Old Li

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Old Li (老李)
Species/Race	Nothingness 8 9
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Infinite City; Yuelai Tavern 705
Occupation/Role	Corpse Collector; Novice Guide; information broker and businessman 8 35
Known Tags	[Corpse Collector], [Novice Guide], [Street Loafer], [Hidden Rich] 8
Supernatural Tale	Qigong Master (collapsed) 243 244
Status	Active 659 709
First Appearance	Chapter 3

Background & History

Old Li was among the early Supernatural Tales associated with the Infinite City. He entered Yan Country during the 1980s and built the national-level Qigong Master Supernatural Tale by role-playing as a qigong master during the qigong craze. He was not its core figure, but gained its Entry through the role. 243 244

At its height, Qigong Master was supported by nearly a billion people and gave Old Li the stature of a major figure. When public interest in qigong faded, the Supernatural Tale collapsed within months; residual believers left him only a severely weakened version of its power. 243 244

By the time Feng Xue arrives in the Infinite City, Old Li works as a Corpse Collector and guides newcomers. His residence appears to be an ordinary container from outside, but its interior is a spacious, luxuriously furnished home—a use of concealment-related power. 8 10

Appearance

Old Li is commonly seen in a brown robe while working in the Infinite City. At home, he changes into smooth silk pajamas. 8

• His container residence has a modern European interior with Eastern decorative touches, including a black-and-gold stone tea tray and full tea set. 8
• He often carries or serves tea, including from a small red-clay teapot. 14 405
• His outwardly mundane container can conceal a much larger interior space. 8 10

Personality

Old Li is talkative, worldly, and commercially minded. He treats knowledge as a valuable commodity, often withholding information until it can be exchanged for an investment, contract, or favor. His agreement with Feng Xue for future access to a Tower of Babylon room exemplifies this approach. 35

Despite his opportunism, he consistently gives Feng Xue practical warnings about Omens, Phantoms, Supernatural Tale founders, the Hundred Tales, and interworld dangers. His advice is often delivered with teasing cynicism, but he repeatedly acts to protect or support Feng Xue's long-term prospects. 14 100 247 250

His fallen status remains a sensitive subject. Other Supernatural Tales remember him as an arrogant and formidable figure from his prime, while Old Li himself treats his past with a mixture of theatrical regret, nostalgia, and self-deprecation. 243 565 659

Abilities & Skills

Qigong Master

Old Li's collapsed Supernatural Tale once provided an extremely broad range of qigong-themed powers. Its remaining strength is low, but his control over its applications remains refined. 243 244

• At its peak, the Entry could encompass illusionary sight, X-ray vision, telekinesis, mind control, and healing. 243
• His current power has diminished from moving buildings to moving something as small as a playing card. 244
• His Supernatural Tale Fire is described as a candle flame that appears close to extinguishing. 243

Concealment

Old Li can make people, buildings, or groups less conspicuous through a Hermit-style concealment application. 10 228 243

• Makes his spacious residence appear externally as an ordinary shipping container. 10 228
• Concealed Feng Xue's crossworld group from notice after they entered reality. 243
• Concealment is precise enough that other Supernatural Tales specifically praise his “micro-management.” 243

Divination

Old Li can use qigong-based divination to investigate hidden information. 703

• Saw fragments of a ritual connected to becoming a deity before an Authority erased the information. 703
• His powers' perceived “price” gives them greater priority when resisting interference. 703
• Even if someone detects his divination, they cannot trace his location through it. 703

Supernatural Tale Expertise

Old Li possesses extensive practical knowledge of Nothingness, Tags, Phantoms, Supernatural Tales, and the Infinite City's systems.

• Explains the data-based nature of the Infinite City and the role of [Knowledge] in sustaining Nothingness. 8 9
• Teaches that Tags can be acquired through genuine skill mastery, not solely through the Acting Method. 9
• Explains the cultural persistence, Entries, founder positions, and decline conditions of Supernatural Tales. 100
• Understands the risks of digesting Supernatural Tales and advises leaving unwanted Entries undigested until their legends fade. 279

Equipment & Property

• Work Card — used for communication and accessing Infinite City functions. 9 35
• Container residence — a concealed, enlarged home used as his residence in the Infinite City. 8 10
• Yuelai Tavern — his tavern becomes increasingly influential through the Iron Armor Steel Fist competition. 705

Relationships

• Feng Xue — neighbor, guide, investor, and frequent collaborator. Old Li explains the Infinite City's rules to him, trades critical information, forms contracts with him, and later joins him on interworld expeditions. 8 35 243 250
• Aoyagi Lantern — former acquaintance with a hostile history; she states that Old Li once “inexplicably” beat her up. 659
• Qingming — member of Old Li's group for a parallel-world crossing. 243
• Lugen — group member who explains Old Li's former Qigong Master status to the others. 243
• Wuchang — group member who openly questions how Old Li declined so far from his former strength. 243
• Mang Ke — business and technical associate involved with salvaged Unit parts and mecha construction. 694 699

Story Role / Major Arcs

Novice Guide

Old Li serves as Feng Xue's earliest source of reliable information in the Infinite City. He identifies Feng Xue's unusual ability to condense a Tag, explains the function of professions and Work Cards, and records Feng Xue's ideas for his own novice-guide material. 8 9 14

Tower of Babylon Investment

After Feng Xue encounters a Gate, Old Li offers Gatekeeper intelligence in exchange for a future stay in Feng Xue's prospective Tower of Babylon room. The agreement establishes their relationship as a calculated but durable partnership. 35

Supernatural Tale Mentor

Old Li introduces Feng Xue to the distinctions between Rumors, Strange Tales, and true Supernatural Tales. He also warns him that imitating established legends can trigger conflicts over an “original founder” position. 99 100

Crossworld Expeditions

Old Li assembles Feng Xue, Qingming, Lugen, and Wuchang for a parallel-world excursion. During the crossing, he conceals the party with his weakened but expertly applied Supernatural Tale power. 243

He later supports Feng Xue's activities in martial worlds, recognizes the strategic value of Feng Xue's plan to spread knowledge through teaching, and prepares a caravan to assist him in Yanzhou. 270 272

Mecha and Godhood Investigations

Old Li becomes involved in Feng Xue's later mecha ventures through Yuelai Tavern, salvaged Unit-part procurement, and technical support. He also investigates the Tower of Babylon's purpose and possible paths to godhood alongside Feng Xue. 699 702 703 705

Trivia

• Feng Xue strongly suspects that Old Li was also the Supernatural Tale known as Gazi Steals Dog, though Old Li avoids confirming it directly. 100
• Old Li's Qigong Master power is described as a “low-spec version” of omniscience and omnipotence rather than true omniscience or omnipotence. 422
• Lucky Milk-related events once leave Old Li unexpectedly feminized during Feng Xue's transmigration to another world. 284