Chinese Paladin

# of episode:38

Cast:
Li Xiao Yao-Hu Ge
Cao Ling Er-Liu Yi Fei
Lim Yue Ru-An Yi Xuan
Ah Nu-Esther Liu
Thang Yu-Eddie Peng
Liu Jing Yuan-Wang Lu Jiang
Muo Yi Xi/Jiu Xian Jian-Tse Kwan Ho
Jiu Jian Sheng-Guo Liang
Wu Hou-Sun Li(guest star)
Wu Wang-Ben Wong
Chai Yi-Cheung Sai(guest star)
Ciang Ming-Patrick Tam(guest star)
Ni Wan-Jiang Xing
Se Cie Ren-Tsui Kam Kong
Sheng Gu-Rachel Lee
Lao Lao-Cheng Phei Phei(guest star)
Xiao Hu-Sam Lee

Foreword:
This series is based on a very popular PC game, probably the reason for it to be made a series. Because it was based on a PC game, it contains stuff that is mostly created by computer animation. But the plot is wonderful, and most of the fighting scene is very detailed.

Summary:
The series starts with a guy named Li Xiao Yao. Xiao Yao is a troublemaker in his home village but is widely adored by girls for his look. When his aunt catches an incurable disease, Xiao Yao travels to Xian Ling Island to get a medicine. Upon his arrival, Xiao Yao meets a beautiful young girl, Cao Ling Er, who mistakes him for a guy who rescued her ten years ago. To get the medicine from Ling Er's Lao Lao, Xiao Yao marries Ling Er. The next day when he prepares to leave, three guys of the Bai Yue sect come to destroy Xian Ling Island. Using her magic, Ling Er sent Xiao Yao away. After Xiao Yao arrives home, the guys from the Bai Yue sect erased all of his memories of Ling Er. When Xiao Yao found Ling Er, he has forgotten her. But because he promised Lao Lao to bring Ling Er to Nan Cao Guo, Xiao Yao journeys with her. On their journey, Xiao Yao meets the spoiled Lim Yue Ru, who almost killed him. He also meets Liu Jing Yuan, a scholar as well as a famous official who was respected by the emperor. After Ling Er was separated from him, Xiao Yao developed feelings toward Yue Ru who always fights with him. And Ling Er decided to leave Xiao Yao after she discovered that she's the princess of Nan Cao Guo plus the descendent of a goddess who created the world. Searching for Ling Er, Xiao Yao matures in his journey but less that he knows maturity is not good enough to face the challenge ahead of him.

Cast:

1. Li Xiao Yao-Hu Ge
Xiao Yao starts off as a trouble maker who was raised by his aunt because his parents left him when he was only three. He travels to the Xian Ling Island to get the medicine for his sick aunt but his fate starts off as well. There he met the gorgeous looking Cao Ling Er and he marries her but due to the medicine that was given by the bad guys, he forgets everything about her. And on their journey, he falls for her again. But a lot of obstacle causes misunderstanding between them, after Ling Er disappeared; Xiao Yao develop feeling for Yue Ru. When Ling Er suddenly appears, she broke Xiao Yao's heart on purpose. Xiao Yao became more attached to Yue Ru. Just after Ling Er and Xiao Yao decided to break up, Ling Er was kidnapped by Jiu Jian Sheng. Xiao Yao and Yue Ru decided to save Ling Er. They entered the Sealed Demon Pagoda to save Ling Er. In his quest, Xiao Yao met the spirit of Ciang Ming. He helped Ciang Ming. While in the pagoda, Xiao Yao finally retrieve his lost memory of Ling Er. He regretted and wished to find her so that he can apologize. After he found Ling Er and they reconcile, Yue Ru sacrificed herself to save Xiao Yao and Ling Er. Xiao Yao was very upset. Ling Er was injured as well and Xiao Yao has to go to the past to find the jewel that can save her. In the past, Xiao Yao witnessed mostly everything including the persecution of the Nan Cao's empress, who is Ling Er's mother. He is also the one who rescued Ling Er from the palace. And Xiao Yao tries to prevent the death of Yue Ru by changing the past. First, he tries to settle Ling Er in an island opposite to Xian Ling Island. Then he advises his-future-teacher not to teach him any martial arts. But fate has it against him; Xiao Yao actually delivered Ling Er to Xian Ling Island even though he thought that he goes toward a different direction. And his-future-teacher taught him martial art because Xiao Yao advises his future teacher not to teach him. Back into the future, Xiao Yao went to challenge Se Cie Ren. Ling Er also went into labor and gave a birth to a baby girl. They named her Yi Ru in memory of Yue Ru. Not long after Yi Ru was born, Xiao Yao went to face Se Cie Ren's armies. His teacher then dies there in the hand of Ah Nu. He witnesses his friends died one by one and at the last battle with Se Cie Ren, Ling Er died.

I pity Xiao Yao. I think that his fate stinks, being left by his parents when he was young and has to face the death of his best friends and wife. I must really say that he has the worse fate and life. Anyway, Hu Ge played Xiao Yao perfectly. I'm really shocked to see this new actor performs Xiao Yao wonderfully. He has an o.k. look and his acting is good. But I don't think that he is that good to match the pretty and elegant Ling Er, I just have to say that he's lucky. And I also enjoy Hu Ge's songs; I must admit that he does have a good voice.

2. Cao Ling Er-Liu Yi Fei
Cao Ling Er is the princess of Nan Cao but she left that country years ago when her mother fell into danger. Raised in an isolated island, Ling Er has a naive personality. She is kind-hearted and childish, which makes her even cuter probably and also impressed Xiao Yao. Ling Er fell for Xiao Yao the moment she met him because she thought that he was the 'Xiao Yao Ge Ge' who saved her years ago. Then she married him. And the day she sent him away, a bunch of strangers arrived at her island and injured Lao Lao then kidnapped her. She then awakens to find that Xiao Yao has completely forgotten everything about her. She returned to Xian Ling Island and found her Lao Lao dying. Xiao Yao then accompanied her in her journey to return to Nan Cao. Little by little, Xiao Yao has unknowingly fallen for her again. But after they met Yue Ru & Liu Jing Yuan thus live in their house, Ling Er goes through a horrid transformation. Her legs turn into snake tail. Ling Er was afraid and she ran away. Meanwhile, Xiao Yao thought that Ling Er was kidnapped by the snake demon and went on a quest to save her. Ling Er then met the mountain guardian who told her the story of her origin. Ling Er's were the generation of a goddess that gave life to humans. She also found out that she was pregnant with Xiao Yao's baby, the reason she returned to her original state. Her best friend, Ah Nu, that came from Nan Cao then found Ling Er. Together they were ready to go back to Nan Cao. And a lot of twists cause Ling Er to leave Xiao Yao, Ling Er also keep the news of her pregnancy from Xiao Yao. They officially break-up and go on different paths. But Ling Er was once again captured by a powerful Taoist, Jiu Jian Xian. While inside the pagoda, Ling Er decided to sacrifice herself for Xiao Yao & Yue Ru's safety. But Xiao Yao retrieved his lost memory & Ling Er was touched, her soul then returned to her body. After Yue Ru died, Ling Er stood by Xiao Yao's side. She fights the leviathan while Xiao Yao fights with Se Cie Ren. Ling Er was injured badly by her battle but she gathered all of her power to return to Xiao Yao. Even when she is dying, Ling Er refused to die. She didn't want Xiao Yao to be lonely again, she wanted to fulfill her promise that she made to him. But Xiao Yao refused to see her suffer any longer and he convinced her that he'll be okay without her. Ling Er then died embracing Xiao Yao.

I totally like Ling Er since her character is so likeable. Ling Er is so beautiful and so self-sacrificing. Her ending is just too cruel for her. Liu Yi Fei potrays Ling Er well. She is totally beautiful and out of this world. Even An Xi Yuan (Lim Yue Ru) didn't have half of Ling Er's beauty and qualities. I've seen Liu Yi Fei in 'Heaven Dragon' before, potraying Wang Yu Yan, which she potrays so well. But I like her in this series better. Her costumes make her look so cute except for the one when she turned to her goddess form, she look so childish in them.

3. Lim Yue Ru- Ady An Xi Yuan
Yue Ru was mean, arrogant and heartless at the beginning of the series. She almost killed Xiao Yao as well if it wasn't for Ling Er. But when Xiao Yao beat her at a tournament, she fell for him helplessly and tries to get rid of Ling Er. But even after Ling Er was gone, she still can't win Xiao Yao's heart. What a pity! Even after she had tried so much. She finally won Xiao Yao's heart when Ling Er officially broke-up with him. And she is one of the reasons for Ling Er leaving Xiao Yao. But Yue Ru's character changes during her journey with Xiao Yao. She became much funnier and her fight with Xiao Yao and it got them much closer together. But she sacrificed herself inside the pagoda to save Ling Er and Xiao Yao.

I must say that I dislike Yue Ru at the start of the series. I think that she is so selfish & she is not that pretty either. She will do anything to own Xiao Yao's heart even when it already belongs to Ling Er, she's so pathetic. But as the series progressed further, I began to like her by bit. It is kinda sad & happy to see her die as she will no longer become an obstacle to Ling Er & Xiao Yao's relationship. An Xi Yuan really bring out the character of Yue Ru well. Yue Ru can be mean at a moment, then turned nicer, then she begin to tolerate other people. I guess she melted Xiao Yao's heart by being by his side all the time. Xiao Yao was extremely sad when Yue Ru died & he named his daughter to remember Yue Ru.

4. Ah Nu-Esther Liu
Ah Nu is a daughter of Nan Cao's general. She is also Ling Er's best friend and Thang Yu's crush. But she can be so stupid sometimes. She believes that Bai Yue had good intentions until he hurt her family and loved ones. Ah Nu loves to eat and lie. She had lied so many times to Thang Yu that she'll marry him. Every time when they got in danger, Ah Nu always promised to marry Thang Yu. But after they were rescued, Ah Nu always forgot about her promise. Even though Thang Yu loved her so much and was willing to die for her, Ah Nu fell for Xiao Yao. But after Thang Yu really sacrificed himself, Ah Nu finally realized that she really loved Thang Yu and not Xiao Yao. Good for her since she had another chance to be with him. But in order to save Thang Yu from Bai Yue, Ah Nu drank a poison. A poison that causes her to injure Thang Yu and kill her own biological father. Ah Nu is really the daughter of Nan Cao's sacred maiden, Sheng Gu, and Xiao Yao's teacher, Muo Yi Xi. In the end she was cured of the poison and realized that she had done so many bad deeds. Ah Nu then asks Thang Yu to kill her but Thang Yu refuses and instead he came with a plan for her to save the human being. So after Ah Nu and Thang Yu make their wishes, they were turned into a pair of bird.

In my opinion, I think that Ah Nu is crazy sometimes. She love foods so much, in fact eating is her hobby. Ah Nu was always in a happy mood. And I think that her role in this series is to bring happiness to people around her.

5. Thang Yu-Eddie Peng
A loyal friend to Xiao Yao and willing to sacrifice himself for others, Thang Yi has great personalities. In the beginning of the series, Thang Yi was afraid of his foster father or pretty much love & respects him. Thang Yi then followed his foster father to search for their princess (Ling Er). On his way he pretty much found Ah Nu, his crush. And even after he goes through a lot of things with her, Ah Nu never realized that she meant so much to him. Thang Yi also refuses to kill Ah Nu. And to save human life, he sacrifices himself and turns into a bird.

Eddie Peng was also a new actor for me. I never saw him in any series until now. Eddie is okay, his round face look so puffy. His comical look is so funny as well. And I totally like the character that he portrays.

6. Muo Yi Xi/Jiu Xian Jian-Tse Kwan Ho
Muo Yi Xi(a.k.a. Jiu Xian Jian) is Xiao Yao's teacher and a taoist as well. He spent much of his life as a drunk for the mistakes that he did. Xian Jian is powerful in martial arts and the art of magic. He helps Xiao Yao in his quest as well. Jiu Xian Jian used to love Ling Er's mom, Ching Er. He regretted that he gave the chance to his senior, Jian Sheng. Even though he never really has any relation to her, Xian Jian loves Ching Er so much and he can't forget about her. He also regretted having a relation with Ching Er's senior, the sacred maiden of Nan Cao. Later on he found out that Ah Nu is his real daughter. He tried to make up for everything that he misses and at the end, he was killed by Ah Nu because he wanted to save her.

I also felt so sorry for this character. To me, his love for Ching Er was not real. First of all, he heard of how Ching Er was going through a lot of things with Jian Sheng. Then he replaced the image of Jian Sheng with himself. After Ching Er finishes the story, Xian Jian believes that it is him who goes through with her and is helplessly in love with her. But nonetheless, Tse Kwan Ho portrays his character so well.

Conclusion:
In my opinion, I think that Xian Jian is a very good series. Even though some people think that it is very complicated and confusing, I don't know what they're thinking and I think that it is not complicated at all. The fighting scenes are well done and the plot is great. The best thing in this series has to be the cast, they all did a good job on their acting. And Hu Ge's songs were great as well. Overall, I'm glad to buy this series and I totally recommend this series for those who love Wu Xia series.