Tiger and Crane Episode 19 Recap
> Tiger and Crane Recap
Jiang Xici, the First Master, confronted Yi Mei in the Yuyang Mountain courtyard, immediately questioning her about stealing Xiaoxuan's Spirit Mirror. Yi Mei admitted to taking it for her own purposes and mentioned that she was the creator of the Spirit Locking Ritual and Spirit Mirror 500 years ago, questioning why her plan was delayed by the Qi family’s interference. As Yi Mei refused to explain further, Jiang Xici and Yi Mei quickly began to fight.
A prior conversation between Qi Yanran and Wu Lidan was then revealed: Qi Yanran explained her collaboration with Yi Mei was merely a ruse to claim credit for Yi Mei’s capture. She outlined a plan for Wu Lidan to ambush Yi Mei and First Master, then for her and Wu Lidan to team up and take Yi Mei down after the two had weakened each other.
Wu Lidan expressed concern for First Master, but Qi Yanran emphasized the necessity of a decisive approach to achieve great things. Despite this ambush plan, Qi Yanran joined the battle alongside her grandmother, Jiang Xici, with Wu Lidan also fighting on their side, leading to Yi Mei facing all three. The battle erupted. Yi Mei mocked their efforts, scoffing at their perceived weakness. Qi Yanran, despite her complicated feelings, expressed her deep disdain for Yi Mei.
As the fight intensified, First Master Jiang Xici was gravely wounded and urged Qi Yanran to inform the Three Main Halls. Qi Yanran, wanting to stay and fight, delegated this crucial task to Wu Lidan, telling him to go while she remained. Shortly after, First Master fell off a cliff, her fate uncertain. Yi Mei then targeted Qi Yanran, declaring her hatred for two-faced traitors and attempting to kill her.
Just as Qi Yanran faced defeat, the Second Master of Disha Hall arrived with reinforcements. Seeing this, Yi Mei unleashed a multitude of demons towards Fulong City before vanishing. The Second Master led a search down the cliff, discovering only a few drops of blood and a hairpin, leaving First Master's survival unknown.
Sixty years prior, a weary guard named Zhi Xie, frustrated by his grueling shifts at the Legendary Sea and his superior's corrupt demands, stumbled and fell into the sea. He was rescued by a mysterious figure who introduced himself as Wolf. Zhi Xie offered Wolf some mushroom-cabbage buns, his mother's specialty. Wolf claimed to have swum across the Legendary Sea, a feat Zhi Xie found impossible due to its destructive fires.
Wolf described the other side as desolate and expressed his desire to become "the best," free from bullying. He then revealed his true identity as the Wolf Demon King from Peak Valley and offered to help Zhi Xie achieve his ambition. Wolf then deliberately caused a breach in the Legendary Sea's formation, creating an opportunity for Zhi Xie to heroically warn and evacuate twelve nearby villages, saving thousands of lives.
Zhi Xie was lauded as a hero and an exemplary Royal Sorcerer, earning him a permanent position in the capital, Fulong City, where he served in Yanluo Hall. Wolf later visited Zhi Xie, who boasted about his newfound influence. Wolf discovered that Zhi Xie had imprisoned the former general who once bullied him at the Legendary Sea, even though the general had diligently protected the formation during the crisis.
Zhi Xie dismissed this, asserting that the general was simply fulfilling his duty and deserved to experience what it felt like to be bullied. News of a wolf demon appearing in the capital and preying on other demons quickly spread, even reaching the Tiangang Hall. Speculation about the demon's connection to Yanluo Hall arose after it was seen nearby. Zhi Xie, feigning camaraderie, shared a meal with Wolf and offered him aged Shaoxing wine.
During their conversation, Wolf revealed he knew Zhi Xie had poisoned the wine, stating that Tiangang Hall's investigation into Wolf would soon expose Zhi Xie's own involvement, threatening his hard-earned status. Zhi Xie, desperate not to lose everything he had achieved, had plotted to kill Wolf. Wolf, however, revealed that the poison and wounds were ineffective against him due to centuries of intense cultivation in the Legendary Sea.
He stated that he had repaid Zhi Xie's initial kindness but expressed profound disappointment in humans due to Zhi Xie's betrayal. Declaring their connection severed, Wolf killed the real Zhi Xie and assumed his identity. In the collapsed underground secret room of Yanluo Hall, Wang Yuqian, Hu Zi, and another companion investigated.
Hu Zi spotted tiger claw marks on a stone pillar, wondering if his mother had left them, and identified a nearby hole as a possible escape route for demons. Before they could investigate further, an alarm blared from outside. Fulong City was suddenly overwhelmed by demons.
Hu Zi spotted Xiaoxuan, his former disciple, and pursued him, accusing him of orchestrating the chaos, including the murder of sorcerers, the taming of demons, and a plot to erode public trust in the Three Main Halls. Xiaoxuan, seemingly controlled by Red Flame, admitted to these actions. Red Flame, speaking through Xiaoxuan, stated that their shared destiny had ended and that while he would not harm Hu Zi directly, he could not allow him to endanger the world.
Red Flame then destroyed the head of the Legendary Ship and the Qi family's Spirit Mirror, which held Qian's primordial spirit, shattering it completely. Hu Zi, realizing the person was not Qian but Xiaoxuan controlled by Red Flame, desperately tried to salvage the remnants of the Spirit Mirror, but Wang Yuqian pulled him to safety from the encroaching flames.
Red Flame further taunted Hu Zi, indicating that Xiaoxuan's body had been a "hell" trapping Red Flame for eight years, and now there would only be one Xiaoxuan in the world. With demons outnumbering humans in Fulong City, Zhao Xintong instructed the Jinhua sisters trio to escort civilians to the Tiangang Hall, which was guarded by sorcerers. Despite Xiao Yunzi's attempts to deter him, Wang Yuqian insisted on rescuing people, prioritizing the safety of Fulong citizens.
He ordered those under his command to protect the populace. Outside the Legendary Sea formation, some sorcerers desperately struggled to maintain the protective barrier against the Demon King, while others were entangled in fierce battles with the encroaching demons. The Chief Commander rallied his sorcerers to defend the Legendary Sea formation at all costs against the Demon King's onslaught.
Despite the Chief Commander's warnings that they were outmatched, Tie Lie and Miao Yin volunteered to confront the Demon King, believing that dying in battle was a warrior's highest honor. Miao Yin supported Tie Lie with her string music, but they were ultimately defeated and killed by the Demon King, who was Zhi Xie in Wolf's form. Meanwhile, the Council of Elders, led by Chen Jinian, attempted to flee the devastated capital.
Trapped, they sought refuge in Tiangang Hall, but Chen Jinian ordered the resident sorcerers to deny entry to all others, citing higher orders and the need to secure the hall. Zilu then confronted Zhi Xie, who was still possessed by Wolf. Zhi Xie (Wolf) taunted humans for their inherent weakness and for trapping demons in Peak Valley, claiming their current suffering was a just consequence. Zilu, however, countered that humanity was full of individuals who bravely confronted their weaknesses.
Using the bone whip his former master, Zhi Xie, had once given him—a weapon from their very first demon hunt—Zilu bound himself and Zhi Xie (Wolf) together. Zilu declared his resolve to prevent Zhi Xie from destroying the capital, reminding him of the lessons about fighting to the last moment. With his final ounce of spiritual energy, Zilu pulled them both into the depths of the Legendary Sea.
At the Tiangang Hall, Zhao Xintong vehemently argued against the elders' decision to bar entry, highlighting the plight of the wounded, women, children, and elderly civilians. She passionately asserted that the true duty of the Royal Sorcerers was to protect the people, not just the physical structure of the hall.
With the support of the grateful civilians they had saved, Zhao Xintong and others committed to bearing any consequences, ultimately persuading the guards to open the gates and allow the refugees inside. Elsewhere in the ravaged city, Qi Yanran returned to witness countless civilian casualties, her face contorted with rage as she screamed Yi Mei's name.
