In the animated series Sword of Coming 2 (剑来2), a simple act of kindness nearly turned into a deadly trap. Deep inside the mystical Lizhu (骊珠) Cave Heaven, a well-meaning man named Li Er (李二) tried to help a poor teenager named Chen Ping'an. He offered to sell him a strange item called the Dragon King Basket along with a Golden Carp. But before the deal could close, a passing prince snatched them away. What seemed like bad luck for Chen turned out to be a miracle. That basket was no ordinary tool—it was a nightmare device that could have gotten him killed before he ever left the town. The story hides a dark secret about power, fear, and a young man's strange love for money over magic.
The Lucky Intercept
Li Er always thought Chen Ping'an (陈平安) was a good kid. He wanted to give him a break but didn't want to hand out freebies. Selling the Dragon King Basket and the Golden Carp at a low price seemed like a fair way to help. However, fate had other plans. Prince Gao Xuan (高煊) of the Sui Dynasty and his guard Wu Diaosi (吴貂寺) happened to pass by. Their eyes lit up the moment they saw the basket and the fish. They cut in line and bought everything on the spot. Chen lost his chance, but he also lost a hidden death sentence.
Why was this a blessing? The Lizhu Cave Heaven was full of powerful, dangerous people. If Chen had taken those items, he would have become a target. He was just a poor kid with no real strength. Everyone would have wanted the basket. He could not have survived the night. When the old hermit Yang Laotou (杨老头) heard what Li Er almost did, he scolded him badly. The old man knew the truth: that basket was not a gift—it was a curse.
Prince Gao Xuan also understood he had stolen something big. He felt a little guilty, so he gave Chen a bag of Jingjin (金精) Copper Coins as payment. Later, when Chen escorted Li Baoping (李宝瓶) and others to the Sui capital, Gao Xuan came out to greet them again. He even gave Chen a horse carriage as thanks. The prince handled the situation with grace. He knew about cause and effect, and he tried to balance the scales. But even then, he had no idea how close Chen had come to disaster.
A Monster Trap
So what made the Dragon King Basket so terrifying? The show drops this mystery early and does not explain it until much later. That is why many viewers feel lost. Here is the truth: the basket was woven by the largest sect of the ancient Shu Kingdom (蜀国). Its making was a secret never shared with outsiders. The sect sold these baskets only to cultivators who hunted Jiao Long (蛟龙), the fierce flood dragons. A cultivator two levels weaker than a Jiao Long could still use the basket to catch the beast with ease.
When Chen casually mentioned the words "Dragon King Basket" in front of two little servants—a boy in green called Qingyi Xiaotong (青衣小童) and a girl in a pink dress named Fenqun Nütong (粉裙女童)—their reaction was instant and extreme. Both were terrified. The boy explained what the basket was while nervously watching Chen's face. He said that if a Jiao Long ever got caught in that thing, its life would become worse than death. Being trapped inside was far more painful than being locked in Cui Dongshan's (崔东山) Fu Long Guan (伏龙观) Inkstone.
The greedy little boy was so scared that he made a shocking offer. He said he would give up all the snake gallstones he had collected—his most prized possessions—if only his master promised never to use the basket. That is how frightening the Dragon King Basket was. A creature that normally fears nothing would rather lose everything than face that woven prison. The basket did not just capture bodies; it crushed souls.
Money Over Fate
Seeing the two kids shake with fear, Chen quickly said he did not own such a basket. But inside, he still felt bitter about losing the deal to Gao Xuan. He did not care about missing some great destiny. He cared about the money. In his mind, the Golden Carp and the Dragon King Basket were worth far more than one bag of copper coins. He felt like he had lost a mountain of gold and silver, not a magical tool.
This reaction tells us everything about Chen Ping'an. He grew up desperately poor. Hunger and cold were his oldest friends. So he values cash over cosmic power. Most heroes would weep over a lost chance to become invincible. Chen just counts the lost coins. It makes him real and human. He is not a noble fool chasing enlightenment. He is a survivor who knows that a full belly beats a magic basket any day.
Looking back at Li Er, his character shines brighter now. He went all the way to the Sui capital alone just to get revenge for his son. He also tried to secretly give young Chen a huge opportunity behind Yang Laotou's back. He is a true good guy—clumsy, kind, and a little blind to danger. He wanted to help, but he almost caused a tragedy. The story of the Dragon King Basket is not about what Chen lost. It is about what he never knew he escaped.
