Mr. Jin has taken them out for a nice lunch! His sidekick is grumbling about how hard he had to work to find this restaurant, heh. But like all Cdrama heroines, Hua Rong is allllll about food. (yeah, me too.) All that lunch lacks is caramelized haws! So off Mr. Jin goes. But he is interrupted in his purchases by a beggar…who also steals his jade. Oh! One of CS’s guys? Yep. Blue Bro examines it, finds it of little interest, and instructs Beggar Boy to be chased and give back the jade again. It’s CS’s explicit command.
The chase evidently takes a while, because by nightfall HR, Yue Feng, and Hui haven’t caught up with them yet. But it looks like CS has, because HR is having flowers and candy pressed into her hands by strangers, and a random old lady starts telling her how she is destined for good man. OH LOL IT’S BLUE BRO PAYING THEM.
And, yes, CS has caught up with them. And the whole party, pirate bros and all, aresauntering vaguely down the street. Everybody except HR is looking sheepish, lol.
So CS challenges HR to a random riddle contest. HR thinks she’s winning…but he keeps on smirking, so….
So HR writes the answers to the riddles, and altogether, the answer words form a phrase, but the phrase isn’t translated by the subtitles, so why HR ends up losing her temper is lost on me, unfortunately. It’s either a dirty joke or a suggestive phrase.
Nevertheless, CS has arranged fireworks. But…he’s closed the street to everyone else. HR is outraged at the high-handedness. What’s worse, Jin arrives at this point. And then his sidekick spots Beggar Boy in the back row. OK, I’m starting to feel sorry for CS at this point. Also, CS is starting to be honestly jealous, not to mention honestly angry.
ALSO! Shaggy announces that they’ve found out where the Black Dragon Gang resides, so he has a good reason to go marching off. In slow motion. At the head of a group of armed, handsome young men with fancy costumes and swords. Mmmmhmmmm.
So HR and company are wandering about, while Mr. Jin excuses himself.
And then Hua Rong’s brother pops up! She’s been gone for so long–and he’s there to take her home! It’s cause for panic even worse than having CS show up, because Hua Rong BOOKS IT. Lol. Leaving Mr. Jin to fend off Brother Dearest for an hour–which he does by shoving Sidekick at him, lol. And then she makes a fast escape with the help of Shaggy Bro.
LOOOOOOL. “Hold him for an hour” is being taken very, very literally by sidekick. Heh, Mr. Jin assumes that this is another one of HR’s suitors, and scolds him for chasing after her when she doesn’t want to go. Unfortunately, at this point the police show up, and Brother Dearest yells for help.
So. Shaggy Bro has been detailed to guard Hua Rong. Because Chang Sheng is a gentleman, really. But he’s about to let it slip what’s going on, because Shaggy Bro is kind of a complete doofus.
Chang Sheng is about to take revenge on the Black Dragons for attempting to murder Hua Rong. And revenge is taken. CS gets to look very cool in a small fight scene. But! It Hui knows that the Black Dragon stronghold has lots of hidden traps and is rigged to self-destruct if necessary. Chang Sheng must be warned! And off they go.
Well, that was fast. They go off to disarm the bombs while the fighting is still going on. But it will take a while!
Well, actually, looks like the fighting is over. CS is interrogating the ranking surviving Black Dragon. But! he manages to pull the cord. Hua Rong instinctively runs to Chang Sheng, who instinctively shields her with his body! Heh, Blue Bro and Shaggy Bro are hugging each other, too. Fortunately, YF has disarmed it by this point.
CS takes the opportunity to gloat a bit to HR–that’s an evergreen sentence–but she declares she was Doing The Right Thing (Only!) He replies that pirates don’t do the right thing but they do pay their debts. So….how about he repays her with his body, amiriiiiiiiight?
Hua Rong investigates. There were some slave women in the cells below, but they’ve been recently taken away. There are five women; they are going to be sold in a couple of days. Heroine Hua Hua is ready to take action! But! the Black Dragon Gang is full of skilled combatants and she’s gonna need help. Lol: CS wants her to call him “beloved husband” as the price of helping him. She hollers “DREAM ON!” in his ear, lol.
But it does look like Hua Rong is going to need some kind of help, because Mr. Jin is missing. Also, the auction is being held on a boat. You know, having someone whose specialty is boats and combat might help….especially since Mr. Jin and sidekick are in jail, lol. Nevertheless, HR lays her plans–with consultation from her favorite youxia hero — LOL they set up a shrine and are praying to him. (Chang Sheng, walking in, sees it and asks who died, ha).
But at nightfall, Hua Rong and Yue Fang are all dressed up in ninja gear and set off to rescue the women. They leave Hui behind. They approach the boat without interference….because the sentries are either asleep or dead. A mysterious and handsome hero is there on board already! Wearing a very small mask! So the sentries on board the ship are already knocked out, and the lock is already broken! HR and YF are natively smart enough to suspect a trap, but there are still people to be rescued. But evil approaches! Hua Rong heroically sets out to hold off the attackers while YF and the girls escape!
Commence the Loony Tunes….except that she gets caught by the Black Dragon master guy and winged by a dagger. He’s about to finish her off, too, when the Mysterious Handsome Hero (TM) intervenes! Black Dragon guy is overmatched and locked into the hold! Hua Rong is smitten!
So Hui and Yue Fang give the rescued girls money and new clothes to travel with–that’s a nice touch. Handsome Hero (Fake Yun He), meanwhile, is striking Hua Rong as somewhat…strangely familiar….nevertheless, she’s still smitten enough to ask for a souveneir since they won’t meet again. Lol. He gives her a bell, and with some prodding, promises that he’ll be able to come to her when she’s in danger.
Lol, Hua Rong is OVER THE MOON about the whole experience to the point that her sidekicks are getting worried. Heh, “I have no idea if her hand is hurt or her brain.”
Meanwhile, Handsome Mysterious Hero has gone back to interrogate the Black Dragon guy: were you the one who killed the Pirate King and stole half of his map eight years ago?–yes, turns out it was. But he’s not about to admit to whomever is behind him, and makes a high dive escape inot the ocean. Chang Sheng (can we admit it at this point that it’s him?) watches him go without pursuing.
Back at wherever she is, Hua is still giggling and playing with the bell. And, on cue, Handsome Mysterious Chang Sheng floats back over the wall. She reaches for his mask–
FADE OUT.
Rated: I’m torn between wanting her to take the mask off right away and not wanting to spoil the fun.
Riders of Skaith 