Love and Destiny (宸汐缘; Chén Xī Yuán) is a 2019 Chinese series starring Ni Ni and Chang Chen. It's a spin-off of Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms.
Fifty thousand years ago, Jiu Chen, the God of War, sealed away the demon lord. He's slept ever since... until a fairy named Ling Xi accidentally wakes him up.
The series can be watched on Viki
and on YouTube with English subtitles.
Not to be confused with the similarly-named Love and Redemption.
Contains examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Shi San for Si Ming. Played with, because he does like her... as a friend. But she's in love with him and won't take "no" for an answer, so he avoids her as much as possible.
- Mild Example with Kai Yang and Yuli, as well as Yun Feng and Qing Yao.
- Actually Pretty Funny:
- Right after he tells her to get out, Ling Xi reminds Jiu Chen that he hasn't thanked her yet for saving him when he was ill. Jiu Chen stares at her for a minute before starting to laugh.
- Jiu Chen also cracks up when Ling Xi details what retribution she requires from Yuan Tong for pushing her into a magical pool.
- Amazing Technicolour Population: Shi San had blue skin before taking a human form.
- Arrow Catch:
- Played with. Kai Yang stops an arrow in mid-air, but he doesn't actually catch it. He uses his powers to hold it in place.
- Jiu Chen catches the heart-piercing needle just before it stabs him.
- Ash Face: Ling Xi's attempts to make medicine leave her covered in ash.
- Authority in Name Only: The Shanling State Master. She has never had any interest in governing and had no idea of how to do it. Jingxiu does all the work for her. The country falls in days after she arrests him.
- Bald of Evil: Jing Xiu is bald, and an Anti-Hero at best.
- Bumbling Dad: Le Bo, Ling Xi's adoptive father, is more interested in drinking alcohol than in listening to his daughter.
- Caught in the Rain: Deliberately invoked by Jiu Chen, who uses magic to prolong the storm.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Le Bo might be a fast-talking drunkard, but he used to be the Medicine King, many, many people owe him favors, and he's still got what it takes in a fight.
- Yuli is also a partial example, as she's on the surface a bubbly, brainless fairy...but she's also the current Medicine King's daughter, in charge of Medicine Hall and both a skilled doctor and adept at court intrigues.
- Cute But Psycho: Princess Baoqing, though bubbly and completely in love with Jingxiu, is also high-strung and rather spoiled...and at one point threatens to cut a man's eyes out for looking at her.
- Death Glare: Jiu Chen's introduction features him doing this to Ling Xi, who beats a hasty retreat.
- Defrosting Ice King: Jiu Chen, both literally and figuratively.
- Qing Yao is a more traditional example, as Yun Feng's persistence finally manages to win her over.
- Demonic Possession: Yuan Zheng was possessed during the battle against the Demon King, which was why Jiu Chen had to kill him.
- Disappeared Dad / Missing Mum: At the start of the series Ling Xi's real parents are nowhere to be seen, and she doesn't know who they are.
- The Dreaded: Qing Yao is fearsome when she gets mad, and being a doctor means she knows how to really hurt people. It's not a good idea to get on her bad side.
- Driven to Suicide: Madam Yuan kills herself after learning how her son really died.
- Facial Markings: Jing Xiu's subordinates have them. Jing Xiu himself has them on top of his head as well as on his face.
- Gender Bender: Shi San originally had no gender, then decided to be male, and later became female.
- Harmless Freezing: When Ling Xi first meets him Jiu Chen has been covered in ice, in the middle of an ice cavern, for millennia. Although he defrosts and is seemingly normal, he has long-term "cold damage" to his body and powers.
- The High Queen: Ling Xi develops this characterization after her return from Earth...and her mother's death.
- Horned Humanoid: The Demon King.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: Yuan Zheng begs Jiu Chen to kill him after he gets possessed. Jiu Chen does, but doesn't explain what happened. This leads to him being accused of murdering Yuan Zheng.
- An Ice Person: Jiu Chen. When he loses control of his powers he covers an entire room in ice.
- Jerkass: Tian Lei Zhen Jun. He has Ling Xi abducted and whipped with lightning just because he suspects her of having some connection to the Demon tribe.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: The Heaven contingent never seem to change out of their gigantic-sleeved robes even when marching into battle.
- Lady of War: Yuan Tong wields a sword while wearing a long, flowing dress.
- Large Ham: Le Bo shouts and gestures and talks quickly almost every time he appears.
- Mistaken for Gay: Shi San walks in on Si Ming and Yun Feng on the floor, and hears Si Ming tell Yun Feng to let him go and stop pulling at his clothes. What actually happened was Yun Feng wanted to read a scroll he wasn't allowed to read, Si Ming tried to get it away from him, and they tripped and fell as they fought over it. Shi San gets the wrong impression and warns Yun Feng to stay away from Si Ming.
- Motor Mouth: Le Bo.
- No Body Left Behind: Immortals' bodies turn to smoke and disappear when they're killed.
- Non-Indicative Name: Five Bowls isn't a bowl, and there aren't five of it. Its name actually refers to how much it eats.
- Not So Stoic: Jiu Chen is very stoic, but he does have his moments, such as when Ling Xi is repeatedly blowing up her medicine room, or when Si Ming is being annoying.
- Our Mermaids Are Different: Merfolk here are blue-skinned and don't have genders until they choose one.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: When he goes to see Ling Xi in the mortal realm, Si Ming disguises himself as a fortune teller and then as a woman. Neither disguise is convincing.
- Perpetual Frowner: At first Jiu Chen frowns almost constantly — in front of other people, at least.
- Poor Communication Kills: A lot of heartache could have been avoided if Jiu Chen had told Ling Xi his plan to save her by sending her to the mortal realm. As it is, she thinks he really has just been using her and doesn't care for her at all.
- Slightly justified in that he did tell her...but she'd just magically lost her hearing.
- Recurring Dreams: Ling Xi frequently dreams about Jiu Chen defeating the demon king.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter:
- Little White◊, the dog Ling Xi rescues. It's practically a ball of fluff, with the most adorable little face.
- Five Bowls◊, the baby monster Ling Xi adopts after Little White's death. It has tiny antlers and a very rabbit-like head.
- Little White
- Sexy Discretion Shot: There's a discreet fade to black that fades back in to show Ling Xi waking up in her underwear.
- Single Line of Descent: After her father's death, Ling Xi is the last descendant of the Dan Bird tribe.
- The Good Chancellor: Jingxiu is genuinely an honest, honorable diplomat who defends his people and is personally loyal to the Shanling State Master...with the slight caveat that he still has some unfinished business and doesn't mind potentially opening a portal to hell in the process of getting it done.
- Unknown Rival: Tian Lei Zhen Jun sees himself as Jiu Chen's rival. Jiu Chen barely acknowledges Tian Lei Zhen Jun at all, except when he attacked Ling Xi.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Ling Xi can turn into a bird. Jiu Chen appears to be a dragon.
- You Are Number 6: Shi San's name literally means "Thirteen".
