Old Woman

Biodata

Background / History

Hunting with Jiang Mi

Old Woman meets Jiang Mi, who is using the name Rong Mi, when the Gathering Worthies Hall recruits her for an Ironback Bear hunt. She serves as the team’s scout alongside the fist fighter Old Li. The expedition succeeds, and the three continue hunting together for five years, building a reputation in the hall 15.

During their third year together, a Gale Wolf tears open Old Li’s abdomen. Old Woman carries him on her back through the night while Jiang Mi covers their retreat. That same year, she talks with Jiang Mi until dawn and leaves her the Cloud-Treading Crossing manual. Jiang Mi recognizes the value of the gift and subsequently gives her extra silver 16.

Azure-Patterned Leopard Hunt

Zuo Yunchi hires the trio to kill a den of Azure-Patterned Leopards for eight thousand taels. Old Woman supports Jiang Mi’s proposal to use the cubs as bait and helps work out the preparations. She steals all six cubs from the den, allowing the team to lure the four adults into successive ambushes 17 18.

After the final leopard is trapped, Old Li attempts to kill Jiang Mi and keep her share of the proceeds. Old Woman cries out and rushes toward Jiang Mi, but cannot reach her in time. Believing his attack successful, Old Li proposes dividing the money between himself and Old Woman. She eventually tells him to skin the leopards and turn in the job 18.

Jiang Mi, who has evaded the blow with Cloud-Treading Crossing and feigned death, kills Old Li from behind. Old Woman refuses to condemn Jiang Mi, telling Old Li that she would not dare continue working with someone like him. The two survivors collect the payment, sell the cubs, and divide the proceeds 19.

Parting and Death

When Jiang Mi prepares to leave Gathered Worthies Manor, Old Woman gives her four low-grade spirit stones to support her cultivation and discourage her from practicing the dangerous Evergreen Art. She invites Jiang Mi to seek her out if necessary; if she is no longer there, Jiang Mi should head east and say that an old woman surnamed Zhou sent her. She refuses to explain further or accompany Jiang Mi 19.

Years later, Jiang Mi sends her an invitation to Liu Family Ferry, hoping to share the benefits of her spiritual jujubes. The messenger returns two years afterward with the unopened letter and reports that Old Woman died peacefully of old age some years earlier 23.

Appearance

• Build: Small, thin, and stooped 15 19.
• Hair: Graying, described as though covered with frost 15.
• Characteristic posture: Often sits basking in the sun with narrowed eyes; Jiang Mi compares her to an old cat 19.

Personality

Old Woman is patient with her companions’ familiar manner of address: Jiang Mi spends five years hunting with her without learning her surname, and she never objects to being called “old woman.” Her concern for her teammates is practical as well as affectionate, shown by rescuing Old Li, teaching Jiang Mi life-saving footwork, and providing cultivation resources at their parting 16 19.

Her generosity coexists with a hardened view of demon hunting. She does not believe hunters can trust their companions wholeheartedly and says Old Li’s decisive mistake was failing to kill Jiang Mi with his first blow. Nevertheless, she is not guarded against Jiang Mi, whom the narration describes as something like her disciple 19.

Abilities & Skills

Cloud-Treading Crossing

A high-grade mortal-tier footwork technique responsible for her exceptional mobility even at eighty 15 16.

• Lets her outrun both Jiang Mi and Old Li by as much as two li 15.
• Can be used in combat or to escape danger 16.
• Enables evasive movements that save Jiang Mi from Old Li’s surprise attack 18.
• Its qi-circulation method resembles that of the incomplete Crescent Moon Sword Art, though no deeper connection is established 20.

Scouting and Beast Hunting

An experienced scout capable of reconnaissance, rescue, and coordinated ambushes 15 16 18.

• Hunts with the team against Ironback Bears and Gale Wolves, and encounters a Houtian Fifth Layer Red-Striped Tiger 16.
• Extracts all six newborn Azure-Patterned Leopard cubs from their den 18.
• Helps surround the final adult leopard in a three-pronged formation 18.
• Processes the leopard carcasses after Old Li’s death 19.

Martial and Cultivation Knowledge

Provides Jiang Mi with guidance extending beyond footwork 20 21 33.

• Incomplete manuals: Distinguishes missing moves from incomplete instructions; warns that manuals with incomplete instructions must not be practiced 20.
• Technique mastery: Explains the four stages—initial glimpse of the path, small accomplishment, thorough integration, and the pinnacle of perfection 21.
• Technique grades: Teaches the mortal, spirit, earth, and heaven tiers, each divided into low, middle, and high grades 33.
• Political knowledge: Informs Jiang Mi about the Zuo Household’s control over half of Great Xia’s spirit-stone circulation 38.

Relationships

• Jiang Mi / Rong Mi — Hunting companion and informal disciple. Old Woman teaches her Cloud-Treading Crossing and supports her cultivation; Jiang Mi reciprocates with extra silver and later tries to invite her to share spiritual jujubes 16 19 23.
• Old Li — Longtime teammate whom she saves after a severe injury. His attempted murder of Jiang Mi destroys her willingness to work with him 16 19.
• Zuo Yunchi — Client who commissions the Azure-Patterned Leopard hunt 17.
• Unnamed faction — A background she never fully identifies. Her pride in it and her instruction to “head east” lead Jiang Mi to regard it as one of Great Xia’s foremost factions 19 33.

Notable Quotes

“I wouldn't dare work with someone like you.” 19

“His mistake was that his punch failed to kill you.” 19

“Head east and say an old woman surnamed Zhou sent you.” 19