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ghost_valley2021-11-19 02:51 pm
shadaras) wrote in ghost_valley2021-11-19 02:51 pm
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[WoH Rewatch] Episode 24
Two thirds of the way through! :D
List of Scenes
Entering Siji Manor’s grounds
Entering Siji Manor itself
GX learns about the book of ghosts
GX asks CWN if he’s really going to marry her
Chengling asks WKX about ZZS’s backstory
WKX’s nightmare: Becoming part of Ghost Valley
ZZS wakes up from his own nightmares
Tianchuang flashback! ZZS drugs Jiuxiao.
Talking about the flashback.
ZZS’s angst about bringing Siji Manor to Jin-wang
Flashback! ZZS and Jin-wang.
ZZS’s feelings about his present second chance.
ZZS waking up in the morning, happy family times
YBY sending a message and learning about the book of ghosts
Timeline or Something
Well, who knows how much time was spent travelling between last episode and this episode! Long enough for Zhao Jing to get the information about WKX and his devils out, at least, but that could be days to weeks.
This episode itself is likely just a day, a night, and the next morning.
We get flashbacks, though! To twenty years ago (WKX’s childhood), 10-ish years ago probably (ZZS and Jin-wang) and… what, three or four years ago? (Jiuxiao) If anyone remembers other time markers better than I do, please feel free to remind me how long ago ZZS’s flashbacks would’ve been. :)
Recap
This episode opens with a landscape shot showing the blossoming forest of Siji Manor! ZZS, WKX, and Chengling walk along the path, ZZS thinking about what flowers bloom when. WKX compliments the view, and then Chengling spots a rabbit. ZZS says not to catch it, because his shiniang raised rabbits. (He also mentions that his shiniang and “Bi-dasao” [毕大嫂] are the nicest—Bi-dasao is likely Bi Changfeng’s wife? [Bi Changfeng being the Tianchuang member ZZS put nails into in ep1.])
ZZS and Chengling bond over how QHZ and ZYS were both harangued by their wives in private, and then Chengling gets sad about his family’s passing and WKX comforts him with a hand on his shoulder. They continue walking, and ZZS points out the giant characters carved into a mountainside and says QHZ carved them there for Jiuxiao’s one-month celebration.
The scene moves from there to the entrance of Siji Manor itself, which is in surprisingly good condition despite all the cobwebs; nothing much is rotted, broken, or overgrown. ZZS tells his shifu he’s back, then opens the gates and walks through.
Everyone looks around. ZZS says it’s been empty for some time, and that’s why it looks desolate, but it’ll be okay once they clean it up. WKX agrees, and makes Chengling say he (and WKX) will clean it up. ZZS says he’ll show people around, and then they’ll go down the mountain to buy food before they start cleaning up.
ZZS shows Chengling the defensive mechanical array of Siji Manor and explains it (and that it needs repairs). (Ah, the foreshadowing...) Inside, ZZS takes them to the conference room and talks about how QHZ would check homework and stay up all night for the new year. WKX and Chengling pick up a painting with Siji Manor’s motto on it (it’s surprisingly clean and undamaged; no evidence of critters having chewed on it or anything!), and Chengling asks if QHZ drew it.
ZZS mostly just looks sad, and talks about how the 81 blossoms represent the 81 members of his generation and how they all died because of him. WKX and Chengling also look sad, and don’t say anything before the scene cuts.
CWN and GX walk through a town. CWN asks if GX wants something to eat, but GX’s still in her feelings about the planned marriage, so she just gets annoyed and marches off into town, leaving CWN alone with the horses and a lot of confusion over why GX’s being so standoffish.
GX grumbles to herself, and then sees a Yueyang disciple (Zhu Yaozhi) getting beaten up by Broken Sword Manor disciples. Mu Siyuan (head of that sect) stops them, but still scolds Zhu Yaozhi for believing that Gao Chong is a good person—after all, they now have evidence he conspired with Ghost Valley! At the Heroes Conference, Gao Chong let Valley Master Wen Kexing run off with Chengling!
GX shuffles off to the side, hiding herself more, while Zhu Yaozhi is disbelieving about the whole idea that WKX could be the Valley Master (he’s too young, he saved Chengling’s life, etc). Mu Siyuan says that the Valley Master knows “all sorts of evil magic” and could clearly just keep himself young.
Mu Siyuan keeps going off about how WKX killed Mirror Lake Sect and is full of evil trickery for then disguising himself as a savior. He works his way around to explaining that Zhao Jing has ordered people to paint and share images of WKX and his Ten Devils across the jianghu. GX worries that WKX’s identity has been exposed.
Mu Siyuan offers Zhu Yaozhi a chance to say he’s just young and ignorant, and call Gao Chong a demon, or else he’ll strike Zhu Yaozhi down. Zhu Yaozhi refuses, and Mu Siyuan grabs him by the throat. Zhu Yaozhi starts fighting him, loses, and just when Mu Siyuan’s about to stab him Shen Shen arrives and knocks Mu Siyuan’s blade aside.
Zhu Yaozhi goes to hide behind Shen Shen, who’s very protective of his apprentice-nephew (师侄, shizhi). GX thinks to herself that “this fool is finally useful” and leaves the scene.
CWN is sitting pretty much where she left him, because he was afraid she’d be worried if she didn’t find him there. GX says they shouldn’t linger here, and CWN asks if they should eat first. GX pauses for a moment, then says they should continue, and she’ll cook when they reach Qing Feng Sword Sect. This soothes CWN’s worries enough to get them going.
GX asks if CWN’s really going to marry her, and he’s surprised it’s even still a question; of course he will! He’s sure his master will like her, too, because she’s such a nice girl. GX’s still worried that CWN’s shifu wouldn’t like her, though, and CWN reassures her that won’t happen, but he’d make Fan Huaikong (his shishu) talk his shifu around if he needed to.
GX turns around, angry, and asks what would happen if neither of them let CWN marry her. His immediate reaction is “Then you kidnap me! We’ll elope!” This stops GX in her tracks, and it takes several seconds for her to respond about how she wouldn’t kidnap him even if he asked, to which he responds that he’d kidnap her instead then. (All the background passerby keep glancing at them making a scene; netflix, unlike youtube, even tells me what the background crowd is saying. Mostly it’s wondering what’s going on and if they’re okay.)
CWN promises to stay with GX no matter what, and their song starts playing in the background. GX is still worried, to herself, that CWN will learn the truth eventually and leave her, but she remembers what LQQ said about being with beloved people even for brief times being meaningful. It cheers her up a little.
Back in Siji Manor, Chengling carries a basket up the path while WKX walks with him. Chengling asks what’s so heavy in his basket, and WKX says it’s the jiu for ZZS. When WKX offers to carry it, Chengling says he’ll take this as part of his martial arts practice.
They look at the carving on the mountainside, and Chengling mentions what ZZS said when they first arrived. WKX says ZZS’s told Chengling to stop asking about this, and Chengling’s like “That’s why I’m asking you!”, which is a completely reasonable attitude considering how ZZS told Chengling about WKX’s backstory. WKX says that ZZS is either not ready to tell them, or doesn’t want to, so Chengling shouldn’t push.
Chengling nods, then says that WKX and ZZS are so in sync; ZZS said the same thing before about WKX’s own backstory. Chengling, in saying this, accidentally pokes at WKX’s own sore spots. Including calling him “shishu”, right now.
Chengling’s like “Why do we have to solve riddles instead of clearing things up?”, so he’s quite done with the relative lack of communication going on. Chengling reminds WKX that ZZS will always consider WKX his junior, and says that ZZS said Chengling shouldn’t say “shishu” until WKX was ready for it. This is, according to Chengling, a sign of WKX and ZZS’s moqi.
WKX doesn’t seem so sure, but he doesn’t say anything else; he just walks off, leaving Chengling running to catch up.
The scene cuts to that night, where all three of them are asleep on separate mats in the same room. We close in on WKX’s face, and enter his dreams/nightmares about his parents dying.
A ghost tells the old Valley Master that WRY bit his tongue to commit suicide, preventing the ghosts from finding the key. Young WKX slowly walks onto the scene, moving right past Xisang Gui and into the middle of the circle of ghosts (visible ghosts still alive in the present day: Hei Wuchang, Bai Wuchang, Xisang Gui) to try and rouse his parents. The old Valley Master orders his ghosts to kill WKX, and WKX responds by telling them to kill him and that he doesn’t want to live.
When the ghosts just laugh, WKX grabs the old Valley Master’s robes and shakes him, demanding to know why they aren’t killing him.
The Valley Master asks WKX if he saw his parents with a key, but WKX isn’t giving up on his line. WKX says he’ll “turn into the fiercest ghost and hunt all of you down”, which (as the Valley Master shoves WKX back to the ground) prompts Xisang Gui to speak up for him, saying he has such an unusual/strange temperament and is born to be a little ghost, so they should grant his wish.
The scene shifts to young WKX and Xisang Gui in Ghost Valley. She says he must accept his fate, and that it’s a pity she couldn’t save his father, but at least she saved him. Xisang Gui offers him a neat shell-like bowl filled with steaming liquid and tells him to drink it “and [he]’ll forget everything”.
Young WKX tells himself he can’t forget, and the scene cuts back to adult WKX waking up from this dream. Despite the nightmare, WKX’s attention is quickly taken by ZZS muttering “Shidi” in his sleep. WKX grasps ZZS’s hand, and ZZS also wakes up from his own disturbed sleep. WKX helps him sit up, then they work to settle ZZS’s qi again.
When ZZS decides it’s enough, he breaks off the qi transferral. WKX is still worried about him and how long he’ll live, though. ZZS isn’t fussed, because he’s used to how the Nails hurt him, even if how bad they are each day varies. WKX doesn’t directly respond to that, instead handing him a handkerchief for the blood on his lips and wondering where YBY is and why he’s taking so long to bring them news/aid. ZZS tells WKX to stop cursing YBY for helping, but WKX isn’t apologetic at all.
We start getting into Emotional Sharing Times, as WKX asks what ZZS dreamed about. When ZZS doesn’t respond right away, WKX says he doesn’t need to share if he doesn’t want to. After another moment, ZZS says that “There is nothing between us that we cannot discuss.”
The scene cuts to Tianchuang, in the past.
A disciple (Luo Hao, he names himself a little later) tells ZZS that he’ll happily fight for justice or Siji Manor, but will not harm “the loyal and the good”. Qin Jiuxiao kneels and asks ZZS why Jin-wang didn’t allow Jiang-daren to retire peacefully; then, “for the sake of xiao-Xue”, he asks ZZS to intercede with Jin-wang. ZZS says that things in the Imperial court cannot be judged by individuals’ virtue; if Jin-wang wants someone to die, then they must die.
The three disciples present all owe Jiang-daren a favor, and do not know about the Imperial court. They want to abide by jianghu ways, and will go protect Jiang-daren from Duan Pengju once they take their leave from ZZS. ZZS thinks this a futile effort. Luo Hao says he’d rather die for gratitude than live as a lowlife. Jiuxiao also begs ZZS.
ZZS silently turns back to his desk and picks up a small pitcher. He drinks from it, then says he’ll go with these disciples. He tells them to stand, then offers them the vial of jiu and says they’ll drink together, then go protect Jiang-daren together. Jiuxiao happily takes it and drinks, then passes it on.
Once all three have drunk, Luo Hao happily says “Zhuangzhu, you’re back at last!” Unfortunately, the vial drops to the ground a moment later. First Jiuxiao, and then both other disciples, collapse unconscious to the ground.
The flashback ends. ZZS continues talking to WKX, explaining he’d mixed the jiu with drunk-like-a-dream because he didn’t want Jiuxiao to risk his life like this. Jiuxiao was unconscious for five days and nights, which was long enough that he couldn’t do anything else. He hated ZZS after that, and left without saying goodbye. The next time ZZS met him, Jiuxiao was already dead from trying to save ZZS (when ZZS wasn’t where he thought he was, and didn’t actually need saving).
ZZS then reflects on how Jing’an-junzhu made such an effort to deliver Jiuxiao’s body to him, and yet he didn’t know the nature of their relationship until after he’d already given poison to Jing’an-junzhu. Tears start dripping off ZZS’s face as he talks about how they must be cursing him in the afterlife. WKX says they wouldn’t, because they know him, and ZZS denies that; he thinks they died because they didn’t know him at all.
ZZS says that QHZ treated him as a son, and everyone in Siji Manor loved and respected him, and that blinded him to how ZZS is actually a coward and deserter. He starts coughing from his emotions, and WKX holds him and tells him to sit.
There’s a brief cut, long enough for WKX to make tea. WKX offers the tea to ZZS, who takes it and drinks. WKX sits in front of him, and ZZS continues talking. He says that QHZ died of an acute disease (iirc, by the end of the show this is strongly implied to actually be poison), and entrusted Siji Manor to ZZS before he died.
ZZS says he “wasn’t powerful enough to be a protector” because of his youth; everyone in the jianghu, whether good or evil, kept making trouble for Siji Manor. He struggled for two years, watched his seniors die protecting Siji Manor for him, and then felt he couldn’t do this anymore. So he ran away. WKX says he should stop blaming himself for this, and asks what happened next.
ZZS insists that he still ran away (and therefore this is all his fault), and WKX says he must’ve had his reasons. ZZS calls reasons “excuses in nice disguise.” (More tears start falling.) He says that his father was the former Jin-wang’s “capable assistant”, and the current Jin-wang is his cousin (表哥, biaoge; either “father’s sister’s son” or “mother’s sibling’s son”; dunno if there’s a way to tell). This Jin-wang wanted someone he knew he could trust, and so wrote to ask ZZS for help.
Another flashback! This time to ZZS meeting Jin-wang. (Sidenote: These robes of ZZS’s are very fun.) Jin-wang (technically not yet Jin-wang but I don’t have another name for him!) tells ZZS to call him cousin, which ZZS does. ZZS also asks him what’s wrong.
Jin-wang says that [their] teacher died. ZZS is stunned; this teacher should’ve been in his prime. Jin-wang says that his dad imprisoned and tortured the teacher due to slander/rumours, and their teacher committed suicide rather than admit to crimes he didn’t commit. Their teacher also wrote poetry on the cell walls and floor before he died, and Jin-wang recites one; it’s the one that, in reaction/reflection, gives Tianchuang its name.
Jin-wang is mad that his teacher died after living such a noble life, and especially that his father dumped the teacher’s body in the wilds and guarded it so that nobody could bury him properly. Jin-wang calls himself useless for not being able to help his teacher, and ZZS says he’ll go collect the teacher’s body for proper burial (using all his Siji Manor stealth skills). Jin-wang is pleased, and asks ZZS to come help him before collapsing onto ZZS’s shoulder, crying.
(Manipulative bastard. Got ZZS into the mindset that he’s needed and can be helpful here, a direct contrast to how ZZS felt about Siji Manor at the time.)
The flashback ends. ZZS says he led all the people of Siji Manor to court to act as Jin-wang’s allies, but that he didn’t know he was “just fooling himself” because there was no way out of the mire of court politics. ZZS watched his people die in front of him, until even Jiuxiao was dead.
After Jiuxiao died, ZZS says there was nothing for him to live for. And then he ran away again, he says, laughing and on the verge of tears. WKX reaches out and grabs his hand, and ZZS starts coughing again. ZZS says that in the end, all he has left is the nails; everything he wanted to protect or establish is gone despite his best efforts.
Then ZZS looks over at Chengling, who’s still asleep. ZZS says that this is the heavens’ mercy and his chance to start over; he just doesn’t know if he can watch Chengling grow up. WKX says that he definitely can, because YBY said he would make sure it happened. WKX is adamant, no matter how cautious ZZS is, that it must happen.
ZZS changes topic to how happy he is that WKX, his shidi, came back with him. WKX’s face does all sorts of things at being called shidi. Mostly, he tells ZZS to rest, because dawn is nearing, and then escapes out the door. Before he can leave, ZZS says that QHZ and WKX are master and disciple in name only, and ZZS won’t force him to acknowledge Siji Manor; he’s just happy the Wens’ child is back in Siji Manor, because QHZ would be very happy about this.
WKX sighs, then leaves. ZZS gazes out at him, silent, as WKX starts playing xiao in the night. (He got a new one, identical to the one he broke after learning ZZS was dying.)
The scene cuts to daytime. ZZS wakes up to the full sun, and looks sort of confused/surprised by this. After dressing, he comes out to the courtyard to see Chengling sweeping the paths. Chengling asks if he woke ZZS, and ZZS wonders what time it is and how he could’ve slept so well. Chengling says it’s nearly noon, and that WKX specifically wanted ZZS to get enough sleep.
When ZZS asks where WKX is, Chengling smiles and grabs ZZS’s wrist to lead him off. We cut to WKX carefully cleaning the painting QHZ made. When Chengling and ZZS enter, WKX looks up. He tells ZZS that the painting mostly just needs remounting, and once that’s done they can restore the paint/colors. They’ll be able to restore it to as good as new.
ZZS hugs WKX, and WKX returns the hug. Chengling, too, joins in, and they’re all smiling and happy and together in this moment.
We cut to Ping’an Bank! YBY walks out of it, asking when his letter will reach Kun (region). The bank worker reassures him that he’s an important patron, and their carrier pigeons are well-trained, so it will take at most two days. YBY is reassured by that, and leaves.
Unfortunately he then hears some guys discussing “demon Wen” and how strange it is that someone so young could be the Master of Ghost Valley. Again, magic tricks to stay young come up, and everyone assumes WKX the Valley Master is older than he appears. YBY asks them who this person is, gets told he’s being rude, and then proceeds to be ruder by using the turn of a single palm to blow away the table these guys were sitting and drinking at.
This just means they want to know what YBY’s relationship with demon Wen is, but YBY’s scornful of these rumours. The men protest they aren’t slandering, and tell YBY to look at the pictures Zhao Jing sent out to all the sects of WKX and his ghosts. The episode ends on that line, and YBY’s face.
General Commentary
I understand the limitations of the show’s budget, but Siji Manor doesn’t feel like it’s been abandoned for a decade when they first walk in. Everything’s too shiny, not weathered enough, and they don’t disturb any critters that’ve made their home in the manor. Maybe there’s some side effect of arrays or something that kept it preserved, if I want an in-universe explanation, but tbh I just kinda want it to look less well-preserved.
It’s interesting that the Siji Manor blossoms on Qin Huaizhang’s painting are already colored in, when in ep1 Zhou Zishu was actively coloring in blossoms as people died.
Zhou Zishu’s resistance to drunk-like-a-dream in the flashback is so telling. Also sad! That he knows he can drink it and be okay, while everyone else is out for days.
The scene of Mu Siyuan’s disciples beating up Zhu Yaozhi is much more entertaining now that I know who all those people are. I definitely didn’t keep track of these minor characters on my first watch! Now I know their names and where they’ve shown up before. Of course Mu Siyuan, whose son died to the ghost wedding, is going to believe the accusations against Gao Chong. Of course Zhu Yaozhi, who’s a very earnest disciple, is going to stand up for his shifu.
Gu Xiang’s complicated emotions about Cao Weining and marriage are really lovely. I feel bad for Cao Weining! But he just doesn’t have the context to understand why Gu Xiang is so conflicted about what she wants versus what she feels like it’s possible for her to have.
I feel like I should have more feelings about Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu’s nighttime nightmare discussion bonding than I do. It’s nice! I like them having emotions towards each other! I enjoy learning about their backstories! I can’t think of much to say about it, though; I feel like I’d need to sit down and look at individual scenes more than the whole episode to be able to have the right focus to even start breaking it down.
Discussion Prompts/Questions
1. We get a bunch of Siji Manor information this episode! Both about what happened to/with Jiuxiao, and about how Zhou Zishu ended up making Tianchuang with Jin-wang to begin with. Thoughts? Feelings? About that, or about Zhou Zishu breaking down and crying when telling Wen Kexing about it?
2. Wen Kexing and his entry into Ghost Valley. This is one of those bits where I know my feelings are tangled up in my TYK feelings, as much as I try to keep them separate, so I’d love to know what y’all think about SHL’s interpretation! And about Xisang Gui and WKX’s relationship and how she (and Bai and Hei Wuchang) survived Ghost Valley and remained in position until/during Wen Kexing’s time as Valley Master.
3. I’d love to know how you interpret Wen Kexing’s feelings about Siji Manor, being called shishu/shidi, and everything else going on here. There’s a really interesting space between when Wen Kexing leaves Zhou Zishu after their nighttime conversation and when Zhou Zishu finds him mending the painting, for one; thoughts about Wen Kexing processing emotions during that time? Or during any of the rest of the episode, really.
Next Time: More Siji Manor family time! GX and CWN run into Huang He, Tao Hong, and Lv Liu (with Xiaolian)! Shen Shen helps rescue Xiaolian! ZZS takes Chengling and WKX to visit QHZ’s grave.
NOTE: I’m taking a break next week. xD It’s American Thanksgiving and also I need a break. :) Just one week off (Nov 26th), and then we’ll get back into it on Dec 3!
List of Scenes
Entering Siji Manor’s grounds
Entering Siji Manor itself
GX learns about the book of ghosts
GX asks CWN if he’s really going to marry her
Chengling asks WKX about ZZS’s backstory
WKX’s nightmare: Becoming part of Ghost Valley
ZZS wakes up from his own nightmares
Tianchuang flashback! ZZS drugs Jiuxiao.
Talking about the flashback.
ZZS’s angst about bringing Siji Manor to Jin-wang
Flashback! ZZS and Jin-wang.
ZZS’s feelings about his present second chance.
ZZS waking up in the morning, happy family times
YBY sending a message and learning about the book of ghosts
Timeline or Something
Well, who knows how much time was spent travelling between last episode and this episode! Long enough for Zhao Jing to get the information about WKX and his devils out, at least, but that could be days to weeks.
This episode itself is likely just a day, a night, and the next morning.
We get flashbacks, though! To twenty years ago (WKX’s childhood), 10-ish years ago probably (ZZS and Jin-wang) and… what, three or four years ago? (Jiuxiao) If anyone remembers other time markers better than I do, please feel free to remind me how long ago ZZS’s flashbacks would’ve been. :)
Recap
This episode opens with a landscape shot showing the blossoming forest of Siji Manor! ZZS, WKX, and Chengling walk along the path, ZZS thinking about what flowers bloom when. WKX compliments the view, and then Chengling spots a rabbit. ZZS says not to catch it, because his shiniang raised rabbits. (He also mentions that his shiniang and “Bi-dasao” [毕大嫂] are the nicest—Bi-dasao is likely Bi Changfeng’s wife? [Bi Changfeng being the Tianchuang member ZZS put nails into in ep1.])
ZZS and Chengling bond over how QHZ and ZYS were both harangued by their wives in private, and then Chengling gets sad about his family’s passing and WKX comforts him with a hand on his shoulder. They continue walking, and ZZS points out the giant characters carved into a mountainside and says QHZ carved them there for Jiuxiao’s one-month celebration.
The scene moves from there to the entrance of Siji Manor itself, which is in surprisingly good condition despite all the cobwebs; nothing much is rotted, broken, or overgrown. ZZS tells his shifu he’s back, then opens the gates and walks through.
Everyone looks around. ZZS says it’s been empty for some time, and that’s why it looks desolate, but it’ll be okay once they clean it up. WKX agrees, and makes Chengling say he (and WKX) will clean it up. ZZS says he’ll show people around, and then they’ll go down the mountain to buy food before they start cleaning up.
ZZS shows Chengling the defensive mechanical array of Siji Manor and explains it (and that it needs repairs). (Ah, the foreshadowing...) Inside, ZZS takes them to the conference room and talks about how QHZ would check homework and stay up all night for the new year. WKX and Chengling pick up a painting with Siji Manor’s motto on it (it’s surprisingly clean and undamaged; no evidence of critters having chewed on it or anything!), and Chengling asks if QHZ drew it.
ZZS mostly just looks sad, and talks about how the 81 blossoms represent the 81 members of his generation and how they all died because of him. WKX and Chengling also look sad, and don’t say anything before the scene cuts.
CWN and GX walk through a town. CWN asks if GX wants something to eat, but GX’s still in her feelings about the planned marriage, so she just gets annoyed and marches off into town, leaving CWN alone with the horses and a lot of confusion over why GX’s being so standoffish.
GX grumbles to herself, and then sees a Yueyang disciple (Zhu Yaozhi) getting beaten up by Broken Sword Manor disciples. Mu Siyuan (head of that sect) stops them, but still scolds Zhu Yaozhi for believing that Gao Chong is a good person—after all, they now have evidence he conspired with Ghost Valley! At the Heroes Conference, Gao Chong let Valley Master Wen Kexing run off with Chengling!
GX shuffles off to the side, hiding herself more, while Zhu Yaozhi is disbelieving about the whole idea that WKX could be the Valley Master (he’s too young, he saved Chengling’s life, etc). Mu Siyuan says that the Valley Master knows “all sorts of evil magic” and could clearly just keep himself young.
Mu Siyuan keeps going off about how WKX killed Mirror Lake Sect and is full of evil trickery for then disguising himself as a savior. He works his way around to explaining that Zhao Jing has ordered people to paint and share images of WKX and his Ten Devils across the jianghu. GX worries that WKX’s identity has been exposed.
Mu Siyuan offers Zhu Yaozhi a chance to say he’s just young and ignorant, and call Gao Chong a demon, or else he’ll strike Zhu Yaozhi down. Zhu Yaozhi refuses, and Mu Siyuan grabs him by the throat. Zhu Yaozhi starts fighting him, loses, and just when Mu Siyuan’s about to stab him Shen Shen arrives and knocks Mu Siyuan’s blade aside.
Zhu Yaozhi goes to hide behind Shen Shen, who’s very protective of his apprentice-nephew (师侄, shizhi). GX thinks to herself that “this fool is finally useful” and leaves the scene.
CWN is sitting pretty much where she left him, because he was afraid she’d be worried if she didn’t find him there. GX says they shouldn’t linger here, and CWN asks if they should eat first. GX pauses for a moment, then says they should continue, and she’ll cook when they reach Qing Feng Sword Sect. This soothes CWN’s worries enough to get them going.
GX asks if CWN’s really going to marry her, and he’s surprised it’s even still a question; of course he will! He’s sure his master will like her, too, because she’s such a nice girl. GX’s still worried that CWN’s shifu wouldn’t like her, though, and CWN reassures her that won’t happen, but he’d make Fan Huaikong (his shishu) talk his shifu around if he needed to.
GX turns around, angry, and asks what would happen if neither of them let CWN marry her. His immediate reaction is “Then you kidnap me! We’ll elope!” This stops GX in her tracks, and it takes several seconds for her to respond about how she wouldn’t kidnap him even if he asked, to which he responds that he’d kidnap her instead then. (All the background passerby keep glancing at them making a scene; netflix, unlike youtube, even tells me what the background crowd is saying. Mostly it’s wondering what’s going on and if they’re okay.)
CWN promises to stay with GX no matter what, and their song starts playing in the background. GX is still worried, to herself, that CWN will learn the truth eventually and leave her, but she remembers what LQQ said about being with beloved people even for brief times being meaningful. It cheers her up a little.
Back in Siji Manor, Chengling carries a basket up the path while WKX walks with him. Chengling asks what’s so heavy in his basket, and WKX says it’s the jiu for ZZS. When WKX offers to carry it, Chengling says he’ll take this as part of his martial arts practice.
They look at the carving on the mountainside, and Chengling mentions what ZZS said when they first arrived. WKX says ZZS’s told Chengling to stop asking about this, and Chengling’s like “That’s why I’m asking you!”, which is a completely reasonable attitude considering how ZZS told Chengling about WKX’s backstory. WKX says that ZZS is either not ready to tell them, or doesn’t want to, so Chengling shouldn’t push.
Chengling nods, then says that WKX and ZZS are so in sync; ZZS said the same thing before about WKX’s own backstory. Chengling, in saying this, accidentally pokes at WKX’s own sore spots. Including calling him “shishu”, right now.
Chengling’s like “Why do we have to solve riddles instead of clearing things up?”, so he’s quite done with the relative lack of communication going on. Chengling reminds WKX that ZZS will always consider WKX his junior, and says that ZZS said Chengling shouldn’t say “shishu” until WKX was ready for it. This is, according to Chengling, a sign of WKX and ZZS’s moqi.
WKX doesn’t seem so sure, but he doesn’t say anything else; he just walks off, leaving Chengling running to catch up.
The scene cuts to that night, where all three of them are asleep on separate mats in the same room. We close in on WKX’s face, and enter his dreams/nightmares about his parents dying.
A ghost tells the old Valley Master that WRY bit his tongue to commit suicide, preventing the ghosts from finding the key. Young WKX slowly walks onto the scene, moving right past Xisang Gui and into the middle of the circle of ghosts (visible ghosts still alive in the present day: Hei Wuchang, Bai Wuchang, Xisang Gui) to try and rouse his parents. The old Valley Master orders his ghosts to kill WKX, and WKX responds by telling them to kill him and that he doesn’t want to live.
When the ghosts just laugh, WKX grabs the old Valley Master’s robes and shakes him, demanding to know why they aren’t killing him.
The Valley Master asks WKX if he saw his parents with a key, but WKX isn’t giving up on his line. WKX says he’ll “turn into the fiercest ghost and hunt all of you down”, which (as the Valley Master shoves WKX back to the ground) prompts Xisang Gui to speak up for him, saying he has such an unusual/strange temperament and is born to be a little ghost, so they should grant his wish.
The scene shifts to young WKX and Xisang Gui in Ghost Valley. She says he must accept his fate, and that it’s a pity she couldn’t save his father, but at least she saved him. Xisang Gui offers him a neat shell-like bowl filled with steaming liquid and tells him to drink it “and [he]’ll forget everything”.
Young WKX tells himself he can’t forget, and the scene cuts back to adult WKX waking up from this dream. Despite the nightmare, WKX’s attention is quickly taken by ZZS muttering “Shidi” in his sleep. WKX grasps ZZS’s hand, and ZZS also wakes up from his own disturbed sleep. WKX helps him sit up, then they work to settle ZZS’s qi again.
When ZZS decides it’s enough, he breaks off the qi transferral. WKX is still worried about him and how long he’ll live, though. ZZS isn’t fussed, because he’s used to how the Nails hurt him, even if how bad they are each day varies. WKX doesn’t directly respond to that, instead handing him a handkerchief for the blood on his lips and wondering where YBY is and why he’s taking so long to bring them news/aid. ZZS tells WKX to stop cursing YBY for helping, but WKX isn’t apologetic at all.
We start getting into Emotional Sharing Times, as WKX asks what ZZS dreamed about. When ZZS doesn’t respond right away, WKX says he doesn’t need to share if he doesn’t want to. After another moment, ZZS says that “There is nothing between us that we cannot discuss.”
The scene cuts to Tianchuang, in the past.
A disciple (Luo Hao, he names himself a little later) tells ZZS that he’ll happily fight for justice or Siji Manor, but will not harm “the loyal and the good”. Qin Jiuxiao kneels and asks ZZS why Jin-wang didn’t allow Jiang-daren to retire peacefully; then, “for the sake of xiao-Xue”, he asks ZZS to intercede with Jin-wang. ZZS says that things in the Imperial court cannot be judged by individuals’ virtue; if Jin-wang wants someone to die, then they must die.
The three disciples present all owe Jiang-daren a favor, and do not know about the Imperial court. They want to abide by jianghu ways, and will go protect Jiang-daren from Duan Pengju once they take their leave from ZZS. ZZS thinks this a futile effort. Luo Hao says he’d rather die for gratitude than live as a lowlife. Jiuxiao also begs ZZS.
ZZS silently turns back to his desk and picks up a small pitcher. He drinks from it, then says he’ll go with these disciples. He tells them to stand, then offers them the vial of jiu and says they’ll drink together, then go protect Jiang-daren together. Jiuxiao happily takes it and drinks, then passes it on.
Once all three have drunk, Luo Hao happily says “Zhuangzhu, you’re back at last!” Unfortunately, the vial drops to the ground a moment later. First Jiuxiao, and then both other disciples, collapse unconscious to the ground.
The flashback ends. ZZS continues talking to WKX, explaining he’d mixed the jiu with drunk-like-a-dream because he didn’t want Jiuxiao to risk his life like this. Jiuxiao was unconscious for five days and nights, which was long enough that he couldn’t do anything else. He hated ZZS after that, and left without saying goodbye. The next time ZZS met him, Jiuxiao was already dead from trying to save ZZS (when ZZS wasn’t where he thought he was, and didn’t actually need saving).
ZZS then reflects on how Jing’an-junzhu made such an effort to deliver Jiuxiao’s body to him, and yet he didn’t know the nature of their relationship until after he’d already given poison to Jing’an-junzhu. Tears start dripping off ZZS’s face as he talks about how they must be cursing him in the afterlife. WKX says they wouldn’t, because they know him, and ZZS denies that; he thinks they died because they didn’t know him at all.
ZZS says that QHZ treated him as a son, and everyone in Siji Manor loved and respected him, and that blinded him to how ZZS is actually a coward and deserter. He starts coughing from his emotions, and WKX holds him and tells him to sit.
There’s a brief cut, long enough for WKX to make tea. WKX offers the tea to ZZS, who takes it and drinks. WKX sits in front of him, and ZZS continues talking. He says that QHZ died of an acute disease (iirc, by the end of the show this is strongly implied to actually be poison), and entrusted Siji Manor to ZZS before he died.
ZZS says he “wasn’t powerful enough to be a protector” because of his youth; everyone in the jianghu, whether good or evil, kept making trouble for Siji Manor. He struggled for two years, watched his seniors die protecting Siji Manor for him, and then felt he couldn’t do this anymore. So he ran away. WKX says he should stop blaming himself for this, and asks what happened next.
ZZS insists that he still ran away (and therefore this is all his fault), and WKX says he must’ve had his reasons. ZZS calls reasons “excuses in nice disguise.” (More tears start falling.) He says that his father was the former Jin-wang’s “capable assistant”, and the current Jin-wang is his cousin (表哥, biaoge; either “father’s sister’s son” or “mother’s sibling’s son”; dunno if there’s a way to tell). This Jin-wang wanted someone he knew he could trust, and so wrote to ask ZZS for help.
Another flashback! This time to ZZS meeting Jin-wang. (Sidenote: These robes of ZZS’s are very fun.) Jin-wang (technically not yet Jin-wang but I don’t have another name for him!) tells ZZS to call him cousin, which ZZS does. ZZS also asks him what’s wrong.
Jin-wang says that [their] teacher died. ZZS is stunned; this teacher should’ve been in his prime. Jin-wang says that his dad imprisoned and tortured the teacher due to slander/rumours, and their teacher committed suicide rather than admit to crimes he didn’t commit. Their teacher also wrote poetry on the cell walls and floor before he died, and Jin-wang recites one; it’s the one that, in reaction/reflection, gives Tianchuang its name.
Jin-wang is mad that his teacher died after living such a noble life, and especially that his father dumped the teacher’s body in the wilds and guarded it so that nobody could bury him properly. Jin-wang calls himself useless for not being able to help his teacher, and ZZS says he’ll go collect the teacher’s body for proper burial (using all his Siji Manor stealth skills). Jin-wang is pleased, and asks ZZS to come help him before collapsing onto ZZS’s shoulder, crying.
(Manipulative bastard. Got ZZS into the mindset that he’s needed and can be helpful here, a direct contrast to how ZZS felt about Siji Manor at the time.)
The flashback ends. ZZS says he led all the people of Siji Manor to court to act as Jin-wang’s allies, but that he didn’t know he was “just fooling himself” because there was no way out of the mire of court politics. ZZS watched his people die in front of him, until even Jiuxiao was dead.
After Jiuxiao died, ZZS says there was nothing for him to live for. And then he ran away again, he says, laughing and on the verge of tears. WKX reaches out and grabs his hand, and ZZS starts coughing again. ZZS says that in the end, all he has left is the nails; everything he wanted to protect or establish is gone despite his best efforts.
Then ZZS looks over at Chengling, who’s still asleep. ZZS says that this is the heavens’ mercy and his chance to start over; he just doesn’t know if he can watch Chengling grow up. WKX says that he definitely can, because YBY said he would make sure it happened. WKX is adamant, no matter how cautious ZZS is, that it must happen.
ZZS changes topic to how happy he is that WKX, his shidi, came back with him. WKX’s face does all sorts of things at being called shidi. Mostly, he tells ZZS to rest, because dawn is nearing, and then escapes out the door. Before he can leave, ZZS says that QHZ and WKX are master and disciple in name only, and ZZS won’t force him to acknowledge Siji Manor; he’s just happy the Wens’ child is back in Siji Manor, because QHZ would be very happy about this.
WKX sighs, then leaves. ZZS gazes out at him, silent, as WKX starts playing xiao in the night. (He got a new one, identical to the one he broke after learning ZZS was dying.)
The scene cuts to daytime. ZZS wakes up to the full sun, and looks sort of confused/surprised by this. After dressing, he comes out to the courtyard to see Chengling sweeping the paths. Chengling asks if he woke ZZS, and ZZS wonders what time it is and how he could’ve slept so well. Chengling says it’s nearly noon, and that WKX specifically wanted ZZS to get enough sleep.
When ZZS asks where WKX is, Chengling smiles and grabs ZZS’s wrist to lead him off. We cut to WKX carefully cleaning the painting QHZ made. When Chengling and ZZS enter, WKX looks up. He tells ZZS that the painting mostly just needs remounting, and once that’s done they can restore the paint/colors. They’ll be able to restore it to as good as new.
ZZS hugs WKX, and WKX returns the hug. Chengling, too, joins in, and they’re all smiling and happy and together in this moment.
We cut to Ping’an Bank! YBY walks out of it, asking when his letter will reach Kun (region). The bank worker reassures him that he’s an important patron, and their carrier pigeons are well-trained, so it will take at most two days. YBY is reassured by that, and leaves.
Unfortunately he then hears some guys discussing “demon Wen” and how strange it is that someone so young could be the Master of Ghost Valley. Again, magic tricks to stay young come up, and everyone assumes WKX the Valley Master is older than he appears. YBY asks them who this person is, gets told he’s being rude, and then proceeds to be ruder by using the turn of a single palm to blow away the table these guys were sitting and drinking at.
This just means they want to know what YBY’s relationship with demon Wen is, but YBY’s scornful of these rumours. The men protest they aren’t slandering, and tell YBY to look at the pictures Zhao Jing sent out to all the sects of WKX and his ghosts. The episode ends on that line, and YBY’s face.
General Commentary
I understand the limitations of the show’s budget, but Siji Manor doesn’t feel like it’s been abandoned for a decade when they first walk in. Everything’s too shiny, not weathered enough, and they don’t disturb any critters that’ve made their home in the manor. Maybe there’s some side effect of arrays or something that kept it preserved, if I want an in-universe explanation, but tbh I just kinda want it to look less well-preserved.
It’s interesting that the Siji Manor blossoms on Qin Huaizhang’s painting are already colored in, when in ep1 Zhou Zishu was actively coloring in blossoms as people died.
Zhou Zishu’s resistance to drunk-like-a-dream in the flashback is so telling. Also sad! That he knows he can drink it and be okay, while everyone else is out for days.
The scene of Mu Siyuan’s disciples beating up Zhu Yaozhi is much more entertaining now that I know who all those people are. I definitely didn’t keep track of these minor characters on my first watch! Now I know their names and where they’ve shown up before. Of course Mu Siyuan, whose son died to the ghost wedding, is going to believe the accusations against Gao Chong. Of course Zhu Yaozhi, who’s a very earnest disciple, is going to stand up for his shifu.
Gu Xiang’s complicated emotions about Cao Weining and marriage are really lovely. I feel bad for Cao Weining! But he just doesn’t have the context to understand why Gu Xiang is so conflicted about what she wants versus what she feels like it’s possible for her to have.
I feel like I should have more feelings about Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu’s nighttime nightmare discussion bonding than I do. It’s nice! I like them having emotions towards each other! I enjoy learning about their backstories! I can’t think of much to say about it, though; I feel like I’d need to sit down and look at individual scenes more than the whole episode to be able to have the right focus to even start breaking it down.
Discussion Prompts/Questions
1. We get a bunch of Siji Manor information this episode! Both about what happened to/with Jiuxiao, and about how Zhou Zishu ended up making Tianchuang with Jin-wang to begin with. Thoughts? Feelings? About that, or about Zhou Zishu breaking down and crying when telling Wen Kexing about it?
2. Wen Kexing and his entry into Ghost Valley. This is one of those bits where I know my feelings are tangled up in my TYK feelings, as much as I try to keep them separate, so I’d love to know what y’all think about SHL’s interpretation! And about Xisang Gui and WKX’s relationship and how she (and Bai and Hei Wuchang) survived Ghost Valley and remained in position until/during Wen Kexing’s time as Valley Master.
3. I’d love to know how you interpret Wen Kexing’s feelings about Siji Manor, being called shishu/shidi, and everything else going on here. There’s a really interesting space between when Wen Kexing leaves Zhou Zishu after their nighttime conversation and when Zhou Zishu finds him mending the painting, for one; thoughts about Wen Kexing processing emotions during that time? Or during any of the rest of the episode, really.
Next Time: More Siji Manor family time! GX and CWN run into Huang He, Tao Hong, and Lv Liu (with Xiaolian)! Shen Shen helps rescue Xiaolian! ZZS takes Chengling and WKX to visit QHZ’s grave.
NOTE: I’m taking a break next week. xD It’s American Thanksgiving and also I need a break. :) Just one week off (Nov 26th), and then we’ll get back into it on Dec 3!
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I was skimming parts of it recently for writing purposes and one thing that I didn't really catch initially is that ZZS is at least somewhat self-aware enough to realize that all these outside parties were actively predatory towards him as a teenage sect leader in one way or another. Jin-wang was at least a variable he thought he knew (he didn't, obviously). All of the subsequent trauma and Jin-wang's manipulations would have fucked with his perception of the past, though.
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Do we ever...find out more about what happened with this? Because my brain automatically attributed this event to Jin-wang. I can see him wanting Jiuxiao out of the way thinking he's a liability for ZZS and TC. ZZS may be the head of TC, but that doesn't mean Jin-wang doesn't have access to many other organizations for hire.
ZZS says that this is the heavens’ mercy and his chance to start over; he just doesn’t know if he can watch Chengling grow up.
I've been thinking a lot about this and how it's usually interpreted in fanon as Chengling being a proxy for Jiuxiao. Which I like! The more I think about it, though, the more I think it makes sense that Chengling is actually ZZS's second change for his own younger self, a struggling teenage sect leader given the kinder life ZZS never got. Chengling reminds him of Jiuxiao personality-wise, yes, but situationallly Chengling is a lot more like young ZZS. They were both thrust into leadership roles far too young after the untimely deaths of their guardians. ZZS recognized the powerplay going on over Chengling from his own past experiences and went heck no, not again.
1. I was thinking about WKX's surprised reactions to ZZS's extremely negative self-image of himself as a sect leader int his scene, and why the Siji Manor folks are so loyal to him even into the second generation if he was as bad at as he claimed. ZZS would have been trained for the role, even if he wasn't quite ready when QHZ died. He also had advisers (the bit about the Siji elders dying protecting the sect), so it's highly unlikely he was making any of these decisions entirely on his own whim. Jin-wang's invitation was probably a last resort to save the sect, and a group decision to use that connection. Once they were caught up in court it is very likely, even just based at Jin-wang's dreadful personality, that they would have been executed as traitors if they tried to leave, or done something else Jin-wang didn't like, even before the Nails came into play. ZZS probably would have wanted them to toe the line and survive. Everyone in Siji recognized they were between a rock and a hard place at this point, with ZZS doing his best with limited options and experience. WKX, as an largely outsider perspective, can probably see all that when ZZS cannot.
And then that leads to probably my favorite scene in the whole show, when ZZS walks in to see WKX restoring his master's painting. It's such a gentle moment, a turning point for ZZS to start realizing maybe he's allowed to show his past self a little kindness. WKX knew from the night before there wasn't anything he could say to help with that, but fixing the painting first was a stroke of emotional genius.
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I don't think they go into it more. I didn't think about that at the time, but I could definitely see Jin-wang (or DPJ) being involved in SHL's version of events (in Qi Ye, iirc he's a casualty in the climatic battle).
And then that leads to probably my favorite scene in the whole show, when ZZS walks in to see WKX restoring his master's painting. It's such a gentle moment, a turning point for ZZS to start realizing maybe he's allowed to show his past self a little kindness. WKX knew from the night before there wasn't anything he could say to help with that, but fixing the painting first was a stroke of emotional genius.
I love that scene!
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Blaming Jin-wang seems fair, to me. :/ But it could also be Jin-wang's enemies and a rumour. I don't think we get more about this in canon, though.
I think it makes sense that Chengling is actually ZZS's second change for his own younger self, a struggling teenage sect leader given the kinder life ZZS never got.
I love that read! :D I think it can be both, but I think acknowledging this side is so important.
Everyone in Siji recognized they were between a rock and a hard place at this point, with ZZS doing his best with limited options and experience. WKX, as an largely outsider perspective, can probably see all that when ZZS cannot.
Your whole analysis here is a delight! <3 Thank you! I agree that it makes more sense to read ZZS as an unreliable narrator whose depression has colored everything about how he views his past. :) He has unrealistically high standards for himself, and not enough kindness for his younger self. (Something which I think being with WKX and Chengling is slowly helping him with, between WKX's love and Chengling—as you pointed out!—a stand-in for his younger self who he can give the compassion and time to escape/process that he once needed.)
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Ah, thanks! <3 Agreed, I think having these two around help him start shift perspective on what happened at this point in the story. I really don't think ZZS was ever a bad leader, he just couldn’t possibly have stepped into the shoes of a titan like QHZ at 16. He was well-loved and inspired loyalty despite his perceived mistakes, that speaks volumes. Additionally, I think it's also possible to read the situation in a way where QHZ was actually pretty mediocre as a sect leader (and maybe made a whole lot of enemies that came out of the woodwork once ZZS took over), it's just he was so strong and well-connected no one fucked with them until he was out of the way. Either of those trajectories lead to a whole lot of situational vulnerability for ZZS and his inherited sect.
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This reminded me of
1) I adore ZZS opening up to WKX and telling him about the guilt he feels re: Siji Manor and Tianchuang! (and it’s an interesting contrast to their conversation at the end of episode 17) And while it’s not revealed yet, both of their nightmares kinda center around the same thing – feeling responsible for getting their family killed.
2) I'm kinda surprised Bai and Hei Wuchang are still alive at the start of the series, considering they were there (and this gives WKX another reason to kill Bai Wuchang other than just taking out his anger on someone in episode 10). I love LFM’s flashback outfit! I’m not surprised she remained in position, considering she saved and helped raise WKX.
Semi-related question – did the show ever say why Wen Ruyu and Gu Miaomiao aren’t in disguise after leaving QHZ?
3) I think WKX still has very complicated feelings about Siji Manor, but now he gets why ZZS is clinging so hard to the shidi stuff. I love the that WKX’s processing includes playing the xiao for ZZS!
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;_; They both have such good hearts! Life's just been cruel to them.
I love LFM’s flashback outfit! I’m not surprised she remained in position, considering she saved and helped raise WKX.
Yeah! It's so pretty! Her present-day outfit is also lovely, but the silver in this flashback is very good.
Semi-related question – did the show ever say why Wen Ruyu and Gu Miaomiao aren’t in disguise after leaving QHZ?
If it did, I imagine that'd come up when we get the final piece of the WKX flashbacks, where ZJ arrives. I'm not sure if it does, though!