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Content Notes for the book in general: consent issues, sexualisation of children, gore, mixed treatment of cross-dressing, self harm (sort of), child harm, incest subtext, ableism, ANGST
THIS WAS SO GOOD OMG
Under the cut: SPOILERS for chapters 171-180 AKA THE END OF BOOK THREE AHHHH IT GETS SO INTENSE
Ahh! Rain Master's spiritual device is a magic sword YuLong (rain dragon) which can control any citizen of YuShi...even a traitorous one like Xuan Ji.
Ban Yue puts Xuan Ji in a pot, and Hua Cheng seals Rong Guang into a little toy sword that he says can only be released by holding the hilt and giving him permission to be free.
Xie Lian notices that Ban Yue has a scar across her throat, and talks very slowly, but decides it's none of his business.
He bows deeply and says "Your Highness, I have never been able to thank you in person for all the help you have given me in the past."
Rain Master: Now you have, so let us forget about it.
Then she and her farmers make food for everyone who needs it. Gu Zi is calmed down when he's told the green doll is his dad, and hugs it :(
Rain Master says she encountered the mysterious white clad figure, and isn't sure she'd have beaten him if it had come to a fight. He looked to be in his late teens, medium build...with a face covered in bandages. Could it be Lang Ying??
Rain Master offers her sword to Pei Ming, since he's a better fighter, but he awkwardly refuses it.
Hua Cheng makes hammocks for him and Xie Lian, and they lie next to each other as Hua Cheng tells Xie Lian what he knows of Rain Master's backstory, with snarky bitter additions from Rong Guang.
She was the awkward and introverted daughter of the King of YuShi by a minor concubine, and was below all fifteen of her siblings in favour. She was sent to the Royal Cultivation hall, noone else wanted the job since their cultivation style involved hard labour.
One day a delegation from XuLi came to visit. The then human Pei Ming was amongst them, seducing his way through all the high-favoured princesses despite knowing his country was about to invade. Xie Lian has to agree with Rong Guang that this was a dick move. Pei Ming was nice to Rain Master when they met, but barely noticed her compared to her hotter sisters.
Rong Guang organised a sneaky trick to make the King look bad if he didn't come out and kill himself to save some hostages. And so the monarch came out and slit their neck...but it was Rain Master.
Omg I thought it was her in disguise but no! The ultimatum caused friction amongst the royals, and some minor son got angry at the king and accidentally knocked him down in anger.
As the king lay on the ground, covered in blood and increasingly angry, his kids bickered about how to deal with the situation. Rain Master stepped forward and volunteered to be made queen. The king shed "a single crummy tear" for the daughter he'd ignored her whole life, and she sacrificed herself for the family who despised her.
Since nobody cared about her, her death had no effect on YuShi morale, but the XuLi army still had to let their hostages go. And that night, as doctors did their best to save her, she died...and ascended as a god. One of the door knockers of the temple became her ox steed, the only companion she took from her home country into heaven.
And of course her sword is the one she used to kill herself. No wonder Pei Ming doesn't want to use it!
Pei Su, Gu Zi, and Ban Yue stay behind with the farmers. Rain Master makes her ox large enough to fit everyone else. Pei Ming sits a long way behind Rain Master, and then Hua Cheng sits behind Xie Lian, holding his waist as if afraid he'll fall.
Xie Lian: You know so much about history, Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng: I'll tell gege anything he wants to know.
Pei Ming, eavesdropping on them to avoid talking to Rain Master: Lol ask him about his background then.
Xie Lian thinks asking a ghost king his backstory is as rude as asking a man the size of his manhood, and changes the subject by...ok I'm not sure if it's Xie Lian, Rain Master, or the ox who decides Pei Ming should randomly be "bumped" off mid flight somehow but either way it happens several times, lol.
They land at the Kiln, and Hua Cheng points out the main temple, far up on the mountain, hidden in red shadowy mists.
THERE IS AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT INVOLVING THE OX AND A WHISPERING MUTANT CORPSE RAT THAT I DON'T FEEL LIKE REREADING
AND THEN MORE CORPSE RATS D: D: THOUSANDS OF THEM, STREAMING OUT OF THE CITY ALL CRYING OUT THE LAST WORDS OF THE BURNING DEAD IN VOICES ONLY XIE LIAN CAN UNDERSTAND D: D:
Pei Ming sets himself to manfully defend everyone...only for Rain Master to lead the rats away with grains of rice. He runs after to "help" her, which Xie Lian and Hua Cheng agree is dumbass male pride since she's clearly fine.
The two of them go on alone. The mountain is lined with red-leafed trees and the ground smells of resentment and blood.
The temple is in good repair...except for the murals, all but one of which have been slashed and destroyed. And that mural is dark and ominous, showing a civilian tearing at his tattered clothes...to reveal that he has the human face disease D:
(I am, like the sensible person I am, reading this at midnight)
Xie Lian starts freaking out, and when he can't calm him down with words Hua Cheng pulls him into an embrace, calmly reassuring him that they haven't seen the whole story, because someone is deliberately keeping it from them. Maybe this mural is fake. Maybe they're all fake.
Xie Lian calms down, and feels embarrassed to be so close to Hua Cheng. As he tries to pull away, Hua Cheng pulls hims closer, saying "There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Then he whispers into Xie Lian's ear, "The other possibility is that we interrupted them before they could get to the third mural, and they are still in the room."
So of course Xie Lian has no choice but to hug Hua Cheng back, to make their behaviour seem more natural. And then he notices that one of the stone people's face has a clear expression instead of a vague blur...and it's a half smile/half frown. Just like White No-Face's mask.
Xie Lian quickly strikes with his sword...and the stone shell falls apart, empty. Hua Cheng reconstructs the face and it's blurred and expressionless. Did Xie Lian fall for some spell? They smash all the other stone people, and they're all empty, the people inside having rotted away, and the person who slashed the murals having somehow escaped.
The keep climbing the mountain, Hua Cheng helping Xie Lian avoid pitfalls in the snow. They see Nan Feng and Fu Yao (eg Xie Lian's old BFFs Mu Qing and Feng Xin) arguing loudly. Hua Cheng sends over a butterfly, but before Xie Lian can say anything their shouting causes an avalanche.
Xie Lian pulls himself at last from the snow. Everything is empty white, and feels off somehow. He wanders around looking for Hua Cheng and the others, but instead finds...White No-Face!
He wakes screaming, and realises he was dreaming. He's actually in a cavern with a divine statue whose face covered with a strange, beautiful veil. And then Hua Cheng appears but he's acting weirdly cold and I don't think it's really him :(
They wander a complex of caverns filled with thousands of divine statues, made with varying degrees of quality but all filled with love for their subject. Every face is covered, and they're not dressed in the style of WuYong, but in something more modern. Like the style of XianLe.
When Xie Lian tries to look at the statues or wonder about who made them Hua Cheng changes the subject stiffly. He does the same thing when Xie Lian asks if he heard what Mu Qing and Feng Xin were arguing about. He pretends to have never been here before, yet is very firm about the direction they should go and doesn't follow Xie Lian's suggestions. He's acting a lot like Black Water, which would be better than most of the other possibilities /o\
When Hua Cheng refuses to follow the sound of someone shouting Xie Lian runs off, and finds Nan Feng and Fu Yao (aka Mu Qing and Feng Xin) stuck at the bottom of a pit. One of Hua Cheng's butterflies helpfully shows up and reveals that it's full of EVIL STICKY SILK. Spider silk?? D: Xie Lian's attempts to get the others out only leads to getting pulled down himself. Yet the silk wraps him much more gently than the other two.
Mu Qing and Feng Xin start shouting sat each other again, making it blatantly obvious who they really are, and Xie Lian politely pretends he didn't figure it out back in Book 1.
Xie Lian: Don't worry, Hua Cheng will find me, we're connected by a red string.
The other two make grossed out faces.
Xie Lian: Not something frivolous like the red string of fate! I mean a spiritual device! It's an invisible connection that allows us to find each other, and as long as one is still breathing, the red string will never break.
Mu Qing: THAT IS TOTALLY A RED STRING OF FATE
Hua Cheng shows up, but is weirdly reluctant to use his scimitar. Still, he helps the others get free.
Mu Qing goes to pull off one of the veils...and nearly gets his hand chopped off by Hua Cheng's scimitar E-Ming.
Hua Cheng: Didn't anyone teach you it's unwise to touch other people things?
Ok so if this really is Hua Cheng he's feeling awkward because these are all statues of Xie Lian, and on the one hand doesn't like lying to Xie Lian and isn't very good at it, but on the other REALLY doesn't want anyone touching or recognising his collection. No wonder he's so familiar with this place.
Haaa....oh no....
So Mu Qing and Feng Xin also notice Hua Cheng is acting weird, and that his braid is tied by a red pearl earring of Xie Lian's that was lost centuries ago. They quickly drag Xie Lian in the opposite direction from the way Hua Cheng "happened to choose to go, because it's not like he's been here before or anything", papering the way with talismans. They rip off a veil from a statue and sure enough...they're all Xie Lian. Xie Lian didn't recognise his own clothes and body, but they're all very familiar to his manservant Mu Qing, even centuries later.
Mu Qing thinks it's for some evil ritual and they should destroy them but Xie Lian is touched by how much effort went into the sculpting. And then they notice a mural on the walls, with text in Hua Cheng's distinctive hand, but twisted and indiscernible as if written in pain. Hua Cheng paints himself as small deformed figure in blood red :(
There is a painting, all in greys except for two figures: a glowing figure all in white reaching to the sky with arms extended, about to capture a small figure falling from a tower, painted in blood red.
All three of them remember that day, and realise who Hua Cheng is.
There's more scenes, moments between them we saw in Book 2 and more, always with Xie Lian a divine figure floating in white and Hua Cheng the ugly figure in red, looking up and watching him with devotion.
Xie Lian is shaken, realising as the reader did some time ago what Hua Cheng has seen and been through by Xie Lian's side. Meanwhile the other two rant about it all being some creepy conspiracy. They rush to the next mural, stare at it in horror, and then refuse to let Xia Lian see.
Feng Xin: SOME THINGS CANNOT BE UNSEEN
Mu Qing: NEVER GO NEAR HIM AGAIN HE'S CRAZY
Xie Lian: Don't put him down like that, none of us are normal.
Feng Xin: HE'S NOT LIKE US! TOWARDS YOU, HE...HE...
Did...did Hua Cheng lovingly paint porn of himself and Xie Lian...
This is delightfully fucked up
Hua Cheng, playing with the pearl earring in his braid: Didn't I say not to touch other people's things? Otherwise, I can't say what will happen :)
Feng Xin and Mu Qing realise he found them via the red string and go to take it off Xie Lian, who pulls away in horror, but can't stop them dragging him away. He says he still trusts Hua Cheng and wants to talk things out, and says if they want to stop him they'll have to fight him...so they knock him out with a body control talisman, clearly seeing Hua Cheng as a seductive spirit who has addled Xie Lian's mind. They bash their way through the tunnels...only for Hua Cheng to appear in front of them.
Feng Xin: We saw everything, no need to pretend any more!
Hua Cheng: His Highness also saw? :(
Me and Xie Lian: Oh nooo poor Hua Cheng I wish I could give him a hug :(
Feng Xin: We know your intentions and if you have any dignity, never go near His Highness again!
Xie Lian, silently: Nooooooooo, Hua Cheng please notice I am paralysed and not going along with this willingly D:
Hua Cheng, too upset to notice: You've reminded me we have unfinished business >:(
Hua Cheng naturally beats the pants off both off Feng Xin and Mu Qing and they find themselves again wrapped in silk...the butterfly silk of Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng: It seems the one with a talent for sabres is me :)
Mu Qing: Oh. That's why this bastard hates me. I'm the one who booted him from the army. But if you'd stayed, were you just going to watch him all day with your mind full of unspeakable filth?
Hua Cheng, frozen in the act of striking him: I won't argue with you on that for the moment. Before I lose my patience- Was what you were saying on the mountain true?
Mu Qing: YOUR HIGHNESS, RUN!!
And so Xie Lian is forced to run. But Hua Cheng captures him and cocoons him as well, then picks him up, while the other two are helpless to do anything but watch him walk away into the dark. They clearly think Hua Cheng is going to rape Xie Lian, and were trying so hard to protect their old friend, so I feel for them even though they have made an absolute mess of everything.
Luckily, this isn't that kind of dubconny BL.
Hua Cheng is silent and awkward, touching Xie Lian as little as possible. But he eventually notices the talisman on Xie Lian's back. He reaches his hand to remove it, but flinches, and instead lays Xie Lian gently on a bed of straw.
Hua Cheng: Don't worry, I won't murder those two useless trash no matter how much I want to.
And then he goes to remove Xie Lian's belt. Xie Lian involuntarily twitches, and Hua Cheng shrinks back, saying "I won't! Don't...be scared. Trust me." His voice is weak, and Xie Lian realises he's so scared that Xie Lian will reject or hate him that he's not giving Xie Lian the chance to speak at all.
Hua Cheng carefully removes Xie Lian's robes, touching him as little as possible, and it's only when a butterfly lands on Xie Lian's shoulder and starts to heal his wounds that Xie Lian realised how injured he is.
A deeply repressed memory resurfaces, of another time in a cave, being touched gently by the same hands. Hua Cheng is trying so hard not to look Xie Lian's half naked body as he heals him that he doesn't notice how incredibly turned on Xie Lian is.
OH MY GOD I READ TO THE END AHHHHHHHH
SO MANY FEELINGS
I JUST
*flails*
Ok. So.
They're interrupted by angry voices. It's Mu Qing and Feng Xin! They say a lot of nasty things about how disgusting Hua Cheng is, and at first Xie Lian is hurt on his behalf but then he realises it's like they're trying to make Hua Cheng angry enough to attack them.
(Me, at this point: COME ON MXTX LET THEM KISS THEY'RE SO CLOSE I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO READ BOOK 4 YET IT'S 1AM)
Hua Cheng does indeed become angry, slashing out with his blade. They fall to the ground, bleeding out and crying in pain. A blood spattered Hua Cheng pulls Xie Lian into his arms, saying "How could I possibly let go?" He whispers something else, and Xie Lian finally feels the talisman fall from his back.
Xie Lian runs over to his injured friends.
Feng Xin: Don't...go near...Hua Cheng...He...is a monster!
Xie Lian: More than you?
And then Xie Lian stabs him in the heart. He shakes off the blood, and walks over to stand by Hua Cheng, saying "There's no more need to keep talking through those skins."
What Hua Cheng whispered was that they were imposters.
Mu Qing and Feng Xin, in unison: As you wish.
They melt into puddles of blood, and reform into the shape of a tall and slender white-clad young man, wearing a mask.
White No-Face: How are you, Xie Lian?
Xie Lian goes numb, and Hua Cheng steps in front of him protectively.
NNNG
No-Face keeps attacking Hua Cheng's right eye (I can't remember if that's the good or the bad one, I guess the good one?) Hua Cheng managers to dodge and protect himself with butterflies, but No-Face is incredibly strong, and in the end Xie Lian has to defend Hua Cheng just so they can find a moment to escape, with Hua Cheng booby-trapping the path behind them with silk and butterflies.
Xie Lian: He's alive! And even more powerful, if he can impersonate Heavenly officials...
Hua Cheng: It might not be the same one. And perhaps he's someone who knew you all...
After running for a while they realise they're holding hands and Hua Cheng gets self conscious and walks away. Xie Lian walks up behind him.
Xie Lian: San Lang. A lot of things happened just now, and everyone is confused and messed up.
Hua Cheng: Mmm.
Xie Lian: I still want to take the chance to ask you a question, and I hope you'll answer me honestly and seriously.
Hua Cheng: ...alright.
Xie Lian: Just who is that 'noble, gracious, special someone'?
Hua Cheng doesn't answer right away, but the hand tied with a red knot twitches.
Hua Cheng: If Your Highness has already found out, why ask?
Xie Lian: I see. So I didn't misunderstand.
Hua Cheng: ...
Xie Lian: You... don't want to know... how I feel about this?
Hua Cheng half-turns, but is too afraid to look Xie Lian in the eye. With a cracked voice he asks "Will Your Highness...not tell me?"
Xie Lian says "Yes, something like this has to be said clearly." And then he hugs him tightly from behind, and even without words his meaning is clear. Eventually Hua Cheng turns around and hugs him back, his voice staggering as he says "You really will...be the death of me."
ahhhh ;_;
I could keep summarising the rest, which has more fights and stuff...orrrrr I could go back and beef out the existing summary with shippy subtext I missed when I thought Hua Cheng was Black Water in disguise.
It's just so delightfully...just...EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS OF PINING. And then carefully setting himself up to always look as cool and elegant as possible while deep down feeling like this weird gross creepy little kid who shouldn't so much as look at Xie Lian. And then to have all his weird obsession exposed and think Xie Lian hates him ;_;
It's such a strange, intense dynamic. Xie Lian superficially seems like the normal one but he's a weird bitter fucked up old guy too, in his way, and also deeply lonely and sad. They've had such highs and lows, and have finally found someone who loves them for everything they are.
But then...THERE'S AN EXPLOSION! Xie Lian says "Let's talk later" and they run towards it, but this time they're holding hands on purpose, and trying very hard to keep their cool and sensibly discuss the Evil Ghost situation instead of collapsing into flailing feels.
They reach the real Mu Qing and Feng Xin, who are taking breaks from biting their way out of their cocoons to blame each other for Xie Lian being 'captured' by Hua Cheng.
When they see Xie Lian they're all "How did you escape?"...until Hua Cheng steps out of the shadows, and Xie Lian takes his arm.
Xie Lian: No time to explain, there's an enemy coming!
Hua Cheng: I suggest you hold your tongue and follow. I'm in a good mood so I won't fight you for now :)
Mu Qing: Who can hurt Crimson Rain Sought Flower?
Xie Lian: It's White No-Face.
Feng Xin and Mu Qing: D: D:
They follow without another word.
Xie Lian says the other two should escape to warn Jun Wu, since White No-Face will always chase Xie Lian. They want to stay and help, but Xie Lian reminds them about the need to find Lan Chang. Seeing that Xie Lian trusts and is determined to stay with Hua Cheng, they reluctantly leave.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng keep running.
Xie Lian: I feel sorry for all the poor little butterflies dying to protect us :(
Hua Cheng: If he kills one I'll make ten more. Fast and furious like a storm, I will never back down. Let's see who's the one standing in the end.
Xie Lian: Oh no he's hot.
Even when they have time to rest for a while, they're both too self conscious to bring up the whole FEELINGS thing. Xie Lian stops to look at an especially small and misshapen looking statue: all the details are carefully copied from life, but by someone with more enthusiasm than skill.
Hua Cheng: It's from my beginner years, don't look D:
Xie Lian: It's cute :)
Hua Cheng, steering Xie Lian away from looking at any more: If you want to look at statues, I'll show you my best work another time.
Suddenly it occurs to Xie Lian: Why is White No-Face here? If he wants to gain strength in the Kiln, is it because he's weakened?
Xie Lian: I'll fight him.
Hua Cheng: You think I would let you face him alone?
Xie Lian: He can't kill me, I swear it.
Hua Cheng: Why?
Xie Lian, DELIBERATELY AVOIDING THE QUESTION EVEN IN HIS INTERNAL NARRATION: I don't want any thing to happen to you.
Hua Cheng: I'm already dead :) As long as he doesn't find my ashes, nothing can happen to me. And if that hiding place is destroyed, there's no need for me to exist.
WELL THAT'S NOT FORESHADOWING
(Did he somehow put them...in Xie Lian? Or maybe his bandage or hat or something?)
Xie Lian desperately wants to know how Hua Cheng died, yet is afraid to ask in case neither of them can bear the answer. To become a Supreme Ghost King requires obsessive attachment well beyond even that of a regular ghost. How did Hua Cheng endure the last 800 years?
But then a more horrifying question occurs to him.
Xie Lian: In the past 800 years, did you meet me again after XianLe?
Hua Cheng: No, despite my best efforts. Why?
Xie Lian: Nothing it's just...these past years have been a bit muddled and a failure. If you'd witnessed that it...wouldn't be...good.
Hua Cheng: Didn't you say 'To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you, the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is you, not the state of you'? I feel the same way.
Xie Lian, covering his face: AHHHHHHH DID I SAY THAT
Hua Cheng: Do you want me to show you?
Xie Lian: You recorded it?!
Hua Cheng: I'm joking
Xie Lian: BUT ARE YOU THOUGH
A breeze passes by and Hua Cheng unconsciously steps to shield Xie Lian, his expression cold and beautiful. Xie Lian calls his name and he turns and smiles, again unconsciously. Xie Lian thinks "He really does see me as a god."
Xie Lian: When we've gotten out of Mount TongLu, there are many things I want to tell you.
Hua Cheng: I look forward to it.
Suddenly, Hua Cheng realises his butterflies have lost track of No-Face. Xie Lian steps up on tip-toes and puts their foreheads together so he can see through Hua Cheng's eyes. Hua Cheng hesitates then puts his arm around Xie Lian's waist, holding him tightly.
They search the caverns, but all they find is a statue with blood splashed against it's smiling face. And at the tip of it's stone sword...is the bandaged youth Lang Ying.
The name of the final chapter of Book 3 is "From the Sealed Kiln One Supreme Shall Emerge".
Xie Lian's first instinct is to help Lang Ying, but this is obviously No-Face fucking with him again.
Xie Liuan: Where is the Lang Ying?
Hua Cheng: Your Highness, maybe there never was one.
Xie Lian doesn't want to think that the little girl who died defending Lang Ying was tricked. "Or perhaps... No-Face devoured Lang Ying."
No-Face, bandages unraveling to reveal his mask: Good guess :D
White No-Face really was defeated by Jun Wu, but the remains of his spirit Voldemorted onto Lang Ying, who must have willingly let him possess his body, only to be devoured from within. But why would Lang Ying agree in the first place?
AND IT TURNS OUT LANG YING WAS A SEVERAL HUNDRED YEAR OLD GHOST ALL ALONG???
HOW
DID
I
MISS
THAT
This isn't a twist. I have just...been misreading...for three books...
Uh. Anyway.
No-Face: Surname Lang, YongAn, the human face disease. Can't you guess why he'd let me in?
Xie Lian cries out and attacks the statue as No-Face laughs and escapes.
Xie Lian: I'm sorry about the statue :(
Hua Cheng: Don't be silly. So, where to now?
Xie Lian: We have to stop him entering the Kiln!
Hua Cheng leads Xie Lian up the mountain, dodging them past avalanches and falling rubble to reach the thick ice sealing the top around the deep dark pit of the volcano. Looking into it's shadowy depths, Xie Lian sees flashes of red and for some reason is afraid.
Hua Cheng: He's gone in. The Kiln is closing.
Xie Lian: San Lang, I...I might need to go down there to resolve things.
Hua Cheng: Go. I'll come with you. It's just killing an eyesore, not like it's anything hard ;) But there is one thing...
He tilts up Xie Lian's chin gently, and kisses him.
This is the first time they've kissed without any excuses, and it goes on for a long time, the two of them embracing in the snowstorm before their lips slowly part. Xie Lian suddenly feels embarrassed, and pushes away saying "W-what's this all of a sudden?"
XIE LIAN. IT HAS BEEN. EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS.
Hua Cheng, whispering into his ear: I'll lend Your Highness a bit of spiritual powers for emergencies...will you accept it?
Xie Lian: Um....mmm. Mmm...I'll just..
Hua Cheng: Your Highness you're running the wrong way.
Xie Lian: JUST JOGGING TO WARM UP.
The two of them hold hands tightly and stare into the abyss. Hua Cheng says casually "After all this I'll show gege my proudest sculpture."
"Okay" says Xian Lian. And then they jump down together.
They hold tight against the whistling wind as they fall. But then all of a sudden...Hua Cheng is gone. Xie Lian lands miles down into the mountain, alone. All around him is an immense empty darkness, and the small circle of white sky above closes shut.
He uses some of the huge amount of power Hua Cheng gave him to create light, and the sees a figure.
Xie Lian: WHO IS IT
No-Face: You know who I am :)
Xie Lian: SAN LANG WHERE ARE YOU
No-Face: No need to yell, there's just you and me. I've sent him outside.
Xie Lian: *sigh of relief, knowing Hua Cheng is safe*
No-Face: Yes, it's for the best. I doubt he'll want you later when he sees the state you're in.
Xie Lian: WHY AREN'T YOU DEAD? WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHY ARE YOU HERE?
No-Face: Because you came here. *stabs Xie Lian and knocks him down* So pitiful. Every time I meet your highness, you look like this. Makes one ache. Makes one excited.
Xie Lian, refusing to spit out the blood pooling in his mouth: Even if you emerge from the Kiln, Jun Wu will defeat you again.
No-Face: Who says the one to emerge will be me?
Xie Lian: D:
No-Face: Congratulations, you've finally understood my true objective :D
D: D:
WAS THIS ALL ABOUT GETTING XIE LIAN INTO THE VOLCANO FROM THE START???
Xie Lian is a god. But if he kills himself, then No-Face, he will be a ghost, and then a Supreme Ghost King.
Xie Lian, snapping out of his horrified shock: You're crazy, the Kiln will never accept me!
No-Face: Are you sure?
He produces a mask identical to his own.
No-Face: Do you remember this? It suits you.
Xie Lian: TAKE IT AWAY D: D:
No-Face: It seems Your Highness' memory isn't so great. Let me help you remember.
The tragically pale cry-smiling mask melts with the infinite darkness as it is pressed into Xie Lian's face.
END OF BOOK THREE
/o\
AHHHHHHH
AHHHHH
THAT
WAS
INTENSE
I have some theories, probably all wrong:
* White No-Face is the old Crown Prince of WuYong. He and Xie Lian have all these mirrored parallels and it would suit the story's theme of good intentions going bad.
* Either way, something Went Wrong with the Prince's plan. I feel like the people of WuYong became the face plague or the rats or the fires of the Kiln, something horrifying and full of pain.
* Whether or not the Prince is involved, his four deputies are involved with some plan to fix things or get revenge or something. The whole Mount TongLu system is part of that plan. And it all led to Xie Lian here in the Kiln. They've been moulding him his whole life...as a body for the old Crown Prince to possess? To do something for them in Heaven? Is Xie Lian literally the Crown Prince reborn, either through reincarnation or because he's been a ghost this whole time somehow?? Guoshi REALLY wanted to keep Xie Lian and Hua Cheng apart, what part does Hua Cheng play in all this? Or was he really just a random kid? He definitely knows more than he's letting on right now.
We're getting near the end, relatively speaking! Book 4, The Angst Book, is pretty short, so maaaybe I'll feel up to trying it today. There's a LOT of mysteries and plot threads to untangle, and I am sure all the answers will be TRAGIC AS HELL.
I wasn't expecting Hua Cheng and Xie Lian to get together yet, that was really lovely. THEY NEED TO KISS MORE THOUGH.
When I first read through I interpreted Xie Lian as liking Hua Cheng seeing him as a god, but on a reread I'm less sure. I feel like there's some significant emotional stuff going on there we don't know about yet.
Gosh I just ship them so hard.
Content Notes for the book in general: consent issues, sexualisation of children, gore, mixed treatment of cross-dressing, self harm (sort of), child harm, incest subtext, ableism, ANGST
THIS WAS SO GOOD OMG
Under the cut: SPOILERS for chapters 171-180 AKA THE END OF BOOK THREE AHHHH IT GETS SO INTENSE
Ahh! Rain Master's spiritual device is a magic sword YuLong (rain dragon) which can control any citizen of YuShi...even a traitorous one like Xuan Ji.
Ban Yue puts Xuan Ji in a pot, and Hua Cheng seals Rong Guang into a little toy sword that he says can only be released by holding the hilt and giving him permission to be free.
Xie Lian notices that Ban Yue has a scar across her throat, and talks very slowly, but decides it's none of his business.
He bows deeply and says "Your Highness, I have never been able to thank you in person for all the help you have given me in the past."
Rain Master: Now you have, so let us forget about it.
Then she and her farmers make food for everyone who needs it. Gu Zi is calmed down when he's told the green doll is his dad, and hugs it :(
Rain Master says she encountered the mysterious white clad figure, and isn't sure she'd have beaten him if it had come to a fight. He looked to be in his late teens, medium build...with a face covered in bandages. Could it be Lang Ying??
Rain Master offers her sword to Pei Ming, since he's a better fighter, but he awkwardly refuses it.
Hua Cheng makes hammocks for him and Xie Lian, and they lie next to each other as Hua Cheng tells Xie Lian what he knows of Rain Master's backstory, with snarky bitter additions from Rong Guang.
She was the awkward and introverted daughter of the King of YuShi by a minor concubine, and was below all fifteen of her siblings in favour. She was sent to the Royal Cultivation hall, noone else wanted the job since their cultivation style involved hard labour.
One day a delegation from XuLi came to visit. The then human Pei Ming was amongst them, seducing his way through all the high-favoured princesses despite knowing his country was about to invade. Xie Lian has to agree with Rong Guang that this was a dick move. Pei Ming was nice to Rain Master when they met, but barely noticed her compared to her hotter sisters.
Rong Guang organised a sneaky trick to make the King look bad if he didn't come out and kill himself to save some hostages. And so the monarch came out and slit their neck...but it was Rain Master.
Omg I thought it was her in disguise but no! The ultimatum caused friction amongst the royals, and some minor son got angry at the king and accidentally knocked him down in anger.
As the king lay on the ground, covered in blood and increasingly angry, his kids bickered about how to deal with the situation. Rain Master stepped forward and volunteered to be made queen. The king shed "a single crummy tear" for the daughter he'd ignored her whole life, and she sacrificed herself for the family who despised her.
Since nobody cared about her, her death had no effect on YuShi morale, but the XuLi army still had to let their hostages go. And that night, as doctors did their best to save her, she died...and ascended as a god. One of the door knockers of the temple became her ox steed, the only companion she took from her home country into heaven.
And of course her sword is the one she used to kill herself. No wonder Pei Ming doesn't want to use it!
Pei Su, Gu Zi, and Ban Yue stay behind with the farmers. Rain Master makes her ox large enough to fit everyone else. Pei Ming sits a long way behind Rain Master, and then Hua Cheng sits behind Xie Lian, holding his waist as if afraid he'll fall.
Xie Lian: You know so much about history, Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng: I'll tell gege anything he wants to know.
Pei Ming, eavesdropping on them to avoid talking to Rain Master: Lol ask him about his background then.
Xie Lian thinks asking a ghost king his backstory is as rude as asking a man the size of his manhood, and changes the subject by...ok I'm not sure if it's Xie Lian, Rain Master, or the ox who decides Pei Ming should randomly be "bumped" off mid flight somehow but either way it happens several times, lol.
They land at the Kiln, and Hua Cheng points out the main temple, far up on the mountain, hidden in red shadowy mists.
THERE IS AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT INVOLVING THE OX AND A WHISPERING MUTANT CORPSE RAT THAT I DON'T FEEL LIKE REREADING
AND THEN MORE CORPSE RATS D: D: THOUSANDS OF THEM, STREAMING OUT OF THE CITY ALL CRYING OUT THE LAST WORDS OF THE BURNING DEAD IN VOICES ONLY XIE LIAN CAN UNDERSTAND D: D:
Pei Ming sets himself to manfully defend everyone...only for Rain Master to lead the rats away with grains of rice. He runs after to "help" her, which Xie Lian and Hua Cheng agree is dumbass male pride since she's clearly fine.
The two of them go on alone. The mountain is lined with red-leafed trees and the ground smells of resentment and blood.
The temple is in good repair...except for the murals, all but one of which have been slashed and destroyed. And that mural is dark and ominous, showing a civilian tearing at his tattered clothes...to reveal that he has the human face disease D:
(I am, like the sensible person I am, reading this at midnight)
Xie Lian starts freaking out, and when he can't calm him down with words Hua Cheng pulls him into an embrace, calmly reassuring him that they haven't seen the whole story, because someone is deliberately keeping it from them. Maybe this mural is fake. Maybe they're all fake.
Xie Lian calms down, and feels embarrassed to be so close to Hua Cheng. As he tries to pull away, Hua Cheng pulls hims closer, saying "There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Then he whispers into Xie Lian's ear, "The other possibility is that we interrupted them before they could get to the third mural, and they are still in the room."
So of course Xie Lian has no choice but to hug Hua Cheng back, to make their behaviour seem more natural. And then he notices that one of the stone people's face has a clear expression instead of a vague blur...and it's a half smile/half frown. Just like White No-Face's mask.
Xie Lian quickly strikes with his sword...and the stone shell falls apart, empty. Hua Cheng reconstructs the face and it's blurred and expressionless. Did Xie Lian fall for some spell? They smash all the other stone people, and they're all empty, the people inside having rotted away, and the person who slashed the murals having somehow escaped.
The keep climbing the mountain, Hua Cheng helping Xie Lian avoid pitfalls in the snow. They see Nan Feng and Fu Yao (eg Xie Lian's old BFFs Mu Qing and Feng Xin) arguing loudly. Hua Cheng sends over a butterfly, but before Xie Lian can say anything their shouting causes an avalanche.
Xie Lian pulls himself at last from the snow. Everything is empty white, and feels off somehow. He wanders around looking for Hua Cheng and the others, but instead finds...White No-Face!
He wakes screaming, and realises he was dreaming. He's actually in a cavern with a divine statue whose face covered with a strange, beautiful veil. And then Hua Cheng appears but he's acting weirdly cold and I don't think it's really him :(
They wander a complex of caverns filled with thousands of divine statues, made with varying degrees of quality but all filled with love for their subject. Every face is covered, and they're not dressed in the style of WuYong, but in something more modern. Like the style of XianLe.
When Xie Lian tries to look at the statues or wonder about who made them Hua Cheng changes the subject stiffly. He does the same thing when Xie Lian asks if he heard what Mu Qing and Feng Xin were arguing about. He pretends to have never been here before, yet is very firm about the direction they should go and doesn't follow Xie Lian's suggestions. He's acting a lot like Black Water, which would be better than most of the other possibilities /o\
When Hua Cheng refuses to follow the sound of someone shouting Xie Lian runs off, and finds Nan Feng and Fu Yao (aka Mu Qing and Feng Xin) stuck at the bottom of a pit. One of Hua Cheng's butterflies helpfully shows up and reveals that it's full of EVIL STICKY SILK. Spider silk?? D: Xie Lian's attempts to get the others out only leads to getting pulled down himself. Yet the silk wraps him much more gently than the other two.
Mu Qing and Feng Xin start shouting sat each other again, making it blatantly obvious who they really are, and Xie Lian politely pretends he didn't figure it out back in Book 1.
Xie Lian: Don't worry, Hua Cheng will find me, we're connected by a red string.
The other two make grossed out faces.
Xie Lian: Not something frivolous like the red string of fate! I mean a spiritual device! It's an invisible connection that allows us to find each other, and as long as one is still breathing, the red string will never break.
Mu Qing: THAT IS TOTALLY A RED STRING OF FATE
Hua Cheng shows up, but is weirdly reluctant to use his scimitar. Still, he helps the others get free.
Mu Qing goes to pull off one of the veils...and nearly gets his hand chopped off by Hua Cheng's scimitar E-Ming.
Hua Cheng: Didn't anyone teach you it's unwise to touch other people things?
Ok so if this really is Hua Cheng he's feeling awkward because these are all statues of Xie Lian, and on the one hand doesn't like lying to Xie Lian and isn't very good at it, but on the other REALLY doesn't want anyone touching or recognising his collection. No wonder he's so familiar with this place.
Haaa....oh no....
So Mu Qing and Feng Xin also notice Hua Cheng is acting weird, and that his braid is tied by a red pearl earring of Xie Lian's that was lost centuries ago. They quickly drag Xie Lian in the opposite direction from the way Hua Cheng "happened to choose to go, because it's not like he's been here before or anything", papering the way with talismans. They rip off a veil from a statue and sure enough...they're all Xie Lian. Xie Lian didn't recognise his own clothes and body, but they're all very familiar to his manservant Mu Qing, even centuries later.
Mu Qing thinks it's for some evil ritual and they should destroy them but Xie Lian is touched by how much effort went into the sculpting. And then they notice a mural on the walls, with text in Hua Cheng's distinctive hand, but twisted and indiscernible as if written in pain. Hua Cheng paints himself as small deformed figure in blood red :(
There is a painting, all in greys except for two figures: a glowing figure all in white reaching to the sky with arms extended, about to capture a small figure falling from a tower, painted in blood red.
All three of them remember that day, and realise who Hua Cheng is.
There's more scenes, moments between them we saw in Book 2 and more, always with Xie Lian a divine figure floating in white and Hua Cheng the ugly figure in red, looking up and watching him with devotion.
Xie Lian is shaken, realising as the reader did some time ago what Hua Cheng has seen and been through by Xie Lian's side. Meanwhile the other two rant about it all being some creepy conspiracy. They rush to the next mural, stare at it in horror, and then refuse to let Xia Lian see.
Feng Xin: SOME THINGS CANNOT BE UNSEEN
Mu Qing: NEVER GO NEAR HIM AGAIN HE'S CRAZY
Xie Lian: Don't put him down like that, none of us are normal.
Feng Xin: HE'S NOT LIKE US! TOWARDS YOU, HE...HE...
Did...did Hua Cheng lovingly paint porn of himself and Xie Lian...
This is delightfully fucked up
Hua Cheng, playing with the pearl earring in his braid: Didn't I say not to touch other people's things? Otherwise, I can't say what will happen :)
Feng Xin and Mu Qing realise he found them via the red string and go to take it off Xie Lian, who pulls away in horror, but can't stop them dragging him away. He says he still trusts Hua Cheng and wants to talk things out, and says if they want to stop him they'll have to fight him...so they knock him out with a body control talisman, clearly seeing Hua Cheng as a seductive spirit who has addled Xie Lian's mind. They bash their way through the tunnels...only for Hua Cheng to appear in front of them.
Feng Xin: We saw everything, no need to pretend any more!
Hua Cheng: His Highness also saw? :(
Me and Xie Lian: Oh nooo poor Hua Cheng I wish I could give him a hug :(
Feng Xin: We know your intentions and if you have any dignity, never go near His Highness again!
Xie Lian, silently: Nooooooooo, Hua Cheng please notice I am paralysed and not going along with this willingly D:
Hua Cheng, too upset to notice: You've reminded me we have unfinished business >:(
Hua Cheng naturally beats the pants off both off Feng Xin and Mu Qing and they find themselves again wrapped in silk...the butterfly silk of Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng: It seems the one with a talent for sabres is me :)
Mu Qing: Oh. That's why this bastard hates me. I'm the one who booted him from the army. But if you'd stayed, were you just going to watch him all day with your mind full of unspeakable filth?
Hua Cheng, frozen in the act of striking him: I won't argue with you on that for the moment. Before I lose my patience- Was what you were saying on the mountain true?
Mu Qing: YOUR HIGHNESS, RUN!!
And so Xie Lian is forced to run. But Hua Cheng captures him and cocoons him as well, then picks him up, while the other two are helpless to do anything but watch him walk away into the dark. They clearly think Hua Cheng is going to rape Xie Lian, and were trying so hard to protect their old friend, so I feel for them even though they have made an absolute mess of everything.
Luckily, this isn't that kind of dubconny BL.
Hua Cheng is silent and awkward, touching Xie Lian as little as possible. But he eventually notices the talisman on Xie Lian's back. He reaches his hand to remove it, but flinches, and instead lays Xie Lian gently on a bed of straw.
Hua Cheng: Don't worry, I won't murder those two useless trash no matter how much I want to.
And then he goes to remove Xie Lian's belt. Xie Lian involuntarily twitches, and Hua Cheng shrinks back, saying "I won't! Don't...be scared. Trust me." His voice is weak, and Xie Lian realises he's so scared that Xie Lian will reject or hate him that he's not giving Xie Lian the chance to speak at all.
Hua Cheng carefully removes Xie Lian's robes, touching him as little as possible, and it's only when a butterfly lands on Xie Lian's shoulder and starts to heal his wounds that Xie Lian realised how injured he is.
A deeply repressed memory resurfaces, of another time in a cave, being touched gently by the same hands. Hua Cheng is trying so hard not to look Xie Lian's half naked body as he heals him that he doesn't notice how incredibly turned on Xie Lian is.
OH MY GOD I READ TO THE END AHHHHHHHH
SO MANY FEELINGS
I JUST
*flails*
Ok. So.
They're interrupted by angry voices. It's Mu Qing and Feng Xin! They say a lot of nasty things about how disgusting Hua Cheng is, and at first Xie Lian is hurt on his behalf but then he realises it's like they're trying to make Hua Cheng angry enough to attack them.
(Me, at this point: COME ON MXTX LET THEM KISS THEY'RE SO CLOSE I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO READ BOOK 4 YET IT'S 1AM)
Hua Cheng does indeed become angry, slashing out with his blade. They fall to the ground, bleeding out and crying in pain. A blood spattered Hua Cheng pulls Xie Lian into his arms, saying "How could I possibly let go?" He whispers something else, and Xie Lian finally feels the talisman fall from his back.
Xie Lian runs over to his injured friends.
Feng Xin: Don't...go near...Hua Cheng...He...is a monster!
Xie Lian: More than you?
And then Xie Lian stabs him in the heart. He shakes off the blood, and walks over to stand by Hua Cheng, saying "There's no more need to keep talking through those skins."
What Hua Cheng whispered was that they were imposters.
Mu Qing and Feng Xin, in unison: As you wish.
They melt into puddles of blood, and reform into the shape of a tall and slender white-clad young man, wearing a mask.
White No-Face: How are you, Xie Lian?
Xie Lian goes numb, and Hua Cheng steps in front of him protectively.
NNNG
No-Face keeps attacking Hua Cheng's right eye (I can't remember if that's the good or the bad one, I guess the good one?) Hua Cheng managers to dodge and protect himself with butterflies, but No-Face is incredibly strong, and in the end Xie Lian has to defend Hua Cheng just so they can find a moment to escape, with Hua Cheng booby-trapping the path behind them with silk and butterflies.
Xie Lian: He's alive! And even more powerful, if he can impersonate Heavenly officials...
Hua Cheng: It might not be the same one. And perhaps he's someone who knew you all...
After running for a while they realise they're holding hands and Hua Cheng gets self conscious and walks away. Xie Lian walks up behind him.
Xie Lian: San Lang. A lot of things happened just now, and everyone is confused and messed up.
Hua Cheng: Mmm.
Xie Lian: I still want to take the chance to ask you a question, and I hope you'll answer me honestly and seriously.
Hua Cheng: ...alright.
Xie Lian: Just who is that 'noble, gracious, special someone'?
Hua Cheng doesn't answer right away, but the hand tied with a red knot twitches.
Hua Cheng: If Your Highness has already found out, why ask?
Xie Lian: I see. So I didn't misunderstand.
Hua Cheng: ...
Xie Lian: You... don't want to know... how I feel about this?
Hua Cheng half-turns, but is too afraid to look Xie Lian in the eye. With a cracked voice he asks "Will Your Highness...not tell me?"
Xie Lian says "Yes, something like this has to be said clearly." And then he hugs him tightly from behind, and even without words his meaning is clear. Eventually Hua Cheng turns around and hugs him back, his voice staggering as he says "You really will...be the death of me."
ahhhh ;_;
I could keep summarising the rest, which has more fights and stuff...orrrrr I could go back and beef out the existing summary with shippy subtext I missed when I thought Hua Cheng was Black Water in disguise.
It's just so delightfully...just...EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS OF PINING. And then carefully setting himself up to always look as cool and elegant as possible while deep down feeling like this weird gross creepy little kid who shouldn't so much as look at Xie Lian. And then to have all his weird obsession exposed and think Xie Lian hates him ;_;
It's such a strange, intense dynamic. Xie Lian superficially seems like the normal one but he's a weird bitter fucked up old guy too, in his way, and also deeply lonely and sad. They've had such highs and lows, and have finally found someone who loves them for everything they are.
But then...THERE'S AN EXPLOSION! Xie Lian says "Let's talk later" and they run towards it, but this time they're holding hands on purpose, and trying very hard to keep their cool and sensibly discuss the Evil Ghost situation instead of collapsing into flailing feels.
They reach the real Mu Qing and Feng Xin, who are taking breaks from biting their way out of their cocoons to blame each other for Xie Lian being 'captured' by Hua Cheng.
When they see Xie Lian they're all "How did you escape?"...until Hua Cheng steps out of the shadows, and Xie Lian takes his arm.
Xie Lian: No time to explain, there's an enemy coming!
Hua Cheng: I suggest you hold your tongue and follow. I'm in a good mood so I won't fight you for now :)
Mu Qing: Who can hurt Crimson Rain Sought Flower?
Xie Lian: It's White No-Face.
Feng Xin and Mu Qing: D: D:
They follow without another word.
Xie Lian says the other two should escape to warn Jun Wu, since White No-Face will always chase Xie Lian. They want to stay and help, but Xie Lian reminds them about the need to find Lan Chang. Seeing that Xie Lian trusts and is determined to stay with Hua Cheng, they reluctantly leave.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng keep running.
Xie Lian: I feel sorry for all the poor little butterflies dying to protect us :(
Hua Cheng: If he kills one I'll make ten more. Fast and furious like a storm, I will never back down. Let's see who's the one standing in the end.
Xie Lian: Oh no he's hot.
Even when they have time to rest for a while, they're both too self conscious to bring up the whole FEELINGS thing. Xie Lian stops to look at an especially small and misshapen looking statue: all the details are carefully copied from life, but by someone with more enthusiasm than skill.
Hua Cheng: It's from my beginner years, don't look D:
Xie Lian: It's cute :)
Hua Cheng, steering Xie Lian away from looking at any more: If you want to look at statues, I'll show you my best work another time.
Suddenly it occurs to Xie Lian: Why is White No-Face here? If he wants to gain strength in the Kiln, is it because he's weakened?
Xie Lian: I'll fight him.
Hua Cheng: You think I would let you face him alone?
Xie Lian: He can't kill me, I swear it.
Hua Cheng: Why?
Xie Lian, DELIBERATELY AVOIDING THE QUESTION EVEN IN HIS INTERNAL NARRATION: I don't want any thing to happen to you.
Hua Cheng: I'm already dead :) As long as he doesn't find my ashes, nothing can happen to me. And if that hiding place is destroyed, there's no need for me to exist.
WELL THAT'S NOT FORESHADOWING
(Did he somehow put them...in Xie Lian? Or maybe his bandage or hat or something?)
Xie Lian desperately wants to know how Hua Cheng died, yet is afraid to ask in case neither of them can bear the answer. To become a Supreme Ghost King requires obsessive attachment well beyond even that of a regular ghost. How did Hua Cheng endure the last 800 years?
But then a more horrifying question occurs to him.
Xie Lian: In the past 800 years, did you meet me again after XianLe?
Hua Cheng: No, despite my best efforts. Why?
Xie Lian: Nothing it's just...these past years have been a bit muddled and a failure. If you'd witnessed that it...wouldn't be...good.
Hua Cheng: Didn't you say 'To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you, the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is you, not the state of you'? I feel the same way.
Xie Lian, covering his face: AHHHHHHH DID I SAY THAT
Hua Cheng: Do you want me to show you?
Xie Lian: You recorded it?!
Hua Cheng: I'm joking
Xie Lian: BUT ARE YOU THOUGH
A breeze passes by and Hua Cheng unconsciously steps to shield Xie Lian, his expression cold and beautiful. Xie Lian calls his name and he turns and smiles, again unconsciously. Xie Lian thinks "He really does see me as a god."
Xie Lian: When we've gotten out of Mount TongLu, there are many things I want to tell you.
Hua Cheng: I look forward to it.
Suddenly, Hua Cheng realises his butterflies have lost track of No-Face. Xie Lian steps up on tip-toes and puts their foreheads together so he can see through Hua Cheng's eyes. Hua Cheng hesitates then puts his arm around Xie Lian's waist, holding him tightly.
They search the caverns, but all they find is a statue with blood splashed against it's smiling face. And at the tip of it's stone sword...is the bandaged youth Lang Ying.
The name of the final chapter of Book 3 is "From the Sealed Kiln One Supreme Shall Emerge".
Xie Lian's first instinct is to help Lang Ying, but this is obviously No-Face fucking with him again.
Xie Liuan: Where is the Lang Ying?
Hua Cheng: Your Highness, maybe there never was one.
Xie Lian doesn't want to think that the little girl who died defending Lang Ying was tricked. "Or perhaps... No-Face devoured Lang Ying."
No-Face, bandages unraveling to reveal his mask: Good guess :D
White No-Face really was defeated by Jun Wu, but the remains of his spirit Voldemorted onto Lang Ying, who must have willingly let him possess his body, only to be devoured from within. But why would Lang Ying agree in the first place?
AND IT TURNS OUT LANG YING WAS A SEVERAL HUNDRED YEAR OLD GHOST ALL ALONG???
HOW
DID
I
MISS
THAT
This isn't a twist. I have just...been misreading...for three books...
Uh. Anyway.
No-Face: Surname Lang, YongAn, the human face disease. Can't you guess why he'd let me in?
Xie Lian cries out and attacks the statue as No-Face laughs and escapes.
Xie Lian: I'm sorry about the statue :(
Hua Cheng: Don't be silly. So, where to now?
Xie Lian: We have to stop him entering the Kiln!
Hua Cheng leads Xie Lian up the mountain, dodging them past avalanches and falling rubble to reach the thick ice sealing the top around the deep dark pit of the volcano. Looking into it's shadowy depths, Xie Lian sees flashes of red and for some reason is afraid.
Hua Cheng: He's gone in. The Kiln is closing.
Xie Lian: San Lang, I...I might need to go down there to resolve things.
Hua Cheng: Go. I'll come with you. It's just killing an eyesore, not like it's anything hard ;) But there is one thing...
He tilts up Xie Lian's chin gently, and kisses him.
This is the first time they've kissed without any excuses, and it goes on for a long time, the two of them embracing in the snowstorm before their lips slowly part. Xie Lian suddenly feels embarrassed, and pushes away saying "W-what's this all of a sudden?"
XIE LIAN. IT HAS BEEN. EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS.
Hua Cheng, whispering into his ear: I'll lend Your Highness a bit of spiritual powers for emergencies...will you accept it?
Xie Lian: Um....mmm. Mmm...I'll just..
Hua Cheng: Your Highness you're running the wrong way.
Xie Lian: JUST JOGGING TO WARM UP.
The two of them hold hands tightly and stare into the abyss. Hua Cheng says casually "After all this I'll show gege my proudest sculpture."
"Okay" says Xian Lian. And then they jump down together.
They hold tight against the whistling wind as they fall. But then all of a sudden...Hua Cheng is gone. Xie Lian lands miles down into the mountain, alone. All around him is an immense empty darkness, and the small circle of white sky above closes shut.
He uses some of the huge amount of power Hua Cheng gave him to create light, and the sees a figure.
Xie Lian: WHO IS IT
No-Face: You know who I am :)
Xie Lian: SAN LANG WHERE ARE YOU
No-Face: No need to yell, there's just you and me. I've sent him outside.
Xie Lian: *sigh of relief, knowing Hua Cheng is safe*
No-Face: Yes, it's for the best. I doubt he'll want you later when he sees the state you're in.
Xie Lian: WHY AREN'T YOU DEAD? WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHY ARE YOU HERE?
No-Face: Because you came here. *stabs Xie Lian and knocks him down* So pitiful. Every time I meet your highness, you look like this. Makes one ache. Makes one excited.
Xie Lian, refusing to spit out the blood pooling in his mouth: Even if you emerge from the Kiln, Jun Wu will defeat you again.
No-Face: Who says the one to emerge will be me?
Xie Lian: D:
No-Face: Congratulations, you've finally understood my true objective :D
D: D:
WAS THIS ALL ABOUT GETTING XIE LIAN INTO THE VOLCANO FROM THE START???
Xie Lian is a god. But if he kills himself, then No-Face, he will be a ghost, and then a Supreme Ghost King.
Xie Lian, snapping out of his horrified shock: You're crazy, the Kiln will never accept me!
No-Face: Are you sure?
He produces a mask identical to his own.
No-Face: Do you remember this? It suits you.
Xie Lian: TAKE IT AWAY D: D:
No-Face: It seems Your Highness' memory isn't so great. Let me help you remember.
The tragically pale cry-smiling mask melts with the infinite darkness as it is pressed into Xie Lian's face.
END OF BOOK THREE
/o\
AHHHHHHH
AHHHHH
THAT
WAS
INTENSE
I have some theories, probably all wrong:
* White No-Face is the old Crown Prince of WuYong. He and Xie Lian have all these mirrored parallels and it would suit the story's theme of good intentions going bad.
* Either way, something Went Wrong with the Prince's plan. I feel like the people of WuYong became the face plague or the rats or the fires of the Kiln, something horrifying and full of pain.
* Whether or not the Prince is involved, his four deputies are involved with some plan to fix things or get revenge or something. The whole Mount TongLu system is part of that plan. And it all led to Xie Lian here in the Kiln. They've been moulding him his whole life...as a body for the old Crown Prince to possess? To do something for them in Heaven? Is Xie Lian literally the Crown Prince reborn, either through reincarnation or because he's been a ghost this whole time somehow?? Guoshi REALLY wanted to keep Xie Lian and Hua Cheng apart, what part does Hua Cheng play in all this? Or was he really just a random kid? He definitely knows more than he's letting on right now.
We're getting near the end, relatively speaking! Book 4, The Angst Book, is pretty short, so maaaybe I'll feel up to trying it today. There's a LOT of mysteries and plot threads to untangle, and I am sure all the answers will be TRAGIC AS HELL.
I wasn't expecting Hua Cheng and Xie Lian to get together yet, that was really lovely. THEY NEED TO KISS MORE THOUGH.
When I first read through I interpreted Xie Lian as liking Hua Cheng seeing him as a god, but on a reread I'm less sure. I feel like there's some significant emotional stuff going on there we don't know about yet.
Gosh I just ship them so hard.
no subject
Date: 2019-11-13 04:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-11-14 09:15 am (UTC)Your pal's new boyfriend the murderous Demon Ghost King, literally powered by obsession, known for his rains of blood, who wanted to leave you to rot in his creepy bug silk pit so he could get your buddy alone. Yeah, I'd probably have some concerns too.