Original subtitles

The underworld.

Science.

Fist and feet.

The truth.

A great swimmer.

Forensics.

Sorceress.

Reporter.

Weak body.

Special detective.

Mother.

Secretary of Municipal Government.

An individual with unsurpassed and exceptional abilities.

Young Master.

Belongs to the Great God.

The heiress.

Does not smoke nor drink.

What is the use of having power and money?

Can't stand the sight of you.

Not bad. Reasonable and fair.

Let's take a bath.

Are you kidding me?

Not squeamish.

There are clues.

German.

Spirit channeling.

Big news.

Chamber of Commerce for Water Transportation.

Master.

De-you!

Father.

Not messing things up. Not afraid of things.

Inference.

Evidence.

Childhood sweetheart.

The people of Tientsin.

Mao Ding.

De-you Guo.

-River God. -River God.

-River God. -River God.

EPISODE 1

Tientsin City lies at the downstream of numerous tributaries.

It has three pontoon bridges and two strategic passes.

Its people live off of the river

and many have died by it too.

Those who sustain by what the water can give,

must show absolute reverence to the water.

For the commoners of Tientsin, the thing that carries most weight

must be the annual river worship ceremony.

Phantoms inhabiting the mountain

Want to seize my body

Ghosts inhabiting the water

Want to eat my soul

I offer my heart as a sacrifice

To feed the deity

Please grant my wish

Grant my wish

Amazing!

Hope the ghosts can return in peace

Amazing!

Amazing!

Oh God of the Northern Sky,

tames the river monster and bless our safety.

Let’s pay tribute to the God of the Northern Sky.

Let’s invite the River God.

River God!

Amazing!

Swim quickly! Don’t get caught!

How should we write the report?

All the strong swimmers of Tientsin are here.

Whoever catches the turtle can become a disciple of the Old River God.

Doesn't his own disciple, De-you Guo, win every year?

What’s the point of competing?

That's why he’s not allowed to compete this year.

Without him, the Wuhe River salvage team might stand a chance.

Lan-lan, Secretary General Xiao has given instruction

to stop you from coming to the pier.

It's a hangout for troublemakers.

Let’s go back, shall we?

You can go if you like. I can write the report alone.

-Why are they coming out? -They're coming up.

Why are they running away? What happened?

Did you get it, Tie-niu?

Speak!

-Yes. -Where is it?

Where is it?

Disperse the crowd first.

Why? What happened?

You have to leave, guys.

Leave now, hurry.

Come on, there's nothing to see here.

What’s going on?

I found a dead body.

Run! Get out of here!

Hey!

A water demon?

It’s just a dead child.

It's a dangerous world we're living in.

To live is to suffer and dying is a blessing.

Tie-niu, the child should get a proper burial, so find someone to help us.

Don’t let this ruin the festival.

That turtle kills.

Enough!

God of the Northern Sky protects us from harm.

Why would the River God kill the child?

It's not just the child.

There is

a bigger one underwater.

De-you!

De-you!

De-you!

Something bad happened at the ceremony.

De-you!

Goodness!

De-you!

Tie-niu found a dead child in the river and he said there is another body.

De-you!

De-you, people are waiting for you at the pier.

The police are there as well.

De-you!

De-you!

De-you Guo!

De-you Guo!

What are you doing here?

Where were you yesterday?

Can't you see I'm practicing?

Do not disturb me when...

Answer my question.

Let me tell you something.

This tub was passed on to me by Master Guo.

Now that you broke it, how am I going to soak in herbal medicine

and practice my skills?

Your clothes smell like rouge. And they're all expensive.

It seems like you’ve had a blast, Little River God.

Tell me.

Who are the ladies?

Do you have a problem with me?

Just let me live as I like. It’s none of your business!

All right then. I’ll burn your clothes.

Hey! It's Master Ding.

Who?

Mao Ding.

The only child of Yi-qiu Ding, the Head of Chamber of Commerce.

Young Master, you've only been absent for a few days

but the Chamber of Commerce is a mess.

You must return with me.

Young Master.

The whole Tientsin City is looking for him.

The Chamber's committee members are going crazy.

But you managed to find him?

I fished him out of the river.

He treated me to a good meal for saving his life.

Is that how you caught that rouge smell all over your body?

Well, I guess,

the restaurant had a good ambiance.

And where is it?

Where?

-Where? -The Hidden Jade Mansion.

-Is it a place for dining? -Of course, it can be.

De-you Guo!

I guess you've inherited your temper from your sorceress mother!

Hey.

Shouldn’t you be releasing the turtle near the river?

There is a dead body in the river.

Don't make a fuss.

Haven’t you seen a dead body before?

It's not like you were there alone, right? Did they get it out?

They couldn’t, so they asked me to invite you.

They couldn’t fish it out?

Good morning, sir.

Good morning.

Please take care.

Give me a kiss, girl.

Give me a kiss.

-Stop it. -Just a kiss, come on.

Sir, did you have a good sleep?

If not, you can rest a little longer.

But if you're well rested, would you please settle the bill?

What bill?

The banquet your friend ordered at Felicity Residence

was charged to our account.

What do you mean "my friend?" Do you know him?

Who doesn’t know Little River God? His name is De-you Guo.

Where can I find him?

It's all right. No need to fumble around.

Just sign here.

We’ll send people to your residence to collect the money.

Do you know my address?

As if I don't know about the Chamber of Commerce.

How else can I run a brothel?

Pardon me?

Run a brothel.

The river ceremony is going on right now. You can find Little River God there.

Small.

-Four, four, six. Big. -Damn it.

Eating, drinking and whoring cost money.

Only gambling can make a profit.

Good game.

Okay.

Come on, let's go.

Everyone says that Master Guo is good at gambling.

I’ll definitely lose if I gamble too much.

I only do it for fun.

Let’s play one round.

If I win, I hope you'll help me find someone.

You don't have to go this far, Mr. Hu.

Your Chamber of Commerce doesn’t need help from others.

But the young master of the Chamber of Commerce is missing.

Who wouldn't panic?

If he is on the turf of Tientsin,

the Chamber of Commerce will have plenty of ways to find him.

But if he is in the river, we’ll have to rely on your help.

I’m too weak to go underwater.

How about your disciple?

The Little River God, De-you Guo.

Si Yu.

We'll make sure to reward you for your work.

Don’t you know what the salvage team does?

It specializes in fishing dead bodies out of the water.

As for a living person, it'll cost far more than this amount.

Do you mean to say that he is still alive?

Don’t smoke too much. It's not good for your health.

-Hurry up. -Come on. Be quick.

Move along. There's nothing to see here.

Be quick!

Let the women and children leave first.

Go straight home.

Quick!

The baby is either a stillborn

or the parents couldn't afford to raise it.

At best, it is probably a love child.

Ms. Xiao, please don’t report it.

Let's not upset the people

on such an important occasion like the worship ceremony, okay?

Our news agency only plays a monitoring role.

It is your police station where they demand an account from.

If I sweep all the bad news under the rug, I won't have peace of mind, Captain Fu.

Besides, I'm a commoner as well.

Ms. Xiao, you can't honestly believe that you are a commoner.

Hey.

Here comes the Third Master.

Ms. Xiao, the Secretary General asks you to leave now.

It’s not safe here.

Go back and tell my father that my job will only be finished

when the turtle is caught.

He requested you to be back before lunchtime.

Here comes the Little River God!

He's here.

Little River God is here.

Thank you.

Thank you. Where are we going for lunch later?

Pig Three!

Weren't you supposed to take your mom to the hospital rather than being here?

No.

Nice hat.

Do you expect me to lower my head?

Little River God, come over here.

-Master Guo. -Mother.

You can’t go underwater.

The River God should keep the peace,

but this one has turned into a river monster and killed people.

Coward!

Hey.

You mustn't go.

I'm from the salvage team. This is what I do.

Don't stop me from making money.

Excuse me.

How rude!

Hey! Didn’t you see the cordon?

I am Little River God’s friend.

Then I'm his father. Step back!

Hey! Stop right there!

Stop!

-Get off. -You can’t go in.

-I know him. -Leave. You're not allowed here.

-I've never needed this before. -It's not the same this time.

You must tie this on to go down.

It'll just get in the way.

I won't let you dive without it.

Hurry up then!

-You can't go in. -Is he a VIP?

-Drive him away if he’s not. -So annoying!

I am Mao Ding.

Who?

Mao Ding.

From the Chamber of Commerce.

-I'm Yi-qiu Ding's son. -Master Ding! Goodness.

Goodness, my family!

What brings you here? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.

De-you Guo!

Come over here, De-you Guo!

Who is he?

-A drinking buddy. -Let me see.

You’ve lost so much weight!

But it doesn’t matter as long as you are fine.

Notify the Chamber of Commerce

that our police team has found Master Ding for them.

Understood?

I’m here for De-you Guo.

-Be careful. -You must make it clear to me!

Stop!

Damn it.

Our police force

has made painstaking efforts to find Master Ding.

Get out of the way!

Master Guo.

What brings you here?

It’s good to have you back.

De-you!

Stop it, I'm fine.

What are you doing?

-It's all done. -Hey.

Why did you take me to such a place?

Tie-niu, get the body out of the water.

Listen here, if you dare tell anyone about this...

Please accept my condolence.

It's the president.

-President. -President.

Si Yu, clear the site quickly.

Clear the site. Now.

Can you do me a favor?

Let's go.

Hurry up.

I'll leave with my pupil.

Let's go.

Hey!

I’ll leave it to you then.

Stop looking.

-Okay. -Go.

-Go. -Shall we get dressed first?

Ms. Xiao.

Please don't make it harder for me.

Sir, please.

It's time to go, Ms. Xiao.

Clear the crowd!

Yes, sir!

What happened?

There is a statue of Xuanwu under the water.

I’ve never seen it before and I don’t know when it sank down.

He was tied to it.

He was bound tight and sank very deep.

Hence why Tie-niu and the others couldn't get him out.

So how did you manage by yourself?

If what you said is true,

that my father was tied up in such a deep place

and you stayed in the water for more than five minutes,

with oxygen deprivation caused by diving, untying and other activities

as well as the influence of water pressure,

a normal person couldn't have done so. It’s against the laws of science!

What do you mean, Master Ding?

How did my father die?

I make a living by getting people out of the water.

I've been doing this since I was a child.

I don’t know whether I’m a normal person, but at least I am an honest person.

You saved me yesterday

and you got my father out of the water today.

This can't be just a coincidence.

What do you want with me?

What do you want to do to our Chamber of Commerce?

No wonder my master only taught me how to fish out dead bodies.

Because in a world like this, saving a living person

is worse than saving a dog.

Young Master, no!

What are you going to do?

De-you Guo must be a suspect!

I want an autopsy!

-Young Master! -Stop it, Young Master!

Stop making trouble!

Your father wanted you to take over the business, but you didn't want to.

You wanted to study forensic medicine and he let you do it.

Can’t you just follow the rules?

If you want to cut your father open, fine.

But cut me up first.

That's enough.

We should be thinking

about how to arrange funeral services for President Ding.

This isn't the time to fight.

Master Ding.

Are you going to cut up your father with a knife

in broad daylight and with a crowd watching?

It's not right regardless of your intention.

If I don’t do so, how can I know how my father died?

Tell me.

You’ve just returned from abroad and there is something you don’t know yet.

“Tientsin City lies at the downstream of numerous tributaries."

"It has three pontoon bridges and two strategic passes.”

Cases that have anything to do with water will be judged by Old River God.

When it comes to Master Guo's skills of discerning grievance by burning tobacco,

many know about it but few have seen it.

I've seen it though.

You guys continue.

-I have to go. -Hey!

Old River God, please don’t excuse yourself from it.

If you go, the case will be left here without a result.

Let me make something clear.

The things I’ll find out later on

might not be the things that people want to know.

I'll take my leave first. Give me a shout when you need me.

You don’t have to. You can just stay away from here.

All right.

My pupil has a weak physique. He can't smell the smoke.

Harboring grudge in his heart.

The soul returns by virtue of smoke.

The spirit emerges from the water.

And heads to the netherworld as early as possible.

How is it, Master Guo?

This is a pathway of deities and grudge of evil spirits.

What do you mean by "pathway" and "grudge?"

We would really appreciate it if you could explain.

Even gods and ghosts cannot predict it.

It is not time yet.

Hey! Master Guo!

Hey...

Master Guo!

Gosh, Master Guo. Don't leave just yet.

Please tell me exactly how this person died.

My River Gods, you’ve burnt the tobacco.

Now, have you found out the cause of grievance or not?

Don’t call me River God anymore.

I can’t take it.

What was wrong with you today, Master?

The two bodies found were suspicious.

I could tell you found it out.

But why didn't you tell them?

Did you know the two people in charge of transport, one dead and one alive?

Tientsin City is not that big.

So, crossing path with someone isn't unusual.

What was going on with those two dead bodies?

You should tell them your theory.

It’s a truth if it can be explained.

It’s an emotion if it can’t be articulated.

It's fine if you drop a cliffhanger. But people might start to grumble.

They might assume you've lost your touch.

Don’t call yourself River God later on.

Don't respond if others call you that.

They call us that to exalt us...

The literary scholar Confucius and military sage Guan Yu

were both made of flesh and bone.

They were people, not gods.

We're just peons, working to get food in our stomachs.

River God is merely a nickname for us.

Master, are you all right?

You've been acting strange since you came back from the pier.

It’s already late. You should go to bed.

Harboring grudge in his heart.

The soul returns by virtue of smoke.

The spirit emerges from the water.

And heads to the netherworld as early as possible.

IN REMEMBRANCE

-Young Master. -Young Master.

-Put it here. -Okay.

Please leave me for now.

I want to be with my father alone.

Yes, Young Master.

I am your father!

You are the father of your hundred

or thousand subordinates.

I'm my own person.

I am not one of the thousand.

I’m not here to ask for your opinion or whatsoever.

Just sign your name and show up for the succession ceremony.

Mr. Hu will arrange everything else for you.

Set your mind at ease and takeover the company.

You have so many people available at your disposal,

but why do you insist on making me the president?

I only have one son!

You arranged for me to study commerce in Germany,

but I studied forensic medicine instead.

I, Mao Ding,

have neither confidence nor interest in this Chamber of Commerce!

There will be no place for you

in the Chamber of Commerce from now on!

All right.

Leave!

Hello, sir.

Sir.

Sir.

IN REMEMBRANCE

What were the last words

my father said

before he passed away?

He said he’d tie you up when you come back and flay you.

Water transport has become a tough business

since the railway went through.

Officials demand taxes and foreigners want to interfere.

I tried to persuade your father

to rest after working so hard his whole life.

He said to me,

if he stops and rest, what about the workers?

What would become of the commoners of Hai River?

But now...

He is definitely taking a rest.

Without ever having to wake up again.

He was not resigned to having a rest.

He didn’t die a decent death.

Soaking in the river for such a long time...

He sure suffered.

Have you not learned anything from Master Guo?

What happened was unbelievable. Did Master Guo find out anything?

What are you hiding?

Everyone put their hopes in the tobacco burning to crack the case.

That skill no longer works, does it?

Weren't you supposed to hang talismans for Master Zhang?

You asked me if it works. It’ll certainly work if you say so.

I’m not content with your answer.

Let’s set aside everything else and talk about yesterday's worship.

It is to bring fortune, appease the rivers and lacks

and safeguard peace on our land.

How can you be skeptical on that? Don't you have a sense of veneration?

I can't tell if there's peace right now.

But the river has taken many lives

and the salvage team has to clear the mess.

If it wasn't for our river worship ceremony,

who would ever ask your team for help?

Where else would you find new divers?

The turtle you chose was crazy. It swam way too fast.

You didn't want it caught, did you?

It was the chosen River God. Of course it would swim fast.

How did it swim so fast if you hadn't injected it with hydro therapy?

Why didn’t they let you join this year? What's wrong with winning every year?

It shows how useless they are.

The rest could only dream of catching the River God.

Besides, you are Master Guo's only disciple.

If they manage to catch the turtle,

can they really take Master Guo as their teacher

and become your junior?

Hey. Where are you going?

He was already gone when the maid came to serve his breakfast.

She sent two people to look for him, but didn’t get his whereabouts.

We started to panic.

We reported it to the police and the case is ongoing.

Then later, it was already the river worship ceremony.

-Sir. -Yes?

Come here.

-Put it here. -All right.

Move it.

-You can go now. -Okay.

Amidst the misty rain before the hearse,

a swallow is cutting a piece of plain sackcloth.

My heart is broken on hearing the grievous news out of the blue.

Did you know him?

One year, my parents and I went fishing at the sea.

We were struck by wind and waves. We almost lost our lives.

But a merchant ship of the Chamber of Commerce happened to pass by.

And President Ding gave an order to save the three of us.

President Ding was a good man.

Excuse me, sir.

Can I stay with President Ding alone for a while, please?

I want to express my appreciation of his life-saving grace to our family.

Well...

Make it short then.

Thank you.

-It’s all right. -Thank you.

Close the door, please.

-Thank you. -Come on, you two. Close the door.

Thank you.

De-you, you have a weak body.

Master Guo won’t let you smoke.

Believe it or not,

I’ve learned how to discern grievance by burning tobacco.

What’s wrong with you?

De-you!

De-you!

Subtitle translation by Jay Wong