Peerless

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On the Third-Year of Kaihuang, as the Great Sui unfolds its curtains to welcome the glorious Tang Dynasty in succession to the Northern Dynasty, Yang Jian established a secret agency, the Jiejian Bureau in preparation to unify the world.

In a stormy night filled with snow, a convoy of tribute sent by the Kingdom of Khotan was ambushed and massacred with not a living soul left behind. The Second Commander of the Jiejian Bureau, Feng Xiao came forth to investigate the case under Imperial Orders.

A gathering of storms would soon take place in a little city which sat on the frontier, called the City of Six Crafts, where all the top martial powers across the lands would meet.

The ever successful Second Commander Feng meets a dead end when he ran into a Master Daoist with ailing health.

All would be unknown if they had never crossed paths, but once their paths crossed, Second Commander Feng realized this ailing man had more secrets than himself.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Vô Song
Wu Shuang
Wúshuāng
ใต้หล้าไร้เทียมทาน
无双
無雙
Related Series
Thousand Autumns (Shared Universe)
Recommendations
Golden Stage (11)
Thousand Autumns (9)
Sha Po Lang (8)
The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua (6)
Those Years In Quest Of Honour Mine (5)
Faraway Wanderers (5)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Smart mc
  2. BL & Baihe To-Read List - Translations Complete Pt...
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  4. All BL Novels I've Read Part (1)
  5. Quero ler

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Leviathan.James
Leviathan.James rated it
November 4, 2022
Status: Completed
I'm going to preface this review with my own personal opinion which will go contrary to what I've seen in other reviews. Although Peerless takes place in the same shared universe as Thousand Autumns (and in fact takes place 4 years after the main story of Thousand Autumns concludes), it is my opinion that Peerless is actually more enjoyable if you haven't read Thousand Autumns. Although other reviewers will argue that you'll have more background information for both the setting and various characters if you've read TA previously, I argue... more>> that having previously read TA will actually leave you more confused than enlightened. I'll get into this more throughout the rest of the review.

That being said, my rating for Peerless is based solely on Peerless itself and is not influenced by any complaints I have surrounding the various inconsistencies and confusion that stem from trying to get Thousand Autumns and Peerless to fit together like a perfect puzzle.

I will also note in advance that I will not be using the spoiler tag for any Thousand Autumns spoilers in this review since this is not a review for TA.

Now, onto the actual review.

Peerless is an extremely enjoyable story, and in fact I found it much more enjoyable than Thousand Autumns (this is good news for all you readers who dropped TA partway through!). The story takes place over 7 arcs and each arc has its own sub-plot with an overarching plot that ties the whole story together. Although the main character and male lead are both political officials, the politics in Peerless is not too heavy nor too complicated to be easily followed. Rather than being overly political or marital arts focused, Peerless is primarily a crime solving/mystery novel. Throughout the different arcs, the two most common sub-plot themes are mu*der cases and misuse of government resource cases. The overarching plot is conspiracy shrouded in mystery.

The biggest selling point for Peerless is by far our 2 main characters. Cui Buqu (the MC) and Feng Xiao (the ML) are extremely similar to each other and because of this they play off each other phenomenally, fitting together perfectly. This is a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, but not nearly as slow burn as Thousand Autumns. Here, our two characters will actually realize they have feelings for each other before the end of the novel! Right from the get-go, Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao are constantly trying to one-up each other, claim all the glory for themselves, and pit the other. The results are this are often hilarious. Particularly when they (repeatedly) go undercover as lovers. These are two men with absolutely zero shame and it is glorious.

Both the main plot and sub-plots are engaging and the author clearly knows how to keep readers engaged as just when the plot starts to get stale, she throws in new twists and hooks that keep the reader coming back for more. She is also incredibly good at writing extremely satisfying scenes, even if they are a bit predictable at times. I really came to appreciate this in arc 3. Right as yet another cannon-fodder villain showed up to underestimate our main duo and get his bu*t handed to him, and right as I began to feel that the story was becoming a little too predictable, new plot elements were dropped that held my attention. And really, seeing that cannon-fodder get stomped was so satisfying.

The final arc was especially enticing. I am not ashamed to admit that I stayed up all night to read straight through arc 7 without a care for my day-job. Even as my eyes burned with fatigue, I could not put the story down. As you may have guessed from this, the ending is both satisfying and emotionally charged.

I really only have a few minor complaints regarding this novel, which don't effect the overall enjoyment.

  1. There are a few inconsistencies within the novel which I would classify as "editorial errors" (in other words, minor errors that would normally be caught by an editor). These include things like a cup of tea turning into a cup of wine in a few paragraphs and a character correctly identifying another character despite having previously misidentified them and having not been corrected between these two moments. Again, these are very minor but they were a bit jarring for me as I was reading.
  2. Top-tier martial artists, "grandmasters", and "top-10" martial artists pop up like daisies throughout the book. Now, Peerless itself does acknowledge this by stating that there are "countless" top martial artists in the world (and especially in the Central Plains), but since the novel kept implying that Feng Xiao is supposedly one of the best martial artists in the world, it bothered me that there were so many martial artists of his same level literally everywhere. It really cheapened the idea of top-tier martial artists, as though they're no more special than cabbages. I was particularly bothered by the repeated use of the word "grandmaster" since anyone who has read Thousand Autumns knows that in this world Grandmaster is an actual title bestowed upon only the Top 5 martial artists as determined by Liuli Palace. Now, this is likely just a translation issue, since "grandmaster" is also simply an English word, but given the story context it makes it confusing at best. Now, all of that being said, we are getting part of the narration from Feng Xiao's point of view and he is extremely full of himself so it could be argued that our impression of him being one of the best martial artists is just his own ego showing through and he's actually not as great as we're lead to believe he is.
  3. The extra chapters should not be extras. This is actually one of my largest complaints, although in the grand scheme thing of things it's pretty minor overall. Though the place the author chose to end the official novel does leave you with powerful emotions, there are just too many loose ends that aren't tied up. These are subsequently tied up in the extras, making the whole novel a nice package. However, extra chapters are supposed to be just that. Extra. As in, not necessary but kind of fun. In this case, the extra chapters are necessary because if you skip reading them you'll be left with some pretty serious questions about what exactly happened. When choosing where to officially end a novel, the author needs to take into consideration whether the story has been properly wrapped up. In this case, that didn't happen. Thankfully, the fix to this is just read the extra chapters, but not everyone will do that because they won't think they need to.
In addition to the above minor issues, I have 2 larger issues with Peerless, one of which I classify as a missed opportunity and the other of which was a source of major confusion.

I'll start with the missed opportunity. This lies entirely in the extra chapters. As I mentioned before, the extra chapters we were given should not have been extra chapters. They follow immediately after the main story ends and wrap up the remaining loose ends, providing answers to a number of unanswered questions. These should have been part of the main story. The extra chapters instead really should have focused on Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao's relationship. Because we only received a couple extra chapters, and they wrapped up the main story, we never actually get to see Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao's relationship evolve beyond where it reached at the end of the novel proper. This was, in my opinion, a missed opportunity as it would have been extremely satisfying to see some gentler moments between them. Additionally, there was a side-ship in the book that was never resolved. There was a missed opportunity to bring real closure that side-ship in an extra chapter or two. (If you've read the book already, you'll know which ship I'm talking about. They clearly had mutual feelings and yet they never had the opportunity to properly address their budding romance.)

And now for the source of confusion. Buckle up, because this is going to be a long one. This is none other than Cui Youwang. Who? you might be asking if you've never read Thousand Autumns. That's exactly my point. If you've never read Thousand Autumns, this really wouldn't be a source of much confusion. The problem here is if you've read Thousand Autumns.

To recap (for TA readers) /to explain (for non-TA readers), Cui Youwang was the leader of the Sun-Moon Sect before it split into the Harmony (Hehuan), Cleansing Moon (Huanyue), and Mirror of Arts (Fajing) Sects. It's never explained what role Cui Youwang played in the Demonic Sects after their split, but we can infer his role based on a two key pieces of information.

  1. Cui Youwang did not die when the Demonic Sects split. We know this because he stopped Yan Wushi from reuniting the Demonic Sects. Obviously, if he had died when the Demonic Sects split, he couldn't have stopped Yan Wushi from reuniting them.
  2. Cui Youwang did not stop Yan Wushi from nearly irradicating the Mirror of Arts (Fajing) Sect, but he did stop him from doing significant damage to the Harmony (Hehuan) Sect.
Therefore, we can reasonably assume that Cui Youwang became the first Sect Leader of the Harmony (Hehuan) Sect. This is further reinforced when you remember that according to Thousand Autumns, Cui Youwang had only one decsiple: Sang Jingxing, who was a member of the Harmony (Hehuan) Sect and a major player in Thousand Autumns.

Now why is this a point on contention with Peerless? Because Feng Xiao claims that he was a disciple of Cui Youwang, along with Guang Lingsan and an unnamed shimei. First of all, this is in direct contradiction with the clearly stated fact from Thousand Autumns that Cui Youwang only had one disciple and that disciple was Sang Jingxing. Secondly, Guang Lingsan, Feng Xiao, and the unnamed shimei are all members of the Mirror of Arts (Fajing) Sect. If all his disciples really were in the Mirror of Arts (Fajing) Sect, there is no way Cui Youwang would have allowed Yan Wushi to nearly eradicate the entire sect. Yet he did. Finally, the timing really doesn't add up very well.

To understanding the timing, recall that Feng Xiao is in his "early 20's" (this typically means 21-23, although it could mean as young as 20). Peerless takes place over the course of a single year, beginning in 584 (we know this because it's a historical novel and we're told the year is the "third year of Kaihuang"). Thousand Autumns took place over the course of about 7 years and ended in 580/early 581. Therefore, there are 11 years between the beginning of Thousand Autumns and the beginning of Peerless. Cui Youwang stopped Yan Wushi from uniting the Demonic sects 10 years before the start of Thousand Autumns, or 21 years before the start of Peerless. Cui Youwang was dead by the beginning of Thousand Autumns, although his exact year of death was never stated. However, we do know that his death was already old news by the start of Thousand Autumns, so he didn't die shortly before the beginning of the book. Some years must have already past. Therefore, even if he died only a few years before TA and even if Feng Xiao was on the older end of his age range, Feng Xiao still would have been too young for Cui Youwang to be his master (or at least his only master). At best, he could have been Feng Xiao's first master and at worst he was already dead by the time Feng Xiao was old enough to walk. But again, this directly contradicts what we already know.

To further muddy the waters, Peerless itself later states with regards to Cui Youwang and Feng Xiao "two people who could not have met to begin with" (Chapter 152). There are two possible explanations for this: 1) the author made a pretty huge mistake, not only between her two connected works but also within Peerless itself or 2) Feng Xiao was lying when he said Cui Youwang was his master.

For my own sanity and peace of mind, I'm pretending Feng Xiao was lying. However, it's still questionable whether he could successfully pull off a lie like that. After all, Cui Youwang was a legend. Even if it wasn't considered common knowledge that Cui Youwang only had one disciple, the people Feng Xiao told this lie to included someone associated with the Liuli Palace, and that person definitely would have know that little piece of information. Whether they would share it or not is another matter entirely, but even if they kept their mouth shut, it wouldn't be that difficult for the other characters to look into the background of such a famous sect leader and put together the pieces I illustrated above. In short, it's possible that he could have gotten away with this lie, but it's a risky move to make. To me, it honestly felt like the author was just name dropping a character for the sake of tying the novels together without thinking about the consequences of using that particular name, and that really bothered me.

If you've gotten all the way to this point, you've probably noticed why I say it's actually more enjoyable to read Peerless if you haven't read Thousand Autumns. There are just a lot of little (and some large) points that don't add up between the two books. And for me, that did truly distract from my enjoyment of Peerless. However, if you eliminate the factor known as Thousand Autumns, then Peerless is a nearly flawless novel. And really, regardless of whether you've read Thousand Autumns, this novel is still an absolute gem and you should read it. It's just there are some mental gymnastics involved in reconciling the two novels if you want to try to make them fit together. Alternatively, you can keep them separate in your mind and save yourself the trouble of figuring the details out.

All-in-all, Peerless is well, well worth the read. Honestly, I would say it's one of the best danmei (and wuxia) novels I've read and definitely ranks up there in my top 10 favorite novels. I would absolutely read Peerless again and I hope it eventually receives an official English release. It more than deserves the publicity an official release would allow, as well as the support an official release would provide the author. <<less
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ScarlettOhara
ScarlettOhara rated it
July 13, 2022
Status: --
Meng Xi Shi has mastered the art of characterization.

Just like with Thousand Autumns, Peerless has very strong leading characters. Feng Xiao is frivolous on the surface, with grandmaster-level martial arts. He is obsessed with himself and despite his misleading ethereal features is quite conniving. Cui Buqu suffers from bodily ailments and is always sick. He is not a martial artist, not a looker, and not your typical leading man. And yet, he can overturn an empire with his strategies.

Both of them constantly bicker and dig pits for each other. Which... more>> is, pretty much, the highlight of Peerless. However, the book leaves you wanting more.

The political plot is circuitous and oftentimes confusing. In my opinion, the book gets interesting only after the third arc. The first two arcs are tedious. This means that 25% into the book is when the plot draws you in. That’s too much of a waiting time in my opinion. Had I not read Thousand Autumns before this, I’d have abandoned Peerless. But because I am aware of Meng Xi Shi’s style and ability to turn a story on its head, I kept going.

The political intrigue is not as intriguing as I would have liked and the book is laced with bits of sexism here and there. Although, I must admit that unlike a lot of danmei writers, Meng Xi Shi writes strong women characters.

The love story is the slowest of burns which I’m beginning to think is the author’s style. Eerily similar to Thousand Autumns, Feng Xiao like Yan Wushi, is quick to admit his feelings and Cui Buqu like Shen Qiao is loathe to admit his.

Although Shen Qiao was absolutely justified in making Yan Wushi suffer, in the case of Peerless, the lack of admittance of feelings seems unwarranted to the degree of being annoying.

Overall 3.75/5. Enjoyable book but doesn’t hold a candle to thousand Autumns. <<less
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PeonyDancer
PeonyDancer rated it
February 13, 2022
Status: --
I can't help but compare this novel to 'Thousand Autumns' so bear with me: I thought I'd always like the 'kind but firm saint' X 'awful but doting demon' trope, but with this novel, I firmly love the 'narcissistic and beautiful, peerless fighter' X 'cold-hearted and sickly, peerless brainiac' trope.

It's both hilarious and fascinating to read - at first, the two MCs were more than happy to throw each other to the wolves should the situation require it. But without realizing it, slowly, they placed each other above any goal... more>> their usually merciless selves may have. I loved watching Cui Buqu learn to trust Feng Xiao, and Feng Xiao eventually start to dote on his precious Cui Buqu.

The twists and turns in the mysteries were awesome - the plot twists made me shriek. I legit got a heart attack for one of them, and if you've read this book, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. It's hilarious - both of these guys have such poisonous tongues lol <3 Highly recommend reading it!!!!!

(you don't need to read Thousand Autumns to understand 'Peerless', it's just that certain connections between countries, families, states, sects etc are better explained there, and this book kind of assumes you know all that stuff. Plus, it's Post-events of 'TA', so spoilers for the grand finale of it.) <<less
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Mava
Mava rated it
December 19, 2021
Status: Completed
Reading this was such an unforgetable and amazing experience. This is exactly what you call a Top Tier novel!! I doubt if any other novel will meet your standards after reading this.
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LaynForrest
LaynForrest rated it
August 31, 2021
Status: --
Pit, pit everywhere. Not even you are safe from the pit that you dig yourself. (Is what I thought when I read Wushuang 🤣🤣)

A story of 2 enemies rivals unrevealing the plots that threaten the Sui Dynasty in the Kaihuang era.

Honestly, like what people has been saying in the review section, Peerless is not for you who wants a romance between 2 men. It's just not MXS's style 😔. BUT if you a historical novels fan, I bet this one is for you.

Wushuang is a very plot heavy... more>> novel. In which each of its arc is about Feng Xiao and Cui Buqu solving mysteries. But every single cases that they took, they became closer to the real mastermind behind the chaos in the central plains.

Wushuang is pretty much a detective story and full of comedy. Romance wise it's very slow burn. Heck, the last chapter literally is the titled confession from ML. But what Wushuang lack in romance dept, MXS provide in proofs that even if they don't directly say it, they do care for each other. And they show it in their actions. It's very in line with MXS's style in Qianqiu. And pretty fresh compared to other danmei.

Main characters wise, they are well fleshed. And Ququ just makes you want to bundle and protect him (he's gonna slay you with his mouth tho 😂). While Feng'er... (This pretty guy should just keep his mouth shut 🤣).

Side characters are fleshed out too. But with lots of new characters in every arc, you might get confused of who's who and their relationship. I think side characters are MXS's weakness. While some are quite fleshed out, some are just there with not much roles. Like I really wish Ququ's and Feng'er's subordinates are more fleshed out than just being comes and goes. But eh, this is about them playing detective so it's alright.

I think what really gave me a bad taste is the ending. Wushuang and Qianqiu literally have a hanging ending, with no conclusion w/e to the main story. It got expanded in the extras, but with how little Wushuang extras are (only 4 😭) it's just not enough imo.

Well, give it a try if you a historical fan. And also like 2 men just go around the countries solving cases. <<less
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Sarehz
Sarehz rated it
August 24, 2021
Status: Completed
Now, this came as a massive surprise to me but I absolutely adored this novel.

I was surprised because I read Thousand Autumn just before this and I found that story....... lacking? unsatisfying? So I honestly didn't have much hope from Peerless. A decent plot and interesting characters is the most of what I was arming for. But! Peerless completely surpassed anything I expected.

Let's start with the mystery aspect of this:

There's a lot of mysteries and schemes and conspiracies in this story, so just be prepared for that. In fact,... more>> I'd say this is mainly a mystery novel -the main genre, in other words.

But, don't worry. There's good news if you're not a fan of that sort of thing.

First of all, I myself am not much into mysteries. I prefer to be completely immersed into a novel when I'm reading and I'm not the type to look for clues or spend time wondering who's behind the mu*ders or whatever. Call it s*upidity or plain disinterest but I prefer easy to understand mysteries.

Peerless had complicated conspiracies and mysteries within mysteries BUT it was explained really well, enough that even I could follow along and enjoy what was happening. And, bonus points for the fact that there was always a very good reason for why the MC figured it out. The MC is very clever but we as the readers always understand why he does a certain thing or suspects a certain person.

Next, the romance:

The romance is probably a big reason why I enjoyed this novel. Because after a Thousand Autums, I had mostly written this author off for romance. Yes, she can write interesting characters and engaging plots but the romance in a Thousand Autumns.... was, to put it politely, not for me. But, the romance between the MC and ML in this was spectacularly developed. I'm going to be honest, it's slow, very slow and it isn't even the focus of the novel but nonetheless, I found it really rewarding and lovely.

Enemies to lovers:

This trope was really well done especially because the author took her time to slowly develop the relationship between the MC and ML. In the beginning, they're not exactly enemies but more people who don't trust each other and it takes a lot of time for them to build trust between them and eventually love (which comes as a shock to both of them!)

Look, this isn't perfect, it still has a few flaws such as the past/backstories of the main characters being lacking or completely absent (in the case of the ML) but despite that, I truly enjoyed this novel and it's been a while since I found a novel that I liked as much as this one. Definitely give it a chance! <<less
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kcNeko
kcNeko rated it
June 2, 2021
Status: Completed
Great, another masterpiece! A well deserved of my 5⭐!

First of all the settings is really great, it's so vivid when you're reading every paragraphs, It's just that the reader really needs to remember a lot of names and places in order to enjoy the reading. The best part here was actually the characters, I love them all, even the villains and secondary characters. There's also a lot emotions building up along while reading, like we'll be intrigued by the mystery, be amazed with the MC and ML's intelligence, be very... more>> anxious about the MC's health, be fascinated ML's peac*ck face and be sad for the other characters. Oh did I mention that this story is also hilarious, I just can't stop chuckling when MC and ML dig pits for each other.

Another thing, it's my first time reading such a story with a very very very sickly MC yet MC is such a badass and never be underestimated character that even the grim reaper gave-up on him. Despite of his illness and had no martial talent, he has never showed weakness and he's like a wolf in sheep's clothing. Together with the handsome, germaphobe, highly narcissistic, talented in martial arts and intelligent ML, they're perfect for each other and thus they became more peerless.

I know I have a lot of favorites, but deym this will be one of them. No regrets, I totally love this. I wasn't confused 'till the end and I'm really really happy reading such a gem.

Thank you for the great Author and Translators! Definitely recommended! <<less
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timefigment
timefigment rated it
April 20, 2021
Status: Completed
This novel is a gem!

It has an intricate plot but easy to follow, and everything has been set up from the very beginning. There's tons of foreshadowing that I only realized at a later time. So make sure to read carefully! Most of the chapters are engaging, it's a good mix of mystery and actions, and characters are fleshed out, even for the enemies. I cried for the main villain at the end :')

The MC and ML's banter and flirting around was fun to read. Each can stand on... more>> their own and seeing their relationship grew from allies who fought for glory to friends who trusted each other's back, and to lovers just made me gush!

Also, oh gosh that one possible ship I saw at the last arc made me sob for their ending sighhh <<less
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Mi Tang
Mi Tang rated it
July 2, 2020
Status: c144
So far I love it! The interactions between the MC and ML keep me going~ This novel is one of the most interesting ones ive read so far with lots of interesting plot-twists and conspiracies, the way how the MC and ML try to destroy each others reputation while digging pits for each other is absolutely hilarious. ~ (≧∇≦) / Edit: forgot to mention that the translation is excellent!!
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Nashi00
Nashi00 rated it
March 3, 2020
Status: c75
The story is super great! The translation is very well done so far, although there are grammar errors it's not that of a big deal at all (it's said to be rough translation and may undergo revision once the novel is finished).

I love the MC so much and how he's so vengeful lmfao.

The MC might have a sick body but he's in no way weak. His intelligence makes up for his strength 100x. Of course he's not all about intelligence, he low-key got a temper and is vengeful af. He... more>> also got strong will-power, determination, silently enduring great pain.

The ML is just what the MC describes him, anyone who sees his face and behaviour would be annoyed and want to hit him in the face. Not exaggerating. So shameless and narcissistic, it's funny I guess? Ngl, I was annoyed at him at the beginning cuz I pitied the MC but then, later on, I changed my mind. The ML is all good lmao. I mean, the MC is also very shameless... It's great.

Spoiler

The feeling of the MC pitting the ML is like the best. It makes me feel satisfied each time. The biggest reason I don't dislike ML anymore and can tolerate him. Basically, they like to pit each other whenever they have the chance to.

[collapse]

The novel giving out Sherlock Holmes vibe makes the story all better. <<less
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fight_fan001298
fight_fan001298 rated it
January 6, 2024
Status: --
1. I really hate ML and MC. They are presented as "good guys" even though they bullied, tortured and even killed the "villains" (who weren't THAT bad after all) The "villains" basically had the same/similar motivation to commit crimes as the "good guys" did. Everything is just a struggle for power, both sides of the struggle used underhanded means to get what they want, so... Why should I root for Feng? Because he is the protagonist? Because he is "peerless"? No, thank you.

I still can't get over the scene where... more>> FX ruthlessly killed that beauty from the Thirteen Pavillions. Villains are people, too, and they deserve to be treated as such. I know that times are different, and people in the past were used to such things, but still...

Also, I can't stand those parts where FX and CBQ bullied Pei Jingzhe. Not funny at all.

2. Feng's mysophobia doesn't seem real. I'm with Glitteryjoon's review on this one. I can't imagine a person doing different kinds of martial arts practices yet still being afraid of dirt.

P.S. Was bored and annoyed while reding this. Still, the prose is good and the writing is mature. It's Meng Xi Shi, after all.

And considering how poorly written most popular novels are, this one stands on higher grounds. The author has some knowledge about Chinese history and poetry (which is rare among web novel writers). However, if you still haven't read Qianqiu or The 14th year of Chenghua, I would recommend reading these novels instead. <<less
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nanzhuist
nanzhuist rated it
August 28, 2023
Status: Completed
Shared universe with qianqiu~ You like enemies to lovers? Read this and to convert yourself into Cui Buqu lover, protector, supporter, and f*cker!!!! It’s not too late! Save yourself! Be enlightened to the wonders of the world GO f*ckING READ WUSHUANG
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Rosalieee
Rosalieee rated it
April 3, 2023
Status: Completed
This novel is absolutely perfect. It has just become my favourite danmei novel. My sole regret is that I wouldn't be able to read it any more than this and won't see Feng-Cui pair anymore. Rarely has a novel ever made me this emotional to part with it.

I rarely ever get to the end of most danmeis, but this one was an exception. I was literally screaming in my head "please don't end" and even cried few times when the end was finally near.

For me this novel is an obvious... more>> 10/10, due to, more than any other aspect, only FengCui and their brilliant chemistry. I love them to bits and would keep coming back here just to see their interactions again. I never leave reviews on any danmei novels either, but this one I had to. The emotional impact is top-notch. The plot was perhaps so-so, I liked some of the side characters and really loved Xiao Lu. However, the main leads Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao are the ones I will never forget after reading this.

Their journey has been exactly what I want from a fictional romance; enemy to loves with extreme slow burn, that it leaves your heart burning for more. It's so incredibly well-done that I have no words at all. From being enemies using each other for their own reasons, to being accomplices, partners in investigations, to reluctant 'friends' to finally lovers was exceptionally beautiful. It was also extremely satisfying. The pleasure my heart felt is obviously unable to be described in mere words. But I love them and hope they'll have a great life together <<less
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CriTheMarshall
CriTheMarshall rated it
July 22, 2022
Status: Completed
Bickering enemies-to-lovers main couple. If you are a fan of this trope, you know what you're going into. Both MC and ML feel quite refreshing, their relationship is far from being stale. If I had to describe their relationship, it's basically a contest of who is more thick faced and ready to drag the other's face through the dirt in front of a huge crowd more. But not in an abusive toxic way. Just very schadenfreude. Their antics are pretty hilarious.

Points down for few weaker parts in the plot and... more>> execution. Overall though a definite banger. <<less
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This person is dying
This person is dying rated it
April 19, 2022
Status: Completed
Bless google docs. You can read the second part by asking for wordpress access to the translator on twitter. It's completed. (Please, it's not hard to create wordpress account and ask for permission. It's completely worth it!)

I prefer this one compared to Thousand Auntums (Qian Qiu) and Estranged.

Its balance between plot, politic, mystery, action, adventure, comedy, and romance is more to my liking. (for clarification, it's focused more heavily on mystery with sprinkle of comedy and romance everywhere).

It's also easier to get into. The characters' motives and the direction... more>> of the story are clear from the start.

The use of both perspectives from main character and male lead are very interesting and works well with the setting.

Spoiler

Feng Xiao's perspective came first before Cui Buqu, but down the road Cui Buqu's perspective is used more because he's the one who solve the mystery more. Anyway I'll say Cui Buqu is the protagonist and Feng Xiao is the male lead

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I like how the romance is capable to be such a tease despite they never explicitly state their relationship as official to the end and beyond (extra). It's not a frustrating teasing but a ticklish teasing kind of feeling.

Most characters here are such genius that I think my standard for smart characters has gone up. For example, now I see all characters from Estranged as quite normal in brain area compared to Cui Buqu or even Feng Xiao, which frustatate me a bit when reading that now haha. I don't think there will ever be a second Cui Buqu, Feng Xiao, or even Xiao Lu.

This story also has other notable trademarks that I think I won't forget in years:

Spoiler
    • Characters pitting each other, including the main villains pitting the main characters and vice versa
    • Fake monks, a lot of fake monks, including Cui Buqu's subordinate and Feng Xiao
    • Disguises, a lot of disguises, especially involving Feng Xiao (either he disguised his identity or his identity is used as disguise)
    • Cui Buqu's physical health (or the lack of it) and Feng Xiao's peerless appearance, talent, and personality
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If there's a huge letdown to this story, perhaps It's the anticlimatic end of the main villain. But it's climax still a climax.

And also the untold story of some of the side characters. Author told you enough about side characters' backgrounds, but you just want to get to know them more.

~

A bit upset:

Spoiler
    • How Feng Xiao poisoned Cui Buqu at the start just because.... he got reasons, but it's really weak and unacceptable to me. I was quite upset back then, but as I read I kinda forgive him because if not for him Cui Buqu would have died several times over. But I wonder why author like to pull this stuff where male lead doing almost unfrogivable thing to the main characters, hm?
    • no smut TT___TT
      with Cui Buqu sickly body I wonder how Feng Xiao will handle it. But honestly no smut is okay too.
      [collapse]
~

I still think it's amazing how author dare to pull stuff that I think other (danmei) authors won't dare to do:

Spoiler
    • making the male lead crossdress and humiliating himself wwww (other authors usually won't do this except it's part of the theme)
    • making the male lead gone bald, moreover he's still is in the end of the story wwww
    • making the main pairing stab each other, like real blood and tears (from me)
    • how Feng Xiao's real (ultimate) weapon (guqin) only out in the last two arcs, moroever it's only the strings, like what the heck author lol. The weapon is too big to be carried everywhere
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Author aren't afraid getting scolded by some readers haha, but that's why I like author. <<less
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Meimei who sells melon seeds
Meimei who sells melon seeds rated it
April 11, 2022
Status: Completed
I don’t even know where to start..? Okay, from plot to romance, it was pretty much flawless. I was immediately hooked on the story, as a mystery reader and romance reader, also a person who likes scheming novels, this novel is basically heaven for me, and others. Others say that the romance was subtle which I think is quite the opposite, although it is a plot-based novel, the romance is really satisfactory— the fact that we even had kiss scenes was already a blessing.

I really liked the side characters aswell,... more>> the emperor is not a scum, the villain is understandable and isn’t made out of cardboard. To put it simply, they all felt like they had flesh and blood, real people yk. There are so many characters to adore, like Pei Jingzhe, he’s the dumb character that is used to make Cui Buqu explain the events to readers and I absolutely adore Pei Jingzhe, he’s such a kind guy unlike his commander.

Now onto the main characters: Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao, Cui Buqu is a sickly guy who can die any moment now but is extremely intelligent, he defies fate, he wants to prove fate wrong which is the reason he still insists in living. He is the best in scheming, he has a cold exterior but a warm heart that he refuses to show. He is the first commander of the empress’ bureau.

Feng Xiao is the second commander of the emperor’s bureau. He is a narcissist, his beauty is unrivaled and he is very much aware, he is arrogant because he has every right to be, but he wouldn’t underestimate his enemies. He likes teasing Cui Buqu, he wants Cui Buqu to break his wall for him and make Buqu admit that he loves Feng Xiao which I really adore, it’s like a tug of war.

Their interactions are so amusing, I always look forward to them.

Talking about the villain, he is like the MC, he was sick, and people looked down on him because of his illness, he also has a tragic backstory like MC. The only difference was he was overly ambitious.

Feng Xiao had the luckiest fortune, even if the Heavens tried to harm him, he would come out unscathed. Cui Buqu had the most ominous fortune, he, and everyone who comes near him will not have a good life, and ending in general, it was best for people to avoid him otherwise, he would cause others harm.

Feng Xiao’s luck canceled out Cui Buqu’s.

'’Being able to live to see you again... is great.’’ <<less
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elsololobo
elsololobo rated it
March 12, 2022
Status: --
Damn, this novel is one of my favorites now. Hilarious, great plot, sweet slow burn, and great characters. Pretty fast paced and most of the time gets me on the edge of my seat. Like damn so many parts where my heart just races, just so good. I've read thousand autumns (felt so so with it) which is why this novel caught me off guard, just caught my attention more.

The characters are pretty fleshed out, I love them very much specially our MC and ML. I love their interactions so... more>> much, plus the romance just feels natural unlike other novels where they just feel forced. Plus when they get together they dont have a complete flip in personality and be OOC lovey dovey (unlike other novels), they still do it their own ways. Read this if you are interested in narcissist martial artist peac*ck x sickly cold tsundere genius dynamic

Words cannot express how much I love this novel, would recommend 30/10. This is some godtier stuff right here <<less
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jppinheiros
jppinheiros
November 30, 2021
Status: c1
Don't get me wrong thats a good novel but I had a problem from the start with the face that the ML is a beauty, top marcial artist and very smart. Like wtf then put the miserable MC besides him to glamourise suffering with the following qualities: able to Handel suffering and being really smart. I hate the unbalance
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scaly
scaly rated it
October 4, 2021
Status: Completed
One of the best. The verbal sparring, scheming, backstabbing and constant one upping games between the leads is extremely entertaining throughout. Like all of Meng Xi Shi's story's I've read so far, romance itself is almost entirely missing. But I don't think the story suffers for it. Also, for all the politics, and world building and mystery cases, this story never bored me - and I mention this because I easily and routinely get bored by danmei novels with long complicated plots, even if they have relatively good storytelling. Maybe... more>> it's because there's constant interaction between the leads and the subplots mostly serve as backstage for them to showcase their wittiness and find minor ways to spar with each other. <<less
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Berlin
Berlin rated it
September 25, 2021
Status: --
I think I have a new favourite BL author. I can't think of anything to fault with her stories, except that I wish the romance is spicier lol. But as a fan of ORV who ships the characters anyway I can work with this. It's pretty obvious the MC and ML are into each other anyway and slow burns are the best.

The plot is great, I haven't read a good one in so long, it's pretty intricate yet not boring or too hard to understand, and at the same time... more>> it doesn't spoonfeed all the info like the reader is an idiot.

MC and ML are like Sherlock and Moriarty, except make it BL in a historical Chinese setting. I f*cking love the author's MCs. All of them have more than meets the eye and stand on par with the MLs without using brute force or golden fingers. Even in a mind game here where ML is a smart guy, he also gets played and still is getting played
Spoiler

lmao when MC uses his subordinate's name as his identity when he supposedly came clean I couldn't stop laughing.

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The story is intriguing and also funny as heck which I was not expecting. And as a fan of realistic yet unboring slowburns, the author's stories check all the boxes. <<less
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