Chapter 43, titled "日日思君不见君 - Thinking of My Beloved Daily to No Avail," unfolds shortly after Jing's disappearance, on the night XY was supposed to marry him, but instead, married the moon. While it may seem like XY is looking for and missing Jing on the surface, it's clear that deep down, the person she's actually searching for and yearning for is XL.solarlunareclipse:
Thank you for you interpretation of this conversation. XY and XL had always shared doublespeak since she became a princess. The more harsher XL became the harder to decipher the doublespeak. In reading your excerpt, it does make their relationship more sadder because they can't even share sentiments and the moment, they waver, it would've spelled a tragedy.
Your interpretation also goes to prove that Jing, in the end, was just a plot device.
Not that I can recall. The one thing she did say on a Weibo post in Oct (not sure what year it was) is that:HeadInTheClouds:
The female protagonist's choices had always stemmed from her psychological shortcomings, and her psychological state was closely related to her development during her childhood and youth, which is commonly referred to in psychology today, as "family of origin".
She stayed pretty true to this. The minimal character development and the choice of Jing right to the end pretty much showed this. I can't even complain that TH lied to me - she warned us.
But Jinger's always gloss over this snippet and jump straight to the "it's not a tragedy" line. But despite it all, LYF is still a tragedy by definition despite TH's feelings about it. Many authors have written books without ever setting out to write tragedies and was still received as a tragedy.
Chapter 43, titled "日日思君不见君 - Thinking of My Beloved Daily to No Avail," unfolds shortly after Jing's disappearance, on the night XY was supposed to marry him, but instead, married the moon. While it may seem like XY is looking for and missing Jing on the surface, it's clear that deep down, the person she's actually searching for and yearning for is XL.
Welcome to the thread!
Ah yes, some YaoJing were trying to appropriate the moon for Jing, when it's always been a symbol of XL.
After XY nearly got crushed by a vortex, XL arrived just in time to save her. It was strongly implied that this had been her hope all along, considering she knew the East Sea was like XL’s home. After being rescued, XY desperately clung to XL, pleading for him not to go. Both physically and emotionally drained, they lost control of their inhibitions, and XY allowed XL to intimately drink from her neck.
OMG. Wait a sec. So, after that 'ghost bride' nonsense Jingers were trying to sell us, where XY declares she's married to dead Jing, blah blah blah ... XY willing steps into a trap so she can get rescued by XL, she sees XL's true form and this is immediately followed by the epic make out scene and cuddle on the beach?? Is that the sequence of events?
ahahahahahahahahah Jing who??? LMAO!
Lord have mercy. I thought the getting drunk and falling asleep on her wedding night was hilarious. OMG. It's just too funny.
At this point, the following conversation takes place. During this conversation, XL personifies the traits of being 嘴硬心软 (Zuǐyìng xīnruǎn), hard-spoken but soft-hearted. He employs harsh words to push XY away, preparing her for a life without him.
This has always been the way he tries to ... encourage XY. Even when she lay in a coma after the first assassination, and XL sacrificed a life for her, he spoke 'harshly' telling her to live or he'd feed her to fish ... or was it cut her into pieces for his various heads? He's more of a tough love kind of guy, rather than someone who coddles. But that's why he's empowering, rather than depowering, like Jing.
Xiao Yao walked to the edge of the ship and looked out at the wide expanse of the ocean, the wind whipping her red wedding dress around her like a dance, and the red sunset behind her illuminated her vivid color so much that the red dress looked like blood was dripping from it.
XY is telling XL that she stands by the blood oath they took when they accepted the Lover’s bugs. She doesn’t want to break their connection.
When I read this scene, I also see her father Chi You, in his red robe, which is also the symbol of a lover's oath.
I really regret getting my life connected with a stupid woman as you! I beg of you, before you die from idiocy can you find a way to break our bug link first!”
You are in a dangerous situation, targeted by individuals for selfish reasons. But remember, your death will have enormous consequences for those who care for or rely on you. Meanwhile, my situation is worsening, and my days are numbered. We must to find a way to break the bug link so you won’t die when I inevitably do.
Ah! So, he did NOT know how to break the Lovers Bug link when he accepted the bug -- as I thought.
This is the song XY was singing when she and XL first met. The ocean symbolizes XL, so she is singing the song for him. The lyrics convey what she wishes to express to XL but lacks the courage to say directly.
EXACTLY what I've been saying forever! That is not a YaoJing song. It's a YaoLiu song!
XY understands that no matter how much she wishes for it, XL won't change his mind and choose to accompany her. She accepts that she must walk her own path.
Arrrgh! XY still hasn't learned. XL isn't going to be your doormat. He wanted to find a path both of them could have walked together, but she wanted him to walk where she told him to. SMH
If you believe XY ever had XL as an option, which I personally don't believe so, than why do you think she didn't pick him?blabla100:
Because Jing cut everyone off with the 15 Year Dragon Bone Prison Promise.
Because XY knows he is CX's enemy.
Because XY is afraid and makes decisions based out of her trauma.
Because XY doesn't make the first step and makes decisions based out of her trauma.
Because XL didn't offer, after she rejected him on the beach.
I think I am one of the very few readers who believe XL was the ONLY choice, but one which XY was to afraid and cowardly to make. In addition, I also believe, all the reasons listed by Kokuto, were just lame excuses XY gave herself out of her cowardice. The way I see it, XY wasn't an angel and have proven to lie, reengage on oaths etc...so anything other than taking a courageous step forward, was just her waiving her trauma card for a free pass. Where as, Jing was like a default setting.
Ooh yes, that too. Although for me that chapter is pretty mixed. There's good moments like that, but then there's things like TSJ grabbing XY to stop her from following XL.AH :
Yes. It's times like these that I wished Furball ran into navigation issues when sending Xiao Yao back after the 37 years, and took just that much longer to reach the destination, unfortunately not in time before a certain someone expired. Gah.
If you do end up reading Once Promised, please let us know if you come across any interesting tidbits. Especially if they relate to LYF!
Will do. After translating excerpts from two chapters, I am definitely looking forward to reading it even more.
For the longest time, I could not stop crying whenever I read or watched Scarlet Heart, which totally killed me, but it was always with a sense of inevitability and fatalistic resignation. On the other hand, LYF and a particular Nine-headed Demon left me under such a cloud of prolonged sadnessliddi:
Scarlet Heart was sad, but it didn't leave me with a lingering sense of regret and sadness in the same way that LYF did. I think Ruo Xi and 4th Prince had their time together, they knew how the other felt, so despite the ending, they tried. LYF on the other hand, I just feel very very sad for XL. It's that sense of unfairness of it all - someone so good and gave so much deserved to have love and happiness. I don't necessarily hate his choice, but yeah...it's hard to describe.
P/S: in the Vietnamese translation, they use "chim liền cành chẳng rời xa nhau" which is also wrong or mistyping. It should be "cánh" instead of "cành"H19279:
Probably mixing up chiêm liền cánh, cây liền cành. Sloppy work.
I checked the Vietnamese novel and they left out the Jian birds - they talked about birds in the sky but didn't specify them as Jian Birds. For something that is the "official" work, I find it really disappointing. The fan translation does a better job of staying accurate.
As such, using the ji'an birds for the YaoJing poster is yet another appropriation from YaoLiu, when the birds were never used in association with YaoJing in the novel.
They are determined to appropriate everything by the look of it. Using this on the poster is a small potato compared to having XY comparing Jing to the moon amongst other things to push the YaoJing relationship.
Thank you for the translated excerpts on this Jian Birds subject :-Đ
11 hours ago
Kokuto:
Kimiya78:
1) WXL never saw XL or his face before meeting him, then after the mask melting how could she possibly recognize him?
Everyone knows XL is a white haired demon.
No-one knew how XL looked like. The rumor about he had white hair was not mentioned . Lao Mu had never encountered high-ranking official of Sheng-nong before. They only knew XL was a 9 headed demon who was ruthless, cunning etc.
WXL awared that that man had high ranking in the army because other soldiers called him "Lord"; additionally, he had exceptionally high spiritual power, he had powerful, special riding animal, and wore special outfit. And he also dealed with paperwork/document.
Beside the above clues, WXL could guess XL's identity due to the impression of his look
At this time he was holding a document in one hand as his eyes were lifted in scorn. He sensed Xiao Liu looking at him and smiled towards Xiao Liu who shivered and immediately shut his eyes. That look he’s only seen once when he was small, it was the way the famous demon in the wilderness looked at her, it was the look that only someone who had stepped on countless corpses could give off. Xiao Liu guessed who he was, that legendary handsome beyond compare murdering evil devil the Nine-headed Demon – the one with nine-lives Xiang Liu. (Chapter 2)
+1 for H19279's explanation.
Kimiya78, you are not alone in being confused by that scene because the drama presented it in a way that was confusing and made it seem like WXL was recognizing XL as someone she had seen before when she had not ever seen him before. IMO, the drama did a poor job of adapting that moment and made it more confusing for people who haven't read the novel than it needed to be.
Many of the idea about life and death which was highlighted in orange text (up to chapter 29) is XY's perception and opinion. And we all know that she had psychological shortcomings. Thus her view was abnormal. Her thinking is very negative, persimistic.
To be honest I've never liked the translation "psychological shortcomings" when describing XY. In English it sounds to me like an attempt at politely referring to someone with brain damage or delayed development and often seems like it's used to write off any thought or action of hers that fans don't agree with. I tend to substitute that phrase, and instead think of her as someone who has been traumatized and acts like it.
I agree that some of her views can be described as negative and pessimistic. I would also say that some of the other characters' views could be described as negative and pessimistic at times. That's more or less why I was thinking of them and wondering how their long lifespans might play into their views. But yeah, the trauma that most of the characters endured is another factor that probably plays into it.
For example, in chapter 26, she wondered about meaning of life when it was not possible to control birth and death. “Life! Death! We can’t control our birth and can’t control our death. Sometimes I think since we can’t control the biggest two things in our lives, why fight for all the little insignificant things? It feels so pointless!”
On the opposite, CX said “Dummy, can’t you look at it from another angle? Because we can’t control life and death, we have to fight to control the others so that everything between life and death is fully under our control."
Thanks for adding this exchange to the list.
Although I would be cautious about concluding that XY had an abnormal pessimistic view here and CX had a normal, more positive view. In that exchange he's trying to cheer XY up (as he says so himself), so I imagine the position he expressed might not perfectly reflect his actual views.
-----
Chapter 26:
Xiao Yao watched until Se Mai Er’s figure was gone from sight and she turned to look East where Qing Shui Town was, and beyond that, where the vast ocean lay. Xiao Yao murmured, “Lover’s Bug?”
Xiao Yao had so many thoughts going through her mind so she sent Shan Hu and Miao Pu back first so she could slowly walk up the mountain path back to Zhi Jin Summit.
Seeing the looming grandeur of the Palace, Xiao Yao suddenly felt extremely fatigued, so fatigued she might shatter. She wearily sat down on a stone step.
The mountain breeze was quite strong and she started to get cold but Xiao Yao still didn’t want to move. She stared in a daze as the sun set and the leaves continued to fall.
Zhuan Xu walked up behind her and draped his own cloak around her “What are you thinking of? An entire afternoon thinking and you still don’t have an answer?”
“I thought too much and couldn’t figure it out, so I stopped thinking. Actually, life is really futile. No matter how strong and powerful, there are two things in life that cannot be controlled.”
Zhuan Xu raised his eyebrow. “Oh? What two things? Do share!”
“Life! Death! We can’t control our birth and can’t control our death. Sometimes I think since we can’t control the biggest two things in our lives, why fight for all the little insignificant things? It feels so pointless!”
Zhuan Xu laughed. “Dummy, can’t you look at it from another angle? Because we can’t control life and death, we have to fight to control the others so that everything between life and death is fully under our control. For example, you’re not happy right now and I’ve decided that no matter what I will make you happy again.”
Because of the last thing Zhuan Xu said, everything felt meaningful again. There was a hint of laughter in Xiao Yao’s eyes but she pretended to be all stern and said, “Fine, you make me happy then!”
XL's view about life is much more positive, loving the life and enjoying life despite his hard life (including the life in Sheng Nong army, witnessing countless death). Xiang Liu’s voice spoke, “As long as there are such sights in this world, then life is very precious.”
Despite the hardship that he had endured, XL was still capable of appreciating beautiful views like the full moon rising over the ocean. And he was able to be a more relaxed version of himself when he was FFB. But "much more positive, loving the life and enjoying life" seems like an overstatement to me. A pretty significant one. And in that particular scene, WXL noticed that XL was in a bad mood and commented on it more than once.
I would also note that XL taking WXL to see the moonrise and making that comment seems like him responding intentionally to XY's earlier words.
In a previous scene, WXL noted that she felt like the gods favoured humans because they had shorter lives. No matter how beautiful the moon is, one would get tired of looking at the same moon after a thousand years.
And then earlier in the same scene as XL's comment, he asked XY how she endured her 30 years of captivity and she told him that she tried to escape, then she tried to kill herself, and finally when those attempts didn't work she tried to find joy in her situation.
So it seemed to me that XL's words ("As long as there are such sights in this world, then life is very precious.") were about him trying to convince her, and maybe also trying to convince himself.
When XY responds that such views are only meaningful when one has a companion to share the view with, he doesn't agree, disagree, say anything that might suggest he would share such views with her in the future, or respond at all. I took that to mean that he probably didn't disagree with her position, but didn't want to say anything that might create any expectations that he couldn't meet in the future (his usual MO).
-----
An abridged version of the excerpt from my earlier comment:
Xiao Liu looked up at the moon and there was an indescribable sadness in his eyes. “They say the Heavens favors the tribes of the Gods, but I think it favors the humans. They are just like the Gods in every way except their lives are so short in comparison. Look at the moon, it’s been there like that for the last thousand years. No matter how beautiful a sight, one will still get tired of it.”
...
Furball was flying slow and evenly while Xiang Liu looked out at the horizon, his face like the still water, without any emotion. Xiao Liu asked, “You’re in a bad mood?”
Xiang Liu quietly asked, “Those thirty years you were locked up in that cage. How did you endure it?”
“In the beginning I wanted to escape. I would yell, try to upset it. Later I stopped and just silently refused to cooperate. I tried to kill myself many times but never succeeded. Finally I gave up and tried to find joy in my situation. I would make bets with myself as to what nasty new thing the evil fox would bring. I loathed him and hated him with every fiber of my being. I started collecting materials to try and make a poison, thinking that when he ate me I would eat the poison first and poison him to death.”
...
After some time, a moon rose from the edge of the ocean and the quiet beauty was so powerful that Xiao Liu felt the hard shell around his heart soften. In the sound of the ocean waves, Xiang Liu’s voice spoke, “As long as there are such sights in this world, then life is very precious.”
Xiao Liu nattered, “The most precious of sights will get old after seeing it too much. Only if someone views it with me. Views are dead, only if a person can appreciate it then the view has meaning.”
It wasn’t clear whether Xiang Liu heard what Xiao Liu said, but he didn’t respond. The most beautiful view had passed and Xiang Liu summoned Furball to take them back. Xiang Liu closed his eyes and there was exhaustion in his brows. Xiao Liu asked, “Why are you in a bad mood?”
The donkey meat seller who was a veteran for sure suffered from PTSD.
I don't know enough about PTSD symptoms to weigh in on whether he had it or not, but the text does seem to be pretty clear that he was haunted by memories of his fallen comrades.
I don't know if Xang Liu also suffered from PTSD
Ditto.
but for sure he was afraid of that. All those ceased soldiers carved in his mind.
Yeah, that was my impression too.
Moreover, death for righteousness, loyalty to the country is consider great value in Confucianism. Thus, as a soldiers, death for the country, their belief is much more honor than death because of dease or old age (when he told WXL in Sheng-nong camp during medicine crisis). However, he only said out loud that the best ending for a general is death on the battlefield in chapter 29 when maybe he lost all hope in XY. Moreover, we also can see XL's choice is similar to Samurai's spirit and its well-known Samurai's suicide. I watched some movies about Samurai and most of the time I can't swallow the reason they committed suicide
I personally didn't feel like XL's death was about patriotism or loyalty to a nation (Shengnong) that wasn't his, and that it was mainly about camaraderie, loyalty and dying a soldier's death. Like Chang Yi, he could not abandon his comrades and he was willing to die for loyalty and camaraderie. I also don't think he was all that interested in other people's views about honour, but he did seem to operate according to his own personal honour code and set of ethics, and that probably played a role in the end that he chose for himself.
I felt like XL's thoughts were heavily hinted at and his ending was already being foreshadowed in chapter 5 with the funeral pyre scene, the blood-soaked sunset image, and his comment that if the soldiers were going to die (as every person eventually must), they should die facing the Yellow Emperor's army, because they were soldiers. Tong Hua made a point of having XY think back to the blood-soaked sunset image in chapter 29 before XL makes his death-on-the-battlefield comment (among all the other foreshadowing that happens in that chapter), and then the foreshadowing continues in chapter 35 when XL talks about his comrades and XY makes a mental comparison to the circumstances of Chang Yi's death.
Really? I wouldn't think very many demons were in the army, since there would have been less contempt for XL as a demon if there were. Plus, didn't XY say demons weren't suited for the army? That she was surprised that XL had overcome / suppressed his demonic nature to be disciplined enough for the army?Kokuto:
I get the feeling that the powerful deities, if they were in the army, would be generals, leading the troops.
In chapter 2, it's noted that the whip that was used to give WXL 40 lashes could make even the most devious demon soldier capitulate (suggesting that there were multiple demon soldiers serving with the remnant army) and that the soldier who administered the whips had such a strong arm that he had once killed a demon solider who was over a thousand years old (older than XL) with his whipping.
Not all, but a significant portion of XL's treatment seems related specifically to his nine heads and nine lives, which apparently seemed to make him come across as particularly strange and scary compared to other demons (and that was probably amplified by Xuan Yuan propaganda, since he was their most difficult enemy). My guess is that that was why he declared the subject of his nine heads to be taboo, but didn't have any problem with anyone mentioning the mere fact that he was a demon.
-----
Chapter 2:
Two soldiers dragged Xiao Liu out and Xiang Liu calmly said, “Whip him. Twenty lashes.”
The army’s whipping can make the most devious demon soldier capitulate. That was how painful it was. And the man Nine-lives Xiang Liu sent to whip him had a shockingly strong arm. Once with just one hundred and twenty lashes he killed a demon soldier who was over a thousand years old. The whip was as thick as an oxtail and it came down in snaps as Xiao Liu yelled, “I’m done thinking! Done thinking!”
-----
WXL wasn't surprised that a demon like XL was serving in the army. She'd known that he was a demon and that he served before she even met him. But she was impressed to see how disciplined he was when it came to training his men, especially to fight for a cause that seemingly had nothing to do with him, as that would require overcoming his default nature in order to do something the he might despise.
-----
Chapter 5:
Xiao Liu wanted to laugh but didn’t dare in case he made Xiang Liu angry. He raised his head to look at the stars. “You are a demon. To help out the completely unrelated Sheng Nong, is it worth it?”
Xiang Liu laughed, “You can waste your time taking care of a bunch of losers. Why can’t I waste my time doing pointless things?” Xiao Liu smiled “You’re right. In this long life, one has to find something to do. Fine, let’s go see him.”
...
In the morning, Xiang Liu left. So Xiao Liu climbed on the pallet and kept on sleeping. There was the sound of organized chants and hollers from outside, initially it was interesting but after some time Xiao Liu wished he were deaf. Day after day, year after year, these repetitive army exercises were boring but needed to keep the blade sharp and morale high. But was their determination worth it? The soldiers wanted to protect their homeland, to protect their people, but they were now hiding in the mountains without either a homeland or people to protect.
Xiao Liu was suddenly rather impressed with Xiang Liu. Demons were by nature wild and untamed, refusing to follow rules and authority, and definitely no desire for status. But Xiang Liu reined in his rebellious streak to live a mundane daily life doing what might be something he utterly despised. When Xiang Liu finished training the soldiers, he returned to the hut.
My understanding is he had never seen an officer several levels lower than XL, thus it was almost no chance to encounter XL.
That's how I read it too.
Lao Mu hadn't even seen a lower level officer, so forget / don't even mention someone as high-ranking as Xiang Liu, because he definitely hadn't seen someone like that!
However, it was strange that he did not know and mention this particular XL's habbit
In what context would Lao Mu mention it? WXL reassured Lao Mu that he didn't have to worry, the risk that WXL would encounter XL was miniscule. It would be a bit weird for Lao Mu to then say, "But just in case, keep your eyes peeled for a man dressed in white, because I've heard XL always wears white." That information doesn't seem particularly beneficial or relevant, given the way their conversation went. And from a writing perspective it would just make the conversation feel like it was ending weirdly.
Thank you for sharing this, as well as the original poem by Tao Yuanming.
Thank you too for the excerpts that gave us clues as to the characters' mindsets with regards to life and death.
You're welcome!
I don't remember whether it was shared on the thread, but I translated it for my daughter when she was reading the novel, and it was pretty much similar to what you had:
This body is entrusted to the rivers and mountains, Life and death is insignificant.
Once the breath is gone, the soul will dissipate.
Gains and losses are no longer known, How is one aware of right and wrong?
After thousands of years have passed, Who is aware of the honour or disgrace?
The word "生" can mean "give birth to", or "life". In the context of 生死, it always means life and death.
Thanks for sharing!
I would like to point out a discrepancy in the translation in Chapter 35:
AH :
Xiang Liu laughed and pointed at his head. “I’ve lost count, but they are all here.”
The actual text says this, which meant that he kept them in his heart, and more than just his memories of them, what kept him on that tragic inevitable path to death was the bonds of comradeship and affection that he had for them:
“不仅仅是为了义父，还有并肩作战、同生共死的袍泽，我们一起喝酒，一起打仗，一起收殓战友的尸骨……”相柳看向案上的灵位，“几百年来，你能想到我究竟亲手焚化过多少袍泽的尸体吗？”
小夭无法想象，可她能理解相柳的意思，就像四舅舅，明明能逃生，明明深爱四舅娘和玱玹，却选择了和袍泽一起赴死。这世间，有些情义，纵然舍弃生命，也不能放弃。
相柳微笑着，指了指自己的心口：“我也数不清了，但他们全在这里。”
"Not just because of Adoptive Father. There are also all those brothers in arms I fought alongside with, shared life and death with. We drank together, went to battle together, collected our fallen comrades' bodies together...." Xiang Liu looked over at the altar on the table. "Over the past hundreds of years, can you imagine how many of my fellow brothers in arms I have had to personally cremate?"
Xiao Yao could not imagine but she understood what Xiang Liu meant. Similarly, Fourth Uncle clearly could have survived, clearly loved Fourth Aunt and Cang Xuan deeply, yet chose to die along with his fellow soldiers. In this world, there were some ties of comradeship that could never be abandoned even if it meant sacrificing one's life for it.
Xiang Liu smiled and pointed to his own heart. "Even I have lost count, but they are all in here."
-- Vol 3 Ch2 (Chapter 35)
Oooh thank you for mentioning that! Pointing to his head (in Koala's translation) made me think that he definitely remembered all his comrades and probably cared about them a fair bit, but pointing to his heart makes me feel like he definitely remembered them and definitely cared about them in a major way. Way more poignant that way!
Also interesting to see the implication that once someone he cares about is in his heart, they remain there forever, even hundreds of years after death.
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