Moonlight Mystique Episode 1 Recap, Plot

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> Moonlight Mystique Recap

Sixty thousand years ago, the Hidden Lord brought calamity to the world, causing the fall of the Divine Race. The Night Race’s Moon Goddess passed away, and her divine artifact, the Desireless Stone, was damaged. It remained hidden in the Lanling Sect, and no one has dared to open it to this day. For nearly a hundred years, the Immortal and Demon Races have kept a truce, with an agreement not to use magic against the Human Race.

Ning'an City, under the protection of the Immortal Race, has remained peaceful. The city lord, Bai Xun, was a mere warrior. He had fought bloodily on the battlefield for decades, earning great military achievements. He had two daughters, both cherished as precious gems. His eldest daughter, Bai Xi, was calm and graceful, while his second daughter, Bai Shuo, was lively and active, the complete opposite of Bai Xi.

When they were children, the two girls sneaked out on the night of the Lantern Festival to play, only to be kidnapped by a monster. Because Bai Xi possessed extraordinary fate and pure spiritual energy, the monster intended to absorb her for its own use. In the nick of time, the purple moon appeared in the sky, and the Demon God Tian Qi descended from above, killing the monster and rescuing Bai Shuo.

In order to save her elder sister, Bai Shuo knelt before Tian Qi and promised to cultivate Immortal Arts to repay the divine being’s life-saving grace. In the end, Tian Qi revived Bai Xi and, before leaving, told Bai Shuo that not all gods pity mortals. She should be thankful for having eyes so similar to her sister’s.

However, when Bai Shuo woke up, she could not remember the appearance of her benefactor, only that he had a red moon jade ring hanging at his waist. Not long after, Bai Xi fell seriously ill for an unknown reason. The city’s doctors were helpless. Fortunately, a wandering Daoist passed through, and though he saved Bai Xi’s life, he said her fate was unusual. She must leave the mortal realm to grow up safely.

Therefore, Bai Xun, with great pain, allowed Bai Xi to follow the Daoist away, and she was never heard from again. Since then, Bai Shuo spent her days searching for immortals and seeking the Dao, misunderstood by everyone, including her father. At a young age, she was promised in marriage to Zhong Zhao, the son of the nearby steamed bun shop owner.

Bai Xun and Zhong Zhao’s parents were old acquaintances, and when Zhong Zhao’s parents died unexpectedly, Bai Xun took him in as a son to care for. As time went on, he grew fond of the boy and eventually decided to adopt him as his son-in-law. Bai Shuo never took the engagement seriously, and Zhong Zhao never mentioned it either. The two shared a sibling-like bond, growing closer year by year.

Through all seasons, the meaning of home and family accompanied her as she grew into a young woman. More than a decade passed, and many things changed, but Bai Shuo’s resolve to cultivate the Dao remained unwavering. One day, Bai Shuo overheard from Master Sun that Immortals, in order to protect the people, would secretly send "Immortal Envoys" to observe every city.

If one were to find such an envoy and win them over with a hundredfold sincerity, they could join the Immortal sect. Believing this to be true, Bai Shuo brought her treasures to the Unbridled Pavilion, unaware that the true identity of the Pavilion’s master was Fan Yue, the King of the Polar Realm and Master of the Bright Moon Palace.

He had come to collect the five emotions of the world—love, hate, killing, greed, and desire—in order to restart the Desireless Stone and obtain the divine power left by the Moon Goddess. Upon meeting Bai Shuo, Fan Yue immediately embraced her, thinking she was an Immortal sent by the Lanling Sect to capture him. However, he was shocked to realize she was merely an unarmed mortal.

Bai Shuo, on the other hand, misunderstood and thought Fan Yue was testing her abilities, so she did not resist and even embraced him back, stunning him further. He was about to cast a spell to reprimand her when his guardian, Cang Shan, intervened. While Bai Shuo and Fan Yue exchanged cautious moves, Bai Xun suddenly arrived with his soldiers on a routine patrol.

He was shocked to find his daughter here and angrily scolded Fan Yue, calling him a man who used his charms to seduce his daughter. Bai Shuo’s accidental touch caused the Desireless Stone to glow, and before Fan Yue could react, Bai Shuo was taken away by her father, with plans to discuss matters another day. Meanwhile, the Lanling Sect held its regular meeting, gathering the Immortal Envoys.

Due to a lack of funds for repairs, the venue was humble, and the Sect Leader, Jin Yao, hesitantly chaired the meeting. He announced that the Desireless Stone had gone missing a few days ago. To appease the Immortal Envoys’ anger, Jin Yao staged a death penalty scene, and sure enough, the Immortal Envoys dispersed in frustration. Zhong Zhao, as the chief disciple of Lanling, bore the responsibility of earning money to support the sect.

Jin Yao, with a heavy heart, urged him to focus on making the bun shop profitable, not only to repair the roof and furniture but also to prepare supplies for future battles. Bai Shuo returned to the city lord’s mansion with her father, receiving a harsh reprimand from Bai Xun. Despite this, she refused to give up on her dream of cultivating immortality, which made Bai Xun furious. He threatened to sever their father-daughter relationship.

At the Unbridled Pavilion, Fan Yue, Tian Huo, and Cang Shan discussed the Desireless Stone. Since only Bai Shuo could make the Desireless Stone react, they decided to monitor her closely. On the other side, the Demon Race’s Lingquan Palace Master, Zhen Yu, and Fu Ling launched a covert attack on the Immortal Race to find the Desireless Stone but were unsuccessful.

Fu Ling suggested continuing her transformation into the courtesan Furong and infiltrating Ning'an City to sow discord between the Immortal Race and Fan Yue. The next morning, Bai Shuo, still in a cold war with her father, went back to the Unbridled Pavilion to probe Fan Yue’s identity. Fan Yue, seeing through her intentions, decided to play along, pretending to be an Immortal Envoy and testing her emotions to see if she could trigger the Desireless Stone.

Episode 2 Recap

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