Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapter 25 & Epilogue

[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 25: Zhu Hong and Fourth Uncle follow the branch of the Divine Tree down to the Great Seal. The branch plants itself, and it and the Ancient Merit Tree quickly grow upwards, all the way to the Mortal Realm. Aboveground, Zhao Yunlan has become Kunlun-jun, and Shennong's Mortar bows to him and says his work here is done. Zhao Yunlan/Kunlun is calm and says "I know" a lot; he meditates beneath the Soul-Guarding Lamp. On the mountain above the resort, the captured souls spill out and save Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi from falling. Changcheng is engulfed in spiritual flame and starts reciting the Soul-Guarding Order. Shen Wei emerges, ensouled, from the Lamp, and Kunlun catches him and kisses his brow. Kunlun explains Changcheng is the reincarnated wick. The massive, quickly growing tree waters and replenishes the earth.
Epilogue: Zhao Yunlan is working in his office, in an utterly foul mood. The various SID members come in to gawk at him, and he bites all their heads off. The gui have souls now, but have disappeared, but also, they're everywhere? Zhao Yunlan is staying in a hotel. Shen Wei arrives and apologises for the mind-wipe, but Zhao Yunlan passive-aggressively pretends not to know him. Changcheng reveals that Zhao Yunlan never left Shen Wei's hospital bedside. Finally, Shen Wei kneels, Zhao Yunlan sits next to him, and they make up.

The corresponding chapters:
* official translation vol. 3 chapter 25 = fan translation chapter 106
* official translation epilogue = fan translation Extra 1

Excerpts:

1) Zhao Yunlan becomes Kunlun-jun

There was a swirl of light before Wang Zheng’s eyes. The man who had just been wearing a rumpled trench coat was suddenly in a long green robe instead, exactly like the ephemeral figure who had once walked the Great Wild thousands of years ago.

“Back when my master forcefully suppressed the Mountain God’s primordial spirit and sent you into the Reincarnation Cycle, he and the Lord Emissary agreed that the Emissary would live and die with the Great Seal,” said Shennong’s mortar. “Now another calamitous trial has come upon the Mortal Realm, the Great Houtu Seal has been broken, and the Soul-Executing Emissary has sacrificed himself for the Seal. All actions and consequences have fallen into place.”

The blazing flames settled into a gentler orange that reflected warmly in Kunlun-jun’s eyes. After a moment of silence, he quietly said, “I know.”

“The Emissary became a god as a King of the Gui,” continued the mortar. “He got what he wished for, and in the end, erased your…”

“Enough.” Kunlun-jun didn’t so much as look back. “I know all that too.”



2) The souls save Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi

But at that moment, Guo Changcheng realized with a start that he was no longer falling.

He immediately opened his eyes and saw that, because he’d knocked over the little fanny pack that Chu Shuzhi had given him, the soul bottles had tumbled out. When they’d knocked against the railings, their covers had all shattered. The souls he’d collected came pouring out all at once.

They didn’t take human form; instead, they were clusters of brilliant light. Seven or eight souls, including the girl from the bridge, came together and formed a huge net that stretched down from the bridge. It caught them both…just barely.

Shocked, Chu Shuzhi grabbed hold of Guo Changcheng and leaped back up to the bridge, pushing off from the net. His foot brushed the railing as he leaped again and landed at the end of the bridge. He looked back at the net of souls, complex emotions passing over his face. “Thank you,” he said. His voice was very low, and the words felt strange and unfamiliar in his mouth.



3) Zhao Yunlan "explains" the fate of the gui

“There’s something I can’t help wondering about.” Zhu Hong leaned forward, lowering her voice. “Why did the branch that Shen Wei gave me grow a third bud? What made the first two grow in the first place?”

The look on Zhao Yunlan’s face suggested that he didn’t want to answer. But Zhu Hong was a girl, and he was usually a little more polite to girls—especially ones he’d ruthlessly friend-zoned.

“The first bud sprouted when he swore that oath with Shennong. The second one grew when he upheld his oath, and the third was when he decided to…” Zhao Yunlan stopped. A shadow crossed his face. “The Reincarnation Cycle couldn’t be created in the Place of Great Disrespect because the gui didn’t have souls. The three buds on the branch of the Great Divine Tree reflected the fact that the King of the Gui had gained three ethereal souls. Since the King of the Gui is connected to the Reincarnation Cycle, Chaos is no longer just lifeless doom; as a result, the gui, who devoured anything and everything, have also disappeared. Understand?”



4) Guo Changcheng is literally Zhao Yunlan's better half

“Just one question,” Chu Shuzhi said.

Zhao Yunlan’s temper flared. “I’ve never loved you! And yes, xiao-Guo is indeed the reincarnation of the Soul-Guarding Lamp’s wick, okay? You can fuck off now!”

“So he has merits bestowed by the Heavens, just like Nüwa?”

“Always doing the same thing, always being the same person, day after day, for tens of thousands of years, keeping the lamp burning—is that any less worthy than the act of creating humanity? If you don’t know what you’re talking about, keep your mouth shut. Don’t fucking embarrass me.”

Chu Shuzhi gave that some thought. “In other words, xiao-Guo is the goodness missing from your heart?”

“Fuck! Off!”



5) Shen Wei kneels, and Zhao Yunlan caves

Shen Wei’s lips were a little pale. Zhao Yunlan turned to leave, determined not to look back. But before he could even take a step, there was a noise behind him. He spun back around and saw Shen Wei kneeling on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Zhao Yunlan leaned over to pull him up. “What the hell is your problem? Get up!”

Shen Wei said nothing.

“Get up!” Zhao Yunlan demanded.

Shen Wei remained silent.

Finally, unable to get him to move, Zhao Yunlan plopped down on the floor beside him.

After a while, he poked Shen Wei. “Hey, it’s practically sunset. The night shift’s about to come out. Won’t that be embarrassing for you, Lord Emissary?”



Questions:
Did you enjoy the ending? What was your favourite part? Least favourite? Do you think Zhao Yunlan's anger is justified? Do you understand what happened to the gui? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much therapy does Shen Wei need? What imagery did you enjoy the most? What are you still most confused about? 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!)

Our schedule for this round -- there are still two slots open, if you want to sign up to host a post!

Comments

[facethestrange]

"Zhao Yunlan/Kunlun is calm and says "I know" a lot"

:D :D :D Lol, I love this summary!

"The gui have souls now, but have disappeared, but also, they're everywhere?"

And this too. :D :D (As Zhu Hong said, "That seems... very profound." ;D)

"Guo Changcheng is literally Zhao Yunlan's better half"

I'm just giggling over your post, A+++. :D :D :D (Also, fantastic choice of excerpts in general! ♡)

Ahhhhh, it's the end (of the main story at least xD)! *CLINGS* ♡♡♡ I think I more-or-less answered all the questions in my giant-ass reaction comment, so here it is. :D (And lolol, I exceeded the comment length limit again, only a bit, but I'm still separating it by chapter because I can't be bothered to edit out any of my squee about the glorious SID shenanigans. ;D)

"“Shen Wei saved me! I promised him I’d find a place to plant it properly. I can’t be the one to lose a branch of the Great Divine Tree!” Beside herself with worry, Zhu Hong shook off Fourth Uncle’s hand and ran after the branch like a newborn calf that didn’t know enough to fear a tiger."

I love Zhu Hong, ahhh, she's not following Zhao Yunlan anymore AND she's not following Fourth Uncle either, she's finally just following her own path and writing her own story. ♡♡♡

"Zhu Hong instinctively feared the Wangchuan River, but she remembered the promise she’d made. Gritting her teeth, she became a snake and dove after the branch, slipping through Fourth Uncle’s grasp."

And here it even says clearly that it's NOT because she doesn't know any better. I love this storyline!

"The Ancient Merit Tree had remained unchanged for tens of thousands of years, but now it extended a wizened branch. It waved gently up and down in the Wangchuan waters, stirring up the gentlest of waves as though welcoming something."

The tree waving is such a cute image, AW!

"The branch of the Great Divine Tree came to rest beside the Ancient Merit Tree, sinking into the deepest dirt.
With incredible speed, it started to grow roots, then branches, and then leaves."

The whole giant trees thing is very impressive and gorgeous in general, but I especially love just how much it's not affected by the gui or the Seal or the Place of Great Disrespect or anything being 'filthy' or 'inauspicious' - it couldn't possibly care less. :D

I'm adding an extra comment a bit later (since I wrote this big-ass comment days ago :D): We had this tiny thread under the previous post about why SW took the branch with him before his death, and now I have extra feels! ♡ Not only the branch couldn't possibly care less about any inauspiciousness - it literally wants to GO BACK, and the Place of Great Disrespect is in fact where it belongs and where it thrives, and a ~better place~ to plant it simply doesn't exist (which is what SW wanted to give it), ahhh. :D ♡♡♡

"Wang Zheng’s eyes widened. “Mountains can cry?”
“Yes,” Shennong’s mortar said gently. “Legend has it that the only time the ten thousand mountains cried out in one voice was when Pangu fell. They didn’t make this kind of noise even when Kunlun-jun’s body turned into the Soul-Guarding Lamp—perhaps because at that point, the Mountain God hadn’t truly and fully died.”"

This is such an unexpectedly touching piece of worldbuilding, aw, and also I adore Wang Zheng and how she asks this question. ♡

"She’d never interacted all that much with Shen Wei or the Soul-Executing Emissary, so the wave of emotion she felt caught her off guard. Tears were streaming down her cheeks by the time she caught herself. For ghosts, weeping came at a cost, but she couldn’t keep the tears from falling."

I also just adore Wang Zheng in general. ♡♡♡ OUCH.

"Zhao Yunlan—or rather, Kunlun-jun—folded his hands behind his back at first but then gave him a casual wave."

This is adorable. :D (Also the Merit Tree just waved too, and I have no idea if that's supposed to be related, but it's extra adorable. :D)

"The man who had just been wearing a rumpled trench coat was suddenly in a long green robe instead, exactly like the ephemeral figure who had once walked the Great Wild thousands of years ago."

He has a true form too, it's not just a gui thing. :D

I'm loving the parallel of ZYL erasing SW's memories in volume 1 and how it obviously didn't work because SW was too powerful - and now it doesn't work the other way round because Kunlun is too powerful. xD

"He spread his hands, in which lay the scale Nüwa had left behind. It had once contained a small cycle of eleven years."

As much as I don't find the novel time loop even 5% as impactful as the drama one, I really like how it's described here. :D (Also, didn't Shen Wei have the scale last? But they live together and all, so I guess Zhao Yunlan just got it back in the meantime. :P)

"A faint noise from below startled everyone as if they were birds spooked by the sound of a bow. But it was only the ground underfoot stirring as a giant tree burst forth, bountifully crowned with lush green leaves."

I know this is a good thing and all, but it does in fact sound terrifying and the description of it is not particularly reassuring. xD

“Was it you who sent Guo Changcheng to the SID?”
Still with the utmost respect, Shennong’s mortar said, “Yes. When my master was alive, he tasked me with finding someone whose third eye wasn’t open, yet who could see through to the truth; someone quiet and unassuming, but blessed with great heaven-given merits.”

That was a long-ass time ago! Does it mean that Shennong's mortar only just found GCC for the first time? (Since Kunlun would now remember if he knew GCC's other incarnations in his previous lives.) And could this be something that triggered some of Kunlun's vague memories in this lifetime, early on? The Yanluo Kings tried to wake up Kunlun, but maybe it's being around GCC that actually started the process. :P

“I see,” Kunlun-jun said, quiet as a sigh. “I understand now. Thank you.”
In that instant, Nüwa’s scale turned into dust in his palm.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Daqing asked, “What exactly is going on?”

I'm with Daqing here. xD xD (And then Kunlun's ~explanation~ is “Don’t worry. The Lamp is still lit.”, so *shrug* I guess. ;D)

"He looked back at the net of souls, complex emotions passing over his face. “Thank you,” he said. His voice was very low, and the words felt strange and unfamiliar in his mouth."

AW. CSZ is really not used to people doing anything for him, is he.

"With a shriek, the red-eyed gui covered its eyes. It stumbled back several steps before it twisted and shriveled, melting to nothing under that brilliant light."

Oooh, was Lin Jing gui-destroying light related to this too? (It was Nüwa's sealing rock that emitted it, so I guess on some level all of this is related.)

"I want to live a good life and do lots of wonderful things to make up for this life."

First I was like 'wait, he did nothing wrong tho?', and then I realized that he probably means making up for how short this life was, which is somehow sadder, but hey, I'm glad he's so excited for it. :D :D

"Gradually, a figure took shape in the flames and tumbled out into Kunlun-jun’s embrace. He wasn’t heavy, but catching him seemed to take all of Kunlun-jun’s strength, causing the Mountain God to stumble. He and the person in his arms fell to the ground."

Like them tumbling out of the wormhole? :D

So much soft holding and touching and kissing in this scene, ahhh. ♡♡♡

“Was…was that soul fire…? But how could the Chaos King of the Gui have soul fire?” asked Shennong’s mortar, baffled. “Has a soulless being of great evil truly gained three ethereal and seven corporeal souls somehow? Could a gui have a soul?”

I guess he inherited Shennong's confusion about the gui's lack of souls, lol. (Also, wasn't 'Chaos King of the Gui' only Ghost Face, or were both of them originally called that?)

"A sudden smile of recognition broke across Kunlun-jun’s face. He had personally drawn that charm on the back of Shen Wei’s hand when they’d first met in this life."

Which is when he tried to erase his memories and it didn't work. :D Since the charm doesn't seem to be directly relevant to the current events otherwise (which doesn't matter to me at all because it's so soft and I love it ♡♡♡), I'm assuming it's here to specifically draw attention to this parallel. :D And to be a callback to their first meeting, of course. ♡

(This is that scene, btw: After a moment’s thought, he took hold of Shen-laoshi’s right hand and drew an invisible calming charm on the back of it with his forefinger. That done, he grinned smugly and planted a light kiss in the same spot. Having allowed himself this indulgence, he said gleefully, “Good night, sleeping beauty. When I’m done with the case, I’ll ask you out properly.”)

"What’s burning within the Soul-Guarding Lamp right now is all the merits earned by the wick over hundreds of lifetimes and reincarnations. That’s why the Lamp returned Shen Wei to me."

AW, this really calls for more of the friendship/connection between SW & GCC that was edited out of the original version. (Also, the drama Hallows returned Zhao Yunlan to Shen Wei after the time travel - this phrasing reminds me of that so much. :D ♡)

"As he spoke those words, the canopy of the tree that had grown taller than the mountains themselves turned into millions of water droplets, which dispersed to every corner of the earth."

Gorgeous image! ♡ And the very last line is such a lovely ending ("At last, the first ray of light pierced the dark clouds. A new day had dawned."). ♡♡♡

[facethestrange]

"The couch for visitors was occupied by a coat that had been flung there haphazardly and was now wrinkled—not that its owner cared."

Because he only cares about Shen Wei's coat, not about his own. :D

"It took only thirty seconds for Lin Jing to get the fuck over there."

xD This line is so good and funny. :D

"There was a click, and then Lin Jing excitedly showed Zhao Yunlan the selfie he’d taken of the two of them. Thanks to his position and angle, Lin Jing’s face was so close to the camera that it looked like a huge pancake; meanwhile, Zhao Yunlan’s foul expression and placement in the background made him look like a ghost haunting Lin Jing."

:D LIN JING ILY, and all of this is so funny, and I'm 100% here for SID shenanigans always. :D

“I thought primordial gods couldn’t be photographed by mortal instruments… Wait, I get it. It’s like with Shen-laoshi, right? This is just your physical manifestation in the Mortal Realm, and you can assume your original appearance whenever you want? Hey, can I take a picture with you looking like that ? Just one?”

1) Yay, it is indeed not just the gui. :D 2) Lin Jiiing, you just said yourself that it wouldn't work. ;D (But I guess he wants to try anyway. :D)

“That seems…very profound. Where did the gui go, though?”
“The gui are a physical manifestation of Chaos,” Zhao Yunlan replied. “They’re gone, but they’re also everywhere.”
“Everywhere like the ever-burning Soul-Guarding Lamp?”
“Mnh.”

That explains so little, lol, and 'that seems very profound' would totally be my response too because what else do you say. ;D

(Also, since Shen Wei didn't disappear with the other gui, I guess Ghost Face wouldn't have either? Which makes me wish that he hadn't died and could be around for this after all, free from the Seal forever because there's no seal.)

"So I could spend my days with a bunch of dumbasses worshipping me?"

LOL, and also yay - he's a god, he can live the life he wants. :D Which means the life he wants is being annoyed by dumbasses after all, as long as the dumbasses are his friends, which is really sweet. :D

“I had a crush on Kunlun-jun! I sure know how to pick them!”

:D :D :D I love her!

“I heard that you, O Great Immortal, can’t return to your own home, so I’m giving you this. It gets you forty percent off, so you can stop spending all your pay to put a roof over your head. This is all I can do to help you.”

I love them both, they are disasters and it's wonderful, and also can't a primordial god magic himself some money? :P

"Chu Shuzhi strolled in and got comfortable in a seat right in front of him, studying the real live Kunlun-jun as if watching a peep show."

I love how he even doesn't start talking until Zhao Yunlan does, lol, he's literally just there to stare at him. xD

"I’ve never loved you!"

So yeah, Zhao Yunlan is just saying random things because he's pissed off, but where did this come from exactly? Still from his conversation with Zhu Hong, or is this a pop culture reference/quote or something? I feel like I'm missing something. :D

“In other words, xiao-Guo is the goodness missing from your heart?”
(...)
He slammed the door and bolted like a rabbit.

I love the SID people sfm, all of this is gold. :D :D

"With nothing better to do, he killed time playing Minesweeper until the workday was finally over."

I just love that this is what a god does in his not free time. :D :D

"Zhao Yunlan looked up in surprise. His blue-light glasses almost slipped down his nose."

Ohhhh yay, he also wears glasses outside of the library. :D Justtttt, Zhao Yunlan in glasses, YES PLEASE. ♡♡♡

"Daqing ignored him, turned in place, and then nudged the door open with his butt."

Daqing being so cat, hee, the epilogue is a delight. :D :D

"It looked as if Shen Wei had come straight from teaching. His hands were still full of lesson plans."

I think his job really, really, REALLY matters to him if that's what he did instead of coming to see Zhao Yunlan right away, and after a week of being in a coma!

"After the Soul-Guarding Lamp spat him out, Shen Wei had been comatose for an entire week. That whole time, Zhao Yunlan had stayed by his side, not even stepping away long enough to change clothes."

*WIBBLES* (And then Xiao Guo rats him out. :D :D)

"Off to one side, Daqing pretended to lick his paws. His eyes shone with excitement as he watched the drama unfold."

I guess Daqing doesn't care about his standards anymore. :D :D (From chapter 7: "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.")

“Rushing off to a hotel room…” Shen Wei skewered him with a look, and the cat hurriedly meowed out the rest. “…is something he wouldn’t dare do even if you lent him a whole other spine.”

Is this a reference to Kunlun's actual spine that is in Shen Wei's body, or is it just a lucky coincidence in English? :D

“Perfect timing! High technical scores!”
Zhu Hong rattled off a hotel name and room number without looking up from the novel she was reading on her phone. “I also think ambushing him at night is a good idea. It’s possible to compensate for emotional disharmony with physical intimacy.”

At some point I need to stop quoting everything these people are doing and squeeing about it, lolol, but I just really, really love all the SID people and their entire vibe, DAMN, they're gremlins and menaces and the best friends anyone could want. :D :D :D

"In under twenty days, this girl’s worldview seemed to have been shattered only for her to somehow cultivate a fascinating frame of mind that included the motto, “Loving someone means wanting to see him get railed.”"

I LOVE HER, and also I knoooooow that's not what it's implying, but I've always been a fan of the 'see' in this sentence. xD :D

"All of his seniors looked back at him. As he gazed at them in confusion, they gave him a collective thumbs-up."

♡♡♡! :D

“Tell Daqing to heat it up first before eating it tomorrow”

This is all really touching, but also I'm impressed that Daqing can heat up his own food. :D

"Having learned about Daqing and lao-Li’s complicated past, Zhao Yunlan no longer knew how to face this person who had mistreated his cat in his absence."

Ah, so the Guardian was indeed busy being reincarnated while that happened.

"Slowly, Shen Wei released his hand."

Unless I'm missing some sentence somewhere, this seems to say that he was holding Zhao Yunlan's hand the entire time the SID people were being gremlins, and even while he was giving Daqing the key, which is honestly some impressive dedication. xD

"After a while, he poked Shen Wei. “Hey, it’s practically sunset. The night shift’s about to come out. Won’t that be embarrassing for you, Lord Emissary?”"

The poking is kinda funny here, and also this is like the kneeling in the drama - he would absolutely be embarrassed BUT he has more important things to care about at the moment.

"I guess everything related to you would’ve vanished too, right? And there I’d be, just wondering who had cleaned up my kitchen."

This is one of my top favorite lines from this book, but at the same time...?? Everyone else who was there remembered Shen Wei? Like, yes, Zhao Yunlan wouldn't remember him, but someone/everyone would have told him everything they knew about SW sooner or later.

"The scrap of fury lingering in Zhao Yunlan’s heart guttered and died. Nothing of it remained, not even ash. His heart just felt a little sore.
Still wrapped in Shen Wei’s arms, Zhao Yunlan helped him up."

So messed up, SO SOFT. ♡♡♡

“Besides,” Zhao Yunlan finished, “I didn’t say you couldn’t come with me.”

There need to be fics about this but I haven't seen any so far. xD

[autodach]

I'm loving the parallel of ZYL erasing SW's memories in volume 1 and how it obviously didn't work because SW was too powerful - and now it doesn't work the other way round because Kunlun is too powerful. xD

Right?? It’s so good! They’re always doing these transgressive things to each other.

So much soft holding and touching and kissing in this scene, ahhh. ♡♡♡

❤❤❤

That explains so little, lol

Right? Give us nothing lol. This whole thing with the gui disappearing makes me wonder of it’s meant to be this unclear, or if it’s just us not getting it XD

I just love that this is what a god does in his not free time. :D :D

When you have infinite time, you can waste it all you like :P

[china_shop]

Because he only cares about Shen Wei's coat, not about his own. :D

I think he only cares about SW's coat when it's standing in for SW himself. ;D

Also, since Shen Wei didn't disappear with the other gui, I guess Ghost Face wouldn't have either?

It could be a result of SW's essentially having cultivated himself, which GF didn't do. But who knows?

Which means the life he wants is being annoyed by dumbasses after all, as long as the dumbasses are his friends, which is really sweet. :D

Yesss! (Now he just needs to start treating them better, lol.)

So yeah, Zhao Yunlan is just saying random things because he's pissed off, but where did this come from exactly?

I have no idea!! (priest, never change!) Your theory that it's a flow-on from his convo with ZH is the best I can think of.

Justtttt, Zhao Yunlan in glasses, YES PLEASE. ♡♡♡

Riiiiiiiiiight??!! :DDD

I think his job really, really, REALLY matters to him if that's what he did instead of coming to see Zhao Yunlan right away, and after a week of being in a coma!

They promised to live together as mortals, so I guess he has to re-establish his "mortal" life now. :D

Is this a reference to Kunlun's actual spine that is in Shen Wei's body, or is it just a lucky coincidence in English? :D

I'm curious about that, too! I thought maybe it was like "even if he had two whole spines." But it could be a reference to his actual godly spine, good point.

This is all really touching, but also I'm impressed that Daqing can heat up his own food. :D

Haha, right? Maybe DQ gets someone else to do it, and that's just taken as read.

Unless I'm missing some sentence somewhere, this seems to say that he was holding Zhao Yunlan's hand the entire time the SID people were being gremlins, and even while he was giving Daqing the key, which is honestly some impressive dedication. xD

LOLOL, I totally missed that, but I think you're right. (He actually grabs his wrist, but then releases his hand.) I wonder if this somehow turned into the prolonged handshake in ep 1, or if that's too much of a stretch. (Or did we already have a prolonged handshake?)

and also this is like the kneeling in the drama - he would absolutely be embarrassed BUT he has more important things to care about at the moment.

That's not how I see the drama kneeling. I think SW does it stubbornly and with matter-of-fact dignity; he's decided it's worth it, so he's not embarrassed about it at all. But that's just my reading. :-)

This is one of my top favorite lines from this book, but at the same time...?? Everyone else who was there remembered Shen Wei?

This was another reason why I got confused about whether the SID had been mindwiped along with the rest of humanity. Maybe they just don't know about Shen Wei's housework tendencies?

There need to be fics about this but I haven't seen any so far. xD

Seriously? I thought there'd be a whole genre! (And oh, this makes me realise -- ZYL has a legitimate grievance here, with the whole memory wiping / last-minute plan change, but he's not trying to use it as leverage to top. Does that mean he's finally got over grumbling about that?! ;-p)

[china_shop]

I'm just giggling over your post, A+++. :D :D :D

*wins* :D :D :D

Ahhhhh, it's the end (of the main story at least xD)! *CLINGS* ♡♡♡

I knoooow! We're nearly done! *CLINGS BACK*

And lolol, I exceeded the comment length limit again

Heeeee! So many hearts! :D

The whole giant trees thing is very impressive and gorgeous in general, but I especially love just how much it's not affected by the gui or the Seal or the Place of Great Disrespect or anything being 'filthy' or 'inauspicious' - it couldn't possibly care less. :D

Ha, yes, it's totally on steroids now. :D

He has a true form too, it's not just a gui thing. :D

Oh, true. That's so interesting! I wonder how different it feels to be in regular clothes now. :D

I'm loving the parallel of ZYL erasing SW's memories in volume 1 and how it obviously didn't work because SW was too powerful - and now it doesn't work the other way round because Kunlun is too powerful. xD

Because Shennong re-awakened his Kunlun nature, right? (I think that's right?)

I know this is a good thing and all, but it does in fact sound terrifying and the description of it is not particularly reassuring. xD

Ha, right? I live in earthquake country, and that description... *dives under a table* ;D

And could this be something that triggered some of Kunlun's vague memories in this lifetime, early on? The Yanluo Kings tried to wake up Kunlun, but maybe it's being around GCC that actually started the process. :P

I wondered that, too. How much is GCC a catalyst, and how much was it just meeting SW again?

I'm with Daqing here. xD xD (And then Kunlun's ~explanation~ is “Don’t worry. The Lamp is still lit.”, so /shrug/* I guess. ;D)*

I ~think~ Kunlun means the lamp is still lit even without GCC (the wick)? But I'm not sure. And I don't at all understand why the scale disintegrated. I'm sure it's all very profound, lol.

First I was like 'wait, he did nothing wrong tho?', and then I realized that he probably means making up for how short this life was

Or how mundane and blah his job was? I think it's a reference to their first meeting with him:

For a long while, Feng Dawei stared down at the little bottle. “But how could I just…die? I-I wasn’t done living…”
“Come in,” said Chu Shuzhi. “Let’s get you a better life in your next incarnation.”
Feng Dawei laughed bitterly. “Next life? Forget about the next life—can you take a message to my parents and brother?

Now he's excited instead of bitter, aww.

Like them tumbling out of the wormhole? :D

Ah, true!! :D

I guess he inherited Shennong's confusion about the gui's lack of souls, lol.

Not just the confusion, but the conviction that they have the answers. ;-p

I'm assuming it's here to specifically draw attention to this parallel. :D And to be a callback to their first meeting, of course. ♡

Probably both those things, and also, yes, it is so lovely! <3 <3 <3

[trobadora]

The whole giant trees thing is very impressive and gorgeous in general, but I especially love just how much it's not affected by the gui or the Seal or the Place of Great Disrespect or anything being 'filthy' or 'inauspicious' - it couldn't possibly care less. :D

Oh, excellent point!

Not only the branch couldn't possibly care less about any inauspiciousness - it literally wants to GO BACK, and the Place of Great Disrespect is in fact where it belongs and where it thrives, and a ~better place~ to plant it simply doesn't exist (which is what SW wanted to give it), ahhh. :D ♡♡♡

And an even better point! You're right, that is very good. :D

I'm loving the parallel of ZYL erasing SW's memories in volume 1 and how it obviously didn't work because SW was too powerful - and now it doesn't work the other way round because Kunlun is too powerful. xD

There really is a theme about the things they mutually do to each other, isn't there? Good stuff.

Does it mean that Shennong's mortar only just found GCC for the first time? (Since Kunlun would now remember if he knew GCC's other incarnations in his previous lives.) And could this be something that triggered some of Kunlun's vague memories in this lifetime, early on?

Oh! That's a fascinating thought, it would make sense if GCC's presence contributed. And now that I think of it, who GCC is would also add a dimension to the excised SW-and-GCC strand, wouldn't it?

Like them tumbling out of the wormhole? :D

Oh, nice, yes, they might have used this for that!

Also, wasn't 'Chaos King of the Gui' only Ghost Face, or were both of them originally called that?

I thought it was both of them, since it's a description of what they are.

AW, this really calls for more of the friendship/connection between SW & GCC that was edited out of the original version. (Also, the drama Hallows returned Zhao Yunlan to Shen Wei after the time travel - this phrasing reminds me of that so much. :D ♡)

Yes, fully agreed to both of these things!

[autodach]

Zhen Hun is one of many Priest novels that end very suddenly right on the climax, and desperately need the extras to phase out. Although it might simply be semantics what counts as an extra.

What was your favourite part?

I love Xiao-Guo as the wick so much. A million small acts of kindness adding up to divine power❤

Do you think Zhao Yunlan's anger is justified?

Yup. Shen Wei keeps lying to him and Zhao Yunlan gets more upset every time. It makes sense he would hit a breaking point eventually.

Do you understand what happened to the gui?

I interpreted “disappeared” to mean disappeared from the world order specifically. As in, they are no longer needed for the operation of the world, but they didn’t die or anything.
As for where they went, no idea XD

“What are you doing?” Zhao Yunlan leaned over to pull him up. “What the hell is your problem? Get up!”

I like to think this would be drama!Yunlan’s reaction to Shen Wei kneeling during the blindness arc.

[facethestrange]

"Zhen Hun is one of many Priest novels that end very suddenly right on the climax, and desperately need the extras to phase out. Although it might simply be semantics what counts as an extra."

Yeah, it's probably semantics in the end, and it does make it clearer to call this an epilogue instead of the first extra. :D (I've never read any other Priest novel, but I want to read Mo Du, and I'm probably not waiting until December for the official volume 1 to come out, so fan translation it is this time, hah. I've never read the Guardian fan translation, though it kinda feels like I did because trobadora compares the versions so diligently. :D)

Xiao Guo = ♡!

"I like to think this would be drama!Yunlan’s reaction to Shen Wei kneeling during the blindness arc."

It's such a different situation, but yeah, he definitely wouldn't be having any of that either.

[china_shop]

Zhen Hun is one of many Priest novels that end very suddenly right on the climax, and desperately need the extras to phase out.

Yes, I'm so glad there's more. I really want to see SW and ZYL properly made up. ;-p

Shen Wei keeps lying to him and Zhao Yunlan gets more upset every time. It makes sense he would hit a breaking point eventually.

Hard agree! ;p :D

I interpreted “disappeared” to mean disappeared from the world order specifically. As in, they are no longer needed for the operation of the world, but they didn’t die or anything.

Ohh, that makes sense. In fact, they might be back below the Seal in that case, mightn't they?

[trobadora]

Zhen Hun is one of many Priest novels that end very suddenly right on the climax, and desperately need the extras to phase out. Although it might simply be semantics what counts as an extra.

Yeah, good point about the semantics, but it does end extremely abruptly!

As in, they are no longer needed for the operation of the world

Sorry, I'm not getting it - when were the gui ever needed for the operation of the world? What am I missing/forgetting?

[salamandras]

I enjoyed this so much more on my re-read! I loved GCC as the wick, and how innocently full of merit he is, and his whole mountain bridge scene is wonderful. I appreciate the balance of ZYL and SW's powers much more towards the end. I agree with just about all the comments, and wish I'd be up for participating much more. Thank you all for continuing keeping the fandom active on Dreamwidth! I'll see if I can be more present and re-read the extras for the next few posts.

[facethestrange]

Yayyy, it's awesome to see you, and honestly it's really fun to know that there are lurkers in the six billion hundreds of comments that I heavily contribute to. xD :D ♡

[china_shop]

I enjoyed this so much more on my re-read!

Yay, that's awesome! And yes, I loved GCC and his stubbornly, relentlessly do-gooding heart so much, too. :D :D :D *pets him forever*

Hi, you! \*hearts\*

[trobadora]

Yay, so glad you enjoyed things! Great to know more people are reading along, and I'm looking forward to any comments on the extras you might make. :D

[china_shop]

The Divine Tree branch represents Shen Wei in so many ways, starting with Zhu Hong following it down to the Bog because "Shen Wei saved me!" I have many feels about the fact that the buds apparently represent SW's souls, and yet he was prepared for ZH to use them to save herself, if necessary (and he didn't believe the buds were a renewable resource at the time, or if he did, he wasn't saying)!! And then the branch turns into this massive tree which waters and replenishes the earth because Shen Wei becomes a god -- once we found out the significance of it, I was all !!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Also, ZH is totally fearless, I love her.

No one knew why the Chaos had temporarily retreated, never mind what the Great Seal’s current condition might be. It was possible that the Chaos was just regrouping for another round of attacks.

Wait, is "Chaos" just a collective noun for gui? A Chaos of Gui? Oh no, later on, ZYL says, "The gui are a physical manifestation of Chaos." That's not confusing at all!

as expected, the tall, withered tree soon came into view.

Soon? This distance is so variable depending on plot necessity! ;-p

The Great Houtu Seal had fractured and disintegrated. Flames raged on the ground, shrouded in black mist and the cries of the gui. The Four Pillars had been restored to their original positions, and the new Seal was about to fall into place…

No youchu liberation. *sadface*

“All ten thousand mountains crying together.”

Awwww! (I kind of wish SW has more feelings about the mountains, because the mountains clearly have a lot of feelings about him. ;-p)

Her heart gave a sudden twinge. Had Shen Wei really taken away all of his memories?

How does she know? Was the memory removal visible??

Kunlun's casual wave, lol! They totally kept that in the drama. :D

I'M SO GLAD HE STILL HAS HIS MEMORIES AND DIDN'T LOSE THEM FOR EVEN A SECOND!! ;-p

Clearing up who sent Changcheng to the SID, excellent!

Kunlun is so calm and chill -- so different from the madcap scamp from the PP.

They didn’t take human form; instead, they were clusters of brilliant light. Seven or eight souls, including the girl from the bridge, came together and formed a huge net that stretched down from the bridge. It caught them both…just barely.

I love this image so much. I was worried for them when they spilled out, but no, they have agency, and they're rescuing Changcheng this time! :D :D :D And then the whole thing with Changcheng and the holy flame, and all the spirits being drawn to him and seeing themselves in his notebook -- ahhhhh, it's wonderful! *hearts and hearts*

a ball of fire, bright as the morning sun, flew into the lamp. The flame within, which had been only the size of a pea, flared and shot up, now hundreds of meters tall.

LOLOL! It's Changcheng! :D (ZYL had to become a better person in the drama so he could become the wick; not so much in the novel. ;-p)

“Was…was that soul fire…? But how could the Chaos King of the Gui have soul fire?” asked Shennong’s mortar, baffled. “Has a soulless being of great evil truly gained three ethereal and seven corporeal souls somehow? Could a gui have a soul?”

"Is it really possible we don't actually know everything?!" LOL! ;-p

I really love the callback with the calming charm. Shen Wei must have been treasuring it all this time, and maybe it was part of what made him able to sacrifice himself? Idk.

“That kid, Guo Changcheng. He’s the wick reincarnated.” Kunlun-jun’s voice was very low. “What’s burning within the Soul-Guarding Lamp right now is all the merits earned by the wick over hundreds of lifetimes and reincarnations. That’s why the Lamp returned Shen Wei to me.”

LOLOLOL! Changcheng is the reincarnation of an inanimate object, and he doesn't even know it (of course). :DDDDDDDD

The mortals on earth would never even remember that such a dark calamity had ever occurred.

This made me wonder if this is why, in the drama, the bartender gets everyone all stirred up to storm the palace, and next time we see them they're drinking in the bar, apparently oblivious to anything but the sudden lamp light.

Okay, I adore all of the SID team mini-scenes in the epilogue! They're all fantastic in their own ways, and they answer at least some of the remaining questions. I do kind of wish ZYL weren't being quite so snappish and furious all over the place, but I get that it's there for comedy value.

I wonder if SW really didn't understand about the buds being his souls, or if he just didn't want to explain that to Zhu Hong...

I am sooooo confused about the gui.

I still wish Kunlun cared more about his mountains. ;-p

“I had a crush on Kunlun-jun! I sure know how to pick them!”

Ha, I think that must be a parallel to her line in the drama about being the Envoy's rival. :D

Chu Shuzhi gave that some thought. “In other words, xiao-Guo is the goodness missing from your heart?”

My absolute favourite line from these two chapters. :D :D :D :D :D It's so especially apt given what a crank ZYL is being.

ZYL pretending not to know SW is hilarious, but (as usual) I wish SW was a bit less needy and placatory. Like trobadora was saying last week or the week before, have the courage of your convictions, Shen Wei!! (But it is bratty and hilarious, and I'm glad ZYL isn't letting the non-con mindwipe just slide. ;-p)

I think the collective thumbs-up at Changcheng might have got turned into the collective pointing in ep 16 (?).

Shen Wei took the key to Zhao Yunlan’s apartment from his pocket and hung it on the cat’s collar. Like a rocket shot from a bow, Daqing, despite his bulk, bolted out the hallway window and ran off.

Is he going to shift into human form to use the key? Because otherwise it doesn't seem like a whole lot of use.

Finally, unable to get him to move, Zhao Yunlan plopped down on the floor beside him.

I really do love this as a solution to being bowed to. ZYL is trying to bicker like equals, and SW is refusing to be an equal, so ZYL has to literally get down his level to put them on the same plane of conversation. <3

The way everyone talks to SW, and ZYL saying, "I would’ve forgotten everything once I woke up, just like everyone else, right?" makes me very confused about whether the rest of the SID remember SW is the Emissary... because in chapter 25 it seemed like Wang Zheng remembered, but now I don't know anymore.

It was as though, no matter how much pain Shen Wei was in, he felt no need to say a word about it—and could accept the blame regardless of what the truth was.

SW needs thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much therapy!!

[facethestrange]

"I have many feels about the fact that the buds apparently represent SW's souls, and yet he was prepared for ZH to use them to save herself, if necessary (and he didn't believe the buds were a renewable resource at the time, or if he did, he wasn't saying)!!"

AW. ♡♡♡ He knew relatively little about it (he didn't even know / was wrong about why it didn't thrive), but I do think that he at least figured out that his sacrifice would change something about the branch. And yet he was indeed completely okay with Zhu Hong using up the buds if she needed to. ♡♡♡

"And then the branch turns into this massive tree which waters and replenishes the earth because Shen Wei becomes a god -- once we found out the significance of it, I was all !!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3"

Ikr. ♡♡♡ And it makes it even sadder how long he has spent thinking of himself as inauspicious.

"Wait, is "Chaos" just a collective noun for gui? A Chaos of Gui? Oh no, later on, ZYL says, "The gui are a physical manifestation of Chaos." That's not confusing at all!"

Lol, this is such a good point! It does sound like Chaos is at least 'all the gui as a whole' (if not a collective noun), but then Chaos is also something that kills the gui when they touch it.

"Soon? This distance is so variable depending on plot necessity! ;-p"

Hahah, it really is. Though in this case I just assumed that Snakes are really fast swimmers. :D

"No youchu liberation. *sadface*"

Not at this point, but I think at the end all gui are liberated - whatever it is that actually happened to them, they don't seem to be behind any Seal anymore (and they have souls now, whatever that entails). :)

"I kind of wish SW has more feelings about the mountains, because the mountains clearly have a lot of feelings about him. ;-p"

LOL AW. ♡

"How does she know? Was the memory removal visible??"

I was wondering that too at first! And then I didn't end up posting my confused comment because I think I figured it out. xD There seems to be some small amount of time between Shen Wei's sacrifice and Wang Zheng asking about the mountains, and I'm assuming Shennong's mortar has figured out what SW was doing and told everyone else. (And when he says later "He got what he wished for, and in the end, erased your…", it kinda confirmed that to me.)

"Kunlun's casual wave, lol! They totally kept that in the drama. :D"

When is that (approximately)? :D

"they have agency, and they're rescuing Changcheng this time! :D :D :D"

Ahhh, wonderfully said!! ♡

"I really love the callback with the calming charm. Shen Wei must have been treasuring it all this time, and maybe it was part of what made him able to sacrifice himself? Idk."

Your comment made me wonder - did he somehow use it to be at peace with his death (both when he planned to die with Zhao Yunlan and when he planned to die alone)? It's a calming charm, could it be actively used to create more calm?

"This made me wonder if this is why, in the drama, the bartender gets everyone all stirred up to storm the palace, and next time we see them they're drinking in the bar, apparently oblivious to anything but the sudden lamp light."

Ooooooh, it must be! Idk what exactly would make them forget in the drama, but it definitely does sound like an equivalent of this.

"Okay, I adore all of the SID team mini-scenes in the epilogue! They're all fantastic in their own ways, and they answer at least some of the remaining questions."

Ikrrrr, and it continues for the next two extras and it's just a absolute DELIGHT. :D :D (And even Zhao Yunlan is not pissed off anymore. :D)

"I wonder if SW really didn't understand about the buds being his souls, or if he just didn't want to explain that to Zhu Hong..."

He didn't have souls before his death, and he definitely didn't expect to come back, which means he couldn't have expected to ever gain souls, I think.

"I am sooooo confused about the gui."

You and me both, and everyone in-world too, other than Zhao Yunlan. ;D

"My absolute favourite line from these two chapters. :D :D :D :D :D It's so especially apt given what a crank ZYL is being."

I love how it's both hilarious and literally true, since he was created from Kunlun's heart's blood. xD

"I think the collective thumbs-up at Changcheng might have got turned into the collective pointing in ep 16 (?)."

Ooooh, maybe, and both scenes are so fun and adorable either way. :D

"Is he going to shift into human form to use the key? Because otherwise it doesn't seem like a whole lot of use."

I guess so, since he can do it now. He is very glad to have the key, so he must know what he's doing. :D

"I really do love this as a solution to being bowed to. ZYL is trying to bicker like equals, and SW is refusing to be an equal, so ZYL has to literally get down his level to put them on the same plane of conversation. <3"

Ohh, I love this way of framing it! ♡

"The way everyone talks to SW, and ZYL saying, "I would’ve forgotten everything once I woke up, just like everyone else, right?" makes me very confused about whether the rest of the SID remember SW is the Emissary... because in chapter 25 it seemed like Wang Zheng remembered, but now I don't know anymore."

I don't really see any indications that they don't, and a lot of indications that they do (definitely Wang Zheng's entire scene, and also Daqing calls him "my lord" for one)? The way I understand it, only mortals forgot the entire thing, and only Zhao Yunlan was supposed to forget Shen Wei.

"SW needs thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much therapy!!"

LOL. ♡ The need for a supernatural-friendly therapist is really dire in this universe, ITA.

[trobadora]

The Divine Tree branch represents Shen Wei in so many ways, starting with Zhu Hong following it down to the Bog because "Shen Wei saved me!" I have many feels about the fact that the buds apparently represent SW's souls, and yet he was prepared for ZH to use them to save herself, if necessary (and he didn't believe the buds were a renewable resource at the time, or if he did, he wasn't saying)!! And then the branch turns into this massive tree which waters and replenishes the earth because Shen Wei becomes a god -- once we found out the significance of it, I was all !!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Oh wow, I hadn't even thought of it in that way, that's such a good (depressing) point about telling ZH to use up the buds! I don't really understand how/why the branch is connected to SW, but metaphorically it's fantastic.

Wait, is "Chaos" just a collective noun for gui? A Chaos of Gui? Oh no, later on, ZYL says, "The gui are a physical manifestation of Chaos." That's not confusing at all!

I think this passage is talking about the formless Chaos that was upstairs and destroying everyone who touched it?

No youchu liberation. *sadface*

Yeah. Same. I mean, it sort of happens in some sort of vague unexplained way, as we find out later, but not really satisfyingly at all.

How does she know? Was the memory removal visible??

Ha, I was wondering about that too!

(ZYL had to become a better person in the drama so he could become the wick; not so much in the novel. ;-p)

LOL! That's a great point. I love what they did with that in the drama.

"Is it really possible we don't actually know everything?!" LOL! ;-p

LOLOLOL!

This made me wonder if this is why, in the drama, the bartender gets everyone all stirred up to storm the palace, and next time we see them they're drinking in the bar, apparently oblivious to anything but the sudden lamp light.

Oof, I really don't like that interpretation for the drama, that would be depressing. :(

Okay, I adore all of the SID team mini-scenes in the epilogue!

Yes! The best part!

I wonder if SW really didn't understand about the buds being his souls, or if he just didn't want to explain that to Zhu Hong...

I don't think he had any idea.

Ha, I think that must be a parallel to her line in the drama about being the Envoy's rival. :D

Yes, great catch, that absolutely works!

But it is bratty and hilarious, and I'm glad ZYL isn't letting the non-con mindwipe just slide. ;-p

I dislike the pretending and don't find it even remotely funny, especially since it does nothing to actually address the problem, which they never do. (I hate that. ZYL just gets angry and passive-aggressive, and SW gets placatory and pleading, and then they brush it all under the rug. Boo.)

Is he going to shift into human form to use the key? Because otherwise it doesn't seem like a whole lot of use.

Oh, good poing. Maybe post-canon, DQ does occasionally change into human form?

I really do love this as a solution to being bowed to. ZYL is trying to bicker like equals, and SW is refusing to be an equal, so ZYL has to literally get down his level to put them on the same plane of conversation. <3

I like it too! I don't think SW is refusing to be an equal, though - IMO he doesn't feel like an equal, which is worse.

The way everyone talks to SW, and ZYL saying, "I would’ve forgotten everything once I woke up, just like everyone else, right?" makes me very confused about whether the rest of the SID remember SW is the Emissary... because in chapter 25 it seemed like Wang Zheng remembered, but now I don't know anymore.

I think it's clear everyone at the SID remembers - either because they're not ordinary mortals, or because of the Guardian Order.

SW needs thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much therapy!!

Seriously!!!!!!!!!!

[trepkos]

Coming in very late, but I don't understand (among many things) how come Yunlan remembers Shen Wei, if he's been mind-wiped.

Also, I love the idea that Guo's merits form the wick, and it looks like in order to get past the censors, the drama split our heroes up, by making Yunlan power the lamp, and in the process, removed the reason for Guo to be moved into SID in the first place.

[china_shop]

but I don't understand (among many things) how come Yunlan remembers Shen Wei, if he's been mind-wiped.

I think it's because he gets his god nature back, and his god nature is immune to mindwipes (like Shen Wei is immune to ZYL's attempted mindwipe in vol 1), so I guess ALL of his memories come rushing back. (Oh, I wonder if he now remembers all his lifetimes.)

it looks like in order to get past the censors, the drama split our heroes up, by making Yunlan power the lamp, and in the process, removed the reason for Guo to be moved into SID in the first place.

Yeah, I think Zhang Shi was still hoping Guo Changcheng could be the wick (and Ye Zun definitely was), but it just didn't work out like that.

It's a very different character arc for ZYL in the novel vs the drama, isn't it? In the novel, he's discovering and ultimately regaining his god-ness, and in the drama, he starts off a bit bigoted against Dixingren and gradually gets to the point where he's prepared to sacrifice himself for the sake of Dixing.

[facethestrange]

"I don't understand (among many things) how come Yunlan remembers Shen Wei, if he's been mind-wiped."

Like china_shop said, it's because Kunlun in his full god form couldn't be successfully mindwiped - Zhao Yunlan says this later: "If Shennong hadn’t had mercy and let my divine spirit out just before the Four Pillars were established, what would’ve happened to me? I would’ve forgotten everything once I woke up, just like everyone else, right?"

(I also don't understand many other things, lol, but if you have any more questions, maybe it's something we have figured out too. :D)

"Also, I love the idea that Guo's merits form the wick, and it looks like in order to get past the censors, the drama split our heroes up, by making Yunlan power the lamp, and in the process, removed the reason for Guo to be moved into SID in the first place."

Right?? ♡ As much as I strongly prefer the drama version of A LOT of storylines (the timeloop is the main one, but there are so many :D), here I'm 100% for the novel version.

[trobadora]

I don't understand (among many things)

Haha, there are SO many things I don't understand. SO MANY! *flails*

(Always glad to hear other people are just as confused!)

[trobadora]

Hi! I'm finally catching up! Sorry for the negativity.

Zhao Yunlan/Kunlun is calm and says "I know" a lot

LOL! It's great that ZYL understands so much; I only wish I did. *g*

Did you enjoy the ending? What was your favourite part? Least favourite?

Frankly, no. The one thing I really liked was the SID team shenanigans; everything about SW and ZYL's interactions was a big DNW. I don't understand why people think this is a better ending than the drama's; is it really just because they're both alive?

I'm also covering this and other questions in my notes below, so I'll move on to that:

"Shen Wei saved me! I promised him I'd find a place to plant it properly. I can't be the one to lose a branch of the Great Divine Tree!"

Yes, go, Zhu Hong! :D

And I feel like like a newborn calf that didn't know enough to fear a tiger is extremely unfair to her; she does know, and she's doing it anyway. I love that.

As far as those watching were concerned, the two snakes were basically committing suicide. No one knew why the Chaos had temporarily retreated, never mind what the Great Seal's current condition might be. It was possible that the Chaos was just regrouping for another round of attacks. Anyone jumping into the Wangchuan right now was clearly courting death.

Oh, I like that little bit of outsider POV! And it's a great reminder that no one down there knows WTF is happening, or what SW has done.

and as expected, the tall, withered tree soon came into view

So they're swimming a lot faster than ZYL did that time he went down! Because nothing about that was "soon". *g*

The Ancient Merit Tree had remained unchanged for tens of thousands of years, but now it extended a wizened branch. It waved gently up and down in the Wangchuan waters, stirring up the gentlest of waves as though welcoming something.

So is the tree under water, or is it sticking a branch out of its air bubble? (I know, I know, I'll shut up about the fucking water, but I still have zero idea about the whole situation down there ...)

Next, it reached out with its slim, tender tendrils, twining around the Ancient Merit Tree, which had been dead for tens of millennia. Zhu Hong's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of tiny buds growing from the Ancient Merit Tree's dead bark.

Ooh! Not only is the branch growing, it's bringing the Merit Tree to life! All of this is such cool imagery! (But honestly, I haven't the foggiest what it actually means.)

The Great Houtu Seal had fractured and disintegrated. Flames raged on the ground, shrouded in black mist and the cries of the gui. The Four Pillars had been restored to their original positions, and the new Seal was about to fall into place...

So that sounds to me like the gui are about to be locked back down beneath the new Seal, though what comes later contradicts that. (Phew.)

"All ten thousand mountains crying together."

That's very cool!

They didn't make this kind of noise even when Kunlun-jun's body turned into the Soul-Guarding Lamp-perhaps because at that point, the Mountain God hadn't truly and fully died.

I mean, ZYL/Kunlun hasn't died now either, nor has SW died fully since he's being brought back five minutes later. *confused*

Her heart gave a sudden twinge. Had Shen Wei really taken away all of his memories?

How does she know that's what he was doing?

Zhao Yunlan-or rather, Kunlun-jun-folded his hands behind his back at first but then gave him a casual wave.

Aw! That's him choosing to keep being ZYL even while he's Kunlun, right?

All actions and consequences have fallen into place.

Ugh, the whole "this is how it was always meant to be" is so unpleasant to me, and also I have so many questions. So SW was always expected to sacrifice himself? But Shennong's mortar was tasked with finding GCC, so that was planned, too? So why did they need SW to sacrifice himself in the first place, when the wick was right there? Just to prove that he would, and was good enough to be awarded some souls? (If that's the case, boo to Evil Worldbuilding once again, because SW was plenty good enough already!)

Idk, it feels like the entire grand finale around SW's sacrifice was just unnecessary, and at the same time GCC being the wick is just deus-ex-machina-ing them out of the sacrifice. None of it feels very satisfying to me, unlike both sacrifices in the drama ...

"The Emissary became a god as a King of the Gui," continued the mortar. "He got what he wished for, and in the end, erased your..."

Does the mortar think the memory wipe worked? If so, why isn't he reacting to ZYL's "I know"?

Also, I never got the impression any of this was what SW wished for ...

But it was only the ground underfoot stirring as a giant tree burst forth, bountifully crowned with lush green leaves. The leaves dripped with dew that seemed to have come from another world. As the dew drops fell, the cracks left by the breaking of the Great Seal slowly started to close over.

Oh, very nice!

"Was it you who sent Guo Changcheng to the SID?"

That's where ZYL realises who GCC is, right?

In that instant, Nüwa's scale turned into dust in his palm.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Daqing asked, "What exactly is going on?"

Thank you, Daqing, I'd like to know that too. What's going on with the scale?!

The souls he'd collected came pouring out all at once.
They didn't take human form; instead, they were clusters of brilliant light. Seven or eight souls, including the girl from the bridge, came together and formed a huge net that stretched down from the bridge. It caught them both...just barely.

Oh, that is lovely! They tried to help those souls, and now the souls are helping in turn. ♥

Guo Changcheng's notebook contained detailed descriptions of all the missing people in their families' words. Lining up, each soul found their own page. Some took up the pen and added "To so and so" on their page; others, upon laying eyes on their own names in that lopsided, childish writing, smiled peacefully, as though they had finally let go.

Awww! Messages from the dead! ♥

To the south, two vast trees burst up out of the ground. They towered over houses, then over skyscrapers, eventually ­dwarfing even mountains as they reached up into the sky.

Amazing cinematic imagery!

"Was...was that soul fire...? But how could the Chaos King of the Gui have soul fire?" asked Shennong's mortar, baffled. "Has a soulless being of great evil truly gained three ethereal and seven corporeal souls somehow? Could a gui have a soul?"

He's even worse than SW with the guiphobia! Ugh, you should be seeing a bit clearer from the outside. That "being of great evil" just saved the world, for fuck's sake!

The King of the Gui has become a god, and thus the gui now have souls.

Wait, all the gui now have souls? But they're still imprisoned beneath the new Seal?

A golden calming charm flew up from his palm, hovering before Kunlun-jun's eyes.
A sudden smile of recognition broke across Kunlun-jun's face. He had personally drawn that charm on the back of Shen Wei's hand when they'd first met in this life.

Aw! Great callback to the beginning. (And to ZYL trying to wipe SW's memory!) But I have no idea what it means that the charm flies into the Lamp.

"That kid, Guo Changcheng. He's the wick reincarnated." Kunlun-jun's voice was very low. "What's burning within the Soul-Guarding Lamp right now is all the merits earned by the wick over hundreds of lifetimes and reincarnations. That's why the Lamp returned Shen Wei to me."

So, just like in the drama, sacrificing yourself to the Lamp doesn't mean you're dead. And here, the Lamp can literally spit SW back out once it's given GCC's merits to burn instead. Not that I ever doubted it, but clearly that means that in the drama, the Lantern just needs a proper substitute for ZYL to come out of it again. It's already right here! *g*

As he spoke those words, the canopy of the tree that had grown taller than the mountains themselves turned into millions of water droplets, which dispersed to every corner of the earth. The ground that had been devastated by the destruction of the Great Seal was restored to how it had been; fresh green buds, so easily overlooked in early spring, burst from the soil. The mortals on earth would never even remember that such a dark calamity had ever occurred.

So, memory wiping for everyone! Not sure who all counts as "mortal", but I guess no one at the SID qualifies?

"You showed up in the picture!" Lin Jing was weirdly happy. "I thought primordial gods couldn't be photographed by mortal instruments... Wait, I get it. It's like with Shen-laoshi, right? This is just your physical manifestation in the Mortal Realm, and you can assume your original appearance whenever you want? Hey, can I take a picture with you looking like that ? Just one?"

Aw, Lin Jing, I love you!

"Why did the branch that Shen Wei gave me grow a third bud? What made the first two grow in the first place?"

Thank you for asking, Zhu Hong!

"The Reincarnation Cycle couldn't be created in the Place of Great Disrespect because the gui didn't have souls. The three buds on the branch of the Great Divine Tree reflected the fact that the King of the Gui had gained three ethereal souls. Since the King of the Gui is connected to the Reincarnation Cycle, Chaos is no longer just lifeless doom; as a result, the gui, who devoured anything and everything, have also disappeared. Understand?"

In fact, I understand nothing. *g* So the gui can also reincarnate now? Is that what this is saying? Does that mean they're not trapped beneath the Seal?

Also, I don't really get why SW suddenly grew souls, or why that manifested in the branch, or how ZYL knows that.

"The gui are a physical manifestation of Chaos," Zhao Yunlan replied. "They're gone, but they're also everywhere."

This answers exactly nothing, but "everywhere" is definitely not "beneath the Seal". Hm, maybe it means that they're theoretically everywhere because they can reincarnate and might be reborn anywhere now? But really, all of this is so handwavey and vague, and because of the vagueness we get no satisfying resolution for the whole Evil Worldbuilding thing, even though things have obviously changed. /o\

Kunlun Mountain doesn't have the right conditions for cultivating the land and planting trees, so it's not like I can open a bed and breakfast there. What would be the point in going back? So I could spend my days with a bunch of dumbasses worshipping me? No way.

LOL!

No sooner had Zhao Yunlan gotten rid of Zhu Hong than Chu Shuzhi strolled in and got comfortable in a seat right in front of him, studying the real live Kunlun-jun as if watching a peep show.

I love him. :D

I've never loved you!

The fan translation has a translator's note for this:

[TN. YL here says "I never loved you" and it is a meme that came from a short film about a couple breaking up. One of them asks via text "Before I go, I want to ask you one last question" and before they can text again to ask, the answer's already come through, "I loved you." Then it got memed and though the question's always the same variation of "one last thing before I go," the answers can be anything. You can say, "42," for example. Or, "I'll save my mom."]

"In other words, xiao-Guo is the goodness missing from your heart?"

:D :D :D

"Excuse me, who are you? Don't call me that, I don't know you," Zhao Yunlan said, cutting him off.

My first reaction was that that's just cruel, making him believe he doesn't remember. He has reason to be upset with SW, but deliberately hurting him is not on. - But it becomes clear afterwards that SW does know the memory wipe didn't work, so it's not as bad, and he's just being passive-aggressive. Phew.

After the Soul-Guarding Lamp spat him out, Shen Wei had been comatose for an entire week. That whole time, Zhao Yunlan had stayed by his side, not even stepping away long enough to change clothes. But the moment Shen Wei woke up, Zhao Yunlan had immediately begun acting as though they were complete strangers, to the point of running away from home to avoid him.

Ugh, I hate it so much that once again, ZYL's tenderness and obvious care for SW is happening while SW isn't there to see it, whereas what he shows SW is mainly anger. No surprise SW doesn't really know how totally gone ZYL is on him, and it all feels very unbalanced.

"Sorry for what? Deception? Or deception? Or maybe deception?"

Again, ZYL has reason to be upset, but he was the one who was originally trying to date SW under false premises after memory-wiping him, while he thought SW was human. Not the same scale, but that was also very much not on! Acknowledge that you're two of a kind, already! Neither of you knows WTF a boundary even is.

"Oh, hello, Shen-laoshi. Here to ambush him after work? Excellent timing!"
Behind him, Chu Shuzhi clapped. "Perfect timing! High technical scores!"
Zhu Hong rattled off a hotel name and room number without looking up from the novel she was reading on her phone. "I also think ambushing him at night is a good idea. It's possible to compensate for emotional disharmony with physical intimacy."

Aw! I'm not enjoying the interaction between ZYL and SW at all, but I do love the peanut gallery.

In under twenty days, this girl's worldview seemed to have been shattered only for her to somehow cultivate a fascinating frame of mind that included the motto, "Loving someone means wanting to see him get railed."

LOLOLOL! Zhu Hong's development is awesome. :D

But then lao-Li, who always got off work late, came in carrying a lunchbox. Even from a distance, the smell of dried fish filled the hallway. As lao-Li approached, Daqing swore, then circled Shen Wei's feet. "My lord, please give me a place to stay!"

Still no reconciliation, but instead Daqing avoiding Lao-Li, boo. :(

Instead, he'd resorted to throwing a tantrum and running away from home.

The way the narration frames this here feels very at odds with how the vibe comes across to me in the actual scene. I guess we're not supposed to take ZYL's anger seriously? But SW takes it seriously, so that's not working for me. And also, ZYL does have reasons to be angry, and those are separate from what makes his behaviour towards SW so unpleasant to me. It feels like he's trying to punish SW, not asserting his own boundaries. (Sorry.)

He spun back around and saw Shen Wei kneeling on the floor.

I hate this so much. SW trying to placate/plead with ZYL is a dynamic I really really can't stand.

Finally, unable to get him to move, Zhao Yunlan plopped down on the floor beside him.

Ha, that's nice, at least.

If Shennong hadn't had mercy and let my divine spirit out just before the Four Pillars were established, what would've happened to me?

That only makes me wonder what was going on with Shennong. and why Kunlun's divine spirit was released just then ...

Zhao Yunlan sighed. "Shen Wei, all I really want to ask is this: How cruel is that heart of yours?"

And neither of them acknowledge at all why SW did what he did. SW doesn't even stand by his own choices, only abjectly apologises because ZYL is angry. I hate it.

The scrap of fury lingering in Zhao Yunlan's heart guttered and died. Nothing of it remained, not even ash. His heart just felt a little sore.

And that almost makes it worse? That he lets go of the fury so easily makes it even clearer that he was lashing out, and the actual issue between them gets just swept under the rug and not addressed at all.

[trobadora]

Completely lost, Shen Wei blinked and stared at him.

This is my least favourite SW. :(

And worse: even at this point, at the very end, they're still not on the same page. SW still doesn't understand there isn't a snowball's chance in hell of ZYL truly rejecting him, and ZYL is apparently good with that, since he keeps deliberately saying things that make SW think he's about to be ditched. I don't like it at all.

Version comparison:

• Official translation:

  "Was...was that soul fire...? But how could the Chaos King of the Gui have soul fire?" asked Shennong's mortar, baffled. "Has a soulless being of great evil truly gained three ethereal and seven corporeal souls somehow? Could a gui have a soul?"
  
  "The King of the Gui has become a god, and thus the gui now have souls." Kunlun-jun pressed a soft kiss to Shen Wei's brow. "Shennong's wish has finally come true. Thousands of years after his death, he has finally completed the true Reincarnation Cycle he always wanted."
  
  "H-how...can that be possible...?" Shennong's mortar said in disbelief. "He... Didn't the Emissary sacrifice himself to the Soul-Guarding Lamp?" [...]
  
  "You were the one constantly reminding me of Shennong's words," Kunlun-jun said, "and you were also the one who found the Lamp's true wick." Ever so carefully, he picked Shen Wei up in his arms. "So how do you not understand now?"
  
  "The...the true wick...?"
  
  "That kid, Guo Changcheng. He's the wick reincarnated." Kunlun-jun's voice was very low. "What's burning within the Soul-Guarding Lamp right now is all the merits earned by the wick over hundreds of lifetimes and reincarnations. That's why the Lamp returned Shen Wei to me."

  Fan translation:

  "Is that... soulfire?" Shennong bowl said blankly. "Murderous, soulless ones, have they spawned real souls? The ghost race also has souls? Then the Great Seal... how does the Great Seal still exist."
  
  "The Great Seal is gone, can't you feel it?" Kunlun Jun gently pressed a kiss to Shen Wei's brow. "The Ghost King has ascended to sagehood and has a soul. Shennong's fulfilled his long-cherished wish at last; millennia after his death, he's established the true wheel of reincarnation that was ever in his mind."
  
  "But that's impossible!" Shennong bowl said in disbelief. "Humans' Three Ills originated from the Profane Land-what of the vicious currents deep underground? If we let them come into the world, wouldn't the troubles of the war of gods and demons just repeat themselves..." [...]
  
  "You were the one who kept using Shennong's words to warn me; you were the one who found and retrieved the Guardian Lamp's true wick." Kunlun Jun carefully carried Shen Wei as he got up. "Why don't you understand now?
  
  "Suppress the souls of the living, calm the hearts of the dead-so long as the Guardian Lamp continues to burn, chaos will never rebel though it exists."

  The fan translation doesn't have the explanation about GCC being the Wick, but it does talk about the Seal being gone, and Chaos not rebelling again, which the official translation doesn't. I can't say I understand any of these choices ...


• Official translation:

  The three buds on the branch of the Great Divine Tree reflected the fact that the King of the Gui had gained three ethereal souls. Since the King of the Gui is connected to the Reincarnation Cycle, Chaos is no longer just lifeless doom; as a result, the gui, who devoured anything and everything, have also disappeared. Understand?

  Fan translation:

  And the Divine Wood growing three buds represents the Ghost King gaining his three souls. The Ghost King's soul connected the Wheel of Reincarnation to the Land of Great Disrespect, and thus the concept of 'Ghost Tribe' ceased to exist. Get it?

  The fan translation seems to be saying a bit more clearly that SW having souls is what connected the gui to the Wheel, and there are no more gui as a separate concept because they're just beings in the wheel of reincarnation, like all the other kinds of beings one might reincarnate as.


• Official translation:

  That seems...very profound.

  Fan translation:

  Maybe ... I guess I can understand it a little better.

  Big win for the official translation, LOL.


• Official translation:

  No sooner had Zhao Yunlan gotten rid of Zhu Hong than Chu Shuzhi strolled in and got comfortable in a seat right in front of him, studying the real live Kunlun-jun as if watching a peep show.

  Fan translation:

  Zhu Hong gets out. Later, Chu Shuzhi brings in the documents Zhu Hong prepared, and then does an exceedingly unnecessary thing before making the delivery - like sitting across from Zhao Yunlan.

• Official translation:

  "Sorry?" Zhao Yunlan glanced at him. "Sorry for what? Deception? Or deception? Or maybe deception?"
  
  Shen Wei was silent.

  Fan translation:

  "Oh," Zhao Yunlan blinks, lowering his voice to say with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes, "You're sorry? What are you sorry about? Think about it, and say it again. Here's a friendly reminder: I hate people who break promises the most."
  
  Shen Wei is immediately silenced, his words gone.

[china_shop]

> I don't understand why people think this is a better ending than the drama's; is it really just because they're both alive?

And there's implied future sex? Yeah, I do not know. Clearly you and I are missing the buttons that makes this story "land".

> So is the tree under water, or is it sticking a branch out of its air bubble?

I just went back to chapter 8 and found this:

While all that was happening, Zhao Yunlan had long since lost all sense of space and time. He was as blind in the waters of the Wangchuan as he’d been within the Great Divine Tree, but the ­experience was completely different. An indescribable pressure made him feel as though his temples were being squeezed together; nausea and exhaustion that felt much like a blood sugar crash slowly filled his torso. His heart seemed on the verge of beating out of his chest, and the pulse pounding in his ears was almost unbearably strong and rushed. He didn’t dare move his head too much for fear of simply passing out.

Just as he was on the brink of collapse, Zhao Yunlan saw a trace of light.

The light was dimmer than the glow of a single firefly, but to eyes so thoroughly accustomed to darkness, its brightness was downright piercing. He shielded his eyes, irresistibly drawn to that faint light.

As he drew closer, he realized that it was a massive ancient tree. The branches seemed to stretch on endlessly and the trunk might’ve been hundreds of meters in diameter, but the tree was withered. Its dried, twisted branches held not a single leaf. It had the coarse texture of something that had weathered many eons.

Zhao Yunlan’s very spirit shook. Was he looking at the Ancient Merit Tree itself?

He forced himself to stay alert as he followed the tree’s trunk nearly a kilometer down. Eventually, he saw the ancient tree’s roots, and then his feet, after so long floating downward, finally touched ground.

IOW, no explanation. (Also, I caught a reference to Clarity, the watch, and it made me wish that had come back into play towards the end.)

> Aw! That's him choosing to keep being ZYL even while he's Kunlun, right?

Ohh, that's a great catch! I completely missed that. Cool!

> Idk, it feels like the entire grand finale around SW's sacrifice was just unnecessary, and at the same time GCC being the wick is just deus-ex-machina-ing them out of the sacrifice.

Yeah, I don't understand enough of the worldbuilding to have any idea. Is there a difference between repairing the Seal and lighting the Lamp?

> Also, I never got the impression any of this was what SW wished for ...

Right? He had demi-godhood thrust upon him, and now this.

> He's even worse than SW with the guiphobia!

Yup! He and Shennong are both super black-and-white thinkers. /o\

> But I have no idea what it means that the charm flies into the Lamp.

Maybe that it's not needed anymore?

> Also, I don't really get why SW suddenly grew souls

I thought it was like fast-track cultivation. He gave up the thing he longed for with all his being, and as a consequence, his being was transformed.

> Hm, maybe it means that they're theoretically everywhere because they can reincarnate and might be reborn anywhere now?

Ooh, that's a thought.

> The fan translation has a translator's note for this:

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!

> But it becomes clear afterwards that SW does know the memory wipe didn't work, so it's not as bad, and he's just being passive-aggressive. Phew.

I would think that would be obvious in his tone, too. (Not for us readers, obviously, but to SW.) Those lines delivered sincerely would sound completely different.

> No surprise SW doesn't really know how totally gone ZYL is on him, and it all feels very unbalanced.

Idk, there was the whole thing with the coat and the bed, and offering SW his heart, and wanting to share a home, and agreeing to die together, and the number of times ZYL has told SW to come home (*Zhao Yunlan reached out and gently stroked Shen Wei’s hair. “Such a heavy heart, full of such heavy calculations…” He sighed. “You sure are hard to take care of. Come on, we’re going home.”*) I think the problem is that none of ZYL's proofs ever stick -- they fall into the morass of SW's self-loathing and are swallowed up. :-(

> but he was the one who was originally trying to date SW under false premises after memory-wiping him, while he thought SW was human.

Has he done anything like that since then? Like, since they got together? /genuine, curious question

> but I do love the peanut gallery.

The peanut gallery is great!!

> Still no reconciliation, but instead Daqing avoiding Lao-Li, boo. :(

Yup. :-( (We'll always have Paris the drama version.)

> I hate this so much. SW trying to placate/plead with ZYL is a dynamic I really really can't stand.

It really makes the drama shine by comparison, doesn't it?

> That only makes me wonder what was going on with Shennong. and why Kunlun's divine spirit was released just then ...

I thought it was more of Shennong's bigotry, insofar as: SW proves himself worthy via self-sacrifice directly leads to Shennong going, "Okay, fine, you two can be together."?

> That he lets go of the fury so easily makes it even clearer that he was lashing out, and the actual issue between them gets just swept under the rug and not addressed at all.

AGAIN!!! Their rugs are going to be so lumpy! ;-p

[facethestrange]

"And I feel like like a newborn calf that didn't know enough to fear a tiger is extremely unfair to her; she does know, and she's doing it anyway. I love that."

Indeed, and this statement is even contradicted three paragraphs later: "Zhu Hong instinctively feared the Wangchuan River, but she remembered the promise she’d made." :)

"I mean, ZYL/Kunlun hasn't died now either, nor has SW died fully since he's being brought back five minutes later. *confused*"

I think this scene is specifically there to show that SW did fully die and was brought back from actual death.

"Does the mortar think the memory wipe worked? If so, why isn't he reacting to ZYL's "I know"?"

I assumed he thinks it didn't work, and that's why he's explaining to ZYL that this is what SW did, in case ZYL didn't notice the attempt or something? He says "erased", not "tried to erase", but I think ZYL's memories were originally erased (he felt it happen) and then they came back.

"That's where ZYL realises who GCC is, right?"

I think so, yep.

"He's even worse than SW with the guiphobia! Ugh, you should be seeing a bit clearer from the outside. That "being of great evil" just saved the world, for fuck's sake!"

LOL. Right?? *pokes him with a stick* (And the converse it also true - having souls doesn't stop anyone from being evil, otherwise there would have been no evil before the creation of the gui.)

"Hm, maybe it means that they're theoretically everywhere because they can reincarnate and might be reborn anywhere now?"

Oooooh, I LOVE this!! ♡ It's the first theory I've seen that would explain 'gone but also everywhere' - maybe the gui are literally gone because they died, but they've already reincarnated as all kinds of different beings so now they're also literally everywhere? (Maybe the new Reincarnation Cycle doesn't have a very busy waiting room yet. :D)

"YL here says "I never loved you" and it is a meme that came from a short film about a couple breaking up."

Ahhh, thanks for finding the explanation!! :D It sounded so much like some kind of pop culture reference to me, I'm glad I was right, hah. :D

"I guess we're not supposed to take ZYL's anger seriously?"

I think it's more of what Zhu Hong explained to Shen Wei - ZYL's anger is ridiculous and over-the-top and never to be taken seriously.