Original subtitles

=Sword Rose=

=Episode 22=

It says Deng Yan

took bribes

by abusing her position.

She's already been suspended.

Took bribes?

Deng Yan?

Suspended?

Chief Xiao.

Are you serious

right now?

Do I look like I'm joking?

Then did Secretary Wei from the Discipline Committee

jump the gun?

Did they have evidence?

They found a leather bag

in Deng Yan's closet at home.

It had 80,000 yuan in cash.

Neither Deng Yan nor her family

could explain where the money came from.

So they think

that's concrete proof now?

Xiao...

Well, Chief Xiao,

do you believe Deng Yan is the type to pull something like this?

Of course, I don't buy it.

But there's a big sum of unexplained cash just sitting there.

You get what I'm saying?

You know how long Deng Yan has worked

in the Anti-abduction Office.

She's done amazing work

and caught many crooks.

Don't you think it's possible

someone's trying to frame her or get revenge?

Han!

The Discipline Committee

and Secretary Wei think this case

might be more complicated,

but they have to follow protocol.

The Discipline Committee is leading the investigation

into Deng Yan.

The Criminal Police Unit needs to cooperate.

For now,

Yin will take over

her duties temporarily at the Anti-abduction Office.

Chief Xiao, you were the one who picked Deng Yan in the first place.

Why didn't you talk to the Discipline Committee?

This will only discourage her.

You're pulling her from the Anti-abduction Office...

All right, I'll handle it.

Fine.

Ms. Meilian.

Do you know how dangerous it was yesterday?

That truck

almost hit Madam Zhang.

From now on,

we need

to be extra careful.

She can't go out alone anymore.

No,

we need to talk to Madam Zhang about this.

All right. Let's do it.

Madam Zhang,

what are you mumbling about?

I just feel like

there's something I'm forgetting.

But

I can't remember what it is.

Zhang,

from now on,

you've got to let us know before you go out.

We can go with you.

That's right. It was a really close call yesterday.

Right.

Okay.

I'm sorry for making you worry.

It's fine.

I just...

I feel like

there's something I want

to say...

The more I think

about it...

Never mind.

We'll talk to her about it another time.

Okay.

I...

(Missing Person)

Where's Ranran's photo?

Where did it go?

It's not here.

(Missing Person)

Don't move!

I remember now.

I remember everything.

(Missing Person)

This...

I remember it.

I remember it all!

This...

I remember everything.

(Missing Person)

This...

(Tuanyuan Restaurant)

Director Deng?

Please come to the restaurant right away.

Madam Zhang says

she has something important to tell you.

I'll be right there.

Sir,

I'm selling it to you all together.

You're a smart boy.

If you sold it separately,

you'd get just 29.

Because it's a bulk sale, I'll pay you 35.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Take this.

Thank you.

All right. Take care.

Hello?

Xiaobing?

Yuan.

Can you call my dad over?

I need to talk to him.

Didn't you hear?

Your dad's condition relapsed again.

He's been bedridden for a week now.

My dad and the other adults are taking care of him.

Hello?

Yuan?

Xiaoguang.

(Tuanyuan Restaurant)

Madam Zhang, what did you need to tell me?

Yanyan.

Listen,

the guy who was on TV...

the...

the wanted criminal!

- Wanted criminal? - The wanted criminal. Yes.

He came

to the restaurant.

The wanted criminal showed up here?

Yes.

He...

He asked

a lot about Ranran.

When he saw her photo,

he acted like

he knew her.

He's the trafficker

who kidnapped Ranran!

Madam Zhang,

I'll show you a photo.

Is this the man?

Yes, that's him!

That's definitely him!

When was he here?

The night before last.

He was sitting right there.

Okay, got it.

I'm going after him.

Look after Madam Zhang.

I thought he looked suspicious

the other night.

He didn't seem like a good guy.

Don't worry. We'll catch him.

Captain Han.

Come in.

Captain Han, I have an urgent report.

What's so urgent?

Go ahead.

It's about Zhou Hongcai.

Tuanyuan...

Hold on.

Deng Yan,

you're still suspended.

Captain Han,

but this is really important...

Zhou Hongcai...

Sit down first.

Take a seat and tell me.

Sit down and talk.

Here's the situation.

Zhou Hongcai went to Tuanyuan Restaurant

asking about Lin Ran.

So I suspect Zhou Hongcai might be connected

to Lin Ran's case.

And?

I know I'm not allowed to be involved

in arresting Zhou Hongcai,

but even if I can only help a little,

I want to do my part.

Deng Yan,

if I approve this,

I'd be

breaking the rules.

If I don't approve it,

well, I know you're innocent.

How am I supposed to answer that?

As director

of the Anti-abduction Office

and as a police officer,

if you always act

on your own judgment,

then what's the point of laws

and regulations? Right?

Let's not even get into your suspension.

Even if you were reinstated,

given the way things are now...

Sure,

having empathy

is good.

But too much of it

can mess

with how you handle the case.

You wouldn't be able to see this through with a clear head.

I think this is for the best.

You should go back

and wait

for the Discipline Committee's

next update. All right?

Deng Yan,

do you trust

the system?

I do.

Then, for now, go back.

New update.

I just heard

that Zhou Hongcai went to Tuanyuan Restaurant

asking about Lin Ran.

Lin Ran?

That's an old case.

Lin Ran is Madam Zhang's daughter from Tuanyuan Restaurant,

and she's also Director Deng's childhood friend.

She was abducted when she was very young.

Director Deng was actually a witness in that case.

I just ran

into Director Deng.

She was coming out of Captain Han's office

and looked really upset.

It's probably because she's suspended

and can't be involved in Zhou Hongcai's case.

She must be

so frustrated

about being held back.

What do you guys think about the money

they found at her place?

It has to be a setup.

Enough with the gossip.

Don't you guys have work to do?

Not watching, Xin?

I have something else to do.

All right.

(Linshan City Police Bureau)

Director Deng.

Mr. Yin.

Captain Han mentioned you stopped by earlier.

Why didn't you check on the Anti-abduction Office?

I'm not here to comfort you.

You've got to trust the system.

The truth will come out in the end.

Well, you don't need me to cheer you up.

You're the backbone of the Anti-abduction Office.

Right?

Thanks, Mr. Yin.

I'm fine.

I'll let you get back to work.

All right.

How did he know about me?

He even came looking for me.

Yes.

How did he track you down?

And how did you end up

involving him in our business?

You and Wai aren't working together, are you?

Gang.

You don't actually suspect me, do you?

It wasn't me.

I swear,

it really wasn't me!

What possible reason would I have?

That's hard to say.

Maybe you want

to cut me out and go solo.

Gang,

I swear it's not me.

Everything I have

is because of you.

If I ever even thought about that,

may I be struck by lightning.

Gang,

I'm just a woman.

How could I dare?

I don't have that kind of capability.

You know exactly

what I'm capable of.

If it wasn't you,

then could it be him?

Gang,

who are you talking about?

Never mind.

So,

what do we do now?

He knows who you are.

And the police are all over him.

Gang,

are you really planning to hide him forever?

That old guy's a ticking time bomb.

If he blows up,

we're both done for.

You're right.

Gang,

maybe we should

take care of him while he's

in our control...

Slowly.

Qi,

I...

I can't make it tomorrow.

It's okay.

It's just my old injury acting up.

Yuan's aunt is coming tomorrow.

You don't need to come by every day.

We live in the same village. We help each other.

You just rest and take it easy.

Once I finish all my work,

I'll take you to the hospital in the city.

I'm sorry for the trouble.

It's nothing.

Mr. Qi.

Mr. Qi.

Who is it?

Who are you

looking for?

Is Mr. Qi home?

Yes, he's here.

He's right here.

Please come in.

- Mr. Qi. - Officer Yan.

What happened?

Why are you here?

Is your back bothering you?

My lumbar disc is acting up.

It's an old problem.

Mr. Qi.

Did Yuan

come back to see you?

No, he didn't.

Is something wrong with Yuan?

He left earlier than we.

Why hasn't he shown up yet?

That boy probably

didn't want to spend money on a ride

and got held up.

Mr. Qi.

Yuan might have

sneaked back to see you.

But don't worry,

he's a big boy now.

He won't get lost.

I'm going to go look for him now.

Officer Yan.

He likes

to take the little path along the river.

Got it. You rest up.

Mr. Sun.

Make yourself comfortable.

Don't mind me, Mr. Qi.

You should lie down.

Easy there.

Qi,

you have a guest.

I'll head out now.

Go ahead.

Thanks.

Don't mention it. I'll leave now.

Thank you.

Well,

how's it going with Yuan?

It's going well.

But he still needs

some time to adjust.

He'll get used

to it.

He must have missed you so much

that he snuck out.

That makes me feel better.

He used to go

into the city with me to collect recyclables.

He knows that road well.

Mr. Qi,

that boy was sickly

when he was little.

You must have spent a lot on him.

I had

saved up 20,000 back then,

planning to get married.

But then I found Yuan...

That's a life.

So I spent the money.

Mr. Qi,

how could you bear

to send him back to me?

You don't understand.

Our village is poor.

There's only one school.

All the kids, from toddlers to teens,

are taught by just one teacher.

His teacher was kind.

He knew we were struggling,

so he looked out for Yuan.

Now Yuan is about

to start middle school.

The teacher told me

Yuan's a good kid.

He could even

get into college someday.

I didn't want to send him away either.

But we have to do what's best for him.

Yuan's always been a clever child.

His birth parents

must be well-educated.

If it weren't for the traffickers,

Yuan never would have ended up with me.

But no matter what,

we can't hold back the kid's future, right?

Right.

Xiaoguang,

is this the back massager you bought for your dad?

That's very thoughtful of you.

Mr. Qi. Mr. Sun.

We brought him home.

Xiaoguang.

Yuan!

- Yuan! - Dad!

Are you feeling better?

Don't get up.

Mr. Qi,

Sun Xiaoguang knew about your back problem

and got this back massager especially for you.

He didn't want to spend money on the way back,

so he hitched rides and walked a lot.

That's why it took so long.

Now that Yuan's home safe, we can finally breathe easy.

We've got work to do, so we'll get going.

Get some good rest.

Thank you all so much.

It's no trouble at all.

Don't worry about it.

Mr. Sun.

The boy is in your care now.

Don't run off again.

Take care.

Yuan,

you shouldn't have spent money on this.

My back injury is an old problem.

I just need to lie down for a bit and it'll be fine.

Let's return this.

Save the money for his education.

Xiaoguang,

you skipped breakfast

and used the money from selling recyclables

to buy this, didn't you?

I misunderstood you.

You should've told me

about Mr. Qi.

I would have bought it for him.

We could've come to visit him together.

Running off alone

was too dangerous.

It's not just me who worries about you.

Mr. Qi worries about you too.

Mr. Qi,

I'm sorry.

I didn't care for you enough.

On behalf of his mother,

I thank you.

You gave him a second chance at life.

It's the least I could do.

Can we bring my dad into the city too?

Of course.

Why didn't I think of that?

That won't work.

Xiaobing's dad is here,

and your aunt...

Lie back down.

We're all used to living together here.

If I went to the city,

I wouldn't even know east from west.

I'd be completely lost.

I wouldn't be used to it.

Mr. Qi,

please come back with us.

Yuan,

be good.

Go back with your father.

Mr. Qi,

please come with us.

Dad...

Can I stay here and take care of him?

It won't affect my studies.

We'll stay here together

and look after Mr. Qi.

That won't do.

You can't do that!

Calm down.

Yuan is about to start middle school.

You can't...

If he stays, it will affect his education.

Yuan,

go back with your dad!

Mr. Qi, lie down.

Mr. Qi.

I've thought about it.

You were worried

about education in the village, right?

Now the Youth League Central Committee has

a poverty alleviation program.

I'll sign up and apply

to teach in the village.

That way,

Xiaoguang won't have to go back,

and you won't have

to worry about his schooling.

That's not possible.

The...

- The boy... - Mr. Qi...

Mr. Qi.

Please don't get up.

You raised him for 11 years.

Xiaoguang wants

to stay and take care of you.

He's my only emotional support.

Please give me this chance.

Do you mean it?

Yes.

I just thought of it a moment ago.

Dad...

Dad...

Madam Zhang?

Madam Zhang?

Xiaoxing.

You stayed here all night?

I...

Yes.

Yes.

I was waiting for a call.

A call?

What call?

Well...

Yanyan went out

to catch the child trafficker, right?

If they catch him,

they might have news about Ranran.

I'm waiting to hear something.

Why didn't you just wait

at home?

You can't just sleep here.

I couldn't find

my phone.

I thought

if they called the restaurant,

I'd be here to answer.

Madam Zhang,

how about this?

Go home and get some rest.

I'll wait for the call for you, okay?

I'm not tired.

I can sit here and wait.

Madam Zhang,

if you keep this up

and Ranran comes back,

she'll feel awful

seeing you like this.

You need to get some sleep.

I'm fine.

The moment I heard

there might be news about Ranran,

I stopped feeling tired.

I'm fine.

I'm wide awake.

Okay,

then I'll wait with you.

Okay.

Leave the door open.

All right.

Open all the doors.

I'll make you something to eat.

(Missing Person)

You like playing games, huh?

Like to mess around?

Let's try something new.

Old man,

don't get nervous.

I'll be back to have some real fun with you.

Boss,

I was just dealing with that old guy.

You took care of him?

That guy was so arrogant.

I want to make him suffer a little more.

Make it quick.

Don't leave any loose ends.

Who's that?

Who threw that?

Where are your manners?

I'm watching you!

Throwing stuff again, huh?

Gang,

I'm going to finish him off now.

Open up!

I know you're in there!

Old man, behave yourself.

If you make a sound,

I'll end you when I come back.

Is this the right apartment?

Yes, this is the one.

Open up!

Open up!

I know you're in there.

Open up!

The lights are on.

Open up!

If you don't open the door, I'm calling the police!

What do you want?

What...

What were you doing?

You almost killed someone!

You're disturbing the peace.

There are neighbors living above and below.

You should think about that.

Is that all?

Wait. We didn't solve anything.

He had quite the attitude too.

Open up!

Open up!

Open up!

Open this door right now!

Open up!

If you don't open up, I'm calling the police!

What do you want?

You disturbed the neighborhood.

You can't just walk in

without saying a word.

You have an attitude problem too.

If you're going to act like that,

then let's settle this at the police station.

Wait.

You bothered him too.

Keep it down.

That's more like it. Let's go.

Lucky day.

We got 200 for nothing.

Let's go eat at that place again.

(Linshan City Police Bureau)

Vice Director Yin,

the station got a report.

A resident said they saw someone who looked like Zhou Hongcai

climbing out of an apartment window.

Where?

Fuhua Residential Area, Beigou Street.

Let's go.

Get Chang Rui to come along.

All right.

He climbed down that window along the wall.

A lot of us saw it.

The guy looked old.

He had a wound on his face.

Wearing a hat. Carrying a backpack.

He looked panicked.

So I called the police right away.

My friend and I were walking by

when a glass bottle came flying down from an upper floor.

I looked up

and another one came down.

What if that bottle had hit me

in the head?

That could have been serious. It was dangerous.

Did you see which apartment it came from?

That one.

That window.

It was thrown from there.

- Zhang Tao. - I saw it myself.

Come here.

(Police)

Are you the landlady?

I am.

But we didn't sign a lease.

I had no idea they were involved in something like this.

Officer,

I'm a victim too.

All right.

Wait here.

He was about this tall.

He took off running in a flash.

He ran really fast.

Well,

I went upstairs to confront him...

What did you find?

Based on the investigation,

the place was a temporary rental

with no lease signed,

so no records were left.

From the damaged railing

and fingerprints on the wall,

it looks like at least two people

were involved.

There are also signs that someone was being held there.

According to eyewitness descriptions,

the person who climbed out the window

matches the age

and build of Zhou Hongcai.

A case of criminals turning on each other.

Have you seen a hat, backpack, or pair of shoes like this?

We're from the Linshan City Police Bureau.

Have you seen an older man, about 60 years old,

with gray hair, wearing a beige plaid shirt?

No, I haven't seen anyone like that.

What about a younger man,

maybe in his early 20s?

Short hair, black clothes,

kind of aggressive-looking.

He went that way. Couldn't see him after he went further.

That way.

Vice Director Yin,

we've almost finished searching this area.

Nothing turned up.

After him!

Stop right there!

The suspect got into a small truck.

Plate number C89392.

(Linshan City Police Bureau)

(Intersection)

According to Vice Director Yin's description

and the surveillance footage,

Zhou Hongcai was in that small truck.

But once it turned down a narrow alley,

it disappeared from all the cameras.

Yan Lei and Feng

have already gone to find the truck driver.

We don't know if they'll get anything useful.

What about the rental apartment?

We checked. It was rented under a fake name.

The landlady said she never saw the tenant

and doesn't know Zhou Hongcai.

We've already issued a citywide wanted alert for Zhou Hongcai,

so he's definitely trying

to get away.

I'll talk with Vice Director Yin

and organize another search.

(Tianhai Lucky Entertainment Center)

(Gang)

Still not answering the phone.

Wu, that idiot.

Has he taken care of the old guy yet?

Boss,

Wai ran off.

You need to find him

and make sure he never talks again.

The police will catch him before you do.

Understood.

Keep an eye on the police.

The moment they get close,

we strike first.

Got it.

Chang Rui.

I think Wai might try

to take an unlicensed cab to get out of the city.

He just arrived in Linshan,

so he doesn't know his way around yet.

The only place he knows for an illegal cab

is the place where he got off last time.

Let's head back to the terminal.

Okay.

(Noodles)

Why hasn't Yanyan called yet?

Madam Zhang,

if Director Deng hears anything,

she'll let you know right away.

Would you like something to eat?

You haven't eaten or had anything to drink.

If Yanyan comes back

and sees you like this,

she'll be so worried.

I'll make you some noodles.

Yanyan!

Is your daughter's name Lin Ran?

Who are you?

That doesn't matter.

I...

I know where Lin Ran is.

Lady,

I want 10,000.

Not 100,000.

Just bring the money

to the bus stop on Qingcheng Road

right now.

I'll be waiting there.

All right?

Qingcheng Road!

♪What kind of person do you want to be?♪

♪A beacon in the night, lighting the way for others♪

♪A brave soul♪

♪No matter the role I play♪

♪My heart stays true♪

♪Through it all, I became who I am♪

♪I walked my youth with nothing to regret♪

♪Bearing love's pain, I fight for the impossible♪

♪Never letting down those unwavering eyes♪

♪Go on river, just keep flowing♪

♪With steady eyes, I raise my hand♪

♪The gentle strength of navy blue, one moment etched in eternity♪

♪Once I choose this path, I won't turn back♪

♪Let time come and go as it will♪

♪There's always someone behind the spotlight♪

♪What we cherish in time stays forever new♪

♪Just like my heart♪

♪It will never rust♪

♪This heart in navy blue♪

♪Will never rust♪WEBVTT

♪Will never rust♪