"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