Member of the Shenxue Men (深雪門) assassination sect

• 5'10''; slim but strong
• Straight black hair, generally pulled back in a short ponytail
• Serious brown eyes, though they can also be surprisingly gentle
• Plain dark robes, always carries a sword when not in his civilian identity, generally has several other weapons tucked away on his person regardless
• When on jobs wears black clothing and a cloth mask that covers everything but his eyes, sometimes a straw hat depending on the stealth needed

• Fiercely loyal
• Curious and eager to learn
• Proactive, will do it scared/alone/etc
• Somewhat naive despite being an experienced assassin, as a result of not really having had a social life growing up
• As an additional consequence, very inexperienced with interpersonal relationships and romance
• Fairly sharp delineation between his usual personality and his assassin persona
• In his civilian life he's easy-going, smiles readily, and is a little awkward and shy
• As an assassin he's steely, determined, and cold
• They're both real parts of his personality but they don't have much crossover

• Proficient with various weapons, including the sword, deerhorn knives, and the rope dagger
• Stealthy and fast
• Agile, excellent qinggong
• Efficient rather than flashy fighter, would rather finish the job than show off

• Has no memory of family or home
• Plucked off the street by Shenxue Men sect leader Du Lingke at a young age
• Raised in the sect, learning both foundational skills and the particular sect style
• Showed early aptitude and was given special attention by instructors and Du Lingke himself
• Sect recruits were encouraged to think of each other of siblings in arms but not really to get to know one another in a personal capacity
• Started in the rank and file of the sect young, carrying out short assignments based at sect headquarters
• Unbeknownst to him was fed a poison under the guise of a power-raising elixir once he started doing missions; is given a draught as a “maintenance dose” every month that actually just delays the effects of the poison. This is Du Lingke's failsafe to maintain control over any rogue agents
• Did well as a junior assassin and was fairly recently promoted to a senior agent, who lives out among the populace and is responsible for carrying out sect business in a specific territory
• Moved to Baicai Village around three years ago, as the owner of a mobile noodle stall
• Met and fell in love with the local butcher and moved in with him two years ago
• Have been living together as common law spouses for about a year
• Has been hiding his real identity from his husband and his husband from his sect

• Du Lingke (杜灵岢): Leader of Shenxue Men. Admires and reveres him as a father figure, since he feels he saved his life and gave him purpose
• Yuwen Hu (宇文护) aka Zhu Er Niu (祝二牛): Common law husband. Thinks he's a civilian but unbeknownst to Chu Qing he's actually an Imperial secret agent