Zhuge Qing

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Zhuge Qing (诸葛青)
Alias(es)	Qing’er; addressed as the commandery princess 31 32
Gender	Female 24
Affiliation	Zhuge family; later Flowing Sand 21 33
Occupation/Role	Qingzhou governor’s daughter; aspiring wandering champion; Flowing Sand member 21 33
Family	Raised by Zhuge Jingcheng as his daughter; her biological paternity becomes a source of conflict 29 31 39
Status	Alive; with Flowing Sand when Ning Que departs for the Skeleton Desert 44 47
First Appearance	Mentioned as Zhuge Jingcheng’s runaway daughter 17; identified by name during the Flower Delight House events 20

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Early martial training; no named realm documented	21	Her father reluctantly supports her training after recognizing her talent with blades. She acquires enough skill to feel confident about leaving home to uphold justice.
First kill and active battlefield participation	36	Kills an attacker by piercing his throat with her sword. Ning Que’s encouragement helps her recover from the shock and continue fighting beside him. She remains unable to defend herself against a mass crossbow volley.

Background / History

Upbringing and Repeated Escapes

Zhuge Qing grows up under the protection of Qingzhou’s governor, Zhuge Jingcheng. He wants her to become a refined young lady, but she prefers swords, spears, and staffs to literary pursuits. After repeatedly scolding her, he recognizes her martial talent and reluctantly nurtures it. The family steward, Liang Bo, largely raises her while Jingcheng is occupied with official duties 21 32.

She first runs away on the day of her coming-of-age ceremony at fourteen, describing her goal as “roaming the world to uphold justice.” By the Qingzhou crisis, she has escaped the governor’s residence no fewer than ten times 21.

Her mother, Jingcheng’s first wife, had an affair with a powerful dignitary serving the First Prince. After the prince’s faction lost the succession struggle, she killed herself rather than face punishment. Jingcheng later questions Qing’s parentage and whether he can trust her 25 29. Flowing Sand initially treats the connection between this family history and the bounty on Qing as speculation; subsequent events identify Jingcheng as the force behind the attempts on her life 29 31.

Flower Delight House and the Assassination Bounty

Disguised as a male scholar, Zhuge Qing visits the Flower Delight House and is selected alongside Ning Que to accompany its star courtesan, Liu Ningzhi. Liu’s zither music affects men but not women, allowing her to confirm Qing’s sex. Her plan is to control another guest with Heartless Gu and have him kill Qing 20 26.

Ning Que leads Qing away through the woods and borrows her Fish-Intestine Soft Sword to kill their pursuers. Witnessing the bloodshed frightens her and undermines her romantic view of the martial world. On Flower Street, he kisses her to make them appear to be a couple meeting secretly, allowing the searchers to pass. It is her first kiss, and she initially wants to slap him 23 24.

After abandoning her male disguise, Qing thanks Ning Que and agrees to accompany his group—on the condition that he teach her the saber technique she witnessed. The group also needs her as leverage to persuade her father to open Qingzhou’s sealed gates 24.

Shelter with Ning Que

With no spare room at the inn, Qing stays in Ning Que’s room and sleeps on bedding on the floor. He judges her talented but says she cannot learn his saber technique, offering basic self-defense instruction instead. When soldiers search the inn, he hides her in a compartment behind a wardrobe 25 26 27.

Hearing Mu Yuwei address Ning Que as “Little Juzi” exposes his connection to the rebels. Although frightened, Qing closes the door he leaves ajar rather than escaping. She later overhears the group’s plan to use her custody to pressure her father, but still remains with them 27 28.

During her confinement, she tries to contribute by cooking, scrubbing floors, and doing other chores. The possibility of being returned home shocks her, even though she initially agrees to prepare for departure without protesting 30 31.

Joining Flowing Sand and Escaping Qingzhou

Before reaching the city gate, Ning Que removes his facial disguise, apologizes for concealing his identity, and gives Qing his cloak. With her father refusing to open the gates and armed pursuers closing in, she asks Ning Que to take her with him. She then declares that she is not afraid to join the rebels, even after he warns that Flowing Sand intends to overthrow Great Li 32 33.

During the battle, Qing makes her first kill and begins fighting beside Ning Que. When Black Qilin ambushes her, Ning Que intercepts him and severs his arm. Qing asks that Qilin be spared because he treated her kindly during childhood, and Ning Que honors her request 36 37.

Qing eventually calls up to her father, asking him to stop the casualties and let the group leave. Jingcheng aims an arrow at her but cannot bring himself to shoot. Faced with Flowing Sand’s army outside the walls, he opens the gates, allowing Qing and the others to escape 39.

Life at Flowing Sand’s Headquarters

Qing enters Water-Moon Grotto-Heaven with the reunited organization and kneels with its followers when Ning Que formally assumes the position of Juzi 44.

Before his solo mission to rescue Ning Yuanzhou from the Skeleton Desert, she prepares food and water for Ning Que and calls after him to return alive 47.

Appearance

Zhuge Qing has exceptional classical beauty, with a hint of heroic spirit attributed to her years of martial training 24.

• Hair: Long, silken hair, initially bound up as part of her male disguise 24.
• Face and eyes: Features likened to a painting and clear autumn waters; bright, dewy eyes 24.
• Voice: Compared to an oriole singing among green branches 24.
• Disguise: Presents herself as a male scholar, but Ning Que recognizes that she is a woman before she reveals it 20 24.

Personality

Qing is curious, rebellious, and strongly drawn to martial adventure. She rejects the cultivated accomplishments expected of her upbringing in favor of weapons and the ideal of righting wrongs. Even after Ning Que’s violence frightens her, her desire to learn his techniques outweighs her reluctance to accompany him 21 23 24.

Her courage develops without erasing her fear or compassion. Learning that Ning Que leads rebels terrifies her, yet she stays and eventually chooses to join them openly. Her first kill leaves her trembling, but his reassurance helps her continue fighting. She also intervenes to save Black Qilin despite his attack on her 27 33 36 37.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship

Qing possesses blade talent and prior martial training, though her battlefield experience is limited 21 36.

• Kills a saber-wielding attacker with a thrust through his throat 36.
• Continues fighting alongside Ning Que after overcoming the initial shock of killing 36.
• Requires protection against mass crossbow fire and Black Qilin’s ambush 36 37.
• Requests instruction in Ning Que’s saber technique, but he declines to teach it; her mastery of that technique is not established 24 25.

Unaffected by Liu Ningzhi’s Zither Music

Liu’s music has no effect on Qing because it targets men specifically—not because Qing demonstrates general resistance to hypnosis or mental attacks 26.

• Her lack of reaction helps Liu confirm that the disguised scholar is a woman 26.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Fish-Intestine Soft Sword — A delicately crafted flexible sword with a supple blade. Ning Que borrows it during their escape from the Flower Delight House and uses it to strike around opposing weapons 23.
• Male scholar disguise — Includes bound-up hair; abandoned after Ning Que admits he has already recognized her sex 24.
• Ning Que’s cloak — Given to her before the confrontation at Qingzhou’s gate during the June snowfall 32.

Relationships

• Ning Que — Rescuer, protector, and later her Juzi. Their relationship develops through her curiosity about him, his concealed identity, and her decision to leave with him. The escape kiss is tactical; a formal romantic relationship is not established 23 24 27 32 33 47.
• Zhuge Jingcheng — The father who raises her. His early protectiveness gives way to distrust over her parentage and willingness to sacrifice her, but he ultimately cannot shoot her and permits the group’s escape 21 29 30 39.
• Her mother — Jingcheng’s deceased first wife. Her affair and allegiance to the First Prince’s faction become central to Jingcheng’s resentment toward Qing 25 29.
• Liang Bo — Family steward and principal childhood caregiver; Jingcheng describes him as effectively another father to her 32.
• Black Qilin — Jingcheng’s adopted deathsworn assassin, who was kind to Qing when she was young. She persuades Ning Que to spare him after his ambush 37.
• Yin Jiuyou — Ally who warns against returning her to Jingcheng and promises to help her escape safely 31.
• Liu Ningzhi — Would-be assassin whose courtesan persona conceals an attempt to arrange Qing’s murder through a controlled guest 20 26.

Notable Quotes

“I'd really like to learn those saber techniques you used earlier. Can you teach me?” 24

“Young Master Ning, take me with you!” 32

“Father! Don't cause any more casualties! Let us go!” 39

Trivia

• Her killing of an escort awards Ning Que 50 Karma Points through the Background Editing System, confirming that her actions count after joining Flowing Sand. These points go to Ning Que, not Qing herself 36.