Mini-recap: The Great Seer Episode 4

The fengshui jargons will be the death of me.

Episode 4

Ji-sang collects the girl's belonging and follows the guards as they lead her across the market. He suddenly hugs the surprised girl and pretends to be her brother. He winks at her to get her cooperation while the guards try to shake him off. Then just as suddenly, he kicks the guard, grabs the girl and drags her away in a sprint. The girl sprains her ankle but he still grabs her hand and pulls her along. They manage to shake off the guards in the forest after a while.

The distrusting girl is wary of his intentions. She tells him to leave her alone and he does, frustrated with her cold reactions to his genuine concern. But it starts to rain and he goes back to her, warning that she'd die of cold in this weather. She still refuses his help so he reminded her of her intention to bury her mum in Gaesung. So she can die all she wants after she's achieved her original purpose.

He leads her to a cave for shelter. His dad is an apothecary and therefore familiar with the hills. Dad says that places where animals gather is best in cold weather. He builds a fire but assures her that it won't be visible from outside. And using twigs will ensure there won't be smoke. She reluctantly joins him by the fire. He helps her remove her shoes and stockings for drying. Ah...dad taught him well. Father and son are both particular about the ladies' feet. Hah. She doesn't say a word but it's clear she's touched by his gestures. In the night, she even snuggles closer to him.

The general Ryun-gae enlisted for the assassination is having cold feet about the operation. Ryun-gae threatens to spill the beans on how he betrayed the previous General and killed another to cover up his crime so he agrees to go through with it.

The next morning, Ji-sang wakes up to find the girl staring at the scenery. She wants to bury her mother in these hills because it's warm here. Her mum fears the cold and misses Goryeo because she remembers it as a warm place. A daughter of a palace maid is automatically one, so before she is caught, she wants to bury her mum some place warm. Ji-sang thinks she's fortunate even so. He fiddles with the ring on his bracelet and laments that he doesn't even know how his mum looks like. He doesn't dwell on that and announces that they should find a new home for mum.

He leads her across the hills and finds a nice place for mum. The soil is bright red and therefore sure to be warm. Closeby, the healer - Hyo-myung - declares that the bright red soil is like a 5 colored jade. Moo-hak quips that soils like these are not exclusive to this place. Hyo-myung gushes that the hills resembles a dragon, embodies the Azure Dragon of the East. Ji-sang explains that the hills are like walls for mum's new home. Hyo-myung spouts more constellation jargons to stress that this is the ultimate fengshui land - it's perfectly complimented by hills embodying the Azure Dragon of the East, White Tiger of the West, Black Tortoise of the North and Vermilion Bird of South.

Ji-sang points out the lake nearby, for mum to drink when she's thirsty. Hyo-myung's description is more elaborate : the lake is where the thirty dragon drinks. Basically the place is brimming with spiritual essence. Moo-hak remarks that if Hyo-myung is right, then this is the place where Kings are bred. Hyo-mung implores that he takes a closer look - this is indeed the Land of the Kings. He does that and sees what has been described. He laughs heartily and declares he's going to take a closer look at the Azure Dragon, which is where he finds Ji-sang and the girl who was paying respects to her freshly buried mum's grave.

The girl hides behind Ji-sang when Moo-hak approaches them angrily. Ji-sang explains that he suggested that the girl bury her mother here. Hyo-myung catches up and recognizes Ji-sang as Dong-ryun's son. Moo-hak laughs loudly that the sacred ground they've been hunting for already has an owner. Hyo-myung notices the grave for the first time and panics. Moo-hak remarks that the girl who now owns the place will be someone important in Goryeo in future. Hyo-myung points out the best place to capture the essence of the place is still intact. The place where the grave is buried cannot fully absorb the spiritual essence of the place. Moo-hak looks at the girl and pities her - she will shed a river of tears, so the thirsty dragon will get its water. Ji-sang wonders at the cryptic words but neither Moo-hak or Hyo-myung offer an explanation.

Ji-sang brings the girl back to the Gisaeng house where the owner frets that he's out for the entire night. He pleads that she takes in the homeless girl, in exchange of putting in a few good words for her before his father. LOL. Gisaeng ahjumma likes Dong-ryun? She finally relents.

Ryun-gae tells her servant to prepare some drugs to sedate the guards at HyeonWang Temple.

Ji-sang brings the girl to the market to buy a pair of new shoes, despite her protests. He's low on cash and remembers that Jong-dae owes him money from the last task.

Jong-dae and Ryun-gae's servant meet in the market discreetly. He leaves a package (the drug?) for her and promises to put more efforts in searching for the person in the sketch (Dong-ryun?). Ji-sang spots Jong-dae just as the two go on separate ways, still scratching his head over the sketch. It's big money if he can find the person but he doesn't really know how to go about it. Ji-sang looks surprised at the sketch, and it's clear why when we get to see it, it's his father and a fairly accurate sketch. Jong-dae explains that a straw hat man is looking for the person, who'll most likely be killed. An anxious Ji-sang grabs the sketch and runs off, leaving a bewildered Jong-dae, who finally notices the girl. He flirts with her thinking she's one the new gisaeng from Haewolguan (the Gisaeng House). She ignores him and goes after Ji-sang.

Ji-sang must have noticed the straw-hat servant and runs after her in the crowd. He follows her until she enters a well-guarded house.

Hyo-myung and Moo-hak finds Dong-ryun in the hills, digging ginseng. They tell him how Ji-sang has found the Land Where the Thirsty Dragon Drinks (Gawd I wish I can translate this better :P) but gets no response. Moo-hak tries taunting that daddy who has the Heavenly Eye is busy digging medicine while his son has already developed the Eye. Still, no response. He surmises that Dong-ryun must have known. Dong-ryun doesn't comment but invites them for dinner.

Note: Heavenly Eye - highest level in geomancy (4 levels altogether)

Moo-hak remarks that Dong-ryun looks mighty troubled. Hyo-myung explains that Dong-ryun did not want his son to dabble in geomancy, which was the reason why he left Ji-sang in the Gisaeng House and lives in the hills alone. But as fate would have it, Ji-sang is gifted with the Heavenly Eye as well.

At Dong-ryun's place, Hyo-myung explains that Ji-sang brought the wrong owner to that land. That girl cannot bear the burden of that land. However, her son would be King. But a fate where the King's mother is not the Queen Mother, Hyo-myung foresee a continuous state of disorder. Dong-ryun remains silent. He insists he's just a commoner who gathers medicinal herbs.

Hyo-myung edges closer and says that the end is near for the King. Dong-ryun warns him against saying such treacherous words. Hyo-mung is just worried, they need to find the next able ruler quickly. Dong-ryun says they need to wait another 30 years. If the rightful King appears, the Heavens will bestow upon him the Chamiheonguk (The Purple Forbidden Enclosure).

Note: The Purple Enclosure occupies the northernmost area of the night sky. From the viewpoint of the ancient Chinese, the Purple Forbidden Enclosure lies in the middle of the sky and is circled by all the other stars

Moo-hak agrees to wait but comments that during the wait, his son has given the Land of the Kings to a lowly girl - that means he's already embroiled in the vortex of history. Dong-ryun remains unresponsive, but he's clearly troubled as he pretends to sleep.

Meanwhile, his son Ji-sang is busy scaling walls and roofs of the house where StrawHat went, for daddy's sake. He overhears the servant reporting to Ryun-gae that the King's guards have been poisoned by the drug. Security is light, with only Choi Young present. Lee Seong-gye has returned to the borders. One of the roof tile drops and breaks, alerting Ryun-gae of another presence. The servant manages to pinpoint Ji-sang's position and stabs at the tile beneath. He falls on their balcony - right before their eyes - before taking off immediately. Ryun-gae orders him dead and servant goes after him. Ji-sang manages to escape after a couple of really close calls. Phew.

Cut to the Gisaeng House where Seong-gye and his men are merry-making. Ji-sang is also back. When he hears that General Lee Seong-gye is here, he gatecrashes their party and warns him that the King is going to be killed and that the guards are poisoned. The others dismiss his crazed talk but Seong-gye is immediately alerted by the fact that he knows that the King is at HyeonWang Temple. He tells the men to gather his soldiers, but unfortunately they have been sent ahead back to the borders. Seong-gye instructs one of them to stay behind and investigate while the others to follow him to warn Choi Young.

As they race towards the temple, the guards are already being slayed by masked men led by the Coldfeet General (sorry the names confuses me, I'll just go with what's easier to remember). They raise a torch in signal to In-nim and his men who's waiting a distance away, also in masks. Ryun-gae arrives to inform him that their plans have been leaked. In-nim wants to signal to Coldfeet to retreat. Ryun-gae stops him. She has already instructed Eun-bei(the servant) to kill the eavesdropping rat so their plans can still succeed. Basically if Coldfeet succeeds, all's good and sundry. But if he fails, there's no evidence to show that they're in cahoots.

The King's guards are dropping like flies under the onslaught. The eunuchs alert the King and Queen of the attack and advise him to escape. The King dons the eunuch's robes in disguise while one of the eunuch stays behind to buy them them. The other eunuch who leads them outside also offers to act as decoy while the royal pair make their escape. Oh dear, they're like on their own now.

Meanwhile, Coldfeet finds his way into the royal chamber and stabs the eunuch who's hiding under the blanket. He shouts in frustration at the deception.

The royal couple made it to another building. The Queen offers to stand guard despite the King's protestations. The King has to live no matter what. Only then would all the sacrifices not be for naught. She's a Princess from Yuan so they won't dare to harm her. Oh I doubt it lady. She goes out and locks him in while he's still in indecision. Soon, Coldfeet and his men are upon her. She stands her ground and warns them of the consequences of harming her and for a moment it seems like it might work because the men hesitate for a moment. At Coldfeet's signal, they move to strike but just then Choi Young and his army arrive to save the day.

The rebels are easily defeated and Coldfeet escapes with two of the men. At a quiet corner, he kills them both, removes his mask and disguise and pretends to be the good guy again. He runs back to the King's hiding place, wailing like a heartbroken loyal subject of the King. (Okay I finally know his name is Kim Young, but I shall stick to Coldfeet). Choi Young assures him the King is well but is curious how he knew about the assassination. He's spared from answering when the King emerges from the building. Then he continues wailing.

At the Generals' meeting, Coldfeet continues to condemn the generals for the poor security. Seong-gye points out that their immediate concern should be finding the main culprit. A nervous Coldfeet offers himself for the job. Choi Young tells him to wait for the results of the interrogation. He credits Seong-gye for his contribution. It was due to his timely warning that a disastrous outcome is averted. In-nim commends his efforts as well but is curious about his source of information. Seong-gye who was puffing up at Choi-young's praise immediately clears his throat uncomfortably. Heh. He was at the Gisaeng's. Not exactly a proud thing to announce.

Jung-geun frowns in worry on hearing that Hae-in has challenged Seung-bok in some sort of competition to differentiate the origin of soil. Hae-in wins the challenge easily and warns Seung-bok not to belittle her just because she hasn't been around for a while. Doesn't look like the guys know she's a girl...

Yeong-ji is tasked with with fengshui of the King's chamber. Her efforts are acknowledged by No Young-soo (not sure what he does yet...)

Seung-bok accuses Hae-in of cheating and picks on her. Jung-geun stands up for her and the boys get into a fistfight. Yeong-ji shows up and reprimands them. She disapproves of them fighting each other and devises a bonding session. 

She leads them up this hill and tells them to figure out the way back to the palace. If they cooperate, they should be able to find a shortcut back. With that instruction, the kids are left to fend for themselves. Hae-in is dressed differently from the boys, so I'm assuming the others know she's a girl. Boo to Seung-bok for bullying a girl then. Everyone looks to Jung-geun for guidance since he's always been top and Yeong-ji's son to boot. Jung-geun doesn't look too confident even as he spouts instructions. But only Seung-bok looks unconvinced.

Meanwhile, Dong-ryun and Ji-sang reaches Land Where the Thirsty Dragon Drinks. Dong-ryun agrees it's a good spot and asks how Ji-sang find the place. He explains how he got lost one time last year while secretly tailing Dong-ryun and ended up there. He comes back regularly after that because the place relaxes him. Which is why he had Ban-ya bury her mother here. He asks dad about Moo-hak's prediction. He doesn't really believe how a piece of land can cause one to cry or laugh.

Dad explains that it might seems implausible but it is a fact. People may cry or laugh over a piece of land. He lifts Ji-sang's hand (the one with the ring) and sighs that a piece of land can be the cause two people who misses each other are unable to meet. Just like his crutch - it can be a means of support or a weapon to hurt another. The same logic applies to land - it will bring fortune or misfortune for different people. So it's not wise to simply bind a man to land. Now Ji-sang is worried if the land might bring misfortune to Ban-ya. Dong-ryun sighs that what's done is done. They can only hope the girl can face whatever fate has in store for her.

It's night and the kids are still wandering in the forest. Seung-bok and the others start to get suspicious when it seems that they might be lost. Hae-in squats, looking particularly exhausted. They panic when they hear some animal's howl. The darkness and heavy fog obstruct their vision and they mistake a deer for a wolf. Everyone runs for it, aimlessly.

Eun-bei gets slapped for failing her mission. In-nim thinks Seung-gye must have met the boy who was eavesdropping from before. Ryun-gae thinks it's fortunate that they are not linked to the coup but In-nim thinks it's only a matter of time. He doesn't trust her to tie up the loose ends and orders Sourface (aka Moo-young) to follow Seong-gye who would surely contact the boy again. And when he finds the boy - kill him. Ack, first the daddy now the son.

A search party is dispatched to find the boys, who're still missing. Yeong-ji anxiously joins the search party. No Young-so makes a jab at her for failing to predict the fog as a professor of SeoWoonGuan. They find the shoe left behind by one of the boys. The guard suggest to postpone the search until light but Yeong-ji is worried for them.

The kids stop for a rest. Hae-in is pale and exhausted. It seems the cut in her palm sustained from the push by Seung-bok earlier in the day is the source of whatever's affecting her. Tetanus? Anyway, Jung-geun is anxious because her hand might be wasted if she does not receive medical attention soon. The other boys are reluctant to budge. They feel it's better to stay at one spot and wait for help. Jung-geun implores the rest for help but without a proper direction, it's a no.

Jung-geun says suddenly that he knows the way. He removes a compass (it's that thing Ji-sang smuggled earlier) from his clothes. The rest recognizes the compass and agrees to help out now with the compass as guidance. Seung-bok smiles as they make their move...hmm. I guess that spells trouble.

They return safely and Hae-in manages to receive proper medical attention in the nick of time.

Sourface is spying on Seong-gye as he returns to the Gibang for Ji-sang. The Gibang ahjumma tries to stop them from taking Ji-sang. On the rooftop, Sourface aims for Ji-sang with an arrow. Yikes.

Thoughts:

Oh lordy, the recap takes longer than usual because I'm stumped by the fengshui jargons. Pardon me but really, I'm no fengshui expert. I translate what I can and some terms came up after I did more research. Well, sorry for the inconsistencies but I don't think it affects the story as a whole so far.

And the story is chock-ful of developments. So many things happen in an episode that I'm not sure what to feel yet. I guess that's the trouble when you have to fit like 20 to 30 years of history in a few episodes. I'm pretty sure we still have to linger in our hero's adolescent period for at least a while more. Nothing wrong with that but the impatient me is still waiting for the REAL story to unfold. That said, I did love the bonding session between Dong-ryun and Ji-sang. Too bad dad's idea of a good upbringing is to be a recluse and place him under the care of a gisaeng.