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IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Xiao Xingchen
Canon: MDZS - The Untamed, specifically
Canon Point: Episode 38 - Waiting for Xue Yang to return from market (before he is tricked into killing Song Lan.)

In-Game Tattoo Placement: small and on the side of his neck
Current Health/Status: alive and sleeping
Age: mid to late twenties
Species: human

Content Warnings: though not all covered by his canon point, violence, eye trauma, and suicide are all a part of his story.

History:
Baoshan Sanren was a name known throughout the cultivating world. However, all that was really known about her was that she lived in a mountain away from the rest of the world, still living when so many others were gone. It was also known that she took abandoned children to be her pupils. Xiao Xingchen was one such child. All of her pupils were to make a vow to devote their lives to cultivating. They were to stay to the mountain and out of human affairs. To break this vow meant never being able to go back to the mountain again and being forced to fend for themselves in a mortal world that they would barely understand.

Being young and idealistic, Xiao Xingchen was one of the very few pupils who broke this vow. He wanted to save the world. And at the age of seventeen, he quickly made a name for himself in that world literally overnight. Xiao Xingchen was talented after having such an excellent teacher and a decent person to boot, and many of the larger sects invited him into theirs. However Xiao Xingchen didn't want to depend on a sect, nor did he care about bloodlines. His wish was to build a new sect with his friend Song Lan who had similar values.

When cultivators and minor clans started being murdered, Xiao Xingchen volunteered to capture the killer, Xue Yang. He tracked him for two weeks, finally catching up with him at the Yueyang Cheng Clan's manor, where Xue Yang had massacred dozens as part of his own personal revenge. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had also arrived as a part of their own search for the yin iron.

After pleading guilty in front of him, Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen fought. Xiao Xingchen was able to get the best of him with the help of the others and the arrival of his friend, Song Lan. It was enough for the murderer to be captured. Xiao Xingchen entrusted that Wei Wuxian and party would see to it that Xue Yang received justice. There they parted company, but not before Xue Yang made a promise that they'd meet again.

And being the feral cat that he is, Xue Yang really did escape and avoid justice. And his revenge on Xiao Xingchen was terrible, not by targetting him - but by targetting Song Lan. Xue Yang massacred Baixue temple where Song Lan learned cultivation. He also blinded Song Lan with poison. When Xiao Xingchen found him, being Xiao Xingchen, he traded his own eyes for his friend's. But Song Lan, still grieving, lashed out at him.

Xiao Xingchen started traveling the world as a lone, blind cultivator, killing monsters and exorcising evil without asking for anything in return. It's during these travels that he met a young girl named A-Qing who pretended to be blind in order to scam people. After being kind to her and defending her against a man who discovered her theft, she began traveling with Xiao Xingchen as well. The two later discovered a gravely injured man whom Xiao Xingchen took to their less than desirable coffin home in Yi City. There, the three have lived as a strange sort of family for years.

The man that Xiao Xingchen saved was Xue Yang, and not everything is as happy as it seems. Unfortunately, Xiao Xingchen is literally blind to the evil tricks that he's playing.

CRAU History and Impact: n/a
Personality:
Xiao Xingchen's only attachment in life is to being a virtuous person. He chose to leave the mountain of Baoshan Sanren for the mortal world to do good wherever he was needed. Known as "the bright moon and gentle breeze", Xiao Xingchen is exactly that, a beacon in white who is kind and sympathetic towards others. He helps others without question or reward, to the point of being self-sacrificing and leaving himself blind as a result. Xiao Xingchen has a strong sense of what is right without being overbearing about it. He was quick to admonish A-Qing for pickpocketing but was also quick to defend her against the man's violence when he found out about it.

However there is much naivety in that kindness. Xiao Xingchen is honest and idealistic. He doesn't ask questions of others, instead accepting either whatever they choose to tell him or their silence. The girl A-Qing told him that she was also blind, so Xiao Xingchen took her at her word and never questioned it. He was fooled by Xue Yang by something as simple as a little change of his voice. He was even deceived into killing innocents and Song Lan (though he doesn't know this from his canon point.) as a man who also has things he doesn't want to talk about, Xiao Xingchen respects the secrets of others without thought of how some secrets are much darker than his. Once the truth is revealed to him, Xue Yang even mocks him for not knowing how the world works, and it's true.

Despite his soft personality and gentle demeanor, Xiao Xingchen still possesses a strong and determined heart. All of Baoshan Sanren's pupils had to vow that they would never leave the mountain. If they did, they were never to go back again, no matter what the reason. They’d need to depend on themselves to survive in the mortal world. Xiao Xingchen was one of the few who did this, and became someone who people called on for help. Help that he never refused.

There is a saying that kindness and gentleness should not be mistaken for weakness or fear, and Xiao Xingchen is a perfect example of this. He can be stern, but it's always for your own good He is persistent when it comes to justice, tracking Xue Yang before he lost his sight because of the murders he'd committed. Even blind, he is still a very capable swordsman and cultivator. He is extremely graceful and quick with his sword, Shuanghua. Once settled in Yi city, Xiao Xingchen still continued to go out nightly for "night hunting", hunting the evils that would harm humans. He isn't interested in the affairs of this sect or that one, but instead prefers taking his own path, and doing what he does for the people of the world, whatever their bloodline happens to be.

Xiao Xingchen is a giving person, even letting A-Qing keep the money pouch that she stole from him, instructing the girl to not steal again before it was used up. But there is a limit to how much one should give, and even Xiao Xingchen hasn't fully healed from the trauma that came with gouging his own eyes out. Even so, losing his friend will always be a far greater pain, and one that he bears alone.

Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping:
cultivation - Using the golden core that he has built inside of him, Xiao Xingchen can use his spiritual energy along with his sword to deal with ghosts and baddies. It benefits him as well, making him slightly stronger, faster, and more resilient than those who don't practice this. He can also use this energy to heal and make talismans (of paper or in the air itself using this energy) for various other things such as making fire, protective wards, etc. He is basically a sorcerer with excellent swordsmanship and nice hair.

Shuanghua - Xiao Xingchen's intricately designed sword, which has the ability of pointing out corpse energy. It's this and his other sharp senses which still allow him to night hunt even after he's blind. He can also, believe it or not, fly on it.

Inventory:
the white robes on his back
his sword
a horsetail whisk
a couple of wrapped candies

Writing Samples:
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OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: mi
Player Age: 21+
Player Contact: PM or legions

Other Characters In Game: n/a
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Xiao Xingchen: mi
Permissions for Character: here
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: sure
What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: tension, isolation, possession, things that can't be seen, monster lore, but humans are the worst monsters, last minute twists (wow, that person was dead all along...)
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: spiders
Additional Information: n/a