Focus on: Episode 5: Wu Tian'en and Shen Wei meet on the street

[sakana17]

Location of scene: Episode 5, 17:18-19:12
[Note: English translations from the subtitles QCed by solo and from Viki]

Context: Wu Tian'en was just questioned by Zhao Yunlan in a cafe. When Zhao Yunlan asked if Wu Tian'en had ever heard of Dixingren, Wu Tian'en noticed someone walking outside the cafe window.

Wu Tian'en is walking down a street. He stops and looks nervous.



There is someone standing behind him, a few metres away. Wu Tian'en asks who it is and what were they hinting at/trying to tell him by being outside the cafe just now. (刚才在咖啡店外, 你在暗示我什么？)



There's no answer, and Wu Tian'en turns around and uses his power to quickly go past the person, who is Shen Wei. Shen Wei stands motionless.





Wu Tian'en is now behind Shen Wei and doesn't know who he is.



He attacks, sending dark energy at Shen Wei's back.



The attack is repelled and Wu Tian'en stumbles backward. Shen Wei, still facing away, says, "Back then your teleportation had a limit of a hundred steps. I'm afraid even that is beyond you now." (你的瞬间移动当年就有百步的限制，现在恐怕更力有不逮了。) Wu Tian'en looks suspicious, trying to figure out who this is.

Shen Wei turns around and removes his glasses.



Wu Tian'en is startled. Shen Wei tells him that physical exertion in old age is hard. "Don't overdo it." (人老了，不以筋骨为能，不要再逞强了。)



Wu Tian'en casts his eyes downward. He falls to his knees to kneel before Shen Wei.



Shen Wei: "Stand up. Since you chose this path back then, no need to kneel to me now." (站着。你当年既然选择了这条路，现在就不必跪我。)





Wu Tian'en looks up at him. "Sir, I never thought I'd see you again. Of all of us back then, only I am lucky enough." (想不到我这辈子还能看到您。 当年一批人, 结果反捯我有这个运气。) He coughs.

Shen Wei goes over to him and takes his arm to help him stand. He asks if Wu Tian'en is unwell. Wu Tian'en says it's nothing and asks if his affairs have bothered Shen Wei. (我的事也惊动您了呀? )





Shen Wei: "This place has its own rules. I will not interfere in matters between you and the SID. I only came here to tell you, no matter what you plan to do, Zhao Yunlan is someone you must not touch." (这里有这里的规矩，你和特调处之间的事情我不会插手的。我到这儿来只是想告诉你，不管你们以后打算怎么做，赵云澜这个人，你们不许动。)



Wu Tian'en seems surprised and asks if Shen Wei is shadowing Chief Zhao. (赵处长? 您在跟踪他呀？)

Shen Wei tells him he doesn't need to know that. "I will give you enough time to take care of your business. I hope you will have no regrets." (我会给你足够的时间处理好你的事情。希望你不要给自己留下遗憾。) He turns and starts to walk away.



He puts on his glasses. As he's walking he says to himself, "Then how much time do I have left?" (那留给我的时间，又还剩多少呢？)





He continues walking and without breaking stride, extends his arm and casts dark energy at two men in suits (Mr. Huang's men) lurking in a doorway who had apparently witnessed the Shen Wei and Wu Tian'en's meeting.



The men look confused for a second then go back to watching Wu Tian'en as Shen Wei strides away.

I like Wu Tian'en a lot. I love this scene between him and Shen Wei because of the hints it gives about their past. Once Wu Tian'en knows the person in front of him is the Black-Cloaked Envoy/Shen Wei, his hostile & suspicious manner changes completely. He kneels to Shen Wei, but Shen Wei tells him to stand and even helps him up. The "no need to kneel to me now" doesn't come across harshly, just acknowledging that Wu Tian'en chose to stay in Haixing instead of returning to Dixing and to the Envoy.

I'm always curious about the mission Wu Tian'en was sent on. Favorite theories? Headcanons?

Wu Tian'en never expected to see Shen Wei again, but feels he's lucky[*] that he has. [* Does 运气 unambiguously signify good luck/fortunate here? Anyone know?]

Wu Tian'en doesn't recognize Shen Wei from the back, but he does recognize him when Shen Wei turns around without his glasses on. Could Wu Tian'en have seen the Black-Cloaked Envoy's face in the past, without the mask?

Shen Wei concerned about Wu Tian'en's health is <3 and always reminds me of bb!Shen Wei worried about his troops in ancient Haixing.

Shen Wei's directive that "Zhao Yunlan is someone you must not touch." <3 Until I looked at the Chinese subtitles, I hadn't realized Shen Wei is using plural you here. Does he mean Wu Tian'en and his son, Wu Xiaojun?

I like Shen Wei giving Wu Tian'en time to take care of things, because the Envoy could immediately take Wu Tian'en back to Dixing. And also telling him not to have regrets. I was thinking about what kind of regrets Shen Wei thinks Wu Tian'en would have, and I felt like this was another warning, that Wu Tian'en shouldn't hurt anyone (or, once he knows the truth, take revenge) while he's settling his matters. It's not clear how much, if anything, Shen Wei knows about Wu Xiaojun and what happened to him, but I imagine it's enough for Shen Wei knowing that Wu Tian'en is involved in a SID case to be concerned about what Wu Tian'en might do.

The "how much time do I have left"! ;__; On the one hand, it's nicely ominous, but on the other hand, why at this particular moment is Shen Wei thinking this? Maybe because of what he just told Wu Tian'en about "enough time to take care of your business" and not having any regrets. Maybe Shen Wei is, in effect, telling himself the same thing. Also possibly he's been thinking, ever since he met Zhao Yunlan, about how much time he has before Zhao Yunlan time-travels to the past. And/or it also kind of feels like he's simply wondering how much longer he has to live. ;__;

Shen Wei zapping Mr. Huang's lackeys without breaking stride or even looking at them is so nonchalantly badass and I love it so much! Since they continue to spy on Wu Tian'en, did Shen Wei simply erase their memory the meeting they'd just witnessed? Or altered it in some way, so that he wouldn't be remembered/identified?

Come discuss this scene! Thoughts, theories, ideas, plot bunnies, squee, fanwork recs... Anything related to this scene welcome!

Comments

[sakana17]

I assumed it was the mission (or one of the missions) to retrieve the Hallows.

Yes, I think it's that mission. As you point out, the details of it are sketchy, so I'm always curious about ideas/theories.

It's not clear to me if the captain was a Dixingren that Zhao Xinci shot offscreen, or if his crimes were part of the plot. Was he the one who kidnapped Shen Xi?! Or the one who shot Sha Ya's friend, Gu Ban, with Zhao Xinci's gun? Or was he Ding Dun?

It would be interesting if it's one of these Dixingren! Of these, though, I'm not sure it could be Ding Dun, because he seemed to have been working as the secretary in Dixing until recently, and he isn't killed (as it appears) on Haixing until episode 8. Could Zhang Shi have been the captain?? (The guy he was inside was a criminal and was shot by Zhao Xinci before he inhabited Zhao Xinci... )

I'd never thought about the captain's crimes before. Prior to going on the mission, he had Shen Wei's respect and trust. Perhaps he fooled Shen Wei, or perhaps he changed when he made it to Haixing...

(LOL, this is what I meant about being curious about the mission! Whenever I start thinking about who Shen Wei sent and what happened, I have all kinds of questions!)

To guard mountains and rivers forever, look to the north. I never knew what it meant." -- Is this when Shen Wei starts making plans to search in the north(west) for the Mountain-River Awl?

I've been thinking it is, and when there are the apparent earthquakes, it narrows his search.

Maybe he thinks the rest of the team conspired not to return and are all still in Haixing, all in touch with each other?

Oh, yeah, that's a good possibility.

Another question about the mission that's interesting to me is what Shen Wei did (or didn't do) when the team didn't come back. Maybe he expected that it would take decades to find the Holy Tools, but not hearing from anyone for a long time... He doesn't try to find out what happened? Is it too risky to try to find out? Now I'm thinking about how this must've affected his reaction to seeing the Longevity Dial around Li Qian's neck. Decades after he sent his team to find them, suddenly there's one of the Tools right in front of him.

thought it implied that living in Haixing long-term would gradually weaken Shen Wei

I wondered about that, too. It's interesting that Shen Wei only mentions old age as the cause of Wu Tian'en's declining powers, but it seems the combination of aging + Haixing would be taking a big toll. Wu Tian'en is peppier in Dixing for a while, but even there his age catches up to him eventually.

[china_shop]

Of these, though, I'm not sure it could be Ding Dun, because he seemed to have been working as the secretary in Dixing until recently, and he isn't killed (as it appears) on Haixing until episode 8.

Good point!

Could Zhang Shi have been the captain?? (The guy he was inside was a criminal and was shot by Zhao Xinci before he inhabited Zhao Xinci... )

Oh, man, that would complicate things enormously! I've always assumed Zhang Shi didn't have much/anything to do with Shen Wei, but if he or his host betrayed him like that... then anything he told Zhao Xinci about the Envoy would be coloured by that past. It doesn't seem likely to me, given what we see of Zhang Shi, but it would certainly be fascinating! :-)

I've been thinking it is, and when there are the apparent earthquakes, it narrows his search.

Oh, yes! Good point!

Maybe he expected that it would take decades to find the Holy Tools, but not hearing from anyone for a long time... He doesn't try to find out what happened?

Maybe when he discovers the captain has been shot (presumably by Zhao Xinci, because it has to be that gun), he infers from the SID's report of the captain's crimes that the whole team has all gone rogue, but he can't find any trace/proof?

Wu Tian'en is peppier in Dixing for a while

Hee! True -- even after almost dying, too. (It's such a shame he didn't have a chance to raise his son. I want a fix-it for them.)