Treasure at Dawn Episode 20 Recap
> Treasure at Dawn Recap
General Dou Tong burst into the palace with his elite troops, claiming to protect the Jibei King. The King, bewildered, questioned Dou Tong's actions, stating there was no rebellion.
Dou Tong accused the King of ignoring three unsolved mysteries from twenty years ago: the sudden disappearance of the King's family on his wedding night, the wrongful purge of Inner Attendant Su Rang and 82 loyal officials (including Dou Tong's own father) who were falsely accused and eliminated, and the mysterious fire that destroyed all related documents. Dou Tong suspected the Lord advising Jibei King of being responsible.
As Dou Tong moved to apprehend the Lord, a spy hidden within his own ranks fatally stabbed him. Shocked, the cowardly Jibei King obeyed the Lord's command and posthumously condemned Dou Tong as a traitor who gathered his army to usurp the throne. Meanwhile, Wen Jue carefully handed Fu Sheng a set of surgical tools, meticulously crafted by her father. Confident in his new instruments, Fu Sheng was ready to treat Mr. Luo.
The next day, after a successful operation, a recovering Mr. Luo revealed the long-held truth behind Han Shuo's death, which dated back twenty years. He recounted how he and Han's father had rescued two wounded men, Song Zhe and Song Yuan, during a hunting trip. Song Zhe, gravely ill, died shortly after and was buried by Han's father and Song Yuan. Song Yuan then became a doorman for the Chang family.
He bestowed two family heirlooms, the Mountain-shaped Jade and Water-shaped Jade, upon Han Shuo's father and son, establishing a tradition of annual meetings. Five years prior, Han Shuo, carrying one of the jades for their yearly rendezvous, mysteriously died at a place known as the Hole Ghost. Both Song Yuan and Han Shuo perished during this incident, and the two jades vanished. Intrigued by the mention of the Hole Ghost, Fu Sheng, Gu Tian, and Wen Jue initiated an investigation.
Wen Jue explained that the Hole Ghost was a mysterious phenomenon in Xichuan that had appeared over a decade ago. It preyed on babies under one year old, taking them away amidst ghost-like cries and the appearance of a black fog or a black hole, and leaving behind clay dolls. Witnesses often reported seeing a black hole that sucked babies in, only for a clay doll to fly out in their place.
Visiting a family whose baby was stolen three years prior, they learned that all such abductions occurred on the 15th night of the lunar month, a full moon. The grieving mother, against her husband's wishes, had kept the clay doll left in her child's place and reluctantly lent it to Fu Sheng.
Fu Sheng deduced that the "Hole Ghost" was a human operation exploiting local superstitions about full moons to ensure families were home and to deflect suspicion onto supernatural forces. He then instructed Jiu to gather men for a covert stakeout. That night, Jiu led his men to positions around the village. At Liu Da's home, as he and his wife tried to soothe their baby, an eerie cry echoed, followed by the appearance of a black fog.
Liu Da, disoriented by what he described as a black hole and shadowy figures, frantically tried to fight them off with an axe but failed. The baby was gone, replaced by a freshly molded clay doll, still smelling of wet earth. Fu Sheng noted that this new doll differed from the previous one. Neighbors further away claimed to hear nothing, leading Fu Sheng to suspect a localized effect.
He realized the culprits were using hallucinogenic drugs and special sounds to create the illusion of ghosts, thereby confusing the victims and allowing for a clean escape. The following day, Fu Sheng offered free medical consultations to the villagers and quickly discovered that many suffered from chronic poisoning.
Further investigation revealed that the poison originated from the "Holy Pool," where villagers (and even the Chang family, due to early miscarriages) drank or bathed in "divine water" from an idol to ward off misfortune and protect their children. This poisonous water caused congenital weakness in babies, making them more susceptible to early death. Fu Sheng concluded that the Hole Ghost specifically targeted these sickly children.
He then revisited the Chang Mansion and spoke with Mr. Chang, who was the only surviving child to have been rescued from the Hole Ghost decades ago. Mr. Chang recounted a flashback where Song Yuan and Han Shuo fought to retrieve him from the Hole Ghost.
During this struggle, Han Shuo was tragically shot by a passing caravan after becoming frenzied by the illusions, while Song Yuan, moments before succumbing to his injuries while holding the baby, cryptically whispered, "West of the city. . . In the woods. . ." Mr. Chang also recalled that the clay doll left in his place had a hollow head.
Feng Qianli relayed the gathered information to Yingying, who in turn informed Gu Tian that the Hole Ghost was predicted to appear in the West Woods the day after the full moon, which was that very night. Fu Sheng, Gu Tian, and Wen Jue concealed themselves at the woods' entrance. True to the prediction, a figure carrying a baby emerged.
They quickly intercepted the individual, rescuing the child (revealed to be Liu Da's baby), but were then ambushed by a group of assailants. The forest was filled with a disorienting, poisonous fog that induced hallucinations. Fu Sheng, recalling their previous encounter, quickly administered acupuncture to himself and his companions, enabling them to escape the immediate effects of the mist. However, in the chaos, the baby was snatched once more.
The next day, determined to understand the mysterious fog, the trio returned to the woods. Fu Sheng, armed with a bottle, intended to collect and analyze the fog. Despite Gu Tian's and Wen Jue's warnings about the dangers of the poison, Fu Sheng was resolute. He instructed them to knock him unconscious if he lost control after inhaling the fog. As soon as he inhaled a small amount, he collapsed into a profound hallucination.
He awoke later with a throbbing headache, questioning if he had been struck, which his companions playfully denied, attributing his injury to himself. The trio acknowledged the potency of the poison and the difficulty of finding an antidote. They deduced that the perpetrators must possess a method of adapting to or neutralizing the fog's effects, necessitating further study of the fog itself. Separately, in a high-level political discussion, the Lord convened with three elders.
He announced General Dou Tong's execution by Jibei King for defiance and disrespecting royal authority, and sought a trusted successor, for whom they recommended General Du Shang. The Lord then shared news that "Rebel Zhu" was dead, a long-standing threat finally neutralized after over twenty years. Despite this victory, the Lord expressed his deep concern over the whereabouts of the "Bird Jade Plate," stolen by "Sage Zhu" (likely the same "Rebel Zhu") during the King's wedding.
This jade plate was the key to unlocking the "Treasure of the Sealed Book," and its continued absence troubled him greatly. He revealed he had dispatched General Guo Sishui to Xichuan, expecting updates soon.
