Till the End of the Moon Episode 3 Recap
> Till the End of the Moon Recap
Chuntao reported to Li Susu that Tantai Jin often conversed with animals like birds, flies, mosquitoes, and even a frog, making him a strange figure in the mansion whom servants often mocked. Li Susu initially dismissed these stories, but Chuntao insisted on their truth. This led Li Susu to wonder if Tantai Jin's profound isolation had twisted his mind, eventually turning him into the Devil God. Determined to understand him, Li Susu began following Tantai Jin.
She directly asked him if he harbored resentment from constant bullying and if he ever wished to kill her (as Ye Xiwu). Tantai Jin responded that his feelings were inconsequential, as he couldn't change how others treated him. He stated that whether he felt hate or resentment held no meaning, noting that as a hostage prince from Jing Kingdom, merely surviving was exhausting enough, leaving him no energy for other thoughts.
Li Susu pondered that perhaps the young Tantai Jin hadn't committed any evil deeds, but rather, evil had been done to him repeatedly. She theorized that his descent into becoming the Devil God was a series of tragedies and that a single person's care might have prevented him from succumbing to the demonic path. She urged him to live well and seek her out if he felt bored, jesting that prolonged isolation could turn one into a "psychopath."
Tantai Jin retorted, "Like you?" Li Susu tried to assure him that someone in the mansion would eventually like him, but he simply stated that no one would, and he didn't need to be liked. Chuntao purchased new winter clothes for Tantai Jin, but they were either too thin or too large. Li Susu took the initiative to personally alter a thick coat for him, giving it to Tantai Jin secretly.
However, her brother, Ye Zeyu, spotted Tantai Jin in the new attire. Envious, Ye Zeyu mocked Tantai Jin as a "kept man" and deliberately slashed his coat. Li Susu intervened, reprimanding her brother and forcing him to pay for a replacement. She then told Tantai Jin to discard the ruined garment, but he refused, insisting on keeping the damaged coat because it was a gift from her. A royal edict arrived, summoning Tantai Jin to the palace.
Suspecting hidden motives, Li Susu followed him, though she was told to wait outside. She decided to explore the palace, heading to Tantai Jin's former residence. There, she encountered Nanny Yingxin, who had raised Tantai Jin and followed him from Jing Kingdom. Nanny Yingxin, disheveled and speaking cryptically, repeatedly warned that "they" wanted to harm "His Highness." Li Susu tried to clarify if she meant Tantai Jin and who the perpetrators were, but Yingxin only denied harming him herself.
Later, Tantai Jin had an audience with the King of Sheng, who attempted to manipulate him by revealing that King Jing, Tantai Wuji, was dying and his elder brother, Tantai Minglang, had been named crown prince. The King subtly suggested Tantai Jin should return to Jing Kingdom to reclaim what was his. Tantai Jin saw through this as a ploy to incite conflict between brothers.
He declared his indifference to Jing Kingdom and its royal family, stating he had been a wanderer for over a decade with no place for him there, and desired only to survive. The King, displeased by Tantai Jin's lack of ambition, dismissed him as a "useless pawn" and ordered him monitored. Soon after, Chief Wu approached Tantai Jin, attempting to coerce him into finding evidence of collusion between Prince Xiao Lin and General Ye.
Tantai Jin refused, explaining that Xiao Lin was perhaps the only person in Shengdu who treated him with sincerity, and he would not betray him for Chief Wu. Chief Wu then threatened Nanny Yingxin's life. Enraged by Tantai Jin's defiance, Chief Wu later ordered his subordinates to kill him that night. However, Tantai Jin secretly used his power to send a wasp to kill the chief, who collapsed and died bleeding from his ears.
Li Susu's father later mentioned this bizarre incident, which reminded Li Susu of Chuntao's reports about Tantai Jin communicating with insects. Tantai Jin, aware of his limited power to control only small creatures, realized his precarious position and resolved to find a way to escape Sheng Kingdom. Meanwhile, Prince Xiao Lin reported the mysterious disappearance of several civilians in their sleep to the King, suspecting demonic activity in Shengdu.
The King dispatched Scholar Pang Yizhi, a direct disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect Master and Xiao Lin's junior martial uncle from Mount Buzhao, to assist in the investigation. Li Susu, reflecting on Tantai Jin's bleakness, concluded that his harsh experiences were responsible for his suffering, aligning with her understanding that the evil bone within him drew strength from such negative emotions.
Upon returning home, she interrogated Tantai Jin about Chief Wu's death, even searching him for evidence, though she found nothing. She warned him against using any "tricks" with "wasps or bugs." Tantai Jin, to her surprise, offered to strip completely to prove his innocence, an offer Li Susu accepted, though he ultimately did not follow through. That night, a dream demon abducted more people. It targeted Ye Bingshang, noting her unusual "demonic aura" despite being human.
The dream demon collected individuals consumed by "grudge, hatred, fear, and remorse," intending to use their suffering to cultivate "nightmare blossoms" and transform into a devil. The next morning, Chuntao reported Ye Bingshang's disappearance. General Ye summoned Scholar Pang Yizhi and Prince Xiao Lin to investigate. Li Susu immediately became suspicious of Pang Yizhi's abilities, worrying he might expose Tantai Jin's evil bone and have him executed.
Pang Yizhi, however, found no immediate abnormalities within the mansion and proceeded to set up a "demon-locking array," though Li Susu found his technique "half-baked." Tantai Jin, through his crows, learned that the demon had taken the kidnapped individuals, including Ye Bingshang and Nanny Yingxin, to Mount Banzhen in the southern outskirts, where it was using them to "plant flowers." To avoid arousing Li Susu's suspicion, Tantai Jin decided against revealing this information.
Coincidentally, the dream demon had been studying Nanny Yingxin's traumatic memories. It uncovered Tantai Jin's "twisted fate" and a life devoid of "warmth or light." Concluding that he would yield the "best" nightmare blossoms, the demon set its sights on him, determined to use him to achieve its devilization. Following Tantai Jin's unique scent, the demon attacked the Ye Mansion.
Pang Yizhi's array proved ineffective, and the demon used a black fog as a distraction, revealing its true target was Tantai Jin. Li Susu rushed to protect him, using a charm, but both were engulfed by the demon's power and carried away. Before his capture, Tantai Jin had discreetly left a note for Xiao Lin, revealing Ye Bingshang's location. Xiao Lin, discovering Tantai Jin's cryptic note, rushed to Mount Banzhen with Scholar Pang.
Li Susu awoke to find herself and Tantai Jin in the demon's lair, surrounded by humans ensnared by vines. She explained to Tantai Jin that the dream demon captured people, harvested their dark memories as "seeds" to grow nightmare blossoms, and fed on their endless nightmares, much like "raising livestock." She noticed Tantai Jin was not bound by the vines, to which he calmly replied, "Because I never dream." They located Ye Bingshang and Nanny Yingxin.
Tantai Jin, realizing Li Susu's familiarity with Nanny Yingxin, directly questioned if she had been investigating him. Li Susu tried to rescue Ye Bingshang, but a mysterious mist engulfed them, causing both her and Tantai Jin to fall unconscious. They found themselves transported into a vivid dream realm—Nanny Yingxin's memory—of the Yiyue Tribe, where Tantai Jin's mother, a princess later titled Concubine Rou, was forced to marry Emperor Jing, Tantai Wuji, for the sake of her tribe.
