Tomb of the Sea Episode 41 Recap
> Tomb of the Sea Recap
Master Black, Su Wan, and Liang Wan found themselves trapped at the bottom of a cliff for two days, without food or water, their bodies nearing exhaustion. Master Black, feeling he was the last of his family, gave his beloved glasses to Su Wan, instructing him to take them to a specific optical shop for repair and to clean them every three months.
Su Wan believed it was too early for such final arrangements and asserted that they must save themselves rather than just waiting. He reflected on his life, which had been uneventful before coming to the desert with Li Cu, but now he understood that life itself was a miracle, giving them reason to hope.
Liang Wan, however, questioned their unwavering faith in Wu Xie, pointing out that his involvement was the very reason they were trapped, and doubted Li Cu's ability to rescue them, believing he was likely in grave danger. When asked why she came, Liang Wan shared that she was adopted and knew nothing of her birth parents beyond a phoenix tattoo they left her.
This tattoo, which Su Wan found pretty, had caused her much trouble, even attracting a past lover who was only interested in it. She had hoped coming to GuTongJing would reveal its secrets, but now it felt like a cruel joke. Meanwhile, above ground, the Nine Clans consulted an elderly professor about a recently recovered stone tablet. The professor identified it as a green pine stone from Qilian Mountain, covered in ancient script.
Although a full translation would take time, he recognized a character representing wealth, confirming the tablet's connection to GuTongJing's treasure. This discovery ignited the Nine Clans' greed, with Chen Jinshui immediately claiming the treasure for his family, citing the lives lost to retrieve the tablet. Yin Nanfeng of the Crescent Hotel intervened, reminding them of the Nine Clans' agreement to share discoveries and suggesting they focus on extracting information from Li Cu and Yang Hao.
As Yang Hao was being severely beaten by the Nine Clans members, Li Cu stepped forward to protect him. He threatened to withhold all information about the treasures if they did not ensure Yang Hao's recovery, promising to find as many stone tablets as they desired if Yang Hao was unharmed. The elderly professor then remarked to Li Cu, questioning if he now understood Wu Xie's determination to change the Nine Clans.
To everyone's astonishment, the professor removed his human skin mask, revealing himself to be Zhang Rishan. Huo Xu, from the Huo family, expressed his anger, reminding Zhang Rishan of his previous pledge not to get involved in this matter. Ignoring the accusation, Zhang Rishan demanded that all Clan Wang members present step forward. When no one moved, he began calling out names, including Chen Dingju, Qi Shuangcheng, Li Qingnian, Huo Xu, Xie Mingxia, Zhao Jun, Jin Lei, and Zhu Kuang.
He announced that this list, which he stated was obtained from Xie Yuchen, was Wu Xie's "gift." Some of the accused Clan Wang members vehemently denied the claims, accusing Zhang Rishan of trying to incite infighting so he could claim the treasure for himself. Zhang Rishan then revealed the "list" was blank, exposing those who had reacted with outrage as genuine Clan Wang members.
Next, he presented a USB drive, stating it contained all of GuTongJing's secrets and entry methods, with the password known only to him. He informed the Nine Clans that all other Clan Wang members outside had been dealt with, and if they eliminated those present, the USB and its password would be theirs. The Nine Clans immediately turned on each other, a chaotic battle ensuing between them and the exposed Clan Wang members.
Amidst the pandemonium, Li Cu located Yang Hao in a tent. Yang Hao's previous anger towards Li Cu had subsided, and they both yearned to survive. Li Cu instructed Yang Hao to run to the sand dune where he was originally captured and not to wait for him, as he had to find someone else. Just then, Luo Que appeared, grabbing Li Cu and pulling him away.
Luo Que blew a whistle, alerting everyone to the bombs hidden around the tents by the returning Clan Wang members who had heard the commotion. Li Cu urged Yang Hao to run before being taken by Luo Que. Seconds later, the area erupted in explosions. Before losing consciousness, Li Cu faintly saw Shen Qiong approaching him. When the Nine Clans members regained consciousness, a small group of Clan Wang members attacked again.
Zhang Rishan, now enraged, tore off his shirt and fought mercilessly. The intense combat inadvertently awakened the Viper, a massive snake cypress, which emerged and dragged many people underground. Below, the Viper continued its assault, binding Nine Clans members to the walls. Though they had Tianxin stone's powder, there wasn't enough for everyone.
Zhang Rishan, explaining that the Viper had previously been deterred by trucks beneath their camp which were displaced by the explosion, led the survivors in an escape, muttering incantations from the Taiyi Mystery Numbers, suggesting a connection between the ancient divination system and GuTongJing. They soon arrived at the entrance of GuTongJing's ancient city. From a vantage point, Zhang Rishan allowed them to behold its full scope.
He revealed that he had been there long ago and his purpose now was not to help them find treasures, but to guide them out, as the outer perimeter was collapsing, leaving the ancient city as their only path. He confirmed that treasures indeed lay within, but insisted they could not be taken. Chen Jinshui scoffed, believing they could take whatever they wanted by force.
Zhang Rishan elaborated, explaining that the city had co-existed with the Viper for centuries, and its doors were coated with Tianxin stone's powder as protection. He pointed to a gate bearing the characters "Hui Si," explaining that "Hui" was an ancient word for a type of dragon, and "Si" meant snake, thus the city was named after dual snakes. Inside, all of GuTongJing's steles and statues were gathered, their translated and reorganized inscriptions revealing the city's entire history.
He described a subterranean Yellow Spring River nourishing the city, home to "snake eyebrow copper fish," which harbored snakes in their eyebrows. The ancient people of GuTongJing revered this phenomenon, extracting these snakes and implanting them into their own eyebrows. These snakes possessed incredibly long lifespans, consuming their human hosts after death to continue growing into larger serpents.
This human-snake co-existence, spanning thousands of years, led to a unique ability: the snakes' venom could transmit all observed information directly into the minds of specific individuals, essentially making them living biological archives capable of revealing millennia of history. One of the Nine Clans members dismissed this as an impossible fantasy. Meanwhile, Li Cu had been captured by Clan Wang members and brought to an elevated position overlooking GuTongJing.
A Clan Wang member informed him they were on top of GuTongJing. Li Cu asked about the others, but the Clan Wang member dismissed his concern, telling him to focus on himself. Li Cu thanked the Clan Wang member for some previous act, but the Clan Wang member retorted that she was only keeping Li Cu alive because he believed "two people can get out of here alive," and threatened to eat him if they ran out of food.
As they walked, Li Cu tried to take the lead, questioning the Clan Wang member's sense of direction, but was told to trust her. The Clan Wang member then told Li Cu that Wu Xie had deceived him and was merely using him as a pawn due to their lack of shared belief.
She contrasted this with Clan Wang's unified purpose, which allowed them to fulfill their inherent mission, asserting that the self-serving Nine Clans could never comprehend Clan Wang's elevated ideals, while Clan Wang continuously progressed and Nine Clans remained stagnant. Li Cu expressed doubt, but the Clan Wang leader confidently declared that he would soon achieve his goals, stating that the Nine Clans could not stop them. Li Cu countered that someone would, but the leader dismissed his threats and abilities, inviting him to test them, promising to respond with decisive action.
