Episode Summary
The police, guided by Wang Taiping, locate a tomb entrance, but it's flooded and inaccessible. Meanwhile, Mu Jianhui is abducted by Liu Shusheng's men after his schemes are exposed. Liu Shusheng attempts to force Mu Jianhui to kill his accomplice Yan Xiaowu, but Mu Jianhui chooses to face death with him. They are surprisingly saved by Liu Shusheng's man, Paoshou. Mu Jianhui then turns the tables on Liu Shusheng, using Yan Xiaowu's "confession" (which protects Mu Jianhui and implicates Liu Shusheng if he doesn't comply) to retrieve a valuable bronze ding. Yan Xiaowu takes the fall for a previous dig, deliberately omitting Mu Jianhui's involvement, leaving investigator Qi Dacang suspicious. Mu Jianhui then uses the bronze ding to extort money from Huanan Wang and invests in new tomb-raiding ventures by purchasing tomb locations from Guanshan Dashi. Elsewhere, Zan Maochang's team successfully completes their analysis of recovered black pottery figurines.
Spoiler Alert
The episode kicked off with the police, led by a reluctant Wang Taiping, on the hunt for that tomb entrance. Things got a bit heated when they arrived at Yin Cun village. The local villagers, understandably curious, gathered around, and Yan Shoucun, a cultural relics protector, nearly came to blows with Wang Taiping out of sheer frustration. Luckily, Qi Youliang was there to play peacemaker. Wang Taiping, citing the passage of time and the dim light back then, took his sweet time pinpointing the exact location. But eventually, they cleared away the surface dirt and, bingo, there was the opening. However, with the tomb's interior a complete unknown, no one was brave enough to just waltz in.
Enter Fang Kun, ever the eager beaver, volunteering to go first. But Qi Dacang shut that down immediately, worried for Fang Kun's safety. Just as they were arguing, Zan Maochang and the experts from the cultural relics bureau showed up. Zan Maochang was not happy about Fang Kun’s unauthorized bravado, chewing him out and ordering him to write a self-criticism report. Qi Dacang managed to smooth things over a bit. The real problem? The tomb entrance was narrow and deep. The fire department was called in, and their assessment was grim: the burial chamber was flooded, making entry impossible. With time ticking, the higher-ups at the cultural relics bureau pressed Zan Maochang for a quick assessment. He promised to get on it, focusing his research on the soil composition around the entrance.
Later that night, the drama shifted to Mu Jianhui. As he was parking his car to head home, he was ambushed by Da Mao and his crew, who strongly "requested" he accompany them. Mu Jianhui, sharp as a tack, knew his schemes had unraveled. They drove him out to the suburbs where the chilling screams of Yan Xiaowu cut through the night. Liu Shusheng, putting on a show of false hospitality, then "invited" Mu Jianhui to watch his men torturing Yan Xiaowu, trying to force him to name his accomplices. Unable to watch his friend suffer, Mu Jianhui confessed to being the mastermind, stating Yan Xiaowu was merely helping him out.
Liu Shusheng, feigning heartbreak, accused Mu Jianhui of betrayal. Then came the ultimatum: Mu Jianhui had to bury Yan Xiaowu alive, or face the same fate himself. Mu Jianhui flat-out refused. When Liu Shusheng's men pushed Yan Xiaowu into a deep pit, Mu Jianhui, in a moment of loyalty (or perhaps desperation), jumped in right after him, declaring they’d live or die together. This was a curveball Liu Shusheng hadn't anticipated. He ordered his men to slide a heavy stone slab over the pit and then took off, with only his man, Paoshou, showing a flicker of unease.
But the story doesn't end there! The next day, Liu Shusheng’s ailing sister, Liu Shulan, confronted him, demanding to know where the men were. Liu Shusheng denied everything, only for Mu Jianhui to make a dramatic reappearance, leaving Liu Shusheng utterly stunned. Mu Jianhui calmly sent Liu Shulan away, then proceeded to wash up and eat. When Liu Shusheng finally questioned him, Mu Jianhui revealed that Paoshou had, in fact, saved both him and Yan Xiaowu. He then laid down his trump card: Yan Xiaowu had already gone to the police, armed with evidence against Liu Shusheng. If Liu Shusheng tried anything funny, Yan Xiaowu would spill everything. Backed into a corner, Liu Shusheng had no choice but to hand over the coveted bronze ding (a ritual tripod vessel) and allow Paoshou to leave with Mu Jianhui.
Meanwhile, Yan Xiaowu did indeed turn himself in. He confessed to getting a tip-off from the black market, digging up a batch of 100 black pottery figurines, and selling them to someone known as Huanan Wang for 10,000 yuan. He gave a detailed account of the heist with his accomplice Wang Taiping, but—and this is crucial—he deliberately omitted Mu Jianhui’s role as the ringleader. Instead, he led Qi Dacang and the police to where the figurines were hidden, taking the full rap. The case was technically closed with the artifacts recovered, but Captain Qi Dacang couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the story. His colleague, Zhao Feng, suggested he take a breather before digging any deeper.
Mu Jianhui wasn't resting on his laurels. He arranged a clandestine meeting with Huanan Wang, demanding a cool 1.5 million yuan for the bronze ding. He specified that 500,000 of that was "severance pay" for Yan Xiaowu, who had taken the fall. Mu Jianhui insinuated that Yan Xiaowu’s confession had protected Huanan Wang and his entire network. He also revealed his deal with Yan Xiaowu: a two-year prison sentence, during which Mu Jianhui would secretly take care of his family. Huanan Wang, clearly unhappy about being strong-armed but wary of jeopardizing future dealings with Liu Shusheng, reluctantly agreed.
With fresh capital, Mu Jianhui immediately started planning his next venture. He shelled out 100,000 yuan to hire Paoshou to assemble a new crew and gear up. Next on his agenda was a visit to "Guanshan Dashi," a legendary figure in the tomb-raiding world. After presenting a hefty gift as a sign of respect, Mu Jianhui got straight to the point: he wanted to buy information on tomb locations. Guanshan Dashi shared some family history, recounting how his grandfather and uncle had once raided the tomb of Yuan Tiangang. They’d found a trove of treasures, but his uncle's greed triggered a fatal trap. Since that tragedy, a strict family rule forbade descendants from getting involved in feng shui, geomancy, or actual tomb raiding. Furthermore, anyone buying tomb information from him did so entirely at their own risk. Despite the warnings, Mu Jianhui walked away with the coordinates for three tombs, forking over 300,000 yuan.
And on a completely different note, Zan Maochang and his team finally completed their analysis report on those black pottery figurines. Their hard work paid off when the commissioning party approved their findings. The six artifacts were returned to their rightful owner, bringing a wave of relief and a small celebration to the lab.
