Legend of Fei 有翡 [2020]

[Celebrianna]

I just started watching this show and I knew people would complain because of the clunky early episodes though I don’t know if things will change later on. Right now I don’t know what is the true direction of the story. I know Fei’s father left to strategize for the military. Fei left on a mission to bring back the Wu kids and the Daishi villains seem to want that necklace token from the Wu girl. Then there’s male lead’s character and his royal god brother who I guess is vying against another prince. 
 

However, so far it feels like things that are important in Fei’s mission are foolishly neglected. One of the biggest issues for me is why Fei or her cousin do not contact her mother to apprise her of the status of the mission. She’s left looking for the old madam not knowing she died. Not knowing also that the senior brother died. Not knowing if any of them are alive. I find it so weird that they keep going on to other places and don’t report back to the chief via their secure means of communication. 
 

The cousin is so annoying. I knew he would have gotten the old lady killed. What a waste that was! Hopefully he grows up because up until the old lady’s death, he continuously got those around him in trouble. 
 

I still like this show though and hope it gets better. 

[themarchioness]

8 minutes ago, Celebrianna said:

Right now I don’t know what is the true direction of the story.

 

It's good to see you here, too, @Celebrianna!  I agree it's not the smoothest of dramas so far and there are some waxes and wanes for me where I find some episodes more interesting than others, but so far I would say it's overall holding my interest and propelling me forward.  It has struck me as well that the drama seems to be missing an overarching theme, but I've taken the view that it's about a journey -- specifically, Zhou Fei's growth and emergence as a leader in the martial arts world.  The mission to retrieve the Wu children seems and the problems they keep running into whenever the villains appear feel more like catalysts for Zhou Fei to divert from her intended path and meet a new martial artist.  From each person she meets along the way or each new experience she encounters, she learns a new skill and/or piece of knowledge, and we can see how this is changing her and maturing her with each step.  I suspect that at some point it will all come together in the end - including the mission and the villains - and hope that when it does we get something really awesome.  :)  

 

As for the cousin, Li Sheng, I really hope he does learn his lessons and grows up.  The death of the old lady seems like too high a price just for him to learn a lesson about not being so willful, headstrong, and impatient, but at the same time, I really hope her death is not completely in vain and he does gain something from it.  Thank goodness for Wu Chuchu who has proven to be quite sensible and I hope she is a good influence for him.

[Celebrianna]

@themarchioness, long time we haven’t watched the same drama show. :D I’m invested in this drama for both leads. It’s the first time I saw the male lead play a role where he’s not cold and aloof. I’m really enjoying seeing him in this role. I’m a big fan of ZLY from the moment I laid eyes on her in Boss and Me years ago. I was really taken with her acting, 

 

Anyway, despite the fact that I didn’t like the long separation between Fei and Xie Yun in that locked down town, I did like the Ninth Madam and her martial arts. I’d like to see how Fei improves from meeting her in the longer term. Fei has gotten stronger since she met her but she wasn’t exactly in good form after receiving her energy. 
 

Regarding a possible overarching story, perhaps it involves Disha, Fei’s father and the military and the royals. Grey wolf had the audacity to kill General Wu and his wife so he must be plotting something big with some other player. All I demand is that grey wolf die terribly for killing the Wu couple, the old madam, ninth madam, etc.. I liked how Fei mercilessly killed that Disha second brother. I always have a problem with villains killing in a ruthless manner and the protagonists not dishing out the same in these pugilist world drama shows. 
 

I think Wu Chuchu is a very sensible girl. I do wonder how her role will continue because it seems to me that keeping her out in the pugilist world is dangerous considering she’s being hunted for the token. She doesn’t know martial arts either so somebody will also have to watch her back continuously. I suppose however that eventually the item will fall into Disha’s hands since the group doesn’t seem to be heading back to home.

[themarchioness]

20 minutes ago, Celebrianna said:

long time we haven’t watched the same drama show. :D I’m invested in this drama for both leads. It’s the first time I saw the male lead play a role where he’s not cold and aloof. I’m really enjoying seeing him in this role. I’m a big fan of ZLY from the moment I laid eyes on her in Boss and Me years ago. I was really taken with her acting, 

 

Haha, it's true, it's true. I'm also invested in LoF because of the leads. WYB won my heart after last year's Gank Your Heart and I've been following him ever since.  I love how he gets to play a character so different from himself and find Xie Yun utterly charming.  As for ZLY, I somehow ended up on a huuuge kick of hers this year starting from Our Glamorous Times which was followed by Boss and Me and The Story of Minglan.  Became a huge fan of her work, so the interest I'd already had in LoF was increased by that much more.  The available translations of the book also piqued my interest. 

 

The drama's kind of clunky at times, but the parts I like I really like, and sometimes I surprise myself.  I've been skimming the raws in advance so I thought I'd be bored during the Ninth Madam part and was dreading their separation, but those episodes went more quickly than I anticipated and I rather enjoyed them.  I liked Ninth madam and learning about her history with ZF's grandfather.  On the other hand, I truly am now dreading the next part -- from what I've seen from the raws there's this part that takes place in a cave and it just feels like it goes on forever, LOL.  The saving grace is that ZF and XY are together and I swear, they just light me up whenever they're together.  Their scenes really are my favorite and anyone who complains that there's no chemistry or romance in this drama, I don't know what what they're talking about.  (In addition to his little subtle hints here and there, XY pretty much declared himself when he said that he was going to stick next to ZF's side, regardless of whether that meant life or death!)  

 

39 minutes ago, Celebrianna said:

Regarding a possible overarching story, perhaps it involves Disha, Fei’s father and the military and the royals.

 

I suspect the same as well.  I think LoF is a drama that requires a lot of patience, and I'm willing to give it in the hopes of a pay off in the end.  Even if I end up being wrong about that, eh, I won't regret my decision to stick with this drama because already ZF and XY have brought me a lot of delight.  She's so strong and he's so suave and smooth, I love watching them work together, just as much as I love watching ZF develop and the seeing the layers on XY's character being peeled back one by one.

[Celebrianna]

@themarchioness, I just recently re-watched Story of Minglan twice. I fell in love with it even more. I enjoy period dramas that cover familial customs and society. I find that drama simply exquisite because of the plethora of wonderful actors, their intricate characters and stories. It’s one of my favorite drama shows now and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This time around I paid closer attention to some of the other characters like Big Madam and the actress is so good. 
 

I tried to watch Gank Your Heart but I ran out of English subbed episodes after episode 4 on YouTube. I gave up after that. 
 

I usually ignore opinions on chemistry because I honestly think it’s a subjective opinion unless the interaction between the actors are downright awful. :D Sometimes people say a couple has great chemistry and I don’t feel it and vice versa. In this show, I do enjoy Fei and Xie Yun’s interactions. The thing I look for most is how natural the interactions between two characters feel to me even if it’s antagonistic like a villain and protagonist. I have also never seen a drama show with ZLY where I thought she had poor chemistry with her male lead. I haven’t seen all her shows though. 
 

Regarding the next arc, I’m assuming the cave you mentioned is the one they found in episode 14. I look forward to seeing the significance of that place and how the story will continue to develop.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Celebrianna

[themarchioness]

26 minutes ago, Celebrianna said:

I just recently re-watched Story of Minglan twice. I fell in love with it even more. I enjoy period dramas that cover familial customs and society. I find that drama simply exquisite because of the plethora of wonderful actors, their intricate characters and stories. It’s one of my favorite drama shows now and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This time around I paid closer attention to some of the other characters like Big Madam and the actress is so good. 

We are of one mind when it comes to Minglan.  I, too, have watched it multiple times and I think when you do it really helps to unveil all the nuances and running themes throughout the drama.  It's a very smartly written drama and between the fine acting (from all the characters!) and the beautiful set, there's a lot to love about it.  It is also counted amongst my favorite dramas now. 

 

As for GYH, it is such a shame that MangoTV is determined to make people to pay to watch the rest!  You have to find the remainder on others sites, I hate to admit.  (I also admit that sometimes when I watch expressions from XY, I think back to Yibo's character in GYH.  Hehe.)

 

32 minutes ago, Celebrianna said:

I usually ignore opinions on chemistry because I honestly think it’s a subjective opinion unless the interaction between the actors are downright awful. :D Sometimes people say a couple has great chemistry and I don’t feel it and vice versa.

 

A wise approach.  I basically told my mom the same thing when she kept commenting on LoF's ratings and opinions that she'd read about.  It's all so subjective, and so she hasn't commented since.  :P  

 

34 minutes ago, Celebrianna said:

Regarding the next arc, I’m assuming the cave you mentioned is the one they found in episode 14. I look forward to seeing the significance of that place and how the story will continue to develop.

 

Yep.  I'm still on Episode 11 so I haven't reached that part yet, but I know it's out there!  Maybe those scenes will make more sense and be not so bad when I can properly understand what's going on with subs.  I don't always need them, but I definitely need them for LoF, and I have to acknowledge that being able to watch with subs has changed my opinion about more than one scene after watching it initially without subs!  ;)  

[Tofu]

Here some new stills, I'll be back to post some thoughts on what both of you have touched on so far. Right now, I'm on episode 21. How far along are you @Celebrianna and @themarchioness?

 

 

[themarchioness]

@Tofu I’ve watched through 13.

 

ETA: But I've skimmed through 24 so I have a fair idea of what happens next. 

Edited December 30, 2020 by themarchioness

[Tofu]

@Celebrianna @themarchioness: I wholeheartedly agreed that Li Sheng has been a bit frustrating to watch. His actions has been mainly driven by his emotions avenge his father's death. He has not learned that timing is important, you don't have to launch an attack on every Demon you meet on the way. In the most recent episodes, he's been less frustrating and I think that's due to Chu Chu's influence. She's a smart and sensible like mentioned before. I do appreciate the conversations between them when Li Sheng says something and she tries to get him to think about it differently. I think he's definitely stepped up a bit in this week's episodes with how he's carried himself and also his plans to help the Fortress from the attacks. I'm hoping that this continue and he doesn't go astray like Fei's mother mentioned she was concern with in the earlier episode. 

 

We are starting to see more of Li Yan too, which is nice. Some of her actions were a bit too much for me but I do enjoy the developing relationship she has with the Cloud Ravine guy, Yang Jin (I think that was his name?). 

 

9 hours ago, themarchioness said:

@Tofu I’ve watched through 13.

 

ETA: But I've skimmed through 24 so I have a fair idea of what happens next. 

Are you at the part with the caves? To be honest, those episodes with them in the cave felt like they could go on forever. I do appreciate that they introduced us to the Dragons, Yin Pei, and the North Blade. Those were relevant to Fei's journey. I'm curious to see what becomes of Yin Pei though -- is he able to wield the Mountain Sword? 

 

Lots of development happening in today's episodes. Xie Yun finally use his martial art, but at what cost? 

[Tofu]

Is paying for advance access to episodes a thing for Chinese dramas? If so, I guess you can do it now for those who cannot wait. It already airs 8 episodes a week so the thought of someone paying for more episodes is strange to me. Where do you find time to watch more than 8 episodes? Haha!

 

Some cute moments for A'Fei and Xie Yun:

Spoiler

 

 

Xie Yun using his martial art knowing the risk (from episode 25/26):

 

[themarchioness]

@Tofu Yeah, I’m about to hit the caves part. I made no progress today because... I peeked ahead at 25/26 instead, haha! No regrets because the ending of 25 was awesome! Can’t wait to watch it again when I get there for reals!

[Lynne]

I don't have anything to add to the conversation yet.. 

so I'll just gonna share my two fave ost from this drama...

 

无华 by Jane Zhang and Liu Yuning  I love the lyric translation from this Youtube acc.

 

熹微 - WangYibo

 

[themarchioness]

@Lynne The lyrics to 无华 capture the soul of the drama so perfectly. Thanks for sharing! 

[Tofu]

On 12/30/2020 at 11:10 PM, themarchioness said:

@Tofu Yeah, I’m about to hit the caves part. I made no progress today because... I peeked ahead at 25/26 instead, haha! No regrets because the ending of 25 was awesome! Can’t wait to watch it again when I get there for reals!

I don't blame you. I've definitely watched some of the preview clips on Tencent Video and ones that @Lynne shares on Twitter.  

 

The current released episodes as are followed per video streaming sites:

• Tencent Video - Episode 1-18 available for free users, 18-28 available for VIPs, and 29-34 available for VVIPs (people willing to pay extra for advance episodes)
• iQIYI - Episode 1 available for free users, 2-28 available for VIPs
• Viki - Episode 1-6 available for free users, 7-22 available for pay users. 

I haven't done this in two weeks, so brief summary of all the events that's happened so far in episode 13-28 (only pointing out the major things -- also apologies if I missed anything. I'm trying to do all of this from memory). 

Spoiler

• Li Sheng is with the Qi Master and is taught the Eight Diagram Formation as they try to escape from one of the Qi junior master. 
• In episode 12, we meet Yin Pei, who was part of the Dragon, and came to look for the North Blade, Ji Yun Chen. We learn more about their backstory. Apparently, there was a time when the North Blade was convinced that he can be the strongest blade and went around fighting master of many sects. He went to challenge Yin Pei's father, Yin Wen Lan, who is the master of the Mountain Sword, but he declined. The North Blade meets a young Yin Pei and use him to draw his father (Yin Wen Lan) out. They fought and Yin Wen Lan purposely breaks his blade, that's when the North Blade learned that he was injured in a previous fight. News break out that the Demons came into town and was killing everyone, Yin Wen Lan returned to fight them. When the North Blade returned with Yin Pei, everyone was dead including his father. The North Blade raised Yin Pei and eventually he found out what the North Blade did to his father. He harbor deep hatred for the North Blade and wants nothing but him to die. 
• The Dragon master reaches the inn they were at looking for Yin Pei to return to as well as avenging the death of the old Dragon master they killed earlier. This lead A'Fei, Xie Yun, the North Blade, Yin Pei, and Chu Chu to find a tunnel and eventually a cave to run from the Dragon master. Prior to getting to the cave, A'Fei does get into a small battle with the Dragon master and that's how she loses the blade Xie Yun gave her. 
• The North Blade asks A'Fei to help him kill the Dragon master, Xie Yun was against the idea but we all know who A'Fei is. She agrees to do it. In return, the North Blade is going to teach her his skills through meditation. The North Blade is not able to do it alone because something happen to him and he's not able to fight the way he did before anymore. 
• The North Blade wants A'Fei to stall the Dragon master enough so he can use the Soul Searching Needle on himself. This gives him immense power (that he lost due to any illness he may have) for 45 minutes but there is a grave and deadly consequence for using it. 
• A'Fei gets to fighting the Dragon master using all the skills she's learned until the North Blade is done sticking in the needles at the pressure points needed for him to use his skills again. Once he's done, he battles the Dragon master and A'Fei finishes it off by killing the Dragon master. 
• After the battle, the North Blade dies. Yin Pei leaves the three of them. 
• On their journey, A'Fei gets sick because of the Yellow/Green palm she received earlier from the Ninth Master (Duan Jiu Niang). Xie Yun rushes her to see Madam Ni Chang. On the way, they meet the General again and Chu Chu goes with him.
• Madam Ni Chang did not want to help A'Fei but ends up doing so when she finds out that she is the granddaughter of Li Zheng. It seems like Li Zheng had saved her life at some point and she helps A'Fei due to this. In helping A'Fei, she loses half of her energy and is having a hard time recovering. 
• Li Yan and another person from the Fortress leave to find Li Sheng, A'Fei, and everyone else. Li Yan roams around and hears the stories about how A'Fei defeated the Dragon master. She cause a commotion inside a restaurant and there we meet Yang Jin. He is part of the Cloud Ravine and he wants to challenge A'Fei. He kidnaps Li Yan which doesn't end up being a kidnapping because she's having the time of her life and he's gives in to her and buy her all the food she wants. A'Fei did not want to battle Yang Jin but the offer he puts on the line is too good for her to pass up. He promises to give her a medication that is going to help Madam Ni Chiang recover. 
• A'Fei does not have a blade, so Madam Ni Chiang gave her one, identical to the one Li Zheng, her grandfather had. Back in the day, Madam Ni Chiang met both Li Zheng and Yin Wen Lan. They both had a duel where their blade broke. Madam Ni Chiang had their blades remade but something happened (I can't remember) and is not able to give it to them. She ends up giving it to A'Fei and this becomes the second blade she acquires. 
• A'Fei and Yang Jin battles but since A'Fei is still not completely well, she's tricked Yang Jin. He gets caught in a piece of wood and that's when she's able to attack and win. She gives the medication to Madam Ni Chiang once she gets it.  
• One day they wake up and Madam Ni Chiang and her troupe are no longer around. Xie Yun says this is something that's common among them, they move from place to places. 
• A'Fei, Xie Yun, and Li Yan meet up with Chu Chu and Li Sheng. Li Sheng and Chu Chu are together because he met her with the General on their way to the Fortress. He decided to be Chu Chu's guide. All together, they start returning back to the Fortress.
• Back at the Fortress, Kou Dan betrayed the Fortress and killed the fisherman, guardian of the Ximo River. She stops the spinning wires formation which allowed the Demons to get in. Because the fisherman was the only person who supported A'Fei when she was having a hard time, she was really heartbroken when he died. 
• The Demon know that the leader is out which is why they are attacking the Fortress at this time. Lots of battles happen between the Fortress, Kou Dan, and the Demons (with Timber Wolf present too) It caused many people to die including a couple important ones from the Fortress. A'Fei, with her great memorization, is also able to get the spinning wires formation started again to protect the Fortress. 
• Somewhere in the mix of all of this, Li Yan is sent on a mission to deliver a message. She meets Yang Jin who saves her from the Demons. Li Yan also goes to find Leader Li to tell her what's happening too. 
• A'Fei and Xie Yun goes to the neighboring town to protect the people there and release them from prison (they were captured and put in prison by the Demons and Yu Wen Zhi's people. I can't remember who Yu Wen Zhi is in relation to everyone. I think he might be some important political person? They kept calling him commander-in-chief. A'Fei captures Yu Wen Zhi and uses him as a bargaining tool for them to back off. It was working until one of the Fortress member hit A'Fei causing her to release her grip on Yu Wen Zhi. The person did that because Kou Dan told him that he's responsible for A'Fei's and Li Sheng's action. He feared that something bad will happen to them if they killed Yu Wen Zhi so he thought he was helping but instead he was deceived by Kou Dan. 
• Another battle broke out between the Fortress and everyone who is there to harm them. A'Fei takes on Kou Dan again (they battled briefly before) and kills her. Xie Yun knows that A'Fei has not recovered enough to battle Timber Wolf. He sacrifice his life and use the Soul Searching Needle on himself so he can regain his force (note again that the soul searching needle is able to suppress the illness anyone have and make it seem like they do not have anything for 45mins). 
• Xie Yun fight with Timber Wolf and harm him by using his Cloud Impelling Palm, which is his specialty.
• After using this, it's reported that Leader Li is on her way back and she has a fight with Timber Wolf. Timber Wolf is injured by Leader Li, who cuts off his glove. The Demons and Yu Wen Zhi retreat after this. 
• The Fortress is trying to recover and restore everything they lost during all the battles. Leader Li meet up with Xie Yun and tell him he needs to leave. 
• At this point, A'Fei is afraid to ask Xie Yun how he suddenly has power, what happened and more. She tells him one night that she's currently making him something but it'll take her one more day. She has sew him a fragrance pouch but when she went to look for him, he had already left. A'Fei goes looking for him using the pendant she received from Yang Jin. This pendant allow this group of people (apologies I forgot their names) to help her with anything. 
• Li Sheng, Chu Chu, and Li Yan are also in the same town again as Xie Yun and A'Fei because they were invited by the Huo's Manor to talk about the Demons and exterminating them. They are in Lingling town.
• A'Fei enters an inn to have a meal and run into two people from the Xingnan sect. From this, it's learned that they used to be a powerful martial art sect but their master was injured and became paralyzed. Instead they started doing business side of things with help from Huo's Manor. 
• We meet the third of the Four Guardian Mountain (previously met the Phoenix and Dragon), the Tortoise. They come inside the inn to demand the invitation that Huo's Manor sent out to everyone. A'Fei not being able to listen to this exchange attack some of the men after they continue to harass the people from Xingnan sect. 
• A'Fei learns that Huo's Manor talks about the rippled item and that's what everyone seem to be after. 
• Xie Yun learn that the third prince is also in town after he sees Mr. Bai. Xie Yun goes to see the third prince and tells him he has to leave, it's not safe for him there. While he does this, A'Fei meets up with Mr. Bai and together, they are both looking for Xie Yun.
• Even though Xie Yun tries to run away from A'Fei, she finds him. She learns that he was poisoned with the Bone Chilling Poison which is why his body temp is much lower than everyone else. Since the fisherman also suffered from the same poison, she learned prior from Xie Yun that when someone with this poison dies, their body is in a frozen state. A'Fei also learned that the Reborn Pill can help a person live with this poison but they need to stay in an area with a certain condition of humidity. 
• While Xie Yun is resting, A'Fei meets Ying He Cong, someone who knows a lot about poison. He tells her that at most, he has about three months to live because that's how long it takes the poison to freeze someone's body. He said that Xie Yun has pass about a month and then suddenly wonder how that's possible because Pathetic Palm (?) has been missing for years and so has the poison. He realized that since Xie Yun has incredible force, he is able to keep the poison dormant for years. He explains that the poison is basically being guarded by Xie Yun's force. If Xie Yun use his force, he will open it up to all sort of possibility, releasing the poison. Ying He Cong also points out to A'Fei that Xie Yun has used the soul searching needle. The vessel poisoned were sealed by the force but the soul searching needle is bringing function to those poisoned vessel which is why he's in that state. He also says the Reborn pill will not work for Xie Yun. He recommends that Xie Yun not use his force again and also to avoid eating warm foods. 
• There are a couple of scenes of A'Fei being incredibly sad by the possibility of Xie Yun not getting better, or dying. She is also afraid that he'll run away from her once he wakes up so she put a lock on him. 

 

Other things to note that I didn't add above:

• The Demons know that Xie Yun is the last emperor of the last dynasty. 
• A'Fei and Chu Chu overhears a storyteller who tells a story about a talented martial artist, the story is very similar to Xie Yun's. Basically the story goes, when he was little, his hometown was under attack which led him to wander. He goes into a fairy mountain and meets a Taoist priest who taught him incredible skills. Many years later, he returned and joined the army hoping to restore the state of his hometown. He led the army fighting in many wars but fell into a trap with some evil people and was poisoned. When he was dying, he saw a flock of crows. They were sent by his master, the Taoist priest. He gave up his ambition in the army and decided to become a monk. 
• Yin Pei was saved by the Qi Master but he is suspicious that the Qi Master is there to steal family's heirloom. The Qi Master talks about a Phoenix pill in which help you rebuild your power. Yin Pei steals this from the Qi Master and takes it. He starts throwing up blood and the Qi Master has to help him. He is warned that it's an evil medicine and he cannot take it like that. The effect is so strong that people go crazy and turn into a demon. After two years, they will die of blood explosion. The Qi Master, afraid that many people will be after Yin Pei, he gets his scabbard remade with multiple fakes so no one will know which one is the real one. Yin Pei mistaken this as he was trying to steal his scabbard so he kills the Qi Master after taking multiple Phoenix pill. Before the Qi Master dies, he ask that Yin Pei give his whisk to Li Sheng (I'm assuming that it's because he wants Li Sheng to take over the Qi Sect and not let it fall into the hand of the junior master). 

 

Now that the summaries are out of the way, one thing I enjoyed about this drama are the scenes with A'Fei and Xie Yun. They really compliment each other rather that's in battles or just in whatever situation is going on at the moment. The comradery between both of them is great and is something I love watching. 

 

Yin Pei is a frustrating character to me. He's a bit immature and thinks the whole world is against him. The North Blade raised him for many years and after learning about his indirect relationship to his father's death, he decided to turn against him? That's a little absurd to me how he can come to that conclusion. The North Blade definitely didn't help the situation, but he was not the reason why his dad died. He is displacing his anger. Considering all the things we know about his father, I think he would be a bit disappointed that his son turned out this way. 

 

I took a peek at the next couple of episodes and it seems like there might be some angst coming our way now that Xie Yun's secret (that he was poisoned when he was younger) is out in the open. The Huo's Manor new master is plotting to kill everyone again with kerosene at the meeting he invited them too. Can someone do something about him already? 

[Celebrianna]

@themarchioness @Tofu I’m officially hooked on this show. I rewatched it yesterday to understand the story and characters better and somewhere along the line I really began to appreciate it on another level. 
 

@Tofu, I hope Chuchu continues to influence Li Sheng. I’m still kind of upset with him for causing the trouble that got the old madam killed but I forgive him now because he seems to have understood a little that he needs to stop being so self-centered. Sure everybody treat him like they’re indebted to him for his dad’s sacrifice but they also genuinely care for him. He’s improving and I just love that Chuchu stops him from acting recklessly. The girl can’t do martial arts but she’s very sensible.

 

@Tofu, I honestly don’t like Yin Pei. I think his attitude just rubs me the wrong way. The only decent thing he did was to give Chuchu the chain armor vest. And wait, did he

 

actually kill the Qi master?

 

@themarchioness, I watched raw episodes up until 34 last night. 

Spoiler

I couldn’t believe that my suspicion came true and that the shifu was a spy. I felt something was off about her in the scene where she received a message from the secret post and then reported it to chief Jingrong. Well, at least A’Fei killed her eventually. 
 

Regarding Xie Yun, I guess his poison was released after he decided to tap in to his internal energy. I don’t know if that’s why he left 48 stronghold though because it seems he left after speaking with the chief. Since I don’t know Chinese, I wondered if she told him something negative or he left of his own volition.

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by Celebrianna

[Tofu]

@Celebrianna - I agreed. I've re-watched a few scenes and do have a deeper appreciation for it the second time around as well as found some things I missed the first time I watched it too. Sometimes it's hard to pay attention to what's going on and also read the subtitles at the same time. Haha! 

 

For Yin Pei:

Spoiler

Yes, he killed the Qi master. There's no scene to prove that he's dead, but in episode 27, it shows him tell Yin Pei that he has two years and then suddenly, the Qi master's head dropped. Yin Pei also meets the junior master and tells him that he killed the Qi master too. It's funny though because Yin Pei tells the junior master that he's a crazy psychopath and it's like, "Pretty sure that's you too, Yin Pei". LOL! 

 

Regarding Xie Yun: 

Spoiler

From what the poison expert said in episode 28, the poison was sealed in the vessel of his body keeping it dormant for many years. When Xie Yun used his force it unsealed the poison, allowing it to be active again. The poison expert said that it takes up to three month for the Bone Chilling Poison to completely freeze a body and mentioned that it's been a month already. Which means that A'Fei has been looking for Xie Yun for at least a month. Sometimes I have a hard time following the timeline of how much time has passed in the drama. Haha! 

 

Xie Yun was asked to leave by Leader Li. She was basically like, "Thanks for all your help, but you have to leave now". 

 

I'm not going to lie, I did take a peek at episode 34. I just wanted to see if Xie Yun's condition improves. 

[themarchioness]

21 hours ago, Celebrianna said:

I honestly don’t like Yin Pei. I think his attitude just rubs me the wrong way. The only decent thing he did was to give Chuchu the chain armor vest. And wait, did he

 

Ugh, make that two of us. He's such a brat!  In addition to the answer that @Tofu already provided, I believe...

 

Spoiler

He kills the Qi master because of a complete misunderstanding. He thought the Qi master was trying to cheat him, but in reality, the Qi master was trying to help him. Gahhhh. That breaks my heart because the Qi master was just the cutest and so helpful to everyone around him, esp ZF and Li Sheng. 

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by themarchioness

[Tofu]

@themarchioness - Ugh, I know! There was a moment of remorse when he realized that the Qi master was trying to protect him but it only lasted a few seconds before he turned back into the frustrating person he is. 

 

More drama stills:

Spoiler

 

 

 

And this...

 

[Celebrianna]

I find Ninth Madam and the Feather Troupe madam so lovely. The two actresses are beautiful to me. The actress for A’Fei’s mom is beautiful to me as well. 
 

@Tofu, I really didn’t think we would see Ying Pei again in this way. Then again, he was adamant in his lousy behavior so it’s shouldn’t be surprising. I wonder if he will continue down this path. 
 

About A’Fei’s sword style, I notice in Viki’s sub for episode 20 they called it North Blade instead of South Blade. That’s an error right? I thought the guy who died in the cave was the one who practiced the North Blade. 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Celebrianna

[Tofu]

1 hour ago, Celebrianna said:

About A’Fei’s sword style, I notice in Viki’s sub for episode 20 they called it North Blade instead of South Blade. That’s an error right? I thought the guy who died in the cave was the one who practiced the North Blade. 

Yup, she is the South Blade and the guy that died in the cave is the North Blade. It must be an error on Viki's part. The South Blade is snow breaking and the North Blade is water cutting. A'Fei learned the water cutting blade while she was in the cave with him. 

 

For Yin Pei, he will most likely continue down this path until the very end. As of right now, I can't imagined there be anything to get him to change his ways. Maybe if he meets someone who might have survived the attack in his hometown? I don't know, he seems irredeemable. 

 

Episode 29 Brief Summary

Not much happened in this episode. There were just a lot of sweet moments between A'Fei and Xie Yun. She's keeping him locked so he doesn't run away. He tried to when he was taking a bath, but A'Fei was able to find him again. 

 

Xie Yun was jealous of the young master from Xingnan Sect when he brought her a roasted duck, so he went ordered/made one for A'Fei. Xie Yun asked which one she liked better and she told him that she never ate the one from the young master. Xie Yun made a comment that if he's worried about which food she likes better, he doesn't dare to run away from her again. (See this moment in the spoiler tag). Note the young master from Xingnan Sect is from Jiankang, Xie Yun's hometown and the former empire. Xie Yun has mentioned in past conversations that the food in Jiankang are the best. A'Fei asked the young master about this when they first met.

Spoiler

 

 

Towards the end of the episode, A'Fei agrees to let Xie Yun go to the Demon Extermination meeting. She keeps him locked to her at all times though. Haha!

 

More clips from this episode in the spoiler tag (all listed in order of when they occurred in the episode). 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

[Celebrianna]

@Tofu, thank you for bringing up Xie Yun’s former home. I always wanted clarification on that. I understand he’s the emperor of the former dynasty. I guess he’s the surviving heir from the palace where I presume his parents were killed. The eunuch who saved him took him to the war general to protect him. Later he was sent to another country as a hostage.
 

I don’t understand his story fully. Did he come from a different country from A’Fei? Or is he really from the same country that is now under a different emperor, that is, his god-brother’s father? Why was he sent as a hostage to another country? If he survived the battle as a child (the scene where he regained consciousness on the battlefield) was that in a different country and then he went back to see General Wang? 

[Tofu]

6 hours ago, Celebrianna said:

I don’t understand his story fully. Did he come from a different country from A’Fei? Or is he really from the same country that is now under a different emperor, that is, his god-brother’s father? Why was he sent as a hostage to another country? If he survived the battle as a child (the scene where he regained consciousness on the battlefield) was that in a different country and then he went back to see General Wang? 

I am assuming that he is from the same country as A'Fei because of how her dad immediately left to help Anping Army when he learned of General Wang Lin's death. Anping Army is General Wang Lin's army who's main mission is to help restore Xie Yun to the throne. 

 

It doesn't say in the drama why he was sent as a hostage to another country, but if we're basing this off the real person that Xie Yun was inspired from (Xiao Zhuang), that person was sent as a hostage to make peace. More about Xiao Zhuang in the spoiler tag.

Spoiler

Xiao Zhuang was considered the last emperor of the Liang Dynasty which is considered the third of the Southern Dynasties. He was sent to Northern Qi, which is considered one of the Northern Dynasties. The real General Wang Lin wanted to restore Liang Dynasty so requested assistance from Northern Qi to return Xiao Zhuang. He declared Xiao Zhuang the emperor. Xiao Zhuang actually goes back to the Northern Qi after there was an attack and General Wang Lin was defeated. If you want to learn more, you can definitely just look up Xiao Zhuang. During my research (I did it earlier on in the drama so I can have a better understanding), Xiao Zhuang lived a very sad life where he eventually died at an early age (I think he was in his mid-late 20s). 

 

Going back to Legend of Fei, in one of the episodes, there was a storyteller who told a story, where the drama made it seem like he was retelling Xie Yun's life story. The storyteller said that, his hometown was under attack which led him to wander the world. He met a Taoist priest who taught him incredible skills. Many years later, he returned and joined the army (I'm assuming Anping Army) to restore the state of his hometown. He led the army, fighting in many wars. He fell into a trap and was poisoned. He gave up his ambition and decided to become a monk. 

 

In episode 16, Xie Yun was sharing his new story he was writing to A'Fei and Chuchu. He said that it was about someone who thought he was a hero and would return home with honor to marry the person he love. He soon learned that he was nothing but a pawn to the government and they did not regard him as a human being. He was considered a living bait to lure enemies and his mission would be completed once he was dead. Upon realizing this (which seems to be after he was poisoned), he decided to fled and never return to this kind of life. 

 

I think that Xie Yun's life story is roughly a combination of these two scenes in some capacity. It seems like we will meet Xie Yun's master in today's episodes so maybe more light will be shed on who Xie Yun really is and how he came to meet his master. 

 

[Celebrianna]

25 minutes ago, Tofu said:

I am assuming that he is from the same country as A'Fei because of how her dad immediately left to help Anping Army when he learned of General Wang Lin's death. Anping Army is General Wang Lin's army who's main mission is to help restore Xie Yun to the throne. 

 

It doesn't say in the drama why he was sent as a hostage to another country, but if we're basing this off the real person that Xie Yun was inspired from (Xiao Zhuang), that person was sent as a hostage to make peace. More about Xiao Zhuang in the spoiler tag.

  Hide contents

Xiao Zhuang was considered the last emperor of the Liang Dynasty which is considered the third of the Southern Dynasties. He was sent to Northern Qi, which is considered one of the Northern Dynasties. The real General Wang Lin wanted to restore Liang Dynasty so requested assistance from Northern Qi to return Xiao Zhuang. He declared Xiao Zhuang the emperor. Xiao Zhuang actually goes back to the Northern Qi after there was an attack and General Wang Lin was defeated. If you want to learn more, you can definitely just look up Xiao Zhuang. During my research (I did it earlier on in the drama so I can have a better understanding), Xiao Zhuang lived a very sad life where he eventually died at an early age (I think he was in his mid-late 20s). 

 

Going back to Legend of Fei, in one of the episodes, there was a storyteller who told a story, where the drama made it seem like he was retelling Xie Yun's life story. The storyteller said that, his hometown was under attack which led him to wander the world. He met a Taoist priest who taught him incredible skills. Many years later, he returned and joined the army (I'm assuming Anping Army) to restore the state of his hometown. He led the army, fighting in many wars. He fell into a trap and was poisoned. He gave up his ambition and decided to become a monk. 

 

In episode 16, Xie Yun was sharing his new story he was writing to A'Fei and Chuchu. He said that it was about someone who thought he was a hero and would return home with honor to marry the person he love. He soon learned that he was nothing but a pawn to the government and they did not regard him as a human being. He was considered a living bait to lure enemies and his mission would be completed once he was dead. Upon realizing this (which seems to be after he was poisoned), he decided to fled and never return to this kind of life. 

 

I think that Xie Yun's life story is roughly a combination of these two scenes in some compacity. It seems like we will meet Xie Yun's master in today's episodes so maybe more light will be shed on who Xie Yun really is and how he came to meet his master. 

 

Thanks so much for the insight. It helps me a lot to understand. I figured that the story Xie Yun told A’Fei and Chuchu was about himself too. He doesn’t seem like he wants to walk the path of an emperor though. Another thing is it seems like he gets along with the third prince and doesn’t have much desire to get involved in a succession war between the two princes. I would prefer that he lives a life outside the palace but then what is the goal of A’Fei’s father if that army is dedicated to restoring Xie Yun to the throne. I hope Xie Yun doesn’t die young but I suppose I can accept it if he does. There’s that one scene in the opening theme where A’Fei is dressed in a red dress sitting in the snow and she looks forlorn and Xie Yun is close by looking like he’s unconscious or lifeless.

Edited January 5, 2021 by Celebrianna

[Tofu]

@Celebrianna - Same, I hope that he continues to live outside of the palace too. In the upcoming episodes, it seems like it'll touch on that scene of A'Fei dressed in red and Xie Yun is unconscious. From what I read about this scene (putting it in spoiler tag for people who do not want to be spoiled. Haha!)

Spoiler

Xie Yun is in and out of an unconscious state for three years. They would write letters to each other. His master, Tong Ming (the Buddhist monk), has been brewing herbs for Xie Yun. He is able to brew one that would keep Xie Yun conscious for a year so he can spend it with A'Fei. 

 

This scene happens in episode 37, Xie Yun is wondering when he'll see A'Fei, and then she shows up. 

 

 

I also read that in the novel, Xie Yun is saved by the blood inside Yin Pei, so maybe he will have a saving grace moment after all!

 

I just realized that those who are paying for the advance episodes of LoF will be done with the drama next week! 

[Tofu]

In terms of timeline (correct me if I'm wrong @Lynne):

• From when A'Fei and Xie Yun first meet, they were separated for six months. 
• A'Fei and Xie Yun spent about a year traveling before returning to the Fortress
• A'Fei spent a month looking for Xie Yun
• While Xie Yun was unconscious, a year passed (three years in the novel)

We are up to episode 34 with subs for VIP subscribers, but it's released up to 40 for people paying for advance episodes. There has been one thing trending this entire day about what happened in episode 39/40 

Spoiler

The main OTP kissed, initiated by A'Fei. Xie Yun is surprised and he does ask her what she is going to do, implying that he will die soon.