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ghost_valley2021-06-25 11:29 am
shadaras) wrote in ghost_valley2021-06-25 11:29 am
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[WoH Rewatch] Episode 3
Some highlights from the ep2 discussion:
WKX’s humanity (poetry, emotions, and calibrating himself to the outside world): [link]
Gu Xiang being offended about people pretending to be ghosts:
[link]
A reminder that AvenueX’s video essays about poetry and gayness in SHL are very cool (if video essays are a format that works for you!): [link]
This week:
Introducing so many characters! Also, WKX keeps following ZZS even when ZZS doesn’t want him to.
List of Five Lakes Alliance Brothers In Order
1 - Gao Chong, Yueyang Sect
2 - Zhao Jing, Tai Lake Sect
3 - Lu Taichong, Dayang Sect
4 - Zhang Yusen, Mirror Lake (Jinghu) Sect
5 - Shen Shen, Mount Dagu Sect
Scenes in This Episode
WKX attempting to investigate ZZS’s disguise
Discussion of the plot-rhymes
Shen Shen arrives at Mirror Lake Manor
Introduction of Tao Hong, Lv Liu, and Huang He
ZZS and Chengling depart the temple, leaving WKX behind (and not taking his boat)
Shen Shen et al. in Mirror Lake Manor; more exposition about history and swearing of revenge
WKX accosts ZZS on the road
Huang He talks with Tao Hong and Lv Liu about how the Five Lakes Alliance needs to be put in its place (but Ghost Valley is dangerous for everyone)
ZZS and Chengling arrive at the inn WKX rented out
ZZS tells Chengling to sleep and gives him medicine
ZZS and WKX talk about “true faces” and WKX implies that ZZS is the loveliest person in the world
Huang He tells the beggar gangs to find Chengling
Chengling wakes up, gets told to wash his hands outside, and gets spotted by the beggar gangs
Gu Xiang scolds Chengling about not eating and relying too much on other people
Gao Chong declares his intent to get revenge on Ghost Valley and hold a Heroes Conference
Ao Laizi tells the last survivors of the Danyang Sect that he’ll protect them from Shen Shen and the Five Lakes Alliance.
ZZS calms his qi, some ghost-clad people show up at the inn, and Chengling has nightmares
WKX tells ZZS about how similar ghosts and humans can be and offers him wine
A Rough Timeline
The rhyme about the Five Lakes Alliance’s ambitions “spread throughout Jiangnan these past few months”, while the Glazed Armor addition spread from Yue over the past few days (according to WKX).
Before the Mirror Lake Sect attack, Danyang Sect was attacked and killed. (Likely this didn’t happen much before the Mirror Lake Sect attack, because otherwise why is Lv Liu the first person to bring this up?)
I think this episode needs to take place over two days? From the early hours of the morning in the temple, walking the whole next day and night (based on “you were walking all night” conversation in the inn), and then arriving at the inn. Scenes take place across that second day, ending sometime during the night.
Recap and Commentary!
We open on everyone eating nicely around the fire, with WKX watching ZZS very intently. And offering him wine, when ZZS realises he’s out of his own. (WKX is also trying to get ZZS to stop calling him Wen-gongzi, because that’s ‘too formal’ for someone who’s helped him kill people and bury bodies.)
A-Xiang lets Chengling take over warming wine for ZZS, because she doesn’t want to serve “these two idiots”.
WKX stretches as an excuse to touch ZZS’s cheek/jaw and learn more about his disguise. ZZS does not like this, and is especially unnerved by this person who recognised the Swift-Moving Steps and can see through his disguise. (WKX would’ve had the experience of touching Siji Manor skin masks before, since Qin Huaizhang disguised WKX’s parents using this same technique. Plus, he knows Liu Qianqiao and her disguise skills, which are also Qin Huaizhang’s; I don’t know if WKX knows the name of her master/made the connection there, though? Perhaps this came up and I have simply forgotten. Anyway, she’s perfected her disguise skills more than ZZS cares to, which is fun.)
We get WKX telling ZZS about his figure, and the beginning of his shoulder blades thing, and then WKX explicitly says that he knows ZZS is wearing a mask. ZZS asks if it’s pretty, and they gaze at each other very intensely (and silently) for a while before ZZS turns away to drink wine and WKX says “it’s perfect”.
WKX then turns to Chengling to ask why Mirror Lake Sect was attacked by people wearing Ghost Valley masks. He doesn’t know, and WKX laughs about this, then turns to ZZS. WKX says that ZZS must know about Ghost Valley and its strength, and then wonders why ZZS got involved in “such a major issue for no reason”, and asks if he wants “to know what’s behind all of it?” ZZS says he doesn’t know, and he’s not interested, because he’s still trying very hard to not get dragged into everything.
Despite saying he’s not interested, ZZS makes a guess about why the ghosts did this. He starts by talking about how jianghu matters are always about greed, hatred, and ignorance (the three evils of Buddhism, iirc), and then gives a lovely speech about how Ghost Valley disappeared for many years (so it’s not hatred), Qiu Yue Jian (Zhang Yusen) has “always preserved moral integrity” (so it’s not ignorance), and therefore it must be greed.
WKX then, of course, brings up the rhyme about the Five Lakes Alliance’s ambitions, and ZZS fills in the second half easily. WKX then adds the second half, though he needs to make Gu Xiang ask what it is because he’s being dramatic. ZZS laughs and asks what’s sad about the ghosts; they’re all full of evil. WKX agrees, but tells him the rhyme isn’t about that: it’s about Rong Xuan, the “great demon” who died twenty years ago.
WKX adds that Rong Xuan left behind “a martial arts treasure called World’s Armory” and describes what it should hold, as well as that it’s locked with the Glazed Armor. ZZS scoffs (and continues to call him Wen-gongzi) and says that only unlearned folk could be fooled by such stories about treasures that could make one invincible. (We’re given a reaction shot, though, of Chengling’s downcast face when the Glazed Armor is brought up. He knows about it by now, and that it’s real, since he’s carrying a piece of it in his body.)
ZZS goes on to say that every few years, some martial arts treasure (technique, weapon, etc.) gets made up, causing the jianghu to scramble for it and leading to countless deaths. He thinks it’s ridiculous, and all just greed. WKX laughs, and says he’s surprised ZZS agrees with him about how “Though peace reigns over the land, ignorant people create trouble for themselves”. (WKX’s tone of voice here is… I don’t know how to describe it? But it’s smooth and self-satisfied. They’ve been verbally sparring this whole conversation, and WKX’s tone makes it feel like he thinks he’s won, or that he confirmed something that he was looking for.)
Gu Xiang interrupts, saying she’s finally figured out some of the references that ZZS and WKX have been throwing around, and talks about how people are gonna die because they’ve got weak martial arts and want a quick way to get strong.
ZZS says she is indeed quite smart, in a way that makes it hard to tell how much he thinks that vs is humoring her, and then WKX asks what Chengling thinks. Chengling doesn’t have an answer, so ZZS suggests they nap, as it’s almost dawn.
WKX looks off into the distance, and agrees that it is indeed almost dawn. Probably some more planning/plotting going on in his mind that he’s pleased about.
The scene shifts, finally, to something with nicer lighting and literally any color. I am so happy. I have been staring at gray and brown and night for so long. I have missed colors.
The burnt-out husk of Mirror Lake Manor is very sad! There are servants and Yueyang disciples cleaning it up and taking the bodies out!
Shen Shen (the leader of Mount Dagu Sect; I don’t think we ever see his sect…) arrives on a boat that doesn’t seem to have anyone/anything powering it? It’s just him, and the boat drifting forwards? He also doesn’t want to wait for the boat to reach the dock, preferring to jump out and rebound off the water to make it to land.
Deng Kuan is leading the clean-up efforts when Shen Shen arrives. Deng Kuan has two nicely-dressed flunkies whose names I do not recall, which means there’s a 50/50 chance we’ll learn them later.
Shen Shen asks what’s happened, Deng Kuan really doesn’t want to respond, and Shen Shen’s gaze falls upon the blood-stained cloths covering the bodies of Zhang Yusen and his two older sons. (I return to wondering about Zhang-furen, who isn’t mentioned at all during any of this.)
Deng Kuan prevents Shen Shen from looking more closely, and tells him about how everyone had already been killed by the time Deng Kuan and his people had arrived last night. When Shen Shen keeps trying to get past him, Deng Kuan kneels and begs him not to look, because Zhang Yusen and his sons were tortured and “their remains are in a poor state”.
Shen Shen almost faints from hearing this and taking it in, and Deng Kuan’s flunkies catch him. Deng Kuan takes responsibility for not arriving sooner and asks for punishment.
Shen Shen is very upset, unsurprisingly, and rages about Deng Kuan not saving Zhang Yusen. Deng Kuan talks about how the boats were destroyed, and Shen Shen promises to pay back the person who enacted this cruel scheme a hundredfold.
We now begin to hear from the other people of the jianghu! The pastel grandparents arrive! (Their names are Grandmother Tao Hong and Grandfather Lv Liu.) Tao Hong is laughing about Shen Shen’s boast, and she mocks him for swearing brotherhood but not actually dying together with his brother.
Lv Liu picks up the thread by critiquing the Five Lakes Alliances’ sense of honor, and how “they didn’t meet together for decades” but are showing up as soon as Zhang Yusen dies.
Shen Shen asks if they’re trying to provoke him, which they obviously are. Tao Hong keeps going on the topic of how poor their brotherly bonds were, even asking “Who knows if Zhang Yusen even recognises you as his brother?” and implying that he’s a flunkey and not a brother.
And then Shen Shen draws his sword because they’ve gone too far.
Huang He, leader of the Beggar Gangs, shows up to stop them from fighting! (Shen Shen calls him Huang-zhanglao [长老, zhǎnglǎo], Elder Huang. Huang He calls him Shen-zhangmen [掌门, zhǎngmén], Leader Shen, which is the generic sect-leader term of this jianghu.)
Huang He says that he invited Tao Hong and Lv Liu here to help them, acting very much like the nice righteous/orthodox sect leader the beggar gangs usually have in wuxia (I’m fascinated by this trope, especially since I only learned about it after watching SHL and seeing Huang He’s reversal/inversion of it).
He also tells them to restrain themselves for his sake, and “forget about our past grievances for now. For now.” We’ll see how they talk when not in front of the Five Lakes Alliance, later.
Huang He plays this role very well, and Shen Shen asks who he fucked up Mirror Lake Sect. Huang He leads them all into the manor, and the scene ends for now.
Back at the old temple with WKX and ZZS, it’s morning and WKX is watching ZZS meditate. ZZS gets fed up with his staring, and WKX responds by wondering what he looks like under his disguise.
ZZS wakes Chengling up, then says, “Fate let us meet.” WKX responds with, “And fate will reunite us,” and ZZS actually smiles at him momentarily here!
WKX then goes “Actually, what if we didn’t wait to be reunited?” and starts going on about his boat and wanting to appreciate the scenery of Lake Tai (where Zhao Jing’s manor is), and ZZS ignores him and leads Chengling out onto the road.
As ZZS continues ignoring him, WKX smiles and thinks to himself “I’m looking forward to finding out who you are”, because that’s the real reason he’s trying to get ZZS to travel with him.
Gu Xiang continues being scornful of ZZS and thinks he’s about to keel over and die. WKX says she hasn’t met enough people yet, and describes ZZS’s loveliness and how it’s at odds with his appearance—and that he can’t find any trace of a disguise. He’s very admiring of that skill, and of ZZS’s sword.
WKX walks out of the temple, and smiles about how “Fate will reunite us,” clearly very ready to take fate into his own hands.
Back at Mirror Lake Manor, Deng Kuan tells Shen Shen about how the only remains they haven’t found are Chengling’s, and then Huang He explains where the other bodies were found. There’s some Soul Winding Threads (the Hanged Ghost’s special weapon) strung across a door they almost but don’t quite pass through.
Shen Shen comments on the yellow paper (without using any more specific a term than that), and identifies it as relating to Ghost Valley. Huang He confirms, and adds that “Ghost Valley always creates a scene before it carries out its evil deeds. I was worried that someone would do evil under the guise of Ghost Valley,” and so he asked Tao Hong and Lv Liu to show up.
Tao Hong says that “There is no-one left in the world who understands these damn things better than us,” because Ghost Valley turned her and Lv Liu into who they are today.
She identifies the Soul Winding Threads, and Shen Shen declares that he’s going to destroy Ghost Valley. Tao Hong scolds him for overestimating himself, ending with “It’s Ghost Valley that will destroy your Five Lakes Alliance.”
Shen Shen and Tao Hong continue bickering, because she really doesn’t like him, and Tao Hong and Lv Liu recite the rhymes. Lv Liu threatens Shen Shen in a backhanded way about there being nothing to fear if you don’t do something wrong, while implying that Mirror Lake Sect must have done some sort of evil to beckon Ghost Valley to their door.
Shen Shen turns to storm out, but when Deng Kuan follows him Shen Shen stops. He tells Deng Kuan to tell Gao Chong about what’s happened, and then hands Deng Kuan a token of authority and orders him to find Chengling as soon as he can.
Huang He then offers his help in finding Chengling, because “It is all about the duty of righteous people” and that’s how he wants people to see him. Shen Shen says that the Five Lakes Alliance is indebted to Huang He, and then he leaves. Huang He gives a slight smile, and this scene ends.
We cut to ZZS and Chengling walking along the river. Chengling is obviously panting, and ZZS notices and declares that he’s tired, because he cares a lot more than he wants to let on.
Unfortunately, the place where ZZS wanted to rest is where WKX has set himself up with Gu Xiang and tea. ZZS grumbles to himself about how WKX won’t leave them alone and must be after the Glazed Armor, then leads Chengling past them without a word. WXK watches him go with a considering smile.
Next, ZZS and Chengling pause to drink some water from what ZZS calls a lake but sure looks like a river to me. WKX shows up and quotes poetry at them about the cleanliness of the water, and ZZS wonders if WKX placed some kind of tracker on them, and then asks himself “Is there really a tracking technique I do not know about?”
This time, when ZZS leads Chengling off without a word, WKX’s smile fades. ZZS isn’t doing what he expects, it seems. It makes sense that after two attempts to show up and needle ZZS about what’s even up with him while he’s journeying, he escalates so far in his next attempt.
But first, Huang He and the grandparents talk in that flowering forest next to the incongruous boat.
Tao Hong is delighted that “someone can put [the Five Lakes Alliance] in their place”, while Huang He points out that Ghost Valley’s appearance will cause more than just the Five Lakes Alliance to suffer. Lv Liu agrees (in a more restrained way) with Tao Hong, because the Glazed Armor brought so much death and the Five Lakes Alliance got all the benefits.
He also mentions the Danyang Sect (and says its “bloodline was cut first”), which is that sect with the “baby Lans” in their white robes and headbands, and I think it’s the first time the Danyang Sect is brought up in the show. I didn’t remember this mention, because wow on a first watch I was overwhelmed by just trying to keep the names of on-screen characters straight, but it’s a good lead-in to the end of this episode where we meet the remnants of the Danyang Sect.
Huang He builds on this, telling us about how the surviving disciples of Danyang Sect ran to Ao Laizi (leader of Mount Tai Sect) and presumably brought (Danyang Sect Leader) Lu Taichong’s piece of the Glazed Armor with them. Huang He says they need to find Ao Laizi quickly, so that the Glazed Armor won’t fall into Ghost Valley’s hands. He’s being distinctly framed as the reasonable one of this set (which he is, to be fair!), and all three of them are being really beautifully written as characters who seem on a first viewing to mean well but go about it in perhaps not the greatest way, but on a second viewing all their own personal ambition is just as easily read into all their lines and actions.
ZZS and Chengling make it to an inn, and they learn that a rich guy bought out the whole place, so there’s no room for them (not even a woodshed).
Then, of course, WKX appears and smirks at them. He tells the inn worker to prepare the best room in the place for ZZS and Chengling (“For this beautiful… this gallant man,” more specifically; ZZS has an incredible series of eye-rolling/”why.” faces throughout), and then gets upset when ZZS bars him from entering said room with them. ZZS manages to speak only a single line throughout this, which he says through the door after he shuts it in WKX’s face, telling him to go find another room to relax in.
WKX did prepare new clothes for them, though, which is nice. ZZS checks them for trackers/traps, because he’s (rather justifiably) paranoid, and Chengling is confused by that (because he’s had a much safer life). Chengling says that “Wen-gongzi doesn’t look like a bad person,” which is true. He doesn’t look like one. But contrast this with how everyone in Mirror Lake Sect was nervous and thought ZZS looked like a bad/sketchy person—and all the literal masks that appear—and it’s clear that appearances being deceiving is a fairly solid through-line in this show.
In the end, yes, Chengling is right that WKX isn’t a bad person. But right now—at the beginning of the show, when he’s at his ghostliest—WKX isn’t a good person either. Completely reasonable for ZZS to be so suspicious and paranoid and checking for traps and danger everywhere, since they’ve been forced into WKX’s company by WKX’s gratuitous use of money.
(Also, as ZZS points out, Chengling thinks everyone is a good person.)
ZZS tells Chengling to take a nap, since they’ve been up all night, and Chengling tries to be a good junior and let ZZS take the bed, while ZZS (who has got to have spent much longer sleepless in Tian Chuang) just tells him to do as he’s told.
After Chengling reluctantly lies down (still fully clothed), ZZS comments on how he’s still dressed, makes a note that it’s “inconvenient while [he’s] here”, and then asks after Chengling’s injury. When Chengling puts a hand to his wound but doesn’t say anything, ZZS sighs, says it’s okay if he doesn’t want to talk about it, then tosses him some medicine and leaves.
(I have a lot of feelings about this scene, and how ZZS notices so much but doesn’t press about any of it, but also most of those feels are wrapped up in specific fic/AU thoughts.)
Once ZZS (having picked up his own set of new clothing) leaves, Chengling undoes his clothes and reveals the bandaged wound he’s been hiding. It looks bad! I am glad he can re-bandage it!
ZZS, meanwhile, has gotten dressed so that he is only wearing a bad mask instead of also ratty hair and clothes, and is now descending the inn’s stairs. WKX is, of course, waiting for him at a table with tea. He continues discussing how they clearly have a deep fate (that he definitely isn’t creating himself), while ZZS retorts that it’s more like he’s being haunted by a lingering ghost. (Which is much sadder—and more pointedly accurate!—knowing about Zhen Yan.)
But ZZS does sit at the table with WKX. He asks why WKX keeps following him, and WKX says he’ll tell ZZS if ZZS shows him his true face. ZZS asks “Why not show me your true face first?”, and WKX says that while ZZS must be very handsome, WKX’s “may not necessarily be that appealing” and implies that it may be scarred and/or terrifying (which is quite honest of him, really). ZZS says he doesn’t care (which is true, eventually), and changes topics slightly to advise WKX to stop being so interested in things that don’t concern him.
WKX asks about his relationship to Chengling and wonders if ZZS wants to get sucked into trouble if he doesn’t know what it is. ZZS says that he “[does his] best to accomplish what was entrusted to [him]” and protests that the job entrusted to him is quite simple really, since he only needs to bring Chengling to Zhao Jing and then none of this will be his business anymore.
There’s a very charged exchange as WKX attempts to touch their cups together and ZZS doesn’t want to let him, where we hear a musical cue that I associate with trouble/strife at the moment their eyes meet and ZZS stops contesting this. Which is interesting! I don’t know what ZZS is catching, beyond WKX’s evident skill!
Gu Xiang comes down and asks why she wasn’t invited to drink with WKX and they have this delightful exchange:
WKX: “What is the second cutest person in the world like?”
GX: “Someone who treats me to dinner.”
WKX: “It’s someone who is tough on the surface but soft at heart.”
[ZZS rolls his eyes]
GX: “And who is the cutest person in the world?”
WKX: “A person with a slim waist, long legs, who is tough on the surface but soft at heart.” [looks directly at ZZS.]
ZZS sighs loudly and settles back in his chair as he drinks. WKX smiles at him, greatly amused and pleased.
(The word being translated as “cute” here is 可爱, kě'ài, which looks like it could also mean “lovely”.)
“Tough on the surface but soft at heart” describes so many characters on this show. It’s great. WKX is clearly describing himself and ZZS in this exchange, but it’s not a bad description of Gu Xiang either. Even Ye Baiyi fits into that schema.
But enough flirting for now! Huang He’s beggar gangs are being shown Chengling’s image and told to look for him. (Huang He gets called “Law Elder” here? Which, yeah, that sure does seem to be what the words all mean, but I have no idea why he’s called that. Is this some wuxia trope/reference that I am not aware of because I did not grow up immersed in it?) Huang He says that his people should bring Chengling to him “no matter what it costs” if they find him, and that they shouldn’t let anyone know that they got Chengling if they bring him back.
Chengling had been sleeping (though it feels like it might not have been the best sleep), and now gets up to join the rest of our protags. They’re all sitting around a food-laden table, waiting for him because ZZS won’t let them start eating until Chengling is there too. ZZS continues delaying them by telling Chengling to go wash his hands first, and Gu Xiang whines about how they aren’t even eating with their hands so why does it matter?
WKX tells Gu Xiang to behave herself, since they’re travelling in the martial arts world, and to look at how other girls conduct themselves. ZZS glances at him, because this is yet another clue in the “who are you really?” compendium.
Outside, Chengling gets spotted by some members of the beggar gangs, who then go off to notify the rest of their gang. This begs the question of how much time has passed and how quickly news has spread, since literally the last scene was the beggars being told to be on the lookout for him. But I guess they haven’t travelled that far, and it’s hard to say how long Chengling was asleep for (it’s been ambiguously daytime this whole time, so it could be an afternoon or most of the day).
Inside, ZZS puts food in Chengling’s bowl as the four of them begin eating. WKX comments on how Chengling hasn’t started eating (despite ZZS’s bowl pretty solidly having less food in it), and asks if the food isn’t to Chengling’s taste. Chengling says that isn’t it, thanks him for the hospitality, and continues not eating.
(ZZS, meanwhile, is drinking but not eating anything either. Afterrekishi pointed out the way he doesn’t eat much on the last post, I’m paying attention now and it’s sad.)
Gu Xiang begins scolding Chengling for how his lack of appetite brings everyone else’s down too, and says she “really dislike[s] spoiled people like [Chengling]” who haven’t had hardship in their lives and aren’t skilled at anything. She goes on for a while, but neither ZZS nor WKX stop her until she pauses, at which point WKX steps in and tells her to stop bullying Chengling and eat.
Gu Xiang does not stop! But she manages to wrap around to something sort of almost positive, as she points out that if Chengling wastes away by not eating he’ll need to rely on “outsiders” like the rest of them to avenge his family. Chengling stops looking quite so much like he’s going to cry, and WKX looks melancholy.
Gu Xiang continues, mentioning the same saying about “At home you rely on your parents, outside you rely on your friends,” that Chengling quoted at ZZS last episode to try and get him to take the name token. Here it takes on a different meaning, though, since Gu Xiang is pointing out that perhaps Chengling should learn to rely on himself instead of taking advantage of people like ZZS.
Chengling starts shoveling food into his mouth. Gu Xiang and WKX continue eating. ZZS continues drinking. Gu Xiang tells Chengling he can slow down, since nobody is trying to steal food from him, and Chengling starts crying as he continues to eat. Poor boy.
(ZZS has said nothing this entire scene. He’s just watched, and listened, and been drinking.)
We cut to Yueyang Sect Manor, where Gao Chong is seated in front of a hall full of other people. There are a bunch of nameless sect leaders, a couple sect leaders who keep showing up but never get names other than “Leaders of Haisha Gangs & Water Transport Gangs”, and two named disciples of Yueyang Sect who I don’t remember: Zhu Yaozhi and Gao Shan (whose surname matches Gao Chong’s).
Gao Chong is telling them about how Ghost Valley attacked and slaughtered Mirror Lake Sect, and how this is “unprecedented shame and humiliation” and it’s time for revenge! Everyone agrees, and then Gao Chong tells us about the agreement made twenty years ago between the jianghu and “the masters who developed Ghost Valley”: so long as Ghost Valley doesn’t harm the people of the jianghu, the righteous people will not step inside Ghost Valley.
But since Ghost Valley hurt them, Gao Chong’s going to hold a Heroes Conference on July 15th, and use that to gather everyone to eradicate “this cancerous evil.”
We cut from everyone chanting agreement to Ao Laizi (leader of Mount Tai Sect) standing in some pretty treetops at night. He meets with one of his disciples (Qing Bai), asks after the health of another disciple (Qing Hua), and then Ao Laizi says that they can’t light a fire yet; it’s not long until they reach Mount Wudang.
Qing Bai offers to keep watch while Ao Laizi rests, but Ao Laizi says he’s fine. He also says that “Because of the fire at Mirror Lake Sect, Shen Shen let us get away” as we pan over to see the Danyang Sect kids.
When Qing Bai says that they’d just battle to the death if Shen Shen catches up with them, the Danyang kids suggest Ao Laizi just hand them over (since Shen Shen is their master’s sworn brother and all).
Ao Laizi sighs and says that Shen Shen is chasing them to steal the Glazed Armor. (Poor Shen Shen; he’s a lot nicer than this first introduction of him makes him see, but this show is built on reversals of expectation like that.) He promises to keep the Glazed Armor from falling into the hands of the Five Lakes Alliance, and the scene ends.
Back to ZZS, who is having some nice fun nail times. We get a surprising number of shots of his chest (because his robes are quite open) as he settles his qi, and then an owl calls and we’re shown some people dressed as ghost valley minions jumping around on rooftops.
Chengling is shouting for help as he has nightmares, and the ghost masks peer through a cracked-open window. ZZS (now with his robes more properly covering his chest) wakes Chengling with a touch, and Chengling shouts for his dad before recognising ZZS. ZZS tells Chengling it’s fine now, and that Chengling should get some sleep.
ZZS leaves the room, hears some sounds of fighting, and turns to follow the noises. We’re shown those two ghost-masked people lying on the ground outside, and ZZS comes to examine them. (His robes now show some of his chest again. This progression is very funny to me.)
WKX is, of course, waiting for him, and says that he handled everything for ZZS and ZZS can go to sleep. (I get vibes of, like, a cat who brought dead prey back as a gift.) ZZS ignores that suggestion, commenting on how it’s Ghost Valley again.
“It’s difficult to tell a ghost from a human,” WKX says. “Someone wearing a ghost mask is not necessarily a ghost. Someone who looks like a human may not necessarily be a human.” Talking about the ‘ghosts’ here, of course, but also himself. He’s giving ZZS so many clues to his identity, if ZZS wants to take them. And then he waits for ZZS to look at him before saying, “Who knows?”
ZZS just looks at the wine jar WKX is holding instead, and WKX praises his taste in wine before asking if he can call ZZS “A-Xu,” and proceeds to do so without any sign of acknowledgement from ZZS. But ZZS doesn’t stop him, so it’s fine. WKX says that ZZS’s ability to judge wine is on par with WKX’s ability to judge people, and then offers the wine to ZZS.
ZZS brushes WKX’s hand aside, but they remain in this pose (keeping contact between the back of ZZS’s wrist and the underside of WKX’s) as the conversation continues. ZZS scoffs at WKX’s skills, WKX says he’s sure that “a big surprise is hiding underneath [ZZS’s] outermost skin”, and the music shifts to one of the soundtrack’s more intimate songs as ZZS flips his hand over and runs it along WKX’s hand to take the wine from him without a word.
After taking a swig of wine, ZZS says, “You might as well rip it off and take a look” before leaving. WKX smiles after him, says he’s in no hurry, and we end this episode.
General Commentary
Travel time is so strange in shows like this. It makes sense that Deng Kuan is at Mirror Lake Manor the morning after the attack, but that Shen Shen, Huang He, and the grandparent pair were all so nearby as well… I dunno! It makes sense plot-wise, and it’s a general convenience, but it does make it harder to tell how far apart anything is from each other. (It’s especially interesting with Mirror Lake Sect, because Zhang Yusen seems to have been trying to stay out of jianghu politics, so it feels like there’d be less reason for so many people to be so nearby…)
I’m so fascinated by this introduction of Huang He! I hadn’t remembered that he’s introduced in a way that frames him as a nice and reasonable person, because it’s not an impression that lasts very long once he starts acting on his own. (And next episode it’ll become even more apparent how much ambition and shit-stirring potential he has, iirc…)
Similarly, for all that Tao Hong and Lv Liu are being dicks to Shen Shen, they’re making some very good points about the Five Lakes Alliance and how it’s going to get fucked up. They also continue framing this all as Ghost Valley vs Five Lakes Alliance, of course, because we’re still early in the show and those supposedly clear-cut lines haven’t been turned into a muddle of shades of gray and a tangle of debts, ambitions, and revenge plans.
I also am really fascinated by all the discussion of appearances and what is hidden/what is pre-judged simply by the outermost layer. WKX especially makes a lot of comments about layers and explicitly talks about personality vs appearance when Gu Xiang is whining about the person with fantastic shoulder blades but an unattractive face, and applies that same logic to ZZS (and himself!) later in the episode.
There’s definitely an essay that could be written about this canon and the use of masks both as literal objects (the “ghost valley” mooks that are actually Zhao Jing’s men, ZZS’s skin mask, Liu Qingqiao’s masks…) and as social constructions (Zhao Jing’s public actions vs actual goals, WKX’s nice young master persona and his Valley Master history, Shen Shen and how he’s presented at the beginning here vs the true layers we see later). Even Ye Baiyi letting people think that he’s his own disciple at first plays into this, because the show is so fascinated narratively with how first impressions can be deceiving. Which makes a rewatch really rewarding, because you get to see the ways all those reversals are set up!
Also, it is really clear from how Gu Xiang and Wen Kexing talk about the “ghost” mooks that yeah these aren’t really Ghost Valley people. I’m curious how they know this/why they believe this, because there’s no way they know every person in Ghost Valley. Fighting style? Probably?
I’m really fascinated by how we’ve been introduced to all the Five Lakes Alliance leaders now, and seen all of the living ones (Lu Taichong, the Dayang Sect Leader, is dead) except for Zhao Jing. I hadn’t noticed, on a first viewing, how long it took us to meet him—I don’t think we’ll see him in ep4 either—because his name comes up a lot. But we don’t meet him! We’re just told about him, and that gives time for a viewer to get an idea that he’s a good person, and possibly better than these other sect leaders (Shen Shen, Gao Chong, even Ao Laizi [who narratively sort of takes Lu Taichong’s place]) who we’ve seen negative aspects of already.
And then there’s the ending of this episode, where ZZS actively invites WKX to try and get under his skin. He’s spent a fair amount of time avoiding WKX on the road, and then all this last day at the inn studying him. This is half a taunt, I’m sure, but it’s also framed as ZZS finally returning some of the interest that WKX’s been directing at him; there’s no other explanation I can think of for how his hand slides over WKX’s. I’m not sure it’s quite flirting for flirting’s sake yet, but they’re both perfectly capable of flirting as a means to an end, and recognise that information-searching drive in each other.
A final note! This is the inn that WKX rents out. I’m pretty sure the Tianya here is the same as the Tianya in Tian Ya Ke’s title, which is neat.
Questions And Other Things That I’d Love to Hear Opinions About
Next Week: The Beggar Gangs attempt to kidnap Chengling, meeting Qin Song and the other Scorpion Assassins, and WKX’s flute-playing.
WKX’s humanity (poetry, emotions, and calibrating himself to the outside world): [link]
Gu Xiang being offended about people pretending to be ghosts:
[link]
A reminder that AvenueX’s video essays about poetry and gayness in SHL are very cool (if video essays are a format that works for you!): [link]
This week:
Introducing so many characters! Also, WKX keeps following ZZS even when ZZS doesn’t want him to.
List of Five Lakes Alliance Brothers In Order
1 - Gao Chong, Yueyang Sect
2 - Zhao Jing, Tai Lake Sect
3 - Lu Taichong, Dayang Sect
4 - Zhang Yusen, Mirror Lake (Jinghu) Sect
5 - Shen Shen, Mount Dagu Sect
Scenes in This Episode
WKX attempting to investigate ZZS’s disguise
Discussion of the plot-rhymes
Shen Shen arrives at Mirror Lake Manor
Introduction of Tao Hong, Lv Liu, and Huang He
ZZS and Chengling depart the temple, leaving WKX behind (and not taking his boat)
Shen Shen et al. in Mirror Lake Manor; more exposition about history and swearing of revenge
WKX accosts ZZS on the road
Huang He talks with Tao Hong and Lv Liu about how the Five Lakes Alliance needs to be put in its place (but Ghost Valley is dangerous for everyone)
ZZS and Chengling arrive at the inn WKX rented out
ZZS tells Chengling to sleep and gives him medicine
ZZS and WKX talk about “true faces” and WKX implies that ZZS is the loveliest person in the world
Huang He tells the beggar gangs to find Chengling
Chengling wakes up, gets told to wash his hands outside, and gets spotted by the beggar gangs
Gu Xiang scolds Chengling about not eating and relying too much on other people
Gao Chong declares his intent to get revenge on Ghost Valley and hold a Heroes Conference
Ao Laizi tells the last survivors of the Danyang Sect that he’ll protect them from Shen Shen and the Five Lakes Alliance.
ZZS calms his qi, some ghost-clad people show up at the inn, and Chengling has nightmares
WKX tells ZZS about how similar ghosts and humans can be and offers him wine
A Rough Timeline
The rhyme about the Five Lakes Alliance’s ambitions “spread throughout Jiangnan these past few months”, while the Glazed Armor addition spread from Yue over the past few days (according to WKX).
Before the Mirror Lake Sect attack, Danyang Sect was attacked and killed. (Likely this didn’t happen much before the Mirror Lake Sect attack, because otherwise why is Lv Liu the first person to bring this up?)
I think this episode needs to take place over two days? From the early hours of the morning in the temple, walking the whole next day and night (based on “you were walking all night” conversation in the inn), and then arriving at the inn. Scenes take place across that second day, ending sometime during the night.
Recap and Commentary!
We open on everyone eating nicely around the fire, with WKX watching ZZS very intently. And offering him wine, when ZZS realises he’s out of his own. (WKX is also trying to get ZZS to stop calling him Wen-gongzi, because that’s ‘too formal’ for someone who’s helped him kill people and bury bodies.)
A-Xiang lets Chengling take over warming wine for ZZS, because she doesn’t want to serve “these two idiots”.
WKX stretches as an excuse to touch ZZS’s cheek/jaw and learn more about his disguise. ZZS does not like this, and is especially unnerved by this person who recognised the Swift-Moving Steps and can see through his disguise. (WKX would’ve had the experience of touching Siji Manor skin masks before, since Qin Huaizhang disguised WKX’s parents using this same technique. Plus, he knows Liu Qianqiao and her disguise skills, which are also Qin Huaizhang’s; I don’t know if WKX knows the name of her master/made the connection there, though? Perhaps this came up and I have simply forgotten. Anyway, she’s perfected her disguise skills more than ZZS cares to, which is fun.)
We get WKX telling ZZS about his figure, and the beginning of his shoulder blades thing, and then WKX explicitly says that he knows ZZS is wearing a mask. ZZS asks if it’s pretty, and they gaze at each other very intensely (and silently) for a while before ZZS turns away to drink wine and WKX says “it’s perfect”.
WKX then turns to Chengling to ask why Mirror Lake Sect was attacked by people wearing Ghost Valley masks. He doesn’t know, and WKX laughs about this, then turns to ZZS. WKX says that ZZS must know about Ghost Valley and its strength, and then wonders why ZZS got involved in “such a major issue for no reason”, and asks if he wants “to know what’s behind all of it?” ZZS says he doesn’t know, and he’s not interested, because he’s still trying very hard to not get dragged into everything.
Despite saying he’s not interested, ZZS makes a guess about why the ghosts did this. He starts by talking about how jianghu matters are always about greed, hatred, and ignorance (the three evils of Buddhism, iirc), and then gives a lovely speech about how Ghost Valley disappeared for many years (so it’s not hatred), Qiu Yue Jian (Zhang Yusen) has “always preserved moral integrity” (so it’s not ignorance), and therefore it must be greed.
WKX then, of course, brings up the rhyme about the Five Lakes Alliance’s ambitions, and ZZS fills in the second half easily. WKX then adds the second half, though he needs to make Gu Xiang ask what it is because he’s being dramatic. ZZS laughs and asks what’s sad about the ghosts; they’re all full of evil. WKX agrees, but tells him the rhyme isn’t about that: it’s about Rong Xuan, the “great demon” who died twenty years ago.
WKX adds that Rong Xuan left behind “a martial arts treasure called World’s Armory” and describes what it should hold, as well as that it’s locked with the Glazed Armor. ZZS scoffs (and continues to call him Wen-gongzi) and says that only unlearned folk could be fooled by such stories about treasures that could make one invincible. (We’re given a reaction shot, though, of Chengling’s downcast face when the Glazed Armor is brought up. He knows about it by now, and that it’s real, since he’s carrying a piece of it in his body.)
ZZS goes on to say that every few years, some martial arts treasure (technique, weapon, etc.) gets made up, causing the jianghu to scramble for it and leading to countless deaths. He thinks it’s ridiculous, and all just greed. WKX laughs, and says he’s surprised ZZS agrees with him about how “Though peace reigns over the land, ignorant people create trouble for themselves”. (WKX’s tone of voice here is… I don’t know how to describe it? But it’s smooth and self-satisfied. They’ve been verbally sparring this whole conversation, and WKX’s tone makes it feel like he thinks he’s won, or that he confirmed something that he was looking for.)
Gu Xiang interrupts, saying she’s finally figured out some of the references that ZZS and WKX have been throwing around, and talks about how people are gonna die because they’ve got weak martial arts and want a quick way to get strong.
ZZS says she is indeed quite smart, in a way that makes it hard to tell how much he thinks that vs is humoring her, and then WKX asks what Chengling thinks. Chengling doesn’t have an answer, so ZZS suggests they nap, as it’s almost dawn.
WKX looks off into the distance, and agrees that it is indeed almost dawn. Probably some more planning/plotting going on in his mind that he’s pleased about.
The scene shifts, finally, to something with nicer lighting and literally any color. I am so happy. I have been staring at gray and brown and night for so long. I have missed colors.
The burnt-out husk of Mirror Lake Manor is very sad! There are servants and Yueyang disciples cleaning it up and taking the bodies out!
Shen Shen (the leader of Mount Dagu Sect; I don’t think we ever see his sect…) arrives on a boat that doesn’t seem to have anyone/anything powering it? It’s just him, and the boat drifting forwards? He also doesn’t want to wait for the boat to reach the dock, preferring to jump out and rebound off the water to make it to land.
Deng Kuan is leading the clean-up efforts when Shen Shen arrives. Deng Kuan has two nicely-dressed flunkies whose names I do not recall, which means there’s a 50/50 chance we’ll learn them later.
Shen Shen asks what’s happened, Deng Kuan really doesn’t want to respond, and Shen Shen’s gaze falls upon the blood-stained cloths covering the bodies of Zhang Yusen and his two older sons. (I return to wondering about Zhang-furen, who isn’t mentioned at all during any of this.)
Deng Kuan prevents Shen Shen from looking more closely, and tells him about how everyone had already been killed by the time Deng Kuan and his people had arrived last night. When Shen Shen keeps trying to get past him, Deng Kuan kneels and begs him not to look, because Zhang Yusen and his sons were tortured and “their remains are in a poor state”.
Shen Shen almost faints from hearing this and taking it in, and Deng Kuan’s flunkies catch him. Deng Kuan takes responsibility for not arriving sooner and asks for punishment.
Shen Shen is very upset, unsurprisingly, and rages about Deng Kuan not saving Zhang Yusen. Deng Kuan talks about how the boats were destroyed, and Shen Shen promises to pay back the person who enacted this cruel scheme a hundredfold.
We now begin to hear from the other people of the jianghu! The pastel grandparents arrive! (Their names are Grandmother Tao Hong and Grandfather Lv Liu.) Tao Hong is laughing about Shen Shen’s boast, and she mocks him for swearing brotherhood but not actually dying together with his brother.
Lv Liu picks up the thread by critiquing the Five Lakes Alliances’ sense of honor, and how “they didn’t meet together for decades” but are showing up as soon as Zhang Yusen dies.
Shen Shen asks if they’re trying to provoke him, which they obviously are. Tao Hong keeps going on the topic of how poor their brotherly bonds were, even asking “Who knows if Zhang Yusen even recognises you as his brother?” and implying that he’s a flunkey and not a brother.
And then Shen Shen draws his sword because they’ve gone too far.
Huang He, leader of the Beggar Gangs, shows up to stop them from fighting! (Shen Shen calls him Huang-zhanglao [长老, zhǎnglǎo], Elder Huang. Huang He calls him Shen-zhangmen [掌门, zhǎngmén], Leader Shen, which is the generic sect-leader term of this jianghu.)
Huang He says that he invited Tao Hong and Lv Liu here to help them, acting very much like the nice righteous/orthodox sect leader the beggar gangs usually have in wuxia (I’m fascinated by this trope, especially since I only learned about it after watching SHL and seeing Huang He’s reversal/inversion of it).
He also tells them to restrain themselves for his sake, and “forget about our past grievances for now. For now.” We’ll see how they talk when not in front of the Five Lakes Alliance, later.
Huang He plays this role very well, and Shen Shen asks who he fucked up Mirror Lake Sect. Huang He leads them all into the manor, and the scene ends for now.
Back at the old temple with WKX and ZZS, it’s morning and WKX is watching ZZS meditate. ZZS gets fed up with his staring, and WKX responds by wondering what he looks like under his disguise.
ZZS wakes Chengling up, then says, “Fate let us meet.” WKX responds with, “And fate will reunite us,” and ZZS actually smiles at him momentarily here!
WKX then goes “Actually, what if we didn’t wait to be reunited?” and starts going on about his boat and wanting to appreciate the scenery of Lake Tai (where Zhao Jing’s manor is), and ZZS ignores him and leads Chengling out onto the road.
As ZZS continues ignoring him, WKX smiles and thinks to himself “I’m looking forward to finding out who you are”, because that’s the real reason he’s trying to get ZZS to travel with him.
Gu Xiang continues being scornful of ZZS and thinks he’s about to keel over and die. WKX says she hasn’t met enough people yet, and describes ZZS’s loveliness and how it’s at odds with his appearance—and that he can’t find any trace of a disguise. He’s very admiring of that skill, and of ZZS’s sword.
WKX walks out of the temple, and smiles about how “Fate will reunite us,” clearly very ready to take fate into his own hands.
Back at Mirror Lake Manor, Deng Kuan tells Shen Shen about how the only remains they haven’t found are Chengling’s, and then Huang He explains where the other bodies were found. There’s some Soul Winding Threads (the Hanged Ghost’s special weapon) strung across a door they almost but don’t quite pass through.
Shen Shen comments on the yellow paper (without using any more specific a term than that), and identifies it as relating to Ghost Valley. Huang He confirms, and adds that “Ghost Valley always creates a scene before it carries out its evil deeds. I was worried that someone would do evil under the guise of Ghost Valley,” and so he asked Tao Hong and Lv Liu to show up.
Tao Hong says that “There is no-one left in the world who understands these damn things better than us,” because Ghost Valley turned her and Lv Liu into who they are today.
She identifies the Soul Winding Threads, and Shen Shen declares that he’s going to destroy Ghost Valley. Tao Hong scolds him for overestimating himself, ending with “It’s Ghost Valley that will destroy your Five Lakes Alliance.”
Shen Shen and Tao Hong continue bickering, because she really doesn’t like him, and Tao Hong and Lv Liu recite the rhymes. Lv Liu threatens Shen Shen in a backhanded way about there being nothing to fear if you don’t do something wrong, while implying that Mirror Lake Sect must have done some sort of evil to beckon Ghost Valley to their door.
Shen Shen turns to storm out, but when Deng Kuan follows him Shen Shen stops. He tells Deng Kuan to tell Gao Chong about what’s happened, and then hands Deng Kuan a token of authority and orders him to find Chengling as soon as he can.
Huang He then offers his help in finding Chengling, because “It is all about the duty of righteous people” and that’s how he wants people to see him. Shen Shen says that the Five Lakes Alliance is indebted to Huang He, and then he leaves. Huang He gives a slight smile, and this scene ends.
We cut to ZZS and Chengling walking along the river. Chengling is obviously panting, and ZZS notices and declares that he’s tired, because he cares a lot more than he wants to let on.
Unfortunately, the place where ZZS wanted to rest is where WKX has set himself up with Gu Xiang and tea. ZZS grumbles to himself about how WKX won’t leave them alone and must be after the Glazed Armor, then leads Chengling past them without a word. WXK watches him go with a considering smile.
Next, ZZS and Chengling pause to drink some water from what ZZS calls a lake but sure looks like a river to me. WKX shows up and quotes poetry at them about the cleanliness of the water, and ZZS wonders if WKX placed some kind of tracker on them, and then asks himself “Is there really a tracking technique I do not know about?”
This time, when ZZS leads Chengling off without a word, WKX’s smile fades. ZZS isn’t doing what he expects, it seems. It makes sense that after two attempts to show up and needle ZZS about what’s even up with him while he’s journeying, he escalates so far in his next attempt.
But first, Huang He and the grandparents talk in that flowering forest next to the incongruous boat.
Tao Hong is delighted that “someone can put [the Five Lakes Alliance] in their place”, while Huang He points out that Ghost Valley’s appearance will cause more than just the Five Lakes Alliance to suffer. Lv Liu agrees (in a more restrained way) with Tao Hong, because the Glazed Armor brought so much death and the Five Lakes Alliance got all the benefits.
He also mentions the Danyang Sect (and says its “bloodline was cut first”), which is that sect with the “baby Lans” in their white robes and headbands, and I think it’s the first time the Danyang Sect is brought up in the show. I didn’t remember this mention, because wow on a first watch I was overwhelmed by just trying to keep the names of on-screen characters straight, but it’s a good lead-in to the end of this episode where we meet the remnants of the Danyang Sect.
Huang He builds on this, telling us about how the surviving disciples of Danyang Sect ran to Ao Laizi (leader of Mount Tai Sect) and presumably brought (Danyang Sect Leader) Lu Taichong’s piece of the Glazed Armor with them. Huang He says they need to find Ao Laizi quickly, so that the Glazed Armor won’t fall into Ghost Valley’s hands. He’s being distinctly framed as the reasonable one of this set (which he is, to be fair!), and all three of them are being really beautifully written as characters who seem on a first viewing to mean well but go about it in perhaps not the greatest way, but on a second viewing all their own personal ambition is just as easily read into all their lines and actions.
ZZS and Chengling make it to an inn, and they learn that a rich guy bought out the whole place, so there’s no room for them (not even a woodshed).
Then, of course, WKX appears and smirks at them. He tells the inn worker to prepare the best room in the place for ZZS and Chengling (“For this beautiful… this gallant man,” more specifically; ZZS has an incredible series of eye-rolling/”why.” faces throughout), and then gets upset when ZZS bars him from entering said room with them. ZZS manages to speak only a single line throughout this, which he says through the door after he shuts it in WKX’s face, telling him to go find another room to relax in.
WKX did prepare new clothes for them, though, which is nice. ZZS checks them for trackers/traps, because he’s (rather justifiably) paranoid, and Chengling is confused by that (because he’s had a much safer life). Chengling says that “Wen-gongzi doesn’t look like a bad person,” which is true. He doesn’t look like one. But contrast this with how everyone in Mirror Lake Sect was nervous and thought ZZS looked like a bad/sketchy person—and all the literal masks that appear—and it’s clear that appearances being deceiving is a fairly solid through-line in this show.
In the end, yes, Chengling is right that WKX isn’t a bad person. But right now—at the beginning of the show, when he’s at his ghostliest—WKX isn’t a good person either. Completely reasonable for ZZS to be so suspicious and paranoid and checking for traps and danger everywhere, since they’ve been forced into WKX’s company by WKX’s gratuitous use of money.
(Also, as ZZS points out, Chengling thinks everyone is a good person.)
ZZS tells Chengling to take a nap, since they’ve been up all night, and Chengling tries to be a good junior and let ZZS take the bed, while ZZS (who has got to have spent much longer sleepless in Tian Chuang) just tells him to do as he’s told.
After Chengling reluctantly lies down (still fully clothed), ZZS comments on how he’s still dressed, makes a note that it’s “inconvenient while [he’s] here”, and then asks after Chengling’s injury. When Chengling puts a hand to his wound but doesn’t say anything, ZZS sighs, says it’s okay if he doesn’t want to talk about it, then tosses him some medicine and leaves.
(I have a lot of feelings about this scene, and how ZZS notices so much but doesn’t press about any of it, but also most of those feels are wrapped up in specific fic/AU thoughts.)
Once ZZS (having picked up his own set of new clothing) leaves, Chengling undoes his clothes and reveals the bandaged wound he’s been hiding. It looks bad! I am glad he can re-bandage it!
ZZS, meanwhile, has gotten dressed so that he is only wearing a bad mask instead of also ratty hair and clothes, and is now descending the inn’s stairs. WKX is, of course, waiting for him at a table with tea. He continues discussing how they clearly have a deep fate (that he definitely isn’t creating himself), while ZZS retorts that it’s more like he’s being haunted by a lingering ghost. (Which is much sadder—and more pointedly accurate!—knowing about Zhen Yan.)
But ZZS does sit at the table with WKX. He asks why WKX keeps following him, and WKX says he’ll tell ZZS if ZZS shows him his true face. ZZS asks “Why not show me your true face first?”, and WKX says that while ZZS must be very handsome, WKX’s “may not necessarily be that appealing” and implies that it may be scarred and/or terrifying (which is quite honest of him, really). ZZS says he doesn’t care (which is true, eventually), and changes topics slightly to advise WKX to stop being so interested in things that don’t concern him.
WKX asks about his relationship to Chengling and wonders if ZZS wants to get sucked into trouble if he doesn’t know what it is. ZZS says that he “[does his] best to accomplish what was entrusted to [him]” and protests that the job entrusted to him is quite simple really, since he only needs to bring Chengling to Zhao Jing and then none of this will be his business anymore.
There’s a very charged exchange as WKX attempts to touch their cups together and ZZS doesn’t want to let him, where we hear a musical cue that I associate with trouble/strife at the moment their eyes meet and ZZS stops contesting this. Which is interesting! I don’t know what ZZS is catching, beyond WKX’s evident skill!
Gu Xiang comes down and asks why she wasn’t invited to drink with WKX and they have this delightful exchange:
WKX: “What is the second cutest person in the world like?”
GX: “Someone who treats me to dinner.”
WKX: “It’s someone who is tough on the surface but soft at heart.”
[ZZS rolls his eyes]
GX: “And who is the cutest person in the world?”
WKX: “A person with a slim waist, long legs, who is tough on the surface but soft at heart.” [looks directly at ZZS.]
ZZS sighs loudly and settles back in his chair as he drinks. WKX smiles at him, greatly amused and pleased.
(The word being translated as “cute” here is 可爱, kě'ài, which looks like it could also mean “lovely”.)
“Tough on the surface but soft at heart” describes so many characters on this show. It’s great. WKX is clearly describing himself and ZZS in this exchange, but it’s not a bad description of Gu Xiang either. Even Ye Baiyi fits into that schema.
But enough flirting for now! Huang He’s beggar gangs are being shown Chengling’s image and told to look for him. (Huang He gets called “Law Elder” here? Which, yeah, that sure does seem to be what the words all mean, but I have no idea why he’s called that. Is this some wuxia trope/reference that I am not aware of because I did not grow up immersed in it?) Huang He says that his people should bring Chengling to him “no matter what it costs” if they find him, and that they shouldn’t let anyone know that they got Chengling if they bring him back.
Chengling had been sleeping (though it feels like it might not have been the best sleep), and now gets up to join the rest of our protags. They’re all sitting around a food-laden table, waiting for him because ZZS won’t let them start eating until Chengling is there too. ZZS continues delaying them by telling Chengling to go wash his hands first, and Gu Xiang whines about how they aren’t even eating with their hands so why does it matter?
WKX tells Gu Xiang to behave herself, since they’re travelling in the martial arts world, and to look at how other girls conduct themselves. ZZS glances at him, because this is yet another clue in the “who are you really?” compendium.
Outside, Chengling gets spotted by some members of the beggar gangs, who then go off to notify the rest of their gang. This begs the question of how much time has passed and how quickly news has spread, since literally the last scene was the beggars being told to be on the lookout for him. But I guess they haven’t travelled that far, and it’s hard to say how long Chengling was asleep for (it’s been ambiguously daytime this whole time, so it could be an afternoon or most of the day).
Inside, ZZS puts food in Chengling’s bowl as the four of them begin eating. WKX comments on how Chengling hasn’t started eating (despite ZZS’s bowl pretty solidly having less food in it), and asks if the food isn’t to Chengling’s taste. Chengling says that isn’t it, thanks him for the hospitality, and continues not eating.
(ZZS, meanwhile, is drinking but not eating anything either. After
rekishi pointed out the way he doesn’t eat much on the last post, I’m paying attention now and it’s sad.)Gu Xiang begins scolding Chengling for how his lack of appetite brings everyone else’s down too, and says she “really dislike[s] spoiled people like [Chengling]” who haven’t had hardship in their lives and aren’t skilled at anything. She goes on for a while, but neither ZZS nor WKX stop her until she pauses, at which point WKX steps in and tells her to stop bullying Chengling and eat.
Gu Xiang does not stop! But she manages to wrap around to something sort of almost positive, as she points out that if Chengling wastes away by not eating he’ll need to rely on “outsiders” like the rest of them to avenge his family. Chengling stops looking quite so much like he’s going to cry, and WKX looks melancholy.
Gu Xiang continues, mentioning the same saying about “At home you rely on your parents, outside you rely on your friends,” that Chengling quoted at ZZS last episode to try and get him to take the name token. Here it takes on a different meaning, though, since Gu Xiang is pointing out that perhaps Chengling should learn to rely on himself instead of taking advantage of people like ZZS.
Chengling starts shoveling food into his mouth. Gu Xiang and WKX continue eating. ZZS continues drinking. Gu Xiang tells Chengling he can slow down, since nobody is trying to steal food from him, and Chengling starts crying as he continues to eat. Poor boy.
(ZZS has said nothing this entire scene. He’s just watched, and listened, and been drinking.)
We cut to Yueyang Sect Manor, where Gao Chong is seated in front of a hall full of other people. There are a bunch of nameless sect leaders, a couple sect leaders who keep showing up but never get names other than “Leaders of Haisha Gangs & Water Transport Gangs”, and two named disciples of Yueyang Sect who I don’t remember: Zhu Yaozhi and Gao Shan (whose surname matches Gao Chong’s).
Gao Chong is telling them about how Ghost Valley attacked and slaughtered Mirror Lake Sect, and how this is “unprecedented shame and humiliation” and it’s time for revenge! Everyone agrees, and then Gao Chong tells us about the agreement made twenty years ago between the jianghu and “the masters who developed Ghost Valley”: so long as Ghost Valley doesn’t harm the people of the jianghu, the righteous people will not step inside Ghost Valley.
But since Ghost Valley hurt them, Gao Chong’s going to hold a Heroes Conference on July 15th, and use that to gather everyone to eradicate “this cancerous evil.”
We cut from everyone chanting agreement to Ao Laizi (leader of Mount Tai Sect) standing in some pretty treetops at night. He meets with one of his disciples (Qing Bai), asks after the health of another disciple (Qing Hua), and then Ao Laizi says that they can’t light a fire yet; it’s not long until they reach Mount Wudang.
Qing Bai offers to keep watch while Ao Laizi rests, but Ao Laizi says he’s fine. He also says that “Because of the fire at Mirror Lake Sect, Shen Shen let us get away” as we pan over to see the Danyang Sect kids.
When Qing Bai says that they’d just battle to the death if Shen Shen catches up with them, the Danyang kids suggest Ao Laizi just hand them over (since Shen Shen is their master’s sworn brother and all).
Ao Laizi sighs and says that Shen Shen is chasing them to steal the Glazed Armor. (Poor Shen Shen; he’s a lot nicer than this first introduction of him makes him see, but this show is built on reversals of expectation like that.) He promises to keep the Glazed Armor from falling into the hands of the Five Lakes Alliance, and the scene ends.
Back to ZZS, who is having some nice fun nail times. We get a surprising number of shots of his chest (because his robes are quite open) as he settles his qi, and then an owl calls and we’re shown some people dressed as ghost valley minions jumping around on rooftops.
Chengling is shouting for help as he has nightmares, and the ghost masks peer through a cracked-open window. ZZS (now with his robes more properly covering his chest) wakes Chengling with a touch, and Chengling shouts for his dad before recognising ZZS. ZZS tells Chengling it’s fine now, and that Chengling should get some sleep.
ZZS leaves the room, hears some sounds of fighting, and turns to follow the noises. We’re shown those two ghost-masked people lying on the ground outside, and ZZS comes to examine them. (His robes now show some of his chest again. This progression is very funny to me.)
WKX is, of course, waiting for him, and says that he handled everything for ZZS and ZZS can go to sleep. (I get vibes of, like, a cat who brought dead prey back as a gift.) ZZS ignores that suggestion, commenting on how it’s Ghost Valley again.
“It’s difficult to tell a ghost from a human,” WKX says. “Someone wearing a ghost mask is not necessarily a ghost. Someone who looks like a human may not necessarily be a human.” Talking about the ‘ghosts’ here, of course, but also himself. He’s giving ZZS so many clues to his identity, if ZZS wants to take them. And then he waits for ZZS to look at him before saying, “Who knows?”
ZZS just looks at the wine jar WKX is holding instead, and WKX praises his taste in wine before asking if he can call ZZS “A-Xu,” and proceeds to do so without any sign of acknowledgement from ZZS. But ZZS doesn’t stop him, so it’s fine. WKX says that ZZS’s ability to judge wine is on par with WKX’s ability to judge people, and then offers the wine to ZZS.
ZZS brushes WKX’s hand aside, but they remain in this pose (keeping contact between the back of ZZS’s wrist and the underside of WKX’s) as the conversation continues. ZZS scoffs at WKX’s skills, WKX says he’s sure that “a big surprise is hiding underneath [ZZS’s] outermost skin”, and the music shifts to one of the soundtrack’s more intimate songs as ZZS flips his hand over and runs it along WKX’s hand to take the wine from him without a word.
After taking a swig of wine, ZZS says, “You might as well rip it off and take a look” before leaving. WKX smiles after him, says he’s in no hurry, and we end this episode.
General Commentary
Travel time is so strange in shows like this. It makes sense that Deng Kuan is at Mirror Lake Manor the morning after the attack, but that Shen Shen, Huang He, and the grandparent pair were all so nearby as well… I dunno! It makes sense plot-wise, and it’s a general convenience, but it does make it harder to tell how far apart anything is from each other. (It’s especially interesting with Mirror Lake Sect, because Zhang Yusen seems to have been trying to stay out of jianghu politics, so it feels like there’d be less reason for so many people to be so nearby…)
I’m so fascinated by this introduction of Huang He! I hadn’t remembered that he’s introduced in a way that frames him as a nice and reasonable person, because it’s not an impression that lasts very long once he starts acting on his own. (And next episode it’ll become even more apparent how much ambition and shit-stirring potential he has, iirc…)
Similarly, for all that Tao Hong and Lv Liu are being dicks to Shen Shen, they’re making some very good points about the Five Lakes Alliance and how it’s going to get fucked up. They also continue framing this all as Ghost Valley vs Five Lakes Alliance, of course, because we’re still early in the show and those supposedly clear-cut lines haven’t been turned into a muddle of shades of gray and a tangle of debts, ambitions, and revenge plans.
I also am really fascinated by all the discussion of appearances and what is hidden/what is pre-judged simply by the outermost layer. WKX especially makes a lot of comments about layers and explicitly talks about personality vs appearance when Gu Xiang is whining about the person with fantastic shoulder blades but an unattractive face, and applies that same logic to ZZS (and himself!) later in the episode.
There’s definitely an essay that could be written about this canon and the use of masks both as literal objects (the “ghost valley” mooks that are actually Zhao Jing’s men, ZZS’s skin mask, Liu Qingqiao’s masks…) and as social constructions (Zhao Jing’s public actions vs actual goals, WKX’s nice young master persona and his Valley Master history, Shen Shen and how he’s presented at the beginning here vs the true layers we see later). Even Ye Baiyi letting people think that he’s his own disciple at first plays into this, because the show is so fascinated narratively with how first impressions can be deceiving. Which makes a rewatch really rewarding, because you get to see the ways all those reversals are set up!
Also, it is really clear from how Gu Xiang and Wen Kexing talk about the “ghost” mooks that yeah these aren’t really Ghost Valley people. I’m curious how they know this/why they believe this, because there’s no way they know every person in Ghost Valley. Fighting style? Probably?
I’m really fascinated by how we’ve been introduced to all the Five Lakes Alliance leaders now, and seen all of the living ones (Lu Taichong, the Dayang Sect Leader, is dead) except for Zhao Jing. I hadn’t noticed, on a first viewing, how long it took us to meet him—I don’t think we’ll see him in ep4 either—because his name comes up a lot. But we don’t meet him! We’re just told about him, and that gives time for a viewer to get an idea that he’s a good person, and possibly better than these other sect leaders (Shen Shen, Gao Chong, even Ao Laizi [who narratively sort of takes Lu Taichong’s place]) who we’ve seen negative aspects of already.
And then there’s the ending of this episode, where ZZS actively invites WKX to try and get under his skin. He’s spent a fair amount of time avoiding WKX on the road, and then all this last day at the inn studying him. This is half a taunt, I’m sure, but it’s also framed as ZZS finally returning some of the interest that WKX’s been directing at him; there’s no other explanation I can think of for how his hand slides over WKX’s. I’m not sure it’s quite flirting for flirting’s sake yet, but they’re both perfectly capable of flirting as a means to an end, and recognise that information-searching drive in each other.
A final note! This is the inn that WKX rents out. I’m pretty sure the Tianya here is the same as the Tianya in Tian Ya Ke’s title, which is neat.
Questions And Other Things That I’d Love to Hear Opinions About
- Shen Shen! I love Shen Shen’s character arc, but here he’s not introduced at his best. Understandably so, considering all the emotions going on!
- What do you think WKX and ZZS think of each other at the end of this episode? It does feel like a shift happened, but how far has it gone? (ZZS is still denying WKX as a travel companion/doesn’t want that kind of intimacy next episode, so…)
- How do you think Ao Laizi came to the conclusion that Shen Shen wanted to steal the Glazed Armor? Is that something Lu Taichong said, or purely because of actions Shen Shen had been taking before Mirror Lake Manor was attacked? (Shen Shen is not a very good communicator either way, I feel.)
- Please tell me any thoughts you have about masks and the use of masks in this show! :D They were brought up a lot, this episode!
- Gao Chong rouses people to attack Ghost Valley because of Mirror Lake Sect’s destruction; do you think he just doesn’t know about Dayang Sect’s destruction yet? (I forget who knows what about its destruction when, because Dayang Sect just isn’t focused on very much later on…)
Next Week: The Beggar Gangs attempt to kidnap Chengling, meeting Qin Song and the other Scorpion Assassins, and WKX’s flute-playing.
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