Original subtitles

[Mysterious Lotus Casebook]

[Episode 36]

As expected, you still want to stay in the palace.

Are you here to convince me not to?

I can't change Master's mind,

but I trust

you're just unable to disobey your master's order.

I can only help you as much as possible.

Thank you, Lord Yang.

That will suffice.

Do you really know magic?

Of course not.

How did you know about the rain in Yuzhou?

This news

was only delivered today.

I was just lucky.

I went to buy some vegetables before entering the palace that day.

I happened to meet a vegetable farmer.

He told me that there's heavy mist in the mountains.

The north wind started up,

so the mist would float to Yuzhou.

When this kind of weather occurs in the winter,

it will definitely rain.

An important figure like you

still cares for the commoners.

I admire you.

What important figure?

We still need to eat vegetables and porridge.

By the way, Lord Yang,

later,

you must do me a favor.

What is it?

Eunuch Wang.

Imperial Preceptor.

What is this place?

It's just a wasteland that has been abandoned for 100 years.

Let's go on.

Wait.

I think this place has great feng shui.

It has the potential to be the site of a pagoda.

This place...

It's a place of bad luck in the palace.

Imperial Preceptor, are you mistaken?

No.

This place is just deserted,

but there are treasures hidden throughout.

Well, Imperial Preceptor,

I am speaking the truth.

This was where the late Empress Dowager Kang Xian lived.

Later, many servants went missing.

Only their mangled corpse could be found.

Someone also saw...

Saw what?

A monster with two heads,

the fabled beast, Ni Tianhou.

As time went by, this place became deserted.

Even the night patrol guards avoid this place.

It's indeed a place of evil.

[Ministry of Industry Supervisor Liu Kehe] It's indeed a place of evil.

[Ministry of Industry Supervisor Liu Kehe]

You don't understand.

The wise come in different appearances.

The same goes for the auspicious places.

When the pagoda is created,

the feng shui can be changed.

This will become the most auspicious place in the palace.

The four of you from the Ministry of Industry,

take a look here.

See which area's soil is suitable for building a pagoda.

Yes.

Imperial Preceptor,

you must be thirsty after walking all this way.

Here,

have some water.

Your Sky-covering Palm is extraordinary.

But

it's impolite to steal my instrument.

Lord Yang was afraid

that the water would stain your instrument.

So, he wanted to hold it steadily for you.

Physician Li, don't act so clever.

You might give yourself away

and get kicked out of the palace.

All your efforts would be in vain.

Physician Li,

the Imperial Preceptor is tired.

I invite you to rest in the outer palace too.

You may enter the palace tomorrow.

Outer palace?

Sect Leader Li,

what should we do next?

Next...

Aren't we looking for the child bugs?

But there was nothing

in the Demon Monk's instrument.

What should we do next?

The child bugs are already dead.

Dead?

When you attacked,

he immediately protected the bell on his waist.

I am guessing

the child bugs were there.

They should be dead now.

You sprinkled this?

This is...

Snow salt?

Snow salt is so precious.

How did you get it?

It's just a coincidental gift from an old friend.

Lord Yang,

have you noticed

the four men from the Ministry of Industry?

They seemed a bit timid,

but there's nothing special about them.

Yes.

Those four craftsmen

only listened to the demon monk's orders.

The child bugs probably

helped the Demon Monk find that abandoned garden.

It means that the mother bug is nearby.

But the Demon Monk

wanted the four craftsmen to search for him.

He probably

only confirmed this general direction.

So,

we have to look for the rest.

You mean

those four craftsmen know where the mother bug is?

Did you notice

the four craftsmen have no beard?

Come on, don't just eat.

Come, drink up.

Don't just eat.

Alright, cheers.

Who are you?

Just a doctor.

A doctor?

Have some.

Young man,

are all the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry here?

We'll start working soon,

so we all came out for a drink.

Here.

Here.

Keep an eye on them.

Make sure nothing goes wrong.

They come every day,

[Wang Tong]

but it's been so long. [Wang Tong]

[Wang Tong]

How can I remember clearly? [Wang Tong]

How can I remember clearly?

Whenever I enter the abandoned garden,

[Li Fei, Lu Fang, Zhao Chi] Whenever I enter the abandoned garden,

[Li Fei, Lu Fang, Zhao Chi]

I think of our old place. [Li Fei, Lu Fang, Zhao Chi]

I think of our old place.

How about

we find a way to escape?

Watch your mouth.

[White Jade Academy]

Lord Yang.

Sect Leader Li, don't act rashly.

The Wansheng Clan has their eyes on here.

I've found out the backgrounds of the four men.

As you expected,

they were eunuchs in the palace over ten years ago.

They are now living in different places.

The Wansheng Clan found them

and sent them to the palace as craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry.

Why were the eunuchs

kicked out of the palace?

They committed crimes of theft.

They stole?

Shouldn't they be executed?

That's the strange part.

Many precious items

were found on them at the time,

but they insisted

they found it from a corpse in the wasteland.

When the Imperial City Division went to investigate,

they indeed found a corpse.

Its body was broken and limbs were incomplete.

It couldn't have been caused by humans.

It was more like a tiger or wolf that caused it,

but the Beast Garden is outside the palace.

How could wild beasts come to the inner palace?

There were indeed treasures around the body.

Their testimonies became credible.

Was the one who died also a palace eunuch?

Yes.

In that case,

I think the five committed theft together,

and killed one due to the uneven distribution of spoils.

Master suspected that as well,

but the treasures found were not in this dynasty's style.

Rather, they were from 100 years ago.

When treasures in the palace were checked,

nothing was found missing.

Without any evidence,

they could only kick them out of the palace.

Treasures from 100 years ago

suddenly appeared

next to a corpse.

Don't you think that's strange?

Do you know where exactly

the treasures came from?

It's hard to trace the gold and silver,

but there was a jade Buddha statue

received by Emperor Guangqing as tribute 100 years ago.

It is said to be worshiped in the Pagoda of Bliss.

The Pagoda of Bliss?

I heard from Empress Dowager that

Emperor Guangqing built it to pray for a son,

but His Majesty said it’s not true.

It's just a rumor.

Does the Pagoda of Bliss

really exist or not?

According to the old people in the palace,

Emperor Guangqing had no children back then.

Later, the Pagoda of Bliss was built.

Consort Ying soon became pregnant with a prince and became the empress.

But somehow,

the Pagoda of Bliss vanished overnight.

Vanished?

Yes.

In one night,

not a single piece of tile remained

where the pagoda originally stood.

The Pagoda of Bliss?

The Pagoda of Bliss is missing!

The Pagoda of Bliss is gone!

The palace forbade it from being mentioned afterward.

It became a mystery.

Legend has it that this pagoda contained heavenly fortune.

After the fortune was exchanged for a prince,

the heavens took the pagoda back.

But everyone in the palace

knew the pagoda had been built.

There must be clues left behind.

There is no record in the palace.

However,

back then,

I found a draft of a pagoda

in the hands of Eunuch Wu, who served Emperor Guangqing.

Eunuch Wu loved poetry.

The picture was inside a book.

But...

I don't know if it's the Pagoda of Bliss.

Look.

The Pagoda of Bliss.

The mother bug is hidden in the missing pagoda.

Why did Shan Gudao search for these four eunuchs?

Because these four eunuchs

had gone to the Pagoda of Bliss.

We can't escape.

How about we tell them?

You're not afraid of dying?

It can't follow us forever.

Monster!

Help! There's a monster!

Monster!

Ghost!

What monster?

Ni Tianhou appeared again!

Don't kill me!

I didn't say anything.

I didn't say anything.

What did you say?

Who is trying to kill you?

These men said Ni Tianhou is back.

Have you

seen this monster before?

Before, we...

Before...

Shut up!

Sect Leader Shan, you came just in time.

Junior,

you tried so hard to get them to speak,

but you can't get anything out, can you?

Oh, you.

You always do futile things.

The style of this robe

is from the imperial family 100 years ago.

No one wears it anymore.

A hundred years ago?

Is it really a ghost?

The design is old,

but the fabric is new.

This robe contains

a putrid smell.

It must be the smell of beast blood.

It seems

someone is playing tricks behind the scenes.

It's the Wansheng Clan again.

What I don’t understand is

the Wansheng Clan found these four people

to search for the Pagoda of Bliss.

But then,

why would they cause a commotion?

Shan Gudao said I tried my best to get words out of them.

He must think

that I'm behind this bloody robe and beast.

It seems there's a third person behind this.

Who is he?

Why did he do this?

It was Li Lianhua.

He deliberately splashed water in the daytime

but actually froze the child bugs with snow salt.

Now he got a bloody robe.

We can't get rid of him.

He's very difficult to deal with.

Should I kill him?

-No. -Don’t ruin the plan.

We can't kill him now.

He showed his face to the emperor.

If we kill him now,

we'll alert the enemy.

He is no longer the Li Xiangyi

who commanded the martial arts world before.

Where did he

get this expensive snow salt?

We haven't found the mother bug,

but the child bugs died.

Those four idiots don't dare to tell us

where the entrance was.

How do we find the Pagoda of Bliss?

We'll use some means to force them to speak tomorrow.

We can't wait any longer.

[White Jade Academy]

[East Hall]

What?

You still can't tell which area is the best?

Well,

we need to look further.

We need to check more carefully.

Eunuch Wang,

to prevent evil disturbances when the soil is moved,

put these black-iron flags in the corners of the abandoned palace

to suppress the evil spirits.

That's great.

Let's go.

Since I brought you all in the imperial city,

it means I know everything about you all.

Starting today, I will kill

one of your family members

each day

until you speak.

Please spare us.

There really is a monster!

People will die if we speak nonsense.

If you tell the truth,

you will die.

If you don't tell me,

both you and your family will die.

Lu Fang,

you still have

an 80-year-old mother waiting for you at home.

I...

Do you want her to die?

How do you want her to die?

Beheaded,

drowned in the river,

or dismembered?

Tell me.

Don't kill me.

I know nothing.

Spare me!

Ni Tianhou eats people who steal from the Pagoda of Bliss.

Where else do you want to escape to?

I entered the Pagoda of Bliss with the others.

I am not the main culprit.

Don't kill me.

-Don't kill me! -Where is the Pagoda of Bliss?

It's...

Physician Li.

What happened?

Physician Li,

didn't you get sick?

Why are you here again?

I gave myself some medicine.

I'm much better now.

Thank you for helping me request for leave.

You don't care about your health,

but you always trouble yourself.

Thank you for your concern.

It's troublesome recently.

My opponents are always

those who've become well-known decades ago.

Crazy Knife, Fatal Five Fists, and Bone-gnawing Spear

are each more difficult than the last.

Who's next?

I'll continue to accept the duel.

Xiangyi Swordplay.

This is the sword of Li Xiangyi’s Master.

I have to go against Li Xiangyi's master.

You will never win

this final battle.

No.

I can't get through this.

Give up.

I'm not Li Xiangyi.

I can't defeat Qi Mushan.

There will always be a new legend.

Maybe

you'll be the next new legend.

The Xiangyi Swordplay and Yangzhouman are compatible.

The internal energy forms the structure of the sword technique.

The sword technique is the soul of the internal energy.

Li Xiangyi's martial arts had accumulated

since childhood.

That's why his body and soul were unified

and he could move freely

to defeat his master.

What about me?

Where is Shan Gudao?

Take him down!

What kind of martial arts is this?

The newly created Mr. Worried's Swordplay.

Let me ask you again.

Where is Shan Gudao?

I don't know.

Master...

Master is in the palace.

He went to the palace too?

Li Lianhua...

[Palace]

[Mysterious Lotus Casebook]

[Harmonious Breeze]

[Together]

Sect Leader Li.

Thank you.

I didn't expect Shan Gudao to be so skilled.

If he hadn't restrained himself in the palace this morning,

he would've caught us.

How is it?

Did you get anything today?

Did the four of them not return?

Didn't they leave the palace with you?

The craftsmen had to do roll-call with the Ministry of Industry,

so they were taken away.

It seems that Shan Gudao

wanted to hide these four people.

Lord Yang,

does the Ministry of Industry have a special station in the inner palace?

The inner palace is for the imperial family.

How could the Ministry of Industry be here?

However, there is a Shanyi Workshop

where various materials are stored,

but it's not a place for people to live in.

These people were planted by the Ministry of Industry.

They must be hidden in the Shanyi Workshop.

I don't think Shan Gudao can wait any longer.

That's why he's doing everything he can

to find the whereabouts of the Pagoda of Bliss.

I must be one step ahead of him.

Who are you?

I wish to see Dian Qiu, Imperial Guard Commander.

I am Dian Qiu.

You are?

I can only bring you to the palace,

but I can't guarantee you can walk around freely.

There are many hidden guards in the palace.

Be careful.

Don't worry.

Even if I get caught,

I'll say I climbed over the wall by myself.

Thank you.

Monster.

Let's tell them.

Monster.

We should have spoken earlier.

If we spoke when we recognized that osmanthus tree on the first day,

we might be on our way back now.

Even if we did,

will the monster let us go?

Don't forget,

we witnessed

how Xue Kuan was torn into pieces by that monster.

Don't mention Xue Kuan.

He accidentally

found the Pagoda of Bliss when he was drunk.

Just because he coveted the treasures inside,

he incited us to transport the treasures together.

That's why we went there.

But we only transported a few pieces,

went in and out a few times,

and we saw

he was bitten to death by the monster.

That robe floated

behind that monster.

A voice also threatened us

not to leak the secret of the Pagoda of Bliss.

We've kept our mouth shut for so many years

and we've been safe.

Look.

The monster appeared

as soon as we got here.

Let's not talk about it.

Most of the treasures

were taken away by the Imperial City Division.

We only hid a few pieces and brought them out.

All these years, we never dared to sell them.

I only sold one,

and someone found out and brought us here.

It's all my fault.

Let's tell him.

But what about the monster?

Although it's scary,

it will only kill us.

But the Wansheng Clan

can do anything.

For the safety of our family,

we can sacrifice our lives.

It's worth it.

Now that you mention it,

I remember now.

There was an osmanthus tree

a few meters away from the entrance.

Based on

the osmanthus trees

we saw these days,

the entrance is probably

here.

It turns out that it is tied to a black kite.

No wonder it floats so strangely.

Oh no.

[Shanyi Workshop]

What happened?

Tell them

not to kill my family.

I... I'll tell you everything.

The Pagoda of Bliss is...

Is...

The governor has ordered

that those who break into the inner palace shall be executed immediately.

What should we do with this thief?

Sect Leader Li,

how can I protect you?

Lord Yang, do not feel conflicted.

Do as you must.

[Grand Court]

Breaking into the inner palace at night is a serious crime.

There is no point in struggling.

If you admit the murder,

you may be cleared of some crimes

and die less painfully.

The Grand Court's tactics

are much worse than Baichuan Court's.

My lord.

Lord Yang Yunchun from the Imperial City Division wants to visit again.

No.

This man is a felon.

No one is allowed to visit him.

You may leave.

Yes.

It's fine if you don't admit it.

It doesn't matter anymore.

Master thinks you're too troublesome,

so I'll kill you now.

Charge!

Stop!

The Empress Dowager's decree!

There are many suspicious points about Li Lianhua's trespassing.

He may be wrongfully accused.

You are appointed to assist Baichuan Court's Detective Fang Duobing

to investigate this case

and redeem yourself.

Leave now!

Fang Xiaobao,

thank you.

I asked you to stay in Tianji Mountain Manor to save you,

but you actually came to the palace.

I heard that something happened to you as soon as I arrived.

I asked Princess Zhaoling

to beg Her Majesty

and finally got this decree.

Do you really think you have nine lives?

Calm down.

Actually, there's another advantage

to me being here.

It happens that

no one will disturb me.

I can organize my thoughts well.

I don't want to argue with you,

as long as you're safe.

By the way,

I heard Shan Gudao came to the imperial city.

I'm afraid it's for the mother bug too.

I

met him a few times.

I've asked Yang Yunchun about the palace matters.

He thinks Shan Gudao set you up,

but I don't think so.

If Shan Gudao killed the person he brought in

and caused a lot of trouble in the palace,

it won't help him find the mother bug.

There must be a third person behind this.

He did all this

to stop all the people

who want to find the Pagoda of Bliss.

That's right.

It's just as I guessed.

Did you find anything else?

Before Li Fei died,

he drew a circle on the table.

I thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

But now I finally know

what this circle means.

What?

A well.

You mean

the entrance to the Pagoda of Bliss

might be near a well.

But if such a pagoda

is still in the palace,

someone would have discovered it.

I haven't figured it out yet.

But the only thing we know is

the four were killed

and Shan Gudao has lost the clue to the pagoda.

The third person behind this

stops others from searching for the Pagoda of Bliss,

so he must know all the clues.

So,

our goal now is to find

this third person.

These claw prints are indeed from a beast.

It's not forged.

I've read the corpse report of these four.

Their throats were bitten through

and their abdomens dug open by claws.

They were indeed killed by a beast.

But look,

the blood on the ground doesn't look right.

The blood

is splattered around the bodies.

There are no smudges,

which means none of them tried to escape.

There were four of them.

The beast can only kill one person at a time.

They had a chance to escape.

Why didn't they escape,

instead of letting the beast kill them?

No poison.

No poison?

It doesn't make sense if there's no poison.

Could the Ni Tianhou be real

and make people unable to move?

Maybe the poison isn't in the food and water.

There was such an osmanthus tree

a few meters away from the entrance.

Based on the osmanthus trees

we saw these days,

the entrance

is probably

in this position.

The map.

It should be the map

that they checked.

The poison was on it.

After reading it,

they were poisoned and paralyzed.

They lost consciousness

and were slaughtered.

Now, the map is gone.

The murderer must be afraid of being traced.

It's not easy to find a simple map

in such a big palace.

Since the beast is real

and Ni Tianhou is fake,

then can't we find it

by tracing this smell?

Smell?

Fox Spirit has been lazy for so long.

It's time for it to work.

Come.

Go.

[Shanyi Workshop]

This should be the place.

Be careful.

Fang Xiaobao,

you've improved a lot lately.

I created this Night Rain on Green Robe technique.

What do you think?

You'd better not get spotted by Di Feisheng,

or else he'd want to challenge you.

I didn't expect the fierce two-headed Ni Tianhou

to be two lynxes tied together.

That's why it's so cruel.

Let's go in and have a look.

Seeing this,

it makes sense now.

There are so many lynx remains in the cave.

It seems the murderer has been playing tricks

for many years.

The missing maids and eunuchs

must have been killed by the murderer

for approaching the Pagoda of Bliss.

Think about it.

He just used the lynxes to kill someone.

He won't come here

for a while.

In that case,

we need to find a way

to find out who he is.

The corpses of animals in the cave

are usually fed to the lynxes.

The inner palace is strict.

It's hard not to attract attention

when sending large batches of meat here every few days.

This fake mountain

is built by the palace wall.

The small door in the cave can lead to the outer palace,

so he can put food in from the outside.

But even outside,

there's someone watching this place.

All supplies coming in and out are recorded.

It's hard for him to succeed by transporting or stealing.

Thus,

he can steal food from a group that can't speak.

I see.

The Beast Garden?

That's right.

Let's go.

Uncle Qian,

long time no see.

Fang,

long time no see. You've grown up.

Kid,

are you here so late

to see the tiger again?

Next time.

I'm here to ask you about something.

Uncle Qian,

do you often lose the meat for feeding the beasts

in the Beast Garden?

How did you know?

Don't worry, Uncle Qian.

We're here to catch the thief.

I'm not clear

about losing meat either.

When I entered the Beast Garden decades ago,

I only remember that half a stone of meat

was enough each day.

But one day,

I used up one more kilogram for no reason.

Since then,

we had less meat to feed every day.

This increased every month

until it reached five kilograms.

This went on for seven or eight years.

Then it became one kilogram again.

This kept repeating.

It's very strange.

It's like...

It's like

someone raised a beast

until it died at 7 or 8 years old.

Then he raised another young beast,

right?

Yes.

At first, I wanted to investigate this matter.

People laughed at me for being too worried.

It's just that the beasts

have varying appetites.

That's right.

It's easy to sneak a small lynx into the palace

and raise it for seven or eight years.

When it is about to die,

you can bring two more in.

This...

Small lynx?

The Beast Garden doesn't have lynxes.

Uncle Qian,

we're talking about a case.

By the way, Uncle Qian,

where do you usually store the feed?

Is it easy to be stolen?

This is why I'm doubtful,

but there's no investigation.

The feed is usually locked in the warehouse.

But other than me,

only the Ministry of Industry

has a spare key.

It's impossible

for a thief to steal meat

for so long.

Oh no! Let's go!

What happened?

The Ministry of Industry is responsible for repairing the palace.

The lynx mountain was created by the Ministry too.

Where is the key to the Beast Garden's warehouse?

The Ministry has a spare key.

The four men were planted here by the Ministry.

They also have

the poisoned palace map.

So,

the four of them

didn't return to their residence after the location was chosen.

Instead, they went to Shanyi Workshop.

Before this,

I thought it was done by the Shan Gudao alone,

but it doesn't seem the case now.

Maybe I was wrong.

Someone from the Ministry of Industry

was afraid that the secret of the Pagoda of Bliss would be leaked,

so he arranged them to go to the Shanyi Workshop

and had the lynxes kill them.

Those who can do this

will not only have worked in the Ministry for many years,

but also be involved in choosing the location

in order to plan at all times.

Ministry of Industry Supervisor, Liu Kehe.

If he didn’t inform Shan Gudao

and brought Li Fei and the others

to the Shanyi Workshop privately,

then Shan Gudao would also know

that the murderer is Liu Kehe.

Let's go.

We're too late.

Shan Gudao lost Li Fei and the others.

If he wants to find the Pagoda of Bliss,

his only clue

is Liu Kehe.

This is tricky.

What's the secret of the Pagoda of Bliss

that he needs to protect with his life?

Did he know about the Karmic Bugs too?

If he had known,

he should have noticed

the Demon Monk from the start.

So,

he must have had an ulterior motive.

It's a mess here.

We can't find any clues either.

Think about it.

Liu Kehe chose to commit suicide

to protect the secret of the Pagoda of Bliss.

I'm sure he won't leave any clues behind either.

The Pagoda of Bliss must never be recovered.

[The Pagoda of Bliss must never be recovered. Otherwise, chaos will erupt.] The Pagoda of Bliss must never be recovered.

[The Pagoda of Bliss must never be recovered. Otherwise, chaos will erupt.]

Otherwise, chaos will erupt. [The Pagoda of Bliss must never be recovered. Otherwise, chaos will erupt.]

Otherwise, chaos will erupt.

Li Lianhua,

I remember you said that

before Li Fei and the others died,

they said they saw an osmanthus tree

and estimated where the entrance was.

That's right.

They only recalled it when they saw the osmanthus tree.

It means the scenery at the entrance

is different from ten years ago.

An abandoned palace has changed so much.

Maybe

this is also a clue.

Maybe after they accidentally entered the Pagoda of Bliss,

Liu Kehe used his power to alter the palace

and hide the entrance.

Look.

These are the records

of the Ministry's construction near the abandoned palace.

There are quite a few moves.

They planted 53 trees,

flattened eight mountains,

filled five wells,

and repaired six canals.

Based on the osmanthus tree

we saw these days,

the entrance is probably

in this location.

It indeed is a well.

Let's go.

Let's go to the abandoned garden now.

Li Lianhua.

What's wrong?

A jade pendant hanging on the waist

shouldn't be so heavy.