Xu Qiuyan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Xu Qiuyan (徐秋妍)
Alias(es)	Qiu Yan; linked to the identity of the Embroidery Woman 1502 1651
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Ninth Bureau Special Section; later acts as an Administration Bureau representative and high-ranking official 6 1079 1674
Occupation/Role	Supernatural-case participant, Ninth Bureau trainee, and Administration Bureau official 9 289 1079
Status	Active; participates in a confrontation with a faceless opponent alongside Ye Jinghong and Qianqian 2025
First Appearance	Chapter 6

Background

Xu Qiuyan witnessed Li Sen's accident and was left terrified, incoherent, and unable to be calmed; with no family reachable, responding officers placed her in a mental institution. Though considered lucid by the time Bai met her, she still experienced unusual dreams, including one in which she saw a younger Xie Yi wearing Taoist robes on Qixia Mountain. Bai chose to take responsibility for her, and she entered the Ninth Bureau's orbit with him. 6

Xie Yi offered her a period of observation and training through the Ninth Bureau, hoping she could gain enough ability to defend herself. Her later special training substantially improved her physique, although she initially considered herself ineffective beside the group's supernatural fighters. 9 56 289

Her family history is inseparable from the forces pursuing her. Her biological mother, Chen Wenjing, abandoned her in infancy and later attempted to place her in charge of the Nameless Base. Xu Qiuyan refused to accept the position without answers about her past and the base's purpose. 293 384

Xu Qiuyan was implanted with a dormant brain chip during childhood. The chip began transmitting signals and appeared capable of autonomous action, raising the danger that it could seize control of her consciousness. She chose to remain at the base rather than risk becoming a threat to Jiang Xiaobai or others. 295

Her father, Xu Zheng, later disclosed that she possesses an unusual brain bone whose inactive function can strengthen bodily regeneration. He also identified himself as an outsider being hunted alongside his daughter. 404

Personality

Xu Qiuyan is consistently compassionate toward vulnerable people. She worries for Yin Wuyu, asks Sister Hong to help Xie Xiaotang despite the risks, and sympathizes with Gu Song's suffering. 20 26

She is perceptive and quick to analyze uncertain situations. She identifies implications in the disappearance of an artifact, develops a theory about the King of Hell's succession, and rapidly infers that Jiangbei may be constrained from directly harming Jiang Xiaobai. 20 288 289

Her gentleness does not prevent decisive action. When her mother’s men threaten Jiang Xiaobai, Xu Qiuyan stands in front of him and kills all four attackers with a dagger rather than yield. 781

Her loyalty is often divided by her parents, the Administration Bureau, and Jiang Xiaobai. She remains capable of choosing compassion even when coerced into opposing him, such as asking him to protect the copied personality of her mother. 1036 1037

Abilities & Skills

Psychic Resonance

Xu Qiuyan has an asymmetrical mental connection with Jiang Xiaobai.

• She states that she can sense nearly everything Jiang Xiaobai experiences, while he cannot similarly perceive her. 201 203
• She claims she would be able to recognize Jiang Xiaobai by sensing him, even if someone approached her door claiming to be him. 496
• Her dreams repeatedly overlap with supernatural events and other people's dreamscapes, though the source and limits of this phenomenon remain unclear. 6 36

Analytical Reasoning

Xu Qiuyan rapidly assesses hidden motives, power relationships, and supernatural conditions.

• She immediately focuses on unexplained details in investigations, including the disappearance of a stolen artifact. 20
• She theorizes that the King of Hell may have arranged a successor through conflict with the Jiang family. 289
• She concludes that Jiangbei's strength may be limited by a hidden restriction preventing him from treating Jiang Xiaobai as an enemy. 288

Combat Training

Ninth Bureau training transformed Xu Qiuyan from an initially insecure civilian into a capable combatant.

• Her physical condition improved significantly after special training. 289
• She is known to possess hand-to-hand combat ability. 61
• She uses a standard Ninth Bureau dagger with exceptional speed and lethal precision, killing four armed men in rapid succession. 781
• Her later combat ability appears far beyond what Jiang Xiaobai expected, leading Princess Jinshu to suggest that Xu Qiuyan had concealed her true capabilities. 865

Administrative and Political Skill

Xu Qiuyan becomes an influential figure within the Administration Bureau.

• She acts as the Bureau's representative during a dispute involving Pope Yale, even after her authority is challenged by Xu Zheng. 1079
• She proposes transferring thirty Administration Bureau personnel into action teams to reduce internal conflict and the risk of compulsory chip implantation. 1245
• She controls twenty thousand people under her authority and refuses to submit to Fu Ting's demands without resistance. 1766

Biological Anomalies

Xu Qiuyan's body is connected to outsider technology and unexplained inherited traits.

• A childhood brain chip can emit signals and may eventually overwrite her consciousness or behavior. 295
• Her brain bone is said to enhance bodily regeneration, though its function remains inactive. 404
• The threat of the chip is a major reason she accepts confinement and separation from Jiang Xiaobai. 295

Equipment / Items

• Jade bracelet — Sister Hong, a ghost body, normally resides within Xu Qiuyan's bracelet. 26
• Ninth Bureau dagger — Used in close combat against her mother’s armed subordinates. 781

Relationships

• Jiang Xiaobai / Bai — Her closest emotional connection and the person she most often tries to protect. Bai takes her from the institution and accepts responsibility for her; their relationship later becomes strained by distrust, altered identities, and political conflict. 6 203 699 734
• Xu Zheng — Her biological father, an outsider who entrusts Jiang Xiaobai with her safety. His protection of her is genuine, but his shifting alliances repeatedly leave her uncertain of his motives. 404 795 1079
• Chen Wenjing — Her biological mother, a powerful Institute 507 and Administration Bureau figure with split personalities. Their relationship is defined by manipulation, conflicted love, and Xu Qiuyan's repeated attempts to resist being used as leverage. 384 794 1036
• Gong Deyi's wife — A copied body housing one of Chen Wenjing's separated personalities. Xu Qiuyan considers her another mother and asks Jiang Xiaobai to protect her. 1036 1037
• Sister Hong — A female ghost who resides in Xu Qiuyan's jade bracelet. Xu Qiuyan treats her warmly as “Sister Hong” and seeks her help for others. 20 26
• Xie Yi — Head of the Ninth Bureau Special Section. Xu Qiuyan recognizes a younger version of him from her dreams. 6
• Bingbing — Identified as Xu Qiuyan's sister; she seeks Jiang Xiaobai's help when Xu Qiuyan leaves to confront another version of herself. 476
• Ye Jinghong — A frequent rival for Jiang Xiaobai's trust and attention. Their hostility becomes explicit when Ye Jinghong challenges Xu Qiuyan's wish to remain beside him. 699

Identity and Memory

Xu Qiuyan's identity is repeatedly complicated by doubles, altered memories, and links to the Embroidery Woman.

• Bingbing describes two versions of Xu Qiuyan: one associated with her “good” side and another capable of acting recklessly and harming Jiang Xiaobai. 476
• A mysterious woman identifies Xu Qiuyan as the Embroidery Woman and claims she has been following Jiang Xiaobai for a hidden purpose. 1502
• King Yan seeks to marry Xu Qiuyan because she resembles the Embroidery Woman, whom he loved without reciprocation. 1651
• Gongshu Ce believes the Void Realm is a cage created to imprison Xu Qiuyan and that her memories were altered so she would believe herself to be the Embroidery Woman and King Yan's fiancée. 1401
• Xu Qiuyan herself acknowledges uncertainty over whether she is still alive and searches for answers about her own existence. 781

Story Role / Major Arcs

Li Sen Incident and Ninth Bureau Recruitment

After being institutionalized following Li Sen's accident, Xu Qiuyan joins Bai and the Ninth Bureau Special Section. Her dreams, apparent lucidity, and trust in Bai establish her as part of the Little Ancestral Hall Entrance investigation. 6

Nameless Base and the Brain Chip

Xu Qiuyan becomes the focus of the Heavenly Realm's Nameless Base, where her biological mother asks her to assume control. The revelation of her dormant brain chip prompts her to stay behind voluntarily rather than risk becoming an externally controlled weapon. 292 293 295

Separation and the Search for Yanxu

Xu Qiuyan disappears into Yanxu, a hidden moving space requiring four keys to enter. Jiang Xiaobai receives signs of her distress, while Princess Jinshu confirms that he cannot yet reach her. 332 334

Dreamscape Doubles and Family Conflict

Her connection to alternate versions of herself becomes central to the Dreamscape conflict. She confronts the possibility that good and evil were separated within her, while disputes with her parents expose the extent to which both Institute 507 and the Administration Bureau seek to use her. 476 617 733

Administration Bureau Struggles

Xu Qiuyan gains political authority in the Administration Bureau but repeatedly faces internal betrayal and challenges to her legitimacy. She remains caught between the Bureau's power structure, her mother's ambitions, and Jiang Xiaobai's opposition to the institution. 699 1079 1245

Void Realm and King Yan

After fleeing into the Void Realm, Xu Qiuyan is held in Yan Palace by King Yan and becomes the target of a rescue effort. Her resemblance to the Embroidery Woman and King Yan's proposed marriage make her identity central to the conflict. 1645 1651 1687

Notable Quotes

“Don't forget, I can sense everything about you.” 201

“I won't let you touch him!” 781

“Jiang Xiaobai, remember this: you absolutely cannot let her schemes succeed, or this world will be destroyed along with it.” 795