Thank you for taking the time and effort to share your review. It mostly matches what I was thinking, when I watched the first episode and then backed out within 5 seconds of the end credits. Your review is actually kinder than what I would have said, and I appreciate your review as the most incisive summary on MDL for this drama.
I generally first look at who the director(s) and screenwriter(s) are for a drama alongside any strong actors or actresses in the main and supporting cast before making a decision about watchability, and the main director here is the worse of the main directors for TJOL. Coupled with the main screenwriter who was most likely responsible for ruining the middle section of Sword and Beloved, watching this first episode helped me gauge how bad the main creative team would be. The editing was also wince-worthy.
Hope you managed to find other dramas to soothe your feelings after having touched this one. Have a great night :)
yup my fav OST are def the ones played during the Zhou Di Lou flash backs !! Can’t wait seeing the cast perform…
As long as there is another concert anywhere in East Asia or Southeast Asia, fans will fight to buy a ticket. Heck, flying from Singapore to South Korea or China to Singapore is easy, and so is getting accommodation.
yup my fav OST are def the ones played during the Zhou Di Lou flash backs !! Can’t wait seeing the cast perform…
OMG you got a ticket?!! *ded with envy*
I've been listening to some songs on repeat, and the OP is definitely my favourite song.《念水谣》by Wu Yizhi is another. Technically, I have five songs (including character songs) as my favourite two songs, even if I can't count here XD
A new review for Whispers of Fate unfolds like a story in itself, summarising the journey of Tang Lici while weaving in the Four Noble Truths as per his ideas, journey and obsessions. I quote from the spoiler-free sections:
[ Hello, dear Wispys~ Most of us have finally reached our destination (i.e. the finale of the story), while some are still 'experiencing' the journey together with Tang Li Ci and others. It was a wonderful journey for me, and I hope it was a splendid experience for you as well! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)💞
.... Unlike some historical C-dramas we’ve watched, [Whispers Of Fate] draws on a range of philosophical and religious themes closely connected to Buddhism, such as “letting go of the self” and “embracing emptiness”. Therefore, I would humbly like to interpret my review through the lens of Theravada Buddhism (School of the Elders), exploring certain plot points and identifying how they are interconnected with the concepts of “The Four Noble Truths”, “The Wheel of Life”, and “The Eightfold Path”, which I will provide relevant links below to aid further understanding. (..◜ᴗ◝..)✨
... In episodes [omitted for spoiler] and [omitted for spoiler], the male lead finally grasped the importance of letting go of his past obsessions, accepting them, and living in harmony with the present. From a Buddhist perspective, these small steps toward understanding one’s cravings and recognising the illusory nature of permanence represent significant progress toward the Third Noble Truth, or 'nirodha,' which means the cessation of suffering. 'Nirodha' signifies the potential to end our suffering and be liberated from the “Wheel of Life” (Bhavacakra). This concept illustrates the Buddhist belief in the cycle of Shengsi (生死)...
... One of the most charming aspects that captivated me was the music and the traditional instruments used. I was especially taken by Hong Gu’s arched harp, known as the Zonggaoji (originally called the "Saung-gauk" in Myanmar). This instrument is unique and rare, as it is not commonly seen in historical Chinese dramas. Among all the original soundtracks, my favourite is "春声碎 (Shattered Sounds of Spring)," followed closely by "临风吟 (Ballad to the Breeze)." "Shattered Sounds of Spring" feels like a soulful ode to Tang Li Ci’s longing and false hopes...
.... Despite a few downsides, [Whispers of Fate] is definitely one of the best dramas worth watching. By paying closer attention to the details and themes, we can learn a lot from these characters about their choices and their consequences. The drama offers not only entertainment but also a rich narrative filled with knowledge about ancient Chinese culture, infused with artistic heritage, philosophy, and religious viewpoints. ]
Mizuhira-san also goes into specific details for the drama and narrative but in order to keep this spoiler-free, this is all I can quote.
If the tension between the antagonist and protagonist is performed well, it’s incredibly thrilling to watch…
We needed more of Ye Mo as a character and also more interactions between Ye Mo and Tang Lici. Some characters needed more screentime and interactions, such as Xiao Shi and Shen Langhun.
A beautifully complex and interesting drama had its plotline weakened due to two characters that shouldn't have been in the drama to start with. Without that, everyone's stories would develop and intersect beautifully.
Have you seen TaraVerde's review (contains spoilers)? That excellent review explains how certain principles of Buddhism appears to be built into the narrative and camerawork :)
I quote:
{ Impermanence: life as a dream or the stage of a play // “All phenomena are like dreams” - Heart Sutra ....
...By this point, we already know there are three stories:
... So? Which one is real? The first one we never saw? The second one we grew attached to? The final one we only catch a glimpse of? Buddhism states that just as our dream experiences are mere appearances of the mind, so too are beings, their environments, their pleasures, and all other phenomena. The strong theatre-stage effect of the drama (ACT 1) seems to work like a visual metaphor of this. ] - https://kisskh.at/profile/TiaraBella/review/515614
QUESTION? How was the drama in general , please let me know as i am on episode 10 thanks :)
Finished watching this drama a second time, and I know I'm not the only one on this page. It's an incredibly beautiful high fantasy drama with many lessons and unforgettable moments between multiple characters. My favourite C-Drama jianghu therapist is in this drama, and so is my favourite C-Drama villain, and those are a few of my conclusions after watching at least 30 years of C-Ent since I was a kid. The selected moments of comedy are very enjoyable, to go with the tugging of heartstrings. And of course, only Luo Yunxi could be Tang Lici, with his stage knowledge from many years as an experienced and talented ballet performer plus his stunt training :D
Ye Mo also died in Ep40, he is Tang Lici’s brother, companion, saviour, and beloved disciple💔
Technically in the literal sense, that terrifies me on a certain level. But then again, Ye Mo is obsessive in his own way XD
I would be happy to have more of Ye Mo, so the philosophical underpinnings and ideas could be fully fleshed out. At this rate, I'll be lamenting over the Tianren Realm again, so... https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1fAykB4Ez7/
Can someone recommend more such shows with strong FL’s I am coming across xianxia dramas but FL’s are very…
A Journey To Love - Liu Shishi kicks ass there Jun Jiu Ling - FL is strong, but in a different manner The Double - Wu Jinyan gets her revenge and more than that
Hi everyone , I’ve just completed my 2nd rewatch and updated the TLC counter with additional emojis :) Tang…
Thanks for the updated chart! Should I replace the one I previously linked in the "Group Collaborative Efforts" forum post with this chart, or should I share both with different headers?
If I am going to keep all the characters: The fight flashback between Liu Yan and Tang Lici at the beginning of…
Before I happily get to what you said, to sum up the issues with A-Shui:
1) My sum disgruntlement of too many loopholes I couldn't reconcile, which seems as if the screenplay for the drama tried to insert a character that shouldn't be there (it doesn't help that I am aware of the novel being unfinished before the novel was adapted for the drama, where novel-Wanyu Yuedan informed novel-A-Shui of why her feelings for Tang Lici was fundamentally futile in chapter 40. The drama loosely adapts some details of the novel, but mostly differs from the novel):
3) Azure is aware of the original screenplay before the final edits and changes for the drama. Here is what Azure shared about the loophole pertaining to A-Shui that couldn't be reconciled in the drama for me and several other viewers, and the differences in screenplay versus drama for A-Shui only strengthened my belief that the original screenplay tried to accommodate a character that really shouldn't be there:
If one wants Chi Yun to remain alive, simply remove Bai Suche. She doesn't contribute anything to the drama and if Chi Yun had to die, it would be because of saving Tang Lici or Shen Langhun.
I agree that yes, it sucks to not see Shen Langhun's reaction to Chi Yun's death. This is clearly another point for the drama being too bloated cast-wise, and should have removed two characters: A-Shui plus Bai Suche.
Rearranging certain details is because not everyone comes to the drama with the same interest and two questions always come first: Why should I watch this drama? Why should I care about any characters?
Informing the audience by episode two about the conflict between Tang Lici and Liu Yan is essential, while making us want to know their backstory. Removing that beautiful flashback of Tang Lici with Liu Yan playing together to be replaced with the flashback I mentioned is necessary, combined with the rest of my edits for episodes 2 and 5 because the overall sum can look too pose-y and favouring aesthetics without answering these two questions, and hence feel draggy to anyone with a shorter attention span trying to decide if this drama is paced properly for engaging the plot-driven viewer that might not understand the theatre and opera of it all adding to the villains being more showy in their actions and gestures.
Flashbacks must be restructured and rearranged and as you also noticed, not repetitive. Fang Yilun was not overacting and actually on-point with the theatre and opera of it all, but because of the arrangement of scenes not addressing certain angles, how can someone who doesn't understand the view of a traditional chinese medicine practitioner realise the conflict between Tang Lici and Fang Yilun is not due to miscommunication? It's a justifiable misunderstanding from Liu Yan's perspective, but I will question how many international non-mandarin viewers are going to get this completely about Liu Yan going almost berserk at times and wanting to kill Tang Lici?
The Rebirth Scroll is partially what makes Liu Yan unhinged but the audience doesn't know this, and first needs to realise why Tang Lici and Liu Yan are so severely estranged because what Tang Lici did was an abomination to anyone, especially Liu Yan as a TCM doctor.
Ai Mi and Bai Shu were hilarious. When they first came out, some of us were totally enjoying their chemistry as longtime friends who behave like a couple that has broken up bickering over their dog. Ai Mi was 16 when she shot these scenes, and for her to hold her own with Luo Yunxi while giving FL vibes was impressive. But she grew up in this industry and has also been trained by some of the best directors across more than ten years, so the end results were expected. She was FL in a serious movie with Ao Ziyi (actor for Chi Yun) as ML that aired in November 2024. She was also one of three actors to win an award for Rising Young Actor at the recent Wenrong 2025 Awards.
My mandarin-speaking friends are aware of her shining in supporting roles in many dramas across several years, and are looking forward to her as FL for future dramas while also able to break out of being stuck only in idol dramas, such as "Above The Wall" which is her first FL-drama that airs in 2026: https://kisskh.at/770155-above-the-wall
Would have liked to see the backstory of Tang Lici and Xue Xianzi, plus Shui Duopo and Xue Xianzi, but that will only be in the imagination.
Characterisations for Zhong Chunji, Xifang Tao, Hong-guniang and these other subplots could have been strengthened and/or added if one removes Bai Suche and A-Shui. The story changes drastically for the better.
Gui Mudan makes Liu Yan believe Liu Yan is a mutual leader whom he also respects, wrt the House of Pleasure. However,…
When Xifang Tao disintegrated in episode 40, nothing was left of her physical body. When Gui Mudan disintegrates, what is left of his body is a metal heart on the ground, which is very touching because it shows that even as a puppet after everything he went through as Gui Mudan, even he could develop a heart. And that cat played a huge part for it.
You don't see anything happen to the white cat, which is a very active cat. It was jumping in the air towards Gui Mudan and he made a move to catch it and protect it, which is also why Xifang Tao could strike him even as Tang Lici was about to stab Ye Mo.
Tang Lici and his cat is not something I fully remember, in terms of outcome. But I am certain nothing also happens to it.
Originally, Fengfeng the baby adopted by Tang Lici was also not mentioned in terms of an outcome in the drama. That was definitely noticed by a significant number of viewers as a flaw, and enough feedback reached the directors and producers. Across 10 episodes, I had also been wondering about that too, which I saw as a huge negative. Then episodes 1 and 2 had certain extra scenes inserted for the various platforms, including MangoTV and IQiyi.
If I am going to keep all the characters: The fight flashback between Liu Yan and Tang Lici at the beginning of…
This presents a problem to add to the other problems around A-Shui's plotline: it's not even inferred in the drama by a certain late episode.
If fans for good writing really had power regardless of whoever one is a fan of, this drama would be undeniably more male-centric because Chi Yun and Shen Langhun badly needed more screentime with Tang Lici given their importance to him, with the likes of Hong gu-niang, Zhong Chunji and Xifang Tao also with more screentime to flesh out their characters, and minus two characters from this drama. Then this drama would not only be stronger in storyline and subplots, the editing would be better, and the characters would also connect well to each other to strengthen the philosophical underpinnings.
The biggest problem is too many characters in this drama. The fact that my suggestions for improving the drama includes almost 50% of trying to paper over loopholes for A-Shui's existence and motives while improving her characterisations plus incidents for the drama says it all.
If a perceived potential of a character is greater than what is actually portrayed, then what we are looking at is a weakly-written character. It is even worse when a character's primary worth is reduced to being in a "romance" for someone else (given the kind of claims being made to bolster said character's relevance to the drama on this page, ever since the drama aired). In life, I advise people to look at how others behave towards you in words and actions to ascertain who they are first, instead of being carried away by your potentially-wrong perceptions of potential. This is also the same for dramas, because we judge by what we see as a smooth continuous story making sense, instead of loopholes being created and unresolvable due to trying to insert said-character in the first place and hence she becomes a weakly-written character.
Given maternal vibes that could also be inferred as per the unfinished novel before it was adapted for the drama (if one doesn't sail in with romance-distorted lenses and objectively watches the drama) plus the manner in which certain things were "resolved" between Tang Lici and A-Shui, the end result is what it is: Trying to justify a character which should not have been in the drama at the expense of all the other characters.
Still somewhat mopey over the fact that we did not get to see details of Ye Mo and Bai Nanzhu that should have…
Oh noes (,,>﹏<,,) I hope you feel better soon.
For Bai Nanzhu, I would want more of his backstory, but I also wonder what details should be in the drama to better flesh it out other than his beliefs. Tang Lici and Ye Mo would have been very fascinating *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
ML came from the Tianren realm, check out the discussion above to know about Tianren realm, Whispers Of Fate—Worldview/Timelines.
We should have had at least one episode of the Tianren realm (frankly, me translating Fengliu Dian as "House of Pleasure" or "House of Vicissitudes" makes me wince). But then again, would it improve the editing for the current drama? After consideration in yesterday's discussion thread, the only improvements should really have been a completely bold approach right from the beginning and removing two characters from the current drama.
People were primarily watching "Immortal Ascension" for Yang Yang and his adventures. Great sidekicks only add to the story, not detract. I wanted more time for Chi Yun and Shen Langhun (criminally underused).
Luo Yunxi: El Artista de la Versatilidad y la EleganciaLuo Yunxi (罗云熙) es una de las figuras más destacadas…
Thank you for your extensive write-up in Spanish of Luo Yunxi's talents and performance highlights!
If you want to peruse the extensive details of gems within this drama, the forum thread "Group Collective Contributions: Details, trivia, insights across 40 episodes of "Whispers of Fate" will help. It includes details about the official poster on this MDL page from RBF in 2023, fascinating details across 40 episodes from underthestars, insights into Timelines and Worldviews from Azure, and many more:
I also strongly recommend TaraVerde's review for Whispers of Fate. It is a phenomenal labour of love extending to three posts across Reddit, expanding on the arts and aesthetics and philosophical aspects of the drama:
2 
7 
1 
3 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
Thank you for taking the time and effort to share your review. It mostly matches what I was thinking, when I watched the first episode and then backed out within 5 seconds of the end credits. Your review is actually kinder than what I would have said, and I appreciate your review as the most incisive summary on MDL for this drama.
I generally first look at who the director(s) and screenwriter(s) are for a drama alongside any strong actors or actresses in the main and supporting cast before making a decision about watchability, and the main director here is the worse of the main directors for TJOL. Coupled with the main screenwriter who was most likely responsible for ruining the middle section of Sword and Beloved, watching this first episode helped me gauge how bad the main creative team would be. The editing was also wince-worthy.
Hope you managed to find other dramas to soothe your feelings after having touched this one. Have a great night :)
I've been listening to some songs on repeat, and the OP is definitely my favourite song.《念水谣》by Wu Yizhi is another. Technically, I have five songs (including character songs) as my favourite two songs, even if I can't count here XD
[ Hello, dear Wispys~ Most of us have finally reached our destination (i.e. the finale of the story), while some are still 'experiencing' the journey together with Tang Li Ci and others. It was a wonderful journey for me, and I hope it was a splendid experience for you as well! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)💞
.... Unlike some historical C-dramas we’ve watched, [Whispers Of Fate] draws on a range of philosophical and religious themes closely connected to Buddhism, such as “letting go of the self” and “embracing emptiness”. Therefore, I would humbly like to interpret my review through the lens of Theravada Buddhism (School of the Elders), exploring certain plot points and identifying how they are interconnected with the concepts of “The Four Noble Truths”, “The Wheel of Life”, and “The Eightfold Path”, which I will provide relevant links below to aid further understanding. (..◜ᴗ◝..)✨
... In episodes [omitted for spoiler] and [omitted for spoiler], the male lead finally grasped the importance of letting go of his past obsessions, accepting them, and living in harmony with the present. From a Buddhist perspective, these small steps toward understanding one’s cravings and recognising the illusory nature of permanence represent significant progress toward the Third Noble Truth, or 'nirodha,' which means the cessation of suffering. 'Nirodha' signifies the potential to end our suffering and be liberated from the “Wheel of Life” (Bhavacakra). This concept illustrates the Buddhist belief in the cycle of Shengsi (生死)...
... One of the most charming aspects that captivated me was the music and the traditional instruments used. I was especially taken by Hong Gu’s arched harp, known as the Zonggaoji (originally called the "Saung-gauk" in Myanmar). This instrument is unique and rare, as it is not commonly seen in historical Chinese dramas. Among all the original soundtracks, my favourite is "春声碎 (Shattered Sounds of Spring)," followed closely by "临风吟 (Ballad to the Breeze)." "Shattered Sounds of Spring" feels like a soulful ode to Tang Li Ci’s longing and false hopes...
.... Despite a few downsides, [Whispers of Fate] is definitely one of the best dramas worth watching. By paying closer attention to the details and themes, we can learn a lot from these characters about their choices and their consequences. The drama offers not only entertainment but also a rich narrative filled with knowledge about ancient Chinese culture, infused with artistic heritage, philosophy, and religious viewpoints. ]
Mizuhira-san also goes into specific details for the drama and narrative but in order to keep this spoiler-free, this is all I can quote.
Check out her thoughts here :D https://kisskh.at/profile/Mizuhira-san/review/516972
A beautifully complex and interesting drama had its plotline weakened due to two characters that shouldn't have been in the drama to start with. Without that, everyone's stories would develop and intersect beautifully.
Have you seen TaraVerde's review (contains spoilers)? That excellent review explains how certain principles of Buddhism appears to be built into the narrative and camerawork :)
I quote:
{ Impermanence: life as a dream or the stage of a play // “All phenomena are like dreams” - Heart Sutra ....
...By this point, we already know there are three stories:
... So? Which one is real? The first one we never saw? The second one we grew attached to? The final one we only catch a glimpse of? Buddhism states that just as our dream experiences are mere appearances of the mind, so too are beings, their environments, their pleasures, and all other phenomena. The strong theatre-stage effect of the drama (ACT 1) seems to work like a visual metaphor of this. ] - https://kisskh.at/profile/TiaraBella/review/515614
I would be happy to have more of Ye Mo, so the philosophical underpinnings and ideas could be fully fleshed out. At this rate, I'll be lamenting over the Tianren Realm again, so...
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1fAykB4Ez7/
Enjoy《念水谣》by Wu Yizhi, rendition on the guzheng
Jun Jiu Ling - FL is strong, but in a different manner
The Double - Wu Jinyan gets her revenge and more than that
Can you expand on what you mean by "strong"?
˚∧＿∧ + —̳͟͞͞💗
( •‿• )つ —̳͟͞͞ 💗 —̳͟͞͞💗 +
(つ < —̳͟͞͞💗
｜ _つ + —̳͟͞͞💗 —̳͟͞͞💗 ˚
`し´
1) My sum disgruntlement of too many loopholes I couldn't reconcile, which seems as if the screenplay for the drama tried to insert a character that shouldn't be there (it doesn't help that I am aware of the novel being unfinished before the novel was adapted for the drama, where novel-Wanyu Yuedan informed novel-A-Shui of why her feelings for Tang Lici was fundamentally futile in chapter 40. The drama loosely adapts some details of the novel, but mostly differs from the novel):
https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24399916
2) Mizuhira-san is partial to A-Shui. Even then, this is what made her dissatisfied with A-Shui as a character:
https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24400420
3) Azure is aware of the original screenplay before the final edits and changes for the drama. Here is what Azure shared about the loophole pertaining to A-Shui that couldn't be reconciled in the drama for me and several other viewers, and the differences in screenplay versus drama for A-Shui only strengthened my belief that the original screenplay tried to accommodate a character that really shouldn't be there:
https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24394712
~*~*~*~
If one wants Chi Yun to remain alive, simply remove Bai Suche. She doesn't contribute anything to the drama and if Chi Yun had to die, it would be because of saving Tang Lici or Shen Langhun.
I agree that yes, it sucks to not see Shen Langhun's reaction to Chi Yun's death. This is clearly another point for the drama being too bloated cast-wise, and should have removed two characters: A-Shui plus Bai Suche.
Rearranging certain details is because not everyone comes to the drama with the same interest and two questions always come first: Why should I watch this drama? Why should I care about any characters?
Informing the audience by episode two about the conflict between Tang Lici and Liu Yan is essential, while making us want to know their backstory. Removing that beautiful flashback of Tang Lici with Liu Yan playing together to be replaced with the flashback I mentioned is necessary, combined with the rest of my edits for episodes 2 and 5 because the overall sum can look too pose-y and favouring aesthetics without answering these two questions, and hence feel draggy to anyone with a shorter attention span trying to decide if this drama is paced properly for engaging the plot-driven viewer that might not understand the theatre and opera of it all adding to the villains being more showy in their actions and gestures.
Flashbacks must be restructured and rearranged and as you also noticed, not repetitive. Fang Yilun was not overacting and actually on-point with the theatre and opera of it all, but because of the arrangement of scenes not addressing certain angles, how can someone who doesn't understand the view of a traditional chinese medicine practitioner realise the conflict between Tang Lici and Fang Yilun is not due to miscommunication? It's a justifiable misunderstanding from Liu Yan's perspective, but I will question how many international non-mandarin viewers are going to get this completely about Liu Yan going almost berserk at times and wanting to kill Tang Lici?
The Rebirth Scroll is partially what makes Liu Yan unhinged but the audience doesn't know this, and first needs to realise why Tang Lici and Liu Yan are so severely estranged because what Tang Lici did was an abomination to anyone, especially Liu Yan as a TCM doctor.
Ai Mi and Bai Shu were hilarious. When they first came out, some of us were totally enjoying their chemistry as longtime friends who behave like a couple that has broken up bickering over their dog. Ai Mi was 16 when she shot these scenes, and for her to hold her own with Luo Yunxi while giving FL vibes was impressive. But she grew up in this industry and has also been trained by some of the best directors across more than ten years, so the end results were expected. She was FL in a serious movie with Ao Ziyi (actor for Chi Yun) as ML that aired in November 2024. She was also one of three actors to win an award for Rising Young Actor at the recent Wenrong 2025 Awards.
My mandarin-speaking friends are aware of her shining in supporting roles in many dramas across several years, and are looking forward to her as FL for future dramas while also able to break out of being stuck only in idol dramas, such as "Above The Wall" which is her first FL-drama that airs in 2026: https://kisskh.at/770155-above-the-wall
Would have liked to see the backstory of Tang Lici and Xue Xianzi, plus Shui Duopo and Xue Xianzi, but that will only be in the imagination.
Characterisations for Zhong Chunji, Xifang Tao, Hong-guniang and these other subplots could have been strengthened and/or added if one removes Bai Suche and A-Shui. The story changes drastically for the better.
You don't see anything happen to the white cat, which is a very active cat. It was jumping in the air towards Gui Mudan and he made a move to catch it and protect it, which is also why Xifang Tao could strike him even as Tang Lici was about to stab Ye Mo.
Tang Lici and his cat is not something I fully remember, in terms of outcome. But I am certain nothing also happens to it.
Originally, Fengfeng the baby adopted by Tang Lici was also not mentioned in terms of an outcome in the drama. That was definitely noticed by a significant number of viewers as a flaw, and enough feedback reached the directors and producers. Across 10 episodes, I had also been wondering about that too, which I saw as a huge negative. Then episodes 1 and 2 had certain extra scenes inserted for the various platforms, including MangoTV and IQiyi.
If fans for good writing really had power regardless of whoever one is a fan of, this drama would be undeniably more male-centric because Chi Yun and Shen Langhun badly needed more screentime with Tang Lici given their importance to him, with the likes of Hong gu-niang, Zhong Chunji and Xifang Tao also with more screentime to flesh out their characters, and minus two characters from this drama. Then this drama would not only be stronger in storyline and subplots, the editing would be better, and the characters would also connect well to each other to strengthen the philosophical underpinnings.
The biggest problem is too many characters in this drama. The fact that my suggestions for improving the drama includes almost 50% of trying to paper over loopholes for A-Shui's existence and motives while improving her characterisations plus incidents for the drama says it all.
If a perceived potential of a character is greater than what is actually portrayed, then what we are looking at is a weakly-written character. It is even worse when a character's primary worth is reduced to being in a "romance" for someone else (given the kind of claims being made to bolster said character's relevance to the drama on this page, ever since the drama aired). In life, I advise people to look at how others behave towards you in words and actions to ascertain who they are first, instead of being carried away by your potentially-wrong perceptions of potential. This is also the same for dramas, because we judge by what we see as a smooth continuous story making sense, instead of loopholes being created and unresolvable due to trying to insert said-character in the first place and hence she becomes a weakly-written character.
Given maternal vibes that could also be inferred as per the unfinished novel before it was adapted for the drama (if one doesn't sail in with romance-distorted lenses and objectively watches the drama) plus the manner in which certain things were "resolved" between Tang Lici and A-Shui, the end result is what it is: Trying to justify a character which should not have been in the drama at the expense of all the other characters.
For Bai Nanzhu, I would want more of his backstory, but I also wonder what details should be in the drama to better flesh it out other than his beliefs. Tang Lici and Ye Mo would have been very fascinating *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
If it helps, Tang Lici's beautiful sentiments in episodes 27 to 29 for himself and for Fang Zhou will always be unforgettable: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5231577761583667#&video
People were primarily watching "Immortal Ascension" for Yang Yang and his adventures. Great sidekicks only add to the story, not detract. I wanted more time for Chi Yun and Shen Langhun (criminally underused).
If you want to peruse the extensive details of gems within this drama, the forum thread "Group Collective Contributions: Details, trivia, insights across 40 episodes of "Whispers of Fate" will help. It includes details about the official poster on this MDL page from RBF in 2023, fascinating details across 40 episodes from underthestars, insights into Timelines and Worldviews from Azure, and many more:
https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146454-group-collective-contributions-details-trivia-insights-across-40-episodes-of-whispers-of-fate
I also strongly recommend TaraVerde's review for Whispers of Fate. It is a phenomenal labour of love extending to three posts across Reddit, expanding on the arts and aesthetics and philosophical aspects of the drama:
https://kisskh.at/profile/TiaraBella/review/515614