AH

Yes, he purposely rejected the bow so that it would be available for XY. He designed it with materials that would ensure that no one else would want it - as his blood was necessary to get the bow to acknowledge an owner as its master.

In the novel the "how did xiangliu know the bow will come to xiaoyao hands" is a bit clearer. He commissioned the bow after he taught XY archery for 10 years and after XY was assassinated (and didn't have a bow with her). So he could reasonably expect that she would want a bow from the best weapons-makers in the kingdom that she would be able to use to defend herself with in similar circumstances in the future. He might have purposely waited to go and inspect the bow (and "reject" it) until after he knew she had ordered such a bow, so that the timing worked out to better ensure that the bow would go to her.

And actually in the novel it's not entirely clear whether everything that the bow-maker tells XY about the commissioner of the bow is true, or if it's (at least partly) a story that XL has the bow-maker tell XY to convince her that the bow just happened to be available and was commissioned by a person who was a stranger to XY, rather than it being a bow that was commissioned by XL for her specifically.

At least once in that chapter (chapter 43), but possibly multiple times (he definitely drinks her blood several times more - every dusk and dawn for three days, but the text doesn't specify if he drinks from her neck or her wrist in those cases). And XY is in her wedding dress the whole time.

And again in chapter 46. But in that case "let" maybe isn't the right word.

Yes. Chapter 43 and chapter 46. But be prepared. In both cases, there's a certain level of conflict between them.

If you skip all the scenes that have nothing to do with XL, it feels like he appears a lot... ^^"

Pros of watching S1 now: The ending isn't exactly a cliff hanger. You might see spoilers if you wait too long. You can engage with the fandom discourse, edits, marketing etc. now while it's fresh in everyone's mind. And you can read the novel if you're curious about how the story continues and ends.

Cons of watching S1 now: This story and the characters are addicting and having to wait for S2 is going to suck (even for those of us who have read the novel and know how it's going to end). Even though the end of S1 isn't a cliffhanger, the leads' stories are definitely not resolved. And we don't know how long the wait will be yet, but it could be a year.

XL doesn't want her to know or to recognize his feelings / sacrifices. He makes quite an effort to ensure that she doesn't. There are times when XY at least believes that he views their relationship as not merely transactional, but later on he insists that it is and (despite the fact that - no matter how hard he tried to hide it - there were definitely times when it was glaringly obvious that he was in love with her), XY believes him.

But this isn't a situation where XL has one-sided feelings for XY and is always the one longing for more. He takes control of their relationship. He decides that XY should end up with TSJ (someone she can rely on for life) and makes sure that XY doesn't know his feelings or develop deeper feelings for him. After that point, there are a ton of moments where XY is the one who longs for more but is shut down by XL. And through it all, XL can feel XY's heart / emotions through the poisonous bug connection. He can feel when her heartbeat races around him. He can feel her heart every time she says she wishes she met him sooner or that he could only be FFB. When she feels heartache, he can show up and lift her spirits - and take satisfaction in literally feeling her heart lift. When she's happy, he can take satisfaction in that, too. He can also take satisfaction in the fact that he succeeded in giving her everything he wanted to give her. And that (because of his blood) he will literally always be part of her.

And of course, separate from XY (and one of the biggest reasons they could never be together), XL gets the death he always wanted. The death he thought was best. An honourable death on the battlefield. He also saves Gong Gong's life, never betrays Gong Gong's cause, and has his enemies' deep respect.

Although he doesn't get to spend a thousand years growing old with XY, he never saw that as a possibility. Among the things he did think were possible, he got almost everything he wanted.

Since this post has spoilers and is quite long, please use the spoiler tag. It helps other viewers avoid spoilers they might not want to see and makes it easier for users on mobile to scroll through the comments thread.

I gave my take on this in response to a similar question in the thread below.

In the novel the connection runs both ways. XL and XY's lives and hearts are connected. Under normal circumstances, they would be able to feel each other's pain, emotions and heartbeats. But XL has much higher spiritual power than XY, so he can control the connection. Only he feels XY's pain, emotions and heartbeats. Except for a few rare occasions where he intentionally makes her feel something (a fast heartbeat or a sharp heartache) and a few rare occasions where he slips and XY is able to sense his heartbeat speeding up.

The drama seems to be similar even though the details aren't addressed as directly. In the scene you mentioned, it seemed like XL intentionally caused XY's heart to ache more painfully or to speed up. Note: when this happens in the novel, XY assumes XL is causing it. But it's possible that her own heart was aching or her own heartbeat was speeding up, and she wrongly blamed XL. If it was XL's doing, he could already feel the heartache she was experiencing when she looked at TSJ. So it seems like he intentionally orchestrated a moment for them to be close. Meaning he must still believe that TSJ is the person XY should end up with at that point, despite TSJ's current circumstances.

Afterwards, XL offers to take XY away in order to distract her from her heartache (which, again, he could directly feel).

"Why did XL’s heart hurt? Was it because of his own feelings or XY’s pain? Still don’t really know how this works lol - cuhs she can’t feel his pain (how is he in control)?"

In the novel the connection runs both ways. XL and XY's lives and hearts are connected. Under normal circumstances, they would be able to feel each other's pain, emotions and heartbeats. But XL has much higher spiritual power than XY, so he can control the connection. Only he feels XY's pain, emotions and heartbeats. Except for a few rare occasions where he intentionally makes her feel something (a fast heartbeat or a sharp heartache) and a few rare occasions where he slips and XY is able to sense his heartbeat speeding up.

The drama seems to be similar. In the scene you mentioned, it seemed like XL intentionally caused XY's heart to ache more painfully or to speed up. Note: when this happens in the novel, XY assumes XL is causing it. But it's possible that her own heart was aching or her own heartbeat was speeding up, and she wrongly blamed XL. If it was XL's doing, he could already feel the heartache she was experiencing when she looked at TSJ. It seems like he intentionally orchestrated a moment for them to be close. He must still believe that TSJ is the person XY should end up with at that point, despite the current circumstances.

Afterwards, he offers to take XY away in order to distract her from her heartache (which, again, he could directly feel).

Will she know that she can breathe under water because of XL's blood? In the novel, the answer is yes. For the drama, I haven't watched that episode yet, so I don't know the answer.

In the novel, XY and TSJ learn more about the poisonous bugs when they visit the Voodoo King in chapter 37 (a few chapters after XY's wedding ceremony with FL is cut short). TSJ also learns some disturbing information about poisonous bugs in general (not just the love / couple type) through his grandmother, but I heard that was cut out of the episodes that just aired.

In terms of when did TSJ know about XY and XL's connection, I can't recall exactly. XY talked to TSJ about the poisonous bug when she first planted it in ZX (and XL overheard), but I don't remember when she told TSJ about transferring it to XL. TSJ is smart enough that he might have inferred it pretty early on even if XY didn't talk to him about it until later.

In the novel, there is a point where XY begins to be able to hear but still appears to be unconscious to XL, except that "there was this aura around her brows that was different". That makes him think about her fear of being lonely, so he starts to speak to her and takes her to the surface to "observe" (even though she is not fully conscious and not able to move or open her eyes) the moon with him. But that doesn't take place right before the final healing session.

The novel doesn't say that there is anything different about XY before the final healing session when XL decides to wake her up. The timing seems to be based on the fact that TSJ is close to death.

It plays out differently in the novel, so unfortunately we can't draw on the text to provide more information.

I went to rewatch episode 12 for XL's expressions (I think this might be the episode where he is at his softest and happiest - totally understandable that XY chooses this episode to record a memory of XL in her mirror), and found a rather pleasing parallel.

The spot in XL's clam shell where XL delivered his essential blood from his heart to XY to heal her for 37 years is the same spot where XL and XY sit when XL accepts the transfer of ZX's poisonous bug into his heart. In episode 12, XL offers up his heart (tying it to XY for life, with no chance to take it back) by accepting the bug into his heart. In episode 31 and 32, in the very same spot, XL gives XY one of his lives and siphons his essential blood from his heart to save her life.

Quite the mirroring of scenes.

Yes.

Thank you!

At this point XL is actively working towards ensuring that XY and TSJ end up together so that XY has someone that she can rely on for life (while XL ultimately wants to die on the battlefield, after making sure that XY's happy ending is secure). He is hiding his feelings for her and won't let her develop deeper feelings for him.

The scene is also an obvious parallel to their earlier underwater not-kiss, where XL offered to give XY air via a kiss and was hurt when she preferred to risk drowning. This time, XY is willing to kiss XL for air rather than drown (by extension - she is no longer bound by her promise to TSJ and she no longer thinks the risk of accidentally letting XL into her dreams is scarier than death), but he is the one to refuse her, and she is the one who is hurt and embarrassed.

It underscores how the dynamic between them has shifted. XY is the one whose longing prompts her to occasionally approach the red line between them, and XL is the one who cuts her off and pushes her back. Not because he doesn't have feelings for her or because he is trying to protect his heart (the way XY was trying to protect her heart before), but because he wants to protect XY's heart. He doesn't want her to fall for him. He wants her to end up with a man she can rely on for life (TSJ) rather than a man who is destined to die on the battlefield.

Edit: I disagree with most of Naz_o6's interpretation, but it is correct that XL knew that XY could breathe under water at that point, and XY didn't. In that scene, XL was also nervous about XY finding out about how his blood changed her. He thought she might hate him for turning her into a monster.

The poisonous bug is something XL chooses, fully knowing what it means. He saw an opportunity to protect XY's life with his own and he took it. He was "heart and soul willing" (to quote XL's own words in chapter 48 of the novel - when he is saving her from the dead for a second time) to choose a fate where, if he is alive, XY is alive, and if XY dies, he dies. A fate where if XY is on the brink of death, he will have the ability to save her with one of his own lives and his essential blood. Forgetting the poisonous bug would require forgetting everything about XL's relationship with XY.

I am resisting the urge to go into a long rant about why, but I'll just say I disagree with "XL can live without XY". XL can die without XY (especially if he has successfully done all the things he wanted to do for her first) but (both literally and figuratively) he cannot live in a world without XY. He'll give up his own life first to prevent it.

I'm sure every reader and watcher has a slightly (or significantly) different interpretation.

In my view, XY has a soft spot for TSJ immediately due to his noble fortitude and ability to retain his kindness and goodness through unspeakable suffering. But when his behaviour (and later his promises) begin to create expectations, XY feels vulnerable and afraid. In her experience, those types of expectations lead to the worst kind of pain (deep and lasting emotional pain that she fears far more than physical pain). So XY constantly tries to guard her heart against those expectations and feelings. TSJ has the difficult task (but a task that he is very willing to take on) of being so consistently committed to XY that he can overcome her walls and fears of abandonment. There are times when XY wants to accept TSJ's feelings, but her insecurities don't let her. There are other times where she musters her courage and decides to trust TSJ despite her fears. From very early on, XY is aware that TSJ is her best chance at lasting happiness. But to her, it's not a sure thing. People can change, and life is messy. And yet, decade after decade, out of all her suitors, he is the most straightforward and consistent in professing his feelings, and he is ultimately able to choose her over everything else (even life itself). Which is the one thing she feels is essential to have in a life partner. Also, XY and TSJ are opposites in the sense that XY's trauma pushes her to feel she must be self-reliant, and to heal she needs constant reassurance of commitment. While TSJ was utterly dehumanized. His trauma causes him to anchor his identity to XY and to cling to her no matter what. Which is exactly what XY needs. Unfortunately, his family matters get in the way for a long time.

And then for XL, XY identifies deeply with him very early on. They are both intensely lonely, and also very choosy about who they keep as company (the novel says this explicitly about XY). They very quickly develop an understanding and a rapport where they can joke, tease and torment each other in their own odd ways. But they can also talk about loneliness and their past and present tragedies with each other more easily than with anyone else. They can delight in a swimming race and appreciate the beauty of the full moon together. And because XY knows from the get-go they are not destined to ever be together (because of their respective identities, but also their personalities) she can safely be more vulnerable with XL because there is no possibility of creating the type of expectations that TSJ creates. And (at least early on in their relationship) if there is ever a risk that an expectation might be created (e.g., by willingly kissing him under water), she draws a line and protects her heart. So their relationship is only a temporary means of alleviating their loneliness, and not a promise of more. They know it, so there shouldn't be deep pain when they part. But somehow XL becomes a recurrence in XY's life. His life is bound to hers through the poisonous bug. Later, he appears in a very different persona - one who can be her true companion for 10+ years. He becomes a person who spends time enjoying the most wonderful and beautiful aspects of life with her, and distracting her when those dreaded moments of emotional pain arrive. A person who spends 37 years saving her life. But it is always only one side of him. Always temporary. Eventually, he will always put his armour back on and become the Nine Lives general again. Over and over and over again, she finds herself wishing he could just be the one and not the other. If only he could always be her companion, and not the enemy general. But he can't, and they both know it. And because XL doesn't want his ending to destroy XY, he resolves to make sure she ends up with someone else who can give her a happier ending. So XL manages their relationship and eventually starts to tell her, again and again, that the their relationship is, and always has been, merely transactional. And although she can't fully let go of her longing for that companionship they shared, this matches her expectations of people (due to her abandonment issues) so she believes it. And finally (largely thanks to XL) TSJ gets to a place where he is alive and can be the life-long companion that she wanted - putting her above everything else. So, although she mourns XL's death bitterly and will (literally) always carry him as part of herself, in the end, XY gets to a place where she no longer needs her temporary companion.

Also, I don't think XY's love for TSJ comes from pity (as some others have put it). There's compassion for sure. But also respect. Even when TSJ's gentleness ends up causing her pain, to use her own words, XY likes that TSJ is gentle. His gentleness means that she can't play as fiercely with him as she does with XL, but it eventually allows her to let her guard down more completely. He is gentle and sweet, and their ending is too.