The Legend of White Snake Episode 28 Recap
> The Legend of White Snake Recap
Xu Xian tenderly cared for Suzhen, who was suffering from the "hundred-day calamity" after giving her demon core to him. Suzhen, however, was preoccupied with Xiao Qing's whereabouts and urged her demonic subordinates to find her. The demons tried to use a Thousand-Mile Voice Locating Spell, but Xiao Qing, having mastered the magic of invisibility, evaded their search. Meanwhile, Xiao Qing was in the forest with Yutang, having eloped to the temporary residence he had prepared.
Yutang had transformed this simple resting spot into a cozy home, where, with their loving care, even dry wood seemed to come alive. Xiao Qing, having changed out of her green clothes into a delicate pink, seemed to shed her usual arrogance like a tender flower. She proudly presented a grilled fish, and Yutang surprised her with a bouquet of wildflowers. They lay together on the same bed, under the same blanket.
Yutang also gave her a hand-carved mandarin duck, keeping a matching one for himself, solidifying their bond as a family. As Yutang felt a sudden chest discomfort from drinking too quickly, Xiao Qing helped him to bed. Later, as Yutang pretended to sleep, Xiao Qing admired his features and leaned in to kiss him. Yutang, who had been awake, embraced her and returned the kiss, affirming their promise to stay together for all eternity, through all lifetimes.
The next morning, Xiao Qing woke early to prepare porridge, only to find Yutang unconscious and spitting blood. Panicked, she rushed to Suzhen for help. Suzhen quickly examined Yutang, revealing that the Love Poison had infiltrated his lungs, internal organs, and bones, and his life was fading fast. Suzhen reminded Xiao Qing of her earlier warnings about the perils of human-demon relationships, explaining that deep love between them inevitably leads to the human contracting Love Poison.
Xiao Qing, desperate, offered her own demon core, like Suzhen had done for Xu Xian. However, Suzhen regretfully explained that Xiao Qing's five hundred years of cultivation were insufficient; her demon core, still containing snake poison, would only harm Yutang, not save him. Devastated and blaming herself, Xiao Qing cried out that she should have listened to Suzhen. Suzhen then presented the only remaining solution: the Love Forgetting Water she had brought from the East Sea Palace.
This water would sever all emotional ties, erasing Xiao Qing from Yutang's memory entirely. Any rekindling of their love would cause the Love Poison to resurge, making his condition irreversible. Overcome with sorrow, Xiao Qing found the task unbearable but recognized its necessity. " The deeper the love, the deeper the poison," she thought, "but how could I bear to let go, and similarly, how could Yutang?" Suzhen, understanding Xiao Qing's anguish, left her to say a final farewell.
Xiao Qing returned to their newly arranged home, heartbroken by the thought that their fresh love was already condemned. As she wept, Yutang, weak on the bed, reached out to her, silently conveying his understanding of her pain and his desire for one last embrace. Xiao Qing, full of sorrow, kissed his soft lips one last time.
She then gave Yutang the Love Forgetting Water, telling him that once he woke, he would not remember her, and their home would be no more; to him, she would simply be a stranger. Yutang, with tears in his eyes, drank the water, and the companionship of their days and nights, their vows for all lifetimes, vanished in an instant. He turned his head away, his pillow wet with tears.
As Yutang drank the water, Xiao Qing, unable to forget him herself, vowed to remember their love for both of them. Later, in her grief, Xiao Qing dreamt of her mother, who comforted her, saying that time would heal all wounds, but Xiao Qing insisted she did not want to forget her love for Yutang.
In the days that followed, Xiao Qing, lost in sorrow, sought to keep herself busy by constantly cleaning and doing chores around the Baohe Clinic, a stark contrast to her former self. Her unusual diligence was noticed by Xu Jiaorong and the other workers, who speculated about her attempting to forget someone. Meanwhile, Li Gongfu showed Suzhen a sachet given by the yamen, claiming it was for protection against a new villain.
Suzhen recognized it as a halidom, a "Sorcerous Soul-Binding Array", and wondered why the authorities possessed such an item. The Zhang family’s plot began to unfold when two servants arrived at the Baohe Clinic, ostentatiously purchasing "Son Bearing Pills" and loudly announcing Zhang Yutang’s upcoming marriage to Miss Yang from the Treasure Accessories in Lin'an. They explicitly mentioned a grand wedding banquet, a "flowing feast," open to all. Overhearing this, Xiao Qing was shattered and ran out.
Suzhen and Xu Xian immediately realized this was a deliberate trap, calculated to lure Xiao Qing, and hurried after her to Suzhou. Xiao Qing arrived at the Zhang family mansion as the wedding ceremony was in progress. Yutang, under the effects of the Love Forgetting Water, did not recognize her and even invited her to partake in the wedding festivities.
Despite initial resistance from the guards, an instruction from inside permitted Xiao Qing to enter the hall, part of a scheme orchestrated by Fahai's inner demon to ensure she witnessed the wedding and gave up all hope. As Yutang and his bride were being led to the bridal chamber, the true Fahai, in his spirit form, intervened, rescuing Xiao Qing.
He revealed that the person presiding over the wedding was his inner demon, who had taken control of his physical body. The inner demon specialized in mind control and fed on obsession, having laid a trap to ensnare Xiao Qing with her fervent love for Yutang. Fahai urged Xiao Qing to abandon her worldly attachments to achieve true spiritual liberation. Before Xiao Qing could fully react, the inner demon, still in Fahai’s physical body, appeared.
Fahai’s spirit told Xiao Qing to flee while he confronted the inner demon, luring it into a protective layer accessible only to spirits. Just then, Suzhen and Xu Xian arrived. Xu Xian, following their earlier plan, used gold needles to put Fahai's physical body into a suspended animation state for an hour, preventing the inner demon from returning.
However, the prefect, corrupted by the inner demon and armed with a Demon Expelling Bell, arrived with soldiers to arrest Xu Xian and capture Suzhen and Xiao Qing. At the critical moment, Fahai's spirit swiftly re-entered his body, disarming the prefect and clarifying that Xu Xian and the others were not demons. The prefect, with no evidence against them, was forced to withdraw. With the immediate danger averted, Fahai acknowledged that the inner demon's escape posed a continuous threat.
He resolved to take the small demons who had helped him back to Jinshan Temple for their safety. The inner demon then confronted Fahai, questioning his mercy towards other demons while seeking its own destruction. Fahai affirmed that the inner demon, born from his own momentary lapse, had become a source of immense suffering. The inner demon retorted that it was nourished by all the hatred in the world and could only be defeated by someone utterly pure of heart, implying its near invincibility.
