Guardian Readalong: Vol. 2, Chapter 19

[facethestrange]

Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong - we have reached the end of volume two! ♡

Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions in the schedule posts (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4), or via the !readalong tag.

This week's chapter:

• Chapter 19: (The whole chapter consists of Zhao Yunlan's memories of what he experienced in the Great Divine Tree.) Zhao Yunlan finds the Merit Brush, and sees Pangu creating the world. He remembers Kunlun's childhood, which includes raising a black cat yao and making a bell for him. Nüwa creates humans, and Kunlun points out that they are tainted with the three worms, making Nüwa regret her creation. Nüwa and Fuxi create the Great Seal. Great wars are raging. Kunlun agrees to look after the wu and the yao. Kunlun blinds a dragon, making the god Gonggong crash into the Buzhou Mountain and tear a hole in the Great Seal. The gui break free. Kunlun destroys the Pillars of Heaven, earning divine punishment and causing deadly floods. Kunlun meets the young King of the Gui. Nüwa repairs the sky and the Great Seal. Kunlun gives the young King of the Gui his soul fire and his tendon, making him into a god, and asks him to guard the Four Pillars. Kunlun dies and becomes the Soul-Guarding Lamp. Zhao Yunlan wakes up from his vision back in Dragon City.
  

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC/the fan translation are 76-78.


Excerpts:

1) Kunlun's childhood and his little yao friend

At that point, Zhao Yunlan’s memories became jumbled. On the one hand, he knew where he’d come from. He kept a firm grip on the Merit Brush. On the other hand, he now remembered being an unruly brat who had run and frolicked all over the mountains, causing mischief wherever he went.

He had hugged the Great God Fuxi’s tail…while peeing on it. The phoenix that had once perched upon the Great Divine Tree had been forced to move because of his antics, and from then on, it only perched atop parasol trees.

Sometime later, Nüwa found a tiny newborn beast from somewhere—a mutant mutt of the White Tiger tribe, covered in black fuzz from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. He had yet to gain awareness and had been rejected by his own tribe, so he was placed in Kunlun’s care.

The poor little thing was very weak. Surrounded by the eternal ice on Kunlun Mountain, he seemed likely to die at any moment. It was the first time Kunlun-jun had seen such a troublesome little thing. Seeing no other choice, he personally melted some golden sand and crafted a bell to anchor the tiny beast’s soul and open his mind. Then he hung the bell around the beast’s neck.



2) Nüwa creates humans

Kunlun walked over carefully. He and the mud person Nüwa had just made stared at each other for some time. He watched as the human grew from a child to a youth in the blink of an eye. The youth worshipped him with reverence and awe, but before they could even rise from their bow, middle age was upon them. Next, they began to shed their head of black hair, which was now frosted white. Finally, they collapsed in abject weariness and rejoined the mud from which they’d come.

It was a life as fleeting as fire and smoke.

An unspeakable envy suddenly bloomed in Kunlun-jun’s heart. Perhaps because his own time was beyond measure, he was somewhat jealous of these brilliant lives that burned with the brightness of a meteor. He scooped up some mud in his hands. “What are they called?”

Nüwa said, “These are humans.”

Without considering his words, Kunlun replied, “How lovely they are. They carry the scent of mud with them.”

Hearing that, Nüwa’s expression transformed. For an instant, her features twisted as though she were consumed with shock and panic.

But Kunlun was still young. What did he know beyond rampaging around the Great Divine Tree with his furball cat, causing trouble? How could he have looked at her gaze and grasped that in that moment, she had perceived that innumerous trials and calamities lay ahead?

Humans were born from mud, through which the Chaotic evil beneath the ground was able to enter them and become the three worms.



3) Kunlun and the young King of the Gui's first meeting

The higher-ranked any individual gui was, the closer they seemed to human. At the top were the Kings of the Gui: ethereally lovely, like flowers blooming in blood. The more blood-tainted they were, the greater their beauty.

Legend told that two such kings had existed beneath the Great Seal, peerless and unique. Considered in a certain light, the pair of them were even more precious than the Three Sovereigns in the Mortal Realm. What a coincidence, then, that when Kunlun-jun passed through the forest where Kuafu was buried, he encountered one.

This was a boy with black hair and impossibly dark eyes. He sat with appalling posture atop a huge rock, with his unbound hair flowing freely around him. He was the picture of impropriety, barefoot and clad in a coarse hemp garment that someone had given him.

Kunlun-jun’s unexpected appearance in the woods evidently gave him a terrible shock. He slipped and tumbled down from the rock, landing in the little creek below. There he sat, sopping wet.

Even as Kunlun-jun stood there trying not to laugh, a youchu climbed up from beneath the earth and clamped its jaws on the boy’s slender, delicate neck. The young king’s hand came flying up out of the water at a strange angle, closing over the youchu’s mouth and shoving its head under the water. He pressed down on it with such force that half of the youchu’s head shattered, spraying blood across the king’s clean face like red plum blossoms unfurling in the snow.

The young king peeked at Kunlun-jun, then looked at the blood all over himself. Somewhat embarrassed, he carefully squatted down and rinsed his face and hands in the creek. That done, he pulled the youchu’s body closer and opened his mouth, revealing his sharp fangs. He started to gnaw at the most delicate part, the neck.

The beautiful boy sat in the bloody water, daintily feeding on the youchu’s corpse. Noticing that Kunlun-jun was still watching, he couldn’t help eating more slowly, carefully chewing with his mouth closed and not letting blood dribble out. Then he licked his lips lightly, as though hoping to lick away every trace of blood and appear a bit more refined.



4) Kunlun's death

Very quietly, the young King of the Gui asked, “Are you going to put me back behind the Great Seal?”

“No. Everything else is out of my hands, but at least…at least I can keep you safe.” Kunlun-jun laughed quietly. A brief, vicious spasm racked his body, and an imperceptible tremor entered his voice. “Since you don’t want to be a gui, I’ll give you what you want.”

Shocked, the boy grabbed for Kunlun-jun’s shoulder, but Kunlun’s body was already translucent, his face as pale as snow.
The Mountain God raised a hand. His vast sleeves stirred a fresh breeze, and a flame as resplendent as stardust gathered in his palm. “Take it.”

The boy accepted it with both hands.

“This is the soul fire from my left shoulder.” Sweat beaded Kunlun-jun’s forehead, but still he smiled. “And I… I’ll give you something else.”

As he spoke, his body began to shake violently. He pulled a long, silver tendon from his body; in doing so, he endured a pain more excruciating than any in the world. He seemed not to see the boy’s red-rimmed eyes.

“Take my divine tendon,” he said. “From this day forward…you can be free of…the Place of Great Disrespect, and rank among the gods… Guard…guard over the Four Pillars for me. With Nüwa’s Reincarnation Dial, Fuxi’s Mountain-River Awl…the brush from the Ancient Merit Tree…and I’ll give you one last…”

“Kunlun!”

Kunlun-jun touched a thumb to the young boy’s face, lifting it. Softly, he said, “Stone that is aged but not yet old; water that is frozen but not yet cold; body that is dead but not yet born; soul that is melted but not yet burned… Since Shennong was willing to set aside his divine status to become a mortal, I’ll add one more thing to his pile of good deeds…and let him sympathize with humans until the end…”

With those words, he coughed up his heart’s blood into his hand, where it became a dark red wick. The Mountain God of the Great Wild became increasingly transparent, weaker by the second. Finally, he disappeared completely, leaving behind a snow-white oil lamp. There were two words engraved in the corner: Soul Guardian.

Soul that is melted but not yet burned: the Soul-Guarding Lamp.



Questions:

Did any of the epic/sweeping scenes or images stay with you, or did you like the more personal moments better? Just how adorable are the young versions of Kunlun, Da Qing and Wei? How do you feel about this creation myth and what it says about humans? What do you think upset Zhao Yunlan the most about these memories? Any thoughts on volume two as a whole, or on the entire story so far?

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.

There's no new post next weekend - enjoy the catch-up week! The readalong comes back with volume three on the weekend of May 9. :)

Comments

[facethestrange]

I feel like I have a lot more feels than actual comments about all of this? Oh well, I'm dumping them all here anyway. xD :D

"All these things that lay beneath the earth—whether sincere, brutal, insolent, unrestrained, or wild—were connected to the true bloodline of Kunlun."

This line is both really cool and beautiful, and also really unspecific, and I remember finding it confusing on my first read, but now I feel like it's maybe there specifically for foreshadowing. :D

"Kunlun Mountain was born from the heavens and nurtured by the earth. Over the course of a billion and three thousand years, it developed a soul and was given the title of Kunlun-jun, the Mountain God of the Great Wild."

I find this concept really lovely! ♡

"On the other hand, he now remembered being an unruly brat who had run and frolicked all over the mountains, causing mischief wherever he went.

He had hugged the Great God Fuxi’s tail…while peeing on it. The phoenix that had once perched upon the Great Divine Tree had been forced to move because of his antics, and from then on, it only perched atop parasol trees."

I loveloveLOVE tiny chaos gremlin Kunlun. :D :D :D

"Seeing no other choice, he personally melted some golden sand and crafted a bell to anchor the tiny beast’s soul and open his mind. Then he hung the bell around the beast’s neck."

Aw, this story of Daqing's bell is really sweet. ♡

"All in all, it took an unbelievable amount of effort to be sure the little thing would survive, never mind thrive. As a result, Kunlun no longer had time to cause trouble for anyone else."

It's all just so sweet and heartwarming, and also lol, everyone must have been so relieved. xD

"It wasn’t until the puny beast reached the size of a dumpling and was able to run and jump that Kunlun went down the mountain, bringing the beast along."

How big of a dumpling are we talking about here, and just how tiny was Daqing if this counts as growing bigger? xD

"Kunlun walked over carefully. He and the mud person Nüwa had just made stared at each other for some time. He watched as the human grew from a child to a youth in the blink of an eye. The youth worshipped him with reverence and awe, but before they could even rise from their bow, middle age was upon them. Next, they began to shed their head of black hair, which was now frosted white. Finally, they collapsed in abject weariness and rejoined the mud from which they’d come."

This is SO cinematic, wow. It's basically an animation that you can play in your head.

"What did he know beyond rampaging around the Great Divine Tree with his furball cat, causing trouble?"

I love that Daqing is immediately causing trouble with him as soon as he's healthy enough to do that. :D

"When the Great Seal was first established, Kunlun felt a pang of emptiness in his heart. The brutality and evil of the now-sealed Chaos were like a tiny flame, scorching and dangerous. Given the slightest chance, it would bring about calamitous disaster. But it also burned hot and free, and Kunlun found himself yearning for it, ever so slightly. The young Kunlun couldn’t say exactly what he was feeling, but he shed a string of inexplicable tears from which the Yangtze River later sprang."

Awww, they haven't even met yet and he already misses Shen Wei, sort of. :D

"Humans contained qualities of both gods and demons, which enabled them—more than any other kind of living being—to form emotions of all kinds: jealousy, animosity, obsession, restraint…and unparalleled love and hatred."

I was going to call bullshit and say that Shen Wei is pretty damn good at these too, lol, and then I realized that he's also part god and part demon! Hmmmm.

"Kunlun-jun ruled ten thousand great mountains in the Mortal Realm, and in accordance with his vow to Chiyou he had cared for the wu and yao who lived off the mountains for many years. He had watched as they grew up, cultivated, and entered the world. And now they were dying in batches, like worthless weeds tossed into an open fire."

Damn, this is heartbreaking.

"The gui, like the god born atop the mountain peak, were wholly without fear."

I love that this is the similarity! (Or one of the similarities.)

"Everything that exists will be shaped according to its own will. I…don’t want anyone to control my fate anymore. Let there be no one who can judge my merits and sins. I wish to turn the withered divine tree at the Place of Great Disrespect into a brush, with which every living being can inscribe their own merits and sins, their rights and wrongs. I want a clean slate."

I love this speech so much. (But then there are so many spoilers that I don't even remember enough that probably undermine it, lol.)

"The sound of Kunlun-jun’s sudden laugh was so broken that it might not have been a voice at all. He pointed skyward. “Let them send thunder down upon me if they can. Let them blast Kunlun Mountain open; let them strike me down and kill me. Nothing else will make me accept their will.”"

This toooooo. ♡

"The next day, there was no sign of Kunlun-jun’s raiment, and every part of him was charred black, but he sat naked in the same spot. After a while, he got to his feet. His blackened flesh sloughed off like a molting snake, leaving only new skin behind."

Okay, this is BADASS.

"He reached out, and a leaf from the Great Divine Tree fell into his hand. He curled it upon himself, and it became fresh green robes. Kunlun-jun gathered his loose hair back and straightened his spine. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, then looked up at Nüwa with an arrogant smile, lips still stained with the blood he didn’t bother wiping away. “See? What can they do to me?”

That smile, at least, was the same as always. It held a kind of careless innocence."

I love him so much, and his entire aesthetic, and his leaf outfit. :D

"He sat with appalling posture atop a huge rock, with his unbound hair flowing freely around him. He was the picture of impropriety, barefoot and clad in a coarse hemp garment that someone had given him.

Kunlun-jun’s unexpected appearance in the woods evidently gave him a terrible shock. He slipped and tumbled down from the rock, landing in the little creek below. There he sat, sopping wet."

:D :D :D The contrast of THIS (btw I love messy, improper Wei so much, AW!) with the painting!! He's just 100% focused on how beautiful Kunlun looked (beautiful enough to make him fall off the rock :D) and ignores everything else. ♡♡♡ Also, I wonder who gave him the garment.

"The beautiful boy sat in the bloody water, daintily feeding on the youchu’s corpse."

!!! What a fantastic sentence this is. :D :D

"Noticing that Kunlun-jun was still watching, he couldn’t help eating more slowly, carefully chewing with his mouth closed and not letting blood dribble out. Then he licked his lips lightly, as though hoping to lick away every trace of blood and appear a bit more refined."

Ahhhhh, I ADORE HIM.

"Darkness flooded the boy’s gaze, but when he looked up at Kunlun-jun, he successfully restrained his innate brutality. It seemed like something he did often."

He ALREADY did it often, ahhhh.

“I don’t want to live like that,” he said. “If I must, then I might as well not live at all. I would rather die than live in a way not of my own choosing.”

I love him so, so, so much, DAMN. ♡♡♡

"Kunlun-jun impulsively reached out and patted the young king’s head and found that his hair was as soft as it looked. The boy held his neck stiffly, but he didn’t move, docilely allowing Kunlun-jun to pet him. It was almost impossible to imagine that he had only just been gnawing on a youchu’s neck, even with traces of gore still around his mouth."

Also they're ADORABLE.

And I love the beautiful descriptions of Kunlun Mountain too. ♡

“I do understand. I used to be trapped under the Great Seal with no idea what was outside. If I’d known how beautiful it is out here, I would have poked a hole through the seal myself years ago.”

Kunlun-jun shook his head, laughing quietly. “‘I would rather die than live in a way not of my own choosing,’ hmm? Imagine that—you do understand me.”

♡♡♡!!! My favorite quote from this chapter, possibly.

"It wasn’t until the humans had dispersed that Kunlun finally appeared before Shennong. The white-haired old man slapped him cleanly across the face, and Kunlun allowed it.

The young King of the Gui at Kunlun-jun’s side was another story. He bared his beastly claws and roared, but before he could pounce at Shennong, the Mountain God reached out and stopped him."

Omg, sweet feral bb.

"You can’t let go of eternity, you’re unable to see through right and wrong, you can’t differentiate between good and evil, and you don’t understand life and death!"

I am trying very hard to avoid revealing too many spoilers, lol, but I just need to point out the obvious thing that this is what Zhao Yunlan's father just said. Without any comment re: why. xD

"The responsibility for the Four Pillars that held up the sky had, by chance, fallen to the young King of the Gui, who had divinity forced upon him. All that weight lay on his shoulders. It was Kunlun-jun’s last taunt to the Heavens.

Once he took up that burden, he faced millions of years with no end in sight."

Yeah, so I have apparently just continue to have few comments on things but a lot of FEELS. Here too. ♡♡♡

[trobadora]

I feel like I have a lot more feels than actual comments about all of this? Oh well, I'm dumping them all here anyway. xD :D

♥ ♥ ♥

You have a lot more comments than I did! Which is great, because now I can reply to yours. :D

but now I feel like it's maybe there specifically for foreshadowing. :D

Yeah, it does sound that way!

"It wasn’t until the puny beast reached the size of a dumpling and was able to run and jump that Kunlun went down the mountain, bringing the beast along."

How big of a dumpling are we talking about here, and just how tiny was Daqing if this counts as growing bigger? xD

I checked the Chinese, and it says 团子. The pics on the Baidu page show palm-sized dumplings - which, OMG, how tiny was Daqing at first?!

Awww, they haven't even met yet and he already misses Shen Wei, sort of. :D

♥ ♥ ♥

I was going to call bullshit and say that Shen Wei is pretty damn good at these too, lol, and then I realized that he's also part god and part demon! Hmmmm.

Oh, huh, I hadn't put that together, but that is fascinating!

Also, I wonder who gave him the garment.

Yeah, I was wondering about that too! Who has he been interacting with, pre-Kunlun?

He ALREADY did it often, ahhhh.

YES! SO IMPORTANT!!!!! :D

I am trying very hard to avoid revealing too many spoilers, lol, but I just need to point out the obvious thing that this is what Zhao Yunlan's father just said. Without any comment re: why. xD

Yep, not subtle! Laying the seeds, and possibly leading the reader down a wrong path. *g*

[china_shop]

Yeah, I was wondering about that too! Who has he been interacting with, pre-Kunlun?

Maybe he took it off something he ate? ;-p

[facethestrange]

"I checked the Chinese, and it says 团子. The pics on the Baidu page show palm-sized dumplings - which, OMG, how tiny was Daqing at first?!"

Damn, that's TINY, and super adorable, and not at all how kittens work irl, but I guess the yao are just different? :D Oh, but it kinda gets even weirder because he's "a mutant mutt of the White Tiger tribe" - I wonder if his color is only a part of why he got rejected by his tribe, and the other reason is because he's a tiger the size of a baby mouse? BUT AWW THO. ♡

"Yeah, I was wondering about that too! Who has he been interacting with, pre-Kunlun?"

Ikr, I want some missing scenes from this time! I love the idea of a human seeing this naked feral child and giving him some clothes, and damn, Wei must have loved it so much - he was more proper and civilized now. ♡

[china_shop]

Aw, this story of Daqing's bell is really sweet. ♡

Yes, I love that he made it himself. I wonder if he'd had any bell-making practice, or if it was his first try and he was naturally talented on account of being a god. ;-p

This is SO cinematic, wow. It's basically an animation that you can play in your head.

Right? So cool!

> > "The gui, like the god born atop the mountain peak, were wholly without fear."
>
> I love that this is the similarity! (Or one of the similarities.)

Oh, yes, great catch! <3

:D :D :D The contrast of THIS (btw I love messy, improper Wei so much, AW!) with the painting!! He's just 100% focused on how beautiful Kunlun looked (beautiful enough to make him fall off the rock :D) and ignores everything else. ♡♡♡

LOLOL! You're so right. :D :D :D

[facethestrange]

"I wonder if he'd had any bell-making practice, or if it was his first try and he was naturally talented on account of being a god. ;-p"

Okay, but this is actually a really good question because my first thought was just 'eh, he just created it just like all the gods create things (and people) all the time, nbd', but the quote is "he personally melted some golden sand and crafted a bell", so it sounds like it took time and skill? Or maybe he still created it the way the other gods create things, but he was an inexperienced baby god, so the process had more steps. :D

[autodach]

Oh Boy, it’s the Primordial Past!
Xiao-Wei is so cute. Feral little Ghost King ❤
I love that a scene where he embarrassingly falls into the water is what inspires his super dignified “first meeting” poem later. And apparently he had bad posture at some point!

I have incoherent feelings about Kunlun giving his soul and tendon to the Little Ghost King.
On one hand it makes Xiao-Wei into a god, freeing him from what he doesn’t want to be. But he’s also burdening him with a heavy duty, as well as making him a one-of-a-kind chimera that has no peer in this world. I feel like he’s dooming him to a life full of loneliness here, at least metaphorically if not literally.

[facethestrange]

"I love that a scene where he embarrassingly falls into the water is what inspires his super dignified “first meeting” poem later."

Omg I know riiiiight, this may be my top favorite thing about their first meeting (and I love everything about it so much that it's not an easy choice). :D ♡♡♡ HE'S THE CUTEST, "daintily feeding on the youchu’s corpse" asdfghgfdhjskl, and he's trying SO HARD already ("he successfully restrained his innate brutality. It seemed like something he did often."), I'm so proud of him and I just love him to pieces! ♡

"On one hand it makes Xiao-Wei into a god, freeing him from what he doesn’t want to be. But he’s also burdening him with a heavy duty, as well as making him a one-of-a-kind chimera that has no peer in this world. I feel like he’s dooming him to a life full of loneliness here, at least metaphorically if not literally."

Oooof, yeah. I can totally see why Kunlun himself is still struggling with this choice. To me personally it's the right choice though, because ultimately there weren't any other options? He didn't want to be a gui, and I'm assuming the possibility of being something else instead simply didn't exist, he could only be this. And making him stay a gui when he wanted to escape it would have been worse imo (plus he would have been lonely among the gui too - he already was).

[trobadora]

On one hand it makes Xiao-Wei into a god, freeing him from what he doesn’t want to be. But he’s also burdening him with a heavy duty, as well as making him a one-of-a-kind chimera that has no peer in this world. I feel like he’s dooming him to a life full of loneliness here, at least metaphorically if not literally.

Yeah, I'm entirely with you on that, it's A LOT!

[china_shop]

And apparently he had bad posture at some point!

Hee!

On one hand it makes Xiao-Wei into a god, freeing him from what he doesn’t want to be. But he’s also burdening him with a heavy duty, as well as making him a one-of-a-kind chimera that has no peer in this world. I feel like he’s dooming him to a life full of loneliness here, at least metaphorically if not literally.

Yeah, this is what upset ZYL so much, right? It's such an unbearable burden and responsibility to have placed on SW. :-(((

[trobadora]

Oof, it can't have been easy choosing scenes to excerpt here! But I love what you picked. :D

Did any of the epic/sweeping scenes or images stay with you, or did you like the more personal moments better?

The initial image of Pangu with his axe was very impressive, and so was Kunlun shedding his scorched skin after he's struck by divine lightning, but for the most part the mythological parts didn't leave much of an impression for me.

Just how adorable are the young versions of Kunlun, Da Qing and Wei?

Daqing and Xiao-Wei are lovely! Kunlun is ... annoying as a child, and mostly baffling later. Honestly I don't really get why he's doing what he's doing, and I don't like his disregard for the costs.

How do you feel about this creation myth and what it says about humans?

I don't much like what it says about any of it; it's not a very pleasant cosmology.

What do you think upset Zhao Yunlan the most about these memories?

Honestly, I have no idea. And I have even less of an idea how he got from all of this to what he says to Shen Wei ... where did that revelation about Shen Wei's plans come from? I feel like I'm missing something there.

On to my comments - I don't have a lot this week; too much mythology. *g*

Logically, Zhao Yunlan knew that, having gotten what he'd come for, he should immediately start finding a way back out. But in that moment, for whatever reason, he couldn't help moving toward whatever was drawing him in deeper.

I wonder if ZYL being drawn to the Hallows in the drama is partially inspired by this?

All in all, it took an unbelievable amount of effort to be sure the little thing would survive, never mind thrive. As a result, Kunlun no longer had time to cause trouble for anyone else.

Awwww! :D

Kunlun-jun's unexpected appearance in the woods evidently gave him a terrible shock. He slipped and tumbled down from the rock, landing in the little creek below. There he sat, sopping wet.

The sight disrupted his heart's melody and his control of his limbs! :D

Darkness flooded the boy's gaze, but when he looked up at Kunlun-jun, he successfully restrained his innate brutality. It seemed like something he did often.

I love that his restraint is present already before he meets Kunlun - it's not something Kunlun inspires in him; it's as innate to him as the brutality.

If I must, then I might as well not live at all. I would rather die than live in a way not of my own choosing.

Oh, fascinating! So this (and Kunlun quoting it later) is the source of that YOHE exchange between SW and ZYL.

Kunlun-jun shook his head, laughing quietly. "'I would rather die than live in a way not of my own choosing,' hmm? Imagine that-you do understand me."

♥ ♥ ♥

And you-you were born from the great mountains, innately connected to the evil of the Chaos, not to mention the three ethereal souls you absorbed from the axe of Pangu that opened the sky. Long, long ago I said that your very existence was a terrible omen and that you would one day usher in great ruin. That's why I had drifting snow cover Kunlun Mountain's peak year-round, so that it might hone your spirit. And yet, here you are anyway. You can't let go of eternity, you're unable to see through right and wrong, you can't differentiate between good and evil, and you don't understand life and death!

Ha! Can't say Kunlun doesn't deserve this speech.

(Also, not subtle with the echo from what ZYL's father said.)

Version comparison: I'm sure there are many more small differences, but my eyes glazed over too much, but here are a few things I did notice:

• When Nüwa tells Kunlun to come and help her find stones to repair the sky, in the fan translation Kunlun replies:
  
  "But I want to try." Lord Kunlun said, "No matter what, I want to try... even if I die trying, I would die as Mount Kunlun, not just a small mound in the middle of nowhere."


• Kunlun's first conversation with the little ghost king goes differently - there's a whole bit before Kunlun asks him why he's not with his own kind, and none of this is in the official translation:
  
  "Hey, child, you're a Ghost King, right? Don't you command the lesser ghosts? Why did that thing try to bite even you?"
  
  The youth's hands trembled and the corpse fell from his hands into the water, sending a splash on to his face. He looked at the approaching Lord Kunlun in a bit of panic, pitch-black gaze fixed on him, mouth agape but unable to respond for a moment.
  
  "Do you not know how to talk? That can't be." Lord Kunlun leaned against the boulder artlessly, raising his eyebrows, "Got a name? What do I call you?"
  
  "... Wei."
  
  "Which Wei?"
  
  "... ...mountain, ghost."
  
  "Mountain, Ghost?" Lord Kunlun laid down on the boulder, raising his eyebrows. " How fitting, only the spirit of it is a little weak. Look at this world, all the endless mountain ranges connecting to the seas, the towering peaks stretching endlessly. How about we add a few more strokes, and change it to Wei?"
  
  Lord Kunlun asked, "Little Ghost King, why aren't you together with your ghost people?"


• Kunlun-jun shook his head, laughing quietly. "'I would rather die than live in a way not of my own choosing,' hmm? Imagine that-you do understand me."
  
  The fan translation renders this as If one has no choice in life, one would rather not live. Looks like I've met my soulmate - the callback to Xiao-Wei's earlier words doesn't come through as clearly - and it made me look more closely at the Chinese version I have, which only made me wonder more about different versions, LOL.
  
  1) What's rendered as "soulmate" in the fan translation is - to no one's surprise - 知己. I expect that's the same in whatever version the official translation is based on - no reason to think differently.
  
  2) But the rest - Xiao-Wei's line and Kunlun's quoting - I think must have been changed for the version the official translation was based on, at least somewhat.
  
  JJWXC Chinese version:
  SW: 我不喜欢，不如不生
  KL: 生不由己，不如不生
  
  Fan translation:
  SW: I don't like it. It'd be better to not have been born.
  KL: If one has no choice in life, one would rather not live. .
  
  Official translation:
  SW: I would rather die than live in a way not of my own choosing
  KL: 'I would rather die than live in a way not of my own choosing'
  
  In the JJWXC version, Kunlun quotes Xiao-Wei, but rephrases part of his statement into something more elegant (the fan translation unfortunately obscures the quote). Meanwhile the official translation has him quote Xiao-Wei's entire line, but also, that line is already more complex and elegant, and part of a longer statement: "I don't want to live like that," he said. "If I must, then I might as well not live at all. I would rather die than live in a way not of my own choosing."
  
  Honestly, I think Xiao-Wei's stark "I don't like it" from the JJWXC version was great, and I wish that was still there! But there's so much that's different in the official translation. Not for the first time, I really wish we had the Chinese version they were working with ...

[china_shop]

but for the most part the mythological parts didn't leave much of an impression for me.

Yeah, so much of it is an epic history, with vast swathes of time passing in a sentence or two. I was feeling very vague about it even while I was still reading. /o\

I wonder if ZYL being drawn to the Hallows in the drama is partially inspired by this?

Ooh yeah, maybe!

The sight disrupted his heart's melody and his control of his limbs! :D

LOLOL!!

Awww, the fan translation has the naming conversation! (Does the official translation not have that at all, I wonder?)

(As always, thanks for the comparisons and translation notes! <3)

[facethestrange]

"with vast swathes of time passing in a sentence or two"

Oh, I think this is exactly why I find this hard to follow too! This, and the fact that a lot of things are done without any explanation, like 'X did this, and then Y did that', but it doesn't say why or what led to any of it.

"Awww, the fan translation has the naming conversation! (Does the official translation not have that at all, I wonder?)"

It got moved to the Shen San story. :)

[trobadora]

Awww, the fan translation has the naming conversation! (Does the official translation not have that at all, I wonder?)

I was wondering if it was removed because it had been deemed unnecessary since it's already been quoted in the present day, but it makes a lot more sense that it was moved to the Shen San extra! It's much better placed there, IMO, because it has so much more weight when it's not a first meeting.

[facethestrange]

"Oof, it can't have been easy choosing scenes to excerpt here! But I love what you picked. :D"

Hee, thank you! Surprisingly, it was a lot easier than I expected - skipping everything too convoluted or with too many random characters kinda just leaves you with these. xD :D

"The initial image of Pangu with his axe was very impressive, and so was Kunlun shedding his scorched skin after he's struck by divine lightning, but for the most part the mythological parts didn't leave much of an impression for me."

These are definitely some of the most impressive ones for me too! When the darkness splits and the light floods in at the beginning is such a cool description to me. I also loved the human aging in the blink of an eye, but that's not very sweeping, it's just very cinematic. :D

"Honestly I don't really get why he's doing what he's doing, and I don't like his disregard for the costs."

You and him both. xD /spoilers

"And I have even less of an idea how he got from all of this to what he says to Shen Wei ... where did that revelation about Shen Wei's plans come from? I feel like I'm missing something there."

Yeah, I think I said it in the previous post that I don't know where he got this bit of information. When I was re-reading this chapter I looked for hints and I still haven't found any, so yeah, I also have no idea.

"I wonder if ZYL being drawn to the Hallows in the drama is partially inspired by this?"

Ooooh, could be! (And the visions he can't control possibly too!)

"The sight disrupted his heart's melody and his control of his limbs! :D"

:D :D :D I'm grinning so much at this, BEST COMMENTARY. :D

"I love that his restraint is present already before he meets Kunlun - it's not something Kunlun inspires in him; it's as innate to him as the brutality."

Yes yes YES! ♡ He firmly chose the life he wanted to live long before he met Kunlun.

"The youth's hands trembled and the corpse fell from his hands into the water, sending a splash on to his face. He looked at the approaching Lord Kunlun in a bit of panic, pitch-black gaze fixed on him, mouth agape but unable to respond for a moment."

This feral bb, aw!!

"Lord Kunlun leaned against the boulder artlessly"
"Lord Kunlun laid down on the boulder"

:D :D :D Just Zhao Yunlan being Zhao Yunlan, nothing to see here, LMAO.

And the name conversation is actually here! It's a bit early for that, I can see why it's not here anymore (and moved to the Shen San story instead).

"In the JJWXC version, Kunlun quotes Xiao-Wei, but rephrases part of his statement into something more elegant (the fan translation unfortunately obscures the quote)."

Oh, that's a really cool way to do that (when the second part of the quote stays intact). And I like the "I don't like it" part too, yes! (Though I also like when they both say the exact same thing.) Thank you all the information and analysis! :) ♡

[china_shop]

skipping everything too convoluted or with too many random characters kinda just leaves you with these. xD :D

Ha, that was pretty much my experience of the chapter, too. ;-)

> > "And I have even less of an idea how he got from all of this to what he says to Shen Wei ... where did that revelation about Shen Wei's plans come from? I feel like I'm missing something there."
>
> Yeah, I think I said it in the previous post that I don't know where he got this bit of information. When I was re-reading this chapter I looked for hints and I still haven't found any, so yeah, I also have no idea.

Could it be the whole "if I can't live freely, the way I want, it's better not to live at all" part?

:D :D :D Just Zhao Yunlan being Zhao Yunlan, nothing to see here, LMAO.

Hee! <3 <3 <3

[trobadora]

skipping everything too convoluted or with too many random characters kinda just leaves you with these. xD :D

LOL!

You and him both. xD /spoilers

Oh? Tell me more!

Yes yes YES! ♡ He firmly chose the life he wanted to live long before he met Kunlun.

I didn't remember that at all, and it makes me like this so much more, that for all the impact Kunlun has on him, this is already who he is when they first meet. (Even more in the drama, because the circumstances are so different, but even in the novel, feral or no, at his core he's already the person we know.)

It's a bit early for that, I can see why it's not here anymore (and moved to the Shen San story instead).

Oh, that's where it went? Yeah, agreed, it works much better when it's not at the very start!

(Brilliant thing about the drama, of course, is that the time loop means there is no start. One of them is always already all the way in. *g*)

Oh, that's a really cool way to do that (when the second part of the quote stays intact).

Yeah, I thought so, too!

[china_shop]

Ooh, great choices of quotes! \o/

I was kind of swimming my way through the mythology a bit helplessly, but I do have some notes.


The darkness surrounding him was unique; being inside it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. In fact, he got the sense that he was meant to sleep soundly here. He yawned as he walked, feeling himself grow drowsy.

I wonder if this is why drama!ZYL keeps yawning during his first trip to Dixing.

Pangu's "hair and beard were untamed." -- ha, imagine if Kunlun had been that kind of mountain god. :D

I don't know whether to LOL or facepalm at bb!Kunlun going around peeing on people. /o\ The "Here, have a kitten to look after" strategy was a good one! (I wonder what would have happened if someone had given YOHE!Ye Zun something to love and protect in the drama.) Do we hear about any of the other gods having pets and friends like Kunlun? It feels like he's more in focus as a person than the others.

The Heavens had already blessed Nüwa with great merits for her creation. She suddenly looked up at the sky with its disorderly swirls of stars and felt as if she had caught the first glimpse of something—something cold, restraining her from every direction. It was like an invisible, unstoppable hand pushing all humans and gods forward.

This made me ???? Is it fate or the Heavens or...?

Also, some of the imagery here made me go, "Is this why Dixing is a volcanic hellscape?" ;-p

When the Great Seal was first established, Kunlun felt a pang of emptiness in his heart. The brutality and evil of the now-sealed Chaos were like a tiny flame, scorching and dangerous. Given the slightest chance, it would bring about calamitous disaster. But it also burned hot and free, and Kunlun found himself yearning for it, ever so slightly. The young Kunlun couldn’t say exactly what he was feeling, but he shed a string of inexplicable tears from which the Yangtze River later sprang.

That's very cool about the Yangtze, but as for the rest -- is this a metaphor for Weilan? Modern!ZYL could never find love before, because he could never be wholly satisfied by someone who didn't contain the seeds of brutality and chaos ("scorching and dangerous")? It's not all he wants, but he needs that flavour in there, to spice things up? Idk.

But the seeds of the three worms had already been planted.

Where?

Humans contained qualities of both gods and demons, which enabled them—more than any other kind of living being—to form emotions of all kinds: jealousy, animosity, obsession, restraint…and unparalleled love and hatred.

It's unclear to me which of these feelings are considered godly (if any, in particular) and which demonic. Or maybe they're all both in different ways. ;-p

Kunlun watched coldly from the sidelines as the first Great War of Gods and Demons raged. Seemingly influenced by the roiling malevolence, his heart, which had been pristine for all those thousands of years, came to harbor uncontrollable sorrow and frustration and unquenchable loneliness.

:-(((((

Chiyou begs Kunlun to look after the wu and the yao -- which makes it kind of funny that Kunlun enters the human reincarnation cycle. (I guess the wu and the yao don't have a reincarnation cycle?) And aww, it's Daqing who (inadvertently? and kind of grossly, by licking up Chiyou's blood) cracks open his heart and leads to his downfall.

To repay Chiyou, Kunlun-jun took the wu and yao under his wing. From that day on, all wu and yao belonged to Kunlun and were sheltered by the mountains.

Is he repaying him for the kowtowing? Or for feeding his cat? /o\

He had watched Fuxi fall, seen Nüwa go into seclusion, and witnessed Shennong lose his divine powers and subsequently disappear, and he had been waiting ever since. When he saw Xuanyuan pick up Chiyou’s head, he said nothing. He was waiting for someone—anyone—to return peace to the world. Anyone at all.

That's such a passive position to take... (It also makes me think of drama!SW's stance, which is basically keeping things imperfect but stable, because peace is so important to him -- and that stance is part of what attracts ZYL to him, I think.)

Gonggong again! (And then I went back to the Yao Market performance where they sang about "how Gonggong in a fit of rage had ultimately damaged public property by toppling Buzhou Mountain." I don't think we see whether the song includes the Mountain God blinding the dragon?)

Nothing else will make me accept their will.

Wow, no wonder present-day ZYL defies gods and spirits.

I kinda hate the hierarchy that equates ugliness with evil and beauty with good. ;-p

Aww, feral-child!SW! *pets gingerly* I'm not really into this as a meet-cute, but it really works as a "forging a bond that transcends thousands of years" encounter. And wow, Shen Wei has come so far since then!!

Kunlun-jun shook his head, laughing quietly. “‘I would rather die than live in a way not of my own choosing,’ hmm? Imagine that—you do understand me.”

Awwww! <3 <3 <3 (I like the drama wording: If I don't like it, then it's better for me not to live in this world. /change-resistant)

Kunlun didn’t stop him. All along, his fight had been only against Heaven’s will.

So am I reading this right: Kunlun creates a new mountain to save the wu and the yao from the Heavens' flood, and he lets first Houyi and then Shennong bring humans up too? He's protecting wu and yao (because they're under his wing) and incidentally prepared to allow humans? Heh.

Out of nowhere, Kunlun said, “Chiyou once entrusted both the wu and yao to me. Now the two groups are at odds, unwilling to coexist even on the tiny shelter of Penglai. It seems that Heaven’s will is that I must choose which will survive, lest they all die together. Is that right?”

:-((( Aww, this reminds me of drama!bb!ZYL's dream of harmony between the peoples.

Hey, Kunlun-jun has a palace. I wonder what he does there...

Oof, the Lantern wick. No wonder "it's not something you can just find" (cf Fu You). /o\

The responsibility for the Four Pillars that held up the sky had, by chance, fallen to the young King of the Gui, who had divinity forced upon him. All that weight lay on his shoulders. It was Kunlun-jun’s last taunt to the Heavens.

Yeah, I think this is why ZYL is so upset and mumbling apologies. :-(

Millennia swam before his eyes. A timeless sigh came from the depths of the Great Divine Tree. A low voice said, “Why did you have to do all this…”

“Pan…gu…”

This reminds me of his dream at the end of ep 10 (which I still don't really understand):

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?”

This is about being on the mountain in Penglai, right, but what was the offhand comment that drove him to "go through all this effort"? Shennong saying that his existence was a terrible omen? Something else? *so confused*

And then at the end, has Kunlun been fully wakened now? Is ZYL Kunlun? Because SW seemed to think not in ch 18, but I have no idea!

I don't know how I feel about the volume overall! I feel like I've forgotten half of it already, lol. /o\

[facethestrange]

"I wonder if this is why drama!ZYL keeps yawning during his first trip to Dixing."

Omg, I didn't even remember that, but this may as well be the reason, yes! :D

"Pangu's "hair and beard were untamed." -- ha, imagine if Kunlun had been that kind of mountain god. :D"

Lolol, I'd be into that too, most likely. :D :D

"I wonder what would have happened if someone had given YOHE!Ye Zun something to love and protect in the drama."

That sounds absolutely adorable! ♡ (But also I feel like Ye Zun would have been fine exactly as he was if all the kidnapping and lying and abuse had simply not happened to him.)

"Do we hear about any of the other gods having pets and friends like Kunlun? It feels like he's more in focus as a person than the others."

I guess that's just because he's the main character, but it also sounds like they're not doing friendships or fun things much in the first place - he's the only kid at that point, everyone else is just doing serious god business?

> "She suddenly looked up at the sky with its disorderly swirls of stars and felt as if she had caught the first glimpse of something—something cold, restraining her from every direction. It was like an invisible, unstoppable hand pushing all humans and gods forward."

"This made me ???? Is it fate or the Heavens or...?"

I think that's death. (Mostly going from what happens later, and I may be wrong, but in general that's the main reason why humans were bad news.)

"Also, some of the imagery here made me go, "Is this why Dixing is a volcanic hellscape?" ;-p"

Ooooh, which one in this chapter? (I can only think of something that comes later and blanking on things that were already described here. xD)

"That's very cool about the Yangtze, but as for the rest -- is this a metaphor for Weilan? Modern!ZYL could never find love before, because he could never be wholly satisfied by someone who didn't contain the seeds of brutality and chaos ("scorching and dangerous")? It's not all he wants, but he needs that flavour in there, to spice things up? Idk."

I think it's more the freedom part - freedom from rules, freedom of choice, tying into their first meeting? Like, I see the "scorching and dangeous" part as the nope part, and "but it also burned hot and free" as what attracts him to it.

> "But the seeds of the three worms had already been planted."

"Where?"

Wow, it is a really weirdly placed sentence, now that I look at it again! I'm assuming just in ~in the world~, but why the sentence is specifically there, I have no idea.

"It's unclear to me which of these feelings are considered godly (if any, in particular) and which demonic. Or maybe they're all both in different ways. ;-p"

Ooooh, interesting! I didn't see it as duality of emotions, just that humans are more emotional than other beings? Like, other beings don't even have some of these emotions or don't feel them this strongly, it's purely a human thing?

"Chiyou begs Kunlun to look after the wu and the yao -- which makes it kind of funny that Kunlun enters the human reincarnation cycle. (I guess the wu and the yao don't have a reincarnation cycle?)"

I think there's only one reincarnation cycle, and you can get reincarnated as anyone/anything. And he was always human because he's ~special~ I guess. /partially a spoiler, partially not

"Is he repaying him for the kowtowing? Or for feeding his cat? /o\"

He didn't care about the kowtowing, so it's only about Daqing drinking the blood, but the 'repaying' part confuses me as well! I'd say it's more a matter of his cat now having a connection to Chiyou than anything that requires a repayment? ... Oooooh, wait! :D Is it the equivalent of 'DQ touched the Hallows and they did something weird to him'? He's blessed by a god now?

"Gonggong again! (And then I went back to the Yao Market performance where they sang about "how Gonggong in a fit of rage had ultimately damaged public property by toppling Buzhou Mountain." I don't think we see whether the song includes the Mountain God blinding the dragon?)"

Big spoiler, not going there. :D :D

"I kinda hate the hierarchy that equates ugliness with evil and beauty with good. ;-p"

Does it? Only their rank is related to their beauty, and it specifically says "The more blood-tainted they were, the greater their beauty." Like, the lowest (and ugliest) youchu are basically just non-sentient animals, and the beautiful kings are the 'evil' ones - the ones who have the awareness of what evil even is. Shen Wei is 'good' despite it, not because of it.

"So am I reading this right: Kunlun creates a new mountain to save the wu and the yao from the Heavens' flood, and he lets first Houyi and then Shennong bring humans up too? He's protecting wu and yao (because they're under his wing) and incidentally prepared to allow humans? Heh."

Basically, yeah? :D (But spoilers. xD)

"Hey, Kunlun-jun has a palace. I wonder what he does there..."

I was taken aback by the palace too, lol, it doesn't sound like something he would like. :P

"Yeah, I think this is why ZYL is so upset and mumbling apologies. :-("

That's what I think too, yeah.

"This is about being on the mountain in Penglai, right, but what was the offhand comment that drove him to "go through all this effort"? Shennong saying that his existence was a terrible omen? Something else? *so confused*"

I don't think this is about anything that happened here. /mostly not a spoiler, but also a spoiler

"And then at the end, has Kunlun been fully wakened now? Is ZYL Kunlun? Because SW seemed to think not in ch 18, but I have no idea!"

Not yet (but spoilers again xD).

[china_shop]

(But also I feel like Ye Zun would have been fine exactly as he was if all the kidnapping and lying and abuse had simply not happened to him.)

Yes, true. I was thinking in the Rebel camp but before his powers woke. Like, maybe having something to look after would have helped him stay grounded somehow. But then again, given the Rebel Chief had mind control powers probably not, and the kitten might well have come to a bad end. /o\

but it also sounds like they're not doing friendships or fun things much in the first place - he's the only kid at that point, everyone else is just doing serious god business?

That was the impression I got, too. And no one at all is parenting him beyond "Here, have a kitten!" No wonder he's running amok! (I wonder if he's been well-parented in any of his incarnations. Maybe it's just not his fate.)

I think that's death.

Oh, right. Thanks! (Given how much of this chapter relies on later info, I feel a bit grumbly about volume 2 ending with the reader bewildered and scratching their head, or possibly jumping to entirely the wrong conclusions. ;-p)

Ooooh, which one in this chapter?

Mostly this bit: Kunlun sat and watched, hugging his tiny furball. He had never supposed that so much magma lay below the land, erupting forth with a roar from the deepest places underground.

I think it's more the freedom part - freedom from rules, freedom of choice, tying into their first meeting?

Ot1h, that makes total sense, but otoh, I really don't see SW as free? (Which again, I think that's why ZYL is so upset, right?) SW seems constrained by and burdened by so many rules, responsibilities, and political manoeuvring, as well as constantly feeling like he's fighting his own nature... :-(

Wow, it is a really weirdly placed sentence, now that I look at it again! I'm assuming just in ~in the world~, but why the sentence is specifically there, I have no idea.

Hm, maybe it's ~in people~?

Ooooh, interesting! I didn't see it as duality of emotions, just that humans are more emotional than other beings? Like, other beings don't even have some of these emotions or don't feel them this strongly, it's purely a human thing?

I guess that makes sense. I was thinking of the emotions as too inherited, like genetics. But also, I feel like yao have a lot of feelings and are really quite a lot like humans in that regard? *continues to resist the whole "humans are super special" propaganda* ;-p

He didn't care about the kowtowing, so it's only about Daqing drinking the blood, but the 'repaying' part confuses me as well!

He didn't care about the kowtowing to start with, but it says that DQ drinking the blood was what set him on another path/changed him, so I wondered if part of that was his becoming less frozen-hearted and maybe recognising Chiyou's tribute and suffering. But really, I have no idea. *shrug emoticon*

Is it the equivalent of 'DQ touched the Hallows and they did something weird to him'? He's blessed by a god now?

Ooh! Maybe!! (Though in the novel he still has to cultivate like all the other yao.)

Does it? Only their rank is related to their beauty, and it specifically says "The more blood-tainted they were, the greater their beauty." Like, the lowest (and ugliest) youchu are basically just non-sentient animals, and the beautiful kings are the 'evil' ones

Oh, you're right, doh! Thanks!! (I don't like that system, either, though. I want to divorce appearance and sentience completely. ;-p)

/mostly not a spoiler, but also a spoiler

Hee! *hearts you* (More tomorrow. <3)

[trobadora]

I wonder if this is why drama!ZYL keeps yawning during his first trip to Dixing.

Ooh, very cool thought, that would make sense as an allusion to the novel!

(I wonder what would have happened if someone had given YOHE!Ye Zun something to love and protect in the drama.)

Or what if he'd been adopted by a kitten while in the pillar? (I know, I know, you've sort of written that. *g* But I mean a not-Yashou kitten. Something he could care about without all the baggage and fraughtness.)

fate or the Heavens

Is there a meaningful distinction between those? Unlike the gods who walk around being people and peeing on people, the Heavens are kind of an abstract force here.

Is he repaying him for the kowtowing? Or for feeding his cat? /o\

I know there's a whole thread of discussion about this, but I just wanted to say I was wondering about that too!

keeping things imperfect but stable, because peace is so important to him -- and that stance is part of what attracts ZYL to him, I think.

Oh, I'd never thought about it that way! How do you see that from ZYL's POV - what about it attracts him?

Wow, no wonder present-day ZYL defies gods and spirits.

Ha, right? He was always like this!

Yeah, I think this is why ZYL is so upset and mumbling apologies. :-(

Yeah, that would make sense! He meant well in what he gave to Xiao-Wei, but that's a LOT of responsibility and duty that he placed on him without even asking (not that either of them would have understood at that point what it would be like to live with it for so long).

This reminds me of his dream at the end of ep 10 (which I still don't really understand)

Same here!

I feel like I've forgotten half of it already, lol. /o\

Haha, honestly, same here. /o\

[facethestrange]

I entirely forgot to share this wonderful fanart of Xiao-Wei sitting in water and chomping on a youchu, and now I don't know where exactly to link it, so I'm just giving it a new thread. :D

[china_shop]

Ooh, that's gorgeous! His hair!! And I love the colour scheme. Thanks for linking!! :D :D :D

[trobadora]

Oh, that is gorgeous, thank you for sharing!

[facethestrange]

This is now my fanart recs thread, lol. :D Baby Kunlun and baby Daqing. ♡ (Not quite as smol as described, but extremely adorable. :D) Unfortunately there's no source at all - I saved it from an already unsourced pinterest post, and now I can't find it even there.