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akatsuki-shin · 3 years

Text

Review: 天官赐福 Tiān Guān Cì Fú (Heaven Official's Blessing)

Notes:

(Very) long post ahead

Contains spoiler

This is my personal review and does not represent the entire audience, you are free to agree or not agree with what I’ve written here

Feel free to reply/send me a message if there are things you want to discuss

Summary:

The most beloved Crown Prince, pride of the Kingdom of Xianle with abundance of talents and achievements, Xie Lian, ascended to Heaven and became a martial god at the young age of 17 on the path to fulfill his dream "to save the common people".

Three years after his ascension, he saw his kingdom beginning to decline and in order to save his beloved country, Xie Lian defied the rules of Heaven and descended back to the mortal realm. Nevertheless, instead of saving them, his interference ended up accelerating the fall of Xianle, annihilating the once prosperous nation under the war of rebellion and a mysterious, horrifying plague.

The people who once praised and worshipped him day and night now condemned him, his devotees left him, they burnt his temples and divine statues, and Xie Lian himself was ultimately banished from the Heaven.

He ascended for the second time a short while later, but was banished once more very soon after. Since then, he lived among the mortals - surviving by collecting junks as he was now branded as the "God of Misfortune", the "Scrap Collecting Immortal".

800 years later, Xie Lian ascended again for the third time. Though having neither temples nor devotees, he accepted his responsibility as a martial god and carried on with his duties until one day, there came a certain, incidental encounter with a mysterious youth clad in red.

STORY: 7/10

TGCF overall is an (almost) complete, satisfying read with well-written twists and development.

Unlike the two previous MXTX's novels, the main pairing here (HuaLian) did not have to go through complicated misunderstandings and is a beautiful representation of love and devotion. Of course, this means there is a lack of conflict between them, but considering all the trials and tribulations the characters have gone through, this lack of conflict feels like a relieving fresh spring amidst the painful and exhausting journey throughout the entire five books.

The best and my most favorite plot twist is the Earth Master Ming Yi having been dead for a while, and the "Ming Yi" we know turns out to be the Black Water Submerging Boats, He Xuan. I'm the kind of person who always suspects characters, but even my furthest suspicion was "only" him being the Reverend of Empty Words, not He Xuan.

Truthfully, prior to reading this novel, I've seen Shi Qingxuan's "MING-XIONG, I'M SORRY x9999" post before without context, and I thought Ming Yi was going to die a tragic death because of Shi Qingxuan. Turns out it's kind of the opposite, huh? Nice one, really.

I also like how each character's "end" feels satisfying. Especially for the villains, they didn't necessarily have to die some tragic, vengeful death, but was provided with an ending that perfectly fits their background story and deeds. For example, in most stories, a character like Xuan Ji would be most likely be given some well-deserved punishment as her death, given everything she's done. But no, in the end she was given a reality check and was finally able to let go of her hundreds of years grudge. And then Qi Rong - I will talk more about him later on in the "Character" section.

One part I really love is the Extra Chapter about the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods. The chapter itself overall is mostly nonsensical and chaotic, but it was just so touching when HuaLian created a "Little Hua Cheng" statue to accompany Xie Lian's "Crown Prince who Pleased the Gods" statue, especially when this Little Hua Cheng statue gave Crown Prince Xie Lian statue a flower, and then Crown Prince Xie Lian received it, lifted him up and carried him in his arms. This one was maybe a bit biased because as much as I love the current HuaLian, I have a special soft spot for the young Xie Lian carrying, cradling the little Hua Cheng back then in the past. ;v;

Though, with all due respect, I must say that TGCF is actually below my expectation.

The biggest issue I have with TGCF is... What is Xie Lian's motivation? What drives him to move forward in the story? What is even the whole story's purpose?

I'm not quite sure how to word this properly, but let me give some examples.

When you read Harry Potter, you know immediately that Voldemort is the bad guy and he must be defeated.

When you read the Lord of the Rings, you know immediately that the One Ring must be destroyed to prevent Sauron from regaining his power.

Or, in MXTX previous works...

In SVSSS, it was clear since the beginning that Shen Yuan's mission is to fix the "Proud Immortal Demon Way" if he wants to survive.

In MDZS, it was clear that Wei Wuxian, together with Lan Wangji's, needs to unravel the mystery behind that fierce left arm. All of their past stories and WangXian getting together in the end are just something they discovered along the way, not the initial "motivation" that drives the character to move forward.

What about TGCF? The Xie Lian who ascended for the third time actually looks like he just wants to go along with the flow, carrying out his duties day by day with responsibility. When Bai Wuxiang later, later, later on appeared to haunt him again, it didn't seem like Xie Lian has any ambition to hunt him down or exact a revenge, just that he wanted to forget about Bai Wuxiang and never recall anything about him ever again. The main character looks like he's not being driven by anything, just...carrying on where the plot takes him? It's just missions after missions and whatever huge things happening in between is just something they accidentally passed by along the way.

At this point, the only purpose of the story I can think of is bringing Hua Cheng and Xie Lian together. The romance is great, I have no complain. But if it's just that, no need to jammed-pack 250+ chapters just to make two people getting together?

Speaking of which, I also think that the way new characters keep being introduced all the way to almost the final showdown of the story feels info dump-ish, because the background story needs to be dropped there along with the characters, but then most of these characters fade away immediately after.

For example, the previous Civil God before Ling Wen, who looks like he’s going to pose some real trouble, but then was easily defeated and was never mentioned again afterwards. And this is especially true for He Xuan; after such a huge arc where he committed such extreme things, after that he was barely mentioned again, even having his “strong impression” leveled down by the joke about him being the poorest Calamity and owing lots of debts to Hua Cheng.

Basically what makes TGCF a long story is because there are too many stories about the side characters in addition to the main characters that are dumped out of the blue instead of slowly being revealed along the way.

Though, I love how the story gradually unravels the "Four Famous Tales" because initially, I thought it wasn't something crucial, and I wished they could've done this for other characters, too.

There is a little bit of plot holes here and there, as in who actually cut open Jian Lan/Lan Chang's baby and made it a ghost, and for what? Even if it turned out that she just met a bad guy or nobody important, at least provide an explanation in one paragraph? Especially because important side characters like Feng Xin and Mu Qing are involved here, so I'm pretty sure us readers need some explanation.

And more importantly, how can Jun Wu become the Emperor martial god? There's no mention about him ascending, only that he annihilated a dynasty of gods before sitting on the throne of the Great Martial Hall. But how can he, like, emitted god-like aura and not some evil aura? Is it because he used to be a god? But he's a ghost? Explanation where???

The gags and comedies are pretty fun, but honestly, the more I read, the more they ruin the atmosphere and suspense, added with the uncalled PDA between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian even during the most important moments. Honestly, I was bored the fuck out of my life from the moment they start fighting Jun Wu with those divine gundams, and only start gaining interest again much later on when Hua Cheng dissipated into butterflies.

Not saying the story's bad. Just... It's not up to my expectation... Characters being inserted here and there with a bunch of background story, gags and a show of PDA being flaunted during crucial moments. And when Mei Nianqing started telling the truth about the Kingdom of Wuyong, that's just plain info dump right there, seriously...

CHARACTERS: 7/10

Interesting characters, but only a few bore a lasting impression on me. Other than the main characters, which are Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, the only side characters (minus Bai Wuxiang as the main villain) who left quite some impression on me were probably just Feng Xin and Mu Qing.

Pei Ming is okay, at least he is still memorable until the end, and his character improved, too.

He Xuan, after having been introduced with such extreme, after his arc is over, was easily forgotten just like that.

Mei Nianqing, is borderline Deus Ex-Machina with a huge chunk of info dump that could solve everything, then he stopped being useful for the rest of the story.

Shi Qingxuan... Honestly, he's almost annoying, too noisy. I don’t hate him (and I kind of like him initially), but the way his character was being handled and presented post-Black Water arc feels disappointingly lazy and he was just there to make the party more merry.

Xie Lian himself, as the protagonist, how do I say this... This is maybe due to the translator's writing style (not MXTX’s fault), but whenever he screams in all capslock, it feels too extreme and borderline OOC? Of course, the original novel written in hanzi couldn't have included capslock.

What's great about him, though, is that despite all he'd gone through, he can still retain a pure heart and could not be swayed to be evil, just as he himself said "Body in the abyss, heart in paradise".

Now Hua Cheng, he is overall a super interesting character and I personally love this type of male characters. But he seriously is way too OP, almost like the original Luo Binghe (Bing-ge) a.k.a. too ideal, too perfect, no flaws, always capable of easily finding a way out in every single peril. I only forgive him for being like this because he dissipated into butterflies at the end of the battle with Jun Wu, making me think "oh, finally he's actually not invincible".

Still, his devotion to Xie Lian is very well written, very well presented, and his "I am forever your most devoted believer" is just downright the most powerful line in the whole story.

Now I promised to talk about Qi Rong, yeah? I haven't the slightest idea why it is even necessary to have Qi Rong as the Night-touring Green Lantern. I mean, yes he is there to make up the number of the Four Great Calamities, but that was for the characters who live in that world. As the novel's reader, I don't see any particularly important roles there for Qi Rong other than being an annoying meme fodder despite his actually pretty-cool first foreshadowing and appearance? Even his issue with Lang Qianqiu does not seem to give that much impact on the overall story, it could've just passed simply being explained in several pages.

Though I'd say he's got the best character development compared to others. Instead of dying as some hateful villain, the way he ended up deciding to protect Guzi at the cost of his own life can already be expected from miles away, but still bittersweet and touching nonetheless - how this crazed, mental person could still love when being presented with such pure, innocent feelings to the point that he acknowledged Guzi as a his own son.

By the way, E Ming and Ruoye are cute, I take no criticism.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS: 8/10

I can't really describe this with words, but MXTX's overall writing technique has greatly improved since MDZS.

It feels more "solid" to read instead of scattered here and there.

The info distribution has improved (fewer info dump compared to before), the story's no longer switching between past and present all of a sudden.

Description of characters and environment are sufficient, the plot is progressing steadily.

Several issues I have with this aspect though, the Prologue being ten pages is just way too long, I don't think I need that much information being stuffed right to my face right from the beginning.

There are excessive use of "Turns out..." every single time an explanation is going to come.

"Xie Lian didn't know whether he should cry or laugh" is honestly has been used probably more than 50 times just in the last two books. Although I'm reading a translation, I'm pretty sure the original Chinese version is being repetitive with this phrase, as well, because the translators couldn't just whip up any other phrase from thin air and put it in someone else's novel.

Almost half of scene transition is always caused by some sudden, external disturbance like "All of a sudden they heard someone's coming", "All of a sudden X visits their room", etc.

OVERALL SCORE: 7.3/10

Worth to read, satisfying overall. The main pairing's love story is just so well written and sweet. As long as you can withstand the violence and gore, though. 😂

TGCF highlights perhaps one of the ugliest natures of mankind: Being nice to someone as long as they're beneficial, and immediately throwing them away once the benefit was no more.

Once that person does not seem to be beneficial anymore, everyone would leave them instantly, even turning on them and start spitting on them without even trying to understand the reason why said person "stopped being beneficial".

Both as a Crown Prince and a martial god, Xie Lian and the Crown Prince of Wuyong were praised, revered, worshipped by the citizens of Xianle and Wuyong respectively. Because they were always helping, always fulfilling the people's wishes. But how easily it was for those very same people to turn on Xie Lian and the Crown Prince of Wuyong when they encountered misfortunes, completely turning a blind eye to the laborious effort both characters have been putting to save them from annihilation, even if it was visible in broad daylight.

It is also worth to note another trait of mankind that this story underlines: To always find a scapegoat or blame others for one's own misfortune and failure - be it another human being, another group of people, the government, even the gods - after having taking their generosity for granted.

Which is why I think the true villain of the story is not Bai Wuxiang, but those citizens of the ancient Wuyong who were now nothing more than resentful spirits eternally burning within the lava of Tonglu Mountain - a well deserved punishment after what they did to their Crown Prince.

#Tian Guan Ci Fu #TGCF #Heaven Officials Blessing #HuaLian #Xie Lian #Hua Cheng #Review #Danmei #MXTX #Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

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peerless-soshi · 5 years

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May I ask for your nice drabble with hualian and 6 + 46?

Rules: Send me two (2) tropes from this list + a ship and I’ll describe how I’d combine them in the same story.

Bookshop AU + Blind Date

The mission looked simply.

Step one: go to the bookstore. Step two: grab the book. Step three: leave the bookstore without causing any additional problems.

Nothing out of ordinary - if you’re an ordinary person, of course, and not Xie Lian. A loser he was, he never had any hopes things could just go as planned.

It could have been worse, Xie Lian thought, gritting his teeth and reaching up. It was good enough that nobody saw him in this embarrassing pose. He stood on his tiptoe, grabbed the shelf, raised his head… Just a little more! His arm started to ache, as if an army of annoying yet bloodthirsty ants was biting it off… And he wasn’t even that short. But here and now, Xie Lian felt like a hamster climbing a bed. Or a bookcase.

It was routine after lectures for him to go to the small bookstore with used books and do homework. Usually, he could count on a nice seller that always took afternoon shifts and wandered through the aisles decked in the smell of books, quietly like a speck of dust, somehow ending up near Xie Lian. But today the boy was nowhere to be found. Maybe Xie Lian shouldn’t be surprised; after all, the book he needed was placed at the very top of the bookcase, and his bad luck made sure there was no ladder nor help to save him.

Xie Lian looked around, then glanced up. It was there; a small paper butterfly eyed him back from the spine of the book, silvering in the light so dimmed by the high shelves. It was just his imagination, a stupid rustle of sheets, but Xie Lian thought he heard a distant wings flutter…

Embarrassing.

Any claims that the paper butterfly was left there for him were nonsense and haughty dreams. He bowed his head. Xie Lian knew he was insisting upon a reason in a coincidence, but last thing he wanted to do — the very last thing — was stopping right before the ending. And so Xie Lian set his foot on the bottom shelf and cautiously checked the weight. Nothing, The bookcase seemed to be stable, hundreds of heavy stories resting on its shelves and holding them under the cover of dust. He added another leg, straightened up. Waited. The sound of crash never came. Well, it was already more than Xie Lian was hoping for. The bookcase falling on him, burying him under a ton of paper like under rubbish and leaving like that until the next morning… Xie Lian pictured it that way. Or similar. But he could easily reach up and touch the book with the silver butterfly. Almost. Just few more centimeters…

The crack came to his ears later than expected. Xie Lian didn’t have time to glean much of an impression from what was going on, he only felt the book slipping away from his fingers and falling, pulling along a cascade of volumes. Allowing himself to act on the spur of the moment, Xie Lian tried to catch them.

Expect that he was the one being caught.

“What?” he exclaimed, meeting the blink of crimson eyes.

It was him. The nice seller, Hua Cheng.

His one hand closed on Xie Lian’s waist, helping him, while the other kept in place the escaping books, like a thread of light passing from a dark corner, too fast to notice. Xie Lian’s breathing swallowed. Strange. He didn’t expect to be that surprised by books… As if remembering about his offence, Xie Lian looked up to see that Hua Cheng stopped the swaying bookcase and pulled something from the cursed top shelf.

“Is this what you were looking for?” he asked with a smile.

“Yes. Thank you a lot,” Xie Lian answered, taking the book and trying to return the smile despite the blush flooding his ears.

“You should call me, I would came,” Hua Cheng said, and then added, a bit like explaining something that stayed only in his mind, “It’s really quiet here. I’d just hear you no matter what.”

Xie Lian simply nodded. His nervousness was palpable; seen in tense gestures, heard in shaking words. “There’s no need, no need! I didn’t want to bother you… though in the end, I did it anyway, right? You’re looking at the master of making unwanted problems.“

“You’re never a problem,” Hua Cheng stated faintly.

“You only said that because you didn’t spend enough time with me,” Xie Lian commented with a rueful smile, his words spilling out.

Has he really just said it?

The bookseller didn’t answer immediately, faltering into a painful silence. Xie Lian risked a quick look at Hua Cheng’s face. Though so skilled in browsing books, he still couldn’t read it. There was a glint of surprise in his eyes, and a shadow of annoyance on his lips. He didn’t speak, but something passed between them.

It was when Hua Cheng broke the silence. “I’ll never refuse my biggest help in your slightest worry. Just ask.”

Upon hearing it Xie Lian noticed, finally, how small was the distance between them. If he stepped forward, he could scuffed his palm on Hua Cheng’s chest and maybe feel the smell of flowers, now shallow under the ever-present old paper scent. So he did what any adult would do in the face of an awkward situation — turned on his heels and fled.

“Thank you for your help and goodbye!”

“Gege, wait!” Hua Cheng called, flashing a glance Xie Lian’s way. But he was cut by the closing door.

True, it was rude to run away so suddenly, but he’s gotten used to offending people despite his intention. What new could detract him? So Xie Lian just run, until his knees felt weak, until his throat trapped his breath, hoping Hua Cheng didn’t chase after him.

Now, what was pushing him out from the bookstore? Shame? Probably. Whatever it was, he had to get away, or his heart would reach a speed threatening to end him in an ambulance. Not that he expected a real heart attack. Dying like that would be too simple.

When the familiar street scenery was gone, Xie Lian also slowed down, his heartbeat deafening. Small clouds of his rapid breathing wrapped around his head, cooling drops of sweat. Yes, a breath in and out… A light frisson of shivers went down Xie Lian’s arms— the days were getting shorter and he couldn’t believe it was already so cold and late: dark sky above him, starlight outlining his shadow on the sidewalk. The chilly autumn air bit through his jacket.

Xie Lian was standing there, shaking a little, when a lightning hit: from a technical standpoint, he had just stolen this book, right? Taking an item from a place where said items were being sold and not paying for it could be called differently, but it boiled down to one: he was a thief.

Something new in his life.

The weird thing was, Xie Lian didn’t feel that bad. Now, when the heart was silent, his thoughts spoke much louder. There was nothing he could do but come back to the bookstore and apologize to Hua Cheng. If he turned back immediately, there was a chance the seller would give it up. Xie Lian didn’t have enough money to buy a hamburger at a promotional price, not to mention a prison bail. Take care of it immediately or die in a cell later. But then the book became heavier in his pocket. Xie Lian stopped and reached for it carefully. Checking now wouldn’t hurt… He stepped aside, leaned against the wall and let a little light of a street lamp hide him.

His curious eyes drifted through the text, lost in the new world. The small paper butterfly was still there, still on the spine, its wings like sails of a ship taking him on another journey. Xie Lian’s pulse stammered. The shush of pages turning showed him the familiar calligraphy, so crooked and messy and written in honey.

To Xie Lian,My heart is so full of you; I can hardly call it my own.- San Lang

Though it was the ugliest, the most cursed writing Xie Lian has ever seen, the quote decorated the whole front page like an example of how something can be beautiful without being beautiful. He found himself flattened against the wall, behind his closed eyelids imagining a hand scribbling those words, then painting them red and flowery… And oh, the hot flush of shame flooded him. It was burning. But like the previous ones, this book was filled with messages: some parts of the text were underlined, other fragments were added, and handwritten though barely legible notes snaked in the margins elsewhere. Pay attention to this… Isn’t it funny?… Actually in 1876… Don’t you think it can be interpreted as…

The mysterious San Lang kept leaving books for Xie Lian. And Xie Lian kept finding them in the next-door bookstore.

He hid the book under his arm. Sticking here wouldn’t help, especially when his homework was piling up somewhere in his room. But when Xie Lian turned the book upside down, something fell down. A petal of white, not so different than a paper butterfly: a rustling pair of glorious wings. The impulse to reach for it was so strong, and Xie Lian caught the piece of paper before it could touch the ground. From there, his own name glanced at him.

To Xie Lian, from San Lang.

An envelope.

He opened it with trembling hands.

I can think of so many things to tell you when you make me forget my words. This can’t be. If you come to the bookstore tonight at 7 pm, I’ll happily let you in. - San Lang

There was such an elegance in these lines, encyclopedias of meanings and feelings between them, that Xie Lian ignored how badly written it was. He only stared at the letter and read it again, under the street lantern. He read it while walking. He read it on the main sidewalk. He read it on a park bench. He stumbled over a can while reading it again.

Meet me. Someone was asking Xie Lian out.

He sort of wanted to go.

He sort of couldn’t get it out of his head that San Lang was a dream, daring and magnificent. And it was fictitious, of course. Xie Lian liked it; talking with him through books and anonymous messages was almost… Was what? Romantic? This sounded way too proud and could seriously mean a thousand things. But something Xie Lian has never considered was accepting that San Lang was just a person of skin and blood, even though he knew it. He did. And he knew that looking into his eyes with so many confessions stored behind the back door in his memory… Xie Lian blushed. It have made him feel awkward.

Running on a blind date with a stranger, late in the evening, when nobody knew where Xie Lian went was the perfect recipe to get somebody killed. Xie Lian was not somebody. He wandered about it a little when he stopped right before the bookstore, but much more he wandered why he called it a date

He had to admit to himself that rejecting the invitation after everything San Lang has done for him was unfair. At the very least Xie Lian could make sure it wasn’t a joke. And the almost-stolen book was a good excuse to come.

The first part of his problem appeared as soon as Xie Lian arrived; Hua Cheng was standing behind the glass door, peering at a crust of early autumn frost rousing in the corners. The street lights were caught on the glass like in a spider’s web, softening his features in golden touches of amber. He looked thoughtful; there was a light in his eyes of wistfulness and absolute wonder. For a moment Xie Lian suffered a slight prick of envy for whoever was behind this enthralled look. Until he realized that Hua Cheng was looking at him.

All of this happened in a flutter of seconds —Xie Lian took a step forward, seized the handle, and Hua Cheng approached, only to lock the door. He turned his head. Xie Lian was so accustomed to the emotions accompanying being ignored that it shouldn’t startle him, but it was Hua Cheng, and it hurt to be a phantom that couldn’t be seen. he fell back a step and the seller’s eyes followed him. Something on his face changed.

What was going on?

“Sorry….” Xie Lian started, hoping that Hua Cheng could hear him behind the door, “I didn’t want to bother…”

“No, I’m sorry,” Hua Cheng rushed to say, “It was me who made you feel bad. I didn’t want things… to turn out like this. Or to end like this. May you forget?”

“Forget?” Xie Lian repeated. He couldn’t stop himself and breathed out a small, incredulous laugh. “I came back to apologize for stealing this book and return it.” He pointed to the book hidden under his arm. “Why are you apologizing to me? I don’t understand.”

Hua Cheng blinked. They stood for a moment, facing each other on two sides of the door, until Xie Lian realized the air around him became warmer. It wasn’t the weather — his breath was still painting on the cold glass like a brush —but something inside his chest sparkled, and ignited. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Hua Cheng. The boy had red on his cheeks.

He tapped the door with his finger. “There’s nothing to worry about, I didn’t even consider it stealing. Take the book, it’s yours.”

But Xie Lian grabbed the handle. The soft guilt in his eyes now hardened. “Why did you apologize?” he asked, “What were you trying to say?”

Everything clicked into place. The books being always what he needed made sense, and he understood why they were waiting for him away from other customer’s sight. Why San Lang was never wrong about what to write, as if he knew him.

“It’s you?” Xie Lian whispered, not asked.

Hua Cheng bounced a little, his hand close to the lock. This time it was his turn to look as if he was about to run away from the bookstore and get on a plane to another country.

This has never crossed his mind — Hua Cheng and San Lang and his quiet bookstore — but the moment Xie Lian put his hand on the glass, the biggest smile lit his face, and the feeling of comfort filled him. Maybe he was crazy. After all, he was planning to go… on a date… with a secret admirer. But that’s the point: his blind date wasn’t blind at all.

“Didn’t you write that you would gladly let me in?”

The click of the lock was as beautiful as a silver butterfly.

#heaven official's blessing #tian guan ci fu #hualian #xie lian #hua cheng #my writing #I decided to complete those requests #sorry I didn't it earlier #but... time...

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