FLME Ch53

While watching TV, Xie Heyu opened Weibo to monitor the feedback from netizens.

Not only were they waiting for the grand finale of Immortal Gate on time, but thousands of drama fans were even more anxious. Two weeks earlier, they had already tried urging the director to add more episodes. When that failed, they turned to “harassing” the main actors, with Jian Heng and the others’ Weibo flooded with questions about the finale.

The story had reached a precarious climax just before the finale: Yunxiao Mountain was surrounded, and no matter how people analyzed it, it seemed like a dead end. The more they picked at the details, the more the foreshadowing became painfully obvious.

Everyone already had a vague sense that a bad ending was coming, but they still hoped for a miracle.

Sure enough, as soon as the finale aired, it shot into the top ten trending topics, with the view count skyrocketing.

Netizens skipped straight to the end, and when they saw it, the hearts that had been hanging on were finally crushed.

“Fine, everyone’s dead.”

“It really was a dead end… the disciples of Yunxiao Mountain swore to guard the secret of the sacred relic to the death. Even if they managed to defend it this time, there’d always be a next time, and the time after that… As long as the sacred relic exists, the conflict won’t end; as long as the conflict doesn’t end, they’ll remain targets.”

“They’re like tombstones, standing before the sacred relic.”

“Yunxiao Mountain had no way out; it was just a matter of dying sooner or later…”

“I think they already anticipated their fate. Look at them roasting sweet potatoes in the courtyard, so peaceful, as if tomorrow would be just another ordinary day.”

Many netizens, after seeing the ending, felt like their hearts had died. But even with their hearts broken, their hands kept moving as they scrolled back to earlier parts of the episode, stubbornly wanting to see exactly how the characters died.

For those who skipped to the ending, the blow was softened, as they had mentally prepared themselves.

But for the two people sitting in front of the TV, each scene that followed was like opening a surprise box.

Xi Su was so absorbed in watching TV that he let his guard down. At this moment, he had completely forgotten what Yu Wen had said earlier. Watching the group on Yunxiao Mountain gathering in the courtyard to eat sweet potatoes and warm themselves by the fire, with Jiang Qiuyue still leisurely reading a storybook, the scene was peaceful and heartwarming, making Xi Su feel a glimmer of hope again.

That is, until Jiang Qiuyue told the third senior sister, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll go ahead of you.”

This line, which seemed like a flag, made him feel uneasy.

A few minutes later, with a blank expression, Xi Su grabbed a tissue to wipe away the uncontrollable tears and snot.

Today, he was relatively composed, not going wild, only saying, “It’s fine, I’ve killed fish for ten years at RT-Mart. My heart has long become as cold as the knives used to cut fish.”

Yu Wen said, “Your snot is about to drip onto your clothes.”

Xi Su: “Waaaaah!”

Chu Han, who firmly believed in the rule that “Chu Zhiyao will die,” wasn’t hit as hard, but still ended up repeatedly banging his head against the pillow in frustration.

“Didn’t they say everyone dies?” He ranted. “Why is it that Chu Zhiyao died, but Pu Yangxi didn’t? Why didn’t they kill off the male lead?”

“Both dying together would be a happy ending, don’t they understand?!”

Whoever heard of a ‘good guy’ couple being separated by life and death?!

Yu Wen sat cross-legged on the sofa and sighed quietly.

The only one left calm in the living room was Xie Heyu. Yu Wen was sure he had been watching the whole time, but he didn’t seem particularly moved.

“Teacher Xie, don’t you find it tear-jerking?” Yu Wen leaned over and asked softly.

Xie Heyu glanced at him quietly.

“Not really, the director wasn’t trying to make us focus on death, and that’s not how you acted either.”

Yu Wen’s eyes lit up, “How do you know?”

“Death is the result, but not the end. The rising sun, the blooming peach blossoms, the last meeting they never had, the words they never got to say… The focus isn’t on death, but on what’s unfinished. ‘We’ll meet again, when you also walk this path.’ That’s probably what the director was trying to convey.”

Yu Wen was speechless for a moment, then after a while, he pursed his lips, eyes shining as he said, “Teacher Xie, you’re so smart.”

Xie Heyu shook his head.

It wasn’t that he was smart, Yu Wen’s performance just made it obvious. If you paid extra attention to the character, you’d notice the difference.

Before Chu Zhiyao’s death, a key scene was depicted, one that hadn’t appeared earlier in the series. The timeline was around the Lantern Festival, when the Yunxiao Mountain group gathered at the back of the mountain to release sky lanterns and make wishes.

The second senior brother, always methodical, gave each of them a piece of paper and told them to write their wishes and stick them onto the lanterns.

The fourth junior brother immediately picked up a brush and wrote: [Please grant my second senior brother exceptional cooking skills.]

Admiring his own bold calligraphy, he said, “This way, I won’t have to deal with cooking supplies next year…”

The third senior sister hesitated for a while before elegantly writing: [I want a new hairpin.]

Jiang Qiuyue lay in a tree reading a new storybook.

Pu Yangxi stared blankly at the sky lantern.

The second senior brother, holding a stick, sternly urged them one by one. Chu Zhiyao thought he looked like a schoolmaster, strict and intimidating.

Fearing a scolding, the little koi quickly spun his brain and scribbled down eight words on the rice paper.

[Good weather and peace across the land.]

A rather grand wish.

The fourth junior brother laughed, “So, it turns out our sixth junior brother carries the world on his shoulders.”

Jiang Qiuyue glanced over and, finding the eight characters quite nice, said in a calm voice, “Sixth junior brother, write that for me too. I want the same.”

The second senior brother scolded her for being lazy.

But then, he too turned and wrote “Good weather and peace across the land” on his sky lantern.

The third senior sister wasn’t happy. “What does that make of my hairpin wish? Fine, I’ll be generous too.”

So, she crossed out her wish for a new hairpin and changed it to “Good weather and peace across the land.”

Half-joking and half-serious, everyone wrote down the same words. Pu Yangxi didn’t understand them, their seemingly careless attitude—neither serious, yet serious all the same.

Unlike others, Pu Yangxi’s wish was really this.

Favorable weather, no illness or disaster, enough food and warm clothes, peace in the world.

Chu Zhiyao set a good example. When they released the sky lanterns at the end, everyone wrote “favorable weather and peace in the world” on their lanterns. The fourth brother joked, “If others see this, they’d think we at Yunxiao Mountain are so noble and righteous.”

The third senior sister lazily said, “Even our little koi has learned how to save face.”

Chu Zhiyao pouted and mumbled, “It’s not just for show…”

Nobody else heard his muttering, except for Pu Yangxi.

The two of them lagged behind. Pu Yangxi asked him why he wrote that.

Chu Zhiyao said, “That’s been my birthday wish every year, though nobody knows. That year, there was a drought and war. We had no food at home, my father starved to death, my mother starved to death, and my grandmother also starved to death. If the weather had been good and there hadn’t been a war, the fields could have grown more food, and they wouldn’t have died.”

He rarely mentioned his past. He was too young when his parents died, and he couldn’t remember many things clearly. He lived carefree every day, so everyone thought those events didn’t affect him.

But in reality, no one can easily escape suffering.

The older Chu Zhiyao grew, the more clearly he could recall the scenes of his family’s deaths. Every year, he prayed for favorable weather, so that no one would ever starve again.

Pu Yangxi was silent for a long time.

Finally, he pretended to be lighthearted and said, “The rice from my hometown is different from the rice here. If I get the chance, I’ll bring a couple of stalks for you to see.”

Chu Zhiyao was quite happy, “Sure, when will you go back home?”

Pu Yangxi glossed over the question, and the topic was dropped.

Later, on the day Yunxiao Mountain was breached, Pu Yangxi really brought two stalks of golden rice. But when he arrived, Chu Zhiyao was already dead, and they didn’t get to see each other one last time.

There were Chu Zhiyao’s last words that Pu Yangxi didn’t know.

He said, “Lao Qi (Lao Qi)… let’s meet a little later.”

Live a bit longer, meet us later.

When the director was explaining this scene to Yu Wen, he told him that there was no need to act too desperately. From Chu Zhiyao’s wish for favorable weather, you could see that Pu Yangxi and Yunxiao Mountain were destined to meet the same fate. The deaths of the others were merely the prelude to the rise of another hope.

We will meet again; we are destined to the same end.

That’s the general feeling.

So Yu Wen never cried throughout the entire scene, not even when saying goodbye. Since they were bound to meet again, there was no need for a farewell.

At the end of the finale, a few brief scenes explain Yunxiao Mountain’s fall, Pu Yangxi’s takeover, the return of the holy relic legend, and how Pu Yangxi became the new target.

He went from a young man to middle-aged, his face now more dignified, with a beard on his chin.

One day, he was harvesting rice in the field, and after getting tired, he sat on the ridge to rest. A little five or six-year-old boy came over and asked him, “Have you ever been to the Immortal Sect?”

“My dad and mom say that the people in the Immortal Sect can fly, summon wind and rain, and are all-powerful. But they don’t like demons, so I can’t go to the Immortal Sect to become a disciple. King, is that true?”

The no-longer-young Pu Yangxi was stunned for a long, long time.

“…Your dad lied to you.” After a long while, he smiled, stood up, patted the dirt off his clothes, and led the little boy down the road. “I once trained in a place called Yunxiao Mountain. I was ranked seventh, and everyone called me Lao Qi. They were all very kind to me. Later, even when they found out I was a demon, they were still very kind to me…”

“Yunxiao Mountain? Where is that? Can I go there to become a disciple?”

“No, you can’t… that place, no one’s lived there for decades.”

“Why? Where did all the disciples of that sect go?”

The small path between the fields was silent. The middle-aged man held the little boy’s hand, and all around, only the sound of the wind rustling through the wheat could be heard.

“…They died,” he sighed. “Only Lao Qi is left.”

—

Yu Wen’s concerns were not unfounded.

The aftershocks of Battle Royale hadn’t yet faded. Some netizens, drawn to his work, watched both Battle Royale and The Immortal Sect. After finishing, they cried until their tears were dry, feeling like their souls were about to drift away.

Some fans of the Battle Royale variety show came to The Immortal Sect seeking comfort, especially since The Immortal Sect was known for its lighthearted and cheerful pace. But they happened to watch the finale, only to be hit with another emotional blow.

Even though the groundwork had been laid and the tragic ending was anticipated, the internet still exploded.

「Okay, okay, so this is what cultivation dramas are like? Haha, I’m not crazy, I’m perfectly normal.」

「Where’s that ‘back off, back off, back off’ meme from Xi Su! I want to poke the director and screenwriter to death!」

「Xi Su! Where’s your Italian cannon? Fire it!」

「Melon King, I misjudged you… You’re so funny in person, but your work is so heartbreaking…」

「Yu Wen! Jian Heng! You two are so good at making tragic dramas, come out and interact with us if you dare!」

Yu Wen scrolled through the internet. It was chaotic, with people calling for the director to release a side story, calling for the main actors to come out and engage with the fans, and even some demanding that Xi Su start a livestream.

The blue-haired teacher heals everything, on another level.

A couple of days ago, they had just done a livestream. Yu Wen didn’t want to go live again, but seeing how enthusiastic everyone was, he hesitated for a moment and eventually turned on the camera, planning to record a short video.

After saying hello, he pointed the camera at Xi Su.

Xi Su was writing his post-viewing thoughts, with a laptop in front of him, but the blank document had yet to show a single word.

Yu Wen called out, “Teacher Xi, I’m recording a video. Say hello to everyone.”

Xi Su turned around, and at some point, he had put on a pair of sunglasses.

Yu Wen: “…Why are you wearing sunglasses?”

Xi Su’s lips curved into a smile, and he responded nonsensically, “It’s fine. I’m not breaking down, and I’m not going to cry. I’ve always been fine, watching everything with the perspective of an observer. How could I break down?”

Xie Heyu took off his sunglasses.

Xi Su’s eyes were completely red, and tears immediately streamed down. “Boohoo… Teacher Xie, you’re so cruel. I don’t even have a shred of dignity left. Are you happy now?”

Xie Heyu didn’t expect this scene under the sunglasses and was taken aback. He quickly put the sunglasses back on Xi Su and reassured him, “It’s okay, you look handsome even when you cry.”

Xi Su stopped crying, “Really?” He picked up his phone to fix his hair, “Are you serious?”

Xie Heyu: “Really.”

Xi Su: “Swear on your conscience.”

Xie Heyu: “…That’s tough. I said it without much conscience.”

Xi Su: “…”

Yu Wen couldn’t help it and burst out laughing.

At that moment, Chu Han suddenly turned around, his face full of tears. Unlike Xi Su, Chu Han had a more delicate appearance, making it harder for him to break down.

“Yu Wen,” he said, calmly and composedly, even as tears streamed down his face, “I have a once-in-a-lifetime request. Can you grant it?”

Yu Wen: “Go ahead.”

Chu Han: “Can you kiss Pu Yangxi’s actor for me to see?”

Yu Wen: “…”

Yu Wen was shocked, and before he could speak, Xie Heyu raised an eyebrow, reached out to cover Yu Wen’s mouth, and said to Chu Han, “No, fans said he can’t kiss random men outside.”

This was a video with no theme and a bizarre direction. After filming, Yu Wen watched it several times and realized that even Teacher Xie had started to act abnormal.

It seems that madness is contagious.

Now it’s settled; the last sane person in the company has fallen.

Before posting, Yu Wen worried a bit about how the video might affect the company’s image, but then he thought, the company was already like a mental institution, so it’s not his problem to worry about that.

He posted the video with the caption: [Don’t be sad, here’s a blue-haired teacher for everyone to cuddle.]

As The Immortal Sect was trending, Yu Wen’s post quickly attracted a wave of netizens, many of whom came over, whining and begging for him to film bonus content.

That really wasn’t something Yu Wen could decide, so he comforted the teary fans in the comments section one by one, replying: [It depends on the schedule, not sure if we can manage it.]

A fan responded: [What about the ‘Villain-Hero’ duo? The Evil Dragon doesn’t have any schedule, right? Boohoo, Xiao Yu, please shoot something, anything! At least let either the Hero or Chu Zhiyao have a happy ending.]

Chu Zhiyao was already dead, but the Hero was still alive.

Yu Wen felt even more conflicted.

It’s true the Evil Dragon didn’t have any schedule…

But there were issues with copyrights, and then there’s the matter of production quality…

Also, full holographic projections… how much would that cost?!