When I first read the summary I thought this was going to be the usual cliché revenge story, which is was, but there was an extra "humph" that I didn't expect and I ended up enjoying this drama more than I expected it to. If you're looking for a good wuxia fighting drama, this is gold rating and you definitely cannot skip any episode!! Because every episode have an action packed fighting scene. All the fighting scenes were wonderfully choreographed. It was so refreshing to see people using only fist and weapons. Yes! There's no flying beams, or thrown energy balls (xanxia's CGI of superpowers just don't make sense sometimes). Just good old fashion fist with your choice of weapon.
As for the acting, I absolutely love watching all the main characters on screen. Qin Junjie really brings life to the simple Hu Fei. No matter who or what Lin Shen plays, I just can't stop watching him. He really pour all the acting into his facial expressions when playing Miao Renfang. Our two female leads played their parts so well, I had no complaints. I liked that they are both written and acted as strong women who can stand alone and even better with our male lead. Actually, I liked all the side characters. Even baby Roulan was enjoyable to watch .^_^. I think my favorite side characters were the three officials who's not entirely bad, nor entirely good. They pick their side whenever the situation fits them and strangely enough it always helps Hu Fei out. We also cannot forget our "villains". Although they weren't written as well as our main characters, they were nicely acted out.
The storyline have a lot going on. I mean it basically followed Hu Fei before he was born all the way to his adulthood. So 40 episodes does not allow you to include every sweet little detail, but it was a pace that I can follow and accept. Romance has a light touch, excluding Hu Fei and Ziyi's story. But I feel it didn't impact the story as much. The story line was still able to progress regardless if you give attention to the romance. I actually kind of like that they don't get hung up on it. How Miao Renfang and Nan Lan fell in love was a 15 minute scene where he basically saves her from the bad guy and the story moved along. I like it simple like that. Each arch moved along smoothly and was not hung up for any longer than 2 or 3 episodes.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the songs. Since I'm done with the drama now, I have it on repeat just to get it out of my system .>_<.
Will I re-watch it? Definitely! How can I say no to those awesome fight scenes with Qin Junjie and Lin Shen!