The Guardians Episode 2 Recap
> The Guardians Recap
Xian Biyun, who maintains connections within the Municipal Council, navigates the Public Concession with ease. As the play commenced, Ding Yi and Gu Yangshan, concealed within a prop tree on stage, held their breath. An actor accidentally noticed the two hiding. Gu Yangshan and Ding Yi quickly threatened him to continue the performance and not expose them. However, blood from Gu Yangshan's wound continued to flow, eventually dripping outside the tree.
Ding Yi silently pleaded with the actor on stage for cover. The actor, improvising, altered the script to include a fight scene, stabbing a prop to create a splash of "blood" that effectively concealed Gu Yangshan's real bloodstains. After the curtain call, Takeda Eisho led his men backstage. He had previously arrived at the Chaosheng Troupe, where Xian Biyun greeted him and other Municipal Council officials.
Takeda hinted at the Empire of Japan eventually taking over the Public Concession, hoping for Xian Biyun's continued kindness. Xian Biyun playfully dismissed the notion, suggesting that in the Concession, luck is fickle, and one must always have backup, just like a play needs understudies. She added that if there's food, everyone should eat. Takeda's search had yielded nothing, and the car Gu Yangshan and Ding Yi used was already gone.
The prop tree was then wheeled back to the props room. Inside the props room, Gu Yangshan attempted to apologize to the actor, Long Er, for threatening him with a gun. But Hongyu, furious at the trouble Gu Yangshan had brought upon the troupe, struck him with a gun, knocking him unconscious. Xian Biyun confiscated Gu Yangshan's pistol and ordered the disposal of Joseph Lee's body later that night, ensuring no one would see.
She then instructed her staff to tie up Gu Yangshan and Ding Yi and confine them in the basement, stating she would interrogate them once the immediate crisis was handled. Waking up in the basement, Ding Yi, his hands and feet numb, desperately demanded the antidote from Gu Yangshan, believing he had been poisoned. Gu Yangshan revealed his trick, admitting it was merely a cufflink and he was just trying to scare Ding Yi.
Gu Yangshan then requested Hongyu to make a phone call, asking her to arrange for a British passport entry record for "Charlie Gu" (his alias) at customs before dawn. He emphasized the urgency, warning that if the record wasn't created, the Japanese, having been told by Ding Yi (impersonating Joseph Lee) that Gu Yangshan (under the alias 'Charlie Gu') was Joseph Lee's recently returned assistant, would uncover the deception. Hongyu, concerned, rushed to Xian Biyun’s office.
Despite Mr. Wu’s (her elder) reminders to knock, she explained Gu Yangshan's urgent request for the passport. Xian Biyun, after a moment of consideration, agreed, and the call was made to Changze Shipyard. Back in the basement, Ding Yi, famished, struggled to eat a bun. Gu Yangshan observed Ding Yi's vastly different demeanor compared to his polished performance as Joseph Lee. Gu Yangshan then proposed that Ding Yi continue impersonating Joseph Lee for double the pay.
He explained the severe consequences if the Japanese discovered the real Joseph Lee was dead and the fake one was within the Chaosheng Troupe. Ding Yi initially refused to play a "traitor," but Gu Yangshan argued that by helping him, Ding Yi would be aiding the Anti-Traitor Squad. Overhearing their conversation, Xian Biyun untied Ding Yi and ordered him out, choosing to question Gu Yangshan alone. Gu Yangshan effortlessly freed himself from his restraints.
He then asked Xian Biyun how she had managed to dispose of the body and the car. Xian Biyun explained that the Japanese, suspicious of a large box being moved from the theatre, pursued it, only to find it contained theatrical costumes. This distraction allowed her to secretly remove Joseph's body. She pointed out that in such turbulent times, one needs to be resourceful to survive.
Gu Yangshan, impressed by her capabilities, introduced himself as Gu Yangshan, recently returned from abroad. He identified the deceased as Joseph Lee, his former classmate, and explained that Joseph had refused to cooperate with them and died during a transfer. He then reiterated his desire to cooperate with Xian Biyun, suggesting Joseph Lee was a traitor, and left, accompanied by an agent from Changze Shipyard. Meanwhile, the members of the Chaosheng Troupe gathered for a meal, a close-knit family.
Ding Yi, having learned from Gu Yangshan that Joseph Lee was a traitor, was visibly upset and clarified to others that he was merely hired to teach mathematics to Japanese businessmen, unaware of Joseph Lee's true loyalties or the nature of the Japanese organization. He apologized profusely to Xian Biyun for the trouble he had caused.
Long Er, however, reprimanded Ding Yi, revealing that the "Japanese businessmen" were in fact agents from the Japanese Mei Agency, and Takeda Eisho was the head of their Cipher Section. He stressed that Ding Yi's actions had nearly cost the lives of everyone in the troupe. Recognizing the immense danger Ding Yi's presence posed to the troupe, Xian Biyun decided he had to leave.
She instructed Long Er to take Ding Yi to the train station and send him to Baimahu to be with his mother, also providing money for his mother. Despite Ding Yi's heartfelt pleas and offers to stay hidden, Xian Biyun remained firm, believing his continued presence would only lead to greater trouble. Long Er escorted a reluctant Ding Yi away.
Gu Yangshan returned to the BIS intelligence station, located within the Xinfu Flour Company, where he met Luo Han, a commissioner sent from Chongqing by Director Dai. Luo Han expressed his anger over Joseph Lee's death, emphasizing the critical importance of Joseph Lee's uncrackable cipher, which had caused many deaths on the front lines. Gu Yangshan presented his audacious plan: instead of trying to decrypt the cipher, they would make the Japanese change it.
He proposed using Ding Yi to impersonate Joseph Lee and convince Takeda that the cipher had been compromised, forcing them to implement a new system. Gu Yangshan argued that since the real Joseph Lee was a recluse who rarely appeared in public, many already believed Ding Yi was Joseph Lee, making the deception plausible.
Cao Yuanzhong, the Acting Chief of the Shanghai BIS, supported the plan, viewing Ding Yi as mere "cannon fodder" whose loss would be negligible if the plan failed, but whose success could be a game-changer. Gu Yangshan had investigated Xian Biyun thoroughly. She had started as a maid at sixteen and rose to become a renowned actress in Shanghai before surprisingly retiring at her peak to establish the Chaosheng Troupe.
His subordinates found no clear patterns in her past film investors and noted that the troupe sustained itself purely through ticket sales, indicating no overt external backing. They explained that searching the theatre was impossible due to its location in the Public Concession and Xian Biyun's extensive network within the Municipal Council, with many foreign dignitaries attending her shows, which was why Takeda hadn't dared to disrupt her performance earlier.
Deciding against a forceful approach, Gu Yangshan resolved to find a "softer" way to gain her cooperation, speculating that despite her strong front, a woman responsible for over twenty people must have her own vulnerabilities. Xian Biyun, looking at an encore performance poster for the troupe, then stated, "I've got a plan. Help me find some people."
