Episode Summary
The group's journey to sell the ginseng turns into a disaster. A saboteur steals their supplies, leading to starvation and death. The traitor is revealed to be Er Baozi, who poisons the remaining men and fatally stabs Lao Batou before being killed himself, only for the group to discover the ginseng was a fake all along.
Spoiler Alert
That Escalated Quickly
This show is not messing around. Just when you think things are bad for our guys, the episode finds a new way to make them worse. It’s a brutal, efficient story. I respect that.
The Missing Body
The episode kicks off right where we left off. Jin Batou and Niqiu are feeling good after some drinks. Then they go to inspect the bodies of the dead gold miners. They immediately realize one is missing. Gao Yunhu is gone.
Naturally, they suspect Da Kuozhi is hiding him. They storm into her place and demand to search it. Da Kuozhi doesn't back down. She stands her ground and calls them out on their whole scheme. She knows they're working together to kill people for profit. It’s a tense standoff.
Just as things are about to get ugly, Pang Sihai shows up. He smooths things over and offers to search the room for them. He does a quick, fake search while they watch, finds nothing, and kicks them out. It’s clear he’s covering for Da Kuozhi. She thanks him with a nice stack of cash.
We then see that she did, in fact, save Gao Yunhu. She has him stashed away and gets a doctor to secretly patch him up. He’s alive but in bad shape.
A Bad Deed on the Road
Lao Batou’s group is on the move. They're heading to Songlin Town to sell that giant, ancient ginseng. Lao Shandong is with them, seeing it as his chance to link up with his old comrades.
On the trail, they hear someone shouting for help. Lao Batou doesn’t want to get involved. He’s focused on the mission. But Lao Shandong and Tian Xiaogui can’t just leave someone to die. They convince him to go back. They find a mute man caught in a trap and rescue him. Since the man has nowhere to go, Lao Batou lets him join their group.
This turns out to be a huge mistake.
That night, a fire breaks out in the forest. Lao Batou sends the others to fight it while he stays behind to guard the precious ginseng. The next morning, he wakes up to find the mute man is gone. So are their food rations. Their water canteens have been punctured. The man they saved was a saboteur. Now they're stranded in the wilderness with no food and no water.
Poison and Betrayal
The group is in a bad way. They're starving and dehydrated. One of them, Dongzi, collapses and dies from hunger. It's a grim moment. They give him a quick burial and press on.
Later, Lao Shandong notices something weird. Er Baozi keeps making trips behind the trees. He gets suspicious and tells Lao Batou. They search Er Baozi’s pack and find the stolen rations.
Everyone is so hungry they just grab the food and start eating. But as Tian Xiaogui is about to take a bite, Lao Shandong realizes something is wrong. He tries to stop everyone, but it’s too late. The men who ate the biscuits start dropping dead. They've been poisoned.
Er Baozi confesses. His plan was to let them starve so he could steal the ginseng. He panicked and poisoned the food instead. In a rage, Lao Batou throws the ginseng on the ground. Er Baozi grabs it, stabs Lao Batou, and makes a run for it.
Tian Xiaogui, the sharpshooter, chases him down. He shoots and kills Er Baozi, getting the ginseng back. But the damage is done. Lao Batou is dying from the stab wound. He knows he's finished. He gives Lao Shandong a map showing the way out of the mountains.
Lao Shandong tells Tian Xiaogui to use the ginseng to save Lao Batou. That's when they find out it's been swapped. The priceless root is gone.
