Apr 13, 20196 min read

Guardian Recap: Episode 20 "The Case of Ye Zun's Appearance"

"Do you remember me?” Zhu Jiu dramatically reveals a large scar across his right cheek (again with the chewed up gum), and we see more of his past as a palace guard in flashback. When he revisits the pillar, the Voice tells him to show his determination if he wants to become the hero of Dixing. Obviously, to Zhu Jiu, this means he needs to kill his superior. Because that's what zealots do.

Witnesses to the murder begin calling for help, and Zhu Jiu takes off, only stopping when he's confronted by the Black Cloak Envoy. Zhu Jiu blames him for their people being unable to live on the surface of the planet, and he charges at the Envoy. Shen Wei takes him down with one blow, giving him that scar. All this over a scar? How shallow is this man?

Back at the SID, with their prisoner safely shackled to an exam bed in the lab, Shen Wei tries to heal Zhu Jiu enough to allow him to answer questions, but his injuries are too severe. He won't live much longer. The Chief notes that it's doubtful Lin Jing could do much for him either and hasn't yet returned. But that's because he and Cong Bo were taken in by the police for hacking the power grid. (Ha! Poor guys.)

Zhu Jiu relives another memory while in a comatose state, this time, of when he pledged to give all of himself to the Voice in the pillar if it helped him get revenge on the Black Cloak.

Shen Wei seems troubled by their prisoner's state as he, the Chief, and Zhu Hong keep vigil over Zhu Jiu. Zhu Hong has a sudden flash of inspiration and dashes out of the room, returning with a syringe and a vial of snake venom which she explains can temporarily restore a person's energy and allow them to interrogate Zhu Jiu. She plunges the syringe right into his heart (through the clothes and all. Guess it's a good thing he's gonna die anyway with ministrations like this.)

At first, it seems like the venom didn't work, but once Zhu Jiu begins to come around, Shen Wei praises Zhu Hong for being a great help. (There's this amazing scene here with layers of subtext as Zhu Hong stares at Yunlan waiting for any small acknowledgement from him, while he never glances her way, looking only at Shen Wei. It's wonderful to watch.)

The three of them join the rest of the crew in the SID bullpen as they go over the footage from Zhu Jiu's email, trying to determine where Xiao Guo and the others were being kept. Using clues from the audio of the message, they track down the most likely location of the laboratory.

Surprisingly not frozen into little popsicles, Lao Chu is the first to rouse himself. He wakes the others, and they realize they are alive because the power went out.

Still in the precinct, Lin Jing and Cong Bo are surprised when Da Qing shows up (looking ridiculously out of place in a suit and tie) to retrieve them claiming to be from the Xing Bureau of Supervision.

Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan finally show up at the lab to rescue the others. Shen Wei revives Xiao Guo and Yehuo with a bit of dark energy (which Lao Chu somehow doesn't see or hear for plot reasons). Yunlan dramatically pretends that Xiao Guo has passed away from hunger, but Shen Wei calls him out for it.

In an office of the Xing Bureau of Supervision, Minister Gau rages about how the SID overstepped their authority while taking down their prisoner. He's fuming at the way the Chief handled the whole situation and refuses to hear anyone who's trying to defend them.

Only Zhao Xinchi's arrival is able to calm him, and he greets the man warmly. Xinchi immediately takes the blame for the Chief's actions. Minister Gau starts to sing a different tune now that a man he has so much respect for has offered his support for the SID, and he assures Xinchi that he still has faith in Yunlan, especially now that he has such a well-respected person like Professor Shen working with him.

Xinchi reveals the reason for his visit was actually to check on the results from the research lab, and the two men go for a visit. There, Xinchi confronts the man in charge, Professor Ouyang, and demands faster progress on the experiment. For a brief moment, the entity he shares his body with emerges and urges the Professor to safely follow protocol, but Xinchi is able to suppress it and waive off its words. As he turns to leave, he clutches his chest in pain but refuses a trip to a doctor.

Later that night, the crew finally gathers for the reunion dinner (very similar to an American Thanksgiving), and Shen Wei and Yunlan discuss how lucky they were that they changed the future and saved the hostages.

But before they can join the others, Wang Zeng gets a phone call from Minister Gau's department requesting a debrief of the case. So the two go to leave immediately. As Yunlan is getting into the van, the Voice stops him in his tracks. Although it only speaks his name, he's very unsettled by it.

The Voice also calls out to Zhu Jiu, which seems to be what brings him around. Of all people, its Xiao Guo who is there when he awakens. Under Lao Chu's orders, Xiao Guo removes Zhu Jiu's restraints to take him for interrogation. (So, why is the weakest crew member in charge of the dangerous prisoner? Does this make any sense?)

Still in the slowest ride to the Bureau ever, Yunlan sees flashes of a possible future where Zhu Jiu escapes and tries to take the Hallows. In a panic, he stops the car to go back, but insists that Shen Wei go on to the meeting. (For such a short scene, there's an awful lot of touching going on.)

Just as Yunlan saw, Zhu Jiu escapes and goes straight for the Hallows. But Yunlan is one step ahead of him and called Zhu Hong to take the Hallows out of the SID. Zhu Jiu makes a hasty escape and, realizing he is dying, sacrifices himself in order to free the Voice in the pillar.

Zhu Hong is taking a taxi with the Hallows in a small bag when she spots the Chief collapsed in the road from exhaustion. She hands the bag over to him and Ya Qiang appears to summon Yunlan to meet with her boss. She leads them to a park where a hazy apparition is waiting.

The Voice from the pillar has taken a form that bears a striking resemblance to Shen Wei, complete with white robes and a gold mask. He introduces himself as Ye Zun and tries to convince Yunlan that he can solve the conflict between their two worlds by removing everyone's free will. Not surprising, the Chief is not at all receptive to this idea and Ye Zun lashes out at him.

Yunlan pulls Zhu Hong behind him and raises the Longevity Dial in front of them both like a shield. It activates and repels the dark energy. When Yunlan refuses to turn over the Hallows, Ye Zun attacks again with a steady stream of dark energy. As the struggle wears on, the Chief falls to his knees and signs of the corrosion Shen Wei repeatedly warned him about creep across his skin.

At the critical moment, Shen Wei appears, having sensed that Yunlan was in danger from across town. Like an avenging angel bearing a divine sword, Shen Wei comes sweeping down through the air to sever the stream of energy connecting the two. Yunlan and Zhu Hong fall backward, and Ye Zun quickly flees the scene.

Shen Wei rushes to Yunlan's side, calling his name. He removes the Dial from the Chief's grasp and uses his energy to revive him. Yunlan immediately asks for Shen Wei (Aww.) and wonders why he felt a familiarity with Ye Zun. As the others help him sit up, Yunlan asks if the power has been cut since it's so dark. Shen Wei is the first to realize what happened. Yunlan is blind.