Xue Zhao

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Xue Zhao (薛照)
Alias(es)	Apprentice Manager; Steward
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Benevolent Heart Medicine Hall
Occupation/Role	Oversees the Medicine Hall's pharmacy apprentices; acts as a subordinate of Wu Han 4 34
First Appearance	Chapter 4

Appearance

Xue Zhao wears a faded indigo long gown with its sleeves rolled to his forearms, secured by an old leather belt. His cold, piercing stare contributes to the fear he inspires among the apprentices. 4

• Faded indigo long gown 4
• Sleeves rolled to the forearms 4
• Old leather belt at his waist 4
• Cold, sinister gaze and severe demeanor 4

Personality

Xue Zhao is cruel, authoritarian, and deeply concerned with preserving his standing under Wu Han. The pharmacy apprentices regard him as a “living Yama”; those he targets are subjected to harsher workloads and living conditions. He arranged for Jiang Feng to live in a dilapidated former dog kennel and continually looks for opportunities to punish him. 4

He is opportunistic and sycophantic toward stronger figures, suppressing his arrogance around Wu Tian and attempting to appease Wu Han during the latter's outbursts. His fear of losing favor drives him to cooperate with Fan Qingyang, falsify accusations, bribe Tie Rong, and arrange violence against Jiang Feng. 7 12 34 37 46

Abilities & Skills

Martial Cultivation

Xue Zhao is a seventh-stage Blood-Moving Realm cultivator, though his foundation is inferior to Jiang Feng's.

• Holds cultivation at the seventh stage of the Blood-Moving Realm. 36
• Cannot manifest blood-qi externally despite his realm, unlike Jiang Feng. 36
• Was completely overpowered by Wu Tian, who crushed one of his shoulder blades with a bare-handed strike. 7

Authority and Manipulation

As apprentice manager, Xue Zhao can direct apprentices, influence work assignments, and temporarily command guards during the Medicine Hall's internal investigation. 4 12

• Exploits his authority to increase Jiang Feng's workload and worsen his living conditions. 4
• Uses the herb-collection assignment as cover for a plan to frame and kill Jiang Feng. 12 14
• Bribes Tie Rong to sabotage Jiang Feng's Guard Assessment. 37 39
• Mobilizes apprentices and Guard Hall experts for a planned attack on Jiang Feng. 46

Relationships

• Jiang Feng — Primary adversary. Xue Zhao persecutes him as Wu Han's subordinate, seeks to frame him for theft and murder, and later attempts to block his promotion to guard. 4 7 35 39
• Wu Han — Patron and superior. Xue Zhao acts as Wu Han's right-hand man and repeatedly seeks to prove his usefulness by finding those responsible for Wu Han's injuries and condition. 4 34
• Wu Tian — Wu Han's elder brother. Wu Tian sees through Xue Zhao's attempt to use the investigation against Jiang Feng and crushes Xue Zhao's shoulder as punishment. 7
• Fan Qingyang — Co-conspirator in the plot against Jiang Feng. They plan to use the herb-gathering trip to fabricate Jiang Feng's death as that of a fleeing thief; Xue Zhao later blames Fan for Wu Tian's punishment. 7 12
• Xie Shu — Senior Medicine Hall manager and political obstacle. Xie Shu repeatedly restrains Xue Zhao's attempts to interrogate, imprison, or prevent Jiang Feng from advancing. 35 36 39
• Tie Rong — Corrupt collaborator. Xue Zhao pays him to make Jiang Feng fail the Guard Assessment, after which Tie Rong proposes sending Jiang Feng on a dangerous evil-spirit assignment. 37 39
• Zhao Sen — Subordinate intimidated into silence when he considers warning Jiang Feng about Xue Zhao's planned assault. 46

Story Role / Major Arcs

Persecution of Jiang Feng

As apprentice manager, Xue Zhao singles Jiang Feng out because Jiang offended Wu Han. He inspects Jiang's shack for evidence of misconduct and maintains the conditions that leave him living in a former dog kennel. 4

During the search for Wu Han's attacker, Xue Zhao supports Fan Qingyang's unsupported accusation against Jiang Feng and personally searches his quarters. Finding nothing, he is punished by Wu Tian for appearing to manipulate the investigation. 6 7

Herb-Collection Conspiracy

After regaining influence under Wu Han, Xue Zhao and Fan Qingyang devise a scheme to use the monthly herb-collection trip to frame Jiang Feng as a thief who was killed while fleeing. Xie Shu later confirms that he had instructed Xue Zhao to keep Jiang off the expedition list, making Jiang's inclusion suspicious. 12 14

When Jiang Feng returns as the sole survivor, Xue Zhao immediately accuses him of murdering the other scouts and dismisses his account of the evil spirit. 34 35

Guard Assessment Sabotage

Xue Zhao becomes alarmed after Jiang Feng reveals seventh-stage cultivation and blood-qi manifestation, realizing Jiang could use the Guard Assessment to escape his control. He insists on handling the application himself and arranges a bribe with Tie Rong. 36 37

Tie Rong sends the eighth-stage Liu Mo to cripple Jiang Feng during the assessment. Jiang Feng defeats Liu Mo, and Xue Zhao's attempt to invalidate the result is stopped by Xie Shu; Jiang is promoted to guard instead. 38 39

Escalation Against the Guard

After Jiang Feng's promotion, Xue Zhao continues working with Tie Rong, who promises to place Jiang on a dangerous mission involving evil spirits. Xue Zhao later gathers apprentices and claims to have summoned Guard Hall experts for a nighttime attack on Jiang Feng. 39 46

His plans are disrupted when Song Huai takes Jiang Feng into the Alchemy Hall as his alchemy boy, placing Jiang under the chief alchemist's protection. 46 47