At first glance, the Nine Mortal Ways look like a traveling circus of scam artists. Their base is essentially a con-job theme park, and the NPCs greet members by openly acknowledging the hustle. But dismissing them as simple crooks misses the entire point of who they are.
The sect's name in Chinese literally translates to "the whole spectrum of society" - saints, rogues, and everyone in between. They mirror the chaotic gray zone of the Jianghu, where deception is not a vice but a survival mechanism. Much like animals use camouflage to stay alive, the Nine Mortal Ways rely on trickery to endure in a world that never gave them power, patrons, or privilege.
But their moral code runs deeper than the con. They impersonate every other sect in the game except the Silver Needles, because faking medical expertise can cost lives. They ask for nothing when you join - no credentials, no money, no proven combat skill. And if you manage to steal from them? They praise you like a proud older sibling. Completing all ten of their "scam" challenges earns you genuine membership in their family.
Their bond with the rat is telling. The Khitans once called them rats as an insult - impossible vermin that could never be fully exterminated. Instead of rejecting it, the Nine Mortal Ways claimed the label as a badge of resilience. They are the survivors, the people who stand on their own feet by selling umbrellas and making shoes rather than begging for mercy.
The sect's founding story reveals the true depth of their character. Sixteen years before the game's events, when the Khitans invaded Kaifeng, it was these so-called scammers who stepped up to lead civilians into hiding in the ghost-like market beneath the city. Their founder, whose name translates to "bless the living," opened a forbidden gate between life and death during the most desperate hour. A group of disciples willingly walked into poisonous mist and became spectral soldiers - unfailing and undying - to hold the line. The founder died doing exactly what his name promised.
Beneath the Nine Mortal Ways' base lies a domain that descends through layers of Kaifeng's history, all the way back to the Warring States period. Each layer represents a city destroyed and rebuilt atop its own ruins - a pattern that mirrors the sect itself. The domain's connection to the sect is anchored in two ancient heroes from those ruins: a butcher and a gate clerk who chose death over betrayal when the Qin Empire conquered their homeland. Their portraits hang in the sect's main hall as spiritual ancestors.
The Nine Mortal Ways are the youngest sect in the game, built by outcasts for outcasts. They pull pranks, but they never turn away an orphan. They send fake red envelopes, but they give their lives to protect the city. In a world of powerful sects vying for influence, they remain a family - where drifters, the scarred, and the forgotten can finally have a place to call home.
*Based on analysis by [WWM Girl (Goose Girl Stories)](https://www.youtube.com/@GooseGirlStories).*
