Qi Fang (simplified: 戚芳, traditional: 戚芳, pinyin: Qī Fāng, jyutping: cik1 fong1), also known as Afang (阿芳), was the daughter of Qi Zhangfa and Di Yun’s first love. Beautiful, kind-hearted, and devoted to family, she was deceived into marrying Wan Gui after Di Yun was falsely imprisoned, and was eventually killed by her husband.
Biography
Early life
Qi Fang grew up in rural Hunan with her father Qi Zhangfa and her shixiong Di Yun. She was around seventeen or eighteen years old, with a round face, large dark eyes, and a simple, beautiful appearance. She and Di Yun were childhood sweethearts, practicing martial arts together and sharing a deep bond.
Journey to Jingzhou
When Wan Zhenshan invited them to Jingzhou for his birthday celebration, Qi Fang traveled with her father and Di Yun. During this journey, Di Yun encountered Lü Tong, a bandit chief, and received help from Yan Daping disguised as a beggar. This incident caused Wan Zhenshan’s eight apprentices to resent Di Yun, especially because of Qi Fang’s closeness to him.
Di Yun’s imprisonment
After Qi Zhangfa seemingly “murdered” Wan Zhenshan and fled, Di Yun was framed by Wan Gui and the other Wan apprentices for raping Taohong, Wan Zhenshan’s concubine. Qi Fang, devastated and confused by the evidence, was deceived into believing Di Yun had betrayed her. Di Yun was imprisoned, and Qi Fang eventually married Wan Gui.
Marriage to Wan Gui
Qi Fang married Wan Gui and gave birth to a daughter, Kongxincai (空心菜, named after Di Yun’s nickname). Despite her marriage, she never forgot Di Yun and struggled with her feelings throughout her married life.
Discovery of the truth
Years later, when Di Yun returned disguised as a doctor to treat Wan Gui’s scorpion poison, Qi Fang learned the truth about Di Yun’s false imprisonment. She discovered that Wan Gui and his father had conspired to frame Di Yun, and that her own father had been betrayed in a similar manner.
Death
Despite learning the truth, Qi Fang remained conflicted between her love for Di Yun and her duty as Wan Gui’s wife. When she tried to save Wan Gui and Wan Zhenshan from being sealed in a wall (the same fate they had planned for others), Wan Gui stabbed her fatally. Before dying, she entrusted her daughter Kongxincai to Di Yun’s care.
Character
Qi Fang was portrayed as a beautiful, kind-hearted woman who valued family above all else. Her tragedy lay in her inability to see through the deception and her eventual death at the hands of the man she had married. She represents the innocent victims caught in the web of greed and betrayal that permeates the novel.
Martial arts
Qi Fang learned the Tangshi Swordplay (躺尸剑法, Corpse-Lying Swordplay) from her father, though she was unaware that this was actually a corrupted version of the Liancheng Swordplay (连城剑法) that her father had deliberately taught incorrectly.