#tgcf revised version

[reborn-from-taxes]

"San Lang, what are you drawing. San Lang?"

Part 2 of Prince XL x Noble HC >:] more to come soon cos I'm not over this idea bye.

Enjoy my scrapped text lol

[orchidsflowergarden]

Screaming crying throwing up right now because Xie lian named the self sacrifial fighting style after Wu Ming, the person who sacrificed himself for him.

[sapphicteadragon]

TGCF Revised Edition Book 1 is now live!

Hey friends!! The Book 1 master document is now compiled and available to read on my website. Footnotes have been redone and some formatting has been fixed, as well as some further polishing of the translation in the earlier chapters.

The individual chapter releases are also still available, in case anyone wants to find a specific chapter. They have also all been edited accordingly, so there is no difference between them and the master document.

Happy reading!

天官赐福，百无禁忌！

[lazyrunawayphilosopher]

Whenever Hong Hong'er fought with his family, he used to go up to Mount Taicang to watch Xie Lian play happily on the swing(context from the TGCF revised version).

[mxtxfanatic]

Feng Xin and Mu Qing are such great friends to Xie Lian that Xie Lian has to tell them to their faces to stop using his trauma over their abandonment of him to beat each other over the heads while claiming to be the "better friend":

Xie Lian seized the opportunity to separate the two, amiably saying, “First, the Crown Prince, His Highness out of your mouths is precisely me. This Highness didn’t speak, so don’t use me as a weapon you can pick up and cast aside in attacking others. I don’t think that either of your houses’ darens would engage in this kind of lack of decorum!”

—Chapter 4: A Ghost Marries a Crown Prince on a Bridal Sedan (Part 2), me

What great friend behavior.

[lttawnymadison]

TGCF Revised Version Afterword by MXTX

Since I kept seeing snippets of this, I wanted to read the whole thing for myself. I'd already bought the book on JJWXC and did an MTL for this. It's so wonderful that she's back and sharing new things and that the revised is finally done! - Tawny --------------------------------------------- The author has something to say:

Seeing the small red clay stove again.

———— Afterword of "Heaven Official's Blessing" 2022

■ Finally done!

Long time no see! It's another afterword starting with "finally." Without further ado, seasoned readers would know that I make substantial revisions. For instance, scenes like the Bai Feng Mountain Hunt and the ending recognition of Sizhui in the serial version of "Mo Dao Zu Shi" were not originally there.

The revisions in "Heaven Official's Blessing" are the most extensive of all my works. It was a huge project, as it is also the longest in terms of length, serialized over eight months. Due to poor health and other reasons, the revision process was interrupted for a long time before I picked it up again, and it sporadically took about five to six months over several years.

In the era of web novels, there are endless new entertainments, and honestly, not many people re-read a story. Plus, some problems in the serialized version are structural and can't be changed, but I still tried my best to address my regrets. After all, when I was serializing it, I was almost always in a feverish and sick state, barely pushing through. Additionally, I often enjoy comparing different versions of my favorite authors' works back and forth, finding pleasure in the process. So, for readers, discovering "Wow, this part has changed!" is like starting a new journey with Easter eggs in a second round.

■ The new revised version includes about 100,000 words of new content!

These 100k words are mainly concentrated in the latter half of Volume 1 and Volume 3, but there are plenty scattered throughout the text. For example, I fulfilled a promise to A-Hua, giving him several new outfits. Seeing A-Hua dressed beautifully in a new hairstyle to meet his gege made me happy.

In terms of the intensity of revisions, personally, I feel it goes like this:

Volume 1 and Volume 2 > Volume 3 > Volume 5 > Volume 4.

Additionally, the new version cuts some redundant words and plots that weren't very meaningful. However, I tried to keep all the original interactions between Hua Lian as complete as possible. If some minor interactions are missing, they weren't deleted but moved around.

***IMPORTANT NOTE!! MXTX's comments in the below section are about the differences between her first draft and the original 2018 version -- not about the original version and the newly revised version.***

■ One day, I suddenly dug out something.

An antique from 2017, a folder called "Heaven Official's Blessing Setting Collection."

Curiously, I opened it and read with interest.

● Comparing the original setting outline and the main text, the highest fidelity is in the main storyline between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian.

A-Hua, restored at a ratio of 1:100.

Hua's character setting is the most detailed, and virtually every point made it into the main text, including details like "ghosts don't like the sun, so Hua Cheng sometimes drapes a red cloth over his head"...

Points not used, listed a few:

As a child:

· After being saved from falling off a city wall, he foolishly followed a parade over and over again, grabbing people to ask, "Who is that? Who is that person?" People told him, "That's the royal son, the future Celestial God, the most outstanding Crown Prince of Xianle Nation ever!"

(This point couldn't be used because in the text A-Hua was held in the Crown Prince's arms after being saved)

· At home, he was often punished to stand or kneel, not given food, and wore old clothes, accused of stealing money. Whenever he argued with his family, he would stubbornly sleep in the Prince's temple overnight.

· Went to Mount Tai Cang to volunteer sweeping red leaves at Huangji Observatory, just to sneak peeks at his future wife happily swinging.

After becoming the ghost king:

· One of his hobbies is buying and building houses everywhere.

· Very protective of his leather boots, would (badly) polish them until they shone.

· To other devout followers of Xie Lian, he said: "You have good taste."

· Secretly prepared many betrothal gifts for his beloved god, wanting to marry him!

The character setting of Xie Lian as a teacher in the serialized version compared to the initial draft, the serialized text subtly differs. The initial draft was more... exquisite and elegant, very serious. The serialized text is more... humorous. I think perhaps because some plot points were tragic, Xie Lian thought he should be happier to make the readers more relaxed, so he drove me to adjust his mental state! But due to the spiritual oppression at that time, the character's depth was not enough, while in the new revised version, I hope he can show a more self-content state on the same core basis.

Excerpts from the unused original setting:

· Super easy-going. Easy-going means: if given fifty bucks, he would happily dress in drag and dance. Accepts haggling. Thirty bucks works. Twenty bucks too!

· The observatory is small, the house is broken, wants to grow flowers. Leaks during rain, so he uses a bucket to catch rainwater.

· Because he can't afford a caretaker, he cleans himself, and also feeds chickens. Chickens eat flowers. Keeps a cat.

· Completely engrossed in discussing serious matters, he unknowingly finished all the broken sweet dumplings!

● Water, Earth, Wind original setting:

The highest fidelity is the main line between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, followed by the Water, Earth, Wind subplot.

The main conflict hasn't changed. Just... how could the original setting of Water, Earth, Wind be so dark and terrifying!

The character morals in the main text improved a lot, otherwise, the original Black Water would be sheer scheming + murderous! The ending for the Wind Master would have been more tragic.

The Venerable of Empty Words suddenly became an improvised character. It seemed like an ancient fable-like monster, making the main text more interesting than the original setting.

Overall, the formal version is a bit better written than the original draft.

● The unfortunate life of Lang Ying:

Lang Ying? Is there such a character? I don't remember!

Ah? It seems there was such a person, but I don't remember any of his plotlines.

This is most people's feeling towards the character of Lang Ying. It's not a delusion because he barely had any significant plot. In fact, any valuable scenes could have been replaced equivalently, so in the new revised version, I deleted this character.

But, in the 2017 setting collection, I suddenly found that I had actually opened a separate document for Lang Ying, and his role was defined as a "growing-type BOSS!"

I was silent.

And immediately opened the document, curious about my initial setting. A "growing-type BOSS," how did he become someone whose deletion went unnoticed...? (I even don't know how to address him!)

Who knows, perhaps out of excitement, I accidentally pressed the wrong shortcut, and somehow it became irreversible, leaving only an empty document for me to stare in disbelief. The once "growing-type BOSS" has now forever become a mystery!

This is the unfortunate life of the deleted Lang Ying.

· There was another document in the setting collection called "Swordsmith." I opened the document and read it with interest.

I was shocked. Because I completely forgot I had conceived this story. Why didn't I write it?!

Darn.

I know why I didn't write it. This story... it had no ending!

——————— Thus, the magical glimpse into the "Heaven Official's Blessing Setting Collection" concludes!

■ I like men with stories!

Maybe because I watched an outstanding work as a child. It was a memoir, the protagonist in the biography was gentle and affable, and the protagonist in the memories was cold and ruthless. The story was scattered with the poignant fragrance of white plum blossoms amidst bloody and stormy circumstances.

This almost perfect work deeply influenced my aesthetics, leading me to be most interested in the memory parts of characters in various works. Although many viewers prefer the present scenes, often asking when the memories will end, I actually find these intense and painful memories to be the most fascinating!

A story is the history of a character, as well as the key to their personality. A person with a story stands before me like a puzzle. The way to solve this puzzle is to understand their story. Because the biography makes one curious to know more about a character they like, loving them more now because of their past. When serializing "Heaven Official," my greatest pain initially was telling myself, "This time I don't want to write a memory slaughter," deliberately trying to avoid a structure similar to previous works, yet I still hadn't found a better way to express it, resulting in my deep dissatisfaction with the later part of Volume 1. I was also hesitant to fully commit to the memory scenes in Volume 2, and with the heavy mental burden, this part was very painful to write. When revising, looking at Volume 2 was almost unbearable, because I'm the type of person who, as a child, would immediately switch channels when a TV show's protagonist was about to be wrongfully accused or embarrassed. I couldn't help but knock on a friend's door and ask:

Me: Was the author suffering some kind of mental trauma at the time? This negative energy is too horrifying, the protagonist is so pitiful, I really admire anyone who could read through Volume 2 completely.

Friend: Do you even have the right to say that?

But the memory slaughter in Volume 4 was much freer, written in one breath, so the revisions for this volume were also the least.

So, will you still write large segments of memory slaughter?

Um, well, we'll see, haha, hehe...

■ Closing Remarks:

Lastly, I'll address the question some asked me, "Will the new revised 'Heaven Official's Blessing' be more torturous?"

Me: You're talking nonsense. 'Heaven Official's Blessing' is a sweet pampering story, thank you!

Acknowledgments:

Shi Nai'an wrote in the preface to "Water Margin": "On snowy nights, about five or six people listen to my storytelling; on rainy days, about seven or eight; on bright and sunny days, about ten. I read, everyone listens, and we are all happy, with no other thoughts." When I read this as a young person, I was delighted. What divine days! Writing first to entertain oneself, then to entertain others. Self-expression and self-acceptance are certainly primary, but the affection of others is also a significant positive feedback. Thus, first, I thank the steadfast readers who have accompanied me all this time. I've thought about just walking away amidst the noisy disputes; abandoning the account amidst the tumultuous world! It seems not bad. But looking back, I can't bear to leave some truly sincere readers.

I've had authors I liked disappear from the internet, and I always feel like a part of my youth has vanished, a feeling quite distressing, reminiscent of overly grand and harsh things like the tears of the era or the torrent of history. So, I want to accompany my readers as long as possible, hoping that the day of parting comes later. Perhaps I'm not good enough now, but I will strive to be better in the future. Or perhaps you've never truly understood what kind of person I am, or even completely misunderstood me, but as long as you genuinely like my stories, we can sit down and chat.

And, I must mention my friends, who can be described as having the courage of a hero. Long time no see, Teacher Changyang's illustrations are still as beautiful as those of a celestial being, I hope Teacher CAS can go to bed earlier and worry less, and Teacher Kuohao, who despite a heavy workload, still fully honored our agreement. The "Heaven Official's Blessing" radio drama is really fantastic! It reminded me of the original intention of writing this story, and I was very moved. If it weren't for the silent companionship and efforts of these old friends, Mo Xiang Tong Xiu might have stopped writing back in 2016, disappearing from the world of martial arts, and thus, "Heaven Official's Blessing" would not have been born. I look forward to retracing the paths we once walked together when gathering ideas. And many friends who reached out to help and encourage me, thank you for accompanying me through the snowy nights.

[lettiegrief]

Best moments from book 2 of the revised version of TGCF for me

Hong Hong-er asking Xie Lian to hold him and snuggling into his arms like a kitten:

"The child cuddled into Xie Lian's arms, as well-behaved as a kitten." Chapter 58

Hong Hong-er covered Xie Lian with a blanket:

"Xie Lian suddenly woke up, turned around, and felt something slipping off his body. When he lowered his head, he saw that it was a patched blanket." Chapter 71

Xie Lian comforting Hong Hong-er and giving him a daruma doll to sleep cuddling with it:

"The child hugged Xie Lian tightly and cried a little. Tired of crying, he finally fell asleep. Xie Lian remembered that many children liked to hold toys while sleeping, but he didn't have any toys, which made him very distressed. He went around looking for someone to beg for help and finally got a daruma doll to put in his arms and let him hold." Chapter 60

Xie Lian holding the flower given by Hong Hong-er tightly close to his heart, as if it was the most precious thing in the world and being comforted by it:

"But when he lowered his head, he saw a lone little flower not far away from him.

Xie Lian wasn't sure when that flower appeared there, so he freed his hand and took it.

It was a small flower. A snow-white flower, the light green calyx and thin stems were still wet with dew, like tears, and it looked very pitiful. The light fragrance felt familiar, unobtrusive yet refreshing.

He couldn't help but hold the flower tightly and close to his heart." Chapter 73

[hualianisms]

in the revised tgcf, mxtx made a change to the line where XL says that HC's beloved must have been very lucky.

in the original CN TGCF novel, XL says that HC's beloved must have the kind of good fortune earned through several lifetimes. i've explained the significance of this and what it means in my old post.

in the revised TGCF, "several lifetimes" is now changed to "a hundred lifetimes". it's now canon that XL believes that to be HC's beloved is 100 lifetimes' worth of good fortune. it's now canon that HC believes that simply meeting XL was 100 lifetimes' worth of good fortune.

hualian meeting each other and being able to be together is a hundred lifetimes' worth of blessings.

i really love the idea of hualian each believing that the other is the kind of person you only earn after (metaphorically) going through a hundred lifetimes of birth and rebirth.

bc both of them had to defy heaven, fate and death to meet each other and fall in love bc the heavens never meant for them to be together. XL defied the heavens to save HC, and HC defied fate & death itself. fate & heaven & the world wanted hc to die young, but he fought and clawed his way to be able to become a ghost king whose existence is devoted to his beloved. he actively fought to be able to meet xl again and stand at his side protecting him and loving him. hualian are soulmates by choice, not by something predestined.

[yulen-the-ghost]

What if Wu Ming didn't know he doesn't need to breathe until Xie Lian chocked him?? 👀

[flower-of-the-desert]

Saw this tweet, screamed loudly into my pillow and proceeded to tweet my feral thoughts about it at like 7am. So I just wanted to share them here too. Everything I've seen so far about the revised version seems chef's kiss to me.

I know I've said it before about how I love how protective and possessive Hua Cheng is and I'll say it again!! He seems to be even more so in the revised version which is so delicious. After everything he saw Xie Lian go through, he's become completely intolerable to any harm, however minor, coming to him. And that makes so much sense and it's such a attractive character trait. Even if it is Xie Lian himself trying to put himself in danger (which is also a result of the things he went through and how that affected Xie Lian's perception of his well-being and it's importance- or lack thereof 😭), Hua Cheng will not allow it. I love that these are some of the moments where he asserts his dominance and control over Xie Lian most clearly (and Xie Lian listens!!).

Is this also the place to mention that this is why I don't agree with interpretations of Hua Cheng taking things too far and being too rough/mean/whatever to the point where Xie Lian becomes genuinely upset with him... yeah so I don't agree with that lmfao

"I'll make sure it's too late" goes so hard like Hua Cheng deliberately making it so that xl can't return because it will cause him pain one way or another and again, that is something Hua Cheng will not allow. Even yanking him back and holding him in his arms to make sure Xie Lian really doesnt even try to take another step. Protective alpha mode has been activated. 🔥🔥🔥

Overall, I just really fucking love Hua Cheng's care being so absolute and unbending no matter what the situation is (like healing Xie Lian's frostbite in the middle of that whole mess!) and even if Xie Lian is squirming and saying no or lashing out at him at first - and I love LOVE that this isn't - at least in my interpretation of the characters - because Xie Lian is genuinely not ok with being cared for by Hua Cheng and being taken care of in this way with Hua Cheng displaying assertive dominance and control over what Xie Lian can and cant do in regards to his well-being (qualities which we know Xie Lian looooovess in Hua Cheng) but because this is one of the ways his trauma manifests and makes him fight against someone who reminds Xie Lian that his pain does matter and not only does it matter but it is the most important thing to be taken care of even if the whole world around them is burning.

It's healing for Xie Lian (who ends the last fight with Jun Wu finally being able to admit that it "does hurt" again for the first time since the temple scene and I do think that is largely if not entirely thanks to Hua Cheng) and also for ME after going through that fucking traumatic flashback and seeing what they did to my sweet princess Lianlian. 😭😭😭

Anyway, all this to say I LOVE HUALIAN'S WHOLE DYNAMIC SO MUCH and especially Hua Cheng's possessive controlling nature manifesting in this way in regards to Xie Lian, both because he loves and desires him and because he doesn't allow anyone or anything to threaten Xie Lian's well-being.

(Also "I've taken you. I'm not returning you to them." hits all my possessive alpha tops buttons just right ok 🥵🥵🥵)

[jamsiewamsiee]

So like. I just learnt about the revised version of tgcf which is like 100k or smth longer and there's also more sensorship in the revised version and it's also said that xl and hc "borrowing spiritual powers" kisses are now forehead touches. So like, during the blackwater arc, do they just??? Slam their foreheads together or something??? 'cause that's like, really funny in my head.

And like, I'm thinking of qin rong, just looking at these two repeatedly slamming their foreheads against eachother, and being like hella confused. Like.

[fenglianist]

revised edition mulian my beloved... especially xianle era. the way xl went all the way down the mountain to look for mq bc mq seemed upset and xl was worried about him. the way xl always knew mq was a good person and believed in him and praised him and asked him to trust xl. the way he reassured mq that mq would never be kicked out. the way all mq truly wanted was to be an equal to xl and be xl's friend and he didn't know that all along he had always meant so much to xl, that xl cared so much about him.

the way mq left only bc he wanted to help xl and fx using a different method. the way mq didn't want to have to pretend to side with the 33 heavenly officials against xl and it hurt him to do so bc he cares so much about xl. the way losing mq broke xl's heart bc he loved mq so much. the way despite all the misunderstandings, both of them only ever wanted each other's regard and friendship. bc underneath all the hurt lies so much warmth and care between the two of them even 800 years later.

[orchidsflowergarden]

[sapphicteadragon]

TGCF Revised Edition Translation

Greetings, friends!

Since April 2024, I've been working on a full translation of the newest 2024 revised edition of TGCF, since it has so thoroughly taken over my life and well, since nobody has done a full translation of the revised edition yet, I thought I'd do it myself.

Since Chinese isn't my native language, translating takes me a long time, and I have to fit it around other life commitments. But, rest assured, I do not use MTL for any of my work!

The revised edition has a lot of changes from the original, and content is both added and removed. This is the final version of the story that MXTX wanted to write, and it really shows - I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I am!

Happy reading!

天官赐福，百无禁忌！

-------

大家好，朋友们！

自2024年4月以来，我一直正在对【天官赐福】最新2024年修订本进行完整翻译，因为它已经这么彻底地占据我的生活。既然还没有人对修订本做完整翻译，我决定自己做的。

既然中文不是我的本族语，我花在翻译时间很久，而我也必须工作在别的事其中。可是，你们放心吧，我不为翻译用MTL！

修订本与原本相比有很多改动，内容既被添加又删除。这是MXTX想要写的故事的最终版本，超明显的 —— 我希望你们都和我一样享受它！！

阅读快乐！！！

[lazyrunawayphilosopher]

Sect Master Hua Cheng and Flower God Xie Lian on the cover of TGCF AD S3 episode 8

[emotionaldisaster909]

OH MY FUCKING GOD THE 6th TGCF AD EPISODE WHERE THEY APPROACH BANYUE

I’M GONNA CEASE TO EXIST

FIRST, HUA CHENG NOT ONLY SUCKED OUT THE VENOM FROM XIE LIAN’S HAND, BUT HE ALSO SWALLOWED IT??? ALRIGHT???

Indecent metaphors aside, I think he probably did it to, quite literally, take Xie Lian’s pain onto(into) himself, especially considering that the snake was originally going for him

Furthermore, there’s additional dialogue in this scene, where Xie Lian, trying to calm everyone down, says that he frequently gets bitten and only ever has a fever at worst

Adding that he also doesn’t feel pain anymore, because he “probably got used it”

And as he says it, he notices that his bitten hand is shaking. Finding it weird since he doesn’t feel the pain.

Which leads me to believe that it wasn’t his hand that was shaking… but rather it were Hua Cheng’s hands, holding his.

Hearing how Xie Lian

Doesn’t feel pain anymore

And vividly remembering

When he did.

The VA work is magnificent, as you can hear Hua Cheng’s voice shaking, his breathing laboured, the vivid, striking, all-encompassing pain and horror in the way he sounds the moment he sees the bite on Xie Lian’s hand.

I almost fucking cried

We will not survive book 4 adaptation.