Original subtitles

[Shadow Punisher]

[Divine Constable Tally]

[Episode 6]

[Murder Warning by the Black Chest]

For many years, Northern Kun

has had constant friction with our dynasty.

Years ago, they marched south

and confronted Prince Ping's border army

for months.

The delegation came this time

in the name of exchanging credentials

to seek a truce.

In fact, they intend to

spy on our dynasty's strength.

I propose

that we should let Wenbu

see our army's ceremonial drill

to show our national prestige.

Meanwhile,

[The Eldest Prince of the Shi Empire, Prince Ding Zhou Miao]

tell Prince Ping to stand ready at the border

to prevent Northern Kun from invading.

Your Majesty,

I think

there's no need for such trouble.

In dealing with such barbarians,

there's no need to be polite.

Just detain Wenbu,

and they won't dare to send troops rashly.

The border crisis will naturally be resolved.

Miao, you must understand that

Wenbu is the Crown Prince of Northern Kun.

A Crown Prince

is the foundation of a country.

He's the key.

He is not someone

that a low-born illegitimate prince

or any random nobody

can compare to.

As far as I know,

this Wenbu

has been traveling through our Great Shi,

indulging in wine and women and acting shamelessly.

Such a coward

may have the title of Crown Prince,

but he only relies on

his mother being the legitimate wife.

In fact, he is good for nothing.

In my opinion,

the Khan of Northern Kun may not,

for this useless son,

give up his grand ambition.

Miao—

The Crown Prince said

to detain Wenbu.

The First Prince said

we should prepare for war to show our prestige.

Grand Secretary Bai,

what do you have to say?

[Bai Qi, Senior Grand Secretary]

That year,

I followed the late Emperor Wuzong of Shi

to attack Liluo.

Sleeping in the mountains,

I suddenly heard wolves howling

outside the tent at night.

I was very scared,

but I didn't dare to go out and see what was going on.

The sound got closer and closer,

closer and closer,

and I got more and more scared.

Until that thing came to the tent,

I suddenly remembered

that inside my tent,

there were still over a dozen armored soldiers standing.

Grand Secretary Bai,

what does this

have to do with the Northern Kun delegation?

What I mean is,

when others are in our territory,

they should be the ones facing a formidable enemy,

not us.

Grand Secretary Bai,

are you done with the story?

Later we found out

it wasn't a jackal,

just a wild dog,

and a very well-behaved one.

Good.

If it's a dog,

we treat it with courtesy.

If it's a jackal,

we have soldiers too.

Let's wait and see.

Good.

Send word to the Northern Kun delegation.

They've had a hard journey.

Let them rest at the Envoy Residence.

Treat them with state honors.

Do not neglect them.

-Yes, Your Majesty. -Yes, Your Majesty.

[Envoy Residence]

The Divine Constable Bureau will send elites

to guard the Envoy Residence.

[Envoy Residence]

There must be no mistakes.

[Envoy Residence]

Your Highness, mind the steps.

These are gifts from various officials

to you.

This is an ancient jade fossil,

extremely rare and precious.

Look,

there are so many

rare treasures here.

What is this?

Strange.

This black chest isn't on the gift list.

Your Highness, are you alright?

You call this a gift?

Such an ominous object.

This is clearly a curse,

a provocation to Northern Kun!

Please calm down, My Lord!

I really didn't know!

This item is not on the Ministry of Rites

gift list!

How dare you!

Your Highness!

Stop!

Prince Wenbu, please behave yourself.

Inside Tianhuang City,

you cannot draw weapons so easily.

The Divine Constable Bureau again.

Do you people from the Divine Constable Bureau

enjoy going against me?

Please let Lord Zhang go.

The Divine Constable Bureau

will definitely give you an explanation.

Your Highness,

this is Great Shi territory after all.

Why not give them a chance?

If they can't find out,

it won't be too late for us to act.

Fine.

I'll give you a deadline.

If the time passes

and you still haven't found out,

don't blame me for taking action.

One day is enough.

What are you thinking?

I

will only give you the time of one dance.

Come, play the music!

Dance!

[Clear as a Mirror]

Work carefully, all of you!

Especially the new guy!

Work hard!

Don't slack off!

Wipe that clean

and put it up.

Mr. Qi.

Mr. Li.

I see

these weapons are very unique.

I wonder

what their origin is.

That's a long story.

These are all

the weapons of the past Chiefs.

This Zhanjieyu

is the sword of the first Chief,

Ling Wufeng.

That Fufengqie is even more impressive.

The second Chief, Chu Xuanji,

[Chu Xuanji, Second Chief] [Fufengqie]

held this sword to intimidate all evil.

Our Divine Constable Bureau

is indeed mighty.

Isn't it?

This Chief Constable's Hall

is the office of the past Chiefs.

It's surrounded by the patterns of the nine sons of the dragon.

This bronze statue of the Bi'an divine beast

crawls on the dome right in the middle,

symbolizing the strictness of the law.

I see.

Mr. Qi.

After we finish cleaning this hall

later,

can we

go clean the Tianshu Pavilion?

What kind of place is the Tianshu Pavilion?

Not even dust can fly in.

Do you think it needs cleaning?

Not even dust can fly in?

How did that person get in?

He is a Divine Constable.

He just took out his token

and went in.

Then...

how can one become a Divine Constable?

You are a trainee constable now.

If you endure for 3 years without making mistakes,

you can be promoted.

Three years?

After 3 years,

you will be a third-class constable,

just like me.

You won't have to clean the latrine anymore,

but can be a porter

and participate in some simple cases.

Another 5 years,

and you can become

a second-class constable.

But after becoming a second-class constable,

you can't just bide your time.

You have to accumulate merits and solve cases.

Becoming a first-class constable

depends on luck.

Generally speaking, in the Divine Constable Bureau,

constables with more than 20 years of experience

are all first-class.

Head Constable Yao is a first-class constable.

It's just that he's old now.

His legs are not good,

and he can't go to the scene.

Mr. Qi.

Above the first-class constable

is the Divine Constable, right?

No.

Above the first-class constable

is the third-class head constable,

then the second-class head constable,

then the first-class head constable,

and then the chief head constable.

Stop.

Then let me ask you.

Ms. Bai, Mr. Meng,

and Lord Lou—

why are they Divine Constables

at such a young age?

That's because

the Divine Constables have all solved earth-shattering cases.

Earth-shattering cases?

Your Highness!

What should we do?

[Benevolence and Neighborly Amity]

What's this whistle for?

It's the order of the Divine Constable Bureau.

It means that

no matter what case we are handling

and what stage it is at,

we must stop temporarily

and gather at the crime scene.

That is to say,

just like nature calls,

no matter how busy we are,

we have to put it on hold.

This is the earth-shattering case I mentioned.

We want to see the Emperor of Great Shi

to ask for an explanation.

Step aside!

-Step aside! -Step aside!

-Step aside! -Step aside!

-Head Constable Yan. -Mr. Yan.

The Divine Constable Bureau has been established for 46 years.

Among all the major cases

and murder cases in Tianhuang City,

is there any that we couldn't solve?

-No! No! -No! No!

But if someone takes the opportunity to cause trouble,

[Yan Cheng, Constable Iron]

can the Divine Constable Bureau let outsiders

disturb the peace of the capital?

-No! No! -No! No!

You heard it.

We will solve the murder case.

You

must stay in the Envoy Residence.

You make it sound nice.

Prince Wenbu was

under the protection of the Divine Constable Bureau

when he was killed.

How can I trust you?

How can I trust the Divine Constable Bureau?

Yan,

are you okay?

I'm fine.

It's you again.

Yes, it's me again.

Mr. Yan,

didn't you go back to your hometown to visit your relatives?

Why are you back so soon?

As soon as I heard

the news that the Northern Kun delegation entered the capital,

I rushed back.

You're new here?

You're quite bold.

I've always been bold.

Trainee Constable!

Step back.

Yes.

Divine Constable Lou.

The men of Northern Kun

only die in battle;

they never fear death.

I came here this time

to bring His Majesty's oral edict.

Listen to the edict!

An oral decree from His Majesty:

From this moment on,

the nine gates of Tianhuang City are closed.

[Tianhuang City]

Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants,

[Proclamation]

peddlers, and all other people,

[Divine Constable Tally]

as well as officials below the third rank,

shall not enter or leave without an edict.

The Divine Constable Bureau is ordered

to bring the murderer to justice within 7 days.

The Grand Secretariat and the Ministry of Justice officials

must cooperate with the bureau to hunt down the murderer.

No disobedience is allowed.

-Yes! -Yes!

-Yes! -Yes!

-Yes! -Yes!

Mr. Yan,

the Emperor's word is unbreakable.

His Majesty will definitely give Northern Kun

and Prince Wenbu justice.

Lord Yan.

[Envoy Residence]

That's hard to say.

I don't know.

Something happened

right in this room.

-Really? -Who is so bold?

Prince Wenbu

was murdered under the protection of the Divine Constable Bureau.

Since the establishment of the Divine Constable Bureau

46 years ago,

[Divine Constable Bureau]

there has never been

such an appalling incident.

Normally speaking,

the Envoy Residence is heavily guarded.

Not even a bird

could fly in,

let alone a stranger going in and out.

The gifts for foreign guests should logically

go through layers of inspection.

How could the black chest

appear out of thin air among the gifts?

What's even stranger is,

the chest seems to have

foreseen the future,

predicting the scene of

Prince Wenbu's murder,

with every detail exactly the same.

Given the condition of the corpse,

even Ms. Bai

has never seen it before,

let alone examined it.

Jiang Zhan, Ding Mao.

Go in and take a look.

My Lord!

What are you doing?

Let me in!

What kind of place do you think this is?

My cousin is still inside!

Young man.

-Step back! Step back! -Please let me in,

-okay? -Back off! Back off!

Constable Eagle, Lord Lou,

asked me to wait for you here.

Lord Lou?

You're just an unregistered runner.

Why are you waiting for me?

Young man,

do you know how I

got into the Divine Constable Bureau?

Step back! Step back!

Because

I have good handwriting.

The so-called sweeping armies with a pen

and writing with iron strokes

refer to me.

So at this scene,

any copying and transcribing work

is my responsibility.

Then come in with me.

Alright.

Sorting and classifying may seem boring,

but it actually cultivates the mind

and trains the eyes.

I can also practice my handwriting.

Isn't it wonderful?

[Class A‑2, Gem & Tribute Gifts]

[Class A‑2, Gem & Tribute Gifts] [Class C‑1, Gem & Tribute Gifts]

Friend.

Watch your step.

Be careful.

I think if I keep this up

for 100 years,

I can become the fifth Divine Constable.

Lord Yan.

Lord Yan.

Yan.

Your hand...

I'm fine.

How is it?

The corpse...

Corpse fluid is hard to test.

But judging from the smell,

it's the poison called Yama's Call—

"Yama wants you dead at midnight;

who dares keep you until dawn?"—

or the Seven-Step Corpse-Dissolving Powder.

This thing

must be hard to get, right?

Not only are the ingredients extremely rare,

but the refining process

is extremely dangerous.

One careless mistake,

and you might dissolve yourself.

It's said that

among the masters who refine Yama's Call,

9 out of 10 have missing fingers

or are blind.

That makes it easy.

We'll ask them one by one.

Interrogate all the black market medicine sellers,

and we'll know

who the buyer is.

Leave this to me.

A few lashes of the whip,

and they'll confess everything.

No need.

As far as I know,

in this Tianhuang City,

the only bottle of Yama's Call

is in the coroner's room of the Divine Constable Bureau.

In your room.

That's impossible.

Our Divine Constable Bureau

is already a den of tigers.

Your room

is even more terrifying.

Why is he here?

After all, he was personally recruited

by the Chief.

We have to look out for him.

Since there are no clues elsewhere,

we should start by interrogating people.

The last ones to approach Prince Wenbu

should be a few dancers.

Meng has already started interrogating them.

Where is he?

So unlucky.

I was hoping the prince

would give some reward money,

but now there's nothing.

You were supposed to be off today.

Why did you switch days

with Miss Chuntao?

I...

I...

I admire Prince Wenbu of Northern Kun's

peerless beauty,

and wanted to see him.

I'll give you one more chance.

Say it again.

My brother owes money from gambling,

and my family is short of money.

So I thought

if I could get Prince Wenbu's appreciation,

I might get more reward money.

Leave.

Miss.

Miss.

As a lady,

even if you're angry,

you should smile more.

Because

ladies who love to smile

usually don't have bad luck.

What is he doing now?

Mr. Li.

Taking advantage of the investigation to flirt with women.

How carefree.

Ms. Bai, you are mistaken.

I am taking advantage of...

the opportunity to sort things out

to investigate the case.

Miss.

Why do you look so familiar?

Have we

met somewhere

before?

Zhenzhu.

If this Corpse-Dissolving Powder is used on a person,

how long at most will it take to take effect?

At most the duration of a dance.

Otherwise, how could it have

the name "Yama's Call"?

Before Wenbu died,

he happened to watch a dance.

Based on the time,

the murderer should have

poisoned him in the Envoy Residence.

After the poison took effect,

the scene was sealed off, and no one entered or left.

So the murderer...

must still be here.

Are the dancers suspects?

That's why I said,

"Leave it to me."

A good whipping for each of them,

and they'll definitely confess everything.

Little Goldfish.

I told you I recognized you.

I didn't lie to you, did I?

Then do you remember me?

Young Master Qingyang.

You often come with the Crown Prince.

Of course, I remember.

Young Master Qingyang, do you remember me?

Do you remember me, Young Master Qingyang?

-Do you remember me? -Do you remember me?

Look.

What is this?

Silver!

-Silver! -Silver!

Okay, let me show you.

I want it. I want it.

I want it.

Silver.

Okay.

Don't rush.

I'll ask you some questions.

If you answer well,

there will naturally be no shortage of reward silver.

-Thank you, Young Master Qingyang. -Thank you, Young Master Qingyang.

Ask us quickly.

Let me ask you.

Both kind words and silver

can achieve the goal.

But why are some people

always willing to use swords?

-Young Master, we'll take our leave. -Young Master, we'll take our leave.

Miss,

you have quite a few calluses

on your hand.

What are you doing, My Lord?

Sorry.

My apology.

Mr. Meng, your mind is now

full of the case.

I guess

you thought

this lady's calluses

were on her thumb web.

You suspected she was an assassin

who has been wielding swords for a long time.

But this lady's calluses

are on her fingertips.

This is caused by doing manual labor for a long time.

Mr. Meng.

I have frequented brothels for a long time,

often buying some unfortunate women

into the Star-Gathering Pavilion

to help them start anew.

So,

I know these ladies better than you do.

As for interrogating the dancers,

why not leave it to me?

It seems

we are both unfortunate people.

Young Master Qingyang, you're the richest in the world.

How can you be like me?

Then why don't we

have a good talk about

what it means to

meet by chance without prior acquaintance?

I wonder what advice you have, Young Master Qingyang.

I also want to ask you

why you killed Prince Wenbu.

W-What are you talking about?

Prince Wenbu had expert guards,

and I don't know how to fight.

How could I kill him?

True.

You indeed don't know martial arts,

and you don't have calluses on your hands

from holding a sword for a long time.

But...

your fingers

are still rough

and peeling severely.

This is because

people who develop poisons for a long time

inevitably get poison on their hands

and need to wash them frequently.

I guess

you are an expert in using poison.

Not long ago,

I came to the Envoy Residence with the Crown Prince.

I admired your zither skills

and wanted to invite you to the Star-Gathering Pavilion.

I offered a price

that no one could refuse.

But you

refused.

So,

you stayed at the Envoy Residence

because there must be something

you have to do, right?

I didn't expect that my long-planned scheme

was exposed by a playboy.

It's truly a trick of fate.

Young Master Qingyang, you're right.

I do have some knowledge

of toxicology.

Oh no.

What is the meaning of this?

I was afraid your sword would be too fast

and kill the suspect.

When the Severe-Cold Sword is drawn,

someone must die.

Not necessarily.

Aren't you an exception?

Let's go.

My Lords, it's time to eat.

Yan, any results yet?

Before we even used torture,

she confessed everything.

This woman has a tragic background.

Her father and brothers all died tragically

under the iron hooves of Northern Kun.

So last year,

she sneaked in here as a dancer,

waiting for a chance to seek revenge.

But unexpectedly,

before she could make a move,

Prince Wenbu had died.

That's all.

In that case,

detain her in the Divine Constable Bureau

for attempted murder pending trial.

-Yes. -Yes.

Sometimes I really don't understand

which is more important,

revenge or living a good life.

Don't judge others

unless you've walked in their shoes.

Where is Mr. Meng?

Who knows?

That ice block

is always so aloof.

The scene investigation and interrogation

yielded nothing.

We questioned all suspects,

but made no progress.

Right after Wenbu died,

our people

locked down the scene.

Everyone and everything was checked.

Not even a piece of paper could be thrown out.

But we couldn't find any clues

on anyone.

Could it be that we're looking in the wrong direction,

and the murderer

is actually from without?

Impossible.

Why are you so sure?

Because of the timing.

My Lords,

think about it.

The Corpse-Dissolving Powder is highly toxic.

If

Wenbu had been poisoned

outside,

he would have died

before the dancers even started dancing.

Ms. Bai,

your noodles have been sitting for so long

and have gotten soggy.

Are they still good?

Young Master Qingyang, you're used to fine dining,

so naturally, you can't stand this coarse food.

I mean,

noodles get soggy if left for too long.

It's really possible that Wenbu

took the poison outside.

Noodles get soggy when soaked,

and paper wrapped in the stomach for a long time

will also dissolve.

As long as the murderer used a medicinal film

or paper to wrap the powder,

let Wenbu swallow it,

and then...

This way,

if the timing was calculated well,

even if Wenbu took the poison

before coming to the Envoy Residence,

he could last until after the dance

when the powder finally dissolved in his stomach.

So,

the murderer is indeed from without.

Still not right.

If the murderer

wanted to create the effect of a murder warning,

he must have calculated exactly

when Wenbu took the poison and when it would act,

without any error.

If the murderer was outside,

there's no way

he could calculate it so precisely.

So is the murderer outside

or inside?

There's another suspicious point.

Generally speaking,

destroying a corpse

is to prevent people

from finding it.

But the murderer

has already murdered someone

in plain sight.

Then why

dissolve the corpse?

Is it purely to scare people?

Also,

since the murderer is so precise with poison,

any poison

would do.

Why must he choose

such an expensive

and easily traceable

Corpse-Dissolving Powder?

Not bad, newbie.

Your analysis makes sense.

-Lord Constable Iron, I'm... -Then what, in your view, is the cause?