Chapter 137 – Finale

The audience had finally witnessed Nie Yunzhang’s death.

The young hero who once rode his horse with a whip in hand now lay on his sickbed. The emperor sobbed uncontrollably, while he remained exceptionally calm.

Even in his final moments, his thoughts were still consumed by the desire to defend the borders and ensure a lifetime of peace for the frontier people.

Though the emperor possessed the entire kingdom, boundless wealth, and unparalleled power—enough to summon the most skilled physicians—he could not save Nie Yunzhang’s life. Every desperate cry of “I will heal you” and “You will not die” seemed utterly powerless.

[Even though I knew this was the ending, I still feel terrible.]

[Me too…]

[No, wuwuwuwu! Please don’t!]

[Sigh, the crown prince was looking forward to Nie Yunzhang’s return so much. After ascending the throne, he had so few trusted ministers. Many people changed once they gained power, but only Nie Yunzhang remained unwavering in his loyalty.]

[Alas.]

On the screen, Nie Yunzhang still did not ask for anything for himself, nor did he make any requests for his family.

The emperor asked him why he did not plead for anything, and he simply replied, “They will live longer than me.”

Why should the living rely on the dead?

If he had continued to live, he would have done everything in his power for his family and the Nie clan. But now, he was dying.

Those he had protected would all outlive him. He had spent his life worrying about them—was he supposed to continue guarding them even after descending into the underworld?

The emperor wept again, saying that Nie Yunzhang would surely ascend to the heavens and become an immortal.

Yet it was Nie Yunzhang who weakly reached out his trembling hand and gently patted the emperor’s back. “Your Majesty, I have killed too many people. I will not ascend to the heavens.”

His gaze no longer held the purity of his youth. After enduring countless trials on the battlefield, witnessing enemies perish and loyal subordinates fall day after day, Nie Yunzhang had become steadier than before—but he was no longer as innocent.

Yet, when facing the emperor he had loyally served—the childhood friend he had once fought alongside—Nie Yunzhang remained honest. He could only feel helpless in the face of the emperor’s uncontrollable grief.

But… at least his life had not been in vain.

Some coveted his power, fearing that after his departure, the Nie family would have no one left to rely on within the imperial court. Yet, there were also those who sincerely cared about him—even if that person was now the ruler of the empire.

That was enough.

The final scene of Nie Yunzhang’s life was him lying on his sickbed, eyes gently closing, as if he had merely drifted into sleep.

For the empire, a brilliant star had fallen at that moment.

The emperor, having lost his most loyal sword, became even colder and more hardened. Yet, even in his later years—after witnessing the rise and fall of countless officials, some executed along with their entire clans, some beheaded, and others retiring peacefully—he never forgot Nie Yunzhang. He remembered the friend who had fought for him in their youth, the man who had made promises on his behalf, and the sacrifices he had made.

[Oh no… The historical records say Nie Yunzhang was buried beside the emperor.]

[Nie Yunzhang didn’t want the emperor to protect the Nie family, yet in history, the Nie clan suffered the least under his reign.]

[Nie Yunzhang didn’t truly want to die. But when he was on his deathbed, his father still asked him who should inherit his title—what could he say? He simply answered that it was for the emperor to decide. Yet his father insisted that he beg the emperor for it… This level of scheming hit me right in the face.]

[I’m crying even more than the emperor…]

[Even though I always knew how Nie Yunzhang’s story would end, I still can’t bear it.]

In the final episode of Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry, the emperor’s tears and Nie Yunzhang’s helpless smile trended together on social media.

His sorrow, his final wish… The young general who had once been invincible on the battlefield was, in the end, just as fragile as any ordinary person.

[My heart hurts so much!!!!]

[Ahhhhhh why did this have to be Nie Yunzhang’s ending?]

[All I can say is, Lu Xu is truly a master at portraying sorrowful roles. He rarely relies on tears to express grief, yet even without shedding a single tear, just by watching his expressions and movements, I still couldn’t get over it for a long time.]

[Before starting Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry, I thought it was just an ordinary historical drama—familiar figures, well-known events. How much sadness could it really evoke? But the more I watched, the more I got drawn in. Looking back, perhaps this sense of ‘inevitability’ is what made it even more heartbreaking. Who wouldn’t want to rewrite Nie Yunzhang’s ending?]

[Count me in for rewriting the ending +1.]

And so, shortly after Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry aired its final episode, countless Nie Yunzhang fanfictions popped up overnight on a certain green-themed website. They covered various orientations and genres, yet most shared a similar conclusion—Nie Yunzhang did not die. He lived on. He lived a long life. He lived to a ripe old age.

Industry analysts had predicted the show’s popularity would surpass 15,000, putting it on par with Phantom Realm.

However, Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry’s finale coincided perfectly with Lu Xu’s nomination for the Golden Flame Awards.

And that final scene—Nie Yunzhang, shrouded in grief and resignation—could only be described as tragic.

There is nothing more sorrowful than dying before one’s ambitions are fulfilled, nothing more painful than the premature death of a hero. Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry was never meant to be a tearjerker, yet it had quietly laid the foundation for heartbreak from the very beginning.

The audience was, in fact, quite forgiving. As long as a drama had something worth watching, they would stick with it.

Besides, now that the story had reached this point, how could they not stay to witness Nie Yunzhang’s final fate?

On the night of the finale, Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry reached a popularity score of 16,166, surpassing the 16,000 mark once again.

[So strong, so strong, so unbelievably strong!]

[As expected of Lu Xu!! The undisputed king of the drama industry!]

[The director and screenwriter were already top-tier, but honestly, you just can’t ignore the mystical power of casting. Lu Xu’s dramas always perform insanely well—it’s almost supernatural.]

[I still have to say this—Lu Xu, give me back my tears! Ahhhhh! This is too much! There isn’t a single Lu Xu drama that doesn’t make me cry! I have work tomorrow, and now my eyes are swollen from crying!]

[…So this season had dramas with popularity scores of 16,000+, 15,000+, and 14,000+? That’s insane. Other production teams should take notes instead of churning out garbage dramas and fighting over nonsense. If the drama is bad, and the off-screen drama is even uglier, what’s the point?]

Meanwhile, Lu Xu continued to receive an influx of drama offers.

At this point, there was no doubt—both in terms of popularity and awards, he was undeniably the number-one leading actor in the industry.

The fan-fictions and fan edits for Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry also skyrocketed. Although neither Liu Chunfeng nor Qin Yu had deliberately pushed a CP between the emperor and Nie Yunzhang during filming, and Lu Xu and Shao Yao hadn’t either, the audience’s imagination ran wild, churning out one fanwork after another.

But in a way, this was something only hit dramas could inspire.

In fact, the overwhelming sadness of Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry—especially its inescapable sense of fate—only made it linger longer in viewers’ hearts. Tragedies, particularly ones with this kind of inevitability, tend to have an even greater emotional impact, making it harder for the audience to move on. Because of this, even after the finale, the drama maintained high popularity for nearly half a month.

During this period, its popularity consistently remained above 10,000, even surpassing several newly released dramas.

[LMAO, being Lu Xu’s competitor is tough, but apparently, even not airing in the same season as him is tough too?]

[Lu Xu—officially recognized as the ultimate drama industry gatekeeper.]

[Actually… I don’t even know why, but I ended up watching the finale of Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry eight times. Over and over again. I just couldn’t stop.]

[Same here…]

[Lu Xu was truly the most visually stunning version of Nie Yunzhang. He perfectly embodied everything I imagined this character to be. I was already a fan of Nie Yunzhang, and Lu Xu’s performance brought him to life exactly as I had envisioned.]

No matter what, with the conclusion of Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry, this season officially came to an end. Phantom Realm, Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry, and Flames of War all had their own successes. While Phantom Realm dominated the trending charts during its airing, in terms of overall popularity, Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry still had the edge.

It was easy to predict that at next year’s Stellar Awards, these three dramas would once again compete fiercely. However, by that time, Phantom Realm’s advantage might be the weakest among them.

Still, for the production teams, having a hit drama was already a victory in itself.

Some industry insiders even ran the numbers, and all three dramas had turned a profit—whether in terms of revenue, the actors’ careers, or returns for investors and management agencies, everyone had gained something.

[A rare win-win in the drama industry.]

[See? All that pointless in-fighting is meaningless! The funniest thing is when all the fighting ends up being a battle between weaklings.]

[As soon as I read that, I knew exactly which shows you were talking about—XX and XXXX, right? They fought so publicly that the whole industry was laughing. The male and female leads even cried for half an hour during a livestream, and the host got b*llied off the internet for not comforting them properly. Yet despite all that drama, neither of their shows even broke 9,000 in popularity score. What a joke.]

[Phantom Realm mainly learned from The Empress’s mistakes. If they had continued stirring up controversy, it would have only hurt both sides. After all, Qiao Mengyao was relying on this drama to prove her acting skills.]

Liu Chunfeng and Qin Yu had never intended to engage in industry feuds. Lack of experience was one reason, but more importantly, their production team simply didn’t have the budget to fight back. Every bit of marketing money had been squeezed out with great effort.

Fortunately, Lu Xu’s dramas naturally came with a built-in popularity boost, so the production team’s marketing expenses were actually quite limited.

After the finale aired, Liu Chunfeng and Qin Yu specifically invited Lu Xu out for a meal, and Shao Yao was also called along—mainly because he was in charge of picking the restaurant.

Liu Chunfeng sighed and joked that if Shao Yao ever got tired of acting, he could become a food critic instead. He could tell the difference between freshly made dishes and pre-prepared meals with just one bite.

“Now that this one’s wrapped up, we’ve got new dramas lined up to shoot,” Liu Chunfeng said with a smile. “One successful drama leads to more offers. Then, if you flop a few, you just wait for a comeback, and then you’re back in business.”

That was exactly what had happened after Son of Heaven. By now, Liu Chunfeng had already figured out the cycle of the industry.

But he had learned to stay calm. As a director, creating even one classic drama was already an achievement—let alone multiple.

“I’m guessing you’ll get a Best Actor nomination next year,” Liu Chunfeng said to Lu Xu. Then he turned to Shao Yao. “And you should be up for Best Supporting Actor.”

But… his words were completely wasted on them.

The two were too busy devouring their food, each eating more than the other, as if the Stellar Awards were no big deal.

Liu Chunfeng: “…”

Lu Xu probably had the award in the bag, and as for Shao Yao… well, winning an award might not be as important to him as eating good food or learning how to argue better.

But perhaps it was precisely because these two had already fulfilled their responsibilities as actors—bringing their characters to life flawlessly—that they could remain so indifferent to awards.

Winning was great, but if they didn’t win, they could still hold their heads high, knowing they had done their best.

“Eat, eat.” The director thought for a moment and added a few more dishes for them. Otherwise, he suspected that, given Lu Xu and Shao Yao’s personalities, they might go back and complain about how he didn’t feed them enough.

The more Liu Chunfeng thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Lu Xu was still somewhat reserved, but Shao Yao? He was definitely the type to loudly complain about not getting enough to eat.

“They wouldn’t,” Qin Yu suddenly said.

Liu Chunfeng looked at him.

“Their managers would just suspect you only treated them to protein powder.”

The screenwriter’s tone was so deadpan that it made the whole thing sound utterly serious.

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One thought on “Famous! Ch.137

  1. The writing in this was beautiful. Thank you so much for translating! It was so well done, I honestly cried multiple times, especially at each film plot being described. Binged-read this for 2-3 days and I’m satisfied to sacrifice my sleep for this! Keep it up and take your time, excited to read more :))

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