LissaJones

4th one got killed when he tried to take the Diwu tree and Chao Yuan tricked him.

But, I failed to notice the first time watching, and on the second I was like: number 3 clearly referred to the Emperor as "father" whilst with number 2. And I checked the cast list and there was another "Chao". It's just weird how they did not give him an intro blurb like other ones. But apparently, since he was in like 2 episodes, and gets vapourised by JBZ and ST/CY, he doesn't warrant it.

I guess it speaks to how they're the ultimate joke of the upper realms. Like, they're big bullies and racist as hell, yet three of them literally die underground in Jixing Abyss, taken out mainly by a "weakling" and nobody cares. Not even enough to acknowledge there was four of them

Did anyone else pick up on the fact that ST/CY had *FOUR* older brothers, not three, and one didn't even get intro writing? I mean, they were all basically cannon fodder, but still, imagine being that insignificant... ouch.

It was still Bo Yulan's portrait, it basically came back, this time with a new memory. Ji Bozai didn't want Ming Yi knowing it came back or what that memory is - she saw it burn through their bond, which he then severs. This leads her to believe he's mad about it all, and sells his lie to break up with her.

Because, that bow is Ming Xian's. It's not simply a signature move, that bow and it's appearance are distinctive. Ming Xian has other "crystal-like" constructs such as the spear and the dagger seen in episode one when she fights Ji Bozai. Only Ming Xian does this; no other person is shown doing it. Not to mention, the arrows are often created from "borrowed" power, like the energy from an object she gets from someone else. With Situ Ling, it was his armguard that she borrowed back in the past; in the instance he witnessed with Ming Yi, she uses Ruo Shui's hairpin the same way. Yaoguang power is also distinctively golden and fiery.

If only Ming Xian does it, then Ming Yi has to be Ming Xian.

Best explanation of SL/CY I've seen. A lot of the main cast are victims of the system of Hexu, just in different ways, or their outcomes are different. JBZ, ST and YX are foils of each other, but their histories and traits make them take different choices. Unlike JBZ, ST fails to become more than his suffering because when the choice comes to them, JBZ is motivated by love (for Bo Yulan), whilst ST is motivated by ambition to finally succeed. YX is motivated by both and actually manages to meld them.

Exactly, they're both traumatised kids who don't know what they're doing.

I honestly don't blame either of them. She has her experiences which inform her choices, however much they start hurting. And he has his which explain why he's on guard even whilst trying to be open. They're not unjustified in how they react, their hypocrisies have solid reasoning, it's just sad that it's such a mess.

Enjoy 26, btw, and beyond.

You're welcome.

I do agree it's a factor about not making him choose, but I still feel that with her fears that she doesn't hold 100% faith in him giving it over either. How can she? He has lashed out before, even if he's forgiven her in a way. In her mind, it has to feel similar to the whole being lambasted and rejected for losing once - her people adored her until they didn't because she did one thing that really upset them. Her mother pushed her away. The GMD is JBZ's line in the sand, which he basically tells her in 22, so crossing that line in anyway is, in her mind, not going end well.
She's already pushed him a lot with her lies after all.

Meanwhile, JBZ claims trust and yet doesn't actually fully live up to it. He's justified, don't get me wrong, but he wakes up cause he feels her emotional agony but doesn't probe much upon catching her. Or actually consider her opposing actions and words and figure out something is really off for several days at least.
(This I feel is a fault of missing scenes honestly because there are a few that give context for why he might feel the way he does. The fact he finds her being carried by SL shortly afterwards makes him feel a bit doormatty to me, but again, he doesn't seem to think on it. The deleted scenes would fix some of this honestly)

I agree she is afraid too, but she was trying to summon courage and he seemed aware she wanted to say something big, but what he says in response isn’t as helpful as he might believe. Making the GMD a condition really hit her fear button, even if she kne she'd have to make a choice.

ZT, bestie-wingman par excellene 🤣
And yes, I have seen how hot he is, so I don't blame her 😂

I honestly would like to know what Ming Yi thought would happen if she married JBZ by Marriage Stone to get the heart imprint. Because, everyone and their cat seems to know that the Pond and the Stone have rules; very specific rules. Couples from all Six Realms can go there to do this. Ming Yi is clever, and it's not like she hadn't heard of the place before when 27 brings it up.

Yet, she acts like it's just a matter of tricking JBZ into loving her enough to marry her, and never considers that she has to actually love him back for it to work. You have to actually have love between you to form the stone bridge to cross the pond, and your love literally has to be pure/sincere for your names to be carved on that Stone, otherwise zappy time. (And neither were sincere; they both clearly do have love for each other at that point [hence, bridge] but she's lying about her identity and reasons for being there [understandable considering], and he's still keeping secrets, and not as willing to trust as he says [not without reason, but still]).

I've rewatched a few times and honestly can't fathom why she believed her plan would work without actual love on both their parts. It can't simply be that she doesn't understand love.

(Speaking of, JBZ himself wasn't wholly sincere either; he was still lying at the time too, just not as much, and not about his identity (as far as he knew; he admits to holding back a while later). I always find rewatching it a bit hypocritical on his part for being mad enough to lock her up. Yes, he can be angry, it's okay, but... Sir, you literally knew she was lying the moment you met her, and you've not been sincere that whole time; only since the fake marriage. Before that, you played her for a fool as much as she has you [and frankly, she hasn't accidentally gotten you endangered by your enemy's Netherbeast now has she?)]. You're also acting like she forced you to do this, when she was just as blindsided that day as you were. Climb down from the high horse a bit please. Not all the way, but some.)

MY has been literally raised IN a lie her whole life, and her life actually rides on keeping that lie. Not simply to return to her home and family, and be the hero to her people again, but as a warrior, she's not allowed to be in Jixing Abyss either, hence why Mu Qibai wanted her arrested for being MX in episode 13.

With JBZ, as much as she does love him, and he loves her, their relationship started with lies and manipulations. From her perspective, he is actually similar to her mother - he started loving because he found her useful. Her mother only treats her well when she's useful. Love to Ming Yi is a transaction in a way.

And on top of this, as much as JBZ says he trusts her no matter her past, he doesn't live up to that when it counts, as shown in 14 when he locks her up. (I'm not saying he isn't justified in feeling hurt btw) Even in 22, he basically tells her that her not wanting the GMD is a condition of his trust and love. He also actually ignores her attempts to confess, making her clam up, and when she tells the actual truth (about the wine), he dismisses it like it's a joke. Ultimately, given all this, she cannot trust that he would give it to her from love even if we the viewer believe so. Her other frame of reference for love is her mother, and her mother literally made her leave when the lie of her gender was about to be discovered.

Her guilt is also a factor, as much as her fears. Making him choose between her and his master, who he carved a path of bloody revenge for, is not something she'd do after already having hurt him. Better for her to take on the responsibility.

The whole thing was never going to end well, whether they loved each other or not, but especially not for her given her whole life has been a lie. She was damned no matter which way she chose as far as she knew. As least by stealing it, she felt she was protecting him in some way.

I also have suddenly realised that JBZ claiming to have destroyed Embers in 21 makes sense if he's angry with MX over MY's childhood abuse. 😭 Why delete? Why censor?

Aaaaand yup, defo pissed. Could have removed ep 27 SL scenes or his bath scenes (WTF ARE THEY THERE?) to have this scene and ep 19's.
This would have added sooooo much depth to the spirit well scene in 23: why MY won't elaborate and why JBZ is more than a doormat.
Where's a desk? I need to hit my head on it repeatedly in frustration.

I now have an image of him just standing on an island near Wugui, with binoculars waiting to see her cause JBZ won't let him get close. 😂🤮
Thanks

I also don't get how SL conveniently finds her either. Like, did he give her a bell? WHY IS HE THERE?!

I dunno, I feel like sometimes they did a bit too much vague show with JBZ after the break in 23 and before the epiphany in 25, when we needed a bit more tell. What actually compels him to listen to Zhang Tai and get her? He hasn't given any indication of gut feeling, and only vaguely brushes it off as "oh, i wanna question you about that erased testimony". It feels like masochism at that point, at least on the surface. Actually give some reveal of his thought process saying something is weird about MY's proven love, yet stealing the GDM and not saying anything. A flash cut of those proofs and then the odd stealing, anything.

Anyway...

Do you have a link for that scene?

Oh hell no! Really? Where is it?

Yeah, I like ep 19 and rewatched, and the whole ST thing is just like... can you not? It doesn't serve him as much as you think to see him pitiful, since we saw his brother beatdown on him already and he's already in stalker with a crush territory.
Give MY's past depth, my god. We have a solid 10 mins (over all) of JBZ being abused growing up, betrayed, forced labour, fighting, escaping... and MY's background is mostly from her torture. Okay, actually USE that, please. Have them discuss it. Have JBZ actually think that MX is bad for her out of more than jealousy. I agree it would add to the ep 23 angst; she's choosing abuse, an enabler over someone that protects her, in his mind. It hurts yet it makes sense for an abused kid. It might actually explain why he decides to look for her at the market in spite of her betrayal instead of him appearing for... reasons?

(Seriously, I put his appearance down to him kind of being a bit of a doormat in that instance, since he fell badly for her. Or *maybe* his gut fighting his head - like he calmed down just enough to realise something is way off, but his depression feels like he isn’t questioning it so much yet. The link is broken so he's not sensing her pain over 27. But, worrying that without the GMD she'll be abused more makes more sense since it would be an immediate assumption if he thinks she took it for MX.)

Yup.

https://x.com/jijeju5/status/1984951693516349628?t=RhBNu9-8yIARcELbe5I5wA&s=19

Ugh, episode 19 now feels incomplete after learning about the scene they deleted from it, and it's now always going to annoy me 😭. We got extra torture p*rn with ST/CY on a leash begging (we get it, he's weak and can't do anything, and is now forming a weird commonality connection over this in his mind) instead of JBZ reacting to the aftermath of MY's torture and actually questioning why MY fears her mother, thereby learning something about her past. Seriously?! 😑🤬
27, Buxiu and Granny all there, worried, and dear me, actual questions and development about her past. And it was pertinent to how JBZ might just view certain people when he meets them later on? Clearly a superfluous scene. 😡
This is WHY there should be special features or physical copies released. They actually filmed it too. It should be seen.
Okay, rant over.

I think it's sort of glossed over in the start as she is struggling being a girl, and a girl in a relationship. You get shown more than told. And then again in eps 25-27, because JBZ realises the truth and she's really stopped hiding the MX part. The sum of it is how he stares at her over Nirvana whilst she's pointing it at him. That's the instant he sees the real warrior, the forger, the prince(ss) and he just seems to love her more. Her response is largely "well, he still likes me" which I think she finds weird given how much she lied, but she seems to just accept (because, let's face it, he's shamelessly adorable and he does give her space unless ST/CY is sniffing around). They both just seem to think "I've come this far" and go along with it.

It's also surprising for her that he does value only half, because nobody actually has really valued the whole, let alone this "feminine" side that she's not really explored. Everyone valued the "masculine" side, half of which is fake, and they dumped it when she failed. JBZ is literally the first outsider to truly value quite a lot of her real self (and I think he definitely saw more than Zhang Tai, whatever the friendship they had first). I don't think she knew what to do with that, particularly because of the lies and how she was treating "Ming Yi" as a lie, and "Ming Xian" as real. And it surprised the hell out of her he thinks that she has such value as even half a person, let alone the part that's not the champion War God, perfect crown prince.

I do love when she tells ST/CY that. She chooses herself, and she chooses who she loves, and thus the choices that come with that love. She owns her actions and her life, no one else. He never understands that whilst JBZ does.