Original subtitles

SUI

XIE

All soldiers, hear my command.

Bring me Prince Changxin's head.

Charge!

Kill!

Kill!

Charge!

Kill!

Commander Li.

All soldiers, hear my command.

Prince Changxin's main force has begun the assault on the city.

You must follow me.

We strike directly at the rear of the Chongzhou army.

We take out the Prince directly!

-Yes! -Yes!

Commander Li, wounded as you are, don't fight them head-on.

Leave this to us. We'll handle it.

If this life of mine can save more people,

then dying would be worth it.

Mr. Jin.

You… Lord!

Commander Zhuo,

take him somewhere safe and take good care of him.

Taking out the rebel headquarters,

we'll handle that.

Mrs. Fan, we'll go with you.

-We'll go with you. -We'll go with you.

We'll go with you.

ADAPTED FROM THE NOVEL ZHU YU BY TUAN ZI LAI XI ON JJWXC.NET

He Jingyuan's army. Why are they here?

Stop them. Don't let them disrupt our formation.

-Yes, sir. -Follow me!

Move.

Report from the front.

We've made it onto the city wall, but casualties are heavy.

We need reinforcements urgently.

Good. Go at once.

Yan Zheng.

I knew you'd come.

Stay behind me. Keep close.

I'm not hiding behind anyone.

Prince Changxin, Sui Yuanqing, take your pick.

I'll take Prince Changxin. You be careful.

HE

Big brother!

Then die together.

Man Di!

Sui Yuanqing! I'll kill you!

-Little brother… -Man Di.

-Man Di. -Man Di.

-Man Di. -Man Di.

Man Di.

Man Di.

Yuanqing,

lead the troops to attack the city now.

Man Di.

Man Di.

Man Di.

-Man Di! -Man Di!

Man Di!

Man Di!

Man Di!

You little whelp of the Xie family,

did you really think you could win?

Look at the smoke signals behind me.

The Chongzhou forces have already breached Lucheng.

Today, let's see where you run.

Xie Wu.

-Stay behind and protect Changyu. -Yes, sir.

Hyah!

You little Xie brat, where do you think you're going?

Now that's strange.

A lowly soldier like you dares to stand in my way?

Killing an old rebel like you?

I alone am enough!

Arrogant child.

When I was leading armies and slaughtering enemies,

you were still playing in the mud.

Good lad.

Following that Xie whelp is a waste of your talent.

Why not come with me instead?

In this life, my name is Xie.

Not "dog".

You ungrateful wretch.

You're skilled with a short blade, yet your strikes are heavy and powerful.

Use less brute force. Go with the flow.

On the battlefield,

an enemy's attacks shift in an instant.

Predictable patterns are easily read.

Once they see through you, you lose your composure.

Charge!

You think these little tricks can beat me?

Kill me.

Make it quick.

Tie him up. Take him back.

Yes.

What is He Jingyuan to you?

He's the commander of our Jizhou army.

This blade technique of yours,

it was created by the two tiger generals of the Wei clan back in the day.

But Wei Qilin is already dead.

Only He Jingyuan still knows it.

How did you come to inherit his true teachings?

You know the sworn brother of General He?

The great traitor Wei Qilin, who doesn't know him?

Who hasn't heard of him?

Once I've taken you captive,

while He Jingyuan's still clinging to life,

I'll negotiate a deal with him.

Please, send troops to rescue them immediately.

SUI

JIZHOU PREFECTURAL OFFICE

Such a fine young lady…

How did you get so badly hurt?

I didn't mean to hide who I was.

Are you…

angry?

Back at the military camp,

I knew your identity wasn't simple.

But I never imagined

you were the most noble Grand Princess…

and that you would treat my wounds.

I used to think my status was noble,

that marrying for the country

would be the greatest sacrifice of my life.

But only after coming to the battlefield did I realize,

what is a Grand Princess, really?

Today, killing the rebel prince,

that honor was earned by your own hands.

With Prince Changxin dead,

both court and people will be shocked.

Your name will be remembered by everyone in Dayin,

recorded by the historians.

I bow to you

as the Grand Princess

and as myself, Qi Shu, with gratitude.

Changyu. Rest well.

I used to think…

that as long as I had a kind heart…

I could protect those around me.

But only after parting in life and death did I realize…

my soft mercy

only pushes more people into desperate straits.

-Sister! -I'm here.

-I'm here. -Big Brother.

I'm here.

Look how brave I was.

I didn't…I didn't flinch.

Man Di!

Adoptive Father was right.

On the battlefield,

you fight or you die.

General He.

General He is on the tower.

Hurry.

General, we've won.

General.

General.

General.

General!

General!

If I had known this earlier…

If I had killed Prince Changxin sooner…

General He and the others wouldn't have…

General He's death…

is not your fault.

Changyu.

He was like you.

Both of you fought to protect your own land.

Your Highness, Miss Fan, Commander Li requests an audience.

Come in.

Changyu,

rest well.

I'll take my leave now.

Commander Li,

you're all heroes.

Rest and recover well.

Commander Li.

Commander Fan played the heroic stunt.

Finally got what you wanted.

You were too badly wounded at the time.

I knocked you out…

because I was afraid you'd play the hero

and throw your life away for nothing.

I'd rather have died outside the city walls that day

than be knocked out

and have everyone tell me the battle was over.

To have no chance at all

to avenge my master,

just living on, a complete joke.

If the prized student General He trained

had died senselessly out of pride,

that would have been the real joke.

I came this time…

to fulfill my master's final wish.

TO BROTHER HE

From now on, there's no need for us to meet again.

"Brother He…"

"The Chan…"

"And… live…10,000…"

"I've survived until now only thanks to Brother He's help.

My sole wish was to reveal the truth for countless innocent souls of Jinzhou.

Now that the Chancellor has issued another kill order."

And here, someone "cannot continue living,

nor do I wish to make things difficult for Brother He."

QILIN

Qilin cannot continue living,

nor do I wish to make things difficult for Brother He.

My wife and I will end our lives ourselves.

That we have lived an extra 16 years

is already great fortune.

"I beg Brother He, please protect the lives

of our two young daughters."

Sister.

Sister.

Dan,

pretend you never saw this letter today.

Don't tell anyone.

Leave the letter here.

You can go back now.

Got it, Sister.

You know the sworn brother of General He?

The great traitor Wei Qilin, who doesn't know him?

Who hasn't heard of him?

"The great traitor, Wei Qili.

Held the grain, with no delivery.

Doomed a hundred thousand souls to end."

My father is Wei…

Wei Qilin?

The great traitor Wei Qilin?

No.

No.

If my father were a traitor who harmed the country,

how could my mother ever forgive him?

But what really happened?

Crown Prince Chengde and General Xie Linshan

guarded the border,

fighting bloody battles on the battlefield.

The great traitor Wei Qilin colluded with the Northern Jue,

preventing the army's grain from arriving.

A hundred thousand soldiers starved for five days and five nights.

The great traitor Wei Qilin, who doesn't know him?

Who hasn't heard of him?

"The great traitor, Wei Qilin.

Held the grain, with no delivery.

Doomed a hundred thousand souls to end.

Jinzhou's tragedy, soldiers' pain.

Starved the prince till death's domain.

-General…" -Fan Changyu!

Stop. Come here.

Have you figured out why?

Mother,

I won't play the "great traitor" game anymore.

Good girl, Changyu.

In this world,

how many people

can truly tell loyalty from treachery, right from wrong?

"The great traitor, Wei Qilin."

Not true.

Father isn't a traitor.

It's not like that.

It's not like that.

It's not true!

It's me.

Does it hurt?

Sui Yuanqing…

Is he dead?

He got away.

Your Highness, I'm here to save you. Quick, take the heir and leave.

Hyah!

Let's go.

He'll die sooner or later.

I'll bring his head back to Lin'an

and offer it in sacrifice to fellow villagers.

Okay.

Does it hurt a lot?

Just a flesh wound.

How is General Wu?

His shoulder bone was broken.

But luckily, he's strong.

No danger to his life.

It's just, he might never be able to lift a blade again.

He did it all to protect me.

Twice on the battlefield, he risked his life to save me.

He's my lifesaver.

Today,

if he hadn't blocked that spear from Prince Changxin,

I'd be dead.

In this world,

no one has the right to make you die.

I've been having nightmares all night.

In my dreams, it's either Man Di's face…

or the faces of the soldiers.

They die in my dreams, over and over again.

And every time…

Every time, I can't save them.

Was the Battle of Jinzhou 17 years ago…

this brutal as well?

The Battle of Jinzhou…

was even worse.

Seventeen years ago,

my father fought the Northern Jue army for months.

But because the grain never arrived, reinforcements never came,

his men, too exhausted to resist, lost the battle.

The Northern Jue swept through.

Hundreds of thousands of lives were treated like dirt.

My father was hung from the city wall.

Then…

then the one who transported the grain back then,

Wei Qilin,

did he really…

cause the deaths of so many people?

Could there be another truth hidden?

Wei Qilin,

back then, he was Wei Yan's most trusted right-hand man.

He also fought alongside my father.

He was a man of loyalty and honor.

But later…

in the eyes of the Yanzhou army, he became the greatest traitor of Dayin.

Why do you suddenly ask about this?

Fan Changyu, say it.

Telling him the truth is the right thing.

Even if he turns against you because of it, that’s what is right.

Say it.

Changyu.

I wanted to ask.

When will General He's funeral be held?

Six days from now.

General He's seventh-day rite will be held together with my father's commemoration.

It's almost fated, you could say.

On this very day 17 years ago,

my father fell in battle at Jinzhou.

Every year at this time, the generals of the Xie family,

no matter where they are, return to pay respects to my father.

Then, when the time comes,

I'd also like to offer incense to General Xie.

May I?

Sure.

FUNERAL CORTEGE OF HE JINGYUAN LOYAL AND UPRIGHT GENERAL OF DAYIN

VIRTUE COMMANDS LOYALTY

MEMORIAL OFFERING

Wenkan,

you've followed me

since you were a child.

You are my most accomplished student.

The reason I kept you by my side

is because the court is treacherous, full of shifting tides.

Li and Wei play with power.

I didn't want you to be seduced by them,

to become a pawn in someone else's schemes.

What I hope for

is a pure servant of Dayin.

And one more thing, the Fan sisters.

After I'm gone,

I hope you will treat them with sincerity.

Only then can I rest in peace.

Commander Li, this is a funeral banner sent by Chancellor Wei.

LOYAL NAME REACHES THE SUN NOBLE SPIRIT COMMANDS AWE

Commander Li,

this is a funeral banner sent by Grand Tutor Li.

BLOOD-BATHED SPIRITS ETERNAL IN THE ANNALS

Sir, which one shall we hang?

So you've decided to help the Grand Tutor go against the Wei faction?

Huai'an will surely carry on my teacher's will.

I will not let down the soldiers and people of Dayin who gave their lives.

INK-WASHING PAVILION

Cousin,

please.

LIU WAN'ER, DAUGHTER OF A CONCUBINE FROM A BRANCH FAMILY RELATED TO PRINCESS CHANGXIN

Mother said…

said Cousin's injuries aren't light.

These tonics help…

help wounds heal.

She also said… said Father has confirmed,

the Marquis of Wu'an isn't paying attention to this place.

She asks Cousin to rest here…

and recover peacefully.

Why are you shaking so much?

Afraid of your cousin?

Cousin…

Careful. It's hot.

Bland food does not suit me.

How about you

drink it for me?

I…

Cousin,

you need to flee.

Father heard that the Marquis of Wu'an is coming to capture you personally.

He's afraid that after the city falls, our entire family will be executed.

He already put poison in the soup.

Said he'd take your head to surrender.

I'm sorry…

I didn't want to harm you.

Thank you for telling me.

Father.

Mother.

Why did you kill my parents?

With your skills, you could have escaped.

You could have just run away.

Why did you have to kill them?

They were going to take my head to surrender.

Why shouldn't I kill them?

They're not worth your tears.

In their hearts, you were never that important.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent you to bring me that poisoned soup.

Now…

you're free.

Cousin, take me with you.

My family is all dead.

I don't know where I should go anymore.

I killed your whole family,

and you still want to come with me?

I'm begging you.

Take me with you. Please?

What a lovely, delicate flower you are.

But why is it that some flowers, like you,

can only cling and depend,

unable to live a moment

without someone to hold onto,

while others

grow on their own,

covered in thorns,

making people both love and hate them?

Master, last night, the heir slaughtered the entire Liu family.

So what if he did?

Nothing to make a fuss about.

-Where is he? -In the study.

Yuanqing.

-Yuanqing. -Brother.

I finally found you.

How are you? How is Mother?

Brother.

Am I really…

really not as good as Xie Zheng?

Is that why I lost one after another?

Is that why I got Father killed?

In my heart,

you are the most formidable person in this world.

That Xie Zheng just got lucky and won a few battles.

But our cause isn't lost yet.

We still have a chance.

The cause?

Empty and illusory.

Ever since the late king misled my father,

he's been chasing some grand cause.

And in the end?

Nothing but emptiness.

I don't believe in any damn cause.

What do I care who is at the throne?

How can we, the Sui family, just give up like this?

Xie Zheng has all the advantages, timing, position, and support.

Are you too afraid to revenge against him?

Though my body is weak,

I'll still fight to my last breath in the death battle with them.

What about you?

A true man walks between heaven and earth.

How can you live on without even fighting?

If you can't win, then that's fate.

But today, you're like rotten mud.

Is this how you honor Father's soul?

Do you even know who killed him?

Not Xie Zheng?

It was Fan Changyu.

Fan Changyu.

Fan Changyu!

Her again.

That pig-slaughtering woman.

How dare she?

Brother,

I want revenge!

Go ahead.

Whatever you do, I support you.

Mother will be in my care along the way.

You just go kill Fan Changyu,

to honor Father's spirit in heaven.

NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS FILM

Subtitle translation by: Wanjiao Song