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Author: Morgan

Guardian Recap: Episode 17 “The Case of Zhao Yunlan's Mother"


Bao Laosan (the old Dixing man) hesitates, saying he doesn’t want to hurt innocent people, but Zhu Jiu reminds him of the death of his wife to motivate him. Turns out, several years ago, Zhao Xinchi had confronted the Dixing man, and in the fight that ensued, the man’s wife took a bullet for him. Zhu Jiu promises to be his back up if he needs it and disappears. Don’t count on it. And here I thought Purple Wig is turning a new leaf when he touched the old man’s shoulder, initiating a lasting friendship for years to come.

Shen Wei finally arrives at the pub, still searching for the trouble-magnet Chief. I guess there’s no phone service in the underworld? Do they even have providers? A confrontation with the drunk man Yunlan stole the mask from leads Shen Wei to reveal himself as the Black Cloak. With a small display of his power, because Dixing are reduced to sheep, he finally gets the information he came for.

Meanwhile, Laosan unleashes the full force of his power, causing a sizable earthquake and noticeable cracks in the facade of the building. The SID crew arrive just in time to avoid total destruction of their building and try to take him prisoner, but the man takes Lao Li hostage and calls out for help. To absolutely no one’s surprise, Zhu Jiu flees the scene.

Zhao Xinchi comes to the rescue with the Guardian gun in hand. The old man rushes him and grabs the gun. It goes off, the old man is dead, and the crew stare at Xinchi in stunned silence. It’s a miracle Yunlan is so level headed and open minded considering who raised him. You’re right, Papa Zhao is quite ruthless.

The pub owner’s tip leads Shen Wei right to the three stooges from before, and with a little persuasion (Shen Wei is in no mood to play around), they offer to take him to Yunlan.

Purple Wig is throwing a tantrum in his lair, complaining to Ya Qiang about how he wasted his time on such a useless underling. She brings to his attention how he abandoned one of his own people, but he is quick to remind her that their Boss would do the exact same thing to either of them. Ummm….why are they loyal to someone who will sacrifice them without a second thought? No wonder this crew can’t succeed in anything if their IQ is this low. He’s reminded of his early days working as a guard in the palace. He was an idealistic recruit who wanted to be like the Black Cloak. But it didn't take long for the voice within the pillar to manipulate him into believing the Envoy was a traitor who had abandoned their people.

Butler Wu is teleporting Yunlan through the streets of Dixing, still looking for a source of information on the Dijun booklet, when he comes to an abrupt stop to rest. The Chief suggests they continue on foot the old fashioned way, and the two men begin to talk about Wu’s ability and how it works. Wu explains that teleportation requires a medium to pass through, and Yunlan has an epiphany: Zhu Jiu’s ability relies on a source of light.

Zhao Xinchi is in the process of leaving the SID and returning to his own department when Zhu Hong confronts him about shooting the old Dixing man. Completely ignoring her, he instead leaves a word of warning (don’t do anything stupid or I’ll fire you) for them to pass on to his son. But as he leaves, Da Qing addresses the issue a second time. Xinchi gives him the gun to return to Yunlan, and although we see from his memory that it was Bao Laosan who intentionally shot himself, Xinchi doesn’t clearly explain things to Da Qing.

Yunlan and Butler Wu at last locate the information source. When the man insinuates he may have what they are looking for, Yunlan offers him his hand (for a palm reading maybe?). The man grabs Yunlan’s wrist and stabs him in the arm before revealing himself to be Ding Dun, the criminal Shen Wei had brought back to Dixing and was believed to be dead. He goes to stab the Chief again, but Butler Wu throws himself across Yunlan’s prone body. I love this old man.

Shen Wei appears just in the nick of time and hits Ding Dun twice with dark energy. There’s nothing left of the Dijun booklet but several mostly burned pages. Not one to dwell on these kinds of things, Shen Wei goes right to Yunlan and uses his dark energy to try to bring him around.

The Chief has a brief dream about his mother before startling himself awake and realizing he’s back at the SID surrounded by his crew. He asks about Shen Wei and then takes off without a word of explanation.

Zhao Xinchi goes to visit his wife’s grave but finds himself having an argument with a Dixing entity that appears to share his body (represented with golden eyes). While defending his actions, Xinchi’s reminded of how his stubborn adherence to his own principles had once led him to choose catching a criminal over his wife’s safety. A decision that led to her death and Yunlan turning his back on his father. Instead of learning a valuable lesson from that decision, he’s doubled down on his beliefs and wants to eradicate all Dixing people from Haixing.

Shen Wei and Yunlan also go to visit the Chief’s mother’s grave, and Shen Wei cautions him about being more careful as all the recent cases seem to be linked to the Four Hallows. When they realize that Yunlan’s father also must have been there, Shen Wei gives Yunlan a subtle reminder that sometimes it is easy to misunderstand a person’s motivations, causing distrust and anger. In the scene Professor Shen probably promise the Late Mother Zhao he’ll do everything he can to keep her son from harm.

The Regent and the King’s Secretary are discussing their concerns for what Ding Dun might have revealed about their plans when the three stooges are brought before them. The Regent accuses them of betraying their own people and orders their execution.

In the library of the SID, Yunlan asks Sang Zan for all the materials relevant to the Four Hallows. Once he’s faced with the sizeable stacks of books, he quickly decides that research just isn’t his thing and it would be best to leave it to Shen Wei. He does, however, find a clue that catches his attention. A name: Kunlun. He takes the ancient text with that name in it with him.

Down stairs in his office, Cong Bo has arrived with pictures of an underground fighting ring with some unusual activity. At first dismissive, Yunlan takes a second look at the photos and something catches his attention: black energy.

Dragon City University’s Chancellor meets with Shen Wei to address the issue of the Professor splitting his time between his teaching duties and being a consultant to the SID. The Chancellor asks him to choose one position or the other, and without hesitation, Shen Wei chooses the SID. But before he can finish, one of his students, Jiajia, interrupts and asks the Chancellor not to make him choose. The Chancellor ultimately leaves the decision up to him.

Shen Wei is obviously distracted later as he sits in Yunlan’s office discussing how Xiao Guo and Lao Chu have gone to investigate the underground arena. As Yunlan talks about how much the relationship between the two has changed, Shen Wei wonders if they are an example of a bromance. So funny.

Lao Chu takes a good long look around the arena, scoping the place out, while Xiao Guo adorably hangs on to his coat tails. A man in a black mesh mask catches Lao Chu’s attention...

Memorable Quotes:

“Have you seen someone with a mustache who might have a lollipop in his mouth?” - Shen Wei

“A Dixing who uses his power to do damage, resists arrest, and hurts people; according to Guardian law, deserves death.” - Zhao Xinchi

“I support his actions out of consideration of the whole demi-human race. It does not mean I support his actions. If he abandons you when you need him, won’t you hate and despise him?” - Ya Qiang

“During this case, I noticed something. But I can’t do anything about it. In order to keep the peace of the Underground, many times, I need to pretend I don’t know anything.” - Shen Wei



 

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