#Pei Ming is here somewhere too!

[thatswhatsushesaid]

au from shi wudu's POV

revised ask accepted, protagonist halo shi wudu let's goooooooo

youth: i don't understand why my little brother who was raised as a girl from childhood to avoid drawing the attention of the reverend of empty words has to be so gender about everything--no, shi qingxuan, your opinion is not necessary, don't interrupt me.

victimless (tapes he xuan's mouth shut and stuffs him into a linen closet) crime era: get fucked, fate, i'm too busy winning 💅 to listen to you. or whoever that guy was. this probably won't become relevant later.

(somewhere in here the greater heavenly area polycule forms)

ghostly bridegroom to the end of the banyue arc: wow, that looks like a real hot mess. glad it's not any of my business--wait, is that pei xiu? is that shi qingxuan??? shi qingxuan what are you doing!! get back here right now--

mid autumn festival banquet: someone should invent a gun so i can have one. so i can shoot whoever wrote this play. shi qingxuan stop shouting, ge is doing his best!!!

(what happens with the three tumours at the hot springs stays at the hot springs 👀)

the fetus spirit arc: surprisedpikachu.jpeg, pei ming what do you mean it isn't your baby

THE BLACKWATER ARC, where the protagonist halo materializes in the form of a pei ming ex machina: pei ming!! what took you so long? if you'd been three minutes faster i'd still have hands!! /waves his bloody arm stumps around until someone makes him prosthetic arm fans he can use to swim around with

i may revisit this very bad retelling of tgcf from shi wudu's POV once i've actually finished reading the book

[crowning-art]

TGCF SPOILERS

--------------------------------------

THEY TURNED INTO A FREAKING SWORD?!?? THIS IS SO FUNNY TO ME I CANT TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY OH MY GOD THIS IS SO FUNNY

THIS IS BASICALLY THEM LMAO I CANT STOP LAUGHING

I never thought I would EVER use a transformers gif for TGCF of all things 😂

Stop Qi Ying is a literal puppy it's so adorable

Yin Yu had already snuck behind someone’s back to hide, but he was instantly picked out by Quan Yizhen. He jumped up and shouted, “SHIXIONG!”

Of all the reactions...this guy's reaction to hualian kissing is smt else lmao

Pei Ming: “Ho ho.”

Ok Santa Claus

AND THEN THIS MESS OF A CONVO OH MY GOD AND Qi Ying like ohhh that's how u borrow powers and everyone's like ok, who's gonna tell him?

Xie Lian accidentally choked a bit and only then did he break away. He didn't dare to look down, and shouted towards the sky, “B BORROWING SPIRITUAL POWERS! I’M ONLY BORROWING SPIRITUAL POWERS! VERY PROPER!”

Mu Qing was shaken too. “YOU DIDN’T NEED TO DO THIS TO BORROW SPIRITUAL POWERS THOUGH??? JUST A SLAP OR A SMACK OR SOMETHING WOULD’VE BEEN FINE???”

Xie Lian didn’t know what he was saying anymore, either, and cried randomly, “HAHAHAHA! I’VE BEEN SEEN THROUGH! IT’S NOT ACTUALLY BORROWING ANY SPIRITUAL POWERS! HAHAHAHA…”

FINALLY! JUN WU TOOK SO LONG TO COME DJJDJDJF but hey he's here to save the day!!

This was so poetic and like metaphorical but I'll explain that metaphor some other day lol

After Xie Lian stopped controlling it, that giant stone divine statue was still obediently lying on the ground, a gigantic, exquisitely-sculpted thing. Now that it’d fallen down, it also looked like a small mountain.

Imagine being Qi Ying and waking up and finding yourself in this random demonic place, and then u knock out, and you're a doll and you knock put and suddenly u r being forced into being a sword lmaoo

However, Quan Yizhen was confused. “Why am I going to the west? Just what exactly are we doing right now?”

No one could blame him for not knowing what was going on. Perhaps, he was confused the entire way: Why was he beaten? Why was he buried inside a wall? Why was he turned into a daruma doll? And why did he have to turn into a sword, too? There was not a single point where he’d figured out what was happening.

I CALLED IT AGAIN!!! (I think! I'm pretty sure I did...somewhere) but Goushi was so suspicious I KNEW IT

If Guoshi truly lived in this world for longer than Jun Wu, then the possibility he was one of the Four Guardians of the Crown Prince of Wuyong was even greater!

AYYYY HEAVEN'S EYE IS BACK! Love those funky losers lol

Wait, oh my God wait no oh my God no this has got be a joke, like my heart acc cracked PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS JUST A JOKE that poor beggar with his limbs cut off....was wind Master? Our beloved wind Master???? I literally feel like crying my heart is breaking so much

DID HE XUAN REALLY HAVE TO DO ALL THAT??? WAS THIS REALLY WHAT BROUGHT HIM SATISFACTION AHDUDJDJD UGHHHH IM SO PISSED AND SAD AND UPSET AND ANGRY AND EVERYTHING

My poor beloved wind master....

I am so sad 😔

[ellysfir]

Initially, after Shi Qingxuan had been released, his slow, quiet steps brought him to the edge of the lake surrounding the property. He looked down at the still waters contemplatively, though quickly turned away from the reflection he’d grown unused to, instead finding a good spot to work after lifting the illusion from here.

He had time to finish drawing when the smaller man behind him popped back up with a startle, the sudden volume causing him to jump as well.

All of his thoughts quickly came back together, feeling only a dull irritation that should have been a welcome normalcy after all this.

“Shut up,” he argued, giving chase before he could get too far. “For once just stop thinking!”

He chose this, he reminded himself.

He could have left him chained up.

He could have let him run back into the building he wasn’t so sure would remain together and call it done with.

He Xuan arrested Shi Qingxuan by the back of his inner robes, twisted somewhere between his shoulder blades and the middle of his back, and all but literally dragged him back over and through the distance shortening array, depositing him roughly onto the plush velvet of Hua Cheng’s black divan and dropped down tiredly to settle on the floor in front of it. “How come you cling like burdock except for when it would be convenient to do so?”

With a puff of laughter and enough of a shrug to only just bring his shoulders up Hua Cheng replied, “Of course,” and withdrew dice to roll and moved to let him step into the portal, guiding him with a hand on his back. It let them out at the edge of Ghost City. “But, ah, gege, don’t blame me if they don’t find what they want.”

They’ll for sure find the probably still tasking Pei Ming. It had been far too easy to find him something to keep busy with, even if Hua Cheng didn’t say it out loud. Pei Ming wasn’t so troublesome really, they’d just needed to ditch him is all. Had Black Water dissipated as intended Hua Cheng would have found an excuse to tag along, and in the event of failure he would have likely left Xie Lian to the task to go attend the matter. That he’d ran to the only safe place he knew with the Wind Master was a surprising outcome to both parties, and hopefully he could dodge whatever trouble he might be in with Xie Lian for his involvement by taking him to Shi Qingxuan. He knew he’d feel better for knowing he was safe and he figured the situation might explain itself.

Yin Yu had been quick to come to the duo once they appeared, chasing away the hall’s usual inhabitants and any strays that may have been curious of He Xuan’s guest, so by time the owner returned, now leading Xie Lian along, they were already settled in and the halls were dim and eerie with an unusual silence.

His gaze swept across the room and with his vision he’d have missed that skinny, shadowy figure hunched over his knees on the floor had he not turned his head when they entered, the spill of long black hair veiling whatever little bit of pale skin that may have otherwise been visible. He clicked his tongue, “How troublesome. Between the both of you, try not to bring down my ceiling.” He Xuan only narrowed his eyes in annoyance – quickly retreating from him in Puqi Shrine was an act, the bickering was not.

“If you’re going to wear all black sit somewhere you don’t blend in,” Hua Cheng taunted.

Hu Xuan bit back coldly with a raised voice, “If you can’t see install more lights.”

Hua Cheng shut up. He’d been trying deliberately for a reaction, but he still crossed his arms and raised his brows at how quickly the other had snapped.

At the same time He Xuan covered his brow with a hand and turned his head so he wouldn’t have to see the way the other Supreme was looking at him, and trying with more effort to calm himself down seeing how quickly he was still to anger.

Turbulent Tides

Characters: Shi Qingxuan, He Xuan Secondary: Xie Lian, Hua Cheng Timeframe: Black Water arc, canon-divergent AU @windmasterreturns @ellysfir @puqiprayerservice @mothboxhuacheng

Mere moments ago there was so much clamour shaking the stiff air of Nether Water Manor – the eager cries of those madmen, the bickering between the brothers and his own rage. It was dissonant and loud, even they had to shout to be heard above skirl surrounding them. If not for the location of the domain even the stormy waters outside would not have kept them hidden.

It wasn’t the sudden swirl of rage not his own that silenced those madmen.

It was the sound of Shi Wudu’s head rolling across the floor.

He Xuan seemed startled in his absolute lack of reaction. He moved his head and eyes only enough to follow the path the falling body took as it collapsed to the floor, delayed, as if it still had the means to remain on its knees by itself. He watched for a long while in his own silence, unmoving, features blank and confused.

When He Xuan gathered enough wit about himself to move the steps he took were slow and heavy, the sharp click of his heel echoing through the still silent manor. It was nothing like the way he’d moved before as he approached Shi Qingxuan a last time, unconcerned that he dragged his long robes through the quickly spreading pool of blood. He came to crouch at the former Wind Master’s side, cold, slender fingers gathering one arm at a time to free him from the shackles with a feather-light touch.

The sound of metal scraping against stone seemed to snap him out of his stupor and he withdrew quickly, reality flooding back in, washing away the numbness. He swept backwards, drawing himself upright with an unsteady sway, thin, wispy fabric following each sharp movement light as fog. He stood there silently, partly twisted, his eyes elsewhere out in the emptiness of the room, unfocused and intense with his hands tightly curled into the fabric at his sides.

All at once there was so much going on in his head, a different sort of turmoil than the anger and anguish from earlier.

Most prominently, he was still here. The option had been presented as an impossible path, and the death of Shi Wudu hadn’t released him.

What was he supposed to do now?

His mind was silent save his own racing thoughts, and he knew that meant Hua Cheng expected the same outcome he had and he didn’t dare reach out to him first.

[featherfur]

I love making important painful moments in stories modern but like completely dramatic and stupid.

Like TGCF, Mu Qing gets Hua Cheng kicked out of a bar for being too young because he knows the new bartenders are hard asses and doesn’t want him to get the cops called, Xie Lian doesn’t drink but gets upset because Mu Qing is being snarky and haven’t they been sneaking into bars since they were younger then Hua Cheng to have fun and let Feng Xin drink? He tells Mu Qing to piss off so Mu Qing storms off and leaves Xie Lian alone with Feng Xin but Feng Xin has to go help his Ex wait for an Uber because waiting in a parking lot with drunk idiots doesn’t end well sometimes. So Xie Lian gets stuck with the only person he knows, Pei Ming. Who is Pei Ming. And now Xie Lian’s drinking because fuck it and he’s forgotten that Feng Xin is literally just outside and that Mu Qing is probably with him and starts getting upset about being abandoned to have to listen to Pei Ming’s weird ass ‘conquest’ stories.

Hua Cheng sneaks back in and finds Xie Lian drunk and whining while the two drunk dial Ling Wen who, graciously, transfers the call to Shi Qingxuan who thinks this is hilarious. Finally seeing Hua Cheng, Xie Lian latches onto him to cry that he’s been abandoned and left to suffer with Pei Ming of all people (“Thats fair” Pei Ming drunkenly says, trying to convince Shi Qingxuan to pass the phone to his brother) and that no one loves him. Hua Cheng realizes he’s drunk as all fuck and gets him out of there.

Feng Xin finally returns and it’s literally been only like 30-45 minutes but now Xie Lian is MISSING and he calls Mu Qing up only to find out that Mu Qing was waiting in the car for Xie Lian and him and they spend the next four hours trying to find their best friend only to finally get a text from He Xuan, Hua Cheng’s roommate, with a photo of a passed out Xie Lian and ‘I think I have something of yours?? He was not here when I went to sleep’

They barge into Hua Cheng’s apartment shouting, it’s fucking 4am, Xie Lian is now sober but he’s still upset he got abandoned with Pei Ming and Hua Cheng is 100% on his side and all he’ll say in response to anything they say is “Pei Ming” which, yeah. Xie Lian gets it out of them that neither had actually left because Feng Xin is just shouting “Fucking hell if I knew helping Jian Lan would be such a fucking problem I would have just had Mu Qing drive her home since he was just fucking partying by himself in the car.”

Mu Qing objects to that because was certainly sitting like an emo who just ran away from his parents and listening to fall out boy not partying but it doesn’t matter because Xie Lian is tired and Xie Lian now feels bad. Hua Cheng insists he shouldn’t feel bad, He Xuan says they all feel bad for not actually letting Pei Ming drunk dial Shi Wudu.

Somehow this all ends up with the Xianle trio passes out on the floor of Hua Cheng’s apartment like cats cuddling and Hua Cheng is only okay with it because somewhere in the middle Mu Qing went “I know you’re pissed I left but hey atleast you finally confesses to Hua Cheng”

Which Xie Lian did not but now he has too and Mu Qing and Feng Xin have more bruises then usually. Hua Cheng decides Feng Xin and Mu Qing aren’t so bad.

He changes his mind immediately in the morning when he wakes up to them yelling at Xie Lian for trying to cook. (He Xuan on the other hand now loves these guys because they just saved his life)

[fortune-maiden]

WIP Wednesday 02.16.22

got inspired to come back to this fic... it’s still a long ways off from anything postable but maybe one day? ^^”

“You’ve been on this boat before,” Pei Ming pointed out. “In the middle of a storm last time. A violent one. You were fine.”

The reminder made Shi Qingxuan shudder.

“Ge’s charms,” he whispered tiredly. “Don’t have them now.”

“Ah.” That would make sense, Pei Ming conceded, and then also conceded that if Shi Qingxuan had any sort of aversion to water or boats, of course Shi Wudu would have known and dealt with it. There was too long a history and too many memories for Pei Ming to start pulling out specific ones, but in the back of his mind there did exist a moment where the Water Master proudly showed off a charm he’d made.

Protection against drowning, Pei Ming recalled now. It was always the most popular charm sold at his temples (something a reputation for capsizing boats likely contributed to).

Shi Wudu had always been a proud man, but never a boastful one. If he’d made that charm in the context of his younger brother being unable to swim though, his rare glee at the time made more sense.

And if he would make a charm to protect his brother from drowning, it followed that he would also make one to protect Shi Qingxuan from getting seasick.

Still, Pei Ming found the whole thing unpleasantly ironic.

“Let me see if I have anything. Your brother was always foisting various crap onto me.” Like a cat bringing his owner dead mice in a way. Pei Ming started patting down his pockets. “There’s bound to be a charm or two here somewhere…”

“Don’t bother,” Shi Qingxuan muttered. “They won’t work anymore.”

[lady-of-the-lotus]

The Undershirt

The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty - Suitang - 2k - G - first kiss fluff - AO3!

..............

“Hand it over,” orders Sui Zhou.

Tang Fan pouts, a pout somewhere in between his “I’m hungry, feed me” face and “Dinner was an hour late, I almost died” face.

“I ran out of clean ones,” he says when Sui Zhou holds out his hand, “and I had to pack in a hurry—”

“I had only three rules. Rule one: Don’t mess up my house again—”

“Alright, alright,” Tang Fan says before Sui Zhou can lecture him. Leave it to Sui Zhou to take an inventory of his clothes as soon as he got home, all because Tang Fan had left his things just the tiniest bit mussed! “Take your stupid undershirt back; it’s too big on me anyway.”

Sui Zhou turns back to his cooking as Tang Fan slips halfway out of his robe, making a face as he removes the undershirt. Missing Sui Zhou, Tang Fan had pilfered the distinctive draped-neck garment from his things after he’d left on his ill-fated “business trip.” “Happy now, Sui-baihu?”

Sui Zhou glances up briefly from the soup, eyes flickering over Tang Fan. Sui Zhou’s handsome features are soft in the warm yellow candlelight and the orange glow of the stove. “Better.”

Tang Fan stands there with his robes draped around his waist, chest exposed, shyly holding the undershirt in front of him, watching Sui Zhou’s strong, sure hands as they slice vegetables and meat and then, once dinner is cooking, assemble the dessert, grinding the sesame seeds and working the delicate mixture.

A swell of fondness fills Tang Fan’s chest as Sui Zhou puts the finishing touches on the little sesame cakes, decorating each with a pink circle of honeyed flower petals.

"Aren't you going to put the undershirt back on?” Tang Fan asks as Sui Zhou puts the last petal in place. Most of the shyness has worn off as Sui Zhou tells him about how he developed the recipe, his deep voice low and soothing as it fills the cozy little kitchen.

"Later." Sui Zhou glances up, eyes flickering once again over Tang Fan's bare chest before returning to his work. Perhaps it's the warm glow of the candle, but Tang Fan imagines there's a hint of color in Sui Zhou's cheeks.

Too late it occurs to him that he should have at least put his robes back up over his arms and chest. Jiejie had driven it through his head that to wear robes without an undershirt was uncouth and a sure way to get the robes dirty, but…

"Do you still have your prison clothes? That was a good look." The question escapes Tang Fan before he can censor himself. "I mean—your uniform is good too—I mean, your normal undershirt is better than that prison one.” He dangles the undershirt from his fingertips, as if this question was just an extension of him returning Sui Zhou's undershirt. “I mean...”

Sui Zhou cranes his neck away slightly, as if trying to avoid looking at Tang Fan but probably only checking to make sure Dong'er isn't nearby to see Tang Fan in this state of undress. "Be careful with that. You're going to set the kitchen on fire again."

Grinning, and more at ease now that the conversation is back in familiar teasing territory, Tang Fan sidles closer to Sui Zhou, waving his shirt near where the mutton soup is bubbling on the fire. "Oh, that was on purpose. You know, to get you to free Dong'er—"

Sui Zhou gives him that look of his, the one that appears completely expressionless but in fact contains a half dozen emotions from all corners of the spectrum. "You set fire to my house on purpose?"

"Well—"

"What about the time you fell asleep with the candle beside your bed, and the time you tripped and fell holding the lamp—"

"Fine, it wasn't on purpose. But the bad food was! I can cook, if I wanted to—”

"You can't cook."

Tang Fan inches closer. He's not quite sure why. "You could teach me."

Sui Zhou frowns slightly. "You step foot in my kitchen without me here, and you sleep outside with the sheep."

Tang Fan wrinkles his nose. "The sheep has a name ."

"Li Qing?"

Tang Fan almost drops the undershirt on the stove. "How did you—”

Sui Zhou turns away again as if to hide a grin. Li Qing is the main character of Tang Fan's magnum opus, My Sexy Lady .

"You didn't read it!" Tang Fan leans forward in consternation. He's not sure why he's so thrown. It's a brilliantly-written work, like all of his books, but somehow to have Sui Zhou privy to—to all that — "Wang Zhi told you or something—wait till I get my hands on him!"

Sui Zhou is definitely holding back a grin. "I liked the part where the ‘sexy lady’ sets fire to Shi Yang's house after she thinks he stole her necklace."

"That never happened! She never did anything half so crazy!”

Sui Zhou is no longer holding back his smile. "Maybe in the sequel, My Sexy Wife."

Tang Fan laughs out loud. People who don't know Sui Zhou think he's stiff and cold and completely humorless, but Tang Fan knows better. It's subtle, but Sui Zhou's sense of humor and appreciation of the outlandish is definitely there. If it weren't, Tang Fan doesn't think he would get along with him as well as he does.

Which, when he stops to think of it, is rather odd. His getting along with him so well, not the sense of humor. Despite having lived in the capital for years, and having many acquaintances, Tang Fan has few close friends. As he knows he’s a delight to be around, never complaining and generously standing people meals, he can only assume it’s a failing in other people.

A failing that Sui Zhou evidently doesn’t have, to appreciate Tang Fan’s virtues, both hidden and overt.

It’s not that Tang Fan annoys people. That can’t possibly be it, no matter what Jiejie says. But he can’t deny that not everyone appreciates him, and that hurts, sometimes.

A sudden thought, and Tang Fan abruptly stops laughing. Why did Sui Zhou pick that example? Surely it was just a joke after what they'd been talking about—he knows it is—but of all characters to pick—

Tang Fan had based a lot of Li Qing on himself. Like him, she's a beautiful genius often put-upon by those who fail to appreciate her properly, driven to do the right thing at whatever costs, someone who appreciates fine food and faces the world with a smile no matter how she's feeling.

No. Sui Zhou is just teasing him, as usual. That's it. He probably hadn't even finished the book...

He wants to ask Sui Zhou if he liked the book, but despite it being his best-selling work, he’s hesitant to ask. Sui Zhou is nothing if not honest, and what if he didn’t truly like it?

Tang Fan resolves to start work on a sequel that night. Perhaps Shi Yang could enter the imperial guards and, together with Li Qing, solve a series of increasingly exciting mysteries that pit them against the world. Back to back, they’ll chase justice and stand strong against the winds of—

“Here.” Sui Zhou slides the plate of sesame cakes towards him. “For coming to get me.”

Tang Fan grins. “You mean rescuing you.”

Sui Zhou turns back to the soup. "Just eat them."

Tang Fan inches even closer, more to annoy Sui Zhou than anything else, he thinks. "Go on, say it. I rescued you."

"Keep this up, and you're getting kicked out of my kitchen."

" Your kitchen? Why is it—oh, right. It's your house." Tang Fan looks down at the sesame cakes. It's almost a shame to eat them, they’re so beautifully decorated. "Am I allowed to eat them before dinner, or are you going to get all sulky?"

Sui Zhou gives Tang Fan a look as if to say, I'm not the childish one here, and reaches for a sesame cake just as Tang Fan does. Their fingers brush, and tingling current runs up Tang Fan's arm. Startled, he jerks away, dropping Sui Zhou's undershirt on the stove.

Spattered in mutton grease, it erupts in a column of flame.

"Augh!" Panicking, Tang Fan drops the shirt in the soup. “Put it out! Put it out!”

Sui Zhou snatches the shirt out of the soup and drops it in a pot of water. "What did I just tell you about setting my house on fire?"

Smiling weakly, Tang Fan begins sidling in the opposite direction as Sui Zhou comes closer. "You startled me! You grabbed at me just as I was trying to eat, I haven't eaten all day, I was hungry, you forced me to take a cake—"

He bumps up against the wall. Sui Zou leans over him, one arm framing him, his face a mix of exasperation and—and fondness, Tang Fan wants to believe, though it’s hard to when there's a charred, soup-soaked undershirt not five feet away.

"It wasn't my fault I burned your shirt!" Tang Fan continues bravely. Whining has always worked on Old Pei and Jiejie, though he still hasn’t quite learned the exact point Jiejie’s indulgence tips over into slapping-him-across-the-face territory, hence all the slapping. "Tired after weeks of traveling, traveling across half the empire to rescue you, if you recall, weeks of seasickness and danger and unpadded saddles and not being able to finish my rice noodles in the one good restaurant between here and I thought you were dead at one point, and that was almost as bad as the noo—"

Sui Zhou bends forward and kisses him.

Tang Fan goes rigid.

Did—did Sui Zhou just—

Sui Zhou kisses him again, as if to clear up any doubts.

"Well, that's one way to stop you from talking," he says.

Tang Fan's heart is beating like a war drum, but strangely enough it's not from nerves. There's a smile on Sui Zhou's lips (rather full lips, he notices. Until now he's been too distracted by his arms and shoulders and—well—all the rest of him, most likely), and there's definite fondness in his eyes.

"I once talked through an acupuncture session for a sore tooth," Tang Fan says boastingly, more to calm his nerves than anything else.

He’s never been kissed before. Or rather, being a man, perhaps it was more appropriate to say he’d never kissed anyone before.

He’d always changed the subject when Old Pei brought it up. The local girls had never interested him, and he’d never though there were other— options—

"You can ask him at dinner,” he blusters on, pulse fluttering. “I was probably able to give him some good tips and pointers, I once read a book on acupuncture that—"

Sui Zhou shuts him up again, cupping his face in his hand. It smells of honey and spice, the callused palm somehow soft against Tang Fan's cheek, his long fingers curling around the back of his neck as he kisses him.

Tang Fan is suddenly very aware that he's half-naked, but it's somehow nice being around Sui Zhou like that, not uncomfortable as he's sometimes felt in the past around others. Natural, despite his first-time nerves.

He suddenly realizes that Sui Zhou is looking down at him as if waiting for him to say or do something.

"Am I allowed to speak again?" Tang Fan asks.

Sui Zhou half-smiles. "Nothing could stop you from talking for very long."

"I want another one of your undershirts, but a black one this time. I saw one tucked away in the chest, but Dong'er said it wouldn’t match my robes, though what does she know? I want the black undershirt, and—"

"Black to hide any future char?"

"This was an accident! You startled me!"

"The one you were wearing today is mostly black now, after you set it on fi—"

Tang Fan kisses him.

"You're right," he says, grinning at Sui Zhou, who seems to have forgotten how to speak. "That does work."

*

AO3

[ellysfir]

That day there had been no time to stop and think; once everything was done He Xuan had went to work right away not only in getting rid of the brothers and the wretches, none of which he had any lingering use for, but also making it so that his domain could no longer be entered from the same path, abandoning those waters altogether. Surely the heavens would come searching. Not to mention, wasn’t Pei Ming still lost somewhere in his territory? No matter; he’d figure it out.

If not for the voice of Crimson Rain tapping into their communication array He Xuan wouldn’t have realised just how long he’d been sitting in silence ever since hiding himself away. It carried an unusual tone – questioning, testing as if uncertain they were still tethered. Whether he was still there. «I take it you plan to default on your debt.»

He Xuan immediately understood that it wasn’t what Hua Cheng was really asking.

«I refuse.»

Then came a puff of strange laughter, the reply just as short as his own. «Oh good.» He couldn’t tell whether it was sarcasm, nor did he feel like pondering it.

It remained quiet between the two of them until the other ghost king sent for him to help with the human array, an event he removed himself from as quickly as possible.

«He’s looking for you.»

He Xuan ignored the sharp voice as it cut in over the wailing of spirits and people alike; of course he was, the fool. Look at the state he was in.

Of course, that wasn’t the first time he’d seen Shi Qingxuan since killing (he couldn’t claim it to be revenge – he’d been angry, tore him apart on impulse and gained nothing, he was not satisfied and the regret he now carried was heavy) his brother; he checked up on him from time to time, all in passing. It was only the first time he’d interacted with him, forever how much it counted. However from that day he began more closely watching his former companion, conflicted, resolved never to reveal himself again.

His familiars were not like Hua Cheng’s wraiths and so he came in person, whether wearing a fake skin or lurking in the distance, keeping vigil while Shi Qingxuan went about his day-to-day with his new life and friends. It was only the humans that held any of his concern; ghosts would not dare approach this area knowing he frequented it, regardless whether he was there or if he left behind bone fish to circle the outside of the city and the wooded areas nearby, unseen.

Shi Qingxuan trying to bait him out wasn’t something he expected to take place, he didn’t know why it became a daily ritual nor did he have the will to investigate. It marked the end of the day for Shi Qingxuan however, He Xuan beginning to take that as his cue to leave.

From the distance today was no different than the days prior. Once he was finished here he swept back into the darkness of the trees, disappearing from the edge of the city just as swiftly as the heathered mist on the water when facing the sun, the withering skreigh of two bonefish as they crossed behind him the only sound marking his departure.

As he turned a small perch tumbled out from a dark, shimmering sleeve. It spun itself upright in the air, watching its master off. It was a vengeful little spirit, not quite like the other such spirits that accompanied Black Water or lurked within the depths of his lair, some so ancient they were like fossils. This was less of a pet, more self-aware, and even retained a translucent shadow of a body. It interacted as if it were its own person and had a long time ago been given the name Shanyao – one of the two names He Xuan and his fiancée in their youth had chosen one spring afternoon while making plans for a family. Being as it was, often it did its own thing. Lately this new hobby was stealing the food He Xuan refused to touch.

In complete honesty the only reason Shi Qingxuan was even continuing to leave food out was because he must have believed that he was appealing to their master, that he was feeding him. That was too bad. For as long as He Xuan was not ready to accept such offerings Shanyao would gladly. He used to sneak it treats from Shi Qingxuan anyway and it perhaps desired that sense of normalcy more than He Xuan was willing to accept he’d grown fond of the other during their time together, no matter that the food left for him wasn’t anything compared to the bits it was permitted to nibble on before.

Like the heavenly officials, ghosts didn’t need to eat – it was simply a luxury they indulged in. In life it may not be so ravenous as the silver carps who fed relentlessly, but looking at this bowl now? The amount of offerings had increased and thus that perch spent the rest of the evening forcing every bit into its little belly, eating until it was so stuffed they could no longer move.

Night came and went, when suddenly there was a curious sound above them. Shanyao wiggled back to the waking world, quickly noticing that there was sunlight starting to pour into the dish it ended up sleeping off its meal in. Then they noticed something else. Someone was standing by observingly, it must have been the thoughtful sound they’d made which woke it.

Wait.

Oh no.

Oh no, no.

Just as quickly the perch flipped over and bounced, sliding down the bowl and rolling in the residue and crumbs as it tried repeatedly to escape, too fattened and startled to remember that it could make itself incorporeal and instead struggled for quite some time, almost knocking the bowl over once, before it became tired and laid on its side. It twitched once then became motionless, pretending to die.

Dawn Brings an Honoured Guest

Characters: Shi Qingxuan, He Xuan, Shanyao Timeframe: Post series @ellysfir @windmasterreturns

Shi Qingxuan was slowly dragged from his sleep by the sunrise creeping across the floor of the temple he had spent the night in. Out of shadows to slowly retreat into he finally conceded, standing up carefully before stretching slowly and sighing a little as his body loosened. How in the heavens had Xie Lian endured this for 800 years? It was the only part of his routine he still hadn’t adapted to – hopefully when he set out on his next cultivation trip, he could find a mat or some hay to lie on.

He had made a lot of friends, many of whom were eager to offer their support, but he was determined to independently carve out his own fate – this time it would be different. Even when he was so ravenous he could feel the back of his stomach, curled up in conditions so frigid his extremities stung; he knew this was nothing compared to what Ming- He Xuan had endured after suffering the result of his brother’s cruelty – after he, himself had unwittingly stolen the silver spoon from Scholar He’s mouth, and left him to suffer the fate that should have been his own. He plucked his robe up from where he had been lying and slipped it on, pulling it closer around himself. He had thought he’d known his brother, but he had been gravely mistaken; Shi Wudu in the end had been like a stranger. His fingers traced over his neck idly as he remembered that night, it was something he thought about far too often.

Slowly his expression lifted, and the warm, familiar pull of a smile found his lips again. Speaking of He Xuan… it was time to check on last night’s offering. Dining alone after descending had been so difficult, and even though he had easily made friends to eat alongside. The empty spot at his side pained his heart, so much so that he quickly began dividing his meals daily, leaving the other half out for – well, just in case. It had been surprisingly easy to convince the others to leave the be, once he explained that he had previously been a god (whether they believed it or not was another story). For what felt like an eternity, he had awoken to find the food untouched, until a couple of months ago. At first the empty plates were infrequent, but since the moon’s last cycle, every meal had been eaten.

He limped slowly out of the temple, lingering in the doorway momentarily as he leaned forward, peering to the side, and he fished a familiar object out of his sleeves. He had gathered his precious fan after the incident with the human array circle, and while it could no longer be opened, he still fondly held it up, and tapped it delicately against his lips. His brows raised in surprise at the sight before him. “…oh?”

[queensconquest]

@aristarchos​​​ said: ❝ tomorrow is a new day. let’s go to bed. // lw and pm

( WAYS TO SAY YOU CARE )

   “  Just  another  day  to  slave  away  at  it  all.  “  Ling  Wen  quips  back  ,  tone  light  and  easy  —  and  a  complete  mismatch  to  her  exhausted  expression  as  she  gestures  around  to  everything.

   He’s  just  trying  to  care  for  her  ,  she  knows  that.  They’re  alone  in  her  palace  ,  so  she  pulls  free  the  pins  and  ties  that  keep  her  hair  up  ,  a  small  wave  of  relief  to  her  headache  washing  over  her  as  her  hair  falls  loose  and  free.  Then  she  leans  back  against  Pei  Ming’s  chest  ,  but  neither  confirms  nor  denies  his  suggestion.  Not  yet  ,  just  a  moment.  Her  eyes  close  ,  but  it’s  clear  she’s  still  awake.

   “  Did  I  ever  tell  you  what  my  punishment  was  supposed  to  be  for  writing  Not  Xuli   ?  Back  before  I  was  brought  up  to  the  middle  court  ?  “  Her  voice  is  calm  ,  quiet  in  the  light  of  the  orange  glow  of  the  candles  at  her  desk  ,  fending  of  the  darkness.  “  Public  execution.  “  Now  Ling  Wen’s  eyes  open  slightly  ,  gazing  at  her  palace  cloaked in  shadows.  “  I  wrote  a  lot  before  that  in  my  cell.  Whatever  I  wanted  to  write  ,  I  had  the  freedom  to.  I  was  going  to  die  anyways.  I  did  when  on  the  run  too  ,  before  General  Nan  Yang  dragged  me  back.  I  thought  it’d  be  that  long  delayed  execution.  So  I  wrote  ,  made  up  for  all  the  years  I’ve  been  unable  to.  Stashed  them  here  and  there  as  I  moved.  “  She  exhales  ,  letting  more  of  herself  sink  into  Pei  Ming’s  warmth.  “  Funny  how  much  freedom  I’ve  had  in  writing  at  terrible  times.  “

   She  can’t  say  why  she’s  said  this  now  of  all  times.  Now   ,  long  after  her  ascension  and  long  after  the  other  gods  have  forgiven  and  forgotten  her  role  with  Jun  Wu  (  which  ,  admittedly  ,  hadn’t  been  that  huge  ).  They  rarely  talk  about  those  days  now. There  was  a  part  of  her  that  always  missed  that  freedom  to  write.  The  closest  she  got  these  days  was  helping  her  worshippers  with  their  work.  These  last  two  weeks  had  been  especially  heavy  on  her  ,  even  more  than  usual.

   Her  lips  quirk  slightly  ,  her  expression  complicated.  “  I  had  one  written  for  you.  Hid  it  somewhere  you  might  have  checked  if  the  worst  case  happened.  “  And  the  expression  was  gone  as  she  clicks  her  tongue.  “  Even  if  mine  ends  up  in  some  museum  ,  it’s  far  more  tasteful  than  any  of  your  letters.  “  She  teases  him  to  lighten  the  mood  as  she  turns  her  face  upwards  to  Pei  Ming  with  a  small  smile.  “  I  will  continue  to  tease  you  on  your  writing.  “  She  adds.

   Maybe  they  should  go  to  bed.  her  cheek  presses  to  his  shoulder  ,  exhaustion  too  great  to  make  her  want  to  move.  “  Alright.  Bed.  “  She  agrees  ,  focused  on  little  else  than  the  warmth  and  comfort  of  resting  against  him.  “  You’re  carrying  me.  “  An  order  ,  even  if  she  knows  its  one  he’ll  be  all  too  happy  to  obey.

[sunmaylight]

TGCF Book 2 Reactions pt. 3

Hahaha...:’)

So, yeah...book two. I will say this, book two made me react so much with everything that I was sad at the end (and I hear that this angst will continue in book 4. I don’t think I will be ready for it).

Anyhow, my thoughts. Which are sorted in a scrambled mess cause my reading app couldn’t organize it by the page numbers. No, everything is organized in a weirdly organized way that doesn’t make sense. So I will do my best to sort everything out.

*sniff* Dianxia~

Ch 75: Close the Gates.

“People of Xian Le have purer blood than everywhere else”

- Me: Fudging Harry Potter Blood Purity, no. Discrimination to the rest of the country.

Tensions rising as the refugees of Yong’An tries to live in the Xian Le kingdom with the citizens of the kingdom. It breaks because of a dog and theft. Chaos as the citizens and refugees brawl

- Me: Ah yeah. Saw that coming a mile away. Cause there is no structure, or plan to house refugees in a Kingdom like Xian Le, it will all explode in the Kindom’s face in the worse way possible.

Lang Ying is reintroduced

- Me: *GASP* YOU

Xie Lian not understanding why Lang Ying didn’t go back to Yong’An. 

With the tension between Yong’An and Xian Le rising, it is getting stressful for Xie Lian. He is learning that the world is bigger than what is taught in the palace. Add Lang Ying’s involvement makes Xie Lian feel lost. All of the people’s distress is piling onto him.

- Me: Xie Lian, that is a part of growing up. Learn about the vast world and all walks of life who live in it. Expand your perspective of what the world is and learn about all walks of life

- Me: ...why do I feel like I’m a hypocrite for saying that even though I am still learning myself?

King of Xian Le closes the gates and kicks out the Yong’An refugees after their numbers become overwhelming

- Me: I understand why the king has done that. Depending on the economy of Xian Le, it can’t support refugees that could double, if not triple the population if everyone was accepted. It would lead to economic collapse. Also, there is the fact of finding housing for all of them. What if there isn’t enough buildings, what then?

- Me: But I also think the king could have done it better and set up teporary relief stations that will assist Yong’An people find refuge somewhere else if he is worried of overpopulation and how the people of Xian Le will react to the other citizens of Xian Le. *Remembers that the capital thinks of themselves higher like discriminating others outside of the capital* Actually. The kingdom should have done something better, even if it will have a political backlash.

- Me: This will bite the kingdom of Xian Le in the bottom later. I can feel it in my bones.

Ch 76: “...GO, EASTWARD...”

- Me: Actually, now that I think about it. I need a map of Xian Le to figure everything out.

A family of three dies while trying to get help for their child who is suffering from a heatstroke.

- Me: Shit this is the breaking point. Will the Human-Face Disease follow? Shit, is the Human-Face Disease a curse from the people of Yong’An

The people of Yong’An are trying to climb up the wall. Lang Ying makes it to the top and the start of the coup(?) begins.

- Me: Shot! Fu-dge!

Ch 77: Xie Lian finally learning that the world is bigger than imagined. That everything isn’t as simple as he perceives. That hard choices has to be made for it to work out in the end. Not everything can be black or white, there is gray. 

- Me: Oh, Xie Lian.

Ch 78: A trampled flower that barely has some of the original color on it

- Me: Oh, shit. Flower symbolism

Xie Lian descends to the battlefield. 

- Me: Fu-dge. No! Nope! Not this shiiiiik *sigh* Xie Lian made this 10x graver with more political meaning among other representations behind it with him helping out to defend Xian Le.

Xie Lian’s aftermath of his first kill.

- Me: :(

Xie Lian: “I hope the sight of the three of us standing together fighting will become a tale of the ages.”

- Me: Oh that is too pure and something that should NEVER be said in a shounen manga.

Ch 79:A Young Solider with bandages pushes Xie Lian out of the way before an arrow hits him. Is revealed to try and show off in front of Xie Lian during battle.

- Me: HONG HONG-ER!?

Xie Lian finds Qi Rong hanging upside down like those corpses in book one.

- Me: Ah, is this where Qi Rong’s trauma and trademark comes from?

White-Clothed Ghost appears.

- Me: Fu-dge. 

A swollen hand wraps around Xie Lian’s ankle. 

- Me: *Inhale* Is it the same ankle as his cursed shackle? The forewarning.

Ch 80: It’s a trap for Xie Lian

- Me: Why not contact anyone and tell them about the white-clothed ghost you saw?

Author’s notes: There are many types of cultivation. You could cultivate by banging all the time, or never have sex.

- Me: Ah yes. The parallelism between Pei Ming and Xie Lian

Ch 81: Xie Lian hit with an aphrodisiac like drug.

- Me: Yikes. Good luck with that Xie Lian

Demon calling young soldier a “cursed little brat”. Then reveals some form that made him flintch.

- Me: It IS Hong Hong-Er! I wonder what that form is.

-Okay going to stop here. Didn’t realize I had a lot of notes for book two. ((Especially since this is the area in the book where my reading app glitched on my and told me this chapter has over 100 pgs. 10x more than the usual average)) So going go make a third post now

[mousehole5000]

wow i made this draft on november 1st i really took a break from this huh anyway tgcf chapters 121 - 142

i realize now this coffin scene was inevitable. feel kinda weird about hua cheng  back and forth from Teen to Big Man but it is very funny that theyre having their “dude dont look at my boner” moment while in the jaws of a water dragon

pei ming: why didnt you guys make a bigger coffin so you didnt have to squish together like that? xie lian: haha yep!! anyways what brings you here?

“In the grand, spacious centre of the entrance hall sat a person. And this person, dressed in all black, its face snow-white—was a corpse! Instantly Xie Lian shut the doors soundly.” - king of minding his own business.

okay this is where i stopped putting notes here for a while but i did save some in my e-reader so here’s some of the highlights

“Guzi used to have a good sleeping form, but perhaps with his cheap dad’s bad influence, now he was also spread out on top of Qi Rong’s stomach like a dead fish. Lang Ying himself was curled neatly in the corner, and was covered by a few shirts. Xie Lian lifted the blanket covering Qi Rong, suppressed the urge to smother his face, and covered the two small children.” - xie lian funny moments. also it would be really funny if qi rong redeems himself by learning love through these misfit chiildren and it might actually endear me to him but i hope that doesnt happen

Every heavenly official was yelling, and even Ling Wen was throwing a fit. “DON’T THROW EVERY BIT OF USELESS INFORMATION MY WAY, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK I HAVE TO GO THROUGH EVERY DAY? DON’T YOU ALL KNOW TO USE YOUR BRAINS A LITTLE BEFORE ASKING ME?!” - ling wen marry me right now

“An expression like “seen a ghost” that only mortals experienced was now showing on his face for the first time. Shi Wudu’s pupils shrank to the smallest they could, and he blurted, “You’re still alive?!” “I’m dead!” He Xuan said coldly.” - okay everythings going tits up rn but i did laugh

i did see spoilers re: ming yi/he xuan reveal + shi wudu’s fate beforehand so i dont have a genuine reaction other than oh shit

“He slowly enunciated each word. “I won’t touch your fate. But, here in this place, chop off your brother’s head for me.”  CLANG! He threw a rusty blade onto the ground. Shi Qingxuan stared at that blade, his eyes wide. He Xuan continued, “Then, never show yourself before me again, and I will pretend you’ve never existed in this world.” - okay idk what else is going to happen but rn im concerned that this is like the 2nd biggest ship. i guess we’ll see?? i mean i am really curious whats going to happen to them. shi qingxuan keeps calling he xuan “ming-xiong” and i... sad

shi wudu im not really invested in you as a character but these next two bits... interesting

“If I don’t die but have nothing, then that’s truly a fate worse than death. If I’m not the Water God, I can’t take care of you. I won’t even be able to protect myself. I’m scared that we won’t even last two days…TAKE IT!” - damn. something about the wealthy losing everything and not knowing how to live without it bc thats their entire life and identity

“EVERYTHING I HAVE TODAY, I FOUGHT FOR MYSELF. I WILL FIGHT FOR WHAT I DON’T HAVE. I WILL CHANGE FATE I DON’T POSSESS. MY FATE IS UP TO ME AND NOT THE HEAVENS!” - okay so the whole committing spiritual fraud by tormenting a man and his family to get your brother a cushy title thing aside this was kind of badass. heretical? possibly. but still. also is he intentionally riling up he xuan so sqx doesnt have to kill him? if so damn...

also okay as long as im here im just gonna say it. the choice that he xuan gives shi qingxuan is fucking brutal but i actually think its probably as fair as it could be. sqx didnt know about or participate in what happened to hx but they did benefit from it greatly while hx lost EVERYTHING and i can understand he xuan’s thinking of “if you really feel bad for what happened to me then you have to make a sacrifice and understand the suffering and this is as clean as its going to get” and theres a bit where sqx is trying to beg for mercy but cant get the words out which im guessing is bc theres no good argument!! what happened was fucked up!!

“When Pei Ming saw that reinforcements had arrived, he didn’t appear particularly delighted; instead he threw the sword into the ground, then rubbed his nose and said, sounding grim, “You all just had to come just as I finished making these, what the heck.” - pei ming making coffins chopping down trees with his sword i love it #wastehistime2k17

“Xie Lian brought that basket of eggs along, and gave them away as souvenirs from the mortal realm. Many who received the eggs were overjoyed; some deciding to eat it along with their own blood, and some proclaiming they would hatch an eight-foot monster.” - GHOST CITY GHOST CITY

“Placing the brush down, he blew lightly at the ink and smiled. “If I like something, then my heart will not have room for any other, and I’ll always treasure it. A thousand times, a million times, no matter how many years, this will not change. This poem is the same." - thats nice and all but king... get therapy. i actually have further thoughts but tbh i dont want to put them into words bc they are simply too personal! moving on

didnt take any notes but somewhere in here was the bit with mount tong’lu opening and hua cheng losing it and kind of um. hm. that scene. thats another trope i really hate tbh i dont care for it as a way of including physical intimacy between characters and idk if it really ever adds anything but whatever moving on

The Half-Maquillage Woman - kind of interesting monster idea bc women and aging…. yeah. however i think this would be a lot stronger if there were a) more girls and this was b) discussed or illustrated at all prior to this moment. still interesting that its included knowing the author is a woman tho and there’s been comments on how ling wen is perceived vs pei ming. this book does keep giving me hope for interesting female character arcs i really want it to deliver something

quan yizhen..... i get u

lmao i have a note on a bit with lang ying that says “please dont be hc in disguise” and..... my clown nose was on but at least i knew that. for real this is bothering me how much he’s just. always. there. i know he’s a lead but we didn’t really need him around for a lot of this. oh well.  okay now to my current notes

“Yet it was precisely because it wasn’t cooked that it had to be eaten quickly. Once Xie Lian cooked it, it wouldn’t be edible anymore” - fucking fantastic

“Xie Lian hugged his belly. “Of course! Only after having met you did I rediscover that it’s such a simple thing to be happy, hahaha…” Hearing this, Hua Cheng blinked. Xie Lian’s laughter quieted a bit, realizing what he just said was a little too revealing.” - okay i know i said what i said about being tired of hua cheng being everywhere but... the line…. the fact that theyre laughing together…. :pleading:

“It’s not,” Ling Wen said. “At least, I believe, there will definitely not be another in history who can create a dish called ‘Incorruptible Chastity Meatballs’” - and truer words were never spoken

“I, DO NOT WORSHIP GODS. “I, AM GOD!” - this was every bit as badass as i hoped but no one told me it was immediately followed up by a little bit of the ol dinner theater fjalkdsfjsd. also puqi shrine noooooooooo

“Xie Lian sighed as he thought, “Qi Rong has taken Guzi away, who knows if the poor child was eaten or abandoned. Wind Master...... ..... who knows if Black Water took him away. Pray they’re both safe.” yeah hey are we going to fucknig. find out what happened to the child???

and yeah i dooooont really care for the age regression? thing thats going on. i just dont like that trope tbh. but tiny hua cheng whipping out his fat ghost king wallet in the store was funny tho. it is really funny that hualian are just like wandering around some random towns while the heavens are in an uproar. i guess theres not much else to do but its funny

“Me too, me too. You all know of my shixiong, right? Talented, with an infinite future! He only had one small vice: he loved playing women. Decades ago, a little prostitute ghost seduced my shixiong and sucked him dry into human jerky, and that Hua, Hua, Hua, that ghost king dared shelter her.” - yes omg give me the forbidden hua cheng lore i love this for him for real it goes along nicely with xie lian’s principles about giving another cup. god i love shared values

“Hua Cheng poked again, and a small hole appeared on the wall, as if the wall was made of tofu.” - how’d he do that. why is this a ghost king power. its useful tho

*me shaking qi rong when he pops up* WHERE IS THE CHILD

mu qing fu yao is here okay im happy now. once again no one has a good grasp on their secret identity and i love that. this inn has descended into chaos and im delighted and im glad lan chang is back

“The good ol’ kitchen was suddenly squished and crowded, loud and noisy. Fu Yao was chasing that fetus spirit leaping up and down, Lan Chang was chasing after Fu Yao like she had gone mad. Half of Qi Rong’s face changed shape by the way Xie Lian was pressing him down on the chopping board, his back turning into a target for those yellow talismans Fu Yao hurled while being observed by a crowd, and Lan Chang would step on him from time to time.” - this is pure chaos. i love that mu qing was in that room when the mob checked and he didnt say a word didnt open the door just sent out a talisman as a warning. king your disguise is transparent

“Xie Lian remembered the way Feng Xin laughed until he was hoarse when he first heard that verbal password all those years back, and couldn’t help but feel nostalgic, even though it wasn’t the right time.” - awwwww omg im emotional about this... faithful friend feng xin laughing at xie lian’s stupid joke password and remembering it!!! ;_;

“They have, but they’re not effective,” Feng Xin said. “Usually they’re the most diligent in scorning the Palace of Ling Wen, like they could do the job way better if they had the position. Now that we need them to take up the task, not a single one can do even half of what she does.” - typical... typical typical typical

also emotional about the fact that feng xin contacted xie lian at all.....

also!! emotional about lan chang as a mom and wanting to help out sick lil guzi.....

xie lian forcing “fu yao” to let him help “his general” is making me.... what is friendship if not playing along with your buddies little shenanigans while also making them accept your help

“Someone like Mu Qing, even though he’s narrow-minded, petty, sensitive and skeptical, has a bad personality, constantly guessing, doesn’t say nice things, likes to nag, always offending people and has a lot of people who dislike him, has no friends, can remember small, unimportant details for a long period of time…” ”Xie Lian went on in one breath with a straight face, but in the end he concluded with, “...But I’ve known him since we were kids, after all, he’s still got principles.” - XIE LIAN PLEASE AFJDLKSFJDL omg ive seen this quote before but i figured he was talking to someone else not actually to mu qing himself fgjasdkfjsl. god thats amazing. hey im gonna help you out because i care but i will roast you first <3

waaaaaait so is lan chang aka jian lan that girl from book 2 we took a page to talk about and then disappeared? that has to be it why else would we have stopped to discuss her

“Jian Lan spat on his face, then choking his neck, she slapped him twice again. “WHAT SHITTY SUPREME! YOU SURE KNOW HOW TO BLOW YOURSELF UP! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, THINK YOU’RE EVEN WORTH TO BE THOUGHT OF AS EQUALS WITH THE OTHER THREE SUPREMES? WHAT ARE YOU EVEN GOOD AT? YOUR THICK SKIN? OF COURSE I DARE HIT YOU!” - oh this feels so good i cant lie. YES GET HIM!! CHOMPING AND VIOLENCE YES!!!!

okay this description of cuocuo.... im... that sure the hell is a creature

this book is so entertaining bc i already saw spoilers for the feng xin/jian lan/cuo cuo reveal and yet i could never have predicted the circumstances that brought it about. imagine being feng xin. the heavens are in an uproar and your only friend/enemy has been jailed for possible fetus spirit-related crimes but he escapes along with this female ghost who keeps causing problems. you figure “fuck it lets see if dianxia kept his old phone number” and he has but then he hangs up on you. you’ve got fuckall else to do so you go find him. mu qing is there but he’s in his disguise the two of you were using so you could watch over his highness while staying aloof. you think you see hua cheng only he’s a chiild for some goddamn reason but who knows at this point. the female ghost is also there and theres a fetus spirit climbing trees and biting your arrows in half. you realize the female ghost is your ex and the little demon is your son. it bites you. what do you do

amazing that despite everything going on everyone is still playing along with the “fu yao” persona when it would probably be easier to drop pretenses at this point. then again tbh if i could explain my actions to my friends while pretending to be a third party.... i probably would so.. carry on

“With all his devotees gone, only Feng Xin still treated him like the Flower-Crowned Martial God and His Highness the Crown Prince. ” “...his protection charms were all seen as trash. However, Feng Xin was still determined and tireless in handing them out; telling Xie Lian, look, you still have devotees.” “After all, he was the darling of the heavens since birth, high and mighty. Feng Xin so naturally spun around him like he was the world, so how could he possibly have his own life, his own heart” “Whether or not that fetus spirit was Feng Xin’s son, if it was that period of poverty that made Feng Xin lose the girl he loved, Xie Lian wouldn’t be able to forgive himself no matter what." ohhhh my god this relationship i. im...

oh my god i still have 30 more chapters until book 4............ its naptime now i think

[tentative-wanderer]

Hi, tentativewanderer, ..do you mind if I ask a few questions?

Who is your fav main couple in mxtx novels (wangxian or hualian or bingqiu)? And why?

Who are your fav side couple (don't have to be canon) in mxtx novels (in each of the 3 novels)? And why?

Sorry if you have answered the questions before...

Of course I don’t mind ^^

Favourite main couple: WangXian a number of years ago, HuaLian at the moment. Overall I don’t prefer either of these pairs over the other, it’s just that I’ve finally allowed MDZS to settle in the depths of my soul while TGCF is still roiling somewhere closer to the surface.

I like WangXian because Wei Wuxian is just that charismatic and Lan Wangji is a great match for his personality. (You can see how my focus is more on Wei Wuxian...)

I like HuaLian because Xie Lian is inspirational. Hua Cheng’s devotion is sweet, saccharine even, but it would be batty if the recipient weren’t someone as good as Xie Lian. (You can see how my focus is more on Xie Lian...) They make me feel like I need to be better. Yeah I know how HuaLian is also about loving someone regardless of the state they’re in, but I don’t think that translates into loving unconditionally, if we wanna get technical about it. I think that as long as one is capable of reason, having the will to give to others is a vital ingredient (among other factors, perhaps) in becoming worthy of the overwhelming amount of love that Xie Lian and Hua Cheng get.

Bingqiu is fun(ny) but I’m biased against Shen Yuan(’s laziness) so this pairing wasn’t and isn’t my fave 🤣 but I enjoyed the humour.

Favourite side couples:

SVSSS: QiJiu :) I love Shen Jiu, and I love the pairing’s hints/implications/not-too-subtle-subtlety: https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/624462327370186752/here-are-my-favourite-heart-rending-tidbits-in. I wonder if such things were retained or got lost in translation. I never read more than a few passages of the English translation, so I don’t know. Anyway, the tragedy is tasty.

MDZS: Shuangdaozhang/SongXiao. I don’t always view them in a romantic light, I like how they’re friends too. They occupy a pleasant in-between spot on the friends-lovers spectrum; to me, their relationship doesn’t feel like it needs to/should be classified as one or the other. Its mere existence is valuable. Daozhang are zen like that :)

I like SongXiao because Xiao Xingchen is Nice. + nice contrast with Song Lan (XXC low laughing point, ie laughs easily, versus SL no laughing point, ie nothing is funny to him). + nice tragedy.

TGCF: I honestly didn’t sense any side pairings in TGCF. Other than Ling Wen/General Bai Jin, maybe 😆. Oh, there’s Feng Xin/Jian Lan and Pei Ming/Xuan Ji, but they’re a (surprisingly realistic and unromantic) tragedy and a disaster respectively, so...no.

Edit: wait. How could I forget my fic tagged Xie Lian/Misfortune (https://archiveofourown.org/works/28014660/chapters/68624541) and my Jun Wu pairings shitpost (https://tentative-wanderer.tumblr.com/post/639787500078071808/if-pairings-are-fckerfckee-then-tgcfs-hidden)? Those are my fave TGCF side couples.

[crowning-art]

TGCF SPOILERS

-------------------------------------------

Uhhhh......

Okeyy....??? I'm veryyy confused...and suspicious rn like very suspicious

As soon as I started reading, I'm like wait, what if Shi Wudu was at the door, then obviously Shi QIngxuan would open the door, right??? And that would also explain the repulsive reaction later on when the three tumours come. I'm telling you, Shi Wudu sent the Reverend of Empty Words after Shi Qingxuan, I dunno why....but i Just KNOW smt is up. Maybe he is being blackmailed?????

WHAT THE HECK???? SHI QINGXUAN IS THE LORD WHO POURED WINE????? DOES THIS HAVE SMT TO DO WITH SHI WUDU TOO?? IS THIS WHY HE SENT REVERAND OF EMPTY WORDS TO CAUSE PROBLEMS??? IM SO CONFUSED I dont trust Shi Wudu

WHAT IF SHI WUDU WROTE THIS TOO????

It was a row of large words, dripping with blood: “WRETCHED BEGINNING WRETCHED END”.

Ok I don't think he did, BUT WHAT IF HE'S THE CAUSE FOR THE WRETCHED END??? WHAT IF HE CAUSED THE WRETCHED BEGINNING TOO

The whole fancy sedan chair thing Hua Cheng sent was so cute and on brand for him lmao, but tHIS PART

In the next second, he heard those female ghosts say: “Yeah. And here I was so sure that golden litter was definitely for the madam wife!”

I mean...they aren't wrong tho lmao

- and of course, OF COURSE

WHAT THE HECK!? WHAT THE HECK!! CAN THESE TWO PLZ LET ME CONCENTRATE ON THE PLOT FOR TWO SECOND, LIKE IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR?! PLZ I LITERALLY FORGET EVERYTHING SERIOUS HBDIWBDWJNWJN WHY ARE THEY SO CUTE, MY HEART T-T

- And then he says...

Hua Cheng said slowly, “Then, believe me. Stay far away from Wind Master, Water Master, Earth Master, Ling Wen, and Pei Ming. The further away, the better.”

(Me and Xie Lian in our heads: WHY WHYYYYYYY WHAT IS HAPPENING???/ WHAT ARE YOU HIDING??? WHATS GOING ON?????) Ok I think he probably said this to protect Xie Lian from whatever evil will befall the rest, I don't think it's because they are evil or anything...unlessssss....Shi Wudu....

PLZ STOP SAYING SMT SERIOUS AND THEN SMT CUTE LIKE THIS I CAN'T STAND THE ROLLERCOASTER PLZ

He said, “I’ve long wanted to say something. If gege doesn’t feel secure living here, why not just move somewhere else?”

Xie Lian shook his head. “That’s easy for you to say, San Lang. Where would I move to?”

Hua Cheng smiled. “Why not move over to my place?”

Hehehe

Hua Cheng raised his brows. “En, that’s right. Virtuous and beautiful. A real noble and gracious special someone that I’ve liked since I was young. I’ve had that crush for many years, and pursued really hard before I was able to win that person over.

Hua Cheng grinned and added, “But, it wasn’t all a lie. I just haven’t won that person over yet.

Hehe we all know who you are talking about~

lol I missed Mu Qing and Feng Xin, thanks for the brief cameo lol reminded me of the good ol book 1 days

Uhhhh....UUUHHHHHH

Shi Qingxuan was trussed-up tightly, his hands and legs all bound with ropes. He was tied onto his own bed, but was still struggling unceasingly. Next to him, Shi Wudu was pacing back and forth by the bed, a bowl full of something black and unknown in his hands. He paused for a moment, then suddenly walked over, and forced its contents down Shi Qingxuan’s throat.

OK WHat the hell? WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?!!! YOU ARE LITERALLY DOING NOTHING TO MKAE YOURSELF LOOK BETTER SHI WUDU?! IM SO CONFUSED WHY IS THIS MADMAN TORTURING SHI QINGXUAN?! wait?? is the wind master possessed??? by that demon??? but the contents of the bowl seem evil???? Maybe he IS evil just as I have been thinking he is

I DUNNO

I DUNNO

I'm going back to pretending nothing is happening except cute Hualian moments (No, I'm lying, I'm trying to figure out what's happening)

PLZ NO SPOILERS FOR ME

[tazzmanien]

Something thoughts about Tian Guan Ci Fu (Heaven Officials Blessing) - possible spoilers

I did something... I went through all the posts that I've made while reading Tian Guan Ci Fu and thought I would collect some important points here that either don’t fit my review or I just need to repeat:

Can we all agree that Xie Lian is the only god out there?

I'm in love with Hua Cheng.

Somewhere at the beginning I said Hua Cheng will be the end of me. You know like the famous thing, he later said to Xie Lian after the confession. Awwww well sh**, apparently I really love a fictional character, who is btw a gay man and in love with the most perfect god ever. So my chances are about -100000000 or so.

I thought I was prepared for the pain, when in fact I wasn't. At one point, I even said that I was looking forward to read book 4. What am I, an idiot? And here I have the audacity to call others morons, idiots and dipshits... Book 4 should be obliterated from every existence.

I hated the gods from chapter 1. Really! That early on and from then it only got worse. All the worthy gods got kicked out of heaven or left on their own (3 total, Xie Lian and the two others would be huge spoilers so read the book).

BTW the humans were not better. Blaming gods for problems created by their own.

Everyone and everything in this book is a savage and a joker!

At the beginning I thought Fu Yao/Mu Qing and Nan Feng/Feng Xin, or as I like to call them Nimrod and Nimtodd, where some sort of devil and angel on one’s shoulder. Bwahahahaha when in fact they are just moronic siblings with Xie Lian as their Mom! Also I would like to apologize to Mu Qing for doubting him several times.

I can see myself in so many of the negative traits of the characters. For example, I am Prince Yong An (Lang Qian Qiu) sleeping while standing during a conference or He Xuan eating everything that is not able to run away or Xie Lian cooking or Mu Qing being a “genius” in communication.

Wind Master Shi Qing Xuan is a cute little sunflower queen.

Shi Qing Xuans and Ming Yi are Spongebob and Squidward Tentacles.

I love Quan Yi Zhen with all of my heart. There was even a second, when I thought that I wanted to adopt him. Well the thought flew by fast, as no way in hell would I ever adopt a disaster in the making, but I would do the blood oath to be BFFs with him :) Reminds me I never build that shrine for him that I promised.

The only MXTX character that I actually really dislike is Pei Ming. Come on, I even liked Qi Rong a tiny little itzy bitzy bit and he was a huuuuuuge pain in the rear. I quote myself: "Qi Rong you lil dipshit, one day I will personally jump into the novel to kick your ass I swear!" (I hope to god and the devil, that  I will never transmigrate into this novel.)

The scene I can't wait to be played out in a live action adaptation is actually not what you think... well it's the crazy fight in the inn, while Hua Cheng, looking like a child, is playing building a golden foil palace.

RuoYe - I will quote @naamah-beherit here as I think this is beautiful: “TFW you never knew you’d get emotional over a piece of silk”

Hua Cheng in a child form is the cutest thing ever to be. I want to squeeze a demon kings cheeks too.

I need more extras about Hua Cheng or a whole novel! I need more of his demon side!

[joyfulpoet]

The Lonely Wind God

Part 1

Kind of Beefleaf. I got stuck while writing the next chapter for my fic Handsome Brothers’ Daycare and started writing this. Mostly just thinking about how SQX and MY might have met and became friends in cannon. I feel it must have been mostly been SQX chasing after MY.

Shi Qing Xuan held a black and red drinking bowl in one hand while using the other to lightly rest his chin on. A smile kept tugging at the corners of his lips as his watched his companion scarf down food like his life depended on it. And maybe it did. At the moment he didn’t know much about the man other then he was mostly a recluse with a bad temper. But rather partial to food, especially if someone else was paying for it.

The restaurant that they sat in was one of Shi Qing Xuan’s favorites. It was a little hole in the wall place in the outskirts of the capital. The dishes, while maybe not the flashiest, were well prepared full of flavor. The floors were maybe a little grimy, but the staff was kind and hard working. And the wine! The wine here was the sweetest.

Before he’d ascend, Shi Qing Xuan had came here a lot with his Elder Brother. Though after Shi Wu Du’s own ascension he didn’t really have much time to play with his little brother in the human world. And while he’d made good friends in heaven, he didn’t think any of them would appreciate the place. But the Earth Master seemed like the type to not care if there was a scape or two on the floor, he’d be adding to it given enough time. And seeing how he was shoveling the food into his mouth with barely a second to breathe, Shi Qing Xuan was sure he liked the food just fine as well.

“Ming-Xiong!” Shi Qing Xuan called playfully after taking a sip of the wine in the bowl. “It’s fine if I call you Ming-Xiong right? You’re older then me after all? You seem older anyway.”

The other man paused with his chopsticks bringing steaming noodles to his mouth. He thought for a moment then shrug in a do-what-you-want sort of way, before noisily slurping the noodles. Finishing that he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand saying, “Doesn’t matter.”

It was a bit of an odd response, but Shi Qing Xuan was fine with odd. If it meant he now had someone to drag around with him whenever he wanted to play around in the human world. The heavens were nice and all, but it could get kind of boring after awhile. Most of the other officials, if not doing paper work or answering prayers, were usually lazing about gossiping. Which could also be fun in its own way, but when you’ve lived so long things tended to get repetitive. What might have been a juicy story 50 years ago gets rather dry and dusty after it repeatedly happening so many times.

The human world however was always exciting, new things were always happening. And Shi Qing Xuan liked excitement just as much as he liked his wine. Not more then wine though. Wine would always be his first love and everyone could die mad about it. But excitement of any kind was definitely his second love and lucky for him they went well together. It wasn’t hard to find a balcony with a good view at an establishment where their wine flowed like water with the right amount of incentive. And as the the very popular Wind Master he had a lot of incentives to throw around.

“Ming-Xiong, do you like it here? Is the food not some of the best you’ve had? You should try the wine as well! You wont find wine as sweet as the wine they sell here!” Shi Qing Xuan chittered away pouring a bowl for Ming Yi who continued to slurp and gulp his way through the literal feast laid out before them.

It had probably been a good hundred years into his own godhood before the Wind Master saw the other one for the first time. He’d definitely had heard of the man, but until then Ming Yi had spent very little time in the heavens, preferring the human realm. The first time Shi Qing Xuan approach the black clad man wearing a disgruntled expression he’d asked him why he’d preferred one place over the other. The man had just stared at the carefree master before him with narrowed dark eyes before replying “Fewer idiots.” Something in the way he said it made it sound more like “Go die”.

Shi Qing Xuan knew he was being lumped in with the “idiots”. He was use to it, though usually it was said with more affection. Even his elder brother would on occasion call him one. It should have made him angry that someone he barely knew called him an idiot, but for some reason this just made him even more interested in the man. After all, everyone in Heaven wanted to be on his good side for one reason or another. It made finding a genuine friend a little harder, and here was someone who wasn’t interested in the slightest! Perfect.

This current little outing was months in the making. Repeatedly Shi Qing Xuan invited the Earth Master to accompany him, and every time he was rebuffed. It was quite disheartening after awhile to be spurned so, such a feeling was so alien. Even as a mortal he’d never experienced such utter rejection! But the Wind Master wasn’t to be deterred, he’d make friends the grumpy recluse even if it was the last person he ever friended! Nothing was too lowly or shameful for him! His face was far too thick to care what others might think.

Which is precisely what he thought as he dove to capture the black clad ankle of the Earth Master after running into him while walk about the Emperor’s garden. Enjoying the sunshine, the Wind Master had seen in the distance a black figure that he’d come to know well over the past months. Excited, he’s rushed over to the man as he stood on a bridge over looking a well crafted pond with brightly colored koi swimming about. He seemed to be watching them so intently he didn’t notice the overly eager Wind Master until he was practically on top of him. Just as Shi Qing Xuan had open his mouth to greet him, Ming Yi had swiftly turned to run away. Which is how the man then found himself with a new accessory in the shape of the young Wind Master about his ankle.

With a disgruntled huff the Earth Master at first attempted to shake the man off, then tried to pry off his arms. But the Wind Master was nothing short of being sticky and not about to be budged. With a darken face, Ming Yi gave up his tugging and began to walk, dragging the man behind him. When the white clad man continued to cling to him, he veered off the well paved path onto the grass. A sadden whine escaped the man about his ankle but his arms did not loosen, even as the white sleeves of his very fine silk outer robes turned green. When this also fail to dislodge his cling-on Ming Yi found a rock path.

Shi Qing Xuan had let out a pained whimper at the sight of it, but somehow managed to tighten his grip about Ming Yi’s ankle even more. They inched closer. One step of a black boot, a long drag with the other. The Wind Master was soon faced with the very real possibility of having his stomach cut open by a million little white rocks. But he would NOT LET GO!

Two more steps.

One more step.

Sh Qing Xuan was having second thoughts about whether or not this possible friendship was worth it.

The boots stopped walking. A heavy defeated sigh came from the man above him.

“Fine. But you’re paying.”

The smile the Wind Master had been trying hard to suppress finally won out and stretched whole heartedly across his handsome face. He couldn’t help but feel pleased at the development. Ming-Xiong had even tried the wine, made a disinterested non-committal sound after trying it, but he still held his drinking bowl out for a refill. It might have been the buzz from the liquor, but he was feeling the warmest and most content he’d felt in a long time since his ascension. Shi Qing Xuan was sure he’d found someone he could share things with.

After wine and excitement, Shi Qing Xuan’s third love was company. Though this one definitely competed with his second love of excitement. Not all the company he kept enjoyed the same kind of excitement he enjoyed so it could be a bit difficult set things up so everyone was happy. Sometimes Shi Qing Xuan would rather have company then excitement, being alone was something the Wind Master could not bare for long periods of time. Growing up he had always had his Elder Brother around to keep him company along with whatever new friend he’d made. But after coming to the Heavens as his own Official, he found himself left alone more and more often. His brother was always busy being the Water Master or off somewhere with Ling Wen and Pei Ming. And it was hard to tell if the others Officials likes him for him or because he was rich and generous. Which was fine, company was company, but sometimes it made him even lonelier.

[mousehole5000]

more tgcf chapters 143-173 lets goooooo

PEI MING BOO HISS except actually okay he’s mostly funny i think but still boo hiss

“hey who’s this guy who’s really pissed at you?” “oh thats my sword. i broke it.” alright then!

i think i need to go back and reread the banyue pass arc bc im still confused as to whats going on with banyue and pei su

“Banyue dropped from the sky with two pots raised. Without a word, she plummeted with the mouths of the pots facing down, trapping and detaining the shocked Ming’guang and the roaring Ke Mo within.” - THATS MY GIRL

“It must be known that, to heavenly officials, it certainly was more than natural for kingdoms of the mortal realm to fight and annihilate one another; the acts of these plays progressing on endlessly. But when it came their own turn, it was often hard to let things go. If one must stand in the same court as the one who annihilated their own kingdom, and that man cavorted in the heavens, exceedingly flashy, then it must be vexing.” - hmmmm!!

“I’ve spoken too many words in this lifetime. What are you referring to?” - okay to be fair thats a mood

okay its nice to get some pei ming backstory and its funny that he and xie lian are bonding but also still whenever pei ming interacts with a female character my hackles rise like a cat lol

“Xie Lian watched as Banyue thought really hard before cheerfully pulling out a few long, wine-red scorpion-snakes, and putting them into the bubbling pot.” - THATS MY GIRL

“Although “smell” was something colourless and formless, the instant Banyue removed the pot cover, it was as if some mysterious physical object had twisted all the air around the mouth of that pot. The group stared at the sight within the pot for a long time. Their pupils reflected an endless, bottomless darkness; like it could pull them into the abyss. No words could describe the sentiment expressed within their eyes. A moment later, Xie Lian patted Banyue’s shoulder and gave a thumbs-up.” - like father-figure like daughter-figure. amazing.

“However, what if one day mortals discovered something completely new that ran faster than horses? Then, when this new invention overtook horses, worshippers of this heavenly official who controlled horses would inevitably decrease. Such heavenly officials, flashing by like shooting stars, made up the majority of the heavens.” - obsessed with this, genuinely. life and change. worship and its purpose. my religious studies diploma on my wall is screaming at me rn. ALSO i am once again thinking about celebrities

“...” It was only then that Pei Ming seemed to notice, and started to contemplate this question. A moment later, he answered, “A habit. In a dark, creepy place like this, isn’t it normal to hold women in your arms, to comfort them and calm their fears?” “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t scared,” Banyue said.” - BANYUE I LOVE YOU. I MISSED YOU SO MUCH. god this takes me back to every college party i ever went to

LING WEN BACKSTORY????? shoeseller chosen for godhood bc she wrote a political essay and got arrested...... and now she’s face to face with the official who appointed her..... do go on.....

“Ling Wen laughed out loud, seeming to be enraged, and her voice dropped. “Very well! You said I couldn’t reach that high. Then, might I ask you: had the prominence of the Palace of Jing Wen at its peak ever reached even the knees of my Palace of Ling Wen??” - GET HIM!!!! BOO HISS JING WEN

“Compared to you, I’m not that bad,” Ling Wen said. “You’d personally order me to stay in the Palace of Jing Wen until midnight, then turn around and say I shamelessly hang around ‘til late to harass you. Words murder without form; I was much nicer responding with blatant violence.” - ling wen im love you..... also this bit... feels Real

BLOOD RAIN BLOOD RAIN BLOOD RAIN!! FLOWER PETALS TRANSFORMATION!!! see hua cheng? look as how cool it can be when you leave the story for a little while!! bc then you get to return and make an entrance!!

“Not only can you bring forth bloody rain, you can also make flowers shower. I didn’t know that. How fun!” - cute!! and in that moment we were all xie lian

“Everyone was stunned by his deed, and Ling Wen arduously gave him a thumbs-up. ”Ol’ Pei, what a man!” Pei Ming gritted his teeth. “WELCOME!” - aww three two tumors buddies!!

okay yin yu is here and xie lian did the equivalent of asking someone when the baby is due only to find out theyre not pregnant at all. then rong guang taunts yin yu and no one says anything. i do love the amount of awkward moments in this book tbh sometimes there are no words.

“All around was sand and mud crushing at him, exceedingly suffocating. The sand and mud was also moving endlessly; the feeling was like he was swallowed into the stomach of a giant monster, and that monster had also eaten a bunch of other things besides him, tumbling everything in its stomach, trying to digest” - ooooh creepy!!! the red string thing... is cute.... also xie lian being able to see hua cheng’s butterfly vision by looking directly into his eye is kinda cool. and obviously homoerotic.

“Are lower-ranked heavenly officials below other people?” Quan Yizhen asked. “No,” Yin Yu replied. Were they not? It was obvious that he himself didn’t believe in his own words, and Quan Yizhen also noticed. A good while later, he said bluntly, “I don’t like it here.” Yin Yu said nothing.” - im having emotions. and then yin yu also saying he doesnt like it there either.... also idk how this scene is going to play out but as much as im enjoying quan yizhen being an icon i can also possibly see how yin yu could eventually get to the point of “i am tired of being nice. i do just want to go apeshit” even if he really cares about qyz. it happens </3

“Indeed,” Hua Cheng said. “Half a year later when Quan Yizhen actually ascends, he won’t find it so funny anymore.” “Can we watch that part too?” Xie Lian asked. “We can. Hold on,” Hua Cheng replied.” - quan yizhen king of taking things literally. also why did this turn into hualian having a movie night

jian yu seems like the kind of asshole who would purposely give someone regular soda when they specifically asked for diet soda. god yin yu is really having a bad day i really feel for him in the whole situation with the brocade immortal

awww okay at least jian yu tried to take responsibility. im still mad at him tho that was objectively a terrible idea. god this whole situation sucked :(

“Rocks and earth crushed at them from all around, forcing their bodies to press tightly against one another, their faces brushing, their ears warm. Although it wasn’t the right time, a thought flashed through Xie Lian’s mind: “‘To die buried together’ doesn’t feel so bad.” - okay... im kind of emotional.... gay people....

okay obviously these murals and the prince of wuyong have some connection (im guessing pretty direct) to xie lian and are important but everytime they start analyzing one i feel like im back in art history class fhadskfhskjdhf not that thats a bad thing!! i liked art history a lot tbh

“Don’t worry, they’re not human,” Hua Cheng said. “It’s precisely because they’re not human that we have to worry, alright….” Xie Lian thought.” - goth ghost bf problems

xie lian: well, there is one person i trust more than anyone else, someone who’s first in my mind hua cheng, oblivious: oh :/ xie lian, also oblivious: what? hua cheng: you shouldnt trust so easily its dangerous xie lian: oh. haha. yeah. well. wanna,,, know who it is? hua cheng: its :) fine :) it :) doesnt :) matter :) but of course you can tell me if you want to gege xie lian, internally: well now ive made it weird hua cheng, 5 minutes later: actually i need you to tell me. right now. its totally for your security me: gay people smh

“As they suspected, he had been captured by Qi Rong. Although no one was bound by ropes, there were balls of greasily green ghost fires hovering over every one of their heads.” - completely off track but anybody else remember the great green globs of greasy grimy gopher guts song

“Could there actually come a day when Qi Rong was embarrassed that someone might see the manner in which he ate? Before Xuan Ji entered, she put Guzi down. Guzi, ta-ta-ta, ran in, rushing straight to Qi Rong’s side. But when he saw him, he pointed his finger. He cried, “Dad is eating bad things in secret again!” “I’m not!” Qi Rong retaliated.” SCREAM IS QI RONG LEARNING THE POWER OF LOVE NOOOO also god that poor man whose body he has im starting to doubt if he’ll ever be free jimmy novak flashbacks

everytime we get another ghost king power somewhere someone should be writing hua cheng the cyborg bf in a high tech futuristic au i think thats the only other potential setting that could truly capture this wild ride

“In truth, throughout history, there was no man in the world who didn’t love bragging. A breeze could blow the handkerchief of a brothel girl into a man’s hand, and he would turn around and say the most beautiful of renowned escorts had fallen in love with him; holding shoes and wiping benches for the emperor’s mistress’s uncle’s grandson’s cousin’s mistress would for sure become him being an important administrator at the residence of royal relatives, raising his status. Thus, men who didn’t brag were a rare species.” - SCREAM this is going in my favorite tgcf quotes folder god... mxtx come here let me shake your hand

read the story of rain master yushi huang’s ascension. why am i crying. also this bit im crying again me with my stuffed animals “Thus, while Yushi Huang was cultivating at the Temple of Yulong, every time when she went to seek water and passed that door, she would rub the head of that ox. The door knocker soaked in her essence of life, and when the Rain Master ascended, the ox ascended with her.”

okay thats enough for now i have 7 more chapters to book 4!!! woo!!!

[fortune-maiden]

Random TGCF AU of the day:

Space-time shenanigans result in main canon He Xuan wandering into an AU where the fate swap didn’t happen.

He ascends as a civil god, and is doing quite well for himself, only his presence has unexpected ramifications for a few people

SWD can no longer save his brother via fate swap. He is not giving up obviously and will find another way no matter who he has to screw over (though HX would really really like it if he didn’t screw someone else over thank you very much), but in the meantime he is very much devoted to keeping his little brother safe and under control.

A necessity probably given that this little brother is an anxious mess afraid of his own shadow, with only shades of the bright determined Shi Qingxuan of the main timeline. He’s got all the comfort and wealth he could ever need and zero sense of confidence or independence.

Also different is the new civil god Ling Wen. She’s closed off and unpopular and may or may not be responsible for some sabotage He Xuan keeps encountering. Oh well it’s nothing to worry about. With dwindling followers she’s well on her way out anyway…