Crawling out from the claws of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu…

(Uh… it’s just the name of an author. Yes @trinpie, I failed big time.)

I proudly said I would take my time to read the novel(s) slowly. But I lied. More of like, I failed terribly. I completed all 3 novels in 10 days. 🙈 *COUGH* What to do when it’s Haneul but I was just blankly staring at the screen coz all I think about was Huacheng & his silver butterflies? I had to close Netflix & open my browser to continue reading..

Scum Villain

Her ‘debut’ novel, also the last one I finished. It felt like a combo of W – 2 Worlds & Memories of the Alhambra. I would say it was pretty ambitious & a little brainless *OOPS* (sorry, girl.)

Mo Dao Zu Shi

Everything started here. (The actual starting point is Untamed though.) Her 2nd & most famed novel. I already did a propaganda post on this, so I shall not elaborate much. Just wanna talk about my favorite scene again. Yunmeng’s ancestral hall. Aww. I was SO pleasantly surprised due to the difference between the drama & novel for this scene. I rolled in my bed for 5 entire minutes before I can gather myself. & did I mention I have one huge similarity with Weiying? I LOVE LOTUS ROOT & RIBS SOUP TOO!!! 😋

Tian Guan Ci Fu

Double the number of chapters, double the depth of love & content. Indeed her BEST work to date. I heard there’s a drama adaptation in negotiation/progress but uh…. Really? Hard to imagine. Coz who’s gonna play Xielian & Huacheng? Coz they.. can’t possibly exist in this world. Coz the world don’t deserve them. & which CGI team dares to take up this project? Good luck to them.

Here’s my favorite takeaway from this novel:

“They say when humans ascend (to heaven), they become gods; when humans fall (into hell), they become ghosts.”

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“Of course it’s wrong. Remember: When humans ascend, they are still human; when they fall, they are still, human.”

There ain’t gods nor ghosts. Just humans. SO DARN RIGHT.

Adding a personal touch, here’s my choice of soundtrack for this novel. I put this song on loop whenever I read. It’s perfect. Try it.

I will be patiently waiting for her 4th novel to be out. This time it will be about death gods/grim reapers I think. She improves with every new project & I’m just so damn excited.

I have learnt 2 things from this experience. BL stories are SO addictive but I needa stay away from Chinese novels for the sake of my eyes’ health. Just like Weiying is the death of Lanzhan & Xielian is the death of Huacheng, this author will be the death of me.

I hope I’m back safe in kdramaland for now. *Hello sleep, bye bloodshot eyes*

But darn. I’m missing Huacheng & his silver butterflies already. (‘:

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    Oh, I read the second but not the third. Where did you read it?

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    MXTX is so good. I was also gobbling her works in mere 2 weeks, which is so not healthy for my eyes. I think I’m mostly surprised by how enjoyable Scum Villain is. It’s not as deep as the other 2, but the meta and the protagonist’s long rant about plot holes, cliche characters, and illogical turn of events were so entertaining to read. I’m not the biggest fan of SV’s main pairing (too obsessive and clingy to my liking), but since it mostly being conveyed in a comical light-hearted way, I’m okay with that.

    As for TGCF, suffice to say that there’re tons of valid reasons why this novel is capable of inspiring me to write 4000 long words of rambling. So many unexpectedly deep relationships, so many important lessons. I’m both anticipating and dreading the drama adaptation that they’re going to make.

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      woah 4000 words? on db?

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        Nope, just a rambling I wrote to keep me sane while reading. I would break DB if I posted something that long. Haha…

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    I see you failed in resisting reading her other books 😆 your experience is exactly the same as mine. I started with MDZH than moved to TGCH than finished with Scum Villain. And she definitely got better with each book. Scum Villain was entertaining and fun but definitely didn’t have the emotional impact and epic feel of her other books. I didn’t think anyone could love more than Lan Zhan loves Wei Ying and than I met Hua Cheng 😍

    I spent a whole 3 day weekend in bed reading TGCH then almost every weekday for a week staying up hours past when I should have gone to bed. I also would sneak away during work to read. I was both sad when it ended but also happy because I could finally get some sleep 😆

    And I was actually trying to think who my fantasy cast would be for TGCH and I couldn’t think of a single actor who I think would be perfect for either character.

    Glad you also loved it ❤ so many plot twists took me by surprise and his second ascension wrecked me emotionally.

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      “I was both sad when it ended but also happy because I could finally get some sleep”

      exactly. my bloodshot eyes were killing me.

      i think they are casting young chinese idols for the roles… i rather they go for experienced actors.. sighs.

      yes, i loved it. thanks for the recommendation! we may need to visit an eye doctor when her 4th novel is out. LOL.

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        Sadly it will be awhile before I can read her next novel. I’m not sure if she has started writing it yet and if so how far she is with the novel. But I also have to wait for translations 😭 but it’s about grim reapers? Oooh sounds good! I’d heard from someone else that the MC this time will be a bad guy which I think will be an interesting change. Hua Cheng and Luo Binghe can be considered bad but they aren’t the MC. Wei Wuxian flirts with being a bad guy but he ultimately is a good guy. So this could make for quite an interesting character. Fine line between making them hateful and unsympathetic and making them relatable. But I have faith in the author 😆

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      if age isn’t the problem, the 1st person i thought of, to play Huacheng, is Chen Kun. not sure if u know him..

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        He is too old though since HC is supposed to look about 18 or 19. I’ve only seen him in Rise of the Phoenixes and I’m not sure if it was his character or how he portrayed the character but I didn’t care for him.

        @kimbapnoona made a suggestion of Dylan Wang who I think could fit. She suggested someone for Xie Lian who I thought fit the look but I dont recall who it was since I had never seen him in anything before. I just hope whoever it is will do a good job and can bring the characters alive and be true to their characters. It’s asking for a lot 😆

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          yep i know he’s too old but god i love his acting.

          sighs, most probably i will be afraid of starting the drama when it’s out coz due to the censorship issue, it will definitely be different from the novel & i really don’t want my XLxHC IN ANY OTHER WAY. *le sigh*

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            I was suggesting Joseph Zeng (Zeng Shun Xi) for the role of XL because he has beautifully delicate facial features and he was great as Zhang Wuji in the 2019’s adaptation of Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre.

            But recently I watched a YT vid which suggests Luo Yunxi as XL which I thought was brilliant, although I am not sure about Leo Wu as HC just because he is still little Fei Liu in my head! 😅

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            @kimbapnoona Even though I loved Luo Yunxi in the dramas I’ve seen I’m not 100% sold on him. He certainly knows how to rip my heart out in the roles he played.

            Definitely can’t see Leo Wu as HC.

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          @trinpie @kimbapnoona

          i’m guilty coz idk any of these chinese actors despite being chinese myself, lol. it’s been many years since i successfully completed a chinese drama, so Untamed is kinda groundbreaking for me. & i’m thankful coz it let me discover TGCF. 💘

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