Yao Tai Feng

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Yao Tai Feng (瑶台凤)
Alias(es)	Yang Hongying; Master Feng; Boss Feng; Little Feng 49 53 54
Species/Race	Fierce Ghost; described as the strongest Fierce Ghost of Gathering Immortals Tower 69
Gender	Female 53
Affiliation	Gathering Immortals Tower and its ghost opera troupe 54 56
Occupation/Role	Dan actor, martial actress, and Ghost Opera performer
Status	Deceased; died in the fire at Gathering Immortals Tower eighteen years earlier and remains in the Ghost City 49 69
First Appearance	Mentioned 48; appears in person 53

Background / History

Yang Hongying is a descendant of the Yang Family Generals. Her family had already declined by her childhood; at roughly four or five years old, she was abducted by traffickers and sold to a brothel. Repeated escape attempts brought harsh punishment until an unnamed master took her in, fed her, and trained her in opera and genuine martial arts. Her willingness to endure hardship and eagerness to learn soon earned her fame 60 83.

She debuted at sixteen and had become Jiangzhou’s foremost Dan actor by age twenty. Her repertoire encompassed qingyi, hua dan, wu dan, and dao ma dan roles, while her martial ability was considered unmatched. On the God of the Pear Garden’s birthday, she performed for seven consecutive days at Gathering Immortals Tower and donated the proceeds to orphans and beggars 49.

Eighteen years before Zhou Sheng’s arrival in Xunyang, Yao Tai Feng and the Gathering Immortals Tower troupe died in a fire. Unlike many of the fire victims haunting the theater’s audience, the troupe’s ghosts retain their ordinary appearances and comparatively little malevolent energy due to Yu Zhensheng’s intervention 49 56.

Although famed for portraying heroines and generals, she has never left Xunyang City. Her longing to see the places depicted in opera—such as West Lake, Kaifeng, Red Cliffs, and Suzhou’s gardens—remains one of her deepest regrets 83.

Appearance

Yao Tai Feng is a tall, slender woman with an overtly heroic bearing. Her ability to portray male generals is so convincing that Zhou Sheng initially mistakes her for a handsome man when she appears as Zhao Zilong 53 54.

• Phoenix-like eyes and sword-shaped brows, often emphasized by an intense, martial gaze 56 60.
• Long black hair, which falls to her waist when she reveals her ghostly form 69.
• A clear, melodious feminine voice capable of shifting from an androgynous male-role delivery 53.
• Often performs in white robes and silver armor while wielding a silver spear as Zhao Yun 60.
• Has worn a phoenix mask and altered her voice while acting covertly in the Ghost Market 77 83.
• Her ghostly form includes a brocade cloak embroidered with phoenixes among peonies, scale armor, and golden poppy-shaped earrings 69.

Personality

Yao Tai Feng is principled, compassionate, and intensely devoted to opera. During her life, she used her earnings to help orphans and beggars; after death, she remains willing to defend vulnerable performers, including Xiu Xiu and Hong Xian 49 57.

Her performances reflect the heroic ideals she admires. She is drawn to stories of female heroes and knights-errant, loathes the General’s Mansion’s oppression, and is exhilarated when she and Zhou Sheng take action against it 69 79 83.

Beneath her commanding stage presence, Yao Tai Feng is lonely and curious about the living world. She treasures storybooks—especially tales of female heroes—and asks Zhou Sheng to obtain the long-unavailable second volume of The Legend of Hong Fu for her 69. She can be teasing and playful with Zhou Sheng, but becomes stern when his safety is at risk 65 76.

Abilities & Skills

Opera Mastery

Yao Tai Feng was Jiangzhou’s leading Dan actor and remains one of Gathering Immortals Tower’s foremost performers.

• Mastered qingyi, hua dan, wu dan, and dao ma dan roles 49.
• Performs female roles such as Consort Yu with emotional force and precise character understanding 66 68.
• Cross-dresses convincingly for male roles, including Zhao Zilong; her portrayal is described as so complete that she seems to resurrect Zhao Yun on stage 53 60.
• Possesses a Dragon-Tiger Voice and can combine heroic bearing, singing, and martial choreography without incongruity 60.
• Demonstrates exceptional instinctive coordination with Zhou Sheng during their unrehearsed Farewell My Concubine scene 66.

Spear and Swordsmanship

Her opera combat is backed by genuine martial skill rather than stage technique alone.

• Uses a bright silver spear with sufficient force and speed to threaten Zhou Sheng before he can properly respond 53.
• Can combine spear and sword techniques while portraying Zhao Zilong 53.
• Her spear work is described as battlefield-capable and not merely performative 60.
• Was prepared to kill the theater bully to protect Xiu Xiu before Zhou Sheng intervened 57.

Fierce Ghost Physiology

As a powerful ghost, Yao Tai Feng possesses abilities associated with Yin nature and spiritual predation.

• Can absorb a living person’s Yang energy; she uses this ability to conceal Zhou Sheng’s living aura during their performance, though it leaves him severely weakened 68.
• States that she does not enjoy absorbing Yang energy despite its value to ghosts 69.
• Can weaponize her hair, extending a strand with enough force to pierce metal and stone 69.
• Her nature as a ghost prevents her from freely leaving the Ghost City’s boundary with the living world 83.

Equipment / Items

• Bright silver spear — Her principal weapon for Zhao Zilong roles and combat 53 60.
• Sword — Used in performance and lent to Zhou Sheng during their rehearsal of Farewell My Concubine 66.
• Phoenix mask — Used to conceal her identity during the confrontation at Qinghe Hall 77.
• Incense Money and banknotes — Her accumulated savings from years of performing, including rewards from the City Lord 76.
• The Legend of Hong Fu, Volume One — A cherished and repeatedly read storybook; she seeks its unwritten-at-the-time-of-her-death second volume 69.

Relationships

• Zhou Sheng / “Boss Long” — Initially tests him in a spear-and-sword exchange, then becomes his performance partner, ally, creditor, and trusted friend. She saves his life onstage, protects his secret as a living person, and joins him in infiltrating the General’s Mansion 53 68 69 76 83.
• Yu Zhensheng / “Fifth Master” — A respected elder who gave her guidance in singing and knew the Gathering Immortals Tower troupe while they were alive. She clarifies that she was never formally his disciple 54 56.
• Hong Xian — A younger ghost performer under Yao Tai Feng’s care. Yao Tai Feng restrains her from rashly confronting the theater bully and later carries her while she sleeps 57 69.
• Manager Guan — The manager of Gathering Immortals Tower, whom she addresses as Master. He is concerned for her when she accompanies Zhou Sheng into the Ghost Market 55 76.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Gathering Immortals Tower

Yao Tai Feng’s reputation first reaches Zhou Sheng through Xunyang’s storyteller, who calls her the former top Dan actor of Jiangzhou. Zhou Sheng later meets her at Gathering Immortals Tower while she is portraying Zhao Zilong; she tests him in combat before revealing her identity as Yang Hongying 48 53.

Though she refuses Zhou Sheng’s mistaken address of “Senior Sister,” she recognizes his ability and recommends that Manager Guan let him perform the dangerous warm-up interlude. Her recommendation gives him the chance to prove himself before the ghostly audience 54 55.

*Farewell My Concubine*

Yao Tai Feng rehearses Farewell My Concubine with Zhou Sheng as Consort Yu opposite his Overlord of Chu. Their shared immersion allows them to coordinate naturally without rehearsal, including her surprise portrayal of Consort Yu’s suicide attempt 66.

When ghosts begin to sense Zhou Sheng’s living aura during the actual performance, she improvises a return to the stage as Consort Yu. By holding him and absorbing his Yang energy, she conceals his identity long enough for them to complete the act and survive 68.

Trust and the Ghost Market

After discovering that Zhou Sheng is alive, Yao Tai Feng initially threatens to sell or consume him, but stops herself from attacking him. His faith in her heroic spirit, expressed through the belief that “the opera doesn’t lie,” earns her trust in return. She promises to keep his secret and asks him to bring her the second volume of The Legend of Hong Fu 69.

She later lends Zhou Sheng three strings of Incense Money for Five-Colored Mica and accompanies him to the Ghost Market as both creditor and protector. When the mica is revealed to have been taken by the General’s Mansion, she helps intimidate Boss Wei and insists on joining Zhou Sheng’s infiltration plan 76 77 79.

Escape from the General’s Mansion

Yao Tai Feng and Zhou Sheng infiltrate the General’s Mansion, acquire the Five-Colored Mica, evade Underworld Soldiers, and escape through the Ghost Market. The adventure fulfills, however briefly, her desire to live like the wandering heroines she portrays and reads about 80 83.

Notable Quotes

“Because the opera doesn't lie.” 69

“Boss Long, thank you for tonight. You let me be a true character in a play.” 83