About

Strict Warning: Major Spoilers for Chapter 8 In his youth, Baoyu was a boy of rich emotion and a kind heart. He spent his days playing with his cousins, flying kites, and enjoying the simple moments of life. However, his jade-colored left eye was actually a prosthetic, implanted so that the "Elders" who ruled the Grand View Garden could peer into the outside world. Everything Baoyu saw and heard was transmitted to the Iron Cage Temple, where the Elders consumed his life as entertainment. His grandmother, Jia Mu, treated him as the "Jewel of the Grand View Garden," but this special affection was rooted in the fact that he was a "precious jade" meant to amuse the Elders. Eventually, Jia Mu cooperated in the research of "Pills" to destroy the Kong family. Throughout the research process, Baoyu was forced to witness gruesome human experimentation through his prosthetic eye. Under the guise of presenting research results, the Pills—which created "Outskirts" entities—were used on the Kong family. Having touched upon a Taboo of the City, the Kong family met their end on the Day of Kong's Extinction. In that tragedy, the cousins Baoyu was close to lost their lives. Yet, Baoyu was forbidden from speaking of what he saw. Unable to tell the truth to anyone, a rift slowly formed between him and those around him. He had let his cousins die. He was favored by Jia Mu. Ultimately, he shut down his emotions. Sadness, anger, the sheer injustice of it all—he laughs and brushes everything aside, simply watching the world go by. For him, that became his only way to protect himself.