#not transmigrators like lou zhu or fan aiguo

[minsarasarahair]

Story about this dagger. It was mentioned in donghua as well.

You Yao (有药) Novel Extra: The Spring Breeze Brush 🍃

“The Spring Breeze Brush wasn’t called the Spring Breeze Brush from the very beginning.”

【1】

The Spring Breeze Brush wasn’t called the Spring Breeze Brush from the very beginning.

But it *had *been a dagger since the very beginning.

Back when the capital of the great Liang Dynasty was still just a marsh, before time turned vast oceans into fields, this dagger had already killed countless people.

【2】

“Antiquity” was a broad concept. It seemed like anything could happen during this time.

Somehow, the dagger that had drunk the blood of too many became sentient.

It still had no name then.

The first person that it killed after it started forming memories shouted before they died, “Fuck, this thing’s a demon!”

The dagger didn’t know what a demon was, but it sounded pretty flashy.

It named itself Little Demon.

【3】

At that time, the young universe was in a state of chaos. The tribes had been at war for who knew how many centuries.

The dagger’s master changed again and again. Countless hands grasped it, plunging it into countless other warm, pulsing hearts.

As a divine ancient weapon, it had personally been through many battles that would become legends to later generations, and knew many juicy tales that future generations could never even dream of.

For example, a certain person remembered as a brilliant warrior for beheading the enemy’s chief had actually just tripped and stabbed his dagger into the enemy’s back in a stroke of stupid luck.

Or for example, a certain emperor whose cause of death was shrouded in so much mystery that he became the subject of endless speculation had actually died from dehydration via diarrhea after eating something bad.

It truly was lonely knowing so much gossip but having no one to share it with.

【4】

After killing hundreds or thousands more people, the dagger unlocked a new ability.

It discovered that its consciousness led to a dark and vast emptiness. The souls of those who had been killed by it would automatically be swallowed up and imprisoned in that patch of emptiness.

Ordinary souls would dissipate not long after arriving, but the ones who especially didn’t want to depart yet would try to break out and return to the world of the living.

Its reputation as a “soul-devouring weapon” spread. But the dagger was quite happy. Now that it had these dead souls to keep it company, it wasn’t lonely anymore. Every day, in that empty space, it told them all the gossip it knew.

【5】

Exactly what would it have felt like to be sealed in the dagger that killed you, while it chattered away in your ear about gossip from the ancient times day after day?

In any case, the resentment of those souls grew thicker and thicker. They’d often throw themselves against the barrier so hard that the dagger would tremble incessantly.

The stars shifted above; the world was always changing. For the dagger, the new change was that it got picked up by an old monk.

The old monk gently weighed it in his hand and said, “What crime did innocent iron commit to deserve such a heavy burden of bloodshed? This object cannot be left to wreak havoc in the world anymore. This old monk shall help these poor souls find peace.”

【6】 

From then on, the dagger was enshrined in a rundown little temple. Day after day, it listened as the old monk chanted sutras.

The old monk died, and his disciple diligently took over his important duty, and so on and so forth for generation after generation.

A century passed, then two centuries. The resentment of the dead was gradually appeased, and one by one, they disappeared without a trace.

Having lost its companions, the dagger felt like it was on the verge of turning back into a lifeless object too.

Suddenly one day, the earth trembled. The old temple, which had withstood several centuries of wind and rain, collapsed in that earthquake, crushing all the monks inside to death.

The dagger fell beneath the ruins.

Until the crumbling temple above it turned to dust. It lay in a vast and empty valley, grass growing freely over its body. Exposed to the elements, it slowly rusted.

Just when it thought that it might be nice if it just faded away here, a hand picked it up.

【7】

The owner of the hand was a radiant, bright-eyed youth.

Over the endless years, the dagger had seen generation after generation of great beauties turn to bleached white bones. It would no longer be amazed by anyone’s face.

What did amaze it was that someone had made the difficult journey over land and water to explore this wild, remote place that hadn’t seen humans in a very long time—and they seemed to be having a very good time.

The beautiful youth gave it a flick with his finger. Hearing the dagger’s low, resonant hum, he looked a little surprised, then smiled and said, “Incredible. If we take this thing and polish it up, it’d probably be a divine weapon.”

As he spoke, he grasped it and casually ran through a few forms, the blade’s edge piercing through the air, swift as a shooting star.

The youth said boyishly, “Dagger, oh, dagger, it seems you were fated to be picked up by me, so why don’t you come with me from now on? What would be a good name for it?”

The last part was directed at the companion beside him.

His companion knit his brow and said, “Um……the Evil God of Flaming Clouds?”

【8】

The youth said, “……Sounds pretty impressive, but this dagger looks ancient. It should have a name that has seen the changes of the world, the kind of name that makes you feel like it has a lot of history as soon as you hear it.”

After racking his brains, his companion said, “Now that you mention it, I’m reminded of a line of poetry that someone wrote back in my original world.”

【9】

Now, He Xun has grown old. His brush, once like the spring breeze, has been entirely forgotten.[1]

From then on, Little Demon had a new name.

It wasn’t particularly fond of this name—it thought “Evil God of Flaming Clouds” was much better. But it had no way to object.

Moreover, the name “Spring Breeze Brush” very quickly spread across the land, alongside its master’s.

It was only later that it learned that the youth who had picked it up was the number one martial arts prodigy in the world.

His name was Gu Jiu.

【10】

The man asked, “What happened after that?”

“Well, after that, I became Gu Jiu’s favoured dagger.”

“Was he good?”

“He was undefeated when it came to fighting, and he was very good-looking. Everyone wanted to be his friend. But those days didn’t last long. People discovered that some of his friends were strange beings that had come from another world. They were immediately attacked.”

“There were transmigrators even then?”

“There were, but they were scattered and had no real power. Gu Jiu was too sharp, too brilliant, so the others had long since grown wary of him. Falling for a trick to drive a wedge between him and his friends, he ended up fighting with them. He had no other choice—he killed his friends with his own hands, then destroyed all the meridians in his body and left. Everyone thought he was dead…… In my opinion, he was as good as dead.”

The man asked, “And then?”

“And then he found his way to a small village and lived out the rest of his life as a nameless bamboo weaver. He even picked up a stupid little boy and raised him to adulthood. The foolish boy loved him, and he loved the boy back. But he was even more of a fool than the boy. He never revealed his true feelings to him, just tossed me in a bundle and gave it to him. Heaven knows what he meant by that.”

“Later, the foolish boy died after serving as the sect leader of Pangmen for several decades. Because he had to be buried in the mountains behind Pangmen, he couldn’t be buried with Gu Jiu. So he brought me into his tomb.”

“Later, a guy named Zuo Dao replaced him as the head of Pangmen. That fellow was quite the cunning character—he knew I was a great weapon, so he forced the tomb open and dug me out to present me as a gift. That’s how I came into your hands.”

“And later, you were killed by me.”

【11】

The Spring Breeze Brush let out a contented sigh in the dark and vast emptiness. “It’s been so long since I’ve told someone this much gossip. What a satisfying feeling! You’re a pretty good listener—I like that a lot.”

It gave the man who was its only audience an attentive smile. He had long, slender eyes, and a beautiful face that was cold and ruthless.

The Spring Breeze Brush told him earnestly, “Your lifespan has already come to an end, but please don’t let your regrets dissipate too soon. Once they’re gone, you’ll leave, and if you leave, I won’t have anyone to gossip with anymore.”

“I won’t leave,” the man said quietly.

【12】

“I’ll always be here, by your new master’s side.”

---

[1] From the poem 《暗香》 by Jiang Kui. The poet likens himself to He Xun (a poet from an earlier dynasty who liked writing poems about plum blossoms), who is now too old to appreciate the flowers and write his once-beautiful verses

[minsarasarahair]

Transmigrators and their inability to act as their flaws

Lou Zhu: "I'm not a good person. I'm not that noble as you said. I just want to survive the battle. I didn't expect to come this far and now I even got Lin Kai involved." <Has the skills but selfish and comfortable with his life until he's affected

Li Ke: "I have a poor health and my words are clumsy. What good is having modern ideas when I can't do anything? Li Ke, you are the most useless transmigrator." <Don't have the skills and don't know what to do

Fan Aiguo: "I always laugh and joke but I'm not blind. I saw many people lost their homes and even their life. I just got a little more luck than them. They are also human beings. They experienced happiness and pain, lived a real life. They are human beings like me. They are here and I saw them but I never use my heart and hands to express something for them. I'm just a nobody. What can I do to this world on my own? What can I say? Who would like to hear it?" <Scared if no one will listen to him

**Take note that these guys are from 21st century so each cope differently especially if they are used in privileged life before they transmigrated.

Lou Zhu might be selfish and a coward but remember he's one of the earliest transmigrator so he experienced when the discrimination against them is harsher because the idea of transmigrators is still new back then and emperor gave him a job too so he's most likely a good punching bag of transmigrators and natives for their hatred. He's been in Da Liang for years so it make sense he's more jaded. He only care about himself and natives who's kind to him. He tried to help fellow transmigrators if he can but he accepted he can't save everyone. He's also a CEO without a family and don't have love life in his previous life so it make sense he's self-centered.

Li Ke is imprisoned/sheltered by Prince Yu so what's happening outside is unknown to him until it became worse and affected him. Li Ke is recent transmigrator possibly. His inability is more about what he can do and skills compare to Lou Zhu's internal conflicts. Maybe he will become jaded once he traveled around Da Liang after Prince Yu's death?

Fan Aiguo is the most recent transmigrator too so he still has his arrogance and adding his book lore that he used to be a clerk who make PPT for his boss. That he wish to help people who suffer the war through his novel. It can be a sign that his workplace don't treat him well and his boss don't listen to his idea so he just turn off his brain and go with the flow. Fan Aiguo to me felt like a tired salaryman/employee tbh and his aspirations in life was ruined as he became older. He's just good at hiding it with his laidback personality.

[minsarasarahair]

Its interesting that what Li Ke did in the donghua (uncut version) here is exactly what Zuo Yunqi did to get a happy ending in the Book's final extra AU story for the 2nd edition (revised) of the book.

In that extra, Lou Zhu was dying with their gay friends because of food poisoning and their doctor friend Tao Zhongchi suggested to Zuo Yunqi if he want to send him to Singularity so he can transmigrate to different world. Zuo Yunqi agreed instantly and Lou Zhu oppose to it but he's dying so he can't argue with him. The scene plays comically. LouZuo, XieFan and LongQian then transmigrated to modern setting (Lou Zhu and Fan Aiguo's original world). There, we can assume this circle of friends live happily together just like the cameo appearance of YuKe in Cheng He Ti Tong/How Dare You? donghua's episode 1.

[minsarasarahair]

Fan Aiguo & Xie Liang 12 Questions Compatibility interview

Okay... Fan Aiguo didn't reveal his soul age. Only his current body's age. I'm now assuming that all of the guys at age 30s(soul age) in the book are younger in the donghua because Fan Aiguo and Lou Zhu are affected. Donghua are probably playing it safe because of the CP's age gap. But I do think Fan Aiguo is still older than Xie Liang because he call Xie Liang a young man. How old? That's up to our imagination, I guess. Anyway! MTL so not accurate! This pair have canon bickering friends-like dynamic in both book and donghua.

LouZuo interview Prince Yu & Li Ke interview

Q1 What's your name? FAG: Fan Aiguo~ XL: Xie Liang. Interviewer: Fan Aiguo sure is energetic

Q2 Age? FAG: I'm 19 years old in this body XL: 19 years old Interviewer: Turns out you two are the same age

Q3 Transmigrator or Native? FAG: Transmigrator XL: Native

Q4 What you're known for and occupation? FAG: The most handsome popular novelist of Da Liang! XL: The young master of Xiaoxiang Villa Interviewer: I'm also your fan! Can I get an autograph? FAG: Sure!

Q5 How did you two meet? FAG: I accidentally transmigrated to Xie Liang's body XL: I'm supposed to die because I intervened in a conspiracy, but suddenly... FAG: That's right, I'm his savior!

Q6 What was it like when you first met? FAG: Of course, I'm excited! I can finally "become a human" after all XL: I'm surprised that there are real people who behave like dogs. FAG: Hehe, he's surprised by how handsome I was~ *sparkles*

Q7 Thoughts about sharing one body? FAG: It was fun, but its a bit crowded for two souls sharing one body. XL: I don't want to experience it again...

Q8 How did you two communicated during the time when Fan Aiguo transmigrated to an animal's body? XL: Looks down and think about what he's saying FAG: Of course, through telepathy with him. Interviewer: It seem Young Master Xie can understand small animals like a Disney Princess ^_^'

Q9 Strengths. FAG: He's a good young man who help others in need XL: Apart from not losing his hair antenna, I can't think of anything else. FAG: I'm handsome too, you know. Why not that?

Q10 Shortcomings. FAG: He has a harsh mouth and always talk to himself alone *puppy eyes* XL: He always interrupt me whenever I'm doing important tasks and cause troubles. *annoyed*

Q11 How did you two become friends? XL: He relied to me FAG: What's that Xie Liang? That's not what you said before. "Fan Aiguo, I never regretted..." (watch You Yao s2 ep 17 for reference) XL: *covered Fan Aiguo's mouth*

Q12 Do you guys think you two get along well? FAG: Of course! XL: Just... So-so.

I'm putting it here if people want. Phone & PC Wallpaper of this CP. Shared by their weibo.

[minsarasarahair]

You Yao novel characters height & age

Saving it here to remember. This estimated age by the author was shared before Fan Aiguo found a human body so like donghua season 1 part of story? The book/story never mentioned their age. They definitely grow older as the story goes and as their romance develop behind the scene. All of them are working adults already at the end of story including the extras. At this point, I do think their soul age and height no longer matter if they transmigrated again in the final extra lol Yeah, they. 6 of them transmigrated to 21st century.

Lou Zhu: 180cm, 27 years old(Jing Huanzhi's body age), 36 soul age

Zuo Yunqi: 178cm, 18 years old

Zhou Ronqi: 180cm, 29 years old

Li Ke: 170cm, 25 years old (soul age?)

Xie Liang: 180cm, 19 years old

Fan Aiguo: ??, 30 soul age

Long Daxia: 188cm, 35 years old

Qian Zhenduo: 169cm, 24 years old

Lin Kai: 175 cm, 36 years old

Tao Zhongchi: 168 cm, 23 years old

[minsarasarahair]

Scenes in the novel where LouZuo are making sure they understand each other. I love a ship without miscommunication. Not exact words but based on what I remember. Its a mix of ad and novel version.

Medicine arc LZ: See you around. Till next time? ZYQ: Wait, are you not going to ask anything to me? LZ: I do have one. ZYQ: Then ask? LZ: Why you must play a game of chess? You can just steal the naihe incense behind your father's back and be done with it. ZYQ: That won't work. My dad is stubborn and don't give up easily if he didn't see it get destroyed in front of his eyes. LZ: Is it Lin Kai's idea? ZYQ: No, its mine. LZ: You can go now. I'm done asking. ZYQ: I want to give you this gift. Smaller Naihe incense. You can sell it and make money from it. LZ: Young man, you're way of doing things is very Pangmen. ZYQ: I'm different from them. I'm a good person. Its also my payment to live here. LZ: Since when I agree you're living here? What if the emperor found out about this? He'll definitely kill me. ZYQ: I'll disguise and work for you. LZ: I don't lack servants. ZYQ: But you lack me? Who will talk to you about your past, present and future? You still haven't tell me about other transmigrators stuff? Who will play card games with you? One game eveyday would be great, right? LZ: Make it 3.

Tuo Huang's hideout arc ZYQ: Lou Zhu, there's something I want to confirm. Prince Yu said you know his failed revolt but the emperor doesn't know. Do you know why? LZ: Why? ZYQ: First, your intelligence network must been more powerful than the emperor's. Second, you decided to supress that information so it won't spread. Third, its because you're still an outsider after all. LZ: Yes, there are natives who treat us equally but there's also people who don't. How can I survive this far if I didn't do it? ZYQ: I stole the banned book. I hope its helpful to you. Will you report it to the emperor? LZ: No, we will keep it to ourselves. ZYQ: So this is your stance? LZ: My stance? My goal is to lie on my money until the day I die. If one day someone will take this pleasure of mine, I'll use the chips I saved and gamble all I got.

Public opnion war arc ZYQ: Let me be clear? What are you fighting for? What the Wulin alliance stands for? LZ: Pacifism. An era where natives and transmigrators live peacefully together. ZYQ: Then why are you not doing anything? LZ: I miss the opportunity. ZYQ: Make anti-war poems? LZ: Is there anyone in Wulin literate enough to write? ZYQ: No. We only have ruffians who barely know few phrases and characters here. LZ: !!! Thank you for the suggestion! *goes to Fan Aiguo and tell him to write a novel*

Stealing the crown prince arc ZYQ: What? You want me to kidnap the prince? LZ: Basically I want you to kidnap the crown prince and then- ZYQ: Shut up. Don't talk. To put it simply, you want the prince so in case Prince Yu or the emperor died you guys will benefit from it? You can turn him into a puppet emperor. LZ: Exactly. ZYQ: Ok. Got it. LZ: Any questions? ZYQ: None. I'll prepare my things. LZ: I have one. ZYQ: Ask? LZ: I-If you don't want to do it, I can just find someone to do it for me. There's possibility you'll meet your father. ZYQ: I'll do it. I can't hide from my father forever. I have to face him.

Interrogation to Tan Qinghuan arc LZ: *realized ZYQ is looking at him* Xiao Yunqi, what are you thinking of? ZYQ: I'm thinking about what I learned from Tan Qinghuan's story. LZ: What did you learn? ZYQ: Protecting someone is the best courtship and true love will make you stronger. LZ: Xiao Yunqi, do you like me? ZYQ: What are you saying? LZ: I'm beautiful, multitalented, and rich. I very much appreciate your protection. ZYQ: This is extorting. LZ: Then I'm wrong? I guess I have to try harder. ZYQ: I'm not strong enough to be your bodyguard. LZ: I can wait. Don't let me wait for long tho.

Last battle against Tuo Huang arc ZYQ: You know right? LZ: Waiting for me? ZYQ: Your plan won't work. Is there no other way? LZ: Xiao Yunqi, I'm not a god. I don't always have the solution to everything. ZYQ: You really can't think of anything? LZ: There is but I'll not say it until I'm sure of it. ZYQ: Just say it. LZ: We can use this snake to destroy the pillar of Best Tower. ZYQ: Use it under the Best Tower and use the airplane for the top as distraction! Then what are we waiting for? LZ: How to say this... I only have one snake. It will take years until its destroyed. You'll probably have a grandson by then. ZYQ: ... *later, figure out Naihe incense can make the snake bigger and so their plan worked*

No medicine. Last scene in main story. ZYQ: Are you sure you want to stay in this world? Its dangerous here. LZ: I know. ZYQ: Maybe I can't protect you. LZ: Don't take what i said seriously back then. ZYQ: i'm serious though. I'm going to take over Pangmen and slowly get stronger. After all, I still have unfulfilled wishes. LZ: You already made your decision so do whatever you think is right. You don't have to worry about me. I can protect myself. But remember, a medicine can hurt others and poison can save others. It just depends on the heart of the person who use it. ZYQ: All these years, there's no poison user who became a noble hero. LZ: You can be the first one. ZYQ: What if I became a villain like my father? LZ: Then, I'll have to kill you. ZYQ: We will meet again right? LZ: One day, we will meet again.

LouZuo after 5 years extra. LZ: Can't you stay with me? ZYQ: Lou Zhu, can you ask again what you asked me back then. I haven't reply properly. LZ: Xiao Yunqi, do you like me? ZYQ: I do. Very much. That's why I can't stay with you. I want to help you as long as I can and I refuse to be a burden. I made a promise and won't break it. LZ: Then just like the Qixi story, we'll wait. Forever loyal to each other and only reunite ocassionally.

Reverse isekai AU extra. (Modern setting/Lou Zhu's OG world) ZYQ: Don't you want to become CEO and avenge your death? I will not surrender to an enemy. I'll just investigate to find evidence and don't kill anyone. LZ: Before, you want to lead the Pangmen and now you want to be an undercover agent? You shouldn't have follow me in the first place! What will it do to you? Benefit? You're just seeking death. Those rich people will just squash you like an insect. Your life means nothing to them. Can we just move on and don't pursue it? Don't make me tie you up. ZYQ: *sighs* I confess. I'm late so I didn't get food poisoning unlike you. Its my choice to follow you. LZ: Why? You still have the Pangmen? ZYQ: First, I'm worried about you. Second, there's no point staying in Da Liang without you. Third, I prefer to be a sword that can unsheathe by you. My years in Pangmen as sect leader is very lonely. When I first arrived here and fought with my martial arts again, I was very happy. This new body is not the best but its better than my original body. Lou Zhu, I don't really care what will benefit me. I only care what's right and wrong because back then all my life I always do evil actions for justice but this time I can finally choose. You understand me, right? LZ: sighhsss <- lose the argument

[minsarasarahair]

I really love the contrast between the characters, Lou Zhu and Jiao Jiaoran. I hope they will meet in the future! So I want to talk about them this time. A person who treated the new world as his new reality versus a person who treat this new world like a game.

Let's say the world they transmigrated into, Da Liang is a virtual fictional world. Lou Zhu is the type of player who named his character with his real name. After all, he's a workaholic CEO in his original world who barely know memes, not into roleplaying and probably don't use social media too much. I know Lou Zhu tend to say he want to be lazy for the rest of his life but that's more like a tantrum to me whenever he felt overworked because it contradict his thought that he deserve to die once he's useless in the beginning of s2. Because of this mindset, he developed high adaptability to adjust in his new life as if it was his own despite using different body and treat the natives like real people. But what about his treatment to Jing Huanzhi? Well, I believe that's because he want to believe this is his new reality so he tried to ignore the fact its no longer his original body. He has existential crisis so its bad for his mentality if he think too much about it. Jiao Jiaoran on the other hand, she uses this new world to escape her reality. She used people like chess pieces and not afraid of the consequences of her bad actions because she has a mindset that she can just restart her life again by finding a singularity. Basically, she's the type of bad person who make many accounts for her social media and games to do bad things because she believe no one can catch her if she can just restart. Tan Qinghuan even stated that Jiao Jiaoran don't afraid of anything and only finally feel fear when everything is not working according to her plan so she start to find a singularity to start again her life in different world that might be kinder to her. But the thing is, life is never fair and we have no choice but learn to live with it. Even though Lou Zhu has his setbacks, he don't run away from it and even made the Best Tower so transmigrators like him will feel at home in this foreign world.

It connects to Fan Aiguo's line about the transmigrator who used Elder Xu's body where he said he sounds like an "internet addict". That's the villain in this story. People who's trying to escape their reality.

[minsarasarahair]

LouZuo and YuKe endings (Book & Donghua)

So we have 5 endings in total for LouZuo pair. 3 from novel and 2 for donghua.

Main story ending - They go in their separate ways believing they will be reunited one day. ZYQ can't cultivate martial arts anymore and have no choice but to heavily rely on using poison like his father as the new Pangmen leader. Lou Zhu chose not to try the singularity to return to his world and can't do much but believe ZYQ can still be a hero despite everything. If ZYQ didn't, he promised to kill ZYQ.

LouZuo deleted ending extra - They reunited after 5 years. Lou Zhu was exchanging letters with him these past years. He consulted ZYQ about a poison's antidote so they reunited. Lou Zhu find it hard to read the expression of older ZYQ now while ZYQ thinks Lou Zhu didn't change his appearance much. He compare ZYQ to a little bird he wish to put in a cage but he decided to let it free. Lou Zhu wish ZYQ to be by his side but he don't want to destroy him so he value giving ZYQ the freedom he deserve. As long as he's alive, Lou Zhu is fine with that. They did the deed and decided to form a long distance relationship. ZYQ admit that he like Lou Zhu romantically but it meant he can't be together with Lou Zhu to protect him. Their relationship was compared to Cowherd and Weaver Girl story where the lovers will reunite once a year every Qixi festival and Magpie birds formed a bridge for them to meet.

Reverse Isekai extra - Official Alternate Universe. Lou Zhu died because of food poisoning so it was implied ZYQ killed himself to follow Lou Zhu. ZYQ decided to sent him to singularity together with their friends (LongQian, XieFan) who died the same way. They all transmigrated to modern setting (Lou Zhu's & Fan Aiguo's OG world) with their friends. LouZuo transmigrated as hobo but later hired by Actor Xie Liang to be his manager and guard. Fan Aiguo became a mosquito again but LongQian (transmigrated as police & medical officer) will help him find a decent body. Lou Zhu found out the accident that killed him in his first life was orchestrated by his nemesis and his friends helped him report the one responsible to authority by finding decisive evidence. It end with Lou Zhu visiting his murderer in prison and talk with him in form of interview as he thanked him how grateful he is to him.

IQIYI International Donghua ending - They go in their separated ways but will write letters to each other. ZYQ became a successful nutritionist who sell medicine as his business. His secretary told him there is someone who want to consult him but it was never revealed who it is.

IQIYI China Donghua ending - Lou Zhu is the one who want to consult ZYQ. He was seen waiting at the bridge. He describe the Pangmen's place is his ideal retirement home. They reunited after few years because ZYQ said its been a while since then. (Inspired by LouZuo deleted extra. Just change the poison to medicine.)

As for YuKe pair... 5 endings?

First timeline in main story - Li Ke poisoned himself because he refused to poison someone and let Prince Yu died with the emperor so Prince Yu was left behind and live alone for the rest of his life. He travel around mountains and seas just like what Li Ke wanted.

Main story ending - Li Ke was possessed by Zuo Dao via Liruo (The one they used for the crown prince in the donghua) to use him as hostage against Prince Yu and implied killing Prince Yu afterwards with the dagger while using Li Ke's body. Prince Yu originally ask Li Ke to kill him before Zuo Dao take over his body but he refused to do it. Tao Zhongchi told Li Ke the dagger is known for trapping souls in it. Li Ke knowing Prince Yu's soul is in the dagger travel around mountains and seas just like what they planned. It was revealed in the Chunfeng Ci Bi extra story that Prince Yu can talk to the dagger. He stated he will not leave the dagger alone and will accompany Li Ke, the new master of the dagger because his soul will be trapped in the dagger after he died implying Prince Yu already know he will die and made a plan.

IQIYI International donghua ending - Jiao Jiaoran use Li Ke as hostage against Prince Yu. Prince Yu then made Li Ke killed him with the dagger. After Li Ke found out his Prince Yu is in the dagger from ZYQ, he was overjoyed and believe there must be a way to revive him. He left and then travel with the dagger to take a look at the mountains and seas just like what they promised to each other while the war against Tuo Huang is still happening.

IQIYI China Donghua ending - Li Ke found out the news about the singularity that their soul can possibly return home or go to different world so he tried it with the dagger believing he will reunite with Prince Yu one day. (Obviously inspired by Reverse Isekai extra)

Cheng He Ti Tong's donghua first episode - They have a cameo appearance in modern world. YuKe are happily looking at the scenery in the train's window while travelling. This is considered as the true ending because the You Yao donghua and this donghua have the same animation team.

The novel ending might be bittersweet but I find it poetic in a beautiful sense. While the donghua is a happy ending as a gift to the fans who want a more clear happy ending.

[minsarasarahair]

My final judgement to You Yao donghua's flaws Don't get me wrong. I love the donghua but its not perfect.

The no. 1 is of course giving a love rival to Xie Liang. The scene where Fan Aiguo got abducted and forced to be with the girl he just met gave a bad taste in my mouth. I used to like the 3 funny siblings new characters prior but after this subplot I really had a hard time to recover. Not only this affect the CP. I feel bad for the strong tall lady character because this stereotype is usually used for jokes and reduced to behaving like a gorilla. I wish she is treated seriously by the story as well while still being a funny character. Its very uncomfortable to watch her. I wish Fan Aiguo talk with her like a man and rejected her properly instead of running away from her then expecting Xie Liang to protect him from her. I mean, he also do that to other girls. He just enjoy his popularity and probably don't know how to handle girls. Also, the fact that I have to wait another episode to find out if Fan Aiguo was r*ped or not is a bad experience. Nothing happened but I just hate that I have to wait for a week if they did him dirty or not.

Gray color filter for LouZuo's flashback. I'm not really a fan of this if this is a creative choice. Is this supposed to tell me this is censorship? Because I only see this use in bloody scenes. Like Lou Zhu's flashback about Xiao Xue and Prince Yu's flashback about his deceased bestie don't even look like this. So why on earth LouZuo's flashback is gray?? They treasure each other so why on earth its gray?? It supposed to be colorful! I understand if its a bloody scene like Prince Yu witnessing the death of the people important to him but that scene is not even gray!

Lack of Jing Huanzhi's story and Lou Zhu's first life mentioned. I know the original material didn't really explore this much but if they want the donghua to be plot focus than CP focus I don't know why they didn't explore Lou Zhu's experiences after he first arrived in Da Liang. They don't have an excuse in this matter. Because they did a foreshadow in season 1 that he's scared of something so I find it very anticlimactic that we didn't find out more about him. We didn't even see Jing Huanzhi move lol Why not give him a 3D model? Just changed Lou Zhu's clothes and make him move differently. If you can do that to ZYQ, why not Lou Zhu? Lou Zhu really suffer the same way Word of Honor's Zhou Zishu suffer from the lack of backstory. He's the good MC. How on earth I will sympathize with him if they didn't explore his inner conflicts? Even the audio drama Lou Zhu has a short flashback when he was assigned to screen the transmigrators by the emperor. But well, even Fan Aiguo's first life job was not mentioned too. Li Ke's story about being an artist is not present in the novel too so why can't they explore Lou Zhu's character the same way? I'm not asking much.

Lack of Zuo Yunqi flashback about his relationship with his dad and their opinion about transmigrators in general. In audio drama and novel, ZYQ has this. That he really does treasure his connection with his dad and actually became afraid when his dad turned against him. ZYQ was always interested in transmigrators in the novel and Lou Zhu is probably the first one he became close with but he also know that transmigrators' arrival in Da Liang will change their world in two ways. Bad and good way. But I do think donghua ZYQ like transmigrators too he just don't mention the sensitive conflicts between two sides that much.

Jiao Jiaoran's villain origin story was not mentioned. She just stated that emperor is oppressing transmigrators and their soul will be replaced. In the novel, she has an humble origin and she became obsessed in searching for singularities because life is harsh on her. I know its not enough to empathize with her and I'm not that angry in this matter but at least she has a backstory. She even witnessed the death of Lou Zhu in his first life. Man got hit by a car and Jiao Jiaoran assumed she killed him.

I wish Long Daxia talk more, more involved, has more backstory about how he became a hero and Qian Zhenduo is his reason for that. It happened in the extras but I wish they inserted that so it will be cute that the ordinary Xiao Qian is Long Daxia's hero. He probably is but Long Daxia is a silent guy so he won't ever mentioned it. I suggest they should give Long Daxia a flashback that he know him already before their first meeting in the donghua but Xiao Qian don't remember him. I also wish he interact more with XIe Liang and Lou Zhu. It made me miss his connection to them in the novel where you see him having a fight with Lou Zhu because of different beliefs and he's very grateful to Xie Liang for saving him.

Technicalities: fluid animation, lack of shadows and lighting. Characters have more fair skin in season 2. But it always happened in Chinese donghua/drama/games and even in Japanese anime, the longer the story the more the characters become more fair skin so I usually prefer season 1 than the following season. I do think season 1 has more memorable shots than in season 2. But like I said, they probably decided to cut some budget for it so they can produce 24 episodes for season 2. Quantity over quality. The donghua has good hopeful ending so I forgave them. At least all my gays are happy. I think that in all couple. YuKe and LinTao are the pair I'm very satisfied.YuKe is still the angsty CP that serve as contrast to medicine CP and LinTao have more relationship development in the donghua.

[minsarasarahair]

If you think about it, the main characters of You Yao are wanted individuals with low social status who use unorthodox method to fight against bad guys just like Water Margin lol

Lou Zhu - Merchant and Emperor's Henchman who became wanted after faking his death. Betrayed the emperor. Produce guns for both emperor and Tuo Huang.

Zuo Yunqi - Son of Pang sect leader who take refuge in Lou Zhu's Best Tower. The said father is known for joining forces with evil organization from another world and producing lethal poison for their goals.

Xie Liang - Young master of Xiaoxiang villa who became wanted because he witnessed a conspiracy by accident so he's on the run in the beginning of the story

Long Daxia - Noble hero who only want to kill the ring leader of evil organization in Fuyang city but witnessed civillians getting killed under the emperor's orders so he was seen fighting against the emperor's men. He became wanted too. Betrayed the emperor.

Fan Aiguo - Novelist who highlight the natives and transmigrators inequality in his work. Plagiarize a story from another world under Lou Zhu's orders.

Lin Kai - Leader of outlaws/jianghu who seek changes

Zhou Rongqi - Exiled prince who want revenge for his family after they died because his emperor brother wants the throne for himself

Qian Zhendou - Street orphan who swindle people in his fortune telling scam

Li Ke - Not registered transmigrator, Prisoner of Prince Yu forced to make food poison to kill the emperor

Gu Zhi & Gu Jiu - Left the pang sect after he hurt his own comrades because they are possessed by bad transmigrators, leader of pang sect who used unorthodox method to keep up in martial world

[minsarasarahair]

I don't really mind if the author reuse the same trope because it just tells me what concepts they are interested exploring. In this case, the author is probably fond of jaded transmigrators without protagonist halo where the world go against them even if they treat others kindly. Because this author has multiple characters like that Xiahou Dan (villain emperor), Xie Yong'er (scheming heroine), Yu Wanyin (supporting villainess), Lou Zhu (emperor henchman), Li ke (prisoner), and Fan Aiguo (tired salaryman). I enjoyed their different flavors.