ghost_valley | [Tian Ya Ke (Re-)Readalong] Chapter 21-23

Welcome back! I'm writing this from the electronic and internet desert (i.e. my childhood home), so my abilities for research are a bit limited. Like in the desert where there sometimes is water, there is some internet in these parts.

Today's chapters are:

Chapter 21 – Poisonous Scorpions
Chapter 22 – Sage Doctor
Chapter 23 – Old Tales

Zhang Chengling gets rescued! Zhou Zishu gets poisoned and made a (literal) cut-sleeve! Wen Kexing lurks (and cooks)!

Chapter 21

"Out of habit, Zhou Zishu was about to supply an understated response. Something along the lines of “a mere nobody”, like he had answered Guxiang. But then he caught sight of the bruise on Zhang Chengling’s neck.

Suddenly, the thought occurred to him that he had downplayed himself for half his life at the Imperial Court already. Why should he be polite with a bunch of deceitful riffraffs?
He had repressed the impudence within him for too long. Wasn’t he a wandering hero now?"

"Anybody who dabbled in martial arts knew that the neck, like the chest, was a vital part, which had to be defended at all costs. In fact, people would protect these places by instinct, so anyone who dared to strike at the neck was either sure their opponent was weaker, or overconfident in their skills."

"He could remember his father telling him when he was a kid that kung-fu was a multiform art. Some experts were as solid as a boulder and as stable as Mt Tai itself; some were so powerful, they could overcome any stronghold; and some were as fast as lightning, and as swift as the wind. But those powers all proceeded from kung-fu techniques that could be recognised. The most frightening masters sought to be soundless and shapeless, to move in ways that were indescribable. At first glance, they’d look like a springtime rain — lithe and silent.
Zhang Chengling’s father had summed up their art using two phrases: as speedy as a graceful bird, they make light out of the ton."

Chapter 22

"Zhou Zishu found a small stream nearby and washed his hands in it. Awkwardly, he did his best to wrap his torn sleeve around his arm. The sensation of Wen Kexing’s lips still lingered on his skin.

He felt it clearly: after having sucked out the venom, the guy had licked his wound.

It had made the vein at his temple throb on the spot — Wen Kexing had done it on purpose, for sure.

With an irritated gesture, Zhou Zishu yanked off his second mask and flung it into the water.

That Wen Kexing guy was truly a shameless nutcase, he thought. It was the first time in his life he ever met somebody whose appetite for men was so indiscriminate and openly flaunted, he could get into heat in plain daylight and target even somebody who looked like himself."

"“Hey, over there,” he called out. “Since he is intent on following you, why don’t you just let him tag along? If you can’t bear to see him, why then have you saved his life so many times?”

At a sluggish pace, Zhou Zishu got up on his feet and came closer. He thrust out his hands to warm them by the fire. The acupoints on his chest were getting painful, and it made him feel chilly.

“I’m asking you,” Wen Kexing said again as he nudged Zhou Zishu with the point of his shoe.

Zhou Zishu answered in a slow voice.

“I wanted to.”"

"Only then did Wen Kexing speak to the boy again.

“Why are you bad at kung-fu? Didn’t your dad teach you?” he asked.

“He did,” Zhang Chengling muttered. “But I’m just slow on the uptake, and haven’t studied hard. I’ve forgotten almost everything now.”

Wen Kexing pondered those words for a moment before shaking his head.

“When I was little and my father was teaching me, I didn’t like to practise either. Not unlike you. Though it’s true, I wasn’t too slow on the uptake…”

At that, though he kept his eyes shut, Zhou Zishu couldn’t refrain from letting out a sneer.

Wen Kexing ignored him and gave the boy a once-over.

“Would you like to learn kung-fu?” he asked."

"“Your surname is Wen… Back then, ‘The Sage Doctor’ of legend, Wen Ruyu — who was he to you?”

Wen Kexing’s entire body seemed to jostle in shock. It was a long while before he answered in a low voice.

“He was my father.”

Zhou Zishu opened his eyes then and studied the other man’s profile.

When he spoke again, his tone had grown solemn.

“I’ve always heard that Sir Wen Ruyu was a good man. The Sage Doctor who wielded the ‘Autumn’s Light’ sword, and who accomplished many charitable acts in jianghu alongside his wife, the genius physician Gu Miaomiao⁷. They saved countless lives before retiring in seclusion, at which point nobody ever heard of them again. Please accept my apologies. I hadn’t realised he was your esteemed father.”"

Chapter 23

"An elegy to halcyon days past, a lament of a previous life that shall never return.

What could Zhang Chengling have been thinking whilst he listened to it?"

"“The Eighteen Patterns of Autumn’s Light developed by your late father were once reputed throughout all of jianghu. I watched you. You only taught the boy three moves, and none of them belonged to those Eighteen. But then, I thought it over and figured that all variations on the Patterns were contained in the three moves you demonstrated. Brother Wen… as the saying goes, bluer than blue, you have surpassed your father.”

Wen Kexing’s reply was quiet and likewise whispered.

“His swordsmanship was certainly not as good as mine, but when it comes to medicine, I am less than a novice. I know only enough to bandage a wound. And that to cure a cold, you’ve got to sweat it out.”"

"“Not everybody on this planet is a good person, so most people aspire to become one. Even a bad person would try to pretend to be a good person.”

He paused before carrying on.

“As to why… I think it’s because the only way to have others like you is to be good to them. To be sincere in one’s desire to not hurt people and do good deeds. That’s the only way to make friends, to have a family, to have people who want to frequent you and be nice to you. Think of it this way: if there is somebody who remains alone all their life, and who has to guard against everybody else in the world; who likes no one, and who’s attached to nobody; with only themselves to take care of — wouldn’t that be quite a sad life, too? So, you see, being a bad person is simply too painful.”"

ZZS strangling people by the neck again and displaying that despite having only half his previous abilities, he's still better than any old ruffian (and other people don't expect him to have these abilities considering how emaciated he is).

We get a wonderful display of ZZS' skills, partially through ZCL's eyes and he is in awe of his shifu. On the one hand, that's rad! He should be! On the other, while ZCL's own martial arts are weak and under-developed (through his own neglect and his condition), but ZCL is also the son of a martial arts sect leader and probably has seen people execute some awesome martial arts. But ZZS is a class of his own and ZCL recognizes that very well.

At the same time this is our 'proper' introduction to the Poisonous Scorpions. What do you think about them? They do come across a bit as amateurs, no? Thirteen Scorpions and ZZS makes short work of all of them? Amateurs. Well, at least compared to ZZS. ^^; (Let's keep in mind, WKX can sort of keep up with a ZZS at half strength. Hmmm.)

What's actually interesting about this chapter is that we get some information on how Ghost Valley works, because ZZS says “The Ghost Valley has rules. Once a ghost, you are condemned to the shadows and can’t come back to the realm of the living, except on the fifteenth of the seventh month. I’ll hand it to you, you’re quite the brave one to dare come to Dongting and wreak havoc in plain daylight.”

(I think someone (

trobadora??) has mentioned this previously?)

What ZZS is referring to here is "[中元節] Zhongyuan Jie, or the Ghost Festival, which falls on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the Lunar Calendar (usually around August/September on the Western Calendar.) The seventh month is ghost month, when the gates to the underworld are open, so the gods patrol more diligently. The festival celebrates the underworld, and offerings are made to the dead to appease their spirits and help them move on." (explanation adapted from the TGCF translation by Suika, who wrote it better than I could have so I'm not re-inventing the wheel here).

So! Ghost Valley does have a huge loophole, and I actually think maybe the ghosts can get out the whole month, not just on zhongyuan jie, which might explain how WKX has been going about his outside business. Is one month enough to maintain an "old love"? Or, for that matter, a relationship of some sort beyond sexual in nature. Well, either way this does provide some insight. Question is, does WKX keep to the rules?

Well, WKX at least is back to his sleeve cutting ways, of course. Ahem.

Interesting that WKX apparently lurked in the shadows and never saw any point in interfering, Which...well, he didn't need to, both ZZS and ZCL were perfectly safe with ZZS there. It's only when ZZS gets poisoned by one of the Scorpions that WKX steps in, which… Yeah, ZZS can handle himself and I'm mostly sure he would have if it had looked like ZZS would have been in a pickle. Otoh, in a good way he didn't have to step in and reveal himself to Sun Ding, which might have been impractical.

Also kids, please never try to suck poison from a wound. It doesn't work! I know it's a tried and tested technique in wuxia and xianxia (and many Wild West movies/novels), but please don't try this at home, it'll lead to tears. What is interesting is that in TYK, WKX is the one with the Scorpion Poison antidote, rather than ZZS who is that one in SHL. So Wu Xi probably was never exposed to Scorpion poison (and why would he) while WKX has been enough or is afraid enough of it to actually carry the antidote - unless he knew they'd run into them, which I personally doubt.

This strikes me as curious, because later on, it's ZZS who knows more about the Poisonous Scorpions in general and the Scorpion King in particular.

(ZZS providing food and eating it, I'm still crying excuse me. Also, WKX taking up the food preparation without any discussion is interesting, because this looks like a dynamic beyond 'I hunted, you cook'.)

I like that ZZS is talking plainly with WKX and vice versa. Neither of them has much point in hiding anymore (except WKX' GV stuff, and I almost think that's already almost off the table as well, at least as far as ZZS is concerned). I'm not sure ZZS would have admitted this much, that he saved ZCL because he wanted to, before leaving Court or even to anyone else.

We get some insights into WKX as well, and here's a line that I really like where he talks about his father ("When I was little and my father was teaching me, I didn’t like to practise either. Not unlike you. Though it’s true, I wasn’t too slow on the uptake."). I don't think ZZS quite knew who WKX' father was beforehand, though that secret was obviously up as soon as WKX started to show ZCL some of his moves. But considering what drives WKX' at this point still, I think it means something that he brings it up with ZCL.

Has he taught GX some of his father's technique? Because I'm not sure he has. What does it mean, that he is now teaching ZCL? Does he want to leave something behind, even if it's just to someone like ZCL who is...not great at martial arts and of whom we don't know yet that he has great potential? Does WKX want ZZS to know and showing ZCL his father's unique technique is his way to make that happen?

So many questions.

Also of note, this is the point in time where ZZS and WKX' teaching start to mingle. ZCL won't be a disciple of Siji Manor here, because ZZS doesn't seem to have an interest in going back, but I don't think that ZZS and WKX' teaching/techniques will ever be wholly separate in ZCL.

I clearly have feelings about this moment!

We learn so much about WKX here, and so much of what makes him the man he is. It's an incredibly intimate moment between ZZS and WKX here, who're two men who are both grappling with their past in different ways (and with regaining their humanity, though I think this is actually surprising to both of them).

ZZS is showing his desires here, but also the fact that he's on a path he doesn't want ("if there is somebody who remains alone all their life, and who has to guard against everybody else in the world; who likes no one, and who’s attached to nobody; with only themselves to take care of — wouldn’t that be quite a sad life, too?"). I'm not sure he realizes that that's the path he's in right now for what remains of his life - the three years he has from the Nails - because all his friends either think him basically dead (HLY, if he could be called a friend) or are out of reach (JBY, WX). The only people around him now he has any sort of connection to in the life he has chosen to live are ZCL and WKX… And it's irony that he says these words and they don't touch his heart.

Does this path make ZZS a bad person? Does it WKX, who in the end only has had GX up until now?

There are so many masks and deception between them and yet these words…

I think this is the most honest conversation they've had until now - and I'm not surprised WKX practically asks ZZS to take the three bows with him. And this is a WKX who knows about the Nails, and therefore must know that time is limited at best.

What does everyone think? I have a lot of feelings about this chapter, what's everyone else's reading?

We'll continue on August 24 with chapters 24+25, which will conclude volume 1!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Has he taught GX some of his father's technique? Because I'm not sure he has. What does it mean, that he is now teaching ZCL? Does he want to leave something behind, even if it's just to someone like ZCL who is...not great at martial arts and of whom we don't know yet that he has great potential? Does WKX want ZZS to know and showing ZCL his father's unique technique is his way to make that happen?

This is interesting and I did not pay attention to it on first reading as much. I don't feel like I have a clear feel for GX's fighting style, and certainly nothing comes to mind about comments on similarities with WKX's. It is interestsing if this is the first one he's teaching it to. Very interesting if it is intended to tell ZZS.

And yeah, oh gosh that conversation is one of the most frank so far, isn't it? I really love it.

And then some random stuff (this is the first time in the re-read that I've actually reread the chapters immediately before reading your post, so for that reason I also have a few other thoughts/stray quotes that caught my eye):

I have to confess - the way Priest writes fights is sometimes hard for me to visualize, something about the style, I am not sure what? I have kind of a hard time following them unless I really take time and slow down and concentrate on it. It is always striking to me, though, how powerful ZZS must have been if this is him at half strength (or at other points, when his power is reduced but he is still kicking ass.) It is true in SHL as well.

At the end of the fight, is there a point here where ZCL somewhat astutely recognizes that it is ZZS despite wearing a mask he's not familiar with? I was thinking of these lines (I think my translation might be slightly different, but): “I just know that it’s you, my Uncle Zhou who saved me, my shifu.” Who else would speak with this mildly irritated voice while talking to him? Who else would have these bony but warm hands? Who else would have this strange, ghostlike style of fighting? Who else in that crowd would follow him here and rescue him?”

Anyway, if that IS because he is seeing him with a skin mask ZCL hasn't seen before, I think that is quite sweet, his recognition and faith (and, ok, stubbornness, lol).

Ah! The being-able-to-leave-during-the-seventh-month! I am glad to see that again. (Actually I wanted to use it for a prequel fic where wenzhou meet in the capital, but I couldn't remember if it was canon or something I read in fic only...good to know!)

This part also interests me: “Thank you sir, thank you sir!” He repeated.
Wen Kexing, evidently having never received that much gratitude, started revealing a rare cautious side of himself.” The thought of WKX not used to gratitude :pleading-face:

I really like this reversal of their usual roles:
“Wen Kexing laughed softly at that, teasing, “How does a grown man like you know so much gossip? Do you have nothing better to do with your life?”
Zhou Zishu smiled back, “Not really, that’s why you’re hearing all this.”

That bit also - “ “Not everyone in the world is a good person, but a majority of them tries to be so, to the point that they’re willing to fake it.”

...strikes me as remarkably optimistic, considering the life ZZS has lived.

The part that follows - ending up with “Think about it, isn’t it too miserable of a life if all you have is yourself and you treat everyone else with wariness? It’s too painful, being a bad person.”

...is also really interesting, considering even the most optimistic reading of ZZS's 3 year retirement plan (ie the TYK one where he considered it worth it and planned to enjoy it, as opposed to the more suicidal SHL one), he planned to drink wine and sit in the sun until he died —alone and in disguise/hidden. (Yeah, there was that mention of maybe going to visit friends JBY/WX, but it wasn't much emphasized.)

It makes me wonder in comparison, too, in comparison, would SHL!ZZS have a similar opinion. The closest echo he comes to talking about it is in 21 or so, with the "everyone with feelings suffers, not just good people," I guess.

Which is just to say, I guess, that I was surprised to see him say most people even try to be good, no matter what the reason. I think I would have expected something more cynical?

I don't feel like I have a clear feel for GX's fighting style, and certainly nothing comes to mind about comments on similarities with WKX's. It is interestsing if this is the first one he's teaching it to. Very interesting if it is intended to tell ZZS.

Yeah, it makes me go hmmmmmm, why is ZCL different than GX? I mean, sure, she's more WKX' sister than she is his disciple, so there's that. WKX doesn't want her in jianghu life necessarily, he wants her to be able to make her own choices (a choice that ZCL has made by asking ZZS to be his shifu) and doesn't want to weigh her down with his father's technique but...still.

It is always striking to me, though, how powerful ZZS must have been if this is him at half strength (or at other points, when his power is reduced but he is still kicking ass.) It is true in SHL as well.

Yes! Many characters say he's unparalleled a lot, and then go on about wondering where he came from and how such a master is not know in jianghu etc, and it's all very... ZZS must be a beast. Plain and simple. And it makes me wonder at his choices regarding entering court so much.

Anyway, if that IS because he is seeing him with a skin mask ZCL hasn't seen before, I think that is quite sweet, his recognition and faith (and, ok, stubbornness, lol).

Yeah, it's the different mask indeed. Also yeah, ZCL is....quite dedicated to making his wish a reality. XD

(Actually I wanted to use it for a prequel fic where wenzhou meet in the capital, but I couldn't remember if it was canon or something I read in fic only...good to know!)

It's indeed easier to understand with the TGCF context now in my head, lol. But indeed, I also didn't catch that on my first read.

That bit also - “ “Not everyone in the world is a good person, but a majority of them tries to be so, to the point that they’re willing to fake it.”

...strikes me as remarkably optimistic, considering the life ZZS has lived.

ZZS has made his own choices. That they were not necessarily good choices (for the greater good perhaps, but not his personal good) is written on a different page. I think it's a very interesting take that goes along with "No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks." ZZS isn't evil so much as he has stepped on a path that took him so far away from the person he set out to be - by necessity, by circumstance, whatever - that it's hard to even see himself as purely human anymore. And ZZS is self-aware enough to recognize that (so is WKX, I think).

It makes me wonder in comparison, too, in comparison, would SHL!ZZS have a similar opinion. The closest echo he comes to talking about it is in 21 or so, with the "everyone with feelings suffers, not just good people," I guess.

I think SHL!ZZS is a very different, much more morose and depressed person who finds his new purpose in others. While TYK!ZZS, I think, finds that life isn't so bad after all and that he can recover his humanity....while also having people by his side and that he won't taint those people with his previous path. I do find myself more agreeing with TYK!ZZS overall, tbh.

When they touched the ground, Zhou Zishu cried out and clutched at his right arm. Wen Kexing removed his sleeve without a second thought, intentionally tearing it at a certain angle1. Then he immediately frowned – there were two tiny wounds on Zhou Zishu’s arm, like he was bitten by insects.

WKX tearing ZZS’ sleeve!

He took out a magnet and carefully removed the two hair-thin needles buried in the other’s skin. Then he bent down, putting his mouth to the wound to extract the poison from Zhou Zishu’s blood without a care.

I find it interesting the SHL essentially combined this and chapter 13’s scene w/r/t WKX taking care of ZZS’ injuries.

Zhou Zishu tore away the mask on his face spitefully and threw it into the water. This was the first time in his entire life did he come to know of such a bizarre man, who was so ravenous for another man’s touch that he would gladly accept anyone within the vicinity, who let no chance of publicly flaunting his sexual appetite slide.

I’m pretty sure he’s ravenous for your touch specifically, ZZS.

ZZS guesses that WKX is related to Wen Ruyu! I love the conversation WKX and ZZS have about his parents!

And the three of them return to what I assume is the aftermath of the hero’s conference!

[Tian Ya Ke (Re-)Readalong] Chapter 21-23

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