Guardian Readalong: Vol. 2, Chapters 15 & 16

[facethestrange]

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 15: Zhao Yunlan takes Shen Wei to their still-unfinished new place, and gives him the key. Shen Wei receives bad news from the Netherworld - black clouds have formed in the thirty-third heaven, which hasn't happened for 800 years. Zhao Yunlan suspects that it was caused by Ghost Face, but Shen Wei doesn't explain and leaves for the Netherworld. Zhao Yunlan asks Daqing about Kunlun-jun, but Daqing doesn't remember much. He tells Daqing that Shen Wei is the Soul-Executing Emissary.
  



• Chapter 16: Zhao Yunlan asks Daqing about the Emissary's origin, and Daqing thinks he couldn't have been born from the Netherworld because he's older than the Netherworld. Back at the SID, Zhao Yunlan talks to Sangzan and does research. Information about Kunlun seems to be deliberately erased, so he reads other closely related ancient stories. He thinks that Ghost Face wants to collect the Four Hallowed Artifacts to destroy the Four Pillars that hold up the sky. Chu Shuzhi doesn't regret his crimes and has a fight with Zhao Yunlan about it, until Zhao Yunlan magically binds him to a chair. The Magistrate visits, and asks Zhao Yunlan to go to Kunlun Mountain to stop Ghost Face from acquiring the Merit Brush. He's not fully truthful, and Zhao Yunlan sees right through it. He uses this opportunity to get Chu Shuzhi's merit shackles removed, and agrees to go to Kunlun Mountain, despite a letter from Shen Wei telling him not to agree to anything.
  

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are:
Chapter 15: From about 1/5 into chapter 68 up to the end of that chapter.
Chapter 16: From the start of chapter 69 until about 2/3 into chapter 71.


Excerpts:

1) Zhao Yunlan gives Shen Wei the key to their new place

Rather than driving home, Zhao Yunlan decided to drop by the place he’d just bought near Dragon City University before it got dark.

It was only one street away from the university campus. The neighborhood was made up of a group of gardened Western-style buildings with a very distinctive architectural style.

Zhao Yunlan pulled out a ring of keys, removed one, and placed it in Shen Wei’s hand. “I know you don’t actually need a key to get in, so it’s mostly symbolic, but it’s the spirit of the thing.”

It was almost as if the metal of the key burned Shen Wei’s fingers. He curled them slightly. “For me…?”

“Of course! The key to our house.” Zhao Yunlan led the way as he spoke. “The plumbing, wiring, and interior walls are basically done now. They were working on the floors before the New Year, so it’s a little messy inside, but everything should be done in about a month. At that point, you can move your stuff in first, and just keep the stuff you normally use at my place. We can move in properly in the spring, after we air the place out for a while. Come on, the elevator’s this way.”

Shen Wei felt as though his heart had been submerged in water. It was tender, soft, and swelling in his chest.



2) Daqing's reaction to Shen Wei being the Soul-Executing Emissary

Surrounded by the noise of howling wind and cawing crows, Zhao Yunlan abruptly said, “I want to tell you something. Can you keep your mouth shut?”

Daqing faced him and solemnly said, “What you say will enter and never leave. Go ahead.”

“Shen Wei is the Soul-Executing Emissary,” said Zhao Yunlan. “I’m a little worried about him right now.”

Daqing slipped, losing his footing as if he were having a stroke, and fell straight off the ledge.

“He's what?! Zhao Yunlan, have you no fear at all?!”

Zhao Yunlan, not really listening, made a vague affirmative noise.

Daqing had seen everything the world had to offer, all there was to see—or so he’d believed. Now, for the first time, he truly understood what it meant for someone to be “so deep in lust’s grip that they felt brave enough to challenge the sky.”



3) Sangzan's insight helps Zhao Yunlan figure things out

“Buzhou Mountain is a sacred mountain. Legend says it’s the road to the Heavens.” Zhao Yunlan gestured as he explained carefully to Sangzan. “Historical records show that Gonggong and Zhuanxu battled for power. In the end, Gonggong lost, and in a rage, he rode the divine dragon and knocked Buzhou Mountain down.”

Sangzan still had trouble parsing what people said to him. He reacted slowly, then nodded half a beat later.

“But I don’t believe it,” Zhao Yunlan said softly. “The two Emperors, Flame and Yellow, battled Chiyou for more years than anyone could count. They fought until the skies divided and the earth was split, sending sand and rock flying everywhere. But even with that, Buzhou Mountain was fine. Even when Pangu separated the sky and earth with his axe, Buzhou Mountain remained unharmed. How could a ride knock it over?”

Sangzan had learned to ignore all the adjectives and nouns he didn’t understand. After a while, in his unusual accent, he said, “Iv…this is something that’s imbossible…but it still habbened—happened, thin someone mod…mad…made…it happen.”

“Cutting off the road to the Heavens.” Zhao Yunlan tapped a finger against the ancient tome. “Who could have done it? Why?”
Sangzan watched as Zhao Yunlan’s gaze slowly deepened.

“After Buzhou Mountain fell, Nüwa used huge rocks to plug up the sky. She herself turned into Houtu and her spirit scattered in the Netherworld,” Zhao Yunlan continued. “It was like Nüwa held up the sky and earth with her bare hands. Earth… Earth… Mud…” His voice got quieter and quieter until he was nearly talking to himself. Then he suddenly said, “Wait—give me the part about Nüwa creating humans again.”

Sangzan had just passed him the book when Daqing came in and addressed Zhao Yunlan. “Lao-Chu is here.”

Zhao Yunlan immediately tucked the book away and descended the tall ladder. He was about to leave when Sangzan suddenly spoke up behind him. “At thet time, there was…no order, right? Averyone wanted more puw…power. Mountain… The road to Heaven you mentioned, if it bru…broke, parhaps someone wanted to end…”

Unable to find the correct words, he gestured, and Zhao Yunlan immediately understood: unending battle.



4) Guo Changcheng continues to follow Chu Shuzhi

Chu Shuzhi had arrived, but not alone. He had a tail: Guo Changcheng, dressed like a cotton ball. Guo Changcheng had two scarves wrapped around his neck, covering half his face. He had packaged himself into a ninja turtle.

After Chu Shuzhi had vanished into thin air, Guo Changcheng had no choice but to head home. But before he even got into a taxi, he changed his mind. He felt bad for letting Daqing down on the first day of the Lunar New Year. So he’d returned to that little alleyway to search for Chu Shuzhi, gritting his teeth and asking for information from everyone he encountered.

After he’d searched in the biting cold for over half an hour, a kindhearted auntie from the neighborhood committee had noticed him and his bright red nose and had brought him right to Chu Shuzhi’s door. But once she left him there, Guo Changcheng didn’t dare knock or leave. It wasn’t until Chu Shuzhi received the Soul-Guarding Order’s call and stepped out to go to 4 Bright Avenue that he found this popsicle of a coworker outside his door. What could Chu Shuzhi do but bring him along?



5) Zhao Yunlan gets Chu Shuzhi's merit shackles removed

Zhao Yunlan casually leaned back in his own chair. “It’s the Lunar New Year. I’m just a powerless mortal. What if something happens to me after I get sucked into something so dangerous?”

“We guarantee the Guardian’s safety, of course—”

Zhao Yunlan snorted. “You guys can’t even get into a mountain. What are you guaranteeing my safety with?”

“Well…”

“I want to bring my own people,” Zhao Yunlan said.

Not having expected Zhao Yunlan’s cooperation, the Magistrate froze. But the look that crossed Zhao Yunlan’s face next made his teeth ache.

“The thing is though,” Zhao Yunlan continued, “I don’t have enough people. Honestly, most of my staff are low-level minions. They’re not up for more than running errands. The only really useful personnel are a little snake yao who can’t even transform properly, a tiny cat that’s barely a foot long, a clueless intern, and a terminally online selfie addict.”

The Magistrate had an inkling of where this was headed.

“I finally managed to get a Corpse King with some useful skills, but…” Zhao Yunlan sighed.

It was an olive branch, and the Magistrate immediately took it. “No need to worry on that front. The Corpse King’s merit shackles are due to be removed as soon as our side gets through the necessary paperwork. Since the Guardian brought it up, I’ll authorize it and have his shackles taken off. Our side will deal with the red tape later.”

“So that’s why!” Zhao Yunlan exclaimed, only half-genuine. “Here I thought he’d failed to work off his sins and had gone behind my back to misbehave again. Look, he’s right in the next room—I locked him up there to reflect on things!”

“It’s all a misunderstanding…” the Magistrate began.

“Of course it’s a misunderstanding,” said Zhao Yunlan. “You guys should really streamline your processes. You’re so inefficient sometimes that anyone who didn’t know better would assume you were deliberately delaying things.”

The Magistrate simply had nothing to say.



Questions:

What do you like the most about Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei's new place, and would you like to live there? What do you think Chu Shuzhi's neighbors think about him? Is the primordial past/mythology storyline easy for you to follow? Would you hate or enjoy being in a battle of wits with Zhao Yunlan? What's your favorite Chuguo moment and/or your favorite Weilan moment?

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 new schedule, and that's where you can sign up to host a post!

Comments

[facethestrange]

(My ~liveblog~ comments when I host a post are something else entirely, lmao, but at least I didn't exceed the dreamwidth comment length this time. xD :D :D)

"It was almost as if the metal of the key burned Shen Wei’s fingers. He curled them slightly. “For me…?”"

"Shen Wei felt as though his heart had been submerged in water. It was tender, soft, and swelling in his chest."

OHGODS. ♡♡♡ Just throw the softest Weilan ever at me right from the beginning, why don't you. ♡♡♡ (Not complaining at all, please always do that. :D :D)

"The underground parking area was divided into separate garages for each unit, and each private garage had its own elevator with direct access to their unit."

This is FANCY, lol, I'm sure these things exist but I've never seen one. :D (Also I'm happy for them that the elevator works when the place is still not finished, lol. My experience - the elevator is finished dead last. xD I mean, I can't tell if he bought it newly-built or second-hand, but having to do "plumbing, wiring and interior walls" kinda points to newly-built?)

"Although the sun was currently setting, enough fading light trickled in, gilding the scraps strewn around the floor."

This is such a lovely description of a completely mundane thing! ♡ I really like the everyday things in this book, not just the fantastical ones.

"I’ll save up slowly until we can upgrade to somewhere better."

??? xD I mean, you do you, I'm happy for you and all, but BETTER THAN THIS is a really funny concept to me. xD

"The intensity was rapidly reaching a breaking point, and with it, an indescribable sadistic urge welled up in Shen Wei’s heart. He ached to gather Zhao Yunlan in his arms and smother him there, to crush every bit of flesh and bone to dust and melt it in his palms, preserving this moment for eternity."

*raises eyebrow* That's one way to go about it I GUESS. xD (I love them both so much, but currently they're saying and thinking things that only make me want to snark at them, sorry Weilan ily. xD)

"possibly to prevent the two of them from simply falling to the debris-littered floor together and rolling around"

Seeeee, THIS you could do. I feel like even in front of Daqing it would still be less weird than the above. :P

"Angry that the furball had ruined the mood, Zhao Yunlan grumbled"

Zhao Yunlan, you don't have the slightest idea what the mood actually was. xD xD (Why am I still snarking at them, lolol.)

"And so, a fierce battle between human and cat began.

Shen Wei let out a slow breath, leaning sideways against the window. The warm, fading glow of the sunset brushed his skin, lending a touch of brightness to even his ever-pale complexion. As he quietly watched pandemonium break out in the living room, he couldn’t help the small smile that made its way over his face."

And a whiplash right back into SOFT, ahhhhh, this is so cute and fun and HAPPY. ♡♡♡

"Shen Wei reached out and stroked Zhao Yunlan’s creased brow with a fingertip."

Their tiny touches are the sweetest damn thing. ♡♡♡

“You should get going, then. Be careful. I’ll keep the door unlocked for you at night. Come back soon.”

So sweet, ahhh, and I guess this is symbolic again because keeping the door unlocked is not necessary, and he just said that, new apartment or old. xD

"He could still remember his master’s robes, green as the distant mountains, their sleeves scented with new snow and bamboo. The unruly laugh, the warm hand that cradled him close…"

Awwww, DQ may not have many memories, but the ones he has are really lovely. :)

"Daqing faced him and solemnly said, “What you say will enter and never leave. Go ahead.”

“Shen Wei is the Soul-Executing Emissary,” said Zhao Yunlan. “I’m a little worried about him right now.”

Daqing slipped, losing his footing as if he were having a stroke, and fell straight off the ledge."

:D From solemn to CAT in about two seconds. ;D

"“He's what?! Zhao Yunlan, have you no fear at all?!”

Zhao Yunlan, not really listening, made a vague affirmative noise."

Lolol, yeah, he's not really listening, but also he does have no fear at all. xD

"“You… How did you get tangled up with him? Can’t you keep it in your pants?”

The real tragedy was that Zhao Yunlan had yet to get it out of his pants."

*SNORT* ♡ His priorities are just truly beautiful sometimes. :D

"The ground was littered with cigarette butts and his pockets were empty before he finally motioned for Daqing to jump onto his arm."

I know there's still debris from the renovation everywhere, but 'get a brand new place, throw cigarette butts on the floor' is so very Zhao Yunlan. xD

"Zhao Yunlan set out dried fish and milk for Daqing and then went right into the library. He grabbed a pair of protective glasses by the entrance and had just put them on when he saw Wang Zheng and Sangzan hastily pulling away from each other in the corner."

I find the concept of ghosts secretly making out in the library really adorable, but mostly - what do you need protective glasses for in the library? Are they for Zhao Yunlan and his still-not-okay eyes specifically? And what do they protect from? (Also, Zhao Yunlan wearing glasses. *HEART EYES* /shallow :D :D I wish the illustration included his face. :D)

"Zhao Yunlan looked like an illiterate punk, but his appearance was deceiving. He had an impressive knowledge of ancient texts, letting him quickly skim through a book, and he was familiar with several ancient languages. Now he sat cross-legged on the tall metal ladder and got to work. When he finished with a book, he tossed it down."

Zhao Yunlan being smart = ♡! Zhao Yunlan casually sitting on random objects = ♡♡♡! (Another thing that the drama went all-out on, and I'm very very happy about that. :D :D)

"“At thet time, there was…no order, right? Averyone wanted more puw…power. Mountain… The road to Heaven you mentioned, if it bru…broke, parhaps someone wanted to end…”

Unable to find the correct words, he gestured, and Zhao Yunlan immediately understood: unending battle."

I'm so impressed that this is something you can gesture/understand the gesture. :D And I just really love how they communicate, and everything about their interactions in this chapter (and in general!), and how smart Sangzan is, and how he brings new ideas to the table, and how his insight helps Zhao Yunlan! (And only now I realized that both Sangzan and ZYL are described as people you wouldn't expect to be smart, but they both are!)

"Chu Shuzhi had arrived, but not alone. He had a tail: Guo Changcheng, dressed like a cotton ball. Guo Changcheng had two scarves wrapped around his neck, covering half his face. He had packaged himself into a ninja turtle."

:D :D :D SO PRECIOUS, I'm smiling so much at this description. :D And he kept following CSZ even when he literally couldn't follow him because he had no idea where he had gone, awwwwww!

"After he’d searched in the biting cold for over half an hour, a kindhearted auntie from the neighborhood committee had noticed him and his bright red nose and had brought him right to Chu Shuzhi’s door."

Lolol, the concept of someone like CSZ living somewhere that has a friendly neighborhood auntie. :D :D I wonder if they get along, or is she just like 'oh, the really weird kid over there, I know that one'. xD

"Guo Changcheng sneezed. Chu Shuzhi side-eyed him and slowly said, “I think you should find someone to take the poor kid home first—”"

Awww, it's such a tense situation he's in, and he's still like 'someone take care of this poor pathetic sneezing bb'. :P

"Looking down, Zhao Yunlan saw a hurried note from Shen Wei: The reaper is already on their way. No matter what they want you to do, under no circumstances should you agree. Wait for me to come home. —Wei

Zhao Yunlan showed no outward reaction, but the ice in his expression thawed ever so slightly."

No srsly, they're having an actual fight and he's still soft about Shen Wei, like CSZ was still soft about GCC. :D

"In a truly pathetic whimper, Guo Changcheng said, “Chu-ge, don’t say things you don’t mean just because you’re angry.” When Chu Shuzhi gave him a piercing look, Guo Changcheng carefully shifted closer and kept sniveling. “I-I d-don’t believe you meant that. I didn’t really understand, but Chu-ge is a good person. You wouldn’t do something bad for no reason…”

Awww yay, Xiao Guo being all brave despite being terrified! ♡ Srsly shifting closer when CSZ looks at you, that's bravery in itself. xD (There's less of it in the novel than in the drama, so I'm always extra excited to see it. :D)

"Shen Wei thinks too much. He’s kind to everyone but himself."

AW. Ouch. AW.

"This reaper had clearly learned from the last one’s mistakes. They stood a short distance from the door and announced loudly, “This uninvited guest from the Netherworld asks to see the Guardian. Will the Guardian honor us with an audience?”"

Lolol, it's not even his bedroom this time, but I guess Zhao Yunlan could easily be hooking up with someone at his workplace, yes. xD :D

"For another thing, the Guardian was audacious, slippery, and sneaky, and had only ever mastered three talents: shamelessness, leading people in circles, and evasion, any of which was more than enough to keep anyone busy for a while."

:D :D :D All the reasons to love him, and I guess also all the reasons to not want to deal with him. xD

"It had been the Magistrate himself who decided to go to extreme measures to wake Kunlun-jun’s spirit, which was sealed within Zhao Yunlan. He had instructed his subordinates to force open Zhao Yunlan’s Heavenly Eye—by any means necessary—and left them to figure it out.

Unfortunately, some useless underling had gone and asked the Crow tribe for help. The carrion-feeding Crow tribe had always answered to the Netherworld. Having a crow carry out the plan was the same as hanging a neon sign announcing who was actually responsible. Who had been foolish enough to come up with that idea?"

This confuses me because the Crow literally said, “Screw the Netherworld! I’d never stoop to taking orders from them!” So I guess he was lying? Or was the 'useless underling' seemingly not connected to the Netherworld and the Crow didn't know?

"A reaper had recently reported that even blindness wasn’t enough to stop the Guardian from welcoming someone to his bed. Surely that must indicate that he had no contact with the Emissary? Otherwise, how could the Emissary possibly tolerate…"

Lolol. I'm amused that 'who is Zhao Yunlan sleeping with' is a serious topic in the Netherworld, and also that they haven't figured it out yet. xD

"All smiles, Zhao Yunlan said, “My lord Magistrate, this is exactly how my mother used to go about tricking me into blind dates. What, are you planning on setting me up with the Soul-Executing Emissary?”"

Heeee. And just, this entire conversation! It's like pages and pages of Zhao Yunlan being witty and the Magistrate squirming and sweating. xD

"Wang Zheng was very competent. In short order, she came floating in with a long list of names. A group of ghosts followed her, all peering through the crack in the door."

I really love that along with Chu Shuzhi's case, Zhao Yunlan also got everyone else's difficult and unfair cases dealt with! And also this is an adorable image. :D :D

"By this point, the Magistrate wanted to never see Zhao Yunlan’s face again."

Lololol. Like yeah, I could feel bad for him, but also serves him right tbh, and damn, I just like how Zhao Yunlan just wrung him out completely with basically just annoyingly playing dumb at him, it's beautiful. :D

"Zhao Yunlan smiled and lit a cigarette with the embers from the burning spirit money."

Zhao Yunlan lighting his cigarettes with the most random fires he can find is my favorite thing. :D

"But Zhao Yunlan didn’t say anything else. He just ruffled the fur on Daqing’s head, then evaded the resulting swipe of paws with the ease of experience. “I want the Merit Brush,” he said. “I’m going to bring it back as a betrothal gift.”

Daqing’s fur bristled. “Don’t speak nonsense!”

Zhao Yunlan shut up, perhaps realizing that wasn’t something he was capable of."

Every single thing about these few lines is absolutely flawless, lol. :D :D And also he just defeated the Magistrate solely by speaking nonsense, why would he stop now. xD

[autodach]

Daqing slipped, losing his footing as if he were having a stroke, and fell straight off the ledge

Hahahaha Da Qing’s reaction is so great!

Zhao Yunlan gets Chu Shuzhi's merit shackles removed

I love this so much! Zhao Yunlan does care about his employees!

What do you like the most about Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei's new place

That it’s theirs. Sappy, I know XD
Neither of these people expected to ever have that simple domesticity with someone – but they get to have it ❤

Is the primordial past/mythology storyline easy for you to follow?

No. That is, I really struggled the first time, then did much better on the second reading.

[autodach]

I really like the everyday things in this book, not just the fantastical ones.

YES! It’s so good❤

The intensity was rapidly reaching a breaking point, and with it, an indescribable sadistic urge welled up in Shen Wei’s heart.

Shen Wei is unhinged and I am here for it.

DQ may not have many memories, but the ones he has are really lovely. :)

Awww true ❤

Zhao Yunlan being smart = ♡! Zhao Yunlan casually sitting on random objects = ♡♡♡! (Another thing that the drama went all-out on, and I'm very very happy about that. :D :D)

❤❤❤

And only now I realized that both Sangzan and ZYL are described as people you wouldn't expect to be smart, but they both are!

Ooh good observation! That hadn’t occurred to me.

Lolol. I'm amused that 'who is Zhao Yunlan sleeping with' is a serious topic in the Netherworld, and also that they haven't figured it out yet. xD

LOL. The answer is right there, friends… XD

[facethestrange]

"Hahahaha Da Qing’s reaction is so great!"

Ikr, I love all of his 100% CAT moments, and it's especially funny when it directly follows him being super serious. :D :D

"I love this so much! Zhao Yunlan does care about his employees!"

Yesss! ♡ He's so incredibly pissed at Chu Shuzhi at this point, and he still immediately jumps on this opportunity to help him, because CSZ may be an asshole but he's THE SID'S asshole, and Zhao Yunlan really cares about each and every one of them.

"That it’s theirs. Sappy, I know XD
Neither of these people expected to ever have that simple domesticity with someone – but they get to have it ❤"

Aaaaaaawwww, omg, YES. ♡♡♡ *is sappy right there with you*

"No. That is, I really struggled the first time, then did much better on the second reading."

Same, lol. It is a lot easier for me to follow on the second reading too, but I still feel like I don't quite have a full grasp of it.

[facethestrange]

"Shen Wei is unhinged and I am here for it."

100% here for it too! I'll poke fun at him and also fully support him, lmao, you do you, my absolutely deranged little meow meow. xD

"LOL. The answer is right there, friends… XD"

Ikrrrr, they even think about the Emissary being jealous of whoever ZYL is sleeping with, and yet somehow they don't even consider that he is the one he's sleeping with, smh. xD

[china_shop]

Ahhhh, fantastic post, wonderful choice of quotes, yay!! :DDD

My notes:

Zhao Yunlan pulled out a ring of keys, removed one, and placed it in Shen Wei’s hand. “I know you don’t actually need a key to get in, so it’s mostly symbolic, but it’s the spirit of the thing.”

Awwwww! (This is one of my favourite romantic gestures. So much better than jewellery. ;-p)

The underground parking area was divided into separate garages for each unit, and each private garage had its own elevator with direct access to their unit. When Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan reached theirs, they found construction debris still scattered all over the place, but the natural lighting inside was wonderful. Although the sun was currently setting, enough fading light trickled in, gilding the scraps strewn around the floor. The view out the windows on one side was of Dragon City University’s Republican-era buildings, hidden by ancient trees. The other side overlooked a man-made creek that wound its way through the neighborhood. Even in the middle of winter, with the water drained, one could look down at it and see the marks the flowing water had carved into the stone.

Sorry for the long quote, but so much of this feels like metaphor to me. Can we link the four levels to the Great Seal level / Netherworld / mortal world / heavens, with the garages being below the Great Seal? I think the "debris still scattered everywhere, but wonderful natural light" vibe sounds like their current relationship. <3 <3 <3 And "Even in the middle of winter, with the water drained, one could look down at it and see the marks the flowing water had carved into the stone" sounds like such a time/reincarnation metaphor. (I can't quite pin everything down, but I feel like it's there. <3 <3 <3)

The master bedroom is the one on the south side with a balcony. Pick which of the others you’d like for your study.

So generous, but ZYL should know that SW needs two rooms: a study and a shrine. Where is he supposed to hang his stalker gallery?

The intensity was rapidly reaching a breaking point, and with it, an indescribable sadistic urge welled up in Shen Wei’s heart. He ached to gather Zhao Yunlan in his arms and smother him there, to crush every bit of flesh and bone to dust and melt it in his palms, preserving this moment for eternity.

Uhhh... *backs away, making no sudden movements* (Honestly, I don't find this kind of thing romantic, but I guess it depends how literally he means it. If it's, like, a desire to merge and this is how he conceptualises it, that's one thing; if the situation is genuinely that, if ZYL flirts too much, Shen Wei is in danger of losing control and literally crushing ZYL to pieces, then nope. No, thank you. ZYL's life should not depend on timely feline intervention. ;-p)

I love DQ so much. He wants a (human-style, I presume) bathroom AND a luxury cat tower. LOL! And the squabbling/fighting with ZYL is great. (Though -- I know fat-shaming DQ is part of the conceit, but it get a little old.)

He pinched the shadow between his fingertips, transforming it into a letter.

That's so cool.

And then ZYL asks what happened, and Shen Wei actually tells him!! Yay!

“We’re different from humans. We’re foolish and stupid. Even after thousands of years, we can’t cultivate much intelligence. We’re only able to recognize our master. I don’t know much about anything else.”

Eh, I'm not a fan of the "plants and animals aren't as good as humans" take. That sounds like prejudice speaking. (What would Zhu Hong say if she heard that? ;-p)

It's not clear to me if the description of Kunlun Mountain is DQ pov or omniscient pov. How much of that does DQ remember/know?

Ahhhhhhhhh, I love love love ZYL telling DQ about SW, and DQ's reaction. Hahaha, BEST! (I wouldn't want it in the drama, because it would feel more a betrayal of confidence, but here it works really well!) And then ZYL not really listening to DQ's expostulating, LOLOL!!! This is such a great scene. :DDD

Daqing sighed. “You… How did you get tangled up with him? Can’t you keep it in your pants?”

This is such a funny thing for DQ to ask, after witnessing their first meeting and months and months of ZYL chasing SW. Hee!

ZYL making the effort to protect his people (Lao-Chu) makes me so very happy, especially when he does it even though they fight! Yes!!

I'm not sure what the protective glasses are for, but I'm here for them.

Someone's already wiped all the useful Kunlun info -- presumably Shen Wei? (Is this analogous to Shen Wei destroying the recording of The Ancient Mysteries in the drama?)

Zhao Yunlan looked like an illiterate punk

Hahahahahaha. *loves* (How is this my type? Whyyy?? And yet!)

At the beginning of Chaos, all gods battled endlessly. -- is this analogous to the ancient war in the drama, I wonder?

Awww, cotton-ball!Changcheng sticks like a burr! Aww! <3333 (I love that he diligently tracked CSZ down, but then was too scared to knock on his door.)

Aww, Shen Wei signs his letter "Wei" -- they kept that in the drama.

Is Chu Shuzhi really not human to begin with? I thought he was a human who became a necromancer? *should check the appendix, but is too lazy* ;-p

Ahh, The Record of Ancient Secrets! \o/ They kept that in the original subs, at least. I don't know if it's in the Viki or other ones.

ZYL: The kid has more maturity than you. I’m embarrassed for you.
me: LOLOL!

This CSZ & ZYL fight could never have happened in the drama; the fact that the Envoy placed CSZ at the SID means CSZ isn't free to throw his weight around. The fight after ZH's dream is the closest they could get, I think. <333

Nüwa of the Feng Family. -- if she's that ancient, how can she be of a family? Do ancient gods have parents?

cut off the giant turtle’s legs to use as the Four Pillars of Heaven

Oh no! /o\ /o\ /o\ (It's turtles all the way down! :D)

And then there's a quote about Kunlun, but hasn't all the Kunlun stuff been removed from the library? I suppose this got missed, so ZYL's "look up related references" strategy paid off.

It says here that humans’ six senses are tainted due to the poor quality of the mud they were made from.

LOL, that explains so much. /o\ /o\ /o\

Daqing circled around his hand and mumbled, "What is all this? It's making me dizzy." -- You and me both, cat. /o\

And then we find out ZYL has already guessed that Ghost Face looks like Shen Wei -- which makes me wonder when he works that out in the drama. At the confrontation in the park?

Regent visit! The Regent conspiring against the Emissary! I enjoyed all of this so much, especially ZYL being clever and bratty and using feigned ignorance to get his way. The Magistrate's reactions were hilarious. <3 <3 <3

For another thing, the Guardian was audacious, slippery, and sneaky, and had only ever mastered three talents: shamelessness, leading people in circles, and evasion, any of which was more than enough to keep anyone busy for a while.

LOL, true facts! :DDD I love him.

All smiles, Zhao Yunlan said, “My lord Magistrate, this is exactly how my mother used to go about tricking me into blind dates. What, are you planning on setting me up with the Soul-Executing Emissary?”

LOLOLOL!! :DDDDDD

(Oh, hey, it's still the New Year! Wow, the timeframe for this volume is so short (as facethestrange has pointed out elsewhere).)

“We guarantee the Guardian’s safety, of course—”
Zhao Yunlan snorted. “You guys can’t even get into a mountain. What are you guaranteeing my safety with?”

Hahahahaha. I love this. The snark, and how strategic it all is. <3333333333

Under Shen Wei’s gentle, polite appearance, he was incredibly stubborn and uncompromising. He was an ancient god! Why was he allowing the Netherworld to suspect and plot against him like this? To Zhao Yunlan, it almost seemed like he was protecting something—carrying out some sort of duty that only he knew about.

Is he protecting ZYL or protecting the Great Seal from Ghost Face's machinations (and the effects of ZYL's sorcery)? I feel like I'm supposed to know this...

Is the primordial past/mythology storyline easy for you to follow?

Honestly, my eyes gloss over within a few sentences, and I figure, eh, I don't really need to know. /o\

Would you hate or enjoy being in a battle of wits with Zhao Yunlan?

Hahaha, I wouldn't even last a nanosecond. :D

[china_shop]

but at least I didn't exceed the dreamwidth comment length this time. xD

LOL! *hearts you*

Also I'm happy for them that the elevator works when the place is still not finished, lol. My experience - the elevator is finished dead last. xD I mean, I can't tell if he bought it newly-built or second-hand, but having to do "plumbing, wiring and interior walls" kinda points to newly-built?

Maybe they install the elevator first so that builders and other tradespeople can get stuff up to the apartments? Or alternatively, ZYL is having his place completely refitted.

This is such a lovely description of a completely mundane thing! ♡ I really like the everyday things in this book, not just the fantastical ones.

Agreed, it's gorgeous. So many of the descriptions are evocative and lovely. <3

*raises eyebrow* That's one way to go about it I GUESS. xD

LOL! <333

I know there's still debris from the renovation everywhere, but 'get a brand new place, throw cigarette butts on the floor' is so very Zhao Yunlan. xD

*dies* I didn't even think of that, that's amazing!!! :DDDDDDDDDD

(Also, Zhao Yunlan wearing glasses. *HEART EYES* /shallow :D :D I wish the illustration included his face. :D)

Right???

Zhao Yunlan being smart = ♡! Zhao Yunlan casually sitting on random objects = ♡♡♡! (Another thing that the drama went all-out on, and I'm very very happy about that. :D :D)

Yesyesyes, both those things!! :DDD

parhaps someone wanted to end…”
Unable to find the correct words, he gestured, and Zhao Yunlan immediately understood: unending battle.

Oh, that reminds me: SZ means "perhaps someone wanted to end the unending battle", right? Not that someone wanted unending battle?

And only now I realized that both Sangzan and ZYL are described as people you wouldn't expect to be smart, but they both are!

Ahh, what a great observation! I wonder how Sangzan would have turned out if he hadn't been empillared and had somehow turned to the path of cultivation instead...

Awww, it's such a tense situation he's in, and he's still like 'someone take care of this poor pathetic sneezing bb'. :P

Awww! I think I missed this somehow. <3 <3 <3 And hee, the parallel with Weilan. *smishes everyone* <3333333

Lolol, it's not even his bedroom this time, but I guess Zhao Yunlan could easily be hooking up with someone at his workplace, yes. xD :D

LOLOLOL!!! That's awesome! :DDDD

So I guess he was lying? Or was the 'useless underling' seemingly not connected to the Netherworld and the Crow didn't know?

Great point! I guess that must be it?

Lolol. I'm amused that 'who is Zhao Yunlan sleeping with' is a serious topic in the Netherworld, and also that they haven't figured it out yet. xD

It's fantastic! A+ plotting, LOL!!

I really love that along with Chu Shuzhi's case, Zhao Yunlan also got everyone else's difficult and unfair cases dealt with!

Yesyesyes, that's so good!

And also he just defeated the Magistrate solely by speaking nonsense, why would he stop now. xD

LOL! It's his superpower. :DDD

[china_shop]

Hahahaha Da Qing’s reaction is so great!

I love it so much!

And yesss, ZYL getting CSZ's (and everyone else who's due's) shackles removed. SO GOOD!

Neither of these people expected to ever have that simple domesticity with someone – but they get to have it ❤

Oh, true! I hadn't even put that together, because their loneliness stems from such different scales of issues: Shen Wei is a terrifying figure of the Netherworld who is bound by an ancient oath and can't be with the man he's love across millennia; meanwhile Zhao Yunlan is a brat and an asshole who never feels close to people. :DDD And yet, you're right, they're both yearning for more each other. <3333

(And, of course, a lot of ZYL's issues fundamentally stem from the same kind of epic-scale roots.)

[facethestrange]

Thanks! :D :D ♡

"Awwwww! (This is one of my favourite romantic gestures. So much better than jewellery. ;-p)"

Unless the jewelry has your soul in it, I guess. ;D (And then I still kinda like the key better, hahah. :D)

"Sorry for the long quote, but so much of this feels like metaphor to me. Can we link the four levels to the Great Seal level / Netherworld / mortal world / heavens, with the garages being below the Great Seal? I think the "debris still scattered everywhere, but wonderful natural light" vibe sounds like their current relationship. <3 <3 <3 And "Even in the middle of winter, with the water drained, one could look down at it and see the marks the flowing water had carved into the stone" sounds like such a time/reincarnation metaphor. (I can't quite pin everything down, but I feel like it's there. <3 <3 <3)"

OH. MY. GODS. I'm obsessed with this now asdfghfdjkslhjk;;; I didn't catch any of that and now I'm obsessed and all starry-eyed, OMG WHAT A FANTASTIC OBSERVATION! ♡♡♡!!! AHHHHHHHHHH. And the university buildings on one side, and water-and-rocks on the other side, which is Shen Wei's things & Kunlun's things, and also present things & past things, ahhhhhhh. THIS IS SO GOOD??? What the hell. ♡♡♡ I love your brain!! :D

"So generous, but ZYL should know that SW needs two rooms: a study and a shrine. Where is he supposed to hang his stalker gallery?"

Lol aww, maybe he just assumes that now Shen Wei will be able to finally put it out in the open. :D He doesn't need a pining room anymore, just a beautiful art display. ♡

"Uhhh... *backs away, making no sudden movements* (Honestly, I don't find this kind of thing romantic, but I guess it depends how literally he means it. If it's, like, a desire to merge and this is how he conceptualises it, that's one thing; if the situation is genuinely that, if ZYL flirts too much, Shen Wei is in danger of losing control and literally crushing ZYL to pieces, then nope. No, thank you. ZYL's life should not depend on timely feline intervention. ;-p)"

I think it's both, but I also think he hates the literal part of it and would never, ever do it. It's just one of those thoughts and feelings he can't control, but he would yeet himself out of his body before he even starts going there for real.

"Eh, I'm not a fan of the "plants and animals aren't as good as humans" take. That sounds like prejudice speaking. (What would Zhu Hong say if she heard that? ;-p)"

DQ is talking about himself, so I guess that's just how he feels. He could have internalized prejudice or he could just feel this way about himself and then generalize, but I don't think it makes it objectively true for all yao. :)

"It's not clear to me if the description of Kunlun Mountain is DQ pov or omniscient pov. How much of that does DQ remember/know?"

The description is pretty general, so it could be what he remembers? But also it's a real place and a mythological place irl, so I guess in-world characters just know what it looks like, even if they don't know about Kunlun-jun anymore.

"Ahhhhhhhhh, I love love love ZYL telling DQ about SW, and DQ's reaction. Hahaha, BEST! (I wouldn't want it in the drama, because it would feel more a betrayal of confidence, but here it works really well!) And then ZYL not really listening to DQ's expostulating, LOLOL!!! This is such a great scene. :DDD"

ITA. :D :D :D (I wouldn't want it in the drama either, but now I'm picturing human-shaped DQ falling off of something. xD)

"ZYL making the effort to protect his people (Lao-Chu) makes me so very happy, especially when he does it even though they fight! Yes!!"

Yesssssss! He doesn't care at all if they currently hate each other, they're still HIS PEOPLE.

"Someone's already wiped all the useful Kunlun info -- presumably Shen Wei? (Is this analogous to Shen Wei destroying the recording of The Ancient Mysteries in the drama?)"

Ahhh, probably, yes!

"At the beginning of Chaos, all gods battled endlessly. -- is this analogous to the ancient war in the drama, I wonder?"

AND THIS, YES! (There's a scene later where the whole time I was like 'oh, this is them watching YOHE from the wormhole!', so I should have put this together too. :D)

"Awww, cotton-ball!Changcheng sticks like a burr!"

He's the right shape for that too. ;D :D :D

"(I love that he diligently tracked CSZ down, but then was too scared to knock on his door.)"

Hahah, yes. :D *adores him to pieces* He did his duty, he doesn't need to be extra brave, this is enough. xD

"Aww, Shen Wei signs his letter "Wei" -- they kept that in the drama."

I'm so happy about that because it has so much more impact in the drama. ♡♡♡

"Is Chu Shuzhi really not human to begin with? I thought he was a human who became a necromancer? *should check the appendix, but is too lazy* ;-p"

He was a human, and then he died and revived his body, I think. He's a 'zombie' of sorts.

"Nüwa of the Feng Family. -- if she's that ancient, how can she be of a family? Do ancient gods have parents?"

No idea about parents, but wikipedia about the rl mythology says "Fuxi and Nüwa have the same last name, Feng". And nothing else about it, so idk, but maybe they started the family?

"> cut off the giant turtle’s legs to use as the Four Pillars of Heaven

Oh no! /o\ /o\ /o\ (It's turtles all the way down! :D)"

I love that it's followed up with "Out of gratitude to the old turtle for giving its legs, Sovereign Wa gifted it a brocade robe to serve as its fin." :D

"Is he protecting ZYL or protecting the Great Seal from Ghost Face's machinations (and the effects of ZYL's sorcery)? I feel like I'm supposed to know this..."

I think it's just another case of keeping the promise that no one else even remembers anymore, so I don't think this was spelled out yet. :)

"Honestly, my eyes gloss over within a few sentences, and I figure, eh, I don't really need to know. /o\"

Hahah, so valid, and definitely the easier way to go about it. :D

> Would you hate or enjoy being in a battle of wits with Zhao Yunlan?

Hahaha, I wouldn't even last a nanosecond. :D

I think there are people (people who are probably Zhao Yunlan himself, lolol) who would have a lot of fun with this, but YES, damn, it just sounds stressful and exhausting, and at the first slip-up he just wins. xD

[facethestrange]

"Maybe they install the elevator first so that builders and other tradespeople can get stuff up to the apartments? Or alternatively, ZYL is having his place completely refitted."

I would expect that irl, logically, but everyone was lugging everything to the fifth floor without an elevator, and then when absolutely everything was finished, the elevator finally joined the party. xD Obviously that's literally the most anecdotal evidence ever, I'm sure it can happen in any order at all, depending on the place. :) And yeah, I was also thinking that maybe ZYL's place was second-hand but he gutted everything and started from scratch.

"> (Also, Zhao Yunlan wearing glasses. *HEART EYES* /shallow :D :D I wish the illustration included his face. :D)

Right???

Fanart (+ ficlet) of drama Zhao Yunlan wearing Shen Wei's glasses (and Weilan cuddles). :D ♡♡♡

"Oh, that reminds me: SZ means "perhaps someone wanted to end the unending battle", right? Not that someone wanted unending battle?"

Yes, definitely to end the undending battle - he just finishes the sentence. :)

"I wonder how Sangzan would have turned out if he hadn't been empillared and had somehow turned to the path of cultivation instead..."

I think he'd definitely need to be happy and finally have a good life before he could use his smarts for anything other than killing more people, but if he had that, he could do amazing things! And he still can, he's a ghost, he has A LOT of time to grow. :D

[china_shop]

And the university buildings on one side, and water-and-rocks on the other side, which is Shen Wei's things & Kunlun's things, and also present things & past things, ahhhhhhh.

Ooh, yes! I love that -- awesome!!! :D :D :D And ha, it makes DQ wanting a human bathroom AND a cat tower make total sense, too -- reflecting his dual Yao nature. \o/

Lol aww, maybe he just assumes that now Shen Wei will be able to finally put it out in the open. :D He doesn't need a pining room anymore, just a beautiful art display. ♡

*dies* I can kind of see ZYL being prepared to live with a zillion portraits of his past lives, LOL! But maybe now that SW has the real thing, he's supposed to put away all the sad substitute-pictures? Idk! I feel like this is something they should discuss!

It's just one of those thoughts and feelings he can't control, but he would yeet himself out of his body before he even starts going there for real.

Oh, that's true. *relaxes a bit (even if that's distressing in its own way)*

DQ is talking about himself, so I guess that's just how he feels. He could have internalized prejudice or he could just feel this way about himself and then generalize, but I don't think it makes it objectively true for all yao. :)

I don't think it's objectively true either, and I really wish ZYL would challenge it when DQ says it. Like, even just raising a sceptical eyebrow. ;-p

Oh, wait, when it says, Daqing curled up on the ledge. A little desolate, he said, “We’re different from humans. We’re foolish and stupid. Even after thousands of years, we can’t cultivate much intelligence. We’re only able to recognize our master. I don’t know much about anything else.” -- is DQ using the royal "we" there, I wonder? Or is he extrapolating from his bad feelings? (Anyone?)

But also it's a real place and a mythological place irl, so I guess in-world characters just know what it looks like, even if they don't know about Kunlun-jun anymore.

*nodnodnod* That makes sense.

but now I'm picturing human-shaped DQ falling off of something. xD

HEE!

He did his duty, he doesn't need to be extra brave, this is enough. xD

Haha, yes, exactly. *pets him*

*facepalm* Of course CSZ is a zombie. Thank you! I don't know where my head's at, to have forgotten that.

but wikipedia about the rl mythology says "Fuxi and Nüwa have the same last name, Feng". And nothing else about it, so idk, but maybe they started the family?

Ha, why not?

I think it's just another case of keeping the promise that no one else even remembers anymore, so I don't think this was spelled out yet. :)

Ah, thank you! (I feel like I might be keeping track better if I weren't reading two chapters per week in among everything else I'm doing... but otoh, I was pretty lost during my first read-through so maybe not, heh.)

but YES, damn, it just sounds stressful and exhausting, and at the first slip-up he just wins. xD

I mean, if the stakes were very low, and he wasn't being actively mean, it might be fun? But there's no guarantee of the latter. ;-p

[china_shop]

Fanart (+ ficlet) of drama Zhao Yunlan wearing Shen Wei's glasses (and Weilan cuddles). :D ♡♡♡

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! *flails* SO ADORABLE THANK YOU AHHHH! <3 <3 <3

[facethestrange]

:D :D ISN'T IT. ♡♡♡ This artist's Weilan art is EVERYTHING. Like, this legit made me brave enough to watch the ending for the first time. xD :D

[facethestrange]

"Ooh, yes! I love that -- awesome!!! :D :D :D And ha, it makes DQ wanting a human bathroom AND a cat tower make total sense, too -- reflecting his dual Yao nature. \o/"

Eee, yes, DQ gets in on the metaphor too! :D :D (Which made me think of a twitter 'incorrect quote' that gets put on fandom images, "everybody gets to be a metaphor". xD)

"*dies* I can kind of see ZYL being prepared to live with a zillion portraits of his past lives, LOL! But maybe now that SW has the real thing, he's supposed to put away all the sad substitute-pictures? Idk! I feel like this is something they should discuss!"

Oh, yeah, Shen Wei is gonna need to make a decision about that. I'd say he can ditch the photos, but the paintings were painted by him, so they should still be displayed just for how beautiful they are. Or he can store them somewhere more hidden if he likes that better. :)

"-- is DQ using the royal "we" there, I wonder? Or is he extrapolating from his bad feelings?"

I can definitely see how not being able to remember things makes him feel bad and ashamed, so it's easier for him to say that all yao are like that vs having to face his limitations. And he says "I" too, so at first I was thinking it's not a royal "we" per se, but he only says "I" at the very end, so maybe he got gradually closer to accepting that he's talking about himself.

"I mean, if the stakes were very low, and he wasn't being actively mean, it might be fun? But there's no guarantee of the latter. ;-p"

I was going to say that he's rarely mean for no reason, but his reasons can be flimsy af, so yeah, you never know. xD

[china_shop]

"everybody gets to be a metaphor". xD

Hee!

I'd say he can ditch the photos, but the paintings were painted by him, so they should still be displayed just for how beautiful they are.

But photos are artworks too! What if he studied photography and perfected composition, form, focus, and all the things just so that he can take the perfect Kunlun stalker photos. ;-)

Or he can store them somewhere more hidden if he likes that better. :)

Hee!

ZYL: Hey, babe, what do you want to do tonight?
SW: *shifty* I am planning to spend some time alone.
ZYL: ... *can tell at a glance what he means* With all your pictures of my past lives? Again?? What do you even DO in there? (Do I want to know?)

:D :D :D

I can definitely see how not being able to remember things makes him feel bad and ashamed, so it's easier for him to say that all yao are like that vs having to face his limitations.

That's true. That seems very human, actually (in the non-species-specific sense). *pets him*

[china_shop]

Oops, I just nearly lost an hour to those links. (Had to dodge the derivatives and actor references, but still 1000% worth it. Thank you x 100 for the links!! <333)

[facethestrange]

"But photos are artworks too! What if he studied photography and perfected composition, form, focus, and all the things just so that he can take the perfect Kunlun stalker photos. ;-)"

You know what, knowing Shen Wei, this is all actual facts. xD He can keep the photos too then, for their artistic value. :D ...Now how do you even take stalker photos when you need to lug the giant-ass early camera around, lolol, but then again he's super strong, he was totally a paparazzi with those. xD :D

"ZYL: ... *can tell at a glance what he means* With all your pictures of my past lives? Again?? What do you even DO in there? (Do I want to know?)"

Ahahah, as much as I don't think he would be doing anything anymore (or even have much interest in them when he can have the real thing), what he used to do in that room is probably better left unsaid. xD :D :D (But Zhao Yunlan, of all people, definitely wants to know, in detail. ;D)

[facethestrange]

Yayay, glad you enjoyed! ♡♡♡

[china_shop]

he was totally a paparazzi with those. xD :D

Hee! He can always hide in a veil of mist or something, if he needs to be discreet. <3 (Haha, now I'm imagining him taking an old-style flash photo of ZYL sleeping, and accidentally waking him up, and having to... wipe his memory?)

(or even have much interest in them when he can have the real thing)

Ot1h, I think you're absolutely right. Otoh, it makes me wonder how different the incarnations were from each other (and whether Shen Wei ever had conscious or unconscious preferences ;-p). Did ZYL suffer from gastritis in every life? Did he always smoke or have some similar vice? etc. etc.

[facethestrange]

"Hee! He can always hide in a veil of mist or something, if he needs to be discreet. <3"

This is such a cool image (and very vampire-like again, lol), but also I feel like sudden mist would probably alert Zhao Yunlan faster than the lack of it. xD

"(Haha, now I'm imagining him taking an old-style flash photo of ZYL sleeping, and accidentally waking him up, and having to... wipe his memory?)"

Oooh, I just checked both descriptions of the room to see if there are any sleeping pictures mentioned, and there aren't - which doesn't mean that they don't exist, but maybe it means that SW has considered this possibility and only visits Zhao Yunlan at night to stare at him, without taking any pictures. xD

"Otoh, it makes me wonder how different the incarnations were from each other (and whether Shen Wei ever had conscious or unconscious preferences ;-p). Did ZYL suffer from gastritis in every life? Did he always smoke or have some similar vice? etc. etc."

This is such a cool question!! I'd say he's probably always had gastritis assuming it wasn't caused by his father's assholery - if his body is exactly the same on the outside, it should be the same on the inside too. Smoking, maybe not? It's more influenced by the environment? But then again, an addictive personality would be inherent, so probably something similar would keep coming up.

(There's a novel/drama hybrid comic where Shen Wei is the one who came up with the idea to replace cigarettes with lollipops for the current version of Zhao Yunlan. :D Content note: Teenage Zhao Yunlan is very open about his crush on Shen Wei. Shen Wei runs off though and doesn't go there.)

And wow, I have no idea about preferences - on one hand it's kind of unavoidable, isn't it? But on the other hand I really don't think he would have any, as unrealistic as it sounds. Ahhh idk?? Conflicting headcanons! :D

Something else I've wondered about it ZYL's age - it says "Here the man was still a child; there he had grown up.", but nothing beyond that. And I'm wondering about old age, since he's so recognizable as himself in all the pictures. Like, Shen Wei would never lose interest just because he's not ~young and attractive~ anymore, so I guess ZYL is one of those people whose appearance never really changes as they age. Which is a much better alternative to 'he always/generally dies young'. Which would be on brand, I guess, but nope, I don't like it. :P

[china_shop]

but also I feel like sudden mist would probably alert Zhao Yunlan faster than the lack of it. xD

Haha, I was thinking black mist in the shadows at night, but yeah. That would mean he'd need a flash, so that wouldn't work for stealth either. *wonders if any of the photos are infrared*

but maybe it means that SW has considered this possibility and only visits Zhao Yunlan at night to stare at him, without taking any pictures. xD

*imagines dozens of drawings/paintings of ZYL sleeping, and various incarnations of ZYL waking up to the smell of acrylics/oils or pencil shavings in his rubbish bin*

I'd say he's probably always had gastritis

Oh, no, that's too sad. Surely one of the perks of reincarnation should be ditching the annoying health issues?! :-(

Smoking, maybe not? It's more influenced by the environment? But then again, an addictive personality would be inherent, so probably something similar would keep coming up.

I like to think the oral fixation is a constant. And you know, smoking has been a thing for a loooooong time. Maybe he used to smoke a pipe, lol. :D

Ahhhhhhhhhh, that comic! You give such great fanart links (and also great fanart)!! <3 <3 <3 (I wrote a little ficlet where it was Da Qing who started the lollipop ball rolling, in a timeloopy kind of way. :-)

And wow, I have no idea about preferences - on one hand it's kind of unavoidable, isn't it? But on the other hand I really don't think he would have any, as unrealistic as it sounds. Ahhh idk?? Conflicting headcanons! :D

Yeah. I suspect to someone with an immortal perspective like Shen Wei's, it's kind of like moods: you might enjoy someone more when they're peaceful or smiling than when they're angry, but ultimately it's all the same person and you love the whole. You know?

And I'm wondering about old age, since he's so recognizable as himself in all the pictures. Like, Shen Wei would never lose interest just because he's not ~young and attractive~ anymore, so I guess ZYL is one of those people whose appearance never really changes as they age.

Aww, yes. I think there must be older versions of ZYL there too. And he probably continues to be dashingly disreputable. ;-D

[facethestrange]

"*wonders if any of the photos are infrared*"

Bwahh, I just looked it up now, but I had somehow entirely missed the fact that infrared photos don't have to look like this and can look like regular photos, lol, but I wasn't questioning Shen Wei's ability to pine over something that looks like that either. xD

*imagines dozens of drawings/paintings of ZYL sleeping, and various incarnations of ZYL waking up to the smell of acrylics/oils or pencil shavings in his rubbish bin*"

Aaaawwww, that's so peaceful tho, just sitting by his bed drawing. ♡♡♡ (Yep, I am complimenting stalking methods. xD :D)

"Oh, no, that's too sad. Surely one of the perks of reincarnation should be ditching the annoying health issues?! :-("

You know what, I agree! He's an actual god, he can keep the same hot looks in all of his lifetimes, while ditching everything else about his body. :D

"I like to think the oral fixation is a constant. And you know, smoking has been a thing for a loooooong time. Maybe he used to smoke a pipe, lol. :D"

Ooooh, I mostly think of the drama Zhao Yunlan as the one with the oral fixation (which is one of the reasons why I get so excited about the tiny scraps of it in the novel, lolol :D), but yeppp, that would definitely be a constant. :D I was wondering if his environment was always stressful enough that he ended up with an addiction, but he was always the Guardian, so yeah, probably the answer is yes. The idea of him with a pipe is DELIGHTFUL ngl. :D

"(I wrote a little ficlet where it was Da Qing who started the lollipop ball rolling, in a timeloopy kind of way. :-)"

Eee yay! *saves it for later* :D :D

"Yeah. I suspect to someone with an immortal perspective like Shen Wei's, it's kind of like moods: you might enjoy someone more when they're peaceful or smiling than when they're angry, but ultimately it's all the same person and you love the whole. You know?"

OH, I LOVE THIS, this makes the most sense to me! It's both preference/no preference at the same time, YES. :)

[china_shop]

I just looked it up now, but I had somehow entirely missed the fact that infrared photos don't have to look like this and can look like regular photos, lol, but I wasn't questioning Shen Wei's ability to pine over something that looks like that either. xD

Heeeeee! He totally would! :D (And then, who's to say that Shen Wei can't see in infrared whenever he wants to? Maybe that's part of his make-up, like birds being able to see UV.)

He's an actual god, he can keep the same hot looks in all of his lifetimes, while ditching everything else about his body. :D

Exactly!! *pets him*

I was wondering if his environment was always stressful enough that he ended up with an addiction, but he was always the Guardian, so yeah, probably the answer is yes. The idea of him with a pipe is DELIGHTFUL ngl. :D

Oh, yeah, good point. And essence of ZYL is "I will perform absolute cool and laid-back snark (so 99% of the time my stress and tension will get balled up where I don't have to deal with them)", right? So that could lead to ongoing problems across lifetimes, I guess. But I vaguely remember Shen San being pretty chill? *looks forward to revisiting that*

It's both preference/no preference at the same time, YES. :)

:D :D :D :D :D

[facethestrange]

"(And then, who's to say that Shen Wei can't see in infrared whenever he wants to? Maybe that's part of his make-up, like birds being able to see UV.)"

Oh, he probably can, it would be a really minor superpower compared to all the other ones he has. :D

"And essence of ZYL is "I will perform absolute cool and laid-back snark (so 99% of the time my stress and tension will get balled up where I don't have to deal with them)", right? So that could lead to ongoing problems across lifetimes, I guess. But I vaguely remember Shen San being pretty chill? *looks forward to revisiting that*"

He can also be chill for real, I feel like that quote was completely genuine: “There are always things that you can’t control. Either you become strong enough to solve every problem, or you just forget it. It’s not good to obsess over them. That just eats up your mental RAM.” I think it is what he actually does probably at least half of the time, but the other half of the time he thinks super hard about everything and just pretends to be cool and laid-back (and clueless and uninterested). But it may have everything to do with the situation he's in, with Kunlun's memories, and Shen Wei, and Ghost Face, and the Netherworld's machinations, and that's all happening for the first time. So maybe he was actually all chill in all his other lifetimes no matter what his job/calling was, and it takes this kind of stuff to stress him out. :) Obviously he was smoking before, but (crappy father this time around aside) I can also totally see him as someone who starts smoking just to look cooler (he still grew up in that era - he's about my age exactly, though idk about culture) and then just goes 'oh well, I guess I can't quit now, that's fine'. :P

[china_shop]

He can also be chill for real, I feel like that quote was completely genuine: “There are always things that you can’t control. Either you become strong enough to solve every problem, or you just forget it. It’s not good to obsess over them. That just eats up your mental RAM.”

Oh, yes! I'd forgotten that -- great point. Yeah, I like your theory about fifty-fifty genuine chill and performance-of-chill.

though idk about culture

Wikipedia seems to think smoking is very common in China and is seen as a sign of maturity, so that tracks. (I have no idea how reliable Wikipedia is on cultural matters, though.) (A bit off-topic, but there's a description of the proper etiquette for lighting someone else's cigarette there, too, which made me go, ha, of course there's a proper way to do that.)