Recaps

Song Ning realized Lin Xiaoming and Lin Xiaojun were the two undercover brothers behind the Buddha Lord’s operations, and they took her hostage while evading the search. As the brothers left the gatehouse with her concealed in a cargo vehicle, Han Xiao and Chen Liang joined the mobilized search after learning she had pursued the kidnappers.

• Song Ning recognized Lin Xiaoming as Night Owl and concluded that Lin Xiaojun had repeatedly provided his brother with an alibi.
• Lin Xiaoming taped Song Ning’s mouth and shut her in the inner room while Lin Xiaojun fooled Public Security officers outside by disguising his appearance and voice.
• After the officers left, the brothers waited at the gatehouse, then covered Song Ning’s head and hid her beneath cotton batting in a locked cargo compartment.
• Song Wang went to the Police Station before the agreed two hours had passed, prompting Wei Jinjun to contact the hospital.
• Han Xiao and Chen Liang drove toward Qingbei, encountered Huang Yongfu on the road, and joined Public Security and the military in mobilizing after learning Song Ning had pursued the kidnappers.

Han Xiao and Chen Liang captured most of the operatives and hostages but could not find Song Ning, who had been taken out of the city by Lin Xiaoming’s men. Song Ning identified her captors as mercenaries tied to Ghost and deduced that she was near Baoding or Shizhuang, while remaining in their temporary hideout.

• Wu Tao Ying spotted A Qing outside the factory and shouted for help, alerting the operatives and prompting Han Xiao and Chen Liang to storm the building.
• Han Xiao and Chen Liang’s reinforcements arrested nearly all the operatives, but Song Ning was missing; searches later intercepted two vehicles carrying melted gold and hidden firearms without finding her.
• Xiong Gang reported that Lin Xiaoming and Lin Xiaojun were missing and that Song Ning had been seen resting at a gatehouse near a chemical plant before dawn.
• Chen Liang and Xiong Gang sent Han Xiao back to keep the recovering boss from leaving the hospital and reminded him that Suzanna might be a target.
• Song Ning was taken to a locked room in a rural hideout, where she saw armed foreign mercenaries and recognized that Lin Xiaoming was using Ghost’s forces.
• Song Ning ate the buns and pickled vegetables, hid the porridge, and used the local food and travel time to estimate that she was near Baoding or Shizhuang.

Held captive, Song Ning pieced together how Lin Xiaoming had manipulated people around the Zhou Family and reconsidered her suspicions of Zhou Yuanhang. Lin Xiaoming returned to her room wearing the Black Cloak as the real “Night Owl.”

• Song Ning reviewed Lin Xiaoming’s past encounters with Chen Yuting, Lu Changqing, Zhou Xiaotang, Tan Min, and Wu Tao Ying, concluding that he had used them to pursue a hidden object beneath a storeroom.
• Song Ning judged Lin Xiaoming likely to have attacked Zhou Yunzhi and noted that Zhou Xiaotang and Zhou Weide had also become victims.
• Song Ning left question marks beside Lu Changqing and Tan Min’s names because their loyalties and roles remained uncertain.
• Song Ning reconsidered Zhou Yuanhang, recognizing that her suspicions had driven him to distance himself despite his having saved her from being run over.
• Lin Xiaoming entered Song Ning’s room wearing the Black Cloak as the true “Night Owl.”

Song Ning learned that Lin Xiaoming had sent a convincing, bomb-laden impostor to exchange for Suzanna, hoping to kill Gu Zheng or Lei Ming. With both men at the exchange site, Song Ning tried to steady herself and find a way to stop the attack.

• Lin Xiaoming told Song Ning that he planned to trade her for Suzanna after Lei Ming’s forces raided his bases.
• Lin Xiaoming revealed that he had sent a hooded woman disguised as Song Ning to the exchange with explosives strapped to her.
• Lin Xiaoming explained that the woman had a terminal illness and had agreed to detonate the bomb, intending to kill Gu Zheng or Lei Ming.
• A messenger reported that both Lei Ming and Gu Zheng had arrived at the exchange, delighting Lin Xiaoming.
• Song Ning controlled her anger and tried to think of a way to prevent the impostor from detonating the explosives.

Lin Xiaoming interrogated Song Ning about the belongings her grandfather left behind, seeking something beyond her medical records. After she accused him of arranging her car accident, he brought in Uncle Sheng and gave him permission to do whatever he wanted to Song Ning as long as she stayed alive.

• Lin Xiaoming questioned Song Ning about her family and the box she had received from her grandfather.
• Song Ning explained that the box contained her medical records and concluded that Lin Xiaoming had arranged her car accident to verify her hereditary condition.
• Lin Xiaoming demanded to know whether the box contained anything else and threatened Gu Zheng and Lei Ming when Song Ning said she did not have what he wanted.
• A subordinate summoned Lin Xiaoming, who ordered the escaped man resembling A Pu to be brought in.
• Lin Xiaoming introduced the man as Uncle Sheng and told him he could do whatever he wanted to Song Ning as long as he left her breathing.

Song Ning fought off Ding Yongsheng and used him to create a smoke signal while barricading herself in the room. When armed men broke in, she held Ding Yongsheng at knifepoint, but a foreign soldier raised his gun and aimed at her.

• Ding Yongsheng attacked Song Ning, but she tricked him into lowering his guard and paralyzed him with silver needles.
• Song Ning struck Ding Yongsheng with a chair, locked the door, and lit the quilt and other materials in the firebox to send thick smoke up the chimney.
• Song Ning barricaded the door and prepared to hold off the people outside while the smoke signal spread.
• As the men broke through, Song Ning held the bloodied Ding Yongsheng hostage with his dagger.
• A foreign soldier saw Song Ning holding Ding Yongsheng and aimed his gun straight at her.

Song Ning was captured by Lin Xiaojun’s men after using Ding Yongsheng as a hostage and stabbing both of his thighs. Hidden in a cellar as Night Owl prepared to exchange her for Suzanna, she heard Gu Zheng’s forces fighting into the village, and Lin Xiaojun suggested they had abandoned her.

• Lin Xiaojun stopped a soldier from shooting Song Ning and refused to let her leave, warning that she was still useful to Night Owl.
• Song Ning stabbed Ding Yongsheng in both thighs, but the men disarmed her and carried him away as they hurried to retreat.
• Lin Xiaojun’s men covered Song Ning’s head and dragged her to a village cellar, where he and four black-clad men guarded her.
• Song Ning reasoned that Night Owl had hidden her nearby to keep her available for a hostage exchange for Suzanna.
• Gunfire drew closer inside the village, and Lin Xiaojun’s men stood to guard the cellar opening as he told Song Ning that Gu Zheng’s side might not care whether she lived or died.

Song Ning was taken through a secret tunnel as K’s forces fled after Suzanna died by swallowing poison concealed in a tooth, forcing Gu Zheng and Lei Ming to abandon the planned exchange and attack the village. Gu Zheng went to investigate Suzanna’s unexplained death while Lei Ming continued the pursuit.

• Lin Xiaoming told Lin Xiaojun that Suzanna was dead and ordered an immediate retreat.
• Lin Xiaojun stayed behind to cover the escape while Lin Xiaoming and the Black-Clad Men led Song Ning through a hidden tunnel and into a vehicle.
• Suzanna died in hospital after secretly taking poison concealed in a hollow tooth, despite the convoy rushing her to emergency care.
• Gu Zheng and Lei Ming changed their plans, surrounded the village, and drove K’s forces to flee, capturing or killing most of them.
• Soldiers discovered a secret tunnel beneath the cellar, while Lei Ming took charge of the pursuit and told Gu Zheng to return to the hospital.
• Gu Zheng went to the hospital to investigate how Suzanna had concealed and taken the poison.

Gu Zheng discovered that Suzanna’s apparent death was a staged escape involving a disguised body and a hospital accomplice. Suzanna had fled the hospital, and Gu Zheng suspected an informant in the military as he turned his attention to finding out whether Lao Lei had news of Song Ning.

• Gu Zheng examined Suzanna’s body and noticed that the skin on her hand had mottled patches that rubbed away.
• Gu Zheng and Zhang Ming removed a lifelike rubber mask and discovered that the corpse was an unfamiliar woman from Hua Country.
• Gu Zheng ordered the hospital surrounded and concluded that Suzanna had used a fake death to escape during the resuscitation-room body swap.
• The two nurses said Dr. Wang had sent them out of the Resuscitation Room, leaving him alone with the body.
• Gu Zheng suspected a military informant had helped coordinate the escape, and Dr. Wang was found dead in a storage room.
• Gu Zheng left Zhang Ming in charge of the next operation and wondered whether Lao Lei had received news of Song Ning.

Lao Lei’s team discovered Lin Xiaojun’s death and pursued Lin Xiaoming, who was fleeing through the Taihang Mountains with Song Ning. Song Ning suspected the Lin brothers had been abandoned by Ghost and wondered whether a mole on Gu Zheng’s side had revealed Suzanna’s death; the group reached a mountain village and stopped at a stone house.

• Lao Lei’s team found the tunnel and killed the last Black-Clad Man, whom they identified as Lin Xiaojun, while Yang Qi’s troops joined the pursuit of Lin Xiaoming.
• Lin Xiaoming led Song Ning and three other men west into the Taihang Mountains, and Song Ning reasoned that Lin Xiaojun was probably dead and the organization’s remaining forces were nearly gone.
• Song Ning inferred that Suzanna’s death might have been faked and that Ghost could have abandoned the Lin brothers, while she also suspected someone had leaked the news from Gu Zheng’s side.
• The group crossed a ridge and saw lights below, then descended through worsening rain toward a remote mountain village.
• Lin Xiaoming and his men searched the village before stopping at a stone house that one of them identified as their destination.

Song Ning was taken to a mountain house and held as Lin Xiaoming’s hostage while she waited to learn what he intended to do. As Lin Xiaoming raged in another room, she ate, rested, and heard what sounded like a woman crying nearby.

• Li Er and Monkey brought Song Ning inside and followed Lin Xiaoming’s order to lock her in a side room.
• Song Ning changed into dry clothes, then let Li Er and Monkey tie her hands while refusing to have her feet bound.
• Li Er and Monkey left Song Ning under guard as Lin Xiaoming argued angrily in the opposite room and smashed dishes.
• Song Ning asked Monkey for food and water, ate two steamed buns, and returned to bed.
• As Song Ning lay listening to the rain, she faintly heard a woman crying nearby.

Song Ning discovered that Lin Xiaoming’s group had murdered the villagers sheltering them, then learned they had been abandoned by Ghost. A flash flood swept her away, but she survived the night on a piece of thatched roof and reached a riverbank, where she heard someone calling for help.

• Song Ning saw corpses beneath the backyard woodpile, and Lin Xiaoming threatened her after catching her at the window.
• Lin Xiaoming ordered Li Er to dispose of a wounded woman, and Song Ning heard the woman scream before falling silent.
• Song Ning overheard Li Er tell Monkey that the people meant to meet them had failed to arrive.
• When Li Er announced a flash flood, Song Ning tried to burn through her bindings, but the flood destroyed the house and swept her away on a piece of thatched roof.
• Song Ning woke at dawn lodged on a riverbank near a steep drop, climbed ashore, and heard someone calling her name for help.

Song Ning tried to save Lin Xiaoming from a flash flood while demanding answers about Suzanna and Ghost. After Lin Xiaoming revealed that Suzanna had died from poison and that the hospital supplied the news, Song Ning caught his hand as the current swept away the bamboo pole, leaving both of them at risk.

• Song Ning found Lin Xiaoming clinging to a splitting branch above a flash flood and offered him a bamboo pole in exchange for answers.
• Lin Xiaoming said the news about Suzanna came from someone at the hospital, who reported that Suzanna had taken poison and was dead when she arrived.
• Lin Xiaoming said he did not know why Suzanna took poison and that Ghost's remaining people might have gone overseas.
• A wave submerged Lin Xiaoming, and the branch snapped, but he caught the bamboo pole Song Ning thrust toward him.
• Song Ning entered the flood and hooked her feet around a submerged tree, then caught Lin Xiaoming's hand as his grip on the bamboo failed.
• Song Ning's injured hand tore as she held Lin Xiaoming against the current, and he urged her to let go.

Song Ning survived the flash flood, found Lin Xiaoming’s emergency backpack, and took shelter in a cave while recovering from the cold. As she reviewed the clues about the gold bars and the K organization, she remained troubled by Lin Xiaoming’s warning to stay away from Gu Zheng.

• Lin Xiaoming warned Song Ning to stay away from Gu Zheng before a log struck him and swept him underwater.
• Song Ning reached the bank, found Lin Xiaoming’s backpack, and climbed uphill to shelter in a cave.
• Song Ning discovered emergency supplies, false identity cards, and money in the backpack, then built a fire and treated her cold.
• Song Ning reasoned that Lin Xiaoming and the organization had been searching for something connected to Songnian Alley and the gold bars beneath its warehouse.
• Song Ning wondered whether Grandpa Song’s belongings held codes and why Lin Xiaoming had warned her about Gu Zheng.

Song Ning was reunited with Gu Zheng and his team after surviving the flood and escaping her captors. She learned that Lin Xiaoming and Lin Xiaojun were dead, while Suzanna had escaped, leaving Ghost as the remaining threat.

• Song Ning heard her pursuers approach the cave, recognized Han Xiao’s signal, and greeted Gu Zheng and his team.
• Gu Zheng embraced Song Ning in relief, checked her for injuries, and explained that he had left the hospital despite his unhealed wound to search for her.
• Song Ning told Gu Zheng that Lin Xiaoming had died in the flood and that the others had been swept away.
• Han Xiao explained that the team had searched the mountains after rescuing villagers and had spotted Song Ning’s fire.
• Song Ning learned that Lin Xiaojun had been shot dead, Suzanna had faked her death and escaped, and Gu Zheng said Ghost remained a threat.

After being rescued from the flood, Song Ning returned to the capital with Lei Ming and reassured him about her captivity and injuries. At the hospital, she checked on Gu Zheng, promised to help restore his arm, and then found Zhou Yuanhang waiting outside the ward.

• Song Ning told Lei Ming that Lin Xiaoming had not seriously mistreated her, and Lei Ming took her back to the capital for an examination and treatment for her injured hands.
• At the hospital, Song Ning confronted Tan Min about Gu Zheng leaving before his stitches were removed and warned her that Lin Xiaoming had been caught in a flash flood.
• Song Ning examined Gu Zheng's wound and reassured herself that it was not serious, while ordering him to stay in the hospital until his stitches were removed.
• Song Ning listed her upcoming work and asked Gu Zheng to help find news about her hospital; Gu Zheng kissed her before she left to change her dirty clothes.
• Song Ning stepped into the corridor and found Zhou Yuanhang waiting for her.

Song Ning learned that Lin Xiaoming and Lin Xiaojun had forced a bus into the Yongping River, killing and injuring passengers, while Han Xiao explained the remaining threats and confirmed Ding Yongsheng was alive under guard. Han Xiao began serving as Song Ning’s personal security detail and followed her into the Siheyuan Courtyard, where Song Lan questioned why he had come inside.

• Zhou Yuanhang told Song Ning that Elder Zhou was recovering well and said his family had been worried about her.
• Tang Wei told Song Ning that Lin Xiaoming and Lin Xiaojun had forced a bus carrying thirty-two people into the Yongping River, killing six and injuring many others.
• Han Xiao told Song Ning he and Chen Liang would provide her security until the case was closed, and explained that Lin Xiaojun was the Butcher and Ding Yongsheng had worked for K.
• Han Xiao confirmed that Ding Yongsheng was alive and being held under special guard at the hospital.
• Song Lan welcomed Song Ning home, and Han Xiao followed them into the courtyard as her personal security detail, prompting Song Lan to ask why he was coming inside.

Song Ning returned to her family, organized hospital and distillery work for her companions, and spoke with Song Wang about their family and her possible marriage. The next morning, she went with Han Xiao to meet Huang Yongfu and was struck by the beautiful woman who accompanied him.

• Song Ning reunited with Song Wang and Zheng Chang'an, then agreed that Zheng Chang'an would help Chunzhi revise the distillery's rules while Song Lan and Song Mei visited Capital City hospitals to study their systems.
• Song Ning distributed hospital passes from President Peng and reminded Song Lan, Song Mei, and Zheng Chang'an of their research assignments.
• Han Xiao told Song Ning that Huang Yongfu wanted to meet her, and Song Ning arranged to visit him the next morning.
• Song Ning asked Song Wang whether Grandpa had left anything behind, and Song Wang said he knew of nothing and asked whether she planned to marry Comrade Gu.
• Song Ning and Han Xiao went to the Minzu Hotel to meet Huang Yongfu, who came down with several people, including a stunning woman.

Song Ning met Huang Yongfu, Chen Yawen, and Manager Lu in Capital City, where Huang sought her advice on Yongxing Electronics’ plans to advertise on television. She warned that Chen Yawen might not be allowed to appear on screen, and after arranging a way for Huang to contact her, Song Ning left as Chen asked to speak with her privately.

• Huang Yongfu greeted Song Ning and invited her to breakfast with Chen Yawen, Manager Lu, and their assistants.
• Song Ning and Chen Yawen introduced themselves, and Huang Yongfu explained that Yongxing Electronics’ sales had doubled and its production capacity had tripled.
• Huang Yongfu told Song Ning that Yongxing Electronics planned to expand its publicity to television and had arranged a meeting with the television station.
• Song Ning endorsed television advertising but warned that the station might restrict the approval process or prevent Chen Yawen from appearing on screen.
• Song Ning gave Huang Yongfu the Siheyuan Courtyard address and the Xiangyang Police Station telephone number, then asked about A Qing’s shoulder injury.
• Chen Yawen asked Huang Yongfu to let her speak with Song Ning privately.

Song Ning gave her statement about the abduction, learned that the K organization’s leaders had been captured, and wondered whether she had been unusually lucky during both kidnappings. She headed to West City First Hospital to visit A Qing and Wu Tao Ying, still questioning whether Songnian Alley held another secret beyond the gold.

• Chen Yawen thanked Song Ning for helping her career and asked her to show her around Capital City, so Song Ning arranged for Tang Wei to guide her through Gu Zheng.
• Song Ning spent nearly two hours giving Tang Wu’s subordinates a detailed statement about her abduction and rescue.
• Lei Ming told Song Ning that Lin Xiaoming’s body had been found and that the Military still had to investigate the K organization’s records, informants, and possible moves by Ghost.
• Song Ning told Lei Ming she wanted to read Ding Yongsheng’s statement and asked investigators to question him clearly about anything involving her.
• Song Ning asked Han Xiao to take her to West City First Hospital to visit the injured A Qing and Wu Tao Ying, while wondering whether Songnian Alley’s secret involved more than the gold.

Song Ning visited A Qing in the hospital and learned that A Zhong was working with Yu Zhengyang, while A Qing planned to leave gang life behind. She then visited Wu Tao Ying and asked about buying more goods, learning that the Wu Family had lost its gold but might still have the box it came in.

• Song Ning brought gifts to A Qing, who was recovering from a shoulder injury, and told him not to move.
• A Qing told Song Ning that A Zhong had joined Yu Zhengyang after helping him translate blueprints, and Song Ning recognized A Zhong as Luo Wenzhong.
• A Qing revealed that he and Luo Wenzhong were cousins who had left Master Luo’s gang, and Song Ning urged A Qing to seek out A Zhong.
• Song Ning visited Wu Tao Ying and Kong Jianming, who were hospitalized after Lin Xiaoming abducted and injured the Wu Family.
• Song Ning told Wu Tao Ying that the abductors had been arrested and their leader was dead, then asked whether the family had any goods left to sell.
• Wu Tao Ying said the gold had been confiscated but offered Song Ning the box it had come in.

Song Ning bought information from Wu Tao Ying about a hidden box and planned to retrieve it with Han Xiao, then spent the day working at Qingbei Laboratory and asked Mike for help buying equipment for her planned hospital. As dinner ended, Han Xiao arrived with an urgent call for her to come to the hospital.

• Song Ning paid Wu Tao Ying forty yuan for the location of a box hidden in the ruins of the Wu family's old home in Cat-Ear Alley, and she told Han Xiao to retrieve it at night.
• Song Ning worked on the laboratory's final report and joined Mike and Lao Qi for dinner at Fangshan Restaurant.
• Song Ning asked Mike to help her source medical equipment, including a CT scanner, for the hospital she planned to run, and he agreed to make inquiries.
• Song Ning spotted Li Yawen dining with Tang Wei but decided not to approach them.
• Han Xiao hurried into the restaurant and told Song Ning that something had happened and she had to come to the hospital.

Song Ning rushed to the Military Hospital to treat Zhou Yunzhi after her condition suddenly worsened, and the blood tests confirmed that Zhou Yunzhi had been poisoned. Zhou Yunzhi stabilized, while the hospital prepared to report the poisoning and investigate.

• Jiang Chengshi summoned Song Ning to the hospital after Zhou Yunzhi's monitor alarmed and doctors believed she was near death.
• Song Ning ordered emergency treatment and used silver needles Han Xiao brought to help stabilize Zhou Yunzhi.
• Blood test results confirmed that Zhou Yunzhi had been poisoned, and Director Liu used them to guide her treatment.
• Song Ning told Director Liu to report the case and let the investigation proceed, and Jiang Chengshi asked whether someone had really poisoned Zhou Yunzhi.

Song Ning stayed beside Zhou Yunzhi and helped her briefly regain consciousness, allowing Zhou Yunzhi to identify Lin Xiaoming as the person who tried to kill her and reveal his threat against Zhou Xiaotang. Zhou Yunzhi passed out again, and Song Ning was left wondering how Zhou Xiaotang and Lu Changqing were involved before discovering someone waiting for her the next morning.

• Song Ning stayed overnight with Zhou Yunzhi, whose condition worsened before the drugs in her system and Song Ning's treatment briefly brought her around.
• Zhou Yunzhi told Song Ning and Han Xiao that Lin Xiaoming had tried to kill her and threatened Zhou Xiaotang and her whole family.
• Zhou Yunzhi passed out again, and Song Ning explained that her brief lucidity might not return if she woke later.
• Han Xiao told Song Ning that Dong Yuan still had not found Zhou Xiaotang or her mother, while Song Ning questioned Lu Changqing's connection to Lin Xiaoming and the case.
• After Zhou Yunzhi remained unconscious through the night, Director Liu took over and told Song Ning someone was waiting for her outside.

Tan Qingru reassured Song Ning that the Gu family would stand by her if Tan Min had done wrong or had feelings for Gu Zheng. After Han Xiao reported the ongoing investigations, Song Ning went to President Peng to ask about Tan Min’s research projects.

• Tan Qingru brought Song Ning breakfast, explained how Tan Min had become part of the family, and promised that the Gu family would not excuse wrongdoing or let Tan Min interfere with Song Ning and Gu Zheng.
• Song Ning thanked Tan Qingru, who urged her to rest before leaving the hospital office.
• Han Xiao told Song Ning that Zhou Yunzhi’s testimony had been reported, Zhou Weide’s case would be reviewed, and Tan Min was being investigated over several suspicions.
• Song Ning told Han Xiao she planned to visit the Qingbei Laboratory and first needed to see President Peng.
• President Peng praised Song Ning’s work and agreed to refuse academic invitations while she was busy.
• Song Ning asked President Peng which hospital research projects Tan Min had participated in.