I did not want to put this book down, and, when I finished it, I immediately wanted to pick up the next one (so much so that it kind of ruined part of the reading experience of the next book I attempted to read)! The one drawback to this book is that we spend a significant time in other characters' heads (A Qing and Nie Mingjue), so that means this sort of has second book syndrome (it does a lot a setting up and moving forward with the plot, though! It's just large chunks of either someone else's story or information dump in between). Both the stories are good in each, but I love being in Wei Wuxian's head so much that I missed it. Xiao Xingchen's story will likely stay with me for a long time, and I wish the best for A Qing; their bond was so sweet.

Absolutely fuck Xue Yang; he is an absolute psychopath. I mean, cutting out people's tongues and then having Xiao Xingchen, who is BLIND, slaughter them, making him an unwitting murderer is absolutely deplorable. I will also never forgive him for what he did to Song Lan (forcing him to be his puppet along with making Xiao Xingchen, his sworn brother, unwittingly kill him. It broke my heart that when he found out that he slit his throat. I don't give a single fuck that he was bullied for being poor as a child and came to somewhat care for Xiao Xingchen during his years of deceit. This does not justify his actions in the slightest!

I also wished we had more content of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji working together, side by side!

We did get to see drunk Lan Zhan again, which was super cute, and as a result, we got their first kiss of the series! It was slightly dub-con because of how drunk Lan Zhan was, but it was still cute. Lan Zhan tying Wei Ying up with his forehead ribbon, then we get to see the junior's reactions as well as Wei Ying discovering the significance of the ribbon was absolutely priceless! Wei Ying, please get a clue about your feelings!

Wei Wuxian with the juniors was, of course, adorable and amazing, though. Wei Wuxian showing off his skills was super fun. He really suits the teacher role so well!

We got a reveal that the body parts Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were collecting was actually Nie Mingjue, and that the culprit was Jin Guangyao. Also, Wei Wuxian's identity was revealed to the rest of the cultivation world because Jin Guangyao is a clever little bitch. Him convincing his wife to commit suicide after she finds out what he did, enough that she started violently throwing up??? Diabolical, but I am looking forward to seeing more of how fucked up he is. I love a clever villain, though while reading you will get the vibes of "oh, how convenient you reveal this information now when it is profitable for you" like when he reveals Suibian sealed itself after Wei Wuxian's death and that he taught Mo Xuanyu about the soul sacrificing ritual, but of course this is intentional and all part of the fun.

We got to see a good amount of character growth from Jin Ling, and it is done so well!

Even though he ends up stabbing Wei Wuxian at the end of the book, you could really feel his internal struggle about it.

I really got to know him much better, and he is becoming a very interesting and enjoyable character, which I was not fully expecting based on the first book

he's still a bit homophobic though, so fuck that

. I'm excited to see how everything plays out!

Also, Lan Sizhui's statement about how safe he feels with Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian was SO PRECIOUS!!!!!

This book had a lot of grief, but it was totally worth it. I loved learning more about the world and the supporting characters.
Can't wait to see where their journey leads to in the next book!