FLME Ch45

Yu Wen estimated that the storyline where Pu Yangxi reveals his identity, falls out with his allies, and leaves the mountain would be updated soon—likely within the next few days.

This was probably why the official team released a new trailer at this time, as a sort of early warning.

The director was known for his attention to detail, and there had been many foreshadowing hints laid out earlier. Some viewers had already picked up on the unusual clues from these details. The earliest foreshadowing hints had been repeatedly speculated on and verified countless times by netizens. With the release of the new trailer, those speculations have been indirectly confirmed.

「Something’s not right, absolutely not right! The director definitely has a big twist in store!」

「The earlier parts were too funny; I almost forgot that the male lead and everyone else are on opposite sides…」

「Damn, if he goes back to the Demon Clan, are they going to start a war next? A battle of wits and courage between the Demon Clan and Yunxiao Mountain… Is this turning into a political intrigue drama?!」

「I’ve said it before, this isn’t just a typical fantasy drama. There’s an eighty percent chance there’ll be chaos and war. Although it hasn’t been explicitly stated, several details have mentioned that things are not peaceful in the world below the mountain, nor for the common people.」

「It may not turn into a full-on political intrigue drama, but there’s definitely some crucial information we haven’t uncovered yet. Damn it! I’m going to rewatch everything again!」

「I just thought of another problem… The Demon Clan’s Sacred Artifact, which is supposed to be central to the plot, has never appeared, just like Liu Zhenzi. Does it not exist either?」

「Damn…」

「That would be the director’s style…」

「I’m getting goosebumps.」

「I’m such an idiot. I actually thought the production team just didn’t have the budget…」

Speculations were flying around online. Yu Wen glanced at the WeChat group, where the main cast members were preparing for damage control.

Jian Heng said: 【When the ending is revealed, we’re not going to get bashed, right?】

Zhu Xinyi said: 【Yesterday, I went to a temple to draw a fortune stick, and it said ‘Great Misfortune’! Ominous, very ominous.】

The actor who played the Second Senior Brother said: 【For now, let’s just play dead. With the character filters in place, the audience won’t scold us; they’ll only scold the director and the scriptwriters.】

The actor who played the Fourth Senior Brother said: 【Come on, man, that’s pretty sneaky.】

The actress who played the Third Senior Sister said: 【Good move. Colleagues are like birds of a feather, but when disaster strikes, they each fly their own way.】

Jian Heng said: 【Makes sense. If they scold the director and the writers, they can’t scold us!】

Zhu Xinyi suggested: 【Find a picture of Xiao Yu and make it into a meme. When we get scolded, just use the meme.】

The actress who played the Third Senior Sister said: 【Everyone says we get along well off-screen, but actually, we’re very good at passing the buck. Yunxiao Mountain, in pieces, just as the fans deserve.】

After a round of self-mockery, the group chat was filled with laughter.

Yu Wen: 【Why am I the one being made into a meme…?】

Jian Heng: 【Hahaha, our lucky charm is here! Of course, it’s because you’re adorable. If you become a meme, no one will have the heart to scold you!】

Zhu Xinyi mentioned that she was going to the Yonghe Temple to make a wish tomorrow, and the other actors in the same city eagerly joined in. Between getting scolded and passing the blame, they chose to perform rituals first.

Seeing Jian Heng having so much fun in the group, Yu Wen decided not to bother him for now.

Yu Wen didn’t remind Jian Heng that the real nightmare was just beginning.

According to the plot timeline, this weekend is when Pu Yangxi breaks ties with Yunxiao Mountain. The cheerful comedy will start turning tragic. Then, the first episode of “Battle Royale” will be released, focusing on the story of the Hero Squad, which is beyond the word “tragic.” When viewers cry their hearts out over the Hero Squad and return to “Legend of the Immortal Sect” for comfort… they’ll find that almost everyone has died, leaving only the male lead alive.

This is going to be quite the storm.

Yu Wen started to think about how to send some sweetness to the audience who were about to have a mental breakdown, without giving away any spoilers.

—

At 7 p.m., “Legend of the Immortal Sect” updated as scheduled.

Within less than an hour, the new plot had already trended on social media.

「‘I still believe this even now’ ahhh, Koi Baby! Yunxiao Mountain is incredibly fortunate to have you!」

「So warm… the corpse is so warm that it feels like the livor mortis disappeared.」

「The fallout… Save me… Can’t you guys just stay together forever? I’ll go steal the Demon Clan’s Sacred Artifact, okay?」

「Putting school on hold, I’ll be the villain.」

「Putting work on hold, I’ll be the bad guy.」

「Doesn’t anyone think this approach is very sophisticated? The lines are also very well written.」

「Agreed. The part where Pu Yangxi descends the mountain, I thought it would be full of flashbacks with sentimental background music. I was even wondering if the male and female leads, who haven’t confessed their feelings so far, were going to do so now, or maybe even kiss…」

「It’s been eighteen episodes, and the male and female leads haven’t even kissed yet. Hahaha, screenwriter, ‘Xi Yue’ get married, and you’ll go clean the toilets!」

Pu Yangxi’s descent from the mountain, after two or three days of fermentation, became the most popular storyline of “Legend of the Immortal Sect” so far.

[Jiang Qiuyue stood atop the mountain, the wind blowing her clothes fiercely. She held a long sword, a gift from her master years ago, which hadn’t been unsheathed in a long time.

“What is your name?” She asked Pu Yangxi this question again.

A long time ago, she had asked what his real name was, but he had just smiled and changed the subject. Today, Pu Yangxi gazed at her gently and finally said, “Pu Yangxi, surname Pu Yang, single character Xi.”

“Pu Yangxi.”

Jiang Qiuyue nodded slightly, “I am Jiang Qiuyue.”

Exchanging names, as if meeting anew.

Jiang Qiuyue asked him what the Demon Clan was like, how it differed from the human world.

“There are mountains, water, and rice fields. The harvest hasn’t been good these past two years; the crops have been weak. In the years when the harvest was good, as far as the eye could see, there were golden waves of wheat…”

Jiang Qiuyue nodded, “Not much different from the human world.”]

Pu Yangxi also smiled, “Yes, there’s not much difference.”

“If you take the Sacred Artifact, will it make your crops turn golden?”

Pu Yangxi replied, “No, but if we get the Sacred Artifact, there will be no more internal strife in the clan for at least ten years.”

Jiang Qiuyue also said, “As long as the Sacred Artifact remains on Yunxiao Mountain, the human world can enjoy a few more years of peace.”

Pu Yangxi: “So there’s no solution.”

Jiang Qiuyue slowly drew her sword.

She rarely showed up, and there were few in Yunxiao Mountain who could match her in a fight. Over the years, the number of times she drew her sword could be counted on one hand.

Pu Yangxi’s eyes and brows relaxed a bit more. Even in such a tense situation, he kept smiling, as if without the smile, he wouldn’t be able to hide certain emotions.

He had to leave gracefully; crying would be too embarrassing.

His eyes turned red for a moment, but he suppressed it, took a deep breath, and said with a smile, “I’ve long heard of Senior Sister’s renowned ‘Flying Flower Sword Technique.’ To see it today, I can die without regrets.”

“One strike,” Jiang Qiuyue said, “If you’re still alive after one strike, I won’t stop you anymore.”

The dialogue, cinematography, and even the fight choreography of this mountain descent scene were all exceptional. When the actors filmed this scene, they spent more than a day on it.

As expected, when this scene aired, it received unanimous praise from netizens. Parting ways because of different stances is different from a simple tragic plot. As long as it strikes a chord with the audience, even a sad plot will be something they are willing to accept.

「Golden waves of wheat… When the young king mentioned this, he looked so serious, and his eyes were shining.」

「So far, there hasn’t been a scene in the Demon Clan, but my intuition tells me the male lead is a good king.」

「In the past, food production was really low, and people starved to death every year…」

「Wasn’t it Koi Baby’s family that suffered from famine and where all the relatives starved to death?」

「The plot has come full circle…」

「No! I never understood why Jiang Qiuyue was the first and Chu Zhiyao the last. I suddenly realized while watching the edits—this is the order in which the male lead met them after coming to Yunxiao Mountain! The first is Little Koi, the last is Senior Sister!」

「Damn…」

「Director, you madman! I’m becoming an online detective now!」

「I have no brain left, can’t think. Smart people, go watch it again.」

「Waiting for the smart people’s analysis.」

The scenes and edits kept coming one after another. They never fell off the trending list on Bilibili. Although the two colleagues suffered from spoiler-induced pain, they still faithfully followed every episode.

Xi Su: “It’s so complicated, I can’t quite understand it.”

Chu Han: “… What part don’t you understand?”

Xi Su: “I can’t say, but it feels like the director is trying to convey something very profound.” He smacked his lips, “But my brain can’t process it.”

Chu Han: “…”

Teacher Chu is a very polite person. Even if he thought that Xi Su was like a boar that couldn’t appreciate fine grain, he wouldn’t say it directly; he would just subtly show it in his expression.

For the past two days, Yu Wen had been thinking about what kind of gift to give to comfort the audience’s wounded hearts. After much deliberation, he decided to bring home a pile of yarn and planned to crochet a few handmade items to be raffled off after the broadcast of “Battle Royale” that night.

He specifically watched a video tutorial. The koi is a classic pattern, with many tutorials online, and it’s not too difficult to crochet. Making four or five finished pieces in an afternoon shouldn’t be a problem.

There were also two colleagues at home who were idle and bored. With their help, it was expected that by the time of the livestream in the evening, they could produce about ten finished pieces.

“What did you buy?” Seeing him carrying bags and packages, Xi Su turned around from the sofa and asked curiously.

Yu Wen winked at him, “A gift for you.”

“Really?” Xi Su perked up immediately, happily took the things from his hands, and stuck his head into the plastic bag, “What kind of gift… yarn?”

Xi Su showed a thoughtful expression, “Is it because autumn is coming and you’re afraid I’ll get cold, so you gave me a bunch of yarn…?”

Yu Wen thought to himself, you really think too highly of my kindness.

He thought for a moment and said, “I plan to do a livestream tonight, crocheting a few koi as prizes. I’d like to invite you to join me and crochet together so that you can present an image of being skillful and crafty in front of the netizens.”

Xi Su imagined that scene, the corners of his mouth lifted, and he couldn’t help but say, “You’ve really thought this through.”

Yu Wen: “Yes, I’m always very considerate.”

There was no need to mention Chu Han; he actually liked doing these kinds of crafts. As soon as Yu Wen put down the yarn, he started looking at tutorials.

Midway through, Yu Wen stepped away for a while to reply to Xie Heyu’s messages. 

He shared his idea of starting a livestream with Xie Heyu, and Teacher Xie said he would come over to help.

Yu Wen: 【Sure, sure, when you come into the neighborhood, bring us three jianbing (Chinese pancakes) from that stall at the entrance. Their food is especially good. Cat squinting and smiling.jpg】

Back when they had just met, Yu Wen was still quite reserved and always worried about troubling Xie Heyu. Now that they were familiar, Yu Wen could comfortably boss Teacher Xie around.

After all, Teacher Xie is really reliable and useful!

Xie Heyu: 【Got it.】

After a while, he added: 【Aren’t you going to send me a heart emoji?】

Every time Yu Wen asked for his help or took a new accessory from him, he’d send him a bunch of random heart emojis. This time, he forgot.

Seeing this “interrogation,” Yu Wen was stunned for a second and quickly sent several blowing-kiss emoji stickers.

Xie Heyu replied very steadily: 【Mm, received.】

Then he sent another steady response: 【Heart.jpg】

Yu Wen scratched his head while looking at the chat history.

What the heck.

It made him chuckle out of nowhere.

At home, Xie Heyu put on his coat and changed his shoes in the entryway to head out. Xie Jialin was just coming back in and asked, “Going out again? Didn’t you say you could rest for two days?”

Xie Heyu replied concisely, “Visiting a friend.”

Xie Jialin asked, “Who?”

Xie Heyu said, “You don’t know them.”

Xie Jialin was puzzled, “You have friends I don’t know about?”

He’s been a quiet person since he was young. Haven’t all his friends been over to the house before?

Not wanting to explain further, Xie Heyu asked, “Is there a new jianbing stall at the entrance of the neighborhood?”

Xie Jialin was taken aback, “How do you know? Their food is really good. The property management didn’t want them setting up a stall, but several residents vouched for them, and next month they’ll open a store at the entrance…”

Xie Heyu nodded slightly, then, as if remembering something, he took off the shoes he had just put on and headed back to the kitchen.

Watching his back, Xie Jialin had a sudden sense of foreboding.

“Xiao Xie!” Lao Xie didn’t even bother changing his shoes and rushed forward like an arrow to block the refrigerator. “Your dad just had someone deliver fresh hairy crabs this morning! If you want to give a gift, buy your own! Don’t take them away again! I want to eat them too!”

Xie Heyu silently stared at him.

Xie Jialin stood his ground, determined.

Xie Heyu raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly speechless. Without arguing, he turned his head and picked up the large box of cherries that had been delivered to the countertop this morning.

An entire box, all taken away.

Xie Jialin: !!!

His cherries!

As Xie Heyu walked to the entrance, his calm voice came from afar.

“Thanks.”

–

If nothing unexpected happens, then something unexpected will definitely happen.

After ending the chat, Yu Wen returned to the living room and saw the scattered yarn strewn all over the floor. Xi Su was bent over, trying to rescue a ball of yarn from under the cabinet.

Yu Wen: “…”

Looking further, Chu Han looked like a cat tangled up in yarn, with colorful threads wrapped all over his body. He couldn’t untangle himself and was seriously using a crochet hook, but he wasn’t hooking anything—just catching air.

Yu Wen leaned against the wall and sighed deeply.

He really shouldn’t have… shouldn’t have put his hopes on these two.

His colleagues, who were more likely to mess things up than to help!

Putting a pause on the crafting, Yu Wen found some scissors from the storage cabinet, preparing to first rescue the two entangled human beings.

Ten minutes later, Xie Heyu rang the doorbell. Yu Wen dashed over, and as soon as he saw him, he pouted.

“Teacher Xie—” Yu Wen, as if seeing a relative, complained, pointing to the two giant yarn balls in the living room, “They’ve tangled themselves up. I barely managed to cut them free with scissors, and in the blink of an eye, they started playing again, and now they’ve messed up all my yarn!”

He looked so aggrieved, “Teacher Xie, I want to throw them out!”