The Legend of the Condor Heroes Episode 8 Recap
> The Legend of the Condor Heroes Recap
Prince Zhao hosted a banquet in the main hall for various martial artists, explaining his grand ambition for the Jin dynasty. He revealed that he had uncovered an ancient secret within the Jin's files: four peculiar poems penned by Yue Fei while imprisoned. After months of painstaking study, Prince Zhao deciphered that these lines, when combined and rearranged, unveiled Yue Fei's lifetime military strategies, compiled into a powerful tome known as the Wumu Manual.
He believed this book held the key to conquering the world, and for years, he had been searching for it in the south. Unbeknownst to them, Huang Rong was observing from the rooftops, musing that Prince Zhao's greed for the Manual was why such an assortment of "freaks" were gathered in his residence. Prince Zhao further speculated that the Manual must be in the possession of one of Yue Fei's jail guards.
Meanwhile, Guo Jing was in Liang Ziweng's herb room, tasked with finding medicine for Wang Chuyi. He felt overwhelmed by the selection, deciding to gather a bit of each for Taoist Wang to choose later. Suddenly, a large, venomous snake emerged, startling Guo Jing who cried out in alarm. His shouts soon attracted unwanted attention. Back in the main hall, a servant rushed in to report a thief.
Recognizing this as a potential problem for Guo Jing, Huang Rong thought, "Jing can't beat them. What am I supposed to do?" Prince Zhao, annoyed by the interruption, immediately instructed Master Lingzhi to escort him to the scene, while others also prepared to join the chase. Huang Rong quickly moved to intercept Ouyang Ke, Peng Lianhu, Sha Tongtian, and Hou Tonghai. She provocatively declared her intention to leave, engaging them in a series of challenges.
Yang Kang, alerted to the disturbance, also headed towards Liang Ziweng's room. There, he found Liang Ziweng distraught, weeping over his dead snake. The serpent, which Liang Ziweng had meticulously nurtured for twenty years with rare herbs, was now bloodless. He realized all his efforts were wasted and vowed to kill the thief who had stolen its blood. A servant hesitantly told Yang Kang that the culprit was the young man who arrived earlier with a "cruel lady."
Indeed, Guo Jing, having fought the snake, felt a burning sensation throughout his body and wondered if he had been poisoned. He had, in fact, drained the snake of its blood. Guo Jing then proceeded to rescue Yang Tiexin and Mu Nianci. Mu Nianci suggested asking Yang Kang for a doctor, but Yang Tiexin refused any help from Jin people. When Guo Jing introduced himself, Yang Tiexin, currently disguised as Mr. Mu, asked for his father's name.
Upon hearing "Guo Xiaotian" and then confirming his mother's surname was Li, Yang Tiexin became deeply emotional. He revealed that Guo Xiaotian was his sworn brother and that he was Yang Tiexin. Guo Jing, shocked and overjoyed that his mother's old friend was alive, embraced him. Yang Tiexin observed Guo Jing's resemblance to his father and lamented that Guo Jing had grown up without ever knowing his dad.
Guo Jing, now recognizing Yang Tiexin as a father figure, promised to avenge his true father by killing Duan Tiande. Back with Huang Rong, she continued to stall the group. When Hou Tonghai challenged her to a fight, she proposed a contest involving three bowls of wine: whoever spilled first would lose. Ouyang Ke found the idea amusing and encouraged Hou Tonghai to compete.
After a swift exchange, Huang Rong struck Hou Tonghai with a roasted chicken, causing his wine to spill, and he lost. Ouyang Ke praised her agile movements, to which Huang Rong subtly mocked his education. As she declared her departure, Sha Tongtian blocked her path. She then proposed another bet: if she could exit the room, he must let her go. Sha Tongtian agreed.
Huang Rong boasted that her father taught her skills for breaking in, making exiting a room easy. She then swiftly jumped out, triumphantly announcing Sha Tongtian's loss. As Guo Jing, Yang Tiexin, and Mu Nianci prepared to leave, they heard Xiruo's voice. Guo Jing quickly hid, while Xiruo, Prince Zhao's Consort, ordered the father and daughter to be released, offering them money to return home.
As she spoke, Xiruo felt a strange familiarity about Yang Tiexin, though she couldn't place it. Yang Tiexin, however, looked at her intently, recognizing his long-lost wife. He was urged to leave quickly as more guards were approaching. Guo Jing, hidden from view, made sure Yang Tiexin and Mu Nianci safely escaped through the backyard before he too made his move, realizing he now needed to find Huang Rong.
Huang Rong was still being harassed by Ouyang Ke and his companions. Just then, Liang Ziweng arrived, having tracked Guo Jing by the scent of his snake's blood. He confronted Guo Jing, accusing him of stealing his precious snake. Guo Jing retorted, challenging Liang Ziweng's involvement in Wang Chuyi's poisoning. Liang Ziweng, enraged, vowed to drink Guo Jing's blood in return.
As they fought, Guo Jing felt his body burning and his martial arts skills rapidly improving, realizing the snake's blood had enhanced his power. Yang Kang, observing, also noted Guo Jing's sudden surge in strength. Guo Jing, eager to avoid further entanglement, quickly disengaged and escaped. After escaping the residence, Yang Tiexin wrestled with his emotions. He was certain Xiruo was the Princess. Despite his injuries, he decided he must return to the residence to speak with her.
He instructed Mu Nianci to hide and, if he didn't return by dawn, to take the provided money and go back to Niu Village alone. He also gravely warned her not to trust or fall for Young Prince Yang Kang. Meanwhile, Xiruo returned to her private quarters, still unsettled by the familiar face of "Mr. Mu." She wondered if it was her husband, Tiexin, but quickly dismissed it as wishful thinking.
Prince Zhao soon arrived, expressing concern for her safety after the thief alarm. He fondly recalled how she saved him in Niu Village, a pivotal moment that led to them being together. Xiruo, however, asked him directly if he had personally witnessed Yang Kang's father's death eighteen years ago, confessing that she still felt Tiexin might be alive, watching over her.
Prince Zhao assured her he had seen it with his own eyes and tried to persuade her to move into his more luxurious palace to escape the sad reminders in her current room. Xiruo politely refused, stating she was used to her current dwelling. Prince Zhao tried to logically convince her that if Yang Tiexin were alive, he would have found her by now. Although Xiruo conceded the point, she remained fixated on returning to Niu Village.
She explained that she longed to revisit the place where she was separated from Tiexin, to see what had become of his grave, which Prince Zhao's men had buried. Despite Prince Zhao's warnings about the dangers of travel during wartime, Xiruo tearfully insisted, having yearned for it for eighteen years. Yang Tiexin, hidden outside her window, listened with tears streaming down his face. Huang Rong continued her game of cat and mouse with Ouyang Ke.
She proposed another challenge where the first to fall would lose. Ouyang Ke, confident, accepted. Huang Rong, wanting to quickly rejoin Guo Jing, played her trick, causing Ouyang Ke to fall, then followed suit, proclaiming that by his own rules, he had lost. However, the others still refused to let her leave. It was then that Peng Lianhu noticed her "Soft Hedgehog Armor," a legendary treasure from Peach Blossom Island.
Its presence revealed Huang Rong's extraordinary background, sparking the other martial artists' greed to possess it. Back in Xiruo's room, Prince Zhao, heartbroken, confronted her, asking why, after all these years of his unwavering love and protection for her and Yang Kang, she still couldn't give him her whole heart.
Xiruo gently explained that Yang Tiexin had left her out of necessity, to help her friend Ping, while she had left him by coming with Prince Zhao, making her the one who failed him. Prince Zhao insisted she had suffered enough and had not failed anyone. He tried to understand her lingering pain, apologizing for making her sad. He finally relented and promised to arrange safe travel for her to Niu Village.
After Prince Zhao left, Xiruo heard a knock on her door. Believing it to be Prince Zhao returning, she opened it, only to find Yang Tiexin standing before her. In the deep night, their reunion felt like a crossing of worlds, eighteen years in the making.
