the barrier at the bottom of Jing Lake and end their persecution. The Pearl Showing began, but Boss Jin was immediately informed that the Sea Soul Pearl was missing. Just then, Su Mo appeared, telling Madam Ru Yi that the Sea Soul Pearl was with him and he would handle everything.
He then jumped into Jing Lake with the pearl. On the ground, Boss Jin and his subordinates clashed with Madam Ru Yi’s group. Bai Ying was almost ambushed, but Su Mo emerged from the lake to rescue her. Madam Ru Yi, however, was captured by Boss Jin. At this critical moment, Xi Jing, the Great General of Kongsang and Bai Ying's senior brother, arrived, warning Boss Jin not to harm Bai Ying, as the Bai King would not tolerate it.
Bai Ying asked Xi Jing to take Su Mo as well, but Boss Jin refused. As Su Mo and Madam Ru Yi were being led away, they were rescued by unseen allies. Simultaneously, the merpeople's dungeon caught fire. Su Mo rushed back in to save them, and Bai Ying, worried, followed to help, and together they rescued many merpeople. Bai Ying remained at the scene when her uncle, Prince Qing Chen of Kongsang, arrived.
He intervened, preventing Boss Jin from apprehending Bai Ying. Qing Chen reprimanded Bai Ying for meddling in the trafficking of merpeople, stating that while the act violated Kongsang law, it was a matter for designated officials, not for her as a Princess Bai to intervene. He urged her to return home, not wanting her royal father to wait.
Later, Su Mo informed Madam Ru Yi that he had given the Sea Soul Pearl back to Bai Ying during their chaotic escape. Madam Ru Yi suggested they discuss it another day and asked her subordinate Ting to return to Xi Jing's residence and await further instructions. Ting, however, insisted on going instead of Su Mo, believing Su Mo, having just endured the Transformation Pool and the fire, should not risk further danger.
Madam Ru Yi decided against any further action that night, instructing Ting to return to the Xi Jing residence, and they would devise a plan tomorrow. Meanwhile, Xi Jing returned to Kongsang with a villager named Zhen Lan, proclaiming him to be the king's sole heir and the only one who could save Kongsang from its current difficulties.
Zhen Lan, skeptical and resistant, initially wanted to return to his village, asserting his birth mother was a simple herder and he had never known his father, let alone being a prince. Xi Jing countered by revealing that Zhen Lan's mother had died, and inheriting the throne was his only path to revenge. Zhen Lan reluctantly agreed to meet the king. At the royal palace in Jing City, Zhen Lan's rustic appearance drew scorn from other royals.
However, the High Priest declared that Prince Zhen Lan, being the child of Kongsang and the Shuchu Tribe, could inherit the Kongsang king's power and would inevitably bless Kongsang. Prince Qing Chen, however, openly challenged Zhen Lan's legitimacy, questioning how an unknown countryman could be a prince and citing his mother as an "unmannered wild horsewoman."
King Cheng Guang ultimately decreed that Zhen Lan's true royal bloodline would be proven if the Heavenly Ring acknowledged him, ordering the six princes to assemble at the Heavenly Temple for the recognition ceremony. Separately, Madam Ru Yi, realizing Su Mo's unusual immunity to the Transformation Pool, concluded he was no ordinary merperson. She knelt before him, revealing that he was the "Young Master," the true heir.
She explained that seven thousand years ago, after Emperor Chun Huang of Biluo Sea died in battle, his bloodline was sealed within a pearl. Seven millennia later, Yu Ji consumed this pearl and gave birth to Su Mo and A'Nuo, both bearing the Dragon Deity mark on their backs. This lineage explained why Su Mo did not transform in the Transformation Pool; he was the true master of Quanxian, the Emperor of Biluo Sea. Su Mo, however, found the revelation difficult to accept and asked Madam Ru Yi to continue calling him by his original name, Su Mo, before he left to rest.
