Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel), Vol. 2 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù and 墨香铜臭 and Suika

THE TOUCH OF A HAND, A ROLL OF THE DICE Xie Lian has confirmed that the bewitching youth San Lang is actually Hua Cheng, one of the Four Calamities and a supreme ghost despised by all heavenly officials. Still, he has trouble matching the terror of his companion’s reputation with the charming, clever, and protective young man he’s come to know. When a distress signal leads Xie Lian into Ghost City, a bustling metropolis containing all the horrors and delights of the dead, he sees Hua Cheng in his element—and his true form—for the first time. But despite their chemistry and care for one another, there are missions to fulfill and secrets to uncover, and Xie Lian’s centuries of troubled history are never far behind.

As you can surmise by its name, this is the second part of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's Heaven Official's Blessing series. Calling it a sequel isn't quite accurate as this was originally published online as one massive web novel consisting of a lot of chapters. When it was published in paperback it was split into eight separate installments. This means that each book does not tell one cohesive story, at least in theory. In practice I found that Volume 2 totally made sense as one book. It didn't feel weird jumping in and it didn't end with me feeling awkward about leaving the story at that point. The chapters presented in this volume fit together nicely and progress the overall plot very well. We see what happens immediately following the events of Volume 1 while also learning more details about Xie Lian's past. When reviewing Volume 1 I said that we didn't need to linger on his backstory too much, but the chapters spent looking at him before he first ascended are quite strong and certainly have a place within the book. Along with strong translating and really good initial writing, everything about Heaven Official's Blessing Volume 2 is a really good time and I'm quite excited to pick up more volumes.

This series is rapidly becoming a comfort series.

I was a little confused on how they broke the story arcs but thank god it didn't end with a cliffhanger. Not sure if this is just an English translation thing but the character guide in the back is A+ work, all series should have one TBH.