Human beings are more prone to do evil than to do good, not because of their psychological makeup but because, by its nature, evil is easier than goodness.
I think that recently, everyone in the fandom has noticed some kind of conflict. I don’t really want to go into that, but there’s something I’ve been thinking about. Also we have heat waves so I don't really have anything else to do.
It’s the difference in how people perceive the main protagonists. I often see people saying that characters like Yan Wushi, Cui Buqu are more complex, more interesting or harder to understand because they are morally grey. I’ve even seen people dislike Shen Qiao for being boring because he is not morally grey, as if moral ambiguity automatically equals depth. But I'm so fascinated by him in the same way how Yan Wushi was the whole story.
But what bothers me is when people say that Shen Qiao isn’t complex just because he’s written as a kind, gentle, or righteous character. I strongly disagree.
Shen Qiao is actually incredibly difficult to write as well. It’s easy to create a morally grey character and call it complexity, but writing someone genuinely good - without making them too naive/pure, preachy, or unrealistically perfect is much harder. And Shen Qiao character achieves exactly that.
He is kind, but not weak. Compassionate, but not to the point being blind (okay this is weird joke) or stupid, he can castrated or kill a man without using any tool than some sword, without any mercy. It was the moment I fall in love with him. I was so tired good characters who are preachy about killing as bad thing every time, even when bad guy truly deserve it. It was a such rigid example of morality. But not Shen Qiao he has his own moral code, just like Yan Wushi, but his is rooted in empathy and legacy of his shizun rather than detachment and apathy. I recently read some YouTube motivation videos, where was sentence some people refuse to change and became evil because they saw how sad and empty life it is without any light or hope. That doesn’t make him a perfect being. Only perfectly human who wants happy life. He can feel anger, resentment, and pain, not too long. He doesn’t forgive easily, and he never say so - not Yan Wushi, not his brother. The fact that he chooses to move forward doesn’t mean he is a doormat, or forgiving, it means he is strong enough not to let hatred consume him. Also sometimes honestly being resentful and feeling all of this negative emotions take so much energy and put you in the cage. Freedom and happiness sometimes is just let it be. How many people desire for revenge destroy their life we even see it with events in Bixia sect. This people rarely enjoy any good things life can offer. They are consume by their negative thoughts.
Shen Qiao understands the world or more like we see how he did started to understand more. He knows he cannot save everyone, which is why he always helps only when he can. He is intelligent and self-aware, his kidness sometimes make him into trouble or isn't reciprocated. But isn't better try than just being passive. He also fully understands who Yan Wushi is and why he acts the way he does, but he simply refuses to agree with his worldview. Even in war we can see reasons from both side without agree with any of them. Shen Qiao believes that even in suffering, not everyone becomes a monster, and that there are still people worth protecting.
What makes their dynamic so powerful is that they’ve both seen the same world - violence, betrayal, cruelty, but interpreted it differently. Yan Wushi sees weakness and hypocrisy. Shen Qiao sees pain, but also kindness and sacrifice.
One of the most impressive things about Shen Qiao is that he doesn’t rely on others to save him. Even when people come to his aid, he ultimately stands on his own. He fights, survives, and grows through his own strength. His resilience, both physical and emotional, is incredible. Honestly he is one of most strongest character not because he is top in martial arts but because his personality.
He’s also decisive. Even though he has a soft heart, he doesn’t fall into despair. He adapts, learns, and keeps moving forward. A great example is when he pretends to be stronger than he actually is in dangerous situations, he’s not naive, he can be strategic.
And honestly, Shen Qiao is proof that a kind character can be one of the strongest in a story. His strength isn’t loud or aggressive, it’s quiet, steady, and unshakable. No matter how much people try to push him, provoke him, or break him, he stays true to himself and that's of course what make him for Yan Wushi so appealing.
Even Yan Wushi is fascinated by that.
In so many ways, Shen Qiao might be the strongest character in the entire universe, not because of raw power, but because of his inner peace, his discipline, and his refusal to let the world corrupt him or change his thinking.
There’s also something deeply human about him. You can feel how much every betrayal hurts him, how sensitive he is, but he still chooses kindness, and suffer in silent, he rarely crying foe himself. It is not that he doesn't feel it. He does but he never stop going forward. Even a single act of kindness can change someone’s life. One evil deeds can destroy someone life's. Isn't better focus on positive. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to stop someone from falling apart. I heard so many suicide stories when person go through hell in his life yet one little kindness to them even from a stranger, one another human who care was enough.
That’s why I value characters like Shen Qiao more than morally grey ones. I can appreciate morally grey characters, understand them, even like them, but that doesn’t mean I value them the same way.
And about Yan Wushi, people often misunderstand him too. He’s not simply abusive or cruel. He’s a manipulator. He rarely causes the initial harm, but he deliberately makes things worse. He pushes on wounds that are already there. He thrive on human misfortune, he like reminding the worst moments in somebody lives. He tests Shen Qiao mentally, not just physically. He’s like a devil on the shoulder, constantly forcing Shen Qiao to confront the ugliness of humanity to make him see what he sees in people. "Look your sect was against you, your brother betrayed you. Don't you feel it, don't you want a revenge."
And that’s exactly why their relationship works.
Shen Qiao represents hope, the belief that goodness can survive in a cruel world. Yan Wushi represents the opposite, the belief that everything is ultimately selfish and good deeds meaningless. Shen Qiao need to learn that sometimes being good mean nothing when other people are not able to cherish or receive it, but there are still the one who can so he will not change for, because of them. Yan Wushi saw that there can be exception but still bad people also exist so he also refuse change for this group too.
And somehow, despite everything, they meet in the middle.
That’s what makes them both truly complex.
