[WoH Rewatch] Episode 4

[shadaras]

Episode 3 Discussion Highlights

Part of rekishi’s long comment here was about ZZS’s outfit change! We continued talking about that (and ZZS’s relationship with food) in the thread.

sabriel had a great write-up about Danyang Sect here, and also added some quick notes on names here. :)


List of Scenes
ZZS and Chengling prepare to leave
The Beggar Gangs try and capture Chengling
Chengling gets to see how poorly ZZS is doing
WKX cleans up after having some nice killing fun
Lovelace is introduced
Chengling and ZZS don’t know how to cook
WKX wants to fish for information via a history lesson
Qin Song’s musical attack
Chengling wants to be ZZS’s disciple, and we learn a bit about his pre-canon life
Meeting the Four Assassins
WKX plays xiao all night and has Feelings
It’s morning, WKX wants to be closer to ZZS, Chengling wants to be a disciple, and ZZS wants to get this over with
A nice sort-of-meal as the three of them travel
Ao Laizi being chased by Tao Hong and Lv Liu, ft. Shen Shen
Arriving at Sanbai Manor and meeting Zhao Jing


Timeline or Something
At least two days pass! It could be longer, since it isn’t specified how much time passes between ZZS accepting that WKX is travelling with them and them reaching Sanbai Manor, but we’re explicitly shown two days during this episode.



Recap

We begin with a beautiful dawn! ZZS and Chengling exit Tianya Inn (dressed, as rekishi pointed out, in matching teacher/disciple robes). WKX is sitting at a table drinking tea and playing with walnuts, and ZZS—who’s still calling him Wen-gongzi—doesn’t really want to join him. WKX doesn’t press, but he does point out the horse(s?) he bought for ZZS and Chengling to use as they journey to Tai Lake.

He’s really going all-out on gift-giving, now that he has any belief that ZZS will accept his gifts. Chengling thanks him, and WKX starts talking about how “Feelings are not defined by length of time” in the context of his relationship with ZZS, and then brings up that “The depth of friendship does not depend on the length of time” and relates that to Zhang Yusen’s relationship with the other members of the Five Lakes Alliance.

WKX probably had more to say on that topic, but then he’s interrupted by the Beggar Gang arriving, led by a man the subtitles refer to as “Vice Captain of Dazhi Gang of Beggar Gangs, Crippled Beggar” (the hanzi seem to be more specifically “Lame Beggar”). Which feels like it’s probably a very wuxia-trope thing to call someone. Still, fun to see how it highlights that yes there are multiple Beggar Gangs, even though that isn’t a focus of this show and we mostly just see Huang He as their representative.

They’re here for Chengling, under Huang He’s orders, and start talking about this (and how they’re clearly not bad guys), and say that they want to “make sure” they found Chengling. At this, Chengling starts edging behind ZZS, who sighs and makes sure he’s protected. ZZS asks Chengling if he knows this guy, and Chengling shakes his head. ZZS repeats this to the vice-captain, as if this fact should make them back off.



The beggar gangs surround them, and WKX points out that they really don’t need so many people just to confirm Chengling is who they think he is.



The vice-captain says it’s Shen Shen who wants Chengling found, and Chengling reacts with a gasp and clutching at ZZS’s sleeve. Very much a fear reaction! Very much continuing to pile on reasons we aren't meant to like Shen Shen at the beginning of this show!



Chengling refuses to go with the beggars, ZZS backs him up, and the vice-captain accuses ZZS of abducting Chengling and drugging him. WKX, in turn, says that the vice-captain is very good at distorting the truth and suggests he become a lawyer instead of a beggar.

And then the beggars get in formation to attack, which looks super cool but isn’t something I want to try and describe. They threaten ZZS and WKX, both of whom look very calm. ZZS tells WKX to keep an eye on Chengling, WKX leads Chengling back to the table he’d been sitting at, and ZZS waits for the beggars to begin attacking him.

The beggars do indeed attack! ZZS uses his Swift-Moving Steps to avoid their attacks! There’s a bunch of fun dramatic slo-mo! WKX comments that “A-Xu’s waist skills have been trained since childhood”, which sounds like such an innuendo. Chengling says that WKX should help ZZS, and WKX doesn’t see any reason to, since there’s no way the beggars could beat him. He offers Chengling some walnuts instead.

The vice-captain works his way out of the melee to approach Chengling and tell him to come along with him. Chengling doesn’t like this. WKX continues eating nuts as Chengling runs around the table to keep WKX between him and the beggar.



ZZS notices the situation (while continuing to fight the beggars), and WKX cheerfully points out that he’s doing exactly what ZZS told him to do, and says that he’ll help if ZZS asks. He’s being a dick, and he knows it, and he’s having fun with it because he knows there’s no real threat to anyone right now.



“These people really are not kind, don’t be lenient, get your weapon out,” WKX says as the beggars finally draw swords that’d been hidden inside their sticks. Later he’ll comment on how he really just wanted to see the Baiyi blade again and didn’t get a chance.

Chengling gets captured while WKX is distracted by ZZS, but ZZS of course frees him. He also coughs up blood from the effort, and then WKX decides to intervene by sending walnuts at the men about to attack ZZS. Chengling runs over to ZZS, and ZZS takes the opportunity to grab Chengling and escape, leaving WKX to deal with the beggars.

We get some lovely murderface as WKX grabs the vice-captain and chokes him before smashing him to the ground. He then growls out a warning to the rest of the beggars: leave or die.




But then we cut to ZZS and Chengling in a street somewhere, and ZZS is not doing great. He also doesn't want to accept Chengling’s help cleaning the blood off his mouth, though he takes the handkerchief. As he dabs the blood off his face, he thinks that he’s “really going to be a loser” (I bet there are other possible translations of that line; it’s definitely something about how the nails are fucking up his martial abilties).

Chengling asks what happened to him, ZZS does his qi-calming thing, and Chengling looks with worry at the blood-stained handkerchief. The only reassurance ZZS offers is “I’m not going to die”, which is the worst kind of reassurance because it’s only true in the context of this precise moment.

Back with WKX, he’s having some murderous fun. Or just finished having it, really.



He looks disdainfully at the blood on his hand and goes to wash it off, and Gu Xiang shows up having missed the whole party. She complains about him killing people in broad daylight, and he dismisses her concerns by pointing out that he did offer them a choice and they chose to die (instead of flee/live).

Gu Xiang calls him “Philanthropist Wen” as she dries his fingers. It’s neat to realise she’s the first one to use this name for him! She calls him this in the context of saying that it’s not the killing she has a problem with, but how messy it is.

And now we’re introduced to Lovelace, the Lustful Ghost, who is possibly my least favorite character in the show (at the very least, he’s consistently the one who makes me the most uncomfortable). He’s creeping on girls he caught and tied up. Gu Xiang interrupts him and makes him let them go. (“Aunt Luo” has been telling him to stop kidnapping girls, which is great. How do she and Lovelace ever work together? How has she not killed him by now?) Gu Xiang says that Aunt Luo will dig out his eyes if she finds out that he’s been creeping on girls, which is great and she should do that.

Lovelace gives the girls to Gu Xiang to keep her from telling on him, and she tells him that he owes her. And then she starts giving him orders from WKX: “summon all the people outside to wait for duty at Sanbai Manor in Tai Lake.” Lovelace whines about this, but leaves to (presumably) do as he’s told.

We cut to Chengling and ZZS at their sad campfire at the edge of a river, eating terrible fish because neither of them know how to cook. You’d think at least one of them would know “take the guts out of a fish before you cook it”, but apparently they’re both super useless. (Or: Chengling takes a bite of a fish that ZZS cooked and declares it bitter. We continue to not see ZZS eating even a single bite of food.)

Gu Xiang calls them idiots because of this, which is fair, and also implies they’re spoiled brats. ZZS ignores this in favor of asking where WKX is, and Gu Xiang points at the nice big boathouse floating on the river behind them.



We’re treated to the sight of WKX getting waited on by those two girls that Gu Xiang rescued. He’s also playing the xiao, of course, because he’s being a nice proper young master right now. ZZS does not seem impressed.

Gu Xiang sighs and comments (also looking towards the boat/WKX) that “It’s quick for people to follow bad examples”, which contextually I guess is about WKX with servants? Or something?

WKX jumps off the boat, skips across the water, and lands on the shore. He tells ZZS it’s a night for drinking and singing, then continues trying to get ZZS to come to his boat (he even has a famous chef on there, apparently!), and ZZS just drinks his own wine in return. WKX shifts to talking to Chengling instead, and is just as ignored. WKX tells Gu Xiang that she should learn from the women she rescued, because serving people is also a discipline. Gu Xiang also doesn’t respond.

WKX, fishing for compliments now, asks if he was awe-inspiring. ZZS sighs and shakes his head, not that WKX is looking at him at the moment. Gu Xiang tells WKX to go to those other girls, if he thinks they serve him better.

ZZS prevents WKX from sitting next to him by stretching his leg out over a log, forcing WKX to sit next to Chengling instead (with Gu Xiang sitting on his other side). ZZS runs out of wine, and WKX starts quoting a piece of poetry (subs say “Ke Tan” by Du Fu) that includes the phrase ‘white clothes’ (the Bai Yi that both Ye Baiyi and ZZS’s sword are named for).

Then, because this is intentional and WKX knows many things about history, he tells us about Rong Changqing, the “Magic Craftsman” who made three masterpieces: “The Great Wild Land” (which TYK translators called “Great Famine”), “Dragon Back” (Ye Baiyi’s sword), and “White Cloth” (Baiyi). WKX glances slyly at ZZS as he names that last one, and then goes on to talk about Qin Huaizhang having Baiyi and how “after the annihilation of Four Seasons Manor”, Baiyi disappeared.

(Sidetracking for a moment: We’d been talking, a post or two ago, about what jianghu people know about what happened to Siji Manor. It’s interesting that WKX says they were annihilated; do you think that’s the general jianghu knowledge/belief?)

WKX also says that he thinks ZZS’s sword is very similar to Baiyi, and that he wanted ZZS to draw his sword to beat up the rubbish beggars but ZZS didn’t oblige because he’d “rather take risks than draw swords”. WKX then offers up two explanations for why ZZS didn’t draw his sword: either the sword doesn’t belong to him (which he discards, because ZZS wouldn’t do such a ‘dirty thing’), or ZZS’s afraid to reveal his whereabouts.

ZZS has been silent through this whole speech (everyone has, really), but now he leans forward to tell WKX (still Wen-gongzi) that their relationship is “like this fish”, and to make the delightfully untranslatable pun the subs are so kind to explain, of “raw” and “unacquainted” sounding the same.



He continues, pointing out that he’s not interested in sharing who he is with WKX, or with knowing who WKX is (or what his goals are). And then he ends by saying “You’ve helped me many times. Thank you very much. If you are insatiable and want to see Baiyi, [pause, smile] you don’t have to waste your words.”

WKX laughs, asks why ZZS’s so grumpy, and then declares it his own fault for “intentionally testing [him]”. Everything about this back-and-forth is a test, really, and it’s delightful to watch. They’re both smiling at each other more, and even if ZZS is skittish about WKX it’s probably really fun for him to match wits with someone who also knows how to play this kind of game.

WKX says that he should’ve just asked ZZS what he wanted to know, because his A-Xu wouldn’t lie to him. ZZS doesn't respond, and we’re instead shown the fire, and then an unsettling tone comes across the scene as Qin Song begins his attack.



WKX and ZZS aren’t affected by the magic music, but GX and Chengling (and the girls back on the boat!) are. It takes a bit for it to get to GX; she grabs Chengling when he starts heading towards the sound. WKX follows them both and slaps his hands on their backs to ensure they won’t do anything else.



ZZS picks up WKX’s xiao, spins very dramatically in front of the rest of his group, and starts playing a countermelody. I’m pretty sure it’s a tune that I associate, in the soundtrack, with Ghost Valley? At the very least it’s a song that’s played in a minor key and tends to go along with spooky/unsettling events. So it’s interesting to have it implied that ZZS is playing this to break Qin Song’s pipa music.

(There are a lot of neat shots of ripply sound effects, the fire flickers, the girls fall off the boat.)

Qin Song gets hit by backlash and knocked over. He scrambles to his feet, grabs his pipa, and runs away. The music shifts to that actively unsettling theme that tends to match up with actively bad things happening as he runs, leaving some blood behind.

WKX stops channeling qi, and Gu Xiang turns and runs off to go save those girls (Yun Cai and Hong Lu). ZZS stops playing the xiao and then coughs (no blood, but I’m still glad he stopped playing first), and WKX goes over to his side to tell us that the musician had been “The Phantom Musician, Qin Song. One of the Four Assassins.” and that it’s surprising that whoever was behind all this could order him around. On this rewatch I realise that this is probably another of those clues that Ghost Valley’s people aren’t the ones in charge of the ghost-masked people chasing Chengling.



WKX continues his ambiguous flirting with ZZS, who wipes the mouth of the xiao off and hands it back to WKX with a comment about “sorry for getting it dirty” and saying he’ll find a new one for him later. WKX doesn’t care, but does call ZZS tone-deaf and says he’ll teach him sometime (ZZS tells him there’s no need and walks away). Which, well, blowjob innuendo is blowjob innuendo.

Qin Song staggers through the forest for a brief shot.

WKX helps take care of Chengling, who’s feeling very poorly after this, and ZZS starts questioning Chengling about his martial arts foundation. Or, rather, his lack of one. Chengling’s 14 and should’ve been practicing martial arts for at least seven years, but he doesn’t seem to have been focused about it. WKX comforts Chengling by saying that WKX’s parents also taught him to practice hard, but he was lazy all day, and I’m curious how much that statement is true and how much is a gentle lie. (ZZS, on the other hand, was never fond of playing.)

WKX continues by telling Chengling that ZZS secretly likes him and is scolding him because he wants Chengling to improve. Chengling, because of who he is, takes this as a reason to start asking ZZS to take him as a disciple. WKX is delighted by this. ZZS thinks that Chengling should focus on being Mirror Lake Sect’s heir. Chengling says that he “hasn’t joined a sect yet”, because his oldest brother (Chengfeng) was a good martial artist, his middle brother (Chengluan) was a good reader (scholar?), and Chengling believed himself responsible only for filial piety.



WKX makes a sad face and comments on wanting to be filial after one’s parents are dead, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s talking about himself here too, just a little. ZZS continues telling Chengling to stay with the Five Lakes Alliance, and Chengling insists that he wants to be ZZS’s disciple.

ZZS, despite how he’s rejecting Chengling, then starts telling him that he’s missed the best time to learn the basics of martial arts. WKX reassures Chengling that he’ll be alright anyway, able to reach the skill of WKX himself (though not the Changming Mountain Immortal). ZZS sighs, and agrees, and essentially tells Chengling to start practicing every day now. And that he’ll teach Chengling a basic mental/breathing technique so that he can fix his own internal injuries from the magic music.

WKX laughs and teases ZZS about being firm with his words but soft in his heart, and ZZS is very tired of him being like this. He gestures over to the boat, where GX is making sure the girls are okay, and basically tells WKX to go help GX. When WKX says she’s fine on her own, ZZS retorts that he is too, and outright tells WKX to go away.

Then we’re introduced to the four assassins. (I do not like this scene. It is nothing against the scene itself, which is very well-done, and everything to do with old bad associations with the visual language.) They’re at something that feels very much carnival in its aesthetic, and Du Pusa (Evil Bodhisattva) and Pretty Arhat are sniping at each other verbally while playing death/killing games with a dude they’ve captured. Blond Monster Jiang (the dude with an eyepatch) is watching them and eating meat, and then Qin Song stumbles in.



All the assassins gather around him and ask what happened and who hurt him, pointing out that someone hitting him with “Magic Sound Backfire” must have far stronger martial arts than Qin Song himself. They’re curious about this man, and want to know more about him, and wonder what their Master will do to Qin Song for his failure.

Back at the river, Chengling is shivering while ZZS tries to get him to meditate properly. WKX starts playing what ZZS calls “Bodhi Meditation Song” from over on the boat, and ZZS looks over at him while contemplating how useful the song is for the kind of practice Chengling is doing. He comments to himself that “Only one with a pure mind could play [this well]. I didn’t expect this man could manage such a melody.”



ZZS also starts meditating to the music, and we’re treated to a not-completely-awful sequence of WKX playing xiao where I only sometimes need to avoid looking at his hands to prevent myself from complaining about how they never really try to sync his motions to the soundtrack. Gu Xiang is upset that he’s playing music all night long for ZZS, when she had to act cute and beg him to play for her when she was younger.

WKX points out that she wasn’t in danger and didn’t have internal injuries, so she didn’t need him to spend his own energy helping her like he’s doing for ZZS (and Chengling). Then he asks what she’s planning on doing with the girls she saved. When she doesn’t have an answer, he reminds her of the dog she saved when she was younger and which he kept trying to get her to ‘throw it away’ and how she cried for three months when it got used as food instead.



“I still have the same attitude. If you’ve made a promise to it, but you can’t take care of it for the rest of its life, you might as well finish it ahead of time,” WKX says, and wow this line hurts more on a rewatch. I remember on my first watch wondering what the point of this story was. Now, I think the point is that he’s still bitter and upset about how Qin Huaizhang couldn’t protect/take care of him (and, maybe, also his parents).

Gu Xiang protests that the girls are living people and it’s not the same, which WKX makes a sad face about, and then Gu Xiang turns the subject to Chengling. She says WKX followed him because he “thought there was something wrong with him” [implicitly Chengling] and questions why he’s spending so much energy helping them [Chengling and ZZS] now and if ZZS is grateful for this.

WKX tells GX it’s none of her business, and that he likes ZZS and wants to be friends with him. He walks away after she giggles about that, and looks out over the water at ZZS and Chengling.

After a moment, he sighs and says (to himself? to ZZS?), “Once you get into it, you know the consequences.” Which. Okay, the hanzi is “一入红尘便生因果” and I am in no way going to be able to pull that sentence apart but I think that the word/phrase translated as “it” in the engsubs is probably more akin to “the world”? Which I think means that this line is him commenting to himself about how being part of the world means being subjected to the ordeal of caring about people? If someone who knows Mandarin wants to try and explain what’s going on with this line more, I’d love to get another translation/gloss!

Anyway, then he starts playing his xiao again, and we cut to morning. ZZS wakes up from the nicest rest he’s had in a long time, and Chengling looks like he’s doing well too. WKX is sitting on a piece of wood nearby, still playing xiao. He stops when ZZS looks at him, and comes over to chat. When ZZS doesn’t respond to his initial question (if he’s slept well), WKX stretches and sits down right next to ZZS, close enough that ZZS needs to pull the sleeve of his robe out from under WKX’s.



WKX gives a very fake apology for sitting so close; he’s just so tired from playing qi-infused music all night. ZZS points out that he didn’t ask for this. WKX says that he tested ZZS and caused his internal injuries, so this is his way of making it up to ZZS (and he doesn’t want ZZS to be mad at him for it). When WKX goes to feel ZZS’s pulse, though, ZZS stands up and stretches ostentatiously and walks over to Chengling.

Chengling continues asking to be taken on as a student and has started calling ZZS ‘shifu’, much to ZZS’s annoyance. ZZS protests that he hasn’t taught Chengling anything worth being called ‘shifu’ about, and that they’ll part ways once Chengling is at Sanbai Manor (with Zhao Jing), so there’s no reason for Chengling to be so attached.



He walks away, leaving Chengling sad and giving WKX an opportunity to give Chengling another pep talk about continuing to bother ZZS about becoming a disciple until ZZS gives in.

ZZS is over by the horse-drawn carriage that presumably was what WKX bought for them/gave to them at the beginning of this episode, and Chengling runs over to ask again about becoming a disciple.



ZZS just tells him to go into the carriage. When WKX goes to follow, ZZS stops him and asks what he’s up to. WKX says that he’ll be left alone in the wilderness if he doesn’t go with ZZS, because GX drove him off the boat (he’s annoying, she’s looking for a man), and ZZS rolls his eyes and says he doesn’t believe WKX.

WKX continues protesting, changing tack this time to “oh woe is me, I exhausted myself playing music all night and Gu Xiang kicked me off the boat for not taking care of myself, please give me a lift?” with puppy dog eyes. ZZS rolls his eyes and sighs. Again.



When the scene resumes, WKX is driving the carriage and looking very put-upon.

They stop to eat, and ZZS tosses some bread at WKX and tells him he’s a good driver.



WKX says that ZZS is good at everything, but doesn’t know how to enjoy life—especially not eating and drinking. ZZS responds with “爱吃不吃”, which is translated by youtube’s subs as “It is up to you”, which is fascinating and I have no idea how they got there because uh a surface-level read of “爱吃不吃” would be “[I] like to eat or not eat” or maybe “I don’t care if I eat or not” and that’s really interesting considering how much we’ve been talking about ZZS’s relationship to food. Again, more thoughts from someone who knows Mandarin better would be great!

ZZS then tells WKX that if he’s not satisfied he can leave, and WKX asks “How could I not be satisfied with you?” and informs ZZS that he’s distressed. After ZZS takes a drink instead of answering, WKX says that he’s worried that Chengling isn’t eating or sleeping well (definitely thinking of Chengling and not ZZS here), and says that once they reach a town he’ll buy them a good dinner as a treat.

ZZS doesn’t directly respond to WKX, instead turning to Chengling and pointing out that if the Beggar Gangs are after him then probably a bunch of other people are too, but promising that it’ll be fine once they get to Sanbai Manor. Chengling just continues asking to be accepted as ZZS’s disciple, and WKX praises him for his stubbornness. Chengling also tells WKX that he doesn’t want to leave WKX (calling him Wen-shu / Uncle Wen for the first time). WKX soothes him by handing him the bit of bread that ZZS had tossed him earlier, then saying that he’s looked at the stars and their fates haven’t ended. ZZS coughs at this comment, WKX smirks at him, and then the scene ends.

We’re taken instead to Ao Laizi and his disciples running through the forest! They’re being chased by Lv Liu and Tao Hong! Ao Laizi and his disciples circle up around the Dayang kids, and Tao Hong starts telling Ao Laizi that Lu Taichong is unkind and is dragging Ao Laizi down with him, and Ao Laizi should stay out of this.



When Tao Hong says that Ao Laizi ”Can’t do this”, he snaps back and wonders if she and Lv Liu can. His pride gets invested, and he says that even if his Mount Tai Sect became weak he wouldn’t be afraid of them, and tells the leader of his disciples (Qing Bai) to keep going and find Zhao-daxia. Unfortunately, the Dayang kids and Qing Bai both think that they should stay and hold off Tao Hong and Lv Liu with Ao Laizi, so they don’t listen. Lv Liu says that Ao Laizi is tired and weak now, so he’ll obviously lose this fight for the Glazed Armor.

Then we see Shen Shen bounding through the trees, and things start getting more complicated. He’s a third side, and obviously not friendly with Lv Liu and Tao Hong. The Dayang kids recognise him and call out to their Shen-shishu, though Ao Laizi keeps them from running forward.



Tao Hong laughs and comments on how Ao Laizi’s been running from Shen Shen this whole time, and that’s why he’s tired. Then she turns on Shen Shen, saying that “If today’s story spreads out, I don’t think your Five Lakes Alliance will be respected.”

Shen Shen doesn’t have the best self-control (or ability to read the room), so he responds with “Let’s see if you can spread it out alive.” Ao Laizi and his people look very concerned about this. Shen Shen starts fighting Lv Liu and Tao Hong, and Ao Lazi takes this as an opportunity to begin retreating.

We reach Sanbai Manor! I’d forgotten that actually happened this episode.

It’s very quiet, musically, as we’re shown what it looks like. The first comment we’re given is WKX talking about how rich Zhao Jing is (and how ostentatious his manor is), which he does while ZZS gives Chengling a reassuring look. It’s really clear, here, how ZZS and Chengling are dressed to match each other.



Then Zhao Jing enters, followed by a bunch of other people. I think the person who tells him that WKX and ZZS brought Chengling here is one of his adopted sons, the one who gets killed for his plots in coming episodes? I’m not certain, though, since he’s not introduced and it’s been a bit since I’ve seen those scenes.



Zhao Jing and Chengling look at each other, and there’s not really any obvious fondness on either face. Chengling looks super wide-eyed and hopeful, though, and Zhao Jing approaches and tells him he’s grown up, then says that he’s “your fathers’s best brother, Zhao Jing”.



He’s going through all the right motions, but WKX and ZZS exchange a glance as Zhao Jing says that Chengling should make himself at home and tell Zhao Jing if there’s anything he wants.



The disciples of Sanbai Manor cluster around Chengling as Zhao Jing turns to thank WKX and ZZS for bringing Chengling to him. He bows very formally, and WKX says pretty nothings in response, and ZZS says nothing at all.

Then they’re interrupted by one of the Mount Tai disciples (Qing Hua) running into the hall shouting for Zhao Jing. He’s here to ask for help, because Ao Laizi is being chased!



We end on WKX and ZZS’s faces as they hear this request.




General Commentary

Zhou Zishu spends literally this whole episode protesting that he doesn’t care about Chengling in a sect leader/shifu sort of way, while also acting in exactly the role of a shixiong at the very least. It’s very funny, and sweet, and sad.

There’s a turning point in WKX’s relationship with ZZS and Chengling in this episode after the night spent by the river. He’s done something kind and protective for them, and it’s not about him spending money or him fighting people who might go after him too; it’s just WKX with a flute and using his time and energy to care for ZZS and Chengling. Apologising, too, before all this; he tells ZZS that he was testing him and it’s an offering of some kind of vulnerability in a way that he hasn’t really done before.

So, yeah, it’s not surprising that ZZS is still prickly and wants to keep him from being quite so close, but does still let him come along on the journey. It’s equally unsurprising that Chengling starts calling him Wen-shu. There’s markers of care with ZZS tossing WKX food (from a bag), and then WKX giving that to Chengling in turn.

WKX also tells us some things about his childhood! They’re probably true things, even, though I think I only feel like that because this is a rewatch. On a first watch it was more difficult to tell how honest he was being vs. how much he was trying to get something.

It’s also super interesting how much history WKX is telling us. It makes sense that he has all the information necessary to be a primary info-dump source in these early episodes, since he’s spent so much time trying to work out what happened in the past so that he can successfully get his revenge. It also continues to give off the fascinating character contrast of him as a Valley Master unhinged murderer vs. this more thoughtful scholar who likes comforting and supporting Chengling.

We’ve met the Four Assassins now! They’re all interesting pieces of work. I always forget about Blond Monster Jiang; he doesn’t show up very much before he dies. Qin Song I remember simply because he seems to have molded himself in Xie’er’s image with the braids and pipa playing. Du Pusa and Pretty Arhat being the two who survive the longest (and thus seem most dangerous) is such an interesting choice; Xie’er is often in scenes with women, with Zhao Jing as the only male character he’s usually interacting with.

We also meet Zhao Jing! It’s super interesting to see him from a rewatch perspective, knowing how much shit he’s responsible for. In the first watch, it was so much a “Yay! A nice responsible adult! Possibly kind of ineffectual but not a bad guy!”. Now I’m side-eyeing him so much.


Discussion Prompts/Questions

1. I have some “translation???” questions up in the body of this post; if anyone knows enough to jump in (or has seen resources about those questions elsewhere!) I’d love to hear. :)

2. A lot of this episode is WKX and ZZS caring about people (Chengling, each other) despite themselves. Anything you’d like to focus on or talk about in this vein is welcome! I know the topic has come up before, because we’re all fascinated by it, but more is always good!

3. What do you think about Zhao Jing’s introduction? We don’t get much of him this episode, so it’s all first impressions and nothing else. How has your impression of his entrance changed since your first watch?

4. This episode gives us more of Wen Kexing the Valley Master! Both some absolutely wonderful shots of him enacting violence and some conversations with Gu Xiang that illustrate what Ghost Valley was like. Any thoughts on Ghost Valley and the Valley Master? (Whether in contrast with how WKX is presenting himself in front of Chengling and ZZS, or just in general!)


Next Time: A lot more Zhao Jing, Ao Laizi’s death, and WKX and ZZS chase a thief into the woods and get poisoned!