REVIEW: Heaven Official's Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Vol. 3 (book) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, art by ZeldaCW, translated by Suika and Pengie

Heaven Official's Blessing is a fantasy historicalish danmei (Chinese m/m) series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

I waited way too long to review this, but I have notes, so I'll do my best. 

Anyway, the first half of the volume is a flashback to Xie Lian's early days as a god, desperately trying to protect everyone, even if it involves breaking rules. He is, however, doomed to failure, and his efforts make things worse, leading to the Human Face Disease. In the second half of the volume, Xie Lian investigates a fetus spirit and spends time with Hua Cheng.

While the first half is technically more story-focused than the second half, giving readers the info they need in order to know how Xie Lian ended up in the situation he's currently in and what he's going to be facing, I've found that I'm not generally a fan of MXTX's flashbacks. And I already know that this isn't even the worst of it - Xie Lian overextending himself and being doomed to failure barely scratches the surface of the pain and suffering MXTX puts him through in later flashbacks in the series.

One nice thing about the flashbacks, though: lots of scenes involving young Hua Cheng, although he isn't explicitly referred to as such. The poor kid starts off life as Xie Lian's most devoted follower. This volume also includes what I'm assuming was young Hua Cheng's sexual awakening (Xie Lian being affected by the Land of the Tender). Xie Lian was, of course, clueless. Granted, Xie Lian kind of had other concerns at the time.

There were some really nice romantic moments in the second half of this volume: the "kiss," Xie Lian teaching Hua Cheng calligraphy, Hua Cheng being all domestic and doing dishes, the whole 3000 lanterns thing, and more. I'm a pathetic enough Xie Lian and Hua Cheng shipper that I don't even really need plot, just the two of them being sweet together.

Considering how this volume ends, with the introduction of the Wind Master's lifelong problem, the Reverend of Empty Words, and what I remember of that story arc, we're in for a bit more sadness and pain in volume 4, but still a ways away from the really bleak stuff.

Extras:

Character and name guide, glossary, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and two full-color illustrations at the start (one the cover image, and the other completely new).