Xu Mingji

Biodata

Background / History

Xu Mingji is the son of Xu Chengyuan and Zhou Man, and Xu Zhihan’s younger brother. Raised as the favored child, he grew accustomed to receiving protection and sympathy while Xu Zhihan was expected to give way to him. Zhou Man managed his affairs, and Xu Chengyuan supported him so long as he remained useful to the family 4 10 45 69.

Although he later feigned illness to manipulate others, Xu Mingji had genuinely been sickly from birth. Zhou Man took him to a church for a ritual intended to improve his health. She subsequently admitted that Xu An’s life had been traded for his recovery, claiming she had believed Xu An would only take his place temporarily 64 69.

At approximately seven years old, Xu Mingji also saw his parents standing before a red, thread-covered door beneath the family villa. When he later asked Zhou Man about it, she slapped him and ordered him never to mention it again 55.

Appearance

• Early appearances: Frequently pale, with reddened or bloodshot eyes; his hands are described as pale, with neatly trimmed nails 4 5 10.
• After the talisman attack: Develops dark circles and carries red talisman marks on his wrists, which are later wrapped in gauze during treatment 47 48 55.
• During the marriage-contract investigation: Bears a dark thread on his wrist, described as resembling a thin old scar 95 103.

Personality

Initially, Xu Mingji is calculating, entitled, and skilled at presenting himself as the injured party. He uses tears, soft speech, and apparent concern to make Xu Zhihan seem unreasonable. His supposed forgiveness often conceals an accusation: he attributes Xu Zhihan’s objections to a “bad mood” while claiming that he never wanted to take anything from him 2 4 5.

His confidence depends heavily on others protecting him. Exposure of his deception leaves him frightened of losing Gu Huai, his father’s favor, and his place in the household. Rather than immediately accepting responsibility, he resents Xu Zhihan for bringing the family’s crimes to light and accepts the Old Gods Society’s offer of help 38 42 45 46.

His later cooperation begins as an attempt to survive but develops into explicit accountability. He recognizes that the privileges he considered deserved were stolen, confronts Zhou Man without pleading for her release, and accepts responsibility for his own actions without again asking Xu Zhihan for forgiveness 55 62 69 94.

Abilities & Skills

Emotional Manipulation

Xu Mingji redirects disputes by performing vulnerability and encouraging others to defend him 4 5.

• Frames accusations against him as cruelty toward a sick younger brother 5.
• Times conciliatory remarks so that nurses, servants, or other witnesses hear them 4 19.
• Changes his approach quickly when challenged, avoiding direct answers while returning attention to his supposed poor health 5.
• His tactics repeatedly fail against the awakened Xu Zhihan and do not sway Lu Wenchuan 5 69.

Feigned Illness and Publicity

• Uses a drug that temporarily disrupts his heartbeat and accelerates his breathing to imitate a heart episode. Testing of powder from his cuff and fingernails exposes the deception 4 5.
• Participates in a publicity campaign built around selectively edited hospital footage and a tearful video ostensibly defending Xu Zhihan 18 19.
• Loses public sympathy when Xu Zhihan releases a recording of his admission that he feared losing the Gu Family engagement 19 20.

Equipment / Items

• Old Gods Society talisman — Black paper folded into a triangle and covered in red markings. Supplied for use against Xu Zhihan, it instead attaches to Xu Mingji and allows a linked shadow to threaten his soul 46 47.
• Protective talisman — Given by Song Zhixia before the church operation and worn beneath his clothes. Residual talisman poison still limits how close he can go to the church’s interior 64 65.
• Gu Huai’s gifts — A fountain pen, cufflink box, and photographs displayed in his room. Once symbols of having “won,” they become reminders of his humiliation after the engagement collapses 45.

Relationships

• Xu Zhihan — Older brother and initial target of his schemes. Xu Mingji tampers with his medication, takes his engagement, and later attacks him with a talisman. Their subsequent interactions center on testimony and accountability rather than forgiveness 5 47 69 123.
• Zhou Man — Mother and principal protector. Learning the extent of her crimes shakes his trust in her; he eventually questions her about Xu An’s death and refuses to plead for her release 41 44 69.
• Xu Chengyuan — Father. Xu Mingji initially relies on his favor, then realizes that his protection is conditional. He later accuses Xu Chengyuan of continuing to use him as a bargaining chip 45 55 93.
• Gu Huai — Xu Zhihan’s original fiancé, whom Xu Mingji admits stealing. He eventually confronts Gu Huai over knowingly participating in the engagement’s deception 69 94 95.
• Xu An — Child sacrificed in the ritual that benefited Xu Mingji. After learning the truth, Xu Mingji acknowledges his own place among those responsible and offers to testify 69.
• Lu Wenchuan — Investigator who questions him, oversees his cooperation, and arranges a recorded visit with Zhou Man after his service as a church guide 17 62 69.
• Old Gods Society — Exploits his resentment and fear of abandonment to use him against Xu Zhihan. His failed attack subsequently provides investigators with a lead to the Abandoned Photo Studio 46 47 49.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Engagement Scheme and Public Exposure

Xu Mingji accompanies Xu Chengyuan to pressure Xu Zhihan into surrendering his engagement to Gu Huai. When the discussion turns against them, he stages a heart episode. Xu Zhihan identifies the drug involved, and a rapid test confirms its presence. Xu Mingji admits that he feared the Gu Family would reject him once his brother awakened 4 5.

Sent to bring Xu Zhihan home, he kneels beside the hospital bed and begs him to return. Back at the residence, he delivers mind-weakening medicine on Zhou Man’s instructions but retreats when Xu Zhihan demands that he take it himself 10 11.

The family then uses edited footage and Xu Mingji’s public plea to cast Xu Zhihan as abusive and ungrateful. Xu Zhihan counters with the recorded admission about the engagement, turning public scrutiny onto Xu Mingji and the Xu Family 18 19 20.

Family Collapse and the Talisman Attack

As Zhou Man’s crimes emerge, Xu Mingji learns that his favored position rests on harm done to Lin Wan, Xu An, and others. Zhou Man’s arrest and Xu Chengyuan’s immediate efforts to distance himself from her make him fear that he will be discarded next 41 44 45.

A masked Old Gods Society figure exploits that fear, offering help for Zhou Man in exchange for placing a talisman near Xu Zhihan. Xu Mingji accepts and attaches it directly to his brother’s wrist. The talisman recoils, binds itself to Xu Mingji, and turns its accompanying shadow against him 46 47.

Xu Zhihan interrupts the attack to interrogate the shadow, obtaining references to a mirror and door at the Abandoned Photo Studio. Xu Mingji is taken to the Special Investigation Bureau for observation and treatment of residual talisman poison 47 48 49.

Cooperation and Testimony

Xu Mingji’s childhood recollections reveal a passage behind the villa’s underground wine cellar and a red door bearing Xu Zhihan’s and Xu Chengyuan’s names. He acknowledges that he wanted to hurt Xu Zhihan and says that he now wants to live 55.

He later provides information about the church ritual, the hidden basement behind its altar, and Xu Chengyuan’s black ring used to contact the Old Gods Society. Despite his fear, he guides investigators along the route Zhou Man once took him 62 64 65.

During the promised visit with Zhou Man, he draws out her admission concerning Xu An and learns that a man surnamed Shen from the Green Gate Foundation supplied the black ring. He leaves without asking for her release and offers to testify about Xu An 69.

Marriage-Contract Lines and Later Assistance

• Identifies a half-green-door emblem he saw on the masked man and Shen Cheng, and asks investigators to save Zhou Yu 81.
• Learns that the Society can exploit the benefits he took from Xu Zhihan as sin lines targeting Lu Wenchuan. He offers to remain locked up if necessary and agrees to cooperate fully 93.
• Explicitly admits stealing the engagement, helping Xu Zhihan separate the marriage-contract thread and return responsibility to the parties involved 94 95.
• Returns voluntarily to the Bureau under separate watch after assisting with the investigation 103.
• Delivers Lin Wan’s silver name tag to Xu Zhihan. Its inscription affirms his human identity and helps the team consider another route through the return-to-god layer 123.
• During the Gate of Blame confrontation, identifies the separate responsibilities of himself, the Gu Family, and Xu Chengyuan, preventing their debts from shifting onto Lu Wenchuan 135.
• Supplies a statement as the investigations conclude after the Oracle Tower case is sealed 157.

Notable Quotes

“I really used to think I deserved everything I had. Gu Huai was supposed to love me, Dad was supposed to favor me, and my brother was supposed to give way to me. Only now do I know those things were stolen.” 69

“I'll testify about Xu An.” 69

“I used to think I'd won. Now I admit those things never belonged to me.” 94