Despite everything, it's still you.

[keltena]

…I only just realized that I never got around to actually posting the last part of my Heaven Official's Blessing liveblogging! I can't believe myself. Extremely, extremely belatedly, here are my notes while reading Book 5: Heaven Official's Blessing.

His revulsion was undeniably obvious, and White No-Face sneered. “I know, in your heart, the only ones who can guide you are Guoshi and Jun Wu, am I right?”

His tone was odd, full of disdain and ridicule.

Hm, interesting. He definitely has some sort of Thing about Jun Wu, whatever their exact relation.

“Lang Ying, was he the first Crown Prince of Yong’an?”

Lang Ying was from Yong’an, had contracted the Human Face Disease, and that little crown prince was the only one Xie Lian could think of who might be a possibility.

Ahhhh. That would make sense, wouldn't it.

“You call me ‘Your Highness’, so why can’t I address you the same?” Xie Lian rebuked. “You won’t answer, so I’ll have to guess myself. There are only two reasons why you wouldn’t want anyone seeing your true face. Either you are someone I know, or someone I don’t know, but once I see your real face I could easily figure out who you are. Or, your true appearance is exceedingly ugly, so ugly you can’t stand it yourself! Just like…”

...

I know what Xie Lian means, but it's hard not to read this as Xie Lian giving his two reasons, then being unable to resist tacking on a third just for the sake for calling White No-Face ugly.

“The name you gave this sword is Fangxin?”

Watching with unblinking eyes as that chilling blade came closer and closer to his own throat, Xie Lian’s expression remained hardened. “Is that a problem?”

White No-Face hmphed. “You don’t know how to give names. Listen well, the original name of this sword is ‘Zhuxin’.”

Oooh, how's that written? :o Is the 'xin' still 心, or something else?

EDIT:
Looked it up after finishing the book. The zhu is 诛 (execute/punish/blame); the xin is indeed still 心 (heart/mind). I still know zero Chinese, but according to a few Japanese and English reference sites, 誅心 means punishing someone for impure/malicious thoughts even if they haven't actually done anything. (And while I can't be certain, it looks like Chinese Wikipedia lists 誅心論 as a synonym for "appeal to motive"?)

I also discovered something interesting while looking up Fangxin's name. 芳 (fang) means fragrant or, metaphorically, favorable/good (as in, e.g., a good reputation). 芳心, in Chinese, is a poetic term for a young girl's heart. But interestingly, it has a different meaning in Japanese:

芳心 (hōshin)
1. Honorific word for another's kindness/kind heart/kind intentions
2. Exhausting one's kindness on others

This meaning doesn't seem to exist in Chinese, as far as the sources I've checked mention; I just think it's neat.

“Gege, there is a way to get a sword.”

Xie Lian was delighted. “How?”

“For this, we’ll have to see if your heavenly colleagues down there would be willing.”

“If you’ve got a way, then just say it, stop cajoling him!” Feng Xin said.

Xie Lian had pretty much guessed it, however. “Are you saying, have General Pei and the others come together and transform into a sword?”

omg

Also, lmao at the idea of Feng Xin and Mu Qing cooperating long enough to share a physical form. I guess I should have known Xie Lian would opt for "get-along sword" over "get-along shirt". :P

Thus, upon the palm of the divine statue, the four formed a line, in the order of Pei Ming, Feng Xin, Quan Yizhen, and Mu Qing.

Bold move, putting only one person between those two!

“We’ve arrived. I’ve something to talk to you about,” Xie Lian said.

“Did Crimson Rain Sought Flower do something to you?” Jun Wu questioned.

Poor Xie Lian, no one respects his relationship status of "I don't want us to see or be seen by other people". If they really must explicitly acknowledge it, couldn't they at least just be happy for him and then never mention it again??

“After Xianle had fallen, I found him, and neutralized him. But now, it seems, in the end he still escaped.”

“...”

That there could be someone other than White No-Face who could escape from Jun Wu’s hands. Xie Lian had always thought the Guoshi had fled during the chaos of war, but he hadn’t thought it was Jun Wu who personally went to do him in!

Well. That's definitely not shady.

However, Jun Wu seemed to be quietly concerned with the subject, and he deliberated for a long while before he said, “What is it, Xianle? Why did you suddenly bring up your master? Did you run into something inside Mount Tong’lu? That has to do with him?”

Xie Lian came to his senses and was just about to give a quick account before pressing with more questions when suddenly, there was a clamouring noise on the other end.

Probably a lucky time to get interrupted, all things considered.

Since earlier, Xie Lian had thought this man looked overly familiar. But this appearance was too different from the one in his memories, plus his voice was slightly raspy, not quite the same, so Xie Lian didn’t recognize him. Now that he heard the people on the side call out the word “Feng”, he suddenly snapped to.

Xie Lian watched him closely and said with disbelief, “...Lord Wind Master???”

OH. Of course!

:D :D :D

“Fine. Qingxuan,” Xie Lian said. There was a pause before he asked, “How…did you become this way?”

“Uh, just, it’s a long story,” Shi Qingxuan said. “Anyway it was just this and that, here and there, and then I ended up like this.”

Pffffft. God, I've missed Shi Qingxuan. <3

“Ol’ Feng, the likes of you actually knows a little white-face who you can tell with one look was raised in the honey of tender meat?! I bet you’re bullshittin’ again!”

The crowd was surprised and amazed, making a big deal out of things. It should’ve been funny, but Xie Lian only felt upset. It had to be known that among the three of them, only the Wind Master of the past was the true “little white-face raised in the honey of tender meat”.

..."Only" the Wind Master, right. Whatever you say, Your Royal Highness.

He couldn’t help but remember that dilapidated Temple of Wind and Water back at the town of Fu Gu, and those divine statues of the Water Master, whose head was cut off, and the Wind Master, who was missing an arm and a leg.

Oh, man, I'd totally forgotten that detail. Cute.

Mei Nianqing glanced at him and suddenly said, “You’re Shi Qingxuan, aren’t you?”

Shi Qingxuan was taken aback. “And who are you? How do you know my name?”

But the most important question was, how come he still recognized him, even with this appearance???

Mei Nianqing humphed. “Your name’s terrible.”

I just burst out laughing at the sheer abruptness of this. What's so terrible about it?? Does Mei Nianqing really have room to talk??

he saw something reflected on that snow-white blade.

A face.

The composed and handsome face of a youth.

And on this face, there were three other faces growing on it!

Those three tiny faces were squished on this person’s face, ruining that handsome complexion, making it appear chillingly horrifying. Even the five features seemed to be contorting. Half of the face appeared to be crying, while the other half appeared to be smiling.

That face should’ve been infinitely familiar to Xie Lian. Yet right then, in the mirror-like blade, the face was so foreign it was terrifying, so much so that Xie Lian was drenched in cold sweat.

Well damn. That's ... striking, that's for sure.

So... how exactly do these pieces fit together? White No-Face clearly exists separately from Jun Wu in at least some sense, so... are we looking at, basically, the physical body of "Jun Wu" + the spirit or spirits it's host to? With White No-Face being part of that spirit/one of those spirits, split off into an alter ego, maybe? It'd fit neatly into the historical record if there was a real martial god by that name ~1500 years ago who promptly got bodyjacked or impersonated like Ming Yi. (There's about 500 years between the fall of Wuyong and that, iirc, but that doesn't seem like an unreasonable amount of time for dying + becoming the most powerful ghost in history—for all I know, a decent chunk of that could have been spent just on the first Ghost Hunger Games and whatever sequence of events kicked it off.)

Hm. I'm going to put this down and keep reading, for now.


The whole monitored conversation with Hua Cheng is a delight. I almost felt like I should have made popcorn first.

Pei Ming was sitting nearby, his expression complicated. “Ling Wen, how heartless of you.”

Ling Wen patted his shoulder. “Didn’t you know of my heartlessness from the first day we met? How about it, wanna join? You’re always welcome.”

Pei Ming gave a dry chuckle, but didn’t speak.

Ah, friendship. :')

God I love Ling Wen.

“Ruoye, what are you doing?”

Ruoye was aggrieved too, and it drooped, nuzzling against him. Xie Lian then looked closer and found Ruoye was actually tied in a dead knot.

No wonder Ruoye couldn’t fight back; it was scared of being tied into a dead knot the most. In the past, before it wised up, it liked to wrap itself around mindlessly to play, and as it played it’d tangle itself into a mess of dead knots. It was Xie Lian who’d exasperatedly untie it every time. Later, it learned to be good, smarter, and had never knotted itself dead again.

oh noooooo that's so cute ;_; Poor Ruoye.

“How is there such a large white radish in the Heavenly Capital?”

Hua Cheng raised his brows and replied, “Gege, have you forgotten? It’s one the gifts grown from the earth, from the souvenirs the Rain Master brought you.”

“...”

So that was the present the Rain Master gifted him!

Xie Lian tried to imagine what Jun Wu’s face would look like when he opened that wooden box to see it was a giant white radish, but it was impossible to imagine, his attempt a failure.

haha oh my fucking god.

“That family of three, who fell to their deaths at the royal gates of Xianle,” Guoshi replied.

Xie Lian stopped breathing. “That…was…?”

“Afterwards, I examined the corpses of those three people,” Guoshi said. “And I discovered they weren’t human at all, but three empty shells.”

they what now

I... okay, wow, I was not expecting that one. Good lord. That's just... it's such a completely and utterly unnecessary move on Jun Wu's part, I'm in awe. The situation was already deteriorating entirely on its own! Anyone could see that it was unsalvageable. Literally all Jun Wu had to do in that moment was sit back and let humanity do exactly what he wanted them to, and the outcome would probably have been virtually identical, if slightly slower.

And yet he still felt the need to personally micromanage every moment of it, even beyond his role as White No-Face, just to make sure it was all according to plan. He's so dead-set on showing Xie Lian the true ugliness of humanity, and yet he doesn't even have enough faith in his own lack of faith in humanity to trust that they'll continue fucking things up on their own!

“However, the earlier productions of the Kiln weren’t like this. In the early days, there’d be a session once every few years, and each time the results would be different, as batches and batches poured out. Perhaps this had something to do with his unstable emotions. Everything produced were monsters forged by his hatred and resentment, and there are probably a few familiar names among them. For example—the Reverend of Empty Words.”

Man.

Imagine if you spent years tearing your hair out over your little sibling's demon stalker, to the point of committing multiple homicide by identity theft just to throw the thing off, and then the cause of all your problems turned out to be your boss's fucking vent art.

Incidentally, I'm still not clear on the exact nature of White No-Face's existence. He's Jun Wu's alter ego, but he's also separate enough in some sense to warrant that whole plotline about possessing Lang Ying after he was "destroyed"...? I feel like I might have skimmed over or misunderstood something about the mechanics here.

“He...seemed to always want to lead me to believe I am the Crown Prince of Wuyong himself, or that I am a part of his soul,” Xie Lian said.

No kidding. In all fairness, there's rarely a bad time for that kind of twist in my book—I mean, weird identity issues, uncomfortable character parallels, what's not to like? But when the actual explanation is as incredible as "the villain deliberately fabricated foreshadowing to gaslight the hero into thinking they're the same person, because he kins said hero and acknowledging that they're separate people is invalidating his trauma", I can hardly say I'm disappointed.

Xie Lian said, “??? WAIT!? THAT’S NOT IT EITHER!”

Guoshi puffed a breath and sighed. “Don’t be afraid, Your Highness, I wasn’t going to lecture you on anything. I won’t guide you on something I myself am not an expert in. Besides, you’ve already come through after so much, what’s there left to worry about? Men or women, it doesn’t matter, as long as you yourself are happy.”

Xie Lian rubbed his forehead so much it was very red, and he said in a small voice, “En…I’m very happy.”

God, the whole conversation is so cute <3 I'm happy for you too, Xie Lian.

Xuan Ji and Rong Guang were arguing over who was going to choke or stab Pei Ming dead first, and they were screaming and ripping at each other.

rip in pieces, pei ming

it must be hard being popular

[Xie Lian] was just about to go rescue him, when unexpectedly, before he even moved, a hand rested on his shoulder.

Behind him, Jun Wu spoke. “Xianle, did you actually think I’ve called you here just so you can help do good deeds?”

"have you listened to even a SINGLE WORD I've taught you. for fuck's sake why are you always like this"

Xie Lian yelled, “QIANQIU! GO RELEASE THE OTHER HEAVENLY OFFICIALS FIRST!”

Lang Qianqiu answered subconsciously, “YES, MASTER!”

Then, both of them were taken aback. He gave Xie Lian a look then dashed out.

God, that's such a perfect simultaneously cute and deeply, horribly awkward moment. I love it so much.

but there were too many people present, Xie Lian couldn’t make a move on Hua Cheng. Ideas come in emergencies, and Xie Lian randomly pulled a heavenly official over. Behind him, Xie Lian cupped Hua Cheng’s face and kissed him deeply.

First: never change, Xie Lian.

Second, I'd like to take this moment to remind everyone that, as per my earlier decree, I assume any and all random heavenly official NPCs to be He Xuan in disguise.

“WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING BEHIND MY BACK???”

Countless eyes also came flying over. Only then did Xie Lian discover that the one he pulled over to block people’s view was actually Lang Qianqiu. Xie Lian deeply repented mentally, what a sin what a sin, this mustn’t be seen by this child.

—oh my god it was actually EVEN BETTER, holy shit

Just as that red light had come not a half a mile away, Xie Lian suddenly felt something beneath his feet was being triggered.

When he looked down, he found it was the darkness beneath his feet that was moving, splash splash, rising and folding, practically like...

Waves.

Xie Lian suddenly knew where this place was.

:D

yesssss

A sweat drop rolled down Xie Lian’s forehead. “Is...it okay...that we brought such a mess to Black Water’s domain?”

“Don’t worry about those things,” Hua Cheng said. “He owes me money. Fight however you will.”

I'm cackling.

(oh my god the author's note makes it even better. severely dragged down the income average of the entire Supreme rank)

That fiery demonic fortress wasn’t falling apart, but was rebuilding itself after splitting into different parts!

And after reconstruction, it’d become...a fiery giant!

Ah, just what this story was missing. A multi-stage mecha battle.

Xie Lian yelled back, “I’M TRYING TO THINK OF WHAT CAN BE USED AS A WEAPON!”

Ruoye very excitedly twisted its body into many loops and came snuggling to his face, but Xie Lian pushed it away.

“Thank you, but you won’t do, you’re too small!”

That's adorable. :3

Ruoye and E'ming are, as always, the best part of this novel.

Just then, the surface of the sea down below started rolling and bubbling.

Bubble bubble, it kept spreading and started surging, and there were even waves of white smoke. The seawater was boiling!

...

Sorry about your house, He Xuan.

Suddenly, he heard Guoshi’s voice. “Um...fluffy child, what are you doing? Don’t just toss a corpse at me? WAIT? WHAT ARE YOU DOING??”

That is an amazing sequence of sentences.

(Really, now that the story points it out, Quan Yizhen happening to Guoshi is a great idea all around.)

Shi Qingxuan was overjoyed. “Don’t ask so many questions, come come come, join us quickly, join the human array and help hold it up, we can’t let the resentful spirits inside break out!”

The majority of the heavenly officials were hesitant, and it was Lang Qianqiu who rushed out first.

“I’LL GIVE YOU A HAND!”

Lang Qianqiu ♥

Favorite underappreciated* side character/plotline, honestly.

* Underappreciated in terms of narrative focus. Naturally Yin Yu is still my underappreciated in-universe fave!

Shi Qingxuan didn’t have the time to look at the sky, and didn’t see Xie Lian and Hua Cheng up there either. When he saw a “Hua Cheng” come by, he quickly called out.

“CRIMSON RAIN SOUGHT FLOWER!!! You’ve finally come back! What the heck were you doing leaving for so long, have you thought of a way to connect with His Highness? No no no, you best think of a way to help me deal with the situation here first, do you see all those fiery rocks coming down from the sky? Think, fast! Blow a breath or make those endless little butterflies go up and chase them away or something, otherwise we’ll die...”

“Hua Cheng” didn’t speak a word, coldly allowing Shi Qingxuan to say that giant pile of words in one breath. Finally, as if he was growing impatient listening, he cut him off directly.

“Deal with it yourself.”

This whole scene. I'm so glad <333

Yet unexpectedly, after “Hua Cheng” had pulled him out, he wasn’t done; a hand came swinging, smacked him, and sent him flying out.

The beggars were all shocked. “OL’ FENG!?”

Some complained loudly at “Hua Cheng”, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HITTING PEOPLE??”

Although Shi Qingxuan was sent flying, he only tumbled and rolled a few times, sprawled on the ground, and he immediately crawled up. “It’s fine it’s fine, I didn’t die! He didn’t really hit me, he was just lending spiritual powers!”

There are two types of ghost kings in the world. Neither can transfer spiritual energy without making it weird.

(I'm not forgetting White No-Face; he just happens to be both types, in quick succession.)

Yet unexpectedly, right then, there was a rowdy commotion coming from all around:

“Quack quack, is this the royal capital quack, such big houses quack!”

“What fuss are you making, Chengzhu’s houses are bigger!”

“Yeah, and they’re not as pretty as Chengzhu’s houses either!”

:DDD

I always love these "everyone returns to save the day" scenes, and this moment especially nails it.

and Feng Xin and Mu Qing for some reason had been missing since they had arrived here

Being saved up for something good, one hopes!

Xie Lian hesitated for a bit, but in the end still asked, “San Lang, did you think I was going to stab myself earlier?”

Hua Cheng didn’t respond, but his expression was still extremely sour.

Xie Lian added, “I wouldn’t have.”

Hua Cheng gave him a look. “Really?”

hualian.txt

Yet unexpectedly, Mu Qing continued with, “But more often than not, I’m still...rather in awe of you.”

Xie Lian was taken aback.

Mu Qing gathered his courage, looking like someone was choking his neck, forcing him to speak, and he said stiffly, “Isn’t that normal? You...certainly...are rather amazing. You’re...also...a better person...than me. Long story short, I...very much wanted...to become your f-f-friend.”

“...”

Xie Lian had never in a million years imagined that there’d be one day he’d hear those words uttered from Mu Qing’s lips.

...Xie Lian...

It kind of kills me how, for all Xie Lian's overall obliviousness to the class difference in their friendship, he was conscious enough of it to grasp that Mu Qing would've had an incentive to stick with him even if he didn't like him. The perfect balance for slow-burn disaster: not conscious enough of the underlying issues to ever fully address them, but not oblivious enough to take Mu Qing's motives at face value in retrospect. The XL/MQ/FX relationship is just ... such a masterpiece of dysfunction from every angle, despite every individual person involved generally caring and meaning well, and I love it so much.

Sometimes I just imagine how all this would look from the outside. r/relationships: My best friend assumes I hate them because I'm a tsundere incapable of expressing positive feelings towards others. A few threads down: My mortal enemy assumes I'm their tsundere best friend even though I've never expressed a single positive feeling towards them. Elsewhere, Yin Yu is on his third reworded repost under a new sock after scrapping the first two when Quan Yizhen himself commented unknowingly. (It was not unknowing; Quan Yizhen has never replied to anyone but Yin Yu's posts in his life.) Immortal deities have the market cornered on relationship drama.

... MXTX Novel Bingo really could have used a "tsunderes with 0 points in dere" space, huh.

Mu Qing was so full of spirit earlier, but now his face paled. He raised his palms, closing his eyes, looking as if he was going to smash through his own skull first before he got burnt to death, so he could die more straightforwardly.

Xie Lian hastily cried, “WAITWAITWAITWAIT DON’T YOU BE RASH! I-I-I-I-I’VE GOT A PLAN!”

Mu Qing opened his eyes again. “WHAT PLAN?”

Although Ruoye couldn’t reach the very bottom, it could go halfway, and Xie Lian tossed it down. “JUMP WITH EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT! JUMP AND CATCH IT! I’LL PULL YOU UP!”

Mu Qing’s face was turning even paler. “IF I COULD JUMP, WOULD I NEED TO THINK OF A WAY?!”

Then he prepared to fill himself with courage again to smack himself dead.

Xie Lian exclaimed, “WAITWAITWAITWAIT! REALLY, WAIT!!! I’LL THINK OF A WAY SOON!”

God, this is priceless. That awkward moment when you finally resolve your centuries-long character arc in a burst of pent-up emotion before you die, but then you remember you're still about to die and it totally kills the moment.

As is Feng Xin swooping to the rescue just in the—ta-da!—nick of time. My cheeks hurt from grinning at this chapter.

Feng Xin was almost burnt by that pillar of fire, and he shouted in outrage. “WHAT’S WITH THIS BAND OF DOG SHITS, ATTACKING PEOPLE WHILE THEY’RE DOWN, SO VILE! FUCK YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!”

Xie Lian responded, “IF THEIR ENTIRE FAMILIES ALL LOOK LIKE THAT, YOU SURE YOU WANT TO FUCK THEM??”

God I've missed their stupid friendship.

Without the need to hold him, Feng Xin freed up a hand, and pulled out the longbow carried on his back as well as several wooden sticks he picked up from who knows where. Using sticks as arrows, he held the bow with one hand and used his teeth to bite back the bowstring. Setting the arrow onto the string, he pulled back steadily—WOOSH WOOSH WOOSH WOOSH, four arrows were let fly at once!

That is the single stupidest thing I've ever heard, holy shit. It's perfect.

Feng Xin turned to Xie Lian.

“Didn’t I already tell you? This guy, his feelings are more twisted than the resentful concubines of the deep harem, completely unfathomable!”

I know, right? You need to put, like, an entire skill point in basic reading comprehension to read his mind!

Feng Xin added, “Alright, now everything’s out in the open. Anyway, you just remember this: His Highness never thought you so filthy in his mind. Other than that time you crossed the line and he got mad, afterwards, he’s never said a single bad word about you in front of me! You just act like a normal person from now on, talk normally, express yourself normally, if you’re going to be sarcastic again I’m gonna yell at you!”

Mu Qing listened to the first part while hanging his head, his lips sealed, unspeaking, but as he listened to the latter half he rolled his eyes. “Haven’t you already yelled at me for hundreds of years?”

Xie Lian reminded him, “Mu Qing, you’re a heavenly official, you’ve gotta watch the impression you make, alright? You can’t roll your eyes so easily, if your devotees catch it they’ll have opinions.”

Excuse me, if we've learned anything from Feng Xin and Mu Qing's adventures in LARPing it's that Mu Qing should get to roll his eyes as often as he pleases! It's a vital public service to all present.

The subject was about to sink into the forbidden again, and Xie Lian spoke up.

“Will you both not air out each other’s dirty laundry at a time like this? What’s the point in hurting each other…”

Mu Qing rolled his eyes again. “Besides, look at you, freaking out back then. So what if he robbed? If I was His Highness, at that point, I’d rob eighteen wealthy, prominent households and would never bat an eye. And to think you’re the helping hand, chasing after His Highness to demand what happened.”

Sweat rolled down Xie Lian’s forehead and he looked back. “Wait a sec, there’s no need to air mine out either? In any case, find San Lang, help me find San Lang! Hahahaha…”

You know, Xie Lian, this might be just what your relationship needed all along. True friendship means equal-opportunity mud-slinging and petty trash talk! From now on, you'll never have to feel left out again :D

That white-clad man was of course White No-Face, and he was wielding a sword that came from who knows where, that half-smiling, half-crying cry-smiling mask still on his face. Only, that mask and what Xie Lian had seen before were now somewhat different.

It was cracked in the middle.

That crack was significant, unable to be ignored, and it went from the heart of the forehead all the way down to the cheek below the eye, like it was going to break any moment!

Hua Cheng inclined his head and answered, “Gege.” Then, his tone turned to one of warning. “Gege, next time you make yourself fall like that, I’m going to get mad.”

Xie Lian responded too, “Next time you jump down with me, I’ll get even more mad!”

“...”

Hearing this, Hua Cheng’s expression seemed to stiffen for a second, as if Xie Lian’s words really did make him wary. Even when facing White No-Face, he had never shown such a wary expression.

...

this is even more hualian.txt

the scimitar in Hua Cheng’s hand was fine, but the longsword wielded by White No-Face had been snapped in half by Hua Cheng’s strike!

The eyeball on the scimitar E’ming saw Xie Lian, and spun crazily in circles, looking like it had shown itself off in front of Xie Lian and was feeling so happy it was going to ascend.

:D :D

Feng Xin couldn’t help but be outraged. “FUCKING HELL! WHEN IT SEES HIM, IT STICKS ON, WHEN IT SEES ME, IT BITES; JUST WHO IS YOUR DAD HERE??”

Mu Qing, however, commented coolly, “Have you ever taken it for your son? Have you ever called its name properly?”

... you know, that's a really good point. With all the other plot threads flying around, I'd barely even remembered the spirit had a name until Xie Lian started using it, but... yeah, actually, Xie Lian does and Feng Xin doesn't. No wonder he hasn't made himself popular.

White No-Face was slowly dropping a hand.

One of his arms was injured. He flipped his palm open, saw his own hand covered with blood, and sighed, chuckling.

“...It’s been many years since anyone has managed to hurt me like this.”

Xie Lian felt a sense of foreboding and asked, “Master, is he...mad?”

Guoshi could be considered as the only one in the world who understood White No-Face the best right now. “No...it’s worse than anger. He’s...happy.”

Oh dear, Jun Wu's rediscovered what "fun" feels like.

After a pause, White No-Face turned to Hua Cheng. He asked, his voice full of curiosity, “Your scimitar, was it forged by that missing eye of yours?”

"I mean it's been blatantly obvious for ages, but given that I fabricate blatantly obvious foreshadowing as a hobby I don't want to assume"

[Jun Wu] glanced at Guoshi and smiled.

“To teach others on how to face me in front of me; I won’t kill you, but you’re becoming more bold.”

That smile was laced with a tone of warning.

... Suddenly, I can't stop hearing all of Jun Wu's lines with this exact phrasing.

“I won’t kill you, but if anyone else were this impertinent, the Palace of Ling Wen would have reproached them directly.”
“I won’t kill you, but everyone, please calm down.”
“I won’t kill you, but since it’s a peaceful occasion, why not take tea for wine and smooth over this situation.”
“I won’t kill you, but it will be very embarrassing.”

Instantly improves any Jun Wu dialogue while still sounding, frankly, entirely in-character. I... think this might just be the subtext every time Jun Wu speaks to anyone.

Jun Wu gazed at the sword, speaking softly, “Zhuxin, long time no see.”

Fangxin—or rather, it should now be called Zhuxin—was emitting a deep, quiet moan in his hand.

Xie Lian had always thought that Fangxin was too old, so it wasn’t easy to use; who knew if it’d just pass away one day. He had never thought that in the hands of its once-master, its aura and power would be completely different than when it was in his own hands!

Aw, it missed him ;_; Clearly this is very bad for our heroes, etc., but ... I can't be unhappy if the sentient weapons are happy. Please don't abandon your sword again, Jun Wu!!

Xie Lian was startled at first, but he soon regained calm. He was going to snatch the sword at first anyway, so there was nothing to be scared of, going straight for the blade, his mind playing out all the hundreds of possible moves that they might exchange in an instant. Yet unexpectedly, halfway through the air, another hand caught him and pulled him back. Xie Lian landed and looked, and saw Hua Cheng was shielding in front of him, a black jade sword piercing through his heart.

Seeing this picture, Xie Lian almost passed out, choking, “SAN LANG?!”

Hua Cheng’s face was slightly dark. Jun Wu was still waiting for Xie Lian to impale himself against the blade of Zhuxin, but seeing that it was blocked, he pulled the sword and backed off, looking rather disappointed.

...

I've changed my mind, this is peak hualian.txt

Jun Wu puffed a laugh and said slowly, “‘No matter what happened in the past, I will never leave you.’ My most faithful believers, my best friends, they also told me that once.”

Guoshi’s face changed, and Jun Wu also swept him a look. “But, in the end, as you see. No one was able to truly do as they promised.”

All I can think of is Jun Wu singing this while Zhuxin makes indignant sword noises in the background.

Immediately, Xie Lian heard the light sound of something tearing, and at the same time, his hold loosened.

Ruoye...was ripped!

That white silk band had been torn into two, and suddenly dropped to the ground lifelessly.

NO

HOW DARE YOU????

you can do whatever else you want but if you actually kill off the sentient bandage* I will destroy you

* or the sentient scimitar

Jun Wu’s voice, however, was still only inches away, and he spoke: “Xianle, did you actually believe that something like being pierced by the sword is something I have less experience in than you? Did you think I would care?”

I have been cracking up over this for the past ten minutes because I'm twelve. To be fair to Xie Lian, his mentor did just tell him you were straight!

ETA: At time of posting, reading it still makes me crack up.

Xie Lian was still hugging that ringing head of his, sitting on the ground, tears and blood flowing uncontrollably down his face. Jun Wu crouched down next to him. He stared at his face for a while, then suddenly raised his hands and petted Xie Lian’s head before gently helping him wipe away the blood on his face.

I appreciate Jun Wu's commitment to nonconsensual headpats no matter the circumstances.

Jun Wu added, “You’ve spent so much of yourself in nurturing him, teaching and guiding him, purely because you had hoped he could win against me, so you can prove that I was wrong and you were right, that you were all in the right. So you can hold the illusion of a perfect Crown Prince of Wuyong to face and dismiss the Jun Wu now. Isn’t that your objective? Did you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?”

“THAT’S NOT IT!” Guoshi cried. “Stop getting tied up in right and wrong, victories and defeat, I’VE NEVER THOUGHT THAT WAY BEFORE!”

But Jun Wu had stopped listening, and he raised his voice, his tone sharp. “FORGET IT! Let me tell you right now, you can all forget it! NO ONE CAN WIN AGAINST ME! ESPECIALLY HIM!”

He laughed maniacally, then dragged Xie Lian and slammed him towards the rocks, smashing as he yelled.

Both of Jun Wu’s eyes were red, and just as he was about to strike another blow to discipline him, his action suddenly came to a halt. He looked down, and saw a long sabre was struck into his shoulder, and eight long arrows made of sticks were neatly pinned on his back.

None of that mattered, since the long sabre and the arrows hadn't penetrated the white armour. However, his right hand was gone.

The hand grabbing Xie Lian was gone. All of it, vanished from his wrist, the cut neat and clean. Xie Lian was also gone.

When he turned his head, something with a sharp, forceful wind was coming right at him. He swung his left hand and caught it, and only noticed when he saw that it was his own right hand.

Hey, he's just being polite by returning it. "White No-Hand" doesn't have nearly the same ring to it. (Plus, you'd be stealing Shi Wudu's brand.)

Suddenly, like he’d remembered something, he turned his head back, and looked at the pale-faced Mu Qing who was gripping the long sabre. Having their eyes meet, Mu Qing was slightly startled, but he still bold-headedly forced himself to remain calm. But it wasn’t long before he could no longer keep calm.

Jun Wu glanced at his shoulder and commented lightly, “I knew it. Compared to Xianle, you’re still lacking.”

God, he's just so pointlessly petty at all times. I love it.

I love how Jun Wu's spent, like, half the day handing out sadistic ultimatums to appeal to people's worse natures, and yet the most any of them have managed to accomplish is positive character development. Like. Honey. I know it's your passion, but at a certain point I feel like you've gotta consider whether a career in corruption arc sales is really right for you.

Like... it's not even necessarily that he's a bad lifestyle coach! (Aside from the psychological abuse, and the physical abuse, and the mass murder.) Arguably he has a very good track record of inspiring real, meaningful change in his clients ... just not in the direction he intended.

Feng Xin saw Mu Qing was petrified and unmoving, and shouted, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST STANDING THERE, RUN!”

Guoshi berated, “Feng Xin, you little idiot, how can he run with those injuries on his legs?”

Feng Xin was shocked. “FUCK! I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THAT!”

I love these idiots.

“You can win. You’re stronger than him.” His one eye was bright, as if something was burning, and he said with certainty, “Believe me. He’s wrong. You’re in the right. You’re stronger than him. You’re much more powerful than him!”

Jun Wu let out a deep and quiet chuckle, probably because he thought Hua Cheng’s words were naive and amusing, or perhaps he was pleased by the domineering power in his hands.

The power of millions of believers was all in his hands alone!

But Hua Cheng gripped his shoulders. “So what? They’re just millions of fools, they’re all useless trash! But for you, one person is enough!”

God, that echo. ;__;

I'm such a sucker for this running theme: the way even a single act of kindness – or cruelty – towards someone you wouldn't think twice about can have far-reaching repercussions, because to that person it was life-changing. Half the supporting cast's motivations trace back to a single person whose treatment of them shaped their entire life. A stranger gave Xie Lian their umbrella simply because he'd been caught in the rain without one, Xie Lian paid it forward to Hua Cheng… and centuries later, Hua Cheng returned the favor with the very same umbrella. Even though it was far too little, too late to do him any actual good, Lang Ying treasured the earring Xie Lian gave him until his death. And after everything Xie Lian had been through, all it took to restore his resolve was one stranger bothering to show him the most basic human decency.

For all the flaws in young Xie Lian's approach to idealism, Feng Xin and Mu Qing both followed him for so long because they valued him being precisely that kind of person. Just as, even after a thousand years, the Crown Prince of Wuyong's once-friend still spoke with utmost admiration of the man he'd loved – even held him up as an ideal – without a word spared for his ultimate fate except to stress that "his people" never stopped loving or thinking of him.

Xie Lian saved the life of a nameless child nobody cared about – a child who, despite Xie Lian's efforts, grew up shunned, abused, and miserable; who barely even reached adulthood before dying futilely alongside countless others in Xie Lian's name. And that nameless ghost proceeded to fight tooth and nail to not only persist as a spirit for centuries but become more powerful than entire nations of believers, just to prove that the kindness Xie Lian had shown him mattered, dammit. The contradiction at the heart of Hua Cheng's character is that despite his constant self-abasement, his very being is founded on the most brazen assertion of self-worth imaginable. He exists for one reason: to force not only Xie Lian but reality itself to recognize that the fates of millions of believers – the rise and fall of gods and nations – pale in significance to the way Xie Lian treated him. That the difference Xie Lian made in even one person's life was not wasted, because to that person, a simple act of kindness was the most powerful force in the world.


The mid-final-battle derail into over a thousand words of farcically drawn-out cliffhanger featuring Mu Qing, Feng Xin, and Mei Nianqing, while Xie Lian and Jun Wu seemingly pause just to watch with popcorn, is art. Just... amazing. I feel blessed to have read this.

A moment later, Jun Wu suddenly asked, “That move. What is it called?”

“...” Xie Lian raised his sleeve and wiped away the blood on the side of his face. “Shattering boulders on the chest.”

Beautiful. :')

Jun Wu was taken aback; then, as if he’d thought of something, he snickered, then sighed, closing his eyes. “Beautiful.”

... the very next line, naturally.

(I'm still not sure I get the exact logistics of/distinction between the Jun Wu and White No-Face identities? Like, I understand the personal reasons why he would eat Lang Ying and rub it in Xie Liam's face, but... between all the talk about him needing to restore himself to full power + the guoshis' concerns about the crown prince "awakening again", it sounds like his ghost persona and his god persona are, to some degree, separate existences that follow different rules? I guess in the same way that his ex-friends are simultaneously stuck in his face and off being sentient mountains? I'm not sure if I missed an explanation, or if there's some mythological/genre context I'm unfamiliar with that would make this clearer.)

Xie Lian, however, didn’t care for anything else. He dashed straight for Hua Cheng with his battered face, like he had been reborn—in truth, it certainly was a close escape from death—and he pounced at him. “SAN LANG!”

Hua Cheng had only just reached a hand out to Xie Lian before he was immediately pushed back a step by this tackle. He closed his arms around him and smiled happily.

♥

Hua Cheng’s long and slender fingers gently combed through Xie Lian’s mussed hair. “Then, Your Highness, do you know why I refuse to leave this world?”

Xie Lian couldn’t understand why Hua Cheng could still be so calm at a time like this, as he was panicking so hard he was trembling. But, while feeling lost, he still simple-mindedly asked, “Why?”

Hua Cheng replied quietly, “Because I have a beloved who is still in this world.”

Oh no

Don't do this callback now, you might actually make me cry D:

“Is it my imagination, or is Xuan Zhen more and more sarcastic these days?”

Feng Xin responded, “Hasn’t he always been this sarcastic? He’s just too lazy to hide it now.”

<3

Most important character development in the entire book, tbh.

The Rain Master took out from within her sleeve something wrapped with a small band of white cloth, and when she opened it, Xie Lian’s eyes brightened instantly.

“Thank you so much, Lord Rain Master! I’ve been looking everywhere for this!”

oh thank god

Xie Lian rummaged around his sleeve and fumbled out a white silk band that was torn in half, and said joyously, “Yeah, finally, the material to fix Ruoye is found! I’ll go patch it up right now!”

However, Feng Xin stopped him. “Patch it up? You?! Forget it, what can you patch? Ask someone else to help you.” Then he turned his head and shouted, “MU QING! COME GET TO WORK!”

Mu Qing walked over lazily, replying coolly, “What? What are you trying to say? Tell me to sew it?”

“Isn’t that your expertise?” Feng Xin said.

Mu Qing hmphed. “Aren’t you two too good at using people? Taking me for a servant you can order around again, tomorrow you’ll probably tell me to sweep the floor.”

Xie Lian laughed. “Never mind, never mind. I’ll do it myself.”

But Mu Qing had already taken the strips of white silk from his hands, rolling his eyes as he went to search for needle and thread.

He even jokes about it now! :D Mu Qing has truly become far too powerful, and I'm here for it.

“Your son Cuo Cuo’s grudge is rather strong, it needs to be restrained. Although it’s already undergoing purification, your cultivation isn’t as high as his, so it’d be hard to guarantee zero accidents. You’ll need this to assist you.”

The item was a protection charm Xie Lian had made himself, and he even demonstrated how to use it, to prove there were no tricks embedded. Jian Lan watched, and her tension did indeed relax. After all, this thing was useful. After some hesitation, she took it.

“Thanks.”

“No need,” Xie Lian said. “As long as, when you use it, shout three times ‘Your Highness Please Bless Me’, it’ll do. That way, this will be marked under the name of my palace.”

Pfft. The "…and remember to like, comment, and subscribe!" punchline is still one of my favorite running gags.

Jian Lan: I mean yes, I loved him, but it's been centuries, we've both moved on and changed as people, and realistically I wouldn't be happy with a relationship under these circumstances.
Xie Lian: ...That doesn't sound right, but I don't know enough about people who aren't pathologically incurable romantics to dispute it.

Ghosting again is not the most helpful way to address this, though, Jian Lan. However tempting the pun is. :P

On a side note, there's something interesting to be said about the parallel between Lang Ying's and Jian Lan's dead sons. Too tired to dig into it right now, though.

After some hesitation, Lang Qianqiu reached into his robes and took something out, passing it to him. “This.”

The moment Xie Lian saw the thing, his breathing stopped.

It was an opulent, smooth and luminescent, little crimson coral pearl.

His voice trembled, “This is…?!”

Lang Qianqiu said, “This coral pearl was a secret treasure left by the founding father of Yong’an.”
[…]
“The founding father once said, the one who gave him this red coral pearl was his saviour, someone who had helped him. A very good man.”

“...”

Lang Qianqiu went on, “But, he still did something that made that man lose everything. The founding father said he didn’t regret doing what he did, he had to do it. Though afterwards when he thought about it, he still felt like he wronged that man.”

!!!

aaaa ;_;

His family kept it all these years. God. I'm so emotional about this.

But then they heard Feng Xin call out, “LOOK WHO I’VE CAPTURED!”

He crashed out of the woods and came dashing up, a black-clad individual dragged by his hand, and the heavenly officials were all shocked.

“LING WEN!”

"THANK GOD, WE CAN FINALLY STOP DOING OUR OWN PAPERWORK!"

(...ha, called it.)

After several days, Mu Qing finally repaired Ruoye and came to deliver it. The moment Xie Lian opened the door he saw something white pouncing at him, and his vision was covered. He raised his hand to yank that thing off, and Ruoye began to twist and swivel again, like it was showing off its beautiful body after being reborn.

aaaaa ;__;

I was so worried ;__;

Atop Mount Taicang, there used to be an enormous field of maple trees. They were all burnt down by that massive fire, but reborn after a thousand years. They were no longer the same ones Xie Lian leapt through to train once upon a time, but the landscape was the same.

The Mount Taicang scenery callbacks always make me so emotional. Especially now, at the very end.

Last time, they'd spent eight hundred years running towards each other.

This time, it only took an instant to fall into each other’s embrace.

What a perfect ending line. ♥

“It’s General Nan Yang.”

“It’s him. So sad, his wife and son ran off with some guy…”

Veins violently popped on Feng Xin’s forehead as he roared his curses on the spot. “WHAT THE FUCK!!! AREN’T YOU GUYS TIRED OF THIS?! HOW MANY MONTHS HAVE YOU ALL PUSHED ME ON THIS?? ALSO! IT’S ‘RAN AWAY’! NOT ‘RAN OFF WITH SOME GUY’! FUCKING STOP SPREADING EMPTY RUMOURS!”

Those gossipy junior officials were terrified and hastily fled. Mu Qing stood on the side with his hands tucked in his sleeves.

“You might as well have not explained yourself, it only sounds even more embarrassing.”

Feng Xin was outraged, seizing a broom on the side then throwing it over. Mu Qing caught it instantly, and snorted.

“This is old. You can’t use this on me anymore.”

Feng Xin was about to yell some more when Xie Lian walked over and stuffed another broom in his hands.

“Oh good, then how about this. Why don’t both of you help me sweep this yard? We set off some firecrackers earlier, so the ground is covered in red scraps. Thanks. If you get bored you can train some idioms, okay.”

I appreciate that for these three, mending their relationship mostly means they can now be petty dicks to each other over everything without any serious bad blood involved. They're much happier, and they now feel free to annoy the shit out of everyone around them—including whichever of them is the current third wheel—with complete impunity and peace of mind. No paths are bound!

Before the crowd of beggars was a man leading them, his hair mussed, his clothes sweaty. It was Shi Qingxuan. He hobbled and hopped over, putting his hands together in courtesy.

“Your Highness, I’ve come to disturb you! So how about it, does what we agreed to last time still stand?”

Xie Lian laughed. “Everyone is very welcome, of course it stands! Please have a seat, have a seat.”

:DD

Finally, their free meal!!

“Wait, something’s wrong. There’s the essence of evil!”

The crowd turned their heads to look, and that complaint was actually from Heaven’s Eye and company.

Xie Lian felt his head ache. “How come you guys came too?”

“We helped out last time too,” Heaven’s Eye said. “So why can’t we come?” Then he raised his bowl high up, his expression serious. “Everyone! Listen to me, I am definitely not wrong on this! There’s essence of evil in the food in these bowls, so it’s probably nothing good. It’s very suspicious! Put your bowls down, quick!”

I mean, your options here are "contains essence of evil" or "cooked by Xie Lian". (Which, according to He Xuan, is the same thing anyway.) Learn from the experts here—beggars can't be choosers!

Mu Qing couldn’t watch anymore. “Do you all know this is a temple? It’s for worshipping gods, can you all watch yourselves a bit more?”

However, the crowd of beggars refused to take this. Last time, they held hands with many heavenly officials to hold down the human array, and they saw with their own eyes how some heavenly officials were trembling, fleeing last-minute, and couldn’t even match them in valour. They were also acquainted with Shi Qingxuan, so they couldn’t help but feel: so gods are like this. When life was on the line, they didn’t seem that different than them, and so the gods no longer appeared so high and unapproachable, harsh and inviolable.

Damn right. <3 This whole subplot might be my favorite part of Book 5.

Xie Lian was slightly perplexed. “How can that be? I clearly saw you guys make fifty-some bowls just now?”

“YEAH!”

But when he looked again, sure enough, all fifty-some bowls were empty, and even the broth was completely cleaned out!

Xie Lian was still feeling puzzled when he suddenly thought of someone, and when he turned around, he saw Hua Cheng was leaning against the door.

“San Lang, could this be?”

“More than likely,” Hua Cheng replied flatly.

He Xuan may have left the heavens, but his starring role in their r/relationships array lives on, it seems.



Jun Wu comes in for the finish to bat that abandonment issues square out of the park! And with Xie Lian and Mu Qing wrapping up their relationship arc, I'm going to count that "interrogate behavior from the wrong perspective" square as well and truly earned.

That covers all the squares I can think of — although in a book this huge, it's entirely possible I've overlooked something, so let me know if anything jumps out. (I don't think I recall any mentions of eyes glowing red, for instance, but that's the sort of thing that's easy to miss.)

To my genuine surprise, I did not end up achieving a single bingo unless you count the honorable "Main Character Death" mention I gave for Xie Lian's 100-death speedrun. Contributing factors to the empty spaces include the lack of sex scenes (which I've heard was due to increasingly harsh enforcement of government censorship?), the lack of conflict within the romance, my failure to include an "intimate coffin experiences" square, and the fact that the main couple being an immortal god and ghost rendered a couple squares hilariously inapplicable.