u/a_HerculePoirot_fan

If you have made it this far, congrats!

This thread is for those who purchased the express package and wish to discuss the later episodes, as well as those who haven’t but still can’t resist getting their spoilers fresh and hot.

I added spoiler tag for this thread and since discussion is for the express episodes, all spoilers are fair game.

Flashcards | Masterpost | Episodes 1-3 | Episode 4 | Episodes 5-6 | Episodes 7-8 | Episode 9 | Episodes 10-11 | Episodes 12-13 | Episodes 14-15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20 | Episode 21 | Episode 22 | Episode 23 | Episode 24

The truth

https://preview.redd.it/bs4slscfys0h1.png?width=1386&format=png&auto=webp&s=2b9fc08ab7f9f6cf7bc78d9bd16f627ca0fa8d7b

Xu Meng and Su Qing became friends through a pen-pal correspondence initiated via a magazine, and they eventually made plans to meet at Mount Wu in 1995 in hopes of matchmaking their parents. Coming from broken families themselves, they longed to become sisters to one another. However, the incident at Mount Wu occurred, and Su Qing lost contact with Xu Meng, only to reunite with her again at Yuanlongli six months later.

https://preview.redd.it/k1q3dvukys0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a96d047c8d195af7f6c8618007229c52ddab3aa2

By this point, Xu Zhihong had become dependent on his medication and had begun physically abusing Xu Meng. Su Qing was no better off, as she too suffered abuse at the hands of Yao Baiyuan. The two kindred spirits found solace in each other amidst their shared suffering, until Yao Baiyuan died after falling down the stairs; an accident that had in fact been orchestrated by Xu Meng without Su Qing's knowledge.

https://preview.redd.it/r6u7zm2sys0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a52569a8fa5eee323a38415d70408aa659874d03

One night, Xu Meng returned home to find Xu Zhihong packing after discovering that she had borrowed money from loan sharks. Xu Meng refused to leave Weiyang, and Xu Zhihong soon flew into a rage and began choking her. Xu Meng struggled back, causing Xu Zhihong to hit his head against the wall, which ultimately led to his death.

Su Qing soon arrived and was horrified to find Zhihong lying dead on the floor. Xu Meng then revealed the truth: her mother had been pushed off the cliff by Xu Zhihong, who had wanted to take Su Qing's jacket for his own warmth. Together, Su Qing and Xu Meng chipped away at the wall to remove Zhihong's bloodstains. Ah, so that hole in the wall finally made sense.

https://preview.redd.it/c3cchaexys0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5616f9388e48913a3a1f52fdf7f13e1f3880b529

Su Qing instructed Xu Meng to place Zhihong's body inside a suitcase and transport it to Yuanlongli. At her apartment, Su Qing dismembered Zhihong's body before thoroughly washing away all traces of blood from the crime scene. I am honestly amazed that Su Qing continued using the same bathroom where she had chopped Zhihong's body into pieces. She certainly has nerves of steel.

https://preview.redd.it/4gn2zse4zs0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f22e47cb40cea7a3bdce761c67725541ca010927

After cleaning the bathroom meticulously, the two friends moved on to the next stage of their plan: staging Xu Meng's disappearance while taking advantage of Yuanlongli's haunted reputation. To mislead the police, Xu Meng intended to create the illusion that Zhihong was still alive on the 30th, and persuaded Su Qing to disguise herself as him. Xu Meng was convinced their plan was foolproof and could never be traced back to either of them, since nobody knew they were friends, and Song Qingsong had previously threatened to get rid of her.

Zhihong's body parts were disposed of piece by piece. Finally, on the fateful night of June 30th, Xu Meng retrieved Zhihong's head and two severed arms that had been stored in the refrigerator. Carrying Su Qing, who had disguised herself as Zhihong, they used a universal key to unlock the elevator door and climbed onto the rooftop of the lift.

Su Qing then used Zhihong's decomposing arms (ewww) to press the elevator buttons so that his fingerprints would be left behind. Carrying a bag containing Xu Zhihong's head and arms, Xu Meng escaped through the underground car park using the keys she still possessed from her days working at Pattia Club.

https://preview.redd.it/hwafr1aazs0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=902140fd9e824c6bb4db331fbfe41ad0968845cd

Unfortunately for Xu Meng, Shanlong happened to be at the underground car park and spotted her. Panicked, she dropped the bag onto the ground, where it would soon be discovered by Manager Qian. Left with no other choice, Xu Meng departed with Shanlong. Meanwhile, Su Qing was busy writing the sinister “18 Death Rhyme” and distributing it as flyers.

Xu Meng later informed Su Qing that she had forgotten to take the Bowls dress with her, fearing it could be traced back to Yao Xincheng. With the police spending the entire day at Yuanlongli investigating the disappearance of Xu Meng and her father, Su Qing decided to dig up the remaining body parts and burn them. To fabricate an excuse for the dirt on her clothes, she bought a potted plant, and on her way back to the apartment, she encountered Fang Xu for the very first time.

Xiaohe asked Su Qing about the photograph of the supposedly “dead” Xu Meng in the car boot, and Su Qing revealed that it had been Shanlong’s idea to use the photo to extort money from Song Qingsong.

https://preview.redd.it/egquky6gzs0h1.png?width=1388&format=png&auto=webp&s=853680e8fec055d6081e642cc757334cffeb753e

In the years that followed, Su Qing and Xu Meng barely kept in contact. Xu Meng drifted from place to place, surviving through under-the-table jobs, until one day in the spring of 2002, Su Qing received a call from her. Xu Meng revealed that she had finally saved enough money to build a house and asked Su Qing to meet her again at the place where they had first met. Filled with excitement and renewed hope for the future, Su Qing asked Yao Xincheng to fulfil his promise of transferring ownership of the apartment to her.

One day, Shanlong showed up at Su Qing’s apartment under the guise of checking the television cable. Su Qing, who immediately recognised him, soon discovered that he had secretly installed a camera to spy on her. However, fearing that he might expose Xu Meng’s whereabouts, Su Qing chose to endure it in silence. It was also around this period that Xu Zhihong’s severed head was discovered on the rooftop.

https://preview.redd.it/nshabn1kzs0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6d5229787ea8df4ce9b1128092884570e433ccb

Walking back to her apartment, Su Qing found Xu Meng waiting outside her door; their first reunion in five years. Su Qing urged Xu Meng to flee, but Xu Meng was exhausted from spending years on the run. Together, they once again devised a plan to conceal the truth: Xu Meng would dig up Xu Zhihong’s bone fragments, while Su Qing altered the genuine red heels into counterfeit blue ones. Xu Meng then sneaked into Shanlong’s apartment and planted the blue heels along with the bone fragments to frame him.

Shanlong’s death had in fact been premeditated by Xu Meng, who had even prepared herself to stab him if the plan failed. After Shanlong’s death, Xu Meng left Weiyang once again. Months later, Su Qing finally received the money from Yao Xincheng. However, she chose not to tell Xu Meng, because by then, she had realised she had fallen in love with Fang Xu.

https://preview.redd.it/js7qsudozs0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c5543a11204a11799f5815d42e40235b3f57edc6

On the fateful New Year’s Eve night, Fang Xu, who had pieced everything together, was just about to send a message to Yuan Hang when Su Qing came out to meet him. He drove her to a secluded place so they could talk privately, where he revealed that he knew the truth and urged her to turn herself in. But wait, Fang Xu had actually assumed that Su Qing was responsible for killing both Xu Meng and her father, when in reality, she was guilty of neither murder. And through it all, Su Qing never once exposed Xu Meng.

Su Qing promised that she would turn herself in the following morning, and Fang Xu vowed to accompany her. However, Su Qing also pleaded for one final wish: to spend New Year’s Eve with Fang Xu, Yuan Hang, and Xiaohe, sharing a reunion dinner together like a family; something she had long yearned for. Fang Xu reluctantly agreed and promised to pick her up from her apartment so they could head to Yuan Hang’s place together.

Back in the present timeline, Su Qing blamed herself for Fang Xu’s death because later that afternoon, she had called Xu Meng to tell her that Fang Xu had uncovered the truth. Xu Meng even offered to surrender herself as well, but she was in Kunhai and could only board the earliest train to Weiyang the next day. However, Xiaohe pointed out that Xu Meng would not have had enough time to plan Fang Xu’s murder. Despite this, Su Qing remained convinced that it was Xu Meng who had killed him.

https://preview.redd.it/su478fzwzs0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9af78795d6128687433c55ab9340916151685ae0

In another interrogation room, Xu Meng, who had earlier been apprehended by Qu Dahai, insisted that she alone was responsible for all the crimes and that Su Qing was innocent. However, Xiaohe coldly reminded her that it was not her place to decide that. There was far too much blood on Xu Meng’s hands, beginning with Yao Baiyuan’s death back in 1996 when Pattia Club was still operating.

Yao Baiyuan was a pervert who enjoyed spying on the attractive hostesses. One day, after Xu Meng caught him peeping on the women near a staircase, she deliberately poured nearby paint onto the steps so that he would slip and be crippled. What she never anticipated was that the fall would kill him. Disturbingly, Xu Meng was not horrified by what she had done; if anything, she felt relieved.

https://preview.redd.it/s7ni4wwzzs0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=194aea05d331a747235b69f7d92f69c05ae36dc7

Xu Meng’s next victim was her own father, Xu Zhihong, although his death would legally fall under involuntary manslaughter. Then came a shocking revelation none of us saw coming: it was Xu Meng who had set fire to the building that killed Peng Dachuang’s son and Xiaohe’s close friend. The boy had accidentally run into Xu Meng in 1997, and years later, crossed paths with her again at Yuanlongli in 2002. Fearing that he might recognise her, Xu Meng cold-bloodedly orchestrated his death.

https://preview.redd.it/9ohr0em70t0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a3aa53f9312a3f68dcbfd1175211377d29f04ae

Xu Meng secretly visited Su Qing at her apartment, but it had become painfully obvious that Su Qing was no longer invested in their original dream of moving away and building a life together, as she had fallen in love with Fang Xu. When Su Qing began offering a series of flimsy excuses to postpone their plans, she quickly excused herself to the bathroom after Xu Meng perceptively guessed that there was someone Su Qing could not bear to leave behind.

Taking advantage of Su Qing’s absence, Xu Meng quietly entered her bedroom to search for traces of a man. She was initially relieved when she found nothing suspicious, only for her attention to drift to the shoe cabinet, where she spotted a pair of men’s slippers. Xu Meng then chose to remain in Weiyang for several more days in order to uncover the identity of the man who had entered Su Qing’s life.

https://preview.redd.it/bg98e3eb0t0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8abfa98a9f1ee26a822131c6fbfd5d5cd08e965

When Xu Meng discovered that the man in Su Qing’s life was Fang Xu, a police officer, she initially was not too concerned because she assumed Su Qing was merely putting on an act to protect herself. However, as Su Qing grew increasingly distant and cold towards her, Xu Meng decided to return to Weiyang to spend New Year’s Eve with her.

At a shopping mall, Xu Meng spotted Su Qing happily buying scarves for Fang Xu, the two smiling warmly at each other. Deeply alarmed for Su Qing’s safety because Fang Xu was a cop, Xu Meng decided to approach her just as she received a phone call from Su Qing herself. During the call, Su Qing revealed that she had confessed everything to Fang Xu and intended to surrender to the authorities the following morning.

https://preview.redd.it/8ozy4fve0t0h1.png?width=1383&format=png&auto=webp&s=b2bb5416060cafba095ee3cb9e17df511a10077b

Knowing that there was a construction site along the road leading to Su Qing’s apartment, Xu Meng once again employed the same method she had used to kill Yao Baiyuan and Wu Shanlong by staging an “accident.” To disguise herself as Su Qing, Xu Meng purchased a wig, an identical Bowls jacket, and the same red scarf. If her plan failed, she could simply shift the blame onto Su Qing instead.

https://preview.redd.it/cubsh3fg0t0h1.jpg?width=2234&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1c98d1136045e1ded7065d8e1ba09838fe806d8d

When Qu Dahai questioned why she would frame Su Qing after claiming that everything she did was to protect her, Xu Meng broke down angrily, crying that she had killed three people for Su Qing, only for Su Qing to betray her with lies. Bruh, Su Qing never once asked her to commit any of those murders.

https://preview.redd.it/6k28pldm0t0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da6edf27bd50885cb978051e54da05f702c87557

Xu Meng deliberately positioned herself near the oil drums where Fang Xu would be able to spot her. The moment she saw his car approaching, she intentionally ran into its path. In an attempt to avoid hitting her, Fang Xu swerved on the slippery road, causing the car to overturn.

After painfully crawling out of the wreckage, Fang Xu looked up and saw Xu Meng standing before him. In that final moment, he realised that Xu Meng had been alive all along, just before he died.

https://preview.redd.it/wanyv0lt0t0h1.jpg?width=2313&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d76a5ea7aef2161005f786feaf434bbddce6911

Xiaohe was horrified that Xu Meng could be so utterly inhumane and lashed out at her in anger, while Qu Dahai flatly declared that she was evil. Xu Meng’s only response was to burst into manic laughter.

How the Story Concludes for Everyone:

https://preview.redd.it/zz3yzdkz0t0h1.jpg?width=2313&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38f612b08460969b5dfac2ddf319e7e60766c2e1

Xu Meng and Su Qing

Six months later, Xu Meng was sentenced to death for arson, intentional homicide, and filing false accusations, while Su Qing received a life sentence.

Xiaohe

https://preview.redd.it/zisnz34b1t0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c06092d07c6f4e8e8f1326e7de2e610e9f073d4f

Xiaohe received official recognition and a second-class merit award for her role in solving the Yuanlongli case. Director Zou also approved her immediate transfer to criminal field operations. She was even given the option of changing her badge number to either Yuan Hang’s or Fang Xu’s, but Xiaohe ultimately chose to keep her own. That was a really nice touch. While Xiaohe may be carrying on Fang Xu’s legacy as his disciple, she is also her own person and cannot remain in Fang Xu’s shadow forever.

Yuan Hang

Yuan Hang received an honorary certificate for assisting in the investigation. Yes, perhaps he would have deserved even more recognition if he had opened that damn parcel years earlier.

It appears that Yuan Hang is now living in a senior care and wellness centre, where his roommate is Meng, one of the elderly residents from Yuanlongli. Yuan Hang’s hallucinations have also returned in full force, as he once again finds himself at the train station bidding farewell to Fang Xu, who is leaving for Beijing.

Fang Xu

Unlike the previous times, Yuan Hang was not alone in sending Fang Xu off this time. The entire team, including Zhao Jie, Qu Dahai, Liang Juan, and the others, showed up at the station to bid him farewell.

https://preview.redd.it/6stha0ijxs0h1.jpg?width=3095&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=450c5e9ddca69fb3b35689fce0fa5e85aad9d0c1

I really could not hold back my tears during the last few minutes. The moment Fang Xu, now looking happier and his usual self, turned back to wave goodbye not only to Yuan Hang but also to the rest of his former colleagues, telling them that he is departing for good and to move on with life, my own emotions completely crumbled. With the June 30th case finally solved after all those years, everyone was at last able to properly come to terms with Fang Xu’s untimely death and give him the farewell he deserved.

The imagery of the train slowly departing the station while Fang Xu stood there smiling and waving back was deeply moving. It felt less like a goodbye filled with regret, and more like the long-overdue closure that everyone had been searching for. Truly a bittersweet ending.

Random thoughts

The struggles faced by women, especially those trapped in poverty, forced into stigmatised jobs like hostess and subjected to abuse at the hands of men, are one of the central themes of LttN. Both Xu Meng and Su Qing fought desperately to crawl out of the darkness surrounding their lives, although one could certainly argue that their own choices ultimately led to a trail of deaths.

I do not condone their actions, but I can understand why they became the people they did, particularly Xu Meng, whom I believe was already psychologically shattered the moment she accidentally caused her father’s death. For all those years, she sustained herself solely through the promise she shared with Su Qing: that one day they would live together as a family in some distant place where they could finally feel safe.

If you noticed, Xu Meng repeatedly brought up the idea of “safety” during both the flashbacks and the interrogation scenes. With no money, no family, and nowhere to belong, she had no safety net whatsoever. Su Qing breaking their promise became the final straw that completely pushed her over the edge. Rather than being inherently evil, I genuinely think Xu Meng had lost her sanity by that point. Her death sentence likely means very little to her.

The contrast between the younger Xu Meng, back when life still held some warmth and hope, and the Xu Meng we see in later years is heartbreaking. Her older self no longer cares about her appearance or even about living properly. It feels as though she had already given up on life long ago. Perhaps the only reason she never took her own life was because she continued clinging to the hope that one day, Su Qing would appear at the cottage she had built for the two of them. But of course, that is a dream that will never materialise.

Su Qing was another deeply tragic case. Unlike Xu Meng, whom one could argue had become ruthless and morally twisted, I feel that it was Su Qing’s fundamentally kind nature that ultimately led her down this path. She could have walked away the moment Xu Meng told her about Xu Zhihong’s death, but instead, she chose to help cover it up. Even when the truth resurfaced in 2015, Su Qing never once revealed Xu Meng’s name during the interrogation, at least not until she became convinced that Xu Meng was responsible for Fang Xu’s death.

In many ways, it was a chain of terrible decisions; decisions that perhaps would never have been made had Su Qing possessed family members or close friends she could truly rely on. Until Fang Xu entered her life, Xu Meng was essentially the only family she had. And because Su Qing craved familial love and belonging so desperately, she often went along with Xu Meng’s plans despite her own reluctance and unease.

In the end, both Su Qing and Xu Meng failed to crawl out of the darkness despite everything they sacrificed and everything they did. Which is why I am genuinely glad that characters like Lilli managed to survive and move forward. Seeing her thriving in the present day alongside Su Yuzhi, running a restaurant together, was heartwarming. She has never looked happier or more at peace.

Final Impression

It has been an interesting three weeks watching Light to the Night and wracking my brain trying to piece together all the hints and clues. The truth itself did not come as a huge surprise to me, because at its core, the mystery had always centred on how Xu Meng’s life unravelled after the Mount Wu incident, as well as the plight of women trapped in circumstances similar to Lilli’s. In the end, the whole Dongshan Mine conspiracy and child trafficking angle largely served as smokescreens.

However, I do feel that the plot dragged somewhat towards the end, and the drama probably would have benefited from being trimmed down to around 25 episodes or fewer.

I am also a bit miffed with the way the mystery was ultimately resolved, because both Yuan Hang and Fang Xu realistically could have uncovered the truth back in 2002 had Yuan Hang simply opened the parcel earlier and seen Su Qing’s name on the list. The writer never truly intended for viewers to solve the mystery alongside the characters; the crucial cards were kept hidden until the very end.

There was simply no way for us to deduce that Su Qing and Xu Meng were as close as sisters because the drama provided barely any meaningful foreshadowing or scattered clues pointing towards that revelation. The only real connection between them was the Mount Wu victims list, and that was withheld until the final few episodes.

But overall, the drama was still a solid watch, and I do not regret investing my time in following the story and coming up with numerous theories haha.

It's the final week for Light to the Night, and at this point, the drama has been quietly planting clues in plain sight while distracting us with red herrings everywhere else. Some details that initially seemed insignificant are starting to feel increasingly suspicious in hindsight. More importantly, the investigation in the present timeline may ultimately unravel the secrets of the one person we least expect.

Previous episode recaps:

Flashcards | Masterpost | Episodes 1-3 | Episode 4 | Episodes 5-6 | Episodes 7-8 | Episode 9 | Episodes 10-11 | Episodes 12-13 | Episodes 14-15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20 | Episode 21 | Episode 22

2015 timeline

https://preview.redd.it/m05si6dw7f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93c5b21ad3872baad50c47df1b829cc6406fda6c

After two arms were discovered in the underground car park, Qian Dajun was arrested and interrogated at the station by Zheng Zhong and Xiaohe. Qian Dajun had hired a relative to renovate the hallway, but the poor workmanship led to the death of a resident. He wanted to fix the issue himself, but with no money left, he had no choice but to steal cement from the building management. He then set up a small shack in the underground car park to hide the stolen cement.

One day in July 1997, Qian Dajun was in the underground car park when he came across a bag lying on the floor. As soon as he picked it up, he quickly hid after hearing Fang Xu and Xiaohe talking nearby. Once he was alone again, Qian Dajun opened the bag and was horrified to find a severed head and two arms inside.

https://preview.redd.it/t4auc4gx7f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed7248b2d89a8b2635570b15f8a7bb8e01a8c4a5

Qian Dajun contemplated going to the police, but after receiving a call from his father, who was worried that Yuanlongli’s haunted reputation would drive down apartment prices, he decided against it. He went up to the rooftop to hide the body parts in his uncle’s chicken coop, but soon moved them again after Fang Xu spotted him near the coop.

Qian Dajun then tried to dispose of the remains through the rooftop drain inlet, but the opening was too small. During the struggle to force the bag into the narrow space, the head became dislodged from the bag, leaving only the decomposing arms inside.

https://preview.redd.it/4kj5b5108f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b5839c33dd39b4414d294272611d97c2fc3db04

When Qian Dajun returned for the head, it was gone from the drain inlet. Desperate to keep the matter a secret, he buried the bag containing the remaining arms in the woods behind Yuanlongli. Five years later, however, the head lodged in the drain inlet was discovered by his uncle, leading Fang Xu to reopen the investigation.

Fearing that Fang Xu would eventually uncover the two mummified arms, Qian Dajun dug up the bag from the woods and hid it inside a safe in the shack at the underground car park. But after Fang Xu discovered the existence of the safe, Qian Dajun decided to encase the mummified arms in cement, sealing them inside a concrete block.

https://preview.redd.it/slrucpa28f0h1.jpg?width=3175&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=542f82e4aecafe3c5a39d9385e2ed34a68292063

Qian Dajun never expected that, despite all his efforts to keep the secret buried, he would ironically be the one to reveal the whereabouts of the body parts in the end. The remains had weighed heavily on his mind for years, and with a deep, guttural cry, he finally voiced his hatred for Yuanlongli.

Xiaohe called her father to inform him about Qian Dajun’s confession. Yuan Hang was relieved, as it meant the demolition of Yuanlongli could be postponed. He then advised Xiaohe to extract as much information as possible from Qian Dajun regarding the June 30, 1997 case.

https://preview.redd.it/j3441cw48f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b8073f39d38c67ef61685781a87663e91f84d67

Hah, Yuan Hang shouldn’t have celebrated so quickly, because Jin Manlang had now been appointed head of Yuanlongli’s redevelopment project and was promised the position of vice president if he could speed up the demolition. Jin Manlang even persuaded Wang Laosan, the landlord of the apartment Yuan Hang was renting, to terminate the lease, forcing Yuan Hang to move out.

But Yuan Hang pulled out the lease agreement and argued that he had the legal right to stay in the apartment for another three months. Wang Laosan even offered to triple the rental compensation, but Yuan Hang remained unmoved and bluntly told him to get lost.

Jin Manlang then attempted to pressure the remaining residents into moving out by offering 100,000 yuan per household. Unsurprisingly, the tactic worked, with residents rushing to sign the demolition agreements.

https://preview.redd.it/ku85vzk88f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43fe4d897f6c3c9ced7b263f9eb25cafce02ed43

Yuan Hang received news that Mr. Meng, another resident, had been arrested for splashing hot liquid on Jin Manlang’s lackeys after they harassed him outside his apartment with loud music. When there was another knock on the door, Yuan Hang assumed it was Jin Manlang again, but to his surprise, it was Su Qing. Su Qing offered him a 50,000 yuan relocation fee and tried to persuade him to move out, but Yuan Hang flatly refused. She then informed him that her boss had reported him to the police and told him to prepare himself.

At the station, Su Qing’s boss was busy complaining to Zhao Jie about Yuan Hang. After he left, Xiaohe entered Zhao Jie’s office and requested that the June 30 case be reopened, explaining that Fang Xu had secretly been investigating it before his death.

Zhao Jie was initially prepared to reject Xiaohe’s request, but after she revealed the unsent message Fang Xu had intended to send Yuan Hang on the day of his death, he became convinced. Qu Dahai immediately got to work, examining the stack of documents Xiaohe had brought with her. Xiaohe pleaded for more time for Yuan Hang to uncover the truth, and Zhao Jie gave his tacit approval, though he warned that they were running out of time.

https://preview.redd.it/lu6gyrib8f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a58ab0076797fc1cdae687246af43ef049c96a6c

By this point, all the remaining residents of Yuanlongli had moved out because of the 100,000 yuan offer Jin Manlang had thrown at them earlier, leaving Yuan Hang as the building’s sole remaining resident. Barricading himself inside his apartment, Yuan Hang wrote down the names of the places and key figures connected to the original 1997 case. He then installed a surveillance camera, but soon experienced a dizzy spell during which he heard Fang Xu’s voice.

Okay, I LOLed so hard at this scene because the room was literally bathed in glowing light when Fang Xu appeared, like some angel descending from heaven lol. The director and writer were basically like: now that Fang Xu is dead, how do we make sure Dylan Wang still shows up in the remaining episodes?

Yuan Hang told the visiting “Angel Fang Xu” that he planned to use himself as bait to lure out the real culprit, while using the surveillance camera to record their actions.

https://preview.redd.it/0xaw6x2f8f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=041388ac37e9f56cf0fc1900d791129c8eb3349a

After laying out all the names of the people and places connected to the 1997 timeline, Yuan Hang mentally retraced the information tied to each one, ticking the cards off one by one. Yet one card remained untouched: Mount Wu, which had remained an unsolved mystery to this very day. Well, if only SOMEONE HAD OPENED THAT GOD DAMN PARCEL.

https://preview.redd.it/43awl3kh8f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30b1a2b05da7fbe4b6d61b3a818862be0c54d47e

Recalling the parcel he had received, after a mere 4,380 days or so, Yuan Hang finally called Xiaohe to ask about it. Xiaohe remembered seeing the parcel, but she never took it because she assumed it was unimportant, considering Yuan Hang himself had never even bothered to open it. Before hanging up, Yuan Hang told her that Mount Wu was the only lead for which he still had no information.

Outside the building, Jin Manlang was counting down the minutes before resorting to force to evict Yuan Hang. To his surprise, however, Yuan Hang walked out of the building on his own accord, though not before warning Jin Manlang to stay away from his apartment.

https://preview.redd.it/k12xo07l8f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2a8e2380beeda685fb902b04bb6934ad30bbc18d

Jin Manlang immediately seized the opportunity to cordon off Yuanlongli during Yuan Hang’s brief absence. Meanwhile, Yuan Hang rushed home to search for the unopened parcel that had been sitting there for more than 4,380 days. I’m sorry, but this genuinely annoyed me because parcels are meant to be opened! Why would he leave something that important untouched for over a decade? Lmao, it’s frustrating just thinking about it.

After arriving home, Yuan Hang hurried into his room to look for the Mount Wu investigation report. As he scanned through the list of victims, he saw the names Xu Meng and Xu Zhihong.

https://preview.redd.it/jsa0222o8f0h1.png?width=1353&format=png&auto=webp&s=b5a53dd91840d98ae2da54f5c49de46e91017de7

Yuan Hang might have spotted something else on the list, because he suddenly slumped onto the floor with the Mount Wu investigation papers in his hand as Angel Fang Xu descended from heaven once again. Yuan Hang cryptically told “Angel Fang Xu” that it turned out Yuanlongli had been the golden cage all along.

I really wish Fang Xu would stop appearing like this because it’s starting to give me major "Touched by an Angel" vibes lol.

https://preview.redd.it/c3o0ahmt8f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6390ce49b2e8307b656ab8455bc4bbc655b0aae9

At the station, Xiaohe asked Qian Dajun whether he knew Yao Xincheng, and he confirmed that he did. Back at Yuanlongli, Yuan Hang was stopped from entering by Jin Manlang’s lackeys, but chaos soon erupted as former residents who had not received additional compensation began protesting and demanding the same amount of money.

Taking advantage of the commotion, Yuan Hang quietly slipped back into his apartment. Once inside, he examined the list of tenants from 2002 and called one of the former owners. The man confirmed that he had bought the unit in 2002 and sold it again in 2003, which Yuan Hang found suspicious because the property was still registered under the man’s name. The original owner then revealed that although the buyer had paid in full, they never returned to officially transfer the ownership.

https://preview.redd.it/iqjaf78w8f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8d87e0d65eb0b49d29935235cf78126c881bbcc

Yuan Hang was told that Fang Xu had asked the very same question on the day before New Year’s Eve in 2003, and that the buyer of the unit was Yao Xincheng. However, Yao Xincheng had used a proxy to handle the transaction, and it turned out that this proxy was the very same person who had sold the unit to the former owner Yuan Hang was speaking to on the phone.

By this point, Jin Manlang had completely lost his patience and ordered his lackeys to drag Yuan Hang out. In response, Yuan Hang began smashing and throwing glass bottles out the window to scare them off. He then grabbed the loudspeaker he had taken from Manlang’s table and started blasting Xiaohe’s song through it lol.

Before an enraged Jin Manlang could escalate the situation any further, Xiaohe and the rest of her colleagues arrived at the scene. From the sixth floor, Yuan Hang silently saluted Xiaohe.

https://preview.redd.it/mh6srizy8f0h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c39728e7aef984e4f57cd46df435a889d955fa88

Xiaohe, her team, and Su Qing took the lift up to the fourth floor, where Yuan Hang was waiting for them. Yuan Hang then kicked down the door to Unit 415, the apartment where Su Qing used to live. The unit was now heavily vandalised and covered in graffiti. I’m telling you, this drama has completely reignited my fear of haunted houses. The slow-motion shots of Xiaohe and her team cautiously exploring the apartment honestly looked like an advertisement for a haunted house attraction lol.

As the team swept their flashlights around the unit in search of clues, Yuan Hang did the same, but unlike the others, he wore a stern and determined expression as he deliberately pointed his flashlight at someone.

Ah shit… I knew this reveal was coming, but it was still a shocker.

https://preview.redd.it/y22zwpk19f0h1.png?width=1378&format=png&auto=webp&s=f06ff948f4064cca57fc8821e124517aa4f9a612

Everyone slowly turned toward the direction of Yuan Hang’s flashlight… which was pointed directly at Su Qing, who was still standing outside the entrance of her former home, guilt written all over her face.

Thoughts

The 1997 case is not just about murder; it is about identity substitution. The shoes, the Bowls dress, Su Qing’s name on the Mount Wu victim list, and The Greek Coffin Mystery all point to someone being mistaken for, disguised as, or replaced by another woman.

Clue 1: Mount Wu incident

We still have yet to answer the question of why Xu Meng and Xu Zhihong suddenly went on a trip to Mount Wu two years ago “like they were possessed,” according to Xu Meng’s aunt. Xu Zhihong later fell off a cliff, and that incident completely changed their lives, with Xu Meng desperately borrowing money everywhere to pay for her father’s treatment. She even repeatedly harassed the travel agency for compensation. But was their trip really just about treating Xu Zhihong’s illness, or were they actually being extorted by someone for money?

What makes things even more suspicious is that, in a recent teaser released by Youku, >!Su Qing’s name appears on the list of Mount Wu victims.!<

Clue 2: Why did Xu Meng break the wall in her apartment?

It is rather strange that Xu Meng went through the trouble of breaking down the wall in her apartment just to sell off the cabinet, instead of simply selling her expensive Bowls dress. Could the destruction of the wall have actually been a way to mask another sound entirely? What if the noise was meant to cover up the sound of her dismembering Xu Zhihong’s body?

Clue 3: Su Qing's reputation as a mistress

Du Mandun was firmly convinced that Su Qing was a mistress, and Qian Dajun made the same remark in the recent episode as well. Although Su Qing denied it, could it be that she really was a mistress all along?

Clue 4: Xu Zhihong's skull and 2 mummified arms

What happened to the rest of Xu Zhihong’s body? The skull was identified as belonging to him, but what about the two mummified arms? Were they also confirmed to be Xu Zhihong’s, or do they belong to someone else entirely?

Clue 5: Xu Meng in the boot of Qingsong's car

Wu Shanlong claimed that he had killed Xu Meng, and we saw her lying seemingly lifeless in the boot with dirt smeared across her face. But did Shanlong really have the guts to murder someone, or was Xu Meng merely pretending to be dead?

Clue 6: Genuine red Double Fish heels turned into counterfeit blue leather heels

According to Qiming, Xu Meng had partial colour blindness. Although I still cannot see the connection yet, it is possible that Xu Meng was not even aware she was wearing a pair of blue heels, especially since we saw that she owned a pair of red heels at home.

Clue 7: The mysterious purchaser of the original Bowls dress

The returned dress was bought at the provincial store on July 2 and returned on the same day at the Weiyang store. This suggests that after our detective duo left Xu Meng’s apartment on July 1, someone may have entered the apartment the next day and replaced the older version of the dress, which had been bought in 1996, with the newer version.

Was it Yao Xincheng, or was Yao Xincheng acting on someone else’s orders?

Clue 8: Unit 415

Su Qing mentioned during her dinner with Fang Xu in 2002 that she would be moving out soon because the landlord’s son had recently returned.

Interestingly, the same person acted as the proxy when Unit 415 was sold to another buyer in 2002, and later to Yao Xincheng in 2003. Based on this, we can assume that the proxy may have been Su Qing.

Clue 9: Du Mandun's The Greek Coffin Mystery novel and Xu Meng's color blindness

https://preview.redd.it/mxdti1g0cf0h1.png?width=1358&format=png&auto=webp&s=61df130c27e5f6079241a5a6a2d93517a8e67b04

In Episode 3, during Yuan Hang’s hallucinated interaction with Fang Xu in the present timeline, he took out Jin Manlang’s 1997 mooncake box, where he had kept the Yuxi cigarettes as well as Du Mandun’s copy of The Greek Coffin Mystery. I think that, on a deep subconscious level, Yuan Hang had always suspected that both the cigarettes and the book were clues to the 1997 case.

The novel may be an allusion to the case. In the novel, later clues involve colour blindness and two copies of a Leonardo da Vinci painting. If we compare this to the 1997 case, the colour blindness may reference Xu Meng’s own colour blindness, while the two copies of the painting may point to the old and new versions of the Bowls dress.

Speculations:

Theory 1:

Su Qing was listed as one of the victims in the Mount Wu accident investigation report. What if the real Su Qing had actually been dead all along, and the current “Su Qing” was in fact her sister who had been living abroad?

The fake Su Qing may have assumed her dead sister’s identity, and somehow Xu Meng discovered the truth and began extorting her for money. That could explain why Su Qing colluded with Wu Shanlong to frame Xu Meng for blackmailing Song Qingsong, while also plotting against her.

https://preview.redd.it/b8vf26lwbf0h1.png?width=1376&format=png&auto=webp&s=e62ec26529f31ef37811fa786380c204fafc4e65

Remember that when Su Qing worked as the old man’s caretaker, she had access to sedatives. Perhaps they never intended to kill Xu Meng in the first place. They may have only sedated her so Wu Shanlong could stage photographs of a “dead” Xu Meng in the car boot to extort money from Qingsong. However, Xu Meng might have regained consciousness midway through the plan, and in the ensuing panic, they accidentally killed her.

Theory 2:

After her mother’s death, Su Qing, who was struggling with severe financial difficulties, may have been forced into becoming the mistress of the old man she had been caring for, whose son was living abroad.

However, what if the rumours were misleading all along? Su Qing may not have been the elderly man’s mistress, but rather the son’s mistress instead (who might be Yao Xincheng).

The two of them could have worked together to orchestrate the old man’s death so the son could inherit his wealth, assuming the father was indeed rich. As the old man’s caretaker, Su Qing would have known his routines, habits, and lecherous tendencies intimately, making it easier to stage what appeared to be an accident. In that sense, the “accidental” death may actually have been a carefully planned murder.

Theory 3:

Su Qing was hired as a caretaker for an elderly man, but after being subjected to constant mental abuse, she may have eventually reached her breaking point and planned his murder, especially since she was intimately familiar with his daily routine.

What if Xu Meng happened to witness Su Qing setting up the scene before the old man’s death? Using that knowledge, Xu Meng could then have extorted money from Su Qing for years.

There was also a chilling line in one of the teasers where >!Su Qing coldly said, “Xu Meng deserves to die.”!< This could point to a Su Qing who had been pushed beyond her limits and ultimately decided to get rid of Xu Meng by colluding with Wu Shanlong.

However, Shanlong may not have trusted Su Qing completely either. The surveillance camera outside her window might not have been installed solely for perverted reasons, but also to monitor her every move.

Shanlong eventually died after slipping on the wet ground while fleeing from Fang Xu in the underground car park. But looking back, Episode 13 at around 21:15 feels particularly suspicious. Fang Xu and Yuan Hang were trying to determine whether Shanlong could have escaped through another exit when Su Qing suddenly shouted, almost too “helpfully,” “THE PARKING LOT ENTRANCE WAS OPENED LAST WEEK!”

https://preview.redd.it/6azxzj1lcf0h1.png?width=1393&format=png&auto=webp&s=be5bf68d9b8f9c4763d6ad68e5dc13ecefca8120

What if that was actually a signal directed at Shanlong? And what if Su Qing had already spilled the liquid on the floor before the chase began, ultimately engineering the circumstances that led to Shanlong’s fatal fall? The old man Su Qing had been caring for died due to a fall too. Coincidence?

Theory 4:

Xu Zhihong seemed to possess an unnaturally obsessive love for his daughter and was deeply paranoid that someone would eventually take her away from him. What if, after the Mount Wu accident, he deliberately pressured Xu Meng into working as a hostess so that she would lose all sense of self-worth and become “tainted” in society’s eyes? In his mind, this would make her undesirable as marriage material, ensuring that she would remain by his side forever.

At some point, Xu Meng may also have discovered Wu Shanlong’s disturbing obsession with stalking women and collecting women’s clothing, which could explain how she became entangled with him in the first place.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think the original Bowls dress was replaced with a newer version after Fang Xu and Yuan Hang visited Xu Meng’s apartment?

2. Was the woman seen in the elevator really Xu Meng, or someone disguised as her?

3. Did Su Qing genuinely care for Fang Xu and Yuan Hang, or was she manipulating them from the very beginning?

4. Is The Greek Coffin Mystery simply a literary reference, or is the drama deliberately mirroring its themes of duplicated objects and misleading identities?

5. Are we focusing too much on individual suspects while overlooking the possibility that several characters were covering up different crimes at the same time?

Our detectives in the present timeline are inching closer to the truth as they gradually retrace Fang Xu’s movements in 2002/2003 in this episode. We also see the past and present timelines beginning to converge, with the narrative placing increasing focus on the present-day investigation.

Previous episode recaps:

Flashcards | Masterpost | Episodes 1-3 | Episode 4 | Episodes 5-6 | Episodes 7-8 | Episode 9 | Episodes 10-11 | Episodes 12-13 | Episodes 14-15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20

2002 timeline

https://preview.redd.it/8w5n2aarc30h1.png?width=1388&format=png&auto=webp&s=c23ef08873cc42f1d0ff5fb0344f43ee69b311b0

Fang Xu arrived at Mr. Lu's shop in Pingzhao County. The elder Mr. Lu revealed that someone had paid him 800 yuan half a year earlier to turn a pair of genuine branded shoes into fake ones, which he had found rather odd. The man was in his 30s, wore glasses, had a hoarse voice, and cigarette burn marks on his arm.

https://preview.redd.it/t8lwrnmqc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e8488c49be6e5abc196d783cba6ddbb6b64df4c

At the station, Xiaohe was grumbling over a difficult homework assignment. How sweet was it that Fang Xu was babysitting her at the station? Fang Xu then used the analogy of untangling a ball of thread by first finding a loose end, the same tactic he was applying to the 1997 case. Just then, a gust of wind blew the stack of papers off his desk, and while rearranging them, he noticed the detail about the expensive dress at Xu Meng's apartment and remarked aloud that he had been dumb.

https://preview.redd.it/24gf25vpc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=357578d496cd71711962231bfa730802e583f20e

At the He residence, Xiaohe and Fang Xu arrived home. The 3 of them should just move in together already; they were practically behaving like a family. Fang Xu informed Yuan Hang that he had a parcel. Ah, the Mount Wu files! Finally lol. But Yuan Hang dismissed the parcel, saying there was no longer any need for the files. Bro, the parcel was right in front of you! Was it really so difficult to open it and go through the files? Ahhhhhhhhhh, so frustrating.

Pushing the parcel aside (insert eye roll here), Yuan Hang asked Fang Xu for his opinion on the draft memoir he had written about Yuanlongli, and Fang Xu warmly praised it, saying it would become a sensational hit. No, it would not become a bestseller. Rule 101 of being a writer is doing proper research! You do not ignore an important piece of research material sitting right in front of you!

https://preview.redd.it/o087s59pc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=10ef0c7fd698bbc537e056fd358b98a79d5daaf1

Fang Xu then remarked that the 1997 case had two key clothing-related clues; the blue heels and the Bowls dress. He then asked whether Yuan Hang had written anything about Sun Zhengyong, and here we learned that Sun Zhengyong had fled years earlier due to illegal fundraising and debt evasion. Yuan Hang was puzzled as to why Fang Xu would ask about him, and Fang Xu merely smiled cryptically.

https://preview.redd.it/1b1qugpoc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40ab4b5e1f9f032d983e9820bc0fda4f4581e08a

At the Bowls store, Fang Xu asked the staff whether the Bowls dress came with a dry-cleaning record, which they confirmed it did. She then showed Fang Xu that the dress had once been sent for dry-cleaning, based on the check mark on the record, and explained that she could trace all the dry-cleaning records from 1997 through the linked sales records. However, Fang Xu would have to wait two days for the information to be retrieved from Bowls headquarters.

https://preview.redd.it/fjpvo45oc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=638ff02aabfce8c7572dd5a643ec9d24df01925c

Fang Xu asked a delighted Su Qing out to dinner. I do not think this was intended to be a date, as Fang Xu handed her a document envelope from the evidence room for safekeeping, but he later asked whether she had any plans for New Year's Eve. Su Qing replied wistfully that she had no home to return to and that she hated Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year the most.

Nervously flexing his fingers, Fang Xu invited Su Qing to the He residence for a New Year's Eve meal together, though he shyly used Yuan Hang's name to extend the invitation. When Su Qing continued to hesitate, Fang Xu once again used Yuan Hang's name to persuade her, saying that family should have reunion dinners together. Ehhhh, so do you see Su Qing as family now? And was that your indirect way of asking her to be your girlfriend? I honestly do not know whether to tell you to step up your game or to be impressed lol.

https://preview.redd.it/pbi6ioinc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ff3e4cf769eb021aa011a3a228c1ea7383bf1f43

At that, Su Qing looked away, fighting back tears, while Fang Xu looked momentarily alarmed. She happily accepted the dinner invitation, clearly overjoyed that she would no longer have to spend New Year's Eve alone. Fang Xu then offered to pick her up. Gah, how heartbreaking is it that this was likely the only year she got to spend New Year's Eve with Fang Xu and the people she considered family?

https://preview.redd.it/y6vq03vmc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1b802b171084aefd564b02512d4e47d7ee5bf66

Returning to the Bowls store, the staff showed Fang Xu the same name that had appeared in the 2015 search; Yao Xincheng, who returned the dress on July 2nd, 1997. However, the staff found it strange that Xincheng's name did not appear in the purchase records, as the dress had originally been bought on December 29th, 1996.

The Bowls store manager, who had handled the return, explained to Fang Xu that the mysterious customer had bought the newer version of the dress but returned the older version instead. There was also additional information; the returned dress, which was brand new, had been purchased at the provincial flagship store and returned to the Weiyang store on the very same day.

https://preview.redd.it/zqven38mc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a2f5ad423d677c7023e035614a692eb65d3d1f48

Before leaving the store, the staff asked whether Fang Xu would like to make a New Year's Eve purchase. Glancing at a trench coat, he seemed to pick it out for Su Qing. Elsewhere, Su Qing was shopping for a scarf when she bumped into Fang Xu, who claimed he was there shopping for Yuan Hang. Lol, how much longer did you intend to keep using Yuan Hang's name? Insisting that it was a New Year's Eve treat, Su Qing bought scarves for both Yuan Hang and Fang Xu.

When the staff mistakenly assumed Su Qing was Fang Xu's wife, both of them blushed and awkwardly fidgeted with their fingers, yet neither denied it lol. Fang Xu then asked why Su Qing had bought two identical scarves, to which she claimed one was for Xiaohe. Haha, it was obviously meant to be a matching pair for Fang Xu.

Fang Xu then took out the trench coat he had bought for Su Qing and asked her to try it on. When Su Qing asked if it was for her, he nodded. Ah, atta boy! Su Qing was shocked by the price of the coat, which cost 1888 yuan, and told Fang Xu to return it, but Fang Xu insisted it was also a New Year's Eve gift and that she must not refuse it. Trying on the coat, Su Qing teased Fang Xu for not earning much and yet spending unnecessarily. Fang Xu smiled shyly, and eventually Su Qing smiled too. Omaigad, stop it please! They went from awkwardly crushing on each other to bickering like a married couple in record time, only for the writers to break our hearts soon after. That is just cruel T.T

2015 timeline

Back in the present, Yuan Hang and Xiaohe managed to track down the younger Mr. Lu, who told them about Fang Xu’s visit to his father in 2002. At Yuanlongli, Yuan Hang identified the mysterious man who had hired the elder Mr. Lu as the key figure in the investigation and the likely murderer. However, Xiaohe pointed out that it would not be easy to identify the man based solely on the description. Somewhat stumped, Yuan Hang was in the middle of making a phone call when a gust of wind blew in and sent a stack of papers flying everywhere, reminding Xiaohe of the time a similar gust had scattered the papers on Fang Xu’s desk.

https://preview.redd.it/6xgol9akc30h1.png?width=1365&format=png&auto=webp&s=1efe8e0cb0006a2e7a11c8136e39bca041ec16d1

Recalling that Fang Xu had uncovered an important lead among the investigation papers, Xiaohe rushed to the archives to look for the case report. Sun Zhengyong had given Xu Meng a Bowls dress, but Yuan Hang informed Xiaohe that he had an alibi and had already been cleared of suspicion. Xiaohe urged Yuan Hang to think carefully about whether Fang Xu had ever mentioned Sun Zhengyong.

https://preview.redd.it/9rz2ugjjc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48948a046886d3dab25619dcd4a41f0cc80fcb75

Yuan Hang recalled Fang Xu mentioning Sun Zhengyong, but Xiaohe could not remember which photo from the case file had made Fang Xu suspicious. Yuan Hang traced the clue back to the Bowls dress and asked Xiaohe to check Sun Zhengyong’s purchase records at the Bowls store.

https://preview.redd.it/y5wlqmsic30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99d98101d55b770f8fe82e34a3693eded11920e4

At the same Bowls store, Xiaohe interviewed a staff member who was coincidentally also named Jessica lol. Was this merely a coincidence, or was the writer trying to hint at something? Jessica explained that sales records were only kept for a maximum of five years. Fortunately, the provincial headquarters still had digital backups of the records.

https://preview.redd.it/7wyeot5ic30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3707de8d03e9819c3d6ad69447ea1f3df7543f99

A group of suspicious men dressed in black arrived at Yuanlongli, clearly intending to stir up trouble. Back at his apartment, Yuan Hang felt that the clue involving the Bowls dress was turning into another dead end, much like the blue heels clue. He was also worried because the demolition of Yuanlongli was only two weeks away and suggested running the Tremaux algorithm again, but Xiaohe felt it would be pointless and instead told Yuan Hang to visit the Bowls provincial headquarters to continue pursuing the lead.

Just then, they heard the sound of breaking glass, and a stray rock nearly hit Xiaohe in the face. The men dressed in black were the ones firing stones with slingshots. Damn, this intimidation tactic must have been carried out under Manager Qian’s orders.

Yuan Hang was furious and told Xiaohe that she would have to stay put at Yuanlongli. Xiaohe, worried that Yuan Hang might take matters into his own hands, made him promise not to resort to violence and to call the police if necessary. A reluctant Yuan Hang agreed.

https://preview.redd.it/n07kzlghc30h1.jpg?width=3187&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=605a014b0c17b20c24a74eae04eed191bdcb4bb6

The next morning, Xiaohe was on the train to the Bowls provincial headquarters when she received a call from a worried Zheng Zhong, who asked about her absence and informed her that Director Zou wanted to commend her during a case briefing. However, Xiaohe replied that she would file a leave request with Zhao Jie, and when Zheng Zhong asked what was so urgent, she answered that she was fulfilling Fang Xu’s last wish.

https://preview.redd.it/u55b18vgc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1372a85c9eb77ecc893cb602dbc9d3718dbc04a

Su Qing visited Yuan Hang at his apartment and informed him that she had been unable to convince her higher-ups to postpone the demolition of Yuanlongli, and that the scumbag Manager Qian now had complete control over the project. Worried that Yuan Hang might do something reckless, she urged him to restrain himself for Fang Xu’s sake. However, Yuan Hang argued that simply staying safe would not allow Fang Xu to rest in peace; only solving the case would.

Su Qing then handed Yuan Hang the document envelope Fang Xu had given her before New Year’s Eve in 2003. Opening the envelope, Yuan Hang took out a drive.

https://preview.redd.it/gfem88agc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12c915097b8c3f0cdf78d09114a0171f6a5c931c

Yuan Hang went to Du Mingliang for help opening the drive Fang Xu had left behind, but after examining it, Mingliang informed him that the drive had been formatted. Eh, was it formatted by Fang Xu or by the villain? However, Mingliang confidently claimed that he could recover the deleted data in just three minutes. Lol, the police should seriously offer this kid a job in the cybersecurity department.

Arriving at the Bowls headquarters, Xiaohe accessed the archived sales records for the classic Bowls dress. When she typed Xu Meng’s name into the search bar, the search returned a new name; Yao Xincheng.

https://preview.redd.it/7zlyx5dfc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1e50dcf2792e39c4043cae010d4350beeb799d9a

The staff member remarked that it was strange how the new dress had been purchased at the provincial store but returned to the Weiyang store on the very same day, resulting in the erasure of the original purchase record for the older dress. Xiaohe requested information on Jessica, the staff member who had handled the return. While plugging in her drive to copy the sales records, Xiaohe suddenly had the idea to type Fang Xu’s name into the search bar.

Fang Xu’s name appeared in the records, showing that he had purchased a dress on January 29th, 2003, at the Weiyang flagship store, and the salesperson’s name was Jessica.

Back at Yuanlongli, Mingliang successfully recovered a file from the drive, which contained surveillance footage related to Su Qing. Realising that the drive had been confiscated from Wu Shanlong’s apartment, Yuan Hang explained to Mingliang that all confiscated assets were usually auctioned off after a case was closed. Realising that Fang Xu had bought the drive and deliberately erased the data himself, Yuan Hang sighed and remarked that Fang Xu was truly a caring person who looked out for everyone.

https://preview.redd.it/wdgdq6iec30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc22fef136784432207d6e2bacdda6cfb8c25c2a

Calling Yuan Hang from the train on her way back to Weiyang, Xiaohe reported that she had successfully tracked down Jessica, the staff member who had worked at the Weiyang store in 2003. Yuan Hang observed that Yao Xincheng was likely the same person who had turned the genuine heels into fake ones.

While Yuan Hang was calling Xu Meng’s aunt, the power suddenly went out because the scumbag Manager Qian and his lackeys, including Jin Manlang, had decided to use signal blockers to pressure the remaining residents into moving out.

On his way out of Yuanlongli to get a signal, Yuan Hang passed by Manager Qian and warned him that what goes around comes around. Jin Manlang informed Manager Qian that Du Mingliang still refused to move out, and Manager Qian replied that they would make an example out of him.

https://preview.redd.it/p2idzu3dc30h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2dcbdba92de1b54f121edd8e07c32a7d34d328bf

Yuan Hang met Xu Meng’s aunt at her residence, and she recalled that Fang Xu had once asked her the very same question about Yao Xincheng, though she had no recollection of knowing anyone by that name. The aunt commented that Fang Xu had not only been handsome, but also kind, and insisted on giving her a red envelope. She then asked Yuan Hang whether Fang Xu had gotten married and had children, questions that visibly pained Yuan Hang, leaving him able to respond with only an awkward smile.

Thoughts
Referencing Fang Xu’s analogy, the drama continues to add more knots to an already convoluted ball of thread by introducing a new suspect; Yao Xincheng, who is likely an alias used to conceal his true identity. The mysterious man was described as being in his 30s, wearing glasses, having a short haircut, a hoarse voice, and cigarette burn marks on his arm. I could only think of one person who might fit that description, and that was Wan Qiming.

The detail about the cigarette burn marks is particularly intriguing. Why would someone have cigarette burns on his arm unless they were inflicted deliberately? Were the burn marks merely another smokescreen to mislead investigators? Or do they suggest that the man was himself a victim, someone being forced to carry out another person’s orders?

The Bowls dress still in the closet in 2002

The Bowls dress was first found in Xu Meng’s apartment on July 1st, 1997. In this episode, we found out that the returned dress was bought at the provincial store on July 2nd and returned on the same day at the Weiyang store. Fang Xu only took pictures of the dress in 1997; he did not take it as evidence, because we later see that the Bowls dress was still hanging outside the closet five years later in 2002. This means that after our detective duo left Xu Meng’s apartment on July 1st, someone may have entered the apartment the next day and replaced the older version of the dress, which had been bought in 1996, with the newer version.

In episode 8, the Bowls store employee told Fang Xu that Sun Zhengyong had bought 11 dresses on May 10th (I assume it was May 10th 1996 as the dress was part of a spring launch and the original dress was sold in December 1996) and received one extra dress as a freebie, so I wonder if the original Bowls dress in Xu Meng’s apartment was connected to Sun Zhengyong’s bulk purchase, and whether the July 2nd exchange was meant to erase or confuse the purchase trail. In other words, the killer may not have been trying to hide the dress itself, but rather the identity of the person who originally bought it.

For the blue heels, someone paid Mr. Lu to turn a pair of genuine branded shoes into fake ones, which means the original shoes likely had a traceable value, brand, or purchase history, so turning them into “fakes” could make investigators dismiss them or fail to connect them to the buyer.

Even more importantly, the photo of the Bowls dress is missing in the present timeline, perhaps due to the villain’s interference, which once again highlights just how crucial the dress is to the case.

It is frustrating how the drama keeps dragging out the whole Mount Wu incident, and I literally rolled my eyes when Yuan Hang dismissed what could have been a critical piece of evidence right in front of him. I already found it somewhat uncharacteristic of him to brush off the “missing blue heels” in the evidence room, and now he did not even bother opening the Mount Wu case files despite travelling all the way there for them.

Questions:

1. Do you believe that the person who returned the Bowls dress and the one who had the blue heels turned into fakes were the same person, namely Yao Xincheng?

2. Based on elder Lu’s description of the mysterious man who wanted a genuine pair of shoes altered into counterfeits, who do you suspect?

3. Could the missing photo of the Bowls dress in the present timeline mean that someone is still actively monitoring or interfering with the investigation?

4. Could Xu Meng’s apartment have been revisited multiple times after July 1st rather than just once?

This episode confirms that every assumption our detective duo (and perhaps even us viewers) had made was wrong, and that we may need to re-examine the case from an entirely different perspective. With only nine episodes left to go, what other surprises do you think the drama still has in store for us?

Previous episode recaps:

Flashcards | Masterpost | Episodes 1-3 | Episode 4 | Episodes 5-6 | Episodes 7-8 | Episode 9 | Episodes 10-11 | Episodes 12-13 | Episodes 14-15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18

2015 timeline

https://preview.redd.it/qumv3tle1nzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5dddbfe3ea5f35571c8c206c74a8e91819fdbac0

Peng Dachuang recounted how he met the first kidnapped boy. After rescuing the child from Mei, he took him in when the boy requested temporary shelter due to his unhappy home situation. At first, Peng Dachuang referred to himself as “uncle,” but as he began caring for the runaway boy and the boy started calling him “Daddy Peng,” he became emotionally attached to him.

Peng Dachuang seemed to view this as a second chance at redemption; an opportunity to become a more loving and supportive father this time around. However, that dream came to a sudden halt when the boy expressed his intention to return to his family. Desperate not to lose him, Peng Dachuang tied the boy up, turning him into a prisoner from that moment onward.

https://preview.redd.it/r7hszdjf1nzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0476e986331c9a7a5094db155f8eadb2b4e691bf

Fearing that the boy would run away and leave him alone again, Peng Dachuang began kidnapping more boys, whom he referred to as “ponies” to comfort himself. Laughing maniacally, he counted the number of “ponies” he had kidnapped, but angrily singled out Han Zi’ang as the disobedient one. When Zi’ang rejected Peng Dachuang’s homemade meal, Peng Dachuang injected him with anaesthetics and secretly transported him out of Yuanlongli on a trolley, only to inject him a second time when Zi’ang briefly regained consciousness.

https://preview.redd.it/hp2airci1nzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f5390078e06b5ed985e9cb1ba403234522209915

During one of the homeschooling sessions, Zi’ang took the opportunity to ask for a toilet break and quietly attempted to escape. Unfortunately, he was caught by Peng Dachuang, who flew into a rage after Zi’ang bit him and struck him on the head.

Choking Zi’ang with fury in his eyes, Peng Dachuang insisted that the boy deserved it for being disobedient. It was interesting to see the contempt in Peng Dachuang’s expression; it almost felt as though he was projecting the same resentment he once held toward his own son before the latter’s death. However, reality began to blur when Peng Dachuang suddenly imagined Zi’ang as his dead son. Horrified by what he had done, he stepped back in shock. Zi’ang seized that opportunity to escape, and we know what happened next: a bleeding Zi’ang ran down the stairs in search of help and hid in the closet after spotting the two homeless men.

https://preview.redd.it/kqxvgf4l1nzg1.png?width=1359&format=png&auto=webp&s=642da59fe8905630f4e70ba63b540c45a07b8658

In the interrogation room, Peng Dachuang broke down, crying about how much he missed his son. Qu Da Hai praised Xiaohe and told her he would take over from there. Later, Zheng Zhong found a pensive Xiaohe sitting alone on the basketball court and informed her that even Director Zou had praised her work. However, Xiaohe could not stop thinking about how Peng Dachuang remained trapped in the past.

She wistfully remarked that when families are happy and complete, people somehow find ways to destroy that peace, yet when a family becomes incomplete, they grow desperate to mend it. Xiaohe then reflected on how her own family became incomplete after Fang Xu died. Noooooo, she really did see him as family.

https://preview.redd.it/dfn7jmop1nzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=176a4966c758102f49b7ad47aefd314bbf23d7df

At the He residence, Yuan Hang cooked celebratory noodles to mark Xiaohe solving her first case. When Yuan Hang brought up Fang Xu, Xiaohe worried that he had started hallucinating again, but Yuan Hang reassured her that he was healthy and not hallucinating. Satisfied with his response, Xiaohe handed him a box containing Fang Xu’s belongings.

It’s sad that Fang Xu had no other relatives after his grandmother passed away in 1992, so Yuan Hang, being the person closest to him, inherited his belongings. Fang Xu was clearly a sentimental person, judging by how he continued writing postcards to his deceased grandmother. Yuan Hang wondered why he had no recollection of the box, but it turned out that he had fainted on the day it was delivered in 2013. After waking up, he began hallucinating Fang Xu, and those hallucinations continued into the present timeline.

https://preview.redd.it/mmmekvor1nzg1.png?width=1372&format=png&auto=webp&s=c248980a65722d6594b8f48e5ee89b2d650e1599

Taking out Fang Xu’s old burnt phone, Yuan Hang asked Xiaohe whether there was any way to restore the data so the belongings could eventually be returned to Fang Xu’s remaining relatives. Hmmmm… but who sent that box in the first place?

https://preview.redd.it/krfdpzkt1nzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e17aedda00ccda9b6de5691ec3cda700334beca8

Yuan Hang later went to Yuanlongli and ran into Manager Qian and Ma Qiang. Hmmm, I’m not sure whether it was simply part of his job scope, but Manager Qian seemed unusually anxious to push the demolition project forward. Was he hiding another body part there or something lol.

Yuan Hang brought the burnt phone to Du Mingliang, who informed him that he had already extracted the contacts from the phone two years earlier and emailed them to Yuan Hang. Strangely, Yuan Hang had no recollection of this and asked Mingliang to extract the data again, only for Mingliang to explain that it was no longer possible. While helping Yuan Hang recover the password to his email, the power suddenly went out again, mirroring the flickering lights in the evidence room back in 2002.

https://preview.redd.it/nls8e5pv1nzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b2e8f123b3d52080ce32732df81694d1fbd44b1f

At home, Yuan Hang finally managed to enter the correct password after several attempts and opened the attachments Mingliang had sent him two years earlier. Scrolling through Fang Xu’s contacts, he tried calling Fang Xu’s cousin, but the number was no longer in service. Yuan Hang then opened another attachment containing the extracted messages. He smiled nostalgically while reading through them until he came across the final message—an unsent draft addressed to him. Shocked, Yuan Hang stared intensely at the screen when Xiaohe walked in, worried about her father.

https://preview.redd.it/7drwlj5x1nzg1.png?width=1359&format=png&auto=webp&s=840a7463b825d55463cfd2beb3cb598852cdce5a

In the unsent draft, Fang Xu wrote that the June 30th case was “all wrong.” Yuan Hang wondered why Fang Xu had never sent the message and blamed himself for not checking the email sooner.

https://preview.redd.it/wj2rn7iy1nzg1.jpg?width=3245&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec2fed25861a45c1d7f19047c3eb63841d54ba35

We then flash back to 2013, the day Fang Xu’s belongings were delivered to their home. Xiaohe discovered Yuan Hang unconscious on the floor, clutching the burnt phone in his hand. It was evident that he had smashed the computer screen, likely after becoming deeply agitated by the contents of the draft message.

Back in the present, Xiaohe finally realised that the draft message had been the root cause of Yuan Hang’s years-long hallucinations. She urged him to remember whether Fang Xu had ever mentioned the June 30th case again after it was officially closed.

https://preview.redd.it/atl47h402nzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c6d3e30beb4d201f4d2b3439289c3e56e0a88dd4

Yuan Hang then recalled Fang Xu mentioning the missing blue heels and urged Xiaohe to check the archives to see whether Fang Xu had added any additional notes to the June 30th case. Perhaps sensing danger, or fearing that pursuing the case might trigger her father again, Xiaohe hesitated and asked whether he truly wanted to continue investigating it. Yuan Hang replied that those had been Fang Xu’s final words to him, and at that moment, Xiaohe left with a determined expression.

2002 timeline

https://preview.redd.it/wz4hois12nzg1.jpg?width=2926&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93c85e0316cc1395dd4e6ce2761de8ec61921368

Back in the 2002 timeline, Fang Xu was finishing the report on the June 30th case with Yuan Hang beside him. Since Qingsong had confessed to hiring assassins to eliminate Xu Meng and Xu Zhihong, the case appeared solved. However, Yuan Hang pointed out that Xu Meng’s body was still missing. Fang Xu expressed hope that the body would eventually be found. On their way out of the station for noodles, the pair bickered playfully about Fang Xu’s personal life.

https://preview.redd.it/f46x4tl32nzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=22e12e66743b00ee0b9877f6b39b9308ce959b21

Later, after a pipe burst at the station, Fang Xu helped move boxes and came across the file box for the June 30th case. Picking up the case summary report Yuan Hang had written five years earlier, Fang Xu smiled to himself. He then noticed another box containing the blue leather heels Xu Meng had been wearing. The moment he picked them up, he looked visibly confused.

https://preview.redd.it/obxml5r52nzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=131e9f593141dd308bcb3f80400591662d5446f0

On Winter Solstice, Yuan Hang visited Fang Xu’s new apartment with Su Qing. Hahahaha, Yuan Hang was not subtle at all with the way he played matchmaker. He even made up an excuse about picking Xiaohe up from school, even though it was Sunday lol. Fang Xu obviously saw through the act, but our sweet guy did not protest too much.

While walking Yuan Hang out, Fang Xu mentioned that the bureau had suffered a pipe burst and that the blue heels Xu Meng had been wearing had supposedly gone missing. Yuan Hang, assuming the case had already been closed, did not think much of it and simply assumed the heels had been discarded as junk.

https://preview.redd.it/qtnmrxff2nzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=83e123f7a56e9c3337073650288b2f0caf370f69

That night, Fang Xu struggled to sleep because the June 30th case continued weighing heavily on his mind. Taking out the blue leather heels he had lied to Yuan Hang about losing, Fang Xu carefully scraped away the outer blue layer with a blade, revealing the red material hidden underneath.

Thoughts

Why did Fang Xu say they got the 1997 case all wrong? To unpack and theorise about everything that happened, I think we first need to lay out all the “established facts” that the detectives concluded back then and then examine them from the opposite perspective.

Established facts: Qingsong ordered Wu Shanlong to kill Xu Meng and her father over her attempted extortion, but it was actually Shanlong and Hongmei’s idea to frame Xu Meng for the extortion scheme. In order to fund her father’s medical treatment, Xu Meng worked as a masseuse at Pattia Club. Xu Meng was presumed dead, allegedly murdered by Shanlong. The bone and skin samples discovered in Shanlong’s apartment in Yuanlongli were matched to Xu Meng and her father.

Some wild theories:

https://preview.redd.it/jgjxdug9cnzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9552bed877d5854a600b7e8ee11c453c65557312

Xu Zhihong was already dead before June 30th. The tinkering sound that Xu Meng’s neighbour heard might have been Xu Meng dismembering her father’s body. Why would Xu Meng go through the trouble of breaking down the wall to sell the cupboard when she could have sold the expensive shoes and dress instead? Why did she tell the neighbour that she needed to raise money for Xu Zhihong’s medical treatment from Mr Zhang when they had already received a refund from him in 1996?

I also always found it odd that her father’s bed was filthy, whereas Xu Meng’s bed looked much cleaner and tidier. The smell of rotting meat and vegetables was probably created on purpose instead of being kept in the fridge, in order to mask the smell of a decomposing corpse.

I also find it hard to believe that someone as tidy as Xu Meng, who was also a pampered person according to Qiming, would live in such a filthy condition prior to the last few months of her life (if she was indeed dead). The filthy state of the apartment may have been done on purpose to help with the dismemberment of her father's body and the subsequent decomposing of the body.

https://preview.redd.it/jsmqcdqnbnzg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f85e6eca503125da27d9a9ece15af398fc369707

There might also be a surveillance camera installed in Xu Meng’s kitchen. I noticed that in Episode 3, from around 38:45 onwards, there wasn’t a flickering red dot when Fang Xu and Yuan Hang first entered Xu Meng’s house. However, when they checked the kitchen later, the red dot became visible. It might not be very clear in the screenshot, so you may need to check the video yourself.

https://preview.redd.it/5ijr5qxmbnzg1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ff001bc3655d4638346b122358bbfd5e7f4c10e

Notice, too, that the fridge had been moved to the living room, whereas it used to be in the spot where I circled the flickering red dot. If there really was a surveillance camera in the kitchen, who installed it, and why was it there?

If Xu Meng was the one who killed Xu Zhihong, then who was the “old man” she carried on her back on that fateful day? This is where my possible theory about Xu Meng and Su Qing being sisters comes in. Remember that Su Qing mentioned she had a sister who was placed under her father’s custody after their parents’ divorce? The sisters might have reconnected at some point after discovering that they lived in the same building.

As for Xu Meng’s motive for killing Zhihong, I can think of three possibilities. First, Xu Zhihong’s expensive medical treatment. Second, Xu Zhihong’s unnatural love for his daughter; the kind of suffocating love she could no longer endure. Third, Xu Zhihong might also have been involved in human trafficking, and Xu Meng herself might have been one of his victims. In that case, killing him would have been an act of vengeance.

I had assumed all along that men might be Xu Meng’s other pen pal, but it would be a nice twist if it turned out to be Su Qing instead. Both Su Qing and Xu Meng were in similar predicaments, as they were both trapped by serious financial constraints, so perhaps they helped each other achieve financial freedom. Xu Meng's appearance on June 30th with "her father" (who might be Su Qing in disguise) was meant to fool everyone into thinking Xu Zhihong died after June 30th instead of before.

I will leave you guys with this question: do you think any of the events, such as Xu Meng’s disappearance, the Mount Wu incident, or the human trafficking case, was the first domino in a long chain of events, setting off a chain reaction? Or were all these events part of an elaborate plan?

Questions that remain unanswered:

1. Is Xu Meng actually dead?
2. Who were Xu Meng’s other pen pals, if there were indeed others?
3. How was Xu Meng’s colour vision deficiency connected to the case?
4. How was the Mount Wu incident related to the other events?
5. Whose mummified hand was it?
6. What was Xu Meng’s actual need for all the money she scammed or borrowed, if they had already stopped seeking treatment from Qihuang Clinic and received a refund in 1996?

It feels like we’re finally making some headway in the mystery, and yet we’re not. Each new revelation in this episode only raises even more questions. But one thing is clear; we are one episode nearer to that tragic event *sobs*.

Previous episode recaps:

Flashcards | Masterpost | Episodes 1-3 | Episode 4 | Episodes 5-6 | Episodes 7-8 | Episode 9 | Episodes 10-11 | Episodes 12-13 | Episodes 14-15 | Episode 16

2002 timeline

https://preview.redd.it/q0m78z1z69zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf443ef5740758f578a10a543178a5b183dde155

Despite being hit by the van several times, Yuan Hang refused to back down and persisted in rescuing Xiaohe. The female human trafficker was even more vicious than her partner, yelling at him to just run over Yuan Hang. Heeding her words, the male trafficker stepped on the pedal and attempted to run him over, knocking Yuan Hang to the ground again. Good grief, Xiaohe, I hope you now see how fierce your dad’s love for you is. This man had been impaled not long ago and was still recovering. It’s a wonder he didn’t suffer a massive heart attack just from the impact of the crash.

Fang Xu arrived in time with backup and arrested the traffickers. They rushed over to an unconscious Yuan Hang, who had been joking with Xiaohe just moments earlier.

https://preview.redd.it/l8wqe50179zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47084cb6f6c7cdbca0a8c9413f6c44227efbedc6

Recalling the phone conversation between the female trafficker and Mei, Xiaohe informed Fang Xu that Mei was waiting at a nearby workshop. Unfortunately, Mei had already escaped. Walking to a nearby hilltop, Fang Xu surveyed the surrounding escape routes, and the scene transitioned into the present day.

https://preview.redd.it/kpq39hx279zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a8f956e5e42b71459a46a1f4f10a665d06aa9b6

On the way home, Fang Xu tried to console a quiet Xiaohe. He blamed himself for the incident and apologised sincerely. See, this is one of the things I love about Fang Xu’s character. He doesn’t have an ounce of ego and offers a sincere apology when he feels it is needed. Tbh, I don’t think he was to blame for this. The man almost had a heart attack when he saw the burned building and immediately assumed the worst.

Xiaohe, however, said she wasn’t to blame and that she would take responsibility for her own mistakes. She also acknowledged that she finally realised the depth of Yuan Hang’s love for her when he stood in front of the van. Xiaohe then enquired about Melon and the rest (her newfound four friends from the illegal internet café). Smiling, Fang Xu made a detour and drove them to an apartment.

Gobbling down their lunch, the boys revealed that they planned to work at a factory after Chinese New Year, as there was no future in esports. However, Fang Xu disagreed, saying that computers were pivotal in the 21st century and recommending legal, affordable internet cafés.

https://preview.redd.it/bsgzwt8679zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7cbc46e02e650a76c187f5f75092794eb51fc4f

Fang Xu then took out an envelope containing a bundle of cash and handed it to the boys to fund their dream, which amounted to two months of his salary. Ah, stop it, Fang Xu! Can you be any less perfect? You’re making it increasingly difficult for me when I have to mourn your death on screen. I think those boys were so grateful they would have kissed the ground he walked on if they could.

During dinner at the He residence, Xiaohe now proclaimed Fang Xu as her idol for life. Fang Xu signalled to Xiaohe to place food into Yuan Hang’s bowl, and Yuan Hang dryly remarked as if his cholesterol level wasn’t already high. Huh, not even an overnight hospitalisation for Yuan Hang? This man had been impaled not long ago and was still recovering. He got hit by a car not once, not twice, but ....idk, I lost count lol

Xiaohe made a deal with Yuan Hang to study hard and graduate from high school, and in return, he would fulfil his promise of sending her to Beijing to study music. Oooof, I wonder if Xiaohe’s decision to become a cop had anything to do with Fang Xu’s death.

https://preview.redd.it/2193ep2b79zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e8875844b4685da91341e4a58dc3e504e0500f8

Yuan Hang offered Fang Xu a drink and sincerely thanked him for saving Xiaohe. When Yuan Hang began coughing badly, Fang Xu suggested he take a longer break, but Yuan Hang refused to accept wages without working for them. He decided to continue investigating Yuanlongli to bring proper closure to the case. It’s sad when you think about how that closure never came for 12 long years.

https://preview.redd.it/mwxcyzxd79zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=651c9a7688af6e6ec5d09fbbb01d95a58c5393bb

At Yuanlongli, Ma Qiang and another resident wondered why Yuan Hang was still showing up when the case had already been solved, making pitiful remarks about his poor health and his need to feel useful. At the underground car park, Manager Qian took advantage of ongoing renovation work to remove the mummified arm (which he was holding like a slipper), placed it in a pail, and stuffed it with cement. Turning around, he was startled to see Yuan Hang standing behind him. Lol, I gasped out loud when Yuan Hang did that. Was I the only one?

https://preview.redd.it/46cnvp4g79zg1.png?width=1374&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c7974df1208009ca29e1dfc3a1c4a0fc9ca8b90

Yuan Hang requested the keys to the management office, and Manager Qian tried to block his view of the pail. Yuan Hang initially seemed suspicious, but it turned out he was merely puzzled as to why the pail was placed there. Manager Qian offered a flimsy excuse, and Yuan Hang gave him a long look but ultimately didn’t pursue the matter. Good grief, why are you and Fang Xu making the same mistake with Manager Qian?

https://preview.redd.it/ajm1ldbi79zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3cfdd383f09436423218a9297baed4a02facfa1

Outside the police station, Zhao Jie informed Fang Xu that Mei’s accomplices had confessed to everything but had no information on Mei’s base. A frantic woman walked into the station wanting to lodge a police report; there had been a murder at Yuanlongli.

At Yuanlongli, Yuan Hang arrived on the 17th floor to see residents moving out amid the building’s haunted reputation. He then received a call from Fang Xu, who summoned him back to the station.

https://preview.redd.it/x079yack79zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65288c0203f5aad84ee805dec85d86bd217db08c

At the station, Fang Xu and Yuan Hang listened to a phone recording between Qingsong and Director Li, in which Director Li threatened Qingsong regarding Xu Meng’s death. It turned out that Director Li had killed himself at the station five years earlier.

Yuan Hang wondered who had given the incriminating photo of Xu Meng’s corpse to Director Li, and Fang Xu guessed it was either Cripple Du or Wu Shanlong, though he suspected Shanlong had betrayed his brother-in-law. Fang Xu also believed the blackmail letter sent to Qingsong was forged by Shanlong.

https://preview.redd.it/ktrhpjem79zg1.png?width=1382&format=png&auto=webp&s=d7c0ffa196039c37d6a7c3f01749b3f1e2373080

Yuan Hang felt Shanlong wasn’t the main culprit because he simply didn’t have the brains to pull it off, and the scene cut to Zhao Hongmei. At a beauty salon, she advised the employees that a woman’s asset is not beauty, but intelligence.

Hongmei was clearly flush with money; when asked to renew her membership, she casually threw down a bundle of cash. After leaving, she was attacked before she could get into her car. Her fate was unknown, although she was likely dead judging by the amount of blood seeping from her head. Someone on a bicycle rode past her body; the culprit?

Present Day - 2015

https://preview.redd.it/cckxxxcp79zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7033bb647b05d897c2e10fac11985ec4029d17e7

Standing at the same location where Fang Xu had surveyed Mei’s escape route 12 years earlier, Xiaohe and Yuan Hang narrowed down a specific spot in a construction area between three schools that lacked CCTV coverage. Father and daughter went around asking about missing children and whether anyone had been offering free rides. A street vendor pointed out Gaoyishou BBQ restaurant, which offered free rides during restocking, and whose owner had previously been jailed for kidnapping.

Arriving at the restaurant, they asked for the owner’s whereabouts, but the employee, who was actually the owner, lied about his identity and was caught when he attempted to flee.

https://preview.redd.it/o1vtamvr79zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1cac654f9eec8266f86f7bcde12969ad43b5704

The BBQ restaurant owner protested his innocence, stating that he had been charged with kidnapping his ex-wife due to marital issues. Xiaohe studied the photos on the wall and spotted a familiar figure; it was Mei, who had been in Weiyang all these years. I have to say, it was kind of creepy seeing Mei staring directly into the camera with that expression. His entire presence radiated pure evil, and God knows how many more children were kidnapped over the past 12 years.

Xiaohe called Han Zi’ang’s mother to ask if there were needle marks on the boy, who confirmed there were two marks on his right arm.

https://preview.redd.it/aijcvhkt79zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec10f5a031525ec2f9b8377f416970b0705a8992

During the special task force meeting, Qu Dahai briefed the team on Mei, who had remained uncaptured for the past decade. I’m glad he openly credited Xiaohe for the discovery; it’s a significant breakthrough. Mei was now confirmed to be lurking in the construction area, likely still involved in human trafficking.

His modus operandi remained the same; identifying prey at illegal internet cafés, especially students who skipped classes, and knocking them out with anaesthetics once they were alone. Qu Dahai theorised that Han Zi’ang had likely been stalked and attacked by Mei while exploring the 18th floor of Yuanlongli, but his escape disrupted the plan.

https://preview.redd.it/o2zzn2rw79zg1.png?width=1380&format=png&auto=webp&s=344acd5adb0ce1bff24973e9d05ed49affc4be12

The task force’s plan involved printing posters and checking all exit points in the city, as well as motels and warehouses. Qu Dahai privately praised Xiaohe for the lead, but Xiaohe, like her father, had no tact and openly questioned whether his approach would work. Naturally, Qu Dahai was offended that a rookie would challenge him. Luckily, before Xiaohe pushed further, her colleague wisely pulled her away.

https://preview.redd.it/pkvs3p0z79zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2341815b6c4b44e2931aa4ffd7023f1ea44913f8

The police were under increasing pressure, and online criticism was ruthless. With only two days left and no new leads, Xiaohe requested additional support to give the case one last push. Three fellow rookies volunteered, and the newly formed team joined Yuan Hang, who predicted Mei would use vacant units in Yuanlongli as a hideout.

https://preview.redd.it/3mfmcyj089zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88d2ab60d126296ef4b00d76235360af65b6d4f9

At Yuanlongli, Yuan Hang requested a list of residents, tenants, and vacant units. Splitting up, they searched the vacant units until Xiaohe was suddenly jumped by a “ghostly” figure, who turned out to be part of an escape room group. I mean, given Yuanlongli’s reputation, that could have been a potential business idea if the building wasn’t set for demolition lol.

https://preview.redd.it/ds856wrd89zg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09f6cd3b154577ae66b4abed253d720acd8f8018

Suspecting Mei was renting under an alias and favouring names with three characters and “Qiang,” Xiaohe narrowed the list to unit 1316. Regrouping outside, she kicked the door open. Inside, she discovered ropes and anaesthetics used for kidnapping. Suddenly, they heard a noise; the female officer was trembling after seeing something in the freezer. Yuan Hang opened it, revealing Mei frozen inside.

Thoughts

https://preview.redd.it/1jufx53d89zg1.png?width=1380&format=png&auto=webp&s=dc3c8507f1c6e0d16e0e3dbc4a47b9b228587890

The man in the freezer was likely Mei, but the bigger question is: who killed him? What was his connection to the 1997 case and Dongshan Mine? Both past and present show villains like Hongmei, Shanlong, and now Mei being eliminated one by one. Is this the work of the same person? And why?

Human trafficking is lucrative, and Xu Meng’s financial troubles may have pushed her into becoming Mei’s accomplice. I’m still suspicious of her. Based on how she and her father were described by the resort operator, they honestly sounded like scammers. Was it desperation, or were they putting on an act to extort money? Let’s not forget she even scammed her cousin’s wedding money.

Yuan Hang’s remark about Shanlong lacking the brains suggests a more calculated mastermind behind everything. Hongmei may have been the strategist, but she could also have been a pawn controlled by someone else. Given her familiarity with Xu Meng, it’s not impossible they worked together to deceive Shanlong. Once he was eliminated, it became Hongmei’s turn.

The past and present are clearly converging, with Yuanlongli and the mine at the centre. This building isn’t just a backdrop, but the vortex of all criminal activity. Whether it’s the same perpetrator remains unclear, especially with unanswered questions about Mount Wu. Why did Xu Meng and her father go on that trip, as if possessed? What happened there, and who else was involved?

At the same time, the growing sense of inevitability surrounding Fang Xu’s fate casts a shadow over everything. I hate this sense of impending doom, I really do lol.

https://preview.redd.it/piik5uyz89zg1.png?width=1390&format=png&auto=webp&s=862c847bf347d936cb29e159457af68ed38f53ec

Why did Manager Qian decide to get rid of the hand after five years? Either he was instructed to do so, or he was spooked by Shanlong’s death and panicked that the cops might trace the case back to him.

It’s a little frustrating to watch both Yuan Hang and Fang Xu being slow on the uptake when this guy was suspicious as hell. I mean, if a bank robber specifically singled him out as a bad person, shouldn’t Fang Xu have taken his words seriously? Manager Qian wasn’t exactly good at concealing his nervous behaviour either, so I’m a bit baffled that our detective duo missed his non-verbal cues when they could easily pick them up from other characters.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think Manager Qian chose to dispose of the hand after five years? Was it panic, or was he following someone’s orders?

2. What do you think really happened during Xu Meng’s trip to Mount Wu?

3. What’s your current theory on how all the pieces (Mei, Hongmei, Shanlong, Xu Meng, Manager Qian) connect together?

Previous episode recaps:

Flashcards | Masterpost | Episodes 1-3 | Episode 4 | Episodes 5-6 | Episodes 7-8 | Episode 9 | Episodes 10-11 | Episodes 12-13

2002 timeline

https://preview.redd.it/imrkk0q71wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5de0504ce42e6db98b02934b165b3db24c1e4f26

Yuan Hang was due to be discharged, and Fang Xu came to the hospital to help him pack. He later joined Yuan Hang outside, where the latter was reading a crime analysis book written by Fang Xu two years earlier, looking like a proud dad. Fang Xu was surprised and brushed it off as amateur work, but Yuan Hang disagreed, insisting that the book held up well in practice. Oh wow, this moment really highlighted Yuan Hang’s character growth, because his 1997 self would have dismissed such theories as nonsense.

Yuan Hang then requested to remain in the criminal department, much to Fang Xu’s delight. Still dissatisfied with the outcome of the case, he believed that Xu Meng might still be alive and may have escaped from Shanlong five years earlier. Fang Xu agreed that this was possible and said he would request Director Zhu to reopen the case if necessary, which puzzled Yuan Hang. He then revealed that Captain Feng had retired the previous week. At that, Yuan Hang laughed, realising that Fang Xu was now the captain. With pride, he stood up and saluted him as Captain Ran. Oh my gosh, how am I supposed to cope with the heartbreak when Captain Ran is gone forever?

Four months later, 2002

https://preview.redd.it/2v6e5fz91wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=300194285d4519924e42804f48b6291084900f4b

During a team meeting at the police station regarding a new case involving a theft ring in an urban village area, we are introduced to a new character, Director Zhu. After Fang Xu’s team successfully arrested the thief, he received a call from Mr. Zhang, Xiaohe’s homeroom teacher. A nearby Qu Dahai shook his head, suggesting that this was not the first time Fang Xu had received calls from her teacher.

Meanwhile, Yuan Hang paid a visit to Xu Meng’s aunt under the pretext of an ear-cleaning treatment and learned that Xu Meng had once been on the verge of marriage but was forced apart due to Xu Zhihong’s objections. Her aunt showed Yuan Hang a photo of Xu Meng and her boyfriend, Wan Qiming, who fit the description of the man who had hired Xu Meng’s neighbour to spy on her and her father in the summer of 1996.

https://preview.redd.it/ggflh5gd1wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=614dd0bef85a1d456803da55c1d94304e607cd4f

Xiaohe was about to get a tattoo when Fang Xu stormed in; I loved the way he kicked open the door lol. At the He residence, Yuan Hang was preparing dinner when Xiaohe and Fang Xu arrived home. He immediately got angry upon seeing Xiaohe’s heavy make-up, and Fang Xu had to step in to diffuse the situation.

After dinner, Fang Xu spoke up on Xiaohe’s behalf, praising her academic performance to calm Yuan Hang down. Lol, Fang Xu lied about her results; she had actually scored less than 95 in total, not 95 in each subject. Awwwww, the three of them really felt like a family, with Fang Xu practically taking on the mum role. Gahhh, I absolutely hate knowing that this family of three will soon be reduced to two again.

Fang Xu then handed Yuan Hang his disability allowance, but Yuan Hang refused to accept it, clearly unhappy about being sidelined. He wanted to solve the case to gain closure, but if only he knew that true closure would still elude him even in 2015. Yuan Hang then told Fang Xu that he planned to travel out of town to investigate Wan Qiming.

https://preview.redd.it/wd5pj7zp1wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=770005e64a3f8b3832e685107ece96b28b1460c8

At the police station, Fang Xu interrogated the thief who had been caught stealing 1.5 million in cash from the Railway Administration. The thief refused to name his accomplices and took full responsibility for the crime. He had previously mentioned Manager Qian’s name when he was first arrested, but now claimed that he had been talking nonsense under pressure.

Fang Xu cleverly disproved his claim by bringing the thief out to the field and forcing him to run 16 laps while carrying a sack of rice to test his story. Lmao, that was really ingenious of Fang Xu. No wonder he left such a lasting legacy. Fang Xu had an unconventional approach to solving cases.

The thief eventually broke after the gruelling laps and confessed that there were three other accomplices. He also revealed that Manager Qian had a hidden stash in the underground garage of Yuanlongli.

Fang Xu then went to Yuanlongli to question Manager Qian. Qian showed him a shack that he claimed contained only empty boxes and rubbish, but Fang Xu sensed something was off and eventually discovered a safe inside. He ordered Manager Qian to open it, only to find that it was empty.

After Fang Xu left, Manager Qian revealed a hidden compartment in the safe and took out a black rubbish bag, which contained a mummified arm. Ewwwwwwwwww

https://preview.redd.it/ccu59etw1wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df459102d87f779cea868241444c85c6f20396ac

Yuan Hang went to Wan Qiming’s photography studio and learned from his employee that he had previously worked in Guangdong and had only returned the year before to open the studio. However, Wan Qiming was out of town on a shoot, and the employee was unsure when he would be back.

Seizing the opportunity, Yuan Hang snooped around the studio and noticed that Qiming’s workspace was equipped with a full set of tools that would, well… be perfect for dismembering bodies. Qiming also had rather unusual interests, including collecting antique knives and creating specimens.

https://preview.redd.it/naqedy1e3wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4b53960a907de95beb389b944f5f322cda40995

Fang Xu dropped Xiaohe off at her band rehearsal, but Xiaohe was perceptive enough to realise that he was meeting Su Qing, especially after seeing him blush while texting her. She insisted that he bring a flower as a gift. Fang Xu was really fortunate to have Xiaohe as his unofficial wingman; come to think of it, she had already been playing that role back in 1997 lol.

At the restaurant, Su Qing was nervously waiting for Fang Xu. Lmao, the setup really felt like they were on a first date. When Fang Xu arrived, Su Qing gifted him a cake, and he, in turn, gave her the flower that Xiaohe had insisted he bring. Our shy and innocent Fang Xu then claimed that the flower was from Xiaohe, though that didn’t dampen Su Qing’s smile at all.

https://preview.redd.it/6vdxdmzh3wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b8aeb360fe48ebcecbef48ba12fbf0bbeed32e0

Xiaohe’s band rehearsal was interrupted by the arrival of her bandmate’s father, and she quickly slipped away. Outside, she spotted a young man skillfully playing the guitar and asked to become his disciple, but he turned her down, saying he would be leaving for another town the next day. He suggested that she travel to Beijing if she was serious about rock music, which clearly gave Xiaohe an idea. Oh no Xiaohe, I can already see where this is going.

Back at the restaurant, where our two future lovebirds were having their meal, Su Qing told Fang Xu that she would be moving out of Yuanlongli the following week. Fang Xu looked visibly dismayed, heheh, perhaps realising he would no longer have an excuse to see her. He then generously offered his apartment to Su Qing, but she turned him down.

https://preview.redd.it/x3vyqdfl3wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9ad38bb49de2decae4ed9ca695c5e7495b20fee

Su Qing then recounted the period when she had been physically and mentally abused while caring for the old man who owned the unit she was living in. Fang Xu wondered why she chose to remain at Yuanlongli after his death, and Su Qing explained that although the place was rent-free, the old man’s son would be returning soon; more importantly, she had stayed because she hoped to run into him again. Awwww, that must have taken a lot of courage to admit; props to Su Qing!

Fang Xu was flustered and at a loss for words, but Su Qing reassured him that she knew she was not good enough for him and that she simply wanted to confess her feelings out loud. Fang Xu smiled. Why were you smiling? Was that a yes or a no?

https://preview.redd.it/cm93nsrq3wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad314b7e5c9a52d1fa78c484d9f880a3866866ad

After their meal, Fang Xu offered Su Qing a ride, but she turned it down as her office was nearby. As she walked off, someone bumped into her and the flower fell to the ground. Su Qing quickly picked it up and wiped it clean, even though Fang Xu told her to just throw it away. However, she insisted on keeping it, saying it was the flower he had given her and she did not want it to get dirty. Awww, I really liked how sincere and open Su Qing was about her feelings.

In the car, Fang Xu smiled to himself as he drove to pick up Xiaohe. To his horror, he discovered that the place had burned down and that a child had died in the fire. He rushed to the scene and saw a man cradling a dead boy in his arms; it was Xiaohe’s bandmate.

https://preview.redd.it/mrud38vv3wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a2fc40dc360dcd624cf07da11fc3480174f364b2

Fang Xu panicked and tried to rush into the burned building to look for Xiaohe, but the firefighters stopped him, assuring him that everyone had already been evacuated. He then spotted Xiaohe and her bandmates nearby, all in tears. Relieved, he ran over to check if she was injured before questioning her about what had happened. When Fang Xu learned that she had been with the young man, he became furious and attacked him, but Xiaohe intervened and stopped him. Fang Xu then tried to force Xiaohe to go back with him, but she shouted that he was not the best friend she thought he was and ran off.

Later that night, a group of teenagers found Xiaohe asleep on a discarded sofa in an alley and brought her to a room in a grocery shop.

In Tongzhou City, Yuan Hang stopped at a noodle shop for a meal. Recalling that Wan Qiming’s photos in his studio mostly featured abandoned buildings, he asked the shop owner about such places in the city and was directed to the Copper Factory.

https://preview.redd.it/4favr1h04wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=74f623aaa42a96a8396c039d14d1cc5df1757332

Back in Weiyang, poor Fang Xu continued driving around in search of Xiaohe. He eventually stopped near the grocery store and, noticing that the lights were on, was about to go in to ask around when he spotted someone passing by and drove off to follow.

The next morning, Xiaohe woke up in unfamiliar surroundings and instinctively lashed out at the group of teenagers and the shop owner. Meanwhile, Yuan Hang, who was on his way to the Copper Factory, received a call from her. Still traumatised by her bandmate’s death, Xiaohe tried to confide in him, but Yuan Hang’s phone was running out of battery. Feeling completely alone, she recalled what the young man had said about Beijing. She then made up a story about Yuan Hang being abusive and begged to work at the grocery shop, and the owner agreed after hearing her sob story.

At the Copper Factory, Yuan Hang finally tracked down Wan Qiming, who strangely seemed to have anticipated his arrival. As he recounted how he met Xu Meng, he explained that they became pen pals through a magazine and soon entered into a relationship. Qiming visited Xu Meng’s home three months after they met, and her father initially had no objections. Xu Meng later proposed marriage, but Qiming suggested postponing it until their careers were more stable and asked her to move to Guangdong with him.

https://preview.redd.it/ethbh1e64wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2038db5189e15fb580ff6587daf805ae370408b4

However, Xu Meng could not leave her father behind in Weiyang and asked Qiming to stay instead, but he eventually moved to Guangdong. They broke up but continued writing to each other, until Xu Meng stopped replying after six months. Qiming returned to Weiyang to look for her and was shocked and angered to find that she was working at a nightclub to support her father’s medical expenses.

He begged Xu Meng to go to Guangdong with him and even promised to marry her, but she refused, insisting that she could not leave Weiyang. Just then, Xu Zhihong returned home and became furious upon seeing him. He blamed Qiming for abandoning Xu Meng and grew so agitated that Xu Meng told Qiming to leave. Although Qiming left, he still clung to the hope that she might change her mind and even hired her neighbour to spy on her.

Yuan Hang then asked Qiming if he truly believed Xu Meng had died, but Qiming was unsure. He admitted that he had always suspected Xu Meng was corresponding with multiple people, as she seemed to enjoy being doted on and had a proud, temperamental personality. Qiming then provided a solid alibi for the night Xu Meng and her father disappeared.

https://preview.redd.it/9prvi14c4wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54822394acbef28376bb8aa47bd370288dd5285c

Fang Xu returned to the station and ordered Zhao Jie to file a missing person’s report. Poor Fang Xu and his team searched the entire neighbourhood for Xiaohe, but she remained missing. It was actually kinda funny to me that she was working at the grocery shop right by her school gate and wasn't even trying to conceal her presence, yet the cops somehow missed it.

An old man at the underground internet café spotted Xiaohe and gave her 100 yuan to buy a pack of Yuxi cigarettes. Xiaohe was happy and grateful for his generosity, but the man clearly had ill intentions. Later, Xiaohe returned to the bar where her friend had died to grieve and hid when Zhao Jie’s patrol car drove past.

https://preview.redd.it/68toqkif4wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=178bdc57dbe6600f536848e07e4622e3f7715381

Yuan Hang was stopped by someone handing out tour brochures and noticed a package tour to Mount Wu, which he decided to sign up for. Back in Weiyang, Xiaohe told her newfound friends at the underground internet café that she had been saving up to buy a train ticket to Beijing, which was unfortunately overheard by the old man with ill intentions. Approaching her again, he offered her another 100 yuan to buy cigarettes. When Xiaohe offered him free beer in return as a gesture of gratitude, he declined, claiming that he was a Buddhist.

After buying the cigarettes, Xiaohe accidentally bumped into her schoolteacher, who immediately gave chase, but ultimately lost track of her. Meanwhile, Fang Xu, who was about to launch a wider search for Xiaohe, received a call from the teacher informing him that he had seen her at Nanhu Market with a bus ticket. Fang Xu then ordered his team to check all the bus stations around Nanhu Market.

Present day - 2015

https://preview.redd.it/nvau8gtk4wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f76303d3be77874af92b6fdae6e5af0da524bb1b

A group of parents had gathered outside the police station, protesting that it had been 22 days since their children went missing. Zhao Jie tried to placate the distraught parents, but the situation escalated when Qu Dahai, being utterly tactless, ordered the posters to be taken down.

The parents were on the verge of clashing with the officers when Director Zhu stepped in and ordered that the posters remain. Zhao Jie then made a solemn vow in front of everyone that he would step down as captain if he failed to solve the case within seven days. I mean, I don’t think stepping down in the middle of an investigation would actually help, but I do understand his intention.

https://preview.redd.it/qus85oio4wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5017d6ce8f383b0ac38ccb1848f893a2d49655fe

The next day, during the special task force meeting, Qu Dahai reported that of the five missing teenagers, which now included Han Zi’ang, three were last seen at the underground internet café. Oh, that explains why he had been so certain of Du Mingliang’s guilt. Qu Dahai then concluded that the disappearance of the five teenagers was a serial kidnapping case.

Xiaohe was also present at the meeting and boldly requested that the police issue a statement to Han Zi’ang’s school, clarifying that he was a victim and that his attack on the two homeless individuals had been in self-defence. Qu Dahai paused for a moment before instructing an officer to carry out her request. Ah, thank God. I had been worried that he would shut her down. I love how Xiaohe never gave up on Han Zi’ang, just as Fang Xu never gave up on her during her rebellious phase.

After the meeting, Xiaohe met Yuan Hang outside the station. He handed her Fang Xu’s book and specifically pointed out the “Eye of the Vortex” theory. Here's an explanation helpfully summarised by u/BasilOrdinary3617:

>In criminal investigations, the Eye of the Vortex refers to a geographic profiling pattern where the scene of the crime (in this case, Yuanlongli) can help us categorize potential suspects based on their relationship to the location. This is because a serial offender will likely avoid committing crimes too close to their "home" to maintain anonymity. This creates a hole in the centre of a crime map - the "eye". By investigating potential clusters of activity where the offender feels safe enough to hunt but far enough to remain unrecognized, our detectives can pinpoint the suspect's anchor point.

https://preview.redd.it/y6jrrw7w4wyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5fc9cac4cd7d18864acb66e035b10521307a83c9

Principal Qin thanked Xiaohe for clearing Han Zi’ang’s name, and he was now regarded as a hero. Xiaohe then shared Fang Xu’s “Eye of the Vortex” theory with the principal and asked for his help in the investigation… which, as it turned out, involved her going undercover as a middle-school student hahahahah.

When Xiaohe walked into the classroom in full uniform, all the students paused and stared at her. Lol, they definitely didn’t fall for her disguise, did they? After the lesson, Han Zi’ang’s classmates told Xiaohe that he was considered a weirdo who spent most of his time sleeping, reading comics, and obsessing over a cosplayer. They also mentioned that his latest interest was a donghua called Nangong Xuanyue.

https://preview.redd.it/d2teiti85wyg1.png?width=1390&format=png&auto=webp&s=950394e9080f4c8ccd8072316e7beb9da82785a5

At the hospital, Han Zi’ang remained unresponsive to his mother, until Xiaohe showed up dressed as Nangong Xuanyue. Wow, that was genuinely ingenious of her. Upon seeing his idol, Han Zi’ang finally spoke his first words in days.

Thoughts

Fang Xu’s eventual fate in the 2002 timeline makes every interaction between him, Yuan Hang, and Xiaohe feel bittersweet. They really come across as a makeshift family; Yuan Hang entrusts Xiaohe to Fang Xu, and Fang Xu, in turn, is deeply protective of her, which only makes the impending loss even more painful. Adult Xiaohe mirrors Fang Xu’s unconventional methods in many ways, especially when she dresses up as Nangong Xuanyue. Her partnership with Yuan Hang in the present timeline feels like a continuation of Fang Xu’s legacy, as well as a path toward proper closure for both of them.

Fang Xu’s potential romance with Su Qing is progressing at such a snail’s pace that I’m starting to worry he might die right on the cusp of an official relationship, just to drive home the tragedy. You know, like he could be on his way to their first proper date and never make it. Okay, I can totally see the writers pulling something like that for maximum emotional impact.

https://preview.redd.it/cou971st6wyg1.png?width=1376&format=png&auto=webp&s=875d463e5215e7e8eb58f581f5ec3dff3f766081

Returning to the 1997 case, the mystery surrounding Xu Meng’s fate still lingers. Before we can even begin to determine what happened to her, I think we need a clearer understanding of who she really was. Xu Meng remains an enigma. She appeared to be a filial daughter who was unwilling to abandon her father, but it is hard to ignore that she seemed to have an almost enchanting hold over the men around her, something she may have used to her advantage.

This is, after all, the same person who scammed her cousin’s wedding money, but that same cousin was still passionately defending her in spite of being scammed. Then there was Qiming, her former lover, who remained devoted to her memory even five years later. If his claim that Xu Meng was corresponding with multiple people is true, it suggests that she may have had more than one romantic involvement at the same time, and it is possible that Xu Meng conspired with one of them to orchestrate her disappearance.

Wu Shanlong may have also been one of Xu Meng’s patrons, as he was the one who introduced Xu Zhihong to Zhang Ersong, ultimately leading to his arsenic poisoning. Both Shanlong and Xu Meng may have been aware of the effects of ingesting realgar over time, making it a convenient way to get rid of her father without getting their hands dirty.

https://preview.redd.it/zvaesoz88wyg1.png?width=1390&format=png&auto=webp&s=30b17985ba169b5d6a3beab89cf3605368e64728

Of course, there is an even bigger question; whose arm was it, and why did Manager Qian keep it for five years? Could it have belonged to Xu Zhihong or Xu Meng? It might even have been Qingsong’s.

More importantly, why would Manager Qian hold on to such incriminating evidence instead of getting rid of it, unless he intended to use it as leverage, either to extort the real culprit or to protect himself?

Since Manager Qian appears to be leading a successful life in 2015 and does not seem resentful toward Yuan Hang, it is likely that he was never charged in 2002. This suggests that his true role in this complex case has yet to be fully revealed and may only come to light in the present timeline.

Mount Wu and Dongshan Mine have been mentioned repeatedly throughout the drama, but so far, we only know a few key details: there was a mountain accident at Mount Wu in 1995, with Xu Meng and her father among the only survivors, and Qingsong, along with Director Li, was involved in illegal tender bidding at the highly lucrative, state-owned Dongshan Mine.

Now that the story is finally circling back to the mine, it seems likely that it will play a central role in the overall mystery. This could also explain why the drama is only expanding on it at this stage. The groundwork is being laid for the true motive behind the case and the eventual reveal of the main villain.

Discussion Questions:

1. Whose arm do you think was found in Manager Qian’s possession, and why did he keep it for five years?
2. What role do you think Wan Qiming really played in the case? Is he telling the full truth?

Warning: You might want to keep a box of tissues nearby and brace yourself for the heartbreaking revelations in these two episodes.

Previous episode recaps:

Flashcards | Masterpost | Episodes 1-3 | Episode 4 | Episodes 5-6 | Episodes 7-8 | Episode 9

2015 timeline

https://preview.redd.it/gqizf4mlphyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fcc2f9695bfc7e3666f63311e6790149b413199f

As Yuan Hang was still grappling with the confusing reality, he was suddenly greeted by Mr. Qian, the former building manager of Yuanlongli. However, when Yuan Hang brought up Fang Xu, Mr. Qian carelessly let slip that Fang Xu was already dead, which immediately angered him. Xiaohe tried to intervene, but it was too late; in his agitated state, Yuan Hang began calling out for Fang Xu. Unable to bear seeing him like that, Xiaohe hugged him tightly and finally revealed the truth; Fang Xu had been dead for 12 years.

We soon realised that Yuan Hang had been talking to himself the entire time. The truth was too much for him to bear, and he soon passed out.

At the hospital, Xiaohe, Captain Zhao Jie, Qu Dahai, and a few former colleagues waited anxiously outside Yuan Hang’s room. They were soon joined by a worried Su Qing. Xiaohe then revealed that Yuan Hang’s former colleagues, along with others like Ma Qiang and Mrs. Feng, had been staging fake missing children cases whenever he experienced an episode; he would only snap out of it after “sending” Fang Xu to the station. However, Xiaohe never expected there to be an actual missing child at Yuanlongli.

https://preview.redd.it/n5yygnq3rhyg1.png?width=1389&format=png&auto=webp&s=7f5e48d6ed06c201e5ddf08772146a8915ede928

A nurse then informed the group that they could check on Yuan Hang. It was nice to see that everyone, including his frenemy Qu Dahai, was concerned about him. When Yuan Hang was initially unresponsive, his former colleagues assumed he was still in his delusional state and tried to reassure him that Fang Xu had arrived in Beijing; however, Yuan Hang interrupted them and calmly replied that he remembered everything.

Outside the hospital, Zhao Jie and the others expressed that they, too, mourned Fang Xu’s death, but Qu Dahai remarked that Fang Xu had been gone for a long time. Zhao Jie then advised Xiaohe to encourage Yuan Hang to move on. Su Qing handed Xiaohe the name card of a psychologist. Honestly, it has already been two years; Yuan Hang should have received therapy much earlier.

https://preview.redd.it/2m6v4660thyg1.jpg?width=2175&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c870cff1d6c5debcda81a37119ca3c3ab7afaccb

Xiaohe returned to the hospital room, only to discover that Yuan Hang had gone missing. We then see that he had returned home in search of something, but instead came across the cap that Fang Xu had given him years earlier. He sat down, cradling it, lost in his memories. Xiaohe, who had followed him home, silently watched from the window with tears in her eyes.

This scene is truly heartbreaking; the loss of Fang Xu and the profound impact of his death on those around him felt incredibly palpable. So many feels, sobs.

During an appointment with a psychologist, Xiaohe shared Yuan Hang’s medical history. He first suffered a stroke in 2022, which caused him to fall down the rooftop stairs, and his condition worsened after he was severely injured during an operation and after Fang Xu’s sudden death. Yuan Hang retired two years ago and later received something left behind by Fang Xu, which may have triggered his current condition, in which he imagines Fang Xu to be alive and well.

https://preview.redd.it/6x91q91exiyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e9e9ff8dfdfcefea08757e11dd548562ef3fba7

Xiaohe rushed to the hospital after receiving news that Han Zi’ang had awakened, but the boy was unresponsive, and the doctor diagnosed him with PTSD. His mother was further distraught when she was informed that he would be expelled, and she begged Xiaohe on her knees to intervene. Xiaohe called the principal, who said he had no choice due to immense pressure, but eventually relented after Xiaohe promised to solve the case within seven days.

After his appointment with the psychiatrist, Yuan Hang bumped into Su Qing. He wondered what she was doing there, and she replied that she had come to see a therapist due to immense stress at work and because she had no one to talk to. Yuan Hang advised her to let go of the past, but Su Qing found it difficult to move on from Fang Xu.

2002 timeline

After the Xu Meng case was concluded and our detective duo went their separate ways, the story jumped ahead five years. Yuan Hang was now the deputy station chief, and it was hinted that he and his wife had separated. When he stopped by the workshop outside Qingsong Cement Factory, the mechanic told him that business had gone downhill after Shanlong took over as director; he had since gone into hiding after owing his workers a year’s worth of salary.

https://preview.redd.it/m4jr3nvuvhyg1.png?width=1382&format=png&auto=webp&s=d07d5c69f21bd178bbf90ac8fb421576b058ed3b

And then the scene shifted to a 2002 version of Fang Xu, who was steadily rising through the ranks. Please, I’m going to have to digress a little and rave about HOW HOT DYLAN LOOKED IN THIS SCENE. My God, he had changed so much from his rookie days. His facial features hadn’t changed, of course, but it was the aura; 2002 Fang Xu was confident, firm, and clearly a capable leader. The steely look in his eyes as he went through the crime scene photos told you that this was someone to be reckoned with; IF ONLY HE WERE STILL ALIVE IN THE PRESENT DAY.

Sorry, I had to type in caps lock because, like Yuan Hang, I still can’t process the fact that he was destined to meet such an untimely demise.

https://preview.redd.it/woh2200i6iyg1.png?width=1377&format=png&auto=webp&s=688a819e4a205039d73e34c87d7f500640378524

Back at Weiyang Police Station, Fang Xu was praised by Captain Feng for solving a murder case in less than half a day, but he remained humble about it. Qu Dahai joked that if it had been Yuan Hang, he would have bragged about it endlessly, which prompted Fang Xu to privately ask why Yuan Hang had been avoiding him for the past five years. Qu Dahai replied that it was simply jealousy, but Fang Xu didn’t look convinced.

https://preview.redd.it/6m4nrpcg6iyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c37d9e8ea478747436fd010381a0c1d27a8ab0a9

At Yuanlongli, Mr. Ge was searching for one of his missing chicks when he accidentally hooked up a skull instead. Fang Xu was called in, and as he examined it, it slowly dawned on him that the skull belonged to Xu Zhihong.

Yuan Hang was informed of the discovery, and at the forensic department, he was told that the skull had been identified as Xu Zhihong’s. The cause of death was likely blunt force trauma to the head, and the body had been dismembered after death, suggesting a high possibility of homicide.

Yuan Hang then told Captain Feng that he would take full responsibility and accept disciplinary action for mishandling the 1997 case. However, Captain Feng replied that since Fang Xu’s name had been listed first, he had to bear primary responsibility. Yuan Hang then pleaded to be assigned to the case full-time so he could solve it this time, and eventually, Captain Feng relented.

https://preview.redd.it/2gvel1rn9iyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35f44336903907d4d724f66037f39a1ca71b4326

Yuan Hang went to Yuanlongli to look for Fang Xu, who had been there since the discovery of the skull. Upon arriving at the building, he was met by a group of irate residents and a harried Ma Qiang, who told him that Fang Xu had gone mad, digging up random patches of land around the property.

Yuan Hang eventually found Fang Xu on the rooftop, where he was still obsessively digging through the roof drain, seemingly searching for ...idk, another skull? Yuan Hang told him that they would be partnering up again to solve the case, but a desolate Fang Xu blamed himself for mishandling it and for failing to save both Xu Meng and her father. Yuan Hang pointed out that Xu Meng might still be alive, but Fang Xu simply shook his head, convinced by his experience that she was already dead, and declared that the case was unsolvable.

https://preview.redd.it/8s30n3vxbiyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4cdd98d16b89b8a6f3f6964190d4bd2bef726cb1

Fang Xu decided to quit the force and become a lecturer in Beijing. A frustrated Yuan Hang finally had enough and stormed off, declaring that he would crack the case on his own. After Yuan Hang went down the stairs, Fang Xu heard a noise. Concerned for his safety, he rushed to check on him, only to discover that Yuan Hang had fallen down the stairs.

https://preview.redd.it/d8nus8gjgiyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d56643542bc04c6521491a2f5dbca6621b990be

Fang Xu may have seemed like the more emotional one when it came to the mishandling of Xu Meng and her father’s case, but we saw that Yuan Hang was not entirely free of guilt either. He had a dream in which he was chased and dragged by the ghostly figure of Xu Zhihong, who angrily demanded to know why he had not been saved after waiting for five years. Yuan Hang managed to break free and continued climbing the stairs, but when he opened the shaft, a female figure stared down at him; startled, he lost his grip and fell into darkness.

Yuan Hang later regained consciousness in the hospital with Fang Xu by his side. The doctor urged him to take his medication due to his poor health, but Yuan Hang brushed off the concern. After the doctor left, Fang Xu apologised for being emotional, and upon hearing that, Yuan Hang removed his IV drip and told him that they needed to get moving on the case.

https://preview.redd.it/a3gw6f1tjiyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aba6dd3395fd0e280807c628c374fb3407085910

In the car, Fang Xu observed that Qingsong was the prime suspect in the 1997 case, but he had fled and was still in hiding in the US. Yuan Hang found it strange that he chose to flee, because the most he could have been charged with at the time was bribery, which would have resulted in only five years in prison. This led Yuan Hang to believe that there was more to the story, particularly regarding the alleged hiring of a hitman to kill Xu Meng. A minor detail that might prove significant later was that Qingsong had also left behind a three-year-old son when he fled. The duo decided that the best way to investigate Qingsong was through Shanlong.

Shanlong, who was supposedly in hiding, was actually leeching off Zhao Hongmei, who now owned a successful nightclub. The two clearly distrusted each other, and Hongmei grew increasingly annoyed whenever Shanlong brought up his investment in the club. She then angrily told him about the discovery of Xu Zhihong’s skull in Yuanlongli and urged him to run away like Qingsong had.

https://preview.redd.it/xzw8h06kliyg1.png?width=1408&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e48abf71d12e1100e15518677ce53f17f3366fa

Shanlong agreed, but only if Hongmei lent him money to flee. She balked at the idea, and Shanlong suddenly reached out to grab her by the neck. In a calm voice, he told her that she was now dealing with a murderer, but Hongmei was not cowed by the threat and boldly declared that she would go to the police. Just then, our detective duo arrived.

Hongmei quickly made an excuse and left the room, leaving Shanlong to fend for himself. The detectives interrogated him, but he evaded their questions by feigning ignorance and claimed that he was not acquainted with Jin Manlang. He shifted all the blame onto Qingsong, suggesting that Qingsong had likely hired someone to murder both father and daughter.

https://preview.redd.it/082nmz9coiyg1.jpg?width=2158&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30ca4041d72768ee0e70985e4640ad3c71e9059e

Fang Xu questioned why Qingsong would be so eager to kill Xu Meng and her father, and Shanlong replied that Xu Meng had seen the tender document inside the briefcase and had tried to extort money from Qingsong. Enraged, Qingsong had allegedly ordered her assassination. Shanlong also claimed that he had not seen Qingsong for years.

With Shanlong continuing to evade their questions, the duo had no choice but to leave. Before leaving, Yuan Hang deliberately wiped his hands on Shanlong’s shirt, likely to provoke him or to signal his disdain; perhaps he intended both.

https://preview.redd.it/q4dpcvcbpiyg1.png?width=1398&format=png&auto=webp&s=078b1fb9af138be71faeff57a7083429024abefa

In the car, Yuan Hang was frustrated that Shanlong had lied, and Fang Xu replied that they would have to investigate the case from another angle. He suggested going through the profiles of suspicious residents at Yuanlongli, prompting Yuan Hang to ask if he was not afraid of getting stuck there again. Fang Xu responded with his usual theories, no doubt part of his Western investigative approach; hearing that, Yuan Hang laughed, relieved to see that Fang Xu was back to his normal self.

https://preview.redd.it/r1l7naupriyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c88c6ca78aeb9de9fc03703a5e223be420d8a655

Just then, Fang Xu received a call from the forensic department informing him that traces of toxins had been discovered on Xu Zhihong’s skull. Yuan Hang decided to return to the station, while Fang Xu would head back to Yuanlongli. As Yuan Hang glanced at his watch, he remembered that he had to pick Xiaohe up from school and asked Fang Xu to do it instead. At that, Fang Xu asked if he and his wife had separated, but Yuan Hang evaded the question.

Fang Xu’s question prompted Yuan Hang to scroll through his messages to his wife, none of which had received a reply. In a flashback, we saw the two arguing before his wife angrily got out of the car. I would say that Yuan Hang’s lack of ambition was likely a contributing factor to their separation.

https://preview.redd.it/58old86utiyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=de58a37f6e49c1d5ee65c807d967a813cf78b528

Fang Xu picked Xiaohe up from school and noticed that her style had changed. In the car, he was amused by her teenage behaviour and smiled to himself, until he spotted Xiaohe’s mother by the roadside with another man and decided to take a detour to spare her from seeing it.

Xiaohe then ended up tagging along with Fang Xu to Yuanlongli again, paralleling the events of 1997. Her band training was actually held in the underground garage at Yuanlongli, and there, Fang Xu met the boy who had bumped into Xu Meng five years earlier.

Meanwhile, at the forensic department, Yuan Hang was informed that Xu Zhihong had been poisoned with arsenic over a period of time before his death.

https://preview.redd.it/r2ml7wbcziyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8791e15dfa68cf03c5c852629c643597ee0790da

After Fang Xu received a list of tenants who had been living at Yuanlongli in 1997, he was greeted by Su Qing, who was overjoyed to see him again. It seemed that they had not seen each other since the Xu Meng case was concluded. Excuse me?? Are you telling me these two are still not an item? Boy likes girl, girl likes boy… just get together already!

However, from Su Qing’s perspective, I can understand why she might be reluctant to enter a relationship. She did not have a proper education back then, especially compared to Fang Xu, who was a top scorer from a prestigious university. There were also rumours about her being a mistress, and she had no friends at the time.

That said, Su Qing graduated from Weiyang University the previous year and was now interning at an insurance company, and the rumours about her had dissipated as she made more friends in recent years. As for Fang Xu… well, I think he was just too shy to make a move lol.

Su Qing noticed the cuts on Fang Xu’s hand and immediately tended to them, a reversal of their earlier roles when he had been the one caring for her injuries. Fang Xu asked how she had come to live in Yuanlongli, and she explained that after her mother’s death, she used her nursing skills to find work caring for an elderly man and had continued living in the unit after his passing.

https://preview.redd.it/qh71rma24jyg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8ce767adf404a4aaa5c7fdd6b039a88bdbdd9f4

At Dajianchang Apartment, where Xu Meng and her father had once lived, Yuan Hang collected several items from their flat for analysis. As he descended the stairs, he sensed a presence watching him. Back at Yuanlongli, Su Qing told Fang Xu about someone watching her at midnight. Concerned, Fang Xu gave her his number. Why yes, I mean you gave her your number under a very different circumstance, but hey, you finally made the first move. Atta boy!

Other female residents at Yuanlongli knocked on Su Qing’s door to complain about perverts stealing their lingerie, and Fang Xu promised to investigate. However, they soon told him that they already knew the identities of the culprits.

Yuan Hang then knocked on the unit that had been spying on him earlier, and an old man answered the door. Under pressure, he admitted that someone had paid him 500 yuan in the summer of 1996 to spy on Xu Meng and her father. The man was around 25 years old, tall, bespectacled, and looked like a gentleman… and the scene soon transitioned to Wu Shanlong.

https://preview.redd.it/ve4r0bs64jyg1.png?width=1394&format=png&auto=webp&s=adf837cb2f112fd743c489cbf9a2403bf94df7c3

Wu Shanlong was about to drive off when he discovered that someone had placed a large rock under his car. As he bent down to remove it, he was suddenly attacked with a spanner by a mysterious assailant, leaving his fate unknown.

Thoughts

Okay, I think we all more or less predicted that Fang Xu was no longer alive in the present timeline, but the drama making it explicitly clear in Episode 10 completely dashed any remaining hope that he might somehow still be alive. It has been 12 years, yet Fang Xu was such a gem of a person that his loss is still deeply felt by those around him.

I feel for Yuan Hang, but my heart also goes out to Xiaohe. The relationship between teenage Xiaohe and Fang Xu has not been explored in depth up to Episode 11, but I can already see that they shared a very sweet, uncle–niece-like bond. As an adult, Xiaohe had to take care of her father while masking her own pain over losing Fang Xu. I am also saddened for Su Qing, who remains alone and unable to move on.

In some ways, all three of them are still stuck in the past, and I am not entirely sure that even if they manage to crack the case, they will be able to move on, especially Yuan Hang and Su Qing. However, proper closure would go a long way toward easing their pain. That said, we still do not know how Fang Xu died in 2003, but I have to guess that he was most likely murdered by the real culprit.

Wu Shanlong

https://preview.redd.it/v53xipsg6jyg1.png?width=1381&format=png&auto=webp&s=bd00564bff1a6dad5dbb670b89dfa4864a33746e

Speaking of the culprit, I don’t think Shanlong is dead, as I believe there is still much more about him that has yet to be revealed. The way he masterfully restrained his emotions, along with the calm manner in which he looked into Hongmei’s eyes and identified himself as a murderer, sent chills down my spine. I initially doubted his claim that he killed Xu Meng, but I am now finding it increasingly difficult not to believe it. Shanlong was clearly driven by money, but the extent to which he would go for it is something I may have underestimated.

The real reason behind the death of Xu Meng and her father

Shanlong claimed that they were killed because Xu Meng had extorted Qingsong for money, but I would immediately dismiss this theory. We know Shanlong is a snake, and his words cannot be trusted. There is definitely more to these deaths, likely tied to the Dongshan Mine. While we all expected Xu Meng to be dead at this point due to the photo evidence given to Qingsong, I am still not entirely convinced that she is.

I now have a rather wild new theory; Xu Meng may not have been the dutiful and loving daughter she appeared to be, or at least not entirely. The slow, prolonged poisoning of her father could only have been carried out by someone close to him, and Xu Meng would have been in the most likely position to do so. Was her father aware that he was being poisoned? If he had wanted to end his life to ease her burden, it would not have made sense for the process to be drawn out.

It is possible that Xu Meng found caring for her father overwhelming and, perhaps in collusion with Shanlong or another yet-to-be-revealed culprit, became entangled in the Dongshan Mine affair. There is even a chance that she was still alive in the 2002 timeline.

Questions that arose from these 2 episodes:

1. What exactly did Yuan Hang receive from Fang Xu two years ago, and more importantly, who sent it—and for what purpose?
2. What do you think Qingsong was really hiding, given that fleeing the country seems excessive for a bribery charge?
3. Shanlong presents himself as composed and calculating; do you see him as the main villain, or just one piece of a larger puzzle?

Aite peeps, this is the episode where we bid farewell to the 1997 timeline to make way for the 2022 timeline. As usual, there’s a lot to unpack in just a single episode. Ready for the ride? Can’t wait to read all your fantastic speculations as always!

Previous episode recaps:

Flashcards | Masterpost | Episodes 1-3 | Episode 4 | Episodes 5-6 | Episodes 7-8

1997 Timeline

https://preview.redd.it/q3ka35if99yg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c53a123ddda8c9cee8bc84a2a228cef60d11aff7

Fang Xu inserted the key and unlocked the elevator shaft. When the elevator drew closer, they saw something astonishing: wooden planks with multiple footprints on them. It slowly dawned on them that Xu Meng and her father must have used these to climb onto the elevator roof.

https://preview.redd.it/o3dz9upg99yg1.png?width=1376&format=png&auto=webp&s=cd8ce853ce02a01ad5075f2724476e9977fbded9

While taking photographs of the footprints, our detective duo discovered something else; a letter written by Xu Meng, with the same poem and handwriting found in her room.

https://preview.redd.it/6jeokxsh99yg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d561cbe64aae5cf222179ed5f3beecf5e83b0f9

On the way back to the station, Yuan Hang wondered why Fang Xu seemed noticeably subdued even though they had already solved the case. Fang Xu felt there might have been another reason for their disappearance besides escaping debt, but Yuan Hang remained convinced that the father and daughter were running from debt collectors.

When they arrived at the station, they saw a large group of officers gathered there. Captain Feng praised them for solving the Dongshan Mine case. It turned out that the burglar who had broken into Unit 1703 had testified about the Qingsong briefcase, and Shanlong, acting as a whistleblower, revealed that Qingsong had bribed Director Li with 8 million yuan to secure the winning bid. Yuan Hang shared the good news that they had solved Xu Meng and her father’s disappearance and requested a work performance report from Captain Feng. Fang Xu looked slightly disheartened. Perhaps he had grown fond of Yuan Hang as a partner despite their constant bickering.

https://preview.redd.it/uuj4c4yi99yg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94a77d80a0d9b5671190bff8e70d609f0f9feae2

That night, Yuan Hang sat at home and wrote the case summary report for Xu Meng’s case. He recounted how Xu Meng and her father had been injured during a trip to Mount Wu, which resulted in her father developing a long-term illness. In the years that followed, Xu Meng was forced to borrow money from loan sharks and defrauded people by repeatedly mortgaging her property. In desperation, they devised a plan to disappear and leave Weiyang.

Du Mandun, a resident of Yuanlongli, testified that he had seen Xu Meng in the building before her disappearance, leading Yuan Hang to believe she had been preparing an escape plan. On June 30th, the father and daughter successfully executed their plan by unlocking the elevator shaft, climbing onto it, and getting down on the second floor. Xu Meng left a letter on the elevator before they departed.

https://preview.redd.it/g1hm0i4k99yg1.png?width=1377&format=png&auto=webp&s=6477af590f6b4958fd3ded021adbe1fb80a67a05

Using the eastern staircase, they made their way to the underground garage and eventually left Yuanlongli, never to be seen again. Yuan Hang concluded in his report that the case was a premeditated, voluntary disappearance intended to escape debt collectors.

https://preview.redd.it/mqpbmz0l99yg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=beb4321ab1bc080dd971ef427a19153476ac5698

The next morning, Fang Xu visited the He residence and was introduced to Yuan Hang’s wife. Yuan Hang asked Fang Xu to keep his upcoming transfer out of the criminal department a secret, but it was soon revealed when Mrs. He accidentally overheard their conversation. The scene where Fang Xu clenches his fist not once but twice; first when Mrs. He tries to introduce him to single girls, and then when little Xiaohe announces that Su Qing is his girlfriend is hilarious. Such a sweet and innocent Fang Xu lol

Fang Xu noticed that his name appeared first on the case summary report and insisted on changing the order, but Yuan Hang refused, saying Fang Xu was the main contributor.

https://preview.redd.it/g6hl1hzl99yg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67b66f91889aa674f8028de66aacaf58c15f5c0b

After the meal, Yuan Hang saw Fang Xu off. Fang Xu asked whether Yuan Hang would consider staying in the criminal department. Yuan Hang admitted he had thought about it, but said he was not an ambitious man and was content with his small family.

Xiaohe soon joined them, and the three walked together happily. The scene then transitioned to the present day, where an adult Xiaohe and Yuan Hang saw Fang Xu off at the train station. Oof… this might be the last time we see the three of them walking side by side in the same frame. I can’t imagine what circumstances will bring them back together in 2022.

Present timeline - 2015

https://preview.redd.it/wksbk97n99yg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=363f4e08a4b4d9b037340ec846f191feed05bb0b

Yuan Hang prepared noodles for Fang Xu, but Fang Xu mentioned that he no longer liked coriander. Fang Xu tried persuading Yuan Hang to enjoy his retirement and let go of the past, but Yuan Hang became agitated when Fang Xu said there had been no new leads in the past 18 years. Storming off, Yuan Hang returned to Yuanlongli and pasted up the same missing persons poster from 18 years ago. Omg… poor Yuan Hang has been haunted by this case for nearly two decades.

Fang Xu followed him and tried to stop him from posting the posters, but to no avail. When Yuan Hang refused to listen, a frustrated Fang Xu remarked that not everything has answers, but Yuan Hang insisted that he only wanted the truth.

https://preview.redd.it/bs92lino99yg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6563f1c1283b680cbf5e46d7af7d35a83193894d

Just then, they sensed someone nearby who turned out to be Xiaohe. Yuan Hang correctly guessed that Xiaohe wanted to clear Han Zi’ang’s name and eagerly offered their help. Xiaohe was hesitant at first but eventually relented after Yuan Hang pleaded for a chance. Handing her his helmet and posters, Yuan Hang dragged Fang Xu toward the staircase.

Left alone, Xiaohe sighed and muttered that she shouldn’t trust the words of a madman. Suddenly, Yuan Hang ran out from the staircase in a panic and rushed straight to the closet in Unit 407, the same place where Han Zi’ang had hidden days earlier.

https://preview.redd.it/n409yrzp99yg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a66d8193595dd23c45bc33ab5f3c4b839f39999

Xiaohe helped Yuan Hang out of the closet and repeatedly told him to stop fooling around. Yuan Hang claimed he was using a technique called re-enactment, Fang Xu’s area of expertise. Xiaohe then realised he was trying to trace Han Zi’ang’s movements before he hid in the closet. Upon checking the staircase, they discovered a bloodied handprint left by Zi’ang on the wall.

Xiaohe deduced that the handprint was made while Zi’ang was running down the stairs seeking help, before eventually hiding in the closet in Unit 407. When the homeless people arrived, he attacked them in self-defence. Yuan Hang and Fang Xu beamed with pride at Xiaohe’s logical deduction skills, but the mood turned sombre when Fang Xu announced that he would be returning to Beijing.

https://preview.redd.it/xtdojq5r99yg1.png?width=1377&format=png&auto=webp&s=5f24262fa894bae479ef0c51fc7daabb33bb1eb9

After finally giving up on persuading Fang Xu to stay in Weiyang, Yuan Hang offered to drive him to the train station. Xiaohe watched with a strange expression, a mix of sadness and worry, as if she were on the verge of tears after Yuan Hang left the room.

https://preview.redd.it/zhkji24s99yg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a5f936d307e5420f0c682d8fab0ebae048af2de0

At the train station, Yuan Hang angrily complained that Fang Xu’s former colleagues were heartless for not seeing him off. In a parallel to the past, when Fang Xu had once asked Yuan Hang if he would stay, Yuan Hang now asked Fang Xu the same question.

Yuan Hang became emotional after Fang Xu boarded the train, but to his surprise and relief, Fang Xu did not actually leave. Instead, he decided to stay and investigate the June 30th case with him. Walking beside Fang Xu, Yuan Hang proudly declared to everyone that Fang Xu was his apprentice, though passers-by gave him strange looks while Xiaohe silently followed behind.

https://preview.redd.it/jmy6it2t99yg1.jpg?width=2643&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7e51a353b85f96a5f68a8471a7d0d449ccbd0695

Yuan Hang suddenly became confused when he heard the sound of the train. Looking at Fang Xu, he said he remembered Fang Xu never leaving, and that it was Yuan Hang himself who had found Mrs. Feng’s grandson, Ma Qiang’s nephew, and Li Tieling’s son. Fang Xu corrected him, saying he had been teaching in Beijing all those years. Yuan Hang grew even more confused, recalling that Fang Xu had boarded the train long ago and wondering how he had returned.

Thoughts

Mystery 1: Is Fang Xu dead or alive in the present day?

Theory 1: Fang Xu is dead

>I'm sure you have never left. You took the train and left a long time ago.

https://preview.redd.it/bpvltwxy99yg1.png?width=1383&format=png&auto=webp&s=aa8befecd9fb0529a29de46e89f6ef05824680b7

Many of us initially theorised that Fang Xu is dead in 2015, and these chilling words seem to reinforce that idea. The “train” could be metaphorical, perhaps Fang Xu died in 2022 and departed forever. There are other strong hints that Yuan Hang might be talking to himself: Fang Xu never interacts with anyone in the present timeline, the taxi driver’s alarmed expression in the first episode, and the strange looks from passers-by at the train station. Judging by Xiaohe’s resigned expression, Yuan Hang may have been trapped in this loop of imagination for years.

However, this theory feels a little too straightforward for a drama that thrives on twists. Which brings me to another possibility:

Theory 2: It wasn't Fang Xu who had died in 2022 but Yuan Hang

Fang Xu’s guilt may have caused him to imagine himself as Yuan Hang.

• The movers in Episode 1 mentioned that two policemen died, one with the surname He, who was impaled with a spear. What if there was a mix-up in names?
• In 1997, Fang Xu always carried a backpack; in 2015, it is Yuan Hang who carries one.
• In 2015, Fang Xu no longer eats coriander, which was Yuan Hang’s favourite. Perhaps the sight of it reminds him of Yuan Hang’s death. (Though as a coriander hater, I fully approve.)

Theory 3: Fang Xu is alive and well in 2015 and will make an actual appearance in future episodes.

No hints for this, just my wishful thinking lol.

Mystery 2: Xu Meng and Xu Zhihong

https://preview.redd.it/pp4tzcb3a9yg1.png?width=1395&format=png&auto=webp&s=28bbbc1b837e38f19877775a9bebe71c1ab6baef

The account of Xu Meng’s disappearance in this episode is entirely from Yuan Hang’s perspective and may not reflect the truth. Did they really escape Yuanlongli? I believe they intended to, but their plan was intercepted, and at least one of them was likely killed, possibly indicated by the skull in Manager Qian’s bag.

It is also possible that Shanlong helped Xu Meng devise her escape plan and provided the keys to the underground car park. As seen in Episode 8, Shanlong and Zhao Hongmei conspired to blackmail Qingsong. Given Qingsong’s fury over being blackmailed, the letter attributed to Xu Meng may have been forged by them.

If Xu Meng truly intended to leave, why leave a letter on the elevator roof? While the handwriting matches, both the letter and the poem could have been fabricated as a cover-up. Alternatively, Xu Meng may have anticipated danger and left the letter as a clue.

Mystery 3: Wushan Mountain/Dongshan Mine

https://preview.redd.it/tok6uan4a9yg1.png?width=1386&format=png&auto=webp&s=87c34afb77013e103f0b6ff25c714fe583261a5d

I have no doubt that money is the root of evil in this drama (and in real life too). To unravel this case, we need to trace it back to the earliest event: the Mount Wu incident in 1995. Heavy rain and thick fog caused a tour group, including Xu Meng and her father, to get lost. According to Xu Zhihong’s sister, they went on the trip “as if possessed,” which seemed out of character. His nephew also noted that the group got lost immediately, with no food, water, or rescue, almost like a setup.

Dongshan Mine was a lucrative state-owned mine, and there may have been illegal mining activities. Xu Zhihong might have been a worker there, and prolonged exposure could have led to his lung disease. Other workers may have suffered similar conditions, and to avoid suspicion, they were sent on the Mount Wu trip to be conveniently eliminated.

There are still many gaps, with other characters yet to be introduced, so everything remains speculative. One thing is certain; the drama is really putting our little grey cells to work more than ever!

Discussion Questions:

• Do you think the Mount Wu incident was accidental or orchestrated?
• What role do Shanlong and Zhao Hongmei really play? Are they masterminds or just pawns?
• Does Xiaohe’s deduction fully convince you, or are there still gaps? I think it's interesting that there was coincidentally a knife in the closet in Unit 407.

Are you guys ready? Phew, there’s so much new information to digest in these two episodes alone! For the ease of readers, I’ve consolidated all the events from Episodes 5 and 6 into the 1997 and 2015 timelines rather than transitioning back and forth.

Previous episode recaps:

Flashcards | Masterpost | Episodes 1-3 | Episode 4

1997 Timeline

https://preview.redd.it/i6phbcphhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=95ec7d4756df2a577b620cdb0aa7f6ee2ade7184

During a meeting at the police station, Captain Feng briefed the officers on a burglary at Dongshan Mine, and all officers were to be mobilized to form a special task force. Fang Xu passionately implored to be allowed to continue investigating the Yuanlongli case, while Yuan Hang privately requested an additional 3 days. Eventually, Captain Feng agreed, and Yuan Hang was set to return to the police station after 3 days.

Fang Xu was visibly touched that Yuan Hang had helped persuade Captain Feng and began addressing him more respectfully. The two shared a moment and bonded for the first time while having noodles.

https://preview.redd.it/0815469jhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=24fa53b269b12ee8d790be4d792273edbc86c00e

Yuan Hang teased Fang Xu for prioritising a minor case over the Dongshan Mine case, but Fang Xu revealed that his parents had also gone missing before their bodies were found. Ah, this explains why he insisted on pursuing the truth behind Xu Meng and her father’s disappearance.

Yuan Hang was surprised by this revelation but did not pry further. As he looked through Fang Xu’s notes for clues, his attention stopped at the name of the Muse Foot Parlour owner, Zhao Hongmei. Hongmei complained that the foot parlour had not had a single customer since the raid and grumpily ordered Lili, another masseuse, to get a perm.

https://preview.redd.it/5dkv8fgkhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b40ada037a0243e58f3b18bbd9f705963fd7262

As she walked out of the foot parlour, she was met by Yuan Hang and Fang Xu, who had been waiting for her. Lili revealed that Xu Meng had experienced “some bad luck” right before her disappearance.

In a flashback, the same Mercedes car pulled up in front of Muse Foot Parlour, and the driver, who was also the person seen scrubbing off the bloodstain on the window, got down to assist Song Qingsong, the owner of Qing Song Cement.

Qingsong was visibly drunk and became agitated and violent when Lili accidentally touched his briefcase. Hongmei replaced Lili with a reluctant Xu Meng, who was subsequently beaten by Qingsong. He also repeatedly threatened to make Xu Meng disappear from Weiyang, and Lili speculated that Xu Meng’s refusal to become his mistress might have been the reason.

https://preview.redd.it/5labw5flhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2def3bfa561beae7cd160659703bc347b5a9da5f

Lili also told our pair of detectives about the contents of the briefcase, which Qingsong seemed to carry everywhere and was extremely paranoid about. There were thick stacks of paper, which Lili was certain it wasn't money.

Additional information emerged: Qingsong had been Xu Meng’s regular customer when Pattia Club was still operating, and he owned the 17th and 18th floors of Yuanlongli.

With Lili’s testimony, Fang Xu was almost certain that Qingsong had hired Jin Manlang to assassinate Xu Meng and her father. When Yuan Hang did not agree with his theory, Fang Xu questioned why he seemed to be defending Qingsong.

Yuan Hang cautioned that they had to be careful before making accusations, as Qingsong was one of the town’s wealthiest businessmen, and that they needed to form a strategy rather than act rashly. However, when Fang Xu pressed him for details of the strategy, Yuan Hang was stumped lol. Fang Xu stormed out of the car to look for more evidence in Yuanlongli.

https://preview.redd.it/vi0wp4dmhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3ae27907b0ca29f9a356e0394f8fedabc5a7eff2

At the cement factory, Qingsong angrily slapped Wu Shanlong, his driver, who was also his brother-in-law, for hiring an assassin and drawing attention to Xu Meng’s disappearance.

Qingsong had ordered Shanlong to get rid of Xu Meng for blackmailing him, most likely an act of desperation on Xu Meng's part to raise money for her father’s medical treatment. Shanlong claimed that Xu Meng’s body had been buried in the mountains, and, ever cautious, Qingsong ordered Shanlong to dig up her body and bring it to him.

We saw a different side of Shanlong here. In the previous episode, he was cool and composed as he removed an incriminating bloodstain from the car window, almost like a psychopath. But in the presence of his brother-in-law, he appeared subservient, meek, and fearful.

Outside the cement factory, Shanlong made a phone call to an unknown woman, who anxiously asked whether “the thing” was with him. Shanlong angrily replied that it was safe in his home and hung up.

https://preview.redd.it/kmem12mnhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cde9289cc470d5c6bf1d74cfb6b9994fd56ba61e

Fang Xu visited Su Qing to gift her a pot of flowers and a new pair of shoes as thanks. These two were clearly interested in each other, but both were too shy to act on it.

However, Fang Xu later learned from Ma Qiang that Su Qing was actually the mistress of an elderly man who had slipped and died from a cerebral haemorrhage.

Fang Xu was searching Room 1706, which he suspected might have been Xu Meng’s room, when a mysterious figure suddenly ran past outside. Fang Xu and Ma Qiang quickly gave chase, but it turned out to be a boy dressed in female attire.

https://preview.redd.it/xwxxzynohxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f447bd014af8a2e2e0dced34b675efbc1d45cdb9

The boy’s mother, a seamstress, told Fang Xu that Unit 1703 belonged to Qingsong and was reserved for his mistresses. When Fang Xu showed her a photo of Xu Meng, it wasn't really clear whether she was being evasive because she knew Xu Meng personally or because she did not want to get involved. Either way, I think the seamstress knows more than she lets on.

In Unit 1703, a burglar was stuffing his loot into a bag when he was caught by Fang Xu and Ma Qiang and subsequently arrested. At the station, Fang Xu met Yuan Hang and Xiaohe and informed Yuan Hang that Qingsong was on his way there.

https://preview.redd.it/zb53pymphxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=660df747b6e1fd84b9d984e31f3dfb8df8a742bd

However, Qingsong did not turn up, which Yuan Hang had already predicted. When Fang Xu remained hopeful, Yuan Hang scoffed that pigs would be climbing trees if the big boss himself actually showed up as summoned.

Fang Xu wanted to seize the opportunity to interrogate Qingsong regarding Xu Meng, but Yuan Hang warned that it would not be easy, as Qingsong was a burglary victim, not a suspect. Fang Xu then asked Yuan Hang about his plan… which was no plan lol.

Outside the police station, Jin Manshan and his lackey, who had been trailing Qingsong from the cement factory, discussed his presence there. Ever opportunistic, Manshan smiled with glee as he planned to extort Qingsong for business opportunities.

https://preview.redd.it/b3mec2mqhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ab3134aad5147527620384340c5e74ebe395631

The person who turned up was not Qingsong after all, but his brother-in-law, Shanlong. Shanlong was impatient to claim the bag and leave, but both our detectives could tell that something was off when he claimed he had been living in Unit 1703 and refused to contact Qingsong.

Yuan Hang insisted that the police had to verify that all the items in the bag belonged to him before he could claim it. As he laid out the contents, the familiar Yuxi-brand cigarettes and 30,000 yuan immediately aroused the detectives’ suspicion.

Pretending to acquiesce to Shanlong’s demand, Yuan Hang allowed him to leave. However, Shanlong panicked when he realised that Qingsong’s briefcase, money, and gold Rolex were missing. He was forced to leave without them after being summoned by Qingsong to Dahuihuang Nightclub.

https://preview.redd.it/rwzqqxkrhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9227f1ef47f064f1f51669cce16c796546c8ad96

On his way out of the station, Shanlong bumped into Xiaohe and a female officer at the staircase. The officer was bending down to tie Xiaohe’s shoelace, and Shanlong seized the opportunity to sneak glances at her waist, but was called out by the plucky Xiaohe.

Yuan Hang almost resorted to violence when Shanlong made an unsavory remark about Xiaohe, but Fang Xu stopped him in time.

Our detective duo decided to tail Shanlong and force Qingsong to testify at the station, unaware that Jin Manshan was also trailing them.

At the nightclub, Qingsong was casually abusing women as usual when he received a call from someone named Director Li, who was visibly agitated that the Dongshan Mine robbery had now drawn police attention. Director Li ordered Qingsong to burn all the “documents,” but Qingsong was more concerned about his money and angrily smashed his phone.

https://preview.redd.it/b3k45enshxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=232532f50159ea2d2693505aa134b87b78009f60

Shanlong arrived at the nightclub, but his identity confused Manshan and his lackey, who had assumed the car belonged to Qingsong. Yuan Hang decided to walk into the nightclub without a plan.

Shanlong hurriedly passed the briefcase to Qingsong but was kicked aside, as Qingsong was furious that the documents, hinted to have cost him 8 million, had now become worthless.

Fang Xu accused Qingsong of soliciting prostitution and proceeded to open the briefcase, but Qingsong argued that Fang Xu had no warrant to inspect the confidential documents.

Yuan Hang then questioned him about Xu Meng and her father’s disappearance, but Qingsong feigned ignorance and claimed that he never hit women.

https://preview.redd.it/v02v60mthxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8edeca9f53e4897172e147d83c47512f5accc638

Our detectives deliberately provoked Qingsong by pretending to thank Shanlong for leading them to the nightclub and providing information about the briefcase.

Enraged, Qingsong strangled Shanlong, but Shanlong pushed him away and did something completely unexpected; he smashed glass bottles over his own head and pretended that Yuan Hang and Fang Xu had assaulted him, shouting for his brother-in-law to run. Lol, brilliant move.

Qingsong seized the opportunity to escape, yelling that the vice squad was at the premises, and successfully fled amidst the chaos. Shanlong also attempted to escape, but the video shop owner identified him as the person who had hired Jin Manlang.

https://preview.redd.it/nb3m36muhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d46802c06d8729f278424ed5542f61688f4b36a4

Qingsong and our detective duo engaged in a high-speed chase, but Yuan Hang’s car was no match for Qingsong’s Mercedes, and they eventually lost him.

Back at Unit 1703 in Yuanlongli, Shanlong angrily told his female accomplice over the phone that the bidding documents they had intended to use to blackmail Qingsong were now worthless, and that the police were onto Mengmeng. The woman replied that she would handle it and hung up.

Unbeknownst to Shanlong, the burglar had hidden the briefcase containing the documents in the top compartment.

https://preview.redd.it/ba345cdvhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2445fb6237da74415330c3121922d9f205fc1efe

The next day, Yuan Hang was informed by Captain Feng that he had to pay 30,000 yuan to Qingsong for damages to his car. An angry Yuan Hang stormed off to stake out the cement factory, despite Fang Xu’s suggestion to approach the case using his Maze theory.

An officer brought the burglar’s statement for Fang Xu to review, and he was surprised to learn that Yuanlongli had an underground garage that allowed people to avoid the cameras at the security booth and building entrance.

At Yuanlongli, an unknown person found a bag on the floor and took it, unaware that a bloodstained handprint was on the wall.

https://preview.redd.it/rf74ih8whxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=927de821ca75fbb35aa6686ea196a8faaf758ca2

Fang Xu was informed by Ma Qiang that access to the underground garage had been sealed a few years earlier, and the only way in was through a small access door that required a key. The exit door also required a key.

Ma Qiang soon left Fang Xu and Xiaohe alone, as he had to return to the security room. As they explored the underground garage, Fang Xu briefly panicked when Xiaohe went missing, only to discover that she had caught “a big rat” in the form of Mr Qian, the building manager.

Fang Xu questioned his presence in the garage, and Mr Qian claimed that he was checking the motion lights. However, he appeared suspicious, particularly in the way he clutched the bag.

As he continued explaining himself, he was interrupted by two guards carrying cement. They questioned why Mr Qian needed so much cement, but he quickly cut them off, berating them for not being at their workstations while signalling for them to remain silent in front of Fang Xu.

After dismissing the guards, Fang Xu asked who else had access to the garage keys. Mr Qian claimed that the keys had gone missing when Pattia Club guests used the garage, but he was clearly lying.

Once alone, Mr Qian noticed the bloodstain on the wall and the bag. When he opened it to check the contents, he was shocked and immediately dropped it, cowering in fear.

Present Time - 2015

https://preview.redd.it/am1bj4sxhxxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80ed48aba5ceed07c190103694d06763d1761482

Xiaohe angrily demanded that Yuan Hang stop going to Yuanlongli and stormed into her room when Fang Xu arrived. Yuan Hang asked where Fang Xu had disappeared to earlier that day, and Fang Xu replied that his presence might trouble the police since he was now a teacher.

Yuan Hang showed Fang Xu his office, revealing that he had never moved on from the Yuanlongli case.

He shared his intuition that the disappearances in Yuanlongli over the years were somehow connected to Xu Meng and her father. Once again, he urged Fang Xu to help reopen the case files, especially since this was Xiaohe’s first major case. Fang Xu eventually agreed.

https://preview.redd.it/x6ihzi3sixxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0734ed8597694a4ef8c9ad0a0d250bdc06848df

Xiaohe was assigned to Han Zi’ang’s case, but the real intention was to sideline her from the missing teenagers case in Binchuan District. She was initially excited, but soon realized the case was practically solved and that she was merely tying up loose ends.

Spotting Yuan Hang openly eavesdropping outside the office, Zhao Jie told her to sort out her family matters first.

Xiaohe was visibly frustrated that Yuan Hang had not let go of the Yuanlongli case, but he argued that he was doing it for Fang Xu’s sake and promised that once the case was solved, he would stay in Weiyang and rejoin the criminal department.

Xiaohe pointed out that Fang Xu was currently leading a good life as a university lecturer. She quietly pleaded with her father to stop dwelling on the past before leaving.

Outside the station, Zi’ang’s mother ran to Yuan Hang to thank him profusely for finding her son. She then asked him to “do a reading” to identify the real culprit so her son would not be expelled. Yuan Hang suggested Fang Xu instead.

https://preview.redd.it/2m665exuixxg1.png?width=1352&format=png&auto=webp&s=52a9fd095066e6d7f302fb7c00c124ec78048191

As Xiaohe was leaving, she saw Zi’ang’s mother waiting and invited her into the car to assist with the investigation, leaving before Yuan Hang could introduce Fang Xu.

In the car, the boy’s mother was distraught that her son’s future might be ruined. Xiaohe promised to speak to the principal the next day, but on one condition: that she stop consulting Yuan Hang.

Thoughts

Our detective duo is finally working in tandem! The scene of them having noodles and sharing coriander feels like the official start of their partnership. Sure, they still bicker occasionally, but they are both equally invested in the case now.

https://preview.redd.it/h4kj4ykekxxg1.png?width=1317&format=png&auto=webp&s=64ac4d8cb97ab962f5b7ff0aeb4f6ff768b04c7f

We have all been picking up on the vibes that Fang Xu is dead in the present day, but that does not seem to be the case, as Xiaohe mentioned that he is doing well in Beijing as a university lecturer.

I still find it suspicious that Fang Xu conveniently dropped his papers and was not introduced to Han Zi’ang’s mother. I also have not seen 2015 Fang Xu interact with anyone besides Yuan Hang. Fang Xu’s parents died at sea, and the notebook he carries everywhere was evidently soaked at some point.

Fang Xu might not have died in the 1997 timeline, but the case may have continued to haunt him, and he eventually took his own life by walking into the sea with the notebook on him, paralleling his parents’ deaths. Yuan Hang might have been unable to accept it and everyone, including Xiaohe and the officers at the station, took pity on his mental state and pretended that Fang Xu is still alive. This is all wild speculation, and I am more than happy to be proven wrong lol.

The initial mystery of the whole “enter but never exit” surrounding Xu Meng and her father seems to me an entry point into something much larger, most likely involving money, blackmail, and whatever those bidding documents represent. Now with an added revelation of the underground garage, I’m leaning towards the idea that the garage served as an excellent hidden route for our baddies, which is aided by someone familiar with the building’s layout. Who is that someone? Manager Qian, of course.

Qingsong is suspicious, but maybe a little too obvious? He definitely has the motive; blackmail, money, and the bidding “documents”, but I’m not entirely convinced he’s the real mastermind. He is definitely part of something bigger, especially with how quickly this Director Li stepped in and ordered the documents to be destroyed. I am also not sure how Dongshan Mine is related to this series of events.

Shanlong is interesting because he’s clearly capable, but also completely dominated by Qingsong. The way he switches from cold and efficient to submissive and panicked makes me think he’s being used more than he realizes. I am very curious about the identity of his female co-conspirator. Was it Zhao Hongmei? Qingsong's wife/his sister? Whoever she is, she seems calm and decisive, which makes me wonder if she’s actually the one pulling strings behind the scenes. It's a little hard to guess for now, given the scarce clues we have.

If I were a real-life detective, this list would be written in my little detective notebook: Xu Meng, Yuanlongli, Qingsong, Qingsong Cement Factory, Jin Manshan, Wu Shanlong, Dongshan Mine, underground garage, Pattia Club, bidding documents, briefcase, 8 million.

Discussion Questions:

• What do you think was in Qingsong’s briefcase, and why was it valuable enough to trigger such extreme actions? Share your wildest theories!
• At this stage, do you think Xu Meng and her father are victims, participants, or something in between?

Hello! I am back for another round of hosting with my favourite co-host, u/BasilOrdinary3617! I have SVIP subscription and watched all 3 episodes, but I forgot that only 2 episodes were out according to the airing schedule.

Rest assured that I added spoiler tags for bits of episode 3 in this discussion in case anyone who hasn't watched episode 3 would like to avoid spoilers.

Flashcards | Masterpost

Premise of the Mystery:

June 30th 1997

https://preview.redd.it/s901nh83zlxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0e6b86903255f94e0064c68178e516ebd127357f

It was the eve of the reunification between China and Hong Kong, and everyone was eagerly anticipating the historic event. A woman arrived at Yuanlongli International Garden in a rickshaw, wearing a white dress and a striking pair of blue leather heels while carrying someone on her back. Her mannerisms and appearance intrigued the people in the area, who were very curious about their presence.

The woman bumped into a boy as she entered the building, but offered no apology and simply walked on. The duo entered the elevator, and a janitor, who had been dozing off moments earlier, was startled by the sound and furtively tried to catch a glimpse of their faces before the elevator door closed. The apartment guards were surprised to see the duo on their way to the 18th floor because no one lived there.

https://preview.redd.it/flxlbwi0vlxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=596380665e00ffb2119efdd70a60df4c17a1f4cc

Inside the elevator, the duo began behaving erratically. First, the woman removed her heels while the man on her back pressed all the floor buttons. The duo eventually exited on the 18th floor, and the guards, still confused by their strange behavior, were suddenly interrupted by the apartment manager, Mr Qian.

Meanwhile, the same group of onlookers outside the apartment took the elevator to the 18th floor, which used to house an underground club and an active prostitution ring. Despite the eerie vibes, they remained curious about the duo’s whereabouts.

https://preview.redd.it/3ofxblypvlxg1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1d67411de5b6fe437463a876a9a1e2e6d05f0f46

The group spotted a figure behind a door and, after breaking it down, discovered it was the two apartment guards. Together, they wondered where the duo could have gone, because both fire exits were locked.

Wang Wuluan, an elderly man in the group, crouched down and studied something intensely, which turned out to be a pair of footprints in front of a door. When they opened it, both the group (and yours truly) got a jumpscare when a figure/thing suddenly dropped from the ceiling. The group immediately broke into a panicked scatter, and this was when our detectives were called in to investiage.

Background Context: Yuanlongli Apartment

https://preview.redd.it/046kdinzylxg1.jpg?width=1159&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48ca4bc775702c8f1b45c456bcb9ba7d86c0a7f1

Yuanlongli Apartment is infamous for two reasons. First, workers unearthed a cenotaph from the Three Kingdoms period, after which residents became increasingly paranoid and superstitious, frequently harassing the police with reports. Yuan Hang believes the residents are simply being paranoid and initially brushes off the disappearance of the father and daughter, but Fang Xu insists on investigating.

https://preview.redd.it/2v7pxnbyzlxg1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=15fd2ec9183ce4591f4a290425068f865d01f64a

The top two floors of Yuanlongli were rented out by a powerful figure a few years earlier, and the 18th floor was secretly converted into Pattia Club, while half of the 17th floor became staff dormitories, with the other half rented out. Pattia Club operated illegally as a prostitution ring and was raided by the police earlier that year.

https://preview.redd.it/da5wcxql4mxg1.jpg?width=1247&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c99a74ef152a59d56330af056fd1595ea4e8bda9

A significant detail is the existence of a hidden door, designed to prevent drunk customers from climbing out onto the rooftop.

By 2015, Yuanlongli’s sinister reputation has grown even more. Children are heard singing a disturbing rhyme:

>18^(th) floor with 18 pillars,
18 pillars with 18 men to carry them,
18 bodies, 18 heads

At present, Yuan Hang hints that a series of murders took place in Yuanlongli in 1997, and I am guessing another round of killings may be taking place in the present.

1997 Investigation

Up until episode 3, the murders hadn't taken place in 1997, and the mystery in the first three episodes focuses mainly on the disappearance of the woman and the elderly man.

The supposed “jumpscare figure” turns out to be nothing more than a simple trick; a black cloak rigged to fall when the door was opened. While Qu Dahai, a local police officer, suspected it might be a prank, Fang Xu pointed out a crucial detail: the footprints indicated the duo entered the room, but there were none showing them leaving.

Jin Manlang

Acting on a tip, Yuan Hang broke into Jin Manlang’s home (the younger brother of Jin Manshan, a local triad leader) and discovered a bloodstained cloth and cigarette butts of the same brand found earlier at the 18th floor of Yuanlongli

https://preview.redd.it/93q8dghc6mxg1.jpg?width=1255&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dca80650b41db663587d143ab4b685ae7ad987e2

At Yuanlongli, there were blood traces on the hidden door, and climbing up to the rooftop, Fang Xu saw a trail of blood and the same Yuxi-brand cigarettes. However, the blood was later revealed to be from 18 chickens belonging to Mr Ge, the uncle of Mr Qian, the building manager.

Jin Manlang later attempted to silent Du Mandun, an elderly resident from unit 407, but was stopped by Yuan Hang. Manlang claimed he was hired to kill the mysterious duo and was offered 30, 000 yuan with a few packets of expensive cigarettes thrown in. However, this was likely a deliberate attempt to frame him, because Manlang didn't seem like a very bright fella.

>!Manlang was instructed that the duo would appear at Qihuang Clinic on the afternoon of June 30th, but they instead went to the 18th floor, causing him to miss them entirely. It was also revealed that Manlang slaughtered the 18 chickens to falsely claim he had carried out an assassination so he could brag to his gang members.!< I do believe him, but I have a feeling he was withholding more crucial information.

>!Du Mandun claimed that he had seen the mysterious woman near the staircase days before the incident. Eventually, Yuan Hang and Fang Xu identified the duo: Xu Meng and her father, Xu Zhihong.!<

Identity of the Father–Daughter Duo:

https://preview.redd.it/52k74fx40mxg1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00f029e28838198f5e0402bcd1f83ed9143946a8

>!The woman, Xu Meng, was a 21-year-old former masseuse at Pattia Club. She was described by a former colleague as quiet and dull, with a wealthy patron named Sun (unlikely his real name). After the club was raided, she worked at Muse Foot Massage Parlour, but stopped showing up after her appearance at Yuanlongli. She owned expensive clothing and heels, which Fang Xu observed did not match her usual style.!<

>!At their apartment in Dajianchang, our detectives discovered that the father and daughter had broken down the wall between the bedroom and living room for unknown reasons. Xu Zhihong suffers from lung disease, yet was seen smoking in the elevator, an inconsistency noted by Fang Xu. Their bank records showed recent withdrawals, and rotten food was left behind, suggesting a sudden departure/escape.!<

>!The ending of Episode 3, in which Yuan Hang and Fang Xu were splashed with red paint by two unknown individuals (possibly loan sharks), suggests the duo may have been in debt at that point and were on the run.!<

>!Photographs in the apartment indicated a close relationship between father and daughter!<.

2015 Timeline

https://preview.redd.it/aikvwwcp0mxg1.jpg?width=1153&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c2d3d8f6f8a48177681c51c61b3774b6ba2c38fb

In 2015, at the Weiyang Public Security Bureau (Nanshan Branch), an older (and still grumpy) Yuan Hang looks for Fang Xu, who does not seem to have aged at all lol.

He drags a reluctant Fang Xu to Yuanlongli, now infamous as a haunted location avoided even by taxi drivers.

In a parallel to the past, Fang Xu is due to return to Beijing within a week and is reluctant to get involved in another case, but Yuan Hang manages to persuade him to assist in investigating the disappearance of a boy named Han Zi’an, who went missing less than 48 hours earlier.

At Yuanlongli, time appears frozen e.g.>! a missing persons poster from 18 years ago is still on the wall and a mooncake box belonging to Jin Manshan containing items such as Du Mandun’s detective novel.!<

Fang Xu is no longer a criminal police officer but a teacher (at a police academy?), while Yuan Hang has retired and now seems to run a service specialising in locating missing persons.

It is heavily implied that a series of murders occurred in 1997 but remained unsolved, becoming a cold case. Fang Xu appears somewhat traumatized and avoids discussing the case, but Yuan Hang's repeated attempts to bring up the old case seem to indicate that he has new leads in the 1997 case.

https://preview.redd.it/bkuswe3h3mxg1.jpg?width=1223&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7aa85b84f44632a8e669aa1a0aa7bfebb34b688

But Fang Xu is clearly reluctant to get involved again. The psychological impact of the 1997 case is especially evident in Fang Xu.

Character Analysis – He Yuan Hang (Senior Detective)

https://preview.redd.it/78vt6dwc4mxg1.jpg?width=1193&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdf79eb7372b1d699ec4edfe9ee681094f95dbf3

A senior detective, Yuan Hang is uncouth, hot-tempered, and impatient with inefficiency. At first glance, he may appear negligent, especially when dismissing the residents’ reports, but he actually possesses strong integrity and his own code of ethics.

He works smart rather than hard e.g. mobilising local market vendors to distribute missing persons posters, while Fang Xu does it individually. Yuan Hang was also responsible for the raid on Pattia Club earlier that year.

https://preview.redd.it/58hs6mto4mxg1.jpg?width=1236&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e2fffe97fe27fee92d4085a364b3ce2f3a861430

Despite lacking formal police training, we see that Yuan Hang is highly perceptive and has an intuitive understanding of the local community. This is evident in the respect and fear he commands, even from figures like Jin Manshan, the local gang leader.

In 1997, Yuan Hang was restless and impatient to return to his previous post at the police station, possibly due to his young daughter. By 2015, he was retired and running a missing persons service. His renewed interest in the 1997 case suggests that new leads may have emerged.

Character Analysis – Ran Fang Xu (Younger Detective)

https://preview.redd.it/kyd70vez2mxg1.jpg?width=1260&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f84b06110daa3d79c4c3a2513c6793ab8cf837b6

Our rookie detective, Fang Xu was straight-laced, naïve, and strongly principled. In 1997, he graduated as the top student from the People’s Public Security University of China, but in 2015, he appeared to be a shadow of his former self, having left investigative work to become a teacher and was visibly hesitant to revisit the Yuanlongli case.

Qiao Su Qing

In the past, he had a budding love interest in Qiao Su Qing, a resident of unit 415. The psychological impact on the present Fang Xu may be related to Su Qing (perhaps one of the victims?)

Possible Theories

https://preview.redd.it/j4zh29df0mxg1.jpg?width=1166&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e81d8ae4dcf3a821327127f3c63aea70e544286

I feel that the duo’s dramatic behaviour, particularly the striking blue leather heels and erratic actions is a deliberate performance intended to draw as much attention as possible. They appear to have known that the 18th floor was abandoned at that point and that the residents were highly superstitious. There is a possibility that they were acting under the instructions of someone familiar with the building and its reputation and were purposely stoking the locals’ fear of the supernatural. The disturbing rhyme circulating among children also appears to have been intentionally spread. The question is: for what purpose? To instil fear and maintain control over the community?

Jin Manshan

Their disappearance also seems to be connected to a larger, more complex conspiracy. Is Pattia Club related to the events, or is it another smokescreen? Why did Yuanlongli already have a haunted reputation even before Pattia Club was raided? Were there treasures from the Three Kingdoms era, and was someone trying to scare residents away so they could dig them up? Or was someone desperate to cover up bodies buried somewhere in the building? I have so many conspiracy theories lol. Whatever it is, I am fairly confident that our resident gang leader, Jin Manshan, is or will somehow be involved, because where there’s the scent of money, you can always count on someone like him.

https://preview.redd.it/1fp5gm9d8mxg1.jpg?width=1156&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da0a687eed232912bfa86277fa286308698f1671

The drama definitely does well in building suspense leading up to what I predict will be a killing spree. The first 3 episodes feature a string of false horrors, each hinting at violence that never quite materialises, though it clearly will soon ofc. I'm seated for a nice, juicy murder :D