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Language:
English
Series:
Part 1 of MXTX - Retellings , Part 1 of No Paths Are Bound + Extras
Stats:
Published:
2022-04-13
Completed:
2022-09-08
Words:
1,158,737
Chapters:
152/152
Comments:
11,863
Kudos:
35,786
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8,029
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2,017,686

No Paths Are Bound

Summary:

Xie Lian found something in himself that he thought was gone—worn away with every mistake he had made.

Faith.

His arms opened, and the child was hesitant—but eventually, he fell into them, his body trembling with silent sobs.

"I remember you," he whispered again, voice breaking as Hong-er clung to him.

I remember you.

I remember you.

I will always, for as long as I live, remember you.

(A re-telling of TGCF where Xie Lian has his cursed shackle placed in his eyes, blinding him. And yet, through all of his struggles; there is always someone watching over him.)

(MULTIPLE TRANSLATIONS AVAILABLE)

Notes:

This is, once again, a story that started as a thread fic on twitter—if you want to keep up with current updates, you can find me on @cataclysmicevie !

(See the end of the work for other works inspired by this one.)

Chapter 1: Table Of Contents / Disclaimers / Additional Information

Summary:

Given the length and breadth of this story, an informational chapter seems necessary. This will explain what the story is, how it works, as well as give you helpful information as you navigate the fic. You don't have to read, it is skippable, but may be helpful.

This has three Sections:

Frequently Asked Questions

Table of Contents

Spotify Playlists

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

FOREWORD

 

I know this informational chapter can seem like a little bit much, but with how long this work is (and the limitations placed on tags by Archive of Our Own), it's necessary to make sure people know exactly what they are getting into before they read this story! First, I want to say thank you for stopping by! While this has become my most popular work, I certainly don't take any readers for granted, and I'm grateful to anyone who takes the time to read this monstrosity! Second, while I am aware that this story has become widely read across the TGCF fandom, I do ask people to remember that this was written in ten months, while I was in university. I am not a professional, and while I worked very hard on this story and am proud of it, it is not perfect. I humbly ask that anyone who reads it manage their expectations accordingly. This was a labor of love, done with the utmost respect to MXTX and the beautiful story they created. Even if you do not read the subsequent FAQ, I ask that anyone who reads this understand that this story is not a supplement or a replacement to the canon storyline, it is a love letter to it. Thank you again for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy the story.

 

By Heaven Official's Blessing, No Paths Are Bound!

Evie

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

 

Is this a fan translation of Tiān Guān Cì Fú?

No. This is not a fan translation, and this should not be considered canon to TGCF. This story re-tells the events of TGCF with elements of canon divergence, and should be treated as a canon AU. 

 

Can I read this story without having read the novels?

That is not recommended. This story covers most of the canon timeline, but it does so in a different order. We pick up from Book Four, and use a linear timeline rather than the novel's flashback system. If you begin this story without having read the novels, you will spoil yourself for most of book four. Also, while most of the fic still uses exposition and explains lore, there are some canon events that are not explained in the story, presuming that you have already read the novels. This will lead to confusion. Furthermore, this story expands heavily on canon lore and inserts new characters, and if you have not read the books, the canon and non canon elements will confuse you.

PLEASE NOTE: I read the novels prior to the official english translation through Seven Seas, so when I say Book Four, I am referring to the original Web Novels, of which there are five. If you are judging by the English translation volumes, you should wait until at least Vol. 6 of the Seven Seas release in order to avoid spoilers for the fourth arc of the series. This story goes in chronological order, so after that point has been passed, you will be spoiler free up until the arc that is going to be covered in Seven Seas volumes 7-8, but this arc is highly canon divergent in this story and holds very few similar plot points. 

 

Can I read this story without reading Mó Dào Zǔ Shī?

Yes. There are no spoilers from Mó Dào Zǔ Shī in this story. That being said, it does include quite a bit of lore from MDZS. However, you do not have to read MDZS to understand this lore, it will be explained within this story. There are also allusions to SVSSS, but beyond understanding the basic premise of that series, you do not need to know anything else. 

 

Can I print/book bind this story?

Yes. You may print or book bind a copy to have at home, but it may not be used for commercial profit.

 

Can I translate this story?

If it is credited and I have given you permission, then yes.

 

Can I create fan content inspired by this story, and if so, can I have it included in the fic?

Yes. I am extremely flattered whenever anyone makes additional content from my writing, and as long as I am credited I do not mind. This includes any form of creative content. If you write a fic inspired by this one and would like it to be listed as a related work, as long as it's clearly derived from this story, it will be approved! I also allow inclusion of my original characters in fan art and stories, as long as it's credited. I also try to link as much fan art inspired by this story within the fic as I can, but I only do so if I have your written permission as the artist. I have had people express that they would like to share fanart from this story but do not have a twitter. If you prefer another platform but would still like to have your artwork included, feel free to leave a link in the comments, or reach out to me at [email protected], and I am happy to work with you! It's always an honor to know my writing inspired someone else's creativity, and I'm always happy to celebrate other creators when possible!

 

Are all of the relationships tagged prevalent in the story?

Hualian is the central couple of this story. However, a significant amount of time is spent focusing and expanding on other characters and relationships. Beefleaf and PeiShui get a lot of screen time once we move into content from Book One onward. FengQing is also prevalent throughout the story. LingHuang does not become relevant until later, but all of these side couples play serious roles within the story, they have their own arcs and individual scenes, and they are not only mentioned briefly, hence why those relationships are tagged.

 

Should I be concerned about the sexual assault related tags?

This story heavily discusses themes of grooming, child abuse, and sexual assault. There are scenes that depict sexual assault. However, these scenes are always warned for ahead of time within the beginning notes of each chapter, and you do not need to read them to understand the story. There is also a scene where, involving a relationship that has themes of dubious consent, the sex results in a pregnancy (this does not happen to Hualian.) If I ever fail to tag something appropriately, please tell me in the comments and I will adjust. It's important to me to make this story as accessible as possible for anyone who wants to take the time to read it! Furthermore, neither Xie Lian nor Hua Cheng are sexually assaulted in this story, nor do they experience Childhood Sexual Abuse, these events are experienced by other characters within the story.

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

(Offset count by 1 for informational chapter)

 

Book Four Content (Seven Seas Vol. 6) : Chapters 1 - 13

 

The 800 Year Gap: Chapters 14 - 39

 

Book One Content (Seven Seas Vol. 1) : Chapters 40 - 62

 

Book Two Content (Seven Seas Vol. 2) : Chapters 63 - 65

 

Book Three Content (Seven Seas Vol. 3-6) : Chapters 66 - 112

 

Interlude: Chapters 113 - 115

 

Book Five Content (Seven Seas Vol. 7-8) : Chapters 116 - 142

 

Post-Canon Content:  Chapters 143 - 149

 

Epilogue: Chapters 150 - 151

 

Q & A / Post-Word: Chapter 152

 

 

 

SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS

(Offset count by 1 for informational chapter)

This story has a lot of playlists associated with it that you can listen to while you read if you want! 

 

First is the official No Paths Are Bound Playlist, which has tracks that correspond to every chapter of the fic, and updates as the story does.

Here's the tracklist, and it's corresponding chapters:

Ch. 1: King, You Found Me

Ch. 2: Through the Eyes of a Child, Ugly, This is How You Fall in Love, July

Ch. 3: Sorrow, Now Comes the Night, Swallowed By the Sea, Saturn, Leaves from the Vine

Ch. 4: Remember Me, It's Quiet Uptown, Dancing With Your Ghost, Echo

Ch. 5: My Mistake, Bad Friend

Ch. 6: Haunted, Gravity

Ch. 7: The Devil Within, Become the Beast, O Death, My Love Will Never Die

Ch. 8: The Archer, Appointments

Ch. 9: How Villains Are Made, Paint it Black, If I Killed Someone for You

Ch. 10: Glass Heart Hymn, Control

Ch. 11: The Times, They are a-Changin',  Order 66 Theme

Ch. 12: Heavenly Father, Landslide, Stop Crying Your Heart out, Epiphany, Evermore

Ch. 13: Cover My Eyes, Best of Me, Found/Tonight, Wait for Me (Reprise)

Ch. 14: Eye of the Needle, Bloody Tears (epic version), Don't Get in My Way, Trials

Ch. 15: Maps, Wolves

Ch. 16: Hunt You Down, The Waltz of the Bone King, The Devil's Whisper

Ch. 17: Bad Dreams, Jenny of Old Stones 

Ch. 18: Holy, Tolerate It, The Last Butterfly

Ch. 19: True North

Ch. 20: Smoke Signals

Ch. 21: Bad Moon Rising

Ch. 22: New Years Day

Ch. 23: All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

Ch. 24: Blood On My Name

Ch. 25: Comes and Goes (in waves)

Ch. 26: Dear Friend Across the River

Ch. 27: Come Away to the Water

Ch. 28: Let You Down, Survivor

Ch. 29: Dark in My Imagination, Iron

Ch. 30: Graveyard

Ch. 31: A Sky Full of Song

Ch. 32: For What it's Worth

Ch. 33: The Chain, Look Who's Inside Again

Ch. 34: Wanderer's Lullaby, Stories

Ch. 35: I'm Trying (Not Friends)

Ch. 36: Ba Sing Se

Ch. 37: Wu Ji

Ch. 38: Shang-Chi Main Theme, Blackest Crow

Ch. 39: Something I Need, Thus Always to Tyrants

Ch. 40: Immortal

Ch. 41: Yi Hua Yi Jian, Fall on Me

Ch. 42: Crazier Things

Ch. 43: Ghost

Ch. 44: Death Wish

Ch. 45: When You Were Young, Hold Me While You Wait

Ch. 46: Sociopath

Ch. 47: I Hope You're Happy

Ch. 48: 1000 Times

Ch. 49: Falling

Ch. 50: All That You Are

Ch. 51: The Hills

Ch. 52: She Used to be Mine, The Night We Met

Ch. 53: Chaos is a Ladder

Ch. 54: The Wondersmith and his Sons, The Home We Made

Ch. 55: The Devil is a Gentleman

Ch. 56: The Beast

Ch. 57: Flames

Ch. 58: Nothing is as it Seems

Ch. 59: Runaway

Ch. 60: Who Are You

Ch. 61: Body Bag, Wasteland, Baby!

Ch. 62: Happier than Ever - Edit, Let Me Go

Ch. 63: Good Girl Winnie Foster

Ch. 64: Run, Perfect - Stripped

Ch. 65:  Mercury

Ch. 66: Autumn

Ch. 67: Epic III, Fairytales

Ch. 68: Yellow, Infinity, Through Heaven's Eyes

Ch. 69: I Scared All My Friends Away, When the Party's Over, 85%

Ch. 70: Tear in My Heart

Ch. 71: Animal

Ch. 72:   Afterglow, Heavenly, Turn out the Lights

Ch. 73: To the Gallows

Ch. 74: Wonder

Ch. 75:   Strawberry Blonde, Burn Butcher Burn

Ch. 76: Suspiria

Ch. 77: No Time to Die

Ch. 78:   For the First Time in Forever (reprise)

Ch. 79: Swan Lake - Epic Trailer Version

Ch. 80: Never Let Me Go

Ch. 81: Enemy, Ready As I'll Ever Be, Double Crossed 

Ch. 82: I Was Wrong

Ch. 83: The Confrontation, The Last Agni Kai, Dear Theodosia 

Ch. 84:   Surface Pressure, Older than I Am, Adelaide

Ch. 85: Drown, Casualty, Trauma, Waste This, Monster, Illicit Affairs, Favorite Crime

Ch. 86: The Successor, Xion, Goodbye, What Could Have Been, Requiem, Dear Theodosia (reprise)

Ch. 87: Hear Me Roar, Light of the Seven, Losing Your Memory, If I Die Young, Arms Tonite

Ch. 88: Meet Me In the Woods, High

Ch. 89: Better Man, Hold My Girl, [ Wen Qing ] Woodland

Ch. 90: The Mask

Ch. 91: Angels (Acoustic), i wanna be your girlfriend

Ch. 92: The Kids Aren't Alright, Ways to Go, Lotta True Crime 

Ch. 93: Bastards, Dear John, I Think I'm OKAY

Ch. 94: Lightning Crashes

Ch. 95: Pokerface

Ch. 96: Falling In Love, Bad Liar

Ch. 97: Lay All Your Love on Me

Ch. 98: Till It Happens to You, abcdefu (angrier)

Ch. 99: STFU!!

Ch. 100: Lotta True Crime

Ch. 101: Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight), Hayloft

Ch. 102: Soldier, History Has It's Eyes on You, Fortunate Son

Ch. 103: Serial Heartbreaker

Ch. 104: The Man

Ch. 105: Invisible String

Ch. 106: Jealousy, Jealousy, Nothing New

Ch. 107: Little Dark Age, Leave Me Alone 

Ch. 108: I Did This All For You, Bruises

Ch. 109: A Witch Stole Sam, Before You Go

Ch. 110: All of Your Lies, Mr. Forgettable, Sweet Dreams

Ch. 111: I Hear a Symphony, Experience, Je Te Laisserai Des Mots

Ch. 112: Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Tonight You Belong To me 

Ch. 113: The Bells of Notre Dame, Killer Queen

Ch. 114 : Our Love, The Plagues

Ch. 115: The Winner Takes It All, Bang Bang, Confrontation, Sweet Child O' Mine, From Now On

Ch. 116:   Maneater, Look What You Made Me Do

Ch. 117: Enemy

Ch. 118: Feeling Good

Ch. 119: Why Am I Like This?

Ch. 120: Fake It, Masquerade

Ch. 121: Marjorie, Night Changes (slowed), Kiss it Better, Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

Ch. 122: Hellfire, There Isn't Any God, A Little Piece of Heaven

Ch. 123: Hell's Coming With Me, Ain't No Crying, Power, Friction, We Will Rock You

Ch. 124: Hold My Hand, Take Me Home

Ch. 125: No One's Here to Sleep, The High Seas, Demise of a Nation

Ch. 126: Not That Big, Gasoline, Headlights

Ch. 127: Washing Machine Heart, Darkest, Mikasa vs. Warhammer Titan, Ashes

Ch. 128: Tough to Be a God, Holding Out For A Hero, Rapid As Wildfires

Ch. 129: The Mad King, My Condolences, Monster

Ch. 130: PRO//MARE, Supercharger, thunderBOLTfantsy

Ch. 131: Dog Teeth, Michelle, When The Party's Over

Ch. 132: I hate u but thank u, Drunk Walk Home, You Might Not Like Her

Ch. 133: Brother

Ch. 134: Wands into the Earth, Irregular God, GAL-OTHY-MOS, AOGIRI, Omega

Ch. 135: Festival of Light, Eren's Berserk Theme, Ashes on the Fire V2, Bios, Symphonicsuite (Aot) Part 2-6th, Kröne

Ch. 136: Cardigan, Hurricane, Home

Ch. 137: Heavenly Father, Service and Sacrifice

Ch. 138: I'm Not Angry Anymore, Medicine, Shapeshift

Ch. 139: Satisfied, Parallel Universe, The 1, Moon Song, Something in the Orange

Ch. 140: MDZS Donghua Soundtrack x 2, Running Up That Hill

Ch. 141: Wait for Me, Mercury, Mr. Loverman

Ch. 142: I Know a Place (Acoustic)

Ch. 143: To Heal, Enough for One Life

Ch. 144: Another - Track 7, This Love

Ch. 145: Come to Me, Lover

Ch. 146: Light of Love, Love, Heaven

Ch. 147:   Not Easy, 7 Years

Ch. 148: Don't Take the Money, Mirrorball, The Great War

Ch. 149: As it Was, Life You Lead, Greek Tragedy

Ch. 150: In Your Arms, Carry On, Sweetest Devotion, Mastermind

 

 

 

 

Then, there are playlists that correspond to specific arcs within the story:

 

Then, there are playlists for relationships within the story.

Finally, there are playlists for characters within the story.

 

Notes:

This will be updated with additional information as the story progresses, if you would like to have anything added to the FAQs, feel free to leave a comment! Thanks for taking the time to read this story!