Legend of Condor Heroes 2008, episodes 19 and 20

Whoo-ee. Hopefully we’ll get some plot progression at last.

Episode 19

The third prince is busy underestimating the Mongolian emissaries, and Wanyan Honglie’s suggestions of a more diplomatic approach are scorned. Just as he is sent away like an errant child, his older brother gives the order to attack the two emissaries (who happen to be good friends of Guo Jing’s – Tuolei is the brother of Hua Zheng and the three grew up together).

In the confusion, Wanyan Honglie saves his father from two very sharp swords, and Yang Kang – excuse me – Wanyan Kang pops out from nowhere to lead more troops to kill all the Mongolian soldiers the two emissaries brought with them.

There is much killage and despair, but Hua Zheng comes (out of nowhere also) and administers some righteous killing.

Huang Rong is smart enough to know that if they go to the Jin capital, Yanjing, they’ll find Yang Kang (or as Rong Er says, that annoying bastard). Then she gets attacked by the two white condors who deliver a message of distress from Hua Zheng. Out of all the people who accompanied her, only two people survived, and her older brother (#3) is seriously injured. The Jin emperor still has her brother #4, Tuolei and another friend.

There is much jealousy in Huang Rong’s system. Guo Jing, of course, is really concerned for his friends and shouts at her for wanting to hide such an important message from him – but he’s not really angry at her, he’s just anxious. However, we know that she really dislikes being yelled at, so her temper gets fired up. She says a lot of mean things to Guo Jing, who knows better than to take her seriously.

Guo Jing returns to their hotel and rides off, not even seeing Huang Rong on the side of the road, waiting for him. Ahh, young love.

The Jin emperor is about to reward the renewed father and son for their part in the day’s events – and brother #3 object, there being a lot of jealousy in this show. First he brings up the issue of assassination, for which Wanyan Kang really was framed, and then he brings up the fact that he’s not actually a descendant of the Jin empire, which both father and son deny, with some interesting play-acting.

Aha! Plot progression – Wanyan Honglie is given permission to go off after the Wumu Yishu (oh so masterful book that contains all sorts of military goodies that guarantee success).

Of course, Wanyan Kang’s return to princely status means that Ouyang Ke gets less free rein to do as he likes with Wanyan Honglie’s authority. The two are starting to butt heads already. For the moment, Wanyan Kang is playing both sides of the game, and he lets the Mongolian prisoners go on a pretext that guarantees the Mongolians will attack the Song dynasty.

Meanwhile, Huang Rong searches furiously for Guo Jing. She spots Wanyan Kang working with Ouyang Ke and only grits her teeth – her boyfriend is more important. Aha, she finds him at a roadside eatery.

Then she tells him about Yang Kang becoming a member of the Jin dynasty again… and since I’m not sure if Yang Kang is evil yet, I can only say that to all appearances, he’s not trying to kill Guo Jing. However, as there is an audience (mainly a very smart Ouyang Ke), he has no option but to fight sincerely.

When the two rescued people tell him that Yang Kang actually tried to help him, Guo Jing gets it and feels really bad.

The four people split – Tuolei and the general to find Hua Zheng and brother #3, and the two lovers to solve the problem of Yang Kang.

The next day, Guo Jing finds a message from Tuolei that says Hua Zheng has died. Huang Rong tries to cheer him up, but to no avail. Then someone has the wisdom to remark that her friend needs to cry more than he does to laugh.

Huang Rong run out and bitchslaps him into oblivion, then has a near nervous breakdown when she tells him that she’s actually been wishing Hua Zheng dead and now she feels super guilty for being so bad. Guo Jing forgives her, because he understands her unique brand of selfishness, but also because he knows she didn’t mean to curse her.

(Not to puncture any balloons of happiness or anything, but there’s 30 episodes left to this show. What do you bet that Hua Zheng lives on to create more romantic tension for the two?)

To make themselves feel better, they go boating on a really large lake. Huang Rong is reminded of her life on Peach Blossom Island, surrounded by the ocean, and sings a song her father composed. Surprisingly, an old fisherman continues singing the second part song after she’s done the first.

The fisherman is in fact a really rich landowner person. They go into egghead mode and talk about poems and art, which fly right over Guo Jing’s head. The old man, Lu Chen Feng, invites them to stay at his mansion in the middle of the lake, and they accept.

As if happens, Huang Rong sees a calligraphic work of his and evaluates it honestly at his request. Her frankness reveal faults in his writing but Lu is alright with that, and smiles at finally finding someone who can read his thoughts through his writing. Then Huang Rong notices something odd in the Yin-Yang signs on the wall.

Episode 20

At night, Huang Rong and Guo Jing are warned not to go outside the doors. Guo Jing surmises that it’s because the mansion is constructed so that it’s easy to get lost in, but Huang Rong has other ideas.

Ouyang Ke and Wanyan Kang are on a Jin ship, and if I’m not mistaken, bound for the same place in the lake. Mu Nianci attacks with the intention to kill Wanyan Kang, but is tied up instead. Ouyang Ke tests him by telling Mu Nianci that Yang Kang intends to avenge himself – to which Yang Kang can only react by being a baddie.

He leaves, and Ouyang Ke follows. Verbal sparring ensues.

Then they get attacked by tons of people with fire arrows – the boat lights on fire, it’s the middle of the night, panicking happens, people jump ship. But oh, Mu Nianci is still in the boat, and Yang Kang braves the flames to rescue her. He tosses her to Ouyang Ke (and relative safety) and then offers himself prisoner when it looks like the two might get captured. Oof.

In the morning, Lu and his people question him, but he only insults them. Then he manages to provoke Lu’s son into a match. Yang Kang does win, but when he uses the claws, the owner of the mansion comes and knocks him aside, and imprisons him.

Mu Nianci and Ouyang Ke make it to safety, but she resolutely walks away from him and ends up a rather sinister wild bamboo forest.

Guo Jing tries to free him at night, and they have a manly heart-to-heart. Uh-oh, he’s gone off road already – he tries to get Guo Jing to teach him the Dragon Subduing Palms. Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

He goes back to his room with Huang Rong, and mopes about the (supposed) change in himself. Huang Rong concludes that Yang Kang was a sly baddie to begin with and ends the matter there. (I heartily concur)

Mei Chaofeng comes out of nowhere and starts to kill snakes, which gives away Ouyang Ke. Mu Nianci can only stare at all these snakes running around – and then she’s immobilized by Ouyang Ke, who gives her a poison antidote. (But he leaves her to stand still in the forest with snakes all over her. Riiiiiight.)

He demands the Jiuying Zhengjing, but Mei Chaofeng refuses to give it up, the actual contents of the book being written on her dead husband’s skin.

Just as Ouyang Ke ties up Mei Chaofeng in snakes, some random masked guy comes and calls a flock of birds with his flute, and releases her. Mei Chaofeng can tell that it’s her old master, and bows down.

The next day, Qiu Qianren (the famed iron palm guy who can also float on water) comes for a visit, and he displays his skills by taking a huge iron tank full of water in one hand and waltzing across the water, barely skimming the surface with his feet. (See, we had people walking on water much earlier than Mr. Jesus of Nazareth 😀 ). He’s very full of himself and boasts enough to annoy Huang Rong (which, if you’re smart, you will never do).

Master Qiu promises to take care of Mei Chaofeng for everyone, then retires to practice his kung fu. At dinner, his boasting manages to offend everyone – as he goes on to insult every high master of kung fu there is. Guo Jing fumes at his dismissal of Qigong, while Huang Rong rankles at her dad being called useless (unbeknownst to her, Lu is also annoyed).

Qiu reveals himself when he asks for Yang Kang to be released…

And then, because things never happen singly, Guo Jing’s six masters arrive. Huang Rong rolls her eyes but whatever, as they’re here, she has to put up with their abuse, quite wittily, as it appears.

Anyway, Qiu tries to persuade them to ally themselves with the Jin forces, but then Huang Rong and Guo Jing’s 2nd master (who have bonded over shared brainpower, lol) reveal his tricks one by one and force him to leave, tail tucked neatly between his legs.

That night, Mei Chaofeng really visits, and talker that she is, Huang Rong manages to convince both Lu and Mei to stop fighting each other. Not surprisingly, she has correctly guessed that Lu is also a disciple of her father’s who has been exiled. She promises to get her dad to readmit them to Peach Blossom Island. Tall order, but they don’t look like they’re going to attack.

Funnily enough, Mr. Huang is just on the roof, watching everything below. Voyeur.

End episode.

Commentary/Rambling:

– A lot of people have complained that this version neglects Guo Jing and Huang Rong in favour of a torturous love story around Mu Nianci and Yang Kang. I think, given what we have, that they’re just trying to make the story more interesting, but as most of us are more interested in Guo Jing and Huang Rong (knowing that eventually Yang Kang will turn into an enormous ass), it just seems as though there’s never enough of them.

– And is anyone else getting a vibe that Ouyang Ke likes Mu Nianci? I mean, there’s the obvious attraction to Huang Rong, but apparently anyone with a pulse is supposed to find her alluring and pretty. On the other hand, there’s his face of frustration whenever he looks at Nianci, and he’s super nice to her, all the time.

– It seriously looks like Lu Chen Feng and his son are the same age.

– Hot people count: up one to include Tuolei. (If you’re into thick lips, I guess.)

Sevenses