Yin Ji (simplified: 殷吉, traditional: 殷吉, pinyin: Yīn Jí, jyutping: jan1 gat1), called He Whose Might Shakes the South (威震天南), is zhangmen of the Southern Branch of the Tianlong School in Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain. He is a famous wealthy magnate of Guangdong and Guangxi: a plump old man with a moustache and a sable coat, who looks every inch the rich merchant.
Biography
The treasured dao
The Tianlong School split into Southern and Northern Branches in the Kangxi reign. The two branches take turns keeping Li Zicheng’s Treasured Dao, changing over every ten years (ch. 1, 3). When Tian Guinong’s term as keeper ended, Yin Ji went north for his retirement feast to receive the dao, the jian manual and the lineage records. Tian put the handover off. Yin Ji suspected he meant to keep the dao and listened at his window that night. He overheard Ruan Shizhong pressing Tian to make Ruan zhangmen in place of Cao Yunqi, because Cao and Tian Qingwen had had a child together (ch. 7).
Pursuit of the Taos
Since the matter concerns both branches, Yin Ji travels beyond the pass with Ruan Shizhong, Cao Yunqi, Zhou Yunyang and Tian Qingwen to hunt Tao Baisui and Tao Zian. On the climb he leaves Cao far behind with the Southern Branch’s qinggong, but cannot shake off Ruan. He dislikes Ruan’s plan to attack without warning, fearing it will shame the school, but as the guest he defers to Ruan. In the fight he holds Liu Yuanhe to a draw (ch. 1).
On Jade Brush Peak
At Du Ximeng’s manor on Jade Brush Peak, Yin Ji joins the fight against Hu Fei’s twin page boys to save the school’s face, opening with Meteor Chases the Moon, until a dagger cuts his jian through (ch. 2).
That evening he tells the company what he overheard, which exposes Cao Yunqi and Tian Qingwen. Ruan accuses him of bringing outside fighters to the feast in order to force the two branches together under himself. Yin Ji does not deny wanting the branches united (ch. 7). Liu Yuanhe then reveals that Tian Guinong had asked him to have Yin Ji framed and jailed for a few years, so that the dao would not pass south (ch. 7). Yin Ji claims the dao for the Southern Branch (ch. 8).
The treasure cave
Yin Ji is the last down the rope from the peak. He thinks of destroying it behind him but hurries after the others instead, for fear of missing his share. At the sealed chamber he is the one who works out that the two stacked boulders are only frozen together and can be moved once the ice is melted. He is among the treasure-seekers whom Hu Fei seals in when he rolls the boulder back across the entrance. The novel leaves their fate open (ch. 8, 10).
Personality
Yin Ji is cautious and the shrewdest of the company, and even-tempered when insulted. He answers Ruan’s gibes with a smile. He is concerned for his school’s name, but not above eavesdropping (ch. 1, 7, 8).
Relationships
- Tian Guinong (Shixiong, Northern Branch): Tian schemed to have him jailed rather than hand over the treasured dao.
- Ruan Shizhong (Shixiong, Northern Branch): His ally in the pursuit of the Taos, and his rival over which branch should hold the dao.
- Cao Yunqi (Shizhi): The new Northern Branch zhangmen addresses him as shishu.
Martial arts
Yin Ji’s strongest skill is the qinggong that is the Southern Branch’s speciality: despite his bulk he moves more nimbly than an ape. He fights with the jian, using Meteor Chases the Moon, and carries the school’s Poison Dragon Awls (ch. 1, 2).