the BEST costumed BL from China ( THIS IS A BIASED REVIEW, SEE RATING FOR BETTER ASSESSMENT)

Does it really deserve 9.5, no; in a critical sense. But I can't be unbiased in this, because this drama has made me laugh out loud and cry like a baby.
For a drama that is known to have a low budget and with two leads having not much a fan support before this drama, this drama has achieved way more than what other big budget production has not. I do think as fans of BL, especially from China with it's censorship, we need to reward productions who do not skew from the original story, who do non add random female characters, who do focus on story telling with intentions and a POV.
The story is adapted to television and flows through quickly and is evenly paced, the actors brings the life and blood to their characters (leads and side characters), For any viewers with keen sense, this is not a BL adaptation, it's BL. The chemistry between the two MLs are palpable in every scene, as they play back and forth with their words, their gazes, and their body language. They are playful and true to their characters, and I cannot praise enough of Gong Jun's acting in this. At first, I was hesitant to receive his "overt" "eye" acting, but it just conveys so much of his character as being the naive "cat" without it being overacting or farcical. He handles it just right. And ZZH is so good playing the reluctant role of the "mouse" with such subtlety and finesse, that you will find new hints of his intentions at every rewatch. Not to mention all the dynamic supporting roles, written with back stories and characteristic intent that supports this Wuxia JiangHu.
All in all, the script writer deserves the most praise, because for once it's handled by one lady Xiao Chu, who is a Wuxia fan and a fan of Priest. Her love and understanding of the Wuxia genre and the original text really shows how she organically expanded a what is considered a short story in Priest's world. Her adept handling of the subject and the challenges the topic of BL in her homeland is just so perfect, not to mention her knowledge of Chinese literary culture and history brings so much more to artistry to a laymen's entertainment such as tv drama.
After finishing the drama, I can say this drama has brought the standards of not just BL dramas, but all recent Chinese Wuxia drama standards, up, in terms of story telling. This production has told us you do not need big budget, main leads with rabid fans, all you need is good acting, good direction, and good script to capture the audiences' hearts.

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