Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

Miss Yun Weishan.

Please turn your face around.

You said it's contagious.

Then why is Miss Yun Weishan

staying in your room

instead of her own room?

Why is she in my room?

Yeah.

I'm asking you.

You need to ask?

What do you mean?

Don't you know that my family has practiced medicine for generations?

Our Ziyun Detoxifying Cream

is always in short supply.

Miss Yun Weishan.

Please lift the quilt

and let me take a look.

How audacious you are!

You broke into my bedroom

and now want her to lift the quilt.

Do you know who we'll be in the future?

Forgive me.

Are you done?

We didn't marry into the Gong family to be humiliated by you guys!

Just wait and see.

Your limbs will be cut off and your eyes will be gouged out.

Apologies for the disrespect.

Please have a good rest inside.

Don't go out

until further notice.

You're in the clear.

Elders, good evening.

In an attack from our enemy,

the Sword Wielder and Young Lord Huanyu both died.

According to the rules of the Gong family,

the Council of Elders decided

to start Absent Inheritance instantly.

The successor,

Gong Ziyu, the second son of the Yu Lineage,

is appointed the Sword Wielder,

effective immediately.

Drink it.

If you delay any longer,

it'll leave a scar on your face.

Dark is the sky. Yellow is the earth.

Lurking around are devils and demons.

Are you a Chi too?

I'm a Mei.

Ziyu.

Drink it.

Drunk Blood.

An anesthetic.

Wait.

Ziyu.

Maybe you don't know

what it means to get this tattoo,

and what you'll be faced with.

Listen carefully.

After the script is tattooed,

you'll be bound to Jiuchen Valley for life

and have to stay here until you die.

You'll live for the Gong family

and die for the Gong family.

Dad.

Let me scrub your back.

Okay.

Dad.

Why are there words on your back?

That's the duty

I need to fulfill as the Sword Wielder of the Gong family.

Understand?

Notify every post that we have

a new Sword Wielder now.

Let it be known far and wide.

Yes.

All the legitimate heirs of the Gong family

have been taking the Herb Elixir you made.

They should be immune to all poisons.

Why were my father and brother poisoned?

What has the Zhi Lineage done?

Ziyu.

Stop!

Yuanzhi.

You can't be rude to the Sword Wielder.

The Sword Wielder?

Him?

Yuanzhi!

Ridiculous.

Gong Ziyu doesn't deserve to be the Sword Wielder.

The next in line for that position

should be my brother,

Gong Shangjue!

The first Sword Wielder of the Gong family set two rules.

First,

the Gong family must always have a Sword Wielder.

Once the Sword Wielder dies,

his successor will take his place immediately.

Second,

if the Sword Wielder and his successor die together,

Absent Inheritance will be initiated.

Gong Shangjue is not in Jiuchen Valley.

According to the rules,

Gong Ziyu is the only one who's qualified

to be the Sword Wielder.

But Gong Ziyu is…

Enough!

Any objections

shall be dealt with after Shangjue returns.

Dad.

Can you teach me how to write my name?

Sure.

Give me your hand.

Keep going!

Brother.

Will you and Dad leave me too?

No.

I'll always be with you.

Young Master Ziyu.

Drunk as a skunk again.

Get in.

Go back

and reflect in your room.

If

you keep being a useless good-for-nothing,

you won't have to stay in the Gong family anymore.

It's not like I want to stay here!

You…

Ziyu, where are you going?

Don't stop him. Let him go!

He'd better get as far away as he can

and never come back!

The Sword Wielder of the Gong family was killed?

Are you sure?

Yes.

I've confirmed it.

Our assassins did it?

I'm not sure.

But

I don't think the assassins we sent out

are capable enough

to take him down in such a short time.

Besides,

the mission we gave them

is not to kill the Sword Wielder.

Maybe they got exposed

and had no choice but to kill him.

I got word

that Miss Zheng Nanyi's cover was blown.

Gong Shangjue is headed to the Zheng family of Hunyuan

to look into it.

Have you taken care of it?

Rest assured.

It's all done.

No trace

is left behind.

Good.

The remaining Chis and Meis

must've made it into the Gong family.

Let's look forward to their performance.

Young Master Shangjue.

The entire mansion is empty.

All the valuables are gone.

Did you stay here all night

or come early in the morning?

You're already the Sword Wielder.

There are a lot of things you need to do.

You can't fall apart.

I never wanted to be the Sword Wielder.

But…

Now that I'm already the Sword Wielder,

I can do whatever I want.

No one can stop me.

What are you going to do?

Who found

my father and brother's bodies?

Lady Wuji.

Let's go.

I need to meet her.

Your father asked me

to give this to you.

Last month, he got a fine red fox pelt

and made a robe for your brother.

Then he used the remnant

to make this for you.

He said you like these exquisite things.

He was too shy to give it to you himself

so he asked me to do it.

Your father's bark was worse than his bite.

Actually,

he regretted being so harsh to you

because of the female assassin

but was too embarrassed to apologize to you.

Don't blame him.

Lady Wuji.

Can you tell me

what happened that night?

That night,

I was in your father's study

brewing tea for him.

Young Lord Huanyu

suddenly came in with a woman

whose hands were tied.

I got up and left.

I went to the kitchen

to make supper for them.

After it was finished,

I returned to the yard

and heard a fierce fight.

Through the window,

I saw three people fighting.

After a few loud thuds,

the room went dark.

Then

it became quiet.

Lady Wuji.

Why didn't you call the guards?

I did.

But at that time,

there was no guard on duty in the yard.

That was strange.

The guardians should always be around to protect the Sword Wielder.

Seeing the candles go out

and the room plunged into darkness,

I rushed over immediately

and opened the door of the study.

I found the Sword Wielder,

Huanyu,

and that woman lying dead on the floor.

I met that female assassin once.

She wasn't good enough at martial arts

to kill both my father and brother.

I don't believe it.

But she used poison.

Maybe she managed it

by catching them unawares.

Lady Wuji, we shall leave.

Let's go

meet those two guardians.

That night, the Sword Wielder met Young Master Shangjue first.

Then Young Lord Huanyu suddenly came

and asked to see the Sword Wielder.

After the three of them talked for a while,

Young Master Shangjue left in a hurry.

Young Master Shangjue left Jiuchen Valley in the night.

The wedding is coming soon.

Why is he leaving?

Who do you mean?

Young Master Shangjue.

Young Lord Huanyu went to the prison to interrogate the female assassin

and brought her to the Sword Wielder.

He ordered me and the Green Jade Guardian to leave.

Young Lord Huanyu said he needed to discuss something important with the Sword Wielder

and asked me and Jin Yu to leave.

Do you think they were lying?

Then let's meet someone who doesn't lie.

The dead don't lie.

Be careful.

The hairpin may be poisonous.

Something was wrong

with the Herb Elixir your father and brother took.

The Herb Elixir you take may not be safe either.

The gem on the hairpin is hollow.

The poison

was hidden in the gem.

The fingers of Father's right hand are purple.

It's obviously caused by poison.

But

how did my father and brother

come into contact with the poison?

Maybe something was hidden in the secret groove of the hairpin

and taken out by them.

Perhaps, during that process,

they were exposed to the deadly poison.

Secret groove?

Did you find anything in it?

It was empty when I found it.

Maybe

Young Master Shangjue took away whatever was inside.

There is a burn on the female assassin's skin

which was left by poison.

But it didn't cause her death.

The cut that pierced through her chest

killed her.

How did she get on the bride list?

She was the second daughter of the Zheng family of Hunyuan,

Zheng Nanyi.

But we don't know if that identity

is true.

After the accident happened,

did you check the Ladies' Hostel?

I sent guards over in time.

All of them were in the house.

None of them had gone out.

But

two brides were poisoned.

Who are they?

They're the two brides

who got the golden tokens.

Jiang Lili and Yun Weishan.

Let's go.

What brought you here at this early hour?

You think too much.

How can I help?

Since we're the same,

I think

I should be clear with you.

Wait. We're not the same.

I told you yesterday.

I'm a Mei. I'm superior to you.

In Wufeng, you must listen to your superiors.

You must know that.

I do.

I just didn't expect them

to plant a Mei

in the Gong family too.

Everything comes with a price.

With prices come sacrifices.

If Miss Zheng hadn't been exposed,

you would've been the one

who was sacrificed.

Was she a Mei too?

She was too stupid

to be a Mei.

So in the future,

the two of us

will carry out the mission together?

Is there anyone else with us?

Crows gather together.

The eagle flies high alone.

There is

no "us".

And we won't do anything together.

I see.

Wait.

You went out by stealth last night.

What did you find?

I saved you.

The least you can do is tell me

who's dead.

How did you know someone died?

There are so many white lanterns in the air.

And the servants have been bustling around with candles and funeral items.

I'm not blind.

I can guess.

The Sword Wielder and Young Lord Huanyu

both died.

You killed them?

Physician,

what's the poison that's making her sick?

It's complicated.

There seems to be more than one kind of poison.

Physician,

is the rash on her face

caused by poison too?

Yes.

It's a kind of strong poison

that takes effect very fast.

Miss Jiang is unconscious

and keeps slurring.

She might have been affected

by a poison that targets her mind.

Is her life in danger?

I'm not sure of that.

The rash on her face will heal

after she takes some detoxifying decoction.

But as to the poison

that makes her delirious,

I haven't figured out

how to neutralize it yet.

I have to consult Young Master Yuanzhi later.

Physician, the decoction is ready.

Send it over.

Yes.

Physician.

That decoction…

Well,

it's for Miss Yun Weishan,

the girl who also got a golden token.

She has the same rash on her face too.

I didn't kill them.

My mission is not to kill the Sword Wielder.

Then what's your mission?

I don't think

we can talk about that.

We can't.

But I just want to help.

If you act recklessly again

like you did yesterday,

I'll have to

clean up the mess for you.

If I know what your mission is,

I may be able to cover for you.

After all,

if you're exposed,

Miss Zheng Nanyi

would've died for nothing.

Weishan,

I mean no harm.

Don't overthink it.

Do you mind me calling you

Weishan?

You don't feel sorry for Miss Zheng at all.

You're just worried that if I'm exposed,

you can't stay hidden anymore.

The Gong family will realize

that there may be other assassins

besides me.

Am I right?

Look.

There is

an "us".

So,

we'd better work together.

I told you.

Our missions are different.

You poisoned Miss Jiang's tea.

You want to replace her.

Our missions should be the same.

Didn't Miss Jiang get the rash on her face

from your nail polish?

You saw it?

I don't need to.

Isn't that the basic training in Wufeng?

I could've made Miss Jiang a lunatic

without arousing any suspicion.

But you suddenly showed up.

If I'm right,

before long,

I'll have to clean up your mess again.

Physician,

is the poison the two girls suffer from

related to the poison

that killed the Sword Wielder?

No.

Thank you, Physician.

Since the poison making Miss Jiang sick

is not the one that killed your father and brother,

shall we still go to the Ladies' Hostel?

You're already the Sword Wielder

and haven't chosen your bride yet.

It's inappropriate

for you to go there.

A clean hand wants no washing.

My hands are very clean.

There's nothing to be afraid of.

You always…

The tea I gave Miss Jiang

was not poisoned.

Then it was the incense.

The incense was not poisonous either.

But inhaling the incense after drinking the tea

changed things.

At first, she'd just be delirious.

A few days later, she'd start to mumble to herself

as if she had dementia.

As an assassin of Wufeng,

you shouldn't

have that look on your face.

You're so soft-hearted.

It'll cost you your life sooner or later.

I don't hurt innocent people.

You're so interesting, Weishan.

Back to my incense and tea.

Both of them are harmless when examined separately.

Even if they get suspicious,

they can't find anything.

I kindly reminded you

that tea

had been tampered with

and you should not drink it,

but you tried to be clever and ruined everything.

Thanks to you,

both the rash on Miss Jiang's face

and your nail polish

have become solid evidence.

If I were you,

I'd wash it off now.

Young Master Yuanzhi, you came to the clinic too.

What are you here for?

Sword Wielder.

Young Master Yuanzhi.

According to the rules,

you should greet

the Sword Wielder.

Who are you?

How dare you tell me what to do?

Jin Fan.

He must have a good reason for not greeting me.

Although I don't understand,

I won't force him.

The Council of Elders will deal with him.

Sword Wielder.

No need for formalities.

You specialize in making poisons and antidotes

and performed autopsies on my father and brother.

Did you find anything?

They were killed by Ascension,

a poison invented by the Gong family.

That poison takes effect very quickly. Without timely detox,

death is certain.

So you mean

it can be neutralized.

Yes.

But very hard.

Is it?

Since it was invented,

no one taking it has ever been brought back to life.

Ascension is deadly and spreads all over

the victim's body via bloodstream.

The window for detox is very short.

How short?

Within 200 heartbeats.

Is it difficult

to obtain such a lethal poison?

Seems that you're

not very familiar with the Gong family's business.

Ascension

is sold at every post of the Gong family

in and out of Jiuchen Valley.

Anyone can buy it.

So you mean

the poison called Ascension

is hard to cure but easy to get.

Young Master Yuanzhi.

Are there precautions

one can take?

I don't understand what you mean.

Let me put it another way.

Will someone who takes the Herb Elixir every day

be affected by it?

No.

My father and brother

took the Herb Elixir every day

but were poisoned.

Does that mean I can hold

those who make the Herb Elixir accountable?

Everyone in the Gong family, from elders to madams,

has been taking the Herb Elixir and other tonics

made by the Zhi Lineage for many years.

Nothing had ever gone wrong.

You asked me why I came to the clinic.

I came to check

if there is any problem

with the Herb Elixir here.

Is there?

No.

We're right back where we started.

Why on earth

were my father and brother poisoned?

I'm in charge of making the Herb Elixir,

but after sending it to different lineages,

it's served by the servants of your own.

Why don't you

look into the servants of the Yu Lineage?

Maybe you'll be surprised.

Of course I'll look into

the servants of the Yu Lineage.

You should do that.

Besides,

you were just appointed the Sword Wielder

and made ungrounded accusations against the Zhi Lineage.

How impressive.

I'll find the evidence.

Wait and see.

The Sword Wielder and Young Lord Huanyu

both died,

so

Absent Inheritance must have been initiated.

Absent Inheritance?

Didn't your Raven

tell you about that?

I'm just a Chi.

Don't overestimate me.

Your sudden humbleness

took me by surprise.

Absent Inheritance

is a rule of the Gong family

set to tide it through crises.

Basically,

it makes sure that the Gong family and Jiuchen Valley

always have a leader.

If the Sword Wielder and the Young Lord both die,

the next in line of succession

in Jiuchen Valley

will become the new Sword Wielder unconditionally.

So

the Sword Wielder now

should be Young Master Shangjue,

Gong Shangjue.

The current Sword Wielder

is the younger brother of Young Lord Huanyu,

Gong Ziyu.

Gong Shangjue left the Valley last night.

He's not here.

So according to the line of succession,

Gong Ziyu took the position of the Sword Wielder.

Sure enough.

That's what Absent Inheritance means.

The Gong family is a bunch of stubborn fools.

Pedantic and absurd.

Now that

Gong Ziyu has become the new Sword Wielder,

he'll choose a new bride.

It seems

that he's your new target now.

After losing Gong Huanyu,

you can't lose Gong Ziyu too.

I wish you good luck.

What about you?

Don't you need good luck?

Miss Jiang won't recover any time soon.

Don't you need

to get a golden token?

Why do I need that?

With a golden token,

whether Gong Ziyu chooses you or me,

our missions will be easier.

I don't need Gong Ziyu to choose me.

Besides,

do you think I didn't get a golden token

because I couldn't?

Girls, you all need to take a bath tonight.

Get up early tomorrow.

Don't put on any makeup.

Don't wear perfume.

Be your true selves

and wait to be summoned.

Physician.

Unpleasant body smell.

Low body temperature.

Heavy dampness.

You gave up the golden token yourself?

What else could it be?

Your target is not the Sword Wielder.

My target

is much trickier than the Sword Wielder.

The Zheng family of Hunyuan

has moved away.

Someone must've tipped them off.

Besides,

the matter Young Lord Huanyu asked me to investigate

has not been leaked yet.

Send it back

to the Gong Residence as soon as possible.

Yes.

Hurry.

Urgent message from the Gong Residence.

Young Master Shangjue.

Read it.

Read it.

Yes.

Destiny can't be refused.

The lineages need a head.

The Council appointed

Gong...

Gong Ziyu

as the new Sword Wielder.

When Gong Huanyu was made the heir,

I thought

it was so unfair

and still think so now.

In my mind,

you're the one

who should be the Sword Wielder.

Instead of what happened to the Gong family

and how the late Sword Wielder

died,

you're concerned about

who is the new Sword Wielder.

In the future,

don't say anything like that again.

Sorry.

My horse has run for days

and is exhausted.

Find me the fastest horse here.

Yes.

You can see through people.

You're even more capable than I thought.

You flatter me.

I'm a Mei after all.

Well,

you're much smarter than I thought too.

I thought you were stupid to carry out an assassination

on the first night you arrived

at the Gong Residence.

But now that I think about it,

you didn't act on a whim.

When Gong Ziyu

brought us out of the prison,

you memorized the night patrol routes

of the guards in the Gong Residence.

The night before the wedding,

all the ladies went to bed early.

No one would disturb them.

It was the perfect time for an assassination.

If the Sword Wielder hadn't been killed,

you wouldn't have been discovered.

Besides,

you deliberately ran away from other brides that night

to attract the attention of Gong Ziyu, right?

When he came to the prison for the first time,

all he could see was me.

You pretended to escape

to let him chase after you.

Then,

you deliberately took his precious mask

to make him come to you again.

You're amazing.

I'm not as calculating as you think.

You think too highly of me, Miss Shangguan.

I just don't want

to meet my Raven empty-handed

half a month later.

No one wants that.

No one dares.

Drink this

and you'll be a Chi.

Don't chew.

Swallow them.

What are they?

Eggs.

Eggs of Bone-Gnawing Flies.

They're also called Fortnight Flies.

The poison made of them

is called Death Oath.

It means to be loyal to Wufeng until death.

It's solely used on assassins of Wufeng.

After drinking it,

Bone-Gnawing Flies will live in your body.

Usually, you won't feel them.

But you need to take the antidote

every half a month.

I don't know when I can come back

after entering the Gong Residence.

Shouldn't you give me more antidote

to Death Oath?

Every half a month,

someone from Wufeng will meet you

in the town in Jiuchen Valley.

If you have something to offer,

you'll be given the antidote.

No need to finish your words.

I can definitely get the antidote.

Don't worry.

Besides,

from a Chi to a Mei,

I suffered more than one can imagine.

I'm not afraid

of those flies and bugs.

No matter how painful the torture is,

I can bear it.

You can't.

Trust me.

You can't bear it.

So,

you must

get important information

before Fortnight Flies attack you.

You can also

do something that Wufeng deems satisfactory.

Yun Weishan.

Where are you going?

I'm going to send out the information

I gathered.

How?

I'll float lanterns down the river.

Wait.

River lanterns?

In the broad daylight?

Jin Fan.

Get the lanterns out and search upstream.

If you can't find anyone, come downstream to meet me.

Downstream?

Why are you going downstream?

Miss.

Miss.

Miss Yun Weishan.

Miss Yun Weishan.

Yuan Weishan.

It's really you.

Instead of staying in your room,

you're headed to the gate.

What are you going to do?

I want to leave.

You tried to escape

when I first brought you out of the prison.

I thought you ran away

just because you were scared.

Now the assassin has been found.

The dust has settled.

But you still want to leave.

Why?

I never wanted to marry into the Gong family.

Mother forced me to come here.

Don't let her go.

Sword Wielder.

There are words written on the lantern.

Yun Weishan.

You wrote so many words on the lantern

and floated it down the river.

Did you plan

to send messages out?

I'll float lanterns down the river.

Do you take the Gong family for fools?

How to make sure the lanterns end in the right hands?

If they're picked up halfway,

the information on them will be seen.

Yes.

That's my plan.

You didn't drink my tea.

Why are you out of your mind

like Miss Jiang?

I mean,

I'll expose myself.

You were taught to do that too.

I see.

When we're faced with a crisis that may expose us,

we leak insignificant information as a distraction

to hide our true goals and identities.

Yes.

The Gong family is smart,

but everyone will fall for that trick.

Just like Miss Zheng exposed herself willingly.

Once the Gong family believes

that the assassin has been found,

the true assassins,

you and I,

will be safe.

Maybe Miss Zheng

didn't expose herself willingly.

For Wufeng,

her death

is just part of their plan.

The death of every one of us

is just a willing sacrifice they want.

What if Zheng Nanyi was so selfless

and sacrificed herself willingly?

The mountain is steep.

The river runs fast.

Come back as soon as you're done.

No.

I'll go downstream.

I see.

Your target has always been the Sword Wielder

instead of Gong Huanyu.

Now,

the Sword Wielder of the Gong family

has become Gong Ziyu.

Gong Ziyu seems to be a toff,

but judging from what I observed,

he's smarter than he appears.

He'll follow the clue of Miss Jiang's poisoning

to look into the other girls,

especially me who was poisoned too.

To come here,

he'll have to walk up along the river.

I want him to think that our meeting

is by accident.

You want him to think that he's destined

to meet you, right?

You're so smart.

Why are you just a Chi?

But all the information I have

is about his brother's personality and preferences.

This is the information

we collected on Gong Huanyu.

That's all?

That's all.

We tried our best.

Irrelevant information is not included

in it.

For example, Gong Huanyu has a younger brother named Gong Ziyu.

Gong Ziyu?

Do you have his information?

What kind of person is he?

He's not important.

You should focus on Gong Huanyu.

Gong Huanyu is the Young Lord of the Gong family,

which means he's the future Sword Wielder.

Only from him

can you get what you need.

I know very little

about Gong Ziyu.

Gong Ziyu lost his mother at an early age.

That's why he became

a grumpy playboy.

After he grew up, he spent all his time drinking and fooling around.

He can't amount to much.

Gong Ziyu and his father were not close.

Seems that he's never

gotten his father's approval.

His father gave almost all his love

to Gong Huanyu

who was cleverer and better at martial arts.

Father.

I'm cold.

You're so delicate.

You don't deserve to be my son.

Look at your brother.

See how he practices martial arts.

That's why Gong Ziyu gave up on himself.

However,

Gong Huanyu doted on him.

I know what to write on the river lanterns.

Is this river lantern yours?

Yes.

Miss Yun, you're so smart.

You know that if someone discovers the lantern,

they'll go upstream

to find the person who floated it.

So you went downstream on purpose

and took a detour to go back.

But do you know how many guards

there are along the river?

You may…

You get me wrong.

I just want to leave.

Young Master Ziyu.

I beg you.

Please let me go.

There have been rumors

in the Gong Residence

that Gong Ziyu is not a Gong.

His mother, Lady Lan,

had someone she loved

before marrying into the Gong family.

She missed him day and night

and kept trying to escape.

In the end, she died from depression.

Father,

I've got married.

They gave me a lot of betrothal gifts.

I think

Mother doesn't have to work so hard

to support our family anymore.

Father,

I know you've been feeling bad

about not having a son to ennoble our family.

You always said

that I must marry a good man

to show everyone in the town

that the Yun family's daughter is blessed.

But Father,

I wasn't chosen by the Sword Wielder.

Sorry to disappoint you.

Is this really for your father?

Let her go.

No matter what your mission is,

if you want to leave this courtyard,

you must carefully avoid the guards' patrol route.

I can draw it for you.

Don't take the road on the east side.

Yun Weishan.

God help you if you lied to me.