Episode Summary
The Liao family’s return to Yong’an Village sparks chaos as a staged car crash reignites old grudges. Siyuan confronts arranged marriage rumors with Supa while uncovering clues about his uncle’s link to a deadly fire. Mysterious rituals, a cursed river, and a masked stalker escalate tensions, culminating in a violent showdown hinting at the River God’s vengeful presence.
Spoiler Alert
In 2009, the Liao family gathers for a celebratory dinner in Yong’an Village, rejoicing over their successful "retrieval" of the village’s River God. Patriarch Liao praises his son Liao Zhibai for securing a position at the Buhe Police Station while pressuring younger son Liao Siyuan to accept an arranged marriage with neighbor Supa. Siyuan rebelliously declares his own ambitions to become a police officer, but the tense moment dissolves when Supa’s mother abruptly summons her home.
Cut to the present day: Qi Xia drives Siyuan and his sharp-tongued cousin Li Zhi back to Yong’an Village. Li Zhi jokingly claims she "covered" for their trip to appease Siyuan’s overbearing mother Qi Meilin. Their return turns ominous when local troublemaker Jie’en deliberately crashes into their car at the village entrance, forcing Qi Xia to swerve and damage a sacred River God statue. A smirking Jie’en—joined by shady businessman Basong—accuses them of desecration and blocks their entry. Li Zhi slips away to a nearby gas station, where she encounters a haunting scene: a red-robed woman (later revealed as Supa’s mother Ke Xin) muttering incantations while a blind elderly woman lurks nearby.
Village authority figure Nawa intervenes, housing the trio despite Jie’an’s protests. Tensions flare as Nawa rebukes Jie’en for seizing the Liao family’s fruit factory after their tragic past. Meanwhile, Basong becomes obsessed with Ke Xin after spotting her combing her unnaturally youthful hair—a fascination Jie’en warns could anger the River God.
Flashbacks reveal darker layers: Siyuan’s uncle Zhibai once smashed a River God statue during a drunken rage at the Water Lantern Festival, coinciding with a deadly village fire. Present-day investigations uncover that missing debtor Tai Shu fled using a fake eye as disguise. The episode crescendos when Basong, ignoring Jie’en’s warnings, breaks into Ke Xin’s home—only to face a masked figure wearing the River God’s visage.
Elsewhere, Supa confronts Siyuan about their childhood betrothal by the polluted riverbank, hinting at her mother’s cryptic "truth-telling" rituals. Li Zhi witnesses Ke Xin’s supernatural revenge on a harassing customer via cursed red paper, while Zhibai discovers sabotaged debris at the Liao homestead, suggesting someone wants Siyuan gone.
Key spoilers:
- Ke Xin’s connection to the River God cult deepens, with hints she’s either its last priestess or a vengeful spirit.
- The masked figure stalking Basong bears striking resemblance to flashbacks of Siyuan’s late father.
- Tai Shu’s fake eye and violent bus station incident may tie him to the Liao family’s unresolved tragedies.
- Next episode’s Water Lantern Festival teases a reckoning with the river’s toxic secrets—and who really controls Yong’an’s cursed legacy.
This lore-heavy chapter blends supernatural dread with small-town corruption, leaving burning questions about whether the River God’s wrath—or human greed—drives the village’s cycle of violence.
