Qin Bao

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Family and martial education

Qin Bao descends from an Eastern Qi official family. His great-grandfather governed one of its 120 commanderies, while his grandfather served as recording adjutant to a prince governing Qi. The family subsequently fell on hard times under Great Wei, retaining only a few dozen mu of land but still financing his martial education and a horse 14.

His father and elder brother died early, leaving his mother to raise him alone. He wanted to earn distinction for her sake and had considered joining the army to fight in Dongyi before the opportunity to enter the Jing'an Directorate arose. He also attended the Deng Prefecture Martial Arts Hall, where he knew Xu Shiying; their reunion occurs roughly half a year after their previous meeting 9 14.

Meeting Zhang Xing and Bai Yousi

Qin Bao initially allowed the routed soldier Zhang Xing to stay in his village because Auntie Liu offered him lodging, but insisted that he leave the following morning. He then reported Zhang Xing as a deserter, fearing that sheltering him would bring official punishment upon the village. Auntie Liu defended Qin Bao’s upright character, while Yuan Da attributed the report to the Qin family’s rigid adherence to rules 5 6.

After Zhang Xing killed Yuan Da and four accomplices, Qin Bao helped secure the scene and explained the village’s involvement to Bai Yousi. She assured him that defeat was not a crime and concluded that Zhang Xing had probably resisted a robbery. Qin Bao requested permission to accompany the pursuit, ostensibly to understand the affair fully; Bai Yousi accepted after learning that he could ride and owned a horse 6 7.

The narration also identifies Bai Yousi’s beauty and the mounted patrolmen’s freedom and prestige as motives for his decision. Once Zhang Xing’s account settled the killings, Qin Bao spoke up against abandoning him at the river without transport. He subsequently accompanied Zhang Xing to Red Mountain and helped bury Du Meng 10 12.

Service in the Eastern Capital

Qin Bao entered the Central Pacification Office’s Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry, but struggled with condescension and exclusion from his new colleagues. Seeking Zhang Xing’s advice, he resolved to stop dwelling on their provocations and concentrate on cultivation, martial training, reading, and conduct 14.

Their association developed into a close friendship. Qin Bao agreed to wait across the Luo River as a possible escape contact when Zhang Xing retaliated against an attempt on his life. His movements near the Feng murder scene later became part of Bai Yousi’s grounds for suspecting Zhang Xing. He also delivered the boxed books that proved to be Biography of the Heroine Li Yue 21 23 24.

During the horse-market visit, Zhang Xing spent forty-nine taels on an unusual colt and gave it to Qin Bao in exchange for his ordinary yellow-brown horse. Qin Bao was visibly moved when Zhang Xing explained that he considered him someone worth befriending. The two later agreed to share a courtyard, with Qin Bao assigned the eastern side courtyard and responsibility for repairing the stable 29 34 43.

Ward operations and external patrol

During the fugitive searches in Jiaqing and Jiajing Wards, Qin Bao recognized that residents’ lack of savings and food reserves made a complete lockdown potentially lethal. He publicly challenged Li Qingchen’s assumption that allowing shopkeepers to restock would solve the problem: residents also needed permission to leave and earn money. During the ensuing gang purge, Zhang Xing entrusted him with maintaining the frontal suppression of the Great Righteousness Gang while pursuing its fleeing leader 35 37.

On Heaven Street, Qin Bao sheltered two Jinwu Guard soldiers beneath a shield during Heluo Huaibao’s rampage. His observation that every attack and defense consumed true qi helped prompt Zhang Xing’s proposal to exhaust the enemy with massed crossbow fire 40.

Qin Bao later joined the mission to capture Han Shixiong. He investigated the wine, post station, and escape route with Hu Yan, then accompanied Bai Yousi’s smaller mountain-search party. Near Mount Funiu, he discovered an apparently abandoned village whose tracks led Bai Yousi toward a bandit stronghold. Its clean interiors and well-tended nearby crops led him to suspect that the villagers had joined—or become—the bandits 46 50.

Appearance

• A young man approximately Zhang Xing’s age, with a Qi accent 14.
• Described as having a fine build and an honest, trustworthy air 32.
• Initially carries a bow on his back and a saber at his waist; later wears the brocade uniform of a Directorate patrol rider 7 14.
• Wears a small red flower behind his ear when attending the gathering in Gentlemanly Ward 32.

Personality

Qin Bao is upright, conscientious, and concerned about bringing trouble upon others, though his initial reliance on official rules leads him to report Zhang Xing. His kindness becomes clearer when he tries to comfort Zhang Xing at Red Mountain, offers practical help with Du Meng’s burial, and instinctively reaches for money upon encountering an impoverished mother buying rice 5 6 12 35.

He is ambitious but ties advancement to filial duty rather than wealth alone. Sensitive to being dismissed as a country outsider, he nevertheless accepts advice and redirects his frustration into training. His early assumption that formidable cultivators must possess noble ancestry is challenged by Zhang Xing’s explanation that wealthy families provide better resources and freedom to study 14 34.

His earnestness coexists with ordinary vanity and social awkwardness: Bai Yousi’s presence makes him blush, and he is excited but nervous around Gentlemanly Ward’s entertainers. With Zhang Xing, however, he becomes a dependable companion who keeps watch during meditation and promises not to fail an entrusted responsibility 7 21 32 42.

Abilities & Skills

Fixed Thunder True Qi

Qin Bao cultivates a lineage traditionally attributed to the Eastern Thunder True Lord, a True Dragon associated with the Eastern Azure Emperor. He treats its divine origin as tradition rather than established certainty 21.

• Meridian opening: Can often open a meridian in a single stroke 21.
• External projection: Difficult to draw outside the body; Qin Bao cannot demonstrate summoned lightning or discharged electricity when Zhang Xing asks 21.
• Higher-stage characteristics: He describes its Condensing the Core techniques as tremendously powerful but harder to control freely than other true qi types. This describes the lineage, not his own attained realm 21.

Cultivation Knowledge

Qin Bao frequently explains cultivation principles and lineages to Zhang Xing 12 21.

• Identifies Longevity True Qi, possible sources of earthy-yellow true qi, and the traditional origins of Ice True Qi 21.
• Explains the practical advantages—and continued vulnerability—of Eight Extraordinary Meridians cultivators 21.
• Understands meditation and opportunities for opening meridians, allowing Zhang Xing to concentrate without interruption 42.

Horsemanship and Horse Appraisal

• Owns and rides a horse before joining the Directorate 7.
• Advises Zhang Xing on selecting a suitable mount and offers to assess individual horses for him 29.
• Recognizes the unusual colt’s promise when it reacts to his Fixed Thunder True Qi 29.

Field Observation and Command

• Identifies signs of nighttime smuggling at damaged ward walls 35.
• Connects low shop inventories and household poverty to the danger of starvation under lockdown 35.
• Leads the men maintaining pressure on the Great Righteousness Gang during Zhang Xing’s pursuit 37.
• Uses his familiarity with village life to interpret maintained houses and crops near the mountain stronghold 50.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Bow and saber — Carried during his initial journey with Bai Yousi 7.
• Brocade patrol uniform and waist token — Worn and presented while serving in the Jing'an Directorate 14 28.
• Yellow-brown horse — Purchased with his warhorse allowance; later exchanged with Zhang Xing 29.
• Unusual spotted colt — A gift from Zhang Xing, described by its seller as a possible Dragon-Blooded Steed. It has yellow-and-black markings over a white coat and a fleshy lump beneath its jaw; its dragon-blooded status remains unconfirmed 29.

Relationships

• Zhang Xing — Close friend, colleague, adviser, and eventual housemate. Qin Bao calls him “Third Brother” and relies on his guidance about advancement and public duty 14 21 29 34 43.
• Bai Yousi — Superior and patron who permits him to accompany her investigation and later brings him into Directorate service. His initial admiration includes attraction to her beauty 7 10 14.
• Mother — Raised him alone after his father and elder brother died; earning distinction for her is a central ambition 14.
• Li Qingchen — Fellow patrolman associated with Qin Bao’s early exclusion. Qin Bao later openly rebukes him over the consequences of sealing the poor wards 14 35.
• Xu Shiying — Acquaintance from the Deng Prefecture Martial Arts Hall who mocks his apparent entry into the Directorate 9.
• Fenniang / Yue Niang — Shares the household arranged by Zhang Xing while living under a concealed identity 43.

Notable Quotes

“Since you've entrusted this to me, I, Qin Er, will never fail you.” 21

“Having one meal with no promise of the next isn't some proverb. It's the truth!” 35

“Sometimes it's hard to say whether it was voluntary or forced. Ordinary people always have it hardest.” 50