Xie Qingshuang

Xie Qingshuang is the head of Jishi Hall.

She is a skilled physician and possesses a medical constitution, making her a "healing ingredient" for some advanced cultivators who seek medical treatment or ability improvements. She trains a group of loyal followers named Shadow Guards, which are headed by her most trusted advisor Qu Jianglin. She has been spying on Lu Jiu ever since he left Jishi Hall, keeping him alive in order to share her obsession over her memories of Xie Qingxuan with him.

## History

### Early Life

Xie Qingshuang was born with a medical constitution, a fact which her mother kept secret even from her father.

When Xie Qingshuang was young, she discovered that Xie Renyu was hiding an unknown woman in the Westhill Courtyard. She told her mother, who scolded her and told her that she must instead act as if that woman didn't exist. Xie Qingshuang instead became curious about the woman, and after she befriended Lu Qingyun, the two of them investigated the matter and if there was any way to cure her. Because she found out about the secret of the woman and he didn't yet know of her medicinal blood, Xie Renyu fed Xie Qingshuang false clues to lead her to Spirit Treasure Mountain where he had arranged a trap to cause her death, though his attempt failed. Lu Qingyun took a blow intended to kill Xie Qingshuang and fell into a coma, and in the process of attempting to treat him, Xie Qingshuang revealed the secret of her medicinal blood.

Afterwards she cooperated with Xie Qingxuan and formed a sibling bond with him to help Lu Qingyun, much to her mother's frustration. Following the death of the nine-horned snake, Xie Qingshuang overheard Xie Renyu and Helan Ning talking about its identity and the fact that Xie Renyu had Xie Qingxuan kill it. Xie Qingxuan later planted an evil puppet gu on Helan Ning and Xie Renyu refused to cure it, causing Xie Qingshuang to develop a deep resentment for both men.

### Qingshan City and Young Adulthood

In order to push Xie Qingxuan to do something drastic against Xie Renyu, Xie Qingshuang told him about the identity of the nine-horned snake, which caused him to go mad and poison the entirety of Qingshan City in revenge. Xie Qingshuang's motivation was to destroy the Xie family entirely. When she found out that Lu Qingyun had gone inside the city, she chased after him, and the two of them met for the first time after Lu Qingyun had fallen into his coma. She tried to convince him to leave out of fear that he would be scapegoated and Xie Renyu and Xie Qingxuan would get away unscathed. Despite her pleas he refused to leave, and she returned alone.

After Lu Qingyun was blamed for the slaughter of Qingshan City, Xie Qingshuang removed the Kunshan archaic jade from his wrists and allowed him to escape with his life. She used her Shadow Guards to keep him under continued surveillance, protecting him from Xie Renyu and the rest of the world from the shadows.

At some point she visited Red Leaf Manor, where she met Qu Jianglin. Qu Jianglin immediately felt a connection between them, and left Red Leaf Manor in order to serve Xie Qingshuang.

After Liu Jianghe appeared and caused a ruckus at Peach Blossom Wharf, Xie Qingshuang continued to observe him and Lu Qingyun, and ordered Qu Jianglin to bring them to Qinghua Mansion.

### Lu Jiu and Liu Jianghe at Qinghua Mansion

Xie Qingshuang had a discussion with Lu Jiu, during which she revealed that he wasn't under a life and death contract and instead activated the evil puppet gu he had planted on Liu Jianghe. Lu Jiu then forced her to save Liu Jianghe's life, but she later admitted to Qu Jianglin that she had her own reasons for wanting to keep Liu Jianghe alive. Xie Qingshuang sensed that there was some sort of conspiracy surrounding Liu Jueming, and wanted to get answers from Liu Jianghe.

Xie Qingshuang quelled the chaotic qi in Liu Jianghe using her blood, both in order to help and threaten him. She admitted she was deliberately delaying treating him with the Kunshan blood lotus, then began a coup and departed to make an attempt on Xie Renyu's life.

Xie Qingshuang wasn't skilled enough to kill her father herself, but Qu Jianglin was able to complete the deed for her. In the process Xie Qingshuang was heavily injured, as Xie Renyu's skill was able to disrupt the effect of her medicinal blood.

Xie Qingshuang blamed Xie Renyu's death on the worsening of an old injury he obtained fighting Liu Jianghe, though this was a complete fabrication in order to hide her responsibility from the rest of the world. She held a long, elaborate funeral for him to mask her own recovery. Realizing she was injured, Liu Jianghe mortally wounded himself, forcing Xie Qingshuang to return the kunshan jades to Lu Jiu's wrists in order for him to treat Liu Jianghe in her stead.

Realizing that Liu Jianghe and Lu Jiu were attempting to escape from under her influence, Xie Qingshuang devised a plan to allow them to believe they had slipped free while secretly keeping them under further surveillance. Liu Jianghe initially believed he outwitted her by taking over the minds of the Shadow Guards who were sent to monitor him and Lu Jiu, however Xie Qingshuang had expected him to disrupt her plans. One of the Shadow Guards, Su Tuntun, had previously had his blood replaced by Xie Qingshuang in order to treat him for poisoning, and she used her ability to sense his condition to keep tabs on Lu Jiu and Liu Jianghe.

With Xie Renyu's death, Xie Qingshuang took over treatment of Liu Jueming in his stead. Initially Helan Manor came to extract her blood, but then later she regularly made visits to Penglai instead in order to treat him. However rather than trying to improve his condition, at Zhou Zikun's orders she was merely keeping Liu Jueming alive. This process is demanding enough that it is actively draining her spiritual energy, which is beginning to turn her hair white.

## Trivia

* Her medicinal blood creates a one-way connection: she can enter the spiritual consciousness of someone whose blood she's replaced, but not the other way around.
* Her medicinal blood can only control those whose spiritual power is weaker than hers.
* Xie Renyu was responsible for teaching her swordplay as well as giving her Three Thousand Retainers.
* Unlike her predecessors, Xie Qingshuang doesn't consume human pills. As a result she is considerably weak, and only considered worthy of being head of Jishi Hall by the hall's spirit puppet servants due to Qu Jianglin's power.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 62.5: Sect Settings
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 9: Undercurrent
3. ↑ Chapter 33: Siblings
4. ↑ Chapter 80: Start of Disagreement
5. ↑ Chapter 40: Three Seasons
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Awaiting citation
7. ↑ Chapter 87: Emotional Appeals
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chapter 88: Motivated by Reasoning
9. ↑ Chapter 42: Her Saber
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapter 94: Discord Between Siblings
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chapter 41: Three Thousand Retainers
12. ↑ Chapter 77: Problem Solved
13. ↑ Chapter 92: A Man of Character, but Not Much
14. ↑ Chapter 61: Scapegoat
15. ↑ Chapter 81: Something Cheerful
16. ↑ Chapter 84: Choices
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Chapter 109: Unable to Figure It out
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Chapter 107: White Hair