AH

"Is that the kiss after her conversation with XL on the beach?"

Yes, although XL and XY have that conversation on the ocean surface in the novel.

In response to the last three paragraphs: IMO, XL makes it possible for XY to spend time with him so comfortably by making it safe. He says it's temporary and keeps it light. Which allows XY to spend time with him without feeling guilty or overthinking it. Yes, he basically takes her on a million wonderful dates. But the fact that it never becomes overtly romantic is part of his sacrifice. He keeps it that way on purpose. He wants to alleviate her loneliness and spend time with her, but he can't be her romantic endgame so he (and XY too) doesn't let their relationship turn into a romantic promise he can't keep.

Yw ^^

At that point in the story it feels like XL isn't a "frenemy" to XY anymore. He's still the Yellow Emperor's enemy. But who he is to XY at this point (the chapter before she confirms that FFB and XL are the same person) is complicated...

Even if she's not asking the question seriously in this case, she is asking if the Yellow Emperor could guarantee that she could marry him, if she wanted. To Kokuto's point, that does suggest that she sees him in a certain way. There's another indication in chapter 28 (after XY gets engaged to Feng Long) that she sees him in a certain way:

---

Feng Long waved his hand. “No, no, don’t misunderstand. I know how to handle Jing. I was worried you heard him play tonight and started to regret it.”

Xiao Yao said “I have no regrets. I’ve been wandering alone since I was small and on the surface I seem very carefree but I’m actually very weary of wandering. I want to stop, I want to have a home. But the people I meet – the one with the feelings has no ability, the one with the ability has no feelings – only you are willing to give me a safe harbor where I can anchor myself and stop. Thank you!”

---

The one with feelings but no ability is TSJ. He loves her but at that point he can't be with XY because he's married to FFYY and has started a family with her.

The one with ability but no feelings (at least no feelings that have been sincerely declared to XY)? It's hard to say who that could be if not XL/FFB. She knows they are the same person by chapter 28.

Yes, they did know each other already. Although it's not clear whether XL would've let TSJ see his face before. In the novel, XL said that he and TSJ did business for hundreds of years before either of them met XY.

Chapter 46:

Xiao Yao glared in rage at Xiang Liu who acted nonchalant and continued to stroke her neck while smiling down at her and talking like it was a random chat between friends. “Even before I knew you, I was already doing business with Tu Shan Jing for hundreds of years. He’s not a vindictive person, but he’s also not a weak fool. In hundreds of years, I’ve never once taken any advantage from him. He can time and again endure Tu Shan Hou only because he treats Tu Shan Hou as a relative..."

Thank you MTH123 ^^

Winny Aye, for your last question, that conversation between XY and the Yellow Emperor happens in chapter 16:

The Yellow Emperor ignored her barb and suddenly said “Pick a good husband! Before I die I can guarantee that you can marry any man you want.” He wanted to make sure Xiao Yao was happy.

The Yellow Emperor’s conversation jumped topics so abruptly Xiao Yao was stunned and suddenly she felt this tenderness in her heart. No matter how much she blamed him, he was still her grandfather.

Xiao Yao controlled her conflicted emotions and asked with a goofy smile “Anyone I want? Even someone who is already engaged? Even someone who is your enemy?”

I enjoyed this one. The second half much more than the first half. Binged it in a day.

I'm going to pretend the last episode ended with the nice bracelet shot at 38:40.

Thank you! ^^

Oh also since it mentions how S1 ends for CX, could you hide your first comment under the spoiler tag please?

Yep, don't worry. No additional episodes yet, but there will be.

They gave us a brief preview in the trailer: https://youtu.be/MnJ2JHkOnPE?si=P50EbpFalu1MkYa1&t=137

The excerpt I posted is from chapter 43 of the novel. According to what people have recounted about the leaked script, that chapter is getting cut from S2 and they are going to use a different scene (which involves XL's clam shell) to show his true form instead. That seems to match what's shown in the trailer.

I see 8 heads in that clip, so it looks like he hasn't used up any more lives since saving XY's life in S1 by that point.

For XL's true demon form, I don't picture a human head in the mix. Just snake heads.

Although Tong Hua borrowed Xiang Liu's name from a mythical creature with a snake's body and nine human heads ^^

Also according to other fans that have read the unconfirmed leaked script for S2, the drama will show the viewers how many lives XL has left by eliminating one of his snake heads from his true demon form every time he uses up a life. And we know he's already used one of his lives to save XY's life by the end of S1.

-----

This is how Tong Hua describes his true form in the novel, but she doesn't go into detail about the arrangement of his heads:

He moved his hands over Xiao Yao’s face and closed her eyes. She heard his voice “I need to revert to my demon form so that we can escape from here. Don’t look!”

Xiao Yao nodded and felt this humongous impact, like something ripped a hole in the whirlpool. She felt they were far away and the danger was gone. That made her curious and she wanted to open her eyes to see Xiang Liu’s demon form. She hesitated and told herself “just one peek” before opening her eyes.

In the thundering around, she could see a pure white nine-headed sea demon battling with the ocean, with the ocean trying to destroy it but the sea demon taking every hit and bracing for more. This was a battle as powerful as the earth and the sky fighting, without any flowery moves or clever techniques, just brute force against brute force, shaking the world around it.

In the heat of battle, Xiang Liu actually sensed Xiao Yao’s tiny move and one head turned to look at her. Xiao Yao immediately closed her eyes and her heart was racing uncontrollably, not because she was scared of him but because she was so awestruck. It was like someone who had never seen the ocean seeing it for the first time, someone who had never seen the mountain seeing it for the first time. It wasn’t about beauty or ugly, it was about being in awe of such power.

S1 covers the first half of the novel (chapters 1 - 28, more or less). The story is not complete yet.

S2 hasn't aired yet, but it should cover the rest of the novel (the end of chapter 28 - chapter 51 and the epilogue).

The spoilers you've read about XL are likely about something that happens to XL very close to the end of the novel, which should be covered in S2.

"He takes his mask off magically. That plays into, and he doesn't want to be identified. Which is kind of weird, given how he can change his face. I guess he's vain enough to fond of his amazingly gorgeous one. LOL!"

I agree, XL wearing a mask (instead of transforming his face) and FFB dying his hair (instead of transforming it) is kind of weird. But those writing choices do two important things for the reader.

First, they emphasize that XL prefers to be authentically in his true humanoid form whenever possible, even when it requires more effort (although he does actually transform occasionally when necessary). That sentiment is something he shares in common with XY.

Second, it underscores that XL and FFB are two sides of the same coin. FFB isn't a false form or a fake persona that XL creates or has to put effort into maintaining. FFB is XL's true personality when he gets a chance to take off his literal and metaphorical armor and step away from the obligations he has as XL.

Yet another reason to love Tong Hua's writing <3

I totally agree that the subtitles are misleading. They make it sound like XY had seen XL's face before and she recognized him.

In the novel she takes in his features and then he gives her a deadly look. Then she guesses his identity. I think the subtitles for the drama were trying to convey that, but they didn't do it very well.

When XY first encounters XL in the novel, XL isn't wearing a mask at all (presumably because he's in the remnant army's territory and wasn't expecting to encounter an outsider). But even without the mask XY still doesn't see XL's face clearly until they get back to XL's military tent (she intentionally shuts her eyes when she's brought to the camp).

The mask disappearing in the drama seems to be how the director chose to do something similar (showing XY seeing XL's face clearly for the first time) in a more dramatic way.

XL's mask isn't mentioned at all in the novel until chapter 5, when XL and XY kidnap Ah Nian.

----

Chapter 2:

A white-haired man dressed all in white was elegantly sitting on a tree branch smirking in glee at the fallen condor. Xiao Liu silently sighed, the real danger had arrived.

...

Xiao Liu tossed powder at the man and then turned to run when the man in white blocked his path.

...

The man waited until the condor was done eating before everyone headed back to camp.

Xiao Liu kept his eyes tightly shut, refusing to see the route. Based on the sound of voices, this wasn’t a large camp and was likely temporary. Xiao Liu was tossed on the ground and the man’s cold voice entered his ears. “A very good set of ears is often more useful than a set of eyes.”

Xiao Liu opened his eyes and from his vantage point could only see the man’s waist. “I’ve lived in Qing Shui Town for over twenty years, a quick check will confirm it.”

The man ignored him as he changed his robe and sat down at his desk to review documents. It was then that Xiao Liu finally saw his face clearly. White hair like the clouds that wasn’t tied into a bun but instead a jade-colored rope was used to tie it neatly back to let it fall behind his head. His face was so beautifully handsome it bordered on surreal. His entire body was so spotlessly clean it was eerie.

At this time he was holding a document in one hand as his eyes were lifted in scorn. He sensed Xiao Liu looking at him and smiled towards Xiao Liu who shivered and immediately shut his eyes. That look he’s only seen once when he was small, it was the way a world-renowned giant demon looked at her. It was the look that only someone who had stepped on countless corpses could give off.

Xiao Liu guessed who he was: that legendary, handsome-beyond-compare, murdering, evil devil. The Nine-headed Demon. The one with nine-lives. Xiang Liu.

nathsketch I just worry that your expectations will soar only to later plummet and be horribly + painfully dashed. I'm a big believer in tempering expectations... Better to be pleasantly surprised than to be deeply disappointed.

Every ending like this one needs a good old crack alt universe and totally OOC alt ending full of fan pandering ^^

Somehow I feel like XL travelling to Brazil and marrying a mortal is always going to feel OOC, but I have faith that some talented person somewhere could write it well ^^

After making the 15 year promise when she was WXL, I would say that XY chooses to be with TSJ as a romantic partner for the first time when she tries to kiss him on the beach outside of Five Gods Mountain after her presentation ceremony as Gao Xing's Eldest Princess. I'd say she chose to end their relationship when she returned the fish amethyst to TSJ, and that she chose to be with TSJ as a romantic partner a second time when she accepted the fish amethyst from him a third time (in chapter 34).

I'd say she chose to be with TSJ as his fiancee when she accepted his marriage proposal in chapter 38. I'd say she chose to be with TSJ as his wife in her heart when she conducted her own wedding in absentia under the full moon after TSJ's death, and that she chose to be with him as his wife for real when they got married for real after he returned.

She definitely chose to spend tons of time with FFB and XL. Including 10+ years of learning archery, shopping, hiking, exploring, visiting dance halls, sharing meals together, etc.

I'm just saying that choosing to spend time with a temporary companion (and XL always emphasizes that it's temporary) is different from choosing to be with a romantic partner. It's a very different "be with".

Lol, yes don't worry your emojis perfectly captured the intent of dark humour ^^

Oh dear, that's a rather dark moniker! I really do like the idea of them together. But the way Tong Hua wrote this story... it's very hard for me to picture a different ending that wouldn't be OOC.

But that's why fanfiction exists ^^