Episode Summary
In the second episode of "The Seven Relics of Omen," Mu Dai's investigation into Luo Ren deepens after she sees him with Ma Tuwen. While staking out his apartment, she overhears him discussing a place called "Xiao Shang He" before he cleverly eludes her. She then learns from a former policeman, Li Tan, about his encounter two years ago with a seemingly invincible killer connected to the twenty-year-old Luoma Lake case. A police sketch from Li Tan's hypnotically-recalled memory identifies the killer as Luo Ren. This revelation forces Mu Dai to confront Huo Zihong, correctly deducing that she is the long-lost twin sister of one of the original victims. The episode culminates in a tense confrontation where Luo Ren holds Mu Dai at knifepoint, claiming the woman she knows as Huo Zihong is an impostor, and ends with a disturbing scene hinting at a new conspiracy involving Luo Pinting and a mysterious man named Zhang Guanghua.
Spoiler Alert
The Seven Relics of Omen Episode 2 Recap: The Ghost of Luoma Lake
This episode , the web of intrigue tightens as Mu Dai’s investigation into Luo Ren unearths a chilling cold case, a shocking family secret, and a deadly confrontation that suggests no one is who they seem to be.
The Shadow on the Wall
After spotting Ma Tuwen getting into a car with Luo Ren, Mu Dai confirms he's the man pulling the strings. She and Cao Yanhua track him to his apartment building, arriving just in time to see Cen Chunjiao head upstairs. Determined to find out what they're discussing, Mu Dai puts her superb martial arts skills on display, scaling the exterior wall to listen from outside the window, leaving Cao Yanhua utterly impressed.
Inside, Luo Ren presses Cen Chunjiao about "Xiao Shang He," but she insists that Liu Shuhai never mentioned the name. Their stakeout is cut short when Cao Yanhua accidentally bumps into a scooter, alerting Luo Ren. He glances out the window, spots Mu Dai's reflection in the glass, and coolly lights a cigarette to feign ignorance. He slips out unnoticed, and by the time Mu Dai realizes she's been played, the apartment is empty.
A Cold Case Reopened
On her way back to the Ba Shu Courtyard, Mu Dai runs into Li Tan and persuades him to talk over drinks. She asks him about a case from two years prior, which turns out to be connected to the infamous Luoma Lake case, twenty years cold.
Li Tan recounts a disturbing memory. On the 20th anniversary of the murders, he saw a strange man enter Li Yaqing's home. From a distance, Li Tan watched as the man methodically touched the holes gouged in the walls, seemingly reliving the memory with a sense of enjoyment. Though no longer a police officer, Li Tan followed the suspect to a shop in Xiao Shang He. There, he discovered a horrific scene: the man was tying up the bodies of a murdered family with fishing line.
Li Tan attacked him, landing a heavy blow to his head, but the man seemed invincible and possessed incredible strength. Just as Li Tan was about to overpower him, an unknown accomplice struck him from behind, knocking him unconscious. He woke up in a hospital with no memory of who saved him and later learned the shop had been burned to the ground, incinerating the bodies and any evidence along with them.
A Web of Lies
Mu Dai suggests Li Tan undergo hypnosis to recall more details. She also asks a crucial question: how many daughters did Professor Li have? Li Tan reveals that Li Yaqing had an identical twin sister who was abducted as a child and was never seen again.
Armed with this new information, Mu Dai finds Huo Zihong and tells her the killer is still at large. The news stuns Huo Zihong, who freezes in the middle of the street. Later, Mu Dai interrupts her friend Yi Wan San (a nickname she gave him after Huo Zihong paid off his 13,000 debt) flirting at the bar. Huo Zihong steps in and asks Mu Dai to share everything she learned from Li Tan.
The plot thickens when Mu Dai receives an anonymous package containing a box of strawberries—just like the ones she saw at Luo Ren’s apartment. Soon after, Li Tan’s hypnosis session yields a police sketch of his attacker: it’s unmistakably Luo Ren. When Mu Dai presents this to Huo Zihong, she dismisses it, claiming the timeline makes it impossible for Luo Ren to be the killer. Seeing through her defenses, Mu Dai confronts her with the truth: Huo Zihong is Professor Li's long-lost daughter. Huo Zihong’s silence is all the confirmation she needs.
The Confrontation
That night, Mu Dai inspects the bar, anticipating a visit from Luo Ren. Instead, he calls her directly, telling her he won't be coming—tonight. He promises to see her tomorrow.
True to his word, Luo Ren appears at the bar the next evening. He immediately engages Huo Zihong, his words dripping with insinuation. As she leads him away for a private conversation, he drops a bombshell: he knows she isn't the real Huo Zihong, and he knows she knows who the Luoma Lake killer is.
A scream from Huo Zihong sends Mu Dai into action. She attacks Luo Ren, chasing him out of the bar. The pursuit ends when he corners her, pressing a knife to her throat. He warns her that the truth is not what she thinks it is and that the woman she knows as Huo Zihong is an impostor.
Spoilers: The Smile in the Window
The episode ends on a deeply unsettling note, cutting away to another location. Luo Pinting, who was driven mad by the original case, is being held captive under the watch of a man named Zheng Bo, on Luo Ren's orders. In her room, she suddenly stares directly into a security camera and breaks into a weird smile.
Outside her building, a man named Zhang Guanghua appears just as all the surveillance monitors go dark. Luo Pinting walks to her window, making eye contact with him below. They share a silent, knowing smile, leaving a chilling question hanging in the air: who are they, and what role are they about to play in this deadly game?
