Ya Fei

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Ya Fei (雅妃)
Gender	Female
Age	In her twenties; six or seven years older than Xia Kong 11 39
Affiliation	Mittel Family; Wutan City branch of the Mittel Auction House 1 36
Occupation/Role	Manager and chief auctioneer of Wutan City’s Mittel Auction House 1
Cultivation	Two-Star Dou Shi; combat strength comparable to a Five- or Six-Star Dou Shi 36 39
Status	Alive at the end of the confrontation with Lei Le and Carl 41
First Appearance	1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Two-Star Dou Zhe	6	Retrospectively identified as her cultivation at her previous meeting with Xia Kong.
Three-Star Dou Zhe	6	Advances within half a month, crediting Xia Kong’s potatoes and Spicy Jade.
One-Star Dou Shi	11	Breaks through a few days before visiting Xia Kong, after nearly a year of companionship and access to his cultivation resources.
Two-Star Dou Shi	36	Her actual fighting strength rivals a Five- or Six-Star Dou Shi. Yao Lao subsequently observes her unusually strong physique, soul power, and Dou Qi control 39.

Xia Kong’s later gift of spiritual fruits is described as sufficient to support her advancement to Da Dou Shi, but that breakthrough is not documented in the supplied chapters 16.

Background

Ya Fei established her authority in the Wutan branch through years of work. When she first arrived, her strongest subordinate was Gu Ni, a Second-Rank Alchemist with Dou Shi cultivation. By Lei Le’s arrival, she controlled most of the branch, but lacked powerful backing within the Mittel Family 36.

Her position remained vulnerable to family scrutiny: Xia Kong recognized that an apparently underpriced sale of valuable technique scrolls could damage her standing. Later, Lei Le exploited his grandfather’s position as a Dou Ling elder to interfere with her business and turn branch personnel against her 3 36.

Appearance

• Figure and bearing: Graceful, with a slender waist and pronounced curves; her movements and expressions are repeatedly described as elegant and alluring 1 11.
• Hair ornaments: Wears pearls and jade in her first appearance 1.
• Clothing: Appears in red robes and a floor-length red dress, later wearing a fitted black qipao 1 6 11 15.
• Height: Almost half a head shorter than Xia Kong 11.

Personality

Ya Fei is shrewd, observant, and decisive. She notices the youthful awkwardness behind Xia Kong’s mysterious disguise, understands his unspoken request for privacy, and later detects his discreet interest in several Xiao Clan girls. Her playful teasing frequently unsettles him, though his affection can leave her equally embarrassed 1 8 13.

She treats trust as a business principle rather than merely a bargaining tool. When Gu Ni suggests investigating Xia Kong and his goods, she refuses to pry beyond the transaction. She also protects his identity when Xiao Yan asks about the source of the auction house’s spiritual plants 3 13.

Her tenderness sometimes leads her to misread Xia Kong. She interprets his involuntary tear over his adoptive parents as suppressed grief and later assumes his calm after killing the Spring Breeze Pavilion’s guards conceals distress. Both times, she tries to comfort him despite his different understanding of his own emotions 9 15.

Ya Fei protects loyal subordinates and remains composed under pressure. She strikes Lei Le after he injures Xiao Qin, stands between her maid and his guard, and relies on preparations made before the confrontation rather than accepting Xiao Yan’s conditional offer of help 39 40.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation and Combat

Her improved foundation allows her to fight substantially above her nominal Two-Star Dou Shi cultivation 36 39.

• Physical strength: Yao Lao compares her physique to that of a Tier 2 Magical Beast 39.
• Soul power: Far exceeds that of ordinary cultivators at her level 39.
• Dou Qi control: Described by Yao Lao as so refined that it borders on perfection 39.
• Close-range force: Sends Lei Le flying with a slap that breaks bones and teeth 39.
• Limit: Her released Dou Qi is comparable to a Six-Star Dou Shi’s, but insufficient to withstand a Da Dou Shi’s full assault head-on 39.

Commerce and Negotiation

Ya Fei uses the auction house’s stock, capital connections, and favorable terms to secure valuable suppliers 1 3 7.

• Reduces Xia Kong’s initial commission from five percent to two percent, then waives a later commission entirely 1 7.
• Tests the unfamiliar potato herself before agreeing to a discreet private purchase 2.
• Uses interest in Spicy Jade among influential people in the imperial capital to obtain suitable Dou Techniques for Xia Kong 7.
• Distinguishes bulk pricing from individual auction prices when arranging a 1.4-million-gold-coin barter with Xiao Yan 38.

Observation and Intelligence Gathering

Ya Fei combines close observation with the Mittel Family’s intelligence network 1 8 9.

• Uncovers the Ao Ba Family’s role in the deaths of Xia Kong’s adoptive parents 9.
• Recognizes Xiao Yan beneath his black-robed alchemist disguise with help from Xia Kong’s hints, but continues dealing with him without revealing her knowledge 11.
• Supplies intelligence and a timing signal for Xia Kong’s attack on the Spring Breeze Pavilion 14.
• Limit: Finds no further clues to Xia Kong’s biological origins because his deceased adoptive parents were the only known witnesses 9.

Defensive Planning

Ya Fei and Xia Kong install concealed sleeping-smoke mechanisms throughout the auction house as a nonlethal defense against powerful intruders 40.

• Prepares to activate them against Lei Le’s faction when the branch’s divided loyalties leave her exposed 39 40.
• Does not deploy them before Xia Kong’s arrival changes the confrontation 40.

Equipment / Items

• Storage Ring — Used to carry and retrieve Dou Technique scrolls 7.
• Jade boxes — Used to seal and store consigned Spicy Jade 7.
• Marrow-Washing Fruit and three level-two cherry tomatoes — Gifts from Xia Kong when he requests help investigating his parents; the fruit can improve her cultivation aptitude 8.
• 220 mature spiritual fruits — Xia Kong gives her 100 level-two and 120 level-three fruits before leaving Wutan City. Intended to support her cultivation rather than be sold, they include resources capable of strengthening her body, aptitude, and soul 16.
• Tier 3 Blueberries — Keeps healing produce available and gives one to Xiao Qin, whose facial injuries disappear almost immediately after eating it 39.

Relationships

• Xia Kong — Supplier, trusted business partner, and romantic attachment. Their year of shared meals develops into mutual affection, embraces, and a kiss; she protects his secrets and supports his plans despite fearing for his safety 9 11 16.
• Xiao Qin — Trusted maid and closest confidante. Ya Fei raises her standing, provides cultivation resources, and personally defends her from Lei Le 9 36 39.
• Gu Ni — Branch subordinate and Second-Rank Alchemist. He respects her refusal to investigate Xia Kong behind his back and praises her judgment 3 36.
• Xiao Yan — Customer and consignor of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. She conceals her recognition of his disguise and protects Xia Kong’s identity during their dealings 11 13 38.
• Nalan Yanran — Prior acquaintance and customer. Ya Fei sympathizes with her regret over the engagement dispute and sells her five Spicy Jades 8.
• Xiao Yi Xian — Another woman close to Xia Kong. Although her arrival briefly saddens Ya Fei, she greets her courteously after Xia Kong’s sincere gaze reassures her 40.
• Lei Le Mittel — Unwanted suitor and political antagonist who attempts to force her into marriage and seize her spiritual plants. Her followers kill him during Xia Kong’s confrontation with his guard 36 41.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Establishing Xia Kong’s Trading Network

Ya Fei becomes Xia Kong’s principal auction-house contact, turning his unusual produce into funds and obtaining the cultivation materials he needs 1 3 7.

Transaction	Terms	Chapter
First Spicy Jade consignment	Ten plants sell for 300,000 gold coins; Xia Kong receives 294,000 after the reduced commission.	1
Private potato purchase	Agrees to 40,000 gold coins per potato after testing its effects.	2
First technique purchase	Supplies Azure Wood Sword Art, Wood Hardening, and Scorching Wood Palm for 600,000 gold coins.	3
Further cultivation support	Delivers 350,000 gold coins without commission and obtains Green Leaf Wandering Steps and Blossom Sword Cluster.	7
Sale to Nalan Yanran	Five Spicy Jades at 40,000 gold coins each.	8
Bulk barter with Xiao Yan	Exchanges ten tier-two potatoes and ten tier-two Spicy Jades for forty bottles of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid; each side is valued at 1.4 million gold coins.	38

When Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid enters the market as a competing cultivation aid, she informs Xia Kong and continues handling his business as he responds by supplying potatoes 10.

Investigating the Ao Ba Family

• Arranges a protected residence for Xia Kong while investigating his parents and the Ao Ba Family 8 9.
• Discovers that his adoptive parents were killed after leaving Wutan City and that his adoptive mother had escaped an Ao Ba-owned brothel 9.
• Helps make the Spring Breeze Pavilion attack possible through intelligence and a timing signal, without participating directly in the fighting 14.
• Accepts responsibility for rescuing and relocating the exploited women, promising them a chance to begin new lives 15.

Affection and Separation

• Visits Xia Kong roughly every three days during the initial investigation; their meals become a regular part of their companionship over the following year 9 11.
• Agrees to attend Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran’s Three-Year Agreement with him 8.
• Accompanies him to the Xiao Clan’s coming-of-age ceremony and invents a younger-cousin identity to avoid disclosing his background 12.
• Promises to wait for him in the imperial capital when he announces his departure, but subsequently delays returning for a year because her cultivation gains and valuable resources could attract family jealousy 11 16.

Lei Le’s Interference

Lei Le’s arrival disrupts Ya Fei’s plans to auction spiritual plants in batches. He confiscates desirable items under the pretext of inspecting auction stock and deliberately undermines her performance to force her to meet him 36.

• Confronts the interference when it threatens a valuable alchemist client’s consignment 36.
• Retaliates after Lei Le injures Xiao Qin and prepares to use the auction house’s hidden defenses against his guard 39 40.
• Welcomes Xia Kong’s return without openly challenging Xiao Yi Xian’s presence beside him 40.
• Entrusts the remaining enemies to her followers while Xia Kong fights Carl; her followers kill Lei Le, and Xia Kong kills the guard 41.

Notable Quotes

“Rest assured! I won't betray your trust.” 7

“Stay as long as you like. Better yet, treat this place as your own home.” 9

“I only hope you'll be careful in everything you do and always put your own safety first. I'll be waiting for your return in the imperial capital.” 11

Trivia

• Her stated cultivation ambition is to form Dou Qi Wings and fly; she initially considers realms capable of tearing through space beyond her hopes 8.
• Xia Kong refers to her as the future Golden Empress when admiring her ability to read subtle expressions and behavior 13.
• Rumors portray her as incapable of cultivation, but Yao Lao’s examination reveals an exceptional foundation that he attributes to the spiritual plants 39.