My first impression of this drama was: what the heck is this with a fusion of everything (不伦不类)? Among others, there's a mixture of costumes - Republican era cheongsams and qipao, xianxia’s ethereal robes, historical military uniform and costumes for the commoners, wild wild west cowboy attire with hand guns on the sides (Gu Beixi), Indiana Jones explorer leather jacket and boots (Yu Dengdeng), English noble man tuxedo and long boots (Lu Yan). Then I found the storyline to be quite unique and refreshing. If not for the self-dubbed voices of both leads, this is a rather watchable drama.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean their voices are not good. In fact, they have great voices individually, but when the voices are put together with the others in dialogs, they sound out of place - the female voice (Li Qin’s) is cringy with too high pitch and sounds forced, whereas the male voice (Ren Jialun’s) is too soft, uncertain and lack energy. Some viewers can’t bear listening to their voices and drop the drama.

This is a love story about a prince of the human race and a goddess of the spirit clan three thousand years ago. When Lu Yan (Ren Jialun) the prince was killed in battle, the goddess Yun Xi (Li Qin) was devastated. She took out her own “yuan dan”, injected it into the prince and revived him. Without her “yuan dan”, the goddess perished. For the prince, with “yuan dan”, he becomes a half-human and half-spirit with supernatural power. He guarded the goddess hoping one day she would return.

Three thousand years later, Yu Dengdeng (Li Qin) went into a cave and accidentally bumped into Lu Yan and woke him. To Lu Yan, Yu Dengdeng looks exactly like the goddess Yun Xi he has been waiting for. The story of their second life begins.

Lu Yan is very good looking but a cold person with few words. With Yun Xi’s “yuan dan” still within him, he has tremendous healing power and he can ward off all his adversaries by a wave of his hand. I started to like Ren Jialun’s acting in Under the Power. But here, I can’t say he is doing well. He has very few facial expressions and little body language except a constant frowned face. There are many instances of hesitant as if he doesn’t know what to do. I’m not sure if this is due to poor acting, or poor directing, or poor editing, or all of the above.

Yu Dengdeng is the head of a camp. She is carefree, crass and domineering. She falls in love with Lu Yan at first sight and takes him as her husband by force. I have to say, though Li Qin is beautiful with great acting skills, she doesn’t fit the Yu Dengdeng character very well; her demeanor as a crass woman feels forced and unnatural. With her screechy voice, some scenes are unbearable to watch.

Many viewers find there’s a lack of chemistry between Li Qin and Ren Jialun. Until the end of the story, I’m not even sure if Lu Yan loves Yu Dengdeng despite he sacrifices himself for her. When they embrace, Lu Yan is stiff and seems to keep a distance from Yu Dengdeng. He has no desire for her. They have never kissed.

In fact I find Gu Beixi (Chen Xijun) to have excellent chemistry with Yu Dengdeng. Gu Beixi is the head of another camp that has quarrels with Yu Dengdeng’s people from time to time, therefore Yu Dengdeng is always suspicious of him and doesn’t treat him very friendly. Gu Beixi has an upfront personality and has been in love with Yu Dengdeng since childhood. After he meets Bai Shiqi (Wu Mingjing) who is the daughter of a police chief, Gu Beixi begins to have feelings for her and let go of Yu Dengdeng whom he knows he’ll never get, for Yu Dengdeng is deeply in love with Lu Yan.

Bai Shiqi is a sweet character. Wealthy but without the bratty demeanor. She is gentle, well-read and kind, but very strong when it comes down to the crunch. Betrothed to Gu Beixi from young, she gracefully let go of him when she realizes he is in love with Yu Dengdeng instead.

My Verdict

It’s a disaster for any production that, all the other actors perform very well for their respective roles except the main leads. First of all, I feel the issue is with the selection of the main actors; Li Qin doesn’t fit the role as the crass Yu Dengdeng, Ren Jialun barely makes it as Lu Yan, but his performance is not up to standard. Secondly, the self-voice dubbing is a disaster though many viewers prefer the actors’ own voices. For me, I would say, it depends. Thirdly, I feel Lu Yan doesn’t really love Yu Dengdeng except he just wants to fulfill his obligation for her. Therefore, this is hardly a heart-wrenching love story when it’s only one-sided. Whether this is what the writer has intended, this is the feeling it conveys for me and many viewers.

Nonetheless, the storyline is refreshing, not your usual xianxia. Watchable if you are waiting in between dramas or have nothing to watch, or you’re a Li Qin’s or Ren Jialun’s fan.

My score here is mainly awarded to the acting of the other actors and the story.