Original subtitles

[ringing tone]

[ringing tone]

[connection sound]

[Min-chun] Hello?

Is it Chia-ying?

[Chia-ying] Mm-hmm.

Where are you right now?

Why won't you come home?

Does this home mean nothing to you?

[Chia-ying] Mom, I'm home.

- [door closes] - [keys jingle]

Mom?

[soft music playing]

[paper rustling]

[skin scratches]

So...

You've been keeping your dad's letters.

I was throwing them away.

I just forgot. I'll throw them away right now.

[Min-chun] It doesn't matter.

Keep them if you want to.

Mom.

I bought your favorite cake.

Let's eat it together.

You can eat it by yourself.

TO SHANG-WEN

[sniffling]

[Chia-ying sobbing]

[sobbing]

[keyboard clicks]

[computer beeps]

LET'S GO.

I HAVE A PLACE THAT I WANT TO GO. I'D LIKE YOU TO COME WITH ME.

YA, RUN AWAY FROM HOME! RUN AWAY!

[Min-chun] You've always preferred to be with your dad, haven't you?

If you want to be with your dad,

you don't have to come back.

[disconnection sound]

[footsteps]

[Ming-cheng] Are you okay?

Did your mom give you a scolding?

My mom told me not to go home.

- [Ming-cheng] Huh? - Let's go.

[Chia-ying] Hey!

You guys are all I have left now.

- No one is allowed to ditch me, okay? - [girls] Okay.

[Yang-yu] All right, let's go inside.

[suspenseful music playing]

NOT IN SERVICE, DAHUA BUS 716

[theme music playing]

I was the forensic investigator assigned to the Hsiao Chia-ying case.

[ominous music playing]

At that time, I didn't notice that the evidence was tampered.

I chose to trust Sergeant Lin Ching-jui

and his crime scene report.

I was convinced Hsiao Chia-ying was the murderer.

During the investigation,

Hsiao-meng got hurt.

I was scared of losing her.

I didn't check the evidence thoroughly.

I'm sorry.

[in broken voice] I'm sorry.

[Yi-jen breathing heavily]

[ominous music playing]

[Yi-jen groans loudly]

[groaning and gasping]

[gasping]

Lin Ching-jui's actions were wrong.

Wrong from the very beginning.

But I once believed you were different.

So I kept begging you to help me find the truth.

My daughter didn't kill anyone.

Instead, she was killed.

But you refused.

You made a mistake back then.

When we found out what Lin Ching-jui did,

you still wouldn't rectify the mistake.

You only wanted to protect his reputation.

But what about Chia-ying?

What about my Chia-ying?

I dare not face the truth.

Because I knew that once I accepted the truth,

he would be gone from my life forever.

He was the only one in the world who had tried to understand me.

[yells] I'm a fucking weirdo!

I just want to understand people, and want people to understand me!

Why is that so hard?

[yells] Why?

You are a weirdo.

You just want people to understand you.

But do you really want to understand other people?

Have you tried to understand my loss?

You forced me.

You forced me to become a homicidal monster.

What if Hsiao-meng were the victim?

What would you do?

[calmly] I know you sacrificed everything to avenge your daughter.

You killed them all.

You got to the truth behind Hsiao Chia-ying's death.

But what you really want to know

is why she left you.

[yells] Don't assume you know everything!

That's true. I know nothing at all.

I'm just like you.

I don't know how to keep my daughter with me.

My relationship with Chia-ying is nothing like yours!

- You shut up! - [bone cracking]

[groaning]

[sobbing]

[Yi-jen] I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, Hsiao Min-chun.

Fifteen years ago, I failed to give you the truth.

But now, at least let me tell you

the last place where Hsiao Chia-ying went.

[soft piano music playing]

[clattering]

- [blood dripping] - [ominous sound]

[Yi-jen on video] During the investigation,

Hsiao-meng got hurt.

I was scared of losing her.

I didn't check the evidence thoroughly.

That was my fault.

[Hsiao-meng sniffling]

[Yi-jen] I'm sorry.

[Yi-jen groaning loudly]

[groaning and gasping]

- Pass me the phone. - [Yi-jen gasping]

[phone whizzing]

[Yi-jen groaning]

Listen.

- [Yi-jen groaning] - [clattering]

[phone whizzing]

[clicks]

- [horn bellowing] - [Yi-jen groaning]

Can you hear that?

- [Yi-jen groaning] - [horn bellowing]

It's foghorns!

They must be close to a port.

The map! Between the time of my last call with him

to when the video was uploaded...

The closest port...

[Hsiao-meng] It's this one. This must be the port.

CHIENSHOU PORT

[phone beeps]

DESTINATION: CHIENSHOU PORT

Fasten your seat belt.

[engine starting]

We will find Fang Yi-jen.

[nervous snicker]

- [engine revving] - [tires squealing]

[soft music playing]

Mommy, let me tell you,

I know how to make French fries taste amazing.

How?

Watch.

With a dip like this, French fries will become sweet and tangy.

Who taught you this?

Mommy...

Your dad taught you that, didn't he?

No, he didn't.

If Mommy doesn't like it,

I won't do it anymore.

Mommy didn't mean to get harsh on you.

But didn't we have an agreement?

We've finally got away.

We've finally left your dad.

Can you please forget him?

It will be just the two of us from now on.

Okay?

Mm-hmm.

I understand.

From now on, my name is no longer Chuang Shang-wen.

It's Hsiao Chia-ying.

Is that right?

That's right.

You're such a good girl.

[vehicle screeches]

[car door opens]

[Hsiao-meng yells] Fang Yi-jen!

[suspenseful music playing]

[Hai-yin] Fang Yi-jen's video must have been taken here.

But where is he?

[Hsiao-meng] It looks like Hsueh Hsin-ning had taken Fang Yi-jen away.

He must still be alive.

Don't worry.

[ominous music playing]

[crunching]

[female officer] We found something.

- Keep going. I'll report it. - Okay.

[Liao] It's not necessary.

The Forensics Unit is here.

No need.

- Yes. - [officer] Mr. Chang!

Can you please come take a look?

Chief! I've got to go. Another colleague will talk to you.

Please update the chief.

[car door opens]

[car door closes]

Where would Ms. Hsueh take Fang Yi-jen?

She killed so many people for her child.

Could she have taken him a place connected to Hsiao Chia-ying?

[Hsiao-meng] Fang Yi-jen.

The diary kept mentioning a place, called the place of rebirth.

Misty mountains and deep blue sea. I went to these places before.

So in the second stanza,

train tracks, tunnel and daylilies

should also describe real places too.

Based on what you two are saying,

walking past the phoenix tree,

along the rail tracks and through the tunnel,

will bring you to a field of daylilies.

The place of rebirth should be around here.

SANLENG NATIONAL PARK

Hsiao Chia-ying...

[Hsiao-meng] Fang Yi-jen never understood why I left home and moved out.

What Ms. Hsueh wants to know the most is why her daughter left her.

THE PLACE OF REBIRTH

- [engine starting] - [Hai-yin] Call Liao

and send him the address for the place of rebirth.

[Hsiao-meng] Okay.

[suspenseful music playing]

[gun cocking]

[metal clanks]

[Hsiao-meng] I've always thought that he doesn't get me

and that he doesn't know how to get along with people.

[Hsiao-meng] But I kind of get it now.

It's not that he doesn't get me.

I've never tried to understand him.

Do you get the feeling like I do that Fang Yi-jen is different now?

We've just started to understand each other better.

[Hai-yin] It's going to be okay.

We will find him.

SANLENG NATIONAL PARK FANG YI-JEN IS HERE.

SANLENG NATIONAL PARK

[suspenseful music playing]

[Liao] Mr. Chang, Hsu Hai-yin found Fang Yi-jen's location.

Bring a team there.

- Keep me posted. - [Liao] Okay.

Team two!

- Come with me. - [male officer] Yes, sir.

[car door opens]

[Hai-yin] Hsiao-meng!

This looks like Ms. Hsueh's car.

Fang Yi-jen!

[car door opens]

[car door closes]

Fang Yi-jen!

- Fang Yi-jen! - Hsiao-meng.

How did you know this was the last place my daughter came?

When Hsiao-meng was working,

she found the exchange diary between Yuan Chi-ling and Hsiao Chia-ying.

What did she write in it?

A story about the place of rebirth.

[Yi-jen] It was written in the exchange diary

that she wanted to start over with her beloved family.

So she brought her stuff here...

and left it under the mesh wires by the tunnel.

Then she passed through the tunnel and entered the place of rebirth.

Only after that could she restart her life.

[clattering]

[pops]

[squeaks]

[suspenseful music playing]

DADDY

This is impossible.

This is impossible.

Why would she want her dad to be reborn?

[murmurs] This is impossible...

This is impossible.

[Yi-jen] Hsiao Chia-ying did want her dad to be reborn.

You're lying!

What did you do to him?

[door opens]

[door closes]

[thuds]

[Mr. Chuang] Hsiao Min-chun, what are you doing?

Where are you taking my daughter?

Tonight will be the last night that the two of us stay in this house.

[Mr. Chuang] What are you talking about?

Shang-wen is my daughter.

I have custody rights over her.

[thumps]

- [Mr. Chuang] You can get lost yourself! - [Min-chun groans]

You can't take her with you.

[thumps]

You're the reason for our divorced.

- [Mr. Chuang] So what? - [Min-chun groans]

I do beat you, so what?

Do I beat my daughter? Huh?

Do I not treat her well?

- [contemptibly] Huh? - [thumps]

Why don't we get Shang-wen and tell her that I beat you?

Let's see what will happen to you two.

[repeatedly] No!

- [Mr. Chuang] That's enough already. - [Min-chun shrieks]

[aggressively] Enough!

[thumps]

Hsiao Min-chun, you can get the hell out of here.

But Chuang Shang-wen must spend her whole life...

in this house with me.

- [somber music playing] - high-pitched ringing

[skin scratches]

- [thumps] - [flesh squelches]

MOMMY

[somber music playing]

[blood dripping]

MOMMY

ME

[Yi-jen] Hsiao Chia-ying didn't want her dad to be all alone in the ground.

DADDY

So she brought him to the place of rebirth.

She believed everyone should have a chance to be reborn.

[whimpers]

She had always known...

that you killed her dad.

[gun jangling]

- [keypad beeping] - [ringing tone]

[male voice] This is Chunghsiao Precinct.

How may I help you?

Do you want to report an incident?

Hello?

Do you need help?

- Can you give me your address? - [blood dripping]

Hello?

- Is anyone there? - [disconnection sound]

[somber music intensifies]

[somber music dies down]

[Yi-jen] Hsiao Chia-ying was trapped between keeping your secret

and her guilty feeling towards her dad.

[whimpers]

[Yi-jen] So she left home...

hoping her dad could be reborn.

[stammers] No...

That is definitely not it.

She wouldn't want her dad to be reborn.

She wouldn't.

[mutters] Her dad...

Her dad was a monster.

He deserved to die.

- I'll kill you. - [gun firing]

[somber music playing]

[Min-chun] Whoever caused Chia-ying's death

deserves to die, each and every one of them.

[gun jangles]

[Hsiao-meng] Ms. Hsueh! Please don't!

[Hai-yin] Fang Yi-jen.

I know you want to avenge your daughter,

but I can't let you hurt Fang Yi-jen.

Don't come closer!

[blood oozing]

He just wanted to stay alive

and tricked me into coming here.

I know Chia-ying really well.

Even if she had known...

[stammers] that I... I killed her father,

she still wouldn't have left me.

She wouldn't want her dad to be reborn.

[in low voice] Hsiao-meng.

Ms. Hai-yin.

Chia-ying wrote things in the diary to tell her mom.

She won't hurt me.

Trust me.

[gently] Chia-ying's mom.

I know you love your daughter very much.

[Hsiao-meng] You just can't accept that she left you like this.

But if you know the real reason,

you'll realize she never planned on leaving you,

and that she never stopped loving you.

Chia-ying's mom.

Please put the gun down, and we'll leave this place together.

[softly] Okay?

[police sirens blaring in the distance]

Hsiao-meng!

Don't come for me.

Help my dad first.

[police sirens blaring in the distance]

Fang Yi-jen.

Fang Yi-jen.

[police sirens blaring in the distance]

[Min-chun] Chia-ying.

[tranquil music playing]

[Min-chun chuckles]

Chia-ying's mom.

That story about the place of rebirth,

it was you who told Hsiao Chia-ying, right?

"At the end of the railway track lies the nirvana we dream of.

Through the tunnel,

hopes are planted in a field of daylilies."

In the digital recorder,

you heard Hsiao Chia-ying singing this song, didn't you?

Shut up!

She came here with all the stuff from her dad

to leave her past in this place of rebirth.

She wanted all her memories of her dad to stay here.

She wanted to turn around

and see her dad one last time.

Then she could go out of that tunnel

to be back by your side.

[somber music playing]

[in coarse voice] It's too late.

Fang Yi-jen.

How are you feeling?

Where's Hsiao-meng?

Where is she?

[Min-chun sobbing]

[female voice humming melodically]

[sniffling]

[female voice humming melodically]

Whoever caused Chia-ying's death deserves to die.

["Shadow under the Sun" plays]

I...

- also deserve to die. - No.

This is the place of rebirth for you and Chia-ying.

You two once had a fresh start.

Can you please put down the gun?

Hsiao-meng.

[Min-chun] After I lost Chia-ying,

I only kept myself alive to get revenge.

After I kill myself,

this revenge

will be completed.

- Give yourself a chance. - Fang Yi-jen!

[gun firing]

Chia-ying.

Mom.

You've finally found me.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

I never knew that you were keeping my secret.

I gave you so much pain.

I'm so sorry.

I was just...

so scared.

I was scared that you didn't love me.

I was scared that I'd lose you.

I'm so sorry.

Mom.

I love you dearly.

Thank you for being my mom.

We can be together now.

You once told me that this was the place of rebirth.

[Chia-ying] Stop crying.

[gun firing]

[female voice humming melodically]

- [handcuffs jangle] - [Liao] Get up.

- [Liao] Get up. - Fang Yi-jen.

[anxiously] Fang Yi-jen!

[whispers] Fang Yi-jen.

[whispers] Fang Yi-jen.

[Liao] Hold on. We need to frisk her.

- [female officer] Okay. - [Liao] Watch her.

Sir, she's clean.

- [Liao] Take her away. - Let's go.

[police radio beeping]

[male anchor] Here's a news update

on the shocking case of Hsiao Min-chun's serial murders.

Hsiao Min-chun has been arrested and detained.

Trial will commence tomorrow.

[female anchor] This case can be traced back 15 years ago.

Hsiao Min-chun's daughter, Hsiao Chia-ying,

ran away from home with some friends,

which ended in two of them killed in an accident.

Sergeant Lin Ching-jui, who investigated the case,

fabricated the crime scene and framed Hsiao Chia-ying for murder.

This eventually led to Hsiao Min-chun using Dr. Hsueh Hsin-ning's identity

to carry out her revenge.

She murdered an innocent victim and used the body to fake her own death.

Then she murdered four people involved in her daughter's death.

It's astonishing how a misunderstanding between a mother and her daughter

would end up tearing apart so many families.

It's absolutely heartbreaking.

[Yi-jen] I walked from my place to your new place yesterday.

It took me ten minutes.

It's a nice walking distance. Not too far, not too short.

If I take a walk here next time and you happen to be free,

we can go grab a meal and catch up.

[Yi-jen] Can I ask you a question?

[Hai-yin] Sure. Just one?

[Yi-jen] Hai-yin is now the CEO of Sevenleaves Foundation.

I sometimes go there to help.

[Yi-jen] One? Or two?

You previously said that our relationship was...

[plates clattering]

Just like the way it is now.

Er...

The way it is now is quite nice.

One?

[plates clattering]

[Yi-jen] Looking at those children

sometimes makes me think of you.

Last time, you said that you were saving up for driving lessons.

I've been thinking...

"I should just teach you instead."

[Yi-jen] ...I should just teach you instead.

I'm not deciding it for you.

It's just another option. You can think about it.

IT FEELS LIKE...

[Hsiao-meng] It feels like a long time has passed.

I've finally found my way out of the dark abyss.

I can see the sun shining outside.

I feel that my existence

can be meaningful to people.

Life isn't always straightforward.

The words that we can't speak out...

I'VE FOUND THE JOB I ENJOY DOING.

...the secrets that we've kept hidden,

the emotions that we can't express,

and the misunderstandings rising out of love...

sometimes

can push people into their own abyss.

But there will always be someone,

or something,

small

or insignificant,

that can become our remedy.

HSIAO-MENG

[Hsiao-meng] Fang Yi-jen.

Thank you

for coming to that seaside that Mom loved

and reaching out to grab me

as I was falling into darkness.

Thank you

for opening up a space

for me to get closer to you.

[vehicle approaching]

Are you feeling okay?

Mm-hmm.

[seatbelt buckle clicks]

[car door opens]

[car door closes]

We are finally here together.

[Yi-jen] If you want...

We can...

I'll drive.

I think that...

I'm worried that...

- You are so weird. - I...

I can hardly understand you.

You are the weird one.

Fang Yi-jen.

Mom was also very weird.

She actually liked you.

Nineteen ninety...

It was in 1998.

June 14.

I was...

in a class for fingerprint analysis.

I was at the coffee shop by the seaside at 2:35 p.m.

We took each other's coffee by accident.

I hurried out after her and spilled coffee all over her.

She didn't get mad.

She just looked at me and kept laughing.

The sun was bright that day.

Wearing a white dress and a straw hat, she stood by the seaside.

I just watched her laughing at me.

I later found out that she loved the sea.

She loved coffee too.

[soft music playing]

[ominous sound]

[footsteps approaching]

[Deputy Director] Mr. Chang.

Congratulations.

We could arrest Hsueh Hsin-ning

and solve the case quickly.

Everything has ended nicely.

Mr. Chang, you deserve all the credit.

Thank you for the praise.

During the process, the police worked very hard too.

I would say

it's the joint effort between the prosecutors and the police

so that Mr. Chang can enjoy the glory like this today, right?

[laughing loftily]

The Lin Ching-jui case is only the beginning.

[eerie music playing]

What do you mean?

Lin Ching-jui was just a police officer but he managed to do all these.

He must have got some support in the police force.

Don't you think?

Mr. Chang.

There's a line between the prosecutors and the police.

Are you sure you want to cross it?

Some consequences

could be too dire for you to handle.

[phone ringing]

DIRECTOR GENERAL

Deputy Director Hsu.

I think you should take this call for your own good.

[phone ringing]

Yes.

Hello, Director General.

Hsueh Hsin-ning has been put through the arraignment.

Yes, but...

Yes, sir.

Deputy Director.

I suppose everything should be fine between us?

[intense music playing]

[Keng-hao] In the history of Pinglin City, there are seven cold cases.

Behind each cold case

lies a nexus of unbreakable and unspeakable secrets.

Lin Ching-jui's cover-up of the Hsiao Chia-ying case

- only reveals the tip... - [door buzzing]

...of an enormous power structure.

[metal door humming]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Keng-hao] I'm sorry.

It is my incompetence...

to have kept you waiting in there for so long.

Lin Ching-jui was skillful and meticulous.

But solving the Hsiao Chia-ying case has given us an opportunity.

Each and every of his cases will have to be reinvestigated now.

Thank you for your hard work.

Madame.

Congratulations on your release.

[intense music playing]

[all] Madame!

[dramatic music playing]

[Keng-hao] I've taken risks

in violating taboos and breaking the illusion of peace

due to the first cold case from 30 years ago.

Nobody knows that when I was six years old,

I became the only witness in that case.

[intense music playing]

[intense music stops abruptly]

[closing theme music playing]