I'm kind of a big fan of the original pacing. but I love how they made maomao look a little older.
You actually pointed out the exact problem I had with The Apothecary Diaries without me knowing what it was...
It's not necessarily that I can't identify to children aged 6 or smth (I mean she looks like she's in kindergarten in that one, even if she says mature stuff and has mature expressions I won't get fooled) but I think it felt so weird to have such an aestetic vibe coupled with love interest when she looks like a toddler, well... It's too creepy for me.
In general, when people are drawn very prettily, they tend to feel creepy very easily in my opinion.
This work feels a lot more natural, with less add-on decorative stuff that feel luxurious (there are probably better words for that, anyway), which make more sense in an ancient era with dirt roads and the like. The art here is litteraly refined compared to the extravagance in character expressions in The Apothecary Diaries. So it's better art in my opinion, as it lets the story be read in a smoother manner. Yeah, I just didn't like the other illustrator's art for what it's used lmao
I didn't say The Apothecary Diaries art isn't prettier though, it just is worst to follow this story with such art for me
As for the content of the story, well... I can't really judge with only 29 chapters in, but I liked reading through them. It felt like hearing a detective tell me about some of the cases he's solved...
![Coffee :coffee: :coffee:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)