Original subtitles

~ Ask blade, knife, to cast off resentment ~

~ Grudges add to my troubles ~

~ Ask tactics, moves, who's more skilled ~

~ Life is unpredictable ~

~ Ask the road, journey, peaks, rivers ~

~ Where's my soulmate; I'm lonely ~

~ Ask rain, skies, about worries ~

~ Gaze at the moon every night ~

~ Ask flowers, leaves, of perfect colours ~

~ Spring nights too brief; how many are left? ~

~ Ask Autumn, Winter; snowstorm keeps blowing ~

~ Rainbow fades; days are hard ~

~ Flowers bloomed early, who knows why ~

~ Heaven won't mock us, it grew old ~

~ Jianghu is small, world is vast ~

~ I've forgotten those who've gone ~

~ Flowers withered, who knows why ~

~ Heaven feels no sorrow, it's grown old ~

~ Heroes all died; little time is left ~

~ I've forgotten those who are gone ~

Episode 17

A'Xiang!

Why are you sitting up?

A'Xiang!

A’Xiang, luckily you're okay.

I dreamed I couldn't protect you.

Why's it hurt?

You lay hurt and unconscious for days.

Protect who?

A'Xiang, I had many dreams and couldn't wake.

In each dream, I couldn't protect you. I was so anxious.

In the last dream, I died.

I gladly awaited you at Naihe Bridge. (No Avail Bridge of rebirth)

I thought I'd wait 60-70 years

for you to be a white-haired old lady.

But you soon came. I thought,

"No, died so young?!" Scared me!

Trying to curse me?

No curse!

No harm. Wind blows kids' words.

A'Xiang, you're so kind. You'll live to be 100.

Where's Xiaolian?

Those two old devils took her.

Let's save her!

Enough.

Half-alive, who can you save?

Who saved me? My Junior Master?

Where's my Junior Master?

Easy, Young Master.

Mt. Hua Leader Yu saved you.

Lie down and don't move. I'll get your medicine.

Miss Gu, is Nephew Cao okay?

He's fine.

That's good.

His gallantry is singular.

This is Mt. Hua annex.

Let him recuperate in peace.

Alright, Leader Yu. I've told him.

You needn't force civilness with a Ghost Valley girl.

Please yourself.

It's "feign civility."

Okay, chat here.

Don't disturb Nephew Cao.

Can't you give me face in front of an outsider?

You're so untaught. How can you match an elite?

Who wants that? I deserve a prince!

That big idiot...

Sure. Our Xiang is too good for even an emperor.

See! Even Heartless Purple Fiend

has discovered worry.

Xiang, heed advice.

In dire straits, focus on the present.

Young Hero Cao is injured.

You two should live here in Mt. Hua annex.

Wait till I settle Master.

Qianqiao, why'd Mt. Hua Leader save Aunt Luo with you?

Tell me how you tricked him

in case I blurt something.

His son died in 5-Lakes' hands.

I said I'd aid his revenge; he saved my Master.

It's that simple?

I think he's very cunning.

Sister, better be careful.

Xiang, don't worry about me.

Quickly take care of Hero Cao.

Right, I'll find medicine.

I'm going.

Lass.

Time to eat.

You're deaf or dead?

You're trying to starve to death?

No way!

If you die, I 'drew water in a wicker basket'. (= wasted efforts)

Open your mouth.

Eat!

Alright. Enough, Old Lady.

Don't be so tough. I'll coax her.

You'll try to!

What do you think old dog Huang is thinking?

Gao Chong atoned.

Huang should pursue Shen Shen and Zhao Jing.

What use is locking her up?

This rotten girl knows nothing.

Kill her or free her.

What's her use?

No way we can free her.

We put in effort to catch her.

'Ride a tiger; hard to dismount'. (= can't stop halfway)

Lass, whatever you know, better say it.

Your dad is gone. Why be so stubborn?

Did only you suffer?

Us old pair won't abuse you.

Others may not do the same!

A'Xu, you're hot? You're sweating.

I'll fan you.

I wasn't hot.

But hearing you, I burned with anger.

Uncle Wen, he's fine.

Have concern for me.

Slacking again? Train an extra hour!

Master, I practised Drifting Clouds Steps 1000 times.

I'm familiar with it. Really good.

Can I stop practising?

Dare talk back? Add another hour!

A'Xu, you're gentle.

Why teach him so strictly?

Pushing does no good.

This kid needs slow ways.

What way?

Fine. I said too much.

You focus on ability. Strictness, thus excellence.

Useless to beg me. 'A clumsy bird must first fly'.

I protect you now, but can't forever.

Master, I never said I won't fly.

But right now I really can't fly.

He must train but can't if he gets heatstroke.

Chengling can't take it anymore.

How about he rests on the cart?

Keep training!

He's your disciple or mine? You teach him or I do?

Fine, I'll shut up. You're right.

Old Wen is out of sorts, like an aggrieved wife.

What's his bad idea?

( Yueyang Sect, Five Lakes )

Greetings, Leader; Scorpion King.

Brother Changeful, Brother Lewd.

This must be Brother Happy.

I was rude.

Bro Zhao, Scorpion King.

Bro Zhao, you truly schemed.

I feel sincere admiration.

Too kind.

Heroes Assembly went well

only with the help of you Ghost Brothers.

Greetings, Zhao...

Leader Zhao.

Greetings, Scorpion King.

Indeed you're named well,

making people happy!

- Bro Lewd. - Leader Zhao, future Supreme Wulin ruler

could only be you.

We Brothers need no courtesy. The future is long.

To locate Glazed Armour, I rely on you all.

Bro Zhao, you mean Gao Chong

ruined fake shards?

Oh, I don't want my Brothers to waste their efforts.

I know Gao Chong. He acted to fool people.

He died to stop the Glazed Armour fight.

He'd have put it in a safe place.

So keenly track it down.

Also, look for Hanging Ghost attentively.

But leave Five Lakes League to me.

You needn't worry about it.

Speaking of matters,

I don't understand one thing.

Wen Kexing said Hanging Ghost stole his Glazed Armour.

Doesn't Five Lakes

have five Glazed shards?

How many shards do you have?

- Bro Changeful. - Hm?

What you should know, I will tell you.

What you shouldn't know - why worry about it?

Old Changeful, what are you doing?

Getting us mixed up with these upright dogs

gains us no favours. What good can result?

Besides, I think Zhao Jing and Scorpion King...

are mad to the bone.

Think I don't know they're madmen?

Else, how'd they make that plan?

Without that plan, how could I

realize what's in my heart?

What do you want?

He wants to be Valley Master!

What's great about it?

On guard against 3000 Ghosts wanting your role.

Who can watch their back every moment?

All die.

Correct. And if one becomes Valley Master?

They still can't see the light of day.

Even Wen Kexing, a fierce, ruthless Master,

can't escape fate in the end.

What's your idea?

Did you never think of

returning to human life?

To ride the fastest horse.

To drink the strongest wine.

To toy with a Beauty.

Yes!

To kill the most ruthless foe.

I have.

I dream of it.

Old Changeful, in disguise, you won't be recognized

as Leader of 10 Great Devils.

But with my face...

and my breathing affliction...

that affects my speech,

who won't know me?

If I tell you,

hidden in the Armory,

able to put flesh on bones and cure grave illnesses,

is Healer Valley's relic, what will you think?

Old Wen, come with me to get food.

You rest. I'll go.

Student, come along.

Uncle Wen, even my thumb can't move.

Chengling can't go. He must train.

Master!

Practise the move I taught yesterday

500 times before dinner.

Oh right, get fish. I want fish soup.

I want Old Freak soup!

Go boil yourself!

Brat!

Arrogant!

A'Xu, try it.

Youngster, disrespecting elders.

It's fine, I'll fill another bowl.

A'Xu.

Thanks, Old Wen.

- Chengling. - Huh?

Take soup to Young Leader Long.

If he wants it, feed him.

Yes.

A'Xu.

Why call that brat "Young Leader"?

Qin Huaizhang and Long Que were close friends.

Long Que knew little beast, Rong Xuan, through Huaizhang.

Little beast.

Who's Rong Xuan to you? How do you know their ties?

You want to know?

You're nosy like an old lady.

Elder, our road to Mt. Shu is far and high.

How do you know Deep Pavilion has answers?

The other past participator, Long Que, is alive.

We need him to verify the truth.

Elder, Master.

Who is Long Que?

Deep Pavilion Master, Long Que,

is your *Grandmaster's friend. (*Qin Huaizhang)

The mechanical traps at Four Seasons Villa

came from Deep Pavilion.

When my Master first taught me,

Master Long often visited.

But for an unknown reason,

he disappeared.

Master was at odds with him and didn't seek him.

Later, Master got a Mechanical Sparrow letter seeking help.

He went to Mt. Shu a few times.

Did Grandmaster find him?

No.

No-one knows Deep Pavilion's true site.

Rumour says it's a movable fortress inside a mountain.

In Sky Window's early days, I sent men on searches.

Each time, they reported nothing wrong with the location

but no trace could be found.

They were useless because their Leader was useless.

Useless disciple. Useless friend.

But the soup is good.

You lived so long with no-one strangling you?

My wugong is good.

Elder, beware of poison soup.

You won't eat any?

( Yueyang Sect )

Sit, Brothers, be informal.

Where are Big Whale Sect and Purple Wave Gang leaders?

Those punks turned on us. (Water Transport leader)

Word spread they'll break off from the League.

With Five Lakes' big problems,

some people's change of heart

is natural.

Hero Zhao, you're too kind. ( Sea-Sand Sect)

But those punks are treating their 5-Lakes League oath

like sugar cane—

spitting it out after chewing all its sweetness.

In 100 years, Five Lakes leaders never had evil allies

to plot against a Brother.

- Eh? - Really.

It's debatable if Chief Gao worked with Ghost Valley.

The charge of killing a Brother is serious too.

Let outsiders speculate

but we can't have dissension.

Hero Zhao, it's only days ago.

All who tore Gao Chong's body died terribly.

Isn't it proof

Ghost Valley avenged Gao Chong's death?

- Right? - Happy Ghost killed Kongtong.

Eagle Claw Leader died in the street.

16 Iron Palm men died in an inn.

Each chest had a carved word—

"Kill one of mine; I will kill all yours."

Mt. Green Cliff Ghosts repay even a glare.

Jianghu, now full of fear,

resents Five Lakes League.

This is a setback. Respected Big Whale's going

is the beginning.

I may be incapable.

But I know in my heart,

the greater the difficulty,

the more we Brothers need to be united.

Five Lakes wasn't built in a day.

Strong progress

can show our determination.

Five Lakes unluckily met change.

But as long as you believe in me,

I will use all my strength

to protect Five Lakes' repute

and let our League

last another 100 years!

Well said!

Rude Senior.

Rude grandson.

Will you be fat on your say-so! Whose grandson? How old can you be?

You really pose as a respected senior.

I'm not your Senior. I'm your ancestor.

Old Freak.

[ Big Whale Sect ]

This infuriates me!

Leader, think thrice about leaving Five Lakes.

Thrice, crap!

Zhao Jing is a weak coward, unreliable in action.

With him as Chief, the League will fall into ruins.

What is it?

A dragon's bones are hard to paint. A person's heart is hard to know.

Leader Wang, we've been like-minded and amicable.

Now you backstab me. My heart hurts.

Exactly! Wang Moxuan, are you scorning us?

Hurry, kowtow to Chief.

Chief will spare your muddled head.

Four Assassins; Scorpion?

Leader Zhao, the rumours aren't false.

You indeed work with Scorpion.

Shut your beak!

Bro Wang, you misunderstood.

Scorpion pledged loyalty to Five Lakes.

We're one Brotherhood.

We should all get along.

How can Big Whale Sect and venomous Scorpions

coexist in peace?

Men, see the guests out!

Men!

You—

What did you do to my men?

Bro Wang, don't fret.

Jianghu gossip says you'll leave Five Lakes.

I believe it's not your intent.

It's your younger disciples talking nonsense.

Am I right?

Right? Crap!

Big Whale Sect will break all ties with Five Lakes!

If you have the skill, kill me!

Leader!

Leader!

Scorpion, why'd you kill him?

Foster Dad, you heard him say,

if we've skills, kill him.

I believe I've the skills.

Nonsense!

You renounced evil. How can you just kill him!

Withdraw.

Aye.

Senior Ye, want some nuts? Really yummy and crunchy.

You brat. Lazing?

No, no. I practised half a day.

Uncle Wen let me eat nuts

for energy for training.

Lazing with excuses.

They're yum. Leave me some!

Idling is over! Practise.

( King of Morning Inn )

Come.

Master, I wasn't wrong!

You practised 1000 times. No mistakes expected.

It's Drifting Clouds Steps, not Dog & Bear Dance.

Worse than a spider scuttling.

Again! Straight waist and back!

A'Xu, don't use my nuts to correct your disciple.

Reckless and violent.

**I queued to buy them for you.

Master, it's too heavy. My waist can't bear it.

Can I remove ballast?

Can I remove your legs?

A'Xu, seeing you teach him,

I now know my Teacher was lenient with me.

Who's your Teacher?

My own dad.

How can a dad teach a son? No wonder you've bad skills.

Teach a student like this.

Which Experts did you teach?

Didn't know bad wugong means poor drinking skill.

Cheers!

Coalesce and condense qi at dan tian. Rely on qi.

Little Idiot, it's easier to disperse qi

into the limbs and bones.

Once qi fills your body, you find strength.

Who said to heed him? Little Idiot.

Breathe smoothly. Bring qi to Conception and Governer Vessels

like rivers flowing into an ocean!

Heed me to be right.

Inner qi has snake-like shapelessness, moving freely,

never ending.

- Let go. - A'Xu, don't fuss. Chengling...

Great. You two forced his death.

Satisfied?

It's fine.

Strange.

His meridians are wider than normal.

He is a unique talent.

Correct. I realized earlier.

Chengling's wide meridians

are like a wide river to be filled.

It takes more time than with a stream.

He improves slowly with hard work.

Master, what's wrong with me?

The world has such a person.

He's dopey but strong-bodied.

So does Heaven want you to be good or no good?

He took A'Xu as his teacher.

Don't get weird ideas on seeing his talent.

I've seen better.

Still drinking?

I'll drink. Who fears whom?

A'Xu, be witness. He'll drunkenly call me 'Dad'.

Bluffing. Here.

Here!

Chengling, are you okay?

If you can't bear it, train again in an hour.

His meridians are exceptional. Forcing him won't kill him.

Why talk so much rot? Drink!

- Here. - Drink up!

How'd foolish Yu Qiufeng meet Glad Mourning Ghost?

Wu Yang. How old did that girl with him seem to be?

Foster Dad, forgive me. I couldn't tell.

But from her clothes, about age 20.

But her martial arts were experienced.

I couldn't battle her.

Please penalize me.

I sent you with Scorpion to get Glad Mourning Ghost.

I didn't tell you to fight.

All experienced assassins died.

You're young. How can you fight Mt. Hua leader?

I won't blame you.

These years, you gained Yueyang Sect Chief's trust.

You helped me with many tasks.

You and Huairen are good kids. (Lake Tai spies)

But...Huairen isn't here today.

Foster Dad!

Time ran out.

I followed Three Cypress Villa style.

But...I can't decide about this screen.

Do you want mountain scenery or birds...?

Foster Dad.

Who is he?

You may go.

Aye.

Scorpion, you decide this small matter.

Once done, stay there.

I will stay here.

Unacceptable. Look at Yue Yang's poor decor.

How can you stay here?

"I am a noble swan aspiring to Heaven."

These years, I tainted myself with wealth,

pretending to lap up luxury

to numb the short-sighted.

But now...

my future is bright

looking down on Wulin.

I need no longer pretend.

Yes.

You're right.

But I've arranged everything.

Foster Dad, I myself picked everything.

Scorpion. A gentleman won't focus on amenities.

I most dislike your moodiness and lack of focus.

Stay on task.

Aim for the main goal.

Complete the task I gave you.

Aye.

Me first!

Keep drinking. Drink it all!

- Why must I? - You've a big mouth.

Me...!

How's my mouth big?

A'Xu!

A'Xu.

A'Xu, Old Freak says my mouth is big!

My mouth clearly looks good.

A'Xu!

I found it!

You have white hairs.

You said I'm an old lady. You're more like one.

So what if I have white hairs?

True.

Who knows how long an Old Freak has lived.

What's white hair matter?

But, Mister Ye,

how old are you?

I don't remember. I should be long dead.

A'Xu!

A'Xu!

I... I...

I...

Go to bed!

It's fine. I didn't drink much.

I won't say it again!

Kid, at your young age, why don't you want to live?

Who says I don't want to live?

The Nails didn't act up lately, right?

You were enjoying it. That's your death knell.

Your internal organs have begun to weaken.

Your body no longer fights. You feel no torment.

I just can't understand.

Many people deserve to die

yet fight to stay alive. Why don't you want to live?

My life has only two choices—

To live well or die well.

No-one can force me onto a third path.

Young Qin (Huaizhang), your disciple is truly stupid.

Are today's youngsters so stupid?

Changqing, when we were young,

were we like this?

I don't remember.

I've lived too long.

I don't remember.

A'Xu, here, drink.

What are you looking at?

Does it hurt?

You try it.

I say...

after years,

**I met my destined one who sees eye to eye.

Could you not die?

I'll do my best.

Turn around, look at me. Say it again!

I don't won't to look.

I can't see your fakery,

wearing a mask, with no sincerity.

I...I'm afraid...

You're afraid I'll die soon,

leaving any moment.

So you agree to my every wish.

Old Wen, are you pitying or humiliating me?

Don't go!

I'm not going.

Once you sober up, I'll beat you up.

You know I've little time

yet fakely cosset me.

It's not fake.

It's real.

You really want a beating.

Get your big mouth to bed. I won't die yet.

The little time left should be cherished.

Brat.

I've said it before. I'm betting I wasn't wrong.

I gamble you'll one day open your heart to me.

Before I see that outcome, even King of Heaven

better leave me in the game.

Open my heart.

One's heart is a ghost town. What's there to see?

After I see it, I'll know how to help you.

Sleep.

When you see it (my heart),

**you won't like me anymore.

~ The sky was gray as I crossed the cold river ~

~ The moon in my cup reflects sadness in my smile ~

~ Who let me roam Jianghu on horseback? ~

~ Who wakes from a drunken dream of his hometown? ~

~ In desolate autumn, rain kisses my windows ~

~ I can bear hate and slander, but my melancholy persists ~

~ Spring breeze on river greenery ~

~ can't warm my cold heart ~

~ Out of nowhere, is that our light? ~

~ I regret we met late ~

~ Don't let seasons pass ~

~ Give up adventures on horseback for a quiet life ~

~ Across miles, lights of home; the past fades like smoke ~

~ I'll enjoy wine and tea with you all my days ~

~ On high peaks or far seas, I'll be with you always ~