![[Recap] Word of Honor – Episode 12](https://www.reactionchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/word-of-honor.png)
Episode 11 ⇦ Word of Honor Recaps ⇨ Episode 13
Note: For the confused people like me, here’s a character guide.
Credit: sixteenthshen@Tumblr
Lake in the forest but away from the Kidnap Camp
Wen Ke Xing stood by the lake. Zhou Zi Shu approached him and gave him his wine bottle. Wen Ke Xing congratulated him for having a new disciple and asked him why he took Cheng Ling as a disciple. Cheng Ling was stupid and too old to practice martial arts from basics. Zhou Zi Shu recalled his master’s teachings. There were only two rare qualities in people: benevolence and courage.
Ancient sages classified people into the types: brave in qi, blood, backbone and spirit. All of the above boiled down to the bravery of teenagers. Qin Huai Zhang promoted the bravery of going on one’s own way. Wen Ke Xing didn’t get this and asked Zhou Zi Shu what he meant. It meant to do something even while knowing it’s impossible and to trust people even though they’re hard to know. Zhou Zi Shu turned to Wen Ke Xing and said for their age, it would be difficult to show their hearts to others. He cannot do this by himself and there was no way he could ask Wen Ke Xing to do so. Hence, he’s going to make the first move.
Wen Ke Xing looked moved but he didn’t say anything. Zhou Zi Shu walked away. Wen Ke Xing tossed the wine bottle back to him and continued standing on the lake.
Chongwu Palace, Outside Ah Xiang’s Room
The next day, Ah Xiang walked back to her bedroom in Chongwu Palace. Her arm still hurt from her fight with Arhat. She vowed to kill Arhat the next time they meet. She found Wei Ning waiting for her and asked her about her arm and whereabouts the night before. Wei Ning was worried about her since the Cheng Ling kidnap fiasco news reached the palace dwellers overnight. Ah Xiang was tired, cranky and defensive. It turned out, the reason Wei Ning knew she wasn’t in her room was when he heard about the assassins, he rushed to her bedroom to check if she was OK.
Obviously, she wasn’t there. She was risking her life protecting Cheng Ling. Ah Xiang punched him in the chest and told him what if he was caught visiting a girl’s bedroom so late. He said he was careful and he certainly knew how important reputation was to girls. Cao Wei Ning guessed she went looking for Cheng Ling and said it was dangerous. He blabbed about it’s the duty of the useless guards and men. She sent him away and said she’ll talk to him later. People would talk if they were seen together so early in the morning. She was low-key touched and smiled after he left. As she was about to enter her room, a bunch of guards told her she was being summoned by Gao Chong.
Lake in the forest but away from the Kidnap Camp
Cheng Ling woke up from his sleep and looked for Wen Ke Xing. Zhou Zi Shu decided they need to go but before that, they needed to remove the piece of Glazed Armor from Cheng Ling’s stomach. It didn’t matter whether they threw it away or destroyed it. It wasn’t a good thing to keep. Cheng Ling was hesitant to throw or destroy the Glazed Armor on his stomach. After all, it was the reason his entire sect died. Heroes Conference was about to start. Cheng Ling wanted to attend to know the origins of the Glazed Armor. Wen Ke Xing told Cheng Ling if he wanted to know the origins of the Glazed Armor, he could tell him. Zhou Zi Shu turned his head towards Wen Ke Xing at this statement, analyzing him as always. Wen Ke Xing knew this the best in the world.
Glazed Armor Origin, a history lesson
Twenty years ago, there was a great master who made a name for himself in the martial arts world. His name was Rong Xuan, the Death Sword. He had a strange theory that all martial arts in the world come from the same source. If people can discard their selfishness and sincerely exchange and learn, unprecedented mastery can be created. He impressed a group of people. Twenty years ago, the martial arts world wasn’t as stagnant as the present. There were people who could read each other at first sight and stories of sincere treatment. People gradually regarded Rong Xuan as the core.
Following this madness, these little alliance wanted to exchange traditions of martial arts for thousands of years to create a completely new world. However, Rong Xuan fell deeper into his dream. Rong Xuan was an outstanding young man but gradually, he became greedy. He began to search for secret scrolls in various ways, he was not above using deception or violence. Fortunately, his wife Yue Feng Er, the Fairy Ganoderma, was a great disciple of the Healer Valley. Yue Feng Er saved him from the jaws of death every time he got injured. Several years passed, the group of ignorant people actually collected countless secret scrolls and created the World’s Armory in a hidden place.
Traps were setup outside the armory and the key were divided into five parts. These parts were divided to five strongest members of the group for safe keeping. By collecting all five parts of the key, one can open the World’s Armory. At that time, the Five Lakes Alliance held a Martial Arts Conference calling on all heroes to kill Rong Xuan. After killing countless people, Rong Xuan was forced to get out of Mount Qingya. Upon reaching his maximum exhaustion, he committed suicide by the demarcation stone in the Ghost Valley.
Wen Ke Xing
Cheng Ling listened intently and at the end of the story, he stated that it was different from what he heard of before. Wen Ke Xing continued his story.
Rong Xuan, AD (After Death)
It was the end of Rong Xuan’s story, not the martial arts world. After his suicide, the ghosts of Mount Qingya swarmed out and started a huge battle with martial arts heroes. It was a nightmare. This caused countless deaths and injuries on both sides. Martial arts heroes lost a lot of their people and the power of the Ghost Valley was greatly weakened but it has brought peace for twenty years in martial arts world. Almost every survivor had a loved one who died in the battle. The battle was started for shameful reasons and ended up in disrepute. This is why people don’t want to talk about it.
Wen Ke Xing
Cheng Ling asked if the war started because the people were greedy for the World’s Armory. Wen Ke Xing didn’t directly answer Cheng Ling’s question. Instead, he mentioned that if the World’s Armory was opened to public by the Five Lakes Alliance twenty years ago, then Mirror Lake Sword Sect wouldn’t have been annihilated. Cheng Ling clutched on his robes, stared on the ground and said his dad was one of the five friends of Rong Xuan. Zhou Zi Shu attempted to console him with “Let bygones be bygones”. Wen Ke Xing glanced at Zhou Zi Shu with murderous eyes and disagreed. Zhou Zi Shu was shocked at Wen Ke Xing’s reaction and watched his face.
Chongwu Palace, Main Hall
People who were not in their rooms last night were gathered in the hall over Cheng Ling’s kidnapping incident. Gao Chong’s theory was there’s a mole in the palace and asked for everyone’s participation in the interrogation to clear suspicions.
Ah Xiang was interrogated. She didn’t belong to any well-known sect. Gao Xiao Lian introduced her to Gao Chong as Cao Wei Ning’s and Cheng Ling’s old friend. When she could not answer about her whereabouts but was quick to divert the topic, Gao Chong became suspicious. Tension was high and both Gao Chong and Ah Xiang raised their voices. Cao Wei Ning ran inside the room and said they spent the night together. The entire room was scandalized but Ah Xiang got off the hook.
Still by the lake in the forest but away from the Kidnap Camp
Cheng Ling informed Zhou Zi Shu his decision. He didn’t want to leave. Instead, he wanted to go back. Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing disagreed. Wen Ke Xing asked him why he wanted to go back despite knowing about the Glazed Armor’s origins and the people’s bad intentions. Cheng Ling would like to honor his dad’s last wish and that was the responsible thing to do. Even if he’s useless, he did not want to hide and stay out of the way for his own safety. As the only representative of the Mirror Lake Sect, he had to be present in the Heroes Conference. Otherwise, Mirror Lake Sect would be considered gone in the martial arts world.
Zhou Zi Shu admired Cheng Ling’s sense of responsibility. Instead of contradicting Cheng Ling’s decision, Zhou Zi Shu gave him the advise to return the Glazed Armor to the Five Lakes Alliance. His defense was Cheng Ling’s life was more important than the Glazed Armor. Wen Ke Xing supported this statement.
Zhou Zi Shu asked Cheng Ling’s opinion in Zhou Zi Shu’s martial arts skills. Cheng Ling smiled and said it was the best, of course. Zhou Zi Shu mentioned his martial arts skills can be considered as a first-class. He’s a chief assassin, duh! He was only proficient in a dozen martial arts of his clan. Ordinary people, even if they spend their whole life, can’t study martial arts thoroughly. However, if the World’s Armory is opened, each person is given a kind of martial art. This was not learning but human greed.
The late Zhang Yu Sen, Mirror Lake Sect’s former leader, did not cling to the Glazed Armor but the Five Lakes Alliance brotherhood. If they really wanted to open the World’s Armory, they would have done so twenty years ago. If his dad and his Uncle Rong Xuan were watching Cheng Ling right now, they’d hope for Cheng Ling to let go of what happened twenty years ago and live his own life. Otherwise, Cheng Ling’s life would be in constant danger. Zhou Zi Shu personally has no business with people who lived their lives around greed but he couldn’t leave Cheng Ling alone. He told Cheng Ling to take his advise, throw the trouble out and let other people scramble.
Chongwu Palace Gate
Cheng Ling, Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing made their way back to Yueyang city. Before entering the gate, Zhou Zi Shu reminded him to inform anyone and everyone that the Glazed Armor was no longer in his possession. They would pick him up after the Heroes Conference. Wen Ke Xing added to steer clear of talking about things that had nothing to do with him. The leaders of the Five Lakes Alliance were cunning. Cheng Ling did not need to keep up with them. Instead, it would be better if he feigned ignorance and keep silent.
Look at this cinnamon roll!
Cheng Ling hugged and thanked Wen Ke Xing. He also invited him to join him and Zhou Zi Shu and live with each other forever with Ah Xiang. Zhou Zi Shu cut him off. Wen Ke Xing told him if he needed anything, just tell Ah Xiang. He silently watched Cheng Ling enter the gate. Zhou Zi Shu asked him what’s wrong.
Still in front of the gate, WenZhou date
Five Lakes Alliance and the heroes that attended it were not good people. Wen Ke Xing was obviously worried about Cheng Ling. He also mentioned about the note Cheng Ling received signed as “Xu”. Wen Ke Xing wondered allowed how they knew about Zhou Zi Zhu’s relationship with Cheng Ling and his name as “Zhou Xu”. Zhou Zi Shu said the only person other person who knew about this name was Wen Ke Xing. Busted!
The give away was when the character used in the letter was “willow catkins”. Xu can be spelled in many ways. In episode 2, Zhou Zi Shu told him which character was used for “Xu”. The only other person who was there with them was Cheng Ling. Wen Ke Xing defended himself and said Zhou Zi Shu also introduced himself as Zhou Xu during the feast when they sent back Cheng Ling.
Zhou Zi Shu obviously didn’t buy this but didn’t pressure him to disclose anything. changed the subject to Cheng Ling instead. The person who hired the Scorpion Assassins was just trying to get the Glazed Armor. People would just see him as an orphan. After the heroes conference, Zhou Zi Shu would take Cheng Ling away. Wen Ke Xing was probably only half-listening. He quietly stared at the gate. Zhou Zi Shu made fun of Wen Ke Xing for looking like a mother who’s sending his son away. He dragged Wen Ke Xing to drink and enjoy the day.
Chongwu Palace, Main Hall
Meanwhile, the interrogation was still ongoing with Gao Chong and his chosen set of suspicious people when a random guard ran inside the room and announced Cheng Ling was back. Gao Chong, his guards and most of the people ran outside. Cao Wei Ning, Ah Xiang and Gao Xiao Lian were left behind. As soon as Gao Chong was out of sight, a random guard made fun of Cao Wei Ning for allegedly spending the night with Ah Xiang.
Highrise in the Cloud, WenZhou Date Chronicles
Wen Ke Xing pondered over what Zhou Zi Shu said while they were by the lake “To do something even if it’s not allowed and to trust people even though they are hard to know.” while drinking with Zhou Zi Shu. Their conversation were steered to their conversation the night before. Wen Ke Xing was only quiet for a split second when he asked if Ah Xu thought he was a good or a bad guy. Ah Xu told him to save his words. He wasn’t interested in Wen Ke Xing’s indirect answers. Nevertheless, Zhou Zi Shu concluded Wen Ke Xing was a good guy and if he was wrong about that, then his life would be considered wasted. Wen Ke Xing tried his best to be low-key happy about this comment but when Zhou Zi Shu said this:
Oh! Who are we kidding?! This is probably the point where they mutually fell in love with each other but censorship had other ideas. For example, this is “brotherhood” but whatever. Look at him!
Oh and the sugar doesn’t end there. There’s more.
And that’s not even the special version!
Chongwu Palace, Main Hall
Meanwhile, in the Five Lakes Alliance camp, Cheng Ling followed Zhou Zi Shu’s advice. He finally revealed the piece of Glazed Armor sewn shut inside his stomach. He cut himself in front of Shen Shen and Gao Chong and gave it to them.
Incomputable Treasures Shop, WenZhou Date Chronicles
WenZhou couple moved indoors to continue drinking and getting to know each other. Wen Ke Xing asked Zhou Zi Shu what hobbies he had when he’s not working as the leader of Window of Heaven. Zhou Zi Shu answered he’d practice. Wen Ke Xing said when he was a kid, his parents criticized him many times for not practicing martial arts properly.
Zhou Zi Shu was the opposite. His interest was to practice martial arts. However, master would take him fishing and catching birds everyday because children should be children. He’d seek help from his master’s wife. She took his side. Wen Ke Xing concluded Zhou Zi Shu’s master was the one who actually wanted to go out and play. He just used Zhou Zi Shu as an excuse to not get scolded by his wife. Zhou Zi Shu never thought of it that way. He agreed and laughed it off. Wen Ke Xing recalled when he was younger, he couldn’t play that much and no one taught him martial arts.
The subject shifted to Cheng Ling. Wen Ke Xing said there was no need to worry about him. They should find something to do before the Heroes Conference starts.
Zhou Zi Shu asked Wen Ke Xing if he ever suffered a loss before. He said whenever he does, he always made sure to get back at them. Scorpion has been getting on his nerves and they’ve got to do something about it. First, the coffin home. Then, the kidnap accident. He forgot the Qin Song incident in episode 4 but I guess that doesn’t count because nobody knew it was Qin Song who played that. Anyway, Zhou Zi Shu brought up messing up on Scorpion’s base. How about that for a date?
Chongwu Palace, Pine Hall (Gao Xiao Lian)
Cheng Ling laid on his back smiling. He probably felt relieved. After all, the Five Lakes Alliance leaders had no reason to chase after him. He does not have the piece of Glazed Armor anymore. His thoughts were interrupted when Gao Xiao Lian ran crying to his room to ask if he was okay. She thanked him on behalf of Gao Chong. He may be inarticulate and brash but he was not a bad person. Over the years, he thought non-stop on how to reconcile and maintain the glory of the Five Lakes Alliance leaders.
While they were at it, they both agreed they only saw each other as siblings. However, Gao Xiao Lian would still obey her father’s wish for them to marry as it was an essential step for Gao Chong to restore the Five Lakes Alliance. Cheng Ling strongly disagreed to this. Marriage was not a chess move. Gao Xiao Lian took it as her responsibility to share the weight of her dad’s problems which was to let the past grudges end in their generation. Yueyang Sect would soon be Cheng Ling’s home, anyway. After this speech, Gao Xiao Lian left.They could be friends. IDK why they had to be married. WTF?
Chongwu Palace, Pine Hall (Ah Xiang)
Ah Xiang went inside Cheng Ling’s room. Cheng Ling asked her if she heard their conversation. Of course, she does and she admitted it. They had a quick catch up session. She wasn’t that hurt from saving Cheng Ling. Cheng Ling was saved by WenZhou couple and they persuaded him to return to Chongwu palace. And the highlight? Zhou Xu finally took Cheng Ling as his disciple. Ah Xiang was very happy for him.
Ah Xiang saw all the things Gao Chong gave Cheng Ling for giving them a piece of the Glazed Armor. She made fun of the importance of the Glazed Armor, like Cheng Ling gave birth to a baby. Cheng Ling intended to save the box of supplements for Ah Xiang for her injuries in protecting him. Ah Xiang happily accepted it.
On her way out, she wondered what’s up with her master. Wen Ke Xing left the valley to look for the Glazed Armor. Upon meeting Sick Dude (a.k.a Zhou Zi Shu), he seemed to have forgotten all of it. They kept hanging out 24/7. As if that wasn’t enough, he seemed to have forgotten all about her. It could be that Zhou Zi Shu drugged Wen Ke Xing. Even Cao Wei Ning cared about her more than Wen Ke Xing the past few days.
Chongwu Palace, Main Hall, Gao Chong and Shen Shen standup meeting
Shen Shen noticed Gao Chong was still unhappy even after getting the piece of Glazed Armor from Cheng Ling. He asked why. Gao Chong gave him a piece of his mind. He wondered who saved Cheng Ling. Could it be an enemy or an ally? How come this person remained in the shadows? Shen Shen figured it couldn’t possibly be an enemy if that person saved Cheng Ling.
The two pieces of Glazed Armor of Zhao Jing and Tai Chong were probably stolen by the Ghost Valley. Gao Chong asked to keep Shen Shen’s piece of Glazed Armor. Shen Shen rejected the idea. It would be dangerous for Gao Chong to keep three pieces. Gao Chong’s defense was to protect him. Shen Shen was hesitant but he gave it, anyway.
Zhao Jing happily entered the hall and said Brother Long didn’t want to see him but he promised to send someone to the Heroes Conference to explain the origin of the Glazed Armor. Gao Chong was happy that Longyuan Cabinet would participate and thanked Zhao Jing. He said if Shen Shen didn’t invite Changming Sword Immortal, Zhao Jing wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of inviting the Longyuan Cabinet. Shen Shen stated what he did. When he took the Token of Honor and shouted for days in the Sword Hall of Mount Changming, nobody responded to him. There was no trace of human life on the mountain. Hence, the immortal probably died a long time ago. If they thought about it, how old would Rong Xuan be if he were alive. Shen Shen paused and realized what he just said. For a split second, awkward silence filled the room.
Gao Chong turned to Zhao Jing and changed the topic. He informed Zhao Jing of the Glazed Armor from Cheng LIng. Zhao Jing was happy to hear this.
Lichun Palace
Meanwhile, Prince Jin obtained one of the Glazed Armor. He studied it carefully using the diagram in front of him. OK it wasn’t a diagram. It was a pencil drawing on a leather.
Kidnap Camp, WenZhou Date Chronicles
Wen Ke Xing and Zhou Zi Shu went back to the place where Cheng Ling was kidnapped. However, it was already burnt to the ground and abandoned. Zhou Zi Shu wondered aloud whether it was Five Lakes Alliance or Ghost Valley who did that. Wen Ke Xing scoffed at him. It was an overestimation to expect that either of those could destroy a base of the Scorpion instantly. Wen Ke Xing said it could be Scorpion themselves who destroyed the place to cover their tracks and avoid any evidence that could be traced back to them.
Wen Ke Xing silently thought Changing Ghost was an ambitious to connive with the Scorpion in destroying the place. However, what they didn’t know, the more they messed around, the closer Wen Ke Xing was to his goal.
Qingyun Restaurant
WenZhou couple were having a meal when Ah Xiang showed up. Wen Ke Xing asked how was her injuries from Arhat. Ah Xiang looked fine. In fact, Cheng Ling gave her some supplements. Wen Ke Xing expressed his worry over Scorpion being able to sneak past the Yueyang Sect’s security. A spy could be living in Chongwu Palace. Now that Cheng Ling gave his piece of Glazed Armor to Gao Chong, he should be safe. Wen Ke Xing instructed Ah Xiang to leave the palace. He was worried for her safety.
Ah Xiang looked a little unhappy to hear this. Wen Ke Xing asked Zhou Zi Shu if he was okay with Ah Xiang tagging along with their adventures. Of course, Zhou Zi Shou would be happy if there’s a beautiful woman tagging along with them. Wen Ke Xing told Ah Xiang go anywhere she liked but she can’t follow him and Ah Xu. However, Ah Xiang wanted none of these. She would rather stay in Yueyang Sect and protect Cheng Ling.
Zhou Zi Shu sensed someone was listening and asked who was it. Cao Wei Ning appeared to be listening from the stairs. He said he wasn’t following Ah Xiang but he heard someone wanted to meet her in Qingyun Restaurant. He was worried she’s meeting Wen Ke Xing. Ah Xiang angrily asked what’s there to be worried about if her master was looking for her. Cao Wei Ning said he’s afraid she would leave. Look at that!
Zhou Zi Shu concluded Ah Xiang had other reason why she didn’t want to leave the palace. Cao Wei Ning confirmed if it was him. Wen Ke Xing snapped at Wei Ning and said her decision does not count. He would decide whether she’ll stay or leave. Cao Wei Ning would go down without a fight. He turned to Zhou Zi Shu and said Ah Xiang mentioned Zhou Zi Shu was seriously ill. His master would be back a few days after the Heroes Conference. He could get them acquainted and introduce him to great doctors. Wen Ke Xing prevented him from sitting with them and said he would take careof Ah Xu.
Zhou Zi Shu expressed his gratitude and let Cao Wei Ning to sit on the chair next to him. Wen Ke Xing looked offended. Zhou Zi Shu ignored him and informed Wei Ning he was terminally ill without much time to leave. Cao Wei Ning felt sorry for him and said he could ask his master to talk to Zhao Jing and get help from the three sages of the Healer Valley. Wen Ke Xing and Ah Xiang exchanged knowing glances. As Wei Ning insisted on getting help for Ah Xu, this pissed off Wen Ke Xing. Ah Xiang smiled at him, probably internally hoping he wouldn’t make a scene. Zhou Zi Shu was moved with Cao Wei Ning’s kindness. However, this was still rejected.
I. AM. SCREAMING.. ISTG the neighbors are about to call the police on me.
Zhou Zi Shu basically told Cao Wei Ning to take care of Ah Xiang because her master is his soulmate and that’s not a sustainable setup. In fact, they were already looking for someone Ah Xiang could settle down with. Ah Xiang was shooketh and looked at Wen Ke Xing, waiting for him to say something. However, Wen Ke Xing’s head was still in the clouds with Zhou Zi Shu soulmate-zoning him in front of other people and wanting to spend the rest of their lives together.
