sid_guardian | Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 7 & 8

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Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 7 & 8

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

Here are last week's chapters. 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 7: Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei argue about their relationship; Zhu Hong defends Zhao Yunlan by blaming Shen Wei, and Zhao Yunlan again tries to let her down gently. He sends Zhu Hong and Daqing back to Dragon City, then heads towards the Great Seal, with the timely help of the extremely convenient water dragon pearl from Zhu Hong's uncle.
Chapter 8: Chu Shuzhi returns to Dragon City after a break, carries Guo Changcheng's bag, and learns what he does in his free time. The entire SID is shocked about Shen Wei being the Emissary. Meanwhile Zhao Yunlan reaches the Ancient Merit Tree, and sees memories from being Kunlun.

The corresponding part in the Chinese version on JJWXC/the fan translation are chapters 85-86.

Excerpts:

1) Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei have a romantic moment, no wait, a confrontation

Teeth gritted, Zhao Yunlan snarled, "I want to fucking drag you home and handcuff you so that you'll stay put."

With his back still turned, so Zhao Yunlan couldn't see, Shen Wei suddenly smiled as though he'd just heard the most stirring, heartfelt romantic declaration the world had ever known. Even the trace of gloom in his eyes turned gentle, as if about to melt.

"If I leave with you, will you take the medicine?" he asked.

"Fuck off!"

Now, finally, he turned around and faced Zhao Yunlan. There was a quiet sigh before he said, "I'm one of the gui, Yunlan. No matter what Kunlun-jun did for me, no matter what...you made of me all those years ago, they're all empty titles. My nature is that of a gui. From their first breath, the gui were inauspicious. At the dawn of Chaos, it was even said in the Mortal Realm that the mere sight of a gui foretold a horrible death and an eternity without peace."

Zhao Yunlan gazed back at him, fighting to contain the restless fury in his heart. "I don't believe in that shit. Just come home with me, and we can figure everything else out from there. Even if we can't be together, you have to at least be somewhere I can see you every day, so I can rest easy..."

"Where you can see me," Shen Wei echoed, very low. His narrow lips twitched as if trying to quirk up but managed only a bitter smile. After a while, he said, voice still soft, "Yunlan, I beg you, stop tormenting me so. In all my existence, my greatest regret is my carelessness in becoming entangled with you and lacking the self-control to keep from making mistake after mistake. I... I think perhaps I'm simply not good enough. I'm too weak and lack the necessary willpower."

2) Zhu Hong's accusations

At first, Zhu Hong didn't know what to say. But people's hearts are unavoidably biased, and her heart held only Zhao Yunlan. She seemed to feel his every emotion as if it were her own. Zhao Yunlan still hadn't said a word, but the more Zhu Hong thought about it, the more frustration she felt on his behalf. Finally, under the double weight of his sadness and her own, she yelled, "He's setting you up to be in the wrong!"

Zhao Yunlan's gaze finally shifted and landed on her. "What was that?"

"He's deliberately setting things up so you're the one in the wrong!" she said indignantly. "If he hadn't sent you mixed signals to begin with, would you have chased him for so long for no reason? You're not the son of the emperor; if he hadn't oh-so-reluctantly given in, would you have forced yourself on him? On the Soul-Executing Emissary ? As if someone that powerful could be forced into anything!"

Zhu Hong's bold accusations made the black cat sway and slide off her feet. It seemed to him that her shattered worldview had been reassembled in record time. The cat was in awe of her ability to take a blow and come back swinging. It was as if she didn't even realize that she was talking about the Soul-Executing Emissary-the same man who, once upon a time, she'd feared so much that she'd been scared to even open his letters.

The more Zhu Hong spoke, the angrier she got and the more her heart ached. She just couldn't let it go. "He obviously seduced you on purpose and then strung you along and played hard to get. He's just a fucking cocktease! If he can't be with you, why didn't he say so in the first place? He's obviously forcing...forcing you to..."

Zhao Yunlan took the last cigarette from the pack in his pocket, lighting it with a flick. After slowly exhaling a puff of white smoke, he asked mildly, "Forcing me to do what?"

For a second, Zhu Hong didn't have an answer, but then a light bulb went off in her mind. "Forcing you to be unable to leave him!" she blurted. "Forcing you to feel like you could never bear to give up on him, until he's all you can see and nothing else matters! The way I see it, his intentions have been sketchy right from the start!"

3) Zhao Yunlan's self-assessment

After giving it a moment of thought, two dimples blossomed on Zhao Yunlan's cheeks. "I must be blind. The same goes for you, actually. Look, I'm a chain-smoking drunk. I'm annoying. I talk too much. I have a shitty temper. At best, I can pretend to be tender and considerate for about three days before I blow my cover. I'm great at wasting money, and I'm no help at all on the everyday-life front, but I'm great at causing trouble. My own mother stopped being able to cope with me and kicked me out ages ago. Why is a beautiful woman like you so hung up on me?"

Zhu Hong looked at him, tears brimming in her eyes. "You're friend-zoning me!"

"I guess." Zhao Yunlan's eyes slid half closed as he savored the last puff of his cigarette. It smoldered between his fingertips. "True story: I'm too lazy to even wash my socks. I buy seven or eight pairs and wear them all once, and then I shake them out, sort them by how bad they smell, and wear them again. Then I finally stuff them into the laundry bag and send them off to be washed. Rinse and repeat, ad nauseam. Every so often a sock goes missing, so its partner ends up among the mismatched. I didn't start wearing them in pairs until after Shen Wei moved in."

4) Chu Shuzhi's reaction

The first thing Chu Shuzhi noticed was that every single person's eyes were completely blank, as though his coworkers had been collectively struck by lightning. Before he could ask what had happened, Wang Zheng turned to face them. Voice shaking, she asked, "Chu-ge, did you know that Shen-laoshi...th-that Shen Wei...is the Soul-Executing Emissary?"

Chu Shuzhi froze for just a moment but replied calmly. "What won't that dumbass Zhao Yunlan do? Where is he? Realized he's in way over his head and ran off?"

Off to the side, Daqing meowed and said, "He jumped into the Wangchuan River."

"Broken heart?" Chu Shuzhi asked. "What, did he off himself?"

Daqing and Zhu Hong's initial rush of panic had worn off by this point, leaving them mostly calm. Zhu Hong knew that Zhao Yunlan was wearing the water dragon pearl-she'd put it on him just before the trouble started-and that it would protect him from suffering any harm from water. If she was just a little more inclined to be suspicious, she would almost think that her fourth uncle had known something in advance.

"I'm guessing he went to find the Emissary," she said.

Chu Shuzhi's gaze swept across the room. The only other person absent was Lin Jing, who was currently out of town. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the office door. "Let's start by each sharing exactly what we know. Things have been too chaotic recently. Let's pool our information..."

And then he paused abruptly, expression turning to one of horror. It sent everyone else's nervousness through the roof. "What is it, Chu-ge?"

"Wait- Shen Wei is the Soul-Executing Emissary ?" Chu Shuzhi's face had gone green. After another moment, he mumbled, "I've teased him so much!"

Evidently, sometimes one was crowned the King of Calm only thanks to a delayed reaction time.

5) An impudent god and an impudent gui

He kept watch over the pitch-black opening of the seal, sitting against the large stone tablet as he meditated. When boredom struck, he simply stared at the Ancient Merit Tree and spaced out for the whole day. Later, a lovely but unsettling youth would always be close at hand-an ever-present shadow.

At first, Kunlun-jun ignored him, but finally he broke down and said, "We're in your territory now. Why are you still following at my heels?"

The youth's response was immediate and straightforward. "Because I like you."

Kunlun-jun had spent his existence being told that he was absurd and impudent, day in and day out. Presented with the opportunity to say it to someone else, he seized his chance. "How impudent," he scolded, despite not being angry at all.

The young King of the Gui just looked back at him in confusion, with no idea how he was being impudent.

For years and years, Kunlun-jun had been standing guard over the seal, bored out of his mind. He kept teasing. "What do you like about me, then?"

The young King of the Gui's desire for Kunlun-jun was plain as day, for he was yet unmarred by principles and morality. "You're pretty," he said bluntly. "I want to hide you away and hold you every day."

Questions:

What is your favourite Weilan bit in this? Your favourite moment in general? Which SID character has the best moment? How do you like Zhao Yunlan's handling of Zhu Hong's feelings here? Do you think Guo Changcheng is doing the same kind of volunteering in the drama? Do you think Zhao Yunlan is being reckless?

(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!)

Our current schedule (a new one will go up soon; if you'd like to sign up to host a future post, please comment on the current schedule!)

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What is your favourite Weilan bit in this?

It's Shen Wei's idea of romance:
"Shen Wei suddenly smiled as though he'd just heard the most stirring, heartfelt romantic declaration the world had ever known"
They are just so perfect for each other ♥️

Zhao Yunlan's self-assessment

Another scene that made it into the drama pretty much 1:1!
I like that he mentions Shen Wei's good influence, motivating him to match his socks - perhaps to counter her accusations?

Chu Shuzhi's reaction

Absolutely hilarious! I wish we had gotten something similar in the drama.

want to hide you away and hold you every day

And here's the echo to the quote above! In wonder if Shen Wei remembers this when he is so touched by Zhao Yunlan's threat to lock him up.

Your favourite moment in general?

One of my favourite Shen Wei moments is in the original chapter 85, so it should have been in chapter 7 here. It's when a judge tries to hold him accountable for murdering a bunch of people, and he goes "I can kill whoever I want and noone can stop me".
It's delightfully mask off, no trace of the civilised Professor persona. I also think it's showing a major difference between the novel and drama versions of Shen Wei - I can't really see drama!Shen Wei bragging about his ability to kill like this.

Absolutely UNHIGNED Weilan, yes. ♡♡♡

"I like that he mentions Shen Wei's good influence, motivating him to match his socks - perhaps to counter her accusations?"

Probably, but also just because he can't go five minutes without being ridiculously smitten with Shen Wei, lol. I didn't choose my favorite Weilan moment in these chapters, but I think it may be this one - the way Zhao Yunlan talks about him. ♡ (And also protecting his coat. ♡)

"Absolutely hilarious! I wish we had gotten something similar in the drama."

Lol, same. :D Drama!CSZ gets to be funny sometimes too (even without the personality swap, which is where a lot of his novel personality went), like when he goes "Ahhhh..." when Zhao Yunlan tries to explain why he met Shen Wei at night, lol, I feel like this scene could be similar in tone? But then again his connection to the Envoy was very different, so it would probably be too funny for that after all.

"And here's the echo to the quote above! In wonder if Shen Wei remembers this when he is so touched by Zhao Yunlan's threat to lock him up."

Omg, I didn't make this connection, but this may actually be it, maybe this is why he has this many feelings about it! AW.

"One of my favourite Shen Wei moments is in the original chapter 85, so it should have been in chapter 7 here. It's when a judge tries to hold him accountable for murdering a bunch of people, and he goes "I can kill whoever I want and noone can stop me".
It's delightfully mask off, no trace of the civilised Professor persona."

Yesss, that's exactly what I thought when you said under the previous post that this chapter is going to have one of your favorite Shen Wei moments! :D It's SO GOOD.

"I also think it's showing a major difference between the novel and drama versions of Shen Wei - I can't really see drama!Shen Wei bragging about his ability to kill like this."

ITA, he'd definitely never do that! Well, unless he was driven by something far bigger than someone merely questioning him, and even then he would never feel good about saying it. I think it's because of how directly related it is to novel!SW's origins - sometimes it's just understandable that he's hostile and smug about having all this power over people who would like nothing better than to continue mistreating him. This is not drama!SW's trauma at all.

Absolutely UNHIGNED Weilan, yes. ♡♡♡

♥

the way Zhao Yunlan talks about him. ♡ (And also protecting his coat. ♡)

♥♥♥

like when he goes "Ahhhh..." when Zhao Yunlan tries to explain why he met Shen Wei at night, lol, I feel like this scene could be similar in tone?

Right, it's kinda like that! Lao-Chu knows what's up and he is judging. XD

Yesss, that's exactly what I thought

Haha, I knew you would know! :D

I think it's because of how directly related it is to novel!SW's origins

Yes, drama!Shen Wei doesn't have these hangups about being born filthy and all that. He's also, just, less feral in general XD

"Lao-Chu knows what's up and he is judging. XD"

I went looking for this tumblr post because the tags are my favorite commentary on that scene ever. :D :D he's literally a centuries old gay xD

"Haha, I knew you would know! :D"

:D :D !! It was either that or him going all heart-eyes ~~at being handcuffed~~ at how unhinged Zhao Yunlan is, lmao, turns out it's kinda both. :D

"He's also, just, less feral in general XD"

True! I do see this scene less as feral and more as very calculated, but it definitely has the undertone of 'you expect me to be feral, I can show you just how feral I can be, POLITELY'.

I went looking for this tumblr post because the tags are my favorite commentary on that scene ever.

Hee! I love all their expressions in that scene, and that gifset is delightful. :D

LOL, that giftset! (I'm leaving that typo -- it's too apt to fix.)

Heee, yay GIFTSET. :D :D

Drama!CSZ gets to be funny sometimes too (even without the personality swap, which is where a lot of his novel personality went), like when he goes "Ahhhh..." when Zhao Yunlan tries to explain why he met Shen Wei at night, lol, I feel like this scene could be similar in tone?

Yes! I could totally see that working.

I think it's because of how directly related it is to novel!SW's origins - sometimes it's just understandable that he's hostile and smug about having all this power over people who would like nothing better than to continue mistreating him. This is not drama!SW's trauma at all.

Yes, exactly - they're so different in that way, you couldn't get this scene in the drama. It's more amazing how many things they were able to directly translate!

"Yes, exactly - they're so different in that way, you couldn't get this scene in the drama. It's more amazing how many things they were able to directly translate!"

I'm glad they didn't even try to keep this, because the youchu being executed came with some unfortunate implications already. But I think that's the only time it happened, which only means that the way the drama creators avoided some scenes was as clever and skillful as the way they adapted all the other scenes!

Yeah, agreed, excellent judgment!

Yess! He slowly starts teasing as he's brought into the group. My favourite moment is in ep 5, when they're standing outside the kidnapping victim's house, talking to Butler Wu:

GCC: Chief Zhao, you're amazing. You can see her face from so far away? ZYL: If you were the chief, you'd be able to see it, too CSZ: This is the instinct of a beast. ZYL: Lao Chu, you little... You've changed. CSZ: smirks

:D :D :D

I just watched that recently, hee, their dry banter is so fun indeed. :D :D

Shen Wei's idea of romance

Yes! And as you say, echoing a moment from ancient history, which makes it even better. They're both so unhinged about each other, it's amazing. :D

(Is there a fandom term for the novel's ancient setting, like YOHE for the drama, do you know?)

I like that he mentions Shen Wei's good influence, motivating him to match his socks - perhaps to counter her accusations?

It's a very mundane example of Shen Wei being good for him, hee! And also a very mundane example of being hopelessly besotted, that such a small everyday thing like socks makes him go all hearteyes over SW. ♥ ♥ ♥

Absolutely hilarious! I wish we had gotten something similar in the drama.

Yes! We were ROBBED. This entire scene, not just CSZ - I so wish we could have had a proper team gossiping session about SW being the ENvoy! But especially Lao-Chu's reaction - immediately dissing ZYL, then doing a double-take and being all OH NO SHIT over Shen Wei. I think they could have made it work for the drama, even with the very different relationships there!

One of my favourite Shen Wei moments is in the original chapter 85, so it should have been in chapter 7 here. It's when a judge tries to hold him accountable for murdering a bunch of people, and he goes "I can kill whoever I want and noone can stop me".

Yes! That's an amazing scene. I almost quoted it in the post, but there were too many moments, and I had to make a choice. *g*

I also think it's showing a major difference between the novel and drama versions of Shen Wei - I can't really see drama!Shen Wei bragging about his ability to kill like this.

Yes, absolutely agreed - they're very different characers with different hang-ups, and drama!SW would never be in this situation in the first place, for so many reasons. (There's no drama equivalent to killing huge numbers of ghosts, for one. And no one expects him to be murderous and feral. And he might go all "sorry not sorry" to the Regent about something he did, but it would have a very different vibe because the circumstances and the character underpinnings are all so different.)

Is there a fandom term for the novel's ancient setting, like YOHE for the drama, do you know?

The Primordial Past is what I've seen commonly and what I myself use.

And also a very mundane example of being hopelessly besotted

Yes! And it really drives home that they live together and share these mundane everyday things.

I think they could have made it work for the drama, even with the very different relationships there!

They made so many things work, I'm sure it would have been delightful. I love Chu Shuzhi's relationship with Shen Wei so much in the drama.

drama!SW would never be in this situation in the first place, for so many reasons

Yes to all of this!

The Primordial Past is what I've seen commonly and what I myself use.

Thank you, I'll try to remember that. PP it is!

They made so many things work, I'm sure it would have been delightful. I love Chu Shuzhi's relationship with Shen Wei so much in the drama.

You and me both, it's so good - one of the best drama additions. ♥

"And it really drives home that they live together and share these mundane everyday things."

I would happily read a fic (or a canon scene) just about domestic Weilan discussing socks. :D :D

LOL! That sounds delightful. :D

"It's a very mundane example of Shen Wei being good for him, hee! And also a very mundane example of being hopelessly besotted, that such a small everyday thing like socks makes him go all hearteyes over SW. ♥ ♥ ♥"

Gods ikr, SO DOMESTIC, and his ability to go from literal SMELLY socks to ~~I love Shen Wei so much~~ is the sweetest damn thing. :D

"This entire scene, not just CSZ - I so wish we could have had a proper team gossiping session about SW being the ENvoy! But especially Lao-Chu's reaction - immediately dissing ZYL, then doing a double-take and being all OH NO SHIT over Shen Wei."

ITA!! At least there are fics. :D :D

"There's no drama equivalent to killing huge numbers of ghosts, for one. And no one expects him to be murderous and feral."

Both very good points!

And yep, the YOHE equivalent is Primordial Past in my experience too. :)

*It's a very mundane example of Shen Wei being good for him, hee! And also a very mundane example of being hopelessly besotted, that such a small everyday thing like socks makes him go all hearteyes over SW. ♥ ♥ ♥ *

It's like, Shen Wei has brought order and meaning to his existence at even the most mundane and trivial of levels. :D

But especially Lao-Chu's reaction - immediately dissing ZYL, then doing a double-take and being all OH NO SHIT over Shen Wei. I think they could have made it work for the drama, even with the very different relationships there!

I feel like, because in the drama his alignment is most strongly with the Envoy, even if he felt that way he wouldn't express it to the rest of the SID team? But that might just be me. (As you know, I've written this (maybe more than once? I can't remember), and when I did, Lao Chu immediately wanted to segue into defending Shen Wei's choices, rather than openly freaking out. Idk.)

There's no drama equivalent to killing huge numbers of ghosts, for one. And no one expects him to be murderous and feral.

Maybe the closest is when he finds An Bai and friends in Dixing, when he's looking for ZYL, and threatens them with his blade, and then straight-up kills Ding Dun? That's not wholly dissimilar in vibe, right? Just on a smaller scale.

I feel like, because in the drama his alignment is most strongly with the Envoy, even if he felt that way he wouldn't express it to the rest of the SID team? But that might just be me.

But you could get a lot across just via his expression! And I totally do think he could reflexively diss ZYL before the reality of it really sunk in.

And that's a good point about that Dixing scene! Agreed that that's about as close as it gets, yeah.

But you could get a lot across just via his expression! And I totally do think he could reflexively diss ZYL before the reality of it really sunk in.

True, true. It could definitely go that way, especially if the SW/ZYL relationship is overt enough to be first and foremost in his mind.

And here's the echo to the quote above! In wonder if Shen Wei remembers this when he is so touched by Zhao Yunlan's threat to lock him up.

Ohhh, that makes so much sense! Yes! (These two, omg!! :D)

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Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 7 & 8

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