I really couldn’t tell you why, but for some reason I’d been sitting on the third and final volume of Priest’s Guardian series. Maybe I was sad it was going to be over? That’s likely, but in any case, I did finally sit down to read this novel.
And I can tell you probably for the third time that this story did confuse me here and there. Even in the end. Perhaps I should have made my old ass a flow chart or something. What I do know is that Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei, aka Lord Emissary, are officially, finally together. Once Zhao Yunlan learned that they’d shared many lives together, that was pretty much it. And it seems like Shen Wei finally decided to abandon his promise to not persue anything romantic with Zhao Yunlan in this life, because it appears that the Great Seal is on the verge of breaking.
Of course, that’s a major problem. One that both Shen Wei, Zhao Yunlan, and the entire Special Investigations department are working tirelessly on trying to solve. Despite Zhao Yunland and Shen Wei being together, Zhu Hong can’t help but to still pine over her boss. Zhao Yunlan does a great job of continuously shutting her down. In fact, I think she’s lucky she’s managed to avoid Shen Wei’s jealous wrath. Even after she and the rest of the department learn of Shen Wei’s true identity, she still doesn’t relent. Her family gets her into a bit of trouble, along with Zhao Yunlan, but what appears to be trouble at first, actually helps him put together the last pieces of his lifes’ puzzle.
Daqing, both sassy and way too good at being a detective, felt like he had a bit of a smaller role this time around, but some of the memories of his past were restored. They were both eye opening and a little heart-breaking. Perhaps the biggest promotion goes to Guo Changcheng. A seemingly normal human who was perhaps accidentily assigned to the Special Investigations Unit, actually serves a great role in this story. It is learned and revealed towards the end that he is in fct Zhao Yunlan’s soul flame. This is important as this helps Shen Wei with his overall plan.
Zhao Yunlan is rightfully furious at Shen Wei a number of times for both lying to him and keeping his memories from his prior lives at bay. It’s all a part of Shen Wei’s bigger plan to take down his evil twin brother from wiping out the planet, but I do agree that Zhao Yunlan knowing the truth couldn’t have hindered the operation at all. But I also understand him wanting to play his cards close to his chest. The more his strategy is controlled, the more likely the desired outcome. There are plenty of stressful, and honestly gut-wrenching moments in this novel, but I can spoil it for you by telling you it’s a happy ending.
Like I said, I might not have understood every single thing that was explained about this world of gods and monsters, but in the end good does prevail, even if that form looks a little unconventional. Now that I’ve finished the series, I am interested to check out the show that created from it back in 2018. It sounds like I will be disappointed in the romance department, but I’m really curious how closely the show followed its source material. Stay tuned!