Chapter 15 Chung works his magic, as episode 15 of The Devil Punisher begins with him whooshing the anti-spell to all the students but En-Hsi looks a bit off. Once home, En-Hsi is resting in bed and Hsin-Yu worries about the black aura. Chung confirms it’s dense and likely accumulated over time. Hsin-Yu asks about Lu Chi’s feud with Chung but Cheng Huang steps in to distract her. They agree En-Hsi will slowly get better with care but Cheng Huang insists Chung can’t continue to violate heaven’s laws. A worried Ouyang Kai visits En-Hsi but she’s not keen to see him and tells him that she likes someone else. He confirms he’s serious about her but tells her to be true to her feelings. Chung catches him afterwards and Ouyang Kai shares the story between Hsin-Yu and En-Hsi and that her interest in Professor Lu, who liked Hsin-Yu, is the reason she’s been so unhappy. Hsin-Yu looks after En-Hsi but doesn’t know how to answer her questions. The last thing En-Hsi remembers is Chung and Hsin-Yu accusing her of spiking the tea. They argue and En-Hsi forgives her but says if it happens again, they’ll no longer be friends. Hsin-Yu lets slip that Professor Lu is ill too. Chung and Cheng Huang believe Lu Chi is messing with them and furthermore intentionally involving humans so Chung can’t interfere. They wonder if Che-Hsuan has been institutionalised to get rid of evidence and have Hsiao-Chi protecting him. Cheng Huang notes that as gods they shouldn’t be focused on past feuds. Hsin-Yu closes the café early at Professor Lu’s instruction but worries he’s still got black aura issues. She and Chung visit him and find En-Hsi at his house, acting the little missus. Lu Po-Ya looks a little uncomfortable but not as much as Chung and Hsin-Yu, so they skedaddle. Hsin-Yu is surprised and happy about the couple but Chung looks indifferent, saying they’ll be together if destined. She changes the subject, asking about Confusion Fluid and worrying about Che-Hsuan’s words. Chung wants her to forget about Lu Chi and Che-Hsuan but Hsin-Yu insists there’s something in him mentioning things from 1000 years ago. He pulls on Cheng Huang’s words about ignoring past feuds and notes its his own fault that she was kidnapped from the Underworld. He promises to protect her. Che-Hsuan looks defeated and can’t be persuaded to share information, spinning about his mother instead. Chung tries another tack but gets nowhere. They realise that Lu Chi can bring back memories that Chung erased. Cheng Huang offers to fetch Che-Hsuan’s mother, Shao Shou-Hua, from the Underworld to convince him. En-Hsi comes home with the first smile we’ve seen in a while. Hsin-Yu pries girl talk from her and she admits liking Lu Po-Ya for a long time. But says he hasn’t accepted her yet, so they’re hanging as friends for now. Hsin-Yu asks whether Ouyang Kai is aware. Hsin-Yu dreams of someone reaching for her, calling her Hsiao-Ping and asking how she can forget him. Cheng Huang tries to meet Underworld Queen Chin-Kuang but she refuses everyone except Lady Meng. Chung investigates the auditorium and finds the talisman from Che-Hsuan’s piano. It has his mother’s name on it, so Chung suspects that’s how Lu Chi controls him. They visit Che-Hsuan again and Cheng Huang brings his mother. She tells him he should be using the piano to heal others’ pain and to get it together and live for himself, not her. He promises to do so. His mother explains the circumstances of her death to Chung and Cheng Huang notes it was a tricky way to let her death look natural, fooling the Book of Life. She mentions Big Boss in her tale. Che-Hsuan recalls that Lu Chi brought his mother to him, but his story sounds faulty, so they think his memories were erased. He says En-Hsi brought the talisman to his piano. Then Che-Hsuan delivers a message from Lu Chi – Hsiao-Ping will surely return to him and even Chung Kuei can’t stop him. Cheng Huang and Chung discuss the evidence and notes the talisman has a Bazi of Che-Hsuan’s Mom which may leave a part of her soul in the human realm. Is this how Lu Chi created Che-Hsuan’s hallucinations? It would also interfere with her reincarnation. Chung says he won’t get Chin-Kuang involved again but solve things himself. He releases Hsiao-Chi to her Underworld duties and believes it will lure Lu Chi in. He puts a spell on Che-Hsuan. Chung picks up Hsin-Yu and they see En-Hsi and Professor Lu together at the café. Ouyang Kai enters and the teasing exits. Professor Lu invites him to join the rest for dinner, his treat. But he says he has other plans. The four double-date and it’s a quiet affair. Professor Lu notes they’ve been through stuff together, could even live and die together and they all drink, but he doesn’t clink. He asks for Hsin-Yu’s tea recipe and she notices the note she’d left for Chung. She thinks that normal humans shouldn’t be able to find Chung’s house. Chung drinks too much and when she carries him home, he tells ‘Hsiao-Ping’ not to leave him, which triggers a memory of her dream. Hsin-Yu isn’t sure who that is or how it’s connected to her. Hsin-Yu meets Cheng Huang to ask about regaining her memories. She asks about finding her past life but he says he can’t help there. He sends her to see Queen Chin. Ouyang Kai tries to see En-Hsi but she’s with Professor Lu. They invite him along to breakfast but he can’t watch and makes an excuse. Che-Hsuan is horrified by a visit by Lu Po-Ya and En-Hsi but Lu is thrown back by a protection spell. Looking crazy-eyed and suddenly growing long black fingernails, Lu breaks the spell and pulls something from Che-Hsuan, giving it to En-Hsi. He cuts Che-Hsuan’s throat with a fingernail for good measure then blanks the CCTV. At his house, still looking crazed and with En-Hsi lying on his knee, he recalls the moment he took possession of her. Calling her his ace, he says the interesting part has just begun. Then he opens a sealed room housing a symbol, a jar of blooming rafflesia and talismans of his victims. Hsin-Yu visits Queen Chin to find a way to get her memories back so she can face Lu Chi. The price for regaining her memory is her immortality as a god. They start by removing the seal from her life as Lady Meng. She recalls the Bridge of Helplessness explosion and Lu Chi, who’d called her Hsiao-Ping. Cheng Huang suggests Chung pay more attention to Hsin-Yu as she’s asking questions. He seeks her but she doesn’t answer, instead visiting Lu Po-Ya. Looking pleased, he asks if she remembers everything. Chung Kuei: I can let go of past hatred, but I cannot let the justice of the world be violated. The Episode Review And so, in the creepiest episode to date, I find that (as John Wesley Harding says) I’m wrong about everything. If you read my ramblings last review, you know I completely overthought. Conversely my inkling from early days (that I admittedly let go of) was right. So no, Professor Lu isn’t that boring (as per Chung). And this is EXACTLY why I love Asian drama. Bravo, Devil Punisher, you got there. And to all of you who ignored me and predicted this – well done. Tell me below what confirmed it for you! Professor Lu – wait, we can’t call him that anymore – Lu Po-Ya, has now gone off the deep end. Who’s loving this character? What a shift! And En-Hsi appears as his familiar, so to speak. Then there’s Lu Po-Ya’s trophy room starring rafflesia – even ickier. Ah, its so pleasing to see a story reach crescendo. Hang on – we still have four more instalments to go. Think there’s more to it? Could Lu Po-Ya’s obsession be just a piece in an even greater plan? Or will the next four segments give us just enough time take this revelation to war and make it back again? Meanwhile, that final line from Chung Kuei – uh-oh. That sounds like an admission that work comes first. How did they phrase that weekly cliff-hanger in the old Batman and Robin series? ‘Looks like this is the end…’ Luckily, we have a few more opportunities to see what happens next. *If you’re curious, in Chinese astrology, the year, month, day and hour of birth has great significance when it comes to analysing fate. The four components are known as ‘The Four Pillars of Destiny’ or Bazi (Bā Zì).
