Líng Yá

Líng Yá (聆牙, Ryouga, "Listening Fang") is a supporting character in Thunderbolt Fantasy and Thunderbolt Fantasy: Bewitching Melody of the West. He is a pipa who has been animated after years of use by Làng Wū Yáo.

Abilities

 * Form Change: Líng Yá has two forms, a pipa-form and a sword-form. Làng Wū Yáo makes regular use of both forms in combat.

Background
Líng Yá's character profile specifically credits his sentience to kotodama (言霊, "word spirit"), a belief that spoken words (including those that are sung or chanted) can alter objects. In Bewitching Melody of the West, Líng Yá says that, if Shāng Bù Huàn carries around the Sorcerous Sword Index for long enough, those weapons, too, could gain sentience. Whether this is a real possibility or merely Líng Yá teasing Shāng is unclear. It is equally possible that Líng Yá's sentience can be credited to Làng Wū Yáo's abilities rather than an inherent quality of the world.