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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), dead babies, child harm, incest subtext, ANGST
YEP. THIS SURE DOES GET DARK.
Under the cut: SPOILERS for chapters 181-190, Book 4 aka The Angsty One.
Welcome to BOOK FOUR: WHITE CLOTHED CALAMITY
Oh god I'm not ready. Probably going to read through quickly and summarise from memory. If you want more detail read it yourself :P
It's shortly after Xie Lian's first banishment. He's still learning to remember to eat again, experiencing real hunger for the first time in his life (I think he's like 25-30 at this point). He wakes from a dream of being strangled by No-face to feel the shackle around his neck. Normally banished gods are just slow ageing mortals, but Jun Wu let Xie Lian keep his immortality, and said he has the chance to ascend again.
Xie Lian wraps the shackle and his face in cloth, and goes out with Mu Qing and Feng Xin to compete with war refugees for menial work. YongAn soldiers stalk around looking for the exiled royal family. Xie Lian's parents are still alive, but thin and worn down, hiding in a forest shack. Xie Lian the exiled god and his father the exiled king can't look each other in the eye. Xie Lian's mother is unsuccessfully trying to learn to cook.
At work, Xie Lian and Feng Xin lose their patience when they see people stepping on a statue of Xie Lian, and start a fight, losing the day's wages. Mu Qing, who grew up poor, tells them to suck it up and be practical...and then says he wants to leave, that he's done all he can and needs to take care of his own mother.
Feng Xin, who was raised as a noble retainer to Xie Lian his whole life, is FURIOUS at this disloyalty, but Xie Lian acts calmly resigned.
Internally, he's in shock. He'd always believed in forever. Friends might argue, but they don't leave just because things get hard.
Xie Lian scares some kids away from a shady old magician selling cursed lanterns made from the souls of the war dead. He spends his last money to buy the lanterns and free the ghosts.
The little glowing spirits gratefully swarm around Xie Lian, rubbing him affectionately, but he sends them on. Only one remains, the spirit of a young man. It recognises him and bounces with joy, much to Xie Lian's embarrassment.
Ah. So yeah, it's been a few years since Book 2. Long enough for Hua Cheng to grow up, join the army, and die :(
Xie Lian: Do you have some unfulfilled wish? If it's not anything too difficult I'll do my best to help you.
Ghost: I have a beloved still in this world.
Xie Lian: Your wife?
Ghost: We never married. Or really talked. I am probably forgotten.
Xie Lian: So what is your wish?
Ghost: To protect them.
Xie Lian: But you no longer belong to this world. You won't be able to rest in peace, which would upset your beloved if they knew.
Ghost: Then I pray never to rest in peace, and will never let them know.
Xie Lian: The war separated you from your beloved...I'm sorry. I didn't win.
Ghost: To die in battle for you is my greatest honour.
Xie Lian remembers his general teaching the soldiers this lie, and feels his eyes go hot. He tells the ghost to forget him, that believing in him will only bring disaster.
Ghost: I won't forget. I am forever your most devoted believer.
But Xie Lian doesn't believe him. He doesn't believe in anyone any more, least of all himself.
With Mu Qing gone, everyone else has to start learning to cook and buy food. His mother tries to stay cheery as her hands become cracked and calloused, and gently asks what she should do about the King coughing up blood. Xie Lian realises the King is horribly ill, but any doctor would recognise him so they have to rely on expensive medicine.
Xie Lian and Feng Xin are talented cultivators, but can't reveal their identities, and are unwilling to do anything immoral. So they pawn the last of Xie Lian's treasured possessions. He realises that outside the capital, the country is doing fine without his family, and has barely noticed the change in government.
They turn to busking, but get into a fight with the local buskers and one nearly dies trying to outperform Xie Lian at crushing boulders on his chest. Feng Xin sometimes goes out for long periods and comes back happy, presumably because he's fallen in love.
Xie Lian decides to go off and rob someone rich but loses his nerve every time. WHAT IF THEY NEED THAT MONEY? WHAT IF THE OLD MAN HAS A HEART ATTACK AND DIES??
And when he finally does threaten someone, they call for their gods for help...and so Xie Lian is seen stealing by a bunch of junior heavenly officials?? COME ON WHAT ARE THE ODDS
Miserable and ashamed, he wanders to a graveyard and gets drunk for the first time in his life on offering wine he finds on a grave. He sees a little spirit flitting around looking concerned so mumbles "Sorry, I'll stop drinking your wine"... and walks right into an open grave.
Xie Lian, who has never sworn before in his life: WHAT THE FUCK
He shivers, and the ghost spirit tries to keep him warm. But ghost fire is cold. He hears a tiny voice saying "God...please wait for me..."
Xie Lian wakes up in the street two days later. Feng Xin said he was drunkenly attacking soldiers, but so caked with grime he was dismissed as a vagrant.
Feng Xin: Tell me where you've been! It's not like you were killing or stealing, you can tell me.
Overcome with guilt, Xie Lian tries to train his cultivation enough to ascend back to Heaven, even though he's terrified everyone up there knows what he did. But he's too depressed. He eventually says he'll go find somewhere more spiritual, and notices that when he asks Feng Xin to stay and take care of the King and Queen...he hesitates for a moment before saying yes.
Uuurgh he finds somewhere but is bullied by the same junior officials and gets into a fight. Little ghost Hua Cheng helps out.
Officials: HE'S FIGHTING DIRTY WITH GHOSTS! Time to destroy this nasty little thing...
Xie Lian: No!
And then Mu Qing shows up. He's been hired by another god. And he sides against Xie Lian with the others, forcing Xie Lian to leave.
Xie Lian runs off, miserable, and falls into the mud. Mu Qing shows up now they're alone and offers to help him up, but Xie Lian just glares at him and throws mud at his face.
Mu Qing: I had no choice! Just like you when you turned to robbery!
Xie Lian throws more mud in silence and Mu Qing eventually leaves.
As day turns to light, Xie Lian is slowly surrounded by dancing ghost flames, which he ignores.
And then he feels a sense of foreboding, and looks up. Into the face of a man in white wearing a half-smiling mask.
Furious, Xie Lian attacks, even though he's unarmed. No-Face just grabs him by the head. Xie Lian waits for his head to be crushed...but instead No-Face hugs him.
No-Face, gently caressing Xie Lian and wiping off the mud: So sad, look what they've done to you.
For a moment, Xie Lian actually feels strangely comforted. Hua Cheng is trying to comfort him too, but Xie Lian doesn't notice the little concerned spirit amongst so many others.
No-Face: Come to my side.
Xie Lian angrily knocks off the mask. "Never! You're the monster that destroyed XianLe!"
No-Face covers his face and laughs. "You will come. No one but me will truly understand you, and no one but me will forever stay by your side."
They fight, and Xie Lian is knocked out. He blearily sees No-Face hold out his hand to Hua Cheng, asking his name.
He wakes up terrified that No-Face has hurt his family or Feng Xin. But when he gets home, they're fine...and getting food from Mu Qing.
Xie Lian is furious and kicks him out. And then he realises that in his shouting he revealed the robbery to Feng Xin.
He admits his cultivation isn't working out, and says he'll clean himself up and help with the busking. But when he looks in the mirror...he sees a half crying mask.
He screams, but Feng Xin sees nothing, and when Xie Lian looks again he just sees his own face: Beat up, dirty, unkempt.
Feng Xin awkwardly asks if Xie Lian has any money, presumably wanting to help out Jian Lan. But when Xie Lian laughs darkly, he says it's not a big deal.
Xie Lian keeps seeing No-Face when no-one else can and and freaking out, and is incensed when he realises everyone else thinks he's having a mental breakdown.
He runs off, determined to hunt down No-Face. A collection of ghosts try to stop him going a particular way, led by one especially bright spirit, and Xie Lian shouts threats at them until they let him pass.
Xie Lian finds himself in an abandoned temple to himself, stripped of valuables and defaced. Then he hears someone approaching.
It's a lost traveller, who somehow wandered here lost in the dark. More people arrive, over a hundred, clearly all led here by some dark magic. Xie Lian's face is covered so they don't recognise him.
And then the people with human face disease arrive, screaming and charging towards the people trapped in the temple.
Xie Lian drives them off. He sees No-Face in the forest and makes chase. Xie Lian accuses him of wanting to spread the human face disease again.
No-Face: I'm here for you. You are a beautiful block of jade, allow me to educate you.
Xie Lian: My Master is the Guoshi of XianLe!
No-Face: That creature isn't worth mentioning. Only I am worthy to educate you, and you've been learning my lessons well.
First: You are powerless in the face of many things in this world.
Second: You don't need to save the common people. They're unworthy.
And you will always be defeated by me.
Xie Lian fights, but ends up held again by his head. Xie Lian says, darkly, "You can defeat me countless times, but you can't kill me. And so one day, I will defeat you."
No-Face: Indeed, I won't kill you. But I hope you won't have regrets over this later.
He knocks Xie Lian out.
Xie Lian wakes tied up, with Hua Cheng's spirit hovering over him shyly concerned. He's on the altar of his own temple, watched by countless unblinking eyes, his face uncovered.
Final Chapter of Book 4: Heart Pierced by a Hundred Swords; Savage Ghost Takes Form
And there's a trigger warning for violence D:
The people mutter "It looks just like him..."
But they don't approach, too afraid of White No-Face, who's standing behind the altar in the dark.
From outside come the howls of the people with the human face disease.
Xie Lian: Just stay calm, I'm sure we can...
People: I hear it spreads really quickly. We're all going to be infected!
No-Face: The Crown Prince knows how to cure it.
Pedople: Tell us!
Xie Lian: There's no way, it's useless.
No-Face: Did you ever notice that soldiers never get the disease? What do they do that ordinary people don't?
Kill.
Xie Lian has been trying to hide the truth ever since he found out, knowing that once the murders started they would never stop.
Xie Lian: Like I said, it's useless. Don't play into this creature's hands. Stay calm.
People: If you're so calm, why don't you think of a solution?
No-Face: Upon seeing this face, do you still not know who to kill?
And then he stabs Xie Lian in the chest. Xie Lian chokes up blood and grimaces. "You..."
No-Face: What's the matter? Don't you want to save the common people? Weren't you the one who said you can't die?
Nnnng so yeah he gets stabbed. The people apologise, and make excuses, but they don't stop.
The only one to protest is the busker who nearly killed himself trying to beat Xie Lian by crushing boulders on hbs chest. He calls them all cowards for attacking Xie Lian and not No-Face, or sacrificing themselves.
The crowd gets increasingly angry, and Xie Lian coughs out "Thank you. But it's ok."
And then the busker gets the disease. No-Face is making it spread incredibly fast. Not wanting to give in and hurt Xie Lian, the busker runs.
Things stay quiet for a while but of course it eventually descends into a whole bunch of
self justifications for stabbing.
Xie Lian wonders what will happen to him, to be killed so many times. Not just physically. He feels that something in his heart will never be the same.
The apologies stop. People start bickering about whose turn it is next.
His cry for help dies in his slit throat, but in his head he cries help help it hurts why can't I die
He hears someone else scream, as if expressing his pain for him. His mind goes blank.
There is an explosion of fire and many more screams.
When the fire dies down, the temple is filled with hundreds of dead bodies, and the silhouette of a young man. The spirit bows in pain in front of the burned, dead shape on the altar. The flames spread, devouring the mountain and everyone on it. White No-Face smiles and walks past the ashy remains as a dark cloud forms over the temple.
A new savage ghost has taken form.
WAIT THIS IS ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH BOOK FOUR OH GOD
Content Notes for the book in general: consent issues, sexualisation of children, gore, mixed treatment of cross-dressing, self harm (sort of), dead babies, child harm, incest subtext, ANGST
YEP. THIS SURE DOES GET DARK.
Under the cut: SPOILERS for chapters 181-190, Book 4 aka The Angsty One.
Welcome to BOOK FOUR: WHITE CLOTHED CALAMITY
Oh god I'm not ready. Probably going to read through quickly and summarise from memory. If you want more detail read it yourself :P
It's shortly after Xie Lian's first banishment. He's still learning to remember to eat again, experiencing real hunger for the first time in his life (I think he's like 25-30 at this point). He wakes from a dream of being strangled by No-face to feel the shackle around his neck. Normally banished gods are just slow ageing mortals, but Jun Wu let Xie Lian keep his immortality, and said he has the chance to ascend again.
Xie Lian wraps the shackle and his face in cloth, and goes out with Mu Qing and Feng Xin to compete with war refugees for menial work. YongAn soldiers stalk around looking for the exiled royal family. Xie Lian's parents are still alive, but thin and worn down, hiding in a forest shack. Xie Lian the exiled god and his father the exiled king can't look each other in the eye. Xie Lian's mother is unsuccessfully trying to learn to cook.
At work, Xie Lian and Feng Xin lose their patience when they see people stepping on a statue of Xie Lian, and start a fight, losing the day's wages. Mu Qing, who grew up poor, tells them to suck it up and be practical...and then says he wants to leave, that he's done all he can and needs to take care of his own mother.
Feng Xin, who was raised as a noble retainer to Xie Lian his whole life, is FURIOUS at this disloyalty, but Xie Lian acts calmly resigned.
Internally, he's in shock. He'd always believed in forever. Friends might argue, but they don't leave just because things get hard.
Xie Lian scares some kids away from a shady old magician selling cursed lanterns made from the souls of the war dead. He spends his last money to buy the lanterns and free the ghosts.
The little glowing spirits gratefully swarm around Xie Lian, rubbing him affectionately, but he sends them on. Only one remains, the spirit of a young man. It recognises him and bounces with joy, much to Xie Lian's embarrassment.
Ah. So yeah, it's been a few years since Book 2. Long enough for Hua Cheng to grow up, join the army, and die :(
Xie Lian: Do you have some unfulfilled wish? If it's not anything too difficult I'll do my best to help you.
Ghost: I have a beloved still in this world.
Xie Lian: Your wife?
Ghost: We never married. Or really talked. I am probably forgotten.
Xie Lian: So what is your wish?
Ghost: To protect them.
Xie Lian: But you no longer belong to this world. You won't be able to rest in peace, which would upset your beloved if they knew.
Ghost: Then I pray never to rest in peace, and will never let them know.
Xie Lian: The war separated you from your beloved...I'm sorry. I didn't win.
Ghost: To die in battle for you is my greatest honour.
Xie Lian remembers his general teaching the soldiers this lie, and feels his eyes go hot. He tells the ghost to forget him, that believing in him will only bring disaster.
Ghost: I won't forget. I am forever your most devoted believer.
But Xie Lian doesn't believe him. He doesn't believe in anyone any more, least of all himself.
With Mu Qing gone, everyone else has to start learning to cook and buy food. His mother tries to stay cheery as her hands become cracked and calloused, and gently asks what she should do about the King coughing up blood. Xie Lian realises the King is horribly ill, but any doctor would recognise him so they have to rely on expensive medicine.
Xie Lian and Feng Xin are talented cultivators, but can't reveal their identities, and are unwilling to do anything immoral. So they pawn the last of Xie Lian's treasured possessions. He realises that outside the capital, the country is doing fine without his family, and has barely noticed the change in government.
They turn to busking, but get into a fight with the local buskers and one nearly dies trying to outperform Xie Lian at crushing boulders on his chest. Feng Xin sometimes goes out for long periods and comes back happy, presumably because he's fallen in love.
Xie Lian decides to go off and rob someone rich but loses his nerve every time. WHAT IF THEY NEED THAT MONEY? WHAT IF THE OLD MAN HAS A HEART ATTACK AND DIES??
And when he finally does threaten someone, they call for their gods for help...and so Xie Lian is seen stealing by a bunch of junior heavenly officials?? COME ON WHAT ARE THE ODDS
Miserable and ashamed, he wanders to a graveyard and gets drunk for the first time in his life on offering wine he finds on a grave. He sees a little spirit flitting around looking concerned so mumbles "Sorry, I'll stop drinking your wine"... and walks right into an open grave.
Xie Lian, who has never sworn before in his life: WHAT THE FUCK
He shivers, and the ghost spirit tries to keep him warm. But ghost fire is cold. He hears a tiny voice saying "God...please wait for me..."
Xie Lian wakes up in the street two days later. Feng Xin said he was drunkenly attacking soldiers, but so caked with grime he was dismissed as a vagrant.
Feng Xin: Tell me where you've been! It's not like you were killing or stealing, you can tell me.
Overcome with guilt, Xie Lian tries to train his cultivation enough to ascend back to Heaven, even though he's terrified everyone up there knows what he did. But he's too depressed. He eventually says he'll go find somewhere more spiritual, and notices that when he asks Feng Xin to stay and take care of the King and Queen...he hesitates for a moment before saying yes.
Uuurgh he finds somewhere but is bullied by the same junior officials and gets into a fight. Little ghost Hua Cheng helps out.
Officials: HE'S FIGHTING DIRTY WITH GHOSTS! Time to destroy this nasty little thing...
Xie Lian: No!
And then Mu Qing shows up. He's been hired by another god. And he sides against Xie Lian with the others, forcing Xie Lian to leave.
Xie Lian runs off, miserable, and falls into the mud. Mu Qing shows up now they're alone and offers to help him up, but Xie Lian just glares at him and throws mud at his face.
Mu Qing: I had no choice! Just like you when you turned to robbery!
Xie Lian throws more mud in silence and Mu Qing eventually leaves.
As day turns to light, Xie Lian is slowly surrounded by dancing ghost flames, which he ignores.
And then he feels a sense of foreboding, and looks up. Into the face of a man in white wearing a half-smiling mask.
Furious, Xie Lian attacks, even though he's unarmed. No-Face just grabs him by the head. Xie Lian waits for his head to be crushed...but instead No-Face hugs him.
No-Face, gently caressing Xie Lian and wiping off the mud: So sad, look what they've done to you.
For a moment, Xie Lian actually feels strangely comforted. Hua Cheng is trying to comfort him too, but Xie Lian doesn't notice the little concerned spirit amongst so many others.
No-Face: Come to my side.
Xie Lian angrily knocks off the mask. "Never! You're the monster that destroyed XianLe!"
No-Face covers his face and laughs. "You will come. No one but me will truly understand you, and no one but me will forever stay by your side."
They fight, and Xie Lian is knocked out. He blearily sees No-Face hold out his hand to Hua Cheng, asking his name.
He wakes up terrified that No-Face has hurt his family or Feng Xin. But when he gets home, they're fine...and getting food from Mu Qing.
Xie Lian is furious and kicks him out. And then he realises that in his shouting he revealed the robbery to Feng Xin.
He admits his cultivation isn't working out, and says he'll clean himself up and help with the busking. But when he looks in the mirror...he sees a half crying mask.
He screams, but Feng Xin sees nothing, and when Xie Lian looks again he just sees his own face: Beat up, dirty, unkempt.
Feng Xin awkwardly asks if Xie Lian has any money, presumably wanting to help out Jian Lan. But when Xie Lian laughs darkly, he says it's not a big deal.
Xie Lian keeps seeing No-Face when no-one else can and and freaking out, and is incensed when he realises everyone else thinks he's having a mental breakdown.
He runs off, determined to hunt down No-Face. A collection of ghosts try to stop him going a particular way, led by one especially bright spirit, and Xie Lian shouts threats at them until they let him pass.
Xie Lian finds himself in an abandoned temple to himself, stripped of valuables and defaced. Then he hears someone approaching.
It's a lost traveller, who somehow wandered here lost in the dark. More people arrive, over a hundred, clearly all led here by some dark magic. Xie Lian's face is covered so they don't recognise him.
And then the people with human face disease arrive, screaming and charging towards the people trapped in the temple.
Xie Lian drives them off. He sees No-Face in the forest and makes chase. Xie Lian accuses him of wanting to spread the human face disease again.
No-Face: I'm here for you. You are a beautiful block of jade, allow me to educate you.
Xie Lian: My Master is the Guoshi of XianLe!
No-Face: That creature isn't worth mentioning. Only I am worthy to educate you, and you've been learning my lessons well.
First: You are powerless in the face of many things in this world.
Second: You don't need to save the common people. They're unworthy.
And you will always be defeated by me.
Xie Lian fights, but ends up held again by his head. Xie Lian says, darkly, "You can defeat me countless times, but you can't kill me. And so one day, I will defeat you."
No-Face: Indeed, I won't kill you. But I hope you won't have regrets over this later.
He knocks Xie Lian out.
Xie Lian wakes tied up, with Hua Cheng's spirit hovering over him shyly concerned. He's on the altar of his own temple, watched by countless unblinking eyes, his face uncovered.
Final Chapter of Book 4: Heart Pierced by a Hundred Swords; Savage Ghost Takes Form
And there's a trigger warning for violence D:
The people mutter "It looks just like him..."
But they don't approach, too afraid of White No-Face, who's standing behind the altar in the dark.
From outside come the howls of the people with the human face disease.
Xie Lian: Just stay calm, I'm sure we can...
People: I hear it spreads really quickly. We're all going to be infected!
No-Face: The Crown Prince knows how to cure it.
Pedople: Tell us!
Xie Lian: There's no way, it's useless.
No-Face: Did you ever notice that soldiers never get the disease? What do they do that ordinary people don't?
Kill.
Xie Lian has been trying to hide the truth ever since he found out, knowing that once the murders started they would never stop.
Xie Lian: Like I said, it's useless. Don't play into this creature's hands. Stay calm.
People: If you're so calm, why don't you think of a solution?
No-Face: Upon seeing this face, do you still not know who to kill?
And then he stabs Xie Lian in the chest. Xie Lian chokes up blood and grimaces. "You..."
No-Face: What's the matter? Don't you want to save the common people? Weren't you the one who said you can't die?
Nnnng so yeah he gets stabbed. The people apologise, and make excuses, but they don't stop.
The only one to protest is the busker who nearly killed himself trying to beat Xie Lian by crushing boulders on hbs chest. He calls them all cowards for attacking Xie Lian and not No-Face, or sacrificing themselves.
The crowd gets increasingly angry, and Xie Lian coughs out "Thank you. But it's ok."
And then the busker gets the disease. No-Face is making it spread incredibly fast. Not wanting to give in and hurt Xie Lian, the busker runs.
Things stay quiet for a while but of course it eventually descends into a whole bunch of
self justifications for stabbing.
Xie Lian wonders what will happen to him, to be killed so many times. Not just physically. He feels that something in his heart will never be the same.
The apologies stop. People start bickering about whose turn it is next.
His cry for help dies in his slit throat, but in his head he cries help help it hurts why can't I die
He hears someone else scream, as if expressing his pain for him. His mind goes blank.
There is an explosion of fire and many more screams.
When the fire dies down, the temple is filled with hundreds of dead bodies, and the silhouette of a young man. The spirit bows in pain in front of the burned, dead shape on the altar. The flames spread, devouring the mountain and everyone on it. White No-Face smiles and walks past the ashy remains as a dark cloud forms over the temple.
A new savage ghost has taken form.
WAIT THIS IS ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH BOOK FOUR OH GOD
