The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (Novel) Vol. 9

Erha ripping my heart out once again 😭 I cried through the first half and was so angry about all the injustice! That's one topic this novel is portraying really well. Showing how people will just believe everything someone is saying if they have a high enough standing. Well, and the antagonist is doing a good job of making it seem legit 😬 So I was especially impressed by one person standing up for what is right 😌 I can't really say much more without spoiler, but I was crying so much in this volume, sobbing even 😭😭😭 I didn't think this one thing would actually happen and I really don't know where the story is going now. Can there be a happy end? 🥹 I still think so, even though I don't know how 😅 The plot twists were twisting, the people were suffering, and me as well... but in a good way 😂 I love stuff with a lot of drama/trauma, BUT there needs to be a good ending, so let's hope for that. Just two more volumes 👀

Spoiler warning for the entire review. The beginning dragged on with the ever-present question of when we would finally make significant advances in the plot. Even though the first half hurt, it didn't resonate with me nearly as much or evoke as much emotion as previous volumes. I really felt how the built-up tension from previous volumes vanished into thin air for me after the reveal of the actual mastermind. The minor and major insights into Hua Binan's motive, goal, as well as former actions were written like the ramblings of a shallow villain who discloses his evil schemes in detail in one lengthy monologue to the protagonist, which didn't hook me at all. Throughout most of the series, Meatbun established Mo Ran's path to becoming a tyrant and Taxian-Jun as a villain, only to introduce Hua Binan near the end. His ultimate goal and backstory has yet to be revealed; the short paragraph revealing him to be part of the Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast was not satisfactory enough for me to let this go just yet. As of now I still cannot bring myself to care about him as the true villain of the story. Another small thing that bothered me was that it felt as if the character's feelings, which had already been clearly conveyed through the images painted over past volumes, were repeatedly spelled out and spoon-fed to the reader in every possible form of expression Meatbun could come up with just to add some kind of dramatic effect. Xue Meng saves this volume for me; I just want to give him a hug. The few moments he got made my heart ache for him. Even so, I kept thinking, "Enough with the angst already, we've got the memo, thank you very much." I wonder how Meatbun could possibly turn this into a satisfying ending. The conclusion was just disappointing. The rape of Chu Wanning throws us right back to the beginning, without a hint of character development or a change of the storyline's pattern. It was an extremely uncomfortable read and at this point just so unnecessary to include. I dislike repeating myself, but I will say it again, we've got the memo. For me, it was lazy and bad writing. Meatbun could definitely have come up with something more creative, better and convincing. I wished volume nine had either focused more on Xue Meng or Hua Binan as a character. I'm curious to see whether volume ten will make up for this decline, which I had already noticed creeping its way into the story in previous volumes (especially volume 8). Over all volume nine left me with a feeling of "meh" and "ugh", to put it bluntly.