Fang Xiang

Fang Xiang was the younger brother of Fang Bi, both serving as Palace-Guard Generals under King Zhou of Shang. When King Zhou plotted to kill the two royal princes, the brothers rose up in righteous indignation, fled Zhaoge, and escorted Princes Yin Jiao and Yin Hong to safety—an exceptionally rare instance in the novel of giant warriors abandoning tyranny for virtue. Later, they pledged allegiance to the Zhou, fought valiantly in numerous campaigns, and perished during the cataclysmic trials of war; upon deification, both were enshrined with divine ranks. The name 'Fang Xiang' traces back to the 'Rites of Zhou', where the Fang Xiang clan officiated the Grand Nuo Ritual—a solemn exorcism ceremony featuring a golden-masked figure with four eyes, brandishing a spear and raising a shield to drive away pestilence. 'Investiture of the Gods' literaryizes this ancient Nuo deity archetype, transforming Fang Xiang and Fang Bi into the archetypal Divine Pathfinders who lead funeral processions in later Chinese folk tradition.