Kapitel 11: My Costar speaks in riddles

[Host should take this opportunity to grow closer to the Demon King.]

Yao Shen would rather grow closer to a good night's sleep and a bowl of instant noodles.

"You're not leaving, are you?" he asks Xin Hulei, with a long-suffering sigh.

Xin Hulei unfolds a rolled up script from the inside of his jacket and spreads it out across his lap, smoothing out the well-thumbed pages.

"No," he says, without taking his eyes from the script. "This drama will shoot all the big scenes chronologically, but some smaller set pieces will be filmed out of order as sets become available."

He flips through the script until he finds the scene the two of them are shooting together. "Our scene tomorrow happens when Yan Shuyi and Xie Huan already have a rapport together, we can't be too stilted or it will jarring for the audience when they watch the drama."

His dark eyes meet Yao Shen's briefly before he pats the empty cushion next to him. "Come here."

It's an order, but the calm way Xin Hulei says it makes it sound like a request.

Before he knows it, Yao Shen is already sitting down on the sofa, keeping as much distance as possible between the two of them.

He leans over to drag his own script over from the coffee table.

"Ready when you are," Yao Shen says, glowering at Xin Hulei for making him do this when he's so tired from the awful plane ride.

Xin Hulei clears his throat, and in the next moment vanishes into Xie Huan, his cold face replaced by Xie Huan's fiery temper.

The change is so dramatic that Yao Shen could swear they look like two different people.

"This disciple has copied the passage Shizun requested," Xin Hulei says, eyes lowered in deference towards his master but a subtle curl of contempt twists his lips.

At the time, Yan Shuyi is in his own quarters, working on a piece of calligraphy, and merely hums in acknowledgement -- not lifting his eyes from his work.

"Did Xie Huan understand it?"

That's not what Xie Huan expected to hear, and Xin Hulei perfectly portrays his vexation with subtle twists of his eyebrows and the tension in his jaw.

Eventually Xie Huan admits, "I don't understand why there was a King named Wonton, and why the other Kings poked holes in him, and why he died."

Which is the same as admitting he understood nothing of the entire parable.

At that point Yan Shuyi finally puts down his brush and turns around to face Xie Huan. "What do you think Master Zhuang(1) was trying to say?"

Xie Huan frowns again. "I don't know, I got distracted by the Kings' stupid names."

The script comes with the passage Xie Huan was supposed to copy so that actors not familiar with the Daoist text can understand what's being discussed.

The gist of it is that there were three Emperors. The Emperor of the Southern Sea was called Lickity, the emperor of the Northern Sea was Split, and the emperor of the Center was Wonton.

The three Emperors often met in Wonton's lands -- who received them with hospitality.

Lickity and Split wanted to repay Wonton for his kindness, and so decided to poke seven holes in his face -- so that he could resemble them. Two eyes, two nostrils, one mouth, and two ears.

When the made the seventh hole Wonton died.

Yao Shen is the first to admit the true meaning of Master Zhuang's words also wasn't clear to him at first.

But he can't let that show in his face, because Yan Shuyi is turning this into a teaching moment, so instead he smiles at Xie Huan's confusion, and says, "The northern and southern sea Emperors wanted to repay a kindness and instead ended up killing their gracious host. What do you think that teaches us?"

Xin Hulei shrugs, affecting Xie Huan's look of bored superiority. "That no good deed goes unpunished?"

Yan Shuyi laughs, and Yao Shen hides his mouth by pulling his imaginary wide sleeve in front of his face -- in a display of modesty that he thinks fits Yan Shuyi's character.

His laughter is as surprising to him as it is for Xie Huan, whose eyes grow wide.

"Silly disciple," Yan Shuyi says, with a fond shake of his head. "It means that if you appreciate something, or someone, you should never try to change their true nature."

He leans close to Xie Huan, as if sharing a secret. "We can only contemplate the natural world in all its order and chaos -- to try and change it is tantamount to destroying it."

After that the scene ends with a closeup of Xie Huan's stunned expression. This is a moment that will have a big impact on him, and his view of Yan Shuyi.

After this conversation Xie Huan's belief that he and Yan Shuyi are destined to be enemies will begin to crumble. As will his certainty that Yan Shuyi would reject him as a disciple if he learned about his demon nature.

Yao Shen pulls away from the scene fairly confident that he did a good job.

When he chances a look at Xin Hulei he finds him lost in thought.

"Do you want to go again?" Yao Shen asks, unable to read Xin Hulei's mood from his closed-off expression.

Xin Hulei hums, and shakes his head, not in denial, but as if he's trying to clear his mind.

"You did well," he tells Yao Shen, with as much enthusiasm as someone praising a traffic light for switching to green.

"Thanks," Yao Shen says, through gritted teeth.

Xin Hulei folds his script and gets up to his feet, straightening out his long legs. "Are you hungry? I can make something for us."

His words are so surprising that Yao Shen can barely react.

Xin Hulei crosses the distance towards a nook in the living room, where there is a small sink, a cupboard and a mini fridge.

Inside the cupboard he finds two bowls of instant noodles.

"Do you want spicy, or sweet and sour?" Xin Hulei asks, reading the instructions on the top of the noodle container.

"Uhm, spicy," Yao Shen says, unsure of what exactly is going on.

His confusion doesn't let up all the way through Xin Hulei heating the water in the electric kettle pouring it into the bowls and mixing in all the flavour packets.

By the time his brain gets back online Yao Shen is already sitting down on the sofa again, eating his noodles next to Xin Hulei.

Uncannily, Xin Hulei manages to eat his noodles without making any noise -- yet another thing that Yao Shen finds unbearable about him.

They eat in silence for some time, broken only by Yao Shen's occasional loud slurping noises -- to make a point.

"Earlier, I think you were good," Xin Hulei says suddenly, resting his chopsticks against the edge of his lips while he chews. "But I wonder if you understood what Yan Shuyi was trying to tell Xie Huan."

Yao Shen's fingers tighten on the noodle container, making the liquid inside slosh. "What's there to understand? 'Don't try to change others'. It's going to be the cornerstone of his relationship with Xie Huan. I understand that."

Xin Hulei hums. "Yes, but it also tells you about Yan Shuyi's character." His eyes take on a distant, contemplative look.

"Yan Shuyi is like a river, a force of nature, perfectly integrated in his environment. He is someone that truly understands that the path to enlightenment holds as much value as enlightenment itself."

Why has Xin Hulei spent so much time thinking about the character Yao Shen is playing? Did he originally want the role of Yan Shuyi?

"That doesn't make him arrogant, he takes genuine joy in sharing his knowledge, but he's also not a pushover, who lets others do as they please without critical thought. He has a very strong moral compass, which he hones on the blade of empathy."

Xin Hulei's eyes bear down into Yao Shen's, intensity brimming beneath their still depths. "Remember that."

Yao Shen will remember everything about this weird conversation, that's for sure. Everything about Xin Hulei seems carefully orchestrated to disquiet him.

"I guess Xin laoshi really likes the original novel, uh," Yao Shen mumbles, for lack of anything better to say.

Xin Hulei's eyebrows knit for a moment before his face smooths out into his usual mask of neutrality. "I wish it was never written."

Why is everything this guy says insane?

Yao Shen watches in bafflement as Xin Hulei finishes his noodles and makes his way towards the door. "Some stories aren't meant to be told," he says, opening the door and leaving Yao Shen to make sense of his cryptic words.

[Congratulations, Host, for growing 2% closer to the Demon King. First reward unlocked: removing bad luck debuff.]

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(1) This is a parable from the Zhuangzi, which is a collection of teachings from Master Zhuang, a Daoist master and philosopher. If you have the chance I recommend reading the book, because it's a) very insightful, b) hilarious at times. Besides the food, Wonton is another name for Hundun which is the primordial chaos and is described as a faceless being. So as you can see, this very funny parable has multiple layers.