Ultimate Note Episode 17 Recap
> Ultimate Note Recap
Wu Xie, having just had a phone conversation with his Uncle Er, quickly decided to depart for Hangzhou immediately, believing that if he waited until the next day, his cunning uncle would already be gone. However, upon arriving in Hangzhou, he found that all numbers for his Uncle Er were unreachable. Frustrated by the unreliability of his elders, he returned to Wushanju.
He then resumed his leisurely life at Wushanju, poring over his grandfather's notes and lamenting the lack of information about the Mystic Nine within them. His routine was interrupted by a guest named Jin Wan Tang, who presented a promissory note from Wu Sansheng.
Jin Wan Tang claimed that Wu Sansheng owed him a "large vase with pastel bird picture," valued at 120,000 RMB, and had instructed him to collect it from Wu Xie if it wasn't delivered within two weeks. Wu Xie was confused, as Wushanju hadn't received any new stock in a year. He then remembered Wang Meng mentioning he had won a box of instant noodles. Upon inspection, the "instant noodles" turned out to be the vase.
Noting its suspiciously new appearance, Wu Xie deliberately smashed it, revealing a video recorder hidden inside. Jin Wan Tang then confessed that Wu Sansheng had paid him 20,000 RMB to approach Wu Xie for the vase. Wu Sansheng had also added a condition: if Jin Wan Tang broke the vase, he would owe Wu Xie its value. Since Wu Xie himself broke it, Jin Wan Tang ended up profiting.
The video, recorded before the speaker's expedition to the Palace of the Heavenly Queen Mother, showed a man eating noodles. He stated that if Wu Xie was watching this, it meant he was likely missing or dead. He admitted that his entire identity, including his pretense as Wu Sansheng, had been a deception.
He expressed that he was unsure whether he was Wu Sansheng or Xie Lianhuan, having worn the disguise for too long, but insisted he always viewed Wu Xie as his nephew and never intended to harm him. He revealed that an accident at the bottom of the sea near the Paracel Islands forced him and Wu Sansheng to switch identities, a choice they could not reverse.
He explained that he and the real Wu Sansheng were determined to uncover the truth behind the incident, particularly after discovering that several members of the archaeological team had untraceable backgrounds, indicating a deeper conspiracy. He implored Wu Xie to stop investigating and live his own life, acknowledging that Wu Xie would likely not heed his advice, concluding with his grandfather's adage: "What's more terrifying than a ghost is human."
Suddenly, Fatty and Zhang arrived at Wushanju, having sneaked out of the hospital because Zhang's condition hadn't improved despite medication. Zhang's memories were fragmented, and doctors suggested mental stimulation. When asked where he wished to go, Zhang simply said, "To places with my memories." Fatty expressed concern about Zhang's situation, fearing he might end up homeless given his memory loss and lack of family.
Wu Xie, worried that Zhang would repeat his cycle of memory loss and searching, then recalled Bald-headed Chu, a man who had colluded with others against "Master San" during their Cloud Top Palace expedition and was subsequently imprisoned by "Master San." He believed Bald-headed Chu, now released, might possess useful information. Wu Xie paid Bald-headed Chu 100,000 RMB, and the man readily shared what he knew.
He recounted that "Master San" (Xie Lianhuan, impersonating Wu Sansheng) had urgently sought a skilled helper for Cloud Top Palace and found Zhang, who had previously worked for Grandpa Si, also known as Chen Pi Ah Si. Bald-headed Chu elaborated that Chen Pi Ah Si's group had found Zhang in a village in Guangxi. Believing him to be a disoriented "fool," they initially used him as bait but soon discovered his extraordinary abilities.
Chen Pi Ah Si then took Zhang on as a subordinate. Years later, "Master San" borrowed Zhang from Chen Pi Ah Si and became particularly concerned about Zhang's true identity, tasking Bald-headed Chu with investigating his past. After two months of searching numerous villages in Guangxi, Bald-headed Chu finally found clues in Banai, a small village where Zhang had previously lived in a stilt house. Inside, under the glass top of a table, were many photos.
One photo taken from there depicted a person with noticeably sloped shoulders standing at a doorway, with "Golmud Sanatorium" written on the back. Wu Xie observed that the furnishings in this photo appeared older than those seen in the video from Xie Lianhuan. Recognizing the potential connection between Banai village and Zhang's past, Wu Xie decided an immediate trip to Guangxi was essential. He instructed Wang Meng to book three tickets.
After an arduous journey involving flights, trains, buses, and even an ox cart, the trio finally arrived at Banai village. They were warmly greeted by the elder, Uncle Gui, who became enthusiastic upon hearing of Fatty's interest in investment. When Wu Xie showed him the photo of the stilt house where Zhang had once lived, Uncle Gui agreed to guide them there the following day.
While Fatty, captivated by Uncle Gui's daughter Yun Cai, began boasting about his wealth after a few drinks, Wu Xie noticed a photo of Chen Wen Jin on the wall. He realized that Banai, rather than the Paracel Islands, was Chen Wen Jin's initial point of operation. Upon seeing the photo, Uncle Gui recalled an expedition team that had visited the village decades ago, led by the woman in the picture.
He recounted how the team stayed for six or seven months, with his father acting as a liaison. He vividly remembered the team leader's peculiar instructions to the local guide: deliver supplies to their mountain camp every three days, "not a day earlier, not a day later." On one occasion, the guide went a day early to tend to a relative, only to find the camp completely deserted and eerily silent.
Believing it to be the work of the mountain god, he kept quiet. However, the next day, the team had returned, bustling as if nothing had happened. The guide only revealed the incident to the villagers after the team had left. Before their departure, the expedition team also took away a dozen crates containing items reportedly found in the surrounding area. Later, Wu Xie reviewed the video tapes given to him by Bald-headed Chu. Most of them were just static, but one contained a thirty-second clip of a woman crawling on the floor.
