Cheng Hua

Heaven Official's Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu) is a Chinese animated series, or donghua, based on a popular web novel by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. The same author also wrote the novel behind Mo Dao Zu Shi. The novel was posted online from 2017 to 2018, and its English print edition later reached the New York Times Best Seller list. This second season streamed on Bilibili, with 12 episodes running from October 2023 to January 2024. Red Dog Culture House animated it, Hu Ya directed it, and Crunchyroll carried it in English. The first season came out in 2020. The hero is Xie Lian. Long ago he was the crown prince of a kingdom called Xian Le, and he became a god while still very young. Then he lost all of his followers and was thrown out of heaven, not once but more than once. Now, about 800 years later, he has risen to heaven again. But nobody prays to him anymore. He is poor, he collects scraps to get by, and he takes on odd jobs and investigations to pay his debts. Most other gods see him as a joke. Through it all, he stays kind, calm, and gentle. In the first season, Xie Lian met a charming young man who called himself San Lang. In truth, this was Hua Cheng, also known as Crimson Rain Sought Flower. He is a Ghost King, one of the four most dangerous ghosts in the world, called the Four Calamities. Gods fear him, but with Xie Lian he is warm, playful, and very protective. Hua Cheng seems to know a lot about Xie Lian's past, and he will not say why he cares so much. Season 2 opens with Xie Lian back in the heavenly court. The other gods now suspect who his friend really was. Only Jun Wu, the Heavenly Emperor who rules over all the gods, treats Xie Lian with real respect. Jun Wu tells him that a missing god has sent a call for help from Ghost City, the busy capital of the ghost world, where Hua Cheng rules over everything. Xie Lian goes in secretly to find the lost god. This time, Hua Cheng meets him in his real form, and the bond between them grows deeper. The season also shows more of the tension and politics inside heaven itself. The show is a fantasy mystery with many layers. Ghost City is full of strange markets, dark humor, and creepy but colorful ghosts. Gods in the heavenly court argue, plot, and protect their own power. Under the adventure is a slow, tender romance between two men, since the novel is a well-known boys' love (BL) story. The series also asks what it means to keep doing good when the world does not reward you. This season is best watched after the first one. Fans of the novel, and of Chinese fantasy with gods, ghosts, and sword fights, will find a lot to enjoy in its rich art and its gentle, loyal leads.