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Translator: Wuzimiko Proofreader: K QC: Raliath Lyrics Translator: Wuzimiko Timer & Effects: Yuuki
Adapted from novel of the same name, "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles (Dao Mu Bi Ji): Bronze Tree of Death" by Nanpai Sanshu Original work by Nanpai Sanshu
Chief Producer: Cheng Wu
Producer: Zou Zhengyu
The Grave Robbers' Chronicles (Dao Mu Bi Ji): Bronze Tree of Death
An endless road ahead.
Two extremities of love and loyalty.
Inner demons shrouding the heart—
they wallow in the past.
Where is my old friend?
He is lingering in the shadows,
convinced that he hasn't veered too far off course, in this world of fleeting destinies.
Why do you pine? Why do you yearn?
Nowhere to turn—it's a path of no return.
The way of life is vicious, we keep going in circles.
Hard to discern the truths from the lies,
tell the evil from the kind.
In front of my eyes, a gnarled mess of mountains and waters.
Why do you tread a path this treacherous?
Embroiled in sinister schemes, in trepidation as the tables turn and turn.
I bid you adieu—
shall we never meet again!
Episode 02
Yum!
I must say I'm a little shocked.
You're like a hungry ghost.
You don't say!
Try eating only celery and preserved carrots for three years.
Now that I'm here, I'm gonna eat whatever I want!
What a glutton.
Brat.
Since we're here,
why don't we go take a look elsewhere as well?
Forget it.
Who knows if you still remember how you got there?
Let's see what you'll do
if we can't find the pit.
Rest assured.
I left a mark there back then,
just in case.
Oh, really?
In forests and mountains that deep,
what mark wouldn't wear off after 3 years?
That mark of mine could last for 30 years,
let alone 3.
Don't worry.
We can't go wrong with this.
I can sketch the entire route even with my eyes closed.
We'll be absolutely fine.
When the time comes,
so long as...
Gentlemen.
Gentlemen,
are you going to Ah-da to trade local goods?
I mean,
where are you two planning to do your business?
Are you here to dig up local goods?
You're here to promote local specialties?
We're not interested.
Sell them somewhere else.
It's fine, it's fine.
Grave robbing jargon: "Virgins" - people not of the trade; "going up into the hills" - to rob a grave
Just two virgins who aren't going up into the hills.
They don't know anything.
What's the matter?
I'm full.
What's going on?
That guy just now
used a type of jargon when he spoke to us.
"Trading local goods" is jargon for grave-robbing.
He's trying to sound us out, to see if we're also in the same line of work.
Look at those guys.
They reek of mud.
Probably here to clean out some graves.
I reckon
they became suspicious after hearing our chat.
If we really caught their attention,
it'd be quite troublesome.
Still, no need to leave though?
There are ways to hold them off.
We're out in the open.
What can they do to us?
You're too naive, Lao Wu.
And you say you're not an amateur ?
The underworld is complicated.
In the future,
watch and learn from your brother—me!
We'll set off tomorrow.
Enter Mount Changyang from here,
ride for three hours, then transfer to Jialing River.
If we're quick, the journey will take less than a day.
Once we reach Mount Taibai,
we'll travel along the scenic route.
When the time comes,
you'll see what a pro I really am.
E-E-Earthquake?!
You two must be from out of town.
I bet someone's bombing the tombs.
With that blast just now,
someone must've knocked over the explosives.
Yeah, right.
Who'd have the guts to do such a thing
in the middle of the day?
You don't understand.
It's a local specialty.
A gang of them got arrested just a few days ago.
Are you kids here for sightseeing?
Where are you going?
We're planning to...
We're planning to visit Mount Taibai.
Listen.
The tour group won't take you any deeper.
There are all sorts of twists and turns in the mountains.
You can easily get lost.
There was an accident just a while back.
Some art school kids went in the mountains to sketch,
and they never came back afterward.
People know my name around here.
Want me to be your guide?
I guarantee it'll be safe.
[PRICE LIST] Charter Car - 600 yuan/day, Homestay - 300 yuan/day...
We're good.
Do consider it.
I'm not trying to scare you.
That's Mount Serpent Head.
The highest point
is more than a kilometer above sea level.
If you want to visit a proper ethnic village,
you need to climb the mountain on foot.
On that mountain,
countless people have lost their lives.
Are you alright?
How about we find a place to rest?
And you keep boasting when you're this weak?
Can you even keep up?
(Mount Taibai Scenic Area)
Lao Yang!
I'm fine.
Quick, look!
Those guys...
were they the ones we met last night in the night market?
[It is honorable to prevent fires; it is shameful to commit arson]
What the?!
Why are they here too?
Don't tell me they heard what we said over dinner
and decided to follow us, looking for a chance to stop us midway?
Unlikely.
Look at all that gear.
They came prepared.
Who knows?
If they see us here,
they might just get suspicious
and see us as a target.
How about we fall back first?
Once they leave,
we'll enter the mountain.
Lao Tai,
give us an estimate.
How much longer until we get there?
Once we make it past Mount Serpent Head,
where there are trails, we need to walk for two more days.
Where there are no trails, I can't say for sure.
Up to the weather.
If you can't take it, you'd better leave now.
We're good.
This deal can feed us for a lifetime.
The hard work will pay off eventually.
Mr. Lee is right.
So long as we close this deal,
we can all retire early.
Don't get ahead of yourselves just yet.
We don't even know for certain
if the tomb is there.
You'd better pray the information is true, Mr. Lee.
Oh, Lao Tai,
you always worry too much.
We've worked together for so long.
When have I ever failed?
There will definitely be no problems.
After this, we'll leave the country together.
You'll have plenty of land to play with!
Lao Wu,
the heck are you doing?
Why are we following them?
T-These are all dangerous outlaws!
They'll lead us out of the mountain.
That tour guide mentioned,
most trails are sealed off.
We'll never make it without a guide.
Instead of trying our luck,
we might as well get a free ride.
Lao Wu,
I... I think we should give up.
I-I-I'm gonna die if we keep walking...
Bear with it.
We're still a long way from the exit.
I think they'll also be tired soon.
After we follow them to their camp site,
we'll stop for a rest too.
We can't
follow them forever!
Besides,
who knows if they're leaving the mountain?
What if t-they follow their guide
and just go d-deeper into the forest?
We'll be dead meat!
You're right!
Mr. Lee.
Don't be so haughty when nothing's sealed.
We did work together for years,
but I never knew where you got your information from.
You two are seriously...
I'll be honest.
You'll never regret visiting
where we're going this time.
This is also the last time we're doing this.
If it's not too much of a taboo,
tell us brothers about it.
Teach us a thing or two.
That's right.
Tell us.
We've been guessing all this time.
Is it a special technique of some sort?
You always find ancient tombs easily.
Okay, okay.
Usually,
I don't tell others about this.
But since you guys really want to know,
I'll let you in on it.
It's not exactly a secret.
It's got to do with my ancestors.
Around the late Qing dynasty,
my family were once landowners.
We were relocating our ancestral graves
one year, when some workers accidentally
knocked over a coffin.
The bones inside
spilled all over the ground.
As we were picking up the remains,
my grandfather discovered
that while everything in the coffin had rotted away,
there was
a cloth with symbols drawn all over it
that still remained intact.
Lao Wu!
You're crazy!
This is as risky as it gets!
We're just gonna go confirm
if they plan on leaving the mountain.
Didn't you hear a thing I said?
Those are dangerous outlaws!
If we get caught...
We'll just run.
My grandfather found it strange,
so he gave the cloth
to a relative who did business in antiques.
Upon examination,
they realized there was something more to that cloth.
The words on the fabric
* 哑文 (Yawen): a language used by deaf or mute people (in folklore).
were written in Yawen.
Hey, you know what that cloth was used for?
I think...
I've heard a few things about it.
Legend has it that during the Northern Wei dynasty,
there was an army of deaf-mutes.
This was probably what they used to pass around secret information.
The words on it were written in Yawen.
Most people wouldn't understand.
As expected from our advisor.
That is correct.
But why would such a thing be in the coffin?
My grandfather was curious, so he went back and checked our ancestral record.
In the end, he found a certain event written in the record.
It was during the Northern Wei dynasty.
At the time,
the land was war-stricken.
God knows how many wars broke out every day.
That year, my ancestor wasn't even six years old.
Riots erupted near the village.
Everyone managed to flee
except for their family.
Outside, people fought and killed like madmen.
Things didn't quiet down until the third day.
My ancestor was scared out of his wits.
He sneakily climbed out
only to find bodies strewn everywhere.
He couldn't tell the soldiers from the bandits.
How did it go?
There was a wounded deaf-mute soldier.
My ancestor took pity on him
and gave him some water.
But the deaf-mute soldier's injuries were truly too grave.
He died shortly after.
Before his death,
he took out a piece of linen inscribed with words
and gave it to my ancestor.
A pity,
my ancestor had no idea what was written on it.
Later, that piece of cloth
was used as fabric for a cotton coat.
The family rose and fell,
and when he passed away,
that cotton coat was buried along with him.
So what was written on that piece of cloth?
I heard
the creation of this Northern Wei army
was inspired by Cao Cao's grave-robbing troops.
On the surface, they were the emperor's guards,
but in secret,
they also robbed graves.
As they were deaf-mutes
and used Yawen, a language only they understood,
the ancient tombs they robbed
were known by only them and the emperor himself.
Their traces
had always been mysterious.
Mr. Lee,
don't tell me, that piece of linen
is the River Wood Scroll?
Amazing.
With you around, Mr. Advisor,
I can't even keep you guys guessing.
That is right.
That's what it is.
That really is something.
Different lives, different fates.
With something like that,
the Lees are destined for riches.
Advisor,
what exactly is the River Wood Scroll?
It's said that whenever the deaf-mute army found an ancient tomb,
they wouldn't excavate it straight away.
They would first make a record,
level the ground on horseback, then pour molten lead over it.
When needed,
they'd trace back to the tombs using the records.
What recorded the locations of the tombs
was called the River Wood Scroll,
a homophone for "where tombs lie."
Hey, Mr. Lee!
Aren't you being a little too secretive?
With such a treasure,
you should've told us more!
I wasn't intending to keep it a secret.
That white cloth my ancestor left behind
records the positions of 24 ancient tombs.
The one we're going to this time
is the most mysterious of them all.
According to what was written,
the treasures in this tomb
cannot be enjoyed by any common man.
This tomb is the king of all treasures,
better than even the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor!
You can trust me on this.
You think what Lee's saying is real?
Can there really be a grave better than the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor?
I wouldn't know.
But he sounds so confident about it.
They must be after something big.
They'll leave the mountain tomorrow for sure.
We'll keep following them.
You want to keep...
Go!
Run!
Hey!
YOU JERK!
Who's lighting a fire over there?!
Freeze!
Don't run!
It's the Mountain Patrol!
Let's hurry.
There will be trouble if the Mountain Patrol catches us.
Lao Tai.
Leave it.
We're leaving.
I said I wasn't going to follow them,
but you insisted!
We almost died there!
Didn't I tell you to run the moment they found us?
Your reaction was way too slow.
Go to hell!
You only called me after scooting off!
Y-Y-You're heartless!
Okay, okay, okay.
My fault, my fault.
Stop complaining.
We have to go back
and find the tracks they left.
You're still not giving up?
We have to find our way out.
If we can't find our way,
we'll be trapped in the mountain.
Come on.
Lao Wu,
think again.
No matter what, we gotta give it a try.
You two!
Who are you?
What are you doing here?
We...
We are...
- ... tourists! -Tourists?
What brings you all the way here?
Look at how shady you are.
You're either grave-robbers or poachers!
Trying to fool me?
You've got a long way to go!
Ma'am,
you can't just run your mouth!
With which eye did you see us dig graves or poach?
Here's 100 yuan, I need some directions.
Any more nonsense, and I'll...
You'll what?
I've come across too many folks like you!
Think you'll scare me?
Easy, easy.
You're so scary!
Put the knife away.
Apologies.
We just ran into the Mountain Patrol.
They told us to look out for strangers.
I assume you're backpackers headed for our village?
You need to turn left and go around this hill.
There'll be a waterfall.
Follow the water and keep going,
and you'll arrive at our village.
How... How long would we still have to walk?
You won't make it today.
You'll have to spend the night here.
How about you come along with us?
We're returning to the village too.
We'll get there tomorrow.
Sure.
Thank you for leading the way then, sir.
We're leaving!
Those behind, keep up!
Lao Wu,
I've been here before.
If I remember correctly,
just ahead,
there should be
a small hut for herb gatherers.
Time has
drowned out even the claps of thunder.
They scatter
the cut-up fragments of myself.
I can only fumble around, trying to piece them back.
Why must I climb mountains and peaks
to collect
the shadows of hanging onto someone
however late I always seem to be.
Those places where I once walked,
what did they
look like originally?
Trying to trace those footsteps behind me,
I have forgotten,
as the path I came from was too far and too long.
Where will be the end of my journey?
Where will it be?
Where will it be...