Zhao Wan

Biodata

Power Progression

Zhao Wan's documented changes concern her sacrificial nature and capacity as a divine vessel, rather than named cultivation realms.

Background and History

Family losses and the rain sacrifice

Zhao Wan lost her father and paternal grandparents while still a child. After their deaths, members of the Zhao household took Sun Qin's property, leaving mother and daughter vulnerable; Zhao Wan's status as a daughter who would eventually marry out was used against their claim to the family assets 44 52.

The villagers offered Sun Qin and Zhao Wan to the Fox Immortal while praying for rain. Zhao Wan also privately pledged everything she had in exchange for a life free from worry for her mother, despite Sun Qin forbidding her from making the offer aloud 5 6.

Yin Yunze instead provided them with food, bathing water, and other necessities. Zhao Wan helped him test a method of transferring lake water between worlds, then prayed before the villagers during his public demonstration. A stream of water emerging from the fox statue established his ability to relieve the drought without immediately producing rain 6 7 9.

When Spirit Medium Wang tried to steal the offerings, Zhao Wan clung to her leg and was repeatedly struck on the head. Yin Yunze intervened on the mother and daughter's behalf 12.

Shrine service and kidnapping

Zhao Wan assisted Sun Qin in a staged rain ceremony, wearing shrine maiden robes and a fox mask. At Sun Qin's signal, she switched on a solar lamp while her mother danced, helping present the arriving rain as divine favor 34.

After Sun Qin became seriously ill, Zhao Wan went alone to the Fox Immortal Temple and urgently called for help. Her appeal prompted Yin Yunze to acquire healing abilities 37.

On her way home, Zhao Cheng claimed that Sun Qin had awakened and sent him to fetch her. Zhao Wan trusted him because he was a relative who had previously helped her mother; he then carried her out of the village. Yin Yunze detected her departure and used Spirit Descent to enter her body 39 40.

Spirit Medium Wang and Wang Laizi were involved in the kidnapping and discussed killing Zhao Wan. After subduing them, Yin Yunze asked her whether they should die. She requested that they be given a chance to reflect. He imposed a condition on their release, but secretly killed all three with Fox Fire when they broke it, concealing their deaths from her 41 42 44 47.

Service as Yin Yunze's vessel

Following the rescue, Zhao Wan became Yin Yunze's principal physical vessel. Through her, he accessed Earth Vein Power, made talismans, traveled to the county town, and dealt with officials and villagers 45 47 50 53 57 74.

Her unusual affinity became dangerous during the confrontation with Grandfather Huang Three. Discovering her suitability for Incense Gods, he abandoned his original plan to seek Yin Yunze's help and instead tried to seize her as a replacement body 103.

Zhao Wan suffered serious injuries during the battle and remained conscious through the pain until Yin Yunze healed her. He later recognized that the encounter had nearly cost her life and that, with better information, he would not have investigated while possessing her 99 108.

Leadership and return to childhood

Yin Yunze appointed Zhao Wan leader of the newly recruited shrine maidens, declaring that seeing her was equivalent to seeing him. Zhang Yufei consequently acknowledged her as Eldest Senior Sister. Zhao Wan and Sun Qin were also assigned oversight of the new residences 111 113.

Once Yin Yunze possessed a divine body, temple, and gilded statue, he no longer depended exclusively on her for Spirit Descent. Although she remained his strongest vessel, he resolved not to possess her unless necessary so that she could resume an ordinary childhood 121.

Zhao Wan subsequently befriended the fox Hu Siniang, later named Zhao Zixuan. Her friendship and intercession helped bring Zixuan into Yin Yunze's service 124 127 128.

When Zhao Yuanlang returned to Clear Creek Village, Zhao Wan recognized her uncle after he repeated a familiar funny face. She enthusiastically led him to Sun Qin and defended him when the Lord of Du Mountain tried to frighten him in the Hundred Fruit Orchard 209.

Appearance

• Childlike build: A small girl whose short legs and small hands remain practical limitations when Yin Yunze uses her body 60 97.
• Improved health: Regular, balanced meals restored her complexion; after more than a month, her cheeks had filled out noticeably 16 64.
• Shrine attire: Wears a child's red-and-white shrine maiden outfit, with a fox mask during the rain ceremony 34 37.
• Later appearance: Zhao Yuanlang finds her delicately dressed and pretty “as if carved from pink jade.” Her body is subsequently described as divine 209.

Personality

Zhao Wan is deeply attached to her mother. She willingly offers herself for Sun Qin's welfare and breaks the usual restrictions on approaching Yin Yunze when her mother falls ill. Her devotion to the Fox Immortal is likewise exceptional: her faith is stronger than Sun Qin's, and she readily agrees when he asks to borrow her body 5 37 48 50.

She is compassionate and slow to hold grudges. She remains friendly toward Village Chief Song despite nearly becoming a sacrifice, and asks that her kidnappers receive an opportunity to repent. Her understanding of death comes from losing her father and grandparents; she worries that killing the kidnappers would make their families grieve as hers did 23 44.

Despite being obedient and considerate, Zhao Wan remains recognizably a child. She proudly shows off new clothes, grows restless during a long ceremony, and reluctantly serves Peng Shulan repeated cups of honey lemon tea that she would rather save 23 34 70.

Her experiences with Yin Yunze greatly increase her courage. By the time she begins meeting Zixuan at night, witnessing man-eating ghosts and Grandfather Huang Three has made ordinary nighttime dangers seem comparatively unthreatening 124.

Abilities & Skills

Affinity for Incense Gods

Zhao Wan possesses an extraordinary natural compatibility with Incense Gods, separate from the effects of her sacrifice 48 49 103.

• Fox Seventh Aunt specifically requested her as an offering, reportedly because she had an affinity with immortals 48.
• Grandfather Huang Three considered her vastly superior to the talented replacement vessel he had already prepared 103.
• Her compatibility makes her valuable—and vulnerable—to gods seeking a physical vessel 48 103.

Spirit Descent Vessel

Zhao Wan can host Yin Yunze under conditions that initially prevent him from possessing other believers 38 48.

• Shared consciousness: Unlike an ordinary Spirit Descent recipient, she remains awake and can speak to Yin Yunze internally 40.
• Exceptional capacity: Initially, possession allows him to wield nearly his full divine authority. After his later development, she can still accommodate ninety percent of his strength, compared with seventy percent through ordinary shrine maiden vessels 46 48 121.
• Territorial advantage: His strongest early state requires both possession of Zhao Wan and presence within Clear Creek Village, where he can command Earth Vein Power and Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi 64.
• Physical vulnerability: She bears the full pain of bodily injuries and cannot pass out during possession. Yin Yunze can continue moving her injured body even when doing so worsens her suffering 99.
• Not independent spell mastery: The Fox Fire, Earth Escape, talisman use, and other techniques performed through her body are Yin Yunze's actions during possession 47 97 99.

Sacrificial Bond and Divine Anchor

The completed double sacrifice binds Zhao Wan's existence to Yin Yunze 48.

• Her altered nature permits possession that would otherwise fail and makes his descent into her resemble the arrival of his true body 48.
• As his anchor, she can sense his presence even when she cannot see him 50.
• The spirit thread connecting them allows him to enter her body across a distance 67.
• Yin Yunze discovers that her life—and, subject to the promise to protect Sun Qin, her soul's continued existence—depends on his will 48.
• He considers the alteration unjust but initially finds no way to free her from it 48 49.

Relationships

• Sun Qin — Mother and closest family member. Each is willing to sacrifice herself for the other. Sun Qin is protective of Zhao Wan and has mixed feelings about her role as Yin Yunze's vessel 5 37 50.
• Yin Yunze / Green Hill Yi Yun — Deity, protector, and the recipient of her sacrifice. He values her as a person rather than treating her as a disposable avatar, and eventually reduces his use of her body to protect her childhood 48 121.
• Zhao Yuanlang — Paternal uncle, affectionately called “Little Uncle.” She welcomes his return and protects him from the Lord of Du Mountain. Her loyalty to Yin Yunze is strong enough that she later gives Yuanlang the cold shoulder until learning that Yin Yunze is not angry with him 209 229.
• Zhao Zixuan / Hu Siniang — Fox friend who initially approaches her hoping for an introduction to Yin Yunze. Zhao Wan pleads for her, helps her dress after transformation, and seeks help when she injures herself 126 127 128.
• Zhang Yufei — Fellow shrine maiden who acknowledges Zhao Wan as Eldest Senior Sister despite being older, following Yin Yunze's appointment of Zhao Wan as leader 111.
• Lord of Du Mountain — Familiar companion whom Zhao Wan calls “Sister Mountain Lord.” Zhao Wan challenges her attempts to monopolize the orchard's fruit and scolds her for frightening Yuanlang 209.
• Zhao Cheng — Her father's cousin, addressed as “Uncle Cheng.” He exploits her trust to kidnap her and is later killed by Yin Yunze 40 42 47.

Notable Quotes

“Lord Fox Immortal, don't agree to Mother's request! Wan'er is willing to offer everything. I only ask that Lord Fox Immortal bless Mother with a life free from worry!” 5

“They did bad things! But a lesson should be enough, shouldn't it? I was saved by you anyway, Lord Yi Yun! … Mama said people should be given a chance to reflect on what they've done...” 44