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Panguan: The Twelfth Gate #2
Panguan: The Twelfth Gate (Novel) Vol. 2
Not yet published
Expected 1 Dec 26THREADS OF THE PAST
After unwittingly walking into a cage disguised as a terrifying escape room, Wen Shi, Xie Wen, and their unlikely band of companions find themselves trapped inside a haunted mansion with a gruesome secret buried in its past. Each clue they unearth seems to contradict the last: Is the ghost haunting the halls the perpetrator of the horror—or a victim herself? As members of their party disappear one by one, Wen Shi grudgingly teams up with Xie Wen to uncover the truth.
Wen Shi has never been one to rely on others. But the longer he works alongside Xie Wen, the more strangely familiar he seems. As they unravel the house’s mystery, this enigmatic man appears to anticipate Wen Shi’s every thought…almost as if they’ve known each other for a long, long time.
After unwittingly walking into a cage disguised as a terrifying escape room, Wen Shi, Xie Wen, and their unlikely band of companions find themselves trapped inside a haunted mansion with a gruesome secret buried in its past. Each clue they unearth seems to contradict the last: Is the ghost haunting the halls the perpetrator of the horror—or a victim herself? As members of their party disappear one by one, Wen Shi grudgingly teams up with Xie Wen to uncover the truth.
Wen Shi has never been one to rely on others. But the longer he works alongside Xie Wen, the more strangely familiar he seems. As they unravel the house’s mystery, this enigmatic man appears to anticipate Wen Shi’s every thought…almost as if they’ve known each other for a long, long time.
396 pages, Paperback
Expected publication December 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
Review of advance copy
3.4/5 🌟
"In his peripheral vision, he saw Xie Wen raise his head to look at the moon.
Back on Mount Songyun, the nighttime scenery was always very beautiful. When the moonlight was abundant, the entire pine forest seemed to be coated in a layer of silver frost. When the moon was a slender crescent, brilliant stars decorated the sky above the peak.
But they had never once viewed it like this-standing shoulder to shoulder, lifting their heads to gaze at the sky amidst a silence in which no one spoke."
(This review will be on chapters 30-61. This is where perhaps vol 2 will end, but I'm not sure. This is 50% into the story and if we're split up in 4 volumes, this covers a 25% of it)
I felt like this stretch of chapters was a huge step up from the first thirty. I feel like we are finally gaining momentum, and we’re finally getting a real sense of who the MC and ML are. I love how the snippets of their relationship reflect the way Wen Shi is discovering himself and his past; it feels like we’re uncovering his lost memories with him as the narrator.(≖⩊≖)
It’s been so interesting to see how life shaped Wen Shi, and it’s genuinely cute to see how caring Xie Wen is. There’s something so sweet and tender about the way he still watches over his pupil, looking on fondly as Wen Shi becomes such a diligent student. (ㅅ´ ˘ `)
It hasn’t quite hit a "romantic" note for me yet—it still feels more like a devoted shifu and disciple relationship ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?—but I’m just happy to finally see their personalities coming out. They feel so much less rigid, less 2D and more 3D, now. It feels like they actually have personalities! They feel real. (◡ ‿ ◡ .)
I’ve also realized that the side characters are the real keys to the reveals. Because their lives are so connected to Wen Shi and Xie Wen, every time their backstories unfold, I'm getting information I've been craving about our main pair.
The closing of Shop Sanmi was such a highlight, too. Seeing the Golden Dapeng spread its wings to bring peace to all those individual souls was so cool—it really showed the sheer scale of power that Xie Wen (as Chen Budao) and Wen Shi possess. (⊙ _ ⊙ ) I'm especially excited to see how the Zhang siblings react to the big reveal of Xie Wen's identity. The story is definitely hinting that they and Shen Qiao are all linked to Xie Wen, but a certain sentence in that chapter has me second-guessing the timeline. Something feels a little "off" there. ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
Even though a few parts still drag for me, most of what’s happening now feels meaningful to the overall plot. We still don’t know how Wen Shi lost his memories or if there’s a specific villain lurking in the shadows, but I’m sat! No theories yet, but I’m eager to know! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡
Main Characters: ★★★★☆
Plot: ★★★☆☆
Deliverance: ★★★☆☆
Side Characters: ★★★★☆
Romance/Emotions: ★★★☆☆
Writing style: ★★★☆☆
Read: 04/06/2026
"In his peripheral vision, he saw Xie Wen raise his head to look at the moon.
Back on Mount Songyun, the nighttime scenery was always very beautiful. When the moonlight was abundant, the entire pine forest seemed to be coated in a layer of silver frost. When the moon was a slender crescent, brilliant stars decorated the sky above the peak.
But they had never once viewed it like this-standing shoulder to shoulder, lifting their heads to gaze at the sky amidst a silence in which no one spoke."
(This review will be on chapters 30-61. This is where perhaps vol 2 will end, but I'm not sure. This is 50% into the story and if we're split up in 4 volumes, this covers a 25% of it)
I felt like this stretch of chapters was a huge step up from the first thirty. I feel like we are finally gaining momentum, and we’re finally getting a real sense of who the MC and ML are. I love how the snippets of their relationship reflect the way Wen Shi is discovering himself and his past; it feels like we’re uncovering his lost memories with him as the narrator.(≖⩊≖)
It’s been so interesting to see how life shaped Wen Shi, and it’s genuinely cute to see how caring Xie Wen is. There’s something so sweet and tender about the way he still watches over his pupil, looking on fondly as Wen Shi becomes such a diligent student. (ㅅ´ ˘ `)
It hasn’t quite hit a "romantic" note for me yet—it still feels more like a devoted shifu and disciple relationship ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?—but I’m just happy to finally see their personalities coming out. They feel so much less rigid, less 2D and more 3D, now. It feels like they actually have personalities! They feel real. (◡ ‿ ◡ .)
I’ve also realized that the side characters are the real keys to the reveals. Because their lives are so connected to Wen Shi and Xie Wen, every time their backstories unfold, I'm getting information I've been craving about our main pair.
The closing of Shop Sanmi was such a highlight, too. Seeing the Golden Dapeng spread its wings to bring peace to all those individual souls was so cool—it really showed the sheer scale of power that Xie Wen (as Chen Budao) and Wen Shi possess. (⊙ _ ⊙ ) I'm especially excited to see how the Zhang siblings react to the big reveal of Xie Wen's identity. The story is definitely hinting that they and Shen Qiao are all linked to Xie Wen, but a certain sentence in that chapter has me second-guessing the timeline. Something feels a little "off" there. ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
Even though a few parts still drag for me, most of what’s happening now feels meaningful to the overall plot. We still don’t know how Wen Shi lost his memories or if there’s a specific villain lurking in the shadows, but I’m sat! No theories yet, but I’m eager to know! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡
Main Characters: ★★★★☆
Plot: ★★★☆☆
Deliverance: ★★★☆☆
Side Characters: ★★★★☆
Romance/Emotions: ★★★☆☆
Writing style: ★★★☆☆
Read: 04/06/2026
Displaying 1 of 1 review