Zuo Shang
- Chinese name: Zuo Shang (左殇)
- Code name: Ming
- Gender: Male
- Born: the twelfth year of The Order
- Height: 178 cm
- Affiliation: Nether Envoy of The Order → the Nether Lord
- True identity: eldest son of the Long family
- Weapon: long sword
- First appearance: Rainblood Prequel: Mirage (aged 18)
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Character Overview
The youngest Nether Envoy of The Order, code-named Ming. He and Soul grew up together as the closest of friends, and in the end he became the strongest of opponents. Zuo Shang’s mind is fine-meshed and he lays plans well: among The Order’s Nether Envoys he is the one who thinks furthest ahead. His friendship with Soul, and the falling out that followed it, is the emotional core of the whole Phantom Blade series.
Early Life
Zuo Shang is the eldest son of the Long family. Something befell the family in his childhood, and he drifted down to Nancheng. There he and Soul became the best of friends, and the two of them spent their days stealing chickens and dogs — every low thing a boy could think of. In the middle of a quarrel with a famous swordsman of the Wulin, Qingfeng the Clear-Wind Swordsman, Zuo Shang killed him by mistake and was hunted by the great orthodox houses. After that he and Soul wandered together, until The Order took them in and trained them into Nether Envoys whose name was enough to turn a man cold.
Years in The Order
Zuo Shang did well in The Order and, with Soul, became one of its youngest Nether Envoys. His mind is fine-meshed and he lays plans well: among The Order’s Nether Envoys he is the one who thinks furthest ahead. At the Battle of Mirage he and Soul broke Mirage together and brought out the hand behind it all, Xuanyu. In that time he and Soul drew gradually apart, but Soul still held it as certain that Zuo Shang was the one friend of his life.
The Order’s Internal War
In the fortieth year of The Order, Zuo Shang worked Soul and Xuan Yu into his design, and Mu Tianmiao was killed by a misjudged blow. Zuo Shang became The Order’s new the Nether Lord. Soul was hunted through the whole of The Order, and when the two of them met Zuo Shang left Soul badly wounded. As the Nether Lord, Zuo Shang carried his own plan further, and his friendship with Soul was broken past any repairing.
Personality
Fine-meshed of mind and far-laid in his planning; gracious and warm on the surface, cold and without mercy underneath. Zuo Shang is a complicated figure: he has a deep friendship for Soul, and at the same time a hunger for power and a wish to hold the whole board.
Appearance
Tall and spare, with fine features, he usually wears a long purple robe and carries a long sword. His air is gracious and gentle, a plain contrast with Soul’s coldness.
Sword Arts
Zuo Shang’s sword arts are known for precision and calculation: every cut has been worked out beforehand, and he aims to win most at the least cost. His swordsmanship is elegant and fatal, a straight contrast with Soul’s force.
Relationships
- Soul: closest friend → opponent
- Mu Xiaokui: childhood friend, and daughter of Mu Tianmiao
- Xuan Yu: made use of
- Xiao Si: colleague
- Inanis: colleague
- Mu Tianmiao: adoptive father, and the leader he served
Appearances
- Rainblood Prequel: Mirage — aged 18
- Rainblood II: Ye City — aged 28