♫ The far and long roads, the man I miss is at a distant place ♫
♫ Seeking the truth in heaven and on earth, opening up the words deep in my heart, not looking back ♫
♫ Thinking of a beautiful woman, if one's heart could be fragrant ♫
♫ Thinking of a beautiful woman, desolate like the moon ♫
♫ I worry, when can I appreciate the grasses and flowers with a beautiful woman ♫
♫ The ancient people didn't have time to leave some Yimoxiang (a type of plant) ♫
♫ Thinking of a beautiful lady, heart becoming fragrant on its own ♫
♫ Thinking of a beautiful lady, fragrant dreams ♫
♫ The whole world is drunk, one's whole life just follows the blue water ♫
♫ I'll drive and go away for an adventure, flying as I want to in the nine skies ♫
Song of Phoenix
Episode 31
Ascending to a height, I’m not happy; going down to the water, I also can’t. - Thinking of a Beauty from Nine Chapters by Qu Yuan
I cannot wait anymore. I cannot keep waiting here any longer!
General, calm down a little.
How am I going to calm down? Father is not doing anything about it.
Right now, Little Brother Yuan is there alone, dead or alive is still unknown.
How am I going to stay calm? No!
General, you must not.
If we keep waiting, Younger Brother Yuan might...
I can't care about that much anymore! I must go save him. Get lost.
Wait!
You are...
Qiu Xin?
You are Miss Mo Chou. Why are you here?
All of that is not important now. What's important is saving Qu Yuan.
I know where he is being locked up.
What? Yuan'er is being captive on a cliff?
Right. I heard that he really is such a bad state. Not eating or drinking. Let's hurry and think of a way!
You'er, how were you able to know about this?
It's...because I sent someone to investigate.
How dare you! You actually sent someone to the investigate the enemy camp without my permission?
Father, just one order from you, I will immediately lead our men, charge into the Qin's camp, and rescue Younger Brother Yuan!
No, this plan won't work.
Is there still any better plan right now?
The Qin camp is like the den of tigers and wolves. If we act recklessly like that,
I'm afraid that we might fall into their traps.
This can't be done, that is not allowed too.
Are we then going to just watch him die in the Qin's camp?
You'er, go to the enemy's camp tomorrow morning. I want to meet Zhang Yi.
Yes.
How is the investigation about the fire in the horse stable?
I already sent men to investigate it. It wasn't done by our men.
Then it means that there are Chu soldiers that have infiltrated our camp.
If they really dare to come, I will surely make them come in standing,
but go out horizontally (as corpses).
Prime Minister, the Chu general Qu You is requesting an audience.
Why is he here?
He also came just in time.
Today, let's pierce him and Qu Yuan together!
Prime Minister Zhang.
Isn't this the famous General Qu?
What wind blew you here?
The reason I came here is because I was ordered by War Minister Qu
to invite Prime Minister for a meeting to discuss some important matters.
See that?
They can't take it anymore. The Chus are just like that.
War Minister Qu wants to negotiate peace?
If Prime Minister goes, you'll then know what it is about.
What if I don't agree with it?
You will agree.
Why does General say so?
It's because if Prime Minister doesn't plan to negotiate,
you would have killed Qu Yuan long before.
How did you know that Qu Yuan is still alive?
If the heavens and earth know, then we Chu people surely will know.
Stand right there!
You have such bold words.
How do you treat this place?
You think that you can just come and leave here as you want?
Don't think that we didn't kill Qu Yuan because we were afraid of you.
Today, I'll let your and Qu Yuan's brains both move to another place! (T/N behead them)
I came here today with such messages.
If the General and Prime Minister aren't afraid to be laughed at by the world
for daring to kill an emissary,
then just go and take my life then.
Minister of War, long time no see.
Let's skip the courtesy words.
If you have any conditions, just say it.
Minister of War indeed is a straightforward person.
I'll go direct to the point then.
I want you to return to us the three cities you just occupied.
Three cities?
Prime Minister Zhang, you are putting too much importance to my son, Qu Yuan.
Minister of War, could it be that the head of your son Qu Yuan
isn't more important than three cities?
It's down there.
Zhang Yi that bastard should be killed by the heavens. He dared to hold my younger brother here?
Let's go.
Prime Minister Zhang, if you have to say it that way,
then we won't have anything to talk about anymore.
Since time immemorial, the victor becomes the king and the loser becomes a bandit.
There aren't that many moral principles when it comes to the battlefield.
The Minister of War just needs to tell me if he is willing or not.
Why must you still say so much?
Prime Minister Zhang, aren't three cities too much?
How about we just meet halfway?
What Minister of War Qu means is he is going to give me two cities,
and I'll give him half of Qu Yuan?
Zhang Yi! You have no sincerity at all!
Minister of War seems to be talking a lot today.
What is this Qu Bo Yong babbling about?
He keeps dilly-dallying. Not being straightforward at all.
Zhang Yi, if you have the capability,
just come and claim these cities that you lost back.
- Wei Zhang.- Prime Minister.
Go and look at Qu Yuan.
Yes.
Mo Chou, it's really you.
Archers!
Be careful!
Release the arrows!
Mo Chou!
Younger Brother Yuan!
Let go.
Let go!
Otherwise both of us will die.
There is no way I'll let go!
What stupid things are you saying!
There are still people waiting for you.
Let go.
I'm telling you to let go!
But I only have you in my heart!
Release the arrows!
- Hold on!- Hang on!
Quickly go up!
Mo Chou, are you okay?
Everyone hurry, we won't be truly safe until we get back to the Chu camp.
Let's go! Go!
Give chase!
Prime Minister, Qu Yuan got away.
Minister of War managed to save Qu Yuan without losing a single city or county,
joy be with you.
Thank you for permitting the win.
To have a competitor like the Minister of War,
this battle will be interesting.
But this scheme of yours is rather underhanded.
If you have the skills, then let us meet upon the battlefield.
How is it?
Grand General, General Qu.
I have finished dressing the wound. I'll return tomorrow to change the dressing and check on Miss Mo Chou.
Okay, thank you.
I shall take my leave.
Miss Mo Chou.
Mo Chou greets the Grand General.
Miss Mo Chou,
You'er has told me everything that happened.
You saved Yuan'er, you are the Qu family's savior.
Grand General Qu, you've over-stated the matter.
How did she get injured so badly?
Father, that day when we faced off with Bai Qi,
the one who risked her life to try and save me was Mo Chou.
To see such patriotism from a girl,
I am very impressed.
It's good that you came back. I am relieved now that you're back.
Okay, have good rest.
Why have you come to the military camp?
I came because of my Father.
Then why didn't you tell me?
What would telling you do?
I know, you're still blaming me.
Blaming you?
In my heart,
you no longer exist.
Then why risk your life to save me? Blocking arrows and swords for me?
Wishful thinking.
Yes, I am wishfully thinking.
But I would not go against my true heart!
You want to know the reason?
Okay,
I'll tell you. I saved you,
because you were hindering military operations. I don't want you to drag Chu down with you!
You're lying!
We've missed everything already.
None of us can return back.
Just accept this fate.
I want to sleep for a bit. You should go.
I'm going. You rest well.
Have you brought the person?
Rest assured General, we've settled him already.
Prime Minister, a Chu emissary is requesting an audience.
- Bring him in.- Yes.
Sorry to not have received you, Chu emissary.
The Prime Minister is too courteous.
What is your name, Sir.
Who I am is not important, Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister needs only to know who sent me.
Oh, was it not Grand General Qu?
Prime Minister Zhang jests.
Grand General Qu hates that he couldn't hack you to pieces,
why would he send an emissary?
This person is an old acquaintance of yours.
Who?
Grand Adviser of the Chu court, Lord Zi Shang.
For the Grand Advisor to put in such effort,
is it really only to kill Qu Boyong?
Is the Prime Minister afraid that I'm setting a trap for him?
Of course not.
The Grand Adviser and I are old friends.
He would not put me in a hard place.
Then I shall await the Prime Minister outside the tent.
- General.- How dare you!
Is this a place you can enter at will?
It has only been a few days, have you forgotten me, General?
You? Zhang Yi!?
It's good that you've come, saves me the trouble of looking for you on the battlefield!
In coming here today, I've not thought about returning alive.
But before you take action General Sima,
would you allow me to finish my words?
Who's General Sima? What are you talking about?
Could you still not know your real identity, General Sima?
And so Sima An died in this manner at Qu Boyong's hands.
What does Sima An have to do with me?
I believe you've guessed it General. What need is there for me to point it out?
General...
How dare you!
You speak nothing but nonsense! Fickle, inconsistent turncoat!
Are you trying to undermine our army's morale again?
If you don't believe me General, go ahead and kill me.
But I've always believed that you are one of loyalty and righteousness.
I never thought that you also cannot differentiate between kindness and enmity.
A foolishly-loyal child who takes an enemy as a father.
Shut up!
Why do you think I'll believe you?
Would you allow me to take you to see someone.
You're trying to trick me into leaving the camp.
Could your sword not be faster than my legs?
General, you are skilled in martial arts. It would be easy to take my life.
Old Sir, we are here.
You know me?
Alike! So very much alike. You look just like the old General.
What are you doing? Do you know me?
Foolhardy fiend, are you trying to stab me in the back?
Young Master, Young Master! Forgive me!
I wanted to see if you had a birth mark on your back.
How did you know?
It's purple-colored, in the shape of a leaf.
Who are you?
Young Master! Young Master, I have finally found you!
Eighteen years! In a flash, eighteen years have passed, Young Master!
Good wine!
General Sima, you cannot drink anymore.
We signed an official military order today from General Qu.
If we hinder the operation, General Qu would seek our fault.
Do I look like I'm drunk?
I'll drink another three cups with you!
General Sima, you have fought on campaigns with me for many years. I cannot bear to kill you.
But if I don't kill you today,
then how am I to face the twenty-thousand men who died?
And what face would I have to go see the King of Chu?
As a soldier, military orders are paramount.
Hindering operations due to drinking, it's a crime punishable by death.
If I live on in degradation,
then what face does the Sima family have!
Qu Boyong lost the battle, so he had to find a scapegoat.
Qu Boyong is the Grand General, if he did not kill General Sima
the Chu King would have handed punishment to him.
What about my mother?
Young Master, Madam was overcome by grief and hanged herself.
When I brought you out of the manor, we ran into ferocious bandits
and you were lost during our escape.
I... I am useless...
I have disappointed Master, I have disappointed Madam.
All these years, I kept hoping that I could find you, Young Master.
You must avenge the General and Madam, Young Master.
Why has no one told me about this?
Qu Boyong killed your father, how could he have told you?
He's afraid that you'll avenge your father.
So they've, so they've always been lying to me?
Eighteen years. A whole eighteen years!
Eighteen years! Qu Boyong lied to me for eighteen years!
A whole eighteen years.
♫ Thinking of a beauty, the road is long and endless, unreachable. ♫
♫ Wiping away tears at the ends of the world, no date for return. ♫ Mo Chou!
♫ So many words, choked in the heart, threads of sorrow entwine day and night. ♫
Let go! Let go!
Otherwise, we'll both die♫ Thinking of a beauty ♫
♫ distant floating clouds deliver me. ♫There is no way I'll let go!
♫ Yet the passing wild geese do not understand me. ♫What stupid things are you saying!
♫ Returning birds ride the winds and fly far ♫There are still people waiting for you.
♫ while I remain in the same place with a broken wing. ♫But there is only you in my heart.
♫ Watching my longings score across the sky to the horizons. ♫
♫ A man's aspirations, heartache through all ages, overflow within the heart. ♫
♫ Toss it into the waters of the east-flowing river. ♫
♫ Smile not a smile, worries still be worries. Who in the mortal world can understand? ♫
♫ Flick the sleeves and walk alone, not looking back. ♫
♫ Ethereal orchids of peculiar fragrance, caressed by the breeze, even shadows are redolent. ♫
♫ I ask thee, can you discern the traces she leaves. ♫
♫ While the years have yet to pass, pick a lotus so as to share. ♫
♫ Do not let regrets dwell in your heart. ♫
Tomorrow's attack is critical. For this plan,
I will be personally leading the army.
Your general is here.
Tomorrow you will be my subordinate general. Tomorrow you will go with me.
I accept.
Qu You, listen to my order.
Father.
Brother is not here.
This unfilial son. Go find him!
Brother, where did you go? Hurry and come in.
Qu You, listen to the command.
Tomorrow's attack is a life or death plan. I command you to take ten thousand men,
and attack from the flank. When the time comes the signalling arrow will be your sign.
Qu You, accept the command.
I accept.
Qu You, accept the command.
I accept.
Generals, go prepare yourselves.
Yes.
If Qu Boyong loses the war, he will find someone to take the blame.
Qu Boyong is the Great General. If he didn't kill General Sima,
the Chu King would blame him.
Brother, what are you doing here?
Drink with me.
Tomorrow's battle is important.
Don't drink anymore.
If you go to battle when drunk and lose, you'll lose your head.
What is wrong with you today?
Tomorrow's battle, whether I live or die,
I'll accept what the heavens dictate.
Elder Brother, you've never backed out of a battle before. Where has all your bravado gone?
I want to go home.
Okay okay, don't drink anymore.
Look at yourself right now. How will you go battle tomorrow?
Okay.
That's right. Brother, let me tell you,
tomorrow when we go to battle and win,
and kill Zhang Yi that bastard.
Then, we can go home and see Mother.
Why scowl and frown? Let's see a smile. Come on, a smile.
Be a little happier.
When will you return home?
It should be soon.
Be careful. You don't know martial arts.
When you're on the battlefield, don't try to show off.
Why did you come here?
Don't hide it. I already saw it.
It's just a normal protective pendent.
Let's go out and walk.
Does she treat you well?
Mo Chou. These few days I have been thinking,
about if we can start over and be together.
Tomorrow's battle, we don't know if we'll live or die.
Tomorrow, even if I have to die, I'll protect you well.
This kind of war, our State of Chu can only win.
We cannot lose.
Nothing will happen to us.
If,
if I die tomorrow.
What I would hate to part with,
is our past.
You'Er, what are you doing here?
Nothing.
You'Er!
You look like your soul is lost. What is wrong?
General Qu.
What did you call me?
How did my father die?
You'Er, some things I will slowly tell you.
It's already been eighteen years, will you still tell me the truth?
You'Er. You'Er!
You'Er, the battle is at hand, you must not be rash.
Other things, when we return to Ying Du I'll explain it all.
Mother, how about I pull out these white hairs?
I don't care about white hairs.
As I age, even if I pull them out, there's no point.
Mother, you're not old.
You young ones are already this big. As a mother, how can I not be old?
I remember when those two were young,
and kept clinging to me and wanted to eat this and that.
In the blink of an eye, Yuan'Er is already wed.
This time, goes by very fast.
Things they did when they were young, Mother remembers it all so clearly.
Of course. When they were young, Yuan'Er was the most troublesome one.
His father wouldn't be able to control his behavior, he would go against his father.
His father would always end up glaring at him with steam coming out of his ears.
He couldn't deal with him.
Now, it's our turn to take care of him.
BiXia, Mother has something to give you. Here.
I must have put it there.
BiXia
BiXia, I thank you for this time
and for the care you've put into our family.
I know I'm not worthy of you.
In the case I don't return, don't waste yourself on me.
Signed, Qu Yuan
BiXia, this is our Qu family-
What do you have there?
Qu Yuan's Farewell and Thank You Note to Zhao Bixia
This reckless boy.
He doesn't know to cherish such a wonderful wife, his words are filled with nonsense.
BiXia, please don't mind this.
Mother. Please don't say more.
I understand.
♫ Day and night, summer and winter, nonstop changes ♫
♫ Herbs and trees, prosperity and decline, would still depend on a beautiful woman ♫
♫ Rumors brought by wind from all over; inciting ministers with different dreams ♫
♫ Asking Heaven if it can bear witness to one's loyalty ♫
♫ Muddy and clear, beautiful and ugly, overturning all living creatures ♫
♫ Angelica and magnolia, orchids and quan, have a hard time emitting their fragrance ♫
♫ Why must you proceed against the current? Why must a lonely flower admire herself? ♫
♫ No one knew that one's birthplace has become someone else's territory ♫
♫ Outstanding in a chaotic world, who can understand one's desire? ♫
♫ Going far to travel, yet one's heart is tied with one's home ♫
♫ Drinking one 'Li Sao', the pain of separation ♫
♫ Getting drunk for a lifetime of dedicating oneself for one's country ♫
♫ Coping with the long, long road; hard to beg the heaven and the earth ♫
♫ I lamented the numerous sorrows in the life of the citizens ♫
♫ Singing one 'Li Sao', pain of separation ♫
♫ Sighing how hard it is to keep a bosom friend ♫
♫ For the ideal that I hold dear to my heart, I’d not regret a thousand times to die. In the end, turning into ashes.
♫ If this dream is difficult, let's just leave it to the next generations to ponder ♫
♫ Outstanding in a chaotic world, who can understand one's desire? ♫
♫ Going far to travel, yet one's heart is tied with one's home ♫
♫ Drinking one 'Li Sao', the pain of separation ♫
♫ Sighing how hard it is to keep a bosom friend ♫
♫ For the ideal that I hold dear to my heart, I’d not regret a thousand times to die. In the end, turning into ashes.
♫ If this dream is difficult, let's just leave it to the next generations to ponder ♫