Original subtitles

Greetings, Commander.

You've been working hard, Commander.

Rest assured, Commander.

Everything is normal in Qianshan.

Under your wise and capable governance,

not a single opium pipe can be found in Qianshan now.

We will show no mercy

to anyone caught hiding one.

The people all sing your praises.

You're getting better and better at talking.

I'm only back here catching my breath

because over 1,000 of my men gave their lives for it.

The ceasefire is only temporary.

Your Guard Corps will inevitably be sent to the front lines as well.

You'd better prepare in advance.

Yes, Commander.

Reporting, Commander.

She's here.

Do you find her pretty?

I wouldn't dare, Commander.

You may leave.

Then I'll take my leave.

It's been a long time,

Miss Jiang.

[A Prophet]

[Episode 5]

Corpse Driving?

It's a form of sorcery practiced in Xiangxi.

Back when there were wars,

many people from Xiangxi died far from home.

Some local sorcerers

would then use soul-summoning rituals

to gather their three souls and seven spirits

back into the corpses.

That way, they could bring the bodies home

so the dead wouldn't become wandering ghosts.

We actually do this kind of work?

Well, there you go.

I'm telling you,

our Longxuya Corpse Driving

is really famous around here.

They call it sorcery,

but in reality, it's all done by living people.

Exactly. It's all done by living people.

They wash the corpses clean.

Then they take a knife

to cut them open,

remove all the internal organs,

and fill the body cavities with a preservative solution

to keep them from rotting.

Once the bodies have dried,

they tie them to poles

and string them together.

Then two strong men

can carry them all the way home.

After all that,

would anyone still believe in the whole three souls and seven spirits story?

That's where our cleverness comes in.

Let me tell you,

these corpse drivers

dress the corpses in burial robes.

Then those two strong men

dress up as corpses too

and make the corpses "jump" along.

If anyone happens

to stop and watch along the way,

they pull little tricks like making the corpses rise

or pretending there are ghosts, just to scare them away.

They'd go home and spread the story from door to door.

No wonder Xiangxi Corpse Driving has been passed down for a thousand years.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

Mr. Zheng's coal mine in Anping

had a mining accident recently,

and his son was buried underground.

He hired us

to bring the body back for burial.

Heng is already waiting for you in Anping.

Who is Heng?

The Chief's nephew.

Zheng Tianming is hosting a banquet

at Sanyuan Restaurant tomorrow.

Ruhui,

Starting tomorrow,

you'll be the 18th-generation successor

to Xiangxi Corpse Driving.

Me?

Sir, spare me a bite to eat.

Please, I'm begging you.

Thank you, sir.

[No. 26, Jiudao Kan. Come see me at once.]

Have you looked into Zheng Tianming?

He does exist.

And there really is a mine in Anping.

Why would Blind Du specifically send you for this Corpse Driving task?

Blind Du probably has other dealings with Zheng Tianming,

so he considers him quite important.

It makes sense for me to go

as a successor of Xiangxi Corpse Driving.

Besides,

if anything goes wrong,

they can pin the blame on me

instead of implicating Longxuya.

Corpse Driving isn't some elaborate scheme.

It's just transporting bodies back

and making a few bucks for the work.

What could go wrong?

If this really is just Corpse Driving,

Longxuya has plenty of low-level men

Mr. Zheng has seen before.

You got through the Pangzhou affair far too smoothly.

I know

you look down on the Tianxiang Sect

and on Blind Du.

But I'm warning you,

they're all wolves in human form.

If you underestimate them,

they'll swallow you whole, flesh and skin,

without leaving so much as a scrap of bone.

Whatever comes, we'll handle it.

If there really is something fishy going on,

I'm not afraid.

All right.

Since you've already agreed,

then go ahead.

Just be careful along the way.

Yes.

Have you been to Blind Du's hideout

before?

But it's heavily guarded and not easy to infiltrate.

That's one of the reasons

I agreed to this Corpse Driving task.

Besides,

I've noticed something suspicious.

So you're the expert from Xiangxi.

What should I call you?

My surname is Lyu.

Mr. Lyu,

please, have a seat.

I deal with the dead,

so I carry a strong corpse aura.

I shouldn't be around the living.

Mr. Lyu,

I've asked you here

to help

bring my son's body back from Anping.

I have only one son, my sole heir.

Now that we're separated by life and death,

this is all

I can do for him.

Bring the lamp.

What...

What does this mean?

Mr. Zheng,

please clear your mind for now

and recall your son's face and voice.

W-W-What's going on?

The lamp lit itself without any fire.

This lamp is called a Soul-Guiding Lamp.

It is meant to guide your son's spirit home.

You'll also need to place this lamp

in the family mourning hall.

After seven days,

when we return with the body

and his wandering soul returns to the body,

the lamp will go out.

In that case,

I'll leave it to you,

Mr. Lyu.

[Anping]

Let's go.

Senior Du.

You're here.

Come on in.

Let's go.

Come on,

inside.

This is Zheng Qigong's body.

The others are the bodies of his fellow townsmen.

We'll take them all back together.

Senior Du,

how many strings of coins did you hang up,

and how many talismans did you put out?

Everything was done according to the usual practice.

No problem.

I've got everything ready.

No need to check.

You must be tired from the journey.

Have some water.

Come,

sit down.

I've got everything you need ready for you.

Let's hurry and get you dressed up.

Once it gets dark,

we'll get on the road right away.

All right.

What's this for?

Who's supposed to wear this?

When the dead pass through,

the living must keep their distance.

Copper bells lead the way.

The road to the underworld opens.

We escort the dead home,

so they may return to their roots.

The dead carry yin energy and evil spirits;

the living must keep their distance.

When the dead pass through,

the living must keep their distance.

Copper bells lead the way.

The road to the underworld opens.

Halt.

It'll be light soon.

We'll camp here.

Senior Du,

how are we supposed to sleep out here?

There's a river up ahead.

We'll camp by the river.

The woods by the river

are lush and full of life.

Resting the corpses against the trees

will keep their three souls and seven spirits from dispersing.

Senior Du,

I know Corpse Driving is supposed to be done by night and rest by day.

But shouldn't we rest when we get to the mortuary?

If these bodies get mauled by wild animals in the mountains,

we'll have a hard time explaining it when we get back.

Why do you have so much to say?

We'll rest where I say we rest.

How about we switch? You carry them.

No, no.

Why aren't we resting at the mortuary?

This is such a miserable place to spend the night.

You'll have to ask Senior Du.

He's the one who said we should camp here.

He's Chief Du's nephew.

We do as he says.

If one of the corpses really does rise, it'll be on him.

Don't scare me.

One of the corpses has turned!

What?

What's going on?

A corpse has turned!

When a corpse turns on the way home,

it's either because the dead bore a grievance in life

or met with misfortune after death.

You,

go see what's going on.

Me?

Go!

Be careful.

Oh my, it scared the life out of me.

Oh my!

Oh my!

You damn monkey!

They're already dead, and now they have to be mauled by monkeys.

Senior Du,

I told you we should've stayed at the mortuary.

That damn monkey

scared the hell out of me.

Are the bodies all right?

They're fine, they're fine.

I checked them.

They are intact.

Silly Liang,

give me a hand.

It's almost daylight.

Let's cover them with this cloth.

One, two, lift.

Greetings, Chief.

Sorry to keep you waiting, Adjutant Xu.

Chief Du,

it's only a few steps to the Longxuya inner hall.

Do you really need to lean on a human crutch?

I've been waiting here for an hour.

What are you going on about?

I normally wouldn't, of course.

But you came first thing this morning.

You must have something important to discuss.

I had to hurry, didn't I?

All of you, get lost.

You too, get lost.

Adjutant Xu,

Hey, hey. Let me remind you:

I'm not in uniform today.

Don't call me Adjutant Xu.

Call me Mr. Zheng, all right?

Okay, okay, Mr. Zheng.

What brings you here today?

Don't you think we need to get moving on our business?

We discussed this before.

If we're going to do this deal,

we have to wait for things to die down.

If your Colonel Lei hadn't been embezzling military pay

to the point where he can't cover the shortfall anymore,

we Longxuya wouldn't have had

to risk our lives

to take this deal.

You...

All right, all right.

Mr. Du,

you're right.

From here on out,

I'll do as you say, all right?

But...

But Commander Feng has given strict orders:

anyone caught selling opium will be executed.

Then what am I supposed to tell the Colonel?

Go back and tell Colonel Lei

I have another gift prepared for him.

Not only will it make up for his losses,

it'll even get him promoted one rank.

How so?

I have a trick up my sleeve.

Ruhui,

let me tell you,

spearfishing takes skill.

You can't just stab straight down,

you know?

You have to aim a little lower.

See that?

How's my skill?

Pretty good.

It'd be a shame not to make a fisherman out of you.

Right?

Liang.

Why did you join Longxuya in the first place?

Just to make a living.

What's this?

It's opium paste.

What, you're into this stuff?

What,

want some?

I don't touch this stuff.

And I'd advise you not to either.

I'm telling you,

the new Commander Feng in Qianshan hates this stuff more than anything.

If you get caught with it, you'll be shot on the spot.

Then tell me,

if our branch

gets caught selling opium paste,

what do you think will happen?

What do you mean?

This block of opium paste

came out of a corpse.

A corpse?

You mean...

you mean Senior Du?

Now, is it

worth losing your life

just to make a living?

Of course not.

Maybe we should report it to the authorities.

You fool.

The opium paste is inside the corpse,

and we're both corpse drivers.

If we report it,

how could either of us prove we have nothing to do with it?

Then what do we do?

We're done for.

Liang,

you said earlier

that our branch has handled plenty

of corpse-transport jobs.

You really don't know

what we've been transporting?

Heaven and earth, gods and spirits above,

I, Silly Liang, swear I have absolutely no idea.

Even if I did know,

I wouldn't dare get involved with them.

We're done for, we're done for.

If this gets discovered,

we'll definitely be shot.

I haven't even

gotten married yet.

How about we set fire to it,

then run?

No.

We need to get back as soon as possible,

and we need to take this batch of opium paste with us.

Why?

There's nothing you or I can do on the way.

We can only find a way

out of this dead end

once we get back to Qianshan.

You just said Commander Feng in Qianshan

hates this stuff the most?

Exactly.

Senior Du,

where are we putting the bodies once we get back to Qianshan?

Yongzhen Taoist Temple.

Once we deliver the bodies there

and get them ready,

the families will come on the fifth day of the lunar month.

Once the funeral rites are done and the bodies are buried,

our job

will be finished.

Three days left.

We've got plenty of time.

Senior Du,

here you go.

Is it done?

Senior Du,

if you ask me,

we should take the main road from here.

The sooner we get back, the better.

There's war in the north.

There are checkpoints

everywhere on the main road,

and the questioning alone will take us a lot more time.

The back roads

would be more manageable.

Who's going to check us? We're corpse drivers.

Besides, I think

it might rain.

The back roads will be muddy then.

If anything goes wrong, we'll be in trouble.

Besides,

it's no good making the long,

arduous journey back.

Let's get into the city sooner.

We can have some fun

while we have the chance.

All right.

We'll take the main road

as you suggest, then.

I only speared two.

How about I take a hit first?

You go first.

I'll go spear some more.

Your papers.

Here you go, officer.

Who are you?

What are you doing here, playing tricks?

Officer,

we're corpse drivers,

taking the dead home.

Corpse drivers?

Are you planning

to put on a play dressed like that?

The corpse can move on its own?

How do you do that?

It's sorcery, passed down through generations.

It's hard to explain in a few words.

Let me see what kind of sorcery it is.

Officer,

this is a shroud.

It doesn't have any pockets to hide anything in.

We won't know

until we search it.

You can't undo the shroud.

Otherwise, the three souls and seven spirits won't stay together.

Get out of the way!

How am I supposed to know

what's inside if I don't undo it?

I'll undo them all.

Screw you!

How dare you raise a hand to me!

You've got a death wish.

Beat him up!

Stop! Stop! Please! Stop!

Officer.

How did these two come back to life?

Human! We're human!

Human!

Living humans!

It's a misunderstanding.

Please,

have mercy, officers.

Officer,

please calm down.

My friend here

has lived deep in the mountains all his life

and doesn't know any better.

He broke the rules.

Please, go easy on him.

Enough with the excuses!

Officer.

I'll put you somewhere else

so you can cool off.

Take him away!

Officer!

Get lost!

No, wait.

Officer, please don't take him away!

Please don't!

Officer!

How dare he

lay a hand on the officers?

He acted too rashly.

What are we going to do?

How

should I know?

We'll figure it out when we get back.

It's really heavy.

Let me do it.

Senior Du,

we can't just leave Ruhui behind.

How are we supposed to help?

He brought it on himself by showing off.

He deserves it!

Calm down, calm down.

Senior Du, you're so capable.

Please, think of something.

What rotten luck.

Stay here and keep watch.

It's our last night.

Don't let anything go wrong.

Okay.

There has to be a way.

It'll work.

Adjutant Xu.

What are you doing here?

You scared me.

Where are the goods?

The goods are already at Yongzhen Taoist Temple outside the city.

They'll reach

Longxuya first thing tomorrow morning.

Then why aren't you keeping an eye on the goods? What are you doing here?

Adjutant Xu,

one of my men got into a scuffle

with the military police while passing through the city gate.

He's been detained.

Do you think you could—

Nothing was exposed, right?

Don't worry.

Absolutely not.

It's just one low-level man, isn't it?

So what if they arrested him?

At most, he'll get a beating

and be released in a few days.

That's true, but,

Adjutant Xu,

this man is involved

in the gift for Colonel Lei.

What do you mean?

I mean...

You really are good at messing things up.

Wait here.

I'll make a call.

Thank you, Adjutant Xu.

May Ruhui be safe

and return here unharmed.

How did you end up so beat up?

Come on, let's go.

Are you all right?

Those bastards...

If they hadn't had guns,

I would've—

I'd have taken

every one of them down.

Forget about that.

You're back safe, and that's what matters.

Ruhui,

no offense,

but you've got quite a temper.

You're right, Senior Du.

I won't dare do it again.

I know

you did it for our Longxuya Branch.

If anything had happened to the bodies,

we'd have had a hard time explaining it tomorrow.

Thank you for understanding, Senior Du.

How about this?

I'll get us some food

and give you a proper welcome back.

Senior Du,

you really shouldn't.

I just caused you so much trouble,

and yet you still—

Ruhui,

say no more.

I've seen how you've performed

throughout this trip.

Besides,

you could say

we've finished this job smoothly enough.

Tonight,

let's have

a good drink together.

Get some rest first

and change your clothes.

Come on, sit down, sit down.

You're this badly hurt.

No drinking tonight, okay?

Thank you, Senior Du.

Cheers.

Senior Du,

thank you for being so forgiving despite my mistake.

I'd like to raise a toast to you.

No need to be so formal, Ruhui.

Thank you, Senior Du.

You've worked hard on this journey.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Let's raise

another toast to Senior Du.

Here.

It's my duty.

Bottoms up.

Senior Du,

this cup...

Ruhui!

Ruhui,

get up.

Wake up.

Morning, Liang.

Forget the pleasantries. Something's happened.

Senior Du is missing.

I've looked everywhere, but I can't find him.

Maybe he got up early

and went out for a walk.

Why are you getting so worked up?

It's not that I'm getting worked up for nothing.

All the valuables he brought are gone too.

Could those corpses

have risen

and killed him last night?

Why would they hurt us

after we carried them all the way back?

Then go ask them.

Liang,

have you ever been bullied by ghosts?

No.

I've only ever been bullied by people.

Where are you going?

This doesn't look like a corpse rising either.

A gunshot wound.

Open it up and take a look.

Where's the stuff?

Liang,

go check the other four corpses. Quickly.

All the opium paste is gone—

how come two blocks were left in this corpse?

Liang,

remember what I told you before?

Ghosts never hurt you.

It's people

who do.

Easy, Sir.

This way, please.

Mr. Zheng?

Have you fried your brain on that damn opium?

Take a good look.

My surname is Xu.

Search them.

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

Let's go.

Found it.

Colonel,

we found this.

You two,

anything else to say?

Officer,

we didn't put this there.

Then who did?

He did.

Didn't you get beaten enough?

Stop talking nonsense.

You're caught red-handed,

and you still dare accuse an officer.

Looks like you won't tell the truth

until I teach you a lesson.

Sir.

Attention!

Greetings, Commander.

What brings you here, Commander?

No need to trouble yourself, Commander.

I've already taken care of it.

Caught red-handed.

Didn't you say opium had been completely banned?

Well,

these two

are outrageously bold—

carrying on their crimes

right under our noses despite the crackdown.

Don't worry, Commander. I'll—

I'll interrogate these two myself.

Um...

Commander,

these two

never tell the truth

No need to trouble yourself.

Leave them to us.

You have no say in this.

Get out!

Yes, sir.

Take them all away.

Yes, sir.

Take them away.

How is it?

Colonel Lei,

the goods have arrived safely.

Why do you still look so worried?

Longxuya risked everything

to cover my losses.

I, Lei, would like

to thank you first and foremost.

It's just...

It's just that those two fall guys

have ended up in Commander Feng's hands.

You can't help but worry, can you, Colonel Lei?

Looks like

you already have a solution.

If you ask me,

Colonel Lei,

you can put your mind at ease.

There's no need to worry.

Commander Feng has no evidence.

Why would he believe the nonsense

those two swindlers spout?

If anything

does turn up later

and it comes back to you two,

just insist that it's a false accusation,

and you'll have nothing to worry about.

Chief Du,

I'll still need you

to help me find buyers for this shipment.

I'll let you know as soon as I have an update.

All right.

We won't keep you any longer.

Please.

Take care, gentlemen.

All right.

Uncle,

the buyer for this shipment

is already lined up.

When should we make the delivery?

No rush.

Wait for further word.

Only once that Lyu Ruhui is dead

can everything

finally be settled.

Heng.

Do as I told you before.

Once this is over,

take the money you've saved over the years

and leave Qianshan.

Leave the Tianxiang Sect.

Uncle...

Never come back.

Uncle,

what about you?

I know too much.

I'm afraid I'll have to spend the rest of my days in the Tianxiang Sect.

But as long as I'm still here,

no one will care where you go.

That's why I can't leave.

Uncle,

how about...

I'll go back to my room and get some rest.

When did you pick up this opium habit?

Uncle,

you...

I told you before,

I won't interfere with your drinking, eating,

whoring, or gambling.

But you absolutely

cannot touch opium.

Uncle,

I know I was wrong.

I...

I'll quit.

I promise I'll quit.

[Half a month later]

Gentlemen,

you've all inspected the goods.

Satisfied?

Satisfied.

Very satisfied.

Good to hear.

However,

the price for this shipment

will be 30% higher than originally agreed.

Well...

You all know what things are like in Qianshan.

We lost quite a few of our men

getting this shipment here.

The extra 30%

will go toward the burial expenses for those men.

Do we have a deal?

Well...

Adjutant Xu,

that's quite a difference

from the price we agreed on.

I don't have

that much cash on hand right now.

Why don't you offer it to someone else?

I'll pass

on this shipment.

Adjutant Xu,

I'm short on cash too.

I'll have to pass.

I've been too nice to you, haven't I?

Speak up!

Let me make this clear:

you're taking this shipment

whether you want it

or not.

Do I make myself clear?

Commander,

what brings you here?

Commander, you may have misunderstood.

Adjutant Xu and I

were trying to lure them out,

wipe

them all out,

and then

report back to you.

Premium goods.

I was just outside

and I think I heard Adjutant Xu say

that the price for this shipment

is 30% higher than usual.

And it seems you weren't willing to pay, am I right?

I don't quite understand.

Why weren't you willing to pay?

This shipment was brought here

inside the bodies of my fallen men.

They gave their lives for me.

They didn't even get a proper burial.

Instead,

their riddled corpses

were cut

open,

their insides removed, every last organ taken out.

If I'm not mistaken,

the cleaner

they were emptied out, the better, right?

Because that's the only way

you can pack in more opium paste,

sew them back up,

and haul them

here

through all that hardship,

so you can make a fortune.

They died clean.

Now their bodies have been defiled.

Under

Under these circumstances,

isn't a 30% price increase only fair?

I heard you're blind.

You're not blind.

You just think I'm the blind one.

Commander Feng,

I've always had great respect for you soldiers.

I was deceived by Colonel Lei too.

He told me these bodies belonged to miners who had died in an accident.

I was only running an errand for him,

making a little money for my trouble.

You know full well

how many dirty deeds you've all been involved in

behind the scenes over the years.

Now that he's dead,

you're next.

I see.

Kid,

if I'd known this would happen,

I should've killed you myself

back at Longxuya.

Du Binghui,

you're not dead yet.

How could I bear to die?

We're corpse drivers,

taking the dead home.

You're dressed

as if you were about to perform in a play.

How fascinating.

The corpse can even move on its own.

How do you do that?

[Blind Du isn't blind]

I'll put you somewhere else

so you can cool off.

Move!

Where are you taking me?

Wait here.

♪ There is a fiery woman in the brothel ♪

This is the new performer.

Her stage name is Feiyan.

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

No one has ever celebrated my birthday for me.

Thank you.

Mom,

I'll go get a doctor.

You haven't eaten anything all night.

Come and have some porridge.

Since we've tied the knot,

we're husband and wife.

Your business is my business.

How can I stay out of it?

From now on,

every minute and every second

belongs to us.

I once

ran into an old gentleman surnamed Du.

He said I was born to bring ruin,

first to my parents and friends,

then to any devoted lover.

Everyone who treats me well

ends up

dying because of me.

[In the next episode]

Liang,

my name isn't Lyu Ruhui.

My name is Shangguan Chengming.

The road I'm about to take is dangerous.

We should go our separate ways.

If you're in danger, all the more reason I should come with you.

What if I have to kill the Sect Master?

Take my advice.

Leave the Tianxiang Sect.

None of them

will die a peaceful death.