Under the Power Episode 18 Recap, Plot

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Yuan Jinxia, startled by a face appearing suddenly, stumbled back with a scream. She quickly pulled out her hand cannon and aimed it at the mysterious man, demanding his identity. After he calmly addressed her, she apologized for intruding and asked if he had seen two missing men. The man confirmed he hadn't and asked if she knew of the Dragon Confining Well, a legendary place where Yu the Great supposedly locked captured dragons.

He explained that the sounds she had heard were merely echoes in the empty well, not voices. The man, who had been imprisoned for a year, introduced himself as Mr. Beggar, embracing a name Yuan Jinxia had used to describe him. He claimed that Japanese pirates had locked him there to cultivate the rare Blue Hairpin, a type of blue Longdan flower.

Noting his capital accent, Yuan Jinxia learned his story, which culminated in the audacious claim that Lu Ting, the Supreme Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, was his nephew. With no tools to free him, Yuan Jinxia promised to return, and Mr. Beggar urged her to leave quickly via the route the pirates used. Meanwhile, Yang Yue, using a trick learned from Yuan Jinxia, untied the ropes binding him and Shangguan Xi.

After knocking out their guards, they cautiously escaped their confinement. Below ground, Yuan Jinxia, believing she could put Lu Yi in her debt by rescuing his alleged grand-uncle, attempted to retrace her steps. She found the stone tablets had shifted, trapping her in a complex maze. As she navigated the passages, several shadowy figures flickered past, confirming her suspicion that she was being hunted. Realizing she couldn't defeat them, Yuan Jinxia began to run.

Above, Yang Yue created a diversion by setting fire to Dong Qisheng's room, allowing him and Shangguan Xi to escape into the woods. In the maze, Yuan Jinxia's legs ached, and just as a black-clad attacker lunged, her hand cannon ran out of ammunition. At that critical moment, Lu Yi appeared, intercepting the attacker. He admonished her for her impulsiveness and for causing him trouble.

Lu Yi then produced Yuan Jinxia's magnifying glass, which he had found by the well, revealing he had come down specifically to rescue her. Overcome with gratitude, Yuan Jinxia profusely thanked him, offering to repay his kindness in her next life. Lu Yi, however, insisted she repay him in this life. She then recounted her encounter with Mr. Beggar, excitedly explaining that he was Lu Yi's grand-uncle and that Lu Yi should call him "grandfather."

Lu Yi, however, was highly skeptical, noting that his own grandfather had passed away more than two decades ago. As Shangguan Xi and Yang Yue moved through the dark forest, Shangguan Xi expressed her fear of the dark. Yang Yue gathered several fireflies, presenting them to her to provide some light and comfort. Yuan Jinxia led Lu Yi to Mr. Beggar, who was delighted to meet Lu Ting's son and immediately claimed Lu Yi as his grand-nephew.

Lu Yi, reluctant to accept this, requested proof. Mr. Beggar confidently recounted details from Lu Yi's childhood, including his full name, Wenyuan, and a mole on his arm, remarking that Lu Yi’s cautious nature reminded him of his "ruthless father." Though Lu Yi conceded the point about his father, he refused to call the man "grandfather." Mr. Beggar, finding the title aging, suggested Lu Yi simply call him "Mr. Beggar."

He explained that the pirate leader, aware of his background in a medical family, had imprisoned him to cultivate the Blue Hairpin. He added that these pirates were of mixed origins, with many being Chinese from Jiangnan. After Lu Yi cut his chains, Mr. Beggar led them to an area filled with Blue Hairpin flowers, warning them about the highly poisonous "gut-wrenching grass" growing nearby.

He explained that a specific herbal fertilizer transformed the otherwise harmless Longdan flowers into the Blue Hairpin, which contained a hallucinogenic toxin that induced madness. This was the cause of the villagers' condition. The pirates had discovered its properties by accident and kidnapped him to produce more. However, he had secretly altered the formula, ensuring the affected villagers were not contagious. Just as they prepared to destroy the plants, pirates burst in, but Lu Yi swiftly subdued them.

Under interrogation, a captured pirate revealed their badge featured the "Boat Ghost," a Japanese legend their boss, Mao Haifeng, used as a totem. The pirate also disclosed an emergency escape path. After destroying all the Blue Hairpin, the group prepared to leave. Elsewhere, Shangguan Xi, though confident the Wu'an Sect would retaliate against Dong Qisheng's treachery, remained deeply worried about Xie Xiao.

Meanwhile, in the Shi family's ancestral hall, the clan leader offered a captured Xie Xiao as a human sacrifice to the ancient well, hoping to pacify the "Dragon Lord" and save his people from being displaced. Lu Yi, Yuan Jinxia, and Mr. Beggar returned to the stone tablets, discovering they had once again shifted. Simultaneously, the Shi clan sealed the well, having thrown Xie Xiao into its depths. Xie Xiao landed dazed but alive, his fall broken by Lu Yi.

Yuan Jinxia explained that he had been tricked into becoming a sacrifice. Realizing the pirates moved freely, Lu Yi deduced there must be a secret passage, and they decided to split up to search for it. As they searched, they examined ancient murals. Lu Yi observed that the reliefs on the walls were alternately raised and sunken and noticed a Taiji map on the floor. He theorized that the shifting stone tablets were arranged in an eight trigrams array.

Citing the "Commentary on the Water Classic," he concluded that the "dragon" in the legend referred to floods. The well was an ancient water control mechanism designed to divert floodwaters to the sea, and the tablet shifts were caused by a mechanism triggered by the ocean's tides.

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