Young Blood Episode 18 Recap
> Young Blood Recap
Confronted by Dean Lu Guannian after their unauthorized use of the Secret Repository as bait to expose Ma Shan, the Seventh Chamber students defended their audacious plan, believing it was justified to uncover a traitor. Dean Lu, visibly frustrated by their actions and the lack of official reports regarding Chen Gong's arrival at the Privy Council, demanded to know Chen Gong's whereabouts.
Zhao Jian informed him that Chen Gong had already been placed in a secluded yard within the Privy Council, a move orchestrated by Yuan Zhongxin to test his loyalty, with Wang Kuan having secured the location using his father's connections. Wang Kuan, Wei Yanei, and Xue Ying, monitoring Chen Gong, discussed their plan to observe if he would use the kitchen—a bustling area—to send any covert messages, suspecting he might be a traitor.
During a moment of introspection, Wei Yanei confessed to Wang Kuan about feeling like the most useless member of Section 7. Wang Kuan reassured him, highlighting Wei Yanei's pure and trusting nature as a valuable asset. Wei Yanei then confided that Yuan Zhongxin had been keeping a secret from Wang Kuan. This secret involved Chen Gong, who, when being settled into his secluded yard within the Privy Council, had passed Zhao Jian's marriage proposal document to Yuan Zhongxin.
After leaving Chen Gong and observing him for a period, Yuan Zhongxin returned the document to Wang Kuan. Wang Kuan, discerning Yuan Zhongxin's burgeoning feelings for Zhao Jian, advised him to set aside formalities and listen to his heart, ultimately leaving the marriage proposal in Yuan Zhongxin's possession. Dean Lu later declared the Ma Shan/Chen Gong matter temporarily concluded, scolding the students for their daring but acknowledging that their experiences had matured them.
Despite this, Zhao Jian, along with Wang Kuan, remained fixated on Ma Shan's unpunished status, reasserting her belief to Yuan Zhongxin that a high-ranking Imperial Guard was a traitor. Yuan Zhongxin, burdened by these events and his complicated feelings regarding Zhao Jian's marriage proposal, sought solace at a puppet master's stall. The old puppet master, noticing Yuan Zhongxin's internal turmoil and new emotional attachments, offered him quiet encouragement.
Later, while celebrating the Winter Solstice at the noodle soup shop with the rest of Section 7, a slightly inebriated Zhao Jian pulled Yuan Zhongxin aside. She reiterated her and Wang Kuan's deep suspicions about the unaddressed issues surrounding Ma Shan and the potential high-level traitor within the Imperial Guards. Fearing for Chen Gong's safety even within the Privy Council, she insisted they must visit him to ascertain if any senior Imperial Guard officials had attempted to contact him.
Yuan Zhongxin, though reluctant and acknowledging they would be disobeying orders, eventually yielded to her persistence, agreeing that they would go alone to avoid drawing attention. Upon their arrival at the Privy Council, Zhao Jian and Yuan Zhongxin registered to see Chen Gong, who expressed surprise at their visit given the heavy guard surrounding him. Zhao Jian conveyed their concerns about a powerful traitor in the Imperial Guards, citing Ma Shan's inexplicably unpunished return as evidence.
She specifically warned Chen Gong to refuse any visits from high-ranking Imperial Guards and to immediately report such attempts to Privy Council officials, despite his insistence that the Privy Council was the nation's safest place. Chen Gong, touched by their care, bid them a somber farewell, stating his fear that they might not meet again. Yuan Zhongxin tried to reassure him of a future reunion, but Chen Gong maintained his grave tone.
Shortly after Zhao Jian and Yuan Zhongxin departed, a mysterious individual entered Chen Gong's chambers. Chen Gong was assassinated, his body discovered by guards who immediately raised an alarm about intruders. Meanwhile, as Yuan Zhongxin and Zhao Jian were on the streets, they were ambushed by Imperial Guards, who pursued them relentlessly with crossbows.
In a moment of extreme danger, Zhao Jian bravely intercepted an arrow aimed at Yuan Zhongxin, taking the wound herself and explaining that she could rely on him for support if injured, but not vice-versa. Noticing her injury and developing fever, Yuan Zhongxin attempted to lead her back to Xue Ying's noodle soup shop, only to find it surrounded by Imperial Guards.
Zhao Jian quickly realized that the leak about their safe house must have originated from the Secret Repository, potentially even from Dean Lu Guannian, making it impossible for them to return. At the same time, Wei Yanei, Wang Kuan, and Xue Ying were apprehended by Imperial Guards. Wei Yanei indignantly questioned their capture. Wang Kuan deduced that Yuan Zhongxin and Zhao Jian were embroiled in a grave crisis, realizing the situation was severe enough to bypass even Dean Lu's authority.
He speculated that the information leak regarding their safe house could have come from the Dean himself, intensifying his concern. Despite Xue Ying's attempts to reassure him of Yuan Zhongxin and Zhao Jian's resourcefulness, Wang Kuan grew increasingly worried by their complete lack of communication, fearing the worst for his friends. Yuan Zhongxin brought the wounded Zhao Jian to Lisheng Pharmacy. He quickly incapacitated the staff to treat her discreetly, preparing and feeding her the bitter medicine, promising sweets later.
When he proceeded to extract the arrow, Zhao Jian, in pain, bit his arm. Yuan Zhongxin endured it stoically, remarking that the arrow was unusually crafted. Their banter, filled with concern and playful remarks about becoming "a couple of robbers," highlighted their deepening bond. Despite their perilous situation, they remained baffled as to why the Imperial Guards were hunting them for assassination, especially considering they had just left Chen Gong whom they believed to be safe within the Privy Council.
Yuan Zhongxin discreetly paid for the medicine before they left. The Imperial Guards escorted Wei Yanei, Wang Kuan, and Xue Ying to the Privy Council to view Chen Gong's body. Wang Kuan, examining the corpse, noted that Chen Gong had been killed by a single, clean cut to the throat, with no signs of a struggle.
Wei Zhuoran, Wei Yanei's father, pointedly accused Yuan Zhongxin and Zhao Jian of the murder, citing the visitor log which showed them as the last individuals to see Chen Gong before his death. Wei Yanei vehemently defended his friends, arguing that an external assassin could not have possibly breached the Privy Council's stringent security.
Wei Zhuoran, however, dismissed his son's reasoning, showcasing the extensive and doubled patrols, and insisted that with such robust defenses, only someone who had been granted entry could be the perpetrator. He concluded that Yuan Zhongxin and Zhao Jian had murdered Chen Gong to steal the missing wheeled crossbow schematics, urging his son to persuade them to surrender if found. Yuan Zhongxin covertly sent a message via Xue Ying's father.
Following this, Wang Kuan, Wei Yanei, and Xue Ying, now released from Imperial Guard custody, met Yuan Zhongxin and Zhao Jian in a secluded forest. It was there that Yuan Zhongxin and Zhao Jian finally learned of Chen Gong's murder and their status as prime suspects. During their discussion, Zhao Jian suddenly collapsed. Yuan Zhongxin and Wang Kuan quickly checked her pulse, realizing she had been poisoned.
Yuan Zhongxin produced the arrow that had struck Zhao Jian, which Wei Yanei recognized as a "Blue Feather Corroding Bone Arrow," a specialized weapon used exclusively by the Black Armored Guards. He grimly informed them that without an antidote within twelve hours, Zhao Jian would surely die. The antidote was in Wei Zhuoran's possession, but approaching him directly would inevitably alert the Imperial Guards to Yuan Zhongxin and Zhao Jian's whereabouts, endangering them further.
After careful consideration, Wei Yanei devised a risky plan to seek out Deputy Commander Liu within the Imperial Guards and trick him into providing the antidote without alerting his father. Putting his plan into action, Wei Yanei went to the Imperial Guards and, embodying his usual image as a frivolous young master, skillfully deceived Deputy Commander Liu into releasing the antidote. He then secretly delivered the antidote to Xiaojing, who met with Wang Kuan. As Xiaojing and Wang Kuan prepared to rush to Zhao Jian's aid, Wang Kuan detected that they were being discreetly followed.
