AH

I don't read XL in the drama as being unfamiliar with human emotion.

In the novel, XL is over 600 years old. After leaving the North, he cared for FFB's mother for four years and lived as FFB for hundreds of years. He joined Hong Jiang and fought with him and his soldiers for hundreds of years. He became Hong Jiang's adopted son, did business with TSJ, and was Sir Bi's occasional drinking partner. He's had plenty of time to figure out how to interact in the world of deities rather than demons.

Later in the novel, Left Ear reunites with XY and she sees him as a young XL. Like XL, he wandered for a period of time after escaping the death match arena, and then reunited with a person that he wanted to repay. When she teaches Left Ear to read and about certain more complex emotions, she imagines Gong Gong doing the same thing with XL centuries earlier.

I believe falling for XY was XL's first experience with romantic love (rather than the love between a parent and child or the loyalty between comrades). But XY and TSJ also have no prior experience with romantic love. XY definitely isn't a natural and takes a very long time to realize that a romantic relationship requires mutual effort in order to be successful.

In terms of how XL's emotions and emotional control are portrayed... I think XL tries to scare XY several times on purpose (maybe as a subconscious defence mechanism rather than a conscious one) because (very similar to XY with TSJ) he's trying to protect his heart. He's used to people being afraid of him and treating him like an abomination. Better to assume she will be scared off and be proved right early on than to let himself start to trust and believe that she will be different and then be disappointed. And there are other times where his usual ruthlessness (which is appropriate in a military context) or general bad temper lead him to behave harshly. By the time he appears as FFB he's had more practice with dealing with XY, but she also doesn't push his boundaries in the same way when he's FFB.

"The crystal is about their relationship, which TuShan Jing has no part in."

This is a bit tricky, because, in a way, he has a huge part in their relationship... One of the main reasons XL starts to meet XY as FFB is that she can't be with TSJ at that point. She suffers from heartache and a lack of companionship, so FFB fills the gap. Later on, XL intervenes on several occasions to help ensure that XY and TSJ end up together. And at the point in the novel where XL is returning the crystal to XY, FFB has been "dead" for more than a decade and XL has just saved TSJ's life so that he could return to XY and marry her.

"I think there is a part of XL that wants XY to remember FFB. He didn't take her bow. She can't shoot any bow without being reminded of FFB who taught her archery. And one of the first things FFB did was write his name on her palm and asked her to remember it."

As much as a really like this theory and the call back to their meeting when he first appeared as FFB, I can't help thinking about how ruthlessly thorough he was about not leaving any trace of himself behind (at least, any trace that XY would be able to connect back to him). She is only allowed to keep the silver bow because she doesn't know he commissioned it for her. So I don't think I can personally subscribe to this theory.

"If we actually get to see the crystal in the drama after XL altered it, and we can actually recognize the figure (if it has white hair), then I'll just have to accept the final rendering of my poor abused heart."

One thing I'd like to know is... can TSJ walk on water the way XL can? XY wasn't able to in the beginning, but after XL healed her she was able to if iirc. Which makes it seem like something that's connected to XL's blood rather than a matter of spirit power. If TSJ can't walk on water, it would be very interesting to see where the man that XL added is standing.

Out of curiosity... do people understand why everyone thinks that XY's blood and family background pre-determine her fate with XL? As in, why they are assumed to be enemies that could never reconcile or be together?

Her Parents - Her parents' sacrifice results in the defeat of Chi Chen's army (Qi Yo's army in the novel), which directly results in Xiyan finally conquering Chenrong (Xuan Yuan conquering Sheng Nong in the novel) and General Hong Jiang (General Gong Gong in the novel) being the only Chenrong General still standing who refuses to surrender. At this point, everyone else abandons Hong Jiang, and that is when XL seeks Hong Jiang out to repay him. He fights for Hong Jiang and later becomes his adopted son. XY is the daughter of the people who make Hong Jiang's cause futile - making death on the battlefield the only remaining option that he and his army can accept.

Her Grandfather - The Yellow Emperor has spent hundreds of years fighting against Hong Jiang both before and after Chengrong was conquered. He was the one who sent his daughter (XY's mother, the Princess General) to battle, resulting in everything that I mentioned above.

Her Cousin - CX (ZX in the novel) is the Yellow Emperor's eldest grandson. He and XY are the only living direct descendants of the Yellow Emperor and his Empress. Later on, he tries to kill XL in QS Town. Later still, he becomes the Black Emperor and commands the Xiyan army that Hong Jiang's remnant army is fighting against and that ultimately annihilates them.

Her "Father" - The King of Haoling sees the parallels between XY and her mother, and between XL and Chi Chen. He doesn't want XY to have the same tragic fate that her mother had.

Hong Jiang will never surrender to Xiyan, and XL will never abandon Hong Jiang. Xiyan makes many generous offers to Hong Jiang and XL, but they refuse them all. Like the rest of Hong Jiang's remnant army, XL wants to die on the battlefield with his comrades. He doesn't want to survive the battle and have to remain alive, remembering the dead. As Emperor of Xiyan, CX cannot allow Hong Jiang's army to rebel forever, and he cannot cede a conquered kingdom back to a royal family that has already surrendered and accepted defeat. And XY will not betray CX.

So that leaves XY and XL forever on opposite sides of a war that will never end in surrender.

XL kills Feng Long (as mentioned in the excerpt I posted) with an arrow that was originally aimed at ZX (Feng Long took the arrow for him) and does a few more things to push XY to cut ties with him before his army's final battle where he plans to die.

You're welcome :)

It's a completely different genre (no fantasy / mostly set in early 20th century Korea), but consider trying Mr. Sunshine. It's a reverse harem drama with some political / war / rebel plot elements. The FL dresses as a man at times. She has a noble background but she is a capable sniper. Also, certain parts of the ending feel similar (to me at least) to the ending of one of the main characters in LYF.

I think people forget many of his strengths and the things he does because he tends to do them quietly and without drama or fanfare (and also just the usual shipper blinders). And they just focus on the more dramatic moments where his family treats him horribly and when he wants to die after XY's assassination (and on that front, he's not exactly the only one - ZX is willing to let XY poison him and herself to death later on...).

They forget that he restores XY's ability to trust another person with her heart. He provides the key move that helps ZX win the throne, as well as most of the resources and assistance that he needed to pave the way there. He uses his spirit power to preserve XY's body after her assassination, making it possible for XL to save her life. He is the one who asks XL to stop XY's wedding with FL (XL needed this excuse to get involved - he couldn't act on his own). He is the one who brings XY back to Gao Xing (Haoling) and gets her father to finally reveal the truth about her mother and biological father + nearly dies getting her the closure she desperately needed. And in the end he is the only one who is willing to give up everything else to live a simple, peaceful life with XY.

Lots of strengths there.

It's not clear whether the Yellow Emperor ever realizes that XL and FFB are the same person, but he is aware that XY cares about both of them.

ZX puts the pieces together near the end of the novel. XL's army is cornered and ZX's army is leading a full-scale assault to wipe them out once and for all. XY asks ZX to spare XL's life, and ZX asks XY if XL is FFB. Even though he "asks", he's already figured out the answer. So not shocked, really.

---

Walking them out, Xiao Yao suddenly called out “Gege, can I speak privately with you?”

Everyone continued walking leaving Xiao Yao standing there with Zhuan Xu as she said “I heard that Ru So’s relentless attack has backed Gong Gong’s army into a corner.”

Zhuan Xu said “I was planning on a slow attrition to minimize casualties, but Feng Long’s death has left me no choice but to launch a full on assault.”

Xiao Yao said, “Gege, can you……can you……spare Xiang Liu?”

Zhuan Xu was shocked. “He killed Feng Long, don’t you want to avenge his death?”

“Killing Xiang Liu won’t bring Feng Long back.”

Zhuan Xu stared long and hard at Xiao Yao as she continued, “I know you are in a tough spot, but I’ve never asked you for a favor when it’s difficult for you. This is my first, and last time, begging you for something.”

“Xiang Liu is Fang Feng Bei?” Zhuan Xu appeared to be asking Xiao Yao but his expression was certain.

Xiao Yao didn’t want to hide it anymore and woefully nodded.

“So that’s it! No wonder I’ve felt that certain things were so odd, but now it all makes sense. Are you two still seeing each other?”

“We’ve severed all ties. I never want to see him again in this lifetime and he certainly will also never want to see me. But no matter how he’s treated me……..I…..I still want him to stay alive.”

Zhuan Xu took a deep breath. “Xiang Liu killed Feng Long and I need to give a reckoning to the Chi Sui clan and Sheng Nong tribe, otherwise it cannot appease the Middle Plains. But, as long as Xiang Liu is willing to stop, I can give him a chance to disappear.”

“Disappear” doesn’t mean “die”, so this meant Zhuan Xu agreed with her pleading. Xiao Yao smiled brightly. “Thank you Gege!”

“Don’t thank me. Grandfather and I tried countless times to bring Xiang Liu to our side and I even gave him carte blanche to name his terms. But he would never abandon or betray Gong Gong. Actually all this time it’s not I who wouldn’t stop, it’s him who wouldn’t stop. If he vows to fight to the death, then there is nothing I can do. I can’t sacrifice Ru So and the soldiers. His life is a life, but so are the lives of those fighting for me.”

Xiao Yao bit her lip and lowered her head as she quietly said, “I know.”

Ignoring the other comments.... "Somehow Jing is the weak one." This seems to come up as a topic of debate a lot. IMO, TSJ's kindness is both a strength and a weakness.

XY says it can be a weakness to TSJ, and he agrees:

Xiao Yao walked out and said, “You are kind and loving and it’s not a personality flaw, but faced with Yi Yang and Hou then it becomes a weakness.”

Jing said, “I understand. It all stops now and I won’t retreat anymore.”

Xiao Yao nodded. “That’s more like it.”

---

XY says its a kind of strength to ZX, and he agrees:

"...I thought Jing would turn cold and suspicious after what Hou did to him, and actions would be decisive and heartless, like both of us have become – but he didn’t! Gege, don’t you think that’s another kind of strength and courage? It appears different than us, but Jing is using his own method to defeat and overcome his suffering.”

Zhuan Xu was silent but he agreed, someone like Jing who was so brilliant and strategic on political matters, how could he not know how to get revenge on Hou?

---

So: weak or strong? He's both.

Well said!

It's Chi Chen but the King of Haoling is aware of it and loves XY like a daughter anyway. He wants to protect her from the truth and the consequences she would face if others found out about it.

Still thinking about Hou? ^^

Hou being Hou and FL dying are the things that make TSJ's ending less than perfect / not getting everything he could have wanted like the other characters' endings. But really getting to leave all his other obligations behind to disappear with XY is pretty close to perfect for him.

And at least Hou never gets what he wanted most. He never receives his mother's love. He never gets to be clan leader, directly or by controlling his son. Even after learning the truth about his parentage, his son chooses to call TSJ father. The mother of his son, who used to love him, is the person who kills him. Before she does so, she says that TSJ was too good for her, and that's why she met Hou first. TSJ refuses to say that this version of Hou is better than him until the very end and goes even further. He finally says that he looks down on this version of Hou who has fallen so low and who let hatred and jealousy control his heart. All of that must've killed Hou inside as much as FFYY's arrow physically killed him.

If anyone deserves to suffer for what they've done, then Hou deserved to suffer, and he didn't really suffer too deeply. But he also never got to really be happy. TSJ's happy ending is, in a way, its own kind of revenge.

"9 heads thinking power is like a super computer right?" LOL

I've come to quite like the ending. I haven't been able to come up with an alternative version that's feels more satisfying and right for the characters. Like you said, it's not a perfect fairytale ending. None of the main characters got absolutely everything they wanted, but each of them at least got the thing they wanted most.

<3 ^^

Koala included portions of the last three chapters (17, 18 and 19) in her translation of LYF.

See my most recent comment ;)

"Wow...it's a snippet from the novel and it made me tear up reading it. 🥹😭 I am seriously gonna need a lot of tissues when I get to the later part of the novel."

Okay more novel spoilers ahead, but yeah there are so many devastating little details.

XY sends the ice crystal ball to XL with a letter that just says "In two months I am getting married. This is the last poison I will make for you. Please accept with a smile.” But the obvious hidden meaning (with the mermaid holding one hand to her heart and extending the other to the merman) is that XY is reaching out to him. She's saying: this creation (which obviously took a huge amount of time, effort and care to create) is the last poison I'll make for you. This is the end of our relationship - unless you do something about it. Please come give me a reason to not marry FL.

And the doll that XL carves for XY to hold the ice crystal ball? He can't help but laugh when he looks at its impish expression. After XL's death, XY decides she wants to leave Xiyan to go explore the ocean and the islands that XL mentioned. When she's packing up her things to leave, seeing the impish expression on the big-bellied laughing doll's face is the first thing that makes her laugh after she finds out about XL's death.

And both of their present-making and sending approaches were nearly identical. They both chose rare and precious materials. They both hand-made something that was beautiful / visually pleasing, but also indestructible. They each put a huge amount of effort into sealing their creation so that it would be completely seamless. Both presents were accompanied by hidden messages, and both presents were ostensibly sent because XY was about to get married.

You're welcome ^^ Although I gotta say I was not expecting this thread to go on a TSH / FFYY tangent!

Both the novel and the drama make a point of telling us that XL doesn't use his powers to disguise his hair when he is FFB. He dyes it black with herbs. When XY asks why (since that approach is less convenient), XL says that it was originally to avoid making a mistake, but then it became a habit.

Since regular people in their true forms dye their hair all the time (and it's not all that dissimilar from XL wearing a mask to hide his face when his hair is white), I think Tong Hua emphasizes this point to make it clear that FFB isn't a false form for him. As XL says himself, he isn't acting like someone else when he's FFB. XY realizes that when he's FFB, he acts like XL would act if he were able to take off his armour and escape from the war and his loyalties to Gong Gong.

"Xiao Yao thought back and realized that Fang Feng Bei appeared different than Xiang Liu only on the surface, but the way he didn’t give a damn about anything and didn’t want for anything was the same attitude. The only difference was Xiang Liu appeared to be him when wearing battle armor and heading to war on the battlefield, while Fang Feng Bei was him who shed the armor and was enjoying exploring the world."

There are times in the novel where XL does change his form to disguise his appearance, but being FFB is different. In a sense, XL gets to be more himself when he is FFB than when he isn't. As XY noted when she stayed with XL in the military camp, training soldiers day in and day out and maintaining a disciplined military lifestyle would go against his basic instincts.

"Xiao Liu was suddenly rather impressed with Xiang Liu. Demons were by nature wild and untamed, refusing to follow rules and authority, and definitely no desire for status. But Xiang Liu reined in his rebellious streak to live a mundane daily life doing what might be something he utterly despised."

The real FFB died hundreds of years ago. After the real FFB dies, XL starts using his identity. From then on, XL is FFB and FFB is XL. When XL tells XY that FFB is dead, it's a figure of speech. For all intents and purposes, FFB is "dead" because XL will never use that identity again. The world is also told that FFB is dead. But apart from the practical implications and wanting to start putting distance between himself and XY, there's nothing stoping XL from using that identity again if he wanted to.