AH

I remember this part but I was wondering if maybe I missed something else elsewhere in the novel. But it sounds like I didn't.

XY and TSJ didn't consummate their wedding night. From what I remember, XY hasn't slept with anyone ever by the time the novel ends. Is that right? Or did I miss something?

Novel readers can you confirm?

My understanding is that they have both loved each other as "siblings" (although they are actually cousins) since childhood, but when ZX is reunited with XY in her true adult form his feelings become more complicated (with romantic desire but an understanding that he can never have her if he wants to fulfil his ambition of gaining power so that he can protect her). And the reason XY poisons ZX and ultimately runs away without saying goodbye to him is because ZX is partly responsible for TSJ and XL's death.

Yes. XY loves ZX as a brother. ZX's feelings are complicated. ZX does some things that irreparably damages their relationship, hence the title.

Yes, that's how the novel ends. The title is referring to ZX.

I think I need to rewatch Sound of the Desert to help get past the YaoLiu feelings. It feels like the opposite of this drama. The nobleman who is a very powerful figure in the world of trade who also has healing skills, is crippled, doesn't want to get involved in politics and is quietly devoted to the FL doesn't end up with her. Instead, the talented general who keeps the FL company to alleviate her loneliness (and who has a personality that is more similar to the FL's) ends up with her, has a son with her, and runs away with her - to the desert instead of the ocean! And there's a powerful prince-turned-king who was raised with the FL and is obsessed with finding her, but he is only a very small part of the story. Kind of perfect actually.

Okay YaoLiu fans, I think I have a working idea for an alternative ending (to live in my head - not one that needs to be used for the drama).

Change 1: The poisonous bugs will not consume the hosts body, soul and essence before the host dies. So XL doesn't have to worry about preventing that.

Change 2: TSJ stays dead. He never used a life preserving pill and doesn't have a poisonous bug connection to keep him alive, so in this scenario there is no way for XL to resurrect him. (Sorry TSJ... I don't know how to make this work otherwise.)

Change 3: While she was semi-conscious during her 37 year healing / resurrection process, XY learned how to summon XL's clam shell.

Change 4: Instead of killing the poisonous bugs right after he resurrects XY for the second time by stabbing himself in the heart, XL plans to kill them by freezing his heart in the seconds before his death on the battlefield. He does so when the 10,000 arrows are shot at him at once, but he isn't aware that this doesn't actually kill the poisonous bugs, it just makes the connection between him and XY go dormant temporarily. When XL "dies", the magic XL used to freeze the bugs breaks and the bugs thaw. The connection between XL and XY is restored, and this time it keeps *him* alive. But now XL isn't controlling the connection, so XY can finally feel XL through it. She was about to become the Royal Mother of Jade Mountain until she feels XL at death's door, which prompts her to fly to him immediately. Sir Bi follows her.

As in the original ending, General Ru So respected XL and stopped his soldiers from going onto the island to desecrate XL's body. When XY arrives to collect XL's body, they allow her to do so (and maybe General Ru So is even among the people who know about XL saving XY the first time she died?). XY was planning to to take XL's body to the ocean, but Sir Bi stops her and tells her to bring XL's body to Jade Mountain. In order to convince her that XL would be safe there, Sir Bi tells XY how XL was the one who secretly saved her life a second time at Jade Mountain and that the Royal Mother knew about it. So XY takes XL's body to Jade Mountain and summons XL's clam shell in the healing lake. This time, she uses it to heal and resurrect him instead of the other way around. When XL finally wakes up, he doesn't re-instate control over the poisonous bug bond immediately (maybe he initially thinks he is in some sort of death dream), so XY can finally feel all of his emotions - including his love for her.

Change 5: Instead of running away to the Ocean with TSJ (who, in this scenario, is dead), XY runs away to the Ocean with XL. He takes her to explore all of the scattered islands she wanted to explore, and all of the beauties below the surface. Fulfilling the wish she makes in chapter 26 (if it were possible, she would like to spend the rest of her life like how she spent the previous day and night with XL). But first XY brings XL to her family grave site and also to meet her adoptive father. And XL brings XY to meet his adoptive father. After years of exploring together (with XL's clam as their home), XL builds a new home for XY on her favourite island. It's not so different from her clinic in QS town. A little nicer (a bit more like her biological father's home), but simple and comfortable. XY and XL each invite their adoptive fathers, as well as A Nian, Left Ear and Miao Pu to a simple wedding ceremony, much like the wedding ceremony between Ma Zi and Chun Tao at XY's clinic that XL attended in the first chapter of the novel. XY writes a letter to ZX, hoping that he is well, and asks A Nian to deliver it for her. Perhaps it all ends with XY, XL and their two children taking turns swinging on a swing under the ocean. Mirroring XY's memory of swinging with her loved ones under the phoenix trees when she was a child, but now in a place where she truly belongs with loved ones that will be with her for the rest of her life.

Rather ironic, since XL is the one who drinks blood and TSJ is the one with a fluffy tail (or rather nine of them).

Why? For the reason I mentioned. In the epilogue of the novel, XL carves his wish for XY into a crystal: "The ability to protect yourself, someone to rely on, a place to go - wishing you a lifetime of worry-free happiness!" He writes this because when XL first meets XY, she tells him "I am just someone who has been discarded. I have no ability to protect myself, I have no one to rely on, I have no where to go..." So XL makes sure that none of that is still true before he dies.

Since she can't get her spiritual power back (unless she becomes the Royal Mother of Jade Mountain, which would requiring cutting herself off from the world and being a lone - not and ending that would make her happy) XL spends 10 years teaching XY archery so that she has a means of defending herself. In the novel, she uses that skill. We haven't gotten to that scene in the drama yet.

Also, thanks to XL's essential blood, XY can breathe under water without assistance and swim almost as well as XL. Two things that make her stronger / better able to defend herself than before. Both will be helpful when she ultimately decides to run away to the ocean with TSJ.

So her lack of spiritual power is a set up for XL to help her. It's one of the ways the author has him demonstrate his love for her.

XL had many, many opportunities to reveal his feelings to XY but he never used them. He made a decision about the ending he wanted for himself and for XY and made it happen. The words he wanted to say to XY but couldn't were his good wishes for her, which he carved into the crystal that XY gave him, hid in the belly of a laughing doll, and gave (through Sir Bi) to XY as her wedding gift. He was satisfied with that and I don't think he regretted not revealing his feelings to XY.

Oh, wow. You're welcome. I've mostly come to peace with XL's ending at this point, after thinking about it for a bit and re-reading and re-watching a bit. I really empathize with the author who tried to think of a better ending for XL but couldn't. He just wouldn't be XL if he made different choices.

I would've gone mad from the waiting if the complete novel wasn't available to read. I'd recommend waiting unless you're worried about seeing too many spoilers (that's the reason I started it even though I usually don't watch dramas until they've completely finished airing).

The logic of the life-and-death bond created by the bugs is a bit odd. It seems clear that if one host is mortally injured and the other host is healthy, the bond will ensure that the injured host doesn't completely die, potentially allowing them to be revived (sort of like the concept of "mostly dead" from the Princess Bride). And that's what happened to XY with her assassination. But XL says that if he came too late or if TSJ and ZX's people hadn't poured their spirit power into XY, then he wouldn't be able to save her.

So my speculation is that if TSJ and ZX's people hadn't poured their spirit power into XY, she still wouldn't "completely" die (while XL was still alive), but she would be "more" dead and past the point where she could be revived. Which is basically dead. That's the only way I can reconcile the logic of it in my mind.

Also, if the lovers turn against each other or try to remove the bugs, the hosts will die. XL is only able to break their connection by killing (rather than removing) the bugs, which requires the use of one of his lives + stabbing himself in the heart.

I assume that if both hosts are mortally injured at the same time, then they can both be killed. It's not clear what would happen if one of the hosts was on the brink of death due to natural causes (i.e., old age).

One important point to note: in the novel Jing's grandmother uses a different type of poisonous bug to extend her life. This results in Jing finding out that poisonous bugs come with a price. At the end of the host's life, the poisonous bug will consume the host from the inside until their body, soul and essence are all consumed. No corpse will be left behind.

If, despite the poisonous bug connection, XY had 100% died as a result of the assassination, the example of Jing's grandmother suggests that both she and XL would have their bodies, souls and essences consumed by the poisonous bugs. I'm not sure XL would survive that (e.g., think about all the emphasis they've put on the fact that he has nine lives but only one heart) no matter how many lives he had left.

XL spares XY and himself from that fate by using one of his lives (and stabbing himself in the heart) to kill their bugs, which breaks the connection between them.

At least twice in the novel, XY wonders if things could have been different if she met XL before he met Gong Gong and joined the Sheng Nong army (e.g., if she had been born earlier and saved him from the slave death match arena). I feel like if the writers wanted to give a boon to the YaoLiu shippers, they could show us an extended version of that fantasy where XY and XL meet earlier in his life, they fall in love, have lots of dates (exploring the ocean and its islands, eating, shopping, etc. - all things the novel says XY wants to do), get married, and have kids. If it was a fantasy, the details wouldn't have to be fully fleshed out or totally make sense. And they wouldn't have to change XL's character or ending.

Horrible things happen to her so that her reverse harem men can worry about her and try to help her. They would have fewer opportunities to dramatically show their love if her life was all sunshine and rainbows.

XL uses at least one of his lives to revive XY after her assassination (she mentions it in chapter 26 of the novel). He might also use one of his lives to revive XY a second time after she poisons herself to death (the process seems different, so it's not totally clear, and the novel doesn't specify one way or the other). He also uses a jewel that he creates from XY's blood to bring TSJ back from the dead. He might have used a life as part of that process as well (the novel doesn't specify that he does).

XL definitely uses a life to kill the poisonous bugs and sever his connection with XY before the final battle where he knows he will die (the novel does specify this).

Apart from the two lives he definitely used for XY and the possible two additional lives he might have used for XY and TSJ, it's not 100% clear how XL loses his other lives. He may have lost a few in the slave death matches before he escaped. He may have lost a few in war. Or he might not have lost any before, and loses them all in the final battle. The novel doesn't specify.

In terms of how he dies, it's important to know that right before the final battle he revives XY (the second time) and kills the poisonous bugs. Both steps required significant power and left XL injured and drained. He doesn't use XY's blood to heal himself before going to the final battle.

After protracted fighting XL (disguised as Gong Gong) leads the last 1,000 soldiers of Sheng Nong's army to an island where they make their last stand against 100,000 Xuan Yuan soldiers. Even though XL was heavily injured at this point, not even the strongest Xuan Yuan warrior could defeat him. He was finally killed when 10,000 arrows were fired at him at once.

100%

It would be very difficult to put all of them here succinctly, but I'll mention a few of my favourite parts that occur after XY's assassination.

Chapter 22 - During XY's healing period, XL takes her to the surface to observe the moon, takes her to hear the songs of the merpeople, and tells her a bit about his past. XL isn't sure if she is awake or not at this point, and when it comes up later (in chapter 26) it is clear that XL doesn't want XY to be aware of the things he told her while she was healing, so XY pretends she wasn't awake.

Chapter 23 - XY wishes she was born a few hundred years earlier so she could save XL from the slave death matches and make him just be like her companion FBB, and not XL (i.e., a man who can be her companion, not the man who cannot abandon Gong Gong and his cause, an army strategist who is her family's enemy and a warrior bent on a warrior's death).

Chapter 26 - When XY sees TSJ for the first time in a year after his marriage to FFYY she is alone (it's ZX's wedding day) and XY's heart is in pain. XL takes her away and they spend a night and a day in the ocean together, and eat a meal together on an island. XY thinks to herself (not out loud) that, if it were possible, she would like to spend the rest of her life like this. XL describes the beauty that can be found on the islands scattered across the sea, and XY tells him she wants to see them.

Chapter 43 - XL saves XY from danger. XY sees XL's true demon form. XL drinks blood from XY's neck to heal. XY falls asleep on top of XL / in his arms. XY says she will agree to any price (unrelated to ZX) if he helps her find a demon. XL makes her promise to live. XY wonders if she had met XL years earlier, could he have found the woman he loved? Would he take her out to shop and eat?

Chapter 46 - When XY cannot bring herself to kill XL, XL smiles at her. It appears to be a mocking smile, but that was just hiding his true joy. XL pushes XY to cut ties with him, because he knows he is going to die soon (the defeat of his army is imminent). XL creates the jewel that will save TSJ's life and gives it to the merman who will revive him.

Chapter 48 - XL saves XY from death a second time, but this time secretly. He also kills the poisonous bugs (using a life and stabbing himself in the heart to do so - and he does not use XY's blood to heal himself afterwards) to sever the connection between them, so that when he dies XY will live and not feel him die. He covers his tracks so XY won't know what he's done for her.

Chapter 50 - XY has mixed feelings when she finds out her poisonous bug connection with XL has been broken. XY asks ZX to spare XL's life (even though she has cut ties with him and she knows her life is no longer connected to his).

Chapter 51 - XY is devastated by XL's death. In the end, she disappears with TSJ (the man XL resurrected for XY to rely on) to the ocean (the place where XY belongs, thanks to XL's essential blood). Perhaps to explore the beauties of its scattered islands that XL described to her.

Adding to what VesperLynd said, TSJ was definitely resurrected by XL.

When XL pushes XY to cut ties with him, he has her drain a significant amount of blood for him - ostensibly for him to turn the blood into healing pills for himself. XY views this as paying her debts to XL so she owes him nothing more. But XL takes that blood and secretly turns it into a jewel that he gives to a merperson, along with instructions in the language of the merpeople.

Sir Bi is a person from Jade Mountain who observes XL revive XY the second time. XL makes him promise not to tell XY that XL was the person who saved her life this time. Sir Bi and XL agree to say that the Royal Mother of Jade Mountain was the person who saved XY and removed the poisonous bug. Sir Bi also sees XL hide the clam shell (XL's clam shell) that was used to keep XY alive before XL arrived. He sees that XL does everything to hide and erase what he's done for XY.

Sir Bi is also present when Jing explains how he returned. Jing only knows that he was revived by a pair of merpeople, seemingly by chance and out of the goodness of their hearts. Even though Sir Bi did not see XL give the jewel to the merperson I mentioned earlier, he knows that XL is a supreme power in the ocean, that the merpeople respect and obey him and that he speaks the merpeople's language. Sir Bi realizes that XL not only saved TSJ, he did so in a way that ensured TSJ and XY would never be able to discover that XL was the person who orchestrated it (because they do not speak the merpeople's language).

I should also mention that some fans speculate that XL might have even used one of his nine lives to revive TSJ (maybe by putting it in the jewel), since XY said that XL used one of his lives when he first revived her.