Original subtitles

[Mysterious Lotus Casebook]

[Episode 37]

What's wrong?

The jade pendant hanging on his waist

shouldn't be this heavy.

[A promise of life and death]

A promise of life and death.

The life-and-death jade?

You know about it too?

The life-and-death jade is the proof of contract with the royal family.

By accepting this contract,

the family is obliged to serve the royal family forever.

But Liu Kehe's family

worked in the Ministry of Works for generations.

Their positions weren't high either.

Why do they own a life-and-death jade?

Who did they make the contract with?

The answer

is in the Pagoda of Bliss.

Imperial Preceptor.

Why do you have to enter the palace in the middle of the night to choose the address?

A murder happened a few days ago.

It's not safe at night.

I purposely chose to come here at night.

Because when the moon is the brightest,

the direction of Fengshui becomes most obvious.

Why are there new recruits today?

The ministry's craftsmen were killed.

We were short of hands.

So I asked people from the Wansheng Clan to help.

This matter has been delayed for too long.

We should speed up.

I'll ask them to search the place right away.

Everyone.

I come with Empress Dowager's verbal instructions!

Eunuch Wang, please take the Imperial Preceptor and all craftsmen

to Mingluan Garden immediately.

She wishes to discuss something important.

Everyone?

Yes.

Faking the Empress Dowager's verbal instructions...

Fang Xiaobao,

you owe the princess another favor.

This is an important matter.

I hope we can stall them for a while.

Let's start searching.

Over there.

This way.

Strange.

We've searched everywhere.

It doesn't look like

there's a tower hidden anywhere.

Did we pick the wrong direction?

Or

is there some kind of illusion

that we missed out?

Li Lianhua.

Why are you spacing out?

The Demon Monk will be back if we don't find it soon.

It should be nearby.

The Pagoda of Bliss is a tower.

But why is the entrance a well?

Maybe the pagoda is gone.

But the treasure is still there.

So they must have entered

a secret room in the well instead.

Think about it.

Li Fei and others have been to the Pagoda of Bliss.

That means if we fall into the well,

we can find the pagoda.

Was Zhao Chi's action before he died

hinting at something?

You mean

the Pagoda of Bliss is in the well?

How is that possible?

Did the Pagoda of Bliss become a well?

I got it.

The Pagoda of Bliss is a well.

Look.

Well.

Pagoda.

When Zhao Chi died,

he hinted that the pagoda is a well.

Such an abstruse design.

I understand now.

It's the Iron Mountain Collapse.

You've heard of it too?

In the Book of Mechanisms,

there is a Blood Realm mining mechanism called the

Iron Mountain Collapse.

They first hang an extremely heavy weight up high.

Then, by suddenly reversing the mechanism,

the weight will rapidly fall down,

smash a hole into the ground,

and pour stucco into the hole.

In an instant, a small mine cave will be created.

There was a heavy weight at the top of the pagoda.

Each level of the pagoda was connected too.

On the night of the disappearance,

someone reversed the mechanism

and let the heavy weight at the top of the pagoda fall rapidly.

It penetrated the ground layer

and sank the entire pagoda underground.

And so, the pagoda became a well overnight.

The well opening must be well hidden.

There was no need for Liu Kehe

to fill the well more than ten years ago.

It should be Xue Kuan.

After he got drunk,

he accidentally found the entrance.

Then, to find the entrance to the Pagoda of Bliss,

we need to think about where a drunk person

would go in an abandoned garden.

Drunk.

Moonlight.

Osmanthus.

If he wanted to admire the moon or rest his legs,

wouldn't he look for a pavilion?

Wait.

Eunuch Wu wrote this poem.

He used to serve Emperor Guangqing

and stayed closely by his side.

He was such a busy man,

yet he had the time to admire the moon and write poems.

Don't you think it's suspicious?

Unless his poem has a hidden meaning.

The Hanyun fluffs piled in a corner.

Gathering them, I made a flowerbed.

Is there a place called Hanyun

in the palace?

Maybe it's the name of the pavilion.

And this one.

Flying snow turns into rain.

The snow turned into rain in mid-air.

It means the temperature is high.

Could it be...

A hot spring pool?

The Iron Mountain Collapse could only be built on soft soil.

Naturally, a spot with water is more suitable.

Liu Kehe's construction booklet.

On the 8th of July,

dismantle the Hanyun pavilion,

fill the Liuye pond,

and build a stone mountain.

It's here.

The base of the pavilion is still here.

The rocks look like they weigh hundreds of kilograms.

Fang Xiaobao.

Can you do it?

Li Lianhua.

Just watch me.

The spiritual tower leads to mysteries.

Move not and obtain bliss.

This well was formed when the Pagoda of Bliss was inverted.

Looks like we've found the right place.

Let's go over there.

Come and have a look.

So many treasures.

This should be the main hall of the Pagoda of Bliss.

When Xue Kuan and the others found this place,

it was hard for them to resist their greed.

The people who accidentally entered the pagoda back then

must have seen these veiled hats too.

Maybe someone wore such a hat

and escaped with the treasures.

Liu Kehe who had been guarding nearby

found that they accidentally entered the pagoda.

So he released the tiger to bite Xue Kuan to death.

The rest of them were traumatized by the event.

That's why Liu Kehe

just had to hang a veiled hat

in the White Jade Academy

to terrify them.

Liu Kehe sure went out of his way

to protect the treasures here.

If this pagoda were that simple,

the person who sealed this tower 100 years ago

should have taken

these treasures long ago.

Forget it.

Let's not think about that.

Our priority is to find the mother bug.

Fang Xiaobao.

The Rama Vessel.

It's not the same one.

But the shape is exactly the same.

This one

must have been sealed here

with the Pagoda of Bliss 100 years ago.

Look.

The vessel is broken.

Is the mother bug inside?

Look at this male body.

There's a hole between his eyebrows.

You're right.

Why is that?

Karmic bugs

feed on blood and flesh.

They're especially fond of the human head marrow.

Since the vessel is broken,

after the mother bug is awake,

she must look for blood and flesh to eat.

As such,

the mother bug is in his head.

Demon Monk!

Thank you for your help.

I'll be taking the mother bug.

The two of you can die here in the Pagoda of Bliss instead.

Darn it. He took the mother bug.

Wait.

It's in the vessel.

I saw a movement outside the door,

so I only said half of my words.

It's been decades since the mother bug

fed on this male body.

Once nothing was left,

she returned to her nest to hibernate.

The vessel is her nest.

Go ahead, open it.

It's really inside.

I'm afraid we can't hide this for long.

Shan Gudao will be here for it soon.

Li Lianhua.

It will be a tough battle later.

You'd better hide.

Why fight a tough battle?

Since we have the stuff,

the most important thing now

is to find a chance to escape.

I have so many traps waiting to be used.

If not now,

when will I ever use them?

Good for you.

I found it.

You found it?

Why is it empty?

Li Lianhua tricked us.

Li Xiangyi.

Even if you swallow the mother bug this time,

I'll cut your belly open and get it.

Li Lianhua.

I found a secret passage out of here

when I was setting the traps.

We can go now.

What are you looking at?

Did you hear me?

I know why the Pagoda of Bliss

disappeared overnight.

Why?

The words and murals were carved on the wall

to cover up a huge secret.

The biggest secret in the pagoda is not these treasures,

but the man on the bed.

This body belonged to the

long-deceased Nanyin sorcerer,

Feng Ahlu.

Feng Ahlu, the man who once controlled the karmic bugs?

No wonder the karmic bug is here.

A hundred years ago, Emperor Guangqing had no offspring.

He built the Pagoda of Bliss to change the Fengshui and pray for a son.

Feng Ahlu pretended to be a craftsman,

[Feng Ahlu]

mixed into the palace,

and intended to use the mother bug in the Rama Vessel

to assassinate Emperor Guangqing.

But when he sneaked into the palace for the assassination,

he ran into Consort Ying instead.

[Consort Ying]

He fell for her unparalleled beauty

and thought they were destined to be together.

For Consort Ying,

the sorcerer forgot his mission

and willingly became her secret lover.

He looked forward to meeting

Consort Ying every day.

The sorcerer was hidden in the Pagoda of Bliss,

where he often met Consort Ying in private.

Soon,

Consort Ying finally got pregnant.

The sorcerer thought that after Consort Ying gave birth,

she would take the child and elope with him.

Consort Ying was pregnant for ten months.

The sorcerer waited eagerly for her for ten months.

But when Consort Ying gave birth,

the sorcerer fell into the underground with the Pagoda of Bliss

and never saw the sun again.

The entire pagoda

was Consort Ying's plan.

Emperor Guangqing

was infertile.

Consort Ying wanted a child.

So she planned the whole thing

to become the queen

and seize power.

After that, she destroyed all the records

related to the Pagoda of Bliss.

Sorcerer Feng Ahlu

was buried underground with the Pagoda of Bliss.

That's why he was full of anger

and drew these.

In the end, he died in slow agony.

But if Emperor Guangqing’s son

is the son of the sorcerer, then...

After Emperor Guangqing,

the royal bloodline was lost.

If this gets out,

the world will be in chaos.

So the Pagoda of Bliss

must be a secret forever.

No wonder Liu Kehe

would rather kill and commit suicide

than let anyone find out the secret.

Consort Ying and the Liu family made the contract

and promised to employ the Liu family for generations.

So they conspired to build

the Pagoda of Bliss.

Not only was the pagoda equipped with the Iron Mountain Collapse,

it also had a secret room.

This pagoda was designed

to keep this secret forever.

The secret passage you just mentioned

is the one Feng Ahlu and Consort Ying used to meet in private,

right?

Oh no.

They are here.

Come with me.

Let's go!

They escaped.

Li Xiangyi!

It's okay.

They can't escape.

This secret passage

should lead to somewhere in the palace.

It's not convenient for me

to openly search

the palace yards yet.

I can only count on you now.

What's going on?

Someone must have reported to the Imperial City Division.

They're here to stop us.

That's right. You're correct.

Here comes His Majesty.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Be careful, Your Majesty.

The vessel in his hand

is for poisoning people.

I shall capture him.

Don't worry, Imperial Preceptor.

The Imperial City Division should keep the evidence.

Your Majesty.

Li Lianhua, Fang Duobing.

When the Imperial Preceptor said you dug a secret passage

in the imperial harem and wanted to rebel,

I didn't believe it.

But I see it's true.

Your Majesty,

we didn't dig the secret passage.

We don't plan to rebel either.

Then tell me,

why are you digging a secret passage

in the imperial harem instead of

investigating the murder case?

Your Majesty.

The entrance of the secret passage

is at least a few decades old.

I believe they didn't do it.

Maybe there's some misunderstanding.

This secret passage has been here for a hundred years.

Where does the secret passage lead to?

Why are you hesitating?

Can't you say it?

It leads to the Pagoda of Bliss.

Is there really the Pagoda of Bliss?

Fang Duobing.

You are the son of Fang Zeshi.

You've been to the palace since young.

You should know the consequences of deceiving me.

Tell me.

Is there really the Pagoda of Bliss?

Yes.

What's in the Pagoda of Bliss?

A lot of treasures.

A lot of treasures,

but you came out empty-handed?

We are not thieves.

Then why did you take this strange vessel?

Tell me.

What's the origin of this strange vessel?

Lock them here for now.

Xuanyuan Xiao.

Come take a look with me.

If there really is the Pagoda of Bliss,

I can believe

what they said.

If not,

don't blame me for being ruthless.

Your Majesty.

You can't enter the secret passage.

Step aside.

Your Majesty.

At this point,

why didn't you tell His Majesty about the Karmic Bugs?

If we tell him about the Karmic Bugs,

we have to talk about the pagoda's 100-year-old secret.

We can't talk about that.

Even if we don't say it,

His Majesty saw it himself.

Your Majesty.

Bad news.

The Empress Dowager left the palace to burn incense.

But she was abducted.

It's my fault.

I'll bring the Empress Dowager back now.

Let's go.

Are you two responsible for that?

At a time like this,

if we can't explain, we should run.

The secret passage and the Pagoda of Bliss are all fake.

It's all your tricks.

Arrest them!

Get ready to retreat.

Stop! Stop!

After them!

The three of us have yet to find a worthy opponent

since we came here.

Today,

[Three Saints of Pagoda]

I would like to spar with the best martial artist

of the Central Plains.

I'm late to the rescue.

Your Highness, please forgive me.

So you really plan to rebel.

It's not too late to know now.

Lord Xuanyuan.

I struck you too hard.

My apologies.

Wipe your eyes and take a good look.

Not everyone gets to see

such a prosperous world.

This mother bug is really amazing.

It merely screeched,

and we almost lost our senses.

The world

belongs to me in the end.

Fang Duobing.

Your Highness.

I know a way out.

Let's go.

Let's go.

[Royal Palace]

[Mysterious Lotus Casebook]

What happened to Father?

Why was he so angry

and wanted to arrest you two?

His Majesty has his own reason.

Your Highness, it's better not to ask.

Did those thieves steal things

and made Father misunderstand you?

This can't do.

I'll arrest all of them

and clear your name.

Your Highness, don't.

Those people can bewitch people.

When you return to the palace,

don't see anyone.

It's best to pretend to be sick.

Wait for us to return

and get rid of them.

Pretending to be sick is tiring.

Fine.

Since you said so, I promise you.

You must come back soon.

Your Highness, take care.

You too.

You'll come back to me

after you clear your name, right?

You said it yourself.

Don't disappear like last time.

Alright.

I'm leaving.

Things are not going well.

Shan Gudao made use of others to do the bidding for him.

I guess he already has the Karmic Bug.

He won't stop now.

What should we do now?

Let's split up.

Your father is still in the capital.

I'm afraid he will be implicated.

Go back to the city now.

Save him if you can.

If it's too late,

don't act recklessly.

Otherwise, Lord Fang will suffer more.

But I can't just watch my father get arrested.

If so,

go to Tianji Mountain Manor now

and ask your mother for help.

Lord Fang has a lot of friends

in the court.

I'm sure they can keep him safe.

Enough talking.

Go now.

What about you?

Shan Gudao wants to use the Karmic Bug.

So I need to find a way

to counter it.

By the way,

I suddenly remembered

I have an old friend

whom I haven't seen for years.

I need to meet him.

Okay.

When you're done,

we'll meet at the Lotus Tower.

Okay.

I have to meet him

eventually.

[Live and work in peace]

[Tianji Mountain Manor]

Young Master.

Don't go near the manor.

It's surrounded by guards from the court.

Where is my mother?

Mother.

I caused trouble

and implicated Father.

Xiaobao, get up.

Come on.

Xiaobao.

Do you remember the character scroll hanging in your room?

Justice and Righteousness.

When you were three,

your father gave you that scroll,

hoping you could become

a man of integrity.

Right now, you're doing exactly that.

What fault do you have?

Your father won't blame you.

But the Imperial City Division took Father away.

I don't know what Shan Gudao will do to him.

Mother.

Please contact the elders of the court

and ask them to put in a good word for Father.

I'll send some strangers to guard outside the city.

If anything bad happens,

we'll have to find the chance and break him out of prison.

If that happens,

your father will live the rest of his life

as a runaway rebel.

You know your father.

He'd rather die than become that.

I won't take the risk

unless I absolutely have to.

I can't let anything

happen to my father.

You really came.

Sect Leader.

It's really you.

I invited you here

to ask about the whereabouts

of Jiao Liqiao's lair.

Sorry.

My hands are not stable lately.

so I can't pour you tea.

I'm the one who should be sorry.

Let bygones be bygones.

I'm not talking about the past.

I'm sorry about the present.

Li Lianhua.

Sect Leader Xiao.

Sect Leader Xiao.

Please give the order

for all members of the Sigu Sect to look for Li Lianhua.

What happened to Li Lianhua?

There's only blood left in the Lotus Tower.

Li Lianhua is missing.

Mr. Fang,

dozens of people in the martial world

disappear every day.

Why should the entire Sigu Sect be deployed

to look for Li Lianhua?

The Sigu Sect attends to serious matters.

It's not for looking for random people.

Finding Li Lianhua is the most serious matter.

Only Li Lianhua

can stop Shan Gudao's diabolical plan.

Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Quit exaggerating.

There are indeed rumors in the martial world that

Shan Gudao faked his death

and attacked Tianji Hall with the Wansheng Clan.

But this is your personal grudges.

It has nothing to do with the world's safety.

Sect Leader Xiao.

I don't know if you're really dumb

or just pretending to be.

In his ten years of hiding,

Shan Gudao led the Wansheng Clan,

joined forces with Jiao Liqiao,

and recruited many evil and skilled martial artists.

His power has already surpassed the authorities.

Not just that,

he has also acquired the mother Karmic Bug.

With time,

he can control anyone to be his puppet.

Do you still think you can mind your own business?

I swear to heaven and earth

that I am telling the truth.

Everyone.

Only by finding Li Lianhua

can we stop Shan Gudao.

How will finding Li Lianhua

stop Shan Gudao?

Do they know each other?

Because Li Lianhua is his junior

and the leader of the Sigu Sect,

Li Xiangyi.

Are you telling the truth?

Li Lianhua is really the Sect Leader?

Nonsense!

Li Xiangyi was such a magnificent figure.

Meanwhile, Li Lianhua is just

a village man and a farmer.

Master Shi.

In this world,

apart from Fang Duobing,

who else can prove that

Li Lianhua is Li Xiangyi?

I'll prove it for him.

Zhan Yun Fei, Master Zhan.

I have a way to prove it right here.

This is...

Yangzhouman?

Fang Duobing.

Your inner power is Yangzhouman?

Back then, I was seriously injured

and my life was at risk.

So, Li Lianhua taught me Yangzhouman.

Is he really alive?

Sect Leader is in danger,

we should find him immediately.

Even if it’s Li Xiangyi,

so what?

Sigu Sect is built to uphold justice in the Martial world.

It deals with serious matters of the martial world.

If we dispatch the entire sect

to look for a single person,

we'll surely become a laughing stock

if the word gets out.

We will indeed become a laughing stock.

They'll laugh at us for being hypocrites.

Mian.

I didn't expect

you would become like this.

You talk about benevolence and righteousness,

but your heart is filled with jealousy and ill intentions.

You talk about the risk of

tending to small matters instead of big ones.

But the concept of justice in this world

is the accumulation of these small matters.

What if the person

who disappeared today was a mere merchant?

Will we leave him to his demise

just because he's not significant enough for us to care?

The world doesn't need

this kind of Sigu Sect.

Besides,

I knew

all this is just your excuse.

Pass the order of the Sigu Sect Leader.

From today onwards, everyone in the Sigu Sect

must look for Li Lianhua.

No matter how far and wide,

we must not miss a corner.

The Sigu Sect also invites all righteous allies

to come together and discuss our strategy against the Wansheng Clan.

Yes, Sect Leader.

Yes, Sect Leader.

I regret it so much.

I shouldn't have let you

be the leader of the Sigu Sect.

I'll be taking the Leader's Token.

Leaving it with you

is a humiliation to the Sigu Sect.

Farewell.

Is he dead?

[Yu Die, Qing Shu]

He has been here for four to five days.

He hasn't woken up at all.

Master gave him the best medicine.

We gave him so many expensive medicines

for his inner injuries.

He's still alive,

and the wound hasn't worsened.

But he just wouldn't wake up.

After all, he hurt his ribs and his lungs.

Anyone would take a long time to heal.

Why did Master save him?

I've been with Master for three years.

I've only seen Master kill people.

but I've never seen Master save people.

Could he be...

Be what?

The Master's lover.

The Master's lover lives there.

That is the one Master likes.

That person has been there for so long.

He's completely silent.

-Who is he, anyway? -Quit asking.

Why are you talking so much?

Master might kill you if you're not careful.

Let's go.

It's Jiao Liqiao's lair.

If I had ended up like this back then,

I would have taken my own life already.

I wouldn't have given Jiao Liqiao

the chance to humiliate me.

Perhaps, if it was back then,

Li Xiangyi would have killed Biqiu

the moment he stabbed him.

Fortunately, times have changed.

He's awake. Let's stop.

You lost today.

You've been sleeping for a long time.

If you had slept for another day,

we'd have buried you like a corpse.

Are you blind?

My eyes

are indeed damaged.

So we're guarding a blind man.

He's a good-looking one.

The ones we saw last time

had their eyes dug out by Master.

They were so ugly.

Blind man.

It's fine if you can't see.

Just don't bother us with anything.

Don't worry.

I'm a very obedient blind man.

So...

Where am I?

I won't tell you.

You won't tell me?

Then let me guess.

This should be the dungeon.

You're wearing chains on your arms and legs.

Where else could this be?

Then your master must be Jiao Liqiao.

You're pretty smart.

The two of you have nice voices.

If I'm not wrong,

you should be Nanyin's descendents.

Just like your master,

right?

You're a sweet talker.

We are very busy.

Call us if you're dying.

If you're not dead, go back to sleep.

Give me a cup of tea.

Tea?

Didn't I tell you not to bother us?

I don't want to bother you either.

But I'm really thirsty.

If I die from thirst,

won't it be more trouble for you?

If you're thirsty and want water,

you can kneel down and beg me.

I will let you drink some water.

You already have the Karmic Bug.

Why are you here

instead of executing your big plan?

I've worked hard for over ten years.

Of course I have to see

your pathetic defeated state.

The best in the world,

the invincible Li Xiangyi,

has finally lost to me.

If I knew you wanted to win this badly,

I would have slacked off back then

and let you win.

Then, you wouldn't have to waste

ten years of your life like this.

Li Xiangyi.

Don’t be so full of yourself.

So what if you're good at martial arts?

So what if you're smart and strategic?

At the peak of your life,

you were just the leader of the Sigu Sect.

As for me,

I am more than ten times better than you.

Now that

the Karmic Bug is in my hands,

everything is under my control.

My great cause will be achieved in a few days.

My Wansheng Clan will be the best in the martial world,

and I shall rule the world.

As for you,

I will hang you on the city wall

to endure the harsh weather

and suffer every day.

No one will remember who you are.

And when they think of you,

they will only remember that wild mutt at the city gate.

And even when you want a cup of water,

you have to kneel down

and beg for it.

Oh... Shan Gudao.

It doesn't matter if I don't drink the water.

But after so many years,

you still get angry so easily.

You won't be happy for long.

Enjoy your suffering.

Take care.

You two keep an eye on him.

Torture him every day,

but don't kill him.

He must witness my day of glorious success.

How dare you order us around?

I don't think you'll be happy for long either.

Flowers will blossom again.

But a man can never be young again.

Seek not eternal wealth.

You only need to be content.

Mr. Fang.

I read these letters during the day.

There's no news of Physician Li.

Any news

from the masters?

[Li Lianhua]

Li Lianhua!

Stop!