EPISODE 1 RECAP
Once, there was a swordsman who managed to both look like a 15-year-old kid and be the best martial artist in the world. Everyone feared him. He was so good that once, he chased after a ship into the open sea in a small fishing boat. He even attacked the captain of the ship alone.
He won the fight in the end, but for some reason decided to disappear from the martial arts world completely. Although, the glorious legends of his glowing skin and dainty smirks lived on.
Or something like that.
Present time. In a prosperous city lives a doctor who happens to look exactly like the swordsman who disappeared. Spoiler (but not really, cause if you can’t tell by this point, then you’re not paying attention, hah): it is the swordsman. He’s dwelling here under a different identity – street healer Li Lianhua.
Switching to another character thank god cause I’m not really buying Cheng Yi’s acting as a seasoned and aloof man of martial arts : a young student of a detective institution is getting his new badge today.
He’s actually not supposed to be here or getting anything, but he insists on taking part in the training they offer in order to get involved and make it easier for him to look for his missing teacher.
He comes into the hall wearing a mask and that bothers the people there.
In the end, they make him take off the mask. Astonishing, I’m telling you. There was no way anyone could tell who he was with that mask on. No way at all.
Fang Duobing strolls outside to begin his day. He runs into Li Lianhua who is in trouble with the authority because he accidentally killed somebody with his cheap medicine or something.
Fang Duobing, being an eager youngster, bails Li Lianhua out with his “detective skills” and the two of them end up chatting happily over dinner in a restaurant.
But who would have thought this has all been a plot by Li Lianhua. His complete motive is still vague but he probably enjoys humiliating students of this detective institution.
Li Lianhua drugs Fang Duobing and dashes.
Fang Duobing is enraged and determined to find out who this man is.
Somewhere else in the world, a teacher guy turns into a golden statue right after he dies and nobody thinks it’s weird. They’re just like: RIP, Master!
COMMENTS
A mystery/detective drama with a dash of fantasy is what we’re looking at.
Plot and story: very interesting. Though the mystery aspect could be a little more… mysterious.
Pacing: good enough.
Cast: could be better.
Joseph Zeng is believable enough as the naïve and energetic Fang Duobing. But Cheng Yi’s youthful look – while it can work well in a different drama genre – doesn’t help him in this role of a revered swordsman; and the acting, though not bad, isn’t enough to make up for this drawback. Li Lianhua is neither threatening nor intimidating, while the role requires both, and his attempts at his character’s secrecy kind of give away the secrets even more easily to the audience; it’s hard to believe Li Lianhua is any older than Fang Duobing, which renders their dynamic somewhat unconvincing.
I’m sure there’s a reason why Cheng Yi was cast, but having seen only a few episodes, that reason is not clear to me yet.