The Legend of White Snake Episode 17 Recap
> The Legend of White Snake Recap
Having recovered from his illness, Hanwen learned that the price of Jishi Clinic's Plague Medicine was soaring daily, confirming his suspicions about Wang Daoling. Concerned, he rushed to warn Ruyi. However, Ruyi, blinded by her persistent affection for Hanwen, dismissed his concerns and continued to speak ill of Bai Suzhen. As Hanwen prepared to leave, he heard desperate cries from outside.
In the courtyard, he found impoverished people kneeling and pleading for the Plague Medicine, yet Wang Daoling remained indifferent to their suffering. Just then, Bai Suzhen and Qing arrived. They had secretly obtained Wang Daoling's antidote, renamed it Bao'an Bolus, and began distributing it for free. One person immediately recovered after taking the medicine, confirming its efficacy. People profusely thanked the healers and flocked to Baohe Clinic. The news quickly spread, even reaching Fahai, who had just arrived in Lin'an.
He observed the bustling Baohe Clinic, where Bai Suzhen was revered like a goddess by the common folk. Yet, she was clearly a thousand-year-old snake demon, and Fahai struggled to reconcile this contradiction. As Baohe Clinic gained popularity, Jishi Clinic became deserted. Wang Daoling was baffled, as the plague toxin was derived from his own toad venom, and he couldn't comprehend how anyone else could possess the antidote.
Investigating further, he returned to his mountain cave and discovered that his stash of antidote had been swapped. Despite the setback, Wang Daoling remained unconcerned, confident that Baohe Clinic's supply would eventually run dry. He returned to comfort Ruyi, anticipating a return of their business. Days passed, and Baohe Clinic's supply of Bao'an Bolus rapidly diminished. Soon, the large jar of antidote was nearly empty, and patients who could not receive medicine began to gather outside, their curses echoing loudly.
Bai Suzhen then confided in Hanwen, revealing that she and Qing had witnessed Wang Daoling secretly pouring a strange powder into the city's water wells late at night. Hanwen, realizing the true source of the plague, devised a plan to lure Wang Daoling into a trap. The next day, Baohe Clinic announced the development of a new, even more effective antidote called Yong'an Pill. As expected, Wang Daoling could not sit still.
Believing that Hanwen's Yong'an Pill could only counter a fraction of his toad poison, he decided to double the dosage and pour it into the wells again. Unbeknownst to him, Hanwen and his allies had already set an inescapable trap. Under the cover of a moonless night, Wang Daoling approached the well with his enhanced poison. Suddenly, Li Gongfu and his constables surrounded him, their torches illuminating the scene like daylight.
Caught red-handed, Wang Daoling refused to surrender, transforming into a wisp of smoke and vanishing. However, Bai Suzhen and Qing were waiting for him. They jointly attacked him, severely injuring him. Barely escaping, Wang Daoling harbored a deep resentment towards the two. After consuming a hidden pill, he was able to regain his human form. The exposure of Wang Daoling's heinous acts, poisoning the populace for profit, devastated Jishi Clinic and made Ruyi an outcast.
Enraged victims stormed and vandalized Jishi Clinic. Hanwen rushed to intervene, publicly apologizing on Ruyi's behalf and explaining that she had been misguided as a young woman running the clinic alone. The crowd, swayed by Hanwen's esteemed reputation, dispersed. Left amidst the ruins, a distraught and humiliated Ruyi completely broke down. Despite Bai Suzhen's attempts to offer solace, Ruyi saw her as a persistent tormentor, blaming her for her father's death, Jishi Clinic's ruined reputation, and the loss of Hanwen.
Her hatred spiraled into irrationality. Unable to reason with her, Hanwen embraced Bai Suzhen and they left. The once magnificent Jishi Clinic was now a desolate wreck. Overwhelmed, Ruyi stumbled through the rainy night, cursing the heavens and Hanwen's perceived heartlessness. Exhausted, she collapsed in the storm, only to be found and rescued by Wang Daoling, who carried her back to his mountain cave.
Upon waking in Wang Daoling's cave, Ruyi looked at him with cold eyes, despite his desperate attempts to please her. She was intrigued by the strange surroundings and curious about Wang Daoling's true identity. Wang Daoling continued to cater to her, even climbing steep cliffs to gather rare ingredients for her health.
One day, Ruyi followed Wang Daoling and watched as he transformed into a cloud of black smoke, then into a colorful toad, and finally back into his human form, holding a precious wild yam in his mouth. Terrified, Ruyi shrieked, realizing that Wang Daoling was not human. He tried to explain, claiming to be a celestial attendant of Lord Lao Zi, banished to the mortal realm for stealing an elixir and mistakenly entering a toad's body.
He asserted his divine lineage, explaining that he disguised himself as a Taoist because his toad form was unsightly. To convince a skeptical Ruyi, he insisted on taking her further into his cave to prove his story. Meanwhile, back at Baohe Clinic, Hanwen confided in Bai Suzhen about his lingering concern for Ruyi, recalling their shared childhood and his master's dying wish for him to care for her.
Bai Suzhen gently reminded him that Ruyi was no longer a child and that he had done enough. She expressed her own anger at Ruyi's actions, stating that while she usually had a kind heart, she could only forgive Ruyi this once. The two then agreed on a new set of rules for Baohe Clinic: all medicines would be sold at affordable prices, and for the truly impoverished, medical fees would be waived entirely.
Qing, observing their loving dynamic, muttered that love must be a "silly disease," claiming to have no interest in such mortal affairs. However, her heart skipped a beat when Zhang Yutang arrived, complaining about the heat. Zhang Yutang had brought herbs for Baohe Clinic, as requested by Hanwen. As he spoke, he suddenly felt dizzy and weak, describing symptoms of heatstroke. Bai Suzhen diagnosed him and asked Qing to prepare cooling medicine for him. Seeing the poor laborers toiling under the scorching sun, Bai Suzhen's compassionate heart moved her to instruct Qing to prepare more medicine and invite them in for free cooling draughts.
