The Flame's Daughter Episode 31 Recap
> The Flame's Daughter Recap
Lie Ruge was alarmed to see Yin Xue in such pain, noticing how cold he was and asking if his old illness had relapsed. Yin Xue comforted her not to worry, though he struggled with pain, quietly telling her not to speak when she desperately asked what she could do to help him.
Amidst his pain, Yin Xue looked into Lie Ruge’s eyes and began to recite the verses of "A Phoenix Looking for a Mate," the song he once played for her in Ping'an Town, as Lie Ruge was his entire spiritual pillar. He confessed that he was full of murderous sins and should have suffered Heaven's retribution long ago, but being able to meet her again meant he could die with no regrets.
Lie Ruge cried out his name repeatedly, distraught and unsure what to do. Meanwhile, Dao Liexiang was attempting to cover Lei Jinghong and Ji Jing Lei’s escape. Dao Liexiang was torn between her second brother and her lover. She encountered Swordless City guards who informed her that Deputy City Leader Dao Wuhen had ordered no one to pass. Dao Liexiang used her status as Third Miss Dao to distract the guards, allowing Lei Jinghong and Ji Jing Lei to proceed.
Their path was then blocked by Dao Wuhen himself, who chastised Dao Liexiang for letting Lei Jinghong go, reminding her of the Swordless City brothers killed by the Thunderbolt Clique. He argued that letting Lei Jinghong escape would lead to their own deaths at the hands of An Ye Luo and asked if she wanted to see him or her older brothers dead.
Dao Liexiang pleaded with her Second Brother to spare Lei Jinghong, begging him not to force her hand. Dao Wuhen challenged her to fight her former comrades and ordered his men to surround them. As Lei Jinghong fought Dao Wuhen, the battle was evenly matched. When Lei Jinghong seemed to be losing ground, Xun Yi subtly struck Dao Wuhen's knee with a stone, causing him to lose balance.
Lei Jinghong seized the opportunity, flying up with a kick, and Dao Wuhen's head hit a rock, killing him instantly. Dao Liexiang collapsed, clutching her brother's body and weeping, questioning why Lei Jinghong had to kill him. Lei Jinghong tried to explain that Dao Wuhen had intended to kill him, but Dao Liexiang insisted he could have simply escaped. Lei Jinghong then urged Dao Liexiang to leave Swordless City with him and forget her past.
She refused vehemently, saying her brothers had cared for her for twenty years, providing for her and shielding her from suffering. Lei Jinghong countered that Dao Wuhen had also taken the lives of hundreds of his brothers and that he could not coexist with Swordless City. He implored her to forget her name and surname and follow him, promising to care for her forever.
However, Dao Liexiang declared that no matter where she went, her surname would always be Dao, and she would always be a member of the Dao family, the daughter of Dao Jueba. Xun Yi, realizing they couldn't delay, urged Lei Jinghong to leave quickly as Dao Wuxia would soon arrive. Ji Jing Lei, recognizing Xun Yi, confirmed her identity, and she again pressed them to depart.
As they fled, Ji Jing Lei expressed concern for Xun Yi, asking if Yi Lang had made things difficult for her. She assured him she could take care of herself, but then revealed that his eyes, which he hoped to heal, were not merely damaged but gone, and no doctor could help. Lei Jinghong then questioned Xun Yi’s motives, pointing out how easily she had helped them escape the heroes surrounding them, a feat even Dao Liexiang struggled with.
He accused her of being Yi Lang's subordinate and of luring him out to secretly kill him, as his continued existence threatened Yi Lang's position. Ji Jing Lei defended Xun Yi, but she then confessed that she was indeed there to save them, not as a friend of Lie Ruge, but because she was Lei Jinghong’s half-sister, the biological daughter of An Ye Jue and Lei Hentian.
She clarified that Die Yi had been a decoy and that Lei Jinghong's "Second Mother" (Anye Jue) also wished to save him, having raised him for over twenty years. Ji Jing Lei was stunned and heartbroken by her revelation, particularly when he asked if she was from the Dark River Palace, and furiously accused her of betrayal, reminding her that it was An Ye Jue, her mother, who had gouged out his eyes.
He furiously ordered Xun Yi to leave, questioning her sincerity after years of care from Liehuo Manor and Lie Ruge. Back at Swordless City, Dao Wuxia arrived to find his younger brother, Dao Wuhen, dead. He demanded to know how his brother died. Dao Liexiang, overcome with grief, claimed responsibility. Dao Wuxia, however, didn't believe her, accusing Lei Jinghong of casting a spell over her that made her abandon her blood brother.
He reminded her of Dao Wuhen's twenty years of care and her familial duty, then angrily silenced her weeping. Dao Wuxia then ordered all Swordless City disciples to kill any member of the Thunderbolt Clique on sight, allowing no surrender, to avenge his brother. News quickly spread across the martial arts world that Liehuo Manor's new sect leader, Lie Ruge, had been murdered, along with the other sect leader.
The Thunderbolt Clique was branded the number one evil sect, and Swordless City, under the command of Dao Wuxia, launched four campaigns against them, slaughtering countless disciples. Lei Jinghong's whereabouts became unknown. An Ye Luo confronted An Ye Jue, asking if she had sent people to rescue Lei Jinghong. An Ye Jue tried to justify her actions, claiming she only wanted to incite internal strife within Swordless City and had ordered Xun Yi to abduct Lei Jinghong, not rescue him.
An Ye Luo saw through her pretense, accusing her of developing familial affection for Lei Hentian's son. He speculated that she transferred the maternal love she couldn't give her own daughter, Xun Yi (who was sent away as a spy), to Lei Jinghong, who was motherless at the age of three.
An Ye Jue denied having any feelings for Lei Hentian or treating Lei Jinghong as her son, but An Ye Luo was unmoved, scornfully noting that even his junior sister could develop family bonds with someone not of her blood. He gave An Ye Jue a final chance: he would forgive her for her past sacrifices if she personally killed Lei Jinghong to rectify her mistake. If she failed, he would kill Xun Yi, her biological daughter.
Meanwhile, Lei Jinghong, Feng Huang, and Ji Jing Lei were in hiding. Feng Huang, exasperated by Lei Jinghong's despondency, goaded him, threatening to turn him in for a reward and asking if he had any backbone left. Lei Jinghong, filled with self-loathing, conceded that he was nothing. Feng Huang admitted her regret in following him, but recognized its futility. Ji Jing Lei, however, remained resolute. Suddenly, a coded knock came from the door.
Ji Jing Lei responded with a secret pass phrase for the Azure Dragon Hall, explaining that he knew the code because the master had gifted him a maidservant who was the Third Hall Leader of the Azure Dragon Hall and she had shared it with him. Bi'er, Ji Jing Lei’s trusted aide, then entered.
Lei Jinghong questioned how the Azure Dragon Hall could still operate under Yi Lang's control, but Bi'er explained that she and Hall Leader Zhongli had maintained control of its intelligence network. She confirmed the rumors of a great fire on Mt. Yi, where Lie Ruge's whereabouts remained unclear as her body hadn't been found, offering a sliver of hope.
When asked about Yu Zihan, Bi'er relayed the official news that the Prince of Jingyuan was recuperating in a military camp in the East China Seas and had never left. Both Lei Jinghong and Ji Jing Lei found this impossible to believe, knowing Yu Zihan's deep love for Lie Ruge, and suspected an untold truth.
At the Dark River Palace, Yu Zihan was held captive by An Ye Luo, while Yu Zihan’s loyal bodyguards were frantically searching for him, fearing he had fallen into a trap. An Ye Luo taunted Yu Zihan, who was no longer deaf, for pretending to be deaf and mute. He praised Yu Zihan's composure but mocked his refusal to engage.
An Ye Luo proposed a deal: Yu Zihan would become emperor, and An Ye Luo would rule the martial arts world. Yu Zihan called him insane. An Ye Luo then meticulously detailed the betrayals Yu Zihan had endured: his congenital deafness was due to the empress poisoning his mother, Consort Yu, while she was pregnant; his paralysis was orchestrated by Prince Jingyang’s followers, who pushed him off a horse.
All of this, An Ye Luo revealed, was known to Yu Zihan's royal father, the Emperor, who did nothing to protect him to preserve his own imperial power and avoid offending powerful relatives. An Ye Luo tried to ignite Yu Zihan’s hatred and regret, especially for his physical limitations that prevented him from saving Lie Ruge. Yu Zihan, overwhelmed by anger and helplessness, spat out a mouthful of blood, but declared it was too late.
An Ye Luo then revealed he was responsible for restoring Yu Zihan's hearing, having ordered An Ye Jue to do so. He threatened to make Yu Zihan deaf again if he continued to resist. Yu Zihan, unmoved, stated he didn't care if he couldn't hear, as Lie Ruge was no longer alive.
An Ye Luo then shifted his tactic, suggesting that Lie Ruge might not be dead after all and that if Yu Zihan cooperated, he would help him find her and ensure no harm ever came to her again. Meanwhile, in a quaint farmhouse, Lie Ruge, still without her memories, lived a peaceful life with Yin Xue.
As the New Year approached, a kind neighbor, noticing Lie Ruge’s simple attire, gifted her a festive red dress that no longer fit her own daughter. Lie Ruge was delighted and eagerly showed it to Yin Xue, who playfully called it "ugly but festive" before tenderly telling her that only she could make a red dress look so beautiful. Lie Ruge teased him, saying he had become much better at talking since his recovery.
Soon after, Yin Xue's cold poison flared up again, causing him intense pain. Lie Ruge frantically tried to help him, offering to use her internal energy and urging them to leave immediately to find a doctor. Yin Xue, however, claimed it was useless. He then asked her what she would do if he died, causing Lie Ruge to break down in tears, begging him not to speak such things.
Yin Xue tried to lighten the mood with a joke, then quickly apologized for upsetting her, deeply moved by her tears but also aware of his own fading time. Lie Ruge, still distressed, scolded him for joking about his life and pleaded with him never to do it again.
