Lou Ji

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Lou Ji (娄姬)
Alias(es)	Aunt Lou Ji; Big Sister / Sister
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Prime Minister's Mansion; Black Scale Guard
Occupation/Role	Chief of the Black Scale Guard; intelligence leader, investigator, and medicine compounder
Cultivation	Her strength is described as Mortal Shedding and later treated by opponents as comparable to a Half-Saint; no on-page breakthrough between those descriptions is documented 368 442
First Appearance	Chapter 69, “Aunt Lou Ji” 69

Background / History

Lou Ji was born into the Lou family of Wuling City as the daughter of Lou Qingwu, Transport Commissioner of the Military Stores Office. In the thirty-ninth year of Yongqing, her father was imprisoned on corruption charges; the male relatives were exiled to the frontier and the women sent to the Imperial Music Bureau. Five-year-old Lou Ji was exiled with her family, but her mother died during the journey. She survived by learning to disguise herself, ingratiate herself with others, and kill with her wits. 530

At nine, she arrived in Di'an City's Black Alley, where she initially survived by begging and scavenging. An old woman took her in, then attempted to sell her to the Green Snake Society. Lou Ji recognized the betrayal, killed the woman to escape, and later orchestrated the Green Snake Society's destruction. 533

The King of Black Alley subsequently noticed her potential. Lou Ji spent more than three years working alongside his son, receiving cultivation access and assignments in what she considered a transactional arrangement. The King tried to bind her to his family through a marriage alliance with his son, but Lou Ji concealed her growing strength and resisted his designs. 534 536

During a confrontation with a cultivation family's household expert, Lou Ji was badly injured and rescued by Long Xinling. She became Xinling's personal maid, remained by her side for roughly a decade, and helped her establish herself as a female official. Xu Yinhe later took Lou Ji under his command. 536

By the present era, Lou Ji leads the Black Scale Guard, the Prime Minister's Mansion's feared intelligence and enforcement force. She joined Xu Yinhe because of his character, methods, talent, and their shared ideals; she later became interested in how far Xu Yuan could carry those ideals. 191

Appearance

Lou Ji is a striking, voluptuous woman whose appearance is deliberately seductive and often contrasts with her position as a feared intelligence chief. Her eyes are normally emerald-green, but can shine violet or amethyst when she circulates her arts. 185 382 383

• Raven-black hair, commonly arranged in a high Luan-style bun. 185
• Clear emerald eyes described as resembling autumn water. 185
• Dresses in elaborate, revealing clothing, including a Fairy-Retaining Dress, Phoenix Crown, Lotus Boots, low-cut qipao, and gauze dresses. 185 352 368
• Her attire and manner lead Xu Yuan to compare her to a “charming, bewitching, and venomous scorpion.” 69

Personality

Lou Ji is playful, provocative, and openly enjoys teasing Xu Yuan—especially over whether he will address her as “sister” rather than “aunt.” Her teasing can be affectionate, but she also uses it to keep others off balance and test their reactions. 69 185 193

Behind that warmth is a precise, ruthless pragmatism shaped by exile and Black Alley's brutality. She handles espionage, interrogation, assassination, and political pressure with little hesitation, and she regards decisive violence as a necessary tool of the Prime Minister's Mansion. 69 451 537

Her strongest personal attachment is to Xu Yuan. She once damaged her own foundation attempting to cleanse his marrow and reshape his meridians, repeatedly prioritizes his safety over political interests, and becomes reckless when he is endangered. 69 440 446 452

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation and Dao Domain

Lou Ji is an exceptionally powerful cultivator whose presence and abilities are difficult for lower-ranked cultivators to assess.

• Maintains her Dao Domain as a constant normal state, a feat Luo Xiran describes as “heaven-defying.” 370
• Detected Luo Xiran despite her ability to masquerade as an inanimate object, something Tianyan's Yantian Art had failed to do. 370
• Her Dao Domain conceals herself and nearby allies from ordinary detection. 439
• Can manifest powerful violet defenses, including a purple-flower shield that withstood Luo Bingli's energy strike. 446
• Her foundation was damaged during her past attempt to restore Xu Yuan's meridians; Feng Jiuxuan believes she might otherwise have reached Sainthood. 69 457

Medicine Compounding and Poisoncraft

Lou Ji possesses extensive knowledge of medicinal principles, emergency treatment, cultivation aids, and dangerous experimental drugs.

• Probes and evaluates Xu Yuan's meridians with Source Qi. 185
• Compounds medicinal materials tailored to a cultivator's symptoms, including materials intended to force a realm breakthrough. 383
• Investigates dangerous medicines connected to the Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines and develops antidotes based on analogous medicinal principles. 370
• Keeps a medicine compounding room in Black Prison and participates in research surrounding Emperor Xien's heart. 554
• Uses Spirit-Dissolving Powder, a Source-Qi-reactive substance that turns corpses into green smoke when their residual power is stirred; she repurposed and renamed the substance after Xu Xinyao developed it for inscription work. 532
• Provided Ran Qingmo with medicine capable of disrupting Su Jinxuan's qi circulation without endangering her body. 610

Dual Cultivation Instruction

Lou Ji understands conventional dual-cultivation methods and can teach them as a technical cultivation practice.

• Taught Bai Muxi a basic hand-based dual-cultivation circulation to help stabilize Xu Yuan's crisis. 382
• Identified that Bai Muxi's cultivation method was compatible with Xu Yuan's condition. 380
• Cannot safely dual cultivate with Xu Yuan herself because their physiques conflict. 380

Intelligence and Black Scale Operations

As Black Scale Guard chief, Lou Ji directs investigations, infiltrations, covert communications, and punitive operations.

• Uncovered evidence that Qin Weijiu might not be the true mastermind behind the Jiangnan plot. 69
• Arranged for Su Jinxuan to become an undercover agent, while insisting Xu Yuan personally confirm the choice with her. 69
• Handles the Black Scale Guard's intelligence network and is entrusted with investigations into major sects and political threats. 193
• Personally investigates incidents that elude ordinary agents, including contraband operations and the Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines. 265 368
• Commands Black Prison and conducts torture or interrogation of high-value captives. 69

Equipment / Items

• Sumeru Ring — Used to store medicinal aids, pills, and other tools. 383 451
• Spirit-Dissolving Powder — Corpse-dissolving powder repurposed from Xu Xinyao's formation-inscription material. 532
• Medicinal compounds — Carries pills, powders, liquids, ointments, and breakthrough aids for treatment or forced cultivation advancement. 383
• Mysterious medicines from the Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines — Collected for analysis and antidote research. 370

Relationships

• Xu Yuan — His elder-sister-like benefactor and protector. She tried to reshape his meridians when he was young, oversees his safety, and frequently teases him while treating threats against him with extreme seriousness. 69 185 452
• Xu Yinhe — Her commander and ideological ally. Lou Ji joined him because of his talent, methods, character, and shared ideals. 191 536
• Long Xinling — Long Xinling rescued Lou Ji from a cultivation family's expert; Lou Ji then served as her personal maid for around ten years and helped her rise as an official. 536
• Luo Xiran — A wary collaborator connected to Xu Yuan. The two tested each other's knowledge and abilities after Lou Ji discovered Luo Xiran's unusual nature. 370
• Tianyan — A tense associate. Lou Ji holds Tianyan responsible when Xu Yuan is endangered, but cooperates with her to understand and stabilize his soul-related crisis. 380 382 388
• Bai Muxi — Lou Ji instructed her in basic dual cultivation and asserted authority over her during Xu Yuan's cultivation-method conflict. 382 383
• Xu Xinyao — A fellow researcher within the Prime Minister's Mansion. They cooperate around Emperor Xien's heart and medicinal research, though Lou Ji is dismissive of Xinyao's work at times. 553 554

Story Role / Major Arcs

Qin Weijiu Investigation

Lou Ji contacts Xu Yuan through a communication formation to share Black Scale intelligence on Qin Weijiu, organize Su Jinxuan's infiltration, and manage the political consequences of refusing an assassination scheme. 69

Wanxiang City and the Prime Minister's Ideals

After Wanxiang City's capture, Lou Ji reveals why she chose to follow Xu Yinhe and observes Xu Yuan's decisions as he begins assuming responsibility within the Prime Minister's Mansion. 191

Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines

Lou Ji personally investigates the Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines, identifies suspicious medicines, and works with Luo Xiran to analyze a drug that severs the connection between consciousness and body. 368 370

Xu Yuan's Soul Crisis

When Xu Yuan's Blood Origin Heart-Fall Technique begins devouring Tianyan's Yantian Divine Soul, Lou Ji takes command of the response. She recruits Bai Muxi to assist, prepares breakthrough medicines, and ultimately permits Xu Yuan to risk absorbing the Divine Soul after warning everyone else of the consequences should he die. 380 382 383

Huizhou County Assassination

Lou Ji activates Huizhou County's damaged City Protection Array with Xu Yuan, detects assassination attempts, and battles the attackers while prioritizing Xu Yuan's survival. When Xu Yuan's revival turns catastrophic, she becomes desperate to reach and save him. 440 446 452

Revelation of Her Past

Lou Ji recounts her childhood exile, Black Alley survival, conflict with the King of Black Alley, and decade-long bond with Long Xinling to Xu Yuan. 530 532 534 536

Emperor Xien's Heart Research

Lou Ji oversees medical research involving Emperor Xien's heart, initially refuses Xu Yuan's offer to participate because of the danger, and later allows him to assist after he argues that his unusual body may make him a suitable vessel. 553 554

Trivia

• Lou Ji strongly prefers Xu Yuan to call her “sister,” and reacts with irritation when he persists in calling her “Auntie Lou.” 69
• Her Black Scale Guard title is feared enough that Bai Zhao immediately recognizes her identity and treats her appearance as a severe warning. 191
• She once swindled Xu Xinyao's private savings under the stated purpose of northern disaster relief; Xu Yuan made her promise the money would actually be used for relief. 794