AH

When Tushan Jing thought that Xiao Yao was dead, he wanted to die with her. Cang Xuan's people found him before he was killed by the assassins' flames, but Jing's spirit still sought death. Despite being treated by the best doctors with the best medicine, after 37 years in a coma Jing was really on the brink of death. Xiao Yao was the only person who could save him.

Xiang Liu had to decide whether to use a more extreme and painful method of healing to wake Xiao Yao up earlier and to send her to Tushan Jing directly so that she could save Tushan Jing's life, or if he should continue healing Xiao Yao in the same manner as always (a manner that was less extreme and less painful, but slower), which would mean letting Jing die. Xiang Liu wondered if Xiao Yao would hate him if he chose the second option.

In the end, Xiang Liu chose to use the more extreme and painful method of healing to wake Xiao Yao up earlier and to send her to Tushan Jing so that she could save his life.

-----
Chapter 21:

“Master Jing is just burned. Doctor Yin said his injuries are not severe but he’s inconsolable and his spirit is actively seeking death which is why he remains unconscious.”

...

Xiao Xiao said, “We rushed into the maze to save the Princess. When we found her, Master Jing was protecting her. If it wasn’t for Master Jing using his spiritual power to protect her body then her body would have been incinerated into ashes already. Because he kept transferring power into her, it kept a sliver of hope alive. You can say Master Jing was the real person who rescued her. But when we got there he was already unconscious and we brought them both back to Zhi Jin Summit. Master Jing’s injuries are actually not severe but he’s the one who doesn’t want to live so that is why he’s not waking up.”

...

What could have happened to lead to her master becoming so despondent and heartbroken that he wished for death?

Jing Ye slowly figured out the reason and nightly prayed that the Gao Xing Princess who made her master start playing the zither again would not die. If the Princess died, then Jing Ye worried that her master would never wake up again.

-----
Chapter 22:

One day Xiang Liu came back but instead of his usual touching her forehead and cheeks, he instead quietly stared at her. Xiao Yao couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, but she knew he was deciding something.

Xiang Liu picked up Xiao Yao, “Tonight is a full moon. I’ll take you out to play!”

Xiao Yao was confused, wasn’t full moon a night for healing?”

...

Xiang Liu took Xiao Yao out for a long time and they didn’t return until late into the night.

“Xiao Yao, do you remember Tu Shan Jing? Wen Xiao Liu’s Ye Shi Qi? Since you’ve been sleeping, he’s also been unconscious. His life has been maintained by spiritual medicines until now but it’s almost at the limit. He’s at the brink of death.”

Jing, Jing……Xiao Yao didn’t feel sad when she died, life has its beginning so it must have an end. It didn’t start happy and need not end sad. But right now she was very sad, she didn’t want Jing to die.

Xiao Yao tried to move.

Xiang Liu asked, “If he died, would you be really sad and hate me to the core?”

Xiao Yao answered in her heart: I don’t want Jing to die, but I also won’t hate you.

Xiang Liu said, “Tonight I’m waking you up.”

Xiang Liu fed his essential soul blood to Xiao Yao, and different than before where it felt like warm flames that chased away the coldness of death in Xiao Yao’s body, tonight his essential soul blood was a raging inferno that scorched Xiao Yao. It was colliding in her body and appeared to rip her insides to shreds before slowly bonding it back together.

Xiao Yao couldn’t cry out but her body violently shook. Gradually her hands could move, her legs could move, and then she painfully cried out as all the soul essence entered her body and she passed out in the midst of unbearable pain.

When Xiao Yao woke up, she felt the warm sun on her body and she subconsciously turned over to keep on sleeping. Suddenly she opened her eyes in disbelief. She laid there in a daze and then slowly raised her hand up.

Oh! She really could move!

“Xiang Liu!” Xiao Yao sat up but then her head bumped into something hard and she saw stars.

...

Xiao Yao put her hands around her mouth and yelled “Xiang Liu! Xiang Liu! Where are you? I’m awake!”

A white and gold condor descended but without Xiang Liu on his back.

Xiao Yao stroked its back. “Furball, where is your master?”

Furbal flapped his wings and called towards the sky once, as if urging Xiao Yao to get on his back.

Xiao Yao happily asked, “Xiang Liu asked you to bring me to see him?

Furball shook his head.

Xiao Yao quizzically asked “Xiang Liu asked you to take me home?”

Furball nodded his head.

Whether Xiang Liu had matters to attend to or he was purposely avoiding seeing her, Xiao Yao stood there in a dumbstruck daze, the initial happiness of regaining life and light disappearing like receding waves.

Furball pecked Xiao Yao’s hand to urge her to hurry up.

Xiao Yao climbed on Furball’s back and it rose into the air and flew towards the Middle Plains.

Xiao Yao stared at the passing ocean surface as it rushed past her like a shooting arrow, disappearing behind her. The feelings in her heart were so jumbled.

The next morning, Furball landed outside Zhi Yi Castle...

...

Xiao Yao said, “I ought to go to Sheng Nong Mountain to see Gege first but I heard Jing is very sick. I want to go to Qing Qiu to see him, can you come with me?”

Xing Yue pulled her inside. “You came to the right place. Jing gege is not at Qing Qiu. He’s here.”

Xiao Yao said, “Take me to see him now.”

You're welcome. ^^ Thanks for covering the first comment with a spoiler cover!

Xiao Yao's mother was married to the King of Haoling, but her biological father was Chi Chen (the Sheng Nong General whose army was defeated by Xiao Yao's mother in episode 1). The King of Haoling knows Xiao Yao is not his biological daughter but loves her anyway.

Please hide your comment under a spoiler cover to avoid spoiling this detail for other viewers. ^^

Yes, agreed. I'm sure he would have preferred to get what he wanted a different way.

You are definitely not alone in that opinion! You're welcome. ^^

When the truth of their plot (pretending that FFYY's son was TSJ's son rather than TSH's son) was revealed, TSH threw FFYY under the bus and blamed everything on her. She suffered a terrible punishment, while TSH got off lightly. FFYY realized that TSH never really loved her. TSJ showed FFYY mercy and helped her fake her death and let her see her son (TSZ) for a few months every year, but FFYY was in very ill health and close to death. Eventually TSH poisoned TSZ to get TSJ to fall into his trap. All of that motivated FFYY to kill TSH and to die with him.

Tushan Hou was killed by his lover (Tushan Jing's wife, Fang Feng Yi Yang) at the end of that fight. Fang Feng Yi Yang shot Tushan Hou using a bow that Tushan Hou gifted to her, and she used the arrow that ran Tushan Hou through to also kill herself.

Xiao Yao was born with very high spiritual power from both of her biological parents (Xiling Heng and Chi Chen). Her powers increased after she spent 70 years on Jade Mountain learning from the strict Queen Mother. But when Xiao Yao escaped from Jade Mountain and was caught by the nine-tailed fox that held her captive for 30 years, he fed her concoctions that caused her power to dissipate. So she had very low spiritual power after that.

Xiao Yao's unusual body composition and the special healing powers that her blood has are due to the 70 years she spent living on Jade Mountain.

Her transformation abilities come from the Face Forming Flower that her mother and the King of Haoling planted in her to conceal her identity as Chi Chen's daughter.

Later in the story, she gains additional abilities (the ability to breathe under water, to swim faster than a dolphin, and to see great distances) thanks to XL's blood.

Well... the reason Feng Long wanted to lead the Xuan Yuan army into battle was to earn accolades and the right to ask CX to have mercy on Xing Yue (for trying to assassinate XY). When he died saving CX's life, he was able to ask CX for that favor and have it granted. So, arguably, he did get the thing he wanted most.

Specific spoiler ahead... when Tushan Hou forced Tushan Jing to fight for his life in chapter 42 of the novel, Tushan Hou cut off seven of Tushan Jing's nine fox tails.

There is a detailed post on this question here: https://mydramalist.com/discussions/lost-you-forever/120191-are-cang-xuan-and-xiao-yao-blood-relatives-in-the-drama

Sorry Kokuto I didn't see that you mentioned me.

I don't subscribe to windiaaa041293's theory that the poisonous bugs were parent-child bugs when XY planted the bug in CX. I believe that they were male-female bugs / Lovers' Bugs from the beginning, and that the walnut was absorbed into XY and XL's palms when the bug was transferred from CX to XL because the bug was successfully planted (because XL willingly accepted it). Meaning that the bug could never be transferred or removed from that point on.

There is never any suggestion in the novel that a parent-child bug can transform into a male-female bug / Lovers' Bug.

In chapter 26, Se Mai Er said: “Most voodoo bugs are parent-child bugs. The parent bug can control the child bug, and this kind of bug is easy to raise and easy to plant. But legend has it there is a rare, extremely difficult-to-raise-and-plant bug. That bug has a gender difference and is split into a male bug and a female bug. It is hard to raise and even harder to plant. If a woman raised the bug, she needs to find a man to plant it. If a man raised the bug, he needs to find a woman to plant it. Almost always this bug is raised but cannot be planted even in a lifetime. So this bug remains just a legend in Jiu Li.”

In chapter 37, the Voodoo King says: "The Lover’s Bug is different than other voodoo bugs and absolutely requires the couple to willingly accept the bug for it to be successfully planted."

In chapter 48, XL says: "Years ago I was only able to remove the bug from Zhuan Xu because he didn’t know it was you so he didn’t willingly accept the bug. So you never successfully planted the bug on him in the first place. But I….I was heart and soul willing, so the bug successfully planted in me."

"I will pay." would be like "my treat", which wouldn't really fit with his whole "all of our interactions are perfectly fair and equitable transactions" schtick. "The man always has to pay" feels like a convenient excuse for him to pay every time without seeming like he's showing her affection or creating a situation where she owes him.

In the novel and in the drama, XL/FFB insisted that "the man" should pay. Which seemed (to me) like an odd thing for him to care about. After some thought (this is purely my speculation) I think the real reason he insisted on paying was that he didn't want the relationship between FFB and XY to ever be one where it could be construed as poor FFB using rich princess XY as a free meal ticket. If he let her pay for their meals and activities, that would turn their relationship into one where, on some level, he was using her for a gain. If he always insisted on paying, then he would never feel like he was using her.

Xiao Yao is the female lead and the main character of the story. The drama follows her story more closely than any of the other character's stories.

Tong Hua (the author) considers Cang Xuan to be the male lead. After Xiao Yao, the drama follows his story more closely than any other character's story.

But the character with the most straightforward love line with Xiao Yao is Tushan Jing. And Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao's lives and hearts are connected. Tushan Jing and Xiang Liu are generally considered the second and third male leads and they both play very important roles in the story.

It's a reverse harem drama and Cang Xuan is not a typical male lead.

We could go right to the source. TSJ and XL said nice things about each other in the novel.

TSJ speaking to XY in chapter 22 (which corresponds with episode 33): “No, I see you as more important than my life. Xiao Yao, you resented me for saying I wasn’t good enough for you yet I refused to let go. Actually, I know that you can go on just fine without me. I know that Fang Fang Bei is more suitable for you. But I can’t let you go, as long as I am alive then I can’t! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…"

XL speaking to XY in chapter 46: “Even before I knew you, I was already doing business with Tu Shan Jing for hundreds of years. He’s not a vindictive person, but he’s also not a weak fool. In hundreds of years, I’ve never once taken any advantage from him. He can time and again endure Tu Shan Hou only because he treats Tu Shan Hou as a relative. When he banished Tu Shan Hou to Gao Xing, he was well aware that the fracture between them would not end that easily. With Tu Shan Jing’s smarts, he would have been keeping guard against Tu Shan Hou still. He would have assigned someone to track Tu Shan Hou at all times in Gao Xing, and prevent him from growing his power again. That way if Tu Shan Hou still wants to kill Jing, he couldn’t even attempt it.”

TSJ speaking to XY in chapter 51: “Don’t think your husband is a very jealous and small minded person. Xiang Liu saved your life many times. I am eternally grateful to him.”

S1 ends with Cang Xuan achieving a goal, so it is a somewhat happy "ending" in that sense. But it also "ends" with all of the main leads facing unhappy circumstances in their love lives. They are either married to people they don't love or engaged to people they don't love. So it is unhappy in that sense.

S2 will end with each character getting the thing they originally wanted most, and the author of the novel considers the ending to be a happy one for that reason. For some of the main characters (including the female lead), that means a mostly happy ending with marriage to a person they love. For others they get some of what they wanted, but not everything, and in a tragic way. There is a main character death and no one gets a 100% happy ending. Depending on your perspective and the characters you like most, you might view it as happy ending, a very tragic ending, or something in the middle.

S1 only covers the first half of the novel. S2 will air next year. Are you wanting to know how S1 ends, or how S2 will end?

Yep, true. Wen Xiao Liu is a deity with a male body, not a human woman. And I agree, TSJ's choices probably caused XY more pain than XL's choices.

I think that's a fair gripe.

In fairness, the instances where XL physically hurts XY or causes her to feel excruciating pain go beyond ordering her to be whipped 40 times and stepping on her wounds after she trespassed on the remnant army's territory, poisoned Chubby, tried to poison XL, and refused to reveal her true identity to XL at a time when he knew that spies had infiltrated his camp and were trying to kill him.

XL also caused blood to drip from XY's nose and fingers when she mocked XL's commitment to Gong Gong. XY later understands why XL reacted this way and apologized for her comments, but it's still true that he hurt her out of anger here.

XL intentionally broke a branch that XY was hanging from, causing her to fall a great distance and to badly injure her legs. In the novel, XY is happy with the outcome of that encounter despite her injuries. But it's still an instance where XL intentionally hurts XY.

XL intentionally caused XY to fall from a great height into Hu Lu Lake so that XY would be stunned and FFYY could try to assassinate CX. Although XL absorbed the brunt of the water's force, XY was still in significant pain and unable to move for a while afterwards (despite being relaxed and speaking comfortably with XL).

XL intentionally pulls XY into the depths of the ocean to force her to choose: "kiss" him for air or drown? XY's lungs burn and she ends up fainting after refusing to "kiss" XL. Of course, XL immediately passes air to her and brings her to the surface.

In chapter 32 (which is beyond what is covered in S1 of the drama), XL uses the bug connection to intentionally cause XY to feel excruciating pain in her heart before they part ways. I assume to push her away for her own good, but still another instance where he intentionally causes her pain.

And then there are the bites. In the novel, many of the bites are described as involving no pain (and some are described as involving sensations that are more like kissing, licking or excitement), but at least one bite is described as involving pain. In the drama, YZ's facial expressions of discomfort make it seem like XY feels some pain when XL bites her.

XY generally doesn't seem to be traumatized by any of these things or to really hold them against XL. But they do happen.

I've said before that I don't think "abusive" is the right word, and I agree with you that they are different from a situation like a lovers' spat that ends in violence, but I don't think we should make light of these moments either.

All of the main characters, XL included, have serious issues.