Sh...ev

Biodata

Background / History

Shirley introduces herself as someone from Dragon Country, although she uses a foreign given name and has returned from the United States. Her grandfather, Partridge Whistle, told her about supernatural phenomena during her childhood but stopped discussing them as she grew older. She believes he wanted to prevent her from following his path 46 176.

Partridge Whistle was the last Mountain-Moving Daoist and searched for the Huo Chenzhu. During an expedition to Western Xia Blackwater City with Elder Liao Chen and Thomas, Liao Chen died and Partridge Whistle lost an arm. He later settled in the United States. By the time Shirley’s family secret is revealed, her grandfather is dead and her father is missing 176.

Her father mailed her a golden mask, which she preserves as a clue. Her search for Jingjue Ancient City concerns both her ancestry and her survival, rather than archaeological interest alone 120 169.

Ghost Cave Curse

• Origin: A hereditary curse associated with the Zaglama Tribe and the Ghost Cave 176.
• Visible sign: An eye-shaped birthmark on her shoulder 176.
• Effects: According to Gu Cheng, after a bearer turns forty, their blood gradually becomes golden, eventually causing an agonizing death 176.
• Intended remedy: Shirley seeks the Huo Chenzhu in Jingjue Ancient City. Gu Cheng does not confirm that it can break her curse 176.
• Secrecy: After her grandfather’s death and her father’s disappearance, she believes no one else knows her secret. Gu Cheng shocks her by identifying it from her birthmark and family background 176.

Appearance

• Described as beautiful, with a striking figure and a mature air 60.
• Has an eye-shaped birthmark on her shoulder—the distinguishing mark of her inherited curse 176.
• During a visit to Gu Cheng’s home, wears carefully applied makeup, high heels, and black stockings 168.

Personality

Shirley is proud, shrewd, capable, and decisive. She presses Gu Cheng for definite answers about their expedition and declares that she will travel to Jingjue alone if necessary. She is also accustomed to travelling independently 120 169 190 194.

Her reserve softens around Gu Cheng. She visits him repeatedly in hospital, deliberately builds a close relationship with his mother, and eventually confesses her feelings directly. His interest in A Ning makes her jealous, but she refuses to abandon her pursuit of him 86 87 178 180 184.

She accepts the existence of divine artifacts quickly once Gu Cheng explains them. Her curiosity is persistent enough that he initially withholds information about her golden mask to avoid a barrage of questions 169 175.

Abilities & Skills

Mural Interpretation

• Interprets the Prince of Gumo’s burial murals, explaining their depictions of Queen Jingjue, an eye-shaped bead, and the prince’s death 188.
• Distinguishes observation from certainty: she explains that she is interpreting the images, rather than proving that the queen could make people disappear 188.

Observation and Reasoning

• Suggests that Gu Cheng may not have returned to the same cavern, helping him develop his explanation for the shifting passages 191.
• Notices his increasingly abnormal temper during their apparent island confinement 194.
• Identifies drugs, sound, hypnosis, visual effects, and magnetic fields as possible causes of anxiety and disordered thinking. The apparent island and the trio’s experiences there are subsequently revealed as an illusion 194 195.

Artifact-Assisted Combat

• Uses the Torture Whip to knock a mud-pool monster down and leave it writhing in pain 206.
• Receives the whip as a self-defense weapon after Gu Cheng explains its tenfold-pain effect 206.
• Develops enough composure through repeated ordeals to prepare for battle alongside A Ning when more monsters emerge 206.

Expedition Support

• Takes turns driving during the desert journey 175.
• Carries the group’s backpacks across the underground river while Gu Cheng, Lao Hu, and Fatty fight the Snake Demon 82.
• Pours gasoline across a bridge using the Immortal-Brew Gourd, enabling Fatty to ignite a barrier against pursuing Corpse Rats 211.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Golden mask — Mailed to her by her father and retained as a clue. Gu Cheng recognizes it as a divine artifact but initially conceals that fact from her; he asks her to bring it on the Jingjue expedition 169.
• Blue spirit accessories — A pendant and two bracelets given to her by Gu Cheng for protection against poison 184.
• Torture Whip — A supreme-grade magical artifact that inflicts ten times the normal pain of a strike. Gu Cheng first lends it to her during the mud-pool attack, then gives it to her for self-defense 158 205 206.
• Spirit-Guarding Toad — A jade artifact she carries during the experiences later exposed as an illusion. Its stated protection against evil interference helps Gu Cheng question the cause of their altered behavior; her continued possession after awakening is not established 194 195.

Relationships

• Gu Cheng — Her expedition companion and romantic interest. She says she fell in love with him after their return from Kunlun Glacier. He initially tells his father that he has no feelings for her, but later repeatedly protects her. Their apparent intimate relationship during the island episode is revealed to have been illusory 119 180 185 195 196.
• Partridge Whistle — Her grandfather, a Mountain-Moving Daoist whose search for the Huo Chenzhu preceded hers. Two Gold-Seeking Talismans he owned remain stored in the United States 176 208.
• Her father — Missing; left her the golden mask she treats as an investigative clue 169 176.
• Professor Chen — Supports her search. After abandoning his own plan to visit Jingjue, he asks Gu Cheng to help her because the journey concerns her origins and life 120.
• Zhou Xiumei — Gu Cheng’s mother. Shirley shops with her and wins her affection; Zhou Xiumei subsequently urges Gu Cheng to date and eventually marry her 169 173 178.
• A Ning — Fellow expedition member and romantic rival. Despite their jealousy and arguments, they cooperate against the mud-pool monsters 177 184 206.
• Fatty Wang — Expedition companion and frequent target of her teasing. He protests her preferential concern for Gu Cheng after their encounter with an evil spirit 187.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Initial Investigation and Kunlun Glacier

• Accompanies Professor Chen to question Big Gold Tooth. An eye-pattern photograph accidentally mixed into her money prompts him to remember seeing the design on a jade pendant 46.
• Visits Gu Cheng at the Treasure-Hiding Studio and requests a conversation 60.
• Faces a leaping ice wolf during the Kunlun expedition and later crosses the underground river while the others fight the Snake Demon 64 82.
• Invites Gu Cheng to call her “Sh...ev,” then visits him almost daily during his hospital recovery 82 86 87.

Securing the Jingjue Expedition

• Confronts Gu Cheng when he withdraws from the planned journey. Following Professor Chen’s decision to stay behind, she insists she can go alone 120.
• Goes drinking while depressed and is taken safely to a hotel by Gu Cheng. The following morning, he promises to accompany her to Jingjue after returning from abroad 124.
• Offers financial help for his auction plans; he later returns the money and thanks her 169.
• Joins the desert expedition, where Gu Cheng reveals her connection to Partridge Whistle and the Ghost Cave curse 174 175 176.

Desert Crisis and Underground Tombs

• Blames herself for bringing the group into danger. Believing death is imminent, she kisses Gu Cheng and confesses her love 180.
• Follows his plan to sink through quicksand into a hollow space below, escaping the immediate threat above 180.
• Receives protective accessories, survives the Black-Eyed Strange Snake chamber with Gu Cheng’s help, and interprets the Prince of Gumo’s murals 184 185 188.

Imaginary Space and the False Island

• Apparently becomes separated after looking at an eye-like jewel. Gu Cheng finds her with a sprained ankle, surrounded by Black-Eyed Strange Snakes 190.
• Travels with Gu Cheng and A Ning through shifting caves and seemingly emerges onto a deserted island. She enjoys the apparent peace there, unlike her increasingly restless companions 192 193.
• Helps question their altered behavior before Fatty’s voice breaks the illusion. The trio discover they have been unconscious for four or five days, and their apparent island experiences—including intimacy—were unreal 194 195.
• After awakening, senses something calling from above and steps toward an abyss in a daze. Gu Cheng catches her before she falls 195 196.

Continued Escape

• Is rescued from the mud pool and uses the Torture Whip against one of its monsters 205 206.
• Becomes dizzy from the giant man-eating flower’s fragrance, forcing Gu Cheng to carry her and A Ning while retreating 208.
• Helps prepare the burning bridge that delays the Corpse Rats and allows the group to escape into another cave 211.

Notable Quotes

“Gu Cheng, I like you. Ever since we came back from Kunlun Glacier, I realized I’d fallen for you.” 180

“I’m only interpreting what’s in the murals.” 188