Zheng Lun begins Investiture of the Gods as Su Hu’s grain officer and a fierce mounted commander. He rides a Golden-Eyed Beast, carries Demon-Subduing Pestles, and leads three thousand Crow Soldiers equipped to seize fallen enemies. He later follows the Zhou cause and serves as a grain-transport general under Jiang Ziya.
His secret art is the defining feature: a forceful snort sends two beams of white light from his nostrils, shaking an opponent’s souls and knocking the rider from the saddle. The Crow Soldiers then rush forward with hooks and ropes. At Green Dragon Pass he meets Chen Qi, whose mouth releases yellow vapor; both powers strike together, and both commanders fall, establishing the novel’s paired ‘Heng’ and ‘Ha.’
Zheng Lun continues campaigning until the ox spirit Jin Dasheng wounds him with a fiery bezoar and cuts him down. At the investiture, he and Chen Qi are appointed the Heng and Ha Generals, guardians charged with proclaiming teaching and protecting sacred treasures. The beast mount, twin pestles, white nasal light, and capture troops make his method unusually complete and visual.
