Wen Ruzhi

Biodata

Power Progression

Wen recounts his early martial development while explaining the strength realms to Chen Ying 16.

Background / History

White Lotus Sect and the Chen Family

Wen is one of the White Lotus Sect’s eighteen incense masters and is recognized as one of Lingnan’s foremost experts. He knew Chen Ying’s family through their shared religious affiliation; Granny Chen and Chen Ying’s parents had also belonged to the sect 6 7 31.

The unresolved grievances between Granny Chen and the White Lotus Sect initially restricted his ability to help her grandson. Wen therefore presented his instruction as medical treatment rather than a master-disciple inheritance, explicitly denying that teaching Chen Ying established a formal lineage relationship 7.

Treating Chen Ying

After examining Chen Ying’s pulse, Wen diagnosed the dispersal of his innate qi. Although Chen’s soul injury required recuperation, Wen considered his internally decaying body the greater danger and estimated that it would fail within two or three years 7.

His proposed treatment used boxing to strengthen the body internally, treating essence, qi, and spirit as fuel for an internal furnace. He requested a consultation fee of three hundred pounds only if the treatment extended Chen Ying’s life, and required Chen not to use his teachings to harm White Lotus Sect members 7.

Wen began with an unconventional lesson: he gave Chen Ying an ivory-gripped revolver, ammunition, and instructions to practice shooting and conceal the weapon from police. Alongside this, he taught Eight Trigram Palm’s stance work, footwork, and methods of generating force 7 8.

After approximately two months, Chen Ying’s appetite and body temperature began recovering. Wen predicted that Bright Strength would restore seventy or eighty percent of his condition and that covert force would permit a complete recovery 16.

Rongyi Street and Formal Discipleship

When Chen Ying sought a way to fight supernatural beings, Wen taught him Kui Star Kicks the Dipper, a technique acquired during his early years in the martial world. In exchange, he required two tasks; the first was to spend a night alone in the haunted temple at 93 Rongyi Street 29.

Wen intended the visit as practical combat training. While sharing a meal with Lu Zhengxing, he explained that boxing was learned through fights rather than drills and praised Chen Ying for developing Coiling Python Force in two months 31.

The trial became far more dangerous than Wen expected when a colossal three-faced Netherworld being began manifesting above the street. Wen and Lu rushed to the area and met Chen Ying as he escaped with Hua Shanrong. Wen acknowledged his misjudgment and formally accepted Chen as his disciple, with Lu serving as witness 33.

The initiation admitted Chen Ying to Wen’s personal tutelage, not the White Lotus Sect. Wen imposed one overriding prohibition: his disciple must never betray his country and people 33.

Further Training and the Wo On Sing Hearing

After accepting Chen Ying, Wen taught him daily. He shifted the emphasis from memorizing forms to refining force and developing an individual style, using a heavy, water-filled iron ball as a training tool. He also introduced Through-Arm Fist and supplied medical books 34.

Wen subsequently sent Chen Ying to accompany Hua Shanrong to a Wo On Sing hearing. Lu Zhengxing had already arranged support, and Wen treated the assignment as a test of Chen’s ability to navigate martial-world affairs 34.

Search for the Illuminating-Night Burning Rhinoceros

Wen’s prolonged stay in Hong Kong-Kowloon City concealed a sect mission: locating the Illuminating-Night Burning Rhinoceros, an ancient rhinoceros-horn candle capable of opening a gateway to the Netherworld. The White Lotus Sect wanted the relic as a reference for a major undertaking whose details are not disclosed 44.

Because the treasure concealed its own brilliance, Wen searched places where evil ghosts gathered, following its connection to the Netherworld. Despite devoting most of his time to the search, he found no trace of it and began considering withdrawal as the sect’s deadline approached 44.

Chen Ying independently deduced that Wen was searching for a person or object connected to the sect’s legacy. He offered to make discreet inquiries through the foreigners’ Emergency Management Department, impressing Wen with his ability to infer the larger situation from small clues 43 44.

Wen initially refused Chen’s request to pursue Xu Renying because the Drought Demon expedition led into the deadly Wuzhong City. He nevertheless promised to protect Chen Ying and restore his family branch to the sect if Granny Chen came to harm. He later agreed to travel to Lingnan, privately suspecting that Xu might possess the rhinoceros candle or know its whereabouts 43 44.

Appearance

• Middle-aged man, introduced at the entrance to the medicine shop 6.
• Wears a long gown when receiving Chen Ying at the clinic 43.

Personality

Wen is a patient, generous instructor who explains complicated martial principles in accessible language. Although initially guarded about martial-world affairs and sect secrets, he holds nothing back when teaching the fundamentals entrusted to him 8 9 16.

His patriotism is paired with practical openness toward foreign technology. He rejects the idea that using Western firearms means abandoning one’s roots, arguing that Chinese people can use—and eventually improve upon—the weapons used to oppress them 8 22.

He favors courage and real experience over sheltered practice, but accepts responsibility when his judgment fails. After the Rongyi Street trial placed Chen Ying in unexpected danger, he openly admitted his mistake before accepting him as a disciple 31 33.

Wen is confident in his strength without treating martial arts as an answer to everything. He acknowledges that guns and artillery have diminished the battlefield value of conventional martial training and recommends occult study to those able to pursue it 16.

Abilities & Skills

Eight Trigram Palm

Wen teaches Eight Trigram Palm, also called Bagua or Baguazhang, as both a combat art and a means of internal recovery 7 9.

• Explains static, moving, and formless stance training, emphasizing the mud-wading step and power generated through footwork 9.
• Teaches unarmed routines and spear techniques, along with the principles behind Coiling Python Force 16 29.
• Evades more than thirty consecutive attacks from Chen Ying at a leisurely walking pace, keeping each strike three inches away 29.
• Ends the exchange with a light touch to Chen’s wrist that sends him flying 29.

Kui Star Kicks the Dipper

A kicking technique and blood-and-qi circulation method that Wen acquired outside the sect’s usual inheritance 29.

• Channels baleful qi into the foot to strike evil entities 29.
• Requires accomplishment in both Bright Strength and hidden strength 29.
• Coordinates sixteen internal force points arranged according to the stars of Kui; none may be omitted 29.
• Becomes Chen Ying’s means of destroying the demon seeking recognition as a god at Rongyi Street 32.

Through-Arm Fist

Wen teaches Through-Arm Fist as a direct, hard-striking complement to Eight Trigram Palm 34.

• Emphasizes attacking through the center and meeting speed with speed 34.
• Includes the hidden force Diamond Ape Arms, which draws strength from the Dazhui to transform both arms 44.
• Demonstrates its principles through rapid, head-on exchanges with Chen Ying across the clinic’s consultation desk 44.

Medicine and Internal Strengthening

Wen combines medical diagnosis with martial conditioning when treating Chen Ying 7.

• Identifies Chen’s dispersed innate qi and distinguishes bodily deterioration from soul injury 7.
• Uses boxing to stimulate internal recovery rather than promising a guaranteed cure 7.
• Recognizes baleful qi and advises Chen to seek him out if it causes abnormal symptoms 16.
• Encourages medical study as part of building a lasting martial foundation 34.

Firearms Instruction

Wen treats firearms competence as part of practical self-defense rather than a contradiction of martial training 7 8.

• Prescribes daily marksmanship practice with the ammunition he supplies 8.
• Teaches concealment and avoiding police detection 8.
• Assures Chen Ying that he can secure his release if police arrest him 8.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Ivory-gripped revolver — Given to Chen Ying as the first tool of his martial education 7.
• Three boxes of ammunition — Supplied with instructions to expend one box per day in shooting practice 8.
• Training dummies and acupuncture charts — Kept in his upstairs training room 6.
• Water-filled iron ball — Used to train Chen Ying’s hidden force; weighs over two hundred jin when filled 34.
• Medical books — Given to Chen Ying to supplement his boxing instruction 34.

Relationships

• Chen Ying — Patient who becomes his formal martial disciple. Wen’s regard develops from goodwill toward an acquaintance’s descendant into appreciation of Chen’s talent and broader strategic vision 7 33 44.
• Granny Chen — Former sect associate whose family has unresolved grievances with the White Lotus Sect. Despite those tensions, she considers Wen capable, conscientious, and trustworthy enough to guide her grandson 6 17 28.
• Lu Zhengxing — Close friend with whom he has risked his life. Lu witnesses Chen Ying’s initiation and helps handle the aftermath of the Rongyi Street incident 31 33 34.
• Wu Jie — Accompanies Chen Ying to seek treatment. She initially worries that accepting Wen’s help will entangle the Chen family further with the White Lotus Sect 7 8.
• Commander Li — Lingnan’s Jiedushi and an old comrade described as having fought his way out alongside Wen 31.
• Xu Renying — Suspected mastermind against the Chen family and a possible lead in Wen’s search for the rhinoceros candle. Wen departs for Lingnan to investigate him 43 44.

Notable Quotes

“To train your fists, first train your courage.” 8

“You will enter my tutelage, but not my religious order.” 33

“Ordinary experts have only a slim chance of surviving. I’m no ordinary expert.” 44