Tientsin Mystic Episode 23 Recap
> Tientsin Mystic Recap
Junior Tientsin Mystic, Guo Deyou, remained in a trance after being hypnotized by Xiao Shen Xian, sinking into a water dungeon with Gu Ying. Gu Ying's desperate cries echoed, "Deyou, what are you doing? Wake up quickly! Deyou, what happened to you? Can you hear me?" but Guo Deyou remained completely oblivious. During this ordeal, Guo Deyou entered a vivid hallucination alongside Xiao Shen Xian. He heard Xiao Shen Xian ponder his unique hypnotic state, noting, "I hypnotized you twice.
You don't go deep enough, but you don't have self-control. Why expect the unexpected? It is the most interesting thing. You really don't know who you are?" In the vision, Guo Deyou saw himself in various roles: first, dressed as Ding Mao, sitting atop the Black Tortoise statue, with Ding Yiqiu, the head of the Chamber of Commerce for Grain Transportation, smiling foolishly. Then he transformed into Auntie Zhang, holding a wooden sword, while Xiao Shen Xian vanished.
He questioned his identity: "Young master. . . Auntie Zhang. . . A corpse retrieval hunter. . . River god or river demon." Lian Huaqing then appeared in this illusion, plunging a dagger into Guo Deyou’s abdomen. Bleeding, Guo Deyou found himself in a wooden barrel, the water rising, forcing him to hold his breath and submerge himself in the blood-tinged liquid.
As the water rose, the spiritual essence of Senior Tientsin Mystic, Guo Chun, reached out to Guo Deyou with cryptic messages. He reminded Guo Deyou that he was "born to be in the water, eat by water and live by water. The water completed your soul. Your essence is in the water. As long as you are in the water, no one can defeat you." This inner guidance caused Guo Deyou to jolt awake, his eyes snapping open.
With a sudden surge, he lunged, dragging Xiao Shen Xian into the depths. Submerged, Guo Deyou was in his element. Xiao Shen Xian, astonished, exclaimed, "You! You are awake!" to which Guo Deyou retorted, "I am the boss in the water. No one can take me there." In the watery confines, Guo Deyou and Xiao Shen Xian struggled fiercely. Guo Deyou managed to seize the keys from Xiao Shen Xian's wrist and bind him to the submerged ladder.
He then pulled Gu Ying out of the water dungeon and onto the floor, where he collapsed, gasping for air. Xiao Shen Xian thrashed helplessly in the water, proving that on land he might possess great power, but in Guo Deyou's domain, the water, he was utterly vulnerable. That night, Xiao Lanlan was accosted on the streets of Tianjin. Her captor was Xiao San, whose face was gruesomely disfigured, a clear sign of Lian Huaqing's torment.
Recognizing her, Xiao San said, "Lan Lan, it is me." Xiao Lanlan, shocked by his appearance, questioned, "Xiao. . . Xiao San? What happened to you?" He confessed, "Retribution, it is retribution. I've done many terrible things. I deserved this end." He further warned her, stating, "We all underestimated Lian Huaqing. Lian Huaqing's purpose is not just to find the Holy Child; he has an even bigger and more terrifying plot." He urged her to "go and find Ding Mao.
Let him stop. . . stop Lian Huaqing and Guo Deyou. He can't be trusted. River God will become River Devil." Before Xiao Lanlan could react further, Xiao San vanished into the night. Guo Deyou brought Gu Ying back to the Dragon King Temple and left her a farewell letter. In the letter, he expressed his apprehension about leaving the "Clay doll named big brother" with her, noting her inability for self-protection.
He pondered his destiny, asking whether he was meant to be the River God or the Holy Child, stating that after twenty years of pursuing the path of the River God only to be stopped by his master, he now intended to "give it a try" on the path of the Holy Child as suggested by the Demonic Cult.
He thanked her for the troubles that helped him understand things, then urged her, "Don't make any more trouble for me," acknowledging they might never meet again. He then went to a noodle shop for what he considered his last bowl. A short while later, a distraught Gu Ying, having woken and read the letter, found him there. She questioned why he saved her, to which he dismissively replied, "It is convenient."
Gu Ying expressed her wish to simply die if he was to be so cold, and he retorted that she would probably still haunt him. When Gu Ying asked if he no longer intended to live a good life, Guo Deyou retorted dismissively, telling her that her "witchcraft doesn't work anymore" and that he was tired of her and their life at the Dragon King Temple. He cruelly asked her to "disappear right away, never show up again."
In desperation, Gu Ying pulled out a black-capped bottle of poison, reminiscent of a mercy drug Senior Tientsin Mystic used, declaring, "If you have to go today, I will empty this." Guo Deyou callously challenged her to drink it, which she did, stating, "I always curious, does it taste any good." She immediately collapsed, screaming "Guo Deyou!" as blood streamed from her eyes, but Guo Deyou turned his back and walked away, not looking back.
The following morning, Tianjin was plastered with wanted posters for Guo Deyou, now labelled "the River Devil." Captain Fu, relaying Secretary Xiao's orders, informed his men that Guo Deyou had "defected Demonic Cult" and they had three days to solve the case. He warned them that if they failed, all the unresolved cases, including the Embassy and Xiao Xiguan incidents, would be held against them, threatening that "our heads will roll."
Ding Mao, clutching a wanted poster, confronted Secretary Xiao, demanding to know the meaning behind the military warrant for Guo Deyou's arrest. Secretary Xiao revealed that twenty years ago he had hesitated, allowing the Demonic Cult to resurface, but now, with Xiao Shen Xian dead, he intended to "End Demonic Cult and once for all."
He accused Guo Deyou of reaching an agreement with Lian Huaqing and stealing the powerful feng shui map that had been seized from the Demonic Cult years ago, stating that "Guo Deyou is the key person that Mogudao has been looking for." Secretary Xiao warned Ding Mao to "not meddle in our affairs," threatening that if he interfered, the "Chamber of Commerce will disappear, along with Mogudao." Ding Mao, however, remained resolute.
He sorrowfully stated that the Demonic Cult had taken "all my loved ones," including his father, but declared, "I still have a brother. If I don't trust him, who else can I trust?" He vowed that while the Demonic Cult "must be destroyed," anyone who tried to harm Guo Deyou would become his enemy. After offering a solemn prayer to his deceased father, Ding Mao prepared to lead the Chamber of Commerce's forces to the Demonic Cult's secret base.
Xiao Lanlan, having overheard the heated exchange, chose to betray her father's wishes and joined Ding Mao, reflecting on her unspoken words to her father and the uncertainty of their future. As Ding Mao and Xiao Lanlan pursued Guo Deyou towards the Demonic Cult's secret base, Lian Huaqing had already dispatched his followers to ambush them. Yu Si bravely led the Chamber of Commerce men to intercept the attackers, allowing Ding Mao and Xiao Lanlan to press forward.
Near the secret base, a tall chimney suddenly erupted, sending debris raining down. In a desperate act, Ding Mao shielded Xiao Lanlan with his body, leaving their fate uncertain as Lian Huaqing coldly declared, "Unevolved creatures should all be cleaned."