My Dear Brothers Episode 16 Recap
> My Dear Brothers Recap
Bi Hong appeared before Shi Xia in the Dark Forest, explaining he had rushed there to join her on the journey to Wuwang Temple. Shi Xia urged him to turn back, fearing for his safety and stating she would never forgive herself if anything happened to him. Bi Hong, however, found her concern heartwarming, declaring it made his efforts worthwhile.
Shi Xia then expressed her curiosity about how Bi Hong and Hou Chi, despite their vastly different personalities, became such close friends. Bi Hong recalled his childhood, when he discovered he lacked Immortal perception. His Master had told him he could never master cultivation. Mocked by his peers for his homemade instrument, a small umbrella, Bi Hong impulsively jumped off Houshan's precipice to prove them wrong.
Stranded below, he heard Hou Chi's voice through his magic umbrella, instructing him to focus and transmit his thoughts. After several attempts, Bi Hong successfully sent a message to Hou Chi, who then rescued him. This experience, and Hou Chi's words that lacking Immortal perception wasn't necessarily a bad thing, forged their deep friendship. Bi Hong lamented that the magic umbrella Hou Chi gave him had recently gone missing in Otherworld Town.
This sparked a memory in Shi Xia about the same type of umbrella being used to transmit news of Shi Dong's supposed kidnapping. Suddenly, a thick mist enveloped them, separating Shi Xia and Bi Hong. Bi Hong called out to Shi Xia, telling her to stay put while he tried to find her. Shi Xia, pressing forward, then encountered Hou Chi. She was relieved to see him, inquiring about his well-being.
This Hou Chi, however, insisted that their relationship was paramount, dismissing the Alliance test, his Master, and even the brother-sister contract as less important than being together. He pulled Shi Xia close and kissed her, then led her towards a perilous cliff edge. Just as she was about to fall, Shi Xia realized this was not the real Hou Chi, who would never endanger her or disregard their contract. The illusory Hou Chi immediately vanished.
Shi Xia understood the lesson of the Dark Forest: it traps individuals in their deepest delusions, and only by overcoming them can one escape. She then saw Bi Hong, his eyes glazed, also walking towards a cliff, lamenting his life and feeling useless due to his lack of Immortal perception. Shi Xia urgently called out to him, reminding him that what he saw was merely a delusion fueled by the Dark Forest.
She pulled him back, reminding him of their shared mantra, "I am the master of my own destiny." Bi Hong slowly awakened from his trance, realizing he had been trapped by his own desire for Immortal perception and the societal pressure (including his father's wishes for him to live as a mortal) to be more than a mortal.
Shi Xia encouraged him not to give up on his dreams, even without Immortal perception, and promised to seek a retake qualification for him, just as she planned for Hou Chi. Meanwhile, Hou Chi finally stirred from his drunken stupor at the Great Hotel, calling out Shi Xia's name. His Master, Yuan Zhao, confronted him, chastising him for missing the Alliance test and wasting two centuries of cultivation.
Hou Chi expressed his guilt and offered to accept punishment, but Yuan Zhao simply told him to reflect on his actions, acknowledging that his fate now largely depended on Shi Xia's success in the Dark Forest. Shi Xia and Bi Hong, having escaped the Dark Forest's illusions, found themselves in Wuwang Temple. There, they discovered Lord Shi Ji, the Shen Guan, playing Pai Gow with her doppelgangers. They approached her, respectfully requesting a retake qualification for Hou Chi.
Shi Ji revealed that the Devil Lord had also been disqualified, and she decided to grant the retake to him instead, making Hou Chi wait until the next Alliance test, if there ever was one. Shi Xia immediately protested the unfairness, but Shi Ji asserted her right as Shen Guan to make the rules as she pleased. Shi Ji then declared her intention to summon the Devil Lord.
Recalling a rumor that Lord Shi Ji never left Wuwang Temple, Shi Xia offered to deliver the message herself, but demanded a "runner's fee," explaining it was customary in her hometown. Shi Ji was taken aback by Shi Xia's audacity. Shi Xia observed that Shi Ji, confined to the temple for millennia and even playing games alone, must be incredibly lonely. Sensing an opportunity, Shi Xia pushed further, asking for a retake qualification for Bi Hong as well.
Impressed by Shi Xia's perceptiveness and moved by her words, Shi Ji relented and granted both Hou Chi and Bi Hong the chance to retake the Alliance test. Outside the temple, Shi Xia met Shi Dong, who was attempting to break through the Dark Forest's barrier with his dog, Husppy, and his attendant, Qi Lingling. Shi Dong boasted about his "hero's halo" protecting them from losing anything important in the Dark Forest.
Shi Xia informed him that Lord Shi Ji wanted to see him, adding another "halo" to his ego. Shi Dong, expecting a dignified elder, was surprised to find Lord Shi Ji to be a beautiful woman who immediately began physically examining him. Shi Xia criticized Shi Ji for being inappropriate with a candidate, but Shi Dong enthusiastically encouraged Shi Ji to continue.
During her examination, Shi Ji discovered that Shi Dong possessed no Immortal perception, which was highly unusual for a Devil Lord, whose Immortal perception should be hereditary. Recalling the Holy Garment's faint response, Shi Ji deduced that Shi Dong was not the true Devil Lord; the real one must still be hidden within the Devil Sect. Despite this, Shi Ji reiterated her promise to grant the Devil Lord a retake and sent Shi Dong off with her order.
Lord Shi Ji then reflected on the past. Two millennia ago, she and her five elder brothers, including her beloved Fifth Senior, Qiu Boyan, had planned to activate the Otherworld Array to stabilize the cosmos, which had been in disarray.
The Eldest Senior, having exhausted his vital energy to set up the array and with only three days left to live, specifically tasked Shi Ji with guarding the array for three days and three nights after they entered, regardless of whether they returned. However, the Fifth Senior, Qiu Boyan, inexplicably abandoned his post, leaving a letter and departing, revealing himself to be the Devil Lord.
Despite this defection, the Eldest Senior, with his remaining strength, led the three other brothers into the array, leaving Shi Ji alone to guard it. For two thousand years, Shi Ji had dutifully maintained the array, patiently waiting for the true Devil Lord to reveal himself, believing that this would allow her to finally find the chosen Immortal perception and stabilize the Otherworld Array once and for all. The long-awaited day was finally at hand.
