The Untamed Episode 4 Recap
> The Untamed Recap
The new students gathered at the Cloud Recesses for the opening ceremony, bowing to Master Lan Qiren as he recited the three thousand five hundred principles of the Lan clan. Finding the strict rules incredibly tedious, Wei Wuxian distracted himself by whispering with Nie Huaisang about catching a golden-feathered canary. During the formal gift presentation, Jin Zixuan of the Jin clan presented a luxurious set of classics, the Heluo Jingshi Shu, bound with gold string.
The Nie clan's offering was a solemn purple-clay elixir pot, presented by Nie Huaisang and his deputy, Meng Yao. Disciples whispered that Meng Yao was the illegitimate son of Clan Leader Jin, who had been kicked down the steps of Jinlin Tower before the Nie clan took him in. However, Lan Xichen showed no prejudice, praising Meng Yao’s elegant speech and graciously accepting his gift, for which Meng Yao was deeply grateful.
The ceremony was interrupted by the boisterous arrival of Wen Chao, the second son of Clan Leader Wen Ruohan, accompanied by Wen Qing and her younger brother, Wen Ning. Wen Chao arrogantly demanded entry without an invitation, rudely interrupting Jiang Cheng's salutation. Wei Wuxian, angered by this display, confronted him, prompting Wen Chao to order his guards to draw their swords. As tensions escalated, Lan Xichen calmly played his flute, subtly disarming the guards and causing their swords to fall.
Wen Qing then stepped forward, explaining that she and Wen Ning had been sent by Clan Leader Wen to attend the lectures. After Wen Ning presented their gift, Lan Qiren permitted them to stay. Later, Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren discussed the Wen clan’s unusual attendance, suspecting it was a pretense. They worried their arrival might be connected to the resentful puppets and the increasingly perverse behavior of Wen Ruohan.
Meanwhile, Meng Yao sought out Lan Xichen to bid him farewell. He sincerely thanked Lan Xichen for his respectful treatment during the ceremony. Lan Xichen, in turn, reassured him of Clan Leader Nie's integrity and his principle of rewarding those who are worthy. Elsewhere, Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang went to the back hill to fish, with Nie Huaisang expressing admiration for Wei Wuxian's daring confrontation with Wen Chao.
Wei Wuxian then boasted about having fought Lan Wangji the previous night. As they fished, Wen Qing appeared nearby. Wei Wuxian playfully approached her, asking about her frequent presence in the prohibited area and speculating that she was looking for something. Wen Qing sternly warned him not to touch a physician’s needles and demanded to know why he was there, to which he cheekily replied that he was just catching fish.
Later, Jiang Cheng complained to Jiang Yanli about Wei Wuxian’s troublemaking. Jiang Yanli gently defended Wei Wuxian, comparing his free-spirited nature to that of their Jiang clan ancestors. The moment was interrupted by Wei Wuxian's cheerful return with roasted fish, which he used to tease Jiang Cheng, much to Jiang Yanli's fond amusement. The next day, during Lan Qiren's formal lecture on virtue, Wei Wuxian was inattentive.
He tried to secretly stick a drawing of a turtle onto Lan Qiren’s back, but Lan Wangji sternly stopped him. Undeterred, Wei Wuxian began pestering Lan Wangji instead. Noticing his behavior, Lan Qiren called on him to differentiate between yao (spirits), demons, ghosts, and monsters. To Lan Qiren's frustration, Wei Wuxian answered flawlessly, also correctly identifying the Nie clan's ancestral profession and the specific varietal of the Jin clan's peony insignia.
Lan Qiren then posed a hypothetical question about a resentful executioner's ghost. Lan Wangji answered correctly with the three standard methods: liberation, suppression, and elimination. However, Wei Wuxian proposed a radical fourth option: to harness the resentful energy of the executioner’s victims to fight the ghost. Lan Qiren was furious, condemning the idea as a perversion of ethics. Wei Wuxian argued that resentful energy, like spiritual energy, could be utilized.
When challenged on how he would control it, he admitted he hadn't figured that out. Enraged, Lan Qiren expelled him from the classroom, ordering him to copy the "Chapter of Righteousness" a thousand times in the Library Pavilion, with Lan Wangji assigned to supervise. After being kicked out, Wei Wuxian wandered to the back hill and found Wen Ning practicing archery.
Impressed by his skill, Wei Wuxian offered to help him with his form, striking up a friendly conversation with the shy boy, who explained he was not yet qualified to attend the lectures. As Wei Wuxian adjusted Wen Ning's stance, Wen Qing appeared. Wen Ning excitedly told his sister that Wei Wuxian was a good person and was teaching him archery.
Still curious, Wei Wuxian again questioned Wen Qing about her constant presence in the back hill, asking if she was searching for something. She sharply told him to stop his baseless accusations just as Lan Wangji arrived on the scene.
