#ask biji

[lunarriviera]

How do i watch dmbj/the lost tomb? In order...they are so many....are they remakes...i know zhu yilong was in one...? I see different actors every time....Pls help if you watched it.

oh ho ho have i watched it. i have watched it alright. not only have i watched it but just yesterday i made my UNDERGRADS watch it (okay just one clip of xiao yuliang, bc i was teaching them about wirework) (bc i also made them watch house of flying daggers, yes it was my favorite day in film class: wuxia day!). NB however that surprisingly little of this is actually wirework—it's just xiao yuliang flipping himself around like a little pancake, bc that's what he DOES.

[yes this guy is huang junjie, not xiao yuliang; but they both play the same character, xiaoge. yes we all know it makes no sense. shhhhh just roll with it, don’t fight it, it’ll be easier if you just accept that your favorite characters will never ever be played by the same actors, except for all the times when they are. why? because of c-ent. go home, c-ent, you’re drunk. also because it’s funnier this way.]

FORTUNATELY you don’t need me to explain bc smarter people than i have already made beautiful guides to watching dmbj. the main thing to remember is that you literally can’t do it wrong bc the entire franchise is, as we say in the american south, a dog’s breakfast. everything is made up and the points don’t matter. you can start with any of the dramas and it still won’t make sense, but that’s okay because that’s what fandom wikis and tumblr and all of us are for.

it’s all because of this guy, 南派三叔 = nanpai sanshu = npss, whose real name is 徐磊, Xu Lei. he never finishes anything he starts unless they force him to, probably by threatening to take away his alcohol. so if you read any of the novels, please don’t expect them to have endings, because half the time they just sort of. stop. (i’m still upset about sha hai. i will always be upset about sha hai. i'm in THERAPY about sha hai.) (and i suppose you could in theory read the novels, in order, first, before watching the dramas? i know exactly one (1) person who did this but they have an exquisitely nerdy doctorate and i really don’t advise it for the faint of heart, you’re gonna suffer through a lot of fart jokes and really super gross insects. sadly i know this because i too have read the novels, because i also have a doctorate and apparently way too much fucking time on my hands. which is why it’s 1 am and i’m answering another ask instead of grading the last half dozen papers on antigone and the popol vuh, okay where were we.) RIGHT, so—definitely read @foxofninetales’s wonderful guide to “possible entry points to dmbj” (or @laireshi’s guide to the novels, if those still interest you.) @laireshi also has an excellent guide to starting with ultimate note, which i think is a fine drama to start with! the cast is great. (just be prepared for a cliffhanger) (which can be resolved, anomalously, by reading the novel). @thelaithlyworm also has a good guide here, and @dramas-vs-novels has a guide to all the major characters. and you will love all of the characters, very quickly, with a degree of intensity that can and probably should alarm you. you will especially love the iron triangle. these idiots. them. yes.

so you can try to be logical about it!…OR you can do what i did, which was, knowing absolutely fucking nothing, just faceplant into reboot (because ofc i was obsessed with zhu yilong, who was my gateway drug, just like 99% of western dmbj rookies who fell in love with guardian), and then stare in horror as dmbj devoured my brain over the next two years and i couldn’t think about anything or anyone but xiaoge. you know. like that. isn’t fandom great.

just think, someday soon you’ll even be able to appreciate this absolutely idiotic in-joke. there are about a squillion more where this one came from, too.

but the main thing is, nonny: whatever you do, have fun! lost tomb is completely unhinged and that’s the best thing about it. it is also, as i repeatedly warn my students, the star wars of china, and you will never ever reach the end of its vast expanses. not least because npss keeps starting and not finishing things.

(but none of them are really…remakes…exactly? they're all mostly maddeningly different and cover different parts of the story, with a few…bizarre, difficult-to-describe…overlaps, and a few parts which don't fit anywhere, e.g. misty creed/conjuring curse.…you'll see.)

[justpostsyeet]

Who's that smiling guy(gif) in your profile pic?

You mean this bitch

You can find basic info here

Huo Daofu emerges as a fascinating, almost inexplicable enigma in a world where most are bound by tomb-raiding honor codes and dogged loyalty. He's sharp, perceptive, and as caustic as vinegar, his well-practiced snark a refreshing balm against Wu Xie's perpetual charm that often borders on Marty Sue territory. Huo Daofu knows how to wound with a look, to offer up contempt veiled in the thinnest guise of professionalism. He's That Bitch personified—the eye rolls, the carefully meted-out sarcasm, the razor-sharp side commentary: he's not here for heroics or loyalty, he's here for him, and maybe just a little for the drama.

Yet behind that acid wit lies a man curiously entangled in the lives of others, even if he’d rather nobody noticed. He grumbles about Wu Xie's cough but shelters him from the rain, curses him out of one lung but obsessively ensures the other keeps breathing. Huo Daofu's affection is a thorny, prickly thing, given in spite of himself, as much to make a point as to fulfill a duty. The constant push-pull between his prickly disdain and quiet, nearly feral loyalty hints at something deeper—something he likely resents and treasures in equal measure. Fluent in logistics and anatomy—skills that make him both a fantastic doctor and a potential cleaner of inconvenient messes—he’s functional and ruthlessly efficient but also visibly out of place, eternally displaced from what he might call home. His relationships speak volumes about his contradictions. With Yang Hao, there's a protective, yet undeniably self-serving interest—bordering on a possessive pride in the boy’s potential, layered with enough ambiguity to raise eyebrows. He’s the cold-blooded pragmatist, but he’s also the one pulling Yang Hao back from countless moments of danger, silently dragging the kid to safety while casting his signature scornful gaze at the oblivious crowd. He's a man with vaguely menacing aspirations—he'll take over the Huos if the opportunity presents itself, but he's smart enough to know that a little decency might be his best survival tool.

And, of course, Huo Daofu’s fashion sense is impeccable, and that's not merely an aesthetic choice but a declaration of independence in a world of practical, dusty clothes. His checked suit, pocket square, and dramatic scarf mark him as someone unbothered by the scorn of his peers. He’s out of place, doesn’t fully belong—and he knows it. So why not dress up the part of the outsider, the drama-imbued intellectual, the man with his sights set on surviving by any means necessary? There’s more than a touch of dark humor in his choices, as though he’s laughing privately at the world that never wanted him and never will, savoring his own bitter bite in each calculated appearance.

His impeccable fashion sense :

In the end, Huo Daofu is not a hero, not a friend, and not an enemy—he’s a man who loves reluctantly, fights strategically, and suffers elegantly, a character so deliciously layered with contradictions that we can’t help but lean in closer.

[sunriseverse]

Are you still interested in prompts? This one isn't really romantic but can be spun as cute: Wu Xie touched some cursed object AGAIN and now he's pocket sized. How does the rest if the Iron Triangle cope/react?

oh excellent! i love this prompt :) have a little silly ficlet.

"Tianzhen..." Pangzi practically looks like he's going to double over from laughter, which Wu Xie would really like to avoid, considering he's currently held in Pangzi's palm, and might go flying and, fuck knows, bash his head in or something on the floor.

"Don't say it," Wu Xie says, more than a little cross, and crosses his arms, frowning heavily at Pangzi.

"Tianzhen..." Now, Pangzi's palm is shaking, and Wu Xie has to pinwheel his arms to make sure he doesn't fall.

"Don't. Say. It," he hisses out.

"Pangzi isn't the only one who needs to look out for tomb goods," Xiaoge says, over Pangzi's shoulder, looking as serene as ever.

"Fuck!" Wu Xie says, and clings on for dear life to Pangzi's thumb as he finally gives in, doubles over, and howls with laughter, tears streaming down his cheeks.

[travalerray]

dmbj fandom, does anyone know if there's any existing translation of NPSS's author notes during the webnovel publication? Even partial translation would do

[bean-in-dice]

WIP meme

Thanks for tagging me @thelaithlyworm !

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

(Hope I'm doing this correct lol

Also, i usually name things after Im done writing, so none of these have names as they are wips)

1. A Bai Jintang and Gongsun Ce fic (for SCI: The Mystery Novel). I think I meant to name this something like "Blood, Glass and Bone Ashes"

With introspective GSC pov, where I analyse their horrific relationship start, and what continuing meant for both of them, and where they stand now. Though I HATED them in the first few books, by book 4 they had unexpectedly grown on me and I wanted to do something about that, but to my regret I only wrote like 500 words at the time and postponed it till I've read all of SCI, but by book 5 I kinda started losing interest on the series therefore I keep pushing this Wip to the back shelf. Sorry, fic. Maybe one day I'll get back to you🫠

2. Baby Pangzi fic

Probably will never happen because I wrote a baby Xiaoge fic and included all the best baby shenanigans in it already. Dui bu qi, Pangzi! Ive done you great injustice 😭

3. A Heixie fic that acknowledges Pingxie, Huaxie, Pangxie, Heiping and Heihua all at the same time.

Will probably finish this, it kinda feels all over the place but this is a headcanon so dear to me so I will try my best to brush it up.

4. A One Million Yen Girl (jmovie) au for Zhang Qiling

I've written like 1/8 of this, I really want to write it but I feel like it's beyond my abilities and it stopped being fun. There was this aloof and extremely introvert atmosphere in the Japanese movie but that's what... uh, handwaves....the Jmovie vibes tends to be like sometimes but that's so not the C-story vibe, not even in the most thought provoking, languid and quiet Cmovie/Cdrama, and I thought I could make it work because Zhang Qiling is aloof himself but the more I write the more I feel like this only looks appealing on visual media not when you write it.

OR it's not actually as bad as I think but because I already have this exact image in my head, inability to achieve it makes me more dissapointed. One needs to be careful when they adapt a story from one culture to another that is quite different from the first one, and if you are feeling awkward you better stop. Some things only work in your head and not on paper.

Now for the tagging

Hmm

I don't know a lot of dmbj people on tumblr huhu. @missfangirll @mekare-art @epicwalrus if you will? 🙈

Oh well, I realise I've left nothing for anyone to ask about anw, I've already provided descriptions. Should I remove them, then? Nvm 😂

[hisapyon]

been thinking bout them a lot lately lolol (probably gonna make nsfw version too)

[lacommunarde]

Hello! For the WIP ask game, I'll ask about DMBJ - A Certain Someone is Alive and Well and Teaching at Med School

Thank you for asking!

A Foye-is-still-alive fic set mostly during Reboot! It also features an implication I got which might or might not be accurate from the miluotuo around the Zhang Family Ancient Pavillion.

He faked his death became a PI in a lab studying genetics. He got his interest in genetics, both trying to find a way to escape the changes he's been feeling since the Greatest Tomb Robbery in History / Zhang Qiling + M9 Tomb Robbery/Siguniang and trying to find out various things about Zhang family genetics. After he helps Schodinger's brats go through "it," his body tries to die on him and he, Zhang Rishan and Huo Daofu get to try to stop it from becoming... I'm playing with the implication that when they die qilin blooded Zhang become miluotuo unless they are buried in the Zhang Family Ancient Pavillion. He, Zhang Rishan and Huo Daofu came up with a way to hold off the changes with medicine. After they figure out a way to, he fakes his death.

And then, with the experience he gained through finding out about what his genes were doing, and that it very much resembles various types of cancer, and working with various biology departments in universities and institutes, he moved over into doing research and training/teaching a bunch of mentees through their PhDs and postdocs. (He has Opinions on gene editing programs from trying to put his own through them).

He worked at the university Liang Wan got her degree from. It happened by accident that she came tolearn at his department but he was intrigued. She still follows him in alumni magazines and journals. And has his email. Zhang Rishsn does not because it was deemed too dangerous.

Then Liang Wan and Zhang Rishan get a call from Huo Daofu about how Wu Xie's dying from cancer and the changes he's undergoing actually resemble the changes Someone was going through, because Zhang blood and death. And that now a certain Zhang Qiling knows, despite Wu Xie trying to hide the changes.

[mademoiselle-red]

Thank you so much for your reply! 十年and北京故事 are defenitely right up my alley, I'm looking forward to them. I absolutely loved 二哈, do you know 病案本? Please list any recs, I trust you haha. Chinese is fine, but nuances go over my head

I assume you’re referring to the 瓶邪 Chinese fic recommendations I mentioned in my previous response. I have quite a few.

瓶邪文推

Available on various different websites and forums:

毒+三年 by 夜藤 link (short, devastating, BE)

局外人 by 高森 link (this one was particularly good and quite 虐心, it is both BE and HE)

1990 by 一三 link

战骨 by 线性木头 link

犹记君归处 by 翠寒烟 link

渡苦 by 一三 link

墨色黎明 by BY 劍麟的狐耳 link

回去我们回不去的过去 by 想开点 link

骸之嫣然 by 六欲浮屠 link

歧路 by 六欲浮屠 link

我这一辈子 by glueball link

Available on ao3:

渐近终极 by bee_and_tiger link

观棋不语 by type_omega link (extremely long, but so good)

Available on LOFTER (search for the title or author in the app or website):

莫比乌斯 by 五脊吞六兽 (interesting world building for the 青铜门 mystery）

引狼入室 by糊涂仙儿

单相思 by 糊涂仙儿

平邪线 by 碎碎九十三 (time travel is involved)

白费力 by 404NotFound

无稽 by 此处用户名

~

I remember checking out 病案本 but I don’t remember why I didn’t read past the first chapter. Maybe I’ll give it another go!

[fangcaodi]

I don't understand what all the DMBJ (Daomu Biji) shows are and at this point I'm too afraid to ask.

[carinameow]

Kak Iparku Sayang 3

Hampir tiga bulan kami melakukan persetubuhan haram ini tanpa pengetahuan abang. Dan dalam waktu itulah juga sebanyak tiga keping ubat pil perancang keluarga dah habis. Setiap kali lepas main kak Tini akan telan pil tersebut. hubungan kami terlalu rapat dan permainan sex kami juga dah semakin membosankan kerana semua patern dah dikaji selidik dan diperaktikkan. Pada suatu malam selepas habis main doktor-doktor bersama Kak Tini, kak Tini menyuarakan hasratnya untuk mendapatkan permainan sex yang lebih hebat dan mencabar. "pening juga kepala zul memikirkannya Tini permainan yang macam mana yang ingin Tini praktikkan."

"Zul ingat tak dulu waktu kita tengok Blue Film dulu,cerita sex dengan binatang? ingat tak?"

"ingat, kenapa!!?"

"sedap tak kalau main sex dengan binatang?"

"tak tahulah saya kak? tapi kalu nak tahu best atau tidak, kenalah try dulu. Binatang apa yang tini nak test nie??"

"tak kisah lah zul asalkan best"

"betul ker nie tini"

"ya la takkan main-main kot"

"jikalau macam tu nanti zul uruskan kawan zul, Mr singh"

"Wow singh mesti best nie zul. bila?"

"amboi tini nie. dah tak minat dengan zul ker

"takkk! mana boleh lupa dengan abang zul sayang Tini."

Kami terus berciuman dan bersetubuh sekali lagi.

Aku telah merancang bagaimana nak membawa Kak Tini berjumpa dengan kawan aku Singh.Singh merupakan seorang suami kepada Villashinni. Mereka dah 10 tahun kahwin tapi anak tak ader. Isteri singh pun mengancam jugak, kaum punjabi katakan. mesti putih punya.

Aku menyuruh kak tini menghantak anak buah aku kerumah sebelah dengan memberi alasan untuk pergi menguruskan hal di pejabat pos. aku elok-olok pergi kerja dan pulang semula untuk menjemput kak Tini dengan motor. setelah diserahkan anak kepada rumah sebelah kami terus menuju kerumah singh.aku telah memberitahu singh dengan rancangan aku ini.tak tahu pulak aku yang singh telah memberitahu isterinya.rupa-rupanya isteri singh understanding rupanya. mereka berdua berkerja sendiri dan untuk projek ini sanggup mereka bercuti. lebih kurang pukul 10.00 pagi aku sampai kerumah singh. Rumah singh besar dan jauh dari rumah jiran keliling.rumahnya dikelilingi dusun buah-buahan dan terdapat juga kandang kuda dan lembu yang dijaga oleh orang yang telah dibayar upah.

Aku dapat rasakan yang Tini semakin gelisah, kurang pasti aku kenapa.Villa mengajak Tini masuk kedalm rumah untuk ditunjukkan keadaan rumahnya.aku dan singh membincangkan rancangan berdua.Zul kalu u kasi Tini main dengan saya punya pet, apa upah u mau kasi sama I. Takkan tengok saja kot??!!!relax singh,mana boleh lupa sama u, u boleh main apa sama itu Tini. Eh singh ini Tini haa manyak best ooo sekali u kena mesti mau lagi punya.i promise to u. Singh lu punya wife apa macamMonday, February 21, 2000apa lu mau sama i punya wife kaaMonday, February 21, 2000ehhh!!singgh .hehe zul kalu u mau sama i punya wife ,u can ask her laa.really singh,u don't mind singh!!! ok,,,cantikkk.

Kemudian kami diajak masuk kedalam rumah. terkejut aku melihat villa dan tini dah menukar baju dengan memakai baju tidur sahaja yang dipinjam dari villashinni.Singh menutup pintu rumah dan kami bergerak naik ke bilik singh.singh juga membawa anjing kesangannya masuk kebilik.aku dan Tini kaku melihat dengan selamba sahaja singh dan villa memulakan aksi dengan bercium-cium sambil anjing kesayangannya mejilat-jilat kaki tuannya. Terkejut aku melihat villa membuka bajunya dan menampakkan buah susu dan pukinya yang lebat dengan bulu.begitu juga dengan singh.Besar sungguh batang singh hingga terbeliak biji mata Tini.Aku membisikkan kepada Kak Tini,Wah macam tu ker yang dicari selama ini kak??,,kak Tini hanya senyum sahaja.

Kemudian singh menjilat buah susu villa dan terus ke pukinya dan aku menjadi semakim khayal dan terus membuka baju dan seluar dalam . Tini masih lagi kaku tapi masih mengusap-usap kelangkangnya.aku terus membuka baju tidur Tini, dan aku memainkan peranan aku seperti sebelumnya. aku dapat lihat bagaimana singh menyetubuhi isterinya, bising jadinya bilik tidur dengan rengekkan mereka berdua. aku memimpin Tini kepada singh dan villa. tangan Tini aku letakkan ke dada singh dan dia terus mengusap-usap dada singh yang penuh bulu itu.aku juga mendapatkan villa yang sedia menanti kedatangan aku untuk menyetubuhinya. kami bertukar-tukar pasangan.

Pengalaman dengan villa amat hebat. buah susunya jauh lebih besar dari Tini. aku melakukan pada villa seperti mana yang pernah aku lakukan pada Tini.aku menjadi semakim high dan begitu juga dengan villa, kami semakim rancak berhenjutan dan akhirnya aku berjaya melepaskan air mani ku atas burit villa. sambil aku berehat disebelah dah dapati singh masih belum habis aksinya dengan Tini,kesian tini aku tengok ,tidak mampu lagi membuka mata,walupun sudah klimaks tapi penunggangnya masih belum melepaskannya plop!plap!plop!plap!plop!plap!.villa yang sudah ghairah kembali menggosok-gosok buritnya dan memanggil binatang kesayangan billy untuk menjilat burit.

Come on billy come to mama, dengan pantas anjing tersebut menjilat-jilat burit villa seperti sudah faham kehendak villa.Villa menjadi semakin ghairah dengan jilatan anjingnya itu,semakin banyak air yang keluar.Tini juga terpesona melihat kepandaian anjing singh melakukan aksi.Kemudian villa meraba-raba konek anjing dan seperti faham anjing tersebut merelakan apa yang dilakukan oleh villa.konek billy semakin panjang disebabkan lancapan villa.kemudian villa memegang konek anjingnya betul-betul dengan lubang pukinya.ditarik perlahan-lahan konekk billy masuk dalam lubang.konek billy semakin besar dan keras.billy melakukan dengan sempurna kepada villa.dihenjutnya burit villa.ternganga mulut villa menahan hentaman billy.

Aku tengok singh dengan Tini dah klimaks.singh mencabut batang pinangnya dan memancutkan atas perut Tini.habis perut badan dan muka Tini dipenuhi air singh.kemudian singh membiarkan tini terlentang dan dia mendapatkan billy.disuruhnya billy mejilat air yang berada atas badan Tini. Tini tidak membantah sedikit pun malah semakin ghairah dengan jilatan billy.billy terus menjilat puki Tini.dan tiba-tiba aku tengok tini terus memeluk billy dan mengusap-usap batang billy yang sedang kembang itu.dia melancap-lancap batang billy.billy seperti merelakan perbuatan tini.kemudian singh dan villa membantu billy memasukkan batangnya dalam burit tini.Tini mengangkang luas. dan kemudian singh menyuruh tini menonggeng supaya dapat dimasukkan melalui belakang.aku lihat Tini merangkak-rangkak menahan batang anjing singh.makin lama semakin besar dan panjang batang billy. aku lihat Tini semakin merengek-rengek menahan batang billy AAAHHHH!AAAHHHH!!!AAAHHHH!AAAAAHHHH !!zullll,

Tak pernah aku lihat macam nie punya dasyat,selalunya anjing sama anjing sahaja yang aku tengok.meleleh air liur tini menahan sedap batang billy. rupa-rupanya permainan anjing cukup lama berbanding manusia. kami membiarkan sahaja Tini dengan billy,lama lepas itu aku lihat billy mencakar-cakar carpet bilik menandakan dah sampai klimaknya.dia memaksa untuk mencabut.Meraung Tini menahan sakit dan terpaksalah singh dan villa memegang anjing mereka dari terus menarik batang keluar. Tini dah beberapa kali klimaks hinggakan tersepuk mukanya ke lantai bilik.akhirnya berjaya juga billy mencabut batangnya dan terus menjilat-jilat burit Tini. Tini terus terlelap kerana kepuasan yang tak terhingga. hampir pukul 3.30 petang baru selesai kesemuanya termasuk aku sekali.

Waktu pulang terpaksalah aku mencari tanah selut untuk Tini, kerana Kak Tini hendak menyamak badannya,kerana bersetubuh dengan anjing. ini merupakan pengalaman yang tidak dapat aku lupakan sampai bila-bila. Nampaknya Tini cukup puas dan entah kenapa kini abang aku dah kerap ada dirumah, perbuatan kami ini berjaya disimpan hingga ke hari ini. yang pasti aku ada merakam permainan kami di rumah singh.

[heybiji]

Hi there!

I've been meaning to reach out to say how much I adore your space cadet girl. Anytime it pops up in my feed, I hit that heart button. With that said, I wanted to know if you have any prints for sale, and additionally, are you open to people getting tattoos of your work? Like I said, I adore her, and she reminds me of a poem my parents had hanging in my room as a kid. So sweet. Anyway, please let me know if and where prints might be available for purchase. Take care.

Wow this is amazingly sweet, thank you so much!! I'm so curious what the poem was; if you can remember it, and are comfortable with sharing it, please send it my way!

I'm cool with people getting tattoos of my work (incredibly honored, I'd just wanna be able to see it). I only have one Cadet print up, but I might be able to get some more up if I can find some of my old files.

Thank you so, so, so much for this message! Here's a lil Cadet, just for you!

[ryin-silverfish]

Could you tell us more about fox spirits? or what you know about them? Since the Kitsune is the fox spirit that people popularize the most, information on the Huli Jing is difficult to search for.

*Deep Breath*

Man, oh man. On one hand, I am fascinated by fox spirits, on the other hand, entire books have been written on them (in Chinese), and there are a staggering amount of Qing dynasty fox tales in Yuewei Caotang Biji (阅微草堂笔记) and Liaozhai Zhiyi,(聊斋志异) it's hard to know where to start.

[Previous ask about nine-tailed foxes, the duality of auspicious and demonic, and Su Daji]

Fox spirits, like any other yaoguais, is an animal that has lived long enough and absorbed enough Qi to gain sentience. Through cultivation, they can eventually gain a human form.

According to Tang folklore, they need to wear a human skull on their head while bowing to the Dipper stars/moon, without the skull falling off, in order to transform into a human.

However, foxes are also talented shapeshifters and tricksters who have this reputation for seducing humans, male and female alike.

In earlier legends, that's just their nature, but Ming and Qing tales expanded on that, stating foxes have sex with human to drain their Qi or life force, because they need those to form an Inner Core——an orb of solidified Qi that contains all of their cultivation and life force.

(Usually, it's female foxes seducing human men, because they need some of that sweet, sweet Yang force to compliment their Yin.)

(But some Ming folklore collection said that male foxes also go after guys in the guise of women, while in others, male foxes are just seducers of women.)

(Oh, and there are actual lesbian foxes in Qing legends. Like Feng Sanniang from Liaozhai Zhiyi.)

But one must keep in mind that foxes, like all yaoguais, are not inherently good or evil. For every sexual predator and Daji-like temptress, there exists a graceful scholar, a chill friend, or a lovestruck girl (Liaozhai is full of human-fox romances).

Like, there is a tale in Yuewei Caotang Biji that's just a guy chatting with his 50-60 looking fox associate about how foxes cultivate. When asked why he's so candid about this stuff, he really sums up it best:

"There are good and bad ones among our kind, just like humans. If you humans don't shy away from speaking of human evil, why should I?"

He then proceeds to talk about how legit fox cultivators collect the essence of sun and moon like any regular Daoists, while the ones that seduce human and suck away their life forces are taking a shortcut and inviting heavenly retribution in the form of thunderbolts.

Other Qing legends introduce the hilarious concept that all aspiring foxes must pass an exam organized by the Lady of Mt. Tai, to, well, earn their cultivation permit. Not even foxes are free from the clutches of imperial examinations, it seems!

Still, their old auspicious association does give rise to the archetype of "cultivator/sorcerer foxes", as well as a higher chance of recruitment into the Celestial Bureaucracy.

Which might explain why foxes were so frequently venerated in popular religion. Like, northern China has this thing called the "Five Great Immortals" (五大仙), five species of cultivated animals that people worship:

Hu (���), Foxes

Huang (黄), Weasels

Bai (白), Hedgehogs

Liu (柳), Snakes

Hui (灰), Rats

When I travelled to the city of Pingyao, Shanxi last summer, one of the sites I visited had a Yuan dynasty building, and its second level is a shrine dedicated to the "Fox Immortal", guardian of the imperial official's seal.

Fun fact: fox spirits have a habit of impersonating Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Tang dynasty legends. Manjusri and Maitreya seems to be the most popular choice, and in 三遂平妖传, a Ming dynasty novel, "Sagely Old Lady"(圣姑姑) the heavenly fox also impersonates Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

So imagine my surprise when I actually encountered some foxes next to a highway during the same trip, while visiting Mt. Wutai, Manjusri's sacred mountain!

[lotusflowerbreakingthesurface]

PingXie Moments Compilation

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝟖𝟏𝟕 𝐃𝐚𝐨𝐦𝐢 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥!! 🎉

On this special day, let's reminisce about PingXie moments in the book∼ Fanfictions are indeed tasty, but the canon moments are also delicious, right? (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

Truthfully, I planned to compile all of them in one post, but I realized that there are too many PingXie moments, I'm afraid if I post them all, I will become a PingXie Bot, thus I picked some moments (and some jokes) that I thought were quite memorable and interesting. It's only 40 moments, it doesn't follow the timeline, perhaps only 80% of them.

Warning: Spoilers! Very long post! CP-oriented post! It's a compilation of PingXie moments in the book, naturally, there are spoilers. I added a little notes/meta/comments/related interviews as supplementary files. And I'm not an expert in the Chinese language (as you already know, I use mtl) so I put the source below, just in case you want to check the Chinese raw or other translations yourself. I apologize in advance if there is any mistake m(_ _)m

(Since there is a limit to insert images, I went with quoting them.)

Sources: Chinese Raw | MereBear's Translation | 瓶邪bot | Original Image by 刘巴布 | Divider by @anitalenia

1. Daomu Biji Vol. 1: Seven Star Lu Palace Chapter 2

As I was talking, I saw a young man walking out of the front door with a long thing on his back that was tightly wrapped in cloth. I knew at first glance that it was an ancient weapon. This thing was indeed very valuable, and if it sold well, the price could go for more than ten times its worth.

Note: In the book, it was their first meeting. But in an old Daomu Biji mobile game, NPSS added this line (it seems that he forgot about it later though):

“The first meeting with Zhang Qiling was not downstairs of Uncle Three's house, but at Wu Xie's full-month celebration, but they both forgot it.” ☆

2. Daomu Biji Vol. 4: Snake Marsh Ghost City (Part II) Chapter 18 | Chapter 47 (MereBear)

He continued, "I am a person without a past and a future. All I do is to find find my connection with this world. Where did I come from and why am I here?" He looked at his hands and said calmly, "Can you imagine that if someone like me disappears from this world, no one will find out, as if I have never existed in this world, without leaving any trace? Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I often doubt whether I really exist or am just a phantom of a person."

I was speechless and thought for a while before saying, "It's not as exaggerated as you say. If you disappear, at least I will find out."

3. Daomu Biji Vol. 6: Ancient Building Under the Dark Mountain Chapter 39

Pangzi gestured for me to ask Men You Ping. I looked at him and heard him say, "About five hours ago, you appeared where you are now, in a deep coma, barely conscious. We gave you a simple first aid, and then five hours later, you woke up."

I waited for Men You Ping to continue speaking, but he shut up.

"That’s it?" I asked in surprise.

"That’s it." He said in a muffled voice.

[....]

Pangzi nodded and said, "Xiaoge and I have been in another cave, which is relatively dry, but I will come here to get water every once in a while. When I found that there was suddenly another person in the cave, I was scared to death, but I recognized you immediately, called Xiaoge, and rescued you together. You were already dead, so if you really need to find someone to save your life, I, Pangye, was still qualified to make a guest appearance. Later, we were afraid that you might have broken bones, so we didn't dare to move and just waited here for you to wake up."

Note: Xiaoge gives Wu Xie mouth-to-mouth resuscitation here. Someone analyzed it and NPSS confirmed it. Here is the analysis:

“If you want to perform CPR on a person who is not breathing without moving the body, the most basic and important thing is artificial respiration. Judging from Pangzi's tone, the whole rescue process was completed by him and Men You Ping. But there is a key word here: "guest appearance". Pangzi did not play the main role in the rescue process. So who played this main role? I think everyone should understand.” ☆

4. Daomu Biji Vol. 6: Ancient Building Under the Dark Mountain Chapter 49

He leaned against the stone wall behind him and said calmly: "He and I can't leave."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" I cursed.

He suddenly smiled at me and said: "Fortunately, I didn't kill you..."

I was stunned. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You--" My head buzzed.

He still smiled at me, his head slowly lowered, and sat there, as if he was just taking a rest. However, the surroundings were completely silent.

Note: There once was a typo in the first draft, but it was edited later.

Edited version: “还好，我没有害死你……”

Unedited version: “一汀烟雨杏花寒好， 还好， 我没有害死你......”

“一汀烟雨杏花寒” comes from an ancient poem “戴叔伦：燕子不归春事晚，一汀烟雨杏花寒”, it describes the scenery of late spring and expresses the feelings of melancholy and separation. ☆

5. Daomu Biji Vol. 7: Stone Shadow in Qiong Cave Chapter 18

Men You Ping did not answer her. Instead, he turned to me and said, "Take me home." Then he walked out without looking back.

6. Daomu Biji Vol 8: The Finale Book 2 Chapter 3 | Part 2 Chapter 54 (MereBear)

I was stunned for a moment, and then froze. At that moment, my mind became blank.

I couldn’t describe the emptiness in my heart. I suddenly didn’t know what I should do.

Dead? You’ve got to be kidding me.

Is he really dead? Hey, what kind of international joke is this?

"Wake up. Let's go home." I patted his face, suddenly finding it all very funny. I turned to Pangzi and laughed. "Look at Xiaoge."

"I know." Pangzi said on the side, his voice was very low.

Then, my hands began to tremble uncontrollably. I looked at my hands and found that there was no sadness in my heart. My consciousness did not react, but my body instinctively felt despair.

I thought to myself, he’s really fucking sitting there, he’s really fucking dead. Men You Ping is really fucking dead!

There were actually such things in this world, and Men You Ping could actually die.

[....]

My instincts were collapsing under the pressure, but all kinds of uncomfortable feelings were still leaking out of the "pressure cooker" of emotions. I felt that I couldn't let my emotions run wild, because if I got sad, I might die here. I feel very strange in my heart, not just sad. I don’t know if others can understand my complicated feelings. First there was despair, then more of a distrust of what I saw. My mind went blank for a long time before all the emotions in my heart came to the surface.

I have always wondered how I would feel if Men You Ping died. I thought that maybe I was extremely sad, or maybe I had thought about it too much and done too much mental preparation, so I became numb and felt that I could totally bear it. Now that it has really happened, it has turned into a strange mood that I can’t even deal with.

After that, I was in a dilemma, not knowing whether I should be sad or pretend to be calm and endure the pain. In the end, the former gradually prevailed. I did nothing beside his body, just stared blankly.

But just when I felt that tears were about to fall, I suddenly saw Men You Ping's hand move and scratch the floor!

Comment: I feel like "Wake up. Let's go home." is the answer to Xiaoge's "Take me home." in the previous moment, don't you think so? And here is the description of Wu Xie's feelings when he thought that Xiaoge died. It's quite long and depressing... T_T

7. Daomu Biji Vol. 8: The Finale Book 2 Chapter 25 | Part 2 Chapter 76 (MereBear)

"I came to say goodbye to you." He said, "It's all over. I thought about my connection with this world, and it seems that the only one I can find now is you."

Comment: Is this the kind of connection that Xiaoge was looking for in Daomu Biji Vol. 4?

Note: In the Live Broadcast Interview on June 11, 2021, there was a question about what "嫩牛五方" Nenniu Wufang (Iron Triangle + HeiHua) think of Wu Xie, and this is Xiaoge's part:

NPSS: For Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie is his only connection with the human world. He can live without any connection with the human world. After so many years, Wu Xie was the opportunity that made him willing to connect with the human world, which was also something that required courage for him, because connecting with Wu Xie means connecting with other people. At the beginning, Wu Xie was just one of the many people he had saved, but Wu Xie reached a state of transcendence through his own qualities. He was able to attract another person who was not a mortal. There is such a person, when you look him in the eye, you will have this feeling-

Host: This is that person, this is the person I am looking for.

NPSS: Yes. ☆

8. Daomu Biji Vol. 8: The Finale Book 2 Chapter 27 | Part 2 Chapter 78 (MereBear)

That night, we found a relatively dry place and lit a fire. Sitting in front of the fire, he silently looked at me for the first time.

I also stared at him for a long time. Since he kept looking at me like this, I began to wonder whether the focus of his gaze was actually on me. When I found that he was really looking at me, however, I felt very strange. I said, "Is something wrong with me? Is there a monster behind me?" I asked him several times, but he didn't respond. I thought this person was not very normal at ordinary times. Now in this situation, I definitely couldn't understand and didn't need to understand. But after a while, he suddenly asked me for a cigarette.

9. Daomu Biji Vol. 8: The Finale Book 2 Chapter 28 | Part 2 Chapter 79 (MereBear)

I screamed as I rolled all the way down the hillside. I knew it was a very steep cliff with a drop of at least thirty meters, so even if there was snow below, I would never be safe.

[....]

Just when I was about to despair, I suddenly heard a movement outside. Then, my flailing hands were grabbed by someone, and I was pulled out of the snow pit. I gasped for breath, and saw Men You Ping grabbed the back of my collar and pulled me out of the snow with force.

My eyes still saw a pink color, which was quite blurry. I looked at him, and I was so angry that I asked him: "Why did you come back again?"

He looked at me, then at the cliff above his head, and said to me, "I heard your cry for help."

Note: This is one of the famous PingXie moments, which later someone brought up this scene again in the comment section of the online version of Sand Sea 3 Chapter 5 (Chapter 116 on MereBear's site: Like a Red Bean in the Exquisite Dice, My Love for You is Deep in My Bones) in 2014. Here is the famous comment that is still circulating around in the DMBJ fandom:

“The moment I fell, holding my neck, I thought I couldn't speak anymore. The sky of Motuo was still empty, just like the Changbai Mountain. But this time, no one would jump down thirty meters to pull me up. I asked him why he came, and he said he heard my voice.” ☆

However, people still doubt where this quote actually comes from. As someone said, what I've mentioned before is the most likely source since it is the earliest one that can be found. The site was closed down, so I can't check it myself.

10. Daomu Biji Vol. 8: The Finale Book 2 Chapter 28 | Part 2 Chapter 79 (MereBear)

"That’s fine, do whatever you want. If you really knock me out, I have nothing to say, but I hope you know that if you need someone to accompany you to the end, I won’t refuse." I said, "I want to accompany you. This is my own decision, so don't worry about it."

Top comment: One is a confession that travels thousands of miles away, and the other is a stumbling pursuit. ☆

11. Daomu Biji Vol. 8: The Finale Book 2 Chapter 29 | Part 2 Chapter 80 (MereBear)

Men You Ping nodded, and I asked him: "If this is not the case, according to the promise, who should be the next in line for the Old Nine Gates?"

"You." Men You Ping said.

Me? I was stunned for a moment: "You mean, I was supposed to stay behind this bronze door for ten years?"

Men You Ping nodded, and just as I was about to ask him to clarify, Men You Ping suddenly reached out and pressed the back of my neck, and I lost consciousness."

12. Excerpt from 《与邪共予起灵书》 or see more here

I saw Menyouping standing in the dazzling light of the bronze door, as if waiting for me. It turns out that not everyone has left me. He is right here, behind this mysterious bronze door, looking forward to meeting me again just like me. Ten years, it sounds like a long time that cannot be passed, but when that moment comes, we will definitely feel the brevity of time. Its brevity may just be because you are looking forward to a reunion. You use your ten years to exchange my lifelong innocence, then I will use the next ten years and more ten years to exchange your ten years.

The passage above is related to the famous quote “用我一生换你十年的天真无邪” (I'll give you my whole life in exchange for your ten years of innocence).

According to this post, this sentence first appeared in a forum interview in 2010. When NPSS talked with readers about the final ending of the characters in the main story (Daomu Biji Vol. 1-8), he used the sentence "用自己的一生，再换你十年的天真无邪" (I'll give you my whole life in exchange for another ten years of your innocence) to summarize the ending of Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie in the main story.

NPSS's interview with Nangong Ling, the owner of PingXie Bar on Baidu Post Bar or Tieba (a popular Chinese forum) at that time: The Long-Delayed New Year Interview on March 11, 2010 ☆

Q: Is Wu Xie the most miserable person in the whole book? Is it true that one of him and Pingzi (Xiaoge) will die in the end?

A: Wu Xie is the most miserable, his life is a doomed tragedy, but Lao Zhang is not easy either.

Q: Then?

A: It delayed the occurrence of the whole tragedy.

Q: Then they suffered a tragedy together?

A: I use my life to exchange for your ten years of innocence.

And there is a follow-up. On November 1, 2011, NPSS participated in a symposium at Shenzhen University and interpreted the meaning of this sentence. ☆

Q: How do you understand "用我一生换你十年天真无邪" (I will give you my whole life for your ten years of innocence)?

A: On a very quiet night, I was sitting in front of my computer, chatting with an online friend who was my reader. She asked me if I could describe the whole story in one sentence. Then I thought about it and realized that the story could be described in one sentence: "用我一生换你十年的天真无邪" (I will give you my whole life for your ten years of innocence). It is not a very equal exchange. It is an infinite sacrifice of one person for another in exchange for a limited benefit.

13. Tibetan Sea Flower Part 1 Chapter 39

I said, "I don't know. I always feel that it's safer to be around Xiaoge. If he's not around, at least having his statue is better than having no statue at all."

14. Sand Sea 2 Chapter 53 | Chapter 92 (MereBear)

"Are you really willing to bear it?"

"I have no choice."

"You have a choice, you just can't see it."

"That means there is no choice."

Sigh

"Then will you tell him all this?"

"No."

"Then what will you tell him?"

"I will tell him that he is just a patient, and from now on, he can rest."

"They won't let you say these words."

"I won't allow them to stop me."

15. Sand Sea Part 3 Chapter 5 | Chapter 116 (MereBear)

玲珑骰子安红豆，入骨相思知不知

A dainty die with red beans engraved in it, don't you know, is a love yearning that penetrates to the bone?

(—Rediscovering Wen Tingyun by Mou, Huaichuan)

Note: As we know, this candy is only a title, but it has a deep meaning. “玲珑骰子安红豆，入骨相思知不知” is a passage from a poem by Tang Dynasty poet, Wen Tingyun (温庭筠), it's the second poem of two love poems in his collection of poems 《新添声杨柳枝词二首���/《南歌子词二首》.

井底点灯深烛伊，共郎长行莫围棋

玲珑骰子安红豆，入骨相思知不知

The poem is written in the voice of a woman, expressing her attachment to her lover, in the first line, it means she earnestly asked her husband not to miss the return date when he travelled far away. It is the woman's deep longing for her husband and the strong love she has for him that is hard to let go. The second line means the lovesickness that goes deep into the bones, revealing -once again- the woman's strong love that is hard to let go. And the words "Don’t you know?" (知不知) vividly expresses the woman's long separation, the difficulty of reunion, the deep pain of missing him, and even the fact that she wants to talk to no one. It can be said that the ending is natural and the aftertaste is endless. What the readers feel is the sincere and passionate love in the woman's heart —Baidu Encyclopedia

Since there is no way for me, a complete novice, to explain it through semantic and syntactic analysis, please visit here or here for more explanation.

In WeChat interview on August 6, 2013, NPSS said the reason why he chose that title:

Q: Sanshu, I would like to ask you, in Sand Sea series, when Wu Xie was slashed in the throat by the man in white, why was the chapter titled "玲珑骰子安红豆，入骨相思知不知"?

A: I chose that chapter title because that was the emotion I felt at the time. ☆

16. 2014 Chinese New Year Special "Fantasy" Chapter 27 (Epilogue) | Chapter 2.31 (MereBear)

When the sun absorbed the fog and dispersed it, the black fog completely dissipated. I turned my head to see where Men You Ping was, but saw the sunset shining in from the window next to me.

It was over, I was stunned for a moment and realized.

I was back in the small power station.

My hands and feet slowly revived, and the severe pain in my nasal cavity began to attack. The throat was full of the smell of blood, and all the blood turned into a paste in my throat.

In all the moments of coming back, I always felt a very sad emotion in my heart, which would make me silent for a moment.

Don't make the illusion too beautiful because it will eventually disappear. You think you have obtained and grasped it, but in fact there is nothing. This kind of memory is no different from my real memory. People themselves cannot really own anything.

17. Ten Years Chapter 31

This was written for me, he knew I would fulfill my promise. He hid the clue in Chen Pi Ah Si's nose, which really gave me face.

I clenched my fists, and a sense of security that I hadn't felt for many years suddenly rose from the bottom of my heart.

Note: The bolded sentence is an additional sentence in the physical book of Ten Years.

18. Ten Years Chapter 36

In the past ten years, I have had many dreams. I dreamed of him when he was young and I met him when I was young.

19. Ten Years Physical Book

"Not only that, if you can truly believe that you can do this, you can do anything." The voice in my heart answered me, "But, believing in yourself may be the most difficult thing in the world."

"What's so difficult about believing in yourself?" I asked.

"Just like you can't believe that you can walk on the water, only a very few people can truly believe in themselves." The voice in my heart answered me, "You can't even believe that you really entered here and heard these words."

A vast pool of water suddenly appeared in front of me, and the water surface was as calm as a mirror.

I looked at the surface of the pool and touched it with my feet. It was cold water. The waves spread and quickly disappeared at the end of the visible range. I saw a figure appearing very, very far away.

It was a familiar back, it was Xiaoge.

I stepped on it and fell into the water.

Then, I woke up. I looked up at the bronze door.

It was a dream, the door was still closed tightly.

I looked at my hand, and the wound was not cracked.

Comment: I really like the implication here, Wu Xie trusts Xiaoge more than himself...

20. Ten Years Chapter 41

"The people in that village make a dessert from glutinous rice and brown sugar. Since there’s plenty of rain in the village, a special weed called Yuzai ginseng grows there. The petals of this weed are put into the dessert, and are said to help with memory. Of course, it’s only a local legend."

I kept yawning as I spoke. My consciousness began to blur, but I didn’t stop talking.

I don’t know how long I stayed up, but in my hazy state, I suddenly felt someone slowly sit down beside me.

I hesitated for a moment, turned my head to look, and the other person also turned his head to look at me.

Pangzi slowly woke up and looked at us.I saw a familiar face, indifferent eyes, reflecting the light of the campfire.

People say that when you forget someone, the first thing you forget is their voice. But when he spoke, it wasn’t unfamiliar at all.

"You are old." He said

The music was still flowing, in this place closest to hell.

Pangzi came up, hooked his arm around Men You Ping's shoulder, and caused him to stumble: "How can we compare with you, Xiaoge? And you were willing to come out!!"

Men You Ping swayed from all the jostling.I pulled down my sleeve, covered the scars on my arm, and stood up.

He smiled at me and I lifted my bag: 'Let’s go."We just…haven’t seen you for a long time.

....

I live at the North Sea and you at the South Sea,

I asked the wild goose to pass a letter but was told they could not.

Each of us held a cup of wine and talked amid spring wind with peach and plum blossom,

For ten years we missed each other before lamps during night rain outside.

Note: About the poem, MereBear has already explained here. This is the Chinese version:

我居北海君南海，寄雁传书谢不能；

桃李春风一杯酒，江湖夜雨十年灯。

In short, it's about friendship, a happy gathering and how deeply they missed each other after they parted.

There is an interesting meta about Xiaoge's "you're old", read here.

Top comment: So when Xiaoge explained the amnesia brought by the heavenly gift in Sea of Lights, he looked into Wu Xie's eyes and said "there will be a little left", which means that Xiaoge faced endless darkness in the door, lost his perception of time, and had to use his remaining memory to try to recall Wu Xie's appearance. The words "you are old" in the past ten years contains Xiaoge's deep and heavy longing for Wu Xie.

21. Daomu Biji Extra: 2019 Mid-Autumn Festival

If Men You Ping said something, then it was fine, but he wouldn’t say anything. Instead, Zhang Haike kept telling me that as an outsider follower of Zhang Qiling, I should take care of these things. Fuck that shit, I thought to myself. I’m a guardian, not an outsider follower. He said that if I did well, I could start the special procedures that would give me the surname Zhang. I could be called Zhang Xie or Zhang Wu Xie in the future. Of course, I could also follow my master and be called Zhang Qixie.

I was so angry that day that I thought my liver was going to burst.

22. Daomu Biji Extra: The Other Shore | The Other Shore (MereBear)

It was too cold here, so after I died, I wouldn't be degraded. I would exist here for thousands and millions of years. I could sit here and let the wind and snow freeze me. According to my experience, hundreds of years later, Men You Ping would see the moment he was seeing now.

I seemed to be seriously ill and chose this ending myself. I was surprisingly calm and had no regrets. Although I could not be truly eternal like him, I found a way to coexist in the same time and space as him.

[....]

I didn't expect it to be so romantic. In this world, there was no other person who could use death as a romantic condiment so naturally.

Note: I think almost the whole short story is candy with a knife, but I can't possibly put it all here. There is a good PV about this short story, you can see it here or here.

Top comment:

”When we first begin to truly love someone, our greatest fear is that the person we love no longer loves us. What we should be afraid of is that even though they are dead, we still can’t stop loving them.”

23. A joke that is written by NPSS and posted on the official blog on Weibo

I hope this letter finds you well, I have heard that Wu Xie is well-informed, has a strong memory, is wise in all things, knows everything about the world like a little snow falls on a red stove and melts immediately, and often stays by the side of the patriarch as the two musical instruments strike the same note. I will come on the moon to meet you.

I looked at the letter, and Pangzi also looked at it, looking at me with an awkward look. I touched my nose and said, "What is this, Chu Liuxiang?"

Note: This joke was about the Zhang family sending a letter to Xiaoge and Wu Xie. “笙磬同音” (the two musical instruments strike the same note) is a metaphor for harmonious relationship as a family, but is often used in wedding congratulations. ☆☆

24. Thousand Faces Part 1-001 | Part 1-Introduction 2 (MereBear)

She looked at me and said, "Wu Xie, what is the secret in your heart? Is there anything you will never let anyone know until you die?"

I looked up at him, and a thought moved in my heart. She tilted her head and caught it: "Ah, you have it in your heart."

I smiled awkwardly. Yes, my thoughts moved just now.

I did have one.

I asked Ah Tuo: "Isn't this embarrassing?"

"That's something only you know." Ah Tou looked at some group photos I had hanging in my study room. "If I tell you a secret that I think is the most incredible. You have to tell me the thought you just had."

[....]

She looked at me, "Let me guess first, do you want... to live forever?"

[....]

"I do, but this is not my secret." I said to Ah Tou, "If there is no afterlife, then I want to live forever. I still have a lot of things I want to do with my friends, but I am not afraid of death. The richness of my life is second to none. I have enough. However, I agree to your conditions."

Note: In the second line, "我抬眼看着他" (I looked up at him), if it was referring to Ah Tou, "他" should be "她". I don't know whether it's a typo or not, some say it's not, and I check the Chinese raw, it still hasn't changed. If it's not a typo, "him" in "I looked up at him" can actually refer to Xiaoge, someone explained it on MereBear's site. Nevertheless, it doesn't change the meaning of "if there is no afterlife, then I want to live forever". Later, in Notes in Rain Village: Courtyard Chapter 12 or Notes in Rain Village: Part 2 Chapter 17, it was emphasized again:

Maybe I don’t believe in the afterlife.

Moreover, the afterlife is meaningless to me. I will not have a more thrilling life than this one.

On the ancient road, I met the ancient soul.

25. Restart Part 1-Not a Chapter | Restart Part 1 Chapter 112,5 (MereBear)

I drank to my heart's content that night. In the past ten or twenty years, I spent my days alone imagining things, panicking and being cowardly. At this moment, I understood the meaning of all of this.

I said to Bai Haotian, "I always hope not to disappoint others. Although it is difficult, I have finally reached the point in my life where I will be satisfied if I can just not disappoint one person."

[....]

I dreamed of the Tibetan Lama Temple, the floating ribbons in my dream, and I dreamed of everything, where I belonged, where my life belonged to, but I dared not touch, emphasize, or solidify it. I was afraid that I was not worthy of those memories, those times. Even though I had done so many things and controlled so many other people, I still did not dare to say any beautiful words.

26. Restart Part 1 Chapter 141 | Part 1 Chapter 141 (MereBear)

What was so important about me? I was a person who would have to say goodbye to Men You Ping one day in his life. I was a person who delayed Pangzi for getting rich and getting married. I made Xiaohua bankrupt, separated Xiuxiu from her closest relatives, and made my parents live in fear that I would follow Uncle Three’s path. I was far from worthy of the name "innocent (无邪)" my grandfather had given me. But in my confused first half of life, I lived an incredibly wonderful life. I had seen countless wonders in the world. I had the most amazing partner with the most stories in the world. We sang loudly on the cliffs, chanted the sutras on the snow-capped mountains, drank wine in the Gobi Desert, and watched the moon on the sea.

I've had enough in this life.

In Sina Weibo micro interview on August 03, 2018, NPSS talked about the bolded sentence:

Q: In the past ten years, Wu Xie's inner demon was Xiaoge. Ten years later, is Wu Xie's inner demon the life span? In the Reboot, he mentioned it many times. I feel depressed when I think of "I am a person who will have to say goodbye to Men You Ping one day in his life".

A: Most people in life will eventually say goodbye. For the one who leaves first, everything will return to peace. The one who leaves later will feel a little painful. It's not that scary. It's just unwilling to accept it.

27. Restart Part 1 Chapter 204 & Chapter 208

"...You have to understand what love is. Love is like a ghost. You can't see it when it comes, and it makes no sound when it leaves. Even if it's there, it's moving around. This thing doesn't make sense, it's fucking haunted. When you see it, it'll just pat its butt and leave. You ask it if it wants to leave or not. If it doesn’t go, you’ll have to light three pillars of incense. If it goes away, you can't find it back even if you burn down the house..."

[....]

"I just want to know what's behind the bronze door. If I'm about to die, can you please whisper something in my ear?" I said in the direction of Men You Ping.

There was no response from the other end, so I said, "If I am about to die, just say something in my ear, and then I will leave with peace of mind. Otherwise, you can't send me away even with three pillars of incense.

28. Restart Part 2 Chapter 12 | Chapter 12 (MereBear)

...But when I saw the look in Men You Ping's eyes when he looked at the rain, I didn't know what year or century he was thinking about.

It was so annoying to partner with a god.

29. Notes in Rain Village Chapter 5

Men You Ping looked at the snow. The wind was blowing in the wrong direction, and the snowflakes kept drifting in. His hair quickly turned white.

I wonder what he would look like with white hair.

30. Notes in Rain Village Chapter 15

"If I were your child*, would you not allow me to smoke?"

"Ah, I don't know, but you fell into a crack in the ground in the middle of the night. I don't have a daughter with night blindness." I glanced at Men You Ping, who was leaning against the door and looking at the two of us. His expression seemed to say, "You two both fell into a crack in the ground, what's there to discuss?"

Note: "If I were your child" is “如果我是你生的” in Chinese raw. There is a comment saying:

“The sentence "if I was born by you (如果我是你生的)" is very interesting. Children usually only use the word "birth (生)" to their mothers, and should say "if I were your child (如果我是你的孩子)" to their fathers. Xu Lei (NPSS) used the word "birth (生)" to Wu Xie through the girl's mouth, and I dare not think about it too much.” ☆

Comment: It's not the first time NPSS used the "birth" joke to Wu Xie, and I still remember how Wu Xie's word in Restart "我他妈能生四个" (I can give birth to four) is like a well-known joke in the fandom. So, I can only blame NPSS for how normal I feel about PingXie Mpreg fics and how many there are.. (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

31. Notes in Rain Village Chapter 17

Men You Ping walked towards us, one step, two steps, three steps, six or seven steps.

He walked to our side, and I looked back at where he was just now, and he was no longer there.

Don't worry about it, I thought to myself, we couldn’t go up, so he walked down.

32. Notes in Rain Village Chapter 23

The two dismantled caissons were finally put up with a simple scaffolding. Men You Ping was so damn cool, I had no idea how he dismantled it. Apart from the movements, I found his extreme concentration and skill really enviable.

33. Notes in Rain Village Chapter 24

I felt a little dizzy after drinking and had a very long dream that night. I dreamed of snow-capped mountains and my own ending.

It was the first time I had this kind of dream, but I knew that I would often dream about this moment from now on.

In this world, everyone was a circle and Men You Ping was the only eternal straight line. We were strung on this straight line like Buddhist prayer beads, heading for the other side that Buddha could see. It was just that the other side was an infinite time and space.

34. Notes in Rain Village: Courtyard Chapter 4 | Chapter 9 (MereBear)

At about 9 o'clock, I was looking at the yard from the window and saw Men You Ping tidying up the moss in the yard alone. I leaned on the windowsill, he sorted it out for more than two hours, and I watched him for more than two hours.

I didn't know if he liked my plan or not, but I thought if Pangzi liked it very much, he might like it a little.

35. Notes in Rain Village: Travel Chapter (Physical Book Version)

That night I had a dream. I dreamed that all the happiness here turned into little elves, flying around people. There was also one behind Deren. His face was constantly changing, but the elf was still shining.

"Don't worry, it's okay." In the dream, Men You Ping said to me. The elf behind him hid in his hair and looked at me shyly.

36. Notes in Rain Village: Travel Chapter 43

It just happened to be the last moment of sunset, and the sunset glow on the sea turned colorful. We parked the car and unloaded the poultry and livestock. Pangzi went in to prepare dinner with his friends, and Men You Ping and I sat on the embankment by the sea.

Source: Here

37. Notes in Rain Village: Pastoral Chapter 8

Then I saw a very magical place: there was a place far away in the starry sky, where the stars were very dense, and those stars were like waterfalls sliding down from the sky, rushing all the way to the clouds below the train.

"The stars are falling," I said to Men You Ping, sounding like a nonsensical child. "Falling, falling down."

38. Notes in Rain Village: Pastoral Chapter 33

When I was halfway up, even though I was wearing a raincoat, I was completely soaked and looked very miserable. I knew I would not give up, but I still felt a little desperate. As if I had sensed something, I suddenly stopped and looked back.

Men You Ping was standing behind me.

I didn't know when he came, but it was just like ten thousand times before.

39. Looking for the Dead in the Sea of Lights Chapter 24

As soon as I walked out of the circle of light from the bonfire, Men You Ping rushed out from the darkness on the other side of the camp, in the opposite direction from me. He jumped on his horse, leaped over the bonfire, rushed behind me, and lifted me onto the horse with one hand. Then, two men and one horse rushed towards Pangzi.

40. Queen Mother's Ghost Banquet Chapter 82

"I, I, I..." I tried to describe it, but I couldn't see clearly with my eyes squinting. I murmured, "I need Xiaoge. I really need him this time."

That's it. Obviously, it's not all of them, but I'm spent haha. People in the Chinese fandom often said that PingXie is a Chinese-style cp and pure love “纯爱” type of ship, which I think it's indeed true. Their heartfelt moments are often hidden between allusions and metaphors, and the strong bond between them mostly relies on the emotional attachment rather than just physical touches or skinships. To me, it makes them so unique and interesting. What's more the taste of pure love that people often associate with this cp/ship is actually pretty rare itself. In the end, they did care for each other regardless of what people used to define their relationship (⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*+♡

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝟖𝟏𝟕!ヾ⁠(⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠*⁠)⁠ﾉ

[lunarriviera]

cracky it may be but I ADORE IT—and it would explain so much about Yucun tbqh? there are too many things about YCBJ, and the whole Xilaimian business, which are in and of themselves cracky, and NPSS being drunk when he wrote it doesn’t begin to cover it; so i wholeheartedly accept your theory

Just thinking about the sliding scale of DMBJ meta analysis, from my position as a howling DMBJ nerd:

Oh, that mysterious key that was mentioned twice in a story and then disappeared? Yes, Book X, Ch Y explains what was done with it. Ch Z covers the other mysterious key that fell out of the narrative.

I can't quite prove that old man had the same ability as his grandson, but here's all the times he grazed up against the issue. Likewise, given the canonical obsession with immortality of X Expedition's founders, those snake eggs being smuggled out were probably considered part of a longevity medicine.

That thing, no those things that seemed entirely off the wall and out there are based on academically-studied phenomena. Well, huh.

Crash course in historical Chinese politics to understand the things that aren't being said out loud.

Character mentions one time that X is the cause of Y apparently unrelated thing and it's time to go mad looking for info on how that works.

But how do you know that someone with reality-warping powers really used them, huh? If he used them "it would always have been that way."

X lies a lot, and Y makes mistakes in inferences a non-zero amount of time so I can't trust what either say.

So I made up a crack theory because I didn't like the end of a book, and then I realised there's a fair amount of supporting evidence for it AND I WILL NEVER STOP TALKING ABOUT THAT...

[thetombraidersguild]

Lunar New Year Treat Exchange 2025

Welcome to the Lunar New Year Exchange for 2025. This time we will be celebrating the Year of the Snake! (How perfect for the Daomu Biji fandom!)

The Lunar New Year Treat Exchange is open to fan creators of all types - writers, artists, vidders, GIF makers, and all others.

Basics:

-Sign-up starts on Sept 29th - Oct 12th, 2024 -Creation Period Oct 12th, 2024 to Jan 19th, 2025 -Treats released on Lunar New Year, Jan 29th, 2025

There are no assignments handed out, these are all treats. If you sign up, you have to write at least one treat. You DO NOT have to sign up to do a treat, just know you won't receive one if you don't sign up. You need an A03 account to join, all treats will be posted there. To find out more, read here:

To sign up, please go here:

To look at treats being requested, go here (this will be constantly updated until October 12th, when sign-ups close, so keep checking back!!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I78XgBUEudakd8vcTWIiiJ_NAA7SIJ-ReYDTfnJztAg/edit?usp=sharing

If you have any questions, ask on the YuCun Discord or submit a question to @dmbjexchange​ or @thetombraidersguild​

Merinnan (@dmbjexchange) and Kai (@thetombraidersguild) will be the mods for this exchange.

Please follow @dmbjexchange​ or @thetombraidersguild​ for announcements and reminders.

[k3iwi21]

Guess who joined a new fandom?

So, recently, my mom decided to watch a new C-drama called “Ultimate Note” and asked me ti watch it with her. Safe to say, I’m obsessed now so I wanted to do a few post about it. This show was created like 4 years ago, so the fandom is probably dead by now, but oh well. The ending is a huge cliff hanger and THERE IS NO SEASON 2. But this is what we have imagination and fan fictions for sooo yeah. The show itself can be watched as a stand-alone show, but it is part of a bigger series called The Grave Robber’s Chronicles and is based if a book series called Daomu Biji. If you have time, try it out! It is honestly really good, but be warned there are a lot of snakes, spiders, and really creepy stuff, so if you don’t like that, then I strongly suggest you don’t watch it. This post is getting long, so I’ll stop here. Bye and thank for reading!

~K3iwi21