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wutheringskies · 7 months

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Wei Wuxian: The Untamed Hero

Wei Wuxian had to be killed even if:

1. He carried his sword

2. He didn't use gui dao

3. He didn't create Yin HuFu

4. The Wen remnants were not in the plot

Then, why? The reason is here, voiced by Jin Zixun of all people:

Wei WuXian, you are too bold! Did the LanlingJin Sect invite you today? And you dare run wild here. Do you really think that you’re invincible, that nobody has the courage to confront you? Do you want to overturn the Heavens?”

Wei WuXian smiled, “You’re comparing yourself to the Heavens? Excuse my language, but your face is a little too thick, isn’t it?”

So, you see, this untamed heart can only meet with tragedy as the world is unrighteous, as those who are in power think their actions cannot be contested (and they often aren't!), and that their words are like the law. How many times have we seen, a convicted powerful person escape the justice system? Far too many. And how many times innocents or victims were framed for crimes? Also too many. People like Wei Wuxian aren't condemned by fate, but rather, being born into a world where the "heavens" are those who are powerful and corrupted, he very well might be destined to live tragically, along with others of his type.

Returning to the matter of this particular scene: on one hand, the Jins throw private banquets, gilded with gold. The major scandals are: Jin Zixun is forcing the Lans to drink alcohol! You see, Lan Xichen can't outrightly refuse, so he is trying to be polite about his rejection. Jin Guangyao is trying to reason and excuse, and distract. The crowd spurs Jin Zixun on, wanting to see the Lans drink for once and fall to their level.

Everyone is in their own fine little world, doing their niceities in their golden halls drinking expensive wine, admiring pretty women, gasping at scandalous behavior, asking for favour, gossiping etc.

And then Wei Wuxian walks in. Uninvited. He simply drinks the wine himself, before demanding these people to spare him their time for real wordly issues, such as deaths, debts, cruelty, the parts that society wishes to hide. A few scenes later, we are shown with much description, just how terrible Qiongqi Path is. That's the Jin's backyard. You see their achievements that are drawn on those big walls? We see the reality of the people making them.

Now, let us come to another incident. Think of the soup incident. I fully expect before Wei Wuxian came into the scene, people were simply gossiping, uninterested in finding out what was going on, why Lady Jiang is crying. Then, Wei Wuxian comes and realizes Jiang Yanli who never really cries... was crying, and firstly decides to beat the shit out of Jin Zixuan. Secondly, he understands the whole truth, beats Jin Zixuan up for humiliating his Shijie, and also makes the other girl face responsibility.

Although his shijie had an easy temper, except for how they cuddled and cried together the day the three of them reunited after Lotus Pier was destroyed, she hadn’t really shed many tears in front of others, much less cry so loudly, so pitifully in front of so many people. Wei WuXian was filled with panic. As he tried to ask her, Jiang YanLi was crying so badly that she couldn’t even speak properly. Then, when he saw Jin ZiXuan standing on the side, astonished, he fumed with anger, wondering to himself why it was the dog of a person again. With a kick, he pounced on Jin ZiXuan. The fight between the two would have alerted the Heavens. All of the cultivators around the base came to break up their fight. Amid the ruckus, he finally understood what was the cause of all this, and became even more angered. He spread his tough talk, saying that one day he’d definitely make Jin ZiXuan die in his hands, he told people to drag out the cultivator woman.

A round of questions later, the truth emerged, and Jin ZiXuan’s entire body was frozen. No matter how much Wei WuXian continued to curse at him, he returned neither words nor fists, his face dark. If not that Jiang YanLi held up her hand a while later, while Jiang Cheng and Jin GuangShan came to pull Wei WuXian away, it was likely that even now Jin ZiXuan wouldn’t be able to attend the hunt of Phoenix Mountain.

See.

The point is, perhaps, people feel Wei Wuxian's actions are unnecessary. But imagine if he wasn't there! The consequences as I predict them will have been:

1. Jiang Cheng who doesn't want to upset a prominent clan would've grumbled and cursed underneath his breath, but eventually just moved away from the ruckus and taken his sister away.

2. Perhaps the truth would never have been found out, unless Jin Zixuan later searched by himself.

3. Thus, Jiang Yanli's reputation would be stained for the years to come.

It's because Wei Wuxian dared that the truth was revealed. I took this small incidents simply to highlight this, without the addition of more factors. In the book, often, it might seem like people are trying to stop him from creating trouble. You might often wish, ugh, this is going to be so bad... The point is Wei Wuxian knows! He's not stupid, he knows of the consequences of his actions.

But he isn't the one creating trouble. It was already created by the likes of those very people who try to stop him from investigating deeper. The trouble in question is that immoral and unrighteous words and actions and decisions have already been made. Society tries to hide them. If you can't see it, it's not there. Yet, even if it is not visible, a crime has its traces and it will bleed into their world sooner or later.

Wei Wuxian forces people to snap out of their comfort zones. He doesn't care for the barriers they set around themselves. Here are some examples to explain what I mean by these barriers:

Who dares hit Jin Zixuan, who's the only heir of LanlingJin, even when he deserves it? Protected by his status, his birth, his clan who dares? Wei Wuxian does.

Who dares to annoy Lan Wangji, the second jade of Lan, who from birth is considered otherwordly, strict, immovable, rigid, untouchable and protected by his extreme cold aura? Wei Wuxian dares.

Who dares to enter cultivation society without even wielding sword, without even cultivating a core? Wei Wuxian!

Since time unknown, treasures have belonged to the powerful sects: The Lan Clan and their library, their many secret techniques. The Jin clan and their treasures, their gold. The Nie Sabres. The Zidian. Yet, a son of a servant somehow ends up possessing the most powerful treasure all by his own! Everyone goes to this popular refinery, some famed blacksmith, or that popular sect to get specially created spiritual weapons, yet Chenqing, one of the most powerful weapons, was forged alone by Wei Wuxian during his 3 months in the Burial Mound!

Since years, the cultivation world has taken to heart rules of Lans, words of the powerful sects, and their leaders! Then, once again, this orphan child comes and bends the world and changes the cultivation society forever! Yiling Laozu said that... Yiling Laozu created... Yiling Laozu's manuscripts...

His words literally become the law.

Think of how 13 years after Wei Wuxian's death when "all was peaceful" despite us knowing very well, just how much shit happened after his death - slaughter of minor clans, deaths of two prominent sect leaders, xue yang etc (because, you know, most of it was purely accidental, kept hush-hush, or the victims were people who weren't important), he comes back to life and in a matter of a couple of months, upends the cultivation society again.

The "problem" is that this guy simply doesn't conform. The problem is that he is better. The problem is that he is not unnecessarily humble about it, despite his origins. He doesn't seem to treat himself as an outlier, but an equal. (That's why I hate insecure Wei Wuxian, like this guy is righteous enough he won't even treat himself badly.) The problem is that all those barriers - social classes, power, the locked doors - they won't keep him away.

Even if he was only the Jiang Da-shixiong with a bright golden core, he will still not be a conformist. To those who aren't used to having their decisions questioned, he is their worst enemy. To whose who are used to talking in circles, spreading rumors, he is asking them. What source do you have? What is the factual evidence behind what you are saying? Why are you saying this now?

Think of how he cross questioned a petty seller selling Yiling Laozu portraits in Qinghe, and how he questioned the gathered cultivation sects in Lotus Pier during Sisi and Bicao's intervention with the same sort of attitude. Surely, there was a major class difference, power difference between the two. Yet, they don't matter to him. What matters is the truth.

So, no matter what, when the people who are in power, start having too much dirty laundry and corpses in their backyards, he will definitely know. For this guy, knowing isn't enough - he will get to the crux of the issue. The problem is, he even has the skill for it. He has the ability. One also can't distract him with offers, promises, gifts, riches, status, women. He doesn't care for any of that. He perhaps might even hate one's victims. Yet he will stand up for them.

Of course, those who are in power, all smile at each other. They understand things sometimes have to be done. People sometimes have to be silenced. "We know better."

Then, Wei Wuxian comes in and says, actually you don't. He comes in with factual accounts, evidences, forces you to face your misdeeds. Says you're all a bunch of hypocritical people. No, perhaps what is worse is that he will make you realize that's what you are! Because he's got to be good at talking, too! He's not going to act on anger or be stunned in fear.

So, now you have someone who's not only digging into your evil deeds, someone who's capable, who's not easy to persuade, but also someone with high emotional intelligence who can play the same role as you do, of being a noble, accepted gentlemen with immaculate manners, of very high literacy and outdo you. Because this guy knows very well how society works, he can comprehend social cues perhaps better than you can. He can use your own polite words and nature against you.

It's precisely because of this he must be killed. Perhaps, in every world, Wei Wuxian will end up being the victim. It's only that in MDZS, these were the particular circumstances, and those were the particular excuses.

My personal take is: sometimes it is good to be a centrist, and hold everyone's better intentions in mind. most of the times it might not be, as there are many conflicting systems in place that allow for true victims who are stuck. most often, the victims are always the ones who DON'T have a voice, who are brushed over as numbers of corpses, rather than people with stories. most often, kindness is shown in little action that are trampled upon by those who hold true power. most often the people who are good, who are heroes die young, or are hated and ridiculed, for speaking up for the victims. it's not right, and never will be.

if someone like wei wuxian or his presence in the book makes you uncomfortable it might be because you hold the "niceities" and the pleasantries to be of more importance than the issues at hand. just because something is too troublesome doesn't mean it is wrong. if everytime he enters the scene you're scared of what he's going to do next, you should know it's not him who is the problem but the prople who aren't doing anything who are. don't be scared of "trouble-makers." he's not erratic or spontaneous. he has considered society's standards and deemed it useless. why is that that the koi tower scene, where he is in his "yiling laozu, loss of control, threatening" moment is followed immediately by him being extremely kind to Wen qing ? it's not that he's losing control. it's that Jin Zixun wouldn't have acted and told him where the people were without him using intimidation tactics. Wei Wuxian is the one forced into bad corners by the powerful people, where he has to show his edges. Don't end up twisted the narratives. if you bite someone for a while, expect to be hit.

#wei wuxian #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #wangxian #my meta #my thoughts #cultivation world bullshit #my essays #When i first watched the untamed Wei Wuxian made me uncomfortable and scared at times #I felt uncomfortable reading the bits of his YLLZ era #and koi tower scene #ive done some introspection and grown

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ayoforbetterdays-writing · 4 years

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DATING WEN NING

Untamed/MDZS Scenarios

PLEASE BE WARNED THAT THERE ARE POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!

- I do not own any of these characters or the universe in which they are in -

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first scenario post here on Tumblr. I haven’t written any fanfiction or scenarios in like three years but with the lock down, I have found time and motivation to write! I really do not know how to use Tumblr but I am trying to learn haha. Please feel free to give me some requests! I am not sure if I need a box??? I shall figure it out lol. I hope you enjoy, there will be more to come soon!!!! The fluff fragments will be put up in pieces until they are fully written, and then I will post the full story. Really, my plan is to make small and cute little stories with the scenarios that can be connected later on. I also wanted to show my writing ability so that I might even get a few requests. I will be posting “Sea Sick,” a Lan Sizhui x Lan Jingyi short on 4/12/2020 and Lan Xichen Scenarios on 4/15/2020 as I had to push back the dates so I could focus on a paper that I am currently writing for one of my classes. I hope you enjoy this!

Love, Strawberry .

DATING WEN NING (Part 1) + Fluff Fragment

-He thinks that you wouldn’t like him because he is so outspoken and truly, he believes that you have fallen for Young Master Jiang

-After a long pep talk from Young Master Wei, he finally musters up the courage to tell you about his feelings

-When you tell him that you feel the same, he becomes ecstatic and immediately embraces you in a hug

-Wen Ning is very protective of you and even though it makes him uncomfortable, he will stand up for you no matter who he has to fight off.

-He had sent you away when things started to look bleak for the Wen Clan, fearing that you would get hurt. Making you leave was the only way to ensure that he would not lose you entirely.

-You and Ning do not meet again until after the events that unfolded at Qiongqi Path.

-You had overheard members of the Lanling Jin Sect talking about the massacre that had happened in Qiongqi Path. Wei Wuxian had turned Wen Ning into a puppet and had slaughtered innocent cultivators from the Jin sect.

-Immediately you had rushed to the Burial Mounds, and there you found your beloved covered in talismans and under a deep coma.

-From the moment you went to his side, you almost never moved. Wen Qing made you rest and eat as well as you made her take care of herself. You felt as if your heart had been ripped out. Wen Ning was a good man. He did not deserve to meet such a cruel fate.

WEN NING DATING SCENARIOS TO BE CONTINUED...

FLUFF FRAGMENT #1

Wen Ning had never really hesitated when showing you physical affection during his life. However, after he died the man had lost a lot of his confidence. No one could love a corpse... He had skin that was almost grayish, pale and sickly looking. The dark black lines coming up from under his robe, caressing the skin of his neck. Then there was of course the largest reason that he was afraid to touch you. His skin was ice cold and his movements were still rather clumsy. He did not want to scare you away or cause you any pain. The puppet of a man had been avoiding you as he went about his business in the Burial Grounds. He missed you very much, but he was too afraid to confront you. Truly the man wanted nothing more than to scoop you up into his arms and tell you that he loved you and that he was sorry... Sorry for sending you away. Sorry for causing you any fear... and most of all. He was sorry that you had to grieve his death... There was so much that he wanted to apologize for... but the living corpse could not bring himself to say any of it. The man couldn't stop thinking about you but he wouldn’t dare to confront you, afraid that you would reject him. Instead, he observed you from a far. Currently he was watching you play with A-Yuan and Young Master Wei, hiding himself in the tall grass that surrounded their little home.

#wen ning #wen qionglin #wen ning imagines #wen ning x reader #the untamed imagines #mdzs fic #the untamed reader inserts #wen ning scenarios #cdrama #mo dao zu shi scenarios

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inessencedevided · 4 years

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The Untamed, episode 23 - watching notes

I can't believe it took me so long to watch the next episode. Somehow with all this staying at home, I still don't have time

I'm still scared and horny for wwx

"I've been dead once. We, of course came from hell"

This is news to me!

Did he die on burial mounts??? Or is it a figurative death?

Both kinds fit, though. He seems really distant right now. Like he really isn't completely present among the living

The ... hell?

He says "stygian tiger amulet" like I'm supposed to know what he's talking about but I have no idea!

Everyone is so completely out of their depth that they are literally just spectators at this point

Who just killed ...?

Okay, I stand corrected. Everyone is too shocked to move, except for lwj, who is not going to let anything stop him from catching his boyfriend :D

Wtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtf???

What's Meng Yao's deal???

I love Lan Xichen with all my heart, but when he looked into the distance and said "The sun is finally setting down" all I could think was "Thanks Legolas!" Because that was really very legolas of him

Nie Mingjue ... don't die 😥

Ooh, so Meng Yao was a spy!

This whole story of how Meng Yao saved Lan Xichen's life and then wrote letters to him, as a spy, in secrecy is a shipper's dream!

I just noticed something about the netflix subtitles. I'm pretty sure they just let Jiang Yanli call wwx "Wei Wuxian, when she said A-Xian and wwx call her "Yanli" when I'm pretty sure I heard "shijie"

Three days. I'm glad they're making it very clear just how much if a toll his new way of cultivating is taking on his body

Have we seen the Jin clan leader before at all? I don't think so

It breaks and warms my heart at the same moment how afraid wwx is of Shijie's judgement. Honestly, he seemed the most like himself around her and this is one more instant where, for a brief moment, he looks like a little boy again.

"Why do you keep mentioning second young master Lan all the time?" Because she KNOWS! :D

He came every day and played his guqin!

And there he is! 😭😭😭

His expression when he sees that wwx is awake. I'm melting!

That whole scene if lwj playing for wwx ... 💖💖💖

At least we isn't trying to actively push lwj away anymore

I just remembered that we did meet the Jin clan leader before. All the way back in cloud recess

So much is happening right now, it's hard to follow, so I'm just going to try and make sense of it by writing it down: the Jin clan leader arrived late and now wants to tell everyone what to do: mainly , round up an kill the remaining wen clan, even those that are defenseless or didn't do anything. Also, he wants to question anyone who suspicious, which I take means wwx at this point. Ah yes, and also, he will take in Meng Yao and legitimize him as his son.

Now, that's a transformation! 😳

I gotta ask: what's up with the hat?

And he even gets reintroduced. Oh man! Someone else I have to remember two names for! 😭

Jin Guangyao ...

How much of his rise to that position was planned? How much could he plan, really?

But him and Lan Xicheng still give me all the feels! That callback to their first meeting, when Lan Xicheng wouldn't let him bow to him because he considers them equals! 😭

Holy shit! that's a lot of blood!!!!

I have a whole lot of feelings about this conversation between wwx and lwj. From how beautifully it was shot (but let'sface it, any shot of these two is drop-dead gorgeous!), to the brilliant progression of the score that got progressively sadder to ... basically everything they said. Lwj's primary concern seems to be to protect wwx from the repercussions of demonic cultivation, while wwx does not seem to spare much thought to his own wellbeing at all. He is obviously not fine and he mostly ignores it.

It is remarkable, imo, that his primary concern seems to be the moral dilemma he finds himself in. Just the fact that he is able to tackle it at all is astonishing! Not only does he not automatically transfer his thirst for revenge against Wen Ruhoan and his son to the rest of the Wen clan, he seems to be the most concerned with sparing the innocent who just happened to be born in the wrong clan.

He's such a fascinating character!

I had to Google "absterge", btw. I'm not a native English speaker, but it's rare these days that I haven't even heard a word before. So apparently it's similar to "cleanse".

I will definitely have to rewatch that tortoise episode btw. I think I remember that something happened inside that shell, but I do not know when in earth wwx should have had time to start forging the tiger amulet there

The angst!!! 😭😭😭

Waitwaiwaitwait! Isn't this also the cliff wwx will eventually fall from??? 😳

All the angst!!!

Hey, Jin soldiers? You're barely better than the people you fought right now 😒

He was about to shoot a mother running with her child in her arms ....

I have a feeling that the pledge that Nie Mingjue, Jan Xichen and Jin Guangyao make is another example of a scene where I don't understand the full context because I'm so unfamiliar with the culture

Jiang Cheng being flanked by Jiang Yanli and wei Wuxian in his first official appearance as sect leader gives me so many feelings 🥺

Every interaction between nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao is soooooo uncomfortable at this point

Why does this banquet give me red wedding vibes ... something terrible is about to happen, I can feel it

With all of these etiquette rules being on display, I'm wondering, how much they lend from various chinese traditions and how much is just made up to suit this particular fantasy world. I'm ashamed to say I honestly don't know :/

Ohhh, the marriage is back on. Great... not

Granted, Jin Zixuan isn't a complete idiot anymore

Oh God, Wei Wuxian. What are you going to do? 🙈

@sweetlittlevampire @fandom-glazed @elenirlachlagos @allhailthedramallama @luckymoony 💖

#the untamed #sophie watches the untamed #the untamed episode 23 #wei wuxian #wwx #lan wangji #lwj #lan xichen #Jiang Cheng #jiang wanyin #jiang yanli #jin guangyao #meng yao

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akatsuki-shin · 5 years

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[REVIEW] The Untamed: The Living Dead

Before anyone asked, for those of you who wanted to watch this movie:

Download iQiyi apps to your phone

Pick the movie and watch it from your phone

If you don't want to continue the membership, remember to cancel it before the date of renewal

WeTV said it will be available in their apps, too, but I'm not sure when they are going to release it, so just keep an eye on it.

If it's really on WeTV, then it means the movie can be watched from web, as well, via WeTV's website.

*** Spoilers ahead! You've been warned. ***

STORY: 7/10

Nothing outstanding, but not that bad either. Let's just say it's like one of those Extra Chapters in Mo Dao Zu Shi, a story of one of their night hunts after the end of the official story. It just happens that this night hunt is a tad bit more difficult than the usual, with a dash of existential crisis for Wen Ning.

So in summary, there was one servant in a prominent family's house who was apparently delusional enough to think that the Young Lady of the family cares deeply for him, and he fell in love with her. He hated the fact that there was a new disciple coming into the family, favored by the family head, became a couple with the Young Lady and they would soon get married.

Sounds like your usual soap opera drama......except this servant got black magic on his hands with a shard of Yin Iron which allows him to control others like a puppet.

Hence when he got found out, he destroyed the whole family and framed that disciple guy. But to his misfortune, he accidentally killed the Young Lady in the process. After that, he started using the disciple like a puppet to terrorize the people of the surrounding village, taking their souls in order to resurrect the Young Lady using his shard of Yin Iron.

Despite the plot being pretty much cliche, for a 90 minutes movie, I think the story itself is pretty solid. The fact that this servant being the actual villain was the big plot twist at the end because since the beginning (heck, even since the promotion of the movie), we were made to believe that the disciple guy was the root of the problem.

Also, since this movie took place after the end of the official story, when Wen Ning decided to go independent and no longer depending on Wei Wuxian, I think it's nice that there is a part of the movie when Wen Ning was trapped in that illusion, having his own self doubting his existence, trying to influence him to berate Wei Wuxian for making him a, well, living dead.

And although it happens inside the illusion, for The Untamed fans, it was a pleasant surprise when Wei Wuxian's figure appeared to save Wen Ning from the trap, ensuring him that he is different from all those controlled puppets ("WU JI" PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND, DAMN BRUH)

Still, there are a few things that - I'm not going to say "bad" - is quite questionable and probably could've been done differently.

I'm not going to ask how Zhao Yi got his hand of Yiling Laozu's manuscript. I'll take it with a grain of salt that probably when the Lanling Jin Sect was in chaos after Jin Guang Yao's dead, maybe someone really did able to snuck out a few things from Fragrant Chamber's Treasure Vault......although even if someone can do that, I don't think it's going to be Zhao Yi since he literally has no connection at all with the characters in The Untamed's main story.

But fine, let's just believe that he was somehow able to get it.

Then comes the next problem. How the heck is this guy able to create a shard of Yin Iron? Mind you, even Wei Wuxian didn't create his own shard of Yin Iron to make the Stygian Tiger Seal. He just happened to stumble across that Yin Iron Sword in the Xuanwu of Slaughter's Cave.

If even the Yiling Patriarch couldn't do it, how could a mere servant create a shard of Yin Iron from nothing?

Three of those shards were with Wen Ruo Han, and were destroyed after his death.

One shard was hidden by Xue Yang. Idk where this one goes, tbh, but I am inclined to believe Jin Guang Yao was the one who kept it in the end (CMIIW).

The last shard was within the sword Wei Wuxian found, then used to create the Stygian Tiger Seal.

Did the shard hidden by Xue Yang actually fell to this Zhao Yi's hand? Did he create it from scratch by following Yiling Patriarch's manuscript?

Either way, none of those sound logical for me, which is the biggest flaw of this movie in my opinion. They could've just said the villain was a sorcerer using black magic/demonic cultivation and it would've been fine. No need to put Yin Iron into the story.

Also it's a bit unclear to me how they handled Zhao Yi at the end. Wen Ning and Sizhui were shown walking in Gusu during the ending, but just before that, we clearly saw Wen Ning seemingly sending Zhao Yi into the same illusion trap that he experienced before.

So they just punished Zhao Yi based on their own judgment? Or did they still at least deliver his physical body to be imprisoned in Gusu?

And how the heck could they just finish the story with Wen Ning being the one who got to hold the Yin Iron, wtf?

Last but not least, this usually happens to most 90 minutes movies that I've watched - which is the pacing problem. Especially in the first half of the movie, the pacing was way too fast, they kept changing from one scene to the other as if they're in a rush. I know it's probably because of duration, but still it made me feel a bit uncomfortable following the flow of the story.

CHARACTERS: 7/10

Again, not bad, but nothing spectacular, as well.

I'm going to start with the 3 new characters: Zhao Yi, Xiao Qing, and Zhou Zishu.

Aside from Zhao Yi who got decent screen time due to him being the villain, I don't think the other two characters even got to do anything except dying after they finished telling the past.

A pity, considering that they were put in all promotional materials since the beginning. At least I had expected them to be a little bit more important.

As for Zhao Yi himself, I guess he did a fine job in the handful of screen time he got for this 90 minutes movie. I think his part is pretty solid despite the fast pacing of the movie. At least his background, his motive, and his way of doing things were all explained without any holes.

Now moving on to Lan Sizhui. I don't mean anything bad by this, but I feel that - despite the heck ton of screen time he got - he is barely any different from the rest of the side characters.

To be blunt, I feel like he's just there so Wen Ning got a friend he could talk to. True, he's matured compared to his self during The Untamed. He fought so much better. Heck, his action is really really REALLY cool.

But that's that. He's just there to be Wen Ning's sidekick. Even if he wasn't there, Wen Ning could've solved the case on his own, really.

Sorry, Sizhui. It ain't your fault. The plot makes you like this. :')

But again, as I said before, this story feels like another Extra Chapter after the main story, just another one of their night hunts. If we think about it from this perspective, it's not strange for Sizhui to simply be Wen Ning's sidekick. It just means that they happened to stumble upon the same case and worked together to solve it. Since Wen Ning is older and more experienced, he's "leading" the investigation while Sizhui is following and learning from him.

Now, Wen Ning.

If there is one thing I was more scared about before watching this movie, it's that I was afraid they would destroy Wen Ning's character. It's pretty clear if we see their promotional materials. Even from the make-up, Wen Ning looks so much cooler compared to his appearance during The Untamed. I was scared that they would destroy the Wen Ning that we know to create a brand new, super cool protagonist for this movie.

Well, in the end they didn't really destroy his character - which is a relief. In some aspects, Wen Ning did still retain some of his original nature. For one, he still listened to Wei Wuxian's words and kept it in his heart, hence why he insisted for Sizhui to start calling him "Senior/Brother" instead of "Uncle Ning" because Wei Wuxian said being called "Uncle" sounds old.

However, his demeanor still feels kinda foreign for me, including his interaction with Sizhui which feels like Wen Ning is being too blunt with him. Granted, we can argue that during the span of idk how many years since the end of the original story to here, Wen Ning must've matured and gained confidence in himself.

But the thing is, we did not see any of those happenings that made him the way he is right now, so it just feels strange to see a Wen Ning who does not stutter, does not doubt, and often speaks bluntly.

ACTION & SPECIAL EFFECTS: 8/10

I'm going to say first hand that during the climax battle, I was actually snickering throughout the whole fight because it feels like one of those Tokusatsu movie where Wen Ning and Sizhui did a henshin and suddenly become super powerful. x'D

But aside of that, the action of this movie is just SUPER DUPER GREAT, at least compared to The Untamed. You can tell that they got high budget for this movie, finally.

The fights no longer feel awkward. You know there are people being hung and flung about by wires, but their movements overall look natural. At least you don't see them forgetting to completely erase the traces of wire from the final product, unlike when Jin Ling was fighting against the Goddess Statue at Dafan Mountain in Episode 2 of The Untamed.

And the CGI/special effects completely support this. First of all, Wen Ning's chains look mighty fabulous and the animation is perfectly in line with his body movement.

Then there's Lan Sizhui. Damn this boy is really killing it. No wonder he is Han Guang Jun's child. The way he fought with the Guqin is just A++++

The only downside is that Gusu CGI at the end which look totally unnatural. Like, man, I can totally imagine them just walking on green screen there.

OVERAL SCORE: 7.3/10

Not exactly spectacular or mind blowing, but it does have some surprising elements and the actions exceeded my expectations.

I don't think non-MDZS/The Untamed fans will be able to fully enjoy this movie, but otherwise it's a good watch. I think they really went all-out for the actions. It's simply the winning element of the entire show.

Bottom line is, I will treat this movie as an Extra Chapter of The Untamed/MDZS. Just our beloved Uncle Ning and his nephew going out on a night hunt and happened to stumble across a difficult case, hence they worked together to put an end to it.

And last but not least:

Wei Wuxian when he saw this translation:

I mean... WHAT THE HECK IS MASTER OF YI TOMBS??? x’DD

#The Untamed #Chen Qing Ling #CQL #The Living Dead #Wen Ning #Lan Sizhui #Yu Bin #Zhen Fan Xing #Wei Wuxian #Review #Movie Review

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