Episode Summary
Ji Li is trapped by Chi Wangchuan in a mirror world, reliving her past. Jiu Xuanye and Dan Banxia fight Chi Wangchuan, who reveals details about Duan Yingheng's kidnapping and a mysterious demon. Chi Wangchuan is defeated, but Ji Li is lost in grief. Dan Banxia investigates Jiu Xuanye's past, uncovering the tragic events of his family's massacre.
Spoiler Alert
"The Demon Hunter's Romance" Episode 8: Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall… (Recap & Spoilers)
Okay, things get weird in episode 8. Dan Banxia follows someone into a mirror (as you do), while Chu Youhuang arrives just to see a mirror. Inside, Ji Li is staring at her reflection. Flashback time! We see Ji Li back in the day, getting roughed up by a client. Enter Chi Wangchuan in the mirror, promising eternal youth in exchange for Ji Li's eternal companionship. She agrees.
From then on, Ji Li's stuck in this cycle, trying to rebel against Chi Wangchuan but always backing down when she sees herself aging. Chi Wangchuan shows up, and Ji Li realizes he's been offing people and that she's been eating their pears (yeah, it's a thing). He begs her to stay with him forever. Creepy!
Outside the mirror world, Chi Wangchuan's choking out Dan Banxia when Jiu Xuanye shows up. But Jiu Xuanye can't even pull out his sword, Han Shan. Chi Wangchuan's just wailing on him. Dan Banxia figures out that Jiu Xuanye touched the mirror, sealing part of him away. She smashes the mirror, and bam, multiple Jiu Xuanyes merge back into one super-powered demon hunter.
Han Shan is back in action, and Chi Wangchuan is outmatched, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Jiu Xuanye uses some demon-hunting gadget to find him, beats him down, but Chi Wangchuan is still obsessed with Ji Li, who seems totally out of it.
Chi Wangchuan, stalling for time, spills some beans to Dan Banxia. Turns out, he kidnapped her dad, Duan Yingheng, on orders from a demon. But another demon took Duan Yingheng's place and got burned instead. When Duan Yingheng went home, Chi Wangchuan found him and was about to snatch him when Dan Banxia knocked on the door. Duan Yingheng, not wanting to endanger his daughter, begged Chi Wangchuan to let him see her first. When Dan Banxia presses for the name of the demon pulling the strings, Chi Wangchuan unleashes a flock of birds to attack everyone.
Just as Chi Wangchuan is about to drag Ji Li away, Dan Banxia grabs her hand, and Jiu Xuanye stabs Chi Wangchuan with his sword. The mirror world collapses, and all the past versions of Ji Li stab Chi Wangchuan, killing him. But Ji Li is too sad to leave the place. Jiu Xuanye grabs Dan Banxia, and they escape before the whole thing crumbles.
Later, Dan Banxia meets up with Chu Youhuang, asking about the massacre at Jiu Xuanye's house six years ago. Chu Youhuang recalls a bloodbath and how Jiu Xuanye was holding the murder weapon. Everyone thought Jiu Xuanye did it, including Chu Youhuang himself. Jiu Xuanye confessed and was thrown in jail.
But then, bandits caused chaos, and Jiu Xuanye was released to fight demons. Chu Youhuang never believed it until now. Meanwhile, Jiu Xuanye is brooding about that night. Everyone was infected with some weird demon toxin, making them attack each other. Jiu Xuanye's family were doctors and demon hunters, and he blames himself. His dad, knowing he's infected, gives Jiu Xuanye some cryptic instructions before offing himself, telling Jiu Xuanye that only he can decide who he is. Deep stuff.
On her way home, Dan Banxia sees a guy with a bird on his shoulder that no one else seems to notice. Sketchy! She visits Jiu Xuanye, pretending to need medicine but really just checking up on him. He's been asleep for six days, and she's worried he'll starve. Aww!
