Li Yun came from the same province as the Zhu brothers (Zhu Gui and Zhu Fu). He was born with a wide face and thick eyebrows, had a red beard and green eyes, making seem like a non-Han Chinese, earning himself the nickname 'Green-eyed tiger' (緑眼虎).
Li Yun served as a constable head in the local county office, and once taught Zhu Fu martial arts. He excelled in martial arts, wielded a sabre in combat and could take on thirty to fifty enemies at the same time.
