Episode Summary
The investigation kicks into high gear after Haozi snitches on Gousheng. While the initial Gousheng claims innocence, he points the cops towards a tomb raiding offer from a man with a large mole. This "Big Mole Man" becomes the new focus. Qi Dacang's cousin, Qi Xiaoman, provides a crucial lead, having seen a mole-faced man near where the raiders' tunnel and her deceased dog, Hei Sa, are eventually found. As police search for the suspect, Fang Kun tries to improve his village reputation and helps Luo Qing overcome her fear of dogs. The actual "Big Mole Man," Wang Taiping, is urged to flee by Yan Xiaowu, but Mu Jianhui orders his return. Under interrogation, Wang Taiping confesses and implicates Yan Xiaowu. Meanwhile, Liu Shusheng starts suspecting Mu Jianhui is the mole within their ranks, just as Mu Jianhui tells Yan Xiaowu to hide, promising they're in it together.
Spoiler Alert
So, the episode kicks off with Qi Dacang putting the screws to Haozi, and guess what? Haozi spills the beans about a character named Gousheng. The local cops do a little digging and find out Gousheng is mostly a day laborer, only recently back home because of the busy farming season.But here’s the kicker: the village bigwigs say Gousheng is a crafty dude, a real "Renjing" (a sharp, sophisticated operator), meaning his network of contacts is probably a tangled mess.
Qi Dacang and Yang Qingshi decide to pay Gousheng a personal visit, but – surprise, surprise – he’s not home. They do, however, spot something fishy in his yard. The pressure must have gotten to Gousheng, because he eventually turns himself in and, more importantly, reveals where another Gousheng is. (Yes, it seems there might be two, or it's a nickname clarification, the details are a bit murky, but stick with me). This Gousheng swears up and down he wasn’t involved in any tomb raiding. He does admit that before the New Year, some folks approached him for a "job," but he got cold feet. The one thing he remembers clearly? One of the guys had a massive mole on his face.
Now, this Gousheng apparently had toyed with the idea of tomb raiding. He even "consulted" his deceased mother at her grave (you gotta love the drama!). Luckily for him, he decided against it, especially since if he'd been involved, he’d be in deep trouble now that things have gone south on "the Yuan" (the plains/plateau).
Qi Dacang, ever the detective, gets someone to sketch the "Big Mole Man." He then heads to Yin Village to question his own cousin, Qi Xiaoman (who is Qi Youliang's daughter). And boom! Qi Xiaoman remembers seeing two shady characters lurking in the fields on the ninth day of the New Year while she was out looking for her dog. One of them? You guessed it – a guy with a prominent mole.
Thanks to Qi Xiaoman's eyewitness account, Qi Dacang and his crew find the entrance to the tomb raiders' tunnel.
Enter Fang Kun, who’s eager to keep searching for the tomb entrance but promises not to mess with the farming. Qi Youliang is still not keen, muttering about Fang Kun’s less-than-stellar reputation in the village.Meanwhile, Yan Shoucun is beating himself up for not keeping a better watch over the village, but Fang Kun tells him not to be too hard on himself.
The police start their door-to-door (or rather, face-to-face) mole inspections. Some villagers recall a mole-faced individual who conveniently skipped town right after the New Year. At this point, Guo Shilin and Luo Qing pop up to visit Fang Kun. Seizing the opportunity, Fang Kun gets them to bring a load of cigarettes, booze, and snacks to hand out to the villagers – a classic move to win some brownie points and polish his image.
But village life isn't all smooth sailing for city folk. Poor Luo Qing has a major freak-out when a small dog appears, sending her scrambling onto a wall.
Over in Liu Hong Village, the police run into Yan Xiaowu. When they show him the sketch of Big Mole Man, Yan Xiaowu plays it cool, saying the face is kinda familiar, but he just can't place it. Yeah, right.
Later that night, Yan Xiaowu secretly meets up with the actual Big Mole Man, whose name is Wang Taiping, and tells him to get out of Dodge, pronto.
Meanwhile, Fang Kun decides to play doggy therapist for Luo Qing. He holds a puppy and encourages her to touch it. After a bit of hesitation, Luo Qing gives it a try and, what do you know, she finds the little furball pretty cute and her fear starts to melt away. She’s super grateful to Fang Kun and even agrees to help him search for the tomb entrance the next day.
But the plot thickens! Mu Jianhui finds out that Yan Xiaowu warned Wang Taiping to flee and absolutely loses it, calling him an idiot. His reasoning? The cops only know about a guy with a mole; they don't necessarily know it's Wang Taiping.
Back at the police station, they've narrowed down their list of mole-sporting suspects to three key individuals. Qi Dacang himself goes to question Wang Taiping. And here’s where it gets juicy: Wang Taiping’s wife, apparently fed up with his "chaotic private life," blurts out something about "Niren" (mud figures)!Ding, ding, ding! That’s the sound of a major lead. Qi Dacang immediately hauls both Wang Taiping and his wife down to the station for more questioning.
Under pressure, Wang Taiping finally cracks. He confesses everything about going down into the tomb and, crucially, names Yan Xiaowu as one of his accomplices.
At the same time, Liu Shusheng is putting the pieces together from the investigation and comes to a chilling conclusion: Mu Jianhui is very likely the mole inside their operations (the "Neigui").And speaking of Mu Jianhui, he tells Yan Xiaowu to go into hiding, assuring him they're "grasshoppers on the same rope" – in this together, 'til the bitter end.
