Very sad, in the end fans of all characters will be disappointed.. at least after your post I can imagine this…
I keep feeling tempted to post scenes from the novel that were changed so that drama viewers can see in full how they were handled in the novel, but there are so many big changes now there wouldn't be much difference between that approach and saying "maybe just go read the whole novel". ^^"
Once again, today’s episodes have left me with a long list of things that the drama has changed or chosen not to adapt from the novel, to my deep disappointment.
In terms of the XL scene in chapter 37, we didn’t get to see any of the following:
(1) XY being told by the Shaman King, in no uncertain terms, that the poisonous bug that currently resides in her heart is indeed a Lovers Bug and that only lovers can produce a Lovers Bug.
(2) After visiting Baili, XY saying that she wanted to stay one more night on the sea and choosing to spend that night on a ship. Then, unable to sleep, XY going to the deck of the ship and admiring the full moon over the ocean. XY thinking of the 37 years she spent in XL's clam shell. XY warring with herself and holding herself back from jumping into the ocean and swimming happily, as her body (modified by XL's blood) longed to do.
(3) XL and XY listening to and appreciating the courting song of the merpeople (which only the two of them could hear) for a third time, under that bright, round moon.
(4) XY telling XL that Chi You (Chi Chen) is her dad. A change from her earlier lament that she was Chi You’s daughter, which signified her changed view and acceptance of Chi Chen.
(5) And then *XY* being the one to tell XL that their bugs are the type that connect lives, so her death would result in his death, only to discover that XL knew the bugs were bugs that connected their lives and hearts together (i.e., Lovers Bugs) from the very beginning. We do see XY being frustrated by XL's lack of candor about the bugs and making as if to follow XL out to sea and being verbally stopped by TSJ. But we do not see XY climbing over the railing of the ship and preparing to dive into the ocean to follow XL, only to be physically held back by TSJ.
Instead, we got some major changes. Some of the biggest ones being:
(1) XY telling XL that she views him as a friend. Perhaps that was her expressing her true feelings. Perhaps that was her lying to XL or to herself. Either way, it is not something that happens in the novel.
In the novel, she thinks to herself, “In his eyes, she wasn’t even someone to be deemed a friend. It was always a transaction between them, each and every time it was a deal that was calculated clearly and fairly.” But she never, ever indicates, out loud or in her own thoughts, that she herself views XL as a friend. The closest she gets is calling him “a friend who is not quite a friend” when talking to her father and referring to XL/FFB as her 知音 / zhi yin when he enjoys her poison creations, a complex term that is sometimes translated as “soulmate”, “bosom buddy” or “confidant”, although none of those are perfect translations. The term is taken from the story of Boya and Zhong Ziqi and alludes to a deep sense of understanding and unique appreciation between two people. It can be used to describe both platonic and romantic relationships.
Whereas XY does call Jing her friend on two occasions (once when talking to Ah Nian and once when talking to Lirong Chang) in the novel, even though TSJ is obviously not just a friend to her.
(2) XL suggesting that he might use the bug connection (and the fact that XY’s life is tied to his) in order to threaten and manipulate CX. Which, even as an empty threat intended to push XY away, is not something he ever says in the novel.
(3) The scene with XL and XY’s tear pearl. In the novel, we are never shown such a scene or given an indication that something like the tear pearl exists. We see XL holding the ice crystal ball in chapter 31, clearly sad but not wavering in terms of his feelings or his convictions. And in XL’s epilogue we see XL carving the big-bellied laughing doll and secretly inserting an updated version of the ice crystal ball (one that includes a new figure to represent TSJ being the person who takes XY’s hand and stays by her side) inside the big-bellied laughing doll, which he sends away to be given under Sir Bi’s name as a gift to XY for her wedding with TSJ. Again, not a happy scene, but one that highlights his self-sacrifice and well-wishes for XY. IMO, in the novel he came across as tragic and noble, but never pitiful or self-pitying.
(4) Taking away the fact that visiting the King of Haoling to find out more about XY’s parents in order to get her closure (something that was huge for XY!) was TSJ’s idea. Taking away the life-threatening pain and suffering that TSJ and the King of Haoling had to endure in order to get to XY’s mother. Taking away XY’s mother telling XY her full life story, including the details of her tragic love story with Chi You. Changing it so that XY, CX and XL all bow to the portraits of XY's parents, but XY never introduces TSJ (her future husband!) to her parents and he never bows to them. And making it seem like the King of Haoling always knew that XY’s mother’s consciousness was still accessible and easy to visit, but chose to never take XY there or tell her about it before without explaining why.
(5) Changing the details of the Shaman King so that, instead of TSJ and XY asking him how to remove the Lovers Bugs and being told that it was impossible, we see XL (who seemingly always had the means to obtain this information from the Shaman King, but only chose to do so at this very late stage in the story) asking him how to remove the bugs.
Edit: On a slightly more positive note, although it doesn't match up to the corresponding scenes from the novel, I am extremely glad that the drama ended up including XY meeting and speaking directly with her mother and interacting with her father's spirit (as depicted by the floating petals). That was an incredibly important part of the original story and I'm very glad it was at least included in some form instead of being left out entirely.
Edit #2: Liddi pointed out that today was the first time anyone in the drama referred to the bugs as Lovers Poisonous Bugs (情人蛊). So I'll take that as a positive too.
Xiang Liu's loyalty to Hong Jiang and the Chenrong remnant army is no longer about paying back a debt. It is about…
Lol! Due to the long wait for S2, a group of interested fans have been discussing various details in the novel for a whole year. This is the end result. ^^"
Xiang Liu's loyalty to Hong Jiang and the Chenrong remnant army is no longer about paying back a debt. It is about…
There are a few different time markers in the novel that we can use to calculate that number.
One way would be to note that XY and CX were separated for 300 years between the last battle between Xiyan and Chenrong and their time together on Five Gods Mountain before WXL's true identity was revealed in chapter 9 (shortly after the bug was transferred from CX to XL at the end of chapter 7). And we know that XL joined the Chenrong remant army shortly after that battle, so he fought with the remnant army for about 300 years before chapter 9.
In chapter 38, XY begins working on her medical texts. She completes those medical texts in chapter 41 after working on them for 42 years.
Also in chapter 38, we are told (8 years after XY began working on the medical texts) that the Lovers Bug had been in XY for over 80 years.
Between chapter 42 and chapter 49, TSJ goes missing and is presumed dead for 7 years.
300 + 80 + 42 - 8 + 7 = 421.
So, in the novel, XL definitely fought with the Chenrong remnant army for more than 400 years before he died fighting with them in the last battle in chapter 51.
what does the retired emperor mean to persuade Xiang Liu to surrender? Surrender what?Why is Xiang Liu not willing…
Xiang Liu's loyalty to Hong Jiang and the Chenrong remnant army is no longer about paying back a debt.
It is about loyalty, genuine affection for his adoptive father, and camaraderie with his fellow soldiers. He lived, ate, drank, trained, fought, bled, and mourned with them for over 400 years. He will never betray them, abondon them, or forget them.
-----
Flame Emperor = King of Chenrong
Shengnong = Chenrong
Gong Gong = Hong Jiang
Qi Yo = Chi Chen / XY's biological father
Zhu Rong = Feng Long and Xing Yue's grandfather
Zhuan Xu = Cang Xuan
-----
Chapter 22:
Xiang Liu said, “When I escaped from the slave death match arena, I was gravely injured all over. I almost died in a whirlpool but it was my adoptive father who saved me. Back then, the Flame Emperor was still alive and the Sheng Nong Kingdom hadn’t yet been toppled. My adoptive father, along with Qi Yo and Zhu Rong, were the three greatest generals of the Sheng Nong Kingdom. He saved a runaway slave like me and I injured him. He didn’t mind because he saw I was gravely injured and might not survive. He taught me a method for healing through training my powers. He even wanted to take me to the Flame Emperor for medical treatment. But I didn’t trust him so I ran away.”
...
Xiang Liu said “The snowfall in the North Pole is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. To avoid my attackers, I escaped to the North Pole and hid there for over a hundred years. The snow there not only saved my life, it awakened an understanding in me and I transformed the healing technique my adoptive father taught me to learn a new powerful fighting style.”
...
She thought that he must’ve decided to leave the North Pole after meeting Fang Feng Bei there. But by then the Sheng Nong Kingdom had fallen and General Gong Gong was leading a paltry resistance army with all his family and friends abandoning him. Yet a certain Nine-headed demon actually willingly went to him, perhaps initially it was to repay a debt, but then Gong Gong truly bonded with him so adopted him as a son. One could repay a debt, but the bonds of love and affection are impossible to ever fully repay.
-----
Chapter 35:
Xiao Yao was silent before suddenly asking, “Xiang Liu, why did you pick Gong Gong? Because he’s your adoptive father?” Xiao Yao didn’t know how she had the guts to ask him this question, probably because Xiang Liu didn’t seem like Xiang Liu tonight.
“Not just because he’s my adoptive father, there are also all those soldiers I fought along with and watched them die. We drank together, we went to battle together, we picked up our fallen brethren’s bodies…” Xiang Liu looked over at the altar, “For hundreds of years, do you know how many of my fellow soldiers I’ve had to personally cremate?”
Xiao Yao couldn’t imagine, but she understood what Xiang Liu felt. Her Fourth Uncle could have survived that day, and he did love Fourth Aunt and Zhuan Xu, but he chose to die alongside his soldiers. In this world there was camaraderie so strong that one would die rather than abandon it.
Xiang Liu laughed and pointed at his head. “I’ve lost count, but they are all here.”
Xiao Yao buried her head in her lap and grew silent. She felt her heart all jumbled and she didn’t know if it was for Xiang Liu or for herself.
-----
Chapter 46:
“Are you thinking about Xiang Liu?”
Xiao Yao looked down and said nothing.
Zhuan Xu said, “I know you have some connection with him, and truthfully I’m rather admiring of his ability and loyalty. I’m even envious of Gong Gong’s fierce and unbending connection with him, but the Sheng Nong Kingdom is a thing of the past……….I have to eliminate them!”
Jin Xuan to Cang Xuan: "You have treated me very well. But it's not the feeling I want." "I fear my desires and…
Some of the details were a bit different in the novel, but the general concept was there.
-----
Chapter 39:
Zhuan Xu sent someone to liaise with Jing to provide a source of business information he needed. The person turned out to be Jin Xuan and Xiao Yao was very happy to see a familiar face. She called for some food and wine and sat down to catch up with her.
Xiao Yao asked, “How did you end up in Gao Xing?”
Jin Xuan said, “His majesty needs Gao Xing information the most right now so I’m in Gao Xing to collect information for him.”
Xiao Yao laughed. “I thought you and Xiao Xiao would become His majesty’s consorts but who knew both of you continued to serve him in the same capacity as before. I saw the way you feel about him so I wrongly assumed you were living on Zhi Jin Summit.”
Jin Xuan smiled at Xiao Yao and said nothing for some time. She drank her wine before saying, “You weren’t wrong, I did fall for him. Because I really fell for him that is why I requested to leave.”
Xiao Yao was perplexed. “Why?”
“If my heart wasn’t moved then everything I do can receive a commensurate reward. But having my heart in it, then I will gradually want more and more. I know His majesty can never give me all I will want and I would be hurt and then commit an infraction that will lead to him distrusting and disdaining me. I would rather leave when I can still be sensible about it. If I keep my distance from him, with how much I’ve done to serve him then he will forever be grateful towards me.”
“You….you…..you’re so smart yet so cruel towards yourself! Very few women can carve out a free distance for herself in your situation.”
“I have to thank His majesty for giving me this freedom and space. I know a lot of secrets and another person would keep me close to him. But I wanted to leave and His majesty let me!” Jin Xuan drank her wine with a smile. “It’s going to be extremely difficult to forget a man like His majesty, but I know with time that can be accomplished. The world is so vast and as long as I’m traveling the road then I believe I can meet a man one day who will make me forget His majesty.”
Xiao Yao toasted Jin Xuan. “Best wishes to you meeting that person soon!”
Jin Xuan smiled and returned the toast before leaving with Jing to head to the town to collect the information he needed.
In the novel, Chi Chen's spirit lived on after the last battle in the form of a living forest that accompanied…
Agreed, it was such an important moment for XY.
Between the preview, the rumours and the leaked script, it seems like we are going to get something. But the details will be very different from the novel.
The preview shows petals surrounding XY before she enters the home that Ah Heng and Chi Chen shared in Baili + her seeing their portrait inside that home.
In the novel, once a Lovers Bug is successfully planted, it ties the hosts' lives and hearts together and can…
If I remember correctly from the leaked script, XY threatening to kill CX and poisoning CX and herself (as shown in the trailer) will all be part of CX's dream induced by tea given to him by the former King of Xiyan to help him realize the consequences he would face if he killed TSJ in order to keep XY by his side.
XY creates the life-saving pill for TSJ in the novel as well, in chapter 35. TSJ takes that pill after his fight with TSH and it prevents him from dying from his very severe injuries in that battle, but it doesn't prevent him from falling unconscious. In chapter 46, XL creates a jewel from XY's blood (not all that different from the pill that XY created) that he gives to a merman with instructions, and then it is later revealed that a merman revived TSJ at the right time. A secondary character (Sir Bi) observes that XL used this method to revive TSJ without TSJ or XY being able to discover that XL was the one who secretly helped save TSJ.
I haven't gone back to double check, but my memory from the leaked script is that the drama will have TSJ play a more active role in saving himself compared to the novel. There was something about him being trapped in a cave and having to escape himself, without outside help.
In the novel, once a Lovers Bug is successfully planted, it ties the hosts' lives and hearts together and can…
The way the leaked script handles it, XL sacrificed one life to save XY's life after her assassination in S1 and sacrifices two lives to break the bug connection.
But perhaps the final version we see on screen will be closer to the novel (one life to break the bug connection) than the leaked script (two lives to break the bug connection).
---
From behind Xiang Liu emerged the reflection of the nine-headed demon's true form, except there were only eight heads left, one life having been sacrificed to save Xiao Yao years ago. A razor sharp dagger made of ice appeared in Xiang Liu's hand. Ruthlessly, he stabbed the dagger into his own heart, and one of his heads disappeared in agony. Xiang Liu pulled out the dagger and blood gushed forth from the wound, spilling on to the seashell and Xiao Yao's body. His seven-headed form was visibly weakened.
The glowing lights surrounding him were like bloodsucking insects, rushing into his chest and slowly vanishing inside, as if they had burrowed into his body. In the midst of it all, another of Xiang Liu's heads started fading away. By the time all the lights disappeared, that head too was gone.
His face deathly pale, Xiang Liu covered his chest wound with one hand while the other took out a pill the size of a longan - the same healing pill made from Xiao Yao's blood. Instead of using it to heal himself, he fed it to Xiao Yao, and the wounds on her palms healed quickly, her face restored to a rosy hue.
Xiang Liu gazed at Xiao Yao, as the form with the remaining 6 heads vanished behind him.
Can someone share the context to Chi Chen and Chenrong army and what they are fighting for/against? I forget if…
The former King of Xiyan led a small tribe to become a kingdom powerful enough to rival the Kingdom of Chenrong and the Kingdom of Haoling through continuous campaigns of conquest and expansion.
After the second to last King of Chenrong died, Chenrong was weak for various reasons, including a lack of support for his heir: the last King of Chenrong. To stabilize his rule (and to protect Chenrong from vulnerability due to instability), the last King of Chenrong demanded that Xiyan return its borderlands that Xiyan had taken over through its campaigns of conquest and, when Xiyan refused to do so, Chenrong went to war with Xiyan.
Chi Chen and the Chenrong army fought for Chenrong against Xiyan in that war, including in a final battle against Xiyan's army, which was led by XY's mother. When the Chenrong army lost that battle, Chenrong was conquered by Xiyan and ceased to exist as an independent kingdom.
Hong Jiang and a small number of remaining soldiers from the Chenrong army retreated to the mountains outside of QingShui Town (a neutral town) in a position where the geography allowed them to defend their entrenched position indefinitely, even though they no longer had a kingdom to fight for.
Are you wanting to know why Chi Chen is constantly referred to as a ruthless devil by both Xiyan people and people in the Middle Plains who were formerly citizens of Chenrong? The answer to that is a bit complicated. Part of it is due to Chi Chen (as a powerful general of Chenrong) being villainized by his enemies in Xiyan. But a lot of it also goes back to the complex political issues that existed in Chenrong in Once Promised.
Chi Chen was extremely powerful but had no status in terms of family background. The second to last King of Chenrong recognized Chi Chen's raw power and talent and made Chi Chen his one and only disciple. The second to last King of Chenrong also had a problem: his son and heir was a good man, but he was too weak and indecisive to be an effective ruler. He would have trouble managing other powerful figures in Chenrong (like Feng Long's grandfather and Hong Jiang, who were both powerful generals and were both related to the Chenrong royal family, but neither was considered to have the right character to be a good ruler).
Before he died, the second to last King of Chenrong made Chi Chen the top general of Chenrong's army and his son and heir's right hand man.
Chenrong was extremely hierarchical - a society where those who were born with high status would succeed regardless of their talents or achievements and those who were born with low status would not succeed regardless of their talents or acheivements. Because he had no family background, and yet was given power, Chi Chen became a leader for dissaffected people in Chenrong who had talent and abilities that they weren't able to utilize because they weren't born with status.
As Chi Chen was backed by that group and his army included large numbers of talented and loyal individuals, he balanced the power of the old guard (like Feng Long's grandfather and Hong Jiang) and also began to change the power structure in Chenrong. I haven't read those parts of the novel directly (to my knoweldge they have not been translated) but my understanding is that it was a very bloody process and virtually every noble family in Chenrong had someone die at Chi Chen's hands or the hands of his followers during the reformation period.
In the case of the main assassin that went after XY in S1, he was the only survivor from his clan. He blamed Chi Chen for wiping out everyone else in his family and went after XY (after realizing she was Chi Chen's daughter) to get his revenge.
Note that Xiyan did not have the same kind of power structure as Chenrong. The former King of Xiyan (CX's grandfather) did not come from a noble family background. He achieved power because of his strength and talents and he made use of / promoted talented people regardless of their background.
Novel readers, pls tell me if King of Haoling had to kill his siblings to unite his country? Did he kill his father…
In the novel he did kill his father as well as his five remaining brothers, their wives and their children so he could take and keep the throne.
Truly brutal. At the end of his reign it haunted him.
-----
Auntie = XY's mother
Grandfather = the King of Xiyan
Master = Shao Hao / the current King of Haoling
Grand Emperor = the King of Haoling
Former Grand Emepror = the former King of Haoling / Shao Hao's father
Eldest Uncle / Qing Yang = XY and CX's eldest uncle
Chang Yi = CX's father
Zhuan Xu = CX
-----
Chapter 38:
“It’s not Eldest Uncle who wanted Grandfather to abdicate. It was Master who convinced Eldest Uncle to do that! He also was the one who got Auntie to make the potion and he handed it to Eldest Uncle. When Auntie was making the potion she didn’t know Eldest Uncle was going to use it. That was a potion that Auntie made for Master so that he could successfully force the former Grand Emperor to abdicate. When the former Grand Emperor was forcefully locked up in his palace and then mysteriously died, do you know why there was the Five Prince Rebellion afterwards? Or why Master used such a bloody approach to deal with his own brothers? Now there is no talk about how Master became the Grand Emperor but Xiao Yao, back then you lived on Five Gods Mountain so look deep into your own memory. You must still remember the former Grand Emperor, the one you called grandfather as well. He was murdered by Master! That is why the Five Princes revolted!”
Xiao Yao wanted to deny it that but the broken memory fragments in her mind confirmed for her that what Zhuan Xu said was true. She remembered the former Grand Emperor that she used to call grandfather. She actually witnessed the moment he died and she remembered that her mom tearfully slapped her dad hard afterwards.
------
Chapter 40:
“The former Grand Emperor’s wife the Empress, the mother of the current Grand Emperor, she came from the Qing Long tribe. She died in childbirth giving birth and my two aunties were beautiful and intelligent so were chosen to enter the palace. The former Grand Emperor really liked them and my older auntie was named Empress and gave birth to four sons. My younger auntie the consort gave birth to two sons and two daughters. Both daughters married into the Bai Hu tribe. The two princes wives also came from the Bai Hu tribe. Likely my two aunties were so beloved by the Grand Emperor, the Qing Long tribe continued to believe that they were plotting to kill then Eldest Prince Shao Hao. From then on the Qing Long tribe and the Chang Yi tribes were at odds with each other. It’s hard to believe now since it happened so long ago, but the former Grand Emperor really didn’t like his eldest prince, the current Grand Emperor, and preferred his second prince Yen Long. My older auntie told me that the former Grand Emperor had actually decided to name the second prince as the Crown Prince heir but then suddenly a coup happened in the palace. Second Prince Yen Long and the Grand Empress were both thrown in Dragon Bone Prison while the current Grand Emperor ascended the throne. A few years later the former Grand Emperor mysteriously died and both my aunties committed suicide. Second Prince was stripped of his godly rank and vanished. The other five princes were either banished or locked up and they couldn’t accept that so they aligned with the Chang Yi and Bai Hu tribes to launch a rebellion. This is what is now remembered by the world as the Five Princes Revolt.”
Elder Liu’s eyes misted with tears and sadness. “Later all five princes were killed, including their wives and children.”
...
The Grand Emperor continued, “Those dreams are all very happy, and when I dream them I don’t want to wake up because I know the reality behind those dreams are all a wasteland of pain where everything is gone. Sometimes all I dream are nightmares. I dream Qing Yang died in my arms, glaring at me and berating me for not keeping my promise; I dream of Chang Yi screaming in horror in a fiery inferno ‘Shao Hao gege, why didn’t you come save me?’; I dream of the ground entirely covered in blood and my five younger brothers heads ringed in a circle as I stand in the center and they are all mocking me; I dream of my father and he laughingly pushes me onto the throne and asks ‘You want it? You can have it!’ He takes off his crown and robe and hands it to me, then he ripes his skin and flesh and hands it to me, he’s just a fleshless skeleton and he still reaches out his bony hand and asks ‘You want it? You can have it!’”
Zhuan Xu, Xiao Yao, and Jing listened in collective horror, unable to make a single sound, as if a skeleton really was before them in the residence holding forth his skin and flesh in his hands while asking with a smile “You want it? You can have it!”
The Grand Emperor covered his eyes “The world pities that I don’t have a son but they don’t know that I am grateful and relieved not to have a son. I’m afraid my son will be like me, if he’s like me who killed my own fa…..”
“YOUR MAJESTY!” Jing’s voice rang out and cut short the Grand Emperor.
The Grand Emperor opened his eyes and look confused as if waking from a dream and unsure of his surroundings. Likely Xiao Yao and Zhuan Xu were so close to him and the past hearing it also overwhelmed them while Jing as the outsider remained the most coolheaded. He handed the Grand Emperor a cup of tea and gently said “Your majesty, please drink some tea!”
The Grand Emperor sipped the tea and his expression gradually regained clarity but his smile was filled with self-pity. The things he did, he could not tell others and others dare not hear it.
In the novel, once a Lovers Bug is successfully planted, it ties the hosts' lives and hearts together and can…
In the novel TSJ disappears for 7 years and is presumed dead (after TSH tries to kill him with CX's help), but XL saves him and uses a jewel created from XY's blood to revive him.
In the drama, TSJ will disappear and be presumed dead (after TSH tries to kill him with Xing Yue's help) but it seems (based on the leaked script) like XL might not be involved in saving / reviving him.
3 
1 
1 
In terms of the XL scene in chapter 37, we didn’t get to see any of the following:
(1) XY being told by the Shaman King, in no uncertain terms, that the poisonous bug that currently resides in her heart is indeed a Lovers Bug and that only lovers can produce a Lovers Bug.
(2) After visiting Baili, XY saying that she wanted to stay one more night on the sea and choosing to spend that night on a ship. Then, unable to sleep, XY going to the deck of the ship and admiring the full moon over the ocean. XY thinking of the 37 years she spent in XL's clam shell. XY warring with herself and holding herself back from jumping into the ocean and swimming happily, as her body (modified by XL's blood) longed to do.
(3) XL and XY listening to and appreciating the courting song of the merpeople (which only the two of them could hear) for a third time, under that bright, round moon.
(4) XY telling XL that Chi You (Chi Chen) is her dad. A change from her earlier lament that she was Chi You’s daughter, which signified her changed view and acceptance of Chi Chen.
(5) And then *XY* being the one to tell XL that their bugs are the type that connect lives, so her death would result in his death, only to discover that XL knew the bugs were bugs that connected their lives and hearts together (i.e., Lovers Bugs) from the very beginning. We do see XY being frustrated by XL's lack of candor about the bugs and making as if to follow XL out to sea and being verbally stopped by TSJ. But we do not see XY climbing over the railing of the ship and preparing to dive into the ocean to follow XL, only to be physically held back by TSJ.
Instead, we got some major changes. Some of the biggest ones being:
(1) XY telling XL that she views him as a friend. Perhaps that was her expressing her true feelings. Perhaps that was her lying to XL or to herself. Either way, it is not something that happens in the novel.
In the novel, she thinks to herself, “In his eyes, she wasn’t even someone to be deemed a friend. It was always a transaction between them, each and every time it was a deal that was calculated clearly and fairly.” But she never, ever indicates, out loud or in her own thoughts, that she herself views XL as a friend. The closest she gets is calling him “a friend who is not quite a friend” when talking to her father and referring to XL/FFB as her 知音 / zhi yin when he enjoys her poison creations, a complex term that is sometimes translated as “soulmate”, “bosom buddy” or “confidant”, although none of those are perfect translations. The term is taken from the story of Boya and Zhong Ziqi and alludes to a deep sense of understanding and unique appreciation between two people. It can be used to describe both platonic and romantic relationships.
Whereas XY does call Jing her friend on two occasions (once when talking to Ah Nian and once when talking to Lirong Chang) in the novel, even though TSJ is obviously not just a friend to her.
(2) XL suggesting that he might use the bug connection (and the fact that XY’s life is tied to his) in order to threaten and manipulate CX. Which, even as an empty threat intended to push XY away, is not something he ever says in the novel.
(3) The scene with XL and XY’s tear pearl. In the novel, we are never shown such a scene or given an indication that something like the tear pearl exists. We see XL holding the ice crystal ball in chapter 31, clearly sad but not wavering in terms of his feelings or his convictions. And in XL’s epilogue we see XL carving the big-bellied laughing doll and secretly inserting an updated version of the ice crystal ball (one that includes a new figure to represent TSJ being the person who takes XY’s hand and stays by her side) inside the big-bellied laughing doll, which he sends away to be given under Sir Bi’s name as a gift to XY for her wedding with TSJ. Again, not a happy scene, but one that highlights his self-sacrifice and well-wishes for XY. IMO, in the novel he came across as tragic and noble, but never pitiful or self-pitying.
(4) Taking away the fact that visiting the King of Haoling to find out more about XY’s parents in order to get her closure (something that was huge for XY!) was TSJ’s idea. Taking away the life-threatening pain and suffering that TSJ and the King of Haoling had to endure in order to get to XY’s mother. Taking away XY’s mother telling XY her full life story, including the details of her tragic love story with Chi You. Changing it so that XY, CX and XL all bow to the portraits of XY's parents, but XY never introduces TSJ (her future husband!) to her parents and he never bows to them. And making it seem like the King of Haoling always knew that XY’s mother’s consciousness was still accessible and easy to visit, but chose to never take XY there or tell her about it before without explaining why.
(5) Changing the details of the Shaman King so that, instead of TSJ and XY asking him how to remove the Lovers Bugs and being told that it was impossible, we see XL (who seemingly always had the means to obtain this information from the Shaman King, but only chose to do so at this very late stage in the story) asking him how to remove the bugs.
Edit: On a slightly more positive note, although it doesn't match up to the corresponding scenes from the novel, I am extremely glad that the drama ended up including XY meeting and speaking directly with her mother and interacting with her father's spirit (as depicted by the floating petals). That was an incredibly important part of the original story and I'm very glad it was at least included in some form instead of being left out entirely.
Edit #2: Liddi pointed out that today was the first time anyone in the drama referred to the bugs as Lovers Poisonous Bugs (情人蛊). So I'll take that as a positive too.
One way would be to note that XY and CX were separated for 300 years between the last battle between Xiyan and Chenrong and their time together on Five Gods Mountain before WXL's true identity was revealed in chapter 9 (shortly after the bug was transferred from CX to XL at the end of chapter 7). And we know that XL joined the Chenrong remant army shortly after that battle, so he fought with the remnant army for about 300 years before chapter 9.
In chapter 38, XY begins working on her medical texts. She completes those medical texts in chapter 41 after working on them for 42 years.
Also in chapter 38, we are told (8 years after XY began working on the medical texts) that the Lovers Bug had been in XY for over 80 years.
Between chapter 42 and chapter 49, TSJ goes missing and is presumed dead for 7 years.
300 + 80 + 42 - 8 + 7 = 421.
So, in the novel, XL definitely fought with the Chenrong remnant army for more than 400 years before he died fighting with them in the last battle in chapter 51.
It is about loyalty, genuine affection for his adoptive father, and camaraderie with his fellow soldiers. He lived, ate, drank, trained, fought, bled, and mourned with them for over 400 years. He will never betray them, abondon them, or forget them.
-----
Flame Emperor = King of Chenrong
Shengnong = Chenrong
Gong Gong = Hong Jiang
Qi Yo = Chi Chen / XY's biological father
Zhu Rong = Feng Long and Xing Yue's grandfather
Zhuan Xu = Cang Xuan
-----
Chapter 22:
Xiang Liu said, “When I escaped from the slave death match arena, I was gravely injured all over. I almost died in a whirlpool but it was my adoptive father who saved me. Back then, the Flame Emperor was still alive and the Sheng Nong Kingdom hadn’t yet been toppled. My adoptive father, along with Qi Yo and Zhu Rong, were the three greatest generals of the Sheng Nong Kingdom. He saved a runaway slave like me and I injured him. He didn’t mind because he saw I was gravely injured and might not survive. He taught me a method for healing through training my powers. He even wanted to take me to the Flame Emperor for medical treatment. But I didn’t trust him so I ran away.”
...
Xiang Liu said “The snowfall in the North Pole is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. To avoid my attackers, I escaped to the North Pole and hid there for over a hundred years. The snow there not only saved my life, it awakened an understanding in me and I transformed the healing technique my adoptive father taught me to learn a new powerful fighting style.”
...
She thought that he must’ve decided to leave the North Pole after meeting Fang Feng Bei there. But by then the Sheng Nong Kingdom had fallen and General Gong Gong was leading a paltry resistance army with all his family and friends abandoning him. Yet a certain Nine-headed demon actually willingly went to him, perhaps initially it was to repay a debt, but then Gong Gong truly bonded with him so adopted him as a son. One could repay a debt, but the bonds of love and affection are impossible to ever fully repay.
-----
Chapter 35:
Xiao Yao was silent before suddenly asking, “Xiang Liu, why did you pick Gong Gong? Because he’s your adoptive father?” Xiao Yao didn’t know how she had the guts to ask him this question, probably because Xiang Liu didn’t seem like Xiang Liu tonight.
“Not just because he’s my adoptive father, there are also all those soldiers I fought along with and watched them die. We drank together, we went to battle together, we picked up our fallen brethren’s bodies…” Xiang Liu looked over at the altar, “For hundreds of years, do you know how many of my fellow soldiers I’ve had to personally cremate?”
Xiao Yao couldn’t imagine, but she understood what Xiang Liu felt. Her Fourth Uncle could have survived that day, and he did love Fourth Aunt and Zhuan Xu, but he chose to die alongside his soldiers. In this world there was camaraderie so strong that one would die rather than abandon it.
Xiang Liu laughed and pointed at his head. “I’ve lost count, but they are all here.”
Xiao Yao buried her head in her lap and grew silent. She felt her heart all jumbled and she didn’t know if it was for Xiang Liu or for herself.
-----
Chapter 46:
“Are you thinking about Xiang Liu?”
Xiao Yao looked down and said nothing.
Zhuan Xu said, “I know you have some connection with him, and truthfully I’m rather admiring of his ability and loyalty. I’m even envious of Gong Gong’s fierce and unbending connection with him, but the Sheng Nong Kingdom is a thing of the past……….I have to eliminate them!”
-----
Chapter 39:
Zhuan Xu sent someone to liaise with Jing to provide a source of business information he needed. The person turned out to be Jin Xuan and Xiao Yao was very happy to see a familiar face. She called for some food and wine and sat down to catch up with her.
Xiao Yao asked, “How did you end up in Gao Xing?”
Jin Xuan said, “His majesty needs Gao Xing information the most right now so I’m in Gao Xing to collect information for him.”
Xiao Yao laughed. “I thought you and Xiao Xiao would become His majesty’s consorts but who knew both of you continued to serve him in the same capacity as before. I saw the way you feel about him so I wrongly assumed you were living on Zhi Jin Summit.”
Jin Xuan smiled at Xiao Yao and said nothing for some time. She drank her wine before saying, “You weren’t wrong, I did fall for him. Because I really fell for him that is why I requested to leave.”
Xiao Yao was perplexed. “Why?”
“If my heart wasn’t moved then everything I do can receive a commensurate reward. But having my heart in it, then I will gradually want more and more. I know His majesty can never give me all I will want and I would be hurt and then commit an infraction that will lead to him distrusting and disdaining me. I would rather leave when I can still be sensible about it. If I keep my distance from him, with how much I’ve done to serve him then he will forever be grateful towards me.”
“You….you…..you’re so smart yet so cruel towards yourself! Very few women can carve out a free distance for herself in your situation.”
“I have to thank His majesty for giving me this freedom and space. I know a lot of secrets and another person would keep me close to him. But I wanted to leave and His majesty let me!” Jin Xuan drank her wine with a smile. “It’s going to be extremely difficult to forget a man like His majesty, but I know with time that can be accomplished. The world is so vast and as long as I’m traveling the road then I believe I can meet a man one day who will make me forget His majesty.”
Xiao Yao toasted Jin Xuan. “Best wishes to you meeting that person soon!”
Jin Xuan smiled and returned the toast before leaving with Jing to head to the town to collect the information he needed.
Between the preview, the rumours and the leaked script, it seems like we are going to get something. But the details will be very different from the novel.
The preview shows petals surrounding XY before she enters the home that Ah Heng and Chi Chen shared in Baili + her seeing their portrait inside that home.
Leaked script: https://kisskh.at/discussions/lost-you-forever/110123-xl-and-xy-story-and-romance-warning-spoilers?pid=2884643&page=387#p2884643
I really, really hope that, however they handle it in the drama, XY actually gets to talk to her mother.
XY creates the life-saving pill for TSJ in the novel as well, in chapter 35. TSJ takes that pill after his fight with TSH and it prevents him from dying from his very severe injuries in that battle, but it doesn't prevent him from falling unconscious. In chapter 46, XL creates a jewel from XY's blood (not all that different from the pill that XY created) that he gives to a merman with instructions, and then it is later revealed that a merman revived TSJ at the right time. A secondary character (Sir Bi) observes that XL used this method to revive TSJ without TSJ or XY being able to discover that XL was the one who secretly helped save TSJ.
I haven't gone back to double check, but my memory from the leaked script is that the drama will have TSJ play a more active role in saving himself compared to the novel. There was something about him being trapped in a cave and having to escape himself, without outside help.
But perhaps the final version we see on screen will be closer to the novel (one life to break the bug connection) than the leaked script (two lives to break the bug connection).
---
From behind Xiang Liu emerged the reflection of the nine-headed demon's true form, except there were only eight heads left, one life having been sacrificed to save Xiao Yao years ago. A razor sharp dagger made of ice appeared in Xiang Liu's hand. Ruthlessly, he stabbed the dagger into his own heart, and one of his heads disappeared in agony. Xiang Liu pulled out the dagger and blood gushed forth from the wound, spilling on to the seashell and Xiao Yao's body. His seven-headed form was visibly weakened.
The glowing lights surrounding him were like bloodsucking insects, rushing into his chest and slowly vanishing inside, as if they had burrowed into his body. In the midst of it all, another of Xiang Liu's heads started fading away. By the time all the lights disappeared, that head too was gone.
His face deathly pale, Xiang Liu covered his chest wound with one hand while the other took out a pill the size of a longan - the same healing pill made from Xiao Yao's blood. Instead of using it to heal himself, he fed it to Xiao Yao, and the wounds on her palms healed quickly, her face restored to a rosy hue.
Xiang Liu gazed at Xiao Yao, as the form with the remaining 6 heads vanished behind him.
https://kisskh.at/discussions/lost-you-forever/110123-xl-and-xy-story-and-romance-warning-spoilers?pid=2799007&page=191#p2799007
After the second to last King of Chenrong died, Chenrong was weak for various reasons, including a lack of support for his heir: the last King of Chenrong. To stabilize his rule (and to protect Chenrong from vulnerability due to instability), the last King of Chenrong demanded that Xiyan return its borderlands that Xiyan had taken over through its campaigns of conquest and, when Xiyan refused to do so, Chenrong went to war with Xiyan.
Chi Chen and the Chenrong army fought for Chenrong against Xiyan in that war, including in a final battle against Xiyan's army, which was led by XY's mother. When the Chenrong army lost that battle, Chenrong was conquered by Xiyan and ceased to exist as an independent kingdom.
Hong Jiang and a small number of remaining soldiers from the Chenrong army retreated to the mountains outside of QingShui Town (a neutral town) in a position where the geography allowed them to defend their entrenched position indefinitely, even though they no longer had a kingdom to fight for.
---
If you want to know why the remnant army continued to fight under Hong Jiang after Chenrong was defeated, I wrote about that here: https://kisskh.at/757669-lost-you-forever-season-2#comment-18112065
---
Are you wanting to know why Chi Chen is constantly referred to as a ruthless devil by both Xiyan people and people in the Middle Plains who were formerly citizens of Chenrong? The answer to that is a bit complicated. Part of it is due to Chi Chen (as a powerful general of Chenrong) being villainized by his enemies in Xiyan. But a lot of it also goes back to the complex political issues that existed in Chenrong in Once Promised.
Chi Chen was extremely powerful but had no status in terms of family background. The second to last King of Chenrong recognized Chi Chen's raw power and talent and made Chi Chen his one and only disciple. The second to last King of Chenrong also had a problem: his son and heir was a good man, but he was too weak and indecisive to be an effective ruler. He would have trouble managing other powerful figures in Chenrong (like Feng Long's grandfather and Hong Jiang, who were both powerful generals and were both related to the Chenrong royal family, but neither was considered to have the right character to be a good ruler).
Before he died, the second to last King of Chenrong made Chi Chen the top general of Chenrong's army and his son and heir's right hand man.
Chenrong was extremely hierarchical - a society where those who were born with high status would succeed regardless of their talents or achievements and those who were born with low status would not succeed regardless of their talents or acheivements. Because he had no family background, and yet was given power, Chi Chen became a leader for dissaffected people in Chenrong who had talent and abilities that they weren't able to utilize because they weren't born with status.
As Chi Chen was backed by that group and his army included large numbers of talented and loyal individuals, he balanced the power of the old guard (like Feng Long's grandfather and Hong Jiang) and also began to change the power structure in Chenrong. I haven't read those parts of the novel directly (to my knoweldge they have not been translated) but my understanding is that it was a very bloody process and virtually every noble family in Chenrong had someone die at Chi Chen's hands or the hands of his followers during the reformation period.
In the case of the main assassin that went after XY in S1, he was the only survivor from his clan. He blamed Chi Chen for wiping out everyone else in his family and went after XY (after realizing she was Chi Chen's daughter) to get his revenge.
Note that Xiyan did not have the same kind of power structure as Chenrong. The former King of Xiyan (CX's grandfather) did not come from a noble family background. He achieved power because of his strength and talents and he made use of / promoted talented people regardless of their background.
Truly brutal. At the end of his reign it haunted him.
-----
Auntie = XY's mother
Grandfather = the King of Xiyan
Master = Shao Hao / the current King of Haoling
Grand Emperor = the King of Haoling
Former Grand Emepror = the former King of Haoling / Shao Hao's father
Eldest Uncle / Qing Yang = XY and CX's eldest uncle
Chang Yi = CX's father
Zhuan Xu = CX
-----
Chapter 38:
“It’s not Eldest Uncle who wanted Grandfather to abdicate. It was Master who convinced Eldest Uncle to do that! He also was the one who got Auntie to make the potion and he handed it to Eldest Uncle. When Auntie was making the potion she didn’t know Eldest Uncle was going to use it. That was a potion that Auntie made for Master so that he could successfully force the former Grand Emperor to abdicate. When the former Grand Emperor was forcefully locked up in his palace and then mysteriously died, do you know why there was the Five Prince Rebellion afterwards? Or why Master used such a bloody approach to deal with his own brothers? Now there is no talk about how Master became the Grand Emperor but Xiao Yao, back then you lived on Five Gods Mountain so look deep into your own memory. You must still remember the former Grand Emperor, the one you called grandfather as well. He was murdered by Master! That is why the Five Princes revolted!”
Xiao Yao wanted to deny it that but the broken memory fragments in her mind confirmed for her that what Zhuan Xu said was true. She remembered the former Grand Emperor that she used to call grandfather. She actually witnessed the moment he died and she remembered that her mom tearfully slapped her dad hard afterwards.
------
Chapter 40:
“The former Grand Emperor’s wife the Empress, the mother of the current Grand Emperor, she came from the Qing Long tribe. She died in childbirth giving birth and my two aunties were beautiful and intelligent so were chosen to enter the palace. The former Grand Emperor really liked them and my older auntie was named Empress and gave birth to four sons. My younger auntie the consort gave birth to two sons and two daughters. Both daughters married into the Bai Hu tribe. The two princes wives also came from the Bai Hu tribe. Likely my two aunties were so beloved by the Grand Emperor, the Qing Long tribe continued to believe that they were plotting to kill then Eldest Prince Shao Hao. From then on the Qing Long tribe and the Chang Yi tribes were at odds with each other. It’s hard to believe now since it happened so long ago, but the former Grand Emperor really didn’t like his eldest prince, the current Grand Emperor, and preferred his second prince Yen Long. My older auntie told me that the former Grand Emperor had actually decided to name the second prince as the Crown Prince heir but then suddenly a coup happened in the palace. Second Prince Yen Long and the Grand Empress were both thrown in Dragon Bone Prison while the current Grand Emperor ascended the throne. A few years later the former Grand Emperor mysteriously died and both my aunties committed suicide. Second Prince was stripped of his godly rank and vanished. The other five princes were either banished or locked up and they couldn’t accept that so they aligned with the Chang Yi and Bai Hu tribes to launch a rebellion. This is what is now remembered by the world as the Five Princes Revolt.”
Elder Liu’s eyes misted with tears and sadness. “Later all five princes were killed, including their wives and children.”
...
The Grand Emperor continued, “Those dreams are all very happy, and when I dream them I don’t want to wake up because I know the reality behind those dreams are all a wasteland of pain where everything is gone. Sometimes all I dream are nightmares. I dream Qing Yang died in my arms, glaring at me and berating me for not keeping my promise; I dream of Chang Yi screaming in horror in a fiery inferno ‘Shao Hao gege, why didn’t you come save me?’; I dream of the ground entirely covered in blood and my five younger brothers heads ringed in a circle as I stand in the center and they are all mocking me; I dream of my father and he laughingly pushes me onto the throne and asks ‘You want it? You can have it!’ He takes off his crown and robe and hands it to me, then he ripes his skin and flesh and hands it to me, he’s just a fleshless skeleton and he still reaches out his bony hand and asks ‘You want it? You can have it!’”
Zhuan Xu, Xiao Yao, and Jing listened in collective horror, unable to make a single sound, as if a skeleton really was before them in the residence holding forth his skin and flesh in his hands while asking with a smile “You want it? You can have it!”
The Grand Emperor covered his eyes “The world pities that I don’t have a son but they don’t know that I am grateful and relieved not to have a son. I’m afraid my son will be like me, if he’s like me who killed my own fa…..”
“YOUR MAJESTY!” Jing’s voice rang out and cut short the Grand Emperor.
The Grand Emperor opened his eyes and look confused as if waking from a dream and unsure of his surroundings. Likely Xiao Yao and Zhuan Xu were so close to him and the past hearing it also overwhelmed them while Jing as the outsider remained the most coolheaded. He handed the Grand Emperor a cup of tea and gently said “Your majesty, please drink some tea!”
The Grand Emperor sipped the tea and his expression gradually regained clarity but his smile was filled with self-pity. The things he did, he could not tell others and others dare not hear it.
In the drama, TSJ will disappear and be presumed dead (after TSH tries to kill him with Xing Yue's help) but it seems (based on the leaked script) like XL might not be involved in saving / reviving him.