Yes, it seems that they created the one head = one life dynamic for the drama. I imagine they added that visual as a way to better help the drama viewers understand exactly when XL did and did not sacrifice a life in the drama and understand how many lives he had left in the final battle.
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In chapter 22, we have this passage, from XY's internal thoughts during the 37 years of healing:
XY is speculating here because, narratively, it's impossible for anyone other than XL to know for sure, and we aren't shown XL's POV here. But I think we (the readers) are supposed to understand that XY's speculation here is accurate.
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We also have the line of dialogue that you quoted, where XY was trying to answer CX's question about how XL saved her life while feigning ignorance of the details (the blood transfusions, for example). IMO, her apparent "uncertainty" is a cover because she doesn't want to have to tell CX all the details she became aware of near the end of the 37 years of healing. Better to pretend to CX that she was completely unaware of everything until she woke up and that she could only use her knowledge of 蛊术 to speculate to CX about how XL saved her.
In chapter 26, we also have this line from XY, where she mentions XL's nine lives (highlighting the fact that he had extra lives to spare and would be able to do what he had done in chapter 22 again) and the fact that he saved / extended her life (back in chapter 22) and that she became more like XL as a result. So she wonders, if she were to die again and XL were to save her life / extend it again (presumably in the same way he did in chapter 22 - with blood transfusions and the sacrifice of one of his extra lives), would she become even more like XL?
"Also in the novel, Xiangliu did not expend any life to save TSJ right? He only used Xiaoyao's own blood condensed with his spirit power into a pill?"
The novel never explicitly says that XL used one of his extra lives to save TSJ's life.
However, some fans have speculated that he might have needed to sacrifice a life to save TSJ's life, and that perhaps he made that sacrifice when he created the jewel from XY's blood, as he was exhausted (seemingly way more exhausted than he should have been) after turning the blood into a jewel.
But, to me, that speculation is reaching a bit. I'd say the probability that this fan speculation is accurate is probably lower.
With the "one head = one life" add in the drama, we know for certain that XL did not sacrifice a life to save TSJ in the drama (in addition to not using the blood jewel on TSJ / not utilizing merpeople to help save TSJ). Drama!XL only expended spiritual energy to protect TSJ's body from sea monsters briefly (just long enough for Lirong Chang to safely collect TSJ's body).
The novel references (in both chapter 22 and chapter 26) that XL sacrificed one of his lives for XY in chapter 22 to extend her life after the assassination attempt against her. And yet in chapter 46 his true form has all nine heads. So I think we must conclude that the novel is different from the drama and the number of heads that XL's true form has in the novel does not reflect the number of lives he has left / the number of lives he has sacrificed up to that point.
Was the baby really Tushan Jing’s?Why did his grandmother and that female want him to marry her so badly?Why…
1) The baby is not really TSJ's. He is the son of TSH (TSJ's half-brother) and FFYY.
2) Fangfeng Yi Yang was an "appropriate" person for TSJ to marry. FFYY was selected to be his fiancee by his mother before she died. After TSJ disappered, FFYY loyally stayed with the Tushan family and served TSJ's grandmother. She is seen as being very loyal and filial. Also, TSJ's grandmather wanted to maintain the Tushan clan's policy of staying out of clan and royal politics. FFYY's identity did not create any problems in that respect.
In FFFYY's case, she was from a small clan that was fairly low in the social hierarchy. She wanted to be the Tushan clan leader's wife because that would give her high status, power, and immense wealth. Also, after a decade of acting like TSJ's wife, her reputation would have been ruined if the wedding didn't happen. And she was in love with TSH (who was married at the time). She wanted to stay near TSH and TSH wanted to use FFYY to hurt TSJ and to steal the clan leadership position from him - through a son if necessary.
3) TSJ's mother selected FFYY to be his fiancee when she was sick and dying. TSJ wasn't in love with anyone back then and was very worried about his mother, so he agreed to her choice without even meeting FFYY. He did not meet FFYY before TSH tortured him / before he was saved by WXL and became YSQ. He only met her after his identity as TSJ was exposed and he had to return to the Tushan clan.
4) TSJ's grandmother liked FFYY and did not like that TSJ was pushing to go against her in order to push for the engagement to be broken so that he could marry XY as his only wife. She also didn't want TSJ to marry XY because of XY's identity. She was the princess of Haoling and CX's "meimei". CX was fighting for the crown prince position in Xiyan and was very much involved in political schemeing / royal and clan politics. If TSJ married XY at that point in the story, he would be getting the Tushan clan involved in such things against the clan's rules, and TSJ's grandmother did not want that to happen.
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Gao Xing = Haoling
Gao Xing Grand Emperor = the King of Haoling
Yellow Emperor = the King of Xiyan
Xuan Yuan = Xiyan
Zhuan Xu = Cang Xuan
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Chapter 22:
The Grand Madam saw Xiao Yao very casual and didn’t try to get close to her, plus she kept an eye on Xiao Yao secretly these last few days, and had decided Jing had good taste. It was too bad she was a Princess.
After Xiao Yao left, the Grand Madam sent everyone away except for Jing.
When they were alone, the Grand Madam asked Jing, “Do you want to marry the Gao Xing Princess?”
Jing answered clearly, “Yes!”
The Grand Madam sighed. “It’s too bad she’s the Gao Xing Princess, and also the granddaughter of the Yellow Emperor! You know the number one rule of our clan is that we do not get involved with politics between the royals. The Four Great Clans have remained so powerful because we do not get involved. Xiao Yao is the Princess but she’s not in Five Gods Mountain but instead by the side of the Xuan Yuan Prince Zhuan Xu. She’s clearly picking sides on the battle for the Xuan Yuan throne succession. She’s not a woman who can be underestimated. I don’t want the Tu Shan clan dragged in. Right now the vast wilderness is at peace but I calculate that the Xuan Yuan Yellow Emperor and the Gao Xing Grand Emperor will inevitably battle each other. Xiao Yao will bring danger to the Tu Shan clan. It’s not that I don’t like her, but for the Tu Shan clan, even if your engagement with Yi Yang is dissolved, I still won’t agree to let you marry Xiao Yao.”
Jing thought his grandmother would see Xiao Yao and change her mind but her mind was even more firmly set. He kneeled down to plead “The Four Great Clans have their self-preservation rules but rules were set thousands of years ago by ancestors and the situation has changed now. It’s not always correct and we need to change according to the times.”
The Grand Madam’s goodwill towards Xiao Yao evaporated in an instant and she harshly rebuked, “You are the clan leader, how can you say such awful words? You’ve been well-behaved since childhood and when have you become as careless as Feng Long? Did the Gao Xing Princess teach you this?”
“No, Xiao Yao never said this, it’s my own observation after seeing the current situation.”
The Grand Madam didn’t believe him and was sure Xiao Yao pressured him and wanted to use the Tu Shan clan to help Zhuan Xu get the crown. “Tu Shan Jing, as clan leader you cannot overthrow our ancestral rules for a woman! How can you…..” The Grand Madam couldn’t continue as she pressed her chest to catch her breath.
Jing hurriedly transferred power to her. “Grandmother, Grandmother, please take care!”
The Grand Madam said, “You promise your grandmother that you’ll give up the Gao Xing Princess.”
Jing remained kneeling and said nothing, only bowing his head repeatedly.
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Funny thing is, this is right in line with a XY/XL fanfic I read. She's a great grandmother and her descendants…
My view, which I know is not universal, is that a person can have more than one "real" love in their life and that that was the case for both Rose and XY.
Funny thing is, this is right in line with a XY/XL fanfic I read. She's a great grandmother and her descendants…
Lol, I definitely don't know everything about LYF. I'm familiar with the novel but there are plenty of things about it that I don't know. Still learning new things about it from other fans after a year of discussing and analyzing it. And my memory for details in the drama isn't as good.
For the most part I'm not at all familiar with LYF fanfics. But the fanfic that Johanna Linnea Karlsson described happens to be a fanfic that I wrote. So in just this one case hopefully I would know everything about this particular fanfic. ^^
Funny thing is, this is right in line with a XY/XL fanfic I read. She's a great grandmother and her descendants…
The dynamic from the movie Titanic inspired the fic that Johanna Linnea Karlsson mentioned. Have you seen that movie?
In Titanic, the female protagonist (Rose) went through trials and tribulations on the Titanic when she was a young woman. When the Titanic sank, the man she fell in love with (Jack) tragically died, but he told Rose that she had to live and only die as an old woman, warm in her bed, after having a full life and many children.
Rose went on to marry another man and had a happy life with him. They had children and grandchildren before her husband passed away, and she continued to live a good life after his death, with lots of hobbies and her granddaughter often coming by her home to spend time with her.
At the end of her long life, Rose (as a very old woman) has the opportunity to return to the place where the Titanic sank (the place where Jack died) and to tell others about Jack's story and her time with him before he died. And at the very end of the movie, Rose goes to sleep in her warm bed. Maybe she dies and goes to her own version of heaven, maybe she just has a dream, but in either case we see Rose's spirit (young again) reunite with Jack's spirit on the Titanic.
These details are from the novels. Some of them are also alluded to in the drama. I mentioned this below, but…
You're welcome!
You did a great job. I didn't see your comment until after I posted mine, but everything you covered is correct with one slight caveat. In the drama, the King of Xiyan sends XY to Jade Mountain after Ah Heng "dies" in the last battle, as you correctly noted. Whereas, in the novel, Ah Heng brings XY to Jade Mountain herself before the final battle, anticipating that she would likely die in battle.
Finally reviewed this drama but I have questions, that I don't recall being explained in the drama. For instance…
These details are from the novels. Some of them are also alluded to in the drama.
I mentioned this below, but the current Royal Mother of Jade Mountain had two sworn siblings when she was young. Her sworn sister was Xiling Xie (CX’s grandmother), who later married the King of Xiyan and became the Queen of Xiyan. And her sworn brother was the man who went on to become the second-to-last King of Chenrong. They spent many happy years together, but Xiling Xie could not forget the man who would become the King of Xiyan and left their trio. The man who would become the second-to-last King of Chenrong also could not forget a woman that he fell in love with. He left too, and so Ah Mei (her worldly name before she took the title of Royal Mother) was left alone and was later chosen to become the next Royal Mother.
The ruler of Jade Mountain holds the position of Royal Mother. This person is always a woman and is always selected by the previous Royal Mother (i.e., it is not a hereditary position). Before becoming the next Royal Mother, each successor must agree to never marry and to never leave Jade Mountain.
Jade Mountain is independent and not ruled by any other kingdom (e.g., Xiyan, Chenrong or Hoaling). Jade Mountain is cut off from the rest of the world and it does not get involved in wordly affairs. Weapons have no effect on Jade Mountain. Also, since the dawn of time, it has been a rule that male deities and male mortals are not permitted to stay on Jade Mountain for more than three days at a time (male demons, however, are permitted). The weather on Jade Mountain is always springtime weather, and it is a very quiet and unchanging place.
After XL saved XY's life and killed the Lovers Bug on Jade Mountain, he flew East, back to the remanant army stationed outside of Qingshui Town. So Jade Mountain must be somewhere west of Qingshui Town.
XY's blood has healing powers mainly because she spent 70 years living on Jade Mountain as a child, where she consumed Jade Mountain peaches, bone essence and other elixers. As the Royal Mother's disciple, XY also developed very strong spiritual power during this time.
Long before XY was born, her mother (Ah Heng) was sentenced to remain on Jade Mountain for 120 years after she took the blame for Chi You (XY's biological father) stealing Pan Gu's bow from Jade Mountain's treasury. Ah Heng only served 60 years of that sentence. The real reason the Royal Mother imposed this sentence on Ah Heng was that the Royal Mother hoped that Ah Heng would break her engagement with Shao Hao (the man who later became the King of Haoling / XY's non-bio father) and get together with the man she loved (Chi You). Chi You later used Pan Gu's bow to save Ah Heng's life by replacing Ah Heng's heart (which was being consumed by Ah Heng's sun power) with his own heart. That was how Chi You died in the last battle.
Before the war between Chenrong and Xiyan, Chi You won a tournament that took place on Jade Mountain, and he received the Face Forming Flower as his prize. The Face Forming Flower is a magical object that was created through tens of thousands of years of accumulated power in the peach blossom forest of Jade Mountain. Chi You gave the Face Forming Flower to Ah Heng, who later secretly placed it within XY when she was an infant and used it to disguise the fact that XY was Chi You's daughter / that she was not the King of Hoaling's daughter. At XY's request, the Royal Mother was able to lock away the Face Forming Flower's transformation power so that XY could regain her true form and her true face.
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Chapter 48:
Sir Bi said to Zhuan Xu, “The Royal Mother’s memory is addled again, I’ll take you to rest but the rule of Jade Mountain since the dawn of time is that no man can stay more than three nights. Three days later Your Majesty needs to leave.”
Xiao Xiao countered, “What about you and Lie Yang?”
Sir Bi blinked with humor at her. “We’re not men. I’m a fox and Liu Yang is a bird.”
...
Sir Bi paused then said, “Jade Mountain is spring during all four seasons so you can sleep outside. There is a gazebo close to the lake, I’ll have a pallet placed there with a net and you can rest.”
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Chapter 49:
Shui Hong walked inside and calmly said. “Your Majesty, this is Jade Mountain which does not interfere with worldly affairs, and the world cannot interfere with Jade Mountain matters! The world has had countless strife and many rulers, but Jade Mountain has never violated the order set down in ancient times by the Great Emperor Pan Gu. Even Fu Yi and Nu Wa greatly respect Jade Mountain! The Yellow Emperor and the White Emperor also are very courteous to Jade Mountain. Will the Black Emperor please not forget the edicts of old.”
Xiao Yao said to Zhuan Xu’s guards, “Jade Mountain has no weapons! All the weapons of the world, no matter how powerful, have no effect on Jade Mountain. If you want to fight then a tree branch is more effective here. You all sheath your weapons now!”
The guards remembered this legend and took a look at Zhuan Xu before sheepishly holstering their weapons.
Don't forget Queen Dowager, Guardian of the Grove who aided him and also kept his secret for him. It's quite a…
Nope, no husband. She was always an independent lady. ^^
However, before she became the current Royal Mother of Jade Mountain, she was sworn siblings with two people. Her sworn sister was Xiling Xie (CX’s grandmother), who later married the King of Xiyan and became the Queen of Xiyan. And her sworn brother was the man who went on to become the second-to-last King of Chenrong.
can someone tell me why xl ask xy to remove his memory in her ape mirror? im pretty confused at that part
In my view, XL pushed XY to be with TSJ (a "person she could rely on"). He wanted XY to find happiness with TSJ and he wanted to shield XY from the impact of his eventual death on the batttlefield (the ending he anticipated for himself / the "best" ending for a general). So he didn't want XY to be able to watch the memories of XL that she recorded in her ape mirror, because if she did that would make it harder for XY to limit her feelings for XL / for her to move on, especially after his death.
At the end of the story, XL's wish for XY (which he carved into the ice crystal ball) was that she would have a lifetime of worry-free happiness.
Also at the end of the story, we learn that XL intentionally filled the gaps in XY's life that she mentioned in their first meeting: she was a disgarded person with no means of protecting herself, nowhere to go, and no one to rely on.
She had no means of protecting herself. So he taught her archery and commissioned a legendary bow for her.
She had nowhere to go, but after he gave her transfusions of his blood on every full moon for 37 years in order to heal her, she became a daughter of the sea such that the ocean would always have a place for her. Something that XL made sure to remind XY of when, later in the story, she felt like she had nowhere to go again.
She had no one to rely on. So XL took many steps to make sure that XY was together with TSJ (a person she could rely on, because he would never let her go) before XL died.
Don't forget Queen Dowager, Guardian of the Grove who aided him and also kept his secret for him. It's quite a…
Gotta chime in for the Royal Mother of Jade Mountain here. She's not a dowager queen because she is not a widow and she didn't gain her title through a husband. This particular Royal Mother was never married before she took that position. And each time a woman becomes the next Royal Mother of Jade Mountain (a life-long position), she agrees to never marry for the rest of her life. Men are also not permitted to stay on Jade Mountain for more than three days at a time. Total matriarchy!
That's a huge subject. Especially with the second season. The major differences that I think should have been…
I've taken this excerpt from my personal copy, which I've updated to reflect translation corrections from various sources, including liddi, a few other fans, and certain online translation tools.
Koala translated it as, "...It can lead two people to be connected in life and emotions but it is just like a pair of lovers in love with each other. It is tempermental and hard to control. If the Lover’s Bug turns on each other then both people will die. Which is why the Lover’s Bug also has another name, the Heartbreak Bug."
The original text is, " ...它能让有情人心意相通、命脉相连，可情人蛊就像相恋的恋人，脾气多变，非常难驾驭，蛊虫极易反噬，一旦发作，两人俱亡，所以情人蛊还有个名字，叫断肠蛊。"
After getting additional context from the leaked script (which references the bugs retaliating / backfiring and XL controlling them), I checked the text and found that a more accurate translation would be:
“...It can enable lovers to communicate with each other and connect their lives, but the Lovers' Bug is just like a pair of lovers in love with each other with changeable tempers and very difficult to control. The Lovers' Bug can easily backfire. Once it breaks out, both people will die. Which is why the Lovers' Bug also has another name: the Heartbreak Bug.”
My impression is that the drama (and especially the leaked script) indicates that the Lovers Bugs retaliated / backfired due to XL's heartbreak on several occassions when he let XY go / when he pushed her towards TSJ. But he controlled the bugs so that they did not turn into Heartbreak Bugs that would kill him and XY.
The novel is way more subtle and I think the only indication we get that this might also be the case in the novel is when XL causes XY to briefly feel the pain he is experiencing in his heart when he pushes her away at the end of their time in QS town after the wedding interruption in chapter 32 / when he sends her to reconcile with TSJ. And maybe also the fact that XY wasn't able to sense anything from XL through the bug connection (even though she should have been able to) unless he allowed her to or accidentally slipped (e.g., when she felt his heartbeat speed up in in chapter 26).
The novel remains clear that only lovers can raise and plant Lovers Bugs. So I feel that there is no question about whether XY and XL loved each other like lovers (i.e., romantically). And I don't think the fact that XL experienced extreme heartbreak when he let XY go undermines that at all.
3 
1 
1 
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In chapter 22, we have this passage, from XY's internal thoughts during the 37 years of healing:
又不知道过了多久，小夭只能估摸着至少过了很多年，因为相柳给她疗伤了很多次，多得她已经记不住了。
渐渐地，小夭的感觉越来越清晰，当相柳拥抱着她时，她甚至能感受到他的体温，也开始清楚地意识到流入她身体的温暖是什么，那应该是相柳的血液。和一般的血液不同，有着滚烫的温度，每一滴血，像一团小火焰。小夭只能推测也许是相柳的本命精血。
相柳把自己的本命精血喂给她，但大概他全身都是毒，血液也是剧毒，所以他又必须再帮她把血液中蕴含的毒吸出来。
小夭知道蛊术中有一种方法，能用自己的命帮另一个人续命，如果相柳真的是用自己的命给她续命，她希望他真的有九条命，让给她一条也不算太吃亏。
XY is speculating here because, narratively, it's impossible for anyone other than XL to know for sure, and we aren't shown XL's POV here. But I think we (the readers) are supposed to understand that XY's speculation here is accurate.
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We also have the line of dialogue that you quoted, where XY was trying to answer CX's question about how XL saved her life while feigning ignorance of the details (the blood transfusions, for example). IMO, her apparent "uncertainty" is a cover because she doesn't want to have to tell CX all the details she became aware of near the end of the 37 years of healing. Better to pretend to CX that she was completely unaware of everything until she woke up and that she could only use her knowledge of 蛊术 to speculate to CX about how XL saved her.
颛顼询问小夭，相柳如何救活了她了。
小夭说道：“我一直昏迷着，具体我也不清楚，应该和我种给他的蛊有关，靠着他的生气，维系住了我的一线生机，然后他又施行了某种血咒之术，用他的命替我续命。”
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In chapter 26, we also have this line from XY, where she mentions XL's nine lives (highlighting the fact that he had extra lives to spare and would be able to do what he had done in chapter 22 again) and the fact that he saved / extended her life (back in chapter 22) and that she became more like XL as a result. So she wonders, if she were to die again and XL were to save her life / extend it again (presumably in the same way he did in chapter 22 - with blood transfusions and the sacrifice of one of his extra lives), would she become even more like XL?
以前，不管她再喜欢水，水是水，她是她，纵使含了鱼丹，也隔着一层。可这一次，却觉得她在水中游，水在她身流，她就是水的一部分，她永远待在水里，她可以永远待在水里。
相柳突然问：“是不是感觉很奇怪？”
小夭自如地转了几个圈，游到相柳身前，面朝着相柳，倒退着往前漂：“是很奇怪，我的身体和以前完全不一样了。”
相柳淡淡说：“这就是你活下去需要付出的代价，变成一只怪物。”
小夭愣住，想起了有一次相柳为她疗伤时说 “不要恨我。”
。。。
相柳没理会小夭，自顾向前游去，小夭抓着他衣袖，紧紧地跟着他：“我的身体是变得和别人不一样了，可我没觉得这是为了续命付出的代价，简直就是得了天大的好处！我高兴还来不及呢！”
相柳依旧不理小夭，但也没甩掉小夭的手。
小夭一边琢磨，一边絮絮叨叨地说：“你是九头妖怪，有九条命，你为我续了一次命，我变得和你一样在海里自由来去。你说，如果我再死一次，你再为我续一次命，我会不会变得和你……”
相柳盯着小夭，面沉如水。
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Edit: I missed your last question.
"Also in the novel, Xiangliu did not expend any life to save TSJ right? He only used Xiaoyao's own blood condensed with his spirit power into a pill?"
The novel never explicitly says that XL used one of his extra lives to save TSJ's life.
However, some fans have speculated that he might have needed to sacrifice a life to save TSJ's life, and that perhaps he made that sacrifice when he created the jewel from XY's blood, as he was exhausted (seemingly way more exhausted than he should have been) after turning the blood into a jewel.
But, to me, that speculation is reaching a bit. I'd say the probability that this fan speculation is accurate is probably lower.
相柳不言不动，一直含笑看着眼前的水鼎。鼎身透明，能清楚地看到里面的鲜血，灵气流溢，煞是好看。他双掌缓缓伸出，催动灵力，蓝绿色的光影急剧地闪烁变幻，犹如有无数流星在飞舞，水鼎渐渐收缩，最后凝聚成了一个鸽子蛋般大小的血红珠子，落在相柳的掌心。
凝血为珠的举动好似耗费了相柳很多灵力，他脸色发白，手轻颤，闭目休息了好一会儿后，撮唇为哨，发出只有水族能听到的低啸。一会儿后，远处的湖面起了波澜，水花中，一个鲛人乘风破浪，疾驰而来，行到相柳面前，恭敬地停住。
相柳把血红的珠子递给鲛人，鲛人小心翼翼地接过，用一个金天氏特殊锻造过的蓝色贝壳藏好。相柳用鲛人的语言吩咐了他几句，鲛人仔细地听完，甩着鱼尾对相柳行了一礼，转身向着大海的方向疾驰而去。
相柳目送着他的身影消失在湖面上后，低下头，看着胸口的小箭，伸手轻轻抚过，手在箭上停驻了一瞬。他无声地叹了口气，猛然一用力将箭拔出，随着鲜血的喷出，他好似累了，直挺挺地躺倒在水面上，仰望着天空，笑容慢慢淡去。
With the "one head = one life" add in the drama, we know for certain that XL did not sacrifice a life to save TSJ in the drama (in addition to not using the blood jewel on TSJ / not utilizing merpeople to help save TSJ). Drama!XL only expended spiritual energy to protect TSJ's body from sea monsters briefly (just long enough for Lirong Chang to safely collect TSJ's body).
2) Fangfeng Yi Yang was an "appropriate" person for TSJ to marry. FFYY was selected to be his fiancee by his mother before she died. After TSJ disappered, FFYY loyally stayed with the Tushan family and served TSJ's grandmother. She is seen as being very loyal and filial. Also, TSJ's grandmather wanted to maintain the Tushan clan's policy of staying out of clan and royal politics. FFYY's identity did not create any problems in that respect.
In FFFYY's case, she was from a small clan that was fairly low in the social hierarchy. She wanted to be the Tushan clan leader's wife because that would give her high status, power, and immense wealth. Also, after a decade of acting like TSJ's wife, her reputation would have been ruined if the wedding didn't happen. And she was in love with TSH (who was married at the time). She wanted to stay near TSH and TSH wanted to use FFYY to hurt TSJ and to steal the clan leadership position from him - through a son if necessary.
3) TSJ's mother selected FFYY to be his fiancee when she was sick and dying. TSJ wasn't in love with anyone back then and was very worried about his mother, so he agreed to her choice without even meeting FFYY. He did not meet FFYY before TSH tortured him / before he was saved by WXL and became YSQ. He only met her after his identity as TSJ was exposed and he had to return to the Tushan clan.
4) TSJ's grandmother liked FFYY and did not like that TSJ was pushing to go against her in order to push for the engagement to be broken so that he could marry XY as his only wife. She also didn't want TSJ to marry XY because of XY's identity. She was the princess of Haoling and CX's "meimei". CX was fighting for the crown prince position in Xiyan and was very much involved in political schemeing / royal and clan politics. If TSJ married XY at that point in the story, he would be getting the Tushan clan involved in such things against the clan's rules, and TSJ's grandmother did not want that to happen.
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Gao Xing = Haoling
Gao Xing Grand Emperor = the King of Haoling
Yellow Emperor = the King of Xiyan
Xuan Yuan = Xiyan
Zhuan Xu = Cang Xuan
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Chapter 22:
The Grand Madam saw Xiao Yao very casual and didn’t try to get close to her, plus she kept an eye on Xiao Yao secretly these last few days, and had decided Jing had good taste. It was too bad she was a Princess.
After Xiao Yao left, the Grand Madam sent everyone away except for Jing.
When they were alone, the Grand Madam asked Jing, “Do you want to marry the Gao Xing Princess?”
Jing answered clearly, “Yes!”
The Grand Madam sighed. “It’s too bad she’s the Gao Xing Princess, and also the granddaughter of the Yellow Emperor! You know the number one rule of our clan is that we do not get involved with politics between the royals. The Four Great Clans have remained so powerful because we do not get involved. Xiao Yao is the Princess but she’s not in Five Gods Mountain but instead by the side of the Xuan Yuan Prince Zhuan Xu. She’s clearly picking sides on the battle for the Xuan Yuan throne succession. She’s not a woman who can be underestimated. I don’t want the Tu Shan clan dragged in. Right now the vast wilderness is at peace but I calculate that the Xuan Yuan Yellow Emperor and the Gao Xing Grand Emperor will inevitably battle each other. Xiao Yao will bring danger to the Tu Shan clan. It’s not that I don’t like her, but for the Tu Shan clan, even if your engagement with Yi Yang is dissolved, I still won’t agree to let you marry Xiao Yao.”
Jing thought his grandmother would see Xiao Yao and change her mind but her mind was even more firmly set. He kneeled down to plead “The Four Great Clans have their self-preservation rules but rules were set thousands of years ago by ancestors and the situation has changed now. It’s not always correct and we need to change according to the times.”
The Grand Madam’s goodwill towards Xiao Yao evaporated in an instant and she harshly rebuked, “You are the clan leader, how can you say such awful words? You’ve been well-behaved since childhood and when have you become as careless as Feng Long? Did the Gao Xing Princess teach you this?”
“No, Xiao Yao never said this, it’s my own observation after seeing the current situation.”
The Grand Madam didn’t believe him and was sure Xiao Yao pressured him and wanted to use the Tu Shan clan to help Zhuan Xu get the crown. “Tu Shan Jing, as clan leader you cannot overthrow our ancestral rules for a woman! How can you…..” The Grand Madam couldn’t continue as she pressed her chest to catch her breath.
Jing hurriedly transferred power to her. “Grandmother, Grandmother, please take care!”
The Grand Madam said, “You promise your grandmother that you’ll give up the Gao Xing Princess.”
Jing remained kneeling and said nothing, only bowing his head repeatedly.
For the most part I'm not at all familiar with LYF fanfics. But the fanfic that Johanna Linnea Karlsson described happens to be a fanfic that I wrote. So in just this one case hopefully I would know everything about this particular fanfic. ^^
In Titanic, the female protagonist (Rose) went through trials and tribulations on the Titanic when she was a young woman. When the Titanic sank, the man she fell in love with (Jack) tragically died, but he told Rose that she had to live and only die as an old woman, warm in her bed, after having a full life and many children.
Rose went on to marry another man and had a happy life with him. They had children and grandchildren before her husband passed away, and she continued to live a good life after his death, with lots of hobbies and her granddaughter often coming by her home to spend time with her.
At the end of her long life, Rose (as a very old woman) has the opportunity to return to the place where the Titanic sank (the place where Jack died) and to tell others about Jack's story and her time with him before he died. And at the very end of the movie, Rose goes to sleep in her warm bed. Maybe she dies and goes to her own version of heaven, maybe she just has a dream, but in either case we see Rose's spirit (young again) reunite with Jack's spirit on the Titanic.
The ending of the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPlGPpS9hl0&ab_channel=andreamotenai
The XL/XY fic follows a similar trajectory.
Some of these details are covered in the prequel novel, Once Promised, and only alluded to in Lost You Forever.
Sometimes it feels like all the details that were omitted from the drama could fill a whole book or two. ^^
You did a great job. I didn't see your comment until after I posted mine, but everything you covered is correct with one slight caveat. In the drama, the King of Xiyan sends XY to Jade Mountain after Ah Heng "dies" in the last battle, as you correctly noted. Whereas, in the novel, Ah Heng brings XY to Jade Mountain herself before the final battle, anticipating that she would likely die in battle.
I mentioned this below, but the current Royal Mother of Jade Mountain had two sworn siblings when she was young. Her sworn sister was Xiling Xie (CX’s grandmother), who later married the King of Xiyan and became the Queen of Xiyan. And her sworn brother was the man who went on to become the second-to-last King of Chenrong. They spent many happy years together, but Xiling Xie could not forget the man who would become the King of Xiyan and left their trio. The man who would become the second-to-last King of Chenrong also could not forget a woman that he fell in love with. He left too, and so Ah Mei (her worldly name before she took the title of Royal Mother) was left alone and was later chosen to become the next Royal Mother.
The ruler of Jade Mountain holds the position of Royal Mother. This person is always a woman and is always selected by the previous Royal Mother (i.e., it is not a hereditary position). Before becoming the next Royal Mother, each successor must agree to never marry and to never leave Jade Mountain.
Jade Mountain is independent and not ruled by any other kingdom (e.g., Xiyan, Chenrong or Hoaling). Jade Mountain is cut off from the rest of the world and it does not get involved in wordly affairs. Weapons have no effect on Jade Mountain. Also, since the dawn of time, it has been a rule that male deities and male mortals are not permitted to stay on Jade Mountain for more than three days at a time (male demons, however, are permitted). The weather on Jade Mountain is always springtime weather, and it is a very quiet and unchanging place.
After XL saved XY's life and killed the Lovers Bug on Jade Mountain, he flew East, back to the remanant army stationed outside of Qingshui Town. So Jade Mountain must be somewhere west of Qingshui Town.
XY's blood has healing powers mainly because she spent 70 years living on Jade Mountain as a child, where she consumed Jade Mountain peaches, bone essence and other elixers. As the Royal Mother's disciple, XY also developed very strong spiritual power during this time.
Long before XY was born, her mother (Ah Heng) was sentenced to remain on Jade Mountain for 120 years after she took the blame for Chi You (XY's biological father) stealing Pan Gu's bow from Jade Mountain's treasury. Ah Heng only served 60 years of that sentence. The real reason the Royal Mother imposed this sentence on Ah Heng was that the Royal Mother hoped that Ah Heng would break her engagement with Shao Hao (the man who later became the King of Haoling / XY's non-bio father) and get together with the man she loved (Chi You). Chi You later used Pan Gu's bow to save Ah Heng's life by replacing Ah Heng's heart (which was being consumed by Ah Heng's sun power) with his own heart. That was how Chi You died in the last battle.
Before the war between Chenrong and Xiyan, Chi You won a tournament that took place on Jade Mountain, and he received the Face Forming Flower as his prize. The Face Forming Flower is a magical object that was created through tens of thousands of years of accumulated power in the peach blossom forest of Jade Mountain. Chi You gave the Face Forming Flower to Ah Heng, who later secretly placed it within XY when she was an infant and used it to disguise the fact that XY was Chi You's daughter / that she was not the King of Hoaling's daughter. At XY's request, the Royal Mother was able to lock away the Face Forming Flower's transformation power so that XY could regain her true form and her true face.
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Chapter 48:
Sir Bi said to Zhuan Xu, “The Royal Mother’s memory is addled again, I’ll take you to rest but the rule of Jade Mountain since the dawn of time is that no man can stay more than three nights. Three days later Your Majesty needs to leave.”
Xiao Xiao countered, “What about you and Lie Yang?”
Sir Bi blinked with humor at her. “We’re not men. I’m a fox and Liu Yang is a bird.”
...
Sir Bi paused then said, “Jade Mountain is spring during all four seasons so you can sleep outside. There is a gazebo close to the lake, I’ll have a pallet placed there with a net and you can rest.”
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Chapter 49:
Shui Hong walked inside and calmly said. “Your Majesty, this is Jade Mountain which does not interfere with worldly affairs, and the world cannot interfere with Jade Mountain matters! The world has had countless strife and many rulers, but Jade Mountain has never violated the order set down in ancient times by the Great Emperor Pan Gu. Even Fu Yi and Nu Wa greatly respect Jade Mountain! The Yellow Emperor and the White Emperor also are very courteous to Jade Mountain. Will the Black Emperor please not forget the edicts of old.”
Xiao Yao said to Zhuan Xu’s guards, “Jade Mountain has no weapons! All the weapons of the world, no matter how powerful, have no effect on Jade Mountain. If you want to fight then a tree branch is more effective here. You all sheath your weapons now!”
The guards remembered this legend and took a look at Zhuan Xu before sheepishly holstering their weapons.
However, before she became the current Royal Mother of Jade Mountain, she was sworn siblings with two people. Her sworn sister was Xiling Xie (CX’s grandmother), who later married the King of Xiyan and became the Queen of Xiyan. And her sworn brother was the man who went on to become the second-to-last King of Chenrong.
At the end of the story, XL's wish for XY (which he carved into the ice crystal ball) was that she would have a lifetime of worry-free happiness.
Also at the end of the story, we learn that XL intentionally filled the gaps in XY's life that she mentioned in their first meeting: she was a disgarded person with no means of protecting herself, nowhere to go, and no one to rely on.
She had no means of protecting herself. So he taught her archery and commissioned a legendary bow for her.
She had nowhere to go, but after he gave her transfusions of his blood on every full moon for 37 years in order to heal her, she became a daughter of the sea such that the ocean would always have a place for her. Something that XL made sure to remind XY of when, later in the story, she felt like she had nowhere to go again.
She had no one to rely on. So XL took many steps to make sure that XY was together with TSJ (a person she could rely on, because he would never let her go) before XL died.
Koala translated it as, "...It can lead two people to be connected in life and emotions but it is just like a pair of lovers in love with each other. It is tempermental and hard to control. If the Lover’s Bug turns on each other then both people will die. Which is why the Lover’s Bug also has another name, the Heartbreak Bug."
The original text is, " ...它能让有情人心意相通、命脉相连，可情人蛊就像相恋的恋人，脾气多变，非常难驾驭，蛊虫极易反噬，一旦发作，两人俱亡，所以情人蛊还有个名字，叫断肠蛊。"
After getting additional context from the leaked script (which references the bugs retaliating / backfiring and XL controlling them), I checked the text and found that a more accurate translation would be:
“...It can enable lovers to communicate with each other and connect their lives, but the Lovers' Bug is just like a pair of lovers in love with each other with changeable tempers and very difficult to control. The Lovers' Bug can easily backfire. Once it breaks out, both people will die. Which is why the Lovers' Bug also has another name: the Heartbreak Bug.”
My impression is that the drama (and especially the leaked script) indicates that the Lovers Bugs retaliated / backfired due to XL's heartbreak on several occassions when he let XY go / when he pushed her towards TSJ. But he controlled the bugs so that they did not turn into Heartbreak Bugs that would kill him and XY.
The novel is way more subtle and I think the only indication we get that this might also be the case in the novel is when XL causes XY to briefly feel the pain he is experiencing in his heart when he pushes her away at the end of their time in QS town after the wedding interruption in chapter 32 / when he sends her to reconcile with TSJ. And maybe also the fact that XY wasn't able to sense anything from XL through the bug connection (even though she should have been able to) unless he allowed her to or accidentally slipped (e.g., when she felt his heartbeat speed up in in chapter 26).
The novel remains clear that only lovers can raise and plant Lovers Bugs. So I feel that there is no question about whether XY and XL loved each other like lovers (i.e., romantically). And I don't think the fact that XL experienced extreme heartbreak when he let XY go undermines that at all.