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Confused? See the ToC linked below, read it well.
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[Start of the Final Book: The Song is Over, but the People Aren’t Leaving]
Jing Qi curled one leg up to kneel on the bed, lifting Wu Xi’s chin to look down at him. Peering into those eyes that were nervous about something unknown, he felt like they resembled the rarest black pearls that propagated the ocean. With no mottled colors, staring at them for a long time seemed to be able to suck people in, and he couldn’t resist reaching up to brush against Wu Xi’s lashes.
All of Wu Xi’s fingers clutched the bedsheet tightly, his body rigid. The man’s light fragrance from his recent bath hit him in the face, as if it was going to enshroud his entire body. While his heart fluttered away, he did everything he could to control himself.
[…]
Chichi's Dives 
I just wanted to add some clarification about why JQ’s decision to remain.
I see alot of comments claiming that they think Jing Qi decided to stay because of HYL when that is clearly false.
I firmly believe it to be false for multiple reasons and premises established throughout the past books.
The first reason is because JQ was already planning to leave HYL and glad to leave him. He clearly stated that he felt nothing hut fear from this man and his feelings of love were long washed away. Why would he suddenly choose HYL over JQ? Because of the emotional confrontation of the decree? I don’t think so.
If you analyze the premise which Priest has explicit provided with reasoning, you will then understand that the reason why JQ is staying has less to do with HYL and more to do with his loyalty to the state.
As Priest writes in the final column,
Then, inside the sunset, he explained himself clearly.
“I, Jing Beiyuan, was born a person of the Great Qing, and will die a ghost of the Great Qing.”
One thing every reader should get clear about this statement or about Jing Beiyuan as an individual is that he is someone who DEEPLY loves Great Qing.
He feels a sense of loyalty and civic duty at this place. Even after all these years, he has explained that he has never ventured outside of Great Qing in his past seven lifetimes. This is the place where he was born and raised.
Even if he doesn’t like the people there.
For example, in previous chapters, this is shown by JQ platonic loyalty to HYL as a driving purpose to maintain a state without chaos. (a peaceful state)
Priest explicates in previous chapters,
JQ’s duty to maintain this peaceful state.
JQ’s loyalty to HYL is not due to love for the man, but love for the state.
Perhaps, in his previous life JQ’s romantic love for this man was the reason for all of his schemes for HYL to sit on the throne.
However, in this life, this is not the case. JQ helps HYL because he knows he will be a competent ruler and coupled by the fact that he loves Great Qing, his motherland, it is understandable why he is willing to take these scheming actions despite not feeling the same love for HYL in order to better the state.
As he realizes his relationship to the state, he becomes aware of the consequences that the state will suffer under an unjust government or ruler. He realizes that if either of the brothers were to gain power compared to HYL, it would be a great disaster to Great Qing.
Here’s the thing, JQ did not choose HYL over Wu, BUT he did CHOOSE Great Qing over Wu.
His loyalty to the state is something that his been cultivated throughout his past lives; this place was something he could not abandon
. This is understandable if you take the perspective of his willingness to commit the same schemes in this life to get HYL to throne, albeit knowing that in the future, would pose a risk to his life again. That is how strong JQ’s love the state is. Even if it will result in death. He chooses to die as a citizen.
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Wu Xi had no response — Confucius hadn’t been specific.
this made me laugh it was so funny
why are people mad that jin qi didn’t leave? think, for what did he scheme for all this time? for the best choice for the future of the country; so why would he leave when he could still do something? he’s staying out of a sense of duty, not to helian yi but to his country, if he left like that it wouldn’t be like him at all. this isn’t bc he loves helian yi or is wants to stay with him, this is because he’s a prince of the great qing after all, he wouldn’t run in a moment like this. besides he already had plans to leave the capital in the middle something big, so he’s more likely to leave after the battle. he probably has some business to take care of before leaving for good too. and again, this is not bc he wants to stay with helian yi, obviously his heart is with wu xi already, you can see it, the ache of separation!! he finally feels longing for something, someone, again. i finally like the main couple after finding them annoying for so long lol. beiyuan deserves the peace and happiness wu xi can give him in the future, even helian yi knows it, when he leaves where else would he go in this world, but to wu xi? there’s just a sense of responsibility first, it’s completely understandable
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Wu Xi had no response — Confucius hadn’t been specific.
this made laugh jdhsksjs it was so funny
why are people so mad at jing qi for not leaving? he already decided he was going to leave the capital in the middle of something big, so he more likely would leave after the battle. it’d be way more weird if he left with wu xi knowing what’s coming, he is a Prince of the great qing after all, he’s staying because of a sense of duty, not to helian yi but to his country, that’s his home no matter what. this decision isn’t bc he loves helian yi and wants to stay with him at all, especially not after thinking they’re brothers, think, what did beiyuan scheme for all this time? for the best choice for the future of the country, how could he leave when the situation is like this? when he could still do something? that wouldn’t be like him at all, and he probably still has some business to take care of before leaving. besides his heart is already with wu xi, i can see it, the ache of separation!! he finally feels longing for something, someone, again, i finally like the main couple after finding them annoying for so long lol beiyuan deserves the love and happiness he’ll get with wu xi in the future, even helian yi knows it, of course he’d be a bit happy that he stayed, after all even thinking of him leaving pains him, but at the end it’s what’s best
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I don’t like HLY anymore. Sorry, but he behaves very two-faced. Idk how to say it, but he is clearly happy JBY stayed… so it again makes his motive for sending him away unclear. I just don’t know if I should believe him anymore. Because he can change his mind so fast. And I realized that if he really wanted JBY to leave, then he could tell the Shaman Wu Xi about it instead of giving a decree to JBY. Does he not know JBY enough to see that he isn’t a deserter? So now I feel like I’ve eaten a fly when I admitted that I was biased about HLY. Freaking hell. This is the first time I have genuinely disliked a second male so much. I’m the sort who can easily succumb to second male syndrome so that’s really saying something that HLY can rile me up so much.
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It seems we share the same braincells about HLY. I have the exact same thoughts as you all along these chapters.. HLY jst doesn’t let sympathize with him no matter how i tried(though i thought i might be wrong in the last chapter) From beginning till now his so called feelings for JBY seemed to me only as ‘obsession misunderstood as love’. At some point i even felt that helian zhao was a better man than helianyi.
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I’m so mad at Jing Qi…. in the end he chose his country AND Helian Yi over Wu xi…. in the end, did he change since his first life? He’s still willing to die for his country and for Helian yi,the only difference is that he doesn’t love him like that anymore.
It kind of makes it feel like the love or affection he has for Wu xi is secondary/inferior to his past affections. Not saying he should live for love, but heck, he can barely live for himself.
Smh. I’m glad Wu xi said he would never forgive him, and that those words stuck.
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l totally get where you’re coming from but l think youre missing something about Beiyuan ….hes the man who considered the lives of prostitutes and gave the ones he dealt with a new and clean break at life ….he even offered incense sticks to a fox fur coat coz he knew what it felt like to be skinned for a coat too—— Hes cunning and ruthless …yet hes the kindest person to me in this book because he faces himself and says “l eat human food but l dont behave human”—— everything he went through didnt teach him to not sacrifice for Helian Yi …it made him see that he loved wrong and hence all the “inhumane evil”he once did were for the wrong reason…he came back more weary and more scared thinking he didnt have a heart ….l cant say that l can see how greatly his love for Wuxi shines through at this point because he never told us when Helian Yi stopped being his “stake” or when he felt his heart beat again in exact words —— but l think _because_ he has a heart and because the Wuxi who loved him ,loved him and saw him as a great human being he couldnt run away—— He once asked little liang about dirtying his hands to save many …all those innocents he knew died ——that little girl—— they had to be justified.That sweet sweet girl couldnt have died innocently for the nation Beiyuan helped restore through enthroning Helian Yi only for Beiyuan to split and run to safety at the most critical moment …..how would he face Wuxi if he left the country that he in his own way protected just for Wuxis safety…Wuxi would know it was because he was trying to keep him safe that he did so and just like at the beginning when Beiyuan knew hed forced Wuxi to bend and instead broke him …Wuxi would carry deep guilt and regret….
If Beiyuan stayed so would Wuxi and that was undesputable .l simply think Beiyuan found his heart again and he wanted it to live on in Wuxi but he didnt resign himself to death …he was going to keep fighting
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what the i just finished reading the apology by plato about socrates chosing to die in athens rather than be exiled and it really coincided w this
socrates chose to die as an athenian rather than leave because he felt that he had an implicit agreement with the state as his motherland which raised him .
i never knew philosophy would help me better understand the politics of priests novels honestly this is great bc i feel that his motive in staying behind shouldnt be singularly defined in some comments claiming he stayed only for HYL
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….and here I thought I was done with sad fvcking in 2ha and yuwu and this would have happy fvcking… thanks I guess, Priest… this doesn’t hurt AT ALL NOT AT ALL
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JING BEIYUAN U PIECE OF SHIT WHYYYY??? why’d u have to drug Wu Xi??? I don’t think he’ll hate u forever tho as long as u don’t die and visit him in nanjiang
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NO SELF DON’T CRY😭😭😭 IM SURE WU XI WILL COMEBACK. GOT GET JQ!!!!!
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WU XI DON’T GIVE UPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!! PLS CHASE JQ DON’T LEAVE HIM.
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I understand JQ. One if his regrets when he died before is their country – to serve it till the end of his life. Thus, he stayed. The second reason why he stayed is to protect HLY and their country in return of the lives that were harmed by HLY, as well as indirectly by him. Thus, he stayed.
This shows two different kinds of lovelorn people: JX betrayed someone because of love, while JQ would never betray his country, at the expense of his love. See?
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noooo!! jing qi!!
thank you for the chapter!
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First SOOOhappy you’re back!!! I knew something like this might happen but when it really did it hit hard… I hurt for Wuxi so bad when he realized what JQ had done…betrayed on so many levels..I know JQ felt this was the best way and I hate HL for forcing his hand…I think most was jealousy…the old if I can’t have him no one else can have crap! The chapter went so fast but I was eagerly waiting to see how it would play out….🥺
Thank you and so glad you’re back!!
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Im crying. This chapter was so sad. Thanks for the chapter!
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Jing Qi gave his virginity to Wu Xi, of course the shamanet won’t forget him or hate him. He’ll come back.
Thanks for the chapter!
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Noooo…this is so sad…
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That was so sad. 🤕When WX said ‘I’ll hate you forever’ – that broke my heart 💔
Did HY want JQ to leave too or was he testing JQ’s loyalty? 😳
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Nuu pwq
Btw am I the only one feeling strange cause the author skipped preparation? I dunno, maybe they just didn’t mention it but for some reason the way it flows looked like Jing Qi just immediately sat on Wu Xi and seeing as he’s “an old hat at romance”, I just don’t fucking get why XDDD
Thank you~
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They both have zero experience of being with a man, so it’s more ignorance on the characters’ parts.
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Wasn’t it mentioned in this chapter though that Jing Qi is experienced af…or was that literally just about sweettalking someone in bed? XDD
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