Some Epiphany Days

Zhuzhi-Lang is one of the most interesting characters I have ever read about, and his portrayal as a morally gray character is such a fun one. The idea of not really understanding wrong and right, just helpful and unhelpful (although that is greatly affected by his uncle, who is not a normal man), is one I am surprised I haven't seen more of from morally gray characters. The drive of a man who clearly wants to do good, without a standard of what good is, leads to such interesting scenarios that would otherwise need much more explanation, or lead to a much less likeable character.

His belief that a drop of kindness should be repaid by a flood, and the belief that it is a human belief, brings so much more thought to him. He clearly has this belief from before he interacted with humans, or even Tianlang-Jun. Is it truly a human belief? Was it deepened when he found out? Did Tianlang-Jun simply give a name to something Zhuzhi-Lang always believed was true? There are also questions to be asked as to why he cares about a human belief so much, since he doesn't share the same love of humanity that Tianlang-Jun does. Does he simply have a love of kindness? It makes sense, subserviance does seem to be the closest thing to kindness we see in the demon realm, and that is a majority of Zhuzhu-Lang's character.

And Oh My God, don't get me started on how beautiful the story between Zhuzhi-Lang and Tianglang-Jun just simply is. The way we are told and shown time and time again that family means nothing to demons, and yet the ending of their story together being that despite everything, they can not stop themselves from loving each other. I love a tragic family story, and this is one of the most heartbreaking I have seen because I was not expecting the story to touch on the fact that despite everything, that despite everything we know about these characters and the culture in which they were raised, they loved each other. It would have been so easy to write Zhuzhi-Lang as someone who was subserviant just because he felt it was owed, or to have Tianlang-Jun love only Su Xiyan, but that ending to Zhuzhi-langs chapter, and just how amazing of a narrator Zhuzhi-Lang was in portraying love as someone who was not meant to love, it broke me in the best of ways and is the ending to a chapter I remember best.

Shen Yuan: Take care of yourself, treat Yue Qingyuan with the love you actually hold, don't kill Liu Qingge, and don't hurt Luo Binghe when he comes into your care.

Shen Jiu: Don't push your luck.

Shen Yuan, nodding: Because you could be killed

Shen Jiu: You'll never get that as long as I live.

Luo Binghe: I'm here because I am going to court your brother.

"i have to water the shitbird wait a minute"