The MDZS novel readalong - chapters 1 & 2

[solo]

And here we are, our discussion post for Novel chapters 1 & 2, or web serialization chapters 1-5. The format might be refined as we go ^_^ - let's get started!

What happened?

- We got the general gloating at Wei Wuxian's death
- first info on the siege and how Wei Wuxian died
- Wei Wuxian's resurrection 13 years later
- an evil left arm running rampant at Mo Manor
- the introduction of Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi
- a glimpse of Mo Xuanyu's sad life
- Lan Wangji making an epic entrance
- and finally Wei Wuxian departing with the donkey.

How are we feeling about it all?

Any character observations? What did you make of the character intros?

Anything that surprised you even on re-read, or coming from the adaptations?

Spot any difference to other MDZS media?


Discussion notes

Spoilers for all adaptations are permitted.

The questions above are meant as potentially helpful starters, not mandatory. :)

Commentary and comparison with other translations is welcome, as is commentary on the original Chinese. (The readalong mods don't speak or read Chinese so this won't come from us, but any dedicated thread or un-dedicated observations will be received with delight.)

Jumping into threads and replying to other people's comments is not just encouraged, but part of the point.

Disagreement is fine. Keeping it friendly is encouraged, keeping it civil is required.

We encourage tracking the post or coming back to it over the week - the fun part of doing this on Dreamwidth is that discussion can happen over time and doesn't have to be instantly!

If you have any questions or concerns you want to ask the discussion mods, feel free to email us at haikuesque@gmail.com.


The reading schedule

Saturday 22 January: Chapter 1 Reincarnation + Chapter 2 The Intractable (web serialization chapters 1-5)
Saturday 29 January: Chapter 3 The Prideful (web serialization chapters 6-10)
Saturday 5 February: Chapter 4 The Elegant Flirt part 1 (official translation pages 119-168, web serialization chapters 11-(halfway through) 16.6, ending as the group set out for Caiyi )
Saturday 12 February: Chapter 4 The Elegant Flirt part 2 (official transllation pages 168-204, web serialization chapters 16.6-18)
Saturday 19 February: Chapter 5 The Sunny Pair (web serialization chapters 19-22)
Saturday 25 February: Chapter 6 The Malevolent (web serialization chapters 23-27)
Saturday 4 March: Chapter 7 The Morning Dew (web serialization chapters 28-32)

Comments

[jo_lasalle]

Things that stood out to me in these two chapters:

1. I found the info on Wei Wuxian's death at the start very interesting. My first read of the novel in fan translation was in late 2019, and I remember ending up very confused how exactly WWX actually died. Now, that read was a bit of a blur in general, so this could have been entirely me and not the novel staying mysterious about that, but it's a thing I've wanted to keep an eye out on this re-read. Now there seems to be very clear info right in the opening two pages, but on the other hand, with what the novel says about public reputation and the fickleness of public opinion (the "three thousand, five thousand" exaggeration is right there), I'm taking everything "people say" about WWX in the opening bit with an extra grain of salt, so... I'm intrigued to find out if the people are right about him here or if there was a bit of rumor about that too.

2. For exactly the same reason, the description of Jiang Cheng, especially the parts about him having planned the siege, intrigues me in a "we'll see" kind of way.

3. I still found the "In the first year, all was peaceful... In the thirteenth year, all was still peaceful..." bit amusing, but not as hilarious as the ExR translation that went for "In the first year, nothing happened... In the thirteenth year, nothing happened either." I have no idea if the official translation is more accurate here, honestly, but I just remembered that I found the "nothing happened" sequence LOL-degree funny. *g*

4. And so, when the hundred and twenty stone beasts required to seal a mountain were set down at the peak of the Burial Mound, every major clan began conducting frequent soul-summoning rituals. They also strictly monitored for cases of possession, sought far and wide for abnormal occurrences, and heightened their security to the max. - I liked reading this worldbuilding bit how it was quite common for people to expect WWX to come back for a good while, giving more context for Jiang Cheng's readiness to believe a returned Wei Wuxian behind every tree every gothy cultivator.

5. I found it interesting that both WWX and JC are referred to by their birth names in the opening gossip chapter.

6. The whole Mo Manor plot makes so much more sense than in the drama. (And I had forgotten that it's much more contained - the scars all seem to be done?)

7. Wei Wuxian swept me right up with his irrepressible energy. He really is a force of nature.

It’s not pretend. I’ve actually been dead for many years. - this is interesting re: his awareness of the time he was gone, but it also made me LOL.

8. On the other hand, Mo Xuanyu had such a sad life - IDK if it's because I've read more fic with the character in the meantime or am just more ready to process it, but that really hit me this time. Poor, poor guy.

9. Truly, out of the mountains a tiger can be bullied by a dog, in shallow waters a dragon can be mocked by a shrimp, and a plucked phoenix is lower than a chicken. Stripped of their privileges, the strong will be belittled by the weak. - This is giving me the strong vibe that it's about a bunch of proverbs I'm not familiar with, but the idea of WWX as a plucked phoenix amused me a lot.

10. I had totally missed last time that WWX gets back at Mo Ziyuan by implying the guy ~visited a known cutsleeve at night. It's... interesting.

11. I was aware and remembered that novel!WWX is much more oblivious regarding LWJ and that they're not as close friends pre-timeskip than they are in the drama, but it was still a HUH moment for me to realize / be reminded that there's really zero pining on WWX's side - no sad grass blade fluting, no nostalgia over seeing LWJ - in comparison to the drama at this point.

12. The writing/translation style was admittedly a bit hard for me to get into with the opening chapter and my eyes kept drifting off the page at various sentences feeling choppy, but I caught more of a groove by chapter 2. I meant to read the German translation as well, but ended up too squeezed for time to do that this week.

I am really looking forward to reading more now! Wei Wuxian's energy and voice just really grabbed me. :D

[sunshine304]

1/2. We are basically told two different versions of his death here, though both are very descriptive! His shidi killed him even though it pained him, but justice had to be served! No, he was pulled apart and devoured by the evil ghosts he himself had raised, what a fitting ending - shows you should keep to orthodoxy! I'm with you and am very much side-eyeing anything people are saying here, about WWX and about JC.

3. The online tl is definitely funnier, I remember that! XD The official tl seems to be closer to the actual text. I went to see what it says, and there's an idiom used for that second half of the sentence, "风平浪静" an idiom which lit. means "breeze is still, waves are quiet" and then gets translated as "all is quiet" (says the online dictionary). For a funny bit, the "nothing happened" hits better and it's basically what it means.

4. I thought so, too! In CQL it seems like JC is the only one being on the look out (except for LWJ and his sad 16 years of Inquiry), but here we get the context that returning souls were rather commonplace and they feared his return.

6. Yes! It's much better explained. Also I was surprised that MXY's curse is done with? I think I remember hearing that before, but I had forgotten.

8. I also felt so bad for MXY! We don't get much about him in CQL, I can't even remember if we every get a lot of backstory - info dumping in the first episode by Madame Mo perhaps? Still, I definitely do not remember so much detail about it. What a fucked up life. :(

9. This is in Chinese: 真是虎落平阳被犬欺，龙游浅水遭虾戏，拔了毛的凤凰不如鸡。 I googled it and these three phrases are indeed all classic folk sayings meaning the same thing. The tl actually offers the meaning in the next sentence (this sentence is not in the Chinese original). The plucked phoenix is really funny! XD

11. No pining and sad grass flute and remembering meeting him for the first time in the ethereal light... T_T I found his exit and his "Uh oh we've clashed before, better get out of here!" also quite sudden with CQL in mind.

[jo_lasalle]

I'm with you and am very much side-eyeing anything people are saying here, about WWX and about JC.

YEP.

3. Ah, thank you for the info! :D

8. There is a bit of info dumping about him, but I think... honestly, that actor that's briefly portraying him really doesn't give off the vibe of a tortured Youth With Issues, but kind of an old crazy guy - who still shouldn't be bullied, of course, but to me it just hits different to get a whole backstory of "gay kid with weak skills, hit with homophobia, class issues and an asshole for a father" and then that kid killing himself kicks off the main story. (Though again, the first time around there was So Much Going On that I didn't get very hung up on him either.)

I found his exit and his "Uh oh we've clashed before, better get out of here!" also quite sudden with CQL in mind.

RIGHT?!

[sunshine304]

8. I don't even remember the actor! XD It definitely hits harder to learn more about MXY this way, how badly he was treated and how his youth was overshadowed by the constantly changing opinion on him and his mother.
"A bastard child is so bad, but ah well, the father is such an important cultivator, so it's actually quite nice and we are honored; oh the father doesn't visit anymore, we always knew that this child would be bad luck; now the child can go be a cultivator, we are so blessed, what a great child; that bastard is back in shame, we always knew he would be a disgrace to this family!"
I'm feeling really sorry for him, and WWX's understanding seems also to be a bit limited here. Then again, perhaps we can cut him some slack, because he just returned from the dead. XD

I realize it’s nearly two years after the fact…

[full_metal_ox]

…but Mo Xuanyu, in the brief glimpse we get in CQL, was also played by Xiao Zhan. (If I understand the situation correctly, the CQL version of the Sacrifice ritual conveniently stipulated that the donor’s body would assume the form of the recipient’s. Hence the narrative necessity for Mo Xuanyu’s disheveled hair to be obscuring his face, and for Wei Wuxian to run around in that silly Mardi Gras mask.)

Re: I realize it’s nearly two years after the fact…

[sunshine304]

I had to rewatch the scene again, because I was confused back then as Jo mentioned that the MXY actor reminded her more of an old crazy guy, and I only remembered Xiao Zhan sitting there and no-one else.
But there actually is another actor in the beginning of the resurrection scene - Xiao Zhan is sitting on the floor while there's another man standing in front of him, wearing the same clothes. We never actually see his face, only his bloody feet, torn robes and the shaking hands and close-up.

[barbiejedi]

4. And so, when the hundred and twenty stone beasts...
I liked this part too! I kind of hope the stone beasts/other anti-WWX stuff gets mentioned again, like when the story goes back to the Burial Mounds for the second siege. This will be my first time reading the novel all the way through, and tend to connect with writing a lot more deeply than I do with a lot of visual media, so I'm excited to see more little world-building things that may not have come across as strongly in visual/audio adaptations.

12. The writing/translation style...
I had that same issue-- I read the first volume of Scum Villain first, and it took a couple of chapters before I really got into the swing of it. This one seemed to go easier for me as far as finding that groove.

[weatheringtea]

6. The whole Mo Manor plot makes so much more sense than in the drama.

This was my biggest takeaway. The live action just felt like... I was always missing something (even after I understood it, it wasn't coming through clearly). But the novel version was crystal clear and I actually had reason to feel for proper sympathy Mo Xuanyu.

7. re: his awareness of the time he was gone, but it also made me LOL.

He's just so casual and unfazed with how he addresses it lol.

11. but it was still a HUH moment for me to realize / be reminded that there's really zero pining on WWX's side - no sad grass blade fluting, no nostalgia over seeing LWJ - in comparison to the drama at this point.

This hit me too. WWX just completely peaced out when LWJ showed up. The novel world in my head is using the CQL actors, so the abruptness mixed with how I remember CQL handling it was a little jarring (and sad ;A;)

[kate]

7. I was coming to comment on this because the thing that struck me is that if he was dead, and aware he was dead, he truly WAS rejecting those soul-summoning rituals, then, right? Even Lan Wangji's? I suppose it wouldn't have made a difference to him who it was, but it is something that he could resist them all - that he was aware and somehow skirting around all that stuff.

[solo]

That is an intersting thought. Now I wonder if it's actually novel canon that Lan Zhan played inquiry for him. But even if it is, then yes, WWX was not going to have any of that. Just another sign of how oblivious to Lan Zhan's feelings he was. But also, wow, pretty powerful even in death!

[kate]

I cannot remember! I know that Hanguang Jun goes where the chaos is, and somewhere it's canon that he played Inquiry (or god, is it really fanon? it might be) but I can't for the life of me sort it out.

[sunshine304]

I've tried to find some source for it, because I also was confused whether this came from canon or was indeed fanon.

It seems it's not in the novel and not in CQL. Likeliest source is an early fanfic that was titled like that. Might've been inspired by LWJ's character song, with a line about playing Inquiry but no-one answers and the comments in the novel how people tried to summon the YLLZ. There's also this tumblr post that cites the explanation for Inquiry from the novel - it wouldn't even work for WWX it seems.

That's all I've got. ^_^;

Once again, here two years after the fact…

[full_metal_ox]

The Thirteen Years of Inquiry (which would become sixteen in CQL) originated in this 2016 Baidu fanfic by “Lan Wangji”(!):

https://web.archive.org/web/20221113075541/https://archive.ph/Q2WZH

English translation on AO3, by 6989: Letter for Xian | 与羡书

Re: Once again, here two years after the fact…

[sunshine304]

Yeah, sometime between this discussion and now, it was discussed somewhere that this was actually a fanon thing. Though I never took it all that seriously, it just encapsulates the longing and tragedy so well.
But isn't it great when one manages to grab such a cool username! *g*

[solo]

I liked reading this worldbuilding bit how it was quite common for people to expect WWX to come back for a good while, giving more context for Jiang Cheng's readiness to believe a returned Wei Wuxian behind every tree every gothy cultivator.

True, that gives it a lot more context! Makes him seem not quite so... excessively passionate.

Thank you for highlighting the plucked phoenix, somehow I missed that but it will now live rent-free in my head.

I'm not quite sure how WWX can know how long he was dead... it's not like there's a convenient calendar hanging somewhere or some other useful way of telling that time has passed. This also makes me realize that neither here nor in CQL does he actually actively try to find out just how much time has passed. He'd get an idea by the time he realizes Jin Ling is Jin Ling, but until then, it could have been a year, or 10, or 100...

[sunshine304]

I'm not quite sure how WWX can know how long he was dead..
I've been wondering that, too! He immediately says that he was dead for a long time, but... how? Who told him? Is that some knowledge he got from MXY through... thought osmosis or whatever? I think he even thinks that before he reads the notes?

[alessandriana]

There's some implication that he remembers at least a bit from being dead! At least he talks later about how no one had burnt him offerings while he was dead. So maybe he was able to tell the years passing?

[solo]

Ah, interesting, will look forward to that!