Episode Summary
A dancer dies mysteriously, aging rapidly. Investigations reveal a magical mirror and the legend of the Biyu pear, which grants youth. Duan Banxia gets involved, leading to dangerous encounters. A demon is suspected, and the quest for eternal youth takes a deadly turn.
Spoiler Alert
"The Demon Hunter's Romance" Episode 5: Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall...Who's the Fairest Corpse of All?
Episode 5 kicks off with Duan Banxia practically force-feeding Jiu Xuanye, showering him with gratitude for saving her life. Meanwhile, back at the theater, tragedy strikes! Tian Rui, who was just dancing, suddenly drops dead. Chu Youhuang and her team rush in, but the theater manager, He Banzhu, is clueless. Wen Jian investigates the dressing room, but everything gets hauled off for forensic analysis.
Turns out, County Constable Shi had met Tian Rui a decade prior, and he's baffled that she hasn't aged a day. Wen Jian suspects a demon's handiwork, but Chu Youhuang isn't buying it. However, when they look back at Tian Rui's body, she's aged into an old woman!
Since Jiu Xuanye was at Yanlai Restaurant the night before, and the whole thing is super fishy, Constable Shi brings him in for questioning. Outside, Duan Banxia spots some clumsy guards dropping a box. Noodles spill everywhere, and as she helps clean up, she finds a mirror that doesn't reflect people. Before she can get a good look, a guard snatches it away.
Jiu Xuanye and Wen Jian check out Tian Rui's room and find pear peel from a Biyu pear. Legend has it, if you peel a Biyu pear in front of a mirror at midnight with two candles lit, the pear spirit appears. Eat the pear, and you get a youthful boost. Spooky, right?
Duan Banxia, obsessed with the mirror, sneaks into the yamen (local government office). She sees Chi Xue using hypnosis to knock out the guards and follows him inside. She finds the mirror, but Chi Xue catches her on the way out, thinking she's been tailing him.
Chu Youhuang is hitting the books, theorizing that Tian Rui might have taken some kind of immortality drug that backfired. She doesn't believe in magic elixirs (or emperors would never die!), but maybe Tian Rui used a temporary youth potion and got poisoned. She decides to take Li Mao to perform an autopsy.
Meanwhile, Jiu Xuanye and Chi Xue snatch Tian Rui's body. Chi Xue tells Jiu Xuanye about Duan Banxia, assuming she's just messing with him. He locks her in the morgue to scare her. Jiu Xuanye, worried, rushes to rescue her.
Chu Youhuang arrives at the yamen, furious to find the guards asleep. She wakes them up and goes inside with Li Mao to examine the body... only to find Duan Banxia under the sheet! Li Mao is about to cut her open when they hear a noise and run out. When they return, the "body" is gone. Li Mao freaks out, searching for the corpse. Jiu Xuanye finds Duan Banxia, drapes his coat over her, and takes her home. She's crying, and when Jiu Xuanye apologizes, she slaps him! Ouch!
Jiu Xuanye returns home to find Chi Xue waiting. Enraged, he slaps Chi Xue. Duan Banxia, after her cry, yells at Jiu Xuanye's house. Jiu Xuanye comes over, and she gives him the mirror, telling him it doesn't reflect people. She asks him to investigate, and if it's connected to her father, to help her find out the truth. He agrees.
Later, Chi Wangchuan visits Ji Li, bringing her a Biyu pear. Ji Li is angry because Chi Wangchuan promised not to kill anyone for a year to get the pears, but he's already killed Tian Rui. Chi Wangchuan claims Tian Rui was jealous of Ji Li's beauty and deserved it. Despite her anger, Ji Li eats the pear. Chi Wangchuan promises not to kill again before the deadline.
Wen Jian tells Jiu Xuanye about the Zhang Niangzi case, connecting it to Tian Rui's death, suspecting a demon. Jiu Xuanye pieces it together: the demon uses the mirror to travel. The mirror loses its reflection after the demon uses it but returns to normal later. Tian Rui and Zhang Niangzi took a "child pear," which maintains beauty for seven days. After seven days, the pear dissolves in the stomach, and the demon takes it to create a "mother pear," which grants youth for a year. That's why the killer has to kill every year. To lure the demon, they can mimic the victims, peeling a pear at midnight, but they need a girl. Wen Jian eyes Duan Banxia...uh oh!
He Banzhu visits Ji Li. She was supposed to be free today, but with Tian Rui gone, He Banzhu begs her to stay for two more years.
