Yin Jiuyou

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Yin Jiuyou (殷九幽)
Alias(es)	Old Yin — used by Qi Shanhe 20
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Flowing Sand, also called Gathering and Scattering Quicksand 9 11
Occupation/Role	Assassin; Ning Que’s protector and escort; formerly an escort guard 2 21 26
Status	Alive at his latest documented appearance 45
First Appearance	Chapter 2 — “Be slow to claim the crown!” 2

Background / History

Early Life and Joining Flowing Sand

Yin Jiuyou worked as an escort guard in his younger years. His experience gave him a practical understanding of martial artists who accepted dangerous work for food, clothing, and shelter, sometimes placing survival above questions of good and evil 21.

He initially joined Flowing Sand to avenge his mother. When Ning Que later asks about his reasons, Yin explains that his purpose eventually broadened into acting “for all living beings.” The circumstances of his mother’s death are not specified 6.

Rescuing Ning Que

After learning that Ning Que possesses the jade pendant identifying the former Grandmaster’s son, Mu Lingfeng orders Yin Jiuyou to retrieve him. Yin interrupts Ning Que’s execution, verifies the pendant, cuts his restraints, and carries him away 2.

He then guides Ning Que toward Flowing Sand’s headquarters, intending to meet the Qingzhou branch along the way. Despite his fighting ability, he avoids confronting the soldiers pursuing them because Flowing Sand operates in secret. He Hua gives the fugitives shelter when other households turn them away 4.

Lotus Town and Black Kui Ridge

Yin helps Ning Que protect He Hua from Treasure Abundance Hall’s enforcers. He kills Wang Hu, escorts He Hua safely through the crowd, and subsequently kills fifty-six enforcers. Inside the gambling hall, he defeats Qian Zhao’s hired warrior Mukhali and kills twenty-five steppe men 6 7.

With Lotus Town’s exits guarded, Yin contacts the Qingzhou branch for reinforcements. He receives news by crow that flooding has destroyed much of the branch’s equipment 8 9.

On Black Kui Ridge, he kills a bandit leader and eighteen followers. His later attempt to intimidate the stronghold with a Flowing Sand seal fails because most of the local bandits do not recognize it. Qi Shanhe’s arriving force ends the confrontation 9 10 11.

During the campaign against Magistrate Qian Taizhong, Yin intercepts Commander Huang Tong in combat. After Huang’s surrender, he publicly identifies Ning Que as Ning Yuanzhou’s son and Flowing Sand’s next Grandmaster 14 15.

Qingzhou City and Return to Headquarters

Yin enters Qingzhou City in disguise with Ning Que’s group. The bounty on Zhuge Qing and the closure of the city gates obstruct their planned rendezvous with headquarters 18 21.

He remains focused on Ning Que’s safety while helping assess the assassination plot. Once the group suspects that Zhuge Qing’s own father commissioned the bounty, Yin acknowledges the danger but argues that they cannot remain trapped in the city indefinitely 26 29 31.

During the breakout, Yin cuts through escort fighters and bounty hunters, shreds Liu Ningzhi’s attacking silk, and continues supporting Ning Que despite being wounded. The group eventually leaves Qingzhou and reunites with Flowing Sand’s main force 34 35 37 39.

At Water-Moon Grotto-Heaven, Yin kneels with the assembled followers to recognize Ning Que as Juzi. When Giant Hammer later questions the organization’s prospects, Yin threatens to kill him for undermining everyone’s resolve. Ning Que interrupts their confrontation with news that Ning Yuanzhou is alive 44 45.

Appearance

• Clothing: Wears black; his battlefield appearance is described as ghostlike 14.
• Voice: Terribly hoarse, sounding as though his vocal cords have been burned. The passage does not confirm an actual burn injury 4.
• Presence: Carries a murderous aura alongside an impression of cold, desolate loneliness 4.
• Gaze: Frightening enough that householders shut their doors before he can explain himself 4.

Personality

Yin Jiuyou is fiercely loyal to Ning Yuanzhou’s legacy and treats protecting Ning Que as his central mission. His loyalty can become coercive: he permits Giant Hammer to leave Flowing Sand, but threatens him for weakening the remaining members’ commitment 7 26 45.

His compassion coexists with ruthless practicality. He protects He Hua and describes his cause as serving all living beings, yet accepts that securing the group’s escape may require returning Zhuge Qing to a dangerous household. He also favors concealment over unnecessary clashes with government troops 4 6 31.

His guarded demeanor occasionally gives way to dry humor. While waiting outside the Flower Delight House, he jokes with Qi Shanhe about Ning Que’s presumed romantic inexperience, but reacts angrily when Qi turns the teasing toward him 20.

Abilities & Skills

Wavebreaker Saber Technique

A swift saber art that overwhelms an opponent through sustained pressure 7.

• Wounds Mukhali and steadily exhausts his ability to defend 7.
• Its assault makes Mukhali feel as though he is fighting a waterfall plunging from the heavens 7.
• Ends their duel by knocking Mukhali backward 7.

Saber Energy and Battlefield Combat

• Releases a saber strike with energy extending several meters, cutting Liu Ningzhi’s internally reinforced silk into shreds 35.
• Sweeps through groups of opponents with his long saber during the Qingzhou battle 34.
• Throws his black saber like a javelin, impaling multiple charging escorts 37.
• Ning Que estimates himself roughly equal to Yin after obtaining thirty years of internal energy; this is Ning Que’s assessment, not a stated cultivation rank for Yin 26.

Improvised Weapons and Unarmed Strikes

• Launches chopsticks into enemies’ throats and eyes, killing several thugs and injuring more than a dozen within seconds 7.
• Kicks an attacker dozens of meters across Treasure Abundance Hall 7.

Escort Experience and Field Coordination

• Guides Ning Que toward headquarters and coordinates the Qingzhou branch rendezvous through messages carried by a crow 4 8 9.
• Recognizes the danger posed by large assassination bounties from his earlier escort work 21.
• Explains how internal force allows Liu Ningzhi to make soft silk behave like steel 35.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Black saber — A weapon as tall as a man, sharpened before the Qingzhou breakout and used in both close combat and throwing attacks 31 33 37.
• Blood-drinking blade — His personal blade, which he prepares to draw when Mukhali’s men threaten Ning Que. It is not explicitly identified as the same weapon as his black saber 7.
• Temporary saber — Discards it during the Mukhali fight after its edge curls 7.
• Black iron Flowing Sand seal — An organizational token that Luo Tong eventually recognizes as indicating Yin’s substantial standing within Flowing Sand 10 11.

Relationships

• Ning Que — Rescued successor and protected leader. Yin escorts him toward headquarters, defends him in battle, and affirms his right to inherit Ning Yuanzhou’s position 2 15 26 44.
• Ning Yuanzhou — Former Grandmaster whose legacy underpins Yin’s loyalty to Ning Que 7 15 45.
• Mu Lingfeng — Flowing Sand leader who assigns Yin the mission to retrieve Ning Que 2.
• Qi Shanhe — Fellow fighter and traveling companion; shares jokes with Yin and provokes his temper through personal teasing 19 20.
• Mu Yuwei — Ally who supplies intelligence about Qingzhou’s factions and the threat to Zhuge Qing 20 21 29.
• He Hua — Civilian who shelters Yin and Ning Que; Yin later helps rescue her and escorts her safely home 4 6.
• Zhuge Qing — Protected member of the traveling group, though Yin prioritizes their escape when her safety conflicts with their mission 26 31 37.
• Giant Hammer — Fellow Flowing Sand member whom Yin threatens for spreading disillusionment; their confrontation nearly becomes a fight 45.

Notable Quotes

“I've forgotten... At first, it was to avenge my mother. Later... it was for all living beings!” 6

“If you want to leave Flowing Sand, I won't stop you. But if you shake everyone's resolve, don't blame me for killing you...” 45