Zhou Pan'er

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Early Life and Hidden Origins

Zhou Pan'er was found on a mountain and taken home by Zhou Xinxiang's mother. She was raised under the identity of a baby girl following that woman's difficult childbirth. Madam Jiang, who attended the birth, knew the truth, while Pan'er herself initially did not 8.

By the beginning of the story, Pan'er and her seven-year-old brother have no other family to rely on. She supports them by selling tofu pudding and regularly helps care for Fu Shaoping's bedridden mother. Fu Shaoping reciprocates by helping set up her stall before dawn. When he qualifies to register as a Martial Suppression Guard, she gives him her savings, which he exchanges for seven taels of silver 1.

Granny Xue and the Move to East Street

Pan'er leaves town for several days with an elderly woman she describes as a distant relative. She returns as a martial artist carrying a Blood Qi Powder recipe, which she shares freely with Fu Shaoping. The woman is later identified as Granny Xue 8 9 13.

Fu Shaoping rents an East Street courtyard with a storefront, fulfilling Pan'er's wish to move beyond a street stall. She plans the household's rooms and arranges to convert a side wing into an alchemy room. The two gather clearwood for refining medicine before their households move into the property 10 11 13.

Pan'er continues selling tofu while training. She also teaches Zhou Xinxiang to run the shop, enabling him to handle customers and arithmetic independently while she accompanies Fu Shaoping outside town 24.

Betrothal and Search for Her Parents

With the household's finances improving, Madam Jiang proposes formalizing Pan'er's relationship with Fu Shaoping. Both accept, and their betrothal is completed with an official matchmaker and a banquet. Their wedding is scheduled for the sixth day of the sixth month of the following year 15 16 26.

Pan'er eventually reveals that Granny Xue promised information about her birth parents if she could reach the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm and refine Blood Qi Powder. This promise drives her relentless training. Fu Shaoping buys her a Purple-Gold Alchemy Furnace and helps her hunt a Granary Bear, whose blood essence contributes to her fourth-level breakthrough 29 30 31.

After learning to produce Grade B Blood Qi Powder, Pan'er goes alone to meet Granny Xue, who has forbidden her from bringing anyone else. However, Granny Xue withholds the answers and advises her to live peacefully, saying she might reveal something if Pan'er reaches the Origin Core Realm. Pan'er returns disappointed but resolves to cherish her present life with Fu Shaoping 33 42.

Million Mountains Expedition

Returning with an Origin-Consolidating Pill recipe and Blood Flying Needles from Granny Xue, Pan'er joins Fu Shaoping in the Million Mountains. They defeat an Ironwood Fox and collect the recipe's main herb. At the Clear Warehouse Inn, she subsequently advances to the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm 42 44 45.

The pair then join Chen Shichao and Lady Zhuo on an expedition to harvest Hawthorn Fruits. Pan'er helps kill the guarding Stable-Horse Beast. After Fu Shaoping kills Chen Shichao and discovers his plot to murder Lady Zhuo, Pan'er retrieves the fruit and helps dissolve Chen's corpse with her needles 45 47.

They return Lady Zhuo's body to her family. Pan'er initially asks whether Junior Banner Zhuo should be told that Chen is dead, but Fu Shaoping insists on secrecy because he lacked authority to execute an enlisted guard. She later refuses her share of the Hawthorn Fruits so he can prepare for the Spring Hunt, choosing instead to improve her alchemy 48.

Qiu Household Investigation

Pan'er helps question Qiu Ya'er after the girl seeks justice for her mother's death. She discovers that the supposedly young child is fourteen, severely undernourished, and covered in old and new scars. She also learns that the dead woman, Cai Shi, was five months pregnant 50.

Accompanying Fu Shaoping to the Qiu Household, Pan'er questions Kuihua while he interrogates other family members. Kuihua implicates Zhou Shi in Cai Shi's drowning and reveals a plan to sell Qiu Ya'er for fifty taels into a fatal ghost marriage 50.

Appearance

• Features: Fair, clear skin, phoenix-shaped eyes, and two dimples when she smiles 26 29.
• Build: Long, slender legs; despite her delicate appearance, she can lift a weight exceeding four hundred jin by the third level of the Body Tempering Realm 16 28.
• Usual clothing: Generally wears long skirts, changing into men's clothing for investigative work 15 16.
• Notable outfit: Returns from visiting Granny Xue in a vivid red palace-style dress, with an unusually imposing, noble bearing; changes into practical clothing before hunting 42.

Personality

Pan'er is kindhearted and dependable. Her care for Madam Jiang allows Fu Shaoping to leave home to earn money, and she supports his attempt to enter the Martial Suppression Bureau with her own savings. She is also protective: before their first clearwood expedition, she urges him to retreat rather than risk his life 1 11.

She is diligent and demanding of herself. Frustrated at being unable to help more on Seven-Mile Mountain, she repeatedly practices Ethereal Steps. Her first successful alchemy batch does not satisfy her because its Grade C quality falls below Fu Shaoping's work; she continues almost without pause until she can consistently produce Grade B powder 15 33.

Although deeply troubled by unanswered questions about her parents, Pan'er initially keeps that burden to herself rather than pressure Fu Shaoping. After Granny Xue postpones the promised explanation, she consciously places her present happiness and hoped-for family life ahead of the mystery 29 42.

Her compassion extends beyond her household. She becomes angry on discovering Qiu Ya'er's abuse and is visibly distressed by Junior Banner Zhuo's grief after his daughter's death 49 50.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Aptitude and Ethereal Steps

Pan'er has exceptional natural martial aptitude. Fu Shaoping judges her talent greater than his own when she keeps pace with his progress despite lacking his Mystic Mandate Codex 18.

• Learns the complete thirty-six-step sequence of the second-grade Ethereal Steps in an hour of direct instruction 3 15.
• Uses the movement art to evade Granary Bears and lure one into Fu Shaoping's hunting ambush 18 31.
• Helps capture a fleeing criminal by throwing a stone into his right leg, delaying him long enough for Fu Shaoping to catch up 17.

Unidentified Constitution

Pan'er displays an unusual affinity for demonic beast blood essence, but its cause remains unexplained 31.

• The smell of Granary Bear blood triggers an intense craving to drink it, sharply contrasting with her normally gentle behavior 31.
• Before reaching the fourth level, she safely absorbs quantities of blood essence that Fu Shaoping considers potentially fatal to ordinary martial artists in the first three levels 31.
• Remains clearheaded enough to invite Fu Shaoping to share the blood, despite her excitement 31.
• Later drinks Ironwood Fox blood essence as well. Fu Shaoping suspects an innate constitution, but no specific physique or bloodline is identified 31 44.

Alchemy

Pan'er learns Blood Qi Powder refinement from Fu Shaoping's written insights, demonstrations, and practical guidance 32 33.

• Succeeds on her first attempt and progresses to five consecutive Grade B batches within several days 33.
• Possesses the Origin-Consolidating Pill recipe, but no successful refinement of that pill is documented 42 48.
• Plans to continue practicing Blood Qi Powder before attempting the more advanced recipe 48.

Investigation and Commerce

Years of marketplace business give Pan'er a keen eye for people, prompting Fu Shaoping to bring her on investigations 15.

• Watches villagers during the Yellow Creek Village inquiry and covers the rear during the pursuit of Qi Dashan 16 24.
• Gathers information from Qiu Ya'er and participates in questioning the Qiu family 50.
• Runs a tofu business, manages household arrangements, and trains Zhou Xinxiang to operate their storefront 1 10 24.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Blood Flying Needles: Ten poisoned needles gifted by Granny Xue, controlled through golden threads attached to fingertip guards. Pan'er can redirect, extend, and retrieve them at will 42.
  • At least one needle can devour energy and acquires a redder tint after the Ironwood Fox's death 44.
  • Used against the Ironwood Fox and Stable-Horse Beast, and to dissolve Chen Shichao's corpse 43 44 47.
• Purple-Gold Alchemy Furnace: Purchased by Fu Shaoping so she can refine medicine at home; used during her alchemy training 30 33.
• Inner armor: A gift from Granny Xue. Destroyed beyond repair during the mountain ambush in which Pan'er intervenes to protect Fu Shaoping from Palm Thunder 25.
• Boot dagger: Carried in her boot and used to skin the Ironwood Fox 44.
• Pill recipes: Receives both the Blood Qi Powder and Origin-Consolidating Pill recipes from Granny Xue 29 42.

Relationships

• Fu Shaoping — Neighbor, longtime mutual support, cultivation partner, alchemy teacher, and fiancé. They share recipes and resources, investigate crimes, and hunt demonic beasts together 1 9 26 33 47.
• Zhou Xinxiang — Younger brother in the family that raised her. Pan'er supports him and teaches him to manage the tofu shop 1 8 24.
• Madam Jiang — Fu Shaoping's mother, whom Pan'er helps nurse. Knows the secret of Pan'er's adoption and initiates the couple's betrothal arrangements 1 8 15.
• Granny Xue — Mysterious elder presented as a distant relative. Provides recipes, protective equipment, and weapons, while making disclosure of Pan'er's origins conditional on cultivation achievements 25 29 33 42.
• Old Zhan — Fu Shaoping's superior and an elder welcomed into their household for the New Year. Pan'er treats him with the formal respect due from a junior 49.

Notable Quotes

“Be careful! If you can't manage it, retreat. Staying alive comes first.” 11

“What matters is the present.” 42

“I'm happy now, and we'll be happy in the future too. We'll have lots and lots of children, with children and grandchildren gathered around our knees and happiness filling our courtyard!” 42