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kiragecko · 7 months

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When I get into foreign media, one of the first things I do is study the names. Because being a nerd is fun.

My friend is writing extremely good Untamed fanfic, so I've spent the last week trying to figure out how to pronounce Mandarin. And then, despite the fact that y'all can just LISTEN to the show to hear the pronunciation, I decided to share my new knowledge.

I'm a historical linguist (I study how languages might have been spoken in the past) so I'm also including how these names might have been pronounced in Middle Chinese (4th-12th C).

We don't know exactly how things were pronounced then. But this story is set in vaguely historical fantasy China, so I want it to have some vaguely historical names.

Explanation of the symbols afterwards.

The Names

Hanzi (Chinese Characters) | English Translation/Pinyin | IPA (Phonetic transcription of sounds) | Respelling (Phonetic Transcription designed to be easier to understand for English speakers) (Middle Chinese Reconstruction: IPA | Respelling)

姑苏蓝氏 | Gusu Lan Clan | ku˥˥‧su˥˥‧län˧˥ ‧ʂʐ̩˥˩ | kōo-sōo lán ʂʐ̀

(kuo‧suo‧lɑm dʑiᴇˣ | kwo-swo lahm jyé)

云深不知处 | Cloud Recesses | yn˧˥‧ʂən˥˥‧pu˥˩‧ʈʂʐ̩˥˥‧ʈʂʰu˨˩˦ | éeᵘn-ʂə̄n-pòo ʈʂʐ̄-ʈʂǒo (ɦɨun‧ɕiɪm‧pɨu‧ʈiᴇ‧tɕʰɨʌˣ | hhyoon-sheem-pyoo ʈye-chyúh)

蓝启仁 | Lán Qǐrén | län˧˥ tɕʰi˨˩˦‧ʐən˧˥ | lán chěe-ʐə́n (lɑm kʰeiˣ‧ȵiɪn | lahm káy ñen)

青蘅君 | Qīnghéng Jūn | tɕʰiŋ˥˥‧xɤŋ˧˥ tɕyn˥˥ | chēeng-xóʸng chēeᵘn (tsʰeŋ‧ɦˠæŋ kɨun | tsaeng-hhang kyoon)

蓝景仪 | Lán Jīngyí | län˧˥ tɕiŋ˨˩˦‧i˧˥ | lán chěeng-ée (lɑm kˠiæŋˣ‧ŋˠiᴇ | lahm kyáng-ngye)

蓝翼 | Lán Yì | län˧˥ i˥˩ | lán èe (lɑm jɨk | lahm yeek)

云梦江氏 | Yúnmèng Jiāng Clan | yn˧˥‧mɤŋ˥˩‧tɕiɑŋ˥˥ ‧ʂʐ̩˥˩ | éeᵘn-mòʸng chyāhng ʂʐ̀

(ɦɨun‧mɨuŋᴴ kˠʌŋ dʑiᴇˣ | hhyoon-myòong kuhng jyé)

江厌离 | Jiāng Yànlí | tɕiɑŋ˥˥ jɛn˥˩‧li˧˥ | chyāhng yèn-lée (kˠʌŋ ʔiᴇmᴴ‧liᴇ | kuhng yèm-lye)

江枫眠 | Jiāng Fēngmián | tɕiɑŋ˥˥ fɤŋ˥˥‧miɛn˧˥ | chyāhng fōʸng-myén (kˠʌŋ pɨuŋ‧men | kuhng pyoong-maen)

魏长泽 | Wèi Chángzé | weɪ˥˩ ʈʂʰɑŋ˧˥‧tsɤ˧˥ | wày ʈʂáhng-tsóʸ (ŋʉiᴴ ɖɨɐŋ‧ɖˠæk | ngwèe ɖyuhng-ɖak)

藏色散人 | Cángsè Sǎnrén | tsʰɑŋ˧˥‧sɤ˥˩ sän˨˩˦‧ʐən˧˥ | tsáhng-sòʸ sǎn-ʐə́n (dzɑŋ‧ʃɨk sɑnˣ‧ȵiɪn | dzahng-sheek sáhn-ñeen)

兰陵金氏 | Lánlíng Jīn Clan | län˧˥‧liŋ˧˥‧tɕin˥˥‧ʂʐ̩˥˩ | lán-léeng chēen ʂʐ̀

(lɑn‧lɨŋ kˠiɪm dʑiᴇˣ | lahn-leeng keem jyé)

江厌离 | Jiāng Yànlí | tɕiɑŋ˥˥ jɛn˥˩‧li˧˥ | chyāhng yèn-lée (kˠʌŋ ʔiᴇmᴴ‧liᴇ | kuhng yèm-lye)

��光善 | Jīn Guāngshàn | tɕin˥˥ kuɑŋ˥˥‧ʂän˥˩ | chēen kwāhng-ʂàn (kˠiɪm kwɑŋ‧dʑiᴇnˣ | keem kwahng-jyén)

秦愫 | Qín Sù | tɕʰin˧˥ su˥˩ | chéen sòo (dziɪn suoᴴ | dzeen swò)

金子轩 | Jīn Zǐxuān | tɕin˥˥ tsz̩˨˩˦‧ɕyɛn˥˥ | chēen tsz-shyᵘēn (kˠiɪm tsɨˣ‧hɨɐn | keem tsée-hyuhn)

金子勋 | Jīn Zǐxūn | tɕin˥˥ tsz̩˦˥‧ɕyn˥˥ | chēen tsz-shēeᵘn (kˠiɪm tsɨˣ‧hɨun | keem tsée-hyoon)

莫玄羽 | Mò Xuányǔ | muɔ˥˩ ɕyɛn˧˥‧y˨˩˦ | mwò shyᵘén-ěeᵘ (mɑk ɦwen‧ɦɨoˣ | mahk hhwaen-hhyó)

金阐 | Jīn Chǎn | tɕin˥˥ ʈʂʰän˨˩˦ | chēen ʈʂǎn (kˠiɪm tɕʰiᴇnˣ | keem chyén)

清河聂氏 | Qīnghé Niè Clan | tɕʰiŋ˥˥‧xɤ˧˥‧niɛ˥˩‧ʂʐ̩˥˩ | chēeng-xóʸ nyè ʂʐ̀

(tsʰiᴇŋ‧ɦɑ‧ɳˠiᴇp‧dʑiᴇˣ | tsyeng-hhah ɳyep jyé)

岐山温氏 | Qíshān Wēn Clan | tɕʰi˧˥‧ʂän˥˥‧wən˥˥‧ʂʐ̩˥˩ | chée-ʂān wə̄n ʂʐ̀

(giᴇ‧ʃˠɛn‧ʔuən‧dʑiᴇˣ | gye-shen wən jyé)

温情 | Wēn Qíng | wən˥˥ tɕʰiŋ˧˥ | wə̄n chéeng (ʔuən dziᴇŋ | wən dzyeng)

温若寒 | Wēn Ruòhán | wən˥˥ ʐuɔ˥˩‧xän˧˥ | wə̄n ʐwò-xán (ʔuən ȵɨɐk‧ɦɑn | wən ñyuhk-hhahn)

温旭 | Wēn Xù | wən˥˥ ɕy˥˩ | wə̄n shèeᵘ (ʔuən hɨok | wən hyok)

温晁 | Wēn Cháo | wən˥˥ ʈʂʰɑʊ˧˥ | wə̄n ʈʂáhw (ʔuən ɖˠiᴇu | wən ɖyew)

王灵娇 | Wáng Língjiāo | wɑŋ˧˥ liŋ˧˥‧tɕiɑʊ˥˥ | wáhng léeng-chyāhw (ɦ��ɐŋ leŋ‧kˠiᴇu | hhwuhng laeng-kyew)

Others

抱山散人 | Bàoshān Sǎnrén | pɑʊ˥˩‧ʂän˥˥ sän˨˩˦‧ʐən˧˥ | pàhw-ʂān sǎn-ʐə́n (bɑuˣ‧ʃˠɛn sɑnˣ‧ȵiɪn | báhw-shen sáhn-ñeen)

欧阳子真 | Ōuyáng Zǐzhēn | ʔoʊ˥˥‧jɑŋ˧˥ tsz̩˦˥‧ʈʂən˥˥ | ōw-yáhng tsź-ʈʂə̄n (ʔəu‧jɨɐŋ tsɨˣ‧tɕiɪn | əw-yuhng tsée-cheen)

SYMBOLS USED

Pinyin (English translation) | IPA symbols | Respelling | English Example

m | m | m | mind

n | n | n | need

N/A | ɳ | ɳ | 'need' with tip of tongue curled up

N/A | ȵ | ñ | canyon

ng | ŋ | ng | sing

N/A | b | b | bat

b | p | p | keep

p | pʰ | p | peek

N/A | d | d | deep

d | t | t | cat

t | tʰ | t | tack

N/A | ɖ | ɖ | 'deep' with tip of tongue curled up

N/A | ʈ | ʈ | 'cat' with tip of tongue curled up

N/A | g | g | goat

g | k | k | peek

k | kʰ | k | keep

N/A | ʔ | none | uh-oh (sound made in English when two vowels need to stay separate, and neither is a 'i' or 'u')

N/A | dz | dz | beds

z | ts | ts | cats

c | tsʰ | ts | tsunami

zh | ʈʂ | ʈʂ | 'cats' with tip of tongue curled up

ch | ʈʂʰ | ʈʂ | 'tsunami' with tip of tongue curled up

N/A | dʑ | j | jump (hold tongue like a 'y' then say 'j')

j | tɕ | ch | pitch (hold tongue like a 'y' then say 'ch')

q | tɕʰ | ch | check (hold tongue like a 'y' then say 'ch')

f | f | f | fig

s | s | s | sit

sh | ʂ | ʂ | 'sit' with tip of tongue curled up

x | ɕ | sh | ship (hold tongue like a 'y' then say 'sh')

h | x | x | loch

N/A | h | h | help

N/A | ɦ | hh | help with slightly more air

l | l | l | lamp

r | ʐ or ɻ | ʐ | 'zip' with tip of tongue curled up

y | j | y | yes

yu | ɥ | yᵘ | you ('y' with lips rounded like you're saying a 'w' or 'u')

w | w | w | wet

Vowels

i | i, ɨ, iɪ, ɨi | ee or y | see (Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

i | z̩ | z | bzzz (Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

i | ʐ̩ | ʐ̩ | bzzz with tip of tongue curled up (Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

u | ɥ, y | eeᵘ or yᵘ | lips say 'sue', mouth says 'see'(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus) ⁹

u | u | oo or w | threw (Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

u | uə | wə | threw up(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

N/A | ʉi | wee | weak(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

N/A | ɨo | yo | yore(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

iu | ioʊ | yow | yoke (Amer/Can), between yore and yoke (Brit/Aus)

io | iʊ, ɨu | yoo | pure (Amer/Can), cute (Brit/Aus)

o | uo, uɔ | wo | wart (Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

N/A | əu | əw | about (Can), starting as 'comma', ending as 'goat' (Amer) , no (Brit/Aus)

ou | oʊ | ow | soul(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

a | ä, æ | a | lad(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

a | ɑ | ah | arm (Can), palm (Amer/Brit), my without the 'e' (Aus)

N/A | ʌ | uh | run (Amer/Can/Brit), 'comma' (Aus)

a | ɛ | e | bed (Can/Amer/Brit), between 'lad' and 'led' (Aus)

ao | ɑʊ, ɑu | ahw | now (Can), 'palm' + 'w' (Amer/Brit), starting as 'my', ending as 'soul' (Aus)

N/A | ɨæ | ya | yap(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

ia, ya | iɑ | yah | yard (Can/Amer/Brit), yikes without the 'e' (Aus)

ia, ie | iɛ, iᴇ | ye | yes (Can/Amer/Brit), between 'yap' and 'yep' (Aus)

N/A | ɨʌ, ɨɐ, jɨɐ | yuh | yuck (Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

yua, ua | ɥɛ, yɛ | yᵘe | lips say 'wet', mouth says 'yet' (Can/Amer/Brit), lips say wet, mouth says between 'yap' and 'yet' (Aus)

iao | iɑʊ | yahw | yard + 'w' (Can/Amer/Brit), yikes + 'w' (Aus)

N/A | ɨæ | ya | yap(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

ua | uä, ua | wa | wack(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

ua | uɑ, wɑ | wah | warm (Can/Amer/Brit), white (Aus)

N/A | ʉɐ | wuh | won(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

uai | uaɪ | why | wide (Amer/Can) wack + 'y' (Brit), way (Aus)

N/A | uɛi | wey | wet + 'y' (Can/Amer/Brit), between 'way' and 'wed' (Aus)

e | ə | ə | comma (Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

e | ɤ | oʸ | lips say 'wore', mouth says 'yore'(Can/Amer/Brit/Aus)

e | e | ae | day without 'y' (Can/Amer/Brit), bed (Aus)

ei | eɪ | ay | day (Can/Amer/Brit), bed + 'y' (Aus)

N/A | we | wae ¹⁰ | way without 'y' (Can/Amer/Brit), wed (Aus)

ui, wei | ueɪ, weɪ | way | way (Can/Amer/Brit) , wed + 'y' (Aus)

N/A | iᴇu, jiᴇu | yew | yes + 'w' (Can/Amer/Brit), between 'yap' and 'yep' + 'w' (Aus)

N/A | wiᴇ | wye | ??

N/A | iuɪ | ywee | ??

N/A | iuᴇ, jiuᴇ | ywe | ??

N/A | iuᴇi | ywey | ??

(The 'i's at the beginning of the last 3 are there to distinguish them from other sounds, but we don't actually know how they're pronounced. Same thing with all the extra 'j's and 'w's in the Middle Chinese transcriptions.)

Other Symbols

ˠ - say the sound while back of tongue is raised.

ᴴ, ˣ - the 2 marked tones of Middle Chinese (third 'tone' is syllables with 'p', 't', or 'k' at the end, final tone is unmarked). It's uncertain what they were, but the guess is 'ᴴ' was low and 'ˣ' was high.

ó, ò, ō, ǒ | ˧˥, ˥˩, ˥˥, ˨˩˦ - Modern Mandarin tones. I'm ADHD and can't hear my own tone and volume, so I am have no help for you.

#the untamed #mo dao zu shi #linguistics #mandarin #middle chinese #historical linguistics

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ghostcitymaster · 1 year

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避尘 - Bìchén

lit. to avoid dust; to avoid worldly matters

#bichen #mdzs #mxtx #the untamed #sword #lan wangji #wang yibo #chinese #aesthetic #cdrama

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wangxianficfinder · 1 year

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Daemons / Sentient Sword

~*~

🧡 Song of Suibian and Bichen: Or, the Greatest (And Only) Furby Master of Demonic Cultivation by moonwaif (T, 64k, WangXian, Fix-It of Sorts, canon adjacent, The spiritual weapons are furbies, Angst with a Happy Ending, The parent trap but make it WangXian with furbies, Mutual Pining, Taking my favorite parts of every adaptation and smashing them together)

🧡 like speaking to my heart by SnowshadowAO3 (T, 613k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Daemons, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, Some people live!, additional warnings in specific chapters, if you don't know what daemons are that's ok because I explain it in the author's note, also by slow burn I VERY much mean slow burn)

The Grandmaster of Daemonic Cultivation by CaptainJojo (E, 104k, WangXian, ChengQing, XuanLi, Daemons, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, a lil bit of sexy in later chapters, Wangxian figures it out quicker, gratuitous bending of the rules of cultivation, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Metaphysical Sex, Daemon Touching, Canon Divergence, Eventual Happy Ending)

a shattering of souls by coffee_and_cardamom (M, 42k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Pre-Canon, Post-Canon, Canon Rewrite, Canon Temporary Character Death, Major Character Undeath, Angst with a Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Comfort/Angst, Blood and Gore, Hurt/Comfort, Mildly Dubious Consent, Dubious Consent Due To Identity Issues, WWX in WWX's Body, YLLZ WWX, Oblivious WWX, BAMF WWX, POV LWJ, Protective LWJ, LWJ Character Study, Daemon Touching, Daemon Separation, Daemon Feels, Everyone Needs A Hug)

The Grand Master of Daemonic Cultivation by FayJay (G, 3k, wangxian, daemons au)

Kind of Evil by nirejseki (G, 1k, canon divergence, sentient swords, sentient sabers, BAMFs)

Crowded by nirejseki (G, 1k, NHS & WWX, wangxian, LWJ/NHS/WWX, canon divergence, different body offering ritual, atypical relationship dynamics, sentient sabers)

Close by nirejseki (Not rated, 11k, NMJ & Baxia, NMJ & NHS, body swap, sentient sabers)

Ch 25 & 33 of The Tales of Despereaux by stiltonbasket (T, 39k, wangxian, canon divergence, WWX summoned by QS, additional warnings in author's note when applicable)

the world passes by but for me there is only you by beeswaxing (E, 82k, wangxian, canon divergence, fix-it of sorts, accidental marriage, love confessions, first kiss, first time, horny teenagers, pining, fluff, everyone lives au, wedding night, emotional sex, golden core reveal) this one has sentient swords

Chenqing and Wangji Takes Matters Into Their Own Hands by HelloKitten (Not rated, 11k, wangxian, Bichen/Chenqin, fix-it of sorts, glimpse of future, time travel?)

If You Give a Cultivator a Daemon Series by ushauz (T, 23k, WangXian, XianNing, JC & WWX, Daemons, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, Polyamory Negotiations)

@zeldacw seems to be this fandom’s originator of the Anthromorphic Weapons trope; those comics can be found under the tag 忘情隨塵 (WangQingSuiChen) and post on her Tumblr and on her Twitter @/zeldacw; inspired Kindred Spirits by EstelweNadia (Not Rated, 2k, WIP, Bìchén/Suíbiàn, Chénqíng/Wangji, Humor, Angst, Eventual Romance, Drama, Slow Build, Slow Burn)

Spiritual Weapons Have Feelings Too Series by meicairoubingfan (kiradyn) (T, 10k, Suíbiàn/Chénqíng, Anthropomorphic Spiritual Weapons, Pining, Weapons As People, Angst, Separation, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Romantic Relationships Between Weapons, But Also Platonic Relationships, Brotherhood, commiserating, Reminiscing, Good Guy JC, Good Brother JC, Established Relationship, Between A Sword And A Flute, Canon Compliant, Foreshadowing of Bichen x Suibian, Foreshadowing Of Wangji x Chenqing)

A somewhat unconventional family by DamieMontclair (T, 1k, Bìchén/Suíbiàn, sentient sword spirits, sentient first class spiritual tools, Little bit of angst, Recovery, Getting Together, Fluff, and dare I say...., Domestic Fluff) crackfic where the weapon and instrument spirits are a family in their own right

~*~

#Wangxian Fic Rec #The Untamed #wangxian #MDZS #wangxianficfinder compilation post #long post #daemons #daemon au #daemons au #sentient swords #sentient swords au

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inappropriateuseof · 6 months

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Inappropriate Use of Bìchén (Módào Zǔshī)

#ao3 #ao3 tags #fanfiction #fanfic #archive of our own #Inappropriate Use of

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ladysunamireads · 1 year

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My Neighbor Dragonji

My Neighbor Dragonji by Lycan Sakura

A My Neighbor Totoro inspired AU.

Huli Jing Wei Ying and his son the neko Wei Yuan just bought and moved into an old abandoned house close to a small village. The plan for the move was so A-Yuan could grow up safe from the hunters that are always after magical creatures to up their own magic. One day when A-Yuan is playing in the part of woods they own, he meets the fierce, but kind dragon Hangguan Jun who protects the area, but is so rarely seen that he's considered a myth. A-Yuan wants his new friend to join the family and maybe help look after his Baba, who tends to always forget about himself. But how long are Wei Ying and A-Yuan really safe when hunters still want the power of the fearsome Yiling Laozu and can they even beat a dragon to get to him.

Words: 4247, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Mo Dao Zu Shi

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M, Multi

Characters: Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wēn Qíng, Lán Yuàn | Lán Sīzhuī, Niè Huáisāng, Mò Xuányǔ, Bìchén, Suíbiàn, Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín, Chénqíng, Wàngjī Gǔqín, Luó "Mián Mián" Qīngyáng, Luó "Mián Mián" Qīngyáng's Daughter

Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Mò Xuányǔ/Niè Huáisāng

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46074238

#AO3 Feed #FanFiction #AO3 Wangxian #♥#Wangxian #Lan Yuan #MDZS #⚣#⚔️#R:T #Foxxian #A:Lycan Sakura

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yibo-wang · 3 years

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陈情 chénqíng – to explain oneself fully; to give a full account.

避尘 bìchén – to avoid dust; to avoid worldly matters.

#yk this scene where they first show wy looking at chenqing and then cuts to lwj looking at bichen and it's post breakup #and theyre both longing for each other and are unable to tell the other what they really want to say and it feels like theyre miles apart #despite being in the same building and it makes u cry cause same #mxtxnet #mdzsnet #the untamed #fymdzs #ccnet #asiandramanet #cdrama #gifs:mine*#m*#lan zhan #wei wuxian #wangxian #1k

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korpikorppi · 2 years

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避尘 bìchén – lit. to avoid dust; to avoid worldly matters

Although Bichen's thin, nearly transparent blade gives the impression of a lightweight sword, it is actually strong enough to cut through iron and heavy enough for non-cultivators to be unable to wield it. The blade exudes an air of ice and snow and a light blue glare when drawn. It is capable of unsheathing a few inches without Lan Wangji's touch.

随便 suíbiàn – whatever; (do) as you please

Suibian is an agile sword with a white blade that has the characters of the sword's name engraved on the scabbard. Wei Wuxian did not intend to name it Suibian, but he could not think of a suitable name for it. He told Jiang Fengmian to name it "whatever," and when the sword was given to him he found that it had actually been named Suibian.

- Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation wiki

Other swords: Sandu and Suihua, Fuxue and Shuanghua and Jiangzai, Baxia and Shuoyue and Hensheng

#the untamed swords #named swords #bichen #suibian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #the untamed #cql #mo dao zu shi #random late night screencap edits #mine #theuntameddaily

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coffintownkids · 2 years

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You know what? I lied. I will post XY's final scene. (Along with AQ and SL). There's a lot to unpack here, but I'll let you guys be the judge.

Long post ahead for the yi city finale.

Xuē Yáng had his chest slashed by Lán Wàngjī. Not only did that spot have blood splatter, but the Soul-Trapping Pouch he had hidden by his chest was also hoisted up by the tip of Bìchén. However, Wèi Wúxiàn couldn’t get a clear look, “Xuē Yáng! What do you want him to return to you? Shuānghuá? Again, Shuānghuá isn’t your sword. On what grounds are you saying ‘give it back’? Do you have any shame?”

Xuē Yáng laughed loudly, “Wèi- qianbei, you really don’t show any mercy!”

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “Laugh, keep it up. Even if you die laughing, you still won’t put Xiǎo Xīngchén’s soul back together. He was so sickened by you, yet you still need to bring him back to play games.”

Xuē Yáng suddenly laughed out loud, then suddenly started shouting abuse again, “Who wants to play games with him!”

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “Then what did you get down on your knees and beg so hard for me to help you restore his soul for?”

Xuē Yáng was a smart person. How could he not know that Wèi Wúxiàn was antagonizing him on purpose? First he made him angry to distract him, next he made him shout curses so that Lán Wàngjī could determine his location and attack him. Yet he couldn’t help but say one thing after another. He nastily said, “What for? Hah! How could you not know? I want to turn him into a revenant and a wraith and make him suffer being commanded by me! Hadn’t he been such a pure and noble person? I would make him commit endless slaughter and never know a day of peace!”

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “Eh? You hate him that much? Then why did you have to go and kill Cháng Píng?”

Xuē Yáng scoffed, “Why did I kill Cháng Píng? Do you even need to ask, Yílíng Lǎozǔ! Didn’t I tell you? I said I wanted to kill the Cháng Sect of Yuèyáng’s entire House and that I wouldn’t even let his dog survive!”

His speaking amounted to him reporting his own position. There was the constant sound of his body being pierced with a blade, yet Xuē Yáng’s ability to endure wounds and pain was unexpectedly different from an ordinary person. Wèi Wúxiàn had already witnessed it during Empathy. Even if he was stabbed in the gut, he could still joke around as if nothing happened. Wèi Wúxiàn added, “You found a good reason. Too bad the timing was wrong. Petty people like you return the smallest slights a thousand times over in revenge and are so quick to turn sinister. If you really wanted to kill the entire House, why did you put it off for several years before accomplishing that? When all is said and done, why did you go and kill Cháng Píng? In your own heart, you understand why.”

Xuē Yáng said, “What are you actually saying that I understand in my heart? What do I understand?!”

His last sentence came out as a roar.

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “If you kill, you kill. If it was deliberately meant as ‘punishment,’ why did you have to use lingchi? If you wanted to avenge yourself, why did you deliberately use Shuānghuá instead of your Jiàngzāi? Why did you also deliberately gouge out Cháng Píng’s eyes and make him become just like Xiǎo Xīngchén?”

Xuē Yáng shouted himself hoarse, “Bullshit! That’s all a bunch of bullshit! Should I have still let him die comfortably when I got revenge?!”

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “You did indeed get revenge. But who exactly were you getting revenge for? What a joke. If you really wanted revenge, the one that should have been hacked into a thousand pieces via lingchithe most was yourself!”

There were a pair of whooshes and the sharp sound of something cutting through the air towards his face. Wèi Wúxiàn didn’t even flinch. Wēn Níng stepped in front of him and blocked the pair of insidious, blacklit Skull-Piercing Nails. Xuē Yáng let out a bone-chilling laugh like a night owl, then he suddenly stopped and went silent. No longer acknowledging him, he continued his fight with Lán Wàngjī within the mist. Wèi Wúxiàn thought, “That little menace’s lifeforce is too tenacious. It’s like he completely can’t feel any pain and seems to be fine no matter where he gets wounded. If only he’d say a couple more things and Lán Zhàn stabbed him a few more times. I doubt he’d still be leaping and jumping around if he had his limbs chopped off. Too bad he’s not fooled!”

At that precise moment, there came the distinct tapping of a bamboo pole from within the mist.

Thoughts racing, Wèi Wúxiàn shouted, “Lán Zhàn, where the pole is tapping!”

Lán Wàngjī sent out his sword. Xuē Yáng let out a muffled sound. A moment later, the bamboo pole suddenly sounded from a spot a few zhàng away!

Lán Wàngjī continued to stab right at the source of the sound. Xuē Yáng thickly said, “Blind kid, you’re following behind me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll break you apart?”

Ever since Xuē Yáng killed her, Ā-Qìng had been hiding from him all along in secret and wouldn’t let him find her. For some reason, Xuē Yáng also didn’t care about her lonely ghost, seemingly thinking her to be insignificant and not worth fearing. Yet now Ā-Qìng was shadowing Xuē Yáng relentlessly through the mist, banging her bamboo pole, exposing his position, and showing Lán Wàngjī where to attack!

Xuē Yáng moved so fast that he appeared somewhere else in a flash. However, Ā-Qìng also hadn’t been slow at running when she was alive. After turning into a ghost and following close behind, she clung tightly to his back like a curse while madly and incessantly banging with her pole. The clattering sound was suddenly far then close, suddenly left then right, suddenly ahead then behind, moving to and fro without any chance to escape and without lagging behind. As soon as it sounded, Lán Wàngjī’s sword glare followed right after!

Originally, Xuē Yáng in the mist had been like trying to catch a fish in water, where he could hide and launch sneak attacks, but now he had to split his concentration to deal with Ā-Qìng. He cursed, abruptly flinging his hand back to toss a sealing talisman, and it was this distraction accompanied by Ā-Qìng’s strange screaming, that let Bìchén pierce through his chest!

Although Ā-Qìng had been defeated by Xuē Yáng’s sealing talisman and there was no more tapping of her bamboo pole to reveal his location, still, the sword had already hit a vital spot and Xuē Yáng could no longer be as elusive as a ghost and hard to catch as he originally had been!

Within the mist, there came several sounds of him coughing up blood. Wèi Wúxiàn tossed out an empty Soul-Trapping Pouch and had it salvage Ā-Qìng’s soul. Xuē Yáng dragged himself along with a heavy gait, walked a few steps, and unexpectedly pounced forward. He roared with his hand stretched out, “Give it to me!”

Bìchén’s sword light slashed down and Lán Wàngjī simply and neatly cut off his arm.

Blood sprayed wildly and dyed the hazy white mist in front of Wèi Wúxiàn crimson. The stench of blood was overwhelming, each breath damp with the taste of rust, but he didn’t care about it at all. He was simply busy focusing completely on search and rescue, gathering up the fragments of Ā-Qìng’s soul. On the other side, although Xuē Yáng still didn’t cry out in pain, there was the heavy sound of his knee hitting the ground. He seemed to have lost too much blood and finally couldn’t walk anymore, and sank to his knees.

Lán Wàngjī summoned Bìchén again and, with the next swing of his sword, he would cut Xuē Yáng’s head clean off!

Who could have known, at that precise moment, that towering blue flames would abruptly rise up within the mist.

The spell fire from a teleportation talisman!

Wèi Wúxiàn knew in his heart this event wasn’t good and, paying no mind to the dangers within the fog, rushed over. In his rush to get over there, he nearly slipped. It was the bloodiest spot thick with wet blood from when Xuē Yáng’s severed arm had gushed everywhere.

However, Xuē Yáng’s figure was nowhere to be found.

Lán Wàngjī walked over and Wèi Wúxiàn said, “Was it the gravedigger?”

Xuē Yáng had already been critically hit by Bìchén, plus he lost an arm. Seeing how heavily he bled, his death was no doubt inevitable. It was impossible that he had the extra strength and spiritual energy to have used the teleportation talisman. Lán Wàngjī gave a slight nod and said, “I had stabbed the gravedigger three times and right when I was able to capture him, a large number of zombies attacked and he made his escape.”

Wèi Wúxiàn tightly said, “The gravedigger had already been stabbed with a sword, yet he didn’t hesitate to waste a great amount of spiritual energy taking Xuē Yáng’s body. Maybe he also knew about Xuē Yáng and knew what he was involved with. Taking Xuē Yáng’s body…it’s to search the body because he was carrying the Yīn Tiger Seal.”

Rumor had it that after Xuē Yáng got “cleaned up” by Jīn Guāngyáo, the Yīn Tiger Seal had been lost without a trace. But now it looked like there was high probability he’d taken the Yīn Tiger Seal with him. Yì Town had been inhabited by countless living dead, zombies, and even a revenant. He feared they would be difficult to control with poisoned corpse powder or the skullpiercing nails alone. Only by using the Yīn Tiger Seal would Xuē Yáng have the ability to control them at will, making them follow his commands, and sending forth wave after wave of them to attack. Such a suspicious and cunning person like him definitely wouldn’t have kept the Yīn Tiger Seal where he couldn’t keep an eye on it. He would have only felt safe if he was constantly able to touch it while keeping it concealed on his person. The gravedigger took his body, which amounted to him taking the Yīn Tiger Seal.

This was no trivial matter. Wèi Wúxiàn’s tone was grave, “Things have already gotten this far. I can only hope that Xuē Yáng’s recovery of the Yīn Tiger Seal’s power was limited.”

At that moment, Lán Wàngjī gently tossed him something.

Wèi Wúxiàn easily caught it, saying, “What is it?”

Lán Wàngjī said, “The right arm.”

What he had tossed over was a brand new Sealing qiánkūn pouch. Only then did Wèi Wúxiàn remember their reason for entering Yì Town, vigor renewed, “Our Good Brother’s right arm?”

Lán Wàngjī said, “Yes.”

Between the numerous obstacles of dealing with the gravedigger, the pack of zombies, and indistinct and sinister fog, Lán Wàngjī actually still managed to find time to successfully find the corpse’s right arm. Wèi Wúxiàn was thoroughly amazed and enthusiastically praised him, “You are truly worthy of being called Hánguāng-Jūn! So we’re one step ahead of them again. It’s just too bad it wasn’t the head. I still want to see what our Good Brother looks like, but we’ll know soon enough… Where’s Sòng Lán?”

After Xuē Yáng’s body disappeared, the white mist flowed a little faster and seemed to be somewhat thinner. It also wasn’t so difficult to see now. It was precisely because of this that Wèi Wúxiàn also suddenly realized he didn’t see Sòng Lán. There was only Wēn Níng still crouching down and simply staring blankly by the spot where Sòng Lán had originally been laying.

Lán Wàngjī put his hand back on Bìchén’s hilt after just returning it to its scabbard. Wèi Wúxiàn said, “It’s fine. There’s no need to be on guard. Sòng Lán is just a revenant now. He shouldn’t have any intention of attacking, otherwise Wēn Níng would have alerted us. His consciousness has likely returned and he left by himself.”

He softly whistled and Wēn Níng got up while keeping his head down. He walked away from the sound and his figure disappeared into the white fog without a trace. The sound of chains dragging got gradually farther away and Lán Wàngjī never said much, he only quietly said, “Let’s go.”

Right when they were ready to take a few steps, all of a sudden, Wèi Wúxiàn said, “Wait a minute.”

He spotted something all alone within the pool of blood.

It was the left arm that had been chopped off.

Four of its fingers were clasped tightly and its pinkie was missing. That fist was very tightly clenched. Wèi Wúxiàn crouched down and, using all of his strength, forced them apart one by one. After forcing them apart, he discovered a small piece of candy being held in its palm.

The piece of candy had turned slightly black and certainly wasn’t edible.

It had been held too tightly and was already somewhat broken.

Wèi Wúxiàn and Lán Wàngjī returned to the coffin house together. The front door was open and, sure enough, Sòng Lán was standing beside where Xiǎo Xīngchén lay in his coffin.

All the young cultivation disciples had their swords drawn, crowded together in a bunch off to the side, vigilantly staring at the revenant that had just been attacking them. Seeing Wèi Wúxiàn and Lán Wàngjī return, it was as if they’d been granted amnesty, yet they didn’t dare raise their voices. They seemed to fear rousing or angering Sòng Lán. Wèi Wúxiàn raised his foot and stepped into the coffin house, then introduced Lán Wàngjī, “Sòng Lán. Song Zichēn-dàozháng.”

Sòng Lán stood by the coffin and raised his head, turning his gaze towards them. Lán Wàngjī lightly lifted his robes, posture elegant as he stepped over the tall threshold, and gave a slight nod. Sòng Lán had already regained his sanity. His missing pupils had also returned and within his eye sockets were a pair of clear, dark eyes. Within the eyes that were once Xiǎo Xīngchén’s was an unspeakable sorrow.

Thus, there was no need to ask. Wèi Wúxiàn knew then. The time period during which Xuē Yáng had control over him as a revenant, he had seen all of it and remembered all of it.

No matter what was asked, no matter how much was said, it would do nothing more than add to his helplessness and suffering.

After a moment of silence, Wèi Wúxiàn took out two equally small, thin Soul-Trapping Pouches and handed them to him, saying, “Xiǎo Xīngchén-dàozháng and the young lady Ā-Qìng.”

Although Ā-Qìng had been terribly scared of Xuē Yáng, yet up until now, she had still closely followed her own murderer around. She wouldn’t let him shake her off, or hide from her, not until Bìchén pierced his chest and she got her retribution. Her soul had nearly been blown apart by Xuē Yáng’s vicious talisman attack. Wèi Wúxiàn did his best to pick her up and put at least some of her back together. Currently, she was broken into fragments nearly as much as Xiǎo Xīngchén was.

Two sets of weak souls, each curled up in their own Soul-Trapping Pouch, as if even the slightest bump could knock them to pieces within their bags. Both of Sòng Lán’s hands were trembling slightly as he took them into his palms. He didn’t dare even lift their tassels for fear of jostling them.

Wèi Wúxiàn said, “Sòng-dàozháng, what do you plan to do with Xiǎo Xīngchén-dàozháng’s body?”

Sòng Lán carefully held both the Soul-Trapping Pouches in one hand and drew Fúxuě with the other hand, using it to write two lines on the ground, “Cremate the body. Take care of the souls.”

Xiǎo Xīngchén’s soul being as broken as it was, it would definitely be unable to return to his body. It would be better to cremate his body. With the body dissipated, only the pure soul would remain. It could be slowly cared for and maybe one day it could return to the world again.

Wèi Wúxiàn nodded, and added, “What do you plan to do from now on?”

Sòng Lán wrote, “Carry Shuānghuá. Travel the world. Together with Xīngchén, get rid of demons and eliminate evil.”

After a pause, he continued on to write, “When he wakes up, I will tell him ‘I am sorry. It was not your fault.’”

These are the words he hadn’t been able to say when Xiǎo Xīngchén was still alive.

The sinister fog in Yì Town gradually began to dissipate. Already the long streets and side roads could be roughly made out. Lán Wàngjī and Wèi Wúxiàn walked with the cultivation disciples out of the desolate ghost town. Sòng Lán thus parted ways with them at the town’s main gate.

He still wore his pitch-black Taoist robes and was all alone in the world. Carrying two swords on his back, Shuānghuá and Fúxuě, and carrying two souls, Xiǎo Xīngchén and Ā-Qìng, he set off down a different path.

It was not the path they had taken to arrive at Yì Town.

Lán Sīzhuī stared at his retreating back while lost in thought for a while, then said, “‘The Bright Moon and Gentle Breeze Xiǎo Xīngchén. Unyielding to Snow and Rising Above Frost Song Zichēn’…I don’t know if the two of them will be together again someday.”

Wèi Wúxiàn walked along the road that was thickly overgrown with weeds and happened to spot a grassy field, thinking to himself, “Back then, this was where Xiǎo Xīngchén and Ā-Qìng rescued Xuē Yáng.”

Lán Jǐngyí said, “Isn’t now the time for you to be telling us everything you saw during Empathy? How could that person have been Xuē Yáng? Why did he need to pretend he was Xiǎo Xīngchén?”

“And by the way, was that the Ghost General just now? Where did the Ghost General go now? Why haven’t we seen him? Is he still in Yì Town? Why did he appear all of a sudden?”

Wèi Wúxiàn pretended not to hear the second set of questions and said, “Well, it’s quite a complicated story…”

They walked down the road together and after he finished speaking, a gloomy melancholy had settled around him and everyone forgot about the Ghost General.

Lán Jǐngyí was the first one to start crying, “How in the world can something like this happen!”

Jīn Líng was furious, “That Xuē Yáng, what a scumbag! Trash! Dying let him off too easy! If Fairy was here, I’d have had Fairy maul him to death!”

Wèi Wúxiàn thought to himself in horror, “If Fairy was here, I’m scared that Xuē Yáng wouldn’t get mauled to death. He’d get the life scared out of him before that happened.”

The boy that had rhapsodized about Ā-Qìng back when he peeked at her through the gap in the door beat his chest and mournfully said, “Ā-Qìng-gūniáng, Ā-Qìng-gūniáng!”

Lán Jǐngyí cried the loudest, losing himself completely, however no one present warned him to mind himself because Lán Sīzhuī’s eyes were also red and, more importantly, Lán Wàngjī did not silence him. Lán Jǐngyí was sniffling and teary as he suggested, “Let’s go burn some paper money for Xiǎo Xīngchén-dàozháng and Ā-Qìng-gūniáng? Isn’t there a village at the intersection up ahead? Let’s go buy some things to pay homage to them.”

#mdzs #ctk reads mdzs #mdzs translation #my translation #xue yang #xuexiao #song lan #a qing #yi city

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