A Li

Biodata

History

Work in Li Sanjiang’s Household

A Li works alongside Aunt Liu producing funeral crafts. When Li Zhuiyuan leads the usually withdrawn Qin Li upstairs by the hand, A Li is so startled that he tears a roof beam off the paper house he is assembling. He and Aunt Liu immediately abandon their work to check on Liu Yumei 12.

During the Niu family’s memorial-birthday events, Li Zhuiyuan challenges A Li’s attempt to force him into cooperating, arguing that their households’ harmonious coexistence should rest on respect. A Li backs down, privately recognizing how effectively the child has anticipated and countered him 14.

Teaching Li Zhuiyuan

At Liu Yumei’s arrangement, A Li begins teaching Li Zhuiyuan martial arts after finishing his evening work. His initial instruction centers on the horse stance, coordinated breathing, and precise control of the body 17.

Before leaving the household, he gives Li Zhuiyuan another hands-on correction of his stance, adjusting the muscles, joints, and points of force. He tells the boy to continue practicing rather than abandon the foundation he has learned 25.

Bai Family Town Rescue and Departure

A Li accompanies Li Zhuiyuan to the hospital after Xue Liangliang falls into the river. He confronts the supernatural threat connected to Bai Family Town and enters the town itself, nearly resolving the situation through force 23 24.

His efforts unintentionally strengthen Xue Liangliang’s negotiating position. Unaware that A Li is close to victory, Xue Liangliang accepts a marriage agreement with the Bai Family Empress. A Li is furious that the agreement ends the confrontation before he can finish it, and afterward tends to his wounds 24.

He announces his departure and leaves the following morning for the station. Li Zhuiyuan understands the departure as a safety measure tied to the previous night’s intervention and the taboos surrounding the Qin family’s involvement 25.

Personality

A Li is practical and skeptical of Li Zhuiyuan’s precocious behavior. After the boy outmaneuvers him during the Niu family affair, he privately wonders whether this is really a child at all. Nevertheless, he accepts the boy’s demand for respect and later invests effort in correcting his martial arts fundamentals 14 25.

He is willing to undertake dangerous action, but dislikes having that effort undermined. His anger at Xue Liangliang stems from the marriage settlement being accepted while he is still fighting toward a more complete resolution 24.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Arts

A Li possesses combat skills sufficient to confront the threats associated with Bai Family Town, although the encounter leaves him injured 24.

• Horse-stance instruction: Teaches Li Zhuiyuan to imagine himself rooted like a tree while coordinating his stance with breathing and heartbeat 17.
• Physical correction: Manually adjusts the boy’s muscles, joints, and distribution of force 25.
• Foundational training: Initially teaches only the horse stance; Li Zhuiyuan has not learned his broader combat repertoire before his departure 17 25.

Underwater Adaptation

• Li Zhuiyuan recalls A Li developing gill-like structures that allow him to breathe underwater. Whether this ability is innate or acquired through training remains unknown to the boy 40.

Funeral Craftsmanship

A Li helps produce the structures used in Li Sanjiang’s funeral-craft business 12.

• Paper-house construction: Assembles structural components, including roof beams 12.
• Material handling: Brings back a large bundle of bamboo for the household’s work 18.
• Furniture-making: Liu Yumei proposes having him make Qin Li a rattan chair like Li Zhuiyuan’s 18.

Relationships

• Li Zhuiyuan — Martial arts student and companion during the Bai Family Town rescue. A Li is initially unsettled by his intelligence, but carefully corrects his training and urges him to keep practicing 14 17 24 25.
• Li Sanjiang — Employer and household companion. Li Sanjiang is particularly reluctant to see him leave, both because of his substantial work for little pay and because living together has created genuine affection 25.
• Liu Yumei — Household elder who arranges his lessons for Li Zhuiyuan and asks him to make furniture for her granddaughter 17 18.
• Liu Manting / Aunt Liu — Fellow worker in Li Sanjiang’s funeral-craft business 12.
• Xue Liangliang — Rescue beneficiary whose agreement to marry the Bai Family Empress frustrates A Li’s attempt to resolve the confrontation through force 24.

Notable Quotes

“Practice well, don’t stop.” 25

Trivia

• A Li is distinct from the girl Qin Li, who is also called “A Li” in the supplied translation. One passage has Liu Yumei address the girl while proposing that the male A Li make her a chair 18.
• During the Niu family incident, the Corpse Demon impersonates Uncle Qin to lure Li Zhuiyuan away; that appearance is not A Li himself 15.