'The Wrong Way to a Demon Sect Leader' Review

Combine elements reminiscent of the enemies-to-lovers trope, a spy undercover story, and some comedy that's worth a slap or two to your knee, and you have The Wrong Way to a Demon Sect Leader, by Wild Goose.

Originally a web novel in Chinese, the translation has been done by alloursheroes on WattPad. Although it has very minor translation and spelling errors and awkward phrasing, it's still readable and didn't take away from my overall enjoyment. The main story is 82 chapters, but the total reading time is probably a couple hours on average because the chapters are so short: some take less than two or three minutes to read.

From the beginning, it's obvious Wild Goose isn't taking this story in any serious direction, so it's best to read it without taking it too seriously either, or you may find yourself disappointed. It mainly centers around the relationship between Zhao Jiangui, the righteous protagonist, and his "demonic" love interest, Ji Han. Neither of their backstories were revealed in detail, but even so, each of them are dynamic and lovable in their own right. The side characters are entertaining but not insanely memorable. There is one gay side couple in the story, but they are so far from the spotlight that I couldn't really get very invested in them, as cute as I thought they were together.

The main selling point, as aforementioned, is the development of Zhao Jiangui and Ji Han's relationship that may, perhaps unexpectedly, bring about a multitude of emotions. At first, they primarily share a rocky and chaotic dynamic, as you can expect from a righteous man who has zero experience in anything other than swordsmanship and a demon leader who throws knives at his to-be-lover's portrait whenever he has free time. As they spend more time together though, Zhao Jiangui sees Ji Han's tsundere shell gradually breaking down, as he feels more comfortable opening up about his insecurities, becoming more vulnerable, and even sharing a hug. While it is not so romantic in the sense that it's rife with kisses or sex, their feelings and trust in each other, which have organically grown from scratch, are very much real. It's mega-clear by the end they would never trade each other for the world.

Accompanying their relationship development is a plethora of comedic moments that made laugh out loud until my stomach stitched up and made me suffer severe (and I mean, severe) second-hand embarrassment. This story revolves around Zhao Jiangui's mission to seduce Ji Han, but because his flirting skills are abysmal at best, he has to rely on a book made by his elders that contains embarrassing pickup lines that would probably show up the most cheesy romcom 80's movies or shows. They're cringey but insanely hilarious, especially when someone as socially awkward as Zhao Jiangui is the one saying them. Ji Han's speechlessness every single time Zhao Jiangui whips out that book and replies with a pickup line is priceless; I could practically imagine a surprised Pikachu face on Ji Han every time.

While this story is not very serious and has an overall light plot, around 75% into the story or so, tension picks up between the main characters as betrayal, truths, and a scheme all make their way to the surface (though I felt like more clues, subtle or otherwise, that lead up to some of the plot twists here could have been dropped in). That conflict is not very major though, and it gets resolved somewhat quickly—thank goodness—so Zhao Jiangui, who gradually seems to become increasingly smooth whenever Ji Han's around, and Ji Han, whose sharp tongue and cold demeanor hides a cute egg noodle loving boy, can have their happy ending together.

Speaking of happy ends, this story will take you in a nice and most perfect full circle of 2021. While Ji Han stays his cold self until the end for the most part, it gave me that heartwarming sensation from happy endings that packs a punch to the heart while feeling satisfied that things have basically circled around. Without getting into spoilers, the ending shows that not everything is as it seems, especially over time...

Now, in regards to the drama version, The Birth of the Drama King (2019), it is clearly based on this novel, but some major changes were made in order to pass through China's censorship laws that prohibit the depiction of homosexual content. While other Chinese dramas adapted from boys love novels like The Untamed (2019) and likely its successor Immortality (2021) deign to push the boundaries when it comes to gay content, The Birth of the Drama King has opted for a more conservative approach; however, the lack of romance doesn't take away from the comedic enjoyment, which is another big selling point of its novel parent. Whether it's because you have become a die-hard fan of Song Jiyang from his role as Xiao Xingchen in The Untamed or you're looking for some bromance drama to add to your watchlist, it will be fun to watch the drama in the midst of the novel-reading journey.

Happy reading!