Li Bai

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Li Bai (李白)
Alias(es)	Taibai (courtesy name) 1
Species/Race	Human 27
Gender	Male
Age	Around his twenties when introduced 1
Affiliation	Jiang She’s Dao companion 21
Occupation/Role	Poet; wandering seeker of immortality 1 46
First Appearance	Seeking Immortals 1

Background

Li Bai is a wandering poet from Longxi who travels around Lumen Mountain with his close friends Meng Haoran and Yuan Danqiu, seeking immortals and studying the Dao. The son of a merchant, he has long considered the official examination path unavailable to him; instead, he pursues freedom, poetry, swordsmanship, and the possibility of transcendence. 1 2 25

During a rainstorm on Lumen Mountain, Li Bai meets Jiang She at a mountain shrine. Intrigued by Jiang She’s perfectly dry robes and extraordinary bearing, he invites him to share wine, then offers to guide him through the mountain in search of immortal traces. 1 2

While climbing with Jiang She, Li Bai witnesses the Lumen Mountain Deity and learns that Jiang She’s incense has extended the deity’s lifespan. Convinced that he has met a true immortal, Li Bai asks to become Jiang She’s disciple. Jiang She refuses, judging that Li Bai’s mind remains tied to worldly concerns and that the proper opportunity has not yet arrived, but permits him to travel alongside him. 3 5

Li Bai accompanies Jiang She through the Lu family affair, where he observes fraudulent “immortal arts,” ghosts, divine beings, and the dream that lets nineteen people experience decades of alternate lives. The experience changes his understanding of life, death, honor, and disgrace. 9 13 14 18

Jiang She later opens Li Bai’s Heavenly Eye, allowing him to perceive ghosts, spirits, mountain beings, and the hidden supernatural world. When Li Bai asks to retain this sight and expresses his devotion to the Dao, Jiang She declines to accept him as a disciple but agrees to become his Dao companion. 21

Li Bai continues traveling with Jiang She, attending a feast of ghosts and gods and later volunteering to accompany him on the long journey toward Mount Tai. 27 28 39

Appearance

Li Bai is a young man in white with the bearing of a wandering knight-errant. His appearance is spirited and striking, matching his bold manner and love of freedom. 1 3

• White robes. 1 3
• Long face, brows sweeping toward his temples, and bright, piercing eyes. 1
• Carries a longsword on his back. 3 4
• Described as handsome, outstanding, and possessing an innate arrogance beneath his respectful manner. 4 10

Personality

Li Bai is spirited, candid, and intensely curious about immortals. He openly questions Jiang She’s unusual abilities, offers to guide a stranger through Lumen Mountain, and readily asks mountain gods and spirits about the Dao. 2 3 25 28

His aspiration toward transcendence is sincere, but initially mixed with worldly ambition. He claims that kings and marquises are beneath notice if he can learn immortal arts, yet Jiang She recognizes that he has not fully relinquished his attachment to official success and worldly splendor. 4 5

Li Bai is playful and mischievous with trusted friends, secretly tapping Meng Haoran and Yuan Danqiu while concealed from sight and painting sauce characters on Yuan Danqiu’s face while the latter dreams. 9 14 Despite his initial fear at the Earth Deity’s feast, he maintains his composure, drinks with demons and ghosts, and asks them about their cultivation. 27 28

He is generous with money and loyal to Jiang She. He purchases a courtyard for Jiang She to stay in, refuses to let him rent separate lodging, and eagerly arranges supplies for their journey toward Mount Tai. 20 39

Abilities & Skills

Heavenly Eye

Jiang She opens Li Bai’s Heavenly Eye, granting him perception of the supernatural world that ordinary mortals cannot see. Li Bai asks to retain the ability despite its dangers. 21

• Can see ghosts, wandering souls, mountain spirits, and other hidden beings. 18 21
• His vision improves in darkness after Jiang She’s intervention. 13
• Does not need the Heavenly Eye to see a mountain god that chooses to reveal itself. 21
• Jiang She warns that constantly seeing ghosts and gods may be harmful if Li Bai develops fear. 21

Enchanted Concealment

While accompanying Jiang She during the Lu family incident, Li Bai is concealed from ordinary people while still able to touch them. 9

• Taps Meng Haoran and Yuan Danqiu without being seen. 9
• Playfully presses a hanged ghost’s tongue against Yuan Danqiu’s neck while concealed. 9
• The concealment is associated with Jiang She’s arts rather than a technique Li Bai is shown to have mastered himself. 9

Swordsmanship

Li Bai learned swordsmanship from childhood and carries a longsword, though no combat feat is documented. 3 4

Poetry and Learning

Li Bai is a recognized poet with broad reading and an excellent memory. His poetry frequently reflects his longing for immortality and freedom from worldly constraints. 3 4 46

• Recites and composes poems concerning immortal mountains, transcendence, and roaming beyond the world. 4 38 46
• His poem about an immortal banquet spreads through Xiang Prefecture and causes a sensation. 38
• Lu Xiang praises his poetic talent as writing about ghosts and gods “as if casually chatting with old friends.” 46

Equipment / Items

• Longsword — carried on his back while traveling Lumen Mountain. 3 4
• Wine flask — frequently brought when meeting or traveling with Jiang She. 21
• Courtyard in Xiangyang — purchased by Li Bai and shared with Yuan Danqiu; Jiang She stays there as Li Bai’s guest. 20
• Horse-drawn carriages and travel supplies — arranged for the journey toward Mount Tai. 39

Relationships

• Jiang She — Initially the mysterious traveler Li Bai guides through Lumen Mountain; Li Bai repeatedly asks to learn the Dao from him. Jiang She refuses to make him a disciple but accepts him as a Dao companion. 2 3 5 21
• Meng Haoran — Close friend and fellow seeker of the Dao. They live and travel around Lumen Mountain with Yuan Danqiu. 1 14
• Yuan Danqiu — Close Daoist friend and frequent target of Li Bai’s pranks. They share an interest in immortality and reside together in the courtyard purchased by Li Bai. 1 14 20
• Old Deer Mountain God — A mountain deity whose existence Li Bai witnesses firsthand; later invites him to observe gatherings of spirits and gods. 3 25
• Lu Grand Matriarch — An acquaintance who repeatedly attempts to arrange a marriage alliance between Li Bai and a Lu family daughter. 5 6
• Wang Wei — Seeks news of immortals after hearing of Li Bai’s experiences, but leaves without recognizing the immortal present among the group. 46 47

Notable Quotes

“Your disciple Li Bai wishes to follow the immortal in learning the immortal arts and seeking the Dao, with true heart and no regrets!”
— Li Bai 3

“If I can become a disciple of an immortal and learn the arts of transcendence, what are human kings and marquises compared to that? Not even worth mentioning.”
— Li Bai 4

“Bai is fortunate. To witness the fate of life and death. The changes of honor and disgrace. All lie within a single thought.”
— Li Bai 18