01x21 - Episode 21

[bunniefuu]

[Shadow Punisher]

[Divine Constable Tally]

[Episode 21]

Li Si,

is the one in front of you

your master, Li San?

Li Si has harbored a major criminal

and colluded with Liluo.

He is hereby stripped of
his post as Divine Constable

and shall receive the same sentence
as the major criminal!

Chief!

Take him alive.

Yes!

Yes.

The enemy who m*rder*d your entire family

is already dead.

He's gotten

the punishment he deserved.

Give me the body.

He raised me for many years.

I will never let his remains

be desecrated by others.

Desecrated?

My parents' bodies

were left without burial for years.

My younger brother, Shen Lan—

to this day

I don't even know where his body lies!

And he

gets to die and have it all end there?

Your brother's body

is now lying in the imperial mausoleum.

He died...

in place of a man named Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan?

The Fourth Prince, Zhou Yan?

How do you know?

Meng Rui,

if you think

k*lling my master alone is not enough,

k*ll me too.

I only hope

you won't spend the rest of your life

consumed by hatred,

and that you won't

become someone like Tang Wei.

Who are you, really?

The Reaper Sword

is the most sinister blade in the world.

You've already been driven by hatred,

and your sword heart
has fallen into darkness.

If you take it one step further,

you will reach the Demon Sword realm—
a state

where all human attachments
and emotions are severed.

When that happens,

you will lose your reason

and become a murderous demon

like your master, Dao Yin.

Tell me,

who are you really?

Meng Rui, stop!

Qingyang.

Meng Rui.

You stabbed me with your sword

when we first met.

Now,

you've done it again.

Li Qingyang!

Li Qingyang!

Qingyang!

Qingyang!

Qingyang!

Li Si!

Li Si!

Li Si!

Meng Rui!

Li Si!

Li Si!

Meng Rui!

Your Highness.

My princess consort.

[Ji Hongyi, Princess Ding]

No.

I'm no longer Prince Ding.

Why are you still here?

Go.

Your Highness,

my family was short-sighted
and even went so far as

to smuggle government salt,

dragging Your Highness down with them.

I can only atone

with my death.

[A Clear Heart and an Upright Nature]

If I hadn't given the order
and approved it,

how could those relatives of yours
in the countryside

ever have had the nerve, or the means,

to do such a thing?

I deliberately kept it from you

and put your family up to
committing crimes.

How could it be?

How could it be you?

You are just a fool!

[A Clear Heart and an Upright Nature]

You're just a lowly woman

I picked up outside Tianhuang City



You should've died

back then!

Listen carefully:

I've never loved you.

Get out!

Your Highness,

you kept this from me all along

to protect me, right?

Seventeen years ago,

I was fortunate to
have Your Highness take pity on me.

For the rest of my life...

I will never leave you.

Stop talking.

Leave.

Get out!

Who's there?

The Princess Consort
is deeply devoted to you,

and you

clearly care for her
just as much, Your Highness.

So why

say such cruel things to hurt her?

Lou Tianming?

How did you get in here?

It took some effort.

I k*lled a guard

and changed into his uniform.

Even so,

I could only make it

as far as this side hall
of the Cold Palace.

The Yuque Palace in Tianhuang City

is indeed heavily guarded.

You've...

come to k*ll me?

Why would I k*ll you,

a fallen prince

stripped of his title?

The Emperor may have stripped you

[A Clear Heart and an Upright Nature]

of your title,

but once he passes away,

someone must take

the throne.

When all is said and done,

your only real rival

is still the Crown Prince.

Your Highness,

why not cooperate with Liluo?

How would we cooperate?

Think about it, Your Highness.

The Crown Prince is just a mediocrity.

And who do you think

secured his position as Crown Prince?

Mother,

you have wrinkles around your eyes now.

Is it because I

[Zhou Ye, Grand Heir Apparent]

make you worry every day?

As people grow older,

wrinkles naturally appear.

Come on, sit.

If I never grew old,

how could you

ever grow up?

Then I... won't grow up.

By the way, Mother,

I want to go visit Grandfather.

I wonder

if he's any better.

Your Highness the Crown Princess.

Your Highness the Crown Princess,

it's time for His Highness
to take his medicine.

Your Highness the Crown Princess.

Ye,

be a good boy
and finish your medicine first.

Then get some good sleep.

We'll talk when you wake up.

The little Grand Heir Apparent, Zhou Ye,

resembles the late Fourth Prince Zhou Yan
quite closely,

in both appearance

and temperament.

Zhou Yan, oh, Zhou Yan.

My dear,

lovable fourth brother.

You've been dead for so many years,

yet you still won't leave us in peace.

[A Clear Heart and an Upright Nature]

But what can

a dead man possibly do?

Whether in the past

or now,

when a man dies, his influence fades.

Once the little Grand Heir Apparent
is gone,

what will that useless Zhou Tiao

rely on to regain the Emperor's favor?

However senile the Emperor may be,

he'd still know whom to choose.

There's no need for Your Highness
to dirty your own hands.

I'm willing to serve Your Highness

with all my might.

I only hope that once Your Highness
ascends the throne,

you will help me restore Liluo.

I'm confined

and cannot leave this palace.

Only with this token

can you mobilize my men.

Thank you, Your Highness.

[Winter's Haven]

[Transcendent Mastery]

Meng Rui.

Come on, let's have a drink.

You only get a few friends

in a lifetime

who'd go through hell and back with you.

I know you have a feud with the demon-men.

But you should've

settled that with his master.

What does that have to do
with Li Qingyang?

Do you really have to hate him so blindly

that you sever all ties with him?

Did

the demon-men k*ll your whole family?

Really?

I...

I didn't mean it that way.

To tell you the truth,

the Chief

once suspected Li Qingyang.

She even had me follow him secretly.

Actually,

I suspected him at first too.

But that's the thing with that kid.

He keeps everything bottled up

and never tells us a thing.

Suspicion is one thing,

but if anyone dares claim that Qingyang

is an accomplice of the demon-men

or has harmed the country,

I, Yan Cheng, will be the first to object.

I believe in him.

I'd stake my life on him.

Just based on the fact
that he risked his life to save you

and Zhenzhu!

He's my buddy.

I believe in him.

[Transcendent Mastery]

Meng Rui!

[Divine Constable Bureau]

Li Si,

I believe you're

still alive.

Wherever you may be,

I only hope

you will overcome every danger

and remain safe and sound.

My Lady.

This subject wouldn't presume.

Chief.

Your Highness is of imperial blood.

This subject wouldn't dare overstep.

Xuanyuan Shan.

This subject, Xuanyuan Shan,
pays her respects to you, Fourth Prince.

Long live Your Highness.

Aunt.

Yan.

Aunt,

how did you find out my true identity?

You intentionally used
the Spice-Refining Case

to have Zhenzhu and the others find

the puppet doll
at the Star-Gathering Pavilion.

All of that

was so you could join
the Divine Constable Bureau.

After that,

you tried every possible means

to get into the Tianshu Pavilion

to look through the case file
on Shen Baoquan's family.

From that moment on,

I had my suspicions.

Then...

how did you find out
Meng Rui's background?

Even if

you'd said nothing,

I could've guessed a thing or two

just from seeing him
thrust his sword at you.

If it weren't for his brother Shen Lan,

how could I be alive today?

I had thought that

this time...

I would just pay him back with my life.

Who would have thought

he would show me mercy?

Calm down. Calm down.

I've fed you the medicine

Li San left behind.

My master...

He's been buried.

For a Liluo heretic,

that's already more mercy
than he deserved.

I only did it

because he was

your master.

Precisely because

Li San's identity was exposed,

I became even more certain

that you...

are Yan.

Back then,

at the Mulan Hunting Ground,

he was the one

behind your kidnapping, right?

Indeed.

It was Li San

who schemed to secretly

abduct me.

Later,

he adopted me,

raised me,

taught me skills,

and imparted all his martial arts to me.

He did all that

hoping that

one day

he could control
the imperial court of Great Shi.

But...

the person who wanted to

harm me at the Mulan Hunting Ground

was not Li San.

As for the real culprit,

I think you,

my father,

and even the entire imperial court

should all know very well who it was.

Yan!

Yan!

I'll find a way

to cure you of the poison.

This poison

can only be suppressed.

There is no cure.

Unless...

Ode to Canglang.

I searched the Tianshu Pavilion

for a way to cure it.

Whatever I found,

I'm sure

you've already looked through.

[Heretical Tribe of Liluo]

[Supplement to the History of Liluo]

[Supplement to the History of Liluo;
Scroll 7, Secret Record of the Five Wonders]

There are 2 ways to cure
the Chiying Bug Venom.

The first

is to fight poison with poison.

When the larvae of the Chiying bugs die,

they turn into a plant

called Wangliang Grass.

The juice extracted from it

can suppress the bug poison.

This method only suppresses the venom;

it does not eradicate it.

The medicine must be taken regularly,

and its effect will eventually fade.

Wangliang Grass is neutral in nature

and pungent in flavor.

Isn't that

the medicine Li San gave me?

The second

is the Ode to Canglang,

one of the Five Wonders of Liluo,
which can cure it.

Only the 3 words "Ode to Canglang."

What does that mean?

Even the Tianshu Pavilion

has no record of how to cure it.

Could it be that...

I really don't have long to live?

To cultivate the art,

one must first

see through the notions of self and other.

And one must also have the good fortune

to succeed without meaning to.

In other words,

the practitioner must keep cultivating,
transcending illusion

and relinquishing attachment,
while remaining

unknowing and unaware.

Tell me,

how many people in this world

could ever reach such a state of no-self?

Never mind.

Life and death are decided by fate.

Either way,

I got



I've come out ahead.

By the way, Aunt.

Speaking of the Tianshu Pavilion,

there is one thing
I still don't understand.

Go ahead.

Why is the mural of the six gods

of the ancient Liluo Sect

kept in the secret chamber

of the Divine Constable Bureau?

The late Emperor

acquired that mural
by chance during his conquest

of the Kingdom of Liluo.

Legend has it

that the Holy Queen of Liluo,
Qiangong Linglong,

cast a curse before her death.

She said that when the mural shatters,

our Great Shi will fall with it.

Perhaps the late Emperor

was wary of the curse after all,

so he ordered the mural

sealed away in the deepest part
of the Tianshu Pavilion

and placed under heavy guard.

I see.

No wonder part of the mural
had already fallen away

when I entered
the secret chamber last time.

Qiangong Linglong's curse

is coming true.

What do you mean?

I saw it with my own eyes.

After the Moluo case was solved,

the mural of Kelu, the God of Immortality,

shattered on its own.

After the black chest case was solved,

the mural of Rangnan,
the God of Prophecy, shattered.

Next,

after the government salt case
in Mingling County,

the mural of Qipi,
the God of Lies, shattered.

Then, after the Lanyue Pavilion case,

Haiqu, the God of Hatred, shattered.

Four of the six gods are gone.

That leaves 2:

Qiuyu, the God of Calamity,

and Hanluo, the God of Death.

Calamity...

Death...

What could they represent?

I wonder what kind of bloodshed

and upheaval

our country will go through next.

♪ Capture my heart ♪

♪ Unravel my longing ♪

So it actually has its own name:

♪ Can we relive the mark
you once carved deep? ♪

"Severe-Cold."

[Severe-Cold]

What a good name.

What was that technique you used

♪ Turns out every soul ♪

at the gate of Tianshu Pavilion?

The Soaring Dragon
Thousand-Mechanism Formation.

♪ Fears deep devotion ♪

I'm a constable,

and you're a suspect.

♪ In a moment, I fell,
a lifetime left to heal ♪

You can explain it yourself
back at the Bureau.

Whether or not

you consider me a friend,

I

will help you uncover the truth.

♪ Tossing and turning
through endless nights ♪

♪ Breaking free from a labyrinth ♪

♪ Will we meet again,
those I dare not face? ♪

Since Dougu County,

♪ One thought to ferry me
across the sea of suffering ♪

wouldn't you say

we've been through
thick and thin together?

[Biyao Wine]

♪ One thought to burn me to ash ♪

♪ A thousand schemes can never be enough,
till all turn to dust ♪

The Reaper Sword

♪ Dare not forget ♪

is the most sinister blade in the world.

♪ No regret, no blame ♪

If you take it one step further,

you will reach the Demon Sword realm—
a state

where all human attachments
and emotions are severed.

♪ In love, I fear neither life nor death ♪

When that happens,

you will lose your reason

and become a murderous demon

like your master, Dao Yin.

♪ Dare not think ♪

♪ Who was it that cast the spell? ♪

♪ Let my heart abide ♪

♪ I turn a blind eye ♪

♪ Who was it that cast the spell? ♪

♪ Let my heart abide ♪

♪ Forever within your shadow
by your side ♪

Slow down.

Be careful.

I won't take it!

-Your Majesty, please spare us.
-Your Majesty, please spare us.

-Your Majesty, please spare us.
-Your Majesty, please spare us.

Your Majesty, please spare us.

Imperial Physician Sun,

please find a way quickly.

If His Majesty doesn't improve soon,

neither of our heads

will stay on our shoulders.

I'll prepare the medicine at once,

at once.

Go, quickly.

-Go.
-Let's go.

Eunuch Guo.

Greetings, Your Highness.

What's going on?

Does Grandfather

feel any better today?

Grandfather!

-Your Highness, please listen to me.
-Your Highness.

His Majesty has specifically ordered

that he will see no one today.

Your Highness, please go back for now.

But I want to check on Grandfather.

Please don't make it difficult for me,
Your Highness.

How about

we just

head back for today?

Look.

Your Highness,

the wind is so strong today.

If anything were to happen to you,

neither of us

could bear the responsibility.

Ye!

Mother.

Ye, come here.

Mother.

Give me your hands.

Are you cold?

No.

You've come to see your grandfather again?

Greetings,
Your Highness the Crown Princess.

Your Highness,

if there's nothing else,

I'll go attend to His Majesty.

I'm sure Eunuch Guo will convey

your filial devotion to your grandfather.

Instead of worrying here,

why don't you come back with me?

You and I

can go to the Buddhist hall together

and pray for your grandfather.

How about that?

Mother,

I want to go to the Golden Dragon Pavilion

to seek the Dragon Saliva Crystal
for Grandfather.

Ye,

I understand how you feel.

They say

the Dragon Saliva Crystal
of the Golden Dragon Pavilion

can cure all diseases
and even bring the dead back to life.

But across the country,

who has ever actually seen or used it?

If you ask me,

it's just a legend.

Even if you go,

you'll only return empty-handed.

Besides,

you've never left

this palace in your entire life.

How could I

rest easy knowing you're going?

Mother, don't worry.

I'll have imperial guards

protecting me at all times.

As for the Dragon Saliva Crystal,

whether it exists or not,

I must at least try.

As the saying goes,

"Unlock Heaven's mysteries,
and the Way shall be attained;

a hundred-foot golden dragon
guards the crystal."

The Golden Dragon Pavilion

is the closest place
on earth to the heavens.

The late Emperor went there,

and so did Grandfather.

I believe that

as long as I pray sincerely,

the Golden Dragon King
will surely manifest

and

bless Grandfather with a speedy recovery.

[The Resurrected
Shadow Puppeteer m*rder Case]

[Gutan County, Tianyuan Prefecture,
Jinzhou, Great Shi Dynasty]

[Golden Dragon Pavilion]

[Changlai Steamed Bun Shop]

Out of the way, all of you!

[Changlai Steamed Bun Shop]

What are you wandering around for?

You there, halt!

Get lost!

What are you loitering for?

Stop! Come here!

What are you doing here?

Officer,

I'm from the coffin shop
at the west end of the street...

Get out of sight now!

Don't come out without good reason!

How unlucky!

Let's go!

Isn't it just the Grand Heir Apparent?

So what if he comes?

Look,

they've been making

such a big fuss in the streets lately

that nobody can live in peace.

A couple of days ago, they even stopped me

and demanded to see my travel permit.

Do they

really need to inspect us this thoroughly?

Well, I wouldn't say that.

Haven't you heard?

Just a few days ago,

the shadow puppet ghost k*lled again.

Four bodies

were found on Mount Hanhao.

Two men and two women,

covered in blood.

So it really happened?

-Yeah.
-It's so terrifying.

The 3 of us are from out of town.

Aren't you a local?

Tell us about it.

Yeah.

You've come to the right person.

Not only am I a local,

but I'm also from Yin Village.

Really?

Alright, stop teasing us.

Get on with it.

Here.

Our Gutan County

is famous for 2 things.

Do you know what they are?

Who doesn't?

One is the osmanthus wine
served in glass goblets,

and the other is

the enchanting shadow puppet show.

That's right.

And this strange incident

began with

the enchanting shadow puppet show.

Six years ago...

♪ Tears streamed down her cheeks ♪

♪ The Milky Way stretched
clear and shallow ♪

[Yin Jie, Shadow Puppeteer]

♪ How far apart could the two shores be? ♪

[Yin Jie's Wife]

Come on. Get some rest.

Hong, slow down.

This slope is harder to climb
than I thought.

Are you tired?

Not at all.

I'll go play with him for a while.

Hong! Come here.

That's him.

Here, have a bite.

Is it good?

Then let's have another bite, okay?

Come on.

Papa is back.

Coming.

Mama!

Who are you?

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

Let go!

Mama!

Flat hands, flat feet,
a body flat as can be.

Yet it claims to be human, not a shadow.

Is it a puppet performing shadow play,

or a shadow puppet wearing human skin?

And then what happened?

Then Yin Jie was arrested
by the county government?

-Yeah.
-I heard

that he was later cornered
in the Golden Dragon Pavilion

by the county constables.

And guess what?

The Dragon King manifested

and ate him.

Ate him?

How could the Dragon King have eaten him?

Since Yin Jie is dead,

this latest incident at Mount Hanhao

can't have been his doing, right?

That's what makes it so eerie.

All 4 victims

had been bound hand and foot

and hung from trees

like shadow puppets.

It was exactly the same as

what happened 6 years ago.

Think about it.

Who else could have done

something like this

besides that madman?

Everyone in the village says

it's Yin Jie's spirit

coming back for revenge.

They say that once he collects



his wife and son
will be brought back to life.

Freshly steamed buns!

Generous filling and thin wrappers!

[Steamed Bun Shop]

Quick, move it.

Quick, all of you, go help!

Go help! Why are you just standing there?

Hurry up! Tell them to hurry!

Hurry up.

[Du Zhongtao, Magistrate of Gutan County]

My Lord,

fortunately, we discovered them in time,

and there were few pedestrians here.

Otherwise,

who knows

how many people would've seen them.

Nothing stays hidden forever.

This time, we must make absolutely sure

the news doesn't get out.

Let's wait
until the blessing ceremony is over.

Yes.

My Lord,

should we bury these bodies too?

Bury them at once.

Don't waste a moment.

You must find

a secluded place.

Make absolutely sure
no one discovers them.

Yes.

Heavens above,

please rid us of

this vengeful spirit.

Otherwise, my days
as Magistrate of Gutan County

may well be numbered.

[Shangfang Drum] [Divine Constable Bureau]

Set out immediately

and ride at full speed.

You must arrive
before the blessing procession,

find out what's really going on
in Gutan County,

and clear all potential obstacles.

It concerns the safety
of the Grand Heir Apparent.

You must be extremely careful.

There must be no negligence whatsoever.

Yes,

Chief!

Take good care of Lord Meng.

We leave the Bureau's affairs to you.

[Chief Constable's Hall]

Looks like the Chief

doesn't want Meng to go this time.

He hasn't left
Winter's Haven for 3 months.

The whole thing with Qingyang

hit him too hard.

This time,

it's on you and me.

With me around,

you've got nothing to worry about.