yes, i think the storytelling and especially the art is without compare, but this isn't a very accessible story. it's difficult to know that you're supposed to go from the Long Strip to the Page version, and the gap in between. i also think that the dialog is a bit needlessly scholarly, or passively conveyed, so i've seen people get confused about character intent in the various plots. ultimately i think it's a story that's better binged than read piecemeal. it's a bit bittersweet to be caught up now 😅
this chapter is anxiety-inducing. Ah-ting did abandon her task to search for her martial brothers, which as a reader i'm glad she did, but i'm sure it's bound to incur guilt for not protecting Lady Lin. and really i agree with her: "what kind of dao are we protecting?" maybe since a few chapters ago Ah-ting declared her own dao to be eliminating evil, this conundrum hit her especially hard—what is the evil? is she the evil? (she's not, but...)
i am shocked that she straight up went into Qi deviation since she's withstood so much until now