Pursuit of Jade

Pursuit of Jade ⚔️ 逐玉 (2026)

After 40 long episodes, I’ve finally finished what I don’t just consider to be one of my favourite watches of the year, but maybe one of my favourite television experiences of the entire decade.

Side-note: Before the “well, actually...” crowd shows up, I said favourite, not best lol.

And the series I’m talking about is PURSUIT OF JADE, the Chinese historical war drama based on the 2023 web novel Zhu Yu by Tuan Zi Lai Xi.

That novelistic style of storytelling is seamlessly translated into a lavish historical epic overflowing with political scheming, generational blood feuds, breathtaking wuxia action, and an unforgettable romance centred around your new favourite butcher, Fan Changyu.

The story follows Fan Changyu, the daughter of a renowned butcher, whose life is forever changed when she encounters the gravely wounded soldier Xie Zheng during a snowstorm. Orphaned and determined to keep her family and this stranger afloat, Changyu takes on the burden of supporting her household through her work as a pig butcher. Meanwhile, Xie Zheng conceals his true identity as army captain, Marquis Wuan—while meticulously plotting revenge against those responsible for murdering his parents.

This is one of those rare series where the credits roll on the final episode, and you’re immediately hit with the realization that you’ll genuinely miss the people and the world you’ve spent the last 40 hours living alongside.

The wuxia action is fluid, stylish, and absolutely vicious—its graceful choreography colliding headfirst with brutal bloodshed. And the romance? Swoon worthy butterflies. The kind of all-consuming love people write legends about, and the kind worth starting a war for. The political manoeuvring is endlessly gripping, the writing is surprisingly poetic, and these two leads had me completely under their spell.

Part of me wanted the series to remain that quieter, slice-of-life drama forever, content simply watching these characters exist together. But stories built on revenge always demand a reckoning, and eventually, blood has to be spilled.

And as a vegetarian, I genuinely never expected to become emotionally attached to a woman whose profession is literally slaughtering pigs, yet here we are because Fan Changyu completely stole my heart. She can do no wrong. Protect her at all costs... actually, scratch that. She's the one protecting everyone else. Fan Changyu is a one-woman wrecking crew.

There's an undeniable Mulan quality to Fan Changyu. One moment she's framed as the damsel in distress; the next she's single-handedly tearing through armies like a force of nature. Every time you think you've figured her out, she reminds you exactly why she's not to be messed with.

The phrase "don't judge a book by its cover" echoes throughout her entire story, while Marquis Wuan lurks in the shadows with a quiet intensity that makes him one of those effortlessly cool, quietly confident, kick-ass characters who commands every room without saying a word. He's the kind of man guys will want to be and girls won't be able to resist.

Then there’s the romantic entanglements which exude a smooth, sexy, heated finesse—a kind of domineering allure, the kind of electric chemistry that's guaranteed to have some viewers swooning and flustered.

And because of their budding relationship, the first twenty episodes are damn near perfection. This could've been brushing up against a perfect 10/10 had the second half not started racing through storylines that the first half so patiently allowed to breathe.

Earlier episodes took their time, making even the quietest moments feel purposeful rather than like filler, with every conversation and detour naturally feeding the larger narrative.

The final twenty episodes simply have too much ground to cover. Trading that deliberate pacing for urgency occasionally robs key moments of the emotional weight they deserve. It never diminished my enjoyment, but it's a shift that's impossible to ignore.

And I say all of that while loving every single second of this series.

PURSUIT OF JADE is a dream come true for fans of historical dramas. Produced with staggering extravagance while never sacrificing its sense of dignity or elegance, it unfolds like poetry in motion—that’s written in steel and blood.

If you love stories like Mulan and Bridgerton, but wish they had sharper political intrigue, bloodier sword fights, and a heroine capable of carrying an entire kingdom on her shoulders, PURSUIT OF JADE deserves a place at the very top of your watchlist. 

Enjoy!

8.8/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 40 minutes

Episodes: 40

Where: Streaming on Netflix

The Richmond Reviewer Pursuit of Jade Review - July 12th, 2026.