The Gauche in the Machine (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
china_shop) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sid_guardian2025-02-02 11:01 am
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2025-02-02 11:01 am
Entry tags:
Guardian readalong: chapters 23 & 24
Hi, all! Just a reminder that sign-ups are still open for this round of the Guardian readalong. Two more weeks and we'll have finished volume 1! Woohoo! Hope you're all having fun!
Welcome to this week's installment!
If you’re just joining us or need to catch up, here are last week’s chapters and you can find all previous chapter discussions on the schedule post or via the !readalong tag.
This week we're looking at:
Chapter 23 and 24: The Emissary looks after Zhao Yunlan, heals him, and tells him he has an "unstable soul". The pillar is the Mountain-River Awl, and it contains tens of thousands of evil spirits. Wang Zheng explains her backstory.
This corresponds with chapters 37 to 39 of the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation.
Excerpts
1) The Emissary, his robes, and his puppet
The Soul-Executing Emissary's black robes were like a thick mist, impenetrable even by sunlight. They abruptly billowed up to form a protective screen several stories high, engulfing them both. They were cut off from the sunlight and everything else.
While holding him, the Emissary lifted Zhao Yunlan’s hand and pressed on his watch. “Come out!” His voice was quiet, but the command was unmistakable.
The little puppet floated out hesitantly. Its lowered head was shockingly large compared to its small body. The Emissary glanced at it, then raised a hand and summoned it back into his sleeve. “Get in here.”
2) The Emissary and Zhao Yunlan
The Emissary seemed to be taking great care to keep Zhao Yunlan from getting dirty even though Zhao Yunlan had already made a mess of himself. When the Emissary carefully set the Soul-Executing Blade aside, Wang Zheng got a look at it—and the bloodstained hilt.
From within a vast sleeve reminiscent of a black hole, a deathly pale hand emerged. The Emissary wiped the blood from the corner of Zhao Yunlan’s mouth almost tenderly. His fingertips lingered barely perceptibly where they grazed Zhao Yunlan’s lips. The air was charged with an indescribable tension, as if the Emissary would lean down and kiss him at any moment.
3) Zhao Yunlan admires the Emissary
The Soul-Executing Emissary’s coldness was said to spring from his innate ruthlessness and cruelty, but it was comfort spreading through Zhao Yunlan now, the churning in his chest slowly calming.
Zhao Yunlan couldn’t help admiring the Emissary. In all the years he’d been in charge of the Soul-Guarding Order, whenever he encountered truly heinous crimes or the most unbelievable situations, the Emissary had always personally arrived to take care of it. They had always had a partnership. In all that time, Zhao Yunlan had never seen the Emissary act rudely or lose control. He always seemed so calm, modest, and amiable. With some sort of extreme self-restraint, that innate cruelty was suppressed to the point that not a hint of it was detectable.
4) Zhao Yunlan has an unstable soul
“Other people can approach it without harm, but you…” An unfamiliar hesitance entered the Emissary’s voice as he considered his choice of words. He continued at last, “You were born with an unstable soul. If you draw too close to these soul-sealing objects, of course you will feel the effects more than others.”
No one had ever said such a thing to Zhao Yunlan before. Caught off guard, he said, “An unstable soul? Me? My ethereal and corporeal souls37 are all just fine! Why would they be unstable?”
The Soul-Executing Emissary fell silent again, then said, “Everyone has one True Flame of Samadhi on each shoulder and one on their head. You were born with no fire on your left shoulder—a phenomenon known as ‘ghost-touched shoulder.’ That makes your souls prone to instability. The Guardian should take more care in the future.”
Zhao Yunlan gave his own left shoulder a dubious look, then quickly lost interest and got back to the subject at hand.
5) Zhao Yunlan on dignity and what makes people human
“I just understand people like Sangzan,” Zhao Yunlan said. “Hundreds of generations of slaves. When a father dies, the son still needs to serve. If Sangzan was the first one who ever dared to truly rebel, his heart must have been bursting with discontent. A courageous, upright, outstanding man like that? He might conceivably be willing to die for you if you wanted his life, but he’d never allow you to harm his dignity. Forget about empty things like titles or honors, or distant things like promotions or wealth. Isn’t a man’s most fundamental dignity found in taking care of his family and in being able to keep the person deepest in his heart safe?”
From close by, the Emissary murmured, “Does that describe you as well, Guardian?”
“You can’t force something like fate.” Zhao Yunlan had no idea why the Emissary might interject with something so trivial. A bit taken aback, he answered, “If someone was willing to follow me to the ends of the earth, if they took care of me and understood me and my needs, but I didn’t even have the heart to protect them? What the fuck would I even be? Would I even deserve to be called human?”
Questions
- How much do you think Shen Wei's roles are bleeding into each other? Is the Emissary treating Zhao Yunlan differently because Professor Shen has got to know him, or would he act the same here regardless?
- Any thoughts about Wang Zheng's backstory, or the way it differs from the version in the drama? Do you have sympathy for Sangzan? How about for Gelan?
- What do you think of Zhao Yunlan's behaviour towards Wang Zheng in this chapter?
These questions are just conversation starters. Feel free to talk about your reactions to the chapters generally and highlight whatever stood out to you.
Welcome to this week's installment!
If you’re just joining us or need to catch up, here are last week’s chapters and you can find all previous chapter discussions on the schedule post or via the !readalong tag.
This week we're looking at:
Chapter 23 and 24: The Emissary looks after Zhao Yunlan, heals him, and tells him he has an "unstable soul". The pillar is the Mountain-River Awl, and it contains tens of thousands of evil spirits. Wang Zheng explains her backstory.
This corresponds with chapters 37 to 39 of the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation.
Excerpts
1) The Emissary, his robes, and his puppet
The Soul-Executing Emissary's black robes were like a thick mist, impenetrable even by sunlight. They abruptly billowed up to form a protective screen several stories high, engulfing them both. They were cut off from the sunlight and everything else.
While holding him, the Emissary lifted Zhao Yunlan’s hand and pressed on his watch. “Come out!” His voice was quiet, but the command was unmistakable.
The little puppet floated out hesitantly. Its lowered head was shockingly large compared to its small body. The Emissary glanced at it, then raised a hand and summoned it back into his sleeve. “Get in here.”
2) The Emissary and Zhao Yunlan
The Emissary seemed to be taking great care to keep Zhao Yunlan from getting dirty even though Zhao Yunlan had already made a mess of himself. When the Emissary carefully set the Soul-Executing Blade aside, Wang Zheng got a look at it—and the bloodstained hilt.
From within a vast sleeve reminiscent of a black hole, a deathly pale hand emerged. The Emissary wiped the blood from the corner of Zhao Yunlan’s mouth almost tenderly. His fingertips lingered barely perceptibly where they grazed Zhao Yunlan’s lips. The air was charged with an indescribable tension, as if the Emissary would lean down and kiss him at any moment.
3) Zhao Yunlan admires the Emissary
The Soul-Executing Emissary’s coldness was said to spring from his innate ruthlessness and cruelty, but it was comfort spreading through Zhao Yunlan now, the churning in his chest slowly calming.
Zhao Yunlan couldn’t help admiring the Emissary. In all the years he’d been in charge of the Soul-Guarding Order, whenever he encountered truly heinous crimes or the most unbelievable situations, the Emissary had always personally arrived to take care of it. They had always had a partnership. In all that time, Zhao Yunlan had never seen the Emissary act rudely or lose control. He always seemed so calm, modest, and amiable. With some sort of extreme self-restraint, that innate cruelty was suppressed to the point that not a hint of it was detectable.
4) Zhao Yunlan has an unstable soul
“Other people can approach it without harm, but you…” An unfamiliar hesitance entered the Emissary’s voice as he considered his choice of words. He continued at last, “You were born with an unstable soul. If you draw too close to these soul-sealing objects, of course you will feel the effects more than others.”
No one had ever said such a thing to Zhao Yunlan before. Caught off guard, he said, “An unstable soul? Me? My ethereal and corporeal souls37 are all just fine! Why would they be unstable?”
The Soul-Executing Emissary fell silent again, then said, “Everyone has one True Flame of Samadhi on each shoulder and one on their head. You were born with no fire on your left shoulder—a phenomenon known as ‘ghost-touched shoulder.’ That makes your souls prone to instability. The Guardian should take more care in the future.”
Zhao Yunlan gave his own left shoulder a dubious look, then quickly lost interest and got back to the subject at hand.
5) Zhao Yunlan on dignity and what makes people human
“I just understand people like Sangzan,” Zhao Yunlan said. “Hundreds of generations of slaves. When a father dies, the son still needs to serve. If Sangzan was the first one who ever dared to truly rebel, his heart must have been bursting with discontent. A courageous, upright, outstanding man like that? He might conceivably be willing to die for you if you wanted his life, but he’d never allow you to harm his dignity. Forget about empty things like titles or honors, or distant things like promotions or wealth. Isn’t a man’s most fundamental dignity found in taking care of his family and in being able to keep the person deepest in his heart safe?”
From close by, the Emissary murmured, “Does that describe you as well, Guardian?”
“You can’t force something like fate.” Zhao Yunlan had no idea why the Emissary might interject with something so trivial. A bit taken aback, he answered, “If someone was willing to follow me to the ends of the earth, if they took care of me and understood me and my needs, but I didn’t even have the heart to protect them? What the fuck would I even be? Would I even deserve to be called human?”
Questions
- How much do you think Shen Wei's roles are bleeding into each other? Is the Emissary treating Zhao Yunlan differently because Professor Shen has got to know him, or would he act the same here regardless?
- Any thoughts about Wang Zheng's backstory, or the way it differs from the version in the drama? Do you have sympathy for Sangzan? How about for Gelan?
- What do you think of Zhao Yunlan's behaviour towards Wang Zheng in this chapter?
These questions are just conversation starters. Feel free to talk about your reactions to the chapters generally and highlight whatever stood out to you.