Original subtitles

[Strange Chronicles of Tang]

[Episode 12]

"Plum blossoms are outside the window."

"They bloom in all four seasons."

You've been here before.

They can recognize you.

So all you need to do is go get

a golden mask yourself.

It's his first time here.

Today, only iron masks are left.

"A dappled steed with iron coins arrayed comes."

"A gallant youth from Chang'an arrives."

When you're there,

a masked man

will quote Yang Jiong's poem, "The Dappled Horse."

You need to respond with a poem of Luo Binwang's.

But remember,

your response must share at least one word

with the poem he recites.

It doesn't sound like exchanging code words,

but playing a drinking game.

But that's the rule.

"Beacon fires are a warning at the frontier pass."

"Gallant roaming knights cross the river fast to fight."

So you're an honored guest of the Master.

It's a shame that there are limited places for gold members.

My apologies.

It's fine.

[Abode of Transcendence]

Now you can

turn over the wooden tablet in front of you.

[Five]

[Four]

[Abode of Transcendence]

Almighty Master,

I'm suffering!

My husband has left me.

My shop is closed.

And my two sons, who I raised with so much hardship,

have also deserted me.

Master,

this woman is truly hateful.

I thought of divorcing her,

yet her paramour

is like a ferocious demon.

I don't mind putting my life at stake,

but I'd hate to endanger my family.

Perhaps I shouldn't have fallen in love.

Or maybe love doesn't exist in this world.

Almighty Master,

please tell me which path to take.

How tragic!

Tragic...

The one holding the wooden tablet numbered four

may come forward to confess.

My surname is Fei, given name Qiao, and courtesy name Yingjun.

I'm also known as the Chicken Master.

Years ago,

I was a handsome young man

with great ambitions.

At first, I wanted to save the world,

but peace and order had long been restored.

So I resolved to save lives

and become

the best physician on this land.

Then, I started

learning from the old King of Medicine, Sun Simiao,

as a close student of his.

The moment I completed all the training,

I was extremely excited

and highly ambitious.

I aspired to open a clinic

and make it the best in Chang'an,

where I would practice medicine.

[Abode of Transcendence]

I even planned to set up branches

in Luoyang,

Yangzhou,

Chengdu,

and every other prefecture.

Alas, I developed a passion for one thing—

alcohol.

Part of the blame was on the overly hospitable Chang'an people.

When I cured a patient,

he or she would treat me to drinks.

This kept happening. Gradually...

I got addicted to alcohol.

Every time I woke up from a hangover,

my heart would be filled with regrets.

I did swear to quit drinking

several times.

But I just couldn't resist

delicious fine wine.

I spent 20 years in a drunken haze in Chang'an,

idling away my time.

How miserable!

What?

Don't you think that was miserable?

Master,

I was truly in misery!

Go on with the confession.

Fine.

I'll continue then.

Though I got in a drunken stupor

all the time,

my reputation for excellent medical skills

still spread far and wide.

Somehow I became the target

of an assassin group.

They kidnapped me,

confined me in a dark dungeon,

and forced me to join them.

I would rather die than cave in.

But it wasn't easy... to die.

After all, I was once

a handsome young man with great ambitions.

It would've been a shame

if I had just ended my life, right?

Later,

I became

one of them.

I developed poisons for the assassins

to kill people with.

Good heavens.

That must be

the biggest irony in the entire world.

I then came to realize

what feels worse than death.

Finally,

I found an opportunity

and escaped,

which resulted in the deaths of many disciples

of the King of Medicine.

I still feel remorse till this day.

Thereafter,

I settled down in the dark Ghost Market,

dragging out

an ignoble existence.

Surprisingly,

in my declining years,

I met two talented young men,

a clever young lady,

a heroine from the martial world,

and a valiant youth.

Together we traveled south

and west,

crossing mountains and rivers throughout the Tang Empire.

I was finally

given a chance to treat patients and save lives again.

People called me Miracle Doctor Fei.

Patients regarded me as their father,

for giving them a second chance at life.

I was thrilled at those moments.

Unexpectedly,

as I'm back in Chang'an now,

that assassin group has targeted me

again.

If that terrible part of my life

is revealed,

what will my friends think of me?

It's terrifying.

I find it too horrible to even contemplate.

How miserable!

The one holding the wooden tablet numbered five

may come forward to confess.

I'd like to tell a story about a princess, an assassin,

and a child.

The assassin tried every means to approach the princess

with the purpose of killing the emperor.

The princess learned about it

and helped the emperor kill the assassin by a trick.

She then discovered

she was pregnant

with the assassin's baby.

I don't know how the princess

struggled to make a choice.

But in the end,

she decided to have the baby.

Yet fearing the empress,

she couldn't acknowledge her son.

The child was kept and raised in a temple,

until his uncle took him away.

That was when

the child learned

that his father's family

was a prestigious clan

with a history of 500 years.

His family

had always upheld Confucian traditions.

They saw the then empress,

namely the princess's mother,

as their enemy.

The uncle taught the child to read

passed down the family lore to him,

and began teaching him martial arts.

He had the boy tutored by renowned masters from everywhere

and told him that he must avenge his father

when he finished studying.

Later,

the child arrived at the capital.

The former empress had passed away.

The only one alive and accountable for his father's death was the princess,

who was also

his mother and next of kin—

from whose blood and flesh he was born.

The child was about to make

a tough choice.

But I believe,

enmity can always be dissolved

by a kind heart

and the devotion for the greater good.

Essentially, the princess and her son,

who she had with the assassin,

were no different than any other mother and son

in the world.

Should they finally reconcile and return

to being a loving mother and dutiful son,

they would probably join hands

to usher the empire into a golden age,

and the pride of that 500-year-old family

would eventually merge

with the glory of the empire.

[Abode of Transcendence]

Tonight at the Confession Assembly,

five confessors

have all finished their confessions.

Master, please decide the final winner.

I determine the one bearing the greatest suffering tonight is...

the son of the assassin and the princess.

Hey!

How is that right?

The story I told was someone else's,

which had a perfect ending.

Was there any suffering at all?

Master has granted you

the fortune of slaying

the Demon of Woes.

Demon-Slaying Ritual,

begin!

Take the sword.

It's the Demon of Woes,

a great evil!

All the troubles and anxieties

of Chang'an's gentry and commoners

stem from this demon!

-Kill! -Kill!

-Kill! -Kill!

-Kill! -Kill!

-Kill! -Kill!

-Kill! -Kill!

Kill!

[Abode of Transcendence]

I am Su Wuming,

Master Di's disciple.

I used to be the sheriff of Chang'an County

and the deputy minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

In Chang'an,

I've solved several mysterious cases.

[Abode of Transcendence]

Does anyone here...

recognize me?

Now, I suspect

that this Demon of Woes

is actually a living person.

If that's true,

this so-called Relief-from-Woes Shop

is a place of murder where evil dwells!

[Abode of Transcendence]

[Abode of Transcendence]

How is it possible?

I witnessed bleeding last time I was here!

That was the blood of the Demon of Woes.

If you had yielded the sword

and cut off its head just now,

blood would have gushed out all the same.

Master,

I have removed my mask

and revealed who I am.

Isn't it time to show your true self as well?

No! There's a deity within.

A deity lies concealed in this body.

Don't you offend it!

Stop there!

Offending the deity

will bring retribution upon you—

at best, insanity; at worst, death!

[Abode of Transcendence]

In the past,

when I investigated mysterious cases

with my mentor Master Di,

I already offended countless

so-called deities.

Offending one more won't make a difference.