Xue Yan

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Xue Yan (Chinese: 薛 嚴) was a Chinese Assassin who served under the Mentor Xiao Han alongside Liu Qing in the early 18th century.

Biography

Battle aboard Sun's ship

"Xue Yan! Liu Qing! The old fox has fled with the sea log in his possession! After him! Do not let him get away!"

―Xiao Han ordering Xue Yan and Liu Qing to pursue Sun, 1725.

In 1725, Xue Yan and Liu Qing accompanied Xiao Han to a floating gambling hall in Macau owned by Xiao Han's uncle Sun to follow up on a lead on an Isu site in Indochina. When Sun revealed his intention to surrender the artifact located there to the Qing Emperor, Xiao Han and his Assassins drew arms and prepared to attack Sun and his guards.

Xue Yan fighting Edward

While Xiao Han chased after Sun, both Xue Yan and Liu Qing fended off his men and the Templar Shimazu Saito's ninja in his service. As Liu Qing fought Saito, Xue Yan attempted to provide cover with her crossbow but was forced to dispatch more of Sun's men who arrived as reinforcements. The chaos eventually allowed Sun to recover the sea log in Xiao Han's possession and he soon fled with his reinforcements. Seeing this, Xue Yan and Liu Qing followed their leader to chase Sun and recover the sea log.

During their pursuit of Sun, Xue Yan and Liu Qing were attacked by the British Assassin Edward Kenway, who was also attempting to retrieve the sea log. The two Assassins briefly fought Edward to buy Xiao Han enough time to catch up to Sun and kill him. After Xiao Han retrieved the log from Sun's body, it was stolen by Edward, who disagreed with the Mentor's plan to use the Isu artifact in Angkor to overthrow the Qing dynasty.

Seeing that the British Assassin could not be reasoned with, Xiao Han declared him an enemy of the Chinese Brotherhood as Xue Yan and Liu Qing arrived and surrounded Edward. Before anything could happen, however, they all witnessed the gambling ship being bombarded with cannon fire by Jeong. Xiao Han used this distraction to snatch the sea log back from Edward and warned him to stay out of the Chinese Brotherhood's way before leaving alongside Xue Yan and Liu Qing.

Alliance with Madam Lee

Liu Qing: "This is why I was against holding the meeting aboard the ship."

Xue Yan: "For once, I have to agree."

—Liu Qing and Xue Yan, following their escape from Sun's gambling ship, 1725.

Xue Yan and her fellow Assassins meeting with Lee

The following morning, Xue Yan, Liu Qing and Xiao Han approached Jeong as the admiral and her crew were investigating the wreckage of Sun's gambling den to confirm his death. Jeong initially aimed her pistol at the Assassins, but after Xiao Han revealed that he had acquired the sea log sought by Jeong's patron Lee Huiyin, the admiral agreed to grant them an audience with her.

Xue Yan and Liu Qing were both present for Xiao Han's meeting with Lee, where the Mentor proposed an alliance to find Angkor's treasure. Aware of Lee's past and the persecution she had faced under the Qing dynasty, Xiao Han was able to persuade her to agree to the partnership. However, rather than help the Assassins overthrow the Qing for the benefit of the Han Chinese people, Lee was only interested in acquiring more power and influence for herself.

Pursuing the Fenghuang

Xue Yan: "I'm sorry, master."

Liu Qing: "We have failed you."

—Xue Yan and Liu Qing apologizing to Xiao Han for their defeat, 1725.

After learning that Edward Kenway and the other Zhang Wei Union members had left Macau to pursue a possible lead to Angkor's location, Xue Yan and her fellow Assassins joined Jeong and her fleet as the admiral pursued the Union's ship, the Fenghuang, eventually ambushing it near the Philippines. After the Fenghuang sank most of Jeong's fleet, the admiral sailed Xue Yan, Liu Qing, and Xiao Han close to the ship, allowing them to board it using their gliders. They then used their Greek fire bombs to set the deck on fire and killed many of the ship's crew in the resulting commotion.

Xue Yan fighting Saito

During the chaos, Liu Qing was surrounded by the navigator John Young and several crew members while attempting to aid Xiao Han, who was dueling Edward. Xue Yan tried to help her fellow Assassin and used her crossbow to take out one of the crew members holding Liu Qing at gunpoint. However, she was then attacked by Shimazu Saito, who sought revenge on the Chinese Assassins for the deaths of her men in Macau. Xue Yan was soon outmatched by the samurai and was forced to retreat back to Jeong's ship using a parachute.

After Xiao Han and Liu Qing were also defeated and returned to Jeong's ship, the admiral told the Assassins that she was unable to continue her pursuit of the Fenghuang due to the ship sailing into a storm. Xue Yan and Liu Qing then proceeded to apologize to Xiao Han for their defeat, but the Mentor told them that it was not their fault, as their opponents were stronger than they had anticipated. He also claimed them that, given their pursuit of the same prize, their paths were bound to cross again eventually.

Search in the Philippines

"Mentor Han, do you not question the righteousness of this path? Those people were innocent villagers leaving in peace. They couldn't have possibly posed any threat to our grand cause--"

―Xue Yan questioning the Assassins' actions on Monkey Island, 1725.

Sometime later, Xue Yan and her fellow Assassins accompanied Jeong and Lee to Manila, where a riot had occurred recently. While Lee met with the Lieutenant Governor-General to secure their passage to the Southern Seas, the Chinese Assassins investigated around the city to uncover details about the riot. They learned that a monk had used a Piece of Eden—a crescent amulet—to incite the riot, and that Edward had fought him, but ultimately lost the amulet to members of a native resistance against the Spanish colonists in the Philippines.

Following this, Xue Yan and the others met with Lee and Jeong, where Xiao Han informed them of their findings. After the Mentor claimed that they would travel to Cebu to investigate their next lead to Angkor's location and that they would try to intercept the native warriors along the way to retrieve their stolen Piece of Eden, Lee gave the Chinese Assassins free reign to do as they pleased.

Xue Yan and her fellow Assassins leaving Monkey Island

Thanks to Fuma Sukuna's informants, the Assassins learned that the native resistance had a stronghold on Monkey Island and went to investigate it. Along the way, Xue Yan and the others watched as Sukuna and his ninja followers laid waste to entire villages, but did nothing to try and stop them. Eventually arriving at the resistance's fort, the Assassins and Sukuna found it in ruins and concluded that the native warriors had already left Monkey Island.

Leaving Sukuna and his men to take care of the remaining matters on the island, Xue Yan and her fellow Assassins departed and went to rendezvous with Jeong and her fleet. Along the way, Xue Yan questioned Xiao Han about their mission's righteousness, as she was uncomfortable with having allowed Sukuna's ninja to slaughter innocent villagers. In response, the Mentor claimed that he took no enjoyment in the trail of blood they had to leave behind, but that their "great cause" required certain sacrifices to be made.

Xue Yan tried to argue back, but was stopped by Liu Qing, who agreed with Xiao Han that they all had to make sacrifices for the greater good. The Assassins then met up with Jeong and boarded her ship, resuming their voyage to Cebu, where they hoped to find both the resistance fighters and the next clue to Angkor's location.

Confrontation in Cebu

Xiao Han: "Wh-where is he? Where's Kenway?!"

Xue Yan: "He's gone, sir. He escaped in that strange machine. But our search was far from fruitless! "Recover Hendrik's sea log for clues as to the location of the second artifact." That was our mission, and we succeeded."

—Xue Yan revealing to Xiao Han that she retrieved Hendrik's sea log, 1725.

In Cebu, the Chinese Assassins split up to search for the crescent amulet. Xue Yan and Liu Qing later joined their Mentor at Fort San Pedro, where Xiao Han was fighting against Edward and Shimazu Saito, who were in possession of the Piece of Eden.

Personality and traits

Liu Qing: "It sits ill with me that Sun has us meeting aboard a ship. There will be scant routes of escape if we're to be ambushed."

Xue Yan: "True. You never were much of a swimmer. "

Liu Qing: "That's not what I meant."

—Xue Yan's banter with Liu Qing, 1725.

Xue Yan and Liu Qing apologizing to Xiao Han

Xue Yan was a dedicated Assassin who shared her Mentor's goal of using Angkor's artifact to restore the Chinese Brotherhood to its former strength. While she was normally quite stoic and did not talk very much, she would occasionally engage in banter with Liu Qing, at one point mocking her fellow Assassin's allegedly poor swimming skills.

Like Liu Qing, Xue Yan was afraid of disappointing their Mentor, and the two Assassins were quick to apologize to Xiao Han following their defeat by the Fenghuang's crew. However, this did not prevent Xue Yan from speaking up whenever she felt uncomfortable about the methods she and her fellow Assassins employed, such as allowing Fuma Sukuna's ninja to slaughter innocent villagers.

When Xiao Han defended this decision, claiming they all had to make sacrifices for the greater good, and absolved himself of any responsibility by saying that it was the ninja who had carried out the massacre, Xue Yan tried to argue back. However, she was stopped by Liu Qing, who unlike her, believed that they should trust their Mentor's judgment on all matters and follow him without question.

Skills and equipment

Extremely quick and light on her feet, Xue Yan specialized in ranged weaponry unlike her fellow Assassins. She had mastered her weapon of choice, the crossbow, being able to fire multiple bolts in rapid succession and with pinpoint accuracy to take out large groups of enemies. Despite this, she struggled to provide cover fire to Liu Qing while the latter was dueling Shimazu Saito, as the two were too close for Xue Yan to get a clear shot on Saito.

In addition to her crossbow, Xue Yan also wielded a pair of deer horn knives for close-quarters combat. During their journey to the Philippines, Xue Yan and her fellow Chinese Assassins sported gliders and parachutes which allowed them to fly for short distances. They also carried Greek fire bombs, which created a thick smoke upon detonation and flames that could not be extinguished with water.

Behind the scenes

Xue Yan is a character introduced in Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple. Despite being Assassins, both she and Liu Qing notably lack a Hidden Blade.

Etymology

Xue (薛) is a Chinese surname originating from the State of Xue in modern-day Shandong. Yu the Great, the founding emperor of the Xia dynasty, bestowed upon his minister Xi Zhong the title Marquis of Xue in gratitude for his invention of the Chinese chariot; Xi Zhong's descendants subsequently bore Xue as their clan name.

Yan (嚴) is also a Chinse surname meaning 'solemnity', though it can be used as a given name. It originated during the reign of Emperor Ming of Han (r. 57-75 CE), when people with the surname Zhuang (莊) changed it to 嚴, as 莊 happened to be the emperor's given name.

Gallery

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  Close-up of Xue Yan
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  Xue Yan and her fellow Assassins being led to Sun
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  Xue Yan with her fellow Assassins
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  Xue Yan aiming her crossbow
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  Xue Yan and Liu Qing confronting Edward

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple