I have just finished tteotm and now I want to try out this drama. One question though, I understand this is the…
This is very spoilery, so please only continue reading if you want to know how part 2 of the drama is likely to end. Part 1 of the drama is generally aligned with chapters 1 - 28 of the novel (which has 51 chapters and an epilogue). At the end of Part 1, it's still all up in the air as to who XY will end up with. There is no "endgame" for Part 1. She is engaged to Feng Long, but clearly not in love with him and they have not set a wedding date. The other men are not happy about it, but none of them are in a position to ask her to marry them instead. If you read spoilers about XY ending up with TSJ, those are spoilers about the novel ending. Part 2 of the drama is expected to have generally the same ending.
Come cry with us. We have chocolates and free hugs for all ♥️Here: https://kisskh.at/discussions/lost-you-forever/112255-xiang-liu-and-you-yes-youAnd…
@ Tallina The threads nathsketch mentioned are great, but just be forewarned: there are a lot of unhidden spoilers from both the drama and the novel in there. It's pretty much read-at-your-own-risk. It's not like the main comment thread where most posts with spoilers are hidden.
Had a good chat with a friend about people finding their own meaning in life today. Got home and my brain turned to LYF (always just a matter of time) and XL. Specifically the fact that he had two great missions in life that gave him so much purpose, and the fact that, when he died, he did so knowing that he had managed to fully and successfully complete both missions. I know a lot of people don't like his ending (XY included), but I'm quite invested in it. I don't want the drama writers to take the things he worked so hard for away from him.
Of all the characters in the show, it's Invisible Hong Jiang that I want to accidentally fall down the stairs…
Ah, yes a vaguely remember that scene. The Middle Plains family dynamics are not part of the story that holds my interest, so I have retained very few details from those parts of the novel and drama.
"Ah, so even in the novel, some of the clans WERE helping Gong Gong."
I'm not sure if those "powerful families" were Middle Plains families or Gao Xing families though. Since the war with Gao Xing recently ended and the passage goes on to say that the families' support for Gong Gong has since dried up, I thought it was referring to Gao Xing families.
Of all the characters in the show, it's Invisible Hong Jiang that I want to accidentally fall down the stairs…
I have to stop myself from over-thinking the details here, but imagine a version of this story where XL is no longer involved with the remnant army's fight or their death wish by the time he shows up in front of XY as FFB. He's completely free to actually pursue XY romantically and able to commit to her for a lifetime. I'd so love to see how that would play out!
It's not clear whether the Yellow Emperor ever realizes that XL and FFB are the same person, but he is aware that…
He wants ZX to forgive Xing Yue. She tried to have XY assassinated, twice. After ZX finds out, he punishes her by completely ignoring her. Which, IMO, is already a much lighter punishment than I would've thought him capable of given his speech about dealing with the conspirators behind her first assassination.
---
Chapter 46:
Feng Long said “I asked His Majesty to let me lead the army this time not for higher position or more riches, I’m doing this only for Xing Yue. His Majesty didn’t take away her Empress position or lock her up, but he has completely and utterly ignored her. A knife slowly cutting flesh is even more painful, and without His Majesty’s respect then the women on Zhi Jin Summit all look down on Xing Yue. In three years she’s aged hundreds of years. I want to win this big war and when His Majesty asks me what great reward I want, I will want nothing other than to ask that he forgives Xing Yue this once.”
Of all the characters in the show, it's Invisible Hong Jiang that I want to accidentally fall down the stairs…
This is what the novel says in chapter 46:
"An army base needed supplies and provisions and the reason Gong Gong picked Qing Shui town was because it was aligned with Gao Xing and next to the East Sea for the water route. Even if the Yellow Emperor closed off all land routes for the provision of supplies, Gong Gong could still get supplied through Gao Xing channels or the water route. Back then Gao Xing was happy to have the resistance army be a thorn in the side of Xuan Yuan and secretly sent provisions, and even some powerful families secretly were helping Gong Gong."
Is Chengrong Yi the drama equivalent of Little Zhu Rong? Feng Long and Xing Yue's dad? The fem!XL boat scene doesn't exist in the novel, so I'm afraid I can't check for specifics there.
I can't remember enough details of the part where the novel talks about the Middle Plains families not helping the Yellow Emperor to try and track that scene down, so take my recollection with a grain of salt.
Of all the characters in the show, it's Invisible Hong Jiang that I want to accidentally fall down the stairs…
Oh my god can you imagine if, after hundreds of years of stubbornly fighting, he just died in some seemingly-innocuous accident like the deity equivalent of slipping on a banana peel??
I disagree. I don't think it's XY's blood and background that put her at odds with XL. I put it on XL's full devotion…
Please use the spoiler tag for comments with those kinds of details.
EDIT: Thank you :)!
By "why everyone thinks that XY's blood and family background pre-determine her fate with XL? As in, why they are assumed to be enemies that could never reconcile or be together?" I mean why everyone around XY in the novel (her father, her grandfather, and ZX) tells her she needs to stop having any association with XL because of who she is.
I agree that, regardless of XY's identity, XL always planned to die on the battlefield with his fellow soldiers, which would make a romantic relationship with anyone rather futile.
Of all the characters in the show, it's Invisible Hong Jiang that I want to accidentally fall down the stairs…
They made offers to both Gong Gong and XL.
---
Chapter 46:
One Spring day, the Black Emperor sent Little Zhu Rong to pay a visit to Gong Gong and request his surrender and joining of the kingdom. Gong Gong refused. Within the span of three months, the Black Emperor sent Little Zhu Rong three more times to see Gong Gong, each time with ever greater rewards and incentive. He even promised to make Gong Gong a regional King with his own armed forces, and allow him to govern the entire territory around Qing Shui Town. But Gong Gong turned it all down.
---
Chapter 50:
“Don’t thank me. Grandfather and I tried countless times to bring Xiang Liu to our side and I even gave him carte blanche to name his terms. But he would never abandon or betray Gong Gong. Actually all this time it’s not I who wouldn’t stop, it’s him who wouldn’t stop. If he vows to fight to the death, then there is nothing I can do. I can’t sacrifice Ru So and the soldiers. His life is a life, but so are the lives of those fighting for me.”
Yeah, I understood this. That's why I am now over being sad about the ending (i.e. Xiang Liu's death, I was okay…
"Yeah, I understood this. That's why I am now over being sad about the ending (i.e. Xiang Liu's death, I was okay with XY being with Jing although I really wanted her to somehow be with all of them lmao but I'm over that now for the most part)."
Right? I feel like the ending is easier to accept after understanding how impossible it would be for XL and XY to be together even if they both confessed their feelings and wanted a lasting romantic relationship.
"Also, thanks for your commentary AH. It's always so insightful."
Of all the characters in the show, it's Invisible Hong Jiang that I want to accidentally fall down the stairs…
In the novel, Gao Xing (Haoling) provides some limited support for Gong Gong's army (they're happy to have him be a thorn in Xuan Yuan's side) and the families of the Middle Plains don't actively support him, but also won't actively help Xuan Yuan to suppress him.
This has to do with the scene that XY creates in the ice crystal ball that she sends to XL before her wedding…
I don't read XL in the drama as being unfamiliar with human emotion.
In the novel, XL is over 600 years old. After leaving the North, he cared for FFB's mother for four years and lived as FFB for hundreds of years. He joined Hong Jiang and fought with him and his soldiers for hundreds of years. He became Hong Jiang's adopted son, did business with TSJ, and was Sir Bi's occasional drinking partner. He's had plenty of time to figure out how to interact in the world of deities rather than demons.
Later in the novel, Left Ear reunites with XY and she sees him as a young XL. Like XL, he wandered for a period of time after escaping the death match arena, and then reunited with a person that he wanted to repay. When she teaches Left Ear to read and about certain more complex emotions, she imagines Gong Gong doing the same thing with XL centuries earlier.
I believe falling for XY was XL's first experience with romantic love (rather than the love between a parent and child or the loyalty between comrades). But XY and TSJ also have no prior experience with romantic love. XY definitely isn't a natural and takes a very long time to realize that a romantic relationship requires mutual effort in order to be successful.
In terms of how XL's emotions and emotional control are portrayed... I think XL tries to scare XY several times on purpose (maybe as a subconscious defence mechanism rather than a conscious one) because (very similar to XY with TSJ) he's trying to protect his heart. He's used to people being afraid of him and treating him like an abomination. Better to assume she will be scared off and be proved right early on than to let himself start to trust and believe that she will be different and then be disappointed. And there are other times where his usual ruthlessness (which is appropriate in a military context) or general bad temper lead him to behave harshly. By the time he appears as FFB he's had more practice with dealing with XY, but she also doesn't push his boundaries in the same way when he's FFB.
This has to do with the scene that XY creates in the ice crystal ball that she sends to XL before her wedding…
"The crystal is about their relationship, which TuShan Jing has no part in."
This is a bit tricky, because, in a way, he has a huge part in their relationship... One of the main reasons XL starts to meet XY as FFB is that she can't be with TSJ at that point. She suffers from heartache and a lack of companionship, so FFB fills the gap. Later on, XL intervenes on several occasions to help ensure that XY and TSJ end up together. And at the point in the novel where XL is returning the crystal to XY, FFB has been "dead" for more than a decade and XL has just saved TSJ's life so that he could return to XY and marry her.
"I think there is a part of XL that wants XY to remember FFB. He didn't take her bow. She can't shoot any bow without being reminded of FFB who taught her archery. And one of the first things FFB did was write his name on her palm and asked her to remember it."
As much as a really like this theory and the call back to their meeting when he first appeared as FFB, I can't help thinking about how ruthlessly thorough he was about not leaving any trace of himself behind (at least, any trace that XY would be able to connect back to him). She is only allowed to keep the silver bow because she doesn't know he commissioned it for her. So I don't think I can personally subscribe to this theory.
"If we actually get to see the crystal in the drama after XL altered it, and we can actually recognize the figure (if it has white hair), then I'll just have to accept the final rendering of my poor abused heart."
One thing I'd like to know is... can TSJ walk on water the way XL can? XY wasn't able to in the beginning, but after XL healed her she was able to if iirc. Which makes it seem like something that's connected to XL's blood rather than a matter of spirit power. If TSJ can't walk on water, it would be very interesting to see where the man that XL added is standing.
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"Ah, so even in the novel, some of the clans WERE helping Gong Gong."
I'm not sure if those "powerful families" were Middle Plains families or Gao Xing families though. Since the war with Gao Xing recently ended and the passage goes on to say that the families' support for Gong Gong has since dried up, I thought it was referring to Gao Xing families.
---
Chapter 46:
Feng Long said “I asked His Majesty to let me lead the army this time not for higher position or more riches, I’m doing this only for Xing Yue. His Majesty didn’t take away her Empress position or lock her up, but he has completely and utterly ignored her. A knife slowly cutting flesh is even more painful, and without His Majesty’s respect then the women on Zhi Jin Summit all look down on Xing Yue. In three years she’s aged hundreds of years. I want to win this big war and when His Majesty asks me what great reward I want, I will want nothing other than to ask that he forgives Xing Yue this once.”
"An army base needed supplies and provisions and the reason Gong Gong picked Qing Shui town was because it was aligned with Gao Xing and next to the East Sea for the water route. Even if the Yellow Emperor closed off all land routes for the provision of supplies, Gong Gong could still get supplied through Gao Xing channels or the water route. Back then Gao Xing was happy to have the resistance army be a thorn in the side of Xuan Yuan and secretly sent provisions, and even some powerful families secretly were helping Gong Gong."
Is Chengrong Yi the drama equivalent of Little Zhu Rong? Feng Long and Xing Yue's dad? The fem!XL boat scene doesn't exist in the novel, so I'm afraid I can't check for specifics there.
I can't remember enough details of the part where the novel talks about the Middle Plains families not helping the Yellow Emperor to try and track that scene down, so take my recollection with a grain of salt.
EDIT: Thank you :)!
By "why everyone thinks that XY's blood and family background pre-determine her fate with XL? As in, why they are assumed to be enemies that could never reconcile or be together?" I mean why everyone around XY in the novel (her father, her grandfather, and ZX) tells her she needs to stop having any association with XL because of who she is.
I agree that, regardless of XY's identity, XL always planned to die on the battlefield with his fellow soldiers, which would make a romantic relationship with anyone rather futile.
---
Chapter 46:
One Spring day, the Black Emperor sent Little Zhu Rong to pay a visit to Gong Gong and request his surrender and joining of the kingdom. Gong Gong refused. Within the span of three months, the Black Emperor sent Little Zhu Rong three more times to see Gong Gong, each time with ever greater rewards and incentive. He even promised to make Gong Gong a regional King with his own armed forces, and allow him to govern the entire territory around Qing Shui Town. But Gong Gong turned it all down.
---
Chapter 50:
“Don’t thank me. Grandfather and I tried countless times to bring Xiang Liu to our side and I even gave him carte blanche to name his terms. But he would never abandon or betray Gong Gong. Actually all this time it’s not I who wouldn’t stop, it’s him who wouldn’t stop. If he vows to fight to the death, then there is nothing I can do. I can’t sacrifice Ru So and the soldiers. His life is a life, but so are the lives of those fighting for me.”
Right? I feel like the ending is easier to accept after understanding how impossible it would be for XL and XY to be together even if they both confessed their feelings and wanted a lasting romantic relationship.
"Also, thanks for your commentary AH. It's always so insightful."
Thanks for your comments too! ^^
In the novel, XL is over 600 years old. After leaving the North, he cared for FFB's mother for four years and lived as FFB for hundreds of years. He joined Hong Jiang and fought with him and his soldiers for hundreds of years. He became Hong Jiang's adopted son, did business with TSJ, and was Sir Bi's occasional drinking partner. He's had plenty of time to figure out how to interact in the world of deities rather than demons.
Later in the novel, Left Ear reunites with XY and she sees him as a young XL. Like XL, he wandered for a period of time after escaping the death match arena, and then reunited with a person that he wanted to repay. When she teaches Left Ear to read and about certain more complex emotions, she imagines Gong Gong doing the same thing with XL centuries earlier.
I believe falling for XY was XL's first experience with romantic love (rather than the love between a parent and child or the loyalty between comrades). But XY and TSJ also have no prior experience with romantic love. XY definitely isn't a natural and takes a very long time to realize that a romantic relationship requires mutual effort in order to be successful.
In terms of how XL's emotions and emotional control are portrayed... I think XL tries to scare XY several times on purpose (maybe as a subconscious defence mechanism rather than a conscious one) because (very similar to XY with TSJ) he's trying to protect his heart. He's used to people being afraid of him and treating him like an abomination. Better to assume she will be scared off and be proved right early on than to let himself start to trust and believe that she will be different and then be disappointed. And there are other times where his usual ruthlessness (which is appropriate in a military context) or general bad temper lead him to behave harshly. By the time he appears as FFB he's had more practice with dealing with XY, but she also doesn't push his boundaries in the same way when he's FFB.
This is a bit tricky, because, in a way, he has a huge part in their relationship... One of the main reasons XL starts to meet XY as FFB is that she can't be with TSJ at that point. She suffers from heartache and a lack of companionship, so FFB fills the gap. Later on, XL intervenes on several occasions to help ensure that XY and TSJ end up together. And at the point in the novel where XL is returning the crystal to XY, FFB has been "dead" for more than a decade and XL has just saved TSJ's life so that he could return to XY and marry her.
"I think there is a part of XL that wants XY to remember FFB. He didn't take her bow. She can't shoot any bow without being reminded of FFB who taught her archery. And one of the first things FFB did was write his name on her palm and asked her to remember it."
As much as a really like this theory and the call back to their meeting when he first appeared as FFB, I can't help thinking about how ruthlessly thorough he was about not leaving any trace of himself behind (at least, any trace that XY would be able to connect back to him). She is only allowed to keep the silver bow because she doesn't know he commissioned it for her. So I don't think I can personally subscribe to this theory.
"If we actually get to see the crystal in the drama after XL altered it, and we can actually recognize the figure (if it has white hair), then I'll just have to accept the final rendering of my poor abused heart."
One thing I'd like to know is... can TSJ walk on water the way XL can? XY wasn't able to in the beginning, but after XL healed her she was able to if iirc. Which makes it seem like something that's connected to XL's blood rather than a matter of spirit power. If TSJ can't walk on water, it would be very interesting to see where the man that XL added is standing.