Qiguan Yuan

Biodata

Power Progression

Qiguan Yuan’s documented changes concern divine office, sacrifice, and recovered power rather than numbered cultivation realms.

Background / History

Origins and the First Yue Lao

Qiguan Yuan’s earliest memory is of the Tree of Fate and its canopy of marriage threads. He does not know whether he remained beneath it for hundreds or thousands of years. There was initially no Yue Lao in the heavens; he eventually took responsibility for managing the tangled threads 41 42.

He named Xiu Yun Yin and tied a red cord around his wrist. Yun Yin became his Moon Official, helping with the Marriage Register, untangling difficult bonds, and attending to his daily needs. Qiguan Yuan grew dependent on this care before understanding that his attachment was romantic 122 178 181.

The title “Yue Lao” originated in the mortal world. While Qiguan Yuan was freeing a couple’s red thread from a bridge railing, someone saw his red clothes and silver hair through the moonlight 42.

The Tree of Fate’s Backlash

An early eruption of the Tree of Fate’s Power of Marriage struck Qiguan Yuan’s lower back, leaving a silvery-white scar. As the eruptions worsened, Yun Yin expended more than half his cultivation severing the tree’s connection to the northwest to protect him 163.

When Qiguan Yuan finally recognized his love for Yun Yin, the Tree of Fate judged their relationship an ill-fated bond: the deity governing marriage was not supposed to have a marriage of his own. Yun Yin shielded him from the resulting punishment and dissipated into light. His earlier loss of cultivation left him unable to withstand the backlash 122 163.

Qiguan Yuan sacrificed his divinity to give Yun Yin a chance at rebirth, left the Heavenly Realm, and waited in Cloud-Hidden Town. He preserved Yun Yin’s wine and memories while continuing to search for him 42 70 122.

Eight Hundred Years in the Mortal World

During a famine, Qiguan Yuan met the young monk Jixian, who chose to follow him despite learning that he was a retired marriage god rather than a deity who could readily save the starving. Qiguan Yuan later used magic to rescue a town whose inhabitants had refused to eat one another and had shared their remaining food with children and the elderly 71.

He spent eight hundred years investigating the northwest’s disrupted marriage power without finding its source. Yun Yin’s severing of the region’s connection to the Tree of Fate prevented him from sensing the power trapped at Cidu Temple 163.

In Cloud-Hidden Town, he became known for interpreting marriage fortunes. His usual practice was to visit Yue Lao Temple once a year, read only three people’s fortune sticks, and deal only with ill-fated bonds 25 26.

Appearance

Qiguan Yuan appears to be in his early twenties, with a slender build and features repeatedly mistaken for those of an actor or historical-costume performer 36 45 103.

• Hair: Waist-length silver hair, worn loose, pinned up, or styled in a side braid 8 20 91.
• Eyes: Pale gray, with slightly upturned outer corners and long, upward-curling eyelashes 33 62 83.
• Complexion: Very fair skin; his body and fingertips are notably cool 8 50.
• Usual clothing: Dark red robes or changshan, often accompanied by a red cord wound around his wrist 8 20.
• Fox features: Silver-white ears and nine white tails, which he can reveal or conceal 31 51.
• Scar: A silvery-white scar across his lower back, left by the Tree of Fate’s eruption 57 163.

After Yun Yin’s disappearance, red became his usual clothing color, although he continued to enjoy beautiful clothes of other styles 42.

Personality

Qiguan Yuan is languid, frequently sleepy, and sparing with explanations. He can be courteous without appearing approachable: the variety-show guests notice that he answers people rather than leaving them hanging, yet still carries an intimidating sense of distance 8 31 39.

He values freedom over recognition or professional status. When invited to join the Go Association, he declines because he dislikes restrictions and pursues activities for enjoyment. His unfamiliarity with modern institutions also shows in his confusion over identification paperwork, livestreaming, and directions 91 93 105.

With Pei Yubai, his reserve gives way to flirtation and unmistakable favoritism. He enjoys provoking Pei’s blushes and jealousy, but becomes softhearted when Pei is distressed. After realizing that concealing their past has hurt him, he apologizes and explicitly reassures him that he is not a substitute for Yun Yin 36 40 64 145.

He is particularly affectionate toward children, whom he calls “human cubs.” He plays with them, offers patient instruction, and comforts those facing loss or danger. His gentleness does not prevent decisive anger: at Cidu Temple, he abandons his usual smile and uses force against those manipulating romantic bonds 112 143 151 163 165.

Abilities & Skills

Marriage Threads and Fortune Interpretation

Qiguan Yuan can perceive and manipulate romantic fate through red threads and marriage lots 25 62 64.

• Detects whether threads are dark, tangled, or recovering, as with Ji Shiyu and Jiang Wantang 64.
• Untangles ill-fated bonds and reties marriage threads 62 181.
• Recognizes when someone has no Thread of Fate; tells Meng Xu that a romantic cord would not help him 168.
• Gives Pei Yubai an exclusive thread that indicates Qiguan Yuan’s direction and allows Pei to find him 73 130.
• Winds his and Pei Yubai’s shared Thread of Fate around their engagement rings 168.

Divine Power and Spatial Magic

His magic includes travel, perception, and work involving the Tree of Fate 62 126 154.

• Opens door-shaped spatial rifts, including a passage to the Heavenly Realm and an escape route from pursuing fans 62 92.
• Returns directly to his residence through magic and uses cleansing spells 78 126.
• Senses the Power of Marriage and traces a person’s aura through objects 70 163.
• Contacts Lu Zhao through the Tree of Fate and directs the restoration of a regional anchor for marriage power 154.
• Uses his bond with Pei Yubai to draw Xiu Yun Yin’s scattered divinity fragments from the Tree of Fate; Lu Zhao gathers them for restoration 174.

His available Power of Marriage and his divine essence are not interchangeable. Lu Zhao explains that Qiguan Yuan’s divine essence cannot be used for the restoration process while it is sustaining Yun Yin’s soul 126.

Fox Form and Sea of Consciousness

Qiguan Yuan can conceal his fox traits, though strong emotions sometimes make them emerge involuntarily 31 92 147.

• His ears droop when sleepy, flatten when irritated, and briefly splay outward when frightened by pursuing fans 31 92 181.
• His sea of consciousness contains a small fox true form that can merge back into his body 159.
• Touching that fox produces corresponding sensations in his human body 159.
• He controls whether Pei Yubai may visit his sea of consciousness 159.

Combat and Swordsmanship

His preferred weapon is the Dust-Settling Red Cord. Yun Yin personally taught him swordsmanship; unlike many of his other skills, it was not self-taught 121.

• Effortlessly blocks and redirects Ji Shiyu’s punches while correcting his posture and transfer of force 120.
• Improves Ji Shiyu’s fight choreography enough for the next take to satisfy Director Song Yuan 120.
• Performs a sword routine with a wooden branch, then throws it through a tree trunk and into the ground 120.
• Demonstrates precise sword control and enough strength to make a prop blade whistle through the air 121.
• Despite these demonstrations, denies knowing the martial arts or qinggong described by the guests 120.

Go and Traditional Games

Qiguan Yuan has played Go for thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of years, practicing mainly against himself 103 115.

• Defeats Lin Yanru at Go and several other guests at five-in-a-row 13.
• Revives an apparently lost Go position in two moves, astonishing Song Zhuangyi 103.
• Defeats Song, who considers his ability greater than that of his late master 105.
• Recommends Jixian as an opponent when Song seeks a breakthrough 115.

Archery and Wine-Making

• Archery: Hits the bull’s-eye, then lands two further arrows against the first arrow’s tail, splitting its shaft despite not having handled a bow for centuries 151.
• Wine-making: Identifies and gathers wine-starter flowers and wild herbs, explaining the value of plants nourished by mountain rain 130.
• Arrow tossing: Describes his own aim as poor and lands only one of three throws at a public activity 151.

Health & Limitations

Recurring Memory Loss

Jixian explains that sacrificing his divine core damaged Qiguan Yuan’s ability to retain memories. His memories last sixty years before disappearing, although his intact soul allows important recollections to return through reminders 70.

• Uses marriage fortune sticks to preserve names and prompt recollection 70 71.
• Recovers his recognition that Pei Yubai is Xiu Yun Yin by comparing the aura on two sticks 70.
• Temporarily forgets Jixian, his recent relationship with Pei Yubai, and even the route to his own home 70 72 74.
• Finds that memories return unusually quickly while he is with Pei Yubai 78.

Pei Yubai later witnesses thirteen occasions when Qiguan Yuan used a spell to seal his memories and buried a name-bearing fortune stick beneath the tree. Those seals lasted fifty or sixty years; each return of memory brought greater pain 174.

Chronic Lower Back Injury

• Suffers persistent pain from the Tree of Fate’s eruption 50 163.
• Professor Zhou Wenyuan identifies an old scar, chronic ligament damage, and surrounding soft-tissue inflammation 57.
• Chooses topical pain relief initially and postpones the recommended examinations in the capital 57.

Sense of Direction

• Has an exceptionally poor sense of direction, compounded by recurring amnesia 72.
• Relies on the Dust-Settling Red Cord to guide him home 72 78.
• Cannot follow an ordinary spoken route even after listening and politely acknowledging it 93.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Dust-Settling Red Cord — His personal magical artifact, wound around his wrist since birth and formed from powerful marriage energy. It serves as his principal weapon, can bind targets, and guides him when he becomes lost 62 70 78 121.
• Marriage fortune sticks — Tools for interpreting romantic fate and preserving essential memories. His personal reminders include a stick bearing his name and another bearing Xiu Yun Yin’s and Pei Yubai’s names 25 70.
• Marriage Register — Used during his duties as Yue Lao; his handwriting in it is notably untidy 31 50.
• Engagement ring — Given by Pei Yubai and joined to Pei’s ring with their Thread of Fate 168.
• Fox mask — Worn while roaming Listening to the Waves Mansion with his fox traits exposed; his appearance frightens Shen Yuzhou and Cheng Yanqiu 85 86.
• Preserved wine — Maintains wine associated with Yun Yin throughout their separation 122.

Relationships

• Pei Yubai / Xiu Yun Yin — His Moon Official, former companion, and romantic partner across Yun Yin’s death and rebirth. Qiguan Yuan initially conceals their shared past because Pei lacks Yun Yin’s memories, then helps restore his divinity and welcomes him home 122 145 174.
• Jixian — A monk who has accompanied him for centuries and keeps Yue Lao Temple. Familiar with his memory-loss cycles, Jixian guides him back to his reminders despite repeatedly suffering his territorial, newly awakened temper 70 71.
• Lu Zhao — The current Yue Lao, who addresses him as “Senior.” Seeks his help with difficult bonds, regional marriage power, and Yun Yin’s restoration 31 126 154 174.
• Ji Shiyu and Jiang Wantang — A couple whose ill-fated bond brings Qiguan Yuan back into active marriage-thread work. He listens to Ji’s regrets and later reclaims power to retie their threads 31 53 62.
• Chenchen — A child he saves from a trafficker. Qiguan Yuan helps arrange his hospital care while Pei Yubai secures the Pei family’s support and upbringing 108 112.
• Wang Shoumo — A boy frightened of losing his mother to ALS. Qiguan Yuan comforts him and helps place his written wish for his parents’ health on the roof where a god can see it 143.
• Song Zhuangyi — A Go opponent who admires his skill and unsuccessfully invites him into the Go Association 103 105.
• Pei Zhongkang — Pei Yubai’s father, who warmly approves of him and asks him to spend more time drinking tea and playing Go together 172.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Meeting the Livestream Guests

Qiguan Yuan first guides the guests out of the woods surrounding his residence, repeatedly lingering on Pei Yubai with his gaze. Pei becomes curious about him after noticing that the others seem easily distracted from his unusual qualities 8 9.

During the village games, Qiguan Yuan gives Pei the marriage fortune stick despite Pei’s resignation from their five-in-a-row match. Its verse reads, “When golden wind meets jade dew” 13.

Joining the Variety Show

After further encounters around Cloud-Hidden Mountain, Qiguan Yuan arrives at the Village Above the Clouds, completes its gate-blocking wine custom, and joins the program as a special guest. His appearance and teasing exchanges with Pei draw enthusiastic livestream reactions 18 26 33 39 44.

He and Pei become boyfriends, and Pei openly confirms their relationship to fans. Following Qiguan Yuan’s return to Yue Lao Temple and another memory-loss episode, Pei finds him at his residence; Qiguan Yuan gently draws out the fact that they are already dating 63 65 69 70 74.

Public Popularity

Qiguan Yuan and Pei win the Listening to the Waves Mansion challenge. His subsequent masked fox appearance becomes footage for a web drama, and he accepts one hundred thousand for permission to retain it 85 98.

His popularity also brings unwanted attention: a shopping trip ends with fans pursuing him, prompting him to escape through a spatial fissure into an anime convention. His Go games and sword demonstrations later attract further public interest 92 103 120.

The Northwest and Cidu Temple

At Lu Zhao’s request, Qiguan Yuan travels northwest to strengthen the region’s weak marriage faith. He directs the restoration of the Tree of Fate at the Fallen Fate Chan Monastery before discovering the volatile marriage power trapped at Cidu Temple 126 154 163.

He exposes Cidu Temple’s severing of romantic bonds, planting of ill-fated bonds, and coercion of worshippers into taking the tonsure. Using the Dust-Settling Red Cord, he binds the monks and shatters the temple’s divine statues 165.

Proposal and Yun Yin’s Return

Outside Cidu Temple, Pei Yubai proposes. Qiguan Yuan accepts and joins their rings with their Thread of Fate 168.

They later return to Cloud-Hidden Town, where Qiguan Yuan and Lu Zhao restore the Moon Official’s divinity. Pei regains Yun Yin’s memories, including his awareness of Qiguan Yuan’s centuries of grief, and embraces him 174.

Notable Quotes

“I dislike restrictions. Whatever I do, I only do for fun.” 105

“Pei Yubai, loving me isn’t your fault. You don’t need to apologize.” 145

“Personally, I don’t much like solving problems with violence. But in the current situation, violence is the most effective solution.” 165

“Welcome home.” 174