Zi Yan/Relationships

== Long Chen: to treat a romance like an opera ==
The relationship between Long Chen and Zi Yan has been likened to a drama, a play, a show that must go on, a beat without a melody. They were peerless geniuses that met each other by chance. Zi Yan wants to love Long Chen but says they are fated to battle.
== Volume 5 ==
Initially, she and Long Chen have several philosophical debates about ethics, morality, and Dao.
Zi Yan identifies Long Chen as her devil star and sends spies to gather more info about his background.
== Volume 7 ==
In Grand Xia (Volume 7), Long Chen recalls that she was the one he had encountered in the Eastern Wasteland, the disciple of the Illusive Music Immortal Palace. She had been the one to send Long Chen the photographic jade.
But he continued to have a strange feeling about her. Talking with her was difficult. It felt like he was an irredeemably wicked villain, while she was a pure-hearted, kind fairy who was constantly trying to enlighten him.
Although the two of them could count as friends, Long Chen was afraid of having her continue trying to enlighten him. It was better to just quietly watch.
== Volume 8 ==
Long Chen and Zi Yan were both peerless figures. They had met all the way back in the Eastern Wasteland. Then they had run into each other by chance in the Grand Xia Ancient Nation. One was an unrivaled hero, and the other was a nation-toppling beauty. Rumors had long since started about the relationship between the two of them.
However, in the Dragon Slaughtering Convention, the two of them had ended up fighting. Although Long Chen had defeated Zi Yan, he hadn’t killed her but had said heart-breaking words at the end. Everyone could see that the two of them had true feelings for each other.
Nevertheless, Long Chen had slain Shen Bijun and had caused chaos for the Illusive Music Immortal Palace. As for Zi Yan, she was heir to the Illusive Music Immortal Palace. How could the two of them end up together?
That woman had definitely thought of all that, causing her to ask Long Chen this question. However, this question was clearly picking at one of Long Chen’s scabs.
Long Chen forced a smile. “It’s fine. Zi Yan and I might be enemies, but she is someone I respect. Even if I were to die to her hands one day, I would not hate her. There might be no way around the future, but all I want is to have a clear conscience in the end.”
Although that was what Long Chen said, he felt a sour emotion in his heart. He might not be afraid of an army of thousands, of mountains of corpses, of seas of blood, but this towering mountain known as romantic relationships possessed a heavy pressure.
Perhaps fate was just playing with them, making both Long Chen and Zi Yan feel helpless. He had never believed in fate, but Zi Yan did. It was troublesome.
Countless people felt sorrow for Long Chen. They also sympathized with him. It seemed that no matter how strong someone was, there were always things they couldn’t do anything about.
=== Complex relationship: hot and cold ===
His relationship with her was complicated. There was both enmity and gratitude between the two of them. The entire continent knew what had transpired between them. The Illusive Music Immortal Palace had sent Shen Bijun to kill Long Chen, and the results were that the current palace master almost lost her position. She had to punish herself as an apology to the world for her actions.
Shen Bijun had died to Long Chen, and the palace master had also punished herself because of this. Although the Illusive Music Immortal Palace hadn’t reached the point of being like water and fire with Long Chen, they could already count as enemies.
Back when Zi Yan had tried to stop Long Chen from killing his enemies in the Grand Han Ancient Nation, she had lost. The Illusive Music Immortal Palace had then spread the word that she had held back due to her feelings.
That was because they didn’t want the world to think that Zi Yan wasn’t as strong as Long Chen but that she just hadn’t wanted to kill him.
This news had shaken countless experts and made countless men crazily jealous of Long Chen.
In that kind of scenario, Zi Yan had actually rather die to Long Chen than kill him. Her feelings toward him were clear.
However, it made him feel sour. Her voice clearly contained a certain distant feeling to him. Perhaps this was what Long Chen had wanted, but now that it really happened, that feeling of disappointment was something only Long Chen could understand.
“Many thanks.”
In the end, Long Chen could only reply with a standard courteous reply.
His relationship with Zi Yan was practically a melodramatic play. None of his skills could help him here.
=== Open hearts ===
Long Chen looked at her crystal clear eyes. It was several breaths later that he shook his head. “You shouldn’t waste your music on me. It would be like playing music for a bull. I’m a stubborn coarse man. Everyone’s Daos are different, and although it’s said that all Daos lead to the same place, the paths are all different. I respect your Dao, and I hope you can respect mine as well. Gods, Devils, Immortals, Ghosts, there are many different Daos, but who is right or wrong, who is higher or lower, there is no criterion to judge them. Man is not a fish and cannot know the fish’s life.”
Although Long Chen and Zi Yan hadn’t been together for a long time, they had disclosed their hearts in the Grand Xia. Long Chen understood Zi Yan’s heart, which was why he felt so powerless.
Both he and Zi Yan were very opinionated and strongly believed in their own views of the world. No one could rattle their beliefs. Zi Yan had always thought that Long Chen was a devil in need of saving. She did it out of the kindness of her heart, but Long Chen never thought of himself as a devil. It was the opposite. He felt he was kinder than the absolute majority of people.
Zi Yan had been influenced by the Illusive Music Immortal Palace from her youth. She had her own world view built around there. As for Long Chen, he had his own world view. He viewed the world from the bottom rungs, while Zi Yan was standing at the peak.
Their viewpoints were completely different, and the worlds they saw were also completely different. In Zi Yan’s eyes, this world was beautiful, but what Long Chen saw was always the bloody and cruel side. This resulted in two different world views, so it was fated that the two of them could not end up together.
Furthermore, he knew that Zi Yan had not given up and was planning on trying again with this song. She would do everything she could to get Long Chen to ‘mend his ways’.
Long Chen didn’t want to disappoint her again, so he decided not to listen to her song.
However, Zi Yan couldn’t help being disappointed after being refused by Long Chen. “I’m sad I won’t get to receive your pointers again, even regretful. However, that expression you brought up, man is not a fish and cannot know the fish’s life, I disagree with it. The fish is in the water only due to its current circumstances. It cannot grow wings and cannot go ashore. It is powerless to do anything, so it can only peacefully live its life. But the turtle can come ashore to live its life. The crocodile lives on both land and water. They were not satisfied with living in the water and braved the unknown. The Kun dominated the water, but it willed itself to fly through the sky, and so there is the story of the Kunpeng breaking through the heavens and its restrictions. Didn’t they do this to change their viewpoint and to see another side of the world? You are stubbornly clinging to your narrow view of the world. If you could open your heart, the path to immortality and divinity would be wide open for you.”
Zi Yan’s voice quivered ever so slightly. She was clearly too emotional to keep her voice calm. Everyone could tell that she still cared about Long Chen.
=== Peach blossom fan ===
Her flawless face was slightly rosy, like a peach blossom in bloom.
He had no way to reply to this beauty’s emotions. He also couldn’t accept her principles.
When Zi Yan had roamed the world, she had always been carrying her status as heir to the Illusive Music Immortal Palace. Who would dare to be rude to her?
Everything she saw was what others showed her. Hence, she thought that what she saw was a beautiful world.
As for Long Chen? He had seen people’s twisted sides or perhaps reality.
This was a world where the strong were respected, where the weak were prey. Zi Yan was born an expert. Everything she saw was beautiful, but Long Chen’s world was filled with blood.
Zi Yan was using her own yardstick to judge the world and judge Long Chen’s world. That was fundamentally a mistake.
It was the same world, but their viewpoints were completely different, so the worlds they saw were different.
Long Chen had tried to communicate with Zi Yan several times, but he was always disappointed. Her worldview had deep roots and could not be shaken. As for himself, there was no way he could change his worldview for Zi Yan.
=== Devil Dao ===
Perhaps if he didn’t have deep bloody enmities with others, perhaps if he didn’t have a group of lovers, a group of hot-blooded brothers, perhaps for someone who deeply loved him, he could try to change himself.
However, he couldn’t now, and he couldn’t in the future. So he was silent in the face of Zi Yan’s questioning.
“Long Chen, fairy Zi Yan is doing her best to enlighten you, a devil. Hopefully you can sincerely repent and turn over a new leaf, but seeing you expressionless in the face of her emotional plea, it seems you’re fully entrenched in the Devil Dao and cannot be saved,” sneered an expert from the ancient races, his voice full of jealousy and disdain.
Long Chen smiled faintly. To Zi Yan, he said, “Do you see? This is the difference between us. When you speak, others immediately agree. But before I even speak, others will target me. You are constantly standing beneath the sun, seeing the world full of light. I am standing in a dark shadowy corner. Although I can see the sunlight, I can’t feel its warmth. The only things that can make me feel warm in this world are my family, my lovers, and my brothers. I need them, and they also need me. We will live and die together. We don’t need other people’s pity, nor do we need other people to give us their sunlight.”
Perhaps others didn’t feel much from Long Chen’s words, but they formed a resonance with Ye Lingshan. She had always thought that others couldn’t understand her view of the world, but now she found that she and Long Chen were the same.
“Long Chen, you’re too extreme. You should try to open your inner heart and accept this world’s sunlight. It’s selfless. It can’t be that you will hate this world as you intentionally stand where the sunlight can’t reach you?”
Zi Yan looked at Long Chen with pity. She knew what Long Chen had experienced, and she knew that if he continued like this, he would sooner or later become a true devil king. She wanted to change that fate.
=== Paradigm shift ===
“I don’t hate this world. It’s the opposite. I love this world and am grateful for it. This world has many kind people and those worthy of my respect. This world is beautiful, but it is definitely not perfect. Fairy Zi Yan, it should be noted that you are living your life, while I am busy surviving. In your position, you don’t need to worry if you’ll have food to eat, a roof over your head, or clothes on your back. You don’t need to worry about gathering cultivation resources or your safety. That’s really living. As for me, I am stuck in the center of a constant struggle, with idiots constantly pestering me. They might come at me to try taking my life at any time. They are fiends to me but respectful to you. They are the same people, but they have a double standard. That’s why you don’t need to waste any more effort. I understand your heart, but unfortunately, you will never understand mine. All I ask you to remember is that everything you see is just what people want you to see. You see the leaf that others put in front of you, blinding you from the mountain behind. The reality of this world is far crueler and bloodier than you think.”
Long Chen shook his head as he looked at Zi Yan. He understood that Zi Yan was doing this out of kindness toward him, but she had been brainwashed by the Illusive Music Immortal Palace since her childhood. Some things were deeply imprinted in her brain and could not be changed.
He knew that no matter how high his cultivation base grew, he wouldn’t be able to change her thinking. Perhaps she was right and the two of them were simply fated to be enemies. It was an unchangeable destiny.
“Long Chen, do we really need to fight to the point of you die or I die? Life in this world should comply with the Heavenly Daos. Whether you’re living or surviving, it’s the same thing. We can all grow under the protection of the Heavenly Daos. Look at the Sovereigns. Which one of them walked to the peak by being merciless and vicious? Which one of them relied on slaughter to solve their problems? Bloody methods only intensify the conflict,” said Zi Yan.
“Zi Yan, there’s no need to say any more. You are right, but I am also not wrong. Neither of us will give up our way of thinking, so don’t try any longer. The more you try, the more it will hurt. Your so-called Heavenly Daos are nothing more than a joke. They also treat people according to different standards. Kind people always end up bullied, while evil people go unpunished. As for the cycle of karma, I’m too impatient to wait for karma to punish them. I remember enmities, and anyone who tries to kill me or harm my people will not be let off. I am not so magnanimous. I do not have that skill, or that self-restraint, or that interest in being a good person. What I need to do is protect the people beside me. As for how others view me, their hostility toward me, whatever.” After saying this, Long Chen turned away, no longer acknowledging Zi Yan.
This was an argument with no solution. Saying any more was meaningless. However, there was one thing that he didn’t understand, and it was the role of Illusive Music Immortal Palace in the Martial Heaven Continent.
They claimed to be the protectors of the continent, but their true origins were a mystery. No one knew.
=== Multiple viewpoints ===
Zi Yan saw Long Chen turn away, clearly not wishing to continue this conversation. Then, she lowered her head and sadly walked away to find her own corner to sit down in. Waves of divine light came out of her, screening her from the other people’s sight. She didn’t want others to see her like this.
It was unknown whether she was furiously venting behind her curtain of light, or whether she was silently sobbing.
Long Chen knew that Zi Yan was hurt right now. He didn’t feel good either, but this reality made him helpless. He really hated those people who brainwashed others. They were a bunch of conmen.
The Corrupt path and Bloodkill Hall were like that. After their brainwashing, their faith would become so solid that it made their people frightening.
When a person thought that there was only one correct answer to something, and all other answers were worthy of death, that meant there was a problem with that person’s cognitive abilities.
One person might see a sapling and be correct in that, but if an ant looked at it, they would see a towering tree. Their responses would naturally be different.
If you thought that your answer was the only correct one and you had to force that ant to accept your answer, then that was bigotry. And bigoted thinking was frightening.
All things had two sides. How could there be an absolute correct answer?
If a thief was caught, people would want to beat him to death. But what if he stole a few pieces of bread to save his starving mother on her last breaths?
Then you would need to view this problem from multiple angles. Standing in the position of the thief, the spectator, the person who was stolen from, or the thief’s mother, that was four viewpoints already, four different answers.
However, brainwashed people did not see four different answers. They only had one answer, and if others did not have the same answer, they would criticize and condemn them, forcibly educating them to the correct answer. If you refused, they would raise their butcher’s blades.
The reason Long Chen didn’t dare to rapidly increase his cultivation base was because he was afraid of one day becoming a crazy person due to the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art’s influence. He had to make sure he could always see himself clearly.
As for Zi Yan, the only things in her mind were the teachings of the Illusive Music Immortal Palace. She was like an empress standing on the city gates, looking at starving commoners eating tree bark just to stay alive and then curiously asking why they didn’t eat meat.The Book of Jin, a 7th-century chronicle of the Jin Dynasty, reports that when Emperor Jin Huidi (晋惠帝 259–307) of Western Jin was told that his people were starving because there was no rice, he said, "Why don't they eat porridge with meat?" (何不食肉糜)"If they don't have bread, why don't they eat cake?"This is to signify that Zi Yan is out of touch with reality.
Long Chen’s eloquence wouldn’t lose to anyone, but he was profoundly helpless when it came to Zi Yan. He had no time nor energy to fight with her like this. So in the end, one of them would very likely fall.
Zi Yan was heartbroken, but Long Chen was also distressed. Zi Yan knew that there was no way for her to change Long Chen, but she continued to try, fighting for the slightest hope. In comparison, Long Chen felt a bit ashamed of how he had given up. Zi Yan was still fighting for him, but he didn’t have the time.
He was in a race against time. Anything that blocked his way might come with a great price in the future. He couldn’t hold back just for Zi Yan.
== Yan Nantian ==
Yan Nantian did not get angry at being refused. He amicably said, “There is no absolute right or wrong in this world. You put in so much bitter effort for Long Chen because you think you are saving him, but in reality, you’ve only made more enemies for him. You’ve made others grow jealous, and from jealousy is born hate. You’ve given them another reason to kill him.”
“Don’t explain yourself for now. I know you had kind intentions, and Long Chen knows this as well. Everyone knows that you did this out of the kindness of your heart. However, if kindness is used in the wrong place, it becomes a bad thing. This is also what I mean when I say that there is no absolute right or wrong. Whether something is right or wrong, true or false, depends on a person’s viewpoint. If you want to accurately judge this world, you need to use multiple yardsticks to measure it. If you can switch to a different status and experience another person’s life, you’ll experience things from a different viewpoint. Perhaps… you will have unexpected gains.”
Zi Yan looked at Yan Nantian with gratitude. She once more respectfully bowed. “Many thanks for your pointers.”
== References ==
Category:Relationships