The team wakes up with a headache, thanks to the work of Wang Zheng, who drugged everyone from the previous night. Normally, such a tactic would never have the chance to slip through the Chief’s superior intuition. However, when Zhao starts to second guess himself, doubts begin to cloud his sixth sense. Professor Shen deduces that Wang Zheng was sacrificing herself to keep everyone safe.
At the cave, Wang Zheng finally remembers her beloved who is trapped within the Mountain Pillar. Their emotional reunion immediately creates earthquakes in the Valley, causing panic to the villagers. Always the man who likes to ruin all parties, Purple Wig starts to attack Wang to aggravate the man inside the Mountain Pillar.
With half their crew still incapacitated, the Chief tells Zhu Hong to stay and watch over Professor Shen. At first, Zhu is upset to be left behind, until she receives Zhao’s subtle cue. With Little Guo and Old Chu, the Chief leads his three-person team out in search of Wang. After the crew left, Professor Shen tries to leave but is stopped by Zhu Hong. It didn’t take long for Zhu to attempt to hypnotize the Professor.
Zhao, Guo, and Chu made it to the mountain, based on Old Chu’s deductions and Wang’s breadcrumbs (pieces of the blowup doll’s lingerie). As they create an entrance into the mountain, monsters appear from within. Much like Little Guo’s fear, Zhao still endures unspecified flashbacks when he’s in high anxiety situations. With Old Chu and Little Guo taking care of the entrance confrontation, the Chief enters the cave alone. He soon receives a message from Brother Black Cloak to retreat, but there’s no way the Chief would leave when his subordinate is endangered.
While exploring the cavern, a monster is about to attack Zhao, but it was no surprise Black Cloak appears to dispatch it. His Honor tried to chastise Zhao for not listening to his warnings, prompting the Chief to noticed the similarity between Black Cloak, and his ‘friend’. Despite Black Cloak Envoy’s objection, Zhao resorts to using the Longevity Dial to locate Wang.
Once they locate our Romeo and Juliet, they find Wang tied to the Mountain Pillar. Unable to communicate with the Mountain Pillar coherently, Black Cloak Envoy decides to take a different approach. Since Wang Zheng died 100 years and 7 months ago, around the time the Hanga Tribe went extinct, she is a witness to the creation of the Mountain Pillar.
Just like any romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet of this story are from a different caste. While Ge Lan (Wang Zheng’s birth name before her amnesia) was born into the tribe as the young princess of the Patriarch, Sang Zan (the man in the Mountain Pillar) is from the slave caste. A disparity so significant, it is surprising they had met at all. For generations, the royals of Hanga tribe mistreated their slaves. Due to this harsh reality, and the ensuing blood feuds that can never be resolved, Sang started a slave revolt against the aristocrats, Ge Lan’s family. As the leader of the revolt, her family tried to eliminate him. As a result, Sang Zan killed her father and brothers, but he was unable to kill her, the woman he loves. Blood for Blood, but in the end, no crime goes unpunished.
Even though Sang Zan gains victory for his ideology, his insistence to keep Ge Lan alive creates distrust from his brothers in arms. They plan to run away once and for all, but Sang was betrayed by the people he had fought for. Ge Lan was sentenced for bewitching the Patriarch of Hanga and is strangled to death before his eyes. Out of grief, he tries to use the holy tool to revive her, yet she did not wake up. The reason is that the Piercer of Mountain and River can only strip the energy from the body, and preserve the energy of life, yet there is no solid form.
Notable Character:
Sang Zan
Ge Lan (Wang Zheng)
Memorable Quotes:
"Those drown are those who can swim." - Zhao Yunlan
"How long since the last time we've been here? At the time you were only a foolish slave. During a blink of an eye, you now sit on my father's throne. What a dream it was....Is this a good dream or a nightmare?" - Ge Lan to Sang Ran
"Such an ambitious, resourceful man. You can kill him, but never insult his dignity. The most basic dignity of a man is to keep their love one safe. If the one I love is destroyed in their hand. Ruined by the sytem I established, it's very likely for me to hate them more than the patriarch." - Zhao Yunlan to Ge Lan/Wang Zheng
"That's right. Even if they're cut into myriad pieces, the hatred is hard to dissolve." - Black Cloak Envoy
Author's Note: I know many of you are waiting for my next Guardian chapter. Due to the numbers of interviews I had to prepare for last week, my schedule was a bit overwhleming. Also, I accidently deleted a huge portion of that particular chapter, so I had rewrite all the scenes again. It will most likely be posted this week, as soon as I get my draft out for my editor. However, since it's a Holiday, I can't guarantee she'll be able to edit 10 pages within a day. Thanks everyone for your understanding!
