Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 Episode 10 (2023)

Episode 10 of Tale of the Nine Tailed starts with the crazed Mercenary confronting the Mountain Gods and introducing himself. This is Ushichibo, and he’s a demon hat hunts animals with deadly poison. He’s here to cause destruction. In fact, he points out that they’ve just breathed in a fog of poison that happens to be in the air.

As Hong-joo and Moo-yeong start to experience a litany of different curses, Ushichibo gives them an hour, otherwise they’ll be bleeding to death based on this poison. And it’s all down to Yeon.

Yeon won’t let this happen and decides to hand over the bag, in exchange for an antidote. Surprise, it’s all a ruse! The three Gods work together and demand the Mercenary hand it over, otherwise they’re going to seriously shred him to pieces, with a bag full of tools too. Hong-joo grabs a sledgehammer, ready to break one bone at a time.

As Ushichibo’s screams pierce the air, the other Mercenaries realize what’s happening and race off to find their brother. As they do, Yeon saves Hong-joo from a deadly bit of acid spit. Hong-joo then strikes the demon hard, three times until he dies.

When the other Mercenaries find out, they’re shocked and Yuki sets out to get some revenge. Unfortunately, the poison that Moo-yeong and Hong-joo are suffering from is more lethal than they suspected and they both start to pass out.

Yuki catches up with them and she asks Yeon if he likes snowmen. In fact, she hands a little snowman over as a symbol of his love and tries to kiss him. Hong-joo is having none of that, given her feelings and the pair end up fighting, at least until the effects of the poison become too unbearable.

Yuki rushes off but Yeon gives chase. It turns out this is Yuki-onna, a snow spirit taking the form of this komodo-wearing woman. Yeon decids to try and strike a deal with her, agreeing to exchange one treasure for the antidote to the poison. Will she go for the deal?

Back inside Bando Hotel, a whole flock of Yacha turn this into a horrific zombie apocalypse. Rang and Yeo-hee seem to have no way out, until the Bandit Boss jumps in and saves them both, clearing a path and managing to get out the main atrium.

Yeo-hee ends up getting bitten by a Yacha out in the hallway. Rang takes her into the bedroom and is shocked when he realizes she could actually die from this. Rang obviously has feelings for her and admits that seeing her sing with her happy face made him believe he should live and gave him a reason to do so.

And as they sit together, Rang hands over the ring to symbolize how he really feels, solidifying his love. He doesn’t intend to stumble or run anymore because he has her. That is, until she starts burning up and running a fever. Rang puts her in bed but he struggles to hold back tears as Yeo-hee passes out from her injuries. She’s still alive but it’s definitely touch and go.

Eun-ho is shocked to learn she’s about to become Kato’s husband. However, she’s warned that the Chief Commander is not human and is urged not to get close. He could well be the person who harmed her sister too. Eun-ho has an idea to try and stop him, and that starts with her telling her parents she’s going to go ahead with the marriage.

Back in the painting, Yeon returns the antidote to the Mountain Gods, who are wary around whether Yuki may have tricked them. Yeon decides to take it first and thankfully, it’s definitely not another poison or anything deadly that could kill them. However, Yuki gets the ruler in this trade.

Yeon has conditions for handing over this antidote. They have to agree to help track down and kill these Mercenaries; all three of them together just like old times. Yeon admits he needs Moo-yeong’s talents, given the snow lady will probably end up being bested by Moo-yeong, as he has fire powers. Moo-yeong does the right thing and agrees to fight alongside his old friend one more time, even if begrudgingly.

Together, they work out what they’re up against here. We already know abut Yuki but there’s also Oogama, a centuries-old toad demon. He’s incredibly strong. The third guy is the boss but they’re not sure who he is nor what his powers are. So Yeon decides he’s going to go after that one.

As he leaves, Hong-joo heads in to give him a massive hug and hand over a bunch of trinkets. Only, she’s sly and actually takes the bag holding the stone without his knowledge!

Yeon heads out into the wilderness and lo and behold, he stumbles upon that final God. He claims to be an indigenous God and tries to jump on Yeon’s back. Just before he does, Yeon realizes what’s going on and suddenly stabs the guy through the stomach, pointing out that he was luring him in the whole time. He knows the poison bender from earlier smelled just like this guy.

This is Onyudo, and he launches himself at Yeon, wrapping his arms around him and switching places with the Mountain God. He’s a body-switching demon, and with Yeon in the old man’s body, the new Yeon is dismayed to learn the stone isn’t in his pocket.

Onyudo rushes off while Yeon is left alone with a nasty wound through the stomach and forced to try and find some way to stop this tricksy God. He’s also worried that Onyudo may pretend to be him and trick both Moo-yeong and Hong-joo.

That is precisely what happens, as it turns out, and although Yeon manages to lure Hong-joo and Moo-yeong out of hiding, Yeon realizes he can do the same thing, given the other Gods are unaware of the switch at this point.

Back at the hotel, it turns out that there may be something to cure Yeo-hee’s injuries. This comes from brewed iris pistil. Jae-yoo tells the group as much and Shin-joo realizes that there’s actually some at the hotel, but downstairs at the bar. It’s Madame Ryu’s and it’s surrounded by a sea of Yacha.

The mission goes ahead and the group work together to try and track down the brew, using the record plyer as a way of luring them over.

The whole plan goes awry, but Shin-joo does manage to get the antidote, although it comes at the expense of Satori, a guy who happens to join them. However, this antidote may have come a little too late with the girls worried and believing they should kill Yeo-hee before she turns.

Back with Yeon, he manages to talk to the other Mercenaries and convince them he’s not switched over. However, he’s taken aback by the fact that there are five Mercenaries rather than four. And the fifth? It turns out it’s Satori, who happens to be in Bando Hotel and with Rang and the group. He pretended to sacrifice himself for the others, but in reality he’s every bit a part of this game as the others.

The Episode Review

What an ominous ending to this exciting, action packed episode! There are definitely shades of Dragon Ball Z in this chapter, what with Nyudo’s shape-shifting abilities and the different powers, which does have some similarities to the Ginyu Force, which is an amusing observation for those keen anime watchers!

As for the episode itself, the dual focus between Rang at the hotel and those inside the painting lends itself nicely to a quick pace, and the rapid fire of editing, keeping both storylines fresh and exciting, harks back to just how impressive this second season has been.

This feels like a completely different show now compared to the first, leaping lightyears ahead of its predecessor to deliver a rip-roaring good time.