I was expecting a less fantastical and darker universe, like Word of Honor, with an enemies-to-lovers romance. Or maybe a softer jianghu vibe like Who Rules the World.
If it had leaned more into fantasy, I would have thought of something like The Blood of Youth. Or even a pure wuxia like The Legend of the Condor Heroes, or stronger martial arts skills like in A Journey to Love.
But the sets and overall atmosphere of the drama really give off xuanhuan vibes. With a little more magic, it could easily be mistaken for one.
This one just isn’t for me. I really like Zhou Yi Ran almost none of his projects are bad but this simply isn’t my cup of tea.
They explain the easy infiltration with the face shift and shows you why that sect was so readily eradicated.…
It’s supposed to be a well-known technique of the Demonic Sect, and you’re telling me that in a world where miraculous elixirs and face-changing techniques exist, such a famous method has no countermeasures? That such a prestigious sect has no secret guards, no shadow agents, not even proper sentries to verify the identity of visitors or detect intruders? One or two people managing to infiltrate would be understandable, but having several people do so just as easily is really illogical especially when there are multiple great martial masters nearby. Of course, this is just my personal opinion, but I find it hard to find that believable.
The drama is targeted towards a young (female) audience, not older age group, so you'll see a lot of good-looking…
I do think I’m part of the target audience, but unfortunately I’ve watched too many excellent wuxia dramas to fully enjoy such an unsteady beginning.
Precisely because he is the sole survivor of the massacre, and because she witnessed him orchestrating that entire scheme to usurp Chang Ning’s identity, she should have considered him the prime suspect. When he enters the sect, she sees him manipulating people, pretending to be weak, stirring up trouble by acting foolish on purpose her suspicion should logically have doubled. If he stayed, it must be to achieve a specific goal. He managed to manipulate everyone, so the methods he uses to make her his ally should have raised serious red flags.
If his objective was to draw her closer for some hidden reason, he clearly engineered several situations to make her take his side. Yet she is portrayed as a rational character, and still she chooses to trust a manipulative stranger under the rather superficial justification that he did not harm her parents or the members of the six sects even though every disaster seems to be connected to him. Is it really that easy to trust, protect, and ally yourself with someone whose real motivations and even identity remain unknown?
The heroine also shows a rather unusual interest in him: despite her suspicions, she conceals his identity. Although she is bound by an arranged marriage, she maintains a certain closeness with him and clearly has reservations about how quickly that marriage is being pushed forward. On his side, his interest is obvious and gradually turns into something deeper, as shown by the intimate way he addresses her, his pointed questions, and his jealousy regarding her marriage.
The fact that he reveals his identity to her so quickly and shares his past suggests that he already trusts her and likely harbors feelings for her. Likewise, her decision not to harm him and to continue cooperating with him reflects her growing attachment.
That the six sects are corrupt is one thing, and in this kind of world opposing forces are always in conflict, each striving to dominate in order to remain the strongest. What is considered good or evil varies according to their own goals this is a classic theme in wuxia, xuanhuan, and xianxia stories.
The subplot involving the uncle, aunt, and cousin is fairly predictable, following the familiar trope where the so-called righteous forces turn out to be the most morally questionable. However, beyond these narrative choices, my main issue is that the story lacks credibility and coherence. The jianghu presented here feels poorly constructed, and the plot itself lacks real fluidity.
I found the events of Episodes 6 and 7 a bit absurd. Honestly, the sect that is supposed to be the most powerful can be infiltrated far too easily. Of course, the sect isn’t entirely righteous and many of its members are malicious, but there should at least be some level of control and credibility. Here, anyone can come and go and do whatever they want without any consequences.
The relationship between the protagonists is… how should I put it, a bit strange. Maybe she suspects him, yet she still allies with him for rather unconvincing reasons and chooses to trust him despite the many signs that should make her wary. She claims she dislikes the jianghu, describing it as a violent, dangerous, and chaotic world, yet she ends up trusting a random man who shows up, causes trouble, and clearly appears suspicious.
The narrative seems to rely solely on the fact that they are the protagonists the “heroes” to make us accept the inconsistency of the situation. To establish such trust despite the mistrust, they should have experienced a life-or-death situation together from the very beginning, with mutual protection and forced cooperation, in order to make their bond believable.
So far, the side stories are not very engaging because they are poorly integrated into the main plot and evoke little empathy. This supposedly cruel jianghu feels rather odd: many suspicious characters are left alive, while others are killed off far too easily. The elders, who are meant to be formidable, come across as people without real ability or importance.
On the other hand, in order to make the younger generation look credible even though most of them have never truly ventured into the jianghu and don’t seem to understand the deeper schemes of the villains they are portrayed as more perceptive than the elders and seasoned martial artists.
This beginning really lacks strength in terms of storytelling. I think I’ll just focus on the protagonists’ love story and not expect too much else from this drama.
Fang Muyang is pretending not to remember, isn’t he? He’s very perceptive, and it seems like he understood from the very beginning that she had ulterior motives, but took advantage of the situation to get closer to her, since he appears to have had feelings for her since childhood. I like the way he teases her and turns what she says back against her 😂.
Totally agree, the writing and editing is off here. I hope they calm down to really build out the characters and…
Thank you for your reply. Honestly, I also hope the writing and editing will improve. There are still 32 episodes left for the character development to be handled better, but I have to admit that this beginning really didn’t convince me. I do have some apprehensions, yet I loved Twelve Letters so much that I’m willing to give this drama a chance.
I came across some amazing edits of this drama. This beginning gives me a slight, bitter feeling of being misled. I know these are the first episodes and that I should be more patient, but those very first episodes should have been designed to captivate the viewer right away. Instead, I feel the opposite effect. It’s too scattered, and the interactions between the protagonists seem flat. It feels like too many things are happening too quickly, without anything truly happening. The visuals are good, and I really like Zhou Yi Ran, so I think I’ll keep watching while waiting to be fully drawn into the action and the storyline. By the way, is that really Zhou Yi Ran’s voice?
Definitely it was, thou it was sad. It bought lot of time for XHD to escape. If he didn't do it then the ending…
From a writing standpoint, he could have used one of his secret guards someone who has been by his side for a long time to play that role, just like A Bai once used a disguise. A character’s death was necessary at that key moment, but it didn’t have to be Mr. Bei. There were so many possibilities that could have kept him alive. But I knew it was coming: the secondary characters the audience grows attached to are often the ones sacrificed to create emotion for the viewers. A meaningful, heroic, and painful death. 😭
I had a lump in my throat 😭. He has had such a difficult life. Seeing Yu Wan Yin, who usually always tries to stay strong, endure the loss of Yong Er and then discover the truth about Dan watching her lose her footing because of him was painful. Daddi Tang kills it in this role, I hate Xiahou Bo so much.
I have a question: Is Shanyi the prince’s mother? I have the impression that his very vivid memory of Shanyi may be connected to what the Empress did to him.
Cheng Lei, Cheng Lei, Cheng Lei… what a performance, what charisma! He truly carried this role and gave me chills during Wanyin’s return. Xianhou Dan is such an incredible and nuanced character. Wang Chu Ran also handled her role so well. I’m literally sitting here, eagerly waiting for every new episode. This duo absolutely needs to star in a modern drama together, because I feel like I won’t be able to move on anytime soon.
This drama takes me from laughter to sorrow, but in episodes 19 and 20, I cried. Wang Chu Ran and especially Cheng Lei performed so well in the final episodes. Cheng Lei is incredibly expressive his gestures, his gaze… everything seems to convey emotion. The chemistry between them 👏👏🤌
It’s honestly so funny to realize that Pei spent the entire drama competing with himself, convinced he was catching Zhi Yu’s attention 😂😂, when in reality no one was really paying him any mind. His feelings for Hu Xiu never truly mattered compared to his obsession with competing against Zhi Yu.
1 
Or maybe a softer jianghu vibe like Who Rules the World.
If it had leaned more into fantasy, I would have thought of something like The Blood of Youth.
Or even a pure wuxia like The Legend of the Condor Heroes, or stronger martial arts skills like in A Journey to Love.
But the sets and overall atmosphere of the drama really give off xuanhuan vibes. With a little more magic, it could easily be mistaken for one.
This one just isn’t for me.
I really like Zhou Yi Ran almost none of his projects are bad but this simply isn’t my cup of tea.
Enjoy the drama 🤍
One or two people managing to infiltrate would be understandable, but having several people do so just as easily is really illogical especially when there are multiple great martial masters nearby.
Of course, this is just my personal opinion, but I find it hard to find that believable.
Precisely because he is the sole survivor of the massacre, and because she witnessed him orchestrating that entire scheme to usurp Chang Ning’s identity, she should have considered him the prime suspect. When he enters the sect, she sees him manipulating people, pretending to be weak, stirring up trouble by acting foolish on purpose her suspicion should logically have doubled. If he stayed, it must be to achieve a specific goal. He managed to manipulate everyone, so the methods he uses to make her his ally should have raised serious red flags.
If his objective was to draw her closer for some hidden reason, he clearly engineered several situations to make her take his side. Yet she is portrayed as a rational character, and still she chooses to trust a manipulative stranger under the rather superficial justification that he did not harm her parents or the members of the six sects even though every disaster seems to be connected to him. Is it really that easy to trust, protect, and ally yourself with someone whose real motivations and even identity remain unknown?
The heroine also shows a rather unusual interest in him: despite her suspicions, she conceals his identity. Although she is bound by an arranged marriage, she maintains a certain closeness with him and clearly has reservations about how quickly that marriage is being pushed forward. On his side, his interest is obvious and gradually turns into something deeper, as shown by the intimate way he addresses her, his pointed questions, and his jealousy regarding her marriage.
The fact that he reveals his identity to her so quickly and shares his past suggests that he already trusts her and likely harbors feelings for her. Likewise, her decision not to harm him and to continue cooperating with him reflects her growing attachment.
That the six sects are corrupt is one thing, and in this kind of world opposing forces are always in conflict, each striving to dominate in order to remain the strongest. What is considered good or evil varies according to their own goals this is a classic theme in wuxia, xuanhuan, and xianxia stories.
The subplot involving the uncle, aunt, and cousin is fairly predictable, following the familiar trope where the so-called righteous forces turn out to be the most morally questionable. However, beyond these narrative choices, my main issue is that the story lacks credibility and coherence. The jianghu presented here feels poorly constructed, and the plot itself lacks real fluidity.
The relationship between the protagonists is… how should I put it, a bit strange. Maybe she suspects him, yet she still allies with him for rather unconvincing reasons and chooses to trust him despite the many signs that should make her wary. She claims she dislikes the jianghu, describing it as a violent, dangerous, and chaotic world, yet she ends up trusting a random man who shows up, causes trouble, and clearly appears suspicious.
The narrative seems to rely solely on the fact that they are the protagonists the “heroes” to make us accept the inconsistency of the situation. To establish such trust despite the mistrust, they should have experienced a life-or-death situation together from the very beginning, with mutual protection and forced cooperation, in order to make their bond believable.
So far, the side stories are not very engaging because they are poorly integrated into the main plot and evoke little empathy. This supposedly cruel jianghu feels rather odd: many suspicious characters are left alive, while others are killed off far too easily. The elders, who are meant to be formidable, come across as people without real ability or importance.
On the other hand, in order to make the younger generation look credible even though most of them have never truly ventured into the jianghu and don’t seem to understand the deeper schemes of the villains they are portrayed as more perceptive than the elders and seasoned martial artists.
This beginning really lacks strength in terms of storytelling. I think I’ll just focus on the protagonists’ love story and not expect too much else from this drama.
A character’s death was necessary at that key moment, but it didn’t have to be Mr. Bei. There were so many possibilities that could have kept him alive. But I knew it was coming: the secondary characters the audience grows attached to are often the ones sacrificed to create emotion for the viewers.
A meaningful, heroic, and painful death. 😭
Wang Chu Ran and especially Cheng Lei performed so well in the final episodes.
Cheng Lei is incredibly expressive his gestures, his gaze… everything seems to convey emotion.
The chemistry between them 👏👏🤌