Lin Xiaosu

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Lin Xiaosu (林小苏)
Alias(es)	Mr. Li (undercover identity) 47
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Fengcheng Detective Agency; formerly a Qianlong reserve member 19 35
Occupation/Role	Detective-agency co-founder and investigator; former Qianlong trainee 15 35
Status	Operating the Fengcheng Detective Agency; Qianlong formalization was permanently denied 27 35
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Heavenly Dao Insightful Eye	1	Intercepted a seven-colored dewdrop falling through the Sky Window, gaining an eye ability that perceives minute details and can reverse observed time. 1 2
Humanity Orchid Heart	13	Seized a second dewdrop from the Sky Window. The ability links memories, enhances comprehension, and enables rapid understanding of complex information. 13
Enhanced Insightful Eye and Orchid Heart	18	High-intensity Qianlong training advanced both abilities further, allowing him to process electronic texts at extreme speed and absorb broad technical knowledge. 18
Spring Return Skill—True Qi Initiation	32	Used the silver-fish-like consciousness in his mind to produce true qi at the Spring Return Origin Point. The qi circulated through his meridians, expelled bodily impurities, and began addressing his physical weakness. 32
Duck Divine Ability	38	Activated a specialized true-qi pathway that affects his second appendage; its practical applications are described as limited at this stage. 38
Spiritual Rhinoceros Finger	38	Formed a true-qi pathway in his right hand, enabling a finger strike to make small holes in solid surfaces. 38

Background / History

Lin Xiaosu was a university graduate from a small mountain village who was preparing for the civil service examination. At Li Lao Er's request, he guarded Willow Forest Temple during an Astrological Shift Day. There, he saw a stone tablet, a crystal coffin containing a sleeping woman, and a falling seven-colored dewdrop. His instinctive interception of the dewdrop awakened the Heavenly Dao Insightful Eye. 1 2

After learning that Willow Forest Temple is a “mysterious pass” connected to the Primordial World, Lin Xiaosu began deliberately watching for further Sky Window openings. During the next Astrological Shift Day, he intercepted another dewdrop and gained the Humanity Orchid Heart. The event also coincided with Hu Ya's collapse and subsequent genetic mutation. 3 13 14

His abilities attracted Qianlong's attention after he assisted in local investigations. Chang Ye recruited him to the organization's 101 Training Ground, where he excelled in firearms, combat simulations, vehicles, languages, and espionage studies. He passed the assessment and became a reserve member. 9 15 16 18 19

Lin Xiaosu participated in Qianlong's Laoshan operation to locate Number 325, contributing tracking, time-reversal observations, and tactical judgment. Although his application for formal membership was later submitted, the Qianlong Review Committee permanently rejected it under regulations concerning his grandfather's conviction for involuntary manslaughter. 22 24 26 27

After returning home, Lin Xiaosu abandoned the civil service path and sought to strengthen his body without genetic modification. He learned the Miao family's Spring Return Skill from Miao Ruolan, achieved true-qi initiation in a single day, and formed an equal partnership with her to establish the Fengcheng Detective Agency. 29 30 32 35

Personality

Lin Xiaosu is observant, skeptical of easy explanations, and willing to investigate phenomena that others dismiss as impossible. After his first encounter with the Sky Window, he shifts from accidental participant to deliberate opportunity-seeker. 1 3 13

He is practical about money and work, agreeing to assist Chang Ye's Qingyuan Temple investigation after being offered payment. However, he does not treat profit as his only motive: when a struggling mother asks him to find her missing child, he helps despite refusing her payment. 9 37

Despite being denied formal Qianlong membership, Lin Xiaosu remains composed and uses humor to soften the parting with his former comrades. He is also cautious of institutions and people whose outward respectability conceals harmful intentions. 27 28

Abilities & Skills

Heavenly Dao Insightful Eye

The Heavenly Dao Insightful Eye grants Lin Xiaosu extraordinary visual perception and the ability to replay past events through Time Reversal.

• Perceives microscopic details, including individual hairs, a mosquito's wing movements, and subtle traces in dark environments. 2
• Reverses observed time to reconstruct events, such as identifying Lin Fugui as the person who watched Widow Feng bathe. 4
• Can review scenes from several days earlier, though extended use causes eye pain and strain. 10
• Sees through visual obstructions such as steam-covered glass and can inspect minute cracks in jade rough stones. 40 49
• Its perception exceeds his body's original reaction speed; early on, he could see danger in slow motion without being able to move quickly enough to match it. 5 18

Humanity Orchid Heart

The Humanity Orchid Heart is a comprehension and memory ability obtained from the Sky Window.

• Connects fragmented memories and makes previously read material immediately intelligible. 13
• Allows extremely rapid learning; Lin Xiaosu mastered seven languages and studied subjects including espionage during seven days in Qianlong's library. 18
• Supports complex deductions, including identifying a temporary Laoshan waterway and tracing the photograph's location through eucalyptus leaves. 22
• Gives his consciousness a tangible “silver fish” form, which he later uses to initiate true qi. 13 32

Spring Return Skill

A Miao-family cultivation technique originally created to heal deficiencies and strengthen the practitioner through self-directed true qi.

• Lin Xiaosu memorized the technique after reading its manual and achieved the normally difficult birth of true qi within a day. 31 32
• His true qi circulated through major meridians, cleansed bodily impurities, and improved his physical condition. 32
• Unlike fixed-route martial arts, its true-qi pathways can vary; Lin Xiaosu continues nightly cultivation after opening his agency. 37
• He chose this path partly because it improves the body without relying on gene modification. 29

Marksmanship and Tactical Combat

Lin Xiaosu rapidly became one of Qianlong's most capable trainees despite his initially weak physique.

• Triggered the Sharpshooter Line after 500 consecutive shots and achieved the best score at the range. 16
• Recorded a perfect 10.9 score across 400 shots. 17
• Cleared the “Jungle Nightmare” combat simulation and defeated Xinyue in a system duel. 17
• Defeated two knife-wielding assassins during an ambush and captured one alive. 43

Investigation and Forensic Observation

Lin Xiaosu combines supernatural perception with conventional deduction.

• Tracks footprints and reconstructs routes at crime scenes. 4 5
• Can track suspects by scent over long distances. 7
• Reads lips by observing mouth movements when sound cannot be heard. 40
• Identified the financial and jewelry-based route used by Fengcheng's drug syndicate, then exposed heroin concealed inside raw stones. 45 46 49

Relationships

• Hu Ya / Li Diandian — Childhood friend and Li Lao Er's daughter. She brought him food during his first night at Willow Forest Temple; Lin Xiaosu later carried her to the hospital after her Sky Window-related collapse and continued to worry about her future. 1 13 14
• Miao Ruolan — Equal co-founder of the Fengcheng Detective Agency and Lin Xiaosu's teacher in the Spring Return Skill. Their partnership begins with mutual respect for his detective ability and her ancient martial arts. 30 32 35
• Chang Ye — Qianlong recruiter, trainer, and ally. She recognized Lin Xiaosu's potential, brought him to 101 Training Ground, and supported him when his formalization was denied. 12 15 27
• Number 88 — Qianlong examiner and mentor who rewarded Lin Xiaosu's deductions, evaluated his potential, and accompanied him during the Laoshan operation. 20 22 26
• Xinyue — Initially a hostile training rival who attempted to poison him after losing a system duel. Their relationship develops into competitive camaraderie; she gives him a Green Orchid leaf as encouragement after his rejection from Qianlong. 19 27
• Zhou Mei — Fengcheng police officer and recurring investigative partner. She initially suspected him, then relied on his abilities in cases ranging from kidnappings to the Ghost Eye Lao Qi drug network. 6 43 49
• Li Lao Er / Second Uncle — Willow Forest Temple's keeper and Hu Ya's father. His request that Lin Xiaosu guard the temple directly led to Lin Xiaosu's first Sky Window encounter. 1 3
• Lin Xiaosu's mother — Encouraged him to pursue the civil service examination but ultimately accepted his decision to abandon it and pursue a business path. 8 28

Investigations

• County kidnapping case — Identified an abnormal adult footprint in a narrow surveillance blind spot and helped locate the kidnapped child. 5 6
• Qingyuan Temple mystery — Used Time Reversal to investigate the suspicious locked-room death of scholar Qu Taiqing. 9 10
• Laoshan search for Number 325 — Located the photograph's likely origin through eucalyptus leaves, followed Qianlong-specific tracks, and used Time Reversal to learn of Number 325's fate. 22 23 24
• Missing-child case — Found a snake-bitten boy in a ditch near Yishui Bund and declined payment from the child's impoverished mother. 37
• Ghost Eye Lao Qi case — Traced the Five Tiger Generals' finances to Fengcheng Jewelry Store, infiltrated the business under an alias, and exposed heroin hidden in raw stones. 45 47 49

Notable Quotes

“The hometown cannot accommodate the body, and the foreign land cannot shelter the soul…” 12