cherryhua

[cherryhua]

The Tragedy of Qi Rong :

Let me start by saying despite all the things Qi Rong did ( and yes, his loud cursing included ), I've never found him a detestable character, but more of a pathetic - and to an extent - a tragic one . I've talked before about the similarities between Xuan Jie and Hua Hua, and how MXTX used her character to defend Hua cheng's feelings and behavior, by giving is a real example of what true obsession and stalking looks like, and i feel like she did the same thing with Qi rong and Xie Lian, only in this case, not to defend Xie Lian's Behavior, but more so to shed light on his less attractive side for the lack of better words, and to an extent his arrogant past self.

Let me start by saying that first of all, "this ancestor" is definetly not the dumb, naive person people portrays him to be. Granted, he has tons of flaws, but stupidity is definitely not one of them. He never failed, not once, to directly see through a lot of characters flaws, and even predict the novel's twists. For example, in book 2, he was the first one to point out to Xie Lian that he needs to properly "educate his servants'' ( referring to Mu Qing ), as he can see that it will come a day where - Mu Qing - will bite the hand that fed him, and use Xie Lian as stepping stone to rise higher than him. He also stated that Hong Hong Er was no normal child, very strong and tenacious and that he only looked pathetic in front of Xie Lian. He foresaw the fall of Xian le before Yong'An rebelion, recognized Hua hua's Ashes when no one else did, called jun Wu a faker, Pei su a leg-hugging dog, orchestrated the gilded banquet massacre, Xuan Ji's whole bride scheme and let's be real here : he become -a near- devastation.

Initially Qi Rong is not, or at least was not a heartless cruel person, but the environment he grew up in made him see only the bad in people, as well as having an elitist and mob mentality. In book 2 we got a little glimpse on his backstory : Qi Rong was born, and raised in an abusive home ( his father was a drunk abusive father and husband ), after returning to the palace, it was clearly indicated that everyone looked down at him and his mother and indirectly isolated them. Soon after, his mother will pass away in a gruesome way, and he will be raised by the Queen : Xie Lian's mother, to fulfil her sister's last wish,This little detail will come off handy later, to show case that Qi Rong was never wanted by anybody, directly or indirectly except by his mother and Gu Zi, or at least that's how he saw things. I mean even the king had his objections but did tolerate him eventually because...well, he is from royal blood after all. The book states clearly that Qi Rong, and despite the queen's good intentions, spoiled him greatly, and never dared to punish him for anything he did, as a respect for her sister's memory. This way of doing things, plus Qi rong's trauma, his hatred for his Yong'An "commoner" blood, and his privileged background, made him a person with no understanding for what "consequences" and "taking accountability" means, as well as becoming a bully trying to erase his commoner Yong'An heritage, by only focusing on his royal title and what comes with it : as the Prince Xiao Jing he can do whatever he wants, and nothing and no one can say anything about it.  

As a Child, Qi Rong also had a deep admiration and devotion to his "Cousin Crown Prince '', since he was the first person to openly defend him and help him as a little boy from the bullies who pranked him. And his Devotion was highlighted throughout the entire book 2, he even begged the Queen to gift him a carriage for his birthday so he can use it to bring his cousin crown prince on it back home ( not gonna lie, this part made feel bad for Qi Rong y'all ! ) , and waited days in front of the mountain where xie Lian was training, without having any knowledge when Xie Lian will decide to visit home, as long as he gets to be with his cousin Crown Prince, he won't mind waiting for days .Though, Xie Lian never treated Qi Rong badly, he never treated him good either. he didn't pay any attention to him, and usually when he did, it's either to scold him or criticize something he did ( rightfully so ), but throughout the entire book 2, Xie Lian never took time or the initiative to thank Qi rong for his devotion, and maybe take him under his wing and properly educate him, since Qi Rong only listened to Xie Lian. 

Qi Rong also was described as being this tasteless Ghost, who copies others in a very cheap way. In My opinion, Qi Rong copying the other two Ghost kings is not a sign of lack of taste or whatnot, but it's an indirect message to showcase how much  Qi Rong was craving acceptance as well as how deep his inferiority complex is running: if raining blood will make others like him and look at him with respect then he will do it, even if it comes off tasteless, it's still a bloody rain after all. 

And speaking of inferiority complex and acceptance, I think Qi Rong's love for Xie Lian turned to pure hatred because he truly and genuinely believed that Xie Lian cared for him for who he is, that's why he defended him from the other kids, and that's why he helped him with his prayer, Unlike others who looks at him with condescension, and only treats him with a fake respect due to his title as prince Xiao Jing. And so Xie Lian's constantly ignoring him, scolding him, criticising him, never showing any signs of gratefulness to all his efforts, made him sink even more in the idea that he will never be good enough to anyone, not even to his Cousin Crown Prince, with the "white lotus heart". At the end of his arc, he sacrificed himself to save Gu Zi, just like he would wait days in front of the mountain to escort Xie Lian back home : he finally found someone who loved him, and i mean genuinely loved him and accepted him : not out of duty like the queen , not as Prince Xiao Jin like the palace attendance, not as the green ghost like Xuan Ji and the minions following him, but as the loud, cursing, crad, tasteless, human eating Qi Rong. Of course, we can argue that Gu Zi was just a child, with the innocence of children. and Qi Rong was possessing his father. Nevertheless, Qi Rong was a father figure for Gu Zi for a long time, and although he tried to get rid of him on my occasions, and even threatened to eat him, Gu Zi always followed him. We can all agree that our parents are not perfect, but we love them regardless ( yes I know, they don't threaten to eat us lol ) and Gu Zi is no different. 

I feel like Qi Rong was just a more tragic version of Xie Lian's desire to be loved and accepted, and MXTX delivered that beautifully since i never disliked his character throughout the whole novel, i was even mad at Xie Lian in some parts of how he treated Qi Rong, that's how i knew he is a well written character.

[cherryhua]

I apologize in advance, if there are any grammar mistakes or brain farts in this little writeup ! I am very tired ( and a little sick ), so my brain is working at 5% power now. Nevertheless, and despite the limitation of my mortal body ( hehe that's how you that danmei ruined my brain, i even use such terminologies at work ), i wanted to make this little "article" discussing the similarities and differences between Hua Cheng and Xuan Jie.

If you're familiar with Chinese literature ( or movies ), you would know that there is always a double meaning behind everything. things usually are not explicitly explained for the readers\viewers, and it's up to us sometimes to read between the lines to appreciate what we're reading\watching more. One of those hidden little gems that MXTX throws in TGCF is Making Hua Cheng and Xuan Jie, the human manifestations of : Selfless love, and selfish love. Destructive obsession, and Absolute Devotion.

We meet Xuan Ji and Hua Cheng for the first time in Book one, on Mount Yu Jun. Both dressed in red ( a color used for marriage outfits in chinese culture ), both have been waiting for their beloved for centuries, both "criminals" in the eyes of heaven, both have killed in the name of love, only one was to avenge his Lover while the other was taking revenge from her lover. Both Hua cheng and Xuan Jie have fallen deeply in love to a degree of obsession ( and i won't compare Pei-Playboy- Ming to xie -800 virgin Dianxia- Lian), but the two had two different approaches when it come to their feelings :

Hua Hua was selfless in his feelings, all he wanted to do was to protect his Dianxia, never expecting anything in return,and if he can do it without the other knowing that's even better, because that's what TRUE Love is about : Genuine will to Give, and not wanting anything in return. To understand this a little, Just think about a mother and her love for her children for a moment : all she Does is Give, and when her children are happy, she is happy too. Of course i am not saying

that Hua Hua sees XL as his son, but I just gave the example of motherly love to explain what selfless love is. Xuan Ji on the other hand, "Loved" Pei Ming that's true, but wanted ( and expected ) him to love her back too. Her Actions were never out of genuine care, but out of desperation, and that desperation turned into obsession : like any human, we tend to get obsessed with things we can never have.

1.Both Hua Hua and Xuan Ji were in the military, though their positions were obviously different, but this fragment of their past speaks volumes of who they really are : Hua Hua was a nameless, nobody little soldier, fighting for Xie Lian's victory. we can all agree that Hua cheng didn't really care for Xian le as a country, but he joined the army out of love and devotion to Xie Lian . he got closer to XL ( as close as he can get as lowly commoner) , and fought next to him with everything he got, not because he was expecting his actions to be rewarded ( and by rewarded i mean getting XL's admiration ), but because he genuinely wanted to help Xie Lian and protect him, once XL is safe he would leave, and that is shown in plenty of part of book 2 and 4. On the Other hand, Xuan ji was a general, who genuinely cared for her country and its victory, yet when Pei Ming started showing signs of him losing interest in her, she, out of desperation, offered military secrets to him, even if it meant the destruction of her country. And her Act was a pure selfish one :she didn't care if Pei Ming won or lost the war, what she cared about was getting validation, and having her feelings reciprocated, whatever the price was.

2.Both of Hua Hua and Xuan Ji mutilated themselves for their love : Hua Hua digged out his eye to create E-ming, though it was to protect the humans stuck in that mountain, but the act itself was out of respect to Xie Lian's memory and what he stood for : for a split second, Hua cheng did thought about sacrificing the humans in the mountain but then remembered that by doing so, he is insulting everything Xie Lian stood for, so instead of aiming the blade at the innocent, he aimed it to himself. This Act of selflessness, had such

weight, that the heavens made him ascend as a God. However, he decided to descend again for many reasons ( i will talk about in another post, and mostly because he believed there is only one God : Xie Lian). Xuan Ji also broke both her Legs, and it was a huge sacrifice since she was a general, and that act meant putting an end to her career. However, that act again was done due to selfish reasons : if gaslighting didn't work, then she would guilt trip Pei Ming to be her lover.

Lastly, both Hua Cheng Xuan ji die for their love : Hua Hua dies the first time as a soldier, and the second time as a Wuming. However, both times were to protect Xie Lian. Again, never expecting anything in return, as long as Xie Lian is well, then that's all it mattered to him. However Xuan Ji, killed herself to make Pei Ming feel bad and blame himself for her death. and that my dear friends, is the complete opposite of what loving someone means : Remember the conversation between Xie Lian and Ball-Ghost Hua cheng : Xie Lian told the nameless Ghost (HC), that if his lover knew that he died for them, they would feel very guilty and hurt, to which Hua cheng said that he is planning to never let them know, and only wants to protect them from the shadows, following it with the very beautiful *sniff**sniff* " i pray to never rest in peace" dialogue.

Finally when the two become Ghosts : the two had different motivations to keep them going : one was pure love and the other was pure grudge. One used their power to protect their love while the other used it to hurt their "so called" love. And that's how, I think imho , MXTX defended Hua Cheng's Genuine feelings and devotion, from being called creepy : she gave us an example of what true obsession looks like.

Let me know what y'all think <3

--

[cherryhua]

This Answer is based on a review on Tumblr, i wanted to initially link her article, but then I was afraid that it might get her some hate. So I will try my best to summarize it,and answer her arguments one by one.

The beginning of her article starts with this : "I honestly found XL and HC to be the worst parts of TGCF, while I think most other parts of the story are actually pretty good, so I don’t hate TGCF like most of you believe I do, I just dislike Hualian", and explains why she thinks

XL is a poorly written character in 6 long points;

1.He is by far the worst MXTX MC in my opinion, and pales in comparison to SQQ and WWX.

2.He is bland and barely has a discernible personality.

3.Inconsistencies .

4.His character arc is flat and he doesn’t develop as a character and doesn’t learn from his mistakes.

5.Is wildly unlikable in the flashbacks and a lot of bad things that happen are actually his fault

6.Is overpowered and again, a Mary Sue.

- Lack of personality ( Vanilla personality ) --> in this particular part, she refers to Xie Lian's personality as a non-existent one, and she goes on, explaining thet XL has no motifs, no goals. He is just there really....

Then she writes this : " SQQ is unique because he isn’t there to be heroic, but rather a panicked person forced to commit heroic acts to survive in the twisted world of a bad web novel , WWX is unique because he is mischievous and laid back to the point of being annoying at first glance, but will actually throw his own life on the line to protect others ". My first reaction was " Girl... really !". XL is literally both of those characters combined together, plus other traits that makes him an even more better written character than those two, but you chose to just call him bland ? let me start by SQQ : yes the man is funny, he isn't trying to be some kind of hero, or gather merits, he's just a man who's trying to survive a situation that was forced upon him, and he's just going with the flow. With all due respect to any SVSSS fans ( and I am one btw ) : is this the ultimate character Arc to you ? come on now... the writing style is funny, the characters have depth, but also they have their silly moments. I love the parts where we get to see their brain farts, but also their heroic moments, but let's be honest : what character development SQQ had throughout the entire novel other than "falling in love" and staying alive ? I would agree if she talked about LBG's arc since his development is what's keeping SQQ alive really so it needs to happen, but SQQ ?! The novel started by him being in a panic, and trying to survive. He wasn't a bad person, nor a good one. just someone on survival mode. and nothing really changed in his arc, other than having romantic feelings for LBG, and his happy ending . ( and again I am SVSSS fan but we need to be a little unbiased here ).

WWX is a very complex character, more complex than SQQ and we can clearly see in its character MXTX's amazing talent and progress in writing in comparison to SVSSS. And I can write pages about his character analysis or arc. Heck, I can spend hours writing pages just about a single action of his. But the thing with WWX, his downfall was never a result of HIS human actions\feelings, It was due to exterior factors : the demonic cultivation ( he had to stick to it after losing his golden core, and because of other things that i won't get into, otherwise i would be writing until tomorrow ). WWX was never a bad person, and until the end he made sacrifices even if it meant dying, and being the bad person in the story, as long as it served the greater good. Even i nthe moments where he turned "bad", it was because the demonic cultivation was poisoning his heart, hence it wasn't his fault, and it wasn't who he is. It's like taking some medication and having some side effects afterwards. Even his death was caused by demonic cultivation ( matter of fact, he sacrificed himself so others could live ). WWX went through a LOT of character development that's true, but it wasn't some "atonement" type of development. It was him discovering that he is worthy of happiness too, and that the person he avoided the most ,was the person who cared for him the most.

If you compare WWX's downfall with Xie Lian's : his Downfall was due to his own arrogance, own hatred and own anger . He tried his best but failing, and he failed because he thought he was the best. "Body in the abyss, heart in paradise" was his logo, but it's easy to say such HUGE words when you are in a position of comfort and privilege: aka a crown prince loved by heavens and the earth. But when that privilege was taken away, the human emotions took over, and when his body was in the abyss, his heart was definitely not in paradise. And that's why I like his character even more: even if we took the fiction and fantasy Aspect away from his character, we can still all relate to him.

- his character is so inconsistent, and in this part she brings up three inconsistencies :

1. Xie Lian is nice but also Savage, so she felt that MXTX couldn't make up her mind on XL, and she gave an example of when XL told LQQ he would die, if the two of them dueled. she also made the arguemnt that he can be very intelligent but also very dumb ( and

she used the argument of him not recognizing HC's feelings and just being oblivious to them).

2. his insecurity is inconsistent. and again she gave the same LQQ example and claimed if someone is insecure he wouldn't have spoken those words, as well as having no reaction to the 33 heavenly officials' temples getting burned, which was weird for someone who claims to be good.

3. If he is nice, then how come he has zero friends in 800 years ?

Alright *pull up sleeves*, let me start by number 1 : this argument is really ridiculous, and I say this with the utmost respect to the person who wrote this. there is no human in the history of humanity, who didn't get a little Snarky from time to time especially when someone pushed it too far with them, i would honestly be very disappointed if XL was this cute, nice polite Bun all the time, because THEN he will be someone with a mary sue-ish characteristics and i hate that. Xie Lian is NOT a good person ( and he isn't a bad person either), and i wrote about this before, he is a human with a royal upbringing, reason why despite him being a sassy queen, he is polite most of the time, and keeps most of his mental eye rolling to himself. So his comment isn't anything out of character to me. And no, him telling LQQ that he would die if they battled is not "savage", that's just a fact. XL was always confident in his strength, and even LQQ acknowledged that statement. XL was his mentor, so everything he knew was taught to him by XL Himself. Nevermind the fact that XL has accumulated 800 years of cultivation ( while he was a strong person to begin with ), just imagine you going against your math teacher in a Math exam ? who would you think would win ? and even if you're this little Darwin genius, you would still be scared to go against your teacher, and even more so if they told you " you know i will win you little s*it, i was the one teaching you all of this !" and you would believe them !

As for the ignorance part, Xie Lian was never oblivious to HC's advances. He is not dumb. but the thing is ( and this is something i like about his arc ) is that now, he feels that he's only a shadow of his previous self. he lost any self confidence, any pride he had through the passed 800 years, so the idea that someone ( anyone really ) can fall in love with him is just .. ridiculous, impossible and even embarrassing that he would even dare to think that way . So even when deep inside, he really knows that HC is making advances towards him, he immediately rejects that idea inside of him, and convinces himself again : how can anyone love me ? let alone someone like Hua Cheng ! . This is plainly shown through the entire novel, which is also mirrored by HC's same way of insecure thinking : he can't believe or even accept that his Dianxia actually likes him ! their self esteem is so low that they literally had to spell it for each other to finally believe it .

2.his insecurity is inconsistent --> you know, i hate instances where things are either black and white: you're either one confident Mother f*cker or an insecure bunny. That's not how human nature works. Xie Lian is insecure, There is no doubt about that. He fell from grace so low, that even when he thinks about his old self, he wishes to die from embarrassment. That's how insecure he is. But despite his insecurities, he knows his limits and knows what he can, or can't do, unlike his previous self who thought he could defy the heavens and still get away with it. so him telling LQQ he will lose against him has nothing to do with being confident or insecure, that's just a fact, point blank.

As for his reaction to the 33 burned temples, his reaction is normal. what will be abnormal is him being dramatic about it and i'll explain why : this is an 800 years fallen God, who saw it all, and went through hell back and forth. he watched his own temples be burned, he saw his own believers making statues of him kowtowing, he watched his own people claiming his head off after he poured his heart and soul to save them. Do you really think that the knowledge of someone burning another ( unknown Gods may i add ) temples will have any effect on him?

It's like being mad at a war survivor for not having the same reactions as you when they see beggars on the streets. they went through that state, and maybe even worse, so their reaction will be "oh..ok" and move on with their lives.

3.if he is nice, then how come he has zero friends in 800 years --> this is something that was explained in book 4. Xie Lian's insecurities regarding connection with people started when MQ left him, and he realised it's just a matter of time before FX would follow, reason why he "bribed" him with that golden belt. When he started to hit rock bottom, he was the one asking FX to leave, despite FX refusing to leave his sides. Why ? Well to make it simple, Xie Lian pulled the " it won't hurt as bad if i pushed him away first!" card. and After the death of his parents, and especially Wuming, he decided to live alone forever. Not because he can't make any friends, but it was a self punishment out of guilt: all the people he loved or loved him died because of him, so as a punishment, he will live alone until he ceases to exist. Now someone may argue that even if XL decided to be alone, people would still be able to approach him, right ? False y'all.. this is someone who is labeled as the God of misfortune, the laughing stock of three realms. Who would want to be friends with him ? and fun fact : XL did meet people during his 800 years journey, only he would leave whenever things start going south, and when he feels that he can't fix things ( as he doesn't want to repeat the same Xian Le mistake ) , example : Banyue.

Next she goes on explaining that XL hasn't changed one bit, he is the same in all the books : I am just going to skip this one out because Girl... really ? Even if you don't like TGCF, even if you don't like the character, there is no way you can deny that XL out of all the characters hasn't changed. That's just as impossible as SWD being besties with He Xuan, and making each other's hair.

Next, She starts talking about how most of the things that happened in book 2 & 4 were his fault; and how he talks about saving the common people but all he did was creating more problems --> YES, because that's part of his humbling arc !! Xie Lian thought that he was this invincible deity that can overcome anything, and was beyond stubborn about it despite all the signs of his failure waving under his nose. Yet, he turned his denial mode on, and continued on being stubborn. That doesn't make his intentions any less valid, he did try his best, only he was too arrogant, too confident about it, and refused to accept that there are things that are out of our control, and sometimes bad means good. I won't go into details in all the points she referenced here because in my opinion they are easily refutable, but I would end this part by saying : yes, a lot of the sh!t that happened was his fault, that's the point of the beginning of his arc. And yes, because he wanted to save everyone, he ends up killing everyone, which again it's the point of Book 2. and yes he was nasty in some parts in book 2 , which brings me to what i have mentioned above : XL was a snarky sassy little cat ! he is just lowkey about it now because ... well age. just think of you grandma or grandpa or anyone old : do they comment on everything they see ? if you asked their opinion about trivial things, they would tell you " i am too old for this bs !". and this is coming from a 70-ish Year old person, now imagine if you're 800 ?!

Point five, she referred to Xie Lian as a mary sue since he is overpowered --> no he is not. he got his ass whooped twice by Bai Wuxian and almost got it whooped for the third time if it wasn't for HC breaking his cursed shackles. Granted , he is stronger than the rest of the characters, but his strength was explained throughout the book. when his mana got sealed, he had to rely on his physical strength, nevermind the 800 years of sleeping on rocks, running from beasts ( thanks to his bad luck ), being a mentor, being a soldier .. etc. with that said, it is insinuated through the novel that the heavens favourite him not because he was anything special, but because he keeps on trying ( and this is something based on taoism, from which the book takes a lot of inspirations ), that's why he ascended three times ( and we have to make the difference here between the"heaven" where the gods live and the other "heaven" that you may call karma, fate, higher power .. etc but that's for another post).

Finally she mentions that the hatred towards him after the fall of Xian Le didn't make any sense,and it was exaggerated --> i respectfully disagree. We know as readers that he did try his best to solve the issue, but the common people don't. This is someone who promised them he would heal them, he will bring back their glory, he will get rid of the Yong'An rebels, and they believed him. people were burning their faces, and cutting off their own arms and legs, there was even r*pe and assault involved but they still believed him, and believed in him. What was the result of their belief ? death and destruction. and people needed something or someone to blame, and Xie Lian was the target. When wars erupt, people would look up to their leaders : if they win they will cheer them up, if they lose they will ask for their heads . That's how it always has been, and Xie Lian was no exception.

sorry for the long post i really tried to make it short, and this is the shortest i can make it hehe. If you know who the person is, Please don't send any hate to her or anyone sharing her opinion.

please tell me what y'all think ? and thank you for reading my rant 💮🌸

[cherryhua]

The BeefLeaf Tragedy and the question of Morals :

hello beautiful souls, your ranting noona is back at it again hehe. 

My post today will be dedicated the very tragic Beefleaf arc , and how MXTX loves the theme of ambiguous morality.

There is no doubt that MXTX's three books are all different : in terms of the plot, characters, settings, writing style..etc. However, MXTX always brought the question of morality in all of her three books as sub plots, and i believe it's her writting signature in a way, after all every writer does have one.

 In MDZS, it was delightfully done through the Jin GuangYao and Nie Huaisang characters ( and man besides Wen - cinnamon bun - ning, Jin GuangYao is one of my favourite characters ) . in TGCF, it was painfully but beautifully done through the HX/SQX/SWD trio. And since,i love torturing myself, and talk about painful angsty sh!t, let's talk about the tragedy of BeefLeaf, and what makes it beautifully sad .

 Talking about morals, means talking about doing the right thing no matter the circumstances we are facing. However, it is also very easy to talk about right and wrong when we are in a position of comfort and privilege. the real question is : how much right ( or wrong ) can we do, or not do, when those said morals are tested ? no matter how we try to look at the beefleaf situation, we cannot blame any of the characters for their actions, in fact we understand their decisions and sympathize with them, because we know if we were put in their shoes, we all would've done the same thing : good or bad.

One of the most recurring themes in TGCF is that : it doesn't matter if you are a God or a Demon, at the end of the day you're still human. And thus, making mistakes is inevitable. Shi Wu Du made the very heavy decision to sacrifice another human to save his brother, by reversing their fates, and killing one so the other can live. As cruel as that might be, we all can agree that when faced with dire situations, we also won't hesitate to sacrifice others, including ourselves to save our loved ones. however, was it really the only solution Shi Wu Du got left ? MXTX tackled this question lightly in the novel : When Shu Wu Du Ascended, he did appoint SQX as a deputy General in the middle court, with that done ,normally SQX was out of reach to the venerable of empty words. Yet, SWD still made the drastic, cruel decision, to take it even further by stealing someone else's Godhood, and giving it to his brother . was it out of fear that the middle court is not enough to protect his brother ? after all, this is the only family his got left. or was it out of pride ? whatever the reason, we can all agree, that it was done out of selfish love, and love knows no morals, after all everything is fair in love and war.

From our first encounter with Lord Wind master, MXTX made it very clear that this is someone who has a very high moral compass, and puts justice above everything and everyone : SQX didn't hesitate to arrest Pei Su in the Banyue Arc knowing very well the implications behind it, he didn't hesitate to defend Xie Lian countless of times in front of all the Gods and Jun Wu Himself , he never judged his friendship with Hua Cheng, he even helped Hua Cheng "clearing" his name after he kidnapped Xie Lian from the heavens. And of Course, he rejected his Godhood when he knew the sad story behind it. What Makes his story even more tragic, is that he was a victim of ignorance : he didn't know that someone died, so he could live, and most importantly he didn't know that someone is his beloved Best Friend : Ming Yi. And this brings me to the following Question : Would SQX still went back to his brother if he knew the real identity of He Xuan ? after all, SQX made it very clear that he will take responsibility for what happened, however it will have to wait until his brother has passed his heavenly calamity. No matter how we try to spin it, blood is thicker than water ( no pun intended ), and no matter how angry he was with his brother, at the end of the day he still loves him, and for SQX this "He Xuan" Guy is dead, so it won't hurt if he waited a little longer before getting his justice. But would he react the same way if he knew He Xuan is still alive? that he is his beloved best friend ? in a way, i don't want to know the answer to that, it's a horrible tough position to be in, and i think MXTX spared SQX such painful situation and decision to make, and i am glad she did.

What Made Jun Wu turn to Bai Wuxian was Grudge, Hua cheng's drive was Love, but He Xuan's motivation was revenge. Revenge is a very painful, dark path to walk on, and what's even more sad about it is that even when you are served your revenge, you are left as an empty soul, since the only reason that made you keep going is hatred. Now that He Xuan got his revenge, what's his motivation to live ? we can all agree that this man's anger is very VERY much justified, but despite his anger, and vengeful spirit, he had morals : he was very conflicted about SQX's situation, especially after getting to know him for hundreds of years. and more so, after knowing that he is a righteous person who really has no knowledge of the tragedy behind his Godhood. it would've been far more easier if SQX was someone like SWD, easy to hate. but SQX being the beautiful soul that he is, made that task difficult for He Xuan. in the End, He Xuan made the decision to spare SQX, by giving him multiple ways out of the whole ordeal, yet SQX kept on walking on that path, due to his love for his brother. Even after killing SWD, He Xuan didn't harm SQX, he took him to a far away city, and left him there unharmed. it was SQX who took his own arm and leg afterwards, out of anger, or out of atonement, or maybe both. Yet, we can all agree, that during the trio's meeting in the Black Water's island, He Xuan was so blinded by his hatred which explains his angry tone towards SQX specifically, and he got even more upset with SWD's final speech, because he knew deep down he was right : SWD told him it doesn't matter what he does to him and his brother, they lived happily for centuries : in wealth and privilege. while he ( HX ), suffered through his entire mortal life, and had to suffer again in his afterlife, and will keep on suffering even after getting his revenge, since he will have no other reason to live. as cruel those words might be, they're true and honest, which makes He Xuan an even more tragic character than he is portrayed to be.

In the Fandom, Beefleaf is portrayed as those star crossed lovers, and i respectfully disagree. Now just hear me out y'all, before charging your guns and come at me, i love the idea of BeefLeaf, and i love me some lovey dovey beefleaf fan fics and fan arts, but here i am talking about Canon BeefLeaf: MXTX said in the TGCF universe, other than Hualian everyone else is straight. some might argue, that SQX can turn to a female which makes their relationship valid, and i agree that technically that might work. But even if that's true, those two can never be together, not even as friends, before or after the Black water Arc. He Xuan was deeply wronged by the two brothers, and his grudge runs so deep, that he rised as a demon king as a result to it. SQX's whole existence is build up on another's man sufferance, his best friend's sufferance, and this man took his brother's life in the most cruel way possible,  how could they possibly fix this ? apologize to each other ? no apology can make that situation right. at first i was little mad that MXTX didn't give us a closure for BeefLeaf, but as she said in an interview : some things are better left unsaid, and i think she's right.

in a perfect world : He Xuan and Shi Qing Xuan would've been a perfect match, lovers or otherwise, but unfortunately perfection doesn't exist ( and that's why we have fan fics).

[cherryhua]

First of all, thank you for accepting me in the fandom, and the platform in general. I am in no way shape or form, a professional review\analysis character but only a huge fan of TGCF , and I love to scratch the plot as a fan as well as a long time Danmei reader and share my little thoughts with the fandom. please feel free to call me out on my bs,i love discussions and food for thoughts.

The reason behind this post is to add my little two cents regarding something that, I believe in my humble opinion, is a little something about HuaLian that doesn't get enough attention. Hua cheng is portrayed as this romantic,obsessed bad boy, who has no interest or compassion towards others ( which to an extent is true, but i'll get into that in a bit), and Xie Lian being this good, oblivious meatbun, who made some mistakes and now just roams aimlessly in peace.

putting Hua Cheng in front of Xie Lian is literally like one of them looking into a mirror ( just with a different set of clothes hehe ) , and in order to explain my point I'll divide it into little parts,so this might be long but please bear with me.

- Arc and character development :

when we Meet Xie Lian at the beginning of the novel, we meet him at the end of his arc ( or close to it ), his rise and fall, taking responsibility and humbling himself, and realising his limits and make peace with it was already done in the past ( Book 2 and 4).What remains to complete his arc is him finding his happy ending, which is mainly: learn to love himself again ( and of course being with Hua Hua). loving oneself, is not limited to gaining confidence, or self worth, but it's also the gain of freedom to be oneself without any fear of judgement, including to love for one's selfish reasons : in the past, Xie Lian, loved his country, his people, his friends and his parents either because that's the natural thing to do or out of responsibility and commitment. However, his love for Hua Cheng is different: he fell in love, deeply to almost a damaging degree because he found THAT missing piece that will finally complete him, but as someone who always puts others first, this realisation was something new, extremely scary, but freeing . ( ''only after meeting you, did i realise is such simple thing to be happy").The same thing is applied to Hua cheng, we meet him at the beginning of the book, but at the end of his arc, he has matured, took control over his fate and changed it, avenged his God, and made himself the strongest to protect him, however his arc needed his happy ending to finally be completed : knowing he is worthy of love too ( and of course being with his Taizi Dianxia ).

Their arc, and character development is always mirrored through book 2 and 4, only it's backwards: they always meet at crucial points of their lives, when one is rising and the other is falling, yet at the same time being each other's light at the end of the tunnel,And I think that's MXTX's way of telling us that these two are destined soulmates despite the impossible circumstances surrounding them them . at the beginning of book 2 ( which is the start of their arcs) : in their first meeting, Xie Lian was this magnificent, privileged, powerful Crown prince destined to only greatness, who's confident, low-key arrogant ( and little sassy hehe ), loved by his parents, friends and people and overall at the highest points of his life,. While Hua Cheng, was this impoverished, bullied self hating child. who's abused by his family ( and it's heavily implied that his mother died out of illness), beaten by strangers, and is in so much pain and agony that he wishes to put an end to everything, himself included. This encounter resulted in Xie Lian ( being in the highest point ), saving Hua Cheng from falling to his death ( who was at his lowest point), but this encounter was the start of the change in both of their lives.

The second time they met, was in the Xie Lian small temple, at that time Xie Lian had ascended to godhood ( the highest level a human can reach ), and was dealing with the whole Yong'an fiasco, which would eventually be his downfall. At that moment, Hua Cheng was dealing with su*cidal thoughts, poverty, being homeless, hunger, bullying.. ( the lowest state a human can reach), in a moment of despair, He asked Xie Lian what is the meaning of life, since he is in such pain he doesn't want to live anymore, ' tell me God, what should i do?', to which Xie Lian asks to make him his reason to live, and if he doesn't have a reason, then he should live for him, making him that reason. This moment of guidance is also mirrored again in the present at the end of the novel, when hua Cheng was at the edge of dying. in a moment of despair Xie Lian broke down " no one listened to me talk for years, just tell me what should i do ?", to which Hua Cheng replied that he is Xie Lian's most devoted believer, and as long as Xie Lian is in this earth, he will refuse to die. Of course, we need to read a little between the lines here, there was no doubt that if a God has no believers, or statues he will vanish from existence, but what kept Xie Lian alive up until this point, was his one true believer's existence : Hua cheng, and because of his Love and devotion he will defy death itself to come back and live, and continue on living for Xie Lian, the ame way Xie Lian is the reason that kept ( and still keeping ) Hua Cheng alive.

A third, and important instance and the real changing point in both of their arcs is in book 4 : When Xie Lian met Wuming ( Hua Cheng ) as Bai wuxian. The outcome of this interaction was : Hua cheng dying a second time, sacrificing himself to save Xie Lian's humanity, while Xie Lian deciding to take responsibility for his deeds, Resulting in Xie Lian's second banishment, getting his powers sealed, his Luck sucked dry, and becoming a magnet to evil fortune, and finally he become this nobody, impoverished scrap collecting guy, living for the sake of living. While Hua Cheng's fate changed, raised as a ghost king, his luck turned from bringing disasters to bringing only good fortune, and the rest is history.

After this, the two never met again. Part of it is due to Xie Lian's bad luck, but another part is that their character development is almost completed, and what remains to finally give it closure is their final meeting.

There are many other instances like this throughout the story which i won't go into all of them all otherwise i would be writing for days hehe.

- character treats :

Hua Cheng is described as this nonchalant, non caring ,cold, sassy, strong, know-it-all guy, which are all true characteristics of his. He's also known for not caring about anyone who isn't Xie Lian, not even himself. Xie Lian is no different either, but a lot of those character threats are not as obvious as Hua Cheng's for the simple reason that Xie Lian is polite, and keeps most of his thoughts to himself. Xie Lian is very snarky, and thankfully because we are reading the novel from his point of view, we get to know when he is mentally rolling his eyes, or being genuinely annoyed with something. Xie Lian also forgets everyone's existence when Hua Cheng is present, he's just a little low key about it. I think the reason why one is outspoken about how he feels while the other keeps it to himself, is how the two were raised and brought up : Xie Lian after all was a royalty, a crown prince who was properly educated, although we know there were times where that education was blown away by the wind ( ehm book 4 ehm ), reason why he isn't lacking any manners ( and it will be unfair to say Hua cheng does, only he feels that his good manners are only for his Dianxia, he doesn't care too much if the rest of the world found him rude), but also, because Xie Lian was born, and raised in privileged environement , he was always surrounded by good, and hope since he was little, everyone was nice to him, respected him and loved him, or at least pretended to be, after all he was the king and queen's only child.Unlike Hua Cheng who was born into poverty in an abusive environment, he only saw the evil side of humanity since he was a child, making it very hard for him to have the slightest consideration to anyone's feelings, or at least feel obliged to be nice to anyone. After all, no one was ever nice to him, so why should he burden himself with casual formalities ? Of course, other than being sassy queens, the two of them also share the same insecurities : Both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng thought they were unworthy of love. Both of them were petrified by their past selves, and both of them made peace with the idea that they're destined to be alone.

- Morals :

Both Hua Cheng and Xie Lian shared the same views, that in my humble opinion summed up the message behind TGCF : first, Fate is something that can be changed and controlled, thus you get to decide which path you walk in, and when you do, you should accept the consequences of it. Second, when you love someone, you love them for who they are, in their glorious and lowest moments, and not for what they are.

The two expressed these ideologies throughout the book simultaneously, but I think Hua Cheng takes the credit for this more than Xie Lian in the fandom : Hua cheng told Xie Lian in HX arc : "the one standing in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is 'you' and not the state of you", but Xie Lian also told Hua Cheng in the Banyue arc : "If I like you, you can be a beggar and I will still like you. If I dislike you, you can be an emperor and I will still dislike you". and this is one of the reasons why the two support each other's decisions despite sometimes not agreeing ( like the Gambles den for example) .

Hua Cheng Also made it clear, that people have the freedom to choose which paths they walk on, himself included.it doesn't matter if you would succeed or fail, what matters is are you brave enough to take that step, and stand up for what you believe in. This way of thinking is expressed by Xie Lian over and over again as well, especially through the first book, when he openly defies the heavens or when he chooses to create a third path, one that aligns with his own beliefs .

- Love for each other :

Hua Cheng's Love started in the past, while Xie Lian's in the present. I see a lot of comments saying that Hua Cheng falling in love was too easy and didn't make sense. isn't that what love is ? emotions are never meant to make sense. With that said, Hua Cheng feelings started as a child's admiration, and slowly turned to love and a deadly obsession ( deadly to himself since he died for his love three times ) and it only kept on growing every time he met Xie Lian and got to get a little glimpse on who he TRULY is ( keep in mind that of all people, Hua cheng was the only one who saw Xie Lian at his best, and at his worst). The same also happened with Xie Lian, he met Hua cheng for the "first" time on the ox Cart, and instantly thought "damn bruh ,you fine AF!", to the point he couldn't look at him directly into his eyes without feeling uncomfortable ( which reminds me of a similar incident in book 1 :  when Xi Lian was with Hong Hong Er in the cart, having the same conversation they are having on the current Ox Cart, which is Hua Cheng introducing himself and telling Xie Lian that he has nowhere to go.Hua hua was also so shy he couldn't look at Xie Lian straight in the eyes without blushing --> remember what i said about mirroring their experiences ? *wink**wink ) , but this admiration only kept on growing until it reached an explosive, destructive level, especially after finding out who Hua Cheng is to him. Hua cheng might have died for Xie Lian before, but i have no doubt in my mind that Xie Lian would do the same for Hua cheng in an instant : remember in the last extra ( the birthday gift one ), Xie Lian, while dealing with the most agonizing pain, he ran away looking for Hua cheng; and held into him with a deadly grip more than he would held into his own life, asking him to stay by his side and never to leave him again : he can take the pain, he can take thousands of swords piercing his heart, but he can't take Hua cheng being away from him.

Overall, in my humble opinion, although Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are present as different individuals ( which they are in some aspects), they also have so much in common that I feel it's a crime not to point it out.

[cherryhua]

Alright, let me start by saying that I am a huge Hua Hua fan, and he is my ultimate favourite character in all MXTX books specifically, and the danmei genre in general.

going into details on why i like him is not the goal of this post.the reason why i am making this, is to answer to a "hate" thread regarding Hua cheng.

the main points this thread uses are the following, and i will try to answer each point individually :

- Beautiful as hell and more pretty than anyone else

- He is a static and underdeveloped character

- Always has the best sense of humor

- Can be obnoxious and get away with it

- Has an endless array of powers

- Tragic backstory

- Was bullied as a child

- Is always right

- the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods comes off as creepy stalker and not romantic

- Beautiful as hell and more pretty than anyone else :

while reading TGCF we need to keep in mind that we are reading the story through Xie Lian's point of view, reason why some parts of the story do sound biased, sometimes ambiguous, sometimes unreliable..etc. the description that Hua cheng is the most beautiful creature that ever set foot on the face of the universe, is how Xie Lian sees Hua cheng,and doesn't mean it's true. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right ? ( well, if i am being honest the man is fine AF.. I mean have you seen the manhua et STARember arts hehe *wink*wink).We can all agree that not all the characters present in the book share the same opinion, and definitely everyone has their fair share of beauty, even Qi Rong of all people. So, is Hua Cheng "Beautiful as hell and more pretty than anyone else"? From an unbiased point of view, HC is as beautiful as any other character present in the novel. From Xie Lian's ( and my ) point of view : then YES he is, god darn it !, from "haters" point of view : he's an obnoxious, evil, one eyed a**hole.

- He is a static and underdeveloped character :

I wholeheartedly disagree, and no I am not talking as a fan here, but as a long time Danmei and yaoi reader. People compare TGCF's Hua cheng's character development with MDZS's Wei Ying and SVSSS's Liui Binghe, which in my opinion is not fair. Those are 3 completely different books: in SVSSS the story is told through Shen yuan's point of view, but the reason why LBG's character development is so heavily explained too, is because She Yuan's whole journey ( and life ) depends on it. In MDZS, the story again is told through WWX's point of view, the reason why we got to witness his rise, downfall, "humbling" arc, and finally his happy ending. However, in TGCF, the story is about Xie Lian's journey,and how he learned to love himself again , through the effort of a man who never had loved himself. We do get glimpses about HC's backstory, and arc, but MXTX doesn't go into details because it's not about Hua Cheng, and it's up to us readers to read between the lines. if you compare HC's arc, to any other character's arc, you'll find that Hua cheng's Arc was at its end, when the novel started, and other than dying, getting exposed or arrested, no other character, other than Xie Lian's, get any real development because again, it's not about them, and it never was.

- Always has the best sense of humor:

Again, the story is told through Xie Lian's point of view. The man has literally set his password to "Just recite the Ethics Sutra a thousand times" as a joke and found it extremely funny, so the bar here is really low.

- Can be obnoxious and get away with it :

Hua Cheng never gets away with anything, he is obnoxious to other people that aren't Xie Lian, that's true, but no one ever claimed that he was a good person. Hua cheng's whole existence is set around Xie Lian's, and yes he doesn't give a crap about anyone else because no one ever gave a crap about him too, other than Xie Lian who gave him a reason to live and saved his life twice, everyone else was just either bullying him, beating him or just straightforwardly mean. and to Claim that HC is just a bad guy is also false, he never harmed ( or harm ) innocents, he took Yin Yu under his wing ( a fallen God may i add ), he build up Ghost city with his own hands and gave ghosts a place where they can be themselves, he gave refuge to a ghost female who killed her r*pist, and the list goes on.

So no, Hua Cheng isn't your misunderstood 'bad boy' here, nor is he the shining white knight MC.

- Has an endless array of powers :

Man, I am seriously wondering if those people read the book ? the man literally dies at the end when he gave all his spiritual powers to Xie Lian, and don't get me started on him dying twice before. So no, he doesn't have an endless array of power, but he is powerful, the man is a ghost king after all, what did you expect ?!

- Tragic backstory :

this is very debatable in my opinion. everyone in TGCF has a tragic story in in it's own way : look at Jun wu, He Xuan, SQX and SWD, LW or the Rain master, heck even Qi Rong's backstory is tragic, and don't get me started on Xie lian's backstory. So yes, Hua Cheng's backstory is tragic, but isn't any more tragic than any other character.

- Was bullied as a child :

His bullying story is very relevant to why Hua Cheng had such a pessimistic, angry view of the world. I would've agreed that it's a little mary sue-ish, if he was described as this talented, beautiful, good child who's been bullied by the mean ugly people, but it wasn't the case. HC wasn't anything special, he come from a poor normal background, he was described, as being called ugly, and someone who brought evil fortune and bad luck.also Hua Cheng is heavily, heavily, heavily implied to be H'mong so he is ultimately ethnically marginalized,

impoverished child who, through sheer determination and wits, is able to rise above the position he was born in and create his own future, not because he was this Mary Sue character.

- Is always right :

again Hua Cheng wasn't born to be this very special, smart, talented person, but through his hard work, determination and tenacity was able to control his fate, and change it. It's true that he is very knowledgeable, but the man spent 800 years teaching himself the art of the sword and secrets of the universe. Why, you may ask ? Hua Cheng wanted to be the strongest, in order to protect Xie Lian ( and also avenge him ). What Hua Cheng has now, isn't something that fell into him from the sky, or was born with it, he worked very VERY VERY hard to get it.

- The Cave of Ten Thousand Gods comes off as creepy stalker and not romantic :

When Hua Cheng was in that cave for 10 years, his mind was filled with one thing : his God, Xie Lian. Why ? because Xie Lian is his motivation, his reason to live, and the reason why he is in that cave to begin with. The statues were never done out of malice, or bad intentions, it was done out of devotions and admirations. Just like a fan collecting merchandise and posters of their favourite artist. I personally don't find it creepy, but i believe it's due to cultural differences. so many words and instances in the book do not translate gracefully in English. Besides, the Story is heavily relying on Taoism as a concept. so i think it's unfair to apply western ideologies to a Chinese novel, based on Chinese folklore and ideologies, directed to a Chinese audience. The cultural aspect of the book must be kept in mind, in order to enjoy it.

[cherryhua]

I am new here so please be kind 🥺

this isn't an in dept analysis for Hua cheng, as a character but i would like to give just some small feedbacks regarding some things i have read about him in the fandom, that i respectfully disagree with.

i see a lot of posts and articles in the fandom trying to make Hua cheng less morally threatening or at least excuse his principles as ''good''.

denying Hua cheng's flaws is literally going against what HuaLina stands for ( but this is for another post ) , and of course the whole message of TGCF.

the greatest lines that sums up TGCF is : "To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is you. What matters is you, and not the state of you."

we are reminded over and over again, that it doesn't matter if you're a raising God, or fallen Demon. You are ( and were) at the end of the day a human, and thus it is impossible to put someone on a pedestal or throw you in the dirt without truly knowing who you are. Godhood doesn't equal good, and Demon doesn't equal bad.

Hua Cheng and Xie Lian love and accept each other as a whole : the good and the bad.

there is no character in TGCF who's fully good ( or fully bad ), everyone in standing in that grey area of morals, and Hua Cheng is not exception.

Hua cheng is not friendly, benevolent or kind. he is not the type of person that will harm innocents but he won't go out of his way to help and protect them either.

other than Xie Lian, he doesn't care about anything or anyone else. Of course, this is something that might be coming from his childhood and life ( which i'll get into in a bit).

Hua cheng is fiercely loyal, kind, respectful and honest with Xie Lian, but compeltly cold and uncarring towards the rest the of world, himself included.

When Xie Lian asked Hua cheng about his aches and wether or not they're properly hidden, Hua cheng said that they're hidden in the safest place in the world. and if that place is destroyed, he has no reason to live anyways, that place being Xie Lian's body of course .that's how much Hua Cheng doesn't care about himself or anything else other than his Dianxia.

Xie Lian is his only reason to live, and why he is still alive despite dying twice before . Hua cheng's whole existence, his whole goal and his whole motivation is Xie Lian.

Of course through the course of the stroy, Hua Cheng is involved in many stories, not because he cares, but because Xie Lian is involved, and he is there for one and only reason :to protect him. He doesn't care about the whole fiasco of SQX\HX\SWD, he didn't care if they lived or died, but the only reason he was there was to accompagny Xie Lian, since he knew the identity of HX and what he was planning to do. he never cared of SQW lived or died, only it matter to him is that xie Lian is safe and unharmed.

When he forged E-ming, he was a spirit of the verge of being dispersed. Hua cheng himself when he described that moment, said that "he went mad". he was on the verge of sacrificing the innocent poeple there to forge E-ming but stopped himself at the last second, it wasn't because Hua cheng's moral compass kicked in, but because his whole life, his whole path , his whole principles are made around Xie lian, and Dianxia would never aprroved this. Him going with this method, would be disrespecting Xie Lian's memory.

the theme of Hua Cheng hating on the world, and himself isn't new. He was like that since he was a child, which is very understandable. we get a glimpse of his previous life, he was bullied and beaten to the point he wanted to k*ll himself as a child. he asked for guidance from xie lian, his savior , on what to do, he was in so much pain he wanted to burn the world and himself and Xie Lian told him to live for him, making him his reason to live. from this point onward, Hua Cheng lived and continued on living and making himself better, not due to some ambition of his, but due to his compelte devotion to Xie Lian. everything else, everyone else, didn't matter.

Hue Cheng as a character, is a very tragic one. complexe but simple at the same time. He was never a special person, he raised and reached where he is today, not because he was skilled or special, but because of his , dare i say positive obsession , of Xie Lian. He worked hard, not because he had any selfish motivation, but because he wanted to be at the level to protect his Dianxia, while expecting nothing in return. i think the real turning point was him as Wuming ( but i'll leave this for another post ). his only reason to exist is Xie Lian, if xie Lian ceases to exist, he will too.

so Hua cheng , never really cared about Morals, or what's the right or wrong thing to do. he never cared if he was called good or bad. the only opinion that mattered to him is Xie Lian's . everything he does or doesn't do, is based around that and only that. which brings me to my point : Xie Lian knows and understand that about Hua cheng. he knows Hue cheng isn't perfect, he knows their principles are diffrent, he knows he doesn't and wouldn't care about anything else other his Dianxia, yet he still loves him and accepts him as he is, and never thought of making him change. Why ? well .."To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is you. What matters is you, and not the state of you."

Canon Hua cheng isn't good, but isn't bad either. but so is Xie lian and everyone else in the book. if canon Hua cheng makes uncomfortable and would like to seek other versions that is fine, but my point is, it's the imperfection o his character that makes him as a character even beautiful. to be loved i nall your states, good and bad, that is the real message of TGCF.