I think the tragedy of Liu Qingge as a character is that he has a sort of narrative homelessness.
Shang Qinghua, Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe— all of them have roles to play in the story. A place to belong to, consistent with their abilities and expectations. Even Yue Qingyuan, otherwise LQG's foil, has his place in watching over a Shen Jiu who is already gone. This is consistent with his abilities and characterization; YQY has always been the type of character who struggles to act when it truly matters, who stands back and lets time flow before him until every opportunity passes him by.
But Liu Qingge? His original role is to be *dead*. Him being alive, and therefore him acting, undermines and overturns any and all aspects of his original role.
And so, despite how hard he tries, the narrative does not open up a place for him. The indomitable force of the Plot marches on— no matter how hard he tries to save SQQ, he cannot go up against either protagonist and expect to win. In a way, he is forced to live as if dead-- all the strength and stubbornness of his character cannot move the mountain known as destiny.
So on one hand, Shen Qingqiu saved him in the Lingxi Caves. On another... what does it mean to live, barred from the path of action? Unable to leave any marks against the unmoving wall of destiny?
