Introduction
How will this drama, with all characters’ entanglement, end its plot and reveal the truth? Here’s the last part of the episode recap to guide you.
If you don’t want to be spoiled, you can read the review article with no to minimal spoilers (with tags): The Embers: Out of the Deep Darkness, The Ashes Glow.
Warning: because this is a crime drama, some images may be disturbing to some watchers.
Episode Recap
Episode 15
Things don’t seem right, right? Na Wa, a simple villager, could do such a meticulous thing? And if he loves Ke Xin, why did he attack Ke Xin’s daughter? Qi Xia also finds that the murder weapons to kill Tai Shu and Ji En are not the same crossbows. Ni Ke stops by with poppy flowers for his wife he bought from the villagers. Qi Xia is suspicious it’s not poppy as Zhi Bai told her before, but corn poppy (yu mei ren). Ni Ke who is bringing Na Wa to jail, is attacked by Na Wa. Si Yuan visited Su Pa asking her about the attack. Su Pa says that Na Wa shot her from 2-3 meters away which is not far. Si Yuan thinks Na Wa didn’t intend to kill her. Shu He and Si Yuan get calls about Na Wa escaping. The villagers smashed things at Na Wa’s house because of her bad sons, so her blind mother, Granny Yun, has to move out. Everyone helps her pack. Si Yuan finds a notebook hidden under the floor. Qi Xia finds food in the kitchen and suspects Na Wa prepared it for her since Granny Yun is blind.
Si Yuan and Qi Xia ask Su Pa for the truth. Su Pa confesses that she accidentally killed Tai Shu with a hairpin when he wanted to rape both her and her mom. Ke Xin told Su Pa she would take care of the body. Later when Su Pa came back home Ke Xin told her River God took care of the body. In fact, it was Na Wa who would dispose of the body. While in the river, a man (it was Bai Han, who else?) told him a better method.
Si Yuan and Qi Xia rush to Ke Xin’s house. Na Wa sets hire to destroy the evidence. Ke Xin wears a wedding dress and wants to marry him. They both burn themselves to death!
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Episode 16
Si Yuan and Zhi Bai discuss Ji En’s case relating to AH7. They agree that Bai Han is the culprit. The village surveillance camera shows that Liu Xun Hai and Bai Han met. Liu Xun Hai is Ji En’s business partner. They met not about the dried fruit business, but AH7. Also, they decide to work together to get rid of Tie Xin. Si Yuan then asks Qi Xia to test the village river water. It seems AH7 production waste is in the water. The factory produces Bai Han’s order of AH7. Si Yuan secretly watches the factory and sees the fourth person in the photo (Tie Xin). He chases after the person. Qi Xia chases him since he took her car and shouts to stop but Si Yuan doesn’t want to stop. When Tie Xin is about to shoot him, Zhi Bai controls his body and crashes the car onto Qi Xia’s car. Si Yuan only has crashed but Qi Xia is taken to the hospital with a neck brace. Si Yuan doesn’t remember anything. He has a big argument with Zhi Bai, but it’s all him alone, watched by Qi Xia, Shu He, and his psychiatrist. The doctor thinks in the end Si Yuan may self-destruct. Shu He doesn’t want to release Si Yuan because he’s psychologically incapable and needs treatment. Shu He tells Si Yuan that his brother is dead, but Si Yuan insists he’s alive by his side.
Episode 17
During the police briefing, Dr Bian Ming stated that Si Yuan is sick and also hurts people. Qi Xia promises that she will supervise her brother. They also compensated Li Zhi who doesn’t want to sue Si Yuan. The director asks Su He to monitor Si Yuan as well. Qi Mei Hua pays the hefty fine and takes Si Yuan home. She is very angry at Si Yuan’s recklessness and mostly blames Zhi Bai’s ghost possessing Si Yuan. She asks Si Yuan to step over a brazier and Zhi Bai gradually disappears. Poor Qi Xia though, now misses Zhi Bai more.
Shu He and Si Yuan decide to investigate together officially with the police director’s agreement. Their first move is interrogating Liu Xun Hai’s subordinate the police captured. He was Liu Xun Hai’s driver that night when their vehicle was hit by a truck. He explains about what happened that night. There were Bai Han, his two lackeys, and a mysterious man the subordinate doesn’t know. Somehow, I think Si Yuan has a hunch. He checks all the city’s surveillance cameras and sees a man in black appears at the entrance of the nursing home where Granny Yun stays.
Episode 18
Wait… what??? The man in black with glasses and a hat who approached Lai La and Na Wa to help solve their problems was not Bai Han, but… Zhi Bai??? He was also the fourth mysterious man in the truck that hit Liu Xun Hai. Besides Bai Han and Zhi Bai, there are also Gan and Tai.
The year was 2005, 14 years ago. police academy freshmen Si Tai Pu, Gan, and Tai were on a mission to catch a gold shop thief and they mistakenly thought Zhi Bai and Bai Han, who were also police academy freshmen were the thieves. After settling the case and paying the fine, the five of them became friends, also with another fellow rookie Lan Sang.
Back in 2019, Bai Han and Zhi Bai are in their hiding place. Ah, Zhi Bai visits Granny Yun, but Granny Yun is kidnapped. Zhi Bai and the rest decide to follow the van that is used for the kidnapping, parked at the beach. It’s not Tie Xin, but Si Yuan! They reunited. Zhi Bai tells Si Yuan that their father sold AH7 who got a secret drug recipe some years before. Zhi Bai persuaded his father to surrender, but Song En, Tai Shu, and Tie Xin were unwilling. They burned the house down with the Liao parents in it. Nu Na who was a witness was held by her uncle. At that time Na Wa accidentally took the infamous fire picture. Zhi Bai was shot. He didn’t die but disappeared so others thought he died in the fire. When Bai Han and the others investigated the fire, they reunited. Zhi Bai refuses to turn himself in. Si Yuan decides to help him.
Episode 19
Shu He is confused about the death of Liu Xun Hai because he is not the one in the photo. He suspects Tie Xin killed him and orders a search around the city after Tie Xin shot the cars to kill Si Yuan and Qi Xia. He also asks his boss to reopen the Yong An Village fire case.
Si Yuan goes to visit his brother and is introduced to the others. Zhi Bai believes Tie Xin has a boss behind him. The group finds out about Gai De who is the founder of Zhen Mei Art Training Institution and Tie Xin calls him boss. Si Yuan is undercover with his friends Ma Luo and Li Zhi to register for the institution. He sees Gai De walk out so Si Yuan follows him. Gai De deliberately meets Si Yuan. He invites Si Yuan to his home, and after getting Gai De’s house floor plan and listening device from Zhi Bai, Si Yuan goes by himself. Gai De talks about his dead twin. Si Yuan also talks about his dead brother and that Tie Xin killed him. Si Yuan finally leaves after Gai De says he doesn’t know where Tie Xin is.
The police get a rape report. Ti Yi, a teacher from Zhen Mei Art Training Institution reports that she is raped by Gai De.
Episode 20
Back in 2009, Lan Sang (one of Zhi Bai’s friends) and Ti Yi died after killing each other in an unopened shop. Ti Yi was a prostitute. Zhi Bai believed there was a third person but the case was closed.
Gai De is brought in for interrogation. He sees the pen used by Ti Yi to sign her statement and asks Shu He to sniff it. He says the smell is not Ti Yi’s. He says he has a sensitive smell and can judge people’s personalities by smell. He hired all his employees so he knows they have positive smells. Whatever he says, the DNA on Ti Yi’s vagina is Gai De’s, also alcohol smell and scratch on his arm. They would close the case but Qi Xia feels the evidence is too perfect. Ti Yi gives interviews, stating that she’s not the only victim and Gai De has assaulted other girls. Si Yuan thinks he should meet Gai De. Gai De says he is framed. Someone is lying. Ni Ke finds that Ti Yi is dead ten years ago. The fake Ti Yi says that she picked up the identity cards on the street, but the rape is true. Si Yuan and Zhi Bai check the institute and find Ti Yi’s photo is faked. They go to Ti Yi’s apartment and find she has gambling debts.
Shu He wants to interview Gai De’s driver, and it turns out to be Su Tai Pu, Zhi Bai’s classmate. Shu He asks why he has become a driver now. It makes more money than being a policeman. Su Tai Pu says he doesn’t know about Gai De’s whereabouts that night. Su Tai Pu also says he decided not to get involved with Zhi Bai’s drug issue 10 years ago.
Episode 21
Back in 2009. Lang Sang started a shop. When he was cleaning the shop, Ti Yi came over asking him to save her.
Shu He tells Si Yuan that the real Ti Yi died ten years ago. She also smoked AH7. Si Yuan thinks the fake Ti Yi’s appearance is not coincidental. Shu He tells him what happened ten years ago. He even was beaten up by the group that mistakenly reported Lan Sang to the teacher. When the incident happened, Shu He felt weird that Lan Sang took in a prostitute if the group was going to go to a dinner party. The double kill is unreasonable since Ti Yi couldn’t make one fatal blow to Lan Sang’s head. Also, there were no footprints.
Si Yuan directly asks Su Tai Pu why he helped Ti Yi frame Gai De. His hair is at the crime scene, not Gai De’s. Su Tai Pu says for money because he’s poor. He also says Gai De never had a twin brother, he pretends he is the twin brother. Su Tai Pu says Zhi Bai and his friends never took drugs. He put AH7 into the water cups of Zhi Bai and his friends because his girlfriend was dying from cancer so he needed money for her treatment. Meanwhile, the hair DNA test comes out so the police release Gai De. Su Tai Pu is ready to be taken away. He tells his daughter if any of the uncles in the picture comes to pick her up, she can go with him.
Episode 22
This is the truth of Lan Sang and Ti Yi’s death. Lan Sang, after realizing he wasn’t suitable to be a policeman wanted to open a small shop. Gai De chased Ti Yi whom he saw at the club. She went to Lan Sang’s shop asking for help. Gai De killed both Lan Sang and Ti Yi and called his rich dad. The dad then sent several men (I think the leader was Tie Xin) to clean up so it seemed Lan Sang and Ti Yi killed each other.
The fake Ti Yi’s identity is revealed, too. She is the real Ti Yi’s mother Chen Cong Xin. Si Yuan is suspicious that Gai De’s framing is done by his brother. Chen Cong Xin never believed her daughter was a prostitute and met Zhi Bai. Chen Cong Xin called Gai De. It was a setup to frame Gai De for killing her. She jumps off the building while he is walking up the rooftop. He ordered for surveillance cameras to be turned off but they are turned back on.
Si Yuan tries to talk to Chen Cong Xin before she jumps down but she refuses to stay alive. He is very angry at his brother, they fight but he can’t beat his brother. Gai De runs away. Now many female workers confess to being raped by Gai De, but they were too afraid to help Chen Cong Xin before. Si Yuan goes to Gai De’s home and finds a painting with female items of clothing, so he calls Shu He. Gai De knocks him unconscious. Lol… not Zhi Bai but Qi Mei Hua is the savior, she comes with her shop assistant Lao Jin. Gai De runs away but is captured by Zhi Bai and the gang. He injects him with an anticoagulant and then stabs him several times for Ti Yi, Chen Cong Xin, Lang Sang, and himself. Gai De is released and runs to the mansion gate belonging to his father and dies.
Episode 23
The big gift box in the subway station has Zhi Bai’s body in it. Did he commit suicide? Or was he killed?
48 hours before Zhi Bai’s death, Gai De arrives at his father’s doorstep. He is Na Wei, and he is very influential in both political and business circles. He pays many taxes yearly, so he is also a model citizen. Zhi Bai thinks that Na Wei must love his son very much to clean up Gai De’s mess. Zhi Bai and his friends want to take Gai De away but Na Wei’s lackeys start shooting. So many people surround their car. Suddenly Su Tai Pu shows up with his car and tells them to leave, he will take care of the shooters. It’s his sacrifice as an atonement for putting AH7 into their drinks.
After seeing Zhi Bai on the surveillance camera, Shu He tells the police director that something is wrong with their drug case and also Ti Yi’s case. Shu He goes to Na Wei’s mansion because of Su Tai Pu’s death, but the director stops him. He says Su Tai Pu and the rest trespassed on Na Wei’s property. Na Wei demands the police to find Zhi Bai and the gang asap or he will replace them. He ignores Shu He’s question about his relationship with Gai De. Zhi Bai suddenly appears to surrender. He also has a pen that is the murder weapon Na Wei used to kill his parents and has Na Wei’s DNA. Qi Xia, who is in shock seeing her sweetheart takes Na Wei’s DNA test. Shu He interrogated the forensic doctor Xu Sheng who examined the two old cases and she admitted she falsified the report because they kidnapped her family. Zhi Bai also leaks out the materials to the media. He asks Bai Han, Gan, and Tai to take care of themselves. Bai Han divides the money into three: Gan, Tai, and Su Tai Pu’s daughter.
No matter how many times Qi Xia checks Na Wei’s DNA with the one on the pen, they’re mismatched. Na Wei goes home and burns his clothes on the brazier.
Episode 24
This is the most heartbreaking episode!!!
Si Yuan was at the hospital when the news broke about Zhi Bai’s body being found wrapped in a present in the subway station. But the more heartbreaking about finding your loved one dead is Qi Xia who has to do an autopsy on Zhi Bai. Even though she trembles and holds her tears back, she has waited for him for many years and wants to find answers from him through his dead body. So many scars, what had he experienced for so many years? Si Yuan lets her sign the death certificate too, because she’s Zhi Bai’s family member.
How did Zhi Bai die? Shu He answers that the power was cut off last night and Zhi Bai was taken away by someone. The director thinks the person is an insider. Do you know who the person was? It was Ni Ke! He was involved in the fire ten years ago and was threatened by Na Wei to give him Zhi Bai and the pen. Ni Ke felt that Zhi Bai already anticipated this would happen so he didn’t resist Ni Ke. Ni Ke gave Zhi Bai to Tie Xin. Ni Ke surrenders.
Si Yuan and Shu He go to Zhi Bai’s hiding place to find any clue. Zhi Bai’s body had been getting weaker and weaker due to the bad living situation. Everyone is gone but the safe is still locked?
Episode 25
Twelve hours before Zhi Bai’s death, Na Wei receives a video of his son being tortured and a message to get Zhi Bai out of jail.
Ni Ke continues his confession. Later, Tie Xin took Zhi Bai away. When Shu He and the police chase after Tie Xin, it turns out Bai Han, Gan, and Tai divert the police. Bai Han is caught. He doesn’t know where Zhi Bai is now. He only gave Bai Han an address that if the pen fails to convict Na Wei there is a witness in Switzerland. Tai checked it out and it was a hotel room with a photo of the old friendship photo of the six.
Bai Han doesn’t want to disclose where they’re hiding Gai De until Zhi Bai’s plan is executed.
Ten hours after Zhi Bai’s death Tie Xin is found dead. Gai De is rescued. There is a USB with the driving recorder. Zhi Bai persuaded Tie Xin to work with him instead of with Na Wei, to give Gai De to him instead of his dad. Because Na Wei slept with Tie Xin’s wife in the past. Zhi Bai persuaded Tie Xin to take him back to Yong An Village to meet Na Wei, and Tie Xin could meet Gai De. Si Yuan theorizes Zhi Bai used this trick to sacrifice himself because Na Wei would kill him, so he was guilty of murdering. The next is Na Wei kills Zhi Bai, follows Tie Xin, kills him, and rescues his son.
Eleven hours after Zhi Bai’s death, Na Wei meets Qi Mei Hua. He wants Mei Hua to find Gai De by threatening her about her son (Si Yuan). The next day Gai De is found. Is Mei Hua an underground mafia boss? Na Wei spends some time playing Tetris with Gai De. Oh, Gai De is Na Wei’s illegitimate son? The next day Shu He arrests Na Wei for killing Zhi Bai. Gai De is the witness. He took Na Wei’s pen away.
The news of Na Wei’s arrest is a joyous occasion for Qi Mei Hua, who invites her children to dinner. She tells Si Yuan that Zhi Bai came to see her before Chen Cong Xin’s death asking her to take care of Si Yuan. He also gave her money, not for Si Yuan but for Qi Xia. She fears darkness and there were dark alleys from work to home. He fixed the lights, but in the future, there will be maintenance/repair fees and taxes to pay. The money is for that. Qi Xia overhears it and cries.
Somehow, I feel that the streetlights will always remind Qi Xia of Zhi Bai’s practical love for her.
Episode 26
I thought Episode 24 was already heartbreaking… this episode is traumatizing!
For the last plan, Zhi Bai asks Tai to implant a program on a phone that automatically sends a video to Si Yuan when this phone is turned on. Before death, Zhi Bai asks Tie Xin to sink him into the water and turn on that phone. Si Yuan got the video when he was at the hospital. The video is cryptic of their childhood video playing in the water, with an additional that Si Yuan has to find him in the water and the beach location. Si Yuan has to make good use of it. Si Yuan asked Ma Luo to impersonate him sleeping to avoid Ni Ke’s suspicion and for Li Zhi to find a huge gift box. Si Yuan found his dead brother, put him on his shoulder to ride on a bike to the subway, and piggy-backed him all the way to the gift box. Along the bike ride, Si Yuan cried and shouted, the same as the little him who screamed when riding a bike with his brother. Shu He saw Si Yuan carry his brother on the subway surveillance video and deleted it.
Nai Wei confesses that he killed Zhi Bai out of anger because Zhi Bai didn’t want to tell him about Gai De’s whereabouts but told him how he tortured Gai De. However, Si Yuan still wonders why Na Wei appeared to kill Zhi Bai while sending Tie Xin to kill his parents in the past. Also, why did he kill Zhi Bai without getting his son back?
Si Yuan confesses to Shu He that he put his brother’s body inside the gift box. Shu He also wants to turn himself in. They will get from 3 to 15 days in jail. The director says that the police have been secretly investigating Nai Wei for over a year but Si Yuan and Shu He (along with Zhi Bai) were very impatient about this case. Qi Xia resigns from her job. Li Zhi also is leaving overseas because she needs a normal life, despite liking Si Yuan. Na Wei is sentenced to death. Someone bribed the police to send him a razor blade inside a novel. The police rescue Nai Wei who is in critical condition.
Si Yuan and Shu He discuss the possibility there are two Na Weis because the blood types are different. Back then in 2007 when Na Wei was new in the business world, to gain popularity he frequently donated blood. His blood type at that time and his blood type now are different.
The key would be Gai De who is also sentenced to death. At first, he doesn’t want to cooperate until Shu He shows him the paternity test results. Gai De is the son of the person killing Zhi Bai and Si Yuan’s parents. The current Na Wei isn’t related to Gai De. Gai De finds out he’s not related to Na Wei when they play Tetris together. But is Shu He sure he wants to open Pandora’s Box?
Episode 27
Si Yuan go to the old theater and asks the manager using Na Wei’s photo. Yes, he is an actor.
The real Na Wei had an argument with Si Yuan’s parents since he wanted the AH7 recipe and killed them. Fake Na Wei killed the real Na Wei to take the opportunity since he saw the businessman on TV. Zhi Bai discovered that Na Wei is fake so he had to kill him.
Si Yuan goes home to celebrate Qi Mei Hua’s birthday. She also wants to go on vacation since Qi Xia resigned from the police station and Si Yuan graduated from university. She and her assistant are busy cleaning out old clothes and shoes. One of them is a pair of shoes of a limited edition but Qi Mei Hua doesn’t want it. When Si Yuan sees it, suddenly he remembers that back then his adopted mother bought them for his birth mother. He also remembers her adopted mother went home after watching Macbeth in the old theater.
When Qi Xia did an autopsy on Zhi Bai, she found a bullet stuck there and sent it for analysis. It was the same bullet she found on Tie Xin. Shu He quietly asks Qi Xia to bring the gun to him and if the gun matches with the bullets he will tell her everything. I think Gai De opened Pandora’s Box.
Shu He calls Qi Xia and Si Yuan over. He gives them two sets of documents: one of them is the gun report and the other is the AH7 case. He states that the statute limitation for the AH7 case has expired. He leaves them to read the documents. Qi Xia shakily read the gun report and it matched. Si Yuan asks Shu He to give them 30 minutes to talk since it’s Mei Hua’s birthday and he promises her to make her prawn noodles. He goes home and makes her one. Asks her to put on the shoes and after she does, he tells her that she is the real Na Wei.
Episode 28
This is the shocking truth, told by Qi Mei Hua. Many years ago, after being physically abused by her genius chemist husband, Mei Hua killed him and ran away with little Qi Xia. They took refuge in the Liao Family. Mei Hua was wanted by the police, but she showed Si Yuan’s parents the abuse marks and asked them to take care of little Qi Xia. The parents decided not to tell the police and hid her.
As a token of gratitude, Mei Hua showed them the formula of AH7 made by her chemist husband. She could make the drug but needed manpower. Father Liao helped her and there were more and more people got involved in the making and distribution. Eventually, the real Na Wei heard about it and wanted to buy the recipe. Mei Hua realized that even if they sold the recipe, she and her newfound family would be killed. At the same time, the genius sleuth Zhi Bai started investigating AH7. Na Wei told Mei Hua to kill Zhi Bai but he’s like her son. She wanted to kill Na Wei and asked Father Liao to invite him. But Father Liao wanted to surrender after being begged by Zhi Bai. Mei Hua coaxed Father Liao that many villagers’ life got better because of AH7 (he was the Yong An Village chief) and the family fortune was made by Mei Hua.
By coincidence, Mei Hua found that the theater actor Na Wei looked alike. She took the chance to make him Na Wei. In the end, after the real Na Wei came and killed the Liao parents, who then was killed by Mei Hua. The actor became Na Wei and ordered Tie Xin to burn the house. Mei Hua also shot Zhi Bai who was investigating.
The fake Na Wei became a businessman but he secretly sold AH7 to the public with the help of the villagers. Then came the news that Zhi Bai (who didn’t know Mei Hua’s involvement and that she shot him) was still alive. Mei Hua wanted to kill the fake Na Wei and Zhi Bai. Si Yuan asks Mei Hua if she will kill him, too. She calmly finishes her noodles and surrenders. Qi Mei Hua is sentenced to the death penalty for murder and drug trafficking. Qi Xia sees her mother and understands Mei Hua did it for her. Mei Hua asks her to take care of herself and Si Yuan. Qi Xia cries when Mei Hua leaves. Si Yuan doesn’t become a police officer but a school teacher (his major was Early Childhood Education) and writes a letter to his brother. Shu He is reinstated to be a criminal police officer again. Bai Han received a heavy sentence. Tai and Gun are already released and they do live broadcast. Qi Xia travels around the world and sees beautiful yu mei ren on a hillside. The End.
Conclusion
What a heartbreaking drama with a traumatizing ending. It’s a masterpiece nonetheless, a drama for a long time to remember. Highly recommended to watch it. Share the review article, with no to very minimal spoilers, with the ones who have not watched it.
Related articles: The Embers: Out of the Deep Darkness, The Ashes Glow, and The Embers: Recap Episodes 1 to 14.
