Heaven Has A Road - Original Characters
While the story is wholly about Xiao Xingchen, Xue Yang and Song Lan, and kept as close to canon-compliant as possible after the original divergence setting everything in motion, the disaster trio do occasionally run into a number of npcs along the way.
Here is a neat little compilation of the named extras in Heaven Has A Road, in case the text refers back to a name you’ve forgotten, or you want to read an extra tidbit or two about all the people SXX have happened to!
Ai Shenxu – the fangzhang (abbot) of the Daoist temple Yanxia Guan. A wise and mischievous old daoshi who manages to manipulate Xue Yang into meditation and spiritual growth, much to the latter's chagrin. He tells Xiao Xingchen a story of a young troublemaker who came to the temple to take advantage of the kindness of the daoshi there, but who got lulled into that peaceful life, and is still there all these years later to turn other young troublemakers' heads in the right direction.
A-Lei – a young disciple of the doctor-wives in Tanzhou.
Gao Lin – a girl of Muaishan, whose father was driven insane by the mist spirits. She tells the daoshi her story, to try to help Xiao Xingchen figure out what was done to him while he was spirited away.
Madam Hu – the old woman in charge of the inn of Aijian in Muaishan. She's vastly superstitious and terrified of all things to do with gentry, cultivators and the unnatural... But she does grow to care a lot about the strange travelers under her roof, despite her fears.
Old Hu – the innkeeper of Aijian in Muaishan. Xue Yang and Song Lan first met him when searching for Xiao Xingchen, and he set them on their way to find the spirits' lair. He and his wife later welcomed the traveling trio to stay at their inn to recuperate after fighting and vanquishing the mist spirits.
Old Luo – an old daoshi at Baixue, remembered by Tian Hao and Song Lan with a mix of fondness and trepidation. A rather fearsome teacher who took pleasure in punishing any miss-stepping pupils with the chore of sweeping the courtyard before dawn. He's mentioned by the Yanxia daoshi as a master of acupuncture techniques. In Muaishan, Song Lan uses spiritual pressure point techniques to weave Xue Yang's meridians back together, saying Xue Yang killed the man who once taught them to him.
Qian Feng – jianyuan of the Daoist temple Yanxia Guan. He’s the temple’s second in command, responsible for Night Hunts and handling the everyday affairs of the temple and the daoshi living there. Tian Hao says he's a strong cultivator – especially when it comes to the strength of fingers holding onto coin...
Tian Hao – a daoshi of Yanxia Guan. He studied as a guest cultivator at Baixue Ge for a year in his youth, and is one of the few besides Song Lan who personally remembers the people there. He calls Song Lan his shidi and gives him advice and support, and they made a promise to stay in touch through correspondence.
Wang Haifeng – a young cultivator who used demonic cultivation to raise corpses for him and his friends to fight to gain heroic reputation. Xue Yang mentally dubbed him ”unfortunate front teeth”. He showed quite great interest in Xue Yang's skills and knowledge, though he was very cowed by the telling-off they all received by Song Lan once he learned the truth. He is one of the last survivors of the Yingchuan Wang clan, which rose to prominence under the Wen thanks to Wang Lingjiao's involvement with Wen Chao.
Wang Meili – one of the elderly doctors in Tanzhou, who was born to the Yingchaun Wang clan but left to study medicine with the Dafan Wen. There she met her life partner, Wu Lian, and the two of them eventually set out as wandering cultivators to offer their gifts of healing to those in need, before finally settling down in Tanzou. She has a stern and brusque demeanour, but is a highly skilled doctor and a very loving wife.
Wang Rouqing - the ghostly widow of Wangzhuang, and Wang Haifeng’s mother. She stopped talking after the death of her husband and the massacre of her in-laws during Sunshot, and only found peace after Xue Yang helped confirm her husband’s spirit had truly moved on.
Wu Lian – one of the elderly doctors in Tanzhou. She was once a guest-disciple with the Dafan Wen, where she first met her companion Wang Meili. Together they set out as wandering cultivators upon finishing their training, to offer healing and care to those needing, and finally settled down in Tanzhou. Mild-mannered and sweet, she likes telling stories and making her stern wife smile.
Zhao Yicheng – one of the young cultivators who fought the undead at the old plague graveyard. Designated ”short boy” by Xue Yang, he was the leader of the gang, and the brains behind his and his friend Wang Haifeng's plan to use demonic cultivation to raise monsters for them to fight in order to gain glory and a good reputation. He and his cousin Zhao Yijun are from the Zhao clan, which Wen Zhuliu once belonged to before getting adopted into the Wen family.
Zhao Yijun – one of the young cultivators who fought the undead at the plague graveyard. Xue Yang called him ”the taller Zhao” or ”compass boy.” Happily unaware of his cousin's and friend's plan to raise the dead, he was trying to track fierce corpses using one of the older models of spirit compass - which strangely started malfunctioning once Song Lan joined the Night Hunt... He and his cousin Zhao Yicheng are from the Zhao clan, which Wen Zhuliu once belonged to before getting adopted into the Wen family.
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To potentially be added to as the story progresses.