sid_guardian | Character movement chart

From the SID being shut down (episode 34) to Zhao Yunlan's livestream (episode 36):

Guardian character movement chart (episodes 34-36)

(click for larger)

coloured boxes: canon events/locations (seen or mentioned)
grey boxes: missing events/locations in between
solid arrow: characters go directly from A to B
dotted arrow: unclear (possible missing events/locations)

Why does this chart exist? Because I was writing a fic set in episode 35, immediately after Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan return from the YOHE wormhole (A Thread as Red as Blood). I wanted it to slot neatly into canon, so I rewatched the scenes around it - but of course the SID team and their safety would be on Zhao Yunlan's mind, and the immediately surrounding scenes were no help. I wanted to figure out where they all were, and what Da Qing might have told Zhao Yunlan ... and then I got a bit carried away ... *g*

Episode 34:

The team scatters because the SID has been shut down.
- Zhu Hong, Cong Bo, Wang Zheng, Sang Zan and Guo Changcheng are at the SID to start with; Vice Minister Guo comes to take Xiao-Guo away and warn the SID.
- Zhao Yunlan, Chu Shuzhi and Da Qing are outside Zhao Yunlan's building when Cong Bo calls Zhao Yunlan to tell him what happened, and that he and Zhu Hong are at his place. We're not told why they're at Zhao Yunlan's place - their plan was to go to the Inspectorate - but now Zhao Yunlan decides to go back to the SID for the Hallows. No info on where Da Qing and Chu Shuzhi intend to go.
- Shen Wei is supposed to be recuperating from his captivity in Dixing, but we don't see him at home.
- Lin Jing, of course, is already at the Inspectorate, undercover.
We won't hear from Zhu Hong, Chu Shuzhi, Cong Bo, Guo Changcheng and Lin Jing again until after Zhao Yunlan is back from YOHE, two days later.

Zhao Yunlan narrowly narrowly evades arrest on his way to the SID, then makes his way there after all, where he meets Ye Zun and ultimately gets sucked into the wormhole and to YOHE.

Wang Zheng and Sang Zan meet their end trying to protect Zhao Yunlan from Ye Zun.

Shen Wei is out and about on foot and also narrowly evades arrest, then meets Da Qing in the street. They make their way to the SID, arriving just as the wormhole takes Zhao Yunlan. Shen Wei jumps in after him; Da Qing is left behind.

Episode 35:

Da Qing is at the SID when Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan return from the wormhole; they were gone for two days. He's been in touch with others, since he's informed about what's been going on, and reports on Ye Zun declaring war while pretending to be the Envoy.

Vice Minister Guo takes his nephew to the Inspectorate for the first time just now - he must have taken Xiao-Guo home and made him lie low for a few days. Xiao-Guo reunites with Lin Jing.

Next we see Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei after the return-from-the-wormhole scene, they're walking in the street, and we learn they must have separated briefly, since Shen Wei explains he told Da Qing to find the rest of the SID team. They're heading to Cong Bo's from there. (It's not explicitly stated, but it's implicit in what Zhao Yunlan says about the problem being humans: he already has a plan.)

One note about a confusing line of dialogue in this scene. Shen Wei says: 我在地星来去匆匆，现在摄政官和新地君也投靠了夜尊。

Original subs: I have no allies in Dixing, and the lord and justiciar is on Ye Zun's side now.
Solo's subs: I made a quick round-trip to Dixing. The new Lord and the Regent also support Ye Zun now.
Viki subs: I have no allies in the Underworld. The Regent and Underworld Monarch are on Ye Zun's side now.

I don't think he's actually saying he went to Dixing just now, and not just because it wouldn't make much sense at this point in time, and he already knows from his previous trip to Dixing that the palace has been taken by Ye Zun. 来去匆匆 does mean "come and go in a hurry", but the discrepancy between the different translations for that phrase is huge, and also, 在地星 is "in Dixing", not "to Dixing". (Also, the second part of the sentence isn't just about whose side the Regent and the Dijun are on - 投靠 means "to rely on help from somebody, to seek refuge with somebody".)

So perhaps what he's saying is, "In Dixing I'm always coming and going in a hurry, so now the Regent and the new Dijun have also taken refuge in Ye Zun" - implying that he has no allies there because he never stays long? But parsing this properly is beyond my rudimentary Chinese.

Episode 36:

When we see everyone listen to Zhao Yunlan's livestream, it's the first time we see Zhu Zong and Chu Shuzhi since the SID was shut down. Zhu Hong is seen walking in the street with Da Qing; Chu Shuzhi is at the locust tree site where the passage to Dixing opens, encountering Ye Huo.

Also during the livestream, Inspectorate officials come to the SID and take the Hallows, making it clear they were left there when Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei and Da Qing left.

Finally, we're given one last bit of the puzzle in a flashback: when the remaining SID team (sans Lin Jing, Wang Zheng and Sang Zan) reunite in the street and defeat the Nightmare Master, Da Qing explains what happend after Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei entered the wormhole. He tried to take the Hallows away, but they wouldn't let him touch them (presumably because they were keeping the wormhole open), and then Inspectorate people arrived, finding their dead colleagues, so he had to go. Which I assume means he briefly left, then returned to the SID to wait for Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan.

When the team return to the SID, they find Lao-Li dying. I didn't account for him on the chart because he's entirely absent for the stretch of time covered, but I assume he remained at the SID for most of that time.

Questions:

Does any part of this chart surprise you? Which missing bit would you most like to know more about? Do you know any fic set during the missing time/in between these scenes?

What do you think Chu Shuzhi was doing during those two or three days we don't hear from him? Especially given the leaks calling him a murderer, and the Inspectorate being after him.

Where did Da Qing go after parting with Zhao Yunlan and Chu Shuzhi? Did he deliberately set out to meet up with Shen Wei, or did they run into each other accidentally? Was Shen Wei still at home when Zhao Yunlan, Da Qing and Chu Shuzhi were there? Or did he leave before them, and Da Qing set out to find him? FWIW, I think Zhao Yunlan would be more worried if Shen Wei were already absent. But I can never decide whether Da Qing sounds suprised to see Shen Wei in the street.

How long do you think Zhu Hong lasted staying at Cong Bo's? How did she end up meeting Da Qing?

Did Da Qing tell the others Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei vanished into a wormhole? How did he hear about Ye Zun declaring war? (For that matter, how was that declaration communicated to Haixing?)

Why did Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei and Da Qing leave the Hallows at the SID when they left after the return from the wormhole?

After the return from the wormhole, when did Shen Wei get the opportunity to talk to Da Qing without Zhao Yunlan? Was it just Zhao Yunlan going to the loo, or is there more missing? *g*

Have I missed anything? Let me know! ♥

Character movement chart - episodes 34-36

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