Venerable Xuan Bei

Venerable Xuan Bei is the Shaolin monk whose murder draws Duan Zhengchun into an investigation and helps drive the chain of mistaken identity and revenge that ends with A'Zhu’s death. Though absent from the decisive scenes at Little Mirror Lake, the circumstances of his death shape the encounter that binds Xiao Feng to its consequences.

Identity and Background

Venerable Xuan Bei was a monk of Shaolin Monastery. The evidence presented here identifies him through the murder that prompts an inquiry; it does not describe his earlier life, character, or specific role within the monastery.

Murder and Investigation

Acting on an order from his brother, the emperor of Dali, Duan Zhengchun went to Shenjie Temple in Luliangzhou to investigate Venerable Xuan Bei’s murder. He found many points that seemed doubtful and suspected the crime might not have been the work of the Murong Clan of Gusu, the apparent attribution under consideration. After more than half a month passed without a senior Shaolin monk arriving to investigate, Duan Zhengchun set out for the Central Plains with three dukes and four bodyguards to pursue the truth.

That investigation intersects with a separate personal reunion: Duan Zhengchun used the journey as an opportunity to visit Ruan Xingzhu, who lived in seclusion beside Little Mirror Lake. The party’s presence there, and the protection arranged around Duan Zhengchun, bring the murder inquiry into the same setting as the fatal appointment between him and Xiao Feng.

Connection to Xiao Feng’s Vengeance

At Little Mirror Lake, Xiao Feng believes he is confronting Duan Zhengchun in an encounter bound up with revenge for the deaths of his relatives. A'Zhu, who has learned that Duan Zhengchun is her father, disguises herself as him and takes his place. Xiao Feng does not recognize her before striking; only afterward, in a flash of lightning, does he realize whom he has hit.

The revelation turns the investigation’s background into a personal catastrophe. A'Zhu explains that she had hoped to remain with Xiao Feng but believed she could not ask him to abandon his vengeance. She therefore tried to resolve the appointment by substituting herself for her father. Xiao Feng’s blow proves fatal, and A'Zhu dies in his arms. Venerable Xuan Bei’s murder is thus part of the chain that brings the characters to the bridge, but the evidence does not establish who killed him or settle the suspicion surrounding the Murong Clan.

Aftermath and Narrative Significance

After A'Zhu’s death, Xiao Feng’s grief is inseparable from remorse over his own action. He strikes the stone railing in distress, carries her away, and later reflects that because she died in her father’s place, he can no longer seek revenge on Duan Zhengchun. His earlier purpose has collapsed alongside his sense of belonging: he questions what cause remains for him as a Khitan.

Venerable Xuan Bei’s place in the story is therefore catalytic rather than directly developed. His murder initiates an inquiry that brings Duan Zhengchun and his protectors to the Central Plains, while the unanswered question of responsibility remains distinct from the tragedy at Little Mirror Lake. The narrative links an unresolved public crime to an intimate act of mistaken vengeance without claiming that the murder itself has been solved.