Some lines that particularly drew my attention, and a few thoughts:
The Emissary shook his head. "Executing a soul for no reason is unjust."
♥ ♥ ♥
Realizing he'd said too much, the Soul-Executing Emissary made no reply. Zhao Yunlan was far too astute. He showed a facade of being brash and unreliable, but that was a cover for his true shrewdness. Whenever he exposed his sharp mind without warning, he could cut right to the heart of an issue.
ZYL in a nutshell! :D
The Emissary was accustomed to questioning others; he had never been on the receiving end like this. He was quiet for a long time. Finally, unable to offer a good excuse, he acted like a gentleman and offered the only truth he could. "Forgive me, but I cannot say."
Lying to someone like Zhao Yunlan was basically asking to be humiliated. It was much simpler to fall back on "I can't tell you," which took much less energy than lying.
1) Awwww! and 2) I'm so fascinated by this, that he jumps straight to "can't say", rather than even trying to lie to Zhao Yunlan! He really doesn't want to keep secrets, even if he feels he has to.
Zhao Yunlan went completely still. Something beyond words stirred in his heart. He listened carefully and found himself speaking in unison with the voice. "Stone that is aged but not yet old; water that is frozen but not yet cold; body that is dead but not yet born; soul that is melted but not yet burned..."
Oh, it's that quote! I never could make sense of its use in the drama, and somehow I suspect the novel won't do much to clarify it, but I'm definitely curious. *g*
"Guardian." The voice was muffled beneath the mask. "It's been thousands of years, but you haven't changed a bit." Zhao Yunlan arched an incredulous brow. That was rich, coming from someone he'd never heard of. And where did the "thousands of years" come from?
LOL! I didn't remember much about Ghost Face from my previous attempt at reading the novel, only that he's very different from the drama's Ye Zun. But even just reading this single scene, I totally get why Ghost Face has fans; he's very fun here. (And also why they made him into Shen Wei's younger brother - he acts so much like a bratty younger brother here!)
"The Guardian didn't quite disregard me like this before. But it doesn't matter. After all, the favor of lending a fire couldn't be repaid even if I died hundreds-"
Oh, what a fascinating hint! I don't actually remember anything about this, LOL.
Do I look like someone who just makes friends randomly?
ZHAO YUNLAN!!!!!! *dies*
That was exactly what Wang Zheng was afraid of: Zhao Yunlan having ideas.
LOL!!!! Wang Zheng knows him! :D
In desperation, he yelled, "Yunlan!"
!!!!!!!!!
The blade cut into his mask, but then the Emissary seemed to hesitate. His attention snapped back and he quickly withdrew, leaving the mask scored but intact.
That has to be such a fascinating bit when you're reading for the first time! Does anyone remember how they reacted to this when they didn't know (if there ever was such a time)?
Ominously, the Emissary said, "If you dare touch even a strand of his hair, I will make you regret ever crawling out of that place." The ghost-faced figure laughed loudly. "And how do you plan to do that?" "Try me and find out," the Emissary replied.
Yes, Shen Wei! :D
I've noticed that people who go around wearing masks don't tend to be very smart.
LOLOLOL! Also, poor Shen Wei.
Finally, on differences between the versions: the only thing I'm seeing this time is the very end of chapter 24, where Wang Zheng says, "I haven't thanked you yet" - in the JJWXC version, there's an additional bit of conversation:
"Oh right, Chief Zhao, didn't you say you left your wallet in the car? Then what was that you pulled out just now?"
Zhao Yunlan's pretentiously mysterious expression shatters, and frantically covers his chest. "What do you want? I'm short on cash lately, I can give my body but not my money! What about your guy? What's he doing with you, and why are you concerned with someone else's wallet?"
"He doesn't understand," Wang Zheng's tone relaxes a bit, "I heard you're buying a lot of antique books lately, like you're planning to become an antique vendor. Besides that, what did you spend all your money on?"
"A man eventually has to buy a house and support a family." Zhao Yunlan hides his hands in his pockets and dawdles forward. "You don't get it, little girl."
Wang Zheng laughs lightly, "I died three hundred years ago, who's a little girl?"
Zhao Yunlan agrees, "You're an old tramp who died three hundred years ago, and you're asking for red packet money? How can you be so shameless?"
The two keep on squabbling back and forth in the white snowy land. After a long while, Wang Zheng says softly, "I didn't say it earlier, but thank you..."
no subject
The Emissary shook his head. "Executing a soul for no reason is unjust."
♥ ♥ ♥
Realizing he'd said too much, the Soul-Executing Emissary made no reply. Zhao Yunlan was far too astute. He showed a facade of being brash and unreliable, but that was a cover for his true shrewdness. Whenever he exposed his sharp mind without warning, he could cut right to the heart of an issue.
ZYL in a nutshell! :D
The Emissary was accustomed to questioning others; he had never been on the receiving end like this. He was quiet for a long time. Finally, unable to offer a good excuse, he acted like a gentleman and offered the only truth he could. "Forgive me, but I cannot say."
Lying to someone like Zhao Yunlan was basically asking to be humiliated. It was much simpler to fall back on "I can't tell you," which took much less energy than lying.
1) Awwww! and 2) I'm so fascinated by this, that he jumps straight to "can't say", rather than even trying to lie to Zhao Yunlan! He really doesn't want to keep secrets, even if he feels he has to.
Zhao Yunlan went completely still. Something beyond words stirred in his heart. He listened carefully and found himself speaking in unison with the voice. "Stone that is aged but not yet old; water that is frozen but not yet cold; body that is dead but not yet born; soul that is melted but not yet burned..."
Oh, it's that quote! I never could make sense of its use in the drama, and somehow I suspect the novel won't do much to clarify it, but I'm definitely curious. *g*
"Guardian." The voice was muffled beneath the mask. "It's been thousands of years, but you haven't changed a bit."
Zhao Yunlan arched an incredulous brow. That was rich, coming from someone he'd never heard of. And where did the "thousands of years" come from?
LOL! I didn't remember much about Ghost Face from my previous attempt at reading the novel, only that he's very different from the drama's Ye Zun. But even just reading this single scene, I totally get why Ghost Face has fans; he's very fun here. (And also why they made him into Shen Wei's younger brother - he acts so much like a bratty younger brother here!)
"The Guardian didn't quite disregard me like this before. But it doesn't matter. After all, the favor of lending a fire couldn't be repaid even if I died hundreds-"
Oh, what a fascinating hint! I don't actually remember anything about this, LOL.
Do I look like someone who just makes friends randomly?
ZHAO YUNLAN!!!!!! *dies*
That was exactly what Wang Zheng was afraid of: Zhao Yunlan having ideas.
LOL!!!! Wang Zheng knows him! :D
In desperation, he yelled, "Yunlan!"
!!!!!!!!!
The blade cut into his mask, but then the Emissary seemed to hesitate. His attention snapped back and he quickly withdrew, leaving the mask scored but intact.
That has to be such a fascinating bit when you're reading for the first time! Does anyone remember how they reacted to this when they didn't know (if there ever was such a time)?
Ominously, the Emissary said, "If you dare touch even a strand of his hair, I will make you regret ever crawling out of that place."
The ghost-faced figure laughed loudly. "And how do you plan to do that?"
"Try me and find out," the Emissary replied.
Yes, Shen Wei! :D
I've noticed that people who go around wearing masks don't tend to be very smart.
LOLOLOL! Also, poor Shen Wei.
Finally, on differences between the versions: the only thing I'm seeing this time is the very end of chapter 24, where Wang Zheng says, "I haven't thanked you yet" - in the JJWXC version, there's an additional bit of conversation: