Original subtitles

[Shadow Punisher]

[Divine Constable Tally]

[Episode 2]

Master, latest news:

the puppet doll has appeared in Dougu County,

and its trail ends in Black Wind Forest.

Constable Ghost Meng Rui has also

headed toward Dougu.

[The Immortal Flower: The Missing Children Case]

[Law Prevails]

The recent case files submitted by Suzhou report that

[Proceedings Before the County Magistrate] [Children Missing in Dougu County, Suzhou]

over the past 2 months,

a total of 29 children

have gone missing in Dougu County.

There have also

been sightings of

the puppet doll.

The case of the missing girls in Tianhuang City remains unsolved,

and now there are

new cases of missing children in Dougu County—

both involving traces of the puppet doll.

There must be a connection

between the two.

Constable Ghost Meng Rui, heed my command!

Yes, My Lady.

Set out overnight for Dougu County

to investigate the case of the missing children.

Understood.

[Over the past 2 months,]

[a total of 29 children]

[have been reported missing within the county.]

[Witnesses also claim]

[Dougu County, Suzhou, Great Shi]

[that the puppet doll]

[has repeatedly been seen at the time of the incidents.]

[All residents are hereby urged]

[to keep a close watch over their children,]

[shut doors early in the evening,]

[Proclamation to the People of Dougu County]

[and not allow them to go out alone.]

[Anyone who spots traces of the puppet doll]

[must report immediately to the authorities.]

[Rewards will be given whether the information proves true or false.]

Sir, what would you like to eat?

Boss,

so many children

have gone missing in your Dougu County?

Exactly.

Twenty-nine of them.

It's got everyone on edge.

And what's with

the puppet doll

mentioned on this proclamation?

Someone saw

that kid

was taken away by a puppet doll.

How weird is that?

Boss,

are the noodles ready?

Hurry up!

-Coming right up. Just a second. -We've been waiting for ages!

Just a second. Just a second.

Eat!

You little brat!

Boss, don't worry about her.

Even if she starves to death,

we can still get the money.

Keep your voice down!

Everyone, stop eating.

Bro, let's go!

Let's go!

Come with us!

Come on. Come on!

Move!

Hurry up!

Hurry!

Move!

[Noodles]

According to the law of the Great Shi,

those who abduct or sell children

shall be branded on the face,

given 100 strokes of the rod,

and exiled 1,000 li.

Where did you death-seeking brat come from?

Pretty boy.

You must be from another city.

Let me tell you—

in the territory of Dougu County,

even dragons have to coil up

and even tigers have to lie down for me.

Don't try to tell me what to do.

Here's my advice:

keep your head down and mind your own business.

Do you know who we are?

It would scare you to death if I told you!

[Noodles]

Do you want to die?

[Noodles]

Little girl.

Come here.

Are you okay?

Just now,

which one of you said

I didn't know who you are?

Go on then, you can tell me now. I'm ready to be scared.

Please spare my life, My Lord!

-Let me ask you. -I was blind to your identity.

Were the children mentioned on that proclamation

all abducted by you guys?

No, no, no, hero!

That has nothing to do with us!

Our boss only took us

to abduct this one child.

We were just discussing

how to trade her for money

when we ran into you.

Yeah, yeah.

Just this one.

We know we were wrong!

-We know we were wrong! -We know we were wrong!

You lot—

go to the county government and turn yourself in.

If any of you try to flee...

Do you understand?

-Thank you, My Lord! Thank you, My Lord! -We'll turn ourselves in right away!

Hurry.

Are you okay?

Please enjoy, sir.

Here. For the noodles.

Thank you.

You want to see me?

What's your name?

Sun Yuyao.

Anything you want from me?

[Proclamation]

Who gave you this?

Mr. Young Master.

Mr. Young Master?

Could it be...

Boss.

Sir.

Boss.

Have you seen this man?

It was this gentleman

who rescued the girl from the bandits

of Niutou Mountain.

Are you sure?

Of course.

A face like his

is one in a million.

He actually came here too.

Did you see

where he went?

Toward the county town. That way.

Yuyao.

Do you want to go home?

Mr. Young Master was right.

I knew you'd take me home.

Come on. I'll take you home.

Sir. Sir.

Sir.

Do you think I should go collect my reward

at the Divine Constable Bureau

or...

Here.

Thank you, sir.

Let's go.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Take care.

Well done.

Here. As I promised.

[Proclamation]

Boss.

It's only been half a day,

and you've already earned

40 taels overall.

Sir.

You kept your word—

what admirable character.

[Proclamation]

That officer from just now

doesn't look like someone to be trifled with.

You'd better leave early.

Who said I was leaving Dougu County?

I'm even worried he won't be able to find me.

Thank you, sir!

Go get your master to come out and see patients.

Please be quiet, everyone.

Listen to me, everyone.

[Chunfeng Hall]

Master has been deeply worried

due to his daughter's disappearance.

He's not seeing patients for now.

Not seeing patients?

-That's right. -Not seeing patients?

This won't do.

So including Yuyao,

that makes

30 children missing, right?

What on earth has our Dougu County

-done to deserve this? -Sir.

-My house is right ahead. -Those missing children.

Their parents must be super worried.

The puppet that abducted people—

-Yuyao? -Is it a human or a ghost?

Yuyao, you're back!

My Lady!

My Lady, you're back!

Mr. Wang.

Sir, may I ask who you are?

It was this gentleman

who brought me home.

[Chunfeng Hall]

Esteemed hero.

By bringing our young lady back,

you've saved the lives

of our master and madam.

Please. No need for this.

Now that Yuyao is back,

go tell your master to open the clinic and start seeing patients again.

-Yeah. -That's right.

Mother.

My tooth hurts!

Mr. Wang, look.

Our Yuanbao

is at the age of losing his baby teeth.

He's been complaining of tooth pain.

Please ask Master Sun

to come out and take a look at him.

If he really can't see him,

he could at least write us a prescription—

we can go home

and decoct the medicine ourselves.

Mrs. Hua, this...

[Chunfeng Hall]

Hurry up. Come on.

Be careful. Let's go.

Officer!

It's Master! He...

Father!

Take Yuyao away.

Father!

-Father! -Everyone, please go home.

-Just go home, everyone! -Father!

Break it up, everyone.

What a peculiar scent.

[Chief Constable's Hall]

[Chief Constable's Hall]

[Chief Constable's Hall]

Twenty-nine children in Dougu County

have gone missing without a trace.

Now there's the dismemberment case of the proprietor of Chunfeng Hall—

threads were found tangled among the severed limbs,

along with a peculiar scent.

[Chief Constable's Hall]

And Li Si has also appeared in Dougu County.

The victim's body shows no visible wounds,

and the murder weapon is unknown.

The skin is slightly damaged.

Wet it with water,

then apply mashed scallion whites on it.

Rinse it off, and the marks will appear.

Such fine needle marks.

The weapon must be

the threads used to

control the puppet doll,

piercing the blood vessels

to draw the blood out.

The threads sent back by

Constable Ghost from Dougu County

also carry the scent of Dead Bone Spice.

If that's the case,

[Clear as a Mirror]

then the Dougu County case

is indeed connected to the Spice-Refining Case.

It's very likely the work of the same person.

Twenty-nine children have vanished without a trace,

their fate still unknown.

The entire Dougu County

is in uproar, with grievances everywhere and rumors spreading wildly,

even reaching

Tianhuang City.

Judging by the timeline,

the child disappearance cases

and the Young Girl Spice-Refining Case

happened to occur in sequence.

And just as Constable Ghost

has been dispatched to investigate,

[Clear as a Mirror]

another dismemberment murder has taken place.

If all these incidents are indeed

the work of the same person,

then he must be plotting

an earth-shattering conspiracy.

[Clear as a Mirror]

Constable Ghost also reported something else—

someone in Dougu County has claimed to have seen Li Qingyang.

Looks like this Young Master Qingyang

is always one step ahead of us.

What do you think

about this person?

If he were truly on the run,

there are countless places he could flee to—

why choose Dougu County of all places?

That couldn't have been a coincidence.

Moreover, he once said

he would personally avenge Qing Wu.

So I believe

that ever since the puppet doll

was discovered at Star-Gathering Pavilion,

he has been entangled in this case

the entire time—

he must be scheming something.

[Clear as a Mirror]

Li Si, Young Master Qingyang,

was actually willing to throw himself into the fray

and even tried to break into the Tianshu Pavilion—

what exactly is he up to?

For now,

let's focus on solving the cases first.

Zhenzhu,

set out immediately to Dougu County

to assist Constable Ghost.

The female spice-maker murder,

the missing children,

and the proprietor dismemberment case—

investigate these 3 cases together.

Understood!

[Dougu County Office]

Who's beating the drum?

Don't you know the court is off today?

[Du Yi'an, Dougu County Magistrate]

[Dougu County Office]

Why are there so many people here today?

My Lord.

Our master was brutally killed at home,

his body severed.

I beg Your Lordship to quickly apprehend the murderer

and redress our grievance, My Lord!

Got it. Got it.

Leave the body here.

You may all return for now.

-My Lord! My Lord... -What about you guys?

My Lord,

3 years ago,

I robbed an old lady

and took 80 coppers.

Please, my merciful lord,

lock me up!

My Lord, I've also committed robbery before!

My Lord, please lock me up!

You should arrest me.

That old lady tried to report me to the authorities later,

and I gave her another beating.

My sins are beyond forgiveness!

We're bandits of Niutou Mountain.

We've all lost our senses!

My Lord!

-Enough. That's enough! -Our manager died unjustly.

There aren't enough cells in the jail

for that many people.

How about this—

come and register with the Advisor,

take a number,

and then go back to

Niutou Mountain and wait for further notice.

When there are vacancies in the jail,

you can come serve your sentence then.

That won't do, My Lord!

We won't be able to live with our conscience!

My Lord!

Alright. Enough.

Didn't you hear what His Lordship said?

Break it up.

Come on. Disperse.

That won't do, My Lord!

Stop it.

Du Yi'an, Magistrate of Dougu County,

don't you feel ashamed

to wear that official cap?

Who are you?

How dare you address me so rudely?

Guards.

Take him down!

Yes.

Hold on!

An iron plate?

How dare you!

How dare you ignore the law

and bribe me in public? That makes your crime even worse!

M-My Lord.

[Constable Ghost]

What's wrong?

These 4 characters read

"Passed..."

"Passed down through Generations."

Even though he looks well-dressed,

I could tell at a glance

that he's a pauper.

[Constable Ghost]

That shabby iron plate he's holding

is probably some worthless family heirloom—

not worth a second glance, nothing special.

No, My Lord.

It says

"Acting on Heaven's Authority to Punish."

Also,

[Constable Ghost]

there's a smaller line of text above it that reads:

"For ranks below the fifth grade,

execute first and report later."

-The Divine Constable Bureau! -The Divine Constable Bureau!

My Lord!

[Constable Ghost]

I was blind and failed to recognize

your esteemed presence

in our Dougu County, Divine Constable!

Please forgive me for

not receiving you properly!

The child disappearance cases

and the Chunfeng Hall dismemberment case

will be taken over by

the Divine Constable Bureau, starting today!

That's great.

I will definitely do my best

to help you solve the cases.

If there's anything you need,

let me know anytime.

-I'll definitely do my best to... -Where's the coroner of your county?

[Dougu County Office]

[Coroner's Office]

Lord Constable Ghost.

[Coroner's Office]

Lord Constable Ghost.

Lord Constable Ghost.

Forensic examination by the coroner requires meticulous care

and will take some time.

Why not

go rest in the side hall for a while?

That's right.

You've traveled far, My Lord,

and we haven't had the chance to

receive you properly.

You're so diligent in official duties, Lord Constable Ghost.

I deeply admire you.

[Coroner's Office]

My Lord!

Keep it down!

My Lord.

A woman has barged in from outside.

Useless!

You can't even stop a woman.

[Coroner's Office]

Where did you come from?

How dare you trespass into...

You got here fast.

What are you looking at?

-It's serious. I couldn't afford to delay. -You...

Why didn't you stop her?

As you instructed, we only stop men, not women.

Nonsense!

I can't believe

I've been blind twice in a day.

Lord Constable Ghost.

This must be your wife, right?

Your wife is indeed beautiful

and virtuous.

I'm Constable Frost Bai Zhenzhu from the Divine Constable Bureau.

[Constable Frost]

So I've actually been blind

3 times in a single day.

Please forgive me, Lady Constable Frost.

The body's inside.

Their coroner is currently examining it.

Let's take a look.

There are so many people in the yard.

My Lord,

have I come late?

Please forgive me.

Wen Nansheng,

aren't you conducting an autopsy inside?

Why are you here?

My Lord,

there was a government officer who asked me to come here.

But just a moment later,

another officer from the Divine Constable Bureau

came to my house,

saying that Divine Constable

wished to have a drink with you, Mr. Du,

and the autopsy wasn't urgent,

so he told me to come later instead.

So you're the coroner?

It's you.

Li Qingyang?

Lord Constable Ghost.

Lady Constable Frost.

It's indeed a small world.

Leave this to me.

Why do you have this?

This is called the Spider's Tear.

It cannot be broken by weapons, and it's impervious to water and fire.

It's extremely fine, transparent, and incredibly sharp

It can be used to control puppets,

and it also serves

as a weapon to kill.

Even something as tough as bamboo

can be severed upon contact—

let alone

Master Sun's flesh and blood.

Then according to what you're saying,

this is the tool

which was used to dismember Master Sun?

I've also found

the place where the missing children of Dougu County

were last seen.

It was this very

Black Wind Forest.

You seem to know an awful lot—

then you must be the prime suspect.

I'll place you under arrest.

Let me remind you—

this is the second time

you've drawn your sword on me.

If you still can't

take my life this time,

I think the title "Reaper Sword" of yours

might need to be changed.

Be careful.

It's an illusion.

How am I supposed to believe this isn't one of your tricks?

Emperor of Heaven,

Emperor of Earth,

I have a child who cries at night.

Kind passerby,

please recite this spell,

and he will sleep soundly until daybreak.

The illusion formation here is far too sinister.

Even I've fallen into it.

I must make a clean break immediately.

Master, I'm sorry.

I have to break my promise.

The eldest son is Zhen; the youngest son is Gen.

The child comes from the mother, and the mother is the Kun trigram.

Yin adheres to yang, whose image is fire.

Adheres to actually means separate from.

The "Soaring Dragon Thousand-Mechanism Formation"!

[Soaring Dragon Thousand-Mechanism Formation]

[Veiled-Bird Mingyi Hexagram]

So this is a mass burial ground.

They've used illusion techniques to turn a graveyard into a town.

That's quite unsettling.

Changsuo?

[Tomb of Zhang Xiaoniu, a Child Who Died Young]

Zhang Xiaoniu.

Sui'er.

[Tomb of Sui’er]

Mr. Meng.

These seem to be the names of

of the missing children of Dougu County.

Mr. Meng.

Mr. Meng!

These are all empty graves.

Why are they all empty?

These children must still be alive.

Help me! Help me!

Somebody help me! Help me!

Help me!

They're still alive!

Li Si!

The children are still alive!

Hang in there!

Help me!

Spirit pivot, circulation and return, yin and yang are unfathomable.

Break!

See for yourself

what you're holding.

It was illusion again.

Mr. Meng.

This place is way too strange.

If we stay here,

both of us will die.

Let's go.

That was really close.

Dragon-whisker Grass?

Dragon-whisker Grass grows in the most barren and treacherous lands.

As the saying goes,

one does not see dragon whisker unless one reaches absolute extremity.

This material

is extremely tough,

and it's most commonly used for weaving shoes.

Using it to make a sword sheath,

however, is something I've never heard of before.

Using softness to overcome hardness.

This sword is extremely rigid and bone-chilling.

Only the resilience of cattail reeds

can withstand it.

Rumor has it that

Constable Ghost carries a sword, known as "Reaper."

My sword is named "Severe-Cold."

As for "Reaper",

it's nothing more than a rumor

that's been passed around and exaggerated in jianghu.

So it actually has its own name,

[Severe-Cold]

"Severe-Cold."

What a good name.

What was that technique you used

back at the gate of Tianshu Pavilion

and in the hallucination just now?

The Soaring Dragon Thousand-Mechanism Formation.

It borrows the power of heaven, earth, mountain, and marsh,

using wind, thunder, water, and fire to attack enemies.

It's just like

flying a kite—

without wind,

the kite can't rise no matter what.

But

once you get

the wind's strength and direction

and calculate it precisely,

the kite

naturally takes flight.

That is what it means to borrow the power of nature.

This Heaven-Measuring Ruler is a divine artifact

forged from a meteorite beyond the heavens.

It can

precisely measure the qi and energy flows of all things,

and harness them for my own use.

Just like that formation from earlier.

In the illusion formation, there were children and fire,

which corresponded exactly to the Mingyi hexagram.

And I was able to transform it

into the "Earth Fire Mingyi" formation

to break the illusion formation.

And that's the Soaring Dragon Thousand-Mechanism Formation.

Resolving all kinds of techniques with one ruler?

Not bad.

That's a very effective method for killing.

Lord Constable Ghost, so you're

still suspecting me?

I'm a constable,

and you're a suspect.

What do you think?

Ever since the Young Girl Spice-Refining Case,

you've first trespassed into the Tianshu Pavilion

as a suspect,

and now,

you've followed us all the way to Dougu County,

and even appeared here in this Black Wind Forest.

All you speak of is the case.

If you're not the true culprit,

then you must be up to something else.

Whatever the reason,

you can explain it back at the Bureau yourself.

Lady Moon,

[Spring Blossoms, Autumn Harvest]

shine upon the eastern wall.

In the depths of the alley, there is honeyed candy.

Follow me,

make no sound—

I'll dress you in a paper garment.

The road before the door

leads to my homeland.

In my house, there's a piece of crystal candy,

buried beneath the tree with the scent of bones.

Youyou.

Cuicui.

Yuanbao.

Man.

Nu.

Yingzi.

Come out and play.

Come on.

Come on.

Come and play.

The wind is cold,

the night is long.

Obedient little kid, sleep soundly and sweet.

Close your eyes

and sing with me.

In a few steps, you'll be by your mother's side.

[In the second month of spring,]

[Hongyun Era,]

[Dashi Dynasty,]

[in Dougu County, Suzhou,]

[6 more children]

[went missing overnight.]

[The total number of missing children]

[has now risen to 35.]

My poor daughter!

[Dougu County Office]

Officers, please help us look for them!

Exactly!

Officers!

What should we do?

-Get up now. Get up. -We have no idea

where your children are, either!

Help me look for Yuanbao, please!

We've already issued a notice!

Go back now!

My Lord.

Please help me look for Yuanbao.

Go home! Go home!

Maybe you simply didn't watch them properly,

and the children

ran off on their own.

Am I right?

That's right.

Go back!

I'm so sorry, kid.

Get up and go back.

Even if you kneel here,

there's nothing we can do.

We've already done what we could and issued a notice.

To abduct so many children in a single night...

This is sheer audacity.

No matter what,

targeting children

is unforgivable.

My Lord!

Stop kneeling here!

Go back now.

Move! Move!

Get up! Get up!

-Come on, leave! -Go home. Go home.

Stop kneeling here!

Hurry up.

Stop!

Yuyao.

Yuyao.

Mrs. Hua, don't worry.

The lady and gentleman from the Divine Constable Bureau

will definitely bring Yuanbao

back.

Yuyao stayed with me

at the county government all night last night.

[Righteous Dougu County Magistrate]

Mrs. Hua.

With Yuyao's current situation,

can she stay at your place for a few days?

Once the case is solved, we'll come to pick her up.

Don't worry.

I'll have someone protect her.

Okay.

Alright then, good girl.

From today onward,

you'll be staying at my home.

My Lord, My Lady.

This is not the first time

this kind of thing has happened.

The first few times the children went missing,

a few parents came to cry

[Righteous Dougu County Magistrate]

at our gate too.

I also felt deeply sorry for them.

But over time,

they kept making a scene at the gate of the county government.

This is, after all, a government office

-and a courtroom—it simply isn't proper... -Folks.

Punishing evil and protecting the people

[Righteous Dougu County Magistrate]

is the duty of our Divine Constable Bureau

-and the local authorities. -Of course. Of course.

Please rest assured.

We'll definitely

bring the missing children back,

and we'll make those who commit these crimes

confess and face justice.

[Dougu County Office]

Please seek justice for us, My Lady!

Thank you, My Lady!

Thank you.

Well said, Lady Constable Frost.

How many children have gone missing?

Six.

Was there no disturbance at all

in the county last night?

Not a sound, not a trace.

No one knows how it was done.

This doesn't concern with me.

Mr. Du,

[Righteous Dougu County Magistrate]

may I borrow your courtroom?

Please suit yourself, My Lady.

Hold on.

Record all the information these people

have provided about the children—

their circumstances, their home addresses,

and family members.

-Take everything down. -Got it.

-We'll fetch some paper and brushes. -Let's go.

-Everyone, please go home. -Please go home.

Go on. Don't stand here.

Go on.

Go on. Go on.

Go back home.

Go home.

How weird.

[Dougu County Office]

I was examining the body in the morgue last night,

and I didn't hear

any unusual movement.

Did anyone see the puppet doll?

I've asked about it.

No one did.

That person

abducted 6 children

without anyone noticing.

He must have used highly unusual methods.

We should still

start by investigating the puppet doll.

Didn't witnesses report

seeing them at the scenes

of the earlier disappearances?

Last night, he deliberately

led me to the Black Wind Forest.

Lady Constable Frost.

We found

the missing children's empty graves.

Besides,

I also found that

the silk thread that got Master Sun killed

can not only be used

to control the puppet doll—

many martial artists also often

use it as a stealth weapon.

It's called the Spider's Tear.

No matter how I see it,

you are the most suspicious.

But last night,

I was in Black Wind Forest with him.

So when the children went missing,

you were together all along?

Exactly.

So you should know

the case has nothing to do with me.

We should start with

the puppet doll.

You wouldn't listen to reason

and insisted on taking the hard way.

What else can I say?

He may have other accomplices.

The Chief wants to interrogate him.

I'll take him back to Tianhuang City.

It's dangerous for you to go alone.

He's cunning.

Once the case is solved,

let's escort him together.

Okay.

[Just and Upright] [The People First]

What are you doing?

This item is suspicious.

I can't leave it with you.

How ungrateful,

Lord Constable Ghost.

You did save me,

but I'm just doing my job.

A weapon of this kind

cannot be left in the hands of a suspect.

Bad news! Bad news!

Something bad happened!

[Just and Upright] [The People First]

Master Sun's body disappeared!

What do you mean it disappeared?

The morgue is completely empty.

Not a single one of

the dismembered remains is left!

I examined the corpse alone last night

until 3 to 5 o'clock.

Stealing a corpse

is usually done to prevent anything

from being discovered during an examination.

But Lady Constable Frost,

we've already extracted

nearly everything we needed from the remains.

So what would be the purpose of

taking the body away at a time like this?

Weren't there guards

at the door of the morgue?

Well...

According to Your Lordship's instruction,

there were guards there all along.

Then how did they manage to do that

without anyone noticing?

Isn't it obvious?

They didn't steal or snatch it—

they took it away

openly and legitimately.

So who could enter the morgue

in a perfectly natural way, without raising suspicion?

Unless

it was the coroner.

Where is Wen Nansheng?

Call him here!

I saw him

leaving the county government carrying a bundle

and heading west.

Divine Constables!

Keep a close watch on the suspect, Li Si!

Got it! Got it!

He's in my custody.

You can rest assured!

Guards!

Yes!

Lock this guy up in prison.

Where is he?

Where did he go?

Meng.

There's the scent of Dead Bone Spice

on Master Sun's dismembered remains.

Wen Nansheng didn't go far.

Can you still smell it?

This way.

[Hefeng Tavern]

Stop it!