Cheng Zhiwei

Biodata

Background / History

Childhood and Training

Cheng Zhiwei grew up depending on her grandfather, Cheng Ming, who was both her guardian and her master. She accompanied him on investigations and practiced martial arts under him from childhood. Her meticulous thinking and observational skills eventually made her indispensable to his work 17 22 26.

Investigating the Moon-Treading Great Thief

Zhiwei accompanied Cheng Ming to Granary Full of Fortune after the masked thief killed Wang Shun and distributed the Lin Family’s grain. She recorded evidence, helped question witnesses, and identified the extraordinary stealth required to incapacitate twelve patrolling workers without allowing any of them to raise an alarm 17.

Anticipating further attacks against the Lin Family, she proposed secretly reinforcing important businesses while leaving apparent openings at less valuable shops. Chen Ye detected the resulting ambush and chose another family’s property instead 18.

At Everlasting Prosperity Bank, the evidence suggested that the thief had acted alone despite distributing stolen money throughout the capital. Zhiwei challenged the assumption that he was an outsider, proposing that his familiarity with the city could explain his independence from local accomplices. Her deduction prompted Cheng Ming to seek out Zhao An of the Arrest Bureau 19.

Defending the Duke’s Residence

After the thief announced his intention to kill Li Chunfeng, Zhiwei recommended illuminating the Duke of An’s residence to eliminate shadows and restrict his concealment. Although Li Jun adopted her plan, she privately questioned whether protecting Li Chunfeng amounted to helping a tyrant. Cheng Ming insisted that constables must uphold the law rather than permit an outlaw to decide who deserved punishment 21.

Using her detailed map of the capital, Zhiwei narrowed the duke’s likely business targets to three locations. She and Cheng Ming stationed constables at a silk shop, where Chen Ye subsequently used a fire to distract the defenders. Rather than joining the firefighting, she anticipated his escape route and spotted him on a rooftop. He vanished before she could shoot, but she drew his eyes from memory, providing the investigation’s first clear visual clue 22.

During a later inspection of the residence, Li Chunfeng’s openly predatory attention caused her to hurry away. Several corners remained unchecked, leaving a gap in the defenses 23.

Final Pursuit and Death

When Chen Ye set the residence ablaze, Zhiwei recognized the fires as a diversion and returned to guard Li Chunfeng. An explosion at Li Jun’s study made her realize that the thief’s warning had never excluded additional targets. As the defenders reacted, Chen Ye emerged from a stream, fatally wounded Cheng Ming when he intervened, and beheaded Li Chunfeng 24 25 26.

Zhiwei fired her repeating crossbow during the attack. Chen Ye later acknowledged that he had narrowly avoided the bolt and that, without his last-moment evasive movement, Li Chunfeng might have escaped 26 27.

Overwhelmed by her grandfather’s death, she pursued Chen Ye into a remote shantytown. After realizing he had deliberately lured her there, she tried to provoke him into revealing himself. Their confrontation became an argument over legal authority and the suffering of Li Chunfeng’s victims. Zhiwei feigned receptiveness while locating his voice and preparing another crossbow shot, but Chen Ye appeared behind her and slit her throat. He revealed his face before she died 26.

Despite her grief, she had left coded Six Gates markers during the pursuit. Officers followed them to the shantytown but arrived only after her death. They described her as the most outstanding expert of the Six Gates’ younger generation 27.

Appearance

• Features: Delicate facial features and clear eyes, with an expression of composure beyond her age 17 22.
• Clothing: Plain, elegant dresses rather than elaborate attire 17 21.
• Bearing: Quiet and graceful; she addresses powerful officials without servility or arrogance 21.

Personality

Zhiwei is methodical, observant, and willing to question an investigation’s underlying assumptions. While other officers conduct broad searches, she studies locations and likely targets. Her vigilance also distinguishes her during the silk-shop stakeout: she watches rooftops and alleys while the other constables grow tired 19 22.

Her commitment to legal procedure coexists with genuine unease about whom that procedure protects. She recognizes Li Chunfeng’s wickedness and questions her own involvement in defending him, yet later insists that even monstrous crimes must be judged by law rather than personal force 21 26.

Her attachment to Cheng Ming is her greatest emotional vulnerability. His death drives her into a reckless pursuit, though she retains enough discipline to leave tracking markers and attempt a concealed crossbow attack during her final confrontation 26 27.

Abilities & Skills

Criminal Investigation

An experienced assistant trained through years of accompanying Cheng Ming on cases 17.

• Records discoveries and testimony while asking questions that clarify witnesses’ recollections 17.
• Deduces the thief’s probable local origins from his ability to operate without accomplices 19.
• Reconstructs his eyes from a brief encounter, creating a usable visual clue 22.

Cartography and Tactical Planning

Uses detailed geographical knowledge and evidence from previous crimes to plan defenses 18 21 22.

• Personally walked the capital’s streets and alleys over three years to draw a map more detailed than government copies 22.
• Devises bait-and-ambush arrangements and proposes widespread lighting to counter concealment 18 21.
• Predicts likely targets and an escape route, though she cannot establish a consistent pattern across all the thief’s crimes 22.

Martial Arts and Crossbow Marksmanship

Trained by Cheng Ming since childhood, with particular proficiency in her mechanical repeating crossbow 22.

• Moves fast enough to sustain a pursuit across the capital, although Chen Ye deliberately controls the distance between them 26.
• Forces Chen Ye into an emergency evasive movement with a crossbow shot during Li Chunfeng’s assassination 27.
• Attempts to aim by sound in darkness, but cannot overcome Chen Ye’s concealment and surprise attack 26.

Pursuit Signals

• Leaves special route markers intelligible to Six Gates personnel, enabling reinforcements to follow her final pursuit 27.

Equipment / Items

• Mechanical repeating crossbow — Carried at her waist and used against Chen Ye during their encounters 22 25 26.
• Brush and paper — Used to document evidence and witness testimony 17.
• Charcoal pencil and paper — Carried in her robes; used to sketch the thief’s eyes immediately after seeing him 22.
• Hand-drawn capital map — Used to plot robberies, compare locations, and identify likely targets 22.

Relationships

• Cheng Ming — Grandfather, guardian, master, and investigative partner. His teaching shapes her understanding of a constable’s duty; his death triggers her final pursuit 17 21 26.
• Chen Ye / Moon-Treading Great Thief — Investigative target and eventual killer. He acknowledges her exceptional perception but exploits her grief to lure her into an ambush 22 26 27.
• Lin Hong — Accepts her plan to use Lin Family businesses as bait and praises her later defensive recommendations 18 21.
• Li Jun — Adopts her lighting plan for his residence, where she helps protect his son 21 25.
• Li Chunfeng — A protected charge whose misconduct troubles her conscience. His predatory attention makes her uncomfortable and disrupts one of her inspections 21 23.

Notable Quotes

“The law... but how many people in this world still believe in the law?” 21

“If everyone were like you, deciding who lives and dies according to their own likes and dislikes, wouldn't the world fall into chaos?” 26