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*adds "dead babies" and "incest subtext" to the content notes*
But actually this has been much lighter, with some entirely delightful shippiness. This is about all that's been translated so far, but the translation seems to be progressing very quickly. Two new chapters have been added in the time it's taken me to write up these posts!
Content Notes for the book in general: consent issues, sexualisation of teenagers, gore, mixed treatment of cross-dressing, self harm (sort of), dead babies, incest subtext, ANGST
And under the cut: SPOILERS for the start of Book 3, chapters 89-113
As I edit this post I've decided to go back and reread the first few chapters, since I know I missed a lot of detail in the deluge of names and concepts. So, some notable things before I get to the new content:
The first chapter seems to be how the world sees Xie Lian.
How Xie Lian ascended to godhood: He defeated a vicious ghost, then planted a flower tree on the spot to help the ghost move on, saying “Body in the abyss, but heart in paradise.” The head god, Jun Wu, saw this and said “This child’s future is limitless, impossible to measure.”
The Xian Le/Yong An war is summarised as "The reason for the chaos was due to the Emperor’s cruel governing, prompting a rebel army to rise for justice" implying some unreliable narrating.
All we know about his second ascension: "he charged into the Heavens to beat up and murder everyone in all four directions. Thus, the Crown Prince had only ascended for about the time it took to burn one incense stick before he was kicked down again."
Xie Lian's bffs didn't both abandon him right away, just Mu Qing.
What could be considered the first actual appearance of Hua Cheng:
Ok, that's enough rereading.
The next bit requires me to go into the complex heavenly politics I've been avoiding. So. Here's a whole bunch of gods! Unless otherwise stated, they're a cis dude.
Jun Wu: "The Martial Heavenly Emperor". In charge of heaven.
Mu Qing: Xie Lang's former bff. A grumpy commoner Xie Lian discovered and helped out. Dropped Xie Lian like a hot potato when he was banished from heaven. Martial God of the Southwest.
Feng Xin: Xie Lang's former bff/attendant from childhood. Stayed with Xie Lian loyally for many years after his banishment but they eventually parted on bad terms. Has always been on bad terms with Mu Qing. Martial God of the Southeast.
Ling Wen: female literature god whose life is one long sexist microaggression, including most of her followers thinking she must be a man. Basically Heaven's administrative assistant.
Shi Wu Du: Incredibly powerful water god.
Shi Quing Xuan: Ambiguously gendered wind god. Very popular. Younger sibling of Shi Wu Du, and their followers think of them as two brothers, brother and sister, or husband and wife.
Ming Yi: Earth god. Shi Quing Xuan's tsundere bff, gets grumpily dragged into presenting as female too. The spy who got tortured by Hua Cheng and rescued by Xie Lian.
Pei Ming: powerful old general, known for womanising. Uses his power to protect and promote Pei Su. Martial God of the North.
Pei Su (little Pei): a descendent of Pei Ming who did some Shit on his way up the ranks that Pei Ming helped cover up.
Lang Qian Qiu/"Leeroy Jenkins": dumbass general, his family took over Xie Lian's kingdom. Martial God of the East.
Quan Yi Zhen: Seems to be a hot headed ass. Martial God of the West.
Rain Master Huang: A reclusive god of farmers. The only god to try to help Xie Lian during the drought in Book 2.
(I feel like this "who is Martial God of What" thing is going to be important, but who knows)
So. A brief summary of some events from Book 1.
Xie Lian ascends to godhood for the third time, and for some reason a bunch of other god's stuff breaks, specifically his ex-bffs. Jun Wu sends him on some errands to build up merits (god currency) to pay everyone back.
Errand one: A ghost is eating brides. She turns out to be Xuan Ji, a jealous ex of Pei Ming's, given power by the Green Goblin. Xie Lian hears a creepy child voice and is rescued from monsters by Hua Cheng. He encounters a boy from Yong An with the face plague, named Lang Ying.
Errand two: Angry ghosts from a war are eating travellers. I forget the details, but at first it looks like it's all the fault of this priestess (EDIT: Ban Yue) but then it turns out little Pei's war crimes as a human really set things off. Pei Ming and little Pei try to pin everything on the priestess's ghost. Xie Lian has been keeping the priestess safe in a pickle jar, but asked Shi Quing Xuan to take her somewhere safer. (EDIT: Actually little Pei and Ban Yue are friends? I think I misunderstood the dynamic here a bit)
Errand three: Rescue Ming Yi from the Ghost City. It turns out Ming Yi was undercover spying on Hua Cheng, and when Hua Cheng found this out he tortured him. Xie Lian encounters the boy Lang Ying again and sends him to heaven to be looked after, then accidentally sets Hua Cheng's palace on fire in the process of rescuing Ming Yi.
End of Book 1: Xie Lian discovers that the gross demon Green Goblin is actually his shitty cousin, and was behind the murder of the Lang royal family of Yong An (who took over their country). Green Goblin had gathered a bunch of humans in his lair to eat them, including a father and his young son. Hua Cheng boiled Green Goblin alive, and Xie Lian freed the humans.
Looking at all that I have to wonder if Green Goblin and/or the Peis are involved in some larger conspiracy. Also Ling Wen's department seem to screw up at key junctures...
Ok, so. Back to the present. Xie Lian is visiting his parent's tomb. But who should be there waiting but... Green Goblin.
Since Hua Cheng destroyed Green Goblin's previous body, Green Goblin has possessed the father, and brought along the son. Because he is THE WORST.
Now Green Goblin can happily beat up Xie Lian and defile his parents tomb, but if Xie Lian fights back the little boy is all "Why are you hitting my dad :("
At one point Xie Lian threatens to call Hua Cheng to deal with him again, which effectively silences Green Goblin for a moment but makes Xie Lian feel embarrassed. With no other option he brings the son and restrained "father" back to his little shrine.
But who should be there but...little Pei, trying to steal the pickle jar priestess, presumably to pin perniciousness upon her. And then Pei Ming shows up to smash the jar, and becomes showered with pickles...and a smug, female presenting Shi Quing Xuan, all "Oh, I'm sorry, am I not the girl you were hoping to see ^_^"
Shi Quing Xuan tells Pei Ming that they have left the priestess with Rain Master Huang, who apparently beat the crap out of the last asshole descendent Pei Ming tried to strongarm into heaven. He's all ONE OF THESE DAYS YOU'LL LEARN THE ERROR OF YOUR WAYS WHIPPER SNAPPER and storms off.
Apparently Shi Quing Xuan has been looking after the little boy with face plague, too, what a sweetie.
Time for the Autumn Festival in Heaven!
Xie Lian wants to just sit in a quiet corner and not make trouble but Shi Quing Xuan drags him next to them at the main table. Shi Quing Xuan and their quietly badass older brother Shi Wu Du cheerfully troll Pei Ming.
There is a game! When someone loses a round everyone is shown a projection of a random play being performed about them by humans. We see:
A play shipping Ling Wen and Pei Ming, they're both quietly uncomfortable. Ling Wen makes some wry remarks about the fact that she is accused of sleeping her way to the top simply for existing as a powerful female god, while Pei Ming's promiscuity is celebrated.
A play shipping the siblings Shi Quing Xuan and Shi Wu Du as husband and wife. They are both horrified, and Shi Quing Xuan quickly pays a forfeit to have the curtains drawn (Shi Quing Xuan tends to solve all their problems with god currency, eg worshipper energy, because they have a lot)
A play about Quan Yi Zhen (who we haven't met before) heroically defeating some monkey like figure Xie Lian doesn't recognise. Quan Yi Zhen becomes enraged and goes down to earth to beat up his followers.
A play shipping Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, based on events from Book 1. Xia Lian wonders: Who could have made it so quickly? And why does Xie Lian's totally innocent behaviour around Hua Cheng in real life seem so shippy in the play...
And now for the lantern game! Followers on earth compete to see who can send up the most lanterns for their god. The head god Jung wu always wins, and announces his record score of nine-hundred and sixty-one. Everyone waits with bated breath to see who will come second. Xie Lian thinks it's a waste of energy the humans could have spent enjoying the festival with their families. But then...he wins, with three thousand lanterns from "QianDeng Temple".
But Xie Lian has almost no followers and even he has never heard of this temple. Everyone agrees it must have been Hua Cheng, and Xie Lian can't think of any other explanation.
And now back to his life of poverty. He doesn't mind for himself, but he's taken back the little boy with face plague so now has four mouths to feed: himself, Green Goblin, son of Green Goblin, and face boy. And his only source of income or food is donations from the local villagers.
After failing to make any money busking in a nearby town, he stumbles across someone needing a cultivator: a woman seems to be having some sort of infernal miscarriage!
A fetus ghost ate the woman's baby in her dreams when she opened her mouth to greet it, thinking it was her own child D:
Since there's another pregnant woman in the household, Xia Lian disguises himself as her, setting things up so the "merits" from the upcoming miracle will go to him as a god.
In his dreams, he recognises the fetus ghost's lair as a nursery from around his own human era, and sees a Xie Lian protection charm. Did this ghost's mother worship him? And then he realises he's heard the ghost's child-like voice before, taunting him during errand 1.
In the ensuing fight, Xie Lian finds himself trapped under water. Someone grabs him and puts their mouth to his, giving him air: Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng defeats the ghost and somehow they end up on the shore of a lake in Ghost Town.
Hua Cheng looks like he's in his early 20s now, and is somehow even hotter.
That was Xie Lian's first kiss and he finds himself incredibly flustered and turned on, silently blaming his head priest (EDIT: Guoshi) for only teaching him to resist attraction to women. He attempts to flee, but falls over due to an injury on his foot, and a dismayed Hua Cheng grabs his ankle, wanting to inspect the injury.
Just then a bunch of ghosts see the tableau and shout “MY LORD! ARE YOU TRYING TO RAPE SOMEONE?! DO YOU NEED HELP?! WE’LL HELP YOU HOLD THEM DOWN!”
Hua Cheng tells them to scram, picks Xie Lian (still dressed as a woman) up in a bridal carry, and takes him back to his palace (which has been rebuilt since Xie Lian accidentally burned it down)
They both apologise for behaving inappropriately and Hua Cheng tenderly treats the wound despite Xie Lian's protests that's he's fine.
*takes a moment to enjoy the dynamic*
They agree that the ghost was no ordinary dead baby, but the result of a dark spell.
They wander the ghost city. Hua Cheng finds some nice food, but well meaning demons, seeing that Xie Lian is favoured by their king, pile his plate with "delicacies" like their own roasted legs (freshly cut just for him!)
Then Xie Lian asks Hua Cheng about the QianDeng Temple that sent the lanterns. Hua Cheng goes quiet and apologises for it being in such a messed up place...and leads him to a gorgeous, empty temple in a quiet part of the ghost realm.
Oh hey I never mentioned! Hua Cheng's default term for Xie Lian is "ge ge" or "older brother".
Hua Cheng: I figured ge ge would probably join them in their annual boring games, so I set this place up to give ge ge some amusement while attending the banquet, make things interesting
Xie Lian thinks it's probably for the best that there's no idol but ask why there's no title plaque. An embarrassed Hua Cheng has to admit that noone in Ghost town knows calligraphy, and his own writing is awful. He demonstrates, writing the first half of a famous poem. His writing is near unreadable and carries "a malevolent whirlwind and the air of evil".
Naturally Xie Lian finds this intensely endearing. Failing to hold back a laugh he says "It’s got such personality". He finishes the poem in his own neat hand and Hua Cheng stares at it for a while then says "teach me?"
Without thinking, Xie Lian takes his hand, only realising too late that this means TOUCHING. Hua Cheng teases him by getting deliberately worse, and even though his hand is cold, it feels hot to Xie Lian.
Looking over into a corner of the temple, he notices a single lonely flower.
The chapter notes explain that the poem is one of love and loss.
I AM HAVING FEELS.
But then...
HUA CHENG'S PALACE IS ON FIRE! And it wasn't even Xie Lian this time!!
They soon realise it was a distraction to cover stealing the fetus spirit. But there's a magical protection stopping anyone from stealing Hua Cheng's property.
The only person who could leave with the fetus spirit is someone for whom it counts as "part of their body": it's mother. She is revealed to be Lan Chang, a sexworker ghost of the city, who has survived for hundreds of years with a holy belt she could only have gotten from a heavenly official, likely the child's father.
Lan Chang refuses to talk, so Xie Lian take her to Heaven. Everyone immediately stares at Pei Ming, since he has such a reputation for promiscuity, but he denies any involvement. And then Lan Chang says that Xie Lian is the father!!
He has to admit that he used to own many such belts, though he ended up pawning them when he became poor.
Shi Qing Xuan well meaningly says "Xie Lian's cultivation path requires purity, I bet he's never so much as kissed someone!"
Xie Lian goes bright red and the gossipy gods are delighted.
Luckily Jun Wu owns a sword that proves virginity (which people think is a bit weird, if convenient)
Ling Wen, a male presenting woman: My lady, please just tell us...
Lan Chang: IT WAS YOU
Pei Ming: HA
It becomes clear Lan Chang is not going to be any help and she's taken away. But Xie Lian noticed that she had seemed to recognise Mu Qing...
He goes home to his shrine. Hua Cheng is there and has cleaned it up, and also...strung the Green Goblin up over a stream to torture him. He charms Green Goblin junior (whose name is Gu Zi) with a butterfly but looks mistrusting at plague face boy...whose name I have just noticed is Lang Ying, the same as the angry father leading the Yong An war 800 years ago??
Xie Lian's sentient enchanted bandage RuoYe is tsunderely dismissive of Hua Cheng's sentient enchanted scimitar E-ming which is all a bit silly.
Xia Lian makes a truly appalling stew that Hua Cheng eats with every appearance of gusto.
There is a commotion outside from villagers admiring two hot women...namely Shi Qing Xuan and their bff Ming Yi. Hua Cheng, from whose dungeon Ming Yi recently escaped, looks up from doing the dishes with a sharp smile. Then he cheerfully offers them some stew.
Two hours later, when they've recovered, they explain why they're here: to ask Xie Lian if he knows anything about the ‘Venerable of Empty Words’ monster, which follows people around waiting for their happiest moment, then tells them everything is going to go wrong, gaining power from their fear.
Xia Lian: pfft, they're easy.
XIE LIAN
It turns out that Shi Qing Xuan became the target of an especially powerful Venerable as a baby. Their parents successfully confused the monster by bringing them up as a girl (...as you do). But at the age of ten they were discovered, and lived in fear until their older brother ascended to godhood, and brought them into Heaven.
All seemed well for hundreds of years. But now it's back.
Shi Qing Xuan's brother is facing a sort of divine test of strength called a Calamity so can't be distracted right now. Hua Cheng tags along but is clearly in it for the kicks and doesn't really care about Shi Qing Xuan's well being.
As they attempt to teleport to a hotel to prepare, they end up in an abandoned, desecrated shrine to Shi Qing Xuan and their brother. A gloomy voice says “The place you wish to go will become the nightmare you wish to never remember!”
But Shi Qing Xuan refuses to show fear and they go investigate the town.
Xie Lian takes Hua Cheng aside and asks forhis mobile number the password to his private communication array, so they can have private telepathic communications.
(Shi Qing Xuan's is apparently “Lord Wind Master is boundlessly talented” “Lord Wind Master is funny and carefree” “Lord Wind Master is kind and righteous” “Lord Wind Master is aged twenty-eight” EDIT: Ok I checked and the translation says 16? Not sure where I got 28 from)
Hua Cheng is very happy to be asked, and whispers it into Xie Lian's ear.
ADORABLE
Apparently most people he tells it too are fooled, and not very amused, lol.
Anyway, the town they're in is having a festival. They try to figure out the moral of a disturbingly realistic parade where a guy murders everyone else, and eventually have to ask a local. Turns out they're commemorating a beloved local mass murderer who killed everyone who bullied him, lol.
The Venerable shouts at Shi Qing Xuan from somewhere in the crowd. “JUST WAIT! YOUR CLOSEST FAMILY, YOUR BESTEST FRIEND, THEY WILL ALL DIE TRAGICALLY BECAUSE OF YOU!”
Ming Yi drags Shi Qing Xuan back from interrogating the people in the parade.
Shi Qing Xuan: Maybe you shouldn’t be my best friend for the time being :(
Ming Yi: Who’s that. I’ve never been.
Shi Qing Xuan: HEY
(I ship it)
Xie Lian gives Shi Qing Xuan some ear plugs and sets up a privatechat room array with the password “By Heaven Official’s Blessings, Nothing Shall be Feared”.
And then he asks Hua Cheng via his own array to help him test whether Ming Yi is secretly the Venerable. A Venerable can't say three true things in a row, so obviously the best way to test this is...
TRUTH OR DARE
They divide into teams, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian vs Shi Qing Xuan and Ming Yi, and decide by dice (which Hua Cheng has magical abilities with).
Team Xie Lian loses the first round, and Shi Qing Xuan cheerfully commands them to take off the top layer of each other's clothes. "Keep a few on for later ;)".
Xie Lian is deeply flustered but Hua Cheng reassures him this is necessary for the plan while carefully removing his clothes without touching his body. Next time they lose Xie Lian quickly says TRUTH.
Shi Qing Xuan: Crimson Rain Sought Flower, what’s the worst suffering in the world to you?
Hua Cheng: To watch with your own eyes your beloved be trampled and ridiculed yet unable to do anything.
Shi Qing Xuan: ...oh.
Ming Yi: Your highness, what’s the biggest regret of your life?
Xie Lian: My second ascension.
HMMM.
They get Ming Yi to answer three questions, all truthfully. He's not the Venerable.
OH HEY I NEVER SAID: When he was kicked out of Heaven the first and second times, Xie Lian was punished with a choker and anklet that remove his ability to create spiritual power. So he can only do spells if someone gives him some of their power. Also he calls Hua Cheng "San Lang", which is the pseudonym he introduced himself under when he was pretending to be human.
The Venerable uses telekinesis or something to start forming words of DOOM visually so poor Shi Qing Xuan has to close their eyes and rely entirely on the others.
At which point a crowd of grossly decorated revellers surround the group. Realising that the Venerable is hiding within the crowd, Xie Lian says “San Lang, lend me a bit of spiritual power, I’ll pay you back later!”
Hua Cheng: Ok ^_^
Xie Lian blasts the Venerable into ash. Along with the roof and a chunk of the temple. Hua Cheng gave him so much power he's afraid to touch anything else in case it explodes.
And then he realises that Shi Qing Xuan is missing, taken by someone they thought was Ming Yi but...isn't.
In the chatroom Shi Qing Xuan is all "HAHAHAHAHAHA MINGYIYOUBASTARD HOWDARE YOUNOTGRABHOLD OFME IF I DIE I’MDEFINITELYTURNINGINTOASUPREMEGHOST TOCOME AND HAU N T Y O U" but follows Xie Lian's advice to act outwardly calm as if they haven't realised they've been taken.
Hua Cheng is visibly bored...until Xie Lian says he'll swap souls with Shi Qing Xuan.
Xie Cheng, in Shi Qing Xuan's body, smiles cheerfully at the shadowy Venerable and kicks it. Shi Qing Xuan gives him access to all their own spiritual power but Xie Cheng draws the line at transforming into the more powerful female form.
Xie Cheng is useless with Shi Qing Xuan's magical Wind God Fan so just hits the Venerable with it, much to Shi Qing Xuan's dismay.
The Venerable tries various angles to make Xie Lian anxious and all fail...until it realises Xie Lian is talking to someone telepathically (namely Hua Cheng) and says "That person will die!" Suddenly Xie Lian is terrified even though Hua Cheng is already dead.
Realising that Xie Lian is in trouble Hua Cheng immediately bashes Ming Yi into the ground and threatens Shi Qing Xuan into switching back even though Shi Qing Xuan was about to do it anyway.
Xie Lian runs away and sets himself up in a magically barricaded room, and swaps back.
Xie Lian: Where’s Lord Earth Master?
Hua Cheng: Who knows
"Then he looked to the side and there was a human shaped crater on the ground, and Ming Yi was slowly crawling out of that hole."
Hua Cheng is so unjustifiably douchey to everyone who isn't Xie Lian, and Xie Lian is so cheerfully accepting of it. I love it.
Meanwhile Shi Qing Xuan has recognised the building Xie Lian ran into as the place they ascended to godhood. Xie Lian and the others rush to save them...but when they get there the door to the building is open.
Xie Lian decides the most plausible explanation is that someone with Shi Qing Xuan's mobile number sent them a message that got them to open the door.
Hua Cheng says he has business to take care of, and leaves. Xie Lian tells himself this is fine.
And then they find Shi Qing Xuan collapsed on the ground, their Wind God Fan destroyed D:
Xie Lian calls Heaven and gets Shi Qing Xuan's brother Shi Wu Du to come. He arrives quickly, along with Ling Wen and Pei Ming. But Shi Qing Xuan wakes up and angrily shouts a bunch of confusing stuff about wanting to be saved from Shi Wu Du.
Shi Wu Du says Shi Qing Xuan is clearly out of their head and he'll look after it. He also...dismisses the whole Venerable thing? HMMM. He takes Shi Qing Xuan away and Xie Lian tells himself everything will be fine.
It is only at this point that it occurs to me that Shi Qing Xuan and Shi Wu Du are likely intended to be fanservicey for incest shippers, with lines like “Qing Xuan, it’s ge ge... Everything’s alright now.” I mean I doubt it'll ever be anything but subtext. And from past experience and vague osmosis, I have a feeling their relationship is going to get worse from here on out...
Ming Yi agrees to not tell anyone that Hua Cheng was there, which is pretty nice, considering. He and Xie Lian go their separate ways.
The rest of chapter 113 is much more light, but also seems to be starting a new plotline, so you'll have to wait to hear me squee shippily about it ;)
I am so much wordier now I'm reacting in real time...
*adds "dead babies" and "incest subtext" to the content notes*
But actually this has been much lighter, with some entirely delightful shippiness. This is about all that's been translated so far, but the translation seems to be progressing very quickly. Two new chapters have been added in the time it's taken me to write up these posts!
Content Notes for the book in general: consent issues, sexualisation of teenagers, gore, mixed treatment of cross-dressing, self harm (sort of), dead babies, incest subtext, ANGST
And under the cut: SPOILERS for the start of Book 3, chapters 89-113
As I edit this post I've decided to go back and reread the first few chapters, since I know I missed a lot of detail in the deluge of names and concepts. So, some notable things before I get to the new content:
The first chapter seems to be how the world sees Xie Lian.
How Xie Lian ascended to godhood: He defeated a vicious ghost, then planted a flower tree on the spot to help the ghost move on, saying “Body in the abyss, but heart in paradise.” The head god, Jun Wu, saw this and said “This child’s future is limitless, impossible to measure.”
The Xian Le/Yong An war is summarised as "The reason for the chaos was due to the Emperor’s cruel governing, prompting a rebel army to rise for justice" implying some unreliable narrating.
All we know about his second ascension: "he charged into the Heavens to beat up and murder everyone in all four directions. Thus, the Crown Prince had only ascended for about the time it took to burn one incense stick before he was kicked down again."
Xie Lian's bffs didn't both abandon him right away, just Mu Qing.
What could be considered the first actual appearance of Hua Cheng:
The moment Xie Lian raised his head, a silver butterfly flew past his eyes.
That silver butterfly was sparkly and translucent, looking pure and limpid. As it flew around in the air, it left behind bright traces. Xie Lian couldn’t help but reach out a hand toward it. This butterfly was extremely intelligent. Not only was it not frightened, it even temporarily stopped on his fingertips, both wings glittering and beautiful to the utmost degree. Under the sunshine, it looked as if it was a fragment of an illusion. After a moment, however, it flew away.
Xie Lian waved at it, something that could be considered as his goodbye.
Ok, that's enough rereading.
The next bit requires me to go into the complex heavenly politics I've been avoiding. So. Here's a whole bunch of gods! Unless otherwise stated, they're a cis dude.
Jun Wu: "The Martial Heavenly Emperor". In charge of heaven.
Mu Qing: Xie Lang's former bff. A grumpy commoner Xie Lian discovered and helped out. Dropped Xie Lian like a hot potato when he was banished from heaven. Martial God of the Southwest.
Feng Xin: Xie Lang's former bff/attendant from childhood. Stayed with Xie Lian loyally for many years after his banishment but they eventually parted on bad terms. Has always been on bad terms with Mu Qing. Martial God of the Southeast.
Ling Wen: female literature god whose life is one long sexist microaggression, including most of her followers thinking she must be a man. Basically Heaven's administrative assistant.
Shi Wu Du: Incredibly powerful water god.
Shi Quing Xuan: Ambiguously gendered wind god. Very popular. Younger sibling of Shi Wu Du, and their followers think of them as two brothers, brother and sister, or husband and wife.
Ming Yi: Earth god. Shi Quing Xuan's tsundere bff, gets grumpily dragged into presenting as female too. The spy who got tortured by Hua Cheng and rescued by Xie Lian.
Pei Ming: powerful old general, known for womanising. Uses his power to protect and promote Pei Su. Martial God of the North.
Pei Su (little Pei): a descendent of Pei Ming who did some Shit on his way up the ranks that Pei Ming helped cover up.
Lang Qian Qiu/"Leeroy Jenkins": dumbass general, his family took over Xie Lian's kingdom. Martial God of the East.
Quan Yi Zhen: Seems to be a hot headed ass. Martial God of the West.
Rain Master Huang: A reclusive god of farmers. The only god to try to help Xie Lian during the drought in Book 2.
(I feel like this "who is Martial God of What" thing is going to be important, but who knows)
So. A brief summary of some events from Book 1.
Xie Lian ascends to godhood for the third time, and for some reason a bunch of other god's stuff breaks, specifically his ex-bffs. Jun Wu sends him on some errands to build up merits (god currency) to pay everyone back.
Errand one: A ghost is eating brides. She turns out to be Xuan Ji, a jealous ex of Pei Ming's, given power by the Green Goblin. Xie Lian hears a creepy child voice and is rescued from monsters by Hua Cheng. He encounters a boy from Yong An with the face plague, named Lang Ying.
Errand two: Angry ghosts from a war are eating travellers. I forget the details, but at first it looks like it's all the fault of this priestess (EDIT: Ban Yue) but then it turns out little Pei's war crimes as a human really set things off. Pei Ming and little Pei try to pin everything on the priestess's ghost. Xie Lian has been keeping the priestess safe in a pickle jar, but asked Shi Quing Xuan to take her somewhere safer. (EDIT: Actually little Pei and Ban Yue are friends? I think I misunderstood the dynamic here a bit)
Errand three: Rescue Ming Yi from the Ghost City. It turns out Ming Yi was undercover spying on Hua Cheng, and when Hua Cheng found this out he tortured him. Xie Lian encounters the boy Lang Ying again and sends him to heaven to be looked after, then accidentally sets Hua Cheng's palace on fire in the process of rescuing Ming Yi.
End of Book 1: Xie Lian discovers that the gross demon Green Goblin is actually his shitty cousin, and was behind the murder of the Lang royal family of Yong An (who took over their country). Green Goblin had gathered a bunch of humans in his lair to eat them, including a father and his young son. Hua Cheng boiled Green Goblin alive, and Xie Lian freed the humans.
Looking at all that I have to wonder if Green Goblin and/or the Peis are involved in some larger conspiracy. Also Ling Wen's department seem to screw up at key junctures...
Ok, so. Back to the present. Xie Lian is visiting his parent's tomb. But who should be there waiting but... Green Goblin.
Since Hua Cheng destroyed Green Goblin's previous body, Green Goblin has possessed the father, and brought along the son. Because he is THE WORST.
Now Green Goblin can happily beat up Xie Lian and defile his parents tomb, but if Xie Lian fights back the little boy is all "Why are you hitting my dad :("
At one point Xie Lian threatens to call Hua Cheng to deal with him again, which effectively silences Green Goblin for a moment but makes Xie Lian feel embarrassed. With no other option he brings the son and restrained "father" back to his little shrine.
But who should be there but...little Pei, trying to steal the pickle jar priestess, presumably to pin perniciousness upon her. And then Pei Ming shows up to smash the jar, and becomes showered with pickles...and a smug, female presenting Shi Quing Xuan, all "Oh, I'm sorry, am I not the girl you were hoping to see ^_^"
Shi Quing Xuan tells Pei Ming that they have left the priestess with Rain Master Huang, who apparently beat the crap out of the last asshole descendent Pei Ming tried to strongarm into heaven. He's all ONE OF THESE DAYS YOU'LL LEARN THE ERROR OF YOUR WAYS WHIPPER SNAPPER and storms off.
Apparently Shi Quing Xuan has been looking after the little boy with face plague, too, what a sweetie.
Time for the Autumn Festival in Heaven!
Xie Lian wants to just sit in a quiet corner and not make trouble but Shi Quing Xuan drags him next to them at the main table. Shi Quing Xuan and their quietly badass older brother Shi Wu Du cheerfully troll Pei Ming.
There is a game! When someone loses a round everyone is shown a projection of a random play being performed about them by humans. We see:
A play shipping Ling Wen and Pei Ming, they're both quietly uncomfortable. Ling Wen makes some wry remarks about the fact that she is accused of sleeping her way to the top simply for existing as a powerful female god, while Pei Ming's promiscuity is celebrated.
A play shipping the siblings Shi Quing Xuan and Shi Wu Du as husband and wife. They are both horrified, and Shi Quing Xuan quickly pays a forfeit to have the curtains drawn (Shi Quing Xuan tends to solve all their problems with god currency, eg worshipper energy, because they have a lot)
A play about Quan Yi Zhen (who we haven't met before) heroically defeating some monkey like figure Xie Lian doesn't recognise. Quan Yi Zhen becomes enraged and goes down to earth to beat up his followers.
A play shipping Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, based on events from Book 1. Xia Lian wonders: Who could have made it so quickly? And why does Xie Lian's totally innocent behaviour around Hua Cheng in real life seem so shippy in the play...
And now for the lantern game! Followers on earth compete to see who can send up the most lanterns for their god. The head god Jung wu always wins, and announces his record score of nine-hundred and sixty-one. Everyone waits with bated breath to see who will come second. Xie Lian thinks it's a waste of energy the humans could have spent enjoying the festival with their families. But then...he wins, with three thousand lanterns from "QianDeng Temple".
But Xie Lian has almost no followers and even he has never heard of this temple. Everyone agrees it must have been Hua Cheng, and Xie Lian can't think of any other explanation.
And now back to his life of poverty. He doesn't mind for himself, but he's taken back the little boy with face plague so now has four mouths to feed: himself, Green Goblin, son of Green Goblin, and face boy. And his only source of income or food is donations from the local villagers.
After failing to make any money busking in a nearby town, he stumbles across someone needing a cultivator: a woman seems to be having some sort of infernal miscarriage!
A fetus ghost ate the woman's baby in her dreams when she opened her mouth to greet it, thinking it was her own child D:
Since there's another pregnant woman in the household, Xia Lian disguises himself as her, setting things up so the "merits" from the upcoming miracle will go to him as a god.
In his dreams, he recognises the fetus ghost's lair as a nursery from around his own human era, and sees a Xie Lian protection charm. Did this ghost's mother worship him? And then he realises he's heard the ghost's child-like voice before, taunting him during errand 1.
In the ensuing fight, Xie Lian finds himself trapped under water. Someone grabs him and puts their mouth to his, giving him air: Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng defeats the ghost and somehow they end up on the shore of a lake in Ghost Town.
Hua Cheng looks like he's in his early 20s now, and is somehow even hotter.
Hua Cheng’s brows were knitted, as if trying to hold back, and after panting softly a few times, he opened his mouth to speak, his voice distinctly lower than before, “Your highness, I…”
From the hair on his head to all over his body, Xie Lian’s entire person was dripping with water. His lips were swollen, his eyes blank, and it was only after a good moment of disoriented daze before he mumbled, “I… I… I…”
That was Xie Lian's first kiss and he finds himself incredibly flustered and turned on, silently blaming his head priest (EDIT: Guoshi) for only teaching him to resist attraction to women. He attempts to flee, but falls over due to an injury on his foot, and a dismayed Hua Cheng grabs his ankle, wanting to inspect the injury.
Just then a bunch of ghosts see the tableau and shout “MY LORD! ARE YOU TRYING TO RAPE SOMEONE?! DO YOU NEED HELP?! WE’LL HELP YOU HOLD THEM DOWN!”
Hua Cheng tells them to scram, picks Xie Lian (still dressed as a woman) up in a bridal carry, and takes him back to his palace (which has been rebuilt since Xie Lian accidentally burned it down)
They both apologise for behaving inappropriately and Hua Cheng tenderly treats the wound despite Xie Lian's protests that's he's fine.
*takes a moment to enjoy the dynamic*
They agree that the ghost was no ordinary dead baby, but the result of a dark spell.
They wander the ghost city. Hua Cheng finds some nice food, but well meaning demons, seeing that Xie Lian is favoured by their king, pile his plate with "delicacies" like their own roasted legs (freshly cut just for him!)
Then Xie Lian asks Hua Cheng about the QianDeng Temple that sent the lanterns. Hua Cheng goes quiet and apologises for it being in such a messed up place...and leads him to a gorgeous, empty temple in a quiet part of the ghost realm.
Oh hey I never mentioned! Hua Cheng's default term for Xie Lian is "ge ge" or "older brother".
Hua Cheng: I figured ge ge would probably join them in their annual boring games, so I set this place up to give ge ge some amusement while attending the banquet, make things interesting
Xie Lian thinks it's probably for the best that there's no idol but ask why there's no title plaque. An embarrassed Hua Cheng has to admit that noone in Ghost town knows calligraphy, and his own writing is awful. He demonstrates, writing the first half of a famous poem. His writing is near unreadable and carries "a malevolent whirlwind and the air of evil".
Naturally Xie Lian finds this intensely endearing. Failing to hold back a laugh he says "It’s got such personality". He finishes the poem in his own neat hand and Hua Cheng stares at it for a while then says "teach me?"
Without thinking, Xie Lian takes his hand, only realising too late that this means TOUCHING. Hua Cheng teases him by getting deliberately worse, and even though his hand is cold, it feels hot to Xie Lian.
Looking over into a corner of the temple, he notices a single lonely flower.
The chapter notes explain that the poem is one of love and loss.
I AM HAVING FEELS.
But then...
HUA CHENG'S PALACE IS ON FIRE! And it wasn't even Xie Lian this time!!
They soon realise it was a distraction to cover stealing the fetus spirit. But there's a magical protection stopping anyone from stealing Hua Cheng's property.
The only person who could leave with the fetus spirit is someone for whom it counts as "part of their body": it's mother. She is revealed to be Lan Chang, a sexworker ghost of the city, who has survived for hundreds of years with a holy belt she could only have gotten from a heavenly official, likely the child's father.
Lan Chang refuses to talk, so Xie Lian take her to Heaven. Everyone immediately stares at Pei Ming, since he has such a reputation for promiscuity, but he denies any involvement. And then Lan Chang says that Xie Lian is the father!!
He has to admit that he used to own many such belts, though he ended up pawning them when he became poor.
Shi Qing Xuan well meaningly says "Xie Lian's cultivation path requires purity, I bet he's never so much as kissed someone!"
Xie Lian goes bright red and the gossipy gods are delighted.
Luckily Jun Wu owns a sword that proves virginity (which people think is a bit weird, if convenient)
Ling Wen, a male presenting woman: My lady, please just tell us...
Lan Chang: IT WAS YOU
Pei Ming: HA
It becomes clear Lan Chang is not going to be any help and she's taken away. But Xie Lian noticed that she had seemed to recognise Mu Qing...
He goes home to his shrine. Hua Cheng is there and has cleaned it up, and also...strung the Green Goblin up over a stream to torture him. He charms Green Goblin junior (whose name is Gu Zi) with a butterfly but looks mistrusting at plague face boy...whose name I have just noticed is Lang Ying, the same as the angry father leading the Yong An war 800 years ago??
Xie Lian's sentient enchanted bandage RuoYe is tsunderely dismissive of Hua Cheng's sentient enchanted scimitar E-ming which is all a bit silly.
Xia Lian makes a truly appalling stew that Hua Cheng eats with every appearance of gusto.
There is a commotion outside from villagers admiring two hot women...namely Shi Qing Xuan and their bff Ming Yi. Hua Cheng, from whose dungeon Ming Yi recently escaped, looks up from doing the dishes with a sharp smile. Then he cheerfully offers them some stew.
Two hours later, when they've recovered, they explain why they're here: to ask Xie Lian if he knows anything about the ‘Venerable of Empty Words’ monster, which follows people around waiting for their happiest moment, then tells them everything is going to go wrong, gaining power from their fear.
Xia Lian: pfft, they're easy.
To Venerables of Empty Words, a God of Misfortune like Xie Lian was extremely unfavourable. Either he’d have no happy occasions and it’d wait for nothing; or he’d already gotten used to all the bad luck and suffered no fear or anxiety. His luck was so bad to the point it was outside the imagination of that Venerable of Empty Words, so Xie Lian felt nothing of their curses, and even treated them like well wishes or daydreams.
XIE LIAN
It turns out that Shi Qing Xuan became the target of an especially powerful Venerable as a baby. Their parents successfully confused the monster by bringing them up as a girl (...as you do). But at the age of ten they were discovered, and lived in fear until their older brother ascended to godhood, and brought them into Heaven.
All seemed well for hundreds of years. But now it's back.
Shi Qing Xuan's brother is facing a sort of divine test of strength called a Calamity so can't be distracted right now. Hua Cheng tags along but is clearly in it for the kicks and doesn't really care about Shi Qing Xuan's well being.
As they attempt to teleport to a hotel to prepare, they end up in an abandoned, desecrated shrine to Shi Qing Xuan and their brother. A gloomy voice says “The place you wish to go will become the nightmare you wish to never remember!”
But Shi Qing Xuan refuses to show fear and they go investigate the town.
Xie Lian takes Hua Cheng aside and asks for
(Shi Qing Xuan's is apparently “Lord Wind Master is boundlessly talented” “Lord Wind Master is funny and carefree” “Lord Wind Master is kind and righteous” “Lord Wind Master is aged twenty-eight” EDIT: Ok I checked and the translation says 16? Not sure where I got 28 from)
Hua Cheng is very happy to be asked, and whispers it into Xie Lian's ear.
“Then… then doesn’t that mean every time someone tries to reach you they have to recite that phrase three times mentally? W… Wouldn’t that be very embarrassing?”
Hua Cheng snickered, “It’s because I don’t want anyone to reach me that I purposely set the password to that phrase. Let them know to back off. But, if it’s ge ge who’s trying to reach me, I’m always free.”
Seeing Xie Lian cover half of his face with his hand, turning his head away but still couldn’t make up his mind, Hua Cheng finally had enough fun and said, “Alright. Fine. If ge ge daren’t recite it, then I’ll be the one to reach you. What’s your verbal password?”
Xie Lian turned his head back around and said, “Just recite the Ethics Sutra a thousand times.”
“...”
Hua Cheng cocked an eyebrow. A moment later, Xie Lian heard his voice next to his ear, “It’s the phrase ‘Just recite the Ethics Sutra a thousand times’, right?”
ADORABLE
Apparently most people he tells it too are fooled, and not very amused, lol.
Anyway, the town they're in is having a festival. They try to figure out the moral of a disturbingly realistic parade where a guy murders everyone else, and eventually have to ask a local. Turns out they're commemorating a beloved local mass murderer who killed everyone who bullied him, lol.
The Venerable shouts at Shi Qing Xuan from somewhere in the crowd. “JUST WAIT! YOUR CLOSEST FAMILY, YOUR BESTEST FRIEND, THEY WILL ALL DIE TRAGICALLY BECAUSE OF YOU!”
Ming Yi drags Shi Qing Xuan back from interrogating the people in the parade.
Shi Qing Xuan: Maybe you shouldn’t be my best friend for the time being :(
Ming Yi: Who’s that. I’ve never been.
Shi Qing Xuan: HEY
(I ship it)
Xie Lian gives Shi Qing Xuan some ear plugs and sets up a private
And then he asks Hua Cheng via his own array to help him test whether Ming Yi is secretly the Venerable. A Venerable can't say three true things in a row, so obviously the best way to test this is...
TRUTH OR DARE
They divide into teams, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian vs Shi Qing Xuan and Ming Yi, and decide by dice (which Hua Cheng has magical abilities with).
Team Xie Lian loses the first round, and Shi Qing Xuan cheerfully commands them to take off the top layer of each other's clothes. "Keep a few on for later ;)".
Xie Lian is deeply flustered but Hua Cheng reassures him this is necessary for the plan while carefully removing his clothes without touching his body. Next time they lose Xie Lian quickly says TRUTH.
Shi Qing Xuan: Crimson Rain Sought Flower, what’s the worst suffering in the world to you?
Hua Cheng: To watch with your own eyes your beloved be trampled and ridiculed yet unable to do anything.
Shi Qing Xuan: ...oh.
Ming Yi: Your highness, what’s the biggest regret of your life?
Xie Lian: My second ascension.
HMMM.
They get Ming Yi to answer three questions, all truthfully. He's not the Venerable.
OH HEY I NEVER SAID: When he was kicked out of Heaven the first and second times, Xie Lian was punished with a choker and anklet that remove his ability to create spiritual power. So he can only do spells if someone gives him some of their power. Also he calls Hua Cheng "San Lang", which is the pseudonym he introduced himself under when he was pretending to be human.
The Venerable uses telekinesis or something to start forming words of DOOM visually so poor Shi Qing Xuan has to close their eyes and rely entirely on the others.
At which point a crowd of grossly decorated revellers surround the group. Realising that the Venerable is hiding within the crowd, Xie Lian says “San Lang, lend me a bit of spiritual power, I’ll pay you back later!”
Hua Cheng: Ok ^_^
Xie Lian blasts the Venerable into ash. Along with the roof and a chunk of the temple. Hua Cheng gave him so much power he's afraid to touch anything else in case it explodes.
And then he realises that Shi Qing Xuan is missing, taken by someone they thought was Ming Yi but...isn't.
In the chatroom Shi Qing Xuan is all "HAHAHAHAHAHA MINGYIYOUBASTARD HOWDARE YOUNOTGRABHOLD OFME IF I DIE I’MDEFINITELYTURNINGINTOASUPREMEGHOST TOCOME AND HAU N T Y O U" but follows Xie Lian's advice to act outwardly calm as if they haven't realised they've been taken.
Hua Cheng is visibly bored...until Xie Lian says he'll swap souls with Shi Qing Xuan.
Xie Cheng, in Shi Qing Xuan's body, smiles cheerfully at the shadowy Venerable and kicks it. Shi Qing Xuan gives him access to all their own spiritual power but Xie Cheng draws the line at transforming into the more powerful female form.
Xie Cheng is useless with Shi Qing Xuan's magical Wind God Fan so just hits the Venerable with it, much to Shi Qing Xuan's dismay.
The Venerable tries various angles to make Xie Lian anxious and all fail...until it realises Xie Lian is talking to someone telepathically (namely Hua Cheng) and says "That person will die!" Suddenly Xie Lian is terrified even though Hua Cheng is already dead.
Realising that Xie Lian is in trouble Hua Cheng immediately bashes Ming Yi into the ground and threatens Shi Qing Xuan into switching back even though Shi Qing Xuan was about to do it anyway.
Xie Lian runs away and sets himself up in a magically barricaded room, and swaps back.
Xie Lian: Where’s Lord Earth Master?
Hua Cheng: Who knows
"Then he looked to the side and there was a human shaped crater on the ground, and Ming Yi was slowly crawling out of that hole."
Hua Cheng is so unjustifiably douchey to everyone who isn't Xie Lian, and Xie Lian is so cheerfully accepting of it. I love it.
Meanwhile Shi Qing Xuan has recognised the building Xie Lian ran into as the place they ascended to godhood. Xie Lian and the others rush to save them...but when they get there the door to the building is open.
Xie Lian decides the most plausible explanation is that someone with Shi Qing Xuan's mobile number sent them a message that got them to open the door.
Hua Cheng says he has business to take care of, and leaves. Xie Lian tells himself this is fine.
And then they find Shi Qing Xuan collapsed on the ground, their Wind God Fan destroyed D:
Xie Lian calls Heaven and gets Shi Qing Xuan's brother Shi Wu Du to come. He arrives quickly, along with Ling Wen and Pei Ming. But Shi Qing Xuan wakes up and angrily shouts a bunch of confusing stuff about wanting to be saved from Shi Wu Du.
Shi Wu Du says Shi Qing Xuan is clearly out of their head and he'll look after it. He also...dismisses the whole Venerable thing? HMMM. He takes Shi Qing Xuan away and Xie Lian tells himself everything will be fine.
It is only at this point that it occurs to me that Shi Qing Xuan and Shi Wu Du are likely intended to be fanservicey for incest shippers, with lines like “Qing Xuan, it’s ge ge... Everything’s alright now.” I mean I doubt it'll ever be anything but subtext. And from past experience and vague osmosis, I have a feeling their relationship is going to get worse from here on out...
Ming Yi agrees to not tell anyone that Hua Cheng was there, which is pretty nice, considering. He and Xie Lian go their separate ways.
The rest of chapter 113 is much more light, but also seems to be starting a new plotline, so you'll have to wait to hear me squee shippily about it ;)
I am so much wordier now I'm reacting in real time...
no subject
Date: 2019-03-14 12:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-03-15 08:11 am (UTC)Hee, thank you. I got all the way to "pin" naturally before going "WAIT" and opening a tab to search for for synonyms.
Ironically, my p key is broken, so I had to cut and paste every one.