I had high hopes for this drama, it's rated 8.2 on douban, and c!netizens are incredibly harsh on cdramas, some of  the beloved popular dramas on here range from 5 ~ 6. I should probably note I'm even harsher than douban though. I haven't read the novel which was by the same guy who wrote the well known Candle in the Tomb series. It was half talking about Tianjin and half (rather simple) plot, and the drama added the much needed two female main characters to add more interesting dynamics, so I won't touch how it adapted.

Anyways, this is fairly unique drama, it's I think best described as a mystery thriller with a dab of folklore and mysticism which I was 120% in for but also mix in some cult and other odd supernatural elements that left me mildly confused. There is bit of romance but it's probably 1/10 of the drama if even that. (mostly blatant crush, little bit of flirting and a few scenes here and there) so don't come in looking for them. The duality of mysticism/traditionalism vs science/modern sensibilities embodied by our two sets of main character adds interesting layers to the plot.

 I can't tell you how happy I am by the Shuo Shu (storytelling?) style of recapping at beginning of every episode,  all the tidbits about local customs of Tianjin, particular accent of a supporting character; they all subtly bring the setting alive. I think the plot started out pretty engaging, as they seem to stumble into more and more mysteries that's interconnected. The relationship between the two main characters were pretty fun, since they played off each other well and the banter was delightful. I'm rather unhappy with the antagonist side though, from disappointing resolution of minor antagonists, to what I think rather ineffectual evil plot, not to mention supernatural bits that I think could be better utilised in other stories, but I digress.

I was pretty surprised by the use of fresh faced young actors in this drama but I'm happy they did so. Li Xian did an excellent job as Guo De You, his character has the most nuances,  and can spout out unpopular opinions but the acting makes it perfectly believable that it's something he would do, Zhang Ming En started off over acting quite a bit but I think settled in his role as Ding Mao fairly nicely after few episodes.  Wang Zi Xuan had the hard job of playing the somewhat annoying, overeager Gu Ying, but I personally wasn't bothered by her and she's the brawl of the group! Charlene Chen's Xiao Lan Lan was probably my favourite character, but she was bound to be by the virtue of being a daughter of a well off and powerful family who's determined to have her own career in those times.  Honestly, the two female characters could use more character development and more layers, but they aren't boring one note characters so I'll take what I can get.

I rather like the aesthetics of the drama, even though the somewhat muted filter threw me off so much when I first started watching it. Some of the hairstyle are a little wait what? Like Ding Mao's Doumyouji hair, but I got used to that; Guo De You's....I don't even know what that is, I adapted to surprisingly easily due to what I can only presume to be Li Xian's sheer charms; Gu Ying's damn frizzy pigtails with bird's nest on top is a sight to behold though'. She also have this unfortunate plait wrapped around into a bun on top of her head with dangling flowers or some bits on the side at some point that convinced me the stylist really hates her. The patchwork whatever clothes they wear are confusing but seems to make sense in this bizzaro world.

Wait, I was talking about liking the aesthetics...! Right, there are some bits of animation in the drama that's drawn in a fairly realistic style that I really liked. The OP was....literally  the characters yelling out their own characteristics while random images are cobbled together into a creepy unsettling montage that set the tone of the series really well but freaked me out quite a bit for the initial few episodes. Love the ED a lot which was by Jam Hsiao as well as the deleted scenes? that plays before the ED at the end of every episodes since they fill in some gaps and you can hear the drama without the dub! (This being a web drama, I think the actors all dubbed themselves but don't quote me on that.)

All in all, I think it's a drama worth watching despite all of its faults, which I have detailed far more than its good points, but please believe me when I say I did enjoy this drama a lot and love some of it to bits. Season 2 has been confirmed so I'll definitely be on a look out next year!