Xie Zhen is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Double-headed Serpent", he ranks 34th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny. Background The novel depicts Xie Zhen as seven chi tall, powerfully built and having a purplish face, wide shoulders and a narrow waist. Nicknamed "Double-headed Serpent", Xie Zhen usually wears the hide of a tiger or a leopard as his outer garment. Skilled in martial arts, agile in climbing hills and able to endure bad weathers, Xie Zhen and his younger brother Xie Bao each use a bronze forked spear in hunting, which is also their weapon in combat. Joining Liangshan The governor of Dengzhou (登州; in present-day eastern Shandong) orders Xie Zhen and Xie Bao, the best among local hunters, to hunt down a tiger in three days which has preyed on travelers on a ridge, failing which they would face severe punishment. On the second night, the brothers trap the tiger, corner it on a cliff, and fire poison arrows at it. The tiger falls off the cliff and lands in the backyard of the mansion of one Squire Mao. As they are clambering down the hill, Squire Mao orders his son Mao Zhongyi to take the tiger, now dead, to the governor to claim reward. Finding no tiger, the brothers are infuriated and smash the furniture in Mao's mansion before leaving. They run into Mao Zhongyi, who lures them back to his home where they are seized in an ambush. They are sent to the governor who jails them on the charge of theft. Squire Mao bribes the chief warden to murder them in prison. Yue He, a jailer in the prison, happens to be related to them, his sister being the wife of Sun Li, whose brother Sun Xin is married to Gu Dasao, a cousin of the Xies. Sun Li is the commandant of Dezhou's garrison. Yue takes the news of the Xies to Sun Xin and Gu Dasao. The couple rope in Zou Yuan and Zou Run to help in the rescue. They also pressure Sun Li to join in. On the day of rescue, Yue He opens the prison gate to let in Gu Dasao, who pretends to bring food to the Xies. After admitting her, Yue unlocks the manacles that shackle the Xies