There were a few aspects I liked (Machida Keita as teen Koenma was a pleasant surprise, even though I missed his younger form) but the best thing I can say about this adaptation is that it reminded me to go a do another re-watch of the anime, which will forever be one of the greatest of all time.
I agree with everyone who has mentioned how the pacing deeply affected the heart of this series and took away from the emotional investment and build up that made the original anime so great.
IMO, having more episodes (which could each have shorter run time) to cover Yusuke's death and resurrection, Genkai's tournament (and a recap of Yusuke's six months of training with her), and the saint beasts arc would have been perfect for a first season. The emotional pay off at the end of the saint beasts arc was so good. Then they'd have all the Toguro Brothers and Dark Tournament content available to cover properly in a second season.
Overall, could've been worse. But it also could've been a lot better.
In chapter 18 of the novel, FFB performs magic tricks where he changes the colour of XY's robes to entertain the…
Chapter 18:
The zither was playing, poems were recited, and even magic tricks were being performed for entertainment.
Xiao Yao observed and laughed “That Xing Yue sure knows how to throw a party.”
The music stopped and the platter floated to where Xiao Yao and Fang Feng Bei were standing.
Xiao Yao shrank behind Fang Feng Bei and whispered “Other than making poisons I don’t know how to do anything else.”
Fang Feng Bei smiled, picked up the wine and downed it, then lazily bowed to everyone “I’ll do some magic!”
Fang Feng Bei pointed to Xiao Yao “Go stand over there.”
With everyone’s eyes on her, Xiao Yao stiffly walked over.
Fang Feng Bei picked a white flower and waved the flower dew on Xiao Yao who made an annoyed face at him and whispered, “If you dare toy with me, I’ll get you back for this!”
The moment she said that, the white flower dew spread like a dye on her robe and turned it from a yellow robe into a white one.
A girl laughed. “Another color?”
Fang Feng Bei asked, “What color?”
The girl picked a purple flower and sent it to Fang Feng Bei who ripped the petals and tossed the dew on Xiao Yao’s robe. The purple flower dew turned into a dye and gradually spread over the robe, turning it into a purple color.
Everyone was amused, especially the girls who loved to be pretty, so by now Xing Yue, Zhuan Xu, Feng Long, Jing, Hou, and Yi Yang were all standing by the river and clapping along.
Fang Feng Bei used a green flower to transform Xiao Yao’s robe into a green one. He could see Xiao Yao’s hand was clenched into a fist with her impatience so he turned to the audience with a smile. “That’s it for today.”
Feng Long tossed a red flower over to Bei. “Make one more, a red one!” All the outfits were beautiful on Xiao Yao but perhaps his first time seeing her was so impactful as she wore the red ceremonial dress but she didn’t seem to like red and never wore that color again after the ceremony.
Fang Feng Bei smiled. “The birthday boy’s request” and made one more outfit as he splashed the red flower dew on Xiao Yao and her robe gradually changed into red. Xiao Yao’s patience was at its end and she didn’t have any hint of a smile but forced herself to take a bow so she opened her arms and twirled once in a circle before curtsying to Feng Long, indicating the game was ended. She turned to leave.
A sharp loud scream cut through the air and a young girl had her hands clapped over her mouth as she stared with her face stark white at Xiao Yao. A young man sitting under the tree slowly stood up and glared balefully at Xiao Yao.
Back then, they were both so small, but that nightmare scenario they would never forget. That devil who destroyed their entire tribe also wore a red robe, and he also had eyes that didn’t seem to care about anything or anyone. Faced with the pleading of their fathers and brothers, he only coldly looked towards the distance.
Xiao Yao glanced at the girl who screamed and the girl lowered her head to avoid Xiao Yao’s stare but her body was shaking uncontrollably but it wasn’t visible since she was behind a flower stalk.
Xiao Yao and Fang Feng Bei returned to the guest rest chambers and Feng Long and Zhuan Xu walked in behind them.
Xing Yue and Yi Yang sidled up to Fang Feng Bei and Yi Yang wheedled, “Dear second brother, teach us your trick!”
Fang Feng Bei laughed and pointed to Xiao Yao. “It’s temporary so of no use to learn.”
Xiao Yao’s red robe was gradually fading in color to reveal the original yellow robe. Xing Yue and Yi Yang sighed, it really was useless to learn this trick.
Girls who love XL, I thought about this today: I used to wonder why XL is so poor and doesn't even have tea where…
In chapter 18 of the novel, FFB performs magic tricks where he changes the colour of XY's robes to entertain the guests at Feng Long's birthday party. It seems like he is the only person who knows how to perform that trick (i.e., it's not something that every deity or demon can do). I'll post the excerpt under a spoiler cover.
this heavenly tribe is like human tribes. They died, get sick, get scares, everything a human can experience.…
The long lifespans of deities and demons (compared to mortal humans) and the loneliness that can bring is a pretty important plot point. The Yellow Emperor (the King of Xiyan) is well over 3,000 years old. Xiang Liu is over 600 years old. Cang Xuan, Xiao Yao and Tushan Jing are all well over 300 years old by the end of the first episode.
The main characters having the magical ability to transform (including fully changing one's body to be the opposite gender) is also a pretty key plot point. Particularly Xiao Yao's ability to use the face forming flower to transform into the form of a man so seamlessly that not even the most powerful deity or demon could see through the transformation.
Xiang Liu having nine heads (in his true demon form) and nine lives is also pretty key to the plot.
Plus the deity / demon context allows for other fun plot points like winged rides (e.g., Xiang Liu's winged ride, Chubby) and certain characters being able to breathe under water.
It would be a very different (and IMO a much less interesting) story if everyone was a mortal human and there were no demons or deities.
I have watched LLTG, TTEOTM, SOKP and LYF. If you loved LLTG, TTEOTM and SOKP, one thing you should probably be…
You're welcome!
For a bit of additional context, this is a reverse harem drama. Tushan Jing, Xiang Liu and Cang Xuan all fall for Xiao Yao, and there are other interested parties.
Cang Xuan is listed second in the cast list because the author considers him to be the second main character of the story after Xiao Yao. Since Xiao Yao spends most of the story with Cang Xuan (including the parts of episode 1 that cover her childhood) the narrative covers more of his story than the other male characters' stories. In the novel, he is Xiao Yao's cousin and closest person. There are certain details that make it seem like he's still her cousin in the drama, and certain details that make it seem like the drama writers made a change so that they are not related by blood. So in a sense you can decide how you want to interpret that one.
I have had this show for a while on my watch list simply because of all the rave reviews.HOWEVER may I request…
I have watched LLTG, TTEOTM, SOKP and LYF. If you loved LLTG, TTEOTM and SOKP, one thing you should probably be aware of if you don't mind spoilers (major, major spoilers ahead so definitely stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled for the end of season 2 of LYF...) is that in LYF, the male character that the female lead ends up with in the end is not the legendary ruthless general character (Xiang Liu) or the man with ambitions to rule the world (Cang Xuan). Instead, she ends up with kind Ye Shi Qi / Tushan Jing, who constantly forgives and never turns cold-hearted, no matter what he is put through. Sometimes his soft-heartedness causes the female lead to suffer too. So if you liked LLTG, TTEOTM and SOKP because you like dramas where the female lead ends up with male leads who are decisive, who have a bit of ruthlessness in them, and who have a bit of a dark and twisty side, you might not like this drama.
That said, all three male leads bring something interesting to the table, and Xiang Liu and Cang Xuan's parts of the story are well worth watching, even though they aren't endgame for the female lead.
So im on ep 4 but im dying to know why she doesn't know who she is yet or have any spiritual power like the dude…
Wen Xiao Liu knows who she is. Although she doesn't want to return to her former identity, she never forgets that she was formerly Xiao Yao / Princess Haoling Jiu Yao.
Her face is a different matter. When Xiao Yao was a baby, her mother (Xiling Heng / the General Princess / the former Queen of Haoling) and her father (Shao Hao / the King of Haoling) secretly implanted the Face Forming Flower in her body and used it to conceal her true features (particularly her eyes) which give away the fact that Chi Chen is her real biological father. Xiao Yao did not know that the Face Forming Flower was implanted in her body, or that the face she had as a child was not her true face.
Before Xiao Yao's mother left for the final battle, she gave Xiao Yao two precious texts (the Jiu Li Poison Manual and Chenrong Herb Manual) which were kept in a jade necklace. On Jade Mountain, the Royal Mother knew those texts were precious and dangerous. She forced Xiao Yao to memorize them and then to destroy them. The Jiu Li Poison Manual gave Xiao Yao a world-class knowledge of poisons, setting her up to become a poison master.
Xiao Yao spent 70 years on Jade Mountain before she ran away. She trained under the Royal Mother, so the strong spiritual power she had before arriving on Jade Mountain would have only increased. The food and drinks that Xiao Yao consumed on Jade Mountain (e.g., eating Jade Mountain peaches and drinking bone essence) had special properties. Over the course of 70 years, they gave Xiao Yao's body special properties. This is at least part of the reason why Xiao Yao's blood can help heal Xiang Liu's wounds.
When Xiao Yao ran away from Jade Mountain, word got out that eating her and consuming her spiritual energy would allow a demon to greatly increase their powers. In order to escape the demons that wanted to find her and eat her, Xiao Yao transformed her features. As a young deity with limited transformation experience, any powerful demon or deity should have been able to see through Xiao Yao's transformation. But Xiao Yao didn't realize she was using the power of the Face Forming Flower inside her body to transform, which made her transformation seamless. Not even the most powerful deity or demon could see through it.
However, after using the Face Forming Flower to transform for an extended period of time, Xiao Yao eventually forgot what her previous face (the one her mother and father created with the Face Forming Flower, which she didn't know was fake) looked like and wasn't able to return to it. She was treated like a monster and fled to live alone in the mountains for 20 years. That was where she met the snake demon whose egg she stole.
Later in the mountains, Xiao Yao met a nine-tailed fox who only had eight remaining tails. He taught Xiao Yao to use his magical mirror to record her faces so she could remember what they looked like and return to them (which helped him gain her trust), but she still couldn't remember what her previous face looked like. Then the fox captured Xiao Yao and threw her in a cage. Xiao Yao found out that the fox was once best friends with her ninth uncle, and the fox hated Xiao Yao's mother for killing her ninth uncle (Xiao Yao's mother had a good reason for doing so). The fox also hated Xiao Yao's mother's "friend" (Xiao Yao's biological father, Chi Chen), because he was the person who cut off the fox's ninth tail, which greatly depleted the fox's power. Since Xiao Yao's mother and Chi Chen are both believed to have died in battle, the nine-tailed fox with eight remaining tails couldn't take revenge on them directly. So he planned to eat Xiao Yao as revenge, and also as a means of restoring his spiritual power.
For 30 years, the fox fed Xiao Yao horrible concoctions that caused her spiritual power to seep into her blood (which would make it easier for the fox to absorb all of Xiao Yao's spiritual power when he ate her). This is the reason that Xiao Yao / Wen Xiao Liu has low spiritual powers. After 30 years in that cage, Xiao Yao was eventually able to use her poison skills to incapacitate the fox. She cut off each of his remaining eight tails before killing him, and then stole his mirror. She used the Face Forming Flower to take on the form of a man and travelled the world for ~160 years before settling in QS town and opening a fertility clinic using the name Wen Xiao Liu.
When Wen Xiao Liu faced off against Xuan (when he came with Ah Nian to get the antidote from Wen Xiao Liu), Wen Xiao Liu planned to have Ye Shi Qi defend against Xuan's attack, so she could see what kind of powers Xuan had (if you are interested to know, Cang Xuan has wood-based powers). Wen Xiao Liu would then use that information to decide what kind of poison to use against him. She didn't realize Ye Shi Qi had abandoned her and wouldn't defend against Xuan's attack until it was too late.
So the TL;DR answers to your questions: Wen Xiao Liu knows who she is, and she will eventually regain her true face. She really does have low spiritual powers, but she is not helpless. She is already a world-class poison master, and her skills will only increase with practice and time, and she has the will and the ability to gain other skills along the way.
Xiaoliu is upset because during the whole time she took care of Shiqi, he never told her who he really is. You…
You're welcome! ^^ Totally get it. The first time I read and watched LYF I skipped so much. But then with the delay for part 2 I ended up re-watching and re-reading... probably too much.
Two months ago I might've been able to reference the specific episodes and scenes, but now it's not fresh in my memory. The novel excerpts are easier to pull up quickly. But iirc the drama matched up with those parts of the novel pretty closely, so hopefully they're close enough.
Xiaoliu is upset because during the whole time she took care of Shiqi, he never told her who he really is. You…
IMO, WXL did not think that YSQ was an ordinary person. She and Lao Mu both knew he was a powerful god, that he likely came from a powerful family, and the person who inflicted his injuries was a powerful and dangerous person. She also knew (logically) that he wouldn't be able to stay with her as YSQ forever. But when TSJ's identity was revealed and he was really forced to leave her, she was still hurt. As Ltran904 mentioned, she still carries her childhood trauma and has serious abandonment issues.
On top of that, she unexpectedly found out that he was engaged. WXL still met TSJ by the riverbank in the evenings after TSJ returned to the Tushan clan residence in QS town, but she stopped doing that after she found out about his engagement.
-----
Chapter 1:
Ma Zi spoke to the person laying on the pallet through the window, “Beggar, Brother Liu spent an entire night saving you and used up all the medicine he was saving for himself. You have to survive.” When Xiao Liu came back in the afternoon, he was so tired and sleepy his eyelids were battling each other.
He tossed a wild duck on the ground and went to the kitchen to get a bowl of hot soup, crumbling some biscuits to toss inside. He sat behind the stove and noisily slurped his meal. Lao Mu was rolling dough and said, “I heard about that man’s injuries from Ma Zi.”
Xiao Liu drank his soup. “Uhm hmmm.”
“Ma Zi, Chuan Zi – neither can see it, but you must be able to tell. He is from one of the God tribes, and he is definitely not one of the lowlier types of Gods like us.”
Xiao Liu drank his soup and didn’t respond.
“Killing someone is just cutting off a head. These kinds of injuries have a big reason behind it. Saving someone who shouldn’t be saved is like bringing death to the door.”
Xiao Liu chewed and said, “Clean up that duck and put a bit of salt on it and nothing else, then roast it over a small fire.”
Lao Mu glanced over and saw that Xiao Liu didn’t care so he sighed and said, “Understood.”
-----
Chapter 2:
Xiao Liu ate his portion and watched Shi Qi. He was still the same, every gesture was elegant and refined, as if he was seated at the most lofty banquet eating the most incredible food. Xiao Liu sighed “Shi Qi, you’ll leave sooner or later.”
Shi Qi glanced at him. “I. Won’t.”
...
Shi Qi’s footsteps slowed and Xiao Liu gave his chest a few comforting slaps. “I know, you’re Shi Qi. I wish you would stay Shi Qi for the rest of your life. But I know that isn’t possible. But for each day you don’t leave, then you are Shi Qi for an additional day, and you have to listen to me…….” “Mmmm hmmmm.”
-----
Chapter 4:
At dinnertime Tian Er asked where Shi Qi was and everyone looked at Xiao Liu who smiled “He’s gone, no need to make his portion anymore.” Lao Mu sighed “Good, I was always worried about him.”
...
That night, Xiao Liu walked along the stone path through the medicine patch to the river. He strolled along the river and someone followed behind him, speeding up and slowing down along with him. The Summer breeze brought the scent of hops and it calmed Xiao Liu down. He stopped and turned around. Shi Qi stood behind him wearing the same old sack cloth robe which had been laundered and now smelled like fragrant incense.
Xiao Liu said, “I don’t like this scent on you.”
Shi Qi lowered his head and Xiao Liu smiled. “I liked the smell of medicinal herbs. Next time when you come see me, I’ll give you a satchel of medicinal herbs.” Shi Qi raised his head and it was like stars had fallen into his eyes as it sparkled with hope. Xiao Liu smiled and kept on walking so Shi Qi hurried up to walk alongside.
From then on, Shi Qi would always wear the same sack cloth robe and come walk with Xiao Liu every night by the river. The two of them would walk until Xiao Liu got tired and went back to sleep, and then Shi Qi would leave.
-----
Chapter 5:
“Now that the Fang Feng family has heard the Second Lord has recovered, the two families have resumed wedding preparations and want it to happen as soon as possible.”
...
“Tu Shan….how to write it?” Jing splashed some wine and wrote his name for Xiao Liu who laughed and asked, “And what’s the name of your soon-to-be wife?”
Jing’s hand froze above the table. Xiao Liu smiled. “Six years, I let you stay for six years. Give me six years without rent and then we won’t owe each other anything!” ...
Xiao Liu refused to go to the river banks anymore. He locked the doors to the courtyard and laid on the pallet to count the stars.
Same here and I like this genre and the main leads. Watch quickly to episode 22 and you'll want to binge to the…
I generally try to avoid watching airing dramas so I can binge them. ^^ Since Xu Kai is in it and I've liked a few of his past dramas I'll probably give it a try once it finishes airing.
Same here and I like this genre and the main leads. Watch quickly to episode 22 and you'll want to binge to the…
I did like some parts, but after finishing episode 34 I don't think I'm going to make myself watch the last few episodes. I'm just not into the FL / the main couple enough.
I can't believe they put that in trailer for Season 1. I was so disappointed that we didn't get to see that.
I don't think the trailer was intended to be for just season 1 (which is more like part 1 of 2) but rather for the drama as a whole. I imagine they weren't expecting to have such a long delay between the two parts / seasons back at the point when they would've been putting the trailer together. Even so, I was surprised they put such major spoilery moments from later on in the story in the trailer.
3 
1 
1 
I agree with everyone who has mentioned how the pacing deeply affected the heart of this series and took away from the emotional investment and build up that made the original anime so great.
IMO, having more episodes (which could each have shorter run time) to cover Yusuke's death and resurrection, Genkai's tournament (and a recap of Yusuke's six months of training with her), and the saint beasts arc would have been perfect for a first season. The emotional pay off at the end of the saint beasts arc was so good. Then they'd have all the Toguro Brothers and Dark Tournament content available to cover properly in a second season.
Overall, could've been worse. But it also could've been a lot better.
The zither was playing, poems were recited, and even magic tricks were being performed for entertainment.
Xiao Yao observed and laughed “That Xing Yue sure knows how to throw a party.”
The music stopped and the platter floated to where Xiao Yao and Fang Feng Bei were standing.
Xiao Yao shrank behind Fang Feng Bei and whispered “Other than making poisons I don’t know how to do anything else.”
Fang Feng Bei smiled, picked up the wine and downed it, then lazily bowed to everyone “I’ll do some magic!”
Fang Feng Bei pointed to Xiao Yao “Go stand over there.”
With everyone’s eyes on her, Xiao Yao stiffly walked over.
Fang Feng Bei picked a white flower and waved the flower dew on Xiao Yao who made an annoyed face at him and whispered, “If you dare toy with me, I’ll get you back for this!”
The moment she said that, the white flower dew spread like a dye on her robe and turned it from a yellow robe into a white one.
A girl laughed. “Another color?”
Fang Feng Bei asked, “What color?”
The girl picked a purple flower and sent it to Fang Feng Bei who ripped the petals and tossed the dew on Xiao Yao’s robe. The purple flower dew turned into a dye and gradually spread over the robe, turning it into a purple color.
Everyone was amused, especially the girls who loved to be pretty, so by now Xing Yue, Zhuan Xu, Feng Long, Jing, Hou, and Yi Yang were all standing by the river and clapping along.
Fang Feng Bei used a green flower to transform Xiao Yao’s robe into a green one. He could see Xiao Yao’s hand was clenched into a fist with her impatience so he turned to the audience with a smile. “That’s it for today.”
Feng Long tossed a red flower over to Bei. “Make one more, a red one!” All the outfits were beautiful on Xiao Yao but perhaps his first time seeing her was so impactful as she wore the red ceremonial dress but she didn’t seem to like red and never wore that color again after the ceremony.
Fang Feng Bei smiled. “The birthday boy’s request” and made one more outfit as he splashed the red flower dew on Xiao Yao and her robe gradually changed into red.
Xiao Yao’s patience was at its end and she didn’t have any hint of a smile but forced herself to take a bow so she opened her arms and twirled once in a circle before curtsying to Feng Long, indicating the game was ended. She turned to leave.
A sharp loud scream cut through the air and a young girl had her hands clapped over her mouth as she stared with her face stark white at Xiao Yao. A young man sitting under the tree slowly stood up and glared balefully at Xiao Yao.
Back then, they were both so small, but that nightmare scenario they would never forget. That devil who destroyed their entire tribe also wore a red robe, and he also had eyes that didn’t seem to care about anything or anyone. Faced with the pleading of their fathers and brothers, he only coldly looked towards the distance.
Xiao Yao glanced at the girl who screamed and the girl lowered her head to avoid Xiao Yao’s stare but her body was shaking uncontrollably but it wasn’t visible since she was behind a flower stalk.
Xiao Yao and Fang Feng Bei returned to the guest rest chambers and Feng Long and Zhuan Xu walked in behind them.
Xing Yue and Yi Yang sidled up to Fang Feng Bei and Yi Yang wheedled, “Dear second brother, teach us your trick!”
Fang Feng Bei laughed and pointed to Xiao Yao. “It’s temporary so of no use to learn.”
Xiao Yao’s red robe was gradually fading in color to reveal the original yellow robe. Xing Yue and Yi Yang sighed, it really was useless to learn this trick.
The main characters having the magical ability to transform (including fully changing one's body to be the opposite gender) is also a pretty key plot point. Particularly Xiao Yao's ability to use the face forming flower to transform into the form of a man so seamlessly that not even the most powerful deity or demon could see through the transformation.
Xiang Liu having nine heads (in his true demon form) and nine lives is also pretty key to the plot.
Plus the deity / demon context allows for other fun plot points like winged rides (e.g., Xiang Liu's winged ride, Chubby) and certain characters being able to breathe under water.
It would be a very different (and IMO a much less interesting) story if everyone was a mortal human and there were no demons or deities.
For a bit of additional context, this is a reverse harem drama. Tushan Jing, Xiang Liu and Cang Xuan all fall for Xiao Yao, and there are other interested parties.
Cang Xuan is listed second in the cast list because the author considers him to be the second main character of the story after Xiao Yao. Since Xiao Yao spends most of the story with Cang Xuan (including the parts of episode 1 that cover her childhood) the narrative covers more of his story than the other male characters' stories. In the novel, he is Xiao Yao's cousin and closest person. There are certain details that make it seem like he's still her cousin in the drama, and certain details that make it seem like the drama writers made a change so that they are not related by blood. So in a sense you can decide how you want to interpret that one.
That said, all three male leads bring something interesting to the table, and Xiang Liu and Cang Xuan's parts of the story are well worth watching, even though they aren't endgame for the female lead.
Her face is a different matter. When Xiao Yao was a baby, her mother (Xiling Heng / the General Princess / the former Queen of Haoling) and her father (Shao Hao / the King of Haoling) secretly implanted the Face Forming Flower in her body and used it to conceal her true features (particularly her eyes) which give away the fact that Chi Chen is her real biological father. Xiao Yao did not know that the Face Forming Flower was implanted in her body, or that the face she had as a child was not her true face.
Before Xiao Yao's mother left for the final battle, she gave Xiao Yao two precious texts (the Jiu Li Poison Manual and Chenrong Herb Manual) which were kept in a jade necklace. On Jade Mountain, the Royal Mother knew those texts were precious and dangerous. She forced Xiao Yao to memorize them and then to destroy them. The Jiu Li Poison Manual gave Xiao Yao a world-class knowledge of poisons, setting her up to become a poison master.
Xiao Yao spent 70 years on Jade Mountain before she ran away. She trained under the Royal Mother, so the strong spiritual power she had before arriving on Jade Mountain would have only increased. The food and drinks that Xiao Yao consumed on Jade Mountain (e.g., eating Jade Mountain peaches and drinking bone essence) had special properties. Over the course of 70 years, they gave Xiao Yao's body special properties. This is at least part of the reason why Xiao Yao's blood can help heal Xiang Liu's wounds.
When Xiao Yao ran away from Jade Mountain, word got out that eating her and consuming her spiritual energy would allow a demon to greatly increase their powers. In order to escape the demons that wanted to find her and eat her, Xiao Yao transformed her features. As a young deity with limited transformation experience, any powerful demon or deity should have been able to see through Xiao Yao's transformation. But Xiao Yao didn't realize she was using the power of the Face Forming Flower inside her body to transform, which made her transformation seamless. Not even the most powerful deity or demon could see through it.
However, after using the Face Forming Flower to transform for an extended period of time, Xiao Yao eventually forgot what her previous face (the one her mother and father created with the Face Forming Flower, which she didn't know was fake) looked like and wasn't able to return to it. She was treated like a monster and fled to live alone in the mountains for 20 years. That was where she met the snake demon whose egg she stole.
Later in the mountains, Xiao Yao met a nine-tailed fox who only had eight remaining tails. He taught Xiao Yao to use his magical mirror to record her faces so she could remember what they looked like and return to them (which helped him gain her trust), but she still couldn't remember what her previous face looked like. Then the fox captured Xiao Yao and threw her in a cage. Xiao Yao found out that the fox was once best friends with her ninth uncle, and the fox hated Xiao Yao's mother for killing her ninth uncle (Xiao Yao's mother had a good reason for doing so). The fox also hated Xiao Yao's mother's "friend" (Xiao Yao's biological father, Chi Chen), because he was the person who cut off the fox's ninth tail, which greatly depleted the fox's power. Since Xiao Yao's mother and Chi Chen are both believed to have died in battle, the nine-tailed fox with eight remaining tails couldn't take revenge on them directly. So he planned to eat Xiao Yao as revenge, and also as a means of restoring his spiritual power.
For 30 years, the fox fed Xiao Yao horrible concoctions that caused her spiritual power to seep into her blood (which would make it easier for the fox to absorb all of Xiao Yao's spiritual power when he ate her). This is the reason that Xiao Yao / Wen Xiao Liu has low spiritual powers. After 30 years in that cage, Xiao Yao was eventually able to use her poison skills to incapacitate the fox. She cut off each of his remaining eight tails before killing him, and then stole his mirror. She used the Face Forming Flower to take on the form of a man and travelled the world for ~160 years before settling in QS town and opening a fertility clinic using the name Wen Xiao Liu.
When Wen Xiao Liu faced off against Xuan (when he came with Ah Nian to get the antidote from Wen Xiao Liu), Wen Xiao Liu planned to have Ye Shi Qi defend against Xuan's attack, so she could see what kind of powers Xuan had (if you are interested to know, Cang Xuan has wood-based powers). Wen Xiao Liu would then use that information to decide what kind of poison to use against him. She didn't realize Ye Shi Qi had abandoned her and wouldn't defend against Xuan's attack until it was too late.
So the TL;DR answers to your questions: Wen Xiao Liu knows who she is, and she will eventually regain her true face. She really does have low spiritual powers, but she is not helpless. She is already a world-class poison master, and her skills will only increase with practice and time, and she has the will and the ability to gain other skills along the way.
10 seconds into episode 8: Oh. Well, then. I'm glad I didn't stop there! ^^
You can take this mini comment thread as proof that I'll still pop back here from time to time!
Two months ago I might've been able to reference the specific episodes and scenes, but now it's not fresh in my memory. The novel excerpts are easier to pull up quickly. But iirc the drama matched up with those parts of the novel pretty closely, so hopefully they're close enough.
On top of that, she unexpectedly found out that he was engaged. WXL still met TSJ by the riverbank in the evenings after TSJ returned to the Tushan clan residence in QS town, but she stopped doing that after she found out about his engagement.
-----
Chapter 1:
Ma Zi spoke to the person laying on the pallet through the window, “Beggar, Brother Liu spent an entire night saving you and used up all the medicine he was saving for himself. You have to survive.” When Xiao Liu came back in the afternoon, he was so tired and sleepy his eyelids were battling each other.
He tossed a wild duck on the ground and went to the kitchen to get a bowl of hot soup, crumbling some biscuits to toss inside. He sat behind the stove and noisily slurped his meal. Lao Mu was rolling dough and said, “I heard about that man’s injuries from Ma Zi.”
Xiao Liu drank his soup. “Uhm hmmm.”
“Ma Zi, Chuan Zi – neither can see it, but you must be able to tell. He is from one of the God tribes, and he is definitely not one of the lowlier types of Gods like us.”
Xiao Liu drank his soup and didn’t respond.
“Killing someone is just cutting off a head. These kinds of injuries have a big reason behind it. Saving someone who shouldn’t be saved is like bringing death to the door.”
Xiao Liu chewed and said, “Clean up that duck and put a bit of salt on it and nothing else, then roast it over a small fire.”
Lao Mu glanced over and saw that Xiao Liu didn’t care so he sighed and said, “Understood.”
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Chapter 2:
Xiao Liu ate his portion and watched Shi Qi. He was still the same, every gesture was elegant and refined, as if he was seated at the most lofty banquet eating the most incredible food. Xiao Liu sighed “Shi Qi, you’ll leave sooner or later.”
Shi Qi glanced at him. “I. Won’t.”
...
Shi Qi’s footsteps slowed and Xiao Liu gave his chest a few comforting slaps. “I know, you’re Shi Qi. I wish you would stay Shi Qi for the rest of your life. But I know that isn’t possible. But for each day you don’t leave, then you are Shi Qi for an additional day, and you have to listen to me…….” “Mmmm hmmmm.”
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Chapter 4:
At dinnertime Tian Er asked where Shi Qi was and everyone looked at Xiao Liu who smiled “He’s gone, no need to make his portion anymore.” Lao Mu sighed “Good, I was always worried about him.”
...
That night, Xiao Liu walked along the stone path through the medicine patch to the river. He strolled along the river and someone followed behind him, speeding up and slowing down along with him. The Summer breeze brought the scent of hops and it calmed Xiao Liu down. He stopped and turned around. Shi Qi stood behind him wearing the same old sack cloth robe which had been laundered and now smelled like fragrant incense.
Xiao Liu said, “I don’t like this scent on you.”
Shi Qi lowered his head and Xiao Liu smiled. “I liked the smell of medicinal herbs. Next time when you come see me, I’ll give you a satchel of medicinal herbs.” Shi Qi raised his head and it was like stars had fallen into his eyes as it sparkled with hope. Xiao Liu smiled and kept on walking so Shi Qi hurried up to walk alongside.
From then on, Shi Qi would always wear the same sack cloth robe and come walk with Xiao Liu every night by the river. The two of them would walk until Xiao Liu got tired and went back to sleep, and then Shi Qi would leave.
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Chapter 5:
“Now that the Fang Feng family has heard the Second Lord has recovered, the two families have resumed wedding preparations and want it to happen as soon as possible.”
...
“Tu Shan….how to write it?” Jing splashed some wine and wrote his name for Xiao Liu who laughed and asked, “And what’s the name of your soon-to-be wife?”
Jing’s hand froze above the table. Xiao Liu smiled. “Six years, I let you stay for six years. Give me six years without rent and then we won’t owe each other anything!”
...
Xiao Liu refused to go to the river banks anymore. He locked the doors to the courtyard and laid on the pallet to count the stars.