Episode 1 recap: Meng San Xi, having lost all his internal energy, heads towards Mu Yun City.
Meng San Xi, once a renowned martial artist in the martial world, overnight loses his martial skills and becomes a destitute individual. Meng San Xi (played by Xie Xing Yang) seeks medical advice from Doctor Hu to diagnose his condition. After examining his pulse, Doctor Hu has both good and bad news to deliver, but in reality, they are about the same thing—Meng San Xi has lost his martial skills. In order to understand the reason behind it, Doctor Hu asks Meng San Xi to recount his experiences.
Meng San Xi begins by talking about his background, explaining that he was an orphan who was taken in and adopted by his master's sect. At this point, the physician reminds Meng San Xi that he charges by the hour. Only then does Meng San Xi mention that he grew up in the sect and one day confronted his master for constantly going down the mountain to visit a widow and spending the night there. The master, unable to conceal his actions, reluctantly admits to it but claims it was because of love. Meng San Xi then accuses his master of peeping at a senior sister while she was bathing. Enraged, the master asks Meng San Xi how he could possibly know that it was the senior sister bathing. Meng San Xi reveals that he heated the water for the senior sister and forcefully deflects the blame back onto his master. The master, feeling humiliated, angrily gives Meng San Xi an ultimatum: either apologize and face three years of seclusion or leave the mountain.
Meng San Xi stubbornly refuses to apologize, but as his master mercilessly drives him away, he quickly apologizes, hoping to have the period of seclusion reduced to six months. However, it is too late, and his master unceremoniously expels him. His fellow disciples express their desire to leave as well, but they were caught peeping at the master while he was bathing and couldn't succeed in their attempt. They envy Meng San Xi for being the first to leave the mountain, but when Meng San Xi departs, they show no signs of nostalgia and instead seem to mock him as a fool.
Meng San Xi goes to a restaurant to eat but realizes he has no money to pay the bill. He had hoped that his fellow disciples, seeing him leave the mountain, would give him some money, but it turns out that everyone is poor, and there is not a single coin in his bundle. Bei Xiao Hai happens to be in the same restaurant and, seeing Meng San Xi's predicament, offers to pay for him. However, even after combining their money, they are still two coins short. They laugh hysterically to cover up their embarrassment, but the restaurant owner doesn't buy it and tells them to wash dishes instead. From that moment on, Meng San Xi and Bei Xiao Hai become friends.
Bei Xiao Hai was framed, and Meng San Xi sought revenge on his behalf by challenging several prestigious martial arts sects. This drew the ire of the major sects, but after defeating a skilled master in a one-on-one battle, Meng San Xi gained fame. He then began working for the local government, buying information on wanted criminals in the black market and apprehending them, resulting in a reward of ten thousand silver taels. Meng San Xi became a well-known figure in both the underworld and the righteous path. However, one day he discovered that he had lost all his martial arts skills, just as someone seeking revenge found him. The assailant believed that Meng San Xi would not kill, so they came on behalf of their elder brother. Meng San Xi intimidated the person, declaring that he would start killing from that day onwards, and offered to compensate them with silver, thus resolving the matter.
Meng San Xi was riding on a carriage, bored, traveling through the streets when a member of a sect intercepted him, seeking to regain face for his defeated master. Meng San Xi was forced to engage him in a duel, but realizing he had no internal energy left, he pretended to regret his actions from years ago, shedding tears to deceive the person and ensure his own safety. Just as Meng San Xi narrowly escaped, he encountered a thief attempting to steal his silver tickets. To preserve his life, Meng San Xi simply let the thief take away a hundred taels of silver. It turned out that Meng San Xi could only dodge five moves at full capacity and needed five hours of rest to recover, leaving him wary of offending a thief who didn't recognize him, lest he be killed to keep the secret.
Doctor Hu believed that Meng San Xi suffered from blocked meridians and needed to find a martial arts pill in the martial world to resolve the issue. However, the pills he listed were difficult to obtain due to their distant locations. The only remaining pill that could cure Meng San Xi was in the Liu family of Mu Yun City. Meng San Xi immediately decided to go to Mu Yun City. As the sounds of pursuers chasing Meng San Xi reached the medicine shop, Doctor Hu kindly instructed Meng San Xi to leave through the back door, providing cover for him. He also returned a portion of the medical fees to Meng San Xi, ensuring he had enough money to continue his escape.
A man sprinted forward and noticed two signs along the road to Mu Yun City. Eager to arrive quickly, he chose the path that read "Mu Yun City is just ahead." Little did he know that it led to a cliff. After jumping down, he used a rope to suspend himself at the bottom of the cliff. A woman was fleeing from her wedding when she saw someone at the edge of the cliff. Disregarding the danger, she threw a rock to use as a foothold and used its momentum to hide herself at the cliff's bottom. When Meng San Xi arrived, he saw a crowd gathered at the top of the cliff. Knowing that someone was pursuing him, he tied a red cloth into a rope and utilized the strength of those above to conceal himself within the depths of the cliff.
Comments(Episode 1)