Birth name: 薛洋 – Xuē Yáng
Curtsey name: 薛成美 – Xuē Chéngměi
Etymology: 薛 xuē – a surname 洋 yáng – ocean, vast
Nick names: None
Age/Looks: 24 years old
Date of birth: October 31st
Date of death: September 10th
Home town: Kuizhou.
Current location: Yi City
Species: Human
Cultivation: Demonic
Loyalty: Himself
Extended family: Has no knowledge of his family
The less you know the better
personality & traits
From the time of his youth, Xue Yang was known as a delinquent in Kuizhou, famous for his radiant smile, inhumane acts, and merciless personality. This seems to have stemmed from a traumatic incident during his childhood, as before that he was naive and trusting.[5] By the time he is a junior disciple of the Lanling Jin Clan, however, Xue Yang views the cultivators around him with contempt and shows no fear in the presence of the intimidating Nie Mingjue. Xue Yang is a quick-witted, sharp, and intelligent young man who, aside from Wei Wuxian, is the only person who could restore the other half of the Yin Tiger Tally. He appears particularly sensitive to the notion that people look down on him, often reacting with murderous intent. He tends to hold grudges and takes revenge on an extreme and ruthless measure, killing without discrimination for age or gender, and even taking advantage of Xiao Xingchen's blindness by using him to slaughter villagers as revenge against Xiao Xingchen. Xue Yang is extremely guarded, as he denies caring about anyone even during his final fight, despite significant evidence that he had grown to care about Xiao Xingchen.
Xue Yang is described as a young man with a childish charm, looking nothing more than a boy. His canine teeth show when he smiles, and, with bright eyes,[2] a high nose bridge, a radiant smile, and thin lips that have a soft red hue, he can almost be described as handsome. He is rather tall even as a junior disciple, and his eyes are filled with casual contempt
tHE DEVIL IN DISGUISE
powers & weakness
Demonic Cultivation: Xue Yang is the only junior recruited by the Lanling Jin Clan to show any talent for Demonic Cultivation. Intelligence: Xue Yang is intelligent enough to recreate the missing half of the Yin Tiger Tally and invent Skull-Piercing Nails. Acting: Wei Wuxian comments that Xue Yang's portrayal of Xiao Xingchen is extremely accurate. Silver Tongue: Xue Yang demonstrates a way with words multiple times, most notably in his fight with Song Lan. He becomes calmer as the battle wore on and uses his sharp words to distress and thereby distract Song Lan. This creates an opportunity to shower him in corpse toxin and slice out his tongue. Xue Yang also uses his skills with words against Xiao Xingchen when the latter confronts him over his true identity. High Pain Tolerance: Xue Yang is shown to be capable of withstanding an unusual amount of pain. He still talks and laughs as usual while stabbed in in the stomach, and also holds his own against Lan Wangji despite multiple wounds. It ultimately takes a severed arm and his chest stabbed before he finally collapses.
Jiangzai (降灾, Jiàngzāi) was Xue Yang's sword, which he hides in a modified Qiankun sleeve. The name of his sword literally translates as "to release catastrophe."
Shuanghua (霜华, Shuānghuá) is Xiao Xingchen's sword, which Xue Yang takes after his death and used to impersonate him on several occasions. Yin Tiger Tally: Xue Yang recreates the missing half of the Yin Tiger Tally, which he uses to control a great number of Fierce Corpses simultaneously. The tally is the primary weapon he used to massacre the Yueyang Chang Clan. Corpse Toxin: Xue Yang discovers that a combination of Corpse Toxin and removed tongues is an effective way to trick Shuanghua into confusing living people for Fierce Corpses. He also invents a sweetened cure for corpse poisoning, a red elixir. Skull-Piercing Nails: Xue Yang invents nails that, once hammered into the head of a conscious fierce corpse, allow him to control their actions.
Xue Yang grew up on the streets, without parents or money. He adored sweets but could rarely eat them. When he was seven, he encounters Chang Ci'an, the leader of Yueyang Chang Clan. Chang Ci'an promises Xue Yang a plate of pastries if he delivered a letter for him, and Xue Yang happily agrees. Unfortunately, the letter is a taunt to a brawny man with whom Chang Ci'an had a conflict. The brawny man beats Xue Yang and drags him by his hair back to the shop where he had seen Chang Ci'an. Of course, Chang Ci'an is gone, and there are no pastries for Xue Yang. Eventually, a waiter throws him out of the shop, and Xue Yang happens to run into Chang Ci'an again. When Xue Yang clinds to his leg and asks for the pastries he was promised, Chang Ci'an kicks him away. Distressed, Xue Yang runs after Chang Ci'an's ox cart, even jumping in front of it to force him to stop. Out of patience, Chang Ci'an takes the driver's whip and strikes Xue Yang before running the wheel of the ox cart over the child's hand, crushing his bones and reducing his little finger to battered flesh. In his later youth, Xue Yang becomes infamous for his delinquency in Kuizhou.
Shortly after the end of the Sunshot Campaign, Jin Guangyao recommends Xue Yang to his father, Jin Guangshan, as a possible demonic cultivator. Xue Yang is the only recruit to show talent in the demonic arts, and he spends much of his time experimenting at a training area not far from Golden Carp Tower. While experimenting on Fierce Corpses, Xue Yang shows his love for the macabre as he tries to serve Jin Guangyao tongue-infused tea. Xue Yang participates in the extermination of the Tingshan He Clan, which had been framed for conspiring to assassinate Jin Guangshan after opposing his appointment as chief cultivator. When the leader of Tingshan He Clan, He Su, insults Jin Guangyao as the son of a prostitute, Xue Yang retaliates by removing his tongue before tossing him alive into the cages of fierce corpses, while He Su's younger brothers and sisters screamed in horror. That same day, Xue Yang accompanies Jin Guangyao to a brothel to collect Jin Guangshan. After hearing Jin Guangshan tell a prostitute why he did not redeem Jin Guangyao's mother Meng Shi, Jin Guangyao asks Xue Yang for a favor – to burn down the brothel he grew up in. Xue Yang warns Jin Guangyao what that means, that he will not leave even animals alive. When Xue Yang vandalizes a vendor's cart for a second time that day, Song Lan intervenes. Though he is disturbed by Xue Yang's savage style, Song Lan is pacified by Jin Guangyao and Xiao Xingchen's excuse of his youth. Once Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen depart, Xue Yang declares that he despises both of them because he felt they looked down on him. Jin Guangyao warns him not to cross them again
Nothing tastes better than candy.
Massacre of the Yueyang Chang Clan
After Xue Yang managed to recreate the other half of the Yin Tiger Tally, he most likely chose to test it on Yueyang Chang Clan in revenge for Chang Ci'an's cruelty as a child, even though Chang Ci'an was no longer living. Xue Yang destroys the clan's protective array to allow a group of powerful evil spirits inside. He leaves little evidence, and the only survivors of Yueyang Chang Clan are those who had been away night-hunting, including their leader Chang Ping, the son of Chang Ci'an. Xiao Xingchen chases Xue Yang through three provinces before apprehending him for the massacre of the Yueyang Chang Clan. Xue Yang is then brought before a Discussion Conference at Golden Carp Tower. After presenting a straightforward list of evidence, Xiao Xingchen demands severe punishment. Though all of the other clans agree, the Lanling Jin Clan is determined to protect Xue Yang due to his useful skills in demonic cultivation. As the stalemate continues, Nie Mingjue appears and unsheathes his saber on the spot with the intention of killing Xue Yang. When Jin Guangyao attempts to ease the situation, he orders the latter to leave. In the end, the Lanling Jin Clan gives in, locking away the still-smiling Xue Yang. Before he is taken away, Xue Yang speaks affectionately to Xiao Xingchen. Although the Lanling Jin Clan promises to execute Xue Yang, when Nie Mingjue leaves, Jin Guangshan commutes his death sentence to life imprisonment. Shortly afterward, Nie Mingjue conveniently passes away.
The powerful Lanling Jin Clan pressures Chang Ping to recant his words against Xue Yang. Fearing for the survival of the weakened Yueyang Chang Clan, Chang Ping eventually agrees to announce that the massacre had nothing to do with Xue Yang. Xue Yang is freed, and he immediately sets out to gain revenge on Xiao Xingchen by targeting his close friend Song Lan. Xue Yang blinds Song Lan and massacres the temple he was raised in, Baixue Temple. As a result, Xiao Xingchen gives up his own eyes to restore Song Lan's sight. Xue Yang later assists Jin Guangyao in his plot to murder Jin Guangshan.[7] However, when Jin Guangyao succeedes his father, he announces to the cultivation world that he will execute Xue Yang.
Aww, don't you want to play with me?
Yi City
Xue Yang either narrowly escapes a genuine attempt on his life, or is beaten badly as a warning. He is found fallen by the side of a road, near death from his injuries, by A-Qing and the blind Xiao Xingchen. Xiao Xingchen fails to recognize who man he rescued is, and upon waking, Xue Yang's throat is too injured for his voice to give him away. Initially, Xue Yang takes his life with A-Qing and Xiao Xingchen as another opportunity for revenge. He discovers that Xiao Xingchen's sword Shuanghua can detect corpse energy but not distinguish between fierce corpses and living people poisoned with Corpse Toxin. As long as the living people's tongues were cut out, Xiao Xingchen cannot tell the difference between walking corpse howls and human screams. Xue Yang thus tricks Xiao Xingchen into slaughtering the villagers who had laughed at the disabled Xiao Xingchen, A-Qing, and Xue Yang when they passed by their village. Over time, however, Xue Yang transitions into a more peaceful life. Though he and A-Qing are initially at odds, they reach a truce after Xue Yang buys vegetables for their household. While some vendors take advantage of Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing's blindness and sell them vegetables lacking quality or quantity, Xue Yang shopped with them, he is able to buy better vegetables. One night, A-Qing asks for a story. After Xiao Xingchen tells of Baoshan Sanren, Xue Yang tells the story of a child who was tricked and beaten for simply wanting pastries. A-Qing recognizes the child as Xue Yang due to his love for sweets, though Xue Yang neither denies nor confirms her theory. Xiao Xingchen, in turn, counsels him not to dwell on the past. After that night, however, Xiao Xingchen gives candy to both Xue Yang and A-Qing every single day.
Their peace shatters when Song Lan arrives and recognizes Xue Yang. He engages Xue Yang in a sword fight. While Song Lan wiss superior in swordsmanship, Xue Yang gains advantage by informing Song Lan that he had tricked Xiao Xingchen into committing murder and reminding him that he was the one who drove Xiao Xingchen away. He seizes the opportunity to cut out Song Lan's tongue and douse him with corpse poisoning powder. Xiao Xingchen then arrives on the scene, led by Shuanghua. He again mistakes Song Lan for a fierce corpse, and unknowingly kills his best friend. A-Qing had witnessed everything, and promptly informs Xiao Xingchen that the man living with them is named Xue Yang once he leaves to buy groceries. Xiao Xingchen tells her to run while he confronts Xue Yang. When Xiao Xingchen asks if it was fun tricking him, Xue Yang replies that it was. Still, he shows no killing intent, not even when Xiao Xingchen stabs him with Shuanghua. When Xiao Xingchen demands reasons, Xue Yang suggests that he was simply bored. He proceeds to tell the latter half of his story, confirming that the beaten child was him and the person who tricked and abused him was none other than Chang Ci'an. Xiao Xingchen is unable to accept that Xue Yang believes his finger was worth more than fifty lives. He asks for justification regarding his revenge on Song Lan and Baixue Temple, and Xue Yang retorts by asking Xiao Xingchen why he had to interfere and meddle in affairs unrelated to him. His killing intent finally arises when Xiao Xingchen calls him "disgusting," upon which Xue Yang reveals exactly how he had been tricked into killing living people. In denial, Xiao Xingchen attacks Xue Yang, telling him to be quiet. Xue Yang complies but not before summoning Song Lan as a fierce corpse to protect him. When Xiao Xingchen realizes he had killed his friend the day before, he commits suicide in despair. Xue Yang is grieved at Xiao Xingchen's suicide and attempts to raise him as a fierce corpse. However, his efforts are in vain, as Xiao Xingchen's soul had shattered. Once he realized this, Xue Yang collects the remains of Xiao Xingchen's soul in a Spirit-Trapping Bag in the hopes that someone could repair it. He also keeps Xiao Xingchen's body well-preserved and clean for years. Xue Yang then seeks out A-Qing to silence her. Although he is amused by her curses, he again reacts strongly once she calls him "disgusting." Before killing her, he cuts out her tongue and blinds her.
midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Ah me! how hard a thing it is to say What was this forest savage, rough, and stern, Which in the very thought renews the fear. So bitter is it, death is little more; But of the good to treat, which there I found, Speak will I of the other things I saw there. I cannot well repeat how there I entered, So full was I of slumber at the moment In which I had abandoned the true way.
But after I had reached a mountain's foot, At that point where the valley terminated, Which had with consternation pierced my heart, Upward I looked, and I beheld its shoulders Vested already with that planet's rays Which leadeth others right by every road. Then was the fear a little quieted That in my heart's lake had endured throughout The night, which I had passed so piteously And even as he, who, with distressful breath, Forth issued from the sea upon the shore, Turns to the water perilous and gazes; So did my soul, that still was fleeing onward, Turn itself back to re-behold the pass Which never yet a living person left.
