LayarHijau – Chinese adventure drama Mystic Nine (《九門》), starring William Chan and Joseph Zeng, has officially come to an end. But instead of giving viewers a single finale, the production team released two different endings: a bad ending (BE) in Episode 29 and a happy ending (HE) in Episode 30. The two versions take the story in dramatically different directions and have sparked plenty of discussion among Chinese viewers.
SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for the ending of Mystic Nine, including the fates of Zhang Qishan, Wu Laogou, and Xie Jiutai, as well as the relationship between Wu Laogou and Huo Xiangu.
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Episode 29 delivers the BE, with the military government targeting the members of the “Nine Gates” (九門) and forcing Zhang Qishan, played by William Chan, to deal with his own allies. Realizing that someone has to take the fall to protect the others, Wu Laogou, played by Joseph Zeng, deliberately turns himself into a target.
Wu Laogou pretends to have become driven by his own interests and turns against the other members of the Nine Gates. He even seriously injures several of the group’s leaders in an attempt to draw the military government’s attention away from them. His ultimate goal is to keep Zhang Qishan alive so that he can lead the others through the coming war against Japan.
The plan comes at a devastating cost. Wu Laogou is captured and sentenced to death. Zhang Qishan eventually realizes that Wu Laogou has been sacrificing himself to protect the Nine Gates, but there is nothing he can do to stop the execution.
In one of the most heartbreaking scenes of Episode 29, Wu Laogou asks Zhang Qishan to be the one to carry out his execution. Before his death, he tells him, “We’ve come this far together. Foye, you send me off.”
With tears in his eyes, Zhang Qishan is forced to raise his gun and shoot Wu Laogou. The scene left many Chinese viewers devastated, with the tragic farewell between the two characters becoming one of the most talked-about moments of the finale.
But that was not actually the end of the story.
Episode 30 offers the HE and completely changes the context of the tragedies shown in the previous episode. It is revealed that the deaths and serious injuries suffered by several members of the Nine Gates were actually part of a plan devised by Zhang Qishan and Wu Laogou.
The two men used “Xingyue Sha” (星月砂) to alter everyone’s memories, allowing the Nine Gates to escape the military government’s pursuit. To the outside world, the group appears to have disappeared, with its members going their separate ways. In reality, however, they have survived and continue pursuing their own causes.
Zhang Qishan and Wu Laogou eventually reunite with the other members of the Nine Gates in secret. The reunion comes as a major surprise and an emotional release for Chinese viewers after the devastating events of Episode 29.
In the HE version, Zhang Qishan goes on to lead civilians in the fight against the Japanese. Wu Laogou, meanwhile, remains undercover, raising dogs and using the proceeds to support the resistance.
Wu Laogou and Huo Xiangu, played by Chen Yao, also do not end up together. Despite their connection, the two ultimately choose separate paths and continue fighting for the causes they believe in.
The only major member of the Nine Gates whose fate remains genuinely tragic is Xie Jiutai, played by Ji Xiaobing. He willingly sacrifices himself for the plan and ultimately dies in prison.
While Episode 30 gives the story a much happier outcome, the decision to release two different endings has not satisfied everyone. Many Chinese viewers welcomed the HE version, especially after watching Wu Laogou seemingly die in Episode 29.
However, the drama has also faced criticism, particularly from fans of the original novel. The finale takes the story increasingly far from its source material, eventually turning it into a wartime resistance story centered on the fight against Japan.
The drama even features scenes in which members of the Nine Gates use explosives and risk their lives in direct confrontations with Japanese troops. The drastic changes have frustrated some novel readers, who accuse the adaptation of heavily rewriting the original story.
Wu Laogou and Huo Xiangu’s relationship has also left some viewers disappointed. The two characters originally had a farewell kiss scene, but the scene was ultimately cut from the final broadcast version.
As a result, while some Chinese viewers praised the HE for giving the characters a more hopeful outcome after the emotional devastation of Episode 29, others continued to criticize the changes to the story and the removal of key scenes. Mystic Nine ultimately ended with two very different finales, leaving audiences divided between relief over the happier resolution and frustration over how far the adaptation strayed from the original novel.
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