tian guan ci fu dump

 i finished reading tian guan ci fu yesterday and i can say it as a heartbreaking but nevertheless beautiful story. not just for the main couple, but also for the side characters. i was in awe the whole time how the author, mo xiang tong xiu, thought of the whole story. i read that she wrote the whole story because of a specific scene she imagined. i was definitely amazed by that. her imagination, world-building, and style of writing are definitely top-notch. 

let's start with the world-building. there may be several stories with almost the same world as this but this is the first time i experienced reading this kind of world. from the heavenly capital to the ghost realms, to the rules and conditions, to the scenarios, oh the plot. very chef kiss. she might have had help from others but i think most came from her research and imagination. i read that she researched and visited several places for foundation or motivation but she completely created the story and characters from scratch. so good. so so so good. 

for the characters, most if not everyone has been explored. the life stories, the personalities, the quirks, the flaws. i understood why they do the way they do. i understood why they said what they said. and the personalities totally matched the dialogue. so perfect! the author really is so good with her craft. it feels like i really met these characters and interacted with them. i loved some of them and hated some. i just love how they were created. even though there are a lot of characters, not one has the same plain personality as another. it was good. 

for the plot, oh dear. another chef kiss. at fist, i thought the story is just random and can be read even without reading an arc. it's good that i read without skipping because every arc is important. it is not like episodal at all! they are all intertwined with another. and, as i was reading, i was thinking how mxtx thought of that scenario or thought of that twist. it's like her mind is another universe and i want to live in it. i believe there are invaluable treasures buried in there. penny for your thoughts? no. a penny will never be enough for hers. 

for our hualian. hualian, hualian. oh hualian. need i say more? you will be the death of me. ehem hua cheng. at first i though xie lian is just a typical main character. i thought i would not love him the way i loved wei wuxian. but boy i was wrong. while wei wuxian is definitely gold, xie lian is a diamond. xie lian is in his own league. he seems to be someone who needs protection but he definitely doesn't. sometimes i think hua cheng is really not needed to protect him. xie lian can definitely protect himself. but of course, hua cheng is definitely needed in xie lian's life. they need each other. they are made for each other. soulmates as well. there is no one more suited than them for each other. 

their past is definitely not easy, not rainbows and butterflies. i thought it will be a fluffy story but nooooo, i was so wrong. the pain was indescribable. the things that they went through. how xie lian suffered before his second ascension and how hua cheng wasn't able to do anything to save xie lian. the way they screamed together during the pain. oh. thinking about it makes my heart ache for them. xie lian may have moved on from the past but definitely not hua cheng. i cried when i read he still cannot forget how xie lian was stabbed and will not permit xie lian to be stabbed by any sword again. even though xie lian was used to the pain, hua cheng still doesn't want xie lian to feel any pain again. 

this story is just so sad. when i finished the story, i was finally able to sigh of relief. finally, finally they are together, free from pain of the world. finally, they are free to love and be with each other. finally. they deserve everything.