An Weiyan

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

An Weiyan grew up in a poor family. He remembers his mother saving good food to bring home for him, a memory that later shapes his sympathy for Lady Liu and her hungry children. Shortly before he leaves for Cloud-Stilling Temple, an unspecified family incident has nearly exhausted his parents’ savings 14 17.

At university, he became close to Su Qingyun through frequent conversations during class outings. After graduation, his access to another world offers him the opportunity to change an otherwise ordinary life. He becomes Linbei County’s magistrate and commits himself to keeping its starving residents alive 6 7 11 12.

Appearance

• Eyes: Initially somewhat cloudy, they become progressively brighter, clearer, darker, and more luminous through reading 14 23 30.
• Bearing: Scholarly refinement noticeably changes his demeanor and makes him more attractive 23 30.
• Temple clothing: Wears a Taoist robe while receiving visitors, despite being a lay practitioner rather than an ordained priest 17 21 36.
• Later manifestation: A golden dragon constantly coils around him and becomes increasingly majestic as his power grows 179.

Personality

An Weiyan is compassionate but focused on practical solutions. Distressed by families sharing thin rice water, he borrows money to buy food, then introduces farming so the county will not depend indefinitely on his purchases. He accepts refugees from villages under his jurisdiction and later preserves free grain support for children and the elderly when general relief ends 6 9 19 33.

His generosity does not make him trusting. He guards the grain storehouse against theft and deliberately mixes recruits from different communities to reduce collusion. He also equips his followers against both supernatural threats and anyone who might attempt to seize control of the county 8 20 22.

Curiosity and ambition coexist with caution. He experiments with poetry, divination, and cross-world transport, but conceals his abilities from his parents. Even after obtaining a koi’s good fortune, he refuses to gamble on traveling the dangerous Wu River 13 16 35 78.

Abilities & Skills

Cross-World Travel

• Travels between Earth and the supernatural world while transporting supplies, equipment, and other objects 7 9 22.
• Uses the Linbei yamen as storage, leaving luggage there to make his climb to Cloud-Stilling Temple easier 17.
• Confirms that living fish survive repeated crossings before transporting the koi Silver Scale to Earth 35.
• Later moves weapons and ammunition into a Jiang Kingdom warehouse 163.

Divination and Qi Perception

• Sees colored wisps representing people’s essence, Qi, and spirit; focusing allows him to glimpse fortune and misfortune 16.
• Locates seven wanted fugitives using their photographs, finger calculations, and a map 18.
• Recognizes Feng Haixuan’s concealed wealth through his unusually high-grade Qi 21 22.
• Performs fortune readings for temple visitors, including inquiries about wealth luck 25.
• Limit: Depends on power granted by the Earth God. The initial allotment supports approximately three readings for people of high standing or ten for ordinary people 15.

Scholarly Refinement

• Reading classical poetry sharpens his vision and changes his eyes, voice, and bearing 13 14 23 30.
• The yamen plaque bearing “A Bright Mirror Hung High” becomes brighter as he continues reading 14 18.
• Limit: Repeated use of the same poetry collection yields diminishing effects 28.
• Risk: His developing scholarly quality makes him more appetizing to certain spirits and monsters 11 38.

Administration and Development

• Introduces fertilizer and organizes the cultivation of vegetables, corn, and sweet potatoes 9.
• Establishes records of residents, houses, fields, and farmsteads 14 23.
• Recruits thirty yamen runners across three classes and places their training under Lin Liyun 20.
• Organizes road reconstruction, drainage channels, toilets, and housing repairs while leaving technical planning to experienced craftsmen 31.
• Replaces emergency relief with grain paid for labor, supported by accounting and ten distribution points 33.

National Power and Imperial Authority

• Gains personal strength as the Jiang Kingdom grows stronger, eventually improving continuously without needing to cultivate 179.
• Possesses imperial edicts and a paired object that together can unleash formidable suppressive power against fiends 138.
• Limit: Using those objects consumes national power, creating a trade-off between immediate force and the kingdom’s long-term strength 138.
• Demonstrates flight above Yanhuai City’s imperial palace 163.

Equipment, Weapons & Items

• Stab-resistant clothing: Exhausts his available Huabei credit purchasing it early in the story 6.
• Stun baton: Keeps it ready while leading residents to collect the first large shipment of rice 7.
• Poetry collections: Supplies his reading practice and later fills a bookshelf in his furnished yamen room 13 28 35.
• Divine statue and spirit tablet: Transports sacred objects and accumulated incense offerings between worlds to support the Earth God 13 37 38.
• Golden-thread nanmu furniture: Receives timber from grateful woodcutters and has furnishings made for the county office. Abandons plans to take the timber to Earth after Su Qingyun warns him of its protected status 26 28 35.
• Yamen equipment: Purchases ballistic plates, matching uniforms, and long sabers for his followers 24 28.
• Firearms and ammunition: Later imports modern weapons and personally demonstrates their use to Lin Liyun 163 165.

Relationships

• Su Qingyun — Close university friend and early benefactor. Lends him 100,000 yuan despite his request for only 10,000, arranges his temple placement, and advises him about golden-thread nanmu. He later repays the loan 6 11 15 22 28.
• Earth God / Land God — Divine patron and strategic partner. Grants his divination ability and promises protection for him and Linbei County in exchange for a continuing supply of incense offerings 15 37.
• Uncle Fu — Trusted local assistant who helps protect the grain, explains regional dangers, and oversees cooking and food distribution during An Weiyan’s absences 8 12 24.
• Lin Liyun — Experienced yamen runner entrusted with training the recruits; later commands soldiers intended to receive imported weapons 20 163 165.
• Cheng Feng — Refugee recruited into the black-clad class as a potential trusted subordinate; later accompanies him on his return from Yanhuai City 20 78.
• Silver Scale Autumn Jade — Koi placed in the temple’s wishing pool. Her luck-changing ability supports his efforts to attract worshippers; she privately intends to raise his luck to its utmost 35 37.
• Liang Lijian — Police contact who acts on his fugitive leads, delivers the reward money, and brings reporters to the temple 18 20 21.
• Lady Liu and her sons — County residents whose hardship reminds him of his own childhood. He gives her children the names Lin Jiaxu and Lin Jiaqi 14.
• Little princess — Gives him funds and provisions before his departure from Yanhuai City and expresses concern for his safety 78.
• Yunxi — Supports his continued growth and hopes his strength will preserve the Jiang Kingdom 179.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Saving and Rebuilding Linbei County

An Weiyan begins his relief effort with money borrowed from Su Qingyun, purchasing one hundred bags of rice and organizing residents to clean the yamen and town. A theft attempt reinforces his caution, while Uncle Fu’s intervention demonstrates that some residents are willing to defend the shared food supply 6 7 8.

He then turns toward self-sufficiency through farming, land reclamation, recordkeeping, and public works. As refugees arrive, he expands food provision and establishes a trained local force. Once emergency relief ends, residents earn grain through labor, while children and the elderly remain eligible for free support 9 19 20 28 31 33.

Establishing Cloud-Stilling Temple

To obtain incense offerings for the weakened Earth God, An Weiyan takes up residence at Cloud-Stilling Temple on Frost Crimson Peak. When visitors fail to appear, he uses divination to locate seven fugitives and requests media coverage of the temple. The resulting arrests earn him 750,000 yuan, allowing him to repay Su Qingyun and purchase bulk food supplies 17 18 20 21 22.

He keeps incense offerings free and offers readings as a way to build the temple’s reputation. Silver Scale’s arrival gives him another attraction: a wishing pool where visitors can seek improved luck. The growing offerings restore the Earth God and strengthen their protective alliance just as demons begin returning from the peach tree demon’s failed tribulation 24 25 35 36 37.

Yanhuai City and the Return Journey

After failing to obtain the information he seeks in Yanhuai City, An Weiyan accepts the little princess’s provisions and leaves before dawn with Cheng Feng and another companion. He chooses the overland journey toward Jiangling Commandery rather than risking the Wu River and its dragon king 78.

Imperial Rule and Defense

In the later passages using the name Fang Weiyan, he rules the Jiang Kingdom and links its development directly to his own strength. He imports firearms, prepares Lin Liyun’s soldiers to use them, and evaluates their contribution to national power 138 163 165 179.

Against the Land of Ten Thousand Witherings, his imported weapons prove capable of breaking apart attacking skeletal and composite beings despite their undying nature. A munitions factory supplies bullets, while he sends warnings to other Human Sovereigns and continues strengthening the kingdom 179.

Notable Quotes

“At the very least, they should have enough to eat and warm clothes to wear.” 12

“I'm a lay practitioner. I live here and help look after the temple. It counts as cultivation too.” 21

“From now on, I'll take care of your incense offerings, Earth God. But you'll have to put some effort into keeping Linbei County safe.” 37