Episode Summary
This episode reveals the tragic backstory of the Penglai Group through flashbacks. We learn that Wu Guohao is the true mastermind who forced Xu Peng to serve as his puppet. Wu orchestrated Qu Meng's murder, forcing Xu to kill her and burying her under a statue to frame him. Li Hongyue, abused and imprisoned by Wu, eventually commits suicide. In the present, the police believe Xu Peng is the sole culprit based on planted evidence, while Wu Feifei urges Gao Feng to drop the investigation.
Spoiler Alert
Light of Dawn Episode 14 Recap: The Devil Wears a Suit
This episode is heavy. We finally get the full backstory on the older generation, and it is not pretty. We see exactly how the Penglai Group was built on bones and betrayal. Grab a drink for this one. You are going to need it.
The Puppet Master
We start with a harsh reality check. Xu Peng wants out. He doesn't want to be the face of the operation anymore. But Wu Guohao is not having it. He literally chokes Xu Peng. He threatens Xu’s wife and child. Xu has no choice but to stay in line.
The business is booming, but the people inside are rotting. We see Wang Mengmei in the dressing room. She is high on something. She knows the truth. They are just spare parts to the machine. Once they are used up, they get tossed.
We also see a glimpse of the domestic life, and it is weirdly tense. Little Wu Feifei won't eat her dinner. Li Hongyue scolds her. Wu Guohao immediately steps in to coddle the kid. Qu Meng sees the tension. She takes Feifei away to look at the fish so the adults can talk. It is a small moment, but it shows the cracks in the family dynamic.
Qu Meng’s Last Stand
Wu Guohao decides to close the club. But he won't let the girls go. He wants to keep them under his thumb. Qu Meng decides she has had enough. She plans to take the evidence and report the club to the provincial authorities.
Opportunity strikes when Xu Peng’s wife, Shuqin, dies. The group is in chaos. Qu Meng decides to move now. He Xiaohong offers her ID to help Qu travel incognito. Qu refuses. She says if it comes down to it, she will use her own name. She wants to stand by her actions.
The Bus Ride to Hell
The day comes. Qu Meng says goodbye to her son, little Gao Feng. She hopes he forgets her and lives a normal life. This scene hurts knowing what we know now.
At the station, she meets Li Hongyue. They sit back-to-back. They talk on the phone to avoid suspicion. Li tells her not to come back. Qu says if she dies, Li has to live for both of them. Qu gets on the bus. It is supposed to go to the province. But the bus stops. She looks out the window. They are back at the club. Wu Guohao is standing there. The look on his face is pure evil.
The Setup
Wu Guohao drops the act. He was never the nice guy. He is the monster. He reveals he drugged Li Hongyue just because she disobeyed him. He forced Xu Peng to sign all the dirty deals. Now, he is using Xu’s son, Xu Zhiyang, as leverage to make Xu take the fall for everything.
Wu has a plan for Qu Meng. He is going to kill her. He plans to bury her under the statue in Penglai Square. He also plans to bury Xu Peng’s belt buckle with the body. That way, if the body is ever found, the police will blame Xu.
The scene is brutal. Xu Peng is forced to strangle Qu Meng with a belt. They bury her under the statue.
A Mother’s End
Li Hongyue is broken. Wu Guohao beats her until she is a shell of a person. She realizes too late that his gentle personality was all a lie. He locks her up. She is under house arrest for so long that her own daughter, Feifei, forgets who she is.
Li tries to connect one last time. She tells Feifei to look at the stone lions in the square if she ever misses her mom. Eventually, Li finds a moment when no one is watching. She walks out of the room. She goes to the river and jumps in. It is a quiet, desperate end.
The Present Day Lie
Back in the present, Wu Feifei is in denial. She tells Gao Feng to stop investigating. She says she wishes they never met.
The police think they have it solved. Xu Zhiyang provided tapes proving his dad killed Qu Meng. Xu Peng looks like the mastermind of the international club scandal. The case seems closed. But we saw the flashback. We know the truth. Wu Guohao is the one pulling the strings.
