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glorious-sunset · 8 days

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LBFAD Opening Artwork – Hidden Meanings

The created artworks used for the opening scenes of LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil) are unique and have many hidden layers of meaning! Sheer genius on the part of the artists and designers :D Here are my interpretations of these stunning works of art.

Image 1: Bone Orchid (image above)

Although I’ve posted stills, each image actually moves. Here, flowers bloom on the Bone Orchid and leaves grow on previously bare branches around the sides. This is the original form of the Bone Orchid prior to DongFang QingCang (DFQC) transforming it into a bracelet for Xiao Lanhua (XLH) in ep. 9.

The two parts of the Bone Orchid, the crescent-moon-shaped bone and the vine of the orchid plant wrapped around it, each represent DFQC (the Moon Supreme) and XLH (who was disguised as an Orchid), and their close bond. This is a new magical artefact that DFQC created from his blood in ep. 9 (similar to Lady Yan creating the Heart-hiding hairpin). That he chose to give it a form symbolising a bond between himself and XLH is deeply significant! Consciously, he may have meant their connection through the one-heart curse, but subconsciously he already had deep affection for her by this time.

Orchid flowers blooming on the previously bare vines of the Bone Orchid represent the blooming of their love for each other. (As their love blooms, XLH bonds with the Bone Orchid to the extent that removing it would end her life by ep. 29). It also refers to the many times that XLH makes flowers bloom when DFQC does something to make her happy :D The leaves growing on the bare branches around the sides of the image symbolise XLH’s resurrection of DFQC’s Tree of Emotions and his healing process. The Bone Orchid representing the love between our Fairy and Devil is the central theme of LBFAD, so no wonder it is the first image we see!

Image 2: Xiao Lanhua

Here XLH first transforms from an orchid flower tethered to its stem, into human form as a young and innocent girl. The white swirls around her represent her usual spiritual powers (not her green Goddess powers). When she uses her powers to repair destiny leaves, etc., her energy appears as white light (important note - we see a different type of energy later in the opening artwork!) The pink tinge to some swirls represent her femininity and affection. XLH appears weak and vulnerable but her love and tenderness are the most transformative force in the series. Her reflection in the water below shows an orchid plant only, not a girl – this symbolises the illusion of her orchid form in hiding her true identity.

Image 3: Haishi Rescue

In this scene from ep. 3, initial obstacles to their love are presented including their power differential (symbolised by her small size within his giant hands), his view of her as an object and his underlying lack of emotions. The city of Haishi is below, the giant Sun made of DFQC’s formidable Hellfire is to the left, and the floating debris represents the destruction DFQC has wrought and is trained to continue to wreak. His mission is to destroy Shuiyuntian and conquer the three realms.

XLH looks vulnerable, her cloak resembles an orchid petal, and white/pink swirls of feminine energy again surround her. However, DFQC has just saved her life and continues to shield her within a protective bubble – an important ongoing dynamic of their relationship.

Images 4-7: Flashback

Images 4-7 are artistically presented as a series of opening doors, like opening the pages of a history book. They are a flashback to events 30,000 years ago and set the scene for current events and obstacles to the love between the OTP.

Image 4: The Two Tribes

The two different tribes that our OTP belong to are presented. Shuiyuntian is light and airy, and floats above the clouds with dozens of golden birds flying in the sky. They are the emblem of Shuiyuntian (as the crescent moon is for the Moon tribe) as shown by the golden bird brooches worn by celestials. Similar to Shangque transforming into a black dragon, the true form of some celestials may also be of golden birds and they can transform into this form. The position of Cangyan Sea below Shuiyuntian, the darkness in which their people live and their comparative lack of manpower (there is only one black dragon in the image) suggests that they are oppressed by Shuiyuntian.

Image 5: Battle of Two Tribes

Prior to Lady Chidi’s sacrifice, the people of Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea fight each other, their forces coordinated by Lord Dong and DFQC. This is the culmination of a hundred millenia of warfare between their tribes. Again there is only one dragon, and Lady Chidi in the forefront leaps into Cangyan Sea territory to confront it. Her red cape traces her active path through the battlefield. White and red swirls of energy (+/- blood) emanate from her.

Image 6: Lady Chidi’s Sacrifice

After invading Xuanxu realm of Cangyan Sea, this is the pivotal moment where Lady Chidi explodes her spirit to seal the 100,000 soldiers of the Moon tribe. Red blood sprays from her body and her earth magic envelops the Moon Tribe soldiers, sealing them within the earth. Her sacrifice foreshadows XLH’s own sacrifice in ep. 31.

Image 7: The Capture of DFQC

After the sealing of his soldiers, a weakened DFQC with white hair is suspended within the circular Haotian tower, his arms and legs magically bound. Magical glyphs surround him to seal him in place, representing the magical seal of the Haotian matrix.

Image 8: Xiao Lanhua of Arbiter Hall

Back to the present - the series opens by introducing us to XLH of Siming Dian (Arbiter Hall). The archways in this image are similar to the archways in the lower level of Arbiter Hall. Vines grow around the pillars, symbolising that XLH’s primordial spirit is connected to the plants at Arbiter Hall. The trees behind her may represent the nearby Shuyu Forest that she frequently visits. As XLH moves to the right, new white trees start to grow in front of the black trees, demonstrating her ability to create new life and make plants grow. White swirls of her spiritual energy again surround her.

In line with her selfless and giving nature, XLH offers up her spirit! She does this four times in the series: 1) In ep. 1, she offers up her life and spirit to protect Changheng, whose destiny leaf had changed and was destined to have his body and spirit destroyed (more detail here). 2) Also in ep. 1, she fuses part of her spirit to DFQC’s, restoring his spirit and body and giving him a part of her spirit (which he later extracts in ep. 33 to resurrect her). 3) In ep. 31, she sacrifices her life and spirit to protect DFQC’s life, to resurrect everyone that died on the battlefield and free the 100,000 sealed soldiers of the Moon Tribe. 4) She promises the Great Turtle in ep. 33 that she will sacrifice her spirit to defeat Taisui and bless the Three Realms. XLH’s fate to sacrifice herself is another obstacle to her and DFQC’s love for each other :(

Image 9: DFQC’s Tree of Emotions

Thanks to XLH’s resurrection of his Tree of Emotions in ep. 1, DFQC begins to grow beautiful glowing golden leaves on its previously bare branches, symbolising his breathtaking transformation.

Image 10: The Great Turtle

I believe this is another flashback. At the end of XLH’s first life in Xishan, her parents disguised her as an orchid plant with no human form. At this time between her first and second lives, she meets the Great Turtle. The orchid flower sprouting from her hand is the new form she transforms into, and orchid petals float around her during her transformation. The Great Turtle calls XLH an old friend in ep. 9 as they have met before – in this scene.

To the left of the image is a crescent moon with a dead tree growing on it. This symbolises DFQC (the Moon Supreme) and his Tree of Emotions which was dead at that time 30,000 years ago. There is a wisp of haze around the tree indicating that it has the potential to regrow. Despite XLH’s destiny to sacrifice herself for the Three Realms (which she might have discussed with the Great Turtle here), DFQC is waiting in the wings to change her destiny!

Image 11: Our Fairy and Devil

XLH gazes upward in hope, while DFQC’s eyes are closed and his head bowed, portraying both his reserved nature and that initially he was emotionally closed off, aloof and distant. The asymmetric gold crown that DFQC wears indicates that this scene is from after their return from the mortal realm back to Cangyan Sea – XLH also wears Moon Tribe attire.

On the Bone Orchid between them are flowers in full bloom, representing their love, which is now in full bloom :D Also between them is DFQC’s Tree of Emotions, now fully regrown with gorgeous white blossoms similar to the scene where he sits beneath his tree in ep. 24.

Despite the beautiful development of their love and of their characters, war between their two tribes is imminent. The image of Shuiyuntian between them sports a red flag, indicating their impending invasion of Cangyan Sea. Cangyan Sea is outnumbered, represented by one dragon vs. dozens of golden birds, and they face annihilation at the hands of Shuiyuntian D: Another reason for DFQC to bow his head, as he faces both the destruction of his realm and the loss of his love at this time.

Image 12: Peace Reigns

Just look at the swirls of energy emanating from XLH and DFQC as they float in a boat along the Oblivion River! There are again white swirls for XLH, but DFQC has red and gold swirls for Glazed Fire!! This scene occurs after DFQC’s return at the end of the series! :D The red belt around XLH’s waist is reminiscent of blood pooling from her wound in ep. 31 when she stabs herself with the Zhengying sword. This image (and the opening theme song Jue Ai, “Farewell Love”) pays homage to both her sacrifice, and DFQC’s sacrifice in ep. 36 which produced his Glazed Fire. Only through both of their sacrifices, were they able to bring about first a ceasefire to war, then lasting peace between Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea, breaking through a hundred millenia of unending conflict!

Only by creating peace are they finally able to be together happily. The boat is deeply significant for our OTP - there are three situations where they are alone together in a boat during the series. XLH reminisces fondly about this in ep. 24, and Siming sends a boat for DFQC (and fireflies for Changheng!) as a sign that she knows their most significant connections to XLH. To the bottom right are the peaceful waters of Cangyan Sea with the watchful eye of a black dragon at rest. To the top left is a peaceful Shuiyuntian with Yunzhong’s watchful “Eye of Heaven” (seen in ep. 14) accompanied by a flower in bloom, symbolising peace and prosperity. The positions of each are in poetic parallel to image 4 which showed conflict – the defensive black dragon in image 4 is now restful, and the golden birds also seem to be resting :)

Here is a link to my article: How Immortals age in cdramas – clues from LBFAD

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 14 days

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How Immortals age in cdramas – clues from LBFAD

Many of our favourite cdramas sweep us into the beautiful fantasy world of the Xianxia genre, where immortal beings live for thousands of years! But they look so young?! How does ageing work for these lucky immortals in terms of human appearance? LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil) gives us a few clues about this mysterious process!

Details are below, but in a nutshell, immortal beings grow quickly in childhood then the appearance of ageing slows down and stops! Sometimes their hair turns white when they are drained of energy making them look older than they should! For spirits who have cultivated from plant or animal form, it works differently as they transform directly into adult human form :) I created a graph of the immortal ageing process vs. human appearance based on clues from LBFAD (appears further down, yes I am a math nerd and proud :D ).

Young child

Our first clue to the mysteries of immortal ageing is Changheng, who was a few hundred years old during the Battle of Two Tribes (30,000 years ago) and is described as having been only a young boy at that time (let’s say around 7). Babies born to immortal parents mature (relatively) quickly into young children over a few hundred years, but ageing slows down after that.

Shangque was also a young boy when he was orphaned and rescued by a young DongFang QingCang (DFQC). Since Shangque describes DFQC as like a brother to him, they are likely of a similar age and DFQC was also a young boy at that time - both a few hundred years old.

Pre-teen

Shangque says that he has served DFQC for 38,000 years since DFQC saved him (in ep. 17). For the last 30,000 of those, DFQC was imprisoned in Haotian tower. Therefore, DFQC had been aged just over 8,000 years during the Battle of the Two Tribes - rough guess 8,500 – 9,000 years old since he was a young boy when he saved Shangque. The Battle of Two Tribes occurred soon after killing his father* and physically, his appearance was of an 11-year-old at that time (the actor was 11 during filming).

At this time, Xunfeng’s appearance was of a 9-year-old (actor was 9), and his age probably around 5,000 years old (based on graph below :D )

Xiao Lanhua’s (XLH) first life with her parents in the beautiful mountains of Xishan was also cut short when she was the same age as DFQC entering Haotian Tower. Her actress was also 11 during the tragic massacre of her tribe, and she began a new life as a little orchid flower spirit hidden in the mortal realm.

(*We know that the Battle of Two Tribes occurred soon after the death of DFQC’s father because XLH tells his father’s spirit in ep. 17 that 30,000 years have passed since his death).

Early 20s

The immortals Xunfeng, DFQC and Changheng have the appearance of young men aged 21, 22 and 23 (the age of their actors during filming) and represent the early 20s demographic in human appearance! 30,000 years have now passed and their immortal ages are around 35,000 for Xunfeng, 30,500 for Changheng, and 39,000 years for DFQC. (Sadly for DFQC, his body had been unconscious over these 30,000 years while imprisoned in Haotian tower, but his disembodied spirit had stayed conscious and pounded on the Haotian matrix every day.)

Thus immortals aged 30,000 to 40,000 years seem to take on the appearance of humans in their early 20s. Wouldn’t it be great to stay 21 for thousands of years?! :D

Early 30s

The ages of most of the other characters are unknown, but we have one more clue from an older immortal! We know that Supreme Liyuan is aged over 80,000 years, as he tells “Changheng” in ep. 12 that he is over 50,000 years older than him, and Changheng himself is aged ~30,500 years. Physically, Liyuan’s human appearance is mostly that of a 33-year-old man (the age of his actor during filming). What is strange about his appearance is his hair, which had turned white during the Battle of Two Tribes and never recovered – more on this phenomenon further down.

The Immortal ageing process

Based on the clues LBFAD gave us, here is my take on the ageing process for immortal beings born to immortal parents. Plant spirits, and animal spirits (mentioned in the novel but not the drama) that cultivate into human form are discussed separately below.

Hair turning white

We sometimes see the hair of immortals turning white when they are drained of their energy and cultivation. It happens to three immortals in LBFAD. The first is Ronghao – he uses up half of his cultivation to heal Changheng in ep. 13. His face and lips drain of blood and his hair starts to turn white.

DFQC’s hair also turned white during the Battle of Two Tribes. First he was weakened by his battle with Lady Chidi, then Lord Dong, Supreme Liyuan and the entire High Council of Shuiyuntian ganged up on him, separating his body and spirit and imprisoning both with the Haotian matrix. It also turns white when he is possessed by Taisui in ep. 36.

Back to Supreme Liyuan. Along with the others in the Heavenly High Council, he poured his spiritual energy into creating the powerful magical seal of the Haotian matrix 30,000 years ago. Liyuan is one of Lord Dong’s peers, and he and Lord Dong likely worked especially hard to seal DFQC. The process was so draining for Lord Dong that he has been in seclusion since then, leaving his son Yunzhong in charge. Liyuan managed to stay out of seclusion but his hair hasn’t been the same since! It used to be black during the scenes where he enters fatherhood but now seems to be permanently white. (Assuming Danyin and Jieli were born shortly before the Battle of Two Tribes, this would make them around Changheng’s age).

Cultivated spirits

XLH is a special case and has lived three lives in LBFAD (In her third life, she tells Changheng in ep. 35 that she remembers her previous two lives). In the first, she aged “normally” as above after being born to immortal parents. In the second and third of her lives, she cultivates directly into adult human form from a plant spirit form after cultivating for a period of time. This is what generally happens for plant and animal spirits cultivating into human form in Xianxia.

In XLH’s second life, she was an orchid plant in the mortal realm for 28,500 years or less (or so Siming told her). Time runs faster in the mortal realm, where a few hours in the immortal realm is equal to a few months in the mortal realm. Then Siming brought her to Arbiter Hall, cared for her, and she transformed into human form! At the start of LBFAD, she is 1,500 years old (as she says in ep. 2) and mentally a young girl on the brink of adulthood. She then quickly matures through the drama.

In XLH’s third life, DFQC meticulously cared for her orchid form so well every day that her transformation process is much shorter! (the drama doesn’t specify how long but it took ten years in the novel). After transforming this time, she retains the memories of her previous two lives, and is a mature and responsible goddess with the appearance of a woman in her early 20s.

Lived experience

The lived experience of both DFQC and XLH was interrupted early. DFQC was aged only ~9,000 years when he was imprisoned in Haotian tower. XLH was similarly aged when her tribe was massacred and she was reverted back to a plant spirit with no human form. The child actors for both were 11 during these tragic events. XLH re-emerges 1,500 years prior to the start of LBFAD, then frees DFQC in ep. 1. Thus compared with other “young” characters like Xunfeng and Changheng, their total lived experience is much less, and they are most comparable (and compatible! :D ) with each other.

Here is a link to my article: Character Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 21 days

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Character Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

What’s in a name? For the characters of LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil), a whole lot of hidden meanings! These are not apparent to English viewers. Here are my translations and interpretations of these meanings.

DongFang Qing Cang - 东方青苍: “East, Cyan, Dark blue”

The surname “DongFang” means East, the direction of the rising sun. Both Dongfang Qingcang’s (DFQC) personal terrace at Silent Moon Palace and the replica Arbiter Hall he built for Xiao Lanhua (XLH) face East, and capture the most beautiful sunrises. DFQC (and previous generations of DongFangs) are well-respected by their people and enjoy the best locations and residences in Cangyan Sea.

The “Cang” in DFQC was named for his realm, “Cang” Yan Sea, as he was expected to be its leader and follow the path set for him by his father, and Lady Yan before him. Lady Yan chose to rid herself of emotions in order to wield Hellfire, and DFQC’s father forced the same decision onto him. The hanzi (mandarin character) for “Cang” in DFQC and Cangyan Sea means dark blue, and the darkness of this colour represents the darkness of the path he was expected to follow.

But “Cang” is not the only colour in DFQC’s name! The “Qing” in his name means lighter shades of blue/green, or cyan. And despite his prescribed mission to emotionlessly conquer the three realms, DFQC has many lighter, more peaceful shades to his character that reveal themselves as the series progresses. He forms a friendship and brotherhood with his enemy Changheng, who shares with him a love of playing music, art and cuju! And he rises above the cruel dictator of Shuiyuntian who almost annihilated his people, by sending his people to aid Shuiyuntian.

Xiao Lan Hua - 小兰花: “Little Orchid Flower”

We are first introduced to our female lead as “Xiao Lanhua”, which is not a name, but a description of what she believes her true form to be, a little orchid flower. But this was a disguise given to her by her parents and upheld by Siming. Her real name is Xiyun.

Xi Yun - 息芸: “Every breath”

The character for “Xi” in XLH’s true name is the same as the “Xi” in her realm, “Xishan”, and means breath (of life). Just like DFQC, she is named for her realm, as she was the intended leader of Xishan as its Goddess. The Xilan tribe of Xishan had powerful healing magics, and hers is the most powerful of all, with the ability to resurrect the dead with her blood, thus providing the breath of life. She uses this to great effect, resurrecting DFQC in ep. 26, everyone who died on the battlefield in ep. 31, and freeing the 100,000 sealed soldiers of the Moon Tribe.

The “Yun” in her name meaning every, combined with “Xi” can be interpreted as “every breath”. Sadly, XLH’s every breath is for one purpose and brings her closer to her one destiny. She is fated to sacrifice herself to save the three realms from Taisui. If this had happened, then like Lady Chidi before her, her sacrifice would soon have been forgotten.

Chi Di - 赤地: “Red/Barren Earth”

The “Chi” in Lady Chidi’s name means red, and paired with “Di” meaning earth, can also mean barren earth. She is the only official in Shuiyuntian seen wearing Red, as even the current God of War, Changheng, conforms to the same white and pale blue robes that other officials wear. Chidi is therefore a standout who asserts her individuality and does not conform to expectations. Her way of thinking outside the box, led to DFQC and his 100,000 Moon Tribe soldiers being completely blindsided by her sacrifice 30,000 years ago. It also led to her breaking heaven’s laws to resurrect Ronghao, to her later detriment.

Chidi wields powerful earth magics, as represented by her name. These are so powerful that she is able to seal the 100,000 soldiers of the Moon Tribe within the barren earth of Xuanxu realm. Her mighty Shuofeng sword is also swallowed by the barren earth and her magic cannot be reversed without her primordial spirit.

Xun Feng - 巽风: “Obedient wind”

The “Xun” in Xunfeng means to obey, and the “Feng” means wind. His name can be interpreted as either “obedient to the wind” or an “obedient wind”. Like the wind, Xunfeng lacks substance, confidence and ability, and is disrespected by his people during DFQC’s imprisonment. Many contenders try to steal his position as Moon Supreme, and he almost dies on the Wind Plain until DFQC arrives to save him.

But Xunfeng cares fiercely for his people. In his attempt to protect them, he collaborates with Ronghao without knowing his identity or motivations. He is thus “obedient to the wind” where Ronghao is an unknown and unseen entity, like the wind. Xunfeng is unable to discern that Ronghao is keeping Cangyan Sea in a constant state of civil unrest and tormenting the souls of deceased Moon Tribe members until much later, with DFQC’s help!

Shang Que - 觞阙: “Watchtower”

“Que” meaning watchtower is an apt description for DFQC’s lieutenant and right-hand man. Shangque has many talents suiting him to this role! These include his ability to be stealthy, gather information discreetly, undertake covert missions successfully, act as a powerful defensive force, and a healing one due to his skill with Chinese medicine. Like a watchtower, he kept watch for 30,000 years during DFQC’s absence on all events occurring within the three realms. His loyalty and love for DFQC, whom he views as a brother and whose return he awaited for 30,000 years, are astounding!

“Shang” paired with “Que” can mean lacking sustenance. This is the state Shangque was in when orphaned as a young boy, and many tried to take advantage of him and his dragon body. If not for DFQC saving him, he would likely have perished from hunger or been murdered :(

Jie Li - 结黎: “Dark knot”

Jieli suffers from much internal torment which is like a dark knot inside her. From the moment she was born, she never knew or received love, and was raised by people who continually exploited her, physically harming her and threatening her life. That she is even capable of loving and caring for others is a miracle! Unlike Shangque, nobody like DFQC ever stepped in to save her and care for her.

Jieli cares deeply for both XLH and Shangque. Her life under threat, she makes some bad choices such as spilling a drop of Chidi’s blood onto the Bone Orchid. This is one of many dark and knotty situations she encounters. Although she soon decides she would rather die than hurt XLH, Dieyi poisons Shangque to force her obedience.

Yun Zhong - 云中: “Among the clouds”

Yunzhong literally lives among the clouds, but his head is also in the clouds. He is very narrow-minded and cannot think outside the box. When XLH does not fit within the eight-class system of Shuiyuntian, he immediately decides she is Moon Tribe (even before the Bone Orchid protects her) without considering other possibilities. He is so strict with Changheng that he would rather execute the most powerful asset to Shuiyuntian (and his brother!!) than tolerate the slightest disobedience! Throughout the series, he is intent on exterminating the Moon Tribe and almost does in ep. 31 on completely false pretences.

Chang Heng - 长珩: “Steadfast bird”

Like the golden bird brooches that the celestials wear to represent their tribe, Changheng is a model citizen of Shuiyuntian. He is steadfast and loyal to his duties and puts these above his personal desires. When trying to rescue XLH from Cangyan Sea in ep. 13, he is honest with her that he cannot break the rules of Shuiyuntian, and only hopes that Yunzhong will be reasonable and lenient towards her! Changheng is far more steadfast and loyal than the average celestial. He is the only one apart from Ronghao to visit Chidi’s grave on her death anniversary, honours his brotherhood with DFQC after returning to the immortal world, and after learning Ronghao’s secret identity, listens to his side of the story.

Dan Yin - 丹音: “Crimson tidings”

Twice, Danyin is the bearer of important news, relaying her visions from the Tianji mirror to the sacrifice of her own desires. First, she tells a wounded and imprisoned Changheng about his wedding to XLH in the mortal realm, causing him to start a mortal tribulation. Then, she tells Yunzhong and the High Council about XLH’s true identity as the Goddess, saving Changheng from execution and leading to his wedding with XLH.

Rong Hao - 容昊: “Vastly compromising”

Ronghao has “one tiny earthly desire”, that his beloved master can live. What he is prepared to do to achieve this includes burning the souls of dead celestials and Moon tribe, massacring the entire Xilan population including their women and children, forcing his master to endure 30,000 years of cruel mortal tribulations and using evil qi to keep her alive. His willingness to vastly compromise both himself and her leaves Lady Chidi aghast.

Die Yi - 蝶衣: “Butterfly costume”

Dieyi is a shape-shifter and the different forms she takes, butterfly or woman, are her costumes, which help her to be sneaky and nefarious.

Xie Wanqing - 谢惋卿: “Withering sigh”

Having forgotten her life as Lady Chidi, Xie Wanqing feels incomplete without knowing why, expressed by her sad sighs. Chidi is forced to endure countless mortal tribulations just like this one and die (wither) repeatedly. (In the novel, in each of these lives she is condemned to be murdered by the one she loves!)

Xiao Run - 萧润: “Mournful wealth”

Both Xiao Run and his true self as Changheng come from positions of wealth and noble status. But both of them mourn the loss of freedom that comes from this – although Xiao Run is more of a carefree rebel! :D

Si Ming - 司命: “Arbiter of fate”

Using the power of her position as Arbiter of Fate, Siming has repeatedly defied heaven’s laws and changed fate! She resurrects Ronghao as an immortal, creating a new destiny leaf for him. She released the convicted dragon Chang Yuan and married him. And she instructs DFQC on how to also defy nature’s laws and change destiny! :D

Chang Yuan - 长渊 “Steadfast abyss”

He is the deep abyss that Siming falls into, as in choosing him, she accepts the fate of being imprisoned with him in the Ruins of Myriad Heavens for the rest of eternity. But at least he is steadfastly loyal to her.

Tai Sui - 太岁: “Very Ancient”

This most ancient of tricksters could not be defeated by numerous generations of Goddesses, who merely sealed him beneath Xishan. Over his very long life spanning hundreds of millenia, he has learned to tell whatever lies are needed to manipulate others and ensure his survival.

Here is a link to my article: Location Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 23 days

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Thank you to everyone who got me to 250 likes!

#250 likes #tumblr milestone #thank you

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glorious-sunset · 23 days

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LBFAD Reflections – Index

Like many LBFAD (Love between Fairy and Devil) viewers, I was amazed by the complexity of the plot, just begging for a rewatch! As I began slowly rewatching it, many new things became clear, such as, what were characters actually thinking, now that we knew their backstory? Often their thoughts didn’t match their words. What was happening between scenes, since the fast pace meant that a lot was happening off-screen? Some of the smallest actions and plot developments now had so much deep meaning! And many parallels became clear between events of different episodes and different character arcs.

Rewatching LBFAD, I had so many mental notes in my head on all of these, that I thought I should put them into words. Indulging my love of writing, I wrote my reflections and insights on each episode into a story format and found my favourite set of screenshots from each episode to complement them. I also described my insights on the series overall in separate articles. These may be interesting to others wanting to reminisce on the multidimensional characters and engaging plotlines of this most inspiring series!

This post is a table of contents to each of my LBFAD articles and episode reflections. None of them are spoiler-free. My reflections on ep. 3 onwards are story-like, while eps 1 and 2 are more scene-setting. The links to each post are on their titles.

Location Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

For English viewers, some of the location names in LBFAD are given in Mandarin. However, the meanings of these names have deep significance that are lost in translation! Here are my translations and interpretations of these meanings.

Character Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

What’s in a name? For the characters of LBFAD, a whole lot of hidden meanings! These are not apparent to English viewers. Here are my translations and interpretations of these meanings.

How Immortals age in cdramas - clues from LBFAD

How does ageing work for these lucky immortals in terms of human appearance? LBFAD gives us a few clues about this mysterious process!

LBFAD Opening Artwork – Hidden Meanings

The created artworks used for the opening scenes of LBFAD are unique and have many hidden layers of meaning! Here are my interpretations of these stunning works of art.

Episode 1

Changheng’s destiny leaf has unexpectedly changed – but the destinies of high gods are supposed to be very stable! His destiny changed because of DFQC's actions. In the last episode of the series DFQC changes XLH’s destiny as well. This is great foreshadowing! And it highlights DFQC’s unique tendency to break nature’s laws time and time again!

Episode 2

“Don’t forget, your body is in benzuo’s (this seat of power’s) hands now”.

XLH, mocking his self-address, angrily retorts that “ben gu niang (this girl) is going to make you bald now!” The moment she angrily starts tugging at her hair is when he first notices the effect of the one-heart curse she cast on him, which causes him phantom physical pain even when body-swapped!

Episode 3

How could such a weak and pathetic creature, who can’t even protect herself, have cursed him, the most powerful being in the three realms?! No wonder he would “very very very very much like to kill” her. The fact that he can’t is tremendously frustrating and he is boiling inside.

Episode 4

XLH has now upgraded her nickname for him from the insulting “little celestial criminal” to “Big Qiang” (Da Qiang), the transition from little to big reflecting the growth of her regard for him. She affectionately calls him Da Qiang from now on. His nickname for her, “Xiao Hua Yao”, little flower demon, is his appraising way of calling her a wicked little flower, or a flower with thorns.

Episode 5

DFQC has many enemies who scheme behind his back and want to kill him, is aware of Shiyuntian’s unflattering propaganda around him, and never gave these insults a second thought. But when XLH says that “even the air becomes clearer” without him around, it is like a sharp stab to his gut. When even the thoughts of the mightiest kings don’t bother him, why should the words of an inconsequential little flower?!

Episode 6

Yunzhong carefully eavesdrops on their every exchange. He is not unsympathetic to Changheng’s plight. As a member of the ruling family, Yunzhong himself had to sacrifice the love of his life to fulfil his responsibilities. That is why he allowed CH to keep the handkerchief of his love as a memento, on the strict understanding that his duties must always come first.

Episode 7

As they sit down to tea together in their usual idyllic alcove, XLH reminisces about the joyful memories they have created together over the past ten days or so. Just yesterday, during one of their regular teatime chats, she had happily recounted to him how she had seen snow fall in Haishi for the first time recently. To her delight, he had created snow around Arbiter Hall for her, and a little campfire to warm themselves by as they watched the falling snowdrifts together.

Episode 8

DFQC roughly brushes a tear from XLH’s cheek and we see that the greenhouse flowers are in bloom! They are linked to XLH’s mood, so despite Changheng smashing her dreams, DFQC’s efforts to comfort her have had a far greater impact, and she is now happy.

LBFAD is the most inspiring series I have ever watched and here is why…

…Aesthetically, I found the beautiful 4K production quality as enjoyable as high-budget productions such as Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. …Every single character of note in the series goes through profound character growth, the only exception being the abstract ultimate villain Taisui….

All of my LBFAD articles can also be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked).

More LBFAD articles and episode reviews to follow!

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glorious-sunset · 27 days

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Location Names in LBFAD – Meaning and Significance

For English viewers, some of the location names in LBFAD (Love between Fairy and Devil) are given in Mandarin. However, the meanings of these names have deep significance that are lost in translation! Here are my translations and interpretations of these meanings.

Cang Yan Hai - 苍盐海: “Dark blue Salt Sea”

The hanzi (mandarin character) for “Cang” is the same as the “Cang” in “Dongfang QingCANG” (DFQC) and means dark blue. The colour dark blue is representative of the Moon Tribe, and may symbolise the night sky featuring the Moon (their emblem) and its reflection in the water of their Sea. Only members of the royal family (DFQC and Xunfeng) are seen wearing dark blue, embellished with gold (see image above). Other characters, such as Jieli and Xiao Lanhua (XLH) do wear blue but generally in lighter hues. Part of DFQC’s name (but not all, I will post more on this later) is named after the realm of the Moon Tribe, as he represents Cangyan Sea as their leader. The darkness of this imagery (and their better fashion and clothing! :D ) contrasts with the light and airy tones of Shuiyuntian.

The character for “Yan” is the same as the “Yan” in Lady Yan, the founder of the Moon Tribe, and means salt. Cangyan Sea is named after its founder to honour her establishment of their Tribe, and her name reflects the bitterness (saltiness) of her personal life experiences and her actions in response to these (I will post more on this later). “Yan” also symbolises the saltiness of the seawater in Cangyan Sea, and the harshness of the environment there. The people of the Moon Tribe work hard to survive, depending on fishing and hunting for sustenance. “Hai” means sea, acknowledging that Cangyan Sea is made up of many small islands surrounded by sea. The Moon Tribe also obtain many varieties of fresh seafood from the sea (and have better food than Shuiyuntian! :D )

Si Ming Dian - 司命殿: “Arbiter of Fate Temple”

This sacred place is named after the Arbiter of Fate, Siming (the title of her position), and hosts the sacred Tree of Destiny and Tianji Mirror. “Dian”, meaning temple (although subtitled as “Hall”), reflects the consecrated nature of this abode. The Arbiter of Fate, Siming, was in charge of the fates of everyone in the three realms, and took particular care to guide the destiny of XLH, whom she loved like a daughter, and upon whose fate the safety of the three realms depended.

Siming Dian is located in the most remote part of Shuiyuntian, and it can be supposed that Siming (and her predecessors) intentionally established their abode here to avoid Shuiyuntian politics and protect XLH’s secret identity. Fairies describe it as a miserable destination (ep. 1) and avoid visiting unless absolutely necessary. This remoteness and solitude allowed DFQC and XLH to peacefully coexist there for almost two weeks without being disturbed or discovered. Due to its north-facing aspect and remoteness, however, it does not receive much sunlight, making it difficult for the spirits there to cultivate and for XLH to recover after having her energy drained.

Shui Yun Tian - 水雲天: “Heavens of Water and Clouds”

“Tian” means sky/heavens and “Yun” means clouds, and from its lofty position high in the sky among the clouds, the residents of the Fairy Realm, Shuiyuntian, look down upon the mortal realm and the realm of the Moon Tribe, both literally and figuratively. They believe they are the top, most superior race, and have been actively trying to wipe out the Moon Tribe for generations. The fairies look down on XLH because of her origin from the mortal realm. But their views and opinions have been clouded by the propaganda circulated within Shuiyuntian, especially around members of the Moon Tribe.

All locations in Shuiyuntian (Arbiter Hall, Fountain Palace, Yujing etc.) float in the sky, and its residents are immortal beings with the ability to fly and manipulate energy. The clouds in this heavenly ethereal paradise are also home to the magical Cloud Whale.

“Shui” means water, and the capital of Shuiyuntian (Yujing) is the place where the four rivers Xiao, Xiang, Li and Yuan converge, controlled by the Four-River Pearl tower. Many structures featuring water are seen throughout Shuiyuntian, such as Fountain Palace, the waterfall in Shuyu forest and floating water fountains throughout Yujing. The vast amounts of water are a lethal weakness which DFQC exploits in ep. 9 by destroying the Four-River Pearl. This creates catastrophic tsunami waves threatening both Shuiyuntian and the mortal realm, the flow of which the celestials are barely able to reverse with their combined powers!

Yu Jing - 玉京: “Jade Capital”

Yujing, the capital of Shuiyuntian, is named after the sacred stone Jade, which is rare and highly prized in both Cangyan Sea and Shuiyuntian. However, the rarest forms of Jade come from Cangyan Sea, such as the Magical Jade Firefly stone which takes 10,000 years to form in the cold temperatures of Northernmost Ocean. No wonder Shuiyuntian wants to conquer Cangyan Sea and exploit their resources! Changheng obtained the Firefly stone for XLH during his recent invasion of Northernmost Ocean.

The other jade artefacts in the series are also observed within Cangyan Sea. The holy token of the Moon Supreme, the magical Jade ring, is a sacred artefact made of rare jade. This ring is enchanted to protect its wearer from mental influences, including the mental and emotional effects of the one-heart curse. Jieli steals rare jade from the Spiritual Treasures Pavilion at Silent Moon Palace (claiming it is for XLH :P )

Shu Yu Lin - 淑玉林: “Gentle Jade Forest”

Also named for the prized stone Jade, it is possible that Shuyu forest has some jade deposits, although we do not see them. “Shu” means gentle, and this forest is so well-lit, open and safe that escaped celestial criminals from Haotian tower are able to hide there only briefly in ep. 2. A few demons are brought in for a day for the fairies’ examination, but otherwise no dangerous creatures are seen in this forest. This was a beautiful and idyllic location for XLH and Changheng’s fateful tryst 500 years ago! :D

What a contrast this forest is to the Dark Pine Forest in Cangyan Sea! The Dark Pine Forest is dense and dark enough to hide the most evil of schemers, Ronghao, his henchmen and allies prime among them! It is also used for hunting and dangerous beasts likely lurk within.

Hao Tian Ta - 昊天塔: “Vast Sky Tower”

Located within the heavenly sky realm of Shuiyuntian, this maximum security prison is so vast that XLH is able to float freely within the top tier in ep. 1, the walls of the tower being so distant as to be out of sight. The vast tower has many many levels separated from each other, to house its numerous prisoners, who are sentenced to lengthy terms spanning tens of thousands of years. They are immortals, so executing them would lead to them reincarnating. Therefore, they are imprisoned instead to eliminate potential threats to Shuiyuntian. Haotian Tower is beside Shuyu Forest, as XLH observes the High Council around the tower from there in ep. 1, and both she and celestial criminals end up there after escaping the tower in ep. 2.

Xuan Xu Zhi Jing - 玄虚之境: “Realm of Deceit”

The Xuanxu realm is the region of Cangyan Sea that 30,000 years ago, saw the downfall of DFQC and the 100,000 soldiers loyal to him and to the Moon Tribe. “Xuanxu” means mystery or deceit, and perfectly describes how both DFQC and his soldiers were taken off-guard by Lady Chidi’s sacrifice, which sealed the soldiers within the earth. DFQC describes these tactics as “dirty tricks” in ep. 2.

Prior to the arrival of DFQC’s 100,000 soldiers, he and Lady Chidi had already been battling each other for some time (days in the novel), during which time, DFQC had marked the back of Lady Chidi’s neck with Hellfire, and she had weakened him. Thus, after her sacrifice, Lord Dong and the combined Heavenly High Council were able to gang up on and capture an already weakened DFQC, separating his spirit from his body and imprisoning both within Haotian Tower and the powerful magical seal of the Haotian Matrix. Note that DFQC refuses to stoop to this level of (deceitful) unfairness in ep. 13 when he refuses to fight a Changheng who is already injured and disadvantaged.

Shuiyuntian again launch an unprovoked attack and invasion of Cangyan Sea in ep. 31, on the deceitful false accusation that Ronghao offers them. The Xuanxu Realm is the site where the gravely outnumbered women and children of the Moon Tribe try to defend themselves against this genocidal onslaught.

Yun Meng Ze - 雲夢澤: “Cloud Dream Lake”

Yunmeng Ze is the only realm for mortal inhabitants among the three realms, as both Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea are the homes of immortal beings. It is named for the bountiful lakes bordering its buildings and residences. These lakes are connected to the Oblivion River, which immortals can use to transport themselves between Yunmeng Ze, Cangyan Sea and Shuiyuntian (as our OTP do in ep. 26).

The mortals that live here are not aware of the existence of magic or immortal beings, or of the other two realms, thus their perceptions are “clouded”. And like a fleeting cloud or dream, their lives are brief and fleeting compared with the lives of immortal beings. Even time runs much faster within Yunmeng Ze compared with the other two realms. A few hours in Cangyan Sea or Shuiyuntian is equivalent to a few months in Yunmeng Ze. For immortals living out tribulations in the mortal realm, their memories of their immortal lives are absent during this time, thus their perceptions are also clouded and the life they live out here is like a dream in retrospect.

Lu Cheng - 鹿城: “Deer City”

It’s not clear why Lucheng, a city in the mortal realm, is named after deer, but perhaps its inhabitants enjoy hunting deer for sport or for sustenance :) In the novel, Lucheng is a city under siege, thus its inhabitants are prey, similar to deer.

Hai Shi - 海市: “Sea City”

Haishi was founded by Ronghao with the backing of Xunfeng 30,000 years ago for the purpose of refining evil qi to sustain Taisui. It is a thriving centre for commerce and trade, and its location beside the sea (for which it is named “Sea City”) enables efficient transportation of mercantile goods to and from other regions. Within Haishi are located Jieli’s shop, the Luifang Pavilion and the Soul transformation grounds.

Haishi is located outside the three realms of Yunmengze, Shuiyuntian and Cangyan Sea. The evidence for this is: a) Jieli’s shop contains many magical artefacts that are forbidden in the mortal realm of Yunmengze so her shop can’t be there. b) XLH visits Jieli’s shop in Haishi in ep. 2 and she wouldn’t have been allowed to (or able to) visit Cangyan Sea at this time so the shop can’t be there. c) Jieli had been enchanted by her parents to have the appearance of a member of the Moon Tribe, thus would not have been allowed to live and trade in Shuiyuntian so her shop can’t be there. d) Ronghao is based in Haishi and he infrequently visits Shuiyuntian, thus Haishi is not in Shuiyuntian. Being outside the three realms enables Ronghao to refine evil qi from the souls of both Fairy Realm and Moon Tribe members without the notice of either of these tribes.

Liu Fang Ge - 留芳阁: “Keep Fragrant Pavilion”

The Liufang Pavilion in Haishi is the base for Ronghao (the Master of Haishi) and Dieyi, and is a legitimate business centre. It is the cover that they use for their nefarious activities of refining evil qi from the souls of the dead and feeding Taisui, thus it is important that they keep the reputation of this centre ever clean and fragrant.

Xi Shan - 息山: Breath (of life) Mountain

Xishan is also placed outside of the three realms in a faraway and remote location, and is named for the many mountains in this region. Members of the Xilan tribe inhabiting Xishan had the unique ability to restore damaged and disembodied spirits and had powerful healing magics. The Goddess of Xishan, with the power of the breath of life, could even resurrect the dead. The character for "Xi" is the same as the "Xi" in Xiyun (XLH's real name) and means breath (of life). Thus part of XLH's name is the same as the name of her realm, just as part of DFQC's name is the same as the name of his realm. This is because they both represent their respective realms and peoples as their leaders!

The Xilan tribe alongside the Goddess maintained tight security over the ultimate ancient evil god Taisui, who could not be completely defeated but was carefully sealed away beneath Xishan.

Here is a link to my article: LBFAD is the most inspiring series I have ever watched and here is why…

All of my LBFAD articles can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 1 month

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Reflections on Ep. 8 of LBFAD on rewatch

Arbiter Hall, Day 11: “Da Qiang!” Xiao Lanhua (XLH) called happily on returning to Arbiter of Fate Hall. She excitedly tells him how Changheng (CH) had praised her, refused to cancel her exam result and asked her to keep the Magical Jade Firefly stone. What a coincidence that the firefly came to Arbiter Hall – is this a sign that she and CH are meant to be together? :D

DongFang QingCang (DFQC) scowls in suspicion, slams his teacup onto the table and storms off to study the Xilan scroll for clues to what this new feeling is (it’s jealousy!). It’s the first time he has noticed his internal state not matching XLH’s feelings, but still believes his Tree of Emotions is permanently frozen. Alas, we saw in ep. 7 that his Tree had thawed, and later in this episode, it sprouts two new leaves, for romantic love and desire – feelings he had never experienced even prior to having his emotions removed. (Desire is not one of the listed seven emotions, but is associated with romantic love). He is now much more caring and sincere in all of his interactions with XLH.

Shangque (SQ) believes that since XLH is so happy, she should be able to fix Lady Chidi’s destiny leaf soon! Don’t be ridiculous SQ, DFQC says, she is not fully recovered yet, what’s the rush? He is in no hurry at all to end his blissful days by XLH’s side. :D

Enjoy this stage while you can DFQC! Once he returns to Cangyan Sea, having his emotions return to him in full force will be an inconceivably traumatic experience D: He had been a ruthless killing machine for centuries against his true sweet and caring nature, then suddenly had his compassion returned and had to deal with what he had done and his ongoing mission for revenge. Many have gone insane for far less. DFQC cannot be blamed at all for being “full of thorns” at that stage, as he describes himself in ep. 35 :(

Fountain Palace: Yulin, also plagued by jealousy, had stolen XLH’s Firefly stone and her crime is discovered by Danyin. Taken to Yunzhong’s (YZ) court, she refuses to admit the theft and clings to a far more dangerous story that CH had gifted it to her. But that would mean that CH had betrayed his engagement to the Goddess, so she is sentenced to the most terrible punishment an immortal could be subjected to - removal of her immortal bones. Far worse than an execution, it means she will not ever be able to reincarnate again. This is a chilling warning to CH to never dishonour his engagement, or else…

A tortured CH imagines what would happen if XLH came to work at Fountain Palace, as is her right and her long-standing dream. He doubts he could stop himself from seeking her out every day, speaking tender words to her, betraying his heart…YZ had spies everywhere – she would inevitably end up with her immortal bones removed too! D: He could never forgive himself for putting her in danger, and so, eliminates only XLH’s name from the list of new staff at Fountain Palace. And after he’d gone to so much effort to find and catch the firefly for her and deliver it to Arbiter Hall! He gazes at the orchid flower XLH had given him (soon it will be DFQC’s turn to do this in ep. 19 :D ).

Yujing, Day 12: To her disbelief, XLH is told by Lady Sansheng that CH did not accept her to Fountain Palace. An invisible CH watches as against all her expectations, her one and only dream is shattered to pieces.

Arbiter Hall: XLH discovers that the Firefly stone is also gone, replaced by an ordinary rock. She looks dazedly to DFQC for answers and he caringly complies with her query by carrying her up to Yunzhong Water Pavillion (their usual sunbathing spot!). What impeccable timing, as YZ is just now grilling CH on why he eliminated the remarkable fairy who used herself as bait to save everyone, from the Fountain Palace list. Didn’t CH praise her and say that she was “brave, intelligent, pure and kind?” (How does YZ know this? CH was right that he has spies on him everywhere!) CH uses the same arguments that XLH had presented to him when she tried to cancel her exam result! Her immortal roots are damaged, she is weak, she came from the mortal realm and doesn’t deserve the honour. YZ’s secret smile and headshake make it clear that he has seen through CH’s story. Nevertheless, YZ is pleased that CH has let go of his secret crush and is honouring his engagement.

Back at Arbiter Hall, XLH nurses her broken dreams and heartbreak at CH’s cruel words but tries to be strong. With her weak power, she should be happy that she passed the examination at all, so she says she will ask Peach to perform the celebration of scattering flowers. (DFQC takes careful note of this, and creates a scattering of peach blossom petals for her banquet in ep. 13! :D ) Sacrificing his own comfort for XLH’s well-being, DFQC tells her to cry and release her pain. “CH is blind” he says, his fury at the God of War ever increasing as he feels XLH’s grief and tears stream down his own face due to the Xilan curse. “Do you look down on me Da Qiang?” she asks anxiously. “To benzuo, you are as precious as my life” he replies, his voice husky with emotion and sincerity! In ep. 7, he resentfully said “Your life is as important to me as my own life”. This time, there is no resentment, and it is she herself, not just her life, that is precious to him. Not because of the one-heart curse, but because he genuinely cares for her!

DFQC roughly brushes a tear from XLH’s cheek and we see that the greenhouse flowers are in bloom! They are linked to XLH’s mood, so despite CH smashing her dreams, DFQC’s efforts to comfort her have had a far greater impact, and she is now happy.

But their tender exchange is interrupted by CH, who has arrived with ten soldiers to search Arbiter Hall for criminals. DFQC’s hatred for CH, who had hurt his Xiao Hua Yao leads to him preparing to attack rather than concealing himself with invisibility. XLH is alarmed! What is Da Qiang doing?! He can’t stand against the God of War and ten Heavenly soldiers! Although both of the men she cares about are there, her only thought is of saving DFQC. She protectively wraps her arms around him and topples them over the edge of Arbiter Hall. Our white-clad fairy and black-clad devil clasped tightly in her embrace fall a great distance into the Oblivion River (such a beautiful scene!).

And, they are both enjoying this close contact very much, as DFQC’s eyes close in pleasure, and XLH continues to hold him for quite a long time after they are in the water. When she finally realises she doesn’t need to and lets go, he is sad, again feeling like an unlovable beast that everyone avoids. Unfortunately, CH’s search of Arbiter Hall is quite long and thorough. XLH’s magic exhausted, the air bubble she had created around them bursts and she is drowning. Her demise would also mean the demise of DFQC, and he has several options available to him to save her. Should he recreate the large air bubble around them? Teleport them out of the water and conceal them with invisibility? Or fly them somewhere else entirely?

Another idea makes him hesitate, but in the end, he can’t resist the urge to claim her lips to provide her with life-saving air. XLH opens her eyes to find Da Qiang’s mouth fastened to hers and his hooded gaze upon her. Her heart races, and her first thought is of how wonderful it feels. She had wondered what it would feel like to kiss Da Qiang again, now that he had claimed her heart. His lips are soft and warm against hers, and his breath cools her burning lungs.

But as she remembers that CH is searching for him and kissing him is a bad idea, she pulls away, to his annoyance. Did she forget that she was drowning?! XLH realises she has no choice and gives in. It might be their last chance to express their feelings and release the tension between them. She continues to kiss DFQC as he breathes air into her lungs for many heated minutes until he is absolutely sure that CH is gone! :D This is a nice parallel to their first kiss in ep. 1, which DFQC had instigated to draw life-giving energy from her. This time, he is the one providing life to her through their kiss. It is also, in an unorthodox way, their first romantic kiss.

They are hyperaware of each other afterwards and XLH decides to go to Shuyu Forest to get some air and recover her dazed senses. As a similarly dazed DFQC touches his lips in wonder with trembling fingers, two new leaves sprout on his Tree of Emotions for romantic love and desire.

DFQC sits having tea and pondering why didn’t he just kill CH after all? He didn’t have to go along with XLH’s crazy plan. It would have been in the interests of the Moon Tribe to eliminate the God of War while he was separated from the rest of the Heavenly High Council and leave no witnesses. Unknowingly, this is the first of many times that DFQC has put his feelings for XLH higher in his priorities than his perceived responsibility towards the Moon Tribe.

But he is soon distracted by the Tianji mirror revealing to him a vision of XLH’s wedding to CH by the Oblivion River. He does not see the mortal realm wedding, as only the Oblivion River wedding requires his intervention. As Siming says in ep. 32, those who see a prophecy can bring it about (how ironic, as the last thing DFQC would want is to bring about XLH’s wedding to CH). This new crushing sensation in his chest is far worse than any other feeling he has ever felt.

Shuyu Forest: How XLH feels about her very prolonged make-out session with DFQC is clear from the way she is giggling and skipping through the forest while twirling her skirts. :D But Danyin bursts her bubble by informing her that a member of the Moon Tribe who escaped from Haotian Tower is still on the loose. XLH finally puts two and two together. Da Qiang’s surname is Dongfang…a surname known to belong to the Moon Tribe, and the missing prisoner is Moon Tribe. This is good…he can return to his people and escape from Shuiyuntian.

Arbiter Hall: DFQC is suspicious of the wine XLH offers him for the wrong reasons - Siming has some of the best wine in the three realms, wouldn’t she be angry that they were using it up? But he drinks it. Inconceivable! The mightiest being in the three realms is weak to sedatives?! Lucky that XLH has magic to help her move the Moon Supreme’s tall and sturdy body all the way down to the Oblivion River (I wonder where she got the boat from).

Oblivion River: As DFQC wakes from his stupor in a boat on the Oblivion River, XLH asks him to return to his people at Cangyan Sea and never return to Shuiyuntian, where he will be in danger. She doesn’t care about the risk to her own life for helping him. As she softly says “I’ll miss you”, through the one-heart curse he feels her overwhelming sadness and affection for him. He is very touched by her loyalty to him. She flies away, leaving him to eat her flower cakes thoughtfully.

Here is a link back to my episode 1 review (contains spoilers). More reviews to follow. All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

#love between fairy and devil #lbfad #lbfd #cang lan jue #canglan jue #clj #dongfang qingcang #dfqc #xiao lanhua #xlh #cdrama #lbfad meta #dylan wang #wang hedi #yu shuxin #esther yu #lbfad reflections

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glorious-sunset · 1 month

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Reflections on Ep. 7 of LBFAD on rewatch

Shuyu Forest, Day 10: Xiao Lanhua (XLH) drew a possessed Yingzhao away from the other fairies but is about to become Yingzhao fodder! (where is her Xilan magic when she needs it?!) Our dashing anti-hero knocks the beast unconscious, saving both of their lives once more! DongFang QingCang (DFQC) can’t believe how close he came to dying again due to the insufferable one-heart curse and XLH’s reckless actions!! Where the hell was Shangque (SQ)?! He is about to kill Yingzhao but XLH stops him. In her gentle way, she purifies Yingzhao of evil qi, heals him, and captures him with a Demon Pill.

As Dieyi lurks in the trees behind them, DFQC, barely glancing in her direction, blasts her shoulder with excruciating Hellfire. DFQC chides XLH for her soft-hearted nature which led to her placing herself in danger. “I will remove this nature from you completely so you won’t be in danger again” he says, intending to add an emotion-repressive component to their regular training sessions. In the past few days, he had spent hours with her every day trying to improve her cultivation and powers, although progress had been slow (as he complained to SQ in ep. 6).

But it is XLH who rubs off on him instead. She explains to him gently that if she and the other fairies hadn’t cared about each other and worked together, Yingzhao would have devoured them all. Placing a soft hand on his shoulder, she says that no matter how dark and painful his past was (she has no idea!), she and others are there to help him through it.

Their tender interlude is interrupted by Changheng (CH) calling for her. XLH entreats DFQC to leave. “If CH sees me with you, he’ll think that I…” “What will he think?” he taunts her with a long stare, feeling irrationally infuriated by her infatuation with CH. “That you’ve been colluding and fornicating with a criminal?” He wants CH to believe that they are lovers, that he has irrevocably claimed her for himself, and she is off-limits to CH forever. The thought is delicious…he wants to kiss her in front of CH right now…

But for now, he lets go of this fantasy and disappears. It is too early to reveal himself to his enemies. A panicked CH grabs XLH’s arms and is relieved she is unhurt (no thanks to you CH! You’re hardly ever there when she’s in danger :P ) Appearing soon after, Ronghao (RH) now knows that XLH, the target of his failed assassination attempt, is CH’s secret crush. Lady Sansheng and Supreme Liyuan (LY) also appear and LY is very suspicious of how exactly XLH managed to subdue the rabid Yingzhao. Her priority is, of course, to protect DFQC, and she refuses to mention his presence there.

But she is worried when RH retrieves the evil qi she had dispelled and LY claims that only members of the Moon Tribe or celestial criminals could have reared such an evil force! Does that mean…that Da Qiang might have been responsible? This seem unlikely to her, but then, who else here could have done it? She does not suspect RH at all – ah RH, you are too good of an actor! Nobody ever suspects you of anything!

Fountain Palace: LY and CH believe there must still be an escaped criminal from Haotian Tower at large, and LY decides to seal off the Heavenly Spirit Lock gate until they are captured. This presents a problem for RH, who is unable to return to Haishi.

Arbiter Hall: That evening, XLH receives a message from Lady Sansheng congratulating her for achieving first place in the fairies’ examination that day! She is overjoyed! :D

Due to use of the evil qi, DFQC has realised that the people of Haishi who tried to kill XLH made another attempt today, and that it is connected to Lady Chidi’s destiny leaf. XLH interrupts his talk with SQ by asking him to join her for a chat. Still suspicious of why he was in Shuyu Forest that day, she asks whether he is connected to the evil qi. DFQC never explains his actions to anyone, and so, his ambiguous denial is not enough to satisfy her. On a side note, he has this habit down to a fault! After returning to Cangyan Sea, he doesn’t explain to Xunfeng, or the elderly lady of the hunters’ camp, or to anyone, what he had been up to for the past 30,000 years. Xunfeng believes he had been living in Shiyuntian all that time, as he challenges XLH in DFQC’s body in ep. 12: “you’ve lived in Shiyuntian for 30,000 years. Have you forgotten our rules now?”

But for the first time, DFQC’s evasion backfires on him, as XLH takes him by the hand and uses the Xilan seal to make him turn himself in! He is forced to compromise his usual behaviour and explain that he had been in Shuyu forest to protect her. Yingzhao would have killed her if he hadn’t been there! “If you die, I will die too. Your life is as important to me as my own life” he tells her resentfully. Note that the value of her life to him changes over the series. At the start, it is equal to the value his life only because of the physicality of the one-heart curse. Soon after, it is equal to his life due to his growing love for her. But soon, it surpasses even that, and her life becomes much more valuable to him than his own life! In ep. 26, he tells her not to use her blood to heal or revive others, not even himself. When she dies, he cannot bear to live, despite no longer being bound by the Xilan curse. And by the end, he sacrifices all that he is…his life, his spirit, his very existence, and is prepared to sacrifice even the memory of his existence…to save her.

XLH is overwhelmed by his sweet proclamation and by the fact that he has saved her life yet again. As they sit down to tea together in their usual idyllic alcove, she reminisces about the joyful memories they have created together over the past ten days or so. Just yesterday, during one of their regular teatime chats, she had happily recounted to him how she had seen snow fall in Haishi for the first time recently. To her delight, he had created snow around Arbiter Hall for her, and a little campfire to warm themselves by as they watched the falling snowdrifts together. In this little alcove, they had eaten her flower cakes together every day, both having a fondness for sweets, and curled up with books next to each other. He had helped her with chores around Arbiter Hall whenever she had asked, folding sheets and blankets with her and even cleaning (she mentions in ep. 9 that she got him to do chores). In the lead up to the examination, he had spent hours with her every day trying to train her powers – something nobody else had ever cared enough to do. With her damaged roots, no one else had thought she could improve, except for him – he was the only one who believed in her.

Every day, Da Qiang had collected dew for her, and taken her to see the sun. Usually for the first rays of sunrise, but sometimes he let her sleep in and took her to see the late morning sun. XLH was not a fast flyer and Yunzhong Water Pavillion was a great distance away, so he would inevitably carry her there and back again ensconced in his strong arms, while she also held onto him. She enjoyed that part very much, although it made her heart race to be so close to him.

But the sweetness of these memories only made her heart ache all the more. It was bad enough that she would have to cancel her result of winning first place in the exam, as she couldn’t accept a result that wasn’t completely her own. In giving this up, she would be giving up the one dream that had kept her going over the past hundreds of years, of working at Fountain Palace. But what was even worse was the thought that one day Da Qiang might be gone. She tried to tell him how she felt, that he was like sugar to someone who was used to taking bitter medicine. She wished he could stay with her forever, that she would never have to taste bitterness again.

DFQC did not quite understand, but she had given him much to think about with her speeches on the value of emotions. As he watched her sleeping that night, a vague memory came to him once more of being tortured to the point of longing for death, to have his emotions removed so he could control Hellfire. He was not fully aware of the reasons for this, but the Moon Tribe had been facing imminent genocide at the hands of Shuiyuntian and their lethal spirit-vanishing arrow formation, to which they had no defence (mentioned in ep. 16). In the end, everything his father had done, to his father’s own unimaginable suffering, had been to save DFQC’s life, as well as the existence of their people, both of which could only be protected through his son’s control of Hellfire.

Haishi: RH, twisted as he is, is trying to remember his beloved Master by forcing another helpless woman to disguise herself as Chidi. His relationship with Chidi was not romantic; rather, he revered her as the magnificent Goddess of War that she was. He had been a blind and unwanted little flute boy, abandoned by his family and by the world, who had condemned him to a miserable death. Nobody had cared to give him a scrap of food or warm clothing against the bitter cold. Lady Chidi had given him a new life, one where he had sight, power, wealth, immortality, and most importantly, was cared for. How could any other woman even come close to his formidable Master? His guards wait in the wings to carry another corpse away the moment the maidservant slips up.

Arbiter Hall, Day 11: XLH finds a firefly in her greenhouse! Luring it with food, similar to her way with Yingzhao, she captures it in the Magical Jade Firefly stone CH had given her. She plans to return it to CH while cancelling her examination result, thus giving up her dreams of both Fountain Palace and of CH. “Everything will return to its original place,” she says sadly but with acceptance.

Yujing: Danyin, in an awesome growth arc, threatens to beat XLH into a pulp if she talks about cancelling her exam result again! As a judge, CH will not hear of it either, and persuades her to keep the Firefly stone.

Haishi: RH, having tricked XLH into purifying evil qi and resurrecting an Ice Jade plant with green Xilan energy, realises that she is the Goddess of Xishan! And also, that she is under the protection of the Moon Supreme, who had used Hellfire on Dieyi, and on inspection, has escaped from Haotian Tower. Our power couple have been discovered! Rotten friend that he is, RH does not tell CH that the woman he loves is actually his fiancée :D Instead, he tells the unconscious body of his Master that they will be reunited soon. The drama doesn’t explain well why Chidi is undergoing mortal tribulations, apart from Taisui saying it will keep her spirit alive (ep. 22). In the novel, however, they are her punishment for reviving RH through unnatural means. Despite her resounding victory over DFQC, the cruel ruler of Shuiyuntian had condemned her to live through 1,000 mortal trials, and in each one, she would be doomed to be murdered by the one she loved D:

Here is a link to my episode 8 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 1 month

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Reflections on Ep. 6 of LBFAD on rewatch

Arbiter Hall, Day 6: DongFang QingCang (DFQC) has discovered that the greenhouse flowers are connected to Xiao Lanhua’s (XLH) mood, thus, tending to her heart as well as her body are vital to her full recovery. As she waters her greenhouse that morning wearing the lavender gown he had created for her, he asks her what she likes and wants, that he would bring her anything within the three realms that she asked for. The only thing XLH can think of is that she wants her Da Qiang to be safe. Since their first night together, she had been in constant terror of him being discovered and executed, which had manifested as a terrifying nightmare. She offers to make his favourite food and fix the destiny leaf if he will turn himself in, thus sparing himself from execution for deserting. But as usual he just rolls his eyes.

DFQC needs the destiny leaf to be repaired, but XLH has not yet made a full recovery. To his surprise, he does not mind waiting another few days. Since XLH had discovered his sweet tooth on their second day together, she made pretty flower-shaped cakes for him every day in assorted flavours. He was, of course, used to the finest cuisine and pastries made by the best chefs across Cangyan Sea. But when he ate XLH’s flower cakes, she smiled and gazed at him fondly in a way nobody else ever had.

XLH was indeed very fond of Da Qiang, but never forgot that he was an escaped criminal who would one day be gone. She needed to pursue her dream to pass the fairies’ examination and work at Fountain Palace, so she told him that was the only other thing that she wanted. Sitting close to him, she felt comfortable enough to admit to him her secret crush on Changheng (CH). He looked away in annoyance as she praised CH but was gentle in his rebuke that CH did not deserve to be compared to the Moon Supreme. “There are a lot of beauties in the three realms” XLH told him earnestly. She still thought her heart belonged to CH, but wanted Da Qiang to be happy. With his looks, intellect and irresistible kindness, any woman would certainly be very lucky to have him.

“To benzuo, nobody in the three realms is as unique as Xiao Hua Yao” DFQC replied sourly. This little demon had cursed him and was the only one capable of repairing Lady Chidi’s destiny leaf. He had tried to lift the curse and fix the damned leaf himself without success. Yet, she was unique in other ways too. Unlike most celestials, she did not unthinkingly abide by the heavenly laws. She had not reported an escaped prisoner, and instead, had treated him with kindness.

XLH, caught off-guard by this seemingly adoring proclamation, tried not to lead him on. “The one I like is CH, not you,” she said as he looked hurt, “and I want CH to be by my side, not you!” As she leaves, DFQC considers what she says. XLH’s happiness and recovery are crucial to his goals, so perhaps he should give her what she wants…and pretend to be CH? CH is her dream lover, and he is now forced to consider what being a lover actually means. There are more than a few romance novels lying around Arbiter Hall, some raunchier than others…so this is why XLH hadn’t wanted to share his bed that first night. He wonders what it would be like to kiss her soft lips again…

Haishi: Dieyi has discovered the identity of the thief who stole Lady Chidi’s destiny leaf to be XLH! To avoid suspicion, Ronghao decides to kill her during the upcoming fairies’ examination and make it look like an accident.

Arbiter Hall, Day 7: XLH wakes naturally, still wearing her beloved lavender gown from Da Qiang, to find a grumpy CH seated close by her bedside peering at her intently. How long had he been there observing her and waiting for her to wake?! She can’t quite believe he came here “to be with her”, but when he states that “benzuo will stay by your side in this form from now on”, it all makes sense. A little relieved, she forces him to shed his disguise! The handsome CH in bland white robes morphs back into an infinitely more striking DFQC in bejewelled turquoise robes. He offers to tie up the real CH and bring him here if it will make XLH happy! :D Of course not! cries XLH, half afraid that he will actually do it. That would only put DFQC in danger (she believes) and protecting him is the most important thing to her.

Shuyu Forest: Supreme Liyuan finds his daughter Danyin overdoing her magic practice for the fairies’ examination, much to his displeasure. He has indulged her too much since the loss of his wife and other daughter. The foolish girl won’t give up her naïve fantasy that she can be with CH! He is terrified that she will follow in his footsteps and pursue a doomed relationship. If he himself hadn’t pursued his wife, who had been from the Moon Tribe and thus forbidden to him, she wouldn’t have ended up trying to flee from celestial soldiers while in the excruciating throes of childbirth. His heart ached when he thought of the suffering she had gone through due his selfish pursuit of her. He had no idea whether she was even alive, or what had become of their other daughter.

Arbiter Hall, Day 9: Over the past few days, DFQC had spent hours every day training XLH to improve her powers for the fairies' examination. But her progress has been slow. As she leaves after a training session, he complains to Shangque (SQ) that it is difficult to improve her cultivation. He never expected taking care of a plant would be more difficult than conquering the whole world! But surely there is no challenge that he cannot surmount? He will do whatever it takes to make XLH the happiest woman in the world! To aid her recovery (and since he shares her emotions, to make himself the happiest man in the world!) :D He has decided to be present at the exam to help her win first place.

Danyin arrives. XLH, concerned for DFQC’s safety, makes him conceal himself during her visit. Danyin is widely regarded as the most beautiful fairy in all of Shuiyuntian, and is intelligent and powerful, but DFQC only views her as a threat to his Xiao Hua Yao. He is immune to the charms of any woman apart from XLH, including the beautiful Xie Wanqing and Danyin. He loves XLH only because she loves him so much.

Danyin demands her destiny leaf to see if she can enter Fountain Palace (and have a future with CH). Be careful what you wish for Danyin! Danyin’s actions of damaging the Destiny tree open the Tianji mirror for her. To her shock, she sees XLH marrying her prince, CH, not once, but twice! She is unable to reconcile these visions with the timid and powerless cry-baby before her, and shoves XLH down violently. Once she has stormed off, DFQC gently helps XLH to her feet and smirks at the thought of being able to kill Danyin for her. But she quickly makes clear her preference for non-violence.

DFQC is confused – surely eliminating any potential threat would be the easiest option? He is angered by Danyin’s treatment of Xiao Hua Yao and doesn’t want to see a repeat of it at the exam tomorrow. Choosing non-violence is far more difficult and unnatural for him, but if it is what makes her happy, it is what he must do. From here on, he chooses to adhere to her wishes for non-violence even in situations where it would definitely be in the interests of the Moon Tribe to choose violence. As early as eps. 8 and 9, he places his love for XLH far higher among his values and priorities than his responsibilities towards the Moon Tribe, when he chooses not to kill CH and not to kill the High Council of Shuiyuntian in these respective episodes.

Yujing, Day 10: XLH arrives for the fairies’ examination wearing the lavender gown DFQC created for good luck (minus a frilly neckline overlay). She hears rumours that CH has been in seclusion making an Immortal Pill to help a certain fairy with her examination. Some details are wrong, such as how long he was in seclusion and which fairy it was (they all think it was Danyin – did she spread these rumours herself?). Danyin arrives and regards XLH appraisingly. She has been thinking about it and wonders whether, somehow, XLH is the Goddess of Xishan who went missing and is actually CH’s fiancée? (she asks her father about this possibility in ep. 12).

Ronghao arrives late after setting up his assassination attempt on XLH and correctly guesses that CH’s secret crush is among the assembled fairies. Yunzhong carefully eavesdrops on their every exchange. He is not unsympathetic to CH’s plight. As a member of the ruling family, Yunzhong himself had to sacrifice the love of his life to fulfil his responsibilities. That is why he allowed CH to keep the handkerchief of his love as a memento, on the strict understanding that CH’s duties must always come first. CH’s engagement to the Goddess is vital to protecting the three realms from the ultimate evil Taisui, who if released, would consume everything in its terrifying wake.

As CH hands out Demon Pills, he is careful to avoid Danyin’s gaze, to her disappointment. For XLH, however, he tries to seek out her gaze, softly whispering “be careful”. As the judges watch the examination in Shuyu Forest through the Kuitian mirror, he is constantly worried for her safety and wishes to rush to her aid when a private fight breaks out, and when they see a giant Yingzhao possessed by the evil qi. As per usual, CH is unable to do these things, but XLH’s dark knight, DFQC, always appears by her side to protect her.

XLH has spent the last few days reading about the characteristics of various demons, and their strengths and weaknesses. She recognises that the Yingzhao which SQ placed in her path likes to eat the plant Hounds tongue, which she has carefully brought along. Yingzhao, appreciating her kindness and recognising the rare purity of her spirit, indicates that she should use her Demon Pill on him. He growls at the other fairies, however, when they show up to bully XLH. An invisible DFQC, showing amazing restraint, blasts the fairies away without singeing a single hair on their heads with his hellfire (he is not so gentle with Dieyi in ep. 7). XLH believes this feeble blast came from her and can’t believe how strong she has become! :D

DFQC leaves to investigate the evil qi he has sensed, asking SQ to guard XLH with his life. While he is away, the gentle Yingzhao becomes possessed by the evil qi, turning into a gigantic raging overpowered monster! SQ knocks Yingzhao away from XLH, but he then terrorises the other fairies. The kind and caring XLH cannot leave them in the interests of her own safety! She saves Danyin, and the fairies team up to bind Yingzhao with their powers. They can’t contain him for long, and XLH takes charge. Demonstrating natural leadership skills, she directs the fairies into a hollow tree, persuades them to give her their Demon Pills, and uses herself as a decoy to lure Yingzhao away! She cuts her wrist to attract Yingzhao’s attention, alerting DFQC, who suffers the same injury through the one-heart curse.

Full credit to @justarabidlittleyingzhao for Yunzhong's backstory headcanon!

Here is a link to my episode 7 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 2 months

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Reflections on Ep. 5 of LBFAD on rewatch

Arbiter Hall, Day 4: DongFang QingCang (DFQC), after a torturous morning collecting dew drop by drop for Xiao Lanhua (XLH), finds her and the plant spirits gleefully celebrating his departure!! He has many enemies who scheme behind his back and want to kill him, is aware of Shiyuntian’s unflattering propaganda around him, and never gave these insults a second thought. But when XLH says that “even the air becomes clearer” without him around, it is like a sharp stab to his gut. When even the thoughts of the mightiest kings don’t bother him, why should the words of an inconsequential little flower?

XLH’s relief at his disappearance soon turns to sadness and worry. She misses Da Qiang terribly, and wonders if he is back at Haotian Tower. She knows he had been imprisoned for tens of thousands of years – how much longer would he have to stay if he went back? He is a good man and doesn’t deserve it. The plant spirits go to sleep and she feels bereft – until DFQC presents her with her morning dew! He looks more breathtakingly handsome than ever in a new set of robes and smells intoxicating from his fragranced bath.

DFQC tries hard to be patient with her requests to make the dew more palatable. When he blows on it to cool it down, it reminds her of her master Siming blowing on her porridge when she is sick. Since Siming left, nobody ever lifted a finger to care for her until now. Da Qiang promises to collect dew for her every day from now on – but how can she accept his kindness? Her heart belongs to Changheng (CH) doesn’t it? She is torn.

DFQC overdoes everything that the Xilan scroll suggests in his attempts to heal XLH! The amount of dew he collects is several times the amount she would normally drink, his efforts to keep her warm take him to the volcanic magma of Cangyan Sea, and only the best place will do to see the sunrise – the home of his enemy! :D It would be easier if he took her back to Cangyan Sea, let his medics attend to her, and retrieved his Jade Ring to block her emotions. He could then coerce her to fix the destiny leaf without emotional fallout. But the scroll said that the roots of the Xilan holy plant should not be moved except on particular days.

Yunzhong Water Pavillion: Yunzhong admonishes CH for ignoring his arranged marriage to the Goddess and for keeping another woman’s handkerchief. CH is dutifully shamed, discarding the Immortal Pill that he had poured his spirit’s vitality into creating over the last three days for XLH. If only he knew that XLH was actually his fiancée! :D Too funny.

Arbiter Hall: DFQC has been away all day and XLH, worried for his safety, has stayed up long past her usual bedtime to wait for him. When he returns and approaches her in her bedroom late at night, she retreats nervously. His proximity feels dangerous and exciting. He offers her the spark of Eternal Flame from the magma of Cangyan Sea, and is pleased when she recognises it from her books. But how could he have entered such a dangerous and distant place just to keep her warm – what if he had lost his life?!

Fountain Palace: CH reminisces about the momentous day he spent with XLH 500 years ago, which he then wiped from her memory without her consent!! There are many striking parallels between his history with XLH and DFQC’s continuing story with her. XLH did not know the true identity of either CH nor DFQC, but showed kindness to them both simply because of her caring nature. To CH, aggrieved by the attentions of simpering fairies chasing him for his fortune and status, this was the purest form of kindness he ever knew. XLH cured both men with her Xilan magic – for CH, this involved healing his physical wounds. CH appeared to have been mortally wounded and it is possible that she saved his life. For DFQC, she healed the damage to his Tree of Emotions, and mended his relationships with his father and brother. XLH is also the first person to try to protect either of these men, who everyone else relied on to protect them but were never offered care and protection themselves. In ep. 8 she protectively wraps DFQC in her arms in her attempt to save him from CH and his troops. What a woman! CH and DFQC never stood a chance. Also, CH, you are an idiot :D

Arbiter Hall, Day 5: It’s still dark when DFQC enters XLH’s room to take her to see the sunrise. Of course she’s reluctant to get up, lazy creature that she is, but the first rays of the sun are vital to her recuperation. Let’s see, she can’t go dressed in her nightclothes. He creates a soft and feminine lavender gown for her in keeping with her preference for light-coloured clothes, and gorgeous pastel hair accessories to match. Amazing!! We’ve seen him magically change his own clothes in ep. 2 and he does the same for her now. The next thing she knows, they are flying up, up, up, faster than she has ever travelled before and it is scary but exhilarating! Her arms encircle DFQC tightly and she feels safe in his embrace.

The lavender gown that DFQC created is the most beautiful out of all of XLH’s Fairy Realm outfits. The sleeves fall in soft, translucent frills, the bodice is lavender and the skirt is a collage of multiple pastel hues. His impeccable taste in fashion isn’t limited to his own wardrobe! (you can be my fairy godmother any time DFQC! :D ) This dress becomes XLH’s favourite; she wears it for the fairies’ examination in ep. 6 for good luck, and is seen wearing it in two scenes in the LBFAD end credits :D

Yunzhong Water Pavillion: DFQC watches with wicked amusement as XLH, not realising they are concealed by his invisibility cloak, panics at the sight of the heavenly soldiers approaching. They are now physically very comfortable with each other, and she grabs his waist, his arm, his wrist, as she tries to hide behind him and persuade him to leave before even more powerful high celestials arrive and capture them!

DFQC has to admit that the home of his arch-enemy is beautiful. But this reminds him that the Shuiyuntian dictators greedily hoard the best locations for themselves; they determine the class of others based solely on the status they were born into, and not on their personal merits. In Cangyan Sea, anyone can rise in status if they work hard enough and show potential. Shuiyuntian oppresses any member of the Moon Tribe simply because they are labelled as Moon Tribe – no other crime is necessary. In the lead up to the Battle of Two Tribes, Shuiyuntian had been cruelly and unnecessarily using their spirit-vanishing arrow formation (mentioned by his father in ep. 16) against the Moon Tribe, which meant that those they destroyed could never reincarnate and their spirits would never be at peace. The Moon Tribe had had no counter to their genocidal attacks until DFQC learned to control Hellfire.

They teleport to a romantic private balcony bordered with flowers just in time to catch the first rays of the rising sun. It’s the first sunrise XLH has ever seen! She can’t believe how beautiful the view is from the highest point in Shiyuntian! Not even high gods are allowed up here without being summoned by Yunzhong. To her enormous excitement, Cloud Whale, whom she has regularly spoken to over the past thousand years but never seen in person, makes an appearance!! Da Qiang made this possible for her, and she can’t help but love him for it.

Her radiant smile and soft, tender gaze upon him captivates him. From this moment, he is unable to take his eyes off her, and a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth! :D Even the flowers on the balcony bloom in response to XLH’s happiness. Unknowingly, the two of them are by now completely enchanted by each other.

Arbiter Hall: XLH takes the Universe Pill that Jieli gave her, and both she, and DFQC in response, experience excruciating stomach pains (shame on you Jieli! :P ). While DFQC dispels fire energy from her stomach, she tells him that despite being a grouch, he is not a bad person. “Within the three realms, nobody is worse than me!” he declares, followed soon after by “if you feel sad, I feel sad too” :D He roughly pulls a blanket over her on his way out – this small but very significant gesture is not born from the necessity to heal her, but from a new desire within him to care for her. He was trained to be ruthless, nobody taught him how to be kind, but from this point on he is slowly learning how. In ep. 8, he roughly brushes a tear from her cheek, and his small gestures of kindness only continue to become smoother and gentler.

Unfortunately, XLH continues to be sad while missing Siming and the eight-flower-porridge she used to make for her and DFQC can no longer stand it! His face keeps crying and it is distracting him from his reading!! How hard can it be to make porridge? He is not familiar with the kitchen equipment but has some experience with cooking over a campfire. So, he uses his hellfire to create a campfire on the rooftop. Bad idea, as smoke goes everywhere and flowers burn in the cooking pot :D But, XLH is overjoyed at his thoughtful efforts to cheer her up, which are well outside his comfort zone! He reminds her more and more of her master Siming, who was the dearest and most important person to her. All of the flowers in the greenhouse now bloom in response to her joy and affection (only two flowers bloomed for CH, in ep. 1 :P )

Here is a link to my episode 6 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 2 months

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Reflections on Ep. 4 of LBFAD on rewatch

Arbiter Hall: In Xiao Lanhua’s (XLH) dream, DongFang QingCang (DFQC) is kneeling and begging for mercy from Changheng (CH) :D What a vivid imagination she has! When she enacts the Battle of Two Tribes for her plant spirit friends later this episode she also claims that DFQC was “beaten black and blue, kneeling and begging for mercy!” Hearing this was bad enough for the real DFQC. How lucky that he can’t see her dreams! :D

In her dream, CH blames her for not reporting the presence of a criminal at Arbiter Hall and is about to execute her as well. She wakes up trembling with so much fear that even DFQC wakes up trembling and gasping for breath! She could easily send a message from Arbiter Hall reporting him but despite her great fear, would never consider this an option after he saved her life in Haishi. She now considers that both CH and DFQC have saved her life and is loyal to them both. (Actually, Siming made up the story about CH persuading her to keep XLH. Siming is fully aware of XLH’s real identity and would never have considered disposing of her). XLH does gently encourage DFQC a few times to turn himself in, but does this for his own interest – she fears that if he is caught, he will be executed, but if he turns himself in, he will only need to complete his sentence then he can live freely. She has already forgiven him for strangling her during their first encounter, reasoning that his imprisonment made him aggressive. He came for her and saved her from a definite demise after that, didn’t he? If not for him, she wouldn’t even be here right now.

Arbiter Hall, Day 2: At 5am the next morning, DFQC enters her room to demand that she repair the destiny leaf, now. He regards her sleeping form and face for a few moments. Her plump cheeks are rather cute. He pokes one of them to wake her, but when she complains, squeezes them both, protesting “I don’t have time to waste with you! Now you…” but he is forced to teleport into the greenhouse before he can finish his sentence. “What black magic has Xiao Hua Yao cast on me now?!” D:

He is forced to spend the next several hours counting 8,452 flowers, although he pretends to Shangque (SQ) that he chose to do this to improve his vitality as a warlord :D Any lesser being would be reduced to tears at this dizzying torture. SQ, go get the Xilan scroll! Hurry!

They examine the Xilan scroll. Disaster!! He has to obey her every command, and there is yet no clue on how to escape this nightmare.

At 9am, XLH wakes to find him bitterly proclaiming that there are 8,452 flowers in her greenhouse. After controlling him like a fool, she has the audacity to laugh at him and call him naïve for following her casual suggestion!! But when he explains that every word she says is very important to him, she is very touched. In fact, he is very attentive to every word she says. Both their stomachs are now rumbling (DFQC’s last meal was 30,000 years ago!) so she invites him to stay for breakfast.

DFQC is in the process of truthfully (and proudly) answering her question about his identity, but soon receives several hints that she might not be willing to repair the destiny leaf for him if she knew who he really was. He does not directly lie, but lets her believe that he is DongFang Qiang after she sneezes and mishears his name. “Don’t you know about the Battle of Two Tribes?” (Excuse me, he was the feature of that battle!) “Da Qiang! DongFang QingCang caused a lot of trouble for the whole of Shuiyuntian!”

XLH feels bad for his misfortune in sharing the surname of the infamous deceased DongFang QingCang, so hastens to cheer him up. She tells him he is lucky to have had parents, that he is a much better person than DongFang QingCang, and looks much more handsome than him! It’s no news to viewers that he is surpassingly attractive, but he scoffs at the idea that she is comparing him to himself :D Oh dear! He didn’t realise that she was actually comparing him to a green goblin with lice and bad breath :D And she made a valid point that he hasn’t bathed in thousands of years :(

When XLH gently suggests that he turn himself in, he stares hungrily at her while describing how DFQC likes to eat fair and chubby fairies with soft skin and tender flesh (he is referring to how he finds her plump cheeks and creamy skin appealing). He has thus reciprocally expressed his attraction to her in a very twisted way as he is not even consciously aware of it yet :D

DFQC has now gone from “I have no time to waste with you” to completely forgetting his mission! What other lies have Shuiyuntian been spreading about him?! He finds several books around Arbiter Hall and wastes no time in perusing them. He stays close to XLH and rarely lets her out of his sight. Inspired by their breakfast conversation, she also reads, about the Battle of Two Tribes and other historical battles. They chat and she learns that his parents have passed and he has no family in Shuiyuntian (hence why she later refers to him as a homeless dog! :D ). His company has XLH in exceptionally high spirits all day. Although he is grouchy, he is quite respectful and very attentive. She feels comfortable around him and leans into him while showing him how to make festival pastries.

DFQC does not trust anyone, but as XLH’s feelings are projected onto him through the one-heart curse, he discovers that she reads like an open book, completely guileless and innocent. He now feels he can somewhat trust her. Her insulting descriptions of DongFang QingCang continuously make his blood boil! But when he glares at her in anger and she flinches in shock, he regrets his actions and cannot blame her for the indoctrination she received from Shiyuntian.

DFQC asks XLH about her torn portrait of CH. She gasps, suddenly realising that for the first time she can remember, she hadn’t thought about CH even once that day (despite her dream about him last night!). She excuses herself and runs off, feeling she has betrayed CH somehow by enjoying the company of another man.

DFQC complains to SQ that he wasted the whole day with Xiao Hua Yao (you decided to do that DFQC! :D ), that repairing the destiny leaf is again postponed, that he needs the heart-hiding hairpin to protect himself from XLH’s charms, oh, and draw me a bath SQ, I am very upset at being described as an unhygienic troll. DFQC fills his bath with enticing fragrances so he can smell appealing. Ha, see if that damned little flower demon can compare him to a green-skinned goblin now!

Meanwhile, XLH speaks to Cloud Whale, whose soothing calls are frequently heard even at remote Arbiter Hall (they are heard four or more times during this episode). She has never seen Cloud Whale but has read about him and likes to imagine that he can hear her when she speaks to him. Since her master left hundreds of years ago, this unseen whale has been the only one she can talk to at night when loneliness hits her especially hard. She tells him, “although Da Qiang always loses his temper, isn’t that bright and refers to himself as benzuo, I think he is not that bad. He probably did not make a big mistake.” She smiles happily at the thought that he can now live freely.

Unpacking this appraisal, he loses his temper – this is the worst thing he does from this point, but always for good reason. He is not actually evil. He’s not that bright (?!) – he’s dense about emotions and understanding what might happen if they share a bed (both not his fault), but is otherwise exceptionally intelligent (his flawless recreation of Arbiter Hall alone is a work of genius). Refers to himself as benzuo (this seat of power, or this position). This is a bitter address of himself acknowledging that he does not belong to himself, but to his responsibilities. Probably did not make a big mistake – XLH never asks him why he was imprisoned. To her, it does not matter, as it is in the past, and she is appraising him based on how he currently presents himself.

Cloud Whale is very important to XLH, thus DFQC making it possible for her to finally see him in ep. 5 is of huge significance!

Arbiter Hall, Day 3: The next day, XLH faints while trying to repair Lady Chidi’s destiny leaf, and DFQC’s genuine concern for her is written all over his face. He may have claimed twice in this episode that he would “kill that damned Xiao Hua Yao” once he breaks her curse, but these are empty words. It’s nice that DFQC relies on SQ’s Chinese medicine skills, it makes them a great team and humanises him. Sweat beads on SQ’s forehead as he predicts that it may take three, five or a hundred years to fully cure XLH (DFQC, being the overachiever that he is, fully cures her in a week though! :D )

Arbiter Hall, Day 4: XLH sleeps through to the next morning and finds it strange that Da Qiang didn’t come to wake her (he is off collecting ten times the amount of dew he needs to :D ). She gets more and more worried as she is unable to find him. While she searches, CH arrives with the Immortal Pill he has poured his heart and soul into, and we see him smile happily! His smile is so sweet and rare, but his brother is always on standby to wipe it off his face anytime he dares feel even a glimmer of happiness. He is summoned to Yunzhong Water Pavillion without even a glimpse of his secret crush.

Here is a link to my episode 5 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 2 months

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Reflections on Ep. 3 of LBFAD on rewatch

Liufang Pavillion: It’s hilarious that Dieyi has been searching for the Xilan Goddess for 10,000 years, abducting countless plant spirits over that time, and the moment the Goddess actually appears right under her nose, she is about to toss her life away without a second thought! :D Luckily, a miniature sun made of DongFang QingCang’s (DFQC) powers uneclipses through a portal in the sky and he saves her (and himself!) just as she is about to be thrown into a cauldron full of evil qi, only in the nick of time. Phew, that was close!

DFQC’s bored look that he assumes every time he deals with enemies is delicious. DFQC sees Xiao Lanhua (XLH) as an object to be protected and hides her in his fist (what a contrast to the ep. 9 rescue where DFQC sees her as a person, as one of his people who is loyal to him and he is reciprocally loyal to her). XLH is therefore aware that he saved her, but does not see the devastation at his hand as his sun shoots killer rays at the Pavillion soldiers and sends shockwaves that shake the distant mountains around them. Dieyi is (rightfully) terrified. DFQC, sensing the evil qi from the cauldron and the fact that it and these people are a threat to XLH and therefore to himself, splits the cauldron in half (ha! He should have pulverised it, as he has to return in ep. 15 to do this and finish the job after Ronghao repairs it :D )

When everyone has either fled in terror or been disintegrated, DFQC examines XLH angrily. How could such a weak and pathetic creature, who can’t even protect herself, have cursed him, the most powerful being in the three realms?! No wonder he would “very very very very much like to kill” her. The fact that he can’t is tremendously frustrating and he is boiling inside. His menacing possessiveness being completely misinterpreted by XLH as affection is not only a hilarious ongoing gag, it is the only way these two could have managed to get emotionally close! :D

XLH still thinks that DFQC is an ordinary celestial criminal, because who else could he be? She heard from the other fairies in ep. 2 that celestial criminals had escaped but been captured by Changheng (CH). She’s not yet aware that members of the Moon Tribe were also incarcerated in Haotian Tower. The High Council told all the celestials that DFQC is deceased, so his real identity is the last person she would suspect him of being.

When DFQC asks her to break the curse, XLH recognises the Xilan seal due to her love of reading (an interest they share), especially of history books. She claims she couldn’t have cast this kind of spell on him as she is just a weak little orchid, so he investigates her story by examining her original form. He sees her orchid form with corroded roots, the disguise her parents bestowed upon her. Note however, that after visiting the Great Turtle in ep. 9, her form looks much more ambiguous when Sansheng examines it. DFQC lets her go, believing he doesn’t need her help. In her haste to leave, she drops the Universe Pill, which he picks up. He tries to remove the Xilan curse himself but finds, almost unprecedentedly, that this is a magic too powerful for him to neutralise.

Oblivion River: DFQC and Shangque (SQ) now know that XLH is a surviving member of the Xilan tribe but not that she is the Goddess. In fact, SQ tells DFQC in this scene that the whole tribe including the Shennu (Goddess) were wiped out 30,000 years ago. DFQC doesn’t realise she is the Goddess until ep. 26.

The implications of the curse get worse! Not only does DFQC share XLH’s physical vulnerability, he has to share her emotions as well! (oh boy, wait until he finds out about having to obey her every command! :D )

Arbiter Hall, Day 1: This is the start of the ten-or-more day period at Arbiter Hall which for DFQC, although he complains bitterly most of the time, are in retrospect the happiest and most precious days of his life. Having passed through Shuiyuntian’s Spirit Lock gate concealed by his powerful invisibility cloak, he appears at Arbiter Hall, much to XLH’s exasperation. Doesn’t she wonder where he gets these fabulous outfits from, or why an escaped criminal is so well-dressed and wears a crown? :D

XLH puts her hands on his waist and tries to stop him from entering Arbiter Hall. He pauses. Nobody else would even dare enter his close proximity, let alone touch him! Now this weak and cute little fairy keeps touching him rather intimately with her soft, warm hands and he’s not sure what to do about it. Why isn’t she afraid of him like everyone else is? Even his dominating moves, pulling her body against his and her face within an inch of his own only work momentarily. She briefly glances at his lips then decides she is not interested. “Let go of me” she says calmly. As she pushes him away, she drops the destiny leaf and DFQC summons it into his hand.

Since her efforts to snatch it back are annoying, he teleports her away with a snap of his fingers. We’ve now seen him easily teleport both himself and her, and his ability to create impenetrable invisibility cloaks around himself (and her in ep. 5). This brings me to a side note. How interesting it is that he chose not to use these abilities during a certain underwater scene in ep. 8 to teleport themselves out of the water and conceal themselves, nor to recreate a large air bubble around themselves similar to what XLH conjured when they first hit the water. Very tellingly, he instead chose to provide her with air through much more intimate means, which she was then forced to go along with for many minutes as CH and his troops searched Arbiter Hall! (fortunately for him, she also enjoyed it and is seen skipping happily through the forest afterwards) ;D

Back to the destiny leaf. What a turn of good luck! Lady Chidi’s spirit is not burned and dispersed as he thought. He recognises the destiny leaf as belonging to a mortal reincarnation of Lady Chidi through her Hellfire mark. The leaf is the key to obtaining her spirit, freeing his 100,000 loyal soldiers and reviving Cangyan Sea! Unfortunately, XLH returns and uses her powers to grapple with him over the destiny leaf. He tries to be gentle to avoid damaging the leaf but is unsuccessful. The destiny leaf was fine until they damaged it with their bickering!

Fountain Palace: CH ordered his subordinates to search the whole realm for escaped criminals – ah! But they overlooked the most important place, the home of his love! What a great excuse to see her – he decides to go there personally.

Arbiter Hall: DFQC is careful to avoid physically harming XLH while still trying to threaten her enough to get information about Lady Chidi’s destiny leaf. This is new territory for DFQC. He threatens to burn her greenhouse (and her plant spirit friends) to motivate her to obey him, but will soon discover why this is a bad idea since he shares her emotions.

While he holds her hostage, CH arrives and does not pick up on any of Creeper’s hints! Poor Creeper! She is terrified of DFQC and that he will kill XLH if she slips up (not knowing that he can’t), but still wants CH to protect XLH and the plant spirits. “The Arbiter Hall is very safe. Nobody came to steal a destiny book nor burn the greenhouse. My lord, please look for XLH” :D Why is CH so dense? Having learned that XLH is preparing for the fairies’ examination, he still keeps his distance, not taking up Creeper’s suggestion to give her guidance in person, and instead runs off to make an Immortal Pill to help her with the exam!

XLH cries. DFQC is overwhelmed by her feelings of sadness projected onto him! He realises that if he continues to upset her he will also suffer, so changes tactics to offer her the Universe Pill that she lost if she repairs the destiny leaf. XLH tries to fix the destiny leaf but is too exhausted. This leads to discussions about sleeping arrangements. “Where do you want to spend the night with benzuo?” She is still in danger from the people of Liufang Pavilion and he needs to protect her. XLH is understandably concerned at the thought of sharing a bed with a handsome stranger. DFQC's blank expression when he asks what would happen if they share a bed is priceless! This is the first of many times he looks adorably confused as he considers her words – he is very attentive (and soon, also respectful) of everything she says!

However, he still views her as an object (his one vulnerability) to be protected, so she finds he has teleported himself onto her bed (with his shoes on! The indignity!) He left a liiiittle bit of space on his left side for her and fully expects her to lie there beside him :D He is so clueless! If those two actually shared a bed at this stage in the name of protecting XLH, I’m certain she would be the only one tempted to cross a line (though he might respond). But our heroine insists on being treated as a person with her own thoughts and values, and generally wins every argument that they have. Her charming smile softens his resolve and he respectfully goes back to his own room.

Despite him being so annoying, XLH has already started to care for him, and in her dream, is terrified that he will be captured and killed!

Bonus artwork from the supremely talented clj-art-blog (use tag #clj-art-blog to view all of her fabulous artwork!). If DFQC had been a little more persistent and XLH a little less stubborn. Sharing a bed with her dark protector in Episode 3, posted with permission.

Here is a link to my episode 4 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 2 months

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Reflections on Ep. 2 of LBFAD on rewatch

Haotian Tower: Body-swapped with each other and unable to access their usual powers, neither DongFang QingCang (DFQC) nor Xiao Lanhua (XLH) are able to escape from Haotian Tower. Not realising whom she is dealing with, XLH defiantly pokes DFQC in the shoulder when he asks her to use his body’s energy to break the Haotian matrix. This is the first of many times she pushes him around, something nobody else would even dare to contemplate! :D

DFQC is able to effortlessly tap into and use XLH’s usual powers to much greater effect than she herself can - to her amazement! Using white energy similar to what she used in ep. 1 to fix destiny leaves, he creates invisible scissors to give her body a trendy haircut (ever the king of style!) “Don’t forget, your body is in benzuo’s (this seat of power’s) hands now”.

DFQC can’t stand the sight of his own face crying and covered in tears and his nose running, which is why for the very first time in history, he allows himself to submit to the will of someone who is threatening him. He painstakingly reattaches each individual hair strand using XLH’s usual powers, something she could never have achieved herself while in her own body! XLH now agrees to cooperate with him, slyly justifying that an escaped criminal should the problem of the heavenly high gods and soldiers, and she shouldn’t take this job away from them. “Xiao Hua Yao (little flower demon), you have some features of the Moon Tribe” DFQC tells her appraisingly. But however hard she tries, XLH can’t control DFQC’s hellfire. Their only option is to repeat their previous kiss in an attempt to swap back!

Fountain Palace: Changheng (CH) is purposefully avoiding the victory celebrations in his honour. Although Yunzhong claimed in ep. 1 that CH was suppressing a rebellion at Northernmost Ocean, DFQC’s lieutenant Shangque (SQ) says later in this episode that the celestials recently invaded the Northernmost Ocean, that they have been taking advantage of the civil unrest to claim more and more of the Moon tribe’s lands! DFQC at that point noted bitterly that the celestials had been bullying the Moon tribe while he was away. I think CH must have at least an inkling that his tribe are the bullies here. The Moon tribe at Northernmost Ocean were so divided and disorganised that it was no challenge for him to defeat them and drive them away.

CH brought back souvenirs from Northernmost Ocean for the two people he cares about the most. The Firefly stone for XLH, and Green Flame Wine for Ronghao (RH) who has popped in(to a painting) for a visit. CH shares that he is horrified at the attitude of the celestials towards the masked fairy that sacrificed herself for him, saving his life and allowing them to reseal the Haotian matrix. The celestials never gave her a second thought. RH’s grief for his master Lady Chidi is a direct parallel of this! Lady Chidi’s battle with DFQC not only weakened him enough to allow the celestials to seal him in the first place, but her sacrifice (allegedly) saved the celestials from being wiped out by the 100,000 soldiers of the Moon tribe. However, none of the celestials gave her sacrifice a second thought, and nobody apart from RH and CH even visited her grave on the anniversary of her death.

RH is fishing for information from CH about the whereabouts of the Goddess of Xishan (Yunzhong also asks CH about this in ep. 5), whom he needs to kill in order to resurrect his beloved master.

Haotian Tower: Enter Dominatrix DFQC in XLH’s body! :D He is generally dominating, but it is more hilarious when they are body-swapped (and sexy when they are not). XLH is finally able to activate some of his hellfire to blast him away, but when he collides with an electric wall, realises that her body is in danger and could be disintegrated! She hastens to propel herself towards him so they can lock lips in their second lengthy and electrifying kiss.

It works, and they are back to their original bodies! DFQC smashes the Haotian Tower and matrix (made of the combined strength of the entire heavenly High Council) as if they are nothing. He then tries to kill XLH, not for revenge, but to keep his escape a secret. At this stage, he does not trust anyone, not even SQ, and much less any celestial. But the one-heart curse kicks in, he is unable to harm her, and allows her to leave (he also does this after their next encounter at Haishi). At this stage, he has rarely encountered a problem he can’t solve himself and believes the curse is no exception.

When reconstructing Haotian Tower, he deliberately leaves the bottom level of the tower broken, allowing celestial criminals to escape – both to provide a plausible reason for the disturbance that occurred when he destroyed the tower, and to distract the heavenly soldiers who would then be preoccupied with rounding up these escaped convicts. He is careful, however, to leave no sign of disruption to the Haotian matrix in order to prevent the celestials from checking on him.

Shuyu Forest: XLH, having discovered that CH’s destiny leaf is back to normal, is skipping happily through the forest. She’s happy because of CH, but this reminds me that the next time we see her skipping happily through Shuyu Forest in ep. 8, it’s because she has just spent several hot minutes exchanging underwater kisses with DFQC! The source of her happiness has changed between now and then ;D

CH, while investigating the disturbance in the forest and rounding up a couple of escaped convicts, drops XLH’s handkerchief which he had hastily stuffed into his sleeve at the end of the 2D painting scene. What kind of place is that to store such a treasured item? The impracticalities of robes without pockets! :D

Oblivion River: DFQC calls for his lieutenant, SQ, a fearsome giant black dragon who can also take the form of a handsome man. Although SQ was resting in the river when DFQC calls for him, he has proactively been keeping tabs on everything that has been going on during the 30,000 years of DFQC’s absence while keeping himself concealed. DFQC’s death had been announced 30,000 years ago, but SQ never gave up hope that the man he saw as a brother would return to him. SQ’s love and loyalty towards DFQC is incredible. XLH may have waited 500 years for DFQC, but SQ had already waited 60 times that amount of time before she came onto the scene.

Haishi: XLH visits Haishi, a city in a location outside the three realms and sees snow falling for the first time! She goes to the shop of her (so-called) friend Jieli to buy a Universe Pill in an attempt to heal her corroded immortal roots. Sadly, Jieli has been raised her whole life under the control of the show’s villains, who have used poison to control her actions. It is so sad in retrospect :(

Xuanxu Realm: DFQC and SQ visit the site of the catastrophic battle between DFQC and the former God of War Lady Chidi 30,000 years ago. In a flashback to the battle, both DFQC and Lady Chidi had blown themselves up to gigantic proportions (as DFQC does in ep. 3). This is a profound portrayal of how overpowered they both are! While battling each other for some time, DFQC marked the back of Lady Chidi's neck with his hellfire, and Lady Chidi significantly weakened DFQC. When 100,000 soldiers of the Moon Tribe arrived, Lady Chidi sacrificed her life in order to turn them to stone with the magic of her devastating Shuofeng sword. Lord Dong and the High Council were then able to seal DFQC’s body and spirit away with their combined efforts.

The enormous Shuofeng sword and the ten thousand petrified Moon Tribe soldiers still remain, but DFQC is unable to free his people without the primordial spirit of Lady Chidi.

Liufang Pavillion: Sent by Jieli to deliver goods to the pavillion, XLH rescues a poor plant spirit that had been abducted by the show’s villains, and discovers a hidden destiny leaf there! But all destiny leaves should be placed at Arbiter Hall so she quickly retrieves it. When she tries to read it, she can’t make out who it belongs to. To DFQC in ep. 3 however, it is as clear as day that it belongs to Xie Wanqing, the mortal reincarnation of Lady Chidi, as he recognises the mark of Hellfire on the back of her neck.

Alas, she is captured by Dieyi who cruelly whips her arms with a chain! Through the one-heart curse, DFQC suffers the same wounds as her and realises that something is wrong.

Here is a link to my episode 3 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 2 months

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LBFAD is the most inspiring series I have ever watched and here is why…

Although Love Between Fairy and Devil (LBFAD) only caught my eye on Netflix in December 2023, I’m so glad it did and that I didn’t miss out on this stunning and thought-provoking masterpiece. It is the most inspiring series I have ever watched for many reasons. Aesthetically, I found the beautiful 4K production quality as enjoyable as high-budget productions such as Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. I frequently felt the need to pause and admire the well-designed sets, and exquisitely detailed costumes of even minor characters. The acting is superb across the board, and the leads act and respond very naturally to each other. The long hair of male characters is especially well-done, falling naturally with subtle highlights and looks real. All these details breathe life into this fantasy world and make it very realistic.

Every line of each song from the phenomenal OST is brimming with hidden meanings related to the series, adding lots of additional context! The artwork created for the opening and ending themes is also full of meaning (minor spoilers ahead). Take, for example, the last picture where the OTP are sitting on a boat in the Oblivion River, the junction between their two tribes, the male lead has removed his crown and hence his responsibilities at least for the moment, and they are watching the sunrise together for the rest of eternity after the close of the series (sigh!)

Every single character of note in the series goes through profound character growth, the only exception being the abstract ultimate villain Taisui. Even the secondary villains and dictator of Shuiyuntian have grown and changed their perceptions by the end. It made me believe that anyone is capable of opening their minds and bettering themselves. Both lead and side characters are repeatedly faced with overwhelmingly bleak choices and heartbreaking challenges, especially in the last ten episodes. Yet every time, they show courage, sacrifice and selfless love that is amazing and very inspiring.

It is rare to find this kind of poignance in any production. I used to find Game of Thrones inspiring due to Daenerys freeing the world of slavery…until Season 8 happened. LBFAD tops Game of Thrones in this regard by freeing two distinct realms from conflict. The actions of the OTP break through a hundred millenia of mutual hatred and relentless conflict between their people with no end in sight, to create a new dawn of lasting peace. LBFAD reminds me of Lord of the Rings in terms of its cinematographic beauty and themes of never losing hope and prevailing over overwhelming odds. However, the stronger focus of LBFAD on the lead couple’s development and on creating multidimensional villains and side characters made it, for me, more engaging to watch.

The world-building and depth of characters has many layers in LBFAD, to the extent that much of the context was clear to me only in retrospect on rewatching the series and on deep reflection. The fast pace of the series also means that a lot of action occurs off-screen in between scenes. There are no filler scenes, there is no room for them. Every scene adds new plot twists and depth to characters, making the series highly addictive.

I am not a native mandarin speaker, and came to realise how beautiful the language is only on encountering LBFAD and its OST. It inspired me to learn mandarin, which makes rewatching the series highly enjoyable as I am able to pick up new nuances. I’m embarrassed to be so late to watch LBFAD after its release in 2022, but have thoroughly enjoyed the posts on Tumblr from fellow fans, including episode analyses, enthralling artwork and links to fanfiction. It has encouraged me to post on Tumblr myself. I have started to post my reflections on each episode while rewatching them, translations and overviews. I am thrilled to be a part of this wonderful community!

Links to some of my other LBFAD articles:

Character Names in LBFAD - Meaning and Significance

Location Names in LBFAD - Meaning and Significance

Here is a link to my episode 1 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

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glorious-sunset · 2 months

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Reflections on Ep. 1 of LBFAD on rewatch

Arbiter of Fate Hall: In the beautiful open and airy sky abode of Siming Dian, Xiao Lanhua (XLH) manages to stay cheerful, kind, and resilient despite her lonely circumstances. Her master Siming left her alone 500 years ago with no explanation. Through no fault of her own, everyone looks down on her because of her weak power and origin from the mortal realm. Only her four plant spirit friends are nice to her, but they have no physical bodies and are awake only a couple of hours every day. XLH has one dream that keeps her going despite her loneliness, to work at Fountain Palace, be surrounded by company and see her secret crush, the God of War Changheng (CH), everyday.

Siming, master manipulator and arbiter of fate, had always been aware of XLH’s true identity and spun many stories to guide her destiny. XLH’s corroded immortal roots were part of the disguise bestowed upon her by her parents, and Siming helped cover up this secret by claiming that she spoiled XLH’s roots with wine. Siming told XLH that she had been about to dispose of XLH’s orchid form 1500 years ago prior to her transformation into a human, but CH visited and persuaded her to keep XLH, thereby saving her life. This story was designed to push her towards CH, who was an important part of her destiny. In truth, Siming would never have disposed of XLH and CH had never even met Siming.

Yunzhong Water Pavilion: Our brooding second male lead, CH, is called back to Shuiyuntian after a resounding victory over the forces of the Moon Tribe at the Northernmost Ocean of Cangyan Sea! But actually, the Moon Tribe were so disorganised (thanks to the efforts of Ronghao) that CH is embarrassed by his victory and doesn’t think it worth mentioning. CH’s older brother, Yunzhong (YZ) is the current ruler since their father, the powerful Sun God Lord Dong, is in seclusion after the Battle of Two Tribes 30,000 years ago. During this battle, Lord Dong’s energy was severely drained by his attempt to defeat and imprison the Moon Supreme, DongFang Qingcang (DFQC), with the help of the entire celestial High Council. This demonstrates DFQC's immense power, greater than even that of the almighty Sun God (who is referred to as "the Creator" in ep. 34). Unable to completely defeat DFQC, it took Shuiyuntian’s combined efforts just to separate DFQC’s spirit from his body and seal both in the Haotian matrix, a powerful magical seal made of their combined energy.

YZ and CH are half-brothers with different mothers who do not get along (delightfully though, CH later finds the older brother he never had in DFQC! :D ) Another important figure on the High Council is Supreme Liyuan, Lord Dong’s peer and among the eldest in the Council. YZ and Liyuan speak privately with CH and inform him that his help is urgently needed to reinforce the Haotian matrix, which has been weakened by the disembodied spirit of DFQC!

Shuyu Forest: XLH, having heard from visiting fairies that CH has returned, sets out to find him in Shuyu Forest. When XLH approaches CH in the forest, he is thinking about her right at that moment! He is holding the Magical Jade Firefly stone he promised to get her 500 years ago – he actually got it for her on his recent excursion to Northernmost Ocean and is trying to capture a firefly for her. He’s more obsessed with her then she is with him! :D But, he believes it is a forbidden love, as he is promised to the Goddess of Xishan who disappeared 30,000 years ago. CH takes an orchid flower from XLH to remember her by, and drops the Jade stone for her to keep. His smile as he leaves is so sad and heartbroken, believing they can never be together.

Arbiter Hall: XLH discovers that CH’s destiny leaf has unexpectedly changed – but the destinies of high gods are supposed to be very stable! CH’s destiny changed because of DFQC's actions. Now he is destined for the destruction of both his body and spirit (meaning he won’t be able to reincarnate and will be gone for good). In the last episode of the series DFQC changes XLH’s destiny as well. This is great foreshadowing! And it highlights DFQC’s unique tendency to break nature’s laws time and time again! :D

Haotian Tower: DFQC’s disembodied spirit finally breaks through the Haotian matrix, which it has pounded away at every day for the past 30,000 years! His formidable energy flares and knocks back the thousands of celestial high gods trying to contain him. CH unnecessarily risks himself by moving ahead of everyone else. This kind of foolish bravado is typical for him through the series, as he repeatedly insists on putting himself in danger when he is already gravely injured. He believes it his duty as God of War to protect others, and underestimates DFQC, whom he has never met. But also, his bitterness about his lack of control over any aspect of his life has turned him into a risk-taker.

Luckily for CH, XLH has decided to sacrifice her life and spirit for him when she shields him wearing a mask (an anonymous sacrifice!). She knows she has no power except to take the blow that would otherwise have completely destroyed CH. Due to Siming’s (false) story about CH persuading Siming to keep XLH 1500 years ago, she feels that she owes CH her life, and has a deep sense of gratitude towards him. It’s profound that XLH is so self-sacrificing and cares for others above her own life. Her courageous and self-sacrificing nature are defining characteristics for her, shown several times over the series.

However, sensing the presence of XLH’s Xilan energy, DFQC’s spirit ceases its attack, and decides instead to bring XLH to DFQC’s body. Only members of the Xilan tribe had the ability to reunite spirits and bodies that had been separated, and XLH is the last surviving member of the Xilan tribe (mentioned by Ronghao in ep. 7). In carrying XLH back into the Haotian Tower with his spiritual energy, DFQC has now given up his victory of breaking through the Haotian matrix which his spirit had worked towards every day for the past 30,000 years! The celestials (apart from CH who is shocked at the fairy's sacrifice) collectively breathe a huge sigh of relief and waste no time in promptly resealing the matrix.

XLH floats through the top tier of Haotian tower towards DFQC’s unconscious body, carried by a forcefield generated by DFQC’s spirit. His graceful figure suspended in mid-air is reflected in her lustrous eyes as she gazes at him in wonder, astonished by his beauty. She is drawn closer by his forcefield until her hand makes contact with his chest. XLH's green Xilan energy flares, restoring his body’s consciousness, and reuniting his body and spirit! His eyes are blue pools of unfathomable power as he opens them and looks at her.

DFQC needs more of XLH’s healing Xilan energy to regain his strength. Since his arms are chained, he creates an irresistible forcefield, visible on screen, to draw her mouth to his. However, feeding on her energy has unintended consequences. As their spiritual energies collide in a resplendent flare of blue and green energy and an explosion of lights, XLH unconsciously casts the one-heart curse on him as a protective response. This entangles their spirits permanently. XLH, discovering a dead tree within his frozen metaphysical Sea of Emotions, touches it curiously and brings it back to life. While their spirits are merged, the lightning in Haotian tower strikes, resulting in their spirits actually swapping bodies! All of this causes XLH to pass out; meanwhile, DFQC in her body is completely unfazed and quietly meditates on the floor.

XLH regains consciousness to find someone who looks like her but is much more terrifying before her! Realising that she has swapped bodies with the beautiful man that she was kissing, she curiously feels her new body’s hard chest and muscular thighs – until DFQC glares at her sharply. They are now both stuck within the tower without the means to escape.

Here is a link to my episode 2 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

Links to some of my other articles:

Character Names in LBFAD - Meaning and Significance

Location Names in LBFAD - Meaning and Significance

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