I have a thought about Cao Weining's sword and sheath story and Gu Xiang's first snowman that none of the later ones could replace. The only problem is I keep breaking down into sobs before I can complete the thought.

I think if gu xiang had had more of a normal/safe upbringing she'd be a lot like cao weining! And even as things are she's so kind, & bright (in the sense of being like light), which is very similar to cwn

She's had to learn to be cruel to survive, but she has never been evil in any way beyond the most surface level. The way she stepped in for the girl in the restaurant, & the other two girls she saved-- she's always been, at the core, kind.

After cwn saves gao xiaolian and faints, gu xiang says 嫁鸡随鸡嫁狗随狗 which basically means she will do as cwn does. But I don't think she's simply following him-- I think this is true to her nature, just that she's always had to think more, and fear more

Also they're both stubborn once they fix on something they want, & something they know is right to them. What comes to mind is cwn choosing to believe and stick by gx, not just because he swore to wkx, but also because he /knows/ she's genuinely good.

I think shl is in a sense about light & how different people can cut through the darkness. And I think gx and cwn are a rare kind of light, not letting the cruelty of the ghost valley (for gx) or the hidden jianghu politics (for cwn) tarnish their genuine goodness and kindness.