Ding Hai Fu Sheng Lu (定海浮生录), or “Dinghai Fusheng Records” is a danmei historical fantasy Web Novel by Fei Tian Ye Xiang, published on the Chinese web novel site jjwxc.net.
Three hundred years ago, all mana - the spiritual qi of heaven and earth - disappeared from the land, leaving exorcists and monsters alike powerless. They called it the “Silence of All Magic”.
Since then, unbeknownst to the people, the resentment of those who died in wars, plagues, and famines steadily built up, giving birth to demons that would bring further turmoil to the troubled land. But there is hope - Chen Xing, the last exorcist in the world, a 16-year-old boy who bears a magical artifact called the Heart Lamp, must embark on a journey to bring back the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. To help him along his path, his fate is connected to a rare star that brings him an uncanny amount of luck; however, this also means that when the star disappears in 4 years, he is destined to die, giving him only a few years to accomplish his task. Fortunately, he is not meant to do it alone - the Heart Lamp leads him to his fated Protector, a man who is destined to guard and walk alongside him.
The thing is, his Protector has his own life to live, and isn’t exactly happy with suddenly having this job foisted onto him...
An English translation is currently ongoing at Chrysanthemum Garden
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The Audio Drama in Chinese currently has 1 season with 20 episodes, and can be found at Missevan.
A manhua adaptation has been released on Bilibili in Chinese, and is currently ongoing.
[Ding Hai Fu Sheng Lu] contains examples of:
- Because Destiny Says So: Chen Xing knows that he’s destined to die in 4 years, and is resigned to his fate. At one point, he even plans to sacrifice his life in order to accomplish his goal.
- Being Good Sucks: Chen Xing is the only one who can bring mana back to the world, so he must give up his own desires for his life. Additionally, it’s very common for the people he saves to respond with indifference or hostility.
- Cast from Hit Points: Because the mana of the world is gone, Chen Xing must draw on his own life force to power the Heart Lamp when Xiang Shu is fighting.
- Combat and Support: Xiang Shu is a peerless fighter, and Chen Xing bears the Heart Lamp that powers Xiang Shu’s sword.
- Deadpan Snarker: Xiang Shu, especially towards Chen Xing.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Xiang Shu is incredibly handsome, and Chen Xing and Che Luofeng make numerous comments about it.
- Green-Eyed Monster: While Tuoba Yan, Xie An, and Feng Qianjun are just friends with Chen Xing, Xiang Shu always seems to get into a bad mood when they get too close to Chen Xing...
- Heroic Sacrifice: Made by Chen Xing, who burns up his own life force in order to save others.
- Historical Domain Character: The princes of the War of the Eight Princes, Fu Jian, and many others.
- I Have Many Names: Xiang Shu also goes by Protector Martial God, Shulü Kong, Anda (to Che Luofeng), and Great Chanyu. He has referred to himself as Guwang as well.
- Last of His Kind: Chen Xing is the last exorcist in the world.
- Lonely Among People: Chen Xing, both externally and internally, though he rarely shows it. People rarely genuinely care about or try to assist his cause, and he has no home, no family, and no close friends at the beginning of the story. Even the one fated to stay by his side, his Protector, abandons him soon after they first meet.
- Love at First Sight: Subverted. Tuoba Yan is infatuated with Chen Xing at first sight and offers to marry him, but Chen Xing later points out that Tuoba Yan saw Chen Xing as someone who was appropriate to marry, rather than the only one Tuoba Yan could ever see himself marrying.
- Love Makes You Evil: Che Luofeng’s impulsiveness combined with his obsession over Xiang Shu is part of the reason why he partakes in the massacre of an entire tribe of people.
- Not Afraid to Die: Chen Xing.
- Plague Zombie: Referred to as “drought fiend” or “living corpse” (not to be mistaken for a Technically-Living Zombie), and they produce a poison that can turn living people into one of them.
- Raised by Wolves: Xiao Shan, to some extent.
- Rescue Arc: Chen Xing is kidnapped on two different occasions, first by Che Luofeng and Zhou Zhen and then by Sima Wei, and Xiang Shu has to go rescue him.
- Rescue Romance: Subverted. When Chen Xing pulls Xiang Shu back from the brink of death, Xiang Shu is entirely ungrateful and runs away at the first possible opportunity.
- The Big Guy: Xiang Shu. Strong, stoic, and a one man army in general.
- The Heart: Chen Xing. He’s determined to save the common people, even if there’s no repayment; he’s kind-hearted, diplomatic, and inspires others to fight for him.
- The Smart Guy: Chen Xing. He has a near-encylopaedic knowledge of magical artifacts, the history of exorcism, demons, and is a doctor to boot.
- The Stoic: Xiang Shu. Most of the time, he speaks in ellipses or very brief sentences, and he rarely emotes.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Chen Xing. Although he’s 16 years old, he has accepted his death and generally tries not to let his emotions overcome him.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: While the resentment of the dead can be used to power magical artifacts to great effect, the energy can easily possess the user and send them on a murderous rampage.
- Visible Silence: Used many times by many different characters, usually when something comically absurd happens.
- Voodoo Zombie: The long-dead Eight Princes are resurrected using resentment and are implied to be bound to the wills of their masters.
