I love it. I mean, I always knew I would since I’ve already watched the donghua and live action prior to reading this but the story gets me every time. No matter how many times I revisit this story, it never fails to make me cry and pull on my heartstrings. It took me a long time to get into this story. I think I read through the first few chapters of this manhua at least 3 or 4 times before I properly read through the story. Despite finishing the manhua way after I had watched the live action and donghua, it was the reason I actually got into mdzs. And mdzs is the reason why I got into mxtx and more of the cultivation type stories when it comes to danmei. This story will always hold a special place in my heart :) I think I started getting into it properly around late 2020? So it was during like peak pandemic. Character wise, there were so many of them that grew on me. My favourites of course has to be Lan Zhan and Wei Ying but a close second to these two would be Sizhui and Wen Ning :) Lan Zhan is a character that I feel for so much bcs I couldn’t even begin to comprehend waiting 13 years for the one he loved and yearned for. I mean, he literally named Sizhui after the word yearning as symbolism to how he felt. Until the very end, he protected and cared for Wei Ying. I’m glad he’s as happy as can be now :) And for Wei Ying, I don’t think he’ll ever forget what he’s done in the past. I can’t blame him for it tho. He did what he thought was right and I think he was right as well. He protected the ones who saved him and risked everything to repay that debt. He’s suffered and he’s lost so much. He was so carefree before the sunshot campaign happened and I’m glad that he’s acting that way again. I love Wei Ying when he’s all serious but to see him feel comfortable enough to act carefree and childish makes me happy for him :) and also, wangxian forever. How could you even compete with the man who created a song only known to himself and the one he loved and named it after the both of them. Like, he gonna start making me cry again TT Jiang Yanli is also a character I would die for and it kills me everytime I go through the scene of her death TT then there are characters which I have a sort of love hate relationship with like Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan. Jiang Cheng is incredibly stubborn and prideful which makes him a hot headed character that couldn’t forgive and accept Wei Ying’s decisions and that really made me dislike him. But I understand where he came from as he only had his sect’s best interest in mind. It pains me to see that Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying’s relationship won’t go back to what it once was and that Jiang Yanli will no longer be there to act as the mediator between the two. But at the very least, I’m glad they’re on somewhat good terms. Jin Zixuan was also a prideful person as he was arrogant. He thought himself above everyone else and that included Jiang Yanli. But I was happy when he was finally honest with how he felt about her. If only their relationship had lasted longer… it would’ve definitely been one of my favourite relationships. Our young lil cultivators were also a huge delight. Jin Ling was a character that while I initially found annoying grew on me the more I read through. It’s such a pity that he lost his parents at such a young age but he’s forgiven Wei Ying for it, I think. Now that he knows the truth. He’s like a mixture of comedic relief and angst. As for Sizhui, I loved him from the moment I saw him. Like sir, hand in marriage pls. He’s an absolute angel. He’s considerate, polite and talented at cultivation. While he provides comfort to me, he also brings angst as well. I swear this book has angst in every character- but yes. His backstory as one of the remnants of the wen clan broke my heart. He had to live in such rough conditions at a young age just bcs of his surname TT after the other remnants of the wen clan passed away, I wonder how how much time passed before Lan Zhan found him and brought him back with him. Well, as long as he’s happy now. Lastly, Jingyi is our comedic relief. I would like to thank mxtx for sparing my heart by adding him to the story bcs it would’ve been way sadder if it weren’t for Jingyi and his sarcastic self. Also, I’m glad that he’s always there for Sizhui. They have a great friendship :) anyway, some honourable mentions of characters I like are A- Qing, Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan. Pity that they weren’t an edition to the story going forward but their story had me in tears. Can’t mention these three without Xue Yang. He was a horrible person but I can’t help but feel bad for him. He loved Xiao Xingchen. He just didn’t know how to express it and maybe didn’t even realise it until it was too late. Didn’t excuse what he did tho. Poor A-Qing had to get involved… but yea. An amazing story which I would recommend to anyone. It’s absolutely beautiful and makes me cry every single time I reread it :)
Mo Dao Zu Shi