Tomb of the Sea Episode 4 Recap
> Tomb of the Sea Recap
A meeting of the Nine Clans Association was held at the Crescent Hotel, presided over by President Zhang Rishan. Li Qunao, the owner of BaMianHengTong, voiced his discontent, pointing out the absence of Master Huo and Master Wu and questioning the necessity of a general assembly. President Zhang Rishan countered that the association's greatest fear was a rotten core and being wiped out, asking if they would willingly surrender their businesses.
Qi Anmei, the owner of JinShangZhu, was surprised by the suggestion that outside forces sought to undermine their enterprises. Some attendees felt President Zhang Rishan was avoiding an investigation by bringing up old rumors, asserting they were not easily intimidated. President Zhang Rishan then hinted that these "outsiders" might be among them. Their discussion was abruptly interrupted when Chen Dingju, representing the Chen family, burst in.
He carried the corpse of Huang Yan on his back and had a man tied up beside him, claiming he was there to attend the meeting on behalf of his master and that the items were gifts. Chen Dingju identified the corpse as Huang Yan, who had gone mad after returning from the desert.
He pointed out the many cuts on Huang Yan's body, suspecting them to be a map, and added that Huang Yan had also carved another map on a child's back—a map undeniably linked to GuTongJing. He reminded everyone of Uncle Buddha's long-standing rule that no Nine Clans member was permitted to take anything from GuTongJing without permission.
Since Master Wu of WuShanJu had already violated this rule by entering GuTongJing, Chen Dingju argued that the others were no longer obligated to abide by it. President Zhang Rishan unequivocally stated that he would handle the GuTongJing matter. When Chen Dingju defied him, Zhang Rishan quickly subdued him. President Zhang Rishan reiterated his resolve to manage the GuTongJing situation and demanded that the bound young man be left behind.
Chen Dingju, provoked, questioned President Zhang Rishan's relationship with Wu Xie, given his protective stance. President Zhang Rishan denied any connection. As his phone displayed a message notification, Chen Dingju immediately assumed it was from Wu Xie and tried to snatch the phone. President Zhang Rishan restrained him, sternly warning that anyone attempting to exploit the situation would bring trouble upon the Nine Clans.
After Chen Dingju's departure, the young man, who was indeed Wu Xie's subordinate, handed President Zhang Rishan a note from Wu Xie with four characters: "No making without breaking." President Zhang Rishan scoffed, remarking that four words were insufficient to secure his assistance, but nonetheless instructed the young man to stay at the Crescent Hotel to avoid detection until Wu Xie's return. Meanwhile, Wu Xie's team ventured deeper into the underground palace.
As they moved through a passage lined with numerous stone statues, Li Cu's claustrophobia began to manifest, causing him distress. He complained to Wu Xie about being brought to such a confined and eerie place. Wu Xie, with a reassuring gesture, told Li Cu to close his eyes and urged him to follow closely and not be afraid. As they continued, Li Cu noticed one of the stone statues blink.
Wu Xie stepped forward, examined the statue, and then twisted its head. In response, all the surrounding statues moved aside, unveiling a hidden path. Following this path, they encountered a corridor with a shattered ceiling and a weight-balancing mechanism on its floor. Lao Cheng analyzed it, explaining that the device could only withstand precisely 48 kilograms; any deviation would cause the passage to collapse.
He stressed that one person had to cross the corridor to activate a switch and open a door, or everyone would perish. Su Nan, appearing to be the lightest among them, volunteered. She removed her jacket and heavy shoes to adjust her weight, which proved to be exactly 48 kilograms. With steady steps, she traversed the passage, successfully triggered the switch, and opened a door on the other side.
Upon passing through the door, the group entered a vast, freezing palace, which Wu Xie identified as the Cool Hall, a royal summer retreat mentioned in ancient texts. He lit a match, causing a series of flames to ignite around the perimeter, illuminating the palace and revealing its impressive jade walls. Wu Xie cautioned everyone about the palace's inherent traps, and Master Guan reiterated this, advising them to leave immediately if anything seemed amiss.
The film crew, however, was immediately drawn to a large chest, which Lao Cheng skillfully pried open, revealing a hoard of gold, silver, and jewels. The sight ignited a frenzy of greed among the crew. Amidst the chaos, Li Cu heard a peculiar sound and discovered clusters of red, spherical objects beneath barnacle-like growths on the walls.
Master Guan warned against touching them, suspecting they were part of a mechanism rather than mere barnacles, and reiterated that such an elaborately hidden palace would undoubtedly be heavily booby-trapped. Despite the warnings, the crew's avarice led them to collect the "rubies," which triggered an immediate and violent tremor. The palace doors slammed shut, trapping them inside. Wu Xie, realizing their mistake, frantically ordered everyone to put the rubies they had taken into the chest.
Reluctantly, the crew complied, and as the last item was returned, the shaking abruptly ceased. Their brief respite was shattered as more red orbs rained down, causing the floor to shake even more violently. The ground cracked open everywhere except for the central platform, revealing deadly mechanisms below. Lao Cheng lost his footing and plunged into a chasm, where he was immediately impaled by sharp spikes, dying instantly.
Wu Xie and Li Cu were on the verge of falling as well but were quickly pulled back to safety by Su Nan. Panicked and distraught, some crew members demanded to be let out, threatening to expose them. Wu Xie, maintaining composure, asserted that there must be another exit. In their desperate search, Li Cu noticed a mural on the wall that had appeared out of nowhere, sensing that a lower section of the artwork remained hidden.
The floor was a precarious, seesaw-like mechanism that required precise balance. Despite Wu Xie's warnings to stay still, two crew members, Caitou and Xu Lei, lost their balance and plummeted to their deaths. Director Wang also fell. Wu Xie, trying to calm the panicked survivors, explained that the mechanism, though dangerous, was not overly complex; maintaining balance was key, and by following his instructions, they could escape.
He declared that he needed one person to cooperate with him to keep the platform balanced—someone trustworthy who would strictly obey his commands, or they would all die. When a crew member volunteered, Wu Xie rejected him, citing a lack of trust. He then designated Li Cu, despite Li Cu's initial reluctance and Master Guan's offer to go instead, insisting that Li Cu was the only person he could trust.
Li Cu, though fearful, agreed, facing a stern warning from Brother Mai not to betray them. With a perilous hole now revealed as the sole exit, Wu Xie directed Li Cu to work with him to safely transport the remaining survivors across. They painstakingly sent each person over one by one. Eventually, only Su Nan, Li Cu, and Wu Xie remained. Su Nan swiftly plunged a knife into the wall, temporarily wedging one end of the seesaw-like floor.
She then urged Li Cu to cross, and both quickly made their way to the exit. However, the knife soon dislodged, leaving Wu Xie stranded on the collapsing platform. He told the others not to worry about him and to go on.
