The Dauntless Youths Episode 30 (Ending) Recap
> The Dauntless Youths Recap
Chong Yibiao finally realized that the key to defeating the monsters was to eliminate Anashi. He turned to Jiang Wenhuan and told him, "Leave Anashi to me. You go break the human skin drum." Jiang Wenhuan responded, "Okay." With his eyes wide in fury, Chong Yibiao fought relentlessly, covered in blood, until he reached Gongsun Wuyu. She mocked Jiang Wenhuan, declaring, "Huan'er, you can't beat me." Ignoring her, Chong Yibiao engaged Anashi.
He remembered his solemn promise to Yiyao that he would save Jiang Wenhuan for her, and that he would wait for her. In a critical moment, recalling his vow, Chong Yibiao, muttering, "What I promised. . . I've done it," bravely sacrificed himself, taking Anashi with him in a final, decisive act. At the same instant, Jiang Wenhuan seized the opportunity and destroyed the eerie human skin drum. Immediately, the monsters collapsed as if their very essence had vanished.
Seeing her forces defeated, Gongsun Wuyu fled in disarray back to a hidden cave. At this moment, Jiang Wenfeng was imprisoned there, suffering from corpse poison and in great pain. Jiang Wenhuan confronted Gongsun Wuyu, believing his years of sincere devotion would touch her heart. However, she had cruelly poisoned and severely wounded him. He reproached her, saying, "Gongsun Wuyu, His Majesty knows the whole story. You'd better confess now. Master, good triumphs over evil. You've lost."
Gongsun Wuyu retorted, "Huan'er, didn't I teach you not to know the outcome until the last moment? Don't you find it strange? You asked for help from Donglu. Why hasn't your elder brother's figure shown up yet?" Xin Jia, who had accompanied Jiang Wenhuan, demanded, "Let him go. Brother Jiang. Let him go." Gongsun Wuyu then rode away, taunting, "Follow me, and you'll see your elder brother." Later, Jiang Wenhuan located Gongsun Wuyu's hiding place in a cave.
She asked him, "Why are you alone? Where's Anashi?" Jiang Wenhuan replied grimly, "He'll never come back." Gongsun Wuyu, initially calling Anashi a "poor child," then asserted, "My child is not pitiful. My Anashi was chosen by the Nine-tailed Fox Immortal. His flesh and blood can resurrect the dead. His command can lead millions of monsters. Do you know what his name means? Anashi, in Kuifang language, means the King of the Ten Realms. My child is a king.
He is the only light in this chaotic world." Jiang Wenhuan corrected her, "You learned the Kuifang language from your husband, right? Do you know what Anashi truly means in Kuifang language? It means the bravest warrior of heaven and earth. That's what your husband expected of his child. Do you think he would be happy in the afterlife to see you and your son in such a state?"
Gongsun Wuyu angrily blamed Jiang Wenhuan's family, "Do you people of Shangshan have the right to mention him? He died at the hands of old Yuan Yang. He was killed by your Shangshan." She then blamed Jiang Wenfeng, saying, "It's all his fault. If he didn't bring the men of the Prince's Camp to oppose me, I wouldn't have lost. My Anashi wouldn't have died." She then taunted Jiang Wenhuan, saying, "Huan'er?
I really want to see what expression he will show when he sees you now." Jiang Wenhuan, still suffering from the poison she administered, accused her of being heartless, saying, "You wrote to me for help, and I came immediately. You let me drink poison, and I had no doubt. I trusted you so much. Tell me, why are you so devoid of conscience? Why did you do this? Didn't you say you would marry me?
Didn't you say you'd wait for my answer? I can tell you the answer now. I want to be with you." Gongsun Wuyu coldly responded, "You don't understand now. One day, you will," adding ominously, "He should be here soon." Gongsun Wuyu, with a wicked plan, used Granny Su's mysterious drum to manipulate Jiang Wenfeng, intending to turn him against his brother. Jiang Wenhuan desperately called out, "Brother!" while Gongsun Wuyu mocked the drum's power.
Jiang Wenfeng, though controlled by the drum, struggled painfully. In a brief moment of clarity, he recognized Jiang Wenhuan, saying, "Huan'er, you are Huan'er. Let's go home together. Go home!" He then yelled "Go quickly!" to his brother. To ensure his brother's safety and refuse to be a puppet, Jiang Wenfeng, with a defiant cry, "I, Jiang Wenfeng, would rather die in battle than be anyone's puppet!" took his own life before Jiang Wenhuan.
Gongsun Wuyu stared blankly at Jiang Wenfeng's lifeless body, tears streaming down her face. She murmured that now they could be together forever. Jiang Wenhuan, distraught, condemned her, "Gongsun Wuyu, my elder brother treated you with such sincerity, but you've harmed him to this extent. You're truly devoid of conscience. I, Jiang Wenhuan, was truly blind to call you Master for so many years." Gongsun Wuyu then turned to Jiang Wenhuan and began to narrate her tragic past.
She said, "Huan'er, don't you want to know what the immortal elixir is? I'll tell you now." She revealed her original name was Tu Shan Xuanyin, and her entire clan, from the elderly to children, had been exterminated by Ning Bohou's elixir experiments. Though she was ten months pregnant and forced to take the medicine, she remained unharmed, yet gave birth to a dead infant. Devastated, she wished to die with her clansmen.
But then, her child miraculously came back to life, and his blood could transform dead people into immortal monsters. She then understood the true nature of Sheng'an's immortal elixir, recalling the prophecy: "Nine-tailed born, immortal elixir approaches. The mother is the medicine, the child is the cauldron." The method involved marrying a Tushan woman, making her pregnant, and when full term, letting her drink a nine-tailed fox poison concoction refined for three days and nights.
The child born would be the living cauldron for the immortal elixir. Jiang Wenhuan, repulsed, interrupted, "Enough. I don't want to hear this filth." But Gongsun Wuyu insisted, "You must listen. This is the sin your Sheng'an ancestors committed. It's the crime committed by your Shangshan. Your Shangshan owes my Tushan clan a blood debt which can never be repaid, generation after generation."
Jiang Wenhuan called her claims "absurd," and countered, "The sin of Sheng'an, the injustice of Tushan, and the King's greed have caused so many innocent people to suffer. How can the blood of the Shangshan people wash away the fresh blood of Su You of Tushan? It's just revenge for revenge, endless and unending. You resort to any means, with blood on your hands, and stepping on the souls of the wronged all the way.
What's the difference between you and the tyrant you speak of? You taught me 'public good for all' and 'people first'. But in your eyes, they're all lies. Are you insane?" Gongsun Wuyu replied, "If I weren't, how else could I have survived until today?" She recounted how she first experimented with Ning Bohou's son, who became a Puppet Monster and bit off her little finger. She found it worthwhile to see Ning Bohou's suffering.
To obtain human skin drums, she used Xian Xuanji to destroy Kunwu's family, using the saintesses to make human skin drums, but Saintess Su Ying was alert and cleverly destroyed all the drums. So, she manipulated Zhong Liyuan, who was consumed by revenge, to secretly create drums for her. She concluded, "And then, you already know the rest." Jiang Wenhuan questioned, "You've been scheming every step of the way. What about us? What wrong did Yiyao do?
What wrong did my elder brother do? Our Jiang family treated you as family." Gongsun Wuyu claimed, "I've warned you many times. Whether you believe it or not, I really don't want to hurt you." Jiang Wenhuan dismissed it as an "excuse," asserting, "You always had a choice. But the path you chose is despicable and shameless, a path of no return." Gongsun Wuyu responded, "Maybe.
Now you already know the origin of the immortal elixir's sin, and also the method to refine the immortal elixir." When Jiang Wenhuan asked, "So what?" she replied, "Foolish child, when you know all this, you will never return to that carefree Donglu youth of the past. In this world, as long as someone knows that the immortal elixir exists, there will always be people caught in that endless vortex of desire.
Greed and death, suspicion and killing coexist as one." Overcome by grief and regret, Gongsun Wuyu saw Jiang Wenfeng's past image, recalling his declaration of love and commitment: "I am Jiang Wenfeng, 32 years old, from Donglu, the adopted son of the Duke of Dongwu. I am now serving Donglu in the army. I am not married yet, only because I am waiting for someone.
I want to use an eight-bearer sedan chair to marry her formally and bring her home. Love her, protect her, and take care of her children with her. We'll enjoy spring flowers and autumn moons, and endure summer heat and winter cold, until we grow old, and our love lasts forever." She heard her own voice asking him, "Who taught you such beautiful words?" Looking at his body, she softly said, "Stubborn mule.
Didn't expect in the end, you're still so stubborn. Let go. Let go." Her heart seemed to be pierced by something, and she ultimately chose to jump into the lake, ending her life filled with hatred and madness. Xin Jia and the other princes, heavy-hearted, mourned Chong Yibiao and the other fallen princes. Xin Jia remembered their early days in Zhongli, full of laughter and carefree spirits, contrasting it with their present sorrow.
He spoke to the fallen, recalling, "Didn't anyone come to the Marquis of Bohou? Didn't anyone come to Xichuan either? It seems we are both unlucky people. In the future, in the Prince's Camp, we can only warm each other. You left. Who will drink with me? I'm still waiting to take you to find a beauty." Xin Jia proclaimed, "Gongsun Wuyu is dead. Everything is over. Brothers, you can rest assured now. I've avenged you all."
He then recalled the hopeful introductions of the new recruits, including Tao Yingzhong, Tai Dian, Wang Yuanji, and Su Yuanxiao, who had sworn, "We go together today. We'll surely return together tomorrow." Jiang Wenhuan, in a desolate mood, visited Kunwu's memorial, pouring plum wine as an offering. In a wistful vision, he seemed to see Kunwu alive, and they sat opposite each other, drinking joyfully. Jiang Wenhuan boasted about the plum wine, saying, "How is it?
I told you, my Zhongli's plum wine is unmatched in the world, didn't I lie to you?" Kunwu admitted, "This wine is indeed good wine. But I say, you're not that great of a person. We agreed to live until the end together, how come you died first? Really boring." Jiang Wenhuan shrugged, "Anyway, it's not the first time I've lied to you. Brother Jiang, why bother?" Kunwu retorted, "That's true.
The one who can fool me, Jiang Wenhuan, twice in heaven and on earth, it's only you, kid." Kunwu then added with a smile, "However, just consider it a debt I owe you from my past life. This life, you owe me. In the next life, I'll get it all back, one by one." Jiang Wenhuan then bid farewell to the vision, saying, "Alright. Not talking to you anymore. I'm going to send elder brother and brothers home.
I still have my new mission to complete and a new road to go." The next day, A Si, with a resolute expression, prepared to leave the sorrowful land. She told Jiang Wenhuan, "I'm leaving. Go ahead. Don't look back." Jiang Wenhuan hurried to see her off, his eyes filled with reluctance. A Si noted, "I knew you would definitely come to see me off." He replied, "You are leaving again." She asked about his plans, "What about you?
I heard His Majesty summoned you to the capital for commendation." Jiang Wenhuan stated, "I have submitted a petition to decline it. I'm not going." He insisted on seeing her off further, saying, "This time, you should let me see you off, right? Let's go." A Si eventually stopped him, saying, "Even a thousand miles apart, a parting is inevitable. Let's stop here." Jiang Wenhuan expressed his deep sorrow, "In this world, there are few people I care about left.
You must take care." As A Si left, she paused and asked what he had said when she last departed Donglu. Jiang Wenhuan asked if she had heard him, then feigned indifference, saying, "Nothing. Wish you a safe journey." A Si then revealed, "I lied to you. I heard it all. The King's imperial edict is coming soon. Go back quickly. We'll meet again."
Jiang Wenhuan replied, "I'll be there, don't leave without me," and A Si added, "We'll meet again." Following these events, the King, deeply moved by the disaster caused by the immortal elixir, issued an imperial edict. An official declared that the King expressed deep regret for the past, acknowledging that the battle of Zhongli, which left weapons broken and bones exposed, was entirely due to the calamity of the immortal elixir.
Taking full responsibility and daring not to pardon himself, the King proclaimed a general amnesty, decreeing that from that day forward, there would be no more witchcraft or strange arts in the land of Shangshan, and no more unjust deaths under heaven. As Jiang Wenhuan and Xin Jia surveyed the land, once bustling Zhongli was now dilapidated and desolate, filling Jiang Wenhuan with mixed emotions.
Local vendors sold simple buns, like "pickled mustard greens buns," as people began rebuilding, picking through debris. Xin Jia lamented how a single war could destroy centuries of Zhongli's heritage. Jiang Wenhuan observed Xin Jia's missing hand, to which Xin Jia remarked, "If it's gone, it's gone, right? At least I saved my life. I think this is also quite good. At least I quit my gambling addiction." Xin Jia also noted, "This fog of Zhongli should also gradually lift."
Jiang Wenhuan added, "As long as someone is still here, Zhongli is not truly destroyed. Perhaps what everyone fights to protect to the death is this unremarkable human life." An old man selling buns approached them, calling them "Heroes," and gratefully offered them buns on behalf of his family, thanking them for saving Zhongli from dire peril. Xin Jia thanked him and accepted. Xin Jia then remembered Kunwu, saying, "I remember E Shun. . . No, it should be Kunwu.
His favorite should be this bite," referring to the buns. Just then, as Jiang Wenhuan and Xin Jia looked out, they were stunned to see Kunwu galloping towards them on horseback. Xin Jia exclaimed, "Brother Jiang, look!"
