Episode Summary
A storyteller named Fang Zhiyuan gains a reputation for cursing people to death with his tales. Sun Siming is under pressure to find a jade artifact and kidnaps Fang to test the curse on himself. Meanwhile, a wealthy man named Lei Juekun dies after being mentioned in a story. Fusheng and Gu Tian investigate and discover the death was caused by a specific food combination, orchestrated by a delay from a suspicious fire started by a glass mirror.
Spoiler Alert
Treasure at Dawn Episode 16 Recap: The Storyteller’s Curse
The Paranoia is Real
Sun Siming and his brother are on edge. They spend their time training in the courtyard, but this isn't for fitness. They are terrified of assassination. They refuse to go back to a life of poverty. While Sun Siming feeds the horses, Fusheng stops by. He notices Hua Lei’s horse looks terrible. He decides to treat the animal. Sun Siming tries to drop a subtle hint for Fusheng to stop meddling. Fusheng completely misses the cue. He sticks to his guns and treats the horse anyway.
Pressure from Above
Days go by with zero progress. Li Zhizhuo is losing patience. He demands Sun Siming find the Cloud-shaped Jade. Sun Siming is desperate. He asks Feng Qianli for help. Feng shuts him down immediately.
Meanwhile, the local teahouse is packed. Fang Zhiyuan is the storyteller, but the crowd isn't there for entertainment. They are there for the death pool. A strange pattern has emerged. Whoever Fang talks about ends up dead. The atmosphere is tense. Everyone wants to know who is next on the chopping block.
Another One Bites the Dust
Fusheng goes to the teahouse to see what the fuss is about. Fang Zhiyuan’s subject for the day is Lei Juekun, a wealthy figure in Xichuan. Later, Wen Yu questions Fang privately. Fang claims innocence. He says he just picks names from the "Xichuan Heroes Record." He hands over the list. Fusheng’s name is on it. That raises some serious alarm bells.
Fusheng suspects foul play. He goes to the Lei residence. Lei Juekun welcomes him nervously. Lei is hiding indoors to avoid the storyteller's curse. He says he is safe inside his own home. Almost immediately after speaking, he vomits blood and dies. It is a gruesome scene.
Fang Zhiyuan hears the news and panics. He packs his bags to skip town. He doesn't get far. Someone kidnaps him.
Autopsies and Gambles
Fusheng tries to examine Lei’s body at the funeral. The butler blocks him. Gu Tian steps in with a performance. He fakes hysterical grief and throws the coffin open. Inside, they see bloody handprints on the body. Mrs. Lei loses it. She thinks it’s a ghost.
We find out who took the storyteller. It was Sun Siming and his brother. They interrogate Fang. Fang admits he ran because he didn't want to be framed for the murders. Sun Siming makes a wild decision. He orders Fang to tell a story about him (Sun) the next day. He wants to test if the "curse" is real. He is literally betting his life on it.
The Science of Murder
Fusheng finally examines the body. Lei died from severe abdominal bloating. The butler fills in the gaps. Lei got stuck in traffic due to a warehouse fire. He ate dog meat at a roadside stand. Later, he drank mung bean soup at home. Fusheng solves the puzzle. Those two foods clash and cause fatal bloating. It looks like an accident. However, the timing is too perfect.
Smoke and Mirrors
Gu Tian investigates the warehouse fire that delayed Lei. He finds a glass mirror in the ruins. A servant snatches the mirror and runs. He tells an accomplice he stole it to hide evidence. Gu Tian loses the servant but reports back to Fusheng.
Fusheng realizes the mirror wasn't just debris. It focused sunlight to start the fire. This connects the arson to Xu Buhuai’s death. It’s a clever murder weapon.
Back at the teahouse, Fang Zhiyuan starts a story about the "Three Heroes of Xichuan." The Three Heroes show up immediately. They think he is cursing them to death. They try to stop the show. Gu Tian arrives, and they back off. Later, the Three Heroes decide not to take any chances. They flee the city to hide.
