Original subtitles

[Shadow Love]

[Episode 25]

You grew up with her.

She sees you as her only brother,

her only friend.

Others might not understand her,

but don't you understand her either?

Thanks.

But I fear it's all

too late now.

It's you.

I've long heard shadow puppets have keen senses,

but I didn't expect

your memory to be so good too.

You've come at a bad time.

We're busy with something today

and have no time for guests.

I'll have to kill you all and be done with it.

What's going on?

My supernatural strength is gone.

Thank you for your help, Your Highness.

Tell your master

not to forget his promise.

According to Jin Wujian,

we must lure Prince Li to the secret forest

so he can strike.

Once I leave,

send word at once.

Make sure he comes after me.

I understand.

Here's the route map.

Please be careful, Your Highness.

Your Highness,

the Crown Prince has escaped through the back door.

Just as the mysterious person said,

the man in black didn't show up,

and the Crown Prince left the General's Residence.

Kill them all.

Leave no one alive.

Yes!

General,

Jin'an and the Crown Prince

are both gone.

They must have escaped through the back door.

If we follow the hoofprints,

we should be able to catch up with them.

You really have a death wish,

coming here to get yourself killed.

This place

is the altar specially built for the heavenly tribulation.

Do you like it?

Are you saying

this is an altar?

Every detail here

was decided by Father and the Imperial Astrologer.

It took a long time.

Do you see that ice lotus behind you?

Just forging the three-edged spike in its center

took considerable manpower,

so when you fall upon it,

the spike can instantly pierce your throat.

I'm afraid you won't get to see that spectacle

because I won't let you die on this altar.

You have to die by my hand.

Jin Wujian,

why did you deceive me?

What?

Are you still hoping someone will come to save you?

Muli,

we are brothers.

What have I done wrong

for you to treat me like this?

If you must blame someone,

blame yourself for being the Crown Prince

and standing in my way.

If you must blame someone,

blame me for not trusting you at all.

I'm weak and powerless.

I've already given my all…

just to stay alive.

Su Muli,

you want to kill your own brother— even more ruthless than a wolf!

Even if I go to hell and become a vengeful ghost,

I will never let you go!

Fine.

I'll be waiting for you.

How dare you!

Kill her!

Your Highness!

Guard this place.

When the shadow puppet appears,

blood flows everywhere.

The great plan is about to succeed.

Congratulations, Master.

You actually kept the Kongqing Water

for yourself behind my back.

Yes.

But I must thank you, Yin.

Without you,

how could I have pulled it off?

So it really was you.

Back then, Godfather

fell victim to your foul play!

My dear junior,

you've finally figured it out.

Why?

Why do you think?

If it weren't for you

taking everything that should have been mine,

why would I have practiced forbidden techniques?

Guang Yuanming

ignored our bond as father and son,

destroyed my ability to perform martial arts,

and nearly killed me.

Why could he try to kill me,

but I couldn't take revenge?

Answer me!

Why are you silent now?

Godfather once said

I was inferior to you in every way.

But now,

the shadow puppet is in my hands.

I alone decide

what's right and wrong in this world!

Your Highness.

Your Highness!

Your Highness, wake up.

Your Highness!

Your Highness, don't move.

This is… quicksand.

Your Highness,

we can't waste time.

I'll pull you out.

You want me to save myself

at the cost of your life?

Your Highness,

I am your subject.

Protecting you

is my duty.

We must look at the bigger picture!

I can't do it.

If we delay any longer,

we'll both die here.

If Your Highness died here,

wouldn't that be just what our enemies want?

Your Highness,

you still have responsibilities to the country

and the people.

Your Highness.

Your Highness, hurry!

If I can't even protect the one I love,

how can I protect the country and the people?

Your Highness!

Those times we shared…

I've never forgotten them.

But we can't live

only for ourselves.

If you make it out of here

and rise again,

you must promise me

to protect the Li family

and the Changfeng Army.

Your Highness.

Hurry.

Give me your hand.

Your Highness,

hurry!

Your Highness, remember,

you must live with your head held high!

I'll go find help right away.

Yin,

you're the only son Godfather ever loved.

I'll send you to meet him now!

Shuang.

You're always wearing armor.

Only this plain jade hairpin

won't look out of place on you.

[Jin'an,]

[if you find this hairpin,]

[you'll know I died here.]

[To have met you in this life,]

[I have no regrets.]

Shuang.

Oh, no.

He's trying to break Jade Linglong by force.

He'll lose control.

♪ In my chest ♪

♪ A raging sea of fire burns ♪

♪ It stains your armor ♪

♪ As we stand side by side, passing through the mist♪

♪ The black and white of night and day ♪

♪ I'll always be there ♪

♪ One moment is a lifetime ♪

♪ Transcend the future of life and death ♪

♪ It's hidden in my heart, growing in my soul ♪

♪ I live only for you ♪

♪ The love in my bones and blood ♪

♪ Surges in the long night ♪

♪ Enveloped by the flames ♪

♪ Only you understand my heart ♪

♪ I fear no burns, indulging my unique love ♪

♪ I'm burning for you ♪

♪ I'll die for you ♪

♪ I've never changed my promise ♪

♪ Fate is revealed, you are my only love ♪

♪ With a pact of blood, I won't let go ♪

♪ Oh, I'll charge through the darkness ♪

♪ Oh, my faith exists only for you ♪

Jin'an.

Jin'an.

Jin'an.

Jin'an!

He's not Jin'an.

He's now an emotionless killing machine.

That's not true.

He recognized me just now.

Jin'an.

Jin'an.

Jin'an.

Do you remember me?

Jin'an.

You still…

still remember me,

don't you?

Shuang.

Shuang.

It seems the Kongqing Water they gave you

hasn't worn off yet.

If you force yourself to fight now,

you'll only die faster.

Save her.

I know you can save her.

If you don't save her,

Jade Linglong will die with me.

I can save her!

But on one condition:

you must come back with me.

I promise you.

You're quite lucky,

escaping certain death against all odds.

You...

How did you…

How did I anticipate this

and lie in wait for you?

My dear brother,

everything that happened today

was all my plan.

You were nothing but a pawn.

How could I rest easy without seeing your corpse

with my own eyes?

That quicksand was bottomless.

Yet you came out alive alone.

I suppose Li Shuang sacrificed her life to save yours.

I thought you were deeply in love with her,

but when faced with death,

you were just an ungrateful hypocrite.

What's the point

of someone like you remaining in this world?

This dagger is coated with deadly poison,

made solely

to send you to your grave.

As your brother, I've gone to such lengths.

May you rest in peace

in the underworld.

Jin'an.

Jin'an.

Jin'an!

Jin'an!

Jin'an!

Jin'an!

Prince Li?

Prince Li.

Don't…

don't go near him.

Your Highness.

Your Highness,

how did this happen?

It was…

It was Jin'an.

He killed Su Muli.

Jin'an.

Li Shuang.

As your brother, I've gone to such lengths.

May you rest in peace

in the underworld.

Your right hand…

Did you ever think

that a loser like me

could be your downfall?

All these years,

I've gone to great pains to hide the truth that my right hand is fine,

just to wash away the shame!

Now,

I'm the hunter,

and you're the prey.

How does it feel?

Muyang,

stop.

I was wrong.

Don't forget,

I am your elder brother.

Brother?

Su Muyang,

what are you going to do?

You can't kill your own brother.

Brother?

When you humiliated me endlessly

and tried to kill me,

why didn't you remember you were my brother?

When did you ever treat me like your brother?

When did you even treat me like a man?

[Wuling Mountain]

For several days now,

you haven't had a drop of water.

Even a god

couldn't survive like this.

Weren't you going to take Jade Linglong out?

Why haven't you done it yet?

You've just suffered severe injuries,

and the Kongqing Water hasn't worn off.

If you don't recover properly,

I fear you won't live to see the day

when I take Jade Linglong out.

Stop pretending to care.

If you were truly compassionate,

would you have hurt Shuang?

Jade Linglong was out of control then.

The situation was perilous.

I didn't mean it.

I know you care for Li Shuang.

I've given her medicine.

Whether she lives or dies

is up to fate now.

Listen.

If anything happens to Shuang,

I will bathe Wuling Mountain in blood.

Do you think throwing your life away

will keep her safe?

I came to tell you

that everything's ready.

Tomorrow, I'll take Jade Linglong out.

The process

will be unbearably painful.

You need to be prepared.

Once Jade Linglong is out,

I can return to Shuang?

Why are you so obsessed?

Have you ever thought

that both your love

and loyalty to her

are because of the blood pact?

Once it's broken,

you will be free.

You won't be restrained by it anymore.

You're just a hermit grinding herbs in the mountains.

What would you know of love?

If love only means

hurting others and oneself like you do,

I'd rather not understand it.

Other than Father,

you treated me better than anyone.

Your Highness, remember,

you must live with your head held high!

Your Majesty!

Greetings, Your Majesty.

What is the panic?

Your Majesty,

news has arrived from Lucheng,

saying

that Prince Li…

P-Prince Li…

h-he...

Speak clearly.

Prince Li

has passed away.

T-Then...

what about the Crown Prince?

The Crown Prince is safe

and will return to the capital soon.

Your Majesty! Your Majesty!

Hurry!

Send for the imperial physicians!

Go! Hurry!

Your Highness,

news from the capital:

His Majesty fell ill upon hearing

of Prince Li's death.

It's time.

I believed Shuang

had forgotten our past

and left me in peril

until that day when she risked her life

to save me.

Only then did I realize—

she never forgot

what we once meant to each other.

General Li saved your life.

She should be properly rewarded.

Indeed.

But tell me,

with what identity am I to reward her?

With Prince Li dead,

his allies and underlings

are like ants on a hot pan, all fearing for their lives.

The capital is already in chaos.

Now is

the perfect time for Your Highness to return and seize power.

With Father gravely ill,

I must return to Yunjing ahead of you.

First,

I need to arrange Muli's funeral.

Second,

a country cannot go a day without a ruler.

You stay here

and take good care of Shuang.

Once everything is settled in the capital,

I will send someone to bring her back.

Your Majesty, I wish you

a smooth journey and success in all endeavors.

Elder Tong,

thank you for your assistance.

[Prime Minister's Mansion]

Father-in-law.

What are you doing, Your Highness?

Thanks to your secret arrangements

along the way,

I managed to escape death

and return safely to the capital.

I cannot thank you enough.

You've suffered greatly, Your Highness.

Now that Prince Li is dead,

you can rest easy from here on.

Father

won't spare me.

You are now His Majesty's only son.

Why did you say such things?

Years ago,

Father believed the words of a mystic charlatan

who claimed Mars retrograding near Antares

would threaten the imperial star.

To survive this tribulation,

someone must be

sacrificed in Father's place.

That sacrifice

was me.

Your Highness, don't speak such nonsense.

If you doubt it, Father-in-law,

check it with Father's personal guards.

You can find out the truth.

In Father's eyes,

I was meant to die.

Otherwise, no matter how arrogant Prince Li was,

he wouldn't have dared to openly try to kill me.

When Father arranged my marriage,

he wanted me and Tianjiao to complement each other

and create the so-called "perfect destiny."

I fear that after I die,

to cover up this scandal,

Tianjiao will meet the same fate.

She is my lawful wife after all.

Even though she never liked me,

I cannot stand by and watch her

be sent to her death.

Nor can I bear to see you lose your home

and family.

How could this be?

I thought

once Prince Li was taken down,

I could live a peaceful life.

I never expected

there'd always be another predator lurking.

I bear the title of heir,

but I can't protect anyone.

How many others know about this?

The others

almost all died in Lucheng.

As for the capital,

you're the only one

I've told.

With Prince Li dead,

His Majesty is overcome with grief and has fallen ill.

Your Highness, if you seize this opportunity,

you might advance even further.

No.

-He is my father after all. -Your Highness!

When you were in Lucheng,

you knew to join forces with me

to bring Prince Li down.

Now at this critical moment,

you cannot afford to be soft-hearted!

There's

no…

no turning back for us now.

I'll just do as you say, Father-in-law.

Your Highness,

Chancellor Ji has sent word

that Jin Bao

has confessed everything.

He even revealed that Prince Li used him

to poison His Majesty.

He detailed the exact time

and dosage

with perfect clarity.

Prince Li planned to kill me first

and then wait for Father to die from the poison.

This way,

he could rightfully inherit the throne.

What a brilliant scheme.

Unfortunately, his careful plotting

backfired on him.

Now, the lives and fortunes of half the court officials

are in Your Highness's hands.

Once a wolf has the prey between its jaws,

it won't let go.

Finally,

they're the prey,

and I'm the hunter.

Minister Tian,

if you pledge your loyalty to the Crown Prince,

you will enjoy endless wealth

and glory.

I am willing.

I was foolish to follow Prince Li.

I see my mistake now.

From now on,

I'll serve the Crown Prince

and carry out

his every order.

Lord Zhang,

you've always been Prince Li's loyal dog,

refusing to repent.

Today

is the day you die.

[Reign]