Sword Dynasty
Episode 12
Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince
once learned swordsmanship from That Man.
And now you are already an excellent swordsman.
Presumably in the near future,
just like That Man,
Your Royal Highness will top all the other practitioners in Fengming
and surpass His Majesty.
How dare you!
Who sent you here?
What are your intentions?
My loyal ministers,
in such a joyful event,
please raise your cup and drink with me.
Long live His Majesty the King!
Long live the great Kingdom of Heng!
Long live His Majesty the King!
Long live the great Kingdom of Heng!
Everyone is here.
I am coming to visit again.
Again?
Why are you here again?
Hey, stop.
I…
I am coming
to give you the herbs.
Sanyang Herbs.
Thank you for your herbs.
You can leave now since you've completed your task.
Actually today
I still have another task.
I want to take him as my teacher.
Your teacher?
Just want to keep an eye on you for my sister.
Mr. Xue!
I especially like Baiyang Cave.
Can you accept me as a disciple?
Since Baiyang Cave has been affiliated to Qingteng Sword School,
and you are a disciple of Qingteng Sword School,
naturally you can be considered
as a disciple of Baiyang Cave.
You agree?
I have already made an exception to accept Ding Ning as my disciple,
it's OK to make
another exception.
I think
Di Qingmei would not oppose
my accepting you as my disciple.
My master!
Please accept my kowtow!
OK, good, good.
It's OK.
Get up.
Hurry, get up.
Help him up, come on.
You are my junior fellow disciple now.
Yes, you are my senior fellow disciple.
You can just call me Jiang Li.
And you, my brother-in-law.
Master.
Senior Martial Brother Ding Ning.
Go on with your Go game.
I am going to the fish market.
Ding Ning!
What are you going to the fish market for?
To see the old lady selling ink paste.
Can you take me with you?
You want to go there?
I am not saying that you have to take me along everywhere.
It's just that even I have been in Fengming for so long,
I haven't been to the fish market.
Take me along.
Have you heard of it?
I have.
Your family has relocated to Fengming for so many years,
yet you have never been to the fish market before?
My father used to say
I can go anywhere in Fengming,
except for the fish market.
Hi.
Especially I can't have any money on me here.
I swear
I am telling the truth.
I just want to have a look.
I believe you.
Don't drink too much.
It might kill you.
But…
It's OK.
He told us to drink less?
Absurd!
Says a man who sells wine.
Yes.
The Bashan Sword Field?
Anything else?
Your Majesty,
that palace maid was previously working in your palace.
Later, she was reassigned to work for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
So His Majesty the King also knows?
They even tried to undermine me.
Chen Xuan.
Yes, Your Majesty.
The Shendu Bureau and the Jiantian Bureau shall join force
in the investigation of this case.
Be sure to find out
the people behind this.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Here, let me refill your cup.
Ding Ning,
is it true that anything can be traded here
including those forbidden objects?
Can I buy them as well?
Yes, you can buy them.
Just make the deal through some middlemen here,
and then you're good to go.
Drinking now?
Hey, you are here!
Ding Ning,
can I participate in some
underground auctions or things like that?
Of course you can.
As the son of the richest family in the Guanzhong area,
of course there is no problem
if you are interested.
But
you have to gain the trust of the middlemen
and bid through them.
If someone finds out you're the buyer,
it will cause a lot of troubles.
Then I want to go and see.
Maybe there will be something useful for me.
Let's go.
OK.
No matter what you're going to hear,
don't give any huge reaction.
Just pretend you're chatting with me.
Try to hide your feelings.
What happened?
It seems someone wants to kill me.
They dare to do it in the fish market.
It means they're some desperados.
Kill you?
I don't know who they are for now.
But right now
our lives
are in your hands.
Everything I am going to say next,
you have to listen carefully.
There is no room for mistake.
I am listening.
The sword shop we just passed by,
the owner is not just any ordinary shop owner.
He has connections with
the real owner of the underground world
of this fish market.
After a while, you go back,
and when you see the sword shop, go in there.
Start calculating the time after entering.
After fifty breaths,
you tell the owner
at the highest speed
that someone is trying to assassinate someone else in the fish market.
The location
is the Guijianchou Pier.
Into the sword shop,
fifty breaths.
Guijianchou Pier.
Got it.
See you later.
See…see you.
Today I came only to visit an old lady
since it is the New Year.
But someone actually forced me
to resort to the power of the fish market…
Your Majesty,
are you suspecting me?
I didn't expect you would dare to use
someone from the Bashan Sword Field.
The whole world belongs to Your Majesty.
There is no such a thing as the Bashan Sword Field.
I love
what you just said.
Are you afraid of something or someone?
Tell me,
even if he really came back,
what could he possibly do about me?
You have advanced to the eighth realm.
No one in the world can defeat you.
You are worthy of your title as my queen.
What you said is exactly what I want to hear.
You are the king of the world.
And you…
are the queen of the world.
Enter the sword shop.
Into the sword shop…
Where is the sword shop?
Sword shop, sword shop….
Sir, hurry up!
Follow me to go to…
Now!
No, fifty breaths…
One, two, three, four…
Five, six, seven, eight.
Eighteen.
Do you need to buy something?
No, no…
Yes! A sword, I want to buy a sword.
Thirty.
Thirty-six, thirty-eight…
Thirty-nine, forty.
Something happened?
No, no, no.
Forty-five, forty-six, forty eight…
Fifty!
Someone wants to kill someone else at the Guijianchou Pier!
Hurry up!
Scent of the Shepan Flower.
You don't know the people of Heng
are too proud to put poison on their sword?
Who are you guys?
It's too arrogant of you
trying to kill someone here.
Although I don't know
how you spotted us,
you have some nerve trying to lure us to kill you.
Even though here is the fish market,
we can still kill you and leave.
You can try.
Watch out!
I said fifty breaths.
Why did you come so early?
Early?
Then maybe
I missed some breaths.
I want him alive.
It's good for the fish market.
What do you want to do?
The Shendu Bureau should be very interested in him.
You and Wang Taixu are close privately.
You should know
things that happened in the underground world
should be solved there too.
When you get the imperial court involved,
it will lead to many disasters.
I know that.
But the problem is
the people who want me dead
should be someone in the imperial court.
I still have to come to the fish market in the future.
If I can't let the people behind it restrain themselves,
there will be no rule in the underground world.
And even if something goes wrong,
people of Liangcenglou will deal with it for me.
I will get someone to send them out of the fish market
and hand them over to Wang Taixu.
This time
you tricked them into killing you
and let the fish market do the dirty work for you.
You'd better
never do it again.
No one likes to be used.
I won't do it again.
Let's go too.
Don't we need to get rid of the bodies?
The man from the fish market has promised to deal with this.
What do you need to worry about?
I see.
It's been a long time since he died.
Why did a disciple suddenly pop up?
Since Ye Celeng has returned from overseas,
Zhao Zhan died,
Song Shenshu and Marquis Dugu were killed in succession.
The rebellious forces of the Sword Sect of Lie and the Yunshui Palace
have been maneuvering around Fengming.
The death of Nangong Shang…
…and surpass His Majesty.
The palace maid's innuendo made people wonder.
Everything that happened
might seem unrelated,
but
everything is linked by a well-hidden secret.
All of these
happened since the day
the Nine-death Silkworm reappeared in the martial art world.
Although it's someone only allegedly to be his disciple,
there are
already many people who are tempted.
Director,
Wang Taixu brings back a practitioner.
What's special about him?
He attempted
to assassinate Ding Ning in the fish market.
He is a fifth-realm practitioner.
There were also two other practitioners present.
One was of the fourth realm and the other the fifth realm.
Both were killed.
But the corpses remain for further inspection.
Early tomorrow morning,
you personally escort the person
to Dafu Water Dungeon.
Yes, sir.
If everyone did business as patiently as you two,
I'm afraid the fish market would have gone broke a long time ago.
I thought this deal would drag on longer.
But it turns out Master Zhao Si
can't hold it anymore.
Have you shown anyone your clue
to the Gushan Sword Manual?
Why do you want to know?
Liang Lian had a grudge against Liangcenglou.
But the assassins who tried to kill the tavern boy
were disciples of your Yunshui Palace.
I don't want you to cooperate with Liang Lian.
Heng destroyed Lie and Qian.
Even if your attempt of reviving your country is doomed to fail,
you should not associate with your enemy.
How do you know that Liang Lian and I are working together
instead of using each other?
What is the difference?
Everyone is trying to get the Gushan Sword Manual.
Liang Lian is collaborating with you
not necessarily for the interest of Heng,
but for himself.
Since we're talking about business,
let's focus on business alone.
Such a valuable message
about the Gushan Sword Manual,
I won't sell it just for money.
I will exchange my clue to the Gushan Sword Manual
for your clue to it.
Previously I kept a fact from you.
The Sword Sect of Lie
also possesses a clue
to the Gushan Sword Manual.
But according to rumors in the streets,
as for the two clues to the Gushan Sword Manual,
one is in the Yunshui Palace,
and the other is in the Bashan Sword Field.
Could the rumors be wrong?
We will know
after we test them.
Master Zhao Si, don't tell me you're fooling me
with a fake clue.
Just kidding.
People of your Sword Sect of Lie
are too upright
to appreciate a joke.
It seems that the complete message about the Gushan Sword Manual
has been divided into three parts.
Have you figured out anything?
Messy lines.
No pattern is shown.
Maybe we can only solve this mystery
when the three parts are put together.
Interesting.
I don't have any news about the disciple.
I know where he is.
In Dafu Water Dungeon.
Director Chen said that once.
But it's complicated there.
No one can find it out alone.
The Yunshui Palace's martial arts mainly deal with water.
A water dungeon
is just a piece of cake for us.
Why are you here?
I think you might want to know more details.
So I brought my junior fellow disciple with me
who was with me that day.
So if you can find out the truth of the case after talking with him,
then there's no need
to get the people in the fish market involved.
You are really smart.
Mr. Mo,
do you have any clues?
My brother-in-law is such an honest and loyal man.
Why are there so many practitioners who want to kill him?
Yes.
I am an ordinary street boy.
And I don't think
I have any enemy in Fengming.
You? An ordinary street boy?
Xue Wangxu revealed his practice level in the official road.
And he showed off at Tushan County.
Then he had a great battle with General Liang
at the Tiger and Wolf Army's barracks.
He has become a legend.
And you were present at every event.
In the future,
try to keep a low profile.
The fact that you are related to Wang Taixu alone
may bring you a lot of disasters.
Then it would be just my destiny.
Sir, please find out the truth of the case.
Tell me the details of what happened that day.
Ding Ning is really something.
People of the fish market actually helped him.
Anything else?
We caught an assassin alive.
The most important thing is
the killers turned out to be
disciples of the Yunshui Palace.
Who is so important
to get Bai Shanshui to intervene?
I guess
they gave Bai Shanshui something
in exchange for her help.
Free access to Fengming.
Yes.
Then I know
who could get Bai Shanshui to intervene.
Master…
JIang Li.
Master.
JIang Li.
Ding Ning.
Why did you come here today?
This is the Booklet of Talents of the Swordsmanship Tournament.
It is an assessment made by Hongyang Academy
on every practitioner who is qualified to participate in
the Minshan Swordsmanship Tournament
and all the younger talents
who are recommended for an opportunity.
Booklet of Talents?
Is this ranking accurate?
Hongyang Academy is responsible for
registering and editing the information of all the practitioners in Heng.
This booklet compiled by them
should be the most authoritative.
48th?
Who ranks first?
First?
A guy named Ye Haoran.
Estimated practice level,
the medium grade of the fourth realm.
There are so many strong competitors in Fengming.
Even Jiang Li hasn't made it into the top thirty.
You just entered the third realm.
You must watch out for yourself.
This booklet
has only listed the top 120 practitioners.
However, there are already 16 people who are estimated to have reached practice levels
higher than the fourth realm.
This year's Minshan Swordsmanship Tournament
will be much different from those of previous years
because of this booklet.
Many people are listed in the booklet.
But when the Tournament starts,
many of them won't be in this booklet anymore.
But Master,
the Minshan Swordsmanship Tournament
is only six months away.
And
most people in this booklet
have entered the third realm.
It seems unlikely
for them to elevate to the next level
in such a short period of time.
Why did you say that
many people by then
won't be in this booklet anymore?
Isn't it clear?
Only the top 50 in the Booklet of Talents
are qualified to participate in the Tournament.
Those who are outside the top 50
definitely have to find a way
to defeat the top 50,
so that they have the opportunity to participate in the Tournament.
So this booklet
in fact is equivalent to
a target list for duel challenge.
Then it means the Tournament
has already started.
So this is not good for you.
If you accept the challenges,
you won't have enough time to spend on practice.
I will not accept any challenge.
I will feel very bored
if you don't accept the challenges.
Master.
I still have to practice.
Otherwise how can I make you proud
at the Minshan Swordsmanship Tournament?
But
I have never heard of such a booklet
in previous years.
This year the national treasury
has cut down much of the funds
allocated to local governments.
So Hongyang Academy
wants to do some business to get some cash.
This booklet is thin,
but sold at a high price.
But there have been no major natural disasters over the past several years.
Shouldn't they increase the funds?
Why do they cut down the funds instead?
I think the reason is
the Lushan Alliance Meeting.
It's only
three months away
from the Lushan Alliance Meeting,
where Heng will cement the alliance with Xian, Mo, and Li.
Although Heng is now a powerful kingdom
and His Majesty may have entered the eighth realm,
in order to prepare for any possibilities,
we must also prepare
for an upcoming war.
I don't think any of the three states has the nerve to start a war.
The King of Xian is addicted to women.
The King of Li is as timid as a rat.
The only trouble is Mo,
which has a ghostly army.
But their national strength cannot compare with that of Heng.
Even if they want a war,
Heng can drag them down with a prolonged war.
Whether they dare to fight or not is not the real problem.
You mean
His Majesty wants to fight?
If you and three other people
always liked to fight over things,
and all of you were the same strong,
but one day,
suddenly you reached a practice level
that was one realm higher than that of the other three,
will you take the opportunity to threaten them
and take something over
from their hands?
I don't think this is possible…
I am asking you a question.
If you and three other people
always liked to fight over things,
and all of you were the same strong…
Quiet! But…
I am the richest man in Guanzhong.
My name is Xie Changsheng.
May I know your name please,
young lady?
Xie Changsheng!
She is my aunt.
Aunt?
Let me handle things here.
Go back and have a rest.
I have something to tell you.
Can we have a talk for a minute?
Aunt…
I know that you want Xue Wangxu to show his strength.
But why did you take the initiative to find Mo Qinggong?
If you neglect
my words ever again,
you're on your own.
I went to Mo Qinggong
to take a look at Dafu Water Dungeon.
You went inside?
No.
But I know the general bearings.
It's better than nothing.
Last time I was sneak attacked in the fish market.
Whoever ambushed me
put poison of Qian on their sword.
Should be someone of the Yunshui Palace.
Maybe Bai Shanshui
has teamed up with Liang Lian?
Can you ask around for me?
Especially people around Liang Lian.
Sure.
I am going now.
Be careful.
Fan Zhuo,
do you understand
what a great risk our general has taken
for you to go in and out of Fengming freely?
And look at the assassins you found.
They were so ignorant
that they tried to do it in the fish market.
Now they not only failed in the mission,
buy also left a loose end behind
who is now in the hands of the Shendu Bureau.
What are you trying to do exactly?
They missed.
If you want to be a desperado, you should have the ability to be one.
The three are real poisonous snakes.
They were not just some
arrogant good-for-nothings as you said.
Luck was not on their side.
Otherwise, with the strength of those three,
killing a boy who has just entered the third realm
in the fish market
wouldn't be a problem for them.
There must be someone
at a grand master's level in the fish market.
The three poisonous snakes you said
must have underestimated
the fish market like you.
Today
that "loose end" has been sent to
Dafu Water Dungeon.
Dafu Water Dungeon?
What can they find
even they sent him into Dafu Water Dungeon?
Even if they find something,
they won't trace it back to you or Liang Lian.
What are you worrying about?
Instead of the man alive,
I am more worried about your reckless actions
that'll definitely come next.
I am an outlaw
doing reckless things.
I won't be treading on eggs
like you guys.
He's just an underground swordsman in Fengming.
I will personally help you get rid of him when it's time.
Then please do so.
I'll let you show yourself out.
Who is Liang Lian in collusion with?
And what secret
is hidden behind it?
You came all the way here to find me.
Is there any other business
you want to do with me?
People of the Yunshui Palace
always seem to have taken the moral high ground.
I didn't expect you would get your hands dirty.
I have always been acting following my heart.
I never think I've taken the moral high ground.
Even you want to follow your heart,
you shouldn't help a lackey like Liang Lian.
It's up to the Yunshui Palace.
So mind your own business.
I have no intention of intervening in your business.
But I also hope that
you can leave that person who is close to me alone.
I'll let you show yourself out.
General.
General!
You
don't need to remind or threaten them
what they should do.
They should
know what they are supposed to do.
General, your health…
You have healed!
Her Majesty sent Xue Wangxu to challenge me.
If I was intact,
Her Majesty would lose face.
It's such great news
that you're in good health.
The minds of people like Bai Shanshui
are hardest to figure out.
General, only your own strength
is the best invisible deterrence
to them.
Remember,
these rebellious people
don't care about their own lives.
When working with them,
the most important thing
is to protect our own interests.
Yes, sir!
Sure enough, all men are stinky.
The house has become stinky because of you.
This whale balm is a good thing.
If you really don't like
the smell of it,
I will buy some incenses
with a good smell tomorrow.
Aunt.
I can't wipe my back.
Go away.
When I was taking a bath as a little boy,
you saw everything.
How did your investigation go?
You guessed it right.
Liang Lian went to team up with Bai Shanshui.
What do you think?
Wait for an opportunity to move
when I find out Qi Pomo's whereabouts.
Even an assassination like that
didn't hurt you.
It seems that you are more capable
than I imagined.
I have been biting off more than I can chew.
If it were not for my good luck,
and my master's help,
it would have been impossible for me to have such an experience
or reach the current practice level
after I joined Baiyang Cave.
For this year's Minshan Swordsmanship Tournament,
they made such a booklet with a ranking list.
You have seen it too.
How certain are you?
To be frank,
I find no confidence to win.
Sword scriptures of Baiyang Cave
are insufficient for practice.
By the time of the Minshan Swordsmanship Tournament,
at best I will reach the medium grade of the third realm.
I have to find a way to grasp
something I can rely on
during a normal and fair fight.
Even you have no confidence to win?
Are those practitioners at the top of the list
really so strong?
The really strong ones
are not in the booklet.
Over these years,
I have come to understand
the Queen's way of doing things.
She always holds back a trick or two.
People not included in the booklet
are often more powerful.
These things are too complicated.
I'll just keep going with my practice.
The simple-minded Zhangsun Qianxue
is more worth cherishing.
Aunt,
come down to have dinner!
Ding Ning.
Let's go.
Go.
What are you doing?
Someone in the Booklet of Talents has challenged someone else to a duel today.
Master is waiting in the carriage already.
Let's go.
Who are going to have a duel?
They say it's a Chen Liufeng ranked 37th
and Fan Wuque ranked 35th.
I am not going.
You!
You…
This one.
This is for your aunt, right?
Give it to me.
I thought you said master is waiting anxiously?
Let's go.
I will send this to aunt.
Let me go!
So many people!
Look.
It's all because of the booklet of Hongyang Academy.
Normally if the two of them have a duel,
there won't necessarily be so many onlookers.
Now with the release of the Booklet of Talents,
people who are listed in the booklet naturally want to see
the strength of those two
who rank 37th and 35th respectively.
And people not included in the booklet
want to see
why they are not.
It has already started.
Let's go, let's go take a look.
Excuse me.
Master,
I think that one will win.
They are using the same swords.
They are edgeless black iron swords
specially made for the Tournament.
Of course they are all the same.