List of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils Characters - Four Evils

Four Evils

The "Four Evils" (traditional Chinese: 天下四惡 / 四大惡人; simplified Chinese: 天下四恶 / 四大恶人; Mandarin Pinyin: Tiānxià Sì È / Sì Dà È Rén; Jyutping: Tin1-haa6 Sei3-ngok3 / Sei3 Daai6 Ngok3 Jan4) are a group of four eccentric martial artists notorious for committing heinous crimes. Their nicknames are actually Chinese idioms used to describe evil persons. The four are ranked in order of seniority:

• Duan Yanqing (traditional Chinese: 段延慶; simplified Chinese: 段延庆; Mandarin Pinyin: Duàn Yánqìng; Jyutping: Dyun6 Jin4-hing3), nicknamed "Overflowing with Evil" (traditional Chinese: 惡貫滿盈; simplified Chinese: 恶贯满盈; Mandarin Pinyin: È Guàn Mǎn Yíng; Jyutping: Ngok3 Gun3 Mun5 Jing4), is a distant relative of Duan Zhengming and was the former crown prince of Dali. He was severely wounded and was presumed dead. When his father died, Duan Zhengming became the new king. Bitter that his right to being the ruler was taken from him, he attempts to seize back the throne by harming Duan Zhengchun and Duan Yu on several occasions. Ironically, it turns out that Duan Yu, who would become Dali's king in the future, is his biological son. Although he appears to be a crippled old man on crutches, his inner energy is extremely powerful and he is very skilled in the Duan family's skill, the Yiyang Finger (一陽指). He has the ability to channel his inner energy to his abdomen and speak without using his vocal cords. He is unable to forget the Guanyin who appeared on the night he was seriously wounded. Eventually, Duan Yu's mother Dao Baifeng tells him that she was actually the Guanyin he remembered, and that Duan Yu is actually his son. He gives up on seizing back the throne, as his son will eventually fulfil his wish anyway.

• Ye Erniang (traditional Chinese: 葉二娘; simplified Chinese: 叶二娘; Mandarin Pinyin: Yè Èrniáng; Jyutping: Jip6 Ji6-noeng4) is nicknamed "No Evil Left Undone" (traditional Chinese: 無惡不作; simplified Chinese: 无恶不作; Mandarin Pinyin: Wú È Bù Zuò; Jyutping: Mou4 Ngok3 Bat1 Zok3; i.e. commits all evils). She had a secret romance with Shaolin's abbot Xuanci and bore him a son, but the child was taken away from her by a masked attacker. She suffers from an emotional breakdown and resorts to kidnapping other people's babies and treating them as her own before killing them. In the latest revision of the novel, she leaves the babies at strangers' homes after playing with them. During the battle at Shaolin, she recognises Xuzhu as her son after seeing the joss stick burn marks on his back and reunites with him. She dies together with Xuanci after he publicly confesses his affair with her.

• Yue Laosan (Chinese: 岳老三; Mandarin Pinyin: Yuè Lǎosān; Jyutping: Ngok6 Lou5-saam1), nicknamed "Ferocious Deity and Evil Devil" (traditional Chinese: 凶神惡煞; simplified Chinese: 凶神恶煞; Mandarin Pinyin: Xīong Shén È Shà; Jyutping: Hung1 San4 Ngok3 Saat3), is also known as the "Crocodile Deity of the Southern Sea" (traditional Chinese: 南海鱷神; simplified Chinese: 南海鳄神; Mandarin Pinyin: Nánhǎi È Shén; Jyutping: Naam4-hoi2 Ngok6 San4). He is the most comical character in the novel because of his repeated (but unsuccessful) attempts to make Duan Yu his apprentice, which concluded with him being tricked into becoming the latter's disciple instead. He often bickers with Ye Erniang, claiming that he should be ranked second of the Four Evils, but concedes to her upon her death. Armed with a pair of giant scissors, he often threatens to kill people by breaking their necks. He is killed by Duan Yanqing while trying to save Duan Yu.

• Yun Zhonghe (traditional Chinese: 雲中鶴; simplified Chinese: 云中鹤; Mandarin Pinyin: Yún Zhōnghè; Jyutping: Wan4 Zung1-hok6), nicknamed "Thoroughly Cruel, Utterly Evil" (traditional Chinese: 窮凶極惡; simplified Chinese: 穷凶极恶; Mandarin Pinyin: Qíong Xīong Jí È; Jyutping: Kung4 Hung1 Gik6 Ngok3), is lecherous fiend who preys on young women. He is armed with an iron staff and relies on his formidable prowess in qinggong to pursue and flee from enemies. He is viciously killed by Duan Yu when he attempts to make sexual advances on Wang Yuyan.