Original subtitles

[The Vendetta of An]

[Taiyiji Clinic]

Xiaoqing,

you're awake.

You were banging around outside.

How could I possibly sleep?

This reminds me of when we were kids.

I wanted to sleep,

but you were outside beating a drum,

telling Master

you were training your arms.

Xiaoqing,

this time,

I didn't wake you up on purpose.

Xiaoqing,

let's leave.

Where to?

I don't know.

But if we stay here,

we'll only become hostages,

and Huai'an and the pageboy

will end up doing things

they don't want to do

just to keep us safe.

With the skills I have,

I can't drag them down,

right?

So I want to take you and break out.

Either we die and be done with it,

or we fight

our way out.

Sure.

Sounds heroic.

All right.

[Battle has begun in Cangshui River. Those inside may be killed.]

[Episode 24]

"Play the prey first.

[Play the prey first. Then kill the hunter.]

Then kill the hunter."

Don't.

You won't be able to kill him.

I came to Cangshui River

for this exact moment.

Protect His Majesty.

Take him back.

Your Majesty.

You dare to come kill me?

Didn't you say

you save the greatest advantage for yourself?

Why have you come to Cangshui River yourself?

Once Xiao Wuyang is dead,

the outcome will be set.

Why wouldn't I come?

Killing you will bring peace to the realm.

Why would I not dare to kill you?

Your Majesty.

Kill him.

Understood.

Your Majesty.

You're gravely wounded.

It's nothing. I won't die yet.

Too bad I couldn't cut down Xiao Wuyang.

He is a terrifying opponent.

Xie Huai'an must have

seen through your plan

and warned Xiao Wuyang in advance.

This round is the heavenly calamity foretold in the divinations.

He could only guess one part of it.

How are things

on the other side?

Your Majesty,

you gave me four liang of gold.

Running errands for you cost one.

Killing those Tiemo lackeys just now

cost two.

There's still one liang left.

I can do one more thing for you.

All right.

Go watch over the salt shop's keeper.

He and I go way back.

Now?

Yes, now.

Keep him safe,

so I'll have no more worries.

Understand?

This guy looks unfamiliar.

Don't worry.

He can't kill me.

Go on.

Fang Genghui...

With his swordsmanship,

would he be able to wound me?

Your Majesty, you are the one who can turn the tide.

Fang Genghui is nowhere near you.

If he can't harm me,

then he can't harm Xiao Wuyang either.

But that's enough.

It's about time.

Come on, let's finish this.

What's wrong?

Why?

Must you really kill them?

Read the military report

sent to Chang'an yourself.

Compared to what's written there,

a few dead couriers

are nothing.

"On the 11th day of the second month,

Tiemo gathered a force of over 200,000.

They charged across the battlefield,

crossing the border with unstoppable force.

The Baiwenhu Army...

- Charge! - retreated 70 li in a single day.

On the 14th,

Tiemo forces broke through Shifu Pass.

There was no natural defense in North Office.

[North Office]

On the 15th,

North Office fell.

Tiemo's vanguard

was just 1,300 li from Chang'an."

We have waited decades

for this battle.

In the last two generations of Tiemo,

every man as tall as a horsewhip is a warrior.

With Gu Yu dead,

the Baiwenhu Army

lost its commander and its morale.

No one can stop

my warhorses from charging south.

Once past North Office,

it is the territory of the regional commanders.

These men

long for the empire to collapse

so they can crown themselves kings.

None of them

will send troops to aid Chang'an.

Your nation

is destined to drown in bloodshed.

You keep showing me these reports

and speaking of your great ambitions.

What are you trying to do?

My 200,000 Tiemo warriors

may not be able to trample every corner of your land.

I need you

to be my puppet emperor.

You will be cursed by the people,

but you will at least be able to keep part of the realm.

When the treaty is signed between our two nations,

I will leave you half of Chang'an.

My empire is vast,

and you're leaving me half of Chang'an?

What kind of treaty is this?

You're forcing me to betray my own country!

Very well.

Either you cooperate,

or I take your land by force.

Go ahead and choose.

Why me?

Because you're not like your brother Xiao Wuyang.

If it were him,

he would drag me down

and perish with me.

So I can only choose you.

Aren't you afraid I'll do the same?

Then I will enthrone

a fake emperor like Yan Fengshan did.

It will make no difference to me.

But you,

born into the imperial clan,

will become a disgrace who never shouldered the burden of the realm!

An emperor

is fated to be lonely.

Some may understand that you had no choice,

but in this world,

there are too few wise enough to see it.

If

I were to agree

to your proposal,

what would happen to my brother?

Xiao Wuyang is not easy to kill,

but I have devised a plan,

and you will be my final killing move.

The two of you are brothers by blood.

And when he was gravely injured,

you took care of him.

In this world,

you are the only one

he lets his guard down around.

Very well.

I will be

your puppet emperor.

I did it for Chang'an,

for the realm!

Look at you.

You accomplished something

none of them

ever could.

Remember this:

you have grown up.

From today on,

hold your head high.

Remember your own words.

You did it for Chang'an

and for the realm.

I am giving back

to you

what was meant to be yours.

That's him.

Such lengths I went to

just to kill you.

Indeed.

Such trickery.

Not kingly at all.

Fifteen years ago,

when Yan Fengshan killed Liu Ziwen,

he already knew my identity.

He secretly mobilized the troops

and sealed off the northern front.

My years of efforts in hiding and planning

went to waste just like that.

So

I traveled alone

toward the northern lands of Tiemo.

That journey home

felt

like a long night that would never see dawn.

But when I stood again on Tiemo soil,

the people in the ritual hall

came out of Mount Shiluoman

and placed the golden crown

of the Tiemo King on my head.

They believed

I could carry Tiemo's hopes

and lead them out

of the bitter cold.

So I returned to Chang'an,

locking myself willingly in Yulong Ridge.

That was the beginning of my path of trickery.

Xiao Wuyang,

you were born into royalty,

while I was born a slave.

We were never the same.

But today,

we are both gravely wounded

and bearing the same loneliness

for the realm.

Yes,

Chang'an

is a city many yearn for.

How beautiful it is.

Take one last look at it.

Go on, look.

You can't kill him!

What did you promise me?

You cannot kill him!

I promised you.

As long as he lives,

you will willingly be my puppet.

Isn't that right?

Take him away.

Are you going to make me

live and eat with you

or lock me up the way

you are locking my brother up?

If neither,

then leave me alone for a while.

Your Tiemo shadow guards

are everywhere anyway.

I cannot escape.

Let him be.

Go.

I will not see you again.

Sir,

I had no choice.

Right.

Right.

You had your reasons.

But I am just a common man.

I cannot understand!

I cannot understand

what reason

could make you

stab your own brother!

I cannot understand

why you would

side

with the Tiemo people!

I...

I don't need you

to look after me in old age.

You were never my son anyway.

You killed him.

You killed my son.

You killed my son!

Oh, Mo!

He died at the hands of someone like you.

My poor boy!

Get lost.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry!

Hurry.

Coming.

Remember your own words.

You did it for Chang'an

and for the realm.

I am giving back

to you

what was meant to be yours.

This battle

has already exposed us.

Should we leave the people

in Cangshui River alive?

There are thousands in Cangshui River

and hundreds of thousands in Chang'an.

You cannot kill them all.

The common folk are like cattle and sheep.

Hold your blade firmly,

and they will obey you.

Understood.

Any news of Xie Huai'an?

Zhu Zhilong said he held

the greatest authority in Cangshui River,

and that Xie Huai'an's fate

would be decided here.

He was the first

to enter Chang'an with me.

He hid his identity for years,

unafraid of death.

I have never seen him this unsettled.

He fears Your Majesty.

You ordered him to kill Xie Huai'an,

but he failed.

He does not fear me.

He fears Xie Huai'an.

Just now, that boy...

Killing you will bring peace to the realm.

Why would I not dare to kill you?

He was one strike away

from killing me.

We will escort Your Majesty back to Chang'an.

Leave the matters in Cangshui River

to Zhu Zhilong.

Very well.

I was one strike away from killing him.

Then you showed up.

You want Xiao Wuyang alive.

I want the King alive.

You and I are the same.

What about your disciples?

If your king lives,

your disciples will die.

Do you truly

feel nothing for them?

I arrived late

because I was gathering men

to go to the clinic.

The King and you have an agreement.

But you and I do not.

How ruthless.

Do you not fear retribution?

No.

I have nothing left to lose.

Do you care about the past?

No.

Everything I have done in this life

is for Tiemo's future.

White Hair,

we have enough men in Chang'an

and in Cangshui River.

You are destined

to lose this battle.

We searched the entire shoal.

No trace of him.

No need to keep searching.

But...

we made a promise to the King.

I thought of someone.

Like me,

he now has

no family left.

Xie Huai'an owes him,

and yet that man

still helps him without regard

for his own life.

In all of Cangshui River,

if Xie Huai'an

still cares about anyone's life,

it must be his.

You finally came.

Yes, Master.

I came to see you.

♪The wind never rests♪

♪How much pain does it scatter to nothing?♪

♪The rain knows no calm♪

♪How much love does it cool into silence?♪

♪All my life amid blades and shadows♪

♪I live beside life and death♪

♪In a landscape veiled in smoke and fire♪

♪I can only live under a hidden name♪

♪Even my sighs must fall softly♪

♪The heart is unsteady♪

♪How much hatred does it leave unnamed?♪

♪The dream will not end♪

♪How many lives does it bind to fate?♪

♪Bearing my family's fate♪

♪I can only stand firm♪

♪I let my vows ring true♪

♪So the common folk need not wander♪

♪I have faith in it♪

♪So I choose♪

♪To cut off the past, to part in life♪

♪Across thousands of li♪

♪Who makes me vanish without a word?♪

♪I seek refuge deep in the mountains♪

♪Playing a game that spans ten long years♪

♪At last I step out from every secret♪

♪Standing opposed to both grace and grievance♪

♪Without the slightest fear♪

♪Along the ancient road, I spur my horse♪

♪And ride away♪

♪So I choose to cut off the past♪

♪At sunset, beacon fires rise♪

♪But I fear no bloodshed♪

♪In the mortal world, I carry my pride♪

♪News reaches me from Chang'an♪

♪Along the way, I endure disgrace and set my schemes♪

♪My blade falls upon my foes♪

♪Then I leave the jianghu behind♪

♪Traveling to the ends of the earth♪

♪Disappearing into the wide world♪