/ xie lian rant!!
/ do people forget that he's canonically very skilled? when he was still wandering, he would busk or perform on the streets to earn money. i can see him doing palm readings as well. he did sword swallowing as well as other very circusy tricks
/ xie lian's overall character is also somewhat unsettling in my opinion. in the novels and the donghua, he uses ruoye to strangle things and he's very, very calm when asking it to do so. he's more socially aware than most people perceive him as and i think he uses this to his advantage. he can be very deceiving if he has to and i really do think he could be good at manipulation
/ SLIGHT SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION!! there are arcs where he is quite literally cursed by something even the heavens cannot undo and somehow he manages to break free of that curse by just talking to it (or more specifically, deriving it of its nutrients, fear)
/ on that note, he's quite talkative when he's around a good listener (e.g. he talks to hua cheng a lot because he listens)
/ although i think my depiction of xie lian isn't always the most accurate, i do consider myself a very big fan or xie lian eheheheh
