soTreeD

The reason they cut all of that was because Xiangliu saving Tushan Jing was not a pure selfless act. Maybe drama team didn't want his actions to look tainted but that was the essence of Xiangliu. No good act goes untainted. lol

XL held TSJ for six years and only told Xiaoyao to look for his killer after he failed to kill Cangxuan himself. He suspected that Cangxuan or some big clan leader might be the one behind it because no one else in Dahuang could have pulled it off. By letting her hunt the killer down, Dahuang can fall into chaos once more, giving his troops a lease of life.

In the novel, Xiangliu didn't give any life for Jing either, he took Xiaoyao's blood to revive him with a condensed pill infused with his own spirit power. Indirectly he let Xiaoyao save her own man.

That is because that really made zero sense.
The drama saved costs and did not cast the two demons that were raised by Chichen and Heng who lived at Mount Jade. Those were the characters who had interaction with Xiangliu when he went to resurrect Xiaoyao.
In the novel, Nian only helped him by putting her sister in the seashell he sent to Haoling to preserve her life until he made it to Mount Jade.
The drama's cost cutting and strange plot changes made logic go out of the window.

welcome! hope you enjoy it!

Ok! I thought there was really some different gauge because I have seen that claim on weibo posts as well...
I seldom watch xianxia and LYF is my first one which took my attention for so long.

Highly recommended to watch the first season as you will get to see different dynamics of the characters changing over time.
Definitely worth watching!

When he went to the Ghost Market with just one man though, I was like...dude why didn't you learn from your mistake in S1...

I was really expecting that the official would turn out to be her brother in the end but I guess that is just too far-stretched haha

That set up I was expecting a Hateful Eight vibe which I get won't work at all hahaha

From a narrative pov, I understand why Xiangliu had to die.

I don't know if XL really felt like his life purpose has been fulfilled, but if he lived, the impact felt about his character will probably be different. Also, since he and Hongjiang are characters from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, they have to die by Ru Shou's hand as written so that they can fulfil that reference to that particular source material as well.

In the subtle writing undertones, this also supports their country's narrative that unity is good, resistance is bad.

This is the failing point of the drama version, because when Hong jiang actually seemed unsure, the drama made Xiangliu insist they should carry on... Why did they have to think that dying was the best way out for all those men?

I get that perhaps the men might be too damaged to lead happy lives after seeing what they have lived through during war, but in our modern world now, we try to help soldiers with PTSD get through it. We don't tell them death is the way out. Maybe that is why I can never accept the so called glory that laid in the final battle of Chenrong army.

That was my question too, because some of the very toxic Xiangliu fans only praise his loyalty to Hong jiang but mock Jing's filial piety to his grandmother.

No one is perfect in LYF but there is no need to further bash what is already a character who had been robbed in S2 like TSJ.

And nobody told Cangxuan. I loved how they included that from the novel.
Double the fist pumping for all the lurking he did in S2 hahahaha

I cried for the characters in the second case more than I did for the LYF S2.
I really blame the LYF team for botching this drama!

Funny you should say that because that is exactly what I see Xiangliu doing in Season 2... after 'giving Xiaoyao up to the better man' Xiangliu continued to stalk Xiaoyao, appearing before her so often, definitely moping around, drinking copious amounts of alcohol in self-pity, looking so sad about his impeding doom curling up in Xiaoliu's bed; and yet he was the one who rejected the final offer from Xiyan when Hong jiang expressed doubt over why they fight.
Xiangliu could not express his deepest desire, not even daring to ask her the question he wanted to know the most when he had Xiaoyao under his spell... he can't be true to himself in the end. He can't even mention his own name but phrase his question in an ambiguous manner because he can't handle hearing the truth.

The more scenes they gave Xiangliu in the drama the more out of character he appears. Xiangliu already knew the blood arts since in the novel he was supposedly some great master's disciple - I think Cangxuan mentioned it in the drama, and knew how to get rid of the bugs when he took it over. Over the years he looked very adept at manipulating them, even more than Xiaoyao. Yet they had to add that extra scene where he goes to Jiuli to ask how to do it, just to let him have more mopey moments.

I liked Xiangliu in the novel but drama S2 really ruined his character for me.

Not every 'Jing fan' thinks Xiangliu is incapable of kindness. I don't overlook how he does things for Xiaoyao without expecting acknowledgement.
But its also true that Xiangliu gets the best out of every deal he makes and he is not as 'pure' or righteous as some of you make him out to be. As the fox demon at Mount Jade said, Xiangliu cannot be tempted, but this does not make him necessarily some 'kind' soul out to save the world. It just means his resolve in his life is that strong. Is this resolve 'right'? That remains to be seen.
I wondered if he ever brought Hongjiang to see the super moon over the centuries?

Also this concept of 'kindness'. Is it possible to still be kind but be ruthless at selective times so that you are not 'crippled' by it?
In every teaching about kindness, I don't believe they teach a 'limit' on how kind a person has to be. Or teaching that you can have exceptions on how you live life and its fine to do bad just once or twice.

Why some XL fans have to mock Jing's kindness as a weakness is so unnecessary.
Living kindly not easy to do, and yes people like to mock it. Its not easy to understand. Xiaoyao understood. Jingye did not.
Even Fangfeng Yiying finally understood it - even though the drama cut her dialogue acknowledging that yes, Jing is strong afterall.
But its a virtue that is not easy to live by. If you are so into Confucian teachings, you should know benevolence is at the core. (This is for Plor.)
As far as I can see, Jing is not foolishly kind. He may not retaliate for getting slapped, but he did not 'turn his other cheek'. He took steps to ensure he won't get slapped again.

You praise Xiangliu just because you claim he is loyal to his foster father and his army, but he also did this at the expense of the lives of other innocents and being a threat to world harmony and balance. So what is so great about this loyalty?

I was looking forward to LON because the trailer looked amazing but sadly after watching it halfway, I dropped it.
The cases were a bit lacking and the leads were lacking in chemistry as a crime fighting duo? Even when they were supposed to be a bickering pair it somehow lacked the necessary sparks. And I am not even expecting a BL.

If you like crime solving duos, check out Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty.
There are two seasons now, so far so great!

Bleaching hair is awful for the hair and scalp! If they don't maintain with regular treatments, the hair later turns straw-like and will be quite terrible... one of my friends who bleached his hair ended up shaving his head so his hair can grow out again 🤣

If Xiaoyao sells that medical formula that turned Jing's hair black again so fast, they will never need to worry about not able to make a living when they roam Da huang.
They can open wellness clinics all across the land hahahah
Not only can they help couples who have difficulty conceiving, they can also do hair treatments 🤣

In the novel, Jingye told Xiaoyao that she started serving Jing when she was about eight human years... and he is seven in human years.
From their form, it seems deities are still child form until they hit hundred over years since we see Xiaoyao still roaming around Dahuang as a child when she was well into her first hundred years.

I think its safe to say Xiangliu is definitely a few thousand years older than Jing or Xiaoyao, at last hundreds more in human form. So I really don't think he is only 6 human years unless demons have some kind of different gauge.

But also in TTEOTM, we also see Tan taijin's daughter still a child after 500 years...so yeah...xianxia years is different in every drama? lol

Right?? Almost every casual drama fan reacted the same way even when they didn't read the novel.
The payoff just fell so short.
And don't forget the amazing karma fruit that takes almost 10 thousand years to grow just to let Cangxuan have his moment of truth lool

What made me even more disgusted with CX was after that reveal, he still did not learn from his own errors. He felt righteous enough to slap Xinyue for wanting to kill Xiaoyao, when it was his own shortcomings that led to this tragedy.
He married Xinyue to stabilize his kingdom but he did not bother to put in the time to let her feel secure in her position. He basically gave her the cold shoulder after marrying her. Where is the supposed 'wise' ruler that CX was supposed to be? The drama version of CX seemed very indulgent with his own feelings and short-sighted in how to manage the harem he married.

If Xinyue didn't try to kill Xiaoyao, Fenglong won't have volunteered to fight the rebel army to be able to beg forgiveness for his sister's behalf. If Fenglong didn't go and got over eager to win, CX won't have needed to go Qingshui town when he lost, and Fenglong probably won't have died. Now that is karmic hah

I guess not many drama adaptations really managed to stay true to the source material, and LYF S1 tried its best but S2 was really just a huge creative mess. This is mostly due to budget constraints and the strange way where investments in a drama does not distribute evenly in the overall production but it seems for the specific individual who brought in the money.

We didn't expect that because this time the writer Tonghua herself was directly involved in the screenwriting process so most novel fans expected a more accurate adaptation since its 'her baby'.

For other dramas, League of Nobleman had bought the novel IP rights but changed the story so much the writer was livid and cut ties with the drama completely.
Most recently Princess Royal's novel adaptation was also marred by the production team boosting the second male lead's role so much it overshadowed the male lead as well, that led to much fan outrage.

This is really common in C Ent now, but is it really a good way to make dramas? I am glad Kdramas and US dramas still tend to look at overall production value.

What the Haoling King said to Cangxuan was a foreshadowing to this...
"Some harm is caused not only in the name of evil, but in the name of love".
Even grandpa told Cangxuan not to try to control Xiaoyao's life, but he didn't pay heed either. That was why the tragedy happened.

But now the drama is just... failed to hit any mark since the production team chickened out in the end.