SUMMARY: A stern police chief and a talented, plucky detective solve crimes, uncover injustices, and find that their arranged marriage might not be so bad.
THIS SHOW HAS EVERYTHING: Hairpins, scholars, preserved fruit snacks, bright lights, baby emperors, fire moths, fake religions, peonies, night blindness, bitter medicine, imperial edicts, lame bosses, noodles, childhood meet-cutes, wicker pigs, promotions, and scathing poetry about the 1%.
HOT TAKE: First off, I just gotta say it. This show probably has the worst ML kissing ever. It's a good thing the lovers in this show hug so much because if there were more 'kissing' I might have not made it to the end.
I liked the courage and talent of our main female lead. She's inquisitive, professional, and is always humble about what she knows and the chance to learn more. There's a LOT of eye-acting from our male lead, but he does a good job using them to his advantage throughout the character's arc.
A good balance of mystery, justice, palace intrigue, crazy-ass villains, and a little wire-based sword fighting mixed in for flavor.
- Heard shouting in pain while fighting a dragon, thrown into a wall, knocked out, bleeding from the forehead
02:
- Still weak and bleeding from last episode
- Whipped, bleeding through his shirt, spitting blood, sweating, trembling, wounds cleaned by his friend
03:
- Struck in the chest by a demon, knocked to the ground, overuses his powers while fighting it, passes out
- Has ointment applied to a cut on his hand
04:
- Struck in the face
06:
- Shackled, forced to kneel before a tribunal, lifted into the air with magic, clearly in pain, dropped to the ground
- Locked in a prison cell
07:
- Still locked in a prison cell
- Enters a freezing river, frostbite burns on his hand treated by his friend
- Stays behind so his friend can escape, hit in the chest with a spell, held at knifepoint, kneeling before the tribunal again, sentenced to a series of torturous punishments
- Wakes up in the snow, face cut and bruised, dragging himself along the ground, briefly passes out from exhaustion
08:
- Still cut, bruised, weak and exhausted in the snow
- Fighting a replica of himself, gets hurt every time he hurts it, coughing blood, chest pain
- Goes back to walking in the snow, clutching his chest, hypothermic, weak and exhausted, crawling across the ground, struggling to stay awake
- Forced to watch his friend be tortured, gives up his ability to love in order to save him
09:
- Overuses his power, stumbling, sweating, refusing care and treatment
- Fighting his emotions, trembling, gasping
10:
- Hit with a spell, thrown to the ground, restrained with magic, tied up and choked with a vine, rescued
- Stabbed in the chest and bleeding from the mouth in someone else’s dream
- Cleaning the wounds on his shoulder, gasping in pain, hiding them from others and refusing help
- Fighting his emotions, gasping
11:
- Drugged with poisoned rain, dizzy, holding his head
- Tied up with vines and almost abducted by a demon, rescued, unconscious on the ground, bruised throat
- Accidentally given the wrong medication, forced to tell the truth, fighting the effects, sweating, gasping
- Tied up with vines, rescued, weak and disorientated, almost passes out
- Caught in an explosion, bleeding from underneath his mask
13:
- Drugged, dizzy
14:
- Still drugged, woozy and weak
- Wakes up paralysed on a bed, drugged again, hallucinating, almost s*xually assaulted
15:
- Falls from a cliff into a river, knocked out, found unconscious on the bank, bleeding from the head, mouth and chest, carried to safety, wounds treated, tries and fails to get up, holding his head in pain
16:
- Struck by lightning, spitting blood, overuses his power trying to save his girl, spitting more blood
17:
- Hit with a spell, cut on the neck, has the wound cleaned and treated
18:
- Releases a curse on himself, chest pain
20:
- Overwhelmed by sonar waves, clutching his head
- Tests an antidote for his poisoned friend, sweating, unsteady, given medication to stabilise him, hiding his pain, gasping as soon as he’s left alone
- Triggers the curse, crying, feverish, clutching his chest, falls to his knees, bleeding from the mouth, collapses, writhing
- Uses his magic while still suffering from the curse, stumbling, clutching his chest, refusing help, collapses again, retching, vomiting blood, passes out
21:
- Overuses his power, falls to his knees
- Hit with a spell, spitting blood, told he has internal injuries
22:
- Wrongfully accused, hit with a spell, pinned against a wall, held at knifepoint, arrested
- Chained to a post, tortured with magic, cut and bruised, spitting blood, stabbed in the chest with specialised torture knives, crying out
23:
- Still chained up and being stabbed with the magic knives, screaming in pain
- Locked in a cell, covered in cuts and bruises, bleeding through his clothes, extremely weak, handfed soup, unable to swallow, coughing and spluttering, collapses into his friend’s arms, slurring his words
- Hit with a spell, thrown into the wall of his cell, wheezing
- Held up and restrained by guards, struggling to stay awake, facing more false accusations, hit with a spell, collapses to his knees
- Chained to a frame, trembling, rescued, recaptured
24:
- Still weak, bruised and bloody from last episode
- Chained up in front of his friends, struck twice with a lightning whip, knocked to the ground and vomiting blood each time, convulsing, rescued and protected by his girl, crying, trying to crawl towards her, carried to safety
- Recovering in bed, weak and feverish
27:
- Previous life: Gets himself captured so others can escape, bleeding after being beaten, tied up, executed in public
- Previous life: Poisoned, vomiting blood, falls to his knees, collapses and dies
- Previous life: Drains himself of magic, bleeding from the eyes, later seen with them bandaged, blind, using a cane
- Previous life: Forfeits a fight to save his opponent, stabbed in the chest, bleeding from the mouth, collapses and dies
- Previous life: Overuses his power, spitting blood, collapses, clutching his chest, dies
- Previous life: Chained to a post in a prison cell, bruised and bloody, stabbed in the gut
- Previous life: Stabbed in the chest, bleeding from the mouth, collapses and dies
- Previous life: Stabbed in the chest while acting as a human shield, spitting blood, collapses and dies
- Previous life: Stabs himself in the chest, bleeding from the mouth, collapses, crying, dies
- Learns his girl is destined to kill him, stumbling, crying
- Trapped in a catatonic state, spitting blood, being drained of energy, collapses after being released
30:
- Stabbed in the back while acting as a human shield, bleeding from the mouth, collapses into his girl’s arms, cradled, passes out
- Being healed with magic, spitting more blood, gasping, trembling, doesn’t react to the healing spells, spoon-fed medication, feverish, convulsing
- Overuses his power trying to heal himself, falls out of bed, crying out in pain
- On the run while still injured, staggering, clutching his chest, returned to bed, stabilised with magic, still vomiting blood
- Has his heart reconstructed with magic, wincing in pain, coughing and spluttering
31:
- Still recovering in bed from last episode, cared for by his girl, walking with support, dizzy, swaying on the spot
36:
- Tied up, strangled, struggling
37:
- Still tied up and struggling
- Hit with a spell, bleeding from the mouth, needs help to stand
- Has his identity revealed, rejected by his girlfriend, crying
- Hit with a spell, electrocuted, staggering, gasping in pain, hit with another spell, falls to his knees, thrown to the ground, bleeding from the mouth, hit with multiple spells at once while acting as a human shield, vomiting blood
- Triggers the curse again, clutching his chest, carried to safety, continuously coughing blood, stabilised with magic
- Hit with another spell while shielding his father, falls to his knees, bleeding from the mouth, clutching his chest, passes out and collapses into his father’s arms
38:
- Still being healed with magic
- Grieving, crying
39:
- Finds out the truth behind his birth, crying, panic attack, clutching his chest, watches his father die, grieving
41:
- Trapped in a fire, burns his arm, refusing treatment
- Hit with a spell, spitting blood, clutching his chest
- Captured to be used as a hostage, trapped in a cave, shivering, hypothermic, applying ointment to the burn from earlier
42:
- Still trapped in the cave, shivering, hypothermic, face cut and bruised after being caught in a snowstorm, collapses and passes out, healed with magic, needs help to walk
- Trapped in a forcefield, being drained of energy
- Stabbed in the back while acting as a human shield, bleeding from the mouth, recovering in bed
43:
- Cut on the arm during a fight
44:
- Stabbed in the back, bleeding from the mouth, healed with magic
- Hit with a spell, paralysed, trembling
45:
- Grabs a spell mid-air, burns his hand, poisoned, falls to his knees
- Hit with a spell, bleeding from the mouth, screaming in pain, falls to his knees, clutching his head, collapses, passes out, rescued, carried to safety, recovering in bed
46:
- Still weak and recovering
47:
- Stabbed in the chest, vomiting blood, crying, protected by his friend
- Hit with a spell, knocked to the ground, bleeding from the mouth
- Sacrifices himself for his girl by absorbing too much energy, collapses into his friend’s arms
48:
- Reveals that he’s dying from the energy overload
51:
- Spitting blood, weak, submerges himself in a healing pool, shivering
- Dizzy, unsteady, struggling to stay upright
- Struggling to breathe, returns to the healing pool, still vomiting blood
52:
- Still weak and breathless
- Stumbling, clutching his chest, vomiting blood, trying to hide it from his girlfriend, found unconscious on the ground, stabilised with magic
- Overuses his power, spitting blood
- Struck by lightning while acting as a human shield, screaming in pain, vomiting blood, collapses, stabilised with magic
53:
- Still being stabilised with magic, cradled, passes out in his girl’s arms, carried to safety, recovering in bed
- Watches his friend die, crying
- Tries to get out of bed, spitting blood, needs help to stand, passes out in his girl’s arms
- Given a month to live, bedbound, spoon-fed and cared for by his girl, coughing and spluttering, vomiting more blood
54:
- Still pale and weak, needs support to walk, clutching his chest
- Dizzy, unsteady, helped to a chair, spitting blood, stabilised with magic
- Staggering into his friend’s arms, bleeding from the mouth, clutching his chest
- Uses the last of his power to save his girl, vomiting blood, cradled
- Drained of poison, clutching his chest, unable to stand, retching
55:
- Still lying on the ground, gasping for air, trying to drag himself along, collapses and passes out, cradled
- Recovering in bed, nightmare, wakes in a panic, has to be restrained by his friends
- Hit with a spell, bleeding from the mouth
- Locked in a cell, hit with a spell, thrown into a wall, spitting blood
56:
- Choked, lifted by the throat, hit with a spell and thrown to the ground, spitting blood, choked again
- Previous life: Hit with a spell while acting as a human shield, bleeding from the mouth
57:
- Shot with multiple arrows while acting as a human shield, bleeding from the mouth, passes out and falls into a lake, rescued, weak, falls to his knees, clutching his chest
58:
- Hit with a spell, falls to his knees, spitting blood, still using his powers despite being injured
59:
- Stabbed in the chest, bleeding from the mouth, collapses, caught by his girl, doesn’t react to healing spells, dies in her arms
- Given a new heart, comatose for several months, cared for by his girl
Zhong Min Yan
03:
- Hit with a spell, thrown to the ground, clutching his chest
- Pinned to the ground by a demon, struggling to breathe, passes out
10:
- Caught in a net, choked with a vine, dropped to the ground, clutching his chest
11:
- Cut on the hand by a demon, poisoned, dizzy, dragged into its lair before passing out
- Hallucinating, manipulated into attempting suicide
- Unconscious, tied to a tree, being drained of blood, rescued
- Caught in an explosion, unconscious on the ground, bleeding from the mouth, wakes up coughing and spluttering
13:
- Drugged, dizzy
14:
- Wakes up paralysed on a bed, drugged again, hallucinating
15:
- Hit with a spell, thrown to the ground, bleeding from the mouth, stabbed in the chest and back, hit with another spell, found half-dead on the ground
19:
- Wakes from a coma after the stabbing, struggling to sit up, weak and pale
20:
- Overwhelmed by sonar waves, clutching his head
- Hit with a spell, forced to his knees, bleeding from the mouth, put in a chokehold, hit with another spell, thrown to the ground, clutching his chest
- Collapses, found to be poisoned, unconscious in bed, cared for by his friend, doesn’t react to the antidote
- Submerged in magical healing waters, shivering, traumatic flashbacks, clutching his head and writhing in his sleep, almost falls beneath the surface, delirious, comforted, recovering in bed
21:
- Still recovering in bed from last episode
27:
- Cuts his hand on his own sword
- Being drained of energy, bleeding from the mouth, collapses after being released
29:
- Held hostage at knifepoint
- Being drained of energy
30:
- Still being drained of energy, stumbling, clutching his chest
- Offers himself as a hostage to save his girl, forced to hurt his friend to “prove himself”
31:
- Struck twice with a whip, knocked to the ground both times, clutching his chest
- Slapped in the face
- Hit with a spell, knocked to the ground, later seen holding his shoulder
33:
- Hit with a spell, thrown to the ground, bleeding from the mouth
- Grieving for his friend, screaming, guilt-stricken
34:
- Manhandled, forced to his knees, learns he was tricked into betraying his tribe, begging to be killed, locked in a cell
35:
- Put on trial for crimes he didn’t commit, admits to them to save his girl, tries to slit his own throat, stopped after only a small cut, exiled
47:
- Hit with a spell, bleeding from the mouth, coughing and spluttering, hit with more consecutive spells, vomiting blood, gasping in pain, cradled, passes out, carried to safety
48:
- Unconscious in bed, being healed with magic, coughing and weak
54:
- Bewitched, clutching his head and chest, struggling to breathe, spitting blood
Liu Yi Huan
08:
- Taken hostage, suspended by chains around his wrists and neck, lowered into a poisoned swamp, screaming in pain, rescued
25:
- Captured, manhandled, blindfolded, led on a leash with a chain around his neck, choked, shouting in pain
- Overuses his power, falls to his knees, bleeding from the sigil on his forehead
26:
- Still held captive, forced to his knees, restrained, forced to watch his daughter be tortured, blackmailed into betraying his friends
27:
- Being drained of energy, bleeding from the mouth, collapses after being released
28:
- Pinned to the ground, choked, having breathing difficulties afterwards
52:
- Hit with a spell, thrown to the ground, spitting blood, picked up by the throat, choked, still bleeding from the mouth, has his powers ripped out, screaming in pain
53:
- Has his head bandaged from last episode
Ruo Yu
10:
- Caught in a net, choked with a vine, dropped to the ground
11:
- Drugged with poisoned rain, dizzy, clutching his head
- Bruised throat after being strangled by a demon, hallucinating, manipulated into attempting suicide, wraps a vine around his neck
- Unconscious, tied to a tree, being drained of blood, rescued
13:
- Drugged, dizzy
14:
- Wakes up paralysed on a bed, drugged again, hallucinating
15:
- Hit with a spell, momentarily knocked out
20:
- Overwhelmed by sonar waves, clutching his head
22:
- Struck in the face, forced to kneel on the ground for several hours as punishment
27:
- Being drained of energy, bleeding from the mouth, collapses after being released
33:
- On the run, surrounded, pushed off a cliff, believed dead
43:
- Choked, forced to beg for forgiveness on his knees
- Dragged by the throat, arrested, manhandled
46:
- Chained up in a prison cell
47:
- Hit with a spell, gasping in pain, falls to his knees, collapses
49:
- Grieving, crying, in denial
52:
- Runs into a forcefield, burns his arm, gasping in pain, hiding it from others
- Struck by lightning while acting as a human shield, spitting blood, collapses and passes out
53:
- Grieving, crying
57:
- Drugged with poisoned mist, hallucinating, tries to stab himself in the chest
- Loses his grip while climbing a cliff face, caught at the last second
59:
- Thrown into a magic furnace while sacrificing himself for his friends, presumably burned to death
Hao Chen
18:
- Overuses his power, falls to his knees, healed with magic
29:
- Hit with a spell, thrown to the ground, clutching his chest
30:
- Overuses his power, coughing, revealed to have internal injuries from last episode
- Absorbing poison while trying to save someone, shot with a healing dart, needs help walking afterwards
33:
- Still recovering from his injuries, chest pain, dizzy, stabilised with magic
37:
- Hit with a spell, bleeding from the mouth, being drained of energy
38:
- Burned on the back of the hand
42:
- Grieving, crying, shaking with anger
44:
- Stabbed in the chest, bleeding from the mouth, refusing treatment, tries to stand and vomits blood
46:
- Develops scarring on his arm from staying human for too long
47:
- Overuses his power, spitting blood, clutching his chest, collapses, struggling to stand
- Stabs himself in the chest, bleeding from the mouth, collapses, cradled, struggling to breathe, dies in his friend’s arms
55:
- Hit with a spell, thrown to the ground, bleeding from the mouth, helped to his feet
58:
- Learns the consequences of his actions, guilt-stricken, rips out his own power, screaming in pain
59:
- Poisons himself, turns into dust
Ting Nuo
03:
- Chained to a post, whipped, bleeding through his clothes, face cut and bruised, collapses after being released
- Caught in an explosion, covered in wounds, trying to heal himself with magic, coughing, clutching his chest
- Captured, locked in a cage and paraded through the streets, pelted with fruit, still weak, coughing and spluttering
04:
- Rescued from the cage, carried to safety, cradled, weak and coughing
26:
- Unconscious on the ground, trapped inside a forcefield that drains his energy, rescued
27:
- Being drained of energy, bleeding from the mouth, collapses after being released
Teng She
32:
- Tied up, cut on the cheek to make a blood contract that turns him into a pet, forced to kneel and swear allegiance to his master, passes out
- Accidentally consumes poison that makes his face swell up
37:
- Bitten on the arm by a demon, weak, exhausted, collapses and passes out
47:
- Bewitched to stay silent, tries to talk anyway, spitting blood
Hands down such an underrated drama. When I read the synopsis of it I always bypass it and am now immediately regretting it. Ugh it’s soooo good. It’s a slow burn romance, but it’s such a precious beautiful one. Both leads did an outstanding job in their roles. Seven Tan plays such a cute fun loving hilarious tomboy and Allen Ren is the cold strict by the book higher up. You have a Pirates of the Caribbean type of moments, a haunted ghosts arch (nothing scary) . It’s basically not your average Wuxia storyline. It’s 55 episodes long and so well worth it.
Under the power ( 锦衣之下 ). Me está gustando mucho, sobre todo la relación entre Lu Yi (Allen Ren) y Jin Xia (Seven Tan), con una tensión de la leche que espero no disminuya.
Tendrían que avisar que las miradas de Allen Ren son un arma de destrucción masiva. Este actor puede mandarte a cardiología en cero coma jajajajajajaja.
También hay personajes que sobran y que son más pesados que una vaca en brazos ¬¬
SUMMARY: He lives in the b&w, she lives in technicolor, but they are both ace sleuths that crush hard for each other.
THIS SHOW HAS EVERYTHING: Tofu, fireworks, lost children, orphanages, fish hairpins, divine doctors, men living in wells, fake shamans, ghost ships, cannonballs, pirates, venom testing, iron maidens, lost identities, bad embroidery, flippant emperors, white deer, embezzling, foot fetishes, and shitty cousins.
HOT TAKE: Even though this is the longest CDrama I've watched to-date (55 episodes), the plot kept me watching intently from beginning to end. Was it because of Tan Song Yun and how this is the second show I've watched with her as the ML? Was it because the costumes more than distracted me from the sub-par CG backgrounds? Maybe it was the refreshing dialogue between lovers? Or maybe it was just the ghost pirate ship?
TW: The main villain of the show has a VERY uncomfortable demeanor, not only because he is scheming, but because a good portion of his villainous nature has to do with objectifying, torturing, and disregarding the lives of the women he dominates into serving him.
The rest of the ensemble cast was so-so, I got a little bored by how often they had one of the ML's held up in bed with a tragic injury, and I really wanted to see more acting from Ren Jia Lun, and I wish we had a little LESS acting from Ethan Yao. I would still recommend this to anyone who is patient enough to sit through this many episodes and can handle the main antagonist's out of left field small foot fetish.
