Tang Fan’s meals are interrupted repeatedly while he is asked to solve crime, but then told not to solve crime after a Marquis’ son is found dead in a brothel.
Sui Zhou returns from arresting nice chef and family man Jia Kui to solve the disappearance of the Prince’s hired bestie and finds his investigation leading him to local foodie Tang Fan as their cases merge.
Wang Zhi makes a man kill himself for upsetting his Noble Consort Crush and then displays questionable work ethic regarding interrogation of prisoners.
Spoilers NOT Welcome: (I’m posting these to help myself keep track of where I am, not so people can spoil things for me please and thanks.)
Episodes 11 & 12
The Ladies of Ghost sect question WKX’s life choices, but he’s not super interested in introspection.
Chengling tries his hand at being the protagonist, but finds himself in over his head, and ends up rescued by his chaos dads who were moping about their break up in the right places at the right time.
And also WKX tortured some answers out of a guy.
The Ladies of the Scorpion Assassins commit war crimes against an actual child, and the Scorpion kind is upset to discover the World’s Best Assassin and the Ghost King are dating now.
Just in time for rescue dads ZZS and WKX to remember they’ve broken up. And also swap some tragic backstories around a campfire, because multitasking.
Grumpy man Gao decides he should do something about his missing nephew, if only because Chengling still hasn’t coughed up the Glazed Armor his father gave him ten episodes ago, so he tries questioning Gu Xiang.
Which goes well for GX, until Surprise bride, Gao Xiaolian keeps talking more than she needs to and circles them right back around into suspicion.
Luckily for all, Cao Weining is more than willing to put his reputation on the line and lie in court as Gu Xiang’s alibi.
ZZS and WKX return their precious disaster child to his Grumpy Uncle before anything can get more awkward, and Chengling decides to take after his newly official master, and perform medicine without a license but cutting the Glazed Armor out of his life.
And his body.
From the wound where his father had hidden it ten episodes ago.
With the fresh reminder from their child, ZZS and WKX decide to get back together.
Spoilers NOT Welcome: (I’m posting these to help myself keep track of where I am, not so people can spoil things for me please and thanks.)
Episodes 03 & 04
Our beautiful dumbasses leave their temple hideout after dawn, and begin making their way to one of Cinnamon Roll’s “uncles” at one of the neighboring sects.
Meanwhile, several important characters show up to the burned down Mirror Lake Sect to figure out what to do next.
The Old couple dressed like watermelons throws shade and plot some usurping.
Wen Kexing ups his stalking, and tries to show off his wealth and prove he can provide for a not-at-all-interested Zhou Zishu.
Their fun and games come to a dramatic pause when they’re attacked by the Beggar Sect who are here for the Cinnamon Roll, and won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.
WKX has a ball perving on his future husband while ZZS proves the Beggar Sect aren’t on his level, and Cinnamon Roll Chengling is chased around a table by a Beggar Sect warrior, until the nails that are slowly killing ZZS, decide to remind us all that they’re still there, and ZZS has to retreat from his dance battle, leaving WKX alone.
With no witnesses.
And a lot of people who are about to be super dead.
Later, after WKX washes the blood off, has Gu Xiang acquire a boat, and catches up to his crush and their child, a member of the Four Assassins make a play, but the Phantom Musician is run off by ZZS blowing WKX’s flute.
Mr & Mrs Watermelon attack on old guy who’s guarding two discount Gusu Lan disciples and their (wiped out) sect’s piece of the Glazed Armor, so Old Man sends one of his kids to ask for help, and the child arrives at the home of Great Warrior Zhao just after the Main Characters finally make it to “uncle Zhao’s” place.
Spoilers NOT Welcome: (I’m posting these to help myself keep track of where I am, not so people can spoil things for me please and thanks.)
Episodes 01 & 02
Some time after an unfortunate massacre near a cliff of Inciting Incident, two princes vying for power learn of a pseudo-prophecy and attempt to locate a man with a "Qilin Talent" who's favour could secure them the throne.
In Langya, (Main Character) Mei Changsu, the mysterious Qilin Talent in Question, has his own goals which lead him to the Capital, accompanied by his tiny bodyguard (Best Boi) Fei Liu.
He joins up with some old friends, Yan Yujin and Xiao Jingrui, who are down with a little bit of deception in the name of justice, and arrives at the same time as the Duchess Mu Nihuang, who is about to have a tournament (against her will) to find a husband.
Duchess's bestie, Executive Officer Xia Dong has to leave the city just as Prince Jing returns. (which is probably for the best since they haven't spoken in ten years since Xia Dong's husband was murdered.)
The princes discover Main Character Mei Changsu is in the city, and make their play for his favour.
Meanwhile, grand-dowager proves she's the World's Best Grandma despite apparent dementia, and she still ships Main Character with Duchess, even though he's undercover as Not Himself.
Also Some Peasants sneak into the Capital, because reasons?
Spoilers NOT Welcome: (I’m posting these to help myself keep track of where I am, not so people can spoil things for me please and thanks.)
Episodes 05 & 06
Everybody who's anybody, and a few who're nobodies, leave uncle zhao's to go check on oldman Ao and his kids, only to find another 'uncle' has arrived first and chased away Mr and Mrs Watermelon.
The Uncles catch up, and despite ZZS's desire to just get out of there, WKX would like to be paid, or at least praised, so the couple end up attending the most peacock themed thank you party ever, which keeps them in the mansion for the most convoluted break in plan.
Chengling gets a scare, and his chaos dads decide to go investigating.
Which ends with them getting high in a funeral home and fighting the backup dancers from Thriller.
ZZS and WKX get into a splash fight that features not only the single greatest example of underwater effects in the history of cinema, but also washes of ZZS's fake tan and charcoal beard, leading to a bad case of heart eyes for WKX.
Meanwhile, the uncles of Cinnamon Roll discover they've lost their McGuffin piece, and oldman Ao has taken up a new career as a wall hanging.
Alluring Ghost gets some screen time, as does the pipa player: Scorpion King
GX talks WKX into letting her keep her new girlfriends with bribery of his favourite food: product placement nuts... and also the promised distribution of a stash of replica McGuffin pieces for a plan to throw off the scent involving the McGuffin piece WKX recently stole. (from the guy who stole it from the guy who stole it from uncle zhao? maybe?)"
Spoilers NOT Welcome: (I’m posting these to help myself keep track of where I am, not so people can spoil things for me please and thanks.)
Episodes 09 & 10
Best Girl GX Continues her spy shenanigans amidst Yueyang Sect, using dates with her new devotee as a cover. She finally mages to make contact with Cinnamon Roll Chengling, who has been have the Worst Time in his new sect.
Like, not as bad as the time his own sect was brutally murdered in one night, but his new brother disciples are a bunch of jerks and they hit him for no reason and make fun of him, and GX is totally going to break some legs if Chengling just agrees to name names!
Meanwhile, WKX and ZZS’s relationship reaches new heights.
Specifically, the height of the roof of their hotel from which they watch the moon and drink wine.
Until their date is interrupted by the city wide game of Capture the Flag every idiot with a sword is playing with the innumerable pieces of fake Glazed Armor WKX had spread about.
ZZS disapproves of WKX’s ‘prank’ and breaks up with him.
WKX refuses to accept he did anything wrong, until the deadly prank gets ZZS’s favorite band of polyamorous geriatric forest hermits killed.
ZZS tries to get WKX to see reason, but WKX is having a case of the feels and lashes out, cementing the duo’s breakup and driving them both into mopey bouts of alcoholism to dope.
Commander Han, former minion (who thinks he has a shot now that ZZS is single again) manages to get ZZS into bed to sleep it off (and nothing else) before he gives himself liver failure, but can’t convince ZZS to become wandering soulmates with him.
WKX on the other hand, decides he’s just going to be crazy evil, and returns to the Ghost Sect as their supreme overlord to encourage more shenanigans to show up the hypocritical Five Lakes Alliance... as soon as he’s finished killing his minion’s minion for... maybe? being responsible for getting the Favoured Band in the line of fire?
Or something.
WKX doesn’t really need an excuse, he’s crazy evil now, he swears!
Spoilers NOT Welcome: (I’m posting these to help myself keep track of where I am, not so people can spoil things for me please and thanks.)
Episodes 07 & 08
While Chengling and his new (somewhat sus) Uncles arrive at Yueyang to meet up with their grumpy Eldest Sworn Brother, the remaining Top Ghosts of Ghost Sect get together to watch a Groom Death Match.
The Main Cast converge in an restaurant, but Chengling can only recognise ZZS's build, not his freshly washed face, so he misses out on the team reunion. Meanwhile GX gets into a brawl upstairs.
WKX gets grumpy when ZZS's does some sort of covert double talk he doesn't understand with one of the waiters, and then gets super grumpy when ZZS point's out GX is having a date.
WKX continues to drink vinegar when ZZS is nice to GX's date, so he has GX run the boy off. She take the chance and uses him to sneak into Yueyang sect as an invited guest.
Which turns out to be a good thing as she overhears stuff which gives ZZS and WKX just enough time to head out to the Monument of the Five Lakes Alliance and rescue Chengling from ZZS's former minions... by wearing see-through veils and kidnapping ZZS's former minion, who turns out to still simp for ZZS and is more than happy to offload some exposition.
WKX drinks some more vinegar, then gives himself a treat by dragging ZZS on a date and spending ZZS's money because his own had been deliberately stolen as part of a plan involving the replica Glazed Armor pieces.
They finish their date off by going to a show, but when a women turns out to be ten heads in a box, they decide they'd better go check in with 'Uncle' Zhao.
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(*Drink Vinegar - meaning to be jealous or experience jealousy. Wen Kexing does not ingest any actual vinegar in this episode.)
