Guardian Readalong: Vol. 2, Chapters 13 & 14

[china_shop]

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 13: Zhao Yunlan calls Shen Wei "Xiao-Wei" to defuse his fury at the Crows, and they leave the Yao Market. Daqing asks the Crows about his bell. The SID celebrates Lunar New Year's Eve with a party. Zhao Yunlan asks about Shen Wei's name. Chu Shuzhi leaves the SID library in a mood; Daqing tells Guo Changcheng to accompany him home. Zhao Yunlan arranges for Shen Wei to be called in to work so he can present Shen Wei with fait accompli cohabitation, but then he finds the portrait room and sends the movers away. Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei and Daqing go to see Zhao Yunlan's parents, and Zhao Yunlan comes out to his mother.
Chapter 14: Changcheng follows Chu Shuzhi home; Chu Shuzhi tries to scare him off with cannibalism talk. Changcheng perseveres. Chu Shuzhi advises Changcheng to stop wasting time collecting so many merits; then he disappears. Zhao Yunlan tells Shen Wei he came out. Daqing tells Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei that Lao-Chu's merit shackles were due to be removed but the Netherworld reneged. Shen Wei's knowledge and questions make Daqing suspicious about his identity. Zhao Yunlan sends a message telling Chu Shuzhi to come to the SID.
Phew! That's a lot!

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are:
Vol. 2 Ch. 13: ch. 64-66
Vol. 2 Ch. 14: ch. 67 and about the first fifth or so of ch. 68

Excerpts:
1. The SID Lunar New Year's Eve party
Toward the latter half of the night, after the New Year’s bell had already rung, drunk humans and ghosts alike started to run wild. Guo Changcheng flopped down on the table, sobbing loudly for some reason. After he finished crying, he tucked himself into a little corner and ignored everyone, meticulously polishing his work ID over and over with a microfiber cloth. Finally, he rolled under the table and fell into a deep sleep.

Chu Shuzhi, Lin Jing, Zhu Hong, and Daqing were gathered at a mahjong table. Other people’s chips automatically became dried fish when they arrived in front of Daqing. The cat’s expression was deadly serious. He had no choice but to keep winning, having eaten almost all his chips.

Lao-Li pulled a giant femur from out of nowhere and started pole dancing in front of everyone. Sangzan grabbed Wang Zheng’s hand, pulling her unexpectedly into his arms. He held her waist and lifted her up high; she laughed, humming a little tune from a faraway time, and danced a Hanga tribe dance with him.


2) Zhao Yunlan asks about Shen Wei's name
Zhao Yunlan silently put Shen Wei’s hand on his chest. Perhaps because of the alcohol, Zhao Yunlan’s pulse was a little fast. After a while, when Shen Wei thought he was about to fall asleep, Zhao Yunlan quietly asked, “‘Wei’… How did you come by that name?”

“It was originally the character Wei that’s made up of ‘mountain’ and ‘ghost.’” Shen Wei’s gaze dropped, seeming to gaze right through the gleaming floor; there was no knowing how far into the past he was looking. “But someone once said to me that while ‘mountain ghost’ was fitting, it was perhaps naming me into a corner. He told me that in this world, the mountains and seas are all connected, and lofty peaks stretch out endlessly. He suggested, ‘Why don’t we add a few more strokes and make it a proper name?’”

Zhao Yunlan touched his nose. This mysterious “someone” had a way of speaking that sounded rather familiar. “Who has the audacity to just randomly rename someone?”

Shen Wei smiled. “Just someone I met by chance on the road.”


3) Zhao Yunlan sees the portrait of Kunlun-jun
Eventually, the beam of light made its way to an ancient ink painting on the southern wall. It was huge, nearly occupying the entire wall on its own. The paper was as thin as a cicada’s wing, the surface as smooth as snow…and like all the others, it was a painting of a person.

The person was drawn with delicate brows and an almost lifelike expression. His long hair reached the ground, and he wore the simplest green robe imaginable. His head was tilted slightly, lips curved in the faintest hint of a smile. The brushwork was so vivid that it seemed the man might step out of the painting at any moment…and it was clearly none other than Zhao Yunlan himself!

Along the edge of the painting was a small line of text. It wasn’t modern simplified or traditional Chinese. In fact, it wasn’t any sort of writing he was familiar with. Zhao Yunlan had never laid eyes on it before. And yet, somehow, one quick look told him exactly what it said:

Laying eyes on Kunlun-jun for the first time, in the shades of the grove. A single fleeting glance and the melody of my heart faltered.
By Wei.

Was…was he, Zhao Yunlan, the Mountain God of the Great Wild…?


4) Zhao Yunlan comes out to his mother
She still seemed dumbfounded. Finally, stumbling over her words, she said, “Is he… The man you brought with you, is he…”

Zhao Yunlan nodded. He had both hands on the door, as though blocking it with his body. “I, your son, spent over half a year doing everything I could—cajoling and lying, consulting all thirty-six stratagems and seventy-two transformations… I used every trick I know. It would’ve been easier to start an uprising. And now he’s finally, finally mine. If you feel like you need to kill or maim someone, come at me, but please don’t go out there and ruin all my hard work. It’ll break my heart.”

To an onlooker, it would’ve appeared as though her soul had left her body. Her eyes far away, Zhao Yunlan’s mother began robotically wrapping dumplings without another word.

“Mom?”

His voice didn’t reach her. For a minute or two she was simply in a daze, completely unaware of what she was doing or what she had just heard. She was on autopilot.

Suddenly, after Zhao Yunlan’s repeated attempts to talk to her, she snapped out of it. Words began tumbling from her mouth before she could think. “What about your job? Will people gossip about you? What about your future? That’s right, I… I think your dad said you bought a house a few days ago. Do you still have money?”

Zhao Yunlan blinked, not at all sure how she’d jumped from him coming out to him not having money. If there was any logic there, he couldn’t see it. It seemed like she’d latched on to a few key terms and strung them into random sentences, and they all rushed out at once.


5) Chu Shuzhi gives Guo Changcheng some advice
A thick layer of glowing merits emanated from Guo Changcheng, who was about to cough his trachea into a bow. The impossibly white light seared Chu Shuzhi’s eyes.

The hand that had gripped Guo Changcheng’s neck suddenly lifted and came to rest on that messy bird’s nest atop his head. Guo Changcheng shivered instinctively. Chu Shuzhi patted the top of the man’s head, voice calmer and a bit tired now as he said, “You didn’t study properly as a kid, did you? Have you read The Injustice to Dou E? It clearly states that ‘those who act in kindness often suffer through poverty and live short lives, while those who do evil enjoy riches and long lives.’ Do you remember that?”

Guo Changcheng really wasn’t wired for studying. At the end of every year, he’d return everything he’d learned that year right back to the teacher, every last bit. So now he just squatted on the ground, looking up at Chu Shuzhi with a blank expression.

Chu Shuzhi tipped Guo Changcheng’s chin up and examined him for a while. “Your forehead is somewhat flat and narrow, which means the fate linking you and your parents is shallow. Your ears are thin, which means your youth was full of troubles. The middle third of your nose bridge protrudes a bit, which means you will lose the protection of your elders after you leave middle age, and the latter half of your life will be unpredictable.

“Overall, your face says you’ll have a hard life and ultimately won’t amount to much. There’s no point in collecting so many merits. Donating money and doing good will only make you even poorer. Try to be smarter from now on. Live in comfort like the nepo baby you are. Enjoy what you should and live a few good days while you can.”

Guo Changcheng kept looking up at him, confused.

“You really are a bit dense,” Chu Shuzhi said.



Questions:
On a scale of 1 to 10, how many feels do you have about the "Xiao-Wei" moment and how hard it mashes Shen Wei in the feels? Do you have a sense of why the Crows are breaking up with the rest of the Yao / helping Ghost Face? Thoughts on Daqing's being the one to send Guo Changcheng to accompany Chu Shuzhi, and generally taking up the mantle of leader in Zhao Yunlan's absence? Would you subscribe to the “Lord Meow Number One in the World” account? Zhao Yunlan's "Surprise! We're living together now!" plan: good idea / bad idea / it only works because it's them idea? On a scale of 1 to 10, how discomfiting is it for Zhao Yunlan to find Shen Wei's portrait room? On a scale of 1 to 10, how discomfiting is it for Shen Wei to meet Zhao Yunlan's mother? (Where is Zhao Yunlan's dad? Surely he should be there!) Zhao Yunlan's coming out speech: any notes? Does Chu Shuzhi really think Guo Changcheng's accumulating merits is a pointless waste of time, or is he just bitter because the Netherworld screwed him?

Poll #32943 SID Lunar New Year's Eve party

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6

View Respondents

What's your favourite detail from the SID Lunar New Year's Eve party?

View Answers

Guo Changcheng polishing his work ID with a microfiber cloth
3 (50.0%)

Chu Shuzhi, Lin Jing, Zhu Hong, and Daqing playing mahjong
0 (0.0%)

Daqing's mahjong chips turning into dried fish (and him eating them)
5 (83.3%)

Lao-Li pole-dancing around a giant femur
1 (16.7%)

Sang Zan and Wang Zheng doing their Hanga dance
1 (16.7%)

Shen Wei letting Zhao Yunlan use his thigh as a pillow
3 (50.0%)

other
0 (0.0%)

(As usual, these are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the readalong!)

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Comments

[trobadora]

Oh hi, it's me with my giant-ass comment. xD

♥ ♥ ♥

This is what the entire connection between Ying Chun and Ya Qing in the drama was built on, isn't it. :D

Yeah, I thought so, too! OMG. :D

I guess they don't hate the other yao this much, or they just hate them as a collective, but talking to an individual one is mostly fine?

I feel like I don't understand anything about the Crows or why they're doing what they're doing, LOL. But you're right, they aren't actively hostile towards Daqing here, that does mean something.

I'm happy for him and all, but DAMN the storyline of getting his vision back in the drama was a million times more satisfying. :D

That is so incredibly true! This is such a non-event here, the entire blindness thing is just shrugged off. (Just an excuse to have ZYL open his Heavenly Eye and see some stuff, and then set aside after it's fulfilled that function. Meh.)

I'm a bit hmpfff that ZYL would worry SW like this and make him think that something was actually wrong, even if it was temporary.

Seriously!

I find it so cool that this story is the other side of the 'don't mess with things you don't understand because they will fuck you up even if what you did was an accident'. Normally the POV is the person who angered some mysterious ancient being, not the being who is just really pissed off.

Oooh, this is an excellent point, you're right, I totally love that too, now that you've pointed it out!

[facethestrange]

"I feel like I don't understand anything about the Crows or why they're doing what they're doing, LOL."

Hah, same. They feel wronged, and even that is kinda only implied, with no explanation.

"This is such a non-event here, the entire blindness thing is just shrugged off. (Just an excuse to have ZYL open his Heavenly Eye and see some stuff, and then set aside after it's fulfilled that function. Meh.)"

Yeah, I love the Heavenly Eye stuff (especially the Shen Wei part), but after that it's just... fixed, a non-issue. And some of the absolute BEST scenes in the drama came from how it wasn't easy to fix at all. ♡♡♡ (Obviously they grabbed some of it from other places in the novel, like the kitchen scene, but a lot of it they just came up with without any source material to build on. So much kudos for that!)