The content of the letter is the list of rations XL needs. I am also suspect that this is where Jing buys XY's oath from XL.plor20:
If I remember correctly, XL had stolen provisions from Xuan Yuan's warehouse (there is background discussion of other soldiers to search for the thief). In that letter it is the location of the provisions that XL hid.
Instead of shedding light on XL's actions, this scene inherently upgrades Jing's character with his self-righteous statement that he'll never use XY as a bargaining tool, which is ludicrous since the man did use XY as a bargaining tool when the MF bought XY's oath to have XL steal her from the wedding.
in addition to this, Jing agreed to transport the provisions for XL as payment for XY's archery lesson on behave of XY. I found it's annoying and contradicted since when XL did favour for XY/WXL, he wanted to "get" the payment from her but declined the payment from Jing (as the drama made when Jing asked XL to rescue WXL from CX after WXL helped XL kidnap Ah Nian or in chapter 35 when XL comforted XY because she was hopeless and unhappy when the rumor about her father was spread). So, the way the drama forced XL to accept it as if Jing bought the lesson for XY.
Recently I've been thinking a lot about why Furball didn't play a role in the remnant army's final battle (or at least wasn't mentioned in Miao Pu's report), why the real Gong Gong also didn't seem to feature in the final battle, and why XL disguised himself as Gong Gong in the final battle.AH :
That line of thinking made me think of a potential head-canon scenario for those who wanted an ending where XL survived, no matter what. Even if it wasn't what he wanted and he didn't end up with XY. Even if the ending seemed out of character.
Wow! Another in canon way to end the story differently. I applaud your creativity and tenacity in keeping the canon. I prefer him ending up with XY as in your first fan fic, but this plays into my theory that XL's experiences and choices shear him of his demon traits, and his death can be seen as ascension to the next level, rather than erasure, so I do enjoy this take too.
Love Chubby makes it, though I don't think Invisible Gong Gong deserves to be there. ;p I didn't realize Chubby wasn't with him in the end, though I don't think he's really a battle bird. I remember from the epilog that XL did send Chubby away before the battle to Sir Bi with the fat bellied doll.
I do love all the research and fills out the world of LYF. Thank you for the info. Lots to think about.
windiaaa041293:
"Unexpectedly, Shiqi slowly raised his head. Although he was a little shy, his eyes were clear and clear, and he actually smiled!"
I noticed something.Shiqi’s eyes were bright and clear when he looked at Xiaoliu, which represented love. If we have the opportunity to read again, we can pay attention to who Xiaoyao looks at. Her eyes are clear and clear, and they are full of a certain person.^^
XY saw herself in CX's eyes, and XL saw himself in XY's eyes.and Tsj said,"XY doesn't have him in her eyes"
Good catch! Another interesting observation about the image in eyes... or lack of in this case.
At this time, XL didn't know XY was half demon
We have discussed the topic of whether Chi You was a demon or something else in this thread before.
Although Koala's translation of LYF often uses "demon", "devil" and "bastard" to describe Chi You, the prevailing view among those who have read Once Promised seems to be that Chi You wasn't a demon exactly and was instead a rather mysterious deity with unknown origins who was extremely in tune with nature and who wielded power that was based in all of the elements (whereas the power of most deities specialized in one element, and only a few deities had power that specialized in two elements). When he lived in Jiu Li (before he became the Flame Emperor's disciple), Chi You was often called the Beast King.
Note that Koala's translation sometimes uses "demon", "beast", "monster" and creature" to refer to different things, and sometimes uses those terms interchangeably.
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Koala's translation of chapter 9 of LYF:
“That bastard fox demon hated my mom, and not just because my mom’s………friend injured him. It was also because my mom killed my ninth uncle and he was best friends with my ninth uncle. Whenever he thought of my ninth uncle, he would curse my mom with the most vicious loathsome insults. But mom was dead so he could only torture me. I was raised by him for 30 years, tortured by him for 30 years. One night he said that in two more full moon nights then he could eat me. He sang a sad song and got drunk and didn’t shut the cage completely. I had been devising how to run away for 30 years so I opened the cage and came out and secretly poisoned his drink then snuck back in the cage. He didn’t sense anything odd and the second day I tried to get him drunk by purposely mentioning my ninth uncle. He beat me up and started drinking again and ingested the poison that I developed from all the weird things he had been feeding me. He collapsed on the floor and returned to his true fox form. I climbed out the cage and he opened his eyes and looked at me. I picked up a knife and cut off each of his tails. After I cut off a tail, I would show it to him. His entire fox mouth was covered in blood but in his eyes was the sense of release. He closed his eyes and I lit a fire and burned the entire cave down.”
Xiao Liu picked up the fox tail. “He locked me in a cage for 30 years, cursing and torturing me, stripping all my powers developed on Jade Mountain and turned me into a useless person. But he taught me many things. In the mountain it was just the two of us. When he wasn’t having a crazy fit, he explained the various transformation powers to me and gave me a priceless treasure. It was the mirror made from the soul of a mystic gorilla beast that could record the past. He told me to use the mirror to record my face so that if it changed the next day I could use the mirror to change back. Gradually I learned to hold my face and when he took me out occasionally he would teach me how to differentiate between the plants and told me all the various demons and beasts he had killed. He told me all the weaknesses of the various types. In the end when I killed him, when I cut off each of his remaining 8 tails, then he and I ended our vengeance at that time. I’ve long stopped hating him so just keep this tail!”
Xiao Liu handed the tail to Zhuan Xu. “The Nine-tailed fox is as rare a beast as the phoenix. I can transform myself so this tail has no use for me. You keep it, in the future you can use it to help you transform and break through mystic enchantments.”
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Koala's translation of chapter 7 of LYF:
Xiao Liu didn’t answer and thought for a long time. Since he was a demon, and demons and creatures and monsters were all in the same world, perhaps he might know something.
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Koala's translation of chapter 11 of LYF:
Their boat master often came to Chi Sui so explained, “Legend has it that a hundred or so years ago this area did not have a barren desert. But no one knows when the land one day became a desert. There is a rumor of a giant peach blossom forest in the middle of that desert region, and living in the peach blossom desert is a demon beast that is like a flame that scorched the earth. Because that demon brought a drought, the people call it Han Kui (drought beast).”
Zhuan Xu asked, “The Gods didn’t send soldiers to kill it?”
“Some brave adventurous young Gods tried to take out the beast but the desert is very strange, it gets hotter as one walks deeper into it. No one has been able to reach the peach blossom forest before almost getting incinerated and quickly retreating. But the demon beast has never harmed anyone so whether there really is a demon in there no one knows for sure. So the people don’t care and gradually this area remains this way.”
Ah Nian was angry “That’s horrible! This area was lush and green for thousands of miles and a monster destroyed it. Too bad it’s Xuan Yuan territory, if it’s Gao Xing territory I would tell my dad to send soldiers to eliminate it.”
Xiao Liu stared at the vast desert. “That monster isn’t bad.”
Ah Nian didn’t understand but Zhuan Xu explained, “This area is the most water-plenty region in the vast wilderness. So for this area to have a desert because the monster is here, imagine the devastation that would be wrought if the monster went elsewhere. Clearly the monster has no intention of harming anyone.”
Ah Nian felt that Zhuan Xu’s explanation made sense but she still wanted to get rid of the monster. But she was used to listening to her dad and Zhuan Xu’s words since she was small so she said nothing more.
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Koala's translation of chapter 12 of LYF:
Xiao Yao didn’t look the least bit like Ah Heng, but her eyes were just like that big beast.
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Koala's translation of chapter 13 of LYF:
Xiao Yao couldn’t believe it and yelled, “Xiang Liu, Xiang Liu, Nine-lives! Nine-headed demon! Devil bastard! You damn Nine-headed demon bastard…..”
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Koala's translation of chapter 16 of LYF:
Xiao Yao walked over and the slave grabbed her hand and was about to crush it when he realized from years of battles that her hands had very low powers and couldn’t hurt anyone. Plus his animal beast instinct told him that Xiao Yao meant no harm. He hesitated and let her go.
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Koala's translation of chapter 18 of LYF:
Xiao Yao sat on the pallet. “Do you know who the owner of the hut is?”
Jing could tell Xiao Yao knew. “Who?”
“That most infamous, vicious, brutal devil monster in the entire vast wilderness. I flipped through the books in the Sheng Nong library and read that the Sheng Nong Flame Emperor deemed Cao Ao Crest a forbidden area because of him.”
There were a lot of demons, beasts, and monsters in the vast wilderness that were called brutal and vicious, but to earn the “most infamous” moniker there was ever only one such person. “Qi Yo?”
Xiao Yao nodded with a smile, “Everyone thought he craved power and wealth but who would have known his residence in Sheng Nong Mountain is so simple.”
...
Feng Long added, “The entire families Qi Yo wiped out wasn’t just the Mu family, plenty of families in the Middle Plains hate Qi Yo. Even though Qi Yo was a Great General of the Sheng Nong Kingdom, his death was celebrated by almost every tribe in the Middle Plains.”
Xing Yue said, “No wonder so many hate him, Qi Yo that big devil killed too many people!”
Fang Feng Bei suddenly interrupted. “The entire world can curse and hate Qi Yo, but no member of the Sheng Nong family can ever berate him.”
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Koala's translation of chapter 21 of LYF:
Xiao Yao’s beast instinct caused her to stop in her steps and look carefully ahead before slowly turning around. She wanted to head back the way she came but the snow was fresh and there were no footprints in sight.
...
A beast’s growl reached her and two violent vicious beasts appeared in the cherry blossom forest. No such beast could ever exist in such a forest so this must be someone who had the ability to control God beast who sent them here to kill her.
The beasts smelled blood and walked towards Xiao Yao. Her foot was bleeding and she was almost out of strength so she couldn’t escape their attack. She sat down on the snow and quietly watched the beasts.
The beasts looked at the weak Xiao Yao and instinctively realized there was danger and started to back away. They were indicating defeat and no intention of attacking her, but suddenly there was a cry from above and the beasts owner was forcing them to attack. The beasts raised its head and had no choice but to attack.
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Koala's translation of chapter 35 of LYF:
Xiao Yao stared at the altar and silently sat there for a while before suddenly asking, “Old uncle, they said you were once a general for Qi Yo. You must be very familiar with him. Did you ever meet my mom before? Actually I’ve wanted to come talk to you for a long time but I never had the guts to do it. I avoided anything related to Qi Yo, but now I can’t avoid it any longer. I finally have the courage to come ask you: what kind of person was Qi Yo? Is he really a demon devil bastard like everyone says he is? Did he ever talk about my mom with you? Did he know of my existence? I have so many questions to ask you, but you’re already gone…”
...
Xiang Liu asked, “Do you want me to tell you more about my pitiful past so that you can feel like having a big demon devil for a dad isn’t that big of a deal?”
Xiao Yao’s eyes opened wide and she asked, “Did you ever meet Qi Yo?” Maybe because Xiang Liu was also a world renowned demon devil, it was easier for her to talk about Qi Yo with him.
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Koala's translation of chapter 36 of LYF:
The elders were stunned into silence and looked positively ecstatic. According to ancient legend, the nine-tailed fox was a godly creature like the phoenix, but it was also a vicious beast that can devour beings. The Tu Shan clan’s god was an ancient ancestor’s spiritual essence keeping watch over its descendants, and since Yi Yang was a goddess, her blood to feed to the clan god would be precious and greatly beneficial to the Tu Shan clan.
...
Jing sat down and continued “After Xiao Yao learned that she is Qi Yo’s daughter, she was devastated. Now she appears to be accepting it, but it’s just her masking her inner pain. Your majesty knows Xiao Yao’s personality. She doesn’t care whether her dad is an emperor or a demon bastard. She’s upset because both her mom and her dad abandoned her and left her only lies. She is also sad because of Qi Yo, because all she knows about him was what the entire world thinks of him as a vicious bloodthirsty demon who killed indiscriminately. In this world, only Your majesty knows information about Xiao Yao’s parents.So I beg of you to tell her about the past.”
...
“I have the power of the sun’s fire inside of me. It can burn up lush green land and endless forests and turn it into an unending desert. If you come too close it will burn you.”
Xiao Yao was shocked. “You…..you are the drought monster?”
“The world calls me the drought monster? Then I am.”
Xiao Yao asked, “Have you been living here this entire time?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t come pick me up, not because you didn’t want to, but because you can’t, right?” The truth was right in front of her eyes but Xiao Yao still needed to ask because she was waiting for this answer for her entire life.
The blue shadow appeared to understand Xiao Yao’s pain and reached out her hand and walked forward a few steps but immediately pulled back. “I have the sun’s fire inside me so wherever I go it will be destroyed so I cannot leave here. I can only wait here for you. I’ve waited four hundred years to tell you in person that Mom is so very sorry to you. Xiao Yao, in my entire life I did not let down my kingdom or my people, but the only two people I let down were your dad and you. Mom is so very sorry to you…….”
...
“To save Xuan Yuan I summoned forth the sun’s fire power that was hidden in my body, but the power was too strong that even a goddess couldn’t control it so I lost my consciousness and became a killing demon. I was destroying everything when your daddy saved me by using his own heart to replace my heart that was destroyed by the sun’s fire power. I promised him “the vines entwine the tree even if it’s dead, the tree remains with the vines even if it dies” and I wanted to die with him but he asked me to stay alive. He said “I never had parents and I don’t want my daughter to also have no parents. Since Xiao Yao was born I never once did my duty as a father so the only thing I can do for her is to keep her mother alive for her so that she can one day know what kind of people her parents were so that she doesn’t need to live her life in shame.”
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Koala's translation of the last chapter of Once Promised:
Qi Yo walked towards Ah Heng. Her consciousness was being consumed by the sun power and her body could not endure the heat. She was a walking ball of heat with no consciousness left, only walking forward and burning up everything in her path.
...
She smiled and reached out for Qi Yi, wanting to take his hand and finally hold onto her happiness.
But she saw in horror that the earth was splitting apart under Qi Yo’s feet and his skin was burning while his hand blackened and shriveled up like a bone.
“Ah Heng, don’t worry! Come here!” Qi Yo still smiled at her and reached out his hand.
She retreated in fear. It was her! It was actually her doing this. What did she turn into?
She touched herself and felt not a strand of hair on her hair. Her skin was blackened and split while there wasn’t a piece of whole flesh left on her body. She had become the world’s most frightening monster.
She curled inward and backed up while crying but no tears would come out because she was completely dried up. She had lost even the ability to cry.
“Ah Heng, do you still remember? I told you once that if you turn into a demon then I will become a demon with you!”
Qi Yo tried desperately to get closer to her but she kept running away.
Qi Yo plaintively cried out for her, “Ah Heng, don’t run away from me! I’m not scared of you!”
But I’m scared, scared that a hideous monster like me would burn you up. Ah Heng kept longingly staring at Qi Yo while sadly backing away.
Qi Yo saw the pain Ah Heng was in and it was worse than a thousand knives cutting into his heart. They loved each other so much yet they couldn’t even get close to each other. Was there anything crueler than this in the entire world?
Ah Heng was gradually losing more and more of her lucidity as she burned even hotter. She turned and ran off while Qi Yo chased after her. Ah Heng ran and ran until she entered into a mountain area where she suddenly stopped.
...
Qi Yo sadly stared at Ah Heng, desperately wanting to pull her into his embrace but knowing that even he could not get close to her. Before he could even reach her he would be incinerated by her heat.
Ah Heng’s body started to become transparent into a misty blue smoke. Qi Yo knew that the sun’s power was incinerating all life including Ah Heng’s body and her heart. Soon she would turn into ether and vanish.
Qi Yo raised his hand and the Ancient Pan Gu Bow flew into his palm from inside the bamboo residence and glowed a bright red.
...
Ah Heng cried out in pain as her heart felt like it was being ripped asunder and something forcefully shoved inside. She clutched her chest in pain as slowly the heat began to disperse.
Qi Yo painfully clutched his chest and sank to his knees but his head remained raised and staring intently at Ah Heng.
Gradually the incredible power force inside of her diminished and her eyes lost its red glow and she regained her consciousness.
In the rain of peach blossom petals, Qi Yo kneeled on the ground with one hand on his chest and one hand reaching out for Ah Heng as he tenderly called her, “Ah Heng, come here.”
Ah Heng stared at him before stumbling forward and Qi Yo used all his strength to get up and stumble towards her. In the hundreds of miles of peach blossoms and under the petal rain, he and she were finally meeting under the peach blossom tree.
Qi Yo smiled and pulled Ah Heng into his arms tightly as she nestled in his embrace with a happy smile. Then she realized something was wrong and it wasn’t the same as before, she could hear his strong heartbeat but his chest was cold rather than burning hot with power like before.
Ah Heng looked up in horror at Qi Yo as he smiled down at her with all the love in his eyes. She gradually realized what he did, the Ancient Bow’s “my heart for your heart” was just that – he used his heart to exchange for her heart which had been destroyed by the sun’s power.
Qi Yo had no heart anymore……he was dying!
Ah Heng stared at Qi Yo and gradually a peaceful smile came to her, she was going to be entwined with him in life or in death. She clung onto him with a smile, they were finally together and it didn’t matter whether they lived or died. Just like this, together forever, never apart. Just like this, until the end of time.
...
Qi Yo said, “History is always written by the victors. When Xiao Yao grows up she will only hear that her real father is a lawless ruthless killing machine of a devil monster who seduced her mother. She might come to hate me with all her heart, and maybe hate you as well. Ah Heng, can you tell our daughter that I love her very much? Tell her that her parents never did anything they should be ashamed about. Tell her not to feel shame because of us. I don’t have parents so I don’t want our daughter to also have no parents. I never did a single day’s duty as her dad so this is the only thing I can do for her and that is to keep her mother alive. To give her the opportunity to learn the truth about who her mom and dad really were like. To let her never live her life in shame and resentment.”
...
Ah Heng cradled Qi Yo in her arms and screamed her pain. Qi Yo, why make me stay alive all alone to endure all of this. Now she wasn’t a goddess, wasn’t a demon, wasn’t a human, wasn’t a monster, she was a freak with nowhere to go.
Everyone died and I’m the only one alive, forced to carry such painful memories. I don’t think I can bear it long enough to see our daughter grow up. I want to come find you now.
The heart inside of her appeared to feel her sorrow and started to beat wildly. Qi Yo’s body started to vanish into a fog and transformed into a peach blossom forest surrounding Ah Heng.
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Koala's translation of chapter 42 of LYF:
Whether it was Tu Shan people or Zhuan Xu’s people, every person was doing everything possible and searching the ocean area nearby. But it was still the ocean, the vast open ocean, forget looking for one person, even sinking an entire mountain into the ocean it would be difficult to find it. Plus there were lots of demon water beasts and sea monsters in the ocean, and gods had godly powers that were the favorite foods of those sea creatures.
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Koala's translation of chapter 43 of LYF:
Xiang Liu and the young man quickly sparred before breaking apart again. The young man’s chest was rising and falling rapidly while his eyes were locked on Xiang Liu, who looked very relaxed and said with a laugh. “Xiao Yao, don’t you recognize this little beast?”
...
The young man said, “I am Left Ear.”
...
Xiao Yao went in and asked, “What do you think of Left Ear?”
Zhuan Xu said, “He’s a wild beast that cannot be fully tamed, but he will be completely loyal to the person he decides on. Xiao Yao, do you really trust him?”
I applaud your creativity and tenacity in keeping the canon.Kokuto:
Lol, thank you.
I prefer him ending up with XY as in your first fan fic
Same. I am not a fan of that particular scenario (because it effectively undoes XL's final choice against his will and I find it difficult to picture XL being truly happy in that scenario), but for those who really wanted an alt ending where he lived, this was the best I could come up with while remaining canon-compliant.
so I do enjoy this take too.
I'm glad. ^^
Love Chubby makes it, though I don't think Invisible Gong Gong deserves to be there. ;p
Lol, yeah. It doesn't feel right for the man who insisted on dragging on a war for an extra 400+ years should get to have a happy and peaceful ending after all his soldiers die. But I figured XL would be happier with him there. I sort of compromised with the idea that Gong Gong would pass on at some point, leaving just Furball and XL to keep each other company.
Chubby wasn't with him in the end, though I don't think he's really a battle bird. I remember from the epilog that XL did send Chubby away before the battle to Sir Bi with the fat bellied doll.
From what I recall, Furball sometimes gets involved in smaller conflicts (e.g., when XL attacked the Xuan Yuan army base in QS town and killed Feng Long he was riding Furball, and when XL confronted Left Ear and the seagull demon that tried to kill XY in chapter 43, Furball was the one who killed the seagull demon), but isn't described as playing a role in the full-on battles. But it's hard to picture Furball just waiting around on the sidelines while XL fights to his death.
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Chapter 43:
Xiang Liu flew down on Furball without even trying to conceal himself. Xiao Yao whispered, “They are killers! It’s two against one, how’s your injuries?”
Xiang Liu glanced at Xiao Yao. “Two against two.”
Xiao Yao rolled her eyes, unsure whether she should be happy that Xiang Liu thought so highly of her, or angry that Xiang Liu thought so highly of her.
The seagull demon was so angry she didn’t even sense their approach but the man did. He turned around like a beast ready to attack, his entire being radiating danger. Xiao Yao actually felt this overwhelming fear and wanted to back up, thankfully Xiang Liu radiated even more danger so the man stared intently at Xiang Liu and backed up one step.
...
At that moment, the skinny pale young man suddenly launched an attack like a tiger pouncing towards Xiang Liu. The seagull demon reverted to her bird form and flew into the air, abandoning her partner just like that.
Xiao Yao’s archery skill was so good she could have taken down the seagull demon, but Xiang Liu was severely injured and she was so worried about him she didn’t even care about chasing the seagull demon. Xiao Yao’s eyes were locked on the attacking young man.
...
A resounding condor cry reached them and Furball came flying back with a seagull in his claws. He proudly circled above them a few times and intentionally called out to Xiao Yao. That’s when Xiao Yao realized that Xiang Liu’s “two against two” was referring to himself and Furball, not Xiao Yao. He didn’t even count Xiao Yao in the fight.
Furball got his fill of showing off and landed on the deck. He stood on one foot and used the other to hold the seagull.
The seagull was so scared she was shivering underfoot, pleading “I didn’t know Ms. Xi Ling was the friend of the Great General Xiang Liu. Will General Xiang Liu spare my life seeing as we’re all demons. I promise to never make the same mistake again!”
Xiang Liu asked, “The identity of your employer?”
“I don’t know. The other side clearly knew Ms. Xi Ling’s identity was special so took extra precautions when meeting with me. I only heard his voice but that could be faked as well.”
Xiang Liu coldly scoffed and Furball pressed down hard so the seagull cried out in pain. “There is a song lyric written on cloth that the other side said would make Ms. Xi Ling agree to do what I asked. But neither Left Ear nor I know how to read so I don’t know what the lyrics said.” Reading is only what the nobility and above had the ability to learn, forget a killer like the seagull demon, even many generals and commanders in the kingdoms didn’t know how to read.
Furball used his beak to pluck off a thatch of seagull’s feathers so she screamed, “I don’t know anything else, nothing else! General please spare me… please spare my life!”
Xiao Yao said, “Don’t ask anymore, if I really died there would be no trace but now I’m alive there are plenty of traces to find out who.”
Xiang Liu asked Xiao Yao, “Do you have an idea who?”
Xiao Yao looked solemn. “The voice in the message jewel was Jing, the lyrics in the cloth was a song I sang for Jing. Even the cloth was Jing’s favorite type. The person who wants to kill me must be very close to Jing. I’m not certain yet, but have a strong hunch.”
Furball flapped his wings excitedly towards Xiang Liu who nodded his head. Before Xiao Yao could react, a scream rendered the air as Furball’s claw dug into the seagull before he picked her up with his beak and went inside the cabin to enjoy his meal.
Xiang Liu didn’t even blink and even Left Ear was calm and unaffected, like Furball just captured some random seagull and was eating it. Xiao Yao lived in the mountains for tens of years and understood the laws of nature among the beasts, to eat one’s own kill. She knew this was the law of the demons, the strong winning over the weak. The difference even between the people and the demons was simply one cooked their food first and the other ate it raw. But hearing the sound from the cabin still made Xiao Yao feel uncomfortable so she asked Xiang Liu, “I know you’re going to mock me, rightly so, for being so missish, but can you ask Furball to eat his meal somewhere else?”
Xiang Liu raised an eyebrow at Xiao Yao, “Furball, did you hear that?”
Furball huffed a few times in annoyance at Xiao Yao before flying into the sky with the seagull in his beak.
-----
You are correct that XL sent Furball to deliver the big-bellied laughing doll to Sir Bi (he either would have been on Jade Mountain or at Xuan Yuan Mountain for XY's wedding already) on the night before the final battle began. But the final battle stretched over several days (beginning in the mountains outside QS town and ending on an island out at sea). It would have involved a lot of flying, but I feel like Furball would have been able to make the delivery and then reunite with XL on the island where XL made his final stand. Although... your beloved Ru So created a barrier to make sure no one (not even a fish) could escape from the island. Perhaps his barrier would have prevented Furball from getting in too.
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Chapter 51:
General Ru So started to burn the entire mountain to force Gong Gong’s army to come out and battle and found themselves facing General Ru So’s army and also General Li Yuan’s army of 20,000 soldiers. Gong Gong led his soldiers into the ocean but General Ru So already anticipated Gong Gong would escape towards the ocean. He stationed General Yu Jiang and his water trained soldiers to lay in wait. He was ready to cut down Gong Gong when Xiang Liu somehow energized his nearly dead soldiers to fight to open a route for Gong Gong to escape. But General Ru So and Yu Jiang followed the entire way for days and nights until they caught up to Gong Gong on a remote ocean island. General Ru So had the island surrounded and used many ancient spells and weapons so that even if Gong Gong turned into a tiny fish he couldn’t escape.
I do love all the research and fills out the world of LYF.
Isn't it interesting? I love all the background mythology details and references.
Thank you for the info. Lots to think about.
You're welcome! I'm happy to share and discuss it. Thanks for engaging! ^^
nathsketch:
Elise:
Note that Koala's translation sometimes uses "demon", "beast", "monster" and creature" to refer to different things, and sometimes uses those terms interchangeably.
To clarify these terms, it's best to check the original term in Chinese
Demon = 妖怪 [yāo guài]
Beast or Animal = 兽 [shòu]
Monster = 怪物 [guài wù]
The word 怪 means monster or devil
I will give the original text for some examples and I think Kaola did not translate those terms consistently throughout the books
Koala's translation of chapter 7 of LYF:
Xiao Liu didn’t answer and thought for a long time. Since he was a demon, and demons and creatures and monsters were all in the same world, perhaps he might know something.
小六不回答，思量了好一会儿，想着他是妖怪，虫虫兽兽的应该算是一家，也许知道点什么，于是说道
Here, the translation of Kaola is incorrect.
虫(虫) [cho'ng]: insect, worm; bug
兽(兽) [ shòu ]: Animal, beast
Repeating the words is a kind of rhetoric method in literature to make it sound nicer and make the meaning either stronger or less serious depending on the context and the sound. In this case it made the word less serious .
Because that demon brought a drought, the people call it Han Kui (drought beast).”
So Ah Heng was called Han Kui who is legendary demon of drought (not beast)
Koala's translation of chapter 43 of LYF:
Xiang Liu and the young man quickly sparred before breaking apart again. The young man’s chest was rising and falling rapidly while his eyes were locked on Xiang Liu, who looked very relaxed and said with a laugh. “Xiao Yao, don’t you recognize this little beast?”
...
The young man said, “I am Left Ear.”
...
Xiao Yao went in and asked, “What do you think of Left Ear?”
Zhuan Xu said, “He’s a wild beast that cannot be fully tamed, but he will be completely loyal to the person he decides on. Xiao Yao, do you really trust him?”
相柳和少年快速地过了几招，不过一瞬，已经分开，又恢复了对峙的情形，只不过少年胸膛剧烈起伏，目光冰冷骇人，相柳却很闲适，微笑着说：“小夭，你可还认得这只小野兽？” (小 = little 野兽 = wild beast, wild animal)
Koala's translation of chapter 18 of LYF:
Xiao Yao sat on the pallet. “Do you know who the owner of the hut is?”
Jing could tell Xiao Yao knew. “Who?”
“That most infamous, vicious, brutal devil monster in the entire vast wilderness. I flipped through the books in the Sheng Nong library and read that the Sheng Nong Flame Emperor deemed Cao Ao Crest a forbidden area because of him.”
There were a lot of demons, beasts, and monsters in the vast wilderness that were called brutal and vicious, but to earn the “most infamous” moniker there was ever only one such person. “Qi Yo?”
“那个名震大荒、最暴虐、最凶残的大魔头。我翻看过紫金宫内收藏的典籍，神农王就是为他才把草凹岭列为禁地。”
这世上魔头有很多，可名震大荒，配得上“最”字的只有一个，璟十分意外：“赤宸？”
Tong Hua used the word 魔头[mó tóu ] [devil head] which usually implies to very bad, evil person, [a devil]. 魔头 can be deity or mortal or demon.
Xiang Liu is alway 妖怪 (demon), he is not a beast or monster. Same to Ah Heng.
I think that Kaola tried to avoid using the same words but she/he forgot the classifying function of those terms (which related to races, spiritual cultivation status)
To clarify these terms, it's best to check the original term in ChineseH19279:
Demon = 妖怪 [yāo guài]
Beast or Animal = 兽 [shòu]
Monster = 怪物 [guài wù]
The word 怪 means monster or devil
I will give the original text for some examples and I think Kaola did not translate those terms consistently throughout the books
Thank you for the clarifications and translations!
AH :
Koala's translation of chapter 18 of LYF:
Xiao Yao sat on the pallet. “Do you know who the owner of the hut is?”
Jing could tell Xiao Yao knew. “Who?”
“That most infamous, vicious, brutal devil monster in the entire vast wilderness. I flipped through the books in the Sheng Nong library and read that the Sheng Nong Flame Emperor deemed Cao Ao Crest a forbidden area because of him.”
There were a lot of demons, beasts, and monsters in the vast wilderness that were called brutal and vicious, but to earn the “most infamous” moniker there was ever only one such person. “Qi Yo?”
“那个名震大荒、最暴虐、最凶残的大魔头。我翻看过紫金宫内收藏的典籍，神农王就是为他才把草凹岭列为禁地。”
这世上魔头有很多，可名震大荒，配得上“最”字的只有一个，璟十分意外：“赤宸？”
Tong Hua used the word 魔头[mó tóu ] [devil head] which usually implies to very bad, evil person, [a devil]. 魔头 can be deity or mortal or demon.
This reminds me of 大木头 / 大魔头 from Love Between Fairy and Devil. ^^
Tong Hua used the word 魔头[mó tóu ] [devil head] which usually implies to very bad, evil person, [a devil]. 魔头 can be deity or mortal or demon.
Xiang Liu is alway 妖怪 (demon), he is not a beast or monster. Same to Ah Heng.
Interesting that Ah Heng became a 妖怪.
Did Tong Hua ever use 妖怪 for Chi You? Or did she only use 魔头 and 兽王?
@AH
Thanks for your perspective. Perhaps I can provide a little more insight into why TH uses the words 'beast' and 'demon' interchangeably for Chi You. To understand this, you have to delve into who Chi You is and his narrative within Hmong/Miao folklore and Chinese mythology.
Thank you for these details!
Tong Hua seems to have taken the demon king narrative and changed him to be a gorilla as his true form, calling him the king of beasts.
Chi You's true demon form in Once Promised was a gorilla? Does that mean he is related to the gorilla mirror that XY stole from the nine-tailed fox? I remember the Yellow Emperor recognized the mirror, so I figured it probably featured in Once Promised in some way.
Good points! I still think kindness is also mixed up in there too.
Yes. There is kindness - maybe the better term would be pity. There was a quote during the earlier chapter (1 or 2, I can't recall exactly) that stated that because their relationship started from pity, WLX/XY is quick to soften towards 17/Jing. Pity was also a huge driving factor in that scene where she kissed his scars. I believe this was after she found out about the way FFYY treated him.
Most definitely, XY's bad habit of testing Jing and XL, is straight up annoying.
Her need to be in control/call the shot, her habit of testing people and her refusal to be the one to take the first step are all part and parcel of her insecurity. Her sending the crystal ball to XL was probably the only instance where she took the first step in any of her romantic relationships.
XY tells CX that Jing was the only one who kept making advances towards her despite all their difficulties.
She said essentially the same thing when her mother asked her why Jing - "because he the only one who'd never left me". Tong Hua stayed consistent in this aspect with the character of XY - abandonment issue, needing someone who will never abandoned her. She gained a little courage when she sent to crystal ball to XL, but she reverted back to her original stance and went back to Jing. Her abandonement issue never really went away. Not much character growth in this novel.
In the novel, the forced kissing scene happened after they came up from the dive into the pond (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm too tired to reconfirm this scene in the novel), so it felt like she was coaxing and reassuring Jing—he literally said, 'she didn't have him in her eyes.'
They were two separate scenes. The first was outside the Dragon Bone Prison following the meeting with Xiang Liu. The second was at the pond (H19279 posted about this a few posts up) where they went swimming and she attempted to give him air like XL did with her.
She has maids, palaces, and money, but she can't even afford the luxury to confess to XL or the freedom to play pretend, even if she wanted to. But with Jing, she has no social obligation to her family or status, so she could confess, she could even play pretend to love him, and no one will bat an eye.
There were definately more obstacles between her and Xiang Liu then her and Jing. The only obstacle with Jing was his grandmother's insistent on his marriage to FFYY. From a social status point of view, she and Jing were a good match. He also wasn't an enemy to CX/her family. Although, I think the biggest obstable for XY still comes down to her being scared of XL dying and abandoning her.
Did Tong Hua ever use 妖怪 for Chi You? Or did she only use 魔头 and 兽王?
I have checked several chapters which mentioned Chi You but TH did not use any specific word which could give any hint to his race. In LYF, Chi you was either referred by his name, or recalled as a man, wild man (from Ah Nian) and 魔头 (vert cruel person)
-------------
Tong Hua seems to have taken the demon king narrative and changed him to be a gorilla as his true form, calling him the king of beasts
Chi You's true demon form in Once Promised was a gorilla? Does that mean he is related to the gorilla mirror that XY stole from the nine-tailed fox?
I read Once Promised in Vietnamese and I don't have the Chinese novel to check. However, in the translated novel, Chi You was describled as an orphan who lived in the wildness, among wild animals. Chi You told Ah Heng that since the moment he had awareness and understanding of surroundings, he had already lived among wild animals. At some point, he realized that he was not as similar as the animals in the forest. Those had same kin but he didn't. Thus he was curious about the people living in the village nearby. He stole things from villagers such as wine because he saw them being happy after drinking wine. He tried to approach them but was chased by them.
Jan Emperor also recognised that he had been abandoned and living in the wildness who could understand the Nature Laws of Earth and Heaven.
Since he could understand and control the wild animals, Baili tribe (or Jiuli in 2013 version) called him King of Beast (兽王). Chi You originally didn't come from Baili. He was chased and he came to Baili where he helped the local people and they swore to protect him.
When Jan Emperor met him, Chi You had very limited speaking skill. He did not know much the language.
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