Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

 liddi:

1. @Navi2124 Exactly. Instead all we are left with is her impatience. I hated that FFB is made to look like he is begging for crumbs, when we know that this is far from the case. At this rate, will they even give us XY's refusal to answer his question whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, as it is very clearly not the man she readily answered that she was willing to marry.

I have not read the novel, but just these tiny bits make me so sad, knowing they’re not on the drama. We already have to put up with so much cr*p from the Fox Squad.

@liddi

... And let's not forget that she was never given the choice as far as Xiang Liu was concerned. He made that decision for her long ago, and ensured Jing would be there for her to spend the rest of her life with. Without his intervention, Jing would have been long dead, and Xiao Yao alone again. Which is why I really miss the times in Qingshui Town when she was simply Wen Xiao Liu before the political landscape and her bloodline took them down the path of no return.

I would argue that it was XY that made the decision for them, when she rejected XL on the beach, saying she was afraid to let him be the man of her dreams.   Had she kissed him underwater, had she given him a different answer on the beach, I feel that he wouldn't have given up and their relationship could have been different.

Also, had she rejected her identity and CX and the Haolin Emperor, and stayed in Qingshui town, as she told him she wanted, their relationship could have been different.

@liddi

Perhaps. In the novel, she had no issues with him repeatedly transferring air to her as Wen Xiao Liu during their underwater date post-lover's bug implantation. However, things were different once she became the Haoling princess. All the strictures imposed by her position no longer made it possible for her to freely accept him, and Xiang Liu would have been well aware of that even before he went to see her. As such, even during that time, I don't believe he held any hope that she would, but he tested anyway, just as he did when he probed her mind in Qingshui town after taking her away on her wedding day. He knew way before, that he could never give her what she wanted - lifelong companionship. So I do not believe he would ever have forcibly subjected her to be with him only to condemn her to a lifetime of solitude following his imminent death. 

Oh, no one understood better than XL what the revelation of XY's real identity meant, hence his drinking and fury in the tree.  And yet, he went and confronted her.  Sure, he was angry, and yet, he still had that conversation with her.  That's indicated by the alleged casting sheet, which mentioned how he dared to dream of a future with XY.

And I agree, though we haven't seen it in the drama, that question about who she wanted to spend her life with, was another chance for her change their relationship and his final fate.

Yet she did consider the idea of being with Xiang Liu from her pointed questions to her grandfather about a man who has another woman, and one who is their enemy. It is telling that the Xiyan emperor said that if she wanted, he could force the engagement to be dissolved so that they would be free to marry, but considered any future with Xiang Liu as an impossibility (knowing how he repeatedly rejected their overtures). And more than once, she wished out loud that Xiang Liu could always remain as his alter ego.  Not forgetting her mute appeal to him to take her away before her wedding - one for which she waited by the sea in vain.

Yes, that's what he said, but XY really didn't care about him or his opinion, except how it related to CX.  But XY ended up rejecting all that and going away with Jing.  Just like she offered to do so with FFB, when he 'jokingly' asked her to give up being a princess and roam the world with him.

She could never have rejected her identity and her bond with Cang Xuan and her family, because those are bonds that are an integral part of her, her safe haven when things are the most painful during the 300 years that she was lost. And she had no choice about leaving Qingshui town - Cang Xuan made sure of that the moment he forcibly brought her and Jing to Haoling. The moment her identity was revealed, she could not go back anymore. As it is, her bloodline and their mutual inability to reject their respective political stances made it impossible unless one of them caved in. If they had, then neither of them would be the persons they were. 

I have to disagree.  I don't think her family was a safe haven at all.  As I've stated elsewhere, I don't quite get the relationship with CX, but I accept it as a given for the story.  And we've seen how much she's willing to do for CX throughout the show.  But there was points even he couldn't push her, and then she gave up on him.  She gave up that identity and wanted to remain hidden in Qingshui town, and also when she went off with Jing.

She did have a choice.  XL told her she needed to hide out with him, to avoid CX, and she refused.  Her identity wasn't revealed, even after CX brought her to Haolin.  XL even showed up to offer her a way out of that and she choose not to take it. 

I agree that their backgrounds and affiliations made them enemies and was a huge barrier in their relationship.  But I don't agree that it was all XL's choice to allow that to stay in place.  It was actually XY who made the choice, repeatedly, and XL who respected it, and her desire not to be abandoned.  Despite the labels some people want to slap on XL, he was the only one who actually listened to XY from the beginning, and once he committed to loving her, did what she asked.

@Kokuto

Thank you for a very riveting discussion! After all the back and forth, it suddenly occurred to me to ask whether we are discussing the drama or the novel lol. Mine are predominantly based on the novel, which I feel fleshes out both Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu far better.

From my recollection, I don't believe the novel ever mentioned Xiang Liu drinking in fury upon finding out Xiao Liu's real identity. The way I see it, any anger he felt before he confronted her was not because he felt the insurmountable barrier between them due to her real identity, but because he thought she deliberately lied about being abandoned and unwanted, with no one to rely on, no where to go - words that first moved him and made him look at her with different eyes. The novel specifically described how close to death she was had she not been able to convince Xiang Liu that she was not lying. As such, I am more inclined to believe that his confrontation was not to confirm her feelings for him, but to call her out on what he thought were her lies. 

As for the description in the casting sheet, I see it as him longing for a future with her, though it did not necessarily mean that he would act upon it, knowing what her hopes for lifelong companionship were. Even then, I cannot see him giving up his fate to die on the battlefield with his comrades just for his own personal happiness. 

And I agree, though we haven't seen it in the drama, that question about who she wanted to spend her life with, was another chance for her change their relationship and his final fate. 

I am not as convinced that his reasons for probing her mind were to see if she was willing to leave everything and go with him since the novel said he struggled with himself before finally asking it. My interpretation is more him succumbing to his need to know what she never articulated, allowing himself a moment of selfishness for a chance to hear what he wanted most from her, even if he had to give her up after that. And Xiao Yao, even then, would not give him that even though her struggle was answer enough. 

I have to disagree.  I don't think her family was a safe haven at all.  As I've stated elsewhere, I don't quite get the relationship with CX, but I accept it as a given for the story.  And we've seen how much she's willing to do for CX throughout the show.  But there was points even he couldn't push her, and when she gave up on him.  She gave up that identity and wanted to remain hidden in Qingshui town, and also when she went off with Jing.

Oh, what I meant was her bonds with Cang Xuan and her memories of him was her safe  haven which helped her tide through the harshest times in her young life. I believe that had Cang Xuan and Xiao Yao not been forcibly kept apart 300 years ago, they would have ended up together, as they very innocently planned. And I would have been perfectly happy with that conclusion. I love how their bond is portrayed, the kind of unquestioning trust and reliance that they both enjoyed. Unfortunately, fate kept them apart and when she finally was restored to his side, her heart was no longer her own, and he was relegated to being her dearest, closest brother, which made me ache so much for what could have been for them. It is tragically ironic that Cang Xuan's journey to rule the world was born out of his desire to protect Xiao Yao, make the world a better, safer place for her, but when he finally achieved that, he lost her and she would in the end leave him with no intention of letting him know where she had gone.

I agree that their backgrounds and affiliations made them enemies and was a huge barrier in their relationship.  But I don't agree that it was all XL's choice to allow that to stay in place.  It was actually XY who made the choice, repeatedly, and XL who respected it, and her desire not to be abandoned.  Despite the labels some people want to slap on XL, he was the only one who actually listened to XY from the beginning, and once he committed to loving her, did what she asked.

Can I say just how much I love your last statement? Xiang Liu never forced her to accept or acknowledge his love for him - in fact he never ever verbalised it except through Fangfeng Bei's flirtatious banter, and kept everything he ever did for her hidden. However, I disagree that Xiang Liu kept her at arm's length at Xiao Yao's request. The ice crystal ball she sent to him (the mermaid sitting on the clam shell with one hand on her heart and the other hand reaching out to the distant merman) before she married Feng Long was a clear appeal for him to take her away, which he received 2 months before her wedding day. However, he never responded until the day of the wedding itself, and told her after that that he did it on Jing's request in return for 37 years of army provisions - another nail in the coffin to further drive the wedge between them and make her believe he never loved her at all. And the way I see it, his decision to stop her on the wedding day itself was twofold - to ensure that Feng Long will never marry her again, leaving her free to be with Jing when the time comes; and for Fangfeng Bei to effectively disappear forever, with no possibility of him reclaiming that alter ego. Again, to quote XiaoYao - "He is the world's greatest fool!"

 nathsketch:

I don’t get this. What could be the reason for him getting more screen time than his appearances in the novel?

lol maybe Tong Hua wanted to add more scenes with him because he's her favorite character. Also I heard that when the novel first came out, most readers preferred Xiang Liu and Jing was the least favored. I'm speculating the producers added more screen time with him because of that

 UnaSpenser:

Her family was the least safe. They sent her away from everything they knew after her mother died. Her father pretty much abandoned her. Her brother never came to get her. No one else in the entire extended family cared about her. Her grandfather? Barely.

I still don't quite get it. I haven't read the novel, so maybe it's better developed there. But the moment the story shifted to the princess/politics arc, it's when it started to lose steam, even though I sort of like the CX storyline.

 UnaSpenser:

Her father pretty much abandoned her.

He was dealing with a rebellion and thought she would be safer at Jade Mountain than with him.

 UnaSpenser:

Her brother never came to get her.

He realized he didn't have enough power at that point to protect her. He didn't have enough power to even protect himself and was constantly in danger.

 UnaSpenser:

Her grandfather? Barely. If she was there, ok. But, he's the one who sent her away and he wasn't going to do a lot for her when she got back.

In the novel, it is XY's mother who takes XY to Jade Mountain for her safety. It's not her grandfather who sends her. And when she finally returns to him, he makes it very clear to his court that she is his highly valued granddaughter, so no one should mess with her.

Although they changed the dynamics a bit in the drama, their relationship is still pretty much the same. Her grandfather cares about her safety.

 UnaSpenser:

All the people she was left to be around treated her with disdain, which is why she ran away.

The Royal Mother was a strict teacher, but never treated XY with disdain. Lie Yang did not treat her with disdain. Ah Bi didn't have a human body yet, but he didn't treat her with disdain. But Jade Mountain is a very lonely place, basically a prison. And XY did hear some upsetting and disdainful things that a few servants said about her and her parents.

 UnaSpenser:

She was always someone who could be sacrificed.

I would say that ZX was willing to use XY to gain power (with the ultimate goal being to have enough power to absolutely ensure her safety), but I wouldn't say that he was ever willing to sacrifice her. 

 UnaSpenser:

So, why was she so committed to her role as a princess? Why couldn't she leave it behind and travel the world with FFB?

She wasn't committed to her role as princess, she was loyal to ZX and intended to keep her promise to never leave him. When she tries to leave (when ZX gets married), ZX forces her to come back after 13 months.

XY even asked her father (the Grand Emperor) if she could not be the princess, but accepted the role when he insisted on her keeping the title as a form of protection (she didn't know it at the time, but it was to protect her from all the people who might harm her if they thought she was Qi Yo's daughter). 

Later on, ZX and the Grand Emperor work together to withdraw her princess title but still give her a powerful name + show that she is still valued by ZX and under his protection. At that point she no longer has any responsibilities as a princess, but still is not free to wander the world. 

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Chapter 10:

After this big worry was lifted, Xiao Liu walked the garden with her dad in a completely different mood. She chatted about everything and asked about anything. She even dared to suggest “Dad, can I not be the Gao Xing Eldest Princess? I’m not saying I don’t want to be your daughter, I just don’t want to be a princess.”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re my daughter, I am the Grand Emperor of Gao Xing.”

Xiao Liu immediately adopted the saddest puppy dog expression and grabbed her dad’s arm and shook it while pleading “But it’s so hard being the Princess. I have to eat properly, behave properly, and even my marriage is sacrificed to politics and gain. I don’t want to be the Princess!”

The Grand Emperor said “A person needs to have proper manners, it’s not a bad thing. As for marriage, who do you think I’ll sacrifice you to?”

Xiao Liu blurted out “I don’t know who you will sacrifice me to, I just….I just…..”

The Grand Emperor looked at Xiao Liu “I am the Grand Emperor, you are my daughter. You must be the Princess of Gao Xing. This is an imperial birthright, do you understand?”

Xiao Liu lowered her head and whined “Can I not understand?”

The Grand Emperor’s hand caressed Xiao Liu’s head and he said sadly “I’m not like any other dad, I have too much I need to deal with. I worry about a kingdom and its citizens. I cannot just let you do what you want. I need to protect my daughter and the only protection I can give my daughter is my authority. Only if you are the Gao Xing Princess can you enjoy the protection of the entire kingdom. Before anyone dares to harm you, they need to consider whether they can withstand the wrath of an Emperor. Xiao Yao, this is the only thing I can give you as a father who did not do his duty for you. Please don’t reject it.”

Xiao Liu felt her tears about to fall and she took a deep breath “Dad, I’m willing to be the Princess.”

 blabla100:

I am curios about the poison love bugs thing, this part I didn't get. How do they work exactly? 

I'll refer to XY as the cultivator of the bugs and XL as the recipient below. They each host one bug.

The bugs connect their hearts and their lives. The hosts can use the connection to feel each other's pain and some of their emotions (e.g., heartache). And they can call to one another using the bug connection and sense the other's location - especially when the other host is close. 

Normally, the recipient would feel the cultivator's pain (but not the other way around) and both hosts would be able to sense each other's heartbeats and presence. But if one host is far more powerful than the other, that host seems to be able to control what the other host feels through the connection (but their control might slip sometimes).

The Voodoo King says that if one host is injured, the other is also injured. But we know that is not the case. When XY is injured XL is not injured in the same way, he just feels her pain. When XL is injured, XY is not injured and he does not let her feel his pain. XY seems to agree with the Voodoo King's words, so perhaps something has been lost in translation there.

If one host is mortally wounded, the connection can be used to keep the mortally wounded host alive and if essential blood is transfused from the healthy host into the dying host then the dying host's life can be extended. 

If one host actually dies, the other host dies with them. 

-----

Chapter 6:

At dawn when Xiao Liu was still fast asleep, he suddenly felt a stirring in his body. Initially he didn’t understand but gradually he figured it out – the bug was sending him a message. Xiao Liu quickly got up and rushed out of the hut “Xiang Liu, Xuan…..”

“I know.”

...

Xiang Liu said to Xiao Liu “Xuan’s coming with murderous rage..."

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Chapter 7:

Xiao Liu tightly clasped the walnut to his chest and started chanting, summoning the bug in his own body. After some time, Xiao Liu felt his own heart start to beat wildly, and incredibly he felt another heart beating as well. The two hearts were like friends who had not seen each other in a long time, beating wildly in joy to be together. Xiao Liu reached out his hand and pressed it on Xiang Liu’s chest, and it was indeed the sound of Xiang Liu’s heart.

-----

Chapter 8:

Xiao Liu opened her eyes and they were walking along the edge of the cliff. To the right was the vast ocean, waves and waves were pounding the black rocks. Xiao Liu suddenly felt her heart sense, she sensed someone was calling her. She said to Shi Qi “To the edge of the ocean.”

Shi Qi carried Xiao Liu down stone steps, through the forest, to the edge of the ocean. Standing on the cliff, Zhuan Xu didn’t stop them and instead silently followed behind.

Another set of waves rolled towards the cliff and as the blue waves rose higher and higher, at the top a white shadow rode the waves towards Xiao Liu. The white shadow stood steady on top of the wave, white robe and white hair, wearing a mask. He stood in the middle of the waves like a white lily, pure and untouched, extraordinary and beautiful.

All the servants rushed forward but Zhuan Xu stared in bemusement and asked, “Xiang Liu, you want to kill me that much that you chased me all the way to Five Gods Mountain?”

Xiang Liu laughed. “This time I’m not here for you, Prince.” He looked at Xiao Liu. “You got your legs broken? What did you do that sent all the Gao Xing soldiers running around like headless chickens?”

Xiao Liu suddenly remembered that Xiang Liu had the bug in him so when her leg was broken, he must have felt it.

-----

Chapter 13:

Xiao Yao finally said, “I was planning to pretend I didn’t know you when I saw you again.”

“I still have the voodoo bug in my body, are you trying to welsh on your promise?”

Xiao Yao said, “It ought to be that only I can sense you, but you can’t sense me. How did you know I was Wen Xiao Liu?”

-----

Chapter 15:

Xiao Yao softly walked over and stood behind him. She coolly squatted down and suddenly said, “Xiang Liu, what are you doing here?”

The man barely lifted his head. “You quietly walked behind me and I was wondering what you wanted to do. Clearly I thought wrong since you are mistaken.”

Xiao Yao looked into his eyes and the man laughed. “Now I really want to be the person you mistook for me.”

The bug in Xiao Yao’s body had no reaction so she got confused. “You’re really not him?”

-----

Chapter 16:

Xiao Yao walked out and saw Fang Feng Bei. She couldn’t resist and used her bug to sense him but still got no response.

-----

Chapter 21:

Xiang Liu calmly said “She’s almost out of time.” If it wasn’t for so many powerful people transferring power to Xiao Yao, even by the time Xiang Liu rushed here it would have been too late.

-----

Chapter 22:

She could vividly sense her heart slowly weakening, but just as it was about to stop, she heard another heart beating. It was strong and powerful, leading her heart so that it wouldn’t completely stop. It was like a sole flame in the palms of the hand, seemingly about to be extinguished at any moment, but still flickering weakly with life.

Xiao Yao felt that she heard Xiang Liu snarking at her: Just this and you’re going to give up?

Xiao Yao retorted back at him: What do you mean just this? If you’ve been poked so many holes in like a sieve, air passing through both top and bottom, even if I don’t want to give up I have to give up.

She really had no strength left, so that even the weak sole flame that was keeping her heart beating was too much to sustain. Even with another heart guiding her heart, still the heartbeat grew weaker.

Suddenly power coursed through her, unending streams of power that allowed the weak heartbeat to continue beating.

She couldn’t hear it, couldn’t see it, couldn’t even feel it, but she felt sad because the spiritual power was so sad and devastated. Even the power was crying and Xiao Yao couldn’t even imagine how heartbroken the owner of the spiritual power was.

Xiao Yao wanted to see who was so sad but didn’t have the strength. She could only follow the guidance of the other heart and slowly locked herself up. Just like a flower blooming, the reverse process was to return to being a bud, into a seed, back into the soil, laying in the Winter to wait for the Spring to arrive.

Xiao Yao couldn’t hear, couldn’t see, couldn’t feel, but she still felt unbearable.

...

One day Xiao Yao suddenly felt something, like a little bit of warmth entered her body from the outside. 

...

One time as the warmth entered her, Xiao Yao felt another heart beating. Her heart soared as if she was encountering an old friend.

Xiao Yao wanted to laugh: Xiang Liu, is it you? I’ve healed you that many times, now it’s finally your turn to repay me.

Time and time again, Xiao Yao didn’t know how much time passed but she felt time was so slow!

In the unending darkness, every time Xiang Liu came to heal her became the only time she felt like she was still alive, because she felt another heart beating.

Not sure how much time passed but one day when the warmth was entering her body, Xiao Yao suddenly felt a sensation, she felt someone was embracing her.

It was strange, she couldn’t hear or see, and couldn’t even feel her own body, but perhaps because of the voodoo bug within and their two hearts were as one, she could vaguely sense his movements.

....

Zhuan Xu asked Xiao Yao how Xiang Liu saved her.

Xiao Yao answered “I was unconscious the entire time so I don’t know the specifics. Likely due to the voodoo bug connecting us, so his life was the thread that kept me alive, and then he used a certain type of voodoo blood spell and exchanged his life to continue mine.”

-----

Chapter 26:

Xiao Yao glanced over... and she stopped her footsteps... Fang Feng Bei, wearing a white embroidered robe, was standing there with a lazy smile.

Xiao Yao felt the voodoo bug in her body but got no response. Xiao Yao gave up, was she the one who raised the bug or was it Xiang Liu? Xiang Liu could control her but she couldn’t control Xiang Liu at all! Could it be that even voodoo bugs know how to fear the strong and sneer at the weak?

...

“The pain in my heart, do you feel it?” Xiao Yao’s face turned red, not clear if it was over embarrassment or frustration. The reason the heart was tucked deep inside the body was so that people’s feelings, whether it was happiness or sorrow, would remain concealed. But right now her heart felt like it was stark naked before Xiang Liu, like she was stripped naked before him to observe.

Xiang Liu softly chuckled “If you’re afraid I will feel everything, then stop tormenting yourself. If your heart doesn’t hurt, then I’ll be better off as well.”

Xiao Yao heard the last thing he said and immediately perked up. “If my body hurts 9/10th, then you hurt 1/10th. But if my heart hurts, does your heart hurt just as much?”

Xiang Liu honestly said “Yes! If your heart hurts, my heart hearts just as much. What of it? Are you planning to use that to reckon with me?”

Xiao Yao was silent. He was right! She could inflict bodily pain on herself, but she couldn’t make happiness or sadness.

...

Xiao Yao continued to natter. “You’re a Nine-headed demon, you have nine-lives and you spent one on saving me. I can swim in the ocean freely like you now. If I die again and you give another of your lives to save me, will I become even more like you…….”

...

The clam shell was enormous and even with the two of them inside it wasn’t a tight squeeze at all. She slept here for thirty-seven years with Xiang Liu. Would that be equivalent of sleeping in the same bed and sharing the same pillow? Those two merpeople saw the clam shell as their home, how did Xiang Liu view this clam shell?

Xiao Yao suddenly felt all sorts of thoughts and feelings rush up and her face burned as her heart sped up.

Xiao Yao chastised herself and tried desperately to control her feelings and reactions, but she couldn’t control her heartbeat. Just like that, Xiang Liu sensed it and looked over at her. Xiao Yao quickly said “I’m hungry! So hungry I’m all nerves!”

Xiao Yao’s face was so red it was like a burning sunset and she forced her eyes wide open to stare at Xiang Liu. His heartbeat quickened a few times and Xiao Yao sensed it. But then it was gone just like that and she wondered if it was her mistaken sensation.

-----

Chapter 32:

Xiang Liu said “A word of reminder, the voodoo bug still connects us so if you tell the world I’m Fang Feng Bei, don’t blame me if I hurt your heart and you die from the pain.”

Xiao Yao stopped and looked back at Xiang Liu.

“Don’t believe me?”

Xiao Yao’s heart was suddenly cut with so much pain like a sword pierced it, the pain so excruciating she fell on the ground in a slump.

Xiang Liu appeared to hold her life in his hands and he coldly said, “If you don’t want to die, then don’t say a word!”

Xiao Yao was in such pain her face was ashen and cold sweat dotted her face. She sat up and smiled “Is this the reason you never had time to go to Jiu Li to break the voodoo bug? You want to control my life and death so that one day you can hold me hostage to your will? General Xiang Liu, you really are something!”

Xiang Liu smiled and turned to leave. 

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Chapter 37:

The Voodoo King coughed once and solemnly explained, “Lover’s Bug, like its name indicates, is a pair of male-female voodoo bugs. The couple who has the bug successfully planted will have their life and emotions connected. If one hurts then the other will hurt. If one is injured then the other will also be injured.”

Xiao Yao said “This I know already. What else?”

“...The Lover’s Bug keeps two people’s lives connected, which means when one is injured as long as the other is healthy then the injured person will survive... It can lead two people to be connected in life and emotions but it is just like a pair of lovers in love with each other. It is temperamental and hard to control. If the Lover’s Bug turns on each other then both people will die. Which is why the Lover’s Bug also has another name, the Heartbreak Bug... The Lover’s Bug – either live in love or die in heartbreak...”

Jing was stunned and after a moment of silence he slowly asked “What happens if one person who has the Lover’s Bug dies? What happens to the other person?”

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.'”

...

Xiao Yao laughed back. “I just came back from a trip to Jiu Li. The Voodoo King told me all the specifics about the bug inside our bodies. I don’t remember any of the specifics of what he said but the one thing I do remember clearly is that the two bugs live and die together. Which means our lives are connected. If I’m in trouble then you’re not going to get off scot free!” 

Xiang Liu smiled at Xiao Yao and didn’t seem surprised at all.

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Chapter 46:

After Yu Jiang left Xiao Yao said, “I must have lured Xiang Liu here.”

Zhuan Xu asked, “Still that bug?”

“Yes, when I arrived my heart hurt when I saw Jing’s old residence. With his brilliance, he must have deduced that you also came.”

...

Zhuan Xu said “Don’t worry about the bug, Yin said that when the host person dies then the other bug dies or goes back to the host body. When Xiang Liu is dead then your bug will be lifted.”

Yin’s understanding was true for all bugs, other than the Lover’s Bug.

-----

Later in chapter 46, XY uses the connection to call XL to her:

Xiao Yao prodded the bug inside her as she called out in her heart – Xiang Liu, I want to see you!

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Chapter 48:

The Lover’s Bug connected the hearts of lovers. As long as one breath remained, then life could be extended if essential blood was transfused.

...

“The tree grows old on land together, the mandarin ducks die together in the water – the Lover’s Bug connects heart to heart and our lives..."