I've been a bit annoyed about the whole plot in TGCF where Shi Qingxuan is haunted by the Reverend of Empty Words, and we find out it's actually He Xuan, and that He Xuan is actually Black Water, and that Black Water has a grudge because Shi Wudu stole his fate and gave it to Qingxuan and now wants revenge. It annoys me because it has so little to do with Xie Lian; it's about 400 pages worth of side plot that don't really have a big impact at all on the main story. I love the side plot! But it should have been its own story, I've been saying.
But talking to @popqorn about some important things I realized: He Xuan is angry because the fate that should have been his was given to Shi Qingxuan, but Jun Wu is angry because he wants the fate that was his to be Xie Lian's. Different characters in the book at different points say that there is only so much luck in the world, only so much good fortune or happy fate, and it is distributed amongst everyone such that some have a little, some have a lot, some get the most, others get nothing. But the whole point of Xie Lian was that he would never accept what he was given; Jun Wu tried to give him a fate as poisoned as his own, and instead of holding a grudge and taking revenge, Xie Lian gave his luck to the rest of the world.
And Hua Cheng, who was given all the misfortune of the world, somehow made it into luck and wanted to give all of that luck to Xie Lian. Xie Lian's story suggests choice is much more important than the fate you are given, which makes you wonder a bit about the choices Shi Wudu and Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan all made, and whether what happened with them was a matter of choice or fate.
As always, lettered, this is beautiful post. I have nothing meaningful to add except that it made me think about when Xie Lian said this:
"...I won’t know until I’ve tried. Even if the heavens say I must die, if that sword doesn’t pierce my heart and nail me dead on the ground, then I am still alive, and ‘til my last breath I will struggle to the end!”
And when Hua Cheng said this:
"I might not be able to decide whether the path is easy or not; but whether I tread the path is entirely up to me."
And how choices really do matter.
