Ying Ying is a main character on Netflix's Wu Assassins. She is portrayed by Celia Au.
She is a quirky, young woman who is wise beyond her years and assists Kai Jin in his mission as the final Wu Assassin tasked with saving the world from the five new warlords.
Early Life[]
Most of Ying Ying's life is shrouded in mystery, as her birth date and the location where she lived is unknown. It is assumed that Ying Ying was born after a thousand holy monks sacrificed themselves to empower a monk shard that will find a worthy host that will battle against 5 individuals who were corrupt with the Wu Xing. It is unknown how Ying Ying was trained or found the monk shard, but once she acquired the powers, she became the first Wu Assassin.
Ying Ying and her monk shard
Ying Ying successfully managed to defeat 5 Wu Warlords and acquired their Wu Xing. She expelled her monk shard out of her body to form a tortoise shell. Before she can do anything with the tortoise shell however, she was caught off guard by a rogue warrior. She used the tortoise shell to block off an attack, but was killed by the next attack. As a result, the monk shard and Wu Xings were separated and flung to the four corners of the world.
Due to her being the first Wu Assassin, the monks allowed her to remain a spirit in limbo, with the ability to travel to The Path and Earth in search of a worthy host.
Throughout the Series[]
Season 1[]
In Drunken Watermelon, Kai Jin, an aspiring chef who happens to be the adopted son of Uncle Six, the Fire Wu Warlord, is running away from Triad henchmen when he hears a thump and sees Ying Ying on the ground (whether Kai ever hit Ying Ying or not is unknown). Kai tries calling for help, but Ying Ying tells him to "hang up." in Cantonese and Indonesian. Ying Ying gives Kai the monk shard, saying she has been looking all over for him and gives him Wu Assassin powers. Ying Ying takes Kai to The Path, and explains the Wu Assassin and Wu Xing history as well as the Wu Assassin powers, with her telling him that he must kill the evil Wu Warlords to prevent destruction of the planet, with Kai refusing. While Kai is fighting against the Triad henchmen, Ying Ying tells him to kill them but Kai refuses.
Kai Jin meets Ying Ying for the first time.
In Misspent Youth, Ying Ying pulls Kai from the Earth to The Path to begin his training, with her explaining that time in The Path is different from time in the real world. Ying Ying formally introduces herself before training Kai. Over time, Kai gets confident in his abilities, but when Ying Ying tells Kai he must kill the evil Wu Warlords, Kai tells Ying Ying that he's not a killer. When Ying Ying subjects Kai to illusions that show the Triad killing "Jenny Wah" Kai is enraged to the point where he kills the triad, but its revealed to be a trick by Ying Ying. Ying Ying tells Kai that he's a killer, he just does not know it yet. she tells Kai to go to a cave in The Path where he will meditate. When he meditates, previous monks will provide him visions on what to do next.
Ying Ying trains Kai
In Fire Chicken, Ying Ying sees Uncle Six talking to Kai, and pulls him to The Path, urging him to kill Uncle Six, but Kai refuses. Ying Ying warns Kai there will be consequences, and he just lost a big chance to acquire the Wu Xing.
In A Twisting Snake, after Kai is healed by Christine Gavin after his fight with Uncle Six, Ying Ying pulls Kai back to The Path where she expresses her disappointment. Nevertheless she tells him her history, as well as introducing him to the previous statues of the Wu Assassin. Kai jin sees a photo of Alec McCullough, and recognizes him as a statue of a previous Wu Assassin.
Ying Ying and previous Wu Assassin statues.
In Codladh Samh, it is revealed that in the 1519 Ying Ying sees Alec McCullough (who was a Gaelic warrior that went by Alasdair back then) killing a deer. Impressed by his skill, she deems him worthy of the monk shard, but McCullough ignores her and they have a brief fight. Eventually, Ying Ying beats McCullough, and forces him to acquire the Wu Assassin powers and kill the Wu Warlords, with Alec refusing. After McCullough's family is killed by a Water Wu Warlord, Alec McCullough begs Ying Ying to talk to him.
Ying Ying arrives to speak with McCullough, and Ying Ying tasks him to kill the next Wu Warlord, ignoring McCullough's distress. McCullough tells Ying Ying to revive his family, but Ying Ying tells him that she doesn't have the power to do that, and death is a part of a Wu Assassin destiny before disappearing. Ying Ying was unaware that McCullough managed to cheat death, and presumably went on to find the next Wu Assassin.
Ying Ying fights against Alec McCullough
In Gu Assassins, Kai finds a way to remove the Wu Xing from a Wu Warlord without killing them, and goes to The Path to meet with Ying Ying. Ying Ying reluctantly tells Kai that there is one way to remove a Wu-Xing, and its called Gu (a poison made from various animals. The animals must consume each other, and the last animal will secrete a poison containing the previous animals that will help remove the Wu-Xing). Ying Ying also tells Kai that the process must include individuals who were in contact with a Wu-Xing to make the Gu more stronger; the Gu and the Wu-Xing will fight for the soul of the host body, and if the Gu overcomes the Wu-Xing then the Wu-Xing will be expelled. Ying Ying warns Kai that if the process fails, the host, and the individuals who participate in the process will die.
Ying Ying tries to persuade Kai to just kill Uncle Six to get the Wu Xing, but Kai tells her that he must try. Disappointed in Kai, Ying Ying tells him that she must abandon him as they both are taking different paths.
She does not appear in Paths: Part 1, but she is mentioned by Kun Zi when Kai asks where Ying Ying is, and Kun Zi replies that Ying Ying is not available, as she is in Kai's past, but Kai must now focus on the future.
Ying Ying appears in the season 1 finale Paths: Part 2, where Kai is surprised to see Ying Ying here, in which Ying Ying responds she's here "In the flesh." The building begins to shake, surprising Kai and Ying Ying tells him "its not over yet Kai. The world still needs the Wu Assassin."
Physical Appearance[]
Ying Ying is an Asian female who is of average height, and looks young even though she is over a thousand years old. She often wears ancient white Chinese clothing, with her hair tied in a ponytail. When she wears modern clothing, her hair resembles more of a mohawk and she wears dark clothing, which contrasts with her white clothing.
Personality[]
Ying Ying is a warrior of justice, who will stop at nothing to save the world from the Wu Warlords. She is very blunt and harsh on her teachings, as she will not hesitate to tell the current Wu Assassin their flaws. She also seems to not have an aversion to killing, as she constantly persuades Kai to kill people. Ironically, although she is the mentor of the Wu Assassin, she is very manipulative and often force people to become the Wu Assassin; she did not accept McCullough's refusal for the monk shard, and she simply handed Kai the monk shard without him noticing.
She is very manipulative in that she creates disturbing illusions just to convince Kai that he is a killer. Ying Ying is also stubborn in that she does not accept any other possible method to extract a Wu Xing, she vehemently tells Kai to kill his adoptive father to fulfill his destiny, but when Kai tells her of another possible way Ying Ying abandons Kai simply because he did not do what she told him.
Powers and Abilities[]
Master Swordsman: Ying Ying has been shown to be a master at swordsman, she was able to defeat McCullough with ease (McCullough himself was a very skilled warrior). Her fighting style often involves her spinning her sword in unpredictable ways to confuse her opponent, and spin around. She was skilled enough to single-handedly kill all 5 Wu Warlords by herself, and the only reason why she was killed is because she was not prepared for a surprise attack. Her fighting style resembles Wushu and Kung Fu.
Multi-lingual: Ying Ying is able to speak Indoesian and Chinese, as well as some Scottish when talking to Alec McCullough in 1519.
Ability of The Path: Ying Ying is capable of transporting the Wu Assassin to The Path in an instant, whether its against their will. She is also able to talk to the Wu Assassin whenever they have questions.
Appearances[]
Season 1[]
- Drunken Watermelon
- Misspent Youth
- Fire Chicken
- A Twisting Snake
- Codladh Sámh
- Gu Assassins
- Paths: Part 2
Trivia[]
- It is unknown how Ying Ying can touch materials from the Earth, as she is a spirit.
- It is unknown why Ying Ying has not devised new teaching methods, since 999 Wu Assassins failed because of her teachings.
- It is implied that the monks gave her advice when Ying Ying became the Wu Assassin, similar to how Kai Jin asks Ying Ying for advice for fighting against the Wu Warlords.
- The only person Ying Ying talks to is Kai Jin.
- Ying Ying is the only Wu Assassin to willingly expel her monk shard out of her body willingly. She is also the only individual who killed 5 Wu Warlords by herself singlehandedly.
