Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong! ♡

Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions in the schedule posts (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4), or via the !readalong tag.

This week's chapters:

• Chapter 9: In Kunlun's memories, the young King of the Gui gives Kunlun a gift, retrieves his soul fire from the Great Seal, and gets kissed twice. Kunlun tells him to keep the soul fire, gives him the power to rule over mountains and rivers, makes him half-divine, and sets him free from the Great Seal. The King of the Gui doesn't want to let Kunlun die, but his death is inevitable. Zhao Yunlan wakes up from the memories and meets Ghost Face, who makes him doubt what he's learned about Kunlun's past. Shen Wei shows up and stops Ghost Face from talking. Zhao Yunlan mysteriously disappears.
  



• Chapter 10: Zhao Yunlan is transported to a white void where he meets Shennong and suspects him of tampering with the memories in the Great Divine Tree. Zhao Yunlan is sent back to the Mortal Realm, but he lands in the past, in 2002. He secretly follows his father/Shennong's Mortar to Antiques Street and to the Netherworld. His "father" meets the Soul-Executing Emissary and accuses him of not honoring his promise to stay away from Zhao Yunlan. They argue about the Great Seal and what Shen Wei plans to do if it collapses. After watching them, Zhao Yunlan is left with even more questions. He finds that his copy of Record of Ancient Secrets is blank, and decides to buy another copy in 2002 to see if it ends up at the SID in eleven years.
  

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC/the fan translation are 87 and 88.


Excerpts:

( 1) The young King of the Gui's gives Kunlun a gift )

( 2) The two kisses )

( 3) Ghost Face airs his grievances and reveals too much )

( 4) Zhao Yunlan ends up in the past )

( 5) Shen Wei's ominous plans )


Questions:

What is your favorite soft (or angsty, or soft and angsty) Weilan moment in the primordial past? Do you sympathize with Ghost Face? How do you feel about the time travel storyline, and how does it compare to the drama version? Would you also immediately buy ice cream if you suddenly ended up in the past? Are you as confused as Zhao Yunlan about what is true and what isn't?

You can answer as many or as few questions as you like, or just comment without answering any of them at all! And if you see this post and you're not actually reading the novel: As always, I would love to know what you think about any of this with limited context. :D

And here is the new schedule, and that's where you can sign up to host a post!

Yeah, it's been 3 days and 4 new works since my last post... :D There's one tiny SID ensemble ficlet, and everything else is Zhubai (2 fics, 1 art).

It's Not Whining, It's Poetry (68 words) by facethestrange
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018), 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Da Qing & Special Investigation Division | SID Ensemble (Guardian)
Characters: Da Qing (Guardian), Special Investigation Division | SID Ensemble (Guardian)
Additional Tags: Humor, Haiku, Background Relationships, (all of them), Special Investigation Division | SID Ensemble Shenanigans (Guardian), POV Da Qing (Guardian)
Summary: Da Qing is very, very bored at work. Bored enough to write haiku.

So Much More Delicious (446 words) by facethestrange
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, Chinese Actor RPF
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bai Yu/Zhu Yilong
Characters: Bai Yu (Actor), Zhu Yilong
Additional Tags: Non-Explicit Sex, Established Relationship, Fluff, Banter, Tenderness
Summary: Bai Yu's embrace and his soft, sleepy voice are even warmer than the morning sunshine that fills the hotel room, and Zhu Yilong basks in them happily for a moment before replying. "Mhm. You were talking in your sleep."

You Melt Like Sugar (443 words) by facethestrange
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, Chinese Actor RPF
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bai Yu/Zhu Yilong
Characters: Bai Yu (Actor), Zhu Yilong
Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Sex, Established Relationship, Finger Sucking, Lollipops, Banter, Tenderness
Summary: "You and this lollipop— The things it did to me, Long-ge."

They're idly scrolling through fan comments, Long-ge's head on Bai Yu's chest, and a gif of young Shen Wei doing downright obscene things with the candy sends Bai Yu down the memory lane.

"You're the one to talk."

It's (Not) What It Looks Like by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, Chinese Actor RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bai Yu/Zhu Yilong
Characters: Bai Yu (Actor), Zhu Yilong
Additional Tags: Kissing, Fanart, Drawing
Series: Part 6 of Zhubai ~canon~ but with more kissing
Summary: This one still that looks like this. :) (Gif context.)