In the Water Margin
Lu Junyi ranks second among the 108 heroes under the star Tiangang (天罡星). He is a rich gentleman of Daming Prefecture in the north, imposing and handsome, unmatched with the staff, and so renowned that Song Jiang decides Liangshan cannot be complete without him. His nickname, Jade Qilin, compares him to the auspicious beast of legend: rare, noble and a little out of reach.
The trouble is that Lu Junyi has no wish to be an outlaw. Wu Yong arrives disguised as a fortune teller, warns him of a disaster he can only escape by travelling far from home, and has him write a verse on his wall. Lu Junyi sets out with his steward Li Gu, is ambushed near Liangshan Marsh and held there as an honored guest. When he finally returns, he finds that Li Gu has taken his house and his wife, and has reported him to the authorities using that very verse, whose opening characters hide a confession of rebellion.
Key episodes
- Betrayal at home. Arrested on Li Gu's accusation, Lu Junyi is tortured and condemned. His young servant Yan Qing, the only member of the household to stay loyal, begs for food to bring him in prison and later shoots the guards sent to murder him on the road.
- Rescue in Daming. When Lu Junyi is led out for execution, Shi Xiu leaps from a tavern window to cut him free. Both are captured, and Liangshan launches a full campaign against Daming, breaking in during the Lantern Festival to rescue them.
- Avenging Chao Gai. Chao Gai had decreed that whoever captured his killer, Shi Wengong, would lead Liangshan. Lu Junyi takes Shi Wengong prisoner, then insists that Song Jiang keep the leadership and accepts second place.
- A bitter end. After the amnesty and the southern campaigns, Lu Junyi is poisoned by corrupt officials and drowns in the Huai River.
