It's definitely someone, not something.
You are Wei...
Mianmian!
You are Mianmian!
Why are you calling my daughter's name?
Mianmian and her little Mianmian.
Lady Luo.
Hanguang Jun.
Young Master Wei.
Lady Luo.
Now I know your true name.
This is my husband.
May I ask which family and clan you come from, sir?
My husband is just an ordinary man.
He used to be a merchant.
But now,
he is willing to accompany me on night hunting.
You just came back from night hunting?
Yes.
We were looking for the Yiling Patriarch.
But I heard that he eats children.
Aren't you afraid?
No, I'm not. I...
I'm sorry, Young Master Wei.
She's too young and naive.
This is my daughter.
Her name is...
Mianmian!
Am I right?
She's cute,
just like you when you were her age.
Young Master Wei,
don't you feel bad saying that?
Do you really remember what I looked like as a child?
Of course.
There's not much difference.
By the way, how old is she?
I'd like to give her some lucky money.
You don't have to!
Don't be so humble.
It's not my money anyway.
Here you are.
Mianmian,
what should you say to Hanguang Jun and Young Master Wei?
Thank you, Hanguang Jun.
Mianmian, I gave you the money. Why you didn't say "thank you" to me?
Lady Luo, has there been anything unusual lately?
It's only hearsay,
but I heard there are puppets outside the city.
I spent a whole night tracking them,
but I didn't find anything.
Don't be afraid.
Lady Luo,
protect Mianmian.
We'll deal with it.
Please be careful.
Farewell.
Qingyang,
have you ever been in grave danger?
Well, you said a young master saved your life before,
but you have never mentioned him before.
Young Master Wei,
is just a good man.
Let's go, Mianmian. Let's get inside.
Careful.
Wen Ning,
though you kept silent for years,
your yelling has gotten even scarier.
Sorry, Young Master.
Did I scare you two?
So astonishing.
This. What is this?
Why are dressed like that?
Were you robbed?
And what happened to your face?
I covered my face with mud and dirt.
You didn't come out for a long time, so...
You were following us all this time?
Look at yourself. You're so dirty!
What happened to your hand?
It's nothing.
It's blood.
Not blood.
Well, it is, but it's not human blood.
Not human blood?
You fought something?
There were many puppets along the way.
Many puppets along the way?
You mean,
you've cleared them out
before our arrival?
So when did you start following us?
Carp Tower.
Wen Ning,
I've told you
to hide somewhere
and stay out of this.
But Young Master,
I...
Where can I hide?
Then let's go. Together.
Let's travel together.
Let's move.
Let's go.
Lan Zhan, do you remember this town?
Yes.
Then do you still remember, when we met each other here,
when you said you were going night hunting and I wanted to treat you to a meal?
Remember that?
Sir, local fruits from Yiling.
Want some? Will you buy one?
-Over here. -Do you need high-quality spices?
Have a look, here.
Have a look, over here.
YILING TEAHOUSE
Yes.
You seldom come to Yiling.
And I just ran into you.
Let's talk about our old days.
Let's go. It's my treat.
Come on.
But it's a little shameful to say
that you're the one who paid for it.
Yuan.
-Come here. -No.
I won't.
Oh, no. Something happened at the Burial Mounds.
Lan Zhan, we have to go!
But that happened a long time ago.
If that boy were still alive,
he would be a teenager now.
Don't waste time on them. Go up the mountain directly.
The walls were torn down. As suspected, someone got in here.
Let's go.
DEMON-SUBDUE PALACE
Young Master Wei,
this is my homemade liquor.
Have a taste.
Yuan.
Run slowly and be careful.
Young Master, it's my fault.
I'm sorry and thank you.
Young Master Wei.
Back then, that siege destroyed everything.
It doesn't matter if this place was destroyed.
For me,
Wen Qing, and Wen Ning,
this place
represents the hardest time in our lives.
There's no need to return to this place.
Wen Ning,
Stop looking. Let's go.
Yes, Young Master.
I just wanted to check
if there's anything left.
Watch out!
For defense.
Thank you.
I haven't used a sword for so long.
I'm not used to it.
Fine. I'll tell you.
It's because this body of mine lacks spiritual power.
So even the best sword
can't show its true power in my hand.
Therefore,
Hanguang Jun,
please protect this fragile and feeble man.
Wait.
Say,
why did you just stab him instead of killing him?
They haven't come back in days.
What do they even want?
Whether it's to torture us or kill us, they should just do it.
I'd rather be eaten by monsters during night hunting
than starve to death in this shithole.
His intentions are clear!
He must want to turn us into his puppets,
just like he did in Nightless City,
and use us to fight our families,
knowing they'd hesitate.
He'll make his enemies fight each other.
That mean bastard Wei.
He has no humanity.
Shut up.
Why should I?
What do you mean?
What do I mean?
Are you deaf or stupid?
Can't you understand?
"Shut up" means "stop talking."
How dare you tell me to shut up?
What's the use of talking here?
Will the rope break if you keep talking?
You're so annoying.
You!
Enough. You two, stop.
We are trapped here.
The puppets on the mountain might break in anytime.
Must you two bicker now?
He started it!
Why?
Why can't I swear while you can? Who you think you are, Jin Ling?
You think Lianfang Zun could become like His Excellency, do you?
I won't shut up.
What can you do to me?
You want to fight?
Fine, let's do it.
I'm full of rage right now, you abandoned bastard!
Stop! Calm down!
-What are you doing? Calm down! -Stop! Now's not the time for fighting.
-Calm down! -Stop.
Is this a good time to fight?
-Think of a way... -Stop!
Stop!
-Jin Ling. -Stop!
Hey. Look here.
-Hanguang Jun. -Hanguang Jun.
Why you are so relieved?
They are on the same side.
It's the Ghost General!
It turns out that, when it comes to intimidation,
I'm no better than Wen Ning.
Run.
No, there are puppets outside.
Mo...
Master Wei, you've come to save us!
You didn't send people to capture us, right?
Me?
You know how poor I am.
How can I have the money to hire such people?
I've known that you were tragically poor long before.
Right.
How many enemies are there? Is there any ambush being set-up nearby?
There were several people who were wearing ghost masks,
so we couldn't see their faces.
We were tied up and left here.
It's as if they want to leave us to fate.
By the way,
there are many puppets outside who yell all the time.
Well done.
Well done indeed.
Even Sizhui would fight others.
I just acted on impulse just now.
Young Master Jin.
What are you guys doing here?
You're surrounding him.
Lan Zhan.
You want to stab him again?
-I... -Jingyi.
That's enough.
Can we just get out first?
Yes.
What?
You want to stay here?
There are many puppets outside.
You want us to go out and die?
Young Master.
I'll disperse the puppets.
The spirit net has been broken.
We might have to fight our way through.
If you stay here,
what if these puppets come in after we leave?
Judging from the cave's structure,
we're doomed if they do.
Let's go.
Lan Zhan, let's go.
Wen Ning, what happened?
I'm fine.
Jin Ling, come here.
Grand Master.
Wen Ning, stay here first.
Dad!
Jin Ling, what are you waiting for?
Your death?
Mom!
Master!
-Sir. -Dad.
Dad, you are finally here!
Wangji.
Come here.
Hanguang Jun,
what happened to you?
You've become someone else.
In the past, he was your enemy and you two were irreconcilable.
What method did the Yiling Patriarch use to deceive you
and make you stand against us?
If that's the truth, you are unworthy of your good reputation.
Here you go again.
We have to do this.
If you, the Yiling Patriarch,
hadn't started to make puppets upon your return to the world
and kidnapped disciples of various clans,
we wouldn't have to come so quickly to your den.
It was me who saved those disciples.
Why aren't you grateful?
Why do you accuse me instead?
Anyway,
your group is a little weak this time.
Two important people are missing.
May I ask?
On such a grand occasion,
why are Zewu Jun and Lianfang Zun absent?
The other day, someone attempted to assassinate Lianfang Zun.
He was badly hurt.
Now Zewu Jun is trying his utmost to save him.
Why do you ask since you already know?
Why do you laugh?
Nothing.
I was just surprised that Lianfang Zun could be hurt so easily.
Dad,
I don't think he really did it.
Last time, when we were at Coffin Town, he was the one who saved us.
And this time, it seems he came to our rescue.
Don't speak nonsense, you silly child.
Don't you know what this is?
Don't you know who those people are?
Why did the Nie Clan of Qinghe not come?
Oh, pardon me.
Well, Master Wei.
I don't know anything about this.
I'm here just to make up the numbers.
Wei Wuxian,
do you remember me?
No.
You don't remember me, but my leg remembers you.
You broke my leg that night at Nightless City.
I'm showing this to tell you that I am a member of this group
who has gathered today to fight you.
Due to your bad karma, your retribution has finally come.
-Yes. -Yes!
Wei Wuxian,
I won't ask you if you remember or not.
My parents were killed by you.
You've killed so many people,
so you must have forgotten about them.
But I, Fang Mengcheng, won't!
And I won't forgive you either!
Did I break your leg?
Did I kill your parents?
Did I massacre your whole family?
Then why are you here?
I'm here to participate in the fight.
Let me tell you.
Everyone here is willing to kill the one who committed a crime against the people.
No matter what dirty method you use,
no matter how many times you resurrect,
we'll just send you back again and again!
For justice and nothing else!
-Yes. Wei Wuxian must die! -Yes. Wei Wuxian must die!
-Wei Wuxian must die! -Wei Wuxian must die!
There is still justice in the world! Evil won't be tolerated!
Just to prove that there is still justice in the world!
Evil won't be tolerated!
My son's throat was cut by Wen Ning during that fight on Qiongqi Road!
-Wei Wuxian must die! -Wei Wuxian must die!
Even if you died a million times,
it won't be enough for those three thousand lives!
Three thousand lives?
That night at Nightless City,
it's true that there were three thousand cultivators present,
but their clan leaders were also there as well as those elite cultivators.
Given their presence,
do you still think I could really kill all three thousand people there?
Is it that you think too highly of me or too poorly of them?
Wei Wuxian, do you think we're here to talk?
Can blood debts be bargained?
I'm not bargaining.
It's just that I can't accept what you're accusing me of,
it was only based on some hearsay.
I won't admit to what I didn't do.
If you didn't do it, then who did?
I don't have evidence for what happened at Qiongqi Road and Nightless City.
But I can tell you
that Red Blade Master wasn't killed by me,
and Lady Jin's suicide in Carp Tower wasn't forced by me.
And those puppets you encountered on your way up here
weren't manipulated by me.
Yiling Patriarch.
I heard that you are arrogant, but I didn't know you were so modest.
Other than you,
I can't think of any other man in this world
who could manipulate so many puppets and faze us like this.
It's actually easy.
Anyone with the Stygian Tiger Amulet can do that.
Isn't the Stygian Tiger Amulet yours?
What you should ask is,
"Who is so fond of it?"
Like Wen Ning, for example.
A clan claimed that the Ghost General terrified them
and that they would kill him,
yet they secretly hid him for more than ten years.
It's so strange.
Who was the one who told me
that Wen Ning had been executed and had his remains scattered?
Stop trying to manipulate us!
Be on your guard!
Another wave of puppets is coming!
What happened?
I lost my spiritual power.
-Damn! -Me too.
We are trapped.
Everyone. Come here!
Get inside the Demon-Subdue Palace!
There is a big magic circle on the ground inside.
If we can med it, it will hold them back for a while.
We can't go inside!
That must be his plan to lure us in!
There must be a more dangerous trap waiting for us there!
Staying outside will get you killed.
Going inside will also get you killed.
Either way is a dead end.
But at least going inside will stall them.
Clan Leader Su,
why you are in such a hurry to ask everyone to die with you?
What's your intention?
So, will you enter or not?
I'll just go inside myself if you won't.
-Quickly. -Hurry up!
Go!
Dad, let's go!
Let's go! If they wanted to hurt us, they would already have.
Hurry up!
There's really a big magic circle inside.
Clan Leader Su, you'll stay here?
Fine. Stay here.
You sure are brave.
Lan Zhan! Come on!
DEMON-SUBDUE PALACE
How can we mend the magic circle?
Grand Master.
What do you want?
Nothing.
But since we are here,
let's have a chat.
There is nothing to discuss between us and you.
Yes, there's nothing to talk about.
Is there really nothing to talk about?
I don't believe it.
Aren't you interested in the reason you got poisoned?
-Poisoned? -Poisoned?
I swear
I'm not that capable
of poisoning you all without being discovered.
That's right.
I think what he said makes sense.
That's right.
I guess that you didn't have time to eat before coming here to attack me.
So you weren't poisoned through food.
It shouldn't be poison.
I've never heard of a poison that can dissipate one's spiritual power.
Otherwise, this poison would be coveted by all cultivators in the world
and news about it would spread all over.
Right.
Come. Doctor. Where is the doctor?
Doctor, come here.
Look at me.
This dissipation of power, is it permanent or temporary?
Yes. Your golden cores are all safe and sound.
Don't worry.
This is temporary.
That's good.
So it's temporal? For how long?
When can we recover?
I'm afraid it will take at least four hours.
Four hours?
Four hours. What should we do now?
Four hours!
How can the newly-mended magic circle defend us for four hours?
Master Wei,
what should we do now?
I've told you not to look at me.
Now there are only two groups of people who still have their spiritual power.
Lan Zhan and I are one group.
The other group is these young men who were brought here several days ago.
As for the rest,
I don't think it's inappropriate to describe you as weak and useless.
If I really wanted to do something,
could these young men stop me?
Cut out this nonsense.
Kill me if you want.
No one here would even cry when they meet their death.
-Yes. -You're right!
Don't think we would beg for mercy.
May I ask who you are?
-You! -So what is it?
If it's not poison, what is it?
People won't lose their spiritual power for no reason.
So there must have been an opportunity.
Can anyone remember
what you did before you came here?
Well, we all drank some water on our way up here.
I can't really recall.
I don't know.
No one drank any water along the way.
Who dares drink the water of the Burial Mounds?
-Yes. -Who dares?
It may be that we all inhaled the fog in the mountain.
Yes, you may be right.
Impossible.
The fog is denser on the top of the mountain,
but we still had our spiritual power after two days of being trapped here.
Enough.
How can you have a serious discussion with him?
You're being fooled by your enemy.
You think this is interesting?
He...
Continue.
Why did you stop?
Clan Leader, what happened?
Wei Wuxian, what wicked trick did you use?
That was not a wicked trick.
It's the Silence Spell!
Continue.
How strange.
Master Wei, what is it?
Clan Leader Su here
has been acting strange since we were outside.
When puppets surrounded us,
he appealed to those who lost their spiritual power
to give up the fight and just die together.
Now he's trying to stop me from figuring out the situation
and keeps provoking me.
He's afraid that you may survive this.
This doesn't make sense.
How can an ally act that way?
It seems the Su Clan of Molin
really has a terrible relationship with the Lan Clan of Gusu.
Indeed.
The Su Clan of Molin is a branch of the Lan Clan of Gusu.
What's the story?
You may not know that, Master Nie,
but Clan Leader Su
built his own clan after departing from the Lan Clan of Gusu.
Their techniques are similar to those of the Lan Clan,
and they are also good at music.
Even Clan Leader's first-class spiritual tool
is modeled after Hanguang Jun's quaint seven-string guqin.
Not "departing from."
They were expelled for betraying the Lan Clan.
And it's not only that,
there are funnier reasons too.
This Clan Leader Su...
Fine. I'll lower my voice.
This Clan Leader Su not only imitates everything from us,
but he also forbids people from discussing how he is imitating Hanguang Jun,
-saying he'll become mad instantly. -Jingyi.
Why is there such a person in this world?
The Lan Clan of Gusu takes elegance and integrity as its motto!
With so many famed cultivators, and as the top of the cultivation world,
do you instruct your disciples this way?
Clan Leader Su,
we're facing strong enemies now,
we shouldn't fight with our allies.
-Yes. -Right.
Allies?
The Lan Clan of Gusu is in good terms with Wei Wuxian.
How can they be called allies?
Su Minshan!
Even if you aren't a member of the Lan Clan of Gusu,
you should mind what you say.
Our clan leader has already left your clan.
Who are you to speak to him like this?
The reason he has his position today is Gusu education.
What?
Can't we say that when you deface us?
There are many disciples in the Lan Clan. Can each of them build their own clan?
Aren't you being too arrogant?
Arrogant?
Who's the one being arrogant?
Which clan's Demon-Subdue Melody
was played badly while they weren't aware of it?
So it's neither the fog nor the food.
Did you forget that you've done the same thing
when you got up here?
What is it?
Kill puppets.
Enough.
If there are any abnormalities after killing the puppets,
we wouldn't be so dumb as to ignore it.
It's really related to killing puppets.
Yet the poison is not from the puppets,
but from a person who killed them.
Old Master Lan, may I ask you a question?
If you have a question,
why not ask him?
Why me?
Then I'll ask him.
Lan Zhan,
the Su Clan of Molin,
though they departed from the Lan Clan of Gusu,
they imitated the exclusive technique of that clan.
-Right? -Yes.
One of the techniques of the Lan Clan of Gusu,
Evil Destroyer Music, can exorcise evil.
And the ancient seven-string guqin is the most profound.
That's why many people of the Lan Clan practice the qin.
The Su Clan of Molin imitated your clan,
so many disciples of theirs practice the guqin too.
-Right? -Yes.
The clan leader of the Su Clan
left the Lan Clan after learning the techniques
and built his own clan.
But because his technique in playing the guqin
didn't reach the peak of perfection,
his disciples play with many mistakes, right?
Yes.
That is to say,
even if they badly played the battle music of the Su Clan of Molin
when killing the puppets at the Burial Mounds,
the Lan Clan of Gusu wouldn't mind at all.
They would assume it's just careless mistakes,
that someone confused the score,
rather than thinking they did it either accidentally or on purpose.
Am I right?
Clan Leader Su,
what are you doing?
Don't forget that you've lost your spiritual power now.
Will threatening me that way work?
What are you insinuating by saying all that?
Did I not say it clear enough so you feel like I'm just insinuating?
Fine, let me make it clearer.
Everyone here lost their spiritual power because of killing puppets.
When you were killing puppets,
Clan Leader Su went up the mountain with you
and pretended to play to drive them out.
But he secretly changed a part of the battle music
into another kind of melody,
once which can deprive people of their spiritual power temporarily.
When you were fighting for your lives,
he only seemed to be fighting with you.
He was actually playing tricks on you.
How dare you accuse me?
There must be many cultivators of the guqin from the Lan Clan here, right?
When you were on your way up here,
did you notice that the battle music of the Su clan of Molin was played wrongly?
-Exactly. -Exactly.
Clan Leader Su,
since you knew that many from the Lan Clan of Gusu
despise you and your clan,
you took advantage of the situation.
Even if you played it wrongly,
only the Lan Clan of Gusu, among all the clans here, would notice.
But the people from the Lan Clan didn't pay attention to you.
So even if they did notice,
they might think you guys are just poor learners.
Is there really such an evil melody
that deprives one of their spiritual power temporarily?
Yes, there is.
Since the sound of the guqin can subdue evil,
who says it can't summon it?
There is a secret Dongying anthology called the Collection of Turmoil,
which records ways of killing people by altering the melody.
If you don't believe it,
you're welcome to ask Master Lan
if there is such a book in the forbidden chamber of Cloud Recesses.
Granted that there is,
when I was apprenticing in the Lan Clan of Gusu,
I was never allowed to enter there.
Who said you had to get in there yourself?
As long as the man behind you could get in without limitation, it'll do.
I suppose he taught you
how to alter music too, right?