So recently I got into a crazy reading spree and read the Heaven Official’s Blessing series. It is a series of eight books and it is about a “failed” god and his journey where he comes across a ghost king who seems to want to help him. It is the translated version of the Chinese Danmei (Boys Love novel) called Tian Guan Ci Fu (TGCF in short)
I never thought I would breeze through the 300+ page books within a span of 2 weeks. But here I am! At first I had some trouble pronouncing the Chinese names and remembering who is who. Some of them have 3 names and it sort of gets confusing for someone who does not know what those names mean or why a certain character is called a certain way. But you sort of get the hang of it. The two main characters are Xie Lian and Hua Cheng/San Lang. Their names are the easiest to remember and it is repeated so much you just start calling them like those are names from your native language.
#######SPOILERS AHEAD#######
Xie Lian
This is the tale of a Xie Lian going through three ascensions to the heaven, living in the mortal realm and finally finding his place which belongs with Hua Cheng who has loved him from afar for 800+ years through generations, through life and death. There were too many things that got me sobbing and clutching the book/iPad. The most heart wrenching moments start after Xie Lian’s first banishment and he struggles with his demotion from godhood, his demotion from being a crown prince to a searched criminal all because he couldn’t help his citizens and devotees.
It is very easy to capture happy moments but capturing the anguish and pain is difficult. MXTX has done that beautifully in these books where she shows Xie Lian’s slow descent into madness and depression and angst. He wonders where exactly he went wrong and fails to come up with one answer. He could never come up with an answer. When I first started reading the books I was wondering why he was the way he was and the answers come up in the later books. He goes through so much pain and suffering no mortal or god should go through and all for what? One other creature’s wrath and jealousy.
The story clearly shows that the same events happening to very similar people can still give different results. Like Xie Lian’s kindness gave rise to the beautiful love that Hua Cheng developed. The one person’s kindness (the bamboo hat) gives rise to Xie Lian ascending the second time. All it takes is one act of kindness to change the course of events. Xie Lian and his resilience makes him one of the best written protagonists I have ever come across.
Hua Cheng
And with respect to Hua Cheng… Oh my… Where do I even begin? A child who is destined for nothing but misery turns it around because one person showed him grace and treated him like a human being. I am sure I will also get obsessed if a god told me “Live for me, make me the purpose of your life” No wonder that child decided to live and die for those words. He dies for his love and becomes a wrath for the same love all because he couldn’t protect the one he loved. Spends a decade in isolation in Mt.Tonglu and becomes a Supreme just from the immeasurable love he has for Xie Lian. The only time I feel immense love like that is when I look at my cats. But I get that this love that surpasses centuries and centuries of time and experiences is greater than what one can fathom. His resolve to never see his beloved go through the pain and agony that he had to see him bear is so larger than life that gives him strength to even reject a heavenly tribulation. The man is made up of nothing but love for Xie Lian!
Favourite Bits
I wished there were more domestic scenes of them just being together. I am still going through the extras and I love it so much. But just the day to day life of a god and ghost couple is much more fun to read than all the adventures they go through. It is sort of funny that Xie Lian had kind of given up on the fact that anyone even tolerates him and then there is this Ghost who loves him enough to be obsessed with him and sculpt ten thousand sculptures. The scenes with Mu Qing and Feng Xin reacting to their display of affection was hilarious. And in general them kissing and calling it “borrowing spiritual energy” was funnier. There are still curious parts like Hua Cheng’s verbal password is never revealed. I loved that the wind master stays the same with his lively spirit and fun energy even after becoming a mortal. A few places felt like they were being stretched out like the coffin scene. They were in a coffin for no good reason except for fan service :P. But I am not complaining… (I kind of am)
Everyone gets their character arc development in a way. Wind master is a man who doesn’t care whether he is god or not and is the same person through and through. Lang Qianqiu becomes responsible for a child who thinks the guy who massacred his family is the father. Qi Ying is respected for his talent finally. Xie Lian gets all the support and believes in himself because of the one devotee he has constantly had. And finally Hua Cheng gets to live with the greatest love of his life.
Personal Thoughts
This is one of the greatest love stories I have ever read. And I am someone who considers Tale of Two Cities, a love story. I am sucker for stories where love consumes the characters left, right and centre. There are parts that made my heart heavy like the hundred stabs “it hurts” scene, the scene after the final battle where Hua Cheng promises to come back, and the period where Xie Lian waits for him to come back to mention a few. My heart is still heavy with the thought that I will never go through this manic reading episode again. It felt a bit fun to just keep reading book after book and still wanting more stories about them. If people can look beyond the fact that it is BL, it is truly a very well written story. The world building is magnificent and made me wonder how did someone come up with such intricate details for even the smallest of things. I was amazed at the amount of work put into each and every element of the world, the characters and their profiles.
This series will be something I will hold close to my heart forever. I am even thinking of buying the hardcover books if possible to keep in my collection. The art work is exquisite and makes me want to recreate it someday. If I ever manage to do it, I shall post it! For now heres the images from the book that I absolutely love!
