Xue Yan

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

Biography

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.

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 pursue 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.

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 and Liu Qing's banter, 1725.

Xue Yan was a dedicated Assassin who followed her Mentor's every order and, like Xiao Han, sought to see the Chinese Brotherhood restored to its former strength after decades of oppression under the Qing dynasty. She occasionally engaged in banter with Liu Qing, at one point taking the opportunity to mock her fellow Assassin's allegedly poor swimming skills.

Equipment and skills

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, which she utilized effectively in combat against Edward Kenway.

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 fighting Edward

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple