Remnants of Filth: Yuwu (Novel) Vol. 4 (2024)

Might be recency bias but YUWU moves up on my all time favorites list with each book released. This is one of the most emotional stories I’ve ever read.

Meatbun's ability to evoke so many feelings through her characters' pain is unrivaled. I love Mo Xi and Gu Mang with all my heart and cannot wait for their HE (three more volumes to go 😩).

Volume 4 was heartbreaking, more so, because it began with such a hopeful note. Gu Mang has his memories back and Mo Xi is starting to trust him again. All they need is to flee from the demon bat island and everything will be well. Except, Gu Mang is determined to push Mo Xi away. Even a night of passion brought on by a demonic potion affecting Gu Mang won’t change his mind.

The moment they return home, things start going wrong. Gu Mang is taken into custody for excruciating magical experiments. Mo Xi isn’t there, because he’s investigating the truth about Gu Mang. He learns it too, but almost destroys his own health in the process. The truth isn’t what he had thought, and it sets him against the emperor—never a good place to be. But it might be in vain, because Gu Mang may have lost his mind again. The book ends before we learn for sure.

This book was mostly from Gu Mang’s point of view. And it’s such a different story than the reader has been led to believe. The love story we’ve thought was one-sided was very real for him too. But he’s a realist and knows that a slave and a nobleman can never be together, and so he’s pretended to only toy with Mo Xi. Here, in his thoughts, he can confess his love. But he doesn’t reveal it to Mo Xi. For his part, Mo Xi, having learned the truth, is more willing than ever to declare his love publicly. Only, he never gets a chance to do that either.

This was an intense volume that wrung the reader dry. But at least there was the great spicy scene at the beginning of the book, and the knowledge that the men love one another. Now there’s the agonising wait to learn if it’s too late; whether Gu Mang has lost his mind for good or if there’s still hope for the men.

Flowers will bloom, rain will cease, winter will pass. Believe me… My princess, my royal highness. Because…if even you lose faith in me…

If even you lose faith in me, then I truly will be fighting on my own. I will really be alone.

Believe in me, won’t you…?

even in all of mo xi’s anger; even in all his feelings of betrayal; even in all his heartache and grief and confusion…he has always believed in gu mang.

always, in even the deepest recesses of his heart.

no matter how hard he tried to bury it, it was the one thing he couldn’t suppress—even if it meant getting his own heart stabbed in the process. and he was always so angry about it. i’ve seen it since volume one and it all comes to a head here—just how much reverence he had in gu mang and how it’s that reverence that kept him alive. even when everyone else but maybe one or two characters were spitting on gu mang’s image.

mo xi is so earnest, he feels so much, and i always loved that about his character. i loved that dichotomy of such a cold and unfeeling persona evoking so much heartache in the reader in his own feelings of grief and misunderstanding.

all he wanted was to just understand. he needed to believe that there was a bigger truth at play and there was. he believed in gu mang…

and he always will :’)

which meant that gu mang really was never alone….

i can’t tell you surreal it felt reading this volume. finally we get more answers, and there was a lot of pain in the process that even mo xi was dealt with. it felt just as surreal to see gu mang in the present as he always was, before he was tortured to the point he lost his own memories. to see him express the yearning that we always only saw on mo xi’s side was such a relief, and we also got to see the pain & grief he experienced playing someone else’s puppet.

this book hurt me. a lot. and i love mo xi & gu mang a lot. they’ve really been tested on for far too long and….gu mang’s history continues to break my heart.

and of course the end leaves me with a cliffhanger; why the hell not??

but this story truly is beautiful. i love it very much

content warnings:

major: descriptions of both physical & mental torture, injury/injury detail, and explicit sexual content
moderate: exploration of grief, and extreme blood loss
minor: references to human sacrifices, scenes of war & death, and slavery

“Believe me…My princess, my royal highness. Because…if even you lose faith in me… If even you lose faith in me, then I truly will be fighting on my own. I will really be alone. Believe in me, won’t you…?”

5 stars - utter pain. After volume 3 released back in March I took it upon myself to read the rest of the book at once, but that wasn’t enough to spare me from the pain and tears. Gu Mang went through so much to only suffer more. Meatbun wrote Mo Xi’s guilt upon learning the truth so well too it was heart-wrenching. Just going to put some of my favourite quotes as the rest of my thoughts are very much spoilers for the rest of the series TvT. Also can’t wait for the next volume! (And the few happy moments we’ll get before the pain kicks in once again)

“ ‘I saw you as my comrade, my friend, my…’
My beloved. My god.”

“Gu Mang — back then, you nearly ripped out my heart. Couldn’t you see?”

“Since Gu Mang had already chosen this path, he didn’t need Mo Xi’s pity, indignance, or dissatisfaction, and he especially didn’t need the slightest hint of his love. He only needed Mo Xi to hate him completely.”

“Your warmth will make me hesitate, will keep me moving forward. I’m already a traitor. Mo Xi, I don’t want to be a coward too...”

“He loved him so much, missed him so much. He missed him in the barracks, missed him in battle, missed him in every plaintive melody. In the depths of his shattered memories, he loved him, cherished him, and longed for him.”

“Oh, I missed you, Mo Xi…After I cut you out of my heart, that scar never healed.”

“Mo Xi. I’m sorry. Your shixiong really, really loves you.”

“Mo Xi’s eyes shone brilliantly in the dark. Gu Mang didn’t have the heart to dim that light.”

Even if humans have ever felt true love and compassion, I think the majority of us have forgotten how by now.
When the love and the relationship between two people turn into impossible to withstand torment, when love becomes suffering, how many couples would wish to stay together? Can love really withstand the passage and wearing out of time? How many couples actually stay together forever nowadays?
Through wonderful storytelling Meatbun pours the despair, suffering and pain of seven lifetimes into her works, but still gives happy ending to couples who could never get it in real life. She gives them hope and future. To them and to love.
Among the couples Meatbun has written about, Gu Mang and Mo Xi are the ones the feelings between whom stay the purest. Their hard time was mostly caused by the exterior and the fact that both of them believe and treasure things bigger than themselves.
These star-crossed lovers loved each other so much and this is what eventually became the cause for their greatest torment.
For a long time, Gu Mang genuinely believed that given the circumstances of both of them, he shouldn't have place in Mo Xi's life and willingly tries to hand him over to another. However, Mo Xi has long given his heart to him and has never wished for anyone else. The clash between his love and loyalty was his biggest torment for a long time.
Before Gu Mang lost two of his souls and his mind was destroyed, he had planned so carefully. His preparations for the future were foolproof and he was able to make a fool of literally everyone. It's no wonder that for his whole military career he lost only one battle. His calculations fail only when it comes to his beloved.
My favourite thing about the whole novel is how Gu Mang calls Mo Xi ‘princess’. It's like when Jamie calls Claire ‘sassenach’. His affection apparent through the nickname.
I didn't like most of the illustrations in this volume as much as I liked the ones in the former volumes. There were still ones that I liked pretty much, but they were in the second half of the volume.
The cover is awesome, though.
It's shame how much time it took me to read this volume, but that's what happens when I'm on vacation on the beach with the family. I just read faster when I'm alone at home.
There probably won't be more than three more volumes till Seven Seas is done with the translation of Remnants of Filth. I can't wait to see the covers and illustrations for them.
I just wish Seven Seas to have included the next chapter in this volume. It would have looked more like an ending and I loved that chapter.

Genuinely foaming at the mouth. I need the next one yesterday. I hate this series. This is the saddest series I've ever read in my life. Why did I sign up for this? I hate it here. God I can't wait for the next book. I love it so much. I can't even explain anything that happened because everything I could possibly say would be a spoiler. I just want to say that they better fix everything or I will riot. I'm glad there are seven volumes because Xihe-Jun has work to do and mysteries to solve.

JESUS CHRIST 😭🤧

The volume tastes salty because MY TEARS ARE RUNNING DOWN MY CHEEKS.

I have been with Mo Xi and Gu Mang since the beginning of the 7seas journey and this volume is the saddest among them all. The truth is finally revealed, which at times was hard for me to continue reading. However, I feel relieved knowing what really happened.

The story carries on at the demon-infused island, when Mo Xi and Gu Mang tries to find a way out by infiltrating the Bat Tribe Lair. Gu Mang has already recovered some of his memories and Mo Xi started to have his hopes up once more. Unfortunately, it's Meatbun's writting, so instead of heartful conversion we get angsty, steamy night (I feel like Meatbun was never as close to writing an omegaverse as with this one).

Upon their return, everything is gaining momentum. The truth starts to unfold itself in a crashing way. Throughout my read, a lot of theories were born in my head. Some of them turned out to be right and some false.

With that being said, the volume evoked so many emotions within me. I swear to god, I was sobbing, I wanted to set this book on fire or even tear it apart. Although I am not a big fan of Meatbun because I feel she mostly writes angst for the sake of angst. I need to praise her workshop in "Remnants of Filth" as her writing style is descriptive. She excels at describing physical and mental turmoil, you can actually feel through the paper. However, the downside of this skill is leaving the reader emotionally drained (haha 😢).

At the end, I am biased with this novel as I already consider it one of my favourite damneis out here. I appreaciate how Meatbun approached the topic of Mo Xi and Gu Mang's romance. I find some aspects of their love tragically realistic. Additionally, I enjoyed getting to know Gu Mang's perspective since the whole book was based on Mo Xi's feelings so far.

oh my god this volume was so mean 😭😭😭

we finally got some answers but my god I wasn't expecting this and the agony that came with it

I legit cried while reading this. Gu Mang deserves better.

Heart wrenching! An absolute masterpiece beyond compare! The reveal is horrific, truly a tearjerker.

I couldn’t wait for July 🤦🏽‍♀️ I look forward to reading the Seven Seas translation when it’s out, but this story is too good to put down 😭 Meatbun and I??? We are TWINS, that is my SISTER, every word she writes, I’m like make her president!! Because WHY is this writing SO angsty I CANT, like physically cannot deal with Gu Mang and Mo Xi………. Also I did not realize we’d be getting smut, I love it 🤭🤭 10/10, 5 stars, I love Meatbun Doesn’t Eat Meat and will have to finish this series asap.

Sarebbe un 4,75 ma arrotondiamo a 5 perché a essere i DISGRAZIATI più DISGRAZIATI di tutti ci vuol del gran talento e il talento in qualche modo va sempre premiato. E mancano ancora 3 volumi per cui non oso immaginare il devasto che capiterà da qui in avanti.
Alcune domande cruciali hanno finalmente avuto una risposta quindi ora sappiamo cosa è realmente accaduto, ci resta da comprendere il perché - elemento ad ora piuttosto nebuloso, anche se comunque di certezze non se ne troveranno se non - forse - nell'ultima riga dell'ultima pagina, questo è evidente. Dato però che alla fine di questo volume sembrano essere diventati all'improvviso tutti quanti santi o martiri o tutte e due le cose insieme, possiamo ragionevolmente presumere che, per scovare il vero villain (figura al momento molto elusiva, nel senso che proprio ancora non si è palesato), basterà capire chi, esclusi i protagonisti, è il più santo e il più martire dell'intera allegra combriccola. E a corrispondere a questa descrizione non sono poi tanti.
Prosa come sempre bellissima ed emozionante, davvero è un piacere da leggere (grazie anche a una traduzione eccellente, non dimentichiamolo).

!!!!!!!!!!!!!This volume!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT.

This was straight up incredible. I was basically glued to the page from the moment Mo Xi entered the first jade scroll. And even before that, there were a lot of great plot threads left dangling (Murong Chuyi and Jiang Yexue?? Murong Lian coming to Xihe Manor partly dressed???). But man, once the reveal started it was just non-stop gutting. Such a good twist. Poor Gu Mang!

I will say, I did find it kind of funny how now all of a sudden there were a bunch of objects - the jade scrolls, the pool in the palace - to facilitate flashbacks, but also the world-building remains outstanding (THE PAST IS DEAD) so whatever.

Cannot believe I have to wait until November for Volume 5! If you haven't started the series yet, it might be worth waiting because, ouch, I want to keep going so bad!

Now that I’ve had a couple days to process what I read I can say without a doubt that this book ruined me emotionally!.

Gu Mang and Mo Xi are so in love with each other that they can help but hurt themselves and each other in their efforts to protect one another. It’s almost painful to see just how they managed to have so many misunderstandings between them.

And don’t get me started on just how much I hate the Emperor. At first I thought he was just a manipulative little shit—which he still is—but then he shows one or two redeeming qualities. However I will always believe that people with power like that will abuse it in some way that is not easily remedied.

Still, I absolutely love Meatbun’s writing. They always manage to make me feel deeply in some kind of way. And I hope that as I continue to read this story that the characters get a proper ending that they deserve. I hope more people will get into this series because it is definitely worth the read.

“Don’t follow me any farther. Everyone has their own path. I chose this one long ago… It’s not an easy road to take. But I know it was right.”
“Gu Mang”
“It was the right one, so I don’t regret it.”

😭😭 I knew he had his reasons. The cruelty he always used against Mo Xi always seemed to me to be hiding the real reason for why he was pulling away.

This book was brilliant. So many questions were answered and points along the way touched upon.

I honestly can’t wait for the last one now I need to get to how they’re going to help him out of this mess!

BACK IN THE DANMEI ERA (major spoilers!!)

Mo Xi finally knows the whole truth!! i always forget how well rou bao writes that makes you feel ALL THE FEELS but everytime i read one of these i remember and oh god. i love how Mo Xi never truly abandoned Gu Mang and that whole scene of reading the jade scroll gave me goosebumps. what a change from the start of the volume at the bat island. officially heading into the angst peak of the series soon and i am not prepared.

Cada libro es una puñalada, pero es una historia buenísima, increíble y todo perfectamente milimetrado. Es increíble la de plot twist que hay siempre en las historias de Meatbun. En este volumen, por fin conocemos la realidad sobre la traición de Gu Mang y lo que pasó hace 8 años.
Eso sí, el libro ha acabado en el mejor momento!!!!! Necesito el siguiente Ya.

Voy a parecer un disco rayado pero esta novela va a ser mi fin.

Por fin descubrimos la verdadera razón de la "traición" de Gu Mang. Personalmente ha sido un plot twist muy bueno y que no me esperaba.

Se me ha hecho corto. Creo que la editorial quiere sacarnos el dinero y dividir la novela en más libros... Porque sinceramente no es normal que tarden 4 meses entre volúmenes y luego tardo menos de dos días en terminarlos.

No puedo escribir mucho más sin hacer spoilers de la historia, ya que ahora mismo estamos justo en la mitad.

Solamente espero que el tomo 5 no me deje llorando y temblando 🫠

Llorando y chillando

And I thought the last volume tore me pieces. Not even as close to this one did. Sacrifice will end me. Sacrifice will call me home

AAAAAAAA HOLY. FUCK DUDE

Mo Xi and his terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.

DBHSCISIVJENCJSJ OH MYNGOD

5/5

Oh the knives.... Not a single moment of happiness in this book.

How to have a good day with Mo Xi and Gu Mang (spoiler alert : it’ll be a bad day)
Lu Zhanxing deserved better :)

*cries in Gu Mang and Mo Xi*

the pain and heartbreak i went through reading this book....absolutely ruined me. the last few chapters were just straight up Agony. i love both mo xi and gu mang so much, please let them finally have the home they always wanted...

This series just rips my heart out more every book but I can’t stop reading. I just want these sad boys to be happy but the plot won’t let them.

It’s rude that we have to wait until November for the next volume. I CANT WAIT THAT LONG

insane. at the beginning I was like aw yeah for what was happening. then the tone shifted and for the majority of the book I was trying to not let my tears fall on the pages. 🥲 best volume in the series by far, I feel absolutely devastated by everything I read but there’s also a newfound hope that is gonna help me struggle until volume 5 is released.