The thread is open.
I’m subdividing the episodes according to missions. In the previous “Coroner’s Diary” I opened threads according to the cases the heroine was investigating, but for this series, I’ll open them according to missions the heroine and hero embark on. Each mission presents a story arc.
Eps 1 to 5: The mission at the Yezhou Garrison
For He Yan, her mission was not only to be admitted as a new recruit at the Yezhou Garrison, but also to prove herself to be the most talented recruit there ever was. She felt she had to be the best so she could quickly move up the ranks and become a general once again.
Her mission started as soon as she entered the barracks.
After her expert handling of the runaway horse, the horse trainer praised her, saying that a talent like hers was welcome to join. She didn’t need to pass a physical test (i.e., to disrobe and show her naked body).
Over the course of 5 episodes, she displayed her expertise in various weapons as well as her leadership. By Ep 5, Xiao Jue was declaring to his lead instructor that He Yan was undoubtedly their #1 recruit, and he fully expected her to win the Capture-the-Flag game.
He enumerated her skills:
✅she alone caught on that the purpose of patrolling the mountains was to complete a thorough mapping of the region.
✅she might not have a team with all top martial artists, but her men had bonded after the wolf attack. XJ said that teamwork was preferred to individual heroism.
✅she knew how to harness her team’s strengths and talents and to deploy them.
✅she acquired a good strategy. She knew to “hold the ground,” “stay fresh,” and “strike when the enemy is weak.”
But above all, her teammates trusted her. I personally liked the loyalty they showed when they protected her from an attack. They said, “He Yan trusts us with his back. Naturally, we’ll eliminate all threats.” This showed that they have begun to look up to her as their natural leader.
For XJ on the other hand, his mission in these first few episodes was to rebuild the decimated Xiao army. At the end of the trial period with the new recruits, he knew he had found a “hidden” treasure in He Yan. His only concern was that he couldn’t figure out her reason for joining his troop so he suspected her of being a spy.
Noteworthy: in these first 5 episodes, there was always a flashback to the days when HY and XJ were young students in the academy.
Episode 1. His father handed both of then a sword. In my mind, the swords were a couple sword; they weren’t identical but they matched. His father also expressed a wish that one day, both of two of them would become twin stars of the Wei kingdom, and with their joint forces, they would protect the land and its people.
Episode 2. The flashback showed their first day of school at Xianchang Academy. HY had to explain why she wore a mask and XJ arrived late. He gave her an odd look as he passed by her.
Episode 3. HY was being bullied by her classmates and XJ stepped in to retrieve her book for her. As he returned her book, he called her “short and dumb.” He ordered her to eat more at night.
Episode 4. I assumed that HY had just come back from a sword fight because she was rubbing her arm as if it was sore. She noticed a flask on the windowsill. An anonymous person had left her a healing ointment. Of course, it was XJ.
Episode 5. HY and XJ accidentally bumped into each other in the hallway. She was trying to empty her shoe of loaches, and he was holding a bag of sweets. She noticed that he liked candies.
After Ep 5, the flashbacks ended. Too bad because I liked to see more of their youthful interactions.
I’ll add more highlights later.
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@Packmule3, I won’t be surprised to learn that General Xiao Zhong Wu recognized his son’s classmate and friend as a female in disguise.
Even 20 episodes into the show, I’m not yet clear on He Yan’s timeline: when she entered and left the academy, when she became a disciple of Liu Bu Wang and studied with him, when she became an army recruit and worked her way up the ranks to general. I do know everything she’d achieved despite her father’s oppression was stripped from her when her brother returned to the family, shortly after the Xiao army was defeated and General Xiao Zhong Wu killed in battle. He Yan, blinded by her own family, became a resident at the temple (for the first time since age three, openly female and called by her own name), but I don’t know how long she was there before the second attempt on her life sent her over a cliff to apparent death. I do remember that her master nursed her back to health over the course of a month. She joined the Xiao army as a recruit after leaving her master’s care.
From hints I’ve gotten in 20 episodes of this show, I assume:
–HY and XJ spent time together in youth apart from their regular academy studies, during which time General Zhong Wu personally mentored HY in military matters.
–After HY ran away because a marriage was being arranged for her (as He Rufei), she didn’t see XJ until they encountered each other at the side of his mortally wounded father. Until then, her military career hadn’t intersected with his.
We know that after this meeting in the thick of battle, HY went back to her family and was prevented from speaking on behalf of XJ, his deceased father, and the Xiao army. It was her brother, usurping the role of General Feihong, that XJ had conflict with, and unmasked, in court. During that encounter, XJ does not accuse He Rufei of being a different person altogether, but says He Rufei’s betrayal is out of character for the person he knew.
The meeting at the temple between HY and XJ, while she’s blind and under a veiled hat, did not provide them a moment of recognition; however, I believe that meeting will eventually be seen by both of them as important in the course of their relationship.