Original subtitles

[Whispers of Fate]

[Episode 2]

[Four years ago, in the peach blossom forest of Zhoudi Tower]

A friend who would move heaven and earth

to kill me.

A friend whom I would search

to the ends of the earth

just to find.

Yan,

for the past six months,

you've been avoiding me.

Actually, that day...

Back then,

under the blossoms stretching for miles,

Senior Brother taught you,

me,

and Zhumei our craft.

It was warm in the spring.

What a beautiful time.

But now, the flowers still bloom as they did,

yet the people are gone.

After Senior Brother left,

Zhumei vanished without a trace.

In the Zhoudi Tower,

only you and I remain.

Lici,

you composed this melody back then.

Today, let's play it once more for him.

What do you say?

A childhood composition

could never compare to

Senior Brother's masterpieces.

But I think

this melody

is the best I've ever heard.

Yan…

This is the only melody

worthy of sending you to your grave.

You used a curse bug on me?

If you hadn't come wounded,

I couldn't have planted it in you so easily.

Tang Lici,

I wish I could cut you into a thousand pieces!

Yan…

Yan,

it's been four years

since we parted.

Killing me once wasn't enough for you.

Now,

you're using the Hao family massacre

to lure me into your trap

to kill me again.

Since that's the case,

I'll play along.

Let's see if after four years,

you can still manage to kill me.

It was him.

It was Tang Lici.

It was Tang Lici!

It was he

who told me to say this.

It wasn't me.

Please spare me.

Let me go.

There's someone

so vicious in the jianghu.

How dangerous.

Stop playing dumb.

Why did you kill Lord Hao?

For money?

Or did he have something

on you?

It was because...

Who's there?

Chi Yun!

The Blood Ghost Pill?

Jianghu matters should be settled in the jianghu.

Either you kill me,

or I kill you.

Masters and servants can turn on each other for money.

Brothers can betray and kill each other.

In the end,

the heart is the hardest to see through.

Demons are everywhere.

Amitabha.

Right and wrong, good and evil— they're just a thought apart.

What you can't let go of is obsession.

You're very wise, sir.

Salvation lies in your own hands.

I believe

you'll eventually reach the other shore.

Yan,

I'm coming for you.

When it comes to lightness skills,

who can compare to me, Chi Yun,

the Cloud?

Stop!

A messenger goose?

You're from the Yanmen Sect?

I forgot Yanmen had this trick.

Had I known,

I'd have raised a hawk myself.

Where did Chi Yun go?

Miss Zhong!

Miss Zhong!

Miss Shei?

Where did this ship come from?

Miss Shei, why are you here?

Mr. Tang brought me here.

He said we'd meet you here.

Chi Yun is known as the Cloud.

You won't be able to catch up with him.

Mr. Tang, why are you here?

And why did Miss Shei come too?

Since we're hunting down the culprit,

it's natural to bring along the victim.

The person you're looking for

has already gone dozens of li west.

Taking the waterway would be faster.

You already know everything.

That man is incredibly agile.

He's no ordinary fighter.

With the Cloud,

we won't

lose him.

And we can

catch up with them.

I never expected

this pleasure ship would have such mechanisms.

Wait.

Mr. Tang, why are you so certain

that Chi Yun will come this way?

I'm not certain

about Chi Yun's route.

I'm just certain where the killer is headed.

You mean…

you already know who the killer is?

Due to my personal affairs,

I have gathered much information.

And coincidentally, one clue

points right here.

Six months ago,

the Westwind Swordsman, Feng Chuanxiang,

vanished mysteriously from Liulian Cottage.

Only his footsteps leading into

the cottage were found.

None leading out.

It is said that

in Liulian Cottage,

there were traces of two people living there.

After Feng Chuanxiang disappeared,

his mysterious roommate

vanished too.

And the answer

lies in this very item.

A goose feather?

Long and resilient;

lustrous and smooth.

This is no ordinary goose feather.

Messenger geese?

Yanmen's messenger geese?

100 li east of Yan County

is the Yanmen Sect.

This river flows from east to west.

If the killer wants to avoid implicating Yanmen,

he'll head west.

Even if something happens and he turns east midway,

he'll run right into us.

But...

that's impossible.

Why do you say that, Miss Zhong?

What kind of sect is the Yanmen Sect?

The Yanmen Sect began as a bandit clan

but was granted amnesty by the former dynasty

and became

the military guards of the Yanmen Pass.

Their goose-training skills are remarkable.

10 years ago, when the world fell into chaos,

the Sword Sect led many great fighters

to hunt down Yique Yinyang.

Yanmen provided

crucial intelligence.

Its leader, Jiang Feiyu,

has a fiery temper,

but he's extremely

protective of his own people.

That's why Yanmen disciples

value loyalty above all else.

There's a saying in the jianghu:

"Better to offend the King of Hell's men

than to cross someone from Yanmen."

It sounds like

a righteous sect.

It doesn't just sound like it—

it is a righteous sect.

Yang Shangqing

was also from a righteous sect.

I found this

on Yang Shangqing.

To be honest,

my master sent me down the mountain

not only for the Hao family massacre

but also for this matter.

These evil pills

haven't been seen again

since the death of Yique Yinyang.

What do you think, Mr. Tang?

I've paid attention

to the Blood Ghost Pills too.

My leaving the temple

should tell you what I think.

Then…

Miss Zhong,

don't worry for now.

Come have some refreshments.

Talk.

Who are you?

Who sent you to kill that guy?

You think staying silent will save you?

Don't…

Don't push me.

Don't push you?

Then why do you think

I chased you for over 100 li?

For fun?

Brat,

don't take poison!

Even an ant fights to stay alive.

Please don't take poison.

It's not poison.

What the hell is that?

This is getting difficult.

Chi Yun, you're not

as good as you used to be.

I haven't even gone all out yet.

Let's stop here.

He knelt right before you.

The assassin who killed Yang Shangqing

is actually

Jiang Cheng.

Miss Zhong, you know him?

Jiang Cheng is the young master of Yanmen.

He's upright and chivalrous,

a close friend of the Westwind Swordsman.

They often went to the Huaxi region

in the Sword King City

to fight injustice and help the weak.

They're known

as the Twin Heroes of Huaxi.

Six months ago,

the Westwind Swordsman

vanished mysteriously at home,

and Young Master Jiang also went missing.

How did he become like this?

What are you murmuring?

Foxy Tang, what are you murmuring?

I still need to ask him

why he killed Yang Shangqing.

Is anyone hurt?

Drop the act.

I really don't remember anything.

Young Master Jiang.

You…

You've got the wrong person.

I'm…

I'm not Young Master Jiang.

Over a year ago,

I met you and Mr. Feng

at the Sword Sect in the Central Plains.

I'm not mistaken.

Now that we know who he is,

there's no need for questions.

I'll just take him

to the Yanmen Sect

and let his people

explain for him.

Watch out!

Mr. Tang.

You're injured.

You're injured.

Don't use this hand for now.

You wanted to take your own life

because you were worried that your actions

would disgrace Yanmen's name, right?

Foxy Tang,

you were right.

The so-called Yanmen Sect

is just a bunch of filth.

Watch your mouth!

You don't know anything!

What should I know?

The Blood Ghost Pills…

Those evil pills

have resurfaced in the jianghu.

I thought I had the wrong person,

but it seems I was right.

You do have the wrong person.

I'm not him.

The poison has spread within you.

Your energy flow is reversed.

You don't have long.

You're not afraid of death,

but you don't want to die now.

You still have unfinished business.

Am I right?

If you don't want to speak

with all these people here,

we can talk privately elsewhere.

Hey!

What's so secret

that it can't be said in front of us?

Foxy Tang

is being so mysterious.

Miss Shei,

how is

Mr. Tang's injury from earlier?

Miss Zhong, don't worry.

Once we get back,

I'll apply some more medicine for him,

and he'll be fine.

But, Mr. Chi,

what exactly are

the Blood Ghost Pills?

Why does everyone

go pale

when they're mentioned?

They were created by Yique Yinyang,

the former dynasty's Imperial Preceptor and leader of the Jile Sect,

to control people.

To control people?

In the jianghu,

power has always been respected above all.

Who doesn't want

to excel and rise above others?

But not everyone

has the ability and talent.

Greed knows no bounds.

The weak crave power,

and the strong

seek shortcuts to become even stronger.

Those evil pills

can give your cultivation a huge boost.

So initially,

the Blood Ghost Pills

were treated

like a popular tonic.

But soon after,

people realized

they'd been duped.

Why?

Anyone who takes those pills

has to keep taking them for life.

If they stop, they go mad and die.

So whoever has the Blood Ghost Pills

controls those people's lives.

Yique Yinyang

used this very method to seize control

of half the jianghu.

More than a year ago,

after arguing with my father,

I went to stay with Chuanxiang.

We lived together on Mount Huaxi,

practicing martial arts

and fighting for justice.

[Liulian Cottage]

During that time,

my martial skills improved dramatically.

I thought it was because

Chuanxiang was training with me.

But little did I know,

he was secretly taking evil pills

and mixing them into my food.

After I found out about this,

I confronted him about why he spiked my food.

He wouldn't tell me.

He only told me to trust him,

saying he'd help me.

Jiang Cheng,

please trust me.

I will help you.

But I didn't want

that kind of help.

And I didn't need

to improve my skills

through such means.

After that,

I refused to take the pills again

and asked Chuanxiang

to help me suppress the poison in me.

But that process

was agonizing.

It was so painful that just

thinking about it makes my mind go blank.

Then, six months ago,

Chuanxiang suddenly disappeared,

leaving me alone.

I searched everywhere

but couldn't find any trace of him.

So I carried the remaining pills he had bought

and started

tracing their source,

which eventually led me

to Yang Shangqing.

So you feared

Yang Shangqing

might expose the truth,

ruining the reputation of Feng Chuanxiang,

the Westwind Swordsman.

That's why,

even at the risk of being

chased down by the Cloud,

you still killed him.

If I'd had

any other option,

I never would've taken the pill again.

Wind swept across the reed flowers;

moonlight shone on Mount Huaxi.

We...

we were such good friends.

Mr. Tang,

I want to find Chuanxiang

and ask him

why he did this to me.

We were friends who'd die for each other.

Why do we have to turn against each other?

Very well.

I understand.

You're fortunate.

Today,

I'm in a good mood.

I'll give you two choices.

Choice one:

you die now.

That way,

everyone in the jianghu

will immediately know

the Jiang family of Yanmen

colluded with the remnants of the Jile Sect

and took evil pills.

Choice two:

I help you suppress the poison,

and you'll die in three months.

Then I'll consider

leaving Yanmen's reputation intact.

What's the condition?

That pipa player in black—

you've seen him, right?

He revealed clues

that led you to Yang Shangqing,

didn't he?

He looks exactly like you.

He killed a lot of people

and saved a lot of people too.

He's a madman.

Where is he?

He is nowhere

yet everywhere.

You won't find him.

He only appears

when he wants to see you.

Mr. Tang…

help me.

He can't help you.

Because he can barely protect himself.

Report!

Master Jiang,

we've spotted the young master

in the reed marsh ahead.

Foxy Tang!

Foxy Tang, what's going on?

Why is he dead?

Look.

What is that?

This is…

A curse bug.

Oh, no.

The Yanmen Sect

must think we killed him.

Mr. Tang,

we…

Foxy Tang,

Yanmen's goose formation

is quite famous in the jianghu.

Be careful. Don't…

Kill!

I, Tang Lici, killed Jiang Cheng.

I'm willing to go with you for punishment.

I plead guilty

and surrender myself.

Master Jiang, please temporarily

uphold justice for the Sword Sect.

Are you insane?

What do you mean?

This guy

is my accomplice.

Master,

I've completed

almost

all the tasks you gave me.

Now, you are

the esteemed Master of Fengliu Shop.

Tang Lici is just a nobody

hiding in a ruined temple in Yan County.

You could even

kill Shao Yanping

from the Sword Sect

without breaking a sweat if you wish.

Forgive my ignorance,

but why don't you

just kill Tang Lici outright?

So why go through

all this trouble?

What's the point

in killing a monster like him?

He can't be killed,

and he has no humanity.

Tang Lici is certainly a monster.

Hua Wuyan, am I right?

Miss Hong.

Master,

you can't let him

die so easily.

If I can kill him once,

I can kill him a second time.

Hong,

tell me—

how should I kill him this time?

Naturally,

you should make him feel what you felt,

suffer what you suffered,

ensure he's condemned by all,

and completely ruin his name.

In the end,

let him die miserably

amid the curses of thousands.

Someone help!

I'm not his accomplice!

I'm just a passerby!

Let me out!

I'm innocent, I swear!

Look at the Yanmen Sect.

People are in cages

while birds are outside.

It's truly a sect

with no respect for rules.

This really has

opened my eyes.

Chi Yun,

be quiet.

What?

You have a plan?

My ears hurt.

You…

Following you

has brought me the worst luck ever!

"I, Tang Lici, killed Jiang Cheng."

Are you insane?

If you wanted to come in here,

you could've come alone.

Why did you bring me along?

I was afraid of being bored alone.

Why are you still carrying that thing?

This is his curse bug.

Your mortal enemy?

Besides him,

who else could have

used something like this?

Even if that's true,

you can't be at the end of your rope.

Why don't you think about

what his plan might be?

To frame you?

He first framed you

for killing Hao Wenhou and his family

and then pinned Jiang Cheng's murder on you.

That's right.

What's right?

Now, unless the dead come back to life,

no one…

can prove

my innocence.

What are they doing?

That...

Foxy Tang,

they're about to boil us alive.

You're too noisy.

I'm starting to regret bringing you in here.

Stop carving that wood!

Think of something!

They'll cook you in a bit

and eat you in 18 ways.

Neither of us will escape.

Think of something?

Unfortunately, I can't think of anything.

Then you...

Because I never planned

to get out on my own.

Tang Lici,

you're insane, aren't you?

You truly are insane! I'm certain now.

You are insane!

You…

Mr. Jiang, please believe me.

I swear on my honor as a disciple

of the Sword Sect

that I'm telling the truth.

Enough!

Miss Zhong,

what you're saying is

simply too shocking to believe.

Cheng…

he was my elder brother's

only son.

I practically

watched him grow up.

I know his character well.

How could he possibly

have taken that kind of evil pill?

The evil pills have begun to spread again.

Mr. Tang was

actually helping him

suppress the poison.

Miss Shei can testify to this.

Yes.

Are you done talking?

I know,

Master Jiang,

after losing your son,

you're very…

Have you ever lost a son?

Then what do you know?

You know nothing!

Brother.

Brother.

Master Jiang.

Master Jiang!

Master Jiang.

There must be a reason

why Jiang Cheng took the pills.

It's up to you to uncover the truth

and clear his name.

If you let grief blind you

to the truth and evidence,

aren't you just playing right into

the real killer's hands?

I saw with my own eyes

Cheng's body explode

in front of Tang Lici.

Tang Lici has admitted it herself!

What more proof

do you need?

Today, I'll make sure

that the murderer Tang Lici

will suffer Yanmen's

Three Cuts and Six Stabs Punishment.

If it turns out later that I killed

the wrong man,

I'll take my own life

to atone for it.

Light the fire!

If they

really put me on that burning stake,

I'll fight my way out of here.

Chi Yun,

a lot of times,

only when you hit rock bottom

does a way out finally appear.

What's happening?

Such a nice fragrance.

The scent of magnolia.

No,

not flowers.

It's sword energy.

Only one person has this kind of sword energy.

Who?

The one

who vanished long ago—

the Westwind Swordsman,

Feng Chuanxiang.

Mr. Feng?

I heard

you'd gone missing,

and I found it strange.

With such exceptional skills,

how could you

have just vanished?

I did encounter some problems.

Are you here today

to see Cheng?

Cheng has been killed.

I know.

Then why did you

extinguish the fire?

I was going to

make the murderer

suffer the Three Cuts and Six Stabs Punishment

before burning him to ashes

to honor Cheng's spirit in heaven.

Understand?

I can say with certainty,

Master Jiang,

that Cheng's death is part of

something much bigger.

Cheng and I were close friends.

I'd never deceive you

about something like this.

You know something?

There is indeed something off.

If you're willing

to trust me,

would you allow me

to investigate it?

Brother,

isn't that Cheng's…

Master Jiang,

do you believe me now?

What do you want?

I want…

Mr. Tang.

I need

to think it over carefully.