Just to give people an idea of the length of this fantasy cdrama –

The seven Harry Potters books were made into eight movies. (The last book was split in two.) These eight movies had a total runtime of 19.5 hours. In comparison, this cdrama has 36 episodes, each lasting 45 minutes, give or take. Summed up, that’s 27 hours.

“Love in the Clouds” is longer and, in my opinion, has more wizardry than HP.

Hence, I keep notes to aid me in recalling dialogues and scenes, and organize my observations and hunches into a credible theory. I rarely watch for romantic “feels” alone. I watch primarily to maintain a healthy mind.

Here are my highlights for this episode.

1. He FINALLY discovers that she has spiritual veins.

Which is monumental because:

a) the reason she’s even there in his world is because of her spiritual veins (SV). They’re the raison d’etre of the story. If she hadn’t suspected him of sabotaging them during the tournament, she wouldn’t be there in Jinxing Abyss. In more ways than one, they’re linked by fate because of their SV and he just learned that she possesses them.

And b) she had no intention of revealing the existence of her spiritual SV but, out of concern for his physical health, she took the risk. This tells us then her mindset. She may not look nor act like she’s fallen for him, but she’s more than willing to sacrifice herself for him.

Back in Episode 3, when they were groping each other on the bed, he was searching for “soul-hiding nails” which would have concealed her SV, while she was searching for the antidote Golden Millet Dream (GMD). She brazened it out because she didn’t want to blow her cover.

Now it seems that all it takes to reveal her secret is guilt. She feels guilty for lying and betraying his trust.

2. She digs herself deeper into a hole with every lie.

And that’s the theme of the show, isn’t it? The intent and impact of her lies aren’t as black and white as she thinks they are. The unintended consequences are more deleterious than she anticipates.

Lie #1

JBZ: Who are you?
MY: I did come from Yaoguan Mountain, and I have ties to Ming Xian. I am Ming Xian…
JBZ: (waiting)
MY: Ming Xian’s betrothed.

Lol. Did you hear the sound effect as soon as she uttered the lie? The tinkling of the bell is incongruous. To me, a bell chime announces a moment of prayer and/or divine awakening. However, in this scenario, the bell chime signifies JBZ’s rage and stupefaction that he’d been duped to share a heart imprint with a woman engaged to his rival.

MY knows that nothing she can say will make the situation better, and changes tack. She asks for her companion beast 27 back. She takes a step closer to JBZ, and he backs away. This small reaction marks a big change in him. He no longer trusts her, i.e., her lies have broken him. Nonetheless, he returns 27 to her.

Lie #2

She heals her cat and concocts another lie. She tells him that 27 actually belongs to Ming Xian, but the cat responds to her because of her close bonds to Ming Xian.

MY: Ming Xian and I grew up together. We were like twins from the same womb. Inseparable. That’s why Ming Xian’s companion beast answers to me. And resonates with me.

I don’t think she realizes that, far from appeasing JBZ, she’s only getting him upset with jealousy.

Then, JBZ asks her what her real purpose was in getting close to him. This time, MY tells him the truth that Ming Xian was sabotaged at the tournament by his half-brother and that she suspects that his brother had been aided by someone from the Jixing Abyss, i.e., Mu Qibai (MQ). As MQ is their common foe, she wants to join forces with JBZ to take him down.

Well, we all know that fable about the boy who cried wolf. After catching MY crying wolf multiple times, JBZ has stopped believing in her even when she’s telling the truth.

JBZ: Allow me to guess what you’ll say next. You’ll claim MQ has ties to Yaoguang Mountain. If I keep you as my aide, we might uncover who’s behind MQ sooner. Or maybe you’re saying that to outsiders, we’re already of one heart and one mind. If I kill you, your sudden disappearance will raise suspicion and tie my hands. So it’s better to keep you around as cover while I keep probing the netherbeasts, right?

In short, he accuses her of wanting to stay by his side EITHER to investigate who colluded with MQ to sabotage the tournament OR to hang around while he refines the netherbeasts. To my ears, he’s insinuating that finding the saboteurs is merely a smokescreen and that stealing the netherbeasts from him is her real purpose.

Lie #3

But since she can hardly tell him that her real reason is to find the antidote GMD to cure herself, she pretends to go along with his assumptions.

MY: I see that you do know that keeping me around is the wiser choice.
JBZ: Ming Yi, I’d rather kill you than Mu Qibai right now.

And with that, he spirits her away to his dungeon.

3. His bark is worse than his bite.

In prison, she apologizes for her lies. She tries to reason with him that both MQ and the netherbeasts are more pressing concerns than her lies. She collapses in her weakened state.

JBZ: Are you going to keep pretending?
MY: (covering her SV) I’m not. My spiritual veins aren’t hidden with Soul-hiding Nails. I used another method, which is why I overexerted myself earlier.
JBZ: Why put on that weak, helpless act anymore?
MY: (steeling herself)
JBZ: Even if you die, what’s it to me?

At this point, they’re both lying. She’s hiding her excruciating pain from her severed SV. And he’s hiding that he actually cares if she dies. In fact, he’s stopping his dragon Buxia from killing her.

He sounds heartless but it’s obvious that he cares about her.

First, he leaves her with a companion beast who can heal her and keep her company. He won’t torture her with solitary confinement.

Second, he brings her food in a wooden box. Despite being mad at her, he isn’t going to punish her by starving her.

Next, he strolls past her prison as if he’s on his way to somewhere. But there’s no reason for him to be down there; his bed chamber and office are in the mansion. When MY calls out to him, “My love, wait! I can leave Ming Xian behind,” he stalks away. Of course, he’s jealous.

Then, on his way back, she and 27 complain about the freezing temperature. She milks the situation for all its worth, but he appears to be unmoved and orders her to speak properly (meaning, to drop her helpless act). When she starts talking about her relationship with Ming Xian, he immediately walks out. But not before magically conjuring a fire pit for her.

He’s annoyed with her, but he can’t help checking on her.

4. The cat 27 easily recognizes that JBZ has fallen for MY, unlike JBZ’s clueless companion beast.

27: (sadly) He defied the divine stone, carved the inscription for your sake, and was badly hurt, forming a heart imprint with you. You’re a huge threat to him, yet he can’t bring himself to kill you. Ming Yi, our plan worked. He’s fallen for you.
MY: Yes. I’m the heartless one.
27: But what could you have done? Love won’t save your life.

Meanwhile, JBZ’s dragon Buxia keeps offering to kill MY to stop her from entering his Spirit Well, the hiding place of the antidote GMD.

JBZ refuses on the grounds that she can be useful to them. Buxia suggests killing her cat instead. JBZ rejects that since the cat can’t enter his Spirit Well anyway. So Buxia proposes killing MY first then the cat.

JBZ: Buxiu, you can’t solve every problem by killing. Even if killing her might solve some of them.
Buxiu: Understood!
JBZ: Come back!
Buxiu: I do understand.
JBZ: You don’t!

Their back-and-forth tells me that although Buxui might be stronger than 27, 27 has a higher EQ than Buxui. Clearly, JBZ can’t kill MY or have her killed because he likes her.

5. JBZ relents and agrees to take MY as an ally.

After their meeting with Princess Tianji, he decides – for some reason – to forgive her.

JBZ: (accusatory) You were the one who got Princess Tianji to summon us. If she wanted to see you, I had to let you out. You wanted her to remind me that we’re on the same side.

He’s understandably suspicious of the whole meeting because she had manipulated this kind of meeting before. MY admits that she expected them to be summoned but had no part in arranging it.

MY: I thought she’d want to meet us sooner or later, but I didn’t make her do this. There was no need.
JBZ: A while ago, I sent you back to Moonlit Blossoms. You left, and Yan Xiao arrived right after. Pure coincidence?

It’s funny that it’s taken him this long to figure it all out.

MY: (looking guilty) I’m sorry. Everything in the past, I owe you an apology for. Please don’t hold it against me. For the sake of what I can do for you, work with me.
JBZ: (staring at her for a long while) You’re clever. But Ming Yi, being clever isn’t enough to ally with me. I need to see your skill and sincerity.

I think sincerity tops his list. Next, cleverness. Last, skills as he has more than enough skills to compensate hers.

MY: All right. To purge the unrefined netherbeasts, one must use the Netherbeast Refining Skill. This skill requires using one’s own body as a vessel to absorb the core of the netherbeasts and drawing it in your body before refining it. But it risks damaging one’s SV.

She kneels down.

MY: If you’ll join me, I shall serve as the netherbeasts vessel and bear that burden.
JBZ: Get up.

She remains kneeling so he helps her up.

JBZ: We’ll set three rules. One. While you stay in Wugui Sea, you can’t contact…you can’t contact anyone from other realms. Two. Whenever I summon you, you must answer. Three. You only need to tell me how the Netherbeast Refining Skill works. The rest isn’t for you to meddle in.
MY: All right.

My comments:

a. By “anyone”, he meant Ming Xian.

b. “Whenever I summon you, you must answer” makes him sound very needy and clingy. Like, is he afraid she’d abandon him for Ming Xian?

c. Awww. He thinks refining the monsters is a “man’s job.” (If only he knew that she’s been doing a man’s job ever since she was 13.)

d. He wants to protect her, of course. He WAS mad at her lies, but he isn’t vindictive.

6. Last, but least, their faked marital spat is a hoot.

It’s their ruse to get JBZ out of the Academy and meet with MQ at the teahouse Moonlit Blossom. But their argument seemed all too real. I guess, it feels good to vent how they truly feel while putting on a stage act.

MY: Ji Bozai! We’re married. Can’t you have a little more faith in me? I’ve been loyal to you. You think I’ve been hiding something. You! You’re being unreasonable!
JBZ: And why can’t I doubt you? You married me while still holding somebody else in your heart, didn’t you? Let me tell you something. Cracks can’t be mended. We’re like this teacup. Once it’s broken, it’s broken. There’s no going back.
MY: Huh! Ji Bozai. You’ve got no right to say that. Yes, I had someone in the past. But what about you? Are you so innocent? I’m not making an issue of it. But you’ve got some reputation! I’ve never asked you about that! What do you have to say for yourself?

My comments:

a. That she married him while being “betrothed” to Ming Xian really rankles him. Does it upset him that he isn’t the first or that she’s cheating on him?

b. Oh, the drama! To compare their broken trust to a broken teacup is peak drama. I can’t believe that JBZ said that.

c. How could a tiny room have so many breakable vases and china?

d. Did you notice where she threw the first item (a heavy metallic tea infuser)? 😂 It nearly hit his precious crotch. That’s why his eyes widened in shock and horror.

Next up, Ep 15.