• Haunted Houses' Chronicles

    Haunted Houses’ Chronicles – Vol.1, Chapter 1

    I assume everyone knows that a house is called ‘haunted’ because someone suddenly dies there, of course not counting natural death. ‘Sudden death’ is a term relatively colloquial, generally referring to unnatural death such as accident, suicide, homicide and so on. People who die this way usually die with resentment because, as the legend says, their destined lifespan has yet to finish. Their soul couldn’t go to the resting place, hence in most haunted houses, strange things will happen. Even if nothing strange actually takes place, people’s words of mouth will make the place seem bizarre. The owners of such houses are pitiful. If they rent out their house and…

  • Haunted Houses' Chronicles

    Haunted Houses’ Chronicles – Prologue

    Novel introduction & Translation masterpostTranslator: Michelle _______ I turn off the lights, pull out a chair and sit down comfortably. I look up — Behind the lamp on the coffee table, nine people are waiting for me to speak. There are both men and women, all of them of similar age. In the dim light, they are looking at me with different expressions. I don’t know them. In fact, they also meet each other for the first time. The reason why they are sitting here is because of the house where we are in now. A month ago, I posted on a forum a promise that if anyone could, for…

  • Haunted Houses' Chronicles

    Haunted Houses’ Chronicles (Xiong Zhai Bi Ji / Haunted House Handbook) – Teaser Translation & Introduction

    “If you love the sprawling mystery of Daomu Biji, adore the friendship of Iron Triangle and savour the dynamic of PingXie, you will definitely find a strikingly similar vibe in this novel.” – My personal review in one sentence Xiongzhai Biji, or Haunted Houses’ Chronicles / Handbook, is a supernatural webnovel that tells the adventures of two real estate speculators who deal specifically with houses that are affected by ‘supernatural forces’. Soon after its launch, Haunted Houses’ Chronicles took the Chinese Internet by storm and quickly became a favourite of tens of millions of readers, ultimately earning the title “The Most Popular New Suspense Novel of 2012”. Famous author of…

  • Psychopath Diary K-Drama Review
    Recommendation & Review

    Psychopath Diary (K-Drama) Review

    Full List of Bromance Recommendations Not that I know much about K-Drama, but 2019 sure has been a fun one for a bromance lover like me. Pyschopath Diary gives a slightly similar vibe to Strangers From Hell owing to its central topic of investigating a serial murder, however, this one is a comedy. The ‘bromance’ is hilariously portrayed too. Presenting to you my review of a very recent show with a pretty unique premise and a highly refreshing plot. An outstanding blend of fun and thrill! Genre: Comedy, Detective, Thriller, Drama Year: 2019 Featuring: Yoon Shi-yoon, Jung In-sun, Park Sung-hoon Synopsis (taken & modified from MyDramaList): Yook Dong Sik is a 34-year-old…

  • Strangers From Hell (Hell Is Other People) K-Drama Review
    Recommendation & Review

    Strangers From Hell (K-Drama) Review

    Full List of Bromance Recommendations So, this is it. The one drama that had me arrive at K-Drama Land. What an eye-opener. All these years of digging up bromance in manga/anime, US/UK dramas then Chinese novels, I have never paid that much attention to K-Drama because I’ve always assumed they are all about the unrelatable melodrama of a damsel-in-distress female lead falling in love with an impossibly-perfect male lead. How wrong I am. As much as I love Strangers From Hell, I’m not sure if you can classify the dynamic portrayed in the show as ‘bromance’. It’s more of a special connection between a messed up character and a character…

  • Son: The Guest K-Drama Review
    Recommendation & Review

    Son: The Guest (K-Drama) Review

    Full List of Bromance Recommendations The year 2019 was a great year. I chanced upon 3 of the best bromances that I have ever encountered. The Guest happens to be one of them. Seriously though, this drama checks off every single tick on my personal requirements for a perfect bromance show. I mean, you don’t see a bromance that exudes this angsty, intense, beautiful, and above all, i’ll-sacrifice-my-life-for-you aura on a daily basis. Not to mention, the show itself is literally gold. Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Detective, Supernatural, Horror/Exorcism, Drama Year: 2018 Featuring: Kim Dong-wook, Kim Jae-wook, Jung Eun-chae Synopsis (taken & modified from MyDramaList): Twenty years ago, Yoon Hwa Pyung, a young psychic born into a…

  • Recommendation & Review

    My Complete List of Bromances in Mangas, Animes, Novels, Movies & Dramas

    (Last Updated: November 2023. This is a frequently updated post to reflect the most recent status of my so-called Bromance Discovery Journey haha.) I’d like to think that my priority in life is to live & breathe bromance. I have been seriously, emotionally investing myself in various formats of fiction for 15+ years now and I can assure you one thing: I have standards. This is my very own list of works that I have handpicked from all those years. They can be of different genres and countries of origin, yet have one thing in common: They all feature some great bromance. Just a small note, something you might also…

  • Daomu Biji's PingXie figurine by ERIK烤地瓜
    Grave Robbers' Chronicles,  OTPs

    All About Daomu Biji’s PingXie Pairing – Part 1: Excerpts from Main Story

    PingXie (Chinese: 瓶邪), short for Men You Ping x Wu Xie (Chinese: 闷油瓶 x 吴邪) is the most popular pairing of Daomu Biji. Rising to fame since the early days of the novel, the pairing is a reason for many fans getting pulled into starting this gigantic series. The amount of fan materials dedicated to this ship is sensational. At one point in time, PingXie was even named as “China’s national couple”. And until today, 14 years after the novel’s start, the PingXie ship is still going strong. Bearing in mind that this pairing is not canon and the novel is obviously not BL, just exactly what makes everyone so…

  • Grave Robbers' Chronicles

    Daomu Biji (The Lost Tomb) Universe – The Right Order To Read & Watch Everything

    (Last Updated: July 2022. This is a frequently updated post to reflect the most recent status of the Daomu Universe.) As you may know, Daomu Biji, or The Lost Tomb / Grave Robbers’ Chronicles in English, is an epic novel series. The world building is extensive and the story expands into more and more mysteries as the timeline moves along. Apart from the Main Story which spans 9 parts, there are a number of sequels, prequels and extra stories. As of July 2021, author Nan Pai San Shu has built the universe to grow over 1600 chapters. This post will talk about the chronological order of the books as well…

  • Information

    About Me & The Blog

    Hi there! Welcome to Strictly Bromance. This is a blog dedicated to all things Daomu Biji and all things bromance. My name is Michelle and I built this blog out of love for Daomu Biji. As big as this franchise is in China, there is very little information about it available in English. Thus, this blog was created in the hope of helping non-Chinese-speaking fans learn more about this remarkable series. [Disclaimer: Chinese is not my native language. As such, there are occasions when I may not be able to pick up ‘language nuances’ during the process of translation. You’re welcome to give feedback when you spot an issue. Thank…

  • Dao Mu Bi Ji Novel - Grave Robbers' Chronicles introduction
    Grave Robbers' Chronicles

    Introduction to Grave Robbers’ Chronicles (Dao Mu Bi Ji) Novel

    Daomu Biji, also known in English as The Lost Tomb or Tomb Notes, is a supernatural / adventure novel series that follows Wu Xie and his comrades on their exploration of ancient tombs across modern-day China and their uncovering of many mysteries behind this deadly tomb-robbing business. Together with Gui Chui Deng (English: Ghost Blows Out The Light), Daomu Biji is widely recognised to have pioneered a formerly unexplored genre and opened up a whole new era for Chinese novels – what is now often dubbed as ‘The Tomb Robbing Era‘. With a sprawling universe spread across a timeline of more than 50 years and a diverse set of characters…

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