The Vendetta of An 长安二十四计 - Discussion - Episodes 12-13
The Vendetta of An 长安二十四计 - Discussion - Episodes 12-13
Welcome to the episode discussions for The Vendetta of An! Join us as we walk down the long road to revenge...
🔥🗡This post is for episodes 🩸12 and 13 only🩸please use spoiler tags for express episodes or previews, thank you!🗡🔥
Discussion Schedule: Posts will follow the Youku regular VIP schedule. Posts will go up in late afternoon/evening Pacific Time (16-18ish hrs after they go up on Youku).
📅Youku Airing Sched: 2 eps/day through 12/19. 1 ep/per day on 12/20 and 12/21. After that not announced yet.
Links to all discussions at bottom of post
Host Notes:
I wish I was able to get these up a bit earlier for you all, I know I was dying to talk about it as soon as I finished watching today! But with the combination of my current life/work schedule and how dense these eps are that is unlikely while we are still at 2x/day, might change when we go down to 1x/day.
... Previously on The Vendetta of An ...
Fun fact: The Huben Army in this show seems inspired by, at least in name, a real imperial armed force. The Hǔbēn or Tiger Warriors/Guards were active throughout history in Chang'an and its predecessor cities. Founded in the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 – 771 BC), it seems the purpose and characteristics of the guards changed over different centuries and dynasties but generally was an elite force closely connected to the emperor.
(source: Wikipedia (Chinese), accessed using Safari browser translation)
[DETAILS REFERENCE CORNER]
Character Flashcards: linked post contains character name card pics from all currently recapped episodes, the show has not provided one for every character. Spoiler Note : if you are watching slower than release, sort comments by 'old' on the Flashcard post to avoid later eps.
Timeline: no new info these eps, see post for 6-7 for timeline.
Rogue's Gallery Update: Yan Fengshan is here and has taken over the imperial city within Chang'an
❌Dead: Pu Nichuan, Liu Ziyan, Wei Qianting
❗Captured: Qingyi
❓Whereabouts unknown: Hooded Figure
EPISODE 12
what a pair of eps we have got today
[RECAP]
Opening Flashback: On screen text tells it we seeing events from one day ago. Huai'an and Han Ziling are going through the trash from Zuihua tower. Huai'an is asking Han Ziling to repeat the scene of Gu Yu being dragged by the neck through the street into the tower. He realizes there should be bandages and medicine in the Zuihua trash for Gu Yu's neck wound but there aren't. They must be holding Gu Yu elsewhere. The dramatic Zuihuia scene was just a cover. They go through the trash and find the bandages and medicine in another building's waste, now they know where Gu Yu is being held.
Still in the flashback we cut to Gu Yu in his room, he is pretending to acquiesce to his captivity and lures the attendant over to him. He stabs her with the carving knife (I think, unless he had a 2nd blade, I couldn't quite tell). Perfect timing because Wumei arrives second later to get him out there.
Han Ziling, Gu Yu and Huai'an reunite. Gu Yu calls Huai'an 'White Hair' but Huai'an says there is no time to reminisce, they need to get Gu Yu out. But Gu Yu wants revenge for his murdered soldiers and convinces Huai'an to let him get it.
Gu Yu on this horse looking cool AF: Obsessed with this whole long sequence, the bow & arrow choreography, seeing Wang Pu genuinely scared, Gu Yu all in white while everything else is dark or muted colors. Everything about it.
Gu Yu is an incredible archer, nearly hitting Wang Pu several times before Wang Pu finally retreats. We see Wang Pu has no qualms about using his own men as human shields, he truly is a piece of shit. Sorry not sorry for my language.
Quick cut to Cheng Yi smirking as Huai'an tells Han Ziling that Wang Pu is finding out right now that Gu Yu is free.
Nearby in the market, Baiwehnhu forces have laid an additional ambush for Huben and take a bunch of them out with the help of smoke bombs.
Gu Yu all in white and the only one on horseback (side note Baiwenhu smuggled a horse into this neighborhood? Or they stole it? is it his horse, did his horse come to rescue him too?), he charges through the city taking out all of Wang Pu's men until Wang Pu is alone and scrambling to hide. Gu Yu has a lot of trick shots, shooting at seemingly impossible angles and with terrifying accuracy (he's maxed out his archery skill tree).
In the end Wang Pu does get away, though just barely. He rejoins with some Huben forces and they discover the results of the Baiwenhu ambush in the market: a pile of corpses left in retaliation. (The show gives a flashback in case you forgot the first horrible time).
Wang Pu praises Gu Yu and quickly puts the clues together to realize that the trash collector and 'Wang Xing' are the culprits and that Wang Xing must really be Xie Huai'an. He also realizes Aunt Xin must have lied to him. He orders his men to lockdown this area of the district and also to go her Aunt Xin's alley, but not to try and fight her.
Narrow Escape (Part 1): Baiwhenhu soldiers come to get Huai'an and Han Ziling to escort them out of the district. They run into the lockdown and Huai'an realizes Wang Pu must still be alive. He tells the soliders to prioritize getting Gu Yu out and asks one of them to lie and say Huai'an and Han Ziling already did. They part ways and Huai'an and Han Ziling end up back at Di Lu's house, taking refuge in his cellar.
When they buried his body I thought they were in his yard, I didn't see the ceiling of the room. But now we now they actually had buried him in his wine cellar.
We cut to Gu Yu, Wumei, and their soldiers who have made it out of Hidden Soldier Alley. After a quick tactical discussion, Gu Yu sends one of his men with his jade token to the palace to get the left and right cavalry to join them. They need to surround Huben forces entirely. He also wants Han Zhiling and Huai'an "captured alive," he knew they had made his man lie to him about getting out safely already.
"I know Huai'an's tricks all too well. He always says these sentimental things, letting others take the oath to life, while he walks away to the dead end himself."
(what self sacrificial thing did child Huai'an do for Gu Yu?? I assume we will find out, but I'm so curious)
Gu Yu then says he is going to meet with the 4 commanders. Wumei asks him if he wants to change out of his blood stained robes.
"No need. If you want people to bow their heads, clean clothes won't do it. What matters is whether our blade is hard enough."
GU YU!!!!!! I'm so into him in this ep.
Narrow Escape (Part 2): In Di Lu's cellar, Huai'an reveals he had come back a few days after they buried him and discovered his body was missing. Han Ziling reveals he cremated Di Lu in accordance with his wishes "even in death, he wanted to die in a wine jar."
Han Ziling asks how many more men Huai'an plans to kill.
"I don't know. Maybe one....maybe many."
Ziling seems concerned that Huai'an is confident he can kill Yan Fengshan. Huai'an reveals that if Yan Fengshan uses his forged travel pass, he will be tailed and led into an ambush.
Villain 101: Cut to the paper workshop, Wang Pu and his men are searching through all the documents. Wang Pu finds one (a copy of the travel pass maybe?) and his face changes with dawning horror. He asks his men if the travel passes were already sent out, they were. Furious, he starts to have a but of a crash out about this realization and we get our first 'villain saying the protagonists name with emphasis' moment of the show.
XIE...HUAI... AN!!
Narrow Escape (Part 3): In the cellar, Han Ziling is seeming to feel hopeless about their situation. Huai'an resolutely disagrees, there is always another way to survive. There is a back window out of the cellar/yard and Han Ziling offers to go out the front as a diversion so Huai'an can escape. Huai'an says he will be the diversion, he's not worried, he always saves himself. (I can really feel the weight of Huai'an's life experiences in this moment).
Han Ziling says no, Huai'an needs to survive (I think about how his memories and dream of his father saying the same thing). Just like how Huai'an needed Gu Yu to get out of the area safely because he is the only one who can do what needs to be done, Huai'an too is essential, argues Han Ziling. Only Huai'an can bring down Huben. Han Ziling is willing to be another name on the list of those to avenge by killing Yan Fengshan.
Huai'an is deeply upset by this but stops arguing, saying only, "wait one more moment." But Han Ziling doesn't, he walks up the cellar stairs and his final words to Huai'an are:
"Don't cry Huai'an, when the day comes that you succeed, pour me a cup of victory wine."
An OST song (Chang'an Moon (长安月) by Liu Yu) with on screen lyrics starts playing so you know we are in for an emotional time as Han Ziling exits Di Lu's courtyard and shouts to get the attention of Huben forces. He starts running.
Huai'an waits a moment then leaves the cellar, walking quickly through the streets to make his own escape. He makes to a wall of the district and climbs up to it.
Han Ziling ends up surrounded by Wang Pu and his men. Wang Pu asks him his name and he says tells him, adding that the 'ling' is for 'soaring ambition.'
Wang Pu stabs him in the heart.
[NOTES]
RIP Han Ziling 💔
📜Schemes and Secrets: more trash clues, Gu Yu killing the Huben attendant, rescue of Gu Yu, Gu Yu revenge plan, second ambush in the market, Huai'an lie to Gu Yu, Gu Yu rallying forces, travel passes ambush set up,
EPISODE 13
get your tissues out, hydrate, okay, let's do it...
[RECAP]
Opening Scene: A veiled figure rides a white horse up a hillside. They are all in white with a black veil over their hat. Stopping on the road, they pause for a moment and look towards a city in the distance. Great aesthetics. Devastating to revisit.
Still obsessed with Gu Yu's whole deal: Gu Yu meets with the 4 military commanders and intimidates them into handing over their military seals. Last ep we saw his archery and now we see more of his skills, he is so intense in these scene and it absolutely ruled. I could describe in detail but there's too many details this ep, sorry Gu Yu.
A change in the wind: We get some establishing shots of movement and place setting: Wang Xing's wife and daughter at their stall, making dumplings. Zhu Zhilong and Shen Xiaoqing on a balcony, overlooking the street. The Emperor picking up his sword and exiting his palace. A carriage being driven down the street... we see Xiao Wenjing driving the carriage, Ye Zheng and Huai'an are inside.
Huai'an is in a flowy blue robe, a contrast to the dark straight lines of his Wang Xing disguise. The curtains in the carriage are also blue. There's a lot of pale blues and greys in this ep and a lot of wind/breezes as well. Overall the cinematography is conveying an airiness which I found really interesting.
Ye Zheng and Huai'an update about the plan, Yan Fengshan has been confirmed as on his way to the city. Troops are in place for the ambush.
Huai'an closes his eyes for a moment, listening to the rain.
"The rain sounds different." he says, Ye Zheng kind of chuckles at him, suggests he is just tired. Huai'an concedes, he's been waiting for this moment for so long.
The airy feeling continues as Huai'an gets out of the carriage, a gentle wind wind playing at his robes and blowing strands of hair in his face as he comes to see the Emperor and Gu Yu. They are set up on a street and we have a large amount of the main cast in one place, Ye Zheng and Xiao Wenjing taking up places next to Wumei.
Gu Yu says the identity of the person carrying the forged travel pass was confirmed (remember how it has a physical description on it) and the person is wearing all white with a bamboo hat covered in a black veil. Nearby there are watchtowers who will signal once Yan Fengshan is spotted in the city.
Huai'an regards the watchtower thoughtfully.
We see the figure veiled figure on the white horse enter the city and I immediately got STRESSED. It seemed too easy. And I suddenly had a flashback of my own to some of the trailers for this show. NOOOOOOO
As the figure in white walks through the street, we see the hidden soldiers preparing for the signal, drawing their weapons from hiding places. The signal flag goes up and they attack, striking the person repeatedly until they are dead.
A messenger runs to tell the Emperor the good news, he is carrying a red umbrella.
When Huai'an sees the umbrella, his face falls. The messenger says the soldiers are still confirming the identity of the person they killed and that the umbrella was on their horse.
Brief flashback confirming we've seen this umbrella before - Huai'an gave it to Bai Wan in episode 2.
Huai'an takes off running. Gu Yu's face falls as well as he watches him.
Huai'an reaches Bai Wan and kneels down, cradling her in his arms.
Let's take a break to do some crying
Laid to rest: They've laid Bai Wan's body out in her home. Wumei and Gu Yu have come back with Xiao Wenjing and Ye Zheng, they are on the porch looking in as Huai'an stands over his sister. He is very still in the way you are when something devastating has happened and you just...can't. Wumei gently takes a hand kerchief from his hand and begins to dab the blood of off Bai Wan's face. We don't know many facts about Wumei other than her sword skills but this little gesture speaks volumes.
A messenger arrives and hands something to Gu Yu, a list of names of the people involved in the ambush scheme (ie list of potential people who betrayed them). Huai'an comes over and they discuss how Bai Wan must have been swapped out for Yan Fengshan sometime after his identity was confirmed at the checkpost, meaning their forces had long been infilitrated by Huben members. The signal officers on the watchtowers must have also been in on it. Huai'an sasy its easy to find out the names of these men but the key to it all is Hidden Soldier Alley.
Another messenger arrives and says Hidden Soldier Alley has been entirely emptied out. All residents of the district, thousands of people, have simply disappeared. One of many times this ep I said WTF out loud, that is crazy.
Gu Yu and Huai'an guess that Yan Fengshan will immediately go after the Emperor. Gu Yu says he needs to go to the Emperor he and Huai'an share a moment of farewell, there is clearly a lot of depth of feeling between these two that is going unspoken.
Gu Yu says "If I die, I owe you one life for Hidden Soldier Alley. I will repay it in the next life."
Huai'an replies, "With Yan Fengshan back, I am prepared to lose Chang'an, but I have never prepared for Chang'an to lose Gu Yu. You cannot die."
Gu Yu rides his horse through the streets and then we cut to the Emperor's carriage and company of soldiers marching elsewhere in the city.
Another Ambush: Hidden Huben soldiers ambush the Emperor. They emerege from the ground and above, jumping down from watchtowers and rooftops. Some use grappling hooks to latch onto the carriage and zipline down to the ground. Huben soldiers armed with giant spears stab at the carriage, destroying it. It's empty.
A man with a long sword takes several of them down, it's the Emperor.
He hacks and slashes through Huben. The fight choreography continues to be excellent. At one point th Emperor leaps up onto the broken carriage and fights some men up there, but he is eventually knocked down and ends up surrounded. There is a close up of his extremely bloody sword and he reenters the fray as we fade out of the scene.
Reunions and Partings: Back at Bai Wan's house, Huai'an tells Ye Zheng and Xiao Wenjing the city will be chaos within 2 hours and they need to leave.
Huai'an is still clearly in his own grief space at the same time as he is with them, Cheng Yi is really doing an excellent and devastating job in these scenes. Huai'an says,
"I never told her the truth. I owed her too much. At the very least, I should see her off as family. ....
What happened to her matters deeply to me."
Xiao Wenjing says it matters to them too. Ye Zheng promises to protect Wenjing. As they say good bye, Xiao Wenjing leaves Huai'an his axe for protection and Ye Zheng advises him to wear a hat to hide his identifiable hair. Huai'an gives Xiao Wenjing the letter from Han Ziling and promises them both he has no intention of dying or taking on Yan Fengshan alone, he will meet up with them again.
A breeze is blowing through Bai Wan's home, rustling the silk sheet that covers her.
Huai'an enters the room an kneels down, uncovering her. Her white robes are stained red with her blood.
I'm so sorry to tell you that next he tells her it was his fault as he starts sobbing 💔😭 The english subs give it as "It was my fault" but of the dozen or so Mandarin words I have picked up from watching cdramas, I know he refers to himself as 'gege' here and that hurts worse actually 😭
He tends to her body, touching her gently and saying what sounds like a prayer or a poem. He notices something grasped tightly in her left hand, torn scraps of red paper...
Flashback: Bai Wan is riding on a rural road and comes upon a cottage. A kid playing in the road splashes mud on her and then runs to get his mother just in side the yard. She apologizes to Bai Wan and offers her some clean clothes, clean white clothes.
She also offers Bai Wan a meal, and having been travelling for a while, Bai Wan gratefully accepts a warm bowl of noodles. They talk about family, the woman tells her her husband is a ferryman in Nanwei Trough who doesn't get to visit very often, and when he does its a long day and nights walk to get there. Bai Wan says,
"Some spend their whole lives walking just to make it home."
She also says "to be missed by family, is a blessing" which makes the woman remember something, a similar phrase she heard in one of her husband's stories. It was about a companion of his in Nanwei Trough, a young man who come there with his sister.... We see Bai Wan putting the missing pieces of her life story together.
here my notes say: crying some more what the fuck show
Then we see Bai Wan in a temple, she asks the priest for a name slip, and he says usually that is for a newborn child. She explains her family suffered a calamity her youth and she only recently learned her true name. She wants to reclaim it, "Liu Li." The priest writes a blessing for her on a piece of red paper.
Back in the present, Huai'an has reassembled the torn paper and reads her name.
"Liu Li, so you came back to reunite with me?" 😭💔
He digs a grave for her in the yard.
Back to the flashback, we see the ferryman's wife and she gets a namecard: Chen Zhiying of Huben Army. I start having a million questions about the ferryman (aka who I have been calling The Fisherman aka according to DramaWiki his name is Chen Liangyi). THEN we cut to a shed or the back of their house or something and see the man himself is tied up, a gag in his mouth. I still have a million questions though.
We also cut to the priest in the temple but they don't give us his name...not yet.
now my notes say: noooo Huai'an get out of the grave
Huai'an is hurting my heart by laying in his sister's grave, he has lined it with bedding from her house. I think about his dream where he is lying sleeping in the snow. Why do I even watch TV, this is devastating 😭💔
Cut to Liu Li in her grave and Huai'an remembering her from the rescue flashback (teen Huai'an and child Liu Li). He says, "I thought if I was careful enought, you could lead a safe life." And then bids her farewell,
"Liu Li, when the time comes I will reunited with you and father and mother. The four of us can be together again."
Next we see him wearing a hat as Ye Zheng advised and walking toward a shop, he stands for a bit outside of it. The proprietor invites him in, its a shop for funeral goods. He has a memorial tablet made for Liu Li, beloved sister.
A Man Comes Around: A figure in white robes that match what Liu Li was wearing is walking down the road, face obscured by an umbrella. He knocks on the door to Bai Wan/Liu Li's courtyard and lets himself in. We get a title card confirming what we suspect, this is Yan Fengshan, seen earlier pretending to be the priest in temple.
Behind him Wang Pu and Chen Zhiying arrive and he asks them to buy this courtyard for him, he can "almost see traces of my old friends here." He notices a disturbed area of the ground and crouches down to feel the grass, realizes it's an unmarked grave.
"The Liu family child is buried here, from this day forward, no one is allowed to set foot on this patch of land."
Wang Pu and Chen Zhiying give updates on the status change we've had this ep:
- Huben now controls the imperial city within Chang'an
- 400 men sent to assassinate the Emperor were killed the Xiao Wuyang is missing
- Gu Yu is also missing but 200 of his men died
- Yan Fengshan orders a lockdown of the area to search for the Emperor and Gu Yu.
- All 12 gates of the city are under Huben control
- Xiao Wuyang's army is outside the city, being held at bay the forces of the 4 regional commanders who Yan Fengshan had already ordered to march toward the city
- they will send a message to Tiemo (neighboring kingdom who this kingdom has been at odds with but apparently he is now allied?), to have them hold back the remaining Baiwenhu forces stationed in the north
Next he wonders where White Hair is and a breeze picks up, blowing at the hanging lanterns on the gate which is still open.
We see that Huai'an has been standing just outside the gate, hearing everything, still holding the memorial tablet and other funeral goods he bought.
Sensing something, Yan Fengshan goes out into the street but only sees indents in the gravel where Huai'an had been standing. He looks down the lane and spots him, then walks to follow.
Yan Fengshan calls out to him and they turn, facing each other from some distance, the rain coming down on their umbrellas.
"White Hair.... Do you yield?"
"I will come back. And when I do, I will kill you."
Huai'an lets his umbrella go in the wind and tosses joss paper up into the air as he walks away.
[NOTES]
Where is our emotional support Da Huang when we need her? 😭 Actually, watching a dog be sad too might have really been the end of me.
📜Schemes and Secrets: Huai'an's ambush plan, Bai Wan swapped out, Emperor empty carriage during fight, Bai Wan/Liu Li discovering her identity
[REFLECTIONS]
I need 3-5 business days to recover from these episodes, please hold...
Just kidding, but ooof, today was a roller coaster of emotions. How are you all holding up?
I hope Gu Yu is okay, I am so invested in him now and also want more details on his and Huai'an's prior background. They had to have been kids right?
After 12 episodes of hearing about him, Yan Fengshan has arrived. What are your first impressions?
🔥🗡This post is for episodes 🩸12 and 13 only🩸 please use spoiler tags for episodes or previews of episodes beyond these, thank you! 🗡🔥
Links to Discussion Posts:
Index | Masterpost (Eps 1-3) | Eps 4-5 | Eps 6-7 | Eps 8-9 | Eps 10-11
Other useful links: Airing Schedule | DramaWiki | MDL| Weibo | OST info
Posted Dec 18, 2025, 2:48 AM UTC