[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] Heavy Sweetness Ash-like Frost 香蜜沉沉烬如霜

[Myokie]

On 5/21/2019 at 4:54 PM, CornishxPixie said:

Hey everyone!

I fell completely in love with this story from the perspectives of all characters. I stumbled upon this forum and have tried to read as much as possible getting new takes on things and finding out about scenes that I didnt completely understand.

One thing I didnt understand and couldn't find an answer for: in episode 55 when Xefung stops Jinmi from hurting Suihe by force. Its obvious he is very conflicted about hurting her in general. My question is, did he summon the pheonix feather in his hand purposely because he knew it would protect Jinmi? Was it a new reconstructed one since coming back alive? It seemed like he was waiting for it to work before shooting at her. Would really love to hear thoughts and possible explanations! 

If I recall correctly, yes he purposely did that to both spite and also protect Jinmi. He explains it eventually once they both reconcile. 

[CornishxPixie]

13 hours ago, Myokie said:

If I recall correctly, yes he purposely did that to both spite and also protect Jinmi. He explains it eventually once they both reconcile. 

 Thanks for the response!!

[bluehibiscus]

On 5/21/2019 at 2:54 PM, CornishxPixie said:

One thing I didnt understand and couldn't find an answer for: in episode 55 when Xefung stops Jinmi from hurting Suihe by force. Its obvious he is very conflicted about hurting her in general. My question is, did he summon the pheonix feather in his hand purposely because he knew it would protect Jinmi? Was it a new reconstructed one since coming back alive? It seemed like he was waiting for it to work before shooting at her. Would really love to hear thoughts and possible explanations! 

 

 

Quote

If I recall correctly, yes he purposely did that to both spite and also protect Jinmi. He explains it eventually once they both reconcile. 

 

It was the same feather. His uncle used it to protect his father when Runyu rebelled. His father then used it to capture Xu Feng's last soul before it dissipated. I just went back to scan through the last 9  episodes and couldn't find anything. I think in that scene, it was resisting being used to attack Jin Mi as it knew he didn't really want to hurt her. When he threw it and it didn't harm her, it angered him as it reminded him of his weakness where she was concerned so he decided to destroy it. If it survived, it never made an appearance again. She wasn't wearing it in their last scene together..

[CornishxPixie]

7 hours ago, bluehibiscus said:

 

 

It was the same feather. His uncle used it to protect his father when Runyu rebelled. His father then used it to capture Xu Feng's last soul before it dissipated. I just went back to scan through the last 9  episodes and couldn't find anything. I think in that scene, it was resisting being used to attack Jin Mi as it knew he didn't really want to hurt her. When he threw it and it didn't harm her, it angered him as it reminded him of his weakness where she was concerned so he decided to destroy it. If it survived, it never made an appearance again. She wasn't wearing it in their last scene together..

 

Okay! I didnt know if when he came back the feather was destroyed. I know he was upset and felt betrayed that his heart still wanted to protect her but the way he kept glancing down at it before attempting to kill her. It didnt seem like he was angry about it. I wonder ifit survived

[bluesytb]

On 5/23/2019 at 5:46 PM, CornishxPixie said:

 

Okay! I didnt know if when he came back the feather was destroyed. I know he was upset and felt betrayed that his heart still wanted to protect her but the way he kept glancing down at it before attempting to kill her. It didnt seem like he was angry about it. I wonder ifit survived

 

I think RY dropped in as he was destroying it - and stopped him from doing so altogether.  I feel like XF is just a mess of emotions when he's revived. I mean he's got Sui He telling him lies and RY telling him lies WRT JM, and as you've noted, he's been feeling very betrayed (with very good reason!) but I also think he's starting to question SH at this point as well.     

To me, I feel like he's just in chaos emotionally - since he's been so utterly betrayed by the person he trusted the most, and yet he still can't bring himself to hate her - he just wants to push her away, and not even think of her since it hurts him so much.   So yeah, I agree with the others above - he''s wanting to punish her, but also not wanting to as well.    

 

I think the the expression on his face, when he's starting to destroy the Phoenix hairpin, and JM starts crying "不要！不要！" (No, don't!)  He's visibly shaken and not quite sure what to believe.  Then later on, when he's in the cave alone, and everyone else is gone - he chides himself - since his heart is still with JM yet his mind is like, "dude she teamed up with RY and killed you, bro - they're gonna hurt you and probably kill you again."        

[CornishxPixie]

5 minutes ago, bluesytb said:

 

I think RY dropped in as he was destroying it - and stopped him from doing so altogether.  I feel like XF is just a mess of emotions when he's revived. I mean he's got Sui He telling him lies and RY telling him lies WRT JM, and as you've noted, he's been feeling very betrayed (with very good reason!) but I also think he's starting to question SH at this point as well.     

To me, I feel like he's just in chaos emotionally - since he's been so utterly betrayed by the person he trusted the most, and yet he still can't bring himself to hate her - he just wants to push her away, and not even think of her since it hurts him so much.   So yeah, I agree with the others above - he''s wanting to punish her, but also not wanting to as well.    

 

I think the the expression on his face, when he's starting to destroy the Phoenix hairpin, and JM starts crying "不要！不要！" (No, don't!)  He's visibly shaken and not quite sure what to believe.  Then later on, when he's in the cave alone, and everyone else is gone - he chides himself - since his heart is still with JM yet his mind is like, "dude she teamed up with RY and killed you, bro - they're gonna hurt you and probably kill you again."        

Yeah I dont blame XF at all. I honestly love his character so much and the development hes gone through. I feel so bad for him, because when he wakes up his parents are gone, his brothers a traitor, and like you said the person he trusted most betrayed him.

After being reborn he is being thrown back into everything and hes still trying to come to terms with his feelings. I feel more of an understanding about the part specifically with the feather. I really enjoyed those episodes with XF in the demon realm! 

[bluesytb]

Yeah, he's definitely one of my favourite characters too!  (along with Jin Mi)

 

I feel like the writers (& DL's portrayal) made his character very human.

[lovecarnation]

On 5/25/2019 at 12:02 PM, CornishxPixie said:

Yeah I dont blame XF at all. I honestly love his character so much and the development hes gone through. I feel so bad for him, because when he wakes up his parents are gone, his brothers a traitor, and like you said the person he trusted most betrayed him.

After being reborn he is being thrown back into everything and hes still trying to come to terms with his feelings. I feel more of an understanding about the part specifically with the feather. I really enjoyed those episodes with XF in the demon realm! 

I really agree with you, I'm the same as you, really like the xufeng character in this drama, even I think Xufeng is the best character in this drama, he is a immortal who looks arrogant in front of and in many people's hearts but actually he is a immortal the most noble, kind, loyal friends, brotherhood, devoted to parents, loving, fair and wise ... xufeng is also a strong character, even when he was betrayed and fell into the demon realm, he still rose again, and never turned bad, he still has a gentle and loving heart ... I really like the xufeng character in this drama ...

[bluesytb]

On 5/28/2019 at 3:31 AM, lovecarnation said:

I really agree with you, I'm the same as you, really like the xufeng character in this drama, even I think Xufeng is the best character in this drama, he is a immortal who looks arrogant in front of and in many people's hearts but actually he is a immortal the most noble, kind, loyal friends, brotherhood, devoted to parents, loving, fair and wise ... xufeng is also a strong character, even when he was betrayed and fell into the demon realm, he still rose again, and never turned bad, he still has a gentle and loving heart ... I really like the xufeng character in this drama ...

 

Exactly.  Agree with everything you said.

 

I'm a total sucker for genuinely kind characters, and XF, definitely fits the bill.  I'm SO glad they made him soft.  

 

With everything he's been through, he never once thought of betrayal, nor being manipulative - pretty much always staying true to his core.  He's the kind of person I'd just want to be around/be friends with.        

[parksooha]

Is there any character like Xu Feng in Chinese dramaland?

I think he's the only one  

 

I need more of DL as Demon King .. and just wish that he will have one but it seems his upcoming drama is in modern style.

[starry58]

On 5/31/2019 at 12:14 AM, parksooha said:

Is there any character like Xu Feng in Chinese dramaland?

I think he's the only one  

 

I need more of DL as Demon King .. and just wish that he will have one but it seems his upcoming drama is in modern style.

XuFeng will always br my fave character.. and I love him during the Demon realm as well!

 

Umm.. He is in this drama as a Fox Demon. So that is the closest to being a demon Not subbed tho so that sucks. LOL

[parksooha]

On 6/1/2019 at 9:53 PM, starry58 said:

XuFeng will always br my fave character.. and I love him during the Demon realm as well!

 

Umm.. He is in this drama as a Fox Demon. So that is the closest to being a demon Not subbed tho so that sucks. LOL

You mean ‘Gods’ drama? That drama was filmed long time ago like 4 years ago and just released this year. That time when DL only has a support role.

 

btw, I just found out that Graduation Season with Krystal jung was filmed in 2016 and expected to release in 2020?!

It’s so outdated. I don’t chinese regulations but why it takes so long to have a drama release? Thanks God that Ashes of Love doesn’t take that long to have release. If I’m not mistaken they filmed around 2016-2017 and release in mid 2018.

[cpy95]

On 6/3/2019 at 10:10 PM, parksooha said:

btw, I just found out that Graduation Season with Krystal jung was filmed in 2016 and expected to release in 2020?!

It’s so outdated. I don’t chinese regulations but why it takes so long to have a drama release? Thanks God that Ashes of Love doesn’t take that long to have release. If I’m not mistaken they filmed around 2016-2017 and release in mid 2018.

i suspect th delay in release partly has got to do with the anti-hallyu/korean campaign previously (idk if it's still in force now) due to the THAAD deployment by SK

hopefully they do release it soon!

[jasminssiii]

I just finished watching the drama and I know I'm so late to this but I just want to voice out my opinion. I know why people hate Runyu but I don't think Xufeng was also a good character throughout the show. Yes Runyu's actions were bad but I understood it. He was actually a voice of justice and I'll tell you why below. I really liked Xufeng from the start but I somehow lost it along the way because of the reasons I will state later. The only wrong thing Runyu did was about his obsession with Jinmi it all started from that but I don't hate him for wanting revenge. If it wasn't for him those innocent people that were killed by the empress will never get justice as nobody would go against her. He just wanted a peaceful life but the empress kept pushing him to the edge. He didn't revolt just for his mom but because he was moved to do so after discovering the injustices the emperor & empress committed. In my opinion it was silly to keep evaluating Xufeng as the "true" good guy when xufeng very well KNEW the injustices done by his parents. He knew his mom was controlling Muci in the first 1/3 of the series and he just told his mom be careful not to get caught like come on he was already an accomplice at that point & didn't do anything just because she is his mom. People keep saying that it's not Xufeng's fault for being born to his parents but it's his fault in turning a blindeye to all the shitty & evil stuff his parents did unless jinmi is involved. Like Runyu literally announces all their evildoings during his wedding ceremony & Xufeng was like "ya but sorry bro they're our parents uwu :'( I apologize to you so please spare them from literally killing your grandpa, uncle, mom, jinmi's mom, aunt, & dad, wiping out the entire water tribe, diminishing jinmi's dad power, forcing water god and wind god into a sham marriage and etc. how about that my bro? Fist bump like the old times? lol" I'm watching this show and asking the writer..do you really want me to support Xufeng and see Runyu as the bad guy? like really?. That being said I really wished Runyu stopped obsessing over Jinmi when he knew very well she didn't love him. I really loved the saint girl and king yi relationship and love story but I wasn't into jinmi and xufeng's relationship in the later episodes. Xufeng could have prevented a lot of jinmi's richard simmons if he stoop up against his parents & suihe instead of turning a blindeye and actually Runyu saved jinmi much more than phoenix if you really analyze the show. So yeah I just really wanna say that you can hate runyu all you want but I want you to realize that Xufeng wasn't all that great and innocent of a man/god/character either. 

[kokodus]

Hiiii @jasminssiii Glad to see more people finding this gem of a drama. I both agree and disagree with your take on Run Yu and Xufeng. I agree that Run Yu was pushed to do all those evil things because of how XF's mother treated him. And even up until that white wedding I was on his side cheering him up for bringing down the evil emperor and empress. But what really irritated me after that was how he manipulated Jin Mi who is the most innocent and had nothing to do with any of the happenings in the celestial realm. Jin Mi didn't really deserve any of this. I want to believe that Run Yu did love her at some point but really whatever he has done to her tells me otherwise. He just used her as a pawn to get to Xu Feng. And Xu Feng, oh my, I greatly disagree with you on this. He IS definitely the most innocent and the greatest male god/character whatever. LOL. Yes he was ignorant of his parent's crimes. I would like to call him the most pampered prince ever in the history of princes. I don't think he really knew the extent of injustice happening around him. He is just in his own world wooing Jin Mi and fighting ugly demons. But my question is even if he were aware of everything, would he have really able to stop it. What would he do? Kill his father and mother? Cause a rebellion like Run Yu? I think he is too filial to do that kind of a thing. 

 

I don't think it's best to argue who is better and who is not. This show is beyond that. I used to hate Run Yu a lot and curse him with my whole heart. But after rewatching it like 1246832689th time, I came to conclusion that no one in this show is inherently bad. It's just the circumstances that led them do certain things. We learn that even the most evil richard simmons of a mother was not all that bad and had someone who truly loved her and who sacrificed his life for her. It's all about love. Run Yu didn't get any love growing up, so he ended up like that. Xufeng was showered with love all his life and hence turned out like that. Everyone deserves to be loved. Isn't that the theme of this show? LOL. 

[jasminssiii]

On 6/7/2019 at 6:40 PM, kokodus said:

Hiiii @jasminssiii Glad to see more people finding this gem of a drama. I both agree and disagree with your take on Run Yu and Xufeng. I agree that Run Yu was pushed to do all those evil things because of how XF's mother treated him. And even up until that white wedding I was on his side cheering him up for bringing down the evil emperor and empress. But what really irritated me after that was how he manipulated Jin Mi who is the most innocent and had nothing to do with any of the happenings in the celestial realm. Jin Mi didn't really deserve any of this. I want to believe that Run Yu did love her at some point but really whatever he has done to her tells me otherwise. He just used her as a pawn to get to Xu Feng. And Xu Feng, oh my, I greatly disagree with you on this. He IS definitely the most innocent and the greatest male god/character whatever. LOL. Yes he was ignorant of his parent's crimes. I would like to call him the most pampered prince ever in the history of princes. I don't think he really knew the extent of injustice happening around him. He is just in his own world wooing Jin Mi and fighting ugly demons. But my question is even if he were aware of everything, would he have really able to stop it. What would he do? Kill his father and mother? Cause a rebellion like Run Yu? I think he is too filial to do that kind of a thing. 

 

I don't think it's best to argue who is better and who is not. This show is beyond that. I used to hate Run Yu a lot and curse him with my whole heart. But after rewatching it like 1246832689th time, I came to conclusion that no one in this show is inherently bad. It's just the circumstances that led them do certain things. We learn that even the most evil richard simmons of a mother was not all that bad and had someone who truly loved her and who sacrificed his life for her. It's all about love. Run Yu didn't get any love growing up, so he ended up like that. Xufeng was showered with love all his life and hence turned out like that. Everyone deserves to be loved. Isn't that the theme of this show? LOL. 

Yes I agree the worst thing Runyu ever did was to manipulate jinmi who was innocent af I also hated him for that such an evil and crazy thing to do but I think he really genuinly loved jinmi especially in the earlier episodes but after he snapped and went with his revenge plans his idea of love became more of like an ownership. I'm not siding with Runyu nor Xufeng here they're both flawed characters my point is just that Xufeng was not that perfect at all he also made some bad decisions and mistakes which also affected jinmi..

[bluesytb]

So wrt to RY - he did not "just manipulate" Jinmi.  What he did to her was completely abusive.  Not only did he manipulate her, he forced himself on her(wrt trying to get her married to him), when he KNEW she was like a child in many respects.  And when he realized she was completely in love with XF, he took it upon himself, without any consent, to fix the yundan pill, taking away her agency.  And that is not all.  He continuously lies to her (and her father - making him believe they are mutually attracted , when that's not the case, otherwise Water god would have never consented to the marriage.)  He imprisons her against her will more than once, stalks her continuously.  and really how much is telling when he says to her "I want you to go back to to the way you were" (before the love of your life was murdered)  No respect to her feelings, it's all about how he feels, what he wants. 

 

RY also manipulated evidence against XF, (changing the dream) so that JM turns against XF,     

He almost Genocides  the entire flower realm to possess JinMi.  There's not many characters I despise, but RY is one of them.  

 

On to XF. who is also one of my favourite characters.  I don't think he's perfect at all, and that's why hes one of my favourite characters.  His character is very human - and humans are not perfect.  - neither you nor I.  He doesn't always do the right thing (nor say the right thing - though neither does JM) because the right thing sometimes is very hard to do and it takes a lot of thinking and questioning yourself and loved ones.   I agree he could/should have spoken up sooner/more WRT his parents - however I do think he is mainly innocent as he is under the assumption that  his parents are doing the best for everyone since that's what he's been indoctrinated into.  He's also been used as a pawn by both parents, especially his mom who wants to use him to consolidate her power. 

 

He does definitely call his mom out more than once, and you can definitely see him struggling with trying to deal with everything that happens  & also trying to remain filial.  I also agree there's probably not much he could have done in the long run.  But I do think he was trying to do things his way (like trying to get his mom to confess to Water & Wind's murders)  When RY confronts him @ his parent's tomb (which was really shitty to do to - since all XF wanted to do was visit his parents one last time) He's seen talking to Mu Ci after and uestions his entire belief system - This is why I think XF is a great character - he's far from perfect, but he adapts, and changes.  He literally has no ulterior motives.

  

    

    

Also there is a big cultural part to this too - I mean I am not Chinese and don't want to be presumptuous, so I don't want to get too far out of my lane (and please correct me if needed) but I feel like filial piety is a pretty important aspect of the culture.  So it's best not to assume all cultures have the same values.    

[Lai'er]

Don't know if my comment's gonna get an answer but based on other people's interpretation of the book, did Xu Feng actually become promiscuous upon his ascent to Demon Lord? I know later on when he was speaking to himself and Jin Mi was listening in as a teardrop, he said he called out Sui He's name to hurt her but actually "[...]I wanted to chase after you and tell you it was not what you thought" (chapter 24.2, paragraph 4)*. But that's only for Sui He. Did he actually fornicate with the other demon women? "[...]sometimes I can see beautiful seductive demon maidens holding him from left and right as he entered the inner hall, in the dark of the night, he would walk out with his face blissful and his robes untidy..." (chapter 21.3, last paragraph). I know the drama Xu Feng didn't, and honestly I like him a lot better for that but considering how volatile and cruel book Xu Feng is, I feel like casual sex isn't something he wouldn't stoop to in order to hurt Jin Mi back. Just put this comment over here in case anyone cares to answer because embarrassingly enough, this doubt has kept me up at night for the past 3 weeks :'), reading the book after the drama was a mistake.

 

*citations from OneSecondSpring translations

 

[Fubblez]

Anyone has full version of this song? Really love this one. Pretty please to share

 

 

[kitsune]

Does anyone have the name for the music in the trailer?

 

 

I really want find it since it's often played throughout the show especially the soundtrack starting @ 1:55

 

Edited August 17, 2019 by kitsune