Feng Xin

A calm, collected person who is afraid of women can also sometimes be angry and persistent. Feng Xin is a handsome and good-looking man with skin the colour of wheat and who stands with a tall, upright posture. It's said that his eyes carry a look of determination and his brows are often furrowed as if he's angry, even though that's often not the case at all. Clad in expensive black robes and wearing boots, he is usually seen carrying his longbow, Fengshen, on his back. Feng Xin is known to be polite, courteous and honest with a strong sense of responsibility, not being the type to gossip or talk bad behind people's backs. He's straightforward and doesn't have much patience, being a man of quick temper with a tendency to curse loudly and excessively even when around fellow Heavenly Officials. Despite that, he's hardworking and stays true to his morals, refusing to steal when Xie Lian was banished even though they did not have enough money for food or medicine. One of his most remarkable qualities are his loyalty and devotion, shown through his history with Xie Lian. Feng Xin always supported him and during their first banishment, he refused to leave Xie Lian's side for the longest time despite desperate circumstances.He cares deeply about those close to him, and is also willing to save and protect those he has disputes with. He shows a strange fear of women, becoming nervous and disoriented when around them. Before he had the title Nan Yang, he possessed the title Ju Yang (俱陽 – Perfect Masculinity, "Yang" being the masculine part of Yin and Yang, which can also mean "sun" and "living"). However, a monarch once misspelled it on a temple plaque, so it became Ju Yang (巨陽 – Gigantic Masculinity, also euphemism for a large penis). Because the official in charge of the temple didn't want to insult the monarch, he let the mistake be and soon all plaques were changed to the spelling of "Gigantic Masculinity". Feng Xin only began to notice a decade later when more and more women came to his temples to pray for sons and satisfaction in their marital beds. He was incredibly enraged, but forced himself to listen to the prayers. Many years later, a ruler found this title too obscene however and changed it to Nan Yang. He ascended due to pure martial might and does not pursue cultivation. His biggest fear are women's baths. He finds Xie Lian's private communication array password hilarious and is said to laugh at almost any joke for no reason. He has horrible handwriting. His private chambers are said to be disorganized. Before he ascended, he carried an ordinary black longbow and a snow-white quiver. Feng Xin's golden palace toppled over when Xie Lian ascended for the third time. His alter ego is his fake subordinate Nan Feng. At the age of fourteen Feng Xin began his duty as Xie Lian's bodyguard. Feng Xin was very loyal to Xie Lian and their relationship was close, so much so that Feng Xin considered the idea of them ever seperating as foolish. At one point Mu Qing got appointed to Xie Lian's personal assistant, which is likely when Feng Xin met him as well. He disliked Mu Qing from the beginning and they often got into quarrels that Xie Lian had to break up. Mu Qing, along with Feng Xin, were appointed by Xie Lian as his deputy generals after his first ascension, thus they both became Heavenly Officials of the Lower Court. They were responsible for filtering a portion of the prayers sent to Xie Lian. As one of his deputy generals and closest companions, he was naturally present during the fall of the Xianle nation. Even during the civil war and crisis, Feng Xin still displayed incredible loyalty to Xie Lian and tried to make sure of his well being. At one point, Feng Xin and Mu Qing became overwhelmed with the amount of prayers after the riots started to break out and the drought became even more severe, but both continued to stay by Xie Lian's side and follow their duties. After defying Jun Wu and descending to the mortal realm in order to try and save the Xianle kingdom, Xie Lian was banished, Feng Xin and Mu Qing thus losing their status in the Heavens as well. With Xianle taken over by Yong'an, Xie Lian, his parents, Feng Xin and Mu Qing all had to flee to avoid being captured. They ended up living in a simple shack, desperately trying to find jobs. Although in a critical situation, Feng Xin rejected Mu Qing's idea of busking because he did not want to be a fool for the masses and considered Xie Lian of too much worth to go busk. One day, Feng Xin and Mu Qing got invited to eat the meal that the former Queen of Xianle had cooked. Although they tried to refuse at first, they eventually ended up eating, getting sick from it afterwards. They returned to the city and performed hard labour until sunset when they suddenly overheard people talking badly of the Crown Prince of Xianle. One of the women working in the brothel that Feng Xin accidentally damaged was Jian Lan, a former noble woman of Xianle. The two met shortly after Feng Xin started to busk and he soon began to show feelings for her. Eventually, they fell in love with one another and had a relationship. At some point, Feng Xin gifted her the golden belt he got from Xie Lian and he would sometimes spend his hard earned money to rent her for an entire night without doing anything sexual. He would simply talk with her all night, even though people took him for a joke for doing such a thing. While Xie Lian had disappeared after getting drunk at the graveyard, the men that challenged them to a duel ambushed Feng Xin during one of his shows. They injured Feng Xin badly, but the wounds were tended to by Jian Lan afterwards. Two days after Xie Lian had gone missing, Feng Xin found him while Xie Lian was trying to stop Yong'an soldiers, still drunk. Feng Xin managed to get him away from the situation, Xie Lian presumably passing out shortly after. Feng Xin woke him up in a dark alleyway and tried to figure out what's going on with him, but Xie Lian was too scared to tell him. Shocked by the injuries he noticed on Feng Xin, Xie Lian told him to stop busking, but Feng Xin refused to give in. He continued to perform on the streets the following days and promised to look after the king and queen when Xie Lian told him he will leave for a while, although he felt slightly troubled accepting the responsibility now that he also had Jian Lan. This was also the first time Feng Xin came to know about Xie Lian robbing someone due to something Mu Qing said, although he did not fully believe it. Still, after Feng Xin found out, there was a silent change in their relationship and a small wedge between the two, but Feng Xin continued to try and take care of Xie Lian. When he came home one day, Xie Lian finally reported the return of Bai Wuxiang, which shocked Feng Xin. In this conversation he also asked Xie Lian if he still had some money, presumably to spend more time with Jian Lan, but there was none. Xie Lian was curious what he needed the money for, but Feng Xin insisted he was fine. During the period that Xie Lian was away, Jian Lan broke up with Feng Xin. Their relationship has actually led to her pregnancy, but he was unaware of this fact. Two months passed before Feng Xin finally found Xie Lian again in the main streets, furious about his sudden disappearance. Feng Xin wanted to know what had happened, but all Xie Lian did was apologize. They went back home and Xie Lian presented Feng Xin a black sword to pawn, but because Jian Lan had already pushed him away, he no longer needed money.

Mu Qing and Feng Xin's relationship is characterized by an unfortunate clash of personalities that causes an unending amount of discord between two people who, when united, make a formidable team. While both are kind, loyal, and generous, their definitions and expressions of these things differ so greatly as to be unrecognizable to the other. While Feng Xin is characterized by simplicity, black-and-white perceptions, and traditional definitions of honor, Mu Qing is the opposite. Feng Xin has difficulty thinking of things beyond a surface level, and Mu Qing constantly second guesses other people. When Mu Qing asks the other to place himself in his shoes, Feng Xin balks at the idea that circumstances exist that would change his mind on things. The largest, overarching misunderstanding between them is that Mu Qing misinterprets the degree and nature of how Feng Xin dislikes him, and Feng Xin is unaware of this discrepancy. In Mu Qing's perception, Feng Xin regarding him as a liar, disloyal, and remembering misdeeds he's done, means that Feng Xin hates him deeply and does not care if he lives or dies. Mu Qing feels this so strongly that he does not even bother to plead with Feng Xin to save him. However, the truth is that while Feng Xin thinks Mu Qing is dishonest and disloyal, even a bad person, that doesn't mean he hates him and certainly doesn't mean he wants him to die. More crucially, Feng Xin thinks these facts are both obvious and understood. Feng Xin's obliviousness is so strong that even after discovering Mu Qing's feelings towards Xie Lian, he doesn't see that this problem could possibly apply to their relationship as well. He can even unironically tell Hua Cheng that he's surprised Hua Cheng didn't try to stop Xie Lian from saving Mu Qing. In hindsight, although Feng Xin repeatedly questions Mu Qing's motives and integrity, and might try to convince Xie Lian of his bad character, at no time does he try to kill him or allow him to be killed. He also doesn't tell other people of Mu Qing's perceived misdeeds. Instead he readily saves him, assists him when injured without being asked, and expresses relief at his safety. This subtlety is most at play during their time in Tonglu Mountain. When Mu Qing's loyalty is questioned, Feng Xin does not say he thinks Mu Qing is working for Jun Wu, he only thinks Mu Qing isn't telling them the whole truth. When Mu Qing is running from them, he doesn't realize the other thinks they would attack him. Before Xianle kingdom falling. Feng Xin was Xie Lian's bodyguard since he was fourteen years old, considering Xie Lian his closest friend, ally and family. He was exceedingly loyal and supportive of Xie Lian, only leaving him when Xie Lian orders him to do so. Because of their parting, he is uncomfortable when the two meet again during Xie Lian's third ascension to heaven, but still makes multiple attempts to talk to him again. Throughout the story, it's evident that he still cares about Xie Lian, being annoyed by Mu Qing's dismissive comments towards him and trying to protect him from Hua Cheng at first. Despite her behavior and firm stance that she does not want to be involved with him anymore, she believes Feng Xin is a good man. Feng Xin seems to accept their seperation, only angered by fallacious gossip that she ran off with some other guy. As the bodyguard of Xie Lian, Feng Xin had met Qi Rong many times during his youth. He knew about Qi Rong's vulgar mouth and disrespectful behavior so unlike being usually provoked, Feng Xin remained quiet around Qi Rong and only took action against him under Xie Lian's order, although Feng Xin secretly detested him. Once given the permission to stop or arrest Qi Rong, he did not hesitate to fulfill the command, even if it meant to hurt or embarrass Qi Rong in public. Despite that, Feng Xin was aware of his status beneath Qi Rong and voluntarily kowtowed before him and broke his own arm after impulsively breaking Qi Rong's. Feng Xin was also responsible for cleaning up after him whenever he had caused trouble in the following years, thus Feng Xin later grew to show immediate annoyance upon seeing Qi Rong. Qi Rong in return disliked and looked down upon Feng Xin, appalled by a servant of low status touching or hurting him.