Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Liu Nian (柳念) 8 |
| Alias(es) | Night Heron; Lulu (undercover identity) 8 87 |
| Gender | Female 8 |
| Affiliation | Liu Family; Red Beauty Pavilion. Formerly Yama Hall in previous timelines 8 57 |
| Occupation/Role | Former assassin in previous timelines; ally of Lin Ao 8 70 |
| First Appearance | Chapter 8 8 |
Power Progression
| Stage / Realm / Level | Chapter | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Untrained in her current childhood | 12 | Retains memories of her assassin training, but has not yet rebuilt her former strength. |
| Combat instincts recovered | 81 | Sparring with Long Aotian restores her old instincts and lets her assess the limits of her five-year-old body; some techniques remain beyond her physical strength. |
| Greatly improved movement | 83 | After training with Li Wanyu, her movement becomes ghostlike and fast, though she still lacks raw power. |
| Adult battlefield combatant | 411 443 | Fights alongside Leng Xiyue and Ink Spirit, wielding a sword during the later war. No formal cultivation realm is stated for her. |
Background / History
Liu Nian witnessed her parents’ murder as a child and subsequently developed a speech impairment. On her fifth birthday, an ambush separated her from her aunt, Liu Menghan. She reached an amusement park, where Lin Ao found her 8.
She remembers previous timelines in which Ye Chen took her after she became lost, trained her for ten years as the Yama Hall assassin Night Heron, then returned her to the Liu Family as a sleeper agent. He used her to gather information, turn the Liu Family against the Lin Family, and assassinate Lin Ao 8 22. Determined not to be taken again, she initially stayed close to Lin Ao and concealed those memories from him 8 12.
After Lin Ao was injured fighting Xiao Fan, Liu Nian regained her ability to speak and reunited with Liu Menghan 18 19. She told her aunt the truth about Ye Chen and resolved to become strong enough to protect her family and Lin Ao 22. She later joined Gu Wanqing, Liu Menghan, and Xia Qiange in the Red Beauty Pavilion, an alliance formed to support Lin Ao and oppose Ye Chen 57.
Yama Hall abducted Liu Nian from school, but she escaped, killed her captors, and called Lin Ao for help 66 70. Afterward, she revealed to him that she was Night Heron. Lin Ao agreed to cooperate with her against Ye Chen 70.
Years later, Liu Nian accompanied Lin Ao and Xiao Jiu through a time passage to a world where martial strength determines status 301. As an adult, she confronted Lin Ao about his continued habit of treating her as a child, and their relationship became romantic 324 410.
Appearance
Liu Nian is first seen as a small child; she later grows into a young woman 8 299.
- As a child, she wears her hair in two buns 295.
- At a later school-age appearance, she stands about 1.7 metres tall and wears twin ponytails 297.
- On the battlefield, she wears flowing white clothing and carries a sword 443.
Personality
Liu Nian can present herself as a sweet, frightened child while remaining composed and calculating. During her abduction, she considered both escape and the possibility of gathering information for Lin Ao if taken back to Yama Hall 67 70. She is also playful with people close to her, particularly when teasing Long Aotian or trying to outmaneuver Lin Ao 79 81 295.
Her past makes protecting the Liu Family and Lin Ao a deliberate choice rather than an obligation imposed by Ye Chen 22. Although she resents being treated as a child, she values the ordinary family life she was denied in earlier timelines 21 96 324.
Abilities & Skills
Assassination and close combat
Liu Nian retains knowledge of the lethal methods she learned as Night Heron. Her current body initially limits what she can execute 8 81.
- Escapes her bindings and uses their rope to strangle Hong Liang during her abduction 68.
- Uses a feint to bring Long Aotian within range of a kick, then targets vital points throughout their sparring session 81.
- In her previous life, killed a Grandmaster; she cannot reproduce every former technique with her childhood strength 81.
Firearms and movement
- Shoots out a pursuing car’s headlights and defeats Youlan in a gunfight 68 69.
- Reacts defensively when Long Aotian wakes her in a van, pinning him and pressing a pistol to his temple 70.
- Develops exceptionally fast, ghostlike movement through training 83.
Deception and planning
- Sees information panels associated with people who have departed from the Destiny Path, including Gu Wanqing and Liu Menghan 11 19.
- Warns Li Wanyu and Liu Menghan when Xiao Fan threatens Lin Ao and Gu Wanqing 15.
- Helps Liu Menghan approach Lin Ao by first building a relationship with his mother, Li Wanyu 27 44.
- Improvises an undercover father-and-daughter story that wins Joanna’s sympathy 87 88.
Equipment / Companions
- Smartwatch — A gift from Li Wanyu; Liu Nian uses it to send warnings during Xiao Fan’s attack 15.
- Pistol — Used during her escape from Yama Hall’s abductors 68 70.
- iPad — Allows her to control traps during Long Aotian’s training at the Lin Family Manor 79.
- Ink Spirit — A large cat she rides into battle alongside Leng Xiyue 411 412.
Relationships
- Lin Ao — Finds and protects Liu Nian; they later become allies against Ye Chen. Their relationship turns romantic after she reaches adulthood 8 70 324 410.
- Liu Menghan — Her aunt and head of the Liu Family. Liu Nian confides in her about Night Heron and helps her pursue Lin Ao 8 22 27.
- Li Wanyu — Lin Ao’s mother, whom Liu Nian calls “Grandma.” She cares for Liu Nian and helps train her despite wishing she could have a normal childhood 9 81 83.
- Joanna — Comes to care for Liu Nian during the Yama Hall infiltration. Liu Nian calls her “Mom” and later apologizes for deceiving her 95 126.
- Gu Wanqing — Learns Liu Nian’s identity and allies with her to protect Lin Ao 12 57.
- Ye Chen — Her former trainer and controller in previous timelines; Liu Nian seeks to stop him from exploiting her and the Liu Family again 8 22.
- Long Aotian — Her sparring partner and frequent target of her traps and teasing 79 81.
- Leng Xiyue — Her companion in the Hong Kingdom; they later fight together with Ink Spirit 314 411 443.
Trivia
- In previous timelines, Night Heron had a reported 100% assassination success rate 8.
- Liu Nian dislikes schoolwork, particularly the workbooks Lin Ao sends her, despite her extensive memories and combat experience 293 295.
- She objects to Lin Ao treating her as a child, telling him that her combined experience across lifetimes exceeds a hundred years 305 324.