Chicken Brother

Biodata

Background / History

Chicken Brother is a dark-skinned hunter from Blue Stone Village and one of Li Yuan's childhood playmates. His nickname comes from his childhood fondness for chicken rears. His household includes his parents and an older brother, who became a groom in the county town and entered a slave household for the security of stable work. 3

Like Li Yuan, he is affected by the growing market fees and middlemen's cuts imposed on hunters. Despite his frustration with these burdens, he accepts that resisting the market authorities would be dangerous. Li Yuan advises him to prioritize survival and seize opportunities while alive. 3

He initially prepares to enter a county martial arts hall, but his resolve becomes firm only after seeing Li Yuan defeat Wang Three Scars and his ruffians. He subsequently enrolls at a nearby Iron Sand Palm hall. 14 25

Personality

Chicken Brother is friendly, practical, and more cautious than Li Yuan. He is visibly intimidated by the outer-city ruffians and initially hesitates when Li Yuan tells him to strike Wang Three Scars. Once encouraged, however, he vents his resentment by stomping the extortionist. 13 14

His ambitions are modest and concrete: achieve the Ox Skin or Stone Skin Realm, work as a guard for a wealthy household, buy a small county-town home, and marry. The pain and danger of Iron Sand Palm training discourage him, but Li Yuan's example keeps him committed. 26

Skills

Hunting and Tracking

Chicken Brother has hunted in the mountains with his father since childhood and possesses tracking experience comparable to an old hunter. 12

• Identified fresh wild-boar hoofprints and fur in the West Mountain forest. 12
• Helped Li Yuan track, secure, and transport two wild boars from the mountains. 12 13
• Relayed his father's report of the man-eating black bear known as the Black Lump. 26

Iron Sand Palm

Chicken Brother trains at a low-cost martial arts hall that teaches Iron Sand Palm. 25 26

• Training includes daily stance work and repeatedly plunging his hands into boiling sand. 26
• Progress requires toughening the hands enough to leave white marks on an ox-hide wooden post. 26
• The training causes painful swelling and can cripple practitioners' hands; medicinal wine can reduce the risk but costs extra. 26
• No cultivation-realm breakthrough has been documented. 26

Relationships

• Li Yuan — Childhood friend and hunting partner. Chicken Brother warns him of Chen Qing's suspicious movements, joins him in hunting wild boars, and is inspired by Li Yuan to pursue martial arts. 3 10 12 14 26
• Chen Quan — Father. Chen Quan initially opposed his martial training in favor of the security of servitude, but reconsidered after witnessing Li Yuan fight the Black Lump. 26 29
• Wang Three Scars — Ruffian who attempts to extort him and Li Yuan after their wild-boar sale; Chicken Brother later stomps him at Li Yuan's urging. 13 14
• Chen Qing — Fellow villager whose suspicious transport of Li Yuan's crate Chicken Brother reports to Li Yuan. 10

Story Role / Major Arcs

Warning Li Yuan About the Stolen Crate

Chicken Brother sees Chen Qing, Pizi, and Laizi carrying a suspicious crate toward Wuxi County and waits for Li Yuan to return from the mountains so he can warn him. The information leads Li Yuan to investigate the theft of his Purple Sable. 10

West Mountain Wild-Boar Hunt

He proposes that he and Li Yuan hunt in the old West Mountain forest after learning of wild-boar activity. His tracking locates the boars, and the pair successfully bring down two large animals, sell them in the county market, and earn money for their martial training. 12 13

Encounter with Wang Three Scars

Chicken Brother is frightened when Wang Three Scars's gang demands “tribute” from the pair. Li Yuan protects him and defeats the ruffians; Chicken Brother overcomes his hesitation long enough to retaliate against Wang Three Scars. The incident convinces him that martial strength is necessary for self-protection. 13 14

Iron Sand Palm Training

After joining an Iron Sand Palm hall, Chicken Brother struggles with its punishing hand-conditioning regimen. He persists because he wants a stable life rather than prominence, and because Li Yuan's display of strength remains an inspiration. 25 26

Trivia

• His favorite food is chicken butts; Li Yuan repeatedly offers them as a treat. 10 25 26
• He calls Li Yuan “Brother Yuan.” 10 12 13
• He is proud of the wild-boar hunt, though he credits most of the achievement to Li Yuan. 13