#ji ning

So anyway, 10 years before the start of the manga, Ji Ning, an enemy spy, fell ill in enemy territory. He was found and healed by Bai Qingyan, prince of the Yuyao country. The two fell deeply, deeply in love. However, eventually, they had to part.

What Bai Qingyan didn't know was that after this, a friend of his had Ji Ning arrested and tortured in Bai Qingyan's name. Ji Ning, thinking his lover had done this to him, became incredibly twisted and bitter. At the start of the manga, Ji Ning has become a general and has conquered Yuyao. He has most of the people massacred, and he takes more prisoner. He also takes Bai Qingyan prisoner.

The emperor (one sick puppy) wants Bai Qingyan as his own prisoner. See, Bai Qingyan knows some type of rejuvenation ritual that can save people from dying and maybe even bring people back to life. The emperor has a heart disorder, and he wants Bai Qingyan's power...and, you later find out, the emperor wants to sacrifice Bai Qingyan and a slew of other people in an attempt to become immortal.

Anyway, Ji Ning still has feelings for Bai Qingyan, so he lies and says all of the royalty of Yuyao escaped. But it's not that simple. Ji Ning wants Bai Qingyan back, but he also wants to hurt him like Bai Qingyan allegedly hurt him. So, Ji Ning keeps the Yuyao prisoners in cages in the middle of winter in the snow, giving them little food or shelter. Bai Qingyan is one of those royals that feels responsible for his people, so he's willing to beg and let himself suffer if it means they're protected. Ji Ning has Bai Qingyan whipped, beats him, tears his clothes, makes him grovel and promise to be his slave, etc. When someone else at camp tries to assault Bai Qingyan, Ji Ning will save him...then get angry at Bai Qingyan either for not defending himself or for "cheating" on him.

Overtime, things shift so that it's more Ji Ning struggling to protect Bai Qingyan and begging to be taken back. The emperor is avidly hunting for Bai Qingyan, and the emperor has a grudge against Ji Ning. There are times when Bai Qingyan escapes and is being protected by other people with motives of their own, and then Ji Ning kidnaps him.

However, at the end, they go through a lot. Ji Ning finds out it wasn't Bai Qingyan who tortured him, and they end up together. Yet Ji Ning remains controlling and possessive up until the end. There's this one scene at the end where Qingyan's friend is walking away; Qingyan is watching him leave, and Ji Ning angrily tells him not to look at his friend's back because he should only be looking at Ji Ning. Qingyan happily agrees to this as if this is a perfectly normal thing. And they ride off into the sunset together....

So, yeah, that's...that's a really fucked up relationship...I mean, anyone who follows any of my blogs knows I don't mind twisted love, but this is...um...yeah...

There is a more wholesome love story in the background, although it's got a lot of WTF moments, too. Not through what the lovers do, but what's going on in their lives.

It's hard to know how to explain because a lot of what's going on with these two is only revealed in side stories. I'll go chronologically rather than how it's revealed to the reader.

The two characters are Ran Chen and Long Ye.

Long Ye is a general, assassin, and secret spy for the emperor. He was found by him as a teenager and raised to be an assassin. He found Ji Ning when Ji Ning escaped from being tortured, and he nursed him back to health...but he was on a mission spying for the emperor at that time, too.

Ran Chen is a duke. He's the younger half-brother of the emperor, but he's not allowed luxuries befitting royalty. Remember how I said the emperor was bat-shit crazy? He murdered Ran Chen's mother in front of Ran Chen when Ran Chen was a child, but let Ran Chen live because he claimed to love him. He's tormented Ran Chen ever since, killing anyone or thing Ran Chen loves. There's at least one scene where he licks Ran Chen, so I'm not 100% sure there wasn't sexual abuse involved.

When we meet Ran Chen, he's fulfilling an unspecified duty in Ji Ning's camp. He flirts with Bai Qingyan, saying that if Qingyan agrees to be with him and tells him the secret of the ritual, he'll keep Qingyan safe, help the Yuyao prisoners, and help him kill Ji Ning. Since the emperor doesn't let Ran Chen have anything, Ran Chen probably knows he can't promise this. He's probably hoping to get some relief from being abused all his life. Also, he's using his position of power over Qingyan to try to get Qingyan to sleep with him. He's not the perfect guy. Nevertheless, he doesn't treat Qingyan horribly like Ji Ning does. Also, he does try to protect Qingyan from his brother. He lies to the emperor, telling him Qingyan isn't in the camp. When Ji Ning murders someone who would tell the emperor the truth, Ran Chen also lies to the emperor by saying the guy was killed by wolves.

The emperor doesn't buy this. He takes his brother away from the camp and back to the main city. There, he tortures Ran Chen every night to try to get him to reveal information about Qingyan and the ritual. Ran Chen doesn't crack. It's worth noting that he doesn't do this out of loyalty to Qingyan, but because he doesn't know about the ritual and because Qingyan's location is the only card he has to play. If he gives it up, the emperor might kill him.

After one of these sessions, the emperor arranges for Long Ye to meet Ran Chen after, carry him home, and show him kindness. This is to earn his trust and get Ran Chen to talk to Long Ye, who would in turn pass any information on to the emperor.

Ran Chen guesses Long Ye is a spy, but he lets Long Ye win him over because he hasn't known kindness and love since childhood. Long Ye, however, feels genuine pity for Ran Chen and grows to love him. He still passes on information to the emperor, but tries to do so in a way that would protect Ran Chen and plots to take Ran Chen away. However, when the emperor finds out Ran Chen is definitely holding back information, the emperor takes Ran Chen prisoner. He hammers stakes through his brother's legs and plans on sacrificing him. Ran Chen finally agrees to tell the emperor what he knows about Bai Qingyan under the condition that Long Ye be allowed to live unharmed.

Long Ye (justifiably) blames himself. He tries to rescue Ran Chen unsuccessfully, then finally helps Ji Ning and Bai Qingyan overthrow the emperor so that he can save Ran Chen. When Ran Chen is rescued, he ascends to the throne, and Long Ye stays at his side.