noor1234

@megumi-h Um, actually no, in Ep. 29, before she leaves, she gets that painting created of both of them together as kids in a safe happy environ., - where he is still standing the next morning after she's gone. Under that canopy, she told him that she wants him to live without fear, without trust issues, without a cage & she wants the same for herself. She tells him she would've done the rescue even if she knew his plan, indicating he needs to trust her to not 'leave' him. She ALSO tells him 3 times that she loves him & how much she loves him & in what way she loves him. She then, tells him she has to go back home & then initiates kissing him. By doing so, she gave him safety, security & sense of belonging & hope, which he was unable to give to her, despite his obsession for her & all the ways he gave her to live with him (let's leave everything or let's roam the world or let's live in Carefree closed off border, etc.). She also showed him another way to rule in love & war - by making reliable alliances, not through fear or force but common shared goals of a better world.

I did not see it as back & forth or 'when will they get together', I saw it as 2 people making a decision to not make the future about themselves but about the entire Jianghu, & wait for the man in black to make his move - Remember, Nie Zhe's dying words were that 6 sects will enter a civil war. So focus needed to shift from their love saga to 'laying low' for a year to see what man in black does.

Since I cannot stand FL's parents, even though ML will eventually go to Louyong Valley when all is settled, I have no interest in seeing him with her parents.

Ep. 29 & 30: Pretty good episodes. Really liked the goodbye scene between FL & ML. FL's dialogues were very mature & gave the security that the crazy guy needed. No one else could've made this guy see the light like her. I really liked the 'separation' arc even though it is usually a huge turnoff. I like that both act nonchalant & 'have moved on with their lives' for appearances. I'm expecting fireworks or a verbal spitfire zinger when they meet again - it's clear during the 'tea' scene when ML is looking at Black Forest Marsh map that he is emotional over the expected run-in with FL, his eyes were worried & teary, he was wobbly with the teacup too (this is right before Guanyu told him she's gone with Song to G Sect). He expected it already - & acts cool. Loved it. It's like the good old days of first few episodes when both ended up at the same place for different reasons.

P.S. The duration of FL's punishment sequence was longer than the rescue! I cannot stand her mother & father (mr and mrs goody-two-shoes who wanted to kill ML in an ambush & lied to FL).

The man in black better be someone significant who has been in front of us for 30 long episodes - any lesser character introduced in last 2-3 episodes is not going to cut it.

Yes he is - at least she'll never have a headache with him around. He's a good catch IF she wants to be the wife of a sect leader who is logical & consumed in books & sect matters. She'll visit all kinds of people & families without fear. She will never be lonely. But Song can also make a good husband with anyone else. There's nothing exceptional that FL offers him that no other woman can. Song is not passionate, wild or futuristic in his thinking. He's stable.

On the other hand, she has had more martial adventures with ML. ML only wants her & she knows he'll be miserable without her. ML is extremely straightforward in his neediness & offers her ALL kinds of options - run away to see the world, be in that invisible Carefree mansion forever, 'when there's peace, we'll marry', 'we'll marry right now, peace can come later' etc. Plus, he has no family around, so she won't have a mother-in-law, no sect to adhere to, no one to answer to if she accepts him, she'll be free as long as she is in ML's cage - because a cage it will be, she can do whatever she wants, as long as she doesn't leave him!

Well, I'm sure she knew the risks of attempting to rescue ML - she could've gotten killed, the rescue could've failed, he could've died from his injuries - and I'm sure she knew her sect would think of her as a traitor & try to catch her & punish her. So in making the choice, she knew the risks. The main problem is that ML doesn't think of her as a partner, he doesn't trust her, he doesn't let her in on his plans, but expects her to be loyal & subservient & rescue him, with no regard to her personal choice, safety & liberty. It's a pattern they've had from Ep. 1, but what happened in Ep.27-28 is too much. He reduced her to a mere chess piece. This is not how you treat people you claim to obsessively love.

But he's doing it by lying to her & keeping things from her - he doesn't think of her as his partner, only as an object. That entire rescue sequence could've ended not just his life but hers, & it all occurred because he took a risk / gamble with his & her life. Result is FL is not happy. Her energy is drained & even I'm exhausted.

Ep. 27 & 28: FL's rescue of ML & her fight sequences were a thriller. Very well done. However, I now have a HUGE problem with ML - after he literally used her goodwill & love as a 'chess piece' when he gambled not only with his own life but that of FL's (because who could ensure that she'd escape alive with all these highly accomplished sect leaders & soldiers around?) - so that is a big turnoff.

You can literally see the energy & life drained from the face of FL - she loves this batshit crazy secret-keeper who keeps her on a 'need-to-know basis' & doesn't think of her as a PARTNER, only as an object of desire. Considering the severity of the odds against them, he doesn't trust her enough to let in on his plans. ML has been trying to find a 'peaceful & honorable' way to marry her by ending enmity etc. (& he says this all the time) BUT he does this by deceiving her over and over again.

AND now he wants her to stay in the invisible Carefree mansion (which can only be seen through a code / technique) and close the 'ABCD-whatev path' after which no outsiders will enter Hanhai Mountain - meaning she'll be cut off from her family (whom I don't like) unless they are brought to this place, & she won't work & travel like she could with a NORMAL guy, because ML will ALWAYS have enemies (Nie Zhe's son being one of them when he grows up carrying the Mu+Nie legacy 'generation to generation'!!!). I know it will all end well & happy by Ep.37, but right now I have a genuine headache. I don't like the ML.

Yup. (& FL did a good job too.)

Also, the pearl may or may not be something special - but the scene of him putting it on & then holding it tightly, meant that he believed he had won the bet - by getting FL to take his side & be on his side, that pearl being the confirmation he needed as in her coming to see him & indirectly tell him she'd move her world for him, was the light (hope) in the dark for him ('light in the dark' is what FL said that pearl was for, a coded message).

What are the odds of ML having a twin too? Just like his father? And for that twin be the man in black raised by someone from 6 sects - hence his martial moves resembling the sects not demons? Right now I'm rotating between the wheel chair guy, the security chief of Master & maybe the Master (even though someone has to explain why Master would allow a face-changed duplicate if he was really working with Nie Zie; BUT the move all 7 members were learning 20 years ago, had only one survivor & that was Master who was ill that day, so he is suspicious). I'm now thinking maybe ML has a twin.

Actually I think they were playacting & talking in code the entire time (because they knew there would be eavesdropping) - the only time FL showed what she actually felt was right after the kiss & the dialogue you just mentioned - when ML & FL put their heads together. They know tomorrow is a serious, make or break, life and death day for both, hence that was the way they could comfort each other. Everything else was a lie, an act for listeners. I think she gave him the snow beast saliva as pill & that pearl is to stop the meridian collapse.

Ep. 25 & 26: Very intense, very good episodes.

In Ep. 23, at 11:50 mark, when FL is making smiley sweets for ML, Shi Tiefeng comments that 'not all demon sect members are bad, such as the one who got us the Jade sunflower to heal' to which FL asks 'do you mean aunt's friend, the masked one?' to which Shi changes the subject immediately & leaves.

Later on, at 18:30 mark, the other Shi, Shi Tieqiao says a dying demon guy Lou Chengnan was rescued by Zhengming (ML's father) and brought to aunt. I think Lou lied - or thought he had been rescued by Zhengming when it was Zhengyang (LRY twin). Because there's only one person who would've trusted aunt to keep Jade safe - and it would be the painted-mask guy (LRY twin).

Plus, Shi Tiefeng could've easily taken Lou's name since he had built his burial chamber in Chang Fort, he didn't. They are also extremely well-informed about sects & Chang massacre despite being cut-off from the world. There's more to the story.

And the snow beast mountain couple specifically told FL & ML that aunt & masked man came in search of Jade sunflower & the masked man drew a painting of the aunt while there - which the mountain couple showed to the main leads.

Ep. 23: one thing has been cleared: that Jade Sunflower was originally found with the help of 'masked demon man' LRY twin ('Blossom' drama guy) to 'heal' the 6 sects. So he was a peaceful guy. What made him dark & his relationship with the aunt is what I'm looking forward to now. Today's episode was a bit of a snooze - nothing major happened, i.e. story did not move forward.

@aleksandrasucur Everything related to the fiancé' is her business, especially when she does not like it (who would like sharing the fiancé with another woman or household?) FL has been more vocal about her thoughts, feelings & actions with MQY - ML - a guy she has no attachment / engagement / or affiliation with than her actual fiancé, even Master got a piece of her mind, but not side-piece fiancé' nor Song. If she doesn't care about him or what happens to the engagement, then she has more reason to be vocal & stand up for herself. This non-vocal no-action makes her weak. Also, she is leaving the decision-making of her life in the hands of all these guys & Master. This is a fact. We can see it in episodes after episode & we will continue to see it in today's episode too. And she wasn't that way in the beginning of the series. That's all I'm saying. She's very wishy washy now.

You have a different perspective on this fantasy drama, & I respect that. Thanks for making genuine arguments.

I don't know who said men were victims, because I did not. FL is not putting herself first IF she accepts a weak, easy-to-manipulate never-there husband that her fiancé with sidepiece is turning out to be. She is not putting herself first if she keeps 3 men around, all of whom are making decisions on her behalf, so that she doesn't have to. The FL in the beginning of this drama was self-sufficient, self-serving, pragmatic & logical. Now all logic is out of the window & she keeps 3 men around so that she ends up with whoever is best for her in the end or still standing!!!!! Right now she comes across as weak and dishonest.

Lingbo is rude but uses her voice, she lets all her opinions known. FL does not. That's what I'm saying. Also, I'm not calling men a victim, but her acceptance of the cuckolded fiancé with a sidepiece is against the character arc we were given in the beginning of her as a smart cookie who could hold her own & be her own person without compromises - after all this is the same girl who sword-fought ML the instant she found out Chang was MQY: 'demon sect are our natural enemies'. She was no-nonsense & straightforward in the beginning. Now she doesn't say anything to the fiancé, or Song to back off. Suddenly her backbone is missing, her guts are missing, her boundaries are not clear. She is not the person we were introduced to in the beginning (& she was engaged then too- she just didn't know cousin thing, household thing & Song thing) - now that she does, she does nothing, waiting for all these men to make decision for her or prance around her.

@xinwang, @peachblossomgoddess, If a man had a fiancee', a side chick AND a paramour from rival sect, without making a decision on any of them, seeing all of them pining for him & unable to move on, while he just waited for the fiancee' to leave, for the side kick to let go & for the paramour to stay with him while 'he makes up his mind whether he really wants her', what would we call him? A gutless, without backbone, self-serving, weak-minded cad. That is what the FL is in this drama.

Lingbo did not throw a tantrum, she was right to call out her mother & father for planting her like a chess piece with a guy who doesn't like her since childhood, and now she's stuck because she's hurt. And she makes her hurt KNOWN to ALL of the people - her parents, Song, etc. She is a much gutsier person than FL as far as speaking her mind is concerned.

FL just wants all these guys around, as ducks in a row. 1) FL is not the king's daughter, she has no obligations to fulfill as some lord's daughter or pressured to marry into Yuqi family for honor or survival or money. She's not that important in the sect kids. She's simply a talented soldier from non-martial Valley so gets to talk to Master & has gained importance only because she interacted with ML & ML is someone important. 2) If she doesn't care about the fiancé' why is she with him? In the beginning she showed ambition, now she has none. She can see fiancé' is a guy who can be easily lead off by cousin or mother at a moment's notice & she'll be settling disputes amongst family - she should've said no. Postponement is not the same thing as saying no. Why is it upto ML to get fiancé' away? 3) She knows Song likes her and that's why he has broken up his engagement with Lingbo, but she plays dumb as if it doesn't concern her.

She is waiting for all these guys to make decisions for her so that she doesn't have to. I don't think she's worth all this trouble. I'm disappointed in her.

It's because FL strings him along & gives mixed signals. She didn't tell him to get out when she saw him in her room, ate the wontons, & held hands with him between 2 walls (Ep.20). ML is mercurial & wants her no matter what, which means she can see his loyalty is to HER first, not family & cousin (as it is with her fiancé') or books (as it is with 2ndML) or villainy. And she knows he'll never let go. FL doesn't say no (and whenever she does say no, she doesn't stick to it for long, he knows she's only saying no because she doesn't want to end up alone & against her family & sects). ML knows she likes him & is turned on by him so he takes advantage of that. In Ep.21, even after the forced kiss (that he has tried 3 times before), she could've slapped him or admonished him, instead she is moved, gently pushes him away & quietly leaves.

Ep. 21: I've lost respect for FL. She is the best fighter in 6 sects & can hold her own in a fight against the ML too. It's ok if she doesn't want to commit to ML because of enmity, history, etc. even though she likes him. BUT she and everyone around can see that her fiancé likes his cousin & cousin sure as hell likes the fiancé - they are unable to keep their hands off each other even infront of her - and this will continue to be an issue post-marriage - but she doesn't say anything. FL was fine being the 'wife of a merchant who owns shops' in earlier episodes, now is having second thoughts because her life as a 'madam of household' would mean she won't get to see the husband & will only settle petty disputes between household women. This does not excite her - but she doesn't say anything. She's going along with this dumb marriage for now because she wants to rebuff the ML & HONOR THE WISHES OF THAT VALLEY & GHOST AUNT!!!! This is so against her character arc till now - she's shown as a strong, independent girl - they should've come up with a better reason. She likes stringing everyone along without giving a clear answer to anyone, unless pushed to a corner.

In fact ML concocted that theatrical scene in the street to make fiancé cut off the marriage - plus FL's colleagues also witnessed the affection & gave fiancé a sounding off - leading to the fiancé cutting off the marriage in next episodes. FL has no backbone. The rude & ill-mannered Lingbo has more backbone than the FL!!!

I've just remembered a scene from previous episodes that may indicate Master as not being the man in black: Nie Zhe was trying to plant face-changed people in 6 sects and Master's duplicate was also installed. So why would he do that if he knew who the man in black was - and even if he didn't know his identity, Master as man in black would've told Nie Zhe to NOT plant face-changed in 6 sects. I think Master is a red herring. Man in black is someone who wants complete power & wants to control ALL sects & tribes by installing his cronies as heads - that would also ensure lasting peace. So right now my suspicion is on the wheelchair guy as being man in black.