AH

The poisonous bugs themselves never give heartache, so there is nothing that would "trigger" them to do so. They only provide a connection between XY and XL, so that's one's heartache (among other things) can be felt by the other. And XL can control that connection, so that XY won't feel things through it unless he wants her to (or he momentarily loses control of the connection).

When XY's heart hurts when she looks at TSJ after they separate, she blames XL. But she can't know for sure that XL is causing her heartache in that moment. XY's feelings for TSJ are strong enough to cause her to fall ill, which definitely has nothing to do with the poisonous bug connection, so her feelings could certainly cause her intense heartache - with no need for XL to interfere. It's possible she's wrongly blaming XL in that moment.

If she's right, and XL did intentionally cause her heartache through the connection in that moment, it seemed like the heartache was inflicted to create a romantic moment between XY and TSJ. XL spends much of the rest of the story working to ensure that XY ends up with TSJ (not because XL doesn't love XY - but because he loves her selflessly, and wants her to be with someone like TSJ).

In episode 34, it's not just the heartache scene that gives TSJ an opportunity to treat and be close to XY. XL takes XY to the death matches with the intent of inspiring XY to continue believing in the possibility of a happy ending with TSJ, despite his current circumstances. At the end of their evening together, he scares XY - making her back up and making TSJ move to protect her. XL's efforts are a success - XY ends the night with TSJ, inspired to keep believing in the possibility of their future.

Jing telling XL/FFB that XY is getting married and XL being surprised is a worrying change from the novel.

In the novel, XL knew about the engagement for a long time and wasn't surprised by it (or at least, he wasn't in front of XY), but when they got engaged XY and Feng Long didn't discuss a wedding date. So it didn't feel all that final.

When they finally do discuss setting a wedding date years later, XY takes a piece of poisonous ice essence and carves it into an ice crystal ball with a beautiful scene inside, depicting a mermaid reaching her hand out to a merman who is stoically looking out of the ball. It takes four years to seal it. She ends up sending the ice crystal ball (wrapped in a demon bear pelt) and a letter to XL to tell him that her wedding will take place in two months.

There is another scene where XL overhears people gossiping about XY's upcoming wedding in a brothel. XL leaves and walks out into the misting rain to a riverbank, and stares at the river for a long time before looking down at the ice crystal ball in his hand. He takes a finger and touches it to the mermaid's outstretched hand. But the crystal separates them - they are from two separate worlds, and can never truly be together.

I don't see how they can keep the original parts from the novel and also have Jing be the person who first tells XL about XY's marriage. And the ice crystal ball is important. It features in the epilogue.

XY was devastated when she found out about XL's death in the novel. But she was not aware of many of the biggest things that XL did for her. Of the things she knew about, XL did his best to make her believe they were only transactions. Things he did to receive a benefit. But she still cared about him anyway. And she was very upset when she discovered that he erased her memories of him from her mirror before he died.

Yes, XL was able to receive XY's poisonous bug from ZX because he already had feelings for XY at that point. XL can control the connection because his spiritual power is much higher than XY's.

That scene from episode 19 where XL watches TSJ carry XY out of the ocean and XL clutches his heart is not included in the novel from XL's perspective. It only depicts TSJ carrying XY out of the ocean, with no mention of XL.

So I can't tell you how the novel explains why XL felt heartache in that scene (I'm sure it's XL's heartache, not XY's). But I can hazard a guess. XY has just told XL that she is afraid of letting him into her (romantic) dreams, and that he is in no way the type to be in a girl's dream. XL knows that he wants to die in battle and that he will never betray Gong Gong, but before his end, he may have dreamed of having something with XY. At the very least, he was willing to tie his life and his heart to hers irrevocably by accepting XY's poisonous bug. But then he finds out about her identity (she is the daughter, granddaughter and cousin of his greatest enemies), she explains her fear of letting him into her dreams, and he sees her in the arms of a man who she is willing to let into her dreams. And he can feel her heart when she's with TSJ. All of that together must drive home that heartbreaking sentiment of "She can love someone, but not you."

Edit: Okay I've re-watched the scene. I forgot that they weirdly had the poisonous bug in his heart glow when he felt heartache in that scene, and also had XL clearly use his power to try to suppress the effects. Again, the bugs themselves shouldn't be causing the hosts pain before they die unless the lovers turn on each other. So here's my best guess at what the drama writers might be trying to show with that part of the new scene:

(1) This is showing XL using his power to control the connection so XY won't feel his heartache (this matches closest with content that is already in the novel, but I don't think it's what the writers were most likely going for).

(2) This is showing that the "lovers bugs" are at risk of becoming "heartbreak bugs" because something has changed between the two hosts. It could be that XL's feelings are shaken, or that XY's feelings are shaken.

To be honest, I don't think that part was a good add by the writers. It's confusing and doesn't seem to fit with the novel.

Thank you for asking. Feel free to share it.

10+ years of precious companionship as FFB.

A big-bellied laughing doll containing XY's ice crystal ball and XL's heartfelt wishes.

A jewel containing a map of the sea.

The man she can rely on for the rest of her life.

XY says that if she could've been the person to save XL from the death arena, she would make him FFB and have him be free of all debts, duties and obligations. The unsaid part: then he would never have to go back to the Chenrong remnant army. He could just be her care-free companion for life.

XL was clearly deeply touched by XY's words, but then something makes him change. First he is aloof and asks if she is worthy of being the person who saved him. Then he becomes aggressive. In the novel "Bei appeared to don a full armor, wrapping himself tightly in a deadly aura." (chapter 23).

What marks the change? In the novel, in the moment between withdrawing his hand and turning aloof, XL glances behind XY. "Bei reached out his hand as if to caress Xiao Yao's cheek but the moment he touched her, he jerked his hand back. He glanced behind Xiao Yao and then smirked "Based on you right now wanting to save me? Are you worthy?" "

Since the author made a point of saying that XL glances behind XY right before the shift, we can infer that he sees TSJ, which reminds XL of what he has resolved to do.

In episode 34, check 28:35 - 28:39 in this version: https://youtu.be/4_w29fyTtfI?si=7DASjyZlQPiMHZPk&t=1715. It's *very* subtle (it really just looks like he's collecting his emotions), but with the context from the novel that seems to be the moment when XL looks past XY and sees TSJ. The screen shows XY for a moment and then XL again, and you can see him shift into a different persona and don a sardonic smile.

He then asks XY if she is worthy in a way that creates coldness and distance between them, after that intense warmth and intimacy they just had.

And then he turns aggressive (and dons his metaphorical armor and wraps himself in a deadly aura) to make her step away from him, and to prompt TSJ to move forward. Since XY knows that FFB is XL, she pulls TSJ away rather than let him confront XL, and they literally run away together, leaving XL behind. Then XL walks a well-lit path alone, in a different direction, through a gate and into darkness.

The whole scene is an intense bit of foreshadowing. When XY gets too close to XL, he will create coldness and distance between them. Then he will push her away from him, into TSJ's arms (because TSJ is a man she can rely on for her whole life, and that's one of the things XL wants for her according to the wishes he spells out in his epilogue). Then XY and TSJ will run away together, and XL will follow his own path, alone, to the dark fate that he chose for himself.

Edit: Updated to include a youtube link to the scene and to match the timestamp to that version.

Someone asked below about why the demon eyes made an appearance in episode 34 when they did. I'm reposting my response here because there is an important detail that is clear in the novel but extremely easy to miss in the drama. And it's crucial to understanding the scene.

It's a good thing, even though XY isn't thrilled about it in the moment.

"Why" he does that could be answered with paragraphs, but the short answer is that XY didn't love the man she was marrying. He couldn't give her lasting happiness.

If XL accepts the poisonous bug then one day XL can ask XY to do something and she must immediately do it, no matter what it is, as long as it does not involve harming TSJ, ZX or the emperors.

So he can use that promise to ask her to leave her wedding with him in the middle of the ceremony, and she must do it immediately.

Yes, XL is Xiang Liu the snake demon with nine heads and nine lives. XY is the female lead, Xiao Yao.

I kind of love it? In a glutton-for-heartbreaking-emotional-punishment kind of way.

But I really wish they made the glance detail more clear in the drama. It's so missable, even if you're looking for it. And without that detail it's so easy to misunderstand the whole scene. His reaction has nothing to do with Gong Gong (Hong Jiang in the drama).

In the novel, TSJ knew about the promise that XY made to XL in exchange for receiving the poisonous bug.

XL was clearly deeply touched by XY's words, but then something makes him change. First he is aloof and asks if she is worthy of being the person who saved him. Then he becomes aggressive. In the novel "Bei appeared to don a full armor, wrapping himself tightly in a deadly aura." (chapter 23).

What marks the change? In the novel, in the moment between withdrawing his hand and turning aloof, XL glances behind XY. We can infer that he sees TSJ and that reminds him of what he has resolved to do. In episode 34, check 28:07 - 28:09. It's very subtle, but with the context from the novel that seems to be the moment when XL looks past XY and sees TSJ. The screen shows XY for a moment and then XL again, and you can see him shift into a different persona and don a sardonic smile.

He then asks XY if she is worthy in a way that creates coldness and distance between them, after that intense warmth and intimacy they just had.

And then he turns aggressive (and dons his metaphorical armor and wraps himself in a deadly aura) to make her step away from him, and to prompt TSJ to move forward. Since XY knows that FFB is XL, she pulls TSJ away rather than let him confront XL, and they literally run away together, leaving XL behind. Then XL walks his path alone, in a different direction, towards darkness.

The whole scene is an intense bit of foreshadowing. When XY gets too close to XL, he will create coldness and distance between them. Then he will push her away, into TSJ's arms (because TSJ is a man she can rely on for her whole life, and that's what XL wants for her). XY and TSJ will run away together, and XL will follow his own path, alone, to the dark fate that he chose for himself.

YW :)

On that last note, XY's father (iirc) observes that XY still has the ability to change her appearance when she disappears. She can become anyone. So he hopes that ZX will rule as if any one of his subjects could be XY.

That's why she doesn't want to go with ZX to see the King of Haoling. But that's not why XY was planning to leave even before ZX arrived at her clinic to tell her that the King wanted to see her.

Yes, she was planning to leave. It's about 6 minutes into episode 13 and near the beginning of chapter 8 in the novel.

Due to her past, XY has a fear of abandonment. And in short succession, two of her companions marry and leave the clinic. Another has his identity revealed and is also forced to leave the clinic. The last is about to retire. The people around her who care for her are all leaving. Even though they aren't going far, everything has changed. Although the novel and drama don't expressly say why XY was planning to leave, I think it was a matter of "Better to be the one who leaves than the one who is left behind".

Another factor is that she might be worried about her identity getting exposed (which would be a valid worry, given what happens next). The next leader of a prominent clan (TSJ), who has a diabolic enemy that he is not willing to fight, is paying close attention to her. The grandson of an emperor (ZX) and the general who is the emperor's greatest enemy (XL) both now have odd connections with her. And she used her unique skills to save ZX's life. She's drawn a lot of attention. It would be safer for her to switch identities and move on.

He is not my favourite character and I really didn't pay attention to the details of his story, especially all the politics. So this is oversimplifying it, but ZX is partly responsible for the deaths of two people that XY cares about deeply: TSJ and XL. In the end, XY disappears and leaves ZX behind (and still has the ability to change her appearance, so like before, he won't be able to find her). She says goodbye to other people she cares about, but not to him. His worst nightmare is XY abandoning him, and it comes true.

IMO, neither XL nor XY are naturally gentle. They are the type to fight to defend themselves and the people they care about. Think of young XY defending ZX from his bullies before she lost most of her spirit power. And they are both capable of intense loyalty and deep compassion. And around the right people, they can soften.

XY wears her compassion on her sleeve. She saves TSJ knowing it will likely put a target on her back, and gains a person who is determined to follow her forever. XL tends to hide his compassion. XL saves XY many times, but mostly in secret. On the occasions where he can't do it in secret, he pretends to do it as part of a deal in exchange for something.

XY is fiercely loyal to ZW. XL is fiercely loyal to Gong Gong.

XL's initial roughness towards XY isn't for show. He is a snake demon and a fierce general that grew up in the slave death match fighting pits, and XY likes to push his buttons. But that rough persona is not everything he is when XY first meets him. He had already started moonlighting as FFB centuries ago and experienced the gentle and unconditional love of FFB's mother. He cared deeply about Gong Gong and his fellow soldiers. And by episode 7 he was walking hand and hand with XY just to appreciate the beauty of the full moon with her. But that roughness is a big part of him. No less real than his gentler side.

Later on in the drama, you are correct that he starts to act more coldly and roughly towards the FL on purpose at times so that she doesn't recognize his feelings for her or develop deeper feelings for him. But before she ends up with TSJ, he also wants to be a person who can be her temporary companion and alleviate her loneliness and heartache. So he isn't totally rough and cold all the time. He toes a narrow line.