The Dauntless Youths Episode 5 Recap
> The Dauntless Youths Recap
Jiang Wenhuan found himself ambushed in a bustling night market when a voice commanded, "Arrest them all!" Suddenly, A Si intervened, shouting, "Stop!" Someone present recognized her as "Miss." Kunwu looked at her intently and asked, "You. . . You are not. . ." A Si, teasing, asked, "What? You forgot me so soon?" Kunwu replied, "The bride," clearly recognizing her as the female thief he had previously saved, who was in a bride's disguise.
After the commotion, Yao Shuliang approached Jiang Wenhuan, surprised. " Jiang, you know the Miss of Qiankun Alley? Why didn't you tell me earlier? We're all family. Why the fuss?" Jiang Wenhuan quickly dismissed him, saying, "Enough. I have nothing to do with her." Yao Shuliang, unconvinced, insisted, "Nothing? Come on. I can tell there's something between you two." Kunwu then steered the conversation back to their mission, telling A Si, "I didn't come here to cause trouble.
I have something important to discuss." A Si, acknowledging his previous kindness, invited him to speak, saying, "I've always remembered your kindness. Just say what you need. Sit down." Kunwu explained they were there to find the stolen Jin Yu horses belonging to the Virtual Pavilion. A Si confidently stated, "Actually, it's not hard to find the thief. I'm the owner of Qiankun Alley. I can find any information in Donglu City.
A group of horse thieves trying to sneak out of my alley? Impossible!" She then confirmed the direction the thieves went. Jiang Wenhuan added that Xin Jia was with Chong Yibiao checking entry and exit records, but Chong Yibiao insisted on working alone and hadn't reported back. Kunwu thanked A Si for her help in the arena, and she returned something to him, claiming she hadn't realized its value, but Kunwu refused to take back a gift once given.
Following A Si's direction, Kunwu noticed blood on the ground, exclaiming, "Wait. There's blood ahead." He followed the trail, which led them to "the back door of my house," A Si revealed. Inside the house, Mr. Li instructed Li Laowu to kill a suspicious person at the back door, but it turned out to be A Si, who playfully chastised Li Laowu. Mr. Li greeted his daughter, A Si, saying he'd kill anyone who dared to hurt her.
Meanwhile, Kunwu and Jiang Wenhuan, exploring the back, noted the horse thief's blood trail led directly through the Li's Mansion back door. Kunwu pointed out a suspicious warehouse. Before they could investigate further, A Si's cry of "Father!" drew them back. They found Mr. Li injured, claiming a horse thief had wounded him. Jiang Wenhuan, suspicious, questioned how a renowned martial artist like Mr. Li could be easily injured by a mere thief.
A Si, enraged, accused Jiang Wenhuan of implying her father colluded with the thieves and vehemently ordered him to leave, insisting she witnessed the attack. Kunwu, seeing the tension, quickly apologized for the disturbance and promised to return another day. Outside the mansion, Kunwu expressed his unease to Jiang Wenhuan, who echoed his thoughts about the thief's familiarity with the Li residence.
Kunwu speculated that a horse theft from the army would require inside help, wondering if someone from the Prince's Camp was involved, though he found it hard to believe. Jiang Wenhuan, ever the pragmatist, commented on the unpredictability of human hearts. They also learned that checks on city entry/exit records for the past six months had yielded no suspicious individuals.
Upon returning to the Prince's Camp, they were informed that the horse had been found in a nearby forest, unharmed, much to Jiang Wenhuan's surprise. He then asked if Yao Shuliang had been in the camp the entire time. Concurrently, a report reached the Prince's Camp: the military defense department had been robbed, and the city defense map of Donglu City was stolen.
Meanwhile, A Si, retrieving clothes from her father's room, noticed a bowl of fish soup on the table. Knowing her father disliked fish, she found it strange but didn't dwell on it before leaving. After she departed, a figure quietly emerged from the inner room and took the bowl of fish soup.
Jiang Wenhuan quickly deduced that Yao Shuliang, whom he affectionately called "crybaby," had orchestrated the horse theft as a diversion to allow him to steal the city defense map while the camp was empty. He recalled Yao's sudden stomachache as they left camp. Jiang Wenhuan worriedly realized that the true target was the map, not the horses, and that Kui Fang intended to attack Donglu City.
He remembered General Jiang's lesson about Donglu's unique city defense, based on the River and Luo Diagram, and Xin Jia immediately recognized it as similar to his He-Lo Roulette gambling board. Jiang Wenhuan explained that Kui Fang, despite its usual recklessness, was now meticulously planning an invasion, aiming to use the map to break Donglu's defenses.
When another prince suggested the situation was beyond their concern, Jiang Wenhuan insisted that reporting it would condemn Yao Shuliang, but not reporting it would endanger all of Donglu, his homeland. He defended Yao, believing he wouldn't betray them, and declared that they must find Yao Shuliang that very night to resolve the crisis. As they set out, Xin Jia and Chong Yibiao bickered. They followed horse tracks but soon lost the trail in the forest.
With their trail lost, Kunwu ingeniously pointed the way, observing that while the night dew covered most vegetation, a particular path was dry, indicating recent passage. Xin Jia scoffed, "Pretending," but Chong Yibiao praised Kunwu for being "good at both literature and martial arts, wise and resourceful." Jiang Wenhuan then told Kunwu, "Fine, lead the way." Kunwu led them to a secluded spot where they found a horse.
Further on, they discovered Yao Shuliang, bound and gagged in a remote hut. As Jiang Wenhuan began to untie him, promising to "settle this" with the "crybaby," they noticed a strange smell. Xin Jia cried out, "Oh no," as the group was overcome by a sleeping gas and fell unconscious. A Si's father warned her to stay away from Jiang Wenhuan, calling him trouble. However, A Si insisted she was merely trying to help.
A servant then rushed in to report that Jiang Wenhuan and his group had disappeared in Fengshan Forest, suggesting they were "in trouble." Simultaneously, Jiang Wenfeng received news that his brother, Jiang Wenhuan, and the other princes were missing. As a border invasion by Kui Fang was also reported, Jiang Wenfeng, despite the dual crisis, ordered some of his men to defend the city while instructing others to search for Jiang Wenhuan in Fengshan Forest and report any abnormalities.
A second, more frantic messenger arrived, urgently informing Jiang Wenfeng that Jiang Wenhuan was in mortal danger, further fueling his anxiety. Jiang Wenhuan regained consciousness, finding himself interrogated by Kui Fang's General Bo Gu. Bo Gu confirmed Jiang Wenhuan's theory that the horse theft was a diversion to enable Yao Shuliang to steal the city defense map. Bo Gu admitted that while he had a map from Yao, he considered it unreliable, suspecting it might be a decoy.
He revealed his true plan: to capture Jiang Wenhuan and his companions, hold them separately, and force them to each draw the city defense map. If any drawing differed, that person would be executed, ensuring they all drew the authentic map. In his separate cell, Xin Jia despaired, confessing that he had slept through class and couldn't possibly draw the map.
Meanwhile, in another cell, Chong Yibiao challenged Bo Gu, asking how he would differentiate between a true map drawn by him and false ones drawn by the others, highlighting the impossible choice they faced. The princes were then brought together, and Bo Gu, surprised that all five drawn maps were identical, mocked them as "cowards" and "greedy for life," believing he had secured the true city defense map for Kui Fang's imminent invasion.
Jiang Wenhuan, defiant, told Bo Gu he was dreaming. Suddenly, Yao Shuliang fell to his knees, pleading with Bo Gu to spare him and kill the others, even offering to guide Kui Fang's forces. Jiang Wenhuan, enraged by Yao's betrayal, called him a "crybaby" and a "cruel" coward. Amidst the chaos, Yao Shuliang, in a surprising turn, grabbed one of Bo Gu's arrows and cut Jiang Wenhuan's ropes.
With the unexpected assistance, the princes fought back and managed to escape into an adjacent secret room. It was revealed that the five identical "city defense maps" they had all drawn were actually a fake map Xin Jia had used in a gambling game with them days earlier. However, their escape led them into a water prison, where water rapidly began to flood the chamber. Meanwhile, A Si, having learned of Jiang Wenhuan's predicament, led a rescue party.
They arrived at the abandoned temple, noting the unusually wet ground, and realized the princes might be trapped below. In the water prison, as water rapidly filled the chamber, Xin Jia panicked, bemoaning his lack of worldly experience. Chong Yibiao urged him to conserve energy. Kunwu, struggling severely due to his childhood trauma, began to drown, incoherently muttering about being a "lowly slave" and not wanting to "owe" Jiang Wenhuan. Jiang Wenhuan desperately encouraged him to "Live on."
Just as despair set in, A Si's team broke through, pulling everyone from the water. As Xin Jia attempted to give Kunwu artificial respiration, Kunwu suddenly opened his eyes, startled. Kunwu thanked Xin Jia, saying he was fine. Xin Jia, offended, asked if he thought he was going to do something to him. Jiang Wenhuan then asked Kunwu about his unconscious ramblings, to which Kunwu dismissed them as mere "nightmares" and "talking in his sleep."
Yao Shuliang knelt before them, offering a heartfelt apology. He revealed that Kui Fang had threatened his family, sending a letter with his mother's blood handprint, demanding he steal the city defense map or they would be harmed. Desperate, he had no choice but to comply. He explained how he had used another prince's sleepwalking to create a diversion, then released the warhorses, making it appear they were stolen, to draw Jiang Wenhuan and others away from the camp.
After sending word to Kui Fang, he had drugged the unsuspecting guards with poisoned water, taken their keys, and stolen the map. However, knowing the map's importance to Donglu, he had cleverly used Xin Jia's He-Lo Roulette to draw a fake map, which he then delivered to Kui Fang. Yao Shuliang, believing he had redeemed himself, wished to return to his homeland to face his fate.
But Chong Yibiao firmly stated that they were now "one body" and that if Yao were to leave, they would all suffer the same punishment, insisting he return with them to face the consequences like a man. Yao Shuliang hesitated, reluctant to go back. Just then, Jiang Wenhuan spotted a smoke signal.
General Bo Gu, unaware of the deception, was already giving orders, believing the fake map showed a key watchtower, "one of the nine key points," that, once captured, would allow Kui Fang to "march straight in and take over Donglu within a day." He commanded the signal to be sent. Jiang Wenhuan immediately recognized it as Kui Fang's wolf smoke signal, realizing that Kui Fang had begun their invasion of Donglu, acting on Yao Shuliang's false map.
