Episode 34: Wei Wuxian Meets His Match in Fairy The Wonder Dog

[wshaffer]

 Zhanalytics

Brooding Stares: 15

Intense Eye Contact: 5

Facial Twitch: 3

Fist Clench: 0

 

That is the cutest dog. And Wei Wuxian is clearly terrified of it. Legolas is enjoying this too much. 

 

Woah, watch Lan Zhan do that flip. I love that they pulled out all the stunt stops for a scene in which Lan Zhan saves Wei Wuxian from a dog. Legolas is taken aback. 

 

Then they go back to question the dubious portrait vendor. "People call me Mr. Know It All of Qinghe!" He tells them about Cannibal Monsters! Wei Wuxian is hitting him with logic - if everyone was eaten, how does anyone know they were eaten? Who were these people? Mr. Know-It-All is disappointing. He does spill some gossip about the Nie Clan. OMG, did Huaisang end up as Clan Leader after all? 

 

Yes he did. Red Blade Master dropped dead in public? Is this a thing that regularly happens to cultivators? They overload on spiritual energy and just...boom? Or is it a Nie clan thing? I mean, if anyone in this show seems like they're perpetually on the verge of exploding, it is Nie Mingjue. Though Jiang Cheng is not far behind. 

 

We get to find out why WWX is afraid of dogs. He had to fight them for food when he was living on the streets. 

 

We hear not-very-scary dog yapping. Wei Wuxian immediately leaps behind Lan Zhan! "Huanguang Jun, move." "Let go of me first." Wei Wuxian, you keep touching Lan Zhan and calling him "Huangang Jun". I believe this is what is known as "sending mixed signals." I do like the fact that Lan Zhan is clearly much more comfortable in Wei Wuxian's company than he was previously. I mean, it's a low bar. But still. He had 3 entire facial expressions in this episode. That might be a new record. 

 

Uh oh. Legolas has gotten himself in trouble. In a freaky dark cave. The cave is messing with Wei Wuxian's head. Out comes the evil-detecting compass. 

 

Blades Shrine. Well, at least it's not Demon Cave or something. There are all these coffin-like things with weapons in them. Weird. Who buries swords? I think they've found the source of their sword ghost. 

 

Lan Zhan's plays the guqin to commune with the spirit, who doesn't seem to know anything. Except that he is a 16 year old male from Lanling. Wait a minute, how can Jin Ling be the spirit here? 

 

Yikes, is he in the wall? Yeah, along with some skeletons. 

 

Dude, can you just grab another man's sword like that? I guess Wei Wuxian can grab Lan Zhan's sword anytime. 

 

Legolas looks slightly possessed. Or maybe just groggy. 

 

Somebody's running around outside. Lan Zhan chases after him while Wei Wuxian looks after Legolas. 

 

Wait, those are Nie Clan robes worn by our mystery fugitive, aren't they? Lan Zhan manages to cut off some fabric before the guy gets away. 

 

Uh oh, someone put an evil spell on Jin Ling. Jin Ling's just freaked out that Wei Wuxian is messing with his clothes. Does Wei Wuxian level with him about what is going on? No, not at all. 

 

"One death is enough for me." LOL. 

 

Okay, Wei Wuxian. Stay calm, you can hide from Jiang Cheng. But you can't hide from Fairy the Wonder Dog. Ooops. 

 

This is still not a happy brotherly reunion. Does Wei Wuxian level with Jiang Cheng and tell him what's really going on? No. On the other hand, would Jiang Cheng listen? Also no. 

 

Then Legolas shows up and says he thinks he saw Wen Ning. And then springs WWX from imprisonment as soon as Jiang Cheng is off to find Wen Ning. Those two seem to have developed a rapport pretty quickly. 

 

Well, a limited rapport. 

 

Wei Wuxian says, "I'm sorry" to Jin Ling, who wants to know what for. Oh kiddo, do you have time for thirty episodes of flashback?  Wei Wuxian says it's an apology for what he said at Dafan mountain, and then knocks him out. Evil spell is still there. Wei Wuxian is going to transfer it to himself. That sounds like a real good idea. Is it? We'll find out next time. 

Comments

[teleidoplex]

So, the quick primer on cultivation (codifying this was one of the things I was working on during our SLO trip):

Cultivation is basically spiritual development to achieve immortality (and possibly ascend to heaven). Pushing too hard (especially against bottlenecks), going too fast (you're in a race against your own mortality), or following an unorthodox path (like demonic cultivation, or the more violent/bloodthirsty saber style that the Nie clan -- who were originally butchers -- practices) can lead to things called qi deviations. The most basic qi deviation is... yeah. You implode/explode, start bleeding from your seven orifices (the seven holes in your head -- ears, nostrils, eyes, mouth), coughing up blood, etc. However, the genre allows for all kinds of more interesting qi deviations. De-aging ones are very popular, but so are amnesia, losing your martial arts for a time, and... well, any other fun trope fic writers like to indulge in. I think westerners look at it and go 'this is so contrived' but... no. It's a staple of the genre!

Damage to qi is also why you know the stakes are bad when a cultivator coughs up blood. It's basically them expelling the bad qi, or it's proof of damage to their dantian (where the golden core is) or their meridians (the pathways the qi runs along).

But one of the most interesting aspects of this (that The Untamed doesn't really get into) is that cultivation goes against the rules of Heaven/Fate/the Genre, so cultivators, immortals, and heavenly beings occasionally go through heavenly tribulations -- usually being struck by numerically significant quantities of lightning, but sometimes also things like love trials or fate trials where they have to suffer through PLOT -- and if someone interferes or tries to save them from the PLOT, then their cultivation suffers and they might even die.

More than just about any other genre I've read, cultivation is a genre that feels specifically designed for dramatic storytelling. But if the viewer/reader isn't willing to accept the conventions of the genre, then it all falls apart and seems really contrived.

It's FASCINATING from a meta level.

Anyways. Wei Wuxian has never met a good idea he didn't try to drink under the table. So this one will obviously go great!