I ventured upon LYF while waiting on new episodes for another drama - with the result of completely dropping the other drama to rewatch LYF obsessively when it wasn't updating. I had expected just another popular xianxia romance that are dropped a dime a dozen these days in C-drama land but instead was blown away with the quality of the production. The story was good but didn't seem too special to me - with common themes of ambition, family, love, and kindness. However, the ensemble performance of the actors along with the beautiful artistry in the setting and the captivating screenwriting really captured me. In general, the casting was superb - and every role was likable. The sheer beauty of each frame also just blew me away - I usually skip about half of each C-drama I watch as they are usually slow and draggy- LFY is still slow - but it was such a pleasure to slow down with it to savor the beauty of each scene - the beauty of the set combined with the costumes and the charisma of the actors. This was an ensemble casting with the romance line drawn mainly between the FL and the second and third ML who both had backgrounds in dancing. I think this paid off hugely in the artistry of each scene - the actors' silhouettes gracing the beautiful landscape surreally leaving us mortals sighing at the Chinese mystical fairyland.

Story - This is a story that is steeped in Confucian culture- the world illustrated is quite traditional but with wisps of modernity - a world where women are allowed to be generals (such as the FL's mother) ; bodyguards; can do anything (even fight or make weapons!) as well as men - and are yet mostly still shut out of the top of the political economic structure. Harems are the norm ( I find it ironic that it is always the case in a 'reverse harem' story) and filial piety and tribalism rules the day. It seems that this is based on the common acknowledged social structure and the men's inter personal relations. Yet, in a world like this, the FL wishes to be able to stand on her own and not get hurt emotionally. Her one rule in marriage: that the guy must be solely devoted to her and not have any other women, seems impossible again and again to fulfill - it competes against manly ambitions; against loyalty/nationalism ; even against family interests. For people familiar with Chinese culture, many scenes in the movie are reminiscent to me a bit of the Story of the Red Chamber - with TSJ (2nd ML) especially having both the look and feel of Jia Baoyu - tragic, sensitive, almost feminine. In the original book, the take and illustration of TSJ's kindness and refusal to give in to hate and revenge is rather controversial with many readers seeing him as weak, and siding instead with the heroic Xiang Liu. The drama's stance feels more on TSJ's side - and the portrayal is quite masterful. Many details added in the drama enrich the original story and I'd go to say that this is the one rare occasion where the drama is at least as good, if not even better, than the novel.

Acting- I am blown away by the ensemble cast. Yang Zi was predictably good here but it was great to see that the five relatively unknown actors paired with her sometimes actually outshine her. The fresh faces are exciting to see and one hopes to see their careers develop over the next few years. Scenes featuring YZ and Zhangwanyi emphasize their skills in acting - YZ and TJC have a mystical romantic feel and the DW/YZ interactions are pure eye candy. I didn't have to fast forward any scenes on the first go. On my second viewing, I found myself mostly focused on scenes with Deng Wei and especially the Yao Jing or Liu/Shiqi scenes. Given DW's relative newcome status, I thought at first that was because of the characterization of his character and how likable it is. By the end of the 39 episodes, however, I have to say his acting was actually solid. Details were handled very precisely and I've never seen any character suffer so beautifully. DW really embodied TSJ/YSQ - given how green he is, I hope he can continue to develop his skills and bring us more productions in the future.

Music - as in many C-dramas I think they use and repeat the music way too much but the tunes are nice and beautiful. The novel emphasized the use of the zither and how beautifully TSJ can play it - I wish the drama did better with that. Given how classy the rest of the drama feels, it would have really been nice to really use zither music than modern ones. But at least it all sounds pretty good and catchy.

Cinematography - I was blown away with how beautiful the scenes were and even the CGI didn't feel fake! Many times I get annoyed at the use of cute little animals in xianxia c-drama as cheap tricks for little girls but I admit actually falling for both the Chubby bird and the White Fox spirit. I'm happy the producers didn't feel adding the cuteness dragged the artistry of the production down and it was nice to see a xianxia production that actually felt serious and classy.

Last take - Yang Zi has been a queen of xianxia ever since AOL was released. I think this is the best production yet she's in. It is worth all the angst and time and express pass money spent on it to watch and savor. I do think it is time for Yang Zi to move onto another genre but for now I am grateful for this production and of her leading the whole cast in making this drama memorable.