Du Yueyi

Biodata

Background / History

Family and Position on Deer Island

Du Yueyi belonged to a family that had conducted business on Deer Island for generations. The Du Household prospered through her younger sister Du Xingyi’s cultivation connections and the favor of Island Master Huo Qiushi 35.

After her elder brother died and her younger sister left, Yueyi assumed responsibility for maintaining the household. Xingyi had disappeared while hunting; Huo later explained that a friend had taken her away to cultivate. Six years passed without a letter, leaving Yueyi worried about both her sister’s safety and the person she might become 36 38.

First Deer Island Timeline: Patronage and Betrayal

Yueyi supervised the settlement of Old Turtle Island’s refugees at Old Turtle Pit Village. She registered them, provided housing and farmland, distributed grain, and arranged seed supplies. Among them was Meng Yuan, whose survival after an encounter with Fairy Xin Li attracted unwelcome sexual gossip. Yueyi dismissed the onlookers and warned him against selling himself 35.

When Meng Yuan requested work, she lent him a fishing boat and identified a fishing ground. She initially claimed ninety percent of his catches. After his fourth voyage, she supplied a larger boat and offered an equal division; they ultimately agreed that she would receive seventy percent and he thirty percent. Pleased by his apparent gratitude, she began explaining the island’s political hierarchy and cultivation opportunities 35.

Their association deteriorated as Meng Yuan organized fishermen against the Thirteen Families. Yueyi initially hoped to profit from his security-silver fund, but withdrew after examining accounts showing that it lost money. His growing influence, strikes, and eventual destruction of four families alarmed her 36.

The final breach came when she discovered that his thoughtful crescent-shaped stone gift was not unique: several other influential women had received similar stones. Believing he had cultivated their affection to build political alliances, she threw hers away and rejected his proposed partnership. Her returning sister then struck Meng Yuan down, ending that lifetime 37 38.

Revised Timeline: Meng Yuan’s Lover

In his next life, Meng Yuan deliberately pursued a closer relationship with Yueyi rather than confronting the island’s ruling families. By listening to her loneliness and household burdens, he gained her confidence, and the two became lovers. Their relationship was never given a formal status 38 39.

When Yueyi developed a severe fever, Meng Yuan tended her closely. Du Xingyi returned, treated her, and displayed killing intent toward him. Yueyi intervened by reminding her sister that she was a widow, persuading Xingyi to spare him 39.

Xingyi subsequently arranged for Meng Yuan to study under Huo Qiushi, on the condition that he no longer disturb her mortal family. In Meng Yuan’s fourth year on Deer Island, Yueyi led the Du Household away to Longstone Island, abandoning its Deer Island holdings 39 41.

Later Timeline: The False Messenger

In another lifetime, Meng Yuan approached Yueyi under the name Pei Hu, claiming to carry a message from Xingyi. He supported his claim with private details remembered from his earlier relationship with Yueyi, then told her to inventory the family’s assets and build more large ships 43.

Yueyi entertained him while sending people to investigate. Unable to establish how much of his story was true, she nevertheless provided a boat, sailors, and supplies for his requested journey to Scattered Rock Island. She considered that assistance a small favor, while the supposed instructions largely matched work she was already doing 43.

Two years later, Xingyi returned and ordered the household to relocate to Longstone Island within a year or two. Yueyi reported that she had built and purchased additional ships because of the earlier message, prompting Xingyi to investigate the visitor’s identity 44.

Personality

Yueyi is practical and protective of her household, but firmly identifies with Deer Island’s merchant elite. She openly explains that keeping ordinary people dependent on dangerous sea work serves the families’ interests and fulfills the island master’s demands. Meng Yuan’s uprising frightens her not only because of its violence, but because her own household could become its next target 36 37.

Her public authority conceals loneliness. Although others see a prosperous woman giving orders, she privately describes the strain of widowhood and of holding together a large family after her brother’s death and sister’s departure. Meng Yuan gains her affection by recognizing those burdens 38.

She responds strongly to personal attention, yet is not uniformly credulous. She checks the security fund’s accounts, investigates Pei Hu’s claims, and recognizes Meng Yuan’s alliance-building once she compares his gifts with those received by other women 36 37 43.

Abilities & Skills

Household and Business Administration

• Manages the Du Household’s affairs and accounts 38 44.
• Oversees refugee registration, housing, land allocation, grain distribution, and planting arrangements 35.
• Supplies fishing vessels and negotiates divisions of their earnings 35.
• Coordinates shipbuilding, ship purchases, and the household’s relocation 41 44.

Political and Cultivation-World Knowledge

• Understands the Thirteen Families’ commercial power and their role in nominating candidates for the island master’s cultivation selection 36.
• Advises Meng Yuan about influential islanders and whom he can afford to offend 35.
• Knows cultivators’ reputations through family connections, including Xin Li’s identity as the ruthless Merciless Beauty 35.
• Remains a mortal; no cultivation advancement or supernatural ability is documented for her 37 49.

Relationships

• Meng Yuan — Refugee protégé and business associate who becomes her enemy in one lifetime and her lover in another. His cultivation ambitions repeatedly shape their relationship 35 37 38 39.
• Du Xingyi — Younger sister. Yueyi preserves her belongings and cleans her room during her absence, but feels intimidated by her cold manner upon returning. Xingyi nevertheless protects Yueyi and arranges a safer home for their family 39 44 49.
• Unnamed elder brother — Deceased sibling whose early death left Yueyi responsible for the household. His children remain under the family’s protection 38 39.
• Huo Qiushi — Deer Island’s master and a patron of the Du Household. His favor helps the family prosper, while his selection system governs access to cultivation 35 36.

Notable Quotes

“I thought you were gentle and courteous, hardworking and dependable. I never imagined you'd been using me all along—using all of us!” 37

“Little Sister, I... I'm a mortal too...” 37