Chapter 300: Character Profiles (II)

Chen Canghai

His ancestors were tomb raiders from the north. His parents studied under Li Xunshan, one of the Four Great Masters of Tomb Robbing, but they eventually perished in a place called “Seven Layers.” Chen Canghai was less than two years old at the time, leaving his uncle, Chen Jianguo, with no choice but to take him overseas. However, his heart remained in his homeland. Feeling no sense of belonging abroad, he focused solely on returning home. After finishing junior high school, he returned to China alone with the intent of enrolling in a military academy.

He has a particular obsession with Beretta firearms, and his research into guns has reached a terrifying level of depth. He is a crack shot who never misses. Having inherited Chen Jianguo’s domestic network, he serves as the true second-in-command of the Gan Clan.

Height: 186 cm. Weight: 74 kg.

Chen Canghai dresses very simply, preferring oversized jackets to hide the muscles on his arms and shoulders. His wardrobe contains no bright colors; everything from his shirts to his trousers is a dull, dark hue. He has a high-bridged nose and eyes like a vulture. Looking at him is like seeing the vast deserts and frontier fortresses; he carries the scent of wind and sand. He usually chooses the most inconspicuous corner of a room to huddle in, where he secretly observes everyone’s every move. Gan Ji’s instructions and Qian Deli’s talkative nature allow him to willingly remain nearly invisible.

His abilities were sufficient to become a military officer, but he drew the envy of others. On a night filled with grief and rage after learning of Chen Jianguo’s disappearance, his rivals orchestrated a car accident that left him deaf (this was deduced by Gan Ji through various investigations). He is a kind-hearted man of few words. After enduring many hardships, he became ruthless in his methods. The loss of his military career and the uncertainty of Chen Jianguo’s fate caused him great pain. When he was pushed off a cliff by a stone gate in Yunnan, he briefly lost the will to live, but after being rescued by Gan Ji, he found hope again and now wishes to repay him.

As the de facto second-in-command of the Gan Clan, he replaced Qian Deli’s original position. When quiet, he exerts no sense of pressure, but he is a madman in a fight. Xu Zhicai once taunted him as “a dog that doesn’t bark.” He is completely devoted to maintaining Gan Ji’s absolute status. His combat strength is formidable; during the power struggle between Gan Ji and Gan Rong, he held his own against ten opponents without breaking a sweat.

Bai Shenxian

The last miraculous physician of the Bai Family, capable of bringing the dead back to life and regrowing flesh on bone. His father, Bai Qing, was the eldest young master of the Bai Family, and his mother was a descendant of the witch doctors of the Shi Kingdom. Born with double pupils, what exactly he can see remains unknown. As the only son for three generations, he comes from a rare and prestigious lineage associated with the Five Masters. At twenty, he was framed by treacherous people and forced to hide within the Lu Clan using his mother’s connections. By the time he returned, the Bai Family had already collapsed.

Whether it is a Miao dao^[1], Mountain-Cleaving Machete, or scalpel, he is not particularly picky about weapons. He believes no one is better at killing than a doctor. With a single bamboo skewer in hand, he can end a life from a hundred meters away.

Height: 187 cm. Weight: Unknown.

Bai Shenxian maintains an indifferent attitude toward everything in the world. He lived a privileged life as a child, yet in the three short years after reaching adulthood, he experienced all the suffering that ordinary people never encounter. He believes that human nature is inherently evil and has lost all goodwill toward others. He can be in the middle of a situation yet remain as cold as an outsider. He can easily accept the death of anyone and quickly detach himself from any emotions he might feel, like an old monster who has truly lived for a thousand years.

Bai Shenxian has three rules for who he will not treat: those seeking death, those who do not believe, and those giving birth. Despite his brilliant medical skills, he never delivers babies. Rumor has it he has a younger brother he has never met, whom he loathes deeply, yet his conscience prevents him from killing the boy. Consequently, he asked Tian Yuqing to send the child away.

He has been working for Tian Yuqing, yet he has no dependency on the Tian Family, suggesting the two are not in a superior-subordinate relationship. He is a loner, eccentric and unstable. At times he is serious and professional; at others, he seems to lose his mind. His business ventures are incredibly varied. This personality makes it impossible to predict his next move, and very few people can contact him. He once helped Tian Yuqing enter the mechanical tower of Li Xunshan’s old mansion to retrieve the first Nine-Ring Jade Casket, which facilitated the true launch of the Nine-Ring Project.

Tian Yuqing

The eldest grandson of Tian Xiao and a leading figure among the Five Masters. He returned to China around the age of fifteen to formally take over the Tian Family, becoming their sole authority and the mastermind behind the second generation of the Nine-Ring Project. Deep and calculating, he was kept under constant surveillance for years after the second-generation project failed, deprived of his personal freedom. He is one of the few people who can understand what Gan Ji is thinking, and the two later became lifelong friends.

He carries an iron fan and a hidden sleeve-arrow. The dozen or so ribs of the fan are retractable and can be used as concealed weapons; the fan is also impenetrable to blades and bullets and will not melt in fire. However, when out in public he usually acts only as a strategist and avoids physical brawls. He is exceptionally sensitive to direction and can find his way even through thick fog.

Height: 183 cm. Weight: 70 kg.

Tian Yuqing’s appearance is very deceptive. He has a pair of beautiful “peach blossom eyes^[2]” that are soul-capturing, in Gan Ji’s own words, so he wears glasses year-round to hide this feature, not wanting to draw attention. He presents himself as very refined, with the temperament of a schoolteacher. He is emotionally steady; no matter what is said to him, his composure rarely wavers.

Tian Yuqing possesses unshakeable willpower. After Tian Xiao’s death, he faced the frantic pursuit of the Lingshanmi clan alone. Without food or water, he crawled through mountain crevices for three days and three nights before finally making contact with Chen Si. However, his capacity for empathy is weak; having spent years handling blood-stained affairs, he struggles to feel strong empathy for others. He has sharp analytical abilities and strong leadership skills. Based on just a single sentence from an elder, he deduced Bai Shenxian’s predicament. When everyone else shrank away from the Bai Family, he decisively stepped forward to extend a helping hand.

He is clever, reliable, and protective of his own. He excels at maintaining proper boundaries and reflects on his past self to stay true to his original intentions and keep his cool. During the period when Gan Ji was willing to stop at nothing to achieve his goals, Tian Yuqing corrected his path in time, serving as the rudder that kept them on course. Tian Yuqing has a few niche hobbies; he has long had an interest in embroidery, but he forced himself to abandon all his hobbies to devote himself entirely to the project.