August 12th, Monday.
'Rurouni Kenshin' was climbing the trending charts on SakuraNet.
It had already seized the top spot under the web drama category ahead of time.
The drama's performance was impressive—Episode 1 had racked up 2.74 million paid views.
Episode 2 followed with 2.03 million.
And today marked exactly one week since the premiere of Episode 3, which had broken records again with 1.49 million paid views in its first week.
If this were a typical web drama with over ten episodes, many media outlets would be confidently predicting that 'Rurouni Kenshin' would surpass an average of 4 million paid views per episode by the end of the summer season in September.
Unfortunately, 'Rurouni Kenshin' will conclude tonight.
In less than two weeks, its popularity would fade, paid viewership would stagnate, and eventually plateau.
Although the first three episodes of 'Rurouni Kenshin' had outperformed 'Pure Breeze' in paid viewership…
Most media still predicted that among all the web dramas this season in the Xia Nation, 'Pure Breeze' would be the final victor.
While 'Rurouni Kenshin' would have to settle for second place.
Its average paid views would likely hover around 3 million per episode.
But this wasn't a slight against 'Rurouni Kenshin'.
For a four-episode mini-series, produced with a modest budget of just over a million yuan, achieving 3 million paid views per episode—
That would total 12 million in revenue. The production team alone would earn over $ 6 million from profit sharing. Add in licensing fees and other rights—
The project was already guaranteed a return rate of over 700%.
And with a rating of 9.4, even the pickiest critics had no grounds to nitpick.
At this moment, the 'Rurouni Kenshin' comment section on SakuraNet was ablaze with discussion.
"Finally, the day has come."
"Tonight, we'll finally see how Kenshin and Yukishiro Tomoe's story ends. The cliffhanger left me suffering all week!"
"Can't wait to see Kenshin storm the mountain tonight! Whatever evil plots and enemies await—none of it matters in the face of overwhelming strength."
"Kenshin has to unleash tonight. Episode 3 didn't even have a single fight scene. Something's missing. I need bloodshed in Episode 4!"
"Didn't Kenshin promise Tomoe he wouldn't kill anymore? Why are you all thirstier for blood than he is?"
"Think about it. Tomoe is still in the hands of the enemy! You think he cares about a promise now? If my girl was in danger, screw promises. And besides, Kenshin said, after the new era begins. This ain't it yet."
"Every good wuxia romance needs to end in a glorious final battle. I already know how Episode 4's gonna go: Kenshin storms the mountain, it's dangerous, there are ambushes. But come on, it's Kenshin. He gets injured saving Tomoe, they confess everything, resolve their emotional knots, and live happily ever after—until the new era dawns."
"Right! From the very first episode, the scar on Kenshin's face from Kiyosato kept bleeding. I think the show's setting is that if a wound inflicted with hatred isn't resolved, it won't heal. I thought that was kinda superstitious, but hey, it's fiction—I'll go with it. And the key to resolving Kiyosato's grudge? Definitely has to do with Tomoe. Episode 4 will explain everything."
"Dude, Kiyosato's grudge won't be so easy to resolve. Imagine things from his perspective:
He came to Kyoto full of dreams, riding high, got close to high-ranking officials, and success was just around the corner. He was ready to go home and marry his beautiful fiancée—then Kenshin killed him.
His fiancée, Tomoe, swore revenge for him, infiltrated Kenshin's group… only to fall in love with Kenshin and, well, you know… Then Kenshin promises that once the new era arrives, he won't kill again.
Man, Kiyosato got done dirty. He's the biggest victim in the whole story—a total cuck! How's he supposed to let go of that grudge?"
"...Huh?"
"Damn…"
"Now that you put it that way, if I were Kiyosato, I'd turn into a vengeance spirit too."
"The most tragic character. No contest."
"You think Tomoe will use love to purify Kiyosato's resentment?"
"If I were Kiyosato, I'd just want the world to burn. I'm tired."
"Nah, that'd be too wild. The only way to resolve Kiyosato's grudge might be for Kenshin and Tomoe to part in death."
"Haha, no way!"
"You think the writer would alienate millions of 'Rurouni Kenshin' fans with that kind of ending?"
"Kiyosato and his grudge may be fictional, but the rage of millions of Kenshin fans? That's real. No way the writer would risk that."
"But the producer is Shinozaki Ikumi! Yeah, that Shinozaki Ikumi, who made Sakura Island Love Song!"
"Oh no, don't remind me of that dumpster fire of a show. I'm scared now."
"Stop it. There's no way. Absolutely no way. If that happens, I'm blacklisting both Shinozaki Ikumi and Su Yan for life!"
On her way home from work, Gao Mengwen was scrolling through the comments on SakuraNet, a smile playing on her lips.
For her, the best part of following a show wasn't the plot itself—
It was the shared anticipation and wild predictions with fellow fans afterward.
This whole week, she'd been thinking about how Kenshin and Tomoe's story would end.
Surely, it would be a happy ending.
No way she believed any of those fan theories predicting tragedy in Episode 4.
If 'Rurouni Kenshin' had been fully scripted and filmed in one go, maybe.
But in Xia Nation, TV series were often written while filming was ongoing—
Specifically, so writers could adjust to audience feedback and market trends.
Would Su Yan really write something that pissed everyone off, just to be "artsy"?
No way.
He had the talent, the time, and the data to make a smart choice for Episode 4.
He was a rookie screenwriter—no way he'd risk a tragic ending and ruin his reputation just to act like some tortured artist.
All those ominous hints at the end of Episode 3? Just red herrings.
Mengwen could see right through them.
Once home, she took a shower, dried her hair, put on some music to relax, and prepared to watch Episode 4 in the best possible mood.
Soon, it was 8:00 PM.
Smiling, she opened her laptop and checked the title of Episode 4.
[Rurouni Kenshin Episode 4: The Cross-Shaped Wound]
The Cross-Shaped Wound?
What could that mean?
Every episode title in 'Rurouni Kenshin' carried deep meaning—
"The Man of the Slashing Sword," "The Lost Cat," "The Previous Night at the Mountain"...
Each one reflected Kenshin and Tomoe's emotional journey.
And now Episode 4: The Cross-Shaped Wound...
Hmph. Not even gonna guess.
Gao Mengwen took a deep breath and hit "Play."
The scene picked up right where Episode 3 ended.
"The traitor is Yukishiro Tomoe. She and her accomplices are hiding in the temple on the opposite mountain!" Iizuka said to Kenshin.
"Eliminate her!"
From her god's-eye perspective, Mengwen already knew Iizuka was the real traitor—
Not a single word he said could be trusted.
But what about Kenshin?
This was the first mission his organization had given him after he fled Kyoto.
And it was a command to return to his old ways—
To kill again.
Worse yet, the target was the woman he loved: Yukishiro Tomoe.
No time wasted. Two lines in, and Episode 4 had thrown Kenshin into an impossible dilemma.
Disobey orders and let the "traitor" go—
The one who supposedly exposed their hideout, leading to chaos and death in Kyoto?
Or kill her with his own hands.
Snow was falling heavily. Blood dripped from Kenshin's scar, running down his cheek and staining his collar.
At his waist hung his sword.
In his hand, he held the scarf Tomoe had once wrapped around him—
The same one he'd said was too pure to be tainted with blood.
His eyes empty, Kenshin trudged through the snowy mountain trail.
Every step sank deep into the snow.
In his mind, the scene of killing Kiyosato played over and over, merging with his first encounter with Tomoe—
When she was all alone, without a smile.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
And painful.
The scarf slipped from Kenshin's hand. He turned to look—
But in that moment, he saw a hallucination:
The scarf became Kiyosato's blood-soaked corpse.
"This is too much," Mengwen whispered, her smile fading.
She understood now.
Kenshin wasn't climbing the mountain to kill Tomoe—
He was going to apologize.
To say sorry for killing Kiyosato.
For destroying Tomoe's happiness.
Kenshin bent down and picked up the scarf.
Blood dripped onto it.
This scarf—something he'd treasured so much he once refused to let it be stained with his blood—
Now, for the first time…
He was soaked in blood from the cursed scar Kiyosato had left on his face.
The symbolism was gut-wrenching.
A creeping sense of dread rose in Gao Mengwen's chest.