Why does a god who once confessed his love in a dream suddenly turn cold the next morning? Veil of Shadows (月鳞绮纪) Episode 16 finally answers that question. The fantasy drama has been dropping subtle clues since the beginning, and viewers who blinked missed them. At the center of the confusion sits Long Shen (龙神), the Dragon God, and his strange, hot-and-cold treatment of Lu Wuyi (露芜衣). She saved his life. He admitted he watches the moon and calls it Hui (晦)—her lunar phase. Then he pulled away. Again. The truth lies not in one reason but two: a shattered soul and a fear that runs deeper than any monster.
Two Halves, One Soul
Long Shen did not simply create Ji Ling (寄灵) as a memory. He split himself. Ji Ling carries his warmth, his openness, his ability to say “I like you” without trembling. The Dragon God keeps the weight—responsibility, caution, the muscle memory of loss. For a long time, viewers assumed Ji Ling was just the younger version of him. But the show reveals something more painful. He separated his personality, not his past. One half laughs easily. The other half guards every word.
When Long Shen absorbed Ji Ling’s memories, he also took back his other half’s love for Lu Wuyi. He remembers she loves flowers. He remembers she hates blood on her hands. He knows she wants a bloom that never dies. In danger, he throws his body in front of hers. He let the serpent Jiuying (九婴) hurt himself instead of hurting her. Yet he cannot say a single honest sentence. Ji Ling would have shouted his love from a rooftop. Long Shen swallows it like poison and calls it duty.
The difference is night and day. One expresses. One suppresses. And Lu Wuyi has to guess which version is standing in front of her at any given moment. No wonder she feels confused. He is not being two-faced. He is being two halves of a single, fractured man.
Love Through Actions
The first crack in his armor came when she took a blow for him. Lu Wuyi stepped between Long Shen and the demon Wu Zhiqi (无支祁). Her magic failed. She could have died. Afterwards, she pretended it was a miscalculation. He did not believe her. That night, standing under a moonless sky, he told the darkness he was looking at the moon. Its name was Hui—the phase of no light. That is her moon. He finally admitted his feeling, but only to empty air.
Then came the Star Stone Illusion. Inside that dangerous dream world, he let his guard fall further. He joked about staying there and marrying her if they could not escape. For a moment, he became almost like Ji Ling—warm, hopeful, human. But the moment they stepped out, his hand tightened on hers, then let go. She looked at him with questions. He turned his face away. A tear the size of a bean rolled down his cheek. His eyes never lie. He cares so much it terrifies him.
Now he pushes her away for a new reason. Before, it was responsibility. Now it is love. Pure, desperate, paralyzing love. He saw Jiuying possess Lu Wuyi inside the illusion. The image froze his blood. If that happened in reality, he would have no good choice. So he withdraws. He thinks distance keeps her safe. He does not realize that fate has already written her ending, and no amount of cold shoulders can rewrite it.
Three Commands
Watch his use of the Word Spirit Technique. The first time he used it on Lu Wuyi, he commanded “submit.” She had just learned he possessed Xiao Wei (小唯)’s magic, and she was ready to fight. He wanted control. The second command was not for her. Inside the illusion, he faced a romantic rival—one of Jiuying’s servants named Yuan Wuhuo (源无获). He tried to say “kneel.” His magic was sealed. It failed. But the intent was clear: jealousy.
The third command broke everything. Lu Wuyi wanted to follow him into danger. He did not even turn around. He knew she would come. So he said one word: “stay.” Not “submit.” Not “kneel.” Stay. He used his power not to dominate her, but to protect her. And then he walked away, hurting himself more than he hurt her. The tears came before the spell faded. He cannot control his heart anymore.
She swore she would never drop her guard around him again. She did. She trusts him now without thinking. And every time he pushes her away, he feels the betrayal fresh. He is not cruel. He is scared. The hot and cold is not a game. It is a man fighting his own soul, losing every round, and still showing up to the next fight because letting her go completely is the one thing he cannot do.
