Mu Jiaoman

Mu Jiaoman serves Jianixi as a Mount Yue general before ruling Eastern Mount Yue himself. He is torn between military duty, the survival of his people, and a personal attachment that crosses the boundary of his campaign against the Li Family.

Biography

A general in Jianixi’s campaign

Jianixi sends Jiaoman to command troops and suppress resistance as Mount Yue expands against neighboring clans. After Li Jingtian is captured, Jiaoman is visibly drawn to her and allows her to wait in his tent rather than send her away. She escapes when her brother creates an opening during Jiaoman’s clash with Li Tongya, and the shamanic pursuit ends without a decisive victory. (Chapters 90, 92 and 94–96)

Rebellion and a failed curse

As Li Xiangping’s rebellion spreads, Jiaoman’s forces repeatedly mistake other tribesmen for their elusive enemy. Desperate to stop the revolt, Jiaoman turns to Mount Wu’s talisman shamans and supplies the sacrifices and spirit goods they demand for a curse against Xiangping. Jianixi punishes him for failing to contain the uprising and bars him from the Great Sacrifice Ritual, leaving Jiaoman humiliated and still responsible for the front. (Chapters 102 and 105)

Ruler of Eastern Mount Yue

Jiaoman eventually rules Eastern Mount Yue, opening trade with the Li Family while relying on the labor and supplies of the mountain tribes. When a demon wolf attacks his city and Mount Wu gives no answer, he spends his life force on a shamanic spell that drives it away. He dies soon afterward, entrusting the succession to Qimu and ordering that his other children be killed rather than fall under Li control. (Chapter 171)

Appearance and personality

Jiaoman wears tribal tattoos and ornaments of bone and jade. His attachment to Li Jingtian unsettles him, while his repeated failures against Li Xiangping leave him volatile and increasingly desperate; even under Jianixi’s punishment, he responds with self-abasement rather than open defiance. (Chapters 92, 102 and 105)

Abilities and cultivation

Jiaoman commands Mount Yue troops and works with clan shamans. He uses shamanic magic to pursue Li Tongya and later turns to a curse against Li Xiangping; at the end of his life, he drains his own life force to cast a spell against the demon wolf. (Chapters 95–96, 102 and 171)

Relationships

• Jianixi: Jiaoman’s sovereign and commander; Jianixi reprimands and demotes him after the failed campaign. (Chapters 90 and 105)
• Li Jingtian: Jiaoman’s attraction to her complicates his treatment of a captured member of the Li Family. (Chapters 92–94)
• Li Tongya: An opponent whom Jiaoman pursues but does not defeat. (Chapters 95–96)
• Li Xiangping: The rebel whose repeated escapes drive Jiaoman to seek a curse. (Chapters 102 and 105)
• Qimu: The child Jiaoman names as his successor before dying. (Chapter 171)

Items

Jiaoman offers captured women and spirit items to Mount Wu’s talisman shamans in exchange for the curse against Li Xiangping. (Chapter 102)