Original subtitles

[Strange Chronicles of Tang]

[Episode 11]

Home, sweet home.

This chicken soup Xijun made

really has the taste

of Nanzhou Prefecture's family tradition.

I'm full.

I'm full.

Xijun,

you should eat too.

I won't have any appetite

unless I see you getting better.

With you taking such good care of me,

it'd be strange if I don't get better.

It was your miraculous medicine

that helped you recover so quickly.

Fei.

How about a drink?

I'll...

hold off on drinking for now.

When my wound heals,

I'll drink to my heart's content.

So you've learned to value your life.

Those two assassins were truly vicious.

Fei,

why were they targeting you?

Wasn't it because of you?

They're disciples of Silent Ember,

named...

Wu Zhu and Chi Zhen—

two bird names.

If they wanted revenge,

why didn't they come for me directly?

You don't understand.

Silent Ember is known for his cunning.

The first rule he teaches his disciples is

if you can't win, run.

With your reputation

in martial skills,

you think they'd dare to come after you?

That's strange.

Then why did they suddenly

fight me so desperately

when I went to save you?

And they were saying something like,

"the ritual has begun,"

"so it can't be stopped."

Fei,

what ritual were they talking about?

The wind was strong in the forest.

Who knows what they were saying?

You must have misheard.

In the Ascension Forest,

I also encountered these two assassins.

I stumbled upon them,

but Fei was taken captive.

That's not right.

If they wanted revenge for Silent Ember,

Lu Lingfeng should've been their first target,

and I should've been the second.

How could they...

Why is my chest hurting again?

I heard Yingtao say

they went somewhere yesterday

that was very interesting.

Everyone can pour out their troubles there

and find some relief.

Whatever troubles are in your heart,

once spoken, they will pass.

Since we're free tonight,

why don't we

try that game too?

That sounds good.

I didn't get a chance to pour out my troubles yesterday.

My heart has been heavy all this time.

How about this?

The four of us

take turns.

I'll go first.

I'm from the Su family of Wugong in Guanxi,

a collateral branch.

My family had no vast fortune,

only a few thatched huts.

When I was 8,

my father died in an accident

at the government office.

The cause was never determined.

My mother made and sold shoes,

enduring every hardship

to raise me.

I studied for 10 long years

and eventually passed the imperial examination.

On the night the results were posted,

I looked up at the sky

and asked myself

where my ambitions lay.

With the stars as my witness,

my ambition was never high office,

but criminal investigation.

So I apprenticed myself to a great master

and learned the art of detection.

However,

for various reasons,

I have been drifting in official circles,

rising one moment and falling the next,

for more than ten years now.

People often say

I'm shrewd,

but who knows the resentment in my heart?

After investigating cases for over a decade,

my own father's death

remains unsolved.

How painful.

Yingtao is both strong and gentle.

I hope to share my life with her.

Yet,

I'm caught in a vortex,

surrounded by turbulent currents,

living on the edge of danger every day,

with death always near.

How could I...

I can't bring myself to push her away,

yet keeping her close risks dragging her down with me.

Trapped between letting go and holding on,

my heart is full of worry.

As for the Tang Empire,

which weighs most on my heart,

I can never let it go.

I...

Have I said too much?

Xijun,

it's... it's your turn.

Don't look at me,

or I'll feel embarrassed.

Lu Lingfeng,

especially you.

Look away.

I was born into a noble family and raised in official circles.

That's nothing special.

In Chang'an,

women of my background

are countless.

People say women leave no mark in history.

Those recorded are only empresses

or princesses.

Though unworthy,

I decided to defy fate,

so I trained in painting from a young age

and finally mastered it,

able to capture all things in the world.

I want to leave traces of my life

through painting.

Painting is my passion,

and through it

I met the one I love.

I originally intended to speak of my sorrows,

but after thinking it through,

I realized I have no sorrows to tell.

Or rather,

compared to your troubles,

my small troubles

hardly matter.

So I'll just share a thought with you.

Life passes

like a fleeting shadow.

There's no need

to keep pain and sorrows bottled up.

Instead, with true friends,

you can open your heart and speak your mind.

I believe

that if you do this,

good fortune will follow.

No matter how harsh the past,

the road ahead will be smooth.

My turn.

I'll tell a story

about a princess, an assassin,

and a child.

[Great Virtue Can Carry the World]

Later,

the child came to the capital.

The former Empress was gone.

Of those who killed his father,

only the princess remained.

And she

was also the very woman who gave him life,

his mother by blood.

Fei,

it's your turn.

Master Fei,

though you're optimistic and cheerful,

you must have something you want to share too.

Fei,

you haven't fallen asleep, have you?

What's there to share?

If you want to interrogate me, then do it.

I've got nothing to say.

If you're going to torture me, make it brutal.

Send me straight to my mentor.

If you still see me

as a friend,

please do me a favor

and bury my remains

outside the Medicine King Hall.

Master Fei.

Shut up!

You little girl.

You're in on this with them,

plotting against me.

I know,

I

have been in Chang'an for decades

and still don't even have a house of my own.

I can only lodge at your Pei's Mansion.

What?

Are you kicking me out?

Fine, I'll leave.

Fei!

Fei!

If you don't want to talk, no one's forcing you,

and no one's kicking you out.

That's right.

You're not young anymore,

and you're badly injured,

so why keep

losing your temper?

Look how you've frightened Xijun.

We were wrong.

Just rest well.

If there are things

you don't want to talk about, then don't.

If you don't want

to bring up the past,

then we won't mention it again.

Alright?

Come on.

Though he didn't say anything,

it was as good as an admission.

[Great Virtue Can Carry the World]

Fei heals the sick,

benefiting the people.

We've all seen it with our own eyes over the years.

As for his past,

let it remain a mystery.

He's been mysterious

from the start.

I'm not trying to dig up old matters.

It's just that lately,

the Crimson Pact assassins have been appearing frequently.

I'm worried

something big might happen in Chang'an.

That's why I wanted to get

some information from him.

The three female assassins

who imprisoned Xie You

were probably minions.

They have long lost contact

with the Crimson Pact.

Their exposure this time must be coincidental.

[Great Virtue Can Carry the World]

As for Wu Zhu and Chi Zhen,

I actually find it interesting that they

keep showing up in Ascension Forest.

How so?

The other day, Fei said that

minions

are assassins in the Crimson Pact,

but not really assassins.

They can recruit their own subordinates,

but have only one direct handler.

If they lose contact

with their handler,

they become expendable.

There are cases where a master

trains a disciple as a minion.

If Wu Zhu and Chi Zhen

are such minions,

then their master, Silent Ember,

must be their handler.

So...

Ascension Forest

is their meeting point?

That place is dark and frightening.

People are wary of it.

Isn't it perfect

for a meeting point?

When punishing so-called traitors,

they also chose Ascension Forest.

Therefore,

the Crimson Pact's headquarters must be nearby.

Perhaps...

it's in Xiuzhen District.

Back then, when my master, Master Di,

was investigating the Crimson Pact,

[Great Virtue Can Carry the World]

he came all the way

from Divine Capital to Chang'an.

He also suspected it was in Xiuzhen District,

but never found solid evidence.

What is it?

I'd like you to visit Xiuzhen District again

and draw a map for me.

That's easy.

I'll go tomorrow.

[Chicken Master of Tang]

[Chicken Master of Tang]

[Relief-from-Woes]

If there's anyone special,

it would be her.

She came to us on her own.

And the gold coin she gave

was quite unusual.

Gold coin?

Where is it?

Put it away.

This gold coin

was specially made when His Majesty

was invested as Crown Prince.

I've received such a reward before,

so I remember that mark clearly.

Although I've never received

such a reward,

I can still tell

that gold coin is special.

This mere Relief-from-Woes Shop

actually has something to do with His Majesty.

Truly unexpected.