AH

There's a passage in the novel (chapter 39) where Feng Long thanks TSJ for convincing him to back ZX:

Feng Long invited Jing out for a walk and when they were alone he said “Back then I felt Zhuan Xu was a smart choice but he was fighting an uphill battle all alone so I hesitated in deciding whether to back him. It was thanks to your endless persuasion that led me to make up my mind. Thank you!” Back then to get him to decide, Jing even said “Because Zhuan Xu is all alone is even more reason for you to back him. If you picked Cui Liang or Yu Hao it would be adding to their masses of supporters. But if you picked Zhuan Xu then you’re the first to back him and would be forever in his good graces.”

Jing smiled “I was merely analyzing the situation for you, in the end you made the choice of your own consideration.”

Feng Long looked out over the distance and sighed “You’re always like this, always refusing to accept your due! You thought up the plan to win Zhuan Xu the throne by giving up Xuan Yuan Mountain and going to Sheng Nong Mountain. You explained it all to me, how His majesty would be gaining the support of the Middle Plains by going to Sheng Nong Mountain, and with our help his success would increase since he was the eldest grandson of the Emperor and Empress anyways so the Xuan Yuan elders would not vehemently oppose him in the end after he got the support of the Middle Plains. Your analysis persuaded me to support His majesty and to this day he still thinks I came up with that plan, that I was the one with such grand vision, hence he’s always extra trusting of me and allows me to remain as both a friend and subordinate to him.”

Feng Long was perplexed “Jing, why don’t you ever fight for something with me?” He was born in the same lofty background as Jing, one the future Chi Sui clan leader and the other the future Tu Shan clan leader. On the journey to make Zhuan Xu the Black Emperor, Jing likely did more for Zhuan Xu than Feng Long, and definitely not any less. But Jing always remained in the background and acted like Feng Long’s follower, allowing him to take all the reward on the way to making Feng Long’s own ambitions come true.

Jing said “How did I not compete with you? I only gave up the things I don’t care about. What I really want I never once let you have.”

“You mean…..” Feng Long furrowed his brow and asked “Xiao Yao?”

I did read the novel and that's pretty close to one version that I mapped out! Basically XL unexpectedly survives and TSJ does not .... (sorry TSJ!) ^^"

What is this "move on" you speak of?

Yes, me too! I really tried to come up with a satisfying fix-it fic outline for them or at least some kind of one-shot and it just... doesn't work. I could get part of the way there, but never to a place that felt more right than Tong Hua's ending.

I'm re-reading the novel slowly this time (I read it way too fast the first time and missed / skipped a lot). I think this might be the only real one. All the other times I can think of where his lips touch her, it's related to drinking her blood, transferring his essential blood to her, or passing air to her underwater. He was unusually soft and comforting in this scene.

Agreed about the description of lips. Tong Hua describes XL's lips as cold in chapter 7 and TSJ's lips as soft and cool in chapter 20.

I also feel like the fact that Tong Hua makes a point of describing the touch as brief and immediately withdrawn plus XY's reaction (shocked, insisting to herself that it was an illusion, and she was sitting in the room in a daze for a while afterwards) must be intended to indicate that he did more than just touch her forehead with his hand. Especially since he lifted XY's head earlier with no reaction, and she softly stroked his hair only a few moments before he left.

But it's like a secret kiss for the reader to work out. You really have to pay attention to realize it even happened.

A question for novel readers about interpreting a scene in chapter 35...

For the last few lines in the scene below, do you think XL only touched XY's forehead with his hand? Or did he close her eyes, and then kiss her forehead quickly before leaving?

---

Xiao Yao buried her head in her lap and grew silent. She felt her heart all jumbled and she didn’t know if it was for Xiang Liu or for herself.

“What are you thinking about?”

“As Qi Yo’s daughter, there is no place in the world for me.”

Xiang Liu lifted Xiao Yao’s head. “If you have nowhere to go, then you can always go out to sea. The ocean is so vast that there will be a place for you.”

Xiao Yao remembered that she had the ability of a sea demon now and the endless ocean might be a nightmare for others but was paradise for her. If Xuan Yuan and Gao Xing didn’t have a place for her, she could always go to the sea. Having discovered a secret passage that no one else knew could save her life, Xiao Yao suddenly felt a sliver of calm.

She stared at Xiang Liu and the man before her was that dissolute wastrel, but the moment she was about to become torn again a strand of white hair fell that reminded her exactly who he was. Xiao Yao softly stroked his hair and said, “This place is not safe to stay. Pay your respects and hurry off!”

Because she just cried, Xiao Yao’s eyes were extraordinarily clear and bright. Xiang Liu could clearly see himself reflected in her eyes, so he covered her eyes with his hand. “I’m off!”

Xiao Yao felt a soft coolness brush over her forehead, a brief touch that immediately vanished. Xiao Yao clasped her forehead in shock and opened her eyes to see the room was already empty before her.

Mistaken illusion! It was a mistaken illusion!

[XL and TSJ have a whole conversation outside before XL leaves and TSJ heads inside, meanwhile...]

In the cold dark room, Xiao Yao sat there in a daze.

I don't view these moments as cruel for two main reasons.

(1) The novel makes it clear that, despite all his efforts to keep XY at a certain distance, XL constantly worries that XY will hate him. He worried about it out loud during the 37 years of healing. More than once. After he takes her away from her wedding, he asks her if she hates him for it. In the end when he pushes her to cut ties with him, the novel clearly says he feels joy when she is able to shoot him with an arrow, but isn't able to bring herself to shoot him in the heart where it would really do damage. So I think her indirectly making it clear that she enjoys spending time with him as FFB and that she wishes he could always be FFB would be something he would appreciate and find reassuring, even knowing that he would never allow himself to make that choice.

(2) No one is forcing him to stay with Hong Jiang and the Chengrong remnant army, or to die on the battlefield. Those are things he chooses. XL could choose to be FFB forever. Or he could take one of the many offers that Xiyan made to him (mostly because of XY) and switch sides. Or, instead of going quite so far, he could abandon Hong Jiang and run away with XY without joining Xiyan. It's honourable that he doesn't, but it's his choice. The only thing stopping him from doing any of those things is himself. Letting him know that she wishes he would choose to be FFB, and signalling that there could be something between them if he did, just allows him to make a more informed choice. Never expressing those sentiments might actually be crueller. Like forcing XL to make his choice without all the relevant information. Without knowing that there could have been something between them if he had chosen to just be FFB.

Edit: I'll add that the reason it's not quite the same in reverse (why hiding his feelings, rather than hinting at or indirectly confessing them, is the right move for XL) is that XL knows that he won't choose to do the things he would need to do to be with XY. Specifically, he won't abandon Hong Jiang and the Chengrong army or try to survive their final battle. So it would be crueller to make her aware of his feelings, given that he knows he definitely won't be with her for the long term.

Oh, this exchange from chapter 21 (when XL arrives to take XY away after the assassination attempt) is also relevant:

Xiang Liu said, “In Qing Shui Town, Wen Xiao Liu planted a voodoo bug on Xuan. To remove the bug, Xiao Liu transferred it into another person.”

Zhuan Xu stared at Xiang Liu and raised his hand. “Everyone leave.”

All the guards left and Xiang Liu walked up to Zhuan Xu. He turned towards the court. “Follow me.”

Xiang Liu saw Xiao Yao and walked over and sat down beside the water jade pallet, staring down at the silent and unmoving Xiao Yao.

Zhuan Xu glanced at Xiao Xiao and she walked over to take over for the guard transferring power to Xiao Yao and that guard left the chamber.

Zhuan Xu asked, “Is the voodoo bug in you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Zhuan Xu could understand Xiao Yao wanting to remove the bug from him and moving it to another. What he couldn’t understand was why Xiang Liu agreed to let Xiao Yao move it into him.

Xiang Liu coolly replied, “That is between Xiao Yao and me.”

No worries. I do too! ^^

Not exactly. ZX knows (from experience) that the bug would cause XL to feel XY's pain. Heartache is a form of pain. I don't think ZX would make the leap (realizing that the bugs were Lovers' Bugs that would require XL or any other recipient to be in love with XY for the bug to be planted properly) without being told about that part more directly. Even XY doesn't know that they're called Lovers' Bugs until chapter 26, and she learns more details much later when she visits the Voodoo King with TSJ.

But ZX is definitely aware that XY and XL are still connected, and now he might be wondering (along with XY) about whether XL can feel XY's deep heartache (which was extreme enough to make her physically ill). And he definitely wants XY to get the bug removed ASAP.

I don't recall ZX ever finding out that the poisonous bugs were Lovers' Bugs, but there is this scene where they talk about the bugs in chapter 25:

Zhuan Xu asked “What are you thinking about?”

Xiao Yao said “I suddenly remembered the voodoo bug I planted in Xiang Liu. My body’s pain, he has to feel all of it. But what about my heartache? Does he also need to endure it? He said he has nine heads so my pain isn’t too much for him to endure. But what about the heart? He only has one heart!”

Zhuan Xu grabbed Xiao Yao by the shoulders and harshly said “I don’t care what your relationship with him was in Qing Shui Town. Do not remain close to him now!”

Xiao Yao smiled bitterly “I know!”

Zhuan Xu said “Even though you keep saying the bug has no ill effects, when you’re all better it’s best to find a way to remove it.”

“Yes!”

Xiao Yao stared at the blue sky and quietly felt her heart beating as one with another heart. The pressure and pain on her heart lessened, probably because another heart was taking some of the burden from her.

Xiao Yao got better and she started making poisons again.

I wish the editors hadn't cut their combined flashbacks at 37:11. Those scenes provide important information for understanding their relationship.

I know that it won't be this, but I would so love to watch a drama that was about XL's life from his perspective. His early days, being captured and fighting in the death matches, escaping, being saved by Hong Jiang, running away to the North and living there, meeting FFB, caring for FFB's mother, returning to Hong Jiang, being adopted by him, fighting with the resistance army, doing business with TSJ, living as FFB from time to time, becoming acquaintances with Sir Bi... It could end with him meeting XY or it could continue and show their interactions from his perspective until his death. Either way, I would definitely watch it.

Nicely concluded. You're right in a sense, but some might be confused by you calling TSJ the ML because he mostly isn't. He almost certainly will be the one who ends up with XY (if the drama follows the novel, and we expect that it will) and to be the only male character who gets to have a romantic relationship with XY where romantic feelings are openly declared on both sides. But his role in the story is relatively minor (he is unconscious, missing, or in another city away from XY for significant portions of the novel), so he is generally considered the second male lead and XL (whose role is about as significant as TSJ's in the novel) is considered the third male lead. The author considers CX (ZX in the novel) to be the male lead of the story not because he ends up with XY, but because his story is almost as central to the narrative as XY's.

I haven't re-read this part yet, but as I remember it, XY said goodbye to everyone except ZX.

In the novel he really was upset when XL told him to bring the doll to Sir Bi to give as Sir Bi's wedding gift to XY. He didn't understand why someone else should get the credit for XL's work.

At that point, XY was mostly convinced that FFB wasn't XL. She only knew that FFB tried to kill ZX and was a shameless flirt. She thought he was trying to use her to get to ZX. And still she agrees to spend time with him and let him teach her archery. Who's to say his handsome exactly-like-XL face didn't have anything to do with that decision?

That was one of several reasons. She also wanted to find out FFB's true motives and thought that learning archery would be useful (even though she originally didn't expect FFB to really teach her well). Later on, XY came to appreciate FFB as an archery teacher and companion. She started learning archery in earnest, and genuinely enjoyed his company. Upon reflection, she thought her original feelings about wanting to make Jing jealous were "lame" (to use the words of the novel, as translated by koala) and that they even would have been "pathetic" if FBB hadn't exceeded her original expectations.

Chapter 16 of the novel, if anyone wants to read that part.