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ghost_valley2021-10-05 06:58 pm
rekishi) wrote in ghost_valley2021-10-05 06:58 pm
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[Tian Ya Ke (Re-)Readalong] Chapters 37-39
Welcome back!
We had a fight brewing last time, so let's see where that takes us.
I had a chat the other day with a friend about how we wouldn't go back to being twenty and making all our decisions all over again without the luxury of hindsight, and looking at all of that's happening in this novel, I continue to be happy that the main protagonists are at least scratching at their 30s. It doesn't make all their decisions less dumb, especially since all but Ye Baiyi lack a lot of real life experience, but at least they've had the chance to regret some of their previous decisions by now.
Chapter 37 – Circus
Chapter 38 – Deadlock
Chapter 39 – Escaping Danger
More reveals! OMG! The one Wen Kexing has been waiting for for-ever!
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Woah, ZZS, talk about info dumping!
So a while ago I wrote this post trying to tease out the ages of everyone in Qi Ye and TYK, for the simple reason that the eight year age-gap between JBY and HLY seemed weird to be study partners. Seriously, which 18 year old wants to study with a 10 year old? Hmm? None, that's who.
Anyhow, we get some info here:
The latter is which is iffy, because they just appear suddenly at the end of Qi Ye, and there is another scene relating to Helian Zhao, which doesn't really makes much sense without a proto-Tian Chuang being in place at least.
*sighs and shakes fist at priest*
We get a pretty good impression here that the major sects are anything but unified in their regard of each other - unless we say none of them have a high opinion of each other. That could be the unifying thread indeed. I think these internal squabbles are pretty standard of wuxia, if I understand wuxia politics correctly, but it's still pretty annoying overall. WKX has the right of it here by calling them out on it, however it does establish him pretty well as an outsider as well.
The other thing that I do think is significant on the relationship level is that WKX still internally says "this Zhou Xu". While we know that he will keep the "A-Xu" petname until the end of the novel, he does know who ZZS is by now. So why does he still mentally use the pseud?
When Yu Qiufeng attacks though, WKX does nothing. He could! We know he's skilled. We know he would have reason to rise to provocation. But he doesn't, isn't interested to push his revenge into an active state, which makes me wonder. YQF sees this a little bit differently, calling WKX 'unorthodox'. WKX….either demonstrates exactly that or isn't having it by snapping YQF's sword. I find it funny. YQF/the other sects...probably not so much.
Reading fight scenes is hard. Commenting on them is even harder, especially because my abstract thinking isn't so awesome (I know a few people who would disagree but I'm standing by it).
In my first read I completely didn't peg that LQQ was having an affair with YQF. Huh.
This is a little cute “Great, you took her away, now your reputation as an unorthodox villain is further cemented.” He thought about it, then reflected smugly, “That’s fine, anyway, I don’t have any good reputation either. You’re mine, so this counts as sticking together for better or for worse.”, however what strikes me here is this: The major sects think WKX unorthodox, which he is! But ZZS was from an established sect, and therefore presumably(?) orthodox, and just because the sect ceased to exist but for ZZS, that doesn't make him unorthodox. So hmmm. Wuxia politics.
"You're mine", though, is….woah. Also, this marks the first time in the novel that ZZS calls WKX "Lao Wen", which will be his petname for the rest of the novel.
I'm not actually sure whether this is ZZS getting soft on him, but it is pretty significant and a deviation from his previous "Wen-xiong". (WKX thinks so, too, and he grows soooo obedient right away.)
I discussed last week already that LQQ is no longer young, but here's a thing: Staring at her face, Zhou Zishu estimated Liu Qianqiao’s age, and suddenly asked, “You...when you were little, did you meet an odd man who didn’t have eyebrows, who was injured and starving to death? And you gave him food?”
This means that QHZ, ZZS' shifu, must actually already have been quite old since a) LQQ is no longer young, b) she met him when was small, c) he's dead. So maybe he just…..died….when ZZS was 15? But I'm still unclear why ZZS didn't have his own shixiongs. He was 15.
O-m-g! Face reveal! :D WKX has been waiting for this for his whole life it feels like (probably feels like that also to him, heh). Tbh though, "pale and gaunt cheeks, lips as thin as a line and bloodless, the hollows beneath his brow very deep, his thick eyelashes half-covering his weighty, startling eyes, eyes like thick, rich ink" does that sound…….attractive to anyone? Even with the chiseled jaw? Because, I have to be honest with you guys, it doesn't to me (sort of sounds like a caveman *hides*). This isn't….SHL!ZZS. Because damn, SHL!ZZS was pretty, especially with the lighting and airbrushing.
Also, it comes really...late? I felt like in my first read, it was much earlier? Like Volume 1? But clearly I must have been mistaken, we're almost halfway through the novel here and WKX has hung on soooo long just to see his face. Damn.
Anyway, just saying. WKX has clearly a different opinion, so I'll gladly leave ZZS to him, haha. (Clearly my beauty standards in men are different.)
WKX is not a shy man, because he says, “Have...I ever mentioned that I actually like men?”. Boyyyyy he has it bad. So bad. It's pretty much a confession and….well. ZZS is not happy. Surprise? No, lol. Actually I think ZZS might be a bit in denial about his own attraction, because he does go hot and cold over it.
(I love how ZZS just carries spare multiple(!) human face masks in his robes around with him. It's like..why? Why does he think that necessary? Also, how do they keep fresh? How do they not wrinkle??? I have so many questions.)
This exchange…..
“Hey, let’s discuss something. I see that you’re also single, so how about the two of us make do with each other?” - “What would I want you for?” - “What do you think?” - “Keep you, so that I can slaughter you for meat when a famine hits?”
I don't even. These two deserve each other. And ZZS totally is giving as good as he gets here and is not….it's not like he doesn't care. He could just up and leave. He could probably grind WKX into dust if he so wanted. Instead, this is totally flirting. The only worse thing he could do would be to ignore WKX continuously. They totally deserve each other.
And we're back to GX and ZCL. GX does take her role as big sister pretty seriously, probably though because she knows what she has coming if something happens to the kid.
I had not realized that CWN is the most outstanding disciple of his generation within the Qingfeng Sword Sect, which...what? Omg. Imagine CWN is basically akin to WWX. The mind, it just boggled. Also I admit I laughed at In her whole life, Gu Xiang had never had such a handicap while committing murder, it's such a ridiculous bit of humour.
CWN has also...the realization that GX murders first and asks questions later. Which can't be a good thing, really, considering how earnest and sweet his feelings are. This is a harsh bit of reality that probably doesn't gel with his expectations. It's displayed as orthodox vs unorthodox, but we're seeing here very clearly in what kind of environment GX grew up and had to survive.
CWN, bless him, tries to salvage the situation, but I'm not actually sure that he manages it. GX recognises much better than him the gulf there is between them.
Oh, I had forgotten ZZS actually admit to it: Zhou Zishu said, “He is my disciple.” (Sadly ZCL isn't there to witness it, he'd be so happy.)
GX et al run into FXF and his group, and CWN gets to actually engage in some verbal fencing. Which he actually does well enough, but he's still younger than the rest of them, so stopping them from taking ZCL is actually a challenge. Still, boy was clearly raised right and gives GX and ZCL an out by shielding them with his own orthodoxy, to a point.
ZCL, that good boy, is actually managing the technique WKX taught him! And WKX isn't even around to see it, which is a shame beyond ken. *sigh* Here comes something that WKX said before: ZCL is not just ZZS' disciple, he's also WKX' disciple. I'm not sure people mix styles like this, but ZCL will clearly carry on two traditions. (Is there any better way to signify marriage?)
GUESS WHO SHOWS UP NEXT WEEK? Muhahaha, yes it's Jing Beiyuan (with Wu Xi) in chapters 40+41!
We had a fight brewing last time, so let's see where that takes us.
I had a chat the other day with a friend about how we wouldn't go back to being twenty and making all our decisions all over again without the luxury of hindsight, and looking at all of that's happening in this novel, I continue to be happy that the main protagonists are at least scratching at their 30s. It doesn't make all their decisions less dumb, especially since all but Ye Baiyi lack a lot of real life experience, but at least they've had the chance to regret some of their previous decisions by now.
Chapter 37 – Circus
Chapter 38 – Deadlock
Chapter 39 – Escaping Danger
More reveals! OMG! The one Wen Kexing has been waiting for for-ever!
Chapter 37
- "In those ten years, in which he had been living as neither man nor ghost, his heart was iron and stone--never once uncertain, and never once panicked. Shouldering the responsibility of the Four Seasons Manor as a child of fifteen, meeting the Crown Prince Helian Yi by chance which sparked his youthful heroism at eighteen, establishing Tian Chuang single-handedly at twenty-three; all that he should have done, he had completed."
- "Yu Qiufeng gave a cold chuckle. “Those of unorthodox paths are of abominable evil. The masses demand for them to be clobbered, it is fruitless to explain this, die!”
Wen Kexing tilted his face to the side, avoiding the single thrust, and stuck out two fingers with accuracy, trapping Yu Qiufeng’s sword in between them. He scoffed, “Demand for them to be clobbered? My apologies, I’m not a rat, and I’m begging you to do this kind deed--don’t come after me bearing deep grudges like you’re rat poison!”" - "Wen Kexing crossed his arms, chuckling, “Great, you took her away, now your reputation as an unorthodox villain is further cemented.” He thought about it, then reflected smugly, “That’s fine, anyway, I don’t have any good reputation either. You’re mine, so this counts as sticking together for better or for worse.”
Zhou Zishu didn’t even look at him, bending to examine Liu Qianqiao’s condition. He took a small bottle of medicine out of his robes and stuffed a pill into her mouth without a second thought, regardless of whether it would work, and said, “Lao Wen, the mouth is meant for eating, not for talking crap--just a fraction of force more, and you’d have killed her on the spot.”
Chapter 38
- "He suddenly discovered that even if the other person had kept his disguise on for a lifetime, in his own mind, he was always envisioning that Zhou Zishu should look like this. Seeing now that he was indeed identical to what he had imagined, it was like...he had known him for a very, very long time.
Wen Kexing swallowed involuntarily, opening his mouth to say, “A-Xu…”
Zhou Zishu made a distracted “mn” of acknowledgement, wiping away the last remaining bit of the disguise on his face. After wearing this thing for so long, he had almost thought of it as his own face, and wiping it all off so suddenly threw him off a little instead. Originally, he had intended to live with this face, but who would have known that this thing called trouble would follow him like a shadow? Did this mean that he would have to change masks every two to three days from now on?" - "Having lived for so long, Zhou Zishu perceived himself as a man through and through, from head to toe, and had never experienced another man flirting with him with such a lecherous gaze and serious tone. He was of the constant opinion that if Wen Kexing had no problem with his eyesight, then it must be a problem with his heart--either it was missing a couple holes, or that it was far too open. Otherwise, why would he forgo pestering those pretty lasses and lads milling about on the streets, in favour of badgering him specifically to disgust him for his own entertainment?"
Chapter 39
- "“Why, then, is Lord Zhou so concerned about whether that little tyke lives or dies?”
Zhou Zishu said, “He is my disciple.” Wen Kexing continued, “Your disciple is my disciple, between the two of us, who’s following who?” Zhou Zishu said, “…Between the two of us, you’re following me—cut the nonsense out, are you aiming to gain some information from that little tyke?”
“Give me a kiss and I’ll tell you.” Wen Kexing leered at him.
Woah, ZZS, talk about info dumping!
So a while ago I wrote this post trying to tease out the ages of everyone in Qi Ye and TYK, for the simple reason that the eight year age-gap between JBY and HLY seemed weird to be study partners. Seriously, which 18 year old wants to study with a 10 year old? Hmm? None, that's who.
Anyhow, we get some info here:
- Age 15: ZZS becomes Siji Manor Lord
- Age 18: Meets HLY
- Age 23: Establishes Tian Chuang
The latter is which is iffy, because they just appear suddenly at the end of Qi Ye, and there is another scene relating to Helian Zhao, which doesn't really makes much sense without a proto-Tian Chuang being in place at least.
*sighs and shakes fist at priest*
We get a pretty good impression here that the major sects are anything but unified in their regard of each other - unless we say none of them have a high opinion of each other. That could be the unifying thread indeed. I think these internal squabbles are pretty standard of wuxia, if I understand wuxia politics correctly, but it's still pretty annoying overall. WKX has the right of it here by calling them out on it, however it does establish him pretty well as an outsider as well.
The other thing that I do think is significant on the relationship level is that WKX still internally says "this Zhou Xu". While we know that he will keep the "A-Xu" petname until the end of the novel, he does know who ZZS is by now. So why does he still mentally use the pseud?
When Yu Qiufeng attacks though, WKX does nothing. He could! We know he's skilled. We know he would have reason to rise to provocation. But he doesn't, isn't interested to push his revenge into an active state, which makes me wonder. YQF sees this a little bit differently, calling WKX 'unorthodox'. WKX….either demonstrates exactly that or isn't having it by snapping YQF's sword. I find it funny. YQF/the other sects...probably not so much.
Reading fight scenes is hard. Commenting on them is even harder, especially because my abstract thinking isn't so awesome (I know a few people who would disagree but I'm standing by it).
In my first read I completely didn't peg that LQQ was having an affair with YQF. Huh.
This is a little cute “Great, you took her away, now your reputation as an unorthodox villain is further cemented.” He thought about it, then reflected smugly, “That’s fine, anyway, I don’t have any good reputation either. You’re mine, so this counts as sticking together for better or for worse.”, however what strikes me here is this: The major sects think WKX unorthodox, which he is! But ZZS was from an established sect, and therefore presumably(?) orthodox, and just because the sect ceased to exist but for ZZS, that doesn't make him unorthodox. So hmmm. Wuxia politics.
"You're mine", though, is….woah. Also, this marks the first time in the novel that ZZS calls WKX "Lao Wen", which will be his petname for the rest of the novel.
I'm not actually sure whether this is ZZS getting soft on him, but it is pretty significant and a deviation from his previous "Wen-xiong". (WKX thinks so, too, and he grows soooo obedient right away.)
I discussed last week already that LQQ is no longer young, but here's a thing: Staring at her face, Zhou Zishu estimated Liu Qianqiao’s age, and suddenly asked, “You...when you were little, did you meet an odd man who didn’t have eyebrows, who was injured and starving to death? And you gave him food?”
This means that QHZ, ZZS' shifu, must actually already have been quite old since a) LQQ is no longer young, b) she met him when was small, c) he's dead. So maybe he just…..died….when ZZS was 15? But I'm still unclear why ZZS didn't have his own shixiongs. He was 15.
O-m-g! Face reveal! :D WKX has been waiting for this for his whole life it feels like (probably feels like that also to him, heh). Tbh though, "pale and gaunt cheeks, lips as thin as a line and bloodless, the hollows beneath his brow very deep, his thick eyelashes half-covering his weighty, startling eyes, eyes like thick, rich ink" does that sound…….attractive to anyone? Even with the chiseled jaw? Because, I have to be honest with you guys, it doesn't to me (sort of sounds like a caveman *hides*). This isn't….SHL!ZZS. Because damn, SHL!ZZS was pretty, especially with the lighting and airbrushing.
Also, it comes really...late? I felt like in my first read, it was much earlier? Like Volume 1? But clearly I must have been mistaken, we're almost halfway through the novel here and WKX has hung on soooo long just to see his face. Damn.
Anyway, just saying. WKX has clearly a different opinion, so I'll gladly leave ZZS to him, haha. (Clearly my beauty standards in men are different.)
WKX is not a shy man, because he says, “Have...I ever mentioned that I actually like men?”. Boyyyyy he has it bad. So bad. It's pretty much a confession and….well. ZZS is not happy. Surprise? No, lol. Actually I think ZZS might be a bit in denial about his own attraction, because he does go hot and cold over it.
(I love how ZZS just carries spare multiple(!) human face masks in his robes around with him. It's like..why? Why does he think that necessary? Also, how do they keep fresh? How do they not wrinkle??? I have so many questions.)
This exchange…..
“Hey, let’s discuss something. I see that you’re also single, so how about the two of us make do with each other?” - “What would I want you for?” - “What do you think?” - “Keep you, so that I can slaughter you for meat when a famine hits?”
I don't even. These two deserve each other. And ZZS totally is giving as good as he gets here and is not….it's not like he doesn't care. He could just up and leave. He could probably grind WKX into dust if he so wanted. Instead, this is totally flirting. The only worse thing he could do would be to ignore WKX continuously. They totally deserve each other.
And we're back to GX and ZCL. GX does take her role as big sister pretty seriously, probably though because she knows what she has coming if something happens to the kid.
I had not realized that CWN is the most outstanding disciple of his generation within the Qingfeng Sword Sect, which...what? Omg. Imagine CWN is basically akin to WWX. The mind, it just boggled. Also I admit I laughed at In her whole life, Gu Xiang had never had such a handicap while committing murder, it's such a ridiculous bit of humour.
CWN has also...the realization that GX murders first and asks questions later. Which can't be a good thing, really, considering how earnest and sweet his feelings are. This is a harsh bit of reality that probably doesn't gel with his expectations. It's displayed as orthodox vs unorthodox, but we're seeing here very clearly in what kind of environment GX grew up and had to survive.
CWN, bless him, tries to salvage the situation, but I'm not actually sure that he manages it. GX recognises much better than him the gulf there is between them.
Oh, I had forgotten ZZS actually admit to it: Zhou Zishu said, “He is my disciple.” (Sadly ZCL isn't there to witness it, he'd be so happy.)
GX et al run into FXF and his group, and CWN gets to actually engage in some verbal fencing. Which he actually does well enough, but he's still younger than the rest of them, so stopping them from taking ZCL is actually a challenge. Still, boy was clearly raised right and gives GX and ZCL an out by shielding them with his own orthodoxy, to a point.
ZCL, that good boy, is actually managing the technique WKX taught him! And WKX isn't even around to see it, which is a shame beyond ken. *sigh* Here comes something that WKX said before: ZCL is not just ZZS' disciple, he's also WKX' disciple. I'm not sure people mix styles like this, but ZCL will clearly carry on two traditions. (Is there any better way to signify marriage?)
GUESS WHO SHOWS UP NEXT WEEK? Muhahaha, yes it's Jing Beiyuan (with Wu Xi) in chapters 40+41!
no subject
I like WKX telling LQQ that YQF’s not worth it.
I’m confused on LQQ’s age too, tbh. I think she met with QHZ when he was a teenager, if I'm reading the passage correctly.
ZZS’ finally removing his mask!
"He suddenly discovered that even if the other person had kept his disguise on for a lifetime, in his own mind, he was always envisioning that Zhou Zishu should look like this. Seeing now that he was indeed identical to what he had imagined, it was like...he had known him for a very, very long time.
Wen Kexing swallowed involuntarily, opening his mouth to say, “A-Xu…”
I love WKX's reaction to seeing ZS' true face!
...and then to WKX’s dismay, ZZS goes to put on another mask on.
And here’s the fight scene with GX, CWN (and ZCL) that turns up in SHL episode 22
WKX’s totally right about CWN’s feelings for GX, even if no eloping has actually happened yet.
Red Peach Grandma and Green Willow Grandpa! (it was so fun to watch them in SHL – I’m delighted they’re in here too)