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ghost_valley2021-06-18 11:24 am
shadaras) wrote in ghost_valley2021-06-18 11:24 am
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[WoH Rewatch] Episode 2
Last week’s discussion got us off to a great start! We had some lovely conversations about things like “Why does ZZS cut open his scars when he goes to see Prince Jin?” (link), Wen Kexing’s hairpins (link), and people chiming in with stories about how long it took them to realise that Wen Kexing was the Valley Master. :)
Today we begin learning about the Five Lakes Alliance, Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu bicker, and Mirror Lake Manor burns.
Please feel free to read and comment on this at your leisure! I continue to write many words!
Scenes in This Episode
WKX makes GX stop fighting and leave
ZCL gives ZZS his name token
WKX identifies the swift-moving steps
ZZS hears the five lakes alliance rhyme
ZZS and the boatman (ft. WKX interlude)
WenZhou’s first sparring match
ZZS enters Mirror Lake Manor, ft. Zhang Yusen and Zhang Chengfeng (first mention of the glazed armor rhyme is here!)
Prince Jin and DPJ send men to investigate the glazed armor rhyme and continue searching for ZZS.
ZZS waking at midnight to quell the nails’ side effects
The attack on Mirror Lake Manor
ZYS and his sons are threatened for the Glazed Armor
ZZS, Uncle Li, and Chengling at the abandoned temple
GX and WKX’s timely rescue
ZZS agreeing to escort Chengling to Zhao Jing
Deng Kuan tries to get to Mirror Lake Manor but the boats have been wrecked
A nice meal around the fire with absolutely no bickering at all
WKX isn’t allowed to help tend Chengling’s wound
A Rough Timeline of Events
This episode happens in less than 24hrs! No need for a timeline today, so long as one assumes all events happen in sequence and we aren’t skipping any days. (Which seems like a fair assumption to make.)
The rhyme about the Five Lakes Alliance’s ambitions has existed for long enough that ZZS notes “that rhyme again”, so at least a few weeks.
“Recently”, the verse about glazed armor and the ghosts of Mount Qingya appeared.
Recap! With Commentary!
…today we also learn that if I give myself more time to do something I get sidetracked more easily while doing it, so uh hope you enjoy me spending a bunch of time staring at subtitles and going “hey what’s the chinese for that?”. (Do I know chinese at all? Not really! [I am effectively monolingual, though I know scattered words and grammar of various other languages.] Do I find it interesting to look things up? Yes! It’s very fun! I learn things!)
We begin by once more being shown WKX protecting ZZS and staring at Gu Xiang. He reels her in, fairly literally, while everyone looks on, and then turns to ZZS to apologise for his “maid” (婢 bì, which pleco’s saying would be slave/servant-girl).
(There’s a whole possible conversation—that I don’t know enough, linguistically or culturally, to feel equipped to have—about the kinda derogatory language Wen Kexing uses to refer to Gu Xiang. But, even if I don’t know enough to really discuss it, I want to mention it! And if people know of resources by Chinese people discussing this, I’d love to see them. Along with 婢, WKX also sometimes calls GX 丫头, yātou. Both of these terms, by dictionaries and what I’ve heard elsewhere, include some connotations of “slave”, and while WKX and GX are clearly on good terms, it’s… well. It’s the reciprocal side of her calling him 主人, zhǔrén, all the time. Anyway. I’m unlikely to mention this again because I really don’t know enough, but it’s something I want to learn more about.)
ZZS tries to hide behind the wine and says he should be the one apologising (though nobody outright says why). The contrast between the two of them right now is very striking, with ZZS’s beggar outfit and WKX’s pure white (ghost-coded, death-coded) robes.
WKX walks away, and Gu Xiang follows, but not before exchanging a challenging look with ZZS. He seems amused by this.
ZZS goes back over to where he’d been lying at the base of the bridge, and Chengling carries his (lost via weaponisation) hat back and calls ZZS “my friend in the martial arts world” and introduces himself. He then asks for ZZS’s name and where he trained. (the youtube subs say “which clique or sect are you from?” but I’m poking at the Chinese subs and suspect that “Where did you train?” or “What martial lineage are you from?” would be equally reasonable translations. Mostly I’m just ??? over “clique or sect”; why is it not just “sect”?)
ZZS demures, and starts coughing, possibly as a distraction but also probably for general sympathy points. It’s really entertaining seeing how much he presents himself as a sick man here vs later in the show when he’s distinctly worse-off physically. But he’s a lot more committed to the whole “I’m gonna die!” thing right now than later, so it’s emotionally fitting.
“I’m not talented. I don’t belong to any clique or sect.” (youtube subs say), and this time I won’t argue about it being two different words, since he did use two different terms to deny that he’s part of any formal lineage (I think ‘clique’ is a weird choice of word regardless, but that’s not the point). So I suppose that’s why Chengling’s question was translated how it was, but it’s still an odd choice to me.
Chengling’s servant wants him to go, but Chengling decisively brings out a token and places it on ZZS’s chest (because ZZS is pouring wine for himself) and says that ZZS is the Mirror Lake Sect’s guest now. ZZS is a bit “what” about this, and the servant is like “You shouldn’t do this! Your father wouldn’t approve!”
Chengling retorts that this is exactly what his father wants him to do. “We rely on our parents at home, but depend on our friends outside. Righteous men shall help each other.” All of which definitely sounds like he’s quoting Zhang Yusen, and gives me a lot of feelings about the kind of person Zhang Yusen must be.
“How do you know he’s a righteous man? Look at his attire. What if he’s a bad guy?” the servant asks, continuing to try and get Chengling to leave ZZS alone. (Also, “How do you know he’s a righteous man?” and judging people by appearances is a Theme! We’ll keep seeing how judging people by their appearance—and the first impression—fails people throughout the show.) When Chengling hesitates to respond, ZZS takes the opportunity to urge Chengling to be about his day and not bother with him any more.
We learn that Chengling was out in town buying his mom some pastries! This is possibly the only time his mother gets mentioned in the whole show. I would love to know literally anything about Zhang-furen, but I’m glad that she is—at this time—alive and well.
Chengling bids ZZS farewell with a bit of poetry, because that’s the kind of show this is. The youtube subs translate it as “Everything will stay as it is. ”, but that (while probably not wrong) is definitely not getting at the poetry of the literal meaning. Chengling says “青山不改, 绿水长流” (Qīngshān bù gǎi, lǜ shuǐ cháng liú; “The green hills do not change, the green water flows” according to google translate), which some googling tells me is a rather wuxia thing to say and connotes “We will meet again” at the very least. Which doesn’t come across at all in these english subs, thanks youtube. (He also, immediately after this poetic line, says a phrase with a much more straightforward meaning of “We’ll meet again someday”.)
Chengling leaves, and ZZS can finally get back to his very important business of lounging around doing nothing. Still, he examines the name token, sighs, and thinks about Jiuxiao, saying that Chengling is as silly as Jiuxiao was.
Gu Xiang is complaining to WKX about not being allowed to keep fighting ZZS, and WKX reveals that he knows ZZS was using the Swift-Moving Steps! The youtube subtitles helpfully capitalize this so that we know it’s a specific technique name to pay attention to, and Gu Xiang asks what sect this is from. When WKX says it’s from Siji Manor, Gu Xiang asks what that is.
WKX ignores her, instead thinking “This man might be the variable. I shall see him.” Definitely not being flirty in this moment! Definitely thinking of some sort of plot! Really hard to figure out what sort of plot he’s thinking about, though!
ZZS walks over a bridge and hears some children chanting the first half of that rhyme. “You chase me and I’ll chase you, there’s a legend in the martial arts world. The water from the Five Lakes gathers around the world. Who else deserves the supremacy in the martial arts world?” I’m sure it sounds much better in chinese, because every time I see the english translation I get irritated by how many lines end with “world”. But that’s not the point!
The point is that ZZS has heard this before, and he thinks to himself that “The martial arts world has only been settled for a few years, but the five lakes alliance wants to gain power again and become the supreme leader of the martial arts world unfairly. They don’t deserve it. It will be a disaster.”
I am quoting this in full because it’s such an accurate description of what goes down with Zhao Jing. The writing/foreshadowing in this show is tremendous. So is ZZS’s general awareness of the jianghu’s political situation; even if he wasn’t involved with it for a decade, being back for three months has already given him enough to confidently make this judgement.
ZZS then wanders over to the riverside and meets an old boatman who really doesn’t want to give him a ride to Mirror Lake Manor. It’s delightful. Also, ZZS is rich for not quibbling over the price of this ride, I’m pretty sure; it’s like that “how much could a banana cost?” meme but for wuxia.
The boatman also asks if ZZS has bad intentions, which I’m mostly noting here because it’s an interesting mirror to ZZS asking WKX if he has bad intentions at the end of the episode. The boatman thinks ZZS is going to cheat him, or is crazy, or something else, and just wants to be left alone. Which… is interesting, considering how ZZS treats WKX in general during this episode. And considering how the boatman (like ZZS) is a martial artist pretending not to be one for various loyalty reasons. Apparently I have feelings about this boatman now?
And then WKX shows up and says “A fated man would not be rejected”, which really does tie into all the conversations at the end of this episode even more. Also, WKX wants to give ZZS a boat ride himself, though at this point it’s hard to tell how much is actual flirting and how much is him trying to get a rise out of ZZS. Or maybe he just wants more of a chance to study ZZS and figure out what’s up with him!
The boatman gets defensive about his customer regardless, so ZZS gets what he wants. He departs, and WKX promises to find him again. (ZZS definitely doesn’t want, or expect, that to be as soon as it will be.)
WKX watches ZZS go. Gu Xiang asks who “that sick dude” is, and WKX responds with “A variable”.
ZZS enjoys the peaceful boat ride.
(Please note WKX’s boat in the background, following him.)
(Please enjoy this shot, which I associate so strongly with the ending theme that it felt very weird to see it in the actual show!)
(To parallel with when they flee later; it’s basically the same shot but with different lighting/context.)
This boat ride would be a lot more aesthetic if ZZS were dressed more nicely (or at least didn’t have the mask on). ZZS also lets us know (via his thoughts) that we’re in Jiangnan. Not that he lets it stay pretty, since he’s commenting on how lovely it is by considering that “It’s worth it even if I die here”. Which is a mood that he has a lot more in TYK than SHL, but still!
Then the boatman starts cursing him out for idly staring off into the distance and not paying. ZZS probably was going to pay, but then the boatman swears at him too much and ZZS realises that it’s fun be to a dick sometimes and runs off.
He uses his qinggong to leap around the (apricot, probably, from his commentary?) beautifully-flowering trees and starts cursing nobody in particular with a laugh.
There’s an old boat in the forest? I don’t understand this? It’s a fun set-piece but I don’t get it.
ZZS learns that he’s out of wine, and then that someone’s attacking him via the way the last droplets get blown off his gourd’s mouth.
Time for a very beautiful fight between ZZS and WKX that’s mostly about WKX testing ZZS! We are told, via the theme music playing, that this is ~romance~. Which, that’s fair, it’s wenzhou; fighting is a perfect form of flirting.
There are also some lovely shots where they do the same movement at the same time, already in sync with each other.
ZZS almost draws Baiyi, but then thinks better of it as WKX comes to a half in front of him and apologises. WKX calls out how pretty his footwork is, ZZS says something’s wrong with his eyes, and WKX keeps describing him with poetry to make it clear that he knows about the Swift-Moving Steps.
ZZS is perturbed. WKX continues trying to get ZZS to come drink on his boat, in a very flirty way this time, and ZZS wants to know why he followed him here. WKX smugly points out that he made sure they met again (implying that he’s the fate bringing them together), and ZZS turns away, calls WKX an ass-kisser, and leaves.
Mirror Lake Manor!
ZZS is told lovely things about the Zhang family and those they associate with (kind, generous, righteous), and we’re treated to some nice shots of Mirror Lake disciples going through their forms. Their outfits are white robes over red, which is a fun color scheme. We’re also told that this manor is “small” but it’s hard to tell if that’s just politeness or actually true. It might actually be true! That’d be interesting!
The servant showing ZZS around gives off some scornful vibes as he talks about how he “didn’t expect [Chengling] to learn from [his older brothers]” in the implied sense of “bringing good martial artists home”, likely because ZZS looks like a beggar and doesn’t fit the general ~vibe~ of Mirror Lake Manor, which is done up in white and pale gray and very neat.
We then cut to Zhang Yusen talking to Zhang Chengfeng, his oldest son, about the Five Lakes Alliance rhyme. He says this line that is really confusing by youtube subs: “It’s been some time since Mirror Lake Sect is not involved in the world’s affair.” Which. Okay. Taking this line in the Chinese and sticking it into deepl gave me “Our Mirror Lake School has long been out of the world”, which is a lot easier to quickly parse? But has a different meaning on the surface of it?
I think that the line is supposed to get across that Zhang Yusen and the Mirror Lake Sect have been out of touch with the world’s affairs for a while, based on how the rest of this conversation goes, but it sure isn’t easy to get that from the youtube subs.
Zhang Yusen then wishes those who want to gain supremacy over the martial arts world good luck, but in that kind of tone where you can tell he doesn’t really mean it.
Zhang Chengfeng brings up another verse that has appeared recently and calls it creepy and suspicious! “The Iridescent Clouds are scattered and the Glaze is shattered. Who will cry with the Ghosts on Mount Qingya?”
Zhang Yusen appears not to have heard this before, and Zhang Chengfeng starts asking if this is hinting about the Glazed Armor but his father cuts him off and warns him to be careful with his words.
He turns to look out at the courtyard, and after a moment Zhang Chengfeng mentions that Deng-shixiong (Deng Kuan) “came to invite [the sect] to the mid-autumn festival gathering of the Five Lakes Alliance again” and suggests that they visit Gao-bobo there this year.
As this dialogue happens, we see ZZS being shown around the manor and passing through the courtyard right in front of where ZYS and ZCF are talking, and this distracts Zhang Yusen from the whole topic. He wants to know who ZZS is, and Zhang Chengfeng calls him “A beggar who got Chengling’s name card and is trying to seek money” and says that he doesn’t know how they met.
Zhang Yusen gets a lot more serious at this point, and tells Zhang Chengfeng to take care of his brothers (Chengluan, the middle brother; and Chengling, the youngest) by not allowing either of them off “this island”, because Mirror Lake Manor is on an island and I keep forgetting that.
ZZS is shown into a woodshed, pretends like he’s going to be offended about that, and then tells the servant who’s brought him here that it’s great and the only thing he needs is wine.
(I really want to know if, during this day, Chengling and ZZS meet/talk more. But we aren’t shown that!)
Hard cut to Prince Jin and Duan Pengju!
DPJ just killed a few generals who were being uncooperative, and Prince Jin wants their heads hung at the city gate as examples. DPJ agrees to do this, and then tells Prince Jin some news from their spy: Someone is spreading a creepy song among the kids in Jiangnan! Perhaps it has information about the Glazed Armor! Prince Jin orders him to send men to investigate.
DPJ also tells Prince Jin that the spy they’d set on ZZS’s tail has lost him, and Prince Jin seems unsurprised that ZZS was prepared for such things as he tells DPJ to continue searching for him.
And then we’re back to ZZS in Mirror Lake Manor’s woodshed, not sleeping because it’s midnight and “the Nails of Seven Torments are hurrying [his] death again”. It’s really interesting seeing the extent of the side effects here, with all the black lines rippling through his body and him poking at acupoints (presumably) to try and halt them. It’s more intense than the side effects are portrayed as later on, presumably because the show figures it’d made its point about how rough this is for ZZS.
He finishes quelling the nails’ effects and opens his eyes to find the manor on fire!
ZZS jumps up to the roof and stands there like Batman for a bit as he listens to people screaming for help and swords clashing together.
We’re shown ghosts killing servants, and ZZS continues watching. He thinks to himself that he’s “read about these ghost masks in some book” and wonders why they’re after Mirror Lake Sect.
And then he jumps down, pulls out Baiyi, and kills some ghosts.
There’s no sign of any disciples of Mirror Lake Sect, just dead servants, and ZZS observes that “none of the martial artists are fighting back” and realises how hard Mirror Lake Sect got hit by Ghost Valley. (So, even though he doesn’t recognise the masks right away, he still knows enough to be certain they’re Ghost Valley’s people.)
ZZS jumps onto another roof and sees the old boatman and Chengling escaping, another set of ghosts chasing after them.
Before he can think too much about that, though, he sees a mechanical bird! The youtube subs say he calls it “The Trapped Sparrow”, but the chinese is 机关雀 (jīguān què), and that seems to literally translate to “mechanical bird”, so dunno why youtube subs are making it fancier and making one question what kind of trap the bird might be.
ZZS immediately realises there’s a spy from Tian Chuang here, and doesn’t know why. Presumably this is the same spy that had just given DPJ all that information he just told Prince Jin! Dunno why they had a spy out here to begin with; were they already actively looking for the Glazed Armor? Probaby? This one isn’t here for ZZS, at least.
ZZS doesn’t care about the why, setting the whole matter aside to focus on saving Chengling.
We learn that the boatman can fight with two swords pretty well, that these three ghosts can fight with cutting wires (it’s really gorgeous to watch them coordinate and spin around each other!), and that Chengling is no good in a fight.
(look at these gloves!)
The boatman gets injured as ZZS arrives, for maximum drama, and ZZS swoops in front of them to save them. ZZS tells Chengling and the boatman to run and then fights off some more ghosts.
I am like 90% certain that this ghost that was jumping at him got knocked back/killed by not ZZS. Since ZZS then turns and sees WKX lounging in a circular wall cut-out being aesthetic with his fan, WKX probably interfered with a walnut, like he enjoys doing.
WKX smirks and they share a moment of eye contact. ZZS coughs, because seriously his injuries seem to be way worse now than they are later in the series, and leaves. WKX watches him go and takes a drink from a flask.
When ZZS turns back a few seconds later (having reached the boat with Chengling and the boatman), WKX has disappeared.
(As previously mentioned, it’s a mirror to the shot of ZZS coming to Mirror Lake Manor.)
Inside Mirror Lake Manor, a bunch of ghosts have captured Zhang Yusen, Zhang Chengfeng, and Zhang Chengluan! Zhang Yusen’s right arm has been cut off! They’re all tied up, and his sons are gagged. (There is no sign of Zhang-furen or any other disciples.)
There’s no specific leader for these ghosts—even though later on Bai Wuchang (White Grim Reaper, iirc?) takes the blame for this attack (for Wuchang Gui | Changing Ghost), we don't see any sign of any named ghost in this sequence. (Other than WKX, of course.)
The ghosts tell ZYS that if he doesn’t want to suffer, he needs to hand over the Glazed Armor. When ZYS refuses, the ghosts change from threatening him to threatening his sons. We aren’t shown what happens, but next episode we learn that they all got cut to pieces. I doubt it was pleasant, and yet we also know that nobody realised that Chengling had the Glazed Armor hidden in his side (except ZZS and I think WKX) until Chengling revealed it himself.
We return to ZZS, Chengling, and Uncle Li the boatman in the abandoned temple. Neither ZZS nor Uncle Li introduce themselves at this point, so Chengling is the only person whose name everyone knows!
ZZS and the boatman bicker about boat rides, saving lives, and payment due before ZZS stops the conversation by sitting down to meditate and calm his internal injuries. He suggests Uncle Li and Chengling run, but Chengling is a good and loyal kid who doesn’t let his rescue attempt go; he doesn’t want to disappoint his dad by being discourteous and leaving ZZS here.
Uncle Li points out that ZYS is probably dead, and Chengling refutes that and says that “My father is Qiu Yue Jian” (秋月剑, qiū yuè jiàn; lit. “autumn moon sword”), which is a cool title that I don’t think we hear again after this temple fight! :D (it’s also made up entirely of hanzi I recognise on sight! which I enjoy.)
We learn that ZYS saved Uncle Li’s life once, and that he’s been a boatman here for three years looking for a chance to “return him my life”/repay the debt. He urges Chengling to run to Tai Lake and find Sanbai-daxia (Zhao Jing; his title is 三白, sān bái) (…the subs say Chevalier Sanbai but I cannot figure out what I think of ‘chevalier’ as a title in a wuxia context because it’s so strongly a title I associate with western knights, so instead you’ll get my consistent use of ‘daxia’ [大侠, dàxiá]).
Chengling continues refusing to leave, and the door blows open. He picks up one of Uncle Li’s swords, insists he’s a martial artist, and tells the other two to heal their injuries while he guards them.
He’s trying! He has a good heart! He clearly is not skilled, since a gust of wind inspires him to drop the sword.
Ghosts appear, hovering on balls of qi like they’re airbenders, and Uncle Li asks if ZZS can stand up. ZZS says he needs 15 minutes, and Uncle Li readies himself to give ZZS that time.
One of the completely unremarkable ghosts declares that “Hanged Ghost, one of the top ten evil ghosts from Mount Qingya, is here!”, which is a blatant lie that serves its purpose of intimidating Chengling. Especially since it’s followed up by a demand for the Glazed Armor! Which on a first viewing we don’t know is with Chengling, but since it is he must be going “oh shit oh shit oh shit” right now, since if the ghosts know it’s with him that implies that someone else who knew (his dad, maybe his brothers?) gave up the secret, which implies that they’re dead.
Uncle Li bursts out of the ruined temple to fight some ghosts and tells Chengling to go back inside. He does an admirable job, the ghosts are very pretty on their wires, and ZZS is doing his best to heal quickly.
Uncle Li still gets super beat-up and gets tossed back into the temple, and we finally learn his name as Chengling shouts “Li-bobo” and runs over to see if he’s still alive.
The ghosts enter the temple, ZZS continues meditating, and Chengling tries to kill some ghosts. He gets disarmed in the first strike, because he’s not good at this! Also, his hat finally gets knocked off, which makes him much easier to recognise.
The leading ghost insults Chengling by saying “I didn’t expect Qiu Yue Jian would have such a useless kid”. On a first viewing, that just seems like a normal insult. On this rewatch, I’m contemplating this line and how much Zhao Jing is responsible for, and it makes me consider way more heavily whose fault the attack on Mirror Lake Sect really was. I know there are clues to this scattered throughout the whole show, but I don’t recall them all! I wasn’t paying attention to Zhao Jing until the midway point of the show, the first time around, because we aren’t meant to.
The ghost raises his sword very dramatically. Chengling really hopes ZZS will wake from his meditation, but when the sword starts coming down he throws himself between ZZS and the ghost’s blade. Which does wake ZZS up, so that worked I guess.
But then! A whip comes down and wraps around the ghost’s neck, and everyone’s like “what.” about it as we’re treated to Gu Xiang’s dramatic entrance. She starts beating people up, ZZS gets to go back to stabilising his internal injuries, and Chengling and Uncle Li are just kind of confused but glad someone is keeping them from getting hurt.
Gu Xiang’s opening lines about “How dare you practice evil in front of me” are very cute.
She’s fighting people when Chengling is standing around watching and gets grabbed by some cloth, so Uncle Li makes a last heroic effort to cut the cloth and free him and kill that ghost.
For all that Gu Xiang enters with a whip, she fights most of this combat using a knife and her body. It makes sense; they’re in a fairly tight space, and a whip takes more room to maneuver accurately. She also gets rescued from a backstab by some walnuts during this sequence, which is the first sign of WKX’s presence in this location.
There are four ghosts left (and not fighting Gu Xiang) when ZZS finishes his meditation. He draws Baiyi and kills all four of them in one go, then turns and slices what’s probably another walnut out of the air.
Gu Xiang kills her own last ghost, then compliments ZZS’s martial arts.
ZZS coughs again. I guess he hasn’t learned how to calibrate his fighting for his injuries during these early bits? That’s the main explanation I can think of for why this short bout of fighting bothers him so much, compared to later matches with WKX or YBY.
ZZS also falls backwards into WKX’s arms, and he Does Not Like That. He regains his balance and lashes out with Baiyi, and WKX does that absolutely gorgeous catching of the blade as he spins around ZZS.
WKX continues to be very smug about having met ZZS again, but Uncle Li is coughing up blood so he’s more interesting to ZZS than WKX is.
ZZS gives Uncle Li some qi to help him stay functional, and Chengling comes over and is upset about how Uncle Li’s dying.
WKX checks Uncle Li’s pulse, which means he knows that Uncle Li is dying, and ZZS (after accepting that Uncle Li’s recognised his martial skill) looks at him to see his prognosis. WKX shakes his head, and this is honestly the first non-combative conversation they’ve had and it’s about someone else’s death. What does this say about them? I’m not sure, but it sure is something.
WKX still gives Uncle Li some more qi, which has its healing effects, and ZZS gives him a sidelong glance of “Wait really?” but they end up sitting next to each other and working together very nicely. They have not said a word in this conversation and it is the nicest they’ve mutually been to each other.
Uncle Li’s happy he can repay ZYS, and then starts dragging ZZS into taking care of Chengling. He frames it as repayment for the boat rides, and asks ZZS to make sure Chengling gets to Zhao Jing safely. Chengling is upset by how this means Uncle Li is going to die! Gu Xiang and WKX are surprisingly quiet throughout all of this, and WKX keeps providing qi to Uncle Li.
“You’re a good kid, but your father has taught you too well,” Uncle Li tells Chengling.
Zhou Zishu is finally given a reason to introduce himself, and after a long pause he gives his name as Zhou Xu. There’s a distinct reaction shot of WKX during this. I can’t figure out what he’s thinking, but he sure is thinking something about ZZS’s name.
Uncle Li tells Chengling to bow to ZZS and listen to him in the future.
Thus begins their relationship! We get reaction shots for both WKX and Gu Xiang, this time, who both seem to be looking more at ZZS than Chengling.
Uncle Li tells ZZS to be loyal to Chengling, or else he’ll curse ZZS’s ancestors from beyond the grave. Everyone has a lot of feelings about this! And then Uncle Li kind of collapses into death. WKX catches him (with a look of surprise? or something? I can’t quite tell), Gu Xiang matches WKX, Chengling starts sobbing, and ZZS mostly looks resigned to the responsibility he’s taken on.
But ZZS takes Uncle Li’s body from WKX, closes Uncle Li’s eyes, and promises that he’ll take care of Chengling. WKX observes this, and really just looks like he’s trying to figure out what ZZS’s deal even is. Which is fair; this is the first time either of them have really observed each other being nice to someone.
We cut to Yue’s docks, where Deng Kuan is yelling for a boatman. They can see the hazy glow of Mirror Lake Manor burning, and wonder what’s even going on.
Unfortunately, all the boats have had holes gouged into them, so they’re no longer usable. Also, the boatman and his family are dead.
Deng Kuan, now very worried, sets off a signal flare.
We return to the abandoned temple and our family of protagonists who are nothing like a family yet. Chengling is kneeling in front of a simple grave, ZZS standing at his side, while WKX watches from further back. Chengling only knows Uncle Li’s surname, and ZZS gives him a piece of charcoal to write it on the piece of wood serving as a gravestone.
WKX praises Uncle Li’s good sense for entrusting Chengling to ZZS. He also starts complimenting ZZS, probably partially as a way of going “wtf” about his mask, which is so fair! Apparently, to WKX lovely bone structure means being a man who places much value in loyalty.
ZZS thanks WKX, and WKX finally introduces himself! WKX then asks about Zhou Xu, and learns that he took the name from willow catkins, which WKX takes as an invitation to continue complimenting him. ZZS just looks tired.
Chengling collapses as he finishes the last stroke of Uncle Li’s name, and both ZZS and WKX catch him. Chengling protests that he’s fine and just felt dizzy suddenly, which probably nobody here believes but everyone lets slide.
WKX tells Chengling to stop being tough, and points out that he’s exhausted and needs rest.
Chengling continues trying to say he’s fine, despite needing help to stand up, and WKX says that resting for a night is fine. ZZS hasn’t said anything since asking if Chengling is okay, and both of them watch as WKX calls for Gu Xiang to start a fire and make food.
She already has, of course, and WKX invites the other two over to eat.
Gu Xiang gives the first flatbread to WKX, who had been staring off into the distance. He stares at it, then moves closer to the fire to hand it to ZZS. (Which: he’s calling ZZS “兄台”, xiōngtái, instead of Zhou-xiong? Which would be equally polite, I’m pretty sure? It’s interesting. I feel like it goes along with WKX being pretty certain that Zhou Xu is a fake name to go with a fake face.)
ZZS ignores him. Gu Xiang gets offended that WKX isn’t eating first. ZZS does take the flatbread on a stick that Gu Xiang offers him, even if he just kind of stares at it.
Gu Xiang then starts telling ZZS that “though your martial arts are good, you’re timid” and asks if he’s afraid she’ll poison him. WKX shuts her up by stuffing some bread in her mouth, and then offers the rest of that piece to ZZS in case he really doesn’t trust her.
ZZS says he isn’t hungry, and Gu Xiang continues talking about how ZZS is being so guarded with them while having promised to protect Chengling because of a three-silver debt. WKX again interrupts with nice words for ZZS about following principles and keeping promises and “travelling a long journey without fear of death” (which is very fitting for him) before calling him “Zhou-jun” (which feels like a teasing shift in formality from xiongtai) and saying that he’s a gentleman (君子, jūnzǐ, a word that uses the same ‘jun’ as the Zhou-jun WKX had addressed him with).
Gu Xiang whines about WKX “acting literate”, because he’s making references that are going over her head. Chengling names this reference, saying that it’s “written in a historical record by Sima Qian”, and explains it for her (and for the audience). It’s most of what WKX said, it seems, and Chengling ends by saying that his father taught him this.
Chengling tries to thank ZZS, ZZS tells him not to, and then hands over the bread on a stick without actually looking at Chengling.
Chengling takes it, looks sadly at the bread, and Gu Xiang also tosses him a bun because he doesn’t seem to like the bread. Chengling says he’s not going to eat her food, Gu Xiang points out that she saved his life, and WKX once more tells her off in a rather polite fashion.
Gu Xiang says that “people nowadays can’t distinguish between good and evil” (look! a Theme of the show!) and is generally aggravated about how useless Chengling was in the fight.
Chengling is not having a good time! He’s very resilient, and he’s a polite boy, so he stands and apologises to Gu Xiang and bows to thank her for saving his life. ZZS seems surprised by this, and Gu Xiang is very taken aback because she did not ask for (or expect) this.
(I feel like I’ve been told this is a visual pun about gayness somehow but I cannot for the life of me remember how/when/where I was told this.)
Cut to lounging around the fire, and WKX decides he can go back to saying “Zhou-xiong” as he asks ZZS if he disguised himself.
ZZS doesn’t respond, which appears to amuse WKX, and WKX changes targets to Chengling (who he’s currently calling Zhang-gongzi most of the time); Chengling takes this as a reason to introduce himself (calling WKX ‘daxia’) and saying WKX can call him Chengling.
WKX says not to call him ‘daxia’ (大侠, dàxiá; consistently translated as ‘chevalier’), because he hates ‘daxia’ (chevaliers, martial heroes). Chengling doesn’t know what to say to this, and Gu Xiang jumps in to mock Chengling for talking a big game about righteousness and helping others but not being capable of doing anything himself. Chengling gets angry/upset, and ZZS takes note.
This time, WKX doesn’t jump in, but ZZS says that “A man should never quarrel with others”, which is enough to get Chengling to back down/sit down. We’re also shown the first sign of his injury! He clutches at his side, and WKX clearly notes this.
Gu Xiang keeps going, saying that Chengling can’t even hold a sword properly, and WKX finally tells her to stop.
ZZS also goes “Ah, yes, I haven’t thanked you yet, kind lady” (a term thattrobadora pointed out to me last week was actually “小善人”, xiǎo shànrén [little philanthropist], to match how WKX starts calling himself “Philanthropist Wen” later), and Gu Xiang tells him to stop calling her that because it gives her goosebumps. She introduces herself at this point, too.
ZZS talks about how they’re clearly fated, and we’re treated to WKX’s very slight smile as ZZS says “We met at the right time” (and then follows it up with “We met at the wrong time, too”, which is such a summary of ZZS and WKX’s relationship). WKX points out that ZZS and Chengling are fated too.
Chengling is currently realising that he’s bleeding through his clothes, which isn’t good, and WKX asks about his injury. Chengling says he’s fine, and nobody believes him. WKX stands, says that he’s learned some medical skills from his family, and offers to treat him. Chengling continues insisting he’s fine, and ZZS steps between them.
WKX keeps pressing, ZZS keeps protecting, and they get into a lovely little spat. (Chengling is rather “uhhhh” about this, Gu Xiang is delighted.)
(This one reminds me of Ye Baiyi’s face when Wen Kexing goes after him.)
They pause, ZZS tells WKX that “if you have bad intentions, make it clear; you don’t have to act”, and WKX seems to find this delightful. He doesn’t drop the act, but he does stop trying to push Chengling to let him help, and all this clearly continues upping his interest in ZZS.
And then we end with a lovely shot of WKX smirking at ZZS!
This is his expression during so much of this episode; it’s fascinating.
General Commentary
Chengling’s attitude before the attack on Mirror Lake Manor is a lot more confident and, well, young-lord-like than it is after. Partially that’s the trauma, I’m sure! But it also makes me wonder if he’s acting younger around ZZS and WKX because it’s so clear that want to see him as a child (and as more of a son than a little brother), and also to make the shifu/disciple relationship he wants more viable. (They’re like… fifteen years apart in age? Which means that ZZS and WKX are like twice Chengling’s age, sure, but it also isn’t enough to really be a full generation-gap.)
I know I said in the recap text that probably the Zhangs didn’t spill that their Glazed Armor was with Chengling, but if they did? And if the “ghosts” were Zhao Jing’s men? That would explain more of why Tian Chuang was so into capturing Chengling in ep8—we know that they were specifically after him, and that Tian Chuang has contacts with Zhao Jing. I dunno! Thoughts?
This has nothing to do with plot or anything but any time I think about Yueyang Sect’s disciple uniform too much I start wondering what all the straps are for. Aesthetic? It’s certainly a Look, but I don’t know what I think about it.
Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu’s interactions during this episode are fascinating! Neither of them trust each other, but Wen Kexing is clearly fascinated by Zhou Zishu and is trying to dig into his secrets already. It’s hard to say how much he remembers right now about his brief time at Siji Manor, but it sure left an impression, that two decades later he’s still able to recognise the Swift-Moving Steps that most people in the jianghu have forgotten about. As much as his enjoyment of pretty people, and whatever that whole “variable” thing is about, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zhou Zishu’s connection to Siji Manor is also part of what he’s after.
Zhou Zishu, on the other hand, just wants Wen Kexing to leave him alone (and is only asking questions to ascertain his purpose). Which is so valid, because Wen Kexing’s whole body language (especially his smirks) probably scream “court sleaze”, and Zhou Zishu ran away from responsibility and people who wanted his attention.
As I was going through the episode for the second time gathering screenshots (yes that needs to be a separate thing for me), I realised that there’s a decent chance Wen Kexing actively told Gu Xiang to be more of a dick and antagonist Zhou Zishu and Chengling so that he can build up his “No I’m actually a nice man” persona more by making her stop being like that. Or just generally seem like a more pleasant person by contrast.
Questions! (to answer or not, as you wish.)
Next week: Episode three, wherein ZZS fails to get WKX to leave him alone and we’re introduced to a lot of jianghu characters! (Shen Shen! Huang He! Gao Chong! Uhhh the pastel grandparents I always forget the names of! Some other folk too!)
Today we begin learning about the Five Lakes Alliance, Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu bicker, and Mirror Lake Manor burns.
Please feel free to read and comment on this at your leisure! I continue to write many words!
Scenes in This Episode
WKX makes GX stop fighting and leave
ZCL gives ZZS his name token
WKX identifies the swift-moving steps
ZZS hears the five lakes alliance rhyme
ZZS and the boatman (ft. WKX interlude)
WenZhou’s first sparring match
ZZS enters Mirror Lake Manor, ft. Zhang Yusen and Zhang Chengfeng (first mention of the glazed armor rhyme is here!)
Prince Jin and DPJ send men to investigate the glazed armor rhyme and continue searching for ZZS.
ZZS waking at midnight to quell the nails’ side effects
The attack on Mirror Lake Manor
ZYS and his sons are threatened for the Glazed Armor
ZZS, Uncle Li, and Chengling at the abandoned temple
GX and WKX’s timely rescue
ZZS agreeing to escort Chengling to Zhao Jing
Deng Kuan tries to get to Mirror Lake Manor but the boats have been wrecked
A nice meal around the fire with absolutely no bickering at all
WKX isn’t allowed to help tend Chengling’s wound
A Rough Timeline of Events
This episode happens in less than 24hrs! No need for a timeline today, so long as one assumes all events happen in sequence and we aren’t skipping any days. (Which seems like a fair assumption to make.)
The rhyme about the Five Lakes Alliance’s ambitions has existed for long enough that ZZS notes “that rhyme again”, so at least a few weeks.
“Recently”, the verse about glazed armor and the ghosts of Mount Qingya appeared.
Recap! With Commentary!
…today we also learn that if I give myself more time to do something I get sidetracked more easily while doing it, so uh hope you enjoy me spending a bunch of time staring at subtitles and going “hey what’s the chinese for that?”. (Do I know chinese at all? Not really! [I am effectively monolingual, though I know scattered words and grammar of various other languages.] Do I find it interesting to look things up? Yes! It’s very fun! I learn things!)
We begin by once more being shown WKX protecting ZZS and staring at Gu Xiang. He reels her in, fairly literally, while everyone looks on, and then turns to ZZS to apologise for his “maid” (婢 bì, which pleco’s saying would be slave/servant-girl).
(There’s a whole possible conversation—that I don’t know enough, linguistically or culturally, to feel equipped to have—about the kinda derogatory language Wen Kexing uses to refer to Gu Xiang. But, even if I don’t know enough to really discuss it, I want to mention it! And if people know of resources by Chinese people discussing this, I’d love to see them. Along with 婢, WKX also sometimes calls GX 丫头, yātou. Both of these terms, by dictionaries and what I’ve heard elsewhere, include some connotations of “slave”, and while WKX and GX are clearly on good terms, it’s… well. It’s the reciprocal side of her calling him 主人, zhǔrén, all the time. Anyway. I’m unlikely to mention this again because I really don’t know enough, but it’s something I want to learn more about.)
ZZS tries to hide behind the wine and says he should be the one apologising (though nobody outright says why). The contrast between the two of them right now is very striking, with ZZS’s beggar outfit and WKX’s pure white (ghost-coded, death-coded) robes.
WKX walks away, and Gu Xiang follows, but not before exchanging a challenging look with ZZS. He seems amused by this.
ZZS goes back over to where he’d been lying at the base of the bridge, and Chengling carries his (lost via weaponisation) hat back and calls ZZS “my friend in the martial arts world” and introduces himself. He then asks for ZZS’s name and where he trained. (the youtube subs say “which clique or sect are you from?” but I’m poking at the Chinese subs and suspect that “Where did you train?” or “What martial lineage are you from?” would be equally reasonable translations. Mostly I’m just ??? over “clique or sect”; why is it not just “sect”?)
ZZS demures, and starts coughing, possibly as a distraction but also probably for general sympathy points. It’s really entertaining seeing how much he presents himself as a sick man here vs later in the show when he’s distinctly worse-off physically. But he’s a lot more committed to the whole “I’m gonna die!” thing right now than later, so it’s emotionally fitting.
“I’m not talented. I don’t belong to any clique or sect.” (youtube subs say), and this time I won’t argue about it being two different words, since he did use two different terms to deny that he’s part of any formal lineage (I think ‘clique’ is a weird choice of word regardless, but that’s not the point). So I suppose that’s why Chengling’s question was translated how it was, but it’s still an odd choice to me.
Chengling’s servant wants him to go, but Chengling decisively brings out a token and places it on ZZS’s chest (because ZZS is pouring wine for himself) and says that ZZS is the Mirror Lake Sect’s guest now. ZZS is a bit “what” about this, and the servant is like “You shouldn’t do this! Your father wouldn’t approve!”
Chengling retorts that this is exactly what his father wants him to do. “We rely on our parents at home, but depend on our friends outside. Righteous men shall help each other.” All of which definitely sounds like he’s quoting Zhang Yusen, and gives me a lot of feelings about the kind of person Zhang Yusen must be.
“How do you know he’s a righteous man? Look at his attire. What if he’s a bad guy?” the servant asks, continuing to try and get Chengling to leave ZZS alone. (Also, “How do you know he’s a righteous man?” and judging people by appearances is a Theme! We’ll keep seeing how judging people by their appearance—and the first impression—fails people throughout the show.) When Chengling hesitates to respond, ZZS takes the opportunity to urge Chengling to be about his day and not bother with him any more.
We learn that Chengling was out in town buying his mom some pastries! This is possibly the only time his mother gets mentioned in the whole show. I would love to know literally anything about Zhang-furen, but I’m glad that she is—at this time—alive and well.
Chengling bids ZZS farewell with a bit of poetry, because that’s the kind of show this is. The youtube subs translate it as “Everything will stay as it is. ”, but that (while probably not wrong) is definitely not getting at the poetry of the literal meaning. Chengling says “青山不改, 绿水长流” (Qīngshān bù gǎi, lǜ shuǐ cháng liú; “The green hills do not change, the green water flows” according to google translate), which some googling tells me is a rather wuxia thing to say and connotes “We will meet again” at the very least. Which doesn’t come across at all in these english subs, thanks youtube. (He also, immediately after this poetic line, says a phrase with a much more straightforward meaning of “We’ll meet again someday”.)
Chengling leaves, and ZZS can finally get back to his very important business of lounging around doing nothing. Still, he examines the name token, sighs, and thinks about Jiuxiao, saying that Chengling is as silly as Jiuxiao was.
Gu Xiang is complaining to WKX about not being allowed to keep fighting ZZS, and WKX reveals that he knows ZZS was using the Swift-Moving Steps! The youtube subtitles helpfully capitalize this so that we know it’s a specific technique name to pay attention to, and Gu Xiang asks what sect this is from. When WKX says it’s from Siji Manor, Gu Xiang asks what that is.
WKX ignores her, instead thinking “This man might be the variable. I shall see him.” Definitely not being flirty in this moment! Definitely thinking of some sort of plot! Really hard to figure out what sort of plot he’s thinking about, though!
ZZS walks over a bridge and hears some children chanting the first half of that rhyme. “You chase me and I’ll chase you, there’s a legend in the martial arts world. The water from the Five Lakes gathers around the world. Who else deserves the supremacy in the martial arts world?” I’m sure it sounds much better in chinese, because every time I see the english translation I get irritated by how many lines end with “world”. But that’s not the point!
The point is that ZZS has heard this before, and he thinks to himself that “The martial arts world has only been settled for a few years, but the five lakes alliance wants to gain power again and become the supreme leader of the martial arts world unfairly. They don’t deserve it. It will be a disaster.”
I am quoting this in full because it’s such an accurate description of what goes down with Zhao Jing. The writing/foreshadowing in this show is tremendous. So is ZZS’s general awareness of the jianghu’s political situation; even if he wasn’t involved with it for a decade, being back for three months has already given him enough to confidently make this judgement.
ZZS then wanders over to the riverside and meets an old boatman who really doesn’t want to give him a ride to Mirror Lake Manor. It’s delightful. Also, ZZS is rich for not quibbling over the price of this ride, I’m pretty sure; it’s like that “how much could a banana cost?” meme but for wuxia.
The boatman also asks if ZZS has bad intentions, which I’m mostly noting here because it’s an interesting mirror to ZZS asking WKX if he has bad intentions at the end of the episode. The boatman thinks ZZS is going to cheat him, or is crazy, or something else, and just wants to be left alone. Which… is interesting, considering how ZZS treats WKX in general during this episode. And considering how the boatman (like ZZS) is a martial artist pretending not to be one for various loyalty reasons. Apparently I have feelings about this boatman now?
And then WKX shows up and says “A fated man would not be rejected”, which really does tie into all the conversations at the end of this episode even more. Also, WKX wants to give ZZS a boat ride himself, though at this point it’s hard to tell how much is actual flirting and how much is him trying to get a rise out of ZZS. Or maybe he just wants more of a chance to study ZZS and figure out what’s up with him!
The boatman gets defensive about his customer regardless, so ZZS gets what he wants. He departs, and WKX promises to find him again. (ZZS definitely doesn’t want, or expect, that to be as soon as it will be.)
WKX watches ZZS go. Gu Xiang asks who “that sick dude” is, and WKX responds with “A variable”.
ZZS enjoys the peaceful boat ride.
(Please note WKX’s boat in the background, following him.)
(Please enjoy this shot, which I associate so strongly with the ending theme that it felt very weird to see it in the actual show!)
(To parallel with when they flee later; it’s basically the same shot but with different lighting/context.)
This boat ride would be a lot more aesthetic if ZZS were dressed more nicely (or at least didn’t have the mask on). ZZS also lets us know (via his thoughts) that we’re in Jiangnan. Not that he lets it stay pretty, since he’s commenting on how lovely it is by considering that “It’s worth it even if I die here”. Which is a mood that he has a lot more in TYK than SHL, but still!
Then the boatman starts cursing him out for idly staring off into the distance and not paying. ZZS probably was going to pay, but then the boatman swears at him too much and ZZS realises that it’s fun be to a dick sometimes and runs off.
He uses his qinggong to leap around the (apricot, probably, from his commentary?) beautifully-flowering trees and starts cursing nobody in particular with a laugh.
There’s an old boat in the forest? I don’t understand this? It’s a fun set-piece but I don’t get it.
ZZS learns that he’s out of wine, and then that someone’s attacking him via the way the last droplets get blown off his gourd’s mouth.
Time for a very beautiful fight between ZZS and WKX that’s mostly about WKX testing ZZS! We are told, via the theme music playing, that this is ~romance~. Which, that’s fair, it’s wenzhou; fighting is a perfect form of flirting.
There are also some lovely shots where they do the same movement at the same time, already in sync with each other.
ZZS almost draws Baiyi, but then thinks better of it as WKX comes to a half in front of him and apologises. WKX calls out how pretty his footwork is, ZZS says something’s wrong with his eyes, and WKX keeps describing him with poetry to make it clear that he knows about the Swift-Moving Steps.
ZZS is perturbed. WKX continues trying to get ZZS to come drink on his boat, in a very flirty way this time, and ZZS wants to know why he followed him here. WKX smugly points out that he made sure they met again (implying that he’s the fate bringing them together), and ZZS turns away, calls WKX an ass-kisser, and leaves.
Mirror Lake Manor!
ZZS is told lovely things about the Zhang family and those they associate with (kind, generous, righteous), and we’re treated to some nice shots of Mirror Lake disciples going through their forms. Their outfits are white robes over red, which is a fun color scheme. We’re also told that this manor is “small” but it’s hard to tell if that’s just politeness or actually true. It might actually be true! That’d be interesting!
The servant showing ZZS around gives off some scornful vibes as he talks about how he “didn’t expect [Chengling] to learn from [his older brothers]” in the implied sense of “bringing good martial artists home”, likely because ZZS looks like a beggar and doesn’t fit the general ~vibe~ of Mirror Lake Manor, which is done up in white and pale gray and very neat.
We then cut to Zhang Yusen talking to Zhang Chengfeng, his oldest son, about the Five Lakes Alliance rhyme. He says this line that is really confusing by youtube subs: “It’s been some time since Mirror Lake Sect is not involved in the world’s affair.” Which. Okay. Taking this line in the Chinese and sticking it into deepl gave me “Our Mirror Lake School has long been out of the world”, which is a lot easier to quickly parse? But has a different meaning on the surface of it?
I think that the line is supposed to get across that Zhang Yusen and the Mirror Lake Sect have been out of touch with the world’s affairs for a while, based on how the rest of this conversation goes, but it sure isn’t easy to get that from the youtube subs.
Zhang Yusen then wishes those who want to gain supremacy over the martial arts world good luck, but in that kind of tone where you can tell he doesn’t really mean it.
Zhang Chengfeng brings up another verse that has appeared recently and calls it creepy and suspicious! “The Iridescent Clouds are scattered and the Glaze is shattered. Who will cry with the Ghosts on Mount Qingya?”
Zhang Yusen appears not to have heard this before, and Zhang Chengfeng starts asking if this is hinting about the Glazed Armor but his father cuts him off and warns him to be careful with his words.
He turns to look out at the courtyard, and after a moment Zhang Chengfeng mentions that Deng-shixiong (Deng Kuan) “came to invite [the sect] to the mid-autumn festival gathering of the Five Lakes Alliance again” and suggests that they visit Gao-bobo there this year.
As this dialogue happens, we see ZZS being shown around the manor and passing through the courtyard right in front of where ZYS and ZCF are talking, and this distracts Zhang Yusen from the whole topic. He wants to know who ZZS is, and Zhang Chengfeng calls him “A beggar who got Chengling’s name card and is trying to seek money” and says that he doesn’t know how they met.
Zhang Yusen gets a lot more serious at this point, and tells Zhang Chengfeng to take care of his brothers (Chengluan, the middle brother; and Chengling, the youngest) by not allowing either of them off “this island”, because Mirror Lake Manor is on an island and I keep forgetting that.
ZZS is shown into a woodshed, pretends like he’s going to be offended about that, and then tells the servant who’s brought him here that it’s great and the only thing he needs is wine.
(I really want to know if, during this day, Chengling and ZZS meet/talk more. But we aren’t shown that!)
Hard cut to Prince Jin and Duan Pengju!
DPJ just killed a few generals who were being uncooperative, and Prince Jin wants their heads hung at the city gate as examples. DPJ agrees to do this, and then tells Prince Jin some news from their spy: Someone is spreading a creepy song among the kids in Jiangnan! Perhaps it has information about the Glazed Armor! Prince Jin orders him to send men to investigate.
DPJ also tells Prince Jin that the spy they’d set on ZZS’s tail has lost him, and Prince Jin seems unsurprised that ZZS was prepared for such things as he tells DPJ to continue searching for him.
And then we’re back to ZZS in Mirror Lake Manor’s woodshed, not sleeping because it’s midnight and “the Nails of Seven Torments are hurrying [his] death again”. It’s really interesting seeing the extent of the side effects here, with all the black lines rippling through his body and him poking at acupoints (presumably) to try and halt them. It’s more intense than the side effects are portrayed as later on, presumably because the show figures it’d made its point about how rough this is for ZZS.
He finishes quelling the nails’ effects and opens his eyes to find the manor on fire!
ZZS jumps up to the roof and stands there like Batman for a bit as he listens to people screaming for help and swords clashing together.
We’re shown ghosts killing servants, and ZZS continues watching. He thinks to himself that he’s “read about these ghost masks in some book” and wonders why they’re after Mirror Lake Sect.
And then he jumps down, pulls out Baiyi, and kills some ghosts.
There’s no sign of any disciples of Mirror Lake Sect, just dead servants, and ZZS observes that “none of the martial artists are fighting back” and realises how hard Mirror Lake Sect got hit by Ghost Valley. (So, even though he doesn’t recognise the masks right away, he still knows enough to be certain they’re Ghost Valley’s people.)
ZZS jumps onto another roof and sees the old boatman and Chengling escaping, another set of ghosts chasing after them.
Before he can think too much about that, though, he sees a mechanical bird! The youtube subs say he calls it “The Trapped Sparrow”, but the chinese is 机关雀 (jīguān què), and that seems to literally translate to “mechanical bird”, so dunno why youtube subs are making it fancier and making one question what kind of trap the bird might be.
ZZS immediately realises there’s a spy from Tian Chuang here, and doesn’t know why. Presumably this is the same spy that had just given DPJ all that information he just told Prince Jin! Dunno why they had a spy out here to begin with; were they already actively looking for the Glazed Armor? Probaby? This one isn’t here for ZZS, at least.
ZZS doesn’t care about the why, setting the whole matter aside to focus on saving Chengling.
We learn that the boatman can fight with two swords pretty well, that these three ghosts can fight with cutting wires (it’s really gorgeous to watch them coordinate and spin around each other!), and that Chengling is no good in a fight.
(look at these gloves!)
The boatman gets injured as ZZS arrives, for maximum drama, and ZZS swoops in front of them to save them. ZZS tells Chengling and the boatman to run and then fights off some more ghosts.
I am like 90% certain that this ghost that was jumping at him got knocked back/killed by not ZZS. Since ZZS then turns and sees WKX lounging in a circular wall cut-out being aesthetic with his fan, WKX probably interfered with a walnut, like he enjoys doing.
WKX smirks and they share a moment of eye contact. ZZS coughs, because seriously his injuries seem to be way worse now than they are later in the series, and leaves. WKX watches him go and takes a drink from a flask.
When ZZS turns back a few seconds later (having reached the boat with Chengling and the boatman), WKX has disappeared.
(As previously mentioned, it’s a mirror to the shot of ZZS coming to Mirror Lake Manor.)
Inside Mirror Lake Manor, a bunch of ghosts have captured Zhang Yusen, Zhang Chengfeng, and Zhang Chengluan! Zhang Yusen’s right arm has been cut off! They’re all tied up, and his sons are gagged. (There is no sign of Zhang-furen or any other disciples.)
There’s no specific leader for these ghosts—even though later on Bai Wuchang (White Grim Reaper, iirc?) takes the blame for this attack (for Wuchang Gui | Changing Ghost), we don't see any sign of any named ghost in this sequence. (Other than WKX, of course.)
The ghosts tell ZYS that if he doesn’t want to suffer, he needs to hand over the Glazed Armor. When ZYS refuses, the ghosts change from threatening him to threatening his sons. We aren’t shown what happens, but next episode we learn that they all got cut to pieces. I doubt it was pleasant, and yet we also know that nobody realised that Chengling had the Glazed Armor hidden in his side (except ZZS and I think WKX) until Chengling revealed it himself.
We return to ZZS, Chengling, and Uncle Li the boatman in the abandoned temple. Neither ZZS nor Uncle Li introduce themselves at this point, so Chengling is the only person whose name everyone knows!
ZZS and the boatman bicker about boat rides, saving lives, and payment due before ZZS stops the conversation by sitting down to meditate and calm his internal injuries. He suggests Uncle Li and Chengling run, but Chengling is a good and loyal kid who doesn’t let his rescue attempt go; he doesn’t want to disappoint his dad by being discourteous and leaving ZZS here.
Uncle Li points out that ZYS is probably dead, and Chengling refutes that and says that “My father is Qiu Yue Jian” (秋月剑, qiū yuè jiàn; lit. “autumn moon sword”), which is a cool title that I don’t think we hear again after this temple fight! :D (it’s also made up entirely of hanzi I recognise on sight! which I enjoy.)
We learn that ZYS saved Uncle Li’s life once, and that he’s been a boatman here for three years looking for a chance to “return him my life”/repay the debt. He urges Chengling to run to Tai Lake and find Sanbai-daxia (Zhao Jing; his title is 三白, sān bái) (…the subs say Chevalier Sanbai but I cannot figure out what I think of ‘chevalier’ as a title in a wuxia context because it’s so strongly a title I associate with western knights, so instead you’ll get my consistent use of ‘daxia’ [大侠, dàxiá]).
Chengling continues refusing to leave, and the door blows open. He picks up one of Uncle Li’s swords, insists he’s a martial artist, and tells the other two to heal their injuries while he guards them.
He’s trying! He has a good heart! He clearly is not skilled, since a gust of wind inspires him to drop the sword.
Ghosts appear, hovering on balls of qi like they’re airbenders, and Uncle Li asks if ZZS can stand up. ZZS says he needs 15 minutes, and Uncle Li readies himself to give ZZS that time.
One of the completely unremarkable ghosts declares that “Hanged Ghost, one of the top ten evil ghosts from Mount Qingya, is here!”, which is a blatant lie that serves its purpose of intimidating Chengling. Especially since it’s followed up by a demand for the Glazed Armor! Which on a first viewing we don’t know is with Chengling, but since it is he must be going “oh shit oh shit oh shit” right now, since if the ghosts know it’s with him that implies that someone else who knew (his dad, maybe his brothers?) gave up the secret, which implies that they’re dead.
Uncle Li bursts out of the ruined temple to fight some ghosts and tells Chengling to go back inside. He does an admirable job, the ghosts are very pretty on their wires, and ZZS is doing his best to heal quickly.
Uncle Li still gets super beat-up and gets tossed back into the temple, and we finally learn his name as Chengling shouts “Li-bobo” and runs over to see if he’s still alive.
The ghosts enter the temple, ZZS continues meditating, and Chengling tries to kill some ghosts. He gets disarmed in the first strike, because he’s not good at this! Also, his hat finally gets knocked off, which makes him much easier to recognise.
The leading ghost insults Chengling by saying “I didn’t expect Qiu Yue Jian would have such a useless kid”. On a first viewing, that just seems like a normal insult. On this rewatch, I’m contemplating this line and how much Zhao Jing is responsible for, and it makes me consider way more heavily whose fault the attack on Mirror Lake Sect really was. I know there are clues to this scattered throughout the whole show, but I don’t recall them all! I wasn’t paying attention to Zhao Jing until the midway point of the show, the first time around, because we aren’t meant to.
The ghost raises his sword very dramatically. Chengling really hopes ZZS will wake from his meditation, but when the sword starts coming down he throws himself between ZZS and the ghost’s blade. Which does wake ZZS up, so that worked I guess.
But then! A whip comes down and wraps around the ghost’s neck, and everyone’s like “what.” about it as we’re treated to Gu Xiang’s dramatic entrance. She starts beating people up, ZZS gets to go back to stabilising his internal injuries, and Chengling and Uncle Li are just kind of confused but glad someone is keeping them from getting hurt.
Gu Xiang’s opening lines about “How dare you practice evil in front of me” are very cute.
She’s fighting people when Chengling is standing around watching and gets grabbed by some cloth, so Uncle Li makes a last heroic effort to cut the cloth and free him and kill that ghost.
For all that Gu Xiang enters with a whip, she fights most of this combat using a knife and her body. It makes sense; they’re in a fairly tight space, and a whip takes more room to maneuver accurately. She also gets rescued from a backstab by some walnuts during this sequence, which is the first sign of WKX’s presence in this location.
There are four ghosts left (and not fighting Gu Xiang) when ZZS finishes his meditation. He draws Baiyi and kills all four of them in one go, then turns and slices what’s probably another walnut out of the air.
Gu Xiang kills her own last ghost, then compliments ZZS’s martial arts.
ZZS coughs again. I guess he hasn’t learned how to calibrate his fighting for his injuries during these early bits? That’s the main explanation I can think of for why this short bout of fighting bothers him so much, compared to later matches with WKX or YBY.
ZZS also falls backwards into WKX’s arms, and he Does Not Like That. He regains his balance and lashes out with Baiyi, and WKX does that absolutely gorgeous catching of the blade as he spins around ZZS.
WKX continues to be very smug about having met ZZS again, but Uncle Li is coughing up blood so he’s more interesting to ZZS than WKX is.
ZZS gives Uncle Li some qi to help him stay functional, and Chengling comes over and is upset about how Uncle Li’s dying.
WKX checks Uncle Li’s pulse, which means he knows that Uncle Li is dying, and ZZS (after accepting that Uncle Li’s recognised his martial skill) looks at him to see his prognosis. WKX shakes his head, and this is honestly the first non-combative conversation they’ve had and it’s about someone else’s death. What does this say about them? I’m not sure, but it sure is something.
WKX still gives Uncle Li some more qi, which has its healing effects, and ZZS gives him a sidelong glance of “Wait really?” but they end up sitting next to each other and working together very nicely. They have not said a word in this conversation and it is the nicest they’ve mutually been to each other.
Uncle Li’s happy he can repay ZYS, and then starts dragging ZZS into taking care of Chengling. He frames it as repayment for the boat rides, and asks ZZS to make sure Chengling gets to Zhao Jing safely. Chengling is upset by how this means Uncle Li is going to die! Gu Xiang and WKX are surprisingly quiet throughout all of this, and WKX keeps providing qi to Uncle Li.
“You’re a good kid, but your father has taught you too well,” Uncle Li tells Chengling.
Zhou Zishu is finally given a reason to introduce himself, and after a long pause he gives his name as Zhou Xu. There’s a distinct reaction shot of WKX during this. I can’t figure out what he’s thinking, but he sure is thinking something about ZZS’s name.
Uncle Li tells Chengling to bow to ZZS and listen to him in the future.
Thus begins their relationship! We get reaction shots for both WKX and Gu Xiang, this time, who both seem to be looking more at ZZS than Chengling.
Uncle Li tells ZZS to be loyal to Chengling, or else he’ll curse ZZS’s ancestors from beyond the grave. Everyone has a lot of feelings about this! And then Uncle Li kind of collapses into death. WKX catches him (with a look of surprise? or something? I can’t quite tell), Gu Xiang matches WKX, Chengling starts sobbing, and ZZS mostly looks resigned to the responsibility he’s taken on.
But ZZS takes Uncle Li’s body from WKX, closes Uncle Li’s eyes, and promises that he’ll take care of Chengling. WKX observes this, and really just looks like he’s trying to figure out what ZZS’s deal even is. Which is fair; this is the first time either of them have really observed each other being nice to someone.
We cut to Yue’s docks, where Deng Kuan is yelling for a boatman. They can see the hazy glow of Mirror Lake Manor burning, and wonder what’s even going on.
Unfortunately, all the boats have had holes gouged into them, so they’re no longer usable. Also, the boatman and his family are dead.
Deng Kuan, now very worried, sets off a signal flare.
We return to the abandoned temple and our family of protagonists who are nothing like a family yet. Chengling is kneeling in front of a simple grave, ZZS standing at his side, while WKX watches from further back. Chengling only knows Uncle Li’s surname, and ZZS gives him a piece of charcoal to write it on the piece of wood serving as a gravestone.
WKX praises Uncle Li’s good sense for entrusting Chengling to ZZS. He also starts complimenting ZZS, probably partially as a way of going “wtf” about his mask, which is so fair! Apparently, to WKX lovely bone structure means being a man who places much value in loyalty.
ZZS thanks WKX, and WKX finally introduces himself! WKX then asks about Zhou Xu, and learns that he took the name from willow catkins, which WKX takes as an invitation to continue complimenting him. ZZS just looks tired.
Chengling collapses as he finishes the last stroke of Uncle Li’s name, and both ZZS and WKX catch him. Chengling protests that he’s fine and just felt dizzy suddenly, which probably nobody here believes but everyone lets slide.
WKX tells Chengling to stop being tough, and points out that he’s exhausted and needs rest.
Chengling continues trying to say he’s fine, despite needing help to stand up, and WKX says that resting for a night is fine. ZZS hasn’t said anything since asking if Chengling is okay, and both of them watch as WKX calls for Gu Xiang to start a fire and make food.
She already has, of course, and WKX invites the other two over to eat.
Gu Xiang gives the first flatbread to WKX, who had been staring off into the distance. He stares at it, then moves closer to the fire to hand it to ZZS. (Which: he’s calling ZZS “兄台”, xiōngtái, instead of Zhou-xiong? Which would be equally polite, I’m pretty sure? It’s interesting. I feel like it goes along with WKX being pretty certain that Zhou Xu is a fake name to go with a fake face.)
ZZS ignores him. Gu Xiang gets offended that WKX isn’t eating first. ZZS does take the flatbread on a stick that Gu Xiang offers him, even if he just kind of stares at it.
Gu Xiang then starts telling ZZS that “though your martial arts are good, you’re timid” and asks if he’s afraid she’ll poison him. WKX shuts her up by stuffing some bread in her mouth, and then offers the rest of that piece to ZZS in case he really doesn’t trust her.
ZZS says he isn’t hungry, and Gu Xiang continues talking about how ZZS is being so guarded with them while having promised to protect Chengling because of a three-silver debt. WKX again interrupts with nice words for ZZS about following principles and keeping promises and “travelling a long journey without fear of death” (which is very fitting for him) before calling him “Zhou-jun” (which feels like a teasing shift in formality from xiongtai) and saying that he’s a gentleman (君子, jūnzǐ, a word that uses the same ‘jun’ as the Zhou-jun WKX had addressed him with).
Gu Xiang whines about WKX “acting literate”, because he’s making references that are going over her head. Chengling names this reference, saying that it’s “written in a historical record by Sima Qian”, and explains it for her (and for the audience). It’s most of what WKX said, it seems, and Chengling ends by saying that his father taught him this.
Chengling tries to thank ZZS, ZZS tells him not to, and then hands over the bread on a stick without actually looking at Chengling.
Chengling takes it, looks sadly at the bread, and Gu Xiang also tosses him a bun because he doesn’t seem to like the bread. Chengling says he’s not going to eat her food, Gu Xiang points out that she saved his life, and WKX once more tells her off in a rather polite fashion.
Gu Xiang says that “people nowadays can’t distinguish between good and evil” (look! a Theme of the show!) and is generally aggravated about how useless Chengling was in the fight.
Chengling is not having a good time! He’s very resilient, and he’s a polite boy, so he stands and apologises to Gu Xiang and bows to thank her for saving his life. ZZS seems surprised by this, and Gu Xiang is very taken aback because she did not ask for (or expect) this.
(I feel like I’ve been told this is a visual pun about gayness somehow but I cannot for the life of me remember how/when/where I was told this.)
Cut to lounging around the fire, and WKX decides he can go back to saying “Zhou-xiong” as he asks ZZS if he disguised himself.
ZZS doesn’t respond, which appears to amuse WKX, and WKX changes targets to Chengling (who he’s currently calling Zhang-gongzi most of the time); Chengling takes this as a reason to introduce himself (calling WKX ‘daxia’) and saying WKX can call him Chengling.
WKX says not to call him ‘daxia’ (大侠, dàxiá; consistently translated as ‘chevalier’), because he hates ‘daxia’ (chevaliers, martial heroes). Chengling doesn’t know what to say to this, and Gu Xiang jumps in to mock Chengling for talking a big game about righteousness and helping others but not being capable of doing anything himself. Chengling gets angry/upset, and ZZS takes note.
This time, WKX doesn’t jump in, but ZZS says that “A man should never quarrel with others”, which is enough to get Chengling to back down/sit down. We’re also shown the first sign of his injury! He clutches at his side, and WKX clearly notes this.
Gu Xiang keeps going, saying that Chengling can’t even hold a sword properly, and WKX finally tells her to stop.
ZZS also goes “Ah, yes, I haven’t thanked you yet, kind lady” (a term that
trobadora pointed out to me last week was actually “小善人”, xiǎo shànrén [little philanthropist], to match how WKX starts calling himself “Philanthropist Wen” later), and Gu Xiang tells him to stop calling her that because it gives her goosebumps. She introduces herself at this point, too.ZZS talks about how they’re clearly fated, and we’re treated to WKX’s very slight smile as ZZS says “We met at the right time” (and then follows it up with “We met at the wrong time, too”, which is such a summary of ZZS and WKX’s relationship). WKX points out that ZZS and Chengling are fated too.
Chengling is currently realising that he’s bleeding through his clothes, which isn’t good, and WKX asks about his injury. Chengling says he’s fine, and nobody believes him. WKX stands, says that he’s learned some medical skills from his family, and offers to treat him. Chengling continues insisting he’s fine, and ZZS steps between them.
WKX keeps pressing, ZZS keeps protecting, and they get into a lovely little spat. (Chengling is rather “uhhhh” about this, Gu Xiang is delighted.)
(This one reminds me of Ye Baiyi’s face when Wen Kexing goes after him.)
They pause, ZZS tells WKX that “if you have bad intentions, make it clear; you don’t have to act”, and WKX seems to find this delightful. He doesn’t drop the act, but he does stop trying to push Chengling to let him help, and all this clearly continues upping his interest in ZZS.
And then we end with a lovely shot of WKX smirking at ZZS!
This is his expression during so much of this episode; it’s fascinating.
General Commentary
Chengling’s attitude before the attack on Mirror Lake Manor is a lot more confident and, well, young-lord-like than it is after. Partially that’s the trauma, I’m sure! But it also makes me wonder if he’s acting younger around ZZS and WKX because it’s so clear that want to see him as a child (and as more of a son than a little brother), and also to make the shifu/disciple relationship he wants more viable. (They’re like… fifteen years apart in age? Which means that ZZS and WKX are like twice Chengling’s age, sure, but it also isn’t enough to really be a full generation-gap.)
I know I said in the recap text that probably the Zhangs didn’t spill that their Glazed Armor was with Chengling, but if they did? And if the “ghosts” were Zhao Jing’s men? That would explain more of why Tian Chuang was so into capturing Chengling in ep8—we know that they were specifically after him, and that Tian Chuang has contacts with Zhao Jing. I dunno! Thoughts?
This has nothing to do with plot or anything but any time I think about Yueyang Sect’s disciple uniform too much I start wondering what all the straps are for. Aesthetic? It’s certainly a Look, but I don’t know what I think about it.
Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu’s interactions during this episode are fascinating! Neither of them trust each other, but Wen Kexing is clearly fascinated by Zhou Zishu and is trying to dig into his secrets already. It’s hard to say how much he remembers right now about his brief time at Siji Manor, but it sure left an impression, that two decades later he’s still able to recognise the Swift-Moving Steps that most people in the jianghu have forgotten about. As much as his enjoyment of pretty people, and whatever that whole “variable” thing is about, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zhou Zishu’s connection to Siji Manor is also part of what he’s after.
Zhou Zishu, on the other hand, just wants Wen Kexing to leave him alone (and is only asking questions to ascertain his purpose). Which is so valid, because Wen Kexing’s whole body language (especially his smirks) probably scream “court sleaze”, and Zhou Zishu ran away from responsibility and people who wanted his attention.
As I was going through the episode for the second time gathering screenshots (yes that needs to be a separate thing for me), I realised that there’s a decent chance Wen Kexing actively told Gu Xiang to be more of a dick and antagonist Zhou Zishu and Chengling so that he can build up his “No I’m actually a nice man” persona more by making her stop being like that. Or just generally seem like a more pleasant person by contrast.
Questions! (to answer or not, as you wish.)
- “[Zhou Zishu] might be the variable”? “Who is he?” / “A variable.”? Thoughts on what Wen Kexing means by calling Zhou Zishu a variable in this episode?
- We’ll probably keep coming back to this, but I know many of you have rewatched this show more than I have! So: Who do you think was behind the attack on Mirror Lake Sect? (Zhao Jing? Changing Ghost | Wuchang Gui? Someone else?)
- Relatedly, do you think Zhao Jing or Wen Kexing was behind the rhyme about the Five Lakes Alliance’s ambitions? (I feel like I always assumed it was WKX, but sure could be a ZJ thing too…)
- Do you think Zhang Yusen (or his sons) gave up the information that Zhang Chengling had the Glazed Armor?
- Any thoughts about what Wen Kexing is thinking/feeling as Uncle Li dies? He’s very quiet during that scene, and much kinder than he’d been acting earlier in the episode.
- Seriously, Zhou Zishu seems worse off after a brief fight here than he does later in the show when the nails’ effects are theoretically worse. Thoughts or opinions on why that might be? (As serious or as silly as you’d like! Did he simply not quell the nails enough? Is he not used to fighting with all the nails in? Does accepting WKX’s help with them really have that much of an effect?)
Next week: Episode three, wherein ZZS fails to get WKX to leave him alone and we’re introduced to a lot of jianghu characters! (Shen Shen! Huang He! Gao Chong! Uhhh the pastel grandparents I always forget the names of! Some other folk too!)
no subject
tbh, I assumed his knowledge from his Window of Heaven stuff (like they might keep an eye on what's going on in the jianghu, even if they aren't involved).
I love ZZS and WKX's fight of romance! And WKX having ZZS' back later in Mirror Lake Manor! (I assumed the latter was using his fan, since he flips it afterwards)
I’m like 90% certain a character falling backwards and being caught by their love interest is a trope in CDramas.
I think they're for their scabbards, tbh
1. Maybe that ZZS' connection Four Seasons Manor could be useful in his plot against the Five Lakes Alliance?
2. I’m not sure – after I was spoiled for WKX’s identity I thought it might be DPJ/Prince Jin or someone from the Five Lakes Alliance based on what WKX says in episode 3 (“someone wearing a ghost mask is not necessarily a ghost”).
3. iirc WKX only added the second verse about the Glazed Armor. I think the part about the Five Lakes Alliance might be from around when Rong Xuan died?
4. I’m not sure – up until it was revealed that he had it, I assumed ZCL didn’t know where it was at all.
5. I wonder if the healing stuff is meant to foreshadow some of his backstory. I wonder if he's thinking about the collateral damage of his plotting or about who might be behind the attack.
6. I think this might be the first time he's fought with the nails in (I also like the idea that WKX help makes that much of a difference).
no subject
But are they usually so bristly about it? XD :D
(I also like the idea that WKX help makes that much of a difference).
It probably does, but it tales a while for them to get there (and I'm not sure it's indicated in the drama that they do this nightly).
no subject
Maybe! I could see that. I generally get the sense that court and jianghu are supposed to be separate, so I personally assume that Tian Chuang might care about broad strokes but not details.
And WKX having ZZS' back later in Mirror Lake Manor! (I assumed the latter was using his fan, since he flips it afterwards)
I stared at that sequence for so long, trying to work it out, and I couldn't see anything a bright enough color to read as WKX's fan! That's certainly a possibility, though. :)
I’m like 90% certain a character falling backwards and being caught by their love interest is a trope in CDramas.
Oh, definitely, and in the first YBY fight (end of ep13 I think?), they do the full-on spinning catch. :)
I think the part about the Five Lakes Alliance might be from around when Rong Xuan died?
I never got the sense that it was from that long ago? It would feel odd to me if that were the case, what with how everyone responds to it in this episode.
I wonder if the healing stuff is meant to foreshadow some of his backstory. I wonder if he's thinking about the collateral damage of his plotting or about who might be behind the attack.
Definitely backstory foreshadowing!
I don't get the impression WKX really notices the collateral effects of his schemes until he breaks down at the death of the Sages of Anji end of ep9/beginning of ep10. Maybe thinking about who was in charge of the attack/ghosts though, yeah!
no subject
Oooh, yes, definitely, good catch! :D
(Also, I agree about WKX using the fan, based on the flip afterwards. I thought the same thing.)