Iwasyoungonce

[munchy-k]

TGCF ch113 but hua cheng picks xie lian up in a vespa truck instead of a litter

[quetzalpapalotl]

I guess some people stay with the idea that Xie Lian was in the wrong because that's how the in-universe tradition portrays him and they just ignore all the stuff in the book that challenges this idea. But tbh, when I read the prologue that calls him a fool and say how he saved a child from splattering into the ground and his response to being told this was wrong actually was "it's the heavens who are wrong" I was ride or die for him, I was like okay this guy is literally right and everyone else is just and idiot

[tgcf-sdeblog]

Of the three mxtx novels TGCF is my favorite yet it was also the one I wanted to read the least from the synopsis. See how life works 🤔 never judge a book by its cover indeed.

[tgcf-sdeblog]

The rooster spirit was so shaken that goosebumps had risen all over his body. “Granduncle! There’s a ghost! A ghost devoured all the food we prepared! I only just dipped my head under the broth, and when I came back up, there wasn’t a single bowl left! It’s a ghost!” “What are you so scared of?! You’re a ghost!” the boar butcher spat.

-Chapt 133

These are the spirits people are calling Hua Cheng evil for giving shelter to. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[tgcf-sdeblog]

"[What Hua Cheng did to those 33 gods is ruthless and that's easy to understand when you remember he would've done it to Mu Qing and Feng Xin if they had accepted]

Me if that had happened:

This is mean lol. I'm joking. it's not true, I would miss their clownery.

My issue here is trying to paint Hua Cheng's actions towards evil background characters as bad because he *could've* done it to FxMq. It just shows ppl don't want their actions to have any consequences. "Oh no, if FXMQ had, out of their own volition, made a bet and lost, Hua Cheng would've made them fulfill it! The horror!"

[quetzalpapalotl]

Like it's stated that teh reason those 33 gods accepted was bc they underestimated HC wanted to show this upstar ghost his place, even the dream transmission was to humilliate him, and FX and MQ rejected the duel because they thought bullying a ghost like that was beneath them. So like, if anything, they were saved thanks to having better standars than this assholes.

And again, HC didn't even kill the guys, just asked them to give away their goodhood as an ironic punishment for how they treated a banished Xie Lian and mocked his struggles. If surviving banishment and ascending again is so easy, then surely they can do it. It's even stated banished gods age slower than a regular person and we know from MNQ that a strong enough cultivation can make you functionally immortal even if you're not a god, so they could have stayed alive for an indeterminate amount of time. The only thing HC did was forcibly take their goodhood by driving away their followers when they refused to keep their word.

So if FX and MQ would have accepted, their would have either refused to keep their word even when they accepted HC's bet of his own ashes, which would put them in a bad light. Or willingly renounce goodhood, which would meant they accepted the consequeces of their own choices and there's no need to blame Hua Cheng. Either case the end is the same and even then we don't know how long they would have been able to cling to life, they could have very well made it to the story's present time as mortals.

[tgcf-sdeblog]

Mind you, I like Shi Qingxuan. Stop using him to hate on Hua Cheng and Xie Lian.

[tgcf-sdeblog]

Hua Cheng helping out others (without Xie Lian) compilation because people have amnesia about this.

Some feared he would challenge them and burn their temples if they were to incur his displeasure, some were blackmailed into silence and inaction because he had them by the balls, and some even oddly respected him because of how wide his reach was in the Mortal Realm. Sometimes, they even had to ask him for help paving the way for them while they carried out their duties. This went on for a long time, and many heavenly officials developed a peculiar sort of admiration for him.

-Chapt 5

After the snake and scorpion died, their souls didn’t disperse and, dragging their destroyed bodies, they went to seek an audience with a ghost king in a faraway land. For some unknown price, the ghost king pieced their bodies together and added in an extremely toxic venom, causing them to change into a demonic creature. The newborn scorpion-tailed snake killed the king in the end and, furthermore, remained to eternally haunt this place.

-Chapt 21 (revised)

At that time when the ghost pleasure boat toured the Jianjun River, Xie Lian had taken note of a few of the rare normal prayers, all children’s wishes, with the intention of helping Hua Cheng fulfill them in the future when he had the time. He hadn’t expected that Hua Cheng would remember them, too. Hua Cheng winked at him and said, “Sometimes I care." Xie Lian said, “The prayers of high-ranking officials and nobles, you don’t care about, but you care about these little children?” Hua Cheng replied, “There’s nothing to be done about it. Since they’re beseeching me, whether or not I respond, Emperor Laozi also depends on my mood, right?”

(revised)-Chapt 47

Hua Cheng scooted over to him; they were now sitting much closer than before. Hua Cheng pointed at a few names. “These are wrong.” Xie Lian looked at the names closely; all of them were known to be lawless, malevolently evil tyrants. “How do you know?” “Because I killed them,”

-Chapt 51

Twenty years ago, there was a pig spirit who went crazy and uprooted the village master’s household. The building collapsed and the whole family was killed, and the pig fled to Ghost City. I’d only just entered the trade at the time. I chased after the creature, but I was beaten to a pulp by a bunch of ghosts. What humiliation! He also sent one of his lackeys to tell me that if you eat a whole family of pigs, it’s only fair for a pig to slaughter your whole family in revenge. It’s your lucky day if the pig doesn’t seek revenge; if it does, then you deserved it. Now tell me, what is that rotten logic?!” “What a coincidence! Our sect experienced something similar, but it was in regards to a rooster spirit" “Hear, hear. You all know of my shixiong, right? He was talented and had an infinite future! He only had one tiny vice: he loved to dally with women. Decades ago, a prostitute ghost seduced my shixiong and sucked him dry—turned him into human jerky. That Hua…Hua…that ghost king dared shelter her.” (...) “I think I’ve heard of your shixiong before,” Heaven’s Eye said. “Wasn’t he the guy who would force himself on married women under the pretense of conducting rituals and ceremonies? The one who got locked up for three months?” “Ahem, ahem, ahem!”

-Chapt 74

Yin Yu didn’t have enough confidence to deny it. He said weakly, “Chengzhu has shown me grace. He saved me—” “I know,” Jun Wu said. “He even helped you pacify and send off Jian Yu’s vengeful spirit after he died during your banishment, am I correct?"

-Chapt 114

[tgcf-sdeblog]

The only things that live inside Mount Tonglu’s domain are nefarious creatures. Ordinary people have no way to break out of the domain; their certain fate is to become nourishment for the rest. But the wrath ghost, in his confused state, took the large group of living humans under his wing and fled for many days—for what reason, I can’t say. They were eventually cornered and surrounded by nefarious creatures, and the wrath ghost was about to be eaten along with the humans.” (...) “The wrath ghost almost made a move against the humans as well, but for some reason, he didn’t go through with it,” the state preceptor continued. “He instead used one of his own eyes as the price to forge a blood weapon. The wrath ghost was already clinging to existence with his last breath; after digging out his eye, he should’ve broken apart completely. But something had shocked him to action, and he instead fully regained his senses.

-Chapt 128

Even if the great master had lost control of his hands, it would still be a master level masterpiece, but that thousand-year-old jade spirit simply didn’t think so. It only felt that the heavens had fallen and the earth had split apart, a thousand years of cultivated importance already wholly lost! The jade was on the verge of breaking itself into pieces and disappearing on the spot. Unexpectedly, it was its close friend, the Kunlun spring sage that stopped it and gave it an idea, explaining that, Since it was like this, it would be better to simply go search for the supreme Ghost King Xueyu Tanhua of legend, ourselves. It’s said that Ghost City is a place where nothing cannot be bought and nobody cannot be found. He even dares to beat up heavenly officials, so maybe he has a way to find someone who’ll save you. Xie Lian laughed, unconvinced, and said, “So, they came to find you? And you touched it up with your blade?” Hua Cheng tossed those white jade chopsticks in his hand and said, “I took two casual swipes. To remedy a bit.”

-Extra ghost King undressed.

[tgcf-sdeblog]

Hua Cheng helping out others (without Xie Lian) compilation because people have amnesia about this.

Some feared he would challenge them and burn their temples if they were to incur his displeasure, some were blackmailed into silence and inaction because he had them by the balls, and some even oddly respected him because of how wide his reach was in the Mortal Realm. Sometimes, they even had to ask him for help paving the way for them while they carried out their duties. This went on for a long time, and many heavenly officials developed a peculiar sort of admiration for him.

-Chapt 5

After the snake and scorpion died, their souls didn’t disperse and, dragging their destroyed bodies, they went to seek an audience with a ghost king in a faraway land. For some unknown price, the ghost king pieced their bodies together and added in an extremely toxic venom, causing them to change into a demonic creature. The newborn scorpion-tailed snake killed the king in the end and, furthermore, remained to eternally haunt this place.

-Chapt 21 (revised)

At that time when the ghost pleasure boat toured the Jianjun River, Xie Lian had taken note of a few of the rare normal prayers, all children’s wishes, with the intention of helping Hua Cheng fulfill them in the future when he had the time. He hadn’t expected that Hua Cheng would remember them, too. Hua Cheng winked at him and said, “Sometimes I care." Xie Lian said, “The prayers of high-ranking officials and nobles, you don’t care about, but you care about these little children?” Hua Cheng replied, “There’s nothing to be done about it. Since they’re beseeching me, whether or not I respond, Emperor Laozi also depends on my mood, right?”

(revised)-Chapt 47

Hua Cheng scooted over to him; they were now sitting much closer than before. Hua Cheng pointed at a few names. “These are wrong.” Xie Lian looked at the names closely; all of them were known to be lawless, malevolently evil tyrants. “How do you know?” “Because I killed them,”

-Chapt 51

Twenty years ago, there was a pig spirit who went crazy and uprooted the village master’s household. The building collapsed and the whole family was killed, and the pig fled to Ghost City. I’d only just entered the trade at the time. I chased after the creature, but I was beaten to a pulp by a bunch of ghosts. What humiliation! He also sent one of his lackeys to tell me that if you eat a whole family of pigs, it’s only fair for a pig to slaughter your whole family in revenge. It’s your lucky day if the pig doesn’t seek revenge; if it does, then you deserved it. Now tell me, what is that rotten logic?!” “What a coincidence! Our sect experienced something similar, but it was in regards to a rooster spirit" “Hear, hear. You all know of my shixiong, right? He was talented and had an infinite future! He only had one tiny vice: he loved to dally with women. Decades ago, a prostitute ghost seduced my shixiong and sucked him dry—turned him into human jerky. That Hua…Hua…that ghost king dared shelter her.” (...) “I think I’ve heard of your shixiong before,” Heaven’s Eye said. “Wasn’t he the guy who would force himself on married women under the pretense of conducting rituals and ceremonies? The one who got locked up for three months?” “Ahem, ahem, ahem!”

-Chapt 74

Yin Yu didn’t have enough confidence to deny it. He said weakly, “Chengzhu has shown me grace. He saved me—” “I know,” Jun Wu said. “He even helped you pacify and send off Jian Yu’s vengeful spirit after he died during your banishment, am I correct?"

-Chapt 114

[tgcf-sdeblog]

Also an argument from op is that he is morally grey because he only cares that they hurt Xie Lian and thus they deserve punishment. That the act is not out of a righteous moral view because he wouldn't care if this situation didn't have anything to do with Xie Lian.

Even saying [It's not like Hua Cheng goes after the corrupt tyrants in heaven] Completely forgetting that we see in text Hua Cheng canonically goes after tyrant rulers, protects ghosts and helps people. No Xie Lian involved. But of course, op also painted him protecting the pig spirit and the ghost prostitute as an example of his "ruthlessness." The "proof" that he doesn't care about other people is that he didn't care to help Mu Qing or Shi Qingxuan. So then, 🫩 "who cares about He Xuan? who cares about the fact Mu Qing has been an asshole to him all his life and explicitly says he doesn't want help? If Hua Cheng doesn't see my favs as worth getting involved with then that makes him an amoral and apathetic."

[tgcf-sdeblog]

That whole thread is about Hua Cheng being in the wrong for his challenge against the gods specifically because he included Feng Xin and Mu Qing in it. Basically, the op says the 33 may have deserved it since they harmed Xie Lian maliciously, but FxMq didn't (uh huh 😒) and they worked hard for their ascension and they love Xie Lian, so Hua Cheng targeting them shows he has no morality and is just going against anyone who hurts Xie Lian no matter how little.

First off, I'm going to say Hua Cheng would've been completely justified even if there was absolutely no reason. If he had decided to challenge the gods one day out of boredom or for power, it would not have been wrong either. They ALL agreed 👍🏻 they're all completely fine with the opportunity of beating, humiliating and dispersing a supposedly weak ghost, so why are they suddenly the victims? They accept because they think little of him, they ignore their part of the deal because they think little of him. They face the consequences of their own actions and ego.

Second, no, Hua Cheng doesn't become the sworn enemy of anyone that "does any little bad thing" to Xie Lian. Besides the normal reaction of disliking people who are assholes to your loved ones, he does not go around killing rude people or challenging them to duels. It's almost as if these 35 gods he challenged had caused him great pain and harm. That op cannot accept because according to them, FxMq didn't harm Xie Lian "maliciously", they were justified or it's complicated because they "love" him, so instead we have to portray Hua Cheng as unreasonable.

[tgcf-sdeblog]

"[What Hua Cheng did to those 33 gods is ruthless and that's easy to understand when you remember he would've done it to Mu Qing and Feng Xin if they had accepted]

Me if that had happened:

This is mean lol. I'm joking. it's not true, I would miss their clownery.

My issue here is trying to paint Hua Cheng's actions towards evil background characters as bad because he *could've* done it to FxMq. It just shows ppl don't want their actions to have any consequences. "Oh no, if FXMQ had, out of their own volition, made a bet and lost, Hua Cheng would've made them fulfill it! The horror!"

[mxtxfanatic]

“Hua Cheng has always been blindly loyal to Xie Lian, obeying his every command at every turn—” There has never been a single moment in Hua Cheng’s life or undeath where he has obeyed Xie Lian’s every command. As I type this, Xie Lian is (jokingly) chewing out Hong’er about how the teen’s saying “yes,” to him as if he’d issued a command, but when he actually issued a command—“Don’t follow me, return to the city!”—Hong’er summarily ignored him 😭

[optimisticmiraclefest]

[iveoy]

goodnight beloved~

[quetzalpapalotl]

I feel like between all the discussion on whether or not Xie Lian thinks Yin Yu is ugly (he doesn't, he think he's forgettable) we forget why he even bothered to call him out in the first place. This kind of recklessness is not like Xie Lian, not without imminent danger. Xie Lian usually takes his time to analyze the situation and gather more information to confirm his suspicions, even when he knows people are lying to him, he waits for the right moment. Or doesn't even bother to point it out if he thinks it's no issue.

Xie Lian assumes Yin Yu is Black Water only because his appareance doesn't draw attention (was has been established as the standard for fake skins) and he has the Earth Master's shovel. And even though "Black Water" came to rescue them and wouldn't get into a fight with Hua Cheng and has been shown to leave Xie Lian alone for HC's sake, Xie Lian immediately calls his supposed bluff (which could very well add to their current troubles) to ask where Shi Qingxuan is.

And I think this goes to show how worried Xie Lian was about SQX, despite having previously resigned when he though he couldn't do anything, the moment an opportunity presents itself to help his friend, Xie Lian takes it without hesitation. Xie Lian really valued the kindness Shi Qingxuan had shown him.

[plantyaoi]

xl sharing a moment of empathy with the coral bead

[archzee]

I started learning 3d like about 3 months ago and I decided to create the most adorable weapon for training.

[quetzalpapalotl]

I don't think that Hua Cheng loving Xie Lian unconditionally regardless of if his feelings are reciprocated and Hua Cheng approaching Xie Lian with the intention of courting him are mutually exclusive. Like yeah, Hua Cheng's stated reason to stay in this world is to protect Xie Lian and even if Xie Lian didn't want him, he would have stuck around at a distance to make sure he's safe. But Hua Cheng is also a greedy man characterization by his determination and for going for what he wants despite the odds. Yes, he is afraid of romantic rejection and of his feelings being too much of Xie Lian (in part because Xie Lian himself told him back then his beloved could feel burdened by them) so he puts off confessing until he can be sure Xie Lian loves him back, but he is trying to get Xie Lian to love him back.

The guys starts flirting with Xie Lian from the get-go. He makes Xie Lian call him "San Lang". In those early interactions he's sounding out how much of him will Xien Lian accept and what will Xie Lian allow and as Xie Lian keeps letting him get away with his familiarity, Hua Cheng gets even bolder. He keeps grabbing and manhandling him and getting all over his space. Hua Cheng gets possesive and jealous. He laughs at how Xie Lian acts at seeing him out without a shirt and knows Xie Lian is attracted to him. He outright proposes and takes it back immediately bc again, afraid. But yeah, marrying Xie Lian was always the plan. Hua Cheng is anything but passive and just because he would be content with a bare minimum doesn't mean he's not going to try to get the whole prize.