Episode Summary
In "The Lost National Treasure" Episode 25, professional frustrations boil over as Guo Shilin gets into a fight and later drunkenly laments his career stagnation compared to his peers, Fang Kun and Luo Qing. Meanwhile, Li Chunlai's life unravels as his wife demands a divorce, leaving him homeless. In his despair, he witnesses a tomb robbery and accepts bribe money to keep quiet. Realizing official protection is insufficient, Fang Kun devises a plan to rally the villagers, staging a public performance about their heroic ancestor to inspire them to protect the tomb themselves.
Spoiler Alert
The Lost National Treasure: Episode 25 Recap & Spoilers
A Dangerous Alliance and a Professional Setback
The episode opens with a tense scene: two amateur tomb raiders are clumsily experimenting with explosives. Watching from the shadows is Li Yuanguang, who, unimpressed by their lack of skill, calls his superior, Mu Jianhui. He reports that the men are far too incompetent for the job. To Li's surprise, Mu Jianhui orders him not to stop them, but to help them. Li steps out of the shadows and offers his expertise, demonstrating a new type of explosive and revealing he has a fifty-kilogram supply in his car—more than enough for them to cause some serious damage.
Meanwhile, archaeologist Guo Shilin and his team, finding themselves without a primary project, have been relegated to conducting routine tomb detection at a construction site. The site manager's condescending and provocative remarks push Guo over the edge, and a brawl breaks out. Their supervisor, Zhang Fengchun, has to drag them back to the office, fuming. He berates Guo, revealing that he had to pay a hefty sum and offer a sincere apology just to keep them from being taken to the police station. As if to rub salt in the wound, a news report comes on the television, showing Guo's former colleague, Luo Qing, successfully leading the excavation of the Lü family tomb, which has just been named one of the top ten archaeological discoveries of the year. The sight leaves Guo reeling with a sense of failure.
A Drunken Confession and a Marriage in Tatters
Later that night, Fang Kun, while on patrol, receives a call from a drunk and despondent Guo Shilin. Fang Kun and Luo Qing find him at a small restaurant, drowning his sorrows. In a drunken tirade, Guo pours out his heart, confessing how suffocated he feels by his life. He feels he can neither achieve the noble greatness of someone like Fang Kun nor match the professional success Luo Qing now enjoys. His own ambitions, he admits, are painfully simple: to publish a few more papers, earn a promotion, get a raise, and afford to buy his wife nice clothes. Hearing his raw and honest confession leaves both Fang Kun and Luo Qing feeling somber. After Guo finally passes out on the table, Luo asks Fang Kun how much longer he plans to stay in Yin Village. Fang's answer is cryptic: he'll leave once the "problem" is solved.
The next morning, Fang Kun returns to Yin Village to find more personal drama unfolding. Yan Shoucun and another villager are publicly shaming Li Chunlai, who remains defiant, blaming Fang Kun for his problems. The trouble follows him home, where his wife, Qi Xiaoman, announces she wants a divorce, tired of their meaningless marriage. A desperate Li Chunlai begs his father-in-law, Qi Youliang, to intervene, but he offers no comfort, telling him that if he's a man, he should start living a respectable life.
A Village Divided and a Secret Witnessed
The urgent need for cultural preservation in Yin Village prompts Qi Dacang to call a meeting. The village is not yet an official cultural protection unit, leaving its historical sites vulnerable. However, Ma Chaoyue, a local official, is more interested in developing tourism and continuously emphasizes the difficulties and costs of preservation. Frustrated, Qi Dacang pulls out his own savings card, offering to pay for security cameras himself. Cornered, Ma Chaoyue reluctantly agrees to report the request to his superiors.
Later, while on patrol, Fang Kun and Yan Shoucun discover that Li Chunlai, now kicked out of his house, has taken shelter in a small, dilapidated hut on his father-in-law's property. Li Chunlai's resentment towards them for "meddling" in his life is palpable.
That night, huddled alone in the drafty hut, Li Chunlai is startled by noises outside. He assumes it's Yan Shoucun coming to bother him again, but a closer look reveals a shocking sight: a team of tomb raiders from Hedong, led by a man named Liangzi, are actively robbing a tomb. Before he can react, the men seize him. They shove a thick wad of cash into his hands and threaten him to keep his mouth shut.
Shaken and conflicted, Li Chunlai wanders to his wife's home but can't find the courage to go inside. He ends up roaming the streets, where he once again runs into Fang Kun. Fang Kun tries to reason with him, reminding him that he's a husband and father and shouldn't revert to his old ways of wasting time at the mahjong parlor. Li Chunlai brushes him off, but while he does enter the parlor, he doesn't gamble. He simply sits by the wall, lost in thought, the bribe money a heavy secret in his pocket.
The episode closes with Fang Kun realizing that official channels are not enough. To truly protect the tomb, he needs the villagers on his side. He consults with a respected elder, Sixth Master Yan, and they devise a plan. The next day, they stage a grand performance in the village. On stage, Fang Kun passionately recounts the heroic story of a great general from Yin Village's own Qi clan. His speech is a direct appeal to Qi Youliang's pride and a call for him to move past his personal setbacks. It also successfully ignites a sense of ancestral duty among the villagers. As the crowd murmurs with newfound determination, Qi Youliang appears deep in thought, realizing that as the village head, he must lead by example and protect their shared heritage.
