A-Xu

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Childhood in Luoyang

A-Xu was born during Luoyang’s willow-catkin season, which inspired her name. She grew up in the wealthy Li household with her older brother, Li Shiyi. Although reserved around their parents and servants, she shared her unusual ideas freely with him 16.

Her childhood ambition was to become an inventor. She conducted experiments in a cave in the estate’s back hills, near the lake and willow tree where the siblings spent much of their time. Her projects caused most of the household’s mishaps, but Li Shiyi frequently took the blame and received their father’s beatings 16.

Her gunpowder research produced repeated explosions. Li Shiyi would enter the smoke-filled cave to rescue her, shielding her with his body as they escaped. She eventually abandoned gunpowder because she feared losing her only brother—then immediately asked whether he had heard of radium 16.

Books and Recognition in Chang’an

On her sixteenth birthday, A-Xu gave up her dream of inventing and announced that she wanted to become a poet. With Li Shiyi bringing her books and keeping her company, she eventually read through the Li Residence’s entire Book Pavilion. She also entertained him with stories from another world 17.

After accompanying their father to Chang’an, she attracted public attention through Go. She drew with Grand Secretary Du while holding the stronger position, ending the game because she wanted to sleep. Over the following ten days, she faced scholars of the southern clans without losing a game 17.

Grand Secretary Du then began teaching her cultivation. Her effortless advances shattered the confidence of a demon imprisoned in the Celestial Prison, who believed his own ruthless cultivation path made him unsurpassable. He agreed to reveal the location of the Devil Artifact, but only to A-Xu 18.

The contents of their private conversation were not disclosed. Afterward, she became unusually quiet and spent the night watching the stars. At dawn, she decided to remain in Chang’an and cultivate under Grand Secretary Du at Weiyang Palace 18.

Life at Weiyang Palace

A-Xu and Li Shiyi normally exchanged letters every two days. Her letters were lengthy accounts of life in Chang’an, including complaints about her workload and the palace’s nagging elders. His shorter replies sometimes included willow catkins from home 18.

She held first place on the Weiyang Ranking until Li Shiyi visited Chang’an, solved her Go puzzle, and surpassed her record 18.

During three years of study, she accompanied her teacher to the Northern Kingdom Grand Ceremony and the southern aristocratic clans’ mountain-sealing ceremony. As she traveled, she became increasingly quiet and aloof 22.

In autumn of Tang calendar year 355, she attended a literary banquet in Jiangnan and astonished its judges with Prelude to Water Melody: When Will the Bright Moon Appear? She explicitly credited Su Shi, but the scholars refused to believe she had merely copied someone else’s work 36.

Return to Luoyang and Death

When Li Shiyi became ill, A-Xu worried despite his attempts to conceal his worsening condition in their correspondence. With their parents in Chang’an, she secretly left Weiyang Palace and returned alone to the family estate near Luoyang 21 44.

She arrived too late to save him. An unfamiliar soul had already taken over his body, and it killed her amid the drifting willow catkins 44.

Her death was publicly attributed to illness. Luo Ziwei rejected that explanation because A-Xu had been healthy and careful about looking after herself. Her initial account blamed Li Shiyi, but the later revelation distinguishes her brother from the being that possessed him 21 44.

Appearance

A-Xu is described as very beautiful, fair-skinned, and clean-looking, resembling her mother rather than her father 16.

• White clothing: Frequently wears a plain white robe or dress, both in public and while traveling with her teacher 17 22 36.
• Clear, expressive eyes: Her eyes reveal emotions that her reserved manner often conceals 38 44.
• Aloof bearing: Becomes known publicly as a cool, otherworldly young woman 17 22.

Personality

A-Xu’s apparent silence conceals a mischievous, talkative personality. As a child, she felt uncomfortable in groups of more than three people—and even a three-person gathering needed to include Li Shiyi. With him, she chattered, teased, and eagerly put strange ideas into practice 16.

Her reserve also came from fear. The unfamiliar world left her uneasy, and Li Shiyi recognized fear and apology beneath her defiance even when she was a newborn. She later worried that her arrival might have displaced an innocent soul, questioning whether such a life could be fair 38 44.

Despite her reputation, she disliked claiming achievements that were not hers. She refused to build a literary career on Su Shi’s work, explaining that stealing a false reputation was wrong. Her concern for Li Shiyi likewise outweighed her ambitions: she stopped dangerous experiments for his sake and left Weiyang Palace when she feared he needed her 16 21 36.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation Talent

A-Xu advances with extraordinary speed after beginning instruction under Grand Secretary Du 18.

• Repeated breakthroughs undermine the imprisoned demon’s conviction that his talent is unrivaled 18.
• Reaches first place on the Weiyang Ranking, though her specific realms are not identified 18.
• Continues training at Weiyang Palace for three years 22.

Go

Her skill earns her recognition throughout Chang’an 17.

• Places Grand Secretary Du’s black stones under severe pressure before accepting a draw out of sleepiness 17.
• Remains undefeated against southern-clan scholars across ten days of matches 17.
• Creates a Go puzzle later solved by Li Shiyi 18.

Scientific Knowledge and Experimentation

A-Xu identifies herself as a science student from her previous world 36.

• Experiments with light bulbs and gunpowder, with dangerous and frequently explosive results 16.
• Knows of radium, though the account does not establish that she successfully worked with it 16.
• Leaves a functioning flush toilet at the Luoyang residence, which Li Shiyi later uses 18.

Reading, Storytelling, and Literature

A-Xu reads the entire Li Residence Book Pavilion and recounts stories unknown to the people around her 17.

• Her stories include unfinished accounts of Journey to the West and Records of the Three Kingdoms 44.
• Reproduces Su Shi’s Prelude to Water Melody, impressing Jiangnan’s literary scholars 36.
• Admits that this is the only lyric she can recite and declines to produce more poetry 36.
• Has poor calligraphy, one reason she asks that her banquet manuscript not be widely displayed 36.

Equipment / Items

• Books and book basket — Reads constantly in Luoyang and later carries a book basket while traveling behind Grand Secretary Du 17 22.
• Experimental work clothes and mask — Prepares protective clothing for Li Shiyi to wear when entering her hazardous workshop 16.

Relationships

• Li Shiyi — Older brother, confidant, and protector. He supports her experiments and reading, shields her from explosions, and protects her Transmigrator identity despite recognizing it from her birth. He declines an opportunity to travel with his grandfather partly because he wants to celebrate her birthday every year 16 17 38 44.
• Grand Secretary Du — Teacher at Weiyang Palace. Their connection begins with Go and develops into cultivation instruction and journeys across the continent 17 18 22.
• Luo Ziwei / Ye Clan Young Miss — Close friend whom A-Xu calls her only friend. They bond after joking about Li Shiyi, and A-Xu shares her stories and anxieties with her. Luo Ziwei continues to mourn her long after her death 21 37 38.
• Her father — Retired military man who disciplines Li Shiyi for household disasters, including those caused by A-Xu. She remains much less communicative with him than with her brother 16 44.
• The Ye Clan’s Old Scholar — Tutor to both A-Xu and Li Shiyi 30.
• The imprisoned demon — Reveals the Devil Artifact’s location after her cultivation destroys his pride. The details of their private conversation remain undisclosed 18.

Notable Quotes

“Isn’t this terribly unfair to the innocent person whose body has been taken over?” 38

“Let the doubtful eyes of others be like lamps of ghost fire; boldly walk your night road.” 38

Legacy

• Influence on the Ye Residence: Luo Ziwei later draws on A-Xu’s stories and unusual ideas when gathering scholars and martial artists at her mountain residence 45.
• Clues for Gu Baishui: Accounts of her literary banquet and conversations about identity become questions in his tests, helping expose both her Transmigrator background and the truth behind the siblings’ deaths 36 37 38 44.