If there is a prominent theme woven throughout Outlaws of the Marsh, it is that institutions designed to help people are easily corrupted, often with tragic consequences - the Song Dynasty is rampant with corruption, local governments are run by tyrants, even monks are frequently revealed to be swindlers. But one recurring instance of institutional corruption only comes into sharp focus with the stories of Shi Xiu and Yang Xiong: the institution of family. While families are intended to be among the most positive influences on a person's life, in the world of Outlaws of the Marsh they often become the very thing that tears a person's life apart.
Yang Xiong is an only child, and from the moment we meet him, it is established that even though he is married and living with in-laws, he's very much on his own: despite being a respected public official, he is openly mocked and attacked in public. When Shi Xiu finally arrives to help him fight off his attackers, Yang Xiong wastes no time declaring fidelity to his new friend and asking him to form brotherly ties. Soon it becomes clear why Yang Xiong feels such urgency: his only family include an intrusive father-in-law and a duplicitous wife, QiaoYun, who is secretly in love with a local monk - a monk so close to QiaoYun that he refers to her father as "father." All told, family is a pretty toxic concept in Yang Xiong's life, and even if he isn't aware of the treachery around him, it's clear he longs for something more substantial.
