FLME Ch45

Yu Wen estimated that the plotline where Puyang Xi exposes his identity, breaks ties, and descends the mountain would be updated soon—just a matter of the next few days.

That was why the official account had specifically released the new trailer at this time; it was meant to serve as an advance warning.

The director was a stickler for details, and quite a few foreshadowing clues had been buried earlier. Some viewers had already caught the scent of something unusual from the subtle hints. The earliest few clues had long been speculated on and verified back and forth countless times by netizens. The release of the new trailer undoubtedly confirmed those speculations from the sidelines.

[Something’s wrong, definitely wrong! The director definitely buried a massive knife!]

[The earlier parts were so funny, I almost forgot the male lead is on the opposing side of everyone else…]

[Holy crap, he’s returning to the Demon race. Is there going to be a war next? The Demon race battling wits and courage with Mount Yunxiao… did it turn into a political scheming drama?!]

[I said earlier this drama doesn’t have an ordinary xianxia background. It’s 80% likely there’s a war. Even though it hasn’t been explicitly stated, several details have shown that the world down the mountain isn’t peaceful, and the common people aren’t peaceful.]

[It won’t go as far as becoming a political scheming drama, but there’s definitely still important information that hasn’t been dug up. Damn it! This grand-aunt is going to rewatch it again!]

[I just thought of another question… The Demon race’s sacred relic that runs through the whole drama has never appeared, just like Liu Zhenzi. Could it be that, like Liu Zhenzi, it doesn’t actually exist?]

[Holy shit…]

[Sounds like the director’s style…]

[I’ve got goosebumps.]

[I’m stupid, really, I actually thought it was just the production crew having no budget…]

Opinions were divided online. Yu Wen went to check the WeChat group, and several lead actors were currently engaging in emergency evasion.

Jian Heng: [When the ending is released, we won’t get beaten up, right?]

Zhu Xinyi: [I went to the temple yesterday to draw a fortune slip, and it showed a terrible omen! Ominous, truly ominous.]

Er-shixiong’s actor: [Let’s just play dead during this time. The audience has a character filter on us, so they won’t scold us; they’ll only scold the director and the screenwriter.]

Si-shixiong’s actor: [Damn, Lao Er, you’re so insidious.]

San-shijie’s actor: [Good job. Colleagues are birds of the same forest, but when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways.]

Jian Heng: [Makes sense. If they scold the director and the screenwriter, they can’t scold us.]

Zhu Xinyi: [Let’s find a picture of Xiao Yu and make it into a meme. When we get scolded, we’ll just throw out the meme.]

San-shijie’s actor: [Everyone says we have a great relationship privately, but actually we don’t. We’re great at passing the buck. A fractured Mount Yunxiao is what the fans deserve.]

Everyone engaged in self-deprecation for a while, and the group chat was full of “hahahahas.”

Yu Wen: [Why am I the one being made into a meme…]

Jian Heng: [Hahahaha our Koi is here! Of course it’s because you’re cute. If you’re made into a meme, definitely no one will have the heart to scold you!]

Zhu Xinyi said she was going to the Yonghe Temple tomorrow to make a wish, and a few other actors in the same city joined in one after another. Between getting scolded and passing the buck, they prioritized performing magic rituals.

Yu Wen saw Jian Heng mingling in the group chat, looking boundlessly happy, and didn’t disturb him for the time being.

Yu Wen didn’t remind Jian Heng that the true nightmare had only just begun.

According to the plot timeline, this weekend was when Puyang Xi and Mount Yunxiao would break ties, and the lighthearted comedy would start handing out knives. Immediately after that, the first episode of Battle Royale would update. The story of the Hero’s squad couldn’t even be described with just the word “angst.” When the audience finished crying their eyes out over the Hero’s squad and returned to Legend of the Immortal Sect seeking comfort… they would find that everyone in the entire drama had died, leaving only the male lead.

This was not good.

Yu Wen began to think about how, without spoiling the plot, he could hand out a little sweetness to the audience whose mental states were about to collapse.

At 7:00 PM, Legend of the Immortal Sect updated on time.

Less than an hour after the update, the new plot hit the trending searches.

[“To this day, I still believe that”—Aaaaah Koi baby! Having you on Mount Yunxiao is a massive blessing!]

[So warm… my corpse feels warm, I feel like my livor mortis has vanished.]

[They broke ties… help… can you guys just stay together forever? I’ll go steal the Demon race’s sacred relic, okay?]

[School paused, I’ll be the villain.]

[Work paused, I’ll be the bad guy.]

[Does no one else feel this way of handling it is very high-class? The dialogue is also very textured.]

[+1. During the part where Puyang Xi descends the mountain, I thought we were going to see massive flashback montages + emotional BGM. I was even wondering if, since the male and female leads haven’t confessed their feelings yet, they should confess and kiss…]

[It’s been 18 episodes and the male and female leads haven’t even kissed yet, hahaha screenwriter, when ‘Xi-Yue’ gets married, you better go clean the toilets!]

After fermenting for two or three days, this segment of Puyang Xi descending the mountain became the most viral plotline in Legend of the Immortal Sect broadcasted so far.

[Jiang Qiuyue stood at the top of the mountain, the wind whipping her clothes. She held a long sword, a gift from her master in her early years, which hadn’t been unsheathed for a long time.

“What is your name?” she asked Puyang Xi this question again.

A long time ago, she had asked what Puyang Xi’s real name was, but the latter had only smiled playfully and changed the subject. Today, Puyang Xi looked at her gently and finally said, “Puyang Xi. Compound surname Puyang, single character Xi.”

“Puyang Xi.”

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

Exchanging names, it was as if they were getting to know each other all over again.

Jiang Qiuyue asked him what the Demon race was like. How was it different from the human realm?

“There are mountains, rivers, and rice paddies. The harvest hasn’t been good these past two years, and the crops are wilting. But in earlier years when the growth was good, as far as the eye could see, it was entirely waves of golden wheat…”

Jiang Qiuyue nodded. “It’s no different from the human realm.”

Puyang Xi also smiled. “Yeah, no different.”

“Will stealing the sacred relic make your crops grow golden?”

Puyang Xi said, “No, but if we get the sacred relic, there won’t be any internal strife within the clan for at least ten years.”

Jiang Qiuyue also said, “As long as the sacred relic is on Mount Yunxiao, the human realm will still have a few years of peace to enjoy.”

Puyang Xi: “Therefore, there is no solution.”

Jiang Qiuyue slowly drew her sword.

She rarely showed her face, and few on Mount Yunxiao could exchange moves with her. Over the years, the number of times she had drawn her sword could be counted on one hand.

Puyang Xi’s brows and eyes relaxed a bit more. Even though it was such a cold and harsh scene, he kept smiling. It seemed that if he didn’t smile, he wouldn’t be able to hide certain emotions.

He had to leave in a cool and dashing manner; crying and sniveling would be too embarrassing.

His eyes rimmed red for a split second before he suppressed it. Taking a deep breath, he smiled and said, “I have long heard of the prestige of Shijie’s Flying Flower Sword Technique. To witness it today, I have no regrets in this life.”

“One strike.” Jiang Qiuyue said, “After one strike, if you are still alive, I will no longer stop you.”]

The dialogue, storyboarding, and even the fight choreography of this mountain-descending segment were absolute perfection. When the actors filmed it, they spent over a day grinding it out.

When this segment aired, it unsurprisingly garnered unanimous praise from netizens. Parting ways due to opposing stances was different from simply handing out angst for the sake of it. As long as it could strike directly at the audience’s hearts, even if it was a knife, everyone would chew it to pieces and swallow it down.

[Waves of golden wheat… When the young king mentioned this, his expression was so serious, and his eyes were sparkling.]

[So far there hasn’t been any plot involving the Demon race, but my intuition tells me the male lead is a good king.]

[In the past, grain yields were really low; people starved to death every year…]

[Wasn’t Xiao Koi’s family hit by a famine, and all his relatives starved to death?]

[The plot has come full circle…]

[Wait! I never understood why they put Jiang Qiuyue first and Chu Zhiyao last. Watching the edits, I suddenly got it. Isn’t this the exact order the male lead met them after coming to Mount Yunxiao?! First was Xiao Koi, last was Da-shijie!]

[Holy crap…]

[Director, are you crazy?! I came online to be a detective, apparently!]

[No brain, don’t want to use it. Smart people go watch it again.]

[Squatting here waiting for the smart people’s homework.]

Plot edits sprang up endlessly, never falling off Bilibili’s trending page. Even though Yu Wen’s two colleagues had suffered the trauma of spoilers, their bodies were still honest, chasing the drama without missing a single episode.

Xi Su: “So complex, I kind of don’t get it anymore.”

Chu Han: “…What part don’t you get?”

Xi Su: “I can’t put my finger on it, but it feels like the director is conveying some very profound things.” He smacked his lips. “But my brain can’t digest it.”

Chu Han: “…”

Teacher Chu was a very polite person. Even if he felt Xi Su was a mountain boar who couldn’t appreciate fine bran, he wouldn’t say it outright; he merely revealed a hint of it subtly through his eyes.

Yu Wen had been researching over the past two days what kind of welfare to give away to soothe the audience’s wounded souls. After much choosing, he finally dragged a pile of yarn home, preparing to hand-crochet a few handmade items to raffle off after Battle Royale aired that night.

He had specifically found videos to learn. A koi fish was a relatively classic pattern, with many tutorials online, and it wasn’t hard to crochet. Crocheting four or five finished products in an afternoon shouldn’t be a problem.

There were also two colleagues at home who were bored out of their minds. Adding these two sources of manual labor, if nothing went wrong, having a dozen finished products for the livestream tonight would be no problem.

“What did you buy?” Seeing him carrying bags of all sizes, Xi Su turned back from the sofa and asked curiously.

Yu Wen blinked at him. “Gifts for you.”

“Really?” Xi Su immediately got energized. Gleefully taking the items from his hands, he stuck his head into the plastic bag. “What kind of gifts… yarn?”

Xi Su put on a thoughtful expression. “Is it because autumn is coming, and you’re afraid I’ll be cold, so you got me a pile of yarn…?”

Yu Wen thought to himself, You really think too kindly of me.

He thought for a moment and said, “I plan to host a livestream tonight and crochet a few koi fish as prizes. I wanted to invite you to crochet with me, so you can build up an image of being deft-handed and skillful in front of the netizens.”

Xi Su imagined the scene, the corners of his mouth curling up as he couldn’t help but say, “You’re so thoughtful.”

Yu Wen: “Yes, I’ve always been quite warmhearted.”

Chu Han went without saying; he actually quite liked this kind of handicraft. As soon as Yu Wen put the yarn down, he started watching the tutorials.

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

He told Xie Heyu about his idea to livestream, and Teacher Xie said he would come over to help.

Yu Wen: [Great, great! When Teacher Xie enters the neighborhood, bring us three jianbing guozi, from the stall set up right at the gate, their food is super delicious. Kitty squinting and smiling.jpg]

Back when they hadn’t known each other for long, he used to be reserved, always worried about troubling Xie Heyu. Now that they were familiar with each other, Yu Wen could boss Teacher Xie around with absolute peace of mind.

After all, Teacher Xie was genuinely so reliable and so useful!

Xie Heyu: [Got it.]

A moment later, he sent: [No finger hearts for me?]

Every time Yu Wen asked him for help or freeloaded new accessories off him, he would send him a messy pile of finger heart images.

This time he forgot.

Seeing this “interrogation,” Yu Wen froze for a second, then hastily picked out several blown-kiss memes and sent them over.

Xie Heyu replied very steadily: [Mm, received.]

And then steadily sent: [Finger heart.jpg]

Yu Wen scratched his hair while staring at the chat history.

What the heck.

It made him smile inexplicably.

At home, Xie Heyu put on his jacket and was changing his shoes at the entryway to head out. Xie Jialin happened to be coming back from outside and asked, “Going out again? Didn’t you say you could rest for two days?”

Xie Heyu was concise and to the point: “Seeing a friend.”

Xie Jialin: “Who?”

Xie Heyu: “You don’t know him.”

Xie Jialin was baffled. “You have friends I don’t know?”

He had been a silent gourd since childhood; hadn’t the few friends he had all come over to play at the house?

Xie Heyu couldn’t be bothered to talk more and asked, “Is there a new jianbing guozi stall open at the neighborhood gate?”

Xie Jialin was taken aback again. “How did you know? Their food is super delicious. The property management originally didn’t allow stalls, but a few homeowners vouched for them, so next month they’re opening a shop right at the neighborhood gate…”

Xie Heyu nodded slightly, then thought of something, took off the shoes he had just changed into, and turned back to head into the kitchen.

Watching his back, a certain ominous premonition surged into Xie Jialin’s heart.

“Xiao Xie!” Old Xie didn’t even have time to change his shoes. He lunged forward in one swift stride and fiercely guarded the refrigerator. “Your father just had hairy crabs shipped in this morning! If you want to give some away, go buy them yourself! You can’t just take them away again! I still want to eat them!”

Xie Heyu stared at him silently.

Xie Jialin stiffened his neck, swearing to the death not to yield.

Xie Heyu seemed to raise an eyebrow in speechlessness. He didn’t fight him for it. Turning his head, he picked up a large box of cherries from the kitchen counter that had just been delivered that morning.

An entire box, he carried it all away.

Xie Jialin: !!!

His cherries!

As Xie Heyu walked to the entryway, his flat voice drifted over from afar.

“Thanks.”

If nothing unexpected happened, something unexpected was about to happen.

Yu Wen ended his chat and returned to the living room, only to see scattered yarn spread messily all over the floor. Xi Su was wriggling inch by inch, trying to rescue a ball of yarn from under the cabinet.

Yu Wen: “…”

Looking again, Chu Han was like a cat kidnapped by yarn, his entire body wrapped in colorful threads that he couldn’t untangle. He was even earnestly moving a crochet hook back and forth, failing to catch a single thread, hooking entirely thin air.

Leaning against the wall, Yu Wen let out a deep sigh.

He really shouldn’t have… shouldn’t have placed any hope in these two.

Oh, these colleagues of his who were more of a hindrance than a help!

Handicrafts paused. Yu Wen found a pair of scissors from the storage cabinet, preparing to rescue the two living humans first.

Ten minutes later, Xie Heyu rang the doorbell. Yu Wen came charging out with pattering footsteps. The moment he saw him, his mouth turned down into a pout.

“Teacher Xie—” Looking as if he had just seen a close relative, Yu Wen pointed at the two massive mounds of yarn in the living room and complained, “They tied themselves in knots. I finally managed to cut them free with scissors, and in the blink of an eye, they started playing around again and ruined all my yarn!”

He felt so wronged. “Teacher Xie, I want to throw them out!”