Jingliu

Biodata

Background / History

Jingliu spends years away on military campaigns. Her swordsmanship distinguishes her even among the Cloud Knights, allowing her to charge repeatedly through enemy ranks alone. Despite her high position and considerable income, her home contains little beyond essential furniture, a stone table, stools, and a weapons rack 6 11 12.

She takes Jing Yuan as her disciple during his early teens and teaches him until he is nearly twenty, withholding none of her knowledge. While instructing him to slay the mara-struck, she tells him to show her no mercy if she eventually suffers the same fate 23 24 43.

Jingliu meets Xianyu through Baiheng, who invites him to share their restaurant table. Repeated meals and drinking sessions bring the three closer, although Baiheng and Xianyu initially do most of the talking. Jingliu’s attraction develops from his considerate personality and composure: he responds patiently to spilled wine and takes others’ feelings into account after a starskiff accident 2 42.

Appearance

• White hair and red eyes, with her irises described as clear as rubies 2 11.
• Striking beauty and an icy expression that make her seem unapproachable 2.
• Shoulder armor worn during military service and removed when she returns to daily life 6.
• Noticeably shorter than Xianyu; his jacket hangs loosely on her, reaching her knees 10 11.
• Red ears and a flushed face when embarrassed, particularly during intimate moments with Xianyu or teasing about their relationship 9 11 47.

Personality

Jingliu is taciturn, decisive, and direct. Her military manner carries into ordinary conversation: an invitation can sound like an order, and uncertainty can leave her wearing an expression that strangers mistake for anger. Friends who know her well recognize that her cold face does not necessarily mean she is upset 25 28 29.

Beneath that reserve, she is caring but cautious about attachment. Jing Yuan believes she maintains emotional distance so that she can act decisively if someone close to her becomes mara-struck. She accepts her own eventual death calmly and discusses it openly with friends; Dan Feng nevertheless notes that her mental state shows no warning signs of mara in the supplied events 8 24.

Romance exposes a less assured side of her. She struggles to tell Baiheng that she likes Xianyu, becomes embarrassed when her friends uncover her feelings, and earnestly follows their questionable courtship advice. Although ordinarily untroubled by discussing her age, she is hurt by remarks about the age and seniority gap between herself and Xianyu 8 41 43 47 49.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship

Jingliu is described as a peerless martial genius whose swordsmanship outpaces other Cloud Knights 2 6.

• Battlefield dominance: Repeatedly enters and exits enemy ranks alone; even the aura of her blade frightens opponents away from its edge 6.
• Instinctive technique: Remains overwhelmingly effective while drunk, repeatedly disarming Xianyu before he can last three moves 12.
• Fine control: Holds back during their three-hour spar so that Xianyu suffers no injuries, although stray sword energy shreds his clothing 12.
• Dueling experience: Regularly spars with Dan Feng. Their familiar bouts involve anticipating and countering one another’s movements; he fails to defeat her in their documented training-ground duel 30 31.
• Weapon independence: Uses a casually selected training-ground sword rather than her usual weapon when challenging Dan Feng 30.

Physical Strength and Agility

• Strength: Moves a two-meter moon lamp into her courtyard herself, removing the door to make it fit 41.
• Grappling: Pulls Xianyu back by his collar and pins him against her courtyard’s stone table 11.
• Agility: Flips into the air during her duel with Dan Feng and attacks from above 30.

Martial Instruction

• Comprehensive teaching: Shares everything she knows with Jing Yuan, provided he is willing to learn; her methods are demanding rather than gentle 24 43.
• Talent assessment: Praises Xianyu’s ability to spar without injury, judges his talent superior to Jing Yuan’s, and suggests he could serve as a Cloud Lieutenant or Strategist 28 29.

Practical Limitations

• Spicy food: Dislikes it and reacts to spicy hot pot with tears and coughing; later chokes on a peppercorn in Peppery Soup milk tea 8 27.
• Alcohol: Usually outlasts Baiheng during drinking sessions, but strong berry wine leaves her dizzy. Combined with prolonged sparring, it eventually puts her to sleep 9 10 12.
• Cooking: Does not know how to prepare a complete meal. During the group’s attempt, she chops fish with its scales and innards still present; they ultimately order delivery 48 50.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Sword: Her principal weapon; the supplied passages do not name her usual sword 6 30.
• Jade Abacus: Used for messages, money transfers, navigation, and reading her friends’ courtship guide 25 30 41.
• Weapons rack: Keeps swords and sabers in her otherwise sparsely furnished courtyard 11.
• Moon Lamp: Xianyu’s accidentally oversized return gift. She brings it home despite its size and posts a photograph thanking him 41 43.
• Courtship guide: Compiled by Jing Yuan, Dan Feng, and Yingxing; includes advice on assertiveness, displaying strength, gifts, and confession 31 41 43.

Relationships

• Xianyu — Friend and romantic interest. Jingliu is drawn to his emotional steadiness and consideration rather than merely his appearance. She seeks opportunities to spend time with him, while he repeatedly interprets her affection as care for a younger friend. Their relationship is not confirmed as dating in the supplied events 30 42 46 50.
• Jing Yuan — Disciple and Xianyu’s friend. He helps arrange opportunities for them to meet, supplies Xianyu’s address, and reluctantly participates in the courtship planning. He also complains about her financial favoritism toward Xianyu 23 25 31.
• Baiheng — Best friend and the person who introduces her to Xianyu. Initially unaware of Jingliu’s feelings, Baiheng repeatedly tries to match him with other women; after learning the truth, she supports Jingliu and comforts her over the age gap 2 47 48 49.
• Dan Feng — Close friend and frequent sparring partner. His offhand gift suggestion leads to the severed-Abomination package, and he deliberately leaves Jingliu and Xianyu together after dinner 5 9 30.
• Yingxing — Friend and enthusiastic adviser. Supports the Abomination gift, helps compile the courtship guide, and joins the failed cooking attempt 5 24 48 50.
• Teng Xiao — Luofu general whose military activities and training-ground gatherings Jingliu attends 25 43 44.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Notable Quotes

“He isn't my lover. He's just a junior I know.” 5

“We're friends. There's no need to be so formal.” 28

“A wedding feast? You're getting far too impatient. … Let's let things take their course.” 31

Trivia

• The author identifies Jingliu as the novel’s sole romantic lead. Her affection begins “maxed out,” but the romance is explicitly a slow burn 1.
• The current-life storyline takes place during the High-Cloud Quintet era, eight hundred years before the game’s main storyline 1.
• Her ordinary expenses are minimal: she generally eats at the Cloud Knights’ mess hall and buys only enough clothing for her needs, despite earning approximately 300,000 Strales per month 41 42.
• She mentally changes the courtship guide’s references from “women” to “men” before applying its advice to Xianyu 41.
• Her milk-money transfer to Xianyu covers more than a hundred bottles; Jing Yuan receives enough for only one after protesting 31.