Cheng Lingsu (simplified: 程灵素, traditional: 程靈素, pinyin: Chéng Língsù, jyutping: cing4 ling4 sou3) was one of the female protagonists of Side Story of the Flying Fox. She was the closing disciple of the King of Venoms (毒手药王), a skilled herbalist and poison expert who inherited her master’s legacy work, the Medicine King Divine Record (药王神篇). Despite her plain appearance, she was exceptionally intelligent and kind-hearted, though she struggled with self-esteem issues.
Biography
Early life and apprenticeship
Cheng Lingsu was named after two medical classics: Lingshu (灵枢) and Suwen (素问). She became the closing disciple of the King of Venoms, also known as Master Wuchen (无嗔大师), inheriting his dual expertise in medicine and poison. Unlike her three senior martial siblings—Murong Jingyue, Jiang Tieshan, and Xue Que—who were unskilled and often abused their power, Cheng Lingsu successfully cultivated the Seven Heart Begonia (七心海棠), a deadly poison plant that even her master had been unable to grow.
Meeting Hu Fei
Cheng Lingsu first encountered Hu Fei while working in her garden. She fell in love with him at first sight and guided him safely through the various poisonous plants that her senior martial siblings had planted around the Medicine King Manor (药王庄). When Hu Fei and Cheng Lingsu’s three senior martial siblings met, the latter attempted to seize the Medicine King Divine Record, attacking with lethal force. However, Cheng Lingsu had prepared for this, and they unknowingly fell victim to the odourless and smokeless Seven Heart Begonia poison.
Following her master’s teachings, Cheng Lingsu was unwilling to harm others. Before leaving, she gave Jiang Tieshan three bundles of Seven Heart Begonia incense to protect him from enemies seeking revenge.
Journeying with Hu Fei
After fulfilling her master’s final wish, Cheng Lingsu travelled with Hu Fei to the Miao family to cure Miao Renfeng’s eyes, which had been poisoned by the Heartbreak Grass (断肠草). The two then journeyed together through the jianghu, but Cheng Lingsu discovered that Hu Fei’s heart belonged only to Yuan Ziyi, and he treated Cheng Lingsu only as a sworn sister.
The Wulin Leader Conference
At Fukanggan’s Wulin Leader Conference, Cheng Lingsu used her exquisite poison techniques to poison the gathering, framing the self-proclaimed “King of Venoms” Shi Wanchen and Fukanggan for the deed. She was willing to sacrifice everything for love.
Death
When Hu Fei was poisoned by a combination of Peacock Gall (孔雀胆), Red-crowned Crane Poison (鹤顶红), and Bright Jade Silkworm Gu (碧蚕毒蛊), Cheng Lingsu sacrificed herself to save him by sucking the poison from his wound, dying from the poison herself. Before her death, she calculated that Shi Wanchen would return and set a trap using a Seven Heart Begonia candle, successfully eliminating the traitorous members of her master’s school even after her death.
Personality
Cheng Lingsu was intelligent, perceptive, and could predict events with remarkable accuracy. However, her low self-esteem, combined with years of confrontation with her poison-using martial siblings, led to a habit of speaking in a somewhat aggressive manner. She was described as having a plain appearance, like an ordinary farm girl, with a thin, child-like build, yellowish and withered hair, and a sallow complexion. Only her eyes were large and bright.
Despite her appearance, Cheng Lingsu possessed exceptional medical and poison skills, and was also proficient in disguise techniques. She once disguised Hu Fei as a bearded man and herself as an old woman to attend Fukanggan’s Wulin Leader Conference.
Relationships
- King of Venoms (Master): Her master, who passed down the Medicine King Divine Record to her.
- Hu Fei (Sworn Brother/Love Interest): The man she loved, though he only treated her as a sworn sister and loved Yuan Ziyi instead.
- Yuan Ziyi (Rival): Hu Fei’s true love interest, whom Cheng Lingsu saw as a rival.
- Murong Jingyue, Jiang Tieshan, Xue Que (Senior Martial Siblings): Her three senior martial siblings who betrayed their master’s teachings.
- Shi Wanchen (Master’s Junior Brother): The evil junior brother of the King of Venoms, whom she eliminated after her death.
Martial Arts and Skills
Cheng Lingsu was skilled in the Poison Sand Palm (毒砂掌) and various blade techniques. Her true expertise lay in medicine and poison, and she successfully cultivated the Seven Heart Begonia, which her master had been unable to grow. She was also proficient in disguise techniques and could create elaborate disguises for herself and others.
Legacy
Cheng Lingsu is remembered as one of Jin Yong’s most beloved characters. Despite her plain appearance, she demonstrated exceptional intelligence, kindness, and self-sacrifice. Her tragic love story and ultimate sacrifice for Hu Fei have made her one of the most memorable female characters in Jin Yong’s works. Jin Yong himself once stated that while appearance is determined by one’s parents and cannot be changed, for a woman, kindness and compassion are more important than beauty.