The Unclouded Soul

A String of Fate, Unraveled: An Exploration of Ruin, Redemption, and Human Nature

“Protecting humans is my duty, but falling in love with you was instinct.”

Do not listen, read, or watch anything related to this drama aside from the trailer. If the provided material piques your interest, just watch it. I’ve seen a lot of hate circulating around this drama and honestly, it’s really not necessary. I’d encourage you all to take the baseless negativity with a grain of salt. If you want to watch this drama, just go for it!

I’ll rate this drama using my personal criteria, called ‘CASES’ that looks at the following: cinematography, acting, storyline, experience, and soundtrack. I’ll break down each one individually.

CINEMATOGRAPHY - 5/5
Lighting: 5/5
Camerawork: 5/5
Ambiance: 5/5

The CGI is immaculate, no flaws there whatsoever. I haven’t followed this drama since it’s early production, but based on the behind the scenes clips, you can tell that the entire crew poured their entire heart and soul into its creation. The visual, creative, and drama directors especially deserve a whole standing ovation for their devotion to the craft. The sets, cinematography, and worldbuilding for Xiao Yao are truly unlike anything I’ve seen before (at least in a Chinese drama production). It doesn’t take a seasoned drama viewer to tell that every shot, camera angle, lighting, and setting were made with intention. The directors like to challenge themselves, playing with various different shots, manipulating the elements within the shot, and just making use of every tool in their toolbox to craft a scene that’s not only visually-appealing, but one that evokes hidden meanings here and there. There is almost a hyperactive attention to detail, and it’s precisely this quality that sets Xiao Yao apart from other dramas. You’re not just watching moving pictures, you’re being pulled into that alternate universe. The soundtrack is god-tier, with each song being replayed over and over again until my YouTube crashes. You have those slow, melancholic tracks like ‘Parting in the Mortal Realm’; epic, high-fantasy ones like ‘Embers’, and light, upbeat ones like ‘Mirror’. The lyrics to all of the songs are meaningful, poignant, and befitting for the story. Through the dramas top-notch production and attention to detail, I truly felt like I was transported into the world of ‘Xiao Yao’ from the comfort of my own bed. It’s truly magical.

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ACTING - 5/5
Naturalness: 5/5
Characterization: 5/5
Chemistry: 5/5
Charisma: 5/5

Acting. God, where do I even start? I’ll toss it right out from the getgo: Seven Tan and Hou Minghao were an unexpected duo that somehow managed to sweep me off my feet. I’ll admit that I went into this drama without much expectations. I’ve never seen any of Seven Tan’s works. HMH is one of my favorite actors and is the one who sets the BAR for what acting SHOULD be. In the past, I’ve never really found anyone who could ‘match’ his level of skill, but Seven Tan completely changed my perspective. When you’re watching dramas, there is always one actor who’s delivering more than the other. Sometimes, you can see the discrepancy between their level of skill (it may be subtle or obvious), but I didn’t see that here at all. Seven Tan’s performance was natural. She is one of the few actresses who can act cute without giving the audience second hand embarassment. She breathed Xiao Yao’s bubbly, likeable character to life; HMH gave an impeccable performance that was able to capture Hong Ye’s gentleness and compelxity. Their chemistry is ‘fluctuant’ in the sense that they have good chemistry as friends off-screen, and ones as lovers when the lights turn back on. Their chemistry is not overt, but subtle and filled with tension. The drama itself is a slow-burn, probably almost pain-stakingly so for some people. However, this is precisely what allows their romance to progress naturally. Let me tell you. When I realized that this was taking that slow-burn route, I rejoiced: “Yes!! They’ll know eachother’s names when they kiss! They’ll know eachother’s names, everybody!” Both actors excel at micro expressions, and this is especially useful for slow-burn romances where you’re able to pick up on these subtle changes as the story progresses— how that initial, cold gaze belonging to a demon who has fortified his walls crumbles in the face of his destined one. I didn’t see the chemistry or vision at first, but over time, I got converted. I am now a member of the Seven Tan cult (and a long-standing member of the HMH one), and I can only thank Xiao Yao for pairing them up and allowing these two actors to showcase their abilities!

No complaints for the rest of the cast. Acting is not something you will have to worry about when watching this drama. Here, we have a lineup of seasoned actors and actresses who know how to act through their eyes, breathing their characters to life and delivering a convincing performance throughout.

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STORYLINE - 4.4/5

Premise: 4/5
Plot holes - 4/5
Flow - 4/5
Pacing - 4/5
Ending - 5/5
Predictability - 4/5
Relationship development - 5/5
Character development: 5/5
Worldbuilding: 5/5

Let’s hop onto the meat of the review, shall we?

News flash: this drama tethers on two extremes. When it’s sweet, it’s tooth-decayingly sweet. When it’s sad, it’s a soul-crushing blow. This drama made me cry bitterly, but it also made me smile in front of my laptop like an idiot.

Xiao Yao is what I would conider an ‘escapism grounded in reality’. The narrative sheds light on human nature and it’s various facets, toys with your moral compass, makes you doubt your own principles, and ultimately raises the question “who is truly in the wrong?”.

The essence of this drama, I find, is contained in this quote: “In todays world, have humans and demons truly become indistinguishable?”

The whole theme of demons vs humans is nothing new to xianxia and has always been a ‘black and white’ sort of debate. You will typically see humans portrayed as the good ones and demons as the bad ones (or vice versa), but this is my first time seeing a drama that makes it so both sides are equally flawed. In Xiao Yao, every character (no matter human or demon) has a reason behind their actions, and oftentimes, that ‘reasoning’ is identical. The lines become blurred, and the moment that veil of prejudice is lifted, you realize that the demons and humans are actually cut from the same cloth; instintiguishable from eachother.

A Chinese idiom I find is the ‘foundation’ for Xiao Yao’s plot is 冤冤相報 (Yuān yuān xiāng bào), which directly translates to "grievance upon grievance, mutual retribution." The complicated entanglements between the leads, and just the entire story in general, is just a deep-dive into what’s right and wrong, what’s considered just and unjust, and who is truly worthy of sympathy.

That being said, it’s hard to hate any character in this drama. Even the villains have souls, with the overarching ‘villain’ being quite whimsical and cute, such as Hei Wu.

Hei Wu is a compelling villain because, despite lacking a backstory, his personality and comedic adlibs makes a ‘flat’ character like him just as lovable as the others.

The plot is truly a wild-card. Just when you think they’re going to recycle all of the common tropes already explored in xianxia, they do something completely different. Xiao Yao’s plot is complex, layered, and isn’t the typical ‘3 lives’ theme explored in dramas like TMOPB. It may seem that way at first, but as the story progresses and the revelation finally hits you, you realized that you’ve been bamboozled. In that regard, this drama scores a moderate in predictability. It starts off predictable at first, but as the story gradually unfolds, you’d find that your deductions were wrong and that it’s going to take a completely different approach than what you originally thought.

Pacing-wise, it’s definitely on the slower side. This may deter those who aren’t a fan of slow burn romances, but as someone who goes rabid for that trope, I found that Xiao Yao delivers quite well in this aspect. The storyline is a perfect balance between character and plot, so even when the romance is seemingly lacking, the plot grips you enough so that watching doesn’t feel like a chore. That being said, the ‘slow’ aspect of the plot is not just a stylistic choice; it’s calculated and intentional.

Characters are also layered and well-written. We have a plethora of seemingly ‘irredeemable’ villains with the purest of souls, and ‘innocent’ characters who are hateful go the core. There are many characters, but I’d like to expand on a select few who stood out to me the most.

Bing Zhu is a morally-upright character who cycles through a dramatic character arc. He starts off as a character unshakeable in his principle to a man who eventually loses sight of them. BZ is compelling in this regard because he represents the ever-changing nature of the human heart, showing how it’s the most testable thing in this world. His characterization delves into the question: In the face of countless setbacks, who’s heart can remain eternally pure?

Xiao Yao is truly a remarkable and mature female lead who was strong willed from beginning to end. Her character doesn’t change much throughout the story, but she is in no way two-dimensional. She’s layered, entertaining, witty, and surprisingly relatable. Overall, I’d consider her to be the ‘constant’ who drives the plot forward. She is someone who navigates using both her heart and mind, governing with reason while never truly losing sight of her own beliefs. Overall, a very well written FL.

Hong Ye is the most complex and intriguing character of them all. If Xiao Yao is the constant, he’s the variable that is ever-changing. He goes through a series of major character arcs in which he gets pushed to hell and back, building his character. You see him get ‘beat into shape’, basically. He’s not good, he’s not bad, he’s the demarcation between black and white. His origin story is probably one of the best I’ve ever seen, and HMH did a great job at breathing his role to life. His character will definitely have a special place in my heart, and his story is one that’ll leave an everlasting impact on me for a long, long time. I won’t forget about him, that’s for sure.

The relationship between Hong Ye and Xiao Yao is pure and healthy (despite what they’ve been through). For once, I feel like I’m watching a drama where the two leads are actual adults— not some 12 and 16 year old. Communication isn’t a barrier here, no no. We have a couple who actually knows how to use their mouths to talk to eachother. When things go wrong, both the male and female lead know how to take the initiative in order to smooth things over, handling conflicts in a patient manner. You’re also not getting love triangles here (well, maybe a love pentagon?), so theres no hair-pulling miscommunication in that aspect. All in all, I’m incredibly pleased with the way their relationship is portrayed. Miscommunication is fun when it’s in moderation. Sometimes, a healthy cp who knows how to talk to eachother is very much needed!

Good things aside, I just have a few complaints about the plot that I’ll throw out here. The pacing was slow and calculated for the first half, but sped up considerably towards the end. At some point, it did seem a bit rushed, but fortunately it anchored itself on the last few episodes. In addition, there were also some aspects of the plot that could’ve been resolved. Not ‘plot holes’ necessarily— just characters who deserved a bit more closure towards the end because their story either felt incomplete or ended too abruptly. Just fixing up those loose ends, that’s all!

Finally, some people say that the drama ended off weak, but I would honestly say the opposite. It started off strong and ended just as strong. Sure, it was a bit rocky towards the end in terms of pacing, but I personally liked the ending a lot and found it to be incredibly thought-provoking. The ending is like: “If I could start from the very beginning, even if it meant overcoming those obstacles, I’d be willing to stake it all in one throw just to see you again” or “I am a protector of all beings, someone who is meant to be selfless— but for you, I am willing to be selfish for once.”

It’s been a while since I initially felt so conflicted with the ending, but after staring at the ceiling for a good hour after the final episode, I was like: “damn.. that was a good ending.”

Mind you, when i completed that final episode, I was pacing around my house with the occasional urge to say: “Damn! That ending was GOOD!” A part of me sees it as a combination of OE, BE, and HE. Ultimately, it depends on your perspective, but I just love reading other people’s narrative interpretations of the ending. There is a lot food for thought.

It’s just.. this drama is one of those films that has such a unique storyline that it manages to stick with you for a long, long time (despite its flaws). It maps out a love so profound that it transcends time and space, as well as countless lifetimes.

Overall, I’d say the ending was closed and ‘perfect’ in my book— though it may not seem that way to others!

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EXPERIENCE: 5/5

God, I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been this absorbed in a xianxia romance. Been in a bit of a drama slump, you see. Xiao Yao unexpectedly pulled me out of that rut. I revived my IQIYI membership to get a ‘taste’ of what this drama would entail, not knowing I’d sink into it completely. For the first time in a long time, I waited in anticipation for the episodes to release everyday, feasting on bite-sized content on 小红书 to curb my hunger in the meantime like Squidward begging for spare change on the sidewalk. That being said, no dull cliffhangers here. Every episode grips you and you’re left wanting more.

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SOUNDTRACK: 5/5
Variety: 5/5
How good it is: 4/5
How fitting it is: 5/5

I’m lost in the music. In fact, I’m throwing it back to ‘燃烬’ as we speak. What can I say? I’m just obsessed. The songs were properly placed, addictive as hell, and had me screaming ‘HONG YEEEEEEEE MY BABYYY HUHUHHHHHU’ at the top of my lungs— is that telling enough?

All in all, Xiao Yao is great if you’re looking to indulge in a high-fantasy drama with impeccable worldbuilding and emotional acting; a tight script that takes a ‘spin’ on a common romance trope; an ensemble of well-written, impressionable characters; all weaved into a thought-provoking narrative that will have you questioning your morals, principles, and existence in general.

Was it a masterpiece? Debatable, but Xiao Yao is one of the most memorable dramas of 2025-2026 for me and is one that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for some food for thought.

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Marvellous masterpiece: 3 lifetimes 3 magnificent stories of main leads

It's one of my most anticipated fantasy and romance drama, I couldn’t be more happier when it was released. Ever since it has been released, I have been deeply engrossed and always excitedly waiting for next highly spell- bindind, gripping and mesmerising episodes.

💫The story of the drama is extremely refreshing and highly unpredictable yet it successfully enthrals, fascinates, engages, entrances and enchants the audiences with its extraordinary and unique top-class and out of this world plot💥💯. One of the noticable features of this storyline is time cycle encounters (where she learns about past lives). It's neither simple straight timeline nor just a circle. The main characters are influenced by irregular timelines, their identities and circumstances change in each life time. These encounters allows them to meet and confront each other. At certain points, the main leads loose their original memories in past lives. However, very importantly, XY's final time jump to place where she met HY in the demon valley, is completely different from previous time. In the last encounter, both of them have the knowledge of their previous lives ✨️.

💫Hong ye is highly complex and intricate character portrayed brilliantly, magnificently and impeccable by phenomenal actor HMH. Although, Hong ye at present is very morally good, just, kind, smart and responsible demon lord, he doesn't have the commanding aura of a formidable demon king, showing self-blame, repentance, and a deep internal struggle as he has yet to rediscover his true self. Fortunately over time, particularly after meeting Xiao Yao, he gradually reconnects with the bold, trusting, fearless, extremely formidable and unrestrained version of himself that existed centuries ago. I absolutely adore Hong Ye, I love his extremely sweet, protective, romantic, mischievous (influenced by Xiao yao), strategic, playful, kind, bold, reflective and righteous sides. He is extremely precious demon, who is XY's treasure. He has stolen my heart ✨️❤️‍🔥.

💫Xiao Yao is also very complicate and sophisticate character, portrayed flawlessly and effortlessly by versatile actress TSY. Xiao Yao (half demon and half human) in her original third lifetime is very special person, who has very pure and incorruptable heart despite being of very explorative, mischievous, jolly, and tricky nature. She always stays true to her heart and sticks to her moral principles. Always be kind, friendly, playful, just and protective of all beings around her whether they are humans or demons. Although she likes money, she always uses it for proper needs and is never blinded by greed or desire of extreme power or immortality. Xioa Yao with her untarnished beautiful heart molds and influences the opinions and principles of many demons, spirits and humans during her exciting journey together with Hong Ye in 3 lifetimes. I absolutely love her cute, adorable, bubbly, flirty, calculative, tactical, prudent, combative, witty, romantic, wise and thoughtful sides. She is very lovable and unforgettable character, she has won my heart 🥰🔥.

💫Hong Ye and Xiao Yao, through the 3 lifetimes encounters, always triggers long standing conflicts between humans and demons. We are shown through many stories, how desires, trust and moral choices effects the fates of both races. However, Xiao Yao's pure heart becomes a crucial power that drives the story toward reconciliation and redemption. Thus, making this drama different from conventional romance yet the 3 life time romance we experience between Hong Ye and Xiao Yao is extremely remarkable and heart-warming. Their chemistry feels incrediblly natural and romantic. Hong Ye is always extremely accommodating, malleable, attentive, soft, tender and protective to Xiao yao. Same goes for Xiao yao she is extremely observant of Hong yes's hidden feelings and worries, does anything to protect and help him and is always concerned for him. Their romance is extremely sweet, intimate, synchronized and natural, sending viewers hearts into total frenzy✨️💖.

💫Not forgetting to mention, whenever, they have misunderstanding or disagreement they very quickly, effectively and proactively resolve it in best way possible, which very beautifully brings them even closer. Every trial or event bonds them together more firmly then ever. They trust, rely, and protect each other no matter what. Through out the 3 life times ardous journey, these two have created really powerful feelings and overwhelming emotions, which have greatly moved me. Both of them are striving towards establishing peace for humans and demons by employing their responsible, righteous, courageous and selfless hearts to attain this dream/goal.
I have completely melted 💘🫠 for this breath-taking, very compatible and beautiful unforgettable couple. They are totally made for each other.

💫All the others actors have also enchanted me with their brilliant, dynamic, dedicated, committed, creative and powerful acting. They have displayed their deep emotions, passion, feelings flawlessly and their stories unfolded magnificently and seamlessly well with good pacing. Their dynamic and smooth chemistry with each other and the main characters brought this masterpiece to life. The short stories were very touching and engaging endorsing the hearts with meaningful messages about making the right choice under various circumstances while always rememberering that demons and humans have good and bad people amongst them.

BZ's character development started out well, with him and his sister standing up for their principles while learning to distinguish between good and bad demons. But sadly he seems to have lost his way along the way for quite some time due to PP's predicamen. Thankfully, he got his sister back and redeemed himself. Now, for the other characters: my personal favorite are XM the cat demon, LL the pig demon, the little herbs and Bamboo demon. They are very adorable and funny, there is never a dull moment with them around. The 3 great demons, were at times very adorable, chaotic, intriguing and funny. However, they made HY and humans suffer a lot, they got chance to change their ways and later they paid for their mistakes with their lives.

💫The CGI, FX and cenimatrography of this drama is incredibly beautiful and stunning💞🔥!The attention to detail, photorealism, seamless integrations, lighting and texturing makes geographical lands in the story enchanting and magical. The CGI in this drama not only gave us compelling visual experience in the action scenes but it effectively communicated the stories and emotions of the characters too. It successfully engages the viewers and leaving an everlasting impression. The gorgeous costumes, stunning hairstyles and mesmerising make up for the casts is breathtaking making the drama very enticing and inviting visual feast. But it's not just the visuals that stand out, all the OSTs especially the opening OST 'desire and calamity' and 'afraid it's only a dream' are extremely beautiful. They have emotional resonance, clear production, and originality. All OSTs give emotional and atmosphereic depth to the scenes and and events.

💫I absolutely fell in love with this most magical, sweetest, beautiful, adorable and naturally romantic couple. With their superb acting, they have manifested one of the top-class heart warming, touching, emotional, magical, romantic and unforgettable Xuanhuan ever for me. Looking forward to next episodes very eagerly. Only downside is that the episodes are coming to an end and I absolutely don't want it to finish because I just can't get enough of this enchanting unique magical story.

ENDING:

It seems that the main leads have achieved their major goal of bringing lasting peace to both races. Everyone, who has made bad moral choices either got retribution and paid for their sins some way or repented and redeemed themselves. Eventually, the vicious cycle of voilence and revenge between demons and humans was broken. Ofcourse, 10,000 years of chaos and feud came to an end with price of selfless acts of bravery.

Even though the end was little ambiguous, I find it totally worth the watch beacause there is really nothing HY and XY didn’t do together as a couple in 3 lifetimes.

✨️With XY (having special body) mastering the art of time travelling, I guess she can relive the numerous happiest times with HY in 3 lifetimes while correcting the mistakes made before or possibly find another way to seal the kunlun mirror! Possiblities are endless when she can travel any point into past and can change anything and this time she knows everything!✨️💞
☆⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝☆

✨️Any point she jumps to is a new beginning!!

"Everything has started anew"
"Everything is just a beginning"

✨️Thus, this timeline is not a never-changing cycle, nowhere it says that everything repeated the way it was.

🌈Looking at the last seen: both XY's and HY's aura was different from the original scene because both of them know and remember everything this time around and are about to start a new. It's already a chance to change everything. 🎊

🌟So, it's Not a repeat But a Reset!!!💕💯⭐️

Overall, I thorougly enjoyed every second of this masterpiece 😍 ✨️ 👌 I highly recommend it to people who love fantasy and romance.

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