Lang Ying (Past)

**Lang Ying** (郎英, *Láng Yīng*) is the former and first king of Yong'an. He was born a commoner, but took the throne after leading the rebellion that overthrew the kingdom of Xianle in revenge for the persecution and deaths of thousands of Yong'an citizens.

## Appearance

The first time he appears he is an unkempt, young man around twenty-four or twenty-five years old. He wore a simple satchel, as well as worn out straw slippers. While he was pale and sallow with dry, chapped lips, he still had a clear, thin face and bright eyes. It's also mentioned that he has large hands.

After the war and taking the throne, he lost his aura of a brave warrior. Due to the Human Face Disease inflicted on him, his condition worsened to the point that his ribs were visible, his form was extremely pale and his skin was wax-yellow.

## Personality

Lang Ying is a calm, but blunt and courageous man who does everything in his might to achieve what he aims for, even when the chances to succeed are low. His goals are grounded in the well being of his own people and although he stood at the head of a war, he is a man that loves deeply. It is evident that he loved his son and wife, even going so far to take their spirits into his body.

While neither boastful or arrogant, Lang Ying is still a natural leader who is able to inspire others with his own courage and strong will. Desensitized from grief and having experienced great sufferings, he fears nothing and doesn't rely on the help of Gods or royalty. Even when surrounded by soldiers, he remains collected and able to kill in cold blood.

## History

### Drought

Lang Ying was born a commoner to Yong'an when it was still just a city in Xianle. At one point he married and had a son, but both his wife and child died due to the drought that had befallen Yong'an. When he first made his way out of Yong'an, his son was still alive, but he became weaker and weaker until he finally passed on his father's back during their journey.

Xie Lian first sees him as Lang Ying visits one of his temples in Xianle. He's determined to speak to the king about the drought, but only gets rejected and made fun of. Soon after he jumps into the temple's pond and takes the coins that have been thrown into it. He wants to use the money to help the people suffering in Yong'an, expressing his frustration with the royalty and gods not sparing a glance at the misery of his people. Qi Rong and guards try to apprehend him and lock him up, but Xie Lian helps him escape by distracting them.

Lang Ying runs into a forest, where he digs at a puddle and begins to drink the water out of it. Xie Lian shows himself and offers him his own water bottle instead, this moment becoming their first actual encounter. Lang Ying shows Xie Lian his deceased son that he had been carrying in the satchel on his back. Having found a nice, sunny spot in the forest, Lang Ying proceeds to bury his son, promising to come visit. Xie Lian gives him his infamous red earrings in an attempt to help him with money. He accepts them before taking his leave.

He did not move back to Yong'an and remained in the royal capital, where he would soon become one of the Yong'an citizens that were harrassed by the population of the capital. Xie Lian talks to him after one of the brawls, promising there will be rain in Yong'an, but Lang Ying says there's no going back.

### Civil War

Lang Ying was the one who successfully climbed the capital walls with bare hands and broke the neck of the officer on top of them, sparking the civil war between Yong'an and the royal capital of Xianle.

*"I don't want anything, and I don't need anything. The only thing I want is for the Kingdom of Xianle to cease existing in this world. I need it to disappear."*

He quickly became the leader of the Yong'an refugees, soon starting an attack on the imperial army, but they suffered a lot of casualties with their first few advances. After a huge loss for Yong'an, Lang Ying abducts Qi Rong to lure Xie Lian out into a forest and fight him. He loses to Xie Lian, exclaiming he will not stop the war no matter what. As Xie Lian is about to kill Lang Ying, White No-Face appears and helps him escape.

Soon Lang Ying's son becomes the fuse for the Human Face Disease, which quickly starts to spread across Xianle. The Yong'an people, who have grown to become a strong army by now, continue to attack the capital in the meanwhile. During one battle Xie Lian notices that Lang Ying has aquired the aura of a king, a protective shield that makes it able for him to withstand fighting a god. Xie Lian quickly realizes what the implications of that aura are.

A few days later after that battle, the Yong'an army launches another attack. With the Celestial Pagoda having fallen, causing chaos across the city, and the Human Face Disease completely having completely taken over Xianle, Yong'an manages to invade the royal capital and claim victory.

### Kingdom of Yong'an

After leading the army and in the end overthrowing Xianle, he later became the first king of Yong'an, but was locked away since he was infected with the Human Face Disease. More specifically, he asked White No-Face to fuse the spirits of his deceased wife and child into his body in hopes of bringing them back to life. Their faces were clearly and far developed on his upper body. It's shown that he treated the faces with true care and love, as if they were the actual people.

Just as Xie Lian comes to the palace of Yong'an, planning to kill him, Lang Ying shows him his wife and child and then proceeds to die right before him. He seemed to be at peace when he did.

## Abilities

* **Strength:** Lang Ying possesses a lot of physical strength, able to climb a city wall and breaking a person's neck with ease. Even Xianle soldiers stated how terrifying Lang Ying was on the battlefield. Xie Lian had recognized this strength of his even before the civil war started and later, Lang Ying was able to withstand Xie Lian's fistfighting.
* **Leadership:** Lang Ying quickly gained the leader position of the Yong'an people who revolted. He managed to keep up the determination of his people which made it able for them to advance in strength and tactic.
* **King Aura:** He possesses a so called protective aura, a shield that people who are destined for greatness in the mortal realm gain. It is able to protect him from even a god's spiritual powers. People who aquire this aura are often destined for ascension.
* **Swordsmanship:** He was able to face Xie Lian head on with a sword and survive, even lasting multiple rounds and managing to stab Xie Lian later on.
* **Archery:** Although only shown once, he seems to have considerable aiming and archery skills as he was able to shoot an arrow at Xie Lian from a long distance during the night.

## Relationships

### Xie Lian

Lang Ying and Xie Lian have a complicated relationship. Although they got along well when they first met and Xie Lian was determined to help him out, the civil war drove a significant wedge between them. Xie Lian offers Lang Ying to search for another way together instead of fighting a war, but Lang Ying rejects the idea. Yet overall, the two are undeniably similar in their goal of wanting to protect their own people even if it means death in the process. In the end, Xie Lian's hatred manifests deeply and he was determined to end Lang Ying's life. Despite that and everything that has happened, Lang Ying was not angry at Xie Lian, even thankful for the red earring he had given him.

### White No-Face

White No-Face and Lang Ying cooperated in the civil war against Xianle. He also asked White No-Face to fuse his family's spirits into his body, a wish that he granted Lang Ying.

## References

2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Novel, Book 2, Chapter 69: Fishing for Offerings; Boor Meets Crown Prince
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Novel, Book 2, Chapter 70: Fallen Golden Statue; Boor Buries Suffering Son
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Novel, Book 2, Chapter 76: Closing the Capital Gates; Survival of Yong'an Barred II
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Novel, Book 2, Chapter 75: Closing the Capital Gates; Survival of Yong'an Barred
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Novel, Book 2, Chapter 79: Upon Beizi Hill; Crown Prince Falls into the Devil's Next
7. ↑ Novel, Book 2, Chapter 77: Xianle in Chaos; Crown Prince Returns to the Mortal Realm
8. ↑ Novel, Book 2, Chapter 87: Gilded Figure; Exertion to Block Celestial Ruin
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Novel, Book 2, Chapter 85: From the Earth of Buyou Forest; Human Face Disease Emerges II
10. ↑ Novel, Book 2, Chapter 88: Vow to Never Forget; Never
11. ↑ Novel, Book 2, Chapter 78: Quell Yong'an; Crown Prince Enters Battle Field
12. ↑ Novel, Book 2, Chapter 80: Land of the Tender; Body of Gold-Hard Pressed Against Desire