The moral compass of Ging Mo Meng

[Ken Cheng]

We did one of these for Sai Mun Chui Sheut a few months ago; now we do one for another mysterious elite Gu Long swordsman.

Ging Mo Meng was set up to be an antagonist in SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN, RUTHLESS SWORD. He was an enemy of Lee Chum Foon and Ah Fei, and was capable of coldblooded murder (Gwok Sung Yeung; Seung Gwoon Fei) to accomplish his ends. Even so, would you characterize Ging Mo Meng as straight up evil? Despite opposing the heroes and being willing to "fight dirty," he doesn't seem devoid of admirable qualities.

[BlackRaven]

He never kills children, only martial artists, and doesn't kill someone who is unarmed. He untied LXH and gave him his dagger during their first meeting, after LXH was caught by Hu Bugui.

He is loyal to a T, and does not hold grudges. He gave Shangguan Fei MANY chances to avoid death, but Fei attacked him so JWM killed him in self-defense.

After SGJH died, I honestly don't think Jing Wuming did any dishonorable deed afterwards. He might have killed people in a fair fight, but that's not evil or dishonorable by any means. He fought the patriarch of the Ding family, wounded him in the leg then spared him. JWM even did him a favor after that.

He seemed to have become a Divine Doctor in Bordertown Wanderer lol. He could resurrect one character who supposedly already passed away (ridiculous plot twist I know, and weird career change for such a character)

I wouldn't say that he is evil, especially considering the upbringing that he received. Cao Cao would have gladly taken him in his service and praised his courage and loyalty.

[daydreamer_gal]

I find him quite an intriguing character.. Definitely not one of the good guys, but I wouldn't call him evil either. Can be quite admirable / likeable at times.

I don't recall him "fighting dirty".. My impression was that he was quite a straightforward person who looked down on schemers (e.g. : Long Xiaoyun father & son).

I also wouldn't call his killing of Guo Songyang and Shangguan Fei "coldblooded murder" (at least by the standard of Gu Long's wulin) either.. Guo Songyang did challenge him, and getting killed in a duel seemed to be a relatively normal outcome. For example, earlier, when Guo Songyang challenged Li Xunhuan, Li seemed to think that he might die, which was why he as reluctant to acquiesce until Guo assured him that he would help him look after any unfinished business if he died (i.e. : protecting Lin Shiyin). In Shangguan Fei's case, Shangguan Fei was the one who was actively seeking to kill him. If I recall, correctly, he actually seemed somewhat melancholy after he killed Shangguan Fei.

On the other hand, he seemed to like killing and definitely did kill some other people in cold blood. He also seemed to have a rather sadistic streak at times. For example, I felt that this scene in Chap 50 described some of his darkest characteristics:

Jin WuMing said, "I can kill you in one blow. Do you believe me?"
Sweat poured down the blue-robed youngster's face. He bit his lips so hard blood came out. But he yelled, "Why don't you just kill me?"
Jin WuMing said, "You want to die?"
The blue-robed youngster yelled, "A true man's not afraid of death. Go ahead and kill me."
Jin WuMing said, "If I didn't want to kill you, would you still want to die?"
The blue-robed youngster froze.
If he didn't have to, who would possibly want to die?
Jin WuMing said, "I know you want to die for her. So she would think that you're a hero. But if you do die, would she really still like you?"
He continued coldly, "If she died, would you still love her?"
The blue-robed youngster couldn't answer.
He felt the cold tip of the sword leaving his throat.
He felt like an idiot.
Jin WuMing said, "In a woman's eyes, a hundred dead heroes, wouldn't compare to a live coward. Just as in your eyes, a hundred dead beautiful women, wouldn't compare to a live woman... Do you not understand this?"
The blue-robed youngster wiped some sweat off his face. He said, "I understand."
Jin WuMing said, "Do you still want to die?"
The blue-robed youngster said with a red face, "Living isn't a bad thing."
Jin WuMing said, "Good. You finally understand."
He continued, "I usually never like to be wordy. Yet I talked a great deal today, just so you can understand this... Only after you understand this, can I kill you."
The blue-robed youngster suddenly asked, "You want to kill me?"
Jin WuMing said, "My rule is that I only ask questions, not answer them. But I do make an exception to those about to die."
The blue-robed youngster said, "But... but if you want to kill me, then why say all those things?"
Jin WuMing said, "Because I never kill those who wants to die... If you wanted to die, then I would feel no pleasure in killing you."
The blue-robed youngster let out a loud roar, he attacked with his sword.
His roar was incredibly short. Because just as he raised his hand, Jin WuMing's sword had already entered his mouth. The icy cold tip passed by his tongue.
It's a bit salty.
He finally tasted death.
The sword reentered its sheath.
Jin WuMing has a very good habit. He also puts his sword back into the sheath immediately after use. As if he doesn't plan on using it in the near future.
Because he knew that when people see his sword in a sheath, they'd be more careless.
He likes careless people. They tend to die faster.

[daydreamer_gal]

He seemed to have become a Divine Doctor in Bordertown Wanderer lol. He could resurrect one character who supposedly already passed away (ridiculous plot twist I know, and weird career change for such a character)

He definitely seemed to have mellowed quite a bit in Bordertown Wanderer. Was he actually a doctor? I thought he just said he had a method to save that guy.. That was his disciple Lu Xiaojia, right?

To Jing Wuming's credit, his disciple turned out to be quite a decent guy, though I'm not sure how much he was involved in his actual upbringing other than teaching him martial arts.

I think the "resurrection" wasn't really confirmed, just that the other people around were hopeful and consoled themselves that this would be the case.. Plus the fact that Lu Xiaojia is never heard of again in the later stories doesn't really bode well for him.. Pity.. I rather liked him.

[BlackRaven]

Same, I really liked Lu XiaoJia in Bordertown Wanderer, as well as in its 1993 adaptation "A Warrior's Tragedy".

Near the end of the story, all the other characters seem to believe that Lu could be saved, despite him clearly dying earlier, so I take JWM's healing skills at face value. Even Zhang Wuji would not be able to resurrect the dead, only Sweeper Monk can

[daydreamer_gal]

Same, I really liked Lu XiaoJia in Bordertown Wanderer, as well as in its 1993 adaptation "A Warrior's Tragedy".

I didn't watch "A Warrior's Tragedy".. Did Lu Xiaojia die in that adaptation too? I've seen the late 1980s / early 1990s series called "The Black Sabre".. He survived (not sure if he even got injured at all, actually) in that one because they changed some of the events towards the end.. He was also much nicer than his novel counterpart, especially his behaviour towards Cui Nong.. At one point he was practically playing matchmaker for Cui Nong & Fu Hongxue.

[BlackRaven]

I didn't watch "A Warrior's Tragedy".. Did Lu Xiaojia die in that adaptation too? I've seen the late 1980s / early 1990s series called "The Black Sabre".. He survived (not sure if he even got injured at all, actually) in that one because they changed some of the events towards the end.. He was also much nicer than his novel counterpart, especially his behaviour towards Cui Nong.. At one point he was practically playing matchmaker for Cui Nong & Fu Hongxue.

Wow, it looked like Lu XiaoJia fire deviated in that series lol. I haven't had the chance to watch The Black Sabre in its entirety but I heard that overall it's a good series.

Yes, he died in A Warrior's Tragedy. Overall, I feel like the actor Julian Cheung nailed the Lu XiaoJia character.