Characters / Qian Qiu - Shen Qiao

Qian Qiu Character Index
Main Characters (Shen Qiao, Yan Wushi) | Sects of the Jianghu (The Three Demonic Sects, Daoist Sects) | Nations and Kingdoms

Shen Qiao (沈峤)

Voiced by: Xia Lei (animation - adult, audio drama - adult), Mang Yin (animation - child), Feng Junhua (audio drama - child)

"It's human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. I'm not a saint, and therefore I am no exception. It's just that I cannot find it in my heart to see people suffering."

The seventh sect leader of Xuandu Mountain, and Qi Fengge's successor and favored disciple. After being defeated in a duel and falling off a cliff, he wakes up with neither his memories nor his sight, leading him to rediscover his past as well as travel the world.

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Tropes A-D

• The Ace: His martial skill is nearly unparalleled, and even when his abilities are crippled from his injuries post-fall, he still proves to be a skilled fighter in spite of being underestimated time and again. He firmly reestablishes himself as this to the public after the Zhuyang Ce helped him recover his martial arts to its full strength, allowing him to show that he was chosen as the leader of Xuandu Mountain for a reason.
• Actually Pretty Funny: Although his sense of humor is nowhere near as juvenile as Yan Wushi's, there are a few times when the latter's antics actually amuse him, such as when Yan Wushi makes a subtle jab at Li Qingyu's name by serving him fish head soup.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The donghua gives more focus to Shen Qiao's struggle as he slowly recovers his memories of his old home, and the subsequent anguish he feels when he realizes that his shidi betrayed him.
• Adaptational Badass: When Shen Qiao fought against Bai Rong, he pretended to know the Chunshui Zhi Style (Yan Wushi's Signature Move) as a bluff to scare her off, although he doesn't actually know the technique. In the donghua, he does know how to use the Chunshui Zhi Style, and effectively uses it against Bai Rong and Kunye.
• Adaptation Personality Change: Downplayed. Shen Qiao's personality in the Animated Adaptation is almost the same as how he's portrayed in the novel, although the donghua doesn't get to show his Silent Snarker tendencies as often as the novel did. The production team acknowledged this in a Q&A session, stating that it was due to the constraints of adapting a novel into a visual medium.
• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Yan Wushi calls him "A-Qiao", although it takes a while before the tone in which he says it turns from low-key mocking and diminutive to genuinely adoring.
  • Bai Rong calls him "Shen-lang" during their interactions. In an extra chapter, Yan Wushi does the same, but Shen Qiao becomes so flustered and tells him to just keep calling him "A-Qiao".
  • Xie Ling calls him "meiren-gege" (美人哥哥), which means "pretty big brother".
• All-Loving Hero: Downplayed. Shen Qiao believes in the kindness and goodwill of humankind and will always stick out his neck for the people in need if he's capable of doing so, but he knows if someone's a lost cause and isn't afraid to use lethal (or at least brutal) force against them.
• Always Someone Better: Being The Ace of his sect causes the other disciples of Xuandu Mountain to live under his shadow, something that not everyone takes well, particularly Tan Yuanchun.
• Amnesiac Hero: After he wakes up from his fall, he doesn't remember where he came from or how he ended up in his current position. He slowly regains his memories over a few chapters.
• Ancestral Weapon: His sword, Shan He Tong Bei, originally belonged to Qi Fengge, who gave it to Shen Qiao when the latter was only seven years old.
• Androcles' Lion: Shiwu, the young boy Shen Qiao gave food to out of kindness, rescued him after he nearly died from destroying his core.
• Animal Motif: Yan Wushi gets a pet deer that he names "A-Qiao" and claims the two look similar, to Shen Qiao's slight annoyance.
• At Least I Admit It: In spite of his compassion and wisdom, he readily admits that he isn't without flaws like any other person.
• Atrocious Alias
• Authority Equals Asskicking: As Qi Fengge's successor chosen to lead Xuandu Mountain after his death, it's a given that Shen Qiao is this. Even after he's poisoned and beaten in a duel, he still proves to be a formidable match despite being on a long way from fully recovering.
• Awesomeness by Analysis:
  • His sect's practices allow him to have some knowledge in physiognomy. He can tell if someone is ailing and how ill they are from the sound of their voice. He also used this to his advantage when he would go fortune-telling in the streets to make some money, as he could accurately determine a person's history and character from the smallest of details.
  • Even when he just woke up from a horrible injury and lost all of his memories, he can already surmise that Yan Wushi and Yu Shengyan are hiding something from him just by observing the difference between the way they behave around him and to others.
  • Even though Kunye had yet to divulge majority of the details to him, from simply revealing to Shen Qiao that there is a planned date to ambush and assassinate Yan Wushi, Shen Qiao can already figure out why many want him dead, who joined in on the plot and the role they played or will play in said plot.
• Badass Boast: He's humble, but he's also certain in his abilities, which he makes clear to Yu Ai when they exchange blows a second time.
  Shen Qiao: You should understand that if you and I fight, you may not be able to win, and I may not be defeated. Don't think that you can hold me in the palm of your hand and have me at your disposal.
• Badass on Paper: Forcefully invoked. Many of the people of the jianghu believe that Shen Qiao is this and that he only has a high rank amongst all the martial arts masters because of his association with Qi Fengge. It gets even worse after his defeat in his duel with Kunye, causing everyone to believe he's actually a weakling who's all talk and no show. Anyone who ends up seeing him in action, however, realizes that they're dead wrong.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: He's noted to be incredibly attractive that he gains the attention of both men and women. He's also very kind and believes that everyone has good in them.
• Berserk Button:
  • Don't even think of using his sword as a kitchen knife.
  • He lets some bystanders know that they can insult him all they like, but they will not get away with insulting either Qi Fengge or Xuandu Mountain.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's patient, calm, gentle, and kind; but the last thing you want to do is underestimate him or piss him off.
• Big Good: He is the sect leader of Xuandu Mountain. While he loses his title for some time after his defeat to Kunye, he reclaims his position later on and quickly establishes himself as a benevolent and fair sect leader.
• Blind Weaponmaster: It's only temporary since he regains his sight later on, but even when he still couldn't see, his martial skills are rooted so deep in his very being that he can still handle himself well in a fight.
• Bridal Carry: This happens to him rather often, courtesy of Yan Wushi.
• Broken Ace: Played with. At the start of the story, he was a prodigy in his sect, was the one who ended up inheriting his master's position as sect leader, and was so powerful that the only reason he lost the fight that crippled him was due to being secretly poisoned by his friend. After that incident, while he remains skilled, he struggles to regain his former strength and often blacks out whenever he overstrains himself.
• Broken Tears: While the experience doesn't break him, per se, he's nevertheless left pained by Yan Wushi's betrayal that he sheds a few tears over it.
• Brought Down to Badass: After Yan Wushi implanted a demonic core in his body, which clashed with his original Daoist core, Shen Qiao had no choice but to destroy his cultivation to take down Sang Jingxing. This nearly kills him, but what he learned from the Zhuyang Ce helped him forge an entirely new cultivation base, causing him to regain his abilities and come back stronger than ever.
• Brutal Honesty: He speaks in a tactful manner, but he never beats around the bush.
  • Shortly after reuniting with Yu Ai, Shen Qiao doesn't hesitate to confront the other over how he knows that he poisoned him.
  • Despite his growing irritation with Yan Wushi's teasing and mocking, Shen Qiao always manages to keep a straight face and reply as diplomatically as he can. But at one point, he gets frustrated enough to bluntly tell Yan Wushi to his face that he's an eyesore.
• The Cameo: Shen Qiao makes a brief appearance in Chapter 129 of Wushuang when he visits Xuandu Temple and meets Cui Buqu.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: He immediately gets drunk after three cups of wine.
• Celibate Hero: Due to his Daoist principles, Shen Qiao has never pursued a relationship with anyone in the past thirty-something years of his life nor does he have any interest in doing so. This trope finally becomes subverted after he and Yan Wushi have Their First Time in the extra chapters.
• Character Development:
  • Shen Qiao still remains the kind and noble man that he was first introduced as, but his experiences have also taught him plenty of things about the world and the people in it, allowing him to become wiser and more worldly. He makes sure to take each lesson to heart, allowing him to retain his morals while learning to not trust others too easily and to approach situations with a more watchful eye.
  • While Shen Qiao continues to hold on to his Daoist views, he also comes to understand the importance of politics and how he must get involved with the secular world for the benefit of his sect.
• Chaste Hero: Prior to his encounter with Yan Wushi, Shen Qiao had no interest in pursuing a romantic or a sexual relationship with anyone. As his relationship with Yan Wushi develops, this soon changes. By the time of the extras, Shen Qiao eventually subverts this trope after he and Yan Wushi consummate their relationship for the first time.
• Chick Magnet: Everywhere he goes, he draws the eyes of every woman who can't help but comment on his looks. Even Bai Rong, who has set out to kidnap Shen Qiao multiple times, can't help but admire his face whenever she gets a closer look at him. And it's not just the women who he ends up attracting.
• Cincinnatus: No matter the cause, Shen Qiao holds no interest in leading said cause. The only exception is helping Xuandu Mountain get back on its feet by reclaiming his position as the sect leader, although this is out of duty rather than ambition.
• The Comically Serious: He rarely cracks a joke to others, and remains impressively stoic under Yan Wushi's proddings whenever the other is teasing him. It gets better when the novel shows his inner thoughts, which detail just how annoyed he is with Yan Wushi or how much he actually wants to beat up the older man at the moment.
• Color Motifs:
  • Both the official artwork of the novel and the audio drama feature Shen Qiao in light green. Green can symbolize tranquility, nature, compassion, and optimism, which fits Shen Qiao having a calm disposition, a kind heart, and an equally grounded and idealistic spirit that believes in the best of people but is also just as willing to acknowledge the worst in them.
  • In the donghua, he's always featured in white and blue. His attire is white with blue undertones, and the color of his qi also shifts between blue and white.
• Combat Pragmatist: While Shen Qiao doesn't fight dirty, he does fight smart in battles where sheer skill won't do.
• Cosmetic Catastrophe: Invoked and downplayed. While dressing him up as a handmaiden so that he can an much easier time sneaking in the imperial palace, Bian Yanmei tells the servants to not make him pretty because he would then be attracting unwanted attention. But even making him look plain wasn't enough, so Yan Wushi ordered them to make him look more pallid to hide his beauty better. It doesn't work completely, since Yuwen Yun still takes notice of his appearance.
• Cosmic Plaything: It's almost as if the world has it out for Shen Qiao after his fall. On top of losing his sight and having his meridians crippled, he lost his status as the sect leader of Xuandu Mountain, realizes that he was betrayed by the people he trusted and saw as family, and has nothing left to his name. He does steel himself against everything thrown at him though, and things gradually get better for him in time, with him eventually recovering what he had lost.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Even at what could be argued is his weakest, he can still easily handle himself against a group of men surrounding him.
• Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Played with. He's grateful that in spite of his amnesia, he still has all his martial skills, which means that he is still capable of defending himself. However, since his meridians are still out of whack, this leads him to not being able to fight at full strength, leading him to either cough up blood or not go full out unless he wants to pass out mid-battle.
• Deteriorates Into Gibberish: The night after his first time with Yan Wushi, he's not able to think straight and has a hard time speaking a full sentence without stammering when he first wakes up.
• Determinator: No matter what gets thrown his way, he never gives up and always marches forward with his head held high.
• Doesn't Like Being Touched: He (albeit understandably) gets extremely uncomfortable when others get way too close to him.
• The Dreaded: Shen Qiao gains this status among the members of the Hehuan Sect after he killed Huo Xijing, gravely wounded Sang Jingxing, and felled Yan Shou and Bao Yun.

Tropes E-N

• Elemental Motifs: Earth.
  • Among the five Chinese elements (wu xing), earth is recognized as the element of stability and balance as it encompasses both yin and yang in equal measure.
  • In wu xing, earth is associated with patience, thoughtfulness, responsibility, and nurturing — all of which can be used to describe Shen Qiao's personality. Earth is also characterized by both wisdom and strength of character, which Shen Qiao possesses to a tee.
  • In-Universe, Yan Wushi associates Shen Qiao with a stone twice in the novel, but in two different contexts.
    • The first time, it's to describe him as a "stone" that may not be like the other "gold and jewelry" that he would find no matter how many times he had it inspected and polished, but said stone is also unique and can't ever be found anywhere else in the world.
      Shen Qiao: All the money in the world cannot buy happiness. Some people are not interested in hoarding treasures and are only interested in things that others may consider worthless. In my opinion, this person had already liked that stone more than the other treasures from the start. It is just that he was limited by inherent prejudice and was unwilling to admit it.
      Yan Wushi: [laughs meaningfully] Yes, you're right. All the money in the world cannot buy happiness.
    • The second time, it's to describe Shen Qiao as the "huge rock that never shifts regardless of how the water flows", symbolizing how Shen Qiao always stayed true to his core in spite of everything he's suffered through. Said suffering includes what was done to him by Yan Wushi, whose elemental motif is water.
• Even the Guys Want Him: He has been described as incredibly beautiful, to the point that a group of men who find him are shocked into silence when they see him and their leader instantly wants to bed him. The first thing other male characters make note of when they see Shen Qiao is how beautiful the man looks. Yan Wushi even ends up falling for him.
• Everyone Has Standards: Even though he understands that Yu Ai wanted to improve things for their sect and agrees with the other's intentions to have Xuandu Mountain be more involved with the outside world, he absolutely refuses to forgive the fact that Yu Ai decided to side with the Tujue to achieve that goal.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: In the donghua, most of his hair is tied in a high ponytail when he was still the sect leader of Xuandu Mountain. After his fall, he wears most of his hair down.
• Fatal Flaw: His tendency to trust others too easily when they show him a bit of kindness. It was why he could not have foreseen Yu Ai plotting to poison him, why he could not predict the possibility that Chen Gong would sell him out, and why he failed to fully comprehend how hard-hearted Yan Wushi can be. While he gets better about it, he still would rather choose to put his trust in others who show him kindness than become suspicious of every person he meets.
• Fate Worse than Death: Due to being a Martial Pacifist, he's capable of dishing out punishments that would make someone see death as a mercy by comparison.
• Foil: To Yan Wushi. He believes in the goodness of people, whereas Yan Wushi believes everyone is inherently cruel and hopes to see if he can corrupt Shen Qiao.
• For Want Of A Nail: As he points out, he serves as the nail in Chen Gong’s life. Had they never crossed paths, Chen Gong may have never gotten to where he is today since he never would have encountered Mu Tipo and gotten into all that followed afterwards.
• Friend to All Children:
  • Shen Qiao always shows a soft spot for kids, and all the new disciples he takes in throughout the story happen to be either children or adolescents.
  • He is quick to take a liking to Xie Ling, who is a split persona that embodies Yan Wushi's childhood and lost innocence. He becomes so attached that he even sheds tears when Xie Ling disappears after Yan Wushi's soul becomes whole again.
• Friend to All Living Things: Children aside, Shen Qiao is completely compassionate to animals. While escaping from Bai Rong's clutches, he makes sure to not overtax the horse he's riding on, and even apologizes to the steed for getting it involved in his troubles.
• Generation Xerox: When he was a child, he was abandoned by his parents before he was later rescued and adopted by Qi Fengge, and it is obvious that the two share a deep and familial relationship. When Shen Qiao grew into an adult, he showed kindness towards Shiwu, who would return the favor by saving his life when he was nearing death. In time, the two formally become master and disciple, and it's all but stated out loud that Shiwu sees Shen Qiao as a father.
• Gentleman Snarker: He's more of the Silent Snarker, but he becomes this whenever he chooses to voice his more sharp-witted thoughts out loud. At times, he even manages to out-sass Yan Wushi, who's no slouch in the Deadpan Snarker department.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Subverted. While Shen Qiao believes in that there's good in everyone, he's well aware that humans are also capable of cruelty and he can acknowledge if someone has done too many wrongs to still be worthy of redemption, or even of their life.
• Good Is Not Soft: He makes it clear that being nice doesn't necessarily equate to being a pushover. Shen Qiao is kind (almost to a fault), but if you push him too far or put his loved ones in danger, he will fight back. He's also not ignorant to how corrupt people can truly be, and can show anger at others if given sufficient reason. And just because he's not someone who prefers to resort to violence as his first option doesn't mean he won't hesitate to take a life if needed.
• Handicapped Badass: He ends up blind for a good portion of the story, but this doesn't stop him from kicking ass if he absolutely has to.
• Happily Adopted: While Shen Qiao never calls Qi Fengge his father, he's clearly happy the other man had saved him and he lived a good life at Xuandu Mountain under the man's tutelage.
• Hates Being Touched: Downplayed, but he gets understandably uncomfortable when people intentionally invade his personal space. When Bai Rong gets a little too close to him whenever she flirts with her, at one point, Shen Qiao firmly tells her that he doesn't like what she's doing. He's also quick to move away every time Yan Wushi tries getting too handsy with him.
• Hidden Depths: He has a talent for drawing, which helps attain a skill at applying makeup, which he makes use of later in the story.
• Horrible Judge of Character: He's far from the worst example, but even he is not immune to this trope. It takes time for him to realize that even though he shows someone kindness or sees them as a friend, it doesn't automatically mean that they will return the sentiment, which he learns the hard way with Chen Gong and Yan Wushi. To his credit, he is quick to acknowledge his mistake and learn from it.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: He was once a powerful sect leader before he was pushed off of a cliff during a duel and wakes up with blindness and amnesia. Part of the story covers how he gradually rises to power once more.
• Humans Are Good: This is the belief he holds no matter how many times he may be proven wrong otherwise. Even when his ideals are challenged, he holds firm to this belief. He does acknowledge that some people are evil to the core and nothing can be done to change that, but it's exactly because evil and vice exists that he treasures humanity's virtues all the more.
• Hyper-Awareness: Even with his blindness, he's highly perceptive of his surroundings and is quick to notice the tiniest of details from his sense of hearing and touch.
• The Immodest Orgasm: Hinted at in an extra. When Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi have Their First Time in an inn, the next day, Yan Wushi teases him for crying and screaming so much last night. Shen Qiao makes no attempts to deny it.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Ever since his fall from Xuandu Mountain, he suffers countless trials, but no matter what, he refuses to rescind his ideals or be broken by his sufferings. While his experiences have tempered him, never did it make him cynical and disillusioned.
• Insult Backfire: If anyone tries to throw an insult at Shen Qiao's face, he'll either gracefully take it up the chin or throw back the insult at the other's face with an even more biting remark.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: As exasperated as Shen Qiao is by Yan Wushi's shenanigans, he still knows better than to argue because he's aware that he won't be able to win against Yan Wushi's Insane Troll Logic.
• Light Is Good: He wears light-colored robes and he is nothing but nice to everyone he meets.
• Living Emotional Crutch: Downplayed, and the trope is enforced in a positive manner. Shen Qiao served as a pillar of support for both Shiwu and Yuwen Song when they lost their families and had no one else to rely on, which led them both to become deeply attached to him.
• Love Epiphany: Although he slowly becomes aware that his feelings for Yan Wushi are beginning to change, he only fully realizes it when he thought that he was going to lose Yan Wushi for good after the latter's fight with Hulugu. However, it takes until the extra chapters for him to properly come to terms with said feelings, which spurs him to take the initiative in his relationship with Yan Wushi for the first time.
• Luminescent Blush: Once he and Yan Wushi officially become a couple, he blushes around the other a lot more, mainly due to Yan Wushi's flirtations. This is especially the case after they sleep together for the first time and Shen Qiao can't look at Yan Wushi's face the next morning.
• Martial Pacifist: He'll fight mainly to defend himself or incapacitate his opponents, rarely ever killing unless he absolutely has to.
• Master Swordsman: Qi Fengge taught him well, and even when he still had yet to fully recover, Shen Qiao soon evolved from the stages of Jianqi ("energy of the sword") to Jianyi ("will of the sword"). During his rematch with Kunye, he soon achieves Jianxin ("heart of the sword"). And with him eventually gaining knowledge of all five volumes of the Zhuyang Ce, the possibility that he would soon achieve the final stage of Jianshen ("spirit of the sword") is not unlikely.
• Meaningful Name: The way his first name (峤) is spelled has the character for "mountain" (山) in it, which makes his name a reference to the phrase "Appeasing the gods of heaven and earth with sacrifice, extending towards the rivers and highest mountains". Qi Fengge named him as such with the hopes that he would grow up with a kind heart and a strong will.
• Mistaken for Romance: The first half of the novel has Shen Qiao be mistaken by others to be Yan Wushi's "boytoy" more than once, which Shen Qiao doesn't bother to refute solely because no one will believe him. It doesn't help that Yan Wushi plays along with the rumors for his own amusement.
• Morality Pet: Zigzagged. While Yan Wushi eventually falls in love with Shen Qiao and comes to admire his pure heart, his beliefs on how Humans Are Bastards remain unchanged. Rather, while he's still cynical and disdainful towards most people and is self-serving most of the time, Shen Qiao became someone that Yan Wushi is willing to make exceptions for.
• Mundane Utility: At one point, Yan Wushi uses Shen Qiao's sword to catch and cut up animals for food, much to Shen Qiao's irritation.
• Neck Lift: In the donghua, many characters seem to be fond of holding up Shen Qiao by his throat. And amusingly, all of them are from the demonic sects.
• Never Be Hurt Again: While Yan Wushi ultimately failed to blacken Shen Qiao's morals, his actions ended up affecting Shen Qiao's ability to trust people. When Yan Wushi tries to court him for real, Shen Qiao doesn't take him seriously this time because he feels that Yan Wushi is just toying with him like he always would and fears being betrayed once again.
• Nice Guy: His kindness is one of his most defining traits, to the point that others end up taking advantage of that same kindness. Yet even when he's betrayed, he still holds onto this part of himself and never relents, even when Yan Wushi points out time and time again that people will just continue to take advantage of this trait of his.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
  • He helps Chen Gong by giving him food and helping him find shelter. He gets repaid later on by the boy turning him over to a group of men who like to take men and boys as sex slaves. He deals with it all on his own, but is still nonetheless betrayed.
  • He starts to see Yan Wushi as a friend and lets his guard down around the other, only to have Yan Wushi stab him in the back and turn him over to Sang Jingxing in exchange for his sword back. While they do get back on better terms later on, Shen Qiao has forgiven, but not forgotten, what Yan Wushi had done.
• No Social Skills: Downplayed. Shen Qiao can carry himself well whenever he talks to other people, but on the rare occasion that he tries (key word: tries) to flirt with Yan Wushi, he comes across as extremely awkward.
• Not So Above It All: While Shen Qiao is far from the touchy-feely type and tends to retreat every time Yan Wushi gets far too affectionate with him, one of the extra chapters reveals that he can be romantic as the other man, as he's thought about kissing Yan Wushi more than a hundred times.
• Not So Stoic: He becomes emotional and tearful when he thought that Yan Wushi had died from his fight with Hulugu, repeatedly pleading with him to wake up while cradling his body.

Tropes O-Z

• Oblivious to Love: Played with. Shen Qiao is aware whenever Yan Wushi is flirting with him, but it takes almost up until the last few chapters of the novel for Shen Qiao to realize that Yan Wushi has truly fallen for him. This is justified, however, since Yan Wushi's past flirtations were nothing more but an attempt to rile him up. That, and the very fact that Yan Wushi horribly betrayed him once made him have a difficult time trusting anything the man would say to him again, let alone believe that Yan Wushi's renewed attitude towards him is actually due to him having a change of heart rather than an act he's simply pulling to beguile Shen Qiao once again. Even when Yan Wushi tells him outright that his feelings for him have changed, Shen Qiao continues to remain skeptical for some time.
• Older Than They Look: While Shen Qiao is in his thirties, his beauty has others mistake him to be in his twenties instead.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: No one ever lets go of the fact that Shen Qiao was soundly beaten by Kunye in a duel, despite the fact that Shen Qiao only lost because he was poisoned beforehand and Kunye played dirty during their fight. People finally start to fall silent about the matter after Shen Qiao engages in a rematch with Kunye and secures a decisive victory, and especially after he kills two elders of the Hehuan Sect in a single fight.
• One True Love: To Yan Wushi. The novel even outright states that Shen Qiao is the only person who managed to move his heart so deeply, and both of Yan Wushi's disciples even noticed that Yan Wushi only ever showed any form of affection towards Shen Qiao.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • Shen Qiao is a Martial Pacifist, so it takes a lot to make him actually want to kill someone without any hesitation.
  • Even though Shen Qiao does get annoyed with Yan Wushi's antics, for the most part he's patient and just keeps his frustrations to himself. But after Yan Wushi forcefully spoon-feeds him in public as a misguided way of expressing his affections, Shen Qiao — who still has yet to believe that Yan Wushi has had a change of heart towards him — nearly loses his patience and calmly goes on a long speech where he basically asks him what the hell his deal is with him.
• Opposites Attract: He couldn't be more different from Yan Wushi, yet he ends up getting close to and falling in love with the other man.
• Parental Abandonment: Shen Qiao tells Yan Wushi about his past of how he was abandoned by his parents when he was a baby, and he surmised that he was abandoned because he looked so sickly and weak.
• Parental Substitute: Zhao Chiying lampshades that Shen Qiao treats Shiwu both as a disciple and as a son.
• Power Nullifier: While all martial arts practitioners have the ability to seal or even shatter someone's meridians, there are two notable instances when Shen Qiao destroys someone's foundations, namely Chen Gong and Tan Yuanchun.
• Power Copying: The Animated Adaptation has Shen Qiao learning some of the techniques of the Huanyue Sect when he still had yet to recover to his full power, with one of those techniques being the Chunshui Zhi Style. It's even more impressive when the chibi mini-theater confirms that Shen Qiao was never formally taught the technique and learned it through sheer observation.
• Power Strain Black Out: After his fall, he ends up passing out quite often due to the strain of trying to recover both his abilities and memories.
• Puppet King: Averted. Out of guilt for what Shen Qiao went through, Yu Ai still offers for his friend to remain the head of their sect, but he would be the leader in-name only and would be confined in Xuandu Mountain. Shen Qiao obviously refuses Yu Ai's offer on the account that he was the one who poisoned him and colluded with Kunye, and he refuses to be anyone's pawn.
• Rage Breaking Point: Shen Qiao has been shown to get truly angry more than once, but one of the very few times where his anger truly reaches his peak is when he learns that Yu Ai betrayed him and why, and when he realizes that Yan Wushi had implanted a demonic core in him without him being aware of it.
• Real Men Hate Sugar: Downplayed; Shen Qiao actually has a Sweet Tooth, but he doesn't like the taste of honey.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Even before he reclaims his position as the sect leader of Xuandu Mountain, Shen Qiao has proven to be one of the most diplomatic people around, as he never lets personal bias affect his decisions and and is able to think rationally in any situation.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After he attains victory during his rematch with Kunye, Shen Qiao gives the other a few brutal words before the man breathes his last.
  Shen Qiao: I am very disappointed in you. My master once said that Hulugu was a respectful opponent. You, however, as his disciple, are not even one-tenth of his character. You're unworthy to be his disciple.
• Security Blanket: When he was a child, he would always hold onto a stuffed rabbit that Qi Fengge gave him.
• Shipper on Deck: When Yu Ai spoke with him, Shen Qiao assumed he was nervous about talking to their shimei, Gu Hengbo— whom Yu Ai seemed to have a crush on. He realized something was off, but gave his friend the benefit of the doubt, only to get poisoned and lose in his duel with Kunye.
• Silent Snarker: There are times when the novel shows his inner thoughts, which considerably have less filter and more sass than the words that come out of his mouth.
• Single-Target Sexuality: He expressed that he's not interested in men, he's not shown to have any interest in women either, and he also stated that as a Daoist, he has no plans on finding any partner. Soon enough, however, Yan Wushi became an exception, and the story makes it obvious that neither could ever find anyone else who they love as much as they do each other.
• Sins of Our Fathers: He is completely against this trope. Shen Qiao understands that there are situations when a person gravely wronged someone else and gets killed in retaliation, but he protests the idea of how revenge also needs to be sought by killing the person's entire family.
• Skilled, but Naive: He's incredibly powerful before and after his fall, but it's all too obvious that he has plenty to learn about the ways of the secular world. He does grow out of this trope as the story goes on.
• Skyward Scream: Shen Qiao lets out a bloodcurdling scream of rage in the donghua once he realizes that Yan Wushi planted a demonic core inside him.
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: While it's not the main source of his problems, his beauty has caught the unwanted attention of at least one depraved person more than once.
• Spider-Sense: Ever since he lost his sight, his hearing became sharper than ever, which does help him against his enemies in spite of his weakened body.
• Sweet Tooth: He loves sweet foods and can't ingest any bitter medicine without sweetening it first. Yan Wushi even teases him about it.
• Taking You with Me: When he realizes that Yan Wushi had implanted a demonic core in his body without him realizing it, Shen Qiao decides to detonate his Daoist core in an attempt to kill Sang Jingxing, knowing that the backlash will end up killing him as well. He survives the experience, however.
• The Teetotaler: Shen Qiao never drinks wine, and would drink tea as a substitute for alcohol in celebratory occasions where one would normally drink wine. He makes an exception on the night before Yan Wushi's fight against Hulugu, although it still took some coaxing from Yan Wushi to get him to drink.
• Third-Person Person: Oftentimes, Shen Qiao refers to himself as "this lowly/humble/poor Daoist".
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After being betrayed by Yan Wushi and being left with no choice but to destroy his foundations, what he learned of the Zhuyang Ce managed to keep him alive and provide him with an entirely new foundation. And as a cherry on top, it also completely cured him of the poison crippling his body.
• Took a Level in Badass: Zigzagged. Shen Qiao's fall from the cliff, combined with the effects of the xiang jian huan poison, left him severely crippled and nowhere near as strong as he used to be. Part of the plot shows him slowly recovering back to his full power, but by the end, he becomes more powerful than he initially was, thanks to both his experience and learning the other volumes of the Zhuyang Ce.
• Took a Level in Cynic: Played with. Shen Qiao's ideals remain uncorrupted no matter what he's put through, but he learns the hard way that he should never expect anything out of anyone so as to not be disappointed if they ever repay his kindness with betrayal.
• Tranquil Fury: Although he will let the other party know that he's losing his temper if he's ticked off enough, he always manages to keep his composure. One will only be able to tell that he’s livid once he’s already done either landing a severe blow on you, be it physical or verbal, or worse.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: He loses his memories after falling down Xuandu Mountain, and it takes a while for him to remember who he was and what happened to him.
• Trying Not to Cry
• Tsundere: Only around Yan Wushi, once their relationship turns into something deeper. Downplayed in that Shen Qiao doesn't have a violent or fiery temperament, but his introverted personality makes him quick to turning guarded or flustered whenever Yan Wushi teases him or does something that takes him by surprise, especially since Yan Wushi's shamelessness and penchant for mischief know no bounds.
• Uke: Or shou, in Chinese terms.
• Underestimating Badassery: Shen Qiao is often on the receiving end of this. While no one ever regarded him as weak prior to his fall, many people believe that his blindness and impaired cultivation easily makes no better than any other small fry... only for him to quickly prove them wrong. Shen Qiao even expresses his annoyance at one point at how people continue to mistake him as easy pickings.
• Universally Beloved Leader:
  • Downplayed. While there are a few people who have a grudge against Shen Qiao or at least have some complicated history with him, with a few other more who underestimate him, most of the people he encounters ends up highly respecting and admiring him, to the point that many are willing to defend him when Hulugu reveals himself to be alive and declares his intention to kill Shen Qiao.
  • With the exception of Tan Yuanchun, as well as his complicated history with Yu Ai following the latter's betrayal, everyone else in Xuandu Mountain hold Shen Qiao in high regard and have no objections when Shen Qiao reclaims his position as the sect leader, especially after all the dirt surrounding Shen Qiao's defeat and departure is revealed to them.
• Vocal Evolution: During the time he's still injured and poisoned, Shen Qiao's voice sounds light and weak, and at times he speaks only above a whisper. Once he completely recovers and gains a new cultivation base, Shen Qiao's voice, while still gentle, sounds more powerful and all his words are said with more weight.
• We Used to Be Friends: Once he finds out that it was his close friend at Xuandu Mountain who poisoned him, he is rightfully mad at this revelation as well as the fact that said friend had colluded with the clan whose leader he dueled against to obtain the poison to cripple him, and the betrayal is enough for him to cut ties with his sect once and for all.
• What You Are in the Dark: Even after Yan Wushi betrays him and hands him over to Sang Jingxing, when Shen Qiao hears that his life is in danger, he doesn't hesitate to try and save him when he had every right to look the other way and let him die.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Before he got his sword back, whenever he gets into a fight he uses only a bamboo stick to defend himself.
• When He Smiles: He's described to look even more radiant and beautiful than he already does whenever he smiles. Even Yan Wushi finds himself enraptured with the sight of Shen Qiao smiling.
• Who's Laughing Now?: A more noble take on the trope. When Zhao Chiying questions his decision to save Yan Wushi, Shen Qiao expresses that part of the reason he's doing it is so he could meet Yan Wushi once more and see his disappointment when he sees that his attempts to corrupt Shen Qiao's morals have ultimately failed.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: While Shen Qiao is somewhat sheltered, he displays more maturity than one would expect from him. He is also highly perceptive and displays a great depth of understanding of the world around him.
• Worf Had the Flu:
  • Had it not been for his shidi poisoning him, Shen Qiao would have won the duel against Kunye.
  • While he's still capable of handling himself, he has a harder time getting out of the sticky situations he gets dragged into in the earlier chapters because of his injuries from the fall along with an extremely potent poison, which severely crippled his meridians and locked his qi flow.
• World's Most Beautiful Woman: Gender-inverted. While he is not called as such word-for-word, his beauty has been noticed and explicitly admired many times throughout the novel, even by other people who are also regarded to have good looks themselves.
• Worthy Opponent:
  • Yan Wushi aims for Shen Qiao to become this to him, and cites it as one of the reasons he claims to have saved Shen Qiao's life. But once he comes to realize that Shen Qiao's meridians are permanently damaged, he hands him over to Sang Jingxing. However, he does finally begin to regard Shen Qiao as an equal when he sees that in spite of the aforementioned event, Shen Qiao never forsook his ideals.
  • While Hulugu says that Shen Qiao is still not yet his equal, he still commends his current level of strength and says that in different circumstances, he would gladly wait until Shen Qiao becomes strong enough for them to fight to their heart's content.
• Would Hit a Girl: Shen Qiao won't hesitate to defend himself even if his opponent is a woman.
  • While he was bluffing at the time, Shen Qiao didn't hesitate to scare Bai Rong off when she attempted to kidnap him. Then when she tries to kill Yan Wushi later on, Shen Qiao impedes her efforts, making it clear to her that he's willing to come to blows if necessary.
  • When Yuan Xiuxiu repeatedly tries to block his path during their fight in the Sword Trial Conference arc, Shen Qiao warns Yuan Xiuxiu that she might eventually have to pay the price for constantly trying to stand in his way.
• You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: He normally refers to Yan Wushi as "Yan-zongzhu", but in their more serious and emotional moments, he calls him by his full name instead.
• You Can't Go Home Again: He attempts to return to Xuandu Mountain to figure out why and how he got into his current position. He soon finds out that Yu Ai had poisoned him before the duel with some help from Kunye, causing him to lose the fight and fall down a cliff. Shen Qiao refuses to stay at what was once his home as it would lead him to be act as no more than a puppet leader of his sect, and he severs his friendship with Yu Ai and leaves the mountain for good. It's not until near the end of the story that he returns to Xuandu Mountain once more to set things right and reclaim his rightful position as sect leader.

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