The Flame's Daughter Episode 48 Recap
> The Flame's Daughter Recap
Anye Luo brought Lie Ruge and others to the underground palace, the most clandestine location within Dark River Palace. He explained that this was the resting place for all deceased sect leaders, and aside from Anye Ming and himself, no living soul had ever entered. Even the servants who cleaned the area were required to take their own lives and be buried there. Lie Ruge remarked that it was indeed an evil sect.
Anye Luo then confronted Lie Ruge, claiming that her group had orchestrated an elaborate trap from the beginning, from the failed assassination attempt to their capture, and even Yu Zihan's seeming betrayal. Lie Ruge confirmed this, stating that Anye Luo had walked "step by step into the trap they'd set." Anye Luo complimented her outstanding performance, admitting he genuinely believed she had amnesia.
Lie Ruge countered that he was not easily fooled either, and though she initially forgot many things due to his potion, her memory began to return when he used Xunyi to test her and allowed her to see Yin Xue and Zhan Feng. Anye Luo tried to sow discord by asserting that Yu Zihan had betrayed them, but Lie Ruge steadfastly defended Yu Zihan, declaring he would never betray her, even with evidence or a personal confession.
She further exposed Anye Luo’s current predicament, pointing out that his hurried departure and the panicked expressions of his subordinates indicated he was fleeing from a hunt, not celebrating a victory. She deduced that he was desperately escaping to the underground palace, a place only entered when in dire straits.
Infuriated by her defiance, Anye Luo choked Lie Ruge, but, seemingly remembering her identity as Anye Ming's daughter, he eventually ordered Xunyi to take Lie Ruge away and lock her in her room. Xunyi, visibly distraught after her own mother, Anye Jue, had died, shared her grief with Lie Ruge. Meanwhile, in the forest outside Dark River Palace, a rescue party had assembled. Dao Liexiang brought two captured Dark River Palace women to guide them.
The Dark River Palace was well-prepared, launching a barrage of arrows. Lei Jinghong pulled Dao Liexiang to safety. Dao Liexiang expressed frustration at not being able to save their guides, while Lei Jinghong questioned if their lives were more important than hers. Hall Leader Murong intervened, proposing a plan to break the dense fog spell protecting the palace. He explained that the spell could only be dispelled by destroying the trees that formed it.
Lei Jinghong suggested burning the trees, but others worried about an uncontrollable fire. Murong then asked Lei Jinghong if the Thunderbolt Clique had bombs powerful enough to break trees without causing a large fire. Lei Jinghong confirmed they did and offered to retrieve them from a nearby branch, promising to return with the explosives within half a day. He then departed. Anye Luo was informed that people from Flaming Manor were outside the forest, trying to breach their defenses.
He was pleased that they had come to him and ordered Zhan Feng's immediate execution, instructing his head to be thrown outside the illusion to demoralize the attackers. Yin Xue, sensing Zhan Feng's imminent danger, demanded to see Anye Luo. Anye Luo mocked Yin Xue's weakened state, noting his poisoned blood.
Yin Xue, however, remained calm, asserting that Anye Luo would still need him to fulfill his dream: to reunite with Anye Ming, the woman Anye Luo could never truly obtain. Anye Luo was skeptical, believing Anye Ming was merely white bones, but Yin Xue insisted that her soul persisted. Yin Xue then asked if Anye Ming frequently entered Anye Luo's dreams, a question that deeply startled Anye Luo, who confessed to dreaming of her every night.
Yin Xue explained that Anye Luo's intense will had kept Anye Ming's soul from departing, instead residing within his heart. Yin Xue proposed a method for Anye Ming's "rebirth": finding a close blood relative, like Lie Ruge, and imbuing her with Anye Ming’s memories, making her identical to his beloved.
As proof of his ability, Yin Xue revealed that he had once sealed Lie Ruge's memories when she was gravely injured, attempting to transform her into his own lover from a century ago. Anye Luo questioned the time needed, and Yin Xue stated it could take months or even years, challenging Anye Luo to gamble for Anye Ming’s return or kill them both.
Lie Ruge, learning of Yin Xue’s confession, was devastated, realizing she was merely a substitute for his past lover. She confronted Yin Xue, accusing him of loving his former lover, not her. Yin Xue could only offer a sorrowful "Sorry." Despairing, Lie Ruge declared she would rather die than have her body used. Anye Luo threatened that if she died, Yu Zihan, Zhan Feng, and Yin Xue would all perish with her.
Later, in her room, Lie Ruge again confronted Yin Xue, demanding to know if his elaborate story to Anye Luo was merely a delaying tactic. Yin Xue, burdened, explained his dire condition: having forced himself out of the ice to save Yu Zihan, his body was irreparably damaged, and another death would scatter his soul forever.
He reiterated his fabricated desire to remain by his past lover's side, describing her as the woman who redeemed him from a path of evil and for whom he held the deepest love. Lie Ruge, feeling like a mere "sack" to be used and discarded, bitterly questioned her own purpose. However, swayed by Anye Luo's threats to kill Yu Zihan and Zhan Feng, Lie Ruge agreed to become Anye Ming's vessel.
She then tearfully asked Yin Xue to protect Yu Zihan and Zhan Feng after her soul was gone, wished him happiness with his past lover, and kissed him goodbye. Following this, she stipulated two conditions to Anye Luo: he must spare Yu Zihan and Zhan Feng, and she demanded to see Yu Zihan. Anye Luo readily agreed to spare the men, deeming their lives unimportant to him.
He accepted her second condition to see Yu Zihan, but only after ten days, once Yin Xue had proven his ability to resurrect Anye Ming. In her bath, Lie Ruge questioned Yin Xue further about his past lover. Yin Xue spoke of her as a fierce heroine who detested evildoers, a woman he met just as she began her journey in Jianghu. He described his enduring sorrow whenever he recalled her.
Lie Ruge gently pressed him, suggesting that the "grave injury" he mentioned was, in fact, her death. Yin Xue confirmed it, admitting that if he hadn't allowed his targets to go free, his upright lover would never have fallen into his trap and loved him. Lie Ruge asked if he regretted it, to which he did not directly answer. She then asked if he was jealous, but he remained silent. Anye Luo, meanwhile, subjected Yu Zihan to brutal torture.
He taunted Yu Zihan by telling him Lie Ruge wished to see him, knowing full well Yu Zihan's disfigured state. Yu Zihan, desperate, pleaded with Anye Luo not to bring her to him. Anye Luo, still seething over Yu Zihan's destruction of his years of preparations, sadistically intended to make Yu Zihan witness the very thing he most dreaded.
Late that night, Anye Luo, consumed by his obsession with Anye Ming, entered Lie Ruge’s room as she slept, mistaking her for his deceased love. Lie Ruge awoke in terror to find him in a crazed state. He grabbed her hair, enraged that she could sleep peacefully while he worried endlessly about Anye Ming. Yin Xue appeared, warning Anye Luo that if he continued to frighten Lie Ruge, Anye Ming's soul would be too scared to ever return.
This threat rattled Anye Luo, who, fearing he might never see Anye Ming again, swiftly departed. Yin Xue tried to comfort a shaken Lie Ruge, but she pulled away, asking if he was mistaking her for his past love. He simply replied, "Yes."
He then advised her that if Anye Luo ever trespassed again, she should pretend her soul had left her body or hold her breath, as Anye Luo's fear of Anye Ming not returning would prevent him from harming her further. Later, in prison, Yin Xue poured out his thoughts to Zhan Feng. He reminisced about his initial awe upon discovering the Dark River internal cultivation techniques, considering them the most exquisite martial arts.
However, he later realized the profound coldness embedded within them. He concluded that no one willingly practiced such dark arts; they were always forced, much like Zhan Feng sought revenge, while he sought to prolong his life.
