The next arc in Fan Changyu's develop is roughly ep 19-31 imo! This is signficant as she leaves Linan village with the intention of saving her lil sis. I would like to point out something significant now-- unlike a lot of romance stories, Changyu's arc is not largely motivated by Xie Zheng. When she finally leaves the village, its due to Changning going missing-- in the third part, her motivation is to clear her father's name. It's an interesting deviation from how romance narratives are typically constructed, and it's what inspired me to analyze her journey through the lens of shounen hero's journey (which typically do not revolve around a love interest).
Ep 19: No fights BUT this is when Changyu makes the decision to leave Linan to search for Changning
Ep 20: The episode starts with her rescuing children from being trafficked and then getting locked up for interfering between a father and his child. In the process, she's starting to see the wider impact of the war beyond Linan and inadvertently becomes a local hero for "the small people"-- she's no longer just the protector of Linan as her world/reputation grows. Also again, her recklessness here gets her into trouble.
Ep 22: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT YEEEES this is when Changyu's trauma comes to the forefront-- her desperate desire to protect and save everyone she cares about! And the fact it's extended to Tutor Tao-- to me, this is significant because her sense of protection has already extended beyond Linan and into the broader world of Great Yin (which is what Tutor Tao imo represents); also notably, she takes orders from Tutor Tao in this episode to kill the scouts. Her fighting is no longer just about Linan or Changning anymore, and Tutor Tao takes on this role of urging her into the bigger world.
Episode 25: Beats up the yandere Sui brother-- even as her infamy grows, Changyu remains very much "the wild grass", a free agent who yes, gets away with it because the army is aware of her connection to Xie Zheng-- this is also very reminiscent of Xie Zheng himself who will declare that he will find his own justice. Their willingness to step outside the bounds of proper procedure in the name of vengeance parallel narratively.
Episode 26: Another very pivotal battle for Changyu-- she steps into battle a bit overwhelmed at first but quickly adapts and kills the enemy General. Narratively, this battle proves is what Tutor Tao later says-- with her strength, she can end this conflict so much faster. In the second part of the series, Changyu is coming to see the civil war in a bigger way outside of Linan as well as her place in the conflict. Not as part of the conflict, but even at the military camp, she does her best to help out with camp operations in a non combatant capabity.
Episode 27: THE SPAR WITH XIE ZHENG aka the reconciliation!!!!! Like I said, fighting is really how Changyu grows because she's a person of direct action. It's not until they are able to meet as equals in a spar that Changyu can let down her guard enough to sit down and talk it out with Xie Zheng. And also very notably-- she gets feedback on her fighting. Her strikes are heavy and powerful, but also inflexible and not quick enough-- this says something about where she is in her narrative arc rn too!
Episode 29: The convo w/Tutor Tao and the spar with General He! Tbh I do think the writing on this episode could have been tighter-- but I do get what the episode generally speaking is doing. Like I said, Tutor Tao acts as the guiding force for Changyu finding her place in the bigger world-- he says it explicitly, how her strength can save countless lives by ending the conflict faster, echoing the events of Ep 26. Then in her spare with General He, his presence emphasizes the mystery of Changyu's parents death (her motivation for pt 3) while also emphasizing Xie Zheng's observations on her being more flexible in a fight.
Episode 30: THE BATTLE when she takes down Lord Changxin-- GOD THIS WAS SO SATISFYING. I've seen arguments that it should have been Xie Zheng, BUT it was Changyu's FATHER who was denied aid at a critical moment, and thus there is a sense of karma that ultimatley it is CHANGYU who kills Lord Changxin. In that battle, both her past and present all come together-- the lessons from Xie Zheng and General He, her past as a butcher-- with that and some help from General Wu, she is able to slay Lord Changxin and break the seige-- but not in time to save General He. And this is when she learns another lesson-- decisvieness. I've seen critiques abt how Changyu evolves too quickly from someone who is very aware of her station and won't act out too quickly to being TOO quick to act out, but I disagree. She has learned the lesson three times by now-- THREE-- the consequences of NOT being fast enough/decisive enough (the fakeout Mandi death, the real Mandi death, General He). From this point on, she won't let a lack ofdecisiveness hold her back from her goals. Crucailly, this is absent in her interactions with Xie Zheng-- because Xie Zheng is not her direct motivation for her journey.
