Zhang Qiling/History

## Zhang Qiling

* The Lost Tomb
* The Lost Tomb 2
* The Lost Tomb 2.5
* Ultimate Note
* Tomb of the Sea
* Reunion 1&2
* Time Raiders
* Conjuring Curse

### Nicknames

Little Master/Xiao Ge, Stiff Face, Dummy Zhang, Pokerface, Mute Zhang, Zhang, Kylin

## Relationships

### Family

Bai Ma (mother, deceased)
Unknown father
Zhang Qishan (relation unknown)
Zhang Rishan (relation unknown)

### Friends

Wu Xie
Wang Pangzi

## Profession

### Skills

Qilin Blood, Combat, Mystery solving, Finding traps, enhanced physical abilities, super strength, Slowed Aging

## Appearance

### Seen in

The Lost Tomb
The Lost Tomb 2
The Lost Tomb 2: Explore with the Note
Tomb of the Sea
Reunion: Sound of the Providence
Reunion: Sound of the Providence 2
Ultimate Note
Tibetan Sea Flower
Time Raiders
Conjuring Curse
Misty Creed

### Portrayed by

Yang Yang (杨洋)
Cheng Yi (成毅)
Zhao Dongze (赵东泽)
Xiao Yuliang(肖宇梁)
Zhang Kele (张康乐)
Huang Junjie (黄俊捷)
Jing Boran (井柏然)

## The Lost Tomb

### Episodes 1-5

In Episode 1, in Inner Mongolia, Zhang Qiling mysteriously appeared to save a shrouded ox head antique that was thrown down a cliff by Wu Xie. The man in charge of the team that was chasing Wu Xie for the antique recognized Zhang Qiling. He ordered them not to shoot the newly arrived man. Zhang Qiling held up the antique and asked whose it was. Wu Xie ran over and grabbed it out of his hand saying it was his. The team who had chased Wu Xie all the way from Germany were told to retreat now that Zhang Qiling was there. Once they left, Wu Xie asked Zhang Qiling who he was but the other did not respond and just walked away.

Zhang Qiling later went to visit Wu Sanxing to retrieve an ancient and valuable sword from him. As he was leaving, Wu Xie was being robbed by a man with a knife. Zhang Qiling easily disarmed him and sent the robber running. Wu Sanxing came out to check on his nephew and thanked Zhang Qiling and called him Little Master (小哥/Xiǎo Gē). Wu Xie asked his uncle if he knew him but said that they had just met that day.

Zhang Qiling later joined Wu Sanxing, Wu Xie, High Shao, and Pan Zi on their journey to explore the tomb mentioned in the Silk Manuscript Wu Xie found.

In Episode 2, Zhang Qiling was hired by Wu Sanxing and was recommended to him by a friend in Changsha. He did not know the other's name at the time and simply referred to him as "Xiao Ge."

Wu Sanxing's team was waiting for the boatman to arrive so they could cross the river to reach a cave mentioned in the Silk Manuscript. Wu Xie and High Shao approached Zhang Qiling to greet him. Wu Xie happily commented that it was nice to see him again but the other did not respond. High Shao thought that maybe he didn't recognize them. Zhang Qiling was looking at the sky with a mysterious look on his face, and Wu Xie asked him what he was staring at but he didn't respond again. Wu Xie was curious about Zhang Qiling and when he didn't know the other's name, he decided to call him "menyouping."

They crossed the river with the boatman and the other guide to a small cave. Once they got into the cave, however, the two guides disappeared. Wu Sanxing asked Zhang Qiling for advice and he told them to stop talking. Wu Xie asked Pan Zi if he knew Zhang Qiling's background. Pan Zi said he didn't but that the other was an expert. He pointed towards his hand where two of his fingers were longer than the rest. Fingers like these took years to form and could easily break traps set up in tombs.

As Wu Xie and Pan Zi were having this conversation, Zhang Qiling was reaching his hand carefully into the water and quickly pulled out a diving beetle. He threw it on the boat and told them that it was just a bunch of those in the water. Zhang Qiling believed the bugs were fleeing from something, and he kept feeling that something big was moving towards them. They suddenly heard a noise and Wu Xie stood up seemingly in a trance. Zhang Qiling knew something was wrong with the noise they were hearing and told everyone to cover their ears. He knocked Wu Xie in the water and the others quickly joined him. Zhang Qiling rescued Wu Xie from a corpse-eater and the group discovered the source of the noise.

They began rowing out of the cave and standing amongst a pile of skeletons was a woman with long black hair in a white outfit. Corpse-eaters started to emerge from her. Zhang Qiling used the sword on his back to cut open his hand, spread his blood into the water, and hit the zombie. She fell to her knees and the corpse-eaters scurried away. Zhang Qiling fell onto the boat exhausted telling the rest to leave quickly and to not look back. He later passed out from over-exertion and blood loss. The group carried him to a nearby village and Wu Xie took him to a room and set him down on the bed.

In Episode 3, Zhang Qiling was unconscious when Wu Xie saw the sword his uncle sold the other by his side. Wu Xie grabbed it but Zhang Qiling woke up and grabbed his arm to stop him. He let go of Wu Xie's arm without saying anything, took the sword, and held it in his arms. After waking up more, Wu Xie told him that he should rest and later brought him back food and water.

The next morning they headed to the mountain to find a better entrance. They reached an entrance but found that another group had already entered the tomb. Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie, Wu Sanxing, and Pan Zi went down into the tomb. They walked around and reached an entrance that was layered with bricks. Pan Zi went to smash it open, but Zhang Qiling stopped him. Zhang Qiling ran his fingers over the bricks and discovered an anti-theft layer behind the bricks. With the force of his fingers, he smashed through the layers around a brick and pulled the brick out with his hand. There was acid behind the bricks that would have splattered on anyone who smashed it open. Zhang Qiling safely got rid of the acid and Pan Zi and Wu Sanxing worked on opening the rest of the entrance.

In the middle of the next room was a large four-legged square vessel. Pan Zi stepped into the vessel to take the jewelry off the corpse but upset the powerful spirit of the coffin owner nearby. Zhang Qiling spoke with the spirit in an unknown language and kneeled as the coffin lid began rattling. Everyone did the same and once the rattling stopped, Zhang Qiling stood up. He warned everyone they needed to leave before dark and not to touch anything in the tomb.

In Episode 4, they entered another room with seven coffins. They investigated one of the coffins but someone else was in the room with them. Pan Zi shot at the stranger who turned out to be Wang Pangzi. Pangzi ran away, but Zhang Qiling was worried he would disturb the powerful coffin owner from the previous room and ran after him.

While Pangzi was running from Zhang Qiling he attracted the attention of a man who was seriously injured but making odd movements like he had been poisoned. Zhang Qiling activated a trap so that Pangzi would fall through the floor to avoid the "Blood Man." Pangzi joined Wu Xie and Pan Zi who were being attacked by a bunch of corpse-eaters. Pan Zi sacrificed himself so Pangzi and Wu Xie could get away. Zhang Qiling came down the same trap as the others and gracefully landed in the middle of the room. All of the corpse-eaters immediately scurried away and he helped Pan Zi up to the exit. Before they left, Zhang Qiling ominously said that someone was coming.

They managed to get away and Zhang Qiling treated Pan Zi's wounds. The Blood Man eventually caught up and Zhang Qiling had to fight him off. The other three ran but became separated from him. Pan Zi, Pangzi, and Wu Xie became suspicious of Zhang Qiling because he seemed to know the tomb so well. They were soon joined by him again but were also shortly joined by Ning who managed to bite Wu Xie.

In Episode 5, Zhang Qiling treated Ning's wounds but Wu Xie also collapsed. He fed him some of his blood to counteract the corpse-eater poison. However, his blood would only work temporarily. They continued through the tomb to find the main coffin chamber, They found a passageway that led to a cave that was inlaid in the surrounding walls of the main tomb. . The area was large and had a tree in the middle and there were also vines everywhere. Wu Xie started to feel unwell and fell off the cliff. Before he hit the bottom, Zhang Qiling jumped down, grabbed a vine, and caught Wu Xie. Wu Xie was able to wake up and thanked Zhang Qiling for saving him. They went over to look at the corpses that were in the tomb. Pangzi began acting weird and Wu Sanxing attacked him. Before Wu Xie was able to hurt him, Zhang Qiling decapitated the head of one of the corpses to stop its hallucinatory effect on Pangzi.

They investigated the main tomb chamber but soon the Blood Man caught up with them. Zhang Qiling fought him off but he got away and went to attack everyone. Wu Xie pushed them out of the way and the Blood Man grabbed his throat. Ning shot the Blood Man who succumbed to his wounds but Wu Xie was struggling to breathe even after the man let go. There were burn marks on his neck left from the Blood Man's hand. Zhang Qiling went over to the green-eyed fox's corpse and took out the Qilin Blood Clot from its belt. He was about to feed it to Wu Xie but Ning threatened to shoot Pan Zi if he did. She wanted it to save her friend. Zhang Qiling told her that he would help her find the rest of her team and then gave the Qilin Blood to Wu Xie. Ning put down her gun when it was no longer of use to threaten Pan Zi. After that, Zhang Qiling left to go find the other companions.

### Episodes 6-10

In Episode 6, while Zhang Qiling was gone, the rest found a hidden coffin in the tree. The body in the coffin was wearing a valuable Jade Burial Armor. Pangzi tried to remove the armor from the body, but before he could, Zhang Qiling threw a knife at him to stop him. Wu Sanxing was able to move Pangzi out of the way before it killed him. Zhang Qiling had returned shirtless and was carrying a body over his shoulders. Pangzi wanted an explanation from him on why he was almost killed. He told him that taking the armor off now was too dangerous. The body sheds its skin every 500 years and only during this time can the suit be taken off safely. If it's taken off at any other time, the body will become a blood corpse killing them all. Zhang Qiling looked at the armored man and told him he had lived long enough before crushing his neck.

Everyone became upset at Zhang Qiling for killing the man seemingly unprovoked. He told them there was a small purple jade box inside the painted coffin that would answer their questions. Wu Xie began reading about the legend of King Lu Shang.

In Episode 7, after Wu Xie finished reading the record, Zhang Qiling told him the record was false and that the body in the jade burial armor was not King Lu Shang but the Iron-Masked Scholar. He knew about the switch because he found a complete Warring States Period silk manual in a Song dynasty tomb.

The group wanted to leave the tomb, but the head of the green-eyed fox corpse started moving. Inside the head was the king corpse-eater. It is the most dangerous corpse-eater because its poison kills just upon touching it. It starts following them and in a panic, Wu Xie kills it. Killing the king summoned the surrounding corpse-eaters and the group hurriedly climbed up the tree to escape. While climbing, Wu Xie was bit by a corpse-eater and started falling down the tree.

In Episode 8, Zhang Qiling went to Wu Xie's aid. He sliced open his hand so that the corpse-eaters would retreat. He went over to help Wu Xie up and Wang Pangzi was also still in the tomb trying to help. Wu Xie, Pangzi, and Ning were pulled out by Wu Sanxing and Pan Zi. The corpse-eaters were starting to climb to the surface so they poured gasoline and lit the tree on fire. Wu Xie started to realize that he didn't see Zhang Qiling nearby, but Wu Sanxing assured him that the other would be fine. Later when Liu Tai and the group were planning to retreat, Zhang Qiling watched them from afar.

When Wu Xie returned home, he discussed Zhang Qiling with High Shao and Chen Chengcheng. He thought Zhang Qiling was mysterious, and they didn't understand why he joined their group when he seemed so familiar with the tomb. Chen Chengcheng thought he couldn't be trusted, but Wu Xie didn't think he could be their enemy since he saved his life. But when he discussed the record of King Lu Shang they brought out of the tomb, they realized it was a fake that Zhang Qiling likely planted.

In Episode 9, Zhang Qiling went to the Xin Yue Restaurant where an auction was being held for a Snake Brow Copper Fish. Although Wu Xie and Pangzi were also there, he did not greet them and watched them from afar.

In Episode 10, Zhang Qiling saved the group from the employees after they had caused a commotion at the restaurant. He prevented the employees from catching up to the others and protected them again without them knowing.

Later, Wu Xie was sent a photo of an archeological team with someone in it that looked like Zhang Qiling, except the photo was from over twenty years ago. He asked his uncle about it since the other was also in the picture. Wu Sanxing recognized the photo and Zhang Qiling. The photo was taken when he and Chen Wen Jin went to explore an underwater tomb. Wu Sanxing stared at it for some time wondering how Zhang Qiling could look like the person in the picture and then he remembered something. He didn't tell Wu Xie anything and hurried him out of the house.

## The Lost Tomb 2

In The Lost Tomb 2, Qiling is mainly searching for his missing memories from the first exploration of the Paracel Underwater Tomb. Not remembering what happened and how he got away, he is confused and explores the tomb a second time with Wang Pangzi and Wu Xie.

Over the course of the series, it is revealed he was poisoned. The poison results in him losing his memories and being highly aggressive even towards people he knows, like when he tries strangling Wang Pangzi. It is not clear if the poison just made him lose his memory when he was taken to Changbai mountains in the series or if it is an alternative storyline compared to other shows like Ultimate Note, where he suffers from retrograde amnesia since a long time ago.

Despite being confused about his origins, Zhang Qiling is protective of his friends Wu Xie and Wang Pangzi.

The Lost Tomb 2 does feature a moment where Zhang Qiling gets angry at Wang Pangzi for judging him for not revealing a secret pathway earlier even though his friend knows he does not remember most things. It is one of the few moments in between all adaptations where Zhang Qiling can be seen angry.

## Ultimate Note

In Ultimate Note, Zhang Qiling mostly acts on his own in the beginning, before revealing to Wu Xie how lost he feels, thinking no one is going to remember or miss him when he is gone. Wu Xie reassures him he will remember him.

Over the course of the show, Zhang Qiling saves his friends, especially Wu Xie, multiple times with them also supporting and protecting him in his weak moments. Compared to the other adaptations, Zhang Qiling can be seen relying on his friends more often in Ultimate Note, instead of only being their savior.

After suffering from another memory loss during the events of the series, his friends even give him a lost child card, so he does not end up alone. He is seen sad and disappointed about the fact he cannot remember his past and is on a desperate search to find out what happened to him. Wu Xie and Wang Pangzi often help him overcome his insecurities, by showing him to be a fixed part of the Iron Triangle and including him in their pranks.

Zhang Qiling is shocked when they find the other man who reveals his name to be Zhang Qiling, not knowing that Zhang Qiling is a title and not a name in the Zhang Clan. Despite clearly being shaken by Uncle Panma's declaration, that one of them, Wu Xie or Zhang Qiling, will end up killing the other, Zhang Qiling vehemently denies this. He claims multiple times he would never do this to Wu Xie.

Different from other adaptations Ultimate Note is the first one to directly connect Zhang Qiling to the Zhang family. Wang Pangzi often comments throughout the series, that the Zhang Clan is crazy and dangerous for building all the traps in their Old Pavilion, even risking killing one of their family members. He always highlights that Zhang Qiling is the exception to the rest of the family though.

## Tomb of the Sea

Zhang Qiling does not appear as a main character in Tomb of the Sea, however, he is mentioned and appears through flashbacks. The novels that take place in between Ultimate Note and Tomb of the Sea have yet to be adapted. These two novels explain why Zhang Qiling does not appear in this series.

In Episode 2, a guide accompanying Wu Xie to Gutong Jing called Li Cu "Xiao Ge (小哥)." Upon hearing the name he would use to refer to Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie expressed his dismay and told the guide not to call Li Cu that. Moments later, Wang Meng told Li Cu about Wu Xie's friends, Wang Pangzi and Zhang Qiling. Weng Mang described Zhang Qiling as someone who doesn't like to talk. In a flashback, Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie, and Wang Pangzi were in the Xin Yue Restaurant fighting off guards. The same scene appears in Episode 28 of Ultimate Note. In Episode 3, when Li Cu asked where Wu Xie's friends were, Wang Meng remarked that Wu Xie seemed to be looking for Zhang Qiling.

In Episode 7, when Wu Xie and Li Cu were seemingly trapped in a tomb, Li Cu asked Wu Xie whether he was afraid of going down tombs back in the day. Wu Xie said he was, but he was accompanied by two friends. When Li Cu asked him what happened to Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie told him that he went to his hometown. In Episode 18, while in Gutong Jing, Hei Yanjing, Wu Xie, and Li Cu came across a door that has a mechanism that needed to be solved for it to open. Wu Xie began to solve the mechanism but Hei Yanjing remarked that only Zhang Clan members know how to solve it. Li Cu was confused and thought Wu Xie's last name was Wu, not Zhang. Hei Yanjing looked at him for a moment, then scoffed.

In Episode 20, Liang Wan started to remember a patient who experienced retrograde amnesia, just as Li Cu has. In a flashback, she remembered Wu Xie and Wang Pangzi were yelling in a patient's hospital room. She went in to tell them to be quiet. She saw Zhang Qiling's tattoo which was on the left side of his body, but she was escorted out by Wu Xie. The same scene appears in Episode 16 of Ultimate Note. Later, she found Zhang Qiling's patient file and remarked that their tattoos were similar because they both only appear when their skin turns warm. In another flashback, Zhang Qiling's tattoo was shown on his left side and then moments later mistakenly shown on his right.

In Episode 23, Grandma Wu showed Li Cu around Wushanju. They went into Wu Xie's room where he had a ten-year calendar. The ten-years is in reference to the promise Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie made in *Volume 8* of the novel series. Grandma Wu commented that Wu Xie's time to finish everything is almost up. In Episode 24, Liang Wan started to ask Zhang Rishan questions about Zhang Qiling and wanted to know where he was. Zhang Rishan promised to answer her questions but she had to do something for him first.

In Episode 34, Hei Yanjing, Wang Meng, and Wu Xie are in the desert discussing how much Wu Xie has changed. Wu Xie remarked that he thought Hei Yanjing was different from before as well. That he was even part of the Zhang Clan. Hei Yanjing denied this because he still felt pain and those in the Zhang family don't feel pain. Wu Xie said that he was not like him, his heart stopped feeling pain long ago. The scene cuts to a flashback of Zhang Qiling shirtless, this time his tattoo is mistakenly on his right side. A large reason Wu Xie had changed so much was likely due to Zhang Qiling leaving. When Wu Xie moved away from the two of them, Hei Yanjing called out to Wu Xie not to kill himself since he won't be able to explain it, likely to Zhang Qiling. In Episode 35, Hei Yanjing was preparing Li Cu and Su Wan for attacks by snakes by hitting them with a belt. They couldn't dodge it saying it was not possible to move so quickly. Hei Yanjing said there was someone who could do it easily. In a flashback, Zhang Qiling was seen skillfully fighting against multiple people.

In Episode 44, Li Cu was given a Wang manifesto that explained the origins of Zhang Qiling. The previous patriarchs of the Zhang Family were named Zhang Qiling. Zhang Qiling represented the position of the family leader. Later, in the episode, Wu Xie told Su Nan that if he didn't make it out alive, he wanted her to go to Changbai Mountain and tell Zhang Qiling that he couldn't bring him home.

In Episode 45, Wang Cen told Li Cu a myth about Zhang Qiling without fully explaining the story. But the Wangs believed that Zhang Qiling was their mortal enemy.

In Episode 47, Hei Yanjing began talking about Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling. He said that in the past, Wu Xie was innocent and naive. But then he met Zhang Qiling who changed his life forever. When Zhang Qiling left, Wu Xie could have gone back to being the naive little master three who ran his antique shop. But he tried to find Zhang Qiling in a lot of places and ended up at the temple in the mountains where he planned everything.

In Episode 49, Su Nan found a crying statue of Zhang Qiling in a temple in the mountains. Wu Xie told her that the statue was crying because he stayed with the most important person in his life for three days. Wu Xie started talking about Zhang Qiling and how he went to the temple to find out more about him. He looked at the statue fondly and commented that it had already been ten years but in his heart, it's like he never left. When Zhang Qiling gets back he knew the other has a bad memory and that when he sees Wu Xie again, it's likely he won't recognize him. He said it was okay, and he will definitely make the other remember him. To get him to remember, he, Zhang Qiling, and Wang Pangzi will set off on the same path they took before.

Wu Xie wanted to tell her the story of Zhang Qiling. Zhang Qiling was the sacred infant at the altar. That year someone from the Zhang Family came to pick up Tibetan Sea Flowers. That person fell in love with Bai Ma who was to be sacrificed to the King of the Underworld. They had a child together and that child was Zhang Qiling. She knew that she was going to die soon but also knew that if she gave Zhang Qiling to the Zhangs, he would become an emotionless person. She pleaded for an extra three days' time for herself. The child was still taken away and given to the Zhang family once they learned of Zhang Qiling's existence. Bai Ma chose to be buried with the Tibetan Sea Flowers. She was not dead, but also not alive. She waited for the child to come back and wake her so they could spend her last three days together. Zhang Qiling finally discovered his identity and went to the temple to see his mother. But Bai Ma did not completely wake up and with the medicinal properties of the flowers fading, she only had those three days.

    In a separate flashback, Zhang Qiling was in the field of Tibetan sea flowers and he looks back to find Wang Pangzi and Wu Xie waiting for him. They walk together towards the mountains with Zhang Qiling arms around the two of them.

In Episode 52, Wu Xie and Pangzi visited Pan Zi's grave. Pangzi wondered if Zhang Qiling had already come out a long time ago and left by himself. Wu Xie said that if he did do that, then he would have seriously offended him. Pangzi started talking to Pan Zi and asked him for his blessing to bring back Zhang Qiling safely so that the Iron Triangle was going to be reunited. Wu Xie interrupted him calling him a talkative old man. Pangzi wanted Wu Xie to smile just once and go back to his old, innocent self. That way, Zhang Qiling would recognize him.

## Reunion: Sound of the Providence

See Reunion: Sound of the Providence and Reunion: Sound of the Providence 2.

## Notes

1. ↑ In The Lost Tomb and The Lost Tomb 2, Wu Xie calls Zhang Qi Ling "menyouping." Menyouping in the novel is the name Wu Xie uses when he is thinking to himself. He does not call Zhang Qi Ling this name out loud. He uses "Xiao Ge" which is what is used in later adaptations.