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Nangong Qian ​

First Meeting
First Meeting1 / 10



An illegitimate son of the Nangong Family.
His birth was never what anyone hoped for, and his mother was loathed all the more by Nangong Yuan.
Nangong Qian suffers for it too. Though he is the Second Young Lord, his treatment at home is worse than that of the household servants.

Biography ​

From the first moments he could remember, he was at his mother's side.

He did not know what poverty was then. The days were simple and good. He was a handsome child, lively and clever, kind-hearted and loved by all; every child in the village wanted to play with him.

He was not called Nangong Qian then. He seems to have had another childhood name, but he no longer remembers it.

One day he came home covered in mud from play and asked his mother out of curiosity: "Why don't I have a father? Where did my father go?"

His happy childhood ended right there.
The first time Nangong Qian saw the Nangong Family's grand five-courtyard compound, his eyes lit up. The cloth on these people was so fine, with gold on their shoulders; surely princes of the blood were no better.

His father was more elegant and imposing than he had imagined. Even the authorities treated him with courtesy.

His brother was learned and courteous, and at their first meeting he even gave him candy to eat.

He was actually going to be one of their family. He thought the good days were coming.

But they were not.

The Family Head was amiable to everyone, yet toward him and his mother the disgust could not be hidden, and seeing this, the clan and the servants grew more contemptuous by the day.

After his mother passed away there was no one to protect him, and things went from bad to worse. Even the servants could bully him as they pleased.

Life in the Nangong Family meant no want of food or clothing, but even the Nangong Family's dogs want for neither food nor clothing.

The carefree child became timid and cowering, spending his days watching others' faces.

Nangong Qian as the Jianghu Rumors Tell It ​

That Second Young Lord is illegitimate, and they say his origins are improper.
He was five or six before his mother brought him into the house, insisting he was old Master Nangong's seed.
Not long after he was acknowledged into the clan, his mother passed away.

You can imagine how a background like that would be received in the Nangong Family.
They won't let him wear a pauldron, and old Master Nangong doesn't shield him either. His meals are eaten cold.
The family's martial arts were taught to him by an old servant, and that is how he came to be so meek and forever watching others' faces.

All of the above is hearsay. Take it as you like.

  • The above is relayed by .

Personality ​

  • Moderate Morality.

Impatient ​

  • During the sword-forging order event, not knowing when it will be finished, he keeps pressing, "Is it done yet?"
  • In combat his Cultivation is Irritable, and he is easily provoked by Verbal Attack.

Cowardly and Afraid to Die ​

  • Easily cowed by threats.
  • Afraid of pain, and easily cowed.

Deeply Insecure ​

  • Even when someone is criticizing another person, he automatically assumes it is about him.

Closet Chuunibyou ​

Nangong Qian's Sword Order ​

  • If Yu Zhu forges a flashy sword, he names it the Asura Fire Dragon Sword.
  • If Yu Zhu forges an all-in-one combination weapon, he is very satisfied. Anyone with eyes can tell it is impossible to use.

Assembling the Tiger Battle Tank ​

  • He proposes many gaudy, chuunibyou names for the Tiger Battle Tank. Some chuunibyou players deeply approve of his taste.
  • If Zhao Huo proposes a chuunibyou name, it fuses in his mind into an absurdly long chuunibyou name.
    • If Zhao Huo trims the chuunibyou elements from the proposal, he wails inwardly.

Poor with Words ​

  • The Kongtong expedition event repeatedly notes that Nangong Qian is a terrible speaker and needs Zhao Huo to back him up.
  • Unlike the Nangong Family's lavish, flashy manner, he calls his own hospitality "coarse tea and thin wine", which angers some heroes.
    • In the Tiger Battle Tank assembly event, the "coarse tea and plain fare" dinner he claims to serve is not coarse or plain at all; it is more refined and elaborate than a banquet.

Origins ​

The Nangong Family ​

  • They will not let him wear a pauldron.
    • According to Nangong Yuan, the pauldron is proof that a member of the Nangong clan stands on his own.
  • dotes on Nangong Qian; in fact, in the story he is the only member of the Nangong Family who treats Nangong Qian with complete kindness.
  • Nangong Yuan does not want to see Nangong Qian. Nangong Qian's residence is separated from the main courtyard, with a large yard between them.
    • He lives alone, and there is almost never anyone else at the residence.

Family Bullying ​

  • The Family Head does not want to face him, the Eldest Young Lord follows suit, and naturally the other servants and household staff will not respect an illegitimate son like Nangong Qian.
    • The Nangong Family's hierarchy is strict, and the whole clan demands self-restraint and reading others' moods. The atmosphere within is far more oppressive than in the Tang Clan.
  • The household servant Nangong Ji resents being assigned to wait on Nangong Qian. He not only mocks him to his face daily but gossips about him behind his back, which makes everyone in the household despise Nangong Qian all the more.
    • Nangong Ji believes there is no future in serving a young lord the Family Head dislikes, and has always wanted a post with better prospects.
  • Seeing that Nangong Qian is out of favor, the Nangong Family Servants privately bully him to vent their spleen when cannot see, even ordering their better to carry things.
    • The more righteous Shangguan Ying cannot stand the Nangong Family's conduct and asks Zhao Huo to look after him.
  • The other elders of the Nangong Family tacitly permit this bullying, and even demand it not be discovered.
    • At the Wulin Assembly, after the becomes Wulin Alliance Leader, the elders order the servants to drag the Second Young Lord into a distant forest and beat him. For no reason but spite.

Fortuitous Encounters ​

  • In the Jiangling fishing event, performs marrow cleansing on him, but without telling him beforehand. He thinks he is being beaten and is not very grateful.
    • After the marrow cleansing, even without effort at training, he gradually grows stronger as time passes.
  • Before the Wulin Assembly he has three fortuitous encounters: the Old Monk of the Apricot Blossom Forest teaches him the method of circulating qi and concentrating the spirit, the trains his Muscle & Bone, and teaches him the Blade Technique.

Martial Arts ​

  • He has not yet mastered the Nangong Fan Technique and is more used to the sword.
    • He holds that the sword is the gentleman of the hundred weapons, and only a long sword suits the bearing of the Nangong Family.
    • The Nangong Fan Technique is not a martial art the Nangong Family forces on anyone; Nangong Yuan himself uses the Iron Chessboard.
  • While studying at the Kongtong Sect he was registered under the Flying Heaven Gate, under the venerable Venerable Golden Crow. But Golden Crow had no patience and handed the duty of instructing him to Yan Jiang.
    • Because he is timid and afraid of cutting himself with a Flying Heaven Gate dagger, his form has always been wrong, driving Yan Jiang into a fury several times.
  • After the encounter, he switched to the blade.

Kongtong Soy Milk Shop ​

  • While studying at Kongtong, in Xiao Zhu's acting-commission event, Rui Sheng invites him to drink Kongtong soy milk, but he cannot accept savory soy milk with toppings, and even retches into the shop's pot.
    • Zhao Huo, with high Medicine, says one possibility is that his constitution cannot accept coriander (cilantro), causing the retching.
    • Rui Sheng also admits the shop's soy milk tastes very strange.
    • In Xiaomei's Flying Heaven Bully event, nearby shops all testify that the soy milk shop owner is a psychopath who adds foot-skin powder to the soy milk. They support Xiaomei smashing up his shop.

The Tiger Battle Tank's Parrot Driver ​

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west!
Just you all wait. This Young Master will make his name sooner or later and have a pauldron of his own!
I'll marry your wives and kill your whole families!
- The wild words spat out by the parrot serving as the Tiger Battle Tank's driver.

  • After the Tiger Battle Tank is assembled and a test is proposed, Nangong Qian has his parrot drive it.
  • The Legend text describing this event:
    • This is the parrot Shangguan Ying gave him, hoping it would keep Nangong Qian company and cheer him up.
      • The parrot is a great talker, clever and well-behaved in the extreme.
    • Before Zhao Huo and Yu Zhu visit, Nangong Qian was already poking the bird with a stick for fun.
    • The parrot spent every day with Nangong Qian, hearing nothing but complaints, and a hatred not its own was planted deep in its heart.
      • Once it grasps power, it will no longer be led by the nose; it will have its revenge.
    • Once inside the Tiger Battle Tank it uses Mechanisms to attack Nangong Qian and Zhao Huo.
    • If you defeat the Tiger Battle Tank, the parrot spouts wild words and flees.
    • If you lose or stall, the parrot pretends the Tiger Battle Tank has broken down, then launches a sneak attack, breathing fire that burns Nangong Qian and the residence, shouting "Serves you right!" and fleeing.

The Gift of the Six Precepts Blade ​

  • At the Wulin Assembly, Xiao Zhu gives Nangong Qian her masterpiece, the Six Precepts Blade.
  • On the Six Precepts Blade are the Six Precepts that Wei Ju inscribed based on the I Ching:

    First: The Gentleman brings clarity to all affairs of state, and does not pursue long-term profit.
    Second: The Gentleman moves toward good when he sees it, corrects his faults, and does not let a careless error mislead his resolve.
    Third: The Gentleman takes from the abundant to add to the scant, weighing things and giving evenly, and does not speak of others' shortcomings or boast of his own strengths.
    Fourth: The Gentleman carries all things with great virtue, and does not keep the profit to himself because it is great.
    Fifth: The Proud Dragon Repents; fullness cannot last. Do not be arrogant on account of talent.
    Sixth: Heaven's movement is strong; the Gentleman strives without ceasing. Fate lies hidden in Heaven; do not belittle yourself.

  • With the double blessing of a master smith and a talented woman's inscription, the Six Precepts Blade is worth far more than a house.
    • Nangong Qian at first says it is too precious and dares not accept it; once he takes it he says he will enshrine it, and Yu Zhu has to stress that it must be used before he truly accepts it.

The Wulin Assembly Incident ​

  • After Nangong Yuan becomes Wulin Alliance Leader, he intends to send Nangong Qian to study at another sect and never come back.
  • At Yuan Wuxian's instigation, he publicly exposes that Jinxiang Palace is the Mud Cult, indirectly causing the deaths of his and Lady Wen.
    • Though he knows Yuan Chengfeng is no good, out of gratitude he will not hear the warnings.
  • He is expelled from the Nangong Family by the new Family Head, Nangong Shen.

Relationships ​

Nangong Yuan ​

  • Nangong Yuan has complicated feelings toward Nangong Qian.
  • On one hand he wants him far from the Nangong Family.
  • On the other he cares about him to some degree.
    • Nangong Qian's first sword was one Nangong Yuan gave him at the age of thirteen.
    • If Nangong Qian takes part in assembling the Tiger Battle Tank, Nangong Yuan quietly watches with a smile and then leaves.

Kongtong Expedition Team ​

  • While studying at Kongtong, he forms the Kongtong Expedition Team with Yu Xiaomei, Zhao Huo and Rui Sheng.
  • He is forced into the role of the daddy-dependent captain who brings up his family name whenever something goes wrong.
  • He would rather pay an extortion fee to leave the team, but is threatened that if he refuses, Yu Xiaomei will push him down the stairs, so he is forced to join.

Notes ​

  • Because his characterization and portrayal are so controversial, any discussion thread that mentions him starts an argument and derails, and over time he earned the title "Thread-Hijacking Hero".
  • He was already called A'Qian before he was sent back to the Nangong Family to be acknowledged, implying a bowing and scraping to the [1].

  1. PTT C Chat - Re:[Living Hero] Discussion - Lady Wen's Love and Hate, Nangong Qian's Origins ↩︎

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