Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 7 & 8

[trobadora]

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!)

Comments

[autodach]

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.

[facethestrange]

I'm still behind on many, many comments, but I'm staying on top of the actual chapters because I'm hosting the next readalong post. :D

The titles for the excerpts are A+++, hahah, especially the first one, and so are the excerpts themselves, all the best scenes!

"Do you think Guo Changcheng is doing the same kind of volunteering in the drama?"

Hah, idk if he has the time in the drama (though maybe at least he used to do it pre-canon :D), but I hope so because it's one of my favorite things about novel GCC. :D

"“He’s Shen Wei,” Daqing supplied, feeling rather superior. He looked at Zhu Hong, now sprawled on the ground, and cleaned his claws. Only pretending to be outwardly calm, he graciously gave the girl next to him a moment to begin reconstructing her shattered worldview."

Daqing's entire dramatic vibe here, omgggg, especially considering he FELL OFF THE LEDGE when he found out. xD

"The Emissary’s hood fell back and revealed the elegant, refined features of Professor Shen—features that seemed wildly out of place in the current circumstances."

I am getting more and more convinced that he's only hiding his face because of Zhao Yunlan and all his previous incarnations (as we talked somewhere else, it's unlikely that the Emissary has never worked with the Guardian before). This is not really dramatic at all, this just feels like 'eh, I have no reason to hide my face' kind of thing (even though there are other people/creatures around, not just Zhu Hong).

I love the imagery of how the wound gets healed!

"The Ten Kings’ butts might’ve been welded to their thrones, given their unwillingness to do anything but throw their weight around. All the actual work, errand running, and generally thankless tasks inevitably landed on the Magistrate’s plate."

Lolol, the drama: Let's go literal with the 'butt welded to the throne' thing! :D

"There was even a clerk standing off to the side, wiping sweat from his face as he took inventory of everything."

The bureaucracy is so morbidly funny in the face of 'everything just imploded and everyone died'.

"Lord Magistrate, despite my low birth, my unworthiness, and how little my life has amounted to, before today I’ve heard of nothing in existence that the Soul-Executing Blade cannot or should not sever. But if my actions have inconvenienced you in any way… Well, you have my sincerest apologies, of course."

Asfgfhdjsklfjgjfdk, SHEN WEI ILY. There is so much happening here, from the entire falsely-calm terrifying vibe, to weaponizing his origins, to 'oh I could kill YOU too btw', ahhhh.

"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."

I've talked about this scene somewhere before, lol, OH GODS they are just SO UNHINGED, BOTH OF THEM. ♡♡♡

“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…”

AW. ♡

"A sudden suspicion made Zhao Yunlan throw himself toward Shen Wei, reaching out to grab hold of him"

A suspicion of what exactly? (I would love more of Zhao Yunlan's thoughts sometimes, even if it can also be fun to piece them together later.)

"His voice was very calm. “Take Daqing with you. Oh, right—you said you were leaving. Do you know when, exactly? If so, let me know beforehand, and Wang Zheng can plan—”"

Zhao Yunlan just randomly starting to talk about organizational stuff is really chilling.

"Daqing jumped onto Zhu Hong’s feet. From his seat there, he looked up at Zhao Yunlan."

This is such a random place to sit (and make a long speech), lol, very cat I guess. :D

"Zhao Yunlan, for all his extroversion, was hard to read. If he didn’t want to show his joy or sorrow, his face would never betray him."

This is so well done in the drama. ♡

"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."

:D :D I love that DQ who basically defines himself by being all sassy can appreciate someone else being sassy in the face of the Emissary reveal, even if (or especially if) he himself can't do that. :D

“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!”

(Spoilers, I guess? Future vibes at least, lol.) Oh gods, Zhu Hong ILY and ngl I kinda lowkey wish you were more wrong than you are. xD

"Daqing, who had witnessed the entire scene, covered his face with his paws and came to the realization that he actually quite enjoyed melodramatic moments worthy of evening soap operas. His feline standards had tragically fallen."

:D :D :D This is so funny, I love him so much. :D

“You’re gentle, kind, pure, and beautiful, plus you’re a girl. You’re better than him in every way.”

Other than the 'girl' part, so is Shen Wei, lol.

"At best, I can pretend to be tender and considerate for about three days before I blow my cover."

Everything Zhao Yunlan says about his traits in this scene is pretty much a perfectly good point and an accurate description, lol, other than this. I think this one is not true at all, but I also think that he genuinely thinks it is true, which is really quite sad. At least in general he's more self-aware than Shen Wei. :P

"As he spoke, the small smile lurking at the corner of his mouth couldn’t quite be contained. A trace of tenderness shone through. "Sometimes I don’t have the first clue how he stands me. You probably can’t even imagine how good he is to me."

Gods, he's literally talking about old stinky socks and SMILING TENDERLY ABOUT SHEN WEI, asdfghfjdhjk, my hearttt ♡♡♡ (Also, lol, I was spot-on about the previous quote! It is bullshit that his tenderness is all pretend, case in point. :P)

“Come on, goddess, I’ll let you spit on me to clear out the bad luck and release all your anger. Throw the fuckboy card in my face. Say you’re too good for me and don’t want me anymore. How’s that?”

I love him, omg, I just love Zhao Yunlan so much!

"When Zhao Yunlan thought about it, what she was saying made a lot of sense; her choice of words almost seemed to wish him and Shen Wei a happily ever after. He smiled at her. “Of course only a ghost would like me.”"

I love them both, I love this whole scene sfm. :D (I tried to compare it to the drama version, but they're too different and I think I like different things about them.)

"He went right over the railing, landing gracefully on the deck of a boat and scaring the faceless ferry ghost. Zhao Yunlan patted the ghost’s shoulder. “Hey, bro, can I get directions? I wanna go to the Great Seal. How do I get there?”

The ferry ghost’s face was white as a sheet. Without a word, he jumped right into the Wangchuan River. Not even a bubble came up after he went under, perhaps because he didn’t need to breathe."

These two lines are A+++ comedy to me. :D :D :D

"He folded Shen Wei’s coat neatly and set it down in the boat. A weak spirit popped its head up from the water, wanting to reach out and touch it. Without sparing a glance, Zhao Yunlan said, “That garment belongs to the Lord Emissary. Are you hoping some of his divinity will rub off on you?”

Frightened, the spirit plunged headfirst back under the water and disappeared."

Everything about Shen Wei's coat = ♡♡♡! Also he keeps scaring the poor ghosts and it never stops being funny. xD

"Right at that moment, the water dragon pearl around his neck suddenly glowed a brilliant white as a huge air bubble formed, surrounding him completely. Zhao Yunlan tried letting go of the breath he was holding and was delighted to find that he could breathe again. Unafraid, he dove further down."

I'm so impressed that he never even considers that the bubble can disappear the way it appeared and just leave him stranded underwater with no way out. :P

"Finally being freed of his shackles and reclaiming the belongings that the Netherworld had confiscated from him all those years ago had put him in a great mood. As a result, he’d found a wild burial mound and gone there to spend a few days of his Lunar New Year break in seclusion."

It is so strangely adorable that his reaction to being in a great mood is to go live in a burial mound. :D :D (And it's so sweet of him that he came back because Zhu Hong is leaving! Srsly, CSZ is just a big softie, kind of. :D)

The entire scene with GCC carrying all the stuff immediately rememinded me of the drama one in episode 8 (a lot shorter and in an entirely different context, obviously), but the entire humor there is about how CSZ doesn't end up helping him, lol.

"He’d practically been carrying a miniature Walmart on his shoulders."

I'm assuming it's not 'Walmart' in the original? :D

"“Chu-ge!” Guo Changcheng exclaimed, looking up. If he’d had a tail, it would’ve been wagging hard enough to resemble an electric fan."

Asdfghfjdksljfkdl, this is so cute and wonderful. :D :D :D (And damn, CSZ is strong af!)

"Chu Shuzhi impatiently avoided the grasping paws and furrowed his brow. “Lead the way.”

Guo Changcheng obediently took the lead, jogging along."

I can see their drama body language here so clearly! :D

"Guo Changcheng’s weak communication skills meant he wasn’t the best companion for the elderly or adept at raising donations, so he worked hard to do some of the heavy lifting. He’d spent this break serving as a delivery man."

I'm just loving this storyline so much, from the car full of books to this, because been there done that. *high-fives GCC* :D :D

"He was completely satisfied with his life as it was. What could he possibly wish for other than his friends’ and family’s health? And right now, his friends and family all seemed happy and safe."

AW, is this the 'if everyone is happy, I am happy' scene? ♡

"Chu Shuzhi couldn’t help glancing over at him while waiting for a green light. Guo Changcheng wasn’t tall, strong, or handsome. No one was going to accuse him of having attractive features or of catching anyone’s eye in any way."

Except your eye, CSZ, lol.

"All things being equal, shouldn’t the fact that the kid’s merits were a meter thick grant him a life of safety and happiness? Why had he been born with such ill luck overshadowing him? Everyone knew merits and sins were bullshit when it came to The Book of Life and Death , but did the Netherworld really need to flout it so blatantly?"

Aw, honestly, CSZ knowing really well how much everything is unfair bullshit and STILL being indignant on GCC's behalf is so sweet and earnest of him?

"What won’t that dumbass Zhao Yunlan do?"

Such a perfect very first reaction to the Emissary reveal, lololol.

"“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."

Bwahhh, fantastic second-first reaction too. :D :D :D

"The faint glow of the tree was enough that Zhao Yunlan could clearly see the words carved into the stone—in a script he had never laid eyes on before, yet was somehow able to read."

Would it be the same language as Shen Wei's description of the Kunlun painting? ("In fact, it wasn’t any sort of writing he was familiar with. Zhao Yunlan had never laid eyes on it before. And yet, somehow, one quick look told him exactly what it said.") Or specifically not the same one because he would recognize it from the painting?

"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."

This is the first time it occurred to me, but I feel like the aesthetic of them just sitting side by side, alone in the vast dark landscape in YOHE may have come from this.

"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."

This is so adorably childlike of Kunlun! Idk if it's there to put them on a similar level, but just, this is such a kid thing to do - 'people are saying a thing, I will say the same thing, I'm not sure WHY but they probably know what they're doing, and also, let someone else be confused for a change'.

"The young King of the Gui didn’t understand why Kunlun-jun was looking down on him. But he thought Kunlun-jun would not say anything without reason, so he dropped his gaze in shame."

And then SW does the exact same thing omggg. Someone give these literal (old af and immortal) KIDS some guidance pls.

[china_shop]

Ahh, I love your choice of quotes. So many good bits! :D

I'm going to do my notes first and then answer some of the questions.

The Emissary’s hood fell back and revealed the elegant, refined features of Professor Shen—features that seemed wildly out of place in the current circumstances.

This made me go, what should the Emissary's face look like? Why shouldn't he be elegant and refined? *puzzled*

Love the description of the healing, and how it translates into dark energy in the drama. <3

I know that slaying a whole bunch of ghosts was necessary and only in defence of ZYL and the others, but I'm still like, does that mean those souls are just gone now? Because they weren't choosing to attack, right? They were driven by an appetite they couldn't control. So this is just more of the cosmology being bullshit. ;-p

I like the handcuff line so much more now that autodach has pointed out the parallel with primordial Shen Wei's dialogue.

“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.”

Ahh, these two are in such an impossible situation. And SW has made a promise and set himself an eternal task that goes against every fibre of his being (to keep away from Kunlun). On the one or two occasionas he inevitably slips up (in the entirety of history), he just beats himself up about it and uses it as proof that he's not ~good enough~ AKA not perfect.

Also, his whole "I'm bad for you" reason is so different from the drama, and I'm So Glad About That. ;-p

He’s mine. If the two of us have a problem, it’s between us, no matter who’s in the wrong.

This is so unhealthy (I feel) and so sweet at the same time. ;-p And aww, Zhu Hong being so upset about being called an outsider. *pets her*

YAY! I love novel!ZYL's catalogue of flaws almost as much as drama!ZYL's one! (Ha, they had to switch mother to father for the drama.) <3 <3 <3

Sometimes I don’t have the first clue how he stands me.

Aww! I love that both ZYL and SW think the other is too good for them, even if it's in such wildly different ways. <333

He folded Shen Wei’s coat neatly and set it down in the boat.

Two responses:

1. Awwww!! The coat! The care for the coat! I love this!
   
2. ZYL can fold. He just (usually) chooses not to.

Unafraid, he dove further down.

That "unafraid" made me !!!! Zhao Yunlan!! Don't you know how to spell 'fear'? So much trust in random magic objects! (And did Fourth Uncle foresee this? Maybe he can see the future, and that's how he knew about the SID case when he was talking to Zhu Hong before.)

Aww, I love Chu Shuzhi cutting his holiday short to come to Zhu Hong's going away party. <3 <3 <3

If he’d had a tail, it would’ve been wagging hard enough to resemble an electric fan.

Aww! *loves*

He felt it was best not to bother the bodhisattvas unnecessarily.

LOL! No wonder his family don't know any of his goings on, if even praying feels like an imposition.

Everyone knew merits and sins were bullshit when it came to The Book of Life and Death , but did the Netherworld really need to flout it so blatantly?

Yes! I feel vindicated in my dislike of this stupid system. ;-p (Also, awww, CSZ's indignation! <3)

I'd forgotten Zhu Hong had already given ZYL the pearl, and I kept waiting for him to get it. I thought she was going to have to go after him to give it to him. (I also vaguely remembered him giving it to her or someone else to protect them, but that might come later, or I might have imagined it. Don't tell me. :-)

Chu Shuzhi's delayed Emissary-reveal reaction is such a thing of beauty. I love everything about it! :D :D :D

The young King of the Gui didn’t understand why Kunlun-jun was looking down on him. But he thought Kunlun-jun would not say anything without reason, so he dropped his gaze in shame.

This made me go, "Oh, shit." Like, Shen Wei is so young and impressionable, with no context for anything, and Kunlun-jun has carelessly taught him shame (for no reason), and that lesson sticks. /o\

From your quotes, in particular:

the same man who, once upon a time, she'd feared so much that she'd been scared to even open his letters.

I love this reminder! :D

for he was yet unmarred by principles and morality.

I guess that's one way to look at morality?

What is your favourite Weilan bit in this?

The coat, the coat, the coat. :D :D :D It's such wonderful displacement -- caring for Shen Wei himself is complicated and involves tensions and disagreements and too many conflicting emotions, but ZYL can at least express his tenderest feelings by protecting and caring for this coat. <333

How do you like Zhao Yunlan's handling of Zhu Hong's feelings here?

I think he does pretty well, especially given how messed up he is at the time. He's upfront about his feelings for Shen Wei, while trying to make her feel better.

Do you think Guo Changcheng is doing the same kind of volunteering in the drama?

I honestly never gave it a thought. His goodness in the drama is kind of expressed through being kind to the elderly (Li Qian's granny, and the fake-doddering Regent) and the ill (Dong Nan). I'm agnostic about whether there's more than that going on. :-)

Do you think Zhao Yunlan is being reckless?

Absolutely, 100%. I think he's entirely run out of fucks to give about anything except Shen Wei.

[trobadora]

Hi! My very belated comment is here. Most of what I'd have wanted to mention has already been discussed, but still:

"He's Shen Wei," Daqing supplied, feeling rather superior.

It's so hilarious to me that he's feeling superior simply because ZYL told him in advance, LOL!

only to grab him by the wrist, brow furrowing at the sight of the scratches left by the little ghoul

Every time Shen Wei gets like this over some scratches is a delight for me. :D

"I what?" Shen Wei asked, voice gentle and dangerously mild. "I can't kill them?"

I love that SW doesn't give the Magistrate an inch!

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.

AWWWW! And I love the PP echo, which is the other way round for the reader since we only see the PP bit later.

From their first breath, the gui were inauspicious.

Evil Worldbuilding™!! And I know ZYL says he doesn't believe in that stuff, but that doesn't change the worldbuilding, alas, and the effects of SW's closeness on him are unfortunately real. So so glad the drama didn't even try to adapt that aspect of things!

A sudden suspicion made Zhao Yunlan throw himself toward Shen Wei, reaching out to grab hold of him...but his hands closed on empty air.

I have no idea what ZYL is suspecting here.

There was a moment when Zhu Hong thought Zhao Yunlan was about to cry.

♥ ♥ ♥

Some truths have existed since the beginning of time: water will always flow downward, and the dead will always suck the life from the living.

So the gui count as "the dead" right from their creation. Evil Worldbuilding™, seriously!

"You're friend-zoning me!"

The JJWXC version says 你少给我发好人卡！which is literally, "Stop giving me the good person card!" Wiktionary explains 好人卡 as the "good person's card" given during a friendzoning (i.e. You are a good person, but ...). :D

I didn't start wearing them in pairs until after Shen Wei moved in.

Until he himself became part of a pair! ♥ ♥ ♥

Throw the fuckboy card in my face.

Again, checking what that's in Chinese: 把人渣卡糊我脸上, "glue the scumbag card on my face". Fascinating!

Everything in the Netherworld felt like it had just been taken out of the fridge.

I love priest's irreverent comparisons, this is a delight. :D

he'd found a wild burial mound and gone there to spend a few days of his Lunar New Year break in seclusion

LOL, I love that this is CSZ's idea of a fun time! :D

From his perspective, the Corpse King was a savior who'd descended from the Heavens.

I love how vividly that attitude comes across in the drama, despite so many things about CSZ being so very different!

Everyone knew merits and sins were bullshit when it came to The Book of Life and Death, but did the Netherworld really need to flout it so blatantly?

Thank you, Lao-Chu, you are 100% correct and someone needed to say it!

"What won't that dumbass Zhao Yunlan do? Where is he? Realized he's in way over his head and ran off?"

I love everything about CSZ's snark in this scene! He's just reflexively coming out with this stuff, and then even calmly standing there starting to tell people to pool their information, before he's even consciously absorbed what he's been told, it's amazing. :D :D :D

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 am inclined to be suspicious, and I want to know WTF is up with that!

"The Imperial Skies and Houtu. The unearthly Land of the Gui. The Place of Great Disrespect."

The fan translation has this as, ""Huang Tian Houtu*, City of malicious spirits and ghosts**, the Great Profane Land", with the following translation notes:

*TN: Directly translated to be 'Royal Skies and Later Earth', with Houtu being the same as the name of the Great Seal
**TN: the spirits and ghosts refers to demon-like creatures in ancient legends that apparently hide in deep mountains and secret woods that would bring harm upon humans)

Either way I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean in context ...

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

Go, SW! :D

Kunlun-jun couldn't take his eyes off the fearless little king. He wasn't offended; on the contrary, he was amused. "What the hell?" he cursed, jokingly. "What are you even going on about?"
The young King of the Gui didn't understand why Kunlun-jun was looking down on him.

I was wondering where the "looking down on him" bit came from; then I saw that the fan translation renders Kunlun's lines as, ""Not even a hint of courting. I look down on you."

Checking the JJWXC Chinese version: 一点追求也没有，我鄙视你, and the fan translation is pretty literally translated; I have to assume it was changed in the version the official translation was working from (and I'm glad it was!), but the 鄙视 "looking down" (which in the original version is directly quoted from the above line) wasn't edited along with it.

But he thought Kunlun-jun would not say anything without reason, so he dropped his gaze in shame.

AARGH, I really don't like that aspect of their early dynamic.

But given the part above about Kunlun having always been told he's impudent and absurd, and now turning it on someone else, makes me wonder about their respective maturity levels. From other bits (including SW being referred to as a "youth"), and also fannish osmosis, my impression has always been that Kunlun is an adult and SW isn't, which makes parts of this pretty uncomfortable for me. But now I'm wondering if maybe they're both just dumb teens? Idk.

What is your favourite Weilan bit in this?

The echoing each other across time! It's not quite the drama time loop, but it gives me some similar feelings.

Your favourite moment in general? Which SID character has the best moment?

These are the same things; it's CSZ with the delayed reaction, that is DELIGHTFUL. :D

Version comparison: apart from the "looking down" bit I quoted above, there were almost no meaningful differences that I could see, but this paragraph from the fan translation isn't in the official one:

Guo Changcheng, this kid, was very slow at doing everything and not very bright, frustrating their Chief Zhao into losing his temper and immediately yelling every single time at the office. However, in the end after he finished his tasks, they were always very detailed and very seriously done. No matter how long the reports he wrote were, no matter how insignificant, how much paper he wasted, there would not be a single incorrect character. Slowly, even their leader, who would part the fur to find flaws (TN: nitpick), had nothing to say.