Hongyu

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Hongyu grew up regarding Cloud and Rain Tower as both her idol and the standard she hoped to reach. As the eldest direct disciple, she wanted to prove herself a worthy successor. When her master escaped an encirclement by Great Yan and disappeared to cultivate anew, Hongyu inherited leadership of the Mountains and Rivers Association 8 13.

Although formidable in her own right, Hongyu lacked her master’s influence. The rival River-Spanning Pavilion gradually absorbed parts of the association’s territory, and Hongyu’s subsequent loss of cultivation created another opportunity for its enemies 13.

Her master sent her to find Ye Xingge after the Filth-Severing Whip sensed its true master in Yongzhou Prefecture. The assignment also involved matchmaking: if Hongyu approved of him, she was to become his wife and protect his cultivation journey. Initially offended by the arrangement, she concealed her own place in it by claiming he was being considered as a husband for her second junior sister 3 8.

Appearance

• Build and bearing: A mature, curvaceous beauty with a heroic presence; even without internal force, she retains the bearing of a commanding sect leader 1 7 39.
• Eyes: Distinctive peach-blossom eyes, frequently conveying disdain, concern, or barely concealed affection 21 51.
• Clothing: Usually wears red, including a dark red heroine’s dress and a red nightgown 105 108.
• Travel attire: Sometimes wears a gauze-veiled hat or more understated clothing when discretion is necessary 41 96.

Personality

Hongyu is proud, authoritative, and keenly aware of her standing. She habitually adopts the posture of a sect leader or an experienced elder sister, even when her weakened condition makes it impossible to enforce her threats. Her familiar look of disdain becomes a recurring part of her exchanges with Ye Xingge 7 26 105.

She respects demonstrated ability more than cultivation alone. Watching Ye Xingge defeat Yang Tuyan changes her opinion of him: she recognizes his judgment, composure, and resolve, and admits privately that he would be difficult for her to defeat at equal cultivation. Her own vulnerability later leads her to argue that surviving without superior power is part of becoming worthy of First Rank 21 86.

Her growing affection is accompanied by jealousy, especially toward Luo Xuanqing. Hongyu dislikes appearing dependent or lovestruck, but repeatedly expresses care through practical work: preparing restorative medicine, maintaining a lookout, helping Ye Xingge after battle, and cleaning up after their late-night meal 41 70 74 85.

She also has a pronounced weakness for Ye Xingge’s cooking. Though reluctant to admit how much she enjoys it, she eagerly returns for hotpot, secretly eats the food he leaves warm, and is visibly delighted by his Buddha Jumps Over the Wall 54 96 121.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Expertise

Hongyu retains the experience and perception of a highly ranked fighter despite losing her internal force 17 47.

• Identifies an opponent’s internal martial arts from light footsteps and advises Ye Xingge which acupoints could disrupt her Qi circulation 17.
• Assesses opponents’ strength and warns Ye Xingge when the Return to Origin Cult’s fighters could easily overpower him 46.
• Detects the concealed Gold-Chasing Gentleman through unnatural movements in the grass 47.
• Evaluates Ye Xingge’s actual cultivation when his displayed ranking appears inconsistent with his performance 100.

Crossbow Marksmanship

Hongyu uses the Divine Arm Crossbow to remain an effective combat partner while her cultivation is impaired 41 43.

• Tests and reinforces the crossbow before an ambush 41.
• Locates enemies by sound through smoke and kills three cultists with shots directed at their heads or necks through cover 43.
• Provides concealed overwatch during the Green Snail Island operation 45 47.

Strategy and Intelligence

As association head and Ye Xingge’s protector, Hongyu combines sect intelligence with surveillance and tactical planning 7 26 96.

• Develops the investigative route connecting Jiang Baichuan, Shunyuan Pawnshop, and the Linyang branch 7.
• Proposes obtaining the Fate-Robbing Saber and using Great Yan’s resources to accelerate Ye Xingge’s cultivation 26.
• Uses the Mountains and Rivers Association’s contacts to locate targets and monitor assassins 41 61 96.
• Recognizes He Lin from previous dealings between her association and the Mysterious Armament Pavilion 64.
• Coordinates distractions and timing during the ambush of the Gold-Chasing Gentleman 48.
• Proposes misleading Later Zhou into believing Ye Xingge is the Crown Prince of Western Shu 120.

Her intelligence is not complete: she initially knows only Tail Fire Tiger’s general location, and the identity of the capital operative supplying her most valuable reports remains hidden even from her 44 96.

Flower and Moon Pendant

Hongyu’s bonded artifact creates exceptionally convincing visual and auditory illusions through Flowers in a Mirror, Moon in Water 7 86 105.

• Changes appearances and voices and projects figures or miniature scenes according to the user’s wishes 86 105 106.
• Allows Hongyu’s image to appear through the Filth-Severing Whip while she advises Ye Xingge remotely 3 7.
• Produces images that are difficult to distinguish from reality by sight, but are not ordinary physical objects 7 105 106.
• Consumes large amounts of Ye Xingge’s internal force when he manifests her through the whip; that projected form cannot fight 7 21.
• Creates sights and sounds others can perceive, making careless use a risk to their secrecy 106.

Cloud and Rain Tower’s Thousand-Silk Exquisite Pendant, rather than Hongyu’s pendant alone, supplies the artifact-linking technique that enables long-distance manifestations and remote control of a same-sex body 86.

Cultivation Guidance and Needling

Hongyu understands cultivation methods, divine-weapon effects, and meridian theory, but her damaged cultivation limits what she can personally perform 7 53 86.

• Explains the Filth-Severing Whip’s survival and dual-cultivation effects, including the danger of becoming enslaved to desire 7.
• Explains how the Fate-Robbing Saber rewards combat and how its killing compulsion depends on the wielder’s purpose 53.
• Is instructed to teach Ye Xingge inner-sect cultivation techniques and answer his questions 90.
• Supervises his attempt to adapt Great Nine Yang into Lesser Pure Yang 105.
• Creates a temporary dragon-pattern mark with a silver needle while blindfolded, though the result is less precise than intended 120.

The meridian-sealing treatments performed through her body are carried out by Cloud and Rain Tower. Hongyu’s inability to perform the required sealing herself becomes a serious concern for her master 86 90 136.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Flower and Moon Pendant — Her bonded red jade artifact, formerly owned by Cloud and Rain Tower; used for illusions and remote contact 86.
• Hundred-Blaze Garment — A red, gauzy protective bodice that wards off poisonous miasma and malignant plagues. It can also dispel yin baleful force 106 136.
• Divine Arm Crossbow — Her principal ranged weapon during the period when she lacks internal force 41 43 45.
• Spyglass — Used for sustained surveillance, concealed overwatch, and searching crowded buildings or harbors 45 85 99.
• Dust-Returning Robe — Uses the Gold-Chasing Gentleman’s captured robe to conceal herself and assist their escape. It makes its wearer invisible while still and a hazy shimmer while moving 45 49 52 99.
• Gold-Chasing Bell — Uses the captured treasure detector to monitor nearby valuable weapons. She sets its threshold high to reduce distracting signals in the capital 64.
• Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers — Throws their last two during the escape after the Gold-Chasing Gentleman is defeated 49.
• Hairpin — A gift from Ye Xingge, which she accepts while protesting that she has no use for it 70.

Relationships

• Ye Xingge — Initially her assigned prospective match and the recipient of the divine weapon she delivers. Respect for his fighting ability develops into romantic commitment; she privately accepts him as her match, kisses him, and insists on remaining his protector 3 21 74 86 88.
• Cloud and Rain Tower — Her master, childhood idol, and predecessor as association head. Hongyu seeks approval but resists being recalled when doing so would separate her from Ye Xingge 13 86 90.
• Luo Xuanqing / the Flower Judge — Both the source of Hongyu’s cultivation loss and her romantic rival. Hongyu repeatedly calls her a “little hussy” and resents her interruptions of time with Ye Xingge 3 7 39 70 73.
• Second Junior Sister — A fellow direct disciple whom Hongyu finds annoying. The possibility of this junior sister replacing her as Ye Xingge’s protector helps force Hongyu to acknowledge her feelings 8 74 86.
• Fat Snow — Her youngest junior sister. Hongyu adopts a stern eldest-sister manner and orders her to guard the room while their master recovers 136.
• Unnamed capital operative — A fellow disciple designated by her master who supplies crucial intelligence through a hiding place beneath a stone bridge. Hongyu does not know the operative’s identity 96.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Delivering the Filth-Severing Whip

Hongyu first encounters Ye Xingge as a woman apparently trying to avoid paying her wine bill. Her warning that he will die within three days fails to impress him, and her weakened state leaves her unable to stop him from dragging her toward the authorities 1.

She subsequently explains that the Filth-Severing Whip has chosen him and that the Heaven-Observing Pavilion may detect it. Unable to leave the city herself, she directs him to obtain Yang Tuyan’s wrist guard to conceal the weapon 3.

Yang Tuyan Investigation

Hongyu introduces Ye Xingge to the whip’s abilities, organizes their investigative approach, and advises him during the pursuit. His victory over Yang Tuyan and the accompanying spies dispels much of her initial contempt and convinces her that her master’s interest in him is justified 7 17 21.

Obtaining the Fate-Robbing Saber

Hongyu proposes a rapid-growth strategy centered on the Fate-Robbing Saber and Great Yan’s backing, with the Mountains and Rivers Association available as a refuge if the gamble fails. She promises to protect both Ye Xingge and his family 26.

She then serves as scout, marksman, and coordinator during their operations around Forgetful River Mouth and Green Snail Island. After helping expose the invisible Gold-Chasing Gentleman, she assists Ye Xingge in escaping the surrounding hunters beneath ships and aboard a grain transport 41 43 47 48 49 51.

Accepting the Match

Hongyu’s resistance to the matchmaking arrangement gradually gives way to attachment. After Ye Xingge cooks a replacement hotpot for her, she privately decides he has passed her test, kisses his cheek while he sleeps, and takes care of him and the kitchen afterward 73 74.

When her master orders her to return because her weakness endangers them both, Hongyu refuses to abandon the relationship. She argues that learning to survive without cultivation is necessary for her own growth and declares that she has made her decision about Ye Xingge 86.

Protecting Ye Xingge’s Growth

Hongyu continues tracking assassins, interpreting inconsistencies in Ye Xingge’s strength, and helping him study cultivation methods. As his rapid growth produces signs requiring treatment, she coordinates with Cloud and Rain Tower, who uses her body to seal his meridians 85 86 90 96 100 105 115.

She later devises the Western Shu crown-prince deception to buy him time against Later Zhou. In her latest documented appearance, she lends her Hundred-Blaze Garment to her master after an encounter with yin baleful force and again allows her body to be used to treat Ye Xingge 120 136.

Notable Quotes

“Cultivation is cultivation, and ability is ability.” 86

“Besides, Ye Xingge is a very good man, beyond reproach. This disciple has made up her mind about the matchmaking Master arranged, and I hope Master will give me a chance.” 86

“You're not allowed to let her eat any!” — Before abandoning her hotpot when Luo Xuanqing approaches 70