#if i think too hard about betrayal and trust in mlc I'll combust

[nutcasewithaknife]

Going a little insane about how clever bringing in the question of Shan Gudao's cloud iron armour and Li Xiangyi's cloud iron sword is. It immediately dredges up such gut-punching parallels. On one hand there's Fang Duobing being lied to by Li Lianhua and well aware of it. Li Xiangyi's sword might have been the only thing that could kill Shan Gudao, and the doubt in Fang Duobing's mind grows heavier because it immediately raises the possibility that those lies are hiding something much more sinister than a man running from his past. And on the other hand, there is Li Xiangyi being lied to by Shan Gudao all those years ago and doubting him. Once again, doubting his shixiong implies the possibility of him doing terrible things like child murder for very unrighteous and selfish reasons.

And the choice to juxtapose these two betrayals of trust in the lead-up to the Li Xiangyi reveal!! The way Fang Duobing doubles down and demands honesty, while Li Xiangyi mostly took his shixiong at face value despite his misgivings. The way it dooms Li Lianhua to either lose Fang Duobing for good, or finally face the possibility that his shixiong was not the person he has let himself believe. The way Fang Duobing eventually chooses Li Lianhua as his lies were hurtful but never sinister, but Li Lianhua goes on to find out that Shan Gudao's betrayal is what doomed everything then and now.