Last night, I finished my reread of volume 3 of Scum Villain, so it’s time for more reactions! I told myself not to go too overboard with the quotes, but the Holy Mausoleum arc is my favorite arc in the novel (and the other arcs in this volume are also quite high on the list), so it was a struggle to restrain myself… only the fact that I am physically typing out these quotes by hand saved me, lol.

Furthermore, Luo Binghe didn't act like the characters in the strange novels that Shen Qingqiu’s younger sister had liked to read in his previous life. (p.14)

omg…. I’d fully forgotten that SQQ’s younger sister’s literary tastes was canon, not fanon. I’m delighted.

Shen Qingqiu was on the verge of collapse. How could he have grabbed the wrong person from such a close distance?

(...)

“Immortal Master Shen didn’t grab the wrong person,” said Zhuzhi-Lang. “I swapped out the arm you grabbed.”

This was the last straw for Shen Qingqiu, and he slammed a fist into the stone door. “I was trying to take Luo Binghe!” (p.54)

One of my all-time favorite movies is Swan Princess (1994)—I’ve seen it countless times—and every time I read this scene, when Shen Qingqiu says, the one I was trying to take was Luo Binghe, in my head, I hear an echo of Derek’s voice near the end of the movie crying out, “Do you hear me?! The vow I made was for her!”

Shen Qingqiu opened his eyes again and sighed. “But in this moment, other than I, his master, who else can protect him? Or to put it another way, who else would protect him?”

(...)


“After so many years, you’re finally willing to admit this brat is your disciple, and you are his shizun?” Meng Mo said in a cold voice.

“It’s certainly been a long time,” Shen Qingqiu said.

He was waiting for Meng Mo to continue with snide mockery, but instead, the old man suddenly sighed. “If this brat could wake up and hear those words of yours, who knows how overjoyed he’d be?” (p. 73)

Ahhhhh, I love this moment so much ;_; The fan translation’s version of SQQ’s lines has been my discord status for I don’t even know how many years now, and I don’t foresee that ever changing.

(...) and this had, it seemed, aroused her suspicions, enough for her to keep an eye out from then on. He feared that as soon as he had returned to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect and was taken away by Luo Binghe, Qiu Haitang had crossed the borderlands and followed them all the way to the Demon Realm. (p. 80-81)

God, the sheer determination on display here! I really love Qiu Haitang… yes, she’d been a foolish and naive young girl, and yes, she’d been deeply mistaken about her brother and the righteousness of her revenge against SJ. But those aspects of her character only make her more interesting to me. And again, that determination... she went from a spoiled and silly young girl, whose home burned down, her only remaining family and her entire household killed, to striking her way alone out into the world, becoming a cultivator, and rising to a decent position in her small sect. Imo, it’s genuinely really impressive!

She’s bitter and angry over what SJ did, but there’s also this sense of burning righteousness to her that I can’t help but admire. That moment in the second volume where, when denouncing SQQ, she says, “If a single word I, Qiu Haitang, say from here on out is false, may my heart be pierce by ten thousand of the demons’ poisonous arrows, and may I be undeserving of a peaceful death!” (p.76)... ahhh, it’s so good. I have the sense she truly, deeply means those words with all her heart, and I love it. I love her.

(I also just have a general weakness for this character type—that of an initially silly, naive, & often lovestruck young girl, who then grows up over the course of the canon—see also: Ning Yingying being pretty much my favorite Scum Villain character outside of bingqiu, Haruno Sakura being my all-time favorite fictional character, and my deep fondness for Sansa Stark—and just right now, it occurs to me that, canonically, SJ is also fond of this type (or at least the first stage of it)... meaning that my tastes and his actually overlap a little, haha.)

“What exactly did you think of me? Did you hate me? Pity me? Want me to suffer a fate worse than death? Why didn’t you kill me? Why didn’t you kill me?!” (p. 92-93)

;___; ahhhh, this really gets to me. Her fate in the main canon timeline absolutely kills me, because she really did not deserve it. Her screaming these words at SQQ, not knowing that the one person who could give her the answers she so desperately needs is long gone from this world… it definitely gives echoes of the later conversation SQQ has with YQY at Maigu Ridge, and, again, it breaks my heart ;_; Qiu Haitang…. (One of these days, I am going to finally write that post-canon Ning Yingying/Qiu Haitang fic where QHT survives the Holy Mausoleum that’s been lingering in the back of my mind for like two years at this point.)

“He’s not at handsome as I am,” Tianlang-Jun continued. “Why would I want his body?”

Shen Qingqiu had no words.

Who said you were more handsome than him?

Who gave you the license?

“Great Master” Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky personally confirmed that Luo Binghe is unparalleled throughout the ages, across the three realms and the heavens and earth, envied by men and admired by women, beloved by the young and old alike—that he’s this novel’s number one hotcake who could shock all of existence and make gods and ghosts alike sob over his beauty, okay?! (p. 110)

I am really trying to hold back on quotes where my main reaction can be boiled down to “my ship, I love this ship so much ;_; <3” especially since that would have led to my having to type up like half of the entire Holy Mausoleum arc lol, but. I cannot get over how offended SQQ is by TLJ saying that he’s better-looking than Binghe, haha. Obviously Binghe is the most beautiful!! That’s just an objective fact, okay??? He’s so ridiculously attracted to Binghe and equally unaware of it, and it’s utterly delightful. This disaster of a man <3

Demonic troops were patrolling outside, while inside, there was nowhere to hide, so as a last resort, Shen Qingqiu lifted his blankets on his bed, and Luo Binghe cheerfully slid beneath them. (p. 125)

oh, I BET he did <3333

Outside, a minor demon passing by the tent greeted Zhuzhi-Lang. “General!”

Zhuzhi-Lang acknowledged his greeting. “You came at just the right time. Help me find something.” His bearing and tone were entirely different from how he spoke to Tianlang-Jun and Shen Qingqiu, and it truly matched his status as a big shot general. (p. 129)

Contemplating the unexpected similarities between Binghe and ZZL here… both of them capable of having this dangerous, commanding presence around most, but then showing a much cuter side to the people they love. (Honestly: I completely forgot that this facet of ZZL’s character existed.)

As Shen Qingqiu passed by, he reached out to grab Luo Binghe, and Luo Binghe raised his own arm in return. In a seamless sequence of movements, their hands connected, and with a pull, Shen Qingqiu brought Luo Binghe onto Xiu Ya. (p. 143)

This is such small moment, but I love it so much. Not just SQQ taking Binghe with him, but just how in-sync the two of them are here. No communication needed—just SQQ and Binghe reaching out for one another in the same moment, and connecting. ;_; I love them… It also makes me think about SQQ’s interactions with Gongyi Xiao in Bailu Forest—specifically, that moment when he gets frustrated with Gongyi Xiao for not instinctively understanding how to fight alongside him the same way Binghe would have.

Shen Qingqiu reached behind himself and took a firm hold of Luo Binghe’s arm to keep him from falling off the sword. “Luo Binghe?” he called quietly.

No reaction. After a pause, Shen Qingqiu used a lower and quieter voice. “Binghe?” (p. 151)

;___; my heart…. I’m not entirely sure, because I wasn’t keeping an eye out for it, but I think this might be the first time post-Abyss that SQQ calls him “Binghe” again instead of “Luo Binghe”... awwwww, it’s so sweet, I’m going to cry ;_;

With his hands tucked into his sleeves, Luo Binghe smiled. “Shen Qingqiu, why are you here? From what I recall, I never let you in, no?” (p. 200)

The implications of this… namely, the fact that SJ must still be alive at this point, since Bing-ge mistakes SQQ for him / assumes that it would be possible for SJ to have slipped into his dream.

This was probably Shen Jiu’s first time killing a person, and on top of that, the first time he’d use his own spiritual energy to do so.

Having witnessed the incident in its entirety, Shen Qingqiu was stunned. Such a brutal first time! (p. 221)

Can we call that foreshadowing for Maigu Ridge & SQQ’s own “brutal first time”...? (...Probably not, but it’s what immediately sprung to mind.)

When written within the bounds of the original genre, this kind of character was extremely difficult to handle. You could say he was scum, but he was also pitiful. But if you tried to acknowledge his pathos, his ruthlessness was real too. Characters that were both scummy and tragic always drew aggro, and they were a hotbed for wank, leading comments sections to devolve into massive flame wars. (p. 226)

Ahhh, MXTX accurately predicting fandom’s struggles with SJ….

Qi Qingqi never let a chance to lecture him pass her by. “Look! Look at your disciples. Does your heart not ache? You don’t have just the one! Yet you only dote on that ingrate. Do you care about the others at all?”

Shen Qingqiu patted Ning Yingying’s back, offering her some small comfort while defending himself. “Since when have I only doted on one?” (p. 253)

/checks notes Ah… ever since you’ve transmigrated, I believe?

(Okay, to be fair. The fact that all his disciples adore him so much does in fact imply that he was good to them as well. As does his actions in the tea shop shortly before his self-destruction. But Binghe has obviously always been far and beyond number one in his heart, and they all know it, haha.)

Yue Qingyuan actually smiled. “When asked to stay, you leave. Yet when told to leave, you try to stay. Xiao… Shidi, really.” (p. 258)

I think this is the only time in the novel where YQY slips in the terms of address he uses for SQQ? Usually he’s very good at sticking to variations of “shidi” or “Shen Qingqiu”. (Excluding, of course, the moment where he deliberately tries to call SQQ "Xiao Jiu" at the end.) Also, him smiling because SQQ (or, rather, because “SJ”) is being contrarian… ;_;

A smile bloomed on Luo Binghe’s lips. Somehow, Shen Qingqiu’s lips too curled upward. When he realized what his face was doing, he immediately tugged the corners of his lips down, managing to control his expression. Internally, he wondered, How come it isn’t only tears that are infectious but smiles too? (p. 264)

BECAUSE YOU LOVE HIM ;_; <3

He stared at the hand Shen Qingqiu had used to handle Xuan Su in a daze (...) (p. 295)

79 thoughts/feelings here… YQY seeing “SJ” sheathe the sword that is also his (YQY’s) life… staring at the hand that held his life in its grasp…

This technique was incredibly stupid, but it was also incredibly effective. (p. 312)

Ah, making me laugh in the middle of an otherwise brutal, painful scene to read moment… classic Scum Villain vibe tbh

“I’m not drawing away Xin Mo’s evil energy for anyone else—or anything else. I do it for you and only you,” he said. (p. 319)

How many times have I read this scene, and yet this still brings actual literal tears to my eyes??

Now he drifted within the virtual space he’d passed through back when he first entered this world (...) (p. 321)

Oh, I don’t think I ever noticed this detail before, or at least I don’t recall it. I assumed the order of events was SY died, then the next thing he knew, he was waking up as SQQ, but apparently he did experience something in-between those two moments during his transmigration.

In the past, little had scared Ning Yingying more than the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, but this time she bravely snapped at Liu Qingge, stomping her feet. (p. 325)

I love her!!!!

If he hadn’t gone around pestering and harassing everyone and everything, perhaps Luo Binghe really would have darkened to the core and become the young man in the original work: someone who’d rend a person into a human stick with his bare hands, who cursed the world and himself. (p. 338)

SQQ, ilu, and I also love Bingmei with all my heart, but…. please choose some better examples, because Bingmei very much did turn someone into a human stick (hello, Old Palace Master), and arguably we just watched him curse the world and himself on Maigu Ridge.

Or, perhaps, the story circulating through the world might already have ended.

But the story between you and me has only just begun. (p. 343)

ahh… I will never not think that this is the most perfect possible ending ;_;