Gu Ducheng

Gu Ducheng is one of the Four Grand Bodyguards of the House of Duan, a loyal retainer whose injuries in the defense of Duan Zhengchun do not keep him from preparing to fight again. His small but telling role connects the courtly duty of the Dali guards to the escalating violence of Duan Yanqing’s pursuit.

Identity and Service

Gu Ducheng serves the House of Duan alongside Fu Sigui and Chu Wanli. He is among the retainers who accompany Duan Zhengchun into the Central Plains, where the prince is investigating the circumstances of Venerable Xuan Bei’s murder. When Duan Zhengchun visits Ruan Xingzhu at Little Mirror Lake, the guards disperse around the area to protect him.

The guards address Duan Zhengchun as their lord and speak of returning to Dali and avoiding distress to the emperor. Their deference establishes Gu’s place within a chain of service: he is not merely a fighter, but one of the men entrusted with the prince’s safety.

The Attack at Little Mirror Lake

Duan Yanqing’s formidable martial arts overwhelm the defenders. Gu and Fu Sigui are successively injured, while Zhu Danchen fails to stop Xiao Feng at the bluestone bridge and Chu Wanli is caught in A'Zi’s Flexible Silk Net. After Gu and Fu are rescued, Duan Zhengchun’s ministers hurry to his side to help resist the approaching enemy.

Duan Zhengchun checks the injured men’s pulses and is relieved to find that Gu and Fu are not in immediate danger. Even amid the crisis, the prince’s concern for his wounded retainers is made explicit; their condition is serious enough that they cannot simply resume the defense without consequence.

Loyalty After Chu Wanli’s Death

Chu Wanli dies after attacking Duan Yanqing, his choice shaped by the humiliation of having been trapped in A'Zi’s net. The death intensifies the danger and grief surrounding the defenders. Although Gu and Fu have not recovered from their serious injuries, both rise and prepare to fight Duan Yanqing to the death.

Their response marks Gu’s clearest act of loyalty: physical incapacity does not erase his willingness to stand with his lord and comrades. The scene places his service beside Chu Wanli’s fatal sacrifice, distinguishing neither man’s devotion by rank or outcome. Gu’s own fate is not stated in these episodes, but his emergence from the encounter as a badly wounded guard underscores the human cost of the prince’s protection.