sid_guardian | Guardian Readalong: Vol. 2, Chapter 19

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Guardian Readalong: Vol. 2, Chapter 19

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. :)

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So glad that makes sense. Yeah, I feel like we're doing deep-dive forensics to try to get a handle on this chapter!

I just went and re-read their pre-sex conversation, and it works... but now I have another question. Shen Wei says,

> “Every living being under the sun has wronged me,” he breathed. “All but you.”

Do you think he means that literally? Even Guo Changcheng and Daqing?

I honestly haven't the foggiest what SW meant by that line, other than ZYL being in a category of his own. *g*

"> “Every living being under the sun has wronged me,” he breathed. “All but you.”

Do you think he means that literally? Even Guo Changcheng and Daqing?"

I think I originally saw it as every being that existed at that point in the past (though that would also include Daqing and it doesn't sound fair :P), in the way that everyone just saw him as a gui and only Kunlun saw him as something more? But I guess I could also see it as 'literally everyone', even now, in the way that he needs to protect literally everyone all the time. But then it would include Kunlun (as someone SW protects, and also as someone who gave him this responsibility in the first place), so idk, probably not.

But I guess I could also see it as 'literally everyone', even now, in the way that he needs to protect literally everyone all the time. But then it would include Kunlun (as someone SW protects, and also as someone who gave him this responsibility in the first place), so idk, probably not.

Or maybe it is that, and ZYL/Kunlun alone is exempt from being a burden because SW whole-heartedly wants to protect him? /I have no idea, just speculating

Oh, yeah, it could be. I do think on some level he wants to protect everyone else too, but he is largely doing it because of the promise, he says so himself. It would circle back to 'Kunlun is exempt simply because he's special to Shen Wei, not for any discernible reason', and I feel like a discernible reason would be more interesting, but it's not like Shen Wei isn't incredibly biased, and he definitely doesn't have to care about what I'd find interesting. xD

I do think on some level he wants to protect everyone else too, but he is largely doing it because of the promise, he says so himself.

Yeah, I think that's a big difference from the drama characterisation.

but it's not like Shen Wei isn't incredibly biased, and he definitely doesn't have to care about what I'd find interesting. xD

Hee! <333

"Yeah, I think that's a big difference from the drama characterisation."

Yep, the fact that his job/mission in the drama is established long before he meets Kunlun solves this entire problem - there's no external obligation, magical or emotional or anything, he protects people just because he wants to.

Yeah. *hearts*

Do you think novel!Shen Wei reaches (or grows into) that mindset at some point, too? Or is he really only doing it because Kunlun told him to?

There may be more about it later in canon (or they may not be? I don't actually remember), but imo it's probably never been only because of Kunlun, but it's never only his free choice either. He is a genuinely good person who wants to protect everyone, but at the same time the promise is always in the picture. /Just me going from vibes, and not remembering what happens later re: this storyline, if anything. :D

imo it's probably never been only because of Kunlun, but it's never only his free choice either. He is a genuinely good person who wants to protect everyone, but at the same time the promise is always in the picture.

Thanks! I don't feel like I have an especially good handle on novel!SW, and that helps. <3

Stuff changes so much in the next volume that everything I say is to be taken with a grain of salt, but I'm glad it helped, yay! :) I really, really love novel SW in ways I didn't even expect, but do I always understand him? Nope. :D (Especially, again, with all the things that keep changing.)

Yes! And that's a huge part of why I love it so much in the drama.

I think maybe it's that Kunlun is the only one he himself chose? Everyone else was sort of handed over to him as a duty, even if he does end up wanting to protect them, too.

Yeah, I guess. (My first reaction was that Kunlun chose him, but actually it was mutual choosing, wasn't it?)

Yes, definitely mutual!

That is true and correct, but also I think I'm personally dropping this headcanon because the more I think about it the more unfair it sounds? Like, SW (or the Emissary) is the definition of fair and just and impartial, and I know that he is also biased af at the same time, but blaming people who are involuntarily protected (he's not just saying they're a burden, he's saying they wronged him) while explicitly not blaming the person who made him protect them? Eh, it's possible I guess, but I just don't like it. :P

So I'm just headcanoning that it is about the anti-gui prejudice in the past, and yeah, my knee-jerk reaction is 'but at least Daqing is still innocent', but actually, not really? Even Kunlun was prejudiced at first, so Daqing most likely had the exact same biases as everyone else, and he wasn't even around when Kunlun changed his mind. This explanation of being wronged by everyone just sounds a lot better to me. *shrug* :D

but blaming people who are involuntarily protected (he's not just saying they're a burden, he's saying they wronged him) while explicitly not blaming the person who made him protect them? Eh, it's possible I guess, but I just don't like it. :P

Excellent points, all. *joins you in going for the prejudice headcanon too, unless/until canon clarifies* <3

Idk, given SW's opinion of the gui in general, and his self-loathing in particular, I don't think that quite works? I don't think he feels wronged by people generally agreeing with what he himself thinks.

This is definitely a good point, ouch. But I didn't really think about the internal prejudices, just about the actions that hurt him. Especially being kept under the seal because of arbitrary rules - I feel like he always knew that he didn't deserve it. (And yeah, the other gui 'deserve it', and it's all super messy and complicated. But I can see him feeling unambiguously wronged by that, and Kunlun was the one who let him out and accepted him, making him the one person who didn't wrong him.)

I see what you mean, but I still can't quite go there. It just doesn't feel right to me.

Actually ... let me go check the Chinese.

Huh, interesting! What SW says (in the JJWXC version, anyway) is, 全天下的人都对不起我，但是你没有 - which is more like, "Everyone in the world has let me down/disappointed me/owes me apologies, but you haven't." (Ambiguities due to the various meanings of 对不起, which of course is also "sorry", which is what ZYL said to him.)

Hm. Not quite the same vibe, but I'm not sure it helps much. *g*

Oooh, thank you for checking! ♡ It's kinda funny how it could potentially clarify something because the meaning is slightly different, and yet it still doesn't. xD (Btw in the last hour or so I realized that the majorly spoilery stuff directly affects this, so all the speculations about this line in this chapter are, well, just about this chapter. :D Not sure if it will make the meaning of the line any clearer or if it will get even more confusing though, lol. But definitely different, from what I remember.)

It's kinda funny how it could potentially clarify something because the meaning is slightly different, and yet it still doesn't. xD

Haha, right???

And good to know about the spoilers; I guess we'll see if things get any clearer eventually. *g*

Ooh, thanks so much for looking that up. <3

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Guardian Readalong: Vol. 2, Chapter 19

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