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JUSTICE PAO II (1995)
SERIES REVIEW CASE NUMBER 2
Justice Pao is summoned to see the King, who sends him on a mission to visit a tiny nation called Yer Lok Juk. The fearless seven then go on a journey to visit the tiny nation who still perform cult rituals. Upon arriving Justice Pao notices, three graves on the mountainside, which makes him curious. Jin Chiu remarks how dark and cold the nation of Yer Lok Juk is. Justice Pao can sense that something wrong as they are greeted by Magistrate Cheung of the Yer Lok Juk nation. Justice Pao then presents the gifts formally to the Din Yan the abbot of the cult temple. Din Yan accepts the gifts and welcomes Justice Pao into his nation before making a quick exit. The elders follow the abbot to the temple. Suddenly Justice Pao, Jin Chiu and Kung Sin Chuk hears a loud and strange scream which sends shivers down their spines. Justice Pao and the others venture outside to watch the ritual. A young wife, Lau Yin Mong, is accused of adultery with a Han person called Kung Sin Mun. Lau Yin Mong's husband, Bak Tong watches on with his mother. Lau Yin Mong and Bak Tong are also accused for the murder of Bak Yip, Bak Ton's sister. Bak Tong was upset with his wife and was certain that she committed adultery and murdered his sister. Bak Tong tosses a flame into the stack and a fire is lit underneath, Kong Sin Mun and Lau Yin Mong. From the crowd Kung Sin Chuk recognized that his close friend Kung Sin Mun, was the person accused of murder. Kung Sin Chuk knows Kung Sin Mun well and refuses to believe that he could take someone's life. Kung Sin Mun continues to claim his innocence as the fire is starting to flare up. Suddenly Kung Sin Chuk notices a white puff of smoke coming out from Bak Yip's mouth. At once Kung Sin Chuk rushes over to the body and realizes that Bak Yip is not dead. Justice Pao then ordered Jin Chiu to rescue Kung Sin Mun and Lau Yin Mong from the fire. The abbot Din Yan stood in protest. Justice Pao suspected foul play and convinced the elders to wait until Bak Yip regains conciseness before carrying out and execution on the accused. At once Bak Tong is happy to hear that his sister stands a chance of full recovery but he still did not forgive his wife Lau Yin Mong. Justice Pao then questioned Bak Tong who claimed to witness the murder. Bak Tong claimed when he arrived at the temple, Kung Sun Mun and Lau Yin Mong stood over his sister's body and Lau Yin Mong had the murder weapon in her hands. The knife belonged to Kung Sin Mun, so according to Bak Tong it was a clear cut attempted murder. From his testimony Justice Pao, discovered that Bak Tong only witnesses the aftermath and not the actual stabbing of Bak Yip. The following day Kung Sin Chuk visited Kung Sin Mun to enquire about the events that led to the night of the murder. Kung Sin Mun informed Kung Sin Chuk that he and Lau Yin Mong were lovers eight years ago. They became separated when Lau Yin Mong's brother sold her to marry into another family. When Kung Sin Mun found out he attempted to run away with Lau Yin Mong, but they were captured and Lau Yin Mong was taken away. Kung Sin Mun then spent the rest of his life searching for Lau Yin Mong. Six months ago he managed to locate Lau Yin Long, at the tiny nation of Yer Lok Juk. He immediately requested that she run away with him but it was already too late. Lau Yin Mong had already had a child called Bak Sak and seemed content with married life with Bak Tong. Kung Sin Mun was then asked in a kind gesture to remain behind to teach the local children. Kung Sin Mun elected to stay to be near Lau Yin Mong, but he soon realized that she was happy with her current life. Meanwhile Bak Yip, Bak Tong's sister began falling in love with Kung Sin Mun. But Kung Sin Mun did not love her. Finally one day Kung Sin Mun decided it was time to leave and saw Lau Yin Mong washing by the river. Kung Sin Mun noticed that Lau Yin Mong had a scar on her hands and became upset when he discovered that old lady Bak constantly beats her. That evening Kung Sin Mun visited the Bak family to inform Lau Yin Mong that he was going to leave. When he arrived old lady Bak was beating Lau Yin Mong accusing her of adultery, as Bak Tong watched on. This upset Kung Sin Mun who attacked Bak Tong. To calm the situation Lau Yin Mong asked Kung Sin Mun to leave immediately. Bak Yip then attempted to restrained Kung Sun Mun. Din Yan was jealous when he saw Bak Yip holding Kung Sin Mun's hands. Din Yan became outraged and ordered Kung Sin Mun to leave immediately. Kung Sin Mun then went back to his room to pack his things when Bak Yip, arrived and wanted to run away. Kung Sin Mun then informed Bak Yip that he loved Lau Yin Mong only. Upon hearing this Bak Yip ran away with Kung Sin Mun's knife in her hand. Later Kung Sin Mun was visited by Lau Yin Mong who was looking for her son Bak Sak. Together they went to the temple to look for him. When they arrived they found Bak Yip on the floor bleeding. Lau Yin Mong held the knife she found on the floor in her hands. Kung Sin Mun was trying to revive Bak Yip when Bak Tong rushed in accusing them of adultery and murder. He made such a racket that the entire village came into the temple and immediately captured Lau Yin Mong and Kung Sin Mun. Upon hearing Kung Sin Mun's side of the story, Kung Sin Chuk was certain of foul play. But to find out the real identity of the person who attempted to murder Bak Yip, required Bak Yip to regain conciseness. Kung Sin Chuk was certain that Bak Yip would regain consciousness in an hours time. They then locked up the room tightly so that no one could enter. Bak Tong then requested Kung Sin Chuk to heal his son Bak Sak who suffered from a strange illness. Upon arriving at the Bak family house, Justice Pao realized that Bak Sak was not ill, but suspected that he had witness the attempted murder but got frightened. When Justice Pao and the elders went to revive Bak Yip in an hours time they discovered that she was dead. The locals and elders immediately blamed Kung Sin Chuk for the death, accusing him of being biased towards Kung Sin Mun. Justice Pao the walked around the room and uncovered some evidence which proved that someone had tampered with Kung Sin Chuk's needles causing Bak Yip's death. From the opening on the roof someone had used Dan Ji Sun Tung kung fu to knock one of the needles out of place. Jin Chiu went on the roof to demonstrate to locals exactly what happened. Jin Chiu was right on the mark he used a rock and knocked a needle out of place. Later Justice Pao goes to question Lau Yin Mong. As he arrived Justice Pao witness, Bak Tong, holding Lau Yin Mong tightly after she had prevented a tree from crushing Bak Sak. Upon thinking that Lau Yin Mong was dead, Bak Tong was extremely distressed. Kung Sin Chuk then informed Bak Tong that Lau Yin Mong was only temporary dazed by the blow. Upon hearing that Lau Yin Mong was going to be okay Bak Tong immediately got to his feet and accused Lau Yin Mong of adultery once more, and took his son away in anger. After witnessing the event Justice Pao was more certain than ever that Lau Yin Mong was innocent of both charges of adultery and murder. When questioned by Justice Pao, Lau Yin Mong revealed that when she first married into the Bak family she was constantly being beaten up by Bak Tong. Infact she was beaten on her wedding night. Old lady Bak harvested a distinct hatred for Lau Yin Mong. But slowly Bak Tong started to treat, Lau Yin Mong better because she had been so kind to him. Once Bak Tong made a mistake, but Lau Yin Mong took the blame for him so he would not be shamed infront of the locals. They were happy, until Kung Sin Mun, arrived and the locals began gossiping. Once Bak Yip went to present a gift to Kung Sin Mun who rejected her love. Bak Yip then overheard Kung Sin Mun telling Lau Yin Mong, that he still loved her. Jealous Bak Yip immediately informed her brother and accused Lau Yin Mong of committing adultery. Bak Tong became furious and made Lau Yin Mong promise never to see Kung Sin Mun again. Lau Yin Mong agreed and met with Kung Sin Mun one last time by the river to inform, him to leave. During the conversation, Lau Yin Mong slipped, and Kung Sin Mun saved her and accidentally fell on top of her. Suddenly Bak Tong emerged and saw Kung Sin Mun laying on top of Lau Yin Mong. He immediately fought with Kung Sin Mun, until Lau Yin Mong separated them. Back home Lau Yin Mong was getting punished by old lady Bak when Kung Sin Mun arrived to say goodbye. This further deepened the misunderstanding and Bak Tong and Kung Sin Mun fought once more. That night Bak Tong became drunk because he was certain that his wife would leave him and run away with Kung Sin Mun. Bak Sak had mysteriously disappeared so Lau Yin Mong went to look for him. She sought the help of Kung Sin Mun and they found Bak Yip's body at the temple. By this time Bak Tong had recovered and went looking for Lau Yin Mong. When he arrived at the temple and saw that his sister was dead, he became outraged and accused them of murder. Having heard both Kung Sin Mun and Lau Yin Mong's testimony Justice Pao believed that they were innocent because their stories closely matched. Justice Pao then began looking for clues, which would lead them to the real suspect. Justice Pao then informs Din Yan and the elders that he wanted to remain behind to solve the case. The elders agreed to allow Justice Pao to remain behind. Bak Tong then arrived to request the release of Lau Yin Mong. Din Yan agreed to release Lau Yin Mong on the condition that she walks through burning coals. Lau Yin Mong walked through the burning coals and returned to look after Bak Sak who was ill. Old lady Bak did not trust Lau Yin Mong and fearing that she might run away, she chained Lau Yin Mong's feet together. Later Justice Pao requested Din Yan, to allow Kung Sin Chuk to perform and autopsy on Bak Yip's body to locate the real cause of death. Din Yan and the locals stood in protest and refuse to grant permission over to Kung Sin Chuk to perform an autopsy. That evening Jin Chiu and Kung Sin Chuk sneaked into the temple and performed an autopsy on Bak Yip. As Kung Sin Chuk suspected Bak Yip had been poisoned. Din Yan remained in the temple and discovered that Kung Sin Chuk had operated on the body. When the locals were informed of what had taken place, they became furious at Justice Pao and Kung Sin Chuk. The locals feared that their god might punish them for Justice Pao's actions. To calm the elders and locals Justice Pao stood out and talked to the locals stating his logic for performing an autopsy on Bak Yip's body. The locals then agreed with Justice Pao and allowed him to remain behind to solve the case. Din Yan became outraged and planned his next move. Suddenly the tiny nation of Yer Lok Juk, feel ill to the spread of a mysterious plague. Bak Yan used his status as abbot to put the blame on all Han people living in Yer Lok Juk. The elders then approached Justice Pao and requested him to leave immediately. Justice Pao knew that it was a trick set up by the real murderer and stated that he would not leave until the case was solved. Din Yan then gave Justice Pao three days to solve the case. Justice Pao started to suspect that Din Yan was the murderer. Suddenly Cheung Lo also fell ill to the mysterious plague. With the help of Kung Sin Mun, Kung Sin Chuk discovered that the locals had not fallen victim to the mysterious plague. Kung Sin Chuk then began working on a cure. Jin Chiu then found some evidence, which might reveal the identity of the suspect. From Bak Yip's servant, Jin Chiu, uncovered that Bak Yip did have an admirer who presented her with a blue butterfly. According to the elders, the blue butterfly is a symbol of true love and therefore should have an identical pair. Din Yan overheard the conversation and became worried because he had possession of the other blue butterfly. Din Yan then covered up the evidence by planting a pair of blue butterflies and Kung Sin Mun's house. Justice Pao and Jin Chiu then located the pair of blue butterflies at Kung Sin Mun's house. Justice Pao wandered around the house and uncovered that the evidence had been planted there. Justice Pao noticed that the house had become filled with dust yet the blue butterflies were new and contained no dust. Justice Pao decided to keep the finding to himself however. With discovery of the new evidence Din Yan then sentenced Kung Sin Mun to be executed. The following day Justice Pao summoned the locals to the temple because Kung Sin Chuk had found a cure to the mysterious plague. Din Yan was quick to dismiss Kung Sin Chuk's claims stating that it was a signal from the heavens for the Han people to leave the nation of Yer Lok Juk. Suddenly Lau Yin Mong ran in and was injured by a needle containing the poison that Kung Sin Chuk was using to demonstrate to the locals. Lau Yin Mong then fell ill to what seemed like the mysterious plague. The prove his case Din Yan then placed Lau Yin Mong on the alter and stated that her life will be in the hands of the heavens. That evening Din Yan used a poisonous spider to attempt to kill Lau Yin Mong. Bak Tong became the victim of the spider as he attempted to protect Lau Yin Mong. Jin Chiu was hiding in the temple and spotted as mask man who had released the spider. Jin Chiu gave chase and fought with the masked man who used Dan Ji Sun Tung kung fu to fight against him. Finally the mask man was ale to escape. Jin Chiu then found a tiny bell on the ground, which belonged to the mask man. Upon returning to the temple, Kung Sin Chuk, had healed Lau Yin Mong using his cure. Kung Sin Chuk also healed Cheung Lo with the cure. Slowly Kung Sin Chuk begins to heal the locals proving that the plague was not a sign from the heavens to punish them. Din Yan was extremely disappointed. Jin Chiu then noticed that Din Yan was missing a small bell on his hand. At once Jin Chiu realized that the mask man was Din Yan. Meanwhile Lau Yin Mong was kicked out of the Bak family because old lady Bak blamed her for the events leading Bak Tong suffering the effects of the spider bite. The poison was so lethal that Bak Tong was due to die within hours. Lau Yin Mong then went looking for a cure when she stumbled across an elder who told her about a legend. The elder revealed to Lau Yin Mong that saving one life would require the sacrifice of another. With this in mind Lau Yin Mong decided to jump of a cliff to save Bak Tong's life. Kung Sin Mun escaped from captivity and Bak Tong was taken to the cliff when they heard that Lau Yin Mong was going to jump. They arrived too late, and both grieved for the death of Lau Yin Mong. Bak Tong realized that he had been wrong to suspect Lau Yin Mong of being unfaithful and committing murder. Kung Sin Mun realized that he was wrong to try and interfere in Lau Yin Mong's life. Bak Tong was then stretcher back home where he awaited death so he could join Lau Yin Mong. Having heard about Lau Yin Mong's sacrifice, old lady Bak finally forgave Lau Yin Mong. During the final moments before Bak Tong was due to die, Lau Yin Mong mysteriously returned with a flower, which can heal all injuries and poisons in her hand. Bak Tong ate the flower and was cured of the effects of the poison. The flower also cured Bak Sak of his mysterious illness. Lau Yin Mong then revealed that when she jumped off the cliff, she landed in a pool underneath the mountain. The flowers growing around the pool had the ability to heal the burns on her foot received when walking on the hot coals. She then realized that the flower had mystical healing powers and rushed back with it to save her husband. Upon hearing this Justice Pao remarked that it was an occurrence by fate. Now that Bak Sak was cured, he revealed what he saw on the night of Bak Yip's murder. Bak Sak stated that it was a butterfly that killed Bak Yip. Din Yan laughed upon hearing this statement. Justice Pao was then lead into the room and noticed a weapon on the wall. That evening Justice Pao requested to see the elders and the high priest, because he had found evidence that the abbot Din Yan had committed murder. Din Yan overheard the conversation and rushed back to the temple to eliminate the evidence. Jin Chiu followed him and located the weapon Din Yan had used to murder Bak Yin. Jin Chiu noticed that the weapon cast a shadow, which looked like a butterfly on the wall, so Bak Sak's testimony was correct. Unfortunately Jin Chiu was careless and allowed the weapon to be destroyed during the battle with Din Yan. One of the statute of the gods was also burnt in the process. This outraged the locals and Justice Pao was asked to leave. Justice Pao left the following day. With Justice Pao gone, Din Yan then captured Lau Yin Mong who attempted to run away with Bak Tong. Kung Sin Mun and Lau Yin Mong was then tied up and was sentenced to death for the murder of Bak Yip by Din Yan. As the fire was lit, Lau Yin Mong managed to release herself and walked through the fire unharmed. Din Yan became stunned and thought that this was a sign from the heavens to punish him. Din Yan remembered how he had captured Bak Yip on the night of the murder and rapped her at the temple. After being rapped Bak Yip attempted to kill Din Yan with Kung Sin Mun's knife. During the struggle she was killed by Din Yan. Din Yan and Bak Yip were childhood lovers. When Din Yan was made abbot everything changed because he was not allow to marry despite still loving Bak Yip. When Kung Sin Mun arrived, Bak Yip had fallen in love with him making Din Yan jealous. Din Yan had several nightmares after the murder and began to have another nightmare upon seeing Lau Yin Mong walking through the fire unharmed. Afraid Din Yan ran over to the body of Bak Yip and begged her forgiveness. Suddenly Justice Pao, Jin Chiu and Kung Sin Chuk emerged with the elders and captured Din Yan. It was a trap all along set out by Justice Pao to get Din Yan to admit his guilt. Having been exposed, Din Yan regretted his actions and awaited punishment. Being an outsider Justice Pao handed the authority over to the high priestess to lay down the sentence. As he was being taken away, Din Yan, acknowledge that Justice Pao had done the right thing. Now cleared of the charge of murder, Kung Sin Mun, decided to leave Yer Lok Juk. Bak Tong had forgiven, Kung Sin Mun, and requested him to stay. Kung Sin Mun refused to stay and interfere in their lives. RATING (8) This was one of the better cases in the Justice Pao II series. It was very sad and dramatic. The story did end with a happy ending, with everyone being forgiven which was unlike most Justice Pao cases. the acting in this particular story was top notched. Lee Kwok Lun, Cheung Kwok Keung and Vivian Leung put on a an excellent display. This was actually Cheung Kwok Keung's second appearance in a Justice Pao case. Vivian Leung is one of the finest female actors in TVB and I have been impressed by the majority of her performances. The emotional and romantic scenes were very touching and convincing. The fighting was okay but kept to a bear minimal with the two duels with Jin Chiu and Din Yan the only action sequences. However the lack of action is compensated by the great acting.
SCENES
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