Treasure at Dawn Episode 22 Recap
> Treasure at Dawn Recap
After Gu Tian surreptitiously obtained the "divine water" from the witch doctors, Fu Sheng examined it and discovered it was merely common medicine for colds. He noted that these witch doctors only knew this single remedy. The village chief then appeared, admitting that the witch doctors exploited this medicine, attributing its effects to divine blessings, to gain the villagers' trust.
He revealed that they misused this trust to create poisonous mist from the Tianyi tribe's unique heart-eater grass, which they used as the "Hole Ghost" to abduct infants and expand their tribe. Additionally, they established poisonous barriers around the village, isolating its inhabitants from the outside world. Having lost the villagers' faith himself, the chief implored Fu Sheng to expose the witch doctors' evil deeds. Fu Sheng inquired if a man named Song Yuan had visited the village years ago.
The chief vividly recalled Song Yuan, who had rescued a child but was poisoned by the heart-eater grass mist when he broke through the barrier. Villagers then seized a mountain-shaped jade pendant from Song Yuan and presented it to the witch doctors. The chief promised to give the jade to Fu Sheng if he helped reveal the witch doctors' deception.
Unbeknownst to them, Tian Yu overheard this conversation and promptly relayed the information to the witch doctors, led by Immortal Qin. The witch doctors decided to use the name of the gods to eliminate Fu Sheng. They also discussed Wen Jue, the only daughter of City Lord Wen Yu and the Young Mistress of Xichuan.
While they intended to appease her to elevate their own status in the city, they planned to get rid of Fu Sheng and his companions by making an example of those he saved, sending them "to serve the gods" right before their eyes. That night, parents whose child had been abducted heard a knock at their door. Upon opening it, they found a man calling himself Immortal Wang, who returned their baby.
Immortal Wang claimed the child was possessed by a demon and performed a dramatic ritual. Feigning exhaustion and near-death after his "heroic" efforts, he convinced the couple to hand over all their savings for a supposed rare medicine. He then warned them that the "Hole Ghost" might seek revenge, advising them to leave Xichuan and keep their child's return a secret to avoid further trouble. Meanwhile, Immortal Qin orchestrated a public spectacle.
He had Tian Yu tied up and, before the villagers, burned a mud doll. The villagers, under the influence of the smoke, hallucinated, seeing a dark mist enter Fu Sheng. Immortal Qin declared Fu Sheng possessed by an evil spirit and called for his immediate elimination. Recognizing the familiar scent, Fu Sheng quickly rescued Tian Yu and fled the scene. The next day, Gu Tian secretly tracked Immortal Wang.
He confronted the charlatan in front of the distraught couple, exposing his tricks. Immortal Wang confessed to his petty deceptions, explaining his use of alkaline water and turmeric water to create the illusion of a visible ghost on paper. Gu Tian revealed that the witch doctors, posing as the "Hole Ghost," had been stealing children, and Immortal Wang would then "return" them to extort money, convincing the families to leave to prevent exposure. Enraged, the couple attacked Immortal Wang.
Gu Tian prevented them from killing him but encouraged them to beat him. Elsewhere, Wen Jue bravely created a diversion to allow Fu Sheng and Tian Yu to escape the pursuing witch doctors. She was captured by Wang Zhong, who questioned her about Fu Sheng's whereabouts. Wen Jue feigned ignorance, prompting Wang Zhong to order Tian Gou to continue the search.
After regaining some composure from his asthma attack, Tian Yu apologized to Fu Sheng for informing Immortal Qin, which led to their current predicament. He explained that Immortal Qin had saved his life multiple times due to his asthma, earning his deep trust. Tian Yu revealed that Immortal Qin would craft mud dolls with hollow heads, filling them with cotton and heart-eater grass.
On the 15th of each month, before stealing a baby, he would ignite the mud doll's head and place it in the house. Once the adults inhaled the fumes and began to hallucinate, he would sneak in and swap the baby with a mud doll. Tian Yu further clarified that while the Tianyi tribe had developed immunity to heart-eater grass, the general populace had not. He admitted to having helped Qin Miao make these dolls.
Fu Sheng tasted the mud doll and identified ingredients like agarwood, sandalwood, cinnabar, and the highly rare hallucinogen, mandragora. He deduced that since the Tianyi tribe had become resistant to heart-eater grass, Immortal Qin required a more potent hallucinogen to maintain his control. Tian Yu then recalled that Wang Bo and Wang Zhong, Immortal Qin's subordinates, frequently visited "Dead Man Cliff," a place Immortal Qin claimed was haunted by wandering ghosts.
Tian Yu explained that villagers who dared to go saw mysterious "ghost fires" floating up from the cliff. Fu Sheng realized these were merely phosphorescence from decaying matter, and Tian Yu agreed to guide him to the cliff. Upon arriving at Dead Man Cliff, Fu Sheng and Tian Yu found themselves cornered at the cave entrance by Immortal Qin and his men. Gu Tian, acting as a diversion, lured the witch doctors away.
Seizing the opportunity, Fu Sheng rescued Wen Jue, untying her, and together they made their escape. Immortal Qin soon realized he had been outmaneuvered. Later, Immortal Qin falsely announced to the villagers that he had angered the gods and must leave. The desperate villagers pleaded with him to stay and save them. At this critical moment, Tian Yu and Fu Sheng executed their plan. Tian Yu dramatically presented Wen Jue and Fu Sheng, ostensibly captured, to Immortal Qin.
As Immortal Qin prepared to execute Fu Sheng publicly, Fu Sheng used mandragora to induce a collective hallucination among the villagers. They witnessed a "double" of Immortal Qin confessing all his wicked deeds. Immortal Qin vehemently protested, claiming that gods and ghosts were mere illusions, which Fu Sheng used to expose that Immortal Qin's previous "miracles" were also just illusions.
Fu Sheng then revealed that Immortal Qin was currently trapped within "his" illusion, and thus his confession was audible to all the villagers. Fu Sheng then burned a paper talisman, seemingly summoning a "Heavenly Immortal." This "Heavenly Immortal" directly accused Immortal Qin of his heinous acts and bound him with a "Soul-binding Chain." The villagers, having witnessed the "Heavenly Immortal" conjured by Fu Sheng and heard Immortal Qin's admission of deceit, believed their own eyes.
