Li Zhi

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Li Zhi (李志)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Blue Stone Village
Occupation/Role	Hunter; Li Yuan's uncle
Status	Alive 46
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Background

Li Zhi is Li Yuan's uncle and, after the deaths of Li Yuan's parents, his only remaining relative in Blue Stone Village. He carries lasting guilt over Li Yuan's family tragedy: Li Zhi believes that his own insistence on pursuing a beast led to the death of Li Qing, Li Yuan's father, and possibly Li Yuan's mother's subsequent death. 2

He lives with his wife, Clan Han, and their children Li Wen and Li Cuihua. The family survives by hunting, but their finances are strained by taxes, daily expenses, and Li Wen's hoped-for martial-arts education. 2 6 19

Personality

Li Zhi is practical, experienced, and deeply protective of his family. As a veteran hunter, he understands the risks of the mountains and teaches Li Yuan precautions rather than encouraging recklessness. 7 27 28

His guilt toward Li Yuan makes him unusually generous despite his household's poverty. He repeatedly chooses to assist his nephew with food, hunting supplies, money, and dangerous hunts, even when Clan Han objects that those resources should be reserved for their children. 2 6

• He prioritizes Li Wen's safety during the big-game hunt, leaving him behind so that the household would not lose its only adult son if disaster struck. 6
• He is intimidated by powerful families and officials, but follows Li Yuan's lead once events leave no safe alternative. 19 30 31

Appearance

Li Zhi is a mountain hunter who wears a hemp-padded coat during the winter cold. 2

Abilities & Skills

Hunting

Li Zhi is an experienced hunter familiar with the dangers, terrain, and prey of the Five Hundred Mile Great Mountain.

• Guides Li Yuan during mountain hunts and explains hunting precautions. 7
• Recognizes the threat posed by a Black Lump, including its thick hide, immense strength, and history of killing herb gatherers. 27
• Helps plan the Black Lump hunt by setting traps, building a fire at the cave entrance, and using smoke to drive the bear out. 28
• Advises aiming for a bear's eyes to impair it before attempting to kill it. 28

Survival Craft

• Makes arrows and provides Li Yuan with arrows and smoked jerky during winter. 2
• Carries and uses flint for starting fires in the mountains. 28
• Participates in processing hunted game, including bear and tiger carcasses. 31 46

Equipment

• Hunting bow and quiver 6 27
• Flint for mountain travel and fire-making 28
• Hunting arrows 2 28

Relationships

• Li Yuan — Nephew. Li Zhi supports him with supplies, hunting guidance, and financial help out of familial affection and guilt over Li Yuan's parents' deaths. 2 6 7
• Clan Han — Wife. Their relationship is strained by Li Zhi's repeated aid to Li Yuan, which Clan Han sees as threatening their children's future. 2 6
• Li Wen — Son. Li Zhi hopes to secure a better future for him through martial-arts training, while taking care not to expose him to unnecessary danger. 2 6
• Li Cuihua — Daughter. She lives in Li Zhi's household. 2 6
• Chen Quan — Fellow veteran hunter and companion during the Black Lump hunt. 27 29
• Zhou Wu — Hostile noble-family descendant who tried to seize the Black Lump and its gallbladder; Li Zhi witnessed Li Yuan kill him and helped conceal the bodies. 30 31

Story Role / Major Arcs

Support for Li Yuan

Li Zhi visits Li Yuan in winter with handmade arrows and smoked jerky, insisting that family should help one another. His aid causes conflict with Clan Han, who worries about their own children and the cost of Li Wen's training. 2

When Li Yuan needs money for martial-arts tuition, Li Zhi agrees to take him into more dangerous mountain territory to hunt large game. He even offers to cover Li Yuan's shortfall if necessary. 6

Purple Sable Hunt

Li Zhi accompanies Li Yuan into the mountains, teaching him hunting precautions. During this hunt, Li Yuan captures a valuable purple sable alive. Li Zhi warns him that sudden wealth can attract danger and gives him a whistling arrow. 7

Tax Collection

When Qian Skin-Peeler falsely claims that Li Zhi's household is four taels short on tax payment, Li Zhi is too frightened to effectively resist. Li Yuan intervenes, pays the demanded amount, and forces the official to back down through his martial status. 19

Black Lump Hunt and Zhou Family Conflict

Li Zhi leads Li Yuan and Chen Quan toward the Black Lump's territory, drawing on his past experience hunting such bears alongside Li Yuan's father. He helps prepare traps and smoke the beast from its cave. 27 28

After Li Yuan defeats the bear and begins learning the Bear Form Fist, Li Zhi recognizes that his nephew is using the animal's movements to cultivate rather than merely fighting for survival. 29

Li Zhi urges Li Yuan to consume the freshly harvested bear gallbladder, then is terrified when Zhou Wu claims the hunt for the Zhou Family. Following Li Yuan's killing of Zhou Wu and his servants, Li Zhi helps dispose of the bodies and conceal evidence. 30 31

Later Support

Li Zhi assists Li Yuan in processing a tiger carcass and accepts both silver and a share of the tiger meat. Although Li Yuan offers to move him to the county town, Li Zhi declines because he is accustomed to village life. 46

Notable Quotes

“If I hadn't insisted on chasing that beast back then, A-Qing wouldn't have lost his life... And perhaps Li Yuan's mother wouldn't have passed away either. All of this is my fault; I owe him this.” 2