Episode 6 (The Mystic Nine)

**Episode 6 (The Mystic Nine)** is the sixth episode of the television series The Mystic Nine.

## Synopsis

Zhang Qishan, Lieutenant Zhang, and Qi Tiezui run into danger in the mining mountain and seek out Er Yuehong's help. Tanaka Ryoko's boss, Hendry Cox, makes an appearance and starts to intervene in the lives of the Old Nine Clans.

## Story

Chen Pi Ah Si and Tanaka Ryoko continued their conversation about whether Chen Pi could help them achieve their goal. Tanaka told Chen Pi that they don't have confidence in him. However, since he was the student of Er Yuehong his skills should not be ignored. But Er Ye is the apprentice of Li Yuan which had a saying "you must always reserve some just for yourself." When a teacher teaches his apprentice, there will always be several operas that he won't teach them for he is afraid of his own disciple. With just a few words, Tanaka easily got under Chen Pi's skin. But it served to prove her point that Chen Pi was too impatient and could not work for them. Chen Pi tried to lunge at Tanaka but the men surrounding them began to attack. He took all of them out and started to fight Tanaka. Chen Pi had the upper hand and threatened to kill her if she did not hand over the medicine. She threatened him as well and told him that if anything were to happen to her, he would never get the medicine. She told him that she could forgive his disrespectful actions and give him the medicine but still he had to convince Er Ye to help them.

Chen Pi went back to the Hong Manor to find Ya Tou tending to the flowers. He rushed over and told her that he should be the one doing such measly things. He tried watering the flowers but she told him he was doing it wrong. He was too impatient and should do it slower. Er Yuehong was looking on from a distance and noticed the way Chen Pi was longingly looking at Ya Tou. Ya Tou saw Er Ye and called out to him. The two of them agreed to walk around town. As they were walking, they came across a photo studio where they decided to take a picture.

Fo Ye, Ba Ye, and Lieutenant Zhang found the part of the cave where the coffins were excavated from. Fo Ye felt that the area was a tomb for those buried to accompany the tomb owner and the whole mining mountain was just a really big tomb. After searching around some more, both Fo Ye and Lt. Zhang found professional Luo Yang shovels. Fo Ye believed someone from the Nine Gates had led a big operation in previous years. Suddenly, they hear the sound of Chinese opera again. Ba Ye recognized the song as it was sung by Er Ye when the other first went on stage. However, it did not seem to be sung by Er Ye as the singer's ability was inferior. At that thought, Ba Ye realized it might actually be a ghost singing and hid behind Fo Ye. Fo Ye moved across the room to a door leading towards the voice. Ba Ye tried to look for an amulet that would protect him from any evil in the tomb. Lt. Zhang assured him that since he was with Fo Ye, Fo Ye could protect him. Ba Ye disagreed as he brought the amulet specifically because he knew he would be around the two of them. He also thought that while the Zhang Family's Fo Ye attained a higher level of meditative consciousness, he had nothing as a fortune teller since they accumulate bad karma from telling heaven's secrets. He was also going to attract ghosts and bringing him to a tomb will surely shorten his life span. Fo Ye interrupted and went down a staircase beyond the door, telling Lt. Zhang to protect Ba Ye and stay behind. The room he entered was covered in cobwebs.

Once Fo Ye was in the room he looked at the empty space in the middle and realized that was likely where the Whistle Coffin from Train 076 had originally been. Ba Ye and Lt. Zhang ignored what Fo Ye said earlier and joined him in the room. Ba Ye heard a noise and started moving closer to the wall. Fo Ye tried to warn him not to get that close when a bunch of fluorescent bugs bursted out from under the wall.

     The bugs began attacking and Fo Ye told Lt. Zhang to take Ba Ye and run. The two of them closed the doors behind them and Fo Ye stayed behind to continue fighting the bugs with fire. He was able to stop them and staggered back towards the previous room where Ba Ye and Lt. Zhang were waiting. He passed out while trying to climb up the steps, so Lt. Zhang and Ba Ye had to carry him out of the mining mountain. They continued carrying when they were back in the cemetery but they came across the old man's body. They then glanced at the surrounding hills to see that men with guns had arrived. The men began shooting at them and they ducked for cover. Lt. Zhang created a distraction and managed to kill all of them.

    Somewhere nearby, Hendry Cox, also known as Qiu De Kao, was looking on with binoculars. Hendry Cox was an American scholar. His public identity was the leader of the Changsha Chamber's Commerce of USA. He was employed by the Japanese as a consultant. However, he had evil intentions and wanted to take the treasures within the mine for himself. A subordinate asked whether they should send more people down. He said there was no rush and that those three were skilled people. Perhaps he would need them later. In Hendry Cox's car was a record player playing the Chinese opera song Lt. Zhang, Fo Ye, and Ba Ye had heard earlier in the tomb.

    Ba Ye and Lt. Zhang wheeled Fo Ye on a cart to safety where there were some horses that the men with guns probably left behind. Fo Ye woke up to give Ba Ye some kind of antique. In a flashback, when Fo Ye was still in the cobweb room, Fo Ye got his knife from one of the walls where it was lodged into but noticed something like hair mangled into the cobwebs. There was an opening in the wall where a green antique was and Fo Ye took it with him and left. The flashback ended and Fo Ye began mumbling Er Ye's name. Ba Ye understood what Fo Ye meant and quickly headed to the Hong Manor.

    Ya Tou was stitching an old costume when Er Ye walked in. Tao Hua interrupted them to tell them Lt. Zhang had arrived. Lt. Zhang came into the room and asked for Er Ye's help. Er Ye immediately left to go to Fo Ye. Fo Ye was still unconscious and Er Ye took off the other's gloves. Er Ye then proceeded to take out a hair-like substance from Fo Ye's hands. He then prepared hot water and dumped realgar wine and soaked the other's hands. Fo Ye was screaming in pain the whole time. Afterwards, they tucked Fo Ye into a bed. Ba Ye and Lt. Zhang asked Er Ye whether he would be alright now that the hairs were burned. Er Ye believed he would be. They also asked him what was going on with mining mountain and what was underneath it. Er Ye explained that the ring from the Northern & Southern dynasties that was given to him from the whistle coffin was the same ring that one his family member had found in the exact same tomb. The person who robbed the tomb was likely his granduncle. Er Ye then began to tell the story of what happened many years ago. In a flashback on the mining mountain, Hatoyama Miyoshi was talking to that generation's leader of the Hong Clan, also known as Er Ye. They all entered the tomb but in the next scene Er Ye and some men were seen fleeing and in pain. The flashback ended and Er Ye does not know what trap they set off inside the mine mountain that led to all six of their deaths. The Hong clan searched for their bodies but only found the granduncle's. Er Ye explained that the hair-like threads were found in the blood vessels all throughout his body. He asked whether Fo Ye was delirious before coming to the Hong Manor and Ba Ye confirmed that he was. Er Ye felt unsure of his treatment method and urged them to take Fo Ye to a hospital.

Er Ye was holding the antique that Fo Ye brought out from the mountain and had a mysterious look on his face. At Tongtai Dock, Chen Pi was with two other antique dealers who were trying to cozy up to him. Tanaka Ryoko came to tell Chen Pi that her boss (Hendry Cox) had reconsidered giving him the medicine. Chen Pi was interested but suspicious and asked her what the condition was. Her boss wanted to know the details of how Fo Ye became injured in the mining mountain. Chen Pi had agreed to this condition.

Fo Ye was briefly seen sitting on a couch in his home.

## Characters

* Fo Ye
* Ba Ye
* Lieutenant Zhang
* Chen Pi Ah Si
* Tanaka Ryoko
* Ya Tou
* Er Yuehong
* Hendry Cox
* Hatoyama Miyoshi

## Locations

* Changsha Mine
* Changsha Chamber's Commerce of USA
* Hong Manor
* Tongtai Dock
* Fo Ye's Home

## References

1. ↑ **Luo Yang shovels** are a type of shovel used by grave robbers both in real life and in the novels. The shovel is used to extract a long section of the soil so that the grave robber can analyze it. In the novels, they are a common tool used by grave robbers but only by the Southern Faction after the split. See *Cavern of the Blood Zombies* (Print), Chapter 2, Page 20.