Original subtitles

Xianglian,

if you ask me, I don't think you should go back to the Li family.

They bullied you so much.

Even if that old crone has died,

what does it have to do with us?

After all,

she is still my mother-in-law.

Both morally and legally,

I have to go back.

I'm afraid

the wild river may not be safe.

We should be careful.

Don't worry.

I'm here.

What's wrong, boatman?

Ah.

Perhaps the boat got tangled up with the water grass.

It happens all the time.

I'll go down and take a look.

Be careful.

Boatman?

Hurry,

row the boat!

Okay.

Hurry!

Xiaocui, hurry up.

Row faster.

Hurry,

let's go!

Meng Yang.

- Let's go. - Go.

Miss!

Xianglian,

run!

Let's run!

Xianglian!

Meng Yang, save me!

Miss!

Xiaocui!

Meng Yang!

Save me!

Xianglian, let's run!

Meng Yang!

Let go of me!

Help me!

Meng Yang!

Xianglian,

Xianglian!

Xianglian.

[Detective Di Renjie: The Deadly Monk]

[Lin'an City]

[Silence] [Warning]

My Lord!

My daughter has put aside past grievances

and hurried back to the Li family overnight with my son, Yang,

to care for her seriously ill mother-in-law.

[Silence]

Who would've imagined they'd vanish without a trace?

They must have been killed by Li Dayou!

My Lord, please help me!

[Silence]

I'm innocent!

I have not seen them.

My Lord,

he must have hidden my wife

and wanted to marry her off to someone else!

You...

You're slandering me!

Yes,

I may not like you as a son-in-law,

but you haven't divorced yet.

How could I do that?

Then how could I possibly kill my good wife

just because of some bickering?

- Enough, enough. - You…

Why bother me with such a trivial matter?

It's not like a kid got lost.

Perhaps they've simply been delayed by something.

Go look for them again;

maybe you'll find them.

Dismissed.

- My Lord! - My Lord!

- My Lord! - Please help me, my Lord!

Hey,

hot steamed buns.

I never expected the night market in Lin'an

would be so deserted.

It's nowhere near as lively as the Divine Capital.

There isn't even a decent tavern around.

Xianglian,

where have you gone?

The officials won't take the case;

who can help me?

My life is so miserable.

Heaven is unfair!

With the power of heaven,

bestow blessings upon the world!

Drink the sacred water,

worship God,

and follow His orders

to live in peace!

True God!

Grant me sacred water.

I've touched the sacred water!

I've become immortal.

I've become beautiful!

I've become beautiful!

My Lord.

My Lord.

Go away.

I'm Zhou Congshan. Greetings, Lord Di...

You are Lord Di Renjie?

Hey?

How dare you?

How dare you doubt the identity of Lord Di, the Imperial Envoy!

[Order]

This is the token bestowed by His Highness.

From the nobles

to the common folk,

with this order, I can execute first and report later.

[Order]

Lord Zhou, would you like to give it a try?

I...

Greetings, Imperial Envoy Di.

My Lord, please forgive me.

Get up, all of you.

Thank you, Lord Di.

On the orders of Her Majesty,

I've come here

to inspect the provinces of Jiangnan.

Are there any unaddressed cases in Lin'an City?

Lord Di,

under my governance, Lin'an City

is prosperous, thriving,

and peaceful in every way.

There are no unaddressed cases.

Humph.

In that case,

Lord Zhou,

you are indeed a... diligent and benevolent official.

I dare not claim such praise.

Come out.

Li Dayou?

What are you doing here?

My Lord, it's...

I brought him here.

Li Dayou's

wife and brother-in-law

have disappeared mysteriously late at night,

but you've ignored it

and brushed it off!

Do you still know

you are the magistrate of Lin'an?

Do you think that by refusing to file a case,

everything will be peaceful?

If you don't take it up,

then the city will, as you said, have no unaddressed cases?

How ridiculous.

I...

I will investigate it immediately.

Lord Di,

this Li Dayou

is a no-good.

He must be the one who did it.

Meng Xianglian's disappearance is not an isolated incident

but a glimpse of the darkness that shrouds Jiangnan.

Daughter,

you were fortunate.

You were fortunate.

You can bless our family

with a smooth and safe life.

You can bless our family with a smooth and safe life.

You can bless our family...

- Uncle. - Yes.

Your daughter is dead.

How can you still smile?

Ah,

my daughter was taken by God

while she was doing laundry by the river.

How can I not laugh

over such a fortunate thing?

According to Meng Yunde,

they took this very waterway.

The river is straightforward,

without any hidden currents.

Looks like there's something more to this.

Lord Di,

my home is shabby;

please excuse me.

Although your house is humble,

you're a good son.

We're here

to inquire about a few things.

Have you seen this?

This is my wife's jade hairpin.

My Lord,

have you found my wife?

Not yet.

Before your wife

left...

was there anything unusual?

Nothing out of the ordinary.

My wife has worshiped God

and wanted to offer our wealth to the temple,

saying it would bless my mother.

I disagreed,

so we had a big fight.

Then she went back to her maiden home.

I didn't expect

that there would be no news of her.

So, this is the deity you worship?

How foolish.

I've heard it's the most powerful deity,

and many people in the city worship it.

There is also a gold-plated statue of him outside the city.

Other than staying at home,

she would go to the ancient temple to pray for safety.

Ancient temple?

Does your wife

have any distinguishing features?

As for distinguishing features...

she has a red mole on her neck.

Excuse me.

Mother,

are you okay?

My Lord, something's wrong.

Yue'er, don't look up.

My Lord.

Looks like some people are well-informed.

We've been targeted.

Should I crush all these rats?

Don't alert them.

It seems that some people are getting anxious.

Yuhua,

go out of town with me later.

Okay.

Yue'er,

you go to the government office later

and keep an eye on Zhou Congshan.

Maybe

you might even get a free meal.

What?

Cheers, honey.

My Lord, My Lord.

Lord Zhou, you must be working very hard.

Aren't you worried about exhausting yourself

with all this feasting and drinking?

I'm just drowning my sorrows in wine.

If you don't mind,

please join us for lunch.

Have a seat.

Ah.

I wonder...

if Lord Di

has any instructions for me?

Lord Di wants to know

how the investigation of the disappearance case is going.

There are no leads yet.

- But I've sent someone to continue investigating... - Hey,

were there any other disappearance cases before this?

No.

Under my governance,

Lin'an City is peaceful everywhere.

Oh.

Miss, you are smart and capable.

You must be Lord Di's right-hand assistant.

May I know your name?

No drinking while investigating,

and no investigating while drinking.

My name is Liu Yue'er.

You may call me Aunt Liu

or Grandma Liu,

whichever you prefer.

I'm a nice person.

Ah, Aunt, then.

Do you know what this is?

Isn't it just an egg?

This is a tea egg,

extremely delicious.

I laid it...

No,

I mean, I made it myself.

Come on, try it.

Here, Aunt.

Hey.

Tea eggs and fine wine,

cup after cup.

This must be the ancient temple

where Meng Xianglian often prayed

before she went missing.

I just didn't expect

this place to be so run-down.

There's nothing unusual about Meng Xianglian,

except for her superstitious belief in this unorthodox temple.

It seems that her disappearance

must be related to this ancient temple.

But this place

really doesn't seem like a good place.

Look.

There must have been someone here

before we came.

Oh no.

Where is this?

Wasn't I just at the ancient temple?

Yuhua?

Yuhua!

Yuhua!

Yuhua!

[Tomb of Di Renjie]

Who are you?

You're playing tricks!

We're ghost soldiers.

Di Renjie,

you have angered God;

your crimes are unforgivable.

God said

you must die!

Then ask your God to come out.

Don't send a bunch of rotten meat to disgust me!

Lord Di.

Lord Di!

You're just a mortal.

How dare you disturb my ancient temple

and disrupt my peace?

You deserve to die.

Cut the crap.

Where is Lord Di?

Di Renjie is dead.

If you surrender,

I'll spare your life!

Stop playing tricks.

I'll make you reveal your true form now.

This is endless.

So, it was you.

Go to hell.

What?

You fell into a trap

and were under an illusion spell?

It's the smoke that caused the hallucination.

I think it should be

the people who followed us who did it,

just trying to

scare us back

and stop us from investigating further.

Oh dear, oh dear.

My Lord,

they were not trying to scare you,

but wanted to kill you.

No. No.

You'd better transfer the Imperial Envoy Guards here

and the Right Martial Army

to pacify Lin'an City directly.

Not to mention...

only Her Majesty and His Highness

can mobilize the Right Martial Army.

Even if we call in the Imperial Envoy Guards,

the mastermind behind this case

will surely hide like a rat.

How can we solve the case, then?

Don't worry.

With us protecting Lord Di,

he is safe for now.

Now, tell me,

what did you find out?

The food was quite good.

You mean serious business?

That old man

tried to flatter me and win me over,

even wanting to get me drunk.

Humph.

I managed to brush him off.

By the afternoon,

he couldn't hold it in.

But he didn't leave the office.

As for investigating the missing persons,

he doesn't take it to heart at all.

Looks like the information about our movements

must have leaked from someone in the government office.

We can't trust Zhou Congshan.

My Lord, do you suspect Zhou Congshan?

Then next time we carry out our mission, we can send him away.

He won't cause any more trouble, right?

Then we can let him follow us openly to investigate.

Let's split up.

One to distract him

and the other

to investigate the tricks behind the deity people worship.

Lord Di!

Please forgive me, Lord Di.

I'm incompetent.

I've not yet found any clues regarding Meng Xianglian's disappearance.

I'm sending more people to investigate it.

Don't be nervous, Lord Zhou.

I did not come here

for this matter.

You are surely aware of the issue

with the unorthodox temple in Lin'an, right?

I know.

The unorthodox temple has been a persistent problem in Lin'an.

It's not that I am incapable;

rather, the people are deeply bewitched.

Every time we take action, we are obstructed.

Public sentiment is overwhelming.

I am truly helpless, despite my wishes to act.

Whether the unorthodox temple in Lin'an

is good or bad,

I need to investigate among the common people.

I hope you can accompany me, Lord Zhou.

Lord Zhou, you are well-respected

in Lin'an City.

If I have any conflict with the common people,

I hope you can help explain for us.

I will do my best to cooperate.

Please bless us.

Bless us.

Please bless our family.

Bless us.

Hey.

Hey.

Uncle,

I heard that your daughter was taken by the True God.

I wish I could have such fortune too.

Please tell me how.

Young lady,

the True God

only takes the Chosen Ones.

My daughter

is the Chosen One.

An old Taoist priest named Yuan once read my fortune.

Yes.

He said...

I am the Chosen One.

Oh.

So, it's you.

I think so too.

You are indeed fortunate.

Let me tell you.

Just go through to the west.

The True God is here to pick me up.

You don't look familiar.

Are you new here?

Yes.

My parents are both believers in the True God.

So, I came here for an opportunity

to be seen by him.

If you want to see the True God,

you need to drink the guiding sacred water.

If you have the fate,

you will surely see the True God.

Drink it now.

Yue'er?

Yue'er!

What's wrong?

Yue'er?

After drinking the guiding sacred water,

I began to feel dizzy,

and everything after that

is a blur.

I felt as if I were being controlled.

It should be drug-induced hallucinations.

Your cover's been blown.

They wanted to use you

to kill me.

Ah?

They even dare to try to kill the Imperial Envoy.

How dare they?

And you.

I don't care what you eat normally,

but can you just drink water given by strangers?

Something happened, didn't it?

Lord Di.

I'm sorry.

It's not your fault.

Think carefully

about where the altar was,

or if anything unusual happened.

Gosh.

It was dark, and the forest was dense,

so I could only remember the general direction.

Ah, Lord Di,

I think I remember

hearing the sound of a bronze bell.

The men in black seemed to take it as a signal

and started driving people away.

A bronze bell?

Yes.

A temple?

Yuhua,

hand me the map.

Oh.

Yue'er,

show us the location.

[Map of Lin'an City]

It seems to be here.

[South Gate] [County Government]

Lord Di,

are you planning to visit other villages today?

I reviewed the records in the government office

and saw that within the territory of Lin'an City,

there is an ancient temple

called Hongtong Temple.

I'd like to pay a visit.

I wonder if it's still there.

Uh...

It is,

but because of the unorthodox temples,

Hongtong Temple has almost no visitors to worship

and is very deserted.

Moreover, on the mountain road to Hongtong Temple,

there's a strange tiger blocking the way.

Ordinary people don't dare approach.

A strange tiger?

Yuhua,

that's interesting.

Let's go check it out now.

Let's go.

Hey!

Lord Di,

it's dangerous.

Can any beast, however fierce,

be more dangerous than the soldiers?

My Lord,

bringing so many soldiers for this investigation

makes us too conspicuous.

It might alert the enemy.

Since there's no way to hide,

let's just go openly.

But if this is truly related to Hongtong Temple,

they've probably prepared for us already.

No matter how well they cover their tracks,

they'll slip up somewhere.

Relax.

We're just pilgrims now.

Protect Lord Di!

Archers, ready your bows!

Hold on!

This must be the tiger they mentioned.

But I don't think

it means to harm anyone.

- My Lord. - My Lord.

The tiger is fierce.

Beware of it coming back.

Since you know it's fierce,

have you sent soldiers to kill it?

Well...

Lord Zhou is busy with official duties,

and since the tiger only howls

without killing,

we haven't taken any action.

Hey!

[Sacred Sites of Tiantai]

Lord Di,

this is Hongtong Temple.

It once thrived with incense offerings.

Now, it's a pity.

[Sacred Sites of Tiantai]

[One True Dharma Realm]

I can tell that back then,

Hongtong Temple thrived with incense offerings.

But now,

it's so desolate.

It's really

a pity.

Lin'an is full of unorthodox temples.

The common people can't discern right from wrong,

and they've been misled,

causing them to stray from the righteous path.

So, the temple's incense offerings have dried up.

With no incense offerings,

there are no other offerings either.

So, Master,

how do you

and the monks make a living?

Well,

occasionally people come to fulfill their vows.

Besides, we grow some crops ourselves.

We actually found peace this way.

Oh.

Do you still

perform morning rituals

and ring the bell?

Yes, we still ring it.

Oh.

In such circumstances,

you still devote yourself to Buddhism.

You are truly sincere.

You flatter me.

As monks, we must remain pure and free of desires.

You search along the mountain behind the temple

and then return the same way.

Yes, My Lord.

This way, please.

[Sacred Sites of Tiantai]

Please stay.

Sir, please take care.

[Sacred Sites of Tiantai]

My Lord,

based on Yue'er's description,

the altar should be in that direction.

But...

without a single soldier with us,

what if we encounter danger?

My Lord,

what are you thinking?

Something is indeed wrong with Hongtong Temple.

The altar is covered in dust,

showing they have no devotion to Buddhism.

They also lied

about ringing the bell.

The slop bucket

was filled with fish bones and meat scraps.

And none of the monks in the temple

are actually from Hongtong Temple.

Something's really wrong with this place.

Since you've already noticed these clues,

why don't you just send soldiers to arrest them?

The time isn't right yet.

Besides, these soldiers can't be trusted either.

We must

be extremely careful

in everything we do here.

Okay.

But we don't know where the real monks

from Hongtong Temple have gone.

Yes.

I don't know where the real monks are,

but the fake ones are already here.

Who's there?

You are the ones who set up unorthodox temples

and have been deceiving the people.

Come out!

[Zhou's Mansion]

Ah!

Lord Di, it's a relief

that you are unharmed.

Hmph!

Lord Di may be safe,

but you're in serious trouble now.

Lord Di is an imperial envoy.

If he were killed in Lin'an,

would you still keep your position?

These villains are truly audacious.

Lord Di, do you know who the assailants are?

I'll make sure to capture them.

I came to Lin'an

to investigate the matter of unorthodox temples.

Do you know

why I went to Hongtong Temple?

Could it be...

Could it be that Hongtong Temple...

No.

In fact, our real goal wasn't Hongtong Temple at all,

but the hidden altar

deep in the mountains.

We've already found out that those villains

who hide in the shadows,

setting up unorthodox temples,

deceiving the people,

and killing them to exploit them for profit

are at that altar.

Yet,

we were ambushed right on our way there.

Lord Zhou,

don't you think that's quite a coincidence?

Gosh.

Lord Di, you are truly extraordinary.

In such a short time,

you've uncovered the villains

behind the unorthodox temples!

So we came to ask you

to quickly mobilize soldiers

to search along the way

where I was ambushed,

capture those villains in one sweep,

wipe out the unorthodox temples,

and restore peace and stability

to the people of Lin'an.

By then,

our mission will be considered complete,

and we'll leave.

Don't worry, My Lord.

I'll gather all the troops and ensure

those villains are apprehended in one sweep.

Guards!

Mobilize the troops!

Yes!

My Lord,

there's something very suspicious about Zhou Congshan.

During the day, he sneaked out of the government office

to meet with a monk.

Then he entered a secret room and disappeared.

I was worried about your safety,

so I rushed over.

I didn't expect it would actually be helpful.

Hmm, a monk.

It seems we need to set a trap for him.

Today,

it was thanks to Yue'er's timely arrival.

Otherwise,

I might

have been hit by this dart.

My Lord,

there's something I must say.

You told us to stay safe,

but what about yourself?

To find the altar,

you deliberately sent the soldiers away,

putting yourself in danger.

I know you wanted to uncover the men in black,

but have you thought about your own safety?

It won't happen again.

This time, it was only a guess.

Unexpectedly,

the person behind this lost their patience.

Perhaps

it was the monks in Hongtong Temple.

They feared we would discover something,

so they wanted to silence us.

Should we send people to arrest them?

The time isn't right yet.

There are some things

I need to investigate further.

But since their attempt failed,

they'll hide themselves away.

Then let's take the initiative.

You villains

are truly audacious,

daring to attempt the assassination of Lord Di, an imperial envoy.

How dare you!

You are quite something.

You caught the assassins in such a short time.

Lord Di,

I followed your instructions

and surrounded the altar.

Under the cover of night,

we captured these villains

who set up unorthodox temples

and have been harming the people.

Thank you for your hard work, Lord Zhou.

You are the ones who set up the unorthodox temples?

To dare offend the God,

you will surely be killed by the ghost soldiers

and suffer in hell!

Release us now!

If I'm in a good mood,

I might let you off the hook.

Nonsense!

How dare you offend Lord Di!

You are the ones who have been

continuously attempting to assassinate me?

Those who disturb the True God

deserve to be killed!

I only regret that we failed to kill you

and that it disrupted our grand cause.

You set up unorthodox temples,

deceived the people,

disturbed the public peace,

and sought wealth through killing!

Your crimes are truly heinous

and unforgivable.

Even if we were to grind you into paste,

it wouldn't alleviate the anger of the people!

Calm down, Lord Di!

Only after the case is solved

and reported to the Divine Capital

can they be executed.

Let me ask you.

Where did you hide Meng Xianglian?

She often comes to our temple to offer her worship

and is sincerely devoted to the God.

She was chosen by the True God

because of her beauty.

How dare you lie to me?

Tell me the truth!

Yes!

She was chosen by us

to be offered to the True God,

only to deceive those ignorant people

and make it easier to control them.

Her body has long been thrown off a cliff.

By now,

there's probably nothing left of her.

You deserve to die!

Yuhua!

Spare his life for now.

He needs to confess his crimes

in front of the entire city

and expose the deception about the God

to prevent the people from being deceived again.

Lord Di,

well said.

Take them all to prison!

- Yes! - Yes!

Get up!

Move!

Hurry!

Lord Zhou,

the unorthodox temples case has been solved.

I'll leave the rest

to you.

You must remove this tumor embedded in the hearts of the people

and restore a clear sky for them.

Tomorrow,

we will set off for Huai'an.

Lord Di, why are you in such a hurry to leave?

Alas.

The tasks assigned by Her Majesty

cannot be delayed.

These days,

you've been investigating the case.

I haven't properly entertained you.

I truly apologize for that.

The unorthodox temple case has been solved.

Lord Zhou, thank you for your hard work.

I will certainly put in a good word for you in the future.

Gosh.

Thank you.

It feels like a dream.

This Zhou Congshan suddenly transformed

from an incompetent to a wise man.

In the blink

of an eye,

his governance has become clear and just.

We can't believe it.

We can't believe what he said,

nor can we believe

what we heard.

Stop pondering.

Go back and rest early.

We will depart for Huai'an

tomorrow morning.

Okay.

[Lin'an County Government]

Lord Zhou,

I'll leave the rest to you.

Don't worry, Lord Di.

I won't let you down

I will clear up the case of the unorthodox temples

and restore peace to the people of Lin'an.

Lord Zhou, you care for the country and the people.

You are indeed a diligent and benevolent official.

Once I return to the Divine Capital,

I will definitely recommend you for recognition.

Thank you, Lord Di.

Lord Zhou,

- goodbye. - Goodbye.

- Hya! - Hya! Hya!

Hya!

Take care, Lord Di!

Gosh.

Alas.

My Lord,

someone is watching us up there.

Yue'er.

Yes?

Has the letter to Huai'an City arrived?

Yes, My Lord.

They said they'll arrive in three days.

Okay.

Good. Let's push hard

and get there a day early

to catch them off guard.

Okay!

Let's go!

Zhou Congshan would never expect that

we just said our goodbyes in the morning

and now

have sneaked back in the evening.

Can you talk normally?

Oh.

My Lord,

have you been suspecting Zhou Congshan from the very beginning?

Is that why you had me secretly follow him?

Without the government's collusion,

how could the unorthodox temples in Lin'an continue to thrive despite repeated bans?

If there were no insiders in the government,

how would our actions

have been known to those villains in advance?

If Zhou Congshan

were truly righteous,

sharp-witted, and capable,

these unorthodox temples

would have been eradicated long ago.

And he wouldn't have suddenly

shown great power to capture the villains in one fell swoop

after I said I'd leave after the eradication

of the unorthodox temples.

He was just fooling us.

The people he captured

are just scapegoats.

So when you said you'd leave after he captured the criminals,

it was actually just bait to lure him in?

We intentionally left

to let him relax his guard?

As long as it's a fox,

it will eventually show its tail.

My Lord, you are truly extraordinary.

No wonder you are a trusted imperial envoy of Her Majesty.

Stop flattering.

No.

Someone's here.

Huixian,

has your head been knocked silly by the bronze bell?

How dare you attempt to assassinate Di Renjie?

Do you know who he is?

He is Her Majesty's favored minister,

a dignified imperial envoy.

If he were to die in Lin'an,

Her Majesty would be furious

and would send the Right Martial Army to march south to conquer Lin'an.

Both of us would die.

It was all my fault for not considering everything carefully.

Di Renjie was watching us closely.

I was afraid he would uncover something

and jeopardize our grand event,

so I wanted to kill him

to eliminate future troubles.

Fortunately, it didn't lead to a major mistake.

Luckily, he still trusts me.

I caught a few scapegoats

to cover it up.

They are all my men.

Can we

let them go?

They must die!

Oh.

I have to give Di Renjie an explanation.

Besides,

demolish a few unorthodox temples

and transfer them underground.

Keep a low profile these days.

Otherwise, if I lose my position,

no one will be able to protect you.

I will follow your orders completely.

Is there any news

about the missing old monk?

He may have fallen to his death

or ended up

as the tiger's food.

Lord Di,

just as you suspected,

the man in black is indeed Master Huixian.

He has been colluding with Zhou Congshan.

And the case of the unorthodox temples was orchestrated by them

to swindle the people out of their money

for their own gain.

I'm afraid it's not just about money.

Recently,

many women have gone missing.

This must be connected to them.

Did they mention Meng Xianglian?

But they did mention the missing old monk.

The missing old monk?

The monk from Hongtong Temple...

He should know something.

Give me the map.

[Map of Lin'an]

It seems

there must be

a connection between them.

Sir, are you the monk

who escaped from Hongtong Temple?

I am the abbot of Hongtong Temple.

Hongtong Temple

was originally thriving with incense offerings.

However,

three years ago, a group of villains came.

They occupied the temple,

and all the monks inside

were slaughtered.

I managed to escape

and intended to report to the authorities,

but I inadvertently discovered their collusion

and that they had sealed off the route out of Lin'an.

With no other option,

I had to hide in this mountain.

The villains took over the temple,

using Hongtong Temple as a cover

to set up unorthodox temples around it

to deceive and harm the people,

which has already affected other counties nearby.

So you disguised yourself as a tiger

to prevent the people from going up the mountain to the temple

and being harmed by the villains?

Aren't you afraid of

being hunted?

I couldn't consider that much.

By the way, My Lord,

how did you find me?

What first raised my doubts

was the strange tiger.

Its intimidation of the people

is actually meant to prevent them from going up the mountain.

Later,

I discovered a Buddhist object.

After that, I found that

the monks at Hongtong Temple were all impostors,

and they looked like the villains from the unorthodox temples.

Later, I learned that

an old monk had escaped from the temple.

Following the tracks,

I arrived here.

It is said that Lord Di Renjie is unmatched in his ability to discern the truth.

Having seen it for myself today,

it is indeed so.

Lord Di, since you are here as an imperial envoy,

please seek justice for me.

Master, please get up.

Lord Di, please,

wipe out the unorthodox temples

and capture the villains.

Rest assured, Master.

It won't be long

before you can return to Hongtong Temple.

Thank you, Lord Di.

I finally see hope.

Master,

have you seen these villains

abduct women?

Yes.

Those villains

took women into the temple

and locked them in the secret room.

I intended to rescue them,

but they were guarded very closely.

It was truly not easy

to safely bring them out.

Alas.

I

Had the will but not the power.

No, no.

My Lord, you can't go.

What if

they see through you?

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Yuhua,

set off for Jiangning now

and meet General Hou of Yin-Yang Guard,

using this token

[Order]

To dispatch troops to Lin'an.

Yes, My Lord.

You must be careful.

Be careful!

My Lord,

what about me?

You?

Yes.

You have something more important to do.

[Tianwang Hall]

No.

No, no, no.

No, no, no.

Why is it here?

Come on.

Weird.

Why is it here?

What?

What's wrong?

Why is it a temple?

Who are you?

Why are you so mysterious?

What's wrong?

Are you a monk?

Yes.

There's something wrong with the monk!

And there's something wrong with the temple too!

I have traveled the world for many years

and have trained myself to have a pair of sharp eyes.

With just one look, I can tell you are not human!

- You... - No, no, no.

You are not a monk.

Nonsense.

What are you here for?

I'm here

to find someone

I haven't seen for many years.

According to the divination,

he is in a temple.

Well...

How could he be in a temple?

Come.

I'll take you to see the abbot.

- Hey! Hey! - Let's go.

Hey.

Oh!

What is all this commotion about?

I found him!

I finally found him!

It's him.

It's him!

Who are you?

What did you find?

At a riverside in the south,

between the Niu Star and Dou Star,

a deity will descend to the mortal realm

and arrive at Hongtong.

Immortal Lord,

please accept a bow from me, Tianjizi!

I wish you all the best, Immortal Lord!

This Taoist is talking nonsense.

Hey.

I don't lie.

Well,

I am from Luoyi,

known as Tianjizi,

wandering the world.

Three years ago, I predicted that

the Immortal Lord would descend to the mortal realm.

So,

I have been searching diligently.

Today,

I finally met you.

Master,

it shouldn't be like this.

You are the Immortal Lord,

not a Buddha.

How could you be a monk?

Did I make a mistake?

Lock up this Taoist

who is spouting nonsense.

I was right.

Hey.

Move.

You really are the reincarnation of the Immortal Lord!

I...

I am your protector!

The Fairy Goddess is also here.

If you imprison me,

the Tianji star will surely dim,

and there will be disasters!

There will surely be disasters!

Immortal Lord!

The Tianji star will dim,

and the strange will descend!

- The Tianji star will dim, - In you go.

- And the strange descends! - Stay still.

Cut the crap.

The Tianji star will dim,

and the strange descends!

Hey.

How dare you be so rude to me!

How rude!

The important task given by Lord Di

is really heavy.

Burn you old bald monks to death!

Go!

Fire!

Hurry! Fire!

Help!

Fire!

Help!

Hurry!

Hurry up.

This way.

Hurry up!

What happened?

Master,

I heard something strange just now,

so I went out to check.

I saw that a fire balloon fell from the sky

and ignited the firewood pile.

If it wasn't extinguished in time,

I'm afraid the entire temple would be burned down.

Why could there be

a fire out of nowhere?

What is this?

Oh.

What does it read?

I can't read.

You do it.

Immortal Lord of Heaven's Will.

Indeed, the strange descends.

Old Taoist monk, get up.

Our master wants to see you.

You didn't trust me, did you?

Humph!

I'm just a liar.

Goodness.

I'll just be locked up here.

You're pushing your luck!

Huh?

Take him away!

Stop!

Is this how you invite people?

Unreasonable!

Taoist Monk Tianjizi,

don't be angry.

Have some tea.

Calm down.

I came here with good intentions.

I wanted to help you achieve great things, Immortal Lord.

But I was treated as a liar

and locked up in the woodshed.

Alas!

Reverend, I apologize to you.

It's not that I don't trust you.

But it happened so suddenly

that I had to be cautious.

That makes sense.

Forget it.

Let's just

move on from this.

Oh.

I heard that

yesterday, you talked about

Immortal Lord and Fairy Goddess.

What did you mean?

Master, you're

the Immortal Lord incarnate.

And the Fairy Goddess

was imprisoned in the temple.

This is a temple.

How can there be a woman?

Yes.

This is a temple.

How can there be a woman in here?

Hmm.

No.

My divination shows

the Fairy Goddess is right in the temple.

Only by letting her out

and allowing her to rely on you

can you

follow Heaven's will

and gather your luck.

Come out!

Hurry!

Shut up!

Get out!

Hurry up!

Get out!

- Hurry! - Hurry!

Hurry!

Stand over there.

Reverend, please take a look. Which one is the Fairy Goddess?

From the divination,

she should have a red mole on the back of her neck.

What if there is no Red-Mole Fairy Goddess?

We'll know after we check it.

Take a look.

It's her.

Go.

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

I'm not the Fairy Goddess!

It's all my fault for being blind back then

and falling for the schemes of the unorthodox temple.

That's why I was deceived by some nonsense "true god"

and was targeted by you.

My poor brother

lost his life

to protect me.

You want me to obey you?

Just give up!

Do you know who I am?

You are just a phony monk who's actually a lecher!

Hey!

This is the Immortal Lord reincarnate.

He will unify and

rule the world soon.

Those who obey me

will enjoy wealth and glory.

It's your luck for many lives.

Why are you still unsatisfied?

Bah!

You?

If you don't obey,

I'll kill you!

No!

No.

It's only normal that the Fairy Goddess

acts this way.

If we lose her

or she dies,

then…

the aura of your luck will disperse.

What should I do?

Leave it to me.

Go in.

Don't push me, you cheeky Taoist!

- Behave yourself! - Hey.

Let me.

Let me.

Hey, Fairy Goddess.

Calm down.

Have some water.

Please sit down.

Don't call me that.

I'm not Fairy Goddess.

I don't want to enjoy any wealth, either.

Oh.

Fairy Goddess,

you've lived in a small county for a long time,

and become short-sighted.

This is Heaven's will.

You're just cruel people. There's no such thing as Heaven's will!

You cheeky Taoist,

you're just like that lecher.

Neither of you is a good person.

Fairy Goddess, why are you

so stubborn?

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If you miss it,

you will be punished by Heaven.

This is Heaven's will.

You are...

Yes!

I am

Master's protector.

I came all the way from a thousand miles away

to look for you, Fairy Goddess.

Fairy Goddess,

do you understand

what I'm saying now?

Yes.

Got it.

Master,

I didn't let you down.

I have convinced the Fairy Goddess to obey

and solved all the troubles.

Am I really the reincarnation of the Immortal Lord?

If you were not,

I wouldn't have come all the way here to seek you.

I've been traveling the martial world for half of my life

unscathed.

What I relied on

was my ability to avoid bad luck.

Who are you then, Reverend?

I'm from Luoyang.

My senior is Yuan Tiangang.

I traveled around the world

and didn't become an official,

so…

I'm not as famous as my senior.

So, you're Yuan Tiangang's junior.

Reverend, how much do you know about me?

Master, the temples you established

are centered around Lin'an

spreading across the various regions of Jiangnan

Your influence is powerful yet hidden,

with a vast number of followers.

Then, what should I do

next?

What's in it for me?

If I were the reincarnation of the Immortal Lord,

I shall be able to regain my power soon.

When can I return to the Heavenly Realm?

I won't bother answering.

Master, you repeatedly tested me.

Obviously, you don't trust me.

I'm all alone.

How can I hurt you?

Forget it.

I won't waste my time explaining.

I'll go down the mountain now.

How pathetic.

How pathetic.

Hey!

Reverend, please wait.

Reverend,

it's my fault.

I can feel your sincerity.

I promise you.

I absolutely trust you.

Reverend, I hope you can stay.

You really

trust me?

If I doubt you, I won't listen to you.

Now that I'm listening to you, I trust you.

What you need to do next, Master,

is to transfer the women in the dungeon

to a bright room.

Don't bully, humiliate,

or kill them

to avoid damage to your accumulation of virtue.

Okay.

Master, you're the reincarnation of the Immortal Lord,

so your power can't be restored.

But when you reach nirvana,

you can directly reach the Heavenly Realm.

What you need to do now

is to hold a grand ceremony

in this Hongdong Temple.

You need to invite all your subordinates and friends all over Jiangnan,

pick an auspicious day

to hold a grand coronation ceremony

and be crowned as Chief.

Gathering popularity

and the energy

will help you unify

and rule the whole world.

At that time,

you'll be able to stand up to

the Zhou court of Wu Zetian as an equal.

Is it really feasible?

I dare not lie to you, Master.

Okay. Let's do as you say.

[Brother Zhou]

[Brother Zhou]

Go.

General Hou.

We need to hurry.

Lord Di is in danger.

Everyone, work a bit harder

and speed up.

Get in!

- What are you doing? - Get in!

- What are you doing? - Get in!

Let us go!

What are you doing?

Listen to me.

Behave yourselves.

We'll come and deal with you

after our master's coronation ceremony.

- Let's go. - Get lost!

Cheeky monk!

- [I invited you here to discuss it; please don't tell anyone. Huixian] - [Brother Zhou, I met a master in the temple who wanted to help me become an immortal]

Huixian.

Listen to me.

Don't act rashly.

This might be a trap.

Sigh.

Lord Di.

Yue'er.

This is the key to the room.

Go save those women.

Okay.

Be careful.

Go.

It's the auspicious time.

Chief of Heaven's Will

shall be crowned.

Begin.

Offer up the jade.

Hush.

Lord Di asked me to save you.

Quiet!

Come with me.

Hurry up.

Go.

- Hurry! - Let's go.

Present the pig's head as the sacrifice.

Present the wine.

Bow for the initial offering.

Hurry up. Keep up.

Oh no! Someone…

Hurry up!

Hurry up.

Bow for the last time.

Cheeky monk!

Liu Yue'er.

Why are you here?

Didn't you leave with Lord Di?

I'm here to catch you bandits, of course.

You're a bunch of bandits; how dare you

hold a coronation ceremony?

Di Renjie didn't leave?

It's you.

Who are you?

I am Di Renjie.

The purpose of this ceremony

is to gather your subordinates

and accomplices

all here

and catch them all

to wipe out the disaster of the unorthodox temple.

If you want to blame someone,

blame yourself for your greed

and foolishness.

My Lord, we are here.

My Lord.

General Hou is here.

Lord Di!

I...

Oh, Lord Di,

I am guilty.

I was wrong, Lord Di.

- Zhou Congshan. - I was wrong.

You tolerated the evil

and disregarded the law.

You deserve to die.

Di Renjie,

you have some guts

to sneak into the temple alone.

I almost thought of you as my confidant.

I just wonder

how you knew the case was related to the temple.

That day,

you found Yue'er

blend in with the team of the ritual,

so you drugged her.

However,

before she lost consciousness,

she heard the bell.

Old Baldy.

You didn't expect that, did you?

You deserve it.

So,

you came to the temple to investigate

in the name of incense offering?

That's right.

A real monk

has no worldly desires.

How could he eat meat?

It's a pity that I didn't kill you at the time

and let you escape.

You wanted to kill me with all your might.

After the assassination failed,

I knew

you would lay low.

So,

I also played some tricks

by telling Zhou Congshan

that I'd leave Lin'an City

as long as the suspect was caught.

He indeed fell for it.

So, he found some scapegoats.

I rushed back overnight

and found out that

you were conspiring.

You only came to the temple once.

How did you find out about those women?

It's me!

I told Lord Di!

You old monk is still alive!

You...

You brute!

You took over my temple

and killed my monks!

I'll settle this with you today!

Di Renjie,

you're so smart for nothing!

Open your eyes and look!

These are all my friends from the martial world.

You just have a few soldiers.

What can you do to me?

Hold your breath!

Yue'er.

Go!

Go.

Oh.

Oh my!

Oh.

The ghost soldiers are coming.

A hundred ghosts roam at night!

Kill them!

[Auspicious smoke from the golden furnace]

[Auspicious smoke from the golden furnace]

Abbot,

go knock the bell!

The bloody ghosts weep in the dark forest.

The demon corpses lie along the path before the temple.

The azure dragon lingers, shattering the old owl.

Graves are everywhere in sight, with white bones unearthed.

I'll stall it.

Abbot, ring the bell!

They are not ghosts.

Kill them!

Di Renjie!

Lord Zhou.

Go!

Di Renjie,

you insulted the gods

and disrespected us.

You'll be haunted by ghosts,

and your life will be worse than death!

You still want to play tricks?

You can even break my illusion?

Go.

Take them all away

and put them in the imperial prison

to wait for the punishment.

You want to put me in prison?

No way!

- Lord Di, please spare my life! - Go!

Go!

Please spare my life, Lord Di!

Lord Di,

thank you for helping us get rid of the trouble

and bring peace to Hongtong Temple.

Abbot, you're welcome.

This is our duty.

The court will assist you to reopen Hongtong Temple

and receive incense from all places.

Amitabha.

The unorthodox temples were wiped out.

All the bandits were caught.

Now,

the people of Lin'an

can live and work in peace.

I hope the new officials

can sympathize with the people

so that the people won't suffer anymore.

Things here are done.

It's time to go.

Report!

Lord Di,

the exorcism spell reappeared in Huai'an.

Her Majesty ordered you

to depart immediately.

You shall not delay.

Let's go to Huai'an!