Mu Qing (慕情, Mù Qíng), titled General Xuan Zhen (玄真将军, Xuán Zhēn Jiāngjun), is the Martial God of the Southwest with a total of seven thousand temples dedicated to his palace. Eight hundred years ago, he was the personal attendant of Xie Lian and was responsible for household chores like washing clothes and dressing him.[1]
Appearance
Mu Qing is a delicate, pretty man with refined features and soft, silky black hair.[2][3] He has extremely pale skin and a fair face, along with thin, light lips and obsidian black eyes that shine brightly. His face and form are said to appear "elegant like a gentle scholar" [3] and he usually carries an indifferent, cold expression.[4][5] Donned in luxurious black robes[6] and carrying an air of grace, Mu Qing is described to give off the impression of a Civil God rather than a Martial God.[4]
He has a mellow and decorous voice in contrast to his usually sharp and sneering words.[7]
Personality
Mu Qing is a prideful and stubborn man who is often sarcastic, cold and dismissive towards those around him.
The overarching theme of Mu Qing’s personality is the clash between his scornful exterior and his actual intent. In the eyes of others, he is perceived as someone selfish and cold-hearted, someone who wouldn't perform kind deeds or put himself in danger to help people.[8] Xie Lian describes him as someone narrow-minded, sensitive, petty and skeptical who is constantly offending other people, but still possesses principles.[9]
According to him, Mu Qing is spiteful enough to spit in someone's cup, but not malicious enough to poison it. Mu Qing himself denies this however, disgusted by the idea of spitting into someone’s cup.[9]
Eventually it is shown that Mu Qing is indeed someone caring and thoughtful, yet due to his usually cold, sneering demeanor, people assume the worst of him whenever he does try to do good or they simply don’t believe him.
Examples of such instances would be people accusing him of theft when he tried to bring his mother cherries,[10] being arrested for supposedly causing Cuo Cuo’s death although he tried to help the child’s mother[11] or him being suspected of trying to murder Feng Xin when Mu Qing struck him unconscious in an attempt to carry him out the burning Heavenly Capital since Feng Xin refused to leave on his own.[12]
Mu Qing also carries false conceptions of others. He is convinced that Xie Lian, as well as Feng Xin, both despise him,[13] wouldn’t hesitate to attack him[14] and wouldn’t believe the good intent behind his actions.[15]
He is someone who deeply loves his own life and fears death,[13] but still willingly puts himself in harm's way for those he cares about despite of that. He refused Jun Wu’s demand to hurt Xie Lian although Jun Wu is incredibly superior in power.[12] In addition, Mu Qing threw also himself into battle with the lava creatures to buy Xie Lian time, aware of the incredible danger.[13]
He has a short temper and is quick to berate others, but his irritation was truly ignited when someone reminded him of when he was a servant under Xie Lian.[16] During his years as a servant, he was frequently bullied and looked down upon by the other disciples and his teacher, thus he was forced to rely on Xie Lian for protection.[10] In the end he has managed to work through this and is no longer easily offended by these reminders.[17]
Mu Qing has a pragmatic nature and adapts to the circumstances, basing his decisions on the long-term effects. This was shown when he explained his perspective on the deceased general whose tomb they discovered, saying you have to kill to survive as a soldier even if you feel it's an injustice.[18] Another case would be Mu Qing not defending Xie Lian on the spiritual mountain and asking him to leave in order to not risk his place in the Heavenly Court, so he could later help Xie Lian and Feng Xin with the resources he gained access to.[19]
Mu Qing is a person who focuses heart and mind on his cultivation, expanding his territory and growing believers.[20]
Trivia
- He has a habit of rolling his eyes in disgust constantly.[13][21]
- His cultivation requires abstinence from worldly pleasures like alcohol and sex.[9]
- Due to his pale and thin complexion, it's obvious and easily noticeable when he blushes.[22]
- His footsteps are described to sound a little floaty.[4]
- He is very fastidious when it comes to the statues in his temples. If his believers sculpted ugly statues he would either destroy them or visit the mortals in their dreams to express his displeasure. Thus, all of his temples are particular and tasteful.[23]
- He and the members of his palace are fond of attention to detail.[23]
- He can remember small, unimportant information for a long amount of time.[9]
- He has a scar on his arm from Cuo Cuo's bite from hundreds of years ago.[24]
- He created the fake identity of his supposed subordinate, Fu Yao, by changing his own appearance, although he behaves little to no different from usual when in disguise.[25]
References
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