The Legend of White Snake Episode 30 Recap
> The Legend of White Snake Recap
Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen traveled back in time to the day Xu Xian's father, Xu Huairen, was demoted and exiled to Lingnan. Xu Huairen, a man of integrity, told Xu Xian that he was demoted because he had trusted a villain and fallen prey to a plot. He expressed his regret about having no one to trust or help him eradicate evil.
As guards urged him to leave, Xu Huairen told Xu Xian not to make things difficult for them, acknowledging their care during the journey. He philosophically noted that in life, people meet and depart, and there is no need to force things. Suddenly, Xu Xian remembered that his father was killed by bandits on this very journey to Lingnan, a fact confirmed by the snow in their yard when the news arrived.
He and Bai Suzhen immediately rushed to the location, finding Xu Huairen ambushed by bandits and severely wounded. Xu Xian, now a physician, desperately tried to save him, but Xu Huairen knew it was futile. Recognizing his son by a crescent-shaped scar on his palm, Xu Huairen, in his last moments, asked Hanwen to give a specific bag to his mother. Bai Suzhen, using her powers, bravely retrieved the bag from the bandits.
Opening the bag, Xu Xian found golden pancakes, his favorite childhood treat, which his mother had made for him before her passing. He vividly recalled a past argument where, as a stubborn child, he had refused to eat and even threw the last of their precious pancakes on the ground because his mother wouldn't let him study.
His mother had tearfully explained that his father, Xu Huairen, a man of great learning and integrity, had met a tragic end, and she only wished for Xu Xian’s safety, not for him to climb the social ladder. Xu Xian also remembered his mother's meticulous way of making the pancakes with tea-infused spring water and how she had selflessly given all three last eggs to him and his sister.
He realized with sorrow that his father had kept these pancakes, a symbol of his unwavering love for his family, even until his death. Overcome with regret, Xu Xian wished he had become a physician sooner, believing he could have saved his mother, who had died falling off a cliff while gathering tea to fund his studies.
To grant Xu Xian closure, Bai Suzhen, despite having already used Jing Song's magical artifact, decided to transport them back in time again, risking her own life as her demon core was gone. They appeared on a snowy day, and Xu Xian, approaching his mother, offered her the golden pancakes. His mother, recognizing the unique tea-infused preparation, remarked that she used a similar method for her son and expressed her hope that he would one day understand her heartfelt intentions.
As she ate, she discovered a letter hidden within the pancake, a habit of her late husband. The letter exposed Prime Minister Liang, Liang Mohan, for embezzling disaster relief funds ten years prior, a corruption that led to widespread death during the Yangtze River floods in the Hunan region. Bai Suzhen saw this as a twist of fate, and Xu Xian believed his father, from the afterlife, was guiding them to clear his name.
Xu Xian immediately resolved to present this evidence to Lord Mu. Xiao Qing, finding Bai Suzhen exhausted, tearfully admonished her for risking her life by using the artifact twice without her demon core, but Bai Suzhen assured her it was the last time, bringing Xu Xian peace. With the undeniable evidence, Liang Mohan was exposed for his corruption.
He was paraded through the streets in a prisoner's cart, facing the wrath of the people who threw rotten vegetables at him, cheering the Emperor's just sentence of death and confiscation of his vast wealth. Lord Mu personally visited the Xu household to convey the Emperor's decree, bestowing a "Loyal and Filial Family" plaque, recognizing Xu Huairen's integrity and Xu Xian's righteous efforts to clear his father's name.
This momentous occasion became a "double blessing" when Jiaorong, Xu Xian’s sister, suddenly felt unwell. Xu Xian quickly diagnosed her with pregnancy, bringing immense joy and relief to the family after nearly a decade of waiting for a child. However, immersed in their joy, no one realized that this blessing was also the greatest disaster. Lord Mu warmly congratulated them, praising Xu Xian for carrying on his father’s upright legacy.
Meanwhile, Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing diligently prepared an herbal medicine to ensure Jiaorong's pregnancy was stable. As they were about to return home, they encountered Ruyi, who had just left the Xu household but then dramatically collapsed at their doorstep. Xiao Qing, initially hesitant, helped bring Ruyi inside. Bai Suzhen, examining Ruyi, revealed that she had deliberately consumed incompatible medicines to induce dizziness and weakness, a calculated ploy to gain sympathy and stay in the Xu household.
Despite knowing Ruyi's true intentions, Jiaorong, feeling pity and believing Ruyi could assist her during her pregnancy, insisted on letting her stay, overriding Bai Suzhen's concerns about the impropriety. Jiaorong even tried to reassure Bai Suzhen that Xu Xian's loyalty was unwavering and Ruyi posed no threat to her marriage. Reluctantly, Bai Suzhen conceded to Jiaorong's wishes. Unbeknownst to them, the inner demon, sensing Ruyi's surging resentment, began to feed on it, growing stronger, and Jiaorong gradually became demonized.
The demon, manifesting through Jiaorong, even spoke to Ruyi, stating, "You are me, I am you," acknowledging their shared malevolent spirit and delighting in Ruyi's escalating hatred. With Ruyi now residing in the Xu household, she and Jiaorong, increasingly under the inner demon's influence, began to sow discord daily. Ruyi cunningly prepared "snake bone soup" for Bai Suzhen. Upon Xu Xian and Jiaorong’s arrival, she feigned distress, dropping the bowl and blaming Bai Suzhen.
Jiaorong, possessed by the inner demon, sharply rebuked Ruyi for her "unsolicited kindness," sarcastically asking how she would account for it if Bai Suzhen fell ill from such a soup. Soon after, Jiaorong invited Bai Suzhen to the ancestral hall that evening to discuss its renovation. Later, Ruyi approached Xiao Qing, feigning concern for Bai Suzhen, and cryptically advised her to curb her temper lest she complicate Bai Suzhen’s situation.
She then revealed a sinister plot: Jiaorong knew Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing were demons and had procured demon-suppressing artifacts from Lingyin Temple, setting a "realgar array" in the ancestral hall to trap Bai Suzhen. Ruyi gloated, suggesting Xiao Qing prepare for her sister’s demise. Horrified, Xiao Qing immediately rushed to the ancestral hall.
At the ancestral hall, the pregnant Jiaorong, fully controlled by the inner demon, wielded a realgar arrow, openly declaring Bai Suzhen a demon and demanding her surrender to the ancestors. Xiao Qing retaliated with magic, but Jiaorong, enhanced by the demon, was too strong, and Xiao Qing was knocked to the ground. Bai Suzhen confronted the entity, which responded, "I am him, he is me. Hatred originates from confusion," confirming itself as the inner demon.
The demon asserted its deep roots within Jiaorong’s mind and attempted to tempt Bai Suzhen to join its power by releasing her own resentment. Realizing Jiaorong was controlled and that the inner demon was using the unborn child as a vessel, Bai Suzhen prepared to use magic to remove the child. Just as she was about to act, Li Gongfu and Ruyi rushed in, alerted by the commotion.
Ruyi immediately accused Xiao Qing of trying to kill Jiaorong, while Xu Xian and Li Gongfu stopped Bai Suzhen, misinterpreting her intentions. Xu Xian, examining Jiaorong, found her fetal pulse unstable. He instructed Li Gongfu to take Jiaorong back to rest, while he prepared stabilizing medicine. He then sternly rebuked Bai Suzhen, emphasizing that this was the child his sister and brother-in-law had waited seven years for, and he would protect it.
Bai Suzhen desperately tried to explain that the child, being a vessel for the inner demon, could not be kept as it would ultimately cost Jiaorong her life. However, Xu Xian, insisting on the child’s innocence, refused to listen and left. From that moment, Jiaorong openly referred to Bai Suzhen as a "demon." Later, Jiaorong, still distraught, had a nightmare of Bai Suzhen as a snake demon.
When Bai Suzhen brought her medicine, Jiaorong became highly agitated, causing Xu Xian to ask Bai Suzhen to leave. Jiaorong questioned Xu Xian if he had always known about Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing's true nature, fearing for her baby. Xu Xian attempted to calm her, attributing her dream to a good omen for a child's prosperity and urging her to rest.
However, Ruyi fanned the flames of suspicion, reminding Xu Xian of the incident in the ancestral hall and how Bai Suzhen had nearly killed him in the past, insisting Jiaorong had witnessed it with her own eyes. Infuriated, Xu Xian pulled Ruyi aside, warning her that if she continued to destabilize Jiaorong, she would be banished from their home. Ruyi defiantly retorted, accusing Xu Xian of abandoning his family for Bai Suzhen.
That night, Bai Suzhen watched with growing concern as Jiaorong, looking ghostly and detached, wandered out of the house. Jiaorong gravitated towards the bustling yet morally ambiguous parts of the city, a place where the darker aspects of human nature – greed, anger, ignorance, hatred, love, evil, and desire – were laid bare. Bai Suzhen understood that this spectacle of human depravity was precisely what nourished the inner demon, allowing it to grow even stronger within Jiaorong.
