AH

The novel only mentions XL giving XY his essential blood from his tongue via a kiss in chapter 48. In chapter 22 (the chapter that mentions the embrace), it does not specify how XL transfers his essential blood to XY or where in his body it comes from.

The translation I read says:

"Every twenty or thirty days Xiang Liu would heal her. When he was healing her, they ought to be very intimate because Xiao Yao could feel he was tightly embracing her. She could feel him from top to bottom. But during normal days Xiang Liu wouldn't hold her, at most he could caress her forehead and cheeks."

I interpreted that to mean that XL would sit behind her and hold her in his arms when he transfused his blood into her on each full moon, and then removed the poison (that was part of his blood) from her system. Definitely not having sex with her.

Cecelia Liu has a new drama? I'll have to check it out. I haven't watched any new dramas with her since 2017.

If I'm remembering correctly, the novel never actually shows XL commissioning the bow. There are very few scenes in the novel that involve XL but not XY. So technically nothing has been left out yet. They've basically added a new scene, but in a place that differs from where it should be if it were to match up with the novel's timeline (i.e., part way through XY's 37 year healing / revival process). In the novel, all the information about the bow being commissioned is described by Xing Chen to XY when she first describes the bow to XY in chapter 24.

And then in chapter 25 there's a scene where XY scoffs that FFB would never spend money to commission a bow for her and XL/FFB just looks at the crescent moon mark on her arm (where the bow he commissioned for her is kept) and smiles, just to make it clear to the reader that he commissioned the bow (even though it's already obvious).

In episode 13, XL does commission a bow and set of arrows from Xing Chen, and all the details of that scene (XL being in disguise and using a badge from the Gui Fang clan, the materials being difficult to acquire, etc.) match what Xing Chen described when she told XY about the person who commissioned her bow.

So you're right, it's possible that they changed the timing in the drama and this scene was meant to show XL commissioning the crescent moon bow for XL, but that's a pretty big change. It means he commissioned the bow way before he started teaching XY archery and way before he gave her transfusions of his blood to revive her. In the novel, the fact that XL's blood is in her system makes her the only person that can wield that bow.

If they did make that change, my guess is that: (1) they wanted to show XL being the person to commission it on screen so it was obvious, but they didn't want to do it in the middle of XY's revival scenes; and (2) they wanted to show that XL was far away when XY was taken away by ZX to explain why he didn't go to her immediately when she tried to call him by hurting herself, and it made sense to use the bow-commissioning moment for that purpose.

Since I just checked: XL commissions the bow 14 minutes into episode 13, XY hurts herself in the next scene (16 minutes in), and XL arrives at her clinic 26 minutes into episode 13. He's also injured (or at least, there's blood on his sleeve) when he arrives. His sleeve is still bloody when he feels XY's leg get broken (a little over two minutes into episode 14) and when he arrives at the shore of Five Gods Mountain (about 20 minutes into episode 14). So he must have done some fighting between commissioning the weapons and going to XY.

Eddie Peng as Wei Wu Ji is one of my all time faves.

Those events haven't been covered in the drama yet. The bow that XY/FFB commissioned for XY is given to her in chapter 24 of the novel, which is after XY is assassinated and XL resurrects her (in chapter 22). XY is told that the bow was commissioned 35 years earlier, meaning that XL commissioned it near the beginning of the 37 years he spent reviving her.

That doesn't sound like anything I remember from this part, and XY knew XL was FFB at that point. Could you be thinking of the part where XY finds out that TSJ's fiance is pregnant perhaps? Or maybe the moment (after XL takes XY away from her wedding) where XL asked XY who she would most like to spend the rest of her life with and she couldn't answer?

I remember this part but I was wondering if maybe I missed something else elsewhere in the novel. But it sounds like I didn't.

XY and TSJ didn't consummate their wedding night. From what I remember, XY hasn't slept with anyone ever by the time the novel ends. Is that right? Or did I miss something?

Novel readers can you confirm?

My understanding is that they have both loved each other as "siblings" (although they are actually cousins) since childhood, but when ZX is reunited with XY in her true adult form his feelings become more complicated (with romantic desire but an understanding that he can never have her if he wants to fulfil his ambition of gaining power so that he can protect her). And the reason XY poisons ZX and ultimately runs away without saying goodbye to him is because ZX is partly responsible for TSJ and XL's death.

Yes. XY loves ZX as a brother. ZX's feelings are complicated. ZX does some things that irreparably damages their relationship, hence the title.

Yes, that's how the novel ends. The title is referring to ZX.

I think I need to rewatch Sound of the Desert to help get past the YaoLiu feelings. It feels like the opposite of this drama. The nobleman who is a very powerful figure in the world of trade who also has healing skills, is crippled, doesn't want to get involved in politics and is quietly devoted to the FL doesn't end up with her. Instead, the talented general who keeps the FL company to alleviate her loneliness (and who has a personality that is more similar to the FL's) ends up with her, has a son with her, and runs away with her - to the desert instead of the ocean! And there's a powerful prince-turned-king who was raised with the FL and is obsessed with finding her, but he is only a very small part of the story. Kind of perfect actually.

Okay YaoLiu fans, I think I have a working idea for an alternative ending (to live in my head - not one that needs to be used for the drama).

Change 1: The poisonous bugs will not consume the hosts body, soul and essence before the host dies. So XL doesn't have to worry about preventing that.

Change 2: TSJ stays dead. He never used a life preserving pill and doesn't have a poisonous bug connection to keep him alive, so in this scenario there is no way for XL to resurrect him. (Sorry TSJ... I don't know how to make this work otherwise.)

Change 3: While she was semi-conscious during her 37 year healing / resurrection process, XY learned how to summon XL's clam shell.

Change 4: Instead of killing the poisonous bugs right after he resurrects XY for the second time by stabbing himself in the heart, XL plans to kill them by freezing his heart in the seconds before his death on the battlefield. He does so when the 10,000 arrows are shot at him at once, but he isn't aware that this doesn't actually kill the poisonous bugs, it just makes the connection between him and XY go dormant temporarily. When XL "dies", the magic XL used to freeze the bugs breaks and the bugs thaw. The connection between XL and XY is restored, and this time it keeps *him* alive. But now XL isn't controlling the connection, so XY can finally feel XL through it. She was about to become the Royal Mother of Jade Mountain until she feels XL at death's door, which prompts her to fly to him immediately. Sir Bi follows her.

As in the original ending, General Ru So respected XL and stopped his soldiers from going onto the island to desecrate XL's body. When XY arrives to collect XL's body, they allow her to do so (and maybe General Ru So is even among the people who know about XL saving XY the first time she died?). XY was planning to to take XL's body to the ocean, but Sir Bi stops her and tells her to bring XL's body to Jade Mountain. In order to convince her that XL would be safe there, Sir Bi tells XY how XL was the one who secretly saved her life a second time at Jade Mountain and that the Royal Mother knew about it. So XY takes XL's body to Jade Mountain and summons XL's clam shell in the healing lake. This time, she uses it to heal and resurrect him instead of the other way around. When XL finally wakes up, he doesn't re-instate control over the poisonous bug bond immediately (maybe he initially thinks he is in some sort of death dream), so XY can finally feel all of his emotions - including his love for her.

Change 5: Instead of running away to the Ocean with TSJ (who, in this scenario, is dead), XY runs away to the Ocean with XL. He takes her to explore all of the scattered islands she wanted to explore, and all of the beauties below the surface. Fulfilling the wish she makes in chapter 26 (if it were possible, she would like to spend the rest of her life like how she spent the previous day and night with XL). But first XY brings XL to her family grave site and also to meet her adoptive father. And XL brings XY to meet his adoptive father. After years of exploring together (with XL's clam as their home), XL builds a new home for XY on her favourite island. It's not so different from her clinic in QS town. A little nicer (a bit more like her biological father's home), but simple and comfortable. XY and XL each invite their adoptive fathers, as well as A Nian, Left Ear and Miao Pu to a simple wedding ceremony, much like the wedding ceremony between Ma Zi and Chun Tao at XY's clinic that XL attended in the first chapter of the novel. XY writes a letter to ZX, hoping that he is well, and asks A Nian to deliver it for her. Perhaps it all ends with XY, XL and their two children taking turns swinging on a swing under the ocean. Mirroring XY's memory of swinging with her loved ones under the phoenix trees when she was a child, but now in a place where she truly belongs with loved ones that will be with her for the rest of her life.

Rather ironic, since XL is the one who drinks blood and TSJ is the one with a fluffy tail (or rather nine of them).

Why? For the reason I mentioned. In the epilogue of the novel, XL carves his wish for XY into a crystal: "The ability to protect yourself, someone to rely on, a place to go - wishing you a lifetime of worry-free happiness!" He writes this because when XL first meets XY, she tells him "I am just someone who has been discarded. I have no ability to protect myself, I have no one to rely on, I have no where to go..." So XL makes sure that none of that is still true before he dies.

Since she can't get her spiritual power back (unless she becomes the Royal Mother of Jade Mountain, which would requiring cutting herself off from the world and being a lone - not and ending that would make her happy) XL spends 10 years teaching XY archery so that she has a means of defending herself. In the novel, she uses that skill. We haven't gotten to that scene in the drama yet.

Also, thanks to XL's essential blood, XY can breathe under water without assistance and swim almost as well as XL. Two things that make her stronger / better able to defend herself than before. Both will be helpful when she ultimately decides to run away to the ocean with TSJ.

So her lack of spiritual power is a set up for XL to help her. It's one of the ways the author has him demonstrate his love for her.

XL had many, many opportunities to reveal his feelings to XY but he never used them. He made a decision about the ending he wanted for himself and for XY and made it happen. The words he wanted to say to XY but couldn't were his good wishes for her, which he carved into the crystal that XY gave him, hid in the belly of a laughing doll, and gave (through Sir Bi) to XY as her wedding gift. He was satisfied with that and I don't think he regretted not revealing his feelings to XY.

Oh, wow. You're welcome. I've mostly come to peace with XL's ending at this point, after thinking about it for a bit and re-reading and re-watching a bit. I really empathize with the author who tried to think of a better ending for XL but couldn't. He just wouldn't be XL if he made different choices.