The Wondrous Physician and Chivalrous Thief

Xu Yuan PingQidian

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Word count
1M words

Tags

Male-Oriented Fiction Urban Fiction Historical ReappraisalSuperpowersUrban FantasyUrban LifeDual IdentityLand ScrambleComebackFast-Paced FictionWeb NovelPopular Narrative

Summary

He Zijun returns home early from a business trip and catches his newlywed wife, He Lirong, in adultery with her boss, Wang Mu. In a fury he strikes Wang Mu with an heirloom bronze crane, and is then driven from the house. Wang Mu sends security manager Wang Canbiao and his men after him to Mopan Mountain, where He Zijun is beaten half to death and the old family home is set on fire. At the moment of crisis, the bronze crane shatters, and the Thief Sect's Concealment Ring hidden within is activated by his blood. He Zijun learns that he is a descendant of the Thief Sect's founder, He Zhe, and receives the four heart methods—Boneless, Formless, Shadowless, and Traceless—along with the treasures within the ring. Once healed, he moves through the city in the dual role of wondrous physician and chivalrous thief, punishing the wicked, and becomes entangled in conflicts involving the Dynasty Group, the Eight Steeds Society, and a land dispute.

Editor's review

This is a typical urban-powers counterattack power fantasy, opening with cuckoldry and an attempted murder, with extremely fast plotting; the heirloom-treasure ring, ancestral martial methods, and dual cultivation of medicine and theft are served up directly, suiting readers who seek cathartic satisfaction. Its appeal lies in the protagonist's morally ambiguous style and his use of powers to slap down villains. Its weaknesses are the high concentration of melodrama at the start, the somewhat objectifying portrayal of female characters, the caricatured supporting cast, and the somewhat dilatory business-war and power-struggle thread later on.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. The opening is high in melodrama; you can skim the first few chapters quickly to reach the power awakening
  2. Pay attention to the unfolding of the Thief Sect's four heart methods—this is the book's core satisfaction
  3. The business-war thread slows later on; feel free to skip supporting-character scenes only loosely tied to the main plot

About the publisher

Qidian

Qidian is a platform whose catalogue brings together online literature, with about 45,000 titles in the library spanning categories such as male-oriented fiction, Eastern fantasy, xianxia and wuxia, science fiction, selected fiction and quality web novels. Representative titles include Reincarnation Paradise, War Soldier Leon, The Fairy Is Fierce (also known as Tai Mang), The Expert Is Right Beside Me, Dragon Herder, You Should Cross the Mountains Like a Hero, The Adventures of a Clever Girl and Summoning Heroes of All Ages in Another World, with themes extending from fantasy and xianxia to science fiction and adventure. Representative authors available in the library include Na Yi Zhi Wen Zi, Chi Gua Zi Qun Zhong, Guan Guan Gong Zi, Chenxing LL, Luan, Chen Mo De Ai, Piao Yi Dao Zhang and Dong Tian Bu Leng. Their works mostly appear as serialized web fiction aimed at readers who prefer long genre fiction. Public information on its founding background and scale is limited, so no inferences are made here; the description is based solely on the library's titles and categories.

FAQ

On which platform is this book serialized? Public information indicates it is serialized on Qidian Chinese Network, by the author Xu Yuanping.
Does the protagonist have powers from the start? No; after he is beaten at the opening, the bronze crane shatters and the ring recognizes him as its master, awakening his powers.
Is this book completed? Most sources mark it as ongoing; check the platform's latest information for whether it is completed.

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About the author

Xu Yuan Ping Author

Xu Yuan Ping is an online-fiction author about whom limited public information is available. Two of the author's works are currently included in the library: the representative titles Qi Yi Xia Dao and Shan Li Han Zi Jun Qiao Fu. Judging from the existing categories, the writing spans boys' fiction, urban fiction, girls' fiction, and ancient romance, showing a fairly wide range of subjects. The works move from an urban story of a remarkable physician and a chivalrous thief to character relationships colored by rural life and ancient romance. Because the author's nationality, dates of birth and death, and personal background are not clearly recorded, little can be said about the author's life. Based on the available works, Xu Yuan Ping's writing tends toward popular storytelling, with attention to plot momentum and character setup, and ventures into different readerships, making the works worth noting for readers interested in the diverse subjects of online fiction.