#zhi xiu and duanrui are the first two ascended spirits we meet | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

morethanwonderful · 9 days ago

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God, Xi Ping and Zhi Xiu have such fantastic chemistry as characters. From the moment they meet, their every interaction is a delight.

Xi Ping drives Zhi Xiu fucking insane (like he does everyone), but Zhi Xiu also clearly gets a kick out of him from jump. He adds him to the selection list just for a laugh after seeing his list of "crimes," and he's openly entertained by his audacity when he talks to Pang Jian and Su Zhun. Zhi Xiu scolds Xi Ping not to be rude out of obligation, but he never actually stops him from back-talking Shed Skins and such later in the novel.

Xi Ping is a fucking menace, but he's his menace. Big, emotional, Way of the Heart-shifting impacts aside, Xi Ping is Zhi Xiu's pet funny little guy. He's the problem that he knows he should be scolding, yet can't help but enjoy. He's like a rascally cat.

And on a serious note, I can't help but think that there's a reason Zhi "do not be a god" Xiu immediately gets along so well with the mortal boy who dares to drink from an immortal's wine pot. Frustrating as Xi Ping is, Zhi Xiu doesn't want to be revered, so of course he gets a kick out of the guy audacious enough to treat him like just another man.

#can you tell I've gotten to fragrant jade miasma in my reread?#they're just so good together!!#every time they interact it puts a smile on my face #the intense familial love/protectiveness and bone deep understanding later in the novel is excellent #general zhi's choice to be xi ping's moral compass and use his need to be an example for him as his own compass in turn #it's fantastic #but there's also something so charming about these early sections when they're still getting to know each other #absolute clownshow of a master and disciple who can't help but have fun and get along even as they struggle #zhi xiu and duanrui are the first two ascended spirits we meet #and duanrui's way of the heart is the embodiment of the worst parts of the cultivation sects. cultivation as a sledgehammer to individualit #whereas zhi xiu represents the ultimate embodiment of how human a powerful cultivator can still be #I love him #tai sui #zhi xiu #xi ping #tai sui priest #english major hours #taisuiposting #zhi xiu my beloved

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