YALL ARENT READY FOR CHAPTER 83 OMG TS HAD ME GAGGED. ILL TRANSLATE IT FOR YALL LATER BUT OMGGGG
CHAPTER 83 SPOILERS/SUMMARY
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Lians a tweaker and I creamed my pants from how crazy this ch is. I said that my fav chapter was ch 82 in the last post. Well I lied. Now it's this one. The art direction alone is insane. So many iconic panels, not to mention the direction its taking the story.
Also fyi, there's a glitch on mggo where album pics arent loading, so im attaching the images a little differently today. here is a link to all of the pics im gonna be talking abt today. they're numbered, so ill reference the number sometimes when talking abt a specific panel. im honestly so bummed out abt the glitch cuz this is the one chapter yall rly need to see the art for, but oh well:
https://www.mangago.me/thing/about/809139/
we continue where we left off last time with lian roasting ts outta xin. she says "isolated from the world, slowly going mad amidst false abundance. ultimately, losing one's sense of self and ending one's life as the ghost of the Zhou family. A living icon... the life of a scarecrow king. that is the highest power holder of the Zhou family. The suffering of life borne by a direct successor"
"your older brother Zhou Aitan, the previous successor, unable to endure it, threw himself down from the Yonghyeon Pagoda" (yonghyeon pagoda is referring to the head family's tower btw).
"The elders of the main house stepped back, fearing that the lineage of the direct successor would be cut off forever. He gained a small amount of freedom in exchange for one leg. however the 'sacred' image that will always shine in the same place, in any case, it must exist. so your fate and mine have been swapped"
"that day in the hallway" (refer to this cunty framing in image #0)
"the 'ming' of the Zhou family's first collateral branch are the henchmen of the direct line. The role of the hands and feet is to move according to what the head thinks and decides" as she says this she points the iron awl at xin's throat. (refer to image #2)
"in accordance with the wishes of the direct successor, Zhou Aitan, I Zhou Ming Lian, the successor of the first branch was left as a replacement"
"okay. your brother's wish to be freed from the obligation of the 'holy image' you dumped that cursed life on me!" lians TWEAKING atp. like a crackhead came up to me yesterday and that dude was genuinely less of a tweaker than lian.(refer to images 3,4,5) she looks more like the nightmare version in lau's hallucination in the season 1 finale.
cue the titlecard. lian continues "Why are you looking at me like that? Aixin, you knew it all. what your brother always said. what the true identity of 'what was left in the main house' is. yes? do you remember? that day you made eye contact with me"
"you brothers ran away to the annex that way, and my remaining childhood was the scent of the wood of Yonghyeontap... it was filled with fear and tears" (yonghyeontap is again referring to the head family tower)
"you knew it all along aixin. what kind of life i will live in the future. nevertheless, carried on Aitan's back. everything with these two eyes, you just watched quietly" at this point shes pointing the iron awl directly at xin's eye (just like how she did to lau that one time btw).
she continues "it wasn't just then. you've always been like that. as if watching the passing scenery outside the window. you just watch everything around you as if it were someone else's business. even the day your brother carried you on his back and left Yonghyeontap. Even the day Lau left you behind and went on stage alone. You turn your back on everyone and come back here. Even on the day you returned to the annex"
xin protests "back then, i was young so there was nothing i could do. you know we were in similar situations" (image 4)
lian responds "so what about now?" ooo shes clocking his ass. she continues "how is it now? after you returned to the annex, everyone in this house was paying attention the moves of the last remaining 'true direct successor'" (image 5, nurse shes out again)
"what kind of moves will our young master make now that he has returned to the Zhou family home after his outing? when is the succession ceremony? is the jigyecheongseon being suspended like this" (btw the jigyecheongseon is referring to the head family's plan to 'clean house' by killing off the other collateral lines, lian mentioned it in ch 81)
"will he bring a new wind to the waning power of the Zhou family? but you... for four years you were holed up in the annex doing nothing!" ts genuinely makes xin upset and he protests.
lian walks and shrugs (shes not tweaking anymore btw), "hey if that's the case, why did you come back to the annex? no, why did you even go outside in the first place? going against the Zhou family's rules, taking me and wei. the reason for insisting on completing high school in the secular world is... there must've been a reason. ah-"
"lau. aixin's beloved pet dog." cue this evil ass panel (image #1). this genuinely flusters xin and he blushes lmao. he protests "what are you suddenly talking about? lau has nothing to do with it!"
bitch please. lian's thinking the same thing as me and she says "no relation? aixin. stop it. what else did you gain from the decision to come out?" (insert image 8). i love this image sm btw.
anyways she snaps her fingers, and in walks this zombie/fantasy version of lau (image #16). hes better looking than before but hes still tremendously chopped. also he looks immensely sad, literally like a kicked dog.
"i'm your one and only friend. a possession you can handle as you please. the only happiness left to you" (its not rly clear if fantasy lau or lian is saying this btw, im fully convinced shes putting on a faux lau voice impression lmao..)
anyways fake lau/ maybe lian continues (and it looks like he's pushed down xin?) "just be honest. you wanted to see me, didn't you? you wanted to touch me, didn't you? you wanted me to play with you, cheer you up, and show you affection like before, right?" lauxin crumbs (yes ik theyre fake shut up). (image 9)
fake fantasy lau then kisses xin's neck and xin shouts "no, i-" ik its not real but ts still made me mad uncomfortable ngl. (image 10) i get its supposed to kind of be disturbing and this is some weird fantasy lian's put him in and these may or may not be xin's true desires, but yeah. still mad weird imo.
when xin says no the atmosphere suddenly changes. lau then says "okay? then shake me off. try pushing me out. just like back then." lau then changes into this nightmare version of himself and starts choking xin. (images 11 & 12). yk its a goated sangyang ch when it calls back to the lau choking xin metaphor from ch 1.
suddenly lian appears from behind xin "hehe... you probably cant do it right? what do you think, xin? i don't think badly of it. it's instinct, isn't it? chasing one's own desires. that's not what i really can't stand"
"you look sad. as if carrying a heavy burden and enduring it all. sitting slumped in the annex, acting all melancholic" (insert image 6. this goated ass panel)
she continues "i feel dirty... to be mobilized to live such a mere life. has my childhood disappeared? without even knowing what true happiness is. for a life that is just a waste of time?" her expression changes and she looks genuinely angry/determined now. "it's unacceptable. you can't do that!" (sorry but she's lwk giving eren saying tatakae..)
she's full on shouting now "delight! happiness! it must be a life filled with joy!" we get another goated panel (image 13. dare i say ts is downright biblical?)
then she says "why don't you just cut off lau's limbs and leave them by his side? there is also a way to put him into an eternal sleep" girl you're losing me lmao. also i think this is 100% implying that lian is responsible for putting alex in his coma cuz of the eternal sleep mention. chekovs gun, im calling it.
"just admit that you're a selfish jerk. take what you really want! i'm tell you to look straight at your own desires!" cue the greatest panel in all of cinematic history. i gooned to this panel. i could write an essay on this panel. (image 7).
theres panels of of child xin and tan leaving lian behind. she says "only then, my childhood disappeared because it had meaning." not rly sure what she means by this. if i had to assume she's saying that she experienced a 'normal' life before becomin an idol and so only then her childhood disappeared cuz she actually had a meaning in life before. she had experienced joy before, unlike xin.
xin's kneeling on the floor and panting. whatever illusion fantasy nightmare world lian put him thru has been lifted. lian walks away from him and says "the jigyecheongseon begins now. many people will turn into a handful of ashes and disappear" (image 14).
"but aixin doesn't need to worry about that. live the way you want to, just like you are now." she pauses and looks up. "i. i will take care of you forever"
then there's this panel (image 15). this is hilarious to me and idk why. it reminds me of a meme i can't place my hands on. i half expected her to run her fingers thru her hair and beat up xin like naoya from jjk. anyways she says "you are a piece of my life... because it is a lost fragment of me" END OF CHAPTER.
soooo yeah. my fav chapter of season 3 by far. probably top 5 within the entire series. (sorry it can never beat ch 17). it had a lot of revelations.
1) lian at least somewhat resents tan (and xin by relation) for forcing their 'curse' onto her. we get the answer to what she meant last chapter, when she said that xin is a fragment of her. i think she's saying that since she replaced *his* duty, he is the part of her that wouldve existed had she never been forced to become a living idol. and so he is a fragment of her.
2) she hates xin's passivity. lwk i get her on this one. she clocked tf outta him. its related to the same issues lau has with him. xin constantly shows this creepy intelligent side, but he always quickly retreats into passivity when something doesnt go his way. he feels powerless, hes a little similar to lau in that way. ig u can blame his upbringing and tan for that. but now he has to be the head of the family and hes js sitting on his ass doing nothing. the only thing hes done in all of years as the heir is making lau, wei and lian go to school with him. he hasn't done the succession ritual, and he basically just lets lian handle the head elders. but lian can only do so much. even figureheads have to do *some* things.
3) the reveal that the whole reason xin went to school is so he could be with lau for a few years?? omg im gonna cry.
4) lian doesn't actually mind that xin loves lau. what she does hate is the fact is that xin doesnt do **anything** about it and he wont even admit it to himself, again tying into his passiveness. this was surprising to me ngl considering how much she clowns on lau and genuinely seems to despise him for how he hurts xin, but then again considering what we've learned about her feelings towards xin in the last few chs, maybe she js likes to hate on ppl lmao (and lau and xin do need to be clocked sometimes). "just admit that you're a selfish jerk. take what you want! i'm tell you to look straight at your own desires!" as she's literally opening xin's eye and revealing a dark one underneath. omggg. visual storytelling at its finest.
5) we get a lauxin "moment". if u can call it that. oh well ill take what i can get we havent gotten one since chapter 60 something. a fake neck kiss is better than nothing. it still made me uncomfortable asf tho, it js lwk feels like sa, even tho ik its not real in universe and its meant to be horrifying in this case, but at the same time it feels like the author doesn't know that specifically is the horrifying part abt it. maybe im reading too deeply into it idk. i need to sleep. oh well, lauxin crumbs, we cheer.
6) the jigyecheongseon is beginning. so around 1 year before the present timeline. mind you this takes place *after* the head family attempted to kill yajin and mali, which was the winter before the present timeline. but lian warned lau abt it to save them. so she's saying that they're going to go after the other lines too.
so as far as theories go, these past 2 chapters gave a lot. idk i feel like the lian being what tan left behind reveal genuinely threw a monkey wrench into all of my ideas LMAO. well for starters, i take back my prediction abt lian not being the main villain. she's def the main villain, and now the way she looks on the season 3 cover makes much much more sense. however, again i don't think she's the main antagonist, that title belongs to the head family elders.
heres what i think will happen between this flashback and the present day. 1) lian manipulates xin into going along with her version of the jigyecheongseon, but they're also combining it with the succession ritual, which is what leads to the current tattoo plan. 2) xin was actually cruel asf towards chen, lian or the head family put alex into that eternal sleep, as was slightly referenced in this chapter.
other than that i got no clue man. we still dont know *why* lians being a creep and stealthing around xin's annex. and i really want to know wei's involvement in all of this. what does he think abt lian etc? also, im still really confused abt how far xin has control over this entire plan? does he rly plan on dying... lame. even in this whole plan hes being passive as fuck lmao. i mean i feel like the whole xin burning the contract thing, might not have been part of the plan? idk it just feels like something went wrong in the plan. and i rly dont believe that burning the contract will do shit, considering that lau is also the solo remaining head family guardian left. the head family would not let his ass live. im super curious abt whats going on in the main timeline, but i predict we won't get there in a while. but im super interested in what happened btwn high school and the present day regardless.
overall, goated chapter. in my top 5. gyujik my goat always knows how to write climaxes. this def feels like a climax to the last few chapters we've been in and ties up most of the loose threads presented (lian's feelings towards xin, the jigyecheongseon confirmed being underway, xin admitting he loves lau, what sort of person xin is, etc). so this specific flashback arc might end within the next chapter or two, but tbh even this chapter alone would be a good conclusion to this arc. i need to start wearing a diaper before i read the next chapter cuz i genuinely think ill bust everywhere.
CHAPTER 82 SPOILERS/SUMMARY
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we continue off of where we left off last chapter with him alone in a dark room and the videogame not starting. xin genuinely crashes out and rips out the cords. and then he starts crying, which again i think this is the first time i think xin's ever actually cried in the series. crying, he asks himself "what did i do?" and then a hand comes from out of the frame, and wipes away his tears. its lian.
she says "thats exactly it aixin, what did you do? thats right. you've never done anything. even then and even now" i js wanna show these panels here cuz ik i say this every update but i think xin is so close to crashing out and ending it all:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870933/
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870935/
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870936/
the camera zooms out, and we see that xin wasnt in the dark room after all, but where he and lian would sit to chat. lian continues "im here, xin. are u sure ur okay? u js shed tears out of nowhere." so i think its not any supernatural fuckery going on, xins js crazy and he's reacting to all of his emotions retroactively.
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870938/#image
xin asks "lian.. how.." lian replies "what are u talking about? we were js having tea" she then tells xin that he should really get a checkup from a head family doctor. xin says that he doesnt need a doctor and that hes fine. lian says that everytime she comes by, xin's symptoms get worse.
she tells him that she'll help him, and that they also go out for walks together because she plays the same game in a dark room every day. WHAT. what the fuck does that mean. (also its worth noting she has a crazy ass look on her face when she says this).
xin asks her "how do you know that? the fact that i play the same game every day" right bc how tf does she know ts.
at this point lian has fully cornered xin in his chair. lian genuinely looks scary, almost gigantic? as shit from this point onwards:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870940/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870939/#image
he asks "the footsteps. is that you? i know you've been hiding somewhere in this house watching me... and yet pretending otherwise, pretending to care for me. i know you're js toying w me."
he then clocks tf outta her by saying "i know you don't really want my happiness"
she breaks her silence and reaches out to touch xin's face. "aixin... was that all you were complaining about? dont misunderstand me xin. as for me... i am the person who wishes for your joy and happiness more than anyone else in this family" YEAH CUZ NO ONE ELSE CARES ABT HIM THE BAR IS GENUINELY THAT LOW.
then she says "you are a part of me... because it is my lost fragment" ???? girl sure whatever im not even gonna question ur bullshit anymore.
next there is a flashback to when xin was a kid. he's being carried on ai tan's back as they walk thru some head family building (im guessing its the main hq). worth noting, tan is panting and he's using a cane to help him walk. he also seems to be very distressed. xin asks "where are we going now? i can walk on my own aitan." tan doesnt reply.
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870942/#image
they pass by a small figure whos head is covered with a robe, and face is obscured with a scroll(?) idk what to call it, but it has a chinese symbol on it.
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870943/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870944/#image
the figure takes off the scroll, and reveals it is lian. xin and lian meet eyes for the first time. leaving this panel here cuz its very tea:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870945/#image
xin says "brother did you see, there was a kid ive never seen before at the house. they look abt the same height as me. i want to get off..." xin tries to get down but tan stops him, and shouts "no you cant come down." he pauses for a bit then explains that theyre going outside of the main building. he says "a living icon, not the life of a living corpse. to live a human life... this opportunity was created at the cost of my freedom of movement" in other words, this scene is taking place after tan jumped off of the head family tower to escape, but before they started living in the annex.
tan says "however the sacred image is at any moment a being who must shine in the same place. someone has to fulfill their role there. so just wait, ill come back to find you someday" so i think, tans implying that when he left his life as 'a living corpse' in the head family hq, they had to find someone to replace him as an idol who stays there all the time. that someone is child lian. damn thats fucked up. obligatory panel drop cuz ts makes me sad:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870946/#image
tan says "the weight of these footsteps leaving the main house is mine alone. my responsibility resulting from my decision. there is no reason or need for aixin to share the burden. so you mustn't get off your brother's back. you must never step on this path on ur own two feet" damn and xin had to end up doing it anyways. ts sad as hell.
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870947/#image
he continues "as if you didnt see anyting. as if you didnt hear anything. just stay still." END OF CHAPTER.
so the ppl in the raws comments are highkey geniuses so there's some things they pointed out that are rly interesting:
1) "the chinese character attached to lian's head is 'shi' (death) and character on the memorial tablet is zhou ming lian, so zhou ming lian might not really be lian but someone who merely inherited her name."
2) when tan was about to escape with miu in chapter 76, he said he left behind something important behind. now we can see that it was actually LIAN who he left behind. crazy ass twist.
3) " considering that Zhou Aitan says what he left behind (Lian) isnt an object but a being he must take responsibility for, they could also be blood relatives. if u go back to the chapter where miu and tan die, a woman is crying behind the rest of the servants, so there might be a connection"
4) "it seems they barely managed to leave the main building on the condition that the 1st collateral line heir would be seated in the sacred statue instead of the direct line, and that the brothers would temporarily move to a separate building. anyway there was a condition that they had ot return to the main building, so tan put his heart into it until the end, but in the end, the signator (referring to tan) himself died, so that condition couldnt be fulfilled. it seems Lian used the condition of "returning the statue" as a pretext to proceed with the succession ceremony by offering the younger brother xin as a sacrifice. through this resurrection ritual, he could spread the superstitution among the elders that the zhou family would revive, boosting her own trust, and by eliminating the direct heir, she, as a member of the first branch was able to completely wreck havoc on the Zhou family"
by dominating the zhou family as the sole leader she *would* be preserving xin's happiness technically. also its fascinating that the commenter is referring to the new ritual as a resurrection one.
some final closing thoughts:
this is probably my fav chapter of season 3 so far. all of the art direction was so good, and the atmosphere was wonderfully creepy throughout as well. we get to see new sides of xin, lian and tan, all characters which ive been very curious about.
we also got to see xin and lian's first meeting which i predicting we were going to see, but their first meeting was way sadder than i expected. im usually pretty good w my predictions, but the thing about her literally turning into the idol after tan left was insane. we also got to find out a shit ton of lore regarding the main family. i think this is also the first glimpse we've actually see INSIDE of the main family headquarters. prior to this we only saw yajin getting his tattoo in a side building.
very very curious what lian's intentions with the ritual truly are. if the commenters are right, and she is the one benefitting from this, is it an act of revenge or love for xin? also what does lian mean by 'you are a part of me, because you are my lost fragment'?
other panels i fw heavy this chapter:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870948/
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59870932/
*kisses your toes*
thank u omfg
CHAPTER 81 SPOILERS/SUMMARY
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xin, lian and wei are all sitting together. xin looks tired asf and hes slouching. he says "you come often lian". lian says "oh is that so? aren't you happy to see me? i always want to see you."
she touches xin's forehead and says "you seem unwell today. where does it hurt? is it a cold? do you have a fever or tinnitus?" (shes not wrong, mfer looks like a corpse). xin says "i hear that often too..." (a reference to how 2 chapters ago lian asked him the exact same thing, specifically abt tinnitus which is oddly specific? sus..)
she then says she has some good news for xin. she mentions the word "jigyecheongseon" which apparently means "plan to settle the collateral lines." she says that the head family elders' patience has reached its limit. they will do whatever it takes ot hold the world in their hands once again. "so what should you do? how can the Zhou family regain its former glory? i think even they don't know that"
she then continues "that's why the chosen method was 'reproduction.'" what. what the fuck does that mean. (im assuming this is mistranslated and they actually mean 'destruction'?? which is kinda strange because its literally the opposite of reproduction). she continues "after exterminating the second branch 'mei' who only spoke the truth, the declining Zhou family entered its second golden age. our lazy old geezers at home (yes this is the exact phrasing she uses lmfaoo) in the same way as then want to get the same result, without any basis relying on superstitious beliefs."
she takes out the wen family's (yajin and mali's) iron awl. WHICH MEANS I WAS FUCKING RIGHT, THATS WHAT SHES EATING FRUIT W IN CHAPTER 25. she continues "the new target is the 5th branch 'wen.' 'Wen' was originally a peripheral figure who contributed little to the family's affairs, but at some point he stopped appearing even at important events like the gangsinje" what the fuck is gangsinje. mind u while shes saying all of this she's using the iron awl as a fruit skewer again.. also she then says "from the day i got my hands on this 'new fork' (yes shes calling it a fucking fork lmfaooo) the 'fragment' owned by the fifth branch, an iron awl. i don't think i need to explain what it means that the source of power sustaining their family is not in their hands"
THIS PART IS WILD "3 days later, their home... an unidentified fire is going to break out in that old wooden house, the awakened 5th successor and the guardian, attempting to escape with all one's might.. however, before long, realizing that all entrances were blocked, turn into ashes and disappear in despair." SHE PLANNED TO KILL THEM WTFFF NOT JUST THE HEAD ELDERS HER TOO.
xin mutters "yajin, mali." lian says "right you remember, lau's friends outside of school." xin asks "does lau know about this fact?" she says "of course he doesn't know. this is confidential. ah, poor lau. to think he would lose the few friends he had like this." GIRL DONT PMO UR LITERALLY JS GONNA KILL THEM.
she holds up a strawberry to xin's mouth with the iron awl. she then continues "but you know, quite by chance! by accident! I think this fact could leak out, that is xin, if it's your wish and your happiness" sooo maybe she's not necessarily that evil, cuz she's saying that she'll slip this info to lau so he could save them. but also i think this shows 1 other very important thing, lian is willing to betray the head family if its for xin's sake. she continues offering the strawberry to xin, will he take it or not?
cue to xin playing the wolf videogame alone in the dark again. he says "lau.. have they met with the children of the 5th branch yet." he wipes off a strawberry seed on the edge of his mouth, implying that yes, he did take lian's strawberry offering earlier, along with presumably her offer of leaking the info to lau.
he says "...... you know.. whats wrong with my ears? the footsteps don't stop." he then says (and this is funny asf imo) "lian is a good person. always taking care of me, always talking about my happiness" girl sure whatever u want to believe LMFAOOOO.
he continues "however... why do i feel this way? my chest feels tight and i'm speechless. my mouth is parched... my head is getting hot, as if it were on fire. even so for some reason, i can't say anything. will days like this continue? a life like this... if i think about that far from the sound of footsteps disappearing it seems like it's getting louder and louder... if its like this, then its not my ears. how should i put it? what's wrong with my head? maybe we should call a doctor just like lian said.. whats wrong with me?"
suddenly he notices the videogame glitching out and it completely freezes. he reaches out to restart it. he sees the nintendo loading screen again. he says "phew, thank god. you surprised me, this junk game console." just when he thinks its going to be fine suddenly the whole screen just shuts off. END OF CHAPTER.
so this chapter was pretty neat, we get more of xin's mental deterioration + lore info abt whats going on outside + depth to both lian's and xin's characters. we learn that lian is willing to betray the head elders for xin, and that xin still cares abt lau very much. this chapter also explains how lau got there in time to save yajin and mali, which is something i was wondering about when the story first brought it up.
as for my predictions for next chapter, i think xin's mental state will deteriorate even further because now he's going to be without the wolf game. the wolf game is sort of the only thing that keeps him entertained (cuz wolf = lau duh), and idk how to explain it but he kind of talks to the wolf? he uses it to go over his thoughts fully, so now that he's without the game he literally wont be able to find comfort in anything.
fav panels this chapter:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59446770/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59446771/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59446773/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/59446774/#image
LeBron please where’s the next chapter summary. I’m starving papa…（/TДT)/
And when the world needed LeBron’s 1 pookie bear the most, they vanished.
dw girl, im on it o7 ive js been busy and chudding around lmao.
CHAPTER 80 RAWS CHAPTER SUMMARY/SPOILERS
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so this chapter continues from the phone call xin had with the head family servants from last time.
the person on the phone says, "young master, the person who was in the annex at that time, it is confrimed that there is no one other than the young master"
xin says "there was definitely a human form. did you really check it properly?"
the person on the phone says, "yes. all visitors must provide their name and time of entry when entering the annex. as a rule, records are kept by hand."
xin says, "you could've just not uses it"
"there has been no such case so far"
the person on the phone says, "don't worry too much young master. in a workspace where one's livelihood depends, no one would break such a rule" (translations kinda murky, im assuming one's livelihood means that they would get fired if they break a rule, or by "one" they mean xin's livelihood).
xin asks them, then what about the cctv? the person on the phone is silent for a bit, then says "what do you mean?" xin says "they are watching the inside of house via cctv. in front of the dining room, between the bathroom and the dressing room, in front of the second floor bedroom, and here and there"
he continues "i'd be lying if i said it wasn't unpleasant. im not trying to say anything about that, yes for you this is a part of your workplace. but for me, its my only home. i want to make sure that this house is a safe place for me. so just... please just check the recording history once"
the caller is silent for a bit, then says "sorry. i don't understand what you are saying. it seems you have mistaken it for a fire alarm" WHAT. THESE BITCHES LYING IN HIS FACE OMFG. BITDCH DONT PLAY W ME. FYM A FIRE ALARM. so now im rly intrigued, cuz assuming this person is telling the truth and that they have no clue abt the cameras, who tf placed them there then? and also (this is the more likely option), if they are just lying to xin, why not just check the cameras and then lie to him and say no one is there? why do all this crack addict bullshit?? fire alarms my fucking ass. they're just lying for the love of the game atp.
then we cut to xin sitting in the dark playing games again. he says "smoke alarm? who are you treating like a fool. i can literally see the lense" THATS WHAT IM FUCKING SAYING.
he continues, "when i decided to come back home i was somewhat prepared but, i can't get used to the head family's method even after time passes"
"unilateral decision, and notification... verification of the decision is impossible and its not fair, is it?"
"there isn't a single thing surrounding me that hasn't been touched by the main house. even if something was taken into this cup from the main building, there is no way to find that out"
xin is sweating and has dark circles under his eyes, he looks hella sick and he says, "again, this feeling that my heart is dropping to the bottom. if i think about how long this will continue... my heart feels stuffy. i have the illusion that breathing is becoming increasingly difficult," as he says this he pulls at his shirt collar. NOW this is super interesting because, (and i do sound delusional when i say this) i think this could possibly lead to a development in the present of the oleander not actually being the cause of xin's illness? because as we're getting more context, i feel like xin is just genuinely sick and not being poisoned? at the end of season 2, he says that after lau and him were separated after their siblings died, he suffered thru a long fever with no known cause, and he compares it to the way he's feeling now in the present. now he's saying that him being in this crazy ass situation causes him panic attacks basically? so idk. i sound delusional when i say this but i rly rly want to believe that he's not being poisoned and he will live.
xin tells himself to stop thinking like this because there will be no end to it. he tries to cope by saying that oh well, at least he has this side of his house to himself, yes? and he makes the wolf nod in the game he's playing. xin laughs and calls it cute.
cut to later, xin is about to enter a door and PHYSICALLY SEES someone dashing across the hallway behind him. he notes the hem of a changpao reaching above the ankles, and then calls out "lian?" xin chases after the mystery figure, saying "is that lian? when did you arrive? were you hiding to surprise me? i saw the hem of your dress, you've been caught so come out now"
xin enters a dark hallway, and the person is gone. he walks past a few small buddhist idols. he calls out, saying "its a dead end after that. lets stop playing tag. lian?" one of the figures he just walked past falls onto the floor and breaks. xin picks up one of the pieces. he hears more running. xin calls out at lian again. then he realizes that the footsteps are coming from behind him, from the opposite deadend where he was chasing "lian". he comes to the realization that there's more than one person. he knows he has to get out of there. xin tries to get up to run away, but his foot presses on one of the broken statue's shards and gets injured. after he gets up, he hears someone running towards him and he genuinely looks like he's about to shit his pants.
after reading this chapter ive come to one conclusion: when sangyang is from lau's pov it is a noir mystery, when its from xin's pov its a straight up psychological thriller. lau come save ur man pls
the good news is that: I WAS FUCKING RIGHT, theres someone in the annex and the head familys gaslighting him abt ts.
Even if there's no update just seeing your comments gushing about the manga makes
me very happy. Your comments are always helpful.
Do you read hand jumper ?
Awwww ty pookie. Also no I haven’t, is it good?
CHAPTER 79 RAWS SUMMARY/SPOILERS
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so this entire chapter is basically xin being on the verge of a mental breakdown. continuing on in the flashbacks from 2 years ago, we see xin playing games by himself in the dark. he keeps getting a game over. he confesses that, although in the last chapter he told lian that he spends all of his time reading books, that is a lie, which he told because saying he plays games in a room by himself sounds creepy lmao.
important note, the avatar in the game hes playing is a wolf... and we all know who thats a metahpor for. despite the game over, he loads up the game again, and chooses the same path he failed last time and he says he thinks hes kind of weird for wantin to see the dog fall in the water again. the korean commenters had some nice interpretations of this, like it showing that 1) xins a freak lmao, but ALSO 2) they believe that it shows that even if lau knows hes in danger he will dive in, and if he fails he will try again. and also, another deeper meaning, no matter how much lau leaves xin, lau will come back someday.
he hears that same thudding sound from last chapter, and he says he can hear someone running around in the annex almost every day now, sometimes theyre in the study and other times in a completely different room. he tries to get himself to stop worrying, saying again that the head family has a lot of security, but he then thinks that if there was someone who was within the head family they could do whatever they want in the annex. cue to a frame of lian. i find this very interesting because this is kind of the first time we actually see what xin thinks about lian, that being, on some level he doesnt trust her because she is with the head family.
he hears more thudding and says hes just worrying too much and that its probably just some head family servant. he gets up and goes out of the room. he heads down the hallway where the noise is coming from and he calls out asking if any servants from the head family are there. he calls out again, saying if not- then lian? and then we get this freaky ass panel that actually jumpscared me: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802508/
so now xin is sitting with lian in a different room. since xin seems out of it lian is super worried and nags him a little bit, saying what if he has tinnitus or smth. lian says they might need to call a dr. she asks him if its rly fine that hes living this way, and then she touches his hair and says even your hair- the appearance from before you went into the annex are nowhere to be found. xin straight up slaps her hand away?? (i was honestly rly surprised by this cuz before this ch i genuinely thought xin was mostly chill w her, but maybe its just a personal space thing cuz we all know that xin is fine w a certain someone touching his hair). lian is also kinda shocked lwk? but she gets over it pretty quickly. after this the atmosphere changes and theres shadows over xin's face. she reiterates that the ming familys existence is to serve the head family. and she says again, your happiness is my happiness. she says, if it is xin's choice to spend the rest of his life in the annex, then he should do that. if there are any inconveniences in his daily life she asks him to let her know anytime. and she says lastly "i will always be behind you". and yes her face is creepy the entire time shes saying this.
xin is confused/shocked by this, and i think he wonders if thats even possible. im bringing this up to say that, i think lian isnt actually evil. i sound delusional atp, but again her loyalty is behind XIN. not the head family, XIN. and i think this is the first time that xin is beginning to realize that.
all of the sudden he hears someone running in the annex again, he turns around abruptly, but all of the sudden hes back in the dark room gaming, having never left in the first place. maybe important detail? his game avatar shows the wolf fully dry, meaning he is back at the start. just like how, xin is back at the start of this weird loop his consciousness is having. the camera zooms out from xin, and i think this is the point where xin starts to realize smth is rly wrong, cuz the next scene is xin calling the head family servants presumably, asking them "are you sure you checked it properly, so you're saying there was really no one but me back then?"
PLOT TWIST XINS GOING CRAZY DUN DUN DUNNNNNN. (for the record i want to believe there is actually some wacko running around the annex cuz lets bffr the head family WOULD do ts and then lie abt it) (but also xin is cray cray from the isolation atp).
some of my fav panels from this ch:
lian being creepy asf:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802510/
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802506/
xin's bob being cunt:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802509/
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802504/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802500/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802511/
the wolf/lau in game:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802497/
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802499/
also i love the tension btwn lian and xin this chapter its so good:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802503/
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802507/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802502/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802501/#image
this is absolutely my fav panel tho i physically jumped when i saw it: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58802508/
Sangyang is my whole world and you are Atlas carrying it on your shoulders.
yo you are genuinely one of the best mangago sangyang the wanderer fans i’ve seen you literally are a blessing tysm dude
CHAPTER 78 SPOILERS
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chapter 78 is a flashback from xin's perspective to 2 years ago, titled "zhou's happy 3 years outside". very nice cuz we've barely seen any of his inner thoughts so far.
xin is living in the annex and HE HAS A BOB. I REPEAT HE HAS A BOB. very cute very cunt: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58422578/
xin is seen starting his day. he says life here is peaceful. he looks in the mirror after his shower and goes to his closet. he's complaining abt his henley shirts w the buttons again, similar to how he did in present day in season 1. he throws the shirts on the ground again in retaliation.
then we see him getting food, which is left in a warmer by the head family servants. they're high quality dishes, but xin says he misses the school lunch for some reason. xin says he makes a game out of guessing what the servants gave him for lunch. he hopes its something made in squash oil or smth like that (sorry the translation was kind of confusing), but he opens it and he finds scallops and broccoli WHICH IS THE SAME MEAL HE HATES IN THE CHILDHOOD FLASHBACK. as he sees the food he says "its not like i'm a picky eater, but there's some days when i skip meals" and the smile drops from his face.
"after a meal take a nap or a daily routine of spending time enjoying hobbies repeats itself." he says "it would be a lie to say that this life isn't boring, but life outside wasn't enjoyable every single minute and second. all things considered its better to have no stress." xin says lian will be visiting today so things will be lively for the first time in a while.
he says to himself that the annex is a place free from worldy desires, and that his brother is never wrong, the annex is pure land, and life here couldn't be any better. initially this shocked me, because we know tan was terrified of the annex and hated it. but xin never really saw tan having the breakdown w miu, so he rly has no way of knowing that. all he knows is that his brother tried to run away twice and lost his life in the process.
cut to lian and wei having brought xin a dessert. lian asks him how life at the annex is and xin says its always the same, but also says that he's run out of books to read. lian immediately tells wei to get xin a hundred books. xin says theres no real need to do that. lian says no what if xin cuts off contact with everyone again. she's glad that xin's finally talking to them again, after what happened in highschool, xin didn't talk to anyone for a while. xin says hes sorry and that he caused her trouble. lian says its all because of lau, lau's absolutely bad and she blames him for xin's solitude.
xin asks her if the main house is okay. lian says "the socond young master of the zhou family returns to the annex. the direct 'prospective' successor formally held a face to face meeting and, im just waiting for you to fulfill your duties as the successor. the initiation ceremony is not something the successor can perform alone. it seems that xin wants to stay in the annex a little longer" whatever that means. this is nice cuz we're getting some more info abt what exactly goes on in the head family. what exactly is xin's "duties as the successor"? possible has to do with the tattoo plan? i'm assuming he's been putting off the initiation ceremony because it requires lau to be there (IM ASSUMING) and xin rly doesnt want to see his ass.
she says don't worry as the heir of the 1st collateral line, she can handle talking to the elders for xin. she doesnt know how long she can keep coaxing and comforting but she'll do her best to block it. that is, if it's for xin's happiness. cut to this ominous ass panel of them just staring at each other.
lian asks xin if he's bored here and says she would literally fossilize if she wasnt allowed to go out. xin tries to justify it, saying "although there are times when it's boring, how can everything be to your liking". xin says he has no complaints. lian says "no that can't be". and xin is kinda shook cuz lian highkey clocked that hes just trying to cope with all of this.
cut to xin a bit later that same day looking in the bathroom mirror again and reflecting on what lian said. he kinda refuses to believe hes anything but happy.
then all of the sudden he hears a thudding sound coming from in the study. he turns around, to go find lian. he goes down the hallway asking lian why she would be in the study and if there's anything she needs to find. then he hears lian shouting outside of the annex in the opposite direction of where the thudding is coming from. xin goes to the balcony. lian and wei are in the annex's yard. lian says they're going to go home now. xin's staring out at them on the balcony. the thuds are still resounding behind him. and xin looks like hes going to shit his pants. yep in true sangyang fashion the chapter ends on a cliffhanger.
also abt the season 3 cover:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58263884/
TS IS SO OMINOUS. xins praying and theres a heavenly light above him. his ass is going to see the pearly gates for sure. but idc im still delusional he will LIVE. also i'm pretty sure wei's image is from when in chapter 61/62 lian and wei saw xin leaving highschool for the last time. lian looks fucking evil. lau's also very interesting. now that his chains have broken (see his neck), he's holding them himself. foreshadowing for him getting his shit together this season?
also i think a few ppl might not know this but there was also a different cover for season 2 part 2 (aka the childhood flashback art): https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/43560703/#image
now season 3 is going to be released every 10 days on the 3rd,13th, and 23rd. idk when the english m*nta translation will start up again, they havent posted anything on the official site. but they did have a few more episodes available for free until the 24th so they're at the very least aware of season 3.
also pls support the author if u can! on m*nta u can read most of the chapters from season 1 & 2 for free but its the 24 hour wait btwn chapters thing. u can also read the raws on r*dibooks for free by creating an account and using one of the 3 free coupons they give u. using those u can read any 3 chapters of any manhwa for FREE, but the chapters are only open for abt 3 days. and the coupons also expire 7 days after u make ur account. but anyways thats how i read chapter 78 even tho im broke.
wow ty for this u described it rly good. it rly feels like im reading the chapter
THEORIES
Day 13/30 of analyzing Sangyang (except season 3 already came out cuz I’ve been chudding around and missed over half of the days I was supposed to post oops).
Anyways here’s some of my theories for the story:
1. this will be the last season. honestly I got 0 evidence for this, but the end of season 2 seems like a great 3rd act low point. Also the author spent nearly 2 years on this season so I’m assuming it’s to make sure everything in the story and ending flows correctly.
2. Xin will get a haircut. Again, zero evidence for this, but I’m a seasoned manga/wha reader. Rule 20 of Bl Manga: Everytime there’s a male character w long hair he gets a haircut at some point. I don’t make the rules sorry.
3. Season 3 will focus on the main four (definitely not saying that cuz I saw the season 3 cover whoops). But the author has implied several times that those are the main 4 even tho Lian and Wei haven’t been shown much in the story so far, so this season has to focus mostly on them.
4. Lian is actually not evil. Again imo she likes Xin wayyy too much to actually want him dead. And I feel like the few panels we got of her backstory hint at something deeper. I think the majority of her antagonism comes from the fact that she rly hates Lau again it’s kinda cuz of him that Xin went into the annex and lian missed graduation w Xin.
5. Wei is also not evil. I think the few scenes we have of his true thoughts when he’s not around Lian does imply a kind of idk animosity between them? They get along just fine but it’s only really because Wei goes along w Lian’s whims (possibly due to backstory reasons)
6. Xin wasn’t the one who slimed Alex out. I think Chen definitely talked to Xin at one point cuz Xin behaved strangely when Lau mentioned Chen, but I think the head family were the ones who did it in the first place. Also it’s not like Xin could do anything regardless i feel. But I don’t think Lian was the one who put Alex in that state either. But she didn’t plea to the head family elders to help because Alex being in a coma makes it easier to use Chen for her plan.
7. The tattoo plan is some sort of ritual for the new initiation of Xin as the new Zhou family heir, separated from the rest of the collateral line. I rly don’t understand how him potentially dying would help that plan tho I also don’t rly understand if the head family knows he’s dying..? Cuz suna says only she knows the ingredients, but Lian clearly knows the reason why Xin is sick is cuz of the dye’s ingredients, maybe she doesn’t know how severe it is?
8. My biggest prediction is that Xin won’t die and Lauxin will live happily ever after. 0 evidence, pure delusion. The story has implied Xin will die so many times that tbh atp I feel like it would be more subversive to just have him live. Also I think lauxin will get together because they haven’t even had a chance to be happy yet so I feel like the author has to let them be happy at some point right. Right?
ITS OUT HOLY SHIT. I haven’t read it in the raws yet but the new cover looks fire https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/58263884/
lian looks evil asf
they really made her look like cell i’m crine
Day 12/30 of analyzing sangyang until season 3 comes out on the 23rd.
Today I’m analyzing the character of Miu *SPOILERS AHEAD*
Miu as Laus sister represents his biggest loss from the Zhou family. Not only is she basically his only parental figure (cuz dead possibly evil parents duh), but she’s simultaneously his biggest source of trauma and his idol.
Also I feel like the author changed mius character from the beginning of the series. In the beginning we can see that kid Lau thinks Miu and tan are dating, but when we get to their actual backstory they very clearly aren’t? Idk ik it isn’t an actual true thing but it’s such an odd thing to include, esp considering it was one of the only things we “knew” abt either Miu or tan until we got to their backstory
So mius cool asf but I think the author kinda fumbled her backstory?? Lemme explain. So the story goes that Miu saw her deadbeat dad kill her mom and then she ran away into the mountains for years leaving Lau behind. WHAT. U just left Lau behind for years not months YEARS, and u didn’t even know if he was fine cuz last time u saw him, he was with ur murderous ass dad?? Girl ily but wtf are u doing. I get mius supposed to be flawed but tbh her backstory rly doesn’t make that much sense for me. I honestly think if the author had changed the time frame to weeks or even months, you could’ve had Miu still be flawed but not look like an absolute ass. And it lowkey would’ve still worked for the narrative cuz Lau still would’ve had abandonment issues over ts.
Also fun fact u can see the prayer beads Miu got from the old woman hanging on the rearview mirror of the car in chapter 62.
Same I love Miu but I really don’t get what the author was trying to say with her backstory.
CHAPTER 84 SUMMARY/SPOILERS
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lian's words are echoing from earlier "instinct... sit still in the annex... selfish... do you live the way you want to live?"
theres a teapot being poured. xin says "like now? what are you talking about."
turns out, xins having tea with chen. chen seems flustered and says "yes, well that, so what i mean is..."
the camera pans to xin looking like this LMFAO. doing his best L cosplay:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437881/
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437883/#image
chen says "alex, the guardian of the third lineage, its been two weeks since he fell asleep due to the main house's 'punishment'. he infiltrated the main house of the Zhou clan disguised as a cleaning service employee, attempting unauthorized access to confidential cdocuments and being punished for challenging the authority of the main line"
chen continues "i am... as successor of the third lineage. he completely unrelated to the intentions of the third line made a personal deviation. in advance i failed to prevent this... i feel a heavy responsibility... the reason he made such a foolish judgement it's all because of me."
xin finally looks up at chen.
chen continues "continuing rumors about jigyecheongseon." (again jigyecheongseon is the term for the head family killing off the collateral lines) "upon hearing the news that resumption of it is imminent. sleepless and trembling in fear every night... i was the appearance of a poor successor"
mind u while chen is saying all this we're getting flashbacks of chen dropping a bottle of pills and alex pushing down chen on the bed??? flashback alex says "no more than one pill at a time. you promised chen"
chen looks delirious and says "but, now i can't sleep without medicine."
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437885/#image
present chen continues "so he, to ease my pain... if i had known i would have stopped it. it's true! he had nothing but an innocent heart and rash behavior. i never once thought of encroaching upon the authority of the direct line..."
xin says "why did you come to me?"
chen looks shocked then says "a plea... with a plea to help me, xin! please! please reverse the decision of the direct line" he gets up out of his chair and kneels before xin.
he says "if it continues like this alex.."
xin then says "overturn that... how do you do it?"
chen stammers "yes? that. that... the head of the five collateral branches and the leader of the entire Zhou clan. by the authority of Zhou Aixin..."
xin says "please do it 'somehow', is that what you mean?" xin gets out of his chair and approaches chen, saying "there's something i don't understand"
"a 'direct heir' means... was it a position with such power? was 'i' a person with such power? this, does this mean it's the life i chose?"
"is that how it happens?" he's face to face w chen now and ngl hes tweaking asf, and lwk giving lian:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437886/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437887/#image
he continues "as long as i've lived, i don't think i've ever achieved anything the way i wanted... no, until this moment today. what is my life like? things have never gone my way." BRO WHAT ARE U DOINGGGG. i mean i expected him to lwk be an ass to chen but still.
xin says "chen... easy? what do you think? what do i look like?"
chen, still kneeling, stammers out "i-i am.." xin lifts up chen's chin (try saying that 5x fast).
xin says "rest assured. alex will get up from his seat soon. soon of late... if you open the door to the hospital room where he is like this. raise your hand... and say 'hey' im welcoming you with a smile" what the fuck does any of that mean. google translate kinda sucks balls sry. pic for reference: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437889/#image
he continues "eventually, everything will return to normal."
chen shouts "really!? thank you. this grace..."
xin then interrupts him and says "no, that's a lie. alex's life has ended. he can't get out of bed forever now" BRO WHAT LMFAOO??? hes deadass ragebaiting a dude abt his bf waking up from a coma?? ts had me gagged ngl bro what was thattt im crying. pic of xin ragebaiting for reference: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437890/#image
chen looks shocked and he starts crying. ngl he kinda reminds me of lau a bit in this ch. he says "that is... what.." he starts begging "please lord aixin, i'd rather it be me"
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437891/#image
xin interrupts him and says "would you rather punish yourself?" and then he starts laughing in his face. BRO WHAT. pic so u can see how insane ts is:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437893/#image
xin continues laughing and says "you get along so well! an examplary guardian and heir"
xin's REALLY tweaking atp. he looks up and says "my life doesn't matter at all. to think you would protect the other person no matter what... there is definitely something like that for me too, i think there was." okay so what pissed him off was the fact that chen and alex are a much better guardian and heir than himself and lau.
xin says "go back, chen. you won't get what you want from me."
chen says " well.. why.. how come.." xin responds "well, why... what would be better? okay..." cue this ominous ass face: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437928/#image
xin says "you. when i was in school you never once greeted me." and then he starts laughing like a maniac. BRO WHAT ARE U DOING OMGGG. this dude petty asf. also, ik this is probably when he decided he was going to kill xin, but chen's reaction is pretty hilarious: https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437897/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437898/#image
xin is pounding on a door with the head family symbol on it. he's shouting "what are you talking about!? what did you do to that kid alex!? that just wasn't me. just... i just made a slip of the tongue! there's no way i would wish for the misfortune of someone i don't even know!"
he continues shouting "jigyecheongseon? wasn't it just preserved in literature? is someone else going to get hurt? is there any way to turn alex back to normal?! why!! i can't do anything." now he's scratching at the door like a wild animal.
he continues "is everything pouring down on me? what does this all mean!! answer me, answer me!!!" he stops pounding the door, hes crying and kneeling now. "please... someone please answer..." https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437899/#image
END OF CHAPTER.
so this chapter was unintentionally hilarious for me ngl. lian clocking xin last ch literally broke him and now hes tweaking.
plotwise, the most important thing this ch was the fact that chen wasnt lying to lau when he said xin laughed in his face when he begged to save alex. xin was being very cruel to chen, but later he was still trying to do something behind the scenes to save alex. i expected xin was cruel to chen given his trackrecord but i didnt know he was *this* cruel. i thought he was deliberately playing in chen's face so chen would want to kill him, all so lian would be able to get chen on board w the tattoo plan. but ig the point of season 3 so far has really been how entirely powerless xin feels. even he is entirely at lian's whims.
what i'm confused abt is when he says "i just made a slip of the tongue, isn't the jighecheongseon just in books?" bro you literally SAVED yajin and mali from the jigyecheongseon, yk damn well its a real thing. also im a bit confused by what he means "i just made a slip of the tongue" cuz i don't think he's said to have the jigyecheongseon go underway yet? at least not on screen? he might've said it to lian after last chapter idk.
the other interesting thing is that xin is very bitter abt the failed guardianship btwn him and lau. he says "to sacrifice yourself for the other no matter what, i have something like that too, i had it once" i think he's referring to the time before him and lau were actually guardian and heir, when he lied to lau about miu's dead body. i think the fact that chen was willing to sacrifice himself for alex was what rly broke him this ch and also part of the reason why he acted even crueler.
the part that really gagged me this ch tho was the fact that xin is seemingly bitter abt chen ignoring him in hs??? lol i js think thats funny. idk if xin is just putting up a front cuz he doesn't want to talk to chen anymore but either way thats petty asf lmfaooooo.
overall, unintentionally hilarious chapter. idk abt the general quality of it, its not as good as last ch obviously, and i think the author maybe went a little overboard w xin's tweaking and laughing but i hope that it was just a one time thing.
still it progressed the plot quite well, and i think the only thing left between this flashback and the current timeline is lian, wei and xin conspiring abt the tattoo plan. im very curious about how much xin even had a say in that. from the looks of it, the tattoo plan is actually a way of xin getting the succession ritual and jigyecheongseon done in one go, but it seems that the tattoo plan is actually a much less violent version of the jigyecheongseon. through this plan, the head family and lian are able to gain control of all the artifacts used in the yearly ritual, thereby eliminating the collateral lines' power, and im assuming kinda making them not a part of the zhou family anymore. basically this is their way of getting the collateral lines out of the head family's way without having to kill them off, as was the original jigyecheongseon plan.
the part which we still don't have much info about is the new ritual that xin is a part of. is he the sacrifice instead of the turtle now? but at the same time, the head family is very clearly on board with this whole plan, and i really can't imagine they're willing to let go of their living idol.
i'm also still very curious about the meaning of the tattoo, considering how it is very clearly saying that the killing of the 2nd collateral line is what has lead to the zhou family's ruin in the present. what is the purpose of this ritual? i'm assuming it's the succession ritual that lian mentioned xin has to do, but i don't think any other heir has ever had to do something like this before. the story seems to be getting a lot clearer now, and im guessing the succession ritual itself is going to be the climax of the story.
my fav panels this ch are probably these two:
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437893/#image
https://www.mangago.me/home/photo/60437899/#image
the framing and everything is really nice, and i like how animated xin is, esp in the panel where hes laughing.