Autistic Goblin

Jin Xia gets scared so she runs back the way she came.. only to have a man jump out in front of her making funny faces (not really scary, but startling). Jin Xia screams, then pulls out her gun as she demands for the man to identify himself. The man tells her that she’s rude for pointing the gun at him.

The man walks past her to the table, with a chain trailing along behind him. Jin Xia asks again for his identity and she also wants to know why this room is the way it is. The man tells her that if she’s going to ask so many questions, could she at last ask them one at a time (Fair point). He also tells her to put the gun down.

Jin Xia puts her gun away the says that she didn’t mean to be an intruder in his space and then asks forgiveness for any offence she may have committed. The man says that based on Jin Xia’s appearance, she doesn’t appear to be one of “them” so who is she and why did she come there?

Jin Xia says that she came to Longdan Village from another city. Jin Xia tells him that her two friends are missing and that she had heard they were thrown down the well. Jin Xia asks if he’s seen her friends but the man laughs and says no. Jin Xia doesn’t understand as when she yelled down the well, she clearly heard wailing.

The man laughs again then asks if Jin Xia has heard of the Dragon Imprisonment Well. The man says it comes from the Legendary story of “Yu the Great’s Imprisonment of the Scaled Dragons”. The man says that Yu caught and imprisoned scaled dragons in the well. Yu locked a total of 11 wells. The man then says that if the chain is broken then the dragons will be released, he says that it’s just a legend though.

The man says that the sound Jin Xia heard is what the legend calls the “howl of the dragon”. The man says that in reality it is just the echo of an empty well. Jin Xia realizes her mistake then asks if this well is the same well as the one in the legend.

The man refuses to answer until she tells him how she came to Longdan Village. Jin Xia hesitates at first but then decides that there is no harm in telling the man.

Lu Yi enters the well house and quickly discovers the item that Jin Xia dropped on the floor when she went into the well. He recognizes it as her magnifying glass. Lu Yi without hesitation jumps into well.

Jin Xia asks the man how long he’s been chained in the well. The man says that it hasn’t been long.. maybe a year. Jin Xia then asks how she should address him but he counters by asking what he looks like. Jin Xia laughs but before she tells him, Jin Xia makes him promise not to get angry with her if she answers his question.

The man says that he can’t promise that because he would need to know what she was going to say first before he could decide how he feels about it. Jin Xia tells him that he looks like a beggar. When he gets mad she reminds him that he wanted her to tell him.

The man says that her words are harsh but he understands. He tells Jin Xia that she can call him Uncle Beggar. Jin Xia laughs then asks for his real name. Uncle Beggar refuses to tell her as he had just told her to call him Uncle Beggar. Jin Xia decides to let the matter drop, then asks who locked him up there.

Uncle Beggar says that he was locked up by the Japanese pirates. Jin Xia wonders why they would do that. Uncle Beggar says he was locked up because he has talent and they want him to do something for them. Jin Xia laughs because Uncle Beggar looks to be worse off money wise than her. She says that the Japanese pirates like to kill and rob so what could they possibly want with Uncle Beggar?

Uncle Beggar says that he might not be rich but that doesn’t make him stupid. Uncle Beggar says that the Japanese pirates want him for his brain. Jin Xia is still acts confused so Uncle Beggar says that the pirates want to know how to grow Gentian flowers. Jin Xia asks if he’s responsible for growing the flowers on the mountain.

Uncle Beggar gets offended saying he doesn’t grow just any Gentian flowers, he grows a special batch known as the Blue Jade Flowers. Jin Xia asks what the pirates want the flowers for but Uncle Beggar says that he doesn’t know. Jin Xia comes at it another way by saying that Uncle Beggar’s accent sounds like he spent time in the capital.

Uncle Beggar says that Jin Xia must have great ears. Uncle Beggar says that in terms of seniority the commander of the Embroidered Uniformed Guards, Commander Lu Ting (Lu Yi’s father) is his nephew. Jin Xia says that it’s interesting information. Jin Xia then tells Uncle Beggar that she needs tools in order to free him from his chain and she doesn’t have any with her.

Uncle Beggar thanks her for her kindness but if he could escape, he would have done so long ago. Uncle Beggar then warns Jin Xia that the route she took to get there is the same one that the Japanese pirates use to bring necessities to him, so she had better hurry and leave. Jin Xia promises to come back and free him but Uncle Beggar says it’s enough that they could chat, and that she wants to free him. Uncle Beggar pretends to go to sleep but once Jin Xia’s back is turned, he watches her leave the room.

Let’s go back to the other couple still tied up on the ship. Shangguan Xi says that the gang probably doesn’t even know that they are trapped right now, so reinforcements won’t be coming for quite awhile. Meanwhile Yang Yue has been using his time to do something productive… like untie the knots. Now that his hand is free, he can untie the rest of the knots, freeing them from the ropes.

Apparently this is something that Jin Xia forced him to learn, little did he know that it would come in handy so soon. The guards hear a noise so they go into the room to investigate. The two knock out the guards and begin their escape.

Jin Xia is wandering in the tunnels as she thinks to herself about how Sir Lu having a grandfather in such dire straits. She’s still looking for the other two but can’t help thinking that if she saves Uncle Beggar then Sir Lu will owe her a huge favour. (I don’t believe Uncle Beggar is related to Sir Lu.. he could’ve been lying).

Jin Xia goes past the skeleton again but doesn’t like how it seems to stare at her so Jin Xia uses her boot to turn the skull to face a different direction. She apologizes to the skeleton a lot for doing so.

Jin Xia gets back to the first tunnel entrance only to find that the stone tablets have moved and are now blocking her way back. She has no choice but to search for an alternative route. After wandering around a bit, Jin Xia finds that she has gone around in a circle. She decides to examine the stone, then realizes that the craftsmanship must be thousands of years old.

Jin Xia is annoyed at having gone around in circles, there are also many traps set up. She wonders who could have set such a trap. That’s when the Japanese pirates show up. Jin Xia pulls out her gun but the pirates hide behind the stone tablets so she can’t get a shot off. Jin Xia realizes that the tunnel is a big maze. She also remembers that Sir Lu told her that the Japanese pirates have an invisibility skill.

The Japanese pirates attack her again, this time she manages to get a few shots off but it doesn’t look like she hit anything. Jin Xia is outnumbered so she beats a hasty retreat back through the maze.

Back on the ship Yang Yue tells Shangguan Xi to wait behind some shipping crates for a moment. Yang Yue disappears.. and a fire breaks out on the ship. When Yang Yue returns, Shangguan Xi seems impressed with all of his tricks. Yang Yue admits that this is something else he’s learned from Jin Xia.

Back in the maze, Jin Xia leads the pirates on a merry chase through the labyrinth. (Benny Hill style, or Scooby Doo.. take your pick). Eventually she gets tired so she begs them to stop chasing her. The pirates have to lift their mask in order to breathe.. she’s tired them out too!

The pause is short lived though as the pirates decide to attack her again, Jin Xia raises her gun to shoot.. but she needs to reload (count your shots so you know how many bullets you have left.. jeez). Luckily she is saved by Lu Yi, he decided to run on top of the maze instead of on the paths so he appears from above.

Lu Yi jumps down into the maze to retrieve his sword which he threw to protect Jin Xia. Jin Xia wonders what he’s doing down there, which prompts to ask what does she think he’s doing down there? Lu Yi then scolds her for being so reckless and causing him a lot of trouble. Jin Xia apologizes, then explains why she did what she did.

After she’s done explaining how she ended up in the well, Jin Xia wonders how Lu Yi knew where she was. Lu Yi pulls out her magnifying glass. Jin Xia figures out that it must have dropped when she went into the well and that Lu Yi jumped into the well to save her.

Jin Xia thanks him promising to repay his kindness in her next life. Lu Yi says that she shouldn’t wait and just repay him in this life. Jin Xia is surprised as she thought that he would just accept thanks for doing a good deed. Lu Yi says that saving her life isn’t a trivial thing.. Jin Xia then changes the subject pointing out that when she entered the well the tablets were in a different position.

Jin Xia says that she found a trap, then followed it until she found a cell with an old man in it. Jin Xia tells Lu Yi that when she came back the stone tablets were as they are now. Jin Xia says that no matter where she walked after that, she couldn’t get out of the maze. Jin Xia then asks Lu Yi if he wants to know the identity of the man that is locked up by the pirates.

Lu Yi says that if she wants to tell him then she would, if not, it doesn’t matter to him. Jin Xia teases Lu Yi saying that he would never guess it on his own. Jin Xia decides to tell Lu Yi that she found his grandfather but Lu Yi just looks confused. That’s when Lu Yi tells her that his grandfather has been dead for over 20 years. Jin Xia then clarifies that the man claims to be a distant relation but Lu Yi doesn’t believe it.

Yang Yue and Shangguan Xi used the fire on the ship as a distraction, then escaped into the forest. The two pause for a moment in the forest. Shangguan Xi tells Yang Yue to stop staring at her but it doesn’t hold any heat behind the words. Yang Yue agrees then looks elsewhere but it doesn’t take long before his eyes look back at her. He tries to pull his eyes away again to honour her wishes, Shangguan Xi laughs then calls him a fool.

Shangguan Xi looks uncomfortable after that so Yang Yue asks her about it. It turns out that she doesn’t like the dark and at home leaves a lantern on until dawn. Yang Yue tells her to wait a moment, then catches some fireflies for her, telling her that there is light now. It’s clear that Shangguan Xi is starting to warm up to him.

Jin Xia brings Lu Yi to meet Uncle Beggar. She asks Uncle Beggar if he knows Lu Yi but of course the answer is no. Jin Xia then introduces Lu Yi as the son of Commander Lu Ting of the Embroidered Uniformed Guards. Uncle Beggar claims Lu Yi is his grand nephew but Lu Yi says that he can’t just claim a familial relationship with someone he doesn’t know. Lu Yi demands proof that they are related.

Uncle Beggar acts very offended but that doesn’t sway Lu Yi from his demand of verification. Uncle Beggar admits that it should be verified so he tells Lu Yi that they met when he was a small boy. He also says that Lu Yi’s courtesy name is Wen Yuan and that he has a mole on his arm. Uncle Beggar says that Lu Yi is a true Embroidered Uniform Guard always be cautious with anything they do.

Uncle Beggar says that Lu Yi resembles his ruthless father in that way. When Lu Yi doesn’t take offence at Lu Ting being called ruthless.. Uncle Beggar wonders about it. Lu Yi says that it’s because Uncle Beggar is telling the truth about his father being ruthless. However Lu Yi still refuses to call the man Grandfather. Uncle Beggar suggests that Lu Yi call him Uncle instead.

Uncle Beggar then says that Lu Yi doesn’t appear very manly, then says that Lu Yi should look more like him to be considered manly. (As if!) Lu Yi changes the subject by asking why the Japanese pirates have locked up Uncle Beggar. Uncle Beggar says that it’s because the pirates know that he studied medicine with a medical family. The pirate leader knows that Uncle Beggar knows all kinds of herbs and wants him to cultivate the Blue Jade flowers.

Lu Yi asks if the pirate leader is Japanese. The answer is no, the man’s accent sounds like he’s from Jiangsu or Zhejiang. Uncle Beggar says that the Japanese pirates along the coast are of mixed ethnic groups and many of them are Han Chinese. Lu Yi asks if there is anything special about the Blue Jade flower but Uncle Beggar refuses to tell them until he has been freed of his chain. Lu Yi has no choice but to use his sword to break the lock.

Uncle Beggar then leads them to a part of the cave that could double as an apothecary with all the herbs. Uncle Beggar warns them to be carful as many of the plants are poisonous such as the Heart Break Glass plant. When Jin Xia looks fearful of the plants, Uncle Beggar reminds her that if used with good intentions these toxic plants can be used to heal people. Uncle Beggar uses these plants as fertilizer for the Blue Jade flowers.

Jin Xia asks why the flowers are being grown in glazed jars. Uncle Beggar says that the blue Gentian flowers aren’t like other flowers and need to be grown in a pure environment. Jin Xia reaches out to touch one of the blue flowers only to have Uncle Beggar yell at her not to touch them as it will destroy the flower’s growth. Jin Xia says that the flowers are too delicate if the mere touch of one destroys it.

Uncle Beggar also points out that it’s poisonous which gets Jin Xia to back away from the plant. Lu Yi says the he suspects the flowers have something to do with the infected men. Uncle Beggar doesn’t bother to deny it, he just nods his head. Jin Xia can’t believe that Uncle Beggar is developing a poison for the Japanese pirates.

Uncle Beggar says that originally the flowers weren’t poisonous but after cultivating the flowers with this fertilizer blend the flowers had turned blue. The Japanese pirates are after the very thing that makes the flowers turn blue. Lu Yi asks what the element does so Uncle Beggar tells them that it’s a hallucinogenic toxin that paralyzes the brain. It makes people lose their minds and act crazy.

Jin Xia simplifies it by saying that a person exposed to it becomes like the infected villagers. Lu Yi wonders how the Japanese pirates even knew that the flowers could do that. Jin Xia suspects that it was Uncle Beggar. Uncle Beggar admits it’s because of him but that I was an accident.

In a flashback we see the Japanese pirates burst into Uncle Beggar’s residence. The leader says that Uncle Beggar was hard to find but rumour says that he’s the best poison master there is. The pirate leader proposed a deal but Uncle Beggar said that he was only countryside doctor and that he doesn’t make deals.

A fight broke out between Uncle Beggar and the pirates. During the fight, Uncle Beggar splashed one of the pirates with the water from one of the Blue Jade flowers, turning him into the first infected person. More fighting happened and eventually the pirate leader slit the infected pirate’s throat. The pirate leader demanded to know what was in the bottle but Uncle Beggar refused to tell him. That’s how Uncle Beggar ended up in the well.

It turns out that the Japanese pirates want to use the extract from the flowers to make more infected, then release those already infected as the “source” of the infection. They want it to be contagious. Lu Yi points out that it’s not contagious yet. It turns out that Uncle Beggar secretly altered the formula so it wouldn’t be contagious.

The villagers that Swindler Lan saw being taken away were just the latest ones that the Japanese pirates were experimenting on. The threat to the world is similar to an outbreak of Zombies, so Uncle Beggar says that they must destroy everything related to the Blue Jade flowers. Before Uncle Beggar can destroy anything, the group is attacked by the pirates again. After a quick fight, they manage to capture one of the pirates alive seeing that pirate has that familiar badge.

Lu Yi starts the interrogation but the pirate refuses to answer any questions. Lu Yi then stabs the pirate in the leg and starts to twist his sword. The pirate finally says that the badge is a Funayurei (vengeful sea ghost). Jin Xia doesn’t know what those are so the pirate tells her it’s a creature in Japanese legends. Their leader carved it to make the pirates act more like those in the legend and dominate the area.

Lu Yi asks if the man’s leader is Mao Haifeng. The pirate admits that Lu Yi correct. Lu Yi asks if Mao Haifeng also came to Yangzhou, the pirate says he doesn’t know. Lu Yi doesn’t believe him so he twists the sword in the guy’s leg again but the answer remains the same.

Lu Yi asks how the pirates got the horses up the mountain. The pirate says that there is another trail deep in the forest, in case they needed it. Jin Xia admires how well thought out their plan was. She insists they go back to tell the villagers the truth. Uncle Beggar tells the other two to go ahead and he’ll destroy the flowers. The two leave and Uncle Beggar sets fire to his little lab. (Would the smoke become toxic?)

Let’s return to Yang Yue and Shangguan Xi. Shangguan Xi is now holding the fireflies that Yang Yue caught for her as they walk through the forest. Yang Yue is concerned given how Dong Qisheng dared to act this time, he might have something more up his sleeve. Shangguan Xi bravely starts that the Wu A Gang is not afraid of the Dong Family Water Fort. (He did just kidnap you though..)

Shangguan Xi says that since Dong Qisheng kidnapped her, there will be consequences. She still seems uncomfortable so Yang Yue asks if she’s still worried about Xie Xiao. Yang Yue says that they’ll keep looking for him once they get back.

Back at the Shi Ancestral Hall, the tribe has come to the Dragon Well. They brought the still unconscious Xie Xiao with them. They are preparing to toss Xie Xiao to the dragon so that they will have good fortune.

Inside the well, the trio come back to the stone tablets which have moved again allowing access to the chamber right underneath the well. It’s a good thing because a moment later Xie Xiao gets tossed into the well. Lu Yi saves him from becoming a squish mark, but being kicked finally wakes Xie Xiao up. Xie Xiao is very confused, when Jin Xia asks if he’s okay.. he says that he has a headache and that his butt hurts (Lu Yi kicked him in the butt).

Jin Xia says that Xie Xiao should thank Lu Yi for saving him or else he would’ve died. She also scolds him for not being aware that something was wrong and drinking the drugged wine. The tribe after throwing Xie Xiao down the well has sealed it. Xie Xiao can’t believe that he was thrown down a well so he says he must be lucky. Jin Xia says it wasn’t luck, just Lu Yi saving his oblivious ass.

Xie Xiao does an insincere thanks to Lu Yi then has the gall to complain when Lu Yi ignores him. (Really dude? You’re the jerk!) Jin Xia says that they must figure out a way to get out of the well. Xie Xiao says that they should just climb up the iron chains. This earns him a smack from Uncle Beggar (THANK YOU!) as he curses Xie Xiao for being so oblivious that he didn’t even notice the well was sealed now.

Jin Xia says that the Japanese pirates go in and out of there all the time so there must be a secret entrance somewhere. Xie Xiao confidently says that he’ll find it but he’s being a bit reckless so Uncle Beggar warns to be careful as there are many traps set up.

Up top the Chief sadly tells his wife that another person has been killed. He wonders if he should take Great Master Lan’s advice and leave the village and infected villagers behind.

Back inside the well, Jin Xia says that other than the dragon head sculpture that is a switch to the door leading to the cell, all the other ones seem to be normal. Lu Yi says that the ancients liked to carve all sorts of things like ideas and stories. He says that if you look at the stone tablet from left to right they tell a story.

Jin Xia remembers Uncle Beggar telling her that this well was called the Dragon Imprisonment Well. According to the legend, Yu the Great captured scaled dragons and sealed them in wells. She also remembers that there were 11 dragons in total and that if the chain broke then the dragons would be free.

Lu Yi starts thinking then asks Xie Xiao which sea is nearest to Yangzhou the answer is the East Sea. Lu Yi then asks how far it is from Yangzhou. Xie Xiao says that it’s 201km (125 miles). Jin Xia asks if Lu Yi has figured out something. Lu Yi says that the murals are half relief and half incised representing Yin and Yang. Lu Yi then draws their attention to the floor they are standing on. Jin Xia exclaims that it’s the TaiJitu (Yin & Yang symbol)

In simple terms it’s an ancient mechanism that was used to control water flow. The dragons that were locked up refer to floods. At one point the mountain must have had too much water flowing down, so the mechanism was designed to divert the water safely back into the sea. The water flow moves the stone tablets around.

Jin Xia laughs saying that it’s the sea that’s playing games with them. Xie Xiao doubts it because the mountain is so far from the sea.

Roll those end credits! That’s the end of Under The Power: Episode 18!