Episode 5 recap: Guan Yu and his team went to Yang Si's hometown to investigate.
Back in the day, Yang Si came to work at the construction site. The person in charge asked them to hand over their ID cards. There was someone nearby who offered Yang Si a drink and told him to warm up first. Both of them had the surname Yang, so they started talking. Meanwhile, someone on this side tried to escape but got beaten by the foreman. When the others who came with him realized it was an illegal worksite, they all ran away.
Guan Yu had someone check for gunshot residue, and now his suspicions have been confirmed. Based on the gunshot residue, it is confirmed that Yang Si was not the one who fired the gun. Chen Xiaoming is the most likely person. Guan Yu and his team returned to the crime scene to find out what really happened. Guan Yu had Zhou Qi conduct an experiment because they were both familiar with the situation. When she held the gun, the other person didn't think she would shoot, so they didn't try to dodge. There were no signs of evasion on Yan Hong Qiao's body either.
What is still unclear is why Chen Xiaoming jumped off the building after firing the gun. Some people think he might have committed suicide out of fear. It is now certain that Yan Hong Qiao's gun was taken, but it cannot be confirmed if the murderer used that gun. It's highly possible that the murderer brought their own gun and took Yan Hong Qiao's gun after committing the crime.
Yan Hong Qiao's gun was locked in a drawer, and the key is currently with the criminal investigation team. If Chen Xiaoming took the key to make a copy, there would be traces on the original key, which can be checked. Zhong Yi posted online, intending to find Chen Xuesong. They also discovered a comment about a water ghost online, claiming that someone saw a water ghost when they fell into Lan River.
When Guan Yu arrived and saw that it was related to the Water Resources Bureau, he called Old Zhao from the bureau and learned that he was in the hospital. Guan Yu went there with his team to visit him. Old Zhao confirmed that he had a close call that day and saw a small ghost when he fell. It was over a meter tall, so it couldn't be a fish. Guan Yu asked Zhong Yi to investigate if it's related to the case. Old Zhao's wife urged Guan Yu to go to the south and bring her back. After all, a couple should be together like fallen leaves returning to their roots.
Guan Yu remembered receiving a fraudulent phone call claiming that his wife had died. The county chief called the bureau chief, urging them to quickly solve the case. Guan Yu mentioned this to the bureau chief and expressed his intention to investigate in Yang Si's hometown. The bureau chief reminded Guan Yu that they only had two days left.
Guan Yu and his team arrived at Yang Si's hometown, where Yang Si's mother mentioned that he hadn't been back for a long time. Guan Yu wanted to know if there were any photos of Yang Si available. Yang Si's mother asked them to search the cabinet and said that if there were any, the tallest person in the photos would be Yang Si.
After comparing the photos, Guan Yu found that the two individuals were not the same person. He requested the local police to investigate who took Yang Si away for work and the people involved in the process. Ma Xiao Jing asked Wang Shan if he had been to the police station, and Wang Shan confirmed that he had gone.
Ma Xiao Jing warned him not to speak out randomly because if he had already been to the police station, why would they continue calling him. Wang Shan became upset upon hearing this and accused Ma Xiao Jing of wanting him dead. Feng Gen approached Ma Xiao Jing, and they discussed the situation with Wang Shan. They felt that if he went to the police station and made false statements, they would have to take some action. Coincidentally, Wang Shan overheard their conversation from outside.
News arrived that Lanhe County would be reclassified as a district, and Guan Yu and his team saw the notification. Zhong Yi received a phone call from his mother, promising to return and celebrate her birthday in two days.
Firstly, this is undoubtedly an excellent TV drama. However, there are some parts that are just too unrealistic. Some of the veteran actors in this Northeastern-themed drama have already played many roles, so how can they still mispronounce "jie" and "gai"?
Nowadays, there are no Northeasterners who speak that way.
In fact, it is evident from the TV drama's setting that it is in Heilongjiang. But there are no locals from Heilongjiang who say "gai".
Furthermore, why did they combine the stories of several notorious gang leaders from Heilongjiang's dark history? It feels a bit forced.
Overall, the TV drama is very good, but the director falls short.
They have too little understanding of Harbin, Heilongjiang, and the local culture of Hulan.
Since Yang Si confessed to the crime, he definitely isn't the real culprit. So his confession must be to help the true murderer cover up the truth. This aligns with him intentionally leaving the medal at the crime scene and deliberately waking up the intoxicated witness to see his own face.
The only thing he cares about is his son, Yang Xuesong. So the truth is likely that Yang Xuesong sought revenge against Yan Hongqiao, and there may have been instigation from Wang Ping, Huang Mao, or others in between.
The young and strong Yang Xuesong easily overpowered the security guard, broke into Yan Hongqiao's room to kill him. Yang Si witnessed Yan Hongqiao pointing a gun at Yang Xuesong, so they teamed up to disarm him (which explains a gunshot hitting the wall).
But Yang Xuesong didn't want to let Yan Hongqiao go and directly picked up the gun to shoot and kill him.
Meanwhile, Yang Si intentionally left behind a significant amount of evidence to take the blame, but the real Yang Xuesong may also be in danger.
It's highly possible that Yang Si is Yang Xuesong's biological father. The director mentioned "long-standing grievances," indicating that either the real Yang Si's identity was replaced by the biological father who fell into an icy abyss, or Yang Si was originally with Yang Xuesong's mother but was forcibly separated at that time.
After watching 4 episodes, I'll take a wild guess at the plot direction. Yang Xue Song discovers that Chen Xiao Ming went to find Yan Hong Qiao, rushes into the company with a knife, kills the two outside, and then there's a struggle in the room where the gun falls aside.
Chen Xiao Ming shoots and kills Yan Hong Qiao, and Yang Xue Song is probably already in a bad state. Chen Xiao Ming then jumps off the building to commit suicide. As for Yang Si, they should have followed and discovered the crime scene, taking the knife with them.
As for Wang Ping's storyline, it likely involves being the protective umbrella behind the scenes, and perhaps they discovered and disposed of the body in the lake before Yang Si.
I believe the culprit is Yang Xue Song, otherwise his father, Yang Si, wouldn't have turned himself in. The sequence of events should go like this: Yang Si was following his son, Yang Xue Song, for some reason.
Yang Xue Song met his girlfriend, Chen Xiao Ming, and the security guard intervened, leading them to the second floor. Then, Chen Xiao Ming and Yan Hong Qiao slept in a locked room.
When they heard a commotion, they came out. Yan Hong Qiao asked the security guard to leave. Yang Xue Song saw the two of them and a verbal argument ensued. In the midst of the argument, Yan Hong Qiao pulled out a gun and aimed it at Yang Xue Song.
Yang Xue Song seized an opportunity to grab the gun and, during the struggle, a shot was fired into the wall. Yang Xue Song successfully took control of the gun. Chen Xiao Ming, seeing the situation, threatened to jump off the building to force Yang Xue Song not to kill Yan Hong Qiao.
However, Yang Xue Song insisted on killing him. Yang Xue Song shot Yan Hong Qiao in the leg. Seeing this, Chen Xiao Ming jumped off the building. After Chen Xiao Ming jumped, Yang Xue Song, in a state of despair, shot Yan Hong Qiao again.
After Yang Xue Song fired the second shot, his father, Yang Si, heard the gunshot and rushed to the second floor. The security guard tried to intervene, but Yang Si fatally stabbed him with a knife.
Once Yang Si reached the second floor, he saw that Yan Hong Qiao was already dead, while Yang Xue Song was holding the gun. Yang Si then instructed Yang Xue Song to run away. Afterwards, Yang Si fabricated the crime scene to protect his son, leaving behind his own footprints and distinctive features.