Stunning photo by @debis_books_!
Hello fairies!
Happy Tuesday and welcome to day 2 of our readalong of The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker. I’m so excited to be reading this one with you, I hope you all love it!
That was quite the exciting start yesterday, wasn’t it?
I hope you’re all having a fun time reading so far!
Today we’re reading from chapter 8 to the end of chapter 14. Let’s do this!
When you’ve finished today’s section, catch up with me in the comments down below so we can discuss the beginning of the book. Happy reading!
Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker from Chapter 8 to Chapter 14. Please only read on if you have finished this section!
!SPOILERS!
So we kick off today’s chapters by finding out that Zilan ranked second on the list! The three of them embark on the journey to Chang’an.
It’s revealed that Zilan brought both of her cousins back to life when she was 13; they had a mysterious illness that made them bleed from their eyes. However, Zilan did not get this same illness. I suspect my theory yesterday may hold some weight after all but maybe not in the way I originally thought… I am shook!
Wow, I feel sorry for our main characters already, their first night on the road and they get attacked. I loved how fierce Zilan and Yufei were in that situation!
After tricking the guards and making their way into the city there is suddenly a procession – it’s the empress who makes direct eye contact with Zilan which I don’t think is a coincidence because what are the chances?
We also learn that someone named ‘Consort Xiao’ killed the empress’s daughter in her cradle but the empress lets the consort’s children live out of kindness. I wonder if this will have a significant role in the plot somehow and if there is more to it… so many little bits of information my brain keeps running away with!
Suddenly Zilan has one of her fainting spells but this one in particular is more like a vision or memories of pain and darkness.
She is convinced that she has been here before and recognises the gate with five great arches.
Zilan makes her way to the welcoming ceremony for the alchemist scholars and the man who asked her to resurrect him appears. And he turns out to be none other than the crown prince!! Okay, I am losing it a little here eeekkkk this is going to be good!
The crown prince gives a speech and then suddenly notices her in the crowd “Zilan xiaojie, I see you’ve made it as expected.” Um, why did this make me so giddy?
She and her cousins spend the evening in the library; she remarks that the scholars also wrote about Pengali Island and the life elixir like her farther had. I wonder if that’s where her father disappeared to?
Suddenly they hear a loud noise coming from the front of the library and find the librarian dead, blood everywhere and Zilan’s bag containing her stones in shreds. She had found some bloody pearls the night prior which appear to have been stolen.
When walking through a crowd Zilan suddenly finds a pearl wedged in her shoe. Then a moment later a man brushes against her, his skin feeling cold like winter and looking like a pearl. Coincidence? 🤔
After following this man she witnesses him beheading a pig with his bare hands and feeding from it before running away. Her cousins don’t believe her or the connection she is making regarding the stolen pearls and the dead librarian.
Zilan completes the second round of her exam but only just, and also has another of her fainting spells where she sees blood splattered on the road.
After damaging her tooth the prince takes her to a healer and they later sit by a pond where someone tries to assassinate him. Zilan uses alchemy in defence and indirectly saves the prince’s life.
Does anyone else find Yufei hilarious? “He thinks Zilan is a duck.” the way I cackled!
Later that night they attend the burning of the húlijīng – evil fox spirit shapeshifters – and learn that there have recently been men with their throats slashed open and livestock cut to pieces. Zilan wonders if the man she saw with the pig could be a húlijīng.
Well, A LOT happened in today’s chapters?! And the ending of the last chapter has me hooked! How will the húlijīng tie into the story? I can’t wait to find out!
What do you think Zilan’s ‘visions’ mean?
Do you think the pearl man could be a húlijīng?
Do we suspect a potential romance between Zilan and the Crown Prince later in the book? (I hope so!)
See you tomorrow for another day of reading!
Love,
Jodie
Oh wooow, that was packed with the action. Right at the first night to fight for your life and they did really well, but seems like the rest of the trip to capital was not as dangerous as first night.
I love the bond all three have with each other and their goal for better life for all the family. It’s so sweet, but it’s getting more dangerous every day. I was surprised she was targeted at the second trail so much as there were other female alchemists, didn’t expect it like that.
It looks like there are more and more mysteries going on. I’m curious if the pearl man has anything to do with her dad maybe? I still think her dad was kidnap or run away to protect her because the price for forbidden alchemy was her life, hmmmm. And what about all that pearls??? I think it’s something important. So many questions and no answers yet haha.
I’m curious when we will find out how old is the crown prince. He seems to be a little bit naive or childish? At least so far in the first chapters (or maybe he’s just sweet?), it could be play, so I can’t wait to see what’s gonna happen later.
Yes! The relationship with her cousins is very wholesome I love it too!
There could be a few ways the visions could go… glimpses of a past life, predictions of the future, possibly even someone else’s memories that she somehow has access to. I’m leaning towards a mix of the first and third ones. It’s got to be connected to her life alchemy abilities. Possibly the memories come from that other realm Zilan goes to when she brings people back to life? In any case, the visions are warning her of something going on at the palace. There’s a price to alchemy, after all, and the Empress and her royal alchemists have been playing with it for far too long with seemingly no consequences…
The pearl man’s actions make it seem like he’s some sort of vampire… he doesn’t seem like a hulijing (at least not the version I grew up with) but who knows. Could it be the pearl man is the consequence of the alchemy? Trying to live for too long turns you into something else? Or it’s life alchemy gone wrong? For some reason I’m thinking that the Empress could actually the the hulijing.
Excited to unravel the mystery with Zilan! And hopefully the romance will be a slow burn haha, I’m always a sucker for that.
Oh wow what an interesting section! I love the bond Zilan and her cousin have, they’re so wholesome together.
Her visions could be from the same origin as her fainting spells, maybe the consequences of her life alchemy?
I’m not sure what to think of the man but I sure as hell know that he is very creepy and not someone to cross paths with.
Who would I be if I didn’t root for a romance between those two? I already love their little interactions and can’t wait to see more!
Wow! The plot definitely thickness in these next chapters.
I also loved how Zilan and Yufei dealt with the attackers from the first night.
I love Zilan’s determination, in face of all of this adversity she pushes through. She is so strong and emanates raw power. I mean she broke her own tooth till she bled to prove a point and highlight how she was cheated. She is fierce!!
The pearl man is interesting. I am thinking this could be an alchemical thing, in the sense that the gold alchemy gives people traits such as gold flecked eyes and they were glowing as well if I remember it correctly.
Could this be some alchemy performed with pearls which affects their bodies like the gold does? An alternative to the gold?🤔 pure speculation of course. Cannot wait to see where it goes from here.
Today’s chapter had so many going on, so many action, and definetely suspense. I love how the story keeps going and how resilient Zilan is. I also can see more of the cousins’ bond. They are so wholesome, even with more disagreements between Zilan and Wenshu. I hope their relationship remains solid.
What do you think Zilan’s ‘visions’ mean?
Rather than seeing the future, I like to think that Zilan had visions of the other realm she visits during her soul-searching. I think the forbidden alchemy is having an increasingly negative effect on her.
Do you think the pearl man could be a húlijīng?
I don’t think so. I mean, I just cannot picture a male fox spirit with pearls. I believe that someone else is also playing God in the palace, albeit poorly. That’s why the crown prince was still asking for Zilan’s help. Similar to the man Zilan raised from the dead in the first few chapters, the body was not perfectly intact. Perhaps this one too. Since “the zombie” may have escaped the palace, the guards have to remove any evidence of it, including the pearls from Zilan’s bag and the librarian, who may already have seen it. Why pearls, though? I’m still not sure.
I also don’t understand why Hulijing is mentioned. What role will it play in this story? Does it have anything to do with the Empress or Consort Xiao’s children?
Do we suspect a potential romance between Zilan and the Crown Prince later in the book?
I’m so looking forward to it. I’m shipping them from the start. Though it seems like sunshine x grumpy now, I hope they’re going well.
I love how every section is packed with action, the pacing of this book is really good.
I feel Zilan’s vision aren’t related to the future, but to the past, like she said she’s been there before. My best guess so far is either memories of a past life, or maybe she can relive memories of people she’s resurrected.
The pearls appearing everywhere are so sinister, and the pearl man too. I don’t believe they’re hulijing, since I don’t know how pearls and fox spirits could be related, but I think they comitted all those murders and the girl who was feeding foxes took all the blame.
I’m curious to see what they really are though, and what their connection is to the bloody pearls Zilan keeps finding.
The interactions between the prince and Zilan are kinda sweet; he’s a bit naive, probably from growing up sheltered in the palace, and Zilan is the exact opposite, always guarded and suspicious; I feel like they’re exactly what the other needs, in a “opposites attract” way. I’d love to see a romance between them!
Still loving this book!
I’m not sure about her visions – I’m thinking could be memories from her dad somehow? Or maybe she was resurrected when young and this is memories from before? Interested to find out.
The pearl man could be a húlijīng – no idea from what we’ve found out so far.
I think (and really hope) that Zilan and the prince will have a romance. Might take a while to accept each other coming from very different backgrounds but I think it will work out in the end.
These chapters were so good!!
What do you think Zilan’s ‘visions’ mean?
I have no idea. Are they the afterlife?
Do you think the pearl man could be a húlijīng?
Maybe. I think the pearls might be coming out form Zilan somehow though. She’s the only one finding them in areas where she’s been standing/ sitting.
Do we suspect a potential romance between Zilan and the Crown Prince later in the book?
Surely!
Wow, a lot just happened!
Oh how I love the relationship between Zilan and her cousins. I laughed so hard at the duck comment too 😂 I have a feeling that this may come up again when a romance blooms between Zilan and our Crown Prince.
I’m anxious to see where this is going with the húlijīng. I’m thinking the pearl man may be our main villain and maybe the one who just tried to kill the prince.
I’m starting to worry about Zilan and her fainting spells. I think the alchemy is starting to take affect on her more and more. I’m not sure how the visions will play out, but I worry she will have one of these fainting spells during an important moment that puts her in great danger or leads her to being captured or hurt in some way.
What do you think Zilan’s ‘visions’ mean?
The visions definitely are warning her of something. But it’s like…why Zilan? The visions seem like an extra power. And I didn’t really think alchemy worked like that. Like, what did zilan give in order to get visions? And what triggered them?
Do you think the pearl man could be a húlijīng?
Possibly. Or I agree with the above: alchemy gone wrong.
Do we suspect a potential romance between Zilan and the Crown Prince later in the book?
Maybe. I don’t think either of them are ready for a relationship just yet. Zilan is very quick tempered. And the prince seems very naive.
This book is definitely very dark. But, I also appreciate the cousins relationships in this book!
I think Zilan’s visions point out to her being some sort of reincarnation. Especially since we know she brings people back to life.
I definitely think the Pearl man is the hulijing, but I wonder what his story is
I’d laugh if there were a relationship between the prince and Zilan. I love how irritating she finds him.
1) Remembering a past life? Or was the murdered baby not really murdered and Zilan is remembering her lost childhood? That would be neat.
2) A…a what? I’m struggling to keep some of the new words straight.
3) I hope so too!
The way I was so shook at the fact that she brought her cousins back… I dunno why but this concerns me a lot, I have a feeling this is going to lead to something tragic later on.
I LOVE the prince, he is so wholesome and trying his best. The dynamic between him and Zilan would be so interesting and I am hoping it leads to romance!
In general, I love how intense Zilan is… the tooth scene and the fight with Sili were both so awesome. I love how this book doesn’t shy away from more gruesome topics. Im so invested already and cannot wait to see where it goes.
The Pearl man is really interesting and gave me almost vampire vibes?? Im really curious what he’s going to be.
There are a lot of little hints and I’m intrigued to see it all come together!
This is literally how I felt too, so many twists and turns!
What do you think Zilan’s ‘visions’ mean?
I think the visions are either memories of her childhood at the palace and she is the “murdered” baby. Or when she has spent time in the sort of afterlife bringing people back from the dead someone has latched onto her and it is their memories she is seeing??
Do you think the pearl man could be a húlijīng?
I don’t know 🤷🏼♀️ the way the pearls just keep showing up for Zilan makes me think Zilan has more to do with them that what she thinks. Perhaps she creates them or something – they seem valuable / important so I don’t think they would be just lying on the floor when she first found them.
Do we suspect a potential romance between Zilan and the Crown Prince later in the book? (I hope so!)
I hope so but if she is the baby like I think then would that make the prince her brother? I do think Zilan is a tad unfair to the price who likely lives a very sheltered life but I also see where Zilan is coming from as she has seen the harshness of life outside the palace.
Again really enjoyed the second section – lots of questions and mysteries to unravel. I think it’s super unfair how Zilan and women are / were treat and looked down upon 😔
I think Zilans visions could be memories of people that she brought back to life
The romance with the Prince I dont think it will happen since she thinks he is a spoiled brat sort of speak
I hate that the exams are never fair for her who cares if she is a hunxie come on so not fair
So many mysteries unfolding its getting interesting
That is such an interesting theory! 👀 Yesss, all the mysteries and little twists are so intriguing. 💜
1. What do you think Zilan’s ‘visions’ mean?
I honestly have no idea but am soo invested in finding out what they mean!
2. Do you think the pearl man could be a húlijīng?
I think he is
3. Do we suspect a potential romance between Zilan and the Crown Prince later in the book? (I hope so!)
YES!!
I think Zilan might have two souls inside her? Like she “remembers” being in the palace but everyone knows it’s impossible, maybe somehow her mother’s soul ended up in her?? Is that possible? Idk.
Also… please for the love of god, someone needs to send the Prince some tips for dating or at least a guide on what not to do. Like who would give stale bread to their potential love interest? He obviously likes her – I mean, very understandable, Zilan is a great girl but she definitely won’t be a crown princess…
I really want to see that pond with the huge ducks, I wonder why they are so big?
I think the pearl man is some kind of a monster, maybe an assassin?
What do you think Zilan’s ‘visions’ mean?
Maybe she can sense things or see into the future. This could be something she inherited from her father.
Do you think the pearl man could be a húlijīng?
I am not sure about this. He is giving off some creepy vibes.
Do we suspect a potential romance between Zilan and the Crown Prince later in the book? (I hope so!)
For sure, this feels like they will definitely have some romance coming soon!
Well I was shocked to find out that Zilan resurrected both her cousins! I definitely didn’t see that coming.
The mysterious man turns out to be the crown prince, that was a bit expected but I enjoyed it. Love the way Zilan calls him out on his privileges.
I really don’t know why Zilan dreams about the five gates, but it might be related to whatever fate awaits the prince, and they might have to solve it together?
The pearl man is very intriguing and kind of creepy… eating a pigs head, it’s just disgusting.
The final exam is coming, I want to see how Zilan is going to perform, I hope she passes with merit!
Oh I’m loving this book. I can’t put it down! I just want to get on with the next section… I still love the cousins bond its so wholesome.
What do you think Zilan’s ‘visions’ mean?
I’m not sure, either the past ( maybe she has been resurrected herself?) or the future. I feel like it has something to do with her father though.
Do you think the pearl man could be a húlijīng?
I’m not so sure about this either. I feel like the pearls have a big part in the story for zilan because they keep showing up, especially since they were stolen in the library. The pearl man has creepy vibes though I really don’t like him.
Do we suspect a potential romance between Zilan and the Crown Prince later in the book?
I really hope so! I’m really excited for their story, he needs a few tips though but it’s so cute.