Rattan Episode 10 Recap
> Rattan Recap
Having been saved from the brink of death, Qin Fang was astonished to see Si Teng appear before him, but also relieved and grateful. He confessed that while he had hoped she would come, he also feared she would leave him to die, as she might have in the past. He added that he wouldn't stay with someone so heartless if she still didn't care after all they'd been through.
Si Teng cut him short, urging him to hurry as An Man was in critical condition. She then outlined her plan: she had told Wang Qiankun she would be gone for five days, but they would secretly return to Yunxi Village in three. This deception would buy them time for a two-day trip to Yuhang and a one-day trip to Shenhai. Si Teng instructed Qin Fang to investigate a man named Shao Yankuan in Shenhai, providing an address.
When Qin Fang speculated this was her former lover, Si Teng curtly dismissed the guess. Despite his worries about the delay, she reassured him she had reliable eyes and ears watching things in their absence. During a flashback, Si Teng is seen revealing crucial discoveries to Yan Furui. She explained that certain hallucinogenic fungi can cause visions, making ordinary people appear as terrifying monsters.
She stated that Shen Yindeng used this method, a power of the Yi Tribe and not a Xuan Sect technique, to manipulate Qin Fang's mind, causing him to see her as his deceased girlfriend, Chen Wan. Si Teng also noted that Shen Yindeng was suspiciously unharmed by the Rattan Kill at Longlight Mountain.
She reasoned that while she had severely injured Shen Cuiqiao, she hadn't killed her; a plausible way for someone to maintain a hidden identity at the Suspended Sword Cave was to fake their death during childbirth and continue their life through the newborn. Si Teng directly accused Shen Yindeng of being Shen Cuiqiao's killer and confirmed her identity as an Yi Tribe member.
She revealed that the "blood mud of Chisan" was genuine because it was made from Shen Yindeng's own blood, exposing Shen Yindeng as Chisan herself. Finally, Si Teng delivered the devastating news that Shen Yindeng, as Chisan, was the one who killed Wafang, leaving Yan Furui overcome with grief. Elsewhere, Shen Yindeng marveled at Si Teng's power, congratulating herself for luring her with the blood mud.
She recalled taking Wafang away when she was weakened from bloodletting and vowed to be ruthless if Si Teng continued to interfere. Upon arriving in Yuhang, Qin Fang rushed to the hospital to find An Man on her deathbed. Overwhelmed with guilt for having previously scolded her, he could only offer muttered apologies. An Man weakly acknowledged his presence before passing away. Later, a heartbroken Qin Fang watched a video message she had left him.
In it, she confessed her deep affection, her struggle to become the person he wanted, and her realization she could only be An Xiaoting, not An Man. She thanked him for their time together, which she called the most heartfelt period of her life. As Qin Fang broke down in tears in the rain, Si Teng appeared, conjuring a vine umbrella to shelter him and offering a bowl of instant noodles.
Sensing his dismay, she told him a parable about a rattan that, after being severed from the great tree it depended on, had to learn to survive on its own, emphasizing that the living must find new purpose rather than clinging to the past. Surprised by Si Teng's uncharacteristic attempt to comfort him, Qin Fang noted her deliberate change of subject to his family's old mansion.
He explained his great-grandfather's family in Yuhang had prospered from the silk industry, even contracting with Shenhai textile factories, before the business declined. At the mansion, Si Teng examined a family photo from 1946, intrigued by an inscription mentioning a lake tour with a "friend Bai Ying." She noted the elegant phrasing, suggesting it was written by the woman Bai Ying, as Qin Fang confirmed his great-grandmother was illiterate.
Si Teng then pointed out inconsistencies in family notes describing Bai Ying helping the family, finding it suspicious that his great-grandmother—a famine refugee from Darna with no living relatives—supposedly had family for Bai Ying to intercede with. Revealing she had once visited the town with Shao Yankuan, Si Teng declared it was too coincidental that his family had business ties with Shao's factory and that he was sent to Darna, where she was buried, to "thank ancestors."
Qin Fang then disclosed his father had instructed him to find a man in Darna named Jia Guihong, a former rickshaw driver known as Jia San, whom Si Teng did not recognize. Qin Fang soon received news that Shao Yankuan's descendants still resided in Shenhai. He relayed that in 1948, Shao Yankuan perished in a shipwreck while attempting to flee the country with his third concubine. His first wife and son, however, remained, and their lineage continued in the city.
At a restaurant, Si Teng declined to eat, so Qin Fang ordered a variety of drinks for her. She sampled each one with visible delight, a lively display that lifted Qin Fang's spirits and prompted him to reflect on the importance of the living moving forward. They located Shao Yankuan's descendant, a restaurateur named Shao Qing.
He confirmed a man in an old photo was his great-grandfather and clarified that photos with the heads cut out were not of the third concubine, but the "second". He recounted family tales of this second concubine being a peculiar woman who would vanish for days. She later became pregnant but disappeared for good just before giving birth. Her belongings were burned, and her image was cut from photos. Shao Qing vaguely recalled her surname was "Shi" or "Si."
At this, a furious Si Teng interrupted, asserting that Shao Yankuan had knelt to propose to this woman, who had then married gracefully into his family. Chastising him for not even knowing her name, she declared, "Remember, her name is Si Teng!" before storming out, leaving Qin Fang to offer a hasty apology to the bewildered man. Gazing at the river, Si Teng expressed profound hatred for Shao Yankuan, lamenting her lack of power.
She mused that if she were stronger, she would retrieve his bones from the sea and scatter them to release her resentment. When Qin Fang questioned her intense hatred, suggesting there must have been affection, Si Teng vehemently denied it. She explained that Qiu Shan's hostility was expected from an enemy, but Shao Yankuan's betrayal—making promises of love only to recoil in horror upon learning her true identity—was unforgivable.
Qin Fang countered that he, knowing her nature, did not treat her as a monster. Si Teng then admitted she had "almost" accepted Shao Yankuan's proposal but ultimately did not. This sparked a realization in Qin Fang: he theorized there were two Si Tengs, twin sisters sharing a name. He proposed that one sister fell in love with Shao Yankuan, married him, became pregnant, and was killed by Qiu Shan in 1946.
The Si Teng before him, he speculated, had died earlier, in 1939, and had returned for her sister's sake. However, Si Teng corrected his theory, stating her true objective: "I am here for only one thing: to find out who sent me to Darna."
