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| Thousand Autumns vol 5 by Meng Xi Shi |
Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu has ended with the fifth volume. It ended like it began, more focused on the politics of the empire and the cultivation world (called jianghu in this series, “rivers and lakes”, like the author explains in the afterword), and on the questions of morality and human nature than on the romance.
At the beginning of the volume, Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi help Puliuru Jian to free his children from being held hostage by the emperor, and subsequently to seize the throne. It’s a fairly fast affair, compared to some in the previous volumes.
From there, the men part ways and Shen Qiao finally heads back to Xuandu Mountain to handle the traitors in his sect and to assume the leadership once again. But he’s barely done when he learns that Yan Wushi has challenged the best cultivator in the world, Hulugu of the Göktürk Khagnate, to a duel. Everyone knows it’ll be to death, and so Shen Qiao rushes to be by Yan Wushi’s side.
At this point, I thought the romance would finally bloom, but no. Only in the final paragraphs of the last chapter does Shen Qiao show some emotions towards Yan Wushi, but it isn’t until the last of the seven epilogue chapters before the men finally become a couple. Even then, they both remain true to their characters.
The story began with Yan Wushi trying to corrupt Shen Qiao to prove that everyone would put their self-interest first, a thread that prevailed over the romance throughout the story. In the end, he was forced to admit that Shen Qiao was unique, and therefore worthy of his admiration, the basis of his romantic feelings. Why Shen Qiao would love him in return was never clear, but his ability to forgive was great and Yan Wushi managed to manipulate Shen Qiao into missing him. Of the two, Yan Wushi changed more, but only with Shen Qiao. Their coming together was kind of cute, but if the reader is looking for high emotions, great declarations, and carnal relations, they’re bound to be disappointed.
The main story is followed by several short stories that show that while the men never settle down to living together, they remain a couple and always return to the other after roaming the empire. The stories aren’t very romantic or emotional either, but they show cute glimpses of the men’s lives from past and future.
Despite the lack of great romantic emotions, I was satisfied with the ending and the series as a whole. It remained true to its premise, the political plots were interesting, and as I realised early on that the romance wouldn’t be there, I wasn’t disappointed with what I got. I’m happy where the men ended up, and the lives they live seem interesting and rather carefree. After everything they went through, they deserve happiness.
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