Xu Da

Biodata

Appearance

• Build: Tall and exceptionally burly, with a broad chest and large hands and feet; Wang Qilin initially thinks he looks two sizes larger than an ordinary man 1 7.
• Face: Dark-complexioned, with large eyes and a large mouth; his voice is similarly rough 1 2.
• Body hair: Long, hairy arms and dense chest hair 20 27.
• Clothing: Wears the Heaven-Listening Bureau’s distinctive black brocade short robe while investigating cases 8.

Personality

Xu Da is talkative, boastful, and eager for an audience. He brightens when given an opportunity to recount a case and turns routine strength training into an elaborate performance when Wang Qilin watches. His shamelessness extends to offering to buy a newcomer lunch and then asking how much money the newcomer has 1 2 7.

His crude humor frequently centers on sex, brothels, and food. He describes spending money on women as charitable relief, proposes using Xie Hama’s paper women to open a brothel, and consumes an enormous breakfast after complaining that the meal is disappointing 2 20 29. Nevertheless, he insists that children and soldiers’ families are off-limits to sexual exploitation 16 35.

Beneath the bluster, Xu Da is loyal to his companions. He rescues the collapsing Du Cao during the Zhong clan battle and trusts Xie Hama over apparent outsiders because Xie is one of their own 13 27. He is also notably gentle with children, sharing snacks, playing with them, and carrying Heidou on his shoulders 16 35 37.

His courage is tempered by practical caution. Although he repeatedly underestimates supernatural enemies, he refuses to attack Xiang Wei when surrounded and certain to lose. He also objects when Huang Huaji tries to pressure Wang Qilin into risking his life 5 12 39 49.

Abilities & Skills

Physical Strength and Martial Arts

Xu Da is a trained martial artist whose strength makes him dangerous to ordinary criminals, though it does not guarantee success against ghosts 5 23.

• Effortlessly maneuvers a stone lock weighing forty or fifty jin, including throwing it overhead and catching it one-handed 7.
• Shatters a solid wooden stump with a punch and repeatedly kicks open obstructing doors and gates 13 20 22.
• Defeats an armed gambling-den enforcer by swinging another thug as an improvised club 23.
• Uses sabers, punches, kicks, and grappling; during the county Bureau fight, he tackles Xiang Wei from behind 5 17 49.
• Limits: The qi-eating ghost knocks him down before he can complete his opening attack, and an infant spirit later sends him flying with a claw strike 5 12.

Investigation and Local Contacts

Xu Da knows Crouching Dragon Township’s respectable and criminal circles and commands considerable influence over its hoodlums 24.

• Mobilizes local ruffians to search for the mysterious Daoist and receives their report about Foolhardy’s disappearance 18 37.
• Builds rapport with poor children through food and play, then questions them about the meals mysteriously appearing in their homes 16.
• Extracts the location of Zhong Erniu’s imprisonment from a clan member 9.
• Recognizes the danger of the Minor Seal curse and questions why Du Cao’s powerful fierce god performed so poorly against the infant spirits 15.
• Limits: His search network fails to locate Xie Hama before Wang Qilin draws the Daoist out through a staged report 18.

Gambling

Xu Da is skilled at dice games and can manipulate a result without touching the dice directly 24.

• Wins fifteen or sixteen rounds within roughly an incense stick’s time 24.
• Slaps the table hard enough to turn a die’s six into a one, changing a “big” result into “small” 24.
• His winning streak prompts Ma Qiu to deploy a gambling ghost to drain his luck; Wang Qilin intervenes and destroys it 24.

Storytelling

Xu Da vividly recounts the Bureau’s strange cases. Wang Qilin considers him talented enough to earn a living telling stories in a teahouse 2.

• Uses dramatic pauses and grisly details when describing the unsolved Green Mountain County murder 1.
• Explains previous Bureau cases to Wang Qilin during his first day on the job 2.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Waist saber: Carries a steel saber during the Zhang family clinic investigation 5.
• Ice Plant Beads: Mugwort balls made from plants grown on old graves. Held in the mouth, they turn cold in the presence of yin qi and help prevent sinister yin influences from entering the body. Xu Da supplies one to Wang Qilin and later uses them during investigations 4 33 38.
• Du Cao’s saber: Temporarily receives his superior’s weapon during the Zhong ancestral hall battle 12.
• Great Nourishment Pill: Takes a remaining pill after injuring his leg and hip while fighting Xie Hama’s paper figure; by morning, he can walk with difficulty 18.
• Jade thumb ring: Takes Ma Qiu’s ring during the gambling-den raid and argues that it cannot be a bribe because he has done nothing in return 24.

History

Service Under Du Cao

Xu Da has served in the Heaven-Listening Bureau for almost a year when Du Cao assigns him and the newly recruited Wang Qilin to handle the Zhang family clinic’s qi-eating ghost. Although ordered to look after the newcomer, Xu Da is quickly overwhelmed by the possessed corpse and has to be rescued by Wang Qilin. After witnessing Wang’s decisive saber technique, his swagger gives way to newfound deference 3 5 6.

During the Zhong clan investigation, Xu Da discovers that Zhong Erniu has been confined in the clan’s earthen jail. He subsequently joins the ancestral hall battle, where an infant spirit defeats his initial attack. When Du Cao’s fierce god sacrifices itself, Xu Da catches his collapsing superior and carries him out of immediate danger. He later confirms that Du Cao is still breathing and agrees to conceal the clan’s reincarnation scheme 9 12 13.

Wang Qilin’s Subordinate

Following Du Cao’s retirement, Wang Qilin becomes Minor Seal. Xu Da does not resent his former colleague’s promotion; his distress comes from knowing that the post attracts a murderous ghost every year on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. He warns Wang Qilin that Du Cao survived the previous attack only by losing one of his two fierce gods and tricking the ghost into leaving 14 15.

Xu Da helps investigate the Daoist secretly distributing food to poor households. During their confrontation, he punches through what proves to be a paper figure and injures himself. The Daoist subsequently joins the station as Xie Hama, becoming Xu Da’s colleague 16 17 18 19.

General Huang’s Estate

Xu Da accompanies Wang Qilin and Xie Hama to obtain Niu Er’s ancestral executioner’s saber, helping break up Ma Qiu’s ghost-assisted gambling operation along the way 22 23 24.

His interest in the Six-Step Qi Jade helps draw the group after a Black Yao funeral procession: he has heard that refining its innate qi can allow advancement from Postnatal to Innate. During the encounter with false coffin bearers, he throws a torch at the disguised Daoist because he trusts Xie Hama. Later that night, he helps repel Mountain Puppets by throwing burning wood into Wang Qilin’s attacks 26 27 29.

At the Huang estate, Xu Da pursues Su Xin’an’s fleeing ghost into Madam Huang née Yao’s courtyard. His Ice Plant Bead subsequently alerts the group to yin energy near the disturbed coffin. When Wang Qilin later enters the underground pagoda, Xu Da is assigned to guard the entrance and prevent anyone from closing it 32 33 39.

Later Investigations and County Visit

Xu Da brings Wang Qilin news of Foolhardy’s disappearance and his connection to the sinister paintings. He later supplies the clue that Foolhardy had been visiting the Zhang family clinic, prompting a renewed investigation 37 43.

While accompanying Wang Qilin to the county seat, Xu Da confronts Xiang Wei over a deceptive banquet invitation. During the ensuing Bureau brawl, he supplies Wang Qilin with a bamboo saber and ambushes Xiang Wei. Afterward, he dismisses Xiang Wei’s claim of superiority by insisting that he had merely held back against a colleague 47 49.

Relationships

• Wang Qilin — Initially his fellow assistant under Du Cao, later his superior. Their constant teasing accompanies genuine loyalty: Xu Da warns him about the Minor Seal curse and defends his right to refuse suicidal assignments 1 14 15 39.
• Du Cao — His former superior, whom he calls “Master Cao.” Xu Da openly flatters him but is deeply attached to him, shedding a tear during the fierce god’s sacrifice and rushing to protect his fallen body 2 13.
• Xie Hama — Colleague and frequent target of crude jokes and dubious business proposals. Despite their bickering, Xu Da trusts him as a member of their group 20 27 35.
• Heidou — Wang Qilin’s nephew. Xu Da gives him roasted broad beans and shoulder rides; Heidou later invokes “Master Xu” while insulting Xiang Wei 35 37 47.
• Local hoodlums — Informants and searchers under his influence. They fear his fists, report missing people to him, and endure his demands for meals 18 24 37.
• Xiang Wei — A Bureau colleague with whom he clashes over the misleading invitation and subsequent county-station fight 49.

Notable Quotes

“No. I just know how to kiss ass.” 2

— Explaining how he correctly guessed that Du Cao had killed the resentment fiend.

“If I don't trust our own people, am I supposed to trust outsiders?” 27

— Explaining why he trusted Xie Hama during the confrontation with the false coffin bearers.

“Our lord certainly is a young hero, filled with righteousness, but that doesn't mean he can go throw his life away, does it?” 39