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ghost_valley2021-10-12 06:29 pm
rekishi) wrote in ghost_valley2021-10-12 06:29 pm
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[Tian Ya Ke (Re-)Readalong] Chapter 40+41
Welcome back! Only two chapters today, but we're meeting old friends today!
Chapter 40 – Lord Seventh
Chapter 41 - Despair
We meet old friends and some uncomfortable truths are revealed.
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Oh ZCL, baby. The poison sounds not like something I want to experience, but I have to laugh at the fact that he's basically making eyes at Jing Beiyuan, who - it's on record - is a very handsome man. Wonder how WKX will react? (Badly, that's how.)
Wu Xi to the rescue, though, because there is someone who has an antidote to every poison. Mostly because he has so many poisons. Erm…
(Ferret? Probably the sable, yes?)
It's cute that ZCL picks up on the relationship between WX and JBY, which shows that he's actually quite perceptive (and WKX and ZZS have been….good role models for something? Idk. I wouldn't go that far.) Also "little Venom", awwww. (Sorry, sorry, I do like those two quite a bit.)
JBY meanwhile gets to task pretty much immediately and pecks ZCL as ZZS' disciple. GX is trying to mitigate the reveal here, and it makes me...hm, I wonder if this is an old holdup from her time in GV, when revealing the identity of a shifu might have been an issue?
"and he had a brother called Zhou Yun" is this an actual brother or is this an alias for LJX? Anyone? I should probably remember from Qi Ye, but….I don't.
Also, When Wen Kexing heard the two words “Great Shaman”, he was stunned. He thought: could it really be that the impossibly mysterious great shaman of Nanjiang had arrived? how does WKX even know of WX? How famous if WX in jianghu, that even the master of the Ghost Valley has heard of him? That seems…a lot.
WKX checking out JBY though. 😂 Ah WKX, never change, srsly.
Meanwhile, ZZS shows his face to JBY without hesitation, which is - of course - because they are old and close friends, but in the end this also registers as a sour note with WKX and our man is drinking some strong vinegar here.
(I had forgotten this: The Young Marquis He Yunxing has married Princess Jingan. and while I wish them happiness, I do think Princess Jingan would have deserved better.)
I'm pretty sure both JBY and WX are laughing their arses off on the inside with just how jealous he is. Luckily, I'm pretty sure ZZS can take it….and say some choice words once it gets too much. Though really, Wen Kexing felt that this person spoke confusingly by using pretentious references from literary works and cobbling unrelated events together., is there enough wine in the world?
JBY does notice the physical changes in ZZS (how thin he's gotten etc), and ZZS meanwhile would very much like to throw him off the scent of something being wrong. WX isn't having it, naturally. Finally some same people have come to the scene. The while dilemma is summarized in JBY's lament of, “Why, does Helian Yi refuse to spare even you?”.
It's not, strictly speaking, accurate. I believe HLY might have spared ZZS had he asked. ZZS didn't give him a chance and would not have asked, because HLY could not have agreed though he might have wanted to. That whole situation is such a mess.
I do appreciate that WX doesn't sugarcoat the fact that ZZS is still doomed to die, and ZZS….accept it even though now he doesn't want to die anymore. There's a lot about coming to terms with matters as they are, and not being able to change things.
And here's the heart of the matter: If I am no longer myself, why should I still keep living?
It's what WKX doesn't want to think about and it's what JBY accepts even though he doesn't want to. I think the most pragmatic here is WX, for obvious reasons.
This choice, the options and the inevitabilities here will colour the rest of the story. We've seen the turning point in ZZS suicidal ideation and now that he wants to keep living he's been told once more that he can't. Where does that leave a man like him?
Three more chapters next week!
Chapter 40 – Lord Seventh
Chapter 41 - Despair
We meet old friends and some uncomfortable truths are revealed.
Chapter 40
- "Zhang Chengling felt woozy. The scorpion’s venom was probably starting to take effect: it was like thunder was booming right by his ear, the noise all around him sounding like it was separated from him by a layer of gauze—he could hear it, but it felt somewhat unreal. He turned his head in the direction where the arrow had come from, and saw two men. The man with a small crossbow in his hand was dressed in navy blue robes, his long sleeves fluttering. A belt the width of a palm was fastened around his waist, and on the side of it, hung a white jade xiao. He did not look like someone of the jianghu, nor did he look like a scholar, but looked more like a noble who luxuriated in wealth. His hooded, amorous eyes seemed as if they held a slight trace of laughter, but upon closer examination, the look he shot at the last Poisonous Scorpion contained the glint of a cold light.
Through the haze in his mind, Zhang Chengling thought that this person…was the best-looking person that he had ever seen." - "The one who had taken his pulse was that man in black. He ignored Zhang Chengling looking curiously in his direction, simply nodded and stood ramrod-straight under the tree. When viewed from the side, his chiselled profile seemed like it was carved from stone. Zhang Chengling discovered that the gaze Gu Xiang directed at this man was full of respect and awe; it even felt like she was somewhat holding in check the raucous way of talking that she had been born with."
- "Gu Xiang’s pupils darted back and forth with an idea. “Say, then, what is his shifu called, and what does he look like?”
Lord Seventh said, “His shifu ’s surname is Zhou, and his name is…” He suddenly paused, his hooded eyes narrowing as he pondered for a beat, thinking: Zhou Zishu, that person, was used to hiding behind partial truths. Surely he would not use his own name, so what would he call himself?
Lifting his gaze, he saw Gu Xiang’s pair of wide eyes staring at him unblinkingly. He found it humorous that he had really been stumped by a little maiden’s questions, but in a split second, a light went off in his mind, and the words leapt out of him. “He’s called Zhou Xu, am I right? ‘Body like a drifting cloud, heart like a floating willow seed’, and he had a brother called Zhou Yun."" - "Lord Seventh threw the chess game aside and stood, rescinding his pale hands back into his sleeves as he smiled cheerily, instructing, “One of life’s four greatest blessings is to bump into an old friend in a land far away from home. Ping An, hurry and invite him in.”"
Chapter 41
- "Zhou Zishu remained silent, thinking that Wen Kexing was truly a person of divinity, for every guess he made to be correct."
- "His gaze involuntarily drifted to meet with that of the man in black. In that instant, without prior agreement, the two men nodded to each other and shifted their gazes away, as a show of cession to each other out of courtesy.
Wen Kexing regarded the other man, guessing that this man was probably the "Lord Seventh" that the shopkeeper had mentioned. At first glance, he could not help but privately gasp. He reckoned that of all of the good-looking individuals in the world, he had seen a considerable number of them. Yet, none of them could compare to this man--those eyes and brows came off as somewhat insouciant in their beauty, but were balanced by an air of affluence about him, thereby revealing only a little hint of that indefinable, loose charisma. It was like the idiom “a noble as outstanding as orchids and jade trees” had been thought up to describe him specifically." - "That shidi who had died in the battle of the capital all those years ago, Liang Jiuxiao, was the regret of his lifetime. All along, Zhou Zishu had dared not mention him--after so long had passed, that scene was like a dream to him. But here, faced with an acquaintance from the past, he felt like he had returned to the capital of that ten-mile Moon-Gazing Riverbank. Those past acquaintances and past events flashed in succession before his eyes, and, astonishingly, he had spoken that person’s name without a second thought."
- "Before he could even finish his sentence, Wen Kexing quickly snatched Zhou Zishu’s hand from where it was resting on the small table and placed it over his own chest. Slanting his gaze at Zhou Zishu, he whined, “A friend from the jianghu? That’s not what you said to me previously, why, A-Xu, are you planning on abandoning me after you’ve toyed with me?”" [overturning the vinegar jar, WKX?]
- "The Great Shaman did not speak for a long while; upon hearing this, he thought for some time, before shaking his head slowly. “If you had hammered in seven nails at the same time, although your mind might be disoriented, I might still have been able to come up with a solution to remove them. If you recuperated with great care afterwards, you will be able to recover some. But once the nails in your body are removed, the core strength you possess will undoubtedly flood your nearly-desiccated meridians and destroy them. By then, not even a god can save you…”"
- "The Great Shaman hesitated for a moment, then said, “Manor Lord Zhou, if...if you incapacitate yourself by ridding yourself of your martial ability, I may have a fifth of confidence that I can save your…”
Yet, when Zhou Zishu had heard the words “ridding yourself of your martial ability”, a smile surfaced on his pale face. It was difficult to tell what emotion was behind it. He lifted a hand to cut him off, and gently replied, “What else do I have left, if I rid this body of mine of martial ability? Will I still be myself? If I am no longer myself, why should I still keep living?”
Oh ZCL, baby. The poison sounds not like something I want to experience, but I have to laugh at the fact that he's basically making eyes at Jing Beiyuan, who - it's on record - is a very handsome man. Wonder how WKX will react? (Badly, that's how.)
Wu Xi to the rescue, though, because there is someone who has an antidote to every poison. Mostly because he has so many poisons. Erm…
(Ferret? Probably the sable, yes?)
It's cute that ZCL picks up on the relationship between WX and JBY, which shows that he's actually quite perceptive (and WKX and ZZS have been….good role models for something? Idk. I wouldn't go that far.) Also "little Venom", awwww. (Sorry, sorry, I do like those two quite a bit.)
JBY meanwhile gets to task pretty much immediately and pecks ZCL as ZZS' disciple. GX is trying to mitigate the reveal here, and it makes me...hm, I wonder if this is an old holdup from her time in GV, when revealing the identity of a shifu might have been an issue?
"and he had a brother called Zhou Yun" is this an actual brother or is this an alias for LJX? Anyone? I should probably remember from Qi Ye, but….I don't.
Also, When Wen Kexing heard the two words “Great Shaman”, he was stunned. He thought: could it really be that the impossibly mysterious great shaman of Nanjiang had arrived? how does WKX even know of WX? How famous if WX in jianghu, that even the master of the Ghost Valley has heard of him? That seems…a lot.
WKX checking out JBY though. 😂 Ah WKX, never change, srsly.
Meanwhile, ZZS shows his face to JBY without hesitation, which is - of course - because they are old and close friends, but in the end this also registers as a sour note with WKX and our man is drinking some strong vinegar here.
(I had forgotten this: The Young Marquis He Yunxing has married Princess Jingan. and while I wish them happiness, I do think Princess Jingan would have deserved better.)
I'm pretty sure both JBY and WX are laughing their arses off on the inside with just how jealous he is. Luckily, I'm pretty sure ZZS can take it….and say some choice words once it gets too much. Though really, Wen Kexing felt that this person spoke confusingly by using pretentious references from literary works and cobbling unrelated events together., is there enough wine in the world?
JBY does notice the physical changes in ZZS (how thin he's gotten etc), and ZZS meanwhile would very much like to throw him off the scent of something being wrong. WX isn't having it, naturally. Finally some same people have come to the scene. The while dilemma is summarized in JBY's lament of, “Why, does Helian Yi refuse to spare even you?”.
It's not, strictly speaking, accurate. I believe HLY might have spared ZZS had he asked. ZZS didn't give him a chance and would not have asked, because HLY could not have agreed though he might have wanted to. That whole situation is such a mess.
I do appreciate that WX doesn't sugarcoat the fact that ZZS is still doomed to die, and ZZS….accept it even though now he doesn't want to die anymore. There's a lot about coming to terms with matters as they are, and not being able to change things.
And here's the heart of the matter: If I am no longer myself, why should I still keep living?
It's what WKX doesn't want to think about and it's what JBY accepts even though he doesn't want to. I think the most pragmatic here is WX, for obvious reasons.
This choice, the options and the inevitabilities here will colour the rest of the story. We've seen the turning point in ZZS suicidal ideation and now that he wants to keep living he's been told once more that he can't. Where does that leave a man like him?
Three more chapters next week!
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Through the haze in his mind, Zhang Chengling thought that this person…was the best-looking person that he had ever seen."
I think Chengling has a bit of a crush on Beiyuan.
I love Gu Xiang being protective of Chengling!
And of course WKX is jealous of Beiyuan! (I love Beiyuan teasing ZZS once he notices)