I've been waiting for this day.

t's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

"Wake up, it's already 卯时 (mao-shi)!" Me: *looks up 卯时*:

It's supposed to be the two-hour period when the sun rises. It could be 5 AM! Fuck off, DFQC! When do you get up?

I noticed the Xilan Book seems to be written in 2-3 scripts like some kind of xianxia Rosetta Stone. Is it so long because it's trilingual? 🤔

The book says the cursed person has to follow the curse-caster's orders only if the caster gives the order using the Xilan Seal. We haven't seen XLH activate the seal very much, but I find it very funny that she somehow manages to do so in her desperation to get more sleep.

XLH thinks to herself later: "I'm finally free for a couple of days. I won't fix it," by which I take to mean she's somehow on vacation? Completely reasonable -- I would also banish someone to counting flowers if they tried to wake me between 5-7am on my first day of vacation.

(I'm not sure why she's on vacation. Because she finally signed up for the Fairy Exam and therefore has ended her employment with Siming? Or just taking a self-imposed break to prepare for the test? Or because it's a Shuiyuntian holiday?)

I've noticed in this show that Dongfang Qingcang's strategy for dealing with a head-hurting problem is often to say 罢了 (bà le), or "forget it." "A solution will present itself." Maybe he's too used to burning all his obstacles with hellfire, but it's...not a great tactic. Especially when it starts getting to Chidi Nüzi's soul and the unsealing of the 100k warriors. The book character pulls off some impressive feats of problem-solving and strategy, and I'm a bit sad the hard work just gets sidestepped here.

In this case, DFQC also escapes into a fantasy of subjugating Shuiyuntian...

Look at that happy face.

By the time XLH gets up, it's 巳时 (sì shí) , or 9:00-11:00. That means DFQC was counting flowers and reading the Xilan manual for 2 hours minimum and 6 hours maximum

Featuring: Wang Hedi's insane chopstick hold

The way XLH's embellished the story of DFQC's defeat…it’s not too much of a stretch to think she writes other RPF. I’ve already hypothesized about her acquiring fanart. What other stories have you made up, xiao-huayao?

DFQC tries to disparage her, saying that she’s not fairy exam material because she...enhances...the history written in books, but she stands up for herself. A pattern that will repeat as things get more serious.

I can't watch this scene without thinking of the BTS take where Dylan yelps and whips his hand back because the steamed things are, in fact, hot

I wondered for a long time what it means to "sun wine" or "sun liquor," and @xunyin-archive explained that "some regional baijiu requires this step (at least traditionally) as an aging process. Apparently placing the wine jars in the sun can accelerate the aging process using natural light and ultraviolet rays."

惊扰天道 (disturb the course of Natural Law) and DFQC's utter disregard for it mentioned explicitly for the first time. He will throw fists with the universe. He will bulldoze everything in his path. What a great character

Reading-the-same-magazine-at-a-sleepover vibes:

This is the face of a man who's just read the orchid-care manual

I like Changheng's grand, eager gesture of refining the whatever pill contrasted with Dongfang Qingcang's mundane, unwilling one of gathering morning dew

A love song plays on the soundtrack for the first time while DFQC is gathering dew. Reasonable to argue that the act of caring is what stirred DFQC's heart in the first place?

DFQC is one of those parents who didn't want the cat in the first place but then can't stop babying the cat

"I will flatten Shuiyuntian, grind Lord Yunzhong's bones up, and make wine of them":

I feel like this fantasy is just how he supports himself emotionally these days (and possibly for a long time before, too)

I wonder how Dongfang Qingcang knows who Yunzhong-jun is, given that Dong-jun was still active and presumably ruling Shuiyuntian when he was sealed, and he just got out. Was Yunzhong just that obnoxious 30,000 years ago? Did Shangque catch him up? Or (theory from @myhamartiaishubris) is "Yunzhong-jun" a title instead of a title+name?

Looks like we're gonna have to go through with the engagement ceremony. I know it's too much pressure on you. You don't have to say yes. -Of course, I'm gonna say yes. I actually want to.