Ghost Kings, Dice Rolls, & Lucky Crown Princes

After the full, intense story that started with book one, book two keeps up the high stakes. When the group returns to the Heavenly Realm to report what has occurred in Banyue Pass, Little Pei does his best to shift focus off of his wrong-doings of the past and put to light the fact that a Ghost King was lingering. Pulling the corpse to prove that the injuries could only be inflicted by Crimson Rain Sought Flowers, Little Pei does his best to attempt to put down Xie Lian for the closeness seen during the mission.

I might not be a Heavenly Official, but I would expect them to appreciate the fact that they can have a good tie to the most powerful Supreme in the land. But, I guess that is asking too much.

Not even getting a chance to breathe, Xie Lian is asked to hunt down a Heavenly Official who sent out a distress signal. With many odd things happening in the Upper Court, he is paired with the Wind Master and sent into Ghost City (which, of course, is overseen by Hua Cheng).

With Ghost City, comes the Gambler's Den, and my favorite scene in the whole book. The tension throughout the entire time in the den is just superb. Xie Lian has to stay quiet, trying to hide from Hua Cheng but also wants to see him in his true form. Crown Prince Tai Hua being... Crown Prince Tai Hua and running in solely on instinct. Wind Master suggests they gamble their way to winning back Tai Hua. The whole scene was hilarious to read and even better to watch.

Hua Cheng was the strawberry on top, with his teasing of Xie Lian during his dice-throwing lesson. I feel like that scene was such a window into their dynamic. Hua Cheng loves to joke around and tease Xie Lian, but will still be very protective of him. Xie Lian goes almost blindly with Hua Cheng (just wait, an upcoming event screams this).

After ending up in Paradise Manor, we see even more actions done by Hua Cheng to prove that he is head over heels for Xie Lian. Even went as far as giving Xie Lian a little bit of his amazing luck along with a pair of dice. After getting a moment by himself, Xie Lian snoops around the huge mansion with Wind Master, and bad roll after bad roll, they are finally able to find the Earth Master. Beaten and broken, they carry the Earth Master away only to run straight into Hua Cheng in his glorious armory (that he offered to just give to Xie Lian because he liked the weapons).

This scene was sad to read and watch because the tension in the room is thick. Tai Hua jumping end and starting a one-on-one fight with Hua Cheng leading to Xie Lian getting hurt made me want to pull out my hair. I know that he is impulsive, but to take on a Ghost King with such a dangerous weapon? And of course, the fire engulfs Paradise Manor while Hua Cheng just stands there! This series is excellent and gets you invested in the characters and boy oh boy does this scene prove that.

Now most would hope for a break after two back-to-back missions. But, this is Xie Lian, and like the God of Misfortune that he is, he is accused of murdering Tai Hua's whole family... And to add on top of that, Xie Lian confesses to it!

Now, here comes the thing that I mentioned earlier. After being put on house arrest, Xie Lian gets "kidnapped" by the cruel Ghost King and taken away from the Heavenly Realm. Where does Hua Cheng take him? Oh just to visit the Green Ghost Qi Rong, who just happens to be Xie Lian's annoying little cousin who became the looked down upon fourth calamity.

In the span of a night, it comes out that the murder of Yong'an's royal family was not done by Xie Lian. A back-and-forth between the cousins ensues as Qi Rong announces that the remaining royal family of Xianle were the real killers. With the shock of a lifetime to poor Tai Hua, this section sets up perfectly for the second arc where we see Xie Lian in his youth.

The Gambler's Den might have easily been my favorite scene, but the confrontation with Qi Rong has become my second favorite. The drop that Xie Lian is related to one of the Four Calamities and that Xie Lain WAS LYING about being the killer was such a great way to wrap up an arc.

Through the end of the book, we see little Xie Lain up til his point of ascension. We see the morals that he had prior to becoming a Martial God. The main premise that is touched on is how during the Lantern Festival, Xie Lian jumped off stage to save a falling child from certain death. The Crown Prince states that he did nothing wrong and that the life of a child is more important than staying on the stage. The main issue is that the child caused the float to turn in early, and cut the performance short. Xie Lian still says he did nothing wrong, and therefore should not repent for his actions.

This part did feel a bit slow, I didn't love this section nearly as much as I did the first half of the book. But, I do appreciate the lore that is given in this part, I feel like this will give us a better look at the choices that Xie Lian will make in the future and it also already gives us a better look at his relationship with Qi Rong.