I hadn’t paid much attention to this bit when I read the novel =x.

Chinese ver goes:
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????

But Shuurei should be a special case? She’s not just a regular “sacrifice” but someone being blamed for a plague so…

it’s mentioned that the Immortals who lived too long (?) deteriorated / transformed into these ‘Evil Immortals’ who is said to bring curses to people, so an annual sacrificial ritual is done to appease them… which is probably the ‘belief’ being spread by the cult o___o

in this case, Shuurei seems to be targeted as the next sacrifice, so to speak…

But then there aren’t any other Immortals in Saiunkoku other than the ones in the ?? right…? o__o or it’s something I don’t know… o___o

If we look at it literally:
“ja” = evil
“sen” = immortal
“kyou” = teaching

But I don’t recall reading or hearing anything being mentioned about what the cult is teaching being related to the 8 immortals directly. (hmm but since Elwen mentioned Ensei and Eigetsu talking about it I could be wrong O_O)

Normally (with reference to chinese period novels or period dramas) when “something-kyou” is mentioned, the first thing i think of is “something-sect”…

Ummm in this 2nd scenario, Jasenkyou is more like “Sect of the Evil Immortal/s” which could mean the teachings are related to some evil immortal/s; not necessarily the legendary 8 immortals? That’s what I felt when I read the book anyways =x

about the “imperial doctors”, it wasn’t really obvious in the chinese translation, and I think I assumed that he was referring to THE great imperial doctor (the one Shou was talking to in the previous episode), so I didn’t quite pay attention to that detail (so I missed the mention of ‘tachi’) =P thanks for pointing it out! ^^ still in the processing of learning both languages, so there

About the Jasenkyo . . . I can’t understand the crucial relational words in Eigetsu and Ensei’s conversation, but my strong hunch is that the thing about the Eight Immortals becoming evil is just the version of the story the cult is telling, not the real one. You’d think Eigetsu would know the real story quite well, but after talking about them becoming evil and needed sacrifices, he says, “or something like that.” (Plus, Shou isn’t evil per se, and certainly not demanding sacrifices.)

Also, Eigetsu talks about doctors, plural, in the imperial palace. Just a minor detail, but I guess something that didn’t come across in the Chinese translation.

@iced_wine: yes, it is indeed as you say. still watching / summarizing episode 5 at the moment and it explains it all, just as you said it ^^

@bootoye: the disease spreading was said to cause bloated stomach… but then again that must just be the initial sign and that the real effect is a mental one o_O The origin of Eigetsu x Yougetsu remains to be a question…

regarding Riou, he does have supernatural powers, because he’s from the gifted clan as you say, the Hyou clan (same clan as Shuurei’s mom, Eiki and Shunki). I believe the reason why he wants to get Shuurei is because he sees the “Bara-hime (Shoukun, Shuurei’s mom)” he once lost (coz Shouka took her from him) in Shuurei… and with that, getting back Shuurei would mean like, getting back “Bara-hime” (which would now be Shuurei)

That opinion of yours regarding Reishin got me thinking, and I’d have to agree with that… he’s “shy”, and doesn’t know how to express “love” explicitly… he shows it through other means instead… would love to see more of Reishin’s past, and the “deeper-side” of his personality (or rather, explanations as to why his personality became that way) ^^