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baihe_media2024-12-18 12:27 pm
neuxue) wrote in baihe_media2024-12-18 12:27 pm
To Embers We Return (焚情) Read Along: Chapters 31-40
I know the novel has finished serialising and some of you have already finished reading it, but I've been having fun catching up in the comments of the previous chapter-by-chapter discussions so here's another read-along post. Whether you're also planning to binge-read the whole thing now that it's finished, or have already read it and want to relive the fun, or are following via douqi's translation, come and join me!
Note: I will not be writing detailed chapter summaries because I'd like to finish the novel sometime this decade, but I'll try to give at least brief notes on what happens, to help keep track of where in the story we are. I might also switch to 20 chapters at a time rather than 10 to keep the number of posts manageable but want to get to a nice multiple of 20 first.
Discussion of Chapters 1 to 10 can be found here.
Discussion of Chapters 11 to 20 can be found here.
Discussion of Chapters 21 to 30 can be found here.
The link to the novel on JJWXC is here;douqi's ongoing translation is here.
douqi's translation, come and join me!Note: I will not be writing detailed chapter summaries because I'd like to finish the novel sometime this decade, but I'll try to give at least brief notes on what happens, to help keep track of where in the story we are. I might also switch to 20 chapters at a time rather than 10 to keep the number of posts manageable but want to get to a nice multiple of 20 first.
Discussion of Chapters 1 to 10 can be found here.
Discussion of Chapters 11 to 20 can be found here.
Discussion of Chapters 21 to 30 can be found here.
The link to the novel on JJWXC is here;
douqi's ongoing translation is here.
Re: Chapter 38
- Was there really no connection between Liu Ji and Bian Jin? But if that were the case, then who was the mysterious person who came to the Liu family's rescue? GOOD! QUESTION! I am increasingly convinced that Bian Jin's mind is not always entirely... well I was about to say 'her own' but I don't even know if that's the right way to frame it. Anyway. Between this and the ease with which Shen Ni can read her and know that her confusion is genuine (and previous mentions of Bian Jin being a poor liar) this feels so much like a 'she has some task she must carry out but isn't good enough at deception to do it without being caught, so the only way is to lock the knowledge of it away even from herself' situation. Either that or someone else is using her to carry out their aims and has locked it away for the same reason. So which is it and what is the secret task and why does it require getting Shen Ni access to the time capsule???
- I like that Shen Ni's obsession with Bian Jin does not prevent her from suspecting her. And also that there appears to be absolutely no cognitive dissonance there whatsoever. It's a fun brand of subtly unhinged.
- So Bian Jin is/was the Blade of the Empire, and now Shen Ni is the Emperor's whetstone (and Han Fu her poison)... we've got the makings of a fine toolbox here.
- I hate to agree with Li Chu on anything but I am on record as being fond of a Shen Ni/Li Shan bad-idea ship so...
- Li Shan absolutely obliterating him was such a delight to watch though. Love seeing her use her bad attitude for good.
- A bored Shen Ni never bodes well for anyone; RIP those two guys.
- She couldn't keep her heart from racing as she watched Bian Jin send the two flying with a kick. It was always breathtaking to watch her shijie beat people up. She also felt a trace of resentment; come to think of it, it had been a long time since shijie had punished her... SHEN NI. Control yourself. Or, you know, don't.
Re: Chapter 38
As she always does.
and greatly enjoys watching the surveillance footage of her shijie wiping the floor with them
Me @ Shen Ni: is this porn?? Are you watching porn when you should be at court??
I like that Shen Ni's obsession with Bian Jin does not prevent her from suspecting her. And also that there appears to be absolutely no cognitive dissonance there whatsoever. It's a fun brand of subtly unhinged.
I really like this, and the fact that it doesn't change the core of her feelings for Bian Jin a single iota.
a Shen Ni/Li Shan bad-idea ship
I would read this AU. They would be SO BAD for each other.
Li Shan absolutely obliterating him was such a delight to watch though
I love watching Li Chu get trodden lower and lower into the ground at every turn.
it had been a long time since shijie had punished her... SHEN NI. Control yourself. Or, you know, don't.
When a punishment is basically a reward.
Re: Chapter 38
This is particularly funny contrasted with Bian Jin watching porn For Science a little while later.
They would be SO BAD for each other
Right?? It would be such a disaster. I need 150k words of it.
I love watching Li Chu get trodden lower and lower into the ground at every turn.
I keep picturing him as another mechanical-eyed scenery-chewing villain from a very tropey drama and it works almost too perfectly. Which is to say, same.