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inseparable, it seems ☀️🌙

my cezhou sfw piece for QJJ Handmade Zine 🩵 please check it out, so much amazing work from qjj fans!! more info here

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mentorship and rivalry

[an amateur meta piece on qi huilian, hai liangyi, shen zechuan, yao wenyu, and xue xiuzhuo. spoilers for all of qjj.]

i had this thought while thinking about the old rivalry between qi huilian and hai liangyi, and how it influenced their personal stances and teachings towards their pupils - some who even go on to take in pupils themselves.

qi huilian and hai liangyi's rivalry backstory is mostly in ch88, which sums up how they used to compete in academics. qi huilian excelled at the imperial examinations, meanwhile hai liangyi was unremarkable, but qi huilian is later demoted from the capital, and hai liangyi started to rise through the ranks. still, the former crown prince chose qi huilian as his teacher.

"Hai Liangyi came second to me his entire life. But he is a gentleman. When the Eastern Palace fell, the crown prince was condemned by all. Only Hai Liangyi believed there was still hope in him—that he wasn't beyond redemption. On the basis of this alone, I cannot compare to him. Between us, there is no superiority or inferiority, only mutual appreciation. But alas, heaven is blind. Though we share the same path, we cannot walk it together." [qi huilian, ch88]

"Only Hai Liangyi believed there was still hope in him—that he wasn't beyond redemption." this statement also gives reason as to why hai liangyi decides to also become a mentor for li jianheng. he was the only one, during li jianheng's early ascension, who believed that he could become a good emperor.

The loyal ministers of the court, led by Hai Liangyi, all watched Li Jianheng. In their eyes, he was perhaps a hopeless case. But Hai Liangyi had raised both hands to prop Li Jianheng up with that aging frame, urging him to hang on, to turn over a new lead, to be an emperor who would leave a glorious legacy. [ch33]

more on this later. now let's turn to each their pupils. qi huilian has only ever taken two pupils: the former crown prince, and shen zechuan. there is emphasis on the fact that the former crown prince chose qi huilian to be the grand mentor despite him already being demoted at that time, and shen zechuan, in the temple of guilt, similarly chose qi huilian, stating: "if xiansheng will be my scroll, i will be his sword." [ch7]

and, i want to specifically point out this part:

"In this lifetime, I've taught only two students. Both times I imparted to them all the knowledge I learned over the whole course of my life. The first time, I thought too highly of myself and was unwilling to compromise, and it was precisely through this pride that I caused my student such great harm." [qi huilian, ch88]

"I thought too highly of myself and was unwilling to compromise, and it was precisely through this pride that I caused my student such great harm." this statement actually very closely describes someone—xue xiuzhuo. he came from a humble background and had a late education, which is why he and yao wenyu had the opportunity to be classmates despite yao wenyu being younger. though the two could be considered childhood friends, they were opposites in every way.

yao wenyu was favored by hai liangyi due to his family, and this sparked resentment in xue xiuzhuo due to him being just a bastard son of the xue clan. he asked to be hai liangyi's pupil 3 times, but was rejected all times. hai liangyi took yao wenyu as his pupil, but he kept him away from the court.

Unlike Hua Siqian, he kept no apprentices, and had only one student—Yao Wenyu. Yet because Hai Liangyi wished to avoid a conflict of interest, Yao Wenyu had stayed away from court politics despite his extraordinary talent. [ch33]

xue xiuzhuo dedicated himself to politics, establishing himself as a capable official. this was around the time hai liangyi acknowledged his abilities too. but, despite all his efforts, he was mistreated again and again by hua siqian and his cohort. as a result he grew disillusioned by the state of the court and started to grow ambitions to dismantle the system.

but what makes xue xiuzhuo and yao wenyu so different? let's look at it from the officials' perspective:

Jiang Qingshan did not hold Yao Wenyu in high esteem, or even read Yao Wenyu's essays, because they were the practical doers rather than the idealistic talkers. To officials like them, Yao Wenyu was not as important as Xue Xiuzhuo was, even if Yao Wenyu was truly a genius. [ch148]

although hai liangyi kept yao wenyu away from politics to avoid a conflict of interest, yao wenyu still got judgment from the officials because he was perceived as an idealist who did not want to do anything for the nation. what's important here is that yao wenyu staying away from court is indeed a choice, and one that he does have a right to, but qudu is so obsessed with politics that if you're a genius and you don't want to engage with politics, you suck.

so! what does yao wenyu aspire to, if not politics? he actually takes after his teacher. although hai liangyi is the secretariat elder, he is first and foremost a gentleman who cares about the masses, doesn't discriminate against those of common birth, and always has hope for the imperial bloodline to reign in a rightful and just way, which is why he mentored li jianheng after his ascension. no one taught him how to be emperor, and the officials thought he was hopeless, but hai liangyi went on to instruct him in the classics.

despite being the "unofficial pupil" of hai liangyi, having received promotions from him time and time again, xue xiuzhuo looks down on hai liangyi for being too rigid in his thinking. he thinks that this teacher of his is too orthodox to share his mind that the empire must be overturned.

yao wenyu is much like hai liangyi. he is also a gentleman who cares for the masses, but xue xiuzhuo thinks him as orthodox as his teacher, as such, both were obstacles to his goal.

there is something interesting. xue xiuzhuo is remarked to have qi huilian's shadow in him [ch148] and i fully agree. since yao wenyu fully takes after hai liangyi's traits, xue xiuzhuo is much more like qi huilian, who is ruthless enough to treat people as pawns and show partiality to those he deems worthy/shared his ideals. he is equally ruthless towards himself, giving everything into the pursuit of his so-called practical ideas to remove the emperor and put his own heir on the throne. they had this conversation, after hai liangyi committed suicide:

"One day, I will die." Xue Xiuzhuo said in a raspy voice. "Regardless of whether I will be forsaken and deserted by all, or bring ruin and infamy upon myself, I will walk along this path to the very end. "You stop at nothing to kill others and yourself." Yao Wenyu released his grip on the chess piece. "You won't be able to save all of the so-called masses in the world." [ch148]

"It's a draw today. The victor has yet to be determined." Xue Xiuzhuo stopped in his tracks. He did not look back. "But since there's Xue Yanqing in the world, what need is there to keep a Yao Yuanzhuo around? You and I do not share the same path. After tonight, there is no need for us to see each other again." [ch148]

"Since there's Xue Yanqing in the world, what need is there to keep a Yao Yuanzhuo around?" this sounds incredibly conceited coming from the man himself, but that is truly how the officials saw it. if yao wenyu did not have the intention to enter the court, then he is lesser than the scholars who dared to enter the court, and practically useless with xue xiuzhuo among their ranks.

i also want to draw a parallel between "You and I do not share the same path," spoken by xue xiuzhuo to yao wenyu, and "Though we share the same path, we cannot walk it together," spoken by qi huilian about hai liangyi. although qi huilian and hai liangyi were academic rivals, they had mutual appreciation for each other. it was just that they cannot walk the path together due to hai liangyi being a secretariat of the court, and qi huilian had long lost his flame.

recall that xue xiuzhuo asked qi huilian to teach li jianting, initially. i think that xue xiuzhuo is placing himself as qi huilian's "pupil" here, in the sense that qi huilian is the one he is taking after, against yao wenyu who takes after hai liangyi. the enmity between yao wenyu and xue xiuzhuo is taken to an extreme due to xue xiuzhuo's own radical thinking that mirrored qi huilian. it was just that he lacked empathy, foresight, and trust in others which i'll get into shortly.

xue xiuzhuo's mentality is thus: those who had to be killed, will be killed. to him, it's a dog eat dog world, because he had experienced the hardship of climbing to the top of power with nothing but drive alone, and was beaten back down again and again. li jianheng was no good as emperor, so he must be killed. hai liangyi was an orthodox man who didn't want to replace the emperor, so he must die. yao wenyu would not act in any way of help to him, so he must be killed. but xue xiuzhuo was fair and treated everyone as pawns—he himself is a pawn. in other words, those who can take him down will become the winner.

ironically, it's because he has this mentality that his efforts fail to amount to anything in the end. something that i found interesting is how teacher-disciple relationships in qjj are often highlighted as being like a father-son relationship, if not just as close. the most direct example is actually ji gang who, as shen zechuan's shifu, is as good as a father. yao wenyu also said thus: "serving one's teacher is akin to serving one's father." [ch83]

xue xiuzhuo taught li jianting from a young age in order to shape her into becoming a great sovereign of dazhou, one that fits his expectations. but although she called him "teacher", he did not consider her a pupil or daughter, and it's all due to his belief that "there is no place in the court for teacher and pupil, only the sovereign and his ministers." [ch22]

so, in the end, when xue xiuzhuo surrendered to shen zechuan for li jianting's sake, he did so as a subject and not as her teacher. the thing to be noted is that he did essentially what qi huilian did in ch96 by giving up his life and honor for the sake of his pupil—so, once again, he is embodying qi huilian—and yet he failed to be a teacher in li jianting's life: a guardian to look up to, an idol to embody. he was just someone who guided her and taught her how to be an emperor. she did not receive any sort of "fatherly love" that qi huilian gave to shen zechuan and hai liangyi gave to yao wenyu, and in return, they showed filial piety to their xiansheng.

even li jianheng acknowledged hai liangyi like a father, just that he felt like he was still too foolish— "just a few days ago i was memorizing classics. ... i really did want to call him my second father." [ch96]

even though neither li jianting nor xue xiuzhuo felt like they needed this kind of bond, it is what ultimately made them fall - that they lacked a genuine familial relationship to sustain them on a deeper, emotional level.

She and Xue Xiuzhuo mutually complemented each other, but they did not have even a smidgen of teacher-pupil bond. Xue Xiuzhuo had no need for it, and so did Li Jianting. Even to this moment, Xue Xiuzhuo was still doing what he was as a "subject." [ch280]

there's also something else: trust. xue xiuzhuo micromanaged and scrutinized every step of li jianting's ascension to the throne because he's paranoid like that, and he has such a fixation on everything going right the way he thinks of it. the fact that he could not trust in his own heir indicated that he had not been even the best teacher. although xue xiuzhuo took on qi huilian's traits of ruthlessness in using people as pawns, ultimately sacrificing themselves for li jianting and shen zechuan individually, xue xiuzhuo could not let li jianting go to achieve what she really wanted, which is the power to liberate herself—an ambition VERY much like shen zechuan's.

Qi Huilian dared to do anything, and the driving force behind his insane actions was his trust in Shen Zechuan. Lanzhou was not his pawn. And it was precisely because of this that Qi Huilian left nothing behind for Lanzhou. Shen Zechuan did not need restraints. [ch280]

xue xiuzhuo still used li jianting as a pawn, but lanzhou was not qi huilian's pawn. he was his pupil, the only living person to receive all of his teachings to go and overturn the empire. he was his heir apparent. in the end, it was shen zechuan who came out of his shell to become someone truly worthy of the throne, to take control of his life and fate—something that li jianting failed to do even as emperor because she had stayed under xue xiuzhuo's finger and was also constricted by her own doubts and fears. but shen zechuan dared to pave his own way to the top, overturning dazhou for good and starting a new regime for peace and prosperity.

xue xiuzhuo is not the only pupil who had his own pupil. yao wenyu started to teach xiao xun when shen zechuan's ascension to the throne was imminent, because he has the foresight to know that shen zechuan needed an heir if he were to land this goal of overtaking qudu.

"I know he is not the man to be an emperor, but I still wanted to assist him, because he is a natural-born overlord. Your father knew Zhongbo was on a rapid rise to power and prominence. He granted Shen Zechuan's entry into Libei, because Xiao Xun is Shen Zechuan's one and only option." "Since Lanzhou dares to head towards that position," Xiao Chiye enunciated each word, "it's his." "It's his," Yao Wenyu said, "but only if he has Xiao Xun." [ch237]

yao wenyu is meaning to do what xue xiuzhuo already did: raise a kid and teach them properly into becoming the future emperor. if they did not have xiao xun, shen zechuan wouldn't have legitimacy of power due to his lack of successors and shen name—he is not of the li clan. but it's exactly this radical thinking that helps them succeed. xue xiuzhuo criticizes hai liangyi for being rigid, but he himself is rigid in wanting to preserve the li clan as the rightful heirs to the throne, which is why he painstakingly went to find emperor guangcheng's bastard daughter and make her his heir apparent. this is how, once again, yao wenyu and xue xiuzhuo are at a draw. they are both intelligent men with foresight, but although xue xiuzhuo had qi huilian's radical thinking, he was still confined by his mindset that the imperial clan was the only clan that could rule. yao wenyu understood that shen zechuan was the only one who could actually rule by this point, and supported him to the top, teaching xiao xun to be his successor.

at the very end, once xue xiuzhuo has landed himself in prison and shen zechuan has been deemed the victor, yao wenyu was losing his life. xue xiuzhuo was also about to die, so the two met up one last time, in which xue xiuzhuo boldly declares that he does not change his mind about anything.

"Even until today," Xue Xiuzhuo raised his eyes, "I still do not approve of Teacher's path. No one can convince me in this game, and you can't either, Yuanzhuo." Yao Wenyu turned his wheelchair around and made his way out of the cell. Xue Xiuzhuo said as he looked at Yao Wenyu's back, "Heaven beget me, Xue Xiuzhuo, so take my life, call me what you will. Between you and me, who has won? I was merely defeated. My master was born at the wrong time and lost to Shen Zechuan. It was her timing that was wrong, not her fate." [ch282]

"Between you and me, who has won?" is a good question, because xue xiuzhuo and yao wenyu had spent their whole life as diametrically opposites, rivals where one stood in court and the other traveled the land. i think, in the end, they were still at a draw. neither won, for they both fought valiantly in this game of chess and lost their lives for it. xue xiuzhuo declared his surrender to shen zechuan, he did not surrender to yao wenyu. and so, shen zechuan is the winner, but the one behind the winner, the master of the pupil, was the true driving force.

Qi Huilian was the teacher of the emperor; he would only teach someone heading into that position. He reached out to Shen Zechuan not only because he was forced into a dead end but also because this was the most insane of the Grand Mentor's schemes. Qi Huilian molded Shen Lanzhou into being, and he pushed a sharp Shen Zechuan back into his sheath with the aim of obliterating all the self-resentments that sustained Shen Zechuan and kept him hanging onto life. He wanted to set Shen Zechuan's path right, so that Shen Zechuan could see himself for who he truly was. Xue Xiuzhuo did not make the wrong move; he had simply been a tad too late. Qi Huilian had long already possessed his own Heir Apparent. [ch234]

everything happened the way it did and the reason lanzhou went on the path he did, was all thanks to qi huilian's insane scheming that went over even xue xiuzhuo's head. this is why qi huilian, long after his death, is the ultimate winner of qjj.

review:

qi huilian > former crown prince

qi huilian > shen zechuan

hai liangyi > yao wenyu > xiao xun

hai liangyi > li jianheng

hai liangyi > xue xiuzhuo (with influences of qi huilian) > li jianting

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Lanzhou's smile that a thousand gold can not buy.

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A smile that shakes the heavens <3

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🙇 Worship

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Lanzhou and Control

[spoilers up to chapter 220ish]

So I’ve been working on a future post and have been rereading my personal chapter summaries and notes. As I refreshed my memory and even reread some specific chapters, I ended up asking google a question that sent me to an interesting Reddit post.

Basically someone said they didn’t understand why Shen Zechuan initiated intercourse in chapters 40-41. Someone else gave a very thoughtful reply which you can read here, but the part I’m focusing on for this post is Shen Zechuan’s relationship with control. The replier shared, amongst other things, that Shen Zechuan gave Xiao Chiye control in that situation.

I actually just reread chapter 40 today and noticed that on page 413 of vol. 1 it says “Shen Zechuan allowed Xiao Chiye to gather his wrists into one hand”. I never really thought much of that phrase in my previous readings of volume 1, but I feel like that it only really sunk in for me after getting better acquainted with their relationship as it developed.

Throughout the story it’s repeated over and over how both leads HATE having their lives out of their hands. Xiao Chiye despises that he was forced away from his family and home. And Shen Zechuan hates how he was held at the mercy of others for years as well; vowing to never be in such a position again. Both of these individuals crave freedom. And yet, Shen Zechuan allowed Xiao Chiye to do as he pleased with him.

Now, their first time being intimate has a lot of nuance to it. They both used that moment to escape reality for a time. And this particular instance of relinquished autonomy literally had Shen Zechuan expecting to be handled roughly. But once their relationship developed into a mutual romance, time and time again, Shen Zechuan surrenders control, letting Xiao Chiye take the lead, and following his whims.

I’m currently at chapter 220 and while some of their unions still have escapist undertones, there are still pure romantic moments where Shen Zechuan completely gives himself up to Xiao Chiye. And I think it shows a key difference in these two’s desire for control: Xiao Chiye likes to dominate by nature while Shen Zechuan feels like he has to for survival. Not to call Xiao Chiye a freak, but bro is literally described as enjoying fights, likes the struggle of taming wild animals, and is possessive as hell! While Shen Zechuan’s need for control stemmed from being abused by others throughout his life. When he’s not in control, he gets hurt. So that told him when he’s in control, he can protect himself.

I have taken mental note of a few scenes during Shen Zechuan’s conquering Zhongbo era where he’s tired or even annoyed by the work that goes into running essentially a country. But why doesn’t he delegate those tasks to others? Because unless he is genuinely incapable of getting the job done himself, he doesn’t trust anyone else to do it. He’s also stated several times that he doesn’t desire to be at the top: two examples that immediately came to mind being in chapter 70 when Xiao Chiye asks “Don’t you want a turn at the top?” and in Shen Zechuan’s conversation with Yao Wenyu in chapter 146. While in both of these instances he was bluffing, part of me thinks there is at least a semblance of truth to the statement.

When he lived with the Jis in Duanzhou, he was content with his simple life. He wanted to be like his brother and become a squad commander one day, but that’s nowhere near as ambitious as taking over and bringing peace to several prefectures. He was happy. And then his world was flipped upside down.

While I don’t think he necessarily regrets the path he is on now, he definitely misses simpler times. In chapter 209 Shen Zechuan says he forced himself to stop thinking about his days in Duanzhou because remembering those times make him cry. He was forcefully removed from a life he loved, and thrusted into the middle of a violent political struggle.

All of this to say, while Shen Zechuan is implied to be a natural leader and has a domineering nature, it isn’t really a position he chose to be in. Every action he takes is deeply calculated from multiple angles for the best possible outcome. Even carefully crafting his persona to attempt to control how he’s perceived. And living your life like that is DRAINING!

Oh man, Shen Zechuan is tired 😩

But when he’s with Xiao Chiye, he can turn his brain off. He can forget about his meetings. Forget about trying to watch everything the other enemy factions are doing. Forget about trying to put up a front as to not scare those around him with his true self. He can melt into Xiao Chiye and think of nothing but him.

I think the real turning point in their relationship was in the Public Ditches arc. Shen Zechuan is literally out of commission for several days due to illness and Xiao Chiye came to watch him every single night. Shen Zechuan had no choice but to let Xiao Chiye take care of him… but the tenderness Xiao Chiye showed him? The genuine concern? The comforting whispers and cuddles? It left an impression on Shen Zechuan.

I think Xiao Chiye’s sincerity truly shined through to him in those moments. None of those actions were necessary, and yet Xiao Chiye ran himself ragged handling his professional work and his silly little guy.

Shen Zechuan being cherished in such a vulnerable moment showed him that he could really trust Xiao Chiye. Half a decade before, people in power took advantage of Shen Zechuan and pinned the deaths of tens of thousands on a confused and delirious teenaged boy, while this big love struck dummy showed Shen Zechuan an intimacy he had never experienced before. And that’s so beautiful I could cry.

Shen Zechuan doesn’t need to be on his guard around Xiao Chiye, and Xiao Chiye likes being a leader. Shen Zechuan has his trusted confidant and Xiao Chiye tamed his falcon. …well, work in progress. His falcon still gets himself hurt carelessly.

Shen Zechuan needed stability and someone to lean on. And he found that in Xiao Chiye.

I have so many thoughts. OMG I’m so unwell about these two. I started writing this at 3am and forced myself to go to bed and finish it upon waking up. They drive me crazy. All the worm in my brain are Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye shaped!!!

In my next essay I shall explore why they rolepla—

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There have been multiple times where I've seen people are like "haha Hua Cheng made up a story about being kicked out so Xie Lian would take him in haha so silly" so I just wanted to point this out.

He was quoting himself from when he was a little boy.

He was scared to just outright say who he was, but he kept trying to jog Xie Lian's memory (though ofc being a ghost with a photographic memory, he may not have remembered that normal people don't remember things from 800 years ago). He was constantly quoting himself. He showed Xie Lian the palm of his hand with the intention that Xie Lian see his totally fucked up fate and realize who he is.

To be honest... Hua Cheng doesn't really lie to Xie Lian. He lies by omission sometimes, but he does not outright lie. And I feel like people are missing something by apparently not being aware that Hua Cheng was trying to tell Xie Lian who he was, without telling him.

That's why he started trembling and laughing when Xie Lian recalled the story of the suicidal boy that Xie Lian told 'live for me!' - The entire time, he thought Xie Lian forgot about him. Until then.

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People who think Hua Cheng hates everyone and everything that isn’t Xie Lian truly just misunderstand that the thing he fell in love with first is Xie Lians kindness and how he devotes himself to the common people who are below his station.

Xie Lian cares for the common people that his thing. Hua Cheng doesn’t even try to make that his responsibility because frankly that’s a lot and no matter how good he would be at it he could never be Xie Lian. That’s why he doesn’t try to be nice or patient because he knows it would only be a facade when with Xie Lian it would be genuine and he won’t do Xie Lian the disservice of pretending. And yes as far and he’s conceded his God shouldn’t humble himself like this but does over and over again because he is most importantly a kind person.

Hua Cheng could not love Xie Lian the way he does or worship him as he does if he didn’t give a fuck about people. He may think no one in the world deserves Xie Lians care but that’s because he has seen the truly terrifying self destructive lengths Xie Lian is willing to go to and he doesn’t think anyone is worth Xie Lian suffering like that including himself.

He understands fundamentally that Xie Lians cares so much about everyone and Hua Cheng which is why he literally says "If your dream is to save the common people, then my dream is only you"?

That is not him saying hey I only care about you and fuck everyone else they don’t matter.

This is him saying if you want to make the world better and care for people then you should because you’re the best person at it. No one could do it like you can. But as someone who has received that kindness I will be here to be sure you are adored and appreciated for your good acts like letting that tiny orphan eat from a shrine dedicated to you because ego means nothing to you if children are starving.

He is saying I will be there to pull you together and give you the affection and love and consideration I saw you lose time and time again because people see you as a God and a Prince and a Miracle Worker and I understand that you are just a man trying his hardest to make the world a better place and that is what I adore.

If you are willing to devote yourself to humanity I am willing to devote myself to you meaning that I will be a part of that dream. I will by help ease your burden by helping people at your side.

I created a city that tries to keep dangerous ghostly objects like my lantern fall into children’s hands. This city will become a home for you and a place full of ghosts, regular spirits of the common people just living their afterlives because I understand you would never want to be alone without people to help forever. So I will look after them because you would want them looked after. I will help the farmers in Puqi village and the Gods who I hate because you are doing that so that is what I will do.

The common people will always be cared for in Hua Cheng ideal world because that is a world that Xie Lian wants and he wouldn’t be Xie Lian if he didn’t want that which Hua Cheng understands that his kindness and compassion is why he became so devoted to Xie Lian in the first place.

So no he doesn’t hate everyone and everything, he doesn’t want Xie Lian to be locked in alone with him where no one can bother them forever and ever because he knows Xie Lian would be fucking miserable and feel so guilty for not being there and feeling like it’s his responsibility to be there for people all the time.

He may resent that and grumble because he like Xie Lian is still a regular person with flaws which include wanting to disappear to a quiet place in the world and love his husband forever because he’s been through so much but he is under no illusions of that happening because there are people to care for and he will help his God do that and give him everything including himself to make that happen.

Also we never find out what he’s like without Xie Lian because he is the POV character. Like he clearly doesn’t hate people he just doesn’t think anyone is as wonderful as Xie Lian so why spend time with them when Xie Lian is in the room. He is genuinely mad and bitchy at anyone but Xie Lian talking to him because they are distracting him from Xie Lian or annoying Xie Lian so he has to snap at them because Xie Lian is the only person worth his attention. If Xie Lian wants to talk to people that’s his business Hua Cheng will be right beside him listening and waiting till he’s needed because that’s his purpose but that doesn’t mean he wants everyone to shut up and die that’s just not who he is.

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Heaven Official’s Blessing S2 | OVA | Don’t be afraid. I’m here, nothing can harm you.

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Your Highness, I’ve always watched you.

“I understand your everything.”

“Your courage, your despair; your kindness, your pain;

your resentment, your hate; your intelligence, your foolishness.

“If I could, I would have you use me as your stepping stone, the bridge you take apart after crossing, the corpse bones you need to trample to climb up, the sinner who deserved the butchering of a million knives.

"But, I know you wouldn’t allow it.”

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Happy birthday Xie Lian 🌸

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Everyone talks about Xie Lian in the coffin,

But what about Xie Lian during the first year of his second banishment? Xie Lian with no luck?

The first time he didn't have anything to eat for a week, the first time his house collapsed on him on a rainy night, the first time he cried out of frustration, the first time he was driven out of a village because they deemed him bad lucky but he was only trying to earn money to eat a mantou.

And then there's Hua Cheng, building a mansion for His Highness, gathering that abundance, making himself abundant.

Like it's crazy how it all worked out, these two living parallel yet everything was so connected. While Xie Lian thought he would live so badly for the rest of his life, Hua Cheng was working so hard to ensure that was not the case.

Yes, it took 800 years, but in the end, it was not over until it was all better.

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TGCF Audio Drama｜Season 2 Episode 1-10 Covers Part 1 | Part 2 | Extras

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Imagine you're Lan Xichen. You've spent the past decade+ worrying about your younger brother who, according to your own perspective on things, fell wildly in love with an evil heretic cultivator, kinda betrayed your sect for him, got punished within an inch of his life by your elders, and spent subsequent years in mourning when said evil heretic cultivator got killed.

You're starting to think that your brother is never going to get over this, is always going to be holding onto a certain amount of grief and anger and lonesome distance.

But then one day, he brings another guy home! And, yes, this guy is not perfect either. He's also a heretic cultivator and a notorious lunatic, who is in a bad position with your own situationship. But! Maybe Wangji is finally starting to move on? Even if his bad taste persists, this one is at least more manageable. How fortuitous that your stubborn, obsessive brother should finally find a new yeah no that's Wei Wuxian, isn't it?

It's just Wei Wuxian again.

[wlingg]

he xuan spending years trying to break out of the kiln: -_-

the massive xie lian statue in the corner:

🙂