Episode Summary
The remnants of the United Army retreat to a camp in the Soviet Union after a devastating Japanese ambush. Lu Changshan worries about his missing soldiers, including Tian Xiaogui, who has returned to his family's home. While his father hides him, he also begins collaborating with the pro-Japanese local government, causing tension with other villagers. Another soldier, Tang Deyuan, is released from prison after a brutal beating and is now dying from tuberculosis. Information about Japanese atrocities at a labor camp prompts the Soviets to send a secret reconnaissance mission to investigate.
Spoiler Alert
A Scattered Army
The United Army is shattered. The Japanese have hit them hard, and the party's orders are clear. They need to fall back and regroup in the Soviet Union. Lu Changshan leads his battered troops toward the river, but they don't all make it. A Japanese ambush on the way cuts them down. The losses are heavy.
Lu Changshan eventually crosses into Soviet territory with the few survivors. They're taken to a camp near Yask Village. Instructor Wang is already there waiting for them. But Lu Changshan is sick with worry. He can't find Hua'er, Tian Xiaogui, or Xiao Baima anywhere. Zhao Youwang is sent back across the border to search for the missing soldiers. Lu gives him all the information he can. To keep the list safe from the Japanese, Zhao Youwang uses symbols instead of names.
Stragglers and Survivors
Not everyone made it to the Soviet camp. The episode splits to follow the soldiers who were left behind.
Tian Xiaogui's Long Road Home
Tian Xiaogui is one of the lost soldiers. He tries to cross the river to join Lu Changshan, but the Japanese have it locked down tight. With nowhere else to go, he heads for his old home. The journey is brutal. He finally stumbles back to his family's house, exhausted and starving.
His father, Master Tian, finds him at the door and is speechless. He immediately brings him inside. Tian Xiaogui asks for meat, and his father rushes to slaughter a pig for him. Xiaogui feels guilty. He apologizes for stealing his father's guards and weapons before he left. His father doesn't care about any of that. He's just glad his son is alive.
The Fate of Tang Deyuan
Things are much worse for Tang Deyuan. The prison warden, Xu Laosi, beats him mercilessly. Xiao Tielin has to step in just to get the warden to stop. Tang Deyuan's family brings him home, but he is completely broken. His parents are devastated to see him in such a state. Later, we learn he has tuberculosis and is slowly dying. His father spends every last bit of money on a doctor, but there is nothing to be done.
New Alliances and Old Suspicions
Back at the camp, the survivors try to make sense of their new situation while trouble brews back home.
The Soviet Camp
Lu Changshan waits anxiously at the camp every day. Zhao Youwang manages to find and bring back a few lost soldiers, but there is still no sign of Tian Xiaogui, Hua'er, or Xiao Baima. Lu's disappointment grows.
Fuqing is also struggling. He keeps having nightmares that Tang Deyuan was killed in the labor camp. After hearing that the Japanese murdered over a hundred laborers, Instructor Wang tells Fuqing to report what he knows to the Soviet Red Army. Fuqing details how the Japanese were blasting the mountain at the Datuziling labor camp, suspecting they were up to something. A Soviet captain takes his report very seriously.
Trouble in the Village
Back in Tian Xiaogui's hometown, his father is making dangerous new friends. The local headman, or Baozhang, wants Master Tian to become the president of the pro-Japanese Concordia Association. Master Tian plays along to protect his family. He even hangs a Concordia flag outside his house, calling it their "lifesaving talisman."
He successfully hides Xiaogui when the Baozhang comes to inspect the house. The headman is suspicious. He smells meat cooking and notices a warm charcoal basin in Xiaogui's room. Master Tian denies everything. But the other villagers are not happy. The Baozhang is extorting them for their last bits of grain. They see Master Tian bringing carts of fine flour and rice to the headman and know he is feasting every day. They start to question who he's really hiding.
A New Mission
The information from Fuqing leads to action. The Soviet captain orders a secret mission to investigate the Datuziling labor camp and search for any missing soldiers. He puts a soldier named Er Lüzi in charge. Before leaving, Lu Changshan tells Er Lüzi to visit his father if he gets the chance. Er Lüzi agrees. He also wants to tell his father that his own older brother was killed in action. He asks Lu Changshan to look after his younger brother, then says his goodbyes and heads out.
