Thousand Years For You Episode 23 Recap
> Thousand Years For You Recap
The morning began with Dengdeng preparing a lavish breakfast for Lu Yan, only to find him meditating silently in his room. Concerned by his stillness, she worried about his depleted energy from the previous day's events and attempted to transfer some of her own, but her energy inexplicably failed her. At that moment, Lu Yan awoke, realizing that the words he had spoken at the execution ground had solidified into a spirit pearl and lodged themselves within Dengdeng's hairpin.
He instinctively reached to retrieve it, but Dengdeng turned to face him, asking what he was doing. He quickly made up an excuse about brushing dust from her hair. She urged him to eat, having been in a coma for a day, and presented him with grilled fish and her favorite brown sugar rice cakes, which she made herself. Lu Yan, however, remained fixated on the hairpin.
Dengdeng mentioned that Gu Beixi had reported most of the spirit clan in Yingdu City had escaped after the execution, with the remaining ones also preparing to leave. Still attempting to get the hairpin back, Lu Yan tried to persuade her to return it, offering a more fashionable replacement, but Dengdeng refused, saying she was not materialistic and liked the wooden hairpin.
She playfully reminded him that he was like a "tiger stranded on a plain" and couldn't defeat her in his weakened state. Later, Dengdeng sensed someone was following her. She informed Paralyzed Yu and the others, and they devised a plan to capture the intruder. Despite Paralyzed Yu's initial objection, Dengdeng acted as bait, walking out into the courtyard at night. The mysterious figure, identified as A Xin, soon appeared and was swiftly caught in the Zichen Qiankun Net.
Initially, A Xin attempted to feign that he was merely testing her reaction abilities, but under pressure, he confessed that Lu Yan had asked him to retrieve the hairpin.
Before he could explain further, the messages recorded in the hairpin began to play, revealing Lu Yan's heartfelt confession: he had wished to grow old with Dengdeng but circumstances had prevented it, yet he vowed to marry her in the next life, just as she had taken him as her husband in this one. Deeply touched by these words, Dengdeng's eyes welled up. That night, Dengdeng visited Lu Yan’s room, finding him seemingly asleep.
She took out the hairpin, and Lu Yan’s declaration played once more. Lu Yan quickly sat up and snatched the hairpin, but Dengdeng proudly told him she already knew the words by heart. As she recited his passionate vow, Lu Yan tried to silence her, unintentionally pinning her against a wall. He then asked for her response to his confession.
Blushing, Dengdeng promised that if he ever broke their vow of growing old together again, she would confine him to Qingquan Stronghold forever. She then thanked him for entering her life, for making her no longer alone, and for sharing her joys and burdens. She concluded by telling him how wonderful it was to have him. Lu Yan, deeply content, leaned in and tenderly kissed her.
Their moment was abruptly interrupted by Paralyzed Yu, who burst into the room, refusing to accept Lu Yan as his son-in-law. Despite Dengdeng's protests that their divorce letter was unsigned and thus invalid, Paralyzed Yu remained adamant, demanding she return to her room. Dengdeng, after hugging Lu Yan and promising to convince her father, reluctantly left with Paralyzed Yu.
Paralyzed Yu then complained to Lv Er about Dengdeng prioritizing Lu Yan over him, but Lv Er advised him that children must follow their own paths and handed him a bag of money from Dengdeng. Paralyzed Yu was overjoyed until he learned the money was for Lu Yan’s supplements. Though reluctant, he complied with his daughter's wishes.
The next day, while in town buying supplements, Paralyzed Yu stumbled upon a gambling game and couldn't resist joining in, unaware that Zhu Rong was secretly watching him. He returned to the stronghold late, and Dengdeng, noticing his gambling smell, started to prepare a revitalizing soup for Lu Yan. However, she found only ginseng rootlets and a rooster instead of proper ginseng. As she contemplated using the rooster, she suddenly felt dizzy, realizing her energy was severely drained.
Just as she was about to collapse, Lu Yan arrived and caught her. He carried her to her room and attempted to replenish her energy, but observed it was rapidly being absorbed. Sensing a disturbance, Lu Yan discovered Zhu Rong's presence. Weakened from the recent battle, Lu Yan was no match for Zhu Rong. Paralyzed Yu and others intervened, attempting to help, but Zhu Rong retaliated by intensifying his torment of Dengdeng.
Zhu Rong smugly approached Lu Yan, intending to extract Yun Xi's Energy Core from him. However, Lu Yan, with a hidden move, managed to cause a backlash that inflicted a severe injury, forcing Zhu Rong to vanish. Immediately after, Lu Yan collapsed. Upon waking, Lu Yan's first concern was Dengdeng's condition. He then discovered a unique spirit worm residing within her.
He realized Zhu Rong had meticulously planned this, planting the spirit worm when Lu Yan's energy was at its lowest. This particular spirit worm was now inextricably linked to Dengdeng's life force, making its removal extremely dangerous. Lu Yan, suspecting it to be a spirit-worm gu—a type of legendary venomous worm—recalled that the "Thousand-Year Compendium" mentioned spirit worms were "chosen," not naturally born.
He also remembered a spirit-hunter in Yingdu City specializing in these gu arts, though the hunter's whereabouts were unpredictable. With Dengdeng's life hanging in the balance, and needing to stay by her side, Lu Yan asked Paralyzed Yu to seek out this elusive spirit-hunter. To monitor Dengdeng's condition, Lu Yan placed a spell in her hairpin, allowing him to sense any changes in her energy.
He assured A Xin that Zhu Rong was gravely wounded and would not pose an immediate threat. Meanwhile, news reached the stronghold that Chief Bai in Yingdu City had been dismissed. On their journey home, the Bai family was ambushed by Xiongya Stronghold and tragically killed. Gu Beixi rushed to the scene, confirming the massacre but finding no trace of Bai Shiqi, which offered a glimmer of hope.
Back at Qingquan Stronghold, Dengdeng awoke feeling her own energy drain, though she tried to conceal it from A Xin, who fussed over her. A messenger then arrived, confirming Bai Shiqi's disappearance and Gu Beixi's efforts to find her, possibly within Xiongya Stronghold. Dengdeng immediately instructed A Xin to send word to Nanfeng Stronghold, asking them to support Gu Beixi. Just as this urgent matter was being discussed, Paralyzed Yu returned, excitedly announcing that he had found a method to remove the spirit worm.
