Original subtitles

=Moonlit Reunion=

(Adapted from Fu Hua's novel "Madam Mei's Husband Spoiling")

=Episode 37=

Well,

I'd like to have a deal with you.

Cut to the chase.

A scale of yours

in exchange for your lives.

What do you think?

You're the one who stole

that serpent scale.

Too bad

that snake hunter is useless.

In the end,

I had to step in myself.

Now you're trapped by sulfur.

Acting now

would seem like I'm taking advantage.

Why don't you take the initiative and make this deal with me?

It'll save the three of you some suffering.

Fine.

No...

No!

Don't do it!

Young Lady Liu!

Sir!

- Xuan Hui! - Sir!

Xuan Hui!

Please don't let anything happen to you!

Sir...

You're a grown man...

Don't cry...

Why the tears?

Sir...

Sister...

What did you call me?

I just wanted to prove myself...

I... I'm not weak...

I know.

I'm not useless...

♪If the story could be rewritten and all things changed♪

Sir!

Sir!

Sir!

Wake up!

♪How could I ever forget♪

♪When vows turn into seas and span a thousand years♪

♪Memories remain, never leaving my side♪

♪An unwavering devotion♪

♪Buried beneath the sands of time♪

(Mystic Appraisal Bureau) Master, we're here.

♪The wind drifts past the eaves and stirs my heart♪

If you're inside,

why don't you open the door?

I'm too lazy to get up.

I already wrote

your complaint for you.

Figured you wouldn't bother.

I'll only make an exception this once.

(Once you break one rule,)

(there'll be a next time.)

♪It brushes my brow and brings up old memories♪

♪The moon is distant yet the moon is kind♪

♪It holds the clouds in its arms♪

♪Under its glow I search for you♪

Your Ladyship,

Commissioner Mei sent a letter.

He's taking a leave for a while

and entrusted me to act as the commissioner.

After some time, I realized just how hard things were

for Commissioner Mei.

I don't know

how he managed all those tasks

so neatly

and orderly.

Indeed.

He asked me to assist,

and I felt overwhelmed.

That's true enough.

These difficult tasks

are easy for him.

But I...

Don't worry too much.

He's the kind of man

who works hard without showing it.

Always calm and unruffled.

But since he entrusted the Mystic Appraisal Bureau to you,

he believes you can handle it.

♪In the end the wind is still and the moon is gone♪

♪And you are no longer here♪

♪Through the long night I lose myself in dreams♪

♪My heart stirs once more at dawn♪

♪The view that follows after♪

♪I search for you in the fireworks of every season♪

♪The moon climbs the window and will not leave♪

♪It brushes my brow and brings up old memories♪

♪The moon is distant yet the moon is kind♪

♪It holds the clouds in its arms♪

♪Under its glow I search for you♪

♪In the end the wind is still and the moon is gone♪

♪And you are no longer here♪

♪Through the long night I lose myself in dreams♪

♪My heart stirs once more at dawn♪

♪The view that follows after♪

♪I search for you in the fireworks of every season♪

(Mei Residence)

♪In the end the wind is still and the moon is gone♪

♪And you are no longer here♪

♪Through the long night I lose myself in dreams♪

♪My heart stirs once more at dawn♪

♪The view that follows after♪

♪I search for you in the fireworks of every season♪

♪I search for you in the fireworks of every season♪

Your Ladyship?

You're back!

You and Young Master went to Quzhou

and didn't send any word.

You had me worried sick.

I've lost weight from hunger.

But I thought, the Chinese New Year is the day after tomorrow.

Surely you'll return for the celebration.

Your Ladyship,

what would you like to eat on that day?

Wait.

Why are you back alone?

Where's Young Master?

Yes.

Where is my Zhuyu?

Master!

Master!

What's wrong?

Kitty,

let's go back.

I fear Chang'an is about to change.

Young Master Mei Si.

You're Xuan Hui's closest friend in this world.

I'm sure

he'd want you by his side.

Please find

a good place for him

and give him a proper burial.

Zhen.

Please...

be safe.

We will.

Serpent Master,

you finally returned.

Can you manage?

You'd better get some rest.

I'm fine.

I just need some time to recover.

Ling Xiao. Hu Zhu.

Send orders right away.

From now on, increase the guards at the Demon Market entrance.

We mustn't let that old rat in again.

Understood.

Our enemy lurks in the shadows.

We must act cautiously.

Focus on healing first.

We'll plan once we figure out

the enemy's moves.

All right.

Take good care of her.

All right.

Serpent Master.

Slowly.

Master,

rest assured.

Our patrols haven't stopped during this time.

The demons' operations

haven't shown irregularities.

Zhen.

Shu.

You

remember me?

Yes, I...

I remember everything.

How did

the Changxi Palace restore

your memory?

I'm not sure.

Mystic arts are profound and mysterious.

It's no surprise there are secret magic artifacts

unknown to us.

Wait here.

Here you go.

Be careful with it.

Shu,

what restricted places

in the Demon Market can only be accessed with the Cat Master's blood

and the Serpent Master's scales?

The Demon Master's Shrine,

the Demon Refuge Island,

the Spirit Court,

the Vault, and the lowest levels of the Demon Prison.

Those should be all the places.

But you've sent me

to check those places all over.

We found nothing unusual.

You've checked and found nothing out of the ordinary.

Hold on.

What's wrong?

I remember an abandoned storehouse

near the old market.

Wasn't that left behind by the first two Masters?

Yes.

That place has been abandoned for years.

No one goes there anymore.

No one goes there,

so no one knows what's inside.

There's nothing here.

Master,

are we searching the wrong place?

No.

I have a feeling that it's here.

Let's keep searching.

That's...

The Sinister Fiend Infant!

What does that mean?

The Demon Market was created by the Sinister Fiend Infant?

This must be

the earliest council chamber.

(Strange. Why isn't that thing here?)

(That cursed rat.)

(After all my good intentions to help you resurrect.)

(You dared lie to me.)

(Where could that rat be hiding?)

(Wuzi Pavilion)

Elder Hui, here to buy books too?

Lord Shu.

You caught me off guard.

Did you visit the old storehouse yesterday?

You speak so sternly,

yet you don't spare a single word of concern for me.

Absurd.

You left the Serpent Master badly wounded

and caused a scene.

What's there to be concerned about?

You're well-informed.

Surely you made

your own plans yesterday.

We agreed to work together,

yet you took that thing ahead of me

and then shifted the blame to me.

You've always been hard to trust.

I took that thing

just to protect myself.

I've told you.

I don't care what you do with the human world

or the Demon Market.

I only want to use that thing to take Zhen away.

Lord Shu,

you've never seen that thing.

How can you be sure

that it's connected to our plans?

It's not hard to guess.

The Sinister Fiend Infant

has obsessed over it for 18 years.

Surely it's tied to the survival of the Demon Market...

Who are you?

Zhen.

It's me.

Lord Qiangyi.

(The Ancient Military Tome strikes down its foes.)

(To crush enemy nations.)

(That's what Qiangyi means.)

Since waking from the Changxi Palace,

this scene haunts me.

I once thought

it was a fevered hallucination in my illness.

Only as I pieced together the fragments of my past

did I realize it was all real.

So

your silence yesterday

was a trick to confuse me.

You were waiting for the right moment to expose me!

I just want to know the truth.

The truth?

The truth is,

we met in our childhood,

when my demonic power was weak and I could only speculate.

You seemed high-ranking, but your wings were yet to fully spread.

I wholeheartedly helped you become a full demon,

establish your place in the Demon Market,

and become the perfect Cat Master!

That's the truth you wanted.

Then why betray me?

No.

You betrayed me!

I loved you.

Everything I did was for you.

Wasn't all this what you needed?

What I needed?

You knew it was forbidden

but you said it was my need.

Reviving Elder Hui was my need?

Framing the Serpent Master was my need?

Stealing the serpent scale was my need?

Slaughtering innocents was my need?

I didn't need any of that!

The way you love

makes me sick.

What other schemes

are you and Elder Hui plotting?

I'm rather certain the Demon Market is now

under the control of the Hui Sect.

Tonight, the Sinister Fiend Infant will return to this world.

You can't stop it.

By then, the fall of Chang'an won't matter.

I'll save you.

If you obey me as you have

for the past 18 years,

I will continue to watch over and protect you.

You're safe here.

I don't need it.

I don't need that kind of protection.

I'll never accept it!

How is this possible?

You're already a full demon?

My Zhen

is finally whole.

It seems you really don't need me anymore.

There's no use in saying more.

A deluded Ancient Military Tome

should be hidden away,

away from this world.

If that's what you think...

Shu!

Shu!

Shu!

You...

Why didn't you dodge?

Why did you do this?

Zhen...

If you don't need me,

then neither Qiangyi

nor Wu Zishu

has any reason to exist.

No...

No...

That's not true...

(Shu, do you like it here?)

(I do.)

This...

sinister aura...

You've finally returned.

Where are you?

Cat Master,

I've been waiting for you.

Where are the others in the Demon Market?

Take a guess.

You rat!

Cut the act.

If you've got the guts,

come out and face me head-on!

Killing the demons in the Demon Market proves nothing!

All right.

If you want to save them,

come to the lowest level of the Demon Prison.

I'll be waiting.

Don't bother.

This cell suppresses the demonic power of its prisoner.

There is nothing

you can do here.

Elder Hui.

It's been a while.

You're still sneaking around

as always.

Isn't there a saying among mortals?

Great deeds overlook the little things.

I'd do anything

to serve Lord Sinister Fiend Infant.

Underhanded or unprincipled,

the end justifies it.

I never knew

you had ties to the Sinister Fiend Infant.

I see

you've already known Wu Zishu's true identity.

What a pity.

He's nothing but a fool lost in his tangled affections.

But I'm different.

How so?

A thousand years ago,

I was but a lowly rat spirit.

Any mortal

could torment me.

I was adrift and homeless...

(Until I met Lord Sinister Fiend Infant.)

It took me in.

I watched it build

the Demon Market with my own eyes.

Lord Sinister Fiend Infant told me

this place would be my sanctuary.

It also said

mortals are nothing but ants,

brief-lived, weak, and powerless.

I may be a rat spirit,

but you all are short-sighted fools.

I thought your displeasure

was only with me holding the Cat Master's title.

I never expected

you to be dissatisfied with the entire Demon Market.

You want peace between the two worlds?

You're wrong!

Demons should be

unrestrained and free,

not secluded and suppressing themselves.

Your heart's not in the Demon Market.

You're not the Demon Market's Cat Master at all!

You're unworthy!

Do you know what this is?

You took it from the old storehouse.

That's right.

It's a source of primal power

Lord Sinister Fiend Infant hid when it first came here.

It absorbs all evil thoughts in the hearts of humans and demons.

An immense force.

Cat Master,

do you realize?

You're the reason the Demon Market

is in ruins today!

Mark my word,

on the new moon night,

the primordial core inside you will awaken.

I will harness that power

to destroy Chang'an!

I will welcome Lord Sinister Fiend Infant.

I will be

the greatest contributor to the creation of a new era!

Elder Hui!

I wonder,

how much of your ambition is for the Demon Market

and how much is for yourself?

To prove you're not

a weak rat,

despised and trampled upon.

Serpent Master,

aren't you worried?

What good would worrying do?

(Little young lady.)

From now on,

I will pass the title of Cat Master to you.

Cat Master?

It's a position of great importance,

a sacred mission

not to be taken lightly.

I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you.

Why do you say that?

I don't think I'm fit to be the Cat Master.

What do you think makes

a Cat Master worthy?

When the time comes,

and you face your darkest hour,

forced to make

impossible choices,

you'll understand.

♪Alone on a branch as frost and snow settle in late autumn♪

♪Yet the moment of light never comes♪

Mei Zhuyu?

♪I would still trade my own peace for yours♪

It's useless.

Only the two Masters' power

can open this prison door.

Hurry and find the Serpent Master!

♪If I fall in love, how is that wrong?♪

♪Moonlight dries the air, breath turns cold♪

♪I hold you close, but you stay silent♪

How is this possible?

♪If I fall in love, how is that wrong?♪

♪Eyes flicker, memories overflow♪

I... I saw you.

What?

♪How dare I hope for anything after?♪

(You were there that night...)

18 years ago too.

What did you do?

(Is there really no other way)

(to eliminate the Sinister Fiend Infant?)

(The Sinister Fiend Infant is immortal.)

(Though demonic and celestial arts can somewhat resist it,)

(they cannot destroy its primordial core.)

(Now my life force wanes,)

(so I must pass the Cat Master's power to her,)

(and seal the primordial core within her.)

(She will be bound by it, becoming a half-demon.)

(Maybe one day,)

(someone will unravel the secret)

(to destroying the Sinister Fiend Infant.)

(But for now,)

(there is no alternative.)

(No.)

(There might be another way.)

(Place the primordial core)

(into my body.)

(This is the best choice.)

That old rat caused quite a mess in the Demon Prison

while we were occupied.

Elders, deal with your respective

sect affairs.

We'll meet in the council chamber.

- Understood. - Understood.

Master!

Are you all right?

I'm fine.

It's the night of the new moon.

Its plan is about to begin.

♪Sighing at the fleeting lights of the human world♪

♪Flowers bloom in splendor, then wither away♪

♪Old dreams linger in my heart♪

♪The past gets engraved, yet leaving no trace♪

♪Flickering candle shadows stir the sorrow of parting♪

♪The seasons turn, time slips away♪

♪The night rain falls sparse♪

♪Even tears remain silent♪

♪They drift away with the stars♪

♪One glance back, and the years are worn with age♪

♪You are my one desire, lasting till the end of time♪

♪If the story could be rewritten and all things changed♪

♪I'd spend a lifetime waiting for you♪

♪Watching fate break through the gloom, love returning again♪

♪How could I ever forget♪

♪When vows turn into seas and span a thousand years♪

♪Memories remain, never leaving my side♪

♪An unwavering devotion♪

♪Buried beneath the sands of time♪

♪If the story could be rewritten and all things changed♪

♪I'd spend a lifetime waiting for you♪

♪Watching fate break through the gloom, love returning again♪

♪How could I ever forget♪

♪When vows turn into seas and span a thousand years♪

♪Memories remain, never leaving my side♪

♪An unwavering devotion♪

♪Buried beneath the sands of time♪