Murong Fu - the actual #1 Evil?

[PJ]

the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Duan Yanqing is labeled Evil #1 because of his heartless method of killing, but even he regretted killing his buddy Divine Croc for a brief moment, whereas Murong Fu felt no remorse for killing his assistant Bao Butong. Now, Bao is someone who watched MRF grow up, a loyal friend who helped the Murong family through it all. I would think that relationship should be even stronger than between any of the Four Evils. Even so, Murong Fu still demonstrated more heartlessness than our Evil #1. Duan Yanqing would have done anything to gain Dali throne, but so would Murong Fu to restore Yan dynasty. Since Murong Fu proves even more cruel, is it not fair to label him as #0 Evil, ahead of #1 Evil?

[PJ]

Another sign is that when Duan Yanqing found out he had a son, he was exhilarated and thought it much worthier than having the throne. To me, this shows the human side of Yanqing. On the other hand, throughout the novel Murong Fu kept pushing Wang Yuyan away, and didn't even save her when she tried to kill herself. This dehumanizes Murong Fu, and I get the impression his interest in becoming king is even madder than Yanqing's.

Overall, I think Murong Fu is more inhuman and heartless than Duan Yanqing, and thus more deserving of the title Evil #1.

[CC]

I would agree that MRF is more heartless in some aspects compared to DYQ. But I don't think he is as crude as #3 and #4 in some aspects of evil-doing.

As for DYQ, if his son wasn't the heir to the throne and he still felt that his bloodline was owed the Dali crown, I don't think he would have stopped his plot that easy.

[PJ]

I would agree that MRF is more heartless in some aspects compared to DYQ. But I don't think he is as crude as #3 and #4 in some aspects of evil-doing.

Indeed, the lower evils actually seem more bill-fitting than Duan Yanqing. I always thought Yanqing didn't really deserve the title of the biggest evil, as we don't see him doing many evil things in DGSD, and in fact he I find him generally a normal human when viewed with other wulin members. His gratitude and helping of Xuzhu win the chess game is another example of his human qualities.

As for DYQ, if his son wasn't the heir to the throne and he still felt that his bloodline was owed the Dali crown, I don't think he would have stopped his plot that easy.

One might think so, and I think this is indeed more consistent with Duan's obsession with the throne, but the novel did describe him feeling "having a son" in general is much worthier than having the throne. It attributed this sensation to his lack of romantic bonding with women, but it doesn't make much sense to me. Nevertheless, that's what Jin Yong said.

[Ren Wo Xing]

I agree; I think Duan Yanqing's evil ranking was mostly because of his martial prowess, which was so far above the other three Evils. He was definitely a proud man with his own sense of honor in some ways. I would describe him as 'ruthless' without question, but nothing in the novel indicated to me that he was more evil than the other three.

[CC]

I agree; I think Duan Yanqing's evil ranking was mostly because of his martial prowess, which was so far above the other three Evils. He was definitely a proud man with his own sense of honor in some ways. I would describe him as 'ruthless' without question, but nothing in the novel indicated to me that he was more evil than the other three.

In any case, it does seem that the ranking is according to martial prowess and not 'evilness'. Since #1 to #4 were indeed sorted by fighting strength.

[Ken Cheng]

Mo Yung F'uk as Evil # 1? I don't know. To be the # 1 Evil, the evildoer needs to have a certain amount of competence to pose a credible threat. But Mo Yung F'uk was so incompetent on so many levels. His martial arts were too weak to threaten the heroes, and he was not cunning enough to truly outsmart them either.