Don't feel too sorry for him, he's spoiled rotten! In exchange, he has to let me stick things into his hair. I think that's a pretty darn fair exchange. I told him that if he behaved himself, I might get him his own little girlfriend. She can deal with his grumpiness :-)HeadInTheClouds:
Lol, sounds like a fair exchange to me! Love the thought of grumpy doll!XL getting spoiled and his own little doll girlfriend. Wishing them a lifetime of worry-free happiness! ^^
That's the reality of growing up in a developing country. It wasn't so bad because I could see others going through one thing or another around me. I don't know if it built character, but it helped build my immune system. I'm as healthy as an ox and rarely take ill ̣(knock on wood ). And I have an iron gut. I think I've caught all the bacteria and viruses that are out there as a child, so now they just run off at the sight of me :-)
Glad there was a silver lining. ^^
This sounds like one of my friends. She always asked her hairdresser to thin it out for her because it's so heavy and difficult to manage. The good news is that you'll have plenty of hair to spare once you start losing it due to old age :-). It comes to all of us. Everything has a trade-off.
Fingers crossed!
The funny thing is that as a kid, I always wished for wavy/curly hair and resented my dead straight locks. It's impossible to style my hair because it tends to slip out of everything and curls will un-curled themselves after a couple of hours, if that.
Lol, the grass is always greener I guess? ^^
But now, I'm just thankful that I don't have to go through the effort. Curls are beautiful, but they seem like a nightmare to manage successfully.
Agreed, they seem like a lot of work. I'm grateful that my hair isn't curly on top of being thick. One of the two is more than enough.
@liddiZYHLJ:
Also, because of your encouragement, I started writing another LYF fanfic, a date between Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao, light comedy style, haha!
That's awesome!
After I finish it, I may open a separate thread for LYF fanfics. Everyone is welcome to come to create ~
Yes, Please create a fanfic thread. I won't be contributing because I cannot write for peanuts, but I will happily read other people's fan fiction.
Seconded! Always happy to hear about more fics!
YES. Your fic really helped to salve the pain because when she knew, there was such a calm resignation in her acceptance of that knowledge, and I love how she dropped item after item into the pool as a sacrifice back to him. And of course that last scene is worth all the heartache. Thank you.liddi:
Glad to hear that. I'm hoping that after S2 (eventually) airs, viewers will be inspired to write a bunch of fics that are cathartic or happy to help us all collectively cope with the pain of the ending.
Obsession is right. And you know you're in trouble when you actually bother to sit through a poorly acted, poorly scripted short film with all the makjang elements you can think of, just to walk away from this universe for a while.
Oh? Dare I ask which drama?
You're welcome! Hopefully I got the meaning across... sometimes the translation still doesn't come out quite right, or has a cumbersome feel to it.
Sometimes it's simply impossible to perfectly convey the original meaning with a translation. But it's always clear that your translations are careful and well thought out. I have no doubt that, to the extent that it is even possible to convey the original meaning, you've done so.
1 hour agoblimarch:
AH :
However, if WXL transformed into a female form, she would have to admit that her WXL form was not her true form. If she did that, she would have to explain how she could transform so seamlessly with her low powers, and she might end up being questioned (again) about her true identity. And she was hell-bent on not revealing her true identity.
Not necessarily: WXL could pretend that this new female form was her actual real form and XL wouldn't be able to separate the lie from reality. From what I remember, it's only because of the Jiu Jiu and because XL trusted this beast's instinct that he became suspicious of WXL. Otherwise, he couldn't see through WXL's seamless transformation.
If WXL transformed into a female form and pretended that that new female form was her true form, she would have to admit that her male form was not her true form (and that she had lied when she insisted that it was). The issue isn't whether XL would or would not know that the new female form wasn't her true form (even if she said that it was). The issue is that WXL insisted that her male form was her true form, and that form really did look like her true form. It was seamless. If she transformed into another form and that one was also seamless (and it would be), despite the fact that she had such low spiritual power, XL would almost certainly ask (as he did in chapter 6) how she managed to transform so seamlessly despite her low spiritual power. And WXL wouldn't be able to insist, again, that the new female form was also her true form to avoid the issue - because either her male form or her female form had to be false. They couldn't both be her true form.
As I said, that *might* lead to questions about her true identity, which XY probably would have wanted to avoid given how hell-bent she was on not revealing her true identity (with good reason).
When CX asked XY to reveal her true face to him in chapter 9, XY explained that she couldn't (because she didn't have the knowledge required to do so) by telling him and TSJ what she did know. She told them both all about her time after escaping from Jade Mountain, learning about her transformation ability, losing control of it, and learning to regain control of it from the nine tailed fox.
If XL asked XY how she was able to transform so seamlessly despite her low spiritual power, she wouldn't be able to give him a proper answer. She could maybe give him part of the answer that she gave to CX and just tell him that she discovered her ability while running away from demons that wanted to eat her, that she lost control of it, and that the nine tailed fox taught her to regain control of it, but it would be very likely that doing so would lead to further questions that she would not be able to answer without revealing details that could give away her true identity. And simply refusing to answer those questions would also re-open the issue of her suspicious / hidden true identity.
-----
Chapter 6:
Xiang Liu’s hand moved down from his neck, tracing his jawline, down his clavicle. Xiao Liu grabbed his hand and smiled. “I’m a man. Even if you like men, you should find someone better looking.”
“You’re a man?” Xiang Liu’s slightly blood stained lips curved upward. “If you’re a man, how did you lure the Jiu Jiu out?”
Xiao Liu blinked quizzically, “I don’t believe you can’t change your shape as well as your voice.”
“I trust a beast’s natural instinct.”
“If a beast’s natural instinct was so accurate, your Furball wouldn’t have been poisoned by me. There would be no such thing as traps, and hunters wouldn’t need to hunt.”
“What kind of transformation spell are you using? You have very weak powers but it’s completely seamless just like it’s your true form.”
Xiao Liu angrily said, “This is my true form!”
Xiang Liu stared at him, his eyes as dark as ink, and Xiao Liu’s heart started racing. He violently shook off Xiang Liu’s hand and then spread himself open like a dead pig headed to boiling water. “Touch me then, touch me. After you’re done then stop accusing me of being a woman!”
Xiang Liu glared at him. “I’m not interested in your false form.” He released Xiao Liu, turned and walked out of the pool to go lay on the pallet and continued healing himself.
Xiao Liu’s wildly nervous heart finally relaxed. He was already severely injured, plus Xiang Liu drank his blood, so his head was woozy and he laid down in the pool to also start healing himself.
Anyway, XL was ready to commit to WXL even despite her repeated lies and without understanding the true nature of the power that allowed her to transform this seamlessly. XL was certainly curious and suspicious about this power, but it clearly wasn't an obstacle for him to pursue a bright future with her. What's even more surprising is that he disregarded the fact that he knew so little about her before accepting the bug. I guess XL was ready to ignore the past of yet another suspicious healer from QST...
In the circumstances, XL was willing to tie his heart and his life to WXL through the bug connection, and that was a commitment of sorts. But when XL told WXL that she couldn't transfer the bug from CX to just anyone, he wasn't willing to tell her what those criteria were, as doing so and then offering himself as a candidate who met the criteria would have revealed his feelings. He also wasn't willing to tell WXL what kind of bugs they were (Lovers' Bugs), which also would have revealed his feelings. He wasn't willing to directly confess his feelings and he wasn't willing to make any promises to XY about being by her side long-term in the traditional sense (and not just connected to her through the bugs). Perhaps some take the view that he did not have the opportunity to do any or all of those things, but it's possible to point to the instances where he could have done so. Maybe it was because a direct confession wasn't his style. Maybe it was because he wasn't sure how to do so, even though he wanted to. Maybe it was because he never intended to let WXL know his true feelings or to have a long-term romantic relationship with her. Whatever the reason, I take the view that the commitment that he did make to WXL by accepting the Lovers' Bug was a limited one. Especially because I also take the view that, at least in the novel, XL knew from the get-go not only what kind of bugs they were but also that he was in the unique position of being able to break the bug connection after it was established as long as he was willing to sacrifice one of his extra lives. Meaning that the commitment he was making was not irreversible. He had a way out, which was important because it meant that if he got to the point where he knew he was going to put himself in a position where he was going to lose all of his remaining lives and fully die on the battlefield, he could break the connection with WXL first so that she would not be condemned to die with him.
Of course, all this thinking is based on the fact that WXL would be willing to regain a feminine form, which is pretty much hinted seeing what occured in Dragon Bone Prison between her and YSQ/TSJ.
WXL was not willing to expose a feminine form to XL as evidenced by WXL's refusal to do just that after being injured in Chapter 6 foiling XL's attempt to kill CX. When XL implied that he suspected WXL was a female, WXL fervently denied it.solarlunareclipse:
WXL was willing to regain a feminine form and commit to starting a relationship with TSJ because:
TSJ wasn't CX and her bloodline's enemy.
XY wasn't romantically attracted to TSJ so she didn't view it as a threat that TSJ would enter into her dreams (she would fall passionately in love with him).
XY believed TSJ would always put her first so she wouldn't have to worry about him abandoning her.
Regardless of whether XL confessed to WXL, he spectacularly failed every single one of the above criteria.
IMO, WXL was not willing to switch to a female form for XL OR for TSJ.
In the dragonbone prison, XY didn't promise TSJ that she would transform into a female form. TSJ promised to break his engagement and to return Ye Shi Qi to her within 15 years, and in exchange she promised not to let another man into her heart for 15 years.
She did not promise her heart to TSJ. She did not promise that she was willing to risk her heart, that she was willing to trust him or that she was willing to even let herself have hope when it came to him. She did not promise that she would take on a female form or that she would start a romantic relationship with TSJ after doing so. She warned TSJ that she was ruthless and wondered if he was aware. He assured her that he knew she would not let herself have hope first and that she would not trust first or give first. He assured her that he was willing to wait until she was willing to hope. WXL asked him what if she wasn't willing to do so for an entire lifetime, and TSJ responded that he was willing to wait an entire lifetime and if she was not willing for an entire lifetime he would still be happy as long as she did not disappear.
While they did not specifically talk about WXL changing forms, I do think TSJ's declaration (especially in tandem with his earlier declarations about never leaving her earlier in the dragonbone prison scene) can be read to include the idea that he was willing to stay by WXL's side for a lifetime even if she never transformed into a female form and was never willing to start a romantic relationship with him ,and that he thought that he would still be happy even in those circumstances as long as she didn't disappear.
IMO, XY was not willing to swap her male WXL form for a female form before her true identity was revealed (against her will when she mistook Ah Nian's mother for her own mother) in chapter 9. At least not right away. She was willing to let TSJ wait for her to be ready to have a relationship with him, which probably would have entailed her transforming into a female form, but she wasn't willing to make any commitments about doing so. Even suggesting that she might not be willing and ready to do so after an entire lifetime.
But after her true identity was revealed in chapter 9, XY wanted to return to her true form, even if her true form was ugly and disappointed others (e.g., her father, CX, Lie Yang, Ah Bi or TSJ). She was sick of all her false transformations and wanted to be her true self. So for her own sake (and not for TSJ's sake), she asked her father to help her return to her true form. She could have transformed into a different female form at any point after her identity was revealed, but she didn't do so. When she finally did change to a female form several chapters later (in chapter 12), it wasn't because of TSJ. It was because she was finally able to get help from the Royal Mother to regain her true form.
-----
Chapter 8:
Finally Shi Qi spoke. “I won’t leave you.”
“Why? Why not leave? Because of gratitude? I told you that you’ve repaid it.”
Shi Qi didn’t answer and stubbornly repeated, “I won’t leave you.”
“What? Do you want to stay with me for the rest of your life then?”
Shi Qi was silent for a moment and then said with absolute certainty, “My entire life.”
Xiao Liu sighed. “I’m a man. Don’t you think you’re being weird?”
This time Shi Qi’s response was immediate, “You’re a girl.”
Xiao Liu actually felt Shi Qi had known for a long time that she was a girl, but how did Shi Qi know? “Why are you so certain? Even Xiang Liu being that smart can’t be absolutely certain I’m a girl.”
...
Shi Qi’s eyes misted with tears and it splashed on Xiao Liu’s hair, but his voice was filled with mirth. “When you carried me out of the tub, you didn’t even dare look directly at me before placing me on the pallet. You ran off even before you were done talking. How could I ever think you were a man?”
Xiao Liu hit him on the chest and groused, “You are so sneaky! And here I thought you were the most honest! I was hoodwinked!”
Shi Qi continued. “That day, I put on my clothes and walked out the door, standing under the sun feeling the outdoors I hadn’t seen in a long time. In the eyes of others it was just a normal thing to do, but to me it was a rebirth and a new chance. Xiao Liu, I decided right then and there that I would never leave you.”
...
Shi Qi’s breathing was erratic and his heartbeat was also fast. Xiao Liu knew what he wanted to say but was embarrassed to say. So she didn’t rush and instead nestled like a cat on his shoulder waiting patiently.
“Xiao Liu….I……I know I am engaged and have no right to say this to you…..and I never dared to….but…….I will call off the engagement, I will call off the engagement! You wait for me for twenty years….no…..no, fifteen years. You give Tu Shan Jing fifteen years, and after fifteen years I’ll give you back a Ye Shi Qi.”
Xiao Liu asked, “How do you want me to wait?”
“You…..you won’t let another man……into your heart.”
Xiao Liu was silent.
In the darkness, Shi Qi couldn’t see Xiao Liu’s expression and he was so nervous he forgot to breathe.
Xiao Liu suddenly burst out laughing and Shi Qi didn’t know if her laughter was mocking him for daring or….
Xiao Liu said, “You, you really don’t know me at all. My heart is cold and there is a hard shell encasing it. Forget fifteen years, likely in fifty years there won’t be a man who goes inside.”
Shi Qi asked, “So you’re agreeing? Let’s make a palm promise.”
Xiao Liu lazily raised her palm and Shi Qi felt where it was and then solemnly pressed his palm on hers. After they joined palms, he didn’t release and instead tightly held her hand. “Xiao Liu, I’m, I’m so happy.” His voice was quivering as his heart soared.
...
Xiao Liu said, “Shi Qi, I’m not like you. I’m not a businessman but I know that I am a ruthless person. I am ruthless towards others and even more ruthless towards myself. Do you know that?”
“I do.”
Xiao Liu laughed. “Do you really?”
Shi Qi said, “I know you never give yourself hope so you don’t trust first and won’t give first. You have a true heart but if the other doesn’t appreciate it, then you won’t give it. I’m willing to wait, wait until you’re willing to hope.”
“What if in my entire lifetime I’m not willing?”
“Then I’ll wait an entire lifetime. As long as you don’t disappear, then even if it’s an entire lifetime it will still be happy.” Shi Qi smiled – Xiao Liu was ruthless and cold to herself, but to everyone else in her life she was so good. Lao Mu, Chuan Zi, Mai Zi, Xan Tian Er, these people were just passing by in her life yet she gave them everything they needed for their own lives.
-----
Chapter 9:
“In the beginning I was so excited and changed my face every few days. After a year the people chasing me gradually decreased and I felt safe. I changed my face all the time and traveled the vast wilderness. One day I looked in the mirror and discovered that I forgot what my real face looked like. I desperately tried to remember and reassemble it but nothing looked like it. Initially I tried not to be nervous, I knew magic transformation could never destroy the true face. I tried to learn the magic to transform back and discovered that there was no transformation ability quite like mine. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find my real face anymore.”
...
Zhuan Xu was very perplexed and turned to Xiao Liu. “I can’t see your true form so I feel like you’re hiding in a shell. I’m scared that if I open the shell, you’ll run away again.”
Xiao Liu teased him, “What do you want me to look like? I’ll transform into her for you. You can have whatever little sister you want.”
...
Shi Qi said to Xiao Liu, “Don’t worry, you’ll find your true form.”
Xiao Liu laughed. They all wanted to see what she looked like but the person who most wanted to know what she looked like in this world was herself.
-----
Chapter 10:
Xiao Liu stuck out her tongue and then stared at the line with her face crestfallen. “I don’t even know if this is my true height. I feel like everything is false.” When she told Zhuan Xu what happened, she tried to act nonchalant as if she was used to having no face. But now her true fear emerged.
The Grand Emperor touched her forehead and gradually a small peach blossom birthmark appeared in the middle. He said, “Your face changing is not some weird disease. It’s because you have a magical spiritual object in your body called the Face Forming Flower. It can allow a person to imprint any face.”
Xiao Liu asked quizzically “A spiritual object? I don’t have a disease? The object causes my face to change at will? But why does my body have this spiritual object? Her face suddenly lit up. “Does that mean if the object is removed, then my true face will emerge? I can become my real self then?”
“Yes.”
Xiao Liu was so happy. “Dad, take it out for me! I hate transforming and would rather that I was a freakishly ugly girl than be a fake beauty.”
The Grand Emperor’s hand caressed the peach blossom birthmark and it glowed a red aura. Back then it required the spiritual power of two Gods, himself and Xiao Yao’s mother, to seal it in Xiao Yao’s body. It would need the spiritual power of two Gods now to remove it. “Right now I can’t remove it but dad promises that I will help you find your true face.”
Xiao Liu wanted desperately to regain her true face immediately but knew her dad had a reason for not doing it right now. The Grand Emperor looked at the birthmark on Xiao Liu’s forehead and in his eyes was such hidden sorrow. He waved his hand and the birthmark disappeared.
相柳问：“你愿意嫁给丰隆吗？”
Xiang Liu asked: "Are you willing to marry Fenglong?"
小夭的表情呆滞，软绵绵地回答：“不愿意。”
Xiao Yao's expression was somber and she replied softly: "I'm not willing."
相柳问：“你愿意嫁给璟吗？”
Xiang Liu asked: "Are you willing to marry Jing?"
小夭的表情出现了变化，她好像挣扎着要醒来，相柳的眼睛光芒更甚，声音越发柔和地问：“你愿意嫁给叶十七吗？”
Xiao Yao's expression changed, and she seemed to be struggling to wake up. Xiang Liu's eyes shone even brighter, and his voice became softer as he asked, "Are you willing to marry Ye Shi Qi?
小夭喃喃说：“愿意。”
Xiao Yao murmured: "I'm willing."
一个问题就在嘴边，可相柳竟然犹豫不决，一瞬后，他问道：“你最想和谁相伴一生？”
A question was on his lips, but Xiang Liu was hesitant. After a moment, he asked: "Who do you most want to spend your life with?"
小夭张口，像是要回答，可她的表情非常抗拒，意志在拒绝回答。
Xiao Yao opened her mouth as if she wanted to answer, but her expression was very resistant, willfully refusing to answer.
If XY really wanted to marry Jing, she wouldn't have taken 42 years to complete medical texts after their initial engagement before finally agreeing to set a wedding date. There was no reason she couldn't have worked on the medical texts after marrying Jing.
Therefore, XY's unwillingness to marry TSJ stems from her reluctance to accept the attachments of being a daughter-in-law. She may be willing to marry Shiqi because she perceives that Shiqi wouldn't impose the same familial ties and responsibilities. However, her refusal to answer whom she desires to spend her life with, the person she would forsake all marriage and wedding customs for, suggests that Jing is not the love of her life, and that this person (XL) is someone she cannot outright declare her love for.plor20:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and translations solarlunareclipse and plor20!
I imagine the fact that TSJ was married to FFYY (and the two of them had a son together) at the time that the question was asked may have also factored into XY's non-response to the TSJ question in chapter 32. Not to mention the possibility of having to live with them, with TSH and with TSJ's grandmother and having to deal with all the political factors that would play into a marriage between her and the (already married to an official wife, not a concubine) Tushan Clan leader.
While I don't think FFYY, TSZ or TSH played a significant role in XY and TSJ's extended engagement (and TSJ's grandmother was dead by then), I can't imagine they helped. And while she was engaged, XY got the security she wanted (which she mentioned in chapter 43) while still keeping a fair bit of freedom. She could learn medicine to her heart's content, spend time with her grandfather, CX, and TSJ almost every day, and not have to worry about running a household or playing the role of Clan Leader's Wife. So if she did have romantic feelings for TSJ/YSQ, but preferred to keep things the way they were during their engagement for 40+ years instead of joining the Tushan household sooner, I think that would be understandable.
@plor20
Thanks for your analysis on the difference in meaning between 嫁 (jià) and 想和谁相伴一生 (xiǎng hé shéi xiāngbàn yīshēng). You're right, those are two completely different things.
IMO, WXL was not willing to switch to a female form for XL OR for TSJ.AH :
Agree. The evidence you compiled is compelling :)
While I don't think FFYY, TSZ or TSH played a significant role in XY and TSJ's extended engagement (and TSJ's grandmother was dead by then), I can't imagine they helped. And while she was engaged, XY got the security she wanted (which she mentioned in chapter 43) while still keeping a fair bit of freedom. She could learn medicine to her heart's content, spend time with her grandfather, CX, and TSJ almost every day, and not have to worry about running a household or playing the role of Clan Leader's Wife. So if she did have romantic feelings for TSJ/YSQ, but preferred to keep things the way they were during their engagement for 40+ years instead of joining the Tushan household sooner, I think that would be understandable.
Agree that marrying Jing would come with a lot of additional baggage, which may have contributed to her choice for an extended engagement. Regardless of her reasons, my take is that XY was willing to marry Jing to secure his companionship but would have been happy to indefinitely postpone the marriage if he didn't bring it up. So I stand by my statement that she didn't necessarily want to marry him.
Regardless of her reasons, my take was that XY was willing to marry Jing to secure his companionship, but would have been happy to indefinitely postpone the marriage if he didn't bring it up. So I stand by my statement that she didn't necessarily want to marry him
I cried reading the scene where XL probed her, because you can sense the urgency of just wanting to hear from her that it's him she wanted to be with...For me, being engaged to be marry was like an insurance policy for XY, it's there when she needs it. hehe.
I cried reading the scene where XL probed her, because you can sense the urgency of just wanting to hear from her that it's him she wanted to be with...For me, being engaged to be marry was like an insurance policy for XY, it's there when she needs it. hehe.
I felt the same. Like torn between crying for XL and wanting to slap a "YOU" out of XY. She couldn't even give him that little word. sniff
XL was in love for the first time, but so was WXL/XY. It's even more true for WXL/XY. Anything that might justify XL's attitude in admitting/declaring his love is even more justifiable for WXL/XY.
Except that isn't true. XY loved CX when she was a child. Plus, she clearly had some idea what a woman in love was supposed to be like, since she was play acting all that with Jing -- not to mention had the example of CX's mother and the weirdness of her grandmother's relationship with Grandaddy Emperor. And while it wasn't romantic love, XY experienced love from her parents when she was a child, as well as her family, and whatever her feelings were for CX as an adult.
XL didn't have any of that. He didn't even have a parent's love, until he experienced it, not for himself, but borrowed from Fang Feng Bei.
And in the drama, you can tell, how ignorant or unsure XL is in expressing his feelings, like awkwardly putting his hand on WXL's head.
At this point, XL has already spent several hundred years as FFB, a consumate playboy. His lifestyle included romanticizing women. He was experienced enough to distinguish between feelings and understand the nuances of "liking". He is the first to realize that he fell in love.
He didn't spend all those years as Fang Feng Bei. And he was "romancing" women in brothels -- which is not the same as romancing young noble ladies. And we saw that he trusted his "instincts of the beast," when it came to his sexual attraction to WXL / XY.
There's been much discussion here as to when XL realized he was in love. I've always maintained that it wasn't until he got the Lovers Bug that he KNEW he was in love with XY, though clearly he's had feelings that he's not sure of, and sexual attraction, which he is sure of before then.
On the contrary, WXL/XY spent a very large part of her tough life as a male, being surrounded by men while denying her feminity. Her approach of all things related to love is very practical (as a healer specialized in infertility) and macho-like (as we see in the way she dealt with MZ and CZ's mariages), not at all romantic.
I'm not sure I agree that her approach to all things related to love, even though that's the line she tried to sell to her father, given how she was carrying on with Jing and her insistence that things were different now that she was a woman.
Xiang lu forever:
There was a part in the ending about XY that she can change her look, I just wanted to ask when did the king of haoling put back the face forming thingy to XY because I can't seem to remember that he put it back.What I remember is they said XY won't be able to use it anymore if they will remove it.
驻颜花 The Face Retaining Flower is a magical artifact formed naturally through hundreds of thousands of years in the Peach Forest in Jade Mountain. It is not necessary to embed the Face Retaining Flower in the body of its wielder in order to use its ability to transform one's appearance. The only reason it was embedded in Xiao Yao was because at the time, she was only a baby and would not have had the ability to use and control the artifact.
To restore Xiao Yao's true form, the Royal Mother merely sealed the transformation powers of the artifact, but she was unable to remove it. Even then, she mentioned that the Face Retaining Flower could regain its ability to transform in future:
Xiao Yao bowed to the Royal Mother, “Thank you, Royal Mother, for restoring my true form.”
The Royal Mother calmly replied, “The Face Retaining Flower sealed in your body now only has the effect of retaining your looks, and no longer has the ability to transform. Perhaps by a stroke of good fortune, that it will recover [its ability] in the future.”
-- Vol 1 Ch12
Later, the Gao Xin (Hao Ling) king extracted the Face Retaining Flower from Xiao Yao's body, which transformed into a peach blossom branch that she then wore as a hair pin:
When the Gao Xin king finished drinking, he said coldly to Xiao Yao, "After I help you extract the Face Retaining Flower, you can leave the ship."
:
The Gao Xin king stared at the peach blossom birthmark on Xiao Yao’s forehead with mixed feelings in his heart. The moment A Heng tearfully sealed the Face Retaining Flower still remained in his mind’s eyes, but she was now separated in death from him forever. As he reached out and touched Xiao Yao’s forehead, a streak of red light flashed and the peach blossom birthmark disappeared, leaving a delicately beautiful peach blossom branch which fell on to her hand.
:
However Cang Xuan did not leave. After scrutinising Xiao Yao, he hurried over and lifted her chin with one hand while touching her forehead with the other. ”Where is the peach blossom on your forehead?”
Xiao Yao pointed to a small wooden peach hairpin on her bun, “It’s here.”
Vol 3 Ch4 (Chapter 37)
Clearly, the Face Retaining Flower regained its ability to transform because when Xiao Yao wanted to sneak out to confront Xiang Liu after Feng Long's death, she was able to use it to transform herself into Chishui Xian:
In the middle of the night, Xiang Liu led his troops to attack once more. Upon hearing the commotion, Cang Xuan immediately rushed out of the house.
In the midst of the confusion, no one paid any attention to Xiao Yao. Using the Face Retaining Flower, she transformed herself to look like Xian, and quietly slipped out of the mansion with Left Ear's help.
Left Ear already had his own mount. Under Xiao Yao’s guidance, they flew past many mountains and landed on the banks of a gourd-shaped lake.
Urging the bug inside her, Xiao Yao called out quietly in her heart, “Xiang Liu, I want to see you!”
-- Vol 3 Ch13 (Chapter 46)
Thus, in the end, when she left after her marriage, the Gao Xin king knew that with the Face Retaining Flower, she could easily disappear and no one would be able to find her.
It was hard to describe the Gao Xin king’s feelings. Sorrow, but more than that, there was relief.
Xiao Yao had the most noble, burdensome lineage in the world. Her mother tried her hardest to break free but failed to do so. However, she had finally broken free.
Xiao Yao had the Face Retaining Flower, while Jing was the descendant of the Nine-Tailed fox. Once they departed, they would disappear completely.
-- Vol 3 Ch18 (Chapter 51)
nathsketch:
I couldn't believe it when Kok said there were plans for a second season of Signal!! Then I saw the article here on MDL! I hope they keep the same cast. That cliffhanger!!!
I'm lucky to only have waited one year (I watched season 1 last March), but still, didn't even think it was possible to have a continuation.
Keep praying Liddi!!
I am! Praying, crossing my fingers and toes - anything it takes for S2 to finally materialise, with a stellar script and the same cast!
The beauty of the original was that it provided closure for the overall arc of S1, and yet left the doors open for a possibility of a sequel should the universe be revisited, because we desperately need to see our intrepid trio reunited finally, safely, in the same timeline. Seriously though, I really hope the sequel lives up to the exacting standard of the original because if it pulls a Scarlet Heart 2, I would rather the series was just left well and truly alone with a standalone season. Despite my very real fears, I am going to trust Kim Eun Hee to give us a script that is on par with, if not exceeds S1. Though another fear inevitably arises when it comes to her dramas... who is she going to kill off? And as usual, I just hope and pray she will be merciful to her characters and the viewers.
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