sid_guardian | Guardian readalong: chapters 21 & 22

Hi, welcome to this week's chapters of our Guardian readalong!

Last week's post (chapters 19 & 20) is here, and you can find all previous chapter discussions on the schedule posts (prologue, 1-16, 17-) or via the !readalong tag.

This week's chapters:

Chapter 21: our heroes continue to be besieged by skulls; Zhao Yunlan talks to Shen Wei about watching him; Wang Zheng disappears and Zhao Yunlan follows with Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng;
Chapter 22: Zhu Hong talks to Shen Wei; Shen Wei follows Zhao Yunlan and fights Youchu; Zhao Yunlan enters the mountain, gives Xiao-Guo the fear stick, sends the others back, finds Wang Zheng and then faints into the Emissary's arms.

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are chapters 32-36.

Excerpts

1) Zhao Yunlan's reaction to Shen Wei watching him sleep

When he'd been startled awake, Zhao Yunlan had seen how Shen Wei was looking at him. It hadn't been the look of someone who'd just woken up or someone lying awake because they couldn't sleep. Shen Wei's expression had been calm and content, something complex but gentle simmering in his gaze. Just seeing it made the heart clench. Zhao Yunlan had had the distinct feeling that those eyes had been focused on him, unblinking, for half the night.

If the situation was that Shen Wei was simply deeply closeted-feeling something for him but too afraid to take the first step-well, that was perfectly normal. Zhao Yunlan was rather attractive, if he said so himself. He was financially secure. He didn't let his beastly temper show in front of just anyone, so he often gave the impression of having a great personality and being easy to talk to. With all that, he had always had good luck when it came to romance.

But whether it was animal attraction or Zhao Yunlan's personal traits, or even love at first sight...would any of those really make someone lie awake all night long just to foolishly watch someone sleep? That had to be several lifetimes of entanglement-a love with deep, deep roots.

2) Chu Shuzhi questions Zhao Yunlan, and something is hinted at

Chu Shuzhi chewed the jerky thoughtfully. He was silent for a bit, then glanced at Guo Changcheng, who wasn't following the conversation at all. After some consideration, he said, "Even though you said it was background research for this trip, you must have already had a certain degree of familiarity with sorcery to be able to put this all together so quickly, right?"

"If you can't tell the difference between ecstasy and heroin, how can you be a drug enforcement officer?" Zhao Yunlan said lightly.

For once, Chu Shuzhi smiled. But bitterness was too entrenched in his appearance for any smile to really brighten his face. "In that case, why don't we 'drug enforcement officers' receive employee training?"

Zhao Yunlan's chewing slowed. He turned to stare at Chu Shuzhi, who blatantly stared back.

Guo Changcheng looked back and forth between them without a clue as to what was going on. He was too afraid of them both to ask. He could only shrink in on himself.

Finally, Zhao Yunlan said, "Lao-Chu, you're smart. I've rarely met anyone smarter than you, so I'm not going to waste my breath. You know perfectly well why. Make of it what you will."

3) Shen Wei vs. Youchu

Shen Wei stood under the mountain's slope and surveyed his surroundings. He suddenly extended an arm, palm down, and made a grabbing motion.

His hand was deathly pale. Blue veins were clearly visible through his skin, as if he were an incredibly detailed recreation of a person. Following his movement, the ground trembled. The wind between the mountains grew fiercer and fiercer. It howled as it began spinning into a vortex, slashing toward the clouds like a blade.

With his hand still in the air, Shen Wei peeled back the ground's surface, revealing the chapped, frozen earth beneath the heavy snow. It was then that something crawled up out of the ground and flung itself straight at Shen Wei's back. Arrow-swift, it hurtled toward its defenseless-looking target. A smell started to permeate the air: the stench of rot mixed with a floral fragrance. In a heartbeat, Shen Wei had already pivoted and clamped a hand around his would-be attacker's neck.

The thing he had grabbed was a youchu. Pure aggression flooded Shen Wei's gentle, handsome face.

The youchu struggled feebly. Gurgling noises came from its throat.

"Rules are rules," Shen Wei said mildly. "Your kind brazenly crossed the boundaries and left the forbidden area without permission. The penalty is death."

The youchu's feet could no longer touch the ground. It kept struggling, writhing like a fish out of water. Its twitching hands came up in a vain attempt to pry Shen Wei's hand off its neck. Shen Wei's fingers tightened. The youchu in his grasp jerked violently a few times and stopped moving, turning rigid.

4) Fear stick time!

Guo Changcheng swung the baton-like thing. Nothing happened. It was like a little flashlight. Of course, it never crossed his mind that his boss might be messing with him. Instead, he assumed he was too dense to understand Director Zhao's explanation. Guo Changcheng had always been the biggest critic of his own intellect.

But Zhao Yunlan didn't seem inclined to go over it again. After his cursory explanation, he'd set off into the cave with his flashlight, forcing Guo Changcheng to jog to keep up. Guo Changcheng didn't know whether to ask questions or just keep quiet. Common sense told him not to enter a dangerous situation without fully understanding something, but...as he looked at Zhao Yunlan's towering back, all he could think was that if he asked, his boss would absolutely curse him to hell and back.

The mere thought of Zhao Yunlan's anger inspired pure terror. As the feeling washed over him, a blinding spark shot out of the little baton with no warning, heading straight for Zhao Yunlan's back.

Fortunately, Zhao Yunlan was on edge and alert. At the unexpected noise, he threw himself to one side. That scorching hot spark shot farther into the cave.

Again in perfect unison, Chu Shuzhi and Zhao Yunlan exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

Chu Shuzhi looked at Guo Changcheng in awe. This useless piece of trash had actually done something that most SID employees didn't even dare contemplate: fucking up their asshole leader.

5) The Emissary sends a ~~sticky note~~ letter

The Soul-Executing Emissary had always been a wordy writer. He was incapable of getting to the point without a polite preface, all but inquiring after the health of every one of Zhao Yunlan's aunts. Only after all that preamble would he address the topic at hand, and that would be concise, demonstrating his grace when it came to complex matters.

This letter, on the other hand, was clearly rushed, with no introduction or conclusion. It was terse enough that it could have been a sticky note.

"Danger. Do not give chase. Hurry back."

Chu Shuzhi craned his neck. "Why would the Emissary send a letter here? What happened?"

Zhao Yunlan folded the letter and stuffed it into his pocket, thinking things over. The Emissary usually sent his "Lone Soul" notices to the SID office. If there wasn't a genuine emergency, he wouldn't have tracked them down out here. After all, he didn't want to be seen by unrelated parties.

Why did he suddenly...

And...how did he know where Zhao Yunlan was?

Questions

How are you enjoying the Hanga arc so far? Which is your favourite bit in these chapters? Favourite parallel with or difference from the drama? Did you cheer when Xiao-Guo zapped Zhao Yunlan? (I did! :p) How do you think the students are feeling about smashing those skulls? Given that Zhao Yunlan has realised Shen Wei isn't human, should he be more worried? What's with all the milk?

(As usual, these are just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like!)

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Guardian readalong: chapters 21 & 22

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