This was surprisingly an entertaining episode.

1. It started with Tantai Jin (TJ) realizing that he got the demonic power, literally, in his hands. He tested it on his pet crow and instantly, its left eye turned red. I guess, red eyes meant demonic presence. TJ acquired the bird’s eye view. He could see anywhere from above, like a bird.

Next, he imagined testing his newfound demonic power on Ye Xiwu. But he noticed her bandaged hand and remembered that she entered his nightmare to save him.

TJ: Ye Xiwu, it’s you who took away my dagger in my dream.
LSS: Of course. Who else do you think it was?

Moving away from her, he reconsidered his plan to kill her.

To me, his change of heart is significant because it shows that he wasn’t totally devoid of feelings. He could feel gratitude (because she saved him) and guilt (because he was plotting to repay her kindness with death).

I like that he was studying his hand.

To me, he recognized that his hand had the fire power to kill her right there and then. But the previous night, when he was trapped in his own nightmare, the same hand was determined to slit his throat. If Ye Xiwu hadn’t been there to stop him, he would have been dead.

Meanwhile, Li Susu misinterpreted his silence as despondency. She thought he was still suicidal. Thus, to prevent him from taking his own life, she vowed to guard him closely and to somehow convince him to live on by appealing to his emotions and reason.

Remember now. TJ repeatedly told her that living exhausted him.

From Ep 3.

So, naturally, when she saw him about to slit his throat in his dreamscape, she was convinced that he was truly at the end of his rope. She was unaware that Tantai Jin just got his first taste of power, and it was mesmerizing.

Great acting here, by the way. The fire was added in by computer graphics. He was looking at nothing in this scene. He reminded me of Gollum from “Lord of the Ring” when it looked at “Precioussss.”

That’s one thing I like so far about this xianxia. The plot develops organically; the lead characters make reasonable conclusions based on what they know of the situation; there isn’t any big leap in logic.

2. With his power to see and hear everything like a bird, Tantai Jin eavesdropped on Li Susu/Ye Xiwu’s conversation with Xiao Lin. What he heard enraged him.

Lol. I guess he didn’t know that proverb that eavesdroppers never hear any good about themselves.

He became angry at Xiao Lin (XL) when he learned that XL extended kindness to him only because he was worried that TJ would bring trouble to his kingdom if the hostage prince was maltreated.

More seriously, he was furious with Ye Xiwu.

Why?

Because he was convinced that she had grown to like him. He thought that she was no longer the old Ye Xiwu who was crazily in love with XL and had instead begun to care for him especially.

He couldn’t forget that she gifted him with the winter coat so he wouldn’t freeze to death, held on to him tightly so the Nightmare Demon wouldn’t carry him away, and grabed the dagger till she bled so he wouldn’t kill himself.

Thus, to overhear that she had only cared for him because she was afraid that he would harm her family devastated him. In his mind, XL and Ye Xiwu deceived him. They only pretended to be kind out of fear that he would bring calamity. They believed him to be a curse.

TJ: In their eyes, I’m just a jinx who only brings disasters.

Then, he dropped his cup of tea and clenched his fist. I thought this visual had a good symbolism. Like the cup of tea, his whole faith in humanity collapsed when he realized that the two people he had trusted were feigning warmth and friendship.

As for the significance of those words, we heard them spoken in the previous episode, during his nightmare. He was told that he existed “to bring torment to others, and to be despised and hated by others.”

Of course, nobody wants to hear that he’s fated to be the bane of the world. Thus, hearing XL and Ye Xiwu’s comments about him confirmed his worst fear. His “nightmare,” to be precise.

To add salt to injury, he then heard Ye Xiwu confess to XL that she hated Tantai Jin with every fiber of her being. Of course, two men didn’t know that Ye Xiwu was speaking as the immortal Li Susu.

LSS: Sixth Prince, I don’t want to lie to you. But I can’t explain it to you further. Honestly, I hate Tantai Jin more than anyone else. I want to kill him even in my dreams. I even wish that he never existed in this world. But rest assured, I won’t let him die. But if you want me to truly care about him, it’s impossible.

Where’s the lie? Li Susu spoke the truth. How could she not feel hatred when Tantai Jin destroyed her world? She had a good reason to hate the Devil God but her mission was to save him.

Naturally, when Tantai Jin heard this, his wrath couldn’t be contained.

TJ: Ye Xiwu, you finally told the truth. All your performance in front of me was just for your own benefit. Turns out you’re no different from them. (powering up the light in his hand) I actually thought someone would really care about me.

Surprise! Surprise! A teardrop emerged. This was a first of many tears he would shed for her.

When I first watched this scene, I was amazed at how quickly the worm turned. He used to be somebody who couldn’t be bothered to hold resentments and grudges because he found survival exhausting.

But with his newfound power, he wanted to seek vengeance.

In my opinion, however, his anger was more directed at Ye Xiwu than his aggressors. Sure, he wanted to retaliate against the bullies who injured him physically. But it’s quite telling that he also wanted revenge on Ye Xiwu who slighted him with words and false affection. To me, he was angry, not so much because she injured him with her nightly beatings, but because his nascent feelings for her were hurt. He could tolerate physical abuse from her, but he was unfamiliar with emotional distress until he met this “new” Ye Xiwu.

3. Vengeance

So he plotted his revenge on XL’s wedding day of Xiao Lin to Ye Xiwu’s sister, Ye Bingchang (BC). He made a hit list which included Ye Xiwu, Ye Zeyu (his brother-in-law who slashed his winter coat), Xiao Liang (the Fifth Prince who was TJ’s biggest bully), and Xiao Liang’s three minions. He sent the murder of crows to attack the wedding attendees.

Noteworthy things:

a. Xiao Lin’s name didn’t appear on the list.

b. Ye Xiwu was at the top of his list. Clearly, he was more hurt by her words than he cared to admit. He couldn’t forgive her because he was deceived by her show of kindness.

c. I like that husband-and-wife unconsciously protected each other from the 5th Prince’s taunts. Despite being angry with her, when the 5th Prince complimented Ye Xiwu in his slimy, repulsive manner, Tantia Jin slightly moved his body to obstruct the Prince’s view of Ye Xiwu.

I take this as his protective stance. Then, when the 5th Prince demeaned TJ, Ye Xiwu clutched TJ’s arm lest he turned into evil, she hurled insults at the 5th Prince.

Without being aware of it, they were already acting like a couple and watching out for each other.

d. For wedding gift, XL and BC were given the Heart-Guarding (Dragon) Scale from the Xiaoyao Sect. It protected the wearer from evil.

e. Crow attack

I like the way he commanded his crows to attack:

Bowing before the performance.

and waving his brush like a magic wand in the same way that a conductor would wave his baton in an orchestra.

To some viewers, this may be over-the-top acting, but I thought the imagery was perfect. Like a conductor conducting music, TJ was conducting his vengeance. While a conductor commanded musicians with the wave of his baton, TJ made the crows circle and swoop by brandishing his brush. Traditionally, a conductor wears a black tailcoat (or tuxedo); TJ dressed up in black, a noble color in the Jing Kingdom. Lastly, both a conductor and TJ looked graceful with their instrument, but only TJ could look elegant and unperturbed while unleashing vengeance on his enemies.

One by one, Tantia Jin crossed off the names of people on his hit list. He only relented when the crow was about to peck at Ye Xiwu’s face. Her shriek made him stop and the birds flew past her.

He witnessed Ye Xiwu performing a charm to rescue her brother from the crows. And that surprised him because he thought of her as dumb and useless.

That was the first of many surprises. He was next surprised that vengeance didn’t excite him.

TJ: Even if I had the power to kill anyone, I didn’t feel any fluctuation in my heart. Except at that moment. (flashback to when he spared Ye XiWu) I felt something different then.
LSS: (appearing before him) Tantai Jin!
TJ: (surprised that she didn’t leave him) Ye Xiwu?

She picked up a sword and charged at him. He stood still.

TJ: (thinking to himself) I’ve let you go. But you won’t let me go?

He was surprised again. He didn’t expect her to attack him. After all, he let her off the hook and didn’t hurt her with his crows. Naturally, as self-defense, he prepared to ward her off with a blast of his demonic power.

But as I pointed out before in another thread, he allowed her to lunge at him with the sword. He didn’t flinch, avoid the sword or take a preemptive strike to stop her. To me, this signified two things. One, he wouldn’t defend himself from her attack. Two, he would willingly take a deadly blow from her.

And he was surprised to see that she had slayed the bird beside him. She ran frantically towards him because she believed he was in danger of being attacked by the bird. She was running to protect him, not kill him.

Great directorial choice here. The director decided to shoot a close-up of Tantia Jin’s face, not as a fan service, lol, but to show his perplexity.

But his biggest surprise was yet to come. She protected him with her own body.

She mistook the birds as a threat, so she covered him, exposing her back to the attack of the birds. She didn’t notice him getting rid of the birds.

LSS: (sighing) This is great. Tantai Jin, you’re not dead. And I’m not dead.
TJ: (internally talking to her) Ye Xiwu, didn’t you hate me? How could you sacrifice your life in order to save me?

Just like that, he’s prepared to trust her again, despite what he heard her tell XL. For him, actions speaks louder than words.

4. The meaning of love

The following conversation is integral to their relationship so I’ll have to write it down. The sub is from Viki.

Tantia Jin took stock of his demonic power.

TJ: (silently) So, the power I devoured from the demons will eventually fizzle out. If I knew how to cultivate like Xiao Lin does, I’d be able to sustain my power without devouring demons. I wonder if that sect…

This is important because it signified that he didn’t want to use demonic power if he had an alternative source of power. He was open to self-sufficiency, that is cultivating himself so he could have his own power. Also significant is that even back then, he considered going to the Xiaoyao sect to train. This sect is going to be important in his future.

LSS: (intruding on him) Tantai Jin. Tantai Jin! Did you get injured somewhere? Let me check. We’ve been through life and death. Don’t be shy. (opening his shirt)
TJ: (slapping her hand away) I’m not injured.

His shyness at being touch was atypical considering that they were already married. But then, he was hiding a secret from her.

LSS: Even XL who was an excellent swordsman has multiple injuries while you remained unharmed?
TJ: (pointblank) Are you suspecting me?

He forced the issue because a) he couldn’t lie that he had nothing to do with the crow attack, and b) he knew she would immediately become defensive and dispel any suspicions/doubts as disloyalty to him.

LSS: No. I was just saying you’re lucky.
TJ: Because I know if you want to live, you have to hide.

He meant that he learned not to attract attention to himself in order to survive.

TJ: (continuing) Unlike someone who ran around like a headless fly.

He was subtly rebuking her for coming after him. He didn’t want her to endanger herself for him. Next time, he wanted her to think of herself and save herself first.

LSS: (outraged) I did that to save you! You little ingrate! If I didn’t run faster, you’d have been killed by those birds.
TJ: (looking at her) Why did you come back for me?

He asked because he wanted to confirm that she didn’t do the deed to ingratiate herself or curry favor on behalf of her family, but for his sake alone.

LSS: Because I’m kind. I’d do the same for anyone else.
TJ: Back then everyone was running out of the mansion. Did you especially come back just to save me?
LSS: (looking away) I… (thinking of a good reason) Because I like you, all right.

TJ: (nonplussed)
LSS: Love lingers even after only being married for a day. Saving you is what I’m supposed to do, huh?

Another reason for me to like this xianxia: the actress, Bai Lu. She doesn’t do force her aegyo. I can’t stand Esther Lu and Yang Zi.

TJ: You love me?

I like the close-up here. His credulity was showing.

LSS: Yeah. Just like in the novels. In the beginning, we didn’t see eye to eye, but eventually, we grew fond of each other.
TJ: You saved me because of love? What is love exactly?

Again, the close-up was the appropriate directorial choice. The audience could clearly see his innocence and confusion.

LSS: Love is…love is you don’t want him to die. You want to stay with him. You’ll be worried if you don’t see him. You’ll be happy if you do.

Notice how the camera suddenly zoomed out and showed TJ and LSS in a long shot  while LSS was explaining about love? We could see the pavilion and the wintry garden behind them.

Remember this: a wide shot is supposed to give context; the viewers can see the characters in relation to each other, and the location. In this moment, we were being  reminded that TJ and LSS have a very complicated backstory. LSS was there in the pavilion, in the dead of winter, because she had ONE mission. She must prevent TJ from turning into the Devil God at all costs. If she had to lie to accomplish her mission, so be it.

But as she continued to explain love to TJ, the camera moved in closer to follow her around. We were tracking her movement in the same way that TJ’s eyes were following her around. That’s because we were falling for her words and mesmerized by the possibility of love between them. Similarly, TJ was falling for her suggestion that love was growing between them because they were spending time together.

She was deluding him with her declaration of love.

LSS: (internally, she apologizes to him) I’m sorry, Young Devil Lord. I didn’t mean to lie to you. (smiling at him)

She was giving him the conventional meaning of love. Indeed, love meant wanting to be with that person forever.

However, Li Susu was well aware that she was twisting the words. It’s all doublespeak for her. It’s an indelible fact that she hated him. Because of what he did to her family and world, she couldn’t help hating him. Since she had a mission to save the future world, she couldn’t allow him to die. She must stay with him to ensure that he lived. Of course, she was worried whenever he was out of her sight because she feared that the worst could happen to him and that he’d turn into the Devil God in her absence.

TJ: (thinking to himself) Love, compared to power, is truly something not worth mentioning.

He claimed not to be impressed with her love declaration when in truth, he already committed it to memory. Later, he would insist that she stay with him because of this supposed love.

TJ: (aloud) All right. If you love me, why don’t you teach me how to draw charms? This way, we can spend more time together.
LSS: (suspicious) Why do you want to learn that?
TJ: Because I want to be like you. Capable of protecting my loved one.
LSS: (inwardly) Young Devil Lord actually has someone he wants to protect now.

She was excited because she believed that she had succeeded in changing Tantia Jin’s character for the better. He now had a reason to live on.

TJ: (smiling at her) Mmm?
LSS: Okay. (lifting her hand up)
TJ: (silent)
LSS: (grabbing his hand and putting theirs together) I’ll teach you how to draw charms, and you promise me to live on. I don’t want to have to risk my life to save you again.
TJ: Okay.

Famous last words. Of course, she would risk her life over and over to save him.

This is another reason I like this xianxia. In many xianxias, the heroine begins as the dumb weakling and female-in-distress who achieves self-actualization (or cultivation) thanks in large part to the saving acts of the hero. “Till the End of the Moon” reversed the process. The heroine is the stronger one in this story because she’s an immortal while hero is the credulous weakling and male-in-distress who needs cultivation with her mentoring and assistance.

Till next time.