Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 19 & 20

[china_shop]

Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong!

Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions in the schedule posts (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4), or via the !readalong tag.

This week's chapters:

Chapter 19: At the Great Seal, Lin Jing discusses their predicament with Shen Wei and meditates effectively. At the police station in the mountains, Daqing and Chu Shuzhi meet up with Guo Changcheng. Daqing shifts into human form and tells Changcheng that the souls of the dead are still at the resort; Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi decide to go to find them.
Chapter 20: Zhao Yunlan goes to the court of the Ten Yanluo Kings with Zhu Hong and sasses the Kings. A reaper reports that the Great Seal has broken, and an earthquake shakes the court. Zhao Yunlan demands to see the Reincarnation Cycle. The Qin'guang King shows him the Soul-Guarding Lamp. At the Seal, Shen Wei comes out to Lin Jing as the Emissary, and Lin Jing pulls out the icicle. Shen Wei heals and reveals that he's been manipulating Ghost Face. Meanwhile, Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng search the resort for souls. (Guo Changcheng records a dead courier's last message.) They're joined by a rogue cultivator who tries to make conversation but has a disturbing shadow. A huge youchu bursts out of the ground.

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are chapters 100, 101 and a little less than half of 102 (up to "Meanwhile, in the county less than fifty kilometers away, people were still completely clueless.").

Excerpts:

1) Lin Jing and Shen Wei strategise

“Don’t worry.” Shen Wei chuckled. “That Chaos King of the Gui has enough to deal with right now. As long as I have Kunlun’s divine tendon, he won’t dare do anything to me. We’re safe for the moment.”

“No, no, let’s figure out a way to save ourselves,” Lin Jing quickly said. “No magical tendon can staunch your wound. If Director Zhao ever found out I just sat back and let you bleed like this, he’d make me the main course of this year’s Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner.”

Shen Wei’s gaze softened at the mention of Zhao Yunlan. After some thought, he said, “If you must try something, please continue reciting your scriptures. The Great Seal originated from Nüwa’s merciful heart. If you’re sincere, it might help you.”



2) Chu Shuzhi explains that the Ghost Face problem is above their paygrade

Chu Shuzhi laughed helplessly. “Guo Changcheng, do you know who the Soul-Executing Emissary is?”

Guo Changcheng thought the Emissary was scary, but he had no real idea about his background. He shook his head.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Chu Shuzhi said. “My thousands of years of cultivation allow me to walk under the sun. All corpses and skeletons bow to my will, so those in the know flatter me with the title ‘Corpse King.’ The next level up for me would be a ba, or a ‘Corpse Immortal.’ But even if I attain that level, if it weren’t for Director Zhao, I’d still never dare approach someone like the Soul-Executing Emissary. At the bare minimum, I’d keep a good two kilometers away from him. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Chu Shuzhi paused, then continued, “We’re dealing with someone who can catch the Soul-Executing Emissary off guard. Even if he only managed that by being sneaky, it means his power is at least on par with the Emissary’s. Whoever this is, he’s too powerful. This isn’t something we can handle.”



3) Daqing finds his human body hideous and explains some gui lore

Daqing kept speaking. “I don’t know who sealed away my memories. I still can’t remember much from all those years ago. But when I went up Kunlun Mountain with Zhao Yunlan, the Great Divine Tree awoke something in me. Now I can take human form again. Even though transforming makes me hairless, and thus, hideous, I at least seem to be able to remember some things now.”

Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi, who were both hairless and, apparently, uglier than “hideous,” wore the same peculiar expression.

“The Netherworld officially calls the things we ran into today ‘youchu,’ but more accurately, they’re gui,” Daqing said. “I’m not exactly sure where the gui are from, but I know they’re linked to the demise of Fuxi and Nüwa. You heard Shen Wei. When the gui came into the world, not a single blade of grass survived in the Great Wild. But as far as I know, the gui don’t have souls, so even though they drink blood and gnaw on bones, they don’t eat mortals’ souls because there’s no benefit to it for them. I think what happened here must’ve been too sudden. All those people died before their time, so even though their bodies disappeared, their souls are still souls of the living. Since the Netherworld couldn’t reach them in time, those frightened spirits probably ran off somewhere.”

“Then I’m going to go find them!” Guo Changcheng said.



4) Zhao Yunlan is unimpressed with the Ten Kings' Hell Expo and has no more fucks to give

From the moment Ghost Face had stolen Shen Wei away right before his eyes, Zhao Yunlan had felt like a chunk of ice was ­weighing down on his heart. He’d felt completely detached from everything anyone said or did; none of it seemed real or consequential. Only now, after having been confronted with such an extreme sight, did his mind begin to clear. Belatedly, he felt his anger float to the surface, although no trace of it showed on his face.

Zhao Yunlan crossed his arms in front of his chest. Ghost Face had taken the Soul-Executing Emissary. Whether Ghost Face harmed the Emissary or the Emissary had gone to Ghost Face’s side, it was bad news for the Netherworld. What was more, while there might not be a clear prognosis for the Great Seal, it clearly wasn’t going to hold out for much longer. And yet even under these circumstances, the Ten Courts were still putting on such an unfriendly welcome, appearances be damned.

Years of experience working with the Netherworld told Zhao Yunlan that the dumbasses were obviously planning to ask something of him, but they were unwilling to swallow their pride to do so. Either that, or they saw no need to take a mortal like him seriously and had chosen the route of coercion and bribery.



5) Shen Wei is blasé about his chest icicle

By this point, Lin Jing had escaped his bonds. He recited a water-repelling spell and circled around Shen Wei many times before climbing the Ancient Merit Tree. “Hold on, let me take a look. I must have a wire or something on me that I can use to pick the lock.”

“No need,” Shen Wei said calmly. “All you need to do is pull the icicle from my chest.”

Lin Jing shuddered. “P-pull it out? Won’t you…”

“I’ll be fine, but thank you.”

Lin Jing’s palms were a little sweaty. “You said it, Shen-laoshi, not me. If I fuck you up when pulling it out, I… I… Can you sign a waiver for me first?”



6) Chu Shuzhi is softening towards Guo Changcheng, despite himself

The Corpse King had an extreme personality and was cold by nature; necromancy was a deviation from the norm to begin with, not accepted by the world. Chu Shuzhi was lonesome and arrogant, wholly unconcerned about his merits, so he never paid it any mind. He’d always thought “morality” was a facade, nothing but an excuse to hide behind. The purer and more beautiful something seemed, the darker it might be beneath.

Despite this cynical outlook on the world, he somehow managed to put up with Guo Changcheng. Maybe by now it was just habit.

Either way, looking at the soul bottles in his bag stirred an inexplicable feeling in his heart. It made him grumble that Guo Changcheng was being too kind for no reason, even as Chu Shuzhi followed him around to collect lost souls.



Questions:

How many points does Lin Jing get for a) attempting to communicate with a youchu, b) keeping calm and meditating on, and c) not falling out of the tree when Shen Wei revealed his Emissary identity? Where did the youchu learn human speech? How wounded would Shen Wei have to be to admit that he wasn't fine? Does the SID really only employ people who can hyperfocus, or is hyperfocus a side-effect of the Soul-Guarding Order? What do you think of the descriptions of the different hells? How adorable are Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng? How well are you following what's going on with the Seal and Shen Wei's machinations? And do you have any thoughts about how moments in these chapters affected or were remixed in the drama adaptation?

(As usual, these are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the readalong!)

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Comments

[trobadora]

And the version comparison, in a separate comment because I exceeded the character count:

• The start of chapter 100 (fan translation) has a sentence that doesn't appear at the start of chapter 19 (official translation):

  "There shouldn't be any problems, right?" Looking around, there was no one nearby. Lin Jing had no one else to talk to and could only resort to talking to himself.

  And the same goes for this sentence, which comes before Lin Jing looks towards Shen Wei:

  He was on pins and needles. If it wasn't for the fact that he was tied into a zongzi (t/n it's a wrapped Chinese food), he probably would have already jumped up as if he were sitting on nails.

• This bit comes in the fan translation before Lin Jing tries to talk to the youchu:

  Lin Jing took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He tried to sooth his miserable mood by silently reciting scriptures. However, when he closed his eyes, he tragically found that it wasn't the up and down lilt of the "Prajna Paramite" sutra in his consciousness but the anxiety provoking scratching of an imaginary phantom limb-If that forgetful brute Zhao Yunlan knew that he was indifferently reciting scripture while actually watching his baby suffer, he would definitely turn him into Da Qing's cat food.
  
  Lin Jing thought about this and then opened his eyes to lock gazes with the youchu in front of him.

• Lin Jing also already knows that SW is the Emissary, and he brings it up to the youchu:

  Do your balls not hurt, do you not feel afraid when you look at His Excellency, the Soul Slayer, nailed high on the tree? You have balls don't you, benefactor...

• After Lin Jing looks at Shen Wei the second time, the fan translation has this:

  However, this little bit of concern was quickly interrupted. As he was worriedly looking at the beautiful man whose whole body was drenched in blood, a big wart-covered face of a youchu suddenly appeared in his field of vision. Lin Jing immediately felt that he changed from being in a pure little sentimental artistic film into being in an excessively heavy horror film like Resident Evil. At that moment, his breath almost became choked in his chest.
  
  He silently withdrew his gaze. In his heart, he said: "So what if I wash my eyes, bastard." (t/n meaning sw is pretty so he's using sw to "wash" his eyes)
  
  At last, Lin Jing finally recognized the reality-even if he was chopped up by Zhao Yunlan, there was nothing he could do to counter the present situation.

• The fan translation has this reaction from SW when LJ first speaks to him:

  Shen Wei's gaze moved slightly and landed on his body. Then, he nodded at him in a courteous and gentle manner.

• Different explanations for how SW ended up in this situation:
  
  Official translation:

  "He attacked me from behind," he said mildly. "I could've dodged, but I was busy taking back the Chaos. I had to take the blow so that our efforts wouldn't all go to waste. It's fine-except that he stabbed me in the heart with this icicle made from frozen water of the Huangquan, so I'm unable to move at the moment."

  Fan translation:

  "He surprise attacked from the back. I originally could have dodged him but I wasn't able to fully succeed at the time and was pierced by him. For the time being, it's not a big deal and it's nothing serious."
  
  Lin Jing was stunned into silence for a while. Uncertainly, he asked: "Is that true...?"
  
  Shen Wei seemed to be getting weaker. As if he was trying to conserve his strength, he lowered his voice and slowed his speech: "But because he stabbed an icicle formed from the waters from Huan Quang into my heart, I can't move."

• After Shen Wei suggests Lin Jing keep reciting scripture, the fan translation has this:

  In actuality, Shen Wei didn't expect Lin Jing to really accomplish anything. Although he was in a difficult position, he had a plan in his heart. He only wanted to find something for Lin Jing to do, and so he spoke offhandedly.

• The bit where Shen Wei thinks about ZYL's team being like him is a bit different between versions. Official translation:

  Birds of a feather, it seemed, really did flock together. Everyone who'd gathered around Zhao Yunlan seemed to be a little like him, one way or another; for example, when fixated on something, he could focus his whole attention on it and forget everything else.

  Fan translation:

  He abruptly sensed in his heart that, like birds of a feather, the people around Zhao Yunlan were more or less somewhat similar to him-for example, they were all very persistent about something, the kind of persistence where they could forget about everything else.
  
  For example this one, and for example that little boy who becomes nervous the moment he speaks.

  And following this, before the scene shifts to Xiao-Guo, the fan translation has another bit from Shen Wei's POV:

  Shen Wei squinted a little. In fact, he already had some speculations about the Guardian Lamp in his heart. However, looking at it now, it seemed as if it would be better at this moment for it to not show up.

• Before Zhao Yunlan visits the Yanluo Courts, the JJWXC version/fan translation has this transitional bit:

  Zhao Yunlan was silent for the whole trip. The ghost messengers who still had lingering fears didn't dare approach him for conversation. Only Zhu Hong followed him in the wake of his every footstep, no matter what he said.
  
  After passing the gates of hell and arriving at Yanluo temple, the magistrate was just about to lead Zhao Yunlan inside when a little ghost suddenly appeared to block their road.
  
  The magistrate furrowed his eyebrows.
  
  The little ghost smiled gloomily: "Lord Guardian. The Ten Halls of Yanluo requests the pleasure of your presence."
  
  Before Zhao Yunlan could speak, the magistrate could already no longer bear it and said: "What is the meaning of this? The Soul Slayer was secretly plotted against by Gui Mian, chaos is about to break open, the Great Seal is about to completely fracture...Can you take responsibility if you delay official business? Move!"
  
  The little ghost held down his head very low: "Yes, Lord Magistrate, but this small one is merely acting under orders."
  
  Magistrate: "You guys..."
  
  Zhao Yunlan suddenly interrupted him: "Take me there. I've lived for this long and still haven't met the Yan King."

• A bit of additional detail for the visibility of the levels of Hell:

  The magistrate stared. He knew this was the opened "earth-piercing eye"; and with some uneasiness, he cast a glance at Zhao Yunlan and quietly had all the ghost messengers present withdraw and stand to one side. Normally, the earth-piercing eye wasn't open and people in the hall of the Yan Kings wouldn't be able to see matters below in the eighteen levels of Diyu.

• Additional detail for Zhu Hong grabbing Zhao Yunlan's arm in the fan translation:

  Zhu Hong grabbed Zhao Yunlan's arm. If it weren't for his thick clothes, her ten sharp fingers would have practically pierced into Zhao Yunlan's flesh.

• Zhao Yunlan in the official translation:

  Zhao Yunlan's frosty gaze swept across the Ten Yanluo Kings. Then he turned to the Magistrate cowering at his side. "Do you guys expect me to just stand here while we talk?"

  In the fan translation:

  Zhao Yunlan completely ignored the female ghost who was still climbing up despite her face already being cooked into big boils: crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. He raised his cold gaze to sweep around the bodies of the ten Yanluo halls, then turned to look at the magistrate pretending to be a quail on the side (t/n quail, the bird, is used to describe people who are cowardly/timid) and gently lifted his brows. Arrogantly, he dragged out his speech: "You guys are planning on letting me stand while I talk?"

• Where the official translation has "Years of experience working with the Netherworld", the fan translation has "Zhao Yunlan's 30 years of experience collaborating with Difu", which doesn't seem right unless he's older than I thought. (Possibly that's why it got removed.)


• The fan translation has an additional paragraph before the ground shakes:

  He slapped his own face without hesitation (t/n figuratively, not literal). The hand in his coat pocket gently rubbed the butt of his gun. Similarly, a fire burned in his heart. He had a mind to be like a fighting House Sparrow, taking out these ten assholes who were pretending to be cool one shot at a time. However, at this juncture, he still couldn't afford to completely break off relations with these pig-like comrade-in-arms and so could only fucking bear it.

• When Shen Wei explains that nothing will happen to him if the icicle is pulled out, the fan translation adds:

  The tone he used was as if he was talking casually to the take-out waitress at a canteen.

  (And of course the bit where he reveals his identity to Lin Jing isn't there, because in the JJWXC version/fan translation, Lin Jing already knows.)


• The section after Shen Wei cryptically answers Lin Jing's question about Ghost Face is a bit different:
  
  Official translation:

  Although he didn't understand, Lin Jing still found himself shuddering. As he gave Shen Wei a sidelong look, it occurred to him that Shen-laoshi... No, that the Soul-Executing Emissary and the masked man, despite their similar appearance, were worlds apart when it came to intelligence.
  
  Lin Jing thought of himself as pretty dumb. Shrewd, calculating people made him want to run and hide far away in case they sold him off without him even realizing while he was still helping to count the money.
  
  Shen Wei said, "The waters of the Wangchuan River are above us. Swimming up, you'll reach the Huangquan Road. Yunlan is most likely in the Netherworld, so let's go find him. Start swimming and I'll follow. But don't mention anything about my whereabouts just yet."

  Fan translation:

  Lin Jing thought for a moment and then truthfully said: "Amitabha, Benefactor, I don't understand."
  
  Shen Wei glanced at him with a faint smile, turned, and disappeared under Lin Jing's eyes.
  
  Lin Jing was stunned and blurted out: "Fuck! I lost the Chief's family member! I can say goodbye to this year's year-end bonus!"
  
  An invisible hand rested on Lin Jing's shoulder. He heard Shen Wei's voice next to him say: "The waters of Wang Chuan are above us. You must think of a way to swim up. When you've reached Difu, Yunlan is around there somewhere. We'll look for him together, I will follow you, just don't expose my movements."

[facethestrange]

That's a lot of differences! Thanks so much for compiling them! ♡♡♡

"If it wasn't for the fact that he was tied into a zongzi (t/n it's a wrapped Chinese food), he probably would have already jumped up as if he were sitting on nails."

Oooh, so it was originally clearer that he was tied up! (I was confused when the ropes were first mentioned because it had sounded like he only couldn't escape because of the dome and the youchu.)

"Do your balls not hurt, do you not feel afraid when you look at His Excellency, the Soul Slayer, nailed high on the tree? You have balls don't you, benefactor..."

Lololol, Lin Jing really got the best lines in this chapter, and this one is fantastic too. :D :D :D (And it's so interesting that he knew SW is the Emissary - it means that the reveal time also had to have been changed.)

"Lin Jing immediately felt that he changed from being in a pure little sentimental artistic film into being in an excessively heavy horror film like Resident Evil."

I adore his dramatic metaphors. :D

"(t/n meaning sw is pretty so he's using sw to "wash" his eyes)"

:D :D This is so funny, especially since it just said that SW is drenched in blood. :P

"Shen Wei's gaze moved slightly and landed on his body. Then, he nodded at him in a courteous and gentle manner."

Oh, this got moved earlier, to the previous chapter! ("Even with his forehead dripping with cold sweat and constant tremors running through his body, Shen Wei was courteous. He gave Lin Jing a slight nod.")

"He surprise attacked from the back. I originally could have dodged him but I wasn't able to fully succeed at the time and was pierced by him."

Oooh, so SW doesn't reveal his plan to Lin Jing? Because I'm assuming the plan is still the same and getting attacked was still part of it. I'm glad he reveals it in the official version - it's already confusing enough as it is. xD

"In actuality, Shen Wei didn't expect Lin Jing to really accomplish anything. Although he was in a difficult position, he had a plan in his heart. He only wanted to find something for Lin Jing to do, and so he spoke offhandedly."

Wow, this makes it so different! Lin Jing surprising even the Emissary is very cool, but the change makes more sense - SW knows everything there is to know about the Seal and the Sealing Rock and whatnot, he kinda has to know what works and what doesn't.

"He abruptly sensed in his heart that, like birds of a feather, the people around Zhao Yunlan were more or less somewhat similar to him-for example, they were all very persistent about something, the kind of persistence where they could forget about everything else.

For example this one, and for example that little boy who becomes nervous the moment he speaks."

Hah, so I was right on the money re: everyone being stubborn af. xD :D (And I love the Xiao Guo mention! ♡)

"In fact, he already had some speculations about the Guardian Lamp in his heart. However, looking at it now, it seemed as if it would be better at this moment for it to not show up."

Oooh, this ties really well with how everything unfolds later!

"I've lived for this long and still haven't met the Yan King."

Lol, does he meet as Kunlun? Because as Zhao Yunlan he really hasn't lived very long. xD

"Where the official translation has "Years of experience working with the Netherworld", the fan translation has "Zhao Yunlan's 30 years of experience collaborating with Difu", which doesn't seem right unless he's older than I thought. (Possibly that's why it got removed.)"

He was an older teenager in 2002, so in 2013 he's 30 or under - it definitely doesn't check out. (And it reminds me of the "bachelor for over 20 years" thing in the drama. :P)

"Fuck! I lost the Chief's family member! I can say goodbye to this year's year-end bonus!"

:D :D :D Lin Jing, ily.

I like Shen Wei turning invisible earlier! (And there's nothing here about Gui Mian's intelligence or lack thereof. :P)

[trobadora]

That's a lot of differences! Thanks so much for compiling them! ♡♡♡

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I didn't catch everything, but hopefully at least the most important stuff! There was a lot that was changed in these chapters.

Oooh, so it was originally clearer that he was tied up! (I was confused when the ropes were first mentioned because it had sounded like he only couldn't escape because of the dome and the youchu.)

That's a good point! Definitely clearer here; sometimes the edits don't improve clarity. *g*

And it's so interesting that he knew SW is the Emissary - it means that the reveal time also had to have been changed.

I have no idea when or how Lin Jing finds out in the JJWXC version. Sometimes reading the versions in parallel makes things more confusing for me, heh.

Oh, this got moved earlier, to the previous chapter!

Great catch, I missed that!

Oooh, so SW doesn't reveal his plan to Lin Jing? Because I'm assuming the plan is still the same and getting attacked was still part of it. I'm glad he reveals it in the official version - it's already confusing enough as it is. xD

Yeah, I'm pretty sure what's actually going on is the same, but he doesn't share anything with Lin Jing in the JJWXC version. The JJWXC version also jumps more between their POVs, whereas the official translation is more firmly in Lin Jing's POV for longer - that may have something to do with it? Editing out the jump into SW POV, but wanting to keep it clear that he has a plan, so he shares it out loud instead? Idk, but I agree, I definitely prefer him telling Lin Jing.

And also, yeah, it makes more sense to me that SW would know that Lin Jing's scripture-reciting meditations would work.

Hah, so I was right on the money re: everyone being stubborn af. xD :D (And I love the Xiao Guo mention! ♡)

Yeah, at least in the original version that's what it means! (And this is yet another case where the SW-GCC connection got edited out, dammit, I'm so resentful about this!)

Oooh, this ties really well with how everything unfolds later!

I'm looking forward to finding out!

(And it reminds me of the "bachelor for over 20 years" thing in the drama. :P)

Haha, great point!

[facethestrange]

"Sometimes reading the versions in parallel makes things more confusing for me, heh."

I can totally imagine that! (In fact I can't really imagine it NOT making everything more confusing. xD) Thanks again for doing that, and for getting extra confused on everyone's behalf. xD ♡♡♡

"And this is yet another case where the SW-GCC connection got edited out, dammit, I'm so resentful about this!"

Oh damn, good point, and now I gotta grumble about it some more! *grumbles* But eh, all of their scenes are still canon to me, idec that they got removed. :D

[trobadora]

Yeah, it's such a shame that that thread got excised so completely, and I'm not even sure why ... it SHOULD be canon, at any rate!

[china_shop]

*If that forgetful brute Zhao Yunlan knew that he was indifferently reciting scripture while actually watching his baby suffer, he would definitely turn him into Da Qing's cat food.*

LOL, not just murder, but feeding him to DQ!?!

*He had a mind to be like a fighting House Sparrow, taking out these ten assholes who were pretending to be cool one shot at a time. However, at this juncture, he still couldn't afford to completely break off relations with these pig-like comrade-in-arms and so could only fucking bear it.*

LOL!

[facethestrange]

(Hi there! :D :D)

"LOL, not just murder, but feeding him to DQ!?!"

Lolol, considering Zhao Yunlan threatens to feed Lin Jing to the entire SID later, this is mild. ;D ;D

[trobadora]

LOL, not just murder, but feeding him to DQ!?!

He likes his absurd OTT threats!

[china_shop]

He does, and they're delightful. The grislier, the less realistic (ergo less threatening) they are. :D