Qian Duoduo

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Glow Gu tender

Qian Duoduo managed the Qian Clan’s stone-gambling shop when Long Xuan discovered the ten-million-spirit-stone Stone King. He dismissed Long Xuan as an amateur, explained that dormant Gu insects could develop extraordinarily thick fossil shells, and introduced Qian Jinjin’s contest: whoever devised a sufficiently valuable application for her high-grade Glow Gu would receive the Stone King. 9

He invoked the Qian Clan’s Integrity Gu to assure applicants that the prize would be honored. Privately, however, he knew Qian Jinjin’s real standard was effectively impossible—an ability from a high-grade Gu insect with combat power comparable to a supreme-grade Gu worm. He expected the tender to collect useful ideas while allowing the Qian Clan to retain the Stone King. 9 10

Qian Duoduo was shocked when Qian Jinjin selected Long Xuan’s submission and ordered the Stone King awarded. He had believed the prize was only bait and was left wondering what sort of idea could satisfy her standard after Long Xuan had arrived less than an hour earlier. 12

Afterward, he offered to cut the Stone King open for Long Xuan and supplied a superior spirit axe. He was pleased by the prospect of attracting spectators and stimulating the shop’s stone-gambling business. 13 He later watched in astonishment as Long Xuan sold the Stone King’s leftover fossil pieces separately, creating a profitable new style of stone gambling. 14

Fossil Ore Vein auction

Years later, Qian Duoduo served as manager of the Qian Clan Auction House. When a heavily disguised Long Xuan presented Spirit-Gathering Pills, Qian Duoduo immediately inferred that the customer carried valuable goods and treated the pills as evidence of a powerful alchemy master’s backing. 38 39

He arranged the auction of Long Xuan’s ownerless Fossil Ore Vein map under the Qian Clan’s Integrity Gu, allowing the seller to retain the map while publicly verifying that he was not lying. Qian Jinjin prevented him from attempting to seize the map and ordered the auction prepared immediately. 39

Qian Duoduo secretly joined the Spirit-Gathering Pill bidding in disguise. Knowing that four bottles were available, he declined to overpay for the earlier lots; this calculation failed when the final bottle rose to 2.8 million Spirit Stones, forcing him to win it at a far higher price than the first bottle. 41 42

During the ore-vein bidding, he placed a dramatic 400-million-Spirit-Stone bid on the Qian Clan’s behalf. The bid helped drive the price upward, but the Long Family Head ultimately secured the map for 700 million Spirit Stones through pooled contributions from the seven great clans. 43 44

Living Wood auction

After Qian Jinjin was promoted to lead the Qian Clan Merchant Association’s Western Land branch, Qian Duoduo followed her to the region and managed a major auction centered on the Heaven-grade spirit medicine Living Wood. Faced with an overwhelming number of Marrow Cleansing Stage attendees, he imposed an eight-million-Spirit-Stone entrance deposit to exclude spectators and ensure that only cultivators with genuine purchasing power entered the auction. 158 159

Long Xuan and Long Ziyan approached him for a private room after Long Xuan publicly introduced Long Ziyan as his dao companion. Qian Duoduo was stunned by the relationship but provided the final private room, trusting that either famed genius could consign a sufficiently valuable treasure. 159

When Long Xuan presented Spirit-Recovery Wine, Qian Duoduo initially doubted the claim that it was the best spiritual-power recovery medicine for the Marrow Cleansing Stage. After tasting it, he recognized its exceptional restorative effect, purity, flavor, and potential to refine a supreme-grade Wine Gu. 159 160

Seeking to acquire the wine for himself, Qian Duoduo bundled the consigned barrels into a single lot and again disguised himself as an auction bidder. Long Xuan had secretly given him diluted wine rather than the genuine product, however, and the arrival of Wine Clan bidders drove the lot’s price sharply upward. 160 162

Qian Duoduo later led Qian Clan guards to confront Feng Si after the latter disrupted the auction with a bid he could not pay. He treated the offense as an attack on the Merchant Association’s standing and moved to enforce its rules even against a member of the Feng Clan. 165

Following the Living Wood auction, Qian Duoduo suggested that the Qian Clan secretly bid for or tamper with the treasure. Qian Jinjin sternly rejected the proposal, explaining that the entire clan had chosen to abandon the contest because preserving the Merchant Association’s credibility was worth far more than a single Living Wood. 168

Military-supply preparations

Qian Jinjin later concluded that the fallout from the Living Wood affair could provoke war in the Western Land. She ordered Qian Duoduo to monitor developments and stockpile military supplies, though he remained surprised by the scale of her prediction. 171

Appearance

Qian Duoduo is a fat, round-faced man whose conspicuous build remains recognizable even when he disguises himself. 9 41

• Fat build and round face. 9
• Chubby fingers. 10
• Often wears a broad, merchant-like smile when approaching a promising customer. 38
• Capable of using disguises while participating in auctions, though his round physique makes his disguises conspicuous to those familiar with him. 41 162 168

Personality

Qian Duoduo is commercially perceptive, calculating, and highly attentive to opportunity. He judges a customer’s likely wealth from their behavior and appearance, recognizing that extreme concealment often signals possession of valuable goods. 38

He can be manipulative without directly lying. During the Glow Gu tender, he exploited applicants’ trust in the Qian Clan’s Integrity Gu while deliberately withholding Qian Jinjin’s impossible standard. He privately regarded the bidders as gullible sources of free ideas. 10 11

His greed can lead him to exploit loopholes in the Merchant Association’s rules. He repeatedly disguised himself as a bidder to purchase desirable auction goods, including Spirit-Gathering Pills and Spirit-Recovery Wine, and even considered secretly interfering with the Living Wood auction. 41 42 160 162 168

Despite his greed and occasional overconfidence, Qian Duoduo remains constrained by the Qian Clan’s reputation and Integrity Gu. He obeys Qian Jinjin’s orders, publicly defends the association’s commitments, and does not seize valuable property even when strongly tempted. Qian Jinjin’s rebuke over his auction schemes further demonstrates that the clan will not permit his opportunism to damage its credibility. 12 39 165 168

Skills & Expertise

Merchant Appraisal

Qian Duoduo possesses sharp commercial instincts and quickly assesses both merchandise and customers.

• Identified the rarity and breakthrough value of Spirit-Gathering Pills immediately upon inspection. 39
• Inferred that forty such pills indicated the backing of at least a third- or fourth-grade alchemist. 39
• Uses a customer’s degree of concealment to estimate the value of the goods they carry. 38
• Recognized the commercial appeal of Long Xuan cutting open the Stone King publicly and of selling its remnants as gambling material. 13 14
• Personally recognized Spirit-Recovery Wine as an exceptionally pure, potent, and valuable product after tasting it, correctly judging that it could be used to refine a supreme-grade Wine Gu. 159 160

Auction Strategy

As an auction-house manager and bidder, Qian Duoduo understands how hidden supply and buyer expectations affect prices.

• Proposed an Integrity Gu-backed verification process for the Fossil Ore Vein map without exposing its location. 39
• Participated in auctions under disguise on behalf of the Qian Clan. 41 43
• Misjudged the Spirit-Gathering Pill auction by waiting for a cheaper final lot, ultimately paying 2.8 million Spirit Stones. 42
• Used an eight-million-Spirit-Stone entrance deposit to control attendance at the Living Wood auction and preserve the bidding power of the audience. 158 159
• Consolidated Long Xuan’s Spirit-Recovery Wine into one lot in an effort to make it easier to acquire covertly, though Wine Clan bidders disrupted his plan. 160 162
• Enforced the Merchant Association’s auction rules forcefully when Feng Si made an unpaid bid, treating the matter as a threat to the Qian Clan’s reputation. 165

Relationships

• Qian Jinjin — His young lady and superior within the Qian Clan. He organized her Glow Gu tender, carried out her order to award the Stone King, and acted on the Qian Clan’s behalf during the ore-vein auction. After her promotion to head of the Western Land branch, he continued serving under her. She has repeatedly restrained his schemes when they risked the Merchant Association’s reputation and later ordered him to prepare for a possible war. 11 12 39 43 159 168 171
• Long Xuan — Initially treated him as an inexperienced contestant and concealed the true difficulty of the Glow Gu tender from him. Later handled the auction business of Long Xuan’s disguised identity and became convinced that the seller was connected to a powerful alchemist. At the Living Wood auction, he recognized Long Xuan as an old acquaintance, provided him with a private room, and was outmaneuvered when Long Xuan supplied diluted Spirit-Recovery Wine for the wine lot Qian Duoduo hoped to acquire. 9 10 38 39 159 160 162
• Long Wanli — A major auction rival. Long Wanli repeatedly outbid him for Spirit-Gathering Pills, while Qian Duoduo’s concealed 400-million-Spirit-Stone bid competed against the Long Family’s coalition-backed purchase of the Fossil Ore Vein map. 41 42 43 44
• Long Ziyan — Recognized her as the famed Long Family genius when she arrived at the Living Wood auction with Long Xuan. He was shocked when Long Xuan introduced her as his dao companion and she did not deny the claim. 159
• Feng Si — Treated Feng Si as an enemy of the Merchant Association after he disrupted the Living Wood auction by making an unaffordable bid. Qian Duoduo personally led guards to confront him and refused to excuse the offense because of Feng Clan status. 165