Rattan Episode 20 Recap
> Rattan Recap
Confused by Qin Fang and Si Teng's cold interactions, Yan Furui questioned why Qin Fang was having him deliver gifts instead of doing it himself. He then informed Qin Fang that Si Teng planned to go to Huafeng Tower that night to dig for Bai Ying's bones. Qin Fang, feigning indifference, dismissed it and claimed to be busy with work.
Yan Furui insisted on staying, explaining that Si Teng's affairs were connected to his master, Qiu Shan, and he wished to witness the outcome. He urged Qin Fang to join them to see the rare spectacle of Si Teng potentially combining with Bai Ying, but Qin Fang remained firm in his refusal. At the house, Si Teng was annoyed when Yan Furui returned alone, bearing a pile of luxury brand clothes and shoes from Qin Fang that she didn't need.
Meanwhile, Qin Fang, who had driven away, abandoned his car and walked back. He appeared in the garden and called Si Teng out, determined to make her understand why fate seemed to favor Bai Ying. He explained that Si Teng was too close to the situation to see that Bai Ying possessed deeper cunning and a greater capacity for enduring humiliation.
He detailed how Bai Ying had patiently stayed with Shao Yankuan, used childbirth as a means to preserve her bloodline, and skillfully feigned anguish when Qiu Shan killed her, leaving no trace of her true intentions. Qin Fang concluded that everything, including the current mystery of her bones' location, was part of Bai Ying’s long-term plan. He stressed that her ultimate goal was not to combine with Si Teng, but to achieve her own resurrection.
Confessing his own recent emotional turmoil, Qin Fang admitted his true difficulty wasn't accepting his lineage to Bai Ying, but the prospect of having a blood relation with Si Teng, a connection that her combination with Bai Ying would make undeniable. Resolved to proceed, Si Teng coldly dismissed Qin Fang's concerns, declaring that after that night, their connection would be severed.
She acknowledged breaking her promise to help him become fully human but pointed out that he had only gained some of the Yi Tribe's bloodline with no other ill effects. Qin Fang understood she was cutting ties, which Si Teng confirmed was her final goodbye. As night fell, a restless Qin Fang found himself unable to sleep. Yan Furui accompanied Si Teng to Huafeng Tower, where she eschewed tools and instead used her rattan powers to search the entire mountain.
Concerned about her overexertion and incomplete control over Chisan's power, Yan Furui warned her that "more haste, less speed." His fears were realized when Si Teng collapsed from energy depletion. In his panic to help her, Yan Furui dropped his tools, attracting nearby security guards. Meanwhile, a frustrated Qin Fang went to a bar to drink and vent. His evening was interrupted by a distressed call from Yan Furui, who was being questioned by security.
Qin Fang rushed to their aid. At Huafeng Tower, he found the guards confronting Yan Furui and the unconscious Si Teng. Qin Fang de-escalated the situation by claiming they were merely tourists and that Si Teng had fainted due to a pre-existing heart condition. He managed to convince the guards to let them go after agreeing to pay a fine.
Upon learning that Si Teng had failed in her search and thus could not combine with Bai Ying, a drunken Qin Fang laughed with relief and schadenfreude. Despite his apparent glee, he tenderly lifted Si Teng in a princess carry and took her back home, leaving Yan Furui to carry the tools. Later, Qin Fang collapsed onto the sofa beside Si Teng's bed.
When Yan Furui tried to move him, Qin Fang refused to budge, forcing Yan Furui to leave him there for the night. The next morning, Qin Fang found a worried Yan Furui keeping watch. Yan Furui confirmed that Si Teng hadn't found Bai Ying's bones and now firmly believed they were not on the mountain, as her powers had thoroughly scoured the entire area. Now skeptical himself, Qin Fang researched the construction date of Huafeng Tower.
When Si Teng awoke, she immediately tried to dismiss him, reminding him that their connection was severed. Stung by her coldness, Qin Fang turned back to confront her. He argued that his blood was vital for her survival, capable of reviving her and alleviating the backlash from Chisan's power, and declared his willingness to provide it for a lifetime.
However, the proud Si Teng vehemently rejected his offer, stating that she would rather die than live a life dependent on others. Ignoring Yan Furui, Si Teng walked towards a nearby lake. Left in the garden, Yan Furui continued to ponder the burial site. Recalling the poetic line "sunset shone on water," he wondered if the bones could be in the lake. Suddenly, he noticed that all the surrounding plants had inexplicably withered and turned yellow.
Panicked, he called out to Qin Fang, who was about to leave. Yan Furui speculated that Si Teng was intensely absorbing nutrients from the soil, causing the widespread decay, and that this power drain seemed far more severe than just the effects of Chisan's power. Qin Fang instructed Yan Furui to keep quiet about the incident and wait for Si Teng's recovery, explaining he needed to visit his old house and would return before nightfall.
At his old family home, Qin Fang retrieved his great-grandfather's diary and a painting. He realized the tower in the painting was inconsistent in height and position with the actual Huafeng Tower, deducing that Bai Ying had invented a "virtual" tower to serve as a unique landmark. The diary entries also revealed his great-grandfather's painful longing for a child, confirming he had been an unwitting pawn in Bai Ying's scheme to have him raise her son.
With the painting in hand, Qin Fang arrived at Jingchi Lake as the sun was setting. Seeing the sunset reflected on the water's surface, a bold new theory about Bai Ying's true burial place began to form in his mind.
