Sword Rose Episode 1 Recap
> Sword Rose Recap
On the night of April 25, 2009, in Linshan City, Deng Yan, a section chief from the Provincial Bureau's Secretariat Division, was walking through a bustling night market when a young girl named Fafa approached her. Fafa claimed the road to her home was dark and she was scared to walk alone, asking Deng Yan to escort her. After confirming Fafa's parents were supposedly waiting at home nearby, Deng Yan agreed.
As Deng Yan dropped Fafa off at her apartment building, a van suddenly screeched to a halt. Two men, Zhao Liang and Hu Xifan, emerged, subdued Deng Yan, and forced her into the trunk. Zhao Liang then ordered the reluctant Fafa into the van. They were human traffickers who used Fafa as bait, telling their victims they were helping them find wealthy, powerful men to secure a life of luxury.
Inside a secluded warehouse, Hu Xifan instructed Fafa to remain in the car. Another abducted girl was already being held inside. Hu Xifan tried to inject Deng Yan with a sedative, but she struggled fiercely. Just then, an associate announced the buyer's imminent arrival, and Hu Xifan and Zhao Liang exited to greet them. Seizing the opportunity, Deng Yan found a piece of broken glass and began cutting through her restraints.
Zhao Liang returned to get the other girl, beating her when she resisted. Deng Yan, having freed herself, kicked Zhao Liang to the ground and rescued the girl, promising they would escape together. As they approached the exit, another kidnapper spotted them. Deng Yan grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed the criminals, urging the girl to run for help. The girl managed to scale a wall and flee, with one of the kidnappers in hot pursuit.
Unbeknownst to Deng Yan, this was a carefully orchestrated police raid. An hour earlier, Han Liang, Captain of the Linshan City Police Bureau's Criminal Investigation Detachment, and Yin Jiansheng, Deputy Director of the Anti-abduction Office, had deployed their team. Officer Chang Rui was undercover, posing as a buyer. When the abducted girl escaped and ran into Chang Rui, she urgently told him another girl was inside who needed saving.
Chang Rui immediately reported the change in situation to Yin Jiansheng, who, concerned for the safety of all victims, ordered the team to move in. As police stormed the compound and apprehended the traffickers, Hu Xifan seized Deng Yan, holding her at knifepoint. He demanded a car to escape, forcing Han Liang to agree and order his officers to back off.
Spotting a knife on a nearby table, Deng Yan grabbed it and stabbed Hu Xifan, allowing officers to apprehend him. When Yin Jiansheng came to her aid, he was surprised to learn her true identity: she was also a police officer. Meanwhile, Officer Yang Jiajia tried to comfort a trembling Fafa, but the frightened girl ran away and had to be taken to the station by another officer. After the raid, Chang Rui expressed his frustration to Han Liang.
He explained that they had spent immense effort on the Zhou Min abduction case, building an elaborate network to capture the mastermind, but Deng Yan's unforeseen actions had disrupted their plan, allowing the main culprit to escape. Despite Chang Rui's objections about her lack of frontline experience, Chief Xiao Wenjin had already decided to appoint Deng Yan as the new Director of the Anti-abduction Office.
Deng Yan admitted to Xiao Wenjin that her actions had interfered with the operation but explained that as a police officer, she had to act when a life was in danger. Xiao Wenjin reassured her, emphasizing that the safety of the people always comes first. Xiao Wenjin then introduced Deng Yan to the Anti-abduction Office team. Despite Chang Rui's visible displeasure, Deng Yan humbly introduced herself, acknowledging she was new to anti-abduction work and asking for their support.
She immediately began working, requesting all unsolved cases from Yin Jiansheng. Meanwhile, Officer Ai Xin was unable to find Fafa to hand her over to the welfare center, eventually discovering the girl hiding under Chang Rui's desk. Later, Deng Yan found herself drawn back to the night market, stopping outside the "Tuanyuan Restaurant." A missing person poster for "Lin Ran" hung outside, and inside, the restaurant was filled with photos of other missing children.
This sight triggered a painful memory for Deng Yan: twenty-four years ago, on her birthday, her best friend, Lin Ran, went home to get more money to buy her a music box, promising to return. While waiting, Deng Yan witnessed Lin Ran being abducted by traffickers. The tragedy devastated Lin Ran's family; her mother, Madam Zhang, fell severely ill, and her father furiously blamed Deng Yan's family.
From that day on, a young Deng Yan vowed to become a police officer and dedicate her life to finding Lin Ran, regularly writing letters to her that she intended to deliver upon their reunion. On the night of May 10, a man known as Whiteboard approached university student Zheng Weiwei in an alley. Claiming he needed help choosing a gift for his sister, he offered her a bottle of water as thanks.
Zheng Weiwei drank the water, which was laced with a sedative, and quickly collapsed. Upon receiving the report, Han Liang urged Deng Yan to solve the case quickly, highlighting the severe impact of such crimes during their special operation. Deng Yan reviewed the blurry surveillance footage and deduced that the abductor was a seasoned criminal. She sought Chang Rui's opinion, but he responded with cold detachment.
Deng Yan then assigned Yang Jiajia and Yin Jiansheng to interrogate Zhao Liang, Yan Lei to interrogate Hu Xifan, and dispatched Ai Xin and Chang Rui to investigate the scene. At a nearby convenience store, a student confirmed seeing a suspicious black car parked there for several days. During interrogation, Hu Xifan confessed that his handler was Whiteboard, whose full name was Bai Wentao.
He revealed that Whiteboard was known for planning "big jobs" and preferred using sedatives, a detail that aligned with Zheng Weiwei's abduction. Deng Yan proposed merging the Zheng Weiwei and Zhou Min cases. The link was confirmed when Ai Xin showed surveillance photos to Hu Xifan, who immediately identified the man as Whiteboard. Han Liang approved the merger, instructing the team to find Whiteboard quickly.
Separately, during their interrogation by Ai Xin and Yan Lei, Zhao Liang revealed that Fafa called Whiteboard "Dad." Deng Yan realized this meant Fafa could be a valuable source of information, and considered the possibility that Fafa herself was a past victim whom Whiteboard had raised.
