Very touching, no fast forward

A story about a long farewell of Li Lian Hua who used to be the No.1's Swordsman to his past & friends
"It was good then, it's good now"

This is one of the 2 c-dramas which I highly recommend for 2023. Viewers will be touched by the effort spent on producing this drama. Every component just makes sense.
There is no need to fast forward as plot is fast-paced (kudos to screenwriter), the acting skills of all actors are online, scenes are well shot, settings & props are very well prepared, OSTs and BGMs are very suitable.

-Plot
Screenwriter has done a really good job. The rhythm is very fast. This is the only drama I don't fast forward. In fact, sometimes I need to pause for fear of missing some clues.
The author Teng Ping and Screenwriter Liu Fang also interpret respect to women very well through Li Lian Hua's character, which I really appreciate.

-Update based on ep20: Kudos to screenwriter
The screenwriter is really good. Now that we are at episode 20, I realise that the previous cases, such as Yipin Tomb & Li Xiang Yi's flashback to his return to Sigu Sect have had brief introductions to future cases. As a viewer, I just did not realise the significance. Not only do I not fast forward, I need to go back to prior episodes to find clues. I really love this drama.

-Acting skills
Very good acting skills, especially Cheng Yi, this is his best role yet. It's really not easy to potray Li Lian Hua's letting go. He used to be best swordsman and he's now living an ordinary life, with poor health.
Li Lian Hua is not an easy character to potray. Li Lian Hua is sickly, but tries his best to live happily to the best of his ability. He has a chivalrous spirit, but at the same time, a bit gossipy, like to talk nonsense. There is also no filter in this drama, so you can see the up & downs of his appearance very clearly. In short, there is no character buff.
FDB & DFS interactions are very fun.

-Martial Arts Scenes
There are many good martial arts scenes.
The first 10mins of the Battle of The East China Sea is really excellent. There are many more we haven't seen yet as we are only halfway through the drama.

-Cases
Focusing on human nature's worst vices. I won't give any spoiler, so please watch and try to guess the culprit.
We now have up to 8 episodes free on IQIYI. Some people who are used to suspense/detective may find ep1-3 a bit slow, so I recommend going directly to ep 6 Yipin Tomb. The cases got more complicated as we go. If you like ep 6-8, go back to watch ep1

-OSTs
There are only 4 OSTs for this drama.
The first love OST, a pot of lotus wine is fast-paced, but now I cry when hearing this song. Li Lian Hua & Qiao Wan Yu's farewell in ep 17-18 are just too emotional. How can a martial arts/suspense drama have one of the best BE asthetics?

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