Original subtitles

[Shadow Punisher]

[Divine Constable Tally]

[Episode 24]

Zexi.

Yes, Your Highness.

Make sure the Golden Dragon Pavilion is completely surrounded.

If there are enemies,

take them all down.

Yes.

[Golden Dragon Pavilion]

Shadow puppets?

These aren't like

the shadow puppets we usually see.

They're all soldiers.

Flat hands, flat feet, a body flat as can be.

Shadow puppets!

-They are all shadow puppets! -Yet it claims to be human, not a shadow.

[Embrace All, Integrate All]

Shadow puppets can kill!

-Is it -These shadow puppets can kill!

-a puppet performing shadow play, -Attack! They are all fake!

-or a shadow puppet wearing human skin? -Form ranks and counterattack!

[Embrace All, Integrate All]

Zhenzhu,

go to the Yunding Pavilion and guard the Grand Heir Apparent.

Leave this to me.

Okay.

Why are

our own people fighting each other?

Oh no,

it's Liluo's illusion technique.

The Dark Night is behind this again.

[God of Calamity, Qiuyu]

The God of Calamity,

Qiuyu...

Stop, all of you!

Shadow puppet monster!

The spirit channels flow;

yin and yang shift unpredictably—

break!

Mr. Yan.

Jiuying?

Are you alright?

How are you, buddy?

Quick, get a physician!

Come on.

Li Si?

Help me carry him over there.

Lord Constable Ghost.

Li Si.

You always said

when the Severe-Cold Sword is drawn,

someone must die.

Yet now

I'm standing right in front of you,

perfectly well.

Since

I didn't die

by your Severe-Cold Sword,

that proves

it's not

a cold-blooded killing weapon.

Am I right?

Ever since you appeared,

the prophecy of this sword

doesn't seem to come true as often anymore.

This is

the will of heaven,

the law of cause and effect—

and you and I

are no different.

Li Si.

Qingyang?

Meng.

Meng Rui?

I truly never imagined it.

To think

I almost took a sword strike from you.

Thank goodness Qingyang arrived in time.

Sir.

Sir, your skill is extraordinary.

You've resolved this crisis.

May I ask your name?

Third Brother,

you didn't recognize me after all.

This subject,

Divine Constable Li Qingyang

of the Divine Constable Bureau,

pays his respects to Your Highness Prince Ping.

So you're

Divine Constable Qingyang, famous in the capital.

Yes, that's me.

Good.

Our Great Shi Dynasty

truly teems with talent.

Constable Ghost Meng Rui of the Divine Constable Bureau

-pays his respects to Your Highness. -Greetings, Your Highness.

Thanks to

your Bureau being here tonight,

Liluo's evil plot was thwarted.

You've rendered great service in protecting us.

Your Highness!

Greetings, Your Highness.

How is the Grand Heir Apparent?

Rest assured, Your Highness.

His Highness the Grand Heir Apparent is safe and sound.

Take me to Lord Huo immediately.

Yes.

Your Highness.

Li Si.

Meng Rui.

You're both here.

That's great.

Look how happy Zhenzhu is.

Still,

it seems we have tonight's crisis

to thank for bringing us,

the Four Divine Constables, back together.

Qingyang,

you have no idea

how we've managed to

get through the days without you.

I know

you must all

have a lot of questions about me.

But

the most important thing right now

is to solve this case.

I'll explain

everything later.

Divine Constables!

Bad news!

General Sui Bing

was killed by the shadow puppets.

What did you say?

Where is the body now?

In the Langyue Studio.

[Langyue Studio]

General!

Don't touch him!

Who was the first to discover the body?

I was.

When the shadow puppets began their rampage,

and there was no sign of the General,

I sent someone here to look for him.

But I didn't expect...

I'd seen the General

patrolling the Tongtian Pavilion earlier.

Why did he come back to the Langyue Studio?

The General said

he was coming back to get something.

When was that?

Not long after the General left,

the lunar eclipse occurred.

How long is "not long"?

About an hour.

What did you find?

Same as

the previous 9 victims.

Sui Bing had a penetrating wound on the side of his neck

and died of massive blood loss.

What about his internal organs?

His heart and liver

were both gone.

Looks like

the rumors going around town aren't completely baseless.

How exactly did our General die?

Could it really be

as the townspeople say,

that the shadow puppet ghost took his life?

I heard

that the ghost needs to collect

81 sets of hearts and livers.

Could this be connected to Liluo's Dark Night?

Sui Bing might've been

caught in the illusion like us

and killed by mistake.

The incident in Gutan County

is most likely the work of Liluo's Dark Night.

However, there seems to be more

to Sui Bing's death.

We all saw it just now.

The illusion technique makes

those caught in it kill one another.

Yet Sui Bing died

in the same manner as the previous 9 victims.

How do we explain that?

Yan makes a fair point.

Sui Bing didn't die from the illusion,

yet it doesn't seem to be

the work of the killer who murdered

the previous 9 either,

because

the method is different.

The previous 9 victims

were all

hung up

like shadow puppets.

The killer went to such lengths,

so there must be a deeper motive.

But why wasn't Sui Bing's body

hung up?

I agree with Li Si.

Although the wound on the side of Sui Bing's neck

looks

the same as the previous victims',

if you look closely, you'll find

the edges of the wound are smooth and even,

unlike theirs.

It looks more like someone pierced his neck with a sharp weapon

to mimic that appearance.

Another copycat crime.

Interesting.

The shadow puppet ghost copied Yin Jie's method,

and whoever killed Sui Bing

copied the ghost's.

Are we overthinking this?

Liluo

broke into the Golden Dragon Pavilion tonight.

They're still our prime suspects.

If it really was the Dark Night,

their target

should've been the Grand Heir Apparent.

General Ji.

Yes.

Please have the men of the Xuanjie Battalion

search every inch of the Langyue Studio,

inside and out, top to bottom.

If you find anything

unusual,

let us know immediately.

Okay,

I'll see to it now.

You think there's something wrong with this building?

"The dragon lies hidden in the deep;

its depths are unfathomable."

I suspect

there's more to this vast Golden Dragon Pavilion

than meets the eye.

Anyway,

you and Meng Rui are back with us.

Everything

will be easier to handle.

Right, Zhenzhu?

Let's go downstairs and check.

Osmanthus wine.

I know this.

Lots of taverns in town sell it.

[Osmanthus Wine]

A tavern owner

once spent ages telling me all about it.

So this must be

the renowned aged brew of Gutan County.

The osmanthus wine

does taste quite good.

And it's

only authentic

when sold in a crystal-clear jug

like this.

I smelled this same scent

upstairs just now.

I get it.

After the killer murdered Sui Bing,

he saw

a bottle of osmanthus wine on the table,

and the craving got the better of him.

He couldn't resist the temptation,

so he took the wine

with him as he fled.

But he was so nervous

that as soon as he got downstairs,

he accidentally dropped it and smashed it here.

Well...

Two bottles?

Then the killer took 2 bottles of osmanthus wine.

The pavilion has rules

against eating meat

and drinking wine.

Sui Bing even

made a huge scene at the Department of Food Affairs

over it.

I also took note

[Langyue Studio]

when Sui Bing moved into

the Langyue Studio that night.

There was no wine

with his meal.

Sui Bing was clearly

wary of the pavilion's rules.

If these 2 bottles of wine

really belonged to Sui Bing,

and he was a heavy drinker,

why didn't he open and drink them right away?

Yet the stoppers are still

firmly in place, even now.

Therefore,

these 2 bottles

were meant to

be given to him by someone else.

[Langyue Studio]

Tonight, the entire Xuanjie Battalion

was sent to guard the Tongtian Pavilion,

so no one was posted

at the Langyue Studio.

It was the perfect chance to sneak in and deliver the wine.

But right at that moment,

a lunar eclipse occurred.

Liluo seized the opportunity to wreak havoc,

and the shadow puppets suddenly appeared.

What that person didn't expect

was that Sui Bing had already been murdered by then.

So, in his panic,

he fled,

leaving the wine behind.

According to your theory,

before we arrived

at the crime scene,

there should've been a 3rd person there

besides Sui Bing and the killer.

If we find the 3rd person,

we may be able to determine

Sui Bing's exact time of death.

Sui Bing was transferred here on short notice.

He was new to the area.

Someone who knew he loved wine

and was willing to risk

breaking the pavilion's rules

to sneak him some...

Someone with that kind of friendship with him here...

The magistrate of Gutan County,

-Du Zhongtao. -Mr. Sui!

Yan,

Meng Rui, Zhenzhu,

I'll leave Du Zhongtao

to you.

I want to go back to the Department of Food Affairs

to see if I can

find any new clues.

My Lord, I'm innocent.

I'm innocent, My Lord!

How are things out there?

Minister,

the search is complete.

All of the Dark Night's forces

have been driven out of the pavilion.

The Yulin Army is also

pursuing the fleeing remnants with all their might.

Liluo has stirred up chaos,

and Sui Bing has been murdered.

His Highness Prince Ping is furious!

I've already urgently requested

the Yulin Army to enter the pavilion.

I said long ago that

this whole business about shadow puppets killing people

was clearly a cover for someone

plotting evil!

Liluo

has never given up their desire to destroy our country.

And now,

they've openly targeted the Grand Heir Apparent.

It's utterly heinous!

Du Zhongtao!

My Lord.

How exactly did Sui Bing die?

Confess truthfully!

My Lord,

I really don't know.

I'm innocent.

I... I only knew...

knew that Sui Bing loved wine,

so... so I thought I'd

secretly bring him some

to... to drink with him.

But I never imagined...

I never imagined I'd run into

the shadow puppet ghost causing trouble.

By... By the time I went up to

the top floor of the Langyue Studio,

General Sui...

General Sui was already dead.

Sui Bing, this is bad!

The vengeful shadow puppet ghost...

The vengeful shadow puppet ghost...

Sui Bing, Sui...

My Lord.

It must've been the shadow puppet ghost

that killed him.

Sui Bing's heart and liver

must've been dug out too,

right?

Right?

Didn't I say so?

Didn't I say so?

It was Yin Jie's vengeful spirit

who killed him.

It wasn't me.

It really wasn't me, My Lord!

Since you found the body,

why didn't you report it immediately?

I was scared out of my wits at the time.

I just figured

I wasn't the one who killed him anyway.

A-And now that

the Divine Constables are here,

they will definitely find the real killer.

Better to avoid trouble when you can, right?

As the magistrate of Gutan County,

you're so cowardly!

My Lord, please spare me.

Please spare me, My Lord.

My Lord...

Once the blessing ceremony is over,

I'll make you answer for this.

Get out!

Minister.

I'm fine.

Regarding the chaos

caused by the Liluo remnants tonight,

the Grand Heir Apparent has made his position clear.

He wants us never to be cowed by such acts of violence

and to eradicate evil completely.

Also,

the rite of beseeching heaven and the blessing ceremony

must proceed as planned.

Ji Xun of the Xuanjie Battalion,

you'll serve as acting commander.

I, Ji Xun, accept the order.

What Du Zhongtao said

proves that Li Si's deduction

is correct.

That means

Sui Bing actually died

when Liluo

started manipulating the shadow puppets

to cause chaos,

or even earlier.

If the killer really was

Liluo's Dark Night,

that would explain the motive.

Even if they couldn't kill the Grand Heir Apparent,

killing the general

responsible for his protection

would remove a major obstacle.

Exactly.

But there is one thing that doesn't add up.

Once they killed him,

their objective was achieved.

Why still cut out his heart and liver?

Didn't we just analyze that?

To imitate the earlier killings

and blame it on the shadow puppet ghost.

That's exactly the bizarre part of

Sui Bing's death.

As they say, if you're going to put on a show, do it right.

If it was a copycat crime,

why did they have time to take out his heart and liver

but not enough time

to hang up the body?

I think so too.

Let's wait and see

what Li Si can find out.

I want to go back to the Langyue Studio

and take Sui Bing's body

to the county office

for a thorough examination.

It's closer if we cut through

Tinghe Pond.

Let's go.

Let's go.

[Department of Food Affairs]

Nothing like last night

has happened since the Golden Dragon Pavilion

was built!

Were there assassins?

Not assassins.

It was the vengeful shadow puppet ghost

coming to the Golden Dragon Pavilion for revenge!

That eerie?

I heard

that Yin Jie

was eaten by the Dragon King himself.

Xiaoshan,

did you really see it?

"See it"?

It flew right over my head!

Blood was raining down from the sky.

Luckily, I reacted fast

and hid behind a rock.

Otherwise, I would've been caught

and had my heart and liver ripped out!

It seems the duties at the Golden Dragon Pavilion

are too easy for you lot.

Be careful,

or I'll have Lord Huo pull out your tongues!

Just now,

this foolish servant has spoken out of turn again.

Please forgive me, Eunuch.

Keep your mouths shut

about what happened

last night.

Whoever dares to leak a single word

will be beheaded!

-Yes. -Yes.

This is what the Grand Heir Apparent left over from last night.

Hurry up and take it.

Get back to work, all of you.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Let me.

[Upright and Impartial]

He's coming?

He's coming!

We can finally work on cases

together again.

Yan.

Mr. Yan, are you okay?

What?

I... D-Don't follow me.

I must say,

Sanhuo is indeed

the happiest one...

in our Divine Constable Bureau.

I...

Looks like Zhenzhu guessed right.

It really was the Chief who saved you.

And you kept us in the dark,

making us worry.

I didn't mean

to keep it from you.

It's just that

Li San and I

were master and disciple,

and he was from Liluo.

I was worried

his identity

might put you all at risk.

Li Si,

what exactly is your connection

to Li San and Liluo?

Li San saved me

when I was a child.

He also taught me

everything I know.

To me,

he was like a second father.

That's all.

However,

I, Li Si, have never done

anything atrocious,

nor have I aided evildoers.

Liluo and I

are enemies, not friends.

See?

I told you so.

Zhenzhu,

how is it?

Do you know what exactly is

on this?

It should be

scales from an insect's wings.

Chiying bugs?

No.

It's a bug

with beautiful wings.

A butterfly?

That actually could be it.

Butterflies are attracted to sweet things.

And the Grand Heir Apparent's meals

include many desserts,

like sweet milk curd.

Perhaps

they were drawn by the scent

on the chopsticks.

But where would we find butterflies

at this time of year?

Where indeed...

The gods grant blessings,

[Golden Dragon Pavilion]

and the golden dragon brings good fortune,

as we beseech heaven!

On the 13th day of the 11th month,

in the 37th year of Hongyun,

Zhou Ye, the Grand Heir Apparent,

solemnly presents this memorial to the heavens.

At the winter solstice,

the 6 vital energies renew.

In solemn observance of the ancient rites,

I respectfully lead my officials

in presenting jade, silk, livestock, grain, and other offerings,

preparing incense and sacrificial fires

to worship the heavens.

For such an important ceremony

as the rite of beseeching heaven,

why has Abbot Yun Hai

still not appeared?

The Abbot has been in seclusion for 20 years.

If he doesn't wish to emerge,

there is little we can do.

Set the dragon lanterns aloft!

Look! Look!

There are dragons!

Where? Where?

[Upright and Impartial]

There really are!

Yeah.

-There really are dragons. -Dragons.

They look so lifelike!

Flying so high.

The rite of beseeching heaven has begun.

Now that the ceremony has started,

no one may wander freely

within the Golden Dragon Pavilion.

It will be even harder

to investigate now.

The golden dragons bring good fortune.

They look so real.

Look at you, so easily impressed.

Shows how little you've seen of the world!

If we can't investigate inside,

we'll investigate outside.

Zhao Quan.

Sir,

you know me?

Not only do I know you,

but I also know your magistrate.

Yes, yes.

A friend of the Divine Constables

is naturally a friend

of our magistrate.

Where is your magistrate?

Ever since the magistrate returned

from the Golden Dragon Pavilion last night,

he hasn't been feeling well.

He's resting in a side room right now.

Where is Mad Cripple, the man

you took away yesterday when we were

preparing for the blessing ceremony?

He's still being held.

Bring him here for questioning.

Yes.

Daquan, Erxiong,

come with me!

Hurry!

Okay.

What's your name?

He's mad and raving.

He's probably long forgotten who he is.

We all just call him "Mad Cripple."

What are those in your hand?

May I have a look?

G-Give them to me.

Just 2 worthless stones.

When he was brought in,

he wouldn't let go of them no matter what.

So we had to let him keep them.

Covered with calluses.

The calluses on your hands

come from operating shadow puppets,

and your habit of

rolling stones in your palm

is for building up your hand strength.

So,

you're a shadow puppeteer.

Twice you appeared on Panlong Street,

and each time you spoke of the shadow puppet ghost.

It's because you harbor resentment.

So,

you curse everyone, believing they're wicked to the core.

You think everyone in the world

has wronged you,

and you want to rip out their hearts and livers

to avenge your dead wife and child.

Am I right?

Yin Jie.

You killed 9 people

out of resentment.

How can your conscience rest?

He is Yin Jie?

Didn't Yin Jie die a long time ago?

I-I'm not Yin Jie.

I didn't kill anyone.

They killed them!

They killed them!

They killed them!

Please, take a close look, sirs.

Do you recognize this man?

Well...

Isn't he

Gensheng, the boy who lived on everyone's charity?

Yes, yes, yes.

He is Gensheng.

My Lords,

this man is from our Yin Village.

His name is Gensheng.

He was orphaned at a young age,

and the villagers helped raise him.

Later, he became an apprentice

and learned, uh, shadow puppetry.

Who was his master?

The very one, Yin Jie, the shadow puppet ghost.

Ever since that incident,

Gensheng has been missing too.

Looks like we need to find out

what really happened 6 years ago.

Where are the remains of Yin Jie's family

buried now?

Since they were from Yin Village,

they would naturally be buried

in the village graveyard.

But back then,

the owner of Xiangrui

brought back only the body of Yin Jie's wife,

Qin.

As for the body of his 3-year-old son,

well,

we have no idea where it went.

Xiangrui Shadow Puppet Shop?

That's right.

[Xiangrui Shadow Puppet Shop]

Shopkeeper Huang,

do you still remember me?

It's you.

I remember.

Yin Jie and I were old friends, in a way.

He was a solitary man

and rarely associated with others.

Come to think of it,

if he were still alive,

we would've known each other

for almost

15 years by now.

Besides his wife and son,

did Yin Jie have anyone else in his family?

An apprentice, perhaps?

He actually did.

But that boy was an orphan.

Yin Jie never took apprentices,

but perhaps out of pity,

he took the boy in.

And the boy

was indeed very talented.

In just a couple of years,

the shadow puppets he made were quite respectable.

Master, when will you

teach me "The Magpie Bridge Reunion"?

When

you draw this old man

nicely,

I'll teach you.

You little brat.

The show is starting!

Yin Jie's best play

was "The Magpie Bridge Reunion."

When he and his wife performed it together,

the audience would applaud in awe.

Yet, for all this time,

he hadn't taught Gensheng that very play.

Because of this,

their relationship as master and apprentice

gradually deteriorated.

Shopkeeper Huang,

I wonder if we could invite your troupe

to make a trip to Yin Village with us.

Gensheng.

Gensheng?

Gensheng.

You're back.

You haven't been back to visit for a long time.

Gensheng?

Gensheng!

Gensheng.

Gensheng!

Gensheng.

Gensheng.

Gensheng!

♪ Far, far away shines the Cowherd Star ♪

♪ Bright is the Weaver Maid ♪

♪ Slender and delicate were her hands ♪

♪ Click-clack went her loom ♪

♪ All day she wove, yet no pattern took shape ♪

♪ Tears streamed down her cheeks ♪

♪ The Milky Way stretched clear and shallow ♪

♪ How far apart could the two shores be? ♪

Gensheng,

why do you draw the fairy maiden

with such intricate lines

but the old man

with just a few strokes?

The fairy maiden will be played by Mrs. Yin,

so of course she must be drawn beautifully.

As for you, Master,

you're an old man both onstage and off.

A rough sketch will do.

Yu'er,

back me up here.

It's fitting that he compares you

to a fairy maiden.

But why do I have to be the old man?

You brat.

Master...

Gensheng,

what exactly happened

that night 6 years ago?

I don't know.

I don't know.

You're lying.

You know everything.

Yin Jie rarely associated with anyone.

And no one

would visit his house

in the middle of the night.

Come on, have a bite.

But now,

everyone in Gutan County knows

everything that happened

in this courtyard

that night.

Papa is back.

Coming.

How did everyone come to know?

Unless

someone had been in this courtyard

and witnessed everything firsthand.

Yin Jie wanted to avenge his wife and son

by killing the village ruffians.

But how did he know

who the culprits were?

Who told him?

Gensheng,

that night,

you happened to hear your master's wife

crying for help from the room.

-But at that time, -Let go of me!

you were too scared

to go in and save her.

Instead, you just watched

those villains

assault your master's wife.

You saw everything.

They violated

your master's wife

and brutally murdered your master's

3-year-old son.

I didn't kill anyone.

I didn't kill them.

They did it.

I didn't kill anyone.

They did it.

They killed them!

They were all filthy scoundrels,

wicked to the core!

They deserved to die!

They deserved to die...

You didn't kill the family.

The villains did.

So they all deserved to die.

But is that really

what happened?

We've finished examining the remains of Qin,

Yin Jie's wife.

Although only her bones

remain after all these years,

the marks on them

still show

multiple stab wounds

to the ribs made by a sharp blade.

However, those wounds were not the cause of death.

I carefully examined the throat.

The hyoid bone is fractured,

clearly

from forceful strangulation.

She was strangled to death.

Gensheng,

now that it has come to this,

what else do you have to say?

You resented your master

for refusing to

teach you

"The Magpie Bridge Reunion."

So,

you kept waiting for your chance

to take the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl shadow puppets

for yourself.

Until that night...

Who are you?

Let go of me!

Let go!

Let go!

Let go of me!

Yin Jie won't

come after us for this, will he?

What's there to fear?

What can a shadow puppeteer

do?

-Besides, -Yeah.

who would know it was us?

[The Magpie Bridge Reunion Score]

Gensheng.

Gensheng,

I'm begging you.

Please, please

save me.

Please.

If he won't pass it to me,

I'll take it myself!

What secret technique

is hidden

in this pair of puppets?

He wouldn't pass it on

because he was afraid I'd surpass him

one day!

For years, I've bowed

and scraped and let you order me around.

I've had enough!

Let go!

Gensheng, please...

Let go.

Let go!

No...

I'm begging you.

Please save me.

Gensheng...

Please,

I'm begging you.

You won't let go?

You won't let go, huh?

You won't let go, huh?

Afterward,

when the county office inventoried

the victims' belongings,

they naturally failed to find

that pair of shadow puppets you had taken.

Now I just want to ask you,

Gensheng.

Did you find the secret

your master hid and refused to pass down?

Preparing the hide,

scraping it smooth,

drawing the design, transferring it onto the hide,

carving, coloring,

conditioning, and assembling.

What on earth was different?

Actually, there was no difference at all.

They were just

a pair of ordinary shadow puppets.

My master had long

since taught me everything

he could.

There was just one thing

I couldn't understand.

Why, of all plays, wouldn't he

teach me "The Magpie Bridge Reunion"?

Gensheng,

do you think Yin Jie's "The Magpie Bridge Reunion"

was just about

the love story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?

You were too young back then.

You hadn't yet experienced

the full range of human emotions.

You had no one to give your true love to,

nor had you ever suffered the pain of longing for someone!

Without experiencing separation,

how could you understand reunion?

And how could you convey

the true meaning of this song?

Your master

wanted to wait until you were older

and had experienced more of life

before passing the play on to you!

Yu'er.

I always feel

that something is missing

from this Weaver Girl.

Let me see.

I have an idea.

Brilliant.

Yu'er,

you know what?

Watching Gensheng grow up day by day

fills my heart with joy.

I'll pass on every skill

I know,

including "The Magpie Bridge Reunion."

In the future,

our family

will perform on stage together.

Mrs. Yin...

Master.

Mrs. Yin...

I...

was wrong...

Take him back to the county jail

and deal with him according to the law.

-Yes. -Yes.

Move!