Original subtitles

[Shadow Punisher]

[Divine Constable Tally]

[Episode 4]

47 years ago,

the Great Shi Dynasty wiped out Liluo.

Their crimes were unforgivable.

Tianmoluo took root here

by the will of the God Kelu.

It will feed on the lifeblood of children from Great Shi

to bear the fruit of vengeance.

Wen Nansheng.

I get it now.

The killer first murdered Master Sun,

then killed Wen Nansheng.

He took the lower half of

Wen Nansheng's body

and mixed it with the upper half

of Master Sun's.

Master Sun's lower body

and Wen Nansheng's upper body

fit together perfectly

to make one whole corpse.

Corpses,

puppets—

they're nothing but

lifeless things.

The only fate waiting for them

is decay.

I hate decay.

I hate death.

Look at God Kelu.

Never rots,

never dies.

Isn't that wonderful?

You drain blood to make cursed incense, harm young girls,

kidnap children…

and you killed Wen Nansheng

and Master Sun.

Why? Why did you do all this?

You're all going to die anyway.

Might as well tell you.

Kelu, the great god of the ancient Liluo Sect,

rules over all growth and life.

When he takes the form of Tianmoluo,

he can bear the fruit of immortality.

Eat it, and you stay young forever,

never aging, never dying.

For the fruit to ripen fully,

I need the pure yang energy

of 36 children

to nourish Tianmoluo's dark yin body.

You kidnapped all those children

just to feed this evil creature?

I understand now.

Young boys possess pure yang essence.

Between the ages of 6 and 13,

as their kidney energy awakens,

they lose their baby teeth and grow new ones.

Their inner vital energy

is at its peak.

No wonder all the kidnapped kids

were the ones losing their teeth.

You keep chanting

"God Kelu is above us all."

But in my eyes,

all this talk

just means you're afraid to die

and crave immortality.

Am I wrong,

Master Coroner Wen?

Li Qingyang.

That's not Wen Nansheng.

He's just a human puppet.

Lady Fragrance was the puppet.

And Wen Nansheng never died at all.

He knew your autopsy skills were unmatched,

Master Coroner Bai.

So

he cut off the legs of

someone with rheumatism

to throw us off.

He wanted

to fake Wen Nansheng's death.

Look at how swollen the legs are—

that's rheumatism,

from years of working in damp, dark places.

And the jade pendant left on the clothes…

it must belong to Wen Nansheng.

Earlier,

he was speaking to us

using ventriloquism.

Pretending to be

a mindless human puppet—

it was all just an illusion.

Wen Nansheng.

Why did you kill Master Sun?

Dougu County isn't big,

but searching house by house

for kids losing their teeth

would take too long.

Chunfeng Hall treats people

with toothaches all the time.

So I figure

you got the list

of teething children from Master Sun.

That's why

you killed Master Sun—

to silence him.

But if Master Sun had kept quiet,

nothing would have been exposed.

Why risk everything

by killing Master Sun

and drawing our investigation?

Children in the county have been going missing one after another.

Right at this time,

Master Sun's daughter,

Yuyao, who just lost her baby teeth,

also disappeared.

Master Sun didn't know

that Yuyao was actually

kidnapped by bandits.

He thought Wen Nansheng was too greedy

and killed his daughter.

You were partners in crime.

Then you turned on each other.

Wen Nansheng…

you killed Lady Fragrance too, didn't you?

To steal

the Dead Bone Spice from her shop.

That woman locked the door

thinking I couldn't get in.

But I got in anyway…

and killed her with one stab.

And then

her cowardly brother

just went mad.

How did you get inside?

Seize him first.

Take him back. Interrogate slowly.

Stop!

Come any closer,

and I'll kill Yuyao.

The Divine Constable Bureau,

solving cases by using a little girl as bait?

What kind of heroes are you?

Wen Nansheng,

Tell me—who

put you up to all this?

And who taught you

the puppetry to control puppet doll?

Want to know?

Ask me in your next life.

What's heck?

What's heck?

My little Hua Erbao.

You've done well.

What,

only you get to use tricks and illusions?

I can't play along too?

So you never actually used Yuyao as bait.

Lord Constable Ghost,

Yuyao is safe and sound

at Mrs. Hua's house right now.

You have gone too far!

My lords.

These puppet dolls,

although their moves are marvelous,

are just mechanisms after all.

Perhaps,

if we hold on for a few more moves,

their moves will repeat.

A few moves?

You'll find out once you fight.

You!

Trying to run?

Now you know

why I killed the coroner.

-I want his face. -How was the scent theft

in the sealed chamber pulled off?

The truth’s out now, isn’t it?

Others couldn't get in.

He is a dwarf,

so he could crawl through the dog hole.

The Divine Constable Bureau searched all over Tianhuang City

for a three-foot puppet.

But in fact,

there is no such thing as

a three-foot puppet.

From beginning to end,

there was only you, a dwarf.

This is called shrinking a dragon into inches,

an innate immortal body.

So that's how it is.

No wonder he harmed

so many girls in Tianhuang City

but was never brought to justice.

As long as the dwarf's main body wasn't found,

he just needed to use other corpses

to make puppet doll

as a smokescreen.

Great God of Kelu,

please show your miracle.

Get rid of

these three heretics who dared disturb

your slumber.

So-called God Kelu…

You've told so many lies

you even believe them yourself.

God Kelu has manifested!

Meng Rui, Heaven-Measuring Ruler.

Arrogant Dragon Thousand-Mechanism Formation!

Mr. Meng.

Li Qingyang.

Li Si.

I'm fine.

Wen Nansheng!

-Surrender now! -My flowers!

Great…

God Kelu, Tianmoluo…

destroyed by

your hands…

Do you not fear divine retribution?

My Tianmoluo…

God Kelu…

help me.

Those who do evil will destroy themselves.

Ms. Bai.

Mr. Meng

hurry and save the people.

[Dougu County Office]

The children are all dead!

My lord, my lord!

[Great Shi Treasure Notes]

Our child can't die for nothing!

My lord!

My lord!

My lord!

I'm Cuicui's father!

This is… Cuicui!

[Enter the County Office to Examine Oneself]

My daughter is Cuicui!

My lord, my lord!

I'm Youyou's mother! My lord!

Give us justice!

[Great Shi Treasure Notes]

I, Li, am humble.

Today I ask Mr. Du

to bear witness.

Here is five thousand taels of silver.

One hundred taels as compensation for each family.

[Great Shi Treasure Notes]

That's too much…

There were only about thirty children.

The rest

I shall donate entirely to the county office.

Good.

Is that acceptable?

Yes.

Then why don't you say it?

Good, good, good.

Let them come collect the money.

Everyone may approach.

Stop! Do not enter!

Don't rush! Don't fight!

Who dares disrupt the court?

You—give it to me first!

Let go!

Don't fight!

Give it to me! Give it to me!

Everyone gets their share.

Out of my way!

I was first!

Don't fight!

Protect me!

My lord!

My lord! My lord!

No fighting!

No fighting! No fighting!

No fighting!

Hold it tight!

Hurry and register them!

No one's registered yet!

Stop standing around! Move!

You unruly people!

Don't leave!

Don't leave!

Give back my silver!

You like eating chicken, don't you?

Eat all you want this time.

Write it all down!

Write it down!

Every last one of them!

Really? A hundred taels for real?

So much money!

Father! Mother!

I'm home!

Mother!

Father!

Mother!

Youyou!

Mother!

Father, my feet hurt.

Father, Mother!

[Noble Righteousness] [Law Enforced Unwaveringly]

Mother, I'm hungry.

-Father! Father! -Mother.

I'm scared.

-Father. -Mother.

Father!

Father! Father!

Sir,

didn't the children all die?

Mother, I'm so scared.

Alright, let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Hurry home.

Strange…

These parents

were weeping bitterly just now.

Why have they suddenly changed faces?

It's almost as if

they were putting on an act.

Could it be the children weren't really taken?

Or…

the ones taken

weren't even their own children?

Yuyao,

can you point out to me

which one among them

is Cuicui's father?

Sesame cakes! Fresh sesame cakes!

Sesame cakes!

Sesame cakes!

Two copper each!

Let's go.

Young master, come buy a cake!

Two copper each!

Mister,

answer just one question,

and this silver ingot is yours.

Ask away.

Is Niu Cuicui

your own flesh and blood?

-Father. -Mother!

-Mother! -Mother!

Father! Father!

Mother! Mother!

I missed you so much, Mother!

Mother!

Yuanbao!

[Noble Righteousness] [Law Enforced Unwaveringly]

Yuanbao.

-Yuanbao! -Mother!

Mother!

-Yuanbao. -I miss you.

my child!

I missed you!

I missed you too.

Are you alright?

Fellow villagers,

the reunion of family

is the greatest joy under heaven.

In that case,

Mr. Du,

I ask you to take back

all this compensation silver.

Get away from me!

She's not my daughter!

Father!

Get out!

Don't call me that!

Mother!

Mother, I'm sorry.

What are you doing?

Are you insane?

It's a hundred taels of silver.

Let's go! Let's go home!

Let go!

Who's your mother?

Mother!

I don't know you!

Let go, do you hear me?

Let's go! Back home!

Father!

Father!

Father!

Hurry!

Get back!

Shame on you, being a father!

Have you no conscience?

Your heart's been eaten by dogs!

What are you doing?

Even if Youyou isn't your own daughter,

would you really abandon

all affection

just for a hundred taels?

Shrew!

Spouting nonsense and shouting in court!

Guards! Silence her!

Yes!

Mother! Mother!

Mother!

Mrs. Hua,

you said earlier

Youyou isn't her birth child.

Why not

tell us everything in detail.

It's all this corrupt official Du Yi'an!

You abducted all these children

and left them with us to raise.

Dare you deny it?

Shut up!

Get out of here.

Shut up.

All those thirty-odd children

who went missing in this county—

including our Yuanbao,

and the kids

from other families in town—

none of them are our own.

Seven years ago,

the neighboring county was hit by a locust plague.

Many people had nothing to eat.

So they fled

to Dougu County to beg for food.

Adults could go hungry for a few days,

but these little ones

suffered terribly.

Some were

even newborns.

How could their mothers feed them with no milk?

We could only watch

helplessly

as the children starved to death.

Then this crooked official,

Du Yi'an,

came along.

He bought children

with a few soybean cakes,

then handed those kids over to young couples like us

to raise.

That's right, it's true!

I was trying to save them from starving!

I was saving people from misery!

I was doing good deeds!

Bah!

You just wante

to raise these kids

to use them for yourself!

Divine Constable,

ever since

the children went missing,

this corrupt official not only refused to investigate

but also paid people to keep their mouths shut.

He said

if anyone breathed a word,

he'd kill them.

Ask them!

Go on, tell them! L-Lord Constable, you see? This shrew is spreading lies! Talking nonsense!

Tell them!

You guys...

L-Lord Constable,

you see?

This shrew is spreading lies!

-She’s talking nonsense. -I...

Mr. Meng,

you are

a high official from Tianhuang City.

This corrupt dog Du Yi'an

abducted innocent children. He's utterly inhumane!

You must uphold justice

for these poor children

of Dougu County!

My lord! My lord!

Mr. Du,

you may not have known

about Wen Nansheng and the Tianmoluo.

But Wen Nansheng

worked in the county office.

If he wanted to take the children,

he could fool others,

but he could never hide it from you.

I suspect

you made a deal:

once the children reached the age of losing their teeth,

Wen Nansheng would bribe you with silver.

And you

would look the other way.

You thought

these children weren't their real kids,

so you

could settle everything with money later.

But you never expected

this case

would draw the Divine Constable Bureau.

Mr. Meng,

if you search

Mr. Du's mansion

right now,

you will find a huge fortune in bribes.

My lord,

Dougu County is far from the capital.

The whole county

answers only to you.

Why fear some constable?

Am I right, folks?

Don't you think so, everyone?

Yeah!

-Yeah! -Exactly!

Why should we be afraid of him?

-Right! -Exactly!

To cut off a man's wealth is like killing his parents.

Who cares about some Divine Constable?

We have the silver in our hands.

We're not afraid of him.

Yeah, not afraid!

Not afraid! Not afraid!

That's right.

I am the upright magistrate of Dougu!

I won't be pushed around

by the two of you!

Guards!

Yes!

-Yes! -Yes!

So that's

where the bandits went.

You've been colluding with them all along.

Du Yi'an

how dare you call yourself the upright official of Dougu?

[Great Shi Treasure Notes]

For money,

you sell children.

You tear apart families.

[Great Shi Treasure Notes]

As parents,

have you

ever felt even a shred of guilt?

You talk about silver in your hands.

[Great Shi Treasure Notes]

Open your eyes and look!

What are you really holding?

[Great Shi Treasure Notes]

[Great Shi Treasure Notes]

This...

[Clear as a Mirror]

Where is the money?

My money.

What's going on?

Why is it yellow paper?

My money! It's gone!

It's gone.

Where is my money?

The money is gone.

Where is my money?

My money is gone.

My money.

My money.

What am I going to do?

A hundred taels!

[Clear as a Mirror]

♪ Capture my heart ♪

My money

♪ Unravel my longing ♪

Give me back my money

[Clear as a Mirror]

♪ Can we relive the mark you once carved deep ♪

Father Emperor…

You still have the cricket you made for me.

But your son Yan'er is dead.

♪ Turns out every soul ♪

[Righteous Dougu County Magistrate]

You never cleared his name.

♪ Fears deep devotion ♪

Do you ever

feel even a little guilty?

♪ Fall in love in a blink, then fade to dust thin ♪

♪ Dare not forget ♪

[Righteous Dougu County Magistrate]

♪ No regret, no blame ♪

♪ Let my heart abide ♪

Greed devours the heart.

Loyalty and love are worth less than mud.

♪ Forever within your shadow by your side ♪

Kill them!

Don't be afraid, brothers!

Kill them and you'll be richly rewarded!

Mr. Meng,

group fighting is not my strength.

Take care.

Attack!

[Be Honest and Uphold Public Duty]

[Noble Righteousness][Law Enforced Unwaveringly]

[Enter the County Office to Examine Oneself]

Whoever moves

dies next.

This way! This way! Hurry!

The Prefect is on his way here.

I suggest you surrender peacefully.

I surrender!

I surrender!

[Clear as a Mirror]

Don't.

I know you're angry,

but Du Yi'an is a court-appointed official.

He must be taken back to Tianhuang City for trial.

[The God of Immortality, Kelu]

Du Yi'an.

It's you.

Du Yi'an,

you are

magistrate of Dougu County,

but your hometown

is Dingzhou.

After all these years,

you're still

the only jinshi from that area.

You're a man well-read

in the Confucian classics.

Later you took office

as county magistrate

of Tong County in Suzhou.

Only 8 years ago

were you transferred here

to serve as magistrate of Dougu.

Am I right?

How do you know all this?

Has Your Lordship forgotten?

I have money.

Money makes the world go round.

How hard can it be

to investigate one man?

Du Yi'an,

back in Tong County,

5 children also disappeared

without reason.

Their bodies were never found.

Was that also your doing?

I...

I...

Who ordered

you to do this?

Did you ever

see someone controlling puppets?

Did you ever see the true master

behind the ?

I don't know.

Speak!

Fine, fine, I'll tell you.

It was always Wen Nansheng.

Tong County,

Dougu County—all of it.

You already know.

Who are you, really?

Du Yi'an.

I brought some friends here.

They say

they want to meet you.

Who?

Play with me.

Play with me.

-Play with me. -Play with me.

Play with me.

No...

don't come near!

Go away!

Go away! Go away!

Don't… don't come closer!

Don't come any closer!

Don't come any closer!

Don't come any closer!

Go away! Go away!

I'm begging you!

Don't come near!

Go away! Go!

Hurry!

[Righteous Dougu County Magistrate]

Hurry up!

Faster!

Faster!

Officer, don't rush us!

Please don't rush us!

Quick!

Hurry!

[Righteous Dougu County Magistrate]

Bring up the rear!

Good morning, Ms. Bai.

Where is Mr. Meng?

He's watching me,

not the other way around.

Report!

Divine Constable!

The prisoner Du Yi'an…

he's dead in his cell.

What?

How did he die?

It looks like he was scared to death.

A man like him

is better dead.

Clean.

Truly cleaner that way.

We should leave.

Let's go.

[Star-Gathering Pavilion Branch]

Everything checks out.

[Great Shi's border troops win successive battles, yet lack grain supplies.]

News from the border.

[A standoff with Northern Kun is set. Both sides are trapped in a stalemate.]

match those from Huangquanji.

[Underworld Market]

The Great Shi border troops have won successive battles,

but they lack grain and supplies.

A stalemate with the Northern Kun has formed.

Neither side can back down.

My lords,

we've been traveling for half a day.

Our throats are dry.

Why don't we find a place to rest?

The nearest post station

is still 5 miles away.

Lord Constable Ghost,

who says only post stations

exist on official roads?

Alright, alright, alright.

This is also a Star-Gathering Pavilion.

Honestly,

this is just

a small branch.

To be frank,

I do have selfish motives.

Dare I say,

countless nobles and elites

have entered the Star-Gathering Pavilion.

If we can have the honor of

Lord Constable Frost

and Lord Constable Ghost's presence,

our fame will flourish,

and our halls will be blessed.

A rest wouldn't hurt.

Lord Constable Frost,

you should know

these

cannot hold me.

We've tried everything these days.

Young Master Qingyang's

power is beyond us.

We truly cannot restrain him.

Does Mr. Meng

have another plan?

How about…

we cut his tendons?

No need.

Please, take a seat, both of you.

Master, long time no see.

I've prepared fine wine

and food for the lords.

Hurry up.

My lords,

would you say

my Star-Gathering Pavilion

is the finest restaurant

in the Great Shi Dynasty?

Alright…

the dishes

are a bit simple.

I hope you'll forgive me.

I don't drink.

Let's eat.

Mr. Meng, please.

Ms. Bai, taste some.

Don't worry—

this won't be charged

to the Divine Constable Bureau's travel expenses.

It's my treat.

Please help yourselves.

Master Li is certainly casual.

Ms. Bai, please.

Ms. Bai,

you don't think

I poisoned the food,

do you?

Ms. Bai,

you're a master of medicine.

Who would dare

poison your meal?

I dare not poison mine.

But others might.

That's not what I meant.

Rest assured, my lords.

Our master

always teaches us

the Star-Gathering Pavilion runs a proper business.

We obey the law and act with integrity.

We never cheat

or harm others.

Even if our master

is in cuffs before you,

if he truly did

something evil,

we would never side with him.

Well said!

Good!

Well said!

Very well said!

Splendidly said!

Though it's a branch,

it has the spirit of the main Pavilion.

Let's eat.

Where is everyone?

Why are you just standing there?

Serve them!

Yes! Yes!

Xiaohong, Xiaoyue,

come here!

My lords,

now the atmosphere is right.

Go! Go! Go!

Hurry!

Hurry up.

Li Si!

What are you really up to?

Let me be clear:

there is

no way you're being set free.

My lords,

don't be angry.

I truly

have one question

to ask the both of you.

Does the Divine Constable Bureau have any openings?

Back to the Divine Constable Bureau.

You want to join the Divine Constable Bureau?

In your dreams.

Where's the owner?

[Bright Breeze and Clear Moon]

Sir.

We're taking over this place tonight.

No one else stays here.

-We have guests in the upper room. -Let’s have dinner first.

Insolence!

Do you know who this is?

This is Young Master Wen.

Leave!

All of you, out!

Out! Out! Out!

Get out!

Out! Out! Out!

He looks like a Great Shi merchant,

but his features

are not those of a southern Han Chinese.

We'll check with the Constabulary.

Find out his identity.

Reports from the border branch say

the Crown Prince of Northern Kun

has arrived incognito with an envoy party.

Calculating the days,

this must be them.

[Northern Kun's Crown Prince and envoys arrive in disguise, in secret.]

Wen is the royal surname of Northern Kun.

So this Young Master Wen is…

[Border Branch]

[Prince of Northern Kun, Wenbu]

Young Master Wen.

Throw out everyone already staying here.

Out of the way!

All of you, out!

Out! Out! Now!

Out!

Go! Go! Hurry!

Let's go.

Young Master Wen.

Out! Out! Out!

Anyone staying at the Star-Gathering Pavilion

is a guest, regardless of status.

Upstairs!

Hurry up!

If you don't leave, you'll be dead.

The dead

can hardly be called guests.

Hurry! Don't dawdle!

-I’ll count to three. -Keep up. Hurry!

1.

Move over there!

2.

Who dares?

[Divine Constable Tally]

By the law of the Great Shi,

anyone who wields weapons openly

and runs rampant in broad daylight

shall be flogged 50 times

and imprisoned for three months.

It's the Divine Constable Bureau seal.

Well, well.

You're a girl from this inn, aren't you?

[Divine Constable Tally]

Not bad looking.

This is interesting.

Your Star-Gathering Pavilion

is quite creative.

Come on, untie him.

Chain yourself to me.

Tonight, I am

going to have some fun with you.