Original subtitles

Adapted from the manhua of the same name, The Ravages of Time

The spear, who has it not harmed in the numerous battles

The halberd, its rise and fall is impermanent

The blade, incomparable in this garish world

The long lance, the man from Yan rages in these dark times

The imperial army kills people like grass mown

The warrior defeated is like a mountain toppled

Only when the arrow is used do you regret not having enough of it

The phoenix lost its nest, the azure dragon's horn is severed

Gazing at the Divine Land, nothing remains when you look back after a thousand years of rises and falls

While steering a small boat, create poems over wine describing heroes

Eternal worries blind one to the beauty locked deep in the palace

In every possible strategy, things constantly change and fade away

Past and present matters become topics for idle chatter and enter my dreams

Human life is but a fleeting moment as the times fly past

Translator's Note: the last line of the opening poem of Romance of the Three Kingdoms It is better to keep an open mind with respect to right and wrong or success and failure when evaluating historical developments

Episode 5 The First Enigma

Now that the realm is in chaos, heroes will emerge

All eight of you have the ability to

bring peace and stability to the nation

It is up to you to decide when to leave the mountain

and which path to take

Teacher

I have made my decision

So be it

Your family name is Yuan after all

Teacher

I take my leave

Dong Zhuo might have occupied Luoyang

but many of the powers in the city deeply hate him

The Guandong Coalition infiltrated

the city to free the prisoners

and will definitely team up with them

The situation out here is tense

Wait until tomorrow before coming out

You all better be careful too

Inside Luoyang city, all of the powerful factions have

numerous secret passageways and strongholds

Even if Dong Zhuo devotes all his resources

into a search, it will still be difficult to find them

Hou brothers

Here!

Cui Guang

Here!

Wang Ping

He’s dead

Sun Ying

Here!

Yang Chong

Hey

You two up there from Guandong

I’m hungry, bring me some food now

What are you fussing about?

How about you eat some shit?

Bai Yong

Thank you for your efforts

No problem, I did it for the greater good

Just that I never expected this boy to be

such a good pawn for us to free the prisoners

Zhong Da

I’ve followed your plan and infiltrated

the Coalition’s forces that will free the prisoners

Freeing the prisoners right under the nose

of the Xiliang Army is extremely dangerous

I wonder what kind of powerful individual

can command all of the Coalition’s elite forces

Zhong Da

I believe you would be as curious as I am

Killed all 15 generals at the

Northern Officers Camp at once?

If that’s really the case, this person is a rare expert

Do we have someone like that in our army?

I just did a roll call and confirmed that

there's no such person in our army

What a pity

If this person were in our army

Han Fu's Army Wei Tong Gongsun Zan's Army Liao Lan

even Lu Bu may not be a match for him let alone Hua Xiong

Qiao Mao's Army Lu Gu Lu Bu?

Just the thought of him

makes me break out in cold sweat

Is that person one-eyed?

No, he isn’t

Liao Lan

Do you still care a lot about

the legend of the one-eyed killer?

Brother Yuan Yuan Fang courtesy name Xian Mou

Yuan Fang courtesy name Xian Mou Shu Zi

Yuan Fang courtesy name Xian Mou

Yuan Fang courtesy name Xian Mou Why are you here?

Yuan Fang courtesy name Xian Mou She complains about you every day

She complains about you every day

She actually secretly followed me this time

You’re injured, why did you come here?

With General Huang around,

Miss Sun can go anywhere without any issues

Luckily, we can leave this responsibility

to you in the future, Young Master

Now

it is time to get down to business

Bai Yong

How are the preparations going?

Young Master, everything is ready

Good

On the night of the ancestral worship festival tomorrow

the loyalists hiding in the city will assemble here

for the final preparations

Did you examine the boy’s token?

I’ve already used it

We can pass through unhindered

In that case, this guy is no longer useful

Bai Yong, send him on his way

Hey, you can leave

Miss Sun said to let you go

Leave by this way?

Are you trying to fool me?

This is a secret passageway

You deliberately leaked the plan to this "rich kid"

Then released him so that

he can tip this information to the enemy

And tomorrow morning,

the Xiliang Army will be watching this place

Once all the loyalists have arrived

they will be captured in one go

However

our men will not be here

Instead, they will be lying in wait

around the prison in the morning

They’ll need more than a

thousand troops to annihilate us

Dong Zhuo has no time to transfer

his military forces into the city

He can only make use of the garrison troops

Once a huge number of them are transferred,

the forces guarding the prison will be greatly reduced

With Young Master Yuan’s plan

to lure the enemy away from their post

we can free the prisoners more easily

All of us will withdraw tonight to avoid

running into the Xiliang Army tomorrow

But if there's no one in this huge house tomorrow

wouldn’t the Xiliang Army become suspicious?

I sold this house for a low price early on

but I made the buyer agree to one condition

That is, all of them have to move in

early in the morning on the day of

the ancestral worship festival

Those people will be our scapegoats

Incredible

You have taken every possibility into account

You are indeed Mr. Shui Jing’s top disciple

You are without peer

You flatter me

The success of this undertaking

will depend on your abilities, General Yuan

I will not let you down, Young Master

You have eliminated Xu Lin, the world's wisest,

The troops for freeing the prisoners

are proceeding exactly as you expected

Young Master

You are unparalleled in this realm

Imperial Guards Headquarters

Stop there

I’m Zhao Huo, the officer in charge of city patrol

I have an urgent situation to report to Lord Lu Bu

Continuing to pressure me is useless

I don’t know anything even if you try to kill me

General Lu, the death of military advisor Xu

truly has nothing to do with the Sima family

In the beginning of the year

Brother Xu Lin campaigned in Yanzhou

All of the rich merchants declared their support

for Father and offered money and provisions

Only the Sima family did not respond

After that

the Guandong rebels raised an army

All of the rich families were looted

Only the Sima family narrowly

escaped that because they rejected us

Now

all the families in Luoyang have

paid the ransom for the hostages

proving their importance

Thus I sent them to the battlefield to serve as shields

It is strange that

only the Sima family has delayed payment of the ransom

For this reason, you have not been sent to the battlefield

I am afraid these two plans

were designed by the same person

General, I swear by the Heavens that

the Sima family has no connection

to the Guandong rebel army at all

The Sima family is distinguished and famous

Even Cao Cao, who has risen to fame

in recent years, had your father's support

How can there be no connection at all?

Let me tell you about a coincidence

The 15 generals who died on Xu Lin’s ship

died from being stabbed in

their vital points by throwing darts

What...

What does this have to do with my Sima family?

Today

a spy infiltrated Luoyang city

and 15 generals in the Northern Gate Tower were killed

They also died to throwing darts

How is this a coincidence?

Xu Lin died in Henei

and in the last three years

the Handicapped Warriors have only killed people in Henei

And you are the only hostage from Henei

At the same time

I sense that

the person who killed Xu Lin has arrived

You have come

Go see the person you wish to see

Huo

Why is it you?

I’m Zhao Huo, Zhao Xian’s son

You’re the mastermind who sent

an assassin to kill my father, right?

You murderer

I’ll take your life

Lord Zhao Huo

We can still make use of him

Lord Zhao, calm down

Lord Zhao

Sima Lang, you despicable lowlife!

Once I kill all the losers who come trying to save you

I’ll kill your entire family!

Zhao Xian?

Is he the one who was killed

together with military advisor Xu?

Yes

General Lu met this boy at the military advisor’s grave

So he brought him back here

I understand now

You’re making use of Lu Bu’s

eagerness to avenge his good friend

to suggest to Lu Bu that I can be used

to lure out the Handicapped Warriors

thus preserving my life for now

Ah Huo

You’re really bold

My Lord

Please help me eliminate the Sima family in Henei

So that my father’s spirit in Heaven may be at peace

Before eliminating the Sima family

there is still one important matter to handle

Are you referring to the Handicapped Warriors?

Yes

Sima Lang is the key to luring out the Handicapped Warriors

We will first destroy the Handicapped Warriors

then go to Henei

I want to massacre the Sima family

Lu Bu

I’ll take your head before

you can even go to Henei

First Young Master’s look is saying that

this Lu Bu isn’t as simple as one would imagine

Hua Xiong?

It is just as you expected, General

There’s someone here colluding

with the Guandong rebel army

by serving as an inside man

to free the prisoners during the ancestral worship festival

And this person

just left the Zhang manor, which we have been monitoring

Being a mole

will only result in death

They dance very well

They dance very well

Great! They dance very well

Let's have one more song

This group of female singers sent by Wang Yun, the Minister

over the Masses, is indeed deserving of their reputation

Notify

Lu Jue’s and Guo Si’s armies to be ready

to receive orders at any time

Come

Here, cheers!

Let’s drink together! Cheers!

Brother Zhang Wen, why do you look so serious?

Come on, let’s finish this cup of wine

Chancellor

What is it, Zhang Wen?

Chancellor

Everyone fought so hard to capture Luoyang

I am not willing to just give up on it now

Zhang Wen, what nonsense are you saying?

Do you have a dissenting opinion?

All of our families have roots in Luoyang

Our wives, children, wealth... there are too many to count

How can we just leave like that?

If we move out of the city now so suddenly,

our losses will be disastrous

Zhang Wen

Chancellor has not announced

the day for moving out of city

Don’t make such wild guesses

I wouldn’t dare

Just that, recently, there are frequent transfers of troops

and the Western Gate has been widened

I think we will be moving out

of the city in the next few days

Enough, Zhang Wen! You’ve had too much to drink

My Lord

Zhang Wen was just indulging in drunken talk

Please excuse him

Brother Zhang, come to your senses

You’re in big trouble

I’m not drunk

We Xiliang people used to be treated indifferently

by the people of the Central Plains

Now that Luoyang is ours,

one can see that everyone feels proud and happy

Why are we giving it up so easily?

Zhang Wen

This move from the city is an extremely secret matter

If this matter is leaked due to lack of caution

the Guandong rebel army will take this chance to attack

and we will surely be defeated

Anyone who leaks this secret will die

Didn't you read the secret letter

issued by the Chancellor?

Zhang Wen, I'll reward my soldiers

with your family's wealth

Please spare the members of the Zhang family

Anyone who indulges in wild talk

or discloses our secret plans

will be executed immediately

Understood!

I'll inform you of the day we move out of the city

But today, Zhang Wen disclosed this information

so all those not involved in moving out of the city

as well as Zhang Wen's friends

will hereby disappear

Wait! Zhang Wen and I are not...

We're only entertainers

This matter has nothing to do with us

Lord, please spare my life! Spare my life!

Spare my life!

My Lord

My Lord

Stop!

This is Xu Lin's "Looking Towards Home"

This song reflects my tears

I gaze afar to feel as if I am home

Whether I am alive or dead

I cannot forget Xiliang

Why didn't you run away?

If I remain here and make an enemy of everyone

My survival becomes uncertain

How is it any different from being dead?

There's an unspoken meaning

Are these views your own or someone else's?

These are the views I heard in the Xiliang barracks

When my warriors know that

we're leaving the Central Plains

they won't sing this song

They're just unwilling to leave

The Xiliang Army is stationed in a remote, destitute place

risking their lives to withstand foreign enemies

yet other people always take credit for it

They constantly suffer the feudal lords' disdain

They are unwilling to leave today

The soldiers have yet to settle their grievances

They are not united in thought

They doubt this great undertaking

Musician, do you have a way to persuade them?

I can make them understand through song

and remove their worries with dance

That might be possible

All right

Xiao Meng

If you put on women's clothes

you will be a stunning beauty

I accept your orders

Leave home, your father is safe

The stylus carves out the landscape, depicting the thousand mile journey home in every inch of the drawing

Part ways with your father, your wife is safe

The bride stays home alone, how many lines have been written in the letters over these ten years

Part ways with your wife, the children are safe

The sword leans propped up against the fence, facing a line of geese returning home

Men who have left home miss their families

If this parting cannot be overcome, you remain closed off to the vastness of the world

Men who have left home miss their families

One night of a reed pipe playing brings pain to the faces of the soldiers in the entire camp

Separation in life is painful for the soldiers on the ground

Separation in death is painful for the dead under the banners

Having no family is painful, no clothes can't be mended

Having no wife is painful, who will I be buried with?

Being childless is painful, there is no place to return to

Having no roots is even more painful