The Legend of White Snake Episode 16 Recap
> The Legend of White Snake Recap
Zhang Yutang, a skilled hunter, approached Baohe Clinic after observing their fair prices for medicinal herbs. He recalled Xiaoqing mentioning her family ran a clinic and sought to make a sale. However, his bundles contained various snake parts—skin, bones, and a fresh green snake gall—the sight and strong odor of which deeply offended Xiaoqing, a snake demon.
Despite Zhang Yutang's offer of the snake gall as a complimentary remedy for her flushed eyes and pale complexion, Xiaoqing, furious, demanded he take his "junk" and leave. Zhang Yutang, asserting the superior quality and affordability of his goods, protested her rude dismissal. Their heated argument drew Xu Xian outside. Zhang Yutang appealed to Xu Xian to assess his medicinal wares. Xu Xian confirmed the herbs were indeed of good quality and tried to mediate, explaining Xiaoqing's inexperience with pharmacology.
He even offered to purchase the snake sloughs himself. But Xiaoqing remained obstinate, and Zhang Yutang, feeling insulted, disparaged Baohe Clinic before departing in a fit of pique. Unwilling to let him off easily, Xiaoqing secretly followed. As Zhang Yutang continued his hunting expedition in a dense forest, Xiaoqing subtly conjured a thick mist, causing him to become disoriented. While intensely focused on capturing a magnificent, jewel-eyed snake, Zhang Yutang lost his footing and plunged down a cliff.
Xiaoqing, initially only intending mischief, was alarmed and swiftly rescued him. As he recovered, he found himself drawn to her candid spirit and unique charm. When he questioned her presence and fighting prowess on the treacherous cliff, she claimed to be a regular herb gatherer for her family's clinic and lamented the loss of a rare flickingeria comata during his rescue. Grateful for his life being saved, Zhang Yutang promised her a precious Ten-year Toso as compensation.
He told her she was unlike other girls, admiring her strength, convivial nature, and loyalty, which he found refreshing. The following day, Zhang Yutang, now enamored, returned to Baohe Clinic with his life savings—a mere three taels of silver. He presented the money to Xu Xian, requesting to "buy Xiaoqing's freedom," having mistakenly assumed she was a maid. Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen were baffled.
Xiaoqing, emerging from a back room, was initially touched to learn the three taels represented his "marriage money" intended for her. However, her sentiment quickly soured into fury when she realized he deemed her only worth such a meager sum. She angrily chased him out once more. Xu Xian later clarified Zhang Yutang's misunderstanding, explaining that Xiaoqing was Bai Suzhen’s sister, not a servant. Despite the clarification, Xiaoqing remained resentful of his snake-hunting trade.
Bai Suzhen gently reminded her that Zhang Yutang hunted for sustenance, not out of malice, and that as a spiritual practitioner, Xiaoqing should uphold her vows and resist thoughts of harm, lest she face divine retribution. She advised patience as the path to true cultivation. Meanwhile, an ominous plot unfolded in Lin'an City. Under the cover of darkness, Huang Daoling, a newly hired physician at Jishi Clinic, furtively contaminated the city's drinking water wells with a yellow powder.
The next morning, chaos erupted across Lin'an as a rapidly spreading plague, starting from the west, plunged the city into crisis. Clinics, including Baohe, were overwhelmed. Conventional remedies proved useless, leaving Xu Xian deeply troubled. In stark contrast, the previously struggling Jishi Clinic now proclaimed a miraculous cure, a "plague medicine", developed by Huang Daoling. Its efficacy was astounding, offering immediate relief. However, the medicine was exorbitantly priced, beyond the reach of most common folk.
While Xu Xian found some relief in the existence of a cure, he was appalled by the profiteering. He confronted Jin Ruyi, imploring her to lower the price or, failing that, to exchange her plague remedy for his own extensive medical prescriptions, appealing to the medical ethics upheld by her late father. Jin Ruyi, however, was uncompromising. Fuelled by lingering resentment, she demanded Xu Xian divorce Bai Suzhen as a condition for the prescription.
Outraged by her unconscionable demand, Xu Xian refused. As he departed, Huang Daoling secretly poisoned him, inducing symptoms identical to the plague. Xu Xian collapsed upon returning home, losing consciousness. Distraught, Bai Suzhen rushed to Jishi Clinic for the "plague medicine." Jin Ruyi initially reveled in her distress, proposing Bai Suzhen serve as her maid for a year in exchange for the antidote. But upon learning the patient was Xu Xian, Jin Ruyi's demeanor shifted dramatically.
Overriding Huang Daoling's protests about the limited supply of only three bottles and his reluctance to aid Baohe Clinic, Jin Ruyi immediately provided the medicine, urging Bai Suzhen to administer it swiftly. Xu Xian rapidly recovered after taking the "plague medicine." Both he and Bai Suzhen grew suspicious; the immediate and complete cure suggested it was a potent detoxifier rather than a traditional herbal medicine.
Xu Xian noted its unique, mineral-like scent, concluding that the townspeople were suffering from poisoning, not a natural plague. He questioned how Jishi Clinic could have developed such a specific antidote. To uncover the truth, Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing secretly observed Jishi Clinic that night. They witnessed Huang Daoling furtively poisoning a public well. Following him to his hidden mountain lair, they discovered his true form: a grotesque toad demon.
Once Huang Daoling left his cave, Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing entered, seizing all the vials of "plague medicine," which they now identified as the vital antidote. To prevent immediate detection, they replaced the stolen medicine with flour. Bai Suzhen resolved to publicly expose Huang Daoling's treachery and distribute the antidote, which she renamed "Bao'an bolus," free to all suffering citizens. Upon seeing them prepare the new "Bao'an bolus," Xu Xian, still recovering, was perplexed by the use of flour.
Bai Suzhen clarified it was a mere "primer," assuring him their remedy would be as effective as Jishi Clinic's but offered without charge. Xu Xian expressed profound sadness at the corruption of Jishi Clinic under Huang Daoling, feeling a responsibility as his former master's apprentice.
He intended to speak with Jin Ruyi, but Xiaoqing, still furious about Jin Ruyi's past cruelty and her demand for Xu Xian to divorce Bai Suzhen, argued that Jin Ruyi deserved her fate with the toad demon. Bai Suzhen gently interceded, urging Xiaoqing not to disclose Jin Ruyi's personal affronts to Xu Xian, explaining she wished to spare him further distress over their strained relationship. Instead, she encouraged Xu Xian to join them in publicly exposing Huang Daoling's scheme, thus working together to save Lin'an and uphold justice.
