Xu Hanxian

Biodata

Background / History

Magistrate during the drought

Xu Hanxian initially had a reputation as a decent but inflexible official of average ability. During the drought, he despised the grain merchants who exploited the crisis, but could not make them accept his proposed selling price. An earlier donation of ten thousand jin of rice from the Clear Creek Fox Immortal had relieved his immediate difficulties; he subsequently assumed the fox immortal had exhausted the available grain 69 73 74 87.

Xu and his wife rented a house outside the county’s official residence. When their eight-year-old daughter, Xu Yue, became seriously ill and several physicians failed to cure her, tension at home drove him back to the yamen residence. Although widely described as afraid of his wife, he was particularly helpless before her distress: he could neither cure their daughter nor comfort her 69 77.

Failed grain negotiations

Peng Shulan brought Xu to meet Yin Yunze after reporting an offer of two million jin of grain at five copper coins per jin. Xu immediately saw through Yin’s young-master illusion and nearly left after discovering the deception. He reconsidered when Yin conjured bags of pig feed, recognized the Clear Creek Fox Immortal, and personally tasted the pellets to confirm that they were edible 73 74.

The negotiations failed over publicity rather than price. Yin wanted the people told that the grain came from Green Hill Yi Yun; Xu refused, arguing that reliance on a fox immortal would compromise the imperial court’s dignity. He instead offered seven wen per jin without accepting that condition. When Yin challenged him, Xu privately recognized that his real fear was damage to his career and the prospect of being branded a “fox immortal county magistrate” 75 76.

After drinking heavily, Xu voluntarily entered a beauty dream supplied by Yin. Yin stretched the experience to three years of dream time, allowing Xu to grow attached to a woman named Rumeng. On waking, Xu desperately tried to retain those memories as they faded 76 87.

Public humiliation and self-reflection

While Xu slept, Yin treated Xu Yue, accepted her as a goddaughter, and became Zuo Xiaoyu’s sworn elder sister. Yin also bypassed the magistrate by establishing a porridge-distribution operation outside the city 80 83 84 85.

Xu’s anger peaked when he heard children reciting verses accusing him of valuing his reputation above starving people. He threw down and trampled the protective talisman his wife had brought him, then ordered Peng Shulan to dismantle the porridge shelter and arrest those involved. Peng refused, explaining that closing it would effectively kill the people relying on it 88.

Zuo Xiaoyu confronted Xu over both his cruelty and his prejudice against Yin. She contrasted his conduct with the public-minded husband she remembered and left him behind. Abandoned by wife and subordinate alike, Xu finally acknowledged that he had neglected his duties for the sake of his official position 88.

Reconciliation and official recognition

Xu later visited Clear Creek Village with his wife, daughter, and Peng Shulan to apologize. He brought gold recovered from unscrupulous merchants and a sealed scroll recognizing Yin as the “World-Saving Immortal Fox.” He also prepared blank, officially sealed scrolls so Yin could choose a different title 114.

During Yin’s snowy manifestation, Xu identified the white-haired figure as Azure Heavens Jade Maiden, the deity of frost and snow. His explanation spread through the crowd, diverting the ceremony away from the name Green Hill Yi Yun. Xu maintained this interpretation when meeting Yin again, who ultimately accepted recognition under the name Qingnü 114 118 119.

Xu provided two thousand taels of gold for disaster relief. Their reconciliation also became a family alliance: Yin invited him to dispense with formal titles, and Xu began addressing Yin as “Sister Yi Yun” 120.

Drought Demon investigation

Xu showed Yin the Supernatural Pursuit Bureau chief’s reply dismissing reports of a Drought Demon at the Tomb of Prince Jing. He argued that the chief’s personal seal suggested the bureau knew about the danger and was concealing it 123.

He then revealed that the obligations attached to Yin’s official recognition—protecting the region and ensuring its prosperity—had been intended to draw Yin into confronting the threat. Xu admitted fearing death because he had a wife and daughter, but still risked Yin’s anger to seek protection for the county. Yin resented the maneuver while recognizing the contrast with his earlier self-serving behavior 123.

Cooperation with Qingnü

After Yin bombed the City God Temple, Xu was left dealing with the nighttime disturbance despite having been warned only of a “little commotion.” He subsequently sent an apology letter and gold through Peng Shulan, then visited Yin to relay the City God’s message that the dispute would end, but further provocation would not be tolerated 141 146 148.

Yin informed Xu that the Heavenly Wheel Sect had caused Xu Yue’s illness and was targeting magistrates throughout the drought-stricken half-prefecture. Xu also accepted a renewed grain offer—an unlimited supply of Fox Rice at three copper coins per jin—and explicitly acknowledged that the relief should be credited to Qingnü 149.

Xu helped bring neighboring magistrates into negotiations. He supported building a Qingnü temple in every village if the grain supply was guaranteed, and joined the other seven magistrates in accepting terms covering grain distribution, temples, official recognition, and the expulsion of Heavenly Wheel Sect followers 157 158 159.

He later accompanied Prefect Liu Zhengyuan at Qingnü Temple. When Yin chose an Agricultural God office, Liu proposed Magistrate Xu as the person to write the corresponding prayer 182 197.

Appearance

• Build and features: A handsome man of around thirty with delicate features 73.
• Clothing: Wears official robes while acting as magistrate 73.
• Signs of exhaustion: Dark circles and a weary appearance accompany his introduction; heavy work later leaves him unsteady enough that Yin treats his exhaustion 73 148.

Personality

Xu’s defining early flaw is his attachment to official respectability. He cares about the drought’s victims and loses sleep over the crisis, yet initially refuses relief terms that might harm his standing. His insistence on the court’s dignity conceals a more personal fear that dependence on a fox immortal will discredit his achievements and future career 75 76.

He is scholarly, stubborn, and accustomed to deference. He initially treats Yin as someone who should remain available until dismissed, and distrusts the fox immortal on the grounds of being nonhuman. Peng Shulan and Zuo Xiaoyu expose the weakness of that prejudice by comparing Yin’s practical aid with the conduct of human profiteers 87 88.

His affection for his family is genuine. His reputation for fearing Zuo Xiaoyu is rooted partly in his inability to bear her tears, and her disappointment ultimately forces him to confront what he has become. His later willingness to risk a deity’s anger for the county demonstrates a renewed commitment to public duty 77 88 123.

Xu enjoys wine and beautiful women but hesitates to betray his wife, even before entering an erotic dream. After reconciling with Yin, he becomes much more flattering; his elaborate compliments about tea sometimes cross into unintended flirtation, prompting Yin to reprimand him 75 76 120 148.

Abilities & Skills

Dynastic Karmic Luck

As a court-appointed official, Xu possesses substantial Dynastic Karmic Luck, providing passive protection rather than a demonstrated cultivation realm 74 76 83.

• Allows him to see through Yin’s young-master illusion when Peng Shulan cannot 73 74.
• Normally protects him against Yin’s Dream Entry Technique. The beauty dream bypasses this because it is harmless and Xu activates it voluntarily 76.
• Makes him difficult for weaker supernatural practitioners to target directly and renders many methods the City God uses on ordinary people ineffective 83 149.
• Becomes dense enough that Yin cannot simply transport him using frost-and-snow power 122.

Administrative Authority

Xu’s position gives him practical influence over relief efforts and local religious recognition.

• Can grant official recognition to a village god receiving no official stipend 114.
• Uses official seals and recognition documents to formalize Yin’s status 114 119.
• Supplies recovered wealth for relief and helps coordinate negotiations among eight county magistrates 120 157 158 159.

Relationships

• Zuo Xiaoyu — Wife. Her condemnation of his attempt to close the porridge shelter becomes the decisive challenge to his obsession with reputation 77 88.
• Xu Yue / Yue’er — Only child, aged eight when introduced. Her illness strains the household; after Yin saves her, she becomes Yin’s goddaughter and encourages her father to acknowledge his prejudice 69 83 84 114.
• Yin Yunze / Green Hill Yi Yun / Qingnü — Initially a distrusted relief supplier, later a divine ally and family connection through Zuo Xiaoyu and Xu Yue. Their cooperation combines grain relief, official recognition, political maneuvering, and supernatural protection 75 88 120 123 149.
• Peng Shulan — Head constable and intermediary with Yin. He openly refuses Xu’s order to destroy the porridge shelter; Yin later specifically orders him to protect Xu and his family 73 88 146.
• Liu Zhengyuan — Prefect with whom Xu appears at Qingnü Temple. Liu later proposes him as the writer of the prayer for Yin’s Agricultural God office 182 197.
• Rumeng — Woman in Yin’s constructed dream. Xu experiences three years with her and is distressed when those memories dissolve after waking 76 87.

Equipment / Items

• Protective talisman: Given to him by Zuo Xiaoyu after Yin healed Xu Yue; Xu later tears it off and tramples it during his outburst 87 88.
• Beauty-themed boxed gift: Received from Yin after their reconciliation. Xu recognizes its implication and discreetly hides it in his sleeve after glancing at his wife 120.

Notable Quotes

“The people are important, but the imperial court’s dignity must not be compromised!” 75

“I’m only a mortal, and I have a virtuous wife and a beloved daughter. How could I not fear death?” 123

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t make people get up in the middle of the night to work overtime?!” 141