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Guardian Readalong: Vol. 2, Chapters 9 & 10
But first, a reminder that sign-ups are open for the 520 Day Guardian Reverse Exchange! ♡
The 520 Reverse Exchange covers the Guardian novel, drama and RPF. And it's multimedia - see our info/rules/schedule post for the kinds of offers you can make.
As it's a reverse exchange, it has a two-part sign-up process: first you make your offer, and then you choose from everyone else's anonymised offers to make your requests. Part 1 of sign-ups (offers) is open until 11:59pm UTC on Friday 28 March 2025. (What time is that for me?) Only people who’ve signed up with an offer can participate and make requests.
Sign up with your offers here!
Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong!
Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions on the schedule post (vol. 1 part 1, vol. 1 part 2, vol. 2), or via the !readalong tag.
This week's chapters:
The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are 57 to 60.
Excerpts:
1) Daqing is worried about Zhao Yunlan
“I’ve never seen this book before.” Daqing patted the book, unconsciously turning in circles on the spot and chasing his own tail with anxiety. “Where did it come from?”
Who had put the book there? Why was Zhao Yunlan the one who’d come across it?
Of course, if Daqing didn’t know the book’s origin, there was no way Sangzan would. The black cat and ghost stared at each other until, finally, the cat lowered his head and leaped to the floor, feeling uneasy. As he left, he found he wasn’t even in the mood to eat his favorite food: jerky soaked in milk.
Zhao Yunlan was doing well for himself. He had food, shelter, and more—he even had some spare time to think about love and lust. Things were going smoothly for him. The black cat was lazy by nature, and many human concerns were beyond him, but seeing Zhao Yunlan simply be a dumbass youngster with many joys in his life was very gratifying for Daqing. This wasn’t a boat he wanted to see rocked.
2) Zhao Yunlan loses the fight to the crow yao
It was clearly a bad idea to let Zhao Yunlan continue guessing. The bird person started to ring the golden bell, only for Zhao Yunlan to suddenly brandish his hands after hiding them behind his back. At some point, during everything that happened, he had cut his own finger and used the blood to draw a complicated motif across two paper talismans, half on each one.
Now, as he brought the pair together, they were flawlessly aligned and had already burned more than halfway. One pointed to the sky and the other pointed to the ground.
Zhao Yunlan abruptly let go. A thunderous explosion arose out of nowhere as a dragon of fire took shape. In an instant of flashing lightning and flying sparks, the entire hillside of graves was scorched black. Countless ghost fires were silently swept up in it; the huge flame ignited the hem of the Crow tribe member’s shirt.
But the short, ugly crow didn’t even flinch. Though he was gaunt and slight of stature, for a moment, an awe-inspiring sternness showed on his unpleasant face.
In spite of himself, Zhao Yunlan paused and stared.
Within the fierce flames, the crow’s face was split between human and bird. Pitch-black feathers appeared on his body. His shriveled, deformed wings spread and immediately caught fire—an ugly, pitiful sight on his back. With a scream up to the sky, he transformed into a cloud of black mist within the fire and disappeared into the golden bell.
The color of the firelight surrounding the bell suddenly changed, as though thousands of spotlights had converged. Zhao Yunlan closed his eyes at once, but it was already too late. Molten pain seared his eyeballs. Holding his arms in front of himself, he swiftly backed away, unable to see a thing.
The sound of bells rang out, as if hunting down his soul. It was like a nail being driven right into his ear.
In his daze, it seemed as though he could hear the sound of mountains collapsing. The center of a huge pillar that reached all the way to the sky fractured, and from someplace up high, an endless stream of boulders tumbled down. They rumbled and roared as if the sky itself were on the verge of falling.
And from somewhere far away, at the edge of the world, a booming voice seemed to call out. “KUNLUN—”
3) Zhao Yunlan adjusts to his blindness
After half a day of being withdrawn while adjusting to his new blindness, Zhao Yunlan was blossoming again. As he got settled in the car, he began messing with the seat controls. First, he made it lie down flat, then he put it back up. Next, he explored the entire car with his hands. “Hey, I just realized that the passenger seat is indented. How come I never noticed it when I could see? Turns out there are some fun things about being blind. Did you know there’s a darkness experience exhibit downtown? The tickets cost 40 yuan, so really, I’m saving 40 yuan.”
This kind of revolutionary optimism was beyond Shen Wei’s comprehension, and he could only manage a faint semblance of a smile in response.
As he dropped Zhao Yunlan off right outside his building, Shen Wei told him to stay put. But after parking, he came back only to find that Zhao Yunlan had already made his way to the curb alone and was practicing walking in a straight line, though he was about to fling himself into the embrace of a utility pole.
Shen Wei rushed over and grabbed Zhao Yunlan around the waist before he could knock himself out. Suddenly being lifted into the air was an exciting experience while blind; Zhao Yunlan actually let out a delighted whistle, as if wanting Shen Wei to do it again.
Patting his arm, Shen Wei leaned forward. “There are stairs up ahead. I’ll carry you on my back.”
Zhao Yunlan responded by stroking Shen Wei’s back and smiling, but he made no move to obey.
Gently, Shen Wei asked, “What is it? Get on.”
Feeling around for Shen Wei’s hand, Zhao Yunlan bent down to kiss the back of it. “How could I bear to let you carry me? What if I crush you with my weight?”
He began slowly walking forward. If he hadn’t bumped the first stair with his foot, Shen Wei might almost have believed his eyesight had returned. His pace was steady, and his steps were even. When he reached the elevator, he felt around for the buttons and pressed the right one. Then he turned slightly, waiting for Shen Wei.
Shen Wei made sure to step heavily. “How did you know where the elevator was?”
Without a trace of shame, Zhao Yunlan boasted, “With how observant I am, did you think I’m not familiar with my own place of residence? I don’t need eyes to know the number of stairs or how many paces the stairs are from the elevator.”
That was, of course, absolute bullshit. Forget the number of paces—Zhao Yunlan was the kind of rough, careless person who couldn’t even find his own teacup and slippers without scrambling around first.
The truth, as Shen Wei knew perfectly well, was that he must have been silently counting while being led downstairs that afternoon. Perhaps it was simply his personality, but somehow, no matter the circumstances, Zhao Yunlan always gave off an impression of “it’s no big deal.” Sometimes, even when whatever was happening was a big deal, people around him couldn’t help being affected by his attitude.
4) Daqing's bell
“Ugh, don’t even ask.” Zhao Yunlan waved dismissively. “It was all because of that damn bell…”
Daqing abruptly got to his feet. “What kind of bell?”
“I have it,” Shen Wei offered, pulling a little golden bell covered in dust from his pocket. “Are you talking about this?”
Daqing’s pupils constricted. “Why do you have it?”
“What is it?” Zhao Yunlan asked.
Daqing circled Shen Wei’s hand a few times, focused intently on the little bell. Finally, in a very low voice, he said, “That’s mine.” He stole a glance at Zhao Yunlan.
“My…first master…tied that around my neck himself. Centuries ago. There was an accident… I lost it.”
Zhao Yunlan extended a hand. “Let me see.”
Instead, Shen Wei moved the bell out of reach. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to pick it up.”
Recalling what had happened the night before, Zhao Yunlan gloomily blew a smoke ring.
Daqing ducked his head and grabbed the bell from Shen Wei, then left through the window without another word. It was rare for this steady tank of a cat to be so obviously weighed down by his thoughts.
5) Shen Wei, as seen by Zhao Yunlan's Heavenly Eye
Zhao Yunlan “looked” down at his own body and saw white light coursing through him. His left shoulder was empty, but on his right shoulder was a bright ball, radiant with beautiful light and colors—that must be his soul fire.
Something about the light of his soul fire was…familiar. He felt sure he had seen it somewhere before.
A sudden realization made him spring to his feet. His knees slammed into the coffee table, but he didn’t even take the time to grimace as he stumbled into the kitchen. He could hear the sound of vegetables being chopped, but Shen Wei was invisible to him, perfectly blending in with the darkness—or maybe not so perfectly. A moment’s study showed him to be even darker than the surrounding blackness. The only light about him came from the tiny pendant around his neck. The ball of fire in the pendant was identical to the sphere of light on Zhao Yunlan’s right shoulder.
Shen Wei was prepping a head of cabbage. At the sound of movement, he glanced at Zhao Yunlan. “It’s too chaotic in here. Don’t come in.”
Zhao Yunlan ignored him. Following Shen Wei’s voice, he walked in carefully, then slowly reached out and hugged Shen Wei from behind. Resting his chin on Shen Wei’s shoulder, he shut his eyes and tried to look at the cutting board with his newly acquired Heavenly Eye. But—perhaps because those vegetables had lost their vitality while being uprooted and frozen—he didn’t “see” anything. There was only the faint scent of vegetable juices.
Then he looked down at Shen Wei, who was in his arms.
From the moment he’d embraced Shen Wei, a bright blood red had begun spilling outward from Shen Wei’s heart. It flowed throughout the absolute blackness of Shen Wei’s silhouette like molten lava, outlining a slim, graceful figure in Zhao Yunlan’s ink-black vision.
It was as if life had suddenly burst into existence.
Zhao Yunlan silently took this in for a while. When he finally spoke, it was to casually grumble, “What are you chopping? I don’t eat this. I want meat. I’m not a rabbit. As an injured person, I am petitioning for an improvement to my meals.”
Shen Wei chuckled indulgently and lifted the lid of a small pot beside him. A hearty aroma of meat wafted out. “Don’t be picky.”
As he said it, the fiery colors on his body softened. The bright flow of crimson took on a strikingly warm orange hue, like the first glimpse of the sun after the break of dawn.
6) Zhao Yunlan's dream
Perhaps because Shen Wei was holding him too tightly—it really was a little uncomfortable—when Zhao Yunlan did drift off to sleep, he started to dream.
He dreamed that he was in a cloudy, misty place, walking in circles. He was surrounded by ruins and debris, and there were countless people praying toward the sky. He spared them a glance and kept walking, eventually arriving at a place that was utterly dark and desolate.
For some reason, he felt a surge of annoyance. He snapped his fingers to summon fire, but the fire went out before it could catch.
Someone sighed deeply by his ear. “Why did you have to go through all this effort over an offhand comment?”
The voice was difficult to describe. It seemed to bypass his ears entirely and pierce right through his heart. Zhao Yunlan gave a violent shudder, and then he was awake.
It seemed like the sun must already be high in the sky. Shen Wei wasn’t beside him anymore. He’d probably stepped out to buy something.
Zhao Yunlan saw darkness when he opened his eyes, and darkness when he closed them. His heart beat like thunder, cold sweat beading on his back.
Who had been speaking in the dream…?
Why did it sound like his own voice?
Questions:
Which of the supernatural imagery is your favorite - the fight with the crow yao, the warm light inside Shen Wei, the Great Seal, something else? Did you enjoy the Daqing and Sangzan interaction, or do you think Sangzan deserves better treatment? Do you think Shen Wei should have known that Zhao Yunlan didn't listen to him and went to West Plum Village? Which contents of Shen Wei's pendant do you prefer - soul fire or a lollipop wrapper?
You can answer as many or as few questions as you like, or just comment without answering any of them at all! And if you see this post and you're not actually reading the novel: As always, I would love to know what you think about any of this with limited context. :D
And here is the schedule, and that's where you can sign up to host a post.
The 520 Reverse Exchange covers the Guardian novel, drama and RPF. And it's multimedia - see our info/rules/schedule post for the kinds of offers you can make.
As it's a reverse exchange, it has a two-part sign-up process: first you make your offer, and then you choose from everyone else's anonymised offers to make your requests. Part 1 of sign-ups (offers) is open until 11:59pm UTC on Friday 28 March 2025. (What time is that for me?) Only people who’ve signed up with an offer can participate and make requests.
Sign up with your offers here!
Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong!
Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions on the schedule post (vol. 1 part 1, vol. 1 part 2, vol. 2), or via the !readalong tag.
This week's chapters:
- Chapter 9: Shen Wei goes to the Netherworld to temporarily mend the Great Seal that is falling apart. Daqing visits Sangzan in the library. Daqing's cultivation is too low to read Soul Book, which Zhao Yunlan has learned sorcery from. In West Plum Village, Zhao Yunlan encounters and fights a crow yao, who uses a bell to blind him and force some of Kunlun's memories on him. Ghost Face brings unconscious Zhao Yunlan back to Shen Wei.
- Chapter 10: Zhao Yunlan wakes up blind, but adjusts to his blindness very quickly. It turns out that the bell that hurt him used to be Daqing's before it was lost. Zhao Yunlan gains access to his Heavenly Eye, watches Shen Wei with it, and locates his missing soul fire in Shen Wei's pendant. He tries to seduce Shen Wei when a reaper visits his apartment. He hides Shen Wei from the reaper, and then falls asleep in Shen Wei's arms and has a mysterious dream.
The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are 57 to 60.
Excerpts:
1) Daqing is worried about Zhao Yunlan
“I’ve never seen this book before.” Daqing patted the book, unconsciously turning in circles on the spot and chasing his own tail with anxiety. “Where did it come from?”
Who had put the book there? Why was Zhao Yunlan the one who’d come across it?
Of course, if Daqing didn’t know the book’s origin, there was no way Sangzan would. The black cat and ghost stared at each other until, finally, the cat lowered his head and leaped to the floor, feeling uneasy. As he left, he found he wasn’t even in the mood to eat his favorite food: jerky soaked in milk.
Zhao Yunlan was doing well for himself. He had food, shelter, and more—he even had some spare time to think about love and lust. Things were going smoothly for him. The black cat was lazy by nature, and many human concerns were beyond him, but seeing Zhao Yunlan simply be a dumbass youngster with many joys in his life was very gratifying for Daqing. This wasn’t a boat he wanted to see rocked.
2) Zhao Yunlan loses the fight to the crow yao
It was clearly a bad idea to let Zhao Yunlan continue guessing. The bird person started to ring the golden bell, only for Zhao Yunlan to suddenly brandish his hands after hiding them behind his back. At some point, during everything that happened, he had cut his own finger and used the blood to draw a complicated motif across two paper talismans, half on each one.
Now, as he brought the pair together, they were flawlessly aligned and had already burned more than halfway. One pointed to the sky and the other pointed to the ground.
Zhao Yunlan abruptly let go. A thunderous explosion arose out of nowhere as a dragon of fire took shape. In an instant of flashing lightning and flying sparks, the entire hillside of graves was scorched black. Countless ghost fires were silently swept up in it; the huge flame ignited the hem of the Crow tribe member’s shirt.
But the short, ugly crow didn’t even flinch. Though he was gaunt and slight of stature, for a moment, an awe-inspiring sternness showed on his unpleasant face.
In spite of himself, Zhao Yunlan paused and stared.
Within the fierce flames, the crow’s face was split between human and bird. Pitch-black feathers appeared on his body. His shriveled, deformed wings spread and immediately caught fire—an ugly, pitiful sight on his back. With a scream up to the sky, he transformed into a cloud of black mist within the fire and disappeared into the golden bell.
The color of the firelight surrounding the bell suddenly changed, as though thousands of spotlights had converged. Zhao Yunlan closed his eyes at once, but it was already too late. Molten pain seared his eyeballs. Holding his arms in front of himself, he swiftly backed away, unable to see a thing.
The sound of bells rang out, as if hunting down his soul. It was like a nail being driven right into his ear.
In his daze, it seemed as though he could hear the sound of mountains collapsing. The center of a huge pillar that reached all the way to the sky fractured, and from someplace up high, an endless stream of boulders tumbled down. They rumbled and roared as if the sky itself were on the verge of falling.
And from somewhere far away, at the edge of the world, a booming voice seemed to call out. “KUNLUN—”
3) Zhao Yunlan adjusts to his blindness
After half a day of being withdrawn while adjusting to his new blindness, Zhao Yunlan was blossoming again. As he got settled in the car, he began messing with the seat controls. First, he made it lie down flat, then he put it back up. Next, he explored the entire car with his hands. “Hey, I just realized that the passenger seat is indented. How come I never noticed it when I could see? Turns out there are some fun things about being blind. Did you know there’s a darkness experience exhibit downtown? The tickets cost 40 yuan, so really, I’m saving 40 yuan.”
This kind of revolutionary optimism was beyond Shen Wei’s comprehension, and he could only manage a faint semblance of a smile in response.
As he dropped Zhao Yunlan off right outside his building, Shen Wei told him to stay put. But after parking, he came back only to find that Zhao Yunlan had already made his way to the curb alone and was practicing walking in a straight line, though he was about to fling himself into the embrace of a utility pole.
Shen Wei rushed over and grabbed Zhao Yunlan around the waist before he could knock himself out. Suddenly being lifted into the air was an exciting experience while blind; Zhao Yunlan actually let out a delighted whistle, as if wanting Shen Wei to do it again.
Patting his arm, Shen Wei leaned forward. “There are stairs up ahead. I’ll carry you on my back.”
Zhao Yunlan responded by stroking Shen Wei’s back and smiling, but he made no move to obey.
Gently, Shen Wei asked, “What is it? Get on.”
Feeling around for Shen Wei’s hand, Zhao Yunlan bent down to kiss the back of it. “How could I bear to let you carry me? What if I crush you with my weight?”
He began slowly walking forward. If he hadn’t bumped the first stair with his foot, Shen Wei might almost have believed his eyesight had returned. His pace was steady, and his steps were even. When he reached the elevator, he felt around for the buttons and pressed the right one. Then he turned slightly, waiting for Shen Wei.
Shen Wei made sure to step heavily. “How did you know where the elevator was?”
Without a trace of shame, Zhao Yunlan boasted, “With how observant I am, did you think I’m not familiar with my own place of residence? I don’t need eyes to know the number of stairs or how many paces the stairs are from the elevator.”
That was, of course, absolute bullshit. Forget the number of paces—Zhao Yunlan was the kind of rough, careless person who couldn’t even find his own teacup and slippers without scrambling around first.
The truth, as Shen Wei knew perfectly well, was that he must have been silently counting while being led downstairs that afternoon. Perhaps it was simply his personality, but somehow, no matter the circumstances, Zhao Yunlan always gave off an impression of “it’s no big deal.” Sometimes, even when whatever was happening was a big deal, people around him couldn’t help being affected by his attitude.
4) Daqing's bell
“Ugh, don’t even ask.” Zhao Yunlan waved dismissively. “It was all because of that damn bell…”
Daqing abruptly got to his feet. “What kind of bell?”
“I have it,” Shen Wei offered, pulling a little golden bell covered in dust from his pocket. “Are you talking about this?”
Daqing’s pupils constricted. “Why do you have it?”
“What is it?” Zhao Yunlan asked.
Daqing circled Shen Wei’s hand a few times, focused intently on the little bell. Finally, in a very low voice, he said, “That’s mine.” He stole a glance at Zhao Yunlan.
“My…first master…tied that around my neck himself. Centuries ago. There was an accident… I lost it.”
Zhao Yunlan extended a hand. “Let me see.”
Instead, Shen Wei moved the bell out of reach. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to pick it up.”
Recalling what had happened the night before, Zhao Yunlan gloomily blew a smoke ring.
Daqing ducked his head and grabbed the bell from Shen Wei, then left through the window without another word. It was rare for this steady tank of a cat to be so obviously weighed down by his thoughts.
5) Shen Wei, as seen by Zhao Yunlan's Heavenly Eye
Zhao Yunlan “looked” down at his own body and saw white light coursing through him. His left shoulder was empty, but on his right shoulder was a bright ball, radiant with beautiful light and colors—that must be his soul fire.
Something about the light of his soul fire was…familiar. He felt sure he had seen it somewhere before.
A sudden realization made him spring to his feet. His knees slammed into the coffee table, but he didn’t even take the time to grimace as he stumbled into the kitchen. He could hear the sound of vegetables being chopped, but Shen Wei was invisible to him, perfectly blending in with the darkness—or maybe not so perfectly. A moment’s study showed him to be even darker than the surrounding blackness. The only light about him came from the tiny pendant around his neck. The ball of fire in the pendant was identical to the sphere of light on Zhao Yunlan’s right shoulder.
Shen Wei was prepping a head of cabbage. At the sound of movement, he glanced at Zhao Yunlan. “It’s too chaotic in here. Don’t come in.”
Zhao Yunlan ignored him. Following Shen Wei’s voice, he walked in carefully, then slowly reached out and hugged Shen Wei from behind. Resting his chin on Shen Wei’s shoulder, he shut his eyes and tried to look at the cutting board with his newly acquired Heavenly Eye. But—perhaps because those vegetables had lost their vitality while being uprooted and frozen—he didn’t “see” anything. There was only the faint scent of vegetable juices.
Then he looked down at Shen Wei, who was in his arms.
From the moment he’d embraced Shen Wei, a bright blood red had begun spilling outward from Shen Wei’s heart. It flowed throughout the absolute blackness of Shen Wei’s silhouette like molten lava, outlining a slim, graceful figure in Zhao Yunlan’s ink-black vision.
It was as if life had suddenly burst into existence.
Zhao Yunlan silently took this in for a while. When he finally spoke, it was to casually grumble, “What are you chopping? I don’t eat this. I want meat. I’m not a rabbit. As an injured person, I am petitioning for an improvement to my meals.”
Shen Wei chuckled indulgently and lifted the lid of a small pot beside him. A hearty aroma of meat wafted out. “Don’t be picky.”
As he said it, the fiery colors on his body softened. The bright flow of crimson took on a strikingly warm orange hue, like the first glimpse of the sun after the break of dawn.
6) Zhao Yunlan's dream
Perhaps because Shen Wei was holding him too tightly—it really was a little uncomfortable—when Zhao Yunlan did drift off to sleep, he started to dream.
He dreamed that he was in a cloudy, misty place, walking in circles. He was surrounded by ruins and debris, and there were countless people praying toward the sky. He spared them a glance and kept walking, eventually arriving at a place that was utterly dark and desolate.
For some reason, he felt a surge of annoyance. He snapped his fingers to summon fire, but the fire went out before it could catch.
Someone sighed deeply by his ear. “Why did you have to go through all this effort over an offhand comment?”
The voice was difficult to describe. It seemed to bypass his ears entirely and pierce right through his heart. Zhao Yunlan gave a violent shudder, and then he was awake.
It seemed like the sun must already be high in the sky. Shen Wei wasn’t beside him anymore. He’d probably stepped out to buy something.
Zhao Yunlan saw darkness when he opened his eyes, and darkness when he closed them. His heart beat like thunder, cold sweat beading on his back.
Who had been speaking in the dream…?
Why did it sound like his own voice?
Questions:
Which of the supernatural imagery is your favorite - the fight with the crow yao, the warm light inside Shen Wei, the Great Seal, something else? Did you enjoy the Daqing and Sangzan interaction, or do you think Sangzan deserves better treatment? Do you think Shen Wei should have known that Zhao Yunlan didn't listen to him and went to West Plum Village? Which contents of Shen Wei's pendant do you prefer - soul fire or a lollipop wrapper?
You can answer as many or as few questions as you like, or just comment without answering any of them at all! And if you see this post and you're not actually reading the novel: As always, I would love to know what you think about any of this with limited context. :D
And here is the schedule, and that's where you can sign up to host a post.
no subject
"To walk through that blackness was to lose all sense of time and space. For those within, all that remained was the utter desolation of feeling like the one person left in all the world. It was impossible to see where you had come from or where you were going."
This concept is so wonderfully unsettling.
"In all likelihood, the youchu were appearing outside the Great Seal due to Zhao Yunlan’s summoning of the Ghost Army. What Zhao Yunlan didn’t know was that the “ghosts” of the Ghost Army weren’t ghosts in the traditional sense."
I remembered that the ghosts were not ghosts but creatures from the place of Great Disrespect, but I didn't remember that Zhao Yunlan didn't know about that! Oh YIKES.
"They had no form of their own. The metal armor and the horses of bone were simply reflections of the summoner’s overactive imagination."
This is so morbidly funny to me, that Zhao Yunlan's imagination is as dramatic as he is. xD xD
"The Ghost Army Summons was an incredibly dangerous piece of sorcery. If the caster wasn’t careful, it could easily backfire on them. Zhao Yunlan had pulled it off for two reasons: one, he was talented, and two, he was lucky. With Shen Wei keeping watch downstairs, the things Zhao Yunlan had called forth hadn’t dared cross the line. But by summoning the Ghost Army, it was as if Zhao Yunlan, the gifted troublemaker, had drawn a vial of blood from the Great Seal, which was already crumbling."
Okay, I LOVE the fact that Shen Wei only yelled at Zhao Yunlan about the first part. 'You're putting yourself in danger' is so much more important than 'you're lowkey literally destroying the world'. It's unhinged and beautiful. ♡♡♡ /no sarcasm And also it's kinda cool that the reason nothing bad happened at the hospital is because Shen Wei was there.
"When he arrived at Zhao Yunlan’s small apartment, he made sure to move quietly, thinking Zhao Yunlan would be resting. But as he entered, his expression turned grave. He switched on all the lights with a wave of his hand…and found the apartment empty. The blanket he had folded that morning was still at the head of the bed, undisturbed. Zhao Yunlan hadn’t come back home!"
Okay, wth, I completely take it back that Shen Wei knew that Zhao Yunlan wouldn't listen to him. xD Clearly he underestimates him (overestimates him??) after all, lol. Also I can never get enough of Shen Wei FOLDING BLANKETS. *melts* ♡
“Chu Shuzhi, we’ve been over this. Once you’re done with all these paper talismans, clean them up. When the cleaning lady comes tomorrow, what do you expect her to do about them?”
:D :D The mix of mundane and supernatural is A+++! (And Xiao Guo offering to clean up the talismans, hee. :D)
"The room’s walls were inlaid with large sea dragon pearls that kept the space as bright as day while not harming the souls who could be hurt by sunlight."
This is SO COOL, and must look really neat. :D
"This was the first dignified job he had ever had. He was no longer a slave being beaten and cursed at, treated like an animal, nor was he the faithless leader whose only goal was the destruction of the people who looked up to him. Now he could live quietly and freely with the person he cared for most—exactly what he’d hoped and schemed for all his life but had never been able to attain. He treasured this new existence beyond measure."
This is so soft and sweet and lovely, and I'm so happy for Sangzan, and also I'm glad that we finally got his POV! ♡
"Seeing Daqing enter, Sangzan greeted him earnestly. “Henlo, cat.”
“Henlo, stutterer,” the cat replied.
Sangzan stopped dead. Wang Zheng was a quiet, refined girl who would never teach him insults, so the term wasn’t familiar to him. With perfect sincerity, he asked, “What i-is a slutterer?”
Daqing stepped over the wooden shelves. Thoroughly preoccupied, he gave a careless lie in response. “It means ‘good bro.’”
Sangzan nodded in understanding, then enthusiastically gave it a try. “Oh, henlo, cat slutterer!”"
Making fun of Sangzan can be hit or miss, but I find this particular thing funny enough. xD I think it's because it's just DQ being preoccupied (and just kind of an asshole in general, to everyone), it's not personal. And I have no idea what the original pun is, but the English one is not bad. xD
"It was as if Sangzan were taking a foreign-language listening test. He attentively tilted his head, then patiently asked Daqing to repeat the request three times. Finally, he got the gist. Beaming with accomplishment, he pulled a book that was waiting to be reshelved off the little cart."
SO PRECIOUS. ♡ And DQ is not much of an asshole here at all if he repeats the request three times, AW. :)
"The cover was already ragged, and there was a coffee stain on the corner—no need to say which heathen was to blame for that."
BWAH.
"Daqing patted the book, unconsciously turning in circles on the spot and chasing his own tail with anxiety."
He's so cat, AW!
"Who had put the book there? Why was Zhao Yunlan the one who’d come across it?"
So yeah, ~someone~ wants the Great Seal open asap, and apparently it's far too easy for ~the mysterious person~ to bait ZYL to do it for them - just give him something cool and showy to do. xD
"As he left, he found he wasn’t even in the mood to eat his favorite food: jerky soaked in milk.
Zhao Yunlan was doing well for himself. He had food, shelter, and more—he even had some spare time to think about love and lust. Things were going smoothly for him. The black cat was lazy by nature, and many human concerns were beyond him, but seeing Zhao Yunlan simply be a dumbass youngster with many joys in his life was very gratifying for Daqing. This wasn’t a boat he wanted to see rocked."
This is the SWEETEST DAMN THING and one of my favorite quotes. ♡♡♡ Daqing is Zhao Yunlan's REAL dad, okay.
"Before Shen Wei’s identity had been revealed, he’d kept avoiding Zhao Yunlan. Thinking back on it now, someone had orchestrated their meeting, putting him right in Shen Wei’s path.
Was it the ghost-faced figure? Why would that person try so hard to steer Shen Wei toward him?
And then there was the black notebook that the Netherworld had sent to him via a reaper. That book had confirmed Shen Wei’s identity. Had that been the Netherworld’s goal when giving it to him? Why?"
Never getting tired of ZYL being smart af.
"Zhao Yunlan felt as if he were standing over a massive vortex. There was more going on in it than he could see, with innumerable hands reaching out of it—some trying to shove him away, others trying to drag him in. Each one seemed to have its own agenda; every face was shrouded in mist."
I love this metaphor!
I'm loving ALL the descriptions of Zhao Yunlan's surroundings as he walks through the fog, I'd never stop if I started quoting, but they're just really damn gorgeous. ♡ The fog catching fire is super cool too!
"These ordinary souls might not seek to harm the living, but that didn’t make them kind. They wandered the Mortal Realm, refusing to enter the Reincarnation Cycle. Every voice was weeping. Everyone felt that they had been wronged.
In all the world, how many people went willingly to their death?"
This is haunting and beautiful and OUCH.
“If you want to wail about how horribly you’ve been wronged, go to the Yanluo Courts and bang on the drums there to voice your grievances,” Zhao Yunlan said, his face stern. “What are you crying at me for?”
and
“Legend says that when an antagonist’s opening monologue is too long, they pay for it with their lives.”
Never getting tired of ZYL being sassy at the supernatural either!
"Half squatting, Zhao Yunlan rudely asked, “What the hell are you?”"
Okay, this WAS rude. xD
“The only people I don’t dare offend are my mother and my wife. Which of them are you fit to run errands for?”
Does he mean Shen Wei or is he just straight-up talking out of his ass? xD xD
"The bird person gave him a strange look, then croaked, “‘West-northwest of the Western Sea, north-northwest of the Northern Sea, one hundred and thirty thousand li from the shore. Surrounded by unpassable waters… Push open the Heavenly Gates to enter the Heavenly Palace.’ What power! What greatness! Do you remember it still?”
Zhao Yunlan gave him a blank stare. “No. Even as a kid, I always failed my language arts classes.”"
This is both hilarious and also I love that later it turns out that he knew that it meant and was just bluffing. :D (I don't necessarily claim to know what exactly it means, on the other hand, lol.)
"The mere sight of bells had always given Zhao Yunlan goosebumps. Bells could serve as a medium, and generally had the ability to summon souls and gather spirits…and in the absence of a soul fire on his left shoulder, his ethereal andcorporeal souls weren’t as stable as other people’s.
As a result, he struck without hesitation, stomping on the bird man’s arm and shattering it. Then he bent over to pick up the golden bell.
But that palm-sized bell seemed to weigh half a ton, so heavy that the attempt to move it hurt his wrist."
I just love everything about this concept!
And another set of absolutely stunning descriptions! ♡♡♡ With the fire and the hands reaching out from graves, and the red moon.
"It had become clear to Zhao Yunlan that this night probably wasn’t going to end well for him, and he knew when to call it quits. Running toward the edge of the woods, he called, “Hey, don’t skip straight to a fight out of nowhere! You haven’t even told me why you lured me here. It can’t just be because you’re bored and wanted to fight me, right? I sit in an office all day long and barely exercise. It won’t be a fair fight. We can find a more civilized way to resolve this, don’t you think?”"
He knows he's in deep shit and he's still being sassy about it. xD
"The ghost fires pursuing Zhao Yunlan were relentless. Just as they were about to set his back ablaze, he grabbed the branch of a large tree, quickly pulled himself up, and then swung through the air and backflipped to the ground."
He's also clearly full of shit about the 'barely exercising' part. xD
"Zhao Yunlan’s eyes gleamed as things fell into place. Hints of dimples appeared on his face."
Zhao Yunlan's DIMPLES are distracting me from what he's actually doing. xD
"I’ve always had a pretty solid relationship with the yao."
AW. /no spoilers
"It was clearly a bad idea to let Zhao Yunlan continue guessing."
It always seems to be, yes. :D
"At some point, during everything that happened, he had cut his own finger and used the blood to draw a complicated motif across two paper talismans, half on each one."
So he can be smart af, actively hide how smart he is, run from danger, AND do this, damn, I love this guy.
"Having come up empty at the apartment, Shen Wei next raced to 4 Bright Avenue, just to find the building dark. The only ones working were a diligent group of ghosts.
Half-mad with worry, Shen Wei stood in the courtyard and took several deep breaths. Having calmed himself as much as possible, he cast his senses out to feel for Zhao Yunlan’s whereabouts…only to discover with a shock that Zhao Yunlan was heading right for him."
Srsly, SHEN WEI, SWEETIE, of course he went where you told him not to go, OF COURSE HE DID. (I also love that Shen Wei uses breathing to calm down, when he presumably doesn't even have to breathe? xD)
"The ghost-faced figure—the Chaos King of the Gui—calmly took hold of the Soul-Executing Blade, which was presently pointed at his chin. Wholly unafraid, he glanced down and smoothed out Zhao Yunlan’s clothing, which had been blown about haphazardly in the wind. He gave a light chuckle. “Seeing you, he’ll stop at nothing to get into your good graces; he can’t even be chased away. Seeing me, he attacked with that whip of his without a second thought. What a biased man.”"
I just love Mianmian's entire vibe, and also is he saying that he wishes Zhao Yunlan liked him too lol aw. xD
"As Ghost Face tossed Zhao Yunlan over, Shen Wei hurriedly banished his blade to keep from injuring him, then caught him steadily."
AW!! ♡
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Hee! That's awesome! :D
This is so morbidly funny to me, that Zhao Yunlan's imagination is as dramatic as he is. xD xDOkay, I LOVE the fact that Shen Wei only yelled at Zhao Yunlan about the first part. 'You're putting yourself in danger' is so much more important than 'you're lowkey literally destroying the world'. It's unhinged and beautiful. ♡♡♡
It's also a bit self-defeating, because yelling at ZYL about himself is never going to make him take care of himself, but yelling at him about endangering the world might actually work! *headdesk*
Does he mean Shen Wei or is he just straight-up talking out of his ass? xD xD
I'm pretty sure he does mean SW here.
This is both hilarious and also I love that later it turns out that he knew that it meant and was just bluffing. :D
Oh LOL, that's hilarious! :D
I just love Mianmian's entire vibe, and also is he saying that he wishes Zhao Yunlan liked him too lol aw. xD
Yeah, every single Mianmian appearance explains 100% why they made him SW's actual little brother in the drama, because that's EXACTLY the vibe he gives off. (Alas that novel!SW doesn't feel the same.)
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Damn, that's a fantastic point and you are 100% correct, and Shen Wei really needs to figure this out because it may indeed be the only way to keep Zhao Yunlan safe. xD
"Yeah, every single Mianmian appearance explains 100% why they made him SW's actual little brother in the drama, because that's EXACTLY the vibe he gives off. (Alas that novel!SW doesn't feel the same.)"
ITA!! I love how he means to say 'why does ZYL even like you?' and totally comes across as 'why doesn't ZYL like me??' - 100% obnoxiously adorable little brother behavior. xD
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Hee! That's awesome! I'm going to try not to answer you point by point, or I'll have to answer you in multiple comments, too, lol! ;-p
I remembered that the ghosts were not ghosts but creatures from the place of Great Disrespect, but I didn't remember that Zhao Yunlan didn't know about that! Oh YIKES.
Right? That's so disturbing, and it explains a lot about Daqing and SW's reactions. /o\
This is SO COOL, and must look really neat. :D
Yes! I really loved that detail, too. Accessibility! <3
So yeah, ~someone~ wants the Great Seal open asap, and apparently it's far too easy for ~the mysterious person~ to bait ZYL to do it for them - just give him something cool and showy to do. xD
LOLOL! When you put it like that, it's so ... *facepalms at ZYL, and in sympathy for SW (again)*
This is both hilarious and also I love that later it turns out that he knew that it meant and was just bluffing. :D
Ha, yes! Excellent point! :DDD
He knows he's in deep shit and he's still being sassy about it. xD
He only has one setting! Hee!
Srsly, SHEN WEI, SWEETIE, of course he went where you told him not to go, OF COURSE HE DID.
Ha! I can see why SW might be in denial about that, though. Because if you extrapolate that out, it doesn't lead anywhere good for ZYL's future safety (unless SW wants to try reverse psychology on him, which would also never work).
Mianmian's vibe is delightful, it's true! :DDD
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Hahah, and it's a really good setting tbf. :D :D
"Ha! I can see why SW might be in denial about that, though. Because if you extrapolate that out, it doesn't lead anywhere good for ZYL's future safety (unless SW wants to try reverse psychology on him, which would also never work)."
Ooooh, I like this point a lot, denial is the one explanation for this that makes sense to me right now!
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Heeee. ♡ I also love that Shen Wei was just sitting on the bed until NOON, like, whatever else the Emissary should probably be doing is obviously not half as important as watching Zhao Yunlan sleep. :D
"Shen Wei’s own gaze darkened, coming dangerously close to betraying the suppressed evil underneath. The hospital staff he handed Zhao Yunlan off to nearly trembled with fright. To them, his vibe came across as some low-key mobster in a movie—someone who could somehow be a vegetarian and a devout Buddhist and yet also a stone-cold killer."
*SNORT* :D I mean, it's not exactly right but not exactly wrong either. xD
"By the time they left the hospital, Zhao Yunlan, like some sort of unkillable cockroach, had adjusted to his blindness. He made a grab at the air, then said, “It’s dark out, right?”
It made Shen Wei nervous when Zhao Yunlan kept his thoughts to himself, so he tried to keep him talking. “How did you know?”
“The air feels a little moister and colder. I figured that meant the sun’s gone down.”"
I love ZYL so much, and this is so much his drama self, and also yep, ZYL thinking is a dangerous thing. xD
"As he got settled in the car, he began messing with the seat controls. First, he made it lie down flat, then he put it back up. Next, he explored the entire car with his hands. “Hey, I just realized that the passenger seat is indented. How come I never noticed it when I could see? Turns out there are some fun things about being blind. Did you know there’s a darkness experience exhibit downtown? The tickets cost 40 yuan, so really, I’m saving 40 yuan.”"
He's a toddler and I love his SO SO SO MUCH, GODS. :D :D :D
"This kind of revolutionary optimism was beyond Shen Wei’s comprehension, and he could only manage a faint semblance of a smile in response."
Shen Wei loves him too, lol, but with so much CONFUSION. xD ♡♡♡
"As he dropped Zhao Yunlan off right outside his building, Shen Wei told him to stay put. But after parking, he came back only to find that Zhao Yunlan had already made his way to the curb alone and was practicing walking in a straight line, though he was about to fling himself into the embrace of a utility pole.
Shen Wei rushed over and grabbed Zhao Yunlan around the waist before he could knock himself out. Suddenly being lifted into the air was an exciting experience while blind; Zhao Yunlan actually let out a delighted whistle, as if wanting Shen Wei to do it again."
Seeeeeeeeee, SHEN WEI, SWEETHEART, that's because he NEVER stays put, just like he didn't stay put last night. xD (And also everything about this is so damn cute, ahhh. :D)
"Patting his arm, Shen Wei leaned forward. “There are stairs up ahead. I’ll carry you on my back.”
Zhao Yunlan responded by stroking Shen Wei’s back and smiling, but he made no move to obey.
Gently, Shen Wei asked, “What is it? Get on.”
Feeling around for Shen Wei’s hand, Zhao Yunlan bent down to kiss the back of it. “How could I bear to let you carry me? What if I crush you with my weight?”"
WHY THEY SO SOFT, asdfghgfdhsjk. ♡♡♡
"That was, of course, absolute bullshit. Forget the number of paces—Zhao Yunlan was the kind of rough, careless person who couldn’t even find his own teacup and slippers without scrambling around first.
The truth, as Shen Wei knew perfectly well, was that he must have been silently counting while being led downstairs that afternoon."
I love that he did that, and I love it even more that Shen Wei knows that. :D
"Perhaps it was simply his personality, but somehow, no matter the circumstances, Zhao Yunlan always gave off an impression of “it’s no big deal.” Sometimes, even when whatever was happening was a big deal, people around him couldn’t help being affected by his attitude."
I just love him to pieces. :D (Not sure if these are still Shen Wei's thoughts or just narration, but either way, facts. :D)
“If you dare step on this lord’s tail, you’re fucking dead.”
xD :D :D
“Oh,” he said carelessly, “that feature’s been temporarily deactivated.”
I don't know how much of 'I FRAKKING LOVE ZYL' is too much, hahahah, but I do, and also I'm glad he assumes it's temporary (even if it's just as a joke). :D
“What happened?!” He shot an accusatory glance at Shen Wei.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Shen Wei said, “It’s my fault.”
Zhao Yunlan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “And how’s that, now?”
I know I make a big show of how Shen Wei SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, lol, but also it's not his fault, dammit, I don't know whether to laugh or cry either. (And I know he means it's his fault in the big BIG picture, where Zhao Yunlan only got attacked because of his connection to him, but still.)
"He reached out a hand but didn’t manage to touch anything. Daqing looked at that hand hanging in midair. With a disgusted expression that said “this lordly cat only deigns to humor you because you look pitiful,” the cat tilted his head and rubbed against Zhao Yunlan’s palm."
Lol, DQ, you love him a whole lot tho.
"Daqing silently curled up into a ball of fluff, turned his back, and completely ignored Zhao Yunlan.
It was Shen Wei who took Zhao Yunlan’s hand, lit the cigarette with a flick, and then pushed the ashtray in front of him."
I love sassy DQ, and also Shen Wei doesn't stop Zhao Yunlan from smoking, aw. ♡♡♡
"Zhao Yunlan gave it a moment’s thought and decided to redact some details of the previous night’s events."
Is he hiding things from Daqing or from Shen Wei? Or I guess from both of them for different reasons.
And I can see that the part when Ghost Face actually gives the bell to Shen Wei was cut from the final version? Now Shen Wei just has it.
"Instead, Shen Wei moved the bell out of reach. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to pick it up.”
Recalling what had happened the night before, Zhao Yunlan gloomily blew a smoke ring.
Daqing ducked his head and grabbed the bell from Shen Wei, then left through the window without another word."
I love that Daqing IS able to pick it up easily (and gloomily blowing a smoke ring as a reaction is A++).
"Instinct told Shen Wei that the next words out of Zhao Yunlan’s mouth would be indecent—and his instinct was absolutely correct."
xD :D :D
"Zhao Yunlan’s smile faded as he closed his eyes and leaned back against the sofa, listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen. In the darkness, a rare peace descended on him. This particular moment was almost enjoyable."
So domestic, aw. And I love that this feeling is the first thing that helps him see with his Heavenly Eye - later he needs to concentrate and breathe in order to relax the same way again. ♡
"What was to his left? The windowsill. And on the windowsill…a plant a friend had given him."
I love that Zhao Yunlan has a plant and that this plant is somehow still alive. :D Who even took care of it before Shen Wei? xD
"Zhao Yunlan never would have imagined that going blind would bring him the fortune of forcing his Heavenly Eye open."
Yeaaaah, the ~fortune~ was kind of the plan. :P
"More and more things became perceptible: first, it was the flowers on the windowsill, the cat fur on the sofa, the ancient texts on his bookshelf…and an antique painting hanging on his wall.
The Heavenly Eye seemed to only be able to see things that had life or spirit. He was still unable to see the sofa, the coffee table, or any of the things made in modern times that had no spirit to them."
I love that cat fur does have spirit (especially when frozen cabbage doesn't), hee. :D
"From the moment he’d embraced Shen Wei, a bright blood red had begun spilling outward from Shen Wei’s heart. It flowed throughout the absolute blackness of Shen Wei’s silhouette like molten lava, outlining a slim, graceful figure in Zhao Yunlan’s ink-black vision.
It was as if life had suddenly burst into existence.
Zhao Yunlan silently took this in for a while. When he finally spoke, it was to casually grumble, “What are you chopping? I don’t eat this. I want meat. I’m not a rabbit. As an injured person, I am petitioning for an improvement to my meals.”
Shen Wei chuckled indulgently and lifted the lid of a small pot beside him. A hearty aroma of meat wafted out. “Don’t be picky.”
As he said it, the fiery colors on his body softened. The bright flow of crimson took on a strikingly warm orange hue, like the first glimpse of the sun after the break of dawn."
THIS ENTIRE THING ohmygods. ♡♡♡ The black changing to red, yes, but also it's Zhao Yunlan's ridiculous banter and fake complaining that makes Shen Wei EVEN HAPPIER, I can't. ♡♡♡ (And of course he made the meat too. :D)
"His eyes were dark. When he looked down, they didn’t seem dull, only unspeakably deep.
After another stretch of silence, Zhao Yunlan leaned in closer and asked, “Do you think I’m hot?”
Shen Wei’s hands paused. “Do you have something proper to say or not? Stop messing around.”
“It’s perfectly proper!” Zhao Yunlan cleared his throat. “Comrade Shen Wei, consider this man beside you: an intellectual giant, a pioneer in his work, and a public servant who thinks only of the people, never himself. Do you think he’s hot?”
Shen Wei was momentarily speechless, but then he laughed quietly."
I love the contrast between what ZYL is thinking and what he's saying, and also he knows that being ridiculous just made Shen Wei happy, so he's just going to continue doing that. :D :D (And he's right, the light doesn't change. :D)
"Almost casually, he asked, “Would you ever lie to me?”
Shen Wei paused, back still to him.
“Would you?” Zhao Yunlan persisted.
Shen Wei kept facing away. After a moment, voice low, he said, “I will not lie to you, nor will I ever harm you.”
Zhao Yunlan observed Shen Wei’s back with his Heavenly Eye. As he watched, the light flowing through Shen Wei slowly dimmed, like a firework burning out. It had happened in just the time it took him to say a few sentences. An inexplicable sadness welled up in his heart."
This IS really sad, k.
"After saying that, he couldn’t bear to “look” at the light rising and falling on Shen Wei. He turned away, acting as though what he’d said was just idle chatter. He started rummaging through the kitchen shelves. “Where’s my beef jerky?” he mumbled. “I remember there being a bag of beef jerky here…”"
*WIBBLES* ♡♡♡ Also, Zhao Yunlan uses 'being annoying' to solve so many different issues, lol, truly a powerful strategy. xD
"Shen Wei’s hands were wet from handling the cabbage. Afraid of getting cabbage juice all over Zhao Yunlan, all he could do was extend an arm to break his fall. Zhao Yunlan fell heavily against his chest.
The apartment wasn’t very big, so the kitchen was very small. It was just barely suitable for one person, let alone two grown men. Shen Wei was obliged to stay in that position and circle his arms around in front of Zhao Yunlan to rinse them under the faucet. His chin rested naturally on Zhao Yunlan’s shoulder.
Zhao Yunlan was suddenly still and silent.
Once his hands were clean, Shen Wei let his arms hover around Zhao Yunlan as he steered him toward the door."
One way to shut ZYL up. :D BUT MOSTLY - Shen Wei's priorities are sweet and all, but also this is sooooo directly related to what Ghost Face just said, that Shen Wei's hands are not clean either, isn't it?? He wants to be even cleaner than he already is because of that. OUCH. ♡
“Even if you have jerky, it’s long since expired by now. Stop looking. I put some snacks on the table earlier. Eat those if you’re hungry, but don’t eat too much. Food’s almost ready.”
He knows him so well re: expired food, lmao. And of course he prepared snacks, d'awww. :D
"Lowering his gaze, Zhao Yunlan smiled. “I’m starving, but not for food.”
“Hmm?” Shen Wei paused. “What do you want to eat, then?”
Zhao Yunlan tilted his head and felt around for Shen Wei’s chin. Once he’d touched it, he lightly ran a fingertip from Shen Wei’s jaw to his ear, then leaned in. “You,” he murmured. “I want to eat you.”"
You WALKED RIGHT INTO THIS ONE, Shen Wei bb. xD :D
"As he was saying this, he happened to “look” directly at Shen Wei’s face. Zhao Yunlan’s eyes were very deep set, and when they were half-closed, the shadow of his eyelashes fell on the tall bridge of his nose. Even though Shen Wei was fully aware that Zhao Yunlan couldn’t see anything, it still gave the illusion of being gazed at with deep affection.
Under that gaze, Shen Wei felt like his very soul was trembling."
This is hot, and also he CAN see you, you just don't know that. :P
"“Why so nervous? You can try me out. I’m very gentle.”
Without a word, Shen Wei dumped him on the sofa and ran away."
Lol, and also, um, that's the problem, he is not gentle. xD
"Zhao Yunlan stretched out his legs and lounged on the sofa like a lord, contemplating the idea of ordering a pair of red candles. He could light them at the head of the bed in the middle of the night, creating a romantic wedding-night atmosphere."
Good luck lighting candles when you're blind. xD (I know he thinks it's temporary and he's right, lol, but still, don't. xD)
"Shen Wei, afraid he might be bored and restless from being unable to see, leaned against the headboard before bed and began reading a book to him. Shen Wei’s voice was gentle and soft, with a perfect deep resonance."
This is the sweetest damn thing.
"“Don’t look,” he whispered, lips against Shen Wei’s ear. “Turn off the lights.”
The room plunged into darkness."
I love how he doesn't even think, he just does it. :D And I just really, really love everything about this making out scene. ♡♡♡ My favorite Weilan making out scene, I think. :D
"His tone was downright oily as he said, “Mmm, it just takes one touch to get you hard? You miss me that much?”"
Oh, Zhao Yunlan, YOU HAVE NO IDEA. xD
"Zhao Yunlan’s fingers, which were busily trailing fire everywhere they touched Shen Wei, suddenly spelled out a message on his skin. Don’t move."
This way of communicating, ahhhhh, PERFECTION.
"“Think about it, you dummy.” Zhao Yunlan sighed. His fingers found Shen Wei’s hair and gently smoothed it."
This is so sweet, can't stop won't stop just quoting Weilan being sweet. :D
"“Are you worried for me?” Shen Wei asked quietly.
Zhao Yunlan lowered his head, following Shen Wei’s voice. “What do you think?”
Shen Wei’s grip tightened, and Zhao Yunlan found himself wrapped in a fierce embrace, with Shen Wei’s face buried in the crook of his neck."
AWWWWWWW. ♡ Yeah, the embrace doesn't sound comfortable at all, but Shen Wei's reaction is so damn cute. :D
Also I'm gonna answer my own question about Shen Wei'd pendant: lollipop wrapper > soul fire. :D ♡♡♡
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Yeah, I'm assuming both.
And I can see that the part when Ghost Face actually gives the bell to Shen Wei was cut from the final version? Now Shen Wei just has it.
There's no scene in the JJWXC version where he gives it to him, but SW later says that he did. Very weird either way!
I love that cat fur does have spirit (especially when frozen cabbage doesn't), hee. :D
RIGHT????
THIS ENTIRE THING ohmygods. ♡♡♡ The black changing to red, yes, but also it's Zhao Yunlan's ridiculous banter and fake complaining that makes Shen Wei EVEN HAPPIER, I can't. ♡♡♡ (And of course he made the meat too. :D)
Right? All of that is so sweet. :D
Lol, and also, um, that's the problem, he is not gentle. xD
Yeah, and ZYL on some level still doesn't seem to have grasped that?
Also I'm gonna answer my own question about Shen Wei'd pendant: lollipop wrapper > soul fire. :D ♡♡♡
100% with you on that!
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I wonder if he called in sick to the university. Or if he's quit the university by now. /is still unable to compartmentalise, oops
It made Shen Wei nervous when Zhao Yunlan kept his thoughts to himself (from the excerpt you quoted)
OH, SHEN WEI! He's in so much trouble.
I don't know how much of 'I FRAKKING LOVE ZYL' is too much, hahahah, but I do, and also I'm glad he assumes it's temporary (even if it's just as a joke). :D
I know, right?! It's like the eyedrops line in the drama -- just perfect insouciance in the face of difficulties. *LOVES*
I know I make a big show of how Shen Wei SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, lol, but also it's not his fault, dammit, I don't know whether to laugh or cry either.
Haha, I know. This actually made me wonder whether SW ever contemplates shutting ZYL into a box where he cannot get into trouble!
I love that Daqing IS able to pick it up easily (and gloomily blowing a smoke ring as a reaction is A++).
Yes yes yes to both these things! :D
but also it's Zhao Yunlan's ridiculous banter and fake complaining that makes Shen Wei EVEN HAPPIER, I can't. ♡♡♡
:DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
but also this is sooooo directly related to what Ghost Face just said, that Shen Wei's hands are not clean either, isn't it?? He wants to be even cleaner than he already is because of that. OUCH. ♡
Ahhh, I didn't even make that connection. That's heartbreaking!! Nooooo!
Also I'm gonna answer my own question about Shen Wei'd pendant: lollipop wrapper > soul fire. :D
1000%! :D
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Literally grabbing him like a wayward cat XD
Which of the supernatural imagery is your favorite
The life “suddenly burst[ing] into existence” in Shen Wei. *sob*
Did you enjoy the Daqing and Sangzan interaction, or do you think Sangzan deserves better treatment?
Sang Zan deserves so much better. Maybe I would be more lenient if making fun of non-native speakers wasn’t a whole Thing in multiple Priest novels, but with the way it is, it rubs me the wrong way.
Do you think Shen Wei should have known that Zhao Yunlan didn't listen to him and went to West Plum Village?
Yes.
Which contents of Shen Wei's pendant do you prefer - soul fire or a lollipop wrapper?
I really like the idea of something as precious and powerful as a soul in a pendant. But the wrapper is such a great detail precisely because it has no inherent value, instead gaining value through what it represents to Shen Wei. What a hard question! I’m torn.
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Heeee, what else do you do with a wayward Zhao Yunlan. xD :D And just like a cat (or maybe a puppy - some cats would be pissed) he's excited about it and goes 'do it again'. xD
"The life “suddenly burst[ing] into existence” in Shen Wei. *sob*"
IKR. ♡♡♡ *sobs too* Such a gorgeous way to show happiness and peace and contentment.
"Sang Zan deserves so much better. Maybe I would be more lenient if making fun of non-native speakers wasn’t a whole Thing in multiple Priest novels, but with the way it is, it rubs me the wrong way."
I can definitely see how it's a problem in the larger context. I can forgive Daqing in-world just because he was genuinely distracted with other things and he's an asshole to everyone, but it's not that easy to forgive the narrative itself. *pokes it*
"Yes."
Hah! *feels validated* I just want to look Shen Wei in the eye and ask him "honestly, how did you not expect this??" xD
"I really like the idea of something as precious and powerful as a soul in a pendant. But the wrapper is such a great detail precisely because it has no inherent value, instead gaining value through what it represents to Shen Wei. What a hard question! I’m torn."
I think liking both of them equally is the best of both worlds - no need to choose just one! :D I do love the fact that Shen Wei gave all the value and meaning to the wrapper, ITA! Like, it was discarded before he picked it up, and it really didn't need to be kept safe at all, by anyone, and he just wanted to do that. ♡♡♡
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Haha, OMG!
Maybe I would be more lenient if making fun of non-native speakers wasn’t a whole Thing in multiple Priest novels, but with the way it is, it rubs me the wrong way.
Yeah, agreed, that definitely makes it worse. :(
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Hee! So true! :D
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I think I prefer the sweetie wrapper, because that means that Shen Wei picked it up and treasured it for thousands of years, though it was just a piece of paper, whereas I expect the soul fire would have had some practical application.
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I think his reaction had the same reason as Shen Wei's - he cares about Zhao Yunlan a lot (not that he will usually say it in this many words :P) and gets angry when he puts himself in danger. Also I guess supernatural stuff doesn't count as human concerns?
"I think I prefer the sweetie wrapper, because that means that Shen Wei picked it up and treasured it for thousands of years, though it was just a piece of paper, whereas I expect the soul fire would have had some practical application."
Same! ♡♡♡ There was no actual reason to keep it safe other than what it means for Shen Wei, and I just love that so much.
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Yes! It's literally just a memento. So romantic! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
(It makes me wonder whether Shen Wei ever saw people throwing away sweetie wrappers, once he'd arrived in modern Haixing, and had even more feelings about the significance of the special one he carries with him. <333)
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Did you enjoy the Daqing and Sangzan interaction, or do you think Sangzan deserves better treatment?
I don't enjoy the novel making fun of Sangzan's language issues, but Daqing wasn't any more of an arse to him than he generally is to others, so I wasn't bothered too much here.
Do you think Shen Wei should have known that Zhao Yunlan didn't listen to him and went to West Plum Village?
Oh, 100%. Sometimes I really don't understand him.
Which contents of Shen Wei's pendant do you prefer - soul fire or a lollipop wrapper?
No competition whatsoever, it's the lollipop wrapper. I feel like the soul-in-a-pendant thing is a bit of a fantasy cliché, and also, it being important in its own right makes it less meaningful that SW is keeping it. Whereas the drama's pendant is really only a symbol of SW's feelings for ZYL, and imbued with meaning only because of that. Which is also why ZYL opening it after SW's death can stand in for a declaration of love! ♥ ♥ ♥
No, what the Ghost Army Summons brought forth were things from a place devoid of light that was deeper than the Huangquan and darker than Hell: "The lightless land that held the prison of the Great Disrespect."
Oh, ouch! And ZYL doesn't know - and SW didn't tell him, either, even when nearly slapping him for that spell, which I really don't get. Wouldn't he want him to know what forces he was messing with?
With Shen Wei keeping watch downstairs, the things Zhao Yunlan had called forth hadn't dared cross the line. But by summoning the Ghost Army, it was as if Zhao Yunlan, the gifted troublemaker, had drawn a vial of blood from the Great Seal, which was already crumbling.
Oof! And that's two more things SW didn't tell ZYL. I have to say really don't understand SW - if he wants ZYL to be careful, shouldn't he be telling him about the dangers?!
The room's walls were inlaid with large sea dragon pearls that kept the space as bright as day while not harming the souls who could be hurt by sunlight.
That sounds gorgeous!
"Oh, henlo, cat slutterer!"
Ha! Backfired! Daqing deserves that. (Messing with a language learner like that really is not on! But Daqing takes the backfiring with good grace, distracted as he is, so I'm not as angry at him as I might be.)
(Also, I think the translator handled Sangzan's mispronunciations pretty well! In Chinese he gets all the tones horribly wrong, which, I feel you, Sangzan! Tones are hard.)
Who had put the book there? Why was Zhao Yunlan the one who'd come across it?
You know, in comparison to this, the drama's Zhang Shi sneaking the Kunlun book into the library is downright benign. (And that's another element repurposed completely differently for the drama!)
Zhao Yunlan was doing well for himself. He had food, shelter, and more-he even had some spare time to think about love and lust. Things were going smoothly for him. The black cat was lazy by nature, and many human concerns were beyond him, but seeing Zhao Yunlan simply be a dumbass youngster with many joys in his life was very gratifying for Daqing. This wasn't a boat he wanted to see rocked.
Awww! I love Daqing's protective/parental feelings about ZYL.
"Legend says that when an antagonist's opening monologue is too long, they pay for it with their lives."
♥ ♥ ♥
The person's face was crammed full of wrinkles, and his jutting nose took up almost half of his face, shoving his other features into what little space was left. With nowhere to go, they huddled together awkwardly.
That is such a vivid description!
And also, it's completely amazing that this guy has to be the novel's parallel to the drama's Ya Qing. *boggles*
"The only people I don't dare offend are my mother and my wife. Which of them are you fit to run errands for?"
a) LOL, and b) ugh, "wife". (No pun this time, just plain 老婆.)
In his daze, it seemed as though he could hear the sound of mountains collapsing. The center of a huge pillar that reached all the way to the sky fractured, and from someplace up high, an endless stream of boulders tumbled down. They rumbled and roared as if the sky itself were on the verge of falling.
!!!!!
And now we've got the equivalent of the drama's blindness arc - again completely different, and yet.
Shen Wei's own gaze darkened, coming dangerously close to betraying the suppressed evil underneath. The hospital staff he handed Zhao Yunlan off to nearly trembled with fright. To them, his vibe came across as some low-key mobster in a movie-someone who could somehow be a vegetarian and a devout Buddhist and yet also a stone-cold killer.
I find this so fascinating, and also very cool. This is one of the things I really like about novel!SW, as his own character who has nothing to do with drama!SW.
Did you know there's a darkness experience exhibit downtown? The tickets cost 40 yuan, so really, I'm saving 40 yuan.
This is so ZYL! ♥
Suddenly being lifted into the air was an exciting experience while blind; Zhao Yunlan actually let out a delighted whistle, as if wanting Shen Wei to do it again.
AWWWW! That's so cute.
The truth, as Shen Wei knew perfectly well, was that he must have been silently counting while being led downstairs that afternoon. Perhaps it was simply his personality, but somehow, no matter the circumstances, Zhao Yunlan always gave off an impression of "it's no big deal."
This is so incredibly ZYL, I love that. And I adore that SW knows all this about him!
"Oh," he said carelessly, "that feature's been temporarily deactivated."
♥ ♥ ♥
"I have it," Shen Wei offered, pulling a little golden bell covered in dust from his pocket. "Are you talking about this?"
... how does he have it?! *confused* Last we saw, Ghost Face picked it up. (Though the JJWXC version answers that - see below.)
He could hear the sound of vegetables being chopped, but Shen Wei was invisible to him, perfectly blending in with the darkness-or maybe not so perfectly. A moment's study showed him to be even darker than the surrounding blackness. The only light about him came from the tiny pendant around his neck. The ball of fire in the pendant was identical to the sphere of light on Zhao Yunlan's right shoulder.
1) What a visual! and also 2) Ooooh! Pendant reveal! I'm so fascinated that ZYL sees that and then does and says absolutely nothing about it.
It was as if life had suddenly burst into existence.
AWWWWW!
"I will not lie to you, nor will I ever harm you."
Oh, Shen Wei. And also, oh ZYL, for asking.
Zhao Yunlan smiled. "If it's you, I'll believe anything you say."
Another line that made it into the drama in a completely different context! Or at least I think so - maybe there's another line more closely corresponding to the drama line I have in mind; I guess we'll see in a future chapter.
Version comparison:
Da Qing's irises contract, and not waiting for Zhao Yunlan to reply, it interrupts, "Why is this with you?"
Shen Wei looks at Zhao Yunlan, pauses, and says subtly, "This... the person who sent you back last night gave it to me."
(The fan translation calls Daqing "it", which reads very wrong in English, because the novel does use 它 for Daqing.)
(In chapter 3 of the official translation, it says "Zhao Yunlan had been born with his third eye open"; for the corresponding chapter 6 of the JJWXC version, the fan translation says "Since birth, Zhao Yunlan has had the ability to see ghosts", and the Chinese says he was born with 阴阳眼 "yin-yang eyes". This does not help with my confusion, unfortunately!)
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Yes, this. Me too!
Which is also why ZYL opening it after SW's death can stand in for a declaration of love! ♥ ♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♥
And ZYL doesn't know - and SW didn't tell him, either, even when nearly slapping him for that spell, which I really don't get. Wouldn't he want him to know what forces he was messing with?
ZYL was being so flippant, maybe it just didn't seem possible to have a serious conversation? Especially when Shen Wei was so shaken by it all?
I have to say really don't understand SW - if he wants ZYL to be careful, shouldn't he be telling him about the dangers?!
I guess, also, Shen Wei is used to thousands of years of people taking his word as law. He's really not used to people handwaving away his warnings!!
You know, in comparison to this, the drama's Zhang Shi sneaking the Kunlun book into the library is downright benign. (And that's another element repurposed completely differently for the drama!)
Yes, that's one thing they never completely explain in the show (Zhang Shi's agenda), but I love that they kept it there (and took out the "tempt ZYL to do something stupidly dangerous" element ;-p).
Awww! I love Daqing's protective/parental feelings about ZYL.
They're so good. <3 <3 <3
And also, it's completely amazing that this guy has to be the novel's parallel to the drama's Ya Qing. *boggles*
Haha, right?
1) What a visual! and also 2) Ooooh! Pendant reveal! I'm so fascinated that ZYL sees that and then does and says absolutely nothing about it.
Right? Not a single peep of "hey, babe, what are you doing with my soul fire? how did you get it?" Not even a syllable!
Another line that made it into the drama in a completely different context!
You're thinking of the hospital when they're fighting, right? That's what I thought of.
And during said investigation, DQ concludes from ZYL being able to read the book that "someone's soul is gradually awakening, little by little" - which doesn't happen in the official translation.
Oh, huh. I wonder why they cut that.
Thanks so much for the comparison notes! <3
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Same, and I also like that later he does repeat the request three times when Sangzan asks him too. It doesn't say what attitude he has while doing that, lol, but I choose to believe he was kind and patient enough. :)
"Oh, 100%. Sometimes I really don't understand him."
Ikr, Shen Wei knows the weirdest small things about Zhao Yunlan (and it's really endearing and I adore it to pieces ♡), but then he doesn't seem to know that ZYL would immediately do exactly what he's told not to do. *side-eyes Shen Wei a bit* :P
"Which is also why ZYL opening it after SW's death can stand in for a declaration of love! ♥ ♥ ♥"
*SOBS* It really does, there's nothing else it could mean. ♡♡♡ 100% agree with everything about said about the pendant!
"Oof! And that's two more things SW didn't tell ZYL. I have to say really don't understand SW - if he wants ZYL to be careful, shouldn't he be telling him about the dangers?!"
Ikr? Like, I'm really into 'SW doesn't care about anything other than ZYL's safety, so he doesn't even think about the fate of the world at that point', but also ZYL's safety would improve considerably if he has the full picture. He could have at least told him later when he's more calm and clear-headed.
"Ha! Backfired! Daqing deserves that. (Messing with a language learner like that really is not on! But Daqing takes the backfiring with good grace, distracted as he is, so I'm not as angry at him as I might be.)"
LOL, I feel like Daqing might even be amused by the backfiring. (Or he would be if he wasn't so preoccupied with other things.)
"In Chinese he gets all the tones horribly wrong, which, I feel you, Sangzan! Tones are hard."
Tones are some frakking superpower, honestly. I used to think speaking Chinese at all was a superpower before I found out how unexpectedly easy it can be, but tones, DAMN, I'm still at the point where I get excited when I can hear the difference without it being pointed out to me. xD Which I guess it's a step up from 'what exactly am I supposed to hear?' xD
"Awww! I love Daqing's protective/parental feelings about ZYL."
I have so so much love for this. ♡♡♡ If only ZYL's father was even 10% of the father that DQ is.
"And also, it's completely amazing that this guy has to be the novel's parallel to the drama's Ya Qing. *boggles*"
In this scene at least, yep, lol. In general, there is a female elder of the crow tribe, as far as I remember, but she's also not Ya Qing-like at all.
"AWWWW! That's so cute."
I kinda really want to see Shen Wei just swinging absolutely delighted Zhao Yunlan around until he's had enough. :D :D :D
"Ooooh! Pendant reveal! I'm so fascinated that ZYL sees that and then does and says absolutely nothing about it."
This is where "Would you ever lie to me?" came from, isn't it? Also, ZYL who thinks quietly is more dangerous than ZYL who says and does things, lol, which is Shen Wei's observation, not mine, but still 100% correct. xD
"And during said investigation, DQ concludes from ZYL being able to read the book that "someone's soul is gradually awakening, little by little" - which doesn't happen in the official translation."
Hmmm, they changed it completely to DQ having no idea why ZYL was able to read it, and thinking of ZYL as a mortal. Which makes a lot less sense than the original, considering DQ even already talked to ZYL about his past lives?
"As I said above, the JJWXC version answers the question of why SW has the bell - the official translation has the question, but skips the answer (possibly an error?)"
It kinda has to be an error? Or I guess just another secret. (The summaries that I take chapter numbers from said this: "Shen Wei angrily demands from the Ghost Face to release Zhao Yunlan, which he does without arguing. He also gives Shen Wei the bell.", so I thought the scene of him giving the bell to Shen Wei would actually be there, but I guess they summarized it retroactively, from Shen Wei answering the question later.
"When Zhao Yunlan's heavenly eye opens, the fan translation calls it the "third eye" instead. I checked the Chinese - it's 天眼 "heavenly eye" on JJWXC, but then it's also 天眼 when ZYL uses a talisman to open GCC's third eye in chapter 52. *confused*
(In chapter 3 of the official translation, it says "Zhao Yunlan had been born with his third eye open"; for the corresponding chapter 6 of the JJWXC version, the fan translation says "Since birth, Zhao Yunlan has had the ability to see ghosts", and the Chinese says he was born with 阴阳眼 "yin-yang eyes". This does not help with my confusion, unfortunately!)"
Ooooooh, this does help with my confusion! (Again, I saw in the summaries that it's just called third eye, but didn't have any other details, so thanks for these!) The way I see it, in the original version he was born with the ability to see ghosts, which is NOT the third eye, and you need the third eye to see other things. In the official version, the ability to see ghosts IS the third eye, and to see other things you need something more than that.
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Which of the supernatural imagery is your favorite
I really loved the description (and meaningfulness) of the light inside Shen Wei. It was so soft and so romantic and so poignant, aww! If they can't manage to communicate in words, at least they have this (even if Shen Wei doesn't know they have this ;-p).
Do you think Shen Wei should have known that Zhao Yunlan didn't listen to him and went to West Plum Village?
It really did take him surprisingly long to catch on. I think a) he should have known from the start, and b) when he didn't find ZYL at home, he should have immediately realised where he was.
Notes on the lollipop wrapper included below.
My notes:
Ahh, I love the description of the souls parting before SW like duckweed pushed aside. That's so evocatively insubstantial. <3 Also, the fact that below the Huangquan there isn't even water, just darkness. So eerie!
Also very happy to see that there are consequences for ZYL's sorcery. The revelation that the ghost army were actually youchu was really shocking, even if SW deals with the escapees relatively easily. And the weakening seal is super ominous. Now, if we can only get ZYL and SW talking about it!
Thus, from the very beginning, humans were born with original sin. Humanity’s lust for tyranny and destruction was rooted within it. -- Ooh, I like that definition of original sin.
I really love the description of the sea dragon pearl lighting, and that it's an accommodation that makes the space ghost-friendly. Nice!
Before Shen Wei’s identity had been revealed, he’d kept avoiding Zhao Yunlan. Thinking back on it now, someone had orchestrated their meeting, putting him right in Shen Wei’s path.
This is such a contrast to the drama, where their running into each other on campus was a total coincidence. (The Shadow Man & Zhu Jiu didn't know who Shen Wei was at that stage.)
Zhao Yunlan felt as if he were standing over a massive vortex. There was more going on in it than he could see -- that sums everything up nicely, really! :D
And then we get the parallel of ZYL walking through the fog, in which it's "impossible to see more than a meter ahead" just after Shen Wei has been walking down near the Great Seal where "It was impossible to see where you had come from or where you were going." Both of them wandering in the dark!
ZYL: “You were the peddler just now?”
Wait, is he saying the Crow guy is Wang Xiangyang? That's what it sounds like to me. *confused* (Incidentally, the bird person reminds me of the works of NZ artist Bill Hammond. /random)
Furious, the bird person sneered, “Screw the Netherworld! I’d never stoop to taking orders from them!” -- so he's working for the Chaos King? Are there just the three factions: the SID, the Netherworld, and the Chaos King's group? Or will more emerge? /mostly a rhetorical question :-)
It was clearly a bad idea to let Zhao Yunlan continue guessing. -- Haha, everyone comes to the same conclusion.
A thunderous explosion arose out of nowhere as a dragon of fire took shape. -- oooh, pretty!
The color of the firelight surrounding the bell suddenly changed, as though thousands of spotlights had converged. Zhao Yunlan closed his eyes at once, but it was already too late. -- that's where hubris gets you! (The similarities and contrasts with the Ye Zun stand-off in the park (drama ep 20) are so interesting; how and why he got there, the fact that Zhu Hong is there as well, that Zhao Yunlan effectively blinds himself in the drama, accidentally, because he has to use the Dial for self- and Zhu Hong- defence...)
The Chaos King is wonderfully bratty. :D :D :D
Awww, Shen Wei keeping vigil at ZYL's bedside! Iconic! (And then it says "The sun was due south by the time his fingers suddenly twitched. Shen Wei, who had started to get anxious, took hold of his hand." and the "started" made me genuinely lol.)
Ahhhhhhhhhhh, blindness arc! I love blind!ZYL so much, both versions. How cheerful and adaptable and rolling-with-the-punches he is (just like when he finds himself 10k years away from home in the drama). *hearts him* "After half a day of being withdrawn while adjusting to his new blindness, Zhao Yunlan was blossoming again." YES!! I also love that Shen Wei immediately takes him to the hospital (both versions).
Shen Wei’s own gaze darkened, coming dangerously close to betraying the suppressed evil underneath. -- it feels so weird to me to describe it as evil when it's so successfully repressed, because the forcible repression is so essentially virtuous it kind of negates the "evil", imo. I feel like "suppressed potential for evil" would work better for me. Don't know if I'm making sense here, though.
Love Shen Wei deliberately stepping heavily so ZYL can hear him. Aww.
Perhaps it was simply his personality, but somehow, no matter the circumstances, Zhao Yunlan always gave off an impression of “it’s no big deal.”
I love him so much!!!! :D :D :D
"That feature's been temporarily disabled" is the novel equivalent to the eyedrops line in the drama. *loves* <3 <3 <3
Zhao Yunlan gave it a moment’s thought and decided to redact some details of the previous night’s events. -- haha, he just got scolded yesterday; he doesn't want to risk it again? Or is it more than that?
Awwwwwwwwww, Daqing's bell(s)!! <3333
Instinct told Shen Wei that the next words out of Zhao Yunlan’s mouth would be indecent—and his instinct was absolutely correct.
LOL!!
The soul light in the pendant made me laugh because buried in my "fic ideas" doc from loooooong before I ever read the novel is this: AU soulmate-ish. Bb!Shen Wei kept Zhao Yunlan’s heart (freely given). DQ: You’re sniffing around like he has pockets full of catnip.
SW took it out and held it cupped in his hands: the soft pulse of energy and affection that had kept him company for 10k years.
What happens when SW puts his necklace (AKA Zhao Yunlan’s heart) around Zhao Yunlan’s neck? This is why he’s always felt heartless and empty.
LOL!! Clearly the vibe came across loud and clear in the drama, even if it wasn't the actual answer. (I will never bother writing this now.)
But actually, one of the reasons I prefer the lollipop wrapper is that when it's the soul light it muddies the water about what draws ZYL to SW. What if ZYL is only/partly attracted to his own soul, rather than Shen Wei himself?? DNW!
The back-hug in the kitchen illustration may be my favourite so far! <333333
ZYL seeing SW with his heavenly eye reminds me of (in the drama) the membrane in the kitchen, before the kitchen knife scene: I wonder if the membrane represents SW's secrets, somehow...
Haha, ZYL knocking over the broom and nearly falling on his face! At least in the drama he just fumbles his lollipop container. :D
Zhao Yunlan stretched out his legs and lounged on the sofa like a lord, contemplating the idea of ordering a pair of red candles. He could light them at the head of the bed in the middle of the night, creating a romantic wedding-night atmosphere. That might be what it would take to coax a certain gentleman out of his clothes.
Ooh, I wonder if this "romantic wedding-night atmosphere" scheme got translated into drama!ZYL's hairstyle change...?
I really loved the communication via writing on the skin! So intimate and immediate. <3 <3 <3 But otoh I didn't much like ZYL calling SW "dummy" and explaining obvious things to him. I want SW to be smart, too! *pouts* /compartmentalisation fail, probably, oops
“Your status is high enough that you didn’t need to ever get involved with the other side,” said Zhao Yunlan.
Uhh, which other side? (I may have lost focus... /o\)
There was so much to love in these chapters. :D I really enjoyed all the Weilan softness and discoveries, even if ZYL is now keeping tons of secrets just like SW.
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Yesssssss. ♡♡♡ (And hey, Zhao Yunlan doesn't know even more things, so they're kinda even. xD)
"It really did take him surprisingly long to catch on. I think a) he should have known from the start, and b) when he didn't find ZYL at home, he should have immediately realised where he was."
Ikr? I'm so confused that he didn't. And then he also didn't find him at the SID and still didn't realize what happened? He never caught on, he was still casting a ~locator spell~ when ZYL got brought back? Idk how. *pokes Shen Wei* xD
"Ahh, I love the description of the souls parting before SW like duckweed pushed aside. That's so evocatively insubstantial. <3 Also, the fact that below the Huangquan there isn't even water, just darkness. So eerie!"
ITA! There's so much wonderful and eerie imagery in these chapters that I forgot about this one until I was writing the questions. It got overshadowed by the fog and fire and Shen Wei's light for me, but it's so gorgeous in itself! ♡
"This is such a contrast to the drama, where their running into each other on campus was a total coincidence. (The Shadow Man & Zhu Jiu didn't know who Shen Wei was at that stage.)"
In the drama no one had anything to gain by throwing them at each other. But I like that both meetings happenend because of Xiao Guo being a disaster in the window. :D
"And then we get the parallel of ZYL walking through the fog, in which it's "impossible to see more than a meter ahead" just after Shen Wei has been walking down near the Great Seal where "It was impossible to see where you had come from or where you were going." Both of them wandering in the dark!"
I didn't catch that at all!! Ahhhhh, thanks for pointing it out, it's so beautiful, I LOVE IT. ♡♡♡
"Wait, is he saying the Crow guy is Wang Xiangyang? That's what it sounds like to me. *confused*"
The peddler who just sang the song about wanting to buy body parts. :)
"(Incidentally, the bird person reminds me of the works of NZ artist Bill Hammond. /random)"
Oooooh, so cool! I can totally see this as the crow yao aesthetic! (On a completely opposite end of the spectrum, I kinda pictured something like the nose person from The Owl House. xD)
"(And then it says "The sun was due south by the time his fingers suddenly twitched. Shen Wei, who had started to get anxious, took hold of his hand." and the "started" made me genuinely lol.)"
Hahah, maybe he spent most of this time pining and not being anxious. xD xD (And also I adore the instant hand-holding, AWW. ♡♡♡)
"I love blind!ZYL so much, both versions. How cheerful and adaptable and rolling-with-the-punches he is (just like when he finds himself 10k years away from home in the drama). *hearts him*"
SAME! ♡♡♡ And yep, he just is like that, isn't he, no matter the circumstances. :D :D
"it feels so weird to me to describe it as evil when it's so successfully repressed, because the forcible repression is so essentially virtuous it kind of negates the "evil", imo. I feel like "suppressed potential for evil" would work better for me. Don't know if I'm making sense here, though."
It does make sense! But I think it's just about his ~evil nature~ (whatever exactly that means in this mythology, to be born an ~evil being~ and have no choice in the matter), and not about being morally evil.
"Love Shen Wei deliberately stepping heavily so ZYL can hear him. Aww."
Yesss, and also the implication that he normally steps softly was really sweet to me! (Even if it's also obvious - it's Shen Wei, what else would he do. :))
""That feature's been temporarily disabled" is the novel equivalent to the eyedrops line in the drama. *loves* <3 <3 <3"
Oh, hee, YEP!! ♡ (And I like it a lot better that the conversation is with Daqing and not with his father. :D)
"But actually, one of the reasons I prefer the lollipop wrapper is that when it's the soul light it muddies the water about what draws ZYL to SW. What if ZYL is only/partly attracted to his own soul, rather than Shen Wei himself?? DNW!"
I prefer the lollipop wrapper in general, for many reasons, but I don't think this is the case? Because Kunlun loved Shen Wei before he had his soul fire. So yeah, in the present ZYL is most likely drawn to Shen Wei for reasons he doesn't understand, but I think it's just because of the memories he lost, not the soul fire.
And I LOVE that you had an AU idea that is so close to the novel, that's so cool! :D :D :D (And the fact that novel!ZYL does offer his heart, twice, even if only metaphorically, makes it even closer. :D)
"The back-hug in the kitchen illustration may be my favourite so far! <333333"
It has absolutely stunning fanart too! ♡♡♡ (OP's tumblr this time.)
"ZYL seeing SW with his heavenly eye reminds me of (in the drama) the membrane in the kitchen, before the kitchen knife scene: I wonder if the membrane represents SW's secrets, somehow..."
Ohhh, I can totally see it actually being the equivalent! You get vaguely similar visuals with much less cgi. xD xD (Even though the kitchen scene is obviously in the novel later, but I don't think it has the membrane. Or I may be forgetting it.)
"Ooh, I wonder if this "romantic wedding-night atmosphere" scheme got translated into drama!ZYL's hairstyle change...?"
!!! I would love if that's the case. :D
"I really loved the communication via writing on the skin! So intimate and immediate. <3 <3 <3"
Ikrrrrr. ♡♡♡
"But otoh I didn't much like ZYL calling SW "dummy" and explaining obvious things to him. I want SW to be smart, too! *pouts* /compartmentalisation fail, probably, oops"
I think he mostly does it this way because he just found out how much Shen Wei enjoys when he's being annoying. :D :D (I know it kinda directly says that Shen Wei didn't understand the situation until ZYL told him, but he only had like a minute and was very distracted by other things - I think he would understand it himself very quickly and without any problems.)
"Uhh, which other side? (I may have lost focus... /o\)"
I'm so confused about this too! Like, I'm assuming it's about ZYL dealing with different people in the Netherworld than Shen Wei does (which is true, especially later), but they're not 'the other side', they're just not the same people? And it doesn't have much to do with the people who are against Shen Wei - they ARE the ones he normally works with, not any other side at all? So does he mean something else entirely? Yeah, I have no answer to this still, and I spent like 5 minutes thinking about it when I first read it, and then yesterday again. xD
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Everything about their first meeting is so different! Because drama!SW has no reason to avoid ZYL, and would have LOVED to meet him earlier. *g*
And then we get the parallel of ZYL walking through the fog, in which it's "impossible to see more than a meter ahead" just after Shen Wei has been walking down near the Great Seal where "It was impossible to see where you had come from or where you were going." Both of them wandering in the dark!
Oooh, great catch, that's a fantastic parallel! :D
The soul light in the pendant made me laugh because buried in my "fic ideas" doc from loooooong before I ever read the novel is this
OMG, wow! That's fascinating. Yeah, you totally picked up on the vibes they put in there!
LOL!! Clearly the vibe came across loud and clear in the drama, even if it wasn't the actual answer. (I will never bother writing this now.)
But actually, one of the reasons I prefer the lollipop wrapper is that when it's the soul light it muddies the water about what draws ZYL to SW. What if ZYL is only/partly attracted to his own soul, rather than Shen Wei himself?? DNW!
Yeah, that's a good point! When SW is actually carrying a part of ZYL around with himself, you'd expect there to be some draw even if there was absolutely nothing between them otherwise! (Which ... makes me wonder about an AU in which the soulfire pendant ends up in someone else's hands. Mianmian's? Idk!)
ZYL seeing SW with his heavenly eye reminds me of (in the drama) the membrane in the kitchen, before the kitchen knife scene: I wonder if the membrane represents SW's secrets, somehow...
Maybe? Personally I wonder if there's something in the novel's kitchen scene that will make things clearer. (Probably shouldn't get my hopes up. *g*)
Ooh, I wonder if this "romantic wedding-night atmosphere" scheme got translated into drama!ZYL's hairstyle change...?
Oooh! Wedding vibes, yes! That makes sense! \o/
Uhh, which other side? (I may have lost focus... /o\)
Glad I'm not the only one who isn't clear on that!
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hands-down, my favorite supernatural imagery is the warm light inside Shen Wei. the blacker-than-vantablack blackness being warmed to reds and pinks by Yunlan himself... his feelings for Yunlan being the only part of him that approaches 'alive'...
I don't entirely appreciate Da Qing teasing Sangzan about his language-learning, although I did chuckle about it backfiring. But (and I kind of remember the same dynamic with Guo Changcheng at the hospital during the Sundial arc?) it seems that he was ultimately patient when asking about the book. And I love that, asshole cats aside, working for the SID represents Sangzan's best life... and that Yunlan got coffee stains on an antique/magical book.
(also I think I saw someone say that in Chinese, Sangzan's difficulty is expressed by getting the tones all wrong? big mood Sangzan.)
I don't know if Shen Wei should have known Yunlan wouldn't listen, but he shouldn't have been surprised about it, you know? and Shen Wei did basically the same thing to him. They are going to have to learn to cope with that about each other: you cannot keep them from rushing off into danger by telling them not to.
Pendant: LOLLIPOP WRAPPER. omg. That. wrapper. Especially given the, umm, Symbolism. of the lollipop scene. And just the 'you get to be a real boy' of it all.. but when it comes down to it, it was just this little ordinary thing, a literal piece of rubbish, that meant so much to Shen Wei and would mean absolutely nothing to anyone else, because it was associated with that one particular moment in time and that one person... I mean 'yeah, have one of my actual souls' is profound but. You know?
(agreed that it's odd that it didn't strike Yunlan as odd that Shen Wei seemed to have his left shoulder fire in his pendant...)
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Yep, I looked it up, that's how it is in Chinese. Makes so much sense!
but he shouldn't have been surprised about it, you know?
RIGHT????? Like, has he met ZYL?!
it was just this little ordinary thing, a literal piece of rubbish, that meant so much to Shen Wei and would mean absolutely nothing to anyone else, because it was associated with that one particular moment in time and that one person... I mean 'yeah, have one of my actual souls' is profound but. You know?
THIS, so much! I love it to pieces. ♥ ♥ ♥
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Yesss, it's sad and lovely all at once! <333
And I love that, asshole cats aside, working for the SID represents Sangzan's best life... and that Yunlan got coffee stains on an antique/magical book.
Hee! Yes, both of these things! So good!!
but when it comes down to it, it was just this little ordinary thing, a literal piece of rubbish, that meant so much to Shen Wei and would mean absolutely nothing to anyone else, because it was associated with that one particular moment in time and that one person... I mean 'yeah, have one of my actual souls' is profound but. You know?
100% agree! The lollipop wrapper is just incredibly romantic... aas;ldfkajsd;flkasd
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*MELTS COMPLETELY* Yes, this. ♡♡♡
"And I love that, asshole cats aside, working for the SID represents Sangzan's best life..."
Yesss, I'm so happy and excited for Sangzan, he finally found what he was always looking for, and so unexpectedly too! ♡ Like, I don't think he ever even considered that he would be getting out at all (out of his shitty life, and then out of the awl), and then he gets out AND gets all of this too. :)
"and that Yunlan got coffee stains on an antique/magical book."
:D :D He's such a disaster! /100% affectionate
"(also I think I saw someone say that in Chinese, Sangzan's difficulty is expressed by getting the tones all wrong? big mood Sangzan.)"
IKR? I am completely certain that Sangzan is about a thousand times better at tones than me, lmao, cut this guy some slack. (And I do love that Daqing is ultimately patient with him, yes! :))
"They are going to have to learn to cope with that about each other: you cannot keep them from rushing off into danger by telling them not to."
Hah, FACTS.
"Pendant: LOLLIPOP WRAPPER. omg. That. wrapper. Especially given the, umm, Symbolism. of the lollipop scene. And just the 'you get to be a real boy' of it all.. but when it comes down to it, it was just this little ordinary thing, a literal piece of rubbish, that meant so much to Shen Wei and would mean absolutely nothing to anyone else, because it was associated with that one particular moment in time and that one person... I mean 'yeah, have one of my actual souls' is profound but. You know?"
Yessssss, ALL OF THIS. ♡♡♡ Couldn't possibly agree more! :)
"(agreed that it's odd that it didn't strike Yunlan as odd that Shen Wei seemed to have his left shoulder fire in his pendant...)"
I think it did, and that's why he asks if Shen Wei would ever lie to him, but we don't get any of his thoughts that lead to that, or really any of his thoughts at all, and I agree that it's weird to read. (Later there's another scene where we don't get his thoughts either that I find even weirder, lol. So I kinda just learned to assume that he has a whole lot of thoughts, we just don't know exactly what they are. Hmm, and now I realized that this is exactly how the in-world characters feel when Zhao Yunlan is silently thinking and not speaking, hahah. xD)
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