sid_guardian | Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 3 & 4

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Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 3 & 4

Welcome aboard for this week's chapters of our Guardian readalong!

Here are last week's chapters (the beginning of vol. 3). You can find all previous discussions on the schedule post (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4), or via the !readalong tag.

This week's chapters:

Chapter 3: Zhao Yunlan escapes his father's scolding, keeps falling asleep, and is fed medicine by Shen Wei. Zhu Hong gets a visit from her uncle, who wants her to leave Dragon City. Zhao Yunlan surprises Shen Wei in the kitchen cutting his own chest with a knife, and learns what medicine Shen Wei has been feeding him.
Chapter 4: Zhao Yunlan sleeps at the SID, and the team gossips about it. Shen Wei brings clothes while he's asleep. Zhu Hong refuses to leave Zhao Yunlan's side, gives him a gift from her uncle, and offers to sever ties with her tribe if he wants her to stay.

The corresponding part in the Chinese version on JJWXC/the fan translation are chapters 81-82.

Excerpts:

1) Shen Wei feeds Zhao Yunlan medicine

The noise in his ears only intensified, growing from a mere clamor to a cacophony. Zhao Yunlan knew he was dreaming, but the knowledge didn't free him. He remained ensnared in the dream, as if he'd fallen into a bog that was swallowing him up. The more he struggled, the less he could breathe.

Then a bowl that smelled of something raw was pressed to his lips. Ignoring his struggles, the person holding it pried his mouth open and forced him to take the medicine. Zhao Yunlan resisted instinctively, trying to push the stuff back out of his mouth with his tongue. The person seemed to sigh. Then hands cradled his head, and soft lips pressed against his. A familiar scent momentarily quieted Zhao Yunlan's thoughts of protest, and the other person seized their chance to make him swallow the medicine.

Zhao Yunlan's eyes flew open as he started coughing and found himself already home in bed. Dazed, he watched as Shen Wei set down the bowl and brought him a cup of tea that was at the perfect temperature. Shen Wei ducked his head and touched their foreheads together. "Here," he said. "Drink this and rinse your mouth."

Zhao Yunlan accepted the tea. His heavy lashes were lowered, and a trace of cold sweat from his nightmare still beaded his forehead. In a single gulp, he drank the tea to the last drop before asking hoarsely, "Did I catch a cold? Why am I getting sick so easily lately?"

There was a curious pause before Shen Wei replied, "It's nothing. Your time within the Great Divine Tree took too much of your energy."

"Oh." After a long look, Zhao Yunlan continued, deliberately drawing out each word, "I thought maybe..." Shen Wei's spine stiffened, only for him to hear the dumbass conclude, with a bit of a lilting whine, "I was carrying your child."

2) Kitchen scene: Shen Wei is caught

The other side of the bed was empty and already cold to the touch. It was impossible to say how long Shen Wei had been gone.

Startled, Zhao Yunlan sat up and saw light coming from the kitchen. He groped around the floor for his slippers, but when he couldn't find whatever corner they'd been kicked into, he headed for the kitchen barefoot.

Shen Wei was facing away, doing something with his hands as Zhao Yunlan entered. A little clay pot bubbled on the stove. The faint smell of a medicinal decoction wafted from the pot, as if Shen Wei was preparing some grand dish that needed to be stewed overnight.

Zhao Yunlan rubbed his eyes and walked over, rolling up his sleeves. "What are you making? I'll help-" His voice startled Shen Wei, who dropped what he'd been holding.

What clattered to the floor was a knife, dripping enough blood that the clean white cabinets were spattered when it landed. Zhao Yunlan broke off mid-sentence, pupils constricting. In an instant, all trace of sleepiness was gone. Shen Wei had been...had been cutting into his own chest .

3) Kitchen scene: Shen Wei explains

"Long ago...your left soul fire went missing, and your heart's blood became the Soul-Guarding Lamp's wick," Shen Wei responded, very low. "Your spirit was already weak. Your three souls were unstable. And for all that you forcibly elevated me to godhood, the fact remains that I was born from the Place of Great Disrespect. The gui are filthy and inauspicious. If you spend enough time in my presence, I'll start wearing you down. As I do, you'll become deficient in both qi and blood. Ultimately, I'll burn you out until there's nothing left."

Shen Wei dropped his gaze, hiding his ink-black eyes under lashes like crow feathers. Barely audible now, he said, "All those thousands of years ago, Shennong said that, as a King of the Gui, my life was fated to both begin and end badly. If you insist on protecting me and keeping me at your side, I'll inevitably kill you."

"So the 'medicine' I've been drinking has your blood in it... The purest blood from the tip of your heart." Zhao Yunlan's lips trembled. "That's your way of replenishing my 'lamp oil'?"

Shen Wei looked at him with a faint, soft smile. "Every part of me is dark, down to my very soul. Only the very tip of my heart is clean, and that's where I've kept you-where the blood runs red. I'll gladly use it to protect you."

4) Zhao Yunlan's dream

If it was at all possible, Zhao Yunlan wanted to regain Kunlun-jun's powers and true memories. Failing that, he at least wanted to know what was up with all these lies among truths, shrouded in layers of mystery, and learn what had motivated it all. He couldn't act rashly without seeing the full picture.

Shen Wei... The name alone overwhelmed Zhao Yunlan with worry. It was as though a flame was burning in his heart, steadily eating away at his energy, but he had to hold it in-and not only that, he had to seem outwardly peaceful while he was at it, as if he had everything under control.

He'd noticed at times that if he was just sitting there and no one else was around, his brow would furrow subconsciously. The same scene kept unfolding in his mind, no matter where he was or what he was doing: in some cold, dreary place, without a single beam of light or sign of life, Shen Wei was half swallowed by an endless darkness. Helpless to do anything but look up, Shen Wei desperately strained to glimpse the emerald seas and azure skies, but they were beyond him. His vision couldn't pierce the unending, absolute blackness. Sooner or later, inevitably succumbing to disappointment and despair, Shen Wei was slowly sucked away into the darkness...

Zhao Yunlan jolted awake as someone abruptly nudged him. He found his heart racing and his forehead beaded with sweat.

5) Zhu Hong's confession

Zhu Hong found her real feelings tumbling out of her mouth. "Director Zhao, just give me the word. One word and I'll sever all ties with my tribe and follow you to the end, through hell or high water."

It was as if she'd handed her whole life over on a silver platter, leaving her scared of Zhao Yunlan's response, but also anticipating it. However, a declaration of love was never guaranteed reciprocation. In the end, Zhao Yunlan still wouldn't meet her eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "You and I have known each other for years, and we don't have any grudges against each other. Why can't I wish you well? As long as you're doing well, that's what matters to me."

The light in Zhu Hong's eyes flickered out.

Questions:

Do you like the worldbuilding around borrowing years? What do you think about the kitchen scene, and how it was adapted in the drama? Which is more intense? Which do you like better? Is Fourth Uncle right to make Zhu Hong leave? Do you think Zhao Yunlan actually wants Zhu Hong to stay, even if he won't say it? Does it help with understanding what's going on that Zhao Yunlan is actively trying to puzzle out what's true and what's a lie?

(As usual, these are just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like!)

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:D :D :D

"But my impression is definitely that the worldbuilding is just stacked against him. His self-hatred is internalising that rather than railing against the unfairness of it all."

It absolutely is, ITA. And I think that's kinda what I mean - even if he rallied against it, he would still need a way to describe the facts re: what he does to Zhao Yunlan and what his blood is helping with.

And yeah, I'm looking forward to getting to the ending (as well as the other parts of the backstory) so that I can be clearer on just about everything. :D

Lololol, maybe he does scratch ZYL's coats all the time but most of the time it's with his human nails so it doesn't do any harm to them. :D :D :D

LOVE. :D :D :D

Everyone would want to be his friend!! :D :D :D

Haha, I love that! :D

but even if he's younger than ZYL, it still doesn't change much about how young he is compared to everyone else. :D (ETA: Oh, and then as Kunlun he's literally the oldest, by far. :D)

Ha! He's the oldest AND the youngest (if we don't count Guo Changcheng for a minute). :D :D :D

I had another thought about a difference between the novel and the drama, which is that in the drama, Shen Wei doesn't leave at all. He doesn't go to his own apartment. He doesn't go down to Dixing to feel miserable. The next time day, they're both at the SID in a standoff. I love how the drama keeps them together through this!

How does it not directly imply that THIS IS HIS HOME. xD

Aww! I don't think I'd quite go that far (SW does say "one more night", so it's not like he's moved in completely), but he definitely feels completely comfortable in ZYL's space, agreed! When he cooks them a meal, it's in ZYL's flat, too. And he's been staying over all throughout the blindness arc. <3 <3 <3 <3 (For me, I feel like they're in a kind of transitional state, where they haven't made any official moves wrt housing, but it's sort of in the process of happening anyway <3).

For the cutting, I think he was either sure that ZYL wouldn't wake up, or he literally couldn't wait another second.

*but at the same time, him being there for no reason in particular just really makes it obvious how much they're basically living together at this point. ♥ ♥ ♥ *

Yes! There was literally no reason for him to stay one more night except that they both wanted him to. <3 <3 <3

Oh, right! Yes, you're totally right, great point. I was thinking more generally than in this specific moment, and also had somehow overlooked those lines. Doh! (Thanks for quoting them!!)

And ahh, now that you have quoted them, wow, yes, no wonder Lin Jing's words struck home!

Yeah, the SID is not in danger in the novel, and they're not even involved in protecting the world all that much yet (or at least they don't know how much they're involved) - at this point this is still just a regular case, a regular job and regular co-workers

Ohh, I hadn't thought about that. Huh. Yeah, it gives this sequence such a different vibe, because the tension is all "What will ZYL find out when?" and "How will the Magistrate's scheming manifest next?" and "Can ZYL and SW work things out?" and "Will ZH leave the SID?" There isn't the sense that all of this is happening as Doom Closes In, and the outcomes of these questions will affect the fate of the world.

He does have a problem with his hands being not clean enough.

When is that from? I think I missed it (or I've forgotten, which is Entirely Possible).

I feel like there should be a difference, too. I think that's what I was saying upthread when I said I wished he could "think of it more like an allergy and less like a judgement." But now I think trobadora's right, that there is no way to talk about it like an allergy, because worldbuilding, so I should stop wishing Shen Wei was different, and start wishing the cosmology was. ;-p

I think he was literally just ranting about everything Zhao Yunlan is and does, including liking men in general and Shen Wei in particular.

In public, in front of Shen Wei himself. Wow, that just so rude! /o\ I find this so hard to imagine from someone whose goals in life are all ambitious and money and (I presume) respect. /o\ (Obv this is my super sheltered life experience speaking.)

But because of that I just went and got myself a different, sfw icon of this episode. :D

It's so lovely!! ♥___♥ (And co-signing Trobadora's approval of the art icon, too. <3)

He is on the brink of death at this point, but I can totally see how there are definitely better ways to go about it, especially with all the time in-between when he's not on the brink of death.

Yeah. And my expecting Shen Wei to communicate or think in a healthy fashion is probably unfair of me, given his everything. ;-p \*pets him\

otherwise everyone's first conclusion would be 'SW has the key because he lives there'.

Maybe, though in places where you can lock the front door without a key, it's pretty common for a friend or neighbour to have a spare, just in case you lock yourself out, lol.

Just so we're on the same page, this is what my front door lock looks like

This is a normal kind of lock in New Zealand, but there are other common styles here too. This kind is actually slightly inconvenient because there's no way to leave it closed without locking it (so I keep leaving the key in the outside so friends can let themselves in). Other options are to have this kind of snib-lock paired with a regular doorhandle, so you can set it to snibbed or unsnibbed (and pull it closed after you to lock), or a deadbolt, which I think is what you're talking about, where you can only set it to locked or unlocked with a key? /disclaimer: I Am Not A Locksmith ;-)

Oh damn, that's even sadder than just withdrawing and spiraling and going back to his old habits because they had a fight, and that was already plenty sad. D:

Yeah. D:

Edited (guess I can't do details cuts in Markdown, damn; typo, omg, kill me now) 2025-05-25 01:36 (UTC)

I'd be extremely surprised to find a flat or house door that could be opened without a key

Did you mean "couldn't be opened without a key" here? *joins the general confusion, lol*

But my impression is definitely that the worldbuilding is just stacked against him. His self-hatred is internalising that rather than railing against the unfairness of it all.

Beautifully put. :-(((((

but Kunlun is the only actual god left, isn't he?

And he's only left in so far as he still exists but in a mortal form. (But huh, I hadn't put that together, that all the original gods are dead now. So "the Heavens" persist, and all the Netherworld bureaucracy persists (or has established itself over time?), but everything else is kind of static because the powerful being who can actually affect the cosmology are all gone? And that's why things are unfair in the way they are -- because there's no one tinkering with them?)

"Ohh, I hadn't thought about that. Huh. Yeah, it gives this sequence such a different vibe, because the tension is all "What will ZYL find out when?" and "How will the Magistrate's scheming manifest next?" and "Can ZYL and SW work things out?" and "Will ZH leave the SID?" There isn't the sense that all of this is happening as Doom Closes In, and the outcomes of these questions will affect the fate of the world."

I never really thought of this either until you compared the Zhu Hong scenes! As much as I love the drama version, I find this pretty cool too because the SID people are very much in the middle of the shitstorm (though the SID as an institution is not), and the outcomes will indeed affect the fate of the world, but they're kinda still on the brink of really finding out about it. There is the danger and it is growing, but they're still doing their normal everyday tasks, or so they think.

"When is that from? I think I missed it (or I've forgotten, which is Entirely Possible)."

Volume 2, chapters 9 and 10, there's this conversation with Ghost Face:

"“Let go.” Shen Wei practically gritted each word out between his teeth. “Don’t you dare touch him with your filthy hands.”

“Filthy hands?” Ghost Face laughed. “Are yours so clean, then?”

Shen Wei’s expression turned to ice."

And then pretty much immediately after that, Shen Wei doesn't catch Zhao Yunlan because of his literal hands being literally not clean (even though getting stained with cabbage juice is kind of a lot better than falling while blind):

"He was so flustered that he knocked over a plastic broom in the corner, stepped on it, and nearly fell on his face.

Shen Wei’s hands were wet from handling the cabbage. Afraid of getting cabbage juice all over Zhao Yunlan, all he could do was extend an arm to break his fall. Zhao Yunlan fell heavily against his chest.

The apartment wasn’t very big, so the kitchen was very small. It was just barely suitable for one person, let alone two grown men. Shen Wei was obliged to stay in that position and circle his arms around in front of Zhao Yunlan to rinse them under the faucet. His chin rested naturally on Zhao Yunlan’s shoulder.

Zhao Yunlan was suddenly still and silent.

Once his hands were clean, Shen Wei let his arms hover around Zhao Yunlan as he steered him toward the door."

There is the danger and it is growing, but they're still doing their normal everyday tasks, or so they think.

I find it very easy to be oblivious right along with them. Heh. But yeah, once you know that it's building in the background, it does change the flavour of everything. I guess, too, it's the difference between the novel where it feels like Weilan is the A plot and everything else is the B plot, and the drama where Weilan is woven into everything else and it's all the A plot. Or something. Idk, it makes sense in my head. ;-p

And then pretty much immediately after that, Shen Wei doesn't catch Zhao Yunlan because of his literal hands being literally not clean (even though getting stained with cabbage juice is kind of a lot better than falling while blind)

Oh, that's right! I remember you picking up on it at the time, now. Yes! (Thanks so much for digging those quotes out. <3) I wasn't sure how literally SW meant "filthy hands" when he was talking to Ghost Face (or whether it was like a "getting your hands dirty" kind of idiom), but it does come across as Extremely Literal and Specific in that context, you're right. :-/

"And co-signing Trobadora's approval of the art icon, too. <3"

Heee, thanks for the Word of Mod x 2. :D :D

"Maybe, though in places where you can lock the front door without a key, it's pretty common for a friend or neighbour to have a spare, just in case you lock yourself out, lol."

Ahhh, that makes sense - locking yourself out is such a tv-only thing to me too, wdym your magic door can just do things on its own without a key. ;D :D That's all so fascinating about the locks! The things you can learn from a fandom discussion, lol. :D Deadbolt is definitely what I meant, I never knew it had a name, thanks! :) I guess it also comes with an inconvenience - you need to check every night that you locked the door, but that's the kind of obvious habit I never need to think about. I think I've only ever slept with unlocked door twice. :P

... And this just made me realize that people already do? :D (The ones who are not terrified of him as the Emissary, that is.) Like, it's not just Zhao Yunlan who is drawn to him for ~cosmic reasons~, but also his students seem to like him a lot, and the SID people (other than Zhu Hong) immediately want him around, and try to tease him, and jokingly call him to pick ZYL up, and then there's GCC who totally imprinted on him (even if it was largely cut from canon), and now I'm just like 'omg, everyone loves Shen Wei'. :D :D

Yes, exactly! I love it so.

Shen Wei doesn't leave at all. He doesn't go to his own apartment. He doesn't go down to Dixing to feel miserable. The next time day, they're both at the SID in a standoff. I love how the drama keeps them together through this!

Yeah, he walks away at the end of the scene, but he doesn't go far, and the next day he's right there being stubborn and sticking to ZYL, and they're all frustrated with each other and it's glorious. :D

For me, I feel like they're in a kind of transitional state, where they haven't made any official moves wrt housing, but it's sort of in the process of happening anyway <3

Yeah, great way to put it! ♥ ♥ ♥

Now I'm entirely confused all over again, LOL.

Flat doors here: can't be opened from the outside without a key.
Flat doors that could be opened without a key would surprise me.

Did I get something wrong there? *scratches head*

it's the difference between the novel where it feels like Weilan is the A plot and everything else is the B plot, and the drama where Weilan is woven into everything else and it's all the A plot.

... did you mean that the other way round? Because it very much feels like the opposite to me, LOL.

Here almost everyone's locked themselves out of their place at least once, LOL. Many people keep the number of a cheap locksmith/key service in their wallet for emergencies if they don't have anyone nearby they're happy to give a key to.

(Worst is if the door falls shut on you with the key in the lock from the inside, because then it can't be opened from the outside even with a key, and you do need a locksmith. Ask me how I know ... *g*)

"I had another thought about a difference between the novel and the drama, which is that in the drama, Shen Wei doesn't leave at all. He doesn't go to his own apartment. He doesn't go down to Dixing to feel miserable. The next time day, they're both at the SID in a standoff. I love how the drama keeps them together through this!"

Yesss, definitely! ♡ A fight, no matter how emotional, can't separate them like this in the drama. And the drama put this part of the novel later (including ZYL having to appear "outwardly peaceful" about how much he misses Shen Wei), and I like it so much better there because the reason for their separation is not a fight at all. ♡

"When he cooks them a meal, it's in ZYL's flat, too."

That's where I filed the kitchen scene before, which is why I didn't think about it, but cooking at someone else's place when you're cooking for them (or for both of you) is pretty normal. Doing a completely unrelated personal/private thing at someone else's place, especially when your place is literally 3 meters away, is kinda unusual, bordering on impossible. Unless it is also your place in some way. :)

"For the cutting, I think he was either sure that ZYL wouldn't wake up, or he literally couldn't wait another second."

I didn't really mean the 'ZYL might see him' part, but the 'it would be more comfortable and logical to do this kind of thing at home' part. And yeah, maybe it's not ~officially~ his home yet, but imo emotionally it is. :) ♡♡♡

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Page 4 of 7

Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 3 & 4

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