• Published: November 15, 2022
• Pages: 519
• Genre(s): Danmei, Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Romance
• Series: The Husky and His White Cat Shizun #1

Mo Ran lives his life as Taxian-jun, a cruel tyrant and Emperor of the Mortal Realm. Abandoned by all those he cared for, he is left alone and without the will to live. After taking his own life, he ends up being reborn in the body of his younger self. Determined to steer a different path, he attempts to live his life over, while preserving his hatred for those that shunned him in his former life. His greatest hatred is reserved for Chu Wanning, his cultivation teacher who thwarted him time and again. However, in seeing more to Chu Wanning than he once did, he begins to wondered if he ever truly knew him at all.

Up until now, I had read two Danmei series – both by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, and loved them. Recently, I felt the urge to pick up another one, and hearing great things about this one, I decided to get it. I think it’s safe to say that it was a good decision!

Complex Feelings, Morally Grey Protagonists, and Past Lives…

The single most intriguing part of this story for me so far has to be the dynamic between Mo Ran and Chu Wanning. As the mains of the series, I expected them to contain some complexity. However, I was shocked by how layered they were almost immediately. There were so many developments between them in this novel alone, alongside some shocking revelations, and I am so so excited to see where we go from here.

On to the individual characters themselves: I feel like they’re slowly opening up and I know that each volume will allow for them to develop and come into their own. Mo Ran and Wanning are definitely the most well-rounded characters so far. I enjoy the side character inclusions, but I am waiting for them to become more involved in the story. I am especially interested to see more of Shi Mei, as he seems almost too “perfect” to me right now (owing to Mo Ran’s perspective and in him putting Shi Mei on a pedestal).

In finishing this volume, I went back to the initial pages of Mo Ran’s past life and it is so interesting to me how he unconsciously does things that show his underlying feelings for Wanning. He preserves Wanning’s body with his own spiritual power, which means that Wanning’s decomposition depends on his own death. He also chooses his final resting place in a grave beneath Haitang blossoms, which are tied to Chu Wanning. Mo Ran does all this in his “hatred” of his Shizun. He adamantly refuses to accept his feelings for Wanning, despite how obvious they are to the reader.

I really enjoyed how each of the vital moments in Mo Ran’s past life were prefaced with how they originally occurred. Then, in his re-born life, they somehow differ drastically in spite of Mo Ran’s efforts. It makes me think that he isn’t the only outlier in this new life. The amount of mystery that this story is shrouded in intrigues me greatly. I also thought that the flashbacks were included sparingly and with meaning. I enjoyed how limited they were as it allowed for more understanding to be had, and yet also kept that mystery element. Each flashback had me more and more interested to see exactly what happened in Mo Ran’s past life.

There were so many humorous moments that really lightened the mood of the novel. I feel that these moments were important to have some comedic relief from, what is truly, quote a heavy story in some parts (of which I know will only get heavier, as Danmei’s often do).

Final Thoughts:

I loved The Husky and His White Cat Shizun Vol.1 so much, and I rated it a 5 out of 5 stars! Every element of this story felt perfect to me: the character dynamics, relationship developments, humorous moments, past life flashbacks, and so much more… I cannot wait to see what else this story has in store, and to see the development in Mo Ran and Chu Wanning, as both individual characters and their relationship with one another.