#lbfad reflections

[glorious-sunset]

Character Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

What’s in a name? For the characters of LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil), a whole lot of hidden meanings! These are not apparent to English viewers. Here are my translations and interpretations of these meanings.

DongFang Qing Cang - 东方青苍: “East, Cyan, Dark blue”

The surname “DongFang” means East, the direction of the rising sun. Both Dongfang Qingcang’s (DFQC) personal terrace at Silent Moon Palace and the replica Arbiter Hall he built for Xiao Lanhua (XLH) face East, and capture the most beautiful sunrises. DFQC (and previous generations of DongFangs) are well-respected by their people and enjoy the best locations and residences in Cangyan Sea.

The “Cang” in DFQC was named for his realm, “Cang” Yan Sea, as he was expected to be its leader and follow the path set for him by his father, and Lady Yan before him. Lady Yan chose to rid herself of emotions in order to wield Hellfire, and DFQC’s father forced the same decision onto him. The hanzi (mandarin character) for “Cang” in DFQC and Cangyan Sea means dark blue, and the darkness of this colour represents the darkness of the path he was expected to follow.

But “Cang” is not the only colour in DFQC’s name! The “Qing” in his name means lighter shades of blue/green, or cyan. And despite his prescribed mission to emotionlessly conquer the three realms, DFQC has many lighter, more peaceful shades to his character that reveal themselves as the series progresses. He forms a friendship and brotherhood with his enemy Changheng, who shares with him a love of playing music, art and cuju! And he rises above the cruel dictator of Shuiyuntian who almost annihilated his people, by sending his people to aid Shuiyuntian.

Xiao Lan Hua - 小兰花: “Little Orchid Flower”

We are first introduced to our female lead as “Xiao Lanhua”, which is not a name, but a description of what she believes her true form to be, a little orchid flower. But this was a disguise given to her by her parents and upheld by Siming. Her real name is Xiyun.

Xi Yun - 息芸: “Every breath”

The character for “Xi” in XLH’s true name is the same as the “Xi” in her realm, “Xishan”, and means breath (of life). Just like DFQC, she is named for her realm, as she was the intended leader of Xishan as its Goddess. The Xilan tribe of Xishan had powerful healing magics, and hers is the most powerful of all, with the ability to resurrect the dead with her blood, thus providing the breath of life. She uses this to great effect, resurrecting DFQC in ep. 26, everyone who died on the battlefield in ep. 31, and freeing the 100,000 sealed soldiers of the Moon Tribe.

The “Yun” in her name meaning every, combined with “Xi” can be interpreted as “every breath”. Sadly, XLH’s every breath is for one purpose and brings her closer to her one destiny. She is fated to sacrifice herself to save the three realms from Taisui. If this had happened, then like Lady Chidi before her, her sacrifice would soon have been forgotten.

Chi Di - 赤地: “Red/Barren Earth”

The “Chi” in Lady Chidi’s name means red, and paired with “Di” meaning earth, can also mean barren earth. She is the only official in Shuiyuntian seen wearing Red, as even the current God of War, Changheng, conforms to the same white and pale blue robes that other officials wear. Chidi is therefore a standout who asserts her individuality and does not conform to expectations. Her way of thinking outside the box, led to DFQC and his 100,000 Moon Tribe soldiers being completely blindsided by her sacrifice 30,000 years ago. It also led to her breaking heaven’s laws to resurrect Ronghao, to her later detriment.

Chidi wields powerful earth magics, as represented by her name. These are so powerful that she is able to seal the 100,000 soldiers of the Moon Tribe within the barren earth of Xuanxu realm. Her mighty Shuofeng sword is also swallowed by the barren earth and her magic cannot be reversed without her primordial spirit.

Xun Feng - 巽风: “Obedient wind”

The “Xun” in Xunfeng means to obey, and the “Feng” means wind. His name can be interpreted as either “obedient to the wind” or an “obedient wind”. Like the wind, Xunfeng lacks substance, confidence and ability, and is disrespected by his people during DFQC’s imprisonment. Many contenders try to steal his position as Moon Supreme, and he almost dies on the Wind Plain until DFQC arrives to save him.

But Xunfeng cares fiercely for his people. In his attempt to protect them, he collaborates with Ronghao without knowing his identity or motivations. He is thus “obedient to the wind” where Ronghao is an unknown and unseen entity, like the wind. Xunfeng is unable to discern that Ronghao is keeping Cangyan Sea in a constant state of civil unrest and tormenting the souls of deceased Moon Tribe members until much later, with DFQC’s help!

Shang Que - 觞阙: “Watchtower”

“Que” meaning watchtower is an apt description for DFQC’s lieutenant and right-hand man. Shangque has many talents suiting him to this role! These include his ability to be stealthy, gather information discreetly, undertake covert missions successfully, act as a powerful defensive force, and a healing one due to his skill with Chinese medicine. Like a watchtower, he kept watch for 30,000 years during DFQC’s absence on all events occurring within the three realms. His loyalty and love for DFQC, whom he views as a brother and whose return he awaited for 30,000 years, are astounding!

 “Shang” paired with “Que” can mean lacking sustenance. This is the state Shangque was in when orphaned as a young boy, and many tried to take advantage of him and his dragon body. If not for DFQC saving him, he would likely have perished from hunger or been murdered :(

Jie Li - 结黎: “Dark knot”

Jieli suffers from much internal torment which is like a dark knot inside her. From the moment she was born, she never knew or received love, and was raised by people who continually exploited her, physically harming her and threatening her life. That she is even capable of loving and caring for others is a miracle! Unlike Shangque, nobody like DFQC ever stepped in to save her and care for her.

Jieli cares deeply for both XLH and Shangque. Her life under threat, she makes some bad choices such as spilling a drop of Chidi’s blood onto the Bone Orchid. This is one of many dark and knotty situations she encounters. Although she soon decides she would rather die than hurt XLH, Dieyi poisons Shangque to force her obedience.

Yun Zhong - 云中: “Among the clouds”

Yunzhong literally lives among the clouds, but his head is also in the clouds. He is very narrow-minded and cannot think outside the box. When XLH does not fit within the eight-class system of Shuiyuntian, he immediately decides she is Moon Tribe (even before the Bone Orchid protects her) without considering other possibilities. He is so strict with Changheng that he would rather execute the most powerful asset to Shuiyuntian (and his brother!!) than tolerate the slightest disobedience! Throughout the series, he is intent on exterminating the Moon Tribe and almost does in ep. 31 on completely false pretences.

Chang Heng - 长珩: “Steadfast bird”

Like the golden bird brooches that the celestials wear to represent their tribe, Changheng is a model citizen of Shuiyuntian. He is steadfast and loyal to his duties and puts these above his personal desires. When trying to rescue XLH from Cangyan Sea in ep. 13, he is honest with her that he cannot break the rules of Shuiyuntian, and only hopes that Yunzhong will be reasonable and lenient towards her! Changheng is far more steadfast and loyal than the average celestial. He is the only one apart from Ronghao to visit Chidi’s grave on her death anniversary, honours his brotherhood with DFQC after returning to the immortal world, and after learning Ronghao’s secret identity, listens to his side of the story.

Dan Yin - 丹音: “Crimson tidings”

Twice, Danyin is the bearer of important news, relaying her visions from the Tianji mirror to the sacrifice of her own desires. First, she tells a wounded and imprisoned Changheng about his wedding to XLH in the mortal realm, causing him to start a mortal tribulation. Then, she tells Yunzhong and the High Council about XLH’s true identity as the Goddess, saving Changheng from execution and leading to his wedding with XLH.

Rong Hao - 容昊: “Vastly compromising”

Ronghao has “one tiny earthly desire”, that his beloved master can live. What he is prepared to do to achieve this includes burning the souls of dead celestials and Moon tribe, massacring the entire Xilan population including their women and children, forcing his master to endure 30,000 years of cruel mortal tribulations and using evil qi to keep her alive. His willingness to vastly compromise both himself and her leaves Lady Chidi aghast.

Die Yi - 蝶衣: “Butterfly costume”

Dieyi is a shape-shifter and the different forms she takes, butterfly or woman, are her costumes, which help her to be sneaky and nefarious.

Xie Wanqing - 谢惋卿: “Withering sigh”

Having forgotten her life as Lady Chidi, Xie Wanqing feels incomplete without knowing why, expressed by her sad sighs. Chidi is forced to endure countless mortal tribulations just like this one and die (wither) repeatedly. (In the novel, in each of these lives she is condemned to be murdered by the one she loves!)

Xiao Run - 萧润: “Mournful wealth”

Both Xiao Run and his true self as Changheng come from positions of wealth and noble status. But both of them mourn the loss of freedom that comes from this – although Xiao Run is more of a carefree rebel! :D

Si Ming - 司命: “Arbiter of fate”

Using the power of her position as Arbiter of Fate, Siming has repeatedly defied heaven’s laws and changed fate! She resurrects Ronghao as an immortal, creating a new destiny leaf for him. She released the convicted dragon Chang Yuan and married him. And she instructs DFQC on how to also defy nature’s laws and change destiny! :D

Chang Yuan - 长渊 “Steadfast abyss”

He is the deep abyss that Siming falls into, as in choosing him, she accepts the fate of being imprisoned with him in the Ruins of Myriad Heavens for the rest of eternity. But at least he is steadfastly loyal to her.

Tai Sui - 太岁: “Very Ancient”

This most ancient of tricksters could not be defeated by numerous generations of Goddesses, who merely sealed him beneath Xishan. Over his very long life spanning hundreds of millenia, he has learned to tell whatever lies are needed to manipulate others and ensure his survival.

Here is a link to my article: Location Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

[tockamybeloved]

HERE

Within Episode 7, Liufang Pavilion

[sassybluee]

So thanks to some discussions in the LBFAD server, I was reminded of a conversation myself and @gotmilfed had concerning Dongfang Qingcang's crowns. Notably, the crown he wears in most of the latter part of the series.

A screencap from episode 27

We noticed the crown has little bursts of blue among the usual root/laurel structures of all of Dongfang Qingcang's crowns. My first thought was berries, but we both agreed that they're more likely to be buds. When you take into consideration Dongfang Qingcang's Love Tree is blossoming by the Lucheng arc, his crown reflecting the state of his budding Love Tree is very fitting.

One episode prior to this crown's appearance, Dongfang Qingcang sees changes in his Heart Sea.

This crown with blue buds is first seen in episode 14. Even at this point, when Dongfang Qingcang is adamant he has no interest in emotions, his crown reflects what's starting to happen to his Heart Sea.

Right before the crown's first appearance, Dongfang Qingcang tells Xiao Lanhua how his emotions were removed. His crown is more bare, similar in design to the others we've seen him wear up to this point.

It's in this scene that Xiao Lanhua realizes she had touched Dongfang Qingcang's Love Tree back in Haotian Tower and vows to help him restore his emotions. After she makes her promise, Dongfang Qingcang reappears onscreen with a crown full of tiny little buds.

[aikaterini-drag]

Why LBFAD is a one of a kind drama that will stay in our hearts forever!

Firstly, it has got compelling storyline, filled with twists, turns, and emotional depth that keeps viewers engrossed and eager for more. The narrative is intricately woven, combining elements of fantasy, romance, and suspense to create a unique and captivating viewing experience.

Secondly, the production value of the drama is exceptional. From the stunning cinematography to the elaborate costumes and breathtaking set designs, every aspect of the show is visually appealing and of high quality. The attention to detail and the immersive world-building contribute to the drama's excellence.

The performances by the talented cast are also noteworthy. The actors bring their characters to life with convincing portrayals, making the audience emotionally invested in their journeys. The chemistry between the actors is palpable, enhancing the romantic and dramatic moments.

Another aspect that makes "Love Between Fairy and Devil" stand out is its exploration of complex themes. The drama delves into themes of love, sacrifice, redemption, and the battle between good and evil, leaving viewers with profound reflections and a deeper understanding of human nature.

Additionally, the drama's popularity and positive reception among a wide range of audiences indicate its widespread appeal. It has successfully captured the hearts of viewers, both in China and internationally, garnering a loyal fan base that appreciates its quality storytelling and production values.

I believe it is one of a kind because of its compelling storyline, exceptional production value, talented cast, exploration of complex themes, and its ability to resonate with viewers on an emotional level. It has undoubtedly left a lasting impact on the world of Chinese dramas. 💖

[terapsina]

Thinking about how Lbfad is all about love- and not just romantic love, but all kinds. Romantic, Platonic, Familial, Brotherhood, sisterhood, love towards the people, even self-love.

Oh, absolutely. This show portraying the variety of love in all its forms is one of my favorite things.

Plus I also love how there's such different ways that this love is shown in both healthy and decidedly less so ways. Seriously every relationship in this show has its darker reflection.

Like the love between Xiao Lanhua and Dongfang Qingcang in stark mirror against the very obsessive and selfish love that Ronghao has for Chidi Nvzi.

The brotherhood of Dongfang Qingcang and Xunfeng that was so deeply broken but then starts healing once the truth comes out, held against Changheng's blind loyalty for his brother which is clearly utterly without reciprocation.

Xiao Lanhua's love for her shifu and the way Siming's lies were told in order to protect her, against Dongfang Qingcang's relationship with his father and how his father put his country before his son and did utterly terrible things to someone who only wanted his father's love.

Shangque's earned loyalty to the Moon Supreme, against Dieyi's loyalty to Ronghao and how he constantly betrays it.

The friendship between Changheng and Ronghao. Against the more true friendship between Xiao Run and Cricket. Or the eventual one between Changheng and Danyin.

Though it's not just darker reflections either. There's also just... reflections too.

Like the initially reluctant and one sided friendship based on lies between Xiao Lanhua and Jieli. In mirror to the initially reluctant and one sided friendship based on lies between Dongfang Qingcang and Xiao Run.

Or the unrequited romantic love that Changheng felt for Xiao Lanhua which would eventually be a requited friendship. In mirror to the unrequited romantic love that Danyin felt for Changheng which would eventually be a requited friendship.

Seriously, this show is so FULL of various relationships which show both the best and the worst of all the various colors that love can come in and I think that if anything makes this show special, it might truly be THAT.

[joyburble]

This entire scene in episode 15 reminded me of a scene in one of Terry Pratchett's books, I think it's "Witches Abroad".

At the end of that story, Granny Weatherwax finds herself apparently trapped in a dreamlike hall of mirrors reflecting infinite versions of herself. If I remember correctly, her conversation is with Death (who speaks in CAPS, but always politely) and goes something like this:

"When can I get out?"

"WHEN YOU FIND THE ONE THAT'S REAL".

"Is this a trick question?"

"NO."

She says, "This one." And the trap is defeated.

The same trap is not defeated by her sister-rival Lilith, who panics, starts seeking, and is lost.

Dong Fang Qing Cang is told what sounds like the same thing: "This is an illusion. There are endless changes. If you want to break it with power, you'll only fall into it".

"How long can you hold me?"

"A moment is enough."

He treats this with the same degree of respect, smashes the mirror:

And then:

"Even if he put you in thousands of identical orchids, I would find you in an instant".

A central theme in Pratchett's work - the central theme, really - is that you shouldn't treat people as instruments and therefore, one character doesn't get to decide what sort of story another character is in. You can treat people as professionals. But not as things.

This is presumably a reason why his collaboration with Neil Gaiman on Good Omens worked out so well: Gaiman's idea, of The Omen with an extra baby swap so that the Antichrist grows up as a perfectly nice kid with an ordinary, loving family, was entirely in keeping with that theme. Which then generated Aziraphale and Crowley, the angel and demon who just have rather pointless jobs to do, and find more in common with each other than the sides they supposedly work for.

It's also clearly a theme in LBFAD, even though I'm not at the end of the show yet (I'm going back and rewatching some bits, to set myself up for the next episode). The whole farcical human-realm arc felt very Pratchett, with the characters' increasingly ludicrous schemes undermined by their real motivations and wrong assumptions, so I needed to get this idea out of my head.

I couldn't help wondering, in the moment, whether this scene was pure coincidence - a hall of mirrors is nothing special, after all - or not.

[andoqin]

Chang Feng Du

I’ve been catching up, because I am a moron and thought it had already finished airing, but it’s 40 eps and finishes today, so i’m not done yet.... but hopefully will be soon.

Anyway something I’m noticing with this drama (and maybe it’s the writer? I liked LBFAD but never was as deeply into it as others) is that while my heartstrings are getting tugged when they need to be - the defense of Wangdu was great, them wanting to go out in almost a blaze of glory and truly becoming a couple, the court fight, imprisonment and Yuru’s fake out death, or rather the reaction to it was very well done and impeccably acted and most recently (and heartbreaking for me) the Old Man Breakup :( that was crushing - something is missing to tie it all together.

For example with Yuru’s death, although the grief of the characters hit me, since 1) it was so obvious she wasn’t dead and  2) the writing made some weird choices (why was she in ~hiding for 3 years, how is her being like the most high profile businesswoman in any way protecting her and Jiusi? I didn’t really buy that), that impact was lessened considerably. Sidenote, Jiusi’s dead eyes when he gets told to dam the Yellow River was very well acted and I wish the drama/writing had allowed for more of Jiusi’s dark side to come out. He’s a deeply vindictive man when it comes down to it and the fact that he just kinda grumbles on the inside against the emperor but does.. nothing??? else? is a bit weird. It is Yuru who tells him when he is about to embark down the wrong path and he is able to reflect (but not regret) and change course, that’s what makes their relationship so good for me. 

It feels to me like the drama took the pacing issues in the novel (and esp in the latter half they are pronounced) and elevated them, the drama starts like it has 50-60 episodes to tell its story but at around ep 20 it realises oh no i gotta get to the back half of the plot and gotta get the Big Stuff in but the connecting tissue is paper thin sometimes. I as a reader know why Uncle Mickey is working with Luo Zisheng and probably the drama will explain it too in the last 4 eps but so far it just felt so weird and out of left field and then it barely has any time to be explored before the magic 3 years are over and suddenly LZS has to leave the capital. 

I really do like the beginning of the show and it had some great great visuals but in hindsight i wish the pacing had been a lot tighter.

[cloudravine]

I’ve been thinking about how the immortals in LBFAD are tens of thousands of years old and how that fact both explains a lot and gives extra weight to the character development we see in the course of the story.

When you’ve lived that long, it’s only natural that you’d be set in your ways and that it’d be a lengthy and difficult process, after all these years, to change or undo habits that have been engraved into your life for millennia. This applies to characters like Rong Hao who’ve gone astray and started exhibiting behaviours that are toxic/harmful, but also to others like Changheng who’ve become used to complying with the status quo.

In this context, isn’t it incredible to reflect on just how much most of our main characters change throughout the drama? They’ve taken years and years to grow into a certain version of themselves, yet within the relatively short timeline covered by the show they learn, grow and evolve enormously and are brave enough to question what they’ve always known. Characters like the fairy king are true villains because they’re blind, rigid and unwilling to challenge their own worldview and change their behaviour; the true heroes are those who take that risk, no matter how scary and painful.

[drottni]

Okay rewatching LBFAD (ofcourse this would be the show I do that to) and some observations

1. How the heck did they actually manage to capture Dongfang Qincang? Like after Lady Chidi sacrificed herself who was actually strong enough to bring my man down? What happened.

2. The intro says his "primordial spirit cannot be destroyed", why and how is it destroyed later then when XLH kills him? Also that when he resurrects it would be danger for the 3 realms (I like to think that in some universe it was written he would sacrifice himself for XLH and that Taisui would take over his body and put the 3 realms in danger and thats what this refers to) and that "only the goddess of Xilan would be able to prevent this catastrophe" and didn't she? By killing her beloved and stopping Taisui she did. God. I feel like they were destined to play these roles as well. "It's my destiny to save the world" 🤝 "It's my mission to save you"

3. My boy wasn't just casually chilling and trapped in that prison. He was fighting! He was sending out energy even while unconscious and weakening the Matrix. Ofcourse he was.

4. Did XLH's master really plan on throwing her away and only kept her because of Changheng? Did she not know who XLH is? I always assumed she knew and was safe keeping her.

5. My girl XLH didn't even hesitate before deciding she was gonna risk herself for Changheng. Like she was this selfless from day one and we all really fooled ourselves into thinking she wouldn't do this for her Da Mouto. Clowns all of us. Dongfang Qincang too for not locking her up in a tower before heading out to big battle to stop her 😅

6. Dongfang Qincang's little fire spheres said "You're coming home with me" to XLH. 😆 Really grabbed her and never let go. Get yo girl boy.

7. Omg the reflection of DFQC in her eyes! I actually saw it now.

8. Multiple slow pausing has revealed to me: The MINUTE she touches him and her energy shoots out, his hands are FREED. She literally frees him. My god.

9. How do I make that zoomed out scene of them literally coloring the galaxy with their love a phone screen saver or something. I need that now.

10. DFQC who doesn't bother to explain anything to anyone ever immediately explains to XLH that he doesn't know why they have switched bodies and what is happening.

11. Netflix asking me if I want to skip intro:

me: How dare you.

12. That scene in the intro of their heads. How DFQC is bowed and XLH is looking up when in reality they are the opposite. But with each other, he bows to her, she looks up to him. God. I think I could write poetry out of these two and never stop. I could write essays. Someone make me stop.

13. I literally never knew that he refers to himself as Benzhuo (Not sure what its exact meaning is like but The Venerable one or something) until Tumblr and now when she mockingly says "Benzhuo Benzhuo" >" you keep talking about yourself", it's so much funnier. She literally calls him out on his fancy language and says alright mr high and mighty calm down you aint a big deal. LOVE.

14. Idk if its a translation thing or he for real says to her "don't cry" like a request instead of an order as you would expect like "stop crying!". So soft. Sir why. "Clean your face" like you would to a child after consoling them. Like "okay that's enough now wipe your face". God.

15. The first time we see the curse seal is when she enters the Matrix its on her chest. The second time and the first time we see it on DFQC is when they switch back for the first time. I need to how the Xilan curse works. Why does it just feel like the universe conspiring to bring them both together 😆 Like how did the curse know he would try to kill her now that they switched bodies and immediately said "nope jokes on you, she is your precious one now"

16. The sheer joy I feel watching his transformation into Moon Supreme. Cleared my skin, fixed my life, cured my depression.

[glorious-sunset]

How Immortals age in cdramas – clues from LBFAD

Many of our favourite cdramas sweep us into the beautiful fantasy world of the Xianxia genre, where immortal beings live for thousands of years! But they look so young?! How does ageing work for these lucky immortals in terms of human appearance? LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil) gives us a few clues about this mysterious process!

Details are below, but in a nutshell, immortal beings grow quickly in childhood then the appearance of ageing slows down and stops! Sometimes their hair turns white when they are drained of energy making them look older than they should! For spirits who have cultivated from plant or animal form, it works differently as they transform directly into adult human form :) I created a graph of the immortal ageing process vs. human appearance based on clues from LBFAD (appears further down, yes I am a math nerd and proud :D ).

Young child

Our first clue to the mysteries of immortal ageing is Changheng, who was a few hundred years old during the Battle of Two Tribes (30,000 years ago) and is described as having been only a young boy at that time (let’s say around 7). Babies born to immortal parents mature (relatively) quickly into young children over a few hundred years, but ageing slows down after that.

Shangque was also a young boy when he was orphaned and rescued by a young DongFang QingCang (DFQC). Since Shangque describes DFQC as like a brother to him, they are likely of a similar age and DFQC was also a young boy at that time - both a few hundred years old.

Pre-teen

Shangque says that he has served DFQC for 38,000 years since DFQC saved him (in ep. 17). For the last 30,000 of those, DFQC was imprisoned in Haotian tower. Therefore, DFQC had been aged just over 8,000 years during the Battle of the Two Tribes - rough guess 8,500 – 9,000 years old since he was a young boy when he saved Shangque. The Battle of Two Tribes occurred soon after killing his father* and physically, his appearance was of an 11-year-old at that time (the actor was 11 during filming).

At this time, Xunfeng’s appearance was of a 9-year-old (actor was 9), and his age probably around 5,000 years old (based on graph below :D )

Xiao Lanhua’s (XLH) first life with her parents in the beautiful mountains of Xishan was also cut short when she was the same age as DFQC entering Haotian Tower. Her actress was also 11 during the tragic massacre of her tribe, and she began a new life as a little orchid flower spirit hidden in the mortal realm.

(*We know that the Battle of Two Tribes occurred soon after the death of DFQC’s father because XLH tells his father’s spirit in ep. 17 that 30,000 years have passed since his death).

Early 20s

The immortals Xunfeng, DFQC and Changheng have the appearance of young men aged 21, 22 and 23 (the age of their actors during filming) and represent the early 20s demographic in human appearance! 30,000 years have now passed and their immortal ages are around 35,000 for Xunfeng, 30,500 for Changheng, and 39,000 years for DFQC. (Sadly for DFQC, his body had been unconscious over these 30,000 years while imprisoned in Haotian tower, but his disembodied spirit had stayed conscious and pounded on the Haotian matrix every day.)

Thus immortals aged 30,000 to 40,000 years seem to take on the appearance of humans in their early 20s. Wouldn’t it be great to stay 21 for thousands of years?! :D

Early 30s

The ages of most of the other characters are unknown, but we have one more clue from an older immortal! We know that Supreme Liyuan is aged over 80,000 years, as he tells “Changheng” in ep. 12 that he is over 50,000 years older than him, and Changheng himself is aged ~30,500 years. Physically, Liyuan’s human appearance is mostly that of a 33-year-old man (the age of his actor during filming). What is strange about his appearance is his hair, which had turned white during the Battle of Two Tribes and never recovered – more on this phenomenon further down.

The Immortal ageing process

Based on the clues LBFAD gave us, here is my take on the ageing process for immortal beings born to immortal parents. Plant spirits, and animal spirits (mentioned in the novel but not the drama) that cultivate into human form are discussed separately below.

Hair turning white

We sometimes see the hair of immortals turning white when they are drained of their energy and cultivation. It happens to three immortals in LBFAD. The first is Ronghao – he uses up half of his cultivation to heal Changheng in ep. 13. His face and lips drain of blood and his hair starts to turn white.

DFQC’s hair also turned white during the Battle of Two Tribes. First he was weakened by his battle with Lady Chidi, then Lord Dong, Supreme Liyuan and the entire High Council of Shuiyuntian ganged up on him, separating his body and spirit and imprisoning both with the Haotian matrix. It also turns white when he is possessed by Taisui in ep. 36.

Back to Supreme Liyuan. Along with the others in the Heavenly High Council, he poured his spiritual energy into creating the powerful magical seal of the Haotian matrix 30,000 years ago. Liyuan is one of Lord Dong’s peers, and he and Lord Dong likely worked especially hard to seal DFQC. The process was so draining for Lord Dong that he has been in seclusion since then, leaving his son Yunzhong in charge. Liyuan managed to stay out of seclusion but his hair hasn’t been the same since! It used to be black during the scenes where he enters fatherhood but now seems to be permanently white. (Assuming Danyin and Jieli were born shortly before the Battle of Two Tribes, this would make them around Changheng’s age).

Cultivated spirits

XLH is a special case and has lived three lives in LBFAD (In her third life, she tells Changheng in ep. 35 that she remembers her previous two lives). In the first, she aged “normally” as above after being born to immortal parents. In the second and third of her lives, she cultivates directly into adult human form from a plant spirit form after cultivating for a period of time. This is what generally happens for plant and animal spirits cultivating into human form in Xianxia.

In XLH’s second life, she was an orchid plant in the mortal realm for 28,500 years or less (or so Siming told her). Time runs faster in the mortal realm, where a few hours in the immortal realm is equal to a few months in the mortal realm. Then Siming brought her to Arbiter Hall, cared for her, and she transformed into human form! At the start of LBFAD, she is 1,500 years old (as she says in ep. 2) and mentally a young girl on the brink of adulthood. She then quickly matures through the drama.

In XLH’s third life, DFQC meticulously cared for her orchid form so well every day that her transformation process is much shorter! (the drama doesn’t specify how long but it took ten years in the novel). After transforming this time, she retains the memories of her previous two lives, and is a mature and responsible goddess with the appearance of a woman in her early 20s.

Lived experience

The lived experience of both DFQC and XLH was interrupted early. DFQC was aged only ~9,000 years when he was imprisoned in Haotian tower. XLH was similarly aged when her tribe was massacred and she was reverted back to a plant spirit with no human form. The child actors for both were 11 during these tragic events. XLH re-emerges 1,500 years prior to the start of LBFAD, then frees DFQC in ep. 1. Thus compared with other “young” characters like Xunfeng and Changheng, their total lived experience is much less, and they are most comparable (and compatible! :D ) with each other.

Here is a link to my article: Character Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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LBFAD is the most inspiring series I have ever watched and here is why…

Although Love Between Fairy and Devil (LBFAD) only caught my eye on Netflix in December 2023, I’m so glad it did and that I didn’t miss out on this stunning and thought-provoking masterpiece. It is the most inspiring series I have ever watched for many reasons. Aesthetically, I found the beautiful 4K production quality as enjoyable as high-budget productions such as Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. I frequently felt the need to pause and admire the well-designed sets, and exquisitely detailed costumes of even minor characters. The acting is superb across the board, and the leads act and respond very naturally to each other. The long hair of male characters is especially well-done, falling naturally with subtle highlights and looks real. All these details breathe life into this fantasy world and make it very realistic.

Every line of each song from the phenomenal OST is brimming with hidden meanings related to the series, adding lots of additional context! The artwork created for the opening and ending themes is also full of meaning (minor spoilers ahead). Take, for example, the last picture where the OTP are sitting on a boat in the Oblivion River, the junction between their two tribes, the male lead has removed his crown and hence his responsibilities at least for the moment, and they are watching the sunrise together for the rest of eternity after the close of the series (sigh!)

Every single character of note in the series goes through profound character growth, the only exception being the abstract ultimate villain Taisui. Even the secondary villains and dictator of Shuiyuntian have grown and changed their perceptions by the end. It made me believe that anyone is capable of opening their minds and bettering themselves. Both lead and side characters are repeatedly faced with overwhelmingly bleak choices and heartbreaking challenges, especially in the last ten episodes. Yet every time, they show courage, sacrifice and selfless love that is amazing and very inspiring.

It is rare to find this kind of poignance in any production. I used to find Game of Thrones inspiring due to Daenerys freeing the world of slavery…until Season 8 happened. LBFAD tops Game of Thrones in this regard by freeing two distinct realms from conflict. The actions of the OTP break through a hundred millenia of mutual hatred and relentless conflict between their people with no end in sight, to create a new dawn of lasting peace. LBFAD reminds me of Lord of the Rings in terms of its cinematographic beauty and themes of never losing hope and prevailing over overwhelming odds. However, the stronger focus of LBFAD on the lead couple’s development and on creating multidimensional villains and side characters made it, for me, more engaging to watch.

The world-building and depth of characters has many layers in LBFAD, to the extent that much of the context was clear to me only in retrospect on rewatching the series and on deep reflection. The fast pace of the series also means that a lot of action occurs off-screen in between scenes. There are no filler scenes, there is no room for them. Every scene adds new plot twists and depth to characters, making the series highly addictive.

I am not a native mandarin speaker, and came to realise how beautiful the language is only on encountering LBFAD and its OST. It inspired me to learn mandarin, which makes rewatching the series highly enjoyable as I am able to pick up new nuances. I’m embarrassed to be so late to watch LBFAD after its release in 2022, but have thoroughly enjoyed the posts on Tumblr from fellow fans, including episode analyses, enthralling artwork and links to fanfiction. It has encouraged me to post on Tumblr myself. I have started to post my reflections on each episode while rewatching them, translations and overviews. I am thrilled to be a part of this wonderful community!

Links to some of my other LBFAD articles:

Character Names in LBFAD - Meaning and Significance

Location Names in LBFAD - Meaning and Significance

Here is a link to my episode 1 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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Location Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

For English viewers, some of the location names in LBFAD (Love between Fairy and Devil) are given in Mandarin. However, the meanings of these names have deep significance that are lost in translation! Here are my translations and interpretations of these meanings.

Cang Yan Hai - 苍盐海: “Dark blue Salt Sea”

The hanzi (mandarin character) for “Cang” is the same as the “Cang” in “Dongfang QingCANG” (DFQC) and means dark blue. The colour dark blue is representative of the Moon Tribe, and may symbolise the night sky featuring the Moon (their emblem) and its reflection in the water of their Sea. Only members of the royal family (DFQC and Xunfeng) are seen wearing dark blue, embellished with gold (see image above). Other characters, such as Jieli and Xiao Lanhua (XLH) do wear blue but generally in lighter hues. Part of DFQC’s name (but not all, I will post more on this later) is named after the realm of the Moon Tribe, as he represents Cangyan Sea as their leader. The darkness of this imagery (and their better fashion and clothing! :D ) contrasts with the light and airy tones of Shuiyuntian.

The character for “Yan” is the same as the “Yan” in Lady Yan, the founder of the Moon Tribe, and means salt. Cangyan Sea is named after its founder to honour her establishment of their Tribe, and her name reflects the bitterness (saltiness) of her personal life experiences and her actions in response to these (I will post more on this later). “Yan” also symbolises the saltiness of the seawater in Cangyan Sea, and the harshness of the environment there. The people of the Moon Tribe work hard to survive, depending on fishing and hunting for sustenance. “Hai” means sea, acknowledging that Cangyan Sea is made up of many small islands surrounded by sea. The Moon Tribe also obtain many varieties of fresh seafood from the sea (and have better food than Shuiyuntian! :D )

Si Ming Dian - 司命殿: “Arbiter of Fate Temple”

This sacred place is named after the Arbiter of Fate, Siming (the title of her position), and hosts the sacred Tree of Destiny and Tianji Mirror. “Dian”, meaning temple (although subtitled as “Hall”), reflects the consecrated nature of this abode. The Arbiter of Fate, Siming, was in charge of the fates of everyone in the three realms, and took particular care to guide the destiny of XLH, whom she loved like a daughter, and upon whose fate the safety of the three realms depended.

Siming Dian is located in the most remote part of Shuiyuntian, and it can be supposed that Siming (and her predecessors) intentionally established their abode here to avoid Shuiyuntian politics and protect XLH’s secret identity. Fairies describe it as a miserable destination (ep. 1) and avoid visiting unless absolutely necessary. This remoteness and solitude allowed DFQC and XLH to peacefully coexist there for almost two weeks without being disturbed or discovered. Due to its north-facing aspect and remoteness, however, it does not receive much sunlight, making it difficult for the spirits there to cultivate and for XLH to recover after having her energy drained.

Shui Yun Tian - 水雲天: “Heavens of Water and Clouds”

“Tian” means sky/heavens and “Yun” means clouds, and from its lofty position high in the sky among the clouds, the residents of the Fairy Realm, Shuiyuntian, look down upon the mortal realm and the realm of the Moon Tribe, both literally and figuratively. They believe they are the top, most superior race, and have been actively trying to wipe out the Moon Tribe for generations. The fairies look down on XLH because of her origin from the mortal realm. But their views and opinions have been clouded by the propaganda circulated within Shuiyuntian, especially around members of the Moon Tribe.

All locations in Shuiyuntian (Arbiter Hall, Fountain Palace, Yujing etc.) float in the sky, and its residents are immortal beings with the ability to fly and manipulate energy. The clouds in this heavenly ethereal paradise are also home to the magical Cloud Whale.

“Shui” means water, and the capital of Shuiyuntian (Yujing) is the place where the four rivers Xiao, Xiang, Li and Yuan converge, controlled by the Four-River Pearl tower. Many structures featuring water are seen throughout Shuiyuntian, such as Fountain Palace, the waterfall in Shuyu forest and floating water fountains throughout Yujing. The vast amounts of water are a lethal weakness which DFQC exploits in ep. 9 by destroying the Four-River Pearl. This creates catastrophic tsunami waves threatening both Shuiyuntian and the mortal realm, the flow of which the celestials are barely able to reverse with their combined powers!

Yu Jing - 玉京: “Jade Capital”

Yujing, the capital of Shuiyuntian, is named after the sacred stone Jade, which is rare and highly prized in both Cangyan Sea and Shuiyuntian. However, the rarest forms of Jade come from Cangyan Sea, such as the Magical Jade Firefly stone which takes 10,000 years to form in the cold temperatures of Northernmost Ocean. No wonder Shuiyuntian wants to conquer Cangyan Sea and exploit their resources! Changheng obtained the Firefly stone for XLH during his recent invasion of Northernmost Ocean.

The other jade artefacts in the series are also observed within Cangyan Sea. The holy token of the Moon Supreme, the magical Jade ring, is a sacred artefact made of rare jade. This ring is enchanted to protect its wearer from mental influences, including the mental and emotional effects of the one-heart curse. Jieli steals rare jade from the Spiritual Treasures Pavilion at Silent Moon Palace (claiming it is for XLH :P )

Shu Yu Lin - 淑玉林: “Gentle Jade Forest”

Also named for the prized stone Jade, it is possible that Shuyu forest has some jade deposits, although we do not see them. “Shu” means gentle, and this forest is so well-lit, open and safe that escaped celestial criminals from Haotian tower are able to hide there only briefly in ep. 2. A few demons are brought in for a day for the fairies’ examination, but otherwise no dangerous creatures are seen in this forest. This was a beautiful and idyllic location for XLH and Changheng’s fateful tryst 500 years ago! :D

What a contrast this forest is to the Dark Pine Forest in Cangyan Sea! The Dark Pine Forest is dense and dark enough to hide the most evil of schemers, Ronghao, his henchmen and allies prime among them! It is also used for hunting and dangerous beasts likely lurk within.

Hao Tian Ta - 昊天塔: “Vast Sky Tower”

Located within the heavenly sky realm of Shuiyuntian, this maximum security prison is so vast that XLH is able to float freely within the top tier in ep. 1, the walls of the tower being so distant as to be out of sight. The vast tower has many many levels separated from each other, to house its numerous prisoners, who are sentenced to lengthy terms spanning tens of thousands of years. They are immortals, so executing them would lead to them reincarnating. Therefore, they are imprisoned instead to eliminate potential threats to Shuiyuntian. Haotian Tower is beside Shuyu Forest, as XLH observes the High Council around the tower from there in ep. 1, and both she and celestial criminals end up there after escaping the tower in ep. 2.

Xuan Xu Zhi Jing - 玄虚之境: “Realm of Deceit”

The Xuanxu realm is the region of Cangyan Sea that 30,000 years ago, saw the downfall of DFQC and the 100,000 soldiers loyal to him and to the Moon Tribe. “Xuanxu” means mystery or deceit, and perfectly describes how both DFQC and his soldiers were taken off-guard by Lady Chidi’s sacrifice, which sealed the soldiers within the earth. DFQC describes these tactics as “dirty tricks” in ep. 2.

Prior to the arrival of DFQC’s 100,000 soldiers, he and Lady Chidi had already been battling each other for some time (days in the novel), during which time, DFQC had marked the back of Lady Chidi’s neck with Hellfire, and she had weakened him. Thus, after her sacrifice, Lord Dong and the combined Heavenly High Council were able to gang up on and capture an already weakened DFQC, separating his spirit from his body and imprisoning both within Haotian Tower and the powerful magical seal of the Haotian Matrix. Note that DFQC refuses to stoop to this level of (deceitful) unfairness in ep. 13 when he refuses to fight a Changheng who is already injured and disadvantaged.

Shuiyuntian again launch an unprovoked attack and invasion of Cangyan Sea in ep. 31, on the deceitful false accusation that Ronghao offers them. The Xuanxu Realm is the site where the gravely outnumbered women and children of the Moon Tribe try to defend themselves against this genocidal onslaught.

Yun Meng Ze - 雲夢澤: “Cloud Dream Lake”

Yunmeng Ze is the only realm for mortal inhabitants among the three realms, as both Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea are the homes of immortal beings. It is named for the bountiful lakes bordering its buildings and residences. These lakes are connected to the Oblivion River, which immortals can use to transport themselves between Yunmeng Ze, Cangyan Sea and Shuiyuntian (as our OTP do in ep. 26).

The mortals that live here are not aware of the existence of magic or immortal beings, or of the other two realms, thus their perceptions are “clouded”. And like a fleeting cloud or dream, their lives are brief and fleeting compared with the lives of immortal beings. Even time runs much faster within Yunmeng Ze compared with the other two realms. A few hours in Cangyan Sea or Shuiyuntian is equivalent to a few months in Yunmeng Ze. For immortals living out tribulations in the mortal realm, their memories of their immortal lives are absent during this time, thus their perceptions are also clouded and the life they live out here is like a dream in retrospect.

Lu Cheng - 鹿城: “Deer City”

It’s not clear why Lucheng, a city in the mortal realm, is named after deer, but perhaps its inhabitants enjoy hunting deer for sport or for sustenance :) In the novel, Lucheng is a city under siege, thus its inhabitants are prey, similar to deer.

Hai Shi - 海市: “Sea City”

Haishi was founded by Ronghao with the backing of Xunfeng 30,000 years ago for the purpose of refining evil qi to sustain Taisui. It is a thriving centre for commerce and trade, and its location beside the sea (for which it is named “Sea City”) enables efficient transportation of mercantile goods to and from other regions. Within Haishi are located Jieli’s shop, the Luifang Pavilion and the Soul transformation grounds.

Haishi is located outside the three realms of Yunmengze, Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea. The evidence for this is: a) Jieli’s shop contains many magical artefacts that are forbidden in the mortal realm of Yunmengze so her shop can’t be there. b) XLH visits Jieli’s shop in Haishi in ep. 2 and she wouldn’t have been allowed to (or able to) visit Cangyan Sea at this time so the shop can’t be there. c) Jieli had been enchanted by her parents to have the appearance of a member of the Moon Tribe, thus would not have been allowed to live and trade in Shuiyuntian so her shop can’t be there. d) Ronghao is based in Haishi and he infrequently visits Shuiyuntian, thus Haishi is not in Shuiyuntian. Being outside the three realms enables Ronghao to refine evil qi from the souls of both Fairy Realm and Moon Tribe members without the notice of either of these tribes.

Liu Fang Ge - 留芳阁: “Keep Fragrant Pavilion”

The Liufang Pavilion in Haishi is the base for Ronghao (the Master of Haishi) and Dieyi, and is a legitimate business centre. It is the cover that they use for their nefarious activities of refining evil qi from the souls of the dead and feeding Taisui, thus it is important that they keep the reputation of this centre ever clean and fragrant.

Xi Shan - 息山: Breath (of life) Mountain

Xishan is also placed outside of the three realms in a faraway and remote location, and is named for the many mountains in this region. Members of the Xilan tribe inhabiting Xishan had the unique ability to restore damaged and disembodied spirits and had powerful healing magics. The Goddess of Xishan, with the power of the breath of life, could even resurrect the dead. The character for "Xi" is the same as the "Xi" in Xiyun (XLH's real name) and means breath (of life). Thus part of XLH's name is the same as the name of her realm, just as part of DFQC's name is the same as the name of his realm. This is because they both represent their respective realms and peoples as their leaders!

The Xilan tribe alongside the Goddess maintained tight security over the ultimate ancient evil god Taisui, who could not be completely defeated but was carefully sealed away beneath Xishan.

Here is a link to my article: LBFAD is the most inspiring series I have ever watched and here is why…

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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LBFAD Opening Artwork – Hidden Meanings

The created artworks used for the opening scenes of LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil) are unique and have many hidden layers of meaning! Sheer genius on the part of the artists and designers :D Here are my interpretations of these stunning works of art.

Image 1: Bone Orchid (image above)

Although I’ve posted stills, each image actually moves. Here, flowers bloom on the Bone Orchid and leaves grow on previously bare branches around the sides. This is the original form of the Bone Orchid prior to DongFang QingCang (DFQC) transforming it into a bracelet for Xiao Lanhua (XLH) in ep. 9.

The two parts of the Bone Orchid, the crescent-moon-shaped bone and the vine of the orchid plant wrapped around it, each represent DFQC (the Moon Supreme) and XLH (who was disguised as an Orchid), and their close bond. This is a new magical artefact that DFQC created from his blood in ep. 9 (similar to Lady Yan creating the Heart-hiding hairpin). That he chose to give it a form symbolising a bond between himself and XLH is deeply significant! Consciously, he may have meant their connection through the one-heart curse, but subconsciously he already had deep affection for her by this time.

Orchid flowers blooming on the previously bare vines of the Bone Orchid represent the blooming of their love for each other. (As their love blooms, XLH bonds with the Bone Orchid to the extent that removing it would end her life by ep. 29). It also refers to the many times that XLH makes flowers bloom when DFQC does something to make her happy :D The leaves growing on the bare branches around the sides of the image symbolise XLH’s resurrection of DFQC’s Tree of Emotions and his healing process. The Bone Orchid representing the love between our Fairy and Devil is the central theme of LBFAD, so no wonder it is the first image we see!

Image 2: Xiao Lanhua

Here XLH first transforms from an orchid flower tethered to its stem, into human form as a young and innocent girl. The white swirls around her represent her usual spiritual powers (not her green Goddess powers). When she uses her powers to repair destiny leaves, etc., her energy appears as white light (important note - we see a different type of energy later in the opening artwork!) The pink tinge to some swirls represent her femininity and affection. XLH appears weak and vulnerable but her love and tenderness are the most transformative force in the series. Her reflection in the water below shows an orchid plant only, not a girl – this symbolises the illusion of her orchid form in hiding her true identity.

Image 3: Haishi Rescue

In this scene from ep. 3, initial obstacles to their love are presented including their power differential (symbolised by her small size within his giant hands), his view of her as an object and his underlying lack of emotions. The city of Haishi is below, the giant Sun made of DFQC’s formidable Hellfire is to the left, and the floating debris represents the destruction DFQC has wrought and is trained to continue to wreak. His mission is to destroy Shuiyuntian and conquer the three realms.

XLH looks vulnerable, her cloak resembles an orchid petal, and white/pink swirls of feminine energy again surround her. However, DFQC has just saved her life and continues to shield her within a protective bubble – an important ongoing dynamic of their relationship.

Images 4-7: Flashback

Images 4-7 are artistically presented as a series of opening doors, like opening the pages of a history book. They are a flashback to events 30,000 years ago and set the scene for current events and obstacles to the love between the OTP.

Image 4: The Two Tribes

The two different tribes that our OTP belong to are presented. Shuiyuntian is light and airy, and floats above the clouds with dozens of golden birds flying in the sky. They are the emblem of Shuiyuntian (as the crescent moon is for the Moon tribe) as shown by the golden bird brooches worn by celestials. Similar to Shangque transforming into a black dragon, the true form of some celestials may also be of golden birds and they can transform into this form. The position of Cangyan Sea below Shuiyuntian, the darkness in which their people live and their comparative lack of manpower (there is only one black dragon in the image) suggests that they are oppressed by Shuiyuntian.

Image 5: Battle of Two Tribes

Prior to Lady Chidi’s sacrifice, the people of Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea fight each other, their forces coordinated by Lord Dong and DFQC. This is the culmination of a hundred millenia of warfare between their tribes. Again there is only one dragon, and Lady Chidi in the forefront leaps into Cangyan Sea territory to confront it. Her red cape traces her active path through the battlefield. White and red swirls of energy (+/- blood) emanate from her.

Image 6: Lady Chidi’s Sacrifice

After invading Xuanxu realm of Cangyan Sea, this is the pivotal moment where Lady Chidi explodes her spirit to seal the 100,000 soldiers of the Moon tribe. Red blood sprays from her body and her earth magic envelops the Moon Tribe soldiers, sealing them within the earth. Her sacrifice foreshadows XLH’s own sacrifice in ep. 31.

Image 7: The Capture of DFQC

After the sealing of his soldiers, a weakened DFQC with white hair is suspended within the circular Haotian tower, his arms and legs magically bound. Magical glyphs surround him to seal him in place, representing the magical seal of the Haotian matrix.

Image 8: Xiao Lanhua of Arbiter Hall

Back to the present - the series opens by introducing us to XLH of Siming Dian (Arbiter Hall). The archways in this image are similar to the archways in the lower level of Arbiter Hall. Vines grow around the pillars, symbolising that XLH’s primordial spirit is connected to the plants at Arbiter Hall. The trees behind her may represent the nearby Shuyu Forest that she frequently visits. As XLH moves to the right, new white trees start to grow in front of the black trees, demonstrating her ability to create new life and make plants grow. White swirls of her spiritual energy again surround her.

In line with her selfless and giving nature, XLH offers up her spirit! She does this four times in the series: 1) In ep. 1, she offers up her life and spirit to protect Changheng, whose destiny leaf had changed and was destined to have his body and spirit destroyed (more detail here). 2) Also in ep. 1, she fuses part of her spirit to DFQC’s, restoring his spirit and body and giving him a part of her spirit (which he later extracts in ep. 33 to resurrect her). 3) In ep. 31, she sacrifices her life and spirit to protect DFQC’s life, to resurrect everyone that died on the battlefield and free the 100,000 sealed soldiers of the Moon Tribe. 4) She promises the Great Turtle in ep. 33 that she will sacrifice her spirit to defeat Taisui and bless the Three Realms. XLH’s fate to sacrifice herself is another obstacle to her and DFQC’s love for each other :(

Image 9: DFQC’s Tree of Emotions

Thanks to XLH’s resurrection of his Tree of Emotions in ep. 1, DFQC begins to grow beautiful glowing golden leaves on its previously bare branches, symbolising his breathtaking transformation.

Image 10: The Great Turtle

I believe this is another flashback. At the end of XLH’s first life in Xishan, her parents disguised her as an orchid plant with no human form. At this time between her first and second lives, she meets the Great Turtle. The orchid flower sprouting from her hand is the new form she transforms into, and orchid petals float around her during her transformation. The Great Turtle calls XLH an old friend in ep. 9 as they have met before – in this scene.

To the left of the image is a crescent moon with a dead tree growing on it. This symbolises DFQC (the Moon Supreme) and his Tree of Emotions which was dead at that time 30,000 years ago. There is a wisp of haze around the tree indicating that it has the potential to regrow. Despite XLH’s destiny to sacrifice herself for the Three Realms (which she might have discussed with the Great Turtle here), DFQC is waiting in the wings to change her destiny!

Image 11: Our Fairy and Devil

XLH gazes upward in hope, while DFQC’s eyes are closed and his head bowed, portraying both his reserved nature and that initially he was emotionally closed off, aloof and distant. The asymmetric gold crown that DFQC wears indicates that this scene is from after their return from the mortal realm back to Cangyan Sea – XLH also wears Moon Tribe attire.

On the Bone Orchid between them are flowers in full bloom, representing their love, which is now in full bloom :D Also between them is DFQC’s Tree of Emotions, now fully regrown with gorgeous white blossoms similar to the scene where he sits beneath his tree in ep. 24.

Despite the beautiful development of their love and of their characters, war between their two tribes is imminent. The image of Shuiyuntian between them sports a red flag, indicating their impending invasion of Cangyan Sea. Cangyan Sea is outnumbered, represented by one dragon vs. dozens of golden birds, and they face annihilation at the hands of Shuiyuntian D: Another reason for DFQC to bow his head, as he faces both the destruction of his realm and the loss of his love at this time.

Image 12: Peace Reigns

Just look at the swirls of energy emanating from XLH and DFQC as they float in a boat along the Oblivion River! There are again white swirls for XLH, but DFQC has red and gold swirls for Glazed Fire!! This scene occurs after DFQC’s return at the end of the series! :D The red belt around XLH’s waist is reminiscent of blood pooling from her wound in ep. 31 when she stabs herself with the Zhengying sword. This image (and the opening theme song Jue Ai, “Farewell Love”) pays homage to both her sacrifice, and DFQC’s sacrifice in ep. 36 which produced his Glazed Fire. Only through both of their sacrifices, were they able to bring about first a ceasefire to war, then lasting peace between Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea, breaking through a hundred millenia of unending conflict!

Only by creating peace are they finally able to be together happily. The boat is deeply significant for our OTP - there are three situations where they are alone together in a boat during the series. XLH reminisces fondly about this in ep. 24, and Siming sends a boat for DFQC (and fireflies for Changheng!) as a sign that she knows their most significant connections to XLH. To the bottom right are the peaceful waters of Cangyan Sea with the watchful eye of a black dragon at rest. To the top left is a peaceful Shuiyuntian with Yunzhong’s watchful “Eye of Heaven” (seen in ep. 14) accompanied by a flower in bloom, symbolising peace and prosperity. The positions of each are in poetic parallel to image 4 which showed conflict – the defensive black dragon in image 4 is now restful, and the golden birds also seem to be resting :)

Here is a link to my article: How Immortals age in cdramas – clues from LBFAD

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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Reflections on Ep. 7 of LBFAD on rewatch

Shuyu Forest, Day 10: Xiao Lanhua (XLH) drew a possessed Yingzhao away from the other fairies but is about to become Yingzhao fodder! (where is her Xilan magic when she needs it?!) Our dashing anti-hero knocks the beast unconscious, saving both of their lives once more! DongFang QingCang (DFQC) can’t believe how close he came to dying again due to the insufferable one-heart curse and XLH’s reckless actions!! Where the hell was Shangque (SQ)?! He is about to kill Yingzhao but XLH stops him. In her gentle way, she purifies Yingzhao of evil qi, heals him, and captures him with a Demon Pill.

As Dieyi lurks in the trees behind them, DFQC, barely glancing in her direction, blasts her shoulder with excruciating Hellfire. DFQC chides XLH for her soft-hearted nature which led to her placing herself in danger. “I will remove this nature from you completely so you won’t be in danger again” he says, intending to add an emotion-repressive component to their regular training sessions. In the past few days, he had spent hours with her every day trying to improve her cultivation and powers, although progress had been slow (as he complained to SQ in ep. 6).

But it is XLH who rubs off on him instead. She explains to him gently that if she and the other fairies hadn’t cared about each other and worked together, Yingzhao would have devoured them all. Placing a soft hand on his shoulder, she says that no matter how dark and painful his past was (she has no idea!), she and others are there to help him through it.

Their tender interlude is interrupted by Changheng (CH) calling for her. XLH entreats DFQC to leave. “If CH sees me with you, he’ll think that I…” “What will he think?” he taunts her with a long stare, feeling irrationally infuriated by her infatuation with CH. “That you’ve been colluding and fornicating with a criminal?” He wants CH to believe that they are lovers, that he has irrevocably claimed her for himself, and she is off-limits to CH forever. The thought is delicious…he wants to kiss her in front of CH right now…

But for now, he lets go of this fantasy and disappears. It is too early to reveal himself to his enemies. A panicked CH grabs XLH’s arms and is relieved she is unhurt (no thanks to you CH! You’re hardly ever there when she’s in danger :P ) Appearing soon after, Ronghao (RH) now knows that XLH, the target of his failed assassination attempt, is CH’s secret crush. Lady Sansheng and Supreme Liyuan (LY) also appear and LY is very suspicious of how exactly XLH managed to subdue the rabid Yingzhao. Her priority is, of course, to protect DFQC, and she refuses to mention his presence there.

But she is worried when RH retrieves the evil qi she had dispelled and LY claims that only members of the Moon Tribe or celestial criminals could have reared such an evil force! Does that mean…that Da Qiang might have been responsible? This seem unlikely to her, but then, who else here could have done it? She does not suspect RH at all – ah RH, you are too good of an actor! Nobody ever suspects you of anything!

Fountain Palace: LY and CH believe there must still be an escaped criminal from Haotian Tower at large, and LY decides to seal off the Heavenly Spirit Lock gate until they are captured. This presents a problem for RH, who is unable to return to Haishi.

Arbiter Hall: That evening, XLH receives a message from Lady Sansheng congratulating her for achieving first place in the fairies’ examination that day! She is overjoyed! :D

Due to use of the evil qi, DFQC has realised that the people of Haishi who tried to kill XLH made another attempt today, and that it is connected to Lady Chidi’s destiny leaf. XLH interrupts his talk with SQ by asking him to join her for a chat. Still suspicious of why he was in Shuyu Forest that day, she asks whether he is connected to the evil qi. DFQC never explains his actions to anyone, and so, his ambiguous denial is not enough to satisfy her. On a side note, he has this habit down to a fault! After returning to Cangyan Sea, he doesn’t explain to Xunfeng, or the elderly lady of the hunters’ camp, or to anyone, what he had been up to for the past 30,000 years. Xunfeng believes he had been living in Shiyuntian all that time, as he challenges XLH in DFQC’s body in ep. 12: “you’ve lived in Shiyuntian for 30,000 years. Have you forgotten our rules now?”

But for the first time, DFQC’s evasion backfires on him, as XLH takes him by the hand and uses the Xilan seal to make him turn himself in! He is forced to compromise his usual behaviour and explain that he had been in Shuyu forest to protect her. Yingzhao would have killed her if he hadn’t been there! “If you die, I will die too. Your life is as important to me as my own life” he tells her resentfully. Note that the value of her life to him changes over the series. At the start, it is equal to the value his life only because of the physicality of the one-heart curse. Soon after, it is equal to his life due to his growing love for her. But soon, it surpasses even that, and her life becomes much more valuable to him than his own life! In ep. 26, he tells her not to use her blood to heal or revive others, not even himself. When she dies, he cannot bear to live, despite no longer being bound by the Xilan curse. And by the end, he sacrifices all that he is…his life, his spirit, his very existence, and is prepared to sacrifice even the memory of his existence…to save her.

XLH is overwhelmed by his sweet proclamation and by the fact that he has saved her life yet again. As they sit down to tea together in their usual idyllic alcove, she reminisces about the joyful memories they have created together over the past ten days or so. Just yesterday, during one of their regular teatime chats, she had happily recounted to him how she had seen snow fall in Haishi for the first time recently. To her delight, he had created snow around Arbiter Hall for her, and a little campfire to warm themselves by as they watched the falling snowdrifts together. In this little alcove, they had eaten her flower cakes together every day, both having a fondness for sweets, and curled up with books next to each other. He had helped her with chores around Arbiter Hall whenever she had asked, folding sheets and blankets with her and even cleaning (she mentions in ep. 9 that she got him to do chores). In the lead up to the examination, he had spent hours with her every day trying to train her powers – something nobody else had ever cared enough to do. With her damaged roots, no one else had thought she could improve, except for him – he was the only one who believed in her.

Every day, Da Qiang had collected dew for her, and taken her to see the sun. Usually for the first rays of sunrise, but sometimes he let her sleep in and took her to see the late morning sun. XLH was not a fast flyer and Yunzhong Water Pavillion was a great distance away, so he would inevitably carry her there and back again ensconced in his strong arms, while she also held onto him. She enjoyed that part very much, although it made her heart race to be so close to him.

But the sweetness of these memories only made her heart ache all the more. It was bad enough that she would have to cancel her result of winning first place in the exam, as she couldn’t accept a result that wasn’t completely her own. In giving this up, she would be giving up the one dream that had kept her going over the past hundreds of years, of working at Fountain Palace. But what was even worse was the thought that one day Da Qiang might be gone. She tried to tell him how she felt, that he was like sugar to someone who was used to taking bitter medicine. She wished he could stay with her forever, that she would never have to taste bitterness again.

DFQC did not quite understand, but she had given him much to think about with her speeches on the value of emotions. As he watched her sleeping that night, a vague memory came to him once more of being tortured to the point of longing for death, to have his emotions removed so he could control Hellfire. He was not fully aware of the reasons for this, but the Moon Tribe had been facing imminent genocide at the hands of Shuiyuntian and their lethal spirit-vanishing arrow formation, to which they had no defence (mentioned in ep. 16). In the end, everything his father had done, to his father’s own unimaginable suffering, had been to save DFQC’s life, as well as the existence of their people, both of which could only be protected through his son’s control of Hellfire.

Haishi: RH, twisted as he is, is trying to remember his beloved Master by forcing another helpless woman to disguise herself as Chidi. His relationship with Chidi was not romantic; rather, he revered her as the magnificent Goddess of War that she was. He had been a blind and unwanted little flute boy, abandoned by his family and by the world, who had condemned him to a miserable death. Nobody had cared to give him a scrap of food or warm clothing against the bitter cold. Lady Chidi had given him a new life, one where he had sight, power, wealth, immortality, and most importantly, was cared for. How could any other woman even come close to his formidable Master? His guards wait in the wings to carry another corpse away the moment the maidservant slips up.

Arbiter Hall, Day 11: XLH finds a firefly in her greenhouse! Luring it with food, similar to her way with Yingzhao, she captures it in the Magical Jade Firefly stone CH had given her. She plans to return it to CH while cancelling her examination result, thus giving up her dreams of both Fountain Palace and of CH. “Everything will return to its original place,” she says sadly but with acceptance.

Yujing: Danyin, in an awesome growth arc, threatens to beat XLH into a pulp if she talks about cancelling her exam result again! As a judge, CH will not hear of it either, and persuades her to keep the Firefly stone.

Haishi: RH, having tricked XLH into purifying evil qi and resurrecting an Ice Jade plant with green Xilan energy, realises that she is the Goddess of Xishan! And also, that she is under the protection of the Moon Supreme, who had used Hellfire on Dieyi, and on inspection, has escaped from Haotian Tower. Our power couple have been discovered! Rotten friend that he is, RH does not tell CH that the woman he loves is actually his fiancée :D Instead, he tells the unconscious body of his Master that they will be reunited soon. The drama doesn’t explain well why Chidi is undergoing mortal tribulations, apart from Taisui saying it will keep her spirit alive (ep. 22). In the novel, however, they are her punishment for reviving RH through unnatural means. Despite her resounding victory over DFQC, the cruel ruler of Shuiyuntian had condemned her to live through 1,000 mortal trials, and in each one, she would be doomed to be murdered by the one she loved D:

Here is a link to my episode 8 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

[glorious-sunset]

Reflections on Ep. 5 of LBFAD on rewatch

Arbiter Hall, Day 4: DongFang QingCang (DFQC), after a torturous morning collecting dew drop by drop for Xiao Lanhua (XLH), finds her and the plant spirits gleefully celebrating his departure!! He has many enemies who scheme behind his back and want to kill him, is aware of Shiyuntian’s unflattering propaganda around him, and never gave these insults a second thought. But when XLH says that “even the air becomes clearer” without him around, it is like a sharp stab to his gut. When even the thoughts of the mightiest kings don’t bother him, why should the words of an inconsequential little flower?

XLH’s relief at his disappearance soon turns to sadness and worry. She misses Da Qiang terribly, and wonders if he is back at Haotian Tower. She knows he had been imprisoned for tens of thousands of years – how much longer would he have to stay if he went back? He is a good man and doesn’t deserve it. The plant spirits go to sleep and she feels bereft – until DFQC presents her with her morning dew! He looks more breathtakingly handsome than ever in a new set of robes and smells intoxicating from his fragranced bath.

DFQC tries hard to be patient with her requests to make the dew more palatable. When he blows on it to cool it down, it reminds her of her master Siming blowing on her porridge when she is sick. Since Siming left, nobody ever lifted a finger to care for her until now. Da Qiang promises to collect dew for her every day from now on – but how can she accept his kindness? Her heart belongs to Changheng (CH) doesn’t it? She is torn.

DFQC overdoes everything that the Xilan scroll suggests in his attempts to heal XLH! The amount of dew he collects is several times the amount she would normally drink, his efforts to keep her warm take him to the volcanic magma of Cangyan Sea, and only the best place will do to see the sunrise – the home of his enemy! :D It would be easier if he took her back to Cangyan Sea, let his medics attend to her, and retrieved his Jade Ring to block her emotions. He could then coerce her to fix the destiny leaf without emotional fallout. But the scroll said that the roots of the Xilan holy plant should not be moved except on particular days.

Yunzhong Water Pavillion: Yunzhong admonishes CH for ignoring his arranged marriage to the Goddess and for keeping another woman’s handkerchief. CH is dutifully shamed, discarding the Immortal Pill that he had poured his spirit’s vitality into creating over the last three days for XLH. If only he knew that XLH was actually his fiancée! :D Too funny.

Arbiter Hall: DFQC has been away all day and XLH, worried for his safety, has stayed up long past her usual bedtime to wait for him. When he returns and approaches her in her bedroom late at night, she retreats nervously. His proximity feels dangerous and exciting. He offers her the spark of Eternal Flame from the magma of Cangyan Sea, and is pleased when she recognises it from her books. But how could he have entered such a dangerous and distant place just to keep her warm – what if he had lost his life?!

Fountain Palace: CH reminisces about the momentous day he spent with XLH 500 years ago, which he then wiped from her memory without her consent!! There are many striking parallels between his history with XLH and DFQC’s continuing story with her. XLH did not know the true identity of either CH nor DFQC, but showed kindness to them both simply because of her caring nature. To CH, aggrieved by the attentions of simpering fairies chasing him for his fortune and status, this was the purest form of kindness he ever knew. XLH cured both men with her Xilan magic – for CH, this involved healing his physical wounds. CH appeared to have been mortally wounded and it is possible that she saved his life. For DFQC, she healed the damage to his Tree of Emotions, and mended his relationships with his father and brother. XLH is also the first person to try to protect either of these men, who everyone else relied on to protect them but were never offered care and protection themselves. In ep. 8 she protectively wraps DFQC in her arms in her attempt to save him from CH and his troops. What a woman! CH and DFQC never stood a chance. Also, CH, you are an idiot :D

Arbiter Hall, Day 5: It’s still dark when DFQC enters XLH’s room to take her to see the sunrise. Of course she’s reluctant to get up, lazy creature that she is, but the first rays of the sun are vital to her recuperation. Let’s see, she can’t go dressed in her nightclothes. He creates a soft and feminine lavender gown for her in keeping with her preference for light-coloured clothes, and gorgeous pastel hair accessories to match. Amazing!! We’ve seen him magically change his own clothes in ep. 2 and he does the same for her now. The next thing she knows, they are flying up, up, up, faster than she has ever travelled before and it is scary but exhilarating! Her arms encircle DFQC tightly and she feels safe in his embrace.

The lavender gown that DFQC created is the most beautiful out of all of XLH’s Fairy Realm outfits. The sleeves fall in soft, translucent frills, the bodice is lavender and the skirt is a collage of multiple pastel hues. His impeccable taste in fashion isn’t limited to his own wardrobe! (you can be my fairy godmother any time DFQC! :D ) This dress becomes XLH’s favourite; she wears it for the fairies’ examination in ep. 6 for good luck, and is seen wearing it in two scenes in the LBFAD end credits :D

Yunzhong Water Pavillion: DFQC watches with wicked amusement as XLH, not realising they are concealed by his invisibility cloak, panics at the sight of the heavenly soldiers approaching. They are now physically very comfortable with each other, and she grabs his waist, his arm, his wrist, as she tries to hide behind him and persuade him to leave before even more powerful high celestials arrive and capture them!

DFQC has to admit that the home of his arch-enemy is beautiful. But this reminds him that the Shuiyuntian dictators greedily hoard the best locations for themselves; they determine the class of others based solely on the status they were born into, and not on their personal merits. In Cangyan Sea, anyone can rise in status if they work hard enough and show potential. Shuiyuntian oppresses any member of the Moon Tribe simply because they are labelled as Moon Tribe – no other crime is necessary. In the lead up to the Battle of Two Tribes, Shuiyuntian had been cruelly and unnecessarily using their spirit-vanishing arrow formation (mentioned by his father in ep. 16) against the Moon Tribe, which meant that those they destroyed could never reincarnate and their spirits would never be at peace. The Moon Tribe had had no counter to their genocidal attacks until DFQC learned to control Hellfire.

They teleport to a romantic private balcony bordered with flowers just in time to catch the first rays of the rising sun. It’s the first sunrise XLH has ever seen! She can’t believe how beautiful the view is from the highest point in Shiyuntian! Not even high gods are allowed up here without being summoned by Yunzhong. To her enormous excitement, Cloud Whale, whom she has regularly spoken to over the past thousand years but never seen in person, makes an appearance!! Da Qiang made this possible for her, and she can’t help but love him for it.

Her radiant smile and soft, tender gaze upon him captivates him. From this moment, he is unable to take his eyes off her, and a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth! :D Even the flowers on the balcony bloom in response to XLH’s happiness. Unknowingly, the two of them are by now completely enchanted by each other.

Arbiter Hall: XLH takes the Universe Pill that Jieli gave her, and both she, and DFQC in response, experience excruciating stomach pains (shame on you Jieli! :P ). While DFQC dispels fire energy from her stomach, she tells him that despite being a grouch, he is not a bad person. “Within the three realms, nobody is worse than me!” he declares, followed soon after by “if you feel sad, I feel sad too” :D He roughly pulls a blanket over her on his way out – this small but very significant gesture is not born from the necessity to heal her, but from a new desire within him to care for her. He was trained to be ruthless, nobody taught him how to be kind, but from this point on he is slowly learning how. In ep. 8, he roughly brushes a tear from her cheek, and his small gestures of kindness only continue to become smoother and gentler.

Unfortunately, XLH continues to be sad while missing Siming and the eight-flower-porridge she used to make for her and DFQC can no longer stand it! His face keeps crying and it is distracting him from his reading!! How hard can it be to make porridge? He is not familiar with the kitchen equipment but has some experience with cooking over a campfire. So, he uses his hellfire to create a campfire on the rooftop. Bad idea, as smoke goes everywhere and flowers burn in the cooking pot :D But, XLH is overjoyed at his thoughtful efforts to cheer her up, which are well outside his comfort zone! He reminds her more and more of her master Siming, who was the dearest and most important person to her. All of the flowers in the greenhouse now bloom in response to her joy and affection (only two flowers bloomed for CH, in ep. 1 :P )

Here is a link to my episode 6 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

[glorious-sunset]

Reflections on Ep. 8 of LBFAD on rewatch

Arbiter Hall, Day 11: “Da Qiang!” Xiao Lanhua (XLH) called happily on returning to Arbiter of Fate Hall. She excitedly tells him how Changheng (CH) had praised her, refused to cancel her exam result and asked her to keep the Magical Jade Firefly stone. What a coincidence that the firefly came to Arbiter Hall – is this a sign that she and CH are meant to be together? :D

DongFang QingCang (DFQC) scowls in suspicion, slams his teacup onto the table and storms off to study the Xilan scroll for clues to what this new feeling is (it’s jealousy!). It’s the first time he has noticed his internal state not matching XLH’s feelings, but still believes his Tree of Emotions is permanently frozen. Alas, we saw in ep. 7 that his Tree had thawed, and later in this episode, it sprouts two new leaves, for romantic love and desire – feelings he had never experienced even prior to having his emotions removed. (Desire is not one of the listed seven emotions, but is associated with romantic love). He is now much more caring and sincere in all of his interactions with XLH.

Shangque (SQ) believes that since XLH is so happy, she should be able to fix Lady Chidi’s destiny leaf soon! Don’t be ridiculous SQ, DFQC says, she is not fully recovered yet, what’s the rush? He is in no hurry at all to end his blissful days by XLH’s side. :D

Enjoy this stage while you can DFQC! Once he returns to Cangyan Sea, having his emotions return to him in full force will be an inconceivably traumatic experience D: He had been a ruthless killing machine for centuries against his true sweet and caring nature, then suddenly had his compassion returned and had to deal with what he had done and his ongoing mission for revenge. Many have gone insane for far less. DFQC cannot be blamed at all for being “full of thorns” at that stage, as he describes himself in ep. 35 :(

Fountain Palace: Yulin, also plagued by jealousy, had stolen XLH’s Firefly stone and her crime is discovered by Danyin. Taken to Yunzhong’s (YZ) court, she refuses to admit the theft and clings to a far more dangerous story that CH had gifted it to her. But that would mean that CH had betrayed his engagement to the Goddess, so she is sentenced to the most terrible punishment an immortal could be subjected to - removal of her immortal bones. Far worse than an execution, it means she will not ever be able to reincarnate again. This is a chilling warning to CH to never dishonour his engagement, or else…

A tortured CH imagines what would happen if XLH came to work at Fountain Palace, as is her right and her long-standing dream. He doubts he could stop himself from seeking her out every day, speaking tender words to her, betraying his heart…YZ had spies everywhere – she would inevitably end up with her immortal bones removed too! D: He could never forgive himself for putting her in danger, and so, eliminates only XLH’s name from the list of new staff at Fountain Palace. And after he’d gone to so much effort to find and catch the firefly for her and deliver it to Arbiter Hall! He gazes at the orchid flower XLH had given him (soon it will be DFQC’s turn to do this in ep. 19 :D ).

Yujing, Day 12: To her disbelief, XLH is told by Lady Sansheng that CH did not accept her to Fountain Palace. An invisible CH watches as against all her expectations, her one and only dream is shattered to pieces.

Arbiter Hall: XLH discovers that the Firefly stone is also gone, replaced by an ordinary rock. She looks dazedly to DFQC for answers and he caringly complies with her query by carrying her up to Yunzhong Water Pavillion (their usual sunbathing spot!). What impeccable timing, as YZ is just now grilling CH on why he eliminated the remarkable fairy who used herself as bait to save everyone, from the Fountain Palace list. Didn’t CH praise her and say that she was “brave, intelligent, pure and kind?” (How does YZ know this? CH was right that he has spies on him everywhere!) CH uses the same arguments that XLH had presented to him when she tried to cancel her exam result! Her immortal roots are damaged, she is weak, she came from the mortal realm and doesn’t deserve the honour. YZ’s secret smile and headshake make it clear that he has seen through CH’s story. Nevertheless, YZ is pleased that CH has let go of his secret crush and is honouring his engagement.

Back at Arbiter Hall, XLH nurses her broken dreams and heartbreak at CH’s cruel words but tries to be strong. With her weak power, she should be happy that she passed the examination at all, so she says she will ask Peach to perform the celebration of scattering flowers. (DFQC takes careful note of this, and creates a scattering of peach blossom petals for her banquet in ep. 13! :D ) Sacrificing his own comfort for XLH’s well-being, DFQC tells her to cry and release her pain. “CH is blind” he says, his fury at the God of War ever increasing as he feels XLH’s grief and tears stream down his own face due to the Xilan curse. “Do you look down on me Da Qiang?” she asks anxiously. “To benzuo, you are as precious as my life” he replies, his voice husky with emotion and sincerity! In ep. 7, he resentfully said “Your life is as important to me as my own life”. This time, there is no resentment, and it is she herself, not just her life, that is precious to him. Not because of the one-heart curse, but because he genuinely cares for her!

DFQC roughly brushes a tear from XLH’s cheek and we see that the greenhouse flowers are in bloom! They are linked to XLH’s mood, so despite CH smashing her dreams, DFQC’s efforts to comfort her have had a far greater impact, and she is now happy.

But their tender exchange is interrupted by CH, who has arrived with ten soldiers to search Arbiter Hall for criminals. DFQC’s hatred for CH, who had hurt his Xiao Hua Yao leads to him preparing to attack rather than concealing himself with invisibility. XLH is alarmed! What is Da Qiang doing?! He can’t stand against the God of War and ten Heavenly soldiers! Although both of the men she cares about are there, her only thought is of saving DFQC. She protectively wraps her arms around him and topples them over the edge of Arbiter Hall. Our white-clad fairy and black-clad devil clasped tightly in her embrace fall a great distance into the Oblivion River (such a beautiful scene!).

And, they are both enjoying this close contact very much, as DFQC’s eyes close in pleasure, and XLH continues to hold him for quite a long time after they are in the water. When she finally realises she doesn’t need to and lets go, he is sad, again feeling like an unlovable beast that everyone avoids. Unfortunately, CH’s search of Arbiter Hall is quite long and thorough. XLH’s magic exhausted, the air bubble she had created around them bursts and she is drowning. Her demise would also mean the demise of DFQC, and he has several options available to him to save her. Should he recreate the large air bubble around them? Teleport them out of the water and conceal them with invisibility? Or fly them somewhere else entirely?

Another idea makes him hesitate, but in the end, he can’t resist the urge to claim her lips to provide her with life-saving air. XLH opens her eyes to find Da Qiang’s mouth fastened to hers and his hooded gaze upon her. Her heart races, and her first thought is of how wonderful it feels. She had wondered what it would feel like to kiss Da Qiang again, now that he had claimed her heart. His lips are soft and warm against hers, and his breath cools her burning lungs.

But as she remembers that CH is searching for him and kissing him is a bad idea, she pulls away, to his annoyance. Did she forget that she was drowning?! XLH realises she has no choice and gives in. It might be their last chance to express their feelings and release the tension between them. She continues to kiss DFQC as he breathes air into her lungs for many heated minutes until he is absolutely sure that CH is gone! :D This is a nice parallel to their first kiss in ep. 1, which DFQC had instigated to draw life-giving energy from her. This time, he is the one providing life to her through their kiss. It is also, in an unorthodox way, their first romantic kiss.

They are hyperaware of each other afterwards and XLH decides to go to Shuyu Forest to get some air and recover her dazed senses. As a similarly dazed DFQC touches his lips in wonder with trembling fingers, two new leaves sprout on his Tree of Emotions for romantic love and desire.

DFQC sits having tea and pondering why didn’t he just kill CH after all? He didn’t have to go along with XLH’s crazy plan. It would have been in the interests of the Moon Tribe to eliminate the God of War while he was separated from the rest of the Heavenly High Council and leave no witnesses. Unknowingly, this is the first of many times that DFQC has put his feelings for XLH higher in his priorities than his perceived responsibility towards the Moon Tribe.

But he is soon distracted by the Tianji mirror revealing to him a vision of XLH’s wedding to CH by the Oblivion River. He does not see the mortal realm wedding, as only the Oblivion River wedding requires his intervention. As Siming says in ep. 32, those who see a prophecy can bring it about (how ironic, as the last thing DFQC would want is to bring about XLH’s wedding to CH). This new crushing sensation in his chest is far worse than any other feeling he has ever felt.

Shuyu Forest: How XLH feels about her very prolonged make-out session with DFQC is clear from the way she is giggling and skipping through the forest while twirling her skirts. :D But Danyin bursts her bubble by informing her that a member of the Moon Tribe who escaped from Haotian Tower is still on the loose. XLH finally puts two and two together. Da Qiang’s surname is Dongfang…a surname known to belong to the Moon Tribe, and the missing prisoner is Moon Tribe. This is good…he can return to his people and escape from Shuiyuntian.

Arbiter Hall: DFQC is suspicious of the wine XLH offers him for the wrong reasons - Siming has some of the best wine in the three realms, wouldn’t she be angry that they were using it up? But he drinks it. Inconceivable! The mightiest being in the three realms is weak to sedatives?! Lucky that XLH has magic to help her move the Moon Supreme’s tall and sturdy body all the way down to the Oblivion River (I wonder where she got the boat from).

Oblivion River: As DFQC wakes from his stupor in a boat on the Oblivion River, XLH asks him to return to his people at Cangyan Sea and never return to Shuiyuntian, where he will be in danger. She doesn’t care about the risk to her own life for helping him. As she softly says “I’ll miss you”, through the one-heart curse he feels her overwhelming sadness and affection for him. He is very touched by her loyalty to him. She flies away, leaving him to eat her flower cakes thoughtfully.

Here is a link back to my episode 1 review (contains spoilers). More reviews to follow. All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.