[ GUSU: Cloud Recesses ]
The mountain rear really has secrets?
Bro Ji, it's you!
I didn't intend that. Blame your silence.
I was unprepared.
Bro Ji, I'll tell you a secret.
I heard noise on the slopes. I suspect an intruder.
Is it linked to soul-snatching... hey, what's this?!
How can you grab me?
It hurts.
It hurts!
The Untamed - Special Edition
Episode 02 STYGIAN IRON
[ Library Pavilion ]
Here.
- You copied it all? - Done.
Not coming tomorrow.
This...is for you.
Oh! One more thing!
All done!
[ Scripture of Ease ]
Pathetic, right? I knew you'd think so.
Instead of 'pathetic', can you find new words.
Very pathetic.
You did add a word. Thanks.
(cut-sleeve porn)
Wei Ying!
I'm here, I'm here.
Lan Zhan! Mind where you are. I brought my sword.
Want your Library to stay intact?
So shameless!
This embarrassed you? Don't say you've never read one. No way.
Come outside to duel.
No, no, no. Don't you know fighting is banned?
Lan Zhan! No, no, no!
Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan! Recklessly wasted it! You really—
Get lost!
Fine, Lan Zhan.
Everyone says you're noble, with etiquette like a rare pearl.
Today it doesn't seem so. Quarrelling is forbidden.
You dare say 'get lost'?
Want me out? Fine.
Don't see me out.
Brother, the rear ward has oddness.
Though unbroken, it was disturbed.
Do you know who went there?
Wei Ying.
Brother, reinforce the ward?
Our ancestors set the ward.
If she doesn't go inside, the ward won't break.
She...?
Never mind this now. Wangji—
Leader.
Greetings, Leader, Second Childe. [ Su She ]
At ease. What is it?
A villager just reported water ghosts haunt Caiyi Town.
There are many victims. Villagers want Lan Sect aid.
Water ghosts?
Caiyi Town people are good swimmers and rarely drown.
How are there water ghosts?
Leader, would you like me to exorcise the ghosts?
Tell the villagers I will come tomorrow morning.
You're busy. For a simple water ghost issue, I can handle it.
It may not be simple.
- Be prepared. - Aye.
Wangji, go with me tomorrow.
Yes.
Lord Zewu!
- Lord Zewu. - Lord Zewu.
Childe Wei. Childe Jiang. You...
Lord Zewu, we heard of water ghosts in Biling Lake. We've no lectures,
so we'd like to go.
Right, let us go.
It is improper.
Why's that?
Jiang Cheng and I played in Yunmeng waters since young.
Water ghosts are easy for us.
We've no classes.
Sure, Lord Zewu! Yumeng has many rivers. We can help.
No need.
You two may join us.
Leader Lan, I also want the experience.
Lord, Lady Wen is a doctor.
Water ghost exorcism is easy.
But if locals are hurt, she can treat them.
Lady Wen, come along.
Sis! Sis, wait for me!
Wen Ning.
Brother, why bring them?
It is not a small matter for fooling around.
I could tell you wanted Childe Wei to come. So I agreed.
Isn't that so?
Everyone, be careful.
The haunted area is near.
Lord Zewu, these spirits are cunning.
If they hide under the boats,
will we keep searching?
What if we can't find them?
Our duty is to keep looking.
Lan Zhan! Look at me!
Pathetic.
What was that?
I've never seen such a water ghost.
Childe Wei.
How'd you know?
Easy! The draft wasn't right.
What wasn't right?
His boat bore one person's weight
but its draft was two persons
so water spirits had to be beneath.
You are experienced.
Lan Zhan, I didn't mean to splash you.
Those spirits are clever.
If I'd said it aloud, they'd have fled.
Childe Lan, I didn't sulk when you took my liquor.
Call it even, okay?
Stay away from me.
It came up!
Catch it!
There's one on your right!
Your sword's name?
Whatever (Suibian).
What...ever.
This sword has a spirit. A casual name is disrespectful.
I didn't say to call it casually. Its name is 'Whatever'.
Well, see for yourself.
Don't say it. You want to ask about its name—
Any meaning?
Actually, there's no meaning.
When Uncle Jiang had it made, he asked me to name it.
After rejecting 20 names, I just said, "Whatever".
Now I think about it, it's not a bad name.
Ridiculous.
I think it's okay.
The mist is denser. Everyone, be careful.
The water colour...
Go back now.
Those water things led us to Lake Biling centre.
Hurry!
What's going on?
Look! They're gathering.
Maelstrom. It's a Maelstrom!
The gathering of water spirits triggered a Maelstrom
to drown us.
What to do?
Ride swords.
A-Ning!
Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan! Luckily you saved me.
But why grab my collar? Can you hold me? I'm uncomfy.
Well, take my hand. Hold it.
I do not touch strangers.
We're already quite close.
We are not.
Still acting up?
You're acting up!
When held in midair, can you talk less?
- Shut up! - You...
[ Caiyi Town ]
Wangji, what's on your mind?
Maelstrom.
Wei Wuxian's conjecture is reasonable.
Cultivators lost souls. Maelstrom came.
Do you have clues about their connection?
Wangji, I'm not sure.
I hope it isn't what I think it is.
But if it is...
I fear we can't stop it.
Lan Zhan! Eat a loquat!
Do not want.
Such a mood killer.
Jiang Cheng, catch!
If you want loquats, I'll buy a basket.
Do not want!
Emperor's Smile.
Gusu Emperor's Smile! Emperor's Smile!
Emperor's Smile, Gusu high quality!
Emperor's Smile! High quality Emperor's Smile!
- What took you so long? - I went to get peanuts.
Bro Wei, it's really good.
Of course.
In Gusu, drink Emperor's Smile—
subtle aroma, mellow taste,
refreshing not pungent, smooth not fiery.
Just drink. Sounds like a person.
Bro Jiang, I think Bro Wei described it very well.
- Fine liquor is like a lovely woman. - Cheers.
If that's so, why don't you two sniff liquor to find soulmates.
If there's liquor, I can do that.
How's Lan Sect stand you?
Stand what?
What's wrong with me? No-one matches your standards.
Bro Wei, what standards?
- Don't dare blab! - A natural beauty.
You! Wei Wuxian!
Caring and virtuous, diligent and thrifty.
- Also... - Wei Wuxian! - Good family.
- Enough! - Not chatty. - Don't run! - Gentle voice.
- Careful! - Don't run. - Wei Wuxian!
Not too refined. Not a spendthrift.
- I'll let you talk...Wei Wuxian! - No, no, don't, hey...
Bro Jiang, get up!
What are you doing?
You came at the right time.
Since you're here,
why don't we drink and chat a bit?
Cloud Recesses bans liquor.
Lan Zhan, don't be stuffy.
Today, we suppressed the Maelstrom.
Can't we celebrate?
You all go to Ancestral Hall for punishment.
What Hall?
- What Hall? - Hall, what...
Lan Zhan, look. They're so drunk, they can't walk.
Let's do this? Sit down
and we two can drink and chat.
Lan Zhan!
You will not go. I will get help.
Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan, come here.
Sit down. Drink this.
I didn't lie, right? Tastes good?
Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan, why so thick-skinned?
Your face won't even blush.
Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan, sleep in your room?
Don't sleep in mine.
I didn't expect haughty Childe Lan
to fall into my hands.
Lan'er, call me Brother Wei.
Brother Wei.
What is it?
Now you react?
Your headband is slanted.
Slanted?
I'll help you.
Get away!
It's crooked! Still crooked!
What are you doing?
I tried to straighten it.
Why be so nervous?
This headband is sacred, only touched by parents, wife and child.
Wife?
Why laugh?
I'm laughing at Lan Sect's rigid rules.
No girl would marry you.
You'll be single for life.
That is fine.
Is everyone in Lan Sect this boring?
If your dad is dull like you,
your mom must be so bored.
I have no mother.
How can that be? You came from a rock?
When I was 4, my parents died.
I should have memories from then.
But all I remember is being chased by dogs.
What Mom looked like...
I can't remember.
I only recall one scene—
Mom held me on a donkey.
My dad walked in front. Maybe Mom made a joke.
Then Dad joked around.
Lan Zhan, here. Toast to you.
No, no. I mean to us.
'Same misfortune, mutual pity'.
'If there's wine today, drink today'.
Here, cheers!
(Wei Ying's sash is on floor)
Is Wei Wuxian
Cangse Sanren's...
He's Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren's son.
No wonder Wei Wuxian is smart at antics
like his mother.
Report!
Teacher Lan. Lord Zewu.
What is it?
Wei Wuxian and others were caught secretly drinking.
Second Childe was with them.
Preposterous!
( Discipline Ruler )
I was wrong. Uncle, brother, punish me.
Teacher, Lord Zewu. We broke the liquor ban, but Lan Zhan—
Unruly! Wei Wuxian, your confinement ended yet you made trouble.
What will you do to Cloud Recesses before you stop?!
Don't think because your mother is Cangse—
Teacher, you knew my mother?
- Teacher. - Shut up!
Wangji, Childe Wei isn't in Lan Sect, but you broke rules.
I was wrong.
Lord Zewu! It was me! I forced Lan Zhan to drink.
I was wrong. I will be punished.
Why ask for it?
Ringleader Wei Ying— 100 ruler strikes.
Lan Zhan— same as Wei Wuxian.
The others get 50 strikes as a warning!
100? That big ruler?
Will I live?
Strike!
It hurts.
A-Cheng, you usually curb A-Xian. Why join him?
Sis, skip it. Don't tell our parents I got 50 hits.
My 100 is secret.
- You started it. - No-one forced you.
You two, still arguing?
Senior Sis, it hurts everywhere.
Let it be a lesson.
Endure it. I'll make angelica soup.
Senior Sis, for healing, meat is better.
Lamb angelica soup is good.
You two...
Lord Zewu.
Lord Zewu, did I break more rules?
You did go too far yesterday.
But Uncle was angry. Punishment was severe.
That ruler is heavy. Bruises on your back will take 14 days to heal.
It takes 14 days to heal?
I'll tell you a place to heal faster so studies won't lag.
Thanks for kindness.
Lord Zewu. My mother...
Childe Wei.
Cangse Sanren was my uncle's classmate.
My uncle was strict and upright while your mother...
I can only say your personality is like hers.
Yeah?
So, Childe Wei, don't resent Uncle's strictness with you.
Truth is...
Uncle had difficulty regrowing his beard.
Lan Zhan!
Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan, not telling me of this spot is so unfriendly.
How did you get in?
Lord Zewu let me in.
So cold.
Really cold.
So cold, so cold. Very cold.
Stop moving.
I know, but the spring is chilly. If I don't move,
my blood will freeze and I'll die.
Lan Zhan.
Hey, Lan Zhan, seriously.
Okay, fine. You can be stuffy, fastidious, dull,
and a bit boring. And you got on my nerves at the start.
But we duelled a couple of times and we tied.
I, Wei Wuxian, approve of you. I want to be friends.
Unnecessary.
No point acting like this. I tell you, being my friend has benefits.
What are you doing?
Undressing to heal.
Don't run off.
I won't undress, okay?
Lan Zhan, have you been to Yunmeng? There's fun and good food.
Well, come to Lotus Pier.
We'll pick lotus pods and chestnuts.
Not going.
Okay, fine. Then I'll tell you a big secret.
Yunmeng has many pretty girls.
Lan Zhan, sense anything strange?
Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan, what's this place?
Why's a cave hidden under Cold Spring?
It's so strange here.
The water is icy but not frozen.
Lan Zhan, wait for me.
What was that?
Chord Assassination?
Chord Assassination? That's Lan Sect's top ancestral skill?
Why's this thing only aim at me?
The guqin has a Lan Sect seal. It will not attack me.
It senses I am Lan Clan.
Why do these rabbits have Lan Sect headbands?
It's said Lan Sect disciples wear headbands at a young age.
Headbands' spiritual power recognize wearers.
Rabbits have headbands? Power. Headbands.
Lan Zhan! Headband! Share your headband!
Hurry!
I want to see what treasure deters outsiders.
Do not touch.
This guqin is a rare masterpiece enhanced by power.
It used Chord Assassination.
It must be a Lan Clan ancestor's heirloom.
I want to look, not play it.
Do not.
Respect an heirloom.
How can I check it out if I don't touch it?
I have a way.
Spirit Inquiry? I'd heard of Lan Sect ancient skill
to talk to ancestors through the guqin.
It is her.
Who?
- Qishan Wen Sect. - Gusu Lan Sect.
- Yunmeng Jiang Sect. - Lanling Jin Sect.
Qinghe Nie Sect.
Wipe out Holy Mountain! Destroy Stygian Iron!
What's this sound?
Do not know. Be vigilant.
Xue Chonghai, give up Stygian Iron!
Great Sects are attacking a clan.
What's Stygian Iron?
Never heard of it.
Stygian Iron is cursed and unmentionable.
[ Lan Yi ]
Uncle. Wangji and Childe Wei should be fine.
I sent people to look for them.
Wangji is diligent. He won't mess up like Wei Ying.
They vanished at Cold Spring.
I'm afraid—
You fear that...
A storm is coming.
Gusu Lan Sect, Lan Zhan, greets Elder Lan Yi.
Gusu Lan Sect's only female leader,
Chord Assassination creator, Lan Yi?
Yunmeng Jiang Sect, Wei Ying, greets Elder.
Elder, so the rabbits with headbands are yours?
The rabbits keep me company.
As my power fades, they play outside.
Elder.
It is said you died. How...?
Stygian Iron must be involved.
This item
is my life's biggest mistake.
I paid the price of all my power to suppress Stygian Iron.
Elder, what's Stygian Iron's problem?
And what were those voices?
The Seal is cracking as my power weakens and soul fades.
You two came.
It must be destiny.
Elder?
A century ago,
Stygian Iron wasn't in pieces.
Yiling Burial Mound was once Holy Mountain.
And Xue Chonghai was the most powerful Grandmaster.
100 years have passed yet no-one knows why
the lauded Xue Chonghai
let Stygian Iron absorb resentment
by sacrificing living people.
[ Demon Subduing Palace ]
He used an ancient monster, Xuanwu of Slaughter,
to take countless lives in a great bloodbath.
Finally, the situation was untenable.
So Five Great Sects joined to kill Xue Chonghai.
Childe Wei, you're clever.
Xue Chonghai was killed; Xuanwu was suppressed; bodies lay everywhere.
And Yiling Holy Mountain
became Burial Mound.
Elder, what happened to Stygian Iron?
Stygian Iron absorbed too many living souls and couldn't be purged.
Soul eating?
Correct. Stygian Iron, a natural treasure,
absorbs natural energy.
Later, due to Xue Chonghai
feeding it living human souls and Cultivators' spiritual power,
Stygian Iron resentment can never be enlightened.
Give up Stygian Iron.
Wen Mao, your ending will be like mine!
The Great Sects suppressed Stygian Iron
by dispersing it in pieces in spots of spiritual energy.
To prevent the same mistake, the Great Sects agreed
to never tell descendants of Stygian Iron.
Elder, with all due respect,
if Stygian Iron absorbs natural energy,
it could turn to good use, not be...
Wei Ying.
I didn't expect Childe Wei to think as I did back then—exactly.
As a woman,
I kept being criticized as Lan Sect Leader.
Lan Sect was restructuring.
For years, I tried to break old rules and innovate.
I devoted my life to revitalizing Lan Sect
but faced obstacles.
Later on, my good friend, Baoshan Sanren, and I chatted.
She mentioned Stygian Iron.
B-Baoshan?
Elder, you knew Baoshan Sanren?
Baoshan was my dearest and only true friend. Yet I...
let her down.
How so?
On learning of Stygian Iron,
I was sleepless.
Finally, from ancient Lan Sect books and records,
I found a few word clues
where Lan Sect hid the Shard after bringing it back.
Cold Pool Cave's spiritual energy
abounds where cold air streams merge in the unfrozen pool.
It's Cold Spring's source
and ideal to seal the Iron.
So, Elder, this is where you found the Shard?
Stygian Iron cannot be purged. Why seek it?
I once thought like Childe Wei.
At the time, young and brash, I ignored others' fears.
It cannot be controlled but controls you.
Baoshan told me the same.
But I was always wilful,
hoping my conscience was clear.
I only thought of sticking to my goal
to promote Lan Sect skills.
I ignored her and entered this Forbidden Land.
I never imagined...
in the end, I was wrong.
After that? Did Senior Baoshan know of this?
[ Baoshan ]
Lan Yi, do you know the outcome if you do this?
This is for Lan Clan, not me.
Why block me?
Stygian Iron is malicious. Predecessors couldn't purify it.
If you unseal it and can't control it, what then?
I created Chord Assassination.
Can't I do what others can't?
You...!
You can guess what happened next.
In the end, I couldn't enlighten Stygian Iron.
Not only that, I caused a disaster.
Once Stygian Iron is unsealed, it can't be resealed.
I tried countless times but failed.
Backlash badly injured me.
I sealed the Shard with my soul energy and couldn't leave here.
(NOTE: Sanren = Wanderer; a roving Cultivator unattached to any sect)
~Listen to the doleful flute~
~in cloud deep night~
~Right or wrong is in the past~
~On waking, how can it be a dream~
~How to gauge worldly praise and blame~
~Blood sizzles on cold blade~
~On peaks or rivers, hear the qin~
~The story isn't over, like buds under moonlit frost~
~Stir a cup of life's joy & sorrow to toast the lad~
~Why's the bright moon sad~
~Why not face hardships carefree~
~Sharing a melody however far~
~Stir a cup of life's joy & sorrow to toast the lad~
~Moon is bright, why be sad~
~Why not face storms unrestrained~
~Playing a melody together afar~