Master Tiger

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Qi Danshan was born and raised outside Yangshan County before returning to his ancestral home with his grandfather in his teens. His grandfather, a Han Chinese palace guard from the former Qing dynasty, trained him in martial arts from childhood and intended him for imperial service. Master Tiger later recalls spending years guarding the emperor’s carriage and becoming familiar with the genuine Son of Heaven’s Dragon Qi 54 91 181.

After the Qing’s collapse, his grandfather taught him that there were no longer noble personages to protect: everyone was equal. Master Tiger consequently devoted himself to protecting his hometown. His martial skill earned him a place in the Public Security Force, followed by a transfer to the Apprehension Squad for his success catching thieves and fugitives 54 72.

When supernatural threats increased, he became the county’s foremost monster killer. Magistrate Chen promoted him to deputy captain; while the senior captain managed personnel and deployment, Master Tiger handled the squad’s principal investigations and extermination work 54.

Appearance

• Build: Exceptionally tall, broad, and powerfully built; ordinary furniture creaks under his weight 71 72.
• Face: Tigerlike eyes and four conspicuous canine teeth. His eyes appear amber during pursuit and dark brown at the treasury 54 63 72.
• Voice: Deep and resonant, repeatedly compared to a tiger’s roar or a booming bell 53 55.
• Skin: Dark and firm when restored to his usual form by the Prefect of Mount Tai 133.
• Bearing: Carries a predator’s intensity, strengthened after his appointment by the intimidating presence of an Underworld official 54 181.

Personality

Master Tiger is forthright, disciplined, and strongly attached to Yangshan. Although he enjoys pursuing dangerous opponents, he distinguishes wrongdoing from mere supernatural identity: he spares a horse demon and an ox demon because neither has eaten human flesh. He likewise declines to punish Cui Jiuyang after recognizing that his subordinates provoked their encounter 55 63 78.

His sense of obligation initially binds him to Magistrate Chen, whose recognition and support he sincerely values. Discovering that Chen protects Old Daoist Sun forces him to choose between loyalty to his superior and protection of the townspeople. Visiting the bereaved families makes the victims more than entries in official records and pushes him toward open resistance 71 72 73 74.

He ultimately rejects the idea that obedience outweighs their original purpose. When confronted by a vision accusing him of ingratitude, he explains that he killed Chen because Chen betrayed what they had set out to accomplish. His desired reputation is modest and personal: to be an upright hometown man whom people do not condemn behind his back 118.

Abilities & Skills

Tiger Guard Secret Arts

His Tiger Guard talents arise from his own heart rather than conventional spiritual-power activation. Their origin is associated with the Great Shaman’s reshaping of his soul 78 93.

• Tiger Guard · Roar: Produces visible sound waves carrying the authority of the king of beasts. One roar disperses hundreds of demon-soul flames and injures the concealed Feiguang badly enough to break his spell 76.
• Crow suppression: Kills nearby crows through vibration and drives more distant flocks away. He repeatedly uses it while defending Cui Jiuyang’s salvation ritual 102 105.
• Tiger Guard · Scent: Locks onto concealed opponents by smell. It exposes the four Daoists within their formation and allows him to follow Cui Jiuyang and Little White Pear despite their Illusion Realm 63 76.
• Tiger Guard · Flash: Enables sudden repositioning and swift killing charges. He uses it to evade a shot, reach the giant python’s mouth, and launch a surprise attack on Xuanyuan 77 131.
• Combined attacks: Can combine Roar and Flash in a saber strike, although this fails completely against Xuanyuan’s defenses 131.

Martial Arts and Saber Combat

A lifelong martial artist whose county opponents could not withstand a single exchange with him before his appointment 54.

• Cuts monsters apart with a few strokes and generates forceful saber light 54 75.
• Moves with tigerlike agility, including silent pursuit and rapid leaps 75 76.
• Maintains a close defensive blade screen against swarming attackers, though sufficient numbers can penetrate it 105 186.
• Uses Forcefully Split Mount Hua to strike the False Dragon’s vulnerable forehead 188.
• Can attack barehanded with lethal force, including an elbow strike that nearly kills a man and a claw-shaped thrust through Magistrate Chen’s chest 82 94.
• As a Ghost Constable, imbues his saber with ghost-slaying power and sinister ghost qi 127 188.

Hunting Instinct and Investigation

Recognizes supernatural intruders through a hunter’s instinct rather than ordinary qi observation 73.

• Detects monsters among humans instinctively, but cannot perceive the demonic qi marking Old Daoist Sun’s silver 54 73.
• Reconstructs a treasury intrusion from sandalwood, sweat, footprints, and handprints, identifying evidence of two outsiders fighting inside 59.
• Knows the local criminal population well enough to rule out ordinary Yangshan thieves 59.
• Identifies suffocation as the cause of death among the bodies in Dustpan Village 99.
• Recognizes the False Dragon’s qi as counterfeit through his experience around imperial Dragon Qi 181.

Military Training and Firearms

An experienced instructor who applies military discipline to the Apprehension Squad 71.

• Knows how to use a rifle and personally teaches the squad its three-team rotating-volley formation 78.
• Conducts mountain pursuit training twice yearly. During one ten-day exercise, he plays the fugitive and eliminates every pursuing squad member despite their firearms 82.
• His discipline makes subordinates resist Old Daoist Sun’s attempt to force the treasury even while fearing the Daoist’s political influence 71.

Living-Corpse Body and Yin Qi

His postmortem body can continue functioning through injuries that would kill an ordinary person 82 188.

• Resistance to ordinary killing: Magistrate Chen empties a Browning pistol into his chest without killing him 82.
• Replaceable body: The Prefect states that a Ghost Constable’s physical body is not essential and can be remade if damaged 133.
• Yin-qi absorption: Refines and absorbs the violent Drought Ghost yin qi escaping Cui Jiuyang, replenishing both himself and his seventh-rank token 189.
• Physical limits: Deep cuts, broken bones, venom, and freezing still impair his movement and combat effectiveness 131 133 186 188.
• Yang-lightning vulnerability: The False Dragon’s lightning burns his arms and disperses nearly seventy percent of his spiritual power while he protects Bai Susu 185.

Underworld Authority and Spellcasting Limits

His official token grants access to Underworld functions, but conventional magic remains a weakness 93 98.

• His initial token carries Soul-Seizing Chains, Underworld-Piercing Ghost Discernment, and Yin Talisman Message Transmission 93.
• Later manages to open a Ghost Gate and send messages, while still relying on Cui Jiuyang for more demanding magical work 98.
• Can open the gate into the Prefect of Mount Tai’s Daoist Grounds outside the usual dawn-and-dusk transition 121.
• His reshaped soul is described as poorly compatible with spiritual energy, making ordinary spellcasting extraordinarily difficult 98.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Long saber — His principal weapon. After throwing his original saber into Magistrate Chen’s carriage, he retrieves a spare kept at home 77 81.
• Ghost Constable waist token — Identifies his office, carries supernatural spells, and receives Underworld summons 93 98.
• Gold-edged seventh-rank token — Awarded with his appointment as Impermanence Patrol Commissioner; can hold substantial yin qi 133 189.
• Token rubbing — Gives Cui Jiuyang a rubbing of his new token so they can remain in contact after separating 133.
• Long-stemmed pipe — Smokes outside the mutton soup stall during his first exchange of gazes with Cui Jiuyang 54.

Relationships

• Cui Jiuyang — Initially a suspicious outsider, later his closest traveling companion and sworn source of mutual aid. Cui preserves his soul and asks that the Prefect’s reward go to him; Master Tiger repeatedly promises to answer Cui’s call wherever he may be 54 79 120 133.
• His grandfather, Old Qi — Former palace guard, martial instructor, and formative moral influence. A gambling vision uses his grandfather’s image to condemn Master Tiger for killing his superior 54 72 117.
• Magistrate Chen / Chen Weimin — Former patron and commanding officer. Master Tiger admires his early promise to govern Yangshan well, but resigns when Chen sides with Old Daoist Sun and eventually kills him 72 74 82.
• Old Daoist Sun — Enemy whose lifespan-stealing pill operation exploits Yangshan’s residents. Master Tiger kills two disciples and severs Sun’s right arm during their confrontation 71 76.
• Little White Pear — Initially pursued and questioned by him; joins Cui Jiuyang in exposing the suspicious silver and pills. Their early cooperation is marked by mutual distrust 63 64.
• Horse demon and ox demon — Previously spared because they had never eaten humans; repay him by helping carry him and Cui Jiuyang to Nine-Dragon Pool 78 79.
• Gui Suishou — Provides the Soul-Anchor Pearl used in Master Tiger’s Soul Stabilization ritual 78 79.
• Lu Tu / Lu Pan — Checks his virtue, arranges his temporary Ghost Constable post, and later receives the investigators’ report 92 121.
• Prefect of Mount Tai — Underworld superior who heals him and appoints him Seventh-Rank Impermanence Patrol Commissioner 133.
• He Feixu — Initially an opponent in a Moonlit Tower wager, later a fellow investigator and ally against Xuanyuan 87 121 127 131.
• Bai Susu — Protects her from the False Dragon’s repeated lightning attacks despite severe injuries and exhausted yin qi 185 187.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Yangshan and the Longevity Pills

Master Tiger first notices Cui Jiuyang during a fierce exchange of gazes across the street. Their subsequent encounters reveal that he understands his subordinates’ misconduct and is not simply enforcing their version of events. After the treasury theft, he follows Cui Jiuyang and Little White Pear into the slums, identifies them through their concealment, and asks privately about Old Daoist Sun’s pills 54 55 59 63.

He investigates recent deaths by visiting six bereaved households, encountering an orphaned granddaughter and two children left destitute after their father’s death. Hearing Sun complain that the silver contains no life origin confirms the connection. Chen’s continued support for the Daoist eventually ends Master Tiger’s loyalty: he removes his epaulettes, resigns, and leaves to seek justice as a townsman rather than an officer 71 72 73 74.

Shooting, Soul Stabilization, and Retribution

Master Tiger attacks Sun, disperses his demon-soul flames, kills Feiguang and Lingguang, and cuts off Sun’s right arm. The Apprehension Squad then intervenes. Its rotating rifle volleys—using a formation Master Tiger taught—leave him mortally wounded before Cui Jiuyang extracts him under cover of talismans and smoke 75 76 77 78.

Cui rushes him to Gui Suishou because his altered soul faces punishment and rebirth as an actual tiger if it reaches the Underworld unprotected. The horse and ox demons help them reach Nine-Dragon Pool, where Cui performs Soul Stabilization. Master Tiger subsequently returns with Cui to confront Chen and Sun; immune to Chen’s pistol fire, he tears out the magistrate’s heart and eats it 78 79 81 82.

Ghost Constable Investigations

Xuanyuan’s Delusion Realm

Master Tiger, Cui Jiuyang, and He Feixu cooperate to defeat five empowered ghosts and press toward Xuanyuan Mountain. During the giant-python battle, Master Tiger cannot pierce its scales from outside, so he uses Flash to enter its mouth and tears through it from within, suffering horrific venom injuries 127 131.

His subsequent surprise attack on Xuanyuan fails: the saber strike disappears into an abyss-like distortion, and an invisible force throws him a hundred feet away. After the confrontation and He Feixu’s death, the Prefect heals Master Tiger and promotes him. His new duties prevent him from continuing to White Crane Manor, so he and Cui part with a means of contact and renewed promises of mutual assistance 131 133.

The False Dragon

Reunited with the injured Cui Jiuyang, Master Tiger recognizes the Directorate of Astronomy’s counterfeit dragon project. He helps attempt Xu Xian’s rescue, shields Bai Susu from lightning, and attacks formation nodes while Cui occupies the dragon 181 184 185 186.

Even after blade-like scales, freezing attacks, and broken bones leave him barely mobile, he continues distracting the dragon. Absorbing excess yin qi from Cui restores his reserves enough to resume attacking its weakened scales. Once Cui destroys the False Dragon with Yin-Wind Blade Mountain and collapses, Master Tiger confirms that he is alive and carries him to safety beside Bai Susu and Xu Xian 187 188 189 190.

Notable Quotes

“The world is too vast. I don't have time to go everywhere. But Yangshan is right beneath my feet. Killing you first will be enough.” 77

“More human than you!”
— Responding to Magistrate Chen’s demand to know whether he is still human 82

“If Jiuyang sends word, I'll come, even to the ends of the earth, through mountains of blades and seas of fire.” 120

Trivia

• Yangshan rumor claims that his father was a tiger spirit in human form. Cui Jiuyang dismisses this story; Master Tiger’s actual tiger-associated traits come from the Great Shaman’s work on his soul 54 78.
• Uses an authentic Beijing accent to avoid recognition after killing an official in Yangshan 94.
• Despite becoming an Underworld official himself, he is astonished to meet Xu Xian, treating the encounter as a familiar legend stepping into reality 184.