Not truly human at all, Bai Pao is one of the Hu Fen Pao, the White Lead Leopards, the remnants of ancient order of immortal assassins, predating even the Khitai Hells of the Yama Kings. Though they are Infernal Servitors, the Hu Fen Pao are unique in that they do not blindly obey, but see their relationship with the Yama Kings as one of a contract, justifying any assignments according to the strict laws of both the Yama Kings and the Heaven of the Jade Emperor.
With such a relationship, the wording of a contract sometimes takes precedence over the spirit of it, and thus was Bai's undoing. Sent by the King of the Fifth Hell, Yen Lo Wang, to slay a treacherous mortal who had reneged on his bargain, she was ordered to also kill his entire family as a message, and she could not bring herself to do it. After millennia of servitude, her sense of honor had evolved enough to make her question such a brutal, sweeping judgment, and she stayed her powers before she would slaughter innocents.
Such refusal was blasphemy in the eyes of Yen Lo Wang, an affront to his pride, and he angrily petitioned the Celestial Court to punish Bai Pao for her defiance. Deferring to the Yama King's word, the Court sentenced her to one hundred years of mortality, diminished in power, knowing hunger, pain, and fatigue, to force her into a state of appropriate contrition. She was banished to the mortal realm, her spirit housed within a human body that was created on the spot, and stricken from the roster of Servitors until her penance was done. Her spots were transformed into Celestial Mandates upon her flesh, forcing her to accede to the whim of the Xien (immortals) and serve at their convenience, thus making her live a double life between the Spirit Realm and the mortal plane of existence...essentially a divinely wrought requirement of 'community service'. Yen Lo Wang laughed in his black temple, and took great pleasure in branding her with his Mark of Retribution upon her breast, marring her otherwise pristine perfection.
But Bai Pao has been far from contrite, steadfast in her belief that she did what was right, and has bent her will to not only regaining as much of her former power as she could, but also to making the absolute most of her time among mortal men, taking pleasure in seeing how their lives are lived on this side of the Veil and experiencing all that her new form has to offer. She has since managed to eradicate Yen Lo Wang's Mark, much to his displeasure, and regain her ability to walk the Dream Paths. In addition, her innate ability to see others' flow of Ch'i, and her intricate knowledge of mudras and how to manipulate them, has enabled her to help a number of mortals with their everyday strivings, as well as offer a unique perspective into the nature of gods and the cosmos.
Unable to truly die (Yen Lo Wang will not be denied his petty vengeance), immune to intoxication and poisons, and unaffected by the host of diseases and curses that plague humanity, not to mention having been blessed with physical perfection and exceptional beauty (the Court's consolation and concession to her plight), it would seem Bai Pao's sentence to be more pleasure than pain. But she lives each day knowing that at the end of one hundred years, depending on her judgment, a thousand thousand years' worth of existence may come to an abrupt end, if she is found unworthy. Nor is she completely invulnerable, for like all creatures of myth, she has a weakness--the ingestion of ginseng, by contact or consumption, will render her powerless, unable to utilize her abilities or enter the Dream Paths...and though her supernatural senses might quickly recognize the spice before any lasting harm, she is in no hurry to advertise this fact, knowing that very few scholars would have such intimate knowledge of her kind.
It is Bai Pao's hope that a mortal life well led, seeking absolution for her infernal deeds through aid to mortalkind (while immersing herself completely into their world in order to better understand the nature of Man) will sway the Celestial Court to her cause when her time is complete. Until then, she may be found lending her strength to a cause in quests, or thoroughly enjoying the company of her mortal friends with intelligent discourse and physical comforts.
Calendar
Subject: Bai Pao biography 
Sat Oct 09, 2010 8:45 am
