It was pure joy to pick up Volume 3 right after finishing Volume 2! Here we finish the story proper.

After finally realizing that Luo Binghe is his own person (and not a book character), Shen Qingqiu flails. Both living in Huan Hua Palace, the pair tip toe around each other, unsure of dynamics and standing. The strain is exacerbated by Xin Mo’s increasingly ominous glow. Shen Qingqiu barely gets his footing when he’s suddenly whisked away to the Holy Mausoleum, a demonic resting ground riddled with traps…and Luo Binghe’s dad??? For reference, the remainder of the arcs are Tianlang-Jun kidnapping, the hilarious “three-in-a-bed” scene, LBH & LQG inn stay, Zhao Hua Monastery reveal, Shen Jiu’s backstory, defeating TLJ, VERY unfortunate sex, and HEA.

Volume 3 completes MXTX’s elegant reversal of the stallion novel genre. Shen Qingqiu unwinds the internalized homophobia part of the genre’s toxic masculinity. Thank God. The remainder of the review is spoiler-heavy.

My memory of this section has a hazy quality; punctuated with scenes I remember in surreal detail. For example, I completely forgot ZZL died, but I sure as hell remember that coffin scene. As a writer, the Holy Mausoleum felt like a fascinating cross-stitch, with MXTX showing both the final product and the backside stitching. When a reader begins a politics-heavy novel, they are presented with a neat, tidy picture, each stitch in place. Rarely are we privileged with such extensive backstory: to learn how such conspiratorial knots were formed; how and why the needlework is the way it is. I haven’t read Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation yet, but if The Untamed is anything to go by, MXTX is very interested in this theme. What is often the widely-accepted story is not the true one.

In Scum Villain, this theme dovetails nicely with MXTX’s critique of transmigration and stallion novels. All with a flair of good humor too. In one stroke, MXTX has Shen Qingqiu perform the classic transmigrator/stallion protag trick of pre-knowledge, ties it into making Proud Immortal Demon Way better, makes it hilarious, and lampshades it. Then, Shen Qingqiu’s flush of victory pales as the Old Palace Master dumps years of unexpected backstory. Puzzle-solving is clever, but Shang Qinghua thought deeper, into human nature and motivation. As stated above, long knots of conspiracy inform a finished character—threads barely fondled in the novel proper. Readers don’t often get to see (or sometimes refuse to see) the intricacies woven into a novel and its characters. Transmigrators and stallion protagonist may think they know everything because they’ve read the book—but they often fail to input humanity into the equation. As a writer myself, the Holy Mausoleum sequence is probably my favorite.

And the coolness doesn’t end there! Through the Holy Mausoleum sequence and the Mai Gu Ridge battle, MXTX nimbly pivots to a cliché battle with the Big Bad. Fantasy novels often end with a big battle against the revealed evil-doer. The martial arts world and Tianlang-Jun are sucked up in this “good vs evil” cliché. The fight happens, but it feels far from epic. Shen Qingqiu notes it’s like fighting the elderly and the infirm. The real danger is actually Xin Mo. The “gold finger” on Luo Binghe’s back, the ultimate weapon and hallmark of a Chūnibyō—that’s what’s destroying the world and Luo Binghe’s (mental) health and relationships. This is your brain on toxic masculinity, kids.

The next scene is of course, the worst sex scene I’ve ever read with my own two eyes. Okay’s maybe that’s not true. I’m sure I’ve read worse. Intellectually, I know sex scenes are very difficult to write, and no author is good at every skill. Please don’t ask me to tell a story in 3rd person omniscient—it will suck. Intellectually, I also know that MXTX wrote this scene as a rebuttal to the “magic dick” trope. Yanno, that one where a guy offers sex as a cure-all when his partner is angry, upset, and generally at their most vulnerable. Scum Villain’s sex scene more than accomplishes this goal and presents the true horror of such a scenario. The act ties with Shen Qingqiu’s character growth. He finally admits his feelings for Luo Binghe, and he stops making decisions for him. Shen Qingqiu listens to what his partner wants.

However, these thematic and character perks don’t compensate for how the scene makes Scum Villain fail as a kissing book. It’s like MXTX drilled so hard on the stallion genre reversal that she forsook the other half of the equation: to make it a gay romance. Yes, Scum Villain has the requisite happy ending, but the ending is unsatisfying to the romance reader. Shen Qinqiu spends a huge page count thinking of Luo Binghe as a not-a-person, and he undergoes tremendous character growth on the subject. The novel ends before we reap the fruits of his labors. We’re left wondering what Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu’s romantic relationship will be like. Where will they live? What’s their dynamic in public and private? What about their responsibilities to the Cang Qiong Mountain sect and the demonic realm? Will they figure out their intimacy issues? Without the Extras, we wouldn’t know. Near the end of Volume 4, Shen Qingqiu mentions that “this is the beginning of you and I.” While a nice sentiment, it barely papers over what I consider the most glaring flaw of the book.

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System is a fantastic novel. I don’t think it should be tossed out because of one scene. I enjoy the series immensely, both as a fan and fellow writer. If you have a chance to read it, seize that chance.

Review of Scum Villain Vol 1: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f797e4a5-9dc6-4810-bedd-0b2704a871b0

Review of Scum Villain Vol 2: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/64a2b986-fd86-4f98-9d8e-b680ad6e9e5a

Review of Scum Villain Vol 4: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/4426ae1a-2105-4c8e-b4ce-94e2793b5501