Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 11 and 12

[tehfanglyfish]

Welcome to this week’s readalong post!

To get caught up, you can read last week’s installment, or check out part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5 (or the !readalong tag) for the rest of the posts for this round.

• Chapter 11 Summary: Zhao Yunlan throws Record of Ancient Secrets into the Wangchuan River. He is not fined for littering but considers the consequences of the book’s disappearance and decides to buy it again while in the past. He leaves the book in his old bedroom, narrowly avoiding being caught by his mother. Zhao Yunlan tracks down Shennong to question him, only to have Shen Wei show up before Zhao Yunlan can get the answers he’s looking for. Shen Wei returns the two of them to Zhao Yunlan’s home in the present where they talk, with Zhao Yunlan explaining how he figured out that Shen Wei had planted false memories in the Great Divine Tree. Zhao Yunlan both pushes and reassures Shen Wei, who agrees to tell him the truth.

• Chapter 12 Summary: A discussion is taking place at SID headquarters about what Zhao Yunlan might be up to. Daqing realizes that Zhao Yunlan was involved in danger he was trying to shield the rest of the SID staff from and sends Wang Zheng and Sangzan to Zhao Yunlan’s home to look for him, but neither he nor Shen Wei are they were then arrive. Guo Changcheng receives a call from a ghost asking for help finding her daughter. Shen Wei takes Zhao Yunlan to witness the birth of the gui along with when Kunlun first discovered them.

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC/the fan translation are 89, 90, and 91.

Excerpts:

 

The Zhao Yunlan and Daqing of eleven years ago weren’t there. There was only a computer and pile of random university English final study guides on the desk. On one page, someone had commented “dog shit” in a distinctive chicken-scratch scrawl. Zhao Yunlan couldn’t help touching a light finger to those inelegant words, smiling in spite of himself. It felt like looking in a mirror and seeing his own reflection from back when he was still in his edgy teenage phase.

 

He knows, Shen Wei thought. Despite all my machinations, he found out.

At the pinnacle of his fear, there was an instant in which the King of the Gui was gripped with the temptation to follow his natural instincts and slaughter the person before him. He could solve this problem the way the rest of his kind would: simply and violently. Then, once Shen Wei had consumed every last morsel, they would be one in flesh and blood. Nothing would remain in all the world that could threaten him so; no longer could anything make him tremble at the possibility of losing the one he loved.

But Shen Wei was no longer the young King of the Gui from thousands of years ago, whose open heart had been a blank slate. Ruthlessly, cruelly, he had crushed his own instincts and nature underfoot, contorting himself into the kind of gentle, righteous person Kunlun-jun had once described.

Restraint had long since been carved into his very bones.

  

Zhao Yunlan lifted the kettle and added hot water to the teapot. “So after telling all those lies and sending me on such a wild-goose chase, can you finally tell me the truth now?”

Quietly, Shen Wei asked, “Do you really want to hear it?”

Zhao Yunlan gave him a long, hard look. “Nothing that comes from your lips, whatever it might be, could ever make me hate you.”

  

“Oh, okay,” Zhu Hong responded, then reached out to pet his fur and scratch his chin. Daqing instantly went from an overbearing, aggressive King of Beasts to a lazy kitten. Comfortable and relaxed from the scritches, he leaned on his front paws and started purring.

There were a few suppressed snorts from the onlookers. Daqing’s head snapped up, and he swatted Zhu Hong’s hand away with his claws. “What impudence! Men and women mustn’t openly touch each other in broad daylight! I’m male! Show some respect!”

  

The living should never casually agree to a ghost’s request. Superstitions on it abounded. If you took on the task and were unable to follow through, you’d only bring trouble on yourself.

But by the time Chu Shuzhi finished writing, Guo Changcheng had already responded. “Of course, Xiuyun’s mom. Don’t work. I promise to find her and bring her back!”

The tip of Chu Shuzhi’s pen dragged across the paper, leaving a long mark. But just as he was about to scold Guo Changcheng and say how disappointed he was, Guo Changcheng glowed white with his merits – and they seemed to change color. For just an instant, a flame-like orange flash passed through his entire body.

  

Questions: What are your thoughts on teenage Zhao Yunlan from the clues we get in Chapter 11? How do you feel about the way Guo Changcheng’s ability to talk to the dead here compares with the drama? What stood out to you the most with Zhao Yunlan gradually learning the truth in these chapters? If you worked at the SID, would you rather have Zhao Yunlan in the office or Daqing stepping in as deputy director on days you went in?  What do you think of Shen Wei’s approach to underwater breathing?

Feel free to answer as many or as few questions as you’d like. You’re also welcome to discuss anything else that resonates with you from these chapters.

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