Crimson Shadows (2026) Movie Script
During the warlord-torn
years of the Republic of China
a series of strange unsolved
cases breaks out across Xiangxi
throwing everyone into panic
every household keeps their
doors and windows shut tight
no one dares go out at night
and it happens just before
the Chinese Ghost Festival
the villagers speak of spirits and demons
rumors spread everywhere.
Some say
the gates of the underworld have opened
homeless wandering souls
are possessing the living
to vent their resentment.
Shopkeeper Liu.
Old Mo.
Why are the lamps not lit?
The Ghost Festival is almost here.
We should deliver it sooner.
What are you two eating?
I am talking to you!
Old Mo.
Who the hell are you?
You picked the wrong man.
No one escapes my gun.
Ah!
Damn it!
Go to Hell!
Go to Hell!
Go!
Let go of me!
Let go of me!
Ah!
Did you hear that?
That ghostly howl from
the back mountain last night.
Mm.
That definitely wasn't a human voice.
My grandfather says.
We need to prepare
offerings for the yin guests.
Then they won't come inside and eat people.
Don't talk nonsense.
Who's that woman?
Judging by how she's dressed...
Probably some officer's new concubine.
Another old ox eating tender grass.
Come on, let's go.
I am sorry.
It is over.
You broke the spirits' gold-and-silver rice.
When they devour the
three souls, calamity begins.
Such fragrant blood.
Such tender flesh.
On the night of the Ghost Festival
the blood moon will rise
you will surely die by
the fires of hell.
Go away.
You will die in the fires of hell.
You.
You die in the fires of hell.
You all.
All of you will die in the fires of hell.
The Great Way begins in the dark origin
boundless grace descends
from the Upper Pure Realm
all evils are swept away.
Should any lesser demon
dare appear before this rite
the Heavenly-cleaving axe shall descend
severing the fivefold ghostly forms.
By the blazing blood of the Flame Emperor
by the Northern Dipper that burns the bones
let death's radiance shatter
flesh and scatter remains.
By the Heavenly Marshal's decree,
let all unclean kinds be extinguished.
With one stike of the divine blade
all demons
collapse on their own
lesser demon, reveal yourself.
By urgent command, as the law decrees.
Stop!
Grandfather.
Grandfather.
Grandfather.
You cannot die
I am back
I am back.
Yunman...
Do not cry
I am all right.
No manners.
What are you doing?
Father.
What exactly happened to Grandfather?
Get out of there!
You're interfering with the
Taoist master's healing ritual.
Master Kui.
Let us continue.
The lessor demons have run off.
Master Kui.
You.
Master Kui.
Master Kui.
Please wait for me.
Please let me explain.
Master Kui.
Brother.
What happened to Grandfather?
If you are not feeling
well, we can see a doctor.
Why bother with all this?
Honestly.
Now that you are back.
I already feel much better.
What is this?
This can prolong life
a divine jade that clears the
mind and preserves beauty
I picked a good one
and kept it for you.
I was thinking
for when you got married.
So you wrote the letter to ask me back
just for this?
A letter?
Yes.
You wrote to me last week
as if it were a final farewell.
I
I never wrote any letter.
Who is that woman?
Her?
She is my third daughter.
Yunman.
Her mother passed away too early.
This child
has had a strange temper since childhood
and never got along with her two brothers.
When she was eight.
I had a friend
who had no child of his own
so I sent her to Shanghai.
We.
Isn't it all for the children?
Well...
Master Kui, you...
You have children and
a wife too, don't you?
Mother.
I am back.
No one in this family welcomes you.
Who knows who else you will kill.
Go back to your great Shanghai.
That bastard.
Chief.
Chief.
Why the panic?
This is bad.
What happened?
Young Master An...
Huaifu.
What happened to Huaifu?
He.
He is dead.
Ah!
Impossible.
With his combat skills
who could beat him?
Why would I lie to you?
Come on, I'll take you there.
Let's go, let's go.
Master Kui.
Let's go take a look.
You should come too.
Huaifu.
My son.
How did you end up like this?
How could this happen?
Tell me.
Who did this?
I do not know.
He was bitten to death.
To be exact
he was bitten to death by a dead man.
Ah!
A dead man.
A dead man.
You.
Demons.
It must be the demons.
How can a dead man bite someone to death?
We should report this to the authorities.
The guard unit has gone
to war with the old general.
There is no one left.
They cannot handle this.
Even if they came, it would be useless.
I heard
around the Ghost Festival
homeless wandering spirits
will
possess corpses to harm people.
After a person dies
corpse drivers wash the
body with boiled tulip water
washing the entire corpse
then
drying it out
then fumigating it with herbs.
This soil
has that smell.
Legend says.
Xiangxi corpse driving
has thirty-six secret arts
among them
is the art of controlling corpses.
But
why Huaifu?
Uncle An.
Did the eldest young master offend someone?
No.
Why would someone be burning incense here?
And it's purple.
Bang!
Put the gun down.
It's Huaifu's gun.
Give it to me
I will shoot you dead.
Give it to me
I will shoot you dead.
Stop.
Do not scorn the one-eyed guest of the dead
guest of the dead.
Those who defy Yama invite
their soulds to be torn apart.
Next up
who will it be?
You.
You
or.
You.
Bang!
Damn it.
You crazy lunatic
I will kill you.
Stop.
Huaifu.
My son.
You just left me like this.
It's my fault.
How am I going to see
your mother in the underworld.
Huaifu.
Father.
Here.
It's you.
You.
It's not enough that your
mother died because of you
now you are back.
Huaifu also probably died because of you
the fortune tell was right
you do have a fate tied to the Yin Realm
you are an ill-fated curse-bringer.
I never should've let you live.
It's all because of you.
Xin Hong.
It's all because of you.
That's enough.
Let go of me!
This is my family business.
This is my ritual ground.
No manners.
What time is it.
If we do not hurry up
we will miss the auspicious hour.
Kneel down before your big brother.
Kneel
ill-fated curse-bringer.
You got your mother killed.
And your stepfather too.
The one who should've died wasn't Huaifu.
It was you.
You should go down and
be buried with your mother.
I shouldn't have let you live.
Grandfather.
Do not come near me.
Do not come near me.
Do not come near me.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Yunman.
Are you okay?
It was just a dream
just a dream.
What has gotten into me?
Poshan Poyandi.
What does that mean?
Nightmares
are all the work of the seven
po wandering with corpses.
Ricite Po Shan Po Yan Di a few more times
it can ward off nightmares
and cure sickness.
Po Shan Po Yan.
Where is everybody?
They.
They left after the ritual.
They went back.
So...
You stayed here all this time?
Um.
I
Here
you take this
it will settle you down.
Oh no
a Yin cat crossing the hall.
Stinking Daoist.
Quit dawdling
getting in my damn way.
Ah ya
baby
I am coming.
You're the new one who was just delivered.
This body.
This face
I like.
I heard Huaifu just passed away.
But why do you
not look very sad.
Why should I be sad?
Once he dies.
Everything
will be mine.
Mine.
Sorry to keep you waiting sweetie.
Come on.
Master Kui.
Huaigui went out to rear
side of the mountain last night
and didn't come back until now
I have a terriable feeling.
Let's hurry and take a look.
Wait a moment
I'm coming right away.
Master Kui.
What's wrong?
It is Huaigui.
Ah!
Huaigui!
Huaigui!
Move aside.
Son.
My son!
How come you are like this as well.
My son.
How can you.
Son.
Tulip.
It's them again.
My son.
Come down.
My son's hand!
I found it
so it is mine.
You want it?
Come up and take it if you want it.
Come.
Hey!
Even if I gave it to you, you
wouldn't have any use of it.
One more day
the gate of the underworld opens wide.
You all
you all have to die.
It is all because of you.
You
ill-fated curse-bringer
ill-fated curse-bringer.
My son!
Oh no.
Huaigui.
Huaigui.
What a sin.
How did it come to this.
My son!
Your family and the corpse drivers
what is the connection?
What corpse drivers?
If you do not tell the truth
I cannot help you
I really do not know.
Then you...
Where is that girl?
She.
She went that way.
Mother.
Mother.
Do you blame me?
I
I really do not know
what I did wrong.
But it seems everything is because of me.
If I had not existed
would you still be alive?
What am I even living for?
Who?
Who is it?
Impossible.
That's impossible.
Huaigui.
Huaifu.
You.
No way.
Both of you.
What do you want?
Do not come closer.
Do not come closer.
I am not the reason why you died.
I didn't do anything.
I can't die.
How did things end up like this?
I am sorry.
I beg you.
Please, I beg you, let me go
I beg you.
Mother.
Why are you running around alone?
I miss my mother.
Was I dreaming again?
Not entirely.
I just saw a corpse beside you.
Unfortunately it got away.
Impossible.
A hallucination.
It must be a hallucination.
Look.
How is that possible?
How could demons possibly exist?
Do they really want
to kill my whole family?
What?
Grandfather.
Grandfather.
Grandfather is home alone.
Grandfather.
Grandfather.
Grandfather is not in his room.
He is not downstairs either.
Hey!
Master Kui.
Master Kui
Mr. An.
Have you seen?
Father.
Father.
Have you seen Grandfather?
No.
The corpse is here.
Hey!
Master Kui.
You cannot leave.
Please stay
I do not have time right now.
Master Kui
I do not want to die.
This.
Please stay.
This jade is a rare stone
worth a fortune.
At a time like this
you are still talking about that?
Aren't you worried about your father?
Go!
Have you seen.
Master An
I don't know, I don't know!
Let us split up and search.
No
I have to keep an eye on you.
Have you seen grandfather An?
Have you seen grandfather An?
I think he is at the temple.
Mountain God above
please show your power.
I'm begging you.
My grandsons died a tragic death
and disasters keep striking my family
I do not know how we
angered the Mountain God.
Please be merciful
spare my son and granddaughter.
If my family
has sinned
then I
am willing to bear it alone.
Grandfather.
YunMan.
You have to leave right away.
You cannot stay here.
Leave now.
No.
Grandfather.
If I leave, we leave together
I have lived here my whole life
and have never left.
This Wutong Village
is my home
my roots.
If you will not leave
I will not leave either.
You said
before, I had no choice.
Now that I can choose.
I choose this place.
Wherever you are
that is my home.
Even if I die.
I only want to be with
the people closest to me.
I never expected
that I am not as strong as a young girl.
Heh.
Ten years
and you never
came to see me.
I know
you are mad at me.
I should not have fought those
meaningless wars.
I shouldn't.
Shouln't
have left you.
Master Kui.
Master Kui.
What?
You're afraid of fire?
When I was six.
Big Brother was fooling around
and burned me while playing with fire.
That bastard.
He must have done it on purpose
do you not hate them?
Even so
he shouldn't have died, right?
So much has happened lately.
Master Kui.
I really want to thank you.
Stop there.
I
I do not like hearing those two words.
My mother died giving birth to me
from a difficult labor
and my adoptive father
died in a car accident
I am so afraid something
will happen to Grandfather too.
Master Kui.
Is there really such a thing
as an extremely yin fate
that curses one's loved ones?
Three calamities
nine hardships
ten trials
are all
cultivation.
Nothing is truly predestined.
There is a saying:
Heaven shows favoritism to none,
but always stands with the virtuous.
You.
You are that virtuous person.
Take this.
This is
a five-grain blessing pouch.
No matter what demon you meet
when you see it
throw a handful at it.
The home of a good
person must not be destroyed.
Do not worry.
Grandfather will be fine
and so will you.
Those who strive on their own
are blessed by Heaven.
Thank you.
The scenes of both my eldest
and second brother's deaths
were strikingly similar.
Along the edges of their wounds
were traces of living black mycelium.
And the purple incense
ash left at the scene
someone put it there
once we find out who
we won't be far from the truth.
He is utterly consumed by
his faith in the dark sorcery
his faith in the dark sorcery.
To deal with them.
We must fight them
with their own methods.
There is said to be a
defensive ritual formation
known as the Sixfold Array.
Outside the courtyard,
surround the walls with red talisman ropes.
Inside the courtyard,
place six lotus lamps.
Burn black pig and night duck bones.
Set a soul-calming altar in the center.
Even if ten thousand demons arrive,
none shall enter.
If we construct the
array convincingly enough
they will surely grow wary.
Tonight
all of you are to remain inside the house.
No matter what happens.
No one leaves the formation.
What about you?
I will sit in the middle of the formation
to guard the night for us.
As long as we make it through tonight
once the gate of the underworld closes.
You will all be safe.
Gone.
Gone, gone, all gone
what happened?
Big Brother and Second
Brother's bodies are missing.
I am the Celestial Master's libationer
appointed by Heaven and Earth.
The numinous hosts
bearing the arms of Qianling
stand arrayed before and behind me
attending at my left and right.
What spirit dares remain.
What demon dares oppose.
Let the righteous deities abide.
Let all heterodox demons withdraw at once
I now ascend to the Perfecture of Mount Tai
pay homage before the August Lord Lao.
Mother of my child...
Wait for me.
Huilan...
Huilan...
Wait.
Mother.
Is that you, Mother?
Huilan...
Where are you going this late?
Qiao qiao.
Ying ying.
Is that you?
Is that really you?
You didn't die.
Ying Ying.
How have you been?
You're still mad at me right?
I am sorry.
You've suffered because of me.
Give me one more chance
I will do my best to protect you.
Mother.
Where are you all going?
Mother.
Mother.
Don't leave me behind.
Let's go.
What are you waiting for?
Didn't you want to see your mother?
This is your mother.
Father
she is not real.
How is she not real?
Let's go.
Father.
Master Kui.
Master Kui.
Yunman.
Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure,
calm and steady this body
protect
the disciple's soul and spirits
and the dark mysteries
of the five viscera.
Begone.
Master Kui.
Master Kui
a five-grain blessing pouch.
No matter what demons you encounter.
Throw a handful towards them.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Have you seen Yunman.
Go back inside.
Don't come out.
Yunman.
Who is that?
Who?
Long time no see.
You.
You do not remember?
Old partner.
Yunman.
Datura.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Shui Shifu.
Impossible.
This is mpossible.
A demon!
Ghost!
I
I saw it with my own eyes.
Bitten to death by wolves.
Is that so?
Within misfortune lies the seed of fortune.
Mountain God not only let me reborn
but also gave me limitless power.
I did not harm her.
That was not my idea.
Then whose idea was it?
Eighteen.
Ling'er was only eighteen when she died.
She was the cave-bride
chosen by the Mountain God
I could only offer her up.
It was all for the good of our village.
No one could stop it.
Is that so?
How do you lie with such sincerity?
The truth
the Mountain God has already told me
everything.
Today I want to hear something else.
How did you get that mine?
After the arms business failed back then.
I heard from a man surnamed Xue
that he had found a mine
I wanted to buy it
but no matter how much I
offered, he would not sell.
Later
I heard his daughter had died young
so I adopted Yunman out to him.
To thank me,
he sold me the mine at a cheap price
I will give you one last chance.
No, no, no.
Do not kill me.
That man Xue
liked little girls
so I added some money
and threw Yunman into the deal
made her his
child bride.
Yunman was only eight back then.
Old Xue wanted to raise
her a few more years before...
Enough.
You call yourself a father?
Are you even human?
But not long after,
he was killed in an accident.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Her fate brings death to her loved ones.
Trading her for the family's
safety and prosperity.
What did I do wrong?
Because of you,
everyone in Wutong Village
must die.
You're the greatest curse of all.
Your father and the others were only bait.
What I truly wanted
is you.
I have finally waited for this day.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Yunman.
I couldn't save our family.
I couldn't save anyone.
I failed to accumulate enough virtue
and dragged all of you into this disaster.
It is all because of you.
It's all my fault
ill-fated curse-bringer.
My fault...
What good is cultivating
virtue to prolong life?
What's the use?
Ridiculous.
Ridiculous.
You have stayed all this time?
Mm.
Fate.
As long as I am here
no one can hurt you again.
Three Pure Ones above
forgive this disciple's dullness
and poor skill.
Today
saving a life comes first
I am willing
I am willing to trade
my lifespan for the spell.
I beg the immortal ancestors to help me.
By the essence and qi of the Dao
inscribed upon sacred script and ink
I gather the vital essences of all things
to dispel falsehood
and banish evil
to uphold the righteous and true
to summon back the wondering spirits
to govern life and death
and to pacify and
stabilize the Five Directions
by Heaven's decree,
let all return to my command.
From the Nine Heavens,
I call back the souls of men.
Swiftly, swiftly, in accordance
with the celestial law.
Chi!
Wake up.
A single letter was
enough to trick you here.
How foolish.
What did you do to me?
Let me go.
Your body no longer belongs to you
just like those monsters.
There are three corpses a
corpse driver must not drive
those who died of illness
suicides
and deaths by fire.
My Ling'er was burned
to death by your family.
Her soul
was trapped here.
She is different from you,
who were fated to have no home.
She had a family who loved her.
She had me.
Scared?
Good. You should be.
The soul-transfer art
requires you to be afraid
to loathe yourself.
I will put her soul
into your body
and take her home.
Let me go.
You're insane.
There is no such thing as soul transfer.
Stop lying to yourself.
Wake up.
Help.
Help me.
With the first transformation,
Heaven is formed.
With the second,
Earth is formed.
With the third,
rivers are formed.
With the fourth, seas are formed
with the fifth, Heaven turns to Earth
with the sixth, Earth turns to Heaven.
With the seventh, rivers turn to seas.
With the eighth, seas turn to rivers.
With the ninth,
spirits and demons rise in solemn might
with the tenth,
the soul passes between yin and yang.
You are insane.
Do not come near me.
What are you trying to do?
No.
Drink it.
No.
Drink.
Stop!
Monster.
Prepare to die.
Master Kui.
Master Kui.
Master Kui, look out.
Take a good look.
Because of you
another life has been lost.
Now it is your turn.
Master Kui
forgive this disciple's dullness
I am willing to trade
my lifespan for the spell
I beg the immortal ancestors to help me.
For a stranger
you would throw away your own life.
Is it worth it?
A villain like you would never understand.
Villain?
Ancient texts say that
slaying the Three Corpses
leads to becoming a golden immortal.
Now that I have slain three corpses.
I am carrying out Heaven's justice.
My Lingyu
was born kind and outgoing.
She saw me drive corpses often
but she was not afraid.
She was proud of it.
She was bestowed on me by Heaven
the most precious gift.
How pitiful.
I wanted to send them home too.
Corpse driving is passed to men, not women.
Even if it could be passed to her
I would not want Lingyu in this trade.
She deserved a better life
and that life
needed money.
Master An
I really cannot take this money.
A few years ago.
An Xinhong came to me
and shoved a large sum of money at me
telling us to move to Wutong.
Afraid
the cargo would be taken
by soldiers or mountain bandits
they sewed the jade into dead bodies
and made me transport them out.
Though this goes against
our ancestors' teachings,
for Ling'er...
I said yes
a few year later.
Ling'er came home from school.
We parted in haste
and I went off to work another route.
And the very next day after I was gone...
How could my father
do such a thing with you?
You must have forced him.
You scum.
Bastards.
Shut up.
Using corpses to transport goods.
When my father returns.
You should never have seen this.
What do we do?
If this gets out
our business is finished.
In for a penny, in for a pound.
While Shui Shifu is away
finish her off.
But what do we tell Master Shui?
He is our best mule.
Tell him what?
There is nothing to explain.
If he wants to work, he can.
If not, we find another.
Spread the word.
Say she
she was chosen as a Cave Maiden.
Tomorrow
we will burn her as an
offering to the Mountain God.
If he wants to blame someone
let him blame the Mountain God.
They not only wanted to burn Ling'er alive
they even.
What are you doing?
Do not touch me.
Do not touch me.
Those fools in the village
with drums and gongs
burned Ling'er to death
and offered her to the Mountain God.
I'm going to demand
answers from that An fellow
but they tied me up
and threw me into a
ravine to feed the wolves.
The village madman is named Xiaokai.
He grew up with Ling'er.
He is the one who told me the whole truth
and helped me complete my revenge.
But
he is a coward.
Sooner or later.
I will kill him too.
Those pigs and dogs in the village
and your An family
not one of you will escape.
I want all of you buried with my Ling'er.
Dead.
What a pity.
The real show is still to come.
Master Kui.
Master Kui.
No.
Master Kui.
Master Kui, wake up.
Master Kui.
Do not ruin Ling'er's makeup.
It is time to go.
With the first turning,
Heaven and Earth tremble.
With the second,
the sun and moon grow dim.
With the third,
spirit and soul fall into chaos.
With the fourth,
the hun and po separate from the body.
With the fifth,
mountains collapse and
great peaks are overturned.
With the sixth,
the radiance of the spirit is withdrawn.
This cannot be real.
With the seventh,
the living soul is led astray.
This cannot be real.
With the eighth,
the forms and shadows
of the eight directions
are seized.
This cannot be real.
Bewitched Dead Spirits.
With the eighth,
the forms and shadows of
the eight directions are seized.
With the ninth
the dead are summoned and taken.
Nightmares
are all the work of the seven
po wandering with corpses.
The more you recite the spell.
Poshan Poyandi
it can ward off nightmares
and cure sickness.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Mother.
Man'er.
Who are you?
I finally get to see you.
You are my mother.
Mother.
You.
Do you hate me?
I hate.
What I hate is
that I did not have enough time to love you.
But Mother.
I am so scared.
I am afraid of Father.
I am afraid of my brothers.
I am so afraid of those people.
Your opponent
has never been anyone else.
The one you must defeat
is yourself.
Your life
is yours to decide.
Mother.
Do not cry.
Mother is here.
Mother has always been here.
Ling'er.
My Ling'er.
Lingyu.
I am not dead yet.
Stinking Daoist.
I will send you on your way right now.
Stop!
I am who I am
I can never become your Ling'er.
Impossible.
How could this happen?
The incense.
Go get the incense box.
That is datura.
All the visions are because of it.
Careful.
Give me back my Ling'er!
Master Kui.
Give me back my Ling'er!
Master Kui how do you feel.
Are you okay?
Father.
Ling'er.
Ling'er, is that you?
Wherever you are.
Ling'er.
Father.
Ling'er.
Is that really you?
Stop.
Ling'er does not want this
and does not want you to take revenge.
I do not want to see
Father become a murderer.
I know
this is not the real you.
Have you forgotten our family teaching?
Wandering souls travel a thousand miles
and bitter journeys ease loved ones' grief.
Go.
But those evil people who harmed you
do you not hate them?
They hurt me
and hurt others too.
But does killing really help?
Did you not say
the Ghost Festival
is meant to let wandering souls return home
the day King Yama grants amnesty
is it not?
Amnesty.
Father.
Let's send the dead home.
Home...
I am sorry.
Father can't go home anymore.
If there's another life,
let us be father and daughter again.
This is the pink-stone mine.
Mm
I've already planted all the explosives.
Good.
This pink jade
contains some kind of radioactive substance.
If worn for a long time
it affects the nerves
combined with datura incense
it causes all kinds of hallucinations
amplifying fear
manipulating desire
or clouding the mind.
It's not some divine jade at all
but a source of disaster in troubled times.
It really is true
the more beautiful something is,
the more poisonous it can be.
Give it to me.
You really are not going back to Shanghai?
You will live here in these mountains?
Mm.
To stay with Grandfather.
And while I am here
treat the villagers.
But their real sickness
can you cure it?
I can.
One day, it will get better.
Are you going home?
As long as they are with me
anywhere is home.
Until we meet again out there.
Protect the people you love.
You can do it.
Virtuous one
years of the Republic of China
a series of strange unsolved
cases breaks out across Xiangxi
throwing everyone into panic
every household keeps their
doors and windows shut tight
no one dares go out at night
and it happens just before
the Chinese Ghost Festival
the villagers speak of spirits and demons
rumors spread everywhere.
Some say
the gates of the underworld have opened
homeless wandering souls
are possessing the living
to vent their resentment.
Shopkeeper Liu.
Old Mo.
Why are the lamps not lit?
The Ghost Festival is almost here.
We should deliver it sooner.
What are you two eating?
I am talking to you!
Old Mo.
Who the hell are you?
You picked the wrong man.
No one escapes my gun.
Ah!
Damn it!
Go to Hell!
Go to Hell!
Go!
Let go of me!
Let go of me!
Ah!
Did you hear that?
That ghostly howl from
the back mountain last night.
Mm.
That definitely wasn't a human voice.
My grandfather says.
We need to prepare
offerings for the yin guests.
Then they won't come inside and eat people.
Don't talk nonsense.
Who's that woman?
Judging by how she's dressed...
Probably some officer's new concubine.
Another old ox eating tender grass.
Come on, let's go.
I am sorry.
It is over.
You broke the spirits' gold-and-silver rice.
When they devour the
three souls, calamity begins.
Such fragrant blood.
Such tender flesh.
On the night of the Ghost Festival
the blood moon will rise
you will surely die by
the fires of hell.
Go away.
You will die in the fires of hell.
You.
You die in the fires of hell.
You all.
All of you will die in the fires of hell.
The Great Way begins in the dark origin
boundless grace descends
from the Upper Pure Realm
all evils are swept away.
Should any lesser demon
dare appear before this rite
the Heavenly-cleaving axe shall descend
severing the fivefold ghostly forms.
By the blazing blood of the Flame Emperor
by the Northern Dipper that burns the bones
let death's radiance shatter
flesh and scatter remains.
By the Heavenly Marshal's decree,
let all unclean kinds be extinguished.
With one stike of the divine blade
all demons
collapse on their own
lesser demon, reveal yourself.
By urgent command, as the law decrees.
Stop!
Grandfather.
Grandfather.
Grandfather.
You cannot die
I am back
I am back.
Yunman...
Do not cry
I am all right.
No manners.
What are you doing?
Father.
What exactly happened to Grandfather?
Get out of there!
You're interfering with the
Taoist master's healing ritual.
Master Kui.
Let us continue.
The lessor demons have run off.
Master Kui.
You.
Master Kui.
Master Kui.
Please wait for me.
Please let me explain.
Master Kui.
Brother.
What happened to Grandfather?
If you are not feeling
well, we can see a doctor.
Why bother with all this?
Honestly.
Now that you are back.
I already feel much better.
What is this?
This can prolong life
a divine jade that clears the
mind and preserves beauty
I picked a good one
and kept it for you.
I was thinking
for when you got married.
So you wrote the letter to ask me back
just for this?
A letter?
Yes.
You wrote to me last week
as if it were a final farewell.
I
I never wrote any letter.
Who is that woman?
Her?
She is my third daughter.
Yunman.
Her mother passed away too early.
This child
has had a strange temper since childhood
and never got along with her two brothers.
When she was eight.
I had a friend
who had no child of his own
so I sent her to Shanghai.
We.
Isn't it all for the children?
Well...
Master Kui, you...
You have children and
a wife too, don't you?
Mother.
I am back.
No one in this family welcomes you.
Who knows who else you will kill.
Go back to your great Shanghai.
That bastard.
Chief.
Chief.
Why the panic?
This is bad.
What happened?
Young Master An...
Huaifu.
What happened to Huaifu?
He.
He is dead.
Ah!
Impossible.
With his combat skills
who could beat him?
Why would I lie to you?
Come on, I'll take you there.
Let's go, let's go.
Master Kui.
Let's go take a look.
You should come too.
Huaifu.
My son.
How did you end up like this?
How could this happen?
Tell me.
Who did this?
I do not know.
He was bitten to death.
To be exact
he was bitten to death by a dead man.
Ah!
A dead man.
A dead man.
You.
Demons.
It must be the demons.
How can a dead man bite someone to death?
We should report this to the authorities.
The guard unit has gone
to war with the old general.
There is no one left.
They cannot handle this.
Even if they came, it would be useless.
I heard
around the Ghost Festival
homeless wandering spirits
will
possess corpses to harm people.
After a person dies
corpse drivers wash the
body with boiled tulip water
washing the entire corpse
then
drying it out
then fumigating it with herbs.
This soil
has that smell.
Legend says.
Xiangxi corpse driving
has thirty-six secret arts
among them
is the art of controlling corpses.
But
why Huaifu?
Uncle An.
Did the eldest young master offend someone?
No.
Why would someone be burning incense here?
And it's purple.
Bang!
Put the gun down.
It's Huaifu's gun.
Give it to me
I will shoot you dead.
Give it to me
I will shoot you dead.
Stop.
Do not scorn the one-eyed guest of the dead
guest of the dead.
Those who defy Yama invite
their soulds to be torn apart.
Next up
who will it be?
You.
You
or.
You.
Bang!
Damn it.
You crazy lunatic
I will kill you.
Stop.
Huaifu.
My son.
You just left me like this.
It's my fault.
How am I going to see
your mother in the underworld.
Huaifu.
Father.
Here.
It's you.
You.
It's not enough that your
mother died because of you
now you are back.
Huaifu also probably died because of you
the fortune tell was right
you do have a fate tied to the Yin Realm
you are an ill-fated curse-bringer.
I never should've let you live.
It's all because of you.
Xin Hong.
It's all because of you.
That's enough.
Let go of me!
This is my family business.
This is my ritual ground.
No manners.
What time is it.
If we do not hurry up
we will miss the auspicious hour.
Kneel down before your big brother.
Kneel
ill-fated curse-bringer.
You got your mother killed.
And your stepfather too.
The one who should've died wasn't Huaifu.
It was you.
You should go down and
be buried with your mother.
I shouldn't have let you live.
Grandfather.
Do not come near me.
Do not come near me.
Do not come near me.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Yunman.
Are you okay?
It was just a dream
just a dream.
What has gotten into me?
Poshan Poyandi.
What does that mean?
Nightmares
are all the work of the seven
po wandering with corpses.
Ricite Po Shan Po Yan Di a few more times
it can ward off nightmares
and cure sickness.
Po Shan Po Yan.
Where is everybody?
They.
They left after the ritual.
They went back.
So...
You stayed here all this time?
Um.
I
Here
you take this
it will settle you down.
Oh no
a Yin cat crossing the hall.
Stinking Daoist.
Quit dawdling
getting in my damn way.
Ah ya
baby
I am coming.
You're the new one who was just delivered.
This body.
This face
I like.
I heard Huaifu just passed away.
But why do you
not look very sad.
Why should I be sad?
Once he dies.
Everything
will be mine.
Mine.
Sorry to keep you waiting sweetie.
Come on.
Master Kui.
Huaigui went out to rear
side of the mountain last night
and didn't come back until now
I have a terriable feeling.
Let's hurry and take a look.
Wait a moment
I'm coming right away.
Master Kui.
What's wrong?
It is Huaigui.
Ah!
Huaigui!
Huaigui!
Move aside.
Son.
My son!
How come you are like this as well.
My son.
How can you.
Son.
Tulip.
It's them again.
My son.
Come down.
My son's hand!
I found it
so it is mine.
You want it?
Come up and take it if you want it.
Come.
Hey!
Even if I gave it to you, you
wouldn't have any use of it.
One more day
the gate of the underworld opens wide.
You all
you all have to die.
It is all because of you.
You
ill-fated curse-bringer
ill-fated curse-bringer.
My son!
Oh no.
Huaigui.
Huaigui.
What a sin.
How did it come to this.
My son!
Your family and the corpse drivers
what is the connection?
What corpse drivers?
If you do not tell the truth
I cannot help you
I really do not know.
Then you...
Where is that girl?
She.
She went that way.
Mother.
Mother.
Do you blame me?
I
I really do not know
what I did wrong.
But it seems everything is because of me.
If I had not existed
would you still be alive?
What am I even living for?
Who?
Who is it?
Impossible.
That's impossible.
Huaigui.
Huaifu.
You.
No way.
Both of you.
What do you want?
Do not come closer.
Do not come closer.
I am not the reason why you died.
I didn't do anything.
I can't die.
How did things end up like this?
I am sorry.
I beg you.
Please, I beg you, let me go
I beg you.
Mother.
Why are you running around alone?
I miss my mother.
Was I dreaming again?
Not entirely.
I just saw a corpse beside you.
Unfortunately it got away.
Impossible.
A hallucination.
It must be a hallucination.
Look.
How is that possible?
How could demons possibly exist?
Do they really want
to kill my whole family?
What?
Grandfather.
Grandfather.
Grandfather is home alone.
Grandfather.
Grandfather.
Grandfather is not in his room.
He is not downstairs either.
Hey!
Master Kui.
Master Kui
Mr. An.
Have you seen?
Father.
Father.
Have you seen Grandfather?
No.
The corpse is here.
Hey!
Master Kui.
You cannot leave.
Please stay
I do not have time right now.
Master Kui
I do not want to die.
This.
Please stay.
This jade is a rare stone
worth a fortune.
At a time like this
you are still talking about that?
Aren't you worried about your father?
Go!
Have you seen.
Master An
I don't know, I don't know!
Let us split up and search.
No
I have to keep an eye on you.
Have you seen grandfather An?
Have you seen grandfather An?
I think he is at the temple.
Mountain God above
please show your power.
I'm begging you.
My grandsons died a tragic death
and disasters keep striking my family
I do not know how we
angered the Mountain God.
Please be merciful
spare my son and granddaughter.
If my family
has sinned
then I
am willing to bear it alone.
Grandfather.
YunMan.
You have to leave right away.
You cannot stay here.
Leave now.
No.
Grandfather.
If I leave, we leave together
I have lived here my whole life
and have never left.
This Wutong Village
is my home
my roots.
If you will not leave
I will not leave either.
You said
before, I had no choice.
Now that I can choose.
I choose this place.
Wherever you are
that is my home.
Even if I die.
I only want to be with
the people closest to me.
I never expected
that I am not as strong as a young girl.
Heh.
Ten years
and you never
came to see me.
I know
you are mad at me.
I should not have fought those
meaningless wars.
I shouldn't.
Shouln't
have left you.
Master Kui.
Master Kui.
What?
You're afraid of fire?
When I was six.
Big Brother was fooling around
and burned me while playing with fire.
That bastard.
He must have done it on purpose
do you not hate them?
Even so
he shouldn't have died, right?
So much has happened lately.
Master Kui.
I really want to thank you.
Stop there.
I
I do not like hearing those two words.
My mother died giving birth to me
from a difficult labor
and my adoptive father
died in a car accident
I am so afraid something
will happen to Grandfather too.
Master Kui.
Is there really such a thing
as an extremely yin fate
that curses one's loved ones?
Three calamities
nine hardships
ten trials
are all
cultivation.
Nothing is truly predestined.
There is a saying:
Heaven shows favoritism to none,
but always stands with the virtuous.
You.
You are that virtuous person.
Take this.
This is
a five-grain blessing pouch.
No matter what demon you meet
when you see it
throw a handful at it.
The home of a good
person must not be destroyed.
Do not worry.
Grandfather will be fine
and so will you.
Those who strive on their own
are blessed by Heaven.
Thank you.
The scenes of both my eldest
and second brother's deaths
were strikingly similar.
Along the edges of their wounds
were traces of living black mycelium.
And the purple incense
ash left at the scene
someone put it there
once we find out who
we won't be far from the truth.
He is utterly consumed by
his faith in the dark sorcery
his faith in the dark sorcery.
To deal with them.
We must fight them
with their own methods.
There is said to be a
defensive ritual formation
known as the Sixfold Array.
Outside the courtyard,
surround the walls with red talisman ropes.
Inside the courtyard,
place six lotus lamps.
Burn black pig and night duck bones.
Set a soul-calming altar in the center.
Even if ten thousand demons arrive,
none shall enter.
If we construct the
array convincingly enough
they will surely grow wary.
Tonight
all of you are to remain inside the house.
No matter what happens.
No one leaves the formation.
What about you?
I will sit in the middle of the formation
to guard the night for us.
As long as we make it through tonight
once the gate of the underworld closes.
You will all be safe.
Gone.
Gone, gone, all gone
what happened?
Big Brother and Second
Brother's bodies are missing.
I am the Celestial Master's libationer
appointed by Heaven and Earth.
The numinous hosts
bearing the arms of Qianling
stand arrayed before and behind me
attending at my left and right.
What spirit dares remain.
What demon dares oppose.
Let the righteous deities abide.
Let all heterodox demons withdraw at once
I now ascend to the Perfecture of Mount Tai
pay homage before the August Lord Lao.
Mother of my child...
Wait for me.
Huilan...
Huilan...
Wait.
Mother.
Is that you, Mother?
Huilan...
Where are you going this late?
Qiao qiao.
Ying ying.
Is that you?
Is that really you?
You didn't die.
Ying Ying.
How have you been?
You're still mad at me right?
I am sorry.
You've suffered because of me.
Give me one more chance
I will do my best to protect you.
Mother.
Where are you all going?
Mother.
Mother.
Don't leave me behind.
Let's go.
What are you waiting for?
Didn't you want to see your mother?
This is your mother.
Father
she is not real.
How is she not real?
Let's go.
Father.
Master Kui.
Master Kui.
Yunman.
Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure,
calm and steady this body
protect
the disciple's soul and spirits
and the dark mysteries
of the five viscera.
Begone.
Master Kui.
Master Kui
a five-grain blessing pouch.
No matter what demons you encounter.
Throw a handful towards them.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Have you seen Yunman.
Go back inside.
Don't come out.
Yunman.
Who is that?
Who?
Long time no see.
You.
You do not remember?
Old partner.
Yunman.
Datura.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Shui Shifu.
Impossible.
This is mpossible.
A demon!
Ghost!
I
I saw it with my own eyes.
Bitten to death by wolves.
Is that so?
Within misfortune lies the seed of fortune.
Mountain God not only let me reborn
but also gave me limitless power.
I did not harm her.
That was not my idea.
Then whose idea was it?
Eighteen.
Ling'er was only eighteen when she died.
She was the cave-bride
chosen by the Mountain God
I could only offer her up.
It was all for the good of our village.
No one could stop it.
Is that so?
How do you lie with such sincerity?
The truth
the Mountain God has already told me
everything.
Today I want to hear something else.
How did you get that mine?
After the arms business failed back then.
I heard from a man surnamed Xue
that he had found a mine
I wanted to buy it
but no matter how much I
offered, he would not sell.
Later
I heard his daughter had died young
so I adopted Yunman out to him.
To thank me,
he sold me the mine at a cheap price
I will give you one last chance.
No, no, no.
Do not kill me.
That man Xue
liked little girls
so I added some money
and threw Yunman into the deal
made her his
child bride.
Yunman was only eight back then.
Old Xue wanted to raise
her a few more years before...
Enough.
You call yourself a father?
Are you even human?
But not long after,
he was killed in an accident.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Her fate brings death to her loved ones.
Trading her for the family's
safety and prosperity.
What did I do wrong?
Because of you,
everyone in Wutong Village
must die.
You're the greatest curse of all.
Your father and the others were only bait.
What I truly wanted
is you.
I have finally waited for this day.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Yunman.
Yunman.
I couldn't save our family.
I couldn't save anyone.
I failed to accumulate enough virtue
and dragged all of you into this disaster.
It is all because of you.
It's all my fault
ill-fated curse-bringer.
My fault...
What good is cultivating
virtue to prolong life?
What's the use?
Ridiculous.
Ridiculous.
You have stayed all this time?
Mm.
Fate.
As long as I am here
no one can hurt you again.
Three Pure Ones above
forgive this disciple's dullness
and poor skill.
Today
saving a life comes first
I am willing
I am willing to trade
my lifespan for the spell.
I beg the immortal ancestors to help me.
By the essence and qi of the Dao
inscribed upon sacred script and ink
I gather the vital essences of all things
to dispel falsehood
and banish evil
to uphold the righteous and true
to summon back the wondering spirits
to govern life and death
and to pacify and
stabilize the Five Directions
by Heaven's decree,
let all return to my command.
From the Nine Heavens,
I call back the souls of men.
Swiftly, swiftly, in accordance
with the celestial law.
Chi!
Wake up.
A single letter was
enough to trick you here.
How foolish.
What did you do to me?
Let me go.
Your body no longer belongs to you
just like those monsters.
There are three corpses a
corpse driver must not drive
those who died of illness
suicides
and deaths by fire.
My Ling'er was burned
to death by your family.
Her soul
was trapped here.
She is different from you,
who were fated to have no home.
She had a family who loved her.
She had me.
Scared?
Good. You should be.
The soul-transfer art
requires you to be afraid
to loathe yourself.
I will put her soul
into your body
and take her home.
Let me go.
You're insane.
There is no such thing as soul transfer.
Stop lying to yourself.
Wake up.
Help.
Help me.
With the first transformation,
Heaven is formed.
With the second,
Earth is formed.
With the third,
rivers are formed.
With the fourth, seas are formed
with the fifth, Heaven turns to Earth
with the sixth, Earth turns to Heaven.
With the seventh, rivers turn to seas.
With the eighth, seas turn to rivers.
With the ninth,
spirits and demons rise in solemn might
with the tenth,
the soul passes between yin and yang.
You are insane.
Do not come near me.
What are you trying to do?
No.
Drink it.
No.
Drink.
Stop!
Monster.
Prepare to die.
Master Kui.
Master Kui.
Master Kui, look out.
Take a good look.
Because of you
another life has been lost.
Now it is your turn.
Master Kui
forgive this disciple's dullness
I am willing to trade
my lifespan for the spell
I beg the immortal ancestors to help me.
For a stranger
you would throw away your own life.
Is it worth it?
A villain like you would never understand.
Villain?
Ancient texts say that
slaying the Three Corpses
leads to becoming a golden immortal.
Now that I have slain three corpses.
I am carrying out Heaven's justice.
My Lingyu
was born kind and outgoing.
She saw me drive corpses often
but she was not afraid.
She was proud of it.
She was bestowed on me by Heaven
the most precious gift.
How pitiful.
I wanted to send them home too.
Corpse driving is passed to men, not women.
Even if it could be passed to her
I would not want Lingyu in this trade.
She deserved a better life
and that life
needed money.
Master An
I really cannot take this money.
A few years ago.
An Xinhong came to me
and shoved a large sum of money at me
telling us to move to Wutong.
Afraid
the cargo would be taken
by soldiers or mountain bandits
they sewed the jade into dead bodies
and made me transport them out.
Though this goes against
our ancestors' teachings,
for Ling'er...
I said yes
a few year later.
Ling'er came home from school.
We parted in haste
and I went off to work another route.
And the very next day after I was gone...
How could my father
do such a thing with you?
You must have forced him.
You scum.
Bastards.
Shut up.
Using corpses to transport goods.
When my father returns.
You should never have seen this.
What do we do?
If this gets out
our business is finished.
In for a penny, in for a pound.
While Shui Shifu is away
finish her off.
But what do we tell Master Shui?
He is our best mule.
Tell him what?
There is nothing to explain.
If he wants to work, he can.
If not, we find another.
Spread the word.
Say she
she was chosen as a Cave Maiden.
Tomorrow
we will burn her as an
offering to the Mountain God.
If he wants to blame someone
let him blame the Mountain God.
They not only wanted to burn Ling'er alive
they even.
What are you doing?
Do not touch me.
Do not touch me.
Those fools in the village
with drums and gongs
burned Ling'er to death
and offered her to the Mountain God.
I'm going to demand
answers from that An fellow
but they tied me up
and threw me into a
ravine to feed the wolves.
The village madman is named Xiaokai.
He grew up with Ling'er.
He is the one who told me the whole truth
and helped me complete my revenge.
But
he is a coward.
Sooner or later.
I will kill him too.
Those pigs and dogs in the village
and your An family
not one of you will escape.
I want all of you buried with my Ling'er.
Dead.
What a pity.
The real show is still to come.
Master Kui.
Master Kui.
No.
Master Kui.
Master Kui, wake up.
Master Kui.
Do not ruin Ling'er's makeup.
It is time to go.
With the first turning,
Heaven and Earth tremble.
With the second,
the sun and moon grow dim.
With the third,
spirit and soul fall into chaos.
With the fourth,
the hun and po separate from the body.
With the fifth,
mountains collapse and
great peaks are overturned.
With the sixth,
the radiance of the spirit is withdrawn.
This cannot be real.
With the seventh,
the living soul is led astray.
This cannot be real.
With the eighth,
the forms and shadows
of the eight directions
are seized.
This cannot be real.
Bewitched Dead Spirits.
With the eighth,
the forms and shadows of
the eight directions are seized.
With the ninth
the dead are summoned and taken.
Nightmares
are all the work of the seven
po wandering with corpses.
The more you recite the spell.
Poshan Poyandi
it can ward off nightmares
and cure sickness.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Poshan Poyandi.
Mother.
Man'er.
Who are you?
I finally get to see you.
You are my mother.
Mother.
You.
Do you hate me?
I hate.
What I hate is
that I did not have enough time to love you.
But Mother.
I am so scared.
I am afraid of Father.
I am afraid of my brothers.
I am so afraid of those people.
Your opponent
has never been anyone else.
The one you must defeat
is yourself.
Your life
is yours to decide.
Mother.
Do not cry.
Mother is here.
Mother has always been here.
Ling'er.
My Ling'er.
Lingyu.
I am not dead yet.
Stinking Daoist.
I will send you on your way right now.
Stop!
I am who I am
I can never become your Ling'er.
Impossible.
How could this happen?
The incense.
Go get the incense box.
That is datura.
All the visions are because of it.
Careful.
Give me back my Ling'er!
Master Kui.
Give me back my Ling'er!
Master Kui how do you feel.
Are you okay?
Father.
Ling'er.
Ling'er, is that you?
Wherever you are.
Ling'er.
Father.
Ling'er.
Is that really you?
Stop.
Ling'er does not want this
and does not want you to take revenge.
I do not want to see
Father become a murderer.
I know
this is not the real you.
Have you forgotten our family teaching?
Wandering souls travel a thousand miles
and bitter journeys ease loved ones' grief.
Go.
But those evil people who harmed you
do you not hate them?
They hurt me
and hurt others too.
But does killing really help?
Did you not say
the Ghost Festival
is meant to let wandering souls return home
the day King Yama grants amnesty
is it not?
Amnesty.
Father.
Let's send the dead home.
Home...
I am sorry.
Father can't go home anymore.
If there's another life,
let us be father and daughter again.
This is the pink-stone mine.
Mm
I've already planted all the explosives.
Good.
This pink jade
contains some kind of radioactive substance.
If worn for a long time
it affects the nerves
combined with datura incense
it causes all kinds of hallucinations
amplifying fear
manipulating desire
or clouding the mind.
It's not some divine jade at all
but a source of disaster in troubled times.
It really is true
the more beautiful something is,
the more poisonous it can be.
Give it to me.
You really are not going back to Shanghai?
You will live here in these mountains?
Mm.
To stay with Grandfather.
And while I am here
treat the villagers.
But their real sickness
can you cure it?
I can.
One day, it will get better.
Are you going home?
As long as they are with me
anywhere is home.
Until we meet again out there.
Protect the people you love.
You can do it.
Virtuous one