#kingdom of wuyong

[mooncakebun]

Work in progress 🫠

Wuyong 5 💔

[raddestrose]

I know that now is not the time for this, but everyone in this series is absolutely gorgeous. Like I’m learning about the horrors of the fall of the Wuyong Kingdom, but am being met with some of the most beautiful faces I’ve ever seen.

[mxtxfanatic]

One thing that I really appreciate about mxtx’s stories is that even though the common people are shown to have an understanding of hierarchy and a healthy skepticism—dare I say, disdain at times—for the elite class at the top of each world’s hierarchy, that doesn’t mean that their every judgment on the subject is right.

Tgcf is a perfect example of this in multiple arcs. The peoples of Xianle and Wuyong know that a person with money can bend the ear of a god, and the nobility of Xianle, specifically, even bar the poor from entering Xie Lian’s temples without first paying an entry fee. Lang Ying leads the Yong’an refugees to rebel because he sees the corruption girding Xianle society. However, these same peoples also believe in the hierarchy they despise for oppressing them. When the beloved princes of the respective kingdoms are unable to save their kingdoms from certain doom because they are unwilling to sacrifice the lives of others, those same citizens turn on them. Worse yet, Xie Lian and Jun Wu were the only gods who were about treating their worshippers equally regardless of status, while the gods who their former followers turned to for help were the very same ones that had watched them suffer, gleefully waiting for them to turn on their gods so that they could poach new worshippers. In the end, the people end up casting aside the gods who defied the heavens in an attempt to save them, in favor of worshipping the gods who wanted them to perish. We see this same level of misapplied understanding on smaller levels too: Mu Qing understanding classism but only taking issue with it when it negatively impacts him, personally; Lang Ying’s descendants devolving into the same kind of wasteful nobles that Lang Ying had deposed; the people in the temple who choose to stab Xie Lian to preserve their own life because “you’re meant to save us.”

Similar things happen in svsss and mdzs. In svsss, humans are reasonably wary of demons (who hunt and eat humans in this story) and look up to cultivators as their protectors, but broadly applying this allowed the corrupt Old Palace Master to weaponize that rightful wariness to harm his innocent targets: Su Xiyan, Tianlang-jun, Luo Binghe, and Shen Qingqiu. Had the common people witnessed a group of adult cultivators chasing a fearful toddler around be so convinced of the “righteousness” of the cultivators they admire? If so, would we, the audience, still look to the crowd as moral? At the same time in mdzs, the common people actually don’t look up to the righteous cultivation clans as inherently good, only a necessary expense—have you the funds—but even that is a weapon. Thirteen years after the first siege, a farming couple discusses how terrifying the power Wei Wuxian wielded was, grateful to the great cultivation clans for having killed him without any understanding that Wei Wuxian was the most upstanding cultivator of his generation.

In all of these examples, though the common people have an accurate understanding of systemic violence and the dangers present in their worlds, they are not always able to accurately apply that understanding on an individual or personal level, especially if their morals do not align with the idea that said violence is an inherent wrong. The common people in tgcf are not rioting against the concept of monarchies and nobility or the elitism of the gods, even as they know they suffer from it. The common people in svsss still shy away from demons, even though they’ve likely been harmed more times by a passing cultivator or rich person than they could even claim to have seen a demon. The common people in mdzs still turn to major cultivation clans for help and consider them to be overall moral people even with their publicly immoral behavior. None of these groups move to challenge the systemic violence despite knowing it exists on a personal level, which is what makes it very poignant when a character in these books does. Why did that person choose to speak up and stand out while most others didn’t? And what message is mxtx teaching us by showing us this character?

Knowledge, an understanding of systems of violence, and hierarchical placement does not make morality. Moral alignment paired with matching actions do. And without the latter, the former can be easily manipulated by bad-faith actors to reinforce the very systems that create the ills of society, regardless of what position one is born into on the social hierarchy.

[one-flower-one-sword]

Jun Wu using living humans as a blood sacrifice to triumph over Mount Tonglu:

"Days passed, and the eruption continued. The entire kingdom of Wuyong was mired in terror, unable to escape. No one knew how to make it stop, how to escape this nightmare. But one day, His Highness told us that he had found a way to calm the volcano. When he told us how, we had a huge fight."

"Let me guess," Hua Cheng said. "The 'how' was human sacrifice."

"Correct," the state preceptor replied. "His Highness said that we could use a group of wicked degenerates as a sacrifice - we could throw them into the Kiln to pacify its furious flames. The four of us each had different opinions on the matter, but the consensus was opposition - we could never do anything of the sort. In the beginning, His Highness didn't want Wuyong to invade other kingdoms precisely because he didn't want to use a life to save a life. How would sacrificing lives to the Kiln be any different? It'd be even worse, in fact."

[...] "As it turned out, the other three had still been worried even after they left, so they returned in secret to speak to His Highness. But when they found him, he was herding a crowd of people toward the volcano's peak. That was when they found out that His Highness had never abandoned the idea of living sacrifices. Seized by shock and rage, they attempted to stop him and began to fight with him. Yet unexpectedly, he savagely killed them and threw them into the Kiln along with the rest!"

TGCF Volume 7, page 209-210 + 214

versus Hua Cheng refusing to use living humans as a blood sacrifice and sacrificing his own eye - half his vision - instead:

"The only things that live inside Mount Tonglu's domain are nefarious creatures. Ordinary people have no way to break out of the domain; their certain fate is to become nourishment for the rest. But the wrath ghost, in his confused state, took the large group of living humans under his wing and fled for many days - for what reason, I can't say. They were eventually cornered and surrounded by nefarious creatures, and the wrath ghost was about to be eaten along with the humans."

Xie Lian knew that the solitary, wandering ghost must have been Hua Cheng!

"And then?" he pushed. "Was there a way to flee to safety?"

"Yes," the state preceptor replied. "He could escape by forging a blood weapon and killing his way out."

Mu Qing couldn't help chiming in. "Then wouldn't the easiest sacrifice be...?"

It would be the group of humans that had fallen into such a hopeless situation!

[...] "The wrath ghost almost made a move against the humans as well, but for some reason, he didn't go through with it," the state preceptor continued. "He instead used one of his own eyes as the price to forge a blood weapon. The wrath ghost was already clinging to existence with his last breath; after digging out his eye, he should've broken apart completely. But something had shocked him to action, and he instead fully regained his senses. I don't know what kind of wicked weapon he forged, but it somehow carried him through that battle."

TGCF Volume 8, page 76-77

I was thinking about Hua Cheng at Mount Tonglu and it occurred to me how stark the contrasts between his choices and the consequences thereof are to those of Jun Wu.

Choosing to sacrifice humans - in particular humans he considered lesser or deserving of punishment - leads to the Kiln recognizing Jun Wu as its master and also to him becoming cursed with human face disease:

"The ordinary citizens were of course burned to dust and ash as soon as they were thrown in. But the three of them were cultivators, and they had been murdered by His Highness - their resentment and attachment to the world was deeply profound. Their souls took his body as their host and grew as lesions on his body, venting their rage and berating him constantly in the hope of stopping him from pursuing his terrible endeavors."

[...] "The former kingdom of Wuyong had become hell, and the Kiln had been glutted with countless living souls and the souls of three former heavenly officials - it now recognized him as its master."

TGCF Volume 7, page 214 + 226

Meanwhile, Hua Cheng refusing to use human sacrifice leads to him not only gaining a weapon to defend himself and those very humans with, the heavens recognize him as worthy of ascension due to this:

"After that battle, the heavens sent forth a Heavenly Tribulation and lightning struck straight into Mount Tonglu," the state preceptor said. "Do you understand what that means?"

Was there any need to explain? If a Heavenly Tribulation had been sent forth, it meant the heavens believed there was someone worthy of ascension within Mount Tonglu.

TGCF Volume 8, page 77

Hua Cheng chose to rather sacrifice a part of himself than other people's lives - and while yes, he never did like his right eye and suffered immense abuse because of it, he was risking to dissipate completely by gouging it out, and also, the consequences of that action didn't end there. He is, from then on, blind on that side, and as we've established in my previous post, that is something he has to make up for in other ways and that others can take advantage of.

Hua Cheng’s choices at Mount Tonglu make him worthy of ascension, Jun Wu's leave him cursed and mark his descent from the Crown Prince of Wuyong to becoming Bai Wuxiang. One rises up, one falls down further. While sacrificing part of himself, Hua Cheng fully regains his senses. Jun Wu, in planning to sacrifice others, loses himself:

"And yet in the heat of the moment, blows were exchanged, and one of us even accused His Highness of no longer being the Highness of the past - that he'd changed, that he'd forgotten his heart."

TGCF Volume 7, page 210

Since the text is quite clear on the fact that Jun Wu knows Hua Cheng is Wu Ming, and, as its master, is very aware of what happens at Mount Tonglu, it's very likely that he knew about this incident. And also that it felt like a very personal slap in the face to him, which explains his very pointed hypocrisy when he warns Xie Lian about Eming:

"Be especially careful of that wicked blade of his," Jun Wu added.

"What do you mean?" Xie Lian asked.

"The scimitar Eming is a cursed blade, a blade of misfortune. To forge such an evil weapon would require terrifyingly cruel sacrifice and bloody determination."

TGCF Volume 2, page 37

'Terrifyingly cruel sacrifice', huh? Like for example throwing people inside a live volcano?

"Oh? Has gege heard of my scimitar too?"

"I've heard some rumors," Xie Lian replied.

Hua Cheng snickered. "I bet they weren't nice rumors. Did someone tell you that my scimitar was forged by an evil, bloody ritual? That I sacrificed living humans?"

TGCF Volume 2, page 120

Huh, wonder who started those rumors >.>

Jun Wu's palpable saltiness and bitterness about all this is probably only exacerbated by the fact that, despite fearing Hua Cheng, there are many who worship him:

There were also many reasons for the gods to fear Hua Cheng. For example, his behavior was unpredictable: sometimes he would carry out a massacre in cold blood, and sometimes he would do odd acts of kindness. He also wielded a great deal of influence in the Mortal Realm and had legions of followers. That's right. Mortals worshipped gods to ask for blessings and protection so they could escape the evils of the Ghost Realm, and that was how the gods came to gain so many followers. Yet Hua Cheng, a ghost, had such a large following on earth that he could influence the world single-handedly.

TGCF Volume 1, page 157

Even other gods, while they do fear him, also start to develop a sort of admiration and respect for Hua Cheng (Vol 1, page 160).

Meanwhile Jun Wu:

"Currently, he is the most exalted martial god of the Heavenly Realm," the state preceptor continued. "He looks glorious and scintillating on the surface, but an infinite darkness is suppressed deep within his heart. Resentment, pain, anger, hatred... he must release those poisonous emotions to maintain his internal balance, lest he go berserk and slaughter everyone around him. That is the only way he is able to uphold his position as the ruler of all three realms. [...] He regularly releases his dark emotions into the Kiln, using the millions of Wuyong souls within as kindling to stoke the flames of hell and forge many malicious things."

TGCF Volume 7, page 226

Despite his widely known nature as a ghost king born of Mount Tonglu, Hua Cheng has a huge amount of worshippers. Jun Wu, to keep being worshipped as someone he is not, has to hide his own connection to Mount Tonglu and his true nature - figuratively inside of himself and literally inside of Mount Tonglu.

[rapha-reads]

1/3 of the way through TGCF volume 5, we're exploring Mount Tonglu, a few remarks.

There's something about Xie Lan's cooking. I don't know what, but it's definitely not that he's a bad cook. There's intent behind his dishes potions. In any case, he always knows more than he lets on, even being the narrative voice, he doesn't narrate exactly what he thinks or knows. So his cooking definitely serves a purpose.

E'ming. That scimitar. That's not just a sentient weapon, isn't it? Either it's an actual person. Or, my favourite theory, it's a part of Hua Cheng, some part of himself that he cut out and that's why he's so harsh with it, and that's why it likes Xie Lian so much.

... So odds on Hua Cheng being the lost Eminent Crown Prince of that very ancient Kingdom of Wuyong whose story was the inspiration for young Xie Lian, who in turn saved that same lost prince who in turn got inspired by his savior to become the best of the best...?

Listen, Hua Cheng knows a lot. He knows everything. He's an encyclopedia. That's weird. And these two are just so entangled in each other, who knows if it didn't start before it even started. I understand myself.

No, wait! The Eminent Crown Prince of Wuyong is White-something Calamity, the entity that destroyed Xianle, and that appeared to Xie Lian wearing his own face! That would make so much more narrative sense, given the second mural discovered depicting the Crown Prince dreaming of his kingdom engulfed in flames, the same way Xie Lian saw his own kingdom destroyed (metaphorically, and then literally when they burned his temples). Would explain why White-fella, after turning into a ghost, was so full of resentment and especially hated Xie Lian.

Don't tell if I'm wrong or right, I'll end up discovering what's up as I keep reading.

And I haven't figured out exactly what's up with Jun Wu, but he's weird too. Something fishy there.

Oh, and now there's those two ghosts in black and white who killed thousands of ghosts. This mountain is crowded as hell.

[fauzhee10069]

TGCF map?

While I’m writing a fic and looking for a map, I found this fan made map on reddit thread:

Source: a reddit thread

Unlike the map in MDZS, this fan-made map of TGCF is like any other map in fantasy settings (eg LOTR, Final Fantasy series, anime One Piece/HxH, etc).

But what if the TGCF world itself uses China map as reference like in the MDZS?

Because there is one location that also exists in the real world, namely: the Gobi Desert.

Ke‌ ‌Mo‌ ‌demanded, “Our‌ ‌kingdom‌ ‌had‌ ‌disappeared‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌Gobi‌ ‌for‌ ‌over‌ ‌two‌ ‌hundred‌ years.‌ ‌You‌ ‌are‌ ‌not‌ ‌of‌ ‌our‌ ‌people, why‌ ‌do‌ ‌you‌ ‌know‌ ‌our‌ ‌tongue? ‌Who‌ ‌are‌ ‌you?”‌ (TGCF chapter 24)

Xie‌ ‌Lian‌ ‌immediately‌ ‌said,‌ ‌“General‌ ‌Ke‌ ‌Mo,‌ ‌I‌ ‌think‌ ‌you’ve‌ ‌mistaken‌ ‌something.‌ ‌We’ve‌ traveled‌ ‌across‌ ‌the‌ ‌Gobi‌ ‌desert‌ ‌to‌ ‌get‌ ‌rid‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌Guoshi‌ ‌of‌ ‌Banyue,‌ ‌how‌ ‌can‌ ‌we‌ ‌be‌ ‌the‌ helpers‌ ‌she‌ ‌sent‌ ‌for?”‌ (TGCF chapter 26)

And here is the location of Gobi desert:

So I want to try guessing the locations in TGCF are, which, although the names are fictional, are based on real locations.

Like Morioh and S city in JoJo which are said to be based on Sendai, Miyagi prefecture.

Before proceeding, remember that this is a fan-made and not a serious project either. This is purely headcanon so you are free to agree or disagree, if you prefer your own headcanon then so be it.

First, regarding the location of Mount Tonglu (Wuyong), I was looking for a map showing the locations of volcanoes in China and found this:

However, I didn't really check the history of these mountains, so I more or less made up the location of Mt. Tonglu here:

The map above is for the event circa 2000 years ago, since volcano eruptions by a single mountain was capable to buried the entire Wuyong kingdom, it made me think that Wuyong's territory wasn't that big.

Besides that, I was inspired by the "No Paths Are Bound" fanfic which brought Xianle into the history of Wuyong. Moreover, it was mentioned that for the people of Wuyong, they tried to invade other kingdoms to take over their land & have their people move in. Thus, I’ve made Xianle and Xuli bordered Wuyong.

Most readers believe that Xuli was located in the north, considering Pei Ming's domain (although I don't think it really has to be, because Xuli kingdom had already fallen during present time which I think, its location is no longer necessary where).

There is also Zhaoyi, my made up kingdom for my fic (therefore, not canon). I was inspired by the timeline of the Xia dynasty era where the royal territory was not as big as during imperial era, so I also made Xianle’s territory quite small as well.

Generally in every dynasty there is always territorial upheaval which often ends with one dynasty overthrowing another. In this fanfic of mine, I want to make sure that the Zhaoyi kingdom will be absorbed by Xianle. Yong'an itself was part of another country in the past which will be taken by Xianle.

The old capital of Zhaoyi is Qiyi. Qiyi itself is actually the old name of Qishan. Again, I got inspired by NPAB to incorporate MDZS’ places in TGCF. The name 'Zhaoyi' itself is taken from the history of Qishan County in the Spring and Autumn period during King Wu’s reign (Zhou dynasty) as one of its state; Shao (召 or 邵).

Regarding Lang’er bay location, I’ve made it based on Qinghai lake. Wait a minute, why the lake? Isn’t it a bay? The initial fan-made map is correct in seeing the concept of Lang'er bay as a ‘truly bay’. But I want to match the location of Lang'er bay to the map of China, which according to TGCF, located to the west of Xianle. The problem is, to the west of China there are no bays! Therefore, I tried to redefine the word 'bay' and I came up with this:

Thunder Bay! According to wiki, Thunder Bay is a large bay on the northern shore of Lake Superior, in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada.

In addition, in Qinghai Lake itself there is a spot called “Fairy Bay Area”.

Years later, Wuyong had fallen, its territory was absorbed by Xuli. Xianle itself was expanding its territory and managed to seize part of Zhaoyi's. Zhaoyi moved the capital in unknown location (presumably around Yong’an, which still belonged to said kingdom). Also, moving the capital was a common thing to do since a long time ago.

During this time, Banyue and Yushi were found. It is noted that Banyue was located around Gobi desert and Yushi was a kingdom far to the south of Xianle. The blank territory between Xianle and Yushi can be filled with any random countries.

As time went by, Xianle and Xuli were keep growing. The Zhaoyi Kingdom finally fell and Yong'an officially became a part of Xianle. Despite that, some remnants of Zhaoyi still exist as autonomous zone led by rebels.

Circa 800 years ago, Yushi eventually fell and became part of Xuli's territory. You can see how ambitious Xuli country was back then (like the Mongol empire). Xianle itself began to clash with Xuli and managed to seize part of its territory. However during this tension, Banyue took its chance to absorb the autonomous zone of Zhaoyi. More places are revealed.

Less than a decade later, the fall of Xianle happened as a result of the civil war with the Yong'an rebels. Feng Xin mentioned that Yong'an obtained help from other countries secretly. Thus, given the tension between Xianle and Xuli, I presumed that it was Xuli who was secretly helping Yong'an (and also some of the rebel descendants of Zhaoyi who held grudges against Xianle). Actually some of the Xuli people prayed to Pei Ming, but Pei Ming paid no heed, considering that King of Xuli at that time made him break his sword.

During this time, there was a new dynasty that was starting to grow which would become the home country of Shi Wudu, Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan.

The decline of Xuli was starting to happen, as Yong’an and the unnamed country absorbed some of its territories. Yushi's region was eventually taken over by the unnamed country. Yong'an itself became a bigger country than Xianle, its territory reached the eastern edge (which would become Lang Qianqiu's domain later).

The location of Mount Yujun is revealed. Mount Yujun itself is said to be in Pei Ming's domain (north), because we already believe that Xuli is in the north, then Mount Yujun itself is located in Xuli.

Xuli had finally fallen while Banyue itself kept growing. Ling Wen and Pei Ming were responsible for the fall of their own kingdom (lol), I thought the latter agreed to participate because he saw how corrupt his nation had become. Xuli is then divided into several countries which I don’t bother to name and set the regional boundaries.

Circa 200 years ago, Banyue eventually was eradicated by Yong’an. Some years ago (it was not necessary to coincide with the fall of Banyue), the Black Water Demon Lair was discovered. According to TGCF, Black Water Demon Lair is located in the South Sea.

In the southern part of China there is a tropical island called Hainan, a place that I think is suitable for Black Water Island. In the middle of Black Water Island, there is Black Water Lake, and coincidentally:

On the island of Hainan there is also a lake. In the middle of the lake, there is also a small island that I actually wanted to make the location of the Nether Water Manor on, but I just remembered that the manor is like being in separated dimension (iirc underwater inside the lake).

Finally, Yong'an nation also fell and was divided into several countries (which again, I careless to name and set their territories). More places relevant to the plot are revealed (including the MDZS’ one as a tribute to NPAB). In the end, the largest country is Shi Qingxuan’s unnamed country (lol), and also in the Himalayan region there are several unnamed countries.

Interestingly, in the present timeline of TGCF, there aren’t named countries that are still standing.

Specifically below is a map showing the domains of the martial gods:

The domain divisions are purely made up and not based on regional divisions used IRL.

Thank you to those of you who have read up to here. I made this not to ridicule the fantasy map, not at all. In fact I think the TGCF storyline will be more in line with the fantasy map. It's just that I was challenged to use a map of China thanks to the existence of 'Gobi Desert' the novel mentioned.

[bi-turtle-enthusiast]

I think Jun Wu was the reason for Xie Lian's third ascension.

There seem to be two components to ascension—destiny and spiritual power. Some people have the fate to ascend, some people don't.

Supposedly.

Spoilers for TGCF book 3 and mentions of books 4 and 5

Because Hua Cheng apparently had the most garbage dumpster fire fate ever, but he was still able to ascend. It also looks like fate only applies to someone while they're living—gods and the dead don't seem to be bound by the same rules, case in point, Hua Cheng's misfortune got dispelled, possibly after he absorbed Xie Lian's luck.

In addition, heavenly officials can expend some of their spiritual power and bring officials up to heaven.

Jun Wu has been shown to be capable of/knowledgeable about both bringing people up to heaven via spiritual power and changing fates. He at the very least knew about the mechanics of the fate switching technique that Shi Wudu used, and after being alive for so long, he probably knew a bit more than just the mechanics. In addition, he was prepared to bring the entire kingdom of Wuyong to the lower court of heaven with him even before he was as powerful as he was as the Heavenly Martial Emperor.

In addition, when Mei Nianqing is recounting their conversations about Xie Lian, he mentions how Jun Wu intended to "bring Xie Lian up to heaven." I think he meant as a deputy official, but clearly he's always had some control over Xie Lian's godhood.

So here's my theory:

Xie Lian had been steadily accumulating spiritual power over the course of 800 years.

Jun Wu decided to expend just enough of his own spiritual energy to allow Xie Lian to ascend to the upper court. Appointing deputy officials consumes a lot of spiritual energy, however, and appointing someone to the upper court must have taken even more.

Jun Wu is absent from heaven during the first arc of TGCF. What if he was recovering from causing Xie Lian's ascension?

[ilovereadingandstuff]

I'M HALFWAY NOVEL 5 AND THE KINGDOM OF WUYONG IS CRAZY!!

OMG Xie Lian having an existencial crisis due to his overthinking when conecting the dots between Xianle's state preceptor, the Crown Prince of Wuyong and himself...

I know this whole story is building up itself to something more complex BUT IT'S AMAZING EVEN FROM THE BEGGINING!!

...and I'm closer and closer to novel 6 and finally getting to the story about White-no-face, Jun Wu and Xie Lian's emo phase, haha.

Hope that what it's coming affect me as much or even more as black water arc did.

MXTX, I love your work.

[judasgodness]

Why is Bai Wuxiang one of the best villains in literature?

Part 1: Your Story

Obvious: ⚠️ Contains Tian Guan Ci Fu spoilers

Bai Wuxiang has been described as "the sun of WuYong", the kingdom where he was crown prince.

“Without any exaggeration, even within the sea of ​​gods in the celestial realm, he was also like the sun, shining so brightly that others close to him would lose their colors.”

In the words of Mei Nianqing, his former guoshi, Bai Wuxiang was kind and honest with his desire to save his people from the volcano's curse. He tried to build a bridge to heaven to save the people from the eruption, but that took a few years, and during that time, while he needed his people's prayers and belief, he couldn't answer their prayers either. Because of this, the people gradually lost their faith in him.

The bridge had a weak structure when it was finished, so just as people were crossing it, it collapsed.

After the deaths and failure, Bai Wuxiang was banished from the heavens and could only return if he ascended again, but for that he would first need to cultivate. And he tried to cultivate, but it was difficult because of the rejection and the blame he received, and trying to help his people, but he didn't reach the level of the other gods.

With the volcano still active, Bai Wuxiang decided to perform human sacrifices to calm it down. He first wanted to sacrifice only those who would normally be condemned for some crime, but was stopped by the priests.

He and the priests got into fights, so 3 of the 4 priests left for disagreeing with Bai Wuxiang's positions, leaving only Mei Nianqing.

Some time after that, Mei Nianqing discovered that Bai Wuxiang contracted a curse that made human faces appear on his skin and that this only happened because Bai Wuxiang sacrificed those 3 priests to the volcano.

Even later, Bai Wuxiang decided to take to the skies and murdered all the gods at the time to sink the history of WuYong into oblivion, proclaimed himself Heavenly Emperor and created a new identity: Jun Wu, a general who proclaimed himself a king and ascended to the skies after ruling for a while.

Like Jun Wu, he created a new dynasty and formed a new Heavenly Court.

Centuries later, he met Xie Lian, the crown prince of XianLe (and the novel's protagonist), who caught his attention by saving a child during a festival in which the prince played the Celestial Emperor himself. And so, Bai Wuxiang decided to make him his perfect successor.

He tried to approach Xie Lian several times, but was stopped by Mei Nianqing, who was now Xie Lian's guoshi. When Xie Lian went on a mission to kill a malicious ghost and after succeeding, Xie Lian said the phrase "body in the abyss, heart in heaven". And it was with that sentence that Bai Wuxiang decided to test him without having to approach him.

Xie Lian then ascended as a Martial God at the age of 17, and 3 years later, XianLe fell into chaos.

A civil war broke out. YongAn, hitherto a state of XianLe, was experiencing a severe drought and did not receive proper support from the kingdom. And the last straw was when a YongAn family died trying to pass into the Capital, but was stopped by the guards.

In the final stretch of the book, we discover that this family was fake. These people were empty shells created by Bai Wuxiang himself, they were there for the sole purpose of being the catalyst for the war.

And when the war was at its height, Bai Wuxiang, acting as the White No-Face Calamity, cast the human face curse on the capital of XianLe, and as it was unknown, hundreds were killed by it.

Anyway, XianLe was defeated. YongAn had his own kingdom now and Xie Lian was banished from the heavens.

Years later, Bai Wuxiang appears to Xie Lian again. And at a given moment, Xie Lian is drawn to one of his destroyed temples, just like other people were too. And nobody could leave.

Bai Wuxiang appeared, cast the human face curse on that temple, revealed Xie Lian's true identity and claimed that he was immortal.

The cure for the human face curse was murder, so it wasn't long before all those people were on top of Xie Lian, piercing him hundreds of times to get salvation.

“Help me.

Help me, help me, help me.

Help me, help me, help, help, help, help, help, help, help, help, help, help, help, help, help, help me!!!

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts..... it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts IT HURTS!!!!!

Why can't I die.

WHY CAN'T I DIE?!!!”

A few months later, Xie Lian's body was completely healed, and when he left the temple, he found the body of the only person who had refused to participate in that mass torture.

When he went home, he sent Feng Xin, his only friend at the time and a former Imperial Guard and Junior Officer, away and the next day found his parents hanged, dangling from the ceiling of the house by a silk ribbon which he used to attempt suicide as well.

He didn't die, and instead the tape became a spiritual weapon. Upon his gaze in the mirror afterwards, Xie Lian saw himself in a half-laughing, half-crying mask and white funeral clothes, the same clothes and mask that Bai Wuxiang wore as the Calamity White No-Face. Xie Lian accepted this identity as her fate and left the house to seek revenge.

But Xie Lian gave up on revenge when he received help from a man who gave him a bamboo hat to protect him from the rain, which made Bai Wuxiang's plan to make him his perfect successor fail.

[unforth]

Well I still feel pretty terrible and I slept like garbage but I had a thought in the middle of the night and I think there's something in it and that's Tian Guan Ci Fu focusing on characters who grew up isolated, who had lonely childhoods, and how it fucked them all up in different ways. Like hardly a single character in it had a healthy childhood (for those whose childhoods we know about), and this being a major theme is lampshaded by the few children in the book - Guzi, who every single "good" person in the book still allows to stay with Qi Rong, and Cuocuo, who is a literally a dead fetus but who still responds to maternal affection, and Lang Ying, and the dead baby.

So like:

Xie Lian, lonely, isolated, and treated as inhuman/perfect

Hua Cheng, isolated because of his fate, abused for his appearance

Qi Rong, mental illness ignored and left untreated

Mu Qing, abused for being poor

Feng Xin, isolated by dint of being the prince's sole companipn

Quan Yizhen, abused for being different/"acting weird" (being autistic, imo)

Banyue, abused for being of mixed heritage

He Xuan, cursed

Meanwhile, their stories are often contrasted directly against those people who had a supposedly more normal experience - like Yin Yu and Quan Yizhen, where Yin Yu has a solid community (but that community is actually toxic, see also how they all treat Quan Yizhen and somehow treat the results as Yin Yu's responsibility), and the Shi family versus He Xuan (except Shi Wudu is an awful person which leads to, ya know, everything - this one is the most direct and obvious contrast since He Xuan's ruined childhood and life are the direct result of Shi Wudu's actions to protect his in group with zero regard for anyone in the outgroup who might get hurt), and the Peis contrasted with Banyue (while Pei Xiu cared for Banyue there must have been background familial pressure on him not to interact, or else she wouldn't have been starving on the streets and wouldn't have had to rely on Xie Lian, and meanwhile Pei Ming's "family" - his army - ultimately betrays him while claiming to act for him.)

And of course, the Prince of Wuyong with his harem, uh, I mean four BFFs who helped him govern, compared with Xie Lian, who has only himself, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing - as in three teenagers being left to fend basically for themselves in the face of kingdom-shattering disaster. And there's also Jun Wu's construction of heaven, held together by the glue of manipulation and forced conformity with so many scandals kept under wraps. (Yes I've read the whole book. I'm trying to keep this readable for people who haven't. If you've also read the whole thing you can easily carry this paragraph to a logical conclusion about Jun Wu's actions in heaven.)

Idk that I've got enough brain to tie this all together with a neat bow, but I just feel like there's something here, about how hard so many of these people try to do the right thing but it's difficult because of their harm caused to them by the neglect and abuse of their childhood, and about how family and support networks only function to help if those supports aren't broken and toxic, about how the found family Xie Lian ultimately manages to construct functions because they all love each other despite their baggage instead of constantly being on the lookout for how to tear each other down over the least sign of nonconformity.

I hope this is coherent. Idk just, since I've been sick I've just reread like more than half of the book in less than a week (English books 3, 4, and 5) and it's giving me thoughts.

[crowning-art]

TGCF SPOILERS FINALE!

Me and 10 cuties who have been keeping up with my crazy TGCF journey after i finally finished it 2 years later lmaoo

*Note that clown in the center is me and everyone knows why after seeing my wonderful, beautiful, RIDICULOUS AND OUTLANDISH theories throughout the read lmaoo

Without further ado...the finale!!

-------------------------------------------------------

Goushi really swooped in during the LAST TWO SECONDS of this huge novel and really just stole everyone's heart, huh? I love this dude

In the last second, a hand caught Feng Xin’s boot, and Feng Xin caught Mu Qing’s boot. When he looked up, he cried, “WHAT THE FUCK!!! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!! GUOSHI OLD SIR, PLEASE DON’T EVER LET GO, ALRIGHT!!!”

YOOO FENG XIN ACCEPTED HIS CHILD OH MY GODDD DJJDJDJDJF T-T THE CHARACTER GROWTH

THE WAY THE TABLES HAVE TURNED AHHHHH its now Xie Lian who has Jun Wu pinned and nailed down to the ground with a sword djdjdjjdjjd low key, Xie Lian really needed to do that....yknow....therapeutically lol

I love this so much cuz ya, at the end of the day, it's tiring, it's exhausting keeping up a facade and forcing yourself to be someone who u know really isn't you and I feel Jun Wu despite all he's done was very heavily a product of his situation.

“I just genuinely really miss Your Highness,” Guoshi said. “I miss the once-Kingdom of Wuyong,

I miss our people, and I miss the days before we ascended. That’s all.”

“…”

Guoshi then added, “It’s been so many years, Your Highness. Just watching you makes me tired. Very tired. How about you? Are you not exhausted?”

And yes, I get that there was still a bit of inherit evil within him which got amplified thanks to the wuyong problems but like at the end of the day, he's just a sad little meow meow

AND THEN

AND THEN

“…Have I been defeated?” Jun Wu sounded a little lost.

After a moment of silence, Xie Lian took off the bamboo hat carried on his back, took it in his hand, and covered it over Jun Wu’s face.

DJDIFNIFJFJFJFJ DO I EVEN HAVE TO SAY IT AGAIN??? HJDHDHFHFHF U KNOW WHAT IM GONNA SAY AND UGH ITS ALWAYS BACK TO THE ✨️THEMES OF KINDNESS AND LOVE✨️ BRB gonna cry some more AGAIN

Ahh I remember pointing this out a while back but Hua Cheng was always the ONLY one who really helped ground Xie Lian when he was lost and confused. Like the split emotions he kept feeling of not knowing whether to laugh or cry, all gone even when he's told the craziest news yet, aka Wu Ming identity

All of a sudden, thousands of emotions, millions of words swarmed into his head. There was gratefulness, there was shame, there was heartache, there was wild joy, but above all else, there was incurable love.

Lol u guys don't even get it, there were so many parts that were my fave here and I was trying my best to not post the whole chapter here cuz i loved EVERY part, the way Xie Lian leaped into Hua Chengs arm at the end, the cute Xianle trio bickering, just everything T-T

WTF U MEAN LIL BREAK I DO NOT NEED THIS RN PLZ DONT OH MY GODOHMYGODOHMYGOS HUA CHENG DONT U DARE DIE OH MYGOD

All of this:

Hua Cheng’s long and slender fingers gently combed through Xie Lian’s mussed hair. “Then, Your Highness, do you know why I refuse to leave this world?”

Xie Lian couldn’t understand why Hua Cheng could still be so calm at a time like this, as he was panicking so hard he was trembling. But, while feeling lost, he still simple-mindedly asked,

“Why?”

Hua Cheng replied quietly, “Because I have a beloved who is still in this world.”

Hua Cheng said quietly, “Your Highness, I understand your everything.

“Your courage, your despair; your kindness, your pain; your resentment, your hate; your intelligence, your foolishness.

“If I could, I would have you use me as your stepping stone, the bridge you take apart after crossing, the corpse bones you need to trample to climb up, the sinner who deserved the butchering of a million knives. But, I know you wouldn’t allow it.”

They really did invent love, I can't think of anything else to say to this 😭

HIS EXPRESSION MY HEART CRACKED INTO A MILLION PIECES AT THIS WHOLE SCENE BUT ESPECIALLY AT THIS LINE

Hua Cheng’s gaze was gentle and blazing, that remaining eye filled with love, and it gazed at him silently.

He's gonna be back for sure. The red string and the ashes are still there....but it's still soooo saaad

LMAOOO the heavenly officials became homeless fr I'm dying lmaoooo

ROUYE IS BACK YESSSS!!! AND UGHH XIANLE TRIO!! IM SO HAPPY THEY R TOGETHER AGAIN!! I MISSED THIER SHENANIGENS SO MUCH

Xie Lian rummaged around his sleeve and fumbled out a white silk band that was torn in half, and said joyously, “Yeah, finally, the material to fix Ruoye is found! I’ll go patch it up right now!”

However, Feng Xin stopped him. “Patch it up? You?! Forget it, what can you patch? Ask someone else to help you.” Then he turned his head and shouted, “MU QING! COME GET TO WORK!”

Pei Su and Banyue were really an underrated duo this whole book, especially with the way they guarded Ke Mo and the other ghosts lol

Pei Su and Banyue were sitting at the entrance, both of their expressions blank.

Feng Xin divorce arc lmaooo Finally it came to an end...and in a really nice and mature way. I really appreciated the way MXTX wrote Jian Lan's whole character, like she also grew as a person and is def underappreciated

However, Jian Lan withdrew her smile. “What you’ve said are all things of the past. What was love once doesn’t mean it’ll last. I’m not interested in being a charity case and a nuisance.”

And Xuan Ji! Everyone really grew up huh? (*sobbing incontrollably*)

Still don't like Pei Ming smh overgrown man child fr U go Yushi Huang for showing him whose boss!!

GUZIIII MY HEART NOOOOO I really respect LQQ for doing this

so I could only…gather a bit of the soul particles of the Green Ghost and keep them in a lamp. Now he shows up in front of me every day hugging that lamp, asking when the soul within the lamp will grow bigger! I really…”

And Guzi! Fret not! Qi Rong will be back cuz his ashes aren't destroyed!!

THE PEARLS ARE BASICALLY A GIFT FROM THE INLAWS THAT HUA CHENG HAS NOW DJJDJDJDJDJDJFJDJD

A moment later, Xie Lian nodded slowly. “It’s mine. It’s a pair of pearls my father and mother gave me when I was young.”

Lol Ling Wen's punishment thooo and the subtle hint that Ling Wen may have acc cared for the dude despite everything kinda warms my heart

Ling Wen gave a small laugh. “Your Highness, don’t say it like I would do anything for him. After all, I’m cold-blooded and recognize no loved ones, so why would I do anything like that?”

“Is that right?”

“Let it be.

I love love love the way the passage of time was described here God I don't know how to explain it but I love it

People came like the tide, then left like the tide. Mount Taicang regained its deserted lonesomeness.

Atop Mount Taicang, there used to be an enormous field of maple trees. They were all burnt down by that massive fire, but reborn after a thousand years. They were no longer the same ones Xie Lian leapt through to train once upon a time, but the landscape was the same.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASAASASSMXKXKXJXNCJXNX AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

With three thousand Blessings Lanterns rising along with the night behind him, that man turned back and gazed at him. Robes redder than maple, skin as white as snow; between the brows of a face so handsome it couldn’t be stared at, there was still that wildness and a feral aura, a proudness that couldn’t be cut down.

There were no words. Both started walking towards the other.

A step, another step, each step faster than the next, then finally, they started running.

He ran forward whilst tears fell and stayed behind him. Xie Lian voiced this in his heart: he believed.

He believed that this man would die for him again and again, and would be reborn for him over and over. Even if he fell into the depths of hell, he would break through the abyss for his “belief”.

Last time, they spent eight hundred years running towards each other.

This time, it only took an instant to fall into each other’s embrace.

DID I CRY HERE? U BET YOUR FUNKY LIL BEAN I DID And u don't get get AGUHH it took 1000 pages for them to get to where they were AND ONLY ONE PAGE TO MEET AGAIN THE ABSOLUTE POETIC METAPHOR HAS ME LOSING MY MIND u have to read through 244 chaps to see them trying to get to each other and when they finally do..it takes less than a page for them to reunite again I AM CRYING RN

The grand final banquet in Puqi shrine, with windmaster and the fellow beggars, he xuan secretly eating with them, fengqing arguing and bantering (flirting basically -_-), heaven's eye, hualian, the heavenly officials dropping by, just everyone finally living a happy life

What a story! Like what a story! Unbelievable!

This is how it started and this is how it ended

However, if people worship the divine statues of this one god and one ghost together, then there will be a miracle

Cuz their whole story is a miracle but that's the point! U can't give up! Xie Lian's story IS inspirational despite being fictional! Believing in your principles and doing the right thing, showing kindness no matter the circumstance, and growing from adversities, honestly I had so much to say but I read the post script and lmao MXTX said EVERYTHING I wanted to say!

-------------------

I'm always the kind to finish books within a day or two but I really didn't want this one to end (hence two years to read it) but God the whole experience was so incredible and tbh, I started documenting my thoughts for myself just so I can reread them later and laugh lmao but then a bunch of you guys kept up with it and it genuinely became such an exciting thing to look forward to after reading as well!!

Special shout out to @silvia-moon and @maause who were there from the beginning!! I loved every comment of yours and had a blast reading them every time 🥰

Ahhhh IM GETTING SO EMOTIONAL LIKE THIS LONG WINDING JOURNEY HAS FINALLY COME TO AN END 😭 (borderline tearing up while writing this post) but alas! Every banquet must come to an end (haha see what I did there? Hahaha....😭😭😭)

And of course there are the extras! But those shall be read some other day! In the meantime, I'm so so excited to get to drawing all my fave scenes!! I can't wait to get to that!

Until then,

Farewell 😊

[mooncakebun]

Very quick very self indulgent #junmei sketchy after work cuz lately I’ve been having a lot of feelings for them 🥲

I just wanted to see young Crown Prince of Wuyong getting comforted by MNQ after the fall of the Kingdom… I apologize it truly is self-indulgent but just had this picture in my mind and wanted to get it out… 🥲

[antebellumite]

additional thoughts on wuyong/the cotton kingdom:

alr so the scene: the cotton kingdom is actually the cotton republic in the beginning, formed in year -1776/-1783 depending on how you see it. Washington is president, cabinet formed, etc.

james monroe is NOT royalty at this time. He's a martial cultivator, and follower of the Heavenly Emperor, the Sage of the Little Mountain, Thomas Jefferson

( Side note: Since TJ is the Heavenly Emperor, I'm going to use this as the explanation for why Mei Nianqing!John Marshall survives this long: Jefferson ex machina means that so long as TJ's spiritual power exists, the rest of his close relatives ( including JM ) remain immortal as like a familial priestly cast or something )

( Side note side note: Unsure as to how much this immortality thing extends to TJ's children. Maybe its uncontrollable by him? )

Normal shenanigans occur within this time. Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton are rival cultivators, Monroe and Madison are appointed Deputy Gods by Jefferson. Actually, maybe all of Jefferson's close family is appointed Deputy Gods, and that's how Monroe and Marshall meet and become friends. Shenanigans happen, Reynolds Pamphlet still released, Monroe-Hamilton duel, etc. Eventually, Monroe manages to ascend as a God sometime during the later years of the Washington Presidency.

Unfortunately, the second GW leaves office as President, it appears that the whole country is going to crash down.

The second President ( not John Adams, I need him to be alive for the Xianle/Union days ) is incompetent, there's suddenly a war brewing on the horizon,

And a volcano is about to blow up and destroy the CK.

Things progress more or less as they do in TGCF: No one pays attention to the volcano about to blow, the CK doesn't go to war with the other nation ( Monroe and Hamilton both advocate for war in order so like. They have land to escape the volcano ), Monroe decides to save the country by building a bridge to Heaven for all of the civilians to crowd onto, but the issue is by spending all of his time building the bridge he doesn't respond to his followers' prayers, resulting in a decline of his spiritual ability, and so when the volcano does blow he isn't able to keep the bridge upright and all the civilians on the bridge fall to their deaths in the volcano resulting in Monroe being thrown out of heaven as outrage over the tragedy means his temples are all burnt down now

And yes, TJ is doing nothing throughout this.

So now the country is in shambles, and Monroe is basically crippled without any of his cultivation, so he starts experimenting as best as he can, trying to solve the calamity that just destroyed the country.

And also, the volcano is still exploding. It has not yet stopped exploding.

There are a lot of corpses, so people start tossing bodies into the volcano as a way of disposing them.

Somehow, Monroe notices that some of the bodies are not quite dead yet...not alive either... and those bodies quell the hunger of the volcano.

Incidentally, during this time, Hamilton gets shot in a duel with Burr.

Monroe proceeds to kidnap Hamilton, who's still alive, though dying, and throw him into the volcano, stilling it's hunger for a week.

And that's how Monroe begins his quest on kidnapping civilians and other founding fathers alike to take their bones ( yes our man is stealing bones ) and toss them into the volcano in order to satiate Mt. Tonglu's bloodlust.

( Why does he steal their bones? How? Obviously they still need to be alive for the sacrifice to work, so maybe he only steals a small bone each time. The bones are necessary to keep their post-death souls in check so they don't become ghosts I suppose )

Mt. Tonglu stops erupting.

At this point, people start realizing that Monroe is the one stopping the volcano from erupting and he begins to be worshipped again, granting him renewed godhood status, though no one actually knows how he stopped the volcano.

At this point, the country is destroyed and democracy is basically dead, so Monroe gets appointed as Prince of the newly christened Cotton Kingdom, dubbed the Age of Good Feelings.

But he still has to toss people in. Since the stronger the body, the longer the eruptions are delayed, Monroe throws in civilians, but he also tosses in other founding fathers. Jay, Troup, Morris, Franklin, Washington, Patrick Henry

And it's at this time, that John Marshall, immortal of the Jeffersonian Priestly Class despite not being a Jeffersonian and hating the Heavenly Emperor, Chief of the Supreme Court, starts to get suspicious. When Burr ends up getting tried for treason, Marshall uncovers that Burr didn't kill Hamilton fast enough for Hamilton to have needed being buried so quickly, so something must have happened. He must've been kidnapped.

Marshall ends up putting two and two together, and finds out that Monroe has been serial killing founders and civilians, and he was about to sacrifice [ insert names of three founders here ].

A giant confrontation happens, and Monroe is able to toss the three founders into the pit, but not until something very odd happens.

The spirits of the three dead founders become infused into Monroe's flesh, becoming miniature faces on his original face.

Giving him the first case of the Human Fcae Disease

Anyways, because of their pre-existing bond, and because Marshall is still infused with the Protection of the Seal of the Heavenly Emperor, Marshall escapes the volcano.

Not sure what Jefferson and Madison are doing at this time, but I don't think they particularily care about Monroe doing this whole slaughtering thing.

Monroe is panicking over his newly scarred face though, because all these new warts on his face are actually screaming and moaning on his skin.

Which is terrifying and VERY suspicious.

So he tries to burn his face to burn them off.

That is very, very, painful, and it also does not work, but it does scar the miniature faces enough so that they can't scream anymore.

He resorts to using makeup to cover up his face, making the most palest paperwhite foundation possible.

for a moment, life resumes as normal.

But then it turns out that now, every time Monroe sacrifices another person into Tonglu and steals their bones, the Human Face Disease incorporates their soul into his flesh

After a year of this, Monroe ends up having enough- his body is basically covered in scarred mini-faces, and he stops sending bodies to Tonglu, having ammassed enough spiritual power and recultivated his golden core to the point where he's a god again

Tonglu explodes, all its pent-up energy after years not not exploding absolutely obliterating the Cotton Kingdom

This kills James Madison, who was trying to relieve the CK of the ongoing stress of the post-volcano years.

Monroe ofc is horrified and ends up stealing Madison's bones and head.

But then he begins to be mad, at the one person who could've stopped the pain that the volcano caused

The other Heavenly Officials, and the Heavenly Emperor himself, Thomas Jefferson

So, Monroe,( using his collection of bones ) makes a cloak that can transform him into a Supreme, turning him into a semi-Ghost. He dubs this cloak the Cotton Cloak, and makes a mask to hide his identity, becoming 'White No-Face/White Iron'.

As White Iron, Monroe goes up to Heaven and rips all of the officials of their immortality ( using his collection of bones ), eventually killing Jefferson through decapitation ( though not before dramatically removing his mask to reveal his scarred face )

Now the only God, Monroe crowns himself the Heavenly Emperor, taking in new gods and rewriting history for over a thousand years.

Until all his sins come to light due to Biddle and he ends up being buried under a mountain in a metal cage that looks like he's trying to crawl from...

[luffythinker]

when hualian are down in the wuyong kingdom ruins and talking about the memories and emotions transplant and hc is asking about people xl trusts and he talks about the fourth person and hc gets all jealous is so funny to mejskdjdkd

he's such a loser like no i don't want to know but also is it feng xin?? is it mu qing??? gege please tell me who is this person you trust so much and share a deep friendship with??? *inserts killing intent*

[raylin-creates]

OK that solidifies it for me. The guy in white people keep seeing is white no face. And he's probably also the one destroying the murals. Why is he trying so hard to hide something in (Wuyong? Was that the name of the kingdom)'s history that relates to the same disease that tore apart Xianle?

Also how did he know where they were and the route they were taking to try to go ahead of them? That may be nothing, he's a Calamity and may easily have some way of gathering info similar to Hua Cheng's butterflies, but could he also have a spy planted in Heaven like Hua Cheng did? One who found out about the emperors plan to send Xie Lian to Mount Tonglu? Maybe.

[mqfx]

“You’re right, I don’t understand,” Guoshi said. “It’s been so many years; you’ve been a god and you’ve been a ghost king. All that should be killed are dead, all that you’ve wanted is in your hands, so why are you doing this to yourself? What exactly do you want? What do you want to prove?”

[...]

He continued, “My dear Highness.”

Jun Wu glared at him coldly, but his hand didn’t loosen.

Even if he didn’t have sufficient power right now, wringing Guoshi’s neck was still an easy task, very dangerous. However, Guoshi just let him choke away like this, and said, “My teaching His Royal Highness was never intended to nurture a version of you who had never walked the wrong path, then use him to humiliate you. He’s his own person, you are you. You were different people all along, with different paths, and that’s the most natural thing. I’ve said this before in the past, but you wouldn’t believe me. How about now?”

Jun Wu stared at him, not speaking a word.

“I just genuinely really miss Your Highness,” Guoshi said. “I miss the once-Kingdom of Wuyong, I miss our people, and I miss the days before we ascended. That’s all.”

“...”

Guoshi then added, “It’s been so many years, Your Highness. Just watching you makes me tired. Very tired. How about you? Are you not exhausted?”