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Candle in the Tomb
Episode 10
Is Professor alright?
Old man!
How long will this sand storm take?
This is just beginning.
Who can say for sure?
Aren't you very capable? You should go ask the heavens about it.
Such a heavy sand storm, I've long wanted to flee.
You told that fatty to stop me.
Now everyone can't flee anymore.
You want me, an old man, to die together with all of you. What more do you want me to say?
- Old Hu. - Yes.
I've checked this place. It's safe. We've managed
to save our lives.
- Maybe not. - Why?
Look at this house. There's holes everywhere.
We don't know how long will this sand storm last.
We can sit here and be buried alive.
Sister Yang, what's wrong?
I'm fine.
Let me have a look.
What's the matter with your eye?
Miss Yang, are you alright?
Sand got into my eye. It's nothing.
Xiao Ye, get some water and wash it.
Get up.
Run, didn't you run quite fast just now?
- Why aren't you running off now? - Let go.
- No one is stopping you. - Let go.
- You just run. - Fatty.
Let go. Let go of your arm.
Let go. What are you doing?
This old man always talks about us being his friends.
If I didn't stop him from running, he would have fled and not care about us.
What kind of thing are you?
Before we set off, I've said to listen to me. You refused to.
Now that we are trapped here, you can't blame me at all.
You are still arguing now, aren't you?
But you can't blame me at all.
Let's cool down. Calm down, okay?
But he came right up to me and grabbed me.
Old man, things have come to this point. Let's move forward from here,
alright?
Everyone, we don't know when this black sandstorm will pass.
I figure we have to spend the night here.
Fatty.
Bring Sa Dipeng and Chu Jian with you to move the food,
fuel and sleeping bags in here.
One more thing, we may have to take turns to keep vigil tonight.
If we can't keep a close eyes on the holes around this room,
if we get buried by the sand, then it will be no different from being out there.
Xiao Hu is right.
Let's go. Come with me.
Let's go.
How is it?
Brother Hu, the sand in Sister Yang's eye is a bit tricky.
No worries, let me do it. Give me some water.
Alright. Come.
Don't move.
Bear with it.
I'm going to blow now.
Don't rub.
Bear with it.
How? Do you feel better now?
Yes, much better.
Remember, if sand gets into your eyes again,
don't rub them after the sand gets blown out. Bear with it for a while, and it will be fine.
Okay.
I understand.
I'll go out and take a look.
Mr. Hu.
Thank you.
Xiao Hu, you have to be careful too.
Alright.
The sandstorm is here.
We have to conserve the use of fuel.
Xiao Hu, get some rest. Are you alright?
I'm good.
Professor, are you alright? - Bring all of them in.
I'm fine.
- Is there anymore? - Heavens! The wind is so strong,
if not for the three of us holding on to each other tightly, we'd have been blown away!
- Pass them to me. - Here.
Anyone of you don't have
dried meat? All of you have it?
Old man, your camels are doing fine.
Don't worry. Even if something were to happen, I will handle it.
I would rather tire to death than let you move.
Xiao Wang, now
even if you let him out of here, he won't run.
Am I right, old brother?
I don't care.
So long as he remains here, then I'll be at ease.
Uncle Anliman, I found some animal's footprints near the wall.
They're wolves's footprints.
Now that you say it, I almost forgot about it. Near the walls outside,
I saw about 6 to 7 Mongolian gazelles.
This is a place the heavens prepare for the animals in the desert.
You only see Mongolian gazelles.
Who knows, there may be wolves and leopards hiding around too, right?
With the sandstorm blowing, the animals on land are scared stiff.
After the sandstorm passes, you will realise that
wolves and sheep are all hiding in the same house.
When that time comes, the wolves will bear their teeth.
The Mongolian gazelles will flash their horns.
That means after the sandstorm passes, the wolves and leopards
- will discover us? - Right.
Even if we can survive the sandstorm, we can't hide from those animals.
Xiao Hu, Sa Dipend is timid. Don't scare him.
That's right, Brother Hu. Don't make jokes at times like this.
I was just trying to lessen the tension in everyone.
Look, this is our first time experiencing the power of sandstorm.
What an experience, right?
This is called 'battling with the heavens, battling with the earth'. It's endless!
This phrase, now that I think of it, is very meaningful.
Xiao...Xiao Yan, what are you holding?
- What? It's a bone! - Are you alright?
- Xiao Yan. - There are more here. Lots of bones!
You are working in archaeology, how can you be afraid of bones?
I'm sorry, Teacher Hao.
I...I didn't think there will be human bones inside here.
That's why I wasn't prepared enough for them.
It really does look like there are human bones here.
- Professor Hao, these bones look strange. - What's so strange about them?
The corpses in burial tombs don't rot.
Usually, they will be wind-dried naturally and become mummies.
But on these white bones, there are no signs of skin or flesh.
It's probably the wolves. They are eaten completely by the wolves.
That's very likely.
It's possible that this person once tried to hide here temporarily from the windstorm.
But was later attacked by animals.
That's why what I've said earlier wasn't a joke.
We need to be on careful watch on a rotational basis. As soon as we see something amiss, we've to notify everyone immediately.
In addition, if the windstorm were to pass, we have to retreat as soon as possible.
I feel that since we have guns, we don't have to wait for the windstorm to pass.
Later, when the wind has receded, I'll go out
and hunt two Mongolian gazelles for us to have some fresh meat.
I'm sick of eating these dried meats.
You can't do that! The sound of your gun shots will frighten away all the animals that are hiding here.
When they run outside, they will be buried alive in the Black Desert!
Aren't we all just like the animals?
We are hiding here because of the blessings of the heavens, right?
If you behave this way, even if we survive this and go outside, the heavens will punish us!
- Alright. Alright. Alright. Hey... - If you still behave this way
- I will-- - Alright. Stop. Then, I won't eat, alright?
No, you can't be like this.
Enough. I've only uttered one word, but you've retorted with so many words.
I'll just munch on the dried meats, will that do?
Of course you can.
Professor Chen, come, let's have some wine to relieve fatigue.
Thank you. Thank you.
In the past, we worked for years in the wild.
Later, we were locked inside bullpens, and did physical labor work in May 7 Cadre School (where educated people were forced into re-education and peasant labor during Cultural Revolution).
Later, we were sent to Reform Through Labor Camp to open up mountains and do excavation work.
All those were endured and all because we have this thing (wine).
Here, thank you.
Younger Brother Hu, today if not because of you,
my old bones would probably have been left behind in the desert,
be wind-dried and transformed into a mummy.
- Thank you. Thank you. - Don't mention it. Don't mention it.
This is all within the boundaries of my responsibility, right?
I can't just take Ms. Yang's US dollars for nothing, right?
But, if we can continue on, even if the windstorm is passed,
what lies ahead should be the center of the Black Desert.
The environment there is probably more cruel than here.
I understand. You don't have to worry about me.
This life of mine was born for archaeology.
Moreover, this rare phenomenon of a huge desert windstorm is hard to come by in a century.
Yet we've managed to evade it. This means there must be good fortune ahead.
Mister Hu.
Previously, I thought that you're too young to be the leader of an archaeological team.
I was very worried that you did not have sufficient experience or capability to lead the team.
But, looking at it now, you're very suitable to be the leader of this team.
But, I need your help in one more thing.
What is it? Boss, tell me.
Now everyone is holed up inside here. Morale is low.
Put it this way,
I hope you can say some words of encouragement to everyone.
- What you are saying is, for me to lift up everyone's spirits? - Yes.
This will be quite difficult.
Hey, what...what is that? Comrades!
Comrades, we sing as we march on. This is my army's excellent tradition.
Let's all sing a song together, okay?
Old Hu, what's this for?
How about you sing us a song?
What's that? Let's just chat. Chat.
Take a sit. Let's chat. I...
I'll recount a little incident of the time during a battle as a frontliner.
- Story-telling? - Yes.
This is what has happened.
There was once, when we tried to capture an enemy's higher ground fire point.
But that fire point is set off each other at a dead end.
Our gunfire wasn't able to extinguish it.
So I led my team of Section Six to successively take them on by storm.
In the end, we failed three times.
There was not just over ten wounded comrades, there was also a few who've sacrificed their lives.
Our whole team within the whole division, is well-known as the heroic team.
We've never fought such a stupid and cowardly battle.
That was why the comrades were very discouraged and couldn't lift our spirits up.
Just as I was feeling anxious, our commander gave us a call.
On the phone, he gave me a good scolding!
What the hell are you guys doing? Can you guys do it or not? If you can't, let others take your place to conquer that piece of land!
Also, let others take over your team's title as the "Hero's Team"! Let the other teams do it!
To myself, I said, this won't do. How can I let this happen?
So later, I thought of a way.
When I went back, I told all my battle comrades,
just now, the Central Commander called us.
Master Deng (Deng Xiaoping) has learned of stories of our Section Six's heroism at the front lines.
He said, Section Six is great.
You guys can definitely do it! You guys can definitely conquer this piece of land!
What did the soldiers say?
Master Deng? Even Master Deng knows about us?
Then we definitely mustn't embarrass ourselves.
They got pumped up, and managed to conquer it in one shot.
Brother Hu, then how did you guys manage to conquer that piece of land in the end?
That's right. How long did the battle last after that? And how many people did you guys sacrifice?
The moral of my story is that
no matter what obstacle you face,
the biggest enemy is yourself. As long as we can conquer our own fears,
and can overcome our weaknesses, we'll definitely be able to clinch victory.
Well said!
Which of you knows when this black sandstorm will be over?
Does anyone know?
Timing and Subtitles brought to you by The Dancing Fingers @ Viki
Fatty, why don't we bury the bones?
If we leave it here, everyone will be uneasy.
- Then let's bury it there then, since we can't go out anyway. - Okay.
- Teacher, I've set it (his bed rolls) out. - Good. Go rest.
What's wrong?
You've hit the bottom already?
That's impossible. This building shouldn't be that shallow.
Could it be that there's something down there?
Let me shine a light for you.
- What's this? - What's that?
Black stone eggs?
This building should have been a magistrate court or discussion room or something like that.
The sand has half-buried it. How tall must this stone be for it to be standing so high?
Who cares what it is? Let's dig it out first.
Come come. Stand to the side. Stand to the side.
Hey, hey, Xiao Wang, be careful.
It's a head.
What's with the design, it's so ugly!
This seems like one of those god statues that people enshrine in temples.
Don't touch it anymore.
Don't touch it anymore. Don't touch it anymore.
Don't need to care about him.
Aiguo, haven't we seen a god statue like this before?
Yes, we have. The Thousand Coffins Tomb in Xinjiang
seems to have a statue that is exactly the same as this.
The eyes are unusually big, unlike normal humans.
This should be... a Gigantic Pupil(of the eye) Stone Statue, right?
Not just there.
At Tianshan (Tianshan mountain range between XinJiang, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan), Altay prefecture level city, and Tian He Liu Yu (Farm River Basin) in Xinjiang.
Also in the grasslands of Mongolia, this type of Gigantic Pupil Stone Statues have been found.
Professor Chen, are there any historical origins behind these stone statues?
Regarding the historical origins of these stone statues,
there isn't any consensus among archaeologists. Some archaeologists have previously suggested
that this is a deity or god that Mongolians worship.
But some people have also said that this was left behind by Uyghur people.
Until now, there hasn't been any conclusion. It can be considered an unsolved mystery.
Hey, Professor, since this stone statue is so mysterious, why don't we dig it out to have a look?
You can't do that! You can't do that!
This was put here by the gods and deities. If you tamper with it, you'll be punished by God!
We're doing scientific research, not tampering with it!
Old uncle, come, come, stand up first.
First, you talk about Allah, then gods and deities, then God. What religion do you believe in?
I will believe in anyone who treats me well. Whatever it is, you cannot tamper with it!
- You can't tamper with it! - Okay, okay, old brother, we won't tamper with it.
We're all tired tonight. Let's rest early then.
Come! Come! Have a rest.
- Once we have enough sleep- - You cannot tamper with it!
we'll clear the sand in this big building,
and see if we discover anything else.
- Good night. - Good night.
Let's sleep. Let's sleep.
Everyone get some rest. I'll go with Fatty to bury those bones.
Get some rest.
You're not sleeping, what are you planning to do?
I'm going to see what Anliman is up to in the middle of the night.
- You want to have a smoke? - I'm going to relief Xiao Sa (of watch guard duty).
- Go sleep first. If I can't take it anymore, I'll wake you up. - Remember to wake me up.
Friend,
I'm back, rest easy and sleep.
Xiao Sa, I'll relief you. Go sleep.
Thank you, Brother Hu.
Hey, Brother Hu, did Anliman say
when this black sandstorm will be over?
It'll pass. Hurry and go to sleep. We'll have to hurry on our way when you wake up.
- Okay. Brother Hu, remember to stay safe, okay? - Okay.
You're not going to sleep yet?
Mr. Hu, why don't I relief you? Go and sleep for two hours.
No need. I just relieved Xiao Sa of his duty.
If I can't take it anymore, there's still Fatty. You can go back and rest.
Thank you for today.
What?
Nothing much.
You're welcome.
Doesn't this mean you heard me then?
It took me a while to process.
Forget it, it's fine. There's no need to explain.
Actually, you don't have to thank me. I didn't do much. Isn't this part of my responsibility?
I don't want to thank you anymore now too.
Miss Yang,
all along, I've always wanted to ask you a question,
but all along, I've never found a good time to ask.
What is it?
Why are you and your father so insistent on finding this Ancient City of Jingjue?
According to legend, this city doesn't exist anymore.
Also, all these years, there hasn't been anyone who's seen it.
Previously, I'd seen a news report.
The report said that there were three explorers
who'd wanted to find this Ancient City of Jingjue back then too.
But once they got here, they went missing.
After a very long while, people found their corpses along the edges of the desert.
These three corpses had all died because of dehydration.
But the strange thing was that in their water bottles, all of them had more than half of it still filled.
There are numerous stories like that.
I just wanted to say that actually, people's understanding of the desert is too little.
If we try our best to find it,
it'd be the best if we could find it, but if we couldn't, there's no need for you to blame yourself too much.
What you said does make a lot of sense.
But I still believe in the existence of the Ancient City of Jingjue.
Because since my father went missing,
almost every night, I have the same dream.
I'll always dream of a big pitch-black cave,
where a coffin carved full of Guidong Language is hung.
Something big lies on the coffin. But I can't see clearly what that is.
Every time I try to see it clearly as best as I can,
I'll wake up from the dream.
During the past half of this year, the same scene keeps repeating in my dreams.
I strongly believe that this is a dream my father entrusted in me.
In that coffin, lies the queen of Jingjue.
Who'd have thought that Americans are so superstitious too? You believe in deceased loved ones entrusting dreams in you as well?
But you can't simply regard having this place appearing in your dreams,
to strongly believe in the existence of the Ancient City of Jingjue.
Since my earliest childhood memory, my father has been researching the Ancient City of Jingjue.
When he was in America, he'd previously bought a batch of historical artifacts.
They were precious artifacts found by European explorers in the Xinjiang desert.
Those European explorers had previously
found ruins of an ancient city near the Niya Oasis.
After verification, the ruins and the artifacts came from the Han Dynasty. That place is highly probable to be
the strongest and most prosperous Jingjue Country's ruin among all the 36 countries of the Western Regions.
But after the many years of research of my father and Professor Chen, they've determined that the Niya ruins
are merely from one of the secondary cities of Jingjue Country.
The real Jingjue capital should at the North of Niya,
and by the downstream of Zi Du Underground River (sole underground river).
My father hoped that he'd be able to find the Ancient City of Jingjue in his lifetime,
that's why he took the risk to put together an expedition team to explore the desert.
Until the time when he met with an accident at Kunlun Glaciers.
In his lifetime, he'd been deeply fascinated by the Guidong culture of Jingjue.
I'm really sorry.
What are you sorry about?
Until now, I've been unable to help you find the remains of your father.
I feel that I'm the one who has let him down.
When he needed support the most,
I wasn't by his side, keeping him company.
Now, I'm tracing his footsteps,
I seem to be able to understand what he'd been feeling too.
If he's up in heaven,
he will definitely be able to see all that you're doing now.
It's just that this previously splendid ancient city
doesn't have many records left behind now.
Back then, Jingjue Country was the leader of all the small countries in the Western Regions.
When the last reigning queen passed away,
this city disappeared in a sea of sand.
Until the break out on the eve of World War II,
there was a British explorer, called Walt,
who'd led an expedition team into the Taklamakan Desert to explore.
After that, he was the only one to walk out alive.
At that time, he'd already totally lost his sanity.
But from the photos in his camera, and the records in his diary,
it proved the existence of the Ancient City of Jingjue.
Later, there were also some people who wanted to follow the clues at that time to find the Ancient City of Jingjue.
Who'd have thought that World War II erupted, and a lot of things were shelved.
This is the notebook of Walt, that explorer?
Ga Wa died for this.
My father bought this notebook in England.
Inside, it was written until the part when they were at Zi Du Underground River,
they saw an enormous ancient city,
and that they were planning to explore it in the morning. After which, no more was written.
I wonder, what happened inside the ruins of the ancient city?
Why was it that in the end, there was only one person who'd lost his sanity, who was able to come back?
It's all in English?
It recognizes me, but I don't recognize it.
Inside this, there are a lot of clues regarding the Ancient City of Jingjue.
I still need to study it some more.
But currently, at least we can confirm that our current route is right.
But I need to find my way there, before I can know
what was it that has caught the fascination of my father all these years.
This has also always been a mystery to me.
As long as we keep searching along the correct route, I believe that we'll be able to find it.
The black sandstorm right now makes me very worried.
This Ancient City of Jingjue really is very mysterious.
Thank you for listening to me.
I was the one who was interested. I definitely didn't force myself (to listen).
I'll stop talking. You should hurry up and go get some rest.
I still need to rely on you for the route ahead.
It's okay. I'm not tired.
Hey, did you see that?
Why do I feel like the eyes of that statue moved?
No. You're tired, aren't you?
Probably.
I think you're too tired. Go have a rest. It's enough to have me here.
Okay. Then stay here for a while, I'll ask Fatty to relief you.
Such a big ant.
Timing and Subtitles brought to you by The Dancing Fingers @ Viki
♫ Walk forward and pass through a gap ♫
♫ I want to see it more clearly ♫
♫ My courage and fragile sensitivity are together ♫
♫ Some secrets are hidden at the bottom of my heart ♫
♫ I’ve never mentioned it to anybody ♫
♫ Fate beckons, but doesn’t care about the result ♫
♫ Because of capricious changes, I’m trapped in the moment ♫
♫ An unknown river flows up, but the river current goes down ♫
♫ The bigger your desires, the higher price you must pay ♫
♫ My stomach is filled with words, but I close my mouth ♫
♫ Fate has once given promises, but it can also go back on its words ♫
♫ One side offers loving words, while the other side offers lies ♫
♫ You’re supposed to climb to heaven, but you flee to hell ♫
♫ You were given a youthful face, but it transformed all into grey hairs overnight ♫
♫ Sail downstream with the current ♫