Original subtitles

(Zhan Zhao Adventures)

(Episode 30)

Think carefully.

Did you do something back then

that would make him want to silence you for good?

That year,

after I buried my niece's body,

I left home to do business.

I was always traveling around,

all these years, I barely ever went back home.

I definitely didn't have any dealings with the Zhao family.

I really can't think of anything.

Looking at these fine clothes you're wearing,

your business must be pretty big.

I just trade some medicinal herbs.

Whatever the mountains produce,

that's what I sell.

Thank you, Lord Zhan

and everyone here, for saving my life today.

I have urgent matters to handle,

so I'll take my leave.

Goodbye.

Please stay here.

He's definitely hiding something.

Should we call him back and keep questioning him?

I'm afraid he still won't tell the truth.

For Luo Chang Shui to risk getting caught

and commit murder in broad daylight,

whatever Zhong Shou is hiding

must be connected to Luo Chang Shui's boss

in some way.

Waiter. The bill, please.

Remember to take your medicine on time.

Come see me after you finish this batch.

Thank you, physician.

All right.

Wait. That's too much.

Sure.

Is this deal confirmed?

If everything's good,

I'm about to go all in.

Go for it.

This order is urgent.

Do you think I'd pay you less?

Her parents are here with me, crying their eyes out.

I have to figure out a way to get them out of here.

All right.

Let's get started.

Once her parents take the body back home,

you go over there a bit later.

Last time, the body wasn't even cold yet and you already rushed in.

If someone gets suspicious, we're done for.

Don't lecture me.

I know what I'm doing.

Hurry up and go pry her mouth open.

Don't mess it up like last time.

She bit down on my hand and wouldn't let go.

Sit tight.

Miss,

I'm really sorry.

If you want to blame someone, blame your own bad luck.

You just had to pick this clinic.

But don't worry.

The groom I picked for you is only about 25 or 26.

That's a good match for you.

Down in the afterlife, you two can live well together.

Hurry up and pour it in.

Stop!

Can this girl be saved?

Yes.

She can be saved.

Back then,

there was a family around Xiangzhou

who wanted a ghost marriage for their son.

They offered a high price for a young woman's body.

They'd pay two hundred taels.

At the time, I thought,

Jin Niang really had a tough life.

I heard her husband went to work in the mountains,

but he vanished without a trace.

So, finding her a companion wasn't a bad idea.

At least, she wouldn't be bullied in the afterlife.

So, I sold Jin Niang's body

to them.

You...

Keep talking.

Later, I realized

families around here really cared about ghost marriages.

This kind of deal costs nothing up front

and makes money way faster than a regular business.

So, I... I started doing this for a living.

If it's just for ghost marriages,

why did you have to kill?

Young women's bodies are too hard to find.

So, I teamed up with the clinic's doctor,

and the two of us...

Please spare me, Lord Hu!

Have mercy, Lord Hu!

I was just confused for a moment, that's why I made such a huge mistake.

I'm one of your citizens in Wanshan County.

Please show some mercy, Lord Hu.

Please, Lord Hu, have mercy!

Dealing in corpses

and desecrating the dead goes against all human decency.

Killing for this is truly unforgivable.

In my jurisdiction,

there are still criminals like you.

Even death punishment wouldn't satisfy my anger

and you still try to make excuses for yourself?

Zhong Shou.

How many people have you killed? Tell the truth.

Just one.

Still not telling the truth?

With the way you do things, this can't be your first time.

If you keep lying, you'll be tortured.

No! I'll talk!

I'll tell the truth, sir!

I killed

nine.

Were they all young women?

They were all young women.

The families arranging ghost marriages

are usually for young men who died early.

They died before they could get married.

That's why the families are willing to pay so much

to find a wife for the dead.

Where did you commit these crimes?

Yicheng, for one.

Sui County, too.

This is only my second time here in Wanshan County.

- Only? - No, that's not it.

You've already caused a death in Wanshan County.

Have both of them sign their confessions.

Once we find the victims' families,

and the case has been reviewed, they'll be executed immediately.

Sir, I was wrong!

Please spare me, Lord Hu!

Lord Zhan, have mercy! Spare me, please!

- Sir, have mercy! - Sir, I was wrong!

Who did you sell Jin Niang's body to?

Are you planning to bring back the dead body

and return it to the Duan family?

You sold her like she was just an object.

But I still see her as a person.

- Speak up! - I'll talk!

It was someone from Gucheng County named Lu Zhu.

Ask around over there, and you'll find out.

Don't be afraid.

Just answer honestly,

and you won't be tortured.

There are still things you haven't explained clearly in court.

I did say it.

I've told you everything I know.

I'm not hiding anything.

So, was all your business selling women's bodies

around Xiangzhou?

You never did it anywhere else?

It happens in other counties too,

but it's pretty rare.

In a few years, there might only be one deal.

Only around Xiangzhou is it common

for young men to die unexpectedly,

so there's a need for ghost marriages.

Where in Xiangzhou

were these men from?

They were from Yi County,

Yunmeng County,

Gucheng County,

and also Wanshan County.

A few years ago,

there could be six or seven deals in a single year.

But now, only Wanshan County has any business left.

Is there a lot of business in Wanshan County?

It was decent a couple of years ago.

But these past two years, it's gotten less and less.

You gave the doctor a hundred taels of silver.

The people who come to you for ghost marriages,

are they all from wealthy families?

No.

Judging by their clothes,

they're definitely not rich.

But they're actually pretty generous when it comes to money.

They'd pay at least a hundred or two hundred taels.

Who's the latest person who came to you?

Where do they live?

His name was Wang Heng.

He said the ghost marriage was for his younger brother, Wang Qing.

They live in Wanshan County.

But I don't know exactly where he lives.

Because we always talked at the inn, never anywhere else.

Is there anything else about this case that you want to ask about?

This man killed for money and was caught red-handed.

The stolen silver from the inn was also recovered.

We caught him with the loot.

There's no way he's being framed.

It's not that I think he's innocent.

It's just this case still feels off.

Don't you think it's strange that

so many young men have died unexpectedly

in one year?

You just got here, so you don't know the situation yet.

All these cases

were committed by the Xiuluo Sect.

Xiuluo Sect?

The Xiuluo Sect is ruthless and tests poisons on living people.

And sometimes, they even perform live sacrifice rituals.

A few years ago, they made life miserable for the people.

After I took office, the first thing I did was to wipe out their followers.

In recent years, they've rarely shown up in Wanshan County.

But now,

some must have slipped through the cracks

so they're making a comeback.

I need to step up patrols.

We can't let more people get hurt.

But if Wang Qing was murdered,

why didn't his family report it?

Also,

the families arranging these ghost marriages

can easily come up with hundreds of taels of silver.

That's pretty suspicious too.

Judging by your look,

you won't rest until you get answers.

Elder Zhu is in charge of the household registry.

He should know where Wang Qing's family lives.

Ask him for the address

and go check it out yourself.

Thank you, Lord Hu.

I'm just worried about your health,

that you can't handle all this stress and running around.

Don't worry.

I'm fine.

Wang Qing's house is just up ahead.

That must be last night's leftovers.

It's already starting to smell bad.

All their luggage is gone.

Looks like they got word last night

and left in a hurry.

As soon as Zhong Shou Gang gave up Wang Qing,

the Wang family left town that night.

Does that mean

there's a mole in the county office?

This is bad. We need to get back immediately.

Back in the courtroom just now, in front of outsiders,

I kept our county's secrets completely to myself.

I didn't see anything.

I swear, I won't tell anyone.

Please, I'm begging you. Don't kill me.

I really didn't see anything.

I swear I won't say a word.

Wait.

The killer was quick and efficient.

Both victims were killed in a single move.

Hu, there's no one else here

so I'll just speak plainly.

The killer knew the guards' shift schedules

and struck when the fewest people were on duty.

It doesn't seem like an outsider did this.

Bai, I get what you're saying.

But I can promise you,

my men would never do something like this.

Besides, they have keys.

If they wanted in, they wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.

The killer probably set this up to throw us off.

I checked the bodies.

There were no signs of resistance.

That means they weren't on guard against whoever came in.

We just went to Wang Qing's house.

They'd already packed up their things and left.

This probably can't just be called a coincidence, can it?

I'm honestly feeling pretty troubled.

That's why I came to find you just to talk.

Fine. Today, I guess I'll sacrifice to keep you company.

You'd better make sure you stay alive.

This wine isn't cheap, you know.

I didn't get any for you today.

Here you go.

Zhan.

I get why you all have doubts.

But my men have been with me since I took office.

They fought by my side when we took down the Xiuluo Sect.

I trust them,

just like you trust the two friends by your side.

I really don't want to admit they might be involved.

But with all these murders happening,

and every lead you find gets cut off cleanly,

even if I don't want to face it,

I can't deny

the fact that there's trouble brewing underneath

Wanshan County, which may look peaceful on the surface.

Qiu Han is one of Prince Xiangyang's men.

You came to Wanshan County this time

to root out Prince Xiangyang's faction,

didn't you?

Xiao Chen,

how did you know about this?

I've been riding the waves in the Xiangzhou bureaucracy for about a decade.

All I've done is circle around tiny, insignificant positions.

Why do you think I've never been promoted?

You refused to go along with Prince Xiangyang's people,

to get mixed up in their corruption.

I willingly came

to what was then a poor and remote Wanshan County.

It took a lot of work to turn it into what it is today.

But I never thought

I'd still have to deal with Prince Xiangyang's faction.

After the Jin Xue Wen case,

the court sent an imperial envoy to Xiangzhou.

Now every official, big or small, is worried for themselves.

Of course, I knew what you were investigating.

Zhan Zhao, this little Wanshan County is all I have.

It's the result of all my hard work.

No one can ruin its peace and stability.

How do you plan to investigate next?

I'll do everything I can to help.

All the clues are gone,

but that just proves

we're on the right track.

Young men in Wanshan County keep dying unexpectedly.

It must be Prince Xiangyang's big secret he's desperate to hide.

Next, I want to open the coffin and examine the body

to find out how Wang Qing died.

All right.

Lord Zhan.

Lord Hu,

the task you gave me

is already done.

Let me guess,

did you have Elder Zhu go through the county's household records

and sort out the list of young men who died unexpectedly in recent years?

I've already sorted it for you, Lord Zhan.

Please take a look.

Lord Hu,

none of Wang Qing's family is here right now.

If we open the coffin without warning,

I'm afraid...

I'll explain to his family later.

Tomorrow, bring the coroner and officers to open the coffin.

- Examine the body. - Yes, sir.

Magistrate Hu,

there are no signs of poisoning on this man's body.

No wounds from sharp weapons either.

But there are multiple fractures all over.

His chest and abdomen are swollen.

It looks like

broken bones pierced his organs and killed him.

Can you tell if it was an accident or if someone did it?

Looking at the cause of death, it seems like he fell from a high place

or was crushed by something heavy.

But whether it was intentional or not,

I really can't tell.

You are all Wang Qing's neighbors.

Did any of you see Wang Qing with anyone suspicious before he died?

He wasn't home for a while recently.

None of us really saw him around.

Then do you know why he left home?

Mr. Wang Qing went out to work.

He made a lot of money.

You little rascal, always running off when I'm not looking.

Come on, let's go home.

Sir, please wait a moment.

I'd like to ask the child some questions.

What's there to ask? He's just a kid...

Zhao Da Fa! What's that attitude? Letting him answer won't hurt anyone.

Go ahead, ask him.

You said Wang Qing went out to work.

Do you know what kind of work he was doing?

Did he make a lot of money from that job?

He said he could afford to get married, build a big house,

and even promised to buy me candy.

Let's follow the list we made yesterday and head to the next gravesite.

Are we really going to open the coffins of everyone on that list?

Some of them have been dead for years.

Isn't that a bit much?

We have to do it.

We need to figure out if these people died from the same cause.

Yes, sir.

Magistrate Hu,

Liu Er Lang died from a fractured skull.

Isn't that the same as the autopsy report from three years ago?

Why do you have to dig him up again?

You're disturbing my brother's rest in the afterlife.

San Lang, you...

Young man, I understand how you feel.

We're just trying to find the truth so your brother doesn't die in vain.

You're not even from here.

What do you know about the truth?

My brother died because of the Xiuluo Sect's evil ritual.

Magistrate Hu already closed the case.

What more is there to question?

These past two years,

my parents have just started to recover from losing their son.

Now you have to bring up the past all over again.

You outsiders, who even are you?

That monster from the other day almost ran me over and killed me.

Wanshan County has always been peaceful.

But ever since you all arrived, trouble keeps happening.

Did these people bring the monster here?

- Exactly. - That's right.

You guys, why are you stirring up trouble?

Everyone, listen to me.

Lord Zhan serves at the Kaifeng Tribunal in Dongjing.

He was appointed by the court to come here and investigate.

Everyone in our county

must fully cooperate with him.

From now on, treat him as you would treat me.

Is that clear to everyone?

My youngest son

is also on that list.

If anyone dares dig up my son's grave,

I'll fight them to the death.

Magistrate Hu,

we've always respected you

and held you in high regard.

But you can't just let your friends do whatever they want in our county.

- That's right! - Kick them out!

Lord Zhan, the dead deserve respect.

I was worried

that the people would have this kind of resentment.

Given how things look now,

if we keep insisting on digging up graves,

we might get ourselves into trouble.

Maybe we should wait a couple of days.

You're back.

Let me guess.

You didn't find much, did you?

So, you didn't bother going.

I saw that Senior Zhu went,

so I didn't go myself.

You suspect Zhu Ming Yuan too?

Looks like you've been suspicious for a while.

I'm sure you could've dodged Luo Chang Shui's move.

Why would you need him to step in?

With his skills, even if he wanted to save someone,

why would he need to kill Luo Chang Shui?

Come on.

I've read this "Pulse Manual" cover to cover twice now.

When I check a pulse now, I'm about 70 to 80% accurate.

Those green marks on your body...

Have they spread?

- Let me take a look. - There's nothing to see.

It looks the same as before.

Young master.

Don't let anything slip.

Young master, I heard you spent the whole day digging graves.

I'll go fetch some water. You should get cleaned up.

All right.

What's the harm in me taking a look?

I'm dying of thirst.

Did you kill Luo Chang Shui?

He was just a piece of rotten meat.

Was he really worth all this fuss and dragging everyone out here?

If he hadn't died,

the secret of Wanshan County would've been exposed.

The reason I came this time

was to keep an eye on Zhan Zhao and the others.

Did they find anything?

They weren't supposed to find anything,

but you all just had to get clever

and send Luo Chang Shui over.

You ended up ruining my plans.

We're both working for the same master.

You'd better watch your tone.

Look at you.

It's like you don't even care about the master at all.

Wanshan County holds

the master's fate in its hands.

That's why I can talk like this.

He promised

to keep the county safe and peaceful.

But look at things now.

Zhong Shou has stirred up all kinds of trouble.

With Zhan Zhao's abilities,

he'll get to the bottom of all this sooner or later

and connect it to what happened ten years ago.

Tell the master to get ready.

Say something, will you?

Quiet. I'm reciting the formula.

So, does it actually work or not?

Zhu Zi,

this is bad.

What is it? What about me?

You ate too many plums and now you're overheated.

Zhao Zhi Er bought all of these.

Are you sure you know how to check a pulse?

Have you checked my young master's pulse?

How is he?

He's doing fine. It's not getting any worse.

Really?

- Take it outside and let it soak up some moonlight. - Moonlight?

These two little seedlings need to get

98 hours of sunlight and moonlight

before they'll bloom.

Go on.

Take them to the pavilion.

You're busy with this case, working yourself to exhaustion every day.

Ming Zhu Er doesn't even dare speak up against you,

so he just quietly worries.

I even saw him wiping away tears in secret yesterday.

Take a break for a couple of days for his sake, at least.

All right, I promise.

Once we get to Gucheng County, I won't make a move unless I have to.

I'll leave the fighting to you guys.

Gucheng County?

Who said you could go to Gucheng County?

Just hear me out.

If there's really a spy in the county office,

then everything we do is definitely being watched.

I'm afraid we won't find any more clues in Wanshan County.

Do you remember what I told you earlier about the Jin Niang case?

Jin Niang's husband, Duan Shi Lang,

went missing while still in his prime.

Luo Chang Shui and Zhong Shou

are also tied to the case from ten years ago, now that you mention it.

So, instead of staying stuck in Wanshan County,

why not try a different approach and look into what happened ten years ago?

Zhao Yue An had no grudge against Jin Niang.

Why would he kill a woman?

His motive

is worth digging into.

If I weren't tied up with official duties,

I'd really want to go with you and check out Gucheng County.

I hope your trip goes smoothly.

Bring back some clues if you can.

If you need my help, just let me know anytime.

Actually, I do need your help.

I want to go there and come back quickly,

so I'm asking you to help look after

those two little rascals, Ming Zhu Er and Zhao Zhi Er.

All right, don't worry.

Fish for sale!

Come take a look, fresh fish!

Sir.

Give me a better price.

This one will do.

That Lv Zhu you mentioned,

I know where his house is.

I'm going to confront him

and get the body back.

Thanks for letting me know about this.

Now, Jin Niang and Shi Lang can finally be reunited.

Granny,

from what you're saying,

you've found Shi Lang's whereabouts?

Well, we managed to recover half his remains.

Honestly, being able to get the body back is all thanks to Jin Niang.

Back then, Shi Lang went out to work

and lost contact with his family.

Jin Niang went out looking for him.

Back then, I was staying at my eldest son's place.

Jin Niang had someone send me a message.

She said she had found

Shi Lang working at Jiuzhou Mountain.

By the time we found Shi Lang,

he and about a dozen young men around his age

were covered by just a thin layer of dirt

and dumped in a mass grave.

This case just keeps getting more mysterious.

What kind of work

would cause so many young men to die all at once?

It's truly baffling.

Some of these dead young men

were probably the ones Zhong Shou mentioned

who were meant for ghost marriages.

The deaths of these young men

affected many counties in Xiangzhou.

It lasted for a whole decade.

Where do we go next? Jiuzhou Mountain?

It's been ten years.

There's probably nothing left in these mountains.

Let's go to the Zhao family.

I've got a theory.

Whatever those young men were working on

might be connected to the Zhao family.

If that's the case,

Zhao Yue An probably killed Jin Niang to keep her quiet.

Look at all these bags and bundles.

I thought coming along

would let me catch the Zhao family's dirty business.

Turns out they're just here to burn paper for their ancestors.

Why aren't they worshiping this one?

This Zhao Yue An isn't exactly his father's favorite, is he?

Back then, Master Zhao really doted on this youngest son.

Then, why not pay respects to him?

My master and I have both cheated death once.

All thanks to you.

Survived death once.

Maybe the "master" Luo Chang Shui mentioned

wasn't actually Qiu Han.

What if Zhao Yue An isn't really dead?

What if this is just an empty grave?

The news of Zhao Yue An's sudden death

definitely came from the Zhao family.

Even though they've destroyed all the evidence from the Jin Niang case,

Zhao Yue An's motive for killing Jin Niang can't be erased.

If someone insists on taking this to the county office,

the Zhao family's dirty business they're trying to hide will be exposed.

The son kills to silence witnesses,

and the father helps his son fake his death.

Those two really are thick as thieves.

I wonder if the officials in Gucheng County

are loyal to the Prince of Xiangyang.

If we rush to the yamen

and ask for an order to interrogate Zhao Zheng De,

that might not be wise.

Forget it.

Let's get some rest soon.

Where can we even go this early?

Giddy up!

Giddy up!

I just can't stand the way you run around everywhere.

Zhao Zheng De. I've brought the person out for you.

If you have questions, ask.

Go on, ask.

I've already brought them out. You want me to take them back or what?

If we didn't have solid leads,

we wouldn't have come to you directly.

Let me give you some advice.

Answer the questions honestly.

Who are you people?

Why are you digging into things from ten years ago?

Are you questioning us, or are we questioning you?

What do you mean who?

We're notorious outlaws.

You think those two don't look the part?

You got it wrong.

They're the bosses of the outlaws.

Otherwise, how could they order me around?

Boss, let me borrow your sword.

Can you just answer properly?

Yes.

I admit it.

Back then, I set up the scheme

for Yue An to fake his death.

But this thing you're talking about,

the one that killed a dozen people.

I honestly have no idea what it was.

Zhao Yue An was only 16 back then.

He hired all those laborers to work.

You really didn't know?

I truly didn't know.

I also didn't know what Yue An was doing in the mountains...

Mountains?

So it really was you guys.

Was the business in the mountains

run by Zhao Yue An?

I don't know.

I don't know.

Boss, he really doesn't know anything. Let's just kill him.

I'll talk!

Yue An

is not my biological son.

He's the illegitimate child of someone important

who was raised in my home as a foster child.

There are so many wealthy families in Xiangzhou,

yet they chose to place their illegitimate child with the Zhao family.

This important person

must also have the surname Zhao, right?

Could he be the Prince of Xiangyang's son?

Where is he now?

I don't know.

After Yue An faked his death, he was taken away.

I never saw him again.

You raised him for over ten years, after all.

You must've tried to find him in secret.

Be honest.

Yes.

I couldn't bear to let him go.

But I couldn't find him either.

I heard

Yue An has already changed his name and identity

and is hiding out with a wealthy family in Xiangzhou.

They live in a remote area,

but they're still a prestigious clan.

As long as he's not suffering,

I'm at ease.

What's this family's surname?

- I don't know. - Where in Xiangzhou?

I think...

It's called Huilong River

but I don't know exactly where.

As long as we know the place, it's easy.

Huilong River is a small place.

There aren't many big families there.

Even if we have to check every house,

we'll find Zhao Yue An.

But Xiao Chen and I have never seen Zhao Yue An.

We probably wouldn't recognize him.

Seriously?

Zhao Yue An was never like those spoiled brats.

Except for the Jin Niang case,

he never caused any trouble.

He also rarely showed his face.

So it seems

the Prince of Xiangyang planned it this way.

Do you want to see Zhao Yue An?

Leave a message for your family

and come with us.

Here you go.

What's wrong? Why the long face?

Linglong Manor is right near Huilong River.

So doesn't that mean we don't have to drag Mr. Zhao around

to knock on every rich family's door anymore?

Think carefully.

Which wealthy sons returned to Huilong River ten years ago?

At the time of the incident, Zhao Yue An was only 16.

Ten years have passed.

He's 26 now.

Who comes to mind?

Shao Ji Zu.

The Shao family has three sons.

Shao Ji Zu is the youngest.

He was raised outside the family.

Later, one of his two brothers

died and the other one became disabled,

That was why he returned to the main family.

He was 16 that year.

No need to check further. It has to be him.

No wonder the Prince of Xiangyang

was so eager to arrange his marriage with the Huo family.

But if it's really him, why are you worried?

Tang is also 26 this year.

Coincidentally,

he also returned to Huilong River

when he was 16.

Even though the Tang Sect sided with the Prince of Xiangyang ten years ago,

I still think

it's unlikely for Tang to be the one.

The Prince of Xiangyang could never have a kid as good as Tang.

Anyone else?

There's one more.

He was sickly as a child.

The fortune teller said he shouldn't stay with his family.

So he had always been raised by distant relatives.

When he turned 16,

his relatives passed away.

Only then could he return to his own family.

And this year, he's also 26.

That person is my brother,

Huo Feng.

No way that's your brother.

Think about Shao Ji Zu's annoying face.

He must take after his father.

Even his name, Ji Zu, sounds like it has an agenda.

Master Bai's analysis this time actually makes sense.

Mocking Shao Ji Zu's looks

and his name all at once,

and that's called making sense?

Honestly, I really think

it's most likely Shao Ji Zu.

No need to guess anymore.

Let's just take this old master with us

and knock on the Shao family's door to see if he calls him "Dad".

Let's not worry about that for now.

Once we're back in Wanshan County, we'll figure it out.

Speaking of which,

let's make a plan first.

When we get back to Wanshan County,

don't let him anywhere near the yamen.

We worked hard to get him out.

What if a spy gets to him?

All right.

He's all yours.

Yes. It has been years since something like this happened in our county.

Let's go check it out.

I'll keep an eye on Zhao Zheng De.

- Giddy up. - Giddy up.

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