Mirror: A Tale of Twin Cities Episode 33 Recap
> Mirror: A Tale of Twin Cities Recap
Yu Huan, angered that the city guards failed to capture Su Mo, had the guards imprisoned. He ordered Fei Lian to lead soldiers immediately to Stranded Dragon Abyss, instructing them to take the water route but strictly avoid any contact with water. When Fei Lian asked for a reason, Yu Huan simply stated he had his own, adding that he would follow later.
Xiao, who was with Yu Huan, questioned why they were staying behind, but Yu Huan didn't tell her the reason and instructed her not to follow him. Su Mo and Bai Ying arrived at Stranded Dragon Abyss. Bai Ying remarked on the location, and Su Mo explained that King Xing Zun had captured the Dragon God and locked him there. Su Mo sensed a powerful, despairing energy from a barrier that no one had broken in thousands of years.
Su Mo initially suggested going alone, but Bai Ying reminded him of their agreement to proceed together. He then broke the barrier, and they descended. Xiao secretly followed Yu Huan to the river, where she witnessed him pouring a potent poison, later identified by Xiao as Algae of Red Ghost, into the water. The poison immediately began to corrode Yu Huan’s hand.
Xiao rushed to his side, took an antidote from him, and helped him take it, quickly stabilizing his condition. When Yu Huan asked why she disobeyed his order not to follow, Xiao replied she was worried about him. While Yu Huan was recovering, Xiao cleverly concealed a warning pearl on the riverbank, cautioning any merpeople who found it not to enter the water, as it had been poisoned with Algae of Red Ghost.
Inside Stranded Dragon Abyss, Su Mo and Bai Ying found themselves in a dense fog, failing to locate the Stranded Dragon Lock. They decided to split up to search, with Su Mo cautioning Bai Ying to tap her Sunlight Blocking Pearl if she encountered any danger. Meanwhile, Ning Liang received a sound pearl from Xiao, but it was cracked, and he could only decipher the word "Don't."
Misinterpreting this incomplete message as a warning "against" going to Stranded Dragon Abyss and believing Su Mo to be in greater peril, Ning Liang decided to take the water route. His group quickly became poisoned. Yan Xi and Na Sheng, who were searching for Ning Liang’s group, arrived and identified the poison as Algae of Red Ghost, which causes petrification and death.
Realizing the entire Cangyu Province water was contaminated, Yan Xi determined the antidote must be with the person who deployed the poison and set off with Na Sheng to retrieve it. Su Mo, engulfed in the fog, experienced a vivid illusion of 7,000 years ago. He witnessed a scene where subordinates urged Chun Huang, the Sea Emperor, to deploy troops against Kongsang, who was threatening war over Queen Bai Wei's supposed poisoning.
Su Mo believed these were mere fantasies and sought to reunite with Bai Ying. Elsewhere, Bai Ying encountered someone who looked exactly like Su Mo. She tested him by asking if he had sensed her tapping her Sunlight Blocking Pearl. When he confirmed he had, she realized he was an imposter, as she had not tapped the pearl. Bai Ying attacked the fake Su Mo, who vanished, revealing it was an illusion.
Still searching for Bai Ying, Su Mo was drawn into another illusion from 7,000 years ago, witnessing Queen Bai Wei confront King Xing Zun, urging him to release his obsession. In a fit of rage, King Xing Zun fatally stabbed a wounded Chun Huang. Suddenly, another figure, identical to Su Mo and the man he had seen at the city gate, appeared, declaring himself the one who came to end Su Mo and intending to reclaim what was his.
Bai Ying arrived, and through their unspoken understanding, distinguished the real Su Mo. Together, they struck down the imposter and escaped, suspecting he was an agent of Lord Zhi Zhe. Su Mo explained the illusionary nature of the place and shared his vision of Queen Bai Wei, noting her resemblance to Bai Ying. He also pointed out his own resemblance to Chun Huang, and Zhen Lan's to King Xing Zun.
Realizing the Stranded Dragon Abyss concealed secrets from 7,000 years ago and concerned for Bai Ying's safety, Su Mo led her away, advising her not to be swayed by the illusions. At the Cangliu military camp, Fei Lian confronted Yu Huan, accusing him of using despicable methods like poisoning and lamenting that he had changed from the man he once admired. Yu Huan defended his actions, stating that defeating Su Mo was paramount and that the merpeople were simply enemies.
Yu Huan then ordered Fei Lian to either formulate battle strategies with him or patrol the camp. Fei Lian chose to patrol. Meanwhile, Yan Xi and Na Sheng met Xiao. Xiao informed them that the antidote was with Yu Huan and proposed a "bitter stratagem," asking Na Sheng to push her into the poisoned river to get genuinely poisoned, in order to trick Yu Huan into providing the antidote.
Just as they executed the plan, Fei Lian arrived and took Xiao back to Yu Huan. Xiao, severely poisoned, lied to Yu Huan, claiming she was pushed into the river by a merman spy. Yu Huan, suspicious, questioned Xiao, Fei Lian, and then demanded testimony from the guards.
Although Yu Huan remained skeptical, the combined testimonies from Fei Lian (who "vaguely" saw the spy) and the guards (who claimed the spy used magic to disappear) convinced him enough to reluctantly give Xiao the antidote. After Xiao had recovered, Fei Lian secretly met Yan Xi, providing him with some of the stolen antidote and promising to protect Xiao. However, Yu Huan, still wary, had his men follow Fei Lian.
Fei Lian, seeing Yu Huan's men approaching, told Na Sheng to flee using her invisibility spell. Then, as Yu Huan arrived, Fei Lian pretended that Yan Xi was holding him hostage. Yu Huan, however, saw through Fei Lian's deception and captured both Fei Lian and Yan Xi. As Su Mo and Bai Ying continued their journey, Bai Ying felt a constant sense of being watched, and Su Mo cautioned her to be careful lest she be confused.
They then experienced another shared illusion from 7,000 years ago, reliving Queen Bai Wei’s shipwreck and her rescue by Chun Huang at Dragon Silk Palace. Bai Ying felt as though she was Queen Bai Wei, initially mistaking Chun Huang for Su Mo and feeling confused by the hallucination. When they discussed their experiences, they realized they had both been immersed in the same powerful hallucination.
Back at the Cangliu camp, Yu Huan confronted a captured Xiao, forcing her to choose between him and Su Mo. Without hesitation, Xiao declared her loyalty to Su Mo. Enraged, Yu Huan stabbed Xiao in the chest. Yan Xi, helpless and imprisoned, watched in agony as Yu Huan ordered Xiao’s body to be thrown into the river. Na Sheng returned to Ning Liang with the antidote, distraught as she reported Yan Xi’s capture.
She explained that Yan Xi insisted she deliver the antidote first due to the urgency of the Algae of Red Ghost poison. Despite her grief for Yan Xi, Na Sheng affirmed that her priority, and Yan Xi’s wish, was to help Su Mo unlock the Dragon God’s seal. Ning Liang warned her of the danger, but Na Sheng remained resolute, declaring she would fulfill Yan Xi’s wish, even if it meant her own demise.
As Su Mo and Bai Ying pressed on, they once again felt the pervasive presence of an unseen observer and a strong, unsettling psychic force, feeling trapped in the mysterious abyss.
