Autistic Goblin

This episode starts off with s man carrying a woman into some kind of lab. The man puts the struggling woman down on the floor, and we can see that she has a red string on her wrist.

Roll those opening credits!

After the credits we’re back at the Earthly Inn where the Chief is toasting to the fact they will be going to the Palace soon and will have no more troubles. Jiang Shuo and Yi Heng don’t look too happy about the wait though. Yi Heng looks at his chopsticks it looks like he’s noticed something is off about them.

Jiang Shuo takes a drink but it doesn’t look like he’s very interested in anything. He does start to eat after the toast though. Yi Heng on the other hand doesn’t touch anything on the table. The Chief notices this and comes over to inquire why Dr. Qin isn’t eating anything.

The Chief says that if Yi Heng doesn’t eat anything then he can’t go to the Palace of bliss. The Chief goes to take the string off of Yi Heng’s wrist but Jiang Shuo quickly stops him, saying that Yi Heng is a doctor with OCD and if he won’t eat anything then Jiang Shuo will eat for him.

Chief Yan (the Chief) says that it won’t work, Yi Heng must at least eat some of the vegetables. Chief Yan starts to put some vegetables in front of Yi Heng. Yi Heng decides to eat some vegetables but without using his chopsticks.

Not long after, people around start to fall unconscious. Jiang Shuo realizing that Chief Yan has drugged them, but before he can do anything he falls unconscious too. Yi Heng didn’t manage to escape being drugged either.

They wake up on a boat that has the hunchback guy in paddling it. Jiang Shuo asks the hunchback where they are going, to which he responds that they are on their way to the palace of bliss.

Yi Heng asks him if he always uses the same route. The hunchback says that he goes to fetch people to and from the Palace of Bliss. Yi Heng asks if the river has a name. However the hunchback thinks that it’s just an ordinary river and therefore he doesn’t know its name.

They arrive at a dock with a spacious building. They go into the building that has many lit lamps. The hunchback opens a panel in the floor that has a staircase leading down, he welcomes them to the Palace of Bliss.

Jiang Shuo is the first one down the staircase, but after everyone goes down then the hunchback comes down with a torch offering to lead the way. Down the hallways there are pictures of people with six fingers, which leads Jiang Shuo to the conclusion that it might be the den of the Yan Clan.

They end up entering a room where some of the people from the last trip to the palace are sitting zoned out. There’s a weird smoke in the air. The others start to fall down first, but Yi Heng immediately puts a cloth to his nose and mouth. Jiang Shuo starts to hallucinate seeing Mu Qing, until Yi Heng puts a cloth in front of his face and the illusion breaks.

Jiang Shuo says that Yi Heng came prepared. Yi Heng tells him that while he was in Su Min’s house, he saw books on gas poisoning so he assumed something like this would happen. Jiang Shuo wonders why they are sitting in a circle though.

Yi Heng doesn’t know, but he suggests that they try to wake them up. They try with a few different people but they can’t wake any of them up. Yi Heng suggests that Jiang Shuo try using his coins to get some clues out of them since the poison has reached their cores.

Jiang Shuo uses the coins on the beggar that was near their table the first night. They enter the Psych to find him with two women and lots of money. The failed scholar finally got his scholarship.. and the trend continues with the people in the Psych getting their wishes granted…but only in the Psych.

Yi Heng wonders why they are seeing other people in the Psych instead of just the beggar. Jiang Shuo says it’s still only the beggar’s Psych but he’s projecting the other people as he heard them discussing their wishes at the inn. Jiang Shuo suspects that if they enter another Psych they will see the same.

Jiang Shuo wonders if they should even wake the people up as it seems cruel, especially to the guy that has a family alive and well in the Psych. Yi Heng says that it would be more cruel to leave them dreaming as it will effect their health. Suddenly a woman floats down and tops up the lamps, everyone in the Psych starts acting more crazy. This leads Yi Heng and Jiang Shuo to conclude that the lamps are the mechanism of dispersing the drug. They wake up back in reality.

Jiang Shuo gets up and blows out one of the lamps throwing the victims into withdrawal. A little golden bug flies out and Yi Heng suggests that they might find something by following it.

Mu Qing wakes up in one of the tunnels, and remembers that she was looking for Su Min. She goes down a tunnel and through a small hole in a wall into the room that Yi Heng and Jiang Shuo just left. Mu Qing tries to find out what happened to the people, but they are too busy with withdrawal symptoms to be able to answer her. Mu Qing says that she will go get help, then leaves the room.

Jiang Shuo and Yi Heng follow the bug down a hallway and see more victims lying on the floor. Yi Heng recognizes quite a few of them as wealthy and powerful people from the city. They had disappeared long ago and Yi Heng investigated it because he thought it might be connected to his father’s disappearance.

Jiang Shuo wonders if the victims have realized that the Palace of Bliss is just a mirage. Yi Heng asks Jiang Shuo if he has realized that they farther in they go, the weaker the victims seem to be. Yi Heng says that the murderer is really cruel, sucking the life out of these people.

Jiang Shuo notes that the victims all have the red string on their wrists. He wonders if these victims were to meet the same fate as those in the mass grave. Jiang Shuo turns to Yi Heng and tells him that they have to hurry.

Jiang Shuo and Yi Heng end up coming to a door that is locked. Yi Heng says that since the bug stopped there it must be the drug making room. Yi Heng tells Jiang Shuo to break the lock.

They break into the room to find a laboratory inside. Jiang Shuo sees a woman tied up on the ground and thinking it’s Mu Qing runs over to help her. He doesn’t recognize the woman once he gets closer, but she recognizes Yi Heng.

It turns out that she Liu Qing, Jiang Shuo asks if she has seen Mu Qing but Liu Qing doesn’t know what Jiang Shuo is talking about. Yi Heng unties her and asks her how she ended up in the room. Liu Qing won’t say anything at first, so Jiang shuo gets up and closes the door.

Yi Heng tells her that they can only help if she tells them what happened. Liu Qing says that she was kidnapped when she came back to the country. When she returned to China, she bumped into a gangster that was dying because of an overdose. She had studied medicine in England and all she could think about was helping people.

She ran up to help the man but she didn’t know that another man and woman in the crowd were watching her. They saw that she knew medicine and brought her to see a new medicinal plant. They brought her to the lab and forced her to make drugs for them.

Yi Heng asks if she knows who the kidnappers are. Liu Qing mentions that she knows the woman is Madam Mei (innkeeper) but she doesn’t know the name of the man. However, she did hear Madam Mei call the man Chief.

The two use the drug that Liu Qing made to make money, those that came to the Palace of Bliss were addicted to the drug. They forced her to make the drug everyday and add it into the lamps. She says that the drug is very strong, and once addicted to it a person won’t be able to abstain from it no matter how much money they have.

Liu Qing tells them that she has sinned. Yi Heng tells her it’s not her fault since she was forced to do it against her will. Liu Qing says that even if the world feels she was wronged, in the eyes of the law it’s still a capital offence.

She warns them both to leave before the kidnappers come back. If they find out that that Jiang Shuo and Yi Heng know their secrets.. Yi Heng tells her that they’re not afraid. Jiang Shuo asks Liu Qing that since she’s been locked up there for so long, hasn’t she thought of escaping?

Liu Qing says that she is forced to make the drugs in the cottage everyday of course she’s thought about escaping. She says that she dreams of escaping and wants to see Su Min very badly. She tells them that she had finally duped the kidnappers into believing her and managed to escape.

She ran for a very long time, but the area is surrounded by hills and she got lost. She saw a light and ran towards it, we see a flashback of her in front of their car (she was the woman Mu Qing saw) but the bad people caught up to her and she couldn’t put others at risk, so she could only gesture for help.

It’s Jiang Shuo that makes the connection between the story and the woman Mu Qing saw in the forest that day. Jiang Shuo is even more worried about Mu Qing after that, but Yi Heng says that he’s sure Mu Qing is safe.

Mu Qing is still in the hallways when she bumps into Chief Yan. Chief Yan wonders what she’s doing down there, so she tells him that she came with Su Min. Mu Qing tells him that Su Min was acting odd, then asks if he knew the people out there were unconscious for no reason.

Chief Yan says that he knows where Su Min is and Mu Qing just has to follow him. He’s acting pretty dodgy and even Mu Qing picks up on that so she goes to leave. Chief Yan grabs her.

We then go back to Jiang Shuo and company. Liu Qing says that Su Min is a good guy and must be there to look for her. Yi Heng agrees with Liu Qing about Su Min’s character but unfortunately he’s disappeared too and they have looked all over this place for him. Jiang Shuo says that Su Min is probably looking for her.

The important thing right now though is to catch the two culprits. Liu Qing says that they don’t even let her fill up the lamps anymore since she almost escaped. Jiang Shuo asks her, who does it now then? She says the Chief does it himself. Jiang Shuo says that they will wait for him were the lamps are refilled. They convince Liu Qing to lead them there.

Chief Yan dumps Mu Qing in a room next to Su Min. Su Min tells the Chief that she doesn’t know anything but the Chief disagrees. He says that she knows a lot about the people in the Palace of bliss. Mu Qing calls him crazy but Chief Yan says that he’s the only sober person in the Palace of Bliss.

Mu Qing asks Su Min what’s going on. Su Min apologizes to her as he never thought that she would follow him. He’s been posing as a farmer to dig a secret tunnel into the Palace of Bliss in order to free his fiancée Liu Qing. Mu Qing asks why he didn’t say anything earlier and the answer is because she’s a police officer. If he did all this only to turn Liu Qing in to the authorities his efforts would be wasted.

Madam Mei comes into the room and Chief Yan asks her how things are going out there. Madam Mei comments on the fact that he has two more victims. Then she goes on to say that the fire went out on the first floor and the two guys from the new group have gone missing.

Madam Mei tells Chief Yan that she thinks something isn’t right. Chief Yan reassures her by saying that the two men can’t get out of the Palace of Bliss. Chief Yan tells her not to worry about the fire as he’s already brought up the drugs. He tells her to sit down and relax while he goes to refill the lamps. Madam Mei tells him to keep an eye on his two victims instead while she fills up the lamps then she leaves the room.

Back at the Police station, Sergeant Bai is reading up on the profiles of people that Yi Heng sent him via telegram. Apparently the two people are wanted in multiple countries for murder and robbery. They’ve been laying low for about 6 years now.

Sergeant Bai tells the officers that this won’t be an easy catch, he also tells them to gather the men.

Liu Qing leads the duo up to the ground floor where the lamps that are lit there, lead the drug down into the pipes below. Everyday at noon she would come and fill the lamps. Jiang Shuo says that he knew something was off about those lamps when he first got there.

They hear footsteps coming from the hidden panel and quickly hide. It’s Madam Mei of course, come to fill up the lamps.

Jiang Shuo goes to take her by surprise but she actually knows martial arts so it’s not an easy task. A fight ensues and her fan actually has blades that come out of it. She manages to trip Jiang Shuo but as he twists around he flashes the coins in front of her face, throwing her into the Psych.

We see a memory of Madam Mei and Chief Yan breaking into the cottage’s hidden area and finding boxes marked with Liu Zhi’s symbol. They are both thrilled with their find convinced that their life of vagrancy is over and that they can start a new life in the cottage.

Madam Mei wakes up from the Psych to find herself tied up. Jiang Shuo asks her where Mu Qing is but she doesn’t answer. Yi Heng asks her who her lover is and then he responds with “is it Chief Yan?”. Madam Mei says there’s no reason to tell them since they will never leave this place.

Jiang Shuo asks what she means with her threat, then threatens to leave her trapped in the Psych. Yi Heng tells him that they’ve spent too long up there and can’t afford to be noticed. Yi Heng tells him that they must hide. Jiang Shuo grabs Madam Mei roughly and they head back to the lab.

Jiang Shuo shoves Madam Mei into the lab. Madam Mei complains about how he’s treating a lady, but Jiang Shuo retorts that she’s no lady. He then asks again about Mu Qing. He also asks her if she committed her crimes because of Liu Zhi. Madam Mei claims not to know who Liu Zhi is, so Jiang Shuo clarifies that he’s a member of the Yan Clan.

Madam Mei admits that there was was a masked man that told her and Chief Yan about the Yan Clan treasures here, so that’s why they came. Jiang Shuo asks if she means that the treasures are the Daan herbs. Madam Mei wonders how he knows about the herbs. She asks him if he came for them himself.

Jiang Shuo says that he is asking her once more, who is the masked man. Madam Mei says that she doesn’t know since it’s Yan Clan village but she’s never seen anyone from the Yan Clan. She hasn’t even seen the masked man after he told them about the treasure.

Jiang Shuo says that she better come clean before he turns her in. Madam Mei says that she was curious as to why they came here. However since they know about the Daan herb, she can’t let them go. She then says that she should be leading the negotiating then, if they want to know where Ms. Yuan is.

Yi Heng has figured out that Madam Mei has tricked them into talking and planned this ahead of time. Madam Mei praises Yi Heng for being the smart one. Liu Qing asks about Su Min and Madam Mei says that she has locked both of them up. She says that Su Min dug an underground tunnel to rescue his fiancée, so he must have a death wish.

Liu Qing promises not to try and run away again as long as Su Min is safe. Madam Mei says that her hands are bothering her and she should be let go first. Liu Qing goes to do just that but Yi Heng stops her. He tells her that they need to go outside to talk. Liu Qing goes out first but Yi Heng has to prod Jiang Shuo into leaving the room.

Once outside and with the door closed, Jiang Shuo proposes that they offer to trade hostages. Liu Qing quickly points out that the bad guys have two hostages while they only have one. Yi Heng reminds them that Madam Mei is a martial artist so Chief Yan may not be an easy target either.

Liu Qing wonders what they can do then since they can’t leave Su Min with the bad people as he won’t survive. Just then from inside the room Madam Mei complains that her hands hurt. The trio go back into the room and Jiang Shuo tells Madam Mei to quit acting.

Madam Mei says that her old injury has flared up and they don’t know how important she is. She claims that if she dies, all their plans will go out the window. Yi Heng concedes and tells Liu Qing to look after her while he and Jiang Shuo leave them alone in the room.

Madam Mei uses the alone time to tell Liu Qing that she and Su Min must be lovers, she can tell. After all Su Min did come all the way to the village for her. Su Min knew that he was being watched in the village and couldn’t come to the cottage openly, so he dug the underground tunnel instead.

Madam Mei continues to try and worm her way into Liu Qing’s good graces by saying that she understands Liu Qing’s longings as she’s a woman too. She says that the two men are only here for Mu Qing and they don’t care about Liu Qing or Su Min.

Madam Mei promises that if Liu Qing helps her, she will let Liu Qing and Su Min leave together. When Liu Qing doesn’t budge, Madam Mei tries a different tactic. She asks Liu Qing how many people she has gotten addicted to drugs, and how many people have died because of her?

Madam Mei tells her that even if she runs away with Su Min people will come after her for what she’s done. Jiang Shuo and Yi Heng come back into the room and ask if Madam Mei has pulled anything.

Liu Qing lies and says no. While the two are busy with Madam Mei, Liu Qing goes into a cupboard to grab something. She comes back and sprays them with powder knocking them both unconscious. Madam Mei calls the two men brats for trying to outsmart her. She then tells Liu Qing to tie them up and she will take her to Su Min.

Sergeant Bai arrives in the village with a lot of cops. He finds Yi Heng’s car but no sign of anyone else. He splits his forces into teams to check out the area. One of the teams comes back after finding the dead body at the ancestral hall. Another group returns with villagers that claim not to anything. Sergeant Bai orders them to be interrogated.

A team leader reports about the mass grave in the back that has about 40-50 bodies that all died of poisoning. Sergeant Bai orders the man to take him to the hills but not before someone else brings Sergeant Bai the map that Yi Heng and Jiang Shuo were using to find the Yin River.

Liu Qing is finally reunited with Su Min and Chief Yan wonders why Madam Mei brought her to the room. Madam Mei says that thanks to Liu Qing the two men have been caught and they are in the drug making room. Madam Mei says that they are no longer a threat.

Mu Qing calls her an evil woman and warns her that if anything happens to them, she won’t let her off. Mu Qing dares Madam Mei to kill her, so Madam Mei prepares to do just that. Liu Qing stops her though and says that they should keep all three of them alive to be lab rats for the new drugs.

Liu Qing says that the new drugs produce stronger hallucinations and the addiction is stronger as well. Chief Yan wonders where the new drug is, so Liu Qing tells him that they are downstairs. Su Min can’t believe that Liu Qing is siding with evil duo.

They start to move Mu Qing and Su Min to the lab, when Liu Qing comes to get Su Min he tells her that he doesn’t know her anymore. Liu Qing can only apologize to Su Min.

The officers are escorting the hunchback into interrogation when Sergeant Bai notices his shoes and asks about them. The officers say that when they found him, he wasn’t wearing any so they gave him some shoes. The man claimed to be a boatman. The other officer points out that the area is surrounded by hills so where is this man’s boat?

The hunchback says that the river is deep in the forest. Sergeant Bai flashes back to the map and asks the man if it’s called the Yin River. The man says that he’s heard people call it that which leads Sergeant Bai to ask if it also leads to the Palace of Bliss. The hunchback is surprised that Sergeant Bai knows about that too. Sergeant Bai then orders his officers to take the man to Yin River.

The hunchback leads them deep into the forest. An officer comments that the place is pretty secluded and they wouldn’t have found the river because it’s hiding behind the forest. Sergeant Bai interrogates the boatman but he’s not very helpful.

In the end Sergeant Bai and some of the officers board the boat with the boatman while others take the second the boat.

Back inside the Palace of Bliss the group goes down to the laboratory and Chief Yan shoves Mu Qing through the door only to discover that Jiang Shuo and Yi Heng aren’t tied up there. He wonders where they went, when the two initiate a surprise attack on him and Madam Mei.

Sergeant Bai and his team arrive at the cottage and tell the hunchback to lead the way.

Back in the lab, the fight continues and Madam Mei realizes that the good guys tricked her and Liu Qing was never on her side. We get a brief flashback of the trio making plans to save everyone. The fight continues, during which Chief Yan gets his head knocked on the corner of the table in the lab. He falls down either dead or unconscious either way a pool of blood starts to form.

Jiang Shuo and Yi Heng manage to grab Madam Mei and she’s worried about Chief Yan saying that the others will pay for what they’ve done.

Unfortunately during the fight Su Min was fatally stabbed. Liu Qing holds him in her arms as they say goodbye, Su Min reminds her that as long as she wears the red string on her wrist, he will find her.

We then get a flashback to when they were together as a couple and he says the same words to her. Then another flashback to Liu Qing convincing Madam Mei to have the victims wear red string, the knots were to represent the level of poisoning so they could adjust the drug as necessary. The real reason of course was to help Su Min find and save her.

Roll those end credits because that’s the end of Episode 24!