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Nan Chan
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Web Novel (CN)
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Rating(4.5 / 5.0, 522 votes)
5    73% (381 votes)
4    14% (71 votes)
3    8% (40 votes)
2    2% (9 votes)
1    4% (21 votes)
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2018
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Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
Completed (126 Chapters + 3 extras)
Licensed
Yes
Completely Translated
No
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Release Frequency
Every 114.5 Day(s)
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[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #10897
Monthly Rank: #10536
All Time Rank: #1821
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On 9273 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #675
All Time Rank: #455

Description

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I have experienced all the eight sufferings of this world.

I do not ask for nirvana, but for you.

Wild and hard-to-tame demon (gong) X Cold, ascetic and childish immortal (shou)

Associated Names
One entry per line
Nam Thiền
Nán Chán
หนานฉาน
南禅
Related Series
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Recommendations
Copper Coins (5)
Lantern: Reflection of the Peach Blossoms (4)
Yu Wu (3)
The General’s Favorite Husband (2)
Marrying the Contemporary Crown Prince (2)
The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Demonic 1s
  2. Best danmei to ever exist
  3. Novels I've Read (with my personal ratings)
  4. My List of Danmei
  5. TBR (GL/BL) 4

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103 Reviews sorted by


damnmei
New damnmei rated it
April 29, 2025
Status: Completed
The start of this novel is a bit slow, and it took me exactly 71 chapters to really fall in love with the writing, but once their past was revealed I became fully invested in this couple. While the build up takes a while, the latter half of this novel really is worth the wait, as everything does tie up so beautifully. There are an endless number of touching and memorable quotes from the last two arcs, and I definitely cried against my expectations.

In the first half, I became annoyed... more>> with Cang Ji for a while with the constant "wanting to devour Jing Lin" narrative, but once the real reason is revealed, I was fully on board with him. There were also a few instances of forced promixty that I didn't really care for at the time, but in retrospect are so sweet. Pretty much every part of the novel that I was bored by or not really engaged with in the first half became overturned once their backstory together was revealed.

The narrative confused me at first as it's technically written as shou POV but a lot of the novel is from the gong perspective, especially in the first two arcs. Jing Lin is much harder to get a read on because of this, and Cang Ji is kind of just a dumb fish at the start, without much going on in his head other than wanting to eat everything. The pacing of their relationship does also feel really rushed and stunted at the start, but it gets so much better after the third arc.

The human x non-human relationship is written well, and while both have non-human aspects to them, it is their emotions and desires that make their relationship so beautiful. I especially loved how Cang Ji affirmed Jing Lin's desires and showed him how s*xual intimacy was nothing shameful and instead a natural part of engaging with the one you love.

Really just such a beautiful novel! I loved it so much, these two are definitely so special to me. <<less
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Lianyin
Lianyin rated it
June 6, 2019
Status: Completed
!!WARNINGS!!

READ FIRST BEFORE STARTING THE NOVEL

Nan Chan is NOT for everyone due to some of the heavy themes it covers.

... more>>
  • Novel touches on dark and disturbing themes in certain story arcs. Think child ab*se, human trafficking, etc.
  • Has DUBCON aka dubious consent sex between the main couple. If this get your goat, save yourself the unhappiness later and don't read the novel.
  • Novel will not hand you all the facts on a silver platter if you like your story all explained and tied up. In fact, you have to read until the very end for everything to actually make sense.
Also, when it comes to Tang Jiuqing's works, all I can say is that things usually aren't what they seem to be.

==========================

Just Cang Ji alone is worth 5 stars.

Hnnnnn, mah bae.

But seriously, I find the story intriguing and I absolutely adore the pairing (1v1 ftw!). Only thing is that a couple of story arcs might get a little too dark and emotional, because, hey, it touches on the eight sufferings, so there. There are a few comedic moments too, and I love the main couple's chemistry and interactions!

Basically, the story starts off with the shou (Jing Lin) waking up with some memory loss after committing some 'atrocities' in the past and getting 'annihilated'. The story introduces the gong (Cang Ji) next who, having recently evolved to a human form, is pretty much clueless about worldly matters. The story then starts with a copper bell leading them through various cases alluding to the "eight sufferings". These cases may seem unconnected at first glance, but there is a common thread leading all the way to the big reveal. Among other things, these 'cases' will also serve as a platform to develop the gong's understanding of worldly desires and eventually his own feelings. Midway through, there will be a massive flashback amidst a major plot that will finally start revealing the intricacies of the story, including the shou's and gong's backgrounds. That's where things will finally start to unravel (and make sense).

The role of the bell, the source of Cang Ji's desires (and appetite), the reason for Jing Lin's actions in the first chapter, memory lapses and lack of desire to live, the origin of the little stone figure, as well as the background stories of the other characters, etc, will all be explained as the story progress.

All I can say is to keep an open mind until everything ties up at the end! (And its only ends after the extras at 129 :p)

Overall, it ranks up there on my list as one of my favorite novels! <<less
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yuukine
yuukine rated it
April 12, 2020
Status: Completed
Rating: 4.65/5

There's a man I love. In the clouds. In the sea. In my heart.

This is one of those stories that is best devoured when it's complete. But also, it gets much easier to follow as the story goes. This is one huge mystery that involves journey of discovering emotions and their meaning through 8 sufferings.

Jing Lin (Lord Lin Song) is a fallen god immortal who has forgotten his memories. Cang Ji is a koi fish (brocade carp) who cultivates enough to become a human. Both of them are at the same place, at the same time.

For centuries, Jing Lin hid and spent his days recovering from his grievous injuries after killing his own father - the sovereign, and after suffering his punishment that should have killed him. What was meant to destroy him didn't work and he's now a broken shell of himself - once again unfeeling, stone cold mess.

Cang Ji's life begins as a fish with consciousness, in an aquarium of Jing Lin. He is however not a normal carp brocade spirit, but instead a demon that has a big appetite and urge to eat everything around him to evolve. He evolves from a fish to a child, to a teenager, to an adult whose mental state changes the more he develops. Meanwhile, he even drinks Jing Lin's blood as his blood (and flesh) give a big boost to his spiritual sea (vast expanse of spiritual energy). But his urges make him want to eat everything that moves, and he quickly crosses over Jing Lin from his list - because he starts finding him interesting. Jing Lin's life belongs to him, and he belongs to Jing Lin.

There are many factors in this story. A copper bell that Jing Lin lost at the beginning leads the two on their journey to discover emotions by witnessing and getting involved in cases that touch eight sufferings: birth, old age, sickness, death, parting (with loved ones), encounter (with hated ones), unfulfillment (of wishes and desires), and inability to let go (thanks Lianyin! I just copy pasted that).

All those cases are very difficult and intense to read and more emotional than any other part of the book at the beginning, considering these cases are what we can see in real life as well. It's a bunch of circumstances and sufferings that develop and shape lives of others.

Meanwhile, Cang Ji and Jing Lin start getting more emotionally invested in those cases, while rediscovering who they are and what they mean to each other.

Nothing is what it seems and EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED.

This is high emotional journey that will rouse feelings as soon as the first case begins.

You may consider Cang Ji a selfish person who thinks only of his own desires and urges, but he develops into someone more mature and more selfless. The one who protects. He was not a selfish person, but he is possessive of things he loves and he's a force that protects.

Meanwhile Jing Lin is not as heartless and cold blooded as he seems, but is more like a person who was already broken from the pressure of his own family into unfeeling mess and a weapon that he is. After all - his true form is a sword. A sword is not supposed to feel anything. But then again, there is Cang Ji's involvement with him.

While the story progresses, you meet more and more people involved in Cang Ji's and Jing Lin's lives and their pasts and present. You meet a lot of Jing Lin's brothers who were involved in the tragedy that occurred. (Dong Jun is literally the most interesting so far.)

You meet people who were struck by the tragedies that changed their lives for better or for worse.

YES. THIS BOOK CAN BE HARD TO FOLLOW. But, I promise, it all comes together over time, and already by chapter 110 you will know a lot of stuff that transpired and that happened to Jing Lin's life that set him on this journey of trials and tribulations.

After a while you will realize that this story becomes better the longer you read it.

But of course, it's not for everyone. This is a hard topic story that deals with many warnings and many issues that some might find disturbing.

WARNINGS:

Spoiler

Child s*xual ab*se, human trafficking, torture (these 3 happened to side characters) ; f*ck or die situation BUT none of the people involved in the interc**rse were responsible for the drug that affected the other - it was a drug given by a third party with malicious intent. I cannot stress that enough. It is discussed and explained 2 chapters after. Mental torture plays a big part as well.

[collapse]

Thanks Lianyin for the gorgeous translation!

OVERALL:

✭ Characters: 5 - at the beginning they start as unfeeling bundle of non functional sentient beings, but as it progresses they develop.
✭ Side characters: 4 - detailed, I got attached to everyone in the cases that were presented so far!
✭ Story: 4.5 - logical, but sometimes hard to follow due to sudden POV change and there are some scenes you might want to read carefully. It's a story that needs concentration for better consummation. And it's worth it.

✭ Emotional impact: 5 - So far I cried at least 3 times. There are many parts that moved me and made me sad and made me feel so much.

✭ Humor: 5 - The humor is gold - half of the time I want to cry because Cang Ji is the biggest fool of them all!
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wallyblob
wallyblob rated it
January 24, 2021
Status: Completed
"You are just like my reverse scale. You live, I live. You are my life. Therefore, no matter how difficult things are in the future, or how arduous life becomes, I want you to live." —Cang Ji

I'm bold enough to sum this novel up for you:

60% Jing Lin and Li Rong fighting and giving headaches

... more>> 25% Jing Lin faced with hard choices while it's raining (literally, everytime it rains he encounters problems both emotional and physical LOL)

10% pain and sadness and feeling h**ny (because of Cang Ji, the little scoundrel)

5% where the f*ck did that bell go

I know it's weird, but in the flashback dealing with Ninth Heaven (Jing Lin's sect "family"), I read it and imagined them as a reality TV show like the Kardashians. And everytime Jing Lin and Li Rong fought, I imagined the camera panning to Lord Jiu Tian's facepalm. Every moment with these three characters is meme-quality and you can fight me on that.

Also, one time, a chapter ended with Lord Jiu Tian telling Jing Lin something like "you'll be okay." And then the next chapter started with something like "But Jing Lin was not okay" and I almost dIeD asdfkl; I couldn't breathe. It's not supposed to be funny because that moment was one of Jing Lin's most traumatizing moments but HeLp—

This story requires a patient soul, as the beginning is quite slow and the backstories of the main characters are ambiguous (but that's the whole point because everything gets revealed later on in the flashback). But the wait is worth it because Cang Ji and Jing Lin's story is heartrending and emotional, especially since you know how it'll eventually end for them seeing as Jing Lin basically exists as a broken shell in the beginning chapters (Cang Ji and Jing Lin have a tragic history that precedes the timeline of the main plot). Plus, the translation is beautiful and reads smoothly. I love how the fight scenes are translated.

Past Cang Ji knew Jing Lin was his tribulation, but the part that made my heart ache was that even while knowing that, he willingly and voluntarily fell in love. Many people complain about Cang Ji's character, but I understand his childish ways in the beginning of the novel considering he's basically rebirthed and has to relearn the emotions he's long forgotten. And plus, character development! Throughout the story, his character evolves into a mature person that can fight, defend, and think for himself in terms of what he thinks is right and wrong. I almost cried when he and Jing Lin were discussing their perspective on Qianyu, and Cang Ji stubbornly insists they shouldn't make Qianyu forget his beloved, because I could sense the double meaning in that conversation and it hurt (basically saying Jing Lin also shouldn't forget Cang Ji). I fell in love with the Cang Ji of the past. He really cherished Jing Lin and was so flirtatious.

Lord Jiu Tian said with pity, "You originally had no weakness. If you had killed Jing Lin on that day you met him at Nan Chan, you would not have to suffer this fate today. But, in the end, you didn't do it." I'M DYINGGGG... this is the equivalent of that meme: "I should have left you on that street corner where you were standing"/ "But cha didn't" XDD

In conclusion: i'M nOt oKaY. <<less
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Catzun rated it
October 19, 2019
Status: c32
A well-written and plotted out novel. The translation is a+++!

I am loving the story so far, and highly excited to continue reading it. Seriously, the meticulous care and effort that has gone into the translation simply endears the translator to you. &Lt;3

I would highly recommend this novel to anyone wanting to sink their teeth into a meaty plot with lovely wording.
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sweetguy
sweetguy rated it
August 27, 2021
Status: Completed
Frustratingly phenomenal and phenomenally frustrating.

I've bottled up my feelings for a few days but let me just spill it all and elaborate (if you're reading this review, please read towards the end).

Imagine you're a parched man crawling in the deserts--a jar of water is close to your reach and you drag your body through the sand to grasp it, fingertips brushing on the glass, so close yet so far, and just when you are about to grab it, heart beating inexplicably fast, the jar tumbles over and spills all its... more>> contents.

Yes, dramatic, but to me this is what the after-taste felt like. This novel is extremely close to being the best piece of literature in the xianxia romance department but falls short due to only a handful of factors that, unfortunately, are the linchpins and thus cannot be ignored.

This is mainly going to be about Can Ji and Jing Lin, our main characters who are also the main couple.

1. I am aware of everyone in the reviews regarding all those who hate Cang Ji as close-minded and 'not strong enough to deal with the story' but, sorry, you cannot apply that to me. Do I hate him? Not really. Do I love him? Also, not really. If anything, I'm close to being indifferent.

A lot of people hate his character early on in the novel and start liking him towards the end of the novel, but my case is the opposite. At the start, I could understand (and maybe excuse) his actions as he is technically a wet-behind-the-ear infant with no understanding of the world and his thinking and actions are majorly driven by egocentrism. He does improve drastically towards the end of the novel and is a sweetheart to his lover, but the non-consensual s*x from the past kept haunting my brain whenever he was being (lovingly) dominant in the present, because he never expressed guilt about it at all and Jing Lin never got to provide his two cents on what he thought of having first time interc**rse with no explicit consent either. Pretty annoying imo. If you love Cang Ji and can ignore all of his actions with a 'He's a dragon' then good for you, have a nice day.

2. Another factor that adds to making his actions look unbearably forceful is the lack of initiative from Jing Lin. Much of the story is written from CJ's P.O.V, who spills forth his emotions and feelings to the reader so we are aware 'oh this is what he's thinking right now' but this didn't apply enough to JL. I could count in my two hands the number of times JL to the initiative in romance and, well, that is fine except it isn't because we don't see things from his perspective to understand what he is feeling/thinking (does he like it? Is he feeling forced? Is he blushing? Just feeling pressured?) and as someone who tends to pay great attention to such details, it bugged me a lot. If this story had been mainly in the P.O.V of Jing Lin, where his thoughts and emotions in love were explicitly conveyed to the reader, this issue of doubt would have never existed. Being aware of that makes it more frustrating.

3. Now, we come to the most frustrating issue. I am a sucker for tragedy with a happy ending and in this novel, the concept of Forbidden Lovers is clearly conveyed. There is painful angst, suffering, watching your beloved get tormented in front of your eyes while you let out heart-wrenching wails, both of you crawling on the bloodied grounds and reaching out your hands to let your blood-soaked fingertips brush against each other one last time before getting forcefully separated--God, what a feast. The author's writing is absolute exquisite, it made me want to learn Chinese just so I could re-read these scenes in the original text to absorb the unbearable pain, which already clamped my heart because the translators did a phenomenal job. The dialogues were just mind-numbingly heart-shattering and bridled with ardent passion. This one infamous scene--

Spoiler

"I'm Jing Lin."

Jing Lin said in a hoarse voice.

"I'm Jing Lin."

He struggled against the chains, murmuring repeatedly and ceaselessly into the empty darkness.

"I have a beloved, over the mountains and across the seas. I'm his reverse scale. My name is Jing Lin. Ming Jin Stage. City of Huaishu. Qixing town. He and I, he. Who is he?"

Jing Lin irritably grabbed his hair with his forehead pressing against the wall. "I want to form a marriage alliance with him. In Qixing Town. Ming Jin Stage. Come for me, for me."

The pattern of the curse instantly materialized on his cheeks, and the motif of thistles and thorns wound around his neck and tightened its grip around it. Jing Lin slammed his head hard repeatedly like a trapped beast. Blood trickled over his eyes, wetting them. He shouted in a hoarse voice, "At Ming Jin Stage! I'll wait for you at Ming Jin Stage! Wait for you to take me home. Who, who? I have a beloved, over the mountains and across the seas, I have"

Jing Lin's throat tightened even more until it was even hard for him to gasp for breath. He clawed at his throat, and the chain swayed along with his gasps. Jing Lin's eyes widened in despair as if he was watching a heavy fog pervade the air before him to separate him from that man. He sobbed in a hoarse voice. All of a sudden, he turned over and crawled by sheer force to scratch hastily on the wall with his fingernail. His fingernail broke. Leaving a long, long trail of blood on the wall as he dug and dragged his finger across.

A dragon.

Jing Lin placed his palm and cheek on the blood trail. Amidst the stabbing, penetrating pain, he suddenly laughed out loud. His cheeks were already drenched in tears. He clung close to this trail of blood, as if he was clinging close to a dragon.

"Gege."

Jing Lin cried out in grief and aggrievement.

"Take me home."

[collapse]

--alone deserves an Oscar and I know this will continue to haunt me even months from now. So, you must be thinking, what is so bad about it? Well, let me tell you what I wish had never happened.
    1. I wish we never got that non-con scene. How badly I wish it never occurred. It ruined the whole experience because I adore Jing Lin's character and I eventually grew so protective of him that I kept thinking 'you deserved someone who treasured you and your consent more'. I felt awful seeing him be a mess over someone like that.
    1. I wish we got more from Jing Lin's P.O.V. This one scene from JL's perspective shattered the hearts of many, and I could not stop thinking about how it would have been like to get the whole book from his P.O.V. I want to know more of what he thinks of Cang Ji, I want to know his feelings, understand his thought patterns in relation to himself, grasp his personality. He is such an interesting character and it was just so frustrating to me because I don't want to assume his feelings and his state-of-comfort, I want to know it explicitly.
    1. Lastly, I wish their relationship (in the romantic sense) was fleshed out more before that scene in the spoilers, and that scene would have actually made much more sense and been more fitting
      Spoiler

      as in, I'd understand just why Jing Lin loves this man so ardently enough as to cry for him in that sarcophagus because they were just strangers who had s*x without consent and then it suddenly shifted to them being star-crossed lovers

      [collapse]
      . I'm definitely not trying to discredit the author and narrate how 'I would've written the story', because these shortcomings were evidently avoidable as shown by what Qianyu x Zuo Qingzhou had.
Pretty much everything else of this novel is perfect. If you are capable of ignoring all the above details (in addition to the known trigger warnings) I'd highly recommend it. The vocabulary and writing style of this story is just exceptionally outstanding. The side-characters are memorable and lovable (my personal favorite being Dong Jun because lord do I love crazy b*tches with an ardent fervor). The arcs are particularly remarkable and the plot-twists are amazing (to me, they were mediocre because unfortunately, TGCF had to be that One novel I've read prior to this--those who get it will get it) and the author does a pretty good job at tying up the loose strings all in 126 chapters (some things were still left unexplained, like what happened to Chu Lun x Le Yan, more about Goddess Shengyue, where the hell that bell actually went, so on). This is the first novel where I didn't skip a single scene so it explains just how engaging and dynamic it is. All in all, a good read. <<less
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Laito Sakamaki
Laito Sakamaki rated it
September 4, 2020
Status: c1
Think Sherlock Homes, Constantine, Lord of the rings and Harry Potter all mashed into one! That’s this story!

I love the ‘who done it’ plot.

I love the fight scenes.

... more>> I love the supernatural elements!

I love the horror in this story.

I love the extensive and well built world and lore in this!

Its not overly romantic either and I love it! Sometimes romance stories take away from the actual plot but not this one. The MC and ML are amazingly written with flaws you can relate to and understand. In fact all the characters in this story are well written including the antagonists! There are many characters and I love this, and not one character is it out rhythm.

This story is dark, with dark themes and I like that boldness to it. It’s not a sugar coated pink gay love story! It’s more than that! Its grim, raw and bloody! It’s a ‘mystery, thriller, action, horror who done it’ genre! Well written, well presented and well researched on the authors part.

The pacing was great too, compared to what I usually read, this is a short story with only 128 chapters in total, but the author did a good job jamming her story in only that many chapters. I’m on chapter 114 now and I’m already wishing we could have more chapters of this because it’s that good! It’s a world I really don’t want to part with yet! I want to know more of the demons, hell, heaven, dragons and deities! That’s just how intriguing this is! <<less
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Xiao Xinxin
Xiao Xinxin rated it
July 15, 2020
Status: c102
I made an account just to say this, but I cried like a baby reaching chapter 100. Although there are some trigger/landmine scenarios, and Cang Ji can be a quite overbearing in the early chapters, there are reasons for his behaviours as he learns what's right and wrong. Although I don't approve of his ways in courting romance, and want to smack him in the face sometimes so he can stOP, most of it has to do with his nature as a demon and how he can't control himself sometimes.... more>> So spare the plump fish some mercy! (&Gt;~<) Honestly I'm not sure what else to say, but major props to Lianyin for the translation it's so beautiful and sticks to the original well, I'm in tears every time ;_; If anyone wants to give this novel a shot, go for it, but be prepared with tissues. And if you're not fond of bl, detailed violence/gore, or deep romance scenes, drop this immediately as it certainly isn't for everyone. With that being said, I hope you all enjoy the novel and support the author by purchasing the original!

edit: btw if any of you liked reading Erha, you're definitely going to love this novel :,) <<less
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labocat
labocat rated it
December 6, 2019
Status: c47
I started this on a whim and it has quickly become my favorite, between the interesting premise, atmospheric writing (which the translation does an amazing job of carrying through), and meticulous plotting.

It's mysteries wrapped up in mysteries - from why Jing Lin committed the atrocities that got him kicked out of the heavens, just what Cang Ji's background is, to the smaller mysteries they come across in the process - that have all been slowly tying together and revealing more and more as they do. The side stories and characters... more>> may seem like a surface case for the sake of the next plot device, but I've loved seeing how they actually are all linked together and how everything keeps getting more and more emotional and higher stakes as we dig deeper.

Speaking of emotional stakes, I adore the relationship between Cang Ji and Jing Lin. The initial premise of "carp gets a human form and is the gong" was enough to get me to start it, but I was not expecting such an interesting dynamic, and I was absolutely hooked by the sixth chapter. Between Cang Ji's desire to devour Jing Lin to keep him close and wanting to wait and understand what these feelings and tension between them are, they dance around each other, close as they can get for now but with the tantalizing mystery of their missing backstory over them. It's the perfect sort of slow burn for me, where emotions are acknowledged, but there's still evolution of feelings yet to come.

Mixed in with side characters who I was not expecting to get quite as attached to as I currently am, and what feels like a new reveal each chapter (or at least a layer pulled back on this tangled mystery), I am so hooked and early awaiting each new update. <<less
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littleredflowers
littleredflowers rated it
July 28, 2021
Status: Completed
I absolutely love Qiang Jin Jiu to pieces so I was really excited about reading Nan Chan.

I tried to pick it up numerous times but always gave it up because the first ten chapters are so confusing. However, seeing so many good reviews, I finally decided to sit down and finish it, and to my surprise I really hated it. The translator did a great job but I just think this book wasn't up my alley at all.

My biggest issue for the book was pacing and the main couple's relationship.

Pacing:... more>> The first 10 chapters are super slow and boring because you have no idea what's going on. Beyond that, it became more enjoyable as it focused more on the protagonists solving mysteries and the main couple's relationship deepening.

It slowed down again when we go back into the past. I already read TGCF, so it was easy to guess the twists and the big bad. Pacing was the biggest issue in book 4. The story dragged on and was so slow and unnecessary. Every single baddie showed up, stood there to explain their motives and why they killed so and so, laughed evilly and then took their place in line to be killed by the good guys. It was so in your face it just became laughable.

My other big no no was the relationship. First off, I can't believe how they got together. The dub con was super disturbing to begin with then it just gets casually brushed off and never addressed again. I thought they would salvage it later on, but it was over for me when we come back to the present and Cangji basically lies to JL's face by acting like they were in a relationship in the past.

The whole dynamic just bothered me so much because it was a. Built on complete deception and b. Turned the cool MC into a dumb child all of a sudden. CJ is basically like oh hey we were together and JL is like o rly? Ok cool let's kiss and screw then I guess. JL goes from a cool, composed character to a giddy, silly ten year old in just 2 seconds. Very jarring. It happened so abruptly and was so rushed, it didn't feel genuine or make sense. Yes there were sweet lovey dovey scenes later but it just wasn't believable for me.

I wanted to like it but Nan Chan was REALLY not my cup of tea. <<less
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sath
sath rated it
December 4, 2019
Status: c46
I'm absolutely hooked on this novel. I started reading it because of the unusual premise and I ended up so emotionally drawn in by the main couple. The author ties together seemingly unrelated plot threads in a really satisfying way, and the s*xual tension between Jing Lin and Cang Ji keeps building up. Cang Ji's motivations aren't very human, which makes him interesting. Melancholy Jing Lin's my favorite - I can't wait to learn more about his past.

The novel definitely isn't light reading - it gets very dark at times.... more>> But it's so worth it if you want a compelling story, strong writing, and a unique main couple. <<less
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GhostFlute
GhostFlute rated it
December 26, 2021
Status: Completed
I usually don't read reviews before writing mine, but while I was scrolling down my eyes caught opinions like "the protagonist is neither cold nor childish, false advertising, " "the co-protagonist is unlikeable, " and "the ending is a mess."

So instead of gushing without heads nor tails for a whole paragraph I'm going to tackle these 3 criticism.

The protagonist is neither totally cold or totally childish because he's not a paper-thin character. Moreover, he's completely amnesiac until almost the very end and we all know how important the past is... more>> to form a personality. This poor man cannot be either consistently cold or consistently childish because all facets of his personality are shackled down by the amnesia. So give the man a break!

Personally I think Jing Lin's character was written marvelously. He has depth, he has internal consistency, and apart from that one *knives* scene in the flashback, the narrator never fully exposes his thoughts and feelings so he has a side of mystery to him that I really love, because you need to immerse yourself in the narrative that much more in order to comprehend him. I love it.

I will defend criticism against Cang Ji in the same way I defended Jing Lin. I get it if you dislike arrogant MLs in general, I do admit that he's quite arrogant and if you're the quiet, modest, Lan Wangji-type then I honestly don't have the heart to tell you to suck it up and keep reading. BUT! Just consider one thing. If a character is born at the top, with no equal, if they never had their head under the heel of someone else, of course they're going to be a consistently arrogant character.

And to the criticism that Cang Ji remains arrogant even after he goes through the sufferings, no character ever told our protagonists that their personalities were bound to change by experiencing the sufferings. It was said that they would understand something. And I think the author delivered in full on this one.

Personally, I think Cang Ji's character is written as fantastically as Jing Lin, I especially loved the minute changes in his personalities that are not spelled by but are always deducible by narrative cues like gestures and pieces of dialogues. It's so nice when an author doesn't force-feed you information but gives you enough crumbs to piece it together yourself, it makes me feel like a more active, involved reader.

The 3rd and final criticism I'd like to discuss is a mixed bag. People who criticize the ending, I believe they're right when they say that compared to the pace of the plot for most of the novel, the ending is indeed more fast-paced in terms of how fast the information is handed to you. But people who criticize the ending saying that it's a mess, disappointing, not as emotional, I think all these arguments don't have a leg to stand on.

After so much emotions packed in the romantic sub-plot, if the ending to the mystery plot was also drawn out so much, it would have felt dragging and muggy. And we can't fault the author for assuming that we'd got it. In her head it all made sense, all the pieces of the puzzle connected together perfectly, and the ending reflects this belief perfectly.

I take advantage of this review to, kind of, thinking out loud about the pace of the ending. It's no wonder that the explanations at the end feel rushed, the author did say that she expected us to have gotten at the bottom of the mystery by ourselves. As the author does during the whole novel, she offers bits of info and hints through the gestures, dialogues, and relationships of the characters, nothing is handed to a silver platter, there's no "information dumping" like you see in the movies nowadays. And it's so tightly knit and rewarding to read, maybe that's why the ending doesn't feel as strng. Because for once, the author is forced to hand the info over simply, and it feels a bit cheap. But it's not her fault, it's us who didn't make those connections sooner!

I loved this novel. I think it's a literary gem, it's wonderfully written, and I treasure the scenes that it put in my mind and the emotions that it made me go through. Fantastic piece of literature. <<less
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Pinku3B
Pinku3B rated it
November 7, 2020
Status: C129
I was really very excited about reading this novel and while I don't regret reading it, it was a huge disappointment.

First and foremost because I didn't expect s*xual ab*se or emotional manipulation to be romanticized.

On the other hand, the way of writing the story doesn't seem fluid to me. He rambles through the stories of supporting characters in the first 2 books, and abruptly tells you the whole truth in the 3rd book, to give a hyper-tangled ending in the 4th book.

Aspects that deserve development (such as... more>> the identity and participation of JL's mother) are mentioned in passing to close one aspect of the plot.

The only scene that moved me to tears was that of
Spoiler

JL's torture and his phrase "Gege... take me home".

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I loved the extras because they made me laugh so much and I liked how they end up closing
Spoiler

JL's desperate request to go home.

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That really was very significant and special. <<less
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alfi
alfi rated it
April 18, 2020
Status: Completed
I haven't read TJQ's novels before so I didn't know what to expect. There were moment which made me feel uncomfortable but I decided not to jump to conclusion till the end. And I was right! This novel is quite complicated, many things are not what it seems, sometimes you may change your opinion to completely opposite. Just be patient and you'll see this story is beautiful! Cang Ji may scare you but that's fine, he's a demon after all (and s*upid at the begining :"D), I don't wanna... more>> spoil just remember he is not that bad!

Many thanks to Lianyin for translation! ❤❤❤ <<less
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Achiless
Achiless rated it
February 25, 2020
Status: c73
Well apparantly I'm the only one who dislikes Cang Ji. The story: 5/5. I mean just look at the description. Absolutely amazing. First I was like WTF is this leading to, but everything falls together. The protagonists are slowly discovering a very big secret/scam, and while doing so the Cang Ji starts to realise his feelings for Jing Lin and understand human feelings. It reads like a mystery novel and an action one, what else do you need?

But Cang Ji just ruines it all. I hated his character from the very beginning. At the start of the novel he's an ungrateful little brat, but since he was so young and just got his human body I could take it. But then as the story went along he was still like 'he's mine, I want to eat him, that's all there is' every single chapter. Like we understand that he doesn't know that his feelings are love ok? He doesn't need to repeat it so often it's so cringe. And when I read the raw I think I read
Spoiler

r*pe in his past life?????? That just did it for me I'm so f*cking done with him. If I interpreted it wrong pls tell me and I might just pick this amazing story up again.

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He annoys me so much that the 5 stars fell to a three. I've never dropped a novel because of a character. However this novel is definitely a must read bc of its amazing storyline and Jing Lin, so I don't regret reading it.
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cangjis
cangjis rated it
August 24, 2021
Status: Completed
There are a lot of users who haven't ready the novel completely and are leaving negative reviews. It's fine but with T97's writing style, you CANNOT judge a novel with only a few chapters cuz she keeps unravelling things until the very end.

Also the hate regarding Cang Ji is very unfair.

Y'all are missing the whole point of Nan Chan 😭 Cang Ji was a demon who was recently evolved and hence didn't understand humans or even his behaviour and feelings.

Tang Jiuqing wrote Nan Chan in a way, she made us... more>> question the wrong behaviour of humans through Cang Ji who couldn't understand them due to his innocence and the way she did it was beautiful. Cang Ji's very evident character growth also leaves no place to hate him so much.

Everyone who dropped nc or is still reading it, I urge u to read it completely before making an opinion abt Cang Ji.

From an arrogant and angry Little lord u see him slowly develop compassion and empathy. He was the most human character in Nan Chan.

Despite being the most ferocious demon under the heaven, he never ab*sed his power, instead everyone under him respected him very much cuz he was that caring.

I would like to thank LIANYIN for the beautiful tl 🥺 <<less
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secondthots
secondthots rated it
April 13, 2021
Status: Completed
"The most haunting thing in the world is not evil spirits, but the word 'love'."—c75

If you're skeptic about the high ratings, let me just tell you: THEY ARE CORRECT.

I shelved this novel in the corner of my "to-read" list for so long (alongside Copper Coins) because I knew very well that I was going to have use my brain & think. I feel that cultivation novels have their own way of sucking the life energy out of me. Whether it's the bombardment of ancient Chinese ideologies and/or complicated allusions, it's... more>> just a recipe for a imminent TIA. As I was reading, I became so glad that I'm not a Buddhist because boy oh boy was suffering a pretty poignant theme in this one!

I can see why people draw comparisons to HoB because yes, there's a lot of angst & hidden/blatant sufferings in both novels. Not to mention the pretty prose & many allegories that are laced into the narrative. Might I note that I have saved MANY AWESOME & SWOON-WORTHY QUOTES from this novel because IT IS that pretty.

Spoiler

"The blood droplet trickled down and dripped into his slightly concave back dimple right before Cang Ji's eyes. It was as if Cang Ji could hear the intriguing sound of the drop of blood sliding down. Carrying with it enough power to kill a man, it gently and delicately slid into the dent that could accommodate the caress of his thumb.

Desire.

Cang Ji recited the words silently. It was as if he did not recognize it. Yet it also felt as if he was well acquainted with it."—c37

I think my mouth watered. This man is t-h-i-r-s-t-y

"You are just like my reverse scale. You live, I live. You are my life. Therefore, no matter how difficult things are in the future, or how arduous life becomes, I want you to live."—c93

Probably the most popular quote aside from the infamous, "Gege, take me home"

"This one smile turned all the pandemonium into a mere illusion. That thousand and hundred years of pain and suffering all vanished like smoke into thin air. This was how the exchanges of gaze between lovers should be—as if they had nothing to fear, even if it was the end of the world itself. All the words they had to say lay concealed in their eyes—words that no one else in this whole world, other than the other party, would ever understand."—c122

Ahhhh I am so single my GOD

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But as far as similarities go, that's it. The main CP in Nan Chan sure had me in the beginning; I was confused who was shou & gong for a good few chapters. Until it became quite apparent that the answer was right there in the synopsis, ooh gee wiz over here. A cold, ascetic immortal shou x wild, unrestrained demon gong. I don't really see much of the cold shou x passionate gong dynamic, but I can tell you that I instantly thought of You Huo & Qin Jiu from GUEE. It's honestly the same vibes on top of the fact that there's also some amnesia going on in both stories. I enjoyed reading their interactions & their flirty instances were my saving grace from the desolate darkness that is the eight sufferrings in life. Cuz seriously... this novel cranked up the angst.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: there are topics that I absolutely loathe to read about & it's present. Child ab*se, r*pe, etc. If you can't handle triggering topics, you might want to sit this one out. I consider myself a pretty tolerant person, but there are some straight out heinous deeds that are done in this story. I get that it's supposed to paint a picture of corruption & whatnot, but it was not a pleasant ride.

Spoiler

s/o to the character I hated most: Tao Zhi. Hope you never reincarnate or better yet become a dung beetle in your next life.

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The plot in general was pretty intriguing & props for it sticking to its major themes. I somewhat thought that the conclusion wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but loose ends were tied up & I was happy to see that everything connected. I will admit that it's hard to get into the story in the beginning. You're missing heaps of information & everything is a matter of "whodunit". You're left with questions on top of questions all the while wondering why the main characters are going around chasing after a bell of all things. It's confusing, but if you push through (up to like chapter 30-40-ish), an image will finally start to form. The timeline sequence goes present-past-present & I WILL SAY THAT MY FAVORITE BOOK IS THE THIRD ONE (as is everyone's lol). Again, your saving grace comes in the form of the ML's shameless pursuit for MC & the latter trying his best to maintain his composure (but failing). It's a lot of witty banters, flirtatious quips, & humorous innuendos. ML's bedroom talk is a whole different ballgame, mind you. YES THERE IS SPICE!

A huge huge HUGE s/o to the TL because the novel was translated so thoroughly well. The site itself was another type of suffering tbh

TL;DR Personally my favorite cultivation novel after MDZS- does that mean something??? Take that with a grain of salt hahaha <<less
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peppergum
peppergum rated it
May 15, 2022
Status: Completed
Nan chan had the potential to be a masterpiece, but it didn't live up to its ambitious plot. Most of its problems stemmed from poor pacing, with the first half of the book dragging its feet through mud and the last ten chapters zooming faster than a roller coaster. There were some profound themes here and there, like self-determination vs pre-determination, but lack of introspective narrative and choppy storylines stifled anything that could be interpreted as "deep".

But at the same time, I'm a huge fan of its premises, plot points,... more>> and character types so I still finished it within a week. So even though it's a 3.5/5 for me, I'll keep it as a 4/5 on database.

Ramblings:

Spoiler

Dongjun, Li Rong, and Lord Jiutian had serious potential to be complex characters. It's such a disappointment that the story didn't explore these characters more throughout, and instead opted to info-dump their perspectives in the last handful of chapters. Especially Dongjun, his struggles could've very easily been worked into earlier arcs. Li Rong's character got butchered, and his ambitions were so back-and-forth. You have to pretty much lean on assumptions to interpret his actions. In fact, the pattern is: he does something out of the blue, you're like "Why the heck did you do that?" and then some half-assed explanation is offered later in passing.


And on that note, the family drama of the Ninth Heaven Sect could've really been a page-turner. There were so many mind games, conspiracies, and betrayals. But instead, what I got was a bunch of key events alluded to in a couple dialogues here and there, buried under (overly) long battle scenes. Or at least, the battle scene lengths just weren't proportionate to actual storyline events.

Got a bone to pick with Qingyu's (the white fox) arc as well. It was so anti-climatic. We followed the protagonists to stop his wedding with Feiluo, then suddenly in the middle of the battle, we're launched into a 30 chapter flashback. Which alright, whatever, fair enough. Very interesting flashback, just about the only thing that really captured my attention this entire book. But then we come back to the current time, and it's already the next day. And the entire thing just ended up with Qingyu going, oh yeah, skipped all the action because a deity got us out. Btw, suddenly found my dead boyfriend too, so it's time for me to permanently exit. There were soo many different ways to tie that up better instead of just in a quick paragraph.

And Zongyin + Shanyue and Shantian? There should've been some foreshadowing or references to them earlier on lmao. Important plot-turns like these shouldn't just suddenly pop up, especially not in the final stretch of the story.

Also, Dongjun? Dongjun's born from Bloody Sea. Bloody Sea is Qingyao. But Dongjun is Qingyao's gege. So who came first? Is this a chicken or the egg question? What's going on?

But whatever. I'm a huge sucker for dragon male leads, as well as kill-the-god stories, so good enough. That one long smut scene was also nice, no complaints there either.

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Intrigue
Intrigue
November 27, 2020
Status: Completed
5/5 Rating.

  • Well, Im not expecting that much to this story. But alright, I absolutely got hooked from start to end and kudos for the great translator and author for bringing this novel to light. It has great harmony of mystery-romance and action sub-plot and it blended accordingly. The fog shrouds from the very first chapter would make you suspect and surmise everything and everyone along your journey. Then, along the smashing of stones exposes the truth and feelings hidden in the depth. And gradually open up a path for the sweet. Lots of foreshadowing were encountered so if you liked it I recommend re-reading.
  • For the side characters, hm, it's 4.7. It's not that they were only made as mere cannon fodder, but for me, they lack much appearance in the novel. (??)
Actually, Im kinda annoyed with readers that judge the entirety of a character without pining and looking for their character development. It caused me to share my review of Nan Chan precisely for my opinion of Cang Ji (and the ratings.)

  • The CP, at first, I found the brocade carp way tooo hilarious and turns out he is indeed, the ML. I'll start with him. Cang Ji, was introduced with a greedy instinct from his memories as a carp to devour Jing Lin, our kinda invalid MC, for a life-long companionship. This gave me a vibe that made me ridicule him jokingly sometimes. With little knowledge, he thought there's nothing wrong with this. But he admitted, he yearns for his embrace, and he does'nt want to be separated from Jing Lin. You'll learn to love him if you extinguished judging him throughout the story. His development actually isn't new, it's very likely his more 'innocent' personality being thrown away to put up the better, experienced front. As the novel affirm, he is a safe harbor and you should believe this. And our beloved MC, Jing Lin, is a literal stone-cold person with sealed-off personality. That's it. But this made me love him more, I love his innocence about Cang Ji's thoughts and actions whether the present or past *heehees* and his somewhat facial paralysis (?) though he wasn't really described as that but I imagined their interactions adorably cute that I love re-reading it. Unfortunately, I pine for more extras but it's done.
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Moon1111
Moon1111 rated it
May 18, 2021
Status: Completed
It took me a few chapters to get into this novel as the first few chapters were a bit slow. Fortunately I stuck with it and it got better. Thank you to the author and translator.

I will remember the dragon Cang Ji who loved and sacrificed bravely, and the cold sword Jing Lin who did not know of emotions, intimacy and love until he met someone who let him be himself unconditionally.

"There's a man I love.

In the clouds. In the sea. In my heart."
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annarasum
annarasum rated it
June 14, 2021
Status: Completed
Personally it couldn't convince me.

Actually first, I was pleasantly surprised. Although I didn't know where the story was going and I didn't felt connected to the main leads yet, Nan Chan was surprisingly easy to binge-read, with several interesting side stories. Maybe for the first two thirds or so I made fast progress and breezed through the chapters. But after that I lost interest gradually.

First, the main leads stay quite one-dimensional. Cang Ji was somewhat interesting and fun at the very beginning and created some tension with his constant graving... more>> for the MC. The MC at the beginning was rather boring, but I expected him to get interesting when we later would get to know his backstory, as everyone promised. But for me personally, it didn't work. This dude is just boring. He is mainly unemotional, somewhat naive and childlike, maybe idealistic and that's it. He's also supposed to have caught feelings for the ML but don't ask me how that worked. It's barely noticeable since Cang Ji is always the one taking the initiative anyways.

Cang Ji also gets super obnoxious as soon as he gets to learn about his past. He's just a jerk. I could also understand immediately why people warned that the romantic build-up wasn't done well.

Spoiler

It's the typical MC gets drugged, ML r*pes him, MC doesn't remember anything, ML making fun of it. Cang Ji also always tries to convince the MC that he's the best for him, that he can only trust him etc. While treating him like a little child. It honestly reads super manipulative and creepy.

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I'm not even overly sensitive about issues like this, BL is not meant to represent reality and stuff, but that was just lame. There was so much potential, you could have made so much out of this premise, but that was just.. Lame.

Idk towards the end I just didn't care about this couple at all. The plot also just confused me more and more, there were side characters randomly appearing and randomly disappearing all the time, although I admit I'm super bad at remembering names and following complex plots, so that might be partly on me. I also admit I probably missed many references and cleverly implemented elements because I'm not too familiar with Chinese culture, so I'm sure the plot was very well made and I just didn't get many things. That's why I'm not pulling off any stars for this part.

Overall for me, my interest in a story rises and falls with my interest in the main leads and in this case, they didn't work for me unfortunately. The beginning was still fun for the most part, and I'm sure the plot was well made as well, so that's three stars from me. <<less
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