Ghosts of the Heart (Danmei) Doodle Dump and Review (more art under cut)
I've been really enjoying a really high quality danmei called Ghosts of the Heart by Zhuixing Luochen (@stardust-falling). Naturally, I sat down and made some art because I wanted to recommend it on here!! Here is the summary below - I will now proceed to gush about it, but I’ll put most of it along with more doodles under a read more so it won’t clutter up your dashboards. 😉
Novel Summary:
After five hundred years of peace under the rule of the great clans, a powerful faction of rogue cultivators known as the Nameless plunged the world into war. To put an end to the bloodshed, Song Mingzhen— one of the great clans’ most promising young cultivators— confronted the leader of the Nameless and defeated him.
This victory, though, did not come without a cost. Song Mingzhen was gravely injured during the battle, losing his memories and much of his cultivation and vanishing from the public eye for five years.
Not long after his reemergence, news of an escaped prisoner and a murdered clan leader arrive from the neighboring region. Song Mingzhen must now join forces with the aloof and uptight Ning Feiyun to bring the fugitive to justice.
But when the clues begin to point toward a wider conspiracy, and Song Mingzhen’s forgotten memories begin to resurface, it becomes clear that neither past nor present are quite what they seem…
Novel Links: Tumblr Ao3 Patreon
This really was a refreshing and gripping read, so much so that I sat down to read the first book in a single uninterrupted session on two different flights (first read and then a more recent reread to catch up with the latest instalments). Zhuixing Luochen plays with familiar xianxia tropes but makes them feel new. At its heart, it’s a classic xianxia adventure with mystery, subterfuge, politics and magic, but the “flesh” of this novel feels refreshingly modern in its approach. I’m not sure if I can think of a single throwaway character, or a long winded flashback/exposition that had me scanning through waiting for it to be over. It’s a delight to immerse yourself in a story that has been planned so meticulously. It grounds you in the world - its rules, its complexities, and its injustices - but more importantly in the emotional complexities of the characters, where I think this novel really shines over all other danmei I have read.
Something that really stuck with me from the very beginning was how Zhuixing Luochen wrote the main character’s mental struggles with his anxiety and identity crisis. It’s not something that is just slapped on for extra tragedy points; the MC has a very xianxia reason for suffering with this stuff, but it’s woven into his character and decisions so well. It’s relatable and endearing, but it also is written to show (to my delight) how absolutely horrifying it is, in a way I can’t describe without spoiling too much. I am being intentionally vague!!
MC’s mental struggles are just as much a part of the plot as any other major player, and his limited information makes scenes written from other character’s points of view feel like I’m being given a treat on top of another treat: what will we learn about this character, the world, the plot? The story and world have me completely invested - I find myself reading every sentence closely because I care so much about how the plot developments affect the characters and their world, and can feel that there’s so much under the surface waiting to be revealed. It's just refreshingly good writing, honestly. The pacing is also great and it really feels like a well rounded meal with regular helpings of tension, levity, action and drama.
doodles of how I imagine the ot3 were growing up
As for the pairing, it's still early days (we're deep in book 2 atm), but the two characters are fascinating both together and separately. In some ways, they're the closest people they have in the world, but there's also a huge, yawning distance between them creating lots of juicy friction that I'll be happy to see grow smaller (or temporarily larger) as the story progresses. The ML, Ning Feiyun, is an adorable and overly serious softy, completely enmeshed in a web of depressingly realistic contradictions in regards to the rules of the setting. It makes him a really enjoyable and plot relevant character who is ripe for character development whenever those contradictions finally trip him up.
As I mentioned before, the MC is complicated - you'll have to read it yourself to fully understand what I mean. He's a complete shitshow in a complicated and vulnerable way, while also being a badass. The dichotomy of him having a full on mental crisis and then immediately jumping into playing 5d chess to achieve his goals is super well done, and you feel a deep-seated inner tension from him that never quite goes away. I love having him narrate the story, and his decisions often surprise me in a good way, just like a real person would.
Outside of the pairing though, this novel has me caring about so many side characters and their relationships. Some of them are so cute I want to put them in my pocket, others I absolutely despise (that's a good thing) while the rest are in a tense middle ground - can we trust them?! Who knows 🫢
maybe some minor spoilers for book 2 - i loved this little shopping spree scene which felt right out of a 2000s chick flick. it gave us some time to catch our breath before going right back to level 100 plot related tension afterwards 😅
If you're able to read this post, then this novel is a rare opportunity to read an excellent danmei in its original language (English). This, at least for me, is a rarity, especially with one so well written. I can only speak European languages, and I always feel hyperaware of the barriers that obstruct me from enjoying East Asian webnovels (especially cultivation novels) in the way I want to. I believe that Zhuixing Luochen is both a fluent Chinese and English speaker, which gives more confidence in their dedication to the setting as well as a good awareness of many common tropes in the genre.
Because it’s in English, you can really appreciate that you are truly reading a text crafted with the author's intent, support the author directly, and not be worried about a translation group suddenly dropping it or taking too many liberties in its translation. Stuff like that has really discouraged me lately from getting into new dammei/web novels, and now that I’ve caught up with Ghosts of the Heart I am genuinely screaming crying throwing up bc it’s been so hard for me to find something else so well written and gay without any of the crazy messed up dubious stuff that a lot of BL and GL has (I’m tired guys 🥲). Most importantly, it's a novel dedicated to the spirit of adventure and mystery in a xianxia setting that I absolutely love.
By the way, the author is running a fic giveaway for a follower milestone. If you like SVSSS, they're currently writing "The Scum Villain's Loss Prevention Opportunity", an excellent Shen Jiu-centric Qijiu fic. Their Shen Jiu is a broken, traumatised, horrible man and I love it. It’s literally just a reblog to enter - here’s the link.
Okay, that’s the end of my review. I really recommend giving this novel a read if this post intrigued you in anyway - Book 1 is 132k words, free and fully posted on Ao3, while the rest is updated weekly and available on Patreon for £2 (around $3 I think). You also get early access to their fandom stuff and it supports the author so 👀
I don't usually make these kinds of posts, but I genuinely love this novel and think you guys might too. I’d love to see it get the recognition it deserves. You'll definitely see more art from me related to it in the future. 😊
Hi, I saw your tags on my post about curly Asian hair. I was also adopted (albeit somewhat on the older side) which i think is why I feel so strongly about it… the disconnect can be so hard, and as much as a pain the stereotyping is it can be equally distancing and difficult when we don’t fit the stereotypes… So breaking down those stereotypes where they do and don’t apply to myself is something I’ve learned how to do.
Anyway, no need to reply to this or anything, just wanted to send a message of solidarity! I hope you’re having a good day!
Aw thank you so much for the nice message 😭 Definitely made my day! I hope you also are having a great day <3
You put it into words so eloquently! Stereotypes suck
My (adopted separately, and not genetically related) sister and I were talking just the other day about feeling like the other looks more Chinese. Very weird.
