He Ping

Biodata

Name	He Ping (贺平)
Alias(es)	Eldest Brother; Brother He
Gender	Male
Affiliation	He family; Town Martial Division (former minor clerk) 1 10
Occupation/Role	Former Town Martial Division clerk; He An's elder brother and a protector of the He household
Status	Alive; his severed right arm has begun regenerating through the Inner Growth Pill 55 106
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background / History

He Ping supported He An after their father's death, sharing the family estate and his Town Martial Division income with Wang Rou and He Ru. When Clerk Meng Cao tried to use He An's recruitment as leverage to obtain Wang Rou, He Ping spent money and relied on his connections to secure He An's entry into the division through Clerk Wei. 1 2

Assigned to help suppress the Salvation Cult, He Ping warned He An to protect Wang Rou and He Ru during his absence, particularly from Zhang Yongda. He also approved of He An's choice to cultivate the Yi Jin Jing and offered to teach him Tong Bei Fist after he had strengthened his body. 3

The operation left He Ping without his right hand. Though he emphasized that his pension would keep the household afloat, he remained more concerned with funding He An's martial training than with his own injury. 9 He later suspected that the Salvation Cult had known about the operation in advance, suggesting an internal leak within the Town Martial Division. 10

His experience in the division made him one of the few people able to explain the danger posed by Mo Hu, a former Town Martial Division captain driven mad by the Seventh Rank Mad Demon Blade Technique. He warned He An never to provoke or torture Mo Hu, whose relapse could devastate Fangcheng. 13

After He An acquired Blood-Connecting Pills, He Ping initially refused to accept one, believing that investing resources in his injured body would be wasteful. He eventually took a pill, while He An later won an Inner Growth Pill specifically to restore his arm. 23 53 106 Under Wu Feng's guidance in the Inner Body Nourishing Art, the severed limb began regenerating. 55 86

When the Mad Sand Gang repeatedly provoked the household, He Ping refused to be intimidated despite having only one arm. He injured several gang members, but Kong Hu's group eventually overwhelmed him and seized Wang Rou. He An's return saved the family and led to the gang's destruction. 33 36

He Ping later recognized a captured Salvation Cult member as the person who had broken his arm. His rage nearly led him to kill the man before He An stopped him to preserve the captive's information about the Meng Family. 58

Personality

He Ping is deeply family-oriented and treats He An's welfare as his foremost responsibility. He paid to open a path into the Town Martial Division for his younger brother, encouraged his martial ambitions, and continued to prioritize He An's future even after losing his hand. 1 3 9

He is proud and stubbornly resilient. He refuses to consider himself helpless after his injury, insisting that he can still defend his family and face threats personally. 33 This pride sometimes becomes guilt when He An surpasses him or spends valuable resources on his recovery. 23 54

He is also more morally cautious than He An. Upon learning that He An had killed martial arts hall disciples, he demanded an explanation rather than immediately approving of the killings; after hearing that they had attacked first, he focused on keeping the matter secret to protect the family. 32

Abilities & Skills

Martial Arts

He Ping was a Muscle Condensing Realm Martial Artist before losing his right hand and remains capable of fighting after the injury. 33 55

• Practices Tong Bei Fist and offered to teach it to He An after the latter established a stronger foundation. 3
• Injured Mad Sand Gang disciples during their provocations despite fighting one-handed. 33
• Killed one attacker and continued resisting Kong Hu's group until he was overwhelmed by their numerical advantage. 34
• His current strength is stated to be no weaker than that of an ordinary Muscle Condensing Realm Martial Artist after his recovery progressed. 55

Inner Body Nourishing Art

Under Wu Feng's instruction, He Ping began cultivating the Inner Body Nourishing Art to restore his damaged body. 54 86

• A small insight into the art produced major physical changes and began regeneration in his severed arm. 55
• Continued instruction and support from the Wu Family accelerated his recovery. 86

Household Support

He Ping materially supports the martial development of those around him.

• Provided He An with meat and eggs to sustain his early Yi Jin Jing training. 3
• Supplied medicinal wine infused with herbs and wild ginseng, allowing He An to train the Five-Animal Boxing without accumulating fatigue. 60
• Helped conceal the aftermath of He An's fight with Blood Cloud Tower assassins by smuggling a corpse out of the city beneath a cart of salted fish. 86 87

Items

• Blood-Connecting Pill — Accepted one for cultivation despite initially rejecting He An's offer; later gave two additional pills from Wu Feng to He An. 23 106
• Inner Growth Pill — Won by He An during the River Sacrifice Festival to restore He Ping's lost arm; its effects initiated limb regeneration. 53 55
• Medicinal wine — Herbal wine prepared for He An's martial training. 60

Relationships

• He An — Younger brother. He Ping financed and encouraged He An's martial path, while He An later became the family's chief protector and pursued remedies for He Ping's lost arm. 1 9 23 54
• Wang Rou — Wife. Meng Cao's obsession with her drove much of He Ping's conflict with the Meng Family; He Ping repeatedly risked himself to keep her safe. 1 34
• He Ru — Son. He Ping is affectionate and protective toward him, entrusting him to guard Wang Rou during the Mad Sand Gang attack. 9 34
• Wang Zheng — Friend and former Town Martial Division colleague. Wang Zheng offered to help protect the household during the Mad Sand Gang's harassment. 3 33
• Sun Wangxian — Friend and former colleague. Sun came to He Ping's aid after the Mad Sand Gang attack and later cooperated with the He brothers against the Salvation Cult remnant. 33 58
• Wu Feng — Benefactor and ally. Wu Feng sheltered He Ping's family, taught him the Inner Body Nourishing Art, and supported his recovery. 54 86
• Meng Cao — Enemy. Meng Cao targeted Wang Rou and was implicated in the threats, gang attack, and broader pressure placed on the He family. 1 24 34

Notable Quotes

“We're family, no need for such talk!”

— To He An 1

“I may have lost an arm, but I'm not a cripple.”

— During the Mad Sand Gang's harassment 33