Original subtitles

(Zhan Zhao Adventures)

(Episode 17)

Yue Hua,

I'm going to arrest Jing Yi Ming now.

I'm worried he might destroy the evidence.

Why don't you come with us and see his downfall with your own eyes?

No, I need to return to Hanshui Palace and report to Grandma.

Goodbye.

Yue Hua...

Are you caught off guard, Huo?

This Moon Envoy here is the daughter of the Ding family, Ding Yue Hua.

Send another signal.

Giddy-up!

Zhang Yue. You still have things left to do.

Zhan is about to take over the Jing estate.

Now's not the best time to go after Chang Hong Bi.

I have a feeling He Bo still has a backup plan.

While Zhan Zhao is busy dealing with him, that's the perfect chance.

Zhang Yue, if you can't bring Chang Hong Bi back,

you won't make it out alive.

Sect Leader. Shao Ji Zu fired two flares.

Zhan Zhao will probably be here any minute now.

Stick to the plan. Go now!

Yes, Sect Leader!

You've let your skills go to waste for years. You can't do anything!

Your payback is coming soon!

Jing Yi Ming.

This is all you've got!

You run Zhongxiao Courtyard,

bullying defenseless girls,

using Nightmare Sky to control martial artists.

Do you think

you're fit to rule the martial world?

You're nothing but an arrogant, useless petty crook!

A complete hypocrite! A scoundrel!

Shut up!

You are trying to stall for time on purpose!

Madam.

Get the letters that haven't burned out of here and put out the fire now!

- Yes, Officer! - Zhan Zhao.

You're still a step too late.

What I've burned is enough for me to bargain with you.

Ding.

Be gentle with him later,

Don't let Brother Ding get hurt again.

Who are you looking for?

I'm looking for Zhan Zhao. I have something important to say.

Let her in.

Back at the mass grave, she was on our side.

Is the Jing family keeping a child locked up here?

Yes.

That child is in the courtyard up ahead.

I'll handle them. You hurry up.

Xiao Di.

Don't be scared, I'm here to save you.

Wait a second.

Ding

is not doing well.

Do you want to check on him?

Where is he?

We're too late.

Zhan Zhao had already taken him away.

Zhang Ri.

If you go head-to-head with Zhan Zhao, you can't beat him.

Go back first.

Give me a little time.

I'll definitely give Grandma a proper explanation.

Zhang Yue.

Remember this.

Without Chang Hong Bi,

there's no need for you to ever return to Hanshui Palace.

This is the spring tea

I specially prepared for the birthday banquet.

What a shame.

There'll be no banquet now.

Your fate today has already been sealed.

Say what you need to say quickly. Once you are done,

it's time to put you somewhere else.

Officer Zhan, you should know

that even if you arrest me, your investigation won't get anywhere.

In the end,

I'm just a pawn following orders.

Why bother going after me?

Why not just let me go?

With what I know,

I could help you clear up the confusion.

When the time comes, getting a promotion and title

will be as easy as pie.

The law will decide your fate.

Even if you want to redeem yourself,

it depends on what crimes you've committed.

You run Zhongxiao Courtyard, control people in the martial world,

and commit all kinds of crimes.

If your life was spared, wouldn't it be unfair

for those girls you abused and innocent people

who died because of you?

Looks like deep down, you're still a hero.

But with your personality, you'll have a hard time in court politics.

You've only uncovered a small part of the conspiracy,

and you're already so impatient.

A case this major isn't something

you or the Kaifeng Tribunal can decide on your own.

I've got plenty of chances to bargain with others.

When that happens, don't blame me

for not giving you a shot at promotion.

Not necessarily.

If I uncover your leverage,

you'll have no reason to be kept alive.

Fine!

Then I'll wait and see what you can uncover from all that ash!

Xiao Di, we finally meet again.

In a few more days, the scent of medicine on you will fade,

and you'll be just like the other kids.

Where's Zhao Hui?

Ding is badly hurt.

The Great Compassion Palm injured his meridians and organs.

At this point,

we can only use our inner power to heal him.

But it might not work.

Yue Hua,

for now, you should stay by his side.

Just in case...

Is there any Linglong Honey pill left?

Only two left.

This works wonders as pain relief.

It'll help Ding get through the pain.

Thank you.

Officer Zhan. What we managed to save this time

were all letters between He Bo and the Western Xia.

With these, your name can finally be cleared.

It's just a shame

these letters don't mention the mastermind behind He Bo.

Earlier,

the Yicheng County Magistrate mentioned the Zhongxiao Courtyard ledger.

But that's been destroyed too.

Meng Zhi Jun,

when will you escort Jing Yi Ming back to the capital?

We'll leave in two days.

We still need to check the evidence and rearrange the witnesses.

Let me handle the evidence.

As for the suspects' statements, I'll leave those to you.

Alright. Don't worry.

Just like you asked,

we've placed all the Zhongxiao Courtyard suspects in different locations.

They can't coordinate their stories.

We can start the interrogations tonight.

Zhan, why aren't you eating?

I'm not done organizing things yet.

What kind of deal did He Bo try to make with you?

He wanted to use these burned letters

to trade for immunity in this case.

I want to keep searching for clues.

I won't give him any chance to get away with it.

Then I'll help you look.

But let's eat something first.

Otherwise, how will we have the energy to work?

Try it.

Lady Huo,

your jade is safely returned.

I noticed the string on your jade pendant is pretty fancy.

It's tied in a peace knot.

If I'm not mistaken,

it came from Yuan'an Temple, right?

My aunt gave it to me.

She said

it would keep me safe.

I remember I was really sickly as a child.

Once, I got seriously ill,

and almost lost my life.

But ever since I started wearing it,

my health improved a lot.

Huo, you always save the good stuff for Zhan, don't you?

Not only do you whisper behind my back,

but you also eat snacks without me.

You didn't come here so late at night

just for these two pieces of pastry, right?

You have the nerve to say that.

If I hadn't asked Ming Zhu,

I wouldn't know you'd do everything by yourself again.

With this whole mess,

you'd be here till sunrise if you worked alone.

I try to help, and you don't even appreciate it.

If I'd known, I would've just gone back to bed.

Those two guys will come over too, once they're done with Chang Hong Bi.

Looks like this secret room won't be big enough for us.

How about we ask Jing Yi Ming and his crew to clear out some space for us?

Wait.

Don't scare me.

- Come on, let's go. - Hurry up.

Now is not the time for you to organize these case files here.

He Bo is just someone who doesn't know when to quit.

We should take action right now.

The Zhongxiao Courtyard case doesn't involve you.

But if you make a move now,

you'll be walking right into their trap.

The destruction of Zhongxiao Courtyard

is a big blow to the master's plans.

I'll report this to him myself.

I will shoulder any punishment by myself.

He Bo won't be so stupid as to spill everything to Zhan Zhao.

Besides, he barely knows anything. He doesn't know the grand scheme.

Let's see if Zhan Zhao can dig up anything.

It'll be for the best if he ends up with nothing.

But what if he does find something?

Even if he does, there's no need to panic.

It's still too early to say who'll be in trouble by then.

Look,

this seal pattern

matches the token Fang Shu Li has.

So, this seal corresponds to the token that each official holds.

Every ledger here records the token owner's

number of visits to Zhongxiao Courtyard and their expenses.

But there aren't any officials' names.

He Bo must have another list that matches these seal patterns.

An officials' roster.

We've been at this all night,

but haven't found a single clue about that roster.

Did the heavens turn a blind eye to him?

One big fire helped him burn everything to ashes.

So everything we worked on all night to sort out

is just a pile of useless paper. It's all worthless.

But what if

we ask the girls from Zhongxiao Courtyard to identify them?

They've never seen the officials' real faces.

I also found these.

These are letters between He Bo and others.

Each is stamped with the sender's seal.

All the seals are different.

Compared to the ones in the booklets, these seal patterns are different.

They probably represent different subordinates of Prince Xiangyang.

The design of these seals follows a certain pattern.

Maybe if we piece them together, we'll get a complete symbol or pattern.

We can't piece them together anymore.

These seals

were either burned or soaked in water.

We're not out of options yet.

We've been up all night. Everyone has worked hard.

Let's head back to the inn and get some rest.

I'm fine.

Lady Huo, bring them back.

I'm going to check on Zhao Hui.

You don't have to worry when you have me watching him.

Go on.

We didn't get a single lead after an entire night.

The Tang Sect keeps insisting that it has nothing to do with Shao Ji Zu.

And that Zhi Hua is even tougher to crack.

Nothing gets through to him.

He says he's doomed anyway.

It's just a matter of how he dies.

Is Ding feeling any better?

You should get some rest too. I'm heading to the Jing residence.

Bai, what are you up to?

Let me ask you, aren't you one of the prince's men?

When the Guanghua Army sees you, they have to show you some respect, right?

Of course.

Alright. Take me to the prison.

- What are you going to do? - Obviously, to help your young master

handle someone like Zhi Hua, who's shameless and stubborn.

I have tricks the authorities don't have.

Zhan.

Some things are just fate.

You've already done all you can.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Lady Huo, head back and get some rest.

Bai, what's wrong?

If I'm not mistaken,

this seal at the bottom represents the Prince of Xiangyang.

The four around it stand for his four different subordinates.

Check this out.

The letters left at He Bo's manor

must have been written to him by others.

Among these letters, there are three different seals.

So by that logic, the missing seal here

should belong to He Bo.

But look,

the seal on this bill

is exactly the same as the one in the upper right corner.

Before this, we thought that He Bo compiled these bills.

But the seal on this bill

isn't He Bo's seal.

So it looks like

there's someone else involved in running Zhongxiao Courtyard.

That's right.

Maybe the officials' roster wasn't burned.

Maybe it was never in He Bo's hands at all.

That would explain what confused me before.

He Bo is just a man from the underworld.

How could he be so deeply involved with the officials?

Zhan, it seems the one using Zhongxiao Courtyard to control the officials

is someone else entirely.

We'll have to ask Zhi Hua about that.

Officer Zhan!

Officer Zhan, something has happened!

Why did you save him? He killed Zhao Zhi Er and Ming Zhu Er!

Bai, what are you talking about?

Bai.

Bai!

What did you see?

Are you seeing things again?

That day in the woods, when you fought Zhi Hua, you weren't faking it.

You really were poisoned.

I wasn't!

Even if Zhi Hua didn't kill Zhao Zhi Er and Ming Zhu Er,

he's still a monster who deserves to die.

He ruined so many lives.

But if the authorities get to him, he'll just get a quick execution.

Letting him die once is way too easy on him.

If he were in my hands, I could make him die a thousand deaths.

Not just him, but also Jing Yi Ming.

Every accomplice from Zhongxiao Courtyard should be tortured to death!

Bai Yu Tang,

what you're seeing now are just hallucinations. Snap out of it.

Listen to me. Zhi Hua can't die yet.

There are things I need to get answers for.

I went to see Zhi Hua earlier

to get him to talk.

I did it to help you.

Don't worry.

Let me handle the rest.

I'm not saying a word.

You want to step over my dead body

to get promoted?

Forget it.

I don't care about getting promoted.

But if you keep your mouth shut,

someone else will benefit from it.

Like the one who wants you dead.

You know I'm not talking about Shao Ji Zu.

Among the Prince of Xiangyang's men,

although one of them runs Zhongxiao Courtyard with He Bo,

he's not involved in this case.

He has no reason to make a big fuss to kill you.

Think about it, and you'll understand.

Someone so ruthless who suspects the Hanshui Palace

and wants to silence you and the Shangqing Sect disciples all at once.

That person can only be Jing Yi Ming.

Your Great Compassion Palm

was taught to you by Jing Yi Ming, wasn't it?

You hate the Jing family's eldest son, don't you?

And with Jing Yi Ming being such a womanizer,

it makes me realize who you truly are.

Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs.

Honestly, your loyalty and devotion just aren't worth it.

He taught you the Great Compassion Palm himself.

So you held onto hope for him.

You thought that someday, he'd finally acknowledge you to the world.

But the truth is,

he only taught you martial arts so you'd risk your life for him.

To him,

you're just his most loyal and useful pawn.

Yesterday,

he already pinned all the blame on you.

He did it

to save himself.

The evidence of all his crimes

is all there, plain as day.

The evidence is rock solid.

How could he possibly get away with it?

Because he gave us key information.

The Jing family's ledgers and letters were all burned by him.

He used the information he held as a bargaining chip.

He wanted to use that to save his own skin.

I don't want to see him go free,

but there's nothing else I can do.

If he hadn't talked,

we never would've known

Zhongxiao Courtyard was a joint operation.

After telling us everything he knew,

he denied everything else he could.

He put all the blame on you.

If this keeps up,

I'm afraid

he really might walk away unscathed.

Give you all the information?

What does he even know

about the whole plan?

Officer Zhan.

Have you finally figured it out?

I'm not asking for much.

As long as I can stay alive, that's enough for me.

There are four Great Lords who serve Prince Xiangyang.

He Bo,

Si Ming,

Dong Jun, and Shan Gui.

Among them,

Si Ming and you ran Zhongxiao Courtyard together.

You used Zhongxiao Courtyard to manipulate people in the martial world.

But the one who uncovered the officials' real identities

and used that to control them

was Si Ming.

The only secrets you have to bargain with the authorities

are just these things.

That's all you really know.

Prince Xiangyang never fully trusted the four Great Lords.

He didn't let you have much contact with each other.

He was afraid that if one got caught, the rest would be exposed too.

So he only allowed you to communicate by letter.

You tried to act mysterious,

pretending you wanted to confess.

But you just wanted to make up clues

and trick the authorities.

I came here

just to see this look on your face now!

I can't make a scum like you

feel sorry for Liu Hong Yi,

Fan Zhong Yu,

the whole Ding family, all the women in Zhongxiao Courtyard,

and everyone in the martial world.

But I can crush your hope

and make you experience despair and fear.

That's the least I can do for the victims.

Don't even think about begging for a quick death.

The authorities have their own process for trials.

You'll just have to wait, day after day,

and rot in this cell.

Officer Zhan!

By the way,

someone else has already told us

everything about Zhongxiao Courtyard.

You don't have to tell us anything now.

As far as the court is concerned,

you're no longer of any use.

(Statement by Zhi Hua)

Have you ever met Si Ming?

No.

He's always very cautious.

Most of his orders came through someone else.

I've never seen him in person.

There's something

I still want to ask you about.

Father.

Father.

I'm the one who asked Zhan Zhao

to put us, father and son,

in the same cell.

Because I want to tell you myself

that it's me

who betrayed you.

I personally cut off your escape.

There's one more thing

I need to tell you.

That precious son you wanted to pass your legacy to,

I killed him too.

I killed him with my own hands.

Zhan.

I'll take care of things here.

You've worked hard on this case.

Rest up whenever you get the chance.

It's fine.

You went to the Jing family estate for Chang Hong Bi, right?

If you don't bring Chang Hong Bi back,

Grandma Han Shui definitely won't let you off easy.

Have you thought about how to handle it?

I haven't figured it out yet.

But I know

I've made too many mistakes before.

I don't want to keep making them.

You can't go back to Hanshui Palace anymore.

Go home.

Jing Yi Ming's crimes are backed by solid evidence.

Lord Bao will make sure the entire Ding family gets justice,

Does that mean

he'll definitely face the death penalty?

Yes.

Back when I was at the Ding family home,

Zhao Hui talked to me about Xiao Yun.

He really regretted not believing you back then.

After you left home,

he kept Xiao Yun's body

hoping you'd go back to find evidence

and uphold justice for Xiao Yun.