This show was something else. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to pick it up but I had seen BWJ in Silence of the Monster and wanted to see him in a different genre. Other than a few supporting characters and barely, I'm completely unfamiliar with the cast otherwise. So which is it? Team Qi, Team Qian or better yet Team Qi-Qian.

Pros: This drama had great OSTs and fighting scenes as well as a good fantasy angle. ML played by BWJ or HZ was my favorite even when he was rough around the edges and grumpy as all get out. I liked the mysteries when they had to do with the actual topic. The jealousy sequences were pretty funny too. I think more than fantasy, this had a lot of comedic elements, though HZ shape shifting that one time was pretty awesome. Reminded me a little bit of the movie "Underworld" with Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman. The ambiguity of the CP and MY until the second to last episode and reveal blew my mind and probably what hitched this drama from an 8 to an 8.5. I have seen many Scooby Doo reveals before but not on this scale. Out of everything possible, I never would have predicted that one. Though I must say, after CP's dashing good looks, getting MY was a total letdown lol. It all made sense as soon as things were revealed, why CP had that reaction to Chilan when she first arrived, how with the spoon and water and hand washing, he was able to trigger her memories of MY and of course the other things we saw in flashbacks; chess playing, the dagger gift, same wine, same bday, etc. With a drama still so full of unanswered questions, all of these were put to rest. Though a good villain, MY's actual agenda harmed his race just as much if not more so then the Qian folks, so there was no greater good in his plan. It was all about power and control.

My 2nd favorite character was Chilan; the actress nailed that performance to a T. She was badass and kickass in every way possible. The perfect general, advisor, protector, and helping hand to HZ and the other two. I'm glad she became queen of the Qi tribe, she deserved that more than anyone. She had a heart of gold and could handle diplomacy well. Even though the love of her life ended up being the villain and a crazy one at that, she was still able to rise above that. I hope she finds her happiness with a wonderful person from whichever race. Same goes for WJ; I feel so bad for him. But talk about someone who started immature and grew to be a bit more forthcoming and understanding. He had an unrequited love for FL but thankfully this was a peaceful love triangle that retained its friendship of both parties regardlessly. But the fact that he decided to be a monk due an unnecessary character's issues as well as finding out his older brother was a fake for a decade, I've got no idea how his mental health was still intact.

Other favorite characters do include the FL or SJR but only when she was smart and mature, her ditzy side was less tolerable. She was a walking contradiction; one minute she would Sherlock her way out of the largest puzzle, the next she'd be walking around like a grown doll, talking to herself. Keha, Liu Fu, SJR's mom, Lao Hu, and Kaka were all great as supporting characters and their personalities meshed with whatever was going on in the moment. Though this was obviously a lower budget production, the costumes and sets actually fit their parties.

Cons: The amount of unanswered questions, cases that had very little to do with the main plot save bring the leads closer together especially why turn the Qi people into monkeys instead of wolves through that poison. Monkeys and wolves aren't from the same DNA pile and it was just completely out of the blue. Poisoned his own people just to make HZ choose between the race and SJR? MY was a total lunatic, yet developed a brotherly affection for WJ that he himself couldn't explain; probably because both were outcasts and WJ was innocent and too nice. The unnecessary cases which showed Qian people getting harmed, obviously didn't show MY's plan that all Qian's needed to die, but it actually set HZ to understand both races in a new light.

I wish they revealed answers like what did that Ember look like? Was it edible and small like the Qi stone? How did SJR ingest it in the first place and how was it removed? How did CP and his wife die? Where was the king this entire time? He wasn't seen onscreen again after the last treaty talk with fake CP in the early 20s of episodes. How did the entire city plus royal family just forget about the disappearance of CP aka MY at the end? No explanation but at the wedding WJ was now the new CP? HY was chucked into maybe 4 episodes and then disappeared just as randomly as she'd arrived; what was her actual purpose? Other then make people's skin crawl from her child-woman "gege" babble? It would have been way better if WJ was just left with his unrequited love and could fall in love again in the future instead of the vow of celibacy. So bizarre and quite unnecessary.

I also wish the ending was wrapped up better. The fight was awesome and brutal but that last episode, SJR's choice and flashbacks and HZ risking his life to save her, while great, it should have not just had a fade to black and explanation by SJR that he saved her, with a quick cut to wedding and explanation of the treaty signed though we don't know why, WJ is now the new CP without any real anything, SJR has HZ's powers, while he's basically a regular Joe. Instead, they should have shown her waking up and finding him awake by her side in this new world of them essentially switching. Then show both kings signing the treaty and having that being properly explained even the whole fake CP thing, then have a full wedding and her showing off her newfound skills after the fact not in the beginning. The way it was done was just slapped together for some unnecessary slapstick humor. Given that the leads only got together a few episodes before, the wedding should have been done right. You can save the comedy for the post credit ending. So not a fully satisfactory ending; it deserved better.

Would I recommend it? Yes. This drama had a lot of good elements if you could get past some of the confusion. Great mysteries for the most part, good acting, though a beyond slow burn romance, great characters, decent comedy. All in all, a good show.