He Hongyao (simplified: 何红药, traditional: 何紅藥, pinyin: Hé Hóngyào, jyutping: ho4 hung4 joek6) was the sister of the leader of the Five Poisons Order (五毒教) and the master of Wanmiao Manor (万妙山庄 — Wànmiào Shānzhuāng) in Yunnan. She fell in love with Xia Xueyi (夏雪宜), the Golden Serpent Gentleman (金蛇郎君), and helped him steal the order’s treasures, only to be betrayed, disfigured by punishment, and ultimately killed in an explosion on Mount Hua in Sword Stained with Royal Blood.
Biography
Early life and Wanmiao Manor
He Hongyao was born in Yunnan as the sister of the leader of the Five Poisons Order, a faction that specialised in poison-based martial arts. She became the master of Wanmiao Manor (万妙山庄), an important location within the Five Poisons Order’s territory.
In her youth, He Hongyao was described as a beautiful woman, around twenty years old, with rosy cheeks and wearing the colourful clothing of the Baiyi people (摆夷人), a headband, and an attractive appearance. She was known to be a beautiful and charming young woman, which stood in stark contrast to her later disfigured appearance.
Encounter with Xia Xueyi
When Xia Xueyi travelled to Yunnan to steal poison techniques from the Five Poisons Order, he was bitten by a poisonous snake during his attempt. He Hongyao happened upon him and saved his life, and she immediately fell in love with him at first sight.
Xia Xueyi, recognising an opportunity to achieve his goals, used He Hongyao’s feelings for him to manipulate her. He convinced her to help him steal the order’s treasures by taking him to the secret vault known as the Dragon Poison Cave (毒龙洞 — Dúlóng Dòng).
The theft and betrayal
According to the cave’s rules, anyone entering had to remove all their clothing and enter upside down. After they entered together, Xia Xueyi stole the order’s three treasures:
- The Golden Snake Sword (金蛇剑 — Jīnshé Jiàn)
- Twenty-four Golden Snake Cones (金蛇锥 — Jīnshé Zhuī)
- A treasure map left by the Jianwen Emperor (建文帝)
During this time, Xia Xueyi and He Hongyao had a romantic relationship. He Hongyao carried a portrait of herself that Xia Xueyi had drawn for her, showing her as a beautiful young woman.
However, after obtaining the treasures, Xia Xueyi abandoned He Hongyao without a word, leaving her behind while he went to pursue his revenge against the Wen family.
Punishment and disfigurement
As punishment for her role in helping Xia Xueyi steal the order’s treasures, He Hongyao was subjected to the Five Poisons Order’s most severe punishment: being bitten by ten thousand snakes (万蛇噬咬 — Wànshé Shìyǎo). This punishment left her severely disfigured, with her face covered in scars and her appearance becoming frightening and repulsive.
The transformation from a beautiful young woman to a disfigured old woman changed He Hongyao’s personality completely. She became bitter, resentful, and consumed by hatred towards Xia Xueyi, carrying her portrait with her everywhere as a reminder of what she had lost.
Search for Xia Xueyi
For years, He Hongyao searched for Xia Xueyi, hoping to find him and exact revenge for his betrayal. She carried the portrait he had drawn of her, showing it to others as proof that she had once been beautiful.
Eventually, she encountered Xia Qingqing (温青青), Xia Xueyi’s daughter, and learned that Xia Xueyi had fallen in love with someone else—Wen Yi (温仪). This discovery only intensified her hatred and desire for revenge.
Rescue and torture of Xia Xueyi
When Xia Xueyi was captured and crippled by the Wen family, He Hongyao rescued him whilst he was being taken to the treasure location. However, when she discovered that Xia Xueyi was in love with Wen Yi, she became enraged.
He Hongyao tried to force Xia Xueyi to reveal Wen Yi’s location, but he refused, even under torture. Infuriated by his refusal, He Hongyao broke Xia Xueyi’s legs and whipped him until his body was covered in wounds. Despite the extreme torture, Xia Xueyi only laughed to the heavens, which further enraged her.
He Hongyao then took Xia Xueyi to a cave on Mount Hua (华山 — Huàshān) and abandoned him there, leaving him to die. Xia Xueyi managed to escape to another cave, hiding from He Hongyao when she returned to search for him.
Final encounter and death
Years later, when He Hongyao finally discovered Xia Xueyi’s skeleton on Mount Hua, she was overcome with grief. However, upon seeing that his skeleton still held Wen Yi’s hairpin in its teeth, and learning that Xia Qingqing intended to bury Wen Yi’s remains with him, He Hongyao’s grief turned to jealous rage.
In her fury, He Hongyao attempted to burn Xia Xueyi’s skeleton. However, Xia Xueyi had anticipated this possibility and had set up explosive traps and concealed poison within his body before his death. When He Hongyao triggered these traps, the cave exploded, killing her instantly.
He Hongyao died in the explosion, perishing in the same place as the man she had loved and hated, fulfilling a tragic destiny that bound their fates together even in death.
Personality and character
He Hongyao was a tragic figure whose life was defined by love, betrayal, and obsession. In her youth, she was a beautiful and charming woman who fell deeply in love with Xia Xueyi. Her love was genuine and passionate, but it was also naive, as she failed to recognise that Xia Xueyi was using her for his own purposes.
After being betrayed and disfigured, He Hongyao’s personality underwent a complete transformation. She became bitter, resentful, and consumed by hatred. Her obsession with Xia Xueyi drove her to search for him for years, and her desire for revenge ultimately led to her destruction.
Despite her transformation, He Hongyao retained some humanity. She kept the portrait that Xia Xueyi had drawn of her, a reminder of her former beauty and the love she had once felt. Her grief upon finding Xia Xueyi’s skeleton showed that her love, though twisted by hatred, had never completely died.
However, her inability to accept that Xia Xueyi had moved on and found love with someone else, combined with her desire for revenge, ultimately led to her tragic end. Her story serves as a cautionary tale about the destructive power of obsession and the inability to let go of the past.
Relationships
Family
- He Tieshou — He Hongyao’s niece (the daughter of He Hongyao’s brother, the previous leader of the Five Poisons Order). After He Tieshou’s father’s death, He Tieshou succeeded him as the order’s leader.
Love and enemies
- Xia Xueyi — The Golden Serpent Gentleman, whom He Hongyao loved and helped, only to be betrayed by him. Her love turned to hatred after his betrayal, and she spent years searching for him to exact revenge. She eventually died in an explosion whilst trying to destroy his remains.
- Wen Yi — Xia Xueyi’s lover, whom He Hongyao never met but deeply resented for having won Xia Xueyi’s heart.
- Xia Qingqing — Xia Xueyi and Wen Yi’s daughter, whom He Hongyao encountered during her search for Xia Xueyi. He Hongyao’s hatred extended to Xia Qingqing because she represented Xia Xueyi’s love for Wen Yi.
Legacy
He Hongyao’s story is one of the most tragic in the novel, serving as a powerful example of how love, when twisted by betrayal and obsession, can lead to destruction. Her transformation from a beautiful young woman to a disfigured, bitter old woman, and her eventual death in an explosion, represents the complete destruction of a life that could have been happy.
Her name, “Hongyao” (红药), refers to red peony flowers, which are associated with beauty and love in Chinese literature. The contrast between her beautiful name and her disfigured appearance, and between the beauty she once possessed and the ugliness she became, adds to the tragic nature of her story.
He Hongyao’s fate demonstrates the consequences of being unable to let go of the past and move on from betrayal. Her obsession with Xia Xueyi, which began as love and became hatred, consumed her life and ultimately led to her death, making her story a powerful warning about the destructive power of unresolved emotions and the importance of finding peace and acceptance.