Guardian Episode 5 Recap
> Guardian Recap
Following up on the case of the murdered Subterraneans, the Special Investigation Unit's work brings public scrutiny upon Professor Shen Wei, whose frequent association with the team has sparked rumors at Dragon City University. To avoid further gossip, Shen Wei moves out of the university apartments and into the same neighborhood as Zhao Yunlan, though he keeps his exact address private, making Zhao suspicious.
Meanwhile, Huang Linqi, the son of wealthy industrialist Huang Chaoyang, returns home after arguing with his father over an arranged marriage to Li Jiaqi. After a heated exchange where his father tells him to "get out," Linqi goes to the bathroom, cries for help, and vanishes into the water. Zhao Yunlan's team is called to investigate the Huang residence.
Butler Wu, a long-serving butler, explains the strained relationship between father and son, revealing that Linqi felt "sold out" for business interests. Soon after, as the SIU tracks Linqi's fiancée, Li Jiaqi, she disappears in the exact same manner. During the investigation, a chilling message appears in the steam on a bathroom mirror: "I am back." Butler Wu is seen acting suspiciously, calling out to an unseen presence by a body of water.
Though he denies any knowledge of Subterraneans when confronted by Zhao Yunlan, he later packs his bags at home, muttering that his son, Xiaojun, has returned. He tells a terrified Huang Chaoyang that he feels a "father-son connection" and is going to find his son, who vanished over twenty years ago. This reaction confirms Huang Chaoyang's fear, as he is responsible for Xiaojun's disappearance.
Separately, the Black Robed Envoy appears before an old Subterranean, warning him not to overextend his powers. He also makes a clandestine visit to Shen Wei, instructing him not to harm Zhao Yunlan, no matter the circumstances. Butler Wu returns to the waterside and is finally reunited with his son, Xiaojun, who emerges from the water full of rage. Xiaojun reveals that he wasn't lost but was cast into a barren wasteland by Huang Chaoyang after displaying his Subterranean powers.
With a twisted worldview, he has captured Huang Linqi and Li Jiaqi, tormenting them to prove that all love is an illusion in the face of death. As Butler Wu pleads for their lives, men sent by Huang Chaoyang ambush them. Butler Wu shields his son, taking a poisoned arrow meant for him. Enraged, Xiaojun escapes through the water and reappears in Huang Chaoyang's swimming pool seeking revenge.
However, Huang had set a trap, and an electric net in the pool weakens Xiaojun. Zhao Yunlan and his team intervene, saving Xiaojun from Huang's men and urging him to see to his dying father. At the SIU headquarters, a distraught Xiaojun begs them to save his father, Wu Tian'en. Guo Changcheng, unable to bear the sight, grabs the Longevity Sundial, willing to sacrifice himself.
Zhao Yunlan takes it from him, preparing to activate it, but the Black Robed Envoy appears and stops him, warning that waking the hallow could have catastrophic consequences. Instead, the Envoy uses his own power to save Wu Tian'en's life. Before taking the father and son into his custody, the Envoy questions Wu Tian'en about a past mission to find a hallow, during which his entire team was killed by Monster Sarcomas.
Wu Tian'en, the sole survivor, provides a new lead: his captain, who was killed in the human world, had a pregnant wife and may have left an offspring. The case closed, the SIU soon receives a new report of a locked-room mystery. A woman named Weiwei, who dislikes sunlight, has vanished from her bathroom with no signs of a struggle. Zhao Yunlan begins his investigation by questioning a witness, Mr. Ji, about any strange occurrences in the bathroom, where the events began.
