On the identity of Mr. Orchid

[bliss]

TigerWong, I figure we would continue our discussion in a new thread so that maybe this information won't be lost for other Gu Long fans who might be looking for it in the future.

Concerning the identity of Mr. Orchid from Gu Long's Chu Liuxiang novel, 'Wuye Lanhua', or 'The Midnight Orchid', we never get to learn the identity of the villain of the novel but Gu Long does drop many hints.

I got the Mr. Orchid reference. I didn't mention it because PJ already did a few posts back. Plus, I was wondering in the back of my mind if it was really so obvious. Guess I shouldn't over-think things.

I agree w. the opinion on his identity. I distinctly recall the chilling moment when I came to that realization while I was reading the novel... probably the only thing that kept it from being a complete waste of my time.

I don't remember it being verified in another novel though. If you find out where, let me know.

I actually read the reference in a chinese wuxia forum where they were discussing the identity of Mr. Orchid as well. Someone referenced a passage in another novel, 'Na yi jian de feng qing' so I did some digging and found the passage ...

——一生從沒有虧待過自己，騎最快的馬，爬最高的山，吃最辣的菜，喝最烈的酒，玩最快的刀，殺最狠的人，第 一次結婚，但會“又在洞房花燭的那天逃走的”嚇死人的新娘子“風四娘。——追胡鐵花追了兩三年，持劍逼他娶 親的華山弟子高亞男。——死過七次，女扮男裝成天和郭大路斗嘴的燕七。——与沈浪笑傲江湖達三十年之久的朱 大小姐朱七七。——由愛生恨，設計殺楚留香的”午夜蘭花先生“蘇蓉蓉。這些都是在江湖上名動一時，至今仍令 人難以忘怀的女中豪杰。可是她們和藏花比起來，似乎還少了一點點。——少了一點點”狂“。

I've never read this novel actually, maybe I should look into it sometime. I remember reading that it's mostly written by Gu Long's student Ding Qing so I'm not even sure it can be considered canon.

But anyway, the passage goes through a list of past heroines in the Gu Long universe and explicitly lists Su Rongrong under the moniker of Midnight Orchid. At the very least, we can assume that Ding Qing did have discussions with his teacher at one point concerning the identity of Mr Orchid, so based on that I would assume that we could take this to be pretty good evidence that Su Rongrong is indeed Mr Orchid ... which is pretty shocking to say the least.

Plus, it's almost obvious in the novel itself, here's the one passage that strongly hints that it's Su Rongrong as well ...

“楚留香不肯把那次事件的結局說出來，就因為他不肯揭穿那位蘭花先生的真實身份。”
　　“是的。”
　　少年遲疑，立刻又說：“不是他不肯揭穿那位蘭花先生的身份，而是他不愿讓世人知道這個人就是蘭花先生。 ”
　　這兩种說法听來好像是一樣的，其問卻又有一點差异。
　　長者明白這一點，少年卻還要解釋：“所以我認為這位蘭花先生一定也是一個和香帥有极親密极不尋常關系的 人。”
　　“也是？”
　　長者問：“在這次事件中，還有些什么人和他有這种關系？”
　　少年想說話，忽然又閉上了嘴，因為他也不忍將這個人的名字說出來。
　　——一個多么聰明，多么溫柔，多么美麗的人，多么可敬，多么可愛。
　　在江湖人心目中，這個人几乎已成為美的化身，有誰忍心毀坏？

[xJadedx]

I remember reading somewhere that the identity of Orchid is indeed Su RongRong.
I think that how I felt when I read the novel.

[TigerWong]

Concerning the identity of Mr. Orchid from Gu Long's Chu Liuxiang novel, 'Wuye Lanhua', or 'The Midnight Orchid', we never get to learn the identity of the villain of the novel but Gu Long does drop many hints.

I personally believe it is Su RongRong. We've had several discussion threads on this in the past, and a few people will always state that it was never revealed. But it is the only conclusion that fits the theme of that novel, and everything builds up to it... from when GL describes the personalities of each of Chu LiuXiang's ladies, to the conversation at the end. I actually loved how GL never gave an outright answer. As the hints kept piling up, I felt a strong sense of dread creeping up on me, as I realized the direction it was headed. It is more shocking when you arrive at the conclusion on your own. You think to yourself "no way!", but possessiveness can be a poisonous thing....

I actually read the reference in a chinese wuxia forum where they were discussing the identity of Mr. Orchid as well. Someone referenced a passage in another novel, 'Na yi jian de feng qing' so I did some digging and found the passage ...

No wonder I don't recall the passage, I hardly remember much of that novel at all. It was pretty bad, I don't think you should waste your time unless you run out of GL novels to read and need that fix. Which was why I ultimately finished it. I wished it hadn't stated his identity so matter-of-factly. I think it takes something away.