I finished vol 6 of Heaven Official’s Blessing (instead of finishing my damn masters thesis 😭), here are my misc thoughts:
1. Let me just say, this was my favourite vol so far, and the first one where I was absolutely hooked and couldn’t even put the book down!
- the first half of this vol is just insane tea the entire time, I was living, and the second half… we will not be talking about (ok I will but like, there are some things I still need to process. You know what THINGS.)
- I reaaaaally wanna know what Fu Yao and Nan Feng were saying during that argument I’m too nosy for this (the fact that I’ve finished vol 7 now and still don’t know 😤)
- the cave of a thousand gods?? Obsessed, I love the reveal of how obsessed Hua Cheng actually is, the fact that at least one of the statues is implied to be Xie Lian lounging around fully naked,, incredible. I love when people get horny with religious iconography
- Hua Cheng’s butterfly silk binding Xie Lian while touching him “with care and love” is so so cute and also hmm
- the Nan Feng and Fu Yao are actually Feng Xin and Mu Qing reveal??? That’s INSANE tea wtf these are the kinds of reveals I live for
- I feel like maybe I should have figured this out sooner, esp cause in the donghua they literally dress and wear their hair about the same, but I thought it was just a trying to match your general’s vibe kind of thing 😭. I thought they were literally just ride or die for their generals. rereading/rewatching the earlier parts is going to be so insane knowing this
- also, NO WONDER Fu Yao was SO bitchy in book 1, it was his first time getting to bitch at Xie Lian in like 800 years and he had definitely been holding on to some resentment all that time
- also Xie Lian being right there for the reveal, crazy. Oof. Hard to come back from that one
- Ok I do kind of like Mu Qing and that’s because he has the sassiest comebacks. “You’re not afraid to sire a son, but you ARE afraid to talk?!” Had me rolling like u know what, you’re not wrong
- Feng Xin and Mu Qing immediately forming a united front to prevent Hualian is so funny. Literally the ONLY thing that can make them get along is preventing Xie Lian from getting any
- Xie Lian being immobilized in this scene and having his agency taken away was really heart wrenching : (
- confession scene so good and so devastating 🥺 Hua Cheng’s certainty that he was about to be rejected hurt me. And then Xie Lian embracing him 😭😭😭 I need the next short film to release cause I need to see this animated so baddd
- Hua Cheng indicating that he’s hidden his ashes on Xie Lian oof agh my heart man
- Xie Lian slipping on the ice and fiddling with his bamboo hat 🥺🥺🥺 his post kiss crashouts are everything to me
Ok so now we enter the 2nd half of the book and…
- I understand why Hua Cheng doesn’t like Mu Qing and Feng Xin and why he hates Mu Qing especially. He struggled for so long to be able to be by Xie Lian’s side even if only to protect him, meanwhile those two had that chance and walked away from it so easily (easily in Hua Cheng’s eyes anyway)
- this MIGHT just be me being an unhinged rarepair shipper but I feel like messy past Feng Xin/Xie Lian could be very compelling hear me out ok
- getting to witness Xie Lian’s first curse words is beautiful (even though the CIRCUMSTANCES are not). Like yes fuck them, you’re so right
- White No Face hugging Xie Lian was soooo creepy and shocked me honestly. I was just sitting there rereading that paragraph being like what. Such a good villain
- Xie Lian’s villain era is both valid and extremely compelling. I actually wish there we got to see a little more of him and Wuming’s dynamic because it’s so deeply interesting and perfect to me from a storytelling standpoint. I love actually getting to see Hua Cheng finding him and just wordlessly accepting whatever he chooses to become and becoming a living instrument of his will regardless. Them and their matching creepy masks. Iconic.
- also the way that one person on the street is kind to him but in a tough love sort of way that kind of like get a hold of yourself, but in a non-judgemental, we all have problems kind of fashion was just what Xie Lian needed in that moment, and also deeply relatable to me as someone from a rural community.
- I find it very moving that this is the origin story of his bamboo hat since we’ve seen so many instances of him going back for it and looking for it to make sure he always takes it with him. I’m sure he carries it as a kind of eternal reminder of ordinary human kindness and the lesson he learned that day, and I love that mxtx actually put so much significance into that object.
- (Shes really good at giving her characters memorable and significant props in general like Hua Cheng’s umbrella, the wind master fan, etc).
- Xie Lian coming back to himself (or at least a version of himself) is also so beautifully and clearly conveyed
I absolutely devoured this volume even through the pain cause it was just too good. I’ve actually finished vol 7, will post my liveblog soon, and it was even more of a banger, so glad I decided to read this series!! But also I can never read or watch it the same way again with what I know now abt the characters 😭😭😭
