Rebirth Episode 25 Recap
> Rebirth Recaps
The doctor uses acupuncture to temporarily stabilize Zhuge Yue's qi and blood, preventing the poison from reaching his heart. However, he warns Chu Qiao that this is only a temporary measure. Because the toxin has been in his system for too long, Zhuge Yue has ten days to a month at most to live. Without a genuine antidote, even the most skilled physician will be unable to save him.
While Zhuge Yue fights for his life, Yanbei is gripped by a devastating drought that has left the fields barren. Yan Xun summons the tribal leaders to discuss disaster relief, but the elders of the affluent Hongchuan and Pale tribes are conspicuously absent. Elder Tubu of the Hongchuan tribe claims a recurring leg ailment due to imaginary rain, while the Pale tribe’s leader excuses himself by claiming he broke his leg in a hunting accident.
Cheng Yuan denounces these excuses as transparent lies meant to protect their surplus grain. Other tribal leaders remind Yan Xun that years of war with Biantang have exhausted their resources, leaving only the elderly and the weak to tend the starving land. Deeply troubled, Yan Xun rides through the streets of Yandu, where he witnesses the true extent of the famine. The roads are lined with the dying and the hungry.
A mentally unstable elderly woman, who lost her only son in the war, stumbles toward Yan Xun’s horse. She has come to believe that the sound of horse bells signifies her son’s return. Overcome with grief for his people, Yan Xun personally removes the bell from his horse’s reins and gives it to her as a final, small comfort. As Zhuge Yue’s time runs out, Chu Qiao prepares a daring mission to infiltrate the Ximeng Palace.
After studying the palace blueprints and observing the daily routines, she notices that a carriage of female slaves is delivered to the King of Ximeng every day. Meeting with Yue Shiyi, she learns that Zhuge Yue is currently recovering under the care of the Queen of Lingyue, but his condition remains critical.
Chu Qiao decides to disguise herself as a slave to enter the inner palace, memorizing the complex, octagonal layout of the mountain fortress to ensure she can find the antidote and escape. Inside the palace, the King of Ximeng employs a sinister trap. He uses toxic incense that blinds the incoming slaves, claiming they will no longer need their eyes once they enter a life of luxury.
Chu Qiao realizes the incense is poisoned and tries to protect herself, but she is eventually cornered. The King uses a double to confuse her, and when she is finally captured, he reveals he knows her history as a rebel who abolished slavery in Biantang. To mock her ideals, he brands her with a plum blossom mark and throws her into the slave pit, a place filled with desperate, starving prisoners.
He offers extra food to any slave who can kill her, forcing Chu Qiao to use her remaining strength to fend off the mob. Zhuge Yue eventually regains consciousness and storms the Ximeng fortress to save Chu Qiao. In a fierce confrontation, he shatters the King’s mask, revealing him to be Su Gulin. Zhuge Yue exposes Su Gulin’s past: thirty years ago, he was a slave who led a failed rebellion.
After being betrayed by his fellow slaves and branded with the character for "slave" on his face, Su Gulin transformed into a monster who hates his own kind more than anyone. Su Gulin tries to justify his cruelty, arguing that slaves are subhuman and foolish, but Zhuge Yue remains focused on finding Chu Qiao. The situation turns bloody when Su Gulin reveals he has beaten Ba Ze to death to punish the Queen of Lingyue for her perceived disloyalty.
Devastated by the loss of her companion, the Queen of Lingyue finally rebels and stabs Su Gulin. However, Su Gulin retaliates with a hidden dagger, mortally wounding her. As she lies dying in Zhuge Yue’s arms, she tells him that Chu Qiao is trapped in the slave pit and begs him to protect her people. Zhuge Yue promises to fulfill her final wish as she passes away, leaving him to face the final struggle to rescue Chu Qiao from the darkness of the pit.
