Roll that Review: Ghost Emperor Wild Wife: Dandy Eldest Miss

“My apologies, I’ve never required a reason to beat someone up,” She paused for a moment and the smiling intent in her eyes increased, “If you insist on wanting a reason, then it would be… that I don’t see eye to eye with you!”

Hello and welcome to the second Roll that Review! I’ve actually been dreading this one, but again, this is just my opinion on what I’ve read, and this one is… less than stellar… by a lot. I don’t recommend it. As such, I won’t really be willingly hiding any spoilers to the story but I won’t be dishing them out either, I will just be trying my best to get it across that I didn’t like it but not be too crass… Read at your own risk. Mostly because I just feel like this novel was terrible and wish I’d never read it… ever. I have a lot of problems with this novel and it might be a bit harder to read because of my displeasure. It’s just difficult to put a sensible review together but I just felt it must be known that this novel wasn’t as good as I expected and was a massive disappointment.

This is written after reading 711 chapters, being dropped promptly after.

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Title: Ghost Emperor Wild Wife: Dandy Eldest Miss
Author: Xiao Qi Ye
Series: In-Universe
Rating: ☆☆☆☆ (-4/10 stars)

Synopsis: Yun Luofeng, the genius of Huaxia Medical School, died from an accident, and her soul attached on to the useless Eldest Miss of the General Estate in Longxia Continent. Not only was this trash ungifted in the literary arts and martial arts, but she was also big chested without a brain, arrogant, and self-willed. It was not enough for her to have a perfect fiancé like the Crown Prince. She actually forcibly snatched a pretty boy in public, leading to the Crown Prince to annul their engagement. However, the waste could not withstand this shock, so she actually hung herself to end her life. Opening her eyes again, she was no longer the previous useless eldest miss. With a contract with the Medical God’s Code, the possession of a spiritual plant space, and miraculous hands that can bring the dead back to life, her medical skills will stun the world! Extending from the royals and nobles on top to the merchants and old and influential families below, they will all compete to curry her favor. Even His Highness the Crown Prince, who previously broke the engagement, came knocking on the door with a desire to reconcile? In regard to this, a certain mysterious man finally could not endure it anymore and proclaimed, “Whoever dares to come and harass my woman, let them come but never return!”

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Positives of Ghost Emperor Wild Wife: Dandy Eldest Miss (henceforth known as GE)

Author Confidence: When talking about the author, something I look for is the confidence and willingness to continue a path. In this case, the author Xiao Qi Ye has confidence and undoubtedly willingness to continue the story of Yun Luofeng and her various little friends’ adventures through the world of the Longxia Continent. Granted, the only reason why this is on the plus side is that I have to admire the tenacity and bullheadedness of the author. I do not admire the story, the constant plot devices or the various incidents that occur in the story, but, that does not mean that I don’t dislike the author’s bullheadedness to continue the story regardless. As I’m sure I said in the last review it takes time, effort, and undeniable effort to write a story, much less keep one up for over 700 chapters.

As the length draws on it can bring thoughts of possibly discontinuing it, even after only 2 or 20 or 200 chapters, it might be too much of a burden. Thinking of that, the effort put into the story and the confidence of the author is something that I can say is positive. With time, hopefully, the author will find a satisfying conclusion to the story…. Or put it down.

Short Chapters: Personally, when I read something I like having short chapters, something that will have me satisfied and not disappointed or disgusted by having such a long read. Sadly, this isn’t a satisfying amount of characters or words but rather a necessary one. The length of the chapters gives one time to digest what has been going on in the story without being too much but is rather small compared to others. However, it’s on the positives so I’ll discuss why it’s a positive to be a short chapter.

Digestion is important when reading, if the chapter is too long you might feel pressured to get to the end, skipping over key facts or even just giving quick glances at the words before rushing on. In my personal experience the longer it is the more I struggle through the chapters and think “Ugh, this length…” but with shorter chapters, I feel like its more tolerable. It gives one time to digest and absorb what they are reading, even if it might take a little longer. It just might be more comfortable reading something with somewhat shorter chapters than longer chapters as you don’t feel as rushed to get to the end. Of course, that opinion is objective as if the story is fully immersive and something you enjoy then no matter the length you will be taken to it and be absorbed into the world regardless, but if the story is not to your liking, having a short chapter is more satisfying than slogging through a massive amount of words.

The double-edged sword of a ‘Strong Willed’ female lead: A little bit of positive and a little bit of negative here, Yun Luofeng is a strong-willed main female lead, but her only positive trait is that she’s not easily discouraged. If I took one positive from her personality it’s that she is defensive of those under her, protecting their wants and needs, as well as being emotionally stable enough to not get affected with taunts/jeers/insults. Quickly that opinion is doused with the disappointment of the rest of her personality.

Yun Luofeng has no qualms of fighting, no issue of slandering those around her or putting people in their place, but debauchery is also included. I just like her straightforward and concise nature as she doesn’t require others to approve of her actions. If you reduced her arrogant behavior and lightened some of the strange quirks she has I feel like she could become a good strong willed character. But she’s not my creation so that’s just my thoughts on it.

Very green and eco-friendly MC: OK so, this is more of a joke positive, but I thought it would be fitting here just because I can’t take the story seriously. In GE, Yun Luofeng is constantly leaning against doorways, trees, Yun Xiao, sitting in chairs or in general slacking off. It’s to the point I think that she’s more fit to be the goddess of nature and sloth. Trees appear wherever she goes, assuming doorways are not possible in the surroundings. A running joke if I ever saw one, Yun Luofeng leaning casually against a tree and chastising those around her. She’d definitely help with the reclamation of forests.

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This is where things get interesting because honestly, this is where the battle begins.

Cons of GE:

Predictable story: Predictable plots? Why, yes, this is entirely predictable. Actually, it doesn’t even need to be said as predictable because the characters would almost immediately tell you what is going on even one sentence ahead anyway. There’s no guesswork, intrigue or even surprise in the story because it is almost like you’re reading the actual outline the author was working with before they started. The main character mentions something and the next moment either the enemy enacts on it or the thing happens. The likely hood of the main character having a psychic ability is far more believable to me than her medical ability, honestly.

Yun Luofeng’s plots are also incredibly simple, something that even a child should be able to identify in the world where the strong eat the weak, yet everyone glosses over and ignores them simply because she was weak. Even 700 chapters later everyone says she is weak physically or even weak as far as medical ability is concerned when she, still at the tender age of 15, had very clearly bested those around her. With how the story was progressing there was so much more to question that there was answering what was going on, especially since the main character Yun Luofeng even tactfully ignores or even admits to certain plot devices before it happens. It’s almost like the characters are all cut and paste or even merely advancing the plot verbally as though there is no way for it to not go over the readers head.

Yun Luofeng herself: It’s just incredible how overpowered you can make a character…. After all her, martial talents and medical skills are practically the best of the best with virtually no effort put into them. At first, she conquered the land she was from by killing some of the royal family and entrapping the others (in her own backyard), destroyed two talented cultivation families with assistance from wayward family members, and even manages to best (cough harass) those in the upper-class hierarchy without a care. As far as her medical prowess goes, as soon as she entered the world she solved two complicated medical queries, managed to diagnose and treat at least two socially strong figures without diagnosing them (via checking their pulse as is how you diagnose illness in this series), turned a eunuch to a reproductive male (and then back to a eunuch only to turn him back to a reproductive male when in the individual was in the nude), and also she solved other impotency problems. Of course, that’s not her only medical conquests, she’d also cured her uncle’s depression, his paralyzed legs and his incapability to cultivate after the damage had been in effect for 10~ years.

Her character in itself is not believable in the least, especially since even after 700 chapters I don’t have a clear definition of what her character is. I understand she’s supposed to be a calculating and cool beauty who seduces the masses while backing up her underlings but it just doesn’t work. She isn’t cool or calculating or even a beauty after a while, you can’t force feed someone with praises to the character as that seems kind of annoying and counterproductive. Her calculating behavior is also self-destructive in that it’s not really all that calculative from what I’ve read. If anything the most clever plot she had was building a secret army using ‘trash’ that the kingdom she lived in gave her while simultaneously making the kingdom itself pay for her troops. I just have a lot of grievances with her character, but that’s neither here nor there. I won’t even mention her absurdly high medical fees or terrible bedside manner.

No effort overpowered the main cast: With the exclusion of Yun Xiao, who is the main male lead, Yun Luofeng, Milk Tea (gold seeking hamster, a type of spirit beast that eats/drinks spiritual plants/medicine/things) and Xiao Bai don’t seem to… cultivate much. Normally there are several chapters or perhaps even an arc devoted to leveling up the character or a more frequent mentioning of how power is gained but in the case of Yun Luofeng she just… powers up? You might read a passage in passing about how she levels up but each time she appears in a battle (where she actually acts) her power level increases without a clear reason why. Her initial entrance to the world of cultivation is practically the first and last effort we read where it’s in-depth, anything after that is just her sitting cross-legged and feeling the spiritual energy before something happens. Xiao Bai is also a young girl of 13 who is also incomparably strong, yet everyone acts as though just Yun Luofeng’s strength is surprising when it’s assumed Xiao Bai is just as or more talented than Yun Luofeng when Yun Luofeng gets more praise. Milk Tea, however, is assumed to just eat and drink spiritual plants and medicine with his recent breakthrough being from some sort of spiritual soul bead.

Yun Xiao has the backstory of being abandoned in a dangerous forest (conveniently at the time of the forest beasts being in slumber) for 10 years which leads to his strength and cold bloodiness and his subsequent jump to being the legendary Ghost Emperor. But again, we don’t really hear much of him actually cultivating but at least he has a reason for his initial strength while it’s also a disappointment because you don’t really get any information about Yun Xiao and he’s incredibly quiet to a fault.

Romance?: The romance feels detached and forced, especially since all the redeeming features of Yun Xiao is his cold aloofness and handsome face (and abs). Yun Luofeng meets Yun Xiao because he falls, while unconscious, on her when in an alley and his unconscious form manages to kiss her of all things. Well, really their lips touch. That’s pretty convenient for him to topple down on top of her, have their lips touch and then later he comes and finds her. After that point he just follows her around and does her absolute bidding, even going so far as just laying in her bed to literally warm it, instead of the intended. You know… fluff stuff under the covers. Yun Luofeng just constantly rips open his robe to admire his abs and he doesn’t bother to do or say anything about it, as well as giving him kisses in public and just, in general, is far too promiscuous for the era they are in. Naturally with Yun Xiao being in a forest for 10 years perhaps he’d have not realized that it’s improper… if he hadn’t been kicked out at 7 years old when a child would most likely be aware of relationships between men and women. I say this because nearly every male except the men who Yun Luofeng associates with closely has a harem. A child growing up with a predisposition towards harems would be informed that it’s improper to do romantic actions anywhere outside of the bedroom lest the woman (or man) be harassed.

It just sets warped standards which aren’t worth even dreaming of. Yun Xiao barely has any say in anything he does as she’s the one who very nearly controls his every move. It’s as though he isn’t there as a character to have his own story but just a convenient excuse for a male lead while being her male accessory. Nothing about their relationship speaks to me as being healthy or deserving of admiration. He’s just whipped and she’s taking advantage of his out of character kindness.

Timeline problems: What timeline is there to this story? Things that are meant to happen in 2 days or 3 years or even 10 years or 5 months just seem to pass in the blink of an eye without any proper clarification. Even set schedules differ and are not mentioned until glossed over. It’s just jarring and disjointed with how nothing seems to be concrete with a standard timeline. Plus, it’s almost as though day or night don’t even exist for this series and it doesn’t even help that Yun Luofeng is asking to rest at least once per arc.

Even in just general discussions things that should take hours takes only seconds to do unless its convenient for the plot. People in the story just appear when they are needed, even without it being logical for the time needed to get there. I’m constantly left baffled because of the appearing and disappearing items or characters who shouldn’t be there at the scene. Someone who was previously thousands of miles away can suddenly appear right outside the main character’s door without a second notice or even being requested via a message. I understand it’s a cultivation story and people can fly or travel hundreds of meters with a single step but it has to have some limit to ridiculousness.

For Plot!: It’s a plot world. Anything that happens purely to be defined by “because of plot”. Everything stinks of it existing solely to bring the story forward in the most unashamed way. It feels like the characters are telling you that something is a plot device before using said plot device the next paragraph or chapter. It’s disruptive in that for a story to work you don’t constantly need plot items to happen just to advance a story. Sometimes the best parts of a story are where a character is relaxing and enjoying them self. To me, the relaxation period after combat is just the thing that I need, but if for the sake of plot you take out any sort of downtime and just have constant ‘for plot’ battles or conquests or calculating moves it just gets worn out and merely becomes an annoyance.

You can’t advance a story with constant 3rd wall breaks and proclaim there’s a plot device. It’s just not very lovely…

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I will be accepting recommendations for other novels at all times! Just let me know what you like! Sorry, this review is not up to standard but I honestly was so de-energized by this story I had to let you guys know that it just tripped all the wrong triggers.

Recommendations:

It’s Not Easy Being a Man After Travelling to the Future

After dying from a strange terminal illness, Ling Lan was reborn into a world 10000 years into the future. Although she dearly wished she could just live a peaceful and uneventful life in her new healthy body, fate had other plans … 

Forced to disguise herself as a boy just so she could inherit her deceased father’s premium military benefits, Ling Lan’s journey to adulthood was full of challenges. After much difficulty, she finally turned sixteen when she could drop the charade. But before she could grasp her newfound freedom to get married and start her own family, a twist of fate results in her being thrown into the Federation’s top military boys’ school. 

With these twists of fate, Ling Lan had little choice but to walk further and further down a path of no return, one of cold and aloof dominance … 

Honestly, if you want a strong, cold, cool and aloof female main character, this one is a way better bet. It’s actually very well written and honestly a joy to read. I normaly don’t read anything that has to do with Mecha but even the fighting scenes in this is a pleasure to read. The way the main character does things is interesting and the ‘support character’ she gets is actually on the more tolerable side compared to most. Also, I cried reading it… just a little.

The Beserk of Glutton

Fate, a gatekeeper who had been working for the castle, is beset by a few burdens.

It is the constant hunger attacks triggered by a skill he had obtained upon birth. A useless skill, it only serves to make him hungrier; however, unbeknownst to him, it has a concealed ability.

On one day, having killed a thief sneaking into the castle, he finally noticed its true power.

A skill that feeds upon the very soul of the subjects he kills, taking away all their powers. And thus, finally, his constant hunger had been satiated for the first time.

With just that, the man who has been treated like a pile of trash slowly started raising his head. Having exceeded the concept of levels, he strikes fear with his terror-like strength, earning him the nickname…

This one only has around 63 chapters so far, but it was at least a fairly good read. It adds a sort of vrmmo feel to fantasy while also having a bit of a twist on the 7 deadly sins. I just have some level of hope for it and would love to see it succeed, but as of yet I don’t have a solid opinion on how good it will be in the future. I have high hopes though.

This concludes today’s Roll that Review!