An Old Acquaintance

"**An Old Acquaintance**" is the twenty-eighth episode of the animated series.

## Synopsis

Wei Wuxian and the still-inebriated Lan Wangji follow the Compass of Ill Winds towards a mysterious person. The person vanishes before they can reach him, leaving behind a still-warm cup of tea. Wei Wuxian notes that Lan Wangji's headband is askew, and to his shock, Lan Wangji ties him with the headband before parading him in front of the also-drunk juniors.

Wei Wuxian attempts to suggest Lan Wangji is showing the juniors a unique use of the forehead ribbon. When Lan Jingyi protests, Lan Sizhui quickly stuffs his mouth with a chicken wing.

Lan Wangji drags Wei Wuxian upstairs to discover that their Qiankun Bags have burst, and the body of the Demonic Left Arm has reassembled. The Fierce Corpse only attacks Jin Ling, giving Wei Wuxian an idea.

Unfortunately, his hands are still bound with the forehead ribbon. Lan Xichen arrives, but even he and Lan Wangji cannot subdue the corpse. Wei Wuxian's duet with Lan Wangji's guqin begins to subdue the creature. With sorrow on his face, Lan Xichen uses Liebing, and the corpse is subdued.

Lan Wangji falls asleep immediately. Once he is put to bed, Wei Wuxian and Lan Xichen reveal that they have recognized the fierce corpse as Nie Mingjue. Wei Wuxian points that the corpse targets himself and Jin Ling alone, and that the most likely suspect is Jin Guangyao. Lan Xichen defends his younger sworn brother, but concedes to investigate at the upcoming Discussion Conference.

At Golden Carp Tower, Jiang Cheng sarcastically inquires after Wei Wuxian's accompanying the Lans. Jin Guangyao arrives with Jin Ling to mediate between nephew and uncle. As the clans file into the hall, Wei Wuxian notes that Su She, leader of the Moling Su Clan seems familiar.

Meanwhile, Jin Chan fumes at what he perceives as the return of Mo Xuanyu, and Wei Wuxian asks Lan Wangji not to leave his side. Jin Guangyao arrives with his wife Qin Su, daughter of Qin Cangye, a subordinate of Jin Guangshan. Wei Wuxian recalls that Qin Cangye strongly opposed the marriage due to Jin Guangyao's heritage.

The banquet begins, and people gossip about the speculated return of Wei Wuxian. Jin Guangyao ends the conversation by defending his brother as the real Mo Xuanyu, and declares that they can discuss Demonic Cultivation tomorrow.

After the banquet, Wei Wuxian searches for the head of Nie Mingjue. Jin Chan approaches with several cronies to punish Mo Xuanyu, explaining he was kicked out of the clan for harassing Jin Guangyao several months prior. Jin Ling defends, him, and Wei Wuxian teaches Jin Ling a fighting move to beat the bullies.

Jin Ling tells Wei Wuxian to stop bothering Jin Guangyao, and Wei Wuxian retorts that he is more interested in Lan Wangji now. Jin Ling rushes away, and Wei Wuxian is embarassed to see Lan Wnagji behind him. He inquires whether Jin Guangyao has a child for Jin Ling to befriend, and Lan Wangji explains that Jin Guangyao's son was murdered by a clan who opposed the watchtowers. In retaliation, the entire clan was wiped out.

Back in the Fragrant Palace, Qin Su reads a letter informing her that her son's death was not an accident. She doubles over, retching.

## Characters

*In order of appearance:*

* Wei Wuxian
* Lan Wangji
* Mysterious Person
* Lan Jingyi
* Jin Ling
* Lan Sizhui
* Nie Mingjue (fierce corpse)
* Madam Mo (flashback)
* Lan Xichen
* Jiang Cheng
* Jin Guangyao
* Su She
* Nie Huaisang
* Jin Chan
* Qin Su
* Qin Cangye (mentioned)
* Jin Guangshan (mentioned)
* Clan Leader Yao
* Wen Ning (mentioned)
* Mo Xuanyu (mentioned)
* Ouyang Zizhen
* Clan Leader Ouyang
* Fairy (mentioned)
* Jin Rusong (mentioned)

## Events

* Massacre of the Mo Family (flashback)
* Night-Hunt on Dafan Mountain (flashback)
* Discussion Conferences

## Locations

* Yunping City
* Yi City (mentioned)
* Baling (mentioned)
* Mo Village (flashback)
* Dafan Mountain (flashback)
* Stone Castles (mentioned)
* Golden Carp Tower
* Gusu (mentioned)
* Huaicang Mountain (mentioned)

## Creatures

* Fierce Corpse
* Heavenly Maiden (flashback)

## Cultivation Abilities

* Rest (mentioned)
* Demonic Cultivation

## Cultivation Tools

* Bichen
* Compass of Ill Winds
* Suihua
* Qiankun Bag
* Shuoyue
* Wangji
* Liebing
* Talismans
* Nanping
* Zidian

## Divergence from the Novel

The scene with the mysterious person is unique to the animation.

In the novel, Lan Xichen does not see Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian during the forehead ribbon incident, and Ouyang Zizhen was still among the juniors at the time.

In the novel, Lan Jingyi drops his chicken wing into a bowl from the shock of the forehead ribbon tied around Wei Wuxian. In the animation, Lan Sizhui cuts him off by shoving a chicken wing into his mouth.

The scene with the fierce corpse differs significantly from the novel to the animation. It occurs in a garden in Tanzhou in the novel; in the animation, it is in the same inn wherein Lan Wangji is drunk.

In the novel, the fierce corpse does not target Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling alone until the Guanyin Temple confrontation. Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji subdue the fierce corpse with Liebing and Wangji respectively; in the animation, Wei Wuxian joins in with Demonic Cultivation. As he was not drunk in the novel, Lan Wangji did not fall asleep in the aftermath.

The animation cuts the murals for Jin Zixuan kept in the same condition as Jin Guangyao's, and Wei Wuxian's learning of the meaning behind the forehead ribbon from the juniors.

There is about a month between the discovery of Nie Mingjue's identity and the Discussion Conference in the novel; in the animation, it is a single day.

No gossip about Wei Wuxian's return occurs during the banquet in the novel. Aside from Jin Ling, the juniors were not present in the novel; in the animation, Lan Sizhui speaks up for "Mo Xuanyu," and Ouyang Zizhen thanks Lan Wangji.

In the novel, Wei Wuxian goes off alone to learn why Mo Xuanyu was kicked out of Golden Carp Tower; in the animation, it is to continue searching for Nie Mingjue's head. Mo Xuanyu's homosexuality is again replaced with an attraction to anyone – animals included.

In the novel, the truth behind Jin Rusong's death is left ambiguous, with the mob proposing it as a deliberate action by Jin Guangyao. In the animation, the letter Qin Su reads declares that it was a deliberate plot.

## References

1. ↑ Animation, Episode 28
2. ↑ Novel, Chapter 43
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Novel, Chapter 44
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Novel, Chapter 45
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Novel, Chapter 46
6. ↑ Novel, Chapter 107
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Novel, Chapter 47
8. ↑ Novel, Chapter 86