Original subtitles

[Strange Chronicles of Tang]

[Episode 1]

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

Where are you taking me?

Where are you taking me?

What is this all about?

What are you doing?

Go!

You may leave now.

Go—and don't look back.

W-What is this godforsaken place?

All that commotion just

to snatch that robe I was wearing?

If I'd only known earlier...

Relief-from-Woes!

Kill him!

[Cries of the Chengfo Temple]

[Traces of Bai Ze]

[Records of the Wild Spirits]

[Poets' Contest in a Tavern]

[Relief-from-Woes Shop]

Silent Ember

has confessed

to all the crimes he committed over the past 35 years,

matching many

[Lu Lingfeng, Yongzhou Judicial Officer]

long-unsolved cases.

Yet he remains silent about the Crimson Pact,

the organization backing him.

[Su Wuming, Head of Covert Investigations, Yongzhou Prefecture]

That's exactly what I was wondering.

What exactly is the Crimson Decree

that Mr. Fei mentioned?

Crimson Decree?

The truth is, I don't fully understand it myself.

I only heard about it back

when I was roaming the Ghost Market.

I really did just hear it in passing.

This assassin group called Crimson Pact

remains a mystery to this day.

The Crimson Decree

is their highest-level summons,

issued to killers

within the organization.

My take is this:

Silent Ember

is past seventy,

yet he still took this recent risk.

He likely aimed to accept the mission

to be issued via the Crimson Decree,

to prove he remains

the world's foremost assassin.

So what is this assassination mission?

I have no idea about that either.

And I wouldn't dare to guess.

Alright,

stop keeping us in suspense.

It might be a coincidence,

but look at the record: the Crimson Decree has only

ever been issued in years of court upheaval.

For example,

the first year of Shenlong,

of Jinglong,

and of Tanglong.

And this year in Chang'an…

there's been something very strange about the weather.

Your Majesty.

Why does this taste different?

On my own initiative,

I added some ophiopogon root, poria,

and wild jujube seeds.

And for what reason?

In ancient times, when King Wen of Zhou divinated the hexagrams,

he would bathe and change into fresh robes first.

The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon also states:

"When the yang qi is exhausted, one should rest."

Your Majesty, burdened by court documents day after day,

you have been sleeping no more than four hours each night.

Your Majesty's well-being is the very foundation of the state.

You cannot afford to burn yourself out like a candle consumed in the night.

How dare you!

I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness.

I commanded you to prepare that gastrodia powder

for the precise purpose of sustaining my alertness to govern.

I

do not need any sleep-inducing remedies.

But Your Majesty, you understand the consequences better than I—

to persist in this exhaustion…

it cannot go on.

Your intentions were for my good.

You may rise.

I am indeed rather weary.

Moonlight washes over the tiles,

dew turns the steps to silver—

a fitting moment for the spirit to roam the Great Purity.

Your Majesty, these hands that govern the realm must,

now and then, know the fragrance of a pillow.

Do you think I can simply sleep

if I wish?

Do you believe my worries

lie only within these memorials?

If preparing the gastrodia powder

twice daily is a burden to you,

you are free to cease.

To serve even one day at Your Majesty's side

is a blessing

accrued over lifetimes.

If my counsel wearies you,

have me driven from the gates—

or beaten to death at the palace steps.

Your path has not been easy either.

Every heart bears its own burden of care…

yet where is

the relief...

[Puning District]

Well,

Lu Lingfeng,

the former residence of Li Ji, Duke of Ying,

is in the southwest corner of Puning District.

Why don't we take a look?

Maybe some of the God of Warfare's aura will rub off on us.

I have no time for that.

Come on, we've got nothing but time on our hands.

Ever since we started this district circuit,

this is the first time nobody's come.

Last time in Qinglong District,

Hong Yao and her pipa

stole the show—

but at least there was a case reported.

Today, though…

If this keeps up,

there's hardly any point in operating

district circuit anymore.

Official Lu,

I found out—

everyone in Puning District

has gone to Xiuzhen District.

Why's that?

They say there's a female Master of Rain

in Xiuzhen District performing a rain ritual.

A female Master of Rain?

If I recall correctly,

Chang'an has never had

a female Master of Rain before.

Official Lu,

care to check it out?

You're tied up with official business,

but I, Su Wuming, am but an untitled scholar

with time to spare.

Besides,

I'm truly curious to see

this female Master of Rain in action.

[Fair Winds and Gentle Rains]

[Fair Winds and Gentle Rains]

Ruiqiu, Ruiqiu,

keep dancing!

I love watching you shake it!

Do not blaspheme against the Master of Rain!

If she fails to bring rain,

the district office will have you punished.

Exactly!

Hey, Da, so you've got a thing

for watching people shake, do you?

How about I give you a show?

Disgusting!

[[Fair Winds and Gentle Rains]]

Dragon King above,

I, Ruiqiu, Master of Rain of Xiuzhen District,

beg you to bestow your sweet rain upon us.

Greetings, Madam Master of Rain.

Your dance during the ritual

was most captivating.

Does it have a name?

No, it doesn't.

I just put together

a few simple moves

so everyone

could join in and follow along.

Then it may well be called the Rain Master's Dance.

Your labor is appreciated, Madam.

What news of the rain?

It went smoothly.

[Ruiqiu, female Master of Rain]

The Dragon King is in residence today—

rain will surely bless Chang'an.

My only prayer is

that a little more falls on Xiuzhen District,

so none may say a female Master of Rain

less ably than a man.

I, Sheng,

after all, am someone

who owns a house in Chang'an.

[Sheng]

Now this is the kind of robe

that befits a man of my standing!

No buttons?

That shopkeeper duped me again!

But it really doesn't have any patches,

and it was cheap.

Good, very good.

[Save lives]

Officer!

Officer!

Officer!

Who goes there?

State your name.

I'm Sheng,

and I'm here to report a crime.

Look at this.

A blood letter?

Save lives.

Rel...

It could be Rel or Xia.

Maybe it's someone's name.

[Save Lives, Relieve Woes]

The unwritten part that follows

could be that person's name.

It makes sense.

This looks like a matter of life and death.

How much is this worth?

First, tell me,

where did you

find this note?

Here,

here—

it was hidden right here.

This robe isn't yours?

Yes, it is.

I bought it today at a secondhand store.

Was the button

already missing at purchase?

Never was!

I was just on my way

to return it for a refund!

So… how much is this case worth?

You're so fond of money—

this note wasn't something

you faked to scam a reward, was it?

No,

no, not at all!

I, Sheng, am a man

who owns property in Chang'an.

I wouldn't dare trick the district office.

Then let me ask you:

where exactly did you buy this robe?

Lady Hong's Secondhand Store.

It's at the north of Linghua Temple.

So,

how much is the case really worth?

Could you spare a little reward?

Luo.

Come here, come with us.

If your lead really

helps solve a murder,

we'll make sure you receive a reward.

[Save Lives, Relieve Woes]

This looks like a plea for help written in blood.

The last character is incomplete—

judging from what we have, it could be "summer",

or perhaps "woes".

Xie Xia? Xie You?

Either could pass as a person's name.

Your name is Sheng, right?

Yes.

You'll need to leave the robe here

as evidence.

It should stay.

I bought it

for 100 wen—

I'll sell it to you at cost.

What?

a hundard wen

for this old thing?

Who are you trying to fool?

Truth be told,

I'm a regular there myself.

This robe? Bought at the same shop.

Care to guess the price?

You bought yours from that secondhand store too?

How much was it?

Forty wen.

Forty?

I knew that shopkeeper cheated me!

This rag doesn't even have buttons,

and he had the nerve to ask for 50!

Give him 50 wen.

Based on the script,

when would you say this was written?

At a glance, I'd place it around a fortnight ago.

We divide our efforts.

You trace the origins of this robe.

I will seek out Xijun

and have her ascertain

the true nature

of this incomplete character.

I know this one.

I sold it today—

the buyer was Sheng.

He always brags

about owning property in Chang'an,

but he's incredibly stingy.

This robe

doesn't have a single patch on it,

and he kept haggling

with me right here,

on and on,

[Mr. Zuo, Lady Hong's Secondhand Store]

even holding up my business.

In the end,

he paid only 30 wen—

I actually lost money on it.

How much was that?

Thirty wen.

This Sheng really outdid himself—

he even fooled me.

What did you mean just now

when you said you lost money?

I'm in the secondhand trade—

all these items are things

I bought from people around the districts.

I paid 40 wen

when I bought this robe.

And do you recall

the specific person you bought it from?

Yes, indeed.

From the Master of Rain of Xiuzhen District—

the only female Master of Rain in all of Chang'an.

It went smoothly.

The Dragon King is in residence today—

rain will surely bless Chang'an.

[Save Lives, Relieve Woes]