The series is set in the fictional world of Novoland and tells the story of loyalty, friendship, enmity and romance between the young descendants during the twilight years of the Duan Dynasty. The Novoland Duan Dynasty/Empire has been in existence for more than 200 years after it was established from a Barbarian invasion. The people adopted the culture of Zhongzhou and despite its outward appearance of power and prosperity, it is showing signs of decay.
One day, a wandering peddler brought a gem to the court of Duan, which in it held a world of its own. The peddler named it as one’s most valued object. No one took the offer but the young prince Muyun Sheng, who is born of a beautiful spirit mother. He was prophesied to destroy the world. Because of this, he is not loved by the Emperor, and lives in seclusion and loneliness. While his brothers fight for the throne, the whimsical half-spirit prince spent his days seeking the mysteries of the gem. To the outside world, he was declared insane and then dead.
Years later, when the emperor and his brothers died, the abandoned prince was pushed to the throne. Longing for the world of the gem and the woman he saw in it, he escapes the palace by blowing apart the barrier between it and the River Folks. Along with the palace, he left behind chaos and a country under attack on all sides. Leading the attack on land is Shuofeng Heye, a man who has tamed the wolves and seeks to unify the nomadic tribes and finally give them a home of their own.
And then there is Muru Hanjiang, the son of the exiled family of generals who were once equals with the Muyun’s. Returning from the land of giants to seek revenge for the betrayal by the Muyun family, he ends being an unlikely ally to the young Emperor against the new ruler, Muyun Sheng’s uncle.
Interwoven among the men are the women who also cannot escape from the storm of prophecies. The woman who was prophesied to become Empress but whose heart died with the death of a former prince, the Princess who lusts for blood, the ruler of the River Folks who wants to build an empire of her own, the treacherous Empress and her niece, who schemes to be the Empress.
Pain and sorrows of past wounds now manifest in the new generation.
(Credit:Wikipedia)
[Ebook][Audiobook][Drama with English Subs] [Cửu Châu hải thượng Mục Vân ký]
I am watching the drama now and really like it! The quality of the drama is very high! Anyone who read the novel knows whether the drama closely following the novel? The drama is a bit slow sometime but a lot is happening at the same time. I would love it if someone can spare some thoughts/spoiler of the novel…especially any opinions of the drama vs the novel 🙂
I read the start of the book and it’s actually quite different. For example Muru Hanjiang isn’t abandoned by his family since birth. He grew up with aristocratic status and is chummy with the royalty. I heard that the book is open ended, but that the drama will be even more open ended because the drama ends only halfway through the book…
So far I prefer the drama. I wish it was slightly faster, but at least they’ve thrown in some high stakes for dramatic effects. The book feels kinda bland tbh. Muru Hanjiang also acts like a brat in the book… although to be fair all of them are only 12 at the beginning. Which is also really weird to reconcile with when you watch the drama and they keep saying “I’ve liked you since you were 12” or “Back when we were 12” but the younger actors were definitely more teens than tweens.
[Drama discussion spoilers]
Anyway, I’m unhealthily invested in Muyun Sheng’s well being. I was so happy his dad woke up in the latest eps and he and Muyun Lu are spared for now. Even knowing he’s the main character, I can’t help but feel protective over the naive baby.
Also, that scene where Muyun Lu cries that he will die with Su Yuning but she’ll have to forgive him for not betraying his kingdom and Muru Hanjiang shouting that he’ll be her protector from now on then… Omg I just want to hug all of them. Poor babies.
I’m totally in love with this drama! I also heard that there are some difference between the drama and the book, especially the book being significantly shorter. They had to fill in a lot of content and back story that the books just assumed the readers already familiar with. There’s a few videos (in Chinese unfortunately) on YouTube explaining some back stories about Novoland and the six races. Pretty interesting stuff. Love all three CPs right now. Pan Xi is so pretty and mysterious *_*