The Vendetta of An 长安二十四计 - Discussion - Episode 22
The Vendetta of An 长安二十四计 - Discussion - Episode 22
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 🩸22 only🩸 please use spoiler tags for express episodes or previews, thank you!🗡🔥
Links to all discussions at bottom of post
Discussion Schedule: Posts will follow the Youku regular VIP schedule.
12/24 Ep 23
12/25 Ep 24 hosted discussion + Express Package 25-28 automod discussion space
hosted discussions and recaps will continue to follow whatever the Youku schedule is for eps 25-28, specific release dates not announced yet
Host Notes:
This post is going up before noon my time, I think the next two will as well. Sorry again for the time of day chaos but I figure earlier is always better if possible.
🔥🗡🩸🔥🗡🩸🔥🗡🩸
... Previously on The Vendetta of An ...
[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: years are approximate +/- 1yr | no new updates, see post 21
Rogue's Gallery:
👑In Charge: King of Tiemo/Wu Zhongheng
❕At Large: Qingyi
❌Dead: Pu Nichuan, Liu Ziyan, Wei Qianting, Yan Fengshan
EPISODE 22
[RECAP]
Opening scene: Unclear to me when this takes place. Zhu Zhilong remembers his conversation with King of Tiemo at Yang Chuhao's home. I don't know how fast he can travel back and forth to Cangshui River? Also, started having some logistical questions about Cangshui River... is it near an ocean or just a very big lake? If its the ocean it seems like this cave would be at risk of flooding?
Anyway, Zhu Zhilong is lying on a rock on the beach outside Cangshui River. Inside he visits his children's memorial tablets, changing out the offerings, and noticing someone left polished rice for them. He tells them how prosperous things are in Chang'an, how there is even this good rice available in the winter.
Just want to shout how Zhu Zhilong's actor here, Cheng Taishen. I saw him play a grieving father in Beneath the Undertow earlier this year and am appreciating seeing this other version of a man driven by despair. Since his reveal as a Tiemo agent he has gotten to do a lot more with his face than when he was just in 'shifu who saves the day' mode. All the acting in this show remains outstanding.
Shifu's Secret: We open back on Ye Zheng and Zhu Zhilong's stare down in the street. Ye Zheng asks,
"Shifu, if you mean to kill me, at least me die knowing why."
The coldness in both their stares is chilling. Zhu Zhilong very calmly and almost in a whisper tells him that Tiemo has entered the city and that he is Tiemo. We see the full weight of all the implications hit Ye Zheng. Zhu Zhilong says that Huai'an is missing and so they will be keeping Ye Zheng and Shen Xiaoqing under close watch, using them as bait.
Su Changlin arrives with Shen Xiaoqing on the horse, tells Ye Zheng to take her back to the clinic to save her. Seeing his junior sister in this state, Ye Zheng turns and shouts at his master, why does it have to be this way?
"For the great cause of Tiemo, the lives of a child or two taken are not much."
We can see how the decades of despair have warped Zhu Zhilong's logic here. The loss of his two children has not led him to a desire to create a world where no child of any nation could ever starve again, instead he is committed to one where certain children's lives matter more than others.
Ye Zheng takes Shen Xiaoqing back to the clinic, telling her he will heal her. He says he will kill Su Changlin for her but doesn't respond when she asks if he plans to kill their master as well.
A Tense Nap: We cut to Bai Wan's courtyard and then into a storeroom where Huai'an is curled up, sleeping on some sacks of grain. I think about his dream again where he is a child sleeping in the snow. The music is very tense and ominous as the camera zooms in on him. He wakes up, disoriented, slowly taking in his surroundings.
Chen Zhiying arrives outside the door to tell us and Huai'an what happened. He collapsed near Gu Yu's grave and so Huben brought him here, he's been asleep for 4 days, locked in this store room. I was surprised to hear Huben had got a doctor to examine him, seems Chen Zhiying is keeping her promise for now to not kill him. She tells him the doctor said he was uninjured, he collapsed from exhaustion.
Huai'an immediately starts talking to her about the bigger picture. He says since its been 4 days, news of Gu Yu's death must have reached the north by now and has potentially demoralized his army. Huai'an's eyes water as he speaks.
He asks for more updates and Chen Zhiying tells him that Tiemo troops breached the North Office, which is I think the cut we saw in ep 21 of a messenger and then soldiers riding through a burning town. He asks if his friends are alive,
"If they are alive, then there is hope."
Deposed Emperor Meets the King: Xiao Wenjing is brought before the King of Tiemo who is reading in his stolen courtyard. Xiao Wenjing takes a minute to recognize him as his former tutor. We find out that even the snake in the desk prank referenced by Huai'an in episode 3 was a Tiemo backed scheme and that made me laugh. Everything is a scheme in this show! Trust no one.
The King tells Wenjing he doesn't want to kill him and that he was friends with his father back in the day. He gives a bit of vague backstory, saying he traveled around this kingdom building a reputation over 20 years ago and eventually befriended all the most important dudes: Liu Ziwen, Yan Fengshan, Cen Weizong and the first emperor Xiao. He says his work at the Academy let him see the best and brightests of Chang'an over the years, including Xie Huai'an, Xiao Wuyang, and Gu Yu. It occurs to me Gu Yu must have had his own revelation about Wu Zhongheng's identity that we didn't get to see. He doesn't include Wenjing on this list, instead calling him "the most timid of them all" and laughs.
Xiao Wenjing does not tell him about his brief stint as an axe murderer.
The King praises him though, saying timidity can lead to a long life if it keeps you off the front lines. In his attempts to manipulate Xiao Wenjing he reminds him how he has been used by others, how he is just a pawn to everyone, including Huai'an.
Does he want a puppet emperor for Tiemo to control? What exactly is their plan here?
When Xiao Wenjing stands up for Huai'an, saying he is more human than the King or Yan Fengshan. The King responds,
"He truly has a kindness that serves him little."
The enemy of my enemy: Still in the store room, Huai'an tells Chen Zhiying about the Xiao Wenjing face off scheme and about Tiemo's decades long infiltration. Before agreeing to let him out of the store room, Chen Zhiying reminds him of her desire for vengeance against Yan Fengshan. She asks him if he knows where he is and of course he does, this is his sister's home and we get a few quick flashbacks of Liu Li. Chen Zhiying says to her this is where her master lived and died. This is where again I wish we just knew even one additional human detail about her besides her loyalty to Yan Fengshan, the weight of her loss compared to Huai'an's just does not compare. She does say something interesting though,
"Perhaps people like us are fated to choose in the midst of chaos between vengeance and a duty to the realm."
He reminds her that he already told her she could kill him later, she doesn't have to choose. She lets him out and Huai'an says he wants to walk around, he needs to think of their next move. We get a flashback of dying Yan Fengshan telling him to see the sights of Chang'an. Chen Zhiying brings him a basin to wash up.
In the market, Huai'an and Chen Zhiying walk slowly followed by a few Huben soldiers. He pauses and does a little cough before turning into a restaurant which made me think he was up to a Li Lianhua scheme to sneak away somehow but it seems like he truly just wanted to sit down for a minute to think... and have another grief hallucination, this time of Gu Yu.
I will be honest with you, the OST song they paired this scene with didn't really work for me. I like the song on its own but it seemed jarring here. But then again, what Huai'an is going through is also jarring and they use a blurring effect around him to highlight how he is in a different state at this moment. Maybe the effect of the song was just a me thing or maybe it was intentional. The song seems like it would be the background to a a battle scene and Gu Yu is in his full armor in the vision. Maybe I'm talking myself into it working for me. Let me know what you think.
Vision Gu Yu says:
"Huai'an, an army my fall to its last man. But Chang'an must not fall."
Reminded of Gu Yu's sacrifice, Huai'an gives the Baiwenhu token he took from him and entrusts it to Chen Zhiying. He has no one else to trust and she seems to take this temporary trust and their larger mission seriously.
Huai'an tells her once she goes north his plan is to go to the King of Tiemo and offer to help him kill Xiao Wuyang in exchange for his friends lives. Chen Zhiying is once again unsettled by Huai'an's words and behavior. He says Xiao Wuyang is the only person Tiemo fears now that Yan Fengshan is dead.
Huai'an shocking his enemies moment #1
A brief trip home: Before parting ways Chen Zhiying escorts Huai'an to an abandoned courtyard. It took me a minute to realize this was the Liu family home. Huai'an makes himself tea and drinks it in the courtyard. He has a vision of his father. Once again the background blurs a bit around them. He has a conversation with Vision Liu Ziwen:
"Father, I failed to protect my sister."
"No one walks away unscathed after facing Yan Fengshan. You guarded her all these years and did everything you could. In the end, you even avenged her. Do not be so hard on yourself.
Seeing my son so weak and worn breaks my heart. A father always aches for his child. Since you came to Chang'an, you have already lost too much."
His father also repeatedly mentions 'taking the red ribbon down' and I wasn't sure if this was about the red paper pennant/kite that is hanging in the tree in the courtyard or had a more metaphorical meaning.
This vision version of his father seems at odds with the real man's dying words, that Huai'an must keep both him and his sister alive.
Spicy Noodles: The King of Tiemo is reading again, this time at shop revealed to be the one run by Lao Sha where Huai'an threatened Yang Chuhao. Lao Sha remembers his favorite dish of chili oil noodles. Su Changlin brings an update on the status of Huai'an's friends.
The King asks Su Changlin if he regrets killing Yang Chuhao and Su Changlin affirms that he has only ever served one master, Tiemo. The King gives a quick status update and confirms Huai'an's hypothesis from earlier, the only remaining threat to Tiemo's plans is Xiao Wuyang. If he dies, then Chang'an will fall.
Unlike the other shopkeepers it seems like Lao Sha is not Tiemo, but instead just a man who knows how to survive Chang'ans frequent regime changes.
They talk about Cen Weizong, who the King refers to with a nickname the subtitles translate as "Cen Pickles." Sha denies knowing where he is but the King asks him to pass a message anyway, that he was returned to Chang'an and that he hopes they are still friends.
After the King leaves, Su Changlin asks for some backstory on "Cen Pickles." Lao Sha confirms the King's earlier statement to Xiao Wenjing that he was friends with all of the important men in town including Cen Weizong. But he adds that Yan Fengshan, younger than the rest of them, was seen as "just an inexperienced young man."
Su Changlin thinks this is promising, if that "inexperienced young man" could rise so far...how high might he go? Lao Sha tells him he that he is "not human" and reminds him he knows he murdered Yang Chuhao. Su Changlin seems, for a very brief moment, genuinely disappointed in Sha's opinion of him.
A Visit to the King: In Yang Chuhao's courtyard, the King continues his library takeover and is airing out a bunch of books and scrolls on racks and railings. His undercover identity seems to have been built upon genuine scholarly habits. He spots Huai'an, sitting at a table, perusing some of his books. Huai'an continues to surprise his enemies with his behavior and actions.
Huai'an shocking his enemies moment #2
The King asks him if he remembers the flashback from last ep where child Huai'an told him when he grew up he would kill all his enemies in times of chaos. Of course Huai'an remembers.
The King asks if he is there to kill him and Huai'an tells him he is there to bargain for his friends' lives. The King knows some other scheme must be afoot but isn't worried,
"You killed Yan Fengshan with strategy because you understood him.
White Hair, as for me, how well do you understand me?"
[NOTES]
The OST track that plays during Huai'an's vision of Gu Yu is Burning Moon (焚月) sun by Wen Jun Hui.
Thank you u/jssoul12 for linking the full OST in yesterday's comments as well.
📜Schemes and Secrets: Ye Zheng and Shen Xiaoqing under watch by Tiemo, Tiemo King giving snake to Xiao Wenjing, Huai'an giving Chen Zhiying the token, Huai'an going to meet with King
[REFLECTIONS]
This ep got most of our characters up to speed on recent events and revelations. We don't know what Xiao Wuyang knows or doesn't but presumably he was suspect of Zhu Zhilong and that is why he escaped from Cangshui River.
Cen Weizong keeps being mentioned, we must be about to meet him. I wonder what important secrets or information he has been holding on to and whose side he will be on.
Huai'an continues to unsettle his enemeies and Su Changlin continues to unsettle me. I think Su Changlin has an arrogance about him that is going to be his downfall though.
Looking forward to hearing what you all thought about this one!
Episode 23 watchers, sorry these posts are behind y'all. Please be extra careful about character living or dying spoilers. Thank you!
🔥🗡🩸🔥🗡🩸🔥🗡🩸🔥🗡
Links to Discussion Posts:
Index | Masterpost (Eps 1-3) | Eps 4-5 | Eps 6-7 | Eps 8-9 | Eps 10-11 | Eps 12-13 | Eps 14-15 | Eps 16-17 | Eps 18-19 | Ep 20 | Ep 21
Other useful links: Airing Schedule | DramaWiki | MDL| Weibo | OST info
Posted Dec 23, 2025, 6:55 PM UTC