The Flame's Daughter Episode 22 Recap
> The Flame's Daughter Recap
Zhan Feng entered Lie Mingjing's training room, where Lie Mingjing, dressed in mourning, was burning incense before Zhan Feitian's spirit tablet. Agitated, Zhan Feng immediately demanded to know the truth about how his parents died. Lie Mingjing calmly stated they had committed suicide, which only fueled Zhan Feng's anger. Zhan Feng pressed him, questioning if he was "still unwilling to tell me the truth?"
He noted Lie Mingjing had moved elite members of Azure Dragon Hall back to Flaming Manor, who only obeyed the sect leader, and asked what he was planning. Lie Mingjing urged Zhan Feng to correct his mistakes and leave Anye Luo, revealing he knew about Zhan Feng's association with his uncle. Zhan Feng then angrily questioned Lie Mingjing's parenting, asking for reasons why his father would abandon his family and take his own life.
Lie Mingjing, frustrated, asked why Zhan Feng couldn't believe him as Ruge did. Zhan Feng countered that his junior sister was naive and believed Lie Mingjing simply because he was her biological father. He vowed to get the truth today.
Lie Mingjing then noticed Zhan Feng gripping his sword and, in dismay, cried out that after nineteen years of raising and protecting him, wanting to give him the sect leadership and marry Ruge to him, Zhan Feng now sought to kill him. Facing Zhan Feitian's tablet, Lie Mingjing called Zhan Feng a viper. At that moment, Yi Lang, taking advantage of the distraction, deeply stabbed Lie Mingjing in the chest.
As Lie Mingjing collapsed into Zhan Feng's arms, his dying words were a plea to "leave Anye Luo. . . I don't want you to regret it." Yi Lang, continuing his deceptive act, then immediately accused Zhan Feng, "Why must you kill Teacher? !" before urging him to flee, stating that if he didn't, they would both die, and reminded him that Lie Mingjing was his father's killer. Yi Lang instructed Zhan Feng to leave the rest to him.
To destroy the evidence, Yi Lang detonated a powerful Qilin fire thunder, blowing up Lie Mingjing's training room. The loud explosion startled others in the manor. Dao Liexiang and Ji Jinglei rushed to the scene. Ji Jinglei frantically tried to enter the burning building, calling for his master, but Yi Lang restrained him, falsely claiming he and Zhan Feng had only just arrived after hearing the explosion.
Yi Lang tried to convince Ji Jinglei that Lie Mingjing might not be inside, but Ji Jinglei insisted his master had been there for days. Yi Lang warned of unexploded gunpowder, but Ji Jinglei's grief-stricken cries for his master continued. Dao Liexiang, observing Zhan Feng, saw him standing silently with red eyes amidst the chaos. Hall Leader Zhongli traveled swiftly to Yu Zihan's army camp to deliver the grim news of Lie Mingjing's demise to Lie Ruge.
Both Yu Zihan and Ruge were deeply shaken. Zhongli reported that five days prior, between nine and eleven at night, a bombing in the training room had completely destroyed it, turning Lie Mingjing's remains into ashes. Ruge was devastated by the news. After a brief moment of comfort from Yu Zihan, she declared her immediate return to Flaming Manor. Yu Zihan, though understanding, instructed his men to secretly protect her. Ruge rode back quickly.
Upon her arrival at Flaming Manor, the pervasive white mourning cloths and the solemn assembly of hall leaders confirmed the tragic truth. She learned that only a ceramic jar containing her father's ashes remained, as his body had been incinerated by the explosion. Ruge demanded to know who was responsible and vowed to uncover the truth behind her father's death. Shortly after Ruge's return, the issue of the manor's leadership was raised.
Yi Lang proposed that, due to the suddenness of Lie Mingjing's death and Ruge's inexperience, Zhan Feng, as the most senior disciple, should temporarily serve as acting sect leader to facilitate the investigation and manage the manor. Many hall leaders readily agreed. Ji Jinglei vehemently opposed the motion, arguing that Zhan Feng could assist Ruge without holding the title. However, his protests were overruled by the majority.
Dao Wuxia, the City Leader, further pressured Ruge, openly questioning her knowledge of the manor's operations and the martial arts world. He insinuated that Lie Mingjing would have intended to train her for years before her succession, and that even if he were alive, he would agree to Zhan Feng temporarily managing the manor. Dao Wuxia then revealed Ruge's impending marriage to Prince Jingyuan, suggesting she would not have enough time to dedicate to the manor.
Faced with overwhelming pressure, Ruge reluctantly appointed Zhan Feng as the Deputy Sect Leader, granting him full authority over all manor affairs. Yi Lang's face secretly broke into a cunning smile. A heavy rain poured down as Ruge, feverish and distraught, visited the ruins of the training room alone. She wept, lamenting her father's untimely departure and questioning how explosives could have been placed in the manor's most important area without anyone noticing.
She refused to leave, clinging to the hope that her father had not truly left. Zhan Feng arrived and watched her from a distance, his eyes red with unspoken grief, before instructing her maid to ensure her well-being. Later, Ruge, still unwell, called Hall Leader Zhongli to her Plum Courtyard. She inquired about any unusual events after her departure.
Zhongli revealed that after Ruge and Zhan Feng (with Dao Liexiang) had left for Swordless City, Lie Mingjing secretly ordered the elite forces of Azure Dragon Hall to return to Flaming Manor within five days, stressing that the movement should not be leaked. He also noted that Zhan Feng and Dao Liexiang had returned to Flaming Manor on the very day of Lie Mingjing's murder.
This information deeply troubled Ruge, confirming her worst fears about Zhan Feng's deep-seated hatred for her father, a hatred she had warned her father about before leaving. Later, Zhan Feng stared at his reflection, appearing dejected and troubled. Despite having achieved the position of Deputy Sect Leader, he found no happiness in it, seeing only Ruge's pain. He wondered if this was truly the outcome he desired.
Meanwhile, Yi Lang respectfully waited outside to escort Zhan Feng to a hall meeting. At the meeting, Zhan Feng inquired about Hall Leader Zhongli's absence. Yi Lang explained that Azure Dragon Hall members typically only attended meetings under the direct orders of the Sect Leader. Zhan Feng then commanded Yi Lang to bring Zhongli to the meeting, declaring that all hall leaders, including Azure Dragon Hall, must now attend. Yi Lang found Zhongli Wulei burning paper money for Lie Mingjing.
Zhongli claimed to be unwell and unable to attend, stating that Azure Dragon Hall recognized only a Sect Leader, never a Deputy Sect Leader. Zhongli reminded Yi Lang of their shared past, how Lie Mingjing adopted and nurtured them, giving Yi Lang the role of chief steward and entrusting Zhongli with Azure Dragon Hall, the manor's eyes and ears in the world. He urged Yi Lang not to betray Lie Mingjing's trust.
Yi Lang returned to report Zhongli's defiance to Zhan Feng. Other hall leaders tried to defend Zhongli, citing his loyalty to the sect and his grief over Lie Mingjing's death as reasons for his current obstinacy. However, Zhan Feng saw Zhongli's refusal as an open challenge to his authority.
He asked Yi Lang about the penalty for disobeying the Sect Leader's command, to which Yi Lang replied that it meant having one's martial arts abolished and being expelled from Flaming Manor. Though the other hall leaders pleaded for leniency, Yi Lang suggested that while a lenient punishment could be considered for his past merits, Zhongli must be removed from his position. Zhan Feng agreed, dismissing Zhongli from his post and temporarily appointing Yi Lang to oversee Azure Dragon Hall.
Soon after, Ji Jinglei, upon learning of Zhongli's dismissal, hurried to find him but was informed that Zhongli had already left the manor. Ji Jinglei was then blocked from attending the meeting himself, as Zhan Feng deemed him too distraught to participate. Ji Jinglei accused Yi Lang of manipulating Zhan Feng, causing him to disregard their teacher's last will and their bond of brotherhood.
