A Er (simplified: 阿二, traditional: 阿二, pinyin: Ā Èr, jyutping: aa3 ji6) was a second-generation disciple of the Vajra School who served under Zhao Min. He was one of three bodyguards (alongside A Da and A San) who served under Zhao Min, all identified only by numerical codes rather than formal names.
Biography
Background
A Er was a disciple of the Western Regions Diamond Gate, a school founded by Huogong Toutuo, a renegade from the Shaolin Order. Unlike his fellow disciple A San, who focused primarily on external martial arts, A Er possessed exceptional neili that surpassed even his master Huogong Toutuo.
Service under Zhao Min
A Er served as one of Zhao Min’s three bodyguards, alongside A Da (formerly Fang Dongbai, the Eight-Armed Divine Sword) and A San. The three were identified only by numerical codes, reflecting their status as tools rather than individuals.
Attack on Yin Liting
When Yin Liting investigated a series of murders at Shaolin, A Er led four Diamond Gate disciples in an ambush. They successfully captured Yin Liting alive, though A Er’s Great Strength Vajra Finger (大力金刚指) technique was powerful enough to have crippled him. However, Zhao Min ordered them to capture him alive rather than kill him.
Battle at Wudang Mountain
During the battle at Wudang Mountain, A Er faced Zhang Wuji. Despite his exceptional neili, Zhang Wuji used his Nine Yang Divine Skill to redirect A Er’s own force back at him, shattering his arm bones, ribs, and collarbone.
Black Jade Continuous Fracture Ointment
After A Er’s defeat, Zhao Min used the Diamond Gate’s secret medicine, Black Jade Continuous Fracture Ointment (黑玉断续膏), as part of a trap. She replaced the genuine ointment with Seven Insects Seven Flowers Ointment (七虫七花膏), a deadly poison, which led to A Er’s death.
Personality and traits
A Er was described as a bald old man (秃头老者). He possessed exceptional neili that surpassed his master Huogong Toutuo, achieved through training from external to internal cultivation methods. His martial arts combined both fierce and steady techniques, unlike A San who focused primarily on external skills.
See also
- Vajra School
- A San — Fellow disciple
- A Da — Fellow bodyguard
- Great Strength Vajra Finger
- Huogong Toutuo — Founder of Diamond Gate
- Zhao Min — Master
- Zhang Wuji — Defeated A Er at Wudang Mountain
- Yin Liting — Captured by A Er
- The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Sabre