First 3 Episodes Analysis aka. All the Background Stuff we are too Busy Laughing to Pay Attention to:
(reposting here by request) (Medium Length)
So Bing Chang *cough* the Mirror Demon said “The brides were always deluded. Just like my Master.” Thus, her Master was a woman. More specifically her Master was “Infatuated and misled. For that heartless man who married another woman, she was willing to give up everything.” (Episode 1)
Liu Fuyi reacts immediately to this information, recognizing the story of his Master. And we know he is a demon, because in the novel Mu Yao said “So you really are a demon. You all lied to me.” All. Meaning more than one person lied about being a demon.
For the rest of the scene, the shards of mirror reflect mostly Liu Fuyi and the Mirror Demon, as they were both disciples of the same Master and could see themselves in each other. Upon Mu Sheng’s destruction of the Mirror Demon’s realm, Liu Fuyi immediately argues that they should imprison her in the Demon Trap Tower, rather than killing her. He steps in to protect her.
We also learn Liu Fuyi is a rather high-ranking demon. He is able to trace the energy of a single burnt fragment of the Mountain and Sea Map. That is impressive. Neither Mu Sheng nor Mu Yao were able to do that. (Episode 3)
So, who is their Master? The Resentful Woman. Only 9th Level (Episode 3) female demon we know of. Honestly, in principle I get suspicious when the back-story involves a malicious woman who tried to take over the world and was conquered by a man. It usually gives off major Green Phoenix via Blue Whisper vibes and ends up being revisionist history.
So, why did the Resentful Woman send Liu Fuyi here? Well, we know from the book that he wanted the Hundred Demons Mountain and Sea Map, which reveals the movement of demons. If I was the Demon Queen, I would want to protect my people also. But there is also a second reason. Or more specifically, 2 potential specific reasons.
The first is to track the movements of and thus find her son (she needs the map for that). The second is to watch over her son (if she currently knows where he is).
Her son being Mu Sheng. We know that he is adopted into the Mu family. We also know he is a demon, thanks to the novel. At first I thought this was some sort of peace treaty mutual hostage exchange. (Wasn’t sure who the humans/demon hunters gave the demons). But they also could have simply captured him.
The Resentful Woman reappeared 10 years ago. And the Mu family was massacred 7 years ago. Sounds like she spent 3 years looking for her son, as she did not have the Mountain and Sea Map. The only survivors of the massacre were Mu Sheng (obviously) and Mu Yao, who he would have attempted to protect and thus the Resentful Woman spared. The Resentful Woman also went out of her way to specifically introduce herself to Mu Sheng, telling him to “remember my name” (Episode 3).
So, the Mus are all the descendants of Mu Qingshi and the woman he betrayed the Resentful Woman with and married. (Also, most likely how she got the name the Resentful Woman.) And that is how the Mu’s also got hold of the Mountain and Sea Map. Mu Qingshi stole it from the Demon Queen.
Also, Mu Sheng is Fu Zhou, the FL’s favourite author. For some reason, I can not fathom, Ling MiaoMiao misses her name in the introduction to the novel. (Episode 1)
They also use some very specific dates. She has been his fan for 10 years. The Resentful Woman reappeared 10 years ago. It took Fu Zhou 3 years to write his latest novel. It took the Resentful Woman 3 years to find him.
So, this (Fu Zhou) is his name now and he has waited years for their time-lines to line-up again and how we will have our happy ending.
As to Mu Sheng being a demon. Aside from the plot drop in the book (Episode 1), there are several clues:
He can fly. (Episode 1). He has demon eyes. (Episode 3) He has super-speed (Episode 2). He routinely casts and summons talismans and curses out of thin air (while everyone else must paint them on paper). His demon sight is also intriguing - it seems more a way to trace energy, than enhanced vision. Otherwise FL’s (Ling MiaoMiao) hair would have matched the hair he had (Lin Yu’s), as they were from the same body. Yet, they did not match - which means he is not examining colour, but energy or soul.
In Episode 3, Liu Fuyi tells him, “I have no choice, but to reprimand you as an elder brother.” What an odd thing to say. He didn’t propose to his sister, so how could he be an elder brother? Unless they come from the same clan? Or his Master is Mu Sheng’s mother.
Liu Fuyi and Mu Sheng are also the only of the 3 demon hunters that seem to possess the ability to shut and seal doors with their magic, but not Mu Yao. Which would make sense if they are both demons.
Also, Mu Sheng’s bracers are intriguing. They are how he summons his sword, yes. But they also seem to be how he channels his fire and conjuring abilities. Channel or allowed?
It took his mother 3 years to find him in the care of the Mu’s. But even without the Mountain and Sea Map, she should have been able to trace his energy. Again, we see that he specifically has the ability to trace a soul’s energy in Episode 2 (How he is using the hair to find the one who tore the talisman off his sister’s door) and that other high-level demons can track energy, even in extreme situations. Like a single fragment of a map. A single burnt fragment. A single burnt fragment at the button of a very deep lake.
So, why couldn’t the Resentful Woman trace her son’s energy? It must have been dampened somehow. Thus, the bracers are some sort of energy dampener, both preventing him from being tracked and suppressing his powers to a certain degree, in order to 1. Keep him from realizing he is a demon and 2. An attempt by the Mu family to make him “safer” to have around.
