Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

Hibiscus - flower symbol for Bei

In my previous post, I have summarized the flowers which used as symbol for the main leads in LYF. In this post I am going to discuss about hair and haircare products used in LYF. 

First of all, it can definitely said that XY was obsessed with hair. In the novel, there are a lot occasions that male leads' hair were mentioned. This is particularly applied to XL. Whenever he appeared in the novel, his hair was always included together with his existance. 

Whose hair first appeared in the novel. It was YSQ's dirty matted hair in chapter 1. WXL paid care and patience to wash, dry YSQ's hair. 

玟小六看了看天色，估摸着还能再睡一个时辰，低头看了男子脏污的头发，皱了皱眉头，叫串子：“帕子、热水、水盆、木桶。”小六坐在榻头，脚下放了个空盆，他把男子的头抱起，放在膝头，开始为男子洗头。

Xiao Liu looked outside and figured he could still sleep for another hour. But then he saw the man’s matted hair and he furrowed his brow before calling for Chuan Zi “Cloth, hot water, basin, pail.” Xiao Liu sat down on the edge of the pallet, put his legs inside a pail, lifted up the man’s dirty head and placed it on his knees to wash his hair.
.......
小六的手势格外轻缓，把皂荚放在手里搓出泡沫，一点点揉男子的头发，揉透后，用水瓢舀了温水，顺着发根，小心地冲洗，待把污泥血渍全部洗掉，他拿了剪刀细细看，把不好的头发剪掉。
洗完头发，他的手指在头发里翻来摸去，低着头查看，感受到男子的身体紧绷，小六解释：“我是看看你头上有没有受伤。”

Xiao Liu's gestures were extremely gentle. He put the honey locust in his hands and rubbed it into foam. He rubbed the man's hair little by little. After rubbing it thoroughly, he scooped up warm water with a water ladle and rinsed it carefully along the roots of the hair. Waiting for the mud and blood stains to be removed. After washing it all off, he took a pair of scissors to look carefully and cut off the bad hair. After washing his hair, he ran his fingers through it, lowered his head to check, and felt the man's body tense. Xiaoliu explained: "I'm checking to see if there is any injury on your head."
........
小六不敢用力，换了好几块帕子，才擦干男子的头发，怕梳子会扯得他伤口疼，小六叉开五个指头，当作大梳，把头发略微理顺，让串子拿了干净枕头，把他的头放回榻上。

Xiaoliu didn't dare to use force, so he changed several handkerchiefs before drying the man's hair. He was afraid that the comb would pull the comb and cause pain to his wound. Chuanzi took the clean pillow and put his head back on the couch.

The above excerpt describled washing hair process that WXL used on YSQ because his hair was so dirty. He used Chinese honey locust (or soap bean) as shampoo agent to wash the hair. 

Figure 1. Chinese honey locust trea and its beans which is traditionally used in some asian countries such as China, Vietnam for washing hair. the bean can be boiled or soak in warm water to make reagent solution to wash hair. 

After more than 6 month, YSQ recovered and stepped out of the house to the yard for the first time. His appearance impressed Chuanzi and Mazi. However, WXL didn't pay attention on YSQ's look at all. It seemed that he was not so impressed by YSQ's beauty in general, including his hair (no futher expression of the hair style) 

还是第一次，他们真正看清楚他的模样。墨黑的长眉，清亮的眼眸，笔挺的鼻子，薄薄的嘴唇，简单的粗麻衣衫，却是华贵的姿态，清雅的风度，让麻子和串子一瞬间自惭形秽，不由自主就生了敬畏。小六揉着甘草说：“如果脚疼得不厉害，尽量多动动，再过两三个月应该可以离开了。

This was the first time that they really saw what he looked like. Long black eyebrows, clear eyes, straight nose, thin lips, and simple burlap clothes, but with a luxurious posture and elegant demeanor, Mazi and Chuanzi were instantly ashamed of themselves, and couldn't help but feel awe. Xiaoliu rubbed the licorice and said: "If the pain in your foot is not severe, try to move as much as possible, and you should be able to leave in two or three months. (Chapter 1) 

Then, the next occassion that hair drew XWL's attention happened in chapter 2. It was XL's hair

"A white haired man dressed all in white was elegantly sitting on a tree branch smirking in glee at the fallen condor. Xiao Liu silently sighed, the real danger has arrived. He threw the Jiu Jiu towards the tree knowing that with its quickness it could escape. Who know the Jiu Jiu tumbled and stood straight and frozen towards the man. It didn’t even have the courage to run away! If it wasn’t going to run, then Xiao Liu was off! "

"The man ignored him as he changed his robe and sat down at his desk to review documents. It was then that Xiao Liu finally saw his face clearly. White hair like the clouds that wasn’t tied into a bun but instead a jade-colored rope was used to tie it neatly back to let it fall behind his head. His face was so beautifully handsome it bordered on surreal. His entire body was so spotlessly clean it was eerie. " (Chapter 2) 

It's XL's white, floating like cloud hair drew his attention first. 

Xiao Liu looked at Xiang Liu – tonight he seemed different. His white hair was still not a strand out of place, his white robe was still spotless but appeared not as perfect as before “You’re hurt.”. (Chapter 3)

In the dark blue ocean depths, Xiang Liu’s white hair white robe was so elegant and refined as he swam, the white hair billowing behind him, making his already handsome face even more ethereally beautiful. (Chapter 13)

Everytime XL appeared, his figure, his hair looked perfect in WXL's eyes. The event when we could see YSQ helped WXL dry his hair happened in chapter 4 after Xiao Liu and XL gazed the moon on the ocean, on the way back, feeling XL's bad mood, WXL asked him to betray Gong Gong and XL tortured WXL to bleeding nose. WXL then fell off into the river. 

Xiao Liu walked onto his room and took off his clothes, drying himself before putting on clean clothes and burrowing under the clean warm blanket. Shi Qi entered with a hot bowl of soup and Xiao Liu sat up an slowing drank it and his body warmed up. Shi Qi took a towel to dry his hair and Xiao Liu leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Shi Qi looked and didn’t see any lip marks on Xiao Liu’s neck and his lips curved upward. Shi Qi finished drying his hair but didn’t want to stop so grabbed a brush from the table and combed through it.

Xiao Liu said softly “You shouldn’t spoil me. If I get used to it, what’ll I do when you leave.” “I won’t leave.” Xiao Liu smiled, millions made promises, it was hard to find one who kept them. If he was Shi Qi, it might’ve been easier, but he wasn’t just Shi Qi. (Chapter 4)

Xiao Liu had long forgotten to be angry and slowly turned around and rested her head on Shi Qi’s shoulder to listen to him talk. Shi Qi’s forehead was resting on Xiao Liu’s hair “I couldn’t open my eyes so I couldn’t see you. I could only sense. You didn’t want me to be afraid so told me your name. You didn’t want me to be shamed so told me jokes. You lightly wiped away my sweat and held me in your embrace and washed my hair which hadn’t been washed in three years. (Chapter 8)

“Xiao Liu, when I see you, I have no hatred and vengeance in my heart, only gratitude. I am grateful the Heavens let me live, let me have a still whole body, let my eyes still see, so that I can see you pretend to be stupid, let my ears hear, so that I can hear you complain, let my hands still work, so that I can help you dry your hair, let my legs still move, so that I can carry you. Xiao Liu, I don’t want revenge, I just want to be Ye Shi Qi.” (Chapter 8)

The first time WXL paid attention on Jing's appearance was after XY took the 15 year promise in the dragon bone prison. Below is her impression about Jing

此时，十七身着天青色的高辛衣衫，宽袍广袖、轻衣缓带、玉冠束发、足踏木屐，行走间，步如行云、衣袂翩飞，真正是明月为身，流水做姿。

At this moment, Seventeen was dressed in a sky blue high-intensity clothing, with a wide robe and wide sleeves, a light robe with a gentle belt, a jade crown tied around his hair, and his feet on wooden clogs. As he walked, his steps were like clouds, his clothes and clothes fluttering gracefully, truly embodying the bright moon and flowing water (Chaptr 8)

The WXL's memory of XL's hair is the hair characteristics itself (e.g., the loosen form, dancing like clouds etc) while the hair-linked memory with YSQ is haircare (e.g., washing, drying). Moreover, the scent connection between WXL and YSQ was medicine herb. 

That night, Xiao Liu walked along the stone path through the medicine patch to the river. He strolled along the river and someone followed behind him, speeding up and slowing down along with him. The Summer breeze brought the scent of hops and it calmed Xiao Liu down. He stopped and turned around. Shi Qi stood behind him wearing the same old sack cloth robe which had been laundered and now smelled like fragrant incense.

Xiao Liu said “I don’t like this scent on you.”

Shi Qi lowered his head and Xiao Liu smiled “I liked the smell of medicinal herbs. Next time when you come see me, I’ll give you a satchel of medicinal herbs.” Shi Qi raised his head and it was like stars had fallen into his eyes as it sparkled with hope. Xiao Liu smiled and kept on walking so Shi Qi hurried up to walk alongside.

Because Xiao Liu liked smell of medicine herb. Jing also used such thing for his hair. "Xiao Yao played with his hair, even sniffing it and being happy it smelled like her medicinal herbs. "(Chapter 16).

So by chapter 16, the haircare products used on Jing's hair only honey locust and medicine herb. Then suddently XY mention another way of washing hair:

Xiao Yao released the crown tying his hair up and his hair fell all around him. She put her hands in his hair and felt how smooth and strong it was. Xiao Yao asked “Does Jing Ye or Lan Xiang wash your hair now?”

“Neither.”

“Who else is serving you?” Xiao Yao wanted to jerk his hair off.

“Not used to it anymore, I wash it myself.”

Xiao Yao’s anger turned to glee and she lightly played with his hair. Jing was like a content cat being stroked. Xiao Yao secretly grinned “Last time on the sea when you leaned against the side with your hair scattered on your back, I wanted to touch it.”

Jing smiled and wanted to open his eyes to look at her but she put her hands over his eyes “No, stay like this.” If he opened his eyes, she would be embarrassed.

Jing obediently kept his eyes closed.

Xiao Yao played with his hair, even sniffing it and being happy it smelled like her medicinal herbs. Xiao Yao murmured “I haven’t washed your hair for you in a long time. Next time I'll wash your hair. I'll use the leaves of the hibiscus plant*. Pick them off early in the morning, soak them all morning, wash them in the afternoon, and then wash them again." The residual heat of the sun dries the hair, and it smells like sunshine and green leaves.” 

Jing smiled “Sure.” (Chapter 16)

Note: the original text is 用槿树的叶子. 槿used as a component of 木槿  (hibiscus plant)

The question is why she suddently wanted to try different way to clean Jing's hair which would leave different smell on the hair. How did XY get that idea? Who inspired her? How did she know that drying the hair under the sun the hair would smell like sunshine and green leaves?

Figure 1. Hibiscus flower and bush

At that moment she had been living in Xuan Yuan city for 20 months. Xuan Yuan city located in the North West of the kingdom where it was too cold to grow hibiscus. It was originally produced in the central and southeastern regions  of China.  [1] Shennong was in the middle plains where hibiscus could grow (Chapter 18, 19, 44). And Qing Shui town was in the south east of Xuan Yuan (next to the East sea and Gaoxin in the south of Xuan Yuan); hibiscus flower was among the fresh flowers in the court yard of Yu Shin’s residence in Qing Shui town (chapter 46). In chapter 8, the author used the word 朱瑾 which is a type of hibiscus

Feng Long stood up and waved his hand and a water based map of the entire vast wilderness appeared “Look at the location of Xuan Yuan Castle. Long ago, when the Yellow Emperor and Empress Lei Zhu founded the Xuan Yuan Kingdom and was picking its capital, they selected this place because it can control the Northwest. The Castle is ringing on all four sides by mountains and hard to get in and out which makes it hard to conquer. Back then the Sheng Nong Kingdom couldn’t ever vanquish Xuan Yuan. But now thousands have years have passed and Xuan Yuan is no longer a little kingdom in the Northwest. It’s now got the Northeast, the due South, the far North, and the entire Middle Plains. All such great lands belong to Xuan Yuan!”

Feng Long pointed to the entire Xuan Yuan map and where Xuan Yuan Castle was located in the remote Northwest didn’t appear worthy of being the capital of such a vast kingdom, and it’s location would become hard for it to exercise influence throughout all its controlled territories. .....

Feng Long was shaking with excitement “Give up Xuan Yuan Castle and come to the Middle Plains! The Middle Plains is the center of the vast wilderness. Seated in the Middle Plains is where one can control the entire vast wilderness. And if one day you want to lead an army South….” Feng Long pointed at the Gao Xing Kingdom and grabbed it “It would be a piece of cake.” 

According to [2],[3], [4] hibiscus leaves can be used to dye hair. And we know that FFB dyed his hair using medicinal herb.

她问道：“你不把头发颜色变回去吗？”
相柳说：“这颜色是用药草染的，不是灵力幻化。”
“为什么选择这么麻烦的方式？”
“第一次怕出错，是染的，之后习惯了而已。” (Chapter 26)

She asked “Aren’t you going to transform your hair color back?”

Xiang Liu said “This color is dyed with medicinal herbs, not spiritual power. ”

“Why pick such a hassle of a method?”

“The first time it was to avoid making a mistake, later it became a habit.” (Chapter 26) 

WANG TAO OF TANG DYNASTY

In the Tang Dynasty, people who wanted to turn white hair back to black, regardless of gender, were written by Wang Tao, a medical scientist in the Xuanzong period of the Tang Dynasty. It records many hair dyeing formulas from ancient times, which is also a reflection of people’s hair dyeing needs. for example: Hibiscus leaf detergent: Mash the hibiscus leaves to make juice, and wash your hair with hot soup and juice. 

The first time XL used medicinal herb to dye his hair. He went to Fang Feng family from the North pole. Thus, he might had bought the herb in Middle plains where the hibiscus grew (confirmed in chapter 18, 19 and 44). In addition, hibiscus might be available in Qing shui too. 

Fang Feng Bei walked in back of Xiao Yao and grabbed her hand, guiding it to follow his movements “Body straight, senses calm, focused and relaxed, pushing forward and following behind, bow cocked arrow flying!” With the word “flying” the arrow few out and solidly embedded in the tree.

“How does it feel?”

“Thinking of nothing, eyes not on the target, focused only on the arrow movement.”

“You have natural aptitude.”

Xiao Yao smiled wanly. It wasn’t that she had natural aptitude, it was that her body reacted the same way when Xiang Liu got close to her. She felt that he would bite down on her neck so her mind was blank. But if it was Xiang Liu, even if he was in cahoots with the Fang Feng family, there was no way the family archery skill would be passed to a Nine-headed demon. (Chapter 16)

But in the eyes of outsiders, Xiao Yao was getting very close to Fang Feng Bei. Because he was teaching her archery, there was an indelible closeness between her and him. (Chapter 16)

 She had been practicing archery with FFB for 20 months. Besides the archery, they also wandered around with each other. Therefore, they had been together for a lot of time. Imagine that if FFB used hibiscus leaf to dye his hair, XY and FFB practiced archery under the sun and they had certain itmacy, very close distance. She could detect and got used to the smell of his hair. And FFB had to dye his hair frequently to hide the white nature of growing hair. 

This assumption could explain the reason why XY suddently wanted to try hibiscus leave for cleaning hair. In addition, it is worth to mention the context why XY paid extra attention on Jing's hair where the above conversation took place. FFB and XY went to the casino where they encountered Left Ear and FFB told XY that he might had been a slave in the death arena. XY again doubted that FFB was XL (asked who he was, they have the same heartbeat). Right after that Jing and FFYY came across them. To avoid Jing, XY returned to Cao Yun peak for a few days and had discussion with Yellow Emperor about "husband topic" where XY asked him “Anyone I want? Even someone who is already engaged? Even someone who is your enemy?”. She thought about XL (enemy of her grandfather). In the morning of that day, during the archery session, XY had pointed the arrow to FFB and ask him again who he was. And later when they returned to CX's house, FFB asked her 

Fang Feng Bei asked half seriously half in jest “Why don’t you not be a Princess anymore and go wander the world with me?”

Xiao Yao giggled “Sure! If you can let everything go first.”

Fang Feng Bei chuckled while Xiao Yao stared at him. She felt like she called him on his bullshit. When she was wandering the world being a con artist, he was likely home tickling his maids!

later, when she changed her mind to abort the plan to go out with FFB in the afternoon, XY had the feeling as if " at any moment Fang Feng Bei would suddenly fly forward and bite down on her neck. "

All those details, event and feeling made her think of XL. Did she miss XL? The poem of chapter title demonstrated her lovesickness to XL[5]. https://mydramalist.com/discussions/lost-you-forever/121175-poems-that-was-used-for-chapter-titles-in-the-novel?page=2

Therefore, her interest in playing with Jing's hair might link to her longing of XL. XY removed the crown to untie his hair. She played with the hair. Why was she afraid Jing saw her while playing with his hair? Was that embarrassement due to Jing's look or becaus she thought of someone else? 

She asked Jing draw lotus and butterfly which all linked to her thought of XL. Her action, her thought at that time is just like her usual habbit of taking action that she could not do with XL and applying it on Jing. 

Actually this kind of psychological activity could be found in many movies when a man or a woman deeply loves or obsessed with his/her girlfriend/partner. And when the loved one left, she/he tried to find a new one who looked similar to the ex, tried to put the ex's habbit on the new one. A typical example in "Lost you forever" is XY's adoptive father - Shao hao, White emperor. He loved Ah Heng but he could not have her and they divorced. Later, he married to a deaf woman who looked very similar to Ah Heng. 

The hibiscus flower originally might linked to XL/FFB later was given to Jing.  I really wonder the actual role of Jing in her mind. Was Jing is just a replacement person that she could use to vent her emotion for XLout? Did the fact she cleaned Jing's hair with hibiscus leaves, playing with the hair express her desire to do similar thing to FFB/XL and her longing for him?

Jing replied "The last time you said... To wash my hair, the leaves of the hibiscus tree are already growing well. ”

Xiao Yao smiled and said, "Okay, let's go pick leaves on a sunny day" (Chapter 18)

----------------

A lot of hibiscus trees grew around Zhi Jin Court and Xiao Yao often picked the leaves to use to wash Jing’s hair.

She soaked the hibiscus leaves in water to create a fragrant bubble which she ladled over Jing’s hair. His hair was beautiful, thick and lustrous, smoother than silk, and Xiao Yao loved using her fingers to comb through it as she washed his hair.

Perhaps it was due to her always taking care of Jing when they first met, but Xiao Yao was very used to taking care of Jing now. On time she remembered the first time she washed his hair and couldn’t believe that the decimated near dead person was this man now. (Chapter 19)

------------------------

In chapter 44, XY was half unconscious and the red/pink hibiscus kept her awake. 

Xiao Yao's eyes were confused, as if she hadn't seen Left Ear at all, and muttered with a smile: "Hibiscus flower." ”

There is a bush not far away, full of pink flowers, I think it is the hibiscus flower that Xiao Yao said, Left Ear saw that Xiao Yao liked it, and he was busy picking a big bag and giving it to Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao's hand couldn't be lifted at all, so she picked up the most beautiful flower and put it in her palm. Xiao Yao said: "If the sun is good tomorrow, I will wash your hair, and you will also help me wash my hair... Don't forget to pick the leaves in the morning. ”

Left Ear understood that Xiao Yao was already delirious, and he didn't know what to do, so he could only say over and over again: "Get through tonight, Your Majesty will come as soon as the morning dawns, you hold on." ”

Xiao Yao looked at the hibiscus flower and kept smiling

The afterglow of the setting sun faded away, and the sky grew dark.

Xiao Yao's tears suddenly rolled down: "The hibiscus flower is gone!" Jing, I can't see you anymore!

.....

Beside the raging flames, the ragged and blood-stained Left Ear kept throwing dead branches into the flames, and a hibiscus flower bloomed like fire, and Xiao Yao laid under a hibiscus tree, and the skirt of her hand was full of hibiscus flowers.

CX ran past the hibiscus and shouted, "Xiao Yao! ”

Xiao Yao stared at the hibiscus flower and turned her gaze to Cang Xuan, her gaze was misty, her cheeks were crimson, and her lips were smiling sweetly.

......

However, just before she passed out (before seeing the flower), XL image appeared in front of her eyes. And when CX carried her, in her half-unconscious status, her body could not move but she tried to keep her face sticking to CX's chest to hear his heart beat. It was the heart beat that make her feel comfort. Who shared the heart beat with her? Who experience her heartache with her, using his heart beat to comfort her over many years? It was XL. She said she missed Jing but then begged that "Don't leave ... don't... leave..." If Jing was back, he would stay with her. Why was she afraid of that "he was leaving".  In chapter 49, when Jing came to Jade mountain, XY was in tear and said "you are back"... "Jing, you are finally back". That is the logical thought and reaction when she thought/saw Jing was back. The person that she was afraid of his leaving was Fang Feng Bei/XL. It was FFB who first made her aware of hibiscus flower. XL image flashed in her mind while talking with left ear but she hoped him become Bei (although it was all the same).

Left Ear heard her disorder breath and said, "You need to rest a little longer and not explain everything to me. I believe in your judgment."
Xiaoyao was in a daze, and Xiangliu appeared in front of her eyes. She said, "Sooner or later, you will become very shrewd and powerful. You no longer need me. I just don't want your changes to be without my participation, so while I can still teach you, I'll say a few more words!"
Left Ear was indeed very intelligent and immediately said, "Will I become like Xiangliu?"
Xiao Yao said in a daze, "I hope it's Bei, but... it's all the same! Anyway, no matter what you are like, I will accompany you on the whole journey..." (Chapter 44)

--------------------

Zhuan Xu carried Xiao Yao onto the cloud carriage. Her body couldn’t move but her face was tightly pressed to his chest “Jing, I miss you so much, so much……..Don’t leave………don’t leave……..”

Zhuan Xu placed his palm on Xiao Yao’s back and felt her weak heartbeat.

His face showed no signs of his exhaustion from rushing back day and night, but his eyes reflected endless sorrow. His voice remained gentle and firm “I won’t leave, Xiao Yao, I won’t leave! I will always be here!”

Xiao Yao listened to his firm beating heart and finally felt comforted. Jing was here! Jing was right beside her

Last, the ancient Chinese classic "Book of Songs" calls hibiscus Shun, which has the same origin as "instant", referring to its extremely short flowering period. In ancient Chinese literature, the hibiscus flower blooming in the morning and at dusk is often used as a symbol of the vicissitudes of the world or the easy age of the face [1]. This meaning is applicable for FFB who could only accompany XY for short time: "He once said – she and he were just temporarily companions in this unpredictable life seeking happiness. He never lied to her!"(Chapter 32). The vibrant color of hibiscus flower also matched well with the mortal, prodigal image of FFB. 

Reference: 

[1] 木槿 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 (wikipedia.org) / ] Hibiscus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 

[2] How did the ancients dye their hair? Chinese medicine has a prescription that will not change for three years after application? | 300 Questions about Chinese Culture | The Epoch Times - Archyde 

[3] 16 Effective Ways To Use Hibiscus For Your Hair (stylecraze.com) 

[4]Hibiscus rosa-sinensis - Wikipedia 

[5] the poem used as title for chapter 16 思郎恨郎郎不知

台湾竹枝词 梁启超 [Liang Qichao]

相思树底说相思，Under the lovesickness tree, I say I miss you

思郎恨郎郎不知。Think of you, hate you but I don't know my darling

树头结得相思子，The tree head knots bear lovesickness seeds 

可是郎行思妾时？But my dear darling, when do you miss me?

 blabla100:

Very good analysis, H19279, you summarized everything very well. XY is quite pitiful. 

I just figured out something and changed the post about hibiscus. This flower is special for FFB

@HeadInTheClouds @windiaaa041293 @blabla100

You're welcome. I may not be able to participate or translate as much, especially in the few weeks but will see what I can do leading up to it.

 blabla100:

Back cover

" The geese at the border have flown high but the person still has not returned, Only the wind and moon behind the curtain is carefree."

To me these fragments from vol 2 and vol 3 back covers sound similar to the Voodoo King's poem.  

The Voodoo King sighed “Our Jiu Li folk ballad sings ‘The twisted roots of the parasol tree entwine on land, the doves do not fly alone in the sky, the pair of mandarin ducks in the water always die together.'”

Just a quick note here. The Bai Li ballad does not refer to doves, but a mythical jian bird where each bird has only 1 eye and 1 wing, so it needs another bird to fly together with. Which in turn emphasises the love and co-dependence that they need in order to survive, to always be together.

@HeadInTheClouds

Love your analysis of Xiang Liu's appearance reflecting his inner qualities.

"I find it interesting that out of the 4 main characters, it’s Xiang Liu, the one who was born into the worst circumstances, with the worst childhood and with the worst reputation, who actually showed the purest heart and selflessness. We readers struggled with his decisions so much because we, like Xiao Yao and the other characters, are inherently selfish and weigh everything on the scale of gains and losses. So we find his choices and actions difficult to accept.
Maybe Xiang Liu had to die in the end because someone like him doesn’t or can’t exist in this mortal world. Or Maybe because he’d finally paid all of his debts or learned all of the lessons that he needed to move to the next stage towards enlightenment. Tong Hua does favour him; she allows him to achieve nine lifetimes worth of learning/paying in one."

And you just triggered more pain. I think for me, it is the pervading sense of injustice of it all on his behalf... why it had to end this way for him, when he had prepared the best possible arrangement for everyone else. He loved her so dearly that he would do anything he could to minimise her pain by keeping her as much in the dark as possible, but why? What about himself? He saw his own wishes less than everyone else's, or I would venture to say, his wishes was to fulfil the dreams of everyone he loved. And this is why I still cannot move on.

@H19279

Thank you very much for the insightful, in-depth analysis of the flowers that correspond to each character. Just goes to show there are so many nuances that can be found in the novel, if we knew where to look. I think the theory of the hibiscus is particularly obscure and not as easily perceived because it is so blatantly associated with Jing in her actions and words, but definitely holds merit with your analysis.

 Elise:

I just checked their profile and they were online 4 days ago. I'm guessing they moved on from the story :)

A wise Fei Fei. Unlike us mere mortals :)

But I'm now having a new-found sense of enjoyment of this story. Xiang Liu truly is the greatest character in this story so he needs to go out with a bang worthy of his greatness. Xiao Yao is completely undeserving of him, so I'm finally glad that she'll end up with that sorry, broken, emasculated wimpy fox and live a "not tragic" ending ('cause happy that ending certainly is not :D). And I'm even happier with all those interpretations that make it seem like she'll live a lifetime of regret and that Xiang Liu will always be a shadow on her relationship with Jing.

@blabla100

The swan symbolizes faithful love.
just like the story behind the poem title chapter 32.

 liddi:

"塞雁高飞人未还 The geese at the border has flown high but the person still has not returned," - Isn't the person who did not return Xiang Liu?

 blabla100:

Vol 3 思无涯 Unending Yearning (Miss You Forever)

Back cover

" The geese at the border have flown high but the person still has not returned, Only the wind and moon behind the curtain is carefree."

@Windiaaa041293

The bird mentioned in the poem at the back cover of vol 3 is 飞雁 . That is the same bird in the poem used for title of chapter 32 (摸魚兒－雁丘  -  (by Yuan Hao Wen) )

A famous pass on the Great Wall  in Shanxi China which appeared in many costume chinese dramas named after this bird 雁门关 , Yanmen Pass - Wikipedia 

In Chinese-English dictionary, it is usually translated as wild goose. 

秋 風 起 兮     白 雲 飛。

Qiū fēng qǐ xī bái yún fēi.

Autumn winds rise, white clouds fly,

草 木 黃 落 兮         雁 南 歸。
Cǎo mù huáng luò xī yàn nán guī.
Leaves turn yellow, wild geese return south.

蘭 有 秀 兮     菊 有 芳，
Lán yǒu xiù xī jú yǒu fāng,
Orchids flourish, chrysanthemums are fragrant,

懷 佳 人 兮     不 能 忘。
Huái jiā rén xī bù néng wàng.
I long for my lover, I cannot forget.

The poem is similar to poetry from 李煜 Li Yu, 《长相思·一重山》"Everlasting Longing, A Mountain Range"

 One mountain range, two mountain ranges, Faraway peaks against lofty skies and cold mists, Yearning like flaming maple leaves. Chrysanthemums bloom, Chrysanthemums wilt, The geese at the border have flown high but the person still has not returned, Only the wind and moon behind the curtain is carefree.

In fact, after watching "Zeng Promise", I always put Xiang Liu and Chi Chen together. In fact, as a demon race that is not recognized by the gods or humans, it is also a lonely and difficult way to survive. Their understanding of emotions is always a little different from ordinary people.

But the difference is that Chichen is a talkative, talkative, outgoing and confident. Xiang Liu has no mouth, and often does more than he talks. So I think some of Xiang Liu's ideas can be combined with Chi Chen's ideas to infer.

Chichen and Aheng said:

The separation was right in front of them, and Ah Heng felt that there were some things that she still needed to make clear to Chi Chen, "I only married Shaohao for......""

While Chichen was getting dressed, he said, "I don't care if you've ever been married, the problem between you and me is not Shaohao."

He turned back to look at Ah Heng, "Everything depends on you, what I want is your place!"

His palm was placed against Ah Heng's heart, "Are you willing to give me your sincerity?"

Ah Heng nodded vigorously.

Chi Chen smiled, staring into Ah Heng's eyes with bright eyes, "As long as you are willing to be sincere to me, that's all. All the difficulties in the world will recede!"

In fact, Xiang Liu has never regarded Tu Shanjing or anyone as his love rival, at least that's how Xiang Liu is in the novel. His attitude towards Xiaotian will always depend on Xiaotian's attitude towards him.

Xiaoyao sometimes feels that Fangfeng Bei is like a child who has been lonely for a long time. He has played with countless toys and has long been boring. Now that he has finally found a playmate, she can't help but can't wait to play with him, wanting to share everything with him. It looks playful, but it's actually the most sincere.

This paragraph actually reminds me of the conversation between King Shennong and Ah Heng:

King Shennong said: "Chichen likes you, have you thought about what to do?" Aheng raised his head in panic and hurriedly denied, "Chichen is not serious, he is just for fun and novelty."

King Shennong stared at Chichen, with fatherly kindness and worry in his eyes, "You are wrong, he is the most serious person in the world. His love is love, from the heart, without any distracting thoughts, and extremely sincere." A pair of swallows just flew above their heads , King Shennong pointed and said: "They seem to be frivolous. They just seek love every year and never promise to be together for the rest of their lives. But they will never leave each other for life. Your father gave your mother a grand wedding and promised to be together for life." How has he treated her these years?"

Ah Heng stared blankly at the swallows going away. After a while, he whispered: "I lived in the Baili tribe for a while, and found that the Baili tribe's believers only live in the present day., they think that as long as they are happy in front of them, it will not matter even if they die immediately tomorrow.