Episode Summary
Fang Kun, seeking the black pottery figurines, learns from Guo Shilin they'll go to an appraisal center. He uses Luo Qing to approach her admirer, Hou Yuelai, who works there. Hou Yuelai, though tight-lipped, reveals the figurines' auction records point to Sanmiao Village. Meanwhile, police officers Yang Qingshi and Zhou Yongfu, under Qi Dacang's command, bust tomb raiders in Sanmiao Village. Qi Dacang is slightly injured during the arrest. Fang Kun arrives, dismisses Sanmiao Village as the true origin after examining the figurines (with Qi's permission), and suggests investigating the Han Dynasty's Eleventh Mausoleum.
Spoiler Alert
So, Fang Kun is still laser-focused on those black pottery figures, a tip he got from Guo Shilin. With the cops now officially on the hunt for these artifacts, Fang Kun is itching to get a look himself, but he's got no "in." Guo Shilin, ever so helpful (or is he?), mentions that once the relics are recovered, they'll head to an authentication center. Ding, ding, ding! A lightbulb goes off for Fang Kun. He remembers Luo Qing's admirer, Hou Yue Lai, an archaeology grad from Peking University who just so happens to work at said authentication center.
To get to Hou Yue Lai, Fang Kun suggests Luo Qing invite him out, using the excuse of wanting to "improve Luo Qing's meals" – smooth, Fang Kun, real smooth. But it turns out Hou Yue Lai is a straight arrow. When Fang Kun tries to pump him for info on the black pottery figures, Hou Yue Lai shuts him down, citing professional ethics and the need for official approval before anyone can get near them. He does, however, drop a crumb: auction records from a Winthrop auction house list the figures' origin as Sanmiao Village, out in the western suburbs.
Meanwhile, Yang Qingshi and Zhou Yongfu have been pulling all-nighters staking out Sanmiao Village. Their patience pays off when they spot tools left behind by tomb raiders. They immediately report to Qi Dacang. Worried about spooking their prey, Qi Dacang tells them to put the tools back and lay low. Sure enough, as night falls, three "earth rats" (tomb raiders) sneak in with their gear, clumsily start digging, and disappear underground.
Yang Qingshi and Zhou Yongfu make their move. The lookout spots them and bolts but gets nabbed by Qi Dacang, who arrives by car just in the nick of time. The two raiders still in the tomb decide to play hard to get, refusing to come out even as oxygen levels drop. Qi Dacang, being the brave (or perhaps reckless) leader he is, goes down into the hole himself. Bad idea. He gets whacked with a shovel for his troubles. Luckily, the raiders are weak from oxygen deprivation, so Qi Dacang only sustains minor injuries.
Later, after Qi Dacang has recovered a bit, he and Yang Qingshi head back to Sanmiao Village. And who do they run into? Fang Kun and his crew, also there to investigate. Fang Kun doesn't beat around the bush, telling Qi Dacang that Sanmiao Village isn't the real origin of the black pottery figures. This piques Qi Dacang's interest. Impressed by Fang Kun's directness and unique insights, Qi Dacang makes an exception and lets him examine the figures up close. After a solid half-hour of scrutiny, Fang Kun's advice is to focus the search on the Han Dynasty's Eleventh Mausoleum.
Back in the antique district, Mu Jianhui hears the cops have busted several tomb raiders. He also picks up whispers from a familiar shop owner that "Huanan Wang" (South China King) is being investigated. Liu Shusheng, having recently "acquired" some early Western Zhou Dynasty relics, "asks" Mu Jianhui to appraise them – but it's clearly a test to see if Mu Jianhui is the snitch. Mu Jianhui twigs that his brother-in-law suspects him and starts sweating about what’ll happen if his cover is blown.
Elsewhere, Yan Xiaowu has managed to gamble away the entire 10,000 yuan he just got his hands on. His wife, Fu Xiaoli, is (understandably) furious and ready to pack her bags and leave with their kid. Yan Xiaowu, in full panic mode, begs her to stay, swearing up and down he’ll never gamble again. We’ll see how long that lasts.
At the same time, Qi Dacang is personally interrogating the tomb raider who attacked him. After some back and forth, he successfully flips the guy, turning him into an informant. And jackpot! He gets crucial intel, including a positive ID on the real Huanan Wang.
Mu Jianhui secretly meets with Yan Xiaowu and tasks him with keeping an eye on Liu Shusheng. Mu Jianhui himself rushes off to meet Huanan Wang, worried that Huanan Wang might spill the beans about his identity to Liu Shusheng. Yan Xiaowu tails Liu Shusheng and sees him first meeting a lover at a restaurant and then driving off. He immediately reports this to Mu Jianhui.
While all this is happening, the police are showing Huanan Wang's picture around, but no one in the neighborhood seems to recognize him. Liu Shusheng, carrying a bag of artifacts, meets Huanan Wang at the Liang Family Guesthouse. He lays down the law: Huanan Wang has to identify the mole first, or he’s not leaving Qinchuan in one piece. Mu Jianhui, meanwhile, gets stuck in a massive traffic jam. Freaking out that he won't reach Huanan Wang in time, he makes an urgent call to Yan Xiaowu with a risky idea that just might defuse the ticking time bomb.
