#this was supposed to be more on the emotional side because it's xie lian's first bowl of longevity noodles in centuries

[lenglengflames]

hua cheng who makes it a personal goal to make the pull the longest noodles physically possible for the first time they xie lian's birthday together.

but he woefully underestimates just how difficult it is to make them, because surely 800 years of dabbling in sculpting has some skills that translates over, right? no, it absolutely does not, and he only reluctantly accepts the fact that he's not going to go anywhere with this on his own when most of his robes turn white from flour and he realises xie lian's birthday is only a week away.

so he sends his butterflies to spy on distinguished chefs so he can learn how to make them from scratch. he finally manages to churn out his first successful batch, even if it does end up not looking like the fine, silky strands of the chefs he was spying on.

he only manages to make the perfect batch minutes before sunrise on xie lian's birthday.

xie lian wakes up to a hua cheng entirely covered head to toe in flour, the silver butterflies he'd yet to disperse fluttering around him busily and a simple handmade bowl of longevity noodles.

[coffeestainedcamera]

Now on S2 Ep 2 so tagging spoilers via readmore. But man, I love the Ghost City setting so far. Not just because of that gorgeous visual direction and all the crowd scenes, but because it really feels surprisingly lively for a literal ghost town (yet also is rather sleazy). Anyway, I need an artbook consisting of nothing but relevant visual development work for this arc omfg.

Oh, right, there's a story too. Anyways, spoilers below.

It's pretty interesting that our ghost lore is establishing them as jealous (in many but not all cases). We kicked off the first arc with a ghost who goes after the smiling brides, given her own lack of happiness. And now we spent an entire episode in a gambling hall where things of value to the spirit are their bets. An artist's hand, a thief's leg, and years from the life of one's daughter were some of the wagers I heard? And it seems that it has a wish-granting function, given that the last guy was willing to sacrifice his daughter for taking out his business competition?

It all felt rather fae-like to me. Which I suppose makes Hua Cheng's rigging of the game for a half-finished bun from Xie Lian more notable, as it at first sounded rather worthless. Hell, on its face, it's almost like an insult to our fave dumb martial god that decided to crash the evening. Kind of like a reminder that his life isn't particularly valuable down below.

But we did just spend an entire season on these two characters sticking with each other through thick and thin. And the first time they talked involved splitting a very similar-looking bun, so I suppose the one in this scene actually would fit the "must have value" criteria if we consider the emotional attachment involved. It's just that I thought the wager must have value to the gambler, not the other side lol.

So, in short, there's ye olde cheating and then there's the bald-faced rigging that went down here. Also, are we now on a misunderstanding arc? That goodbye sure sent some mixed signals.

My live reaction: извините, дом ЧЕГО-ЧЕГО? (чуть не выплёвывает чай на ноутбук)

[dangermousie]

Mousie’s absolutely subjective, very biased Top 10 web novels list

Please note that this is hardly aiming to be objective, if one can even be properly objective about a work of fiction. It is 110% based on my preferences, which means this list is heavy on the angst and has nothing set in the modern day. It is also heavily danmei-centric, even though I read way more het romance than danmei, because for whatever reason, most of the danmei I’ve read has been insanely good.

10. Return of the Swallow - one of the two non-danmeis on this list. Smart and nuanced and with a large cast of characters. Our heroine is a long-lost daughter of the family that is brought back in and has to cope with familial struggles, crazy royals, court intrigue, invasion et al. It’s SO GOOD! There is romance with the sexy smart enemy general but honestly, it’s the heroine that is the main selling point for me.

9. Transmigrator Meets Reincarnator - the only other non-danmei novel on this list, this was my very first web novel and what drew me into this insanity. This is just a ton of fun, probably the lightest novel on this list, not an ounce of angst to be found. But it’s hilarious and features competent heroine and tsundere hero and I will always love it for opening a new world to me. Anyway, our heroine transmigrates into the novel as the female lead. Unlike the original lead though she doesn’t want to seek adventures and angst - she just wants to comfortably live with the wealthy, nice husband heroine has. Alas, said husband is no longer nice since he has previously lived this story where he was betrayed by FL and then transmigrated/reincarnated into the past. Oh well, the heroine opens up businesses and makes friends. And eventually, her husband realizes his wife is way different this time around. This actually doesn’t have much romance, not until close to the end, but this is so fun I don’t care.

8. Lord Seventh - I am only partway through this so far, but it’s already on the list because it’s smart and somehow intense AND laid-back (not sure how this works, but it does) and is honestly just a really really solid and smart period novel, with the OTP a cherry on top of a narrative sundae. Plus, I love the concept of MC deciding he is not going for his supposedly fated love - he’s tried for six lifetimes, always with disaster, and he’s just plain done and tired. When he opens his life in his seventh reincarnation and sees the person he would have given up the world for, he genuinely feels nothing at all. (Spoiler - his OTP is actually a barbarian shaman this time around, thank you Lord!)

7. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (MDZS) - oh come on, how are you even on this tumblr if you don’t know MDZS/The Untamed? This was my very first danmei and it’s so much fun! I love everything about it - the unreliable narrator, the looping structure, the main OTP, Wei Wuxian’s laidback, traumatized insouciance, everything. Anyway, the plot in the event you somehow transported here from 2005 is that the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Wei Wuxian, was defeated by the righteous sects over a decade ago and fell of a cliff to his death. Only now that same Wei Wuxian opens his eyes in another body and everything that was supposed to stay in the past starts again.

6. Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGCF) - people either love its meandering narrative, picaresque structure and cast of thousands, or find it a detriment compared to much more compact MDZS. I love it even more than MDZS for those very qualities. It does have a rock-solid, darling OTP, but what really elevates it to me are the MXTX trademark combo of snarky/light tone hiding a ton of trauma underneath, the insanely intricate world-building, and what it has to say about the nature of grace and goodness. Xie Lian is one of my top 5 web novel characters and probably in top 10 from anywhere. Oh, and while MXTX’s stuff is not as angsty for me as Meatbun’s or even Priest’s, there are always exceptions, and there is one chapter in this novel that pretty much broke me and sometimes I still flashback to it and feel unwell.

Anyway, what is it about? There is a commotion in the heavenly realm - Xie Lian, the Crown Prince of a long-destroyed kingdom, has ascended to Godhood. That in itself is not so exciting. However for Xie Lian this is the third time (!!!!) as he’s ascended and lost his godhood twice prior. And now, the biggest joke of the divine realm is back, throwing the heavenly realm into chaos. And elsewhere, Hua Cheng, one of the four most powerful demons of that Universe, sits up and takes notice.

5. Golden Stage - my perfect comfort novel. Probably the least angsty of any danmei novel on this list (which still means plenty angsty :P) It also has a dedicated, smart OTP that is an OTP for the bulk of the book - I think you will notice that in most of the novels in this list, I go for “OTP against the world” trope - I can’t stand love triangles and the same. Anyway, Fu Shen, is a famous general whose fame is making the emperor antsy. When he gets injured and can’t walk any more, the emperor gladly recalls him and marries him off to his most faithful court lackey, the head of sort of secret police, Yan Xiaohan. The emperor intends it both as a check on the general and a general spite move since the two men always clash in court whenever they meet. But not all is at is seems. They used to be friends a long time ago, had a falling out, and one of the loveliest parts of the novel is them finding their way to each other, but there is also finding the middle path between their two very different philosophies and ways of being, not to mention solving a conspiracy or dozen, and putting a new dynasty on the throne, among other things. It always makes me think, a little, of “if Mei Changsu x Jingyan were canon.”

4. Sha Po Lang - if you like a lot of fantasy politics and world-building and steampunk with your novels, this one is for you. This one is VERY plot-heavy with smart, dedicated characters and a deconstruction of many traditional virtues - our protagonist Chang Geng, a long-lost son of the Emperor, is someone who wants to modernize the country but also take down the current emperor his brother for progress’ sake and the person he’s in love with is the general who saved him when he was a kid who is nominally his foster father. Anyway, the romance is mainly a garnish in this one, not even a big side dish, but the relationship between two smart, dedicated, deadly individuals with very different concepts of duty is fascinating long before it turns romantic. And if you like angst, while overall it’s not as angsty as e.g., Meatbun stuff, Chang Geng’s childhood is the stuff of nightmares and probably freaks me out more than anything else in any novel on this list, 2ha included.

3. To Rule In a Turbulent World (LSWW) - gay Minglan. No seriously. This is how I think of it. it’s a slice of life period novel with fascinating characters and setting that happens to have a gay OTP, not a romance in a period setting per se and I always prefer stories where the romance is not the only thing that is going on. It’s meticulously written and smart and deals with character development and somehow makes daily minutia fascinating. Our protagonist, You Miao, is the son of a fabulously wealthy merchant, sent to the capital to make connections and study. As the story starts, he sees his friend’s servants beating someone to death, feels bad, and buys him because, as we discover gradually and organically, You Miao may be wealthy and occasionally immature but he is a genuinely good person. The person he buys is a barbarian from beyond the wall, named Li Zhifeng. It’s touch and go if the man will survive but eventually he does and You Miao, who by then has to return home, gives him his papers and lets him go. However, LZF decides to stick with You Miao instead, both out of sense of debt for YM saving his life and because he genuinely likes him (and yet, there is no instalove on either of their parts, their bodies have fun a lot quicker than their souls.) Anyway, the two take up farming, get involved in the imperial exams and it’s the life of prosperity and peace, until an invasion happens and things go rapidly to hell. This is so nuanced, so smart (smart people in this actually ARE!) and has secondary characters who are just as complex as the mains (for example, I ended up adoring YM’s friend, the one who starts the plot by almost beating LZF to death for no reason) because the novel never forgets that few people are all villain. There is a lovely character arc or two - watching YM grow up and LZF thaw - there is the fact that You Miao is a unicorn in web novels being laid back and calm. This whole thing is a masterpiece.

2. Stains of Filth (Yuwu) - want the emotional hit of 2ha but want to read something half its length? Well, the author of 2ha is here to eviscerate you in a shorter amount of time. This has the beautiful world-building, plot twists that all make sense and, at the center of it all, an intense and all-consuming and gloriously painful relationship between two generals - one aristocratic loner Mo Xi, and the other gregarious former slave general Gu Mang. Once they were best friends and lovers, but when the novel starts, Gu Mang has long turned traitor and went to serve the enemy kingdom and has now been returned and Mo Xi, who now commands the remnants of his slave army, has to cope with the fact that he has never been able to get over the man who stabbed him through the heart. Literally. This novel has a gorgeously looping structure, with flashbacks interwoven into present storyline. There is so much love and longing and sacrifice in this that I am tearing up a bit just thinking of it. If you don’t love Mo Xi and Gu Mang, separately and together, by the end of it, you have no soul.

1. The Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2ha/erha) - if you’ve been following my tumblr for more than a hot second, you know my obsession with this novel. Honestly, even if I were to make a list of my top 10 novels of any kind, not just webnovels, this would be on the list. It has everything I want - a complicated, intricate plot with an insane amount of plot twists, all of which are both unexpected and make total sense, a rich and large cast of characters, a truly epic OTP that makes me bawl, emotional intensity that sometimes maxes even me out and so much character nuance and growth. Also, Moran is my favorite web novel character ever, hands down.

Anyway, the plot (or at least the way it first appears) is that the evil emperor of the cultivation world, Taxian Jun, kills himself at 32 and wakes up in the body of his 16 year old self, birth name Moran. Excited to get a redo, Moran wants to save his supposed true love Shimei, whose death the last go-around pushed him towards evil. He also wants to avoid entanglement with Chu Wanning, his shizun and sworn enemy in past life. And that’s all you are best off knowing, trust me. The only hint I am going to give is oooh boy the mother of all unreliable narrators has arrived!

The novel starts light and funny on boil the frog principle - if someone told me I would be full bawling multiple times with this novel, I’d have thought they were insane, but i swear my eyes hurt by the end of it. I started out being amused and/or disliking the mains and by the end I would die for either of them.

[razberryyum]

TGCF donghua Episode 5 Thoughts (SPOILERS!)

Welp this is definitely my favorite episode of the donghua thus far. Holy crap where to even begin??? I rewatched it five times already to make sure I caught every little detail, but I'm sure I still missed something.

Ok first of all, couples fixing each other's hair is a super big soft spot for me, I love seeing that! I think it's so freaking adorable and sweet and domestic. Hell, this whole episode was so freaking adorable and sweet and domestic! It was so difficult deciding which moments were my favorite since I loved so many of them!

But before I get to any of that, I have to say, I am officially in love with this man.

Gawds that look literally made my knees weak. Like, I kinda already loved him the first moment we saw him in the first episode (I mean, is it supposed to be a big secret who he is? Putting aside I already know from just being in the MXTX fandom, I think the donghua's been pretty blatant about his dual identity. Maybe it was easier to hide in the novel). I knew it wouldn't take much for me to love San Lang, I do have eyes after all, but the more time we spend with him the more I am just UTTERLY in love with him. I love his smiling eyes, his sexy aura, his personality, but I especially love the way he looks at Dianxia.

I literally just love watching him watching Xie Lian. I can totally feel his love and devotion. It's like I can't take my eyes off of him because his love for Dianxia is like a magnet drawing me in.

Likewise, I also love the way Dianxia can't seem to keep his eyes off of San Lang either.

And I really appreciate how the donghua plays it off as Xie Lian trying to figure him out, trying to determine if he's the Ghost King. I'm sure he sincerely is doing that but it's also obvious he is just fascinated by this man as well. And we know he thinks he's good looking thanks to his fortune telling attempt.

I just about freaked out when this happened cuz I couldn't believe it. Look I know bros can share a bed and there's nothing untoward about it...

...especially when they keep a respective distance apart. But there was just such a heavy air of sexual tension leading up to it that there was almost no way not to overreact to them sharing a bed straw mat. I mean, after all just a few moments ago, THIS happened.

What was THAT all about?? 😂 What did Xie Lian think San Lang was going to do?? Am I wrong to think naughty thoughts?? I can only work with what they give me.

But given what little I know about their history, I'm puzzled by why San Lang seems almost sad at times when I would expect him to be nothing less than ecstatic. For example, when Xie Lian offered to share his bed with him, I thought San Lang would be overjoyed, but instead as can be seen above, he looked sad. Someone had explained that he was sad over the state of Dianxia's living conditions, which I can understand, but then felt like he should still be a little happy about sleeping next to the one he loves.

Then there was also this curious moment before that:

One would think he'd be totally excited about having physical contact with with Dianxia, but he broke off the contact almost immediately and seemed distraught over it. UNLESS, I was supposed to read that as San Lang forcing himself to break contact in order to control his desire for Xie Lian? That just that little physical connection was already too much and he felt overwhelmed? Hence the trembling lips?

I think I'll go with the second option instead. Hotter that way. And if I'm way off base either way, don't bother to correct me. After all, half the fun in watching without reading the book yet is finding out the answers on my own and seeing how wrong or right my guesses and interpretations are.

Such as, Hua Cheng's eye. San Lang mentioned he guaged it out himself... I'm guessing it had something to do with him failing Dianxia in the past so he plucked out his own eye out of anger? Or was it a sacrifice on behalf of Xie Lian?

And then his ashes...I can't wait to find out if he already gave them to Xie Lian in the past without him knowing it, maybe Dianxia unknowingly even has them on his body now in some portable form, or he will be giving them to him in the near future.

Another thing I'm dying to find out about their relationship is how come Xie Lian has no memory of Hua Cheng or San Lang. Seems like there's some memory loss overall on XL's part based on some of the other gods' reaction to him. I mean, I guess HC could have been just a devotee from afar, but that would be, what, 800 years worth of one-sided love? Damn. Or is that actually the beauty and mystic of HuaLian's love?

His words melted me. I am already a puddle of goo over HuaLian and I barely know anything about them. I hope I'll survive the emotional impact once I truly learn the entirety of their history.

Also can't wait to find out more about his curse mark. Based on San Lang's reaction, I can only guess it had to do with him or he is just upset he couldn't stop it from happening.

Again, please do NOT tell me. I really look forward to finding out on my own...either through the donghua when they get to it or by reading the book when I finally get my shit together. I need to earn my worthiness of being able to worship at Dianxia's altar.

[manggaetteokkie]

Luo Yunxi as Chu Wanning: the Perfect Casting

(are you guys ready for this post because I am not)

Okay, you guys might be thinking, “Woah, ‘perfect’ is a pretty strong word, are you sure?” to which my only reply is “Damn right I am”.

So I’ve mentioned in my previous post how I am absolutely notworried about how Luo Yunxi was casted for Chu Wanning in the upcoming 2HA live action adaptation, but after going back and rereading that part, I thought that what I wrote wasn’t really enough to drive my point across so that’s where this post comes in.

Beware: this is just going to be a massive word barf praising Luo Yunxi so yeah. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

As we all know (or maybe not, if you’ve never heard of the novel “The Husky and His White Cat Shizun” aka 2HA before), Chu Wanning’s entire aura screams untouchable, otherworldly and transcendent beauty. Basically, someone who embodies the word elegance, with a touch of haughtiness from an outsider’s perspective. He is aloof, enjoys peace and quiet, and is extremely strict. He has zero tolerance for rule breakers and will apply the same standards he holds others to onto himself. He also prefers to keep things to himself. Whether it be injuries or his own feelings, it’s easier for him to deal with them on his own than reach out to others because he considers that losing face. With all of this in mind, I’m sure you’ve all got an idea formed in your head as to what kind of character he is.

To be frank, this kind of role is hard to do, and most importantly, to do well. First, the actor must be poised at all times and display a certain level of elegance in his movements. It is so, so, so easy for the actor to try too hard or be slightly too aware of his movements, which in turn makes them robotic. In other cases, they manage to pull it off when the camera is on them but as soon as they are no longer the focus, they slack off and it’s like a splash of cold water to the viewers. The best case is when the actor is so seamless that you don’t even realize what they are doing, because you’re just enjoying the whole thing so much.

In this case, Luo Yunxi has the advantage from his experience as a professional ballet dancer. Years of dancing has allowed him to have great posture and if you’ve ever seen Ashes of Love, you’d know that he moves with a certain level of elegance that becomes blatant when you put him side by side with Deng Lun (not trying to put anyone down by the way, Deng Lun’s character is the fiery Phoenix who is righteous and direct, the God of Fire and War, so his movements fit perfectly given his character. Meanwhile, Luo Yunxi’s character is the Night God, who, comparatively, has a much calmer and more uptight disposition).

His fight scenes are also *chef’s kiss*. Again, his experience as a dancer really shines through:

That fancy fan trick he did? Absolutely blew my mind how effortless he made it look. He’s really one of the few actors that I actually pay attention to the fight scenes for because he doesn’t just charge and hack at stuff, he somehow turns it into an art form and I’m always curious to see what move he’ll pull next. This makes me excited to see what he’ll do in Immortality because Chu Wanning mainly either wields a whip or conjures barriers, meaning it’s mostly going to be CG. That also means that his hand signs and body movements are going to have to be solid, at the risk of looking awkward otherwise.

For this next part, I’m going to have to make a confession. I actually love watching scenes in which Luo Yunxi’s characters are in a lot of pain, emotional or physical. I wholly admit it, it sounds really sadistic, but understand that I don’t say this easily for anybody. When I say Luo Yunxi nails crying scenes or scenes in which he is in pain...

...I mean he absolutely nails them.

Man... seeing this gif just makes me want to give him the biggest hug and tell him that everything will be alright. Unknowingly, while watching, my own face twisted into a frown.

One of Luo Yunxi’s greatest strengths is his ability to micromanage his expressions. It would be so easy for a newbie actor to appear frozen while watching their costar act; however, just with the smallest furrowing of his brows, Luo Yunxi is able to convey all of his emotional turmoil.

Of course, we can’t have Chu Wanning be crying all the time, but the previous examples were perfect to show how Luo Yunxi can nail those small tells when it comes to Chu Wanning’s character. As mentioned before, our perfect shizun isn’t the type to broadcast his feelings screaming on rooftops, so we can only rely on small twitches of discomfort or slight frowns of pain. Given what we’ve seen from Luo Yunxi, I’m not worried about him being able to properly convey those tricky emotions.

Of course, how can you talk about Chu Wanning without talking about his many fits of anger. Do you perhaps worry that he seems too sad, too soft to properly portray the other aspects of our quick-to-whip shizun? Worry not, and simply feast your eyes upon the following:

I really love these stills, from the tousled hair to the glare that could send whoever he looks at 6ft under... I highly doubt he’ll have a hard time conveying Chu Wanning’s righteous fury given his previous performances.

Also, if you’ve seen him near the end of Ashes of Love, he had to act as a person impersonating him. It was a more comical and lighthearted break in what was quite a heavy scene, and he managed to pull it off amazingly well which really shows his range as an actor.

Anyways, this essay has been going long enough so it’s about time to conclude. Basically, I’m ready to watch this entire live adaptation from start to end just for Luo Yunxi because I trust him as an actor, and I feel like he’s given us more than enough proof to show that he can pull off the Chu Wanning character. Speaking of which, I’m actually lowkey salty because he was the actor I had in mind for Xie Lian as well, but it’s unlikely that he’ll take that role since he’s already been casted by the 2HA team. I’m not lying when I say that after Ashes of Love aired, a lot of fans suddenly had a face to go along with their favourite novel characters.

Bonus!

There was no purpose to these except to show how he looks beautiful regardless of how “unkept” he’s supposed to be. Even if his character is supposed to be at their very lowest point, he still manages to maintain that elegant beauty.

[spockandawe]

So, my heart keeps circling and circling back to The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, and I was idly prodding at why that is, even more than the other mxtx stories, and then I thought to myself, ‘why not ramble into the internet abyss instead of just in your own head?’ And so here we are.

I love this story so much, seriously. It was maybe the most difficult of the three novels for me to begin, because the translation editing is definitely rougher than mdzs and tgcf, and I think the story itself assumes that readers are kind of familiar with transmigration concepts (teal deer, person from real world reads novel, involuntarily is pulled into novel, often(?) as one of the established characters, lives out the-novel-plot-but-different).

But once I got past like, that first chapter? MAN. I was so hooked. 

I think the first thing that really stands out to me is that Binghe as a love interest is...I’m not sure I want to say he’s more “flawed” than the other mxtx love interests, but that’s the best word I’m finding right now. The wangxian ship is mostly in tune with each other in the present, despite a few lingering misunderstandings. And the hualian ship, like, hua cheng rolls up like ‘heyy what up i would do anything you asked of me’ and xie lian was like ‘you. i like you a lottle.’ and their in-book development is mostly about bringing xie lian up to speed on the depth of their history together.

But Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe! The original canon Binghe is specifically a blackened hero, who is casually cruel and manipulative, and has collected up a massive harem of pretty ladies to be his wives and concubines. Pretty much the last straw in that blackening is that his abusive teacher (who he still desperately wanted the approval of) found out he was half demon (also news to luo binghe) and kicked him into the abyss where he had a miserable few years having his demon blood awakened. Later, he came back to the human realm, much stronger and angrier than when he left, and his morally questionable adventures involved de-limbing his old teacher, cutting out his tongue, and keeping him alive for years.

Shen Yuan is a modern-day human bean who has been hate-reading the webnovel of this story, where he can see a lot of interesting potential in the story, but is massively frustrated by the things the author has chosen to do with it. It is a Significant shock to his system when he wakes up inside the story, in the body of Shen Qingqiu. After Luo Binghe has already been his student for some time. Also, there’s a System that’s policing whether or not he acts in-character as Shen Qingqiu, and he’s going to get punished if his points drop below a certain threshold. He gets more freedom to act as the story progresses, but at first he has to do things like argue with the System about why he should be allowed to give medicine to Luo Binghe after he gets beat up (it will shame their sect if outsiders see him with a bruised face). And on the one hand, he’s trying DESPERATELY to avoid a future where he gets mutilated and tortured by his student, but... he is absolutely a massive softy who takes no time at all to start ADORING this kid and being super proud of everything he does. He won’t admit that, even in his own pov, and he has a very, very reserved external manner, but he’s so soft on the inside.

(ps why did using fans as conversational props stop being a thing. maybe sometimes i don’t WANT my face hanging out in public, maybe sometimes it’s extra fun to hide your expression.)

And this makes for a fascinating dynamic, because this new Shen Qingqiu 1) adores Luo Binghe, 2) is terrified of Luo Binghe.

At first, when Luo Binghe is still a teenager, it’s easier to land on the side of just adoring him. The original canon character was a sweet, sweet kid all on his own. And Luo Binghe is still an extremely good boy when this novel starts, even though he’s being mistreated by his teacher and most of his fellow disciples. But when Shen Qingqiu starts giving him support and positive reinforcement, oh my god, he BLOOMS. 

But Shen Qingqiu is from outside the novel, and he knows where this is headed eventually. And at the point where the original character shoved Luo Binghe into the abyss for a couple years of misery, the new Shen Qingqiu thinks he’s in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation, and... reluctantly does the same thing.

So here’s the trouble. Luo Binghe is... needy. He’s a needy, needy boy. He loves very hard and cares about his people (person) a lot, but he is also clingy as heck, jealous, and has MASSIVE abandonment issues. Getting this treatment from his favorite person in the entire universe is... not ideal. Having it happen when he’s just found out he’s half demon is even less ideal, especially when the framing makes it look like he’s being rejected because of What He Is, not something he has any power to change. And it ties back into to his oldest, most painful insecurities. His name literally means ‘lowered into the icy river’, because that’s what his birth mother did with him. 

So when he comes back to the human realm, he’s not as blackened as he was in canon, and doesn’t have a grudge of the same magnitude as the original Luo Binghe. But the person he loves most in the world hurt him very, very badly, and he :) has :) some :) questions :))))))))))))))

And this is the point where every time Luo Binghe breathes, Shen Qingqiu goes WAUGHHHH

Which is so TASTY, honestly! And the escalation of hurt and mistrust is such a delicious feedback loop! I love a good supportive relationship, but I live for two people who care about each other inadvertently inflicting massive wounds on each other’s hearts.

I don’t want to go into describing the later parts of the plot, because that seems like such a waste, but I feel like transmigration stories are the MOST tasty if having prior knowledge of a novel’s plot makes the leads act as dumbasses in all kinds of new and exciting ways. Which definitely, definitely applies here.

And there are all kinds of DELICIOUS side relationships, which weren’t there in the original canon, and that Shen Qingqiu accidentally discovers/uncovers while he’s fumbling around trying to dodge his canon fate. Like, early in the book, Shen Qingqiu is supposed to kill one of his peers in the sect. The guy was suffering from a qi deviation and the original Shen Qingqiu was like ‘look, he was out of control, and I didn’t want to kill him, but it was him or me.’ Everyone was skeptical, but they didn’t have any evidence to contradict him. This character was the brother of one of Luo Binghe’s eventual wives, so it was pretty much just another bonus reason to hate his shizun once he turned against him.

The new Shen Qingqiu is like ‘okay, so this Liu Qingge is supposed to be strong. Maybe if I save his life he’ll protect me from Luo Binghe?’ And it changes SO MUCH! And Shen Qingqiu is SO DUMB! He’s like ‘wow, liu qingge really hates me, huh.’ And Liu Qingge is like ‘WHY ARE YOU BEING NICE. IT’S WEIRD. ARE YOU REALLY STILL YOURSELF?’ And then later there are spoilery developments, but there’s this act of devotion that moves me so much. (five years!!!!!!!!!!)

And I don’t want to undersell the intense emotions these characters are so frequently feeling in this story, but they are also. so dumb. so frequently, frequently dumb. and I live for it.

Like, I just got past the part in the novel where Shen Qingqiu sees Luo Binghe and Liu Mingyan having their first conversation. Liu Mingyan is a legendary beauty (so beautiful she wears a veil, because otherwise her beauty is just too distracting) and eventually becomes one of Luo Binghe’s favorite wives. So Shen Qingqiu (who hates the original novel, but also sure has a lot of passion for it and remembers a lot of the details, considering how much he theoretically hates it) is like ‘OH, HOT DAMN. MY OTP’S FIRST CONVERSATION. I WANNA SEE HOW THIS GOES.’

And what happens is that Luo Binghe gets so massively jealous. We get a bit of his pov, where almost all of his thoughts are ‘WHY IS SHIZUN STILL LOOKING AT HER?? IT’S NOT LIKE YOU CAN SEE MUCH PAST THE VEIL ANYWAYS. AND ANYWAYS, I’M PRETTIER???????????????’ And finally Luo Binghe goes off out of sight with her so shizun can’t watch her anymore, and Shen Qingqiu is like ‘ah.... alas....... of course the protagonist and his lady get privacy for such an important scene..............’

They are so dumb, guys. They care so much, and they ache so much over each other, and they are so dumb. And the supporting cast isn’t much smarter. Even the smart ones have the dumb ones inflicted on them.

In the extras, at one point demon king Luo Binghe is addressing his main retainers, and he’s like ‘if... hypothetically..... two people’s hearts were out of alignment with each other........ how would u fix that.......... hypothetically..............’ And his poor retainers are like

But I really, really think that the protagonist being afraid of the love interest is a really key point for me, personally. And then it’s extra my favorite, because of 1) him having a good fucking reason to be afraid, and 2) his love interest having no goddamn clue. It makes for such a good blend of humor and sincere pathos. I’m weak to dumbasses-in-love as a dynamic, but it can be hard to have something so lighthearted while also working in painful emotional depths. The premise for this story is hard to replicate, and I’m kind of drawing a blank on anything that I’ve read that measures up to it, and the plot REALLY makes the use of some incredible foundations.

Anyways, thank you for coming to my ted talk, this book is ridiculous and i love it, and it’s also the shortest and most linear of mxtx’s books, and i highly recommend it to everyone.

[the-good-reader]

C3: Scrap-Collecting Immortal’s Third Ascension to Godhood

Xie Lian [XL] had been reduced to a laughingstock of the 3 realms, with no incense, offerings, temples or believers.

The 2 retainers under him, Feng Xin [FX] and Mu Qing [MQ] had surpassed him.

If you were to ask XL to choose whether FX or MQ made him feel more awkward, he would say, “They’re all okay ah!”

However, if you asked bystanders who they wanted to see Xl fight, then everyone would make different choices- it was hard to pick which is the more interesting option.

Because of this, when there was no response from FX's side because he immediately hid and stopped talking, people were naturally disappointed.

Meanwhile, XL put himself down as he said: “I also didn’t anticipate making a commotion like this. It wasn’t deliberate, I’ve inconvenienced everyone.” MQ responded coolly, ...Oh, then that was indeed quite coincidental.

XL too thought it was coincidental.

How could the clock fall right onto MQ, while his ascension also happened to destroy FX’s palace?

This would look deliberate to bystanders.

However, XL was the type that managed to pick the sole poisoned cup among a thousand cups of wine.

He could only say, “I will try my best to compensate for everyone’s golden palaces and other losses. I also hope you may give me some time.”

XL was still genuinely pondering over where he was supposed to get those 8,880,000 merits when Ling Wen [LW] invited him to go to her Ling Wen Palace.

Ling Wen was the Heavenly Official in charge of managing Heaven’s personnel.

When mortals wished to get a step ahead in their careers, they would worship her.

Her palace was filled to the brim with official documents and scrolls, an utterly shocking scene.

When the two of them finally entered the Palace Hall, LW turned around and got straight to the point., ...Your Highness, there is a matter in which the Emperor would like to request your help. Are you willing to assist him and lend a helping hand?

In Heaven, there were many people who had the titles ZhenJun or YuanJun.

However, only one person could be called the Emperor.

XL was confused as this person would never have the need to call other people for help.

XL asks, "What matter?" ...“Recently, the North has a large number of zealous worshippers repeatedly praying for blessings. It can be assumed that they aren’t passing their days peacefully.”

These so-called zealous worshippers generally referred to three types of people:

Rich people who pay money in order to burn incense and build temples for gods.

Missionaries who would preach to bystanders.

People whose body and mind are thoroughly doused in faith and belief.

Most of these worshippers belonged to the first category, as in this world, rich people were like carps passing through rivers.

The third category had the least people; if one was truly able to get to that level of faith, they wouldn’t be far from ascending themselves.

The people LW mentioned were clearly from the first category, ...At present, the Emperor cannot attend to the North. If you are willing to take his place and make the trip, when the time comes, regardless of how much offerings these zealous worshippers make, everything will be allocated to your altar. What do you think? XL received the scroll with both hands as he said, “Many thanks.”

Emperor Jun Wu [JW] was clearly helping XL, but he had flipped it around and made it sound like he was asking XL for help.

XL realized this, but couldn't think of anything other to say than the 2 words he had said already.

LW replied, ...I’m only responsible for handling these affairs. If you want to thank someone, you should wait for the Emperor to return before personally thanking him instead. —Oh right, do you need my help borrowing any magical artefacts? XL answered, "There’s no need. Even if you give me a magical artefact, once I go down I won’t have any spiritual power, and so I won’t be able to use it.

XL has been beaten down twice, so he had lost his power.

In the Heavens, spiritual power was abundant, so he couls casually grab some to use.

If XL wanted to fight with magic in the mortal realm, he could only make do by finding someone he could borrow spiritual energy from, something extremely inconvenient.

LW pondered before saying, ...Then it would be best to borrow a few martial gods to assist you and lend a helping hand.

The current martial gods either didn’t recognize him, or they didn’t like him. Xie Lian understood that thoroughly, and so he responded, “There’s also no need for that. You won’t be able to borrow anyone.” LW seemed to have thought it seriously and only said, ...I’ll give it a try.

XL didn't oppose her words, and allowed her to try.

As a result,LW entered the spirit communication array before announcing in a bright tone, ...Everyone, the Emperor has an important task to be handled in the North and urgently need people. Which martial god Highness can lend out two martial officials from their Palace Halls to help? MQ’s floaty voice emerged, ...I’ve heard that the Emperor isn’t in the North right now, so I’m afraid you’re borrowing people for His Highness the Crown Prince, right? XL mentally thought, “Are you keeping guard at the spirit communication array all day long…?”

LW was in the same wavelength as him.

Although she was angry, she spoke with a smile, ...Xuan Zhen, why am I always seeing you in the array these two days? It seems like you’ve been stealing time to slack off and now you’re quite idle. Congratulations, congratulations. MQ replied in a light tone, ...My hand is injured, so I’m recuperating.

Every Heavenly Official there mentally thought, ...In the past, it would be nothing difficult for that hand of yours to split a mountain in half. So, what would hacking a foolish clock into pieces do to you?

LW had originally wanted to decieve 2 people, but now she was certain she wouldn't find anyone.

XL also didn’t believe anyone would come forward, and thus told her, “You see, I said you wouldn’t be able to borrow anyone.” ...If Xuan Zhen didn’t say anything, I would have indeed been able to. XL smiled, “Those words of yours had been as if you were carrying a pipa, but concealing half its face, beautifully blurring the scene to some degree. People would have thought they were going to help the Emperor with some work, so of course they would come. But when they come and realize they were going to have to work with me, I’m afraid there would be trouble. How could we work together like that? In any case, I’m used to being alone, and I’m not missing an arm or a leg, so let’s just go with this ah. Thank you for your trouble, I’ll leave now.” LW was also powerless, she cupped her hands in a salute before saying, ...Alright. I wish Your Highness’ journey goes smoothly, and may the blessings of Heaven’s Officials be upon you. “All taboos are off!”

Waving his hand, he left in a confident and carefree manner. ---

Three days later, mortal realm, the North.

By the side of a major road, there was a small teahouse.

The shopkeepers were simple folks, but goods were expensive because the scenery was good.

There were mountains and bodies of water, there were people and a city. They had everything, not much of everything—not much, but just right.

The teahouse’s tea sommelier was exceedingly idle, since he currently didn’t have any customers.

He was happily looking when, from afar, he saw a Taoist clad in white walking over.

The Taoist was covered in dust, looking as if he had been walking for a very long time. When he came closer, he walked past the small teahouse, before suddenly stopping in his tracks and slowly retracing his steps.

The Taoist tilted up his bamboo hat with his hand before raising his head. He only took one glance at the store before he started speaking with a smile.

“‘Chance Encounter’ little store, the name is interesting.”

Although this person had a tired appearance, he also had a face full of smiles, “Excuse me, may I ask if Mount Yu Jun is nearby?” The tea sommelier pointed in a direction for him, “It is in this region.”

That person breathed out, and for once he didn’t spit out his soul with that breath. In his mind, he thought, “I’ve finally arrived.”

This person was precisely Xie Lian.

He left the Immortal City that day.

XL had wanted to fall near Mount Yu Jun, but his sleeve got caught on a carefree cloud.

He tumbled around at a lofty, high altitude, and by the time he rolled down, he had no idea where he was.

After three days on foot, he finally reached his originally planned arrival location. Thus, for a short while, he felt extremely moved.

Entering the teahouse, Xie Lian picked a table beside the window before asking for some tea and snacks.

He had just got seated when he suddenly heard endless wailing and the sound of beating drums from outside the room.

He saw a group of people from all ages escorting a crimson-red bridal sedan as they walked past the teahouse.

If one looked closely, they would notice how the faces of these people all had solemn expressions—expressions of grief, anger, dread, yet the only emotion that wasn’t present was joy.

Whatever the case, it didn’t have the appearance of a wedding.

However, contrary to that thought, everyone was wearing red flowers as they played wind instruments and beat their drums.

This situation was really too strange.

That tea sommelier carried a copper teapot in his hand and raised it up high to pour some tea.

He he didn't seem to be shocked by this.

XL was just about to take out the scroll Ling Wen had given him to look over one more time, when he suddenly felt something dazzling flit by.

The moment XL raised his head, a silver butterfly flew past his eyes.

That silver butterfly was sparkly and translucent, looking pure and limpid. As it flew around in the air, it left behind bright traces.

XL couldn’t help but reach out a hand toward it.

This butterfly was extremely intelligent. Not only was it not frightened, it even temporarily stopped on his fingertips, both wings glittering and beautiful to the utmost degree.

Under the sunshine, it looked as if it was a fragment of an illusion.

After a moment, however, it flew away.

XL waved at it, something that could be considered as his goodbye.

But when he turned back, his table had two more people sitting there.

Both were teenage boys who looked around eighteen or nineteen years old.

The one on the left was taller, with facial expressions that looked quite defined and brightly handsome. Within his gaze was an arrogant and obstinate light.

The right side had very light skin. He looked delicate and pretty, yet also refined. However, his expression looked somewhat overly cold and apathetic, an appearance that made it seem as if he wasn’t too happy. In fact, the colour of the faces of both people didn’t look that great.

XL blinked his eyes before asking, “You two are?” The one on the left replied, ...Nan Feng [NF] The person on the right responded, ...Fu Yao [FY]

Xie Lian mentally thought: “It’s not like I’m asking for your names…”

At that moment, LW suddenly transmitted her voice over, ...Your Highness, there are two small martial gods from Middle Heaven who are willing to help. They’ve already gone down to look for you, so they should have arrived by now ah.

The so-called Middle Heaven was naturally relative to Upper Heaven.

The Heavenly Officials of Heaven could be simply and roughly divided into two categories: the ones that ascended, and the ones that didn’t.

The Heavenly Officials of Upper Heaven had all ascended by relying on themselves.

Being only about a hundred of them, they were each extremely precious.

But within Middle Heaven, the deities there were the ones who were brought up by “appointing them as deputy”.

Strictly speaking, their full names ought to be called “Fellow Heavenly Officials”.

However, when people called them, more often than not they would leave out that “fellow” word.

Since there was an Upper Heaven and a Middle Heaven, was there a Lower Heaven?

There wasn’t.

Actually, when XL ascended for the first time, Heaven was still divided as Upper Heaven and Lower Heaven.

But later, everyone found a problem when they introduced themselves to say, “I am from Lower Heaven’s so-and-so”, it sounded truly unpleasant.

With the ‘lower’ word existing, it made them feel especially inferior.

The only difference between them and real Heavenly Officials was merely how they lacked experiencing a Heavenly Tribulation, but who knew when that day would come.

Therefore, some people proposed to change a single word—turning introductions into ‘I am from Middle Heaven’s so-and-so’. This was much more pleasurable to hear than before.

After the change, XL hadn’t gotten used to it even after quite a while.

Xie Lian looked at these two small martial gods and thought it was unlikely they were “willing to come forward and help”.

Thus, he couldn’t help but ask, “Ling Wen ah, I think they don’t look like they came down to help me, and instead it looks more like they want to retrieve my dog head. Did you deceive them to get them to come?”

Unfortunately, it seemed that this question of his wasn’t transmitted out.

XL was incapable of doing anything else, so he first gave a smile to both the small martial gods before saying, “Was it Nan Feng and Fu Yao? To be willing to come and help me, let me thank you in advance.”

They both nodded, and appeared to have a somewhat lofty attitude.

Xie Lian had the tea sommelier bring two more cups of tea, “Which Highness’ Palace are you under?”

NF replied, ...Nan Yang Palace Hall. FY said, ...Xuan Zhen Palace Hall.” “….”

This truly made one feel frightened.

“Your Palaces’ Generals allowed you to come?” Both responded, ...My Palace’s General didn’t know I came. “Then, do you know who I am?” NF replied, ...You are His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. FY said, ...You are the correct path for the human world, you are the heart of the universe.

Xie Lian choked once, before he asked NF in an uncertain manner, “Just now, did he roll his eyes?” ...He did, let him scram.

Nan Yang’s relationship with Xuan Zhen wasn’t good, so when XL heard of that matter, he didn’t really feel surprised.

This was because, even back then, FX's and MQ’s relationship hadn’t been all that great.

Thus, even the worshippers from the Southeast and Southwest didn’t look upon each other in a positive light, while the Nan Yang Palace Hall and the Xuan Zhen Palace Hall had even more mutual hatred for each other.

FY smiled sarcastically as he stated, ...Ling Wen ZhenJun said that if you were willing, you could come. So, for what reason would I scram and leave?

The word ‘voluntary’, saying it with his expression didn’t look convincing.

XL said, “Let me confirm once. Are you two really voluntarily doing this? If you’re not, by all means, don’t force yourself ah.” Both said, ...I willingly volunteered.

Looking at those two deeply sad faces, XL mentally thought: "The words the two of you actually wanted to say were ‘I want to commit suicide’, right? “In short—” XL began, “Let’s first discuss the real work. You guys already know why we came to the North this time, so I won’t start explaining from the beginning…” Both of them interrupted him, ...I don’t know why.

XL could only take out his scroll before saying, “Then it would be best if I explain everything from the start.” ---

It was said that many years ago in Mount Yu Jun, there was a bride and a groom who loved each other very much and were about to be wed.

The bridegroom waited for the procession that delivered the bride, but even after waiting for a long time, he didn’t see the bride arrive.

He began to feel anxious, and thus began to look for the bride’s family, who informed him that his bride had long set off.

The two households reported this to the officials before they began looking in all directions.

Going from beginning to end of the procession's route, they never found her.

But even if she had been eaten by a fierce beast in the mountains, there should have been remains of an arm or a leg or what not.

How could she disappear in thin air?

Inevitablly, people harbored suspicions that the bride herself didn’t wish to marry, resulting in her colluding with the procession before escaping.

But who would have known that after a few years, another new couple married and the nightmare repeated itself - The bride disappeared again.

However, this time she didn’t leave without a trace.

On a small road, people found a foot that something hadn’t quite finished eating.