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The Beauty's Blade: Mei Ren Jian
The baihe/Girls’ Love novel originally written in Chinese and available in English for the first time! Two powerful swordswomen face off in this enemies-to-lovers historical tale.
Ruthless and mercurial, Fu Wanqing is hardly the type of woman anyone expected to be heir to the jianghu’s preeminent righteous cultivation sect. Yet she’s famous for more than just her attitude: her raw power and beauty are renowned, rivaled only by those of demonic sect leader Yu Shengyan.
As such, Fu Wanqing is determined to face her in battle; after all, she must prove herself not just worthy of her station, but superior beyond the rest!
Unfortunately, the ice-cold Yu Shengyan couldn’t be less interested in her challenge. Yet when Fu Wanqing offers the rare medicine Yu Shengyan needs to cure one of her comrades, she relents. The catch? Yu Shengyan must agree to stay by Fu Wanqing’s side for three months. Fu Wanqing is certain that by the end of their deal, she’ll get her duel—but will her fascination with Yu Shengyan come to encompass more than just her sword?
Ruthless and mercurial, Fu Wanqing is hardly the type of woman anyone expected to be heir to the jianghu’s preeminent righteous cultivation sect. Yet she’s famous for more than just her attitude: her raw power and beauty are renowned, rivaled only by those of demonic sect leader Yu Shengyan.
As such, Fu Wanqing is determined to face her in battle; after all, she must prove herself not just worthy of her station, but superior beyond the rest!
Unfortunately, the ice-cold Yu Shengyan couldn’t be less interested in her challenge. Yet when Fu Wanqing offers the rare medicine Yu Shengyan needs to cure one of her comrades, she relents. The catch? Yu Shengyan must agree to stay by Fu Wanqing’s side for three months. Fu Wanqing is certain that by the end of their deal, she’ll get her duel—but will her fascination with Yu Shengyan come to encompass more than just her sword?
400 pages, Paperback
Published November 4, 2025
221 people are currently reading
1894 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
November 14, 2025
I went into this novel with so much excitement. it’s the first English-published baihe, and the cover art was done by one of my favorite artists. Unfortunately, the actual reading experience left me pretty disappointed.
If you’re a fan of MingLing, you’ll probably enjoy the dynamic between Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan. I genuinely liked the main couple and thought their chemistry had a lot of potential. But everything surrounding them… just fell flat.
The narrative didn’t feel cohesive, and the plot lacked the depth and direction it needed to keep me truly engaged. Scenes felt loosely strung together rather than building toward something meaningful, and the end was just so meh.
Overall, a beautiful premise and a promising couple, but the execution didn’t live up to the potential.
If you’re a fan of MingLing, you’ll probably enjoy the dynamic between Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan. I genuinely liked the main couple and thought their chemistry had a lot of potential. But everything surrounding them… just fell flat.
The narrative didn’t feel cohesive, and the plot lacked the depth and direction it needed to keep me truly engaged. Scenes felt loosely strung together rather than building toward something meaningful, and the end was just so meh.
Overall, a beautiful premise and a promising couple, but the execution didn’t live up to the potential.
Want to read
October 12, 2025SevenSeas' first baihe adaptation! letsgoooo!!!! #yuri
also look at that cover!!! screaming crying throwing up
the US special edition cover 🤭🫶🏻
also look at that cover!!! screaming crying throwing up
the US special edition cover 🤭🫶🏻
Want to read
May 21, 2021ok but HELLO????? WUXIA LESBIANS??????
December 5, 2025
4 stars. My first Baihe and I would say it was a success! With this being my first I think this was a good starting point. It’s accessible and the translation is good. The rating is extremely low so I feel like my opinions on it will change with the more Baihe novels that I read and trust me I *will* be reading more. This was a lot of fun. It’s action packed, the lead characters Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan were absolute badasses. They have a real enemies to lovers relationship and I liked it. Their banter was a lot of fun. Also, the illustrations throughout were gorgeous. My one and only complaint is that the beginning feels like it drops you into the story with no introduction or room to breathe. Once I got used to everything though it was great. I’m looking forward to reading more Baihe novels and I’m glad that I finally got to one.
March 17, 2025
okay, the relationship in this was soooo…. sooo… good. like, it was so 😵💫😵💫 and very sensuous without actually having very explicit scenes. im giving this a high rating just for that! the plot was honestly dogshit and so bad… but the romance…. so. im literally contemplating getting a copy when the official translation comes out to reread and more appreciate the romantic scenes… also, there’s so little baihe, esp ones that are gonna be officially translated like this one, so need to lenient here!
i should’ve saved more quotations but here’s one:
“Fu Wanqing used her ice-cold fingers to pick up her chin, then ferried the sweet juice into her mouth. Her merciless, punishment-like bite made Yu Shengyan’s lip break open, the taste of blood permeating both of their mouths.
“I want to kill you,” Fu Wanqing coldly said, suddenly raising her head.”
i should’ve saved more quotations but here’s one:
“Fu Wanqing used her ice-cold fingers to pick up her chin, then ferried the sweet juice into her mouth. Her merciless, punishment-like bite made Yu Shengyan’s lip break open, the taste of blood permeating both of their mouths.
“I want to kill you,” Fu Wanqing coldly said, suddenly raising her head.”
April 27, 2025
Why settle for one sword lesbian, when you can have two! (Technically four, actually – there is a secondary pairing that is kind of fun and I wish got more page time…though there is at least an epilogue chapter for them)
“‘I really like you,’ she said, exhaling softly. Yu Shengyan lowered her gaze. ‘There’s a desire to kill in your eyes,’ she answered, indifferent. ‘That doesn’t at all keep me from liking you, though,’ Fu Wanqing objected. ‘You know, in my opinion, liking is a very troublesome thing. I like you, and that’s because you’re outstanding enough. I want to kill you, and that’s also because you’re outstanding enough. But if I killed you, I would definitely be very lonely….’ She let out a despairing sigh; for herself, and for Yu Shengyan, too. ‘You can’t kill me,’ the other replied mildly.”
Fu Wanqing, despite being the heiress to a so-called “righteous sect”, is in fact a bit of a hot-head…and she can’t stand that the leader of the “demonic creed” – the beautiful but aloof Yu Shengyan – won’t duel her! (Some kind of bleeding-heart nonsense about not wanting to kill people over rank. Uggh, so LAME!) So, she does the next best thing: Striking a bargain that will keep Yu Shengyan by her side for three months while she works her “good for her” revenge on the leaders of the jianghu (which I think = “cultivation world” as translated in other novels). Of course, given that she was in Yu Shengyan’s lap like 5 minutes after meeting her: “Three months was too brief, not nearly enough…In other words, she would extend the deadline to three years, or thirty; by that time, would they be two old grandmas dueling at a cliff face? New people would have shown up in jianghu by then, and the titles of number-one sword and number-one beauty would both be gone. She chuckled, shaking her head to expunge this notion”
The character dynamic here reminds me a lot of Mo Ran and Chu Wanning in The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (Novel) Vol. 1 minus most of the trigger-warning-requiring stuff of that book...right down to Yu Shengyan coming off less deliberately chilly and aloof and more, at minimum, a highly introverted bookworm, and possibly a flat-affect neurodivergent person. We don’t get as much backstory on Yu Shengyan as for Chu Wanning, so I don’t know for sure what draws her to Fu Wanqing; that’s something the author could have expanded on a bit! But having been “adopted” by an extrovert or two in my time, if you aren’t really sure how to make friends having someone who shows an intense interest in you while also understanding your needs – Fu Wanqing even spends her own money to make sure Yu Shengyan has a quiet place to read – can be very appealing…probably even if they are a bit of a tsundere! The fact that there’s a bunch of political machinations and treasure hunting and other stuff happening, and these two are just cuddling and feeding each other pastries while the others are like “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!!” was funny too and, along with the red and white color scheme, reminded me a bit of my favorite in this genre, Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 1.
Now, in a technical writing sense, this would probably be more of a 3. The book is a little too short to really give the world-building and relationships of the main characters to secondary characters the time they need. I did also read a fan translation (https://chichilations.home.blog/tbb/) though it's hard to know where an official translator might have done things differently; if this goodreads placeholder is any indication, maybe one is in the works? And, as mentioned, even for the MCs character motivations could have benefited from a little more time or explanation.
However, this is a lot closer to the kind of sapphic adventure fantasy novel I’ve been looking for and I quite enjoyed it for that. The plot – with Lady Fu basically wanting to break the existing power structure because of how it treated her mom and aunt – is not something I’d seen in this type of book before. While there is nothing explicit in the text, there are moments that are quite heated or sensual despite the sometimes clunky translation, and…I mean, if these two are comfortable licking crumbs off each other’s fingers in semi-public settings, I feel like you can assume as much as you like about what they get up to in private! Which is a nice change from the endless pining that often annoys me in sapphic books. Plus, to complement our conventionally feminine MCs, we get a little side romance plot of a girl who was raised to pose as her clan’s eldest son who develops a crush on another of the fighting ladies who habitually wears men’s clothing…including a pretty sweet scene with her dad: . So, for that it gets a 3.5 stars rounded up!
“‘I really like you,’ she said, exhaling softly. Yu Shengyan lowered her gaze. ‘There’s a desire to kill in your eyes,’ she answered, indifferent. ‘That doesn’t at all keep me from liking you, though,’ Fu Wanqing objected. ‘You know, in my opinion, liking is a very troublesome thing. I like you, and that’s because you’re outstanding enough. I want to kill you, and that’s also because you’re outstanding enough. But if I killed you, I would definitely be very lonely….’ She let out a despairing sigh; for herself, and for Yu Shengyan, too. ‘You can’t kill me,’ the other replied mildly.”
Fu Wanqing, despite being the heiress to a so-called “righteous sect”, is in fact a bit of a hot-head…and she can’t stand that the leader of the “demonic creed” – the beautiful but aloof Yu Shengyan – won’t duel her! (Some kind of bleeding-heart nonsense about not wanting to kill people over rank. Uggh, so LAME!) So, she does the next best thing: Striking a bargain that will keep Yu Shengyan by her side for three months while she works her “good for her” revenge on the leaders of the jianghu (which I think = “cultivation world” as translated in other novels). Of course, given that she was in Yu Shengyan’s lap like 5 minutes after meeting her: “Three months was too brief, not nearly enough…In other words, she would extend the deadline to three years, or thirty; by that time, would they be two old grandmas dueling at a cliff face? New people would have shown up in jianghu by then, and the titles of number-one sword and number-one beauty would both be gone. She chuckled, shaking her head to expunge this notion”
The character dynamic here reminds me a lot of Mo Ran and Chu Wanning in The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (Novel) Vol. 1 minus most of the trigger-warning-requiring stuff of that book...right down to Yu Shengyan coming off less deliberately chilly and aloof and more, at minimum, a highly introverted bookworm, and possibly a flat-affect neurodivergent person. We don’t get as much backstory on Yu Shengyan as for Chu Wanning, so I don’t know for sure what draws her to Fu Wanqing; that’s something the author could have expanded on a bit! But having been “adopted” by an extrovert or two in my time, if you aren’t really sure how to make friends having someone who shows an intense interest in you while also understanding your needs – Fu Wanqing even spends her own money to make sure Yu Shengyan has a quiet place to read – can be very appealing…probably even if they are a bit of a tsundere! The fact that there’s a bunch of political machinations and treasure hunting and other stuff happening, and these two are just cuddling and feeding each other pastries while the others are like “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!!” was funny too and, along with the red and white color scheme, reminded me a bit of my favorite in this genre, Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 1.
Now, in a technical writing sense, this would probably be more of a 3. The book is a little too short to really give the world-building and relationships of the main characters to secondary characters the time they need. I did also read a fan translation (https://chichilations.home.blog/tbb/) though it's hard to know where an official translator might have done things differently; if this goodreads placeholder is any indication, maybe one is in the works? And, as mentioned, even for the MCs character motivations could have benefited from a little more time or explanation.
However, this is a lot closer to the kind of sapphic adventure fantasy novel I’ve been looking for and I quite enjoyed it for that. The plot – with Lady Fu basically wanting to break the existing power structure because of how it treated her mom and aunt – is not something I’d seen in this type of book before. While there is nothing explicit in the text, there are moments that are quite heated or sensual despite the sometimes clunky translation, and…I mean, if these two are comfortable licking crumbs off each other’s fingers in semi-public settings, I feel like you can assume as much as you like about what they get up to in private! Which is a nice change from the endless pining that often annoys me in sapphic books. Plus, to complement our conventionally feminine MCs, we get a little side romance plot of a girl who was raised to pose as her clan’s eldest son who develops a crush on another of the fighting ladies who habitually wears men’s clothing…including a pretty sweet scene with her dad: . So, for that it gets a 3.5 stars rounded up!
November 30, 2025
I had so much fun reading this LOL!! Admittedly the plot is a mess but I am here just for the romance and the vibes... It's basically a popcorn book about sexy women fighting and flirting and overpowering all the men around them and being shameless and practicing cool martial arts and me nodding along to all the nonsensical plot twists because I just want them to f--
Ehem.
Actually, I read the fan translation a few years ago but dropped it midway through. I have the official English translation by Seven Seas now and enjoyed it a lot more! This translation feels a lot cleaner (or maybe it helps that I am reading it physically). The art is also so beautiful and so delicious :P I know this novel has a lot of negative reviews but imo you just have to shut off your brain and appreciate the feisty sapphics and the vibes. This is not an epic historical adventure or a complicated political fantasy. The plot is just a thinly veiled excuse to watch a haughty and short-tempered Fu Wanqing flirt with the ice cold and mysterious Yu Shengyan. Their romance is steamy and passionate and physical, and it gave me butterflies. <3
Ehem.
Actually, I read the fan translation a few years ago but dropped it midway through. I have the official English translation by Seven Seas now and enjoyed it a lot more! This translation feels a lot cleaner (or maybe it helps that I am reading it physically). The art is also so beautiful and so delicious :P I know this novel has a lot of negative reviews but imo you just have to shut off your brain and appreciate the feisty sapphics and the vibes. This is not an epic historical adventure or a complicated political fantasy. The plot is just a thinly veiled excuse to watch a haughty and short-tempered Fu Wanqing flirt with the ice cold and mysterious Yu Shengyan. Their romance is steamy and passionate and physical, and it gave me butterflies. <3
November 23, 2025
DNF 30%
Well, never have I ever seen a more disjointed narrative than this one. It seems more a bunch of chapters put together than a proper novel. There's barely a plot, there are too many meaningless characters for a story this short and the main couple didn't manage to keep me entertained, even though they were quite interesting. If you like their kind of relationship, I'm sure there are many fanfictions about Liu Mingyan and Sha Hualing from Scum Villain that are written much better than this novel. What a pity.
Well, never have I ever seen a more disjointed narrative than this one. It seems more a bunch of chapters put together than a proper novel. There's barely a plot, there are too many meaningless characters for a story this short and the main couple didn't manage to keep me entertained, even though they were quite interesting. If you like their kind of relationship, I'm sure there are many fanfictions about Liu Mingyan and Sha Hualing from Scum Villain that are written much better than this novel. What a pity.
December 9, 2025
« Whenever I notice things slipping out of control, I kill whatever’s causing the chaos. Yu Shengyan, your existence has begun to vex me. You’ve swayed me from my set course– I desperately want to kill you, but I also can’t bear to. Tell me. What should I do? »
The beauty’s blade was a rather odd book. I enjoyed it and I had a good time reading it but there were some writing choices which left me a bit confused or sceptical, and some others that I liked.
I was expecting something that wasn’t really good but hopefully nice enough so it exceeded my low expectations. I think giving context to a review is important, I am also somewhat biased for anything that is sapphic and it felt really good to finally have a translated baihe in my hands, with such a beautiful cover and illustrations. It will always be meaningful to me in that aspect and will remain in my memory. Even if I didn’t get particularly attached to the characters or relationship, I am attached to the book in itself. My mindset would’ve been different if I had read it prior to English license announcement but all of the above does count and is part of my reading experience. It was my 4th full-length novel baihe and it ranks 3rd.
It was my first wuxia so I liked discovering this new genre. It was all the more fun since it felt satirical at times, the male characters being almost constantly ridiculed. On the contrary, female characters were all pretty well depicted.
Well, I struggled a bit with Yu Shengyan’s character. I felt like there should’ve been more depth as to why she was so unfeeling, despite being driven by strict principles.
Spoilers ahead : I felt like her getting over Lou Kexin’s death was too abrupt, it was like she didn’t really care that much in the end although it was what had defined her throughout the whole book. I wish there had been a bit more on that since the way it unfolded made her character fall flat. End of spoilers
The main character Fu Wanqing was much more entertaining. She’s the kind of character we often see in male characters, except it was obviously done better on a woman. She was full of herself and very driven. I liked that she wanted to dismantle the jianghu and avenge her mother’s death. However, I felt like her character development dragged on a bit too much. There was not much of a need for her to fixate on the duel for so long when there had been many « counter events ».
In the case of both characters, I would say their development was rather anti-climatic for a relationship that changed so quickly from the pair not admitting feelings to them being completely open about their love.
The plot was engaging enough, I mostly enjoyed the way men were being rightfully mocked. It allowed me to not take the plot too seriously and to just enjoy what was happening lightly.
The beauty’s blade was a rather odd book. I enjoyed it and I had a good time reading it but there were some writing choices which left me a bit confused or sceptical, and some others that I liked.
I was expecting something that wasn’t really good but hopefully nice enough so it exceeded my low expectations. I think giving context to a review is important, I am also somewhat biased for anything that is sapphic and it felt really good to finally have a translated baihe in my hands, with such a beautiful cover and illustrations. It will always be meaningful to me in that aspect and will remain in my memory. Even if I didn’t get particularly attached to the characters or relationship, I am attached to the book in itself. My mindset would’ve been different if I had read it prior to English license announcement but all of the above does count and is part of my reading experience. It was my 4th full-length novel baihe and it ranks 3rd.
It was my first wuxia so I liked discovering this new genre. It was all the more fun since it felt satirical at times, the male characters being almost constantly ridiculed. On the contrary, female characters were all pretty well depicted.
Well, I struggled a bit with Yu Shengyan’s character. I felt like there should’ve been more depth as to why she was so unfeeling, despite being driven by strict principles.
Spoilers ahead : I felt like her getting over Lou Kexin’s death was too abrupt, it was like she didn’t really care that much in the end although it was what had defined her throughout the whole book. I wish there had been a bit more on that since the way it unfolded made her character fall flat. End of spoilers
The main character Fu Wanqing was much more entertaining. She’s the kind of character we often see in male characters, except it was obviously done better on a woman. She was full of herself and very driven. I liked that she wanted to dismantle the jianghu and avenge her mother’s death. However, I felt like her character development dragged on a bit too much. There was not much of a need for her to fixate on the duel for so long when there had been many « counter events ».
In the case of both characters, I would say their development was rather anti-climatic for a relationship that changed so quickly from the pair not admitting feelings to them being completely open about their love.
The plot was engaging enough, I mostly enjoyed the way men were being rightfully mocked. It allowed me to not take the plot too seriously and to just enjoy what was happening lightly.
November 27, 2025
I had a lot of fun with this, my first dip into the world of baihe. I didn't connect with the characters instantly, but as the story went on and motivations were unveiled, I began to love these two. Their relationship is chaotic, sensual, and playfully teasing at times. While I wish we had a few more soft moments, I still rooted for them throughout.
The plot itself was overly convoluted at times. Too many characters, too many situations alluded to without actually being shown. As a result, the end felt incredibly rushed.
I think a reread may be worthwhile, but I still enjoyed this. Hopefully, we get more licensed baihe soon!
The plot itself was overly convoluted at times. Too many characters, too many situations alluded to without actually being shown. As a result, the end felt incredibly rushed.
I think a reread may be worthwhile, but I still enjoyed this. Hopefully, we get more licensed baihe soon!
June 8, 2021
Yu Shengyan was a piece of white paper, so Fu Wanqing was going to brush some of her own colour on her.
Oooof this novel, oooof.
Although it's rather short for a C-novel, I enjoyed it Immensely!
It's the first baihe novel I've ever finished and I honestly couldn't have delved into this subgenre with a better pick. OH MY GOODNESS!!!
First of all, Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan are my everything and I love them so much??? They're my favourite misandrist lesbians now, thank youuu. And their dynamic of "we're the two best fighters in jianghu, we should definitely fuck and then duel to death (but not really)" is,,, *clenches fist* SO GOOD! Like holy shit, that's totally a dynamic I would love to have with someone. It was so intense and hot and unpredictable. Also the contrast between the hot-headed, scheming, impulsive Wanqing and the cold, tranquil, aloof Shengyan??? MASTERFUL. I am a sucker for contrasts like these (see: Wangxian, ikr?) and women just make it a hundred times better, lbr.
Secondly, and oh my god this is probably my favourite aspect of the novel, there's AT LEAST ONE OBVIOUSLY GENDERFLUID CHARACTER??? Like holy shit??? And they are sooo much fun! And I was definitely rooting for them to get the gal of their dreams, aaaahhhh. I also loved how everyone just,,, rolled with it, like "oh, this young master is suddenly a lady now? cool." like god bless!
As for the mandatory wuxia scheming and intrigues, they were very fun and actually made a lot of sense, even though there were moments when I was like "what???" and some things are still unclear to me, but then again baihe ain't about intrigue, that's just a bonus, so overall it was awesome!
Gosh, this was such a quick and enjoyable read, and I will probably think about Wanyan? Shengqing? for a while yet, hhh. 10000/10 would recommend.
Oooof this novel, oooof.
Although it's rather short for a C-novel, I enjoyed it Immensely!
It's the first baihe novel I've ever finished and I honestly couldn't have delved into this subgenre with a better pick. OH MY GOODNESS!!!
First of all, Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan are my everything and I love them so much??? They're my favourite misandrist lesbians now, thank youuu. And their dynamic of "we're the two best fighters in jianghu, we should definitely fuck and then duel to death (but not really)" is,,, *clenches fist* SO GOOD! Like holy shit, that's totally a dynamic I would love to have with someone. It was so intense and hot and unpredictable. Also the contrast between the hot-headed, scheming, impulsive Wanqing and the cold, tranquil, aloof Shengyan??? MASTERFUL. I am a sucker for contrasts like these (see: Wangxian, ikr?) and women just make it a hundred times better, lbr.
Secondly, and oh my god this is probably my favourite aspect of the novel, there's AT LEAST ONE OBVIOUSLY GENDERFLUID CHARACTER??? Like holy shit??? And they are sooo much fun! And I was definitely rooting for them to get the gal of their dreams, aaaahhhh. I also loved how everyone just,,, rolled with it, like "oh, this young master is suddenly a lady now? cool." like god bless!
As for the mandatory wuxia scheming and intrigues, they were very fun and actually made a lot of sense, even though there were moments when I was like "what???" and some things are still unclear to me, but then again baihe ain't about intrigue, that's just a bonus, so overall it was awesome!
Gosh, this was such a quick and enjoyable read, and I will probably think about Wanyan? Shengqing? for a while yet, hhh. 10000/10 would recommend.
Want to read
March 28, 2025apparently seven seas entertainment plans on making a official translation for this SO I"M SUPER EXCITED BC THIS IS A BAIHE NOVEL 🤩🤩🤩
SO YIPPEE FOR LESBIANS
SO YIPPEE FOR LESBIANS
November 19, 2025
DNF - 25%.
Hey so... that's trash. No plot, just vibes, the characters "confess" to each other 25% in, what the fuck is that? What do you mean, no plot, we talk about sects, about enemies-to-lovers, about keeping a pristess in your home, i fear there must be something to do with all that, but there's nothing they just are good looking and men want to assault them???? wtf. I'm so sad, the cover is so pretty and i love the cold x hot dynamic, like wangxian, zaynemc ect... i was locked in, but there is no plot, not even "episodic" arcs 25% in!!!! I only read three baihe, and the only one who was worth it was the female general and the princess. Go read that, it's so, so good!!
Hey so... that's trash. No plot, just vibes, the characters "confess" to each other 25% in, what the fuck is that? What do you mean, no plot, we talk about sects, about enemies-to-lovers, about keeping a pristess in your home, i fear there must be something to do with all that, but there's nothing they just are good looking and men want to assault them???? wtf. I'm so sad, the cover is so pretty and i love the cold x hot dynamic, like wangxian, zaynemc ect... i was locked in, but there is no plot, not even "episodic" arcs 25% in!!!! I only read three baihe, and the only one who was worth it was the female general and the princess. Go read that, it's so, so good!!
October 15, 2024
This novel was a fun and enjoyable read, with a powerful female cast that truly stood out. The plot was very typical for a wuxia story, but honestly, I was here for the women. They were so strong and cool and everything that I was craving for😩🤌. This novel served me in that aspect alone. That said, I wished there was a proper confession scene and the fight scenes could’ve been a bit more detailed. Also the ending left me wanting more of their cute domestic married life moments:((
Overall, I liked it and will definitely buy the book when it’s officially released for the characters alone!
If you want strong female characters who are lesbians in a wuxia set up. I will def recommend this novel. Plus our MC is a morally gray character who actually does morally gray stuff;)
Overall, I liked it and will definitely buy the book when it’s officially released for the characters alone!
If you want strong female characters who are lesbians in a wuxia set up. I will def recommend this novel. Plus our MC is a morally gray character who actually does morally gray stuff;)
November 18, 2025
3.75/5☆
Fu Wanqing exhaled. “I adore you.”
Yu Shengyan looked down at her. “There’s murder in your eyes,” she said, coolly impassive.
Fu Wanqing exhaled. “I adore you.”
Yu Shengyan looked down at her. “There’s murder in your eyes,” she said, coolly impassive.
November 18, 2025
I wanted to love this so much because the cover is stunning and it was my first baihe read, but unfortunately I just don't think it's very well-written. The plot wasn't plotting and the romance wasn't romancing. The characters blended into each other since there was not enough character work, not enough differentiation in personalities, motivation, intelligence, values or relationship dynamics. The fight scenes weren't interesting, and the word "beauty" was over-used. The central conflict was a boring treasure hunt. Everyone participating in it had cannon fodder level intelligence, it just wasn't believable that these people were supposed to be leading figures in the world of martial arts. And I just didn't feel any spark between Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan. Their relationship progress didn't make sense to me and their behaviour didn't, either.
Honestly this was closer to a 2 star read but I'd feel sad if my first baihe was as bad as that so I'm lying to myself.
Honestly this was closer to a 2 star read but I'd feel sad if my first baihe was as bad as that so I'm lying to myself.
November 19, 2025
My first Baihe novel 🤭🤭🫶🫶 ily sword Lesbians <333
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Positives:
- everything about the dynamic between Fu & Yu entranced me, I was kicking my feet & giggling, and twirling my hair and the like……
- the romance honestly was so so much fun <3
- this is my first time reading a novel like this really at all (I also haven’t read Danmei really either) & I really enjoyed the writing style in this?? It felt simultaneously serious and romantic and passionate while also being unserious and campy and ridiculous & all around this was just really fun
- I really appreciated the footnotes & I honestly wish there were more of them
Negatives:
- the plot and honestly pretty much all the other characters too…. I feel like in contrast to Fu & Yu l, everything else kind of fell short….? The plot didn’t feel all the convincing and the other characters honestly fell kind of flat….
I had a really good time reading this for the most part, & I’m definitely very excited to dabble with more Baihe & Danmei…. But I can’t deny some of the plot stuff did take me out of it a litttttttle bit, & I had to lower my rating a bit.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Positives:
- everything about the dynamic between Fu & Yu entranced me, I was kicking my feet & giggling, and twirling my hair and the like……
- the romance honestly was so so much fun <3
- this is my first time reading a novel like this really at all (I also haven’t read Danmei really either) & I really enjoyed the writing style in this?? It felt simultaneously serious and romantic and passionate while also being unserious and campy and ridiculous & all around this was just really fun
- I really appreciated the footnotes & I honestly wish there were more of them
Negatives:
- the plot and honestly pretty much all the other characters too…. I feel like in contrast to Fu & Yu l, everything else kind of fell short….? The plot didn’t feel all the convincing and the other characters honestly fell kind of flat….
I had a really good time reading this for the most part, & I’m definitely very excited to dabble with more Baihe & Danmei…. But I can’t deny some of the plot stuff did take me out of it a litttttttle bit, & I had to lower my rating a bit.
November 4, 2025
I adore this book! I had a lot of fun seeing how Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan's attraction played out (and the same goes for Fu Wanqing's schemes). It reminds me a bit of Faraway Wanderers w/r/t the protagonists' dynamics and them causing chaos in the jianghu.
This was the first baihe novel I read (I'm so glad Chichi took the time to translate it back in 2020 and I hope she's doing well). I'm so delighted Seven Seas licensed it! Yu's translation reads really smoothly imho (although I was surprised by the choice to use 'high priestess' to describe Yu Shengyan being the head of the Jadewater Guild).
It might be of interest to folks to know that that Seven Seas' version includes an extended scene between Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan towards the start of chapter 42 that wasn't in the fan translation (I'm not sure if that part wasn't posted on JJWXC, or if it was edited by the time Chichi was translating it).
I prefer Velinxi's cover that's on the standard edition, but I do really like Gravity Dusty's black and white interior illustrations (they work better for me than the Crunchyroll exclusive cover did).
I really hope Seven Seas licenses more baihe novels!
This was the first baihe novel I read (I'm so glad Chichi took the time to translate it back in 2020 and I hope she's doing well). I'm so delighted Seven Seas licensed it! Yu's translation reads really smoothly imho (although I was surprised by the choice to use 'high priestess' to describe Yu Shengyan being the head of the Jadewater Guild).
It might be of interest to folks to know that that Seven Seas' version includes an extended scene between Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan towards the start of chapter 42 that wasn't in the fan translation (I'm not sure if that part wasn't posted on JJWXC, or if it was edited by the time Chichi was translating it).
I prefer Velinxi's cover that's on the standard edition, but I do really like Gravity Dusty's black and white interior illustrations (they work better for me than the Crunchyroll exclusive cover did).
I really hope Seven Seas licenses more baihe novels!
June 13, 2021
*Actual rating 3.5*
I spaced out throughout it for various reasons, not all the book's fault, but as a whole I really enjoyed it. I felt a bit lost in the plot in places but I loved the two women's relationship even if it started a bit abruptly.
This was an enjoyable and quick read.
I spaced out throughout it for various reasons, not all the book's fault, but as a whole I really enjoyed it. I felt a bit lost in the plot in places but I loved the two women's relationship even if it started a bit abruptly.
This was an enjoyable and quick read.
September 12, 2021
Omggggg this was SO GOOD????!!! I did not realize that i was waiting my whole life for murderous lesbians with the mc thirsting hard af stuffed with every wuxia troupe humanly possible but here it is😍😍 and to top it off the secondary wlw pair is cute too!!!! Def recommend👌
December 15, 2025
First baihe, I get it, exciting. However, I wish this story would've had multiple volumes so we can get some well-needed context and tie up the loose ends.
I didn't care about any character in particular and I also wasn't too sure about what was going on. I do understand that it's Fu Wanqing's revenge story and her way to get back at all the profoundly stupid man of the jianghu but honestly, it felt like a disconjointed whim that wasn't interesting to read.
I hoped while reading that we would've delved more into Fu Wanqing and why she is this insufferable beauty that wants to slit everyone's throats. A few sentences about her past flung here and there were insufficient.
I see and get the appeal of her love interest, Yu Shengyan. Their chemistry was great but it needed so much more than just sexual tension and childish envy.
Also, I love a good plot twist that I cannot see coming but introducing a key character only to vaguely kill him a couple of sentences later was... and odd choice to say the least.
Did I really try to like this? Certainly. It unfortunately feels rushed and lacking any real plot/direction.
I didn't care about any character in particular and I also wasn't too sure about what was going on. I do understand that it's Fu Wanqing's revenge story and her way to get back at all the profoundly stupid man of the jianghu but honestly, it felt like a disconjointed whim that wasn't interesting to read.
I hoped while reading that we would've delved more into Fu Wanqing and why she is this insufferable beauty that wants to slit everyone's throats. A few sentences about her past flung here and there were insufficient.
I see and get the appeal of her love interest, Yu Shengyan. Their chemistry was great but it needed so much more than just sexual tension and childish envy.
Also, I love a good plot twist that I cannot see coming but introducing a key character only to vaguely kill him a couple of sentences later was... and odd choice to say the least.
Did I really try to like this? Certainly. It unfortunately feels rushed and lacking any real plot/direction.
December 19, 2025
I finished this out of respect for it being the first English release of a baihe novel in print but I would have DNF otherwise. I like C-novels for their complex plots, intense narrative conflict, and slowburn romances. This had none of those things 🥲
The first half of the book lacks a cohesive plot and is nothing but vibes while the second half is rushed and slapped together. The MCs are very overpowered and lack a compelling “hero’s journey” type narrative struggle. Fu Wanqing declares in the first 20% of the book that she’s in love with Yu Shengyan despite barely knowing anything about her and then they spend the rest of the book playing weird gay chicken. There’s also an unnecessary amount of cannon fodder side characters and convoluted wulin politics given how short and fast-paced this novel is. My fingers are crossed that we get more (and better) baihe in print in the near future!
The first half of the book lacks a cohesive plot and is nothing but vibes while the second half is rushed and slapped together. The MCs are very overpowered and lack a compelling “hero’s journey” type narrative struggle. Fu Wanqing declares in the first 20% of the book that she’s in love with Yu Shengyan despite barely knowing anything about her and then they spend the rest of the book playing weird gay chicken. There’s also an unnecessary amount of cannon fodder side characters and convoluted wulin politics given how short and fast-paced this novel is. My fingers are crossed that we get more (and better) baihe in print in the near future!
December 3, 2025
“Fu Wanqing caught her around the waist, but a teasing curve suddenly appeared on her mouth. She yanked Fu Wanqing down into the snow with her.
Yu Shengyan brushed the snow from Fu Wanqing’s face, laughing. “Are you fine with the cold now?”
Having put aside all else, they were themselves. No more, no less.”
felicissima che questo sia stato il mio primo baihe, mi è piaciuto davvero tantissimo!! la storia è super interessante ed avvincente ed ho adorato il modo in cui si sviluppa la relazione tra le due protagoniste, sono due cucciole🥺 in this house we love mean lesbians that hate men🙏🏻
5⭐️
Yu Shengyan brushed the snow from Fu Wanqing’s face, laughing. “Are you fine with the cold now?”
Having put aside all else, they were themselves. No more, no less.”
felicissima che questo sia stato il mio primo baihe, mi è piaciuto davvero tantissimo!! la storia è super interessante ed avvincente ed ho adorato il modo in cui si sviluppa la relazione tra le due protagoniste, sono due cucciole🥺 in this house we love mean lesbians that hate men🙏🏻
5⭐️
November 23, 2025
replace yu shengyan with a cardboard cutout and the story doesn’t change one bit
May 3, 2025
Barley a couple of pages in, and I started zoning out HARD like sleep was CALLING my name. I was hoping to like this one, but apparently, there's no plot, and I’m not super digging that. Also, the main pairing is a bit off-putting. The main character definitely doesn’t have a personality type that I like. She’s something, to say the least…the start of the book is uninteresting and apparently, it doesn’t get better. The start also felt slimy just like our “beloved” main character! 🥰 I feel like their dynamic was 100% inspired by wangxian but it's missing all the love they had in replace for lust. Bye I was half falling asleep and read “Wei Xian” as Wei Wuxian and I was like WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE??! 😭 Mc your “no better than a man” but literally and not as a joke 🫶🙏
This is exactly what I expected so can’t say I’m mad but I wanted to give it a chance. I’m longing for a sapphic book that can write women correctly with a HEALTHY relationship (I know I’m asking too much at this point, what a greedy mf). I did kind of want to like the other girl Yan shuang (that’s probably not how you spell her name idc the world will keep spinning yada yada) but like at the same time ehhh? I also don't like how much she was giving into the main character's wishes she seems very passive but when I'm taking about that I mean passive as in giving into other's whims.
The one thing I thought was cool but would probably be hard to pull off and still let me like the main character was the whole Mc bad but born into a just righteous family and fl being born into a demonic one while being somewhat righteous. I just knew I wasn’t going to like Mc because I knew the author would focus on making her “badass” and not give her any likable traits I can almost guarantee w/o reading this that she will not change whatsoever. You’ll think about likable villains you can still make characters who aren’t the epitome of heaven but please for the love of god we need them to have some likeableness some likeable trait if not who’s gonna care? Like good your an awful person that gasped their last gasp am I supposed to be sad? I also know that there will be zero likable side characters and how do I know? Magicc (actually I can predict that since this is marketed as a sapphic nobody besides THEM will get any attention) and I know how this works because I’ve read Danmei and the work put into the side characters in stories like this one are next to none.
Random ish but I checked out this author’s other works and the rest of their work seems really bad and boring also why does one of them have in the description “flirting with girls stems from curiosity” or something like that huh?? I can tell they’re all boring but also the descriptions don’t really tell you much of anything but that seems to be common with Chinese novels so maybe that’s a thing? Idk.
This is exactly what I expected so can’t say I’m mad but I wanted to give it a chance. I’m longing for a sapphic book that can write women correctly with a HEALTHY relationship (I know I’m asking too much at this point, what a greedy mf). I did kind of want to like the other girl Yan shuang (that’s probably not how you spell her name idc the world will keep spinning yada yada) but like at the same time ehhh? I also don't like how much she was giving into the main character's wishes she seems very passive but when I'm taking about that I mean passive as in giving into other's whims.
The one thing I thought was cool but would probably be hard to pull off and still let me like the main character was the whole Mc bad but born into a just righteous family and fl being born into a demonic one while being somewhat righteous. I just knew I wasn’t going to like Mc because I knew the author would focus on making her “badass” and not give her any likable traits I can almost guarantee w/o reading this that she will not change whatsoever. You’ll think about likable villains you can still make characters who aren’t the epitome of heaven but please for the love of god we need them to have some likeableness some likeable trait if not who’s gonna care? Like good your an awful person that gasped their last gasp am I supposed to be sad? I also know that there will be zero likable side characters and how do I know? Magicc (actually I can predict that since this is marketed as a sapphic nobody besides THEM will get any attention) and I know how this works because I’ve read Danmei and the work put into the side characters in stories like this one are next to none.
Random ish but I checked out this author’s other works and the rest of their work seems really bad and boring also why does one of them have in the description “flirting with girls stems from curiosity” or something like that huh?? I can tell they’re all boring but also the descriptions don’t really tell you much of anything but that seems to be common with Chinese novels so maybe that’s a thing? Idk.
May 27, 2023
During 10 chapters the only thing I understood that Fu Wanqing is peerless ball of fire, and I liked her character actually. Why I dropped the book it is because in 10 of 50 chapters there is no plot. Nothing happens and I got very bored.
August 27, 2023
🤷♀️ the way it was written was quite confusing imo
New characters were introduced and disappeared from the plot right away?
New characters were introduced and disappeared from the plot right away?
December 14, 2025
I really wish I could get back the time I wasted reading this.
Characters are flat, boring and annoying. MC is a brat with anger issues. All she does is lick her lips, occupy someone’s lap, and threaten to kill her love interest. We are supposed to believe that she is an omniscient mastermind, but there is never any proof of that. Stuff just happens, and we get a tiny mention that it was her doing. That’s it. And the love interest? If she were a piece of wood, nobody would notice. She has no personality whatsoever. And the way they meet and end up spending the time together? That was the most ridiculous and stupid story telling I’ve ever read. To top it off, all male characters are portrayed as lecherous imbeciles, no exception.
The plot is nonexistent. There is no building the story up. Nothing interesting ever happens.
My biggest issue with this one is that if the main character was a man, not a woman, everyone would yell how toxic and perverted they are. Groping someone, licking them, then suddenly biting their face, touching their breast without permission. There’s nothing romantic about that. The romance suddenly pops into existence.
And honestly, the constant reminding how beautiful and stunning the two women are made me nearly tear the book apart. Do we really need to be reminded of that non stop? Like every time they interact with each other or with someone else? Seriously?
All and all, a waste of time. I was really looking forwards to this one, but it was a huge disappointment.
Characters are flat, boring and annoying. MC is a brat with anger issues. All she does is lick her lips, occupy someone’s lap, and threaten to kill her love interest. We are supposed to believe that she is an omniscient mastermind, but there is never any proof of that. Stuff just happens, and we get a tiny mention that it was her doing. That’s it. And the love interest? If she were a piece of wood, nobody would notice. She has no personality whatsoever. And the way they meet and end up spending the time together? That was the most ridiculous and stupid story telling I’ve ever read. To top it off, all male characters are portrayed as lecherous imbeciles, no exception.
The plot is nonexistent. There is no building the story up. Nothing interesting ever happens.
My biggest issue with this one is that if the main character was a man, not a woman, everyone would yell how toxic and perverted they are. Groping someone, licking them, then suddenly biting their face, touching their breast without permission. There’s nothing romantic about that. The romance suddenly pops into existence.
And honestly, the constant reminding how beautiful and stunning the two women are made me nearly tear the book apart. Do we really need to be reminded of that non stop? Like every time they interact with each other or with someone else? Seriously?
All and all, a waste of time. I was really looking forwards to this one, but it was a huge disappointment.
December 23, 2025
i was really excited to read this but unfortunately my expectations have not been met. if this book was a car then this story saw the sign for my expectations and took a hard u-turn.
the story starts out very promising for me. i really liked the plot set up with this young girl as the only heir to this large clan and her exterior effortlessness in how she lives her life. only i thought she would have more depth than how she is initially described but she seriously is as one dimensional as paper which is fine, except this is a story and i’m bored out my mind. she’s created this rivalry in her head with this woman born to the demon clan who oppose her own. which i am all here for and their attraction to eachother is tantalising but she is also extremely one dimensional, and this is a story so i am very bored. but maybe they’re perfect for eachother. maybe they can find the second dimension!
surprisingly i found some side characters better written with more intricate and interesting storylines. it makes me curious as to why the main story, which is a jumble of plot points, never got this attention. it really needed it.
this whole story is written like a draft if anything, and in all fairness i don’t know how much of the disconnect is from the translation but… i just felt deeply unsatisfied with this story. and i so wanted to love it. look at that cover. i should’ve loved it.
on a good note, i enjoyed all the illustrations!! and they did still move me quite a bit. i mean, look at them?! they’re so cute together. i just wish it was more coherent and detailed.
the story starts out very promising for me. i really liked the plot set up with this young girl as the only heir to this large clan and her exterior effortlessness in how she lives her life. only i thought she would have more depth than how she is initially described but she seriously is as one dimensional as paper which is fine, except this is a story and i’m bored out my mind. she’s created this rivalry in her head with this woman born to the demon clan who oppose her own. which i am all here for and their attraction to eachother is tantalising but she is also extremely one dimensional, and this is a story so i am very bored. but maybe they’re perfect for eachother. maybe they can find the second dimension!
surprisingly i found some side characters better written with more intricate and interesting storylines. it makes me curious as to why the main story, which is a jumble of plot points, never got this attention. it really needed it.
this whole story is written like a draft if anything, and in all fairness i don’t know how much of the disconnect is from the translation but… i just felt deeply unsatisfied with this story. and i so wanted to love it. look at that cover. i should’ve loved it.
on a good note, i enjoyed all the illustrations!! and they did still move me quite a bit. i mean, look at them?! they’re so cute together. i just wish it was more coherent and detailed.
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