Zhao Lian Yun
Zhao tribe leader, a fifty year old rank five initial stage Gu Master worn down by a long time handling tribe affairs, sits in his study torn between two rival factions. One wants Zhao tribe to side with Dong Fang tribe and settle old grudges, though he cannot say with certainty that generations of accumulated hatred between the tribes can really be resolved. The other wants to side with the larger Hei tribe, but joining this late would make Zhao tribe an unwanted junior partner among Hei tribe’s already-sworn allies, bullied and unlikely to profit, perhaps even used as cannon fodder. He cannot decide, and remains deeply conflicted as the tribe’s higher-ups argue endlessly, forcing him to guard against Dong Fang Yu Liang’s cunning schemes while also suppressing the internal strife and leading the tribe. This leaves him thoroughly exhausted. ch. 502
His young daughter, whom he calls Yunyun, is carried in crying after a fall that leaves only a small, unbroken scrape on her forehead. Aloud she plays the doting, spoiled child, leaning into his chest and asking after her hurt head and later insisting the fault for the fall was her own carelessness rather than her nanny’s. Inwardly she is impatient with his hesitation and focused only on saving herself. ch. 502
She tells her father the elders quarreling with him are fools, and compares Zhao tribe to a sheep caught between Dong Fang tribe’s wolf and the tiger arriving from Yu Tian: whichever side the sheep helps, that side will not let it go afterward. The comparison unsettles him, and he begins to see that betting on either side means taking favors from a tiger, though the two dangers differ: Dong Fang tribe’s option still carries only the uncertainty over whether the old grudges can truly be resolved. Hei tribe’s option risks turning Zhao tribe into cannon fodder for the stronger power. She proposes Ma tribe instead, telling her father it is strong and treats its people well, and that sheep and horse are both grass eaters where tiger and wolf are not. Privately he reflects that Ma tribe, unlike Hei tribe and Dong Fang tribe, is also part of the Huang Jin family but lacks a Gu Immortal ancestor’s backing, still working toward super tribe status of its own. Zhao tribe leader hesitates, weighing his daughter’s proposal against the long, dangerous journey to Ma tribe’s home region of Tian Chuan that allying with them would require. She urges him to leave now, while the tiger and wolf are too busy confronting each other to spare attention for Zhao tribe. ch. 502
He decides to flee at once and ally with Ma tribe rather than gamble on either super tribe. When he asks whether someone put these ideas in her head, she denies it and says she thought of it herself so he would not have to work so hard. He believes her completely and judges that a child this clever at her age must have unusual cultivation talent. Privately she reflects that since she has been reborn into this family, and parents cannot be chosen the way friends can, she owes her father a return for how well he has treated her. Outwardly, she hugs his neck and kisses his cheek, calling him her favorite. ch. 502
