Thank you so much @Kokuto for sharing this story. Also a wholehearted thank you to @AH for taking the time to write this wonderful epilogue for the characters.Rain_83223:
I remember TongHua once said somewhere that her stories do not end the moment she stops writing. She merely puts down the pen, but the story of her characters continues. Now, at least in my mind, this is not just a fanfic, but the true, unwritten canonical ending that TongHua intended. Thinking through the long list of parallels I made again and a few ones I neglected to put down, there is just no way I can be convinced otherwise.
At last, XY and XL found their eternal peace together in the afterlife. I think I also finally found my peace with this story, and now I am truly able to move on.
You are welcome! Of course, AH deserves all the kudos. :)
Good points, all around. The real happily ever after ending.
The line I paraphrased is from page 121 of the Penguin Classics 1999 reprint edition: "Whatever Aide Willow bumped into and butted against became breckland and gullies."plor20:
Breckland is a type of landscape characterized by dry soil, featuring heathland, grassland, and patches of pine forest. Gullies are narrow, steep-sided channels or trenches formed by the rapid erosion of soil and rock, typically caused by the action of running water. They often develop on slopes where water runoff from heavy rainfall or melting snow concentrates in a particular area, carving out a deep groove in the landscape.
So, I interpreted this line to mean that despite his nature, he still manages to sustain life, even if it's only hardy vegetation.
This is the original text from Classics of Mountain and Seas and the translation by scholars of the text to modern Chinese:
Original text:
共工臣名曰相繇，九首蛇身，自环，食于九土。其所歍所尼，即为源泽，不辛乃苦，百兽莫能处。禹湮洪水，杀相繇，其血腥臭，不可生谷；其地多水，不可居也。禹湮之，三仞三沮，乃以为池，群帝是因以为台。在昆仑之北。《山海经·大荒北经 》
译文
共工有一位臣子名叫相繇，长了九个脑袋和蛇的身子，盘旋自绕成一团，贪婪地霸占九座神山而索取食物。他所喷吐停留过的地方，会立即变成沼泽，沼泽中的水的味道不是辛辣就是苦涩，百兽没有能在这里居住的。大禹治理洪水的时候，杀死了相繇，相繇流出的血又腥又臭，使谷物不能生长；那地方又水涝成灾，使人不能居住。大禹将它的血流经之地掩埋起来，填几次又塌了几次，于是禹把它挖成一个池子，诸帝就利用挖出的泥土建造了几座高台。诸帝台位于昆仑山的北面。
cr. gushiwen
Translation
Gong Gong had a minister named Xiang Yao with nine heads and a serpent’s body, coiled into a mass who greedily occupied nine sacred mountains to get food. The places where it spat or lingered would immediately turn into swamps. The water in these swamps was either spicy or bitter, making it uninhabitable for any beast. When Yu the Great was managing the floods, he killed Xiang Yao. The blood that flowed out of Xiang Yao was both fishy and foul-smelling . The area was so badly flooded resulting in disasters, rendering it uninhabitable. The Great Yu buried the land where its blood flowed but each time the land was filled in, it would collapse. Eventually, the Great Yu dug it into a pond and the various emperors used the excavated soil to build several high platforms. The platforms of the various emperors were located at the north of Kunlun Mountain.
-- "Classics of Mountains and Seas:Great Wilderness Northern Classic"
《山海经·海外北经》中载：“共工之臣曰相柳氏，九首，以食于九山。相柳之所抵，厥为泽溪。禹杀相柳，其血腥，不可以树五谷种。禹厥之，三仞三沮，乃以为众帝之台。在昆仑之北，柔利之东。相柳者，九首人面，蛇身而青。不敢北射，畏共工之台。台在其东。台四方，隅有一蛇，虎色，首冲南方。
译文：共工有一位臣属，名为相柳。相柳长着九个头，可以同时吃九座山的食物。相柳所到之处，经碾压都变为沼泽河溪。禹杀死相柳，但相柳的血腥臭，（血所触及的地方）不能用来种植作物。禹挖掘被相柳的血污染的土地，多次填满却多次塌陷，因此在上面建造众帝之台。在昆仑的北边，柔利的东边。相柳，长着九个有人脸的头和青色的蛇的身子。它不敢向北射水，畏惧共工的高台。共工的台在它的东边，四边方正。台的角落有一条蛇，蛇有着老虎一样的花纹，头朝着南方。
-- cr Baidu
In the "Classics of the Mountains and Seas: Beyond the Seas Northern Classic", it is recorded:
Translation
"Gong Gong had a minister named Xiang Liu. Xiang Liu had nine heads and could eat food from nine mountains at the same time. Wherever Xiang Liu went, the ground was crushed into swamps and rivers. Yu killed Xiang Liu but Xiang Liu's blood was so foul smelling (the places touched by it) could not be used to grow crops. Yu dug out the land polluted by Xiang Liu's blood and filled it up several times but it kept collapsing. As such, he built the Platform of the Many Emperors on top of it. It was to the north of Kunlun, and the east of Rouli. Xiang Liu had nine heads with human faces and a green serpent body. It dared not shoot water to the north, fearing Gong Gong's high platform. Gong Gong's platform was situated to its east, and square. There was a snake with tiger-like patterns in the corner of the platform, its head facing the south."
Based on the scholar translations, it would appear that no crops could be grown on the swamps and rivers that were formed where Xiang Liu passed.
Chorika:
In c-dramas you can be 35 in real life and play a 16 year old teenager. The Most overage actors in a show was The Double a lot of the “students” were 30+ acting like teenagers. So funny looking.
It's a casting thing, where they cast what they believe is how a 16 year old would look like in the the reality of those characters. So let's say, they really wants Yangzi to play Xiao Yao, so they would try to cast her Male leads that wouldn't look like they could be her baby brother or her dad. (¬‿¬)
Hello,Snowcup:
I’m Snowcup, a distant cousin of Feifei’s. I was visiting the LYF S1 page, and I kept hearing some sorrowful tones coming from this direction so I thought I’d stop by and comfort you all.
Welcome Snowcup!
Please feel free to share more of your adventures in our Fan Fic topic too.
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/lost-you-forever/124319-fan-fiction-thread-for-lost-you-forever
Kokuto:
OMG! Liddi! Here it is! The plushie Maoqiu! It was put out by FEO Finland. This tweet isn't an official store or anything, but the pics! Maybe you can check with FEO Finland and see if they have any.
https://x.com/dangodangao/status/1824291929322033348
Heck, I want want now.
Arghhh... how can I say no to it!!
I've placed an order via Taobao - very first time buying a physical item from the platform so fingers crossed everything goes smoothly (pretty much winging it!). From what I've been told it should be shipped out in about a month's time. Please let Mao Qiu come home safely!
Thank you for sharing the parallels you see!liddi:
Likewise, thanks for sharing your thoughts and insights! ^^
I don't think A Heng intended for him to run away with her before the war was over. She divorced Shao Hao to show Chi Chen that she was finally free to be with him. From the way I see it, she would have gone to be with Chi Chen then, and Chi Chen told Yun Sang he would return all military power back to her once he defeated Xuan Yuan, which meant that he truly intended to leave. The only problem was that after A Heng divorced Shao Hao, she expected the Yellow Emperor's fury, not knowing that he would return severely wounded and close to death. When that happened, her familial ties made it impossible for her to leave her father anymore until she had nursed him back to health. She thought Chi Chen would actually try to kill her father to avenge Yu Xiang, not knowing that Chi Chen actually stayed his hand and the life-threatening injuries were inflicted by her own father.
So diabolical on her father's part.
Youtuber 说书的李美仁 said this:
"Xiao Yao's grandmother A Xie chose someone like Cang Xuan, while Xiao Yao's mother chose someone like Xiang Liu. Their choices ended up in tragedy. As such, Xiao Yao took a path totally different from theirs, and finally had a good ending with Jing."
What do you think of this statement?
While true on the surface, I don't agree with that assessment. As you said, Xiang Liu's choices ensured Xiao Yao had an ending that was not tragic. It was not a path she chose - it was already chosen for her, repeatedly, relentlessly, with the shutting of doors and opportunities that would have allowed them to be together, because he refused to risk Xiao Yao's long-term well-being, even if the cost was his own happiness. He stayed true to his men, and gave her the most selfless love even though he had to take himself out of the picture, out of her life to do so. And much as it hurts me to say this, TJC is right in saying that he was at peace having fulfilled everything he set out to do, and when he died, he was finally free.
Hmm. I agree with some parts of 说书的李美仁's statement and some parts of yours.
There's so much to unpack there. How are Cang Xuan and the Yellow Emperor similar? How are they different? How are Chi You and XL similar? How are they different? To what extent did Ah Lei choose the Yellow Emperor? To what extent did Ah Heng choose Chi You? To what extent did XY choose TSJ? Why did she choose him? Did she intentionally not choose CX and XL? If so, why?
I feel like each of those questions could have their own essay-length response. Which is a bit daunting.
Without going down that path (I made a brief start and realized I don't have the stamina and attention span to go through with it ^^"), my "short" answer is that I agree with the main gist of your comment. I don't think XL was ever going to abandon the remnant army for XY and he never really gave her a real opportunity to choose (or not choose) him. He spent a lot of time preventing her from developing expectations, shutting her down, and pushing her away. And, on top of that, XY's family constantly reminded her not to get close to XL and TSJ even physically held XY back from pursuing XL. So that "choice" was effectively made for XY.
At the same time, XY agreed to make the 15 year promise with TSJ pretty early on in the story. While XY had not chosen to give her heart to TSJ at that point, it was definitely a choice that set her on a particulaar path... one where she would at least try not to let anyone else (including XL) into her heart for 15 years. Even though XL was already in her heart by that point, whether she knew it / admitted it or not. And I imagine some of the things that 说书的李美仁 mentioned may have played into XY's decision at that point, as well as her other TSJ-related choices (to the extent that they were actual choices and not decisions made by default) later on in the story.
In the drama, we are shown the bugs retaliating only once - and that is when he saw her being carried away intimately by Jing outside Dragon Bone prison, after Xiao Yao told him having him enter a girl's dreams is a fate more terrifying than death.
Other times I can think of when we see the glow of the bugs were:
The last day at Qingshui Town when he deliberately hurt her heart (S2 Ep7) - here the bugs were glowing and slightly dispersing.
Similarly, in the drama, there was no glow of the bugs during Cang Xuan's wedding, as opposed to at Qingshui Town. For me, I don't get the impression that the bugs were retaliating in that moment. Rather, it was the crushing pain that he delivered to her heart, that might have possibly threatened the survival of the bugs in her, hence they started glowing and dispersing. When her bugs reacted, his reacted in kind as well. The only reason they stopped in the end was because he stopped the pain.
I interpret the scene in S2 Ep7 as showing us another instance of the bugs trying to retaliate. IMO, in that case, XL allows XY to feel the excruciating pain that he feels as a result of that attempted retaliation before he suppresses the bugs again (as he did in S1 Ep19) to stop them from turning into deadly Heartbreak Bugs.
In the novel, we never had any indication of the Lovers bug retaliating at any time.
Before watching the drama and reading the script, I would have agreed with this. But after having done so, I feel like TH might have actually given a few subtle hints to the reader throughout LYF that perhaps the bugs did try to retaliate and XL suppressed them - saving XY and himself and preventing XY from realizing that anything had even happened to the point where, from her perspective, she thought that the Lovers Bugs had not retaliated at all or had any problems for 80+ years.
First, TH shows us, on several occassions, that XL can control the bugs / bug connection in ways that XY cannot.
Second, TH used TSJ's grandmother's experience to show us that when a poisonous bug backfires / retaliates, it causes excruciating pain to the host before killing them.
Third, TH shows us that XY does not experience XL's pain through the bug connection, even though (based on the Shaman King's words) the connection is normally a two-way street that would cause her to feel XL's pain, too. Except in chapter 32, when XL intentionally causes XY to feel his pain. And in that case the pain in his heart (and, consequently, the pain that XY feels in her heart) is excruciating. Similar in intensity to the excruciating pain that TSJ's grandmother experienced when her poisonous bug backfired. And it occurs at a time when we (the readers) should be aware that XL would be feeling heartbroken about giving XY one more very firm push away from himself / towards TSJ. And, at the time, XL gives no outward indication of the excruciating pain that he is experiencing and causing XY to feel.
Fourth, we see that the Shaman King is horrified when he discovers that the person hosting the other half of XY's pair of Lover's Bugs is not TSJ (the man standing beside XY who the Shaman King can see is her lover). The Shaman King clearly believes this is not possible. Given TSJ's presence, the Shaman King cannot go into detail or speak candidly with XY, so he can only seem to agree with XY's protests when he says that there must be something unique about the Lover's Bugs in XL and XY and something unique about each of them as well.
-----
Chapter 37:
| Kanunu8 | Chat GPT | Koala | |
| “蛊术在外人眼中，神秘歹毒，其实不过是我们九黎族一代代积累下的医术和防身术。九黎多毒虫、毒草、瘴气，为了活下去，祖祖辈辈都在努力了解它们、驾驭它们。蛊术以狠毒闻名大荒，可实际上，我们更多地用蛊救人。情人蛊让两人命脉相连，也就是说，纵然一个重伤，只要另一人生机旺盛，就可以让重伤的人活下来，这本是极好的事，即使难养，也应该有很多人想养，但为什么一直罕有人养呢？” 小夭问：“为什么？” “孤阳不生，独阴不长，万物有利一面，则必有害一面，利越大，害就越大，情人蛊亦是如此。它能让有情人心意相通、命脉相连，可情人蛊就像相恋的恋人，脾气多变，非常难驾驭，蛊虫极易反噬，一旦发作，两人俱亡，所以情人蛊还有个名字，叫断肠蛊。” 璟震惊地看向小夭，小夭忙道：“哪里有他说的那么可怕？这都七八十年了，我不一直好好的？” | "Gu art is mysterious and poisonous in the eyes of outsiders, but it is actually just the medical skills and self-defense skills accumulated by our Jiuli people from generation to generation. Jiuli has many poisonous insects, poisonous grasses, and miasma. In order to survive, our ancestors have been trying to understand and control them. Gu art is famous for its viciousness in the wilderness, but in fact, we use Gu more to save people. Lover Gu connects the lifeblood of two people, that is, even if one is seriously injured, as long as the other is vigorous, the seriously injured person can survive. This is a very good thing. Even if it is difficult to raise, there should be many people who want to raise it, but why is it that few people have raised it? " Xiao Yao asked: "Why?" "No yang can grow alone, and no yin can grow alone. Everything has a good side, and there must be a bad side. The greater the benefit, the greater the harm. The same is true for the lover's Gu. It can make lovers communicate with each other and connect their lives, but the lover's Gu is like a lover in love. It has a changeable temper and is very difficult to control. The Gu worm is very easy to backfire. Once it breaks out, both of them will die. Therefore, the lover's Gu has another name, called the heartbreak Gu. " Jing looked at Xiao Yao in shock. Xiao Yao hurriedly said: "How can it be as terrible as he said? It's been seventy or eighty years. Haven't I been fine all the time?" | "To outsiders, Gu techniques seem mysterious and sinister, but in reality, they are simply medical and self-defense techniques accumulated by our Jiuli tribe over generations. The Jiuli region is full of poisonous insects, poisonous plants, and miasma. To survive, our ancestors made efforts to understand and control them. Gu techniques are notorious for their cruelty in the Great Wilderness, but we often use them to save lives. The Lover's Gu connects two people's lifelines, which means that even if one is severely injured, as long as the other has strong vitality, the severely injured person can survive. This is actually a very good thing. Even though it is difficult to nurture, many people should want to nurture it. But why is it so rare?" Xiao Yao asked, "Why?" "Solitary yang cannot grow, and solitary yin cannot survive. Everything has both benefits and drawbacks. The greater the benefit, the greater the drawback. The Lover's Gu is no exception. It allows lovers to connect their hearts and lifelines, but like lovers in a relationship, it has a volatile temper and is extremely difficult to control. The Gu worms are prone to backfire, and once it happens, both people will perish. Therefore, the Lover's Gu has another name: the Heartbreak Gu." Jing looked at Xiao Yao in shock. Xiao Yao hurriedly said, "It's not as scary as he says! It's been seventy or eighty years, and I've been just fine." | “To outsiders voodoo is considered mysterious and bad, but really it's a craft and magic that the Jiu Li tribe has passed down through generations to protect and heal us. Jiu Li has lots of deadly insects, deadly plants, deadly gasses, to live here our ancestors had to learn to understand it and control it. Voodoo is seen as a harmful power but we actually mostly use it here to save lives. The Lover’s Bug keeps two people’s lives connected, which means when one is injured as long as the other is healthy then the injured person will survive. This is a very good thing. Even if the Lover’s Bug is notoriously hard to grow, it ought to still be relatively prevalent since many people will try to grow it. So why it is so rare to see?” Xiao Yao asked, “Why?” “All living things that have a benefit must also carry a harm. The greater the benefit then the greater the potential for harm. The Lover’s Bug is exactly that. It can lead two people to be connected in life and emotions but it is just like a pair of lovers in love with each other. It is tempermental and hard to control. If the Lover’s Bugs turn on each other then both people will die. Which is why the Lover’s Bug also has another name: the Heartbreak Bug.” Jing stared in dismay at Xiao Yao who quickly said, “It can’t be as scary as he makes it out to be. It’s been over seventy years and I’m still just fine.” |
| 巫王悚然变色：“难道你的蛊不是种给这位公子？” “不是。” 巫王面色怪异，问小夭：“能让我探看一下你的蛊虫吗？” 小夭点了点头。 也不见巫王有何动作，想来是用自己体内的蛊虫在探看。巫王眉头紧皱，喃喃说：“的确是情人蛊！怎么可能呢？‘有情人养情人蛊，断肠人成断肠蛊’，情人蛊和其他蛊都不同，必须要一对情人心甘情愿，才能种蛊，他若不是你的情郎，你怎么可能给他种下情人蛊？” | The witch king changed color in horror: "Isn't your Gu planted for this young man?" "No." The witch king looked strange and asked Xiao Yao: "Can I take a look at your Gu worm?" Xiao Yao nodded. The witch king didn't see any action, so he thought he was using the Gu worm in his body to check. The witch king frowned and murmured, "It is indeed a lover's Gu! How is it possible? 'Lovers raise lover's Gu, and heartbroken people become heartbroken Gu'. Lover's Gu is different from other Gu. It must be planted by a pair of lovers willingly. If he is not your lover, how could you plant lover's Gu on him?" | The Witch King's face suddenly paled in fear. "Your Gu wasn't planted in this young man?" "No." The Witch King looked at Xiao Yao with a strange expression and asked, "May I take a look at your Gu worm?" Xiao Yao nodded. Without any visible movement from the Witch King, it seemed he was using his own Gu worm to investigate. His brows furrowed tightly as he murmured, "It really is the Lover's Gu! How is that possible? 'Lovers nurture the Lover's Gu, the heartbroken become the Heartbreak Gu.' The Lover's Gu is different from other Gu worms. It must be willingly planted by a pair of lovers. If he is not your lover, how could you have planted the Lover's Gu in him?" | The Voodoo King’s expression changed as he stared at Jing, “You’re not the man the other bug is planted in?” “No.” The Voodoo King stared in shock at Xiao Yao. “Can I feel the bug in you?” Xiao Yao nodded. The Voodoo King didn’t move so he was likely using a bug inside of himself to sense. He furrowed his brows and murmured, “It really is a Lover’s Bug! But how is this possible? ‘Lovers who raise the bug produce the Lover’s Bug, Not Lovers who raise the bug produce the Heartbreak Bug.’ The Lover’s Bug is different then other voodoo bugs and absolutely requires the couple to willingly accept the bug for it to be successfully planted. If the man you successfully planted the other bug in is not your lover, then how did you plant it in him?” |
| 小夭道：“你可大大比不上你的先祖，太拘泥于前人的经验了。猛虎生于山野是百兽之王，但如果长于斗定，不过是大一点的野猫。蛊虫不是死物，所以蛊术才变幻莫测。” 巫王心中百般不解，可小夭的情郎明显是她身边的这位公子，有些话不好再说，只得敷衍道：“姑娘教训的是，姑娘体内的蛊虫的确不同于一般的蛊虫，想来姑娘和那人都有特异之处。” 小夭叹了口气：“他是很特异！” 自从中蛊，只能相柳感觉到她，她却从没有感觉到他。 | Xiao Yao said, "You are far inferior to your ancestors. You are too rigid about the experience of your predecessors. A tiger born in the mountains is the king of beasts, but if it grows up to fight, it is just a bigger wild cat. Gu worms are not dead things, so Gu techniques are unpredictable." The witch king was puzzled, but Xiao Yao's lover was obviously the young man next to her. Some things were not easy to say, so he had to perfunctorily say, "What the girl taught is that the Gu worm in the girl's body is indeed different from ordinary Gu worms. I think the girl and that person have their own special features." Xiao Yao sighed, "He is very special!" Since being poisoned, only Xiang Liu can feel her, but she has never felt him. | Xiao Yao said, "You are far inferior to your ancestors, too bound by their experiences. A tiger born in the wild is the king of beasts, but if it grows up in captivity, it's just a big cat. Gu worms are not lifeless things, which is why Gu techniques are so unpredictable." The Witch King was deeply puzzled, but it was clear that Xiao Yao's lover was the young man beside her. Some things were better left unsaid, so he replied perfunctorily, "The young lady is right. The Gu worm in your body is indeed different from ordinary Gu worms. It seems both you and that person have unique qualities." Xiao Yao sighed, "He is indeed very unique!" Ever since the Gu was planted, only Xiang Liu can sense her, but she was never able to sense him. | Xiao Yao said, “You might not know as much as your ancestors, the bug could be more multi-facted and evolving in ways beyond your understanding.” The Voodoo King was still perplexed. But it was clear that the young man sitting beside Xiao Yao was clearly her beloved so the rest of what he wanted to say wasn’t suitable for discussing at this time. He smoothed things over. “Miss you are likely right, the bug inside of you is different than other bugs. Likely Miss and the other man have very unique bodily compositions.” Xiao Yao inwardly sighed in relief. “He is very unique!” Since the bug was planted, only Xiang Liu could sense her but she could never sense him. |
Some fans might read these lines in a very surface-level way and think that the Shaman King and XY agreed that the Lover's Bugs in XY and XL really must just be different from normal Lover's Bugs, so the fact that they have remained in XY and XL for so long without backfiring and harming XY and XL (as far as XY is aware) doesn't mean that XY and XL necessarily had romantic love in their hearts for each other. I think we can safely say that no one in this thread subscribes to that kind of an interpretation of these lines.
At one point I read these lines and thought that XY was in complete denial (both internally and externally) and the Shaman King's response was pretty much a complete lie (that aligned with XY's statements of denial) intended to smooth things over due to TSJ's presence. Meaning that the Lover's Bugs and the connection they created between XY and XL was like every other pair of Lover's Bugs and connection betweeen hosts. So the fact that the bugs had remained in XY and XL for so long without backfiring and harming XY and XL (as far as XY is aware) meant that XY and XL not only had romantic love in their hearts for each other that whole time, but also that they had never, ever experienced the kind of 离心 or 断肠 that would cause the bugs to backfire / retaliate / turn into Heartbreak Bugs.
Now I read these lines and think... outwardly XY was in complete denial as she kept trying to convince TSJ that there definitely were not any romantic feelings between her and XL. And perhaps she was trying to convince herself of that too on some level... but I think part of her knew the truth and that was why she was so desperate to deny it. And the Shaman King did hold himself back from saying what he wanted to say because TSJ was present. But perhaps the Shaman King's comment was only a misleading partial truth, rather than a lie. The Lover's Bugs in XL and XY and the connection between them was unique... because of how uniquely powerful XL is, especially compared to how not powerful (in terms of the amount of spiritual power she could access) XY is. XL was powerful enough to control the bugs / the bug connection so that XY could not feel anything through the connection that he did not want her to feel and he was powerful enough that he could suppress the bugs if they attempted to retaliate. So even when XL or XY experienced the kind of 离心 or 断肠 that would cause the bugs to attempt to backfire / retaliate / turn into Heartbreak Bugs (e.g., when XL experienced heartbreak after pushing XY to get back together with TSJ), XL experienced the pain of that attempted retaliation alone (as he could protect XY from feeling it) and he was able to successfully suppress the bugs so that they failed to fully backfire / retaliate / turn into Heartbreak bugs that would kill him and XY. So XY remained unaware that anything had happened and thought the bugs had had no issues for 70 / 80 years.
IMO, this possibility is emphasized when XY recalls that XL always had the ability to control the bugs / bug connection in certain ways that she could not replicate. Reminding readers who are paying close attention that if the bugs had attempted to retaliate and XL had successfully suppressed them, XL had the ability to shield XY from feeling or sensing any of it so that she would be completely unaware that such a thing had happened.
I feel compelled to reiterate that my updated interpretation still acknowledges the fact that the Shaman King was very clear that only lovers can raise and successfully plant Lovers Bugs. And XY's Lover's Bug was successfully planted in XL. So, IMO, XY and XL definitely each had romantic love for the other, even if the bugs did attempt to retaliate at times later on due to the hosts (one or both of them) experiencing 离心 or 断肠.
可情人蛊的蛊虫就像相恋的恋人，脾气多变，非常难驾驭，蛊虫极易反噬，一旦发作，两人俱亡，所以情人蛊还有个名字，叫断肠蛊。
However, the poisonous bugs of the Lovers Bug are like lovers in love with each other, temperamental, extremely difficult to control, will easily retaliate. Once that happens, both of them will die. Therefore the Lovers Bug has another name, called the Heartbreak Bug.
but the lover's Gu is like a lover in love. It has a changeable temper and is very difficult to control. The Gu worm is very easy to backfire. Once it breaks out, both of them will die. Therefore, the lover's Gu has another name, called the heartbreak Gu.AH :
but like lovers in a relationship, it has a volatile temper and is extremely difficult to control. The Gu worms are prone to backfire, and once it happens, both people will perish. Therefore, the Lover's Gu has another name: the Heartbreak Gu.
but it is just like a pair of lovers in love with each other. It is tempermental and hard to control. If the Lover’s Bugs turn on each other then both people will die. Which is why the Lover’s Bug also has another name: the Heartbreak Bug.
The Lovers bugs are like lovers in love and they will not tolerate any change of heart on the part of their hosts - whether it is falling out of love with their lover, or wanting to stop loving each other - as it is seen as a threat to their love. If that happens, the poisonous bugs transform into Heartbreak bugs, and kill both their hosts.
The Lovers bugs are like lovers in love, and guard the love between their hosts fiercely. If there is any threat to that love -including an attempt by the host to stop loving the other host - it would retaliate because it shows a condition of the heart that is 离心.
要么同心而生，要么离心而死，
They either live because their hearts are one, or die because their hearts are no longer one.
有情人养情人蛊，断肠人成断肠蛊
Lovers raise the Lovers Bug. Broken-hearted people produce the Heartbreak Bug
I have a somewhat different interpretation of the Shaman King's comment that the bugs are like lovers in love. I think it is meant to be read together with the next part of the sentence. Romantic love between lovers can be intense, unpredictable, and difficult to control. So I think his comment means that the behaviour and temperment of the bugs is similar to the behaviour and temperment of two lovers in love: temperamental, unpredictable, and difficult to control.
I don't think that "the lovers bugs are like lovers in love" necessarily means the bug would defensively guard the love between the hosts fiercely and retaliate against even perceived threats. My impression was not that the bugs act like defensive guard dogs, snapping at potential threats.
One host "wanting to stop loving" the other host seems, to me, to be something that would be far too intangible to trigger the bugs into retaliating. XY spent so much time trying to deny, suppress, avoid thinking about, and talk herself out of her feelings for XL. If that kind of thinking / behaviour triggered a defensive retaliation from the bugs, the bugs would have been constantly trying to retaliate.
The love of lovers (i.e., romantic love) is needed to create Lovers Bugs that would tie the lives and hearts of the lovers together, creating a bond that was clearly good and beneficial. One that could even be life-saving. The lovers' hearts must be 同心 (united hearts / hearts in harmony / one heart) to maintain that bond. Whereas if the lovers have 离心 (hearts that are estranged, separated, or divided / hearts with discord between them) / if one of them becomes a 断肠人 (heartbroken person), the bond changes from a life-saving one to a life-threatening one, as the bugs will retaliate and kill both hosts (unless one of the hosts is powerful enough to suppress the bugs, as XL was). Compared to "wanting to stop loving the other host", "actually falling out of love with the other host" or "actually experiencing 断肠 over the other host" each seem, to me, to be more in line with the kind of 离心 and 断肠 that would trigger a reaction from the bugs.
The novel goes on to elaborate that the pair would die because of 离心 hearts that are no longer one. What does it mean by 离心? It means that a heart that has drifted apart from the other, when two hearts are no longer together. For me, this means a heart that no longer loves the other person, or a heart that intends to stop loving that person.
My interpretation is that heartbreak alone is insufficient, even if it was their lover who broke their heart. It had to be accompanied by 离心 which means that either one of them have fallen out of love or chosen to stop loving the other. Only then would the Lovers bugs be transformed into Heartbreak bugs and kill both of them.
It's so interesting to see such a different perspective. To me, the idea of one lover having feelings of just wanting to stop loving the other lover seems less significant than one lover experiencing 断肠 over the other lover.
Maybe because 断肠 is such an intense and visceral phrase.
Translation:
- 断肠 (duàn cháng): "Broken intestines," metaphorically meaning "heartbreak" or "extreme sorrow."
Explanation of Components:
断 (duàn): Literally means "to break" or "to sever."
肠 (cháng): Refers to the intestines or gut. In Chinese literature, the intestines are often symbolically linked to deep emotions, particularly sorrow.
Metaphorical Meaning: The phrase "断肠" is a metaphor for intense emotional pain or heartbreak, so deep that it feels like one’s insides are being torn apart. It expresses an overwhelming sense of grief or sorrow.
Given the weight of 断肠, I would generally expect the occurrence of it to indicate 离心 between the lovers. Similarly, I would expect that 离心 between the lovers would usually be accompanied by 断肠.
Whereas one lover merely wanting to stop loving the other lover for some reason (but failing to actually stop loving them), doesn't seem like it would necessarily indicate 离心 in every case. Especially if such a desire was somehow not accompanied by feelings of 断肠.
Just to share the gorgeous picture my daughter drew for me for 七夕 Qixi today, in celebration of our mutual love for Mao Qiu and of course, his master:
Super, super cute! A belated happy Qixi Festival to you and your daughter, liddi! ^^
This is reminding me of an earlier conversation we had.
Only in our modern time or under the influence of Western culture, by default we always think doll is girl and used for playing. I think in the eastern culture, boy doll might be more common and used to convey wishes. Thus, it's reasonable that the doll that XL made was a boyH19279:
This is making me think of Mahoraga dolls for Qixi Festival.
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Mahoraga dolls, a type of figurine showing a child holding a lotus leaf, are sacrifice utensils that were commonly used in the Qixi Festival to pray for reproduction throughout the Song Dynasty in China.
...
Mahoraga dolls, a kind of figurine showing a child holding a lotus leaf, were popularized nationwide throughout the Song Dynasty (960–1279), one of the most prosperous periods of Chinese history. Mahoraga has several Chinese names in different regions, such as “Mohele” 磨喝乐, “Mohouluo” 摩睺罗, and “Moheluo” 磨合罗, along with different Chinese characters, due to its different transliterations, which also reflects the scope of its popularity. Mahoraga dolls gradually faded from the historical stage and were barely seen in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368–1912).
...
3. The Religious Allegory of Holding a Lotus Leaf Shape
The iconic symbol of Mahoraga is a child holding a lotus leaf in their hand. According to archaeological discoveries and the available written records, most of the Mahoraga dolls were boys and few were girls, and girl Mahoraga dolls were usually made to pair with boy ones. Additionally, we would like to focus on the Mahoraga figurines worshipped during Qixi Festivals, excluding other forms of child-holding-lotus figures, such as porcelain vases, jade pendants, and other jade accessories, on which girl images were often depicted. In fact, child patterns were not rare in ancient China and can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD). These were not designed to reflect children’s lives but to convey the Chinese worship of procreation as well as the moral values relating to the family (Huo 2017, pp. 25–30). Until Wei, Jin, Northern, and Southern Dynasties (220–420 AD), this longing became clearer with the preference for boys under the development of an agricultural civilization. In the Tang Dynasty (618–907), child-holding-lotus patterns relating to this religious allegory were frequently used on Songzi Kuanyin statues (Rong 2013, pp. 245–76), which can be further proven as this typical Mahoraga figure was not only seen on figurines used in worship but also on ceramic stools used around Qixi Festivals (Figure 5).
...
This fertility symbolism of the lotus coincides with the use of Mahoraga dolls, as Mahoraga was often worshipped when praying for offspring, which also explains why Mahoraga figurines are usually depicted with a lotus in their hands.
Source
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The Chinese version of Valentine’s Day is the Oixi Festival that is celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. Among the many Qixi Festival traditions, some have gradually disappeared, but quite a few still continue. Let’s have a look.
...
17. Consecrate Mohele, the Qixi Mascot
A Mohele is a small children’s doll that was popular in the Qixi Festival during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). In the Song Dynasty, people not only considered Mohele a symbol of the Qixi Festival, but also increased the size and proportion of the doll making it easier to play with.
Source
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Originating from Buddhism, "Mahira", also called Mohuluo, evolved into the image of a boy and became a sacrifice for the Qixi Festival. During the Song and Jin Dynasties, this kind of sacrifice evolved into a popular doll.
...
The ancient Qixi Festival was a women's festival. The theme of Qixi Festival was not only begging for cleverness, but also the pursuit of children. In the Song Dynasty, on the Chinese Valentine's Day, Mohuluo was given as a gift to the newlyweds as a blessing for having a child. The function of this custom was to pray for children and men.
Of course, on the Qixi Festival, Mohuluo is not only an offering, but also a toy for children. Affected by the social "entertainment" and "enjoyment" thoughts of the Song Dynasty, while retaining the worship function of grinding and drinking music, it turned to gamification and entertainment.
Source
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The Double Seven Festival, otherwise known as Qixi Festival (七夕节) or Chinese Valentine’s Day, was certainly no exception. Come the seventh evening of the seventh lunar month, rich and noble families would have their women gather up in the courtyard to “beg for skills in craftmanship” by performing rituals like threading seven needles in front of a special shrine. Here’s the thing, though—the shrines did not feature the Niulang and Zhinü duo, nor the Seventh Sister, the protector of all lovers, women, and children. Instead, they’d house a darling clay figurine of a child holding a lotus leaf.
This was, in fact, a sacrifice utensil commonly used in the Double Seven Festival to worship and pray for fertility. Though these were properly known as Mahoraga dolls, they had several Chinese names depending on the region, one of them being “Mohele (磨喝乐)” and its variant Moluo.
...
In the feudal Song dynasty, worshipping Mahākāla implied the longing for a male child.
Meng Yuanlao (孟元老), a Song dynasty prose writer, described in his famous memoir The Eastern Capital: A Dream of Splendor (《东京梦华录》) that on the day of the Qixi Festival, Mohele clay dolls can be found all over the city of Kaifeng.
Source
That is an interesting observation - not sure if what Xiang Liu carved was meant to be a 磨喝乐 Mohele, but its symbolism is close. Certainly, from Xiao Yao's remark, it was a doll that should be commonplace enough as a wedding gift - a boy doll with a symbol of abundant children on the dudou - except for the unexpectedly large belly, which caught her by surprise. It is evident how much care he took into choosing that final gift - carrying his blessings and wishes for her which will remain forever hidden, while serving to be a source of mirth and bring her joy with its mischievous, outward appearance at the same time.
I'm over thinking things again, but I couldn't help but feel that your daughter's gift reminded me of XL's gift.
On one level the creation looks very cute and sweet in a way that makes one smile and feel comforted. But there is also a deeper, more emotional meaning behind it that isn't apparent to someone who sees the creation without knowing more about it. Only those who are in the know are aware of the deeper emotional meaning. And of course a lot of thought and care went into choosing and making the gift.
Actually... maybe there's one more level to it. XY created the ice crystal ball first and sent it to XL. XL later created the big-bellied laughing doll and sent it back to XY, secretly containing a modified version of the big-bellied laughing doll within it. You were familiar with the story of LYF first. Then you introduced the story to your daughter, and the two of you had a shared experience of it. Your daughter later created this fanart image, which is based on / inspired by LYF (and her understanding of the story, as augmented by having shared the experience of it with you, including her knowledge of all of the emotions that Mao Qiu conjures up for us fans now) and gifted that image to you. In both cases, there was an initial gift and then a return gift that is built around the original gift.
I can't help but see parallels. ^^"
AH or anyone who wishes to answer Lovers Bugs questions in the comments:
https://mydramalist.com/44985-lost-you-forever#comment-18426201
Oof trying to explain an interpretation of how the bugs work, again, but in the main comment section with no formatting? I'm happy to let others have a go at that one. ^^"
As for XL. I treasured each of his appearances. Yes, even his drinking appearances, cause who doesn't love angsty quality time with Maoqiu? Okay, maybe AH didn't. ;p
Drama XL angst?
Novel XL angst?
Oh man, just when I thought I had moved on from this story... I just finished rewatching Titanic for the n-th time. However, this time I couldn't help but notice so many striking parallels that unfortunately reminded me of this story once again :(
Yes! So many parallels! I made a list of parallels for my Titanic-inspired fic that has a little bit of overlap with this list. ^^
You should read AH's fan fic.
AH - RETURNING THE HEART OF THE OCEAN, REUNITING WITH YOU (XY and XL)
Thank you for sharing the link Kokuto!
Thank you so much @Kokuto for sharing this story. Also a wholehearted thank you to @AH for taking the time to write this wonderful epilogue for the characters.
I remember TongHua once said somewhere that her stories do not end the moment she stops writing. She merely puts down the pen, but the story of her characters continues. Now, at least in my mind, this is not just a fanfic, but the true, unwritten canonical ending that TongHua intended. Thinking through the long list of parallels I made again and a few ones I neglected to put down, there is just no way I can be convinced otherwise.
At last, XY and XL found their eternal peace together in the afterlife. I think I also finally found my peace with this story, and now I am truly able to move on.
@solarlunareclipse
Regarding the differences between Titanic and LYF, the only real difference is that the characters in LYF sorely lacked the kind of guts that Jack & Rose had. But now, in some ways, I actually like how it was in LYF and find it quite satisfying. XY reuniting with XL in the afterlife for eternity is better than any relationship they could have had for a limited time.
You're welcome! I'm glad it helped you make peace with LYF's ending. That was the intent.
And thank you for reading the fic right after watching Titanic. You fulfilled a good portion of the ideal reading experience. ^^
In an ideal situation, my fic would be read in an almost triathon-like manner where the reader would first read LYF, then watch Titanic, and then read my fic in short succession so all the parallels would be readily apparent. But somehow I don't think it will ever happen. ^^"
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