Navi2124:@Nathsketch
LOL I know! I think my big question is: What are the reasons behind such changes in the show?
- Censorship? (Though I kind of doubt this because Forbidden Flower managed to pass censorship and that series did not shy away from intimacy.)
- To downplay XY and XL’s connection and feelings (And if so, why? Is it to level the playing field between the 4MLs or maybe place more emphasis on a different ML?)
- To focus more on XL’s feelings and frame them as more unrequited so as to create more sympathy for him?
I think it's probably options 3 and 4 combined. Even if this was an attempt at emphasizing one of the MLs (you know who), the scenes with XY and her "endgame" make me roll my eyes so hard I can almost see the inside of my skull ?
So whatever the reasoning, it's a pity.
Elise:LOL if you thought that was swoonworthy, just wait until you get to the part where XL saves her in the ocean and she sees his real demon form. I'm going to post the passage here when I have time. What she and he did is sooooo intimate.
To be honest, him just standing in the background doing absolutely nothing already gets me feeling feelings. So there's that.
lolololol
Navi2124:@Elise
I LOVE that scene! I know XL is injured and bleeding, but them rolling around in the waves reminds me of that iconic “kissing in the waves” scene in the classic Hollywood movie, From Here to Eternity. And the way , XY wipes the blood from the corner of XL’s lips! *squee*
I once read a post about XY being man-handled by all the MLs, but I actually think she does her fair share of man-handling XL (at least in the novel).
Ahhh From Here to Eternity. Good one.
Chapter 43: this passage is super long but I highlighted the important and intimate moments :)
Xiao Yao slowly opened her eyes and in the whirling inferno she saw Xiang Liu, white hair white robe, standing right in front of her. His hair was fanned out like the wings of a bird and was protecting Xiao Yao by forming a barrier between her and the whirlpool.
Xiao Yao felt like this was a dream and stare dumbfounded at Xiang Liu. He furrowed his brows, clearly he was being affected being in the whirlpool. They were also being carried closer and closer to the center, and by then even Xiang Liu would be crushed.
He moved his hands over Xiao Yao’s face and closed her eyes. She heard his voice “I need to revert to my demon form so that we can escape from here. Don’t look!”
Xiao Yao nodded and felt this humongous impact, like something ripped a hole in the whirlpool. She felt they were far away and the danger was gone. That made her curious and she wanted to open her eyes to see Xiang Liu’s demon form. She hesitated and told herself “just one peek” before opening her eyes.
In the thundering around, she could see a pure white nine-headed sea demon battling with the ocean, with the ocean trying to destroy it but the sea demon taking every hit and bracing for more. This was a battle as powerful as the earth and the sky fighting, without any flowery moves or clever techniques, just brute force against brute force, shaking the world around it.
In the heat of battle, Xiang Liu actually sensed Xiao Yao’s tiny move and one head turned to look at her. Xiao Yao immediately closed her eyes and her heart was racing uncontrollably, not because she was scared of him but because she was so awestruck. It was like someone who had never seen the ocean seeing it for the first time, someone who had never seen the mountain seeing it for the first time. It wasn’t about beauty or ugly, it was about being in awe of such power.
“I told you not to open your eyes.” Xiang Liu’s icy cold voice rang out.
Xiao Yao opened her eyes and saw that they were now on a deserted island. Xiang Liu’s clothes were torn and messy, and his face and neck were covered in injuries.
Xiao Yao forced a smile and tried to act nonchalant “I was just curious what your nine heads looked like.”
“Now you know!” Xiang Liu turned to leave.
“Xiang Liu……Xiang Liu…..” Seeing him about to disappear, Xiao Yao was so anxious she threw herself at him, and Xiang Liu didn’t manage to avoid her and was instead hugged straight on by Xiao Yao. Plus he couldn’t even stand up still and fell down on the sand taking Xiao Yao with him.
Xiao Yao worriedly asked “The injuries are severe, for real?”
Xiang Liu tried hard to push Xiao Yao away to swim off with the receding tide.
Xiao Yao grabbed him and twined herself completely around him, using all her strength so that he couldn’t leave. “I was wrong! I promised to close my eyes and not look but I welshed on my promise and secretly opened my eyes! I just……..just…….I admit it was my pathetic curiosity! I wanted to know what you really looked like. I was wrong! I was wrong……..”
The waves crashed on the beach with a roar and retreated with a howl, the two of them were covered by the waves and emerged again and again so Xiao Yao’s voice was sometimes audible and other times muffled. It wasn’t clear how much Xiang Liu heard but it was clear he wasn’t going to accept her apology as he continued over and over to push her off him.
He managed to shove her off once more and Xiao Yao got so frantic she hooked her arms around his legs and jumped up to pounce on him, using her body to tightly grab him and pull him down again. Xiang Liu had no strength left to push Xiao Yao off but he was like a terribly stubborn child and continued to wriggle under her.
The water around them was seeped with red, clearly Xiang Liu’s injuries were bleeding and Xiao Yao begged “I’m wrong! I’m really wrong! If you want to hit me or punish me, whatever you want is fine! Just please stop moving around!”
Xiang Liu said “Let go!”
“No! Not until you first promise me not to leave!”
Xiang Liu was furious and his fangs bared “Don’t push me to eat you!”
“If you want to eat me then eat me!”
Xiang Liu jerked Xiao Yao into his arms and bit down on her neck in one move. Xiao Yao’s body shivered and then she fell slack, docilely nestled into Xiang Liu to accommodate him.
Injured Xiang Liu was like a dying of thirst traveler in the desert encountering an oasis, drinking up her blood in big gulps. Xiao Yao rested her head on his neck and closed her eyes, feeling only the rising and falling of the tides around her.
It wasn’t clear how much time passed when Xiang Liu stopped drinking her blood. Xiao Yao drowsily opened her eyes “You can drink more, I’m fine.”
Xiang Liu raised his head to look up at the star-filled sky and the hazy moonlight “Aren’t you scared one whit? You should know a demon is a demon, when gravely injured will lose control and revert to basic instinct. I could have sucked you dry!”
Xiao Yao softly touched the corner of his lips with a trace of blood on it and tenderly said “You’re the one who is scared!”
Xiang Liu scoffed “I’m scared?”
“I saw your demon form, and it wasn’t hideous at all! And you didn’t suck me dry either!” Xiang Liu stared darkly at Xiao Yao and she got up her courage to continue “Your form is larger than me……uhm, okay! So it’s not just larger, it’s much much bigger……and you have more heads than I do, just eight more only…..but the laws of nature didn’t say that a one headed type like me is the norm, right? It just happens that us one headed types are the majority, if nine headed types like you were the majority, I would feel self-conscious that I only have one head.”
“You have so much energy, clearly I should suck some more of your blood!” Xiang Liu still had a pissy face but when he leaned down to bit Xiao Yao’s neck and began sucking, Xiao Yao felt only a frisson of excitement and tingling, with no feeling of pain.
Xiao Yao said “Hey! Hey! I was just being polite just now. And you’re really sucking again? A demon really is a demon…..” And with that Xiao Yao fell asleep and finally stopped talking.
Xiang Liu stopped drinking and lifted his head to stare quietly at the sleeping Xiao Yao in his arms.
LOL I realized I highlighted most of it.
TL/DR : After Xiang Liu saved Xiao Yao, she ran after him and used her whole body so he wouldn't escape. She hugged him and they fell in the sand near the waves. She was on top of him and she saw his wounds. She let him drink her blood so he could heal. He embraced her and drank her blood by biting her neck <3
Thanks, AH for your detailed info on the Demons/Deities subject on the other Thread related to LYF! I wonder if you could give some info on XL's side (dooming kingdom, Chenrong) hierarchy and deities and demons relations.
In the very first deep conversations between XL and XY, XY criticizes him for following all those deities (Generals) who don't take him seriously ( positioning him high in ruling the kingdom)since he is a demon. That made XL so mad...with his red eyes.
Navi2124:I also want to add that to me a lot of XY and XL’s (maybe even YZ and TJC’s ) dynamic and chemistry feel more like a BL couple a la Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing (WOH) or Wei Wuxian and Lan Wanji (Untamed). I don’t know why. I might be crazy, but it just does. Maybe because they can’t openly speak or express their feelings. Maybe because of their push and pull relationship.
@Navi2124
I can totally see why XY and XL feel more like a BL couple. They don't need physical intimacy like hugs and kisses to show their romantic relationship. Their chemistry is intense with just the words they say to each other as well as the longing looks they give to each other.
They're the best and most interesting couple in the story to me and they weren't even endgame.
Elise:@Navi2124
I can totally see why XY and XL feel more like a BL couple. They don't need physical intimacy like hugs and kisses to show their romantic relationship. Their chemistry is intense with just the words they say to each other as well as the longing looks they give to each other.They're the best and most interesting couple in the story to me and they weren't even endgame.
Zero kisses were needed and yet the chemistry was off the charts. No words ??
Elise:@Navi2124
I can totally see why XY and XL feel more like a BL couple. They don't need physical intimacy like hugs and kisses to show their romantic relationship. Their chemistry is intense with just the words they say to each other as well as the longing looks they give to each other.They're the best and most interesting couple in the story to me and they weren't even endgame.
nathsketch:Zero kisses were needed and yet the chemistry was off the charts. No words ??
Wait??? Are we really saying kisses aren't needed??? WTH? I NEEDED those kisses. And I'm having to settle for an incredibly hot underwater air kiss. Thank goodness they made that a toe curling event, but really.
Hugs and kisses are definitely NEEDED. It's why the few times we get where they touch is so satisfying.
Kokuto:
Wait??? Are we really saying kisses aren't needed??? WTH? I NEEDED those kisses. And I'm having to settle for an incredibly hot underwater air kiss. Thank goodness they made that a toe curling event, but really.
Hugs and kisses are definitely NEEDED. It's why the few times we get where they touch is so satisfying.
NOOO we definitely need kisses. I just said that even without kisses the whole thing was Oppenheimer level of explosive ?
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