Original subtitles

=To Kill A Songbird=

(Adapted from Shen Xiaoguan's Bird Kills Seven People)

=Episode 2=

(Divine Lady Rescues Drowning New County Magistrate)

(You're in a rush to leave the sect even though your cultivation is incomplete.)

(To seek revenge, you cultivated the art of illusion, causing a reverse flow.)

(13 Years Ago) (You must undergo acupuncture)

(13 Years Ago) (every day just to stay alive.)

(Elder Baiyun)

(Is it truly worth it?)

(I once believed that Heaven's justice is clear as day.)

(However, my entire clan was massacred)

(just because my brother was framed.)

Murderer! Surrender right now!

(My brother became a scapegoat.)

(He was forced to confess through torture, and he died a wrongful death.)

(My parents witnessed the incident personally.)

(They took their own lives out of rage.)

(The villains tried to bury the truth by burning down the place.)

(It all started with a thrush.)

(My family was shattered overnight.)

(And, I became a wandering orphan.)

It's you again!

How dare you steal my buns? I'll beat you to death!

(Since then,)

(I could only survive by stealing food.)

(I was thrashed around like a rodent.)

(And, I almost died.)

(But I insisted on surviving.)

(I swore that I would find the mastermind)

(even if I only had one breath left.)

(No matter where or who he is,)

(I shall make him fall to the depths of hell,)

(and make him pay for what he has done)

(on my brother's death anniversary.)

Since this is the will of fate,

you may leave.

Your path

has only begun.

But I have a piece of advice for you.

"With a sparrow's frail form, I met my end upon a rock"?

(With a sparrow's frail form, I met my end upon a rock) Master, are you trying to say

that if I insist on seeking the truth,

I will die at the hands

of a person whose name is related to rock?

Shi?

Which Shi?

Naturally, it's Shi, as in beautiful jade and rugged rock.

(Like a stone met in water.)

(He occupies a lofty position,)

(yet will surely drag you down into the mire.)

(Are you not afraid?)

Divine Lady?

"Divine Lady"?

This morning, Divine Lady saved me.

What's wrong with me calling her that?

Magistrate Lu, you must be kidding me.

(Magistrate Lu?)

She's a demoness.

How could she save you?

It's like this.

I fell into the river.

(Eight Hours Ago, At the Beginning of the Hour of Si)

(Eight Hours Ago, At the Beginning of the Hour of Si) Shen Guan'er was born into a poor family.

(Since I assumed my position not long ago,)

(I thought I should be more considerate of the people's circumstances.)

(Therefore, I took a stroll.)

To raise his children.

Mister, what story is the storyteller talking about?

It's the Thrush Case.

Have you guys heard about it before?

Liang Andao, also known as Justice Liang,

will come to Huachang County together with Inspecting Envoy Zhai Lu

in half a month.

As the deal fell through,

he murdered him out of rage.

He even chopped off Shen Guan'er's head

and tossed it into the river.

As the saying goes,

what goes around comes around,

and everything has its consequences.

The magistrate could distinguish right from wrong.

In the end, Li Ji ended his own life in prison out of guilt.

(Since I knew how to swim,)

(I thought of taking a swim with the great weather and all.)

(But the weather was too comfortable.)

(I actually fell asleep by accident.)

(When I woke up,)

(water had already entered the boat.)

(Thus, the boat sank.)

Help! Someone's in the water!

(I fell into the river just like that.)

(When I woke up for the second time,)

(someone had already rescued me and brought me ashore.)

(When I opened my eyes,)

(the first sight I witnessed)

(was Divine Lady holding my hands.)

Miss only held your collar.

Who said she held your hands?

This morning, we went into town for groceries.

On our way back, my young attendant wanted to go boating on the lake.

That's why we went to the lake.

And that's how

I met Magistrate Lu.

I'm sure it's because of my dashing appearance

and innate talent.

Therefore, you took an instant liking to me.

That's why you rescued me, am I right?

Magistrate Lu, don't tell me you became her alibi

all because you fell for the demoness's trick.

Fell for her trick?

What do you mean?

This noon, someone in the western marketplace saw Fan Jili, the victim.

That indicates that he was murdered

after the hour of Wu and before the hour of Wei.

Could it be that you never closed your eyes

and she never left your side all that while?

You're right.

I was giddy after I was rescued.

It's not impossible for you to rush back here

after murdering the victim.

To think that I treated you with all my heart.

But you were deceiving me all along!

This is truly heartbreaking.

Magistrate Jiang, take her back.

Interrogate her immediately.

Magistrate Jiang, you said

the victim's body was found at the western town outskirts.

How long did it take you all

to come here from the western town outskirts?

Three hours.

Official Lu woke up at around the hour of Wei.

If I did murder him at the hour of Wu at the western town outskirts,

how could I rush back and keep Magistrate Lu company within an hour?

Magistrate Jiang,

Divine Lady is right.

She can't just appear out of nowhere.

She can't just rescue me and murder the victim at the same time.

I know.

Magistrate Jiang, you're prejudiced against me.

But Mr. Fan's death

has nothing to do with me.

All in all,

Divine Lady isn't a suspect.

Magistrate Jiang, this is a huge case.

You should follow me back and investigate the case.

Do not bother Divine Lady anymore.

Come on.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Divine Lady,

we have plenty of time ahead of us.

Miss, you made a watertight argument.

I'm sure they won't suspect us.

It's not like the plan was flawless.

It actually has a fatal flaw.

I'm taking a gamble too.

On what?

On whether the coroner of Huachang County

would do an autopsy

in seven days.

Autopsy?

The body is all burned up.

Do we still need to perform an autopsy?

Of course.

(Cui San, Coroner) But we need to wait.

We need to wait?

Wait for what?

There are no coroners in the nearby counties.

Any corpse exhibiting unusual characteristics

within the radius of several miles

will be sent to my place.

In addition, bandits have been running rampant on Mount Cangyun.

Many people have died.

We have to follow

the order of things, you know?

Can't you see

that the morgue is already full?

Even the kitchen in the side courtyard

was used to store corpses.

Mr. Cui, please don't blame me for bothering you.

But I think Magistrate Jiang doesn't like me.

Not only was he unwilling to ride in the same carriage as me,

but he also sent me to you.

But I'll say this first.

I didn't come here of my own accord.

I can forgive the fact that he doesn't know any courtesy.

But as a coroner, you have quite the eccentric temper as well.

No one in the magistrate's office

takes me seriously.

Hey, the body is all burned up.

What can you find out from that?

There are things he can find out.

For example, the mouth, nose, heart, and lungs.

An experienced coroner

can tell whether a victim is recently murdered

or has been buried for several days

at first glance.

Unless...

Unless what?

Unless we reduce the body to ashes.

Wait.

What are you burning?

I'm asking you.

What were you burning just now?

A bag of charcoal on top of the furnace.

What charcoal?

That was half of Fan Jili's skeleton!

Go away!

It has already been reduced to ashes.

What can you tell from this?

You...

Aren't you afraid that Fan Jili might turn into a vengeful spirit

and seek revenge on you at night?

I'll say this first.

I didn't come here of my own accord.

Inspect these remains for me.

Are there any surviving family members of Li Ji and Shen Xiu?

Shen Xiu had a wife and a pair of children.

They passed away a few years ago after contracting the plague.

Li Ji's entire family perished in the Yuehua Street fire.

He shouldn't have any family members left.

He shouldn't have any family members left, huh?

We have to find out who she is.

Otherwise, it might become too chaotic,

and that'll foil our plan.

Sir, you're literally a demon of chaos.

Why would you be afraid of chaos?

Of course I'm afraid of chaos.

I'm very timid.

However, there's no need to rush things.

We're not the only ones

who want to stop her advancement.

(Xuezhao Residence)

Water!

Give me water!

Water...

You wretch!

Who exactly are you...

You don't remember me, huh?

That's fine.

I'll make you

remember every single bit.

You'll receive your just deserts!

You'll receive your just deserts!

Just deserts?

Everyone dies eventually.

Why the rush?

I was just doing it for the money.

I...

I have no idea who he is.

He gave me a letter.

He wanted me to frame Li Ji.

Who exactly are you?

Try to recall the details

of the Thrush Case.

For every single detail you recall,

I'll give you a bowl of water.

I know.

I know.

Her head.

Shen Xiu's head...

Magistrate Jiang Chun was the one who found it.

Jiang Chun?

(Young Jiang Chun) Who said you could come here?

I found

her head.

You may rise.

I found the head of the dead person.

Does that mean my father

can remain in the magistrate's office?

Although her head was completely rotten,

it bore the imprint

left by Li Ji's private seal.

Thus, the evidence chain was complete.

That was how he was sentenced to death.

Imprinting one's private seal onto a rotten human head?

This method of slander

is utterly despicable!

Since you don't like to be a human,

and you like to be an animal,

you can enjoy being an animal.

(The 6th day of the 5th month, 9th year of Zhenghe)

(I wonder if the rain has stopped?)

(The weather conditions are unknown.)

(12 days until the 7th day of the 6th month)

Jiang Chun.

♪A thrush's song pierced the endless night♪

♪Blood splattered on the bamboo cage, reflecting the cool moonlight♪

♪Thirteen years of frost and snow sealed the old study window♪

♪I twisted the needle, prying open the past♪

♪A cold stone marrow presses against my palm♪

♪My older brother lay buried afar♪

♪Flames licked across that place♪

♪A list of righteous hearts♪

♪Who laughed in the dark at the panic?♪

♪I'm the shadow caged within as well as the flying light♪

♪Only when hatred burns out did we know how scorching our obsessions were♪

♪You said you'd die if you hit a stone♪

♪Yet you crashed into my fate's web♪

♪Pear blossoms fell all over the wound on your shoulder♪

♪The wind in the bamboo forest dispersed the hexagrams♪

♪The thrush carried the past away♪

♪I stood at the end of the fireworks and gaze♪

♪You lifted a lantern to illuminate♪

♪That page♪