aurumcalendula: detail from art of Song Shijiu and Li Shiyi for season 1 of Wen Guan's audio drama (Wen Guan (Song Shijiu and Li Shiyi))
[personal profile] aurumcalendula posting in [community profile] cnovels
Now that I've read all of it, I want to rec Reading the Remnants (问棺) by Qi Xiao Huang Shu (七小皇叔)!

The story is set in the Republican Era and mainly follows five characters (Li Shiyi - tomb raider by trade, Song Shijiu - a mysterious woman discovered in a tomb as a baby, A Yin - former tomb raider turned courtesan, A Luo - an underworld official, and Tu Laoyao - a small time hustler) as they have adventures and past connections between them are revealed.

I really enjoyed the mix of supernatural adventures (the episodic vignettes are frequently bittersweet) and the developing romances among the main characters. I was more invested in the side pairing, but really enjoyed the main pairing as the story went on. The writing is very evocative (I suspect some people might find it a bit purple, but I liked it). I found the ending a tad anticlimactic, but really liked the story overall (it's now one of my favorite baihe novels).

The main story has 108 chapters and there are four extras (two of the extras are posted in two parts) as well as an afterward by the author.

The original is posted here on Gongzicp. There are two English fan translations of it: a complete one by Pale Mirror and a partial one by earless tls.

Date: 2025-04-20 04:15 am (UTC)
alias_sqbr: the symbol pi on a pretty background (Default)
From: [personal profile] alias_sqbr
Ooh that sounds very promising thank you!

Date: 2025-04-20 04:29 am (UTC)
geraineon: (Default)
From: [personal profile] geraineon
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this title!

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