Zheng Zu discovered the existence of the heavenly realm of Ta Lo and planned to steal the Five Sets of Heavenly Weapons to bolster the Five Weapons Society. Upon arriving at Qilin Island, the gateway between Earth and Ta Lo, Zu was betrayed and left for dead by pirates under his service but was rescued by Jiang Li of the Qilin Riders, a community of mortals from Ta Lo tasked by the Chinese gods to protect the realm from outside threats. While being nursed back to health, Zu fell in love with Jiang Li. When Jiang Li's father, Chieftain Xin, discovered Zu's presence on the island, he ordered his daughter to execute the trespasser but the two fled to the House of the Deadly Hand. When she discovered that Zu led a criminal organization, Jiang Li attempted to leave him but Zu promised to change his evil ways. The two married and had two children: son Shang-Chi and daughter Zheng Shi-Hua. Within the first few years into his marriage, Zheng Zu grew to genuinely love his family.Shang-Chi (vol. 2) #7 Marvel Comics However following an attack by Hydra against the House of the Deadly Hand, Zu became cold and distant towards his family, as he felt that his love for them made him weak, and resumed his plans to infiltrate Ta Lo. Xin and Jiang Li confronted Zu in his personal tower, where they discovered he had constructed a makeshift portal to Ta Lo. While Zu fought his wife and father-in-law, Shang-Chi happened upon the scene, just as the portal's connection to Ta Lo became disconnected and Jiang Li was accidentally pushed through, sending her to the Negative Zone. Zu and Xin blamed each other for Jiang Li's presumed death and each tried convincing Shang-Chi to join them. Shang-Chi sided with his father and threw one of Zu's chemicals at Xin' face, blinding and leaving a scar across his right eye. Xin denounced Shang-Chi to be as evil as his father and fled on his Qilin. Zu subsequently placed a memory spell on Shang-Chi, making him forget the incident.Shang-Chi (vol. 2) #8 Marvel Comics
