Ah Ling

Ah Ling is the antagonist in the Sally Lockhart book one The Ruby in the Smoke as well as the third book in the trilogy The Tiger in the Well by Philip Pullman. Ah Ling is in fact the titular Tiger of the third book. He is a feared pirate from China with a German mother. He had a black schooner which ambushed and stole the titular ruby from the first book and his henchmen were always around. He is Sally's arch-enemy.

Ruby in the Smoke
Ah Ling was a Chinese-German pirate who ambushed Navy ships. He killed hundreds and stole. He was after a ruby from India and he had many associates after it. He only appeared at the end when he ambushed Sally in his cab and threatened her to hand over the ruby but she shot him, believing him dead. However, he had only been paralyzed by her shot and his men removed him from the van.

Tiger in the Well
He became reclusive and was confined to bed or a special chair and he was now completely paralyzed. He had a special monkey which he pretended was his familiar. He had Sally come to the house and she was shocked when she saw who it was. She'd thought him dead but he was now so suicidal he would do anything. He caused riots and then his house began flooding. Sally and Ling were trapped in the elevator as it flooded, and Ling told her about a tiger in a well saying he might be the tiger. Then he fell in the water and drowned.