Episode Summary
Wen Wen seeks refuge with Li Yuanguang after escaping a forced illicit situation, leaving him conflicted. Meanwhile, increased tomb raiding prompts Yang Qingshi to investigate Yin Cun personally, despite staffing issues at the cultural relics office. At a baby celebration, Luo Qing unexpectedly reunites with Fang Kun after five years. Concerns about nightly disturbances lead Qi Dacang to increase patrols. A previously looted tomb is discovered, and a nearby family admits to finding hush money. An emergency meeting highlights the severity of the tomb raiding, and Yang Qingshi pushes for collaboration with law enforcement. Fang Kun, emotional while visiting his late teacher's wife, plans to re-survey old ruins. A new potential archaeological site is discovered when villagers hit a pebble layer while digging a well, and Mu Jianhui heads to Beijing to find more buyers for illicit goods.
Spoiler Alert
We kicked off with Wen Wen showing up at Li Yuanguang's scrapyard bright and early. Not only did she bring him breakfast (a bold move!), but she also started helping him sort junk. She then lays her cards on the table, begging him to let her stay. Li Yuanguang, trying to do the right thing, offers her five thousand yuan and tells her to go back to school. But then Wen Wen drops a bombshell: she was tricked by a woman named Wang Guiying from her village, lured to a salon near the train station with promises of learning hairdressing, only to be forced into illegal activities. You can just see the conflict raging in Li Yuanguang; he’s clearly in a tough spot and doesn't know how to turn her away.
Meanwhile, the authorities are starting to take notice of all the shady business. Yan Shoucun's report has Yang Qingshi on high alert. With tomb raiding cases popping up everywhere, Yang decides he needs to go to Yin Cun himself to check out Yan Shoucun's lead and also do some much-needed campaigning about protecting cultural relics. Old Tang from the cultural relics protection office pipes up about being short-staffed (again!) and asks Yang Qingshi for more people. Yang can only promise to try his best – after all, the subsidy for civilian relic protectors is just a few hundred yuan a year, and who wants to risk their neck for that kind of chump change?
Over at Qi Xiaoman's place, it's a happier occasion – a 100-day celebration for her baby! Luo Qing and Guo Shilin hitch a ride with Qi Dacang to join the festivities. Amidst all the eating and drinking, Luo Qing spots a familiar face in the crowd: Fang Kun, whom she hasn't seen in five long years! Fang Kun remarks on how much Luo Qing has changed, but for Luo Qing, it's a bittersweet reunion, stirring up some complicated feelings.
After the party, Yan Shoucun pulls Qi Dacang aside with more bad news: the village dogs have been barking like crazy every night. Qi Dacang, knowing this is prime time for tomb raiders, tells Qi Youliang to beef up patrols and recruit more civilian relic protectors. Luo Qing also decides to stick around and investigate, crashing at Qi Youliang's place.
Things take a more direct turn when the relic protectors in Fengjiapo discover a tomb entrance – the very one Li Yuanguang dug earlier. Qi Dacang immediately rushes over with Guo Shilin. Guo Shilin, ever the professional, goes down into the pit himself to survey the scene and take photos, confirming that any valuable artifacts have been completely looted. Qi Dacang and Yang Qingshi then gather the villagers for questioning, but everyone plays dumb. They then visit the house closest to the tomb, and the family there is visibly nervous, clearly hiding something.
Under pressure, the woman of the house shakily produces a newspaper-wrapped package containing a few hundred yuan. She explains that on the night of the incident, they heard strange noises, then a knock on the door, and found the money left there. The villagers knew it was dirty money and hadn't dared to touch it. Qi Dacang warns them to keep quiet about it to avoid messing up the investigation.
Back at the cultural relics protection office, an emergency meeting is called. Everyone's shocked by how brazen the tomb raiders are, and it's a stark reminder of the gaps in their protection efforts. Predictably, a few staff members start trying to pass the buck, which really ticks off Yang Qingshi. He proposes a joint operation with law enforcement and tasks Qi Dacang with helping to promote the civilian relic protector program, starting with Yin Cun.
On a more personal note, Fang Kun and Guo Shilin pay a special visit to Zan Maochang's widow, Xiang Xinzhi. Seeing his former teacher's belongings and old photos, Fang Kun is overcome with emotion and breaks down in tears. He asks Xiang Xinzhi if he can borrow Zan Maochang's work journals, planning to re-survey the Yuanshang ruins. Xiang Xinzhi gently advises Fang Kun to let go of his obsession and move on from the past.
After leaving Zan's home, Fang Kun and his group decide to stay in the village. Luo Qing's intern, Xiao Bai, then shows up, claiming he wants to learn archaeological techniques from them. Guo Shilin, however, has a hunch that Xiao Bai might have ulterior motives concerning Luo Qing. Drama!
Just as things seem to settle, villagers digging a well hit something hard, forcing them to stop. Everyone rushes to the site, and it turns out there's a layer of river pebbles beneath the surface. To avoid delaying the villagers' access to water, Qi Youliang gives Fang Kun's team two days to investigate. And while all this is happening locally, Mu Jianhui has quietly slipped off to Beijing. A friend gets him into an auction, his real goal being to network with more potential buyers for, well, goods.
