Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 blabla100:

Now I am thinking if the reason why XY recorded XL's face in her mirror was the same as Jing's when he asked WXL to let him see her real face. She was also quite worried about XL's real face în chapter 19, if I am not mistaken. Worried that that might not be his real face.  Reminds me of that scene when she recognized XL after chasing him în the casino. 

Drawing on XL's face was her most glorious moment in life until then - she recorded it

recording his figure in the first time of discovery the beauty of the sea: all the joys for her in one place (XL, the water and swimming). She really likes his handsomeness (his hair, his face, his smile) and XL was in relax mood at that time (after successful planting of lovers' bug- he got the confirmation of her love for her. Unfortunately WXL didn't know what did it means)

 liddi:

the Xuan Yuan soldiers closed in on the last man standing, Hong Jiang

Interesting that they kept this. 

 liddi:

RS (shouted out the order): Stop! Everyone retreat immediately.

Puzzled, all the soldiers came to a halt before making their retreat warily. A regretful look flashed across Hong Jiang's face.

An interesting adjustment and add. 

 liddi:

RS: Xiang Liu, we come face to face at last after battling for so long. Why don't you reveal your true form to us?

Hong Jiang revealed his true face. It was Xiang Liu indeed. His awe-inspiring reputation struck all the soldiers with such terror that they drew back involuntarily.

Ah, but they were always going to have XL be XL in his last moments. 

I think this is a good adjustment. The visual of Hong Jiang being struck full of arrows, with only his corpse turning into XL's true form for a moment before disintegrating into black blood, would not carry the same weight as seeing XL in that moment. 

 liddi:

(solemn) Now, the Xuan Yuan Great army is everywhere, and there is no means of escape. Why don't we set aside the past, and have a good talk. As long as you are willing, I am authorised by His Majesty to promise you a princedom, a life that is carefree and unfettered.
XL (his eyes coldly swept over the dead bodies of the Shen Nong soldiers that covered the ground): Back then, if Gao Xin and Xuan Yuan had been locked in a fight to the death where the Gao Xin kingdom was destroyed, would Lord Ru Shou have surrendered when Cang Xuan offered great rewards in exchange for your fealty?

Glancing at the bodies of the dead Shen Nong soldiers, Ru Shou fell silent.

XL (faint smile): Since Lord Ru Shou, you yourself could not do it, why take the trouble to make things difficult for me?

Ru Shou looked at Xiang Liu wordlessly, respect, admiration and regret in his gaze.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. 

XL wasn't offered this option, at the point where all of his comrades were already dead, in the novel. 

Would XL in the novel have accepted such an offer while surrounded by the bodies of his comrades? IMO, he would not. So I'm not put off by that.

It's more... on the one hand, yes it seems like he has nothing left to fight for. All his comrades are dead. But then, he's fighting for the one thing he always fought for. Loyalty. And it's a bit insulting that Ru Shou would make the offer in this context, surrounded by the bodies of XL's comrades, and suggest that XL would betray his loyalty to them in that last moment to save his own skin. I guess that's the point of this scene. To help the viewers rationalize XL's ending?

And then I also just feel slightly annoyed that all this chit chat is breaking up the intensity of XL's last stand compared to the way it was relayed by Miao Pu in the novel, with no chatter. Just the battle and the orders that Ru Shou issued. Which felt more dramatic and poetic. 

 liddi:

His six-headed demon form appeared in the sky while the blood lines transformed into a criss-crossing formation that spread outwards, killing many Xuan Yuan soldiers. In an instant, howls and screams resounded across the land.

RS (yelling): Fire!

Their faces tense, Ju Mang, Yu Jiang, Chishui Xian and Li Yuan commanded their armies to continue shooting the arrows.

Countless arrows breached through the formation, hitting Xiang Liu, and the six heads in the sky collapsed one after another in death, a tragic sight.

At last, Xiang Liu died, but his expression was unmoved, his body remained upright, standing tall.

It sounds like they will show both humanoid XL and the heads of his true demon form simultaneously? 

That's not consistent with how I pictured his true form working... it feels like another change, similar to the change they've made to show the loss of each extra life through the loss of one of his heads in his true demon form. But I guess it will answer questions the viewers otherwise might have had about how many lives XL had left, and when he lost them. 

 liddi:

Chishui Xian stared at Xiang Liu, eyes filled with hatred, intending to advance. Many of the soldiers also started to move.

Changing things so that Xian was present for XL's final stand and then specifically taking a moment to focus on her anger and hatred towards XL (even his death didn't quench her desire to get revenge for Feng Long?) like this... People who watch the drama and then go read my fic are going to feel weird about her role now.

 liddi:

The only one left on the slope of the mountain was Xiang Liu, white robes torn and bloodstained, quietly standing in the midst of the poisonous black fog billowing on the ground. Xiang Liu's face was peaceful, his eyes downcast with lips curved in a faint smile, gazing at something between his fingers. A spotless, crystal-clear pearl was held between his fingers, his eyes filled with tenderness.

So... he's still alive at this point, even after the noxious black fog was emitting from him, Ru Shou declared him dead, and Ru Shou's army had evacuated? I really hope the order of events in the drama is crystal clear. If XL's death scene ends up being undercut by confusing sequencing... that would be very upsetting. 

 liddi:

Xiang Liu's body slowly collapsed, and the pearl between his fingers transformed into a string of tears, falling down drop by drop on Xiang Liu's face.

The logistics of a pearl in his hand turning into tears on his face also seems... challenging. I really, really hope it ends up working well on screen. 

 liddi:

which incorporates his internal monologue from the epilogue, with minor changes to make up for the chart of the ocean not being adapted in the drama

 liddi:

Part of your body flows blood from a nine-headed demon, so you can freely roam in the vast oceans; you now have a place to go, and need no longer be pursued by others, with no place to call home.

I really liked the symmetry of the three physical gifts that XY could hold in her hands that represented each of XL's abstract wishes / gifts. Her bow and arrows representing the archery he taught her as a means of protection. The ice crystal ball scene hidden inside the big-bellied laughing doll, altered to show a man holding the mermaid's hand, representing TSJ - the man that XL returned to XY so he could be a person that she could rely on. And the sea map jewel representing the ocean that was now a place that XY could always go thanks to XL's blood transfusions. 

I'm sad to see that symmetry lost, but more upset that they took away XL selflessly saving TSJ's life and returning him to XY, and XY choosing, after XL's death, to go to the ocean. 

 liddi:

At the road in Qingqiu, Xiang Liu deliberately frightened Xiao Yao away with his ferocity, watching her retreat step by step into Tushan Jing's arms.

I am glad to see that the drama will be making it clear (since so many viewers were confused) that XL was deliberately pushing XY into TSJ's arms in this scene. 

 liddi:

And Xiang Liu's death will never not hurt.

Maybe I've built up the novel too much in my mind, but the emotional impact of the leaked script scenes, even this one, by comparison doesn't even hold a candle to the novel for me. 

The leaked images from the film set were heartbreaking though. So hopefully the actual scenes will do some justice to it. 

 liddi:

Leaked script Ep20 scene 14 - Xiang Liu's death scene

Thank you for translating liddi! Really appreciate it <3

Thank you for all the translations, liddi! ❤️

 HeadInTheClouds:

 H19279:
Unlike FL, he could comply with the clan's protocol of not involving the politics.
i asked AH this in another post, but the Tushan's clan creed is to stay out of politics, correct?

Some extra information about this that I just saw beside my previous post about the protocol from Jing's grandmother's POV Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance - Page 412 - Lost You Forever - MyDramaList 

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Zhuan Xu explained “The Four Great Clans have survived tens of thousands of years by keeping their bloodlines flowing with one main principle – do not get involved in any political battles. That suits someone like Jing, but it hampers someone with ambition like Feng Long. He is already sick and tired of his clan elders nagging. I need Feng Long, but he also needs me. With a sage ruler, but without a wise official, no great deeds can be accomplished; without a sage ruler, even the wisest official can have no future. Only when a sage ruler pairs with a wise official can an empire be built that will last for generations.”

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

Everyone looks out for their own family, their own clan, their own tribe. The Four Great Clans appear so lofty and not involved but actually carefully guards their own territory and reach. Look at those Xuan Yuan elders, like butt poor farmers who finally had a good harvest but afterwards guarding their haul anxiously afraid of anyone stealing it.(Chapter 27)

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Xiao Yao said “It can also mean more trouble. Years ago the Grand Madam didn’t approve of me because she didn’t like the trouble I brought. I remember you Four Great Clans have a rule not to get involved in politics.”

Feng Long laughed “Xiao Yao, do I look like someone who abides by clan rules? If you are afraid my grandfather will object, I can assure you that he’s no Grand Madam. The Chi Sui clan is the head of the Four Great Clans and thousands of years ago Her highness Lei Zhu even borrowed soldiers from us! Without the Chi Sui clan’s assistance, there might not be a Xuan Yuan Kingdom today! If I want to marry you, my grandfather will be ecstatic!” (Chapter 28)

 MengXiang:

@kokuto

Do you have link to where he talks about his dad. I really really want to see that last scene. TJC is an amazing VA.

Here go. 

https://youtu.be/zldwsA3jeyo?si=eBzf8WAXbfs37I3B

Susu also did an English sub, with slightly different word choices, if you want to compare.

https://x.com/tlmssusu/status/1735655095860338797?s=20

This place is hopping! Nothing brings on the debate like those pesky Lovers bugs. I revisited this thread 100+ pages back and it's still the usual suspects discussing. The only one MIA is liddi :-). I'm gonna miss you ladies once this whole thing is over. 

As always, thank you liddi for translating. I don't know if I'll be able to watch the death scene when reading it alone already had me tearing up :-(

 H19279:

As someone written, XL was her poison and Jing was the antidote; XL caused her pain, she would come to Jing since he was the pain-relieave. Desire, emotion that XL brought to her but she could not do anything, she applied it on Jing. Most of her emotional line, acitivities with Jing was followed by an event with XL. 

I agree, and I think this pattern was established as early as Chapter 2. XL opened her hard shell, and she opened up to YSQ afterwards. I don't think XY was in love with XL in chapter 2. So I think that opening up to YSQ in Chapter 2 was genuine and was not to fulfill XY's hidden wishes that were brought upon by XL. But it is interesting that this pattern was repeated many times in the novel starting from Chapter 2.