Xu Yi

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Xu Yi (许义)
Alias(es)	Little Seven; Little Junior Brother 17
Species/Race	Human; a transmigrated university graduate 2
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Green Gang, Jiahai Hall / Golden Orchid Nunnery; Lingtong Hall 2 23
Occupation/Role	Disciple of Mister Ye Hai; gang enforcer; Lingtong Hall security captain; Night Roaming God 2 23 27
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Spiritual vision awakened	3, 7	Ye Miao's fragrance triggers a black-and-white perception through which Xu Yi can perceive spiritual phenomena and the Hundred Night Miasma—the first step toward the Night Roaming God path.
Spirit Remain refinement	16	Learns to refine miasma into Spirit Remains; his uncontrolled spirituality had previously transformed Ji Xiao into Fox Incense.
Night Roaming God	27	Burns his spirituality into divinity and becomes a Night Roaming God, awakening scent-tracing as his divine ability.
Fragmented Path of Fragrance inheritance — [Sniffer]	30	Yan Luo identifies Xu Yi's inheritance as fragmented, with [Sniffer] as its lowest tier.

Background / History

Xu Yi was transported to Puxi City shortly after graduating from university. Carrying a letter of recommendation, he traveled from the town of Under the Sky Lantern and became Mister Ye Hai's disciple at Golden Orchid Nunnery, the Puxi branch of the Green Gang's Jiahai Hall. During his first half-month in the city, he learned basic martial practice and jianghu principles from Ye Hai. 2

His first assignment was to collect protection money from Hongfa Fruit Firm. Rather than simply extorting the shop, Xu Yi established the firm as his territory and arranged its protection, earning Ye Hai's approval and a continuing share of its monthly payments. 2 4

Appearance

Xu Yi commonly wears the black traditional jacket and black gang uniform associated with Ye Hai's men. He later carries firearms beneath a loose Tang suit while working around Lingtong Hall. 2 32 35

• Black traditional jacket, with silver dollars kept in an inner pocket. 2
• Uses Ye Miao's sachet at his lapel or in hand to activate spiritual perception. 20 35
• Carries concealed pistols and ammunition while conducting dangerous investigations. 35

Personality

Xu Yi is reckless enough to use his own life as leverage, but his recklessness is tied to a strong instinct to protect others. He resists harming innocents even during planned killings, pulls back when an enemy uses a child as a shield, and intervenes on behalf of Jing Tao despite refusing the security that marriage into her family would provide. 2 15 20

He initially takes Ye Hai's teachings on benevolence and righteousness seriously, but experience steadily makes him more suspicious of jianghu rhetoric and manipulation. He recognizes Ye Hai's effort to place loyal agents inside Lingtong Hall and refuses to act blindly on his master's proposal. 15 33 50

Xu Yi is intensely curious about spirituality and fragrance, yet he can exercise restraint when he recognizes a danger. He refuses the old man's spiritually charged cigarette, avoids prolonged conversation with Ji Xiao after learning her control condition, and resolves not to become the incense-obsessed version of himself shown by the burner. 19 21 25

Abilities & Skills

Spiritual Perception

Xu Yi possesses unusually abundant spiritual energy and a rare sensitivity to spiritually infused scents.

• Ye Miao's fragrance activates his black-and-white spiritual vision for roughly three hours. 3 9
• His perception allows him to see ghosts, the Hundred Night Miasma, spiritual auras, and the nonhuman features of entities such as Bao Dating. 7 20
• Jing Tao's fragrance eases his injuries and greatly sharpens his hearing and awareness. 22 24 25
• His spiritual energy can become unstable under strong stimuli; Yan Luo warns that failure to become a Night Roaming God could eventually turn Xu Yi into Hundred Night Miasma. 13 22

Night Roaming God Divinity

After refining spirituality into divinity, Xu Yi becomes a Night Roaming God on the fragmented Path of Fragrance. 27 30

• His divine ability is scent-tracing: he can follow a fragrance back to its source through the incense burner. 26 27
• He can close his spiritual vision by holding his breath for ten seconds. 27
• His present inheritance begins at the [Sniffer] tier, rather than granting a complete lineage. 30

Spirit Remain Refinement

Xu Yi can refine miasma and spiritually charged beings into Spirit Remains. 16

• His uncontrolled spiritual reaction transforms the fox demon Ji Xiao into Fox Incense. 13
• Fox Incense incapacitates anyone who smells it within an area of roughly ten square meters for about three minutes before its spirituality loses control. 14
• Xu Yi adapts Fox Incense into a soda-bottle weapon during his infiltration of Lingtong Hall. 17 19

Martial and Underworld Skills

Xu Yi has basic martial conditioning and quickly develops practical underworld competence.

• Practices the Four-Level Horse Stance, strengthening his legs, waist, back, and general health. 9
• Conducts stealth infiltrations, secures business documents, and organizes targeted operations with Duan Hu's assistance. 18 19 20
• Leads and equips Lingtong Hall's security personnel, emphasizing restraint around firearms and the risks of taking lives. 33 34

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Ye Miao's sachet — activates Xu Yi's spiritual vision; its effect is temporary and may have unknown side effects. 9 25
• Jing Tao's jade pendant — a personal token that stimulates Xu Yi's spiritual essence and can be used for scent-tracing. 23 26
• Fox Incense — Spirit Remain created from Ji Xiao; produces a disabling fragrance when lit. 13 14
• Incense burner — gifted by a mysterious Night Roaming God to temper and control spirituality; later used to track scents and refine divinity. 21 25 27
• Browning 1900 pistol — purchased with ammunition from an illegal gun dealer. 34
• Unicorn Ox pistols — Xu Yi purchases two; he gives one, along with ammunition, to Jin Baogen for factory security. 34
• Elephant God Cup — a powerful Spirit Remain given by Ye Hai; Xu Yi perceives it as wrapped in scarlet blood-light and accompanied by a pungent, bloody fragrance. 50

Relationships

• Mister Ye Hai — Xu Yi's master and distant kinsman. Ye Hai recognizes his potential and gives him important assignments, but repeatedly treats him as a tool for his own ambitions. 2 4 8 50
• Ye Miao — Ye Hai's daughter and Xu Yi's lover. Her scent first awakens his spiritual vision, and she relies on him when bullied at school. 3 9 47
• Jing Tao — ally, employer, and fellow Night Roaming God. Xu Yi helps reclaim Lingtong Hall and becomes its security captain; her fragrance heals and sharpens him. 15 23 25
• Yan Luo — Jing Tao's master and Xu Yi's senior adviser. He teaches Xu Yi cultivation methods, evaluates his inheritance, and warns him of the dangers of his powerful spirituality. 22 30
• Duan Hu — Xu Yi's Second Senior Brother. A principled Green Gang member who aids Xu Yi's Lingtong Hall operation after accepting Fox Incense as payment. 17 18
• Jin Baogen — Xu Yi's fellow villager and friend. Xu Yi buys out his apprenticeship contract, recruits him into factory security, and entrusts him with a pistol. 32 33 34
• Red-Eyed Brother — a Night Roaming God who initially confronts Xu Yi through Big Brother's body, then explains the Hundred Night Miasma and offers guidance. 5 6 7
• Ji Xiao — fox demon and recurring adversary. Her attempt to control Xu Yi ends with her being refined into Fox Incense, though an identical fox-headed version later appears at Lingtong Hall. 12 13 19
• Lu Bolin — Xu Yi's senior brother and rival. Xu Yi sees a scarlet, ominous aura around him and becomes wary of his jealousy toward Xu Yi's relationship with Ye Miao. 47 50

Story Role / Major Arcs

Zhang Family Affair

Assigned to oversee Candied Zhang's funeral, Xu Yi discovers the Zhang Family's opium trafficking and their abuse of children in a gambling scheme. He controls the ghost Big Brother through the ghost's ash pot, forms an uneasy alliance with Red-Eyed Brother, and helps burn down the Zhang compound. The incident exposes him to the Hundred Night Miasma and begins his pursuit of the Night Roaming God path. 4 5 6 7

Jing Family and Lingtong Hall

Ye Hai sends Xu Yi to the Jing Family under the guise of righteousness, privately expecting him to fail. Xu Yi survives the supernatural estate, encounters Ji Xiao, gains access to Spirit Remains, and helps Jing Tao retake Lingtong Hall by stealing its seal, contracts, and personnel records. He becomes the factory's security captain for fifty silver dollars per month. 8 12 13 19 23

Awakening as a Night Roaming God

After receiving an incense burner and cultivation instruction, Xu Yi confronts visions of a future self consumed by scent obsession. He rejects that path, uses the burner to trace fragrances, and refines his spirituality into divinity, becoming a Night Roaming God with scent-tracing as his signature ability. 21 25 26 27

Fragrance Investigations

Xu Yi investigates spiritually infused fragrances, including the foreigner's pursuit of the [Doctor of Fragrance] rank. He steals and memorizes a formula for Spirit Spice Extract involving human materials, burns the office where he finds it, and leaves evidence with the Zhabei Wind Gazette. 36 38 39

Growing Conflict with Ye Hai

After returning alive from the Jing Family affair, Xu Yi becomes increasingly valuable to Ye Hai, who offers to secure him a post in the British Concession's Constabulary. Ye Hai later tries to use Xu Yi to insert his own personnel into Lingtong Hall; Xu Yi recognizes the scheme while accepting the Elephant God Cup as compensation. 48 50

Notable Quotes

“You don't need me to marry into your family. I'll still help you!” 15

“I don't believe a single word of what you said.” 12