Original subtitles

[Shadow Punisher]

[Divine Constable Tally]

[Episode 14]

[Pure as Sea Water]

[Integrity, Impartiality, Prudence, and Diligence]

My Lord.

These divers

are the best swimmers in the Yan River.

They are all at your disposal, My Lord.

Braving the waves is a common occurrence for them.

Please take a look, My Lord.

-My Lord. -My Lord.

But there is one thing I don't understand.

[Integrity, Impartiality, Prudence, and Diligence]

My Lord,

how did you foresee

that Ji Ada would fall into the sea?

I am not a god.

How could I have predicted Mr. Ji falling into the sea?

But aren't these people

you ordered me to find in advance

to salvage the body from the sea?

[Integrity, Impartiality, Prudence, and Diligence]

Lord Situ.

The rain today

looks even heavier than it has been over the past few days.

Indeed.

The flood channel we just built a few days ago

has been washed away in several places.

Then in your opinion,

when will the rain stop?

[Integrity, Impartiality, Prudence, and Diligence]

It will stop tomorrow.

How are things at the Gong family?

No one has left Mingling.

In fact,

few people have even left Gong Mansion.

Good.

When the rain clears up tomorrow,

the real show

will begin.

Open the garden.

Yes.

Don't smash it! Don't smash it!

You can't smash it!

You...

I...

You can't smash it!

My Lord!

You can't open it, My Lord.

Our Master has already had it divined.

This house faces an inauspicious direction.

That's why it was sealed.

If you smash the lock and open it rashly,

it will definitely bring disaster, My Lord.

How dare you, insolent commoner!

If you dare to keep pestering,

I will punish you for

obstructing official duties!

Open it!

Hold on!

Master!

Even the county office

cannot force their way into a private residence, right?

My Lord,

this is Gong Mansion.

Appointed by His Majesty,

we handle official maritime transport.

Since we both serve the imperial court,

I wonder

if you could do me a favor.

If there really is a problem,

let's talk inside.

Fourth Master Gong.

Fourth Master Gong.

We came to your residence today

not as guests.

The Divine Constable Bureau is handling a case.

[Divine Constable Tally]

Anyone who attempts to obstruct us

can be executed under Great Shi law.

So it is the Divine Constable.

What brings you here today,

My Lord?

It's nothing major.

We are here to save someone.

Save someone?

You must be joking, My Lord.

This garden of mine

has been closed for years.

Normally,

no one ever enters.

So how could there be anyone to save?

A few days ago,

Ji Ada fell into the sea.

Have you heard?

I have indeed heard about it.

But Ji Ada

fell into the sea.

How could he be

in my Cui Garden?

They are not connected.

You are absolutely right, Fourth Master Gong.

This lake and the sea

are separate entities.

It seems

they are indeed not connected.

But who can say for sure

that beneath this vast expanse of water,

there are no secret passages

or hidden connections?

[Kindness Worthy of Emulation]

My Lord,

what exactly are you trying to do?

Divine Constable Li,

please be patient.

In less than four hours,

we can search the bottom of this lake

thoroughly.

Good.

Stop!

The county office and the Divine Constable Bureau are investigating a case.

Everyone in the residence

must not leave without permission!

My Lord.

What crime

have I committed?

If you still suspect me

of killing Zhe Shan of the Ji family,

wasn't I already

summoned

and questioned?

Don't worry, Fourth Master Gong.

We have already caught the murderer

who killed Zhe Shan.

It indeed has nothing to do with you.

However,

there is another matter right now

that is related to you.

Huang Mazi?

Weren't you eaten by

the green-haired demon?

It seems

you two

are old acquaintances.

Huang Bingshui.

Tell us the evidence

of your accusations against Ji Ada and Gong Sihai

in full detail.

Yes, My Lord.

Everyone in Mingling County knows

that the Gong and Ji families

are usually at each other's throats.

They have had many fights over this.

But these

were all intentionally

put on as a show for outsiders.

It's to deceive the public.

Secretly,

Gong Sihai and my master

have been colluding with each other.

They took the government salt

the Gong family was transporting,

hid it in the Hound Pit,

and made it into salt bricks.

After the heat died down,

they put them into rice bags,

disguised them as rice,

and sold them.

[Grain]

This has been going on

for decades.

The dirty money

they have made

could already pile up into mountains of gold and silver.

You...

You are talking nonsense!

Don't be in a hurry to argue.

With all the evidence today,

you will definitely not escape punishment.

Found it!

Found it!

Found it!

Found it!

Hurry!

Take him away.

Yes.

These...

These are all human bones.

How can there be so many human bones?

What's the situation down there?

My Lord,

this is only a small part.

There are many more at the bottom of the lake.

Hurry!

Hurry up and fish them all up!

My Lord,

there is something I don't know if I should say.

Go ahead.

At the bottom of this lake,

not only are there many bones,

but also several large stone locks.

The stone locks are connected to iron chains.

Some of the iron chains

are wrapped with bones.

In my opinion,

they must have been used to weigh bodies down.

Gong Sihai!

Was it you who sank these people

into the lake?

So many lives!

You people...

You people are simply insane!

Hao!

Chen!

Hao!

Chen!

My poor children!

After all these years,

you must be tired.

Now you can finally lie down

and have a good rest.

Hao!

Chen!

All I regret is that I've lived this long,

with these broken old bones,

paying tribute to you

night after night,

yet never able to be reunited with you.

At long last, I've lived to see this day!

Old Madam Gong

must have seen her family

chained by the feet

and sunk into the lake.

Their bodies rotted and swelled,

making them buoyant

and causing them to stand upright in the water

like a forest of corpses.

That's why she always mutters

about wanting her family to lie down

and rest well.

Gong Sihai!

Even if you die a thousand times,

it won't erase the sins

you committed against our Gong family!

In the 20th year of Hongyun,

the court appointed the Gong family to transport government salt.

Soon after, Ji Ada came to our door,

proposing to conspire with the Gong family

to smuggle government salt.

Madam,

have you made up your mind?

Hao, see the guest out.

This way, Mr. Ji.

[Virtue, Diligence, Serenity, and Peace]

Who would expect that after that,

Ji Ada would collude with the villain,

Qiu Sihai,

and slaughter almost the entire Gong family overnight.

Chen!

They left the youngest child alive

as a hostage.

To save my only grandson,

I had to agree

to their demands.

Old Madam Gong,

from now on,

I will be your nephew.

That year,

a great plague happened to break out in Mingling.

So Qiu Sihai spread the rumor,

saying the 13 members of the Gong family

all died suddenly of illness.

Since then,

the entire Gong family fell into the hands

of Ji Ada and this beast

surnamed Qiu.

Grandmother.

It was all my fault.

I dragged you

and the Gong family down.

I am an unfilial grandson.

Don't blame me for not

passing the family property to you.

I had to hand over the vault key

and the ship seal.

Only then did they promise not to kill you.

I have never blamed you.

Fourth Master Gong.

No.

I should call you Qiu Sihai,

Chief Qiu.

This time,

you are in big trouble.

Murder and robbery,

theft of government salt,

and embezzlement of public funds.

I don't think even 100 heads would be enough

for all your crimes.

Shut up!

I think you just

have too many heads to spare!

I'm sure you all know

who the Ji brothers are.

Over the years,

how much of the money the Gong family earned,

both openly and secretly,

actually went into my pocket?

The Divine Constable Bureau?

Under imperial power, everything is the same.

Take my advice.

A wise man knows when to yield to circumstances.

Since you

came here on the Gong family's ship,

I'll send you back

in style.

Don't make me do this the hard way.

If this matter really blows up

and the one above holds us accountable,

no one can bear the consequences!

Hearing you say this,

it seems we are in big trouble.

What should we do?

Lord Constable Ghost,

what do you think?

Sorry,

I only know how to kill.

Lady Constable Frost?

I only know how to perform autopsies.

In that case...

One kills,

and the other performs autopsies.

It seems

you'll end up dead

either way.

Stop bluffing!

Who in Mingling doesn't know

who's behind the Ji brothers?

Who dares name

the real mastermind?

I don't think any of you do!

The one who instructed Ji Ada

to collude with Gong's Shipping

to resell government salt and line his own pockets

is His Highness Prince Ding of Great Shi,

the First Prince,

Zhou Miao.

Lord Li.

I know you are upright,

but some things

shouldn't be said out loud.

Why not?

Right and wrong,

good and evil,

will be judged.

There is justice in heaven,

and fairness in people's hearts.

Even if it's someone close to His Majesty

within the imperial walls—

if a prince breaks the law,

he should be punished like a commoner.

Well said.

Then I

will go with you today.

I'd like to see

how you will face the wrath

of the one on the throne.

Please!

[Mingling County Government]

Don't move!

Hurry up!

On the Gong family's ships,

we did indeed find

a lot of embezzled government salt.

[Integrity, Impartiality, Prudence, and Diligence]

-When we got on the ships, -Move!

many of the Gong family's lackeys

were mixing seawater into the bags

in an attempt to destroy the evidence.

Hurry up!

Now that the cases are solved,

I wonder when you Divine Constables

will set off,

so I can make arrangements.

No rush.

Let's wait a bit longer.

What are you waiting for?

My Lord.

My Lord.

My Lord. Divine Constable.

We found Ji Ada.

[Breezes of Grace and Harmony]

How was he found?

The body was washed up on the beach.

It was found by beachcombers this morning.

Second Master,

don't worry too much.

Now that he has been found,

there's no need to rush.

Xiuniang.

I'm not anxious about my brother

not being able to rest in peace.

He clearly fell into the sea and died,

but the county government

wants to hand the body over

to the Divine Constable Bureau for examination.

This doesn't make sense.

Unless

there's a hidden truth.

Maybe...

Maybe the county magistrate

just wants to save some trouble.

No.

It's still not right.

Second Master, be careful!

Second Master!

Second Master.

The Divine Constable Bureau is handling a case.

No trespassing.

Step back.

Handling a case?

What case?

I'm looking for my brother.

Let me in!

[Coroner's Office]

Come on. Sit down.

What's wrong?

Is something wrong?

The cause of Ji Ada's death

was not simply drowning.

To be precise,

drowning was just one of the causes.

Look.

The deceased's head and neck

are covered in deep wounds.

Isn't this because

the sharp reefs on the seabed

and the strong waves

caused these injuries?

Then why are there no wounds

on the rest of the body,

but only on the head and face?

It could also have been caused by a large fish bite.

But it wouldn't be fatal.

It's not impossible.

However...

I saw this wound.

Although the body is severely decomposed

and hard to identify,

take a look.

This peculiar wound—

doesn't it look familiar?

Ji Ada, like Zhe Shan, had his throat

crushed by an animal's teeth.

He must have been severely bitten first

and then drowned in the water.

So,

he had been ashore?

That couldn't be.

When Ji Ada fell

from the Tingchao Boat,

we had just locked Xia Jiuying

in prison.

Besides,

the demon wolf was killed by Lou Tianming.

How could it bite Ji Ada to death

when he came ashore?

Could it be...

that he wasn't bitten by the green-haired demon?

In that case...

it should have been Black Silk Leopard.

So Ji Ada

finally managed to climb ashore,

only to

have Gong Sihai sic his dog on him.

The Ji and Gong families

were colluding to sell government salt.

Gong Sihai had no reason to kill

his partner.

Seeing that we were onto them,

he silenced him.

Rather than silencing him, which would

only cause trouble without gaining anything,

it would've been much simpler

to rely on the Ji family

for protection.

Gong Sihai indeed had

no motive to kill Ji Ada.

The killer is someone else.

This person

can also control Black Silk Leopard.

The Ji family came to Mingling

in the 20th year of Hongyun.

That was also the year the Gong family

ran into trouble and began conspiring

with the Ji family

to resell government salt.

It was right after my eldest and second brothers

conspired against me.

The man behind the Ji family is Eldest Brother.

And Xiu Wei, the key figure

in the false military intelligence report

he issued while he was in the Ministry of War,

disappeared in Mingling.

As expected,

it all ties together now.

Second Master,

it's time to go back and take your medicine.

At a time like this,

you're talking about taking medicine?

Second Master!

Let's go.

You must take care of your health.

Let's go back.

Waiting here

is not a solution.

Let's go back and take your medicine.

Ji Er!

My Lord?

[Coroner's Office]

My Lord,

can you let me in

and take my brother away?

Ji Er,

do you know that Ji Ada

is suspected of colluding with Gong Sihai

and reselling government salt?

I heard it from the servants on the way here.

My Lord,

is this true?

[Coroner's Office]

I will have the entire Ji Mansion

and everyone in it,

including all properties, seized!

Second Young Master Ji,

please lead the way

to Ji Mansion!

My Lord,

why are you seizing Ji Mansion?

My Lord!

Second Master!

Second Master!

Second Master!

My Lord,

our Second Master is innocent!

He has been in poor health since childhood.

He has always been controlled and restricted

by his brother.

He was never allowed

to handle any affairs

in the mansion.

How could he know anything

about reselling government salt?

[Integrity, Impartiality, Prudence, and Diligence]

Now that his brother has just passed away,

you're saying such things.

Aren't you

trying to kill our Second Master?

[Coroner's Office]

Go get a doctor now.

Yes.

[As Bright as the Sun and Moon]

Hurry up and help him

to the back hall to rest!

[As Bright as the Sun and Moon]

Yes.

Come on.

Come on, Second Master.

Young Master Gong.

Letting you in to visit

is already an exception.

If you have anything to say, say it quickly.

Thank you, officer.

Jiuying!

Jiuying!

Jiuying!

Hurry up.

Jiuying.

I heard

that the terrible green-haired demon

is your alpha wolf.

Why did you never

tell me about it?

Alpha wolf...

It's dead...

It's dead!

You like it so much,

and it listened to you so well.

You must have been good friends.

I thought you were like me,

having only one friend.

But I hope you will have

many more friends.

You and I

are different after all.

Don't worry.

You'll be fine.

You didn't kill Zhe Shan.

I know

you would never let your friend

kill for you.

You never had

the intention to kill anyone.

The Divine Constable Bureau will find out the truth

and clear your name.

When that time comes,

leave Mingling.

Go anywhere you want to go.

Go see

the outside world for me.

Divine Constable Li.

The kitchen has prepared

a few simple dishes.

It's just plain food.

Please don't mind it, My Lord.

Where is your lord?

Why not

ask him to come and eat together?

The heavy rain the day before yesterday washed away the flood channel.

Our lord

is busy investigating the Ji family

and repairing the channel.

He is completely tied up.

I'll deliver his meal

to the construction site later.

Enjoy your meal.

Alright.

Put it here.

Come on, come on.

Careful.

Give me a hand.

It's almost done.

Lai.

Did Young Master Gong

go to the prison

to visit Xia Jiuying?

Divine Constable Li, you truly are clairvoyant.

As you instructed,

I arranged for them to meet.

Please enjoy your meal, Divine Constables.

Guys, listen to me.

The number one coroner of Great Shi

has made a new discovery.

I found a strange mark

on the deceased's face.

What mark?

After she told me,

I observed it for a long time,

but I just couldn't see it.

Of course,

I didn't dare to look too closely.

It made me sick.

Right in the middle of the face,

there is a very faint,

very light brown mark.

You can't see it if you don't look closely.

Even I almost missed it.

A brown mark?

Could it be

some kind of bruise?

I think it looks more like the person was exposed

to the sun after death,

leaving a sunburn.

Sunburn?

The sun is harsh out at sea.

After floating on the surface

for several days,

a body can easily get sunburned.

As far as I know,

men's Yang energy gathers in the face,

making the face heavy, so drowned men always float face down.

Women's Yin energy gathers in the back,

making the back heavy, so drowned women always float face up.

Therefore, male corpses generally float face down,

while female corpses float face up.

How could a corpse floating face down

get sunburned?

Those are

just superstitions, after all.

They may not be entirely credible.

And based on my previous

experience with floating corpse cases,

there are many exceptions.

But the problem is

the shape of that sunburn mark.

It's as if only a single beam of sunlight

came down from the sky

and burned just this one spot.

Don't you find that strange?

Logically speaking,

if the body had been burned by the sun while floating at sea,

the entire face

should have been burned.

In that case,

there is only one possibility.

The body

wasn't dumped into the sea right after death.

It was kept

somewhere

with direct sunlight

for some time first.

Right.

For a corpse to develop sunburn marks,

it takes at least 2 days.

However,

judging from the degree of decomposition,

the time the body was thrown into the water

matches the time Ji Ada

fell into the sea that night.

Let me do the math.

We spent 3 days

just looking for him.

Then it rained for a day.

And we spent another day retrieving the bodies in Gong Mansion.

Until the body was found,

it was 5 days in total.

Could he have been exposed to the sun for 2 days

and then soaked in the sea for 3 days?

Three days and five days

are such a big difference.

You think I can't tell?

I'm sure

it was 5 days.

Even if Ji Ada went ashore

and drowned after his throat was crushed,

his time on shore

must have been very short.

Where are you going?

Eat first.

I'm full.

Judging from the shape of the sunburn,

the first place Ji Ada's body was dumped

was not the sea.

He fell into the sea,

came ashore,

had his throat crushed,

drowned,

developed sunburn marks,

then was dumped into the sea again.

The body had to remain there for at least 2 days

without being discovered,

with the face up

and a single beam of sunlight shining on it.

And during this whole time,

the body had to stay in the water.

What kind of place

could meet all these conditions?

Could...

someone in this county have built a secret water prison

to hold people?

You are not allowed to meddle in the mansion's affairs!

Please,

save my friend!

The entire Gong Mansion

hasn't belonged to the Gong family for a long time!

Hao!

You!

[This Sihai is fake. He's illegally selling government salt]

Have you thought of anything?

Not yet.

Get up.

Wait a little longer.

[Integrity, Impartiality, Prudence, and Diligence]

Divine Constable.

Hurry.

Put that

over there.

What are you doing?

Our lord asked us to take this stone table

and use it to build the flood channel.

Hurry up. Let's go.

Let's go.

I see.

Qingyang,

what are you looking for?

I don't know.

It could be an object,

or it could be

a trace.

Anyway,

it must be something unusual.

Whenever a murderer commits a crime,

they will definitely leave traces.

You are searching along the flood channel.

Do you think the murderer

has something to do with it?

Don't you think

this flood channel,

about the width of a person

and covered with stone slabs,

is the perfect place

to hide a body?

What's more brilliant is that

not only can it hide bodies,

but it can also be used to move them.

So,

this is the real dumping site.

Situ Bo is leading his men to carry out earthworks everywhere.

These flood channels

are all over the city.

So,

as long as we determine

[Reservoir] [Secret Channel]

which section of the flood channel

the body was hidden in,

we will find the crime scene.

There used to be a stone here.

Judging from the moss around,

it's about...

No wonder the head and neck of the body

had so many wounds.

This must be the crime scene.

Although the heavy rain overnight

washed the bloodstains on the ground away

completely,

there

must still be traces to follow.

Right here.

Come on, open it.

Let me do it.

Be careful!

Come on!

Come on!

Careful.

How is it?

Just give me 2 days,

and I can give you a sunburn mark

exactly like the one on the victim.

Careful.

Obviously,

the killer must know the weather in Mingling

like the back of his hand.

He first manipulated

Black Silk Leopard

to crush the victim's throat here,

and then

threw him into the flood channel.

Next,

he just needed to wait patiently.

Because he knew

that in two days,

there would be a heavy rain.

Lord Situ.

[Integrity, Impartiality, Prudence, and Diligence]

The rain today

seems even heavier than the past few days.

Indeed.

The flood channel we just built

a few days ago has been washed away

in several places.

In your opinion,

when will the rain stop?

It will stop tomorrow.

A day of heavy rain

was enough to form a torrent,

washing the body down the flood channel

all the way into the Yan River,

then from the river into the sea,

until it washed ashore

and was discovered.

Just like this,

the killer

disposed of the body effortlessly

without

even leaving the house.

But

we watched with our own eyes

as Ji Ada

fell into the sea from the Tingchao Boat.

How could he end up here

and get bitten by a dog?

There is one more thing to confirm.

My Lord,

I don't know the details.

Hurry up.

Registrar Liu.

I am Liu Cheng, the registrar of the county government.

Greetings, Divine Constable.

Thank you for your hard work, Registrar Liu.

Please make sure

to count these valuables carefully,

keep them safe,

and don't let them get damaged.

If they are found to be stolen goods in the future,

they will be confiscated and turned over to the state treasury.

But if they are the Gong family's

own belongings,

they must be returned in full.

I understand.

Do you know

where Gong Le is?

Right now,

he should be taking care of

Old Madam Gong.

If you want to see him,

I will go and fetch him for you.

No need.

Registrar Liu,

since you were sent by the imperial court

to seal up Gong Mansion,

I believe you know everything in it

like the back of your hand.

Do you know

where Gong Le's room is?

I do.

My Lord, up here

is Gong Le's room.

This is the attic

Meng Rui and I saw in the backyard

that night.

My Lord,

I don't understand.

Why do you have to

come here at night.

That's exactly the reason I am here.

Yes.

Young Master Gong

is a well-known scholar in our county.

He's well-educated, well-mannered,

and well-read.

He's about to

take the imperial exam this year.

Who would have expected

such a thing to happen in his family.

Where can a tavern be found?

A shepherd boy points to Xinghua Village in the distance.

At the east end of Xinghua Alley

is the famous Yulu Pavilion.

Tasting wine and admiring flowers

go perfectly together.

From the Hound Pit in the west of the county

to Yulu Pavilion in the east,

Xinghua Alley is the only route.

Clearly,

Gong Le knew exactly

when Zhe Shan

came and went every time.

Looks like Zhe Shan's body also wasn't first dumped

in the Yan River.

The methods used in the two throat-crushing cases

were remarkably similar.

But as for ordering Black Silk Leopard

to attack someone,

it seems only Gong Sihai

could've done that.

A vicious beast like that

usually recognizes only one master.

Could it be that the uncle and nephew were working together?

To control a beast,

actually,

giving it commands

isn't the only way.

Do you remember that night

when we sneaked into Gong Mansion?

You mean that lantern?

The Gong family is wealthy

and values its facade.

The windproof covers of the lanterns

are painted with intricate patterns.

And the colors

are mostly red and yellow,

which are warm

and auspicious.

There is no funeral in the mansion right now.

How could they hang

such plain white lanterns?

There is only one possibility.

This is not a lantern,

but a candlestick covered with paper.

This is what

you and I saw that night.

He was sending a signal to the backyard?

Registrar Liu.

My Lords.

Are you two

analyzing the case?

I'm getting more and more confused.

Registrar Liu.

The case will be closed tomorrow.

Please make sure

to record everything in detail.

When this case is reported to the Divine Constable Bureau,

whether the Chief is satisfied

will all depend on you.

Well...

Divine Constables.

The Divine Constable Tally is here.

[Divine Constable Tally]

Listen carefully, suspects.

If you tell the truth now,

you can still keep some dignity.

But if you lie,

let's see if your heads

are harder than the execution blade

besaide the Shangfang Drum.

From this moment on,

Mingling County is on lockdown.

The ban will be lifted once the truth is clear.

Sound the drum.

Start the interrogation!