烈火浇愁 [Lie Huo Jiao Chou] Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire

by Priest

“At the crest of the lava, there are endlessly burning embers.”

Sheng Lingyuan has long been dead since he jumped into the fiery abyss of Chiyuan, that is, until he’s “woken up” by some unknown force three thousand years later.

Xuan Ji is the newly appointed director of the Reparations Department of the Deviant Control Office, designated to offer aftercare services and clean up the mess whenever supernatural occurrences happen.

The two are brought together by a freak event, and thousand years worth of conspiracy and careful planning begin to unfold before them.

Genres: Fantasy, China, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Romance, M M Romance

1800 pages, Webnovel

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Associated Names:
* Priest
* พีต้า (Thai Profile)

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDIT 8/12/20: Okay, I am rewriting my entire review for this book because priest updated a whole new version of this during May 2020 which I binged in the past few days, and this version is SO much better.

Plot:
This novel starts with a prologue about Sheng Lingyuan's decision to jump into Chi Yuan (Fiery Lake?) 3000 years ago to die. In the modern time, Xuan Ji (protagonist #1) starts his new job at a secret governmental organization that deals with fantastical/magical issues. Right as he starts his job, there's a crisis - someone used blood sacrifice to awaken the demon who was sealed away in Chi Yuan. The awakened demon is Sheng Lingyuan, the other main character. Xuan Ji and he try to test each other, each with their own agenda. For the rest of the book, sinister, blood magic/blood sacrifice stuff happens as it's slowly revealed why Lingyuan was awakened, what actually happened 3000 years ago, and the past of both of the main characters.

Sheng Lingyuan is the infamous Emperor 3000 years ago who brought hard-won peace to the human race, but he was ruthless and crazed by all modern accounts (all this is made up). 3000 years ago, the world wasn't just full of humans, but other races too, like demons, etc. Many of the races were at war with each other and the human race was losing quite badly and it looked like they would be wiped out. Sheng Lingyuan was then born. When he ascended the throne, he became the Emperor who killed the demon king, stopped the war, brought peace and prosperity. He then sealed Chi Yuan, which is the source of all magic, causing the other races to die out, and the never-ending wars and power struggles between the different races to stop.

New additions in this revised version:
I personally feel that this revised version is SO much better.

- a lot of loose plot threads tied up
- many scenes were shifted around, some appearing earlier, some having been axed, some pushed back
- Lingyuan and Xuan Ji's relationship was heavily edited
- side characters had more scenes, more fleshed out stories
- more fleshed out flashbacks to 3000 years ago, new plot scenes inserted (e.g. the mermaid palace that existed in between time - super cool)

My thoughts:
- this revised version has way less 'tell' and much more 'show'. Previously, I found all the scenes set in the past really boring. It was lots of telling - this, this and this happened to Lingyuan... this and that happened to Xuan Ji... Don't get me wrong, it was all heartbreaking stuff, but the two characters' reactions aren't really captured, and priest hadn't done enough set-up to make me invested/care about the flashbacks

- relationship development, pace, dynamic and characterization. In the original, Lingyuan was woobified. Xuan Ji was awesome as a person, but he almost seemed like a side character because Lingyuan far outclassed him in terms of power, intelligence, ability to make things happen. A lot of their previous scenes were also really melodramatic. A lot of things about the two characters that didn't really make sense in the original have now been adjusted to flow better.

E.g., in the original, the narration would often say that Lingyuan was a monster, ruthless and cold, but I didn't really think so? He was ruthless at times, but it was always kinda understandable, I never really felt uncomfortable. Meanwhile, in this revised version, he did a lot of things that showed how ruthless and heartless he can be. So that epithet about Lingyuan being crazed and extreme made much more sense.

I actually really love how Lingyuan is in effect, an anti-hero, and priest wrote such a compelling and well-written story of how he went from a kind, soft, idealistic young prince into a ruthless, merciless and almost crazed Emperor. As usual, I love her insight into her characters' psyche; she portrays them in such careful detail.

- theme commenting on the imperial China's Fengjian way of life vs. modern Chinese society's much more egalitarian way of life. I complained in my old review that I felt like the original didn't really have a tight 'theme' or message; the book almost seemed aimless, which I felt was uncharacteristic of priest, but this new book seemed much tighter, like priest knew what she wanted to talk about. Also, I feel like she might have a smaller message about time, but it didn't go anywhere

What the 2.0 version lost:
- I saw on Weibo that most ppl, like me, seemed to like this better because the plot was much more complex, sprawling, and had more consistent logic. 2.0 is a dark, time-travelling, humorous and fantastical mystery/political intrigue type of novel.

- The relationship suffered a bit though. It's way angstier, like OMG, I felt like dying the entire time while reading about Lingyuan and Xuan Ji. They also had a lot of misunderstandings and way less scenes devoted to their relationship, I feel. The word-count used up for the revised plot seemed to have been straight-up taken from the ship. Really a pity because this is one of her most compelling pairings.

Priest said in her author's note at the end that she still disliked parts of this revised edition and she wanted to overhaul the entire book, but decided to strike a balance between keeping parts of the original, and revising it. There are still parts that I feel are abrupt, or don't make total sense, but oh well. The previous version left me feeling kinda disappointed after reading it, but this version is really much more satisfying. Now I feel like rereading Mo Du...

TLDR: read the May 2020 version if you want the book to make more sense, want a more complex and coherent plot. Read the 2019 version if you want more ship scenes

[... · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating is actually three thousand stars :'3.

[⋆ ࣪˖ ִֶָ sel ་༘࿐ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fire burns; still it burns.

Another heavy banger from Pipi! It took me time to finish this book because I am busy with other things but everytime I open this book, it never failed me. Sometimes, being that the scenes has comedic elements and reliefs, I would forget the weight of what I have been reading so far. This book is literally something you can't just forget. It will linger inside you, even unconsciously.

Moving over the content, I personally loved that it went from illusions or "mirages" to secrets getting unearthed. Those butterflies from the first arc indeed serve a whole lot of symbols and meanings throughout this story. But perhaps, the butterfly is still the caterpillar where they all came from, despite everything that happened. The remnants of the Yao people, the Shamankind, and the Highmountain people continued to live in anonymity as Xuan Ji and Sheng Lingyuan's memories and emotions were safely stored away in their deepest memories. Even if the footprints of humankind covered even the outer reaches of the world, and history could at last digest what was hidden in Chiyuan’s shadow, everything is somehow, still here.

“We were always here, surviving.”

On a personal note, I have SO MUCH emotions for this book. There are a lot of times when I wanted to dose myself in kerosene and just burn. This book hits you right on your emotions but will not give you ample time to process it, only carrying the burden and pain on your spine. I love each and every character! AND the 7th extra chapter just gave me so much dread and joy, like, ALUOJIN. I don't want to elaborate because it breaks my heart so much. And then here's Yan Qiushan and Zhichun. My heart hurts. I hope, I AM HOPING AND MANIFESTING the very best for them.

AND OF COURSE, Bixia and Xiao-Ji. My therapist will definitely hear about them.

[Shy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly enjoyed and loved the second version that priest just uploaded recently!

That's to say, I already liked the first one a lot. But there were certain plot points that were incompletely addressed. Priest herself wasn't satisfied and hence, we got 2.0!

2.0 had an additional 200k words. What did that include?
> a more organized structure for the office that handles all the special ability stuff
> a more comprehensive foundation of the special abilities
> an additional arc
> more focus on the side characters
> a more laid out exposition for the past narrative
> some tweaks on how the relationship of the main CP developed

It was an intense ride from beginning to end, and whatever emotions 1.0 had, 2.0 gave even more! I didn't think it was possible but I really felt a lot.

The world-building is Amazing, as always, and even though I already knew what was going to happen (since the basic plot is still the same with 1.0), I was still at the edge of my seat the whole time. It's funny as it is painful, and both the brain and the heart would be on full load. For its length, it was pretty well-paced, another improvement from 1.0 to 2.0.

Definitely a must-read especially if you enjoy urban fantasy setting stuff ^o^

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es la primera vez que leo un libro de Priest y la verdad me ha encantado un montón. La historia es muy interesante, se centra en una sociedad donde habitan personas normales y los que tienen habilidades especiales, quienes son gestionados por la Oficina Nacional de Prevención y Control de Anomalías y Gestión de Especies Especiales. Un día, el emperador Sheng Lingyuan es despertado después de 3000 años; al mismo tiempo en que Xuan Ji empieza a trabajar en la Oficina de Control de Anomalías y quien tiene que arreglar el desastre de este emperador, por lo que ambos empiezan a tener una rivalidad, sin imaginar que hay algo que los vincula desde hace muchos años.

Recomiendo mucho esta novela, desde el principio te engancha, los protagonistas tienen una rivalidad muy peculiar y por momentos suelen ser muy divertidos, también son muy poderosos; por otro lado, la historia tiene muchos giros de trama que sin duda alguna, te dejarán con la boca abierta, así que si lo lees, tienes que estar muy atento, porque nada es lo que parece.

Por cierto, tiene adaptación en donghua (primera temporada), manhua y audiodrama.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

lingyuan, i

[Zita Azlina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fruit would rot when left alone for days; what monster did not start out as a hero?
Yaos, Demons, Ghosts, and Monsters. Which could surpass the viciousness of the human hearts?

SPOILER AHEAD SPOILER AHEAD SPOILER AHEAD.

First of all,



Second of all,

I just want to let whoever accidentally stumbled upon this review know that the review ahead is not going to be a review; I didn't intend to make this review to better assure you to read this book ASAP. I write this review solely to "vent" out every single emotion that has been scraping through my skin like a rotten bone stuck on to my throat. I just had to let out a piece of essay or best well-known as an incoherent ramble about this book.

Because this book thoroughly "dismembered" into pieces of scorching bone scraps. I was destroyed, endowed with happiness, and then headache, and then even greater headache over my rising anger, and then everything at once; basically just one wrecking ball of a multitude of emotions trying to fuck up my insanity.

But if you already read up to this point and still desperately needed that formal review though, then let me make it clear for you on what would this book offer to you besides emotional havoc; to you people who love fantasy, especially fantasy related to mythologies, specifically Chinese histories and mythologies, this book is for YOU. The world-building is intricate; it lefts no room for holes and gapes to go around. The magic system is, if not artly, Godly , and by Godly I mean it was so intricately sewn together in a way other fantasy books (I can assure you this, at least), would be anything on par in the slightest bit. Dont get me started on the plot; which is so perfectly arranged together, and even if there might be holes, you wouldn't realize it, because the plot was so neatly put together that even the slightest bit of insignificant moments led to the greater reveal, and with that itself, you wouldn't even remember whether there would be any holes at all. You are looking for characters? beat me.

This book has no sliver bit of a room in which there would be any, and by any I mean any any of its characters going to waste. Each of them had its own color, had its own trait unique from the others, each had its own background and story, and their very own unique insecurities and struggles. No single character in this book has no impact on the story. Even the nameless, seemingly passerby minor characters had their own movement that thoroughly advance the plot no matter how far. You would later on find that there will never be any of these people who are a waste of words because they all serve the same importance as the main characters. Even though this was clearly plot-driven, you wouldn't miss an obvious intricate character development within. So where would that left the main characters?

SUPER developed, well build, if you attend a workshop for building a character in a novel and the coach told you that a perfect 100 score was impossible to achieve, then he is wrong; because the main characters of this book are TOP TIERS. They had past, they had struggles, they had insecurities they have to burden, they have different preferences in things and express their emotions differently. Their relationship, then? Remarkable. Astonishing. Transcends Heaven. Just overall the most well-build relationship development in existence. But I mean the most I mean the most .

You might have to be warned also that as well as another high-level fantasy books, the first few books must come off as rough for people to read, let alone the novice. The experienced probably will also have a hard time digesting everything. This book must come up as gigantic info-dumping and hard to understand at first. But believe me, if you try to digest it slowly, it's actually fine. The info dumping is indeed can be a major turn off for some people, but trust me you would understand everything slowly as the time goes by so you don't have to worry much. Also, Priest (in contrast to locked-room mysteries authors who love degraded their readers so much), trusted their readers too much that she would let off some trivial hints and not elaborating at all in last because she believes we know what she wanted to say. This too, might come off as some rubber duck clogging your bathup. A hassle, and a major turn off. But believe me guys, I swear you would eventually understand.

So in short, this book is very greatly written, but can be very heavy and will require mind exercise. Is it worth it?

VERY MUCH.

Now, my incoherent rambling.

I was enthralled, chopped. I have been destroyed down to my smallest bits and I have faced death so cruelly. But now I have been rebirth, one completely anew. I was enlightened completely so and I had my whole life redefined by Lie Huo Jiao Chou.

If you said I'd never come out the same after this, I mean it. I mean it so much you people probably wont understand. I was come out scratched and the marks this book left behind had been absorbing itself in me with no room to be dodged. Again, I was rebirthed completely anew; and I had my whole life redefined by Sheng Lingyuan and Xuan Ji.

You might have wondered how can a book be so having a tremendous impact on someone. You are correct! I don't know, too! This book is like a true wonder; the kind that would never get recreated in any way even if someone plagiarized it down to word for word. This book had some completely else magical effect that drugged its readers, enthralling so wonderfully so you would wonder whether this masterpiece was created by non-human at all. I was introduced to so many mixture of emotions I didn't know I possess. As if this book had reawaken an inner me who had long dormant since the day I learnt how to close overwhelming emotion. As if this book led me astray, in a way that sets me free.

This book, is amazing. If Goodreads allowed a manual rating, I would've rated this book 3287973486296497348462378462743246246/5. And that itself probably isn't enough. It was infinity beyond mankind out of 5. If you wanted to unpack it one by one, I could go on and on down to its finest detail just to show you how magical this book is to me. Like every single dots and punctuation mark in it left no room for imperfection in the first place.

The first book is hazy, unclear, heavy. Beacuse this book itself contained elements that is a mixture of real mythology and made-up mythology, we all mostly would probably had a hard time going through this. This was what was flawed from the entirety of the book, though, because not everyone would dig deeper and deeper until it found treasure, but that's okay. Even in the first book, we would already sense how much of a spectacular this book would turned out to be. In the first book we were already introduced by its awesome magic system and world building. You would found this mechanism and mechanism; and oh my God, that's the most intricately build fictional system I have ever encountered. In the first book also, you would be introduced to a well-written fighting scenes, every detail has its means, every weapon and movement had its own deliberate elaboration. Indeed this book can get quite tiring because of it, but as someone who loved reading, how is this book not astonishing to you?

And then there is Aluojin arc. Our first glimpse of the past of both Sheng Lingyuan and Xuan Ji, one of the most significant bit of the book. Again, amazing fighting scenes. The Wind Gods captains are a very lovable characters, the Grandpa Yuede vs DCO fight is so amazing you feel like watching a true cinema, and Aluojin? ALUOJIN. All the Shaman living habits, buildings, and magic tools? AMAZING. Sheng Lingyuan and Xuan Ji having ties so heartwarming to the Dongchuan? Heartwrenching. Even one chapter could make you get through the shortest 5 stages of grief. Imagine the whole book?

And then nicest arc ever, the Highmountain arc. Yan Qiushan and Zhichun? SPARE ME. The FLASHBACKS? Crumpled me into pieces of papers thrown on the floor. Again, the fighting scene is out of question. NEWS FLASH: The corpse blades are terrific. And then we have this yearning, and then we have calculative move. And then we have super super sad moments. And then we have Yan Qiushan and Zhichun long-lasting affections. AND THEN BOOM!

THE BEST ARC TO EVER EXIST.
THE SHADOWMAN ARC.

THE SHADOWMAN ARCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC IS THE CLIMAX OF EVERYTHING. It quite literally leave you no room to take a fucking break. One moment you were struck by intense fighting scene, nice magic details, nice scientific explanation of Reverbration, and then BOOM! Angst backstory in Xuan Jis heart demon. Countless Lingyuan realization following. Every single story in this arc is so like wrecking ball it makes you run around as if you had your pants burned by fire. The slow revelation of the final boss is also come in, and wowahhhhhhh a new perspective! And uh, Sheng Lingyuan is an asshole. Just saying.

The Heavenly White Jade Palace is so sad though..... like even the comedic remarks cant help. But it was honestly nice.... because it left us with resolution for the later problems and also for Qiuchun :: Not a fan of that Oath of Undying Love bond-break when Lingyuan forced his way through to grab Xuan Jis heart and manually remove it. I mean, REALLY SHENG LINGYUAN?????????????????????

Overall, tbh, book five IS a wrecking ball, and it's at this point too that the climax was at its peak. Luo Cuicui and Yao King is tbh not really interesting, but afterwards... woah.

The decision to make Lady Wanfei the final boss is honestly AMAZING. It bring upon the realization that history is a full circle. The end was ended where it was started. I'm a fan of the fact that now Chiyuan is igniting again, and Jiling is happy and well. The funny bit about how now everyone had its ability awaken that being ability user is the norm is honestly pretty funny.

Besides that, there is too many things that I like and I probably can't really elaborate it one by one. I'm going to make it pointers anyway.
1. I just like the fact that Aluojin knows the existence of Tong, and he wanted to play with him. It warms me so much.
2. Ping Qianru and many others revealed to be the Shamankind is amazing. IT GAVE PING QIANRU THE SPOTLIGHT SHE DESERVES.
3. PUTTING QIUCHUN AS A PARALLEL FOR JILING IS SO VERY NICE AND I THINK IT MAKES THE WHOLE JILING-PAST REVELATION EVEN MORE HEARTACHING. PLEASE PROTECT MY BABY QIUCHUN.
4. Lady Wanfei is banger.
5. Not making Danli the villain is banger.
6. All the Wind God stories, of how much of a found family they were, and GU YUEXI PAST is AMAZING. THIS one is also probably the one who made me love this book even more.
7. JILING
8. SHENG LINGYUAN IS LIKE A MIND POISON THAT WONT LEAVE ME ALONE
9. ANd by Jiling i mean I like how although Sheng Lingyuan is an asshole, Xuan Ji is a no bullshit, leaving us with legit problems and issues rather than unnecessary dramas
10. Jiling past. Jiling past. The part when Sheng Lingyuan repeatedly extract his blood to relive the sword only to destroy it and keep doing it all over again is exactly my taste.
11. THE GOUGING HEART AS THE POETIC METAPHOR OF GOUGING OUT SENSE AND EMOTION BECAUSE TO LINGYUAN IT WAS TOO MUCH TO BEAR BEING LEFT ALONE BY XUAN JI HAD NO WAY TO REVIVE HIM
12. AND XUAN JI HARMING HIS OWNSELF TO SEAL HIS MEMORY BECAUSE THE THOUGHTS OF LINGYUAN IS TOO MUCH
13. XUAN JI WITNESSING SHENG LINGYUAN KILLED HIMSELF
14. Shan Lin. Dot.
15. I'm happy that there is no forced villainizing of Bureau Chief Huang and Xiao Zheng BCS i love them so muchhhh
16. I just somehow love the background of Sheng Lingyuan being half of Vermillion Bird
17. Madness, Greed, Fool, and what? Sense of dependency? (COOL)
18. The matter of Wei Yun not being left as "just Wei Yun" is nice to known. Especially like his relation with Qiuchun,
19. GU YUEXI INSIGHT EYES.
20. Love the Biquan Mountain final battle soooooooo much.
21. Priest typical humours, of course.
22. Bald Xiao Zheng especially.

As much as I like this though, there is much that I think is a little not quite to my liking
1. Idk why i just don't like Luo Cuicui and Jiuxun being one of the final bosses LOL maybe because of my already-established Luo Cuicui image in my mind and i just didnt like betrayal story in general
2. Jiaoren actually being extinct although they served significant role in everything is so sad
3. Sheng Lingyuan can be stupid at times
4. There is a little hint of colorism and a stereotypical portrayal of Muslim arab women, but it's not really harmful I believe (speaking as Muslim POC)

But even with many patches of imperfections that this book have, this book still will left me scarred in forever, it just birthed me anew, and I'll never be the same after this ever again. Even if I'm pissed at the fact that this book is so fast-paced that it left none to catch a damn fucking break, this book is just so otherworldly it has special place in my heart. I think I'll forever bound by this book and will forever has Sheng Lingyuan and Xuan Ji and the other characters making ruckus in my brain. But for real?

This book was the best experience in my life.

Priest should compensate me on that one big pack of tissues that run out because I read this book in a streak for a week.

Nothing could defeat this book in its awesomeness.

293038037832789/10.

By the way today is Priest's day.

Happy Birthday the greatest, smartest, most remarkable author in existence, Priest!

You will always be loved ^^



Quotes

The fire burns, still. It burns.

--

He is so close, yet I can't want him.

--

"I fantasized that one day I could see my reflection in your eyes, just one glance, and i'd be willing to do anything, no matter how many times i have to had my body torn apart"

--

New year's eve night three thousand years ago, Xuan Ji had invisibly and impalpably taken away his discarded human heart, and one sidedly bid him farewell. New year's eve night three thousand years later, he fell, intact, into Xuan Ji’s embrace.

--

if you are harmed in the future, ill bear the same pain. If you are buried in Chiyuan, we will be buried together. You're mine now.

--

"The more you wait, the harder it'll be when faced with even the slightest hope"

--

"But I was born for you."

--

Ordinary people didn’t steal or rob, they relied on dutiful work to provide for themselves, what was the shame in that!

--

As long as im with you, even if we are trapped in this bronze cauldron forever, i wouldnt mind.

--

Lingyuan, if i could make a wish, i would have wished that we could just be a pair of mortal

--

When he looked at Sheng Lingyuan, his heart felt as if it was struck by a spike; it hurt when he breathed, hurting to the point of restlessness.

--

“Why won’t you look at me, Lingyuan, I’m begging you, look at me……”

--

The mortal realm is like an infernal hell; unforgivable are the sins of those who love deeply.

--

He was originally a void, a shadow floating over the mortal dust. He had peered over every manner of grief and joy like watching fires burning accross a river. Yet without warning, he was consigned to this human world. And felt cold, felt soreness he hadn't had for a long long time.

--

Memories faded but feelings remain. The loneliness and suffering is inherited.

--

"Lingyuan, i had neither care no sorrow in all my life. I couldnt think of a better life than this Your Majesty"

--

"Let's be together for a second longer than eternity."

--

"You once said I look like the Xuanji stars in the sky."

--

"All he wanted was to cultivate out a real body and hold that person in his hands. And if that wasn't good enough, he wanted to to turn into a cloud of smoke, occupying all of Lingyuan's seven apertures and five senses, that his eyes see only him, hear only him, touch only him"

--

"all of your life... Had you nothing... Not a day of happiness?"

--

"His companions were trying to keep him here, but it was as if he couldn’t hear them. Instead he stared impatiently, a ticket in hand, at a clock that told the arrival of the train traveling to the next world—it was already three years late. He could hardly wait another moment."

--

At last reaching a resolution, or having been trapped in a night so endless he has lost track of time, and finally glimpsing a glimmer of dawn. His whole life, he had never experienced this sort of happiness or sorrow that was like his soul leaving his body.

FIN.

[Nam · Rating 3 out of 5]

╰┈➤ [ 3/5★]

Me siento algo decepcionada porque este era el libro al que más ganas le tenía :( no sé si es por la traducción que leí o el libro en sí, pero simplemente no pude conectar del todo con la historia y varias veces me aburrí leyendo.

Aun así, Xuan Ji es probablemente el protagonista que más me ha gustado de las obras que he leído de Priest. Y la pareja es probablemente la que más cerca me ha llegado al corazón de algún modo (aunque la mayor parte del tiempo quería golpear a Lingyuan por hacer sufrir a mi niño).

Pd: Ojalá alguien me amara como Xuan Ji.

[CJHG · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still reading v 2.0 in the original Chinese, but I think LHJC is Priest's most thrilling work to date. Priest is a master at blending humour, horror and tenderness. The only other writer I've read who manages to strike the same perfect balance is Tamsyn Muir. Unlike some of the other Priest novels I've started on, LHJC drew me in from the 1st chapter. It's sad and tense from the get-go, and so far there hasn't been any lull in the pace of the novel. Every chapter moves the plot forward.

LHJC is basically a tragicomic dark urban fantasy with a romance element. Thematically, it's very consistent with the usual subject matter that Priest explores in her work: governance and organisational bureaucracy, corruption, contemporary Chinese society (including some hilarious references to web censorship), and people's capacity to change for the better. As other readers have noted, there aren't many pages in this novel devoted to romance, even relative to Priest's other BL works (which I understand are already quite romance-light). The tortured, ambivalent 3000 year-old relationship between Xuan Ji and Sheng Lingyuan is a key element of the story, but isn't the centrepiece.

[SPOILER ALERT]

That said, XJ and SLY are both fantastic characters and they are probably my favourite Priest characters and 'ship so far. XJ is a happy-go-lucky, foul-mouthed extrovert, but there's also a certain melancholy and mystery to him. He is not annoyingly cheerful, like Lu Bixing from Can Ci Pin. As for SLY, it doesn't take long for for the reader to see how cruel and deceitful he is; there's a very graphic and action-packed battle scene involving him, XJ and other side characters quite early on that sets him up as a "chaotic neutral" (at best) antihero. While characters like Fei Du (from Mo Du) have a dark streak but are basically good guys, SLY is diabolical from start to finish. He tries to dupe and shake off XJ time and again, despite their shared past (XJ and SLY grew up together, with XJ being SLY's sword spirit.) When you add that to the fact that XJ is essentially in a subordinate position to him, it does make you wonder if their relationship can have a satisfactory and happy resolution. But all in all, Priest gives them as realistic a happy ending as possible - they do get their happily-ever-after right at the end, but only after SLY resolves to try for a clean break with the past after his experiences in the present day. While v 1.0 has more romantic interactions between XJ and SLY that will be familiar to readers of Priest's other novels, the darker, more physically restrained relationship in v 2.0 is far more consistent with the power imbalance and core personalities of the main ship. If you are familiar with Honoo no Mirage and the Locked Tomb series, the XJ/SLY ship has faint echoes of both Naoe/Takaya and Gideon/Harrow. XJ and SLY are nuts for each other, but resent it.

What I wish we saw more of was a more thoroughly fleshed-out system of magic rules with some clearly-defined limitations. XJ and SLY are both extremely powerful, and there doesn't seem to much of a limit to what each of them can do, as far as I can see.

Priest's writing in LHJC is much tighter and polished than in e.g. Mo Du, and she doesn't waste any word count in drawing the reader in. It's a real page-turner, even without the romance. It's also the funniest Priest novel I've read so far, despite having numerous dark and sad moments. This novel has been a hell of a ride up to this point and makes me wonder what v 3.0 would look like if Priest could revise it one more time.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

мудрёно

[Moonyfoxx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Чи я старію чи вслідкувати за усіма подіями роману реально складно. Не дивлячись на це, мені дуже сподобалося.
Персонажі у Пріст як завжди неоднозначні, а сюжет тримає в напрузі до самого кінця. Плюсом стало тут, що розвиток любовної лінії прослідковується, а не звалюється на тебе в екстрах. Хоч вона і шалено депресивна.
Можна було б написати шалено довгий відгук, але все одно не вдалося б вкласти усіх почуттів, які роман викликає під час читання. Незрозуміло сміятися чи плакати — як сказав би Се Лянь.

[Mei | bookswandering · Rating 3 out of 5]

bộ duy nhất của Pi mà tui đọc hết được, dù đọc xong chả hiểu plot như nào, hoang mang...nhưng mạch truyện đỡ chậm chạp hơn mấy bộ khác của Pi rồi ý, thích chemistry của cp chính, mê Tuyên Cơ, đúng kiểu tui thích =))

[star ✧]

expectation: epic romance for the ages

reality: petty bird man vs. scheming elderly (who just wants his eternal nap); who will fallfirtstwin? there are already so many layers to this dynamic and we're not even half-way through yet. priest never fails me 🥺

[vy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dnf at ch 75

Will be reading again when the translation is done

[nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

priest is just going to do it for me everytime

[Nausicaä · Rating 3 out of 5]

Los libros de Priest, los amas o no los amas.
Verdaderamente, tengo una relación de amor odio con las historias de esta autora.
En esta ocasión, me ha resultado bastante indiferente.
La historia es intrigante y la fantasia no falta pero a nivel de romance, los personajes no tienen realmente química entre ellos.
Lo peor del libro, es lo denso de la historia, no por su narración, si no por la falta de avance de esta. Estando en el cap 50 de una historia de 100, aun se sentía como una introducción, sin llegar al centro de la historia.
Como he dicho, cada libro de esta autora es tan diferente al anterior que debes darle una oportunidad, porque no sabes que podrás encontrar pero, este no es para mi.

[Selena]

...unfortunely, the transltion really took away from my reading experience, so I REALLY REALLY can't continue bc i dont understand a single thing thats going on. this is mtl with slight editing, but i wouldn't be suprised if there was no editor at all

[fiore ♡♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it because the main couple is so Bingjiu core, stayed for the actual characters

[Weta Milovanova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Гиперфикс был неумолим, и я дочитала этого монстра!

[Fern · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven’t completely finished lhjc yet but I think i’ll wait for rosmei to finish their tl… im so tired of the barely edited mtl i actually can’t read it anymore 😭

[HTHUAIF · Rating 5 out of 5]

Không phải gout nhưng mà cũng đọc hết hơn 4000 trang ebook luôn :))))

Trời ơi updating!!! 2001.05.07 Trời ơi không thể tin cho em nó 3 sao lun á uhuhu làm sao dịiiiii aaaaaaaaaa Liệt Hoả xuất cmn sắc Liệt Hoả supremacy cô Pi giỏi quáaaaaaaaaa

[Ari Brie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of the craft and none of the heart.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok this review is for the unedited version so I think it's not fair. I started a bit of the new edited version and read some comments about it and I think it fixes the problems I noticed

i love the main characters so much l;ajksdf and the side charas. the reveal that sheng lingyuan and xuan ji actually grew up together omfg. I LOVE REVEALED 青梅竹马 SHIT SO MUCH ;ALJKSD;LJFA, LIKE THEY GREW UP TOGETHER AND SHENG LINGYUAN PROTECTED XIAO JI SO MUCH AND HE TOOK SO MUCH OF THE OUTSIDE STUFF FOR HIM. AND THEY WERE SO, KID. IT WAS SO CUTE WHEN IT WAS REVEALED THAT AND THE WAY WE GO OVER HISTORY WE ALR KNEW EXCEPT NOW ITS FILLED WITH XIAO JI'S COMMENTARY FROM INSIDE LINGYUAN'S MIND A;LJKSD;LJKFAS I LOVE THEM

I really really like the main two's dynamic, particularly the times when they were young actually and in the past. And also current time too tbh, Lingyuan does sidestep all of the questions ljskdf and tries to do some self sacrificial shit (which, I was so worried was gonna become a liu yao situation sorry) but there was one scene in particular where I was like fuck, they finally talked. And it didn't take that long actually. Also when they kissed on that mountain and xuan ji revealed to sheng lingyuan that he's his xiao ji T^T I love them so much


ok for reasons this isnt a 5 star, I'd say it's kinda similar to zhen hun's problems for me in a way? But also not really, just overly complex backstory and plots that I couldn't wrap my head around lmao.

Kinda better I think because I was less confused in this one. It just felt like there were a lot of plot twists and also even new characters that were suddenly revealed during the climax and I think you need a lot of foreshadowing for this to work. I don't think there was any foreshadowing for some of it at all, at least none where I looked back and thought ohhh that's what that meant. Like the reveal of the servant lady of the yao princess, that literally came out of nowhere. For her to be revealed as the one controlling everything behind the scenes and the big villain of all of this is crazyyyy, when she was mentioned never. Like if it's a mystery story, you need it to be guessable. Provided, being less guessable makes the story less predictable but when not all the pieces, or not even all the characters and context are provided to the reader...

but I think once again, because of how much I like the characters and care about them (which priest literally never fails at), plot things like this don't bother me as much because ultimately, I still wanna finish the book and even more because of the characters.

[Duong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liệt hoả kiêu sầu
Vấn đề lớn nhất của Priest là plot. Chăm chăm vào plot, kín kẽ không 1 khe hở, âm mưu trùng trùng điệp điệp, bỏ qua 1 chút là đến phía sau lập tức khó mà hiểu được diễn biến câu chuyện. Nhưng chính cái plot khiến mình không muốn đọc tiếp. Vì nó chỉ có kể, tả, diễn, không đủ “tình” để khiến người đọc phải quyến luyến. Nó như 1 cuốn sách khô khốc, cố gắng kinh khủng thì đoạn cuối sẽ ngọt, không thì vứt bỏ ngay từ đầu.
Truyện này rất giống Mặc độc, nhưng ở Mặc độc có “tình” nhiều hơn, lại giống Sát phá lang ở 1 vài điểm, nhưng ở Sát phá lang, 2 nhân vật chính ngay từ đầu đã xác định đối phương là ai; còn ở Liệt hoả kiêu sầu này mình đọc tới tận chương 50 là 1/3 câu chuyện, 2 nhân vật chính vẫn hoàn toàn chưa biết gì về nhau 1 cách khó chịu. Nếu tác giả muốn, mình tin là hoàn toàn có thể đẩy tuyến tình cảm nhanh hơn và hợp lý hơn, mỗi lần nhớ lại, mỗi một chi tiết đều gợi rất nhỏ rồi bỏ qua, dĩ nhiên đó là thủ pháp kéo chân độc giả của Priest, nhưng rất tiếc là mình chán lắm.
Anyway, truyện này tính plot không tệ, đọc mà không quá khó chịu như mình thì khá là ổn.

[Deppie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this soooo much, my favorite priest novel so far. Xuan Ji is the biggest yearner and lover boy ever. Sheng Lingyuan is an icon. I love them!!! Though fair warning, it’s a very very long slow burn, their cute domestic moments mostly in the extras. But it doesn’t seem like other slow burn -wait till the extras- novels since we have Xuan Ji’s pov and he realizes his feelings very early on in the story and way before Sheng Lingyuan. As is common with Priest, she’s plot > romance. the plot here is sooo strong and unique.

[Valkyrie Vu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truyện của Priest thì luôn có đặc sản là công thụ khó phân rồi, nhưng mà truyện này thì mình cảm giác thụ còn cường hơn công, dù ngoài mặt điềm tĩnh thờ ơ nhưng lúc nào cũng che chở, nâng niu công hết và công cũng vậy. Có điều truyện này hơi kén người đọc vì hơn nửa truyện trôi qua hai anh mới nhận ra nhau :)). Tình cảm ít được nói đến hơn so với plot nhưng mà sâu đậm và tinh tế, đúng style Priest luôn. Recommend cho bạn nào thích linh dị thần quái.

[night.]

priest đại lão orz

---

me reading ANY other books: calmly flipping the page, maybe it's just me i just started the book will get better

me reading this: IMHOMESCREAMINGHEARTPUMPINGDYINGCANTGETENOUGHSHIPPINGTHESHIPALREADYSAILSOHARDNO YOU DONT GET IT EVERYTHIGN IS JUST SO PERFECT AND OMG ITS ONLY CHAPTER 10

---

vì quân mà đến, vì người mà say

[Laura]

DNF ch 20/137

I don't like the characters enough to carry on. I've read 2x the MC calling one of the female characters 'fatty' instead of by their name and I'm not waiting for a 3rd time.

I would suggest you give the donghua a go if you like 3D animation as that's pretty decent and faithful to the chapters I've read.

[Anastasia Neklyudova · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best reading experiences of my life, even though I understood 60% of the plot at best.

But all the emotional hurricanes I felt compensated plot twists that I didn’t get. Looking forward to official translations to reread (and hopefully to understand better) this beautiful story.

[Callie Chu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed how it’s not methodical in the storytelling but jumps between past and present. I’ve heard that there aren’t as much romantic interactions from the previous version but it’s still entertaining.