Chen Sanshui

Chen Sanshui is Chen Erniu’s eldest son. Accustomed to the advantages of his father’s position, he only fully applies Erniu’s lessons when capture by Jianixi leaves him facing death. (Chapters 40, 88)

Biography

A privileged son’s final deception

Sanshui initially treats danger through the lens of household comfort and village rivalries. After finding a murdered villager, he hesitates to inform the Lis because Xu Wenshan might use the incident against his father; during the tribal raid, he proposes fleeing with their valuables. Erniu rejects both responses and later beats him for dismissing Li Mutian’s funeral. Growing up beside the accomplished Li brothers, Sanshui has internalized his father’s blunt judgment that he is useless, and drifts into marriage, children, and reliance on inherited influence. (Chapters 40, 78, 83, 88)

Jianixi’s seizure of Lichuankou brutally ends that drift. Sanshui loses two teeth and then his left arm during interrogation, while a spell prevents him from escaping the pain through unconsciousness. He gives the location of Mount Lijing because other captives make a false destination futile, but recognizes that he can still deceive the invader about recent contact with Li troops. Recalling the instincts his father tried to teach him, he deliberately keeps his voice frightened while calmly claiming the last contact was six hours earlier. Jianixi decapitates him before Mount Lijing; Sanshui dies believing that this small deception is the last help he can give Li Xiangping. (Chapter 88)

Appearance and personality

Sanshui is a thirty-year-old man at his capture. His earlier self-indulgence and poor judgment give way to clarity under torture: although his outward voice remains fearful, his final answer is intentional deception rather than panic. (Chapter 88)

Abilities and cultivation

Practical judgment under captivity

Sanshui has no established cultivation. His final resistance is psychological: he uses lessons learned from Erniu, recognizes which lie would be exposed by other captives, and feigns continued terror to make his false account of troop contact credible. Jianixi’s spell maintains his lucidity but is an enemy’s coercive technique, not an ability Sanshui possesses. (Chapter 88)

Relationships

• Chen Erniu: Father whose harsh judgments and practical instruction shape Sanshui’s last decision.
• Jianixi: Captor, torturer, and killer.
• Li Xiangping: Intended beneficiary of his final deception. (Chapter 88)

Items

Sanshui’s proposed escape centers on the household’s valuables, which Erniu refuses to place above warning the Lis. No special equipment contributes to his final resistance. (Chapters 78, 88)