Ultimate Note Episode 1 Recap

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> Ultimate Note Recap

The story opens with a voice-over from Wu Xie, who introduces himself and his companions, the talkative Wang Pangzi and the stoic Zhang Qiling. He recounts their perilous adventures, from the tomb of the Lu Kingdom's emperor, where they battled insects and illusions, to the Paracel Islands seabed, where they uncovered secrets of immortality and a blood message from Xie Lianhuan accusing Wu Xie's third uncle, Wu Sansheng, of treachery.

Their journey continued to the Cloud Top Palace on Mount Changbai, culminating at the immense Bronze Gate, where Zhang Qiling entered to fulfill a mysterious duty, leaving Wu Xie behind. The scene shifts to a hospital, where Wang Pangzi awakens Wu Xie to find that his uncle, Wu Sansheng, has vanished from his bed. Wu Xie intercepts his uncle in the lobby and knocks him out.

Upon waking, Wu Xie confronts him with an old photograph of the archaeological team from before their Paracel Islands expedition, demanding to know if he killed Xie Lianhuan. As they argue, Wang Pangzi arrives with two videotapes sent by Zhang Qiling from Golmud. Wu Sansheng feigns surprise and tries to dissuade Wu Xie from watching, but they play the first tape, which is mostly static. Suddenly, an image appears of a woman combing her hair.

Wu Sansheng is stunned, identifying her as Huo Ling, a member of the lost archaeological team. He points out that the tape is from 1997, yet she hasn't aged a day since their team photo in 1985. Deeply unsettled, Wu Sansheng urges Wu Xie to drop the investigation for his "own good," but Wu Xie refuses.

The argument is interrupted by a phone call from a stranger who claims to have another tape related to Wu Xie and asks to meet in Hangzhou. Wu Xie, distrusting his uncle, agrees to sell him the videotapes but cleverly swaps them for fakes. Meanwhile, a mysterious man in black, who bears a striking resemblance to Zhang Qiling, arrives at Wu Xie's shop, Wushanju. He is being followed, but he expertly ambushes and disarms his pursuer in an alley.

Inside Wushanju, Wu Xie explains his ruse with the fake tapes to Pangzi just as A Ning arrives. She reveals someone sent her a videotape using Wu Xie's name to ensure she would receive it. They watch her tape, which shows a disheveled figure crawling on the floor. As the person's face comes into view, Wu Xie is horrified to see it is his own, but looking much younger, as if from years ago.

Realizing the tapes couldn't have come from Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie inspects the blank tape he received and discovers a hidden key and a slip of paper with an address for a sanatorium in Golmud. Determined to find answers, he immediately has his employee, Wang Meng, book him the arduous journey there. Arriving at the dilapidated sanatorium in Golmud, Wu Xie explores the dusty, cobweb-filled building, recording his findings.

He recognizes one of the rooms as the same location where he saw his younger self crawling in the video. His search leads him down a long staircase deep underground, where the air grows cold and carries a strange fragrance. There, he discovers a very old coffin and a locked, hidden room beyond it. As Wu Xie cautiously enters the room, a pale hand silently reaches out from the coffin behind him.

Inside the room, after a brief, strange dream-like encounter with Xie Yuchen, Wu Xie discovers a notebook written by Huo Ling. It details the lost archaeological team's secrets and struggles over more than a decade. The notes reveal a shocking truth: all the ancient sites Wu Xie has visited—the Seven Star Palace, Cloud Top Palace, and the others—are connected, forming a "dragon vein" map that was part of a quest for immortality.

He is stunned to learn that Chen Wenjin, another team member, had been to the Bronze Gate and that the tapes were intentionally sent to three specific people. Elsewhere, Wu Sansheng enjoys an opera with Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu. After the performance, Yuchen and Xiuxiu press him for answers about the previous generation's secrets and the fate of their missing family members, Huo Ling and Xie Lianhuan.

As always, Sansheng is evasive, claiming their generation's actions were meant to protect the younger one. Unbeknownst to him, Wu Xie is already piecing the puzzle together with Huo Ling's notebook. He studies the "dragon vein" map, wondering about the significance of the one location that lies outside the path: Tamutuo.

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