The Vendetta of An Episode 27 Recap
> The Vendetta of An Recap
Twenty years ago, Wu Zhongheng and Cen Weizong, known as Cen Pickles, were Tiemo allies who shared an ambitious dream. Inspired by the incredible resilience of "Huben" shadow guards sent by Chang'an’s Liu Ziwen, Wu proposed training their own spies to infiltrate the Capital. Cen agreed to the plan, moving to the Capital to live incognito. The two men made a pact never to acknowledge each other in public until the day Tiemo achieved total victory.
In the present, Xie Huaian intentionally leaves a trail of clues for the Tiemo forces, baiting Wu Zhongheng into a move. Recognizing that Wu is using the imprisoned Xiao Wenjing as a pawn to force his hand, Xie prepares for a final, desperate confrontation. After a grueling night of contemplation that turns his hair completely white, Xie sharpens Ye Zheng’s blade and instructs him to intervene at a precise moment before heading out alone.
Xie Huaian waits on a deserted street, having rented a stool from a local vendor. When the carriage carrying the shackled Xiao Wenjing arrives, the young prince desperately screams for Xie to flee. However, Xie remains calm, successfully negotiating an exchange: his own life for Xiao Wenjing's freedom.
During a poignant farewell, Xie urges the prince to use his experiences with suffering to become a compassionate Emperor, promising that once the war ends, he will return to serve as the Emperor’s pageboy. With Xiao Wenjing safely sent out of the city, Xie Huaian is taken into custody and brought to a kitchen where Wu Zhongheng and Cen Weizong are preparing lamb.
As they struggle to light a damp stove, Wu reminisces about their childhood as slave children used as human bait for wolves. He confesses that his early hunger for survival transformed into an insatiable desire to conquer the world and become the very master he once hated. In a shocking display of loyalty, Cen Weizong suddenly plunges a blade into Xie Huaian’s chest, and Wu follows up with a second strike to ensure the scholar is dead.
Believing his greatest enemy is gone, Wu Zhongheng trusts Cen implicitly. Cen lures him to an abandoned warehouse, maintaining his mundane cover by mentioning his "neighbors"—using the names of friends who died decades ago. Once Wu enters, Cen quickly locks the door from the outside. He reveals that his entire life in the Capital was a calculated ruse designed to exploit Wu’s psychological vulnerabilities. As Wu realizes he has been trapped, a hooded assassin appears on the warehouse stairs to finish what started twenty years ago.
