Episode Summary
Cheng Hui's return to Shicheng stirs up the past, though Liu Zhendong remains determined to uncover truths alongside his uncle. With Liu Xiongwu gone, the Shanhai Gang faces a leadership crisis. Cheng Hui meets with the elders: Da Peng advocates for wealth, Hei Hu for strength, while She Yan stresses loyalty. Cheng Hui declines leadership, preferring a younger successor, which Liu Zhendong observes thoughtfully. Meanwhile, Huang Zhongxin facilitates a tense reunion between Cheng Hui and his daughter, Cheng Nanping. They argue fiercely over a man named Zheng Qiu and the legitimacy of the Shanhai Gang, ending with Cheng Nanping leaving in anger.
Spoiler Alert
Contenders: Episode 5 Recap & Spoilers
So, things are getting real complicated now that Cheng Hui is back in Shicheng (Lion City). Hong Yan knows her son, Liu Zhendong, is headstrong, so she gives him a heads-up: Cheng Hui's return means a lot of buried history is about to get dug up and investigated. But Liu Zhendong? He couldn't care less. He's fully committed to sticking with his 'Da Bo' (a term often meaning eldest uncle or a respected elder figure) and seeing this whole thing through, whatever "this thing" turns out to be.
Cheng Hui makes his presence known back at the Shanhai Gang headquarters. The first thing he does is personally light incense for Fa Shu, showing deep respect and gratitude for past kindnesses. Liu Zhendong is right there too, performing a heavy kowtow before the memorial tablet. Standing nearby, Huang Zhongxin watches this display, clearly wrestling with some complex emotions, and silently kneels beside them.
With Liu Xiongwu murdered, the Shanhai Gang is basically leaderless, and they desperately need someone to step up and stabilize things. Cheng Hui, however, isn't rushing to grab power. Instead, he calls a meeting with all the veteran members (the 'Yuan Lao' or elders) to discuss the gang's future.
The opinions are split, naturally. Da Peng speaks first, arguing that the gang's foundation is money – wealth is what gives them stability and power. Hei Hu (Black Tiger) pushes back, insisting that in these chaotic times, strength and martial prowess are the only things that truly matter for survival. She Yan (Snake Eye) takes a more neutral stance, emphasizing loyalty and filial piety, pledging his allegiance to the Shanhai Gang itself, regardless of who leads.
A faction of the gang members, spearheaded by Lian Liu Liu, is eager for Cheng Hui to take the reins again and quell the uncertainty. But Cheng Hui turns them down, claiming he's getting too old and doesn't have the energy for it anymore. He says, quite frankly, that he'd rather see someone young and capable take charge and lead the Shanhai Gang forward. All this time, Liu Zhendong is standing quietly in a corner, holding a fruit platter, listening intently. You can practically see the gears turning in his head as he takes this all in.
Later, things take a personal turn when Cheng Hui's daughter, Cheng Nanping, suddenly shows up at the gang's headquarters looking for him. Huang Zhongxin initially puts on a stern face and shoos her away, but it's clearly an act. Under the cover of night, he secretly brings her back in through a rear entrance. He presents Cheng Hui with a steaming bowl of Bak Kut Teh (a popular meat bone tea soup), saying someone asked him to deliver it. Cheng Hui is puzzled, looks up, and sees his daughter walking towards him. It's a reunion years in the making, a moment for unspoken history to finally be addressed, even if just for a little while.
However, the reunion quickly sours. Cheng Nanping mentions that a certain Zheng Qiu has been very helpful to her. Cheng Hui immediately tenses up, warning her sternly to stay away from this person. This kicks off an argument. Cheng Nanping doesn't hold back, telling her father that the Shanhai Gang he created is nothing more than a criminal organization despised by society, constantly at odds with the government, and urges him to give up his power. Cheng Hui seems unable to articulate his own perspective, insisting the Shanhai Gang isn't just a "black gang," but the words fail him or fall on deaf ears. They're at an impasse, and Cheng Nanping, frustrated and angry, ends up storming out.
So, Episode 5 leaves us with a gang in limbo, old guards debating the future, a potential young contender listening from the shadows, and a deeply fractured father-daughter relationship complicated by outside figures and differing views on the Shanhai Gang's very identity. Plenty of drama to unpack next time!
