LOL YEAH literally the second he appeared onscreen I was like oh god what a freak. he’s going to be my favorite isn’t he. but what really got me invested in him was how much depth he has! I LOVE when a villain’s worldview has real complexity and comes from an intensely human and sympathetic place… like he grew up physically weak and bullied, the heir to a disgraced family that were once conquerers… I think he took his family motto to heart in order to become more like his ancestors, but as a coping mechanism he became fixated on the idea of pain and just spiraled from there. “heroes are forged in agony” becomes “if I can endure extreme pain, I can become great” becomes “my worth as a person is dependent on how much pain I can endure.” which leads to him basically engineering his own mental and physical trials (undergoing transmutation, which “causes intense pain that is intolerable for most people”) that makes him literally physically stronger. his sol seal must represent “discipline” because he really does religiously follow the Jie family precept in the most literal way possible. anyway he’s soooo fascinating to pick apart

he’s also just a delightful character like he looks directly at the camera and strikes a pose in the middle of his boss fight. he drinks tea directly from the pot. he calls yi pet names. he gets really excited if yi poisons him. he has a silly giggle. he simply oozes personality

OH MY GODDDDD I’M LITERALLY SO JEALOUS I NEED ONE