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sid_guardian2025-08-03 12:38 pm
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2025-08-03 12:38 pm
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Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapter 25 & Epilogue
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!
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He did very dramatically take it all back, but I can see how it could be hard to forget.
I don't think he did take it back. He confessed to it, but he doesn't wish he'd done differently. His very next line is, “Even now, even after you have seen through every lie, I’m still forcing you.” And then he manipulates the hell out of Ghost Face (causing ZYL to burn half the Soul-Guarding Order, in a collateral damage kind of way), and then renegs on the die-together plan and tries to non-consensually mindwipe ZYL. I totally see where ZYL's coming from with his “Sorry for what? Deception? Or deception? Or maybe deception?” That's why I really need SW's actions to be coming from the heart here, not just be another plan to make ZYL feel/react how SW wants him to feel/react. (But it can't be a real sorry, because I don't think SW really thinks he did anything wrong. I don't think he truly regrets any of it. The novel says:
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.
But it's not like the blame is unjustified. ;-p)
(I genuinely don't think I'd be able to tell what's happening, unless Shen Wei plonked down really dramatically, which is obviously a possibility. xD)
It might be partly a context thing. ZYL turns to leave, and he's probably expecting SW to follow him or try to persuade him some more, so when he hears the rustling heading towards the floor, he immediately suspects a different line of attack. (LOL, this feels like the door locks all over again. I'm stopping now. ;D)
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I mean he dramatically took back the entire plan to make Zhao Yunlan die with him, by not letting Zhao Yunlan die with him. Which obviously from ZYL's point of view is indeed just more deception on top of all the other deception. (I'm assuming that's why he says it three times - the false memories, the heart stabbing, the mindwipe?)
"But it can't be a real sorry, because I don't think SW really thinks he did anything wrong. I don't think he truly regrets any of it."
Yeah, he doesn't seem to feel guilty, but I also can't actually blame him for not feeling guilty that Zhao Yunlan didn't die? (I think at this point it's only about the mindwipe/broken promise - imo he definitely regrets the original manipulation, if not for ZYL's sake then at least because he himself didn't want any of that anymore.) The way he went about saving ZYL is shitty, but to SW the alternative would have been worse, so he can't regret it.
"LOL, this feels like the door locks all over again."
Lolol. :D :D That was some Hall of Fame levels of wtf-ery and confusion. :D (But also I can totally see that it was probably the lack of expected reaction(s) more than the specific sound that confused ZYL, yes!)
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I mean he dramatically took back the entire plan to make Zhao Yunlan die with him and he doesn't seem to feel guilty, but I also can't actually blame him for not feeling guilty that Zhao Yunlan didn't die?
Oh, right. We're talking about two different things, lol. When I said he didn't take it back, I meant in the confessions scene in chapter 13, not their arc overall. In chapter 13, SW confessed to next-level degrees of manipulating ZYL and messing with his head, but I don't think he really regretted having done it. It worked! The ends justified the means! This is a great time to pressure him into agreeing to a suicide pact! ;-p
Re the dying together, ZYL agreed to that, so it's not something SW even needed to take back to keep his agreement with ZYL.
What ZYL didn't agree to (and part of what has been driving him crazy throughout the whole book, with the false visions and things, along with various people trying to awaken his past self and all kinds of other mindfuckery) was the manipulation and lying. SW is supposed to be on ZYL's side, but he kept right on doing that after his confession. Choosing not to take ZYL into death with him isn't inseparable from that -- he could have flung ZYL into Shennong's Mortar's arms and jumped into the Lamp without having tried the memory wipe first.
The way he went about saving ZYL is shitty, but to SW the alternative would have been worse, so he can't regret it.
When you say "the alternative would have been worse", do you mean "not saving ZYL would have been worse" or "not mind-wiping him would have been worse"? Because to me, those are really different things.
ETA: Uh, sorry if this sounds harsh! I know SW is not operating from normal-person principles, and tbf, neither is ZYL. And I'm probably bringing baggage from other fictional mindwipes and stuff. /o\
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ITA with all of this - he only regretted it when he didn't want it anymore. At that point he was just glad that he succeeded.
"What ZYL didn't agree to (and part of what has been driving him crazy throughout the whole book, with the false visions and things, along with various people trying to awaken his past self and all kinds of other mindfuckery) was the manipulation and lying. SW is supposed to be on ZYL's side, but he kept right on doing that after his confession."
Totally agree with all of this too. :)
"Choosing not to take ZYL into death with him isn't inseparable from that -- he could have flung ZYL into Shennong's Mortar's arms and jumped into the Lamp without having tried the memory wipe first."
I think Zhao Yunlan would be just as angry and frustrated about that, and it would still be lying and manipulation - leading him to believe that SW is keeping his promise and then breaking it. And, on top of that, it wouldn't have worked - Zhao Yunlan would have attempted to die with SW (it wasn't quick, he was burning for a while) and/or tried to immediately bring SW back and/or do something else that would get him killed and made saving his life pointless. Even if SW knocked him out so that he couldn't do anything right away, ZYL who remembers SW would have continued doing stupid shit after regaining consciousness until he brings SW back or dies trying.
"When you say "the alternative would have been worse", do you mean "not saving ZYL would have been worse" or "not mind-wiping him would have been worse"? Because to me, those are really different things."
I meant not saving him, but *see above* - they're kind of the same thing, both re: what they entail, and re: Zhao Yunlan's reaction. :)
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it would still be lying and manipulation - leading him to believe that SW is keeping his promise and then breaking it.
It doesn't seem to me like it would be lying and manipulating -- or at least, nowhere on the premeditated/extended scale of what he's done before. SW decided pretty late to go alone, didn't he? It's not lying to change your mind. I agree ZYL would have had a lot of feelings about it, and yeah, probably been angry and devastated, but he's allowed, you know? I don't think Shen Wei should get to just erase the consequences of his choices. ;-p (This is one of the places where I am 1000% for the choices the drama made; sending the pendant back to ZYL was kind of the opposite of a mindwipe, and ZYL smiles through his tears. ;-p)
And, on top of that, it wouldn't have worked - Zhao Yunlan would have attempted to die with SW (it wasn't quick, he was burning for a while) and/or tried to immediately bring SW back and/or do something else that would get him killed and made saving his life pointless. Even if SW knocked him out so that he couldn't do anything right away, ZYL who remembers SW would have continued doing stupid shit after regaining consciousness until he brings SW back or dies trying.
See, I feel like ZYL spent the whole book doing stupid shit and successfully saving people and beating the odds. Why stop now? He's the Guardian, he's Kunlun, he has the SID at his side and the Yao as allies and (to some extent) Shennong and Shennong's Mortar. Maybe he would have found a good solution, Shen Wei doesn't know. Worst case scenario, ZYL dies, re-enters the reincarnation cycle, and loses all his memories that way, but at least he got to have his feelings and agency and choose for himself. And I don't think it would make saving his life pointless: if ZYL had gone into the Lamp, he would have ceased to exist entirely -- no reincarnation ever again...
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Ftr, I wasn't comparing it to what he did before, just to the mindwipe - I feel like ZYL's canon feelings about the failed mindwipe and his theoretical feelings about being unexpectedly saved without a mindwipe would've been pretty much exactly the same.
"I agree ZYL would have had a lot of feelings about it, and yeah, probably been angry and devastated, but he's allowed, you know? I don't think Shen Wei should get to just erase the consequences of his choices. ;-p"
I don't see how he's doing that - ZYL being angry after SW is fully dead can't hurt SW in any way? I don't think he was concerned about ZYL being angry or hating him if he keeps his memories, I think he was just afraid that ZYL would put himself in danger.
"See, I feel like ZYL spent the whole book doing stupid shit and successfully saving people and beating the odds. Why stop now? He's the Guardian, he's Kunlun, he has the SID at his side and the Yao as allies and (to some extent) Shennong and Shennong's Mortar. Maybe he would have found a good solution, Shen Wei doesn't know."
I love this way of looking at it tho! ♡♡♡ 'He doesn't need this much protecting, let him solve the problem', yes, very true!
"Worst case scenario, ZYL dies, re-enters the reincarnation cycle, and loses all his memories that way, but at least he got to have his feelings and agency and choose for himself. And I don't think it would make saving his life pointless: if ZYL had gone into the Lamp, he would have ceased to exist entirely -- no reincarnation ever again..."
This is a fantastic point I didn't think of, but unfortunately it only works if he doesn't manage to get himself killed in some other permanent way (or even the same way they originally planned) - who knows that trying to bring SW back would entail. :P Especially if he becomes Kunlun in this scenario too, it would be much more likely to die permanently then because I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be able to re-enter the Reincarnation Cycle again.
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(Oh hey, I just realised that this icon means something completely different in novelverse, ie, that only one of them sacrificed instead of both. Ha!)<3 <3 <3
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♡♡♡!
"Oh hey, I just realised that this icon means something completely different in novelverse, ie, that only one of them sacrificed instead of both. Ha!"
Heeee omg, that's really cool! :D :D
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Hee! Entirely fair and right. <3 <3 <3
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All caught up now! (On this post at least; next post soon!)
Oh hey, I just realised that this icon means something completely different in novelverse, ie, that only one of them sacrificed instead of both.
Oh no! I like the drama version so much better, LOL.
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\o/!!!
Oh no! I like the drama version so much better, LOL.
*high tens*
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This part isn't clear to me - his divine spirit isn't released until after, but he's already partially recovered some of his Kunlun-self, so might that already negate what was done to his spirit let him enter the Wheel of Reincarnation in the first place? Maybe he already can't reincarnate any more? Idk.
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