Tiger and Crane Episode 29 Recap
> Tiger and Crane Recap
As the Netherworld Sea rapidly encroached, Ben Shanxian helped Xiao Yunzi onto the Julun vehicle but was tragically swallowed by the sea himself. This significant loss occurred before the group even reached Peak Valley, leaving everyone deeply saddened. After a challenging journey, the group finally arrived at Peak Valley. The landscape was unlike anything recorded in ancient texts, with thick yellow sand and mist obscuring visibility.
The Chief noted that these records were mere fabrications, as no one had set foot there in 500 years. Unable to discern a clear path, the Chief suggested finding a safe camping spot and tasked Biao Damen with securing the Julun vehicle. An exploratory kite was launched, but only one returned, providing no useful information for navigation. Deciding to explore independently, the group split into eastern and western teams. Qi Xiaoxuan partnered with Mo Guzi for one team.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xintong paired with Hu Zi, and they were joined by Ya and Cheng Jinian. The Chief, Biao Damen, the Second Master, and Wang Yuqian (the King) remained at the base camp to manage logistics and set up camp. Soon after, Qi Xiaoxuan's team encountered treacherous quicksand. They noted the sand's unusual behavior, making it difficult to discern safe ground, and decided to return to camp for further discussion.
Hu Zi's group then faced a horde of white demons, which proved incredibly resilient, with bodies as hard as steel. Hu Zi quickly discovered their vulnerability: their ears. Despite this insight, the overwhelming numbers took a toll, and both Ya and Cheng Jinian sustained injuries.
Recognizing that the demons were deliberately exhausting them, Zhao Xintong ordered Wu Lidan to lead the injured and remaining members back to camp for reinforcements, while she and Hu Zi stayed to provide cover for their retreat. During the fight, Hu Zi was ensnared by an illusion, seeing his mother, which left Zhao Xintong fighting alone. She was wounded, sustaining a scratch to her abdomen from a white demon.
After regaining his senses, Hu Zi was filled with regret and vowed to protect her. Soon after, while rescuing Zhao Xintong, both fell into a large, unnaturally carved cave. Meanwhile, back at the base camp, the Second Master noticed something peculiar when an exploratory kite he released became trapped. Upon investigation, Jiang Xici discovered that the entire camp was encircled by an intricate network of fine, sharp threads, distinct from Mo Guzi's.
This was not a mere trap, but a barrier forged from spirit essences, clearly designed to trap and eliminate them. Upon returning to the base camp, Qi Xiaoxuan's team found the area ensnared by Mo Qianchou's "Thousand Silks Break," a lost art of the Mo family, consisting of threads as fine as hair but as tough as steel. Qi Xiaoxuan instructed Mo Guzi to use his own threads to control Qi Xiaoxuan, allowing him to confront Mo Qianchou directly.
When Mo Qianchou's veil was lifted, they were shocked to discover he was Mo Guzi's own ancestor. After subduing Mo Qianchou, Mo Guzi diagnosed him, finding no pulse or heartbeat, concluding he was merely a living corpse, his soul long gone, likely sacrificed 500 years ago and now controlled. Jiang Xici surmised that bone nails, likely from Yi Mei, had been implanted into Mo Qianchou's vital points, enabling this control.
To prevent further desecration, Mo Guzi removed the bone nails, which briefly restored Mo Qianchou's consciousness. After learning about the current era, Mo Qianchou, using his remaining spirit essence, infused a necklace bead, transferring the "Thousand Silks Break" technique to Mo Guzi. Following this, Qi Xiaoxuan and the Chief discussed the unsettling reality of Peak Valley.
The Chief revealed his observations that the island's calm facade was an illusion, as its very location and orientation constantly shifted, rendering compasses useless and the sun's position unreliable. Qi Xiaoxuan's team corroborated this, describing the quicksand they encountered as possessing a life-like, energy-draining quality, making the eastern path impassable.
With an approaching sandstorm threatening to obliterate the camp and still no news from Hu Zi and Zhao Xintong, the Chief, noting that only the Bloody Waterfall remained constant, ordered the entire camp to strike and relocate there. Back in the cave, Hu Zi and Zhao Xintong were confronted by Zhao Lingyan, an ancient ancestor of the Zhao family, who had been trapped for five centuries after being defeated by the Eternal Tiger Demon—Hu Zi's own mother.
Zhao Lingyan, still embittered by her defeat, immediately insulted Hu Zi, calling him a "bastard son" of the tiger demon. A fierce argument erupted between them, which Zhao Xintong struggled to quell, urging them to focus on the greater threat of Yi Mei. Zhao Lingyan claimed she knew how to escape the cave by using her unique "Yan Ling Spike" technique to break through the walls.
However, Zhao Xintong admitted that this art had been largely lost over centuries, with only vague fragments remaining in their family's archives. Zhao Lingyan, in turn, mocked the current generation's incompetence. She offered to teach Zhao Xintong the technique, but only on the cruel condition that Hu Zi remain behind to die with her as a form of posthumous revenge.
Zhao Xintong vehemently refused this demand, which caused Zhao Lingyan to spitefully withhold her knowledge, leaving the two trapped and frustrated by her uncooperative and hostile nature. Concerned for Hu Zi and Zhao Xintong, who had not returned, Qi Xiaoxuan initiated a search after a signal flare, identified as Hu Zi's, was spotted. Qi Xiaoxuan's team located Wu Lidan and his injured group.
Wu Lidan explained that Hu Zi and Zhao Xintong had stayed behind to cover their retreat from a white demon ambush. Confirming that Peak Valley's landscape continued to shift, Qi Xiaoxuan noted Hu Zi's clever use of path markers. He then sent Wu Lidan to guide the injured sorcerers to the main force, which was already relocating to the Bloody Waterfall due to the sandstorm.
Qi Xiaoxuan then pressed on, following the general direction Wu Lidan indicated, to find Hu Zi and Zhao Xintong. Back in the cave, Zhao Xintong's injury worsened. Hu Zi, desperate, offered to stay and die with Zhao Lingyan if she taught Zhao Xintong the Yan Ling Spike to escape. Zhao Lingyan agreed, relishing the thought of Hu Zi's demise as revenge for his mother.
Zhao Xintong, despite her worsening condition, adamantly refused to leave Hu Zi and insisted on staying with him. Hu Zi then unleashed a furious tirade, condemning Zhao Lingyan as worse than a demon for her lack of compassion, despite her hero status. He provoked her by suggesting her legacy would be utterly forgotten if the Zhao family line ended with them.
Infuriated, Zhao Lingyan, in a sudden, almost spiteful act, pointed out a special water source within the cave wall that could replenish spirit essence. Zhao Lingyan then intentionally tricked Hu Zi into a narrow crevice, trapping him with a large rock. Zhao Xintong, despite her injuries, bravely dug to free Hu Zi, denouncing Zhao Lingyan's treachery and stating her unwavering commitment to either escape or die together. Once freed, Hu Zi's first act was to give Zhao Xintong the restorative water.
