Thoughts on Ep 9Well I’m not sure she is happy or just a act towards revenge that they slept together? Thoughts…
"Return this stone to its original spot. Convey these words to Mong Woo, "There is absolutely no meaning behind saving you. Our bond has been severed and my regrets have faded away. I wish you a peaceful life." Go this instant."
When the King told Joo Sang Hwa to return the white stone to where it came from... was he telling Sang Hwa to literally return the stone to the stream where it came from (because his relationship with Mong Woo was over with no future)? Or was he telling Sang Hwa to give the stone to Mong Woo along with his message - as a way of telling Sang Hwa to save Mong Woo while also making it clear that their relationship was over, without actually saying to Sang Hwa word-for-word, "Save Mong Woo but make it clear that our relationship is over."?
When XL and TSJ were on the yacht while everyone else was swimming, and XY asked TSJ to feed her her drink……
Nicely spotted! But are those temporary moments of white in the ocean meant to depict a spark / light glowing from XL / XL himself or are they waves? If you keeping watching the scene, there are more flashes of white in the ocean that look more like waves.
For those that want to check for themselves, it’s in episode 20.
I wonder if part of the reason XY didn’t feel well right at that moment was because of the bug connection between her and XL, in addition to her being affected by all the alcohol she'd had?
The scene in the drama plays out a bit differently than it did in the novel. For example, XY falls asleep in this scene in the novel, but doesn't fall asleep in the drama.
- - -
Chapter 14:
Xiao Yao laughed as she drank her wine and sprawled on the boat thinking to herself that if it wasn’t for Xiang Liu that bastard demon tormenting her last night, she would have jumped in right now.
Jing silently walked behind her and she turned and sat down on the deck and scoffed “Now you dare get close to me?”
Jing said nothing and Xiao Yao raised her empty cup. Jing poured her another cup and she handed the cup to him. He thought she wanted him to drink and was about to when she lifted her veil and pointed to her lips.
Jing placed the cup of wine under her lips and she grabbed his hand to drink it slowly.
The alcohol rushed up and her head was splitting in pain as her stomach roiled. She knew she was really drunk this time so she pushed Jing aside and leaned against the ship to wait for the nausea to pass.
Jing took a few pills and placed it under Xiao Yao’s nose for her to sniff. She said, “You haven’t forgotten what I taught you.”
“I will never forget.”
...
Xiao Yao remembered when she saved Shi Qi, he would silently lay there and accept whatever Xiao Yao did to him. He didn’t express pain, or hunger, or thirst, and many times she thought Shi Qi was dead and touched his pulse to confirm he was still alive.
Xiao Yao felt her heart hurt and then she felt her stomach coming up so she leaned over the railing and threw up.
Jing patted her back until she was done, then handed her water to rinse her mouth. Xiao Yao’s head hurt and feet were like lead. Jing held her and gently helped her sit down.
Jing smoothed her hair back from her face when Xiao Yao suddenly grabbed him around the waist and murmured, “I did go see you this afternoon, if you don’t believe me go ask your guard. I couldn’t find you so I went shopping.”
Jing held Xiao Yao and rested his cheek on her head. It was just a short time, he sunk to the depths of despair and now vaulted back up to the clouds of happiness.
He felt Xiao Yao’s body sinking and looked down to see that she was fast asleep. He smiled and adjusted their positions so that she was sleeping in his arms.
You don't need to watch the prequel. The first episode sets up everything you need to know from the prequel.
I would actively recommend *not* watching the "prequel".
That drama was adapted from the novel that is the prequel to the novel that this drama is adapted from, but the two productions are not affiliated. Between the two dramas, different names are used for the same characters and places. The two dramas also use different actors to portray the same characters, and some of the relationships between the characters are different in ALTL vs. LYF. So rather than being helpful, watching ALTL before watching LYF might create more confusion for you.
IMO, the writing, acting and production quality of ALTL is also much lower than the writing, acting and production quality of LYF. I watched parts of ALTL, but ended up dropping it.
Hi :) Just finished the drama and was about to give the lowest rate then I saw its season 2 is coming :) no wonder…
"After rewatching it for the 2nd time I just don't get why demon would hurt Wen Xiaoliu every single time eventhough he knows the fact that he is actually a girl ??"
My thoughts on the first two instances where Xiang Liu hurts Wen Xiao Liu (the 40 lashes and the back-stepping) are set out below if you're interested. There are a lot of factors that play into it, so apologies in advance for the length of this comment. In the places where I use quotes, I'm quoting from Koala's translation of the novel, which lines up pretty closely with the drama for these scenes.
Note that these factors are intended to provide context for why Xiang Liu acted the way he did and are not intended to assess whether those actions were "right" or not.
-----
(1) At the time that Wen Xiao Liu and Xiang Liu first met, the war between Xiyan and the Chenrong remnant army no longer involved open battles. The primary threat that the Chenrong remnant army (and Xiang Liu specifically) faced came in the form of spies and assassins. As we see in the drama, Xuan had sent several spies to infiltrate the Chenrong remnant army around this time, and he definitely was not the first person to do so.
>>>
Chapter 3:
"General [Hong Jiang] and [Xiyan] had been fighting for a couple hundred years now.
...
The war gradually went from open battles to secret scuffles and underhanded schemes of assassination……..whatever Xiao Liu couldn’t even think of, someone already tried it.
[Xiyan] even announced a reward, and Xiang Liu was the number one bounty on the list, even higher than [Hong Jiang]. The reason was very odd – [Hong Jiang] was nobility from the [Chengron] royal family so if anyone killed him for the bounty that would incur the wrath of the entire world. But Xiang Liu was fine – he was just a demon, and a hideous freakish nine-headed demon at that. So to kill him for the money reward wouldn’t even cause anyone to have a sleepless thought."
>>>
-----
(2) Wen Xiao Liu knowingly trespassed on the Chenrong remnant army's territory. She told Lao Mu (who was a Xiyan army deserter) that if he trespassed on Chenrong remnant army territory, he would be asking to die. She also knew that someone "scouting for intelligence" would be in big trouble if the Chenrong remnant army caught them. She believed that someone who was clearly an innocent civilian would be safe if they were caught trespassing on Chenrong remnant army territory, but she knew that the same would not be true for someone that the Chenrong remnant army thought might be an enemy.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"Xiao Liu said, “The mountains are the territory of the [Chenrong] resistance army. You’re a [Xiyan] army deserter, going there would be asking to die. Plus you don’t know those herbs. I’ll go.”
Lao Mu replied, “The [Hong Jiang]-controlled resistance army is fair and principled, they won’t harm innocents and even ordinary humans aren’t scared of running into [Chenrong] soldiers. But that Lieutenant General Xiang Liu is very difficult. Rumors say he is a Nine-headed Demon. He has nine lives and his nickname is Nine Lives. He is vicious and brutal.”
Xiao Liu laughed. “I’m not going to scout intelligence. I’m going to get spiritual plants. He may be vicious but he has to follow army rules. Plus I’ll never run into someone as powerful and lofty as General Xiang Liu.”"
>>>
-----
(3) 200 years before meeting Xiang Liu, Xiao Yao transformed into a male form and adopted the fake name "Wen Xiao Liu". In that form, she is physically male (it's not just an illusion or cross-dressing), and not even the most powerful demon or deity can tell that her form is a false form. Her transformation is seamless, so her male form seems like her true form.
-----
(4) Although Xiang Liu could not see through Xiao Yao / Wen Xiao Liu's transformation and her false form looked like it was her true form to him, Xiang Liu still knew that her male form was a false form from the moment he met her because only women could lure out a Fei Fei. So Xiang Liu knew that she was basically in disguise when she trespassed into the Chenrong remnant army's territory, and when she insisted that she was a man, he knew she was lying. The fact that he couldn't see through her transformation was also important, because it didn't make sense. Xiang Liu had very high spiritual power and Wen Xiao Liu had very low spiritual power (and claimed to just be a humble fertility doctor with no political connections), so if she changed her form, he should have been able to see through her transformation. The fact that he couldn't didn't add up and was suspicious.
-----
(5) Wen Xiao Liu poisoned Xiang Liu's cherished condor (Chubby) and tried to poison Xiang Liu twice. She struck first against both of them. When she succeeded in poisoning Chubby, Xiang Liu was shown to be concerned about him (imagine how you'd feel if someone poisoned your pet?). On top of that, Xiang Liu noted that, in doing so, Wen Xiao Liu had succeeded where the poison masters of Xiyan had failed - meaning that she was a world-class poison master. (Note: The first bit of knowledge about poisons that Xiao Yao gained was from a manual written by the King of Jiu Li, who was the world's greatest poison master, so her poison skills really were world class.) That was very suspicious and, again, did not match up with the identity she claimed (just a humble fertility doctor with no political affiliations).
-----
(6) Although Wen Xiao Liu deployed her poisons without hesitation, when she failed to poison Xiang Liu, she quickly switched to begging for her life and pretended to be a weak coward. From that moment on, with the exception of her rare moment of genuine vulnerability (which I'll get to below), Xiang Liu seems to view most of Wen Xiao Liu's pitiful behaviour for what it is: an act designed to manipulate him.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"Xiao Liu stopped immediately. The opponent was so powerful that poison and sleep powder were useless on him. He also couldn’t fight him, so that left only one other choice: get on his knees and beg.
Xiao Liu plopped down on his knees and with a copious amount of tears and snot he begged, “My lord, I’m just a little healer from Qing Shui Town come to the mountains to get some herbs to earn some money. My two brothers need it to marry wives!”
...
Xiao Liu had been acting a coward this entire time but this time he didn’t back down and looked at Xiang Liu straight back.
...
“You are as slippery as an eel: one moment of not paying attention and all that is left is mud. But my personality, you should go ask around.”"
>>>>
-----
(7) When Wen Xiao Liu was taken to the Chenrong remnant army's camp for questioning, she kept her eyes shut to avoid learning the path to it, as having that knowledge could get her killed and being seen taking that information in could make her look like a spy (even more so than she already did). Xiang Liu notices and comments, “A very good set of ears is often more useful than a set of eyes.” which indicates that her closed eyes weren't doing anything to convince him that she was not a spy.
-----
(8) When she was questioned, Wen Xiao Liu insisted that she was a man (which Xiang Liu knew was a lie) named Wen Xiao Liu and refused to reveal her true identity, even after she admitted that she was not "only" Wen Xiao Liu. It makes sense that Xiao Yao would not reveal her true identity even when she was at risk of being killed, since she was the granddaughter of the King of Xiyan (the man who ruled Xiyan and started the war with Chenrong - who was basically the Chengrong remnant army's #1 enemy) and the daughter of the woman whose victory in battle resulted in Chenrong being conquered by Xiyan. But the fact that she refused to reveal her true identity to establish her innocence in such circumstances (i.e., when her life was on the line) was, once again, highly suspicious.
-----
(9) Given all the factors above, there were many reasons for Xiang Liu to suspect that Wen Xiao Liu was a spy or an assassin, and she failed to give him compelling proof of her innocence. The fact that an investigation confirmed that she had been living in QS town for 20 years was not convincing evidence that she wasn't a spy. Xiang Liu spent 400+ years maintaining his false identity as Fang Feng Bei while also being a soldier in the Chengrong remnant army for 300+ years and also being a killer-for-hire on the side, so he was well aware of how easily a demon or deity could maintain a false identity over a long period of time. Wen Xiao Liu sensed that Xiang Liu would not have the patience to continue investigating this issue, and that he would deal with such a suspicious person swiftly and decisively with an execution. Fearing for her life, Wen Xiao Liu intentionally taps her own vulnerability to try and convince Xiang Liu to spare her life.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"Xiang Liu stared at him and tapped his fingers. Xiao Liu started shaking - the primitive instinct of a living being in fear of death. Xiao Liu knew that Xiang Liu had no patience to figure out why he seemed suspicious and would use the most efficient and effective way to solve the problem, which was to the same fate as the [Fei Fei].
When the aura of death came hurtling over, Xiao Liu tumbled and tried to avoid it while saying, “My lord, I really am Wen Xiao Liu. Maybe I’m not ONLY Wen Xiao Liu, but I have no intention to harm the resistance army under General [Hong Jiang]. I don’t belong to the Kingdom of [Xiyan], or the Kingdom of [Haoling], and not to the Kingdom of [Chenrong]. I am just…”
Xiao Liu paused and thought, “Who am I?”
He raised his head and allowed his entire expression to be seen by Xiang Liu. “I am just someone who has been discarded. I have no ability to protect myself, I have no one to rely on, I have nowhere to go. So that is why I chose to be Wen Xiao Liu in Qing Shui Town. If my lord will allow it, I wish to be Wen Xiao Liu for the rest of my life.”"
>>>
Her genuine vulnerability pays off. Xiang Liu decides to let her live, *if* she agrees to work for him.
-----
(10) Xiang Liu offered her a lifeline and gave her a night to think about it. When Xiang Liu asked for her decision in the morning, Wen Xiao Liu was not respectful when she responded (she answered him "lazily") and tried to stall / avoid answering. Xiang Liu was not going to tolerate that kind of behavior from a suspected spy / assassin after he already offered her a lifeline and gave her a night to think about the offer, so he orders his men to give her 20 lashes. Remember that she is a high-class deity and her body is physically male at this point.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"Dawn arrived and Xiang Liu dressed and asked, “Have you decided?”
Xiao Liu lazily said, “Still thinking. I’m so thirsty, I want some water first.”
Xiang Liu laughed coldly and said, “Take him outside.”
Two soldiers dragged Xiao Liu out and Xiang Liu calmly said, “Whip him. Twenty lashes.”"
>>>
-----
(11) After the first 20 lashes, Wen Xiao Liu says she has three conditions. This seems like more stalling / impudence. So Xiang Liu orders 20 more lashes.
-----
(12) After the second round of 20 lashes, Wen Xiao Liu stops "acting a coward" and makes it clear that if Xiang Liu will not agree to her one condition, then she will not agree to work for him, even if he kills her. At that point, Xiang Liu listens to her condition and agrees to it. By dropping her coward act, Wen Xiao Liu confirmed that her previous behavior was for show (I say "confirmed" because it wasn't much of a revelation, and Xiang Liu seemed well aware that it was an act). But (as we saw with her moment of vulnerability the night before) honesty seems to be more effective with Xiang Liu.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"Xiang Liu coldly looked at him and asked, “Any more conditions?”
Xiao Liu was covered in sweat and his mouth was bleeding so he couldn’t say a full sentence. “You… can kill me, but I… still… have one condition.”
Xiang Liu smiled with a corner of his mouth and said, “Say it!”
“I….I won’t leave Qing Shui Town.” Xiao Liu understood that Xiang Liu was interested in his ability to make poison and as long as he didn’t leave Qing Shui Town then Xiang Liu couldn’t send him to kill the [Xiyan] generals and officers. Nor could he send him to kill [Haoling] nobles and royals. Xiang Liu seemed to understand Xiao Liu’s thinking and just stared at him without any expression.
Xiao Liu had been acting a coward this entire time but this time he didn’t back down and looked at Xiang Liu straight back. The meaning was clear: if Xiang Liu didn’t agree to this condition, then kill him now.
After a moment, Xiang Liu said, “Fine!”"
>>>
-----
(13) Next, they discuss the terms of the work that Wen Xiao Liu will do for Xiang Liu. Xiang Liu says that Wen Xiao Liu must make the poisons he requests, and (rather than just agreeing) Wen Xiao Liu has to point out that she might not be able to make anything and everything that he requests. Xiang Liu says that if she can't make a poison that he requests, she can pay for it with her body, which Wen Xiao Liu misinterprets as suggestive. So her comment back is also suggestive, and Xiang Liu takes this apparent insolence as Wen Xiao Liu being "slippery", like an eel trying to slip out of his grasp. So he steps on the wounds on her back to emphasize that he is in charge and that he won't tolerate that kind of behavior.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"When the medicine was applied and everyone left, Xiang Liu said to Xiao Liu, “Make whatever concoction I ask of you. All other times you can continue being your healer in Qing Shui Town. But when I summon you, you must obey immediately.”
“Fine, but it’s like not I will be able to make whatever my lord asks.”
“If you can’t, then you can exchange with your body.”
“Huh?” Xiao Liu never imagined Xiang Liu would like men and carefully said, “My lord is handsome beyond compare. It’s not that I don’t want to service you but…”
Xiang Liu smirked and lifted his foot and stepped on Xiao Liu’s wound slowly until blood started to seep out. “If you can’t make one, then use a part of your body in exchange. The first time, your ears. The second time, your nose…” Xiang Liu upped the pressure. “Don’t worry, I won’t cut off your hands. You need them to make the concoctions.”
Xiao Liu was in so much pain he writhed. “I….I understand.”
Xiang Liu pulled his foot back and wiped the blood away on Xiao Liu’s robe. “You are as slippery as an eel: one moment of not paying attention and all that is left is mud. But my personality, you should go ask around.”
Xiao Liu snarked, “I don’t need to ask around to figure it out.”"
liddi explained how to convert it to a PDF if you don't have baidu's app on the same page.
liddi also translated many of the important scenes (from a YaoLiu fan perspective) into English in that same discussion thread, but you'd have to comb through many pages to find them all.
There a lot changes and scene cuts predominantly to YaoLiu's romance. In season one, they deleted XY dream about…
Based on the changes that they made when they adapted the novel into S1 (plor20 mentioned some of them) and the changes reflected in the leaked script for S2*, I expect that many of the details of the relationship between XY and XL in S2 will be different from the novel, but mostly in ways that are worse (from the perspective of YaoLiu fans) rather than better.
[ * Note: the length, details, and style of the leaked script make it seem credible, but its legitimacy has not been confirmed and even if it is real there may be some changes between the script and what ends up making it into the final cut of S2.]
If you are a YaoLiu fan, I'd recommend going into S2 expecting that (a worse ending for YaoLiu than the novel) to protect yourself from disappointment. For solace, I recommend fanfic. I've written some already.
Oh, I must be blocked too, because I only get to see her posts while in private navigation :D! So y => @WanningHusky94…
I can still see posts from the users that I was chatting with in the YaoJing thread while logged in, so they haven’t blocked me as far as I am aware.
I can’t see WanningHusky94’s comments when I am logged in, so I assume she has blocked me. My impression is that she is a YaoLiu, so I assume she doesn’t frequent the YaoJing threads.
I agree that if anyone (myself included) finds that a discussion is harming their mental health or just feeling unproductive and unpleasant, the best course of action is often to disengage and find another more pleasant conversation to engage in. But the factors that might make a conversation feel that way for one person won’t necessarily make another person feel the same way.
Many (but I assume not all) YaoLius have a pretty negative view of TSJ and YaoJing, which will influence how they feel about conversations had by YaoJing’s in a YaoJing thread. The way I view TSJ and YaoJing is not as negative as the way many YaoLius seem to view them, and not as positive as the way most, if not all, YaoJings seem to view them. I feel like my impression is somewhere in between the two. So there’s sometimes more room for potential common ground if I have a conversation with a YaoJing compared to someone who has a more negative view of TSJ having a conversation with the same person.
And then I generally don’t find most criticism of the characters I like in this story to be overly upsetting. If the criticism seems to be consistent with my understanding of the source material, I’ll probably agree with it. If it seems inconsistent with my understanding of the source material, I’ll usually point out the parts that seem inaccurate / inconsistent, and sometimes I end up adjusting my interpretation if the critic raises good points. If we reach an impasse, we can always agree to disagree.
Oh, I must be blocked too, because I only get to see her posts while in private navigation :D! So y => @WanningHusky94…
Kokuto, I'm guessing when Symbolika1 referenced seeing posts only "while in private navigation" she was referring to navigating MDL while logged out of her account.
I am in the same position. I can only see WanningHusky94's comments if I log out of my account, so presumably I have also been blocked. I don't take offence to that, but I must admit I am curious to know what prompted it.
For context, Xiao Yao transformed into her current male form over one hundred years before she arrived in QS town.…
Lol, a full novel re-write? No I don't think that's in the cards. I'm not planning to write another fic, but if I do write one it will definitely be short like the first one. I'd lose interest before I finished if I tried to write a long fic.
For context, Xiao Yao transformed into her current male form over one hundred years before she arrived in QS town.…
Now I’m thinking about what an Untamed-inspired, non-canon compliant AU might look like. There would have to be some pretty huge changes, but some key aspects of the original story could still be retained. A fun thought exercise. ^^
How come Xiang Lio doesn't wear mask when facing Tushan Jing? I've notice some scenes that he didn't have it.🤔
In the novel, XL is not described as wearing a mask as often as he is shown wearing one in the drama.
In the scene where XL first meets WXL after she lures out the Fei Fei in chapter 2? No mask.
In the scene where YSQ breaks into the remnant army camp and XL lets him take WXL away in chapter 2? No mask.
In the scene where XL attends Ma Zi’s wedding in chapter 2? No mask. His face is definitely seen by Chuan Zi, Lao Mu, and YSQ and is likely also seen by Ma Zi, Chun Tao, and the other wedding guests.
XL isn’t described as wearing a mask until chapter 5, when he meets Ah Nian for the first time.
He wears the mask again when he fights Cang Xuan in chapter 6, and again when he goes to Five Gods Mountain in chapter 8 to offer to rescue WXL (when TSJ, Cang Xuan and his men are also present).
In chapter 13, XL wears the mask again when he meets with Ah Nian.
From what I recall, XL continues to wear the mask in front of Cang Xuan and in battle. The novel references XL communicating with Ah Nian in chapter 48 (to invoke her promise) but it doesn't say whether he met with her in person or not, and, if he did, whether he wore a mask or not.
When XL watched XY speaking with Xan Tian Er in QS town in chapter 32 (presumably in view of Xan Tian Er) he did not wear a mask.
As Kokuto mentioned, XL and TSJ did business together for hundreds of years before either of them met XY. So we can infer that XL had almost certainly seen TSJ’s face before they encountered each other for the first time in the novel (in chapter 2) and TSJ might have seen XL’s face before too.
But also XL didn’t seem to bother with the mask for all outsiders. In the novel, XL didn’t treat TSJ differently from XY’s other companions at the clinic when it came to showing vs hiding his face.
For context, Xiao Yao transformed into her current male form over one hundred years before she arrived in QS town.…
Right? Xiang Liu is a demon whose reputation is (according to his own words) only a hair's breadth better than Chi You's reputation. So at first glance one might think he's the character that's most like WWX. But after thinking about it for a bit, there seems to be more similarities between WWX and XY and between LWJ and XL.
WWX / XY
-Had high spiritual power when he was young, but lost it partly due to an enemy (and partly out of self-sacrifice) / had high spiritual power when she was young, but lost it due to an enemy -After losing his spiritual power, he enhanced some of his existing talents (blood talismans) and mastered new skills (using his flute) / after losing her spiritual power, she enhanced some of her existing talents (her knowledge of poison) and mastered new skills (archery) -Mischievous and likes sparring / teasing / playing tricks on people, especially LWJ / Mischievous and likes poisoning / teasing / playing tricks on people, especially XL -His parents died, but he was raised by a good man who loved his mother / Her parents died (more or less), but the man she calls father loves her and loved her mother -Became reviled by the whole world due to reasons that were partly beyond his control (JGY's interference) and eventually died as a result / became reviled by a few people that recognized her at first (and later by the whole world) due to reasons beyond her control (her birth father was Chi You) and was nearly assassinated as a result. -LWJ risked his life and fought against 33 elders to protect WWX, but WWX wasn't lucid and didn't remember it when he woke up alone / XL risked his life and single-handedly broke into a Xuan Yuan stronghold to save XY, but XY wasn't fully aware of everything he did that day and over the next 37 years, she woke up alone, and she was gaslit into questioning whether he only saved her as part of a transaction -Died, but was resurrected 13 years later in a different body after MXY sacrificed his life and invoked a revenge curse / Was on the brink of death, but was kept alive and eventually revived 37 years later in a body that was altered (she gained enhanced sight, enhanced swimming abilities, and the ability to breathe under water) after XL used his essential blood to heal her and one of his extra lives to extend her life. -After he came back in a different body, he made flirtatious overtures to LWJ that were intentionally ridiculous, not realizing that LWJ was gay and had feelings for him / While she was in a man's body, she behaved as she did in that scene I quoted above, not knowing that XL knew she was a woman and that she had sparked his interest
LWJ / XL
-Wears white / wears white -Has a stiff and stoic exterior, but a selfless interior / Has a stiff and stoic exterior, but a selfless interior -Extremely loyal to his clan and committed to his personal code of ethics / extremely loyal to his adoptive father and comrades in arms and committed to that loyalty even to death -Was cold and harsh towards WWX at the beginning of their frenemies-to-lovers relationship, but showed his warmer and more flexible side later on / was cold and harsh towards WXL at the beginning of their frenemies-to-lovers relationship, but showed his warmer and more flexible side later on (especially as FFB), for a while... -Did not confess his feelings (except through his actions) until WWX confessed his feelings first / did not confess his feelings (except through his actions) and actively tried to make XY think that he didn't care for her -Extremely loyal to and protective of the man he fell in love with, who considered him to be a 知己 (zhī jǐ) to him / extremely loyal and protective of the woman he fell in love with, who considered him to be a 知音 (zhī yīn) to her.
For context, Xiao Yao transformed into her current male form over one hundred years before she arrived in QS town.…
Lol, yes don't worry. Jest acknowledged.
I wanted to address the point anyway because, with censorship, removing the existence of LGBTQ people from the narrative is a real possibility and there did seem to be some scrubbing in the drama.
There were a few moments where Wen Xiao Liu's behaviour towards Xiang Liu (e.g., "Xiao Liu tried to look alluring and yelled, “My lord! I am already your person!” Those words… caused all the soldiers at the base to grimace.") reminded me a little bit of how WWX behaved towards LWJ when he was MXY in the Untamed.
For context, Xiao Yao transformed into her current male form over one hundred years before she arrived in QS town.…
I'll copy two excerpts from the novel that hopefully will clarify this a bit. For context, in Koala's translation of the novel she uses "Jiu Jiu" instead of "Fei Fei".
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Chapter 2:
Xiao Liu wanted to catch a Jiu Jiu - a small animal resembling a civet cat. It had a long white tail and could take away a person’s sorrow. It was popular with the nobles and could be sold for a pretty penny. It didn’t have any attack power, but it was very, very clever. It was easy to frighten and quick to run away. So it was very hard to catch. But Xiao Liu had a way of dealing with it. Jiu Jius loved listening to a young woman sing. A Jiu Jiu would be attracted to the young woman’s sorrowful song and its body would inch closer to help the girl forget her sorrows. Xiao Liu found a suitable spot to set the trap.
He jumped into the water to wash off the poop first, then crawled on a rock and sat down. The rock was warmed by the sun and Xiao Liu sat there fixing his hair and singing. The song was carried by the wind. Xiao Liu sang a song about missing someone forever and never being able to forget.
Xiao Liu’s voice was melodic and the song was sorrowful. So the Jiu Jiu was lured out. Initially it was scared, so it hid in the dark. When it sensed no danger, it could not overcome its natural instinct to help people forget sorrow, so it stepped out and started chirping.
-----
Chapter 6:
Xiao Liu grabbed his hand and smiled. “I’m a man. Even if you like men, you should find someone better looking.”
“You’re a man?” Xiang Liu’s slightly blood stained lips curved upward. “If you’re a man, how did you lure the Jiu Jiu out?”
Xiao Liu blinked quizzically, “I don’t believe you can’t change your shape as well as your voice.”
“I trust a beast’s natural instinct.”
“If a beast’s natural instinct was so accurate, your Furball wouldn’t have been poisoned by me. There would be no such thing as traps, and hunters wouldn’t need to hunt.”
“What kind of transformation spell are you using? You have very weak powers but it’s completely seamless just like it’s your true form.”
Xiao Liu angrily said, “This is my true form!”
Xiang Liu stared at him, his eyes as dark as ink, and Xiao Liu’s heart started racing. He violently shook off Xiang Liu’s hand and then spread himself open like a dead pig headed to boiling water. “Touch me then, touch me. After you’re done then stop accusing me of being a woman!”
Xiang Liu glared at him. “I’m not interested in your false form.” He released Xiao Liu, turned and walked out of the pool to go lay on the pallet and continued healing himself.
For context, Xiao Yao transformed into her current male form over one hundred years before she arrived in QS town.…
Glad to have made you laugh. ^^
There are a few scenes between Wen Xiao Liu and Xiang Liu that made it clear that Wen Xiao Liu was aware of the concept of men who like other men. For example, when she misinterprets Xiang Liu’s comment about using her body (to make up for it if she can’t make a poison that he requests) she is surprised because she never imagined that Xiang Liu would like men.
So it seems like LGBTQ people did exist in Dahuang, at least in the novel.
3 
1 
1 
When the King told Joo Sang Hwa to return the white stone to where it came from... was he telling Sang Hwa to literally return the stone to the stream where it came from (because his relationship with Mong Woo was over with no future)? Or was he telling Sang Hwa to give the stone to Mong Woo along with his message - as a way of telling Sang Hwa to save Mong Woo while also making it clear that their relationship was over, without actually saying to Sang Hwa word-for-word, "Save Mong Woo but make it clear that our relationship is over."?
For those that want to check for themselves, it’s in episode 20.
Timestamp for XY asking TSJ to feed the liquor to her (“How did it feel to be fed the liquor? I want to try it too.” … “Anyway, will you feed me or not?") - 26:54: https://youtu.be/EXWk3edKJMo?si=N02ehkA6v69SH9oG&t=1614
Timestamp for TSJ feeding the liquor to XY - 27:10: https://youtu.be/EXWk3edKJMo?si=A0CeXkhCZ2QYmi0n&t=1630
Timestamp for XY closing her eyes because she feels unwell - 27:23: https://youtu.be/EXWk3edKJMo?si=y7faO6W_LtdZP1q5&t=1643
Timestamp for the white flickering in the ocean behind XY (to the right of her) - 27:25: https://youtu.be/EXWk3edKJMo?si=i-O1Zr_ikyQ8vKUX&t=1645
Timestamp for the white flickering in the ocean behind XY (between her and TSJ) - 27:28: https://youtu.be/EXWk3edKJMo?si=rP3YFLF4kjGm1pNf&t=1648
Timestamp for XY saying that she felt a bit sea sick - 27:30: https://youtu.be/EXWk3edKJMo?si=1tqYfHGFh5_bGRdb&t=1650
- - -
I wonder if part of the reason XY didn’t feel well right at that moment was because of the bug connection between her and XL, in addition to her being affected by all the alcohol she'd had?
The scene in the drama plays out a bit differently than it did in the novel. For example, XY falls asleep in this scene in the novel, but doesn't fall asleep in the drama.
- - -
Chapter 14:
Xiao Yao laughed as she drank her wine and sprawled on the boat thinking to herself that if it wasn’t for Xiang Liu that bastard demon tormenting her last night, she would have jumped in right now.
Jing silently walked behind her and she turned and sat down on the deck and scoffed “Now you dare get close to me?”
Jing said nothing and Xiao Yao raised her empty cup. Jing poured her another cup and she handed the cup to him. He thought she wanted him to drink and was about to when she lifted her veil and pointed to her lips.
Jing placed the cup of wine under her lips and she grabbed his hand to drink it slowly.
The alcohol rushed up and her head was splitting in pain as her stomach roiled. She knew she was really drunk this time so she pushed Jing aside and leaned against the ship to wait for the nausea to pass.
Jing took a few pills and placed it under Xiao Yao’s nose for her to sniff. She said, “You haven’t forgotten what I taught you.”
“I will never forget.”
...
Xiao Yao remembered when she saved Shi Qi, he would silently lay there and accept whatever Xiao Yao did to him. He didn’t express pain, or hunger, or thirst, and many times she thought Shi Qi was dead and touched his pulse to confirm he was still alive.
Xiao Yao felt her heart hurt and then she felt her stomach coming up so she leaned over the railing and threw up.
Jing patted her back until she was done, then handed her water to rinse her mouth. Xiao Yao’s head hurt and feet were like lead. Jing held her and gently helped her sit down.
Jing smoothed her hair back from her face when Xiao Yao suddenly grabbed him around the waist and murmured, “I did go see you this afternoon, if you don’t believe me go ask your guard. I couldn’t find you so I went shopping.”
Jing held Xiao Yao and rested his cheek on her head. It was just a short time, he sunk to the depths of despair and now vaulted back up to the clouds of happiness.
He felt Xiao Yao’s body sinking and looked down to see that she was fast asleep. He smiled and adjusted their positions so that she was sleeping in his arms.
That drama was adapted from the novel that is the prequel to the novel that this drama is adapted from, but the two productions are not affiliated. Between the two dramas, different names are used for the same characters and places. The two dramas also use different actors to portray the same characters, and some of the relationships between the characters are different in ALTL vs. LYF. So rather than being helpful, watching ALTL before watching LYF might create more confusion for you.
IMO, the writing, acting and production quality of ALTL is also much lower than the writing, acting and production quality of LYF. I watched parts of ALTL, but ended up dropping it.
My thoughts on the first two instances where Xiang Liu hurts Wen Xiao Liu (the 40 lashes and the back-stepping) are set out below if you're interested. There are a lot of factors that play into it, so apologies in advance for the length of this comment. In the places where I use quotes, I'm quoting from Koala's translation of the novel, which lines up pretty closely with the drama for these scenes.
Note that these factors are intended to provide context for why Xiang Liu acted the way he did and are not intended to assess whether those actions were "right" or not.
-----
(1) At the time that Wen Xiao Liu and Xiang Liu first met, the war between Xiyan and the Chenrong remnant army no longer involved open battles. The primary threat that the Chenrong remnant army (and Xiang Liu specifically) faced came in the form of spies and assassins. As we see in the drama, Xuan had sent several spies to infiltrate the Chenrong remnant army around this time, and he definitely was not the first person to do so.
>>>
Chapter 3:
"General [Hong Jiang] and [Xiyan] had been fighting for a couple hundred years now.
...
The war gradually went from open battles to secret scuffles and underhanded schemes of assassination……..whatever Xiao Liu couldn’t even think of, someone already tried it.
[Xiyan] even announced a reward, and Xiang Liu was the number one bounty on the list, even higher than [Hong Jiang]. The reason was very odd – [Hong Jiang] was nobility from the [Chengron] royal family so if anyone killed him for the bounty that would incur the wrath of the entire world. But Xiang Liu was fine – he was just a demon, and a hideous freakish nine-headed demon at that. So to kill him for the money reward wouldn’t even cause anyone to have a sleepless thought."
>>>
-----
(2) Wen Xiao Liu knowingly trespassed on the Chenrong remnant army's territory. She told Lao Mu (who was a Xiyan army deserter) that if he trespassed on Chenrong remnant army territory, he would be asking to die. She also knew that someone "scouting for intelligence" would be in big trouble if the Chenrong remnant army caught them. She believed that someone who was clearly an innocent civilian would be safe if they were caught trespassing on Chenrong remnant army territory, but she knew that the same would not be true for someone that the Chenrong remnant army thought might be an enemy.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"Xiao Liu said, “The mountains are the territory of the [Chenrong] resistance army. You’re a [Xiyan] army deserter, going there would be asking to die. Plus you don’t know those herbs. I’ll go.”
Lao Mu replied, “The [Hong Jiang]-controlled resistance army is fair and principled, they won’t harm innocents and even ordinary humans aren’t scared of running into [Chenrong] soldiers. But that Lieutenant General Xiang Liu is very difficult. Rumors say he is a Nine-headed Demon. He has nine lives and his nickname is Nine Lives. He is vicious and brutal.”
Xiao Liu laughed. “I’m not going to scout intelligence. I’m going to get spiritual plants. He may be vicious but he has to follow army rules. Plus I’ll never run into someone as powerful and lofty as General Xiang Liu.”"
>>>
-----
(3) 200 years before meeting Xiang Liu, Xiao Yao transformed into a male form and adopted the fake name "Wen Xiao Liu". In that form, she is physically male (it's not just an illusion or cross-dressing), and not even the most powerful demon or deity can tell that her form is a false form. Her transformation is seamless, so her male form seems like her true form.
-----
(4) Although Xiang Liu could not see through Xiao Yao / Wen Xiao Liu's transformation and her false form looked like it was her true form to him, Xiang Liu still knew that her male form was a false form from the moment he met her because only women could lure out a Fei Fei. So Xiang Liu knew that she was basically in disguise when she trespassed into the Chenrong remnant army's territory, and when she insisted that she was a man, he knew she was lying. The fact that he couldn't see through her transformation was also important, because it didn't make sense. Xiang Liu had very high spiritual power and Wen Xiao Liu had very low spiritual power (and claimed to just be a humble fertility doctor with no political connections), so if she changed her form, he should have been able to see through her transformation. The fact that he couldn't didn't add up and was suspicious.
-----
(5) Wen Xiao Liu poisoned Xiang Liu's cherished condor (Chubby) and tried to poison Xiang Liu twice. She struck first against both of them. When she succeeded in poisoning Chubby, Xiang Liu was shown to be concerned about him (imagine how you'd feel if someone poisoned your pet?). On top of that, Xiang Liu noted that, in doing so, Wen Xiao Liu had succeeded where the poison masters of Xiyan had failed - meaning that she was a world-class poison master. (Note: The first bit of knowledge about poisons that Xiao Yao gained was from a manual written by the King of Jiu Li, who was the world's greatest poison master, so her poison skills really were world class.) That was very suspicious and, again, did not match up with the identity she claimed (just a humble fertility doctor with no political affiliations).
-----
(6) Although Wen Xiao Liu deployed her poisons without hesitation, when she failed to poison Xiang Liu, she quickly switched to begging for her life and pretended to be a weak coward. From that moment on, with the exception of her rare moment of genuine vulnerability (which I'll get to below), Xiang Liu seems to view most of Wen Xiao Liu's pitiful behaviour for what it is: an act designed to manipulate him.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"Xiao Liu stopped immediately. The opponent was so powerful that poison and sleep powder were useless on him. He also couldn’t fight him, so that left only one other choice: get on his knees and beg.
Xiao Liu plopped down on his knees and with a copious amount of tears and snot he begged, “My lord, I’m just a little healer from Qing Shui Town come to the mountains to get some herbs to earn some money. My two brothers need it to marry wives!”
...
Xiao Liu had been acting a coward this entire time but this time he didn’t back down and looked at Xiang Liu straight back.
...
“You are as slippery as an eel: one moment of not paying attention and all that is left is mud. But my personality, you should go ask around.”"
>>>>
-----
(7) When Wen Xiao Liu was taken to the Chenrong remnant army's camp for questioning, she kept her eyes shut to avoid learning the path to it, as having that knowledge could get her killed and being seen taking that information in could make her look like a spy (even more so than she already did). Xiang Liu notices and comments, “A very good set of ears is often more useful than a set of eyes.” which indicates that her closed eyes weren't doing anything to convince him that she was not a spy.
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(8) When she was questioned, Wen Xiao Liu insisted that she was a man (which Xiang Liu knew was a lie) named Wen Xiao Liu and refused to reveal her true identity, even after she admitted that she was not "only" Wen Xiao Liu. It makes sense that Xiao Yao would not reveal her true identity even when she was at risk of being killed, since she was the granddaughter of the King of Xiyan (the man who ruled Xiyan and started the war with Chenrong - who was basically the Chengrong remnant army's #1 enemy) and the daughter of the woman whose victory in battle resulted in Chenrong being conquered by Xiyan. But the fact that she refused to reveal her true identity to establish her innocence in such circumstances (i.e., when her life was on the line) was, once again, highly suspicious.
-----
(9) Given all the factors above, there were many reasons for Xiang Liu to suspect that Wen Xiao Liu was a spy or an assassin, and she failed to give him compelling proof of her innocence. The fact that an investigation confirmed that she had been living in QS town for 20 years was not convincing evidence that she wasn't a spy. Xiang Liu spent 400+ years maintaining his false identity as Fang Feng Bei while also being a soldier in the Chengrong remnant army for 300+ years and also being a killer-for-hire on the side, so he was well aware of how easily a demon or deity could maintain a false identity over a long period of time. Wen Xiao Liu sensed that Xiang Liu would not have the patience to continue investigating this issue, and that he would deal with such a suspicious person swiftly and decisively with an execution. Fearing for her life, Wen Xiao Liu intentionally taps her own vulnerability to try and convince Xiang Liu to spare her life.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"Xiang Liu stared at him and tapped his fingers. Xiao Liu started shaking - the primitive instinct of a living being in fear of death. Xiao Liu knew that Xiang Liu had no patience to figure out why he seemed suspicious and would use the most efficient and effective way to solve the problem, which was to the same fate as the [Fei Fei].
When the aura of death came hurtling over, Xiao Liu tumbled and tried to avoid it while saying, “My lord, I really am Wen Xiao Liu. Maybe I’m not ONLY Wen Xiao Liu, but I have no intention to harm the resistance army under General [Hong Jiang]. I don’t belong to the Kingdom of [Xiyan], or the Kingdom of [Haoling], and not to the Kingdom of [Chenrong]. I am just…”
Xiao Liu paused and thought, “Who am I?”
He raised his head and allowed his entire expression to be seen by Xiang Liu. “I am just someone who has been discarded. I have no ability to protect myself, I have no one to rely on, I have nowhere to go. So that is why I chose to be Wen Xiao Liu in Qing Shui Town. If my lord will allow it, I wish to be Wen Xiao Liu for the rest of my life.”"
>>>
Her genuine vulnerability pays off. Xiang Liu decides to let her live, *if* she agrees to work for him.
-----
(10) Xiang Liu offered her a lifeline and gave her a night to think about it. When Xiang Liu asked for her decision in the morning, Wen Xiao Liu was not respectful when she responded (she answered him "lazily") and tried to stall / avoid answering. Xiang Liu was not going to tolerate that kind of behavior from a suspected spy / assassin after he already offered her a lifeline and gave her a night to think about the offer, so he orders his men to give her 20 lashes. Remember that she is a high-class deity and her body is physically male at this point.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"Dawn arrived and Xiang Liu dressed and asked, “Have you decided?”
Xiao Liu lazily said, “Still thinking. I’m so thirsty, I want some water first.”
Xiang Liu laughed coldly and said, “Take him outside.”
Two soldiers dragged Xiao Liu out and Xiang Liu calmly said, “Whip him. Twenty lashes.”"
>>>
-----
(11) After the first 20 lashes, Wen Xiao Liu says she has three conditions. This seems like more stalling / impudence. So Xiang Liu orders 20 more lashes.
-----
(12) After the second round of 20 lashes, Wen Xiao Liu stops "acting a coward" and makes it clear that if Xiang Liu will not agree to her one condition, then she will not agree to work for him, even if he kills her. At that point, Xiang Liu listens to her condition and agrees to it. By dropping her coward act, Wen Xiao Liu confirmed that her previous behavior was for show (I say "confirmed" because it wasn't much of a revelation, and Xiang Liu seemed well aware that it was an act). But (as we saw with her moment of vulnerability the night before) honesty seems to be more effective with Xiang Liu.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"Xiang Liu coldly looked at him and asked, “Any more conditions?”
Xiao Liu was covered in sweat and his mouth was bleeding so he couldn’t say a full sentence. “You… can kill me, but I… still… have one condition.”
Xiang Liu smiled with a corner of his mouth and said, “Say it!”
“I….I won’t leave Qing Shui Town.” Xiao Liu understood that Xiang Liu was interested in his ability to make poison and as long as he didn’t leave Qing Shui Town then Xiang Liu couldn’t send him to kill the [Xiyan] generals and officers. Nor could he send him to kill [Haoling] nobles and royals. Xiang Liu seemed to understand Xiao Liu’s thinking and just stared at him without any expression.
Xiao Liu had been acting a coward this entire time but this time he didn’t back down and looked at Xiang Liu straight back. The meaning was clear: if Xiang Liu didn’t agree to this condition, then kill him now.
After a moment, Xiang Liu said, “Fine!”"
>>>
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(13) Next, they discuss the terms of the work that Wen Xiao Liu will do for Xiang Liu. Xiang Liu says that Wen Xiao Liu must make the poisons he requests, and (rather than just agreeing) Wen Xiao Liu has to point out that she might not be able to make anything and everything that he requests. Xiang Liu says that if she can't make a poison that he requests, she can pay for it with her body, which Wen Xiao Liu misinterprets as suggestive. So her comment back is also suggestive, and Xiang Liu takes this apparent insolence as Wen Xiao Liu being "slippery", like an eel trying to slip out of his grasp. So he steps on the wounds on her back to emphasize that he is in charge and that he won't tolerate that kind of behavior.
>>>
Chapter 2:
"When the medicine was applied and everyone left, Xiang Liu said to Xiao Liu, “Make whatever concoction I ask of you. All other times you can continue being your healer in Qing Shui Town. But when I summon you, you must obey immediately.”
“Fine, but it’s like not I will be able to make whatever my lord asks.”
“If you can’t, then you can exchange with your body.”
“Huh?” Xiao Liu never imagined Xiang Liu would like men and carefully said, “My lord is handsome beyond compare. It’s not that I don’t want to service you but…”
Xiang Liu smirked and lifted his foot and stepped on Xiao Liu’s wound slowly until blood started to seep out. “If you can’t make one, then use a part of your body in exchange. The first time, your ears. The second time, your nose…” Xiang Liu upped the pressure. “Don’t worry, I won’t cut off your hands. You need them to make the concoctions.”
Xiao Liu was in so much pain he writhed. “I….I understand.”
Xiang Liu pulled his foot back and wiped the blood away on Xiao Liu’s robe. “You are as slippery as an eel: one moment of not paying attention and all that is left is mud. But my personality, you should go ask around.”
Xiao Liu snarked, “I don’t need to ask around to figure it out.”"
liddi explained how to convert it to a PDF if you don't have baidu's app on the same page.
liddi also translated many of the important scenes (from a YaoLiu fan perspective) into English in that same discussion thread, but you'd have to comb through many pages to find them all.
[ * Note: the length, details, and style of the leaked script make it seem credible, but its legitimacy has not been confirmed and even if it is real there may be some changes between the script and what ends up making it into the final cut of S2.]
If you are a YaoLiu fan, I'd recommend going into S2 expecting that (a worse ending for YaoLiu than the novel) to protect yourself from disappointment. For solace, I recommend fanfic. I've written some already.
I can’t see WanningHusky94’s comments when I am logged in, so I assume she has blocked me. My impression is that she is a YaoLiu, so I assume she doesn’t frequent the YaoJing threads.
I agree that if anyone (myself included) finds that a discussion is harming their mental health or just feeling unproductive and unpleasant, the best course of action is often to disengage and find another more pleasant conversation to engage in. But the factors that might make a conversation feel that way for one person won’t necessarily make another person feel the same way.
Many (but I assume not all) YaoLius have a pretty negative view of TSJ and YaoJing, which will influence how they feel about conversations had by YaoJing’s in a YaoJing thread. The way I view TSJ and YaoJing is not as negative as the way many YaoLius seem to view them, and not as positive as the way most, if not all, YaoJings seem to view them. I feel like my impression is somewhere in between the two. So there’s sometimes more room for potential common ground if I have a conversation with a YaoJing compared to someone who has a more negative view of TSJ having a conversation with the same person.
And then I generally don’t find most criticism of the characters I like in this story to be overly upsetting. If the criticism seems to be consistent with my understanding of the source material, I’ll probably agree with it. If it seems inconsistent with my understanding of the source material, I’ll usually point out the parts that seem inaccurate / inconsistent, and sometimes I end up adjusting my interpretation if the critic raises good points. If we reach an impasse, we can always agree to disagree.
I am in the same position. I can only see WanningHusky94's comments if I log out of my account, so presumably I have also been blocked. I don't take offence to that, but I must admit I am curious to know what prompted it.
In the scene where XL first meets WXL after she lures out the Fei Fei in chapter 2? No mask.
In the scene where YSQ breaks into the remnant army camp and XL lets him take WXL away in chapter 2? No mask.
In the scene where XL attends Ma Zi’s wedding in chapter 2? No mask. His face is definitely seen by Chuan Zi, Lao Mu, and YSQ and is likely also seen by Ma Zi, Chun Tao, and the other wedding guests.
XL isn’t described as wearing a mask until chapter 5, when he meets Ah Nian for the first time.
He wears the mask again when he fights Cang Xuan in chapter 6, and again when he goes to Five Gods Mountain in chapter 8 to offer to rescue WXL (when TSJ, Cang Xuan and his men are also present).
In chapter 13, XL wears the mask again when he meets with Ah Nian.
From what I recall, XL continues to wear the mask in front of Cang Xuan and in battle. The novel references XL communicating with Ah Nian in chapter 48 (to invoke her promise) but it doesn't say whether he met with her in person or not, and, if he did, whether he wore a mask or not.
When XL watched XY speaking with Xan Tian Er in QS town in chapter 32 (presumably in view of Xan Tian Er) he did not wear a mask.
As Kokuto mentioned, XL and TSJ did business together for hundreds of years before either of them met XY. So we can infer that XL had almost certainly seen TSJ’s face before they encountered each other for the first time in the novel (in chapter 2) and TSJ might have seen XL’s face before too.
But also XL didn’t seem to bother with the mask for all outsiders. In the novel, XL didn’t treat TSJ differently from XY’s other companions at the clinic when it came to showing vs hiding his face.
WWX / XY
-Had high spiritual power when he was young, but lost it partly due to an enemy (and partly out of self-sacrifice) / had high spiritual power when she was young, but lost it due to an enemy
-After losing his spiritual power, he enhanced some of his existing talents (blood talismans) and mastered new skills (using his flute) / after losing her spiritual power, she enhanced some of her existing talents (her knowledge of poison) and mastered new skills (archery)
-Mischievous and likes sparring / teasing / playing tricks on people, especially LWJ / Mischievous and likes poisoning / teasing / playing tricks on people, especially XL
-His parents died, but he was raised by a good man who loved his mother / Her parents died (more or less), but the man she calls father loves her and loved her mother
-Became reviled by the whole world due to reasons that were partly beyond his control (JGY's interference) and eventually died as a result / became reviled by a few people that recognized her at first (and later by the whole world) due to reasons beyond her control (her birth father was Chi You) and was nearly assassinated as a result.
-LWJ risked his life and fought against 33 elders to protect WWX, but WWX wasn't lucid and didn't remember it when he woke up alone / XL risked his life and single-handedly broke into a Xuan Yuan stronghold to save XY, but XY wasn't fully aware of everything he did that day and over the next 37 years, she woke up alone, and she was gaslit into questioning whether he only saved her as part of a transaction
-Died, but was resurrected 13 years later in a different body after MXY sacrificed his life and invoked a revenge curse / Was on the brink of death, but was kept alive and eventually revived 37 years later in a body that was altered (she gained enhanced sight, enhanced swimming abilities, and the ability to breathe under water) after XL used his essential blood to heal her and one of his extra lives to extend her life.
-After he came back in a different body, he made flirtatious overtures to LWJ that were intentionally ridiculous, not realizing that LWJ was gay and had feelings for him / While she was in a man's body, she behaved as she did in that scene I quoted above, not knowing that XL knew she was a woman and that she had sparked his interest
LWJ / XL
-Wears white / wears white
-Has a stiff and stoic exterior, but a selfless interior / Has a stiff and stoic exterior, but a selfless interior
-Extremely loyal to his clan and committed to his personal code of ethics / extremely loyal to his adoptive father and comrades in arms and committed to that loyalty even to death
-Was cold and harsh towards WWX at the beginning of their frenemies-to-lovers relationship, but showed his warmer and more flexible side later on / was cold and harsh towards WXL at the beginning of their frenemies-to-lovers relationship, but showed his warmer and more flexible side later on (especially as FFB), for a while...
-Did not confess his feelings (except through his actions) until WWX confessed his feelings first / did not confess his feelings (except through his actions) and actively tried to make XY think that he didn't care for her
-Extremely loyal to and protective of the man he fell in love with, who considered him to be a 知己 (zhī jǐ) to him / extremely loyal and protective of the woman he fell in love with, who considered him to be a 知音 (zhī yīn) to her.
I wanted to address the point anyway because, with censorship, removing the existence of LGBTQ people from the narrative is a real possibility and there did seem to be some scrubbing in the drama.
There were a few moments where Wen Xiao Liu's behaviour towards Xiang Liu (e.g., "Xiao Liu tried to look alluring and yelled, “My lord! I am already your person!” Those words… caused all the soldiers at the base to grimace.") reminded me a little bit of how WWX behaved towards LWJ when he was MXY in the Untamed.
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Chapter 2:
Xiao Liu wanted to catch a Jiu Jiu - a small animal resembling a civet cat. It had a long white tail and could take away a person’s sorrow. It was popular with the nobles and could be sold for a pretty penny. It didn’t have any attack power, but it was very, very clever. It was easy to frighten and quick to run away. So it was very hard to catch. But Xiao Liu had a way of dealing with it. Jiu Jius loved listening to a young woman sing. A Jiu Jiu would be attracted to the young woman’s sorrowful song and its body would inch closer to help the girl forget her sorrows. Xiao Liu found a suitable spot to set the trap.
He jumped into the water to wash off the poop first, then crawled on a rock and sat down. The rock was warmed by the sun and Xiao Liu sat there fixing his hair and singing. The song was carried by the wind. Xiao Liu sang a song about missing someone forever and never being able to forget.
Xiao Liu’s voice was melodic and the song was sorrowful. So the Jiu Jiu was lured out. Initially it was scared, so it hid in the dark. When it sensed no danger, it could not overcome its natural instinct to help people forget sorrow, so it stepped out and started chirping.
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Chapter 6:
Xiao Liu grabbed his hand and smiled. “I’m a man. Even if you like men, you should find someone better looking.”
“You’re a man?” Xiang Liu’s slightly blood stained lips curved upward. “If you’re a man, how did you lure the Jiu Jiu out?”
Xiao Liu blinked quizzically, “I don’t believe you can’t change your shape as well as your voice.”
“I trust a beast’s natural instinct.”
“If a beast’s natural instinct was so accurate, your Furball wouldn’t have been poisoned by me. There would be no such thing as traps, and hunters wouldn’t need to hunt.”
“What kind of transformation spell are you using? You have very weak powers but it’s completely seamless just like it’s your true form.”
Xiao Liu angrily said, “This is my true form!”
Xiang Liu stared at him, his eyes as dark as ink, and Xiao Liu’s heart started racing. He violently shook off Xiang Liu’s hand and then spread himself open like a dead pig headed to boiling water. “Touch me then, touch me. After you’re done then stop accusing me of being a woman!”
Xiang Liu glared at him. “I’m not interested in your false form.” He released Xiao Liu, turned and walked out of the pool to go lay on the pallet and continued healing himself.
There are a few scenes between Wen Xiao Liu and Xiang Liu that made it clear that Wen Xiao Liu was aware of the concept of men who like other men. For example, when she misinterprets Xiang Liu’s comment about using her body (to make up for it if she can’t make a poison that he requests) she is surprised because she never imagined that Xiang Liu would like men.
So it seems like LGBTQ people did exist in Dahuang, at least in the novel.