Original subtitles

(Zhan Zhao Adventures)

(Episode 34)

Did Zhou Ji Liang send you here?

I'm talking to you.

Say something.

Start talking!

He has been drugged. He's not in his right mind anymore.

I doubt we'll get any answers from him.

You.

Come here.

Come here.

About what I know, I'll tell only you.

We can't let anyone else know.

Come here.

Come here.

Shan Gui is hiding in your Huo family.

Why do you keep helping Zhan Zhao investigate your own family?

We're the ones on the same side here.

Shan Gui is in your Huo family.

A family member investigating another family member.

How is there

something so ridiculous in this world?

At first, I thought my aunt brought this over from the Lin family.

But I had no idea

that this thing actually came from the Huo family.

Have you already figured out

the connection between the Huo family and Prince Xiangyang?

Every move Hu Xiao Chen made

was carefully thought out.

As for the identification plan,

if all he wanted was to protect Zhao Yue An,

he could've just silenced Zhao Zheng De.

He didn't have to bring your brother into this.

After the identification plan that day,

I started to have a lot of bad suspicions.

But I didn't dare think too much about it.

So I forced those thoughts down and tried to ignore them.

Until last night

when we discovered that the secret of Wanshan County was a gold mine.

That was when I finally knew that I couldn't avoid it anymore.

Although Linglong Manor is well-known in the martial world,

not many people know

the Huo family's ancestors were swordsmiths.

They built their fortune through smelting and forging.

Zhan.

I have to return to the Huo family

to get answers from my father and brother.

Alright.

Why did it take you so long to pick a horse?

You can't ride just any ordinary horse. You need a proper steed.

The Yaksha that showed up this morning

might be targeting Zhan.

- Watch over him. - Don't worry.

Giddy-up!

Giddy-up!

Take the token and bring the two kids with you.

Go to the county office to get Siming.

Find the imperial envoy in Xiangyang and hand Siming over to him.

Let the two kids stay there for a few days.

I'll stay in Gucheng County.

Why?

The magistrate of Gucheng County

is Zhou Ji Liang's next target.

So, you are staying to deal with Zhou Ji Liang.

How are you going to handle him?

With your life?

Others might not know about your health condition.

But I know exactly what's going on.

Although the rash on your shoulder has faded a bit,

it'll come back in two days.

When that happens, the poison will hit even harder.

- I understand. - You don't understand.

You're gambling your life against fate.

If you don't fight, maybe you could live another month.

But if you push yourself to use fight, you could drop dead...

Today,

Ming Zhu Er went to the city gate to find Zhou Ji Liang.

Couldn't you tell what he was up to?

The trouble with Yaksha started because of me.

It's on me to make things right.

You're not God.

Is all the suffering in this world yours to carry alone?

The fake Yaksha was evil from the start.

With or without Yaksha, he'd still commit all kinds of crimes.

What he did wrong has nothing to do with you.

No. If you saw those innocent people

dying one after another right in front of you as I did,

you couldn't forgive yourself either.

Zhan Zhao.

Since I'm already on this crazy ride with you,

I won't back out halfway.

Promise me to stay alive and wait for me to finish things in Xiangyang.

(Wanshan County)

My Lord.

The silver our master asked for is almost ready.

How are the people reacting to this?

They still have some complaints.

But when they heard it was your order,

every household handed over quite a bit of money to us.

Zhou Ji Liang has already succeeded.

Just as you predicted,

Zhan Zhao is staying back in Gucheng County.

Huo Ling Long has already gone back to the Huo family.

What about Bai Yu Tang?

He's escorting Siming to Xiangyang.

Still, we should stay alert.

Tell the people and the officers to stay sharp.

Keep a close watch on the city gates.

We absolutely can't let Bai Yu Tang sneak into the county.

Giddy-up!

Giddy-up!

Giddy-up!

Giddy-up!

Lady Ling Long.

Commander Shao has been waiting for you inside.

Didn't I tell you not to come back?

Uncle Huo. I told you

she'd come back.

I tried to talk sense into you so many times before,

but you never cared.

You forced me to expose the Huo family's true colors

in front of Zhan Zhao and the others.

We've come to this today

because of your choices.

You won't make me take those betrothal gifts back

to the Shao residence today again, right?

I'll move the wedding date up.

We'd better hurry and get ready.

Who exactly is Shan Gui?

Is it my father

or my brother?

Neither.

Shan Gui

is you.

By tradition, I should only tell you

the secret of the Linglong Eye after we get married.

But I guess if you go to your great-aunt now, she won't hide it anymore.

You should go and find the previous Shan Gui.

She'll tell you everything,

exactly as it happened.

Looks like I'm a step too late.

You've already sent the magistrate away.

Do you think you have everything figured out?

But did you predict

that someone would go after the coroner from back then?

Zhan Zhao. All of us want to help you.

We all want to help you bring those villains to justice.

If you fight me,

you won't make it to the academy in time to save the dean.

Do you think you are some kind of hero fighting for justice?

Let me tell you! You're nothing! You're honestly way too naive!

The prosperity and decline of our Linglong Manor

all come from this internal cultivation technique.

The secret of the Linglong Eye that you want to know

is hidden in this technique too.

The founders of our Linglong Manor

were a married couple.

The man created a qinggong technique called "Fleeting Speed."

He also forged the Yin Yang Blade.

While the woman created the Lingyun Sword style.

Your father must have told you all of these.

But do you remember

how you mastered

your "Listening to Flowers Through the Night?"

I think it was when I was 16.

My father showed me a manual on internal cultivation.

The founder of our Huo family, Huo Xiao,

didn't just create the Lingyun Sword style.

She also created the Linglong Cultivation technique.

This technique is extremely gentle and feminine.

Only women can master it.

There are seven levels to this technique.

The "Listening to Flowers Through the Night" you practiced

is just the beginner level.

If you reach the fourth level and combine it with the Yin Yang Blade,

you'll be able to sense subtle changes in energy flow

to find minerals and locate acupoints.

That's the Linglong Eye that the people in the martial world talk about.

The Linglong Eye is a secret technique for finding minerals and acupoints.

So all those legends about the Linglong Eye

were just misinformation spread by the Huo family.

The Huo family is deliberately hiding the truth.

Otherwise, if this secret ever got out,

the powerful clans and nobles would covet and fight over it.

And the same tragedy would happen to the Huo family.

When the Linglong technique was first created,

a Huo family disciple leaked it out.

Suddenly,

we were attacked by all the sects and clans one after another.

The Linglong technique was split into six incomplete scrolls.

One stayed with the Huo family.

The rest were scattered across the martial world.

Does this scroll contain the first three levels of the technique?

As for the rest of the scrolls that others got,

without these three levels as a foundation,

they were basically worthless.

Back then,

too many sects stormed the Huo family.

There were so many

that even they lost track of who had the first few levels of the technique.

For a period of time,

they were killing each other over it

like madmen.

After all the fighting,

everyone went their separate ways.

The Huo family

had kept the Linglong technique a secret ever since.

That was how we finally got a few generations of peace.

Until

the Xuanqing Sect found the Huo family.

You mentioned before

that you and the sect leader of the Xuanqing Sect

were forced into a marriage alliance.

Did they have other fragments of the technique?

What they held in their hands

was the third level of the technique.

Somehow, they found out

that the first two levels were hidden in the Huo family.

They threatened to expose the secret unless their demands were met.

They forced us into a marriage alliance with the Xuanqing Sect

to search for the other missing fragments together.

For the sake of the Huo family's peace,

I had no choice but to marry him.

But the Xuanqing Sect got greedy.

They realized that the key to unlocking the Linglong Eye

was using it together with the Yin Yang Blade.

So they plotted to seize

the first two levels of the technique and Yin Yang Blade for themselves.

From then on, the Huo family refused to put up with it any longer.

After a fierce struggle,

we finally took back the third level of the technique.

But even then,

the nightmare for the Huo family women was far from over.

Do you mean

the Lin family

from the Qingshan Sect?

The Lin family was already working for He Bo.

Not only did he try to force a marriage with the Huo family,

but he also revealed the secret of the technique to He Bo.

He Bo came to negotiate with your father.

He promised to help the Huo family recover all the lost fragments.

But in exchange,

he wanted your aunt to serve Prince Xiangyang

and become his fourth Great Lord

and continue to find gold mines for him.

Of course, your father refused.

So He Bo

kept coming to pressure them.

So when my aunt found out,

she ran away from the Huo family.

When your aunt went to the Lin family,

besides breaking off the engagement,

she also wanted to help us recover the fourth level of the technique.

But who knew she was a step too late.

She saw He Bo leading his men slaughtering the entire Lin family.

The Lin family's original plan

was to impress He Bo and earn his favor.

But it ended in tragedy.

Not long after,

all the lost fragments

ended up in the hands of Prince Xiangyang.

From then on,

he had leverage over the Huo family.

So after my aunt passed away,

you had no choice

but to become the Shan Gui under the Prince of Xiangyang.

So, the gold mine in Wanshan County

was found by you for Prince Xiangyang after you mastered

the fourth level of the technique.

Originally,

your father and I thought that my scarification alone

could bring peace for future generations of the Huo family.

But Prince Xiangyang wasn't satisfied even after getting the gold mine.

He wanted your dad to marry you off to his son, Shao Ji Zu.

Only then would he return all the fragments of the Linglong technique

to the Huo family.

So when I came back last time,

you refused to tell me the secret of the Linglong Eye.

You even advised me to leave the Huo family.

You wanted to shoulder the fate of being the Shan Gui alone.

For the Huo family,

you sacrificed yourself twice.

You gave up your whole life.

No matter how hard my life gets,

I've already survived most of it.

I don't want you to go through

what I've suffered all over again.

So even when I knew your leaving would anger Prince Xiangyang,

I still said what I had to say.

My little girl.

Don't blame your father.

From beginning to end,

he has never cared about the technique.

He did it for the peace of future generations of the Huo family.

As long as the fragments are out there,

the nightmare for the Huo family women

will never end.

(Jiacheng Academy)

Have a seat.

Where's the dean?

He's fine.

I just had Zhou Ji Liang find an excuse to send you here.

Keep me company and let's reminisce.

See? I told you he would be here.

Another night without sleep?

The exam is still months away. No need to push yourself so hard.

You're one to talk. You go to bed late too.

Sometimes, I really envy Zhan Zhao.

He seems like he doesn't care about fame or success at all.

You never thought about

gaining fame and status by taking the exam route, right?

When my parents sent me here,

they said as long as I read the classics,

broaden my knowledge,

and become an honest, wise person, that's enough.

As for fame and status,

if I pass the exam, that's just a bonus.

If not, they won't force it either.

But being an honest, wise person

isn't easy.

That's a lifelong challenge.

Do you know why Xiao Chen is so stressed about the exams?

His marriage is already set.

If he fails the exams this time,

he's worried his future father-in-law

will change his mind.

Shut up. Don't jinx it with that kind of talk.

If my engagement falls through, I'll be coming to your house for meals.

We don't have enough money to feed you.

Coming here today

makes me recall our days as students.

It really makes me sentimental.

We're not the same as we were back then, full of ambition and energy.

Xi Wen broke off the engagement, and we never got married.

Liu failed the exam.

Of the three of us,

it seems only you have truly stayed true to yourself.

How dare you mention Liu?

You serve Prince Xiangyang

and end up helping cause his death.

He chose the wrong path himself.

I can't stand to see you make the same stubborn mistakes he did.

That's why I came here to give you one more chance.

Zhan Zhao. Let it go.

Stop investigating the gold mine case and stay away from my Wanshan County.

You already have Siming in your hands. That's enough to report back.

After this, just use your recurring injury as an excuse

to reject taking on this task.

Lord Hu, you've even planned my escape route for me.

In the Jin Xue Wen case,

you've offended countless colleagues.

They think about it day and night,

wishing that they could take you down.

You serve the court. Although your record is spotless,

your past...

I've heard some officials in court

have already found your weak spot.

We were classmates back in the day.

No one knows your past better than I do.

Tell me.

Should I take advantage of this opportunity

and add fuel to the fire about the Yaksha case?

If the old Yaksha case is brought up again,

are you going to use the real and fake Yaksha argument to defend yourself?

The court won't bother

figuring out which Yaksha was killing innocent people.

What they'll care about is that a government official who enforces the law

took the law into his own hands

and trampled on the law.

When the public is in an uproar,

even Lord Bao and His Majesty

will not be able to protect you.

I've already written the report.

Whether I submit it or not,

it depends on your choice.

Zhan Zhao,

do you really want to keep pushing me like this?

You are willing to come to the academy to save the dean who slandered you,

but you won't let me go.

In your eyes, am I really worse than him?

Do you really think that I, Hu Xiao Chen,

have been doing evil in Wanshan County all these years?

Do you even know

how Prince Xiangyang mined for gold 10 years ago?

Back then, young boys like Duan Shi Lang who went missing

were all kidnapped and taken to Gucheng County to dig in the mines.

The laborers worked themselves to death, never earning a single coin.

After they died, their bodies were simply buried somewhere.

Their families couldn't even find their remains.

Later, Prince Xiangyang came to Wanshan County to open new mines.

When I first arrived in the county,

the situation in the county was exactly like Gucheng.

Things only got better after I took over the gold mine.

Wanshan County is prosperous now, all thanks to me!

But it's also you

who treated people's lives like they meant nothing.

You killed innocent people.

When you first took office, to establish your authority,

you staged acts with the Xiuluo Sect

and ordered them to slaughter the people.

During your term, you served Prince Xiangyang

and made everyone in the county an accomplice to the prince.

Countless miners died because of it.

Not long ago, to protect Zhao Yue An

and stop us from investigating the skeleton case,

you did whatever it took

and ended up killing innocent people.

In all these cases,

have I accused you wrongly in any of them?

When you killed these people,

did you ever think they were your own people?

Wanshan is only prosperous today because of me.

So what if I killed a few people?

I killed them to protect even more people.

As long as most people are doing well,

how is it wrong to sacrifice a few?

Honestly, even if the people knew the truth,

they'd still think I was right to kill a few for the greater good.

They'd even pick a few of the least important ones for me to kill.

Just like how they'd offer up their young and strong

to risk their lives mining.

Hu Xiao Chen, have you lost your mind?

Do you really care about your people?

Or are you just using innocent lives

to pave the way for your own ambition?

They were innocent.

But they could only blame themselves for being unlucky.

Zhan Zhao, there's too much injustice in this world.

Not everyone deserves justice.

If you were to be sacrificed

for Prince Xiangyang's gain,

would you say the same?

I, Hu Xiao Chen, earned Prince Xiangyang's trust

and became someone the people see as the savior of Wanshan County

not because of luck,

but because of my ability!

I'm not someone whose life is worthless.

I'll never become one of those who get sacrificed.

But to your master,

everyone is expendable.

Just wait and see how he treats you when you mess up.

I know he's just using me.

But I'm using him too.

All the dirty work I do for him now is just a means to an end.

Once I reach the top, I'll bring prosperity to all the people.

Then you'll see

that I, Hu Xiao Chen, have never forgotten about my original intentions.

Stop lying to yourself!

You're no longer the Hu Xiao Chen you used to be.

There's no going back for you.

Now,

even if you had to sacrifice a whole city to get what you want,

you wouldn't even hesitate.

There's no going back for you.

I'm not wrong!

You're the one who's wrong!

I haven't failed yet.

I'm not at the end of my rope.

Since we can't come to an agreement,

then we'll go down together!

Zhan Zhao, you should know

why I had Zhou Ji Liang commit crimes in Gucheng.

And why did I target everyone connected to the Yaksha case?

I wanted to see between you and me,

who would fall from grace

and get ruined beyond redemption first!

Lord Hu,

take your men and leave.

Stop dragging innocent people into this.

We don't need

to fight with Zhou Ji Liang in between us anymore.

I followed the Five Rats' markings all the way from Xiangyang's city gate.

So I knew you two brothers made a smooth trip to Wanshan County.

Wanshan County is making a big show

of putting the whole city in lockdown to guard against the Sleek Rat.

It's way easier with just the two of us.

You may go.

I already told Magistrate Hu.

Too bad he was deaf and blind to it. He thought I was joking.

That courtyard was pretty comfortable for me.

Next time, get me a bigger place. I'll bring my sworn brothers over too.

I might just retire here with you.

Yu Tang, these days, you've become

Zhan Zhao's errand boy.

And now, you want to drag the rest of Xiankong Island into this

and work for him, right?

- Even bossing your sister-in-law around... - Zhang.

Making her create the Naiheyin Pill for him.

Zhang, I invited you two here.

Just think of it as helping me out, okay?

When you see Zhan Zhao, don't whine or complain.

Otherwise, the Five Rats will look like a bunch of petty losers.

How's sister-in-law's Naiheyin Pill coming along?

She has a pretty good idea now. But it'll still take some time.

Just now, Zhang and I took a look around.

This is a private garden.

There are guards patrolling the grounds,

but the security isn't that tight.

That boat is loaded with real gold and silver.

That old Prince Xiangyang has gathered all his treasure here.

I bet the real secret isn't outside.

It has to be inside the building.

Zhang, Ping, keep an eye on the garden for me.

I'll check out the building and see what secrets it holds.

Yu Tang, be careful.

Don't you trust me?

Father,

I made you some porridge. Have some.

I told Feng to let you know

not to come back.

Why didn't you listen?

If I left,

how would you deal with Prince Xiangyang?

The Baihua Sect

sent this letter to your great-aunt.

I've kept it with me all this time.

Today, I'm giving it to you.

Take the letter and leave right away.

I'll protect you.

Father, tell Shao Ji Zu

that I'll marry him.

But I still don't understand.

Prince Xiangyang already controls the gold mines.

Why risk falling out with the Huo family to force me into this marriage?

You've told me so many times not to return to the Huo family.

Is there something you know that I don't?

A daughter of the Huo family would never run away.

What's really going on with the Linglong Manor now?

Father, please tell me everything honestly.

All the good and the bad.

I'll face it all with you.

I thought the homicide case happened in Gucheng County.

Why is Xiangyang in lockdown too? What a hassle.

I heard the murder in Gucheng County was committed by Lord Yaksha.

Of course the authorities are on edge.

Didn't you see? Anyone dressed like a martial artist

who carries a sword or a blade

is questioned if they want to enter the city.

You probably don't know yet.

It's not just Gucheng County.

Yaksha is causing even more chaos in the capital.

The capital? Yaksha made it to the capital?

Officer.

Hand it over!

(Archives)

Didn't you say you saw the case files?

Why couldn't I find my family's case even after

searching through every file in Nanzhang County?

Can you help me look for it?

Why are you still going through all these files?

These past two days, you've checked them over and over.

I've told you, there's nothing suspicious about your family's case.

Why won't you believe me?

What's the situation in the capital?

It's even messier than the rumors you hear in Xiangyang.

Zhao Zhi Er.

Officer Zhan.

Can we talk for a bit?

Not long after we left Tanxi Town,

someone at court reported the Yaksha incident.

The emperor wanted to keep it quiet at first,

but the officials who dug up the Yaksha case just wouldn't let it go.

His Majesty had no choice

but to assign His Highness to investigate this in secret.

Officer Zhan, His Highness and I kept this from you

mainly because we were worried it would upset you if you found out.

Last time, you saw me talking about the old case with Ming Zhu.

But after that, you didn't ask anything about it.

So I knew you already understood everything.

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu sent me word.

I've come to you because I want to know for sure

what's really going on in the capital right now.

I reported to the capital that Zhou Ji Liang is using

Yaksha's name to cover up his murders of innocent people.

I thought it would clear your name.

I didn't expect that so many Yaksha copycats would show up in the capital.

Now, those people at court have even more reason to attack you.

Half the officials at court are demanding you be severely punished.

Lord Bao is fighting hard for you,

but he's being impeached for it.

The emperor also knows the Prince Xiangyang case is at a critical point.

But with Yaksha causing chaos in Dongjing, the officials are furious.

Those Yaksha copycats in the capital

must be the work of Prince Xiangyang.

If I'm removed and investigated,

and the court sends someone else to take over this case,

I'm afraid there won't be enough time to stop Prince Xiangyang's plan.

Officer Zhan, Imperial Envoy Lord Chu

is very close to those officials trying to bring you down.

He's asked the prince several times to review the Yaksha case files,

but His Highness turned him down.

This morning, I saw people from the Wanshan County office

come looking for Lord Chu.

You need to be careful.

Since you don't care about your own life,

then I'll have no choice but to go after the people you care about.

That's the only way to force you to leave.

Ming Zhu Er.

Greetings, Lord Chu.

Lord Chu, I didn't mean to mess up the files.

I'll put everything back in order.

It's chilly outside.

Come in and let's talk.

I heard from the clerks

that these past two days, you've buried yourself in the

archives at the yamen,

searching through case files day and night.

I also heard

that you have an interesting little steward from the prince's manor

by your side.

He knows full well

that even if you turn the archives completely upside down,

it still won't help.

But he still sticks by your side.

Actually, all the files related to Yaksha

are with Prince Hui.

I've requested to see them many times.

But Prince Hui

keeps refusing to let me do so.

So I had to find someone in private

to secretly copy a set for me.

Ten years ago,

the Ming family of hunters in Nanzhang County,

all three of them,

were killed by Yaksha.

Is this the file

you've been looking for?

Lord Chu, please let me see the file.

I can let you see it.

But you have to promise me

that you'll be my witness for this case.

You must testify that it was Yaksha

who killed your whole family.

Yaksha?

Do you mean Zhou Ji Liang?

Wasn't he sentenced to death for this case ages ago?

Zhou Ji Liang was sentenced to death?

Did Zhan Zhao tell you that?

He lied to you.