Antiquarian/Lore

—Anniversary Tales Collection Booklet

**Qi Shiyi**, also known as the **Antiquarian** is one of the **43** playable Survivors added to Identity V.

This page is a compilation of story content and Lore for this character.

## Backstory

### Character Introduction

Young Xiao Qi was the only survivor when disaster befell the Xiao family. However, after going through hardships and dangers, she found that the heroic story of hoeing the strong and helping the weak and getting revenge for big disasters appeared in the storybook. Only self-destruction.
It was discovered that she was hidden in the blank space of the sky, and the shackles of the day were hidden in the scattered places
Every person and thing she has encountered along the way is proving to her: Don't look back for a life.
Just like the master taught her to "want to obtain the pure land, avoid greed and anger"; just like the old servant's dying order, "forget past hatred and live this life in peace".
But when she was just about to wash off the stains on her hands and adapt to the way of life of ordinary people, the most important person in her family was gone...

### Chinese Character Introduction

Bamboo grows in the deep valley. Even if you practice cleansing and purification and remain calm, you will still be attacked by natural disasters. The youngest daughter of the Xiao family, who was the only one to survive the turmoil, vowed to Zhaoxue. After many twists and turns, she finally became a disciple of an expert and practiced martial arts. But when she went through all the hardships and tried every possible way to climb up, she discovered that heroic stories of hoeing the strong and helping the weak, and retribution for great revenge only appeared in story books. The reality is not as simple and clear as good and evil are rewarded. The only outcome is self-destruction. Incompleteness is the normal state of life. Qi Shiyi has long understood that even if she puts aside her past grudges and looks down on glory, she will still not be able to live a good life...

### Original Chinese Character Introduction

"Old shells astray, young bamboo shoots of the winter differ not in resilient nature. One purehearted and virtuous strides on with inner confidence."
This was the first poem the youngest daughter of the Xiao family was able to recite, and also her father's motto for the household.
But not all things are what they seem to be at a glance. Bamboo growing in a canyon will naturally face disasters; the Xiao family's decision to shut out the outside world was the reason for their downfall. The only lucky daughter survived and swore to avenge her family, going through many challenges and finally entering a martial arts sect. However, despite her difficulties, her willingness to risk it all in order to climb upwards, she eventually realized an avenger capable of heroic deeds only appears in stories. Good and evil in reality were not as discernable, and she would be treading on a swift path to her own death if she recklessly took action.
A failed revenge lead to her identity being exposed, and as she ran day and night to escape, she realized she had been shackled by too many members of the deceased. She had to live on for she had not fulfilled their hopes and dreams; even if she had to abandon her family name, renaming herself "Qi Shiyi".
Everything on her journey, every person and event, served as proof for her: suffering is life's norm. Never look back.
Just like how her master taught her, "desire only peace, never the three poisons"; just like how her oldest servant told her on his deathbed, "let go of your previous life and live at peace".
But when she was about to rid her hands of the stains that plagued them and attempt a new life as an ordinary person, that manor decided to steal away the most important person in her life...

### Character Trailer

Identity V - Antiquarian Background StoryThe Antiquarian's backstory trailer
#### Trailer Transcript

*Young bamboo shoots could brave the bitter cold of winter*

*Graceful and serene in the face of adversity*

*Father*

*You taught us that the Xiao family*

*must act like bamboo in the winter*

*Unruffled and composed*

*But what if the powerful seek our downfall?*

*What good is our composure if evil goes unpunished?*

*Forgive me*

*I must*

*Defy our mantra*

*What?*

*Was I the one who brought this misfortune?*

*Qi*

*Qi!*

*No! I mustn't hide*

*For the Xiao family*

*For vindication*

*And for her safe return*

*I knew this is a life of hardship,*

*a life of uncertainty and diligence*

*My only option is to press onward and tread the unknown*

*The Xiao family must act like bamboo in the winter*

*Unflinching and steadfast in the face of adversity*

## Deduction Quests

*All completed Objectives reward the player with +335 Logic points for the Logic Path. After the character's deductions are completed, their Worn Clothes will be available.*

## Character Resources

The additional in-game and external documents for this character include:

* Character Relations
* Quotes & Media
* Event Appearances
* Mentions

The Character Relations menu shows how certain characters are connected and how they feel about each other. It also contains other personal information on characters that cannot be found anywhere else. It can be found in the Notebook, under the "Clues" tab. The Antiquarian does not yet have her Character Relations menu released.

### Quotations

* Valentine's Day 2023 Cards quotes:
	+ *"Thank you, it's such a pleasant surprise. But I don't know much about this holiday. I hope my reply is a good response to your wishes."*
	+ *"People always have high hopes for love, but how many are able to truly support each other in this world so full of ups and downs...? If I can find someone I truly trust to be my companion, then I'm certain I will not fear loneliness anymore, nor will the nightmares and regrets of my past plague me at night."*
* 5th Anniversary Congratulatory Video quote:
	+ *"A long time...... It's been a long time since I've felt refreshed. I wish everyone's peace and good health in today's celebration."*
* Deduction Star 2023 quotes:
	+ *"The moon is sinking along with the bamboo flute, splitting the wind and cutting the waves like a tiger's roar."*
	+ *"As I brace the cold night with my sword as a facade, the piercing wind seems bearable."*
	+ *"The good news brings joy to my heart as I keep on singing my songs."*

### Reply Web Events

**Antiquarian** has been mentioned in the following documents for other characters:

## Canon Manor Game

We can gather who was in a canon Manor Game together by information in Letters and Diaries, and very occasionally from character quotes during events. However, there is currently not enough information to determine which Manor Game the Antiquarian participated in.

## Compiled Overview

The following section contains an overview based on canon information.Please note that some information may be missing as it may not have been provided from official sources. See the given references for further information.
### Background

Xiao Yao was born into the Xiao family of nobles as the seventh and youngest daughter of the Xiao family and the granddaughter of Xiao Hang, the family's head. She was raised as a lady and taught the traditional noble virtues by her father, Xiao Wang, as she was raised, developing a strong sense of justice as she learned. However, the Xiao family's joyous days came to an abrupt end as they, along with Xie and other 'accomplices', were executed for the crime of "colluding, conspiring to rebel, sowing discord among the people, and seeking to do harm to the government". The entire Xiao family was sentenced to death except for Yao, who was saved by Lin Congbin, one of the Xiao family's old servants who had returned to the Xiao residence after recovering from illness. Yao and Congbin, without money or resources, were destitute as beggars after the Xiao family's fall.

Congbin was likely unable to take care of Yao himself, and therefore directed her towards his distant relative, Lin Jingfu. Jingfu was a kind-hearted man and gladly took the girl kneeling on his doorstep in as a daughter of his own. Yao, however, refused to forget about how her family was wronged, joining a martial arts sect with her motive being revenge. Along with other assassins, she attempted to take the emperor's life but ultimately failed. Yao, along with another assassin, was able to escape injured.

After hearing this news, Congbin worried for Yao and wrote her a letter urging her to abandon her hatred and live an ordinary life onwards. Shortly after, Jingfu's friends and family were unaccepting of him letting Yao stay under his roof for any longer as she put him in danger, and urged him to kick her out. Jingfu was forced to ask Yao to leave, and Yao was left with nowhere to stay.

In order to live, Yao took on the job of hired assassinations, killing multiple wealthy businessmen in one month. Yao, with enough money to sustain herself, purchased an antique shop; and so, "Xiao Yao" became "Qi Shiyi", the owner of the shop "Bamboo Study". As she ran her shop, Shiyi was forced to step in to settle a dispute nearby, only to meet the granddaughter of her grandfather's friend, Tang Si. Shiyi and Tang Si shortly became friends.

However, tragedy seemed to strike once again. Tang Si seemed to have gone missing, and the Tang family, too, began to close all its shops simultaneously. Just as Shiyi worried for her friend, she suddenly heard word that a certain person knew about her friend's whereabouts.

### Alternate Theories and Conclusions

The below article or section(s) contains speculation, analysis, or theories which may include unconfirmed information.When adding content, use references to link or explain **legitimate/official** supportive evidence for specific theories, otherwise it may be removed.
* According to the official document, "The entire Xiao family was executed to end their bloodline". This is an example of the second-to-most extreme punishment of Ancient China, 满门抄斩 ("Full house sold and slaughtered"), where all family members are executed and all the family's belongings are sold, the earnings going to the royal treasury. However, this method was usually avoided when giving punishments: first, due to the loss of profit from selling female members as slaves instead, and second, due to the time consumption from the sheer number of people that would be executed. There is a possibility that it was given not to make an example out of the Xiao family but instead because the Xiao family had stumbled upon a secret that they should not have known.
	+ Additionally, the mass framing of crime and execution of generationally wealthy families usually happened whenever a new emperor was crowned in ancient China. This was a way of cutting ties with his father's close families, and forming close ties with families he would hand-pick, ensuring they would be indebted to him. There is no information in Qi Shiyi's story mentioning if the emperor had changed, however.
* Given that Lin Congbin was willing to risk his life to save Xiao Yao from execution, the Xiao family was likely kind to their servants and virtuous as Shiyi describes.
* Shiyi's attachment to Si may have been due to their similar backgrounds and similar interests. However, just like how the Xiao family fell, the Tang family followed similarly; Si's life then mirrored every event in Shiyi's former life.
* The Tang family's downfall may have been due to either the same reason as the Xiao family, perhaps due to corruption within the aristocratic high society; or, because they, too, were a threat towards the emperor.
	+ However, it is also a possibility that one of the "wealthy businessmen" Shiyi had assassinated was Tang Jiashi, and the true reason for the Tang family's downfall was because of Shiyi's doing; following that, Tang Si most likely disappeared not because she was in danger, but because she could no longer face her best friend.

## Trivia

* Qi Shiyi, 戚十一 is a homophone for 七十一, "seven eleven". The "seven" comes from "the seventh daughter of the Xiao family", and the "eleven" comes from the number of stokes in her altered surname, "戚"; the second character of the word "relative", "亲戚", and a homophone for "凄", sorrow. Additionally, within written Chinese language, all words for main relations; family, "家人", friend, "朋友", lover, "愛人/爱人", and enemy, "敵人/敌人" all consist of exactly twelve strokes; therefore, the symbolic "eleven" represents her wishes to cut all old ties from the world, and to be branded anew. Alternatively, "eleven" may instead ironically represent how everyone she had cared about in her life was taken from her by fate, and her past actions affecting those important to her despite her will to start afresh.

## References

1. ↑ Can drink Dovlin
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Translated from the official 2024 Character Days announcement post on Weibo https://weibo.com/6140485374/4985311753405780
3. ↑ Backstory from the official website - https://www.identityvgame.com/en/character/index.html
4. ↑ Backstory from the official Chinese website - https://id5.163.com/nrzx/role.html
5. ↑ At some point, her Character Introduction on the Identity V Official Chinese Website was reworded.
6. ↑ Translation by @IdentityV\_\_Sub.
7. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction #5: Mustard Seed
8. ↑ 0:26, Antiquarian's Background Story: "What good is our composure if evil goes unpunished?"
9. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction #2: Scarlet Ridge
10. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction #3: Enduring Winter
11. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction #4: Rise from the Ashes
12. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction #5: Mustard Seed
13. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction #6: Forgotten Woe
14. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction #7: Fence Dweller
15. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction #8: Lone Survivor
16. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction #9: Settler
17. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction #10: Ray from Afar
18. ↑ Antiquarian's Deduction 11: Homecoming
19. ↑ https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%BB%A1%E9%97%A8%E6%8A%84%E6%96%A9/114100

### Translation Notes

1. ↑ A mistranslation; this is intended to say "the youngest daughter of the Xiao family".
2. ↑ This seems to be a mistranslation, as her family should all be dead. In this context, "family" may refer instead to a sense of closeness, a friend she considers as close as her family.
3. ↑ The English Character Introduction is an abridged version of the Chinese one. Many details seem to be missing.