Most surprising traitors/turncoats in wuxia?

[Ken Cheng]

It's a common trope of many different genres of fiction that one character becomes a "surprise traitor": someone initially presented as an ally/friend of the protagonists, but is revealed later to be a two-faced antagonist. In wuxia, whom do you consider the most shocking turncoat...where you really didn't see it coming and were truly surprised?

My nominee: Beggar's Union Lawgiver Elder Bak Sai Geng. This guy was supposed to be the honorable enforcer of the laws in the Beggar's Union, and seemed to be very loyal to Kiu Fung even in the midst of the controversy surrounding Kiu Fung's Khitan heritage. When it was revealed that he had always been secretly in league with Madame Ma to undermine Kiu Fung, I was truly shocked.

[wkeej]

In the latest 2019 HSDS series, the Xuanming Elders. They turn against the Mongols because Zhu Yuanchang from Ming Cult can pay them more.

[Ian Liew]

One which I found unexpected (although as the plot unfolded gradually, it became slightly more expected) was Huo You from Golden Roc Kingdom. I think the fact that he and Lu Xiaofeng were obviously good friends at the start, and the relationship looked like something Lu Xiaofeng could use to cunning effect in trying to find out the truth behind the matter, made me feel that he was going to be the third victim who Lu Xiaofeng would fail to save. Was quite unexpected to find that he was the mastermind, although when Huo Tianqing died, by process of elimination, it had to be him...

Ye Gucheng falls into the same category. Slightly less shocking as there simply wasn't any other candidate, but it was so unbelievable that a man like him would covet a mundane throne.

[hyoyatika]

It's a common trope of many different genres of fiction that one character becomes a "surprise traitor": someone initially presented as an ally/friend of the protagonists, but is revealed later to be a two-faced antagonist. In wuxia, whom do you consider the most shocking turncoat...where you really didn't see it coming and were truly surprised?

My nominee: Beggar's Union Lawgiver Elder Bak Sai Geng. This guy was supposed to be the honorable enforcer of the laws in the Beggar's Union, and seemed to be very loyal to Kiu Fung even in the midst of the controversy surrounding Kiu Fung's Khitan heritage. When it was revealed that he had always been secretly in league with Madame Ma to undermine Kiu Fung, I was truly shocked.

In the latest 2019 HSDS series, the Xuanming Elders. They turn against the Mongols because Zhu Yuanchang from Ming Cult can pay them more.

Why are you surprised by this? The Xuanming Elders were mercenaries so of course they would defect if the Ming Cult paid more. By the time ZYC took over, the Ming Cult was quite different from the one that the Elders went against. Besides, I am sure the Ming Cult can understand that the Elders were mere mercenaries.

[CC]

Ye Gucheng falls into the same category. Slightly less shocking as there simply wasn't any other candidate, but it was so unbelievable that a man like him would covet a mundane throne.

OH DONT GET ME STARTED ON THIS ONE!

Mid-novel, the injury was clearly described from YGC's personal point-of-view. Then GL did an end novel retcon and it became fake. That is a very bad style of writing. Imagine if Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his books like that, with incidents and observations clearly stated to be observed by Sherlock Holmes mid novel revealed as non-existent in the end and flipping the facts end novel.

DISGUSTING.

This is akin to :

Last Chapter ROCH : Yang Guo who is losing the fight badly, suddenly reveals his missing arm and palms GWM for the finishing blow with his right arm, it was a ploy all along to fool his opponent and his right arm was hidden in his clothes all this time!!!! All the earlier descriptions of his pain and misery from losing the arm was part of the fake!

[Ken Cheng]

OH DONT GET ME STARTED ON THIS ONE!

Mid-novel, the injury was clearly described from YGC's personal point-of-view. Then GL did an end novel retcon and it became fake. That is a very bad style of writing. Imagine if Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his books like that, with incidents and observations clearly stated to be observed by Sherlock Holmes mid novel revealed as non-existent in the end and flipping the facts end novel.

DISGUSTING.

I wonder if any other writer of fiction, in any medium, has ever committed a continuity cheat as egregious as this.