Area 2: While Emperor Qin's Palace was probably my favorite scenic area of the five I visited, the one with hands down the most cql filming locations was Qing Ming Shang He Tu!!
It took me time to find them all, and a couple were sadly blocked off for filming (including some Cloud Recesses locations 🥲🥲), but here's what I found!
(Highlights: Mo Manor and the Wangxian boat 🛶 Other sites [and more posts still to come] include the restaurant where Wangxian/A-Yuan had dinner, the street where Wen Ning sold radishes, and Baixue Temple where Song Lan was blinded)
Once again I went for a hanfu rental (this time more of a Wei Ying vibe with red and black) and the first thing I saw before even entering the scenic area was Xiao Zhan, which definitely felt like a good omen 🥹
Mo Manor
I REALLY can't believe I actually got to see this! I was able to wander into the area because a side door was opened, but I was the only one who went in and honestly I'm still really not sure if I was actually allowed to be there?? So I tried to keep my visit superrrr short lol
To start: I just HAD to recreate the waking up shot (although for time I took it in one of the outer buildings rather than the one where it was actually filmed):
And then here are the areas where Wei Ying chilled and the Lans walked through:
Where Wei Ying decided nuts didn't taste the same anymore/the Lans fight Master Mo:
The area of the courtyard where Wei Ying examined the spirit attraction flags:
And then finally the building in one of the establishing shots! [All of the buildings looked so similar (not helped by the fact that I didn't explore the entire area) but I'm 99% sure these two are the same lmfao]
Wangxian Boat
I almost missed seeing this! On my way out of the scenic area I passed a building I'd gone by earlier in the day and noticed that a section inside was lit up, and my jaw DROPPED when I figured I might as well investigate and I saw what it was.
And after a hot second of freaking out I noticed the boat wasn't roped off, so I was able to recreate the awkward Wen Ning moment hanging out in it!! 🙏🙏
And that's it for those two locations! The rest will be coming when I get the time to dig up all the screencaps 😂 It takes forever but it's so satisfying seeing the direct comparison!! (Idk if other ppl find this any of this interesting but thought I’d share it since I’m doing the work anyway lol)
Part one (Unclean Realm battle/Quiet Room) | Part two | Part three (Baixue Temple/Wen Ning radishes) | Future parts
Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi are so capable, so strong, so fluid and in harmony together as cultivators. Even Wei Wuxian himself is impressed by how skilled they are at such a young age.
And really, who would expect any less from Lan Clan disciples who’ve learned from the Twin Jades of Lan? But these two go so far beyond that. They are, in every sense of the phrase, core disciples. Trusted enough to handle situations like Mo Manor on their own, skilled enough to subdue something as resentful as the arm—something they’ve probably never come across in their short years of training, and determined enough to not give up even when the situation becomes dire and seems impossible.
You can give most of the credit to their seniors if you want but their level of cultivation wouldn’t be this high if they themselves didn’t put in the work, dedication and self-discipline to supersede all expectations and harness their full potential.
My boys deserve some goddamn respect on their names and that’s final. ⚔️
Both for fun and in perpetuation for a story I’m writing planned three down the line in my queue:
Current Projects are
While They Were Sleeping
Capital (A$$)ets
Big Bang fic (Jiang Wanyin POV)
Planned:
WangXian’s Love O2O with @xiaokuer-schmetterling
What the Picture Tells (LWJ POV) - this is going to be my first book canon only fic that doesn’t Frankencanon CQL/The Untamed more than book.
My wonderful husband bought me all five of thr books last year and I’m just now getting to rereading them. (I read Exiled Rebels translation previously).
I read chapters 1 and 2 in the book or 1-5 from the web translation and had to share my notes.
Re scribbles on MXY’s age: I was trying to figure out MXY’s age based on clues in the book. From what I know MXY is older than MZY.
Exiled Rebels says in Resurrection chapter 2 that MZY was still young when MXY was taken to the sect to cultivate at 14, and the book does not include this.
The book WWX asks Madam Mo about her son being a child and putting his age at 17 minimum
The Exiled Rebels site Madam Mo uses a word that means between 10 and 19 and WWX calls out the age of 17 as well. I’m taking this to mean MZY was between 17 and 19.
To that end I estimate MXY to be 18-20 as I doubt MZY was 19.
If anyone has a better estimate, I’m welcome to debate it. My notes are based purely on the Seven Seas printed translations.
