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.liddi:
Lol. How did I miss this comment? I think this is the first time that I have seen you being so harsh towards Jing, liddi.
Unfortunately, I can't really blame Jing for the outcome of YaoLiu's relationship (not saying that you were). Manipulative and self-serving he may be but I don't think Jing was powerful or effective enough to come in between YaoLiu. He would have been a much more interesting character instead of a plot device if that was the case. No, it was XY who made her choice, can't pin this responsibility onto Jing. Both XY and Jing benefited from their relationship; both of them hold on to it. XY is not a victim here. And I can't believe that I just said something in Jing's favour.
He also didn't say FFB wasn't going to live to see another day (FFB is a playboy not a fighter). He said he wasn't always in the city, i.e. settled.Kokuto:
I'm out of the loop on this discussion, but just to chime in on this one point: Li Jie Chang knew that FFB was Xiang Liu. His words about "FFB" being here today with no guarantee of tomorrow were really about Xiang Liu, as XY realizes part way through the evening. Li Jie Chang was very familiar with FFB/XL and knew that he was a Sheng Nong solider like his uncle.
Li Jie Chang's comment and his uncle's sorrowful song both foreshadow XL talking about dying on the battlefield later on in the alley (and also saying that FFB's relationship with XY is only one of temporary companions). They also foreshadow how FFB/XL and XY's parting at the end of the night carries a heavy finality to it that marks the beginning of a period of deep loneliness and depression for XY. That parting and her looming marriage with Feng Long mark several endings. She won't get to hang out, care free, with FFB anymore. She won't be sending poisons to XL anymore. With the marriage, she is prepared to walk into another prison of her own making. Meanwhile XL will refuse all attempts to get him to switch sides or back down from his stance of fighting to the death and he will not respond to XY's ice crystal ball message. And although she doesn't know it yet, the next time XY sees FFB after that night will be when he interrupts her wedding with Feng Long in chapter 32... the last time she ever sees him before Xiang Liu "kills" him.
-----
Chapter 29:
Fang Feng Bei took Xiao Yao to a small alley and before they even got close she could smell the mouthwatering aroma.
Pushing open the tattered wooden door, inside was a rundown house with an one-armed old man holding a giant ladle standing in front of a big pot. He glanced at Fang Feng Bei and smiled. “What a rarity, hundreds of visits and it’s the first time you brought a friend. And a girl to boot.”
Fang Feng Bei smiled and walked through the house and out another door into a small courtyard. They sat down on the straw pallet while the one-armed old man brought them two bowls of seafood and meat soup along with a plate of large biscuits. He limped as he walked over to place it on the table.
Xiao Yao asked, “What smells so good?”
“Donkey meat.” Fang Feng Bei pointed to the old man. “He’s from the Li Jie tribe and the tribe’s specialty is stewing donkey meat. In the vast wilderness, there is no other who can cook donkey meat like he does.”
The old man brought a plate of vegetables for Xiao Yao. “Made this just for you.”
Xiao Yao wasn’t very hungry so drank and nibbled on the food. The old man sat down on a wood chopping stool and drank while talking with Xiang Liu. Xiao Yao wasn’t able to understand all they were talking about, other than it was about people they both knew and who were dead now. The old man’s attitude was very placid as was Xiang Liu, but in this soft muggy Summer night Xiao Yao suddenly felt the sorrow of having friends pass away.
In the quiet out-of-the-way alley, Li Jie Chang was walking and nagging, “Look at you! When the woman was there you didn’t even have the courage to show your face before her. Then you watched her leave with another man and can only look despondent.”
Jing said sadly, “What can I do if I show up before her?”
Li Jie Chang pushed open the wooden door. “Let me tell you, there are only three moves you need to deal with women. Rush up to her and toss her over your shoulder, take her home and deposit her on the pallet, take her clothes off and jump her! It’s a done deal just like that! You have to do as I tell you and I guarantee she’ll docilely follow you.”
Xiao Yao heard such ridiculous bravado advice and burst out laughing.
Li Jie Chang heard her laugh and scowled. “Which gal dares mock me? I’ll cart you home tonight!”
Xiao Yao laughed. “Try carting but don’t break your back!”
Li Jie Chang laughed out loud as he walked into the courtyard and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Xiao Yao and Fang Feng Bei. He first greeted Bei and it was clear from his tone of voice that they were quite familiar with each other.
Chang then turned back to chuckle at Jing. “It’s sure a small world!”
Jing stood there stiffly not moving while Li Jie Chang boldly sat down at another table and said to the old man. “Bring the meat.”
The old man put down his wine bowl and smiled as he stood up and said to Jing, “Sit!”
Jing walked over and sat down.
The old man brought them soup and biscuits before sitting back down on the wooden stool with his wine bowl continuing to chat with Fang Feng Bei.
Li Jie Chang grinned at Xiao Yao. “Hey! I say….Little Lady, what’s your name?”
Xiao Yao ignored him and put on a totally engrossed face as she listened to Fang Feng Bei talking with the old man.
Li Jie Chang said, “Little Lady, Fang Feng Bei is like that old man, neither are good stuff. Following Bei isn’t a good bet. Why don’t you seriously consider my pal here? My pal here was accidentally set up by a woman and a son resulted, but it’s not a mistake that can’t be forgiven….”
“Chang!” Jing glared at Li Jie Chang with his eyes blazing a warning.
“Your warning is useless, when I damn well want to talk I’m going to talk even if you put a sword to my throat.”
Li Jie Chang leaned over towards Xiao Yao. “There is no perfect thing in this world and everyone makes mistakes. Jing made a mistake but it’s not an unforgivable mistake. Think about it, because he made the mistake now he’ll never make the same mistake again. After marriage you won’t even need to worry about him! You try finding a man who has never made a mistake, and even if you do you can’t guarantee he won’t make a mistake after marriage. Then you’ll be even more upset!”
Xiao Yao asked, “Are you done?”
Li Jie Chang said, “No!”
Xiao Yao turned her head and poured wine for Fang Feng Bei, clearly not intending to hear more.
Li Jie Chang said, “You don’t like the wife and son in Qing Qiu, then just have another residence here in Zhi Yi and have Jing live here with you. Let me tell you straight up, Fang Feng Bei’s life is here today with no guarantee of tomorrow. Even Jing who made a mistake is a better choice than Fang Feng Bei……..”
Xiao Yao slammed her wine bowl on the table and gave Li Jie Chang a piercing look. “I’m already engaged and my fiancee isn’t him. So please, please, I beg you stop stepping all over Bei!”
“What?” Li Jie Chang was incredulous and howled, “Who is it? Who dares take my brother’s woman? I’m going to knock down with him! If he doesn’t cancel the engagement, then I’m going to break both his legs…….”
Xiao Yao laughed out loud and said coldly “Chi Sui Feng Long, you go talk with him then!”
“Feng Long…..” Li Jie Chang stuttered “You…..you are Feng Long’s fiancee? You are the Gao Xing Princess, Zhuan Xu’s little sister cousin?”
Xiao Yao glared at Chang and said to Fang Feng Bei, “You are sure even-tempered with this guy.”
Fang Feng Bei drank his wine and said casually, “Every word he said is the truth. I’m not a guy suitable for a woman to follow. Isn’t that something you already know?”
Xiao Yao stared at Fang Feng Bei and couldn’t utter a response.
The one-armed man stared at Xiao Yao and suddenly asked, “You are the daughter of the Xuan Yuan Princess?”
Xiao Yao turned to the old man “Yes.”
“Your dad is…..”
Li Jie Chang just called out that she was the Gao Xing Princess, didn’t the one-armed old man hear that? Xiao Yao quizzically answered, “The Gao Xing Grand Emperor.”
The one-armed old man stared intently at Xiao Yao before downing all the wine in his bowl and then launching into a song. His song was sad and plaintive, singing about the fallen Sheng Nong kingdom and the sorrow of the soldiers fighting.
Xiao Yao listened intently and suddenly remembered the blood red sunset when Xiang Liu was dressed all in white and walked towards her from a burning funeral pyre of dead Sheng Nong soldiers.
Li Jie Chang yelled, “Uncle, stop your drunken craziness!”
The old man kept singing so Li Jie Chang shoved him into the house and nervously said to Xiao Yao, “The old man has low tolerance but loves drinking. When he gets crazy he loves to sing songs he heard from places…..he only has one arm now and his legs can barely walk, he’s already useless…..”
Xiao Yao said, “I only came to eat. Once I walk out this door I’ll forget everything.”
Li Jie Chang was relieved and listened to the singing from inside the house and sadly added, “My Uncle isn’t a bad guy, in fact he’s too good of a guy which is why he….can’t forget.”
Xiao Yao suddenly realized that when Li Jie Chang was talking about Fang Feng Bei earlier, all the things he was saying were about Xiang Liu. Did he know Fang Feng Bei was Xiang Liu?
That meant Jing also knew now that Bei was Xiang Liu.
Xiao Yao looked over at Jing and then back at Bei before saying to Bei, “Are you done eating? If you’re done then let’s go!”
Xiao Yao and Bei walked out while Chang chased out after them. “Little Lady!”
Xiao Yao stopped and looked back wearily. “What else do you want to say?”
“Knowing your identity, what else can I say? I just wanted to tell you that Jing’s son was due to him falling into the trap set by Fang Feng Yi Yang and his own grandmother. All these years since Jing lives alone and he never allows Yi Yang near him. I use my life as Li Jie Chang to swear that Jing deeply loves you, he only has eyes for you.”
Xiao Yao turned and walked away. The night was quiet and the road was long – which way was her path?
Xiao Yao softly asked, “Bei, tell me…..why is it so hard to find a person to walk the path with?”
Fang Feng Bei said, “Finding a person isn’t hard, finding a person who shares the same interests, genuinely treats you well, and makes the journey more interesting, that is what is hard.”
Xiao Yao asked, “Can one never forget a person for an entire life?”
“Depends on the person. If you are talking about Jing, then I think it’s highly possible.”
“Do you mean he can’t forget me, or I can’t forget him?”
Fang Feng Bei smiled. “However you want to interpret.”
Xiao Yao furrowed her brows and angrily said, “There are a lot of good men left in the vast wilderness!”
“There are plenty of good men, but there aren't many who will really put you inside his heart.”
“What do you mean? So I shouldn’t marry Feng Long?”
“I don’t mean anything. You asked me so I honestly told you my thoughts.”
“Xiang Liu, I really don’t know, what is your heart thinking deep down inside?”
“You and I are travelers who have crossed paths in this windy world. Whenever we meet we are each other’s companions to enjoy the world is all! Why do you care what I think deep down inside?”
Xiao Yao mocked herself, “Yes, it’s my over-thinking! No matter what you feel deep down inside, none of it has anything to do with me!”
Xiang Liu stared down the dark alley and said nothing.
Xiao Yao was silent for a few moments and then casually said, “Jing knows you’re Xiang Liu now. He won’t tell my Gege but if Feng Long knows, Gege will find out. You… be careful.”
Xiang Liu stared at Xiao Yao and she avoided his piercing gaze and asked, “Who was that old man selling donkey meat?”
“He used to be a subordinate of Qi Yo and one of the survivors in the final battle in Yi Province. Carrying all the memories of those who perished, it’s easier just to have died.” Xiang Liu smiled. “Actually, to a General, the best ending is to die on the battlefield.”
It was a warm Summer night but Xiao Yao suddenly felt her entire body turn cold in an instant.
They arrived outside Little Zhu Rong’s residence and Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu both stopped at the same time. But one didn’t depart and the other didn’t go in. They just silently stood there.
In the past she felt they had so many opportunities to see each other, but it wasn’t clear when it began that Xiao Yao started to feel that she was seeing less and less of him. Until tonight, when this feeling became impossible to ignore.
After a few moments, Xiang Liu said, “You go inside!”
Xiao Yao wanted to talk to him but she didn’t know what she wanted to say. She said, “Now is not like before, you shouldn’t come to the Middle Plains so often anymore.”
Xiao Yao thought Xiang Liu would mock her, asking whether she was worried Zhuan Xu would kill him, or worried he would kill Zhuan Xu. But surprisingly Xiang Liu said nothing and continued to just look at her.
Xiao Yao quietly stood there waiting, but she didn’t know what she was waiting for.
Xiang Liu's cold voice spoke. “You go inside!”
Xiao Yao smiled and curtsied to him before turning to knock on the door. The door opened and Xiao Yao stepped inside while Xiang Liu continued to stand outside, white robe black hair, tall and proud, like the white snow on the black mountains in the North, even if it was covered with flowers it would still look imposing.
Xiao Yao couldn’t take another step and stood rooted in place staring at him as the door slowly closed and Xiang Liu disappeared from sight.
Xiao Yao returned to her residence to find Xing Yue and Ah Nian were both there trying on the items they bought earlier during the day. Seeing her back, both groused, “Good older sister, next time let us know before you suddenly disappear? Thank god the store clerk said you left with a friend so we weren’t left worried.”
Xiao Yao smiled and said nothing. The two continued to discuss their new outfits and giggled merrily. Xiao Yao laid on her pallet and felt her mind in a daze – these people were her friends and family, so why did she feel so lonely right now?
The day Zhuan Xu married the Wan Lei Consort, all the Middle Plains and Xuan Yuan prominent families gathered on Sheng Nong Mountain and all of Zhi Jin Court was abuzz with merriment.
Now Zhuan Xu was the Emperor so the officials handled everything within the palace leaving Xiao Yao watching from the sidelines. She initially worried about Ah Nian but found Ah Nian handling it well. She didn’t like it so she dragged Xiao Yao off early back to her residence. Xiao Yao kept Ah Nian company as she got drunk and the next day the two of them woke up around noon to find all the guests had departed and it was over. The only difference was another woman was now living on Zhi Jin Palace. But the Palace was big so a year could go by and they wouldn’t even run into her once.
Life returned to normal, Ah Nian remained happy as she kept the Yellow Emperor company because that meant she could see her Zhuan Xu gege every day as well.
Xiao Yao stopped practicing archery, likely after Zhuan Xu became Emperor the threat was gone so she stopped pushing herself so hard. She became very lazy and seemed uninterested in anything. All she liked to do every day was sleep, often past noon was when she woke. She had lunch and then went to visit the Yellow Emperor but would sit in his residence in a listless daze.
-----
Chapter 30:
Xiao Yao told her dad she didn’t want to live on Five Gods Mountain anymore but he wouldn’t let her leave. The father-daughter fight ended in a compromise, Xiao Yao left Cheng En Court and went to Ying Province Island.
In the past Xiao Yao was always in ready-to-fight mode as she earnestly learned her poisons and practiced her archery. After losing Jing and seeing Zhuan Xu ascend the throne, she had nothing left to lose and nothing left to protect. Xiao Yao deflated entirely and gave up her archery and didn’t study poisons other than to make poisons for Xiang Liu.
She had a lot of free time now and to pass the time she opened a medical clinic on the island.
-----
Chapter 31:
Life on Xiao Yue Summit was very languid and lazy.
Zhuan Xu said Sheng Nong Mountain was the same as Five Gods Mountain but that wasn’t true. Five Gods Mountain had no memories but Sheng Nong Mountain, Zhi Yi, Zhe Province, it all had lots of memories in each place.
Xiao Yao didn’t know if she purposely didn’t want to face the past or really was lazy, but she didn’t want to go anywhere. When Zhuan Xu suggested she open a medical clinic like she did on Five Gods Mountain, Xiao Yao wasn’t interested.
Every day Xiao Yao woke up after noon and then flipped through her medical books. Only when making poisons did she perk up slightly.
The Yellow Emperor saw her so withdrawn and suggested, “That boy from the Fang Feng family, his name is Fang Feng Bei, right? I see you guys get along well, how come he hasn’t come play with you these past few years? You can ask him to hang out together.”
It was better the Yellow Emperor not mention that, because afterwards Xiao Yao got even more uninterested even in making poisons. She spent every day sitting in a daze in the corridor.
...
The Yellow Emperor suddenly said, “I asked Zhuan Xu to find any way possible to get Nine Lives Xiang Liu to turn his allegiance to us.”
Xiao Yao bolted upright and stared at the Yellow Emperor.
The Yellow Emperor said, “All these years, using any method, any persuasion, any means available, he turned it all down.”
Xiao Yao looked back out into the dark distance and her face showed no emotion, no joy and no sorrow.
“Zhuan Xu ordered that two peaks in Sheng Nong Mountain be designated as off-limits and he has his own personal soldiers guarding it. You ought to know why he did that. Even though Xiang Liu saved your life, you don’t owe him anything.”
...
Xiao Yao sighed. “After the wedding I think it best if I go to Chi Sui Castle. It would be too complicated to stay here!”
The Yellow Emperor smiled and then sighed. Feng Long really was the man most suited for Xiao Yao, he can’t give her deep passion but he can give her a calm uneventful life.
The Yellow Emperor walked off but then turned back to see Xiao Yao sitting beside the window staring into the dark night in a daze. He coughed lightly and Xiao Yao appeared to wake from a trance, “Grandfather, you haven’t gone to sleep?”
...
Ever since Xiao Yao got engaged the Grand Emperor had her trousseau prepared already so all Xiao Yao needed to do was don her wedding dress and walk down the aisle. But the Grand Emperor requested that Xiao Yao return to Five Gods Mountain to prepare for the wedding before he would announce the wedding date to the entire world.
Xiao Yao knew why her dad did this, it wasn’t to adhere to wedding custom because her dad didn’t care about that. It was the request of a father who was worried and anxious over the future of his daughter and wanted to confirm her decision one last time. He wanted to be certain that Feng Long was the man his daughter wanted to entrust the rest of her life to.
Xiao Yao wrote back that she would return to Gao Xing after she did a final personal matter.
Xiao Yao went through Yu Jiang to contact Chi Sui Xian to ask her to dig up something that Xiao Yao asked her to bury a few years ago.
...
Four years had passed and now Xiao Yao needed to take it out. When Xian brought the ice crystal back, she placed it on a dish and it was covered with more ice so looked just like a regular chunk of ice crystal dug out from the North Pole.
Xiao Yao asked a master carver who spent three days and three nights to finally shape the ice crystal into a round ball.
The clear exquisite ice crystal, inside was the deep blue sea, and in the water were colorful little fish swimming and beautiful red coral. There was an all-white giant clam shell like a blooming flower and inside a beautiful mermaid sat on the clam shell. Her hair flowed like seaweed and her beautiful tail was half on the clam shell and half in the water. She had one hand on her heart and the other hand reached out towards the distance like she wanted to grab onto something or like she was calling someone to her. In the direction where her hand stretched there was a merman floating in the water. He appeared close to the clam shell but he was coldly staring outside the ice crystal ball so that it felt like he was actually in another world and not in the world of the peaceful isolated ocean with the mermaid.
...
The Yellow Emperor saw what Xiao Yao had made and he was so taken aback. He walked into the hut and carefully examined it for a long time. He said nothing other than to sigh, “Only you will waste such precious things.”
Xiao Yao stared at the ice crystal ball and said, “This is the last time.”
Xiao Yao wrapped the ice crystal ball in a demon bear pelt and sent it along with a letter inside a jade container. She went to the Tu Shan clan messenger shop and paid five times more than usual to deliver it as soon as possible to Qing Shui Town.
Inside the jade container was a letter with only one short message:
“In two months I am getting married. This is the last poison I will make for you. Please accept with a smile.”
-----
Chapter 32:
Feng Long was about to lead Xiao Yao over to kneel before them when suddenly a clear loud voice sounded that interrupted the proceedings.
“Xiao Yao!”
Everyone turned their heads and saw Fang Feng Bei dressed all in white walking in from outside calling out in a strong voice, “Xiao Yao, don’t marry him!”
Xiao Yao stared in a daze at Fang Feng Bei.
...
His one foot was out the door when Xiao Yao suddenly asked, “When did you find out I was getting married?” Due to her head being buried on her knees, her voice sounded muffled like it was coming from far away.
Xiang Liu didn’t turn around and his voice was cold. “Two months ago.”
Xiao Yao’s voice was shaking. “Why… why did you have to do it this way?”
Xiang Liu’s voice got colder. “Do you have any right to ask me why? The terms of the deal were discussed in advance. Whatever I asked, you would do!”
Xiao Yao said nothing and Xiang Liu left without looking back. When the door slowly closed behind him, it let out a soft thud. Xiao Yao remembered that when she was asleep under the ocean, every time the clam shell closed it would make a similar sound. Xiao Yao’s tears silently fell.
...
Xiao Yao walked outside and saw Xiang Liu standing in the courtyard.
His hair was back to being all white and fell behind him like a waterfall. The tree behind him had red leaves and the brightness contrasted so that he looked even more ethereal like untouched snow.
Xiao Yao sensed something but had to confirm it. “Where is Fang Feng Bei?”
Xiang Liu coolly replied, “He’s dead.”
Xiao Yao stared at Xiang Liu and her eyes were blinded in pain by his whiteness like a cloud and like the snow. Tears came to her eyes, Fang Feng Bei took her away and now Fang Feng Bei was dead and would never appear again. From now on, it was only Xiang Liu. That irresponsible man who did whatever he wanted, taught her archery, took her through the world seeking the simplest of pleasures… that man was now dead.
He once said that she and he were just temporary companions in this unpredictable life seeking happiness. He never lied to her!
Xiang Liu quietly stared at Xiao Yao, his face was like a ten thousand year old snow mountain, cold and inscrutable.
Xiao Yao abruptly turned around and grabbed a pail of water from the well and splashed the cold water on her face. When she lifted her head her face was all wet. she didn’t know if her tears came down and mixed with the water or was forced back and never fell.
2 hours ago
AH :
Thank you for clarifying that. Do you know the difference between 朱萸 (Zhū yú / dogwood) and 茱萸 (Zhū yú / dogwood) by any chance, or why Tong Hua uses two different terms?
I wonder if it is like the kanji for tree in Japanese.
木 = one tree
木 木 = woods/ trees
森 = forest
So, the difference is dogwood and dogwoods? Or dogwood and dogwood flowers?
That's a clever thought. Thanks to Chineasy, I know that the same approach applies to the equivalent characters in Mandarin.
茱 being a plural version of 朱 would definitely explain why 茱萸 is used for 茱萸花 / dogwood flowers instead of 朱萸花. But, unless I'm missing something, it wouldn't explain why Tong Hua used 朱萸 to refer to Zhu Yu (the person) in chapter 15 and 茱萸 to refer to her in chapter 50.
The term 魂飞湮灭 describes a soul that is scattered into annihilation [when a person dies], and is probably applicable here. I recall stories (e.g. Xue Yang from Mo Dao Zhu Shi / The Untamed) where people would travel the world to collect remnants of the soul 残魂 to piece together in hopes of restoring a certain character back to life.
Gathering shattered souls and consciousness to resurrect a dead person is not unusual in fantasy stories; different authors will have inventive ways of doing this. Considering that TH was planning on writing about the Ruler of the Underworld and the Guifeng Clan with their soul-restoring herbs, I would say that she was thinking about incorporating souls and resurrection into this world so it's not outside the realm of possibility that XL could be brought back. I've read many YaoLiu fanfic that incorporated the Guifeng Clan as part of XL's resurrection.
Nonetheless, I would be surprised how Xiang Liu was meant to leave his demon core in someone else's safekeeping, and still be able to go into battle the way he did.
There are many possible explanations for this so I wouldn't say it's a total deal breaker. It will all depend on how the author chooses to explain things. And because it's fantasy, often it's a case of "don't ask too many questions, and just go with it" :-). In some of the novels that I've read, the demon core can be seen as the most basic/primitive aspect of the demon - sometimes the removal of the demon core weakens the demon but doesn't necessarily kill them or render them unconscious or helpless. The demon core seems to be separate from the soul or consciousness/memories.
This is reminding me that someone mentioned in this thread that Ah Heng died in Once Promised (before the final battle) and Chi You somehow managed to find her soul and bring her back?AH :
Not sure if the rules would be different for a demon like Xiang Liu compared to a deity like Ah Heng, but I wonder if knowing more about Ah Heng's situation might shed some light on the rules in the Dahuang universe?
Yes. I think it was H19279 that provided an excerpt of Ah Heng's resurrection. It seems like TH was not averse to it, but then plans changed and the idea of resurrection and souls and other aspects that were typical for a fantasy world were minimized in LYF.
@liddiblabla100:
"Were you referring to the rumoured 2nd epilogue about Fangfeng Bei, which we are all meant to take with massive ladles of salt?"
However, if it was now Fangfeng Bei who came back to life, not Xiang Liu, and certainly without his memories, then he is no longer the same man, whatever his appearance.
I don't quite remember what was in this supposed 2nd epilogue, but it doesn't make sense to me that the person to be brought back was FFB. This character had no relationship with any of the characters in LYF - he was the persona that XL took on centuries before the events of LYF. Why not just bring back XL instead of going through the trouble of bringing back FFB - FFB's body and soul were long gone. Unless the idea was that the Guifeng Clan brought back XL in the identity of FFB and sealed XL's memories. This makes more sense because he is still XL, except one without the memories of his previous life which as the story progresses, he slowly regains.
Unfortunately, I cannot see Tong Hua ever making such an unassailable statement unlike the smoke and mirrors that was so much a part of her narrative in LYF, at the risk of losing a chunk of the LYF fandom.
Considering that the LYF's novel fandom is predominantly YaoLiu or XL's fans (at least the most devoted ones), I don't think they would be averse to this at all :-). And now that it has been adapted, money has been made from both ships sailing and the associated shipping war, maybe she would consider throwing a bone our way in another few years. A short story of some kind. With the devoted XL fans, they would probably read stories about him even without XY as long as his character remained intact and not butchered to hell and back.
Thank you for clarifying that. Do you know the difference between 朱萸 (Zhū yú / dogwood) and 茱萸 (Zhū yú / dogwood) by any chance, or why Tong Hua uses two different terms?
My apologies - there was a typo in my post. Both 朱萸 (the name) and 茱萸 (the plant) are pronounced the same but do not actually have the same meaning.
茱萸 refers to cornelian cherry or dogwood.
朱萸 (the name) is not a term in itself.
Individually:
朱 Zhu can either be a surname, or cinnabar / vermillion / bright red
萸 Yu refers to cornelian cherry / dogwood
As such, Aunt Zhu Yu's name could either mean "red dogwood" or include a surname (which is less likely)
Or why Koala sometimes translated references to that character as "Auntie Zhu Yu" and sometimes as "Auntie Ju Li"?
I can see no reason for it except perhaps for inconsistency or typos. Certainly all the texts that refer to her as Auntie Ju Li and Auntie Zhu Yu are the same - 朱萸姨.
EDIT: I noticed that the Chinese text you quoted from Vol 3 Ch17 (Chapter 50) refers to her as "茱萸姨“. Yet in other chapters, she was referred to as 朱萸姨. Is this from the original 2013 text or was there a typo from the web version? Certainly my 2023 physical copy consistently refers to Zhu Yu as 朱萸姨, not 茱萸姨. So it may be possible that the glaring inconsistencies were just due to typos during publication. Not for the first time, I wish I had the physical copy of the original 2013 version for comparison. Just placed an order for the 2013 edition - can't wait!
I'm not 100% sure, but I was under the impression that Zhu Yu killed herself more than 100 years after the "last" battle between Sheng Nong and Xuan Yuan. Perhaps more like 200 years after the last battle. So her death would have occurred well after the events of Once Promised?
That makes a lot of sense, and certainly explains why her death was not documented in Once Promised. Thank you!
I wonder how old XL was when he entered the death match arena? I assume he was old enough to have cultivated a humanoid form. Maybe somewhere in the realm of 200? And I wonder how long he was there before he escaped? My gut feeling has always been that he was there for years, but not as long as Left Ear (since XL left by escaping and was pursued, while Left Ear endured for 40 years as part of a bargain for his freedom).
I agree. We need to take into account the time he would have needed to cultivate into a human form, before he was caught as a child and forced to participate in death matches. The drama portrayed him as a youth when he escaped, so perhaps it was a little more than 40 years if not less. In the case of Left Ear, he was considered a young man when he finally won his freedom, so he was probably in the range of at least 60-70 years old by then?
Thank you for the translation! Love this scene... and the aftermath! ^^
YES! One of my all-time favourite chapters which speaks volumes about what remained unspoken.
Ooh great image! Thank you for sharing the name.
You're welcome!
And I was thinking about how a sea snake with wings (or a sea snake demon with a winged mount?) could live in both the sea and the sky / mountain peaks / tree tops.
That is the irony isn't it? He was originally a sea snake demon, but he has all but conquered both the oceans and the skies (with his winged mount). And Tong Hua specifically described him as the strongest in his battle against the maelstrom. The only thing that could take him down, did take him down, was his heart, and it was for those he loved and cared deeply for that he gave freely, unreservedly of himself, his lives.
Thank you for this little excerpt, liddi. I felt such a bang reading about XL's and his interaction with other characters. It would have been awesome to really get to know this character better - we barely get anything from his perspective in LYF because LFY was very much about XY and her perspective. The likelihood of TH returning to this universe is not really high. She seemed to have moved on and her focus for the past few years has been on drama land and screenwriting. Maybe she'll drop us a little short story in a decade or so time - once all the fans have mellowed out or are too old to go to war with one another anymore :-)HeadInTheClouds:
You're welcome. I feel the same - every description (even his fake one), every interaction of his, every glimpse, is so precious because there is so little of it as it is. My daughter was really funny when she read the translated novel, as she admitted to often speedreading through chapters just to try and get to the next Xiang Liu scene, but I certainly know where she is coming from and often feel the same way. And you're right. Even a short story, or just a vignette would send me over the moon. As for fans mellowing out or being too old to fight... I won't hold my breath, but we can always hope!
@blabla100.
I was reading this post of yours https://mydramalist.com/discussions/lost-you-forever/110123-xl-and-xy-story-and-romance-warning-spoilers?pid=2991013&page=517#p2991013 and we very much agree on most of XY's motivations, her feelings for Jing and XL. We just don't agree on XL's planning for a relationship future with XY.
XL went to see her, he tried to air kiss her as he did before but she refused. Giving that, he thought WXL took him for a fool and everything was all lies and basically a charade from her part.
If I remember correctly, you believe that XL accepted the bugs just to save XY from the bugs biting back, right? Why do you think he's trying to get her to kiss him in this scene? To see if she was deliberately misleading him as WXL? So he doesn't see her "you're not suitable to be in a girl's dreams" as a rejection of him or of her feelings for him?
That's what I had in mind when I read that supposed second epilogue, the idea of that clan wanting to revive the real FFB seems quite pointless to the story, but now that you mentioned it, it makes sense. I can easily see XL asking them to revive him after his death as a mean of gratitude.
Altough it's still quite confusing, whoever came with this idea, be it TH or some fans left out a lot of things. If Guifang clan sealed XL's memories, I kinda take that as poiting to the fact that it was XL's soul that got revived by using FFB's body, în the absence of XL's body, since his body got dissolved. Also, if XL's deal with the clan about being revived happened in the prequel, I am not sure if he even gotten to know FFB yet, so I don't know if it fits the time frame.
From what I remember, Xiang Liu escaped from the death match arena, was rescued by Hong Jiang and ran away again to the North Pole where he stayed for over 100 years. There he met Fangfeng Bei and took his spiritual blood and powers, then took over his identity and looked after his mother for 4 years until she died, before he joined Hong Jiang and the resistance army. As such, I would expect any dealings with the Guifang clan to only happen when he became Fangfeng Bei, and not before.
Since the excerpt of the prequel already shows Xiang Liu as part of the resistance army, then it stands to reason that he could have made the arrangement with the Guifang clan even then, before he met Xiao Yao. He was an active participant of an ongoing war, and he had already aligned his destiny with his fellow brothers-in-arms. As such, he knew there was a real chance he would die in that same war. Since Xiang Liu only said that Fangfeng Bei gave him his spiritual blood and powers, there is a likelihood the body was still intact, and Xiang Liu had kept it preserved safely somewhere in the North Pole all these years. So, the possibility of him repaying Fangfeng Bei by reviving him back into his own body after Xiang Liu's death is not entirely out of the question.
And honestly at the end of the day, for me it's easier to cope with the idea that it was XL who took the decision of not pursuing XY, rather than believing that XY chose someone like Jing over XL.
This is an interesting one. Why does this make it better for you? This is a genuine question because I'm honestly curious. I know that some fans want or choose to believe in a happy or at least non-tragic ending for XY because otherwise, XL's sacrifices to help XY's achieve her 3 lacks and his wish/hope for a happy, worries-free life for her would be for naught. I don't share in this sentiment. XL already did all that he could, whatever happened after he's gone doesn't take away what he has done. XY also needs to be responsible for the choices that she made - so whether she's happy with Jing or ends up regretting the road not taken, that's on her.
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