The Wolf Episode 18 Recap
> The Wolf Recap
In a lively market, Prince of Bo and Ji Chong engaged in an intense archery competition. Both displayed exceptional skill, hitting target after target to the cheers of the surrounding crowd. When only one prize, a jade butterfly, remained, Ji Chong proposed raising the stakes: they would use their swords as arrows to destroy all the copper hoops simultaneously, with the winner claiming the butterfly for Ma Zhaixing.
Ji Chong expertly used his sword as an arrow, succeeding in the incredible feat. However, when it was Prince of Bo’s turn, he placed his hand on his sword hilt but ultimately chose to forfeit, unwilling to risk damaging his precious weapon. With the jade butterfly won, the crowd swarmed Ji Chong to claim the drinks he had promised. Seizing the opportunity amid the commotion, Prince of Bo led Ma Zhaixing away into a secluded alley.
He anxiously asked about her health, inquiring if she was recovering and taking her medicine. As a flustered Ma Zhaixing prepared to leave, a perfumed sachet fell from her robes. Prince of Bo swiftly picked it up, and when she tried to retrieve it, he deliberately released it, allowing it to drift away on the wind as a symbol of severing their past. Angered by his actions, Ma Zhaixing confronted him.
Ji Chong arrived just in time to intervene, rebuking Prince of Bo before leading Ma Zhaixing away. While Ji Chong tried to cheer Ma Zhaixing up, she noticed Prince of Bo beneath a bridge, intently observing the wind's direction as he searched for the lost sachet. A realization struck her: only Wolf Boy possessed the unique ability to "see the wind."
Connecting this to his earlier reluctance to use his sword and other past behaviors, Ma Zhaixing became convinced that Prince of Bo was indeed Wolf Boy. To confirm her suspicion, Ma Zhaixing brought Ji Chong to the cliff where Wolf Boy had supposedly fallen. She asked for his assessment of the survival chances for someone falling from such a height. Ji Chong concluded that to survive such a fall, one would have to be a wolf or possess wolf-like instincts.
This strengthened Ma Zhaixing's belief. She then asked Ji Chong to help her arrange a meeting with Fourth Prince Chu Youzhen, intending to set a trap to prove Prince of Bo's true character. Ma Zhaixing orchestrated a scenario where Ji Chong pretended to hold Chu Youzhen hostage at the Xun Royal Manor. When Prince of Bo arrived, Ji Chong falsely claimed the room was filled with a deadly airborne poison that would kill them all within half an hour.
Ji Chong, holding two antidote pills, took one himself and presented the last one to Prince of Bo, challenging him to save himself just as he had supposedly done when the First Prince died. In a decisive move, Prince of Bo snatched the antidote and immediately forced it into Chu Youzhen’s mouth, declaring his intent to kill Ji Chong before he himself succumbed. At that critical moment, Ma Zhaixing and Emperor Chu Kui appeared.
Chu Youzhen was deeply moved, realizing his brother would sacrifice his own life to save him. The Emperor asked Ma Zhaixing how she was so certain Prince of Bo would come. Ma Zhaixing explained the ruse, revealing that Prince of Bo had been weakened by a harmless sedative in wine he was given earlier, not a real poison.
She then presented Prince of Bo’s Fang Sword, pointing out that its hilt was unmistakably that of the First Prince Chu Youyu's Dragon Tongue Sword. She deduced the sword had been reforged from two broken blades, which, combined with Prince of Bo's refusal to risk the sword at the market, proved he cherished his brother's memory. This convinced her he was not a heartless person and that there was a hidden story behind the First Prince’s death.
Impressed by Ma Zhaixing's perception, Emperor Chu Kui revealed the truth. During the Battle of Binzhou, First Prince Chu Youyu was poisoned by a treacherous lieutenant. At the same time, he learned that Chu Youzhen was advancing into an enemy pincer attack. Knowing he was dying, the First Prince chose to stay behind and cut off enemy pursuit at the Sage-Bind Bridge, sacrificing his only chance to find an antidote.
He gave Prince of Bo his Dragon Tongue Sword, entrusting him to rescue their younger brother. Both swords were broken in the ensuing conflict and later reforged into one. Learning that his own reckless actions had led to his eldest brother's death, Chu Youzhen was overcome with regret. He apologized to Prince of Bo, and the two brothers finally reconciled before the First Prince's tomb. Afterward, Chu Youzhen handed Prince of Bo a note from Ma Zhaixing. It read: "The cliff on the city outskirts, a life is on the line."
