Episode 1 (The Mystic Nine)

**Episode 1 (The Mystic Nine)** is the first episode of the television series The Mystic Nine.

## Synopsis

Train 076 arrives unannounced at Changsha's Railway Station. Inside it carries the bodies of Japanese spies, plans for secret experiments, and a Whistle Coffin. Zhang Qishan, Zhang Rishan, and Qi Tiezui investigate the mysterious train. They also seek out Er Yuehong's help.

## Story

Wu Xie was reminiscing about his mysterious grandfather who had many old books and notes in his room. Some of them were filled with bizarre stories that didn't seem real.

In 1903, a Japanese man named Otani Kozui entered the hinterland of China under the guide of religious investigation to carry out intelligence work on the geography in the area. As he neared Changsha, his team split up and he followed Hatoyama Miyoshi to a town in the mountains located 160km from Changsha. He stayed there for three months. When the team left, only six members survived. Hatoyama immediately returned to Japan. A week later, Hatoyama's Nissin Trading Research Institute submitted a sixteen-page report to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It became known as the “Hatoyama Report."

      In 1933, nearing midnight, the Japanese train 076 arrived at Changsha Railway Station. The train was welded shut with iron sheets and was covered in mud. The station master lifted up one of the iron sheets and blood started to seep out. He could not enter the train since the door was jammed, so he wiped the mud away from the window of the front car to see inside. He saw a corpse with small black pupils and the whites of its eyes were prominent. He fell backwards and ran off.

At daybreak, the military arrived at the train station. Lieutenant Zhang waited for his commanding officer, Zhang Qishan, also known as, Fo Ye, on the platform. When Fo Ye arrived he asked for the watchman who found the train. The station master informed them that the trains normally provide prior notice before arriving, however, this train had no records. The station master also told Fo Ye that train 076 was a ghost train which usually arrives near midnight full of dead people who were on their way to hell. It meant that evil is coming to Changsha. Fo Ye looked at him skeptically and told the officers to take him away.

The officers used various equipment to break into the fortified train. Fo Ye took another look at the corpse from the front car which seemed to be hanging. He did not make any comment on it. He entered the train which was filled with coffins and dead bodies. Lieutenant Zhang observed that the bodies must have died strangely as all of them were facing down. Fo Ye emphasized that it is not a ghost train and instead asked about Qi Tiezui, also known as Ba Ye. Lieutenant Zhang informed him that Ba Ye will likely not come to which he replied to shoot him if he doesn't. Lieutenant Zhang understood and left the train. Ba Ye later arrived at the train station upon Fo Ye's request and asked the officers where he was. The officers informed him that Fo Ye is inside the train waiting for him. Ba Ye then attempted to leave when he is suddenly greeted by Lieutenant Zhang. Zhang relayed Fo Ye's message that he will be shot if the other tried to leave.

   Fo Ye was investigating the train and inspected one of the bodies. He used his knife to pull back the tattered shirt of one of the corpses which revealed a faded red tattoo on its back. As Fo Ye pulled it back more, the tattoo became more prominent and turned black. Lt. Zhang and Ba Ye finally entered the train. Lt. Zhang directed Ba Ye further into the cabin and told him that Fo Ye was waiting for him. Then, he left. Ba Ye moved further into the train into the living quarters and was greeted by Fo Ye. They discovered papers that detailed secret experiments by the Japanese. Fo Ye also observed that one of the bodies' big toe was bent which meant he wore wooden clogs for a long time. Ba Ye thought it meant they were Japanese special agents but Fo Ye did not necessarily think that could be the case. Ba Ye also figured out that the coffins were from the same tomb and that the people inside the coffins were sacrificed for the main tomb owner. They speculated that the bodies in the current carriage were guarding the final carriage which was where the tomb owner's coffin should be.

    Ba Ye and Fo Ye entered the final carriage to find more bodies lying face down and an iron coffin behind a chain link door that slid open. The scene cuts to them in a different carriage examining some of the other coffins. Fo Ye explains that the cobwebs were a result from bugs festering from inside the coffin. He also figured that the spies on the train had breathed in noxious gas before boarding. When the train reached the station that was when they stopped breathing. However, the biggest secret was in the main coffin in the final carriage. This type of coffin was called a whistle coffin which not many people could open. It is made entirely out of iron and has only one opening. If the coffin is forcibly opened, poisonous gas will be released. Fo Ye told the Lieutenant to make preparations to open the coffin.

    In another room at the train station, the whistle coffin was sitting near a wall. The other coffins from the train were spread throughout the room. Many soldiers along with Fo Ye, Lt. Zhang and Ba Ye were in the room. Soldiers prepared a device above the opening of the coffin that could slice off the arm of the person reaching in. The device was connected to a pulley system that was attached to a horse some distance away. When the horse heard the gong it would run and activate the device cutting off the person's arm. An unnamed Zhang soldier was the first to try to put his hand in the coffin. Something went wrong and the soldier cried out for someone to save him. Fo Ye ordered the gong to be rung and the soldier's arm was cut off at the shoulder. Fo Ye walked up to the coffin and immediately put his arm into it. He managed to find the mechanism in the coffin that opened the cover. He remarked that the soldier from before overreacted when his arm got stuck on something and that there was no trap in the coffin. The soldiers took off the cover which revealed a corpse facing down. Fo Ye searched the corpse and found a ring from the Northern and Southern dynasties. Ba Ye mentioned that among the nine families, Er Yuehong, also known as Er Ye, knew the most about Northern and Southern dynasties' tombs.

    Fo Ye and Lt. Zhang arrived at a traditional Chinese opera house where Er Ye was performing. As they were walking in, a rich man in the crowd was disturbing the show. He insisted the performers sing something else. Lt. Zhang asked the man to leave, while Fo Ye took a seat at a table nearby. Lt. Zhang took out his gun and threatened the man with it until he left. On his way out, he shot some kind of dart towards Fo Ye who easily dodged it. Lt. Zhang apologized for not protecting him. Fo Ye asked him to investigate where the man was from to make sure he didn't leave Changsha. They watched the rest of the show and waited until the end to talk to Er Ye. Fo Ye recounted everything that happened with train 076 and its association with a tomb from the Northern and Southern dynasties. Fo Ye also took out the ring he found from the coffin and showed it to Er Ye. After some kind of hand battle to avoid taking the ring, Er Ye admitted that he doesn't deal with the underground business anymore. Fo Ye responded that he would not have bothered him if the situation wasn't so serious. He even added that they had found information about secret experiments and that the Japanese may be planning something. Er Ye seemed to know more but still did not help. Fo Ye left the ring with Er Ye in the hopes he would reconsider. Fo Ye and Lt. Zhang leave the opera house. Fo Ye instructed Lt. Zhang to invite Ba Ye over in six days.

## Characters

* Fo Ye
* Lieutenant Zhang
* Ba Ye
* Er Ye
* Ya Tou
* Hatoyama Miyoshi

## Locations

* Changsha Railway Station
* Opera House

## Artifacts

* Train 076
* Whistle Coffin
* Northern & Southern dynasties ring