Episode Summary
The episode sees the investigative team, led by Liu Ziming, dealing with a gruesome case that escalates when a second woman's body is discovered in the same dry well, murdered identically to the first. While Xia Yu struggles with the grim realities of fieldwork, Li Yugang assists with research and interviews. The investigation points them to a man named Dong Xiang, who denies involvement but identifies the second victim as Zhu Lulu and provides a list of clients. As the team questions individuals like Pan Weiting and Professor Wang, Liu Ziming faces a personal crisis: his sister, Liu Ziqing, overwhelmed by her failed marriage to Li Wei, financial ruin, and a dispute over her daughter Nizi, attempts suicide on her wedding anniversary. Thankfully, she is saved. The episode ends with the detectives preparing to question a prominent businessman, Hu Zong, based on Dong Xiang's list.
Spoiler Alert
So, we kick off with a bit of team "bonding," if you can call it that. Our resident neat freak, Xia Yu, gets a lovely assignment from Liu Ziming: go spelunking for clues in a nasty old dry well. You can just imagine Xia Yu's face. The guy emerges, probably needing a hazmat suit, and immediately ditches his designer threads. Of course, Li Yugang can't resist a little ribbing, which earns him an ice-cold shower courtesy of a vengeful Xia Yu. Ah, boys will be boys, even when they're chasing killers.
Later, Liu Ziming treats Xia Yu and Li Yugang to dinner at Cao Lei's restaurant. As they're waiting for Liu Ziming to get back with some luzhu (a local stew, for the uninitiated), Li Yugang starts dishing all the gruesome details about their latest case. Just as Liu Ziming returns, Xia Yu, already queasy from the case talk, is treated to Liu Ziming’s vivid, Technicolor description of the victim’s… well, let’s just say "insides." Poor Xia Yu nearly loses his dinner right then and there. Liu Ziming, ever the tactful one (not!), then shoos Cao Lei off, probably so he doesn't have to listen to more crime scene horror stories all night.
The investigation continues with Liu Ziming sending Li Yugang to the station to sift through missing person reports – a thrilling desk job Li Yugang is not happy about but can't argue his way out of. Meanwhile, Liu Ziming and Xia Yu hit the streets, plastering notices hoping for leads on their victim.
And just when they think they're making headway, BAM! The nursery owner, Li Kun, calls in a panic. He was about to fill in that same delightful dry well when his workers stumbled upon another woman's body. Yep, killed in the exact same horrifying way as the first. Liu Ziming, Xia Yu, and Li Yugang are back at square one, or maybe square two, which is even worse. Liu Ziming tasks Xia Yu and Li Yugang with questioning Li Kun, who claims he was playing mahjong at the time of the murder. A quick check with his mahjong buddies confirms Li Kun's alibi, so no easy answers there.
After a long day with zero solid leads, the team has to report their lack of progress to Captain Huang Fei, who, as you can imagine, is just thrilled and urges them to catch the killer, like, yesterday.
On the personal front, Liu Ziming finds out his sister, Liu Ziqing, has moved out and is renting her own place. He tries to talk her into staying at his home, but she’s determined not to be a burden. And honestly, Liu Ziqing is going through it. She pops over to her dad, Liu Jianlin's, place only to find Li Wei's (her estranged husband) parents there, wanting to take their granddaughter, Nizi, back with them. Liu Ziqing is having none of it. Her dad then piles on, blaming her for not "fixing" Li Wei's drug addiction. Ouch. As if that's not enough, it’s her tenth wedding anniversary with Li Wei. Alone in her new, tiny rental, she gets a "Happy Anniversary" text from the guy who basically ruined her life and forced her to pawn her wedding ring. The rage and despair boil over, and in a truly heartbreaking scene, Liu Ziqing scrubs her ring finger raw with a steel wool ball until it bleeds.
Just as the detectives finally get a lead – someone who knew the first victim, Yu Hongxia, mentions she went to see a guy named Dong Xiang after they had a falling out – Liu Ziming’s phone rings. It's the hospital. Liu Ziqing tried to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills. Liu Ziming bolts, telling Xia Yu and Li Yugang to track down Dong Xiang. Thankfully, the doctors manage to save Liu Ziqing. She’s full of regret, especially thinking about Nizi, and swears she won’t do anything so drastic again. Phew.
While Liu Ziming is at the hospital, Xia Yu and Li Yugang actually find Dong Xiang’s check-in record at the Dongfeng Hotel. They call Liu Ziming, and Liu Ziqing, bless her, tells her brother to go solve the case and, importantly, not to tell their dad about her suicide attempt. The team confronts Dong Xiang, who denies being the killer but does ID the other victim as a woman named Zhu Lulu. Progress! Liu Ziming leans on him to cough up a list of his regular clients.
But wait, the drama isn't over for Liu Ziqing. Li Wei calls her, desperate for cash because creditors are after him. She hangs up. Good for her.
Xia Yu and Li Yugang start working through Dong Xiang's client list, first interviewing Pan Weiting. He plays dumb initially, but after Li Yugang lays out the stakes, Pan Weiting admits he hired the deceased women a couple of times after his wife left him, but swears he didn't kill them.
Liu Ziming also learns from Dong Xiang that a certain Professor Wang had also contacted Yu Hongxia. The professor fesses up to meeting her once but begs Liu Ziming to keep it on the down-low to protect his precious reputation. Later, Liu Ziming, being a good brother, goes to help Liu Ziqing tidy her rental. He’s about to get the keys to a new place and offers her his current apartment (which is actually his mother-in-law's – awkward!). Liu Ziqing, still fiercely independent, turns him down, preferring her little rental. You gotta admire her spirit, even when she's at her lowest.
The episode wraps up with Li Yugang and Xia Yu trying to question a big shot, the "well-known entrepreneur" Hu Zong, based on Dong Xiang's list. His secretary gives them the brush-off, so they call in the big gun, Liu Ziming. The three of them end up staking out Hu Zong's building, ready for a confrontation.
