Shipping Wiki
Advertisement
SPOILER WARNING!
this article may contain major plot or ending details

Gallery Icon
Artwork: 7474Screenshots: 2727Stills: 4141
You said that in the world of Jianghu, there are quite a lot of fun places. Snow mountains in the north, sea of forgetfulness in the south, and golden woods in the west. I'm waiting for you to take me to all these places.
— Yuxiu reassuring Ling'er that she’ll stay by her side in Season 1, Episode 12

LingXiu is the femslash ship between Feng Ling'er and Bai Yuxiu from the Soulmate Adventure fandom.

Canon[]

Season 1[]

The two characters first meet when Ling'er sneaks into the Bai family residence to steal valuables. Amused, Yuxiu pretends to be a ghost and spooks Ling'er, and then the two engage in a fight. Ling'er manages to escape the building, but Yuxiu quickly tracks her down and gives chase. After a while, Ling'er fakes falling off a bridge and reaching out to Yuxiu for help, only to pull Yuxiu into the waters below with her. They become friends after, and some time later, when Yuxiu’s mother disappears without a trace for three years, the two embark on a journey together to find her.

An unknown amount of time later, while low on funds, they attempt to rob a residence, only to get caught. The rich boy who lives there decides to tag along, but then the three end up on a gang’s ship after the boatman turns on them. Ling'er steals a valuable-looking box, not knowing that it contains a powerful essence desired by martial artists everywhere. Dangerous foes come after them for it, and even more dangerous enemies pursue them after discovering that Yuxiu is an extremely powerful martial artist herself despite her young age and that Ling'er is somehow connected to a very infamous and elusive thief. By the end of the season, they have dispelled these threats, but more are yet to come as they continue the journey south to find Yuxiu’s mother.

On their journey, Ling'er and Yuxiu both show deep dedication, trust, and care for one another. They are constantly looking out for each other, backing the other up, and saving the other. Ling'er is frequently caught staring and looking smitten by Yuxiu, while Yuxiu, who is usually calm and collected, expresses great delight from Ling’s antics and immense distress whenever Ling'er is in danger. Whenever the other is feeling down or left out, Ling'er and Yuxiu are quick to comfort and cheer the other up. They hold each other in high regard and the thought of either of them leaving the other’s side saddens both of them, but they are quick to reassure one another that they’ll stay together whenever that comes up.

List of moments where the two save each other:

  • In the pilot episode, after Ling'er emerges from the waters she’d fallen into after getting drugged and sees an unconscious Yuxiu getting carried onto a large ship, Ling'er immediately heads toward the ship to rescue her. After Ling'er frees Yuxiu, the two then show great teamwork, working seamlessly together to subsequently take out their enemies and escape from the ship together.
  • After Yuxiu gets poisoned by the performers, she asks Ling'er to buy her some time while she works on expelling the poison from her body. Ling'er successfully does as requested, having full faith in Yuxiu to recover and save them from the performers.
  • When Ling'er gets captured and taken away by Dark Evil, Yuxiu becomes visibly distraught and risks her life to go save her. After Ling'er gets saved by Liu Ruyan instead and finds out that Yuxiu is still fighting where Ling'er was previously being held captive, Ling'er immediately heads back to help Yuxiu.
  • After Dark Evil is revealed to actually be Lu You instead, Yuxiu again asks Ling'er to help distract him so that she can attack, which Ling'er does until her injury stops her. Yuxiu immediately comes to Ling’s aid and gets hurt in the process, then Ling'er carries Yuxiu away and creates an opportunity for Liu Ruyan to come rescue them both.
  • When Yuxiu gets overwhelmed by the Red Yang Blood Essence and starts attacking everyone, Ling'er jumps in front of her to stop her and Yuxiu instinctively stops her attack before her inner demon takes over again. At great risk to herself, Ling'er then tearfully hugs and pleads with Yuxiu to snap out of the demon-like state she had fallen into. Afterwards, when Yuxiu falls into a coma for three days and nights, Ling'er stays by her bedside to look after her.

Chinese New Year 2022 Special[]

This purportedly takes place some time after Season 1 and before Season 2. There is a tournament being held, with the winners getting a lot of money. Ling'er confidently asserts that she and Yuxiu will win the prize and then the two team up against many other characters. In the end, no one wins, but the two manage to capture a criminal to get a different monetary prize instead.

Season 2[]

The two continue their journey to the south in search of Yuxiu's mother. Along the way, Ling'er and Yuxiu resume their usual playful banter with one another. Their traveling group stumbles across the hidden abode of Yuxiu's grandaunt, and Yuxiu decides to stay with her relative for a year to regain the power she had lost at the end of the previous season. Reluctantly, after receiving news about her missing master, Ling'er also separates from Yuxiu, promising to the latter to light a sky lantern to let her know when she returns. About a year later, upon seeing a sky lantern, Yuxiu excitedly runs out to meet Ling'er, only to come across another person instead. She's crestfallen, until she receives a letter written in Ling's handwriting about a martial arts tournament the latter will be participating in. Yuxiu decides to go observe the tournament to find Ling'er despite the potential danger that would put the former in as a wanted fugitive. Nonetheless, Yuxiu disguises her hair and successfully blends in with the other observers until she witnesses a downed opponent try a sneak attack on Ling'er. Instinctively, Yuxiu jumps from the stands and blocks the attack. Ling'er pretends to not know who she is, however, and speaks aggressively towards her. The season ends with a strong wind blowing Yuxiu's wig off and revealing her true hair color before she can reply.

Special Episode[]

This special episode takes place directly after Season 2. Following their reunion, Ling'er and Yuxiu work together to buy Ling'er time to steal the Heart Energy while Yuxiu distracts the Pavilion Masters. Yuxiu's true identity gets revealed when Ling’s life is endangered however, then Yuxiu gets severely injured while shielding Ling'er. In the post-credits scene, the two, along with Liu Ruyan and Bai Muzhen, celebrate their success. Afterwards, while catching up with each other, Ling'er proposes to Yuxiu that they start their own martial arts sect called Lingxiu (a combination of their names), with Yuxiu as the Chief and Ling'er as the Deputy Chief.

Quotes[]

“Yuxiu. Yuxiu, what’s going on? Don’t you recognize me? I’m Ling'er. What happened to you? Why have you changed into this? Wake up, will you? I’m scared. Yuxiu.”
— Ling'er pleading with a corrupted Yuxiu in Season 1, Episode 12
Yuxiu“Just a moment. I want to remember this scene clearly. Many years later, I will recall this morning, the sound of the wind rustling through the reeds, the morning light flickering through my fingers, and, the freedom and joy of traveling with you. Ling'er, will we always be like this?”
Ling'er“Come on, Yuxiu, why wouldn't we?”
— Special Episode, Part 1
Ling'er“Yu... Yuxiu. How did you get hurt so badly?”
Yuxiu“Ling'er. It's okay. As long as I'm here, I will never let you...”
Ling'er“Yuxiu, you are seriously injured. Stop talking.”
Yuxiu“So this is the end of our journey in Jianghu? I thought I could see the day when you become an old lady.”
Ling'er“By that time, I will definitely pester you every day, drinking and playing chess. Don't find me annoying, okay?”
Yuxiu“How could I?”
— Special Episode, Part 2

Fanon[]

General Consensus[]

LingXiu is a ship featuring the two main characters of the Soulmate Adventure series and are the titular soulmates going on an adventure together in this series. Many fans find them to be extremely wholesome and cute together, considering their moments together to be the highlight of the series. Their protectiveness over each other is thought to be precious and their interactions with one another are seen as adorable.

Backlash to Season 2 (and Response)[]

The series became popular due to being advertised as a baihe (Chinese girls' love) donghua - and to this day, even years later, is still the only Chinese animated GL series in existence.[1] Because of this, the series faced immense backlash from fans after Season 2 separated the two lead characters for several episodes and instead placed emphasis on several male characters. Ratings for the series across all video platforms dropped, the studio's crowdfunding campaign for Season 3 failed to meet its expected goal, and overall merch sales began to fall, with many fans even demanding refunds.[2][3] In response, the screenwriter issued a public apology to fans, admitting he had ignored advice given to him by the original creator to focus more on the two leads during production, and took full blame for Season 2's bad reception.[4][5]

The duties of the screenwriter were subsequently taken over by the original creator and director of the series, who promised to do a course correction and keep the two leads together in future seasons, as the focus of the show is supposed to be on the two of them - they are the “heart” of the show.[6][7][8] Additionally, according to the creator, Ling'er and Yuxiu are each other’s “most important person,” which would hold true “throughout their lives” and both would never have any male love interests. A two-part Special Episode released 1 year after Season 2's conclusion received acclaim and supported the sincerity of the first statement, renewing many fans’ trust in the series again, although some fans remain skeptical.[9][10]

Fandom[]

TWITTER
风灵玉秀 posts on Twitter
SoulmateAdventure posts on Twitter
WEIBO
风灵玉秀 Super Topic (Desktop) on Weibo
风灵玉秀 Super Topic (Mobile) on Weibo
风灵玉秀 Tag on Weibo
BILIBILI
铃袖 on Bilibili
风灵玉秀 on Bilibili

Trivia[]

  • The series name 风灵玉秀 (Fēng Líng Yù Xiù) is a homophone of the two lead characters’ given Chinese names: 风铃 (Fēng Líng) and 钰袖 (Yù Xiù).
    • ”儿” (‘er) is an affectionate diminutive suffix used between friends and close acquaintances[11] and “白” (Bái) is Yuxiu’s surname, which is why they are not included.
    • Season 1 Episode 12's title references this homophone directly by being titled "风铃钰袖" (the combination of the two leads' Chinese names) in Chinese and "Soulmate!" in English.[12][13]
  • Since Season 1’s production relied on crowdfunding, with early episodes only being released one episode per year, an in-fandom joke that even the animation studio has picked up is to tell each other “愿你长寿,我的朋友。” (May you live long, my friend.) to see the end of the series’ story. Fans also refer to themselves as belonging to the “Long Life Sect” (the name of the series’ villainous martial arts sect) as another inside joke.[14]
  • For the Mid-Autumn Festival 2022, Ling’s VA released an original song and music video on her Bilibili about and featuring clips of Ling'er and Yuxiu in Season 1. The song title is 执玉随风 (Hold the Jade and Follow the Wind), which is a play on the series title 风灵玉秀 (Wind Spirit and Jade Elegance). The video can be viewed here.
  • Both Yuxiu and Ling'er make a cameo appearance in the HoYoFair 2024 "Flame Fusion Music and Art Festival" Genshin Impact fan art program during a segment created by the show’s director, DDF. As an alternate universe, Yuxiu retains her dark hair color. The VAs of the two reprise their respective roles.[15]

Gallery[]

Main article: LingXiu/Gallery

References[]

Advertisement