Original subtitles

=Love Beyond the Grave= (Adapted from the novel by Li Qingran)

=Episode 5=

- Drink! - Bottoms up.

What a thrill.

What a real thrill.

That battle was truly a thrill.

Truly a thrill.

Come, brothers, drink up.

Come on, drink.

We won today's battle

thanks to Miss He's strategy.

She deserves the greatest merit.

Come, brothers.

A toast to Miss He.

- Come on. - Cheers.

A toast to Miss He.

General,

how did you know

the Fenglai Force would raid tonight?

Very simple.

Because there is

a spy among us.

What?

We told everyone we'd blow up

the Guanhe River tomorrow.

The spy passed the word out.

So, Fenglai would launch a sneak attack

before then.

They had to ready the troops,

so tonight is the best chance.

Who?

Such nerve.

To collude with the enemy army?

Once I find him,

I'll skin him alive.

Commandant Wu,

as for finding the spy,

we need to plan it carefully.

Right now,

we must prepare the city's defenses.

Based on the timing,

Awo'erqi will soon

arrive in Shuozhou.

Simu.

This spell

can help you borrow the five senses

from the spell bearer.

Then you can feel this world.

Miss He,

you seem

a little different today.

I made it back alive.

I fear that disappointed you.

Are you upset?

You jest, General.

I only wish you

good fortune from now on.

(My spell bearer,)

(from this moment on,)

(you must not die.)

Tabai blew up the Guanhe River.

Fenglai was hit hard.

(Awo'erqi, Marshal of Hulan Force, North Chong)

Fenglai.

That useless fool.

(Great Liang's main force is in Yuzhou,)

(Yuzhou) (fighting with the Fenglai Force.)

(Liang) (The Tabai Army that took Shuozhou)

(is left without support.)

(At this moment,)

(Awo'erqi)

(is leading an army of 200,000)

(right toward Shuozhou.)

Awo'erqi is now leading

his army to our borders.

Shuozhou now stands cut off.

Now that we have retaken Shuozhou,

we will stand or fall with it.

Rest easy, General.

Shuozhou is vital ground.

I will hold it to the end.

Commandant Wu,

uphold the walls.

Yes.

Meng Wan, Qingsheng,

go find

the best at eavesdropping.

Yes, General.

Captain Han,

you're in charge of city patrols.

Keep the townsfolk safe at all costs.

Yes.

Report!

General,

the military provisions

sent by Marshal Qin are here.

A full 30,000 dan of grain!

Marshal Qin truly values good men.

He went to great lengths to send it.

Now,

even if we fall on the battlefield,

we can at least

eat our fill before we go.

They're all empty shells.

Who did this?

Who else could it be?

Marshal Qin, known for caring

for the troops.

Impossible.

No way.

We risk our lives

to guard home and country.

Marshal Qin would never do this.

You've long stayed at the border,

but you should know the strife

between Duke Pei, Marshal Qin's superior,

and Chancellor Du.

Xu is a chosen candidate

for a Chief Councillor by Chancellor Du.

Now that he's won merit,

how could they let him

return to court for investiture?

A strife within the court?

Must that cost

the lives of 200,000 soldiers?

Are these the people

we swore to protect?

Though they meant to kill me,

these provisions

were not solely Marshal Qin's fault.

Before the Liangzhou massacre,

Qingsheng noticed that the Ministry of Revenue

had sent mixed grain with husks.

Marshal Qin was furious,

but he dared not offend the Revenue.

So he could only send

that batch here to us.

Put aside

those schemes for now.

What do we do now?

What should we do?

Must we make the troops

eat sod mixed with yellow earth?

Court matters stay at the court.

These provisions

can still be useful.

Commandant Xia,

sort out the edible grain

at once.

Send some to the people tonight

to assure them.

Rebag the rest.

- Seal it in the storehouse. - Yes.

Captain Han,

post guards to watch 24/7.

Pass the order:

Those who leak the news

face military law.

Yes.

The Spring Festival is coming.

No matter what,

we must let Shuozhou's people celebrate it at ease

after 30 hard years.

Yes.

Come with me.

Let's go.

Did you hear?

The Chong Army outside

has our city surrounded.

Who knows how many days the grain will last?

Luckily, yesterday,

the Tabai Army sent out grain.

How many for you?

Two.

Two, right? Alright.

Look, they're still piping hot.

Put that down.

He Yan,

why are you stealing steamed buns again?

You're the daughter of a great household.

You really have no sense of shame.

She hid in the Chong Army's arms

while we were left with nothing.

Exactly.

Without the Chong Army,

she has no one to shield her.

She used to look so grand

only by treading on us commoners.

Serves her right.

(Wanshun Tower)

Fengyi.

Great Ancestor,

you've finally remembered me again.

Tell me. What does it feel like to be alive?

To be alive?

Well...

It feels like taking the better share.

The Hejia clan never lives long.

From the moment I was born,

my life began counting down.

So,

every morning when I wake up,

it means I've gained one more day.

Every Spring Festival's Eve

marks a milestone

in my life.

Is being alive that good?

Of course, Great Ancestor.

Each extra day I live

is one more day to feel

all the things in this world.

Great Ancestor,

once you find the spell bearer

and gain your five senses,

perhaps you'll feel

the joy of being alive too.

Forgive me, Great Ancestor.

I spoke out of turn.

I've found the spell bearer.

It's Duan Xu.

What happened?

The Spirit Pearl showed

no response at all.

Why suddenly...

That day,

he happened to pass through my spirit body.

Great Ancestor,

will you trade

five senses with him?

Of course.

But he'll get something in return.

Handle one matter for me.

Always at your service.

Go and find the servants

who served Duan Xu before he returned to Nandu.

Great Ancestor,

you still suspect Duan Xu?

I do not care who the real Duan Xu is,

but I want to know who he is.

Only then can I better

strike a deal with him.

Xiaoxiao.

What are you doing?

The Spring Festival is coming.

My father told me before.

When the festival comes,

we set off firecrackers,

post Door Gods and the Fu character,

and draw protective circles with lime

to avert disaster.

Haven't you heard enough

of battle sounds already?

But it seems

the fighting has stopped outside.

The Chong Army must be

afraid of the General,

so they dare not attack.

If he truly were

feared by all,

he wouldn't be in this plight now.

You laze about all day.

You must be haunted by an evil spirit.

I'll box the evil spirit in,

so you won't be so lazy.

I've always been curious.

Who first came up

with such a heaven-sent notion?

The elders all say so:

Evil spirits fear firecrackers,

the color red,

the Door Gods,

and lime powder.

Could it be

that evil spirits don't even know

what color red is?

Father was right.

You finally got moving.

Is your New Year's wish

for me to move around?

Well, that's one of them.

I have lots of wishes.

For example,

I want to stay with you

forever and always.

I want the General to beat the Chong Army.

And I want meat pie for every meal.

What would he wish for?

Xiaoxiao, what did you say?

Your General.

What do you think

his wish would be?

What would he want?

I think it would be

to eat eight meat pies

in one meal.

That doesn't sound

like Duan Xu's wish.

It sounds more like yours.

Xiaoxiao,

why are you asking

about the General's wish?

Because

I want to make a very important deal

with your General.

I have to know him

before I know how to bid.

Xiaoxiao,

are you feeling shy?

What?

Do you perhaps

like the General?

Last time, I heard you tell

Captain Meng that for the General,

it was love at first sight.

Yes, yes, yes.

Now that I think of it,

Duan Xu and I truly are

a match

made by heaven.

Xiaoxiao,

you really have feelings for the General?

Xiaoxiao,

we still have Ruan.

You play so beautifully.

Do you truly mean to play for the General

only at his funeral?

Miss He will play at my funeral?

General,

when did you get here?

Just now.

I think I arrived

when I heard

"a match made by heaven".

A perfect match indeed.

You've even arranged

what happens after I'm buried.

I only fear my beloved General

might suffer on his final road.

Miss He,

once Shuozhou is relieved,

would you play a tune for me?

No, that won't do.

This tune is for the dying.

If the living hear it,

it brings ill fortune.

What lovely plum blossoms.

Your exquisite drawing skills

look like they're

from a master trained for decades.

(That much is true.)

(I have trained for centuries.)

(Shuozhou) I wonder when the General

will send grain again.

When will these hard days end?

(Liang)

You're here.

You must already have a plan

to deal

with the coming

Hulan Force siege.

From what I saw today,

lime powder would work well.

Burning rainwater

is the second punishment in the Aphorisms of Cangshen.

Do you think

there will be an east wind and rain soon?

I am no master of wind and rain.

I can't make whatever weather

you want appear on command.

The weather is dry and clear.

It will not rain.

What a pity.

You are the General.

Why think of such crooked ways?

North Chong has 200,000 troops.

I have less than 20,000.

If we face them head-on,

we'll be doomed.

All mortals are suffering.

All these conflicts

are just quarrels on a snail's horn.

So are we.

A person's life

is truly brief and small

yet pitifully humble.

Isn't that so?

Why do you smile so much?

I was born this way.

Were you born to court death too?

Why do you say that?

The Chong Army will soon attack again.

Even if you hold the line,

with your remaining grain,

how long can it last?

You are a Chief Councillor candidate.

If you die,

all this glory and wealth

will vanish in an instant.

General,

why stake your life on this?

You make a very fair point.

I can help you achieve great merits

and leave your mark on history.

I can let you enjoy rank and riches.

I think

even you

would find such temptations

hard to turn down.

Or perhaps

is there something you truly want?

I want the Chong Army destroyed.

I want the 17 Prefectures

and the Guanhe River all under Great Liang.

I want peace across the realm,

with war gone forever.

Can you grant

all this?

Then you'll hear

my Ruan melody very soon.

Why have you come?

Greetings, Your Grace.

I have put Shao Yinyin to death.

But I sheltered her,

so I am guilty.

I came to report and take blame.

But you don't accept that.

Your Grace,

I only feel

that you favor mortals too much.

Yinyin's only obsession as a spirit

was to have offspring.

She longed for children by nature.

Yet you forbade her

from touching children under ten.

That was simply impossible.

For spirits to hunt

is in their very nature.

It is only natural.

Why must you interfere so much?

That is unreasonable.

Reasonable?

Reasonable?

Do you think I became

the Sovereign of Spirits by reason?

Are you enraged?

Are you in despair?

Why am I allowed

to shame you, break you,

and toy with you

as I please?

Those who were slain

thought the same before they died.

What counts as only right?

Jiang Ai covets wealth.

Yan Ke is drawn to power.

Guan Huai clings to life.

You want fame and gain,

yearning for rank.

If spirits have no restraint,

if desire knows no bounds,

it is the deepest abyss of all.

I was short-sighted.

Go.

Don't bother me these days.

It is a black cat.

Catch it.

There! There! There!

There!

- General. - General.

General.

It may be a trap.

Han,

what does it say? I can't read.

(Cowards cross the Guanhe River.)

Cowards cross the Guanhe River.

Cowards cross the Guanhe River.

Han, don't bother.

It can't be anything good.

Like 20,000 turtles sharing a den.

Like 20,000 turtles sharing a den.

You mangy curs.

Sooner or later, we'll wipe you out.

Like 20,000 turtles sharing a den.

It's said that in the Hulan Force,

only Marshal Awo'erqi keeps a black cat.

That man

must be Awo'erqi.

Like 20,000 turtles sharing a den.

Like 20,000 turtles sharing a den.

Cowards cross the Guanhe River.

Cowards cross the Guanhe River.

They fled before the fight began.

(Spring Comes to All Things)

Here, child. Hold it tight.

Thank you, sir.

There is more. Have a look.

Xiaoxiao,

let's go buy some New Year's goods.

The Spring Festival is in two days.

Let's go find the General

and spend the Spring Festival's Eve.

Do you have any money?

No.

Here's my stipend.

Buy whatever you like.

Xiaoxiao,

you're far too kind.

I want to buy the one

I saw just now.

The round one.

And candied hawthorns.

And meat pie too.

I'll buy them all.

Come on.

All right.

(Shuozhou)

Xiaoxiao,

you're missing the General again?

Yes, yes.

I can't eat or drink at ease.

One day apart feels like years.

These Chong people are hateful.

They make a racket at the gate daily.

They're insulting us again.

Yeah.

Will they really start a fight?

(Shuozhou)

The General is on the city wall.

It's fine.

Don't be afraid.

They're just bluffing.

They've come

to shout several times.

Nothing has really happened.

Exactly.

With the General here, we're safe.

Come again next time.

Let's go.

You go buy it yourself.

I'm going to the wall.

(Shuozhou)

Duan Shunxi!

You timid, pretty boy!

You must be scared

of me here.

That's why you hide

in the city.

Come out and fight us

if you dare.

Just watch me

beat your head bloody

till you cry for mercy.

They've been cursing for days.

They insult you

to lure you out to fight.

Are they insulting me?

From another angle,

they're praising my looks.

I appreciate it.

You truly are magnanimous.

Most admirable indeed.

By the way,

just now, I think I saw

a soldier

heading toward the third tent

at the far south.

He was holding a letter.

I could see the words on the cover,

but I could not read them.

Miss,

please copy them down.

Are you scared?

Come out. Are you scared?

Come out and face me in battle.

So, you really can read that.

This is an insult

from the Aphorisms of Cangshen.

It means something

like a spineless cur.

If you wished to scold me,

there was no need for all this.

How knowledgeable of you.

Even the ancient texts

make sense to you.

That is a long story.

One day, I met an old man

who took off his shoe

and tossed it beneath the bridge.

He told me to fetch it and put it on him.

This happened three times.

- Well. - I...

What a familiar tale.

Was the book that the old man

gave you Taigong's Art of War?

It was the Aphorisms of Cangshen.

I should go back and check the chronicles.

Perhaps they record your great deeds.

I did have

a formidable master from North Chong.

I was his finest disciple.

And where is he now?

His eyes were pecked blind by geese.

So he withdrew from the world.

Duan Shunxi,

you really change in a blink.

No one can read your mind.

Not one word from you is true.

Did you truly see nothing just now?

I did.

I saw him go

into the third camp on the left.

But

what he held was not a letter,

but a few goldfish.

The third camp on the left?

That's right.

You have sharp eyes.

Many thanks.

The granary is on fire!

The granary is on fire!

The granary is on fire!

The granary is on fire.

The granary is on fire.

Right here. Hurry.

It's burned.

It's burned.

It's all burned.

It's burned. All of it.

It's all burned.

It's burned.

- Madwoman. - It's burned.

What are you plotting?

It's burned.

- You did it. - Burned.

What will we eat now?

It's all burned.

It's burned. All of it.

It's burned.

It's all burned.

I have failed in my duty.

General, please punish me.

How did the fire start?

The woman outside set it on purpose.

It started

where the provisions

were stacked the thickest.

Get everyone to put it out at once.

Do not let the people panic.

Go.

Yes.

Quick.

Quick, quick.

Hurry up!

The grain is gone!

It is all burned!

It has all burned down!

The grain is gone!

May you all starve! Starve!

Who is that madwoman?

- The top courtesan. - You'll starve!

- He Yan. - May you all starve!

If you hadn't driven off the Chong people.

Shame on her!

I wouldn't have fallen this low.

Everyone in Shuozhou

deserves to die.

What nonsense.

Beat her. Beat her to death.

Hit her. Beat her to death.

If you had the chance to cling to the Chong people,

wouldn't you?

Wouldn't you?

I did nothing wrong.

I truly did nothing wrong.

I didn't...

Well done.

With that mouth of hers,

she had it coming.

How did you fool the granary guards

and get into the granary?

What's wrong with the guards?

Even the guards are men.

Shameless wretch.

(The General means to kill.)

- Kill her. - Kill her.

You lofty people up there,

you want me dead.

If I must die,

then we die together.

♪Between black and white, ripples crossed♪

♪Light encountered shadow♪

♪It pierced the darkness and the time♪

♪The unbreakable fate♪

♪Suddenly cracked♪

♪Between black and white, ripples crossed♪

♪Light encountered shadow♪

♪It pierced the darkness and the time♪

♪The unbreakable fate♪

♪Suddenly cracked♪

♪Listen, all sounds are roaring♪

♪As cold ice turns into tides♪

♪A century's loneliness melts dreams♪

♪Following fate's guidance♪

♪By fate, our moments were exchanged♪

♪The heart wakes up all of a sudden♪

♪Watch fireworks fall like stars♪

♪This bond is tangled into a thread♪

♪Worldly reflections fade into mist♪

♪Borrowing one fleeting heartbeat♪

♪You drew me into mortal dust, till I'm enamored with its charms♪

♪The heart wakes up all of a sudden♪