The Mystic Nine Episode 36 Recap
> The Mystic Nine Recap
Upon seeing the epitaph on a stone stele, Qi Tiezui immediately knelt and kowtowed, reciting passages from the Qingwu Scripture. He explained to Zhang Qishan and their group that this was the tomb of Master Qingwu, a renowned fengshui master from Sanliao Village during the Northern and Southern dynasties, whom he greatly admired.
Qi Tiezui recounted the legend that Master Qingwu, a collector of mysterious stones, built his tomb around a colossal Copper Meteorite that had fallen to earth but was too massive to move. Strange events had followed the tomb's construction, leading Master Qingwu to live in seclusion within it to study the meteorite, protecting it with an Eight Trigrams Formation.
Over time, landslides had buried the entire tomb, turning it into a legend, but this buried tomb eventually formed the enormous mine mountain they were now exploring. Zhang Qishan added that Hatoyama Miyoshi's objective in China was to find this Copper Meteorite, likely having learned of meteorite falls from local records and observed the historical activity of Chinese fengshui masters in the area.
He further speculated that the "strange changes" caused by the meteorite, as described in ancient texts, were what Westerners termed a "magnetic field," which was the Japanese's true target. The group continued deeper, discovering a large, eerie tomb chamber, mostly submerged in water. Iron chains stretched from all directions, suspending a central platform where a massive object rested. Zhang Qishan surmised this was the Copper Meteorite.
As they cautiously traversed the chains, an unseen entity beneath the water attacked a subordinate, causing him to slip. Despite the rising anxiety among his men, Zhang Qishan maintained his composure, reminding them to prioritize survival over treasure. He soon located a path forward, urging everyone to follow carefully. Another attack on a subordinate further unsettled the group, but Zhang Qishan quickly calmed them, pressing them to stay focused and move out of the hazardous area.
Meanwhile, outside the tomb, Officer Lu Jianxun pressed Bailye about his association with Zhang Qishan. Feigning indifference, Bailye claimed he merely hired experts for profit, emphasizing the paramount importance of money. Officer Lu, seeking to eliminate his rivals, proposed a scheme to secretly kill Zhang Qishan and his men once they emerged from the tomb, then divide the spoils between them.
Bailye, seemingly agreeable, even offered a plan to incapacitate Zhang Qishan's group by luring them into a life of debauchery until they were useless. Sensing Lu Jianxun's ulterior motives, Bailye invited him for further drinks and female companionship, but Lu Jianxun, still cautious, declined and departed, citing official duties. Once Lu Jianxun was gone, Bailye's true intentions surfaced; he sneered at the officer's attempt to outmaneuver him and immediately instructed his subordinate to take him to Madam Zhang.
At Zhang Mansion, Bailye reassured Yin Xinyue that Zhang Qishan and his men had safely entered the tomb and that he had successfully misled Lu Jianxun. He pledged his unwavering support, considering Zhang Qishan his brother. Yin Xinyue, however, expressed concern that Bailye's visit might reveal their alliance to Lu Jianxun's spies within the mansion.
Acknowledging her worry, Bailye advised her to remove the moles for peace of mind, though Yin Xinyue’s primary concern remained Zhang Qishan's safety in the perilous tomb. Inside the tomb, after successfully navigating the treacherous iron chains, Zhang Qishan's group reached the Copper Meteorite.
Upon reaching the Copper Meteorite, Zhang Qishan expressed concern that the massive Copper Meteorite, if used for secret experiments by the Japanese, could endanger Changsha City, and was wary of breaking it apart due to potential uncontrollable changes. Qi Tiezui concurred with his caution. They then discovered a coffin submerged beneath the water, which Qi Tiezui identified as Master Qingwu’s and reverently kowtowed before it.
Zhang Qishan questioned Qi Tiezui about the experience of being in a coffin, then, instructing his men to extinguish their lights, prepared to enter what appeared to be another world within the Copper Meteorite. They plunged in, indeed finding themselves in a parallel dimension created by the Copper Meteorite, where, as Zhang Qishan pointed out, the magnetic field had distinctly changed. Qi Tiezui, still disoriented and questioning their ability to exit, was urged by Zhang Qishan to simply follow.
Zhang Qishan reassured Qi Tiezui that Chen Pi, being in the real world, would not be able to follow them into this Copper Meteorite dimension. They then revisited the bronze coffin, which was also present in this parallel world. Er Yue Hong noted its presence but wondered how it differed from the one outside.
When Qi Tiezui suggested pulling it up, Er Yue Hong warned that the water was poisonous, with odorless fumes that could be inhaled and cause harm, not just contact. Zhang Qishan concurred, deducing that their lack of immediate symptoms, despite the breathable poison, indicated a hidden mechanism, likely an air vent. Qi Tiezui observed that the water constantly covering the bronze suggested a repeated infusion, implying an infusion hole or device to drain it.
They began searching for the mechanism, locating symbols of the Four Symbols (Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise) and finally a Qilin, which activated a device. The coffin then rose from the water, revealing Master Qingwu's body remarkably preserved, as if he were merely sleeping, which Zhang Qishan attributed to the legendary "body preserving method." Meanwhile, after discerning the maze's pattern, Chen Pi pursued Zhang Qishan and Er Yue Hong, eventually reaching Master Qingwu's tomb chamber.
As his group crossed the iron chains, unseen entities beneath the water attacked his men, causing many to fall, leaving only a few survivors with Chen Pi on the Copper Meteorite platform. Chen Pi realized that Zhang Qishan and his group were inexplicably "inside" the Copper Meteorite, which bewildered him. He then spotted the coffin underwater and ordered a subordinate to investigate.
When the subordinate resisted out of fear, Chen Pi, expressing his contempt for "useless wretches," forcefully pushed him and other reluctant men into the poisonous water, preferring their death to their disobedience. By Master Qingwu's coffin, Er Yue Hong saw an inscription: "A dead person is a living person."
This phrase triggered a painful memory of a past confrontation where he had desperately pleaded with Zhang Qishan for medicine for Ya Tou, only to be refused, leading him to a furious outburst. Now, consumed by grief and a renewed glimmer of hope from the inscription, Er Yue Hong called out Ya Tou's name and, as if losing his mind, abruptly rushed out of the tomb chamber, abandoning the group.
Qi Tiezui lamented that the inscription had painfully reminded Er Yue Hong of his deceased wife, fearing he had gone to find her. Recognizing the danger of Er Yue Hong's erratic behavior, Zhang Qishan immediately ordered everyone to pursue him, concerned that his obsession would lead him to succumb to inner demons. As they chased, they found more deceased men and Qi Tiezui identified one of Er Yue Hong's pellets, confirming his path. Zhang Qishan, while confident in Er Yue Hong's martial prowess, underscored the urgency of finding him quickly.
