Kokuto:

That's a good question ...  I would guess that whatever he could control, he did, to make it pleasurable.

Whether intentional or not, yes, they both knew the other knew of the physical sensations.  Remember, when Cang Xuan had the bug, he told her he could feel XL biting her neck and she should avoid those sort of encounters (sexual) when wounded.

Oh, thank you, I remembered that just now! But did she come to realize this, or did she, as usual, postpone this realization beyond her reality denial syndrome? Somewhere in the novel, she seems to have told someone that Xiang Liu could only feel physical pain from her. Did she really think so, or was she lying, as usual (what a lying heroine!). If she realized that he felt not only her pain but also her other physical sensations, then wouldn't it have been awkward for her to kiss Jing, knowing that Xiang Liu felt it? Would she have cared? And wouldn't she have been embarrassed or anxious at all about having those sensations from Xiang Liu? I wouldn't agree to feel that way about some man who was just my friend and would not let it happen again once realized. 😬

 HeadInTheClouds:
For me, the drama is not a good adaptation of the novel because it didn't keep the integrity of the novel.

I feel the same. 

I will say that the adaptation is like a meme with pencil drawing of horse.
 

Most things are wonderful. The acting of ALL the actors, without exception, is wonderful. Of course, Tan's acting is at a sky-high level. I would put Yang Zi's acting a little lower than him. But she had the hardest time. Because her character was deprived of any consistency and completely changed the meaning. In the scene where she marries Jing and in the final scene where they walk side by side and she carries a doll - I literally see on her face the expression "I don't know what I'm playing, and what I'm supposed to be playing at all, sorry."

But in general, this novel is like a house of cards. It's enough to pull out one card - and everything will be destroyed. The novel very successfully divided the fans into two hostile camps which is beautiful and unique. The novel is a litmus test. Depending on who you root for - it immediately says who you are, and what your general vision of life is.  

And in this sense, this novel is like a certain balance of "yin and yang" (such a Chinese way). And the only thing the author should have protected was this balance. Instead, she destroyed it ( not Chinese way). Of course, there is no more yin-yang in the series.
 HeadInTheClouds:
Jing, more than anyone, had a front row seat to the Xiang Liu/Xiao Yao's relationship. This was very clear in the novel.

Your interpretation of this will depend on how you view this love triangle.

Have you read the novel, or is this purely from the drama? 

Yes, I have, but quite a while ago though. I know that Jing had 'the front seat', but I meant that it always surprised me how shockingly ignorant XY was. She knew Jing loved her, and she cared about him but didn't think that her feelings for XL would/could hurt Jing. 

On the other hand, she  did try to downplay the meaning of the Voodoo King's words (as if she didn't realise that Jing already knew everything about her feelings).

 HeadInTheClouds:
In the drama, Xiang Liu never drew blood from her neck once she became Xiao Yao.

Well, yes, not in the drama, but he did in the novel.


 MountainPine:

I share your vision on this.

Just think of the moment when, already on a late stage of the relationship between Jing and Xiao Yao, he suddenly discovers that she is still preparing poison for Xiang Liu. He asks her anxiously about it, and she is like: "Yeah, so what?" And then she is completely indifferent and ignoring his emotions at that moment. She does not even try to reassure him in any way.

That! That's what I mean. What a good example! And your question re: what XY knew about the bug connection and what XL could feel through them is spot on. CX did mention to her that he could feel her arousal, but in some way that was part of biting and blood drinking. Did XY assume CX would feel the same if that was a normal kiss (or more) without any biting? I think there was no any other moment in the drama or novel that would confirm XY's knowledge? 

 MountainPine:
Those physical sensations his bites had caused in her - was it an effect beyond his control, or was he somehow doing it on purpose? If unintentional, was he even aware of it? He must have felt what she felt when he bit her hand, in her princess's chambers.

I was under impression that the physical sensation was unintentional and more like a side effect (the way predators have different types of venom that have different effects on the body) .

 MountainPine:
But did she come to realize this, or did she, as usual, postpone this realization beyond her reality denial syndrome?

CX flat out told her.  But it is entirely possible she decided to lie to herself about it.  Because later, there's a conversation where XL tells her that he feels what her heart feels.  If she doesn't want him to feel her sadness, she needed to not be sad.. or he'd rip her heart or something.  lol   I think it was when CX got married one time.  XL was wearing that dark red costume and came to take her away from the event.


 MountainPine:
If she realized that he felt not only her pain but also her other physical sensations, then wouldn't it have been awkward for her to kiss Jing, knowing that Xiang Liu felt it? Would she have cared?

Well, there's several takes on this.  I tend to think XY is more often than not, self centered, or self protecting, and doesn't really consider how it makes XL feel.  There was a passage in the novel, after Jing married, and when she was really depressed, where she said something about laying there at night, and taking comfort in knowing that she shared her heart pain with XL.

Of course, if you adhere to the substitution theory, then kissing Jing is the only way she can kiss XL.  Though, we can see in the drama, that XL didn't seem to see it that way. ;p


 primaspe:
Did XY assume CX would feel the same if that was a normal kiss (or more) without any biting? I think there was no any other moment in the drama or novel that would confirm XY's knowledge?

I thought it was clear, and that she understood what he was saying, but with XY, who knows?  But yes, as I said above, XL explained he could also feel her emotions, later.

 primaspe:
I was under impression that the physical sensation was unintentional and more like a side effect (the way predators have different types of venom that have different effects on the body) .

I don't know.  If it was wholly unintentional, then why did both of them understand biting the neck was different than biting the wrist?

 primaspe:
I was under impression that the physical sensation was unintentional and more like a side effect (the way predators have different types of venom that have different effects on the body) .
Your thought prompted me to look at all possible combinations of plotline about Xiang Liu's poison causing sexual sensations. 
In case if it's unintentional and he doesn't suspect this effect exists (at first, when there was no Lovers Bugs in them) - if he bit other his victims besides Xiao Yao, and they also had similar sensations - that's a ridiculous plot line. 🙆😬

If it's intentional and  he only was doing this with Xiao Yao and never with someone else - that's very romantic. 💖
If he can turn this option on or off, the fact that he did it for Xiao Yao is a strong statement that he liked her from the beginning. 💖
If there's nothing like that in his poison and it's just Xiao Yao's specific body's reaction to it, that's also very romantic.💖
What other options did I miss? 

What's interesting is that after the terrible news of Jing's disappearance and very possible death, after she herself searched for him for days, waited almost a month, and then almost died, she rather provocatively invites Xiang Liu to bite her.  She could say to herself, "Today is a bad day for sexual feelings because my greatest love is missing (probably dead). This time, Xiang Liu will heal himself somehow and he wants to escape anyway". 

But no.🫠
 Kokuto:

I don't know.  If it was wholly unintentional, then why did both of them understand biting the neck was different than biting the wrist?

I never understood the difference between a bite on the neck and a bite on the wrist. Xiao Yao had all the same sexual feelings in both cases. As for the mark left on the neck that others could see - why was it a problem for her when Fang Feng Bei begged her in her princess chambers and not a problem for her after Xiang Liu saved her, she saw his true form and then quite provocatively suggested that he bite her? It's all such a mess for my mind...


And how did she even plan to live with those Love Bugs in the future (until Xiang Liu killed them at the last moment) while married to Jing? Was she planning to have married life with her husband, knowing that Xiang Liu would feel all that, but that was okay with her? This plot solution can be really awkward if one thinks deeper about it. 
 Kokuto:
 I tend to think XY is more often than not, self centered, or self protecting, and doesn't really consider how it makes XL feel

I wish there was a certified psychologist among the fans who could create something like a personality and character map of Xiao Yao. Something like a database (which would still look like a labyrinth, haha). Because she is a very interesting person with all her chaos and contradictions. A very lively character. Almost like Xiang Liu. In contradiction, he is very "whole", orderly, reasonable, rational, and has rare high character traits. It would seem that in this case the character would look unreal. But he is the most lively character of all that I have seen.

The more time passes since the first reading, the more my impression changes. And the more times I read, the deeper I delve into this  forest of meanings. And forest is getting  darker... It's a kind of puzzle from which you can put together too many different pictures...