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Sha Po Lang
Type
Web Novel (CN)
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Rating(4.6 / 5.0, 742 votes)
5    77% (573 votes)
4    11% (83 votes)
3    7% (51 votes)
2    2% (17 votes)
1    2% (18 votes)
Language
Support Book (#ad)
Author(s)
One entry per line
Artist(s)
One entry per line
N/A
Year
Example: 2012
2015
Status in COO
Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
128 Chapters + 15 Extras (Complete) [Online version]
Prologue + 15 Chapters + 15 extras [Printed version]
Licensed
Yes
Completely Translated
Original Publisher
One entry per line
English Publisher
One entry per line
Release Frequency
Every 94.1 Day(s)
Activity Stats
[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #420
Monthly Rank: #4814
All Time Rank: #1433
Reading List
[Graph]
On 13875 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #11198
All Time Rank: #132

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

“The first person to dig ziliujin fuel out of the ground could never have predicted that what they dug out was the beginning of a dog-eat-dog age.

Our entire life was but an ugly confidence game of greed; this is something everyone knows, but that they could not bring to light.

From where did this con begin? Maybe from atop the first clean white canvas sails of a foreign ship that sailed across the ocean, or from beneath the great wing of a Giant Kite as it rose unsteadily into the skies — or from a time even before that: as the spreading ziliujin, like an ink stain upon the earth, turned the great plains of the wild north into a sea of flames.

Or maybe it was when We… when I met Gu Yun in a world all covered in ice and snow.”

Associated Names
One entry per line
Shā Pò Láng
SPL
Stars of Chaos
Sát Phá Lang
Winner Is King (Drama Adaptation)
Убить Волка
Шаполан
ฆ่าหมาป่า
杀破狼
殺破狼
烽火流金 [Live Action Drama]
살파랑
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Golden Stage (13)
Imperfections (8)
Qiang Jin Jiu (8)
To Rule in a Turbulent World (7)
Liu Yao: The Revitalization of Fuyao Sect (7)
Those Years In Quest Of Honour Mine (5)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Top danmeis
  2. done reading: danmei novels
  3. Danmei I've Read + Rating ^_^
  4. Completed Bl
  5. My List of Shame

Latest Release

Date Group Release
06/30/22 Northwest Flower extra 16
12/26/21 SPLtrans c37
12/19/21 SPLtrans c36
12/12/21 SPLtrans c35
12/05/21 SPLtrans c34
11/28/21 SPLtrans c33
11/21/21 SPLtrans c32
11/14/21 SPLtrans c31
11/07/21 SPLtrans c30
10/31/21 SPLtrans c29
10/24/21 SPLtrans c28
10/17/21 SPLtrans c27
10/10/21 SPLtrans c26
10/03/21 SPLtrans c25
09/26/21 SPLtrans c24
123…5
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120 Reviews sorted by


dee_ism
dee_ism rated it
April 6, 2020
Status: Completed
Rated 5/5

This novel climbed top 3 best novel I've ever read in novelupdates. I love it as much as MDZS.

The story has a very heavy plot about war, politics, and military. A very bit romance, it's slow burn, but when it kicks in, you will totally love our main couple.

... more>> Have I said how much I love Gu Yun since less than chapter 5? He is AMAZING! Hahahahhaa. He is God of War, smart, calculative, yet so freakin funny and annoying. Ask his best friend, Shen Yi. LOL

And our MC, Chang Geng, also amazing. He is Gu Yun adoptive child cause of special circumstances, so rest assured it's not in*est. While Gu Yun focus in military, Chang Geng mainly focus in country council, strategically building a country and eliminate enemy.

So our pair is such a power couple.

Please try to read it and enjoy the fantastic ride. <<less
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Red_Ruby
Red_Ruby rated it
September 28, 2024
Status: Completed
Listen, when I tell you Gu Yun aka the shameless Marshall Gu is my favorite character!!! I just love this man. I've read this novel about 5 times, it's soo intriguing.

this isn't your normal BL story & no the romance isn't "love at first sight nor a rushed romance". The story is SOLELY focused on politics & war. But it doesn't mean you wouldn't get hints from the MC & ML.

ML:Gu Yun, the most feared Marshal, even the emperor & his son fear him.

priest is known for plot & slow... more>> romance, which I personally love. I love to read how the characters gradually fell in love. Mind you, the MC isn't weak... nah he's cunning & VERY smart. Oh you'll love Shen Yi, he's Gu Yun's right hand man & bestie who likes to tease him when he gets the chance, since the shameless Marshall Gu always got that foul mouth lmao. <<less
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Shapolanq
Shapolanq rated it
May 7, 2022
Status: Completed
This novel is just... every single thing I ever wanted in a book, I love it so much I would not change a single thing about it. Not a punctuation mark, not a spelling, not even a typo. It’s just flawless. I could read this every day for the rest of my life and not be bored of it.
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saphire8626
saphire8626
March 27, 2022
Status: Completed
Love Priest so a 5 stars from me, although I was uncomfortable with the portrayal of race in this book. But this is a comfort read.

In this novel, the two main characters are Guyun (general/marshal) and Chang Geng (son of the Emperor and a woman from the Hun tribes). Guyun is Chang Genge's foster father. China is fending off the Japanese, the English, and the Huns (mainly through war), and each of these kingdoms has their own steampunk technologies (very cool to read). This is a tale that focuses mainly... more>> on politics.

This is one of my guilty pleasure reads although I am critical of the Chinese imperialism, othering of non-Chinese, purity of bloodlines and very problematic and racist portrayals of Central Asians.

I did love the two leads though... and I loved the respective journeys each of them took. I especially loved how Chang Geng overcame the curse that plagued him. The curse could very easily be read as an allegory for severe childhood ab*se, and I really did love the process of removing the curse: he would repeatedly revisit traumatic childhood scenes and in surviving them and returning to the present, he was no longer haunted by these terrible memories -- very like the somatic forms of therapy -- and he even remembered the better moments with his abusive mother, memories he previously had had no access to.

I loved also the huge change that Chang Geng underwent in this novel, marked by the change in his relationship with Guyun (beautifully captured in the different terms he addresses Guyun with, from 'Shi Liu' to 'Yifu' to 'Zixi'. I loved that chapter, 'Ten Years'. <<less
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Luvd007
Luvd007 rated it
February 2, 2022
Status: Completed
Chapter 56

Had to take a break here to speak on this and to check some reviews to compare experiences. This chapter is s'posed to be super exciting, as there were plot reveals, betrayals, rebellion and treason...I think? That's just the thing, I have no real idea of what's going on? Sigh. It's just too much with too many characters about whom I know nothing, but who are somehow supposed to be important to plot. All I know at this point is that ML ... more>>
Spoiler

is in prison for reasons? The story of how he was poisoned was revealed, but so much happened after it came out, that it got lost in the midst of the confusing drama

[collapse]

I really couldn't give a fig about the other characters and plot lines except for MC and MC along with the General Yi and MC's 2 childhood friends (who only pop up every once in a while) Such a shame as I actually care about their story

Update c98

Oh, it gets so much better, so much sweeter, so much funnier, and so much much clearer. Probably because we all know who is who at this point, or maybe events are recorded better? Either way, everything is clarified.

I am living for the relationship between MC and ML. They aren't both strong men (we're never reminded of one is pretty, or tall and strong, or how one has to look up to the other because of his height, or some of the tired old tropes of establishing heteronormative values onto a gay couple. That *ish just pisses me off to no end) Each wants to protect the other and support the other. They're on their way to becoming of my my fave CP's

Final update........................................... The story was good overall, but something was lacking toward the end. I found myself speed reading to just 'get to the end already' Maybe it's because our main protagonists had very little interactions with each other, or there was a lot of exposition? I can't really put my finger on it exactly. The extras at the end raised the star rating for me as the initial ending was really just flat.
Spoiler

What ever happened to the crown prince? Did he take over after CG's 18 years on the throne?

Why did CG even want to be emperor in the first place? After the first 1/3 of the story, I wanted them to just retire away from court life and find a little cottage somewhere to while away their days. I didn't expect CG to be hella ambitious. But, it is what it is

[collapse]

Overall ok read, but missing that je n'ai ce quois to make it a favourite for me <<less
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heaven_falling1381
heaven_falling1381 rated it
November 22, 2021
Status: Completed
Well, this is first time that I'm going to write a review. So it might be lacking.

Spl is the fourth danmei I read although it was the reason I get to know this type of novel exist and get attached to it. I always thought that it's long and get a lot of time and it won't finish soon... and yeah just as expected it got me three month to finished it while I finished all other novels in just one or two weeks. But what was the reason?! Well,... more>> that's because the plot is just so... So perfect and excellent. What I mean to say is like I was reading areal history book like all the things that mention in it happened once upon a time in past.

Its so realistic and political affairs that happen in court is just so... Mind blowing. It was my first experience to read a novel with this much of politics and war affairs and it got me a lot of time to digest it and put them together and understand what really is going on. When I reach the part about what really happened for cheng gang and how his cursed come.... I was like *wtf?! :-/* and then I started to read those whole chapters again to come to understanding and I was really in awe.... Like how?! How is it possible to write such perfect plot line? How did priest even think about such thing?? So yes it was hard to digest and understand.

About the part of Romance (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`) its really slow burn and like veryyy slow but that's alright its completely alright as much as it didn't have romance and lovelydovy scenes that's what make it more attractive. I mean when the scenes and kisses are less in it you will suddenly go into some kind of blow just with small touches and small whispers of love..... and I should say extra chapters completely compensate us and its enough for me to reread those chapters and eat dog food till the end of my life. (ᗒᗣᗕ) ՞

In the end its really make you addicted, when I was at the middle of story when their whole country was stuck with war and political affairs I thought 'oh god, I cannot read this again at all or my mind will blow up' but you see after I finished it I decided to start reading it again cause after three month I can't let go of Gu Yun's beauty and his smooth and sweet talks, (˘ ³˘) ❤︎ oh my god and now I'm controlling myself to not pour all my feelings here.㋛︎

So to who all read reviews before deciding to read the novel or not (unlike me) I recommend this novel to you all. You can see the power of priest writing skill in this novel. You can see the romance and you can meet the reality and cruel part of history it it. You can see how love bloom between people and how trust come to shape despite being a curse by barbarian goddess. Yes, so please read it despite of it being so long and in eyes of some people being boring because of the lack of scene and mature content. It will be nice experience and a very nice journey full of adventures (●’◡’●) ﾉ <<less
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Purpleland citizen
Purpleland citizen rated it
October 27, 2021
Status: Completed
I finished this story and read it again, and then again. I had a hard time moving on. It’s thrilling and the ML is just awesome. One of the best characters ever. MC, is not as great but he does grow. And for once in Danmei, there’s is a female character totally worth of adoration. The steam punk part of it... well, I love it. This story is just fantastic!
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NamjoonsMoon
NamjoonsMoon
August 29, 2021
Status: Completed
I’m not very good at reviewing but I’ll try my best since this novel is a masterpiece and deserves the best review.

I love this novel, there’s lots of politics and military affairs but it’s so interesting that it kept me hooked.

The romance is minimal (we get more couple moments in the extras) but I already knew it before staring my reading journey so it didn’t bothered me at all.

I totally recommend this reading.

Btw. I miss Gu Yun
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hy-d-ra
hy-d-ra rated it
May 9, 2021
Status: Completed
Recently TV adaptations go wild on how many Priest's novels get adapted. But after all this is a confirmed strong author that takes time and thought in creating worlds that are interesting to explore.

Sha Po Lang is one of those. Although I'll be honest, some technical aspects of the steampunk that author tried to describe felt crooked, but the overall - hey, let's connect steampunk and some ancient China and some danmei - falls on your head and it turns out interesting.

The thing about main characters that Priest portrays is... more>> that they don't take approach of - ooh, met and fell in love. Absolutey not. It will be quite subtle comparing to many novels you might've read. But it is also more complex (again, comparing to abovementioned casual novels, where ppl fall in love so easily and many thing are described shallowly). But they also outshine everyone else with their stories and how their background stories are built. If it's good or bad you decide for yourself.

Priest is also the heavy-on-the-plot type of author, so be prepared for some politics, battles etc. If you're into such stuff, I'm sure you'll appreciate it.

The only thing that is hard for me is after all the reading process. I don't know if it's a type of magic or what, despite finding Priest interesting, I rarely pick up their works, because I read them so-so slowly, I don't know why, but I always spend a lot of time and pauses while I read them, who knows why :'D But it's my own thing. Yet because of it I don't blow rainbow farts to the sky. <<less
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Ouryane00
Ouryane00 rated it
March 21, 2021
Status: c98
I really like the setup between the ML and the MC. I also like how the MC developed to who he is now.

It’s just that I felt that around chapter 70+ the plot sometimes was abrupt and I couldn’t understand it much, but that might be my problem alone as I’m nit really used to this type of war genre and I’m here more for the MC/ML relationship.

Anyway, it was a good read and I’ll comeback to finish this someday.
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MagBlueRoses
MagBlueRoses rated it
November 10, 2020
Status: Completed
To be totally honest, I loved how the book began and how it ended. But the in-between part was too complicated and hard for my half brain cell to understand.

If you are a fan of strategy, politics, war, with some fluff and romance, this is the perfect book for you!

But if you are someone who wants a light read, with some humor, and a light plot, I still suggest you give this book a try because it is totally worth it!

The MC and ML will immediately win you over and... more>> each character was so well written. Priest is a writer who, with just a few words or sentences, can immediately make you feel for a character on an emotional level. Her writing can be overly descriptive to some, but wonderful and like a candy to most.

I would give this a 4.5/5 and the only thing that was lacking for me was that the book wasn't that engaging in between and I took way too long to find the motivation to read it. But the ending the extras after the ending was SOOO WORTH IT! I absolutely loved the extra chapters more than the book itself!

Definitely worth a read! <<less
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Y.HL
Y.HL rated it
July 24, 2020
Status: extra 10
Set in a real historical time period, Sha Po Lang masterfully combines steampunk and wuxia to tell one of the most magnificent stories you'll ever read about the rise and fall of dynasties, the challenges of building and transforming a nation, the clash of old and new ideologies, and the high-stakes political schemes and warfare for power and resources.

It's cinematic, inspiring and deeply moving with lol moments that stay true to Priest's signature style.
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nazgul8126
nazgul8126 rated it
June 11, 2020
Status: Completed
Overall: 5/5

This could stand as a published novel as is and if the BL elements were taken out. Guess I'll jump on the Priest train as well. Note: there are mild spoilers below for the early story?

Story: Great politics. The setting is imperial China but with mecha (steampunk?) and disputes over the resource that powers the mecha and is even more valuable than oil in real life. There's conflict both between China and its international enemies and within the imperial court (MC is a lost prince and ML... more>> is a Marquis/OP general). This novel was so well-written that it hooked someone like me who isn't typically interested in this genre (see the rest of my recommendations lol: mostly cultivation) 100% for the entire time. Great world building. Lots of action and politics/scheming.

MC: The gong. He is the half-blood 4th imperial prince who has to maneuver through the Imperial Court, save the country, and overcome a curse placed on him by his aunt. Very witty. Not afraid to get his hands dirty.

ML: The shou. Marquis and leader of the strongest military group in the country (honestly feels like the only group that's actually useful). Also witty. How he deals with his physical limits is a reflection of his strong character and also drives the story. I just wish he didn't get hurt all the time.

Relationship development: MC refreshingly realizes his feelings fairly early on, comes to accept them, makes ML aware, but doesn't push ML too much (at least early on). The first few attempts of ML rejecting MC are great to read, and the scene where ML becomes the shou instead of the gong during their first time together is even better (nothing explicit) !

Critiques: It's slightly unrealistic how easily/fast MC and ML are able to travel across China in certain events (plot armor? Deus ex machina?) but whatever, the story goes on! <<less
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joktzer
joktzer rated it
February 9, 2019
Status: c50
this is not even a good review so just skip over my comment~

im priest tr*sh what can I say, every novel of hers I will rate 5 stars~~

anyway, the world building is intense, the way she writes is beautiful, her characters are so riveting, shes just great okay. And so is Sha Po Lang <3 there's reason why it's so intensely loved in the cfan community
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Kyuusaku Lee
Kyuusaku Lee rated it
June 1, 2025
Status: c101
The first time I can't finish reading Priest's novel. I'm sorry. The plot was good but I don't like the main cp. Some of you might comment that I don't need to care about the cp and just focus on the plot. But how can I continue reading it without focusing on the main couple? I don't like the ML's character and even though they're not blood-related in anyhow, somehow my conscience still hurts knowing their former relationship.

Don't get me wrong, I did cry in some chapters and felt goosebumps... more>> all over. But overtime everything feels dull. I might pick this story up again later, but for now I will stop and move on to another novel. <<less
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Remiakaria
Remiakaria rated it
January 20, 2025
Status: Completed
Words fail me to describe how perfect and stunning this novel is. It makes almost every danmei you read before seem like tr*sh in comparison. The characters are actually realistic yet charismatic, the setting is logical and historically consistent. There's no plot holes, no cheep gimmicks. Interesting relationship dynamics and amazing politics from start to finish.

Even the war scenes were extremely well done, and the storytelling and writing is otherworldly. Like wow, there's not a single thing you can nitpick about this novel, which is a pretty rare occurrence for... more>> me.

This is my first Priest read and I almost want bang my head at the wall for not trying her novels before. Author, I prostate before your exceptional writing. You've truly won me over! <<less
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lilyyv3
lilyyv3 rated it
December 27, 2024
Status: Completed
MY HEART IS LITERALLY BURSTING this is such an amazing novel I literally created a nu acc for this

The romance is scattered around and woven into the plot and it super sweet! MC always loved ML but ML has a bunch of reservations. Cheng geng mostly always initiates the romance and there were whole arcs where gu yun tried getting over his mental blocks. There's a super good post on tumblr that documents this

It is pretty political but again its woven so deeply that I barely noticed. Its like 40%... more>> court things and 60% military strategies which I GENUINELY LOVE because both gu yun and cheng geng have amazing leadership capabilities and it just makes me fall in love even more. This was the first historical novel that I didn't skip at all. OH AND ITS ALSO STEAMPUNK.

Love my gu yun and cheng geng, highly recommend and please read it if you can <<less
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Fnj
Fnj rated it
December 17, 2024
Status: Completed
Priest : 5/5

One of the best one among danmei writers. Yes I am biased.

MC : 5/5

... more>> Character development, love and devotion towards ML, intelligence, shrewdness, vulnerability, tragic past all 10/10.

I don't know who r those people who don't love this puppy. They are my enemies from now on.

ML :1000000....../ 5

He is my bias. Read it if you don't wanna miss this fearless, shameless, ruthless, hopeless character.

Plot :

It's a very romantic story. Don't let them fool you who say, this is a steampunk / political / worldbuilding genre. Well it actually is a lil bit of all, but mostly romantic. Very romantic.

Yes, I am biased towards this novel.

I would like to give this novel thousand stars. But stars are limited here, so I could only give 5. <<less
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mustafu
mustafu rated it
August 6, 2024
Status: Completed
didn't really expect much since it doesn't have cultivation (my only bread and butter) but the main characters were a delight (i need to be invested or at least awed enough with the main character for me to care enough if they win or not, and watching both chang geng and gu yun maneuver the battles both within the imperial court and out there in the front lines against the westerners and the heavenly wolf tribe was a gripping experience, to say the least) + I also liked the side... more>> characters, the politics was engaging, and there was no drag in the pacing and the plot so I wasn't bored to tears at any point of the story, I didn't wish for it to end chapters too early before the finale, and I'm satisfied with how it was resolved/how it concluded. <<less
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yuminnn
yuminnn rated it
April 20, 2024
Status: Completed
I don't really like when romance forced fed into my face but Sha Po Lang is surprisingly different and gives you a refreshing reading experience. Its a very Romantic tale between a General and his Prince who both serve their country out of their love for each other as they adapt to drastic changes together in Steampunk Ancient China.

Its new to me because I don't think I have read a story about Yifu (godfather) character in Danmei. I usually encountered master and disciple, elder brother and younger brother... more>> or teacher and student but Yifu is quite refreshing. If you read it, Yifu in SPL's context is someone who save the child so by the village's tradition he became the Yifu. A guardian figure but not really. Gu Yun is pretty much that. Forced to be a guardian but miserably failing. I really love him as character. He's so endearing despite having a tr*shy personality. He has many flaws but he also has soft sides and cool sides that will make you root for him.
Spoiler

Gu Yun was suddenly forced into the guardian role even if he's not ready so he's only a guardian in name and pathetically fail at being a guardian so tbh its hard to view him as Changgeng's guardian especially if Changgeng has other guardians better than him. He's more like a useless big bro in the neighborhood who Changgeng hang out with. Even if Gu Yun sounds cool as the handsome monocle guy, he's pretty pathetic in the story. It make you sad after realizing that his Anding Hou side is most likely what he believe his purpose of living before he met Changgeng so I feel he's blinded by nationalism to continue to serve his country because of it. It became part of his identity that he can't run away from whether he like it or not but the good thing is Changgeng understood that its Gu Yun's sense of self well. Its hard to blame Gu Yun for thinking like that because he was raised like that. So I like that Changgeng don't really take it away completely from Gu Yun for the sake of protecting him in the ending.

[collapse]

As for his ML, I'm weak to romance that has "show don't tell" because every simple things will give a big impression to me and that's what exactly Changgeng did. He show his love through actions and through work. Yes, Changgeng is the younger one but he really grow on me.
Spoiler

I just admire people who try to change the system from within instead of leaving after everything goes down without fixing anything. That's a hard thing to do. Its easier to complain than put yourself in a duty to change something just because you love someone. He also has the bone of impurity problem aka his inner demon that I viewed similar to depression or anxiety, basically mental illness but he fought against it and so he developed a calm demeanor as an adult. Changgeng has a manipulative side as a politician that are interesting to watch. I used to not like age gap romance but Changgeng changed that because he's literally a dependable adult at the end of the story. His mental state are more mature than other adult characters in the book. As a partner, I really love that he respect his partner's wishes and even support his dreams. He's a keeper, alright. Gu Yun being awe looking at Changgeng's future plan sketches for their nation remains the most romantic moment for me. And yeah... he has a Yifu kink. He's more problematic than Gu Yun the older one so its easy to accept the age gap. He really opened the door for me to try age gap stories.

[collapse]

ChangGu as a pair is a power couple and there's really no power imbalance between them even with their age gap. For example, Gu Yun despite being the bottom is the one who call the shots in bed matters. When he say no, its a no and Changgeng need to persuade him first before he can make a move on him. In health aspect, Changgeng is the one who call the shot to Gu Yun. When Changgeng say Gu Yun can't drink liquor, Gu Yun will not. I also love that Gu Yun's duty as general is to destroy and Changgeng is the one who build or reform as a regent so their role to the story is very balanced as well, not only in romance. I love their healthy friendship with other characters as well. ChangGu is very involved with other characters and community which I like.

The story might have a problem in nationalism and racism. Well, tbh all Danmei are but at least its good to be aware while loving the work and I'm on Changgeng's side, we only care about the nation because the person he love live there and care about it so obviously he really need to care if he want them to live a happy life. Just to be clear, I don't condone the novel's flaws and acknowledging it. It might be a sensitive topic and unpopular take about Sha Po Lang... I don't know if its just me but I relate to racism/nationalism ingrained in culture because that's what we are taught growing up as children like Gu Yun being raised to be the marquis/general for the country and Chang Geng being raised to be a killing machine monster who will avenge his mother's side. Especially, Asian community is a closed knit culture and I acknowledge that there's toxicity in it. If you observe carefully, its interesting that the path chosen by people who raised them is bad to their health and only when they fearlessly face changes, give up that lifestyle/path; they became somewhat healthy? I feel it suits the theme of the story so well. Think about it? Gu Yun being deaf and blind in the beginning? He's half-deaf & blind because he's a soldier who follow orders even if he know the emperor wants to kill him despite his loyalty? Its healed in the ending probably because of Changgeng's genuine trust to him and after dropping his views about yifu age gap problem? Changgeng being a yifu-f*cker is a strong rebellious symbolism against the norms? Like technically, marrying yifu is not as bad as it sounds because royalties marry cousins and emperor bed consorts/concubines younger than them in historical setting so why him being a Yifu-f*cker is such a big deal if straight people can do it freely? Why ChangGu have to hide their relationship in platonic terms just to be together? It make you think stuff like that. I'm not really good at explanation and words so I'm sorry. I tried.

As for the antagonists, they have 4 types. The corrupt politicians who's fighting for power, the bandits that smuggle goods, the barbarians who seek revenge against the discrimination and the Pope team with a greedy colonizer mentality. I just love the excitement when our MCs are getting hit from all over the side at once and they manage to survive it. It might not be for everyone because most of these villain are one dimensional but I like that they have so many enemies and just by thinking about it you have a better picture how exhausting Gu Yun's life. Tbh if you ask me, the real villain here is the "changes of times". Not specific person. That's their conflict. That's why the antagonists barely stand out as character because their real enemy is not a person. Its adapt or die situation.

As for the message of the story for me, its about having courage to adapt to changes and how important to care about the world surrounding you. In the story, all of the characters that survive manage to adapt with the changes. We have Gu Yun who used to be straight but starts to learn to love Changgeng romantically even if he's against at first and Changgeng accepting to leave his country side life to becoming part of Imperial family then his relationship with Gu Yun keep changing. Its a story that carry a love letter to nation, to lover, to family, to friends, to community and to the world. Definitely one of the best love story in Danmei that don't only revolved around romance development. <<less
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