Chen Qinkuai

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Chen Qinkuai (陈勤快) 40
Alias(es)	Old Chen 42
Species/Race	Human; ordinary mortal without cultivation 40 427
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Chen family; employed at an Aohai Cui shop 53 426
Occupation/Role	Farmer, herb gatherer, and firewood collector; later a shop assistant 40 42 426
Residence	Originally Liu Family Village; later the Chen ancestral residence in Dragon Creek City, Ao Kingdom 42 53
Family	Father of Chen Xinqiao; surviving descendant of a fallen aristocratic lineage 43 53 56
Status	Alive; continues working at the Aohai Cui shop after his daughter’s return 442
First Appearance	Chapter 40 40

Background / History

Decline of the Chen Family

Chen Qinkuai descends from a once-prominent Dragon Creek City lineage. According to his genealogy, his great-great-grandfather was a renowned cultivator who maintained close ties with Aohai Cui and left a token promising the clan’s assistance if his descendants faced annihilation 53.

Xiao Shi remembers the Chen family as a first-rank aristocratic clan three or four hundred years earlier. Its patriarch reached Celestial Person Perfection, but died after failing to attain True Lord status, precipitating the family’s decline. By Qinkuai’s generation, he had become a farmer, though he still retained the family’s large ancestral mansion 53.

He supported Xinqiao through daily mountain work. She credits their survival to his herb gathering and the silver her mother left behind, rather than assistance from the Liu household 50.

Meeting Zhang Yuan

While gathering herbs and firewood, Qinkuai followed a golden light that descended into the mountains. He discovered Zhang Yuan confronting the Black-Robed Elder, who immediately seized him by the neck as leverage. Qinkuai lost consciousness from lack of oxygen during the encounter 40 41.

After Zhang killed the elder, Qinkuai mistook his rescuer for an even more dangerous evil cultivator. Under questioning, he identified the region and named Liu Family Village, but deliberately withheld its precise location to protect the villagers. Zhang nevertheless requested lodging, and Qinkuai reluctantly guided him home 41 42.

At the house, Qinkuai intervened when his relatives threatened Xinqiao. He rejected Liu Yulan’s claim that a wealthy city household would give her a comfortable life, recognizing that the arrangement meant selling his daughter into slavery 42 43.

His distrust of Zhang softened after the cultivator repelled another attempt to abduct Xinqiao while Qinkuai was working in the mountains. He thanked Zhang and offered to prepare a meal 44 47.

When Xinqiao later demanded the deaths of Liu Junmao, Liu Yulan, and her grandmother, Qinkuai pleaded specifically for his relatives’ lives. Zhang spared all three, earning Qinkuai’s thanks. Xinqiao subsequently killed them after beginning cultivation at the Cui residence on Life Continent Isle 50 51 85.

Return to Dragon Creek City

After Zhang transported him and Xinqiao to safety, Qinkuai chose to reopen the Chen ancestral residence in Dragon Creek City rather than flee farther away. He knew the Wang Household was based there, but intended to use the inherited Cui Token to secure protection 53.

Xiao Shi accepted the token and promised to have the Wang Household warned away. Qinkuai was relieved that Aohai Cui still honored an obligation dating back roughly three hundred years. The Wangs nevertheless attacked the Chen Residence again 53 54 57.

While waiting anxiously at the Cui Residence, Qinkuai defended Zhang against Cui Yuanxi’s accusation that he was a Demonic Dao cultivator. Cui Wenshan acknowledged the Chen family’s ancestral connection and offered Xinqiao a place to cultivate 61.

Xinqiao’s Departure and Letter

Before leaving, Xinqiao entrusted Qinkuai with a letter for Zhang. He promised to deliver it intact and encouraged her to pursue cultivation while he managed matters at home. She warned him to seek Aohai Cui’s help if Wang remnants or local bullies troubled him, but he believed people would have little reason to harm someone who neither hurt others nor conducted business with them 126.

When Zhang visited after Xinqiao’s death, Qinkuai was preparing to leave for odd jobs at an Aohai Cui shop. Unaware of what had happened to his daughter, he welcomed Zhang warmly and handed over her sealed letter 130.

Reunion After Two Years

More than two years later, Qinkuai offered his umbrella to Zhang during a downpour without initially recognizing him. Once he realized who his guest was, he hurried to buy food, shielding the dishes while allowing himself to become soaked. Zhang returned the umbrella and dried his clothes with a spell 426.

Qinkuai initially avoided discussing Xinqiao, then asked directly whether she had died. He reasoned that, despite her reserved manner, she cared too much about her family to remain away for two years without visiting. Zhang’s reassurance did not convince him; he asked for the truth and explicitly said he would not blame Zhang 426.

Xinqiao arrived before Zhang could answer. She explained her absence as time spent exploring a secret realm on Ancestral Isle, concealing her death and resurrection to spare her father distress. Qinkuai accepted the explanation and joyfully prepared for her stay 426 427.

He also invited Zhang to use the room he had kept ready throughout his absence. Later, he discreetly withdrew from the dining hall, giving Xinqiao an encouraging wink before leaving her with Zhang and Cui Zhaowei 427 437.

Appearance

Qinkuai is introduced as a weather-exposed farmer rather than a cultivator 40.

• Complexion: Dark-faced, with his face turning purple from the cold during his first appearance 40.
• Clothing: A tattered padded jacket 40.
• Build: Describes himself as having the sturdy bones of a farmer 426.

Personality

Qinkuai is exceptionally hardworking: villagers know him for leaving early each morning to gather herbs and firewood and ordinarily returning only after sunset. His diligence does not eliminate his poverty; after hearing a storyteller discuss impending war, he considers joining the army as a way to improve his family’s circumstances 42 44 56.

His kindness extends beyond family. He offers an umbrella to someone he believes is a stranger and remains eager to repay Zhang’s assistance. He is also frugal and reluctant to accept expensive gifts: when Zhang buys bedding, Qinkuai selects worn cotton for himself and Xinqiao, reserves fine wool for his guest, and initially refuses a wool set offered to him 56 426.

His attachment to family obligations can become inflexible. Although he recognizes his relatives’ exploitation and protects Xinqiao from them, he cannot accept killing her aunt and grandmother. Xinqiao regards this outlook as hidebound 43 50.

He is honest but not foolish. He tries to protect his village through carefully limited answers, sees through the proposed slave sale, and correctly suspects that Xinqiao’s prolonged absence conceals something serious. Nevertheless, the Wang Household’s attacks leave lasting fear: the sound of Sword Qi still alarms him, and he continues having nightmares two years later 42 43 426 427.

Equipment / Property

• Herb basket and machete — Carried during his mountain work; he also gathers bundles of firewood 40.
• Cui Token — An ancestral pledge of emergency assistance from Aohai Cui, surrendered to Xiao Shi when he requests protection against the Wang Household 53.
• Village house — His original home in Liu Family Village, where he lodges Zhang Yuan 44.
• Chen ancestral residence — A large, long-neglected mansion in Dragon Creek City that he reopens for himself and Xinqiao 53.
• Umbrella — Offered to Zhang during their reunion in the rain 426.

Relationships

• Chen Xinqiao — His daughter and principal responsibility. He supports her through manual labor, opposes her sale, encourages her cultivation, and worries deeply during her prolonged absence 43 50 126 426.
• Zhang Yuan — Rescuer, houseguest, and family benefactor. Qinkuai’s initial terror becomes gratitude and a firm belief that Zhang is a good man 41 47 61.
• Liu Yulan — His sister-in-law and Xinqiao’s maternal aunt. He rejects her attempt to sell Xinqiao but later asks that her life be spared 43 47 50.
• Liu household’s old woman — Xinqiao’s grandmother. Despite her mistreatment of his family and involvement in the attempted sale, he remains unwilling to approve her killing 50.
• Liu Song — Village gatekeeper whose misunderstanding spreads the rumor that Qinkuai has found a husband for Xinqiao 42 47.
• Xiao Shi — Accepts his Cui Token, arranges a warning to the Wang Household, and later ensures his shop duties are not particularly tiring 53 426.
• Cui Wenshan — Honors the Chen family’s ancestral ties and offers Xinqiao an opportunity to cultivate at the Cui Residence 61.

Notable Quotes

“Xinqiao isn't going to the city. Mother, Sister-in-law, you should go home.” 43

“I'll make sure the letter reaches the Immortal Master intact. Just focus on your cultivation, Xinqiao, and go become an immortal. I'll take care of everything at home.” 126

“I don't ask that you protect Xinqiao forever. I only want to know how she died. Please grant me that...” 426