Shi Kuan

**Shi Kuan** (Chinese: 石宽), the Northern Emperor, is the King of the Northern Mountains. He is so strong that he can cut mountains and throw them from afar. He is the strongest yaoguai in Beishan.

He is affectionately called A'Kuan (Chinese: 阿宽) by his lover, the Yuyao Princess.

## Name

* Shi means stone, and Kuan means wide.
* Beishan Yaodi (北山妖帝) means Spirit Emperor of the Northern Mountains.

## Appearance

He is a strong tall buff muscular man wearing shades. When he was young, he had a Mongol-styled haircut, which can be found among China's northern nomadic groups. As he grew up he let his hair grow out like a rock star. In the end, when reunited, he got a handsome haircut at the request of his wife Yuyao Princess.

## Personality

Skilled in combat, he rarely gives a smile. He relies on brute force and hard punches. But he has a soft spot for the Yuyao Princess. Growing up, he swore to protect her with his life and spent his entire time training.

## Donghua

Born into slavery, he is placed under the Zimu Fu curse to obey his master's every command. Growing up he does nothing but train to get stronger. He then meets Yuyao princess, and touched by her kindness towards him, he swears to protect her with his life. One day, she takes him to the Kuqing tree, where they make their Heart Oath. She asks him to protect her forever.

However, Yuyao princess said he spent so much time protecting her, that he never asked to marry her, and then she realized it was because he was still a slave bound by the Zimufu. Shikuan never openly confessed his love to her because of their difference in status: he a slave and she a princess. So she looked for a way to lift the curse and free Shikuan.

She discovers that the only known way to do so would be to ascend the throne and learn the family secret on how to free a yaoguai. So she quickly marries another man so that she can ascend the throne. She is then about to free Akuan before she is stabbed to death by a yaoguai spy. She then tells him the secret to freeing the yaoguai, saying that she always loved Akuan and that yaoguai and humans had the same feelings.

He utters the secret incantation Yuyao told him to free the yaoguai, who then name him their king. She then gives him the title Beishan Yaodi, nickname Huimie Tiandi. She reminds him that when young they visited the Kuqing tree and made their love pledge to meet reincarnated, so she says that when he builds a country where yaoguai and humans live together harmoniously, they can meet once again. She then dies.

Many years later, Akuan gets possessed by a Shadow Fox spirit who twists his memories and makes him hate Yuyao princess and wish to destroy the Kuqing Tree to break their Heart Oath. He initially allies with Zuoshi and the Shadow Fox Empress to attack Tushan. There he faces off against Yaya and Bai Yuechu.

But with Bai and Susu's help purging the Shadow Fox inside him, he eventually rediscovers the truth about the past and with Liuer Mihou's help reunites with the reincarnated princess.

## Skills

* Beidou Shenquan (北斗神券): North Star God Fist, summons energies of spirits to bulk up, greatly increasing his size and strength
* Dahao Zhenyuan (大耗真元): turns into a giant mountain monster, has trees and bushes for hair and stone and bolder for skin

## Trivia

* A'Kuan is also the name of a Liyue NPC that appears in the video game Genshin Impact.