Yuanbao

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Yuanbao (元宝)
Alias(es)	“Mimi” and “Doggy,” used by Xia Wanwan; Yuanbao objects to “Doggy” after taking human form 211 358 480.
Species/Race	Cat spirit; originally a tomcat who cultivated for a hundred years 310 354.
Gender	Originally male; asks Xia Wanwan to transform her into a woman and receives a female body 563.
Affiliation	Golden Mountain Temple, where Yuanbao cultivated; later the Ninth Prince’s Residence 310 515.
Occupation/Role	Xia Wanwan’s pet, companion, and supernatural protector 312 361.
Status	Alive; mutually committed to marrying Jing Wu, though their wedding is not shown in the provided account 563.

Power Progression

No named cultivation realms are given for Yuanbao. The documented changes concern cultivation, spiritual power, and physical form.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Hundred-year cat spirit	310 354	Retrospectively described as a tomcat who cultivated through Buddhist scripture and incense offerings at Golden Mountain Temple.
Human form	210 211	Zi Xing makes Yuanbao swallow Xia Wanwan’s cultivation-enhancing elixir, which can temporarily conceal Heavenly Secrets. Golden light envelops the cat, revealing a young man.
Increased spiritual power	489	An elixir from Wanwan considerably strengthens Yuanbao’s spiritual power; Yuanbao then agrees to meet the Ruler of Eastern Lin.
Female human form	563	Wanwan changes Yuanbao’s body at Yuanbao’s request. This is a physical transformation, not a stated cultivation-rank advancement.

Background / History

Yuanbao lived around Golden Mountain Temple, catching mice and pursuing other cats. Cultivation developed through listening to Buddhist scripture and receiving incense offerings. Yuanbao describes a largely vegetarian temple diet, supplemented by occasional meat brought by a visitor, and explicitly distinguishes this upbringing from gu witchcraft sustained by mutilated souls and bloody sacrifices 310 482 544.

More than twenty years before revealing the story to Wanwan, Yuanbao encountered the dying Wushuang near the temple. Wushuang, Eastern Lin’s youngest prime minister, had suffered repeated sexual abuse by his ruler. To protect his childhood fiancée, Rong Xue, he broke their engagement and went to Great Xia as a spy. Before dying, he entrusted Yuanbao with a crescent-shaped jade pendant and asked that Rong Xue be told he had remained faithful—unless she had already married 544.

Wushuang offered the cat anything he possessed as payment. Captivated by his beauty, Yuanbao chose his appearance, which later became Yuanbao’s human face. Initially unable to provide a proper grave, Yuanbao eventually returned with Wanwan to bury the exposed remains securely 544.

Yuanbao also hints that an unnamed “old bastard” harmed him in the past. Wanwan’s family suspects he was neutered as a kitten, but the account does not confirm their inference 350.

Appearance

• Human build: Tall and slender, with delicate, almost feminine features and slender, jade-like fingers 211 488.
• Eyes: Reddish-gold 211.
• Voice: Initially described as soft and androgynous; Yuanbao can adopt a sweet, coy register when presenting as a woman 211 232.
• Clothing: Enjoys feminine clothing, including a smoky-purple gauze dress with light makeup and a red dress worn to Emerald Mist House 317 488 493.
• Cat features: Can display and conceal cat ears while in human form 544.
• Borrowed face: Looks exactly like Wushuang because Yuanbao took his appearance as payment for carrying out his dying request 544.
• Later form: After Wanwan’s transformation, Yuanbao has a female body while retaining her striking beauty 563.

Personality

Yuanbao is vain, proud, flirtatious, and openly attracted to handsome young men. After becoming human, he insists on preserving his dignified image and refuses to let Wanwan ride him outside where others might see. He initially treats flirtation as harmless, failing to understand why Jing Wu becomes jealous 211 316 317.

That self-confidence supports a talent for performance. Yuanbao can cry convincingly, play a wronged lover, and feign romantic devotion or helplessness to manipulate an audience. These acts disrupt Liu Shi’s unsuitable marriage negotiations and later draw out the Eastern Lin ruler’s possessiveness and political ambitions 234 236 494.

Beneath the teasing, Yuanbao is compassionate toward vulnerable people and spirits. Yuanbao avoids destroying the dead infant girls at the Abandoned Infant Pagoda, comforts Liu Zi Xing over his parents’ fate, and refuses to leave Liuli alone after her father abandons her 354 439 518.

Yuanbao values mutual happiness rather than one-sided suffering in love. Rong Xue’s lifelong fidelity deeply moves her, and her relationship with Jing Wu eventually shifts from evasive teasing to reassurance, affection, and a direct proposal of marriage 301 563.

Abilities & Skills

Transformation

• Changes between cat and human forms, including returning to cat form while exhausted 220.
• Can conceal cat ears in human form 544.
• Cannot independently achieve the later female transformation; Yuanbao asks Wanwan to perform it 563.

Spiritual Combat and Buddhist Light

• Uses spiritual power in close combat and ranged attacks. At the Abandoned Infant Pagoda, its Buddhist light painfully penetrates Gu Ming’s divine soul 354.
• Protects Li Qian and others while holding attacking evil spirits to a standstill 245.
• Defeats Li Siqin in only a few exchanges, then seals her spiritual power so ordinary guards can imprison her 273.
• Effortlessly scatters Yu’s servants and warriors, leaving them trapped in night-soil buckets 440.
• Overpowers Gu Ming’s weakened incarnation, which consists of a fragment of divine soul occupying another body 470.
• Is not invincible: Noble Lady Snow’s one-use Red Ghost Demonic Art leaves Yuanbao unable to resist a killing blow until Wanwan intervenes 265.

Flight, Teleportation, and Speed

• Flies using spiritual power and teleports directly beside an opponent 211 354.
• Carries Wanwan away faster than a carriage could travel 480.
• Helps save Consort Xian from a fall through extraordinary speed and teleportation 312.
• Sustained long-distance flight consumes stamina and spiritual power; the journey to the Eastern Lin border leaves Yuanbao sweating and breathing heavily 548.

Spirit Consumption and Sensing

• Swallows the Evil Spirit raised by Xie Jinqian, destroying it and causing backlash against its controller 211.
• After consuming that spirit, becomes the only person Wanwan identifies as able to sense its controller 211.
• Eats a roasted Divine Gu and asks whether Li Siqin’s family has any more because it tasted good 273.

Spiritual Examination and Support

• Examines Xia Qianlin’s sea of consciousness and recognizes his connection to the Five Elements Spirit Pearl 310.
• Advises that Qianlin cultivate magic arts, but declines to teach him because cats and humans cultivate differently 311.
• Magically stabilizes Jing Wu during a severe allergic reaction to fish, then seeks a physician 317.
• Transfers spiritual power into the injured Shen Chuanlian and later helps awaken him again 455 507.
• Identifies the Qilin power merging into Wanwan and suggests that comparable Phoenix power may help complete the process 507.
• Secretly supplies Wanwan with considerable spiritual power while she gives her heart blood to heal Liu Wan 531.
• Helps Ru Bin’s soul leave the mortal world and later gathers Shen Chuanlian’s remaining soul fragments for preservation 357 561.

Acting and Deception

• Uses feminine presentation, a coy voice, and convincing tears to pose as Liu Shi’s abandoned lover 232 234.
• Pretends to desire the Great Xia emperor to provoke the Eastern Lin ruler into revealing his intent to seize both Yuanbao and the throne 494.
• Maintains apparent helplessness until the ruler’s attendants withdraw, then knocks him unconscious with spiritual power 494.

Limits and Vulnerabilities

• Wanwan’s words can immobilize Yuanbao. The threat that she might turn him back into a cat is enough to secure his cooperation 211.
• High cultivation helps prevent serious injuries from forcing Yuanbao back into original form, but wounds can still require recuperation 220.
• Ordinary weapons can injure Yuanbao: Xia Qianhui accidentally uses a real blade during a staged incident, leaving a bleeding chest wound that Wanwan heals 392.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Returning Blade — Yuanbao’s recurring combat weapon. It is used against Noble Lady Snow, Gu Ming, and Shen Chuanlian; Xi Cha’s baleful aura intercepts the attempted strike against Shen 265 470.
• Ninth Prince’s token — Given by Jing Wu. Yuanbao uses it to compel Hezhou soldiers to report Eastern Lin spies 357.
• Crescent-shaped jade pendant — Wushuang’s keepsake for Rong Xue. Yuanbao preserves it and eventually delivers it to her 544 563.
• Purple jadeite bracelet — An exceptionally valuable gift from the Ruler of Eastern Lin. Yuanbao admires its quality but does not wear it to their appointment 492 493.
• Phoenix eggshell / Phoenix Shell — Yuanbao keeps the shell after hatching a phoenix, considering it a magical treasure. Later, a Phoenix Shell houses Shen Chuanlian’s surviving soul fragments in the hope of rebirth 544 561.
• Rosy Cloud Immortal Dress — Purchased and altered by Jing Wu for the anniversary of Yuanbao becoming human; he has not yet presented it in the documented scenes 492 493.

Relationships

• Xia Wanwan — Pet-owner relationship that becomes a close protective partnership. Wanwan accelerates Yuanbao’s cultivation and can compel obedience; Yuanbao affectionately accepts her “pet” claim and violently defends her from Steward Qiao 211 312 361.
• Jing Wu — Romantic partner and intended husband. Yuanbao is attracted to him immediately after taking human form. His jealousy and insecurity gradually give way to mutual affection and a promise to marry 211 317 493 563.
• Liu Wan — Trusted household member and collaborator. She directs the scheme to protect Liu Shi and objects when Xia Siheng considers using Yuanbao politically without asking what Yuanbao wants 236 480.
• Xia Siheng — Initially orders Yuanbao confined, but later defends Yuanbao against Xie Jinqian’s framing and treats the cat as part of the family 211 280.
• Liu Shi — Familiar acquaintance whom Yuanbao calls a “litter-box attendant.” Yuanbao’s staged romance helps end his proposed marriage to Li Qian, though he initially sees Yuanbao as a rival 232 234 236.
• Li Qian — Target of the matchmaking deception. She believes Yuanbao is a woman, becomes attracted to Yuanbao, and fights Liu Shi over whom Yuanbao should accompany 235 236.
• Gu Ming — Captured opponent who becomes a friend. Yuanbao wishes to prevent him and Zi Xing from fighting, but clashes with him over whether Shen Chuanlian should be resealed 354 439 469.
• Shen Chuanlian / Jiyan — A rescued stranger later identified as the Demon God. Yuanbao initially seeks to reseal and then kill him, but eventually participates in the shared plan against Heaven and helps preserve his soul after his sacrifice 455 469 470 558 561.
• Liu Zi Xing — Friend whom Yuanbao comforts after the revelation about his parents’ lingering souls 439.
• Princess Liuli — Receives Yuanbao’s protection after being abandoned at the embassy; Yuanbao brings her back rather than leaving her grieving in its secret passage 515 518.
• Wushuang — Source of Yuanbao’s human appearance and an enduring obligation. Yuanbao preserves his remains, remembers his suffering, and fulfills his final request to contact Rong Xue 544 563.
• Ruler of Eastern Lin — Predatory pursuer who mistakes Yuanbao for Wushuang’s reincarnation. Yuanbao exploits his fixation to expose his intentions and assist Consort Xian’s counterplot 489 494.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Human Transformation and Liu Shi’s Matchmaking

• Transformation and confinement: Wanwan’s elixir enables human form. Yuanbao’s attempt to leave fails when her thoughts immobilize him, and the Hidden Guards take him into custody to help locate the Evil Spirit’s controller 210 211.
• Failed marriage arrangement: At Liu Wan’s direction, Yuanbao poses as Liu Shi’s wronged lover. The performance exposes Li Qian’s intention to marry a man only for appearances, but unexpectedly makes both prospective spouses fight over Yuanbao 234 236.

Palace Defense and Hezhou

• Supernatural palace attacks: Yuanbao battles Noble Lady Snow, survives through Wanwan’s intervention, and later defeats and seals Li Siqin before accompanying Xia Siheng to rescue imperiled Daoists 265 273.
• Framing by Xie Jinqian: Yuanbao rejects responsibility for the scandal involving Commandery Princess Yan’er and accuses Xie of directing the earlier spirit attack against the Liu Residence 280.
• Royal proposals: Both the emperor and Xia Qianhui pursue Yuanbao under the mistaken belief that Yuanbao is a woman. Yuanbao reveals being male, embarrassing both 310 314.
• Abandoned Infant Pagoda: Yuanbao pursues Gu Ming for the Compass, restrains him without harming the trapped infant spirits, and brings him back to Wanwan’s household 354 358.
• Hezhou confrontation: Yuanbao protects Wanwan when Steward Qiao tries to have her taken as his son’s child bride, then assists the investigation around the Qiao family and the pagoda 361 370 392.

The Demon God and Eastern Lin’s Ruler

• Conflict over Shen: After helping save the injured Shen Chuanlian, Yuanbao learns his identity and fights Gu Ming over resealing him. An attempted killing strike is stopped by Xi Cha 455 469 470.
• Emerald Mist House: Following Wanwan’s counterplan, Yuanbao attends the ruler’s appointment, provokes his jealousy, incapacitates him, and leaves Consort Xian to carry out the next stage of the deception 492 493 494.
• Care after the coup: Yuanbao examines the unconscious Wanwan, helps Shen recover, and shelters Liuli after finding that nobody has come to retrieve her from the embassy 507 518.

Battle Against Heaven and Romantic Resolution

• Journey to Eastern Lin: Yuanbao carries Wanwan toward the war front after revealing Wushuang’s history and urging that the ruler receive no mercy 544 548.
• Challenge to the Heavenly Dao: Yuanbao joins the allies supporting Wanwan’s dangerous plan. After Shen’s sacrifice, Yuanbao and Gu Ming preserve his surviving soul fragments in a Phoenix Shell and Yuanbao reunites with Jing Wu 558 561.
• Fulfilled promise and commitment: Yuanbao delivers Wushuang’s pendant to the unmarried Rong Xue. After receiving a female body from Wanwan, she reconciles with Jing Wu, asks whether he wants to marry her, and receives his promise 563.