Original subtitles

[The Demon Hunter's Romance]

[Episode 5]

Sir.

Your dishes are here.

This should be

the roasted camel hump, right?

They say

it's a delicacy from the Western Regions.

Try it quickly.

Is it good?

It's good.

Then have some more.

Here.

This one's big.

Take it.

Have another piece.

You eat it yourself.

No need to serve me.

I'm not serving you.

Back in Nanyang,

you saved my life,

saved Yanqiu's life,

and saved my whole family.

I didn't even get the chance

to thank you properly.

Now I'm asking for your help again.

Of course, I feel

a bit guilty about it.

You don't need to feel guilty.

Besides, I haven't decided to help you yet.

You will soon, anyway.

Xuanye?

Can I call you that?

I feel that calling you Physician Jiu

or Mr. Jiu makes you sound a bit old.

You can call me Banxia too.

Guangping is indeed different.

As expected of the ancient capital of three dynasties.

The imperial family is wealthy.

Look,

the people here are different.

Are you a local from Guangping?

Yes.

I thought so.

People from big cities

are all knowledgeable and experienced,

with extraordinary demeanor.

Can you not talk during meals?

-Bravo! -Bravo!

-Bravo! -Bravo!

Bravo!

Bravo!

Bravo!

Bravo!

Something's not right.

What's going on?

Wasn't she dancing just fine a moment ago?

That's right.

Quick, take a look, take a look.

Don't be afraid.

Whatever I ask,

just answer accordingly.

What was your relationship

with the deceased?

We have no relationship.

We just arrived here not long ago.

Listen to me.

As she was spinning, she suddenly collapsed.

Someone's died.

Before Tian Rui, the deceased, went on stage,

who had seen her?

Officer,

I'm not sure.

The backstage is off-limits to outsiders.

It should be

only people from their dance troupe, I guess.

Are there any other exits here?

Yes.

This way, please.

Lead the way.

Officer.

This was where Tian Rui

did her makeup.

I see.

You can go out first.

Yes.

Chief Constable Wen,

Chief Chu said

to bring the deceased's belongings

to the government office for examination.

Alright.

Oh, right.

bring everyone outside

back for questioning later.

Understood.

My lord.

What's the situation?

My lord,

the deceased was a dancer from Yunmen Dance Troupe.

She suddenly died on stage during the performance.

Tian Rui?

Do you know her?

More than a decade ago,

I had a brief encounter

with her.

Her performance of the Xi River Formation

was as graceful as a dragon.

The audience was massive and the cheers were thunderous.

Even now, thinking back,

it's still vivid in my mind.

I never thought...

More than a decade ago?

She must have been quite young, right?

Yes.

She was in her twenties,

the prime of a woman's life.

Well...

Is this the Tian Rui

that you know?

Yes,

indeed,

but

more than a decade has passed.

Why hasn't her appearance

changed at all?

My lord,

I've heard that the women in dance troupes

all have their own secret methods for maintaining their youth.

Combined with makeup and attire,

looking young

isn't really surprising.

Lord Geng,

the cause of death is unknown.

I humbly request your permission

for an autopsy.

A body should not be casually examined.

We need the family's consent first.

If the autopsy yielded no results,

it would be difficult to explain to the family.

My lord,

I suspect this case

is a poisoning.

I've led a team to inspect

the kitchen of Yanlai Restaurant.

We found nothing unusual.

Could it be that she

died suddenly from an illness?

Wen Jian,

what do you think?

My lord, I...

I think I'd better

not say anything.

Feel free to express your opinions. Don't hesitate.

My lord,

I believe

this is the work of demons.

Whenever we encounter a difficult case,

you always say it's the work of demons.

You said that female thief who slit throats last time

was also a demon.

But in the end?

In the end, I invited Xuanye to come out of seclusion

to eliminate that demon.

The lord is present here.

How dare you still spout such nonsense?

It was the lord who said we should express our own views.

My lord,

this corpse...

Next.

What's your name?

Are you hungry?

I'll go buy you something to eat.

No need.

It's my fault.

I didn't choose a good place to eat.

Next time, I'll invite you to have dinner at my place

as compensation.

We're neighbors.

We live very close to each other.

You'll be there just by stepping out the door.

My cooking skills are quite good.

You really like cooking?

I'm just cooking

for my savior.

Last time I saw you

in Nanyang,

you weren't like this at all.

Of course.

At that time,

you were willing to help voluntarily.

Now that you're unwilling,

my attitude naturally needs to have

a slight change.

Next.

What's your name?

Chief Constable Wen.

Are you finished?

Not yet.

I still need to go to Ganshan Clinic again.

Hey, Xuanye.

Xuanye?

You... Why are you here?

I went out for dinner last night

and had bad luck,

so...

You were also at Yanlai Restaurant last night?

Yes.

That's perfect.

I'm investigating

the case at Yanlai Restaurant.

Quick, follow me.

Let's meet with the lord.

Well...

She's with me.

Alright then.

Let's go together.

I've brought him here.

Where are you going?

Relying on him?

I'd rather hope

the murderer would turn himself in.

I don't have time for your nonsense.

Don't mind him.

The prefectural governor is inside.

Do you still want to go in?

Then I'll wait for you outside.

Wen Jian.

Tell Physician Jiu

about everything.

Yes, my lord.

This deceased person

was a dancer from Yunmen Dance Troupe.

A few days ago, she suddenly became young again.

This big box

should be placed in the evidence room.

I heard that

Physician Jiu from Ganshan Clinic has arrived.

What's he here for?

I don't know.

Be careful.

The box is broken.

Do you need help?

Thank you.

This case is really bizarre.

I heard that the deceased actually transformed after death.

What did she turn into?

When she was brought back,

she was still a young beauty.

After a while,

she turned into a mummified old woman.

Seriously?

See for yourself in a moment

and you'll know.

Thanks.

That's pretty much how it happened.

This case is indeed bizarre,

but we can't be certain yet

that it's the work of a demon.

My lord,

I need to go to the deceased's residence

to investigate further.

After the incident,

I've already sent people

to seal off the entire dance hall.

You accompany Physician Jiu for another visit.

Examine carefully.

Even if it's truly the work of a demon,

don't spread the word.

Yes.

Thank you, my lord.

What are you looking for?

Nothing.

Let's go.

Excuse me, officer.

What is it?

Can I take another look at that dressing mirror

I picked up earlier?

Why?

Because I think it looks nice.

Miss,

these are all pieces of evidence.

Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to examine them.

You'd better go home quickly.

Officer,

how's it going inside?

When will Physician Jiu come out?

Physician Jiu

left a long time ago.

Where did he go?

Chief Constable Wen took him away.

They were in a hurry.

I think they went to investigate the case.

Thank you.

I can't explain it clearly anyway.

Let's go in and take a look first.

It's here.

Chief Constable Wen.

This is the deceased Tian Rui's room.

How long had it been since she last returned here?

What's wrong?

The tea strainer has grown small bugs.

It seems she hadn't

been back to clean for a long time.

Their troupe leader said

ever since Tian Rui had regained her youth,

she had been pursued

by the rich young men in the city.

She sang and danced tirelessly day and night,

and barely returned here.

W-What is this?

It's pear skin.

Pear skin?

Have you heard

about the legend of the jade pear?

It's said that if one sits alone

in a closed room at midnight,

face a mirror,

light two candles,

and peel a pear

while reciting the jade pear nursery rhyme,

then if the pear skin

remains intact after reciting,

one can summon

the pear-delivering demon.

This jade pear is also called the rejuvenating pear.

Once consumed,

it can restore youth overnight.

Restore youth overnight?

That does match up.

Tian Rui had always been passionate about

methods for maintaining health and beauty,

but they'd never been very effective.

You think she ate the jade pear?

Perhaps.

Where is her body?

Still at the government office.

Youhuang knows the lord is looking for you to solve the case.

He absolutely refuses to give me the key to the mortuary.

I'll go see the lord again tomorrow morning.

We can't wait.

Tell Chi Xue to go.

This mirror has a time limit.

If I don't go now, it'll be too late.

But if I tell him directly,

he might not believe me.

Never mind all that.

Friend, I'm leaving.

Let's get a drink another day.

They're asleep?

Are you following me?

I see.

She must have taken an immortality elixir.

Yes.

Chief,

you guessed right.

Um,

can I go home now?

Wait a moment.

According to this book,

in ancient times, there was someone called

Chi Songzi

who consumed a type of

immortality elixir called Ice Jade Powder.

From then on, he became immortal.

He could even control the wind and rain.

There was also someone named Peng Zu

who took an immortality elixir

and lived for over 800 years.

In more recent times,

there was a Taoist priest in Hongzhou

with the surname Hu

who claimed to have taken an immortality pill

and lived for over 400 years.

It's said he's still alive today.

However, the old man

likes to travel all over the world,

making it difficult for ordinary people to find him.

Chief,

that's it?

You believe this?

Of course I don't believe it.

If such a miraculous medicine really existed,

how could there still be dynastic changes

and transfers of power?

I don't believe it,

but that doesn't mean others don't.

This book mentions

that some people, in pursuit of immortality,

become obsessed with elixirs

and ultimately die from poisoning

while bleeding profusely.

Tian Rui's corpse

aged instantly,

which is indeed strange.

I know that nowadays there are some alchemists

who do possess certain skills.

They can't produce

immortality elixirs,

but they can concoct

temporarily effective poison pills.

Perhaps Tian Rui

bought one of their pills.

Grab your things

and come with me.

Where are we going?

To the mortuary

for an autopsy.

Xuanye!

Hurry up.

Doing this so late

is such a sin.

Well done.

Did you encounter

any trouble on the way?

No trouble,

but there was a surprise.

What surprise?

I met Manniang's sister-in-law.

You met Banxia?

Yes.

How did you run into her?

I don't know.

What was she doing?

Following me.

Why would she follow you?

To play with me.

Play with you?

What did you do?

I played with her too.

She followed me, trying to scare me,

so I left her in the mortuary.

I scared her back.

Yan Li.

Yan Li.

Why did you fall asleep?

Chief.

If you want to sleep,

do it at home after resigning.

I wouldn't dare.

I wouldn't dare.

Next time I catch you...

Chief, there won't be a next time.

There won't be a next time, Chief Constable.

I'm going to work now.

Wait a moment.

You're on duty at the mortuary today, right?

Yes, Chief Constable.

Open the door for me.

Remember this.

Before we come out,

you stay here and guard.

Yes.

Don't let anyone in.

Yes, Chief Constable.

She followed me.

She was trying to scare me,

so I left her in the mortuary.

I scared her back.

Chief.

If the lord asks tomorrow...

Constable Li,

have you ever seen in all these years

a poison that can age someone overnight?

No.

If no poison is found in the stomach,

what should we do?

It could have been injected externally.

Skin, blood, and hair

all can be tested.

However,

she's been dead for a day.

It might be difficult.

Let's extract the stomach first.

Who's there?

Let's go back.

Alright.

Chief!

The body is missing.

Find it!

It's alright now.

Come, put this on.

What were you doing at the government office?

This case is extremely tricky.

The culprit is likely to kill again.

I must investigate first.

As your father's matter,

I've kept it in mind.

We're here.

Where are you going?

About tonight,

I'm sorry.

Xuanye,

do you want some radish?

Rest up.

Xuanye!

Jiu Xuanye!

Jiu Xuanye!

Jiu Xuanye!

Xuanye!

Xuanye!

Jiu Xuanye!

I know you can hear me.

I have something to tell you.

Jiu Xuanye!

Xuanye!

Jiu Xuanye!

Jiu Xuanye!

Stop yelling.

Why are you here?

Didn't you call for me?

I didn't call you to come over.

Besides,

couldn't you have given me a heads up before coming?

What did you want to see me about?

If you don't say it, I'm leaving.

Wait.

Yes,

I'm not as capable as you.

But compared to ordinary people,

I should be considered as

quite knowledgeable, right?

Over the years, I've seen flying fish,

talking spiders,

children with tails,

and butterflies that can pass through walls.

Aren't they all strange

and unique?

I just want to ask you.

Are mirrors that don't reflect people

also very common?

There was one at the fire scene in Nanyang City,

one in my father's room,

and also on at the restaurant in Guangping City.

Why is it that whenever it appears,

there's a murder?

I know.

You don't believe me.

You think I'm just missing my father

and making a fuss.

But now,

the evidence is right here.

If you don't believe me,

you should at least believe the evidence, right?

You went to the government office just now

to get this?

The workers said

it belonged to the dancer from last night.

I will follow this lead

and continue investigating.

As soon as I have any news about your father,

I'll let you know immediately.

Wait.

That's it?

What else do you want?

I want to be involved in

the Yanlai Restaurant case.

I want to find the killer with you.

This matter involves demons.

The dangers involved

are beyond your imagination.

If we find

the murderer who killed the dancer,

we can locate my father's whereabouts.

So even if what lies ahead

is a den of monstrous beasts,

I will still risk my life to venture forth.

Do you like it?

Didn't I just

eat one recently?

[Chi Wangchuan]

It won't hurt to have another one.

You said before

that one jade pear

can maintain one's beauty for a year.

I just had one recently.

Why did you murder for a pear again?

Especially...

Especially murdering Tian Rui.

She was jealous of you.

She talked behind your back.

Shouldn't I have killed her?

But you...

But what?

You didn't even like her.

Alright.

I was wrong.

I promise you.

From now on, unless it's time...

I won't kill anyone.

You're just placating me again.

You promised before too,

but then you just

went and did whatever you wanted.

She's just Tian Rui.

Is she worth getting so upset over?

If you really don't eat it,

it'll go to waste.

Look.

What a beautiful face.

Who says beauty fades easily

and youth is hard to keep?

As long as I'm by your side,

you won't age.

You'll stay beautiful forever.

Always heavenly beautiful,

unparalleled in beauty.

Recently,

there's been quite a commotion.

Your contract with the dance troupe is over.

We should also change places

and start a new life.

Wen Jian!

Xuanye is looking for you.

What's wrong?

He didn't say.

How about

I go back and ask, then come tell you?

No, no, no.

I'll go with you.

Did you steal the body?

Do you have any evidence?

Did you steal the body?

You...

So, you don't have any evidence.

If you don't have evidence, then what are you talking about?

If you falsely accuse me again,

be careful, I'll...

report you to the lord.

Is the body at Ganshan Clinic?

Xuanye is just a charlatan.

How can you be okay with

leaving the body with him?

Xuanye is capable.

You should trust him.

Why should I trust

someone who could

kill his own family?

He didn't do that.

Our government office has already reached a conclusion.

Then who did it?

A demon?

The old case has been closed.

There's no use in saying more.

If you have more questions,

go ask the lord.

Chi Xue.

Let me advise you one last time.

Demons have a strong desire for revenge.

Their methods are unpredictable and difficult to fathom.

If you insist on getting involved,

if anything goes wrong,

I may not be able to look after you.

It's not too late for you to back out now.

Let's get started already.

Stop dawdling.

Xuanye.

Someone at the government office insulted you.

It doesn't matter.

I didn't hear it anyway.

Why is she here too?

I asked her to stay here.

I asked you to investigate recent cases.

Do you have any results?

There is actually one.

The victim's death was very similar to Tian Rui's.

Not long ago,

the wife of Chief Secretary Zhang Cong

disappeared without reason,

but a mummified body appeared in their house.

We investigated it

as a disappearance,

but we couldn't find any clues.

Now that I think about it,

that mummified body

must have been Madam Zhang.

Xuanye,

didn't you say

eating that jade pear

could make one young again?

How come people are dying from it?

Because she took the child pear,

not the mother pear.

After the jade pear ripens,

it splits into the child pear and mother pear.

The Madam Zhang you just mentioned

and the deceased Tian Rui

probably both took

the child pear.

The effect of the child pear is short-lived.

It can preserve the youth of the consumer for seven days.

After seven days,

it will drain all their life force,

turning them into mummies.

But the mother pear is different.

After the person who took the child pear dies,

sorcery can be used

to remove their stomachs

and obtain the mother pear.

The mother pear will absorb

the vitality of the deceased.

If taken at this moment,

not only can it restore youth,

but it also

has no harm to the body.

So as long as one eats the mother pear,

one can achieve immortality

and eternal youth?

There's no such thing as immortality.

It just

lasts for a year, that's all.

After a year,

if one doesn't take another mother pear,

they will age

back to their actual age.

So,

according to what you're saying,

doesn't that demon

have to come out and murder people often?

Yes.

Her stomach is missing.

This... this...

How is this possible?

This... I...

A tree root actually grew

inside a human's abdomen.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,

I wouldn't believe it even if you killed me.

Humans have limbs and meridians.

Trees have branches, leaves, and vines.

Though they appear different,

the principles are similar.

Meridians become branches and the stomach condenses into a pear.

It's just a demonic spell.

I understand now.

So it's a tree demon?

Probably not.

Any demon can practice demonic spells.

Although this jade pear spell

is uncommon,

it's not exclusive to any particular type of demon.

If I knew the method,

I could master it too.

To know what kind of demon it is,

we need to know

this demon's innate talent.

Innate talent?

Chi Xue.

This mirror was left by Tian Rui

backstage at Yanlai Restaurant

before she died.

There were also two mirrors where Ms. Duan's father

had an accident.

This is Tian Rui's mirror...

This is evidence!

How did it end up with you?

It's nothing more than

an ordinary mirror, isn't it?

What's wrong with it?

Its effect has already worn off.

Last night,

it couldn't reflect human images.

If I'm not mistaken,

after the demon used this mirror,

it could only reflect objects,

not people anymore.

But after some time,

it restored itself.

The demon used this mirror?

How did the demon use it?

As a path.

It used this mirror

as a path for free movement.

Using mirrors to come and go as it pleases

is definitely not

an ordinary method.

This time,

we might have encountered

an enlightened Mirror Demon.

A Mirror Demon? Then...

How do we catch it?

We'll catch it like how

the victims summoned it.

By peeling pears?

Bronze mirror,

red candle,

pear, at 11:45 PM.

We need to do the whole ritual

without missing a single thing.

And this place won't do.

We need to find an empty house,

preferably one that's been uninhabited for a long time,

with a weak human presence.

I can arrange that.

What else do we need?

We also need bait,

preferably a woman.

A woman?

It's already time.

Why hasn't the boss arrived yet?

He should be here any moment.

Ji Li.

Come, sit down.

Sit.

Today, I specially

brewed a pot of fine tea.

It's top-quality tea.

I'd like to share it with you.

Come,

let's chat while we enjoy it.

Please.

Ji Li,

you've been working at Yunmen Dance Troupe

for almost five years now, right?

It will be five years in half a month.

Today, I am

putting my dignity on the line

to ask you a favor.

Please help me for another two years,

alright?