Ultimate Note Episode 20 Recap
> Ultimate Note Recap
Panma, with a complex expression, began to recount the events of that year. He described how the village of Bayao had been desperately poor, with families struggling to get even a jin of rice a month, making the expedition team's abundant food an irresistible temptation. One night, Panma led several young men, including Cai Wang, Er Fu, and Ding Fu, to the expedition team's supply tent.
Their intention was to steal just enough rice and lard to feed their families, but they were caught. In the ensuing struggle, they accidentally smothered the expedition member who had discovered them. As they tried to move the body, another team member stumbled upon them, forcing them to silence that witness as well.
With two lives already taken, the young men, consumed by panic and bloodlust, convinced Panma to eliminate the entire expedition team while they slept, rationalizing that the outside world would attribute the massacre to foreign enemies. Driven to a frenzy, they acted like wild beasts, killing almost everyone and throwing the bodies into the lake. However, the most terrifying event of Panma's life occurred the very next morning.
When he returned to the expedition camp, he found everyone he thought he had killed alive, moving about, and even speaking to him casually. Panma, in a state of shock, stammered that he was just hunting. What unsettled him further was a strange, pungent odor on their bodies, like the stench of death. He was convinced they were demons from the lake. Later, his companions who had been with him that night at the lake also died under mysterious circumstances.
Er Fu and Cai Wang were found hanged, while Ding Fu died from drinking pesticide. Panma firmly believed they were killed by the lake demons, not by suicide, and, terrified, he fled into the mountains, hiding for three years. Upon his return, he cautiously revisited the lake and discovered an old shirt containing several metal ingots, which also carried that same peculiar, unpleasant smell, though it gradually dissipated over time.
Panma then revealed that the slope-shouldered man had threatened him with the truth of that night, ordering him to lure anyone investigating the old expedition team to Buffalo Trench. Panma confessed he didn't know the slope-shouldered man's identity but was baffled by how the man knew every detail of the incident. Fatty, meanwhile, tried to ascertain if Zhang was a human or a demon, causing Wu Xie to dismiss his superstitious notions.
After leaving Panma's home, Wu Xie speculated that the expedition team that entered the mountains and the one that emerged were not the same group of people. He argued that no one could genuinely return from the dead, suggesting it was a long-planned conspiracy. He believed the second group had simply disguised themselves to deceive Panma, and that they were initially meant to replace the first team.
Panma's unexpected intervention and the killings merely prompted the second group to directly assume their identities. Wu Xie further theorized that the "demons in the lake" were likely Chen Wen Jin, Huo Ling, and their team, who happened to be exploring the lake that night and thus escaped the massacre, only to be mistaken for monsters by Panma's companions.
The second team, unaware of Chen Wen Jin's group, simply feared their accomplices (Panma and his friends) would expose the truth, so they mentally broke them to ensure their silence. Wu Xie asserted that the only way to prove his theory was to search the lake bottom for the remains of the first expedition team, reasoning that while flesh might decay, bones would remain.
Meanwhile, Xie Yuchen had followed clues to the Yi City Waterway in Guzhang, Xiangxi, Uncle San's next suspected destination. There, he and his accompanying staff discovered an opened casket. The staff mentioned someone had been there decades ago. Xie Yuchen identified it as a Shaozi Casket, noting that it had been opened without any signs of chiseling or explosive damage, and all three layers of its mechanisms had been expertly bypassed.
He concluded that only a Zhang family member, using their unique Two Finger Technique, could have accomplished such a feat. Later, Wu Xie, realizing the crucial importance of the slope-shouldered man's identity, called Xie Yuchen to press for information. Xie Yuchen explained that he wanted to avoid involving the elder generation of the Mystic Nine in their investigation of past events, so he had sent Huo Xiuxiu to inquire with Zhang Ri Shan at the Xin Yue Restaurant.
However, Zhang Ri Shan, according to Yin Nan Feng, refused to provide any information, simply stating "I don't know." Both Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu were frustrated, with Huo Xiuxiu questioning why they couldn't just ask her grandmother about the Qiongqi tattoo. Xie Yuchen reiterated his desire to keep the Mystic Nine elders out of it, asserting that Yin Nan Feng, though not a Mystic Nine member, possessed extensive knowledge of its secrets.
Despite Zhang Ri Shan's unhelpful response, Xie Yuchen realized that his "I don't know" was itself a piece of information, signifying that Zhang Ri Shan knew something specific but chose not to disclose it, likely the location of Master Buddha's secret room, which would now be extremely difficult to find after decades. Xie Yuchen concluded they would need to find older maps containing hidden locations to pinpoint the room. Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu later visited Mr. He.
During a performance, Xie Yuchen used the opportunity to ask Mr. He about the Yi City Waterway in Xiangxi, inquiring if Master Er and Master Buddha had ever been there. Mr. He confirmed their visit but claimed ignorance about any items they might have retrieved. Xie Yuchen then asked where Master Buddha typically stored his valuables.
Mr. He explained that most of Master Buddha's prized possessions were handed over to the government, while his personal items were usually kept at the Xin Yue Restaurant. Mr. He then revealed that Master Buddha also had a secret room for "ominous items," implying that any retrieved artifacts not given to the state would likely be there.
Xie Yuchen revealed that his investigation of government manifests had yielded no records of artifacts from the Yi City Waterway, reinforcing his belief that the items might indeed be in the secret room. Huo Xiuxiu wondered if the secret room still existed, given that Master Buddha's mansion had been demolished. Mr. He assured her that given Master Buddha's meticulous nature, such a private space would not be easily destroyed or vanish without a trace.
The conversation then turned to the slope-shouldered man's tattoo. Mr. He instantly recognized it as Master Buddha's Qiongqi tattoo. He explained that Master Buddha belonged to a collateral branch of the Zhang family, whose members bore the Qiongqi tattoo, distinct from the main Northeastern Zhang line, who were known for their Qilin tattoos. Huo Xiuxiu realized that Zhang Ri Shan, having been Master Buddha's personal guard, must surely recognize the tattoo, deepening their frustration with his non-answer.
Back at the lake, Wu Xie inquired about local knowledge of the "Yang Jiao Mountain" lake from Uncle Gui, who had heard of it from elders but never visited. Wu Xie, Zhang, and Fatty decided to proceed there, securing two old tents from Uncle Gui, along with requests for machetes, hemp rope, and local guides. Uncle Gui, finding the usual hunters unavailable, volunteered himself and his daughter, Yun Cai, to guide them.
Despite Wu Xie's concerns about Yun Cai's safety, she insisted on her experience in the mountains, having trekked with her grandfather since childhood. Fatty attempted to tease Yun Cai into a kiss, but she skillfully turned the tables on him. Upon reaching the lake, they noticed the ground was wet and the water level was dropping, leading Wu Xie to identify it as a "siphon effect."
He explained that this meant the lake was not a closed body of water but was connected to a larger underground river system, implying that anything they sought in the lake's depths might have already been drawn away. Realizing the need for specialized equipment, Wu Xie asked Uncle Gui about scuba diving gear, but Uncle Gui confirmed their mountain village had none. Wu Xie resolved to go acquire the necessary gear, while Fatty volunteered to stay behind and "keep watch."
Zhang then entered the lake and retrieved a pair of decades-old diving goggles that were still in perfect condition, belonging to the original expedition team. Wu Xie asked Uncle Gui to try to find an inflatable raft for them to use. Although Uncle Gui prepared to leave, Yun Cai expressed her desire to stay and help, convincing her father, with assurances from Wu Xie and Zhang about her safety.
Back in their own investigation, Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu were studying a map of Master Buddha's former residence. Huo Xiuxiu noted that the layout resembled a "Dragon Vein," with the mansion at the "Dragon's Eye," in line with Master Buddha's reputed interest in feng shui.
Xie Yuchen corrected her, identifying it as a rare "Fuxi Vein," which, though similar to a Dragon Vein, possessed a crucial distinction: Fuxi, the eighth son of the Dragon Emperor, was said to be poor at concealing his tail, which was his most vital part. Xie Yuchen theorized that if the "dragon's head" was the mansion, then the "tail" might very well be the hidden location of Master Buddha's secret room.
Meanwhile, having left the lake to acquire diving equipment, Wu Xie called Fatty to complain about the difficulty of finding such gear in a small, landlocked town, also mentioning that Uncle Gui had found a bamboo raft which Fatty was going to help bring up the mountain.
