Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain Episode 24 Recap
> Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain Recap
Wang Lu resumed his journey, only to find Hai Yunfan and Wen Bao had been waiting for him outside Wang Family Village for seven days. Wen Bao initially claimed Hai Yunfan predicted Wang Lu would eventually leave, which Hai Yunfan promptly denied, insisting they were merely traveling at a leisurely pace. However, Wang Lu sensed their true eagerness to rejoin him. Relieved, Wen Bao expressed his joy that the trio could finally continue their training together.
Wang Lu confidently declared he would lead them to a place with plenty of culinary delights. They arrived in Jiyang, a city renowned as a top tourist destination for "poor travelers." Hai Yunfan questioned if it was appropriate to visit a resort for cultivation, but Wang Lu explained that true cultivation involves experiencing the world and its people, not just solitary hardship. Convinced, Hai Yunfan agreed, and they enthusiastically entered Jiyang City.
Upon arriving in Jiyang, Wang Lu, eager for a feast, led them to a highly-rated restaurant, Cuizhai. To their surprise, all the dishes served were vegetarian, with no meat. The waiter confirmed it was a vegetarian diner, explaining that in Jiyang, even mentioning "meat" was forbidden. Wang Lu found this city's regulations strange, sarcastically commenting on their "weird tabooed vocabulary" and calling the forced veganism a "bloody slaughter" of plants.
Hai Yunfan suggested it was good for health, but also noticed other diners seemed miserable, prompting him to ask if the vegan diet was voluntary or forced. Under Wang Lu's playful threat of eating a sausage right in the restaurant, the waiter confessed. He revealed that the Beastmastery Sect, located on Yuntai Mountain outside Jiyang, protected the city but imposed strict rules.
While initially prohibiting animal abuse, this year they declared eating meat equivalent to animal slaughter, forcing all citizens into vegetarianism. Wang Lu criticized this as strong-arm tactics, calling it "Saint Mary’s doing," despite Hai Yunfan's attempt to rationalize it as having a "good purpose." The waiter lamented the economic impact, as fewer visitors came, and non-vegan establishments were forcibly closed. Hai Yunfan suggested they simply finish their meal and leave.
Feeling hungry, Wang Lu, Hai Yunfan, and Wen Bao wandered through the city, with Wang Lu even imagining clouds as meat dishes. Their stroll was interrupted when a young woman angrily accused Wen Bao of killing ants, which she considered living beings and family. Wang Lu sarcastically questioned if the Beastmastery Sect's rules had driven the city's inhabitants "insane." In the ensuing argument, the girl dramatically tripped and fell, a scene Wang Lu cynically noted resembled a "romantic novel."
True to his observation, the "four young idols of Jiyang City" dramatically appeared, immediately accusing them of harassing the "innocent" girl. As a fight was about to break out, Feng Ling suddenly intervened, warmly greeting Xue Boren. His brothers affectionately referred to Feng Ling as 'Darling' or 'Sister-in-law,' much to Wang Lu's bewildered confusion. Feng Ling then explained to Boren that the trio were her friends, stating, "They are all our own people."
At the lavish Xue Mansion, Wang Lu found himself in luxurious rooms that he sarcastically noted looked more like a "Palace-themed hotel." Xue Boren apologized for the earlier market misunderstanding, and Feng Ling introduced Wang Lu, Hai Yunfan, and Wen Bao as her friends from Lingjian Sect, along with Xue Boren and his brothers Xue Zhongren, Xue Shuren, and cousin Chai Qi.
Wang Lu, finding their names "plain" despite their "decent family" background, was annoyed by Hai Yunfan's excessive flattery towards Xue Boren, even sarcastically suggesting a "ribbon-cutting ceremony" for their mutual compliments. Feng Ling then dropped a bombshell: Xue Boren was her fiancé. Wang Lu immediately and bluntly stated that "20% of engaged couples end up breaking up" and that seven days was "long enough for affairs, elopement, or abandon."
Feng Ling, losing her "ladylike" facade, angrily confronted Wang Lu, asking if he had a problem with her marriage and threatening to "beat him up." Xue Boren calmly intervened, suggesting Feng Ling catch up with her friends, and he and his brothers departed. Feng Ling then shared her love story with Wang Lu, Hai Yunfan, and Wen Bao.
She recounted how, new to the human world, she encountered Xue Boren during a rainstorm on Yuntai Mountain, where he lent her his umbrella. Later, desiring to improve her cultivation and acquire a spirit beast, she disguised herself as a man and enrolled in the Beastmastery Sect's academy, only to fatefully reunite with Xue Boren on her first day.
Their relationship developed like an idol drama, culminating in Boren’s proposal where he declared he would "give up everything to love her." Wang Lu cynically summarized her tale as a collection of tropes from "romantic novels," expressing his exhaustion. He pointed out the "made-up" feel of everything in Jiyang—from forced veganism and the city's self-proclaimed "love and peace" to the "four young idols" and the "themed-hotel Xue Mansion."
Hai Yunfan and Wen Bao, however, found Xue Boren to be a good match for Feng Ling and dismissed Wang Lu's cynicism as jealousy. Feng Ling, deeply in love, left to find Boren, promising to explain his "perfection" later. Feng Ling went to find Boren. After knocking for a while, Boren finally emerged from his room, quickly suggesting they go out to eat.
Meanwhile, a servant named Lihua, from a separate "Ling Mansion" adjoining Xue Mansion, showed Wang Lu, Hai Yunfan, and Wen Bao to their rooms. Lihua explained that Xue Boren had bought Ling Mansion as a generous betrothal gift for Feng Ling, so she would have a "family" in Jiyang, and her wedding would take place from there in seven days.
Despite Hai Yunfan and Wen Bao's admiration for Boren's thoughtfulness, Wang Lu saw it as an ostentatious display of wealth and remained convinced that Boren was problematic. He expressed concern that Feng Ling, a member of Lingjian Sect and "half my master," was getting involved. Wang Lu realized that if the marriage proceeded, Xue Boren would become family to his master Wang Wu through Feng Ling, which displeased him.
Wang Lu instructed Hai Yunfan and Wen Bao to remain vigilant that night, stating their plan to rescue Feng Ling and leave the following day. Wang Lu, deeply suspicious, tried to contact his master, Wang Wu, via a communication spell, expressing his disbelief that she wasn't reacting to Feng Ling's engagement, joking about her "bestie" being "stolen." Wang Wu, however, was preoccupied. She was in the midst of battling several Golden Pill assassins.
After effortlessly defeating one, she boasted that her Wuxiang Sword Bone had reached its 108th level, making such assassins no match for her. She demanded to know who sent them, threatening to take the defeated assassin back to Lingjian Sect to face Elder Fang He. Just as she pressed for answers, the assassin caught her off guard and launched a surprise attack.
