I want to know more about the “sirs” mentioned by the scavenger captain when he talks about the bow. Are there people in power who distribute weapons? What’s the hierarchy in this apocalypse? That hint dropped in casual dialogue makes me curious about the wider world. Maybe Li Yu will encounter a settlement or an organization later. The story is opening up to more than just scavenger camps. That excites me.
So our main guy is a time traveler? That's not something you see every day in a wuxia story, or maybe you do, but the way it's handled here is interesting. The shock of being in a new world, then trying to study his way out of trouble before finding a master, it feels very human. I like that he didn't instantly become a kung fu god. He had to work for it, even if he did have a crazy old hermit teach him. It makes his success in the arena feel earned.
1 The scene where Bai Mengjin beats up Bai Mengxing is cathartic but also a little funny. The way she mocks his vocabulary by saying he should say "disrespecting superiors" instead of "no respect for elders" is such a petty burn. It's the kind of small victory that feels very human, not some grand statement about justice, just a grown woman finally getting to correct a brat who annoyed her centuries ago.
The mission to start a pharmaceutical company is a genius plot device. It forces Cheng Ming from the shadows into direct confrontation with Huaming. He can’t stay a back-alley healer forever. The transition from fugitive to CEO is a massive genre shift that I am completely here for.
This story reminds me of old Chinese ghost stories my grandmother used to tell. The family trying to protect a child from supernatural forces, calling on ancestors for help, going to a village wise woman. It's folklore come to life.
So the question is: why would a legendary hero like Zhao Xiangdong with a Medal 101 be hiding in a poverty-stricken village? He was missing for 60 years. What happened? My brain is going wild with theories. Maybe he is actually dead and this is an imposter? No, that would be too cheap. Maybe he went rogue and is hiding from the very government that is now looking for him? Or maybe he is a time traveler? The "burned vitality" bit makes me think his power is severely suppressed. This mystery of his past is the biggest hook for me. The murder case is just the inciting incident; the real story is "Who is Zhao Xiangdong, and what did he do?" I am so curious.