★★★★★
(My rating is def biased, but I enjoyed it, so whatever.)
I tried hard to remember what happened in volume 2 because I reread it a while ago and forgot to write a review for it. Also, I feel like my reviews don’t properly review anything, but rather it’s just me talking about the book. But it’s my blog, so I can talk about whatever I want anyway.
So, it starts with Xie Lian getting summoned back to the heavenly realm to settle the Banyue Pass incident. We see a bit of Prince Taihua. Or Lang Qianqiu. Whatever you wanna call him. I love him so much, he’s such a cutie. Anyway, Pei Ming is there to defend Pei Xiu, and it’s revealed to everyone that the youth Xie Lian was hanging around with is Hua Cheng. But Xie Lian acts like he didn’t know. Pei Xiu gets exiled for 200 years (I’m pretty sure), and Banyue is not punished (yay). I loved the Wind Master in this scene. Though Xie Lian didn’t know who the Wind Master was because he thought the Wind Master was a girl.
After that whole thing with the Banyue Pass incident, Xie Lian is told by Jun Wu to stay behind while everyone leaves. This is the first time that Jun Wu and Xie Lian meet after Xie Lian’s second banishment. But I really liked Jun Wu. He didn’t hold anything against Xie Lian, and it was nice to see someone still favoring Xie Lian. Lowkey, if I were Xie Lian, I’d take advantage of the fact that I’m Jun Wu’s favorite. But Xie Lian is better than me lol. Jun Wu tells Xie Lian that a heavenly official sent out a distress signal in Ghost City and that he would send Xie Lian to investigate, since he’s the only one he really trusts, but he doesn’t want to jeopardize Xie Lian’s friendship with Hua Cheng, since he’s the ruler of Ghost City. But Xie Lian assures him that this won’t interfere with his relationship with Hua Cheng. So, Xie Lian and the Wind Master go to Ghost City to investigate. They need to find out which heavenly official sent the distress signal, and they must rescue them.
Okay, so a lot happens in Ghost City and I’m trying to remember everything. A woman (a prostitute, I think) tries hitting on Xie Lian, but he tells her that he can’t get erect. This moment was so funny to me. Anywayyyy, Xie Lian finds himself in a gambling den. This is where we get the reveal of Hua Cheng’s true form. I found it such a beautiful scene. Plus, Hua Cheng was so cool, and I really liked seeing how he’s treated in Ghost City. I like that Hua Cheng is so powerful because I feel like it makes up for his sad childhood. Anyway, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng proceed to lowkey flirt in front of everyone in that gambling den. Basically, Lang Qianqiu showed up at the gambling den and confronted one of the patrons for betting his daughter’s life (I think). So he basically outed the heavenly officials and got pinned to the ceiling (lmao?). So Xie Lian wanted to bet on Lang Qianqiu. But I think we know by now that Xie Lian’s luck sucks, but Hua Cheng tells him to approach him so he can teach him how to roll the dice. He proceeds to rig the game so Xie Lian wins. It was the cutest thing ever—the first hualian moment (like with Hua Cheng as himself rather than San Lang). He does win Lang Qianqiu but loses an old, half-eaten steamed bun.
After that, Xie Lian spots the kid with the bandaged face that he saw on Moun Yujun—the one with the human face disease. He runs after him but ends up losing him. As Xie Lian is about to lowkey get in a fight, one of Hua Cheng’s servants brings him to Paradise Manor, AKA Hua Cheng’s home in Ghost City. Hualian nation was fed well in this part of the book, let’s just say that. They chat and eat, and Hua Cheng finds the boy with the bandaged face for Xie Lian. He also gives Xie Lian his armory and everything that’s in it. How sweet is he? Xie Lian also secrelty follows one of Hua Cheng’s servants to a big door that he disappears into.
Later, Xie Lian and the Wind Master sneak into that room and have to roll some dice to a certain number to end up where they want. Since Xie Lian has some luck left from when Hua Cheng gave him luck, he rolls two sixes. A lot happens in there and it’s kinda hard to remember, but they roll the dice a few more times and definitely end up in the wrong place. But eventually they find someone chained up. It’s the Earth Master, Ming Yi, and he’s the one who sent the distress signal. We find out that the Earth and Wind Masters are best friends and very close. They head back the way they came to try to leave now that they’ve rescued the Earth Master, but they fall into Hua Cheng’s armory. I don’t really remember how Lang Qianqiu got there but he does at some point (sorryyyy). The heavenly officials want to fight Hua Cheng, even though Xie Lian tries (and fails terribly) to mediate. Lang Qianqiu is especially rage-baited by the rage-bait king Hua Cheng, and they both have powerful weapons. So Xie Lian gets in between them and stops them both with one sword, which creates a bright light that blinds everyone for a bit. The Wind Master takes that opportunity to try to escape with everyone, and he fans the group upwards, which spreads the fire that had developed at some point (I’m not the best at storytelling, am I…). So the heavenly official group escapes and leave Paradise Manor burning. Xie Lian obviously feels very guilty about it, and he injured his arm when he intercepted Hua Cheng and Lang Qianqiu.
They make it back to the heavenly realm and to the Palace of Divine Might. They get immediate medical aid for the Earth Master who had to be carried by the Wind Master. Feng Xin notices that Xie Lian is injured and wants to help him 🙁 I literally have Xianle Trio trauma omg. Jun Wu shows up and heals Xie Lian’s arm. Then, Lang Qianqiu accuses Xie Lian of being the state perceptor of Yong’an who killed his parents and a lot of his bloodline. This happened when Lang Qianqiu was 17, during the Gilded Banquet. Everyone is taken aback at this accusation, obviously. So Lang Qianqiu explains that the move Xie Lian made to stop him and Hua Cheng from striking each other was the same one made by the state perceptor to save him when he was young.
At this point, Xie Lian has neither denied nor confirmed Lang Qianqiu’s accusations, so Jun Wu asks him if he is the state perceptor and if he did kill Lang Qianqiu’s parents. Xie Lian confirms that he did. Lang Qianqiu, understandably, gets very angry and starts demanding a duel. Xie Lian refuses and says that if he duels him, Lang Qianqiu will die. That was lowkey the coldest Xie Lian moment in this book. He ate that up. I was a bit frustrated with Xie Lian for not defending himself, but at least Jun Wu is always on his side—even if he’s in the wrong lol. This whole thing ends up with Xie Lian being confined to his Xianle Palace in the heavenly realm until he clears things up. (I probably forgot to mention that Jun Wu had Xie Lian’s old palace from Xianle remade in the heavenly realm as a gift. I love him.)
Once things settle down a bit, we get a flashback yayyy. We see how Xie Lian saved Lang Qianqiu when he was getting kidnapped as a king. This was after the fall of Xianle, so it was called Yong’an. Lang Qianqiu’s parents, the king and queen of Yong’an, reward Xie Lian for saving their child by making him the state preceptor. Throughout all this, Xie Lian has his identity concealed and wears a mask. Can we talk about how attractive he looks as the state preceptor of Yong’an?? He had a different vibe and it was so hot. Not that he isn’t hot still, but I feel like he’s more cute now.
This whole flashback occurs while Xie Lian is asleep. He wakes up, and shortly after, Mu Qing shows up with some medicine for Xie Lian’s arm. Honestly, I’ll take any crumbs I can get from the Xianle Trio. I’m so sad about how they split. This scene alone shows that, despite his aloofness, Mu Qing does still care for Xie Lian. But we barely get a moment with Xie Lian and Mu Qing alone before Feng Xin arrives. Feng Xin and Mu Qing, of course, start fighting. Feng Xin accuses Mu Qing of not really caring about Xie Lian, Mu Qing reminds Feng Xin that he left him too, and they punch and kick each other in true martial god fashion. I did notice how in the past, whenever those two started fighting, a word from Xie Lian would be enough to stop them as he had authority over them. But now that their ranks are different, as Xie Lian tries to stop their fight, no one really pays him any mind. It’s a bit sad, but just the fact that they came due to their concern for Xie Lian is enough to show that there is still love between them.
Earlier, when Xie Lian woke up, he was playing with the dice that Hua Cheng gave him. He rolled two ones, showing that any luck he got from Hua Cheng was long gone by now. The dice didn’t do much at the time, but later, while Mu Qing and Feng Xin were fighting, the doors of the Palace of Xianle burst open and silver butterflies swarmed the place. The silver butterflies are known to belong to Hua Cheng and they have a bad reputation, so Feng Xin and Mu Qing immediately create shields that can barely hold off the butterflies. But when they look at Xie Lian, he’s untouched except for a single butterfly in his hand. He’s sooo cute I love him. Then, someone grabs Xie Lian and basically kidnaps him lmao. It’s Hua Cheng, obviously. But the vibe between him and Xie Lian is a bit off because of what happened in Paradise Manor. Xie Lian thinks Hua Cheng is mad at him for the fire, but Hua Cheng is mad at himself for hurting Xie Lian’s arm. How cute are they?
So, when the heavenly officials hear that Xie Lian has left the Palace of Xianle, where he was ordered to remain by Jun Wu, they all start freaking out a bit. Feng Xin and Mu Qing inform the others that Xie Lian was kidnapped by Hua Cheng. Those two take it upon themselves to search for Xie Lian. The Wind Master tells them how teleporting with dice works, and they keep rolling the dice while they look for Xie Lian.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng come across Lang Qianqiu, who is still angry and betrayed. And he definitely still wants to duel Xie Lian. He agrees to the duel, but tricks Lang Qianqiu and ties him up with Ruoye (his spiritual weapon, which is basically a sentient silk cloth). I forgot to mention that in this scene, Lang Qianqiu brings Xie Lian’s old sword, Fangxin. Xie Lian keeps the sword. Hua Cheng then turns Lang Qianqiu into a small budaoweng doll.
I’m gonna spoil things, sorry, but Hua Cheng is here to prove Xie Lian’s innocence because he knows there’s more to the story. He doesn’t know the full story himself, but he believes in Xie Lian enough to know that he wouldn’t do that. How sweet is he? I love themmmm. We’ll bring quotes later, dw, because there were a few really good ones from this book.
To prove Xie Lian’s innocence, Hua Cheng takes Xie Lian and the Lang Qianqiu doll to Qi Rong. They disguise themselves and blend in, and then there’s a whole reveal where Hua Cheng starts beating up Qi Rong. Qi Rong literally had a statue of Xie Lian kneeling and resting his feet on it. Crazy work if you ask me, lowkey. But he’s so obsessed, like he thinks his cousin is long gone. Why is he still bothered? Xie Lian was an unbothered king, though. I love how resilient he is, but like lowkey, that could never be me. So anyway, Qi Rong is a cannibal, and the humans he was about to eat run away after the distraction Hua Cheng created. He just beats the shit out of Qi Rong lmao. Then he asks him how Prince An Le died. So we finally get the full story because Qi Rong was there when Xie Lian was the state preceptor of Yong’an.
Qi Rong had planned to kidnap Lang Qianqiu when he was a kid because he was the crown prince of Yong’an and had no siblings. Qi Rong is from Xianle, and we know that he’s very prideful, so everything to do with Yong’an triggered him. There were still survivors from the kingdom of Xianle, but they weren’t treated well. Until this guy with a mask (Xie Lian) saved the crown prince. We’ll call this version of Xie Lian Fangxin since that’s the identity he claimed. The king and queen of Yong’an knew Fangxin was from Xianle, and they still made him the state preceptor, and they were very kind to the Xianle people. Fangxin teaches Lang Qianqiu so that he will be a fair and just ruler. Since his teacher, whom he respected, was from Xianle, Lang Qianqiu grew up with no prejudices about the Xianle people and saw them as his own. He even had Prince An Le, the last remaining survivor of the royal family of Xianle, as his close friend. The king and queen gave An Le his title as prince as a show of respect and fairness to the Xianle people. So, all in all, things were good between the Yong’an and Xianle people, and they lived in harmony together. On Lang Qianqiu’s seventeenth birthday, the Gilded Banquet occurred. From the name, it was a large banquet where everything was made of gold, even the utensils. It’s a tradition taken from Xianle, who were known for their love of gold and luxury. Lang Qianqiu was late, and that saved his life. Because Qi Rong and An Le planned to massacre the entire royal family of Yong’an and take the kingdom back. Fangxin arrived to see everyone dead. The king (I’m not sure about the queen) was still alive, though he was bleeding and wounded. He said that he would make the Xianle people pay, as they were the ones who planned this. Fangxin, Xie Lian, obviously couldn’t have this. Things were finally peaceful between Yong’an and Xianle, and he couldn’t let the king ruin that, not when the crown prince was so kind-hearted. If he heard his father saying things like that, it would affect him and his view on Xianle. So, Fangxin stabs the king. Just as he’s doing so, Lang Qianqiu arrives. Naturally, he’s very betrayed and angry. This is his teacher, who practically raised him ever since he was a kid, and he just killed his parents and (to Lang Qianqiu) his entire family. Xie Lian speaks to An Le, who is overjoyed to find out that, not only did he finish off the king, but he is also from Xianle. But Xie Lian kills An Le after seeing his hatred for Yong’an. He killed the last remaining survivor of his bloodline. I mean, Xie Lian and Qi Rong still exist, of course, but their existence isn’t public knowledge. Lang Qianqiu later has Fangxin killed and sealed in three coffins. I have no idea how Xie Lian escaped, but he obviously did.
Qi Rong did not know that Fangxin was Xie Lian. No one did. And Lang Qianqiu didn’t know that An Le was killed either. An Le died from internal wounds due to the manner in which Xie Lian killed him. Now that everything was cleared up, and it’s clear that Xie Lian wasn’t as evil as Lang Qianqiu thought he was, you’d think everything is good, right? But no. Xie Lian lowkey crashes out. He didn’t want Lang Qianqiu to know any of this because he didn’t want him to blame the Xianle people. He wanted him to only blame Fangxin instead of blaming all the remaining Xianle people. He wanted what he taught Lang Qianqiu to actually mean something. It’s so sadddd. Xie Lian is so selfless that he took the blame for everything.
Aside from all the serious stuff, I love when Xie Lian slaps Qi Rong. Like, we never see him resort to violence ever, but it’s nice to know that unc still has it in him lol. I get that he wouldn’t be the character he is today if he did resort to violence, and like he wouldn’t be this chill, resilient, calm guy, but I like the reminders that he’s still extremely strong. Like, he would solo Hua Cheng lowkey. That’s also partly why I like flashbacks from the crown prince arc, because we get to see how Xie Lian used to be, and he’s less wise and more relatable. I like comparing his current self with his past self, because we get to see his growth that way without the author explicitly stating it. I feel like any good book is one where the author isn’t just spelling everything out for the reader, but lets them see it themselves.
I digress. Lang Qianqiu is turned back into his normal self, and then he cuts Qi Rong in half and boils him alive. But Qi Rong is a ghost, and to end a ghost, you need to get to their ashes. Even though Qi Rong’s body was killed, his soul is still there, and it escapes. Lang Qianqiu decides to drop the thing with Xie Lian (at least for now) until he sorts things out with Qi Rong, since he was the one who planned the Gilded Banquet. Then we get a nice, heartfelt moment between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, and we get to see a more vulnerable side to Xie Lian. He’s always so calm and tranquil that I forget he’s just a normal guy who’s been through a lot.
Hua Cheng and Xie Lian free the rest of the people Qi Rong had imprisoned to eat, and they try to find their way out of Qi Rong’s cave (is it a cave? I’m pretty sure it’s like this cave system, right?). Finally, the Wind Master, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing find Xie Lian. They make it seem like Hua Cheng kidnapped him so that Xie Lian isn’t held accountable for leaving when he was under orders from the heavenly emperor to remain in the Palace of Xianle. Then it starts raining blood, and Hua Cheng holds his umbrella over Xie Lian. How cute? But Feng Xin gets drenched, and I feel bad for him. I don’t remember much about the scene in particular, but I do recall that it was uncomfortable for Feng Xin. Before Hua Cheng leaves, he tells Xie Lian that if he ever wanted to see him, all he has to do is roll the dice he gave him—no matter the number, he will always show up. I love themmmmmm.
Anyway, Xie Lian, the Wind Master (should I refer to him as Shi Qingxuan?), Feng Xin, and Mu Qing all return to the heavenly realm. Now that Lang Qianqiu has forgiven Xie Lian (at least for now), everything’s good. So, Xie Lian decides to go visit his mother and father’s tomb.
He goes through this whole secret passage until he reaches his parents’ tomb. However, he hears some noise from his mother’s tomb, and a dead person can’t make noise, can they? So, he opens it and finds a child. His mother’s body was put in this cloth that would preserve it, but now all that’s left of her is ashes. I really felt for Xie Lian when I read this, because he was such a mama’s boy. And his parents died when he was so young, and he was alone for most of his 800 years, and now he doesn’t even have what’s left of his mother’s body 🙁
Then, Qi Rong tries to attack him. He’s in someone else’s body since his own was boiled by Lang Qianqiu. That child is the child of the man whose body he’s in, but can’t recognize that his father is possessed by a ghost. Xie Lian is about to forcibly remove Qi Rong’s soul from the man’s body, but doesn’t want to kill a man in front of his child. Is it bad if I say I enjoyed Xie Lian’s anger at Qi Rong? I just like it when Xie Lian feels intense emotions since I always feel like he’s too chill. But lowkey we all wish we were as chill as Xie Lian. Maybe that should be my New Year’s resolution.
And with that, we’re done with the first arc of TGCF. Yayyy. We’re now in the second arc, The God Pleasing Crown Prince. It starts with the Shangyuan Heavenly Ceremonial Procession. This is a flashback from when Xie Lian was the Crown Prince of Xianle. A lot happens, but basically, Xie Lian isn’t there, and his state preceptor is crashing out (and rightfully so). Mu Qing doesn’t tell anyone, even though he knows what’s happening. I always found that weird, and even if it gets justified a bit later on, I still don’t really get why he wouldn’t just say it clearly. But I know he’s quiet and stuff. Mu Qing is playing the role of the demon, and Xie Lian is playing the God Pleasing Warrior (who is the heavenly emperor, Jun Wu). It’s a great honor to have that role, and we can see already how skilled and talented Xie Lian is. Xie Lian ends up making a grand entrance later. So, the major event that takes place is that during this procession, a child falls. Nobody would have been able to catch him, other than Xie Lian, who does just that. He catches the child and continues smoothly. His mask falls off his face, though, and everyone sees the face of the crown prince. The heavenly ceremonial procession is forced to end early, which is a bad omen. The longer it goes on, the longer the kingdom prospers. But this one was the shortest in history, and it’s fitting because the kingdom doesn’t survive many years longer. This is, obviously, a bad look for Xie Lian. But I love how he just doesn’t care. He’s so real for that.
We definitely see that Xie Lian is a lot different in the past. He’s seventeen at this point, and he definitely acts like a seventeen-year-old. He has pride that he doesn’t have in the present. He has everything he wants, and he’s definitely spoiled. But even then, he was very talented and promising. Anyway, even after they return inside the palace, the child that Xie Lian saved clings to him. It’s Hua Cheng, yayyyy. I always forget that Hua Cheng was also from Xianle. This child has a face covered in bandages with only one eye showing, because he says he’s uglyyyy :((
How sad is that? But lowkey it’s understandable that he’d cling to Xie Lian; I would too lmao. We’ll come back to the child later.
When I read these books for the first time, I didn’t understand the bond between the Xianle trio. But now that I know everything (except anything that happens in volumes 7 and 8…) every moment of them is so bittersweet. Like they just never go back to how they were before 🙁
We see the original dynamic between them. Xie Lian is the crown prince and they’re his servants. But he’s always treated them with fairness as far as I know. But Mu Qing obviously has some self-esteem issues, among other traumas. He once stole from Xie Lian, and when Feng Xin accuses Mu Qing (indirectly?) of stealing Xie Lian’s missing earring, Mu Qing crashes out (understandably). He thinks Xie Lian told Feng Xin what happened, but he didn’tttttt. Xie Lian wouldn’t rat out Mu Qing’s secret, especially not to Feng Xin, who would probably hold it against Mu Qing. We see that lowkey no one likes Mu Qing. But he’s sooo misunderstood. They don’t get that he’s just quiet and reserved. But at least Xie Lian understands him.
Xie Lian also gets scolded by the state preceptor, but I love the confidence with which he handles himself. Like, he’s confident that what he did by saving that child is right, and if the heavens say it isn’t, then the heavens are wrong. Like, damn, we all need some of Xie Lian’s confidence. I really love seeing how bold and carefree he is before all the bad stuff happens.
Anyway, Qi Rong is there. He’s not a disciple. His mother is dead (I’m pretty sure), and his father left. So Xie Lian’s mother, the queen of Xianle, takes care of her nephew. He ends up being really spoiled, though, but I get it since it’s hard to raise and discipline someone else’s child, so the queen is not to blame (but maybe a little bit). He takes it upon himself to punish the child who ruined the heavenly ceremonial procession. He drags him through town from a carriage. This man is insaneeeeeee. Xie Lian stops it, obviously, and takes the child to the palace of Xianle to have him treated.
There, Xie Lian gets into a little argument with his father. We see that they have completely different views on just about everything. It’s clear that his father is not the favorite parent. It’s just sad to me knowing that his parents will die 🙁
Okay, I know this is getting very long, but bear with me. As Xie Lian is talking to the state preceptor, these containers that have sealed different demons and stuff are all broken, and all these evil spirits are released. And if that wasn’t enough, the Crown Prince Hall (Xie Lian’s home on the mountain) is on fire. After they get all that dealt with, they find that the cause is the child. This scene broke my hearttttt. Like, he was so scared, and he’s just a small kid, and everyone’s blaming him for this :((((
The state preceptor says that this child bears the Star of Solitude and that he would bring misfortune and destruction to everyone around him but himself. Then the child starts crying and yelling and like omgggg this is so sad. He’s just a kid and this isn’t something he can control. Like, he was basically told that his destiny is to be alone forever or to watch everyone who comes close die. Then Xie Lian holds him while he cries. Lowkey, I get why Hua Cheng becomes so devoted to Xie Lian, because he’s the only person who treated him like a human being. Everyone was so meannnnn.
The concept of Hua Cheng being an unlucky person:
I have no idea how Hua Cheng turned his luck around, but he’s the coolest person ever for doing that. He really took “taking fate into your own hands” literally.
———
That’s it for volume two of Heaven Official’s Blessing. I know my reviews are kinda all over the place, but I find it really fun to share my opinion about the books I like.
My favorite quote from this book is probably when Hua Cheng says, “But to some, the very existence of a certain person in this world is in itself hope.” Ahhhh, how cute! It’s these little things that show just how devoted Hua Cheng is to Xie Lian. Can I say my second favorite quote is “Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry?” LMAO. The number of times Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry… Another favorite has to be, “If that should happen, then the heavens are wrong. I am right. I will stand against the heavens and defy them until the end.” I love baby Xie Lian.
All in all, I wouldn’t say this book was my favorite of the whole series, but it was definitely really good. I think it’s just that I already read it twice AND watched the donghua, which covered volumes 1 and 2, so maybe I got a little sick of the same things happening.
Next, we have volume 3. I really like it, but I’ll have to get through the tragedy of the rest of arc 2 first. My review will come out for that at some point lol. Thank you to anyone who read this far, you’re a real one fr.
I’m posting this on Jan 1, so happy New Year! Hopefully, this year I’ll be more consistent with updating this blog.
