#and i think he wants to break him to keep him like jiao liqiao to di feisheng

[madamadragon]

There was a post about a ship between Li Xiangyi and Shan Gudao and this is what i picture in my mind

Tell me i'm not the only one

(credit to the artists)

[bbcphile]

It’s interesting that Di Feisheng has a reputation in fandom for being incredibly straightforward, aboveboard, and against lying/manipulating others/acting out a role (unlike Li Lianhua) when he actually spends more time withholding information, keeping his agenda hidden, and playing a role to get what he wants than he does being straightforward and direct. 

Here’s a list of things Di Feisheng has lied about/misrepresented:

Pretending to care about the jinyuan alliance (he says the only people who know he set it up to reach the top of the jianghu are the 3 kings)

Disguising his identity for the Yipin tomb (by pretending to be a child)

Disguising his identity to Fang Duobing when traveling with Li Lianhua (he pretends to be a-Fei the former nanhai sect disciple because Li Lianhua tells him to)

Threatening to kill Qiao Wanmian (as part of a threat to make Li Xiangyi agree to fight him; we know he doesn’t kill women, so this is absolutely an empty threat)

Claiming to heal Qiao Wanmian (Li Lianhua did it and he is covering for him)

Pretending to not be mad at Jiao Liqiao for poisoning Qiao Wanmian

Pretending to forget the time between his seclusion ending and waking up after wuxin huai is cured

Pretending to reciprocate Jiao Liqiao’s affections (once his wuxin huai is cured)

Pretending to support Shan Gudao (he was always planning on betraying him once he got rid of the mind control bugs)

And here are lies by omission/information he withholds from people (especially Li Lianhua):

That “Shan Gudao” was dead before the 3 kings met him for their battle 

That he ordered his body be taken away to be examined by a coroner because he thought it was suspicious

That someone had framed the jinyuan alliance for Shan Gudao’s death (he keeps these first 3 a secret from Li Lianhua until the spiritual snake cave, and even then, Li Lianhua doesn’t believe him until after the opal skull case a few episodes later)

That Fang Duobing was Shan Gudao’s son (he only tells Li Lianhua this after all his other attempts to convince Li Lianhua to want to live have failed)

That he wanted to break into the 188 prison to rescue his subordinate who was framed for killing Shan Gudao to provide Li Lianhua with evidence that the jinyuan alliance wasn’t responsible 

That he’s working with Shan Gudao to get the mind control bug (and then the wangchuan flower) to free himself and the other Di prisoners

There are also plenty of times he does less-than-aboveboard things:

He spies/eavesdrops on people by hiding his qi all the time

Even though he promised to keep Li Lianhua’s identity a secret, he still tries to manipulate things behind the scenes to unmask him (eg. Shoving him into the fight to hold his old sword and then flicking a coin at the sword once it’s unsheathed, either to shatter it because he knows it’s fake or to trick Li Lianhua into wielding the blade and giving away his identity)

So, basically, he has a habit of hiding his true motivations from people, of letting Li Lianhua/Xiangyi think the worst of him and his motivations because he wants to gather evidence/solve the problem before sharing intel, of saying whatever threat he thinks will motivate Li Lianhua to live and not give up (especially after the truth fails), of embracing his reputation as a villain to protect Li Lianhua (even if the “protection” is from Li Lianhua’s own people who want to know he is alive), and of scheming to gather the info he needs to protect himself and Li Lianhua.

(Given these patterns, I think it’s also likely that Di Feisheng was lying about planning to force Li Lianhua to eat the yin leaves of the Wangchuan flower that would give him strength for a fight and then kill him, but that’s a meta for another day; I’m sticking to facts here rather than theories.)

Di Feisheng obviously doesn’t like lying or withholding information—just look at his face at the manor with all the lotuses when Fang Duobing is asking him how he knows so much about the Jinyuan alliance to see how viscerally uncomfortable it makes him! But he will absolutely do it, especially if he knows someone is lying to him and it is a way to level the playing field, and most of the time, his poker face is so flawless that you probably won’t even realize he was lying until later when you have more facts to put together. (Which means that his visible discomfort at Fang Duobing’s questions was a choice! Was it to try to convince Li Lianhua to tell the truth? To encourage Fang Duobing to think about it more and arrive at the truth on his own? So many options!)

So, yes, Di Feisheng believes strongly in having fair fights (as opposed to the abusive fights from his childhood), in not poisoning people, in not killing women, in not betraying people, and in being honest and direct when possible. But if his safety or Li Lianhua’s well-being is at risk (even if the latter is because of Li Lianhua’s own actions), he will absolutely lie, manipulate, and withhold info, or lean into the role of villain to ensure a better outcome. And he does it with a skill and commitment to the deception that Li Lianhua usually doesn't muster.

[hils79]

Hils Watches Mysterious Lotus Casebook - Ep 40 (and bonus episode)

God, okay, here we go. I'm so anxious. I remember how Heroes ended and how much it broke me

I've come this far though so I guess let's do this even if it's going to hurt. I have a packet of tissues on standby just in case it all goes horribly wrong as I fear it will

Well, we're off to a good start. Li Lianhua is practicing his martial arts and imagining Di Feisheng is there with him. I'm definitely not crying less than 5 minutes in

It's okay though because Fang Duobing is there to take care of him and make sure he keeps warm 😭

Okay, I suspected he rigged the mechanisms to be easily seen and destroyed because Fang Duobing mentioned it but I didn't realise the whole thing was him trying to take down Jiao Liqiao from the inside. I feel bad(ish) for him now

Oh shit! Well, it wouldn't be Mysterious Lotus Casebook without one final (I hope) dramatic poisoning

I love that he just calls him Xiaobao in front of everyone now. Everyone clearly knows they're together.

God, he's about to do something stupid isn't he? I'm having Word of Honor flashbacks. GDI even I didn't clock that he was deliberately sending Fang Duobing away so he could do this

Oh fuck

I am sobbing

I do not understand these two at all. First of all I thought she left him when she ended their engagement (that I thought was a marriage - that whole wedding that wasn't a wedding was confusing), then I assumed she must have left him when she took the sect leader job from him. Apparently after all that they're still together??? But maybe they're breaking up for real this time?

I suppose Xiao Zijin is going to blame Li Lianhua for this too

I knew he was going to get free and leave before Fang Duobing got back 😭

FFS I was already crying and now Huli Jing is crying so I'm crying even more. I knew this was going to be sad but FUCK

He just rescued a trapped bird like a fucking Disney prince

I knew the 'recipe book' was going to be all his martial arts notes

FFS Xiao Zijin let it go! I swear to god if he kills Li Lianhua because Li Lianhua is half blind and ready to die I am throwing my laptop out the window

OH FUCK IS HE GOING TO DO IT HIMSELF?

Oh, I think he was talking to his sword

Well fuck.

Oh, he landed in the boat. Maybe he's okay? Let me have my denial!

It feels like forever ago but I think this dude was telling the story of Li Xiangyi and Di Feisheng in the first episode. If he was that's a nice touch that we've circled back around and he's now telling stories about Li Lianhua

I have to laugh because the alternative is crying even more. But I love all these randos know that Di Feisheng is in love with Li Lianhua and they're acting like him not showing up at the beach is like jilting him at the altar (even though they're already married)

His stoic but clearly sad face 😭

Well he's still alive. At the moment at least.

I know he's talking about fighting, but he probably also talking about their relationship

I want to hug him

I'm fine 😭

Onto the bonus episode. This is either going to be hopeful or painful and I honestly have no idea which way it's going to go

Painful so far!

Well, that was very ambiguous so I'm choosing to believe they found him at the beach and are living happily ever after 😋

I did really enjoy that despite the pain. Thanks to everyone who has been yelling along with me in the comments and notes while I've been watching. This is why I enjoy liveblogging dramas