After following Luo Binghe to the Demon Realm, Shen Qingqiu asked Luo Binghe to leave him alone. To his surprise, Luo Binghe does this. At least for a few days. But when things seem about to take a turn for the worse, Shen Qingqiu’s misfortune really manages to save him from the situation… only to be thrown into a situation that might perhaps be worse?!

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Once again, I want to mention that this is not a child-friendly story. Aside from violence, this volume also includes… well, stuff. Also, don’t believe what you see about it being dubious consent — only one party does consent while the other, in fact, can’t! Aside from that, SPOILERS AHEAD. Read the last paragraph to avoid me mentioning what happens in the book.

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A few days earlier, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t have gotten away from Luo Binghe fast enough, retreating three steps for every one he took. Now he didn’t want to do that sort of thing anymore. Retreating would make him look too much like a respectable woman kidnapped by a ruffian—too much like affected bashfulness.

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THOUGHTS

This is the resolution of the main story of the series, and while it does have one of my favourite bits in it (who wouldn’t love Tianlang-jun sitting in a coffin and making it look like a throne, while Shen Qingqiu for once doesn’t say Luo Binghe stands above someone because Luo Binghe would still… just sit in a coffin!), it’s also the part I hate the most. The reason for this is very simple: while I think it’s at least some good fun hating on Shen Qingqiu until the Holy Mausoleum, and I can laugh at all the misfortune in the Holy Mausoleum, to me it just kind of… stops being good fun after that. It’s just a book I don’t like, and I need to really plough through the last part. It’s not fun, and I feel miserable! And it doesn’t get better!

But naturally, I think people should take my word with a bowl of salt. I enjoyed hating the series rather than enjoying the series itself. I liked pre-Abyss Luo Binghe, and after that, I didn’t quite like anyone. Shen Qingqiu can’t comprehend words, and Luo Binghe can’t use words either. The miscommunication in Qingqiu is quite next-level, and almost all of it is just… Shen Qingqiu’s fault. It’s a frustrating read.

Yet Volume 3 left me with a sense of doing a chore. I was pushing through as hard as I could, trying to just get to the end, yet also trying to procrastinate because I knew that it was going to be a steep hill to climb to get to the end. And I think this may be something people should consider, even if you don’t take a single word coming from my fingers seriously otherwise.

I ended up needing to vent after finishing Volume 3. Even if I was kind of playfully writing about slamming my copy onto my desk. I, in fact, did slam my copy this time. After I read the last word, I very expectedly just tossed the book away. I wanted nothing more to do with it. I felt done.

Except it wasn’t satisfying. I tried tossing again and then slammed my book on my bed thrice, the last time using quite a lot of strength. It was no fun, no jokes to be made, just frustration left behind. And I usually only feel that when I’ve pushed myself through a book I don’t like and didn’t want to read. I kept thinking, “If I just skip to Volume 4…” but what review could I then write?

And yes, I’m going to read Volume 4 after I’ve posted this review. I truly… must love torturing myself.

So to sum up, all in all it’s a frustrating read, and not in a love-to-hate way. I was left with a need to actually, physically vent about the book. Additionally, the book kind of ends when the romance begins, so if you like some romance in the story, this is not your series. Same if you can’t handle non-con.

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