Bai Yousi

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Bai Yousi belongs to one of Great Wei’s most entrenched aristocratic families. Her paternal grandfather, Bai Zhongchang, was an original Supreme Pillar of the State under whom many of the dynasty’s founders had served. He supported the late emperor’s accession, presented him with the Bai family’s heirloom Golden Dragon, and later died peacefully after suppressing a rebellion. The family survived three dynasties, six emperors, and numerous coups 31.

Her father earned the title Marquis of Ji'an through military achievements in pacifying Southern Chen and became a Grand General of One Guard. Her mother was reportedly the eldest legitimate granddaughter of another original Supreme Pillar; that side of the family suffered destruction after her maternal grandfather rebelled and was defeated by Bai Zhongchang 31.

Other branches of the Bai family hold extensive civil and military power:

• Her father’s eldest brother inherited the dukedom and title of Supreme Pillar of the State 31.
• An older male cousin of her father, adopted into another family line, serves as Minister of Revenue and Duke of Xun 31.
• A paternal uncle serves as General Administrator of Jingxiang and a Grand General of One Guard 31.
• Her cousins include a vice minister of justice, an imperial son-in-law, and numerous holders of substantive Principal Sixth Rank posts 31.
• Zhang Yue, the Luoyang county magistrate, is married to her older female cousin 31.

Despite access to safer official appointments, Bai Yousi chose mounted patrol work. When warned that a battle might leave her cultivation suppressed and her life exposed, she pointed out that someone afraid of death could have pursued a comfortable civil-service career instead 39.

Appearance

Bai Yousi has fine eyebrows, phoenix eyes, an oval face, a single dimple, and a flawless complexion. Her first appearance combines martial bearing with grace, approachability, and aristocratic distinction 6.

• Official attire: A regulation plain-colored brocade uniform, vermilion sash, and small warrior’s crown 6 9.
• Sword emblem: One sun and two moons, identifying her Three-One Orthodox Church origins 6.
• Off-duty dress: Close-fitting martial clothes, deerskin boots, and a man’s topknot wrapped in a headcloth 32.
• Voice: Described as particularly lovely, strongly affecting Qin Bao when they first meet 6.

Personality

Bai Yousi combines a strong sense of responsibility with personal loyalty. She examines decomposing bodies herself, reassures villagers that sheltering a routed soldier will not bring punishment, and insists on verifying a five-death case even when the evidence suggests legitimate self-defense 7. Her protection of subordinates is conditional on right and wrong: she promises to defend Zhang Xing if he has been mistreated, but makes equally clear that she would personally punish him for murdering innocents 25.

Her concern does not make her gentle in office. She orders flogging during the investigation of Han Shixiong’s escape and accepts a violent campaign against entrenched ward gangs 35 46. Yet she refuses to exchange Zhang Xing’s life for an easy solution through his dangerous Compass, and later lets Zhang Shiniang go after becoming her sworn sister 46 49.

She is sociable, teasing, and fond of literary talent. She treats her riders to entertainment, drinks freely, and pressures Zhang Xing into displaying his poetry. Political threats to her family can nevertheless leave her uncertain: over Hu Yan’s predicament, she openly seeks Zhang Xing’s advice rather than pretending to have an answer 32 33 45.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship and Golden Sword Light

Bai Yousi fights with a longsword and projects powerful golden cutting attacks 39 40.

• Cuts a burial pit into the ground with several strokes made through the air 12.
• Launches multiple sword-light attacks along different trajectories, killing roughly half a dozen outlaws before her followers reach the fight 39.
• Produces a blade of golden light twenty feet wide that drives Heluo Huaibao through a ward wall after Sima Zheng creates an opening 40.
• Pressures Heluo Huaibao at close range to interrupt his control of airborne masonry 40.
• Can be delayed by ambushes and terrain: Zhang Shiniang, despite being at a lower realm, leaves her muddy and embarrassed during a pursuit 48.

Qi-Controlled Flight

She can rise into the air on her qi and change direction without ordinary footholds 12 39.

• Flies over ward walls without using the ladders required by less advanced riders 39.
• Pushes off empty air and moves sideways in flight to reach threatened troops 39.
• Uses aerial attacks to kill gang leaders, giving her unit a decisive advantage in the Southern City purge 37.
• Remains vulnerable to stronger cultivators: a Grandmaster’s Longevity True Qi sweeps her, Sima Zheng, and Heluo Huaibao out of the air together 40.

Investigation and Interrogation

Bai Yousi combines physical evidence, true qi techniques, and questioning to reconstruct crimes 7 24 26.

• Sends tangible golden radiance into a corpse; it emerges at wounds in sequence, helping her determine the order of attacks 7.
• Connects the verse left at the Feng murders with Zhang Xing’s conspicuous poetic talent 24.
• Exposes the conspiracy surrounding Xiao Zhao’s death by confronting suspects with testimony and accomplices 26.
• Delegates parallel inquiries to Hu Yan, Qian Tang, Qin Bao, and other riders 7 46.

Command and Political Authority

Her martial strength and aristocratic standing form the core of the Second Patrol Team, supported by Hu Yan’s experience and a group of talented younger officers 46.

• Leads assaults personally rather than directing exclusively from safety 39.
• Opens the City Defense Army’s reserve armory and equips properly enlisted participants in the ward purge with steel crossbows 37.
• Refuses requests to disperse her riders among other teams or transfer Zhang Xing to the Black Tower when she believes doing so would expose them to political danger 38.
• Allows subordinates with family obligations or reservations to decline the dangerous western mission and promises fifty taels to each participant 44 45.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Longsword — Bears the one-sun, two-moons emblem of the Three-One Orthodox Church; used for both direct attacks and projected sword light 6 39 40.
• Vermilion sash and brocade uniform — Official insignia and clothing identifying her Directorate position 6 9.
• Warrior’s crown — Worn on official duty; replaced by a headcloth for a social outing 6 32.
• Riding horse — Used during patrols and travel; left behind when she leads the assault into Zhengping Ward on foot 6 39.

Relationships

• Zhang Xing — Subordinate, adviser, and recipient of her protection. She admires his loyalty, boldness, and literary talent, but remains troubled by his unverifiable military identity. She increasingly relies on his judgment in politically sensitive cases 12 27 32 33 44.
• Qin Bao — Initially accompanies her investigation as a civilian and later joins her riders. He is visibly captivated by her beauty and kindness 6 7 26.
• Hu Yan — Experienced deputy whom she addresses as “Brother Hu.” His exposure to blame over Li Shu’s escape forces her to confront the tension between protecting a subordinate and protecting her family 7 33.
• Qian Tang — White Ribbon subordinate entrusted with investigative assignments, logistical support, and leadership of the main force during the mountain search 7 32 50.
• Li Qingchen — Young patrol subordinate who addresses her familiarly as “Sister Si” 31 48.
• Marquis of Ji'an — Her father and a major source of her family’s political standing. After the Zhengping disaster, she feels compelled to consult him 31 41.
• Li Shu — Family acquaintance whom she addresses as “Uncle.” Their families have been friends for generations, but she confronts him over his alleged role as Yang Shen’s strategist 9.
• Sima Zheng — Familiar acquaintance and battlefield partner who calls her “Sister Sisi.” She jokingly accuses him of trying to poach Zhang Xing; they later fight Heluo Huaibao together 32 39 40.
• Zhang Shiniang — Initially a fugitive she captures. After questioning her, Bai Yousi becomes her sworn sister, releases her, and escorts her twenty li 48 49.
• Du Zhi Xiao Lin — Courtesan and social acquaintance who welcomes her warmly when she brings the patrol riders to Madam An’s establishment 32.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Investigating the Routed Soldier

• Arrives to investigate the five men Zhang Xing killed after Yuan Da’s attempted robbery. She and her constables conclude that the killings likely constitute legitimate resistance, but pursue him to establish the facts 6 7.
• Confronts Li Shu during the pursuit over Yang Shen’s claim that he was the rebellion’s chief strategist. Without an arrest warrant, she does not detain him 9.
• Helps Zhang Xing complete his journey with Du Meng’s body, pays for lodging, and offers him a future welcome at the Directorate 11.
• Cuts Du Meng’s grave, explains the cultivation system to Zhang Xing, and accepts his request to enter her service 12.

The Feng Murders and Zhang Xing’s Transfer

• Suspects Zhang Xing of killing Feng Yong and his wife, particularly because the killer’s written verse resembles his literary displays 24.
• Promises to investigate both his guilt and the possibility that he has been wronged 25.
• Uncovers the conspiracy behind Xiao Zhao’s death and supports Zhang Xing’s account of Xiao Yu’s unborn child, recognizing the protection it offers the vulnerable mother and child 26.
• Intervenes beyond normal procedure on Zhang Xing’s behalf and transfers him into her patrol group, while explicitly warning that his unresolved identity remains a problem 27.

Political Pressure and the Southern City Purge

• Seeks Zhang Xing’s advice when the Ministry of Justice’s renewed rebellion investigation threatens Hu Yan over the patrol’s earlier encounter with Li Shu 32 33.
• Accepts Zhang Xing’s proposal to turn an impractical prisoner search in Jiaqing and Jiajing Wards into a coordinated operation against the local gangs 35.
• Supplies crossbows and uses aerial strikes against gang leaders to break organized resistance 37.
• Keeps her successful team together afterward, declining both wider deployments and a politically risky opportunity that could have accelerated Zhang Xing’s promotion 38.

Battle of Zhengping Ward

• Leads reinforcements into Zhengping Ward and warns her riders that Heluo Huaibao may sacrifice his Inner Core and qi sea to fight desperately 38 39.
• Joins Sima Zheng against Heluo Huaibao, landing a major sword-light attack but failing to contain all of his attacks on surrounding troops 39 40.
• Survives a Grandmaster’s intervention without apparent serious injury, though left disheveled and exhausted 40 41.
• Dismisses lower-ranking reinforcements to rest and cautions Zhang Xing against becoming consumed by the political responsibility behind the disaster 41.

Pursuit of Han Shixiong

• Receives orders to capture the fugitive former governor-general. Failure threatens both her own position and her family, but she gives her riders the option to remain behind 44.
• Investigates the escape at Taolin Post Station and refuses Zhang Xing’s initial offer to risk his life using the Compass 46.
• Captures Li Ding and Zhang Shiniang after a difficult pursuit, then releases Zhang Shiniang after they become sworn sisters and orders Li Ding released as well 48 49.
• Learns that Zhang Xing has already used the Compass out of gratitude to her. She warns him not to expose it to the other riders and promises to cover for him 50.
• Leads the search toward Mount Funiu, discovers a stronghold matching the Compass’s direction, and goes ahead alone to investigate while the others regroup 50.

Notable Quotes

“Just a living person, only a little further along in cultivation.” 10

“Criminals should make way for us. Why should we make way for criminals?” 9

“If you really have been bullied and wronged, I should likewise be the one to stand up for you... Everyone in the Jing'an Directorate knows this rule of mine.” 25