Qu Bing

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Qu Bing (去病) 14
Alias(es)	“Time Freezing Mage Qu Bing” (chapter-title epithet) 780 783 785
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Han Tribe; Lake Heart Island Research Institute; Shence Guard 780 965
Occupation/Role	Golden Crow Guard Personal Guard; firearms and photography researcher; Commander of the Shence Guard 779 780 965
First Appearance	Chapter 14, when Luo Chong names the rescued child Qu Bing 14

Background

Luo Chong names Qu Bing after rescuing him, marking him with a bone shard and later feeding him soup. Qu Bing and his family are subsequently integrated into the growing Han Tribe. 14

As a small child, Qu Bing frequently stays close to Luo Chong and is already able to understand and repeat simple requests. Luo Chong promises to teach him how to use a stick after returning from an expedition. 20 Qu Bing also recognizes children killed in a salt-mine cave as former playmates, showing that he came from the group affected by the cave’s dangers. 98

He becomes Luo Chong’s fastest student in Chinese characters and receives a python-skin headband with a cloud-patterned copper buckle. The buckle remains his personal symbol of academic merit after the Han Tribe replaces such awards with the Merit Ranks system. 48 574

By the time he is thirteen—equated by Luo Chong to fifteen Earth years—Qu Bing has completed the school curriculum, learned riding and archery, and asks Luo Chong to assign him work. His interest in the models, telescope, artillery figures, and weapons in Luo Chong’s study helps direct him toward military technology. 776

Appearance

Qu Bing grows unusually tall for his age; at thirteen, he is approximately 1.82 meters tall and nearly as tall as Luo Chong, though he still has a youthful face. 776

• Wore a cloud-patterned copper buckle on a python-skin headband, awarded for learning Chinese characters fastest. 48
• His buckle becomes the only surviving ornament of its kind in the Han Tribe and is widely regarded as a symbol of honor. 574
• Receives a red military uniform and waist knife upon entering the military registry. 780
• Later commands the Shence Guard in its distinctive pine-green uniforms rather than standard crimson uniforms. 965

Personality

Qu Bing is intensely curious and learns through direct observation and questioning. At the Research Institute, he pursues optics, chemistry, gunpowder, and firearms beyond his assigned work, and he readily asks Luo Chong or senior researchers for explanations when he encounters an unfamiliar problem. 783 786 1086

He is proud of his connection to Luo Chong and eager to prove himself, sometimes acting impulsively. Luo Chong disciplines him after he tries to borrow a camera for family photographs without permission, but secretly intends to preserve photographs for Qu Bing’s family. 794

As a commander, he projects confidence in the Shence Guard’s firearms and training, while still consulting more experienced local figures such as You Ye and Zai when terrain or enemy habits require expertise. His first battle leaves him visibly nervous, but he immediately turns his attention to battlefield cleanup, casualty reporting, prisoner handling, and ammunition recovery. 987 989 991

Abilities & Skills

Firearms Research and Technical Knowledge

Qu Bing enters the military registry specifically to support new gunpowder and ammunition research at Lake Heart Island Research Institute. He later participates in the development, testing, evaluation, and tactical adoption of multiple firearms. 779 780 796 1088

• Understands gunpowder weapon concepts and raises practical concerns about range, firing rate, pre-loaded ammunition, and aiming systems. 778
• Participates in research on black powder, ammunition materials, and projectile processing. 779 786
• Explains rifle and shotgun roles, range, ammunition, and tactical specialization to Shence Guard recruits. 965
• Evaluates pistols, machine guns, bolt-action rifles, semi-automatic rifles, mortars, grenades, and grenade launchers alongside Luo Chong. 1083 1084 1088

Photography and Optics

Qu Bing becomes one of the principal contributors to the Han Tribe’s early photography technology through his work with Ao Fei and Luo Chong. 783 785 793 989

• Studies pinhole inversion and telescope principles with Ao Fei. 783
• Helps develop a silver-plated glass mirror and refine the image-capture box. 785
• Consults the Chemistry Group on controlling reactions used to preserve photographs. 786
• Develops the photosensitive negative plate used in early photography. 989
• Proposes opening a photography shop for commoners; by his marriage, his family operates a photography studio. 820 962

Marksmanship

Qu Bing displays natural aptitude with early Han firearms and receives direct instruction from Luo Chong. 796 797

• Fires the first double-barreled shotgun shot during the Han Tribe’s firearm trials. 796
• Hits targets at 50 and 40 meters with a hunting rifle. 797
• Tests slug rounds at 70 and 80 meters, penetrating the 70-meter target. 797
• Quickly learns to operate a pistol and hits a torso-sized steel target on his first attempt. 1083

Military Command and Organization

As Shence Guard Commander, Qu Bing leads the Han Tribe’s first force equipped entirely with firearms and organizes its recruitment, training, deployment, and merit evaluation. 965 969 1081

• Reorganizes recruits into temporary units before assigning soldiers to rifle or shotgun branches according to assessment results. 965
• Co-develops a training syllabus covering drill, bayonet work, physical conditioning, comprehensive skills, weapon study, and military discipline. 969
• Plans ambushes, deploys forces across several northern positions, and adjusts training for snowbound marches and field conditions. 987 983
• Uses maps, telescopes, compasses, scouts, and local intelligence to assess terrain and enemy movements. 985 986 992
• Establishes merit standards, prisoner-capture procedures, and post-battle reporting systems during the Northern Expedition. 991 996

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Benben — a massive white Thunder Beast/rhinoceros that Qu Bing raises from youth and uses as a mount; by adulthood, Benben exceeds five meters in length and weighs nearly two tons. 79 776
• Cloud-patterned copper buckle headband — Luo Chong’s reward for Qu Bing’s rapid literacy; the only remaining hair ornament of its kind in the Han Tribe. 48 574
• Red military uniform and waist knife — issued when he enters the Golden Crow Guard military registry. 780
• Firearms — trained and tested with shotguns, hunting rifles, pistols, bolt-action rifles, semi-automatic rifles, and machine guns. 796 797 1083 1084
• Field command equipment — telescope, compass, map, calcium-carbide lamp, document bag, seal token, and personal guards to carry his command gear. 985 986

Relationships

• Luo Chong — Rescuer, namer, mentor, and commander. Luo Chong personally teaches Qu Bing, guides his career toward military research, and selects him as a future military leader. 14 20 778
• Ao Fei — Senior schoolmate and research collaborator. They work together on optics, mirrors, image capture, and early photography. 780 783 785
• Zhan Yue — Fiancée and later wife, introduced through Zhan Ying’s maternal clan. She is the girl who brings Qu Bing food after his overnight punishment. 794 820 962
• Qi Ji — Son. Luo Chong names him after Qu Bing’s safe return from the Northern Expedition. 1077 1081
• Qu Bing’s mother — Protective parent who fears his military service and attempts to arrange his marriage before he can be sent to the front. 780
• You Ye — Senior local commander and adviser during the Northern Expedition. The two plan operations, organize militia, and exchange technical and strategic knowledge. 982 987 991
• Wen Feiyu — Military Commander who assists Qu Bing with Shence Guard logistics, auxiliary-soldier training, and northern operations. 983 990
• Benben — His longtime animal companion and mount, first referenced when Qu Bing is still too young to travel with Luo Chong. 79 776

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Early Han Tribe childhood — Qu Bing is rescued, named, taught by Luo Chong, and distinguished as the first child to receive a metal ornament for literacy. 14 20 48
• Education and employment — After completing school, he requests work from Luo Chong and is directed toward military technology and research. 776
• Research Institute period — As a Golden Crow Guard Personal Guard assigned to Lake Heart Island, he researches gunpowder while collaborating with Ao Fei on the technology behind photography. 779 780 785 786
• Firearms development — He helps test shotguns and rifles, studies firearm tactics with Luo Chong, and becomes a military officer invested in the new weapons program. 796 797 802
• Shence Guard formation — Qu Bing gives the Guard’s first address, introduces its firearm-based structure, and oversees the first phase of training for two thousand recruits. 965 969
• Northern Expedition — He leads the Shence Guard against the Cannibal Tribe, winning its first engagement without losses while killing or capturing 78 enemies. 987 989
• Northern campaign command — His three camps capture nearly 6,000 prisoners and kill approximately 2,000 Cannibal Tribe members in two months, though Qu Bing remains concerned about the enemy’s unknown total population and the possibility of a prolonged war. 1014
• Campaign conclusion and return — Qu Bing leads the victorious Shence Guard home after reporting the annihilation of the northern Cannibal Tribe, the capture of tens of thousands of slaves and livestock, and expansion of more than a thousand li of territory. 1078
• Re-equipment and reform — After the expedition, he manages leave, merit reviews, recovery training, and testing of the Han Tribe’s next generation of firearms. 1080 1081 1084 1088

Trivia

• Qu Bing’s copper buckle is treated as a uniquely prestigious relic because medal-like hair ornaments were discontinued after the Merit Ranks system was introduced. 574
• He was sufficiently famous at school that other students recognized him as the child personally named by Luo Chong and associated him with Benben. 780
• His family’s photography studio makes him both a military commander and part of an early private enterprise in the Han Tribe. 820 962