Tomb of the Sea Episode 33 Recap
> Tomb of the Sea Recap
Huo Youxue arranged a discreet meeting with Yin Nanfeng at a coffee bar, as many of her own stores had been shut down and she wished to avoid bringing trouble to Yin Nanfeng's Crescent Hotel. However, Yin Nanfeng, aware of Huo Youxue's business troubles, mockingly asked if Huo Youxue needed help, before expressing curiosity as to why Huo Youxue was inquiring about Zhang Rishan, who had reportedly left Crescent Hotel for an unknown destination.
Huo Youxue asserted that if Zhang Rishan's whereabouts were connected to GuTongJing, then it concerned her. Yin Nanfeng mockingly asked if Huo Youxue intended to plunder GuTongJing for treasures to offset her business losses. Huo Youxue stated she was merely taking back what rightfully belonged to her. Yin Nanfeng then criticized Huo Youxue's companies for their "outlandish tactics," hinting at her knowledge of misdeeds by several families, including Huo's.
She warned Huo Youxue that such methods wouldn't last and that "if you play with fire, sooner or later, you will get burned." Annoyed by Yin Nanfeng's lecture, Huo Youxue left the coffee bar. She vented her frustration to a subordinate, complaining about Yin Nanfeng's audacity to teach her how to conduct business and expressing her hope that Crescent Hotel wouldn't last.
The subordinate suggested that Yin Nanfeng’s evasiveness and accusations might be a deliberate distraction, implying that Zhang Rishan’s absence was indeed linked to GuTongJing. Huo Youxue, determined to acquire GuTongJing's treasures, acknowledged the urgency of her company's immediate financial liquidity. She pondered taking over an existing Nine Clans business, specifically Xie Yuchen's Baosheng Company, which she viewed as a valuable asset, despite Xie Yuchen's shrewdness making cooperation difficult.
After gathering their gear in the desert, Li Cu, Liang Wan, Yang Hao, and Su Wan heard a peculiar sound. Li Cu identified it as the singing sand, a sign of intense geological activity within the sand dunes. Suddenly, Chegaliba, who had previously disappeared, reappeared, explaining he was drawn by another unusual event. He led the group to a hilltop where they discovered a river flowing through the desert.
Chegaliba explained it was a "ghost river," normally flowing underground, but a tributary had unexpectedly surfaced due to recent geological movements; he had never seen such a thing before. Liang Wan, reflecting on the earlier "fire wind" and the lake they found, theorized that all these strange phenomena were caused by powerful geological activity, pushing underground water to the surface and altering local climates.
Li Cu confirmed her suspicion by checking his map, revealing that the river's winding path perfectly matched a black line on the ancient GuTongJing diagram. Realizing this might be a path into GuTongJing, they decided to construct a boat before the ephemeral river vanished. Su Wan produced an assortment of colorful life buoys and floating mats from his bag. Initially, they manually inflated the items, but soon realized they needed an air pump.
Despite the exhaustion, Su Wan proudly described his "Swan Lake"-themed design, claiming the flamingos' vibrant colors would create a dreamy atmosphere in the golden desert. After some humorous debate about who should test the flimsy vessel first, they devised a plan: one person would board while two pushed it into the current. Yang Hao bravely volunteered, and soon they were afloat on their makeshift, pink boat fashioned from the inflatable items.
As they drifted down the river, Li Cu asked Su Wan and Yang Hao how they felt about their adventure so far. Yang Hao admitted it was far from what he imagined; instead of being invincible, they were vulnerable, making it "more real and funner." Su Wan, however, confessed he missed his grandma. Chegaliba probed Liang Wan on her reasons for joining the young men.
She explained she had simply met them on the road, found it entertaining, and appreciated the mutual support. Chegaliba then pulled out a bottle, touting its contents as "something nice." Intrigued, Su Wan tasted it first, declaring it delicious, prompting Li Cu, Yang Hao, and Liang Wan to all take a drink. Soon, they began to feel dizzy, realizing too late that Chegaliba had drugged them.
With a chilling smile, Chegaliba revealed his cynical philosophy: "When you guys come out to travel around next time, you shouldn't always think of water monsters, nor fire wind, and one thing you need to know is. . . Actually, there is something even scarier in the world. And that is human." With that, he unceremoniously pushed each of them into the river, abandoning them to the currents.
Upon waking, Li Cu, Liang Wan, Yang Hao, and Su Wan found themselves scattered across an expanse of white sands. Yang Hao and Su Wan quickly regrouped and began searching for Li Cu and Liang Wan. Li Cu soon appeared, discovering Liang Wan dangerously close to an area known to harbor attacking snake cypresses, which were highly sensitive to sound and vibration. He quickly warned his friends against using signal flares, which would only attract the creatures.
Yang Hao and Su Wan were initially at a loss for how to reach Liang Wan safely. Su Wan, always prepared, retrieved a saxophone from his bag, proposing to use its ability to mimic human voices and resonate with the desert sands to transmit a message to Liang Wan. Li Cu instructed him to tell her it was unsafe, to stay put, and that they would rescue her.
Su Wan’s attempt at communication, however, had an unintended consequence: the saxophone’s sound, resonating with the sand, made the snake cypresses believe living things were abundant across the dunes, causing them to become active. As Liang Wan tried to escape towards their position, she tripped, and a snake cypress quickly ensnared her leg, dragging her into the white sands.
Li Cu immediately rushed to her aid, while Su Wan, at Li Cu's frantic urging, continued playing his loudest tunes to distract the monstrous plants. In a desperate move, Yang Hao launched a signal flare, startling the snake cypress and forcing it to release Liang Wan. Yang Hao followed up with several more flares, finally driving the creatures away.
Overwhelmed with relief and terror, Liang Wan rushed into Li Cu's arms, weeping, as he comforted her, noting that she could cry and that he also felt like crying, and that Li Cu was no longer the little brat he once was, but a mature man. Though Yang Hao and Su Wan also claimed credit for the rescue, Liang Wan, still shaken, insisted they leave her alone for a moment.
Meanwhile, Xie Yuchen and Luo Que were traveling on a train. Their compartment was suddenly surrounded by members of the Wang Clan, who confronted Xie Yuchen. The Wang Clan leader declared that they could interfere with and disrupt all of Xie Yuchen's plans, stating that in this era, only Master Xie and Master Wu were capable of secretly setting such elaborate mazes.
He warned Xie Yuchen that they could not allow him and Wu Xie to meet that day, and demanded that Xie Yuchen hand over whatever he had found. Xie Yuchen, undeterred, engaged the numerous Wang Clan members in a fight, with Luo Que quickly joining him. Despite being outnumbered, their skills, combined with the narrow train aisle, made them formidable. They effectively fought off the initial wave of attackers.
However, as Xie Yuchen pressed forward, he was ambushed from behind, a rope suddenly tightening around his neck and pulling him to the ground. Luo Que, momentarily stunned by the sight, then saw a dagger flying directly towards his forehead. News of Xie Yuchen's defeat at the hands of the Wang Clan quickly reached the Huo family.
Huo Youxue, viewing Xie Yuchen as less capable than she once thought, saw his company, Baosheng, as a lucrative target, acknowledging that other Nine Clans members also coveted it. Her subordinate suggested that Xie Yuchen's demise was merely the beginning, anticipating chaos among the Nine Clans once the full news spread. He reminded her about someone else located beneath GuTongJing and speculated on Wu Xie's reaction to Xie Yuchen's death, noting that without an heir, the Xie family was vulnerable.
Huo Youxue asserted that she would only claim what rightfully belonged to her, implicitly stating that others had already initiated these aggressive actions and that her family would not be the first to act. Her subordinate also mentioned the return of Huo Xiuxiu, dismissing her potential impact. He believed Baosheng could not be saved, especially with Wu Xie absent and having already garnered widespread animosity. He concluded that it was time for the Huo family to assert themselves.
Huo Xiuxiu, a seemingly harmless young woman who had aligned herself with Wu Xie and shared a close relationship with Xie Yuchen, was secretly feared by Huo Youxue due to their shared surname and potential influence. Huo Xiuxiu arrived at the airport and called Pang Wang. She soon spotted him and his companion, whom Pang Wang introduced as a "master." Her first question upon seeing Pang Wang was about Xie Yuchen, who had promised to pick her up. Pang Wang, however, hesitated, unable to deliver the devastating news of Xie Yuchen’s fate.
