Guardian Recap: Episode 16 “The Case of the Visiting Inspector"

The Inspector has arrived, and the SID crew are scrambling to both impress and distract him. Lin Jing begins to take him on a tour of the lab to demonstrate some of his inventions. One, in particular, detects dark energy and immediately sounds an alarm when pointed at the Inspector. Curious. Lin Jing assumes the equipment is faulty and nervously laughs it off.

The Inspector decides to go straight to the Chief’s office but finds Xiao Guo instead. A hilariously awkward exchange takes place between the two of them as Xiao Guo makes the saddest attempt at bluffing his way through convincing the Inspector he’s actually Chief Zhao. Unfortunately for him, not only does the Inspector know everything about who Guo Chengcheng is, he’s also Zhao Yunlan’s father. Worst case scenario, indeed.

Now that all pretenses are over, Yunlan’s father demands to know where his son is and if Shen Wei went with him, leaving the team in a tight spot.
Meanwhile, in Dixing, Yunlan and Shen Wei have finally made their way to the palace only to be confronted by the King’s Secretary who insists that outsiders (i.e. Yunlan) are not allowed inside the palace at this time. Hmm, I wonder if he’s just recklessly bold or foolish. To avoid a confrontation, Yunlan volunteers to take the Regent and search for the Dijun booklet on his own.

Da Qing does his best to explain what’s happening to Yunlan’s father (Zhao Xinchi), but the more he learns, the more unhappy the Inspector becomes with his son’s leadership style. Just as he’s interrogating the crew on what would happen if an emergency call came in with the Chief away, lo and behold that’s exactly what happens.

The crew arrives at the site of the disturbance to speak with the security guards on duty. (Note: it’s the old man in cahoots with Purple Wig) He tells them a fantastical story about how the forest trees suddenly began falling on him and his partner who was injured. When he’s finished, Zhao Xinchi hands out orders to the crew as the acting Chief.

Zhao Yunlan hears a woman yelling for help and goes to investigate, but his sharp instincts clue him in on the sketchy nature of the situation almost immediately. He takes down two men harassing the woman with very little effort and shrugs her off when she tries to cling to him as an obvious distraction. Fed up with the Regent’s games, Yunlan confronts him about where the man had the booklet last, but he scurries off with another excuse instead.

As the crew try to fulfill their orders, Zhu Hong and Lin Jing are fighting to get any information from potential witnesses who are all trying to avoid blame, and Xiao Guo is confronted by the hysterical wife of the injured security guard. Da Qing is struggling with the realization that he has forgotten how to speak Cat (something that should be second nature to a Yashou from the Cat Tribe).

Still searching alone, Yunlan is startled when a booming voice suddenly calls out to him. He goes to investigate and comes upon a creepy pillar chained atop a dias in an isolated area. Yeah, this is not a bad idea.

The voice immediately starts playing mind games with him as though the entity within the pillar is privy to his innermost thoughts. At first, Yunlan brushes it off as a cheap carnival trick, but when the voice suggests he has doubts whether he’s doing the right thing, Yunlan is visibly shaken.

But just as things start to get intense, the three stooges from earlier arrive. When they begin harassing him, Yunlan tries distracting one and kicks him between the legs. Turns out the guy’s Dixing ability makes him immune to that attack. So the Chief tries name dropping the Black Cloak Envoy, but that’s the worst thing he could have done because these guys believe the Envoy is a traitor and have no fear of him. Realizing he’s in a bind, Yunlan takes off and tries to outrun them.

The Black Cloak Envoy finishes his obligations with the King and questions the Secretary about Ding Dun’s files. The Secretary claims they were destroyed half a month ago, but the Envoy wants to know why he wasn’t consulted first on such an important decision. Clearly, there’s a movement within the palace to keep him out of the loop.

Still avoiding the stooges, Yunlan takes a mask off a drunk man outside a pub and attempt to blend in with the locals. Unfortunately, blending in is not exactly one of his stronger skills.

Back at the base, Zhao Xinchi is taking notes and making small talk with Sang Zan in the library. The acting Chief gets called away, but as he leaves, Sang Zan notices something peculiar: Zhao Xinchi writes with both hands. Who knew he was such a sharp tack?
