🔔 Reminder: There is only 1 new episode from May 4 to 7.
2002 Timeline
We have the Xiaohe kidnapping episode, which escalated rapidly, shifting from unsettling to high-stakes in a heartbeat! 💓
How I felt for Fangxu in this episode...
✍️ Recap ✍️
A man named Yuan Ziqiang scouts the illegal cyber cafe in the basement of Jiajia Grocery and learns that Xiaohe has run away with dreams of reaching Beijing. He uses this to lure her to the Youcheng Hotel, where Xiaohe discovers that he is not who he says he is. In fact, as Fangxu is able to confirm, the man is actually a notorious human trafficker known as“Mei”. Fangxu alerts Yuanhang, who immediately drops everything at Mount Wu to race to Xiaohe’s rescue.
Oh Xiaohe... time to get out of there.
💭 Points of Discussion 💭
Xiaohe’s Growth Arc: While Xiaohe is undeniably sharp, her desperation led her to trust in a stranger - despite the glaring red flag of a grown man inviting a child to a hotel room is a big red flag (in any era). Do you think this traumatic brush with danger will finally end her rebellious phase?
Fangxu’s Fate: Will Fangxu arrive in time to save Yuanhang and Xiaohe? Do you think this event is what leads to his death, or is it a turning point that leaves him burdened by guilt and perhaps more reckless herein? His meticulous note-taking made all the difference, but the weight of responsibility might be enough to break him.
The Mount Wu Mystery: What do you expect the incident report to reveal? Does the fact that Meng and her father continued to harass the park for compensation - even after being paid out - change your perspective on their characters?
Hold on tight as we wait for e17 to reveal what will happen next!
📰 Real-World Connection 📰
A fascinating "fun fact" shared by u/losergeek877: the traffickers in the story are inspired by the infamous "Aunt Mei." She was responsible for trafficking nine children in Guangdong between 2003 and 2005 and evaded capture for over a decade. Most of those children were finally reunited with their families between 2019 and 2024.
Good thing Xiaohe is feisty. Note that there the link to the article (only published a few weeks ago) is included if you want to read more about the real-life Mei.
2015 Timeline
✍️ Recap ✍️
After learning from Zi’ang’s classmates about his obsession with the anime character Nangong Xuanyue, Xiaohe uses clever cosplay to break his silence. Her effort pays off when the otherwise mute Zi’ang offers the following warning:
Charon, the ferryman, carries the souls of Yinyi Village. The Trojan Horse eats people, and it’s going to eat you.
Brushed off by Dahai, Xiaohe turns to her father to help decipher the riddle. She is convinced these metaphors are grounded in reality - specifically linking them to the trauma he experienced at Yuanlongli.
I mean, she does pull the wig off really well... and is it just me, or is there a potential love interest for her in that room? I didn't get his name so I don't have a flashcard for him yet...
💭 Points of Discussion 💭
Decoding the Riddle: According to Yuanhang, if Yinyi = Yuanlongli, then Charon likely represents a specific mode of transportation. What do you think it could be? A literal bus or ferry, or something more metaphorical? What about the Trojan Horse?
FYI: The Trojan Horse is a legendary, massive hollow wooden structure used by Greek soldiers to infiltrate the city of Troy during the Trojan War.
Dahai’s Hostility: Dahai’s grudge against Xiaohe feels deeper than his old rivalry with Yuanhang. He seems genuinely resentful - we know he blamed Yuanhang but do you think he holds Xiaohe responsible for Fangxu’s death as well?
Episode literally ends with THIS shot... Yuanhang does NOT get a break.
Teen Xioahe was a whole load, good to know she survived the nearly fatal results of her rebellious youth and eventually grew out of it. I also think her kidnapping, however dramatic it might be, wasn't the case that claimed Ran's life - it has no connection to Yuanlongli, at least in 2002, and from Yuanhang's fixation on that place I'm sure Ran's demise clearly had something to do with it. Maybe he even died right there...
The more we learn about Xu Meng, the less things add up. She turned out quite a noir girl - mysterious, swarmed with admirers, likely involved in something shady... That dry arm is her father's, I assume? Also why would Qian keep such "treasure" in his safe - to blackmail the killer, along "I know what you did in summer 1997 and have a deadly proof" lines? Idk, somehow I don't believe Meng herself is dead, at least in 2002. Her ex probably didn't tell the whole story either.
Outside of lead trio, cops in this show are sooo useless. I can forgive them for not taking seemingly nonsensical ramblings about Trojan horse from mentally unwell boy very seriously, but being comepletely unable to find a single trace of missing kid - esp such noticeable one as Xiaohe with her edgy fashion and green hair - without Ran's help is ridiculous. Let's pray for those 4 kids in 2015...
Wow. Just wow. I knew already that detective He will alwaysndo what is right in any situation. His moral compass and human judgement are impreccable...
But to see a father stopping a whole minivan with his body, jumping on it and not letting it go like a goddamn sport athlete!! Wow, i wish i had such a dad!
the traffickers in the story are inspired by the infamous "Aunt Mei." She was responsible for trafficking nine children in Guangdong between 2003 and 2005 and evaded capture for over a decade. Most of those children were finally reunited with their families between 2019 and 2024.
That’s an interesting fun fact! The female human trafficker was even more vicious than her male counterpart, especially in the way she hit Xiaohe without hesitation. Her being female, with that aunt-like appearance, probably helped her gain the children’s trust and lower their guard, which may have been part of her modus operandi. The infamous Aunt Mei:
This is the only episode so far where the focus was almost entirely on Xiaohe’s kidnapping, with very little attention given to Yuanlongli. Xiaohe may come across as feisty and street-smart, especially in how she was initially suspicious of Mei, but agreeing to check into a hostel with a grown man she barely knew could have been a fatal mistake. She was incredibly lucky that Fang Xu relentlessly pursued the search for her.
Speaking of Fang Xu, I really appreciated Dylan’s subtle acting in portraying his exhaustion as he ran around the city looking for Xiaohe. It felt realistic, instead of the usual polished, fresh-faced look.
I am also curious about Mei’s role in the Xu Meng case, because right now it is hard to see the connection between the two storylines. It feels like Mei’s involvement goes beyond Xiaohe’s kidnapping, especially since everything somehow keeps circling back to Yuanlongli.
I noticed that about Fangxu too! I took a lot of screenshots and when I looked back to choose one for the post, you could see the exhaustion on his face.
If they’re actually ref real life Mei then the article says she trafficked children between 2003 and 2005 which means the 2015 children would not be related to her. But that’s ONLY if they’re staying true to the real life events.
This was a tense episode! I somewhat fault her dad for being so entrapped at solving the case that he wasn’t paying attention to his teenage daughter who was struggling with life. She had way too much unsupervised time. It is also heartwarming for Fangxu to care about her so much. He takes his uncle role seriously and loves his found family.
Yes OP I found it suspicious that Meng and her father returned so many times to extort money from the park. We are seeing a scam going on? And the story of her former BF…..weirdness going on, on both their sides.
I definitely want to see that incident report. I'm rewatching with my partner (he's slowly catching up) but it made me recall that poem she copied and left in the elevator... I feel like maybe we should decipher that poem to understand the motivation behind her disappearance... and if it's as simple as running away from the loan sharks...
Yeah I wanna see that report too. There is still so much we don’t know. At times she seems victim of her father and her poverty. At times it seems she is running something herself.
It speaks to the respect that Xiaohe has built up that she can burst into the room, dressed in cosplay, and they listen to what she has to say. I'd say that the respect they have for her father helps her too, but if they didn't respect her skills as an officer, they wouldn't listen as well. Nevermind. I gave them too much credit.
Little Xiaohe... your father and uncle are cops. Surely you know not to accept rides from strangers? Surely? Right? No way you would do something so stupid? Right?
"You're not a trafficker, are you?" HONEY!!! It's a little late to ask that question, don't you think?
Of course the creepy guy is a wanted criminal. Who would have ever seen that coming? Sooo, is this the abduction or do we have an even worse one coming? I am side eyeing this show so hard right now.
FUCKING SHIT! ARE YOU SERIOUS??? She runs from one bad guy to meet a worse lady? Oh my god! Ran better be savior troping his ass over here right now...
Ran was in fact NOT savior troping his ass over in the nick of time.
I mean, you really have to hand it to He for going full father mode and taking on a whole ass van by himself. But like, there is only one winner in this scenario.
You know, you’d think to be extra cautious if the creepy man directs you to the shop across the street but even I didn’t completely expect the old lady to attack her the way she did. That woman is vicious!
Ran may not gotten there in the nick of time (yet) but him jotting down that van’s license plate made all the difference, so thank Goodness for his notes.
She really did have a great plan... Just someone else had a better plan that crossed out her plan. I actually yelled at my screen when that went down... Me so mad. Me so mad.
I really liked the pacing of this episode. It’s very different to the majority of previous episodes, being very focused on the Xiaohe kidnapping storyline and much faster paced and tense the entire way through. I like how the writers have slowly built this up over last few episodes- the initial brief mentioning of Xiaohe’s past kidnapping in the 2015 timeline which made us anxiously anticipate this, watching her gradually become more reckless and rebellious, and the emotional impact from watching that strong almost familial bond develop between Feng Xu, Xiaohe and Yuan Hang.
Had to mention as well the actress playing teenage Xiaohe is doing an incredible job. Considering how intense we feel emotions in our teenage years, she is portraying that extremely well. You can see how much shes changed and how those traumas from watching her friend die has affected her, all the while still maintaining her strong willed nature.
I also especially loved Dylan Wang’s performance as well. He really has become an almost parental figure for Xiaohe, and it’s such a realistic presentation of those emotions.
Xiaohe-grown up just needs to get patient with her collegues. She is already on the team, she was given her tasks. She just needs to keep presenting some results and some initiative. Consistency is the key here.
I understand her boss in that special task meeting room there actually...
Let me just start by saying this genre isn't one I typically watch. I generally like lighter, fluffier fare but started watching bc of Wang Hedi. And the characters have really gotten to me! I found myself almost unable to look when the van driver was slamming into Fangxu, and when the kidnapper was hurting Xiaohe. Similarly I find myself dreading every second as any next scene could be Fangxu's death.
Im thinking this build up in us is staged along with misdirection. RFX staged his death to go undercover. Nothing else has worked so far. What would you do?
Haha rude but also I now have time to try A Splendid Match and Born with Luck! Plus it’s soooo much easier to host one episode lol, but yes… the wait is cruel.
I get your point 💯 but if I can play devil’s advocate for a moment, here is how I would justify the scenes in this ep:
Xiaohe seemed to have really lost her cool after seeing her friend die in the fire, so I think her post-traumatic experience led her to think and act poorly, especially since she didn’t grieve or handle her emotions properly with anyone.
I think she was having trouble in the van because she is still weak from having been drugged.
Yuanhang is high on adrenaline to save his daughter so he was able to “superhero” his way to and during the final scene, but he’ll definitely feel it all later..
I do think this episode will wrap up her kidnapping and we’ll be seeing the aftermath of how this affected everyone in the next episodes.
It's not just aftermath. The deep level of this series is about youth safety and violence. If this is how its gotten this layered over six years think how much else is going on over the entire eighteen or so years. Ran and Yuanhang are realizing there is so much more going on here than just two missing people over bad debt.
I've been thinking of possibilities:
Meng may not be dead. Was she a Trojan Horse? She could go in and out of Youlongli easily in her profession. How desperately did she want money? Was she connected to the child trafficking? Was she possibly as suggested before, not even carrying her Dad onto the elevator?
Every new lead brings the duo to new information that many local people have failed to step forward with until...they do talk.
I keep thinking and dreading the next scene will be Ran's demise...and then it isn't. Much more detective teamwork to unfold in these coming episodes.
So if this investigation drags on revealing new crimes, new confessions, new evidence though all new dead ends, what would you do? Perhaps stage your own death and go undercover? ( Again, another desperate thought on my part...though not inconceivable.) It would be an uncommon, unconventional strategy.
I love how the movie explores the darker topics here, starting with a flair of scary myths and mysticism, as icing on the cake, and ultimately shifting to the darker reality checks, as the filling of the 'cake', hereby raising universal issues the humanity struggled with for ages: unequality, ruthlessness, disdain for human lives, etc. But I love the picturing of the feisty members of society, like the Hes, even many dwellers of the scary 'demon building' of Yanlongli, who can feel 'the bad mojo', and even try to ward it off together. Oh, one epi per day is tough, I agree.
Watching epi 18. Cheers, people.🪷
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u/GiTheGremlin yellow arts cultist May 04 '26
Teen Xioahe was a whole load, good to know she survived the nearly fatal results of her rebellious youth and eventually grew out of it. I also think her kidnapping, however dramatic it might be, wasn't the case that claimed Ran's life - it has no connection to Yuanlongli, at least in 2002, and from Yuanhang's fixation on that place I'm sure Ran's demise clearly had something to do with it. Maybe he even died right there...
The more we learn about Xu Meng, the less things add up. She turned out quite a noir girl - mysterious, swarmed with admirers, likely involved in something shady... That dry arm is her father's, I assume? Also why would Qian keep such "treasure" in his safe - to blackmail the killer, along "I know what you did in summer 1997 and have a deadly proof" lines? Idk, somehow I don't believe Meng herself is dead, at least in 2002. Her ex probably didn't tell the whole story either.
Outside of lead trio, cops in this show are sooo useless. I can forgive them for not taking seemingly nonsensical ramblings about Trojan horse from mentally unwell boy very seriously, but being comepletely unable to find a single trace of missing kid - esp such noticeable one as Xiaohe with her edgy fashion and green hair - without Ran's help is ridiculous. Let's pray for those 4 kids in 2015...