What do you think?
Rate this book
Trickster's Tale #1
Trickster's Tale: Hu Yan Zhuan, Vol. 1
A half demon falls deeply in love with the master who took him in as a child, but their taboo love is doomed from the start…or is it?
A half-fox demon, half-human who has lost his family is taken under the wing of a sage and raised as his pupil. As the young half-demon matures, his feelings for his master mature as well, and what was once admiration turns into forbidden love.
When half–fox demon, half-human Feijin loses his family at an early age, he is taken in by and becomes the pupil of Sage Gaochun. As the centuries pass, Feijin’s admiration for his master turns romantic, but such relationships between a master and his pupil are not allowed. And though Feijin continues to confess his feelings to Gaochun, he is gently rebuffed each and every time. Desperate, Feijin puts his master under a spell and whisks him off to bed, but the typically gentle and reserved Gaochun surprises Feijin with his passion. It’s only later that he learns his master had once been deeply in love with a demon and was severely punished for it!
A half-fox demon, half-human who has lost his family is taken under the wing of a sage and raised as his pupil. As the young half-demon matures, his feelings for his master mature as well, and what was once admiration turns into forbidden love.
When half–fox demon, half-human Feijin loses his family at an early age, he is taken in by and becomes the pupil of Sage Gaochun. As the centuries pass, Feijin’s admiration for his master turns romantic, but such relationships between a master and his pupil are not allowed. And though Feijin continues to confess his feelings to Gaochun, he is gently rebuffed each and every time. Desperate, Feijin puts his master under a spell and whisks him off to bed, but the typically gentle and reserved Gaochun surprises Feijin with his passion. It’s only later that he learns his master had once been deeply in love with a demon and was severely punished for it!
194 pages, Paperback
Published December 9, 2025
3 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 5, 2026
I feel lied to and deceived 😭
what a weird AF story.
the art was beautiful. the character designs were fun and pretty.
the story could have had potential.
legal age gaps don't bother me much. so the immortal pupil and teacher/master dynamic isn't terrible.
what's fucked is the SA right at the start.
and then the incest??? the incest and their whole story line felt so unnecessary. like???
it also just seemed to jump all over the place and had a ton of threads but little connections.
it had potential. I like the idea but the execution was shit.
also? a romantic comedy? bullshit.
what a weird AF story.
the art was beautiful. the character designs were fun and pretty.
the story could have had potential.
legal age gaps don't bother me much. so the immortal pupil and teacher/master dynamic isn't terrible.
what's fucked is the SA right at the start.
and then the incest??? the incest and their whole story line felt so unnecessary. like???
it also just seemed to jump all over the place and had a ton of threads but little connections.
it had potential. I like the idea but the execution was shit.
also? a romantic comedy? bullshit.
December 27, 2025
I quickly skimmed some of the other reviews and I’m curious if those that rated this lower read xianxia and other Chinese fantasy novels, specifically Danmei because the flow of this manga has similar pacing and plot points. If they do perhaps this specific story just isn’t for them but as someone that has read a fair share of them I enjoyed this volume and am very curious where it’s going to go in the next volume.
If you haven’t read these style of fantasy novels before you may have similar issues with following the story as other reviewers have but with a bit of research before you jump in hopefully you like it.
This one reminds me a bit of Peach Blossom Debt (published in English by Peach Flower house before they shut down) and even Heaven Official for the multiple reincarnations and story jumping between the immortal and mortal realm (not for the relationship dynamics).
If certain things are trigging to you, you might want to check reviews for trigger warnings as there is dubious/non consensual content, age gaps and incest that I can thing of of the top of my head. Wild that there is a blatant incestuous relationship for two of the immortal side characters but honestly nothing shocking considering many other stories I’ve read, no different then many mythologies like Greek 😉
If you haven’t read these style of fantasy novels before you may have similar issues with following the story as other reviewers have but with a bit of research before you jump in hopefully you like it.
This one reminds me a bit of Peach Blossom Debt (published in English by Peach Flower house before they shut down) and even Heaven Official for the multiple reincarnations and story jumping between the immortal and mortal realm (not for the relationship dynamics).
If certain things are trigging to you, you might want to check reviews for trigger warnings as there is dubious/non consensual content, age gaps and incest that I can thing of of the top of my head. Wild that there is a blatant incestuous relationship for two of the immortal side characters but honestly nothing shocking considering many other stories I’ve read, no different then many mythologies like Greek 😉
December 10, 2025
Fox spirit demon child, Feijin, is saved by a sage of the heavenly realm, Gaochun, a half-demon himself. Gaochun takes Feijin as his pupil, and when Feijin grows up, he starts lusting after his master. Feijin takes matters in his own hand, for which Gaochun is punished and sent to human realm. Feijin goes after him, but when he finds his master, Gaochun doesn’t remember him anymore, though he is willing to reignite their relationship.
Meanwhile, heavenly realm prepares for a war with demon realm. A demon, Shui, whom they’ve bound for eternity, has been woken up—by Gaochun. Shui comes straight to Gaochun, who doesn’t even hesitate to leave Feijin behind for him, which makes me wonder if he had his memory the whole time after all. The volume ends with this twist.
This was … something else. It had sex with dubious consent and incest, which were treated as perfectly fine and normal. The plot was interesting enough, but all over the place, and there was never enough background information. It made the story difficult to follow at times, with random characters showing up etc. All the characters were disagreeable, and the worst turned out to be Gaochun in the end. But I guess I’ll continue reading to find out where all the disasters lead to.
Art was good, but I really don’t like humongous man-boobs. If you like boobs, as these characters definitely did and much was made of it, make your characters women, especially since some of them, like Gaochun, were drawn overly feminine too. Sex was graphic and not blurred.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Meanwhile, heavenly realm prepares for a war with demon realm. A demon, Shui, whom they’ve bound for eternity, has been woken up—by Gaochun. Shui comes straight to Gaochun, who doesn’t even hesitate to leave Feijin behind for him, which makes me wonder if he had his memory the whole time after all. The volume ends with this twist.
This was … something else. It had sex with dubious consent and incest, which were treated as perfectly fine and normal. The plot was interesting enough, but all over the place, and there was never enough background information. It made the story difficult to follow at times, with random characters showing up etc. All the characters were disagreeable, and the worst turned out to be Gaochun in the end. But I guess I’ll continue reading to find out where all the disasters lead to.
Art was good, but I really don’t like humongous man-boobs. If you like boobs, as these characters definitely did and much was made of it, make your characters women, especially since some of them, like Gaochun, were drawn overly feminine too. Sex was graphic and not blurred.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
March 3, 2026
There was a lot of story here, and yet it felt very much like an outline of that story. The concept could have been romantic; at the beginning it felt very danmei-like. But it needed more depth. Unfortunately the romance ended up feeling very one-sided. I would honestly prefer for Feijin to find someone else to love who can be as devoted to him as he is to them. I guess there's room for that to grow in another volume.
I was very put off by an incest subplot between a father and his sons, however. It was random and uncomfortable, especially considering these heavenly beings are supposed to be free of "impurities ". That being said, every story of gods in mythology has them behaving in "ungodly" ways, so along those lines, it can be stretched to somehow fit, even if I would prefer it not there.
I don't love this by any means, but I am intrigued enough to try another volume.
I was very put off by an incest subplot between a father and his sons, however. It was random and uncomfortable, especially considering these heavenly beings are supposed to be free of "impurities ". That being said, every story of gods in mythology has them behaving in "ungodly" ways, so along those lines, it can be stretched to somehow fit, even if I would prefer it not there.
I don't love this by any means, but I am intrigued enough to try another volume.
February 3, 2026
Hmmm…I’m torn between giving this book two stars, two and a half stars or three stars. I settled on two stars because the book wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t what I expected or usually read in BL either.
Now the story didn’t come out of left field, I read the synopsis and I got to preview a few pages on the Sublime site. But beyond that the story did progress differently from the way I thought it would go.
The story is about a half human, half fox demon child that is rescued and grows up with his teacher in heaven. This is a cultivator story with a human realm, heaven realm and a demon realm. All of the characters are hundreds or thousands of years old. Ages go by and the fox child always declares his love for his teacher and the teacher politely shuts him down. Well, more time goes by and the fox child is an adult and he decides to seduce his teacher, they smash and all hell breaks loose. The story starts in a distant future and what we’re reading is a flashback. The story ends on a cliffhanger since this is volume one.
I thought the story would reveal that the teacher, who is super powerful, knows his student was trying to seduce him and that the fox child’s machinations didn’t work but the teacher used that as an excuse to change the relationship. That didn’t happen so the seduction comes off as ick.
We don’t really get a lot of the teacher, Gaochun’s thoughts about Feijin, the fox child. For two characters that are supposed to be the A couple that we root for they don’t know much about each other, especially for living together, even as teacher and student, for hundreds of years. Gaochun is kind to Feijin, but he’s not actively choosing to be with Feijin. Gaochun is all like I’ll go with Feijin, if my ex doesn’t come back. Yikes! It’s not a bad story but I wish there was more room to flesh it out. It might have made for a better danmei.
There is a relationship chart at the back of the book that was very helpful.
The other characters were…interesting. There’s the old emperor of heaven and his two sons. One has a bodyguard (love interest) who looks like the dad. Then there’s the other son that’s smashing the dad. I was like, “What!?! That’s a different interpretation of being “sweet” on his dad.” (the relationship chart says he’s sweet on his dad.)
I was also surprised by the man boobs.
I’m curious about what happens in volume two but I also don’t want to actively find out.
Now the story didn’t come out of left field, I read the synopsis and I got to preview a few pages on the Sublime site. But beyond that the story did progress differently from the way I thought it would go.
The story is about a half human, half fox demon child that is rescued and grows up with his teacher in heaven. This is a cultivator story with a human realm, heaven realm and a demon realm. All of the characters are hundreds or thousands of years old. Ages go by and the fox child always declares his love for his teacher and the teacher politely shuts him down. Well, more time goes by and the fox child is an adult and he decides to seduce his teacher, they smash and all hell breaks loose. The story starts in a distant future and what we’re reading is a flashback. The story ends on a cliffhanger since this is volume one.
I thought the story would reveal that the teacher, who is super powerful, knows his student was trying to seduce him and that the fox child’s machinations didn’t work but the teacher used that as an excuse to change the relationship. That didn’t happen so the seduction comes off as ick.
We don’t really get a lot of the teacher, Gaochun’s thoughts about Feijin, the fox child. For two characters that are supposed to be the A couple that we root for they don’t know much about each other, especially for living together, even as teacher and student, for hundreds of years. Gaochun is kind to Feijin, but he’s not actively choosing to be with Feijin. Gaochun is all like I’ll go with Feijin, if my ex doesn’t come back. Yikes! It’s not a bad story but I wish there was more room to flesh it out. It might have made for a better danmei.
There is a relationship chart at the back of the book that was very helpful.
The other characters were…interesting. There’s the old emperor of heaven and his two sons. One has a bodyguard (love interest) who looks like the dad. Then there’s the other son that’s smashing the dad. I was like, “What!?! That’s a different interpretation of being “sweet” on his dad.” (the relationship chart says he’s sweet on his dad.)
I was also surprised by the man boobs.
I’m curious about what happens in volume two but I also don’t want to actively find out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2025
Trickster Tale starts with a genuinely interesting premise, but the execution ultimately fell apart for me.
At its core, the story could have leaned into a compelling direction: a main character raised by his master, who later develops romantic feelings for him, initially approaching the relationship through manipulation and trickery. That setup alone could have explored power imbalance, morality, and psychological tension in a meaningful way. Unfortunately, the narrative treats several serious issues far too casually.
Early on, the “trickster” aspect crosses into coercion, particularly in how intimacy is initiated. This coercion is handled nonchalantly, without real acknowledgment of its severity, which made it uncomfortable to read. Rather than interrogating the ethics of the situation, the story seems to brush past it.
From there, the plot becomes increasingly unfocused. Storylines appear and disappear without cohesion:
• the master’s past lover and prior trouble
• a rebirth plot
• a suddenly relevant younger brother
None of these threads felt fully developed or well integrated, giving the overall story a sloppy, scattered feel.
What ultimately turned me off completely, however, was the inclusion of incest-related elements involving the emperor and his sons. While I would need external clarification to confirm whether the characters are blood-related, the text strongly implies that they are. These interactions are treated disturbingly casually, almost as if they are normal or inconsequential.
This was especially jarring given that these characters belong to a heavenly or divine realm. While I understand that divine beings in fiction are often portrayed as flawed, the lack of narrative critique or gravity around these actions made it deeply uncomfortable. Once this element was introduced, it overshadowed everything else in the story.
I’m honestly surprised I didn’t DNF this book. I finished it primarily so I could give a fair and complete assessment, but I have no interest in continuing the series.
⚠️ Trigger / Content Warnings
• Coercive sexual situations
• Incest or incest-adjacent themes
• Power imbalance treated casually
Final thoughts:
While the premise had potential, the unfocused plot, casual handling of coercion, and inclusion of unnecessary and disturbing themes made this a miss for me. I won’t be reading the next installment.
At its core, the story could have leaned into a compelling direction: a main character raised by his master, who later develops romantic feelings for him, initially approaching the relationship through manipulation and trickery. That setup alone could have explored power imbalance, morality, and psychological tension in a meaningful way. Unfortunately, the narrative treats several serious issues far too casually.
Early on, the “trickster” aspect crosses into coercion, particularly in how intimacy is initiated. This coercion is handled nonchalantly, without real acknowledgment of its severity, which made it uncomfortable to read. Rather than interrogating the ethics of the situation, the story seems to brush past it.
From there, the plot becomes increasingly unfocused. Storylines appear and disappear without cohesion:
• the master’s past lover and prior trouble
• a rebirth plot
• a suddenly relevant younger brother
None of these threads felt fully developed or well integrated, giving the overall story a sloppy, scattered feel.
What ultimately turned me off completely, however, was the inclusion of incest-related elements involving the emperor and his sons. While I would need external clarification to confirm whether the characters are blood-related, the text strongly implies that they are. These interactions are treated disturbingly casually, almost as if they are normal or inconsequential.
This was especially jarring given that these characters belong to a heavenly or divine realm. While I understand that divine beings in fiction are often portrayed as flawed, the lack of narrative critique or gravity around these actions made it deeply uncomfortable. Once this element was introduced, it overshadowed everything else in the story.
I’m honestly surprised I didn’t DNF this book. I finished it primarily so I could give a fair and complete assessment, but I have no interest in continuing the series.
⚠️ Trigger / Content Warnings
• Coercive sexual situations
• Incest or incest-adjacent themes
• Power imbalance treated casually
Final thoughts:
While the premise had potential, the unfocused plot, casual handling of coercion, and inclusion of unnecessary and disturbing themes made this a miss for me. I won’t be reading the next installment.
December 14, 2025
The Trickster's Tale was a story with a good premise. The illustration, too, was beautiful, but overall the book didn't quite work for me. Many of the characters were drawn with a similar look. This might have been okay for a linear plot, but the story jumped around a lot, and the similarity between characters only made it harder to keep up with what was happening as we leapt from past to present and back again. None of the characters were especially likeable, that you'd want to get behind them and support their quests, and that made it hard to form any connection to the story. In conclusion, despite lovely artwork and a promising-sounding plot, this one wasn't really to my liking, so I am giving it 2.5 stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
January 19, 2026
I honestly found myself being quite the fan of this.
I would recommend to those who are fans of danmei and their manhua adaptations, as this feels exactly like that.
To a degree, there are smaller elements of influence I'm seeing towards popular series like TGCF in this, and to a lesser extent Peach Blossom Debt. I think because I enjoyed TGCF specifically, it made falling in love with the world building and characters quick and easy. The smut was good, and there was a big booba thunder daddy, so. I mean, all that with the beautiful character designs, it had a lot to offer.
I'm curious where volume 2 will go.
I would recommend to those who are fans of danmei and their manhua adaptations, as this feels exactly like that.
To a degree, there are smaller elements of influence I'm seeing towards popular series like TGCF in this, and to a lesser extent Peach Blossom Debt. I think because I enjoyed TGCF specifically, it made falling in love with the world building and characters quick and easy. The smut was good, and there was a big booba thunder daddy, so. I mean, all that with the beautiful character designs, it had a lot to offer.
I'm curious where volume 2 will go.
January 11, 2026
This was a strangely good story. The plot itself was interesting, with a forbidden love, opposites attract, romantic comedy vibe. The art was just ETHEREAL! I absolutely loved it!
My only negatives were that the story took a while to get where it was going, some characters looked similar which made it hard to differentiate them, and the squidgy incestuous relationships going on in the background. :/
However, I have read far worse (looking at you Caste Heaven!) and I'll be picking up the next volume of this one, to see how it progresses.
My only negatives were that the story took a while to get where it was going, some characters looked similar which made it hard to differentiate them, and the squidgy incestuous relationships going on in the background. :/
However, I have read far worse (looking at you Caste Heaven!) and I'll be picking up the next volume of this one, to see how it progresses.
December 13, 2025
I bought this bc it was pretty and the art is gorgeous throughout it… but as another review states it’s a bit all over? There’s plot… but it feels as if it’s told in bullet points between either sex scenes or close ups of the one man’s boobs? Did not expect the casual incest that is just not brought up. This is Ennead all over again.
Unfortunately, I am a bit curious to see if the plot gets better so I probably will get the next… but hmmm… at least the art is pretty?
Unfortunately, I am a bit curious to see if the plot gets better so I probably will get the next… but hmmm… at least the art is pretty?
January 6, 2026
The art is gorgeous as expected from Hontoku. This is like half serious half goofy. I'm a little confused by the beginning in relation to the rest of the story especially since all the darker haired characters look fairly similar. Like is that the little brother? The father/son incest was a bit weird and unnecessary. The overall plot is kind of interesting though so I’ll probably pick up the next volume.
January 5, 2026
Extremely beautiful illustrations but the story was a little confusing because some of the characters look very similar. Lots of world building vs smut or character arcs so I’m interested to see how the story progresses in the next book
December 14, 2025
f you like Heaven Offical's Blessing, but want a manga. This might be your solution. The line and plot are very in with those types of novels but also a lit of big mens chest. That was very funny.
Read
December 15, 2025Worst impulse buy ever.
December 18, 2025
Beautiful art but confusing to follow and felt all over the place
December 27, 2025
The cover is pretty. The art is pretty. I opened the book and was met with disappointment and confusion. The random incest and the way how it ended? Oh gosh.
January 4, 2026
Damn that's crazy.
January 11, 2026
Probs. 5/10
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2026
amazing art... not my cup of tea.
February 25, 2026
Gimme the next volume please, really want to see where this story goes
Read
March 22, 2026so normally i’d quietly put this on my Read shelf and pretend it never happened but i have to say something because this book reads like a beautiful horny practical joke. wtf was that
March 25, 2026
The comedy wasn't hitting for me. The romance? Where? The art is pretty. I might have improved feelings if the story gets better. It's an ongoing series so....
cw SA, incest
cw SA, incest
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews